• Published 26th Sep 2015
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My Little Universe - EquestrianKirin



What happens when a group of magical ponies meet a group of magical, talking rocks? Tons of fun and Adventure!

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Kings and Queens PT2

The moon was still high up in the sky, thanks to the forceful state from Nightmare Moon still around Equestria. Within one town though, something else was brewing. Something that was giving even more trouble to top it all off. There was eternal night thanks to Nightmare Moon, fear enticed evil thanks to Sombra, and otherworldly strength thanks to Jasper (though temporary, it was still effective).

Within a smaller village, further away from the knowledge of the Princesses, another figure was going about the place, a few ponies laying on the ground behind him. They weren't dead, nor dying, but more or less drained. The cutie marks gone, the eyes blurry, and the pony bodies limp on the ground from their magic taken away from them. As for the figure responsible, he kept going along his own way. He didn't appear like a pony all that much, a little too tall and front heavy to be one. He was almost completely robed up in a brown cloak, covering every part of him except for his hooves and head. Oddly, he also had a set of human-like hands. He wasn't any pony, but he wasn't human either.

As he went, he looked ahead and saw another pony in front of him. Her didn't remember seeing him around earlier, but he wasn't complaining about it. Quietly as he could, he started to home in on the pony, stalking it for a little bit. He was just about to capture the poor creature when he suddenly turned to him ...

"Tirek, I presume."

Suddenly, the pony turned out to be a Draconequus, Discord as a matter of fact! He got out of his pony form after a bit to confront Tirek with his usual grin.

"Discord? You are free?" Tirek asked, intrigued and surprised Discord was given freedom although he was clearly a creature of pure chaos.

"As a bird," Discord replied, turning into an actual bird on a wooden perch. Tirek then bowed in his presence - a gesture a past Discord would appreciate, though this Discord seemed a bit different.

"I commend you on your escape."

"I'm afraid the feeling's mutual," Discord commented, snapping his fingers to have Tirek in handcuffs. The respect immediately was gone, and Tirek glared up at the Draconequus, whom was actually in a police outfit.

"I should've known you wanted Equestria for yourself," Tirek groaned.

"Oh, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for my friends," Discord said, leaning for being right next to Tirek. "But mostly it's for Fluttershy."

"Fluttershy? Don't tell me you've made friends with those - ... Ponies," Tirek assumed, growling on the final word. Suddenly Discord ended up in a fake cake, popping out with confetti and streamers.

"Surprise!" Discord said, a bit happy. Yet, Tirek wasn't as happy for it, and looked down to the handcuffs he had stuck on him.

"I am surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this 'friendship' is but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly, you've had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces," Tirek assumed. That time (despite having a harp and a halo above his head) Discord seemed insulted and threw the harp away.

"I've done nothing of the sort!" Discord insisted, swatting away the Halo. Tirek just sighed.

"Oh, please, I've seen this before. But he was always weak minded. You are Discord, you are legend, you cannot fall into the same trap that claimed my brother!"

Discord seemed a little confused as Tirek continued.

"Help me to grow strong and be rewarded with something far greater than friendship. Freedom. Once I've stripped these ponies of their magic, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside down. Who better to do so than the master of chaos himself? Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness. Unless, of course, 'pony errand boy' is the role you've always wanted to play in this world."

That information got Discord's mind working things out. He did sound familiar to what Sombra would actually say, yet this wasn't Sombra, this was somepony completely different, with his own brand of evil. Still, the idea of being fee to do whatever the heck he wanted to do without anypony going against him did sound like a breath of fresh air for the Draconequus, yet should he? After all, he was getting in the princesses' good graces (kinda), and the authority had been off his tail. Of course, being an errand boy wasn't his intent at all ...

~~~~~~

The silence was beyond tolerable, and Beach City the situation was turning from bad to worse. Course, when everybody realized what happened at the beach front wasn't odd enough, the demonic unicorn had set the whole stage up for everyone. He knew Jasper would come, he knew she would weaken the Gems, and he knew it would be easy pickings afterwards...

Consciousness began to return to Twilight, as she felt herself try to regain herself. She tried to see where they were, only to find she was staring up to the Beach House ceiling. She was, somehow, inside the Beach House. But her own body wasn't entirely working, chained up by dark magic around her hooves, and her wings like someone just hunted her. As she looked around, she felt a very powerful headache hit her, loosing focus for a bit. Nearby, she saw that only two other Gems were with her: Lapis and Sapphire. The two were chained up as well, Lapis looked about to wake up herself. Above them, laying down with front hooves dangling down, was King Sombra himself. By the door, poor Ruby was at her post, unable to move on her own will.

"Wake up little pony. Good to see you're back, Sombra said, going down the stairs. The three turned and were going to say something but what they saw stopped them dead cold. It wasn't just Sombra himself that made them silent, it was what he was wearing. Around Sombra's neck appeared to be some necklace ...

Lined with different Gemstones. An Amethyst, a Pearl, a double lightning Fulgurite stone, and a Jasper. At the center, was a unicorn horn ... Twilight's unicorn horn, cut clean off of her head while she was unconscious! All the gemstones were in bubbles, the Gems themselves just floating along the lining. The sight had a deep stab at all of them, Twilight for losing her magic, and the Gems for seeing Sombra basically wear their friends around his neck.

"You like my new accessory? Gives off a lovely shine in the light," Sombra said, showing them to the three.

"H-How ... How could you do this? ..." Lapis breathed out.

"Honestly, I'm tired of such a dumb question. Course if I had a cracked gem in my life, I'd be a bit off myself," Sombra noted with a chuckle. Lapis tried to get herself free, but she couldn't get the chains to snap in her state. Sombra turned to the door, but then Twilight stopped him.

"Wait. I have to know why."

"Pardon?"

"You corrupted Steven, made Ruby your slave, called Homeworld to earth in a false plight for help, cut off my darn horn! The least you can do is tell us why ..." Normally, Sombra wouldn't bother himself, but given that they couldn't do anything to him (he made sure of it by removing anything they could've used anyway), he might as well give them that privilege at least. So, he sat down in front of the three, and cleared his throat.

"Well, if you three must really know, I'm sure some of you might be aware of my past excursions in that Crystal Empire - both rather rough failures. Course, when I found out you ponies were visited by sentient Gems, the opportunity was too good to pass up. To imagine; a race of beings who are the very thing I can manipulate. Course, you already knew I can do that," Sombra explained, a hoof pointing to Ruby.

"Of course, knowing that it was you Twilight who were their friends did make some complications, along with a Gem hybrid running amok in your group. Just thought I'd get the problem out of the way first."

"You said you corrupted him because you can," Sapphire corrected.

"That too. Only thing I didn't plan for was getting that ship to explode; I was hoping to visit that little Homeworld when I was done here. After all, why conquer a kingdom when you can get a whole planet? Now all I gotta do is figure out where your kitty and abomination ran off to," Sombra said, ready to walk out.

"What's that have to do with what happened with Luna?" Twilight asked.

"Distraction. Course princess sunny flank would be all over me, so what better way to get her off my back then give her a problem more to her heart? Huh. Wonder how Nightmare's doing?" Sombra wondered, hoof to chin. The thought quickly subsided from his mind as he looked to Sapphire. He glanced to Ruby, the gem a bit worried, as Sombra went over to her. Lapis and Twilight squirmed in their binds, but with the water removed from the whole room Lapis can't do anything, and without any magic Twilight couldn't do anything. Sapphire was grabbed by the demonic unicorn, teeth digging into Sapphire's shoulder, and was brought to outside the door. Sombra signaled Ruby to follow him, and her body did so. Alone, Twilight and Lapis needed to get themselves out before anything could happen to them.

When Sombra left, the two tried their best to get out, but the struggle wasn't any good.

"Lapis, can't you summon your water wings to do something?"

"Sombra planned ahead," Lapis said. Her Gemstone, while not cracked, was covered up by a dark aura - Sombra's way to avoid any flying water Gems. Twilight struggled some more, sweating from her struggle ...

Sweating. Sweat is water, right?

Lapis got an idea she tried to be calm and focus on the panting Twilight and what water they had. Twilight turned and saw the focused stare ...

"Uh ... Why are you looking at me like that?" Twilight asked awkwardly. Soon, she found out why, as her sweat gathered up by the binds on her hooves. The sweat turned rigid, like a blade, and started to saw.

Just outside, the beach was still littered with everything from the wreckage, and Blue was actually chained up to the Beach House by some of the heavier rubble. Sombra ignored the barking from Blue and dropped Sapphire on the sand. Ruby stopped nearby.

"Alright, Ruby, now -"

"Don't you dare!" Ruby yelled.

"Now Ruby, it's rude to interrupt. I have a proposition for you."

Ruby wasn't trusting Sombra in any word, especially after what he made her do already with Luna. But Ruby listened anyway as Sombra continued.

"You've handled my work well, be it your will or not, so how does this sound? I have one more task for you to do for me, if you do it, then I'll let you have your freedom ... Finish her."

"Finish?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Sombra sinisterly chuckled, taking a small rock, and shattering it between his hooves. Ruby immediately felt an extreme fear consume her, as she looked to Sapphire ...

He wants Ruby to kill Sapphire ...

"... No ... Please no ..." Ruby said, her voice surprisingly hushed, as Sombra got himself comfortable a few feet away.

"This should be good," Sombra chuckled, adding insult to injury. Sapphire couldn't get up but was purposely turned so Ruby would be all she could see with her one eye. Ruby felt her body move closer to Sapphire, but her will power tried its best to make herself stop. She had done enough trouble already, but this was just horrible! They both knew Sombra put Ruby in particular for this strictly to torture her even more so. Ruby couldn't have that, she wouldn't. Her force of will didn't halt much of her walking, but it was halting her arms with surprising effect. Her arms twitched, mixed with Ruby's will and Sombra's magic conflicting actions. Somehow, Ruby even managed to grab her right arm to make herself stop and forced her left foot to step back. Sombra found it discouraging, yet surprisingly impressive.

"Stop, dang it!" Ruby growled, as if her arms had minds of their own. Sombra raised an eyebrow at Ruby's internal struggle. The Gem in question felt every part of her body tense up in conflicting actions, to the point of tears. Sapphire could see how much struggle Ruby was putting up for her, to avoid killing her. To Ruby, she couldn't attack Sombra, but she couldn't hurt the Gem she had been so close to, never mind killing her. Sapphire could tell that Ruby was starting to lose her battle with herself, a flame from within her beginning to grow ...

"That's it," Ruby managed to get out. If her body wasn't going to let her go, there's only one thing she could do. She forced one arm in front of her face, and Ruby clamped her teeth down hard ...

Then it happened.

What Ruby had done next left Sapphire stunned, tears down her eye. Sombra wasn't paying that much attention until something hit him square, getting stuck on his horn. Looking, he noticed something that even left him surprised. Along with Twilight's horn around his necklace, he then had an extra hand piece of Ruby's arm! Sombra looked just in time to see Ruby tore off her other arm and threw it away with her mouth. Being a Gem, Ruby's loss of arms may not be as bad as it appeared to be, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt, Ruby landing on her knees in heavy breath.

"Eww," Sombra groaned, getting the arm off his horn. Both arms were like flesh-like clay models of arms on the sand. Oddly, Ruby felt more control over her body after she did that, Sombra's Magic finding a way out of her.

"Try controlling me now," Ruby said, smirking to Sombra. The unicorn rolled his eyes, trying the same spell to control the Gem again. However, unlike before, the magic blast shot out where the arms would be rather than work.

"Clever. Graphic, but clever, I'll give you that one," Sombra said, disappearing before Ruby or Sapphire could do anything, and reappearing at the door to the Beach House. He wanted to make a quick check on Lapis and Twilight before going off to get the rest. Before looking in though, he noticed something else ... Overflowing water.

Next thing he knew, the door launched right at him, a huge amount of water slamming into him, his necklace flying in the air, sending him to the sand. Lapis stepped out with Twilight soon afterwards, no longer constrained in their binds. The door was stuck on Sombra's horn, the unicorn shaking it off before looking to them. Sombra quickly grabbed the necklace, and disappeared fast before they did anything else. While he was gone, their attention turned back to Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby's dark magic had literally been drained out of her, her red color returning to her, and her own magic returning to her after so long. Sapphire was overjoyed to see Ruby freed, as Lapis and Twilight came forward.

"RUBY! Your arms!" Twilight gasped, rushing over to Ruby.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright, look," Ruby assured her. Focusing a bit, finally having her body back, a white glow appeared where her arms used to be. The arms on the ground poofed away, and new arms took their place on Ruby. Soon, Sapphire hugged Ruby, just grateful to have her back.

"I was so worried about you, are you alright?"

"Who cares?" Ruby said, also happy as ever.

"I do," Sapphire replied. The blue Gem gave a Ruby a kiss on the cheek, both sides very glad to be okay at the end of it all. Ruby hugged Sapphire back, and the two spun around in pure joy. As they did, laughing all the while, they both began to glow. Soon, in no time at all, Ruby and Sapphire were back together, fusing back to the Gem who'd been gone for too long.

Garnet.

"Garnet!" Lapis and Twilight gasped.

"Great to be back," replied Garnet, hugging them both. Soon, a couple of barks reminded them all that Blue was still chained up to the rubble. Blue had seen everything, and couldn't help in any way, but was just glad Garnet had come back. Garnet took the liberty to break the chain for Blue, regaining her Gem Weapon to do so. Blue happily thanked Garnet with a few dog licks and happy barking.

"You feel better Garnet?" Twilight asked.

"Much better, thank you," Garnet replied. She felt a strong sense of determination, finally back together. Soon, the fusion, a smile on her face along with Twilight and Lapis, summoned back her signature shades.

"Let's go."

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, as Beach City was showing some more hope, Equestria was beginning to lose theirs. To start, the sun still didn't rose yet, and Tirek was getting stronger with each pony drained away of magic. Discord and Tirek ignored the whole no sun concept for the time being, the cover of night helping conceal Tirek's missions quite well. It was only a matter of time before Tirek would be known by the princesses, but discord knew they wouldn't consider him yet until they were finished with nightmare Moon (wherever they ended up, anyway). Tirek, while not knowing of Nightmare Moon, does know that it was only a matter of time before he would be ready to tackle such powerful alicorns, but for now, it's one pony at a time.

After heading around the minor villages and towns, Discord brought Tirek to an area with much more ponies to get all at once: the Crystal Empire. With Cadence gone for the moment, helping with Celestia, many of the dangers with getting caught by any royal guards was out of the question - something they both knew very well of.

Within the empire, for about an hour, Tirek helped himself to numerous crystal ponies, feeling stronger and stronger as time went by, and more ponies being lost. Soon, one at a time turned to group after group, Discord just watching from afar. During his walk about, one pony in particular was trying to stay out of the way, yet Tirek wasn't going to let anypony get away from him. He soon came over to the black-furred Crystal Pony, the pony in question trying to get himself gone, before Tirek grabbed him by the tail.

"Let go," he demanded, kicking Tirek's hand off of him. Angered, Tirek went after him as the black Crystal Pony cut a corner. When Tirek tried to find him again though, the black pony was simply gone - disappeared. However, Discord could easily see through his little disguise, and the Draconequus made a sort of fancy lightbulb show up where he was hiding.

"Right here, big boy," Discord pointed out. Finding the target, Tirek gave a strong inhale, sucking away the magical energy he had on him - or tried to. It was a bit harder, but eventually something was sucked out of him. For the moment, he was using a sort of cloaking method to avoid getting seen, but that magic was removed from his arsenal, and he ended up exposed ... In more ways than one. The pony wasn't a pony anymore after being taken away at what magic he was using, surprising Tirek on the result.

Flint.

He was on one knee, balancing himself on the other, realizing what had happened to him.

"What is this?" Tirek asked.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we have some Gems joining us after all."

"Gems?"

"Magic-filled rocks, basically," discord explained. Flint tried to get himself away, though was a bit hard with the Draconequus and cloaked being. After figuring that out though, Tirek removed his cloak to show his true self. His body was half equine, half human, all centaur with large stubs for horns (currently anyway). Flint tried to get himself out, not interested in a fight with anypony that day, but seeing that wasn't going to help, he switched to fight mode, and got out his weaponry, each gun-like shooter aimed at a different individual. Tirek took it as a threat, while Discord took it as inconvenience. Tirek reared back, front hooves whacking at Flint. That triggered a fire from one of the guns, and the ammunition, electrically charged, Shocked Tirek for a good five seconds, almost like he'd been hit by an electric taser. To make sure they backed off, he shot Discord too, but unlike Tirek, Discord's torso split in two for a brief moment to dodge the hit, and Flint ended up off guard as Tirek sucked up more magic from Flint until eventually, he ended up completely removed of magic! ... However, there was an odd result: since all the magic was removed from the Gem, and since it was their Gemstones who kept them alive and give them their magic ... Well, Flint turned from an alien being, into a small flint Gemstone rock, and nothing more. Upon landing, the Gem actually cracked a tiny bit...

"Huh, that was ... different," Discord said, not expecting that kind of result. He'd though of the Gem ending up like everypony else, not this way. The magic gained from Flint had made Tirek a little tougher, a little taller, and his horns growing a few inches more so. However, he then gained something else; a small gemstone growing on him. With some new magic, he then decided something else. With some focus, his body suddenly disappeared from sight! Seemed gaining camouflage was an excellent advantage to what Tirek was doing. Tirek snickered a bit, seeing this as a good luck sign for his work, and he and Discord continued on their way through the empire. Not too far away, none of them had noticed someone else had saw what had happened to Flint, just happening to be Jade! The one time that she decided to check on Flint, and she found him being drained completely by the demonic Centaur. As soon as she was sure that Tirek and Discord had gone far enough away, the shaken and saddened Gem came out, grabbed the Flint stone, and ran away as fast as she could. Luckily for her, she remained unnoticed by anypony as she left ...

As Tirek and Discord continued through the Crystal Empire, Jade had managed to get herself out of the empire without being detected by the demonic duo, but rather than head to the mountains, she ended up rushing out from the entrance rather than any extra exit around the empire. Jade couldn't stay there, and her exit to the mountains were actually separated by Tirek and Discord. Jade ended up exposed out onto the tundra, alone. the small Gem didn't know what to do, Flint being her main source of protection and security for the most part. With Flint gone though (even if temporarily), Jade was on her own, and she didn't had very much power herself. At least, not much will to use it...

Then, Discord suddenly popped up from behind her own shadow.

"Jade, is it? Sorry about your friend, my dear."

Jade got a bit spooked upon seeing Discord, spinning around and backing away. She didn't want to go into combat with something like a Draconequus. As for Discord, he had another idea in mind for her rather than feed her to the Centaur. Instead, as he moved closer, his tail snuck around her, and made an opening behind her, resembling the portals. Soon, with a simple "boo!" Jade accidentally slipped, and soon ended up through his portal! the portal quickly closed so Tirek wouldn't hear the screaming she made as she fell. After that was taken care of, Discord stretched, and flew off back to Tirek before the Centaur would get curious.

~~~~~~

Back in Beach city, the open plains further away were being ran upon by Lion and Steven, Lion leading with Steven following behind. Lion sensed Sombra was looking for them, and he wasn't going to let Steven fall into the wrong hooves. They've gone far enough to the point when they could barely see Beach City, and only then did Lion slow down to a stop. Steven did as well, laying down on the comforting grass, as Lion turned back once more. He couldn't see any sign of Sombra but sensed nothing. Lion laid down soon after that, but remained vigilant just in case something would come around. Steven settled down right next to Lion, starting to act asleep. In spite of how far they went, their moment of peace couldn't last forever.

Just a few meters away, something opened up, giving off a faint glow. What caught their attention though was the screaming, and the following thud. Lion went to investigate, as Steven slumbered nearby. With a good look, Lion found the source of the noise; Gem Jade! The portal Discord made had brought her to the right realm, and Jade was right in Lion's sights. The tall animal loomed over Jade, who was clutching the Flint Gem as best she could. Jade opened her eyes to see Lion, and immediately worried that Lion would hurt her, or take Flint away, but did neither. They got enough problems, no reason to cause even more. Lion showed her that he wasn't dangerous by gently nudging her a little bit.

"... What? ... Where am I?" Jade wondered, looking around like an insecure child. Lion looked over to where Steven was, seeing that he was still alright and sleeping. However, Jade wasn't the only one who was jumping around worlds. Close by, another portal suddenly opened, a bit bigger than the one Jade had fallen through. Lion readied for whatever came out, as something green tumbled out, a bit dizzy but fine.

"Alright, am I home yet?" She asked herself, looking at her touchscreen. Yes, it's Peridot again. Peridot looked at her touchscreen to be sure of it, but it said she was on Earth.

Again.

She pulled out the key she tried to use, probably multiple times, looking ready to snap.

"AAAHHHH CLOD!! WHY CAN'T THIS WORK?!" Peridot screamed, angry as heck, and throwing the key away as hard as she could. The key flew through the air, landing on Steven, waking him up. Only after she did that, when she noticed Jade and Lion standing there ...

As for Steven, waking up in a panic, moved out into sight to see Peridot there, a little bewildered for who else was there, and her key getting stuck in Steven's petal mane, sticking out as he approached.

"Oh, you again. Why not?" Peridot wasn't in any mood for meeting up with Steven again. On the bright side, at least there's another Gem to talk to.

"You there!"

"Huh? ... Me?" Jade asked, unsure of what was going on. Peridot grabbed the key with a levitation beam and showed it to Jade.

"I can't get this portal opener to work right, how can I make it take me back to Homeworld? I need to get back!" Peridot informed urgently. However, 1.) Jade wasn't the most sociable Gem, especially to someone like Peridot, and 2.) she never saw the key before. A foot scraping the dirt, Jade didn't look Peridot in the eyes as she answered.

"I uh ... I d-don't know," Jade got out. Peridot's look of anger turned to worry, which turned to shocked dismay.

"Great, just great! Now I'm stuck here! I go on one little mission; just in, and out, and now I'm stuck here on this stupid rock thanks to that dirt bomb Sombra unicorn! ARGH AHAHAHA!!" Peridot kicked the dirt and grass in anger, eventually falling on the ground in a childish rage; her fists and legs slamming on the ground. However, the mention of Sombra got Lion's attention; seemed Sombra had been busier than they'd thought. As Peridot let her rage out (be it a bit odd for a seemingly mature Gem), Lion began to work his paw in the dirt to make out pictures as his way of talking. After a few minutes, Peridot stopped her frustrations, and then saw Lion making out the pictures.

"Now what're you doing?" Peridot groaned, getting back up. Jade and Peridot went over to Lion's side and saw what kind of picture Lion was actually doing. Oddly enough, and surprisingly enough, it was Lion's version of what happened; a diagram if you will. Sombra was at the center, with pictures of the Gems around him, including Jasper with her Homeworld warship. He didn't add in Twilight, thinking it wouldn't be important to Peridot. After putting in the Gems, Lion made arrows to the necklace he put aside, showing which Gem was on which part, and an extra arrow pointing the necklace to Sombra. Jade found the connection horrifying, and Peridot too saw this as a worry, but how did Homeworld get to Earth if she didn't call for them?

"He's wearing Gems? What does he think we are; just fancy trinkets?!" Peridot snapped. Lion actually nodded yes to her. He then made the main mission clear by making a large X over Sombra, signifying that he had to be stopped soon. Peridot's anger towards him was already evident, since it was Sombra's fault she's stuck on Earth to begin with. Jade never had any personal anger to Sombra, mainly because she never met him yet, but at this rate Jade might end up doing so. Steven wandered a little bit away, looking back to Beach City...

Speaking of which, Beach City, despite finding the wreckage all over, weren't sure what was going on, or if it was of any concern. Some saw it as something worth looking into, while others think the police might handle the job. Either way, none of them were aware of Sombra's presence in their home yet. Further away, driving home, Connie's family had just finished up their shopping trip, and were just about to leave Beach City and head back to their home. For Connie, things had been a bit different for a while; while her punishment had been gone for quite a while, she hadn't heard of Steven in a long while. To them, they still thought Steven was missing still, and Connie could only wonder what made him run away. Steven was her close friend; he should've at least had some indication to why he did it to her.

However, the answer would have to wait. As they continued driving on the lone road, suddenly they all heard a loud pop of one of their tires, forcing them to stop alongside the road.

"Stay in the car, Connie," her dad informed, as he and his wife went out of the car to investigate. Connie did as she was told, and simply looked out the window. As she was, she noticed something else; glancing at the car side mirror from the back seat, she could see a glance of what caused their tire to pop. On the road appeared to be a strange, dark crystal growing in the road. Connie was for sure it wasn't there before. Her parents had yet to notice the crystal in the road, seeing the extent of the tears of the tires. The tears were surprisingly huge, half of their front tire torn away.

None of them were aware though of the shadow unicorn coming their way, having set up the trap for them...

One step at a time, not trying too much to be sneaky, the demonic Sombra came right into view of the misfortunate family, Connie staying in the car, unsure what Sombra was going to do. Her parents soon noticed him, but by the time they did, Sombra was just a foot away from them. The mother jumped back once she saw him, keeping some distance.

"What in the world?"

"And hello to you too," Sombra replied. Rather than waste any time right away, he cut right to the quick; jabbing his horn in the back car door, he tore it right off, threw it aside, and went in for Connie! Connie couldn't do very much in the car, and was brutally pulled out by Sombra, his teeth digging into her arm. When her parents saw Connie get yanked out, their fear turned to protection.

"Let her go!" The father demanded. Course, Sombra wasn't willing to comply, but did give the satisfaction of letting her go ... by letting her go in midair. Connie flew five feet up, before crashing down on the side of the road. Connie's glasses flew around wildly in the air until they landed near Sombra's hooves, which the unicorn smashed easily.

"Better?"

"Not better, get out of here!" The father yelled, not wanting Sombra around his daughter.

"I'll go, but I need to borrow her first," Sombra explained, moving to the wounded Connie.

"No, you're not!" The mother retorted, getting in the way of Sombra and Connie. Sombra just gave a huff to her, not really feeling intimidated.

"Did I ask for an opinion? Course, you really are a bad and upset mother, aren't you? Barely keeping track of your daughter for any moment while she's gallivanting," Sombra happily accused. Connie's mother, as expected, glared at the unicorn. She may not know who she was dealing with, but she wasn't going to let her daughter be taken away.

"Excuse me?! I know what my daughter's doing every second of the day -" suddenly Sombra's eyes began to glow green with purple smoke...

"And during every other second, she's jumping between worlds, and had made a doppelgänger of herself after you drove her away with your constant beating down. And you call yourself a good parent, no less."

"Leave her alone!" The father demanded, trying to punch Sombra. However, the unicorn whacked the mother away, spun around, and sank his teeth into his shoulder! Unlike before though, this bite was magically altered seconds before Sombra bit him. Connie and her mother got up, just in time to see Sombra turn the man, after a few quick seconds, into an icy statue! Frozen in place, he wasn't exactly dead, but just immobilized for the time being. Sombra would kill him if it meant anything. For the mother, she was already affected by Sombra's stare, huddled on the ground in a hysterical state, so Connie was all alone. However, Connie was already off and running. Though, with a running girl compared to a galloping full-grown pony, it didn't take long for Sombra to catch up, and knock her down. Connie couldn't get away, covered with the levitation magic Sombra had on her. Without a second glance, Sombra then rushed off with her, Connie only able to watch as her parents remained in their state ...

~~~~~~

Equestria's night of Nightmare Moon was still lasting longer than it should be. Since being brought back thanks to Sombra's helper, Nightmare had been off and hiding away within the Everfree, controlling the moon from where she remained. Within the Everfree forest, the ruins of what was once a glorious castle had remained from years of isolation and maintenance, about a similar standpoint from when Twilight and company first had met with Lapis Lazuli. Now though, with the alicorn taking hold of the place, the safehouse was by no means an area of good memories. As for Nightmare Moon herself, memories from Luna were no longer much in evidence in the moon goddess, as she looked to the full moon in pride. She did know though that Celestia would easily see the moon high up, and would go after her at any moment, but rather than plan any traps or hide away, the princess would stay in the throne room and confront Celestia head on. She wasn't going to cower off if she would end up coming to her. Sitting on the lone throne, Nightmare Moon relished in the moonlight from her own moon, and awaited for whomever would dare to come to her.

As expected, maybe, she began to sense somepony beginning to come towards the ruins. The figure had the shape similar to the alicorn in question, as she appeared and entered the old ruins of their one fantastic home.

"Luna."

"Sister, don't try my patience again, you won't beat me this time!" Nightmare made known, getting up from her throne.

"Luna, it doesn't need to be like this," Celestia insisted. However, Nightmare Moon would much rather fight than make up, and charged at her.

Soon, with the sisters meeting, the battle at the ruins had began between the two. Celestia, despite having more power than her competitor, really never wanted to harm anypony she was close to, especially her sister. That, however, was strictly a one-sided feeling, Nightmare Moon more than happy to beat up anypony who opposed her. During their fight however, none of them failed to sense anypony else coming in. At the door, which was left open, something began to head into the fighting ring with the princesses, although the physical body wasn't able to be seen. Nightmare Moon and Celestia continued to fight for a good while, as strong as they could with magic flaring around the place. Son, after non-stop fighting for the next ten minutes, Nightmare remained floating in the air, wings beating as Celestia tried to regain herself. Gaining her maximum power, Nightmare Moon blasted a fully powered night beam directly at princess Celestia. Celestia herself readied to dodge, but suddenly the beam behaved ... oddly. The beam made an odd U-turn away from Celestia, passed Nightmare Moon, and disappeared into a gaping mouth hidden away. The beam connected to more magic within Nightmare Moon, her body turning from the powerful Nightmare Alicorn, into a far weaker, magic-less Luna. Far from having Sombra's corruption ash, Luna was stripped away of all her magical connection, her mane no longer a flowing view of the night sky, but just a weakened looking dull blue. For Celestia, she could barely grasp what happened before she suddenly got the same effect, the magic draining away from her own horn! Celestia's rainbow flowing mane turned into a similarly dull pink, like Luna had for the moment, and she grew extremely weak. Both alicorns had lost their cutie marks, and as such, their control over the sun and moon ...

Only after that did the culprit revealed himself, now taller, stronger, and his horns longer and more curved.

"T-Tirek?" Celestia breathed, luckily she was able to get anything out. Tirek, grateful for the camouflage magic gained from Flint, tested his newfound abilities, and then looked outside. Raising his muscular arm, the two weakened sisters then saw the sun being raised, but the moon staying where it was! By the looks of it, it would appear the moon would crash into the sun, but instead Tirek stropped once the sun was hidden behind the moon - an eclipse as of were. There was a sort of ironic feel from this situation; while on one hoof Nightmare Moon had been removed the most blatant way possible, her savior happened to be a higher up threat, one Nightmare Moon couldn't save herself from.

So, with a laugh as he went, Tirek went right out, but not before he made a powerful fist hit onto the walls, making them collapse down! Celestia and Luna got themselves out just in time, but they both knew it was tiny compared to the second problem. As if dealing with Nightmare Moon wasn't enough, now they had Tirek running around Equestria, and a sun and moon sharing the sky at once. Wonderful.

Tirek, satisfied with his result, went off on his way when he noticed Discord chilling out in a tree, drinking from a large juice box.

"Told you it would be easy," Discord commented.

"Yeah. Now, why don't you have a little fun?" Tirek offered, an open hand showing Discord the large land he could go and begin. However, Discord strangely had another idea in mind.

"I'd love to ... One thing first," Discord said, snapping his paw fingers. Suddenly, a large, much fancier door appeared in front of Tirek, looking more medieval and ominous (not to mention larger for Tirek to go through) than what Discord had used before.

"What is this?"

"You want more magic, don't you?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well then, hop through here," Discord said, opening the door, dressed as a fancy butler. Tirek, smiling wickedly, cracked his knuckles before starting to head on through, Discord waiting for him to go fully in before closing the door, but Discord didn't get rid of it right away. Before he left, his tail turned into a hand, and he snapped the fingers just before going through himself. What actually happened was that the moon began to move all on its own, the sun taking its rightful place in the skies above.

"You're welcome, Celestia," Discord commented, before heading through.

~~~~~~

within Beach City, things were getting dark for Connie, whom had stopped fighting to get herself free after such a struggle with Sombra. After some time, and some thinking on where, Sombra had brought her oddly close to where the Beach House would be. In particular, there was a lighthouse on top of a tall hillside nearby the city towards the beach, and it was there where Sombra had brought her. Right in front of it, Sombra placed her on a raised platform he made before getting her, having her legs chained so she wouldn't run off again. Connie was still shaken up over what happened to her parents, and wondered if they'll be alright in the end. Yet, with her mom hysterical and her dad frozen, it was unlikely. Sombra could care less, and went over to the girl in question.

"What're you going to do with me?" Connie asked. Sombra got up onto the wooden platform.

"If things go well, absolutely nothing. Now, If you'd be so kind, scream."

"Huh?"

"Scream. Your voice will send Steven running right to me. Now go on, yell your innocent head off," Sombra insisted. While Connie didn't know too much about why he wants Steven, or who he was about, but she didn't trust him. Course, who would after seeing the same unicorn freeze and freak out their parents? So, Connie glared at Sombra.

"No way," Connie said, keeping her mouth shut. Sombra's expected as such, and went close to her.

"Well then, looks like you won't be going unscavved after all," Sombra chuckled. Connie didn't have to wait to find out, as Sombra lifted his hoof and slammed it hard on Connie's feet. The one hoof covered both of her feet, and the pain shot through her, like a giant boulder had just been dropped on her feet. Connie, although in pain, bottled up her cries so she would bring Steven up to him. Sombra tried another idea, and used his horn to make a quick, short, yet painful slice of Connie's back! It wasn't very deep, but it felt like a fire blade just struck her. Connie felt it even harder to keep quiet, but had just managed to keep her mouth shut. Sombra was starting to get testy with her, and then tried to bite hard in her side. Connie, her teeth grinding in a groan, still wasn't loud enough for her.

"Give in?" Sombra asked.

"N-No," Connie replied, tears down her face as she felt a trinkle of blood down her back, and a heartbeat feeling in her currently bruised feet, small cut and bite marks. Finally, Sombra decided to just jump the gun, and went for a more immediate solution; his horn glowed, and it launched a electric-like magic beam at Connie! The pain flowed through Connie in short intervals. Eventually, it was too much.

Connie's screams in pain, combined with where the height of where they were (the highest point of the city as they would get), stretched all over the place, catching everybody for a brief moment on the torture going on by Sombra. While Sombra meant to strictly bring Steven back, the cries of agony got the attention from the other friends; Garnet, Lapis, Twilight, and Blue in particular. The four almost immediately began to follow the cries for help, but that didn't mean that it didn't reach the intended ears; Lion, Steven, Peridot and Jade heard the screams, but they were only just audible. While many were curious, Steven almost instantly got up, like a dog being called by its owner, and the corrupted Gem began to move fast, much to Lion's surprise. When the scream stopped, so did the pain, Sombra sure that'll get Steven running right for him. Connie fell to her knees, taking a moment to relax. Sombra though was pleased with the pain, and the result of it.

"There now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Sombra said, having the nerve to gently stroke Connie's hair, like it wasn't a big deal. Connie just stayed there, as Sombra looked on to Beach City. However, his calls had gotten attention a bit faster than anticipated, as he quickly noticed another Gem coming across the sky: Lapis Lazuli. Lapis was a bit ahead of the others, so, she was alone when confronting him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lapis demanded.

"Lapis, glad to see you're here. Just setting things up for little Steven. By the way, you seen him on the way over?"

"No, and neither will you!" Lapis got the water out of her wings, and used that on the unicorn. She got out a good ten shots of water blasts, though they missed him and kept hitting the lighthouse. Only one got close to Connie though. Sombra felt that restraining was in order, and soon went near Connie, that time with his horn around Connie's neck like a readied sword.

"Try anymore tricks and I think you'll know the result. Hate to waste her life for what you do," Sombra said.

"You coward!" Lapis yelled, angry. Sombra, moving his horn away, looked at Lapis with a disappointed expression.

"I'm a coward? Which one of us had done nothing while Jasper tore her friends to pieces, hm? Or did you have any better reason aside from fear," Sombra asked, moving the Jasper Gem on his necklace. Lapis suddenly felt guilty on her part, for she really didn't fight while they were fighting Jasper. Before Lapis could respond, Twilight, Blue, and Garnet began to come near. Sombra didn't want to fight just yet, especially with someone like Garnet. After all, he got the scream out, he got what he needed. All he had to do was cut Steven off at the pass, and he would have him.

"Take the girl," Sombra said, giving them a distraction to deal with. Releasing the chains, Sombra grabbed Connie, and threw her high in the air!

"Connie!" Twilight gasped, taking to the wing, and flying to get her. Connie flailed around, but Twilight grabbed her by her shoulders, her front hooves holding her weight as Sombra galloped away. Twilight brought Connie down safely and gently, Garnet skidding and turning to get Sombra. Before they could go, something else soon presented itself. With the group turning back to the lighthouse, a gigantic white door suddenly opened up, a familiar Draconequus flying through.

"Discord not now, we -"

"Keep him busy will ya? Thanks," Discord suddenly said. Soon, they saw why in the form of Tirek, who was double in size compared to Garnet by that point. First Jasper, then Sombra, now Tirek?! The centaur looked down to them, sensing the magical energy from the Gems, but his attention got to Twilight. The sight of Tirek made Sombra do a double-take, but the extra distraction was good for him to have. The only other one who left was Blue, rushing after Sombra.

"Connie, run!" Garnet ordered.

"What about Sombra?" Lapis asked.

"We'll get him later," Garnet decided. They couldn't rush off after him when there's Tirek here as well. Oddly, none of them noticed the door refusing to close ...

~~~~~~

While Garnet and Lapis and Twilight had to deal with Tirek, Sombra took the moment to slip away. Being a rather old unicorn, he was well aware of what Tirek could, and will do, and the unicorn would much rather do what he wanted to first. Sombra wasn't aware that Blue, nor Connie, was following him, as he made it to the center of Beach City. Other people soon noticed him, Sombra not caring for the sake of time constraint; Steven's presence needing to be taken care of. Sombra waited along the path, until down the road ahead, he could see the corrupted Gem running his way. That surely didn't take long to get to. Sombra could hear the other fight going on about with Tirek, but he ignored it, as Steven didn't stop running until he was a ten feet away. The townsfolk did make up a good audience to watch though. Steven got in a more aggressive stance, his Gem tail swaying as if he had a stinger at the end of it. Sombra stood boldly against the gem.

"Well, look who decided to join us. Pleasure to find you after our last excursion, Steven," Sombra said. Just saying that this corruption was Steven got everybody who was there shocked and appalled. Not only the fact that Steven was missing, but the fact Steven wasn't a human anymore. Sombra and Steven started to circle in their little ring, Sombra just in a simple walk while Steven was ready to pounce. As they were doing that, it gave time for Blue, and Connie to catch up. Connie's first sight was Steven's corrupted form, his mirror face looking to her to reflect the horrified expression on her face.

"S-Steven?!" Connie gasped, recognizing the gemstone anywhere. Sombra then realized the followed company, Blue rushing to Steven as Connie was left terrified. Sombra took the moment to set his necklace in his red robe, for he didn't want it smashed up in their little excursion.

"So, what're you going to do? Fight me? It worked wonders before," Sombra mocked, deliberately trying to get Steven angry. Connie and Blue stayed with Steven, but before a fight could start, the rest of Steven's group showed up. Lion was carrying Jade, as Peridot flew with her chopper fingers to keep up with them.

"There you are," Peridot said, unamused.

"Oh, you again," Sombra said.

"Yeah it's me, now I'm a busy Gem, appointments to keep, so just go ahead and fix up the Warp Pad, that'll be great," Peridot said. What got to Sombra though wasn't how straightforward the demand was, but she didn't sound as threatening, if not just annoyed with him. And the fact it was a straight up demand was something he took note of too. Still, the unicorn took the moment to zap at Steven, causing a dark magic cage to form up around him, Connie, and Blue.

"You think you can order me around? How cute," Sombra mocked.

"I'm not cute!" Peridot snapped ... Which actually was cute a little bit. Still, Sombra didn't had time to argue with her. Sombra turned back to Steven, and was about to charge, but Peridot suddenly got in his way.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"Get out of the way," Sombra groaned, whacking her aside as his horn glowed, the cage shrinking down to crush the three. Sombra's issue with Peridot wasn't done though, the green Homeworld Gem seeing the necklace hidden on the unicorn. While Sombra was busy, Peridot suddenly got it with her levitation beam, and yanked it away from him! Course, Sombra noticed, and turned back to see Peridot holding his necklace of the Gems. He turns his back, and that thief pickpockets him. Really? Peridot though still mainly cared for getting the Warp Pad back from him than much else, Sombra getting angry with her.

"Give that back, you dolt!" Sombra demanded.

"Recreate the Warp Pad then," Peridot retorted. Those who'd known Sombra a bit longer than Peridot wasn't sure if she was acting stupid, or was brave as heck, for Sombra's far deadlier than Peridot was taking him for. Sombra, groaning even more so, just decided to shut her up, readying a magical blast. With Steven stuck in his cage, he can afford to handle Peridot for his necklace while Steven stayed put inside the cage. For Peridot, she got the necklace inside her arm holder before jumping out of the way from Sombra's blast. Peridot was just finding the assaults and blasts an annoyance, though while Sombra at first saw it as simply that, his anger grew more and more every time he missed her. Sombra's magical blasts launched about with precision, but none of them could get to her. If he was to succeed, he can't let that necklace get away (he could care less about what happened to Peridot). For Peridot, the more times she dodged the attacks, the more of a thrill she was getting from it, and was actually having some odd fun with it, much to Sombra's annoyance. Lion and Jade went over to Steven, trying to get them out as the fight was going on.

"Hold still," Sombra firmly said, shooting at her again. Upon that shot, it did make her fall forward, but suddenly she was running around on her fingers, perfectly balanced and equally fast!

"HA HA, you missed!" Peridot mocked, getting a kick out of it. Sombra snorted, and turned into shadows to conceal Peridot. Peridot got to her feet, readying her blaster, but Sombra's eyes turned green with purple smoke again, trying to get her scared out of her mind ...

But, something else was happening. Or rather, not happening ...

"What're you doing?" Peridot asked, legitimately confused after the first ten seconds. Sombra tried harder and harder, but his stare seemed to not work on her! Sombra didn't know; it worked wonders before many times, before he met Steven in fact. Could be that she was a true Gem, or the fact her eyewear covered her true eyes, but either way Sombra wasn't having any luck with her.

"It's not working," Sombra breathed.

"Obviously," Peridot added. Sombra had enough of her games, and got his magic a hold of her before she could move, bringing her arms and legs up on the air as if being roped up, and pulled hard in an X-shape. The sight of her high in the air in her state did cause some worry amongst the crowd, who none of them had any Gaul to enter the ring and help her out. Sombra had it, and with a charge of his horn, and with no where for Peridot to run, he took aim and shot once more. Lion was going to stop Sombra, but Peridot had another little trick up her sleeve ...

Seconds before it hit, something smaller dropped to the ground, and the shot had missed again. Peridot wouldn't normally do that, but desperate times call for desperate measures. As for Peridot, Sombra saw her supposed arms and legs floating in the air ... and Peridot was on the ground, running off and away with the necklace still in her hands. The thing though; Peridot was ... actually, very small, about Steven's regular size, the extra arms and legs nothing more than enhancers. That didn't mean Peridot wasn't moving quick; despite her true size, Peridot's evasion was still a quick one. Ticked, Sombra threw the enhancers off onto the ground, turning just in time to see Peridot standing by Lion.

"You little brat, give that back now!" Sombra yelled. Peridot jumped onto Lion's head.

"Just remake the portal, you clod!"

"I'll never set you free, now HAND IT OVER OR SHATTER!" Sombra blurted out. He got so angry, his normally quick sly wit was lost for that brief moment. Sombra had realized his mistake and, convinced that Sombra was worthless in her own goal, Peridot gave the Gem necklace to Lion, who clamped it down hard. Sombra, anger boiling, tried to calm himself and think on what to do, but Peridot had already got one final trick to pull. she put both hands behind her back, and then clenched her left fist. With Sombra's back turned, he didn't see the enhancers actually reacting to Peridot's hand. One of the enhancer's fingers turned into her signature blaster. A shot was launched, and Sombra turned his head just in time to see it make a direct hit, right at his horn!

Sombra screamed in pain, as most of his horn was blown off his head, landing nearby on the ground in front of Lion. Of course, Lion lifted a paw and smashed it under it. Sombra was thrown back, landing on his side, as he felt the power seep out of him like smoke, and his royal armor and clothing disappearing to leave just a grey, cutie-markless unicorn. Also, the dark cage Sombra had made had disappeared without Sombra's control, freeing Connie, Steven, and Blue. However, sadly, Steven was still stuck in corruption mode, even with Sombra's magic removed the simplest way possible.

"... Clever girl ..." Sombra breathed out, trying to regain some strength. All they could do was go and help the others with Tirek back at the lighthouse, Steven and Connie leading off while the others followed them. Even if they weren't aware of who, the extra roars and firing was still an attention grabber. The last one to go was Blue himself, who actually went over to Sombra. Rather than mock him, he gave a small bark, a lick on the cracked horn stub on Sombra's head, and left him at that ...

~~~~~~

With one evil over, the group of Gems traveled off to help with Tirek. Sadly though, Tirek's power had taken the toll on who was there; Twilight being the only one left standing as Garnet and Lapis had already met their fate when Tirek managed to suck away their Magic, leaving them as rocks on the ground. His size and physique didn't change as much, but his Gemstone grew more in power and in rounded shape. A Lapis Lazuli gem, a Sapphire gem, and a Ruby gem laid lifeless as Twilight, wings spread, readied for another blow from the centaur. Without her own magic to back her up, Twilight wasn't used to physical fighting as much as an actual Pegasus.

"You're turn," Tirek growled with a smile, heading right for her. Twilight flew up, and tried to get at him, but all Tirek did was halt her with his levitation gaining magic. However, just before Tirek could suck away what power Twilight had, another loud roar caught his attention, and a sound wave hit Tirek square on the head, making him drop Twilight. They both saw the others running in to help her out, giving Tirek more fighters to deal with. Riding in on Lion was Peridot, and Connie and Jade were on Steven. the centaur marched forward, with his new abilities at the ready with Garnet's weapon fists replacing his own. Lion roared to Twilight, as if telling her to stand back for the moment so she could catch her breath.

Lion was the one who took the lead, as Peridot, Connie, and Jade all stayed aside with Twilight. As far as fighting went, Lion was probably the best option in comparison to the others. Lion maybe slammer than Tirek, but determination and skill gave Tirek some trouble, as Lion's first attack was a giant leap to his head. Tirek whacked Lion off, and his fist tried to crush him, but Lion dodged, and bit hard on one of Tirek's large horns. In just one swing, Lion's powerful jaws and muscle was just enough to break the horn, causing pain on Tirek. Angered, Tirek got both fists ready, but Lion didn't give him the chance as he threw the horn aside and roared at him again, another sound wave slamming at the centaur. The others tried to aid Twilight, but Tirek caught them doing so, and then did another trick; summoning a power ball of orange magic and sent it right at them! The others braced for impact, but Steven hopped in the way, his mirror face taking the full hit. It didn't hurt him though, and in fact launched it back at Tirek, hitting his other horn off of him a bit more brutally than the way Lion did. The hit got Tirek even more distracted, gripping his head in pain from the fiery hit.

Tirek was assaulted again by Lion, who jumped onto his back, and bit into him again. Tirek couldn't reach him that time though and tried in vain to get the feline off of him. Steven moved over to Tirek, as Lion was thrown off after a good while. Tirek, teeth grinding at the loss of his horns, grew out more weaponry. Since sucking away Garnet's glove weaponry, Flint's pistols, and Lapis's water abilities, Tirek had got them both working together, and pulled out a giant, aquatic-styled torpedo launcher. Steven and Lion both didn't expect this to happen, and the other Gems, Connie and Twilight didn't either, as Tirek took dead aim. Lion and Steven jumped out of the way as a torpedo was launched and exploded with devastating effect. Tirek's weapon automatically reloaded, and Tirek managed to shoot six more blasts at Lion and Steven, the others trying their best to stay out of the firing line. If Tirek was dangerous enough, this new Gem weapon he gained was something both horrifying and ... bizarrely interesting (to Peridot anyway). Able to turn other Gem weapons into weaponry normally for gem fusions did put up some possibilities in Peridot's head ...

Lion tried to get close, but with the torpedo launcher, it was hard to without the risk of getting blasted to bits. Soon, Steven and Lion seemed to get the same idea - their only shot. Steven rushed ahead, getting Tirek to aim at him, but that very second, Lion jumped up at him, and rammed Tirek hard on the head. The hit was just strong enough...

and the Gemstone cracked ...

Tirek screamed in pain, as something extremely unexpected occurred. Tirek, with his head aiming skyward, the Gemstone shined bright white, and shattered completely as a ton of power was released from him! The magic came out as white orbs, some of which landed on the gemstones on the ground. Upon doing so, the Gems came back to life, and regained their original shape. Sapphire, Ruby, and by account, Flint, had come back to life much to their delight. Most of the magic got out of Steven's world, and into Equestria with all the magic returning to everypony from which he stole the magic from. For each one, their cutie marks returned, their strength back, and back to normal. Celestia and Luna were apart of those with returned strength, and Luna hadn't turned to Nightmare Moon again. As for Tirek himself, his body shrunk down in power and shape, and he returned back to a meek, scrawny Centaur with barely horns to speak of. Tirek landed on the ground, weakened as ever, with Lion standing over him. Being weak, Tirek couldn't do very much anymore, as Lion grabbed him, and tossed him back in Equestria. Another evil problem finished off.

The attention came to the returned Gems. Sapphire and Ruby were a bit rough, but fine, and Flint shook his head to wake himself up. Jade stayed close, but Flint looked ready to attack the others nearby, despite his cracked gemstone still on him. However, Jade quickly tried to stop him.

"Wait, Flint, they saved you," Jade said. Flint wasn't too sure about it yet, but he barely remembered too much on what had happened since getting himself drained. Still, if anyone he did trust, it was Jade. Lion went over to him, and helped him to his feet. Flint looked to the other Gems there, unsure if he should trust them though, but it does seem that they helped Jade, and kept her safe for the longest time. Their attention turned next, to Peridot, who still had the necklace in her hands, given to her when Lion began the fight. Peridot wasn't too sure that time on how the others will react to her, and without her enhancers to back her up, she was simply defenseless.

"What are you doing with our friends?" Ruby asked in anger, making Peridot back up a bit.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, It's not what you think," Peridot said, backing away. Before they could go any further, they had one more little surprise in store, walking slowly to them from further away; Sombra. The pony looked different that time around; having no royal clothing or armor, his horn no more than a cracked stub. His mane and fur weren't as flowing as before, hanging down in a mess of black hair. Obviously he no longer had his magic thanks to loosing his horn. By Sombra's stance, he was very weak in his hooves. He was staring to them in a death stare, but he wasn't going to do very good in his state anymore.

"It's over, Sombra," Sapphire said upon seeing him.

"Don't give me any of that, I know when I'm defeated ... You there," Sombra breathed, looking to Peridot, holding the Gems in her hands. Peridot backed up a bit, but, Sombra wasn't there to fight.

"I don't know what's with you ... Or how important Homeworld is for you ... But I'm impressed you beaten me. You little clod ... By the way, you dropped this," Sombra tiredly said, pulling out Peridot's own magic key from in his own mane, and dropping it at Peridot's feet. Everyone else looked to Peridot, the Homeworld Gem not expecting to hear that from Sombra. The others didn't expect to see Peridot having her own magic key either. The once powerful unicorn looked to the rest, knowing now that he stood no chance.

"You beat Sombra?" Twilight gasped. Peridot didn't answer, as Sombra went to the door leading back to Equestria.

"I'll see myself out ... Good luck to you," Sombra finally said, before weakly moving through the door. Only until after Sombra passed through, that the portal finally closed up. While they felt good that Sombra and Tirek was taken care of, the fact that Twilight was still powerless, and Steven still corrupted ...

~~~~~~

Sometime later, their next spot that the Gems had come back to was where it all began; Rose's garden. It was in its prime since Twilight last saw the place. She knew it very well though, being the same place where she first met the Gems in the first place. Sapphire and Ruby had decided this spot would be the best place. Sapphire and Ruby had returned to Garnet, so it was only her, Steven, Twilight, Flint and Jade. Everyone else was taking the time to relax a bit after everything. Flint and Jade both stayed around with the other Gems for a bit. While normally Flint would be a bit un-trustful to the other Gems, they did save him after all, not to mention looked after Jade for his time of absence without harming her. It's a start, anyway.

Twilight and Flint moved over to the fountain first, standing by the healing waters of the fountain. Twilight took one look back before she went into the waters head first. Everyone else waited as both Flint and Twilight began to be healed from their troubles. When Flint resurfaced, his Gem was all better, the crack completely gone. As for Twilight, she felt her head and, much to her relief, she had her horn regrown! To be sure if she was good, she did a simple levitation spell over by some small rocks, seeing that her magic had returned. Steven, eager, went into the water himself soon after Twilight and Flint got out. However, Steven didn't return to normal, still trapped in corruption.

"What are we going to do?" Twilight sighed. Before they could do anything, or figure it out, the Warp Pad activated, and Lapis soon came back.

"Lapis. Is everything handled?" Garnet asked.

"Yes; the others are resting back at the temple, and Connie's home safe and sound. Her parents are safe too," Lapis made known.

"What about Tirek and Sombra?"

"Both sent to Tartarus. At least that's what Celestia said."

"And Jasper?" Garnet asked, Sapphire talking through. Lapis rubbed the back of her head.

"Well ... She agreed to stay with us for a while, Peridot too, though just because they don't have any way back to Homerworld," Lapis admitted.

"I see."

As they caught up, Flint and Jade were both talking to each other further away, but Garnet turned to them after a bit. Soon, Flint got up and looked to Garnet.

"... We might be able to save him, but it's a very high risk," Flint said. Garnet was especially surprised with that kind of information; they are able to fix corrupted Gems? That was something she must know. Flint kept calm, looking to Jade before continuing.

"We need Nephrite," Flint concluded.

"Nephrite?" Lapis asked.

"Nephrite is a fusion me and Jade can turn into. It's able to cure corrupted Gems, and had done so a few times before ... but ..."

"But what?" asked Twilight.

"But it's not a high chance of success. If it doesn't work ... the corruption is permanent ..."

That immediately hanged the mood from hopeful to unsure. If they succeed, they have Steven back, but if they fail, then Steven will be forever trapped in his corruption. Garnet turned to Steven, who looked to her with his mirror expression, Garnet able to see her own face on him ...

"That's a risk we'll have to take ..." Garnet decided. Jade was a little bit more hopeful in the plan than Flint was, but if it works, it'll be their own way of thanking them for helping them out from Tirek, and potentially Sombra.

Flint and Jade both then started to perform their fusion dance for a bit, and it didn't take too long before they both started to glow. In just under a minute, the two were fused, and Nephrite started to take shape. its body resembled that of a girl, but still had the boyish face from Flint. its hair was in a striped ponytail, with striped of black and green bands. Its clothing was had black armor from the neck down to Nephrite's chest, with a jade skirt at the bottom of the armor, ending at its knees. Nephrite had fully completed her form, standing at nine feet from head to toe. With it finally complete, Steven slowly started to move forward to Nephrite, a bit slowly and crawling a bit. Steven wasn't sure what Nephrite was going to do to him, but he could only hope that it'll work whatever it is. Nephrite kneeled down and got Steven to sit down. Soon, Nephrite located the Gem on Steven's tail, and held it gently in its hands, Steven staying still as it did so. Nephrite focused as much as it could do, and the Gem on Steven's tail began to glow. Everybody held their breath, and hoped that it will work out, Steven especially ...

Steven started to feel something going on ... Something inside of him started to change. Nephrite looked to him with gentle, green eyes, and it could see the reflection of Steven's true face form, laughing a bit. Then, the entire body started to glow, and the petals started to go off him like they were blown away. the petals went out of sight, and the body started to shrink, and turned into a human-like shape ...

Steven's shape.

After a while more, Steven's body began to revert to normal, his clothes back, the petals gone, the tail missing, and soon, Steven Universe was no longer the corrupted Gem anymore! Steven took a moment to look himself over. Yep, he was back to normal. With a nod, Nephrite disappeared, turning back to Flint and Jade. When they returned, Jade was sitting on Flint's shoulders, before Flint let her down gently. Garnet went over to them both, taking off her glasses to show her three hopeful, and happy eyes. So much so, she had a tear come out. Steven was back, all better, and it was all thank to these two. Flint and Jade were just glad a permanent fusion wasn't going to happen this time.

"Thank you. Thank you!" Garnet said, rubbing a tear off one of her eyes. She was just so glad to have Steven back, and she knew everyone else will be just as happy, if not more.

"Much obliged," replied Flint. Soon, they all then heard a loud growl coming from Steven's stomach. Garnet turned to him, and gave a smile.

"come on, let's get you something to eat," Garnet decided. Steven smiled and nodded, and the group began to go back to the temple.

What was in their future? With Peridot and Jasper from Homeworld stuck on Earth, how will they handle them? These sorts of questions (while some might know), will be answered at some point. Whatever they had ahead though, be it a veteran war gem, demonic creature, or just some other antics from either more corruptions or magic from Equestria, there wasn't much doubt that they can go through it all together.

Author's Note:

And concludes the My Little Universe Story :twilightsmile:... for now ... :raritywink:

Yeah I know Nightmare Moon never lasted long, and Tirek's not as important here as he should be. Sorry :twilightblush:

Comments ( 96 )

That was great, you wrapped that up pretty well. The only thing is that Tirek was a bit rushed, and you had this great idea with giving him the gem's powers too. I guess I wanted to see a bit more of that. I liked the fight between Sombra and Peridot, seeing her surprisingly defeat the evil tyrant.

I do hope to see more...:raritywink:

6789034 nng, I just... I don't know how to feel about it!

Thank Celestia that Sombra got his ass handled by Peridot and loin take care of Tirek by hitting the gem on Tirek chest that cause to crack and break open like big ice cluster that drop from a two stories tall building. :twilightoops: But damn Sombra you got your ass handle by Peridot:rainbowderp: a tip of the hat to you Peridot:ajsmug::twilightsmile:.

:raritystarry::raritystarry: well that's the climax of the Story and I Still Love it.:raritystarry::raritystarry: :twilightsmile::raritywink:

:raritystarry: a job well done EquestrianKirin, well done.:raritystarry: I'll wait for more:raritywink:

P.S. Sombra said "Clever Girl" Straight out of Jurassic Park Reference Also Love it:raritystarry:

6790873 happy you loved it.

And I'm giddy how you got the reference :3

Alright! Well done! And now it's time for side stories featuring the characters who were created, but didn't get used much. For example:

The Adventures of Connie 2 in Equestria: A Clone's Journey of Magic and Self-Discovery
Jade and Flint's backstory: How did they get to Equestria and what have they been doing since.
Character development for Jasper.
Fulgurite's backstory and character expansion.

And also the obvious sequel material as well:

How does the pony canon change since Discord never betrayed, Rainbow powers were not unlocked, and no castle/map was grown?
How does the Gem canon change with all these new allies and the still lingering threat of the Cluster?

Aldrigt.

First, I'll point out that when Twilight had to choose between her friends and Equestria, it would have been the perfect moment for her to get her key.

Secondly, Ruby's gem rests in the palm of her hand making it impossible for her to rip it off without poofing.

And at last, in my opinion: Connie was far too hurt to persue Sombra together with Blue.

Otherwise Ienjoyed this story a lot.

6798377 I didn't know that Ruby had her gem there ^^; but I'm glad you liked it all the same :)

6797879 happy you like it friend :3

Sombra turned to the door, but then Twilight stopped him.

"Wait. I have to know why."

"Pardon?"

"You corrupted Steven, made Ruby your slave, called Homeworld to earth in a false plight for help, cut off my darn horn! The least you can do is tell us why ..." Normally, Sombra wouldn't bother himself, but given that they couldn't do anything to him (he made sure of it by removing anything they could've used anyway), he might as well give them that privilege at least. So, he sat down in front of the three, and cleared his throat.

"Well, if you three must really know. . .

Overlord rule no. 7
When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."

I am so disappointed in you Sombra. . .

6801568 ^^; yeah, I felt like I had to.

It took a while, but I finally caught up.:yay: Nice addition with Tirek. Nice happy ending. All around, I enjoyed this story from start to finish.

6805838 thank you very much ^^

Why is this story marked as incomplete? It's clearly done, and there's even a sequel so it shouldn't be marked as incomplete.

6884465 what do you mean? It is marked complete already

6884980 That's odd. When I checked my stories in tracking it said this was incomplete. Oh well, must have been a glitch.

This story could really do with a beta. Its grammar and style need some straightening up.

7108739 yeah your probably right :twilightblush:

7199918 well, make of it what you will

7205361 oops ^^; I'll fix it when I can

7226541 Short of twilight one shoting the green hand out of space...nothing.

7240875 I see. Glad you like it either way

7381443 happy you're enjoying yourself ^^

Great story!

7470166 the one that starts it all :3

7484557 catchy and a neat entrance :)

Comment posted by EquestrianKirin deleted Aug 17th, 2016

7487072 ...Possibly...? Who's asking? Also are you sure you should roleplay in the comments section of someone else's story?

7502581 It's fixed later on, don't worry :twilightsheepish: I know its kind of lazy

7756239 nope oh and if you try to turn me into a foal celestia has already did that to me. Got it discord

7894736 actually no - from my own imagination :3

>>EquestrianKirin
U welcome :)
:heart:

I didn't have internet connection before so I couldn't tell you what chapters, but... because of her future vision and confidence, Garnet doesn't ask questions. Ever.

btw if you like one piece, this story is really good.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11893050/1/Gems-Without-Measure-A-Pirate-s-Treasure

7935936 see what you mean.

Thanks for the link too^^

8023945 I'm very happy your enjoying it so far ^^

Book 1 read, now on to book 2.

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