Harmony Gems

by Nova Arc

Down

Dawn walked into the house after another exhausting school day. When the Gems were tutoring him, he never remembered having any kind of problem remembering stuff; maybe because they could afford to answer every single one of his questions and explain the same thing ten times if necessary. In a real school, he could feel the pressure.

And being friends with the CMC, he was not very close to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, which just made focusing a lot harder.

“Whassup, Dawn?” Tourmaline greeted. As usual, he was on the couch watching TV with a bag of chips in hand.

“Tired,” Dawn replied, his eyes barely open. “Sleep,” he added as he made his way up the stairs.

Tourmaline looked confused, but shrugged it off. He eventually got bored (which is very normal) and got up and headed for the temple door. He tapped the orange stone on the door and said, “Yo, Amber? You busy?” No response. He knocked again, louder this time, and a loud explosion rocked the house. Looking back, the fact that Dawn hadn’t run down told him the kid was probably knocked out from fatigue. Not too long after, the door opened with smoke pouring out. Amber emerged, coughing and shooing smoke out of her soot-covered face.

“This’d better be good,” Amber said, still coughing. She removed her goggles, showing only her eyes not covered in soot.

“What’re you doing in there?” Tourmaline asked.

“Recalibrating my augments,” she replied, showing him the ring hovering around her wrist. “Well, I was until you started hammering at my door.”

“Hmmm… I see,” Tourmaline said, feigning interest.

“What do you want?”

“Money.”

“Wha- Why?”

“For snacks,” Tourmaline replied. Amber groaned reaching into her hair.

“I swear, I don’t understand why you eat so much,” Amber said, pulling out a sack of coins.

Tourmaline happily took the sack and waltzed out the door as Amber got a zap from her augment ring.

---

Tourmaline strolled through town as he made his way towards Sugarcube Corner. He waved at some of the residents he passed on the way, who waved back. It had been a while since he found so many friendly people in one place.

He opened the door to the pastry shop, ringing the bell in the process. He had barely taken one step in before-

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How may I help you?” It was rather normal for Pinkie to pop up to welcome customers during her shift, and Dawn had told Tourmaline about how she’d done it every time he went over. So he didn’t really jump, just leaned back a bit as the girl stood face to face with him… somehow.

“Hey there, uh… Pinkie, was it?” Tourmaline hadn’t quite processed how to properly respond.

“That’s me,” Pinkie replied. “And you’re Tourmaline, one of the Crystal Gems.”

“That’s right.” Tourmaline looked behind Pinkie and saw an ice cream cake on the counter. It was three layers of chocolate and vanilla with strawberries topped with whipped cream encircling each layer. It was straight out of the fridge because Tourmaline could still see the frost flowing down the frozen treat. “Ooooh! What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the item of interest.

“Oh. That is the Triple Threat Trinity: Chocolate ice cream, vanilla frosting, and fresh strawberries,” Pinkie said, showcasing the cake like an antique in an auction. “It’s for a very special order.”

“So… there’s no way I can get it?”

“Not unless you put in an order for one,” Pinkie replied.

“Huh… I don’t see it on the menu,” Tourmaline said, looking up at the price board.

“Oh, no. It’s not up there, silly,” Pinkie said, pulling out a menu from her hair, which would be weird if he hadn’t seen Amber do it on a daily basis. “We keep the special orders on the pamphlets.”

Tourmaline looked at the menu and found it. He looked between the menu in his left hand and the small sack in his right; He was certain his math was good enough to judge that the numbers didn’t add up.

“Uh… anyway I can get one without paying cash?”

“Well, if there is, I can’t make the call. It’s one of the Cake’s special recipes.”

“Aw…” Tourmaline whined. “Fine. I’ll just take two dozen assorted cupcake packs.” In a blur of pink, Pinkie bolted behind the counter, grabbed two boxes, and filled each with a twelve random cupcakes from the display. Tourmaline has seen her do this before when he came by to get snacks, but it was still surprising to see. Tourmaline poured some of the coins in the bag onto the counter and picked up the boxes, wasting no time in picking one cupcake and shoving the whole thing into his mouth. “Thanks,” he said, as he walked out.

The moment he stepped outside, something felt amiss. He looked around him, but nothing seemed to be out of place. He shrugged it off; his sixth and seventh sense were getting a bit rusty. He made his way back to the temple. On the way there, he found it hard to shake this weird feeling that he was being followed. The moment he got into the house, he sat by the window, shoving more cupcakes into his mouth.

“Uh… everything okay?” asked Fulgurite, who was watching TV.

“Yeah, if that constant feeling of being watched is normal,” Tourmaline said.

“Uh…” Fulgurite wasn’t sure how else to respond. “Okay… You gonna share those?” Fulgurite asked, pointing at the box of cupcakes in his hands.

Tourmaline tossed one over to Fulgurite. However, the cupcake didn’t reach it’s destination. All Fulgurite saw was an orange blur and no cupcake in her hands. She looked around and saw Amber sitting on the kitchen counter, taking a bite out of it.

“Amber!” Fulgurite walked over to the fiery Gem. “Hand it over,” she demanded, holding out her hand.

Amber looked up in thought as she chewed. She swallowed and replied, “Nope.” Fulgurite tried to grab her, but Amber slipped right through her fingers. Literally.

The orange blob slithered away as Fulgurite yelled, “Get back here with my cupcake!”

“Never!!!” Despite her speed, Fulgurite was having trouble catching something that she couldn’t really grab. Finally, Amber stopped, perched on the couch with more than half the cupcake gone.

“I’m not in the mood for this,” Fulgurite said.

“Why don’t you just ask Tour for another one?” she asked.

“First, because he’s going to want something in return,” Fulgurite replied.

“She’s not wrong,” Tourmaline said from his spot.

“Second, it is MY cupcake!” Fulgurite made one final lunge at Amber, who didn’t move. She didn’t need to. She just calmly ate the cupcake as Fulgurite passed right through the hole she made in her stomach. Fulgurite crashed into the wall with enough force to shake the shelf.

“Correction,” Amber said, throwing the last of the confectionery into her mouth. “It was your cupcake.” But Amber’s smug look soon changed to one of confusion when she noticed the unamused expression on Fulgurite’s upside-down face. “What?”

“Nothing,” Fulgurite said, getting up, but knocking her head against the shelf on the wall. Something fell off, but Amber stretched her arm out to catch it.

“Come on, Ful. I was just messing with you,” Amber said, setting the item which fell, a vase, back on the shelf.

“I know,” Fulgurite said, but Amber was not convinced.

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” Amber asked, worried. “I’ll give you mine next time. Better yet, I’ll buy you a whole box to yourself.” But Fulgurite didn’t reply. She just walked towards the temple. Amber was worried and confused at the same time. She looked at Tourmaline. “What did I do? I was just kidding.”

“Bad time,” Tourmaline said. “She’s still not in a good mood after her run-in with that Gem yesterday.”

“I was trying to cheer her up,” Amber said.

“What’s the one thing Ful is proud of?” Tourmaline said.

“Um… her speed?”

“Exactly. And after getting beaten by a Gem that should be much, much slower, she’s not really ready to lose in a game of cat and mouse again, even if it is just a joke.”

That’s when it clicked, and, boy, did Amber feel terrible. It didn’t normally matter if Fulgurite couldn’t catch her because they were close. From what Amber could remember, no other Gem had ever beaten her when it came to speed and maneuverability. It was the one thing she was proud of. She couldn’t take hits as well as Amber or Obsidian, or any quartz ever, but she could easily run circles around any of them! So the sudden reminder that she may not be as fast as she thought was not a good feeling for her.

Amber felt a pain in her chest: guilt. She was supposed to be Fulgurite’s closest friend; she was supposed to know all this. “Oh, jeez.” She walked over to the temple and tapped the gem that looked like a lightning bolt. “Hey, Ful? You there?” No reply. “Can I come in?” Still no reply.

“Maybe give her some space,” Tourmaline said. “You know she doesn’t hold grudges for long.”

Amber sighed. He was right. Fulgurite just needed some space. By tomorrow, she should be easier to talk to. Amber turned to still see Tourmaline looking out the window. “Uh, what have you been looking at for the past ten minutes?” she asked as she walked towards him.

“You ever get that feeling you’re being watched?” he asked.

“Why? You feel like someone’s watching?”

“No. That’s just the problem. Normally, Nox feeds by invading people’s dreams. When she does, the imprint she leaves is a bad dream. I should’ve felt that imprint in the town.”

“But?”

“There was nothing. No one even looked like they were hiding any scary thoughts. It was… weird.”

“It is weird that Nox hasn’t tormented anyone yet, but how is that a bad thing? She obviously has finished powering up her new form. Plus, I’m pretty sure no bad dreams in a town is a good thing.”

“I still feel like something’s off. Nox shouldn’t be this quiet.”

Amber looked back at the temple door. “Well, we could go look for areas with high concentrations of negative energy,” she suggested.

“Sounds like a plan,” Tourmaline said, dropping the box on the table and walking over to the warp pad.

“Dawn, Tour and I are heading out,” Amber called. “There’s cupcakes on the table and you can order a pizza if you’d like if we aren’t back early.”

Dawn looked over the railing of the stairs and gave a thumbs up as the warp pad activated and they vanished in the pillar of light.

---

Bismuth stood in what appeared to be a tropical rainforest. The lush, green trees hung over him like giant umbrellas to block the sunlight. The sound of running water, rustling leaves, and singing birds formed a natural orchestra of flora and fauna as he stood in the spotlight of sunlight. He looked around, taking in his surroundings, every sight, sound, smell and feeling recorded in his mind.

“Advance, one hundred years,” he said. At those words, time there began to move rapidly, the sun and moon rising and setting rapidly as days went by, then weeks, then months, then years until one hundred years passed in the course of about five seconds.

Bismuth looked around and smiled. The trees were bigger and greener, the air felt more humid, the number of sounds around him had increased noticeably. “World shows much promise,” he said. “Wish I had more time there, though.”

“You can do your wishing while doing your actual work,” said a gruff voice. Bismuth turned to see someone contrasting the scenery. She was tall, at least seven feet, with a thick, muscular build. She wore a bodysuit consisting of a yellow top with a darker shade around the midriff, yellow bottoms, and black boots. She had long yellow hair that faded into a darker shade the way down and bright yellow eyes. “Chief wants your report in ten minutes.”

Bismuth sighed. “You can’t tell me you’re not the least bit interested in the planet,” he said.

“Never even been to that galaxy,” said the other Gem. “So… nope. Can’t really say I care.”

“Of course not,” he said.

“What was it called again?”

“Earth,” Bismuth said as he clapped his hands together. The world around him began to pixelate and vanish, leaving only a large, white, tiled room. “Jeez, Citrine, with the amount of time you spend in my lab, I thought you’d be more interested in this stuff.”

“What gave you that idea?” Citrine asked.

“More wishful thinking, I guess.” He reached behind him and tapped one of the lower spines on his back. The world around him began to materialize. This time, the forest was a lot less tropical. The leaves on some of the trees were turning brown and some of them were an unusual white color. “What am I looking for again?” Bismuth asked.

Citrine shrugged. “How am I supposed to know? The chief just said you should, ‘Do your thing,’ and to report whatever you see.”

Bismuth sighed as he looked around the woods. “What was this place called again?” he asked himself. He thought hard, fidgeting with the spine at the base of his neck. “Uh… ah, now I remember! White Tail!”

“Fascinating,” the Gem said, sarcastically. “Well, I’d love to stay and gawk at… whatever this… White Wail… is, but I think I hear the training center calling.” She walked out, phasing through the background to show she exited the room.

Bismuth looked around and sighed. “What do you want with this world?” he asked himself.

---

2000 Years Ago

“What do you want with this world?”

Bismuth stood before a massive, diamond-shaped screen, on which the countenance of Yellow Diamond was visible.

“Watch your tone with me, Bismuth” Yellow Diamond said. Even when she didn’t sound angry, her voice could intimidate the toughest quartz!

“Of course, my Diamond,” he said, bowing respectfully. “It’s just… why that world? I understand it was once a promising colony a few millennia ago, but why pick one so far off? The Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies are much closer and-”

“Are you questioning my orders or my methods?” Yellow Diamond asked.

“Um, neither, my Diamond. It’s just… it’s much easier to work with a world I am familiar with. I’ve only been to this world twice on brief recon missions, but never long enough to understand the world itself.”

“So, are you saying that you’re not up to the task?” asked the Diamond. “I’m sure I can find other Bismuths who are competent enough to-”

“No, no! No need!” Bismuth interrupted, which he soon regretted as Yellow Diamond’s eyes pierced his own.

“Then stop babbling like an incompetent Ruby and prepare to depart. Your schedule will be sent to your enhancements shortly, along with the researcher you will be escorting and the Gems assigned to your security detail. They will be docking on your ship in exactly two hours, twenty-seven minute, and forty-nine seconds.”

Security detail? Why would they need one? This was also the first he heard of going with a scientist. At least there’s another brilliant mind to keep him company.

Bismuth gave the traditional salute - he crossed his arms over his chest and bent his arms back, forming a diamond in front of him - as the screen went blank. Bismuth sighed. At least he had two and a half hours to himself.

Two hours later, he got an alert on his monitor. Tapping the console, the screen gave a view of the outside of his vessel. His biggest surprised was the sheer size of the ship! Now, Bismuth’s ship was more like a Homeworld cruiser, with only a lab and the main bridge. The ship outside, if he remembered clearly, was a Gem warship! The massive hand-shaped vessel was several times the size of Bismuth’s.

An image flickered onto the screen. It was another Gem with white, messy hair with a slight yellow tint, wearing a dark yellow top with a yellow diamond symbol on the chest.

“Is this Mobile Research Vessel RS2183-B12?” asked the Gem.

“Yes,” Bismuth replied. “I take it Yellow Diamond sent you?”

“That’s right. We’ll be docking your ship now.”

That made sense; there was no way they would be docking in Bismuth’s tiny ship. The docking process was more like a hand picking up a marble… and said marble vanishing into the hand. Bismuth headed towards the door to meet his new coworkers and find out just who he would be working with.

“Anyone but Administrator Zircon, anyone but Administrator Zircon…” Bismuth repeated as he opened the door. “Please, for the love of all the stars in the known universe, anyone but Administrator Zircon!”

Once the door opened, a slight mist formed as the ship adjusted to the pressure change. Bismuth stepped out and was greeted by three Gems. One was Citrine, who he recognized as the Gem on the screen. The other looked similar, except everything yellow on Citrine was purple on this one.

“Greetings,” Bismuth said. “I’m Bismuth.”

“Hey. Nice to meet ya. I’m Citrine,” said the yellow one. “My associate over there is Amethyst,” she added, gesturing over to the other large Gem. Both stood a good head and a half, at least, over Bismuth, so they had to look down to see him.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Bismuth said. “It’s not everyday you meet a Quartz with such a calm demeanor.”

“Gimme something to punch, and you’ll see the transformation,” Citrine said with a grin. “The chief’s in the main lab, through the hall, last door at the end.”

Bismuth nodded and made his way through the ship. He past by the holding cells, all of which seemed empty; he couldn’t quite tell with some of them having one-sided screens. The door to the lab opened automatically and Bismuth stepped inside. He gawked at how well stocked it was for a mobile lab; screens, computers, consoles, simulators, and other high-tech equipment could be seen in every corner of the room! Standing in front of one of the consoles in the center was who Bismuth suspected was the scientist he would be working with. The Gem wore a white lab coat with dark gray boots and had very messy silvery white hair with a single pink streak. She also wore a set of limb enhances, but the fingers looked more like claws than the usual cylindrical shape they took.

“Oh, you’re here,” the other Gem said. She turned around, revealing the pink gem shaped like a four-point star. “Welcome aboard. You must be the Bismuth Yellow Diamond was telling me about.”

Bismuth breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank the stars! You’re not Administrator Zircon.”

“What?” the Gem asked, laughing. “Of course not! She could care less about this mission! Me? I see so much potential!”

“Really? Is it the Andromeda Galaxy? Nova Prime? The Epsilon Quadrant?”

“Take a seat. We’ll departing soon,” she said, turning back to the screen, which she moved out of the way for the controls. “I prefer to leave these things as surprises.”

Bismuth took his seat with anticipation. “She’s a lot better than Administrator Zircon,” he thought. “By the way, who are you?” he asked.

“You, my friend, can call me Yttrium.”

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late update guys. I'm gong through a rough patch right now, so I haven't had as much free time to type. But I hope you enjoy.

Comments

[WezzaHD]

It's nice to see another chapter, and I enjoyed this one.

[Nova Arc]

7477572 Then you're going to love what happens in the next two.

[DeadlyPegasister]

You said three gems and only introduced Citrine and Amethyst. Just mentioning it.

[Nova Arc]

7484176 Yttrium at the end.

[DeadlyPegasister]

7485235 okay c: