Harmony Gems

by Nova Arc

Holiday Tension

Author's Note:

This was supposed to be out on Christmas, but Wifi has been down for weeks. Now gone back to using my phone as a wireless hotspot when I want to post. But hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up by tomorrow... or earlier. It's almost done, so I hope so.

Anywho, updates after may be delayed due to my possible hospitalization after Steven's Birthday Bomb this week! GET HYPED!!! I'm thinking of maybe doing a bomb too: five days, five episodes. Yay? Nay?

Anywho, hope you enjoy the chapter! Comment, like, fave, spread the word!

200 Years Ago…

“What is it you see in this planet?” Obsidian asked.

The response came from a woman, about a foot or so taller. She had fair, pink-tinted skin. She wore a sleeveless pink top with detached sleeves and a matching, long skirt with a large star on the right side. She looked at him with a bright pink eye, the other hidden by her long red bangs, and said, “You don't see it?” She looked out on the horizon. “It's a beautiful land. One with so much to see. We've been here over a thousand years and we've barely seen a quarter of what it has to offer.”

“Do you really think it has that much?” Obsidian asked in skepticism. “Compared to us, Equestrians might as well still be in their dark ages.”

“That's the beauty of it. They have so much potential, so much they can accomplish. They live in such harmony as I have never seen. It's a refreshing change from the situation with Homeworld.”

“I agree Homeworld is not the most unified planet. But-”

“I know you see them as ‘lower life forms’, Obsidian,” she said, using air quotes, “But think about all we can learn from them.”

Obsidian looked up in thought for a few moments. Then said, “Nope. Can't think of anything.”

Morganite chuckled. “Imagine if Homeworld could be like this. So full of life and joy. So united. So…” As she was lost in thought, a small breeze blew the snow towards them. “Take this snowflake for example.”

“What snowflake?” Obsidian asked, looking at her empty hand. But a few seconds later, Morganite held out her hand and caught a snowflake. “Oh.”

“See, it's different from the others.” She caught another and held the two side-by-side. “It's also much smaller,” she added, as the first flake was about half the size of the second. “But tell me, Obsidian, would you try to make the large one smaller or make the small one bigger?”

Looking between the two, Obsidian thought. “I'd-I'd leave them as they are,” he said. “The way they are is what makes them unique; what makes them so valuable.”

“Exactly,” Morganite said as she released the snowflakes into the wind. She followed them with her eyes to a small town below the hill. “Hearthswarming.”

“What?” Obsidian asked in confusion.

“Hearthswarming. The festival they hold today. It's apparently meant to celebrate the founding of Equestria as a nation.” She looked up. “I kind of wish I was there. I read the stories, but to see how three mere assistants to leaders of their respective races were able to repel such a powerful storm and help their leaders understand harmony…”

“You can't change Homeworld,” Obsidian said. “Besides…” He summoned two bubbles, each holding a set of gem shards. “Not all memories of this day are good ones.”

“Well, change starts from one, then spreads to many,” Morganite said. “You can't expect everyone to change if no one changes. Also...” She held his hands. “If you don't like the memories you have of a day, make better ones in the days to come.”

1 Year Ago…

Dawn sat in his room, waiting for the Gems. He was extremely excited, seeing as today he would be traveling to Canterlot to watch the Hearthswarming reenactment. Amber had read him the story several times when he was much younger, but he couldn't wait to see it for himself.

“Come on! We're going to be late!”

“Hold up,” Tourmaline called out from the kitchen. He was carrying a large bag that was apparently stuffed with food.

“Wait, don't they sell food at the theater?” Dawn asked.

“Yes… Well… Have you seen how expensive that stuff is?!” Tourmaline said in outrage. “Besides, nothing beats Amber's homemade chicken tacos!”

“Yeah, well better leave some for the chef,” Amber said as she and Fulgurite walked out from the temple. “I am not making another batch of those for another month!”

“What?! Why?”

“Because, every time I make them, you eat it all! I am not going through all that effort for just you.”

“But I'm a growing boy!”

“Dawn is a growing boy. Besides, you're not growing anywhere to start with!” Amber turned to see Dawn, dressed up and practically ready to bounce through the roof. “Dawn, you do realize the play doesn't start for another… seven hours… right?” Dawn nodded. “And the train ride takes about an hour.” Another nod. “So relax. I promise we won't be late.”

“And if she fails on that note,” Fulgurite said, “I'll get us there is three seconds flat, four tops!” Amber punched Fulgurite in the shoulder as they left to get the train tickets. Dawn turned to see Obsidian’s meditation mat empty.

“Um… Where's Obsidian?” He asked.

“Who knows,” said Tourmaline. “The dude’s practically a ninja when it comes to not wanting to do stuff.”

“Weird. It's like he vanishes every Hearthswarming. Wonder why.”

“Yeeeaaaahhhh… I'm gonna go get another bag.”

“Wait, Tourmaline! Do you know why?”

Tourmaline froze in his tracks. He didn't know how to respond. “Look… Dawn… Obsidian's had some bad days. Some things are just best left untold.” With that, he vanished into the temple.

But Dawn would not let it go. He walked over to the door and raised his shirt, revealing the gem on his stomach. When there was no response, he rested his head against the door. “I wish I could see Obsidian so I could ask him why he won't come with us.” As if the door heard him, it opened, revealing the room inside. The hall was made of dark stones and rocks, lit by large lava flows and streams. Stalagmites and stalactites decorated the floor and ceiling and there were even places where blobs of magma seemed to just float in midair. Dawn got up and looked around before stepping inside, the door closing behind him.

He followed the path through the corridor until he came to a massive lava pool. Above it were several floating rocks, like tiny islands levitating above the lava. Dawn took a step closer and a set of rocks rose from the lava, creating a path to the center of the pool, where there was a massive land mass with a figure sitting on it. Dawn walked across the platforms, careful not to slip and fall into the lava; he wasn't quite sure if he had the healing capabilities of the Gems, but didn't want to take the chance. As he approached, he heard a voice.

“Turn. Back,” it said.

“O-Obsidian?” Dawn called.

“You shouldn't be here,” Obsidian replied.

“I know. But… I was hoping you could come with us to see the Hearthswarming play. It wouldn't be the same if we weren't all there.” He heard Obsidian mumble something, but couldn't quite make it out. “Obsidian?”

“DAWN!!! I SAID NO!!!” Dawn jumped at the roar of Obsidian's voice as it echoed through the cavernous room. Obsidian realized his reaction and turned to see Dawn, frightened. “I'm… I'm sorry, Dawn. But I can't. I'm just not.., how do you say… ‘Feeling it’.”

“But that's the problem; you’re never feeingl it!” Dawn walked closer to Obsidian as he spoke. “I don't know why you always lock yourself up in the temple during Hearthswarming, and I'm sure you're not going to tell me, but can't you just come out, just this once?” Obsidian did not reply. “It's my first time going to see the play and I wanted it to be the five of us. It's bad enough Pyrite had to go on one of her really long trips right before today. I don't want to have to go without any more of you.”

Obsidian sighed. “That's… sweet of you, Dawn. But… I just can't. I have my reasons.”

“Is it… Is it me?”

Obsidian felt a jolt in his chest. “Wha- NO! Of course not!”

“Then why won't you-”

“Because I just can't.”

At that point, Dawn knew there was no convincing him. He turned and made his way to the temple exit, leaving Obsidian to himself.

---

“Look, I told you, I thought it was a missile,” Fulgurite said as she walked in, closely followed by Amber, who was trying to catch her. The latter jumped in an attempt to tackle her, but missed and hit the floor instead. Fulgurite poked her head and said, “You're it!”

“No fair,” Amber said, getting up. She rubbed her hurt head and glared at Fulgurite. “You could've stayed back to explain why you had to blow up the stand. Who keeps missiles on display in a shop?!”

“I don't know,” Fulgurite replied. “People do crazy stuff these days.” She walked in and called out, “Hey, Dawn?! We got your ticket.” But there was no reply. “Dawn?”

“Huh? He was here when we left,” Amber said. “Maybe he went out?”

“Nah. His board is still outside. They went up to his room and knocked before going in. “Dawn?” They saw the boy lying down, his face buried in his pillow. “Hey Dawn, wake up.”

“I'm not sleeping,” he said with his voice muffled by the pillow.

“Oh. Well, we got your ticket. Do you want to hold onto it or-”

“I'm not going.”

Silence. Amber took a good ten seconds trying to process what he had said. “Uh… What?”

“I'm. Not. Going.”

Amber and Fulgurite were confused. It was the one thing he was looking forward to more than anything else this year. “Um… Why not? You were super excited going this morning.”

“NO!” Dawn looked up, his face full of tears. “I was super excited about going with all of you this morning,” he said.

“But Dawn, we are all-” Amber was distracted by the sound of Fulgurite facepalming.

“Ugh. He had to do this today,” she said. Noticing Amber's confused look, Fulgurite said, “You know what happened on this day… back then? With… You know…”

Amber took a moment to try to understand Fulgurite’s gestures. When she finally got it, her eyes lit up… Then shrunk. “Oh… Right…” Amber looked back at Dawn. “Look, Dawn… We can still go-”

“Not unless everyone is going,” Dawn said.

Amber sighed. “Come on, Ful.”

Once they left the room, Fulgurite asked, “Okay. So how are we going to get Obsidian out? You know nothing ever makes him leave. I mean, we even tried collapsing his room last year!” Fulgurite noticed a heatwave rippling over Amber's head. “Uh… Amber?”

“I don't care if I have to pop him and carry his gem in a freaking bubble,” Amber said through clenched teeth. “He knew about this for weeks. And if he thinks that his past is going to ruin this whole thing we had planned for Dawn, he better get ready for another war.”

Fulgurite leaned. “Amber… You're burning up again.”

Amber calmed down and the heatwave faded. “Ugh!”

“Teehee! You're cute when you're mad,” she said, resting on Amber.

Amber blushed slightly. “Knock it off.”

---

“No,” Obsidian said with his back to the Gems.

“Obsidian, come on,” said Fulgurite. “You knew about this for weeks. Couldn't you have, I don't know, ‘prepared your mind’ or something?”

“You try getting into my head and ‘preparing’ it to face one of the most dreaded days in-”

“OH, ZIP IT!” Obsidian turned to face the girls. This time, Amber's hair stood from its ponytail, now resembling a flame. “We planned this day for Dawn. We told him we were all going.”

“Maybe you shouldn't make promises you can't keep,” Obsidian said, turning and walking to the other end of the room. But he was suddenly stopped by a hand grabbing his shoulder. He looked and saw a translucent hand on his shoulder. “Amber. Let go of me.”

“Not until you agree to come,” she said. “Last time I remember, the war ended over five hundred years ago.”

“The war ended, the memories stayed. You wouldn't understand,” Obsidian said, shaking the hand off. “Tell me, are your memories your own, or does your parasitic nature transfer to that as well?”

“Whoa! Dude,” Fulgurite cried. “Uncalled for! And rude! Just because you had a bad time doesn't mean-” Fulgurite stopped when she felt a heat wave irradiate next to her. It was coming from Amber. She was glowing bright orange and her eyes were red with deep orange sclera.

“What… Did you just say?”

Obsidian turned to face her. “Pa-ra-si-” As he spoke, he was caught off guard by a massive fist slamming into him and sending him back.

“Ful? Remember what I said about having to carry him in a bubble?” Amber said, just before she charged at Obsidian, her hands blazing with a fiery orange energy. She whipped forward, spinning like a drill as the flames covered her. Obsidian dodged, but Amber cut the attack off as she landed behind him and kicked, sending a blast of flaming plasma into his back. “You crossed a line!”

“And you didn't?” Obsidian said, summoning his weapons. But before he could attack, a bolt of lightning caught his attention and he blocked it, then noticed Fulgurite, boots at the ready, standing next to Amber. Then they held hands. “Oh, no you don't.” As the girls danced, their gems began to glow and they turned white. But before they could meld, Obsidian got between them and slashed, separating them. “What's wrong? Too weak on your own?”

A furious Amber morphed her hands into a set of claws and clashed with Obsidian, leapfrogging with Fulgurite as they advanced on him. But Obsidian sent out a lava wave that knocked them both back. However, he felt less confident as he watched the lava flow into Amber's now large arm, magma lines running through the appendage. Using said arm, she pinned Obsidian to the wall and approached him. The lines in Obsidian’s armor glowed and the blob holding him melted.

“Why do I have to go?” Obsidian asked again. “It's not as if I really care about it as you know I don't.”

“But Dawn does,” Amber yelled back. “It matters to him and he cares enough to not want to go unless we all go.” She ran and tackled him to the ground. “What is wrong with you?! Why can't you make this one sacrifice for him?!”

Obsidian kicked her away. “Wait, ‘This one sacrifice?’ Do you know how much I've sacrificed already?! DO YOU?!” With a swipe of his hand, the ground beneath them opened and globs of magma spurted out of the cracks. “DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT SACRIFICE!!!” As if controlling a puppet, Obsidian's movements shaped the magma into a giant tidal wave of molten rock. But before he could drop it-

“STOOOOOOOP!!!” There was near dead silence as the three Gems turned to see Dawn standing at the entrance of Obsidian's room. “I only wanted us to go together because I didn't want to feel like I had left anyone out. It's bad enough that Pyrite had to leave again before this started, so I just…” He looked at Obsidian. “You don't have to go if you don't want to.” He turned to the others. “None of you do. I know the way, so-”

“Whoa, hey,” Fulgurite interrupted. “We're almost late, so I might as well take you. But…” She looked up in thought, “I'll probably be too lazy to run all the way back. So…”

“And I'm bored,” added Amber.

“Guys,” Dawn said, “You don't have to-”

“But we want to,” Amber said. She jumped across the magma-ridden floor over to Dawn, followed closely by Fulgurite. “Come on. We should get going.”

Dawn smiled at them, then at Obsidian, before the three left, closing the door behind them.

---

At the theater, Dawn, Fulgurite, Amber, and Tourmaline sat together in a middle row with a good view of the stage. They each had a bucket of popcorn… Well, except for Tourmaline, who had three.

“Wow,” Tourmaline said, looking around, “Nice turnout.”

“Apparently, the people acting are supposed to be kind of like heroes here,” Fulgurite explained.

“The Elements of Harmony, if I remember right,” said Amber.

“That's a really cool name,” said Dawn.

“Is it really?” Tourmaline questioned, with a grin.

As the lights dimmed and the curtain fell open, the lights focused on a boy, who, based on his dressing, was supposed to be the narrator. But just before he began-

“Is-Is this spot taken?” Dawn and the Gems turned around in shock at the sound of the familiar voice. None of them could believe it.

“Obsidian!” Dawn nearly shouted, just barely remembering he was in a room full of people and a play was going on. “You came!”

“Well, I just thought…” He looked at Amber, who smiled. “It's your special day. So you're the captain.” He stood at attention and saluted. “What are your orders?”

Dawn looked at him for a while… Before a sweet smile crept across his face. “Your orders are to sit here and enjoy the show with us,” he said.

“Yes, sir!”