Harmony Gems

by Nova Arc

Answers

The Gems, Dawn, and the Elements of Harmony all stood in the Friendship Castle’s throne room. The tension was so thick, even a chainsaw could break trying to cut through it!

“I feel like we did something wrong,” said Dawn. He looked to Pyrite. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Dawn,” said Pyrite. “We just need to explain some stuff.”

“I feel like I'm awaiting an execution,” said Tourmaline.

“Except we aren't bound in chains,” Obsidian pointed out. “Not that the chains would do any good.”

“Okay,” Twilight finally decided to speak up. “As the Princess of Friendship-”

“Is that even a thing?” Tourmaline interrupted.

“As I was saying… I have decided to give you one last chance to give a reasonable explanation on who and what you are, where you came from, and what you're doing on Equestria.”

“And right now,” Applejack added, “Y’all ‘re on real thin ice!”

“Is that some kind of threat?” Obsidian asked. “‘Tell us everything we want to know or we'll banish you from our land?’ I've heard gravel make tougher threats than that.”

“Obsidian. Not helping,” said Pyrite.

“Why should we? We did everything in our power to keep them away and they insisted on getting closer. When someone you've never met before tells you to stay away after you witness them fighting a giant monster made of smoke, wouldn't it be wise to heed that warning?”

“Well, we have a tendency of facing danger head on,” said Rainbow Dash. “So that was out of the question.”

“Then you are all-”

“Not too different from most of us.” All stopped to stare at Pyrite. “With your permission, I'd like to retrieve our remaining comrades. Although, I myself, have overstayed my welcome here.”

“Aw. Don't go,” Dawn said, holding Pyrite’s leg.

She patted him on the head and said, “Don't worry. You know I always come back.”

“But it's so much fun when you're around!”

“And I'll give Amber and Fulgurite the list of stuff to do with you. Okay?” Dawn nodded sheepishly and hugged her before she left. She fist-bumped Tourmaline and said, “Don't do any more damage than you already have.” Finally, she turned to Obsidian. “Remember what happened back then. Maybe Morganite was onto something. Cooperate.” Obsidian avoided eye contact, but Pyrite could see compliance in his eyes.

She summoned a bright golden orb and said to it, “Amber. Fulgurite. Mark location. Send Beacon.” The sphere began to pulse with a golden light and just hovered. “They'll be here in a few minutes… Or less.” With a blinding flash of light, she seemingly vanished into the orb.

The girls sat, motionless. “We just gonna let ‘er go?” Applejack asked.

Twilight thought for a moment. “Where did she go?” she asked.

“Probably some other part of the galaxy,” Tourmaline replied. “She's the only one of us capable of traveling through space without using a warp pad. Pretty useful if you don't want to have to look for a working warp pad all the time. Some of ‘em are totally busted.”

“Speaking of which, let's start with that,” said Twilight. “They're teleporters, right? How do they work?”

Tourmaline shrugged. “No clue. Amber's the tech-head. You'll have to ask her when she she gets here.”

“Okay… So… How long have you been here? On Equestria, I mean.”

“Hmmm… About… two thousand years, give or take a few centuries or so.”

The girls all stared blankly at Tourmaline. Dawn looked between their confused faces, trying not to burst into laughter.

“Two… Thousand… Years…” Twilight repeated, trying to process the answer Tourmaline had given. “Two… Two… Thousand… I'm sorry, how old are you again?”

Tourmaline looked up in thought. “Well… On average, we're all somewhere approaching the eight thousand mark.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. Along with everyone else's. “How…”

“Yeah. We live for a veeeery long time.”

“And we've officially hit Nope Town,” said Rainbow Dash. “Are you kidding me? First you're aliens from another planet who are made from rocks, now you're four thousand years old?!”

“We've been around for a while,” Tourmaline continued.

“I'm not buying it,” said Rainbow. “You don't even look that much older than us, if at all!”

“Well, our physical forms are just projections from our gemstones,” Tourmaline explained. “We can actually change how we look. We can look younger or older.” He then transformed into a younger version of himself with oversized clothes and a baby rattle, then to an older version with a cane. “We can even shape-shift into other stuff.” He then transformed into a wolf, a hose, a teapot, and a baseball bat before turning back into his regular self.

The girls all looked amazed. “Discord’s gonna get a kick out of this,” said Twilight.

“Indeed,” Rarity agreed.

“Discord’s back?” Tourmaline asked, surprised. “Must've missed that one.”

The girls stared in confusion. “Wait… How in Equestria do you know Discord?” asked Rarity

“Hello? two thousand years here? How would we not know the Lord of Chaos? He's the most fun thing around here since the Equestria Games!”

Twilight looked surprised at the display of knowledge. But before she could respond, the orb floating before them began to glow. It pulsed brightly and finally released a bright flash. From it, two familiar figures emerged.

“Wow. Been a while since we needed to do that,” said Amber, stretching.

“We need to tell Py to find an easier way to do this swap,” Fulgurite added. As the light faded around the orb until it turned black, it began to disintegrate and vanish.

“Was that supposed to happen?” Fluttershy asked.

“Hm?” Fulgurite looked back at the fading orb. “Oh yeah. Those things are disposable.”

Amber stepped forward. “So. What are we here for again?”

Twilight took a deep breath. “Despite my instincts telling me you are all too suspicious, I decided to ask for your side of the story.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Look. We just want- Wait, what?” Twilight was taken aback by Amber's easy compliance. “Oh. Um. Well, I asked and was told you could explain how your… warp pads work.”

“Quite simple, actually. They use-”

“Hey, Amby? Keep it simple, okay?” Fulgurite said with a smug grin.

Amber rolled her eyes, then continued. “Basically, it uses light particles to accelerate anything on it to near light speed, marking a preset destination, then pretty much… launching the person to said location.”

“And don't bother trying to use it,” Fulgurite continued. “It's specially made so that only Gems can access it. We can take you along, but you can't activate them yourselves.”

The girls all looked between each other. Applejack spoke next. “Alright. But what about them monsters we seen y'all fight? They come along with ya?”

Amber sighed. “Yes and no. Some of them did. Some didn't.” She looked around the room. “Look, we're truly sorry about any damage or worry we may have caused. We kept hidden because we wanted to avoid you all getting involved in the dangers we get into.”

“That's understandable,” said Twilight. “But if you've been around for four thousand years, you've been around recently. Like when we’ve saved Equestria on quite a few occasions.”

“And you should be proud,” Amber said. “But these… monsters... are different. You can't just blast them with the Elements of Harmony and cleanse them or whatever.”

“You know about the Elements?”

“Well… Yeah. It's pretty much the most important thing on your planet.”

“That makes sense,” said Rainbow. “But what are those monster you fight?”

“They vary.” Amber held out her hand and a small, circular screen was projected from the bracer on her arm. The screen was cycling through what looked to be gemstones. “Most of them are
corrupted Gems. They make up the brunt of them.”

“What do you mean by ‘corrupted’?”

Amber sighed. “Well… some Gems tend to be less… stable than others. This makes them prone to being overpowered by negative energy and turning them from this…” The image showed the silhouette of a humanoid Gem figure, “to this.” The figure began to distort in shape until it looked like a giant puffer fish.

“That doesn't look too scary,” said Fluttershy.

“Trust me. When this guy blows your house down, you'll see just how scary he can be.”

“What of the golems?” Twilight asked. “The ones that attacked us on the ship when we first met?”

“Oh… Those are automatons created for various tasks. They act as guards, soldiers, assistants; standard labor.”

“They're not Gems?” asked Rarity.

“No. Depending on the environment where they're assigned and the task they're made for, they can be made from either stone, sand, or clay.”

“So… They're not alive?”

“No. Not technically. They don't really give off any life signs. Heat signatures, electric current, etc.”

Twilight looked around between the girls and asked the one question that was on all their minds: “So, what are you all doing on Equestria?”

Amber took a deep breath. She wasn't entirely sure how to answer that question, but… “We came here to protect your planet.” The girls all stared blankly at Amber as she continued. “Long story short, other Gems from our planet tried to do something… horrible to your world. We fought against our own people to stop them.”

“What do you mean by ‘horrible’?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well… They sorta… Kinda… May have tried to create an army of Gem warriors using the life energy of your planet.” Amber winced slightly as she awaited their reply. But the only reply was six shocked faces. “Look, some of our higher-ranking officials have some serious superiority complexes. What was that expression… ‘You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs’? They practically live by that saying.”

“So… your people… tried to destroy our planet?” Rainbow asked.

“Well, yes and no. Was that their initial intention? No. Did they go ahead with their plan even though they knew what it would do to the planet? Yes. Did they care? Not even.”

“Wait, so how are Gems born?” Fluttershy asked.

Fulgurite stepped up. “Well, when a mommy Gem and a daddy Gem love each other very much, they tend to want to show that love by-”

“GAH! WE GET THE IDEA!” Twilight yelled, a bright blush appearing on their faces. But suddenly, Fulgurite burst into laughter.

“BWAAAAHAHAHAHA!!! I'm sorry! But you should've seen the looks on your faces!” She held her ribs as her laughter died down. “We're Gems. We're made, not born. We're incubated in the ground under various conditions and absorb life energy from the planet.”

Rainbow had to keep herself from laughing. Fulgurite got them good. “So… you were all at least babies at some point, right?” she asked.

“Wrong. The amount of energy we absorb lets us grow to about the size of a full grown person. By state of mind, some would seem younger than others. But we all still need to learn stuff.”

Twilight then looked and saw Dawn and Pinkie Pie playing “Patty Cake”. “And Dawn? What's he to you?”

The Gems all looked between one another. But an unlikely person spoke. “Our brother.” All turned to face Obsidian. “Our responsibility. Left to our care by our leader who passed on to give birth to him.”

“Oh.. I'm… I'm sorry to hear that.” Twilight thought for a moment. “Wait… You were led by an Equestrian?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Of course not. We were led by another Gem; one of the strongest.”

“Wait, but you said, ‘To give birth to him’. You said Gems were made.”

“Dawn is a hybrid,” said Amber. “Half Gem, half Equestrian.” The girls all looked as if someone had just told them that the universe was a lie. “Yeah. We didn't think it was possible. Apparently it is in some cases.”

“Oh… How has he coped?”

“As if you care,” Obsidian spat.

“He understands what happened,” Amber said. “When he was born, his mother passed her gem on to him. Since our gems are the center of our being, they can't both exist at the same time.”

“Wait, can't the gem just split in two or something?” Rainbow asked.

“It doesn't work that way,” Obsidian said in frustration.

Amber placed a hand on his shoulder. “It's a bit more complicated than cell division for Gems.” She sighed. “We kept it a secret because we weren't sure how you'd react to him. We didn't want to risk him being rejected for being... different.”

Slowly, the girls felt more and more sympathy towards the Gems as they began to understand their motives.

“Look, we're really sorry for any damage or worry or whatever else we may have caused,” Amber continued.

“I guess I understand,” said Twilight. “Maybe we sort of jumped to conclusions ourselves a bit.” Twilight got up and approached Amber. “Um… We're sorry too, for treating you with hostility.” She then held out her hand. Amber didn't wait long before shaking it.

“Thank you,” she said. “If it's fine by you, we'd like to help Applejack get her farm back in order.”

Applejack sighed. “Well, shoot. Ah can't stay mad at ya after y'all just explained yerselves.”

“WOOHOO! Conflict resolved!” Tourmaline yelled.

The Elements and the Gems began to mingle, chatting among themselves as the tension seemed to finally subside. As Twilight was about to engage in one of these chats, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Obsidian standing behind her.

“Princess,” he said, his face unreadable. “A word.” He led her over to a corner of the throne room out of earshot from the others and turned to face her. “Let me make some things perfectly clear: I don’t like that we’re taking right now. I don’t like that your kind knows anything about us. But there’s nothing I can do about that now. What I can do is this: I can promise you that if you do anything that puts my friends in danger, especially Dawn,” Twilight could feel an unnatural heat overtaking her, making her surroundings suddenly sweltering and causing her to sweat, “I will not rest until you and your friends burn.”

And as suddenly as it appeared, the unnatural heat vanished. But Twilight continued to sweat as Obsidian turned and walked off without a second glance.

---

It had been a few days since the Gems and the Elements had made peace. Applejack’s farm was back in order and the Gems were actually asked to help them with a few other things here and there. In addition, Dawn had finally got to do something he had always wanted to do.

“Class,” said Miss Cheerilee, addressing her students. “We have a new student joining us today. Dawn? Could you please introduce yourself?”

Dawn got up from his seat right behind Sweetie Belle. “Hi,” he said. “I'm Dawn. It's great to meet you all.” With that, he took his seat.

“Well, welcome to our class, Dawn,” Miss Cheerilee said.

During recess, Dawn sat with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom.

“So, they let you come?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah,” Dawn replied. “Took a while, but they all agreed it was fine eventually.” He took a bite out of his turkey sub sandwich, which actually made the girls a bit jealous.

“Wow,” Scootaloo said, her mouth watering. “That looks good.”

“Yeah,” Dawn said in response. “Amber's a really good cook. So is Fulgurite, but she normally makes everything spicy.”

“Wow. You're lucky,” said Sweetie Belle.

At that moment, two girls walked up to the group. “Well, well, well,” said one. She had purple hair with white highlights and wore a purple shirt and skirt combo, pink shoes, and a yellow jacket. “If it isn't the Blanks.” Applebloom groaned.

“Blanks?” Dawn asked, confused.

The girls looked at him. “Obviously, you're new here,” she said.

“Um… Yeah.”

“Well, let me explain. Blanks are what we call people like them,” she said, gesturing to the Crusaders, “who don't have their Cutie Marks yet.”

“Oh. Well… Isn't that kind of mean?”

“It's not being mean if you're telling the truth.”

“Dawn,” Applebloom said, “Meet Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.” Silver Spoon just watched and grinned behind Diamond Tiara.

“That's us,” she said. “And in case you're wondering, we already have our Cutie Marks.” She pulled up her shirt slightly, revealing the tiara mark on the left side of her midriff. Silver Spoon had her namesake mark on the right side of her neck. “It's unfortunate you had to be a part of their little crew. I was hoping the next new student we got would have their mark already.”

“Actually…” Dawn pulled down the neck of his shirt, revealing his mark.

“Oh,” Diamond Tiara said. “Wait… So why are you hanging out with these losers?”

“They're not losers,” Dawn said. “They're my friends. That's why I'm hanging out with them.”

“HA! Someone with their Cutie Mark hanging out with a Blank? Either they're blackmailing you or you don't seem to understand how things work.”

“I don't think it matters,” said Dawn. “I mean, we can still have stuff in common and we can still talk to each other. As far as things go, I don't think having a Cutie Mark determines who you can and can't hang out with.”

“Well then, you're dreaming.” Diamond Tiara signed. “Well it's only a matter of time before you realize that hanging out with Blanks is just pushing yourself further down the ladder. People who have their Cutie Marks are, by definition, better, because they know what their talent is and they know how to use it. This,” she gestured to the Crusaders, “just means they don't even know what their talent is or what they're meant to do. And that, to me, means loser.” With that, the two girls walked away.

“Ugh! Someone explain to me why I can't just punch her in the face?” asked Scootaloo.

“Thanks for sticking up for us, Dawn,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah,” Applebloom agreed. “That was mighty nice of ya.”

“No problem,” Dawn said with a smile.

---

That night, Dawn couldn't sleep. It was almost midnight and he laid awake, Diamond Tiara’s words echoing in his head: “People who have their Cutie Marks are, by definition, better, because they know what their talent is and they know how to use it.”

“So, what's keeping you up?” Dawn turned on his side and saw Amber standing outside his partially open door.

“Oh, um, it's nothing,” Dawn answered.

“Nope. Try again,” Amber said as she walked in. “I can tell when there's something wrong.” She sat down on the bed next to him. “What is it?”

Dawn sighed and sat up. “It’s just… well…”

“Uh-huh?”

“You know those girls I hang out with? From the town?”

“Yeah. What about them?”

“Well, they don't have their Cutie Marks.”

Amber waited for him to say something else, but he didn't. “Yeah. And?”

“Well… Is there something wrong with me hanging out with them?”

Amber was a bit confused by this question, but answered, “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Well, there are these other girls in the class. One of them said that Blanks are losers and that they don't know what their talent is.”

“Blanks?”

“That's what they call people who don't have their Cutie Marks.”

“Ah. I see.”

“So?”

Amber sighed and smiled. “Dawn, did you know that there are some Gems that there are more than one of?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “You said there are many of certain Gems because they're needed for work.”

“And do you know what Ambers are supposed to be?”

Dawn thought about it. He wasn't sure because Amber had so many skills it was hard to actually pick one as her main purpose. “Um… Scientists?” Amber shook her head. “Warriors?” Another shake. “Uh… Maybe… Spies?”

“Well, you’re half right,” Amber said. “Ambers were made for one of two purposes: either to be test subjects in experiments or, if they made the cut for combat, spies. Basically, we were meant to be whatever our superiors wanted; molded into whatever they needed. Sometimes we were used as cannon fodder.” Dawn turned his head in confusion. “It means we were technically used as living shields.”

“Wait, really?!”

“Mhm. See, I was made to choose between being used as a guinea pig or fighting on the front lines as a spy and gathering information on an enemy… Or take hits for the main soldiers. This is because my body is adaptable to different conditions and I have faster regenerative abilities. Plus, you've seen me turn into a liquid state to avoid getting hurt.”

“SLUDGE MODE!!!”

Amber chuckled at the nickname. “Heehee. Yep. .”

“Wait, but you're so good with Gem stuff… And fighting… And cooking… And a whole bunch of other stuff.”

Amber smiled. “Let me tell you a story…”

Gaia, 1341 Years Ago

Amber sat on a hilltop as the summer breeze blew through the air. She still wore her Homeworld uniform, even after joining the Crystal Gems. But this was because of her own dilemma. She looked over the land and saw mostly grass and hills. It was calm, peaceful… Something she was not… Something she needed.

“Amber?” She was awoken from her daydream by the sound of a familiar voice. She turned around to see Morganite standing behind her.

“Oh, Morganite,” Amber said, turning around. “I didn't hear you.”

“Of course you didn't,” Morganite replied. “You were distracted.” She sat next to Amber. “What's on your mind?”

Amber sighed. “What… What am I?” Morganite was a bit confused by this question, so Amber clarified. “I was made to be… a spy… a guinea pig… Whatever they wanted me to be. But, I don't feel like that was me. I chose a path different from what my superiors decided.” She buried half her face in her knees. “I'm just a doll; I'm only there to be what they say I am. But if that doesn't feel right, if what my superiors say isn't right, then… What am I? What is my purpose?”

Morganite chuckled, which confused Amber. She was having a serious dilemma and Morganite thought it was… funny?

“Amber,” she said, “What do you want to do?”

“Huh?”

“What do you think your purpose is?”

“I just said I don't know.”

“Amber, being a particular kind of Gem doesn't mean you're bound to be like all other Gems like you. Having a set purpose doesn't make you any less important or any less alive as a Gem who was solely made for combat or building machinery or operating ships. In fact, not hanging on to a set purpose means you have so much more potential than most.”

“R-Really?”

“Amber, how did Peridots on Homeworld react when they learned you would be working with them?”

“Surprised, upset… Annoying…”

“But you still happened to be just as good, if not better than them?”

“I… I guess…”

“You see, what makes you unique isn't the fact that you have a purpose, it's that you chose your purpose. Whether it's plastered on your forehead or signified by a robe, everyone has their place in the world. For some, it takes longer to find out. Besides, not having a set purpose means you belong anywhere and everywhere; you're not stuck on any one thing, that would be boring. But in the end, what's important is not how others feel about you, but how you feel about yourself. And how do you feel about yourself?”

“I feel…” Amber took a while to think of the right word. “I feel…”

---

“Well?” Dawn asked, watching Amber stare into space.

Amber snapped back to reality. “Well what?”

“How did you feel?”

Amber smiled. “How do you feel?”

Dawn took a moment to think, then smiled to himself.

“I… feel…”

---

The next day, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked passed Dawn, who was sitting on the bench outside, since school hadn't started yet.

“Hello, Dawn,” she greeted, although with a tone. “So, did you think about what I said yesterday?”

“Actually, yeah,” he replied.

“And you realized that hanging out with Blanks is only going to make you a loser too, right?”

“Nope.”

“Great then we're-” Diamond Tiara stopped when his answer registered. “Wait, what?”

“Cutie Mark or none, it doesn't matter.”

“Wha- Well of course it does! Without a Cutie Mark, you have no place in society!”

“Not having a Cutie Mark doesn't make you any less of a person,” Dawn said. “Everyone eventually finds out where they belong. Until then, having no Cutie Mark… means belonging anywhere and everywhere. You're not stuck on any one thing, because that could be boring. And until you find out what your destiny is, all you can do is enjoy the journey. Besides, it doesn't matter what other people think of you, what matters is how you feel about you,”

The two girls stared at him, a bit confused. Then, Diamond Tiara gagged. “BLEAH! That was the silliest, cheesiest, most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Of course what other people think matters!”

“Not to me, it doesn't.”

“And not to us.” Dawn and the girls turned at the sound of Applebloom’s voice and saw her, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo walking over to the bench.

Diamond Tiara groaned in annoyance and stormed off with Silver Spoon in tow.

“Thanks for that,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Don't mention it,” Dawn replied.

“But she's kinda right, y’know,” Scootaloo added.

“About what?”

“That speech! Good grief, the sappiness!”

“Yeah,” Dawn said, rubbing the back of his head. “I thought so too.”

---

Meanwhile, Nox stared at the clock on the screen pacing the room.

1:07:24... 23... 22... 21...

"Almost time," she said to herself. "Finally, they'll pay."

Author's Note:

So, everyone's happy... Kinda. So, what happens now? How well will Gems and Equestrians get along? What does Nox have planned? Wanna find out? Stay tuned!

Comments

[EquestrianKirin]

Nice chapter here, a lot to add to ^^ I like Dawn's development over the blank flank idea, and that final bit got me wondering what's gonna happen.

TIMERS + EVIL PLAN = SOMETHING CRAZY