Crystal Clear
The first night on Homeworld was a bit different for those unfamiliar; the nights felt longer than on Earth, and even so, they weren't all used to overnight racket like in Earth cities either way. Upon daybreak, the first order of business came from Blue Pearl, who informed them about Blue Diamond wanting to see them and Steven. It was a rather early wake up call, but it was probably expected considering who they were being called to. Still, not everypony was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. They were also joined by Pearl, mainly because Steven was going, for the sake of making sure he was okay. He was basically going to talk to one of the rulers of the world, of course someone would be worried over what'll happen.
"Alright, let's try to leave a good impression on Blue Diamond, everypony," Twilight said, a bit nervous herself, but trying to keep her cool. Twilight hadn't been properly introduced to Blue Diamond yet, so, meeting her was a bit stressful, in her own worrying.
"Twilight, I think nervous klutz isn't what Blue Diamond wants to see," Rainbow said, noticing her getting in her freakout mode again. Applejack was more subtle.
"Don't you fret, Twilight, everything will be just fine," Applejack assured her. Twilight, still a bit nervous, took her friends words to heart, as they began heading to the throne room, where Blue Diamond was waiting. At the moment, Blue Diamond actually had Sapphire by her side, who was sitting comfortably on her lap, while Lapis Lazuli was standing nearby. The two obviously had some quality time with Blue Diamond overnight, judging by this alone. However, Ruby still wasn't around anywhere, which was a bit odd here. Ruby and Sapphire weren't gone for too long before they turned back into Garnet again, unless it was for a special reason that they're not aware of. Lapis waved hello to Steven, who did the same.
"Greetings, miss Diamond," Twilight said, bowing in her presence. Blue diamond didn't reply at first.
"I hope you understand that such a move is royal if you were a Gem. But since you're not ..."
Immediately, Twilight straightened up, a bit freaked out for making a wrong move.
"O-Oh my, I-I didn't -"
Suddenly, Blue Diamond made a calming chuckle, along with Sapphire by her.
"I'm just joking, dear. No need to be alarmed," Blue Diamond said. Twilight felt embarrassed, and the blush on her face proved it, but she quickly corrected herself. Guess Blue Diamond was either told of her securities, or just wanted to play a joke, or both.
"So. You seven are the new organic creatures Sapphire and Lapis told me about?" Blue Diamond asked. Blue Pearl joined them, and moved over to her Diamond, as Pearl stayed in the back calmly.
"Well, not our main label, but yeah, we're new here," Rainbow said, though she got a nudge from Rarity.
"Understood. These two Gems had told me quite a bit about what you accomplished on both Equus and Earth; fighting corrupted Gems, and saving them a few times before. Is that true?" Blue Diamond asked calmly.
"It'd became a habit, actually," Twilight admitted bashfully, hoof rubbing the back of her head. Blue Diamond nodded.
"I see. I'm glade Lapis and Sapphire have good friends like you. Though, I do sense something ... Unique."
Blue Diamond lowered her gaze until it reached Steven, Pearl a little unsure as she did.
"You there. You appear to be a human, but something seems different about you."
"Well, I guess being the first human on Homeworld -"
"You're part Gem."
The room became quiet. How did Blue Diamond know that? Sapphire and Lapis didn't tell her that kind of information yet, so, having Blue Diamond figure it out almost immediately was surprising in of itself. Blue Diamond brought her hand forward, leaning down until her finger gently touched where Steven's Gemstone was. If tension wasn't around before, it sure was now. Pearl felt worried, and wanted to intervene, but soon Blue Diamond nodded, and moved her finger away.
"Rose Quartz," Blue Diamond concluded blankly.
"Blue Diamond, don't hurt him, he's just a human," Lapis pleaded, fearing this discovery would make her upset. Steven was worried he'll get in trouble too, but Blue Diamond turned to Lapis for a second.
"I won't; no need to blame him for what someone else had done. You're okay for me, child, though I advise you to be careful on who else sees your gemstone," Blue Diamond concluded. That was probably the biggest surprise they heard since arriving, and proved Blue Diamond was more forgiving than anyone would've thought. Steven lifted his shirt, and looked at the gemstone for a second.
"How'd you guess?" Applejack asked.
"Each type of Gem is special in their own way. It's the same way for you to tell who your friends are, and what makes them special in their own way. We're all unique in aura," Blue Diamond explained. A little confusing perhaps, but for Blue Diamond to pinpoint any Gem from eachother was something special.
"So you can tell every Gem apart from one another?" Twilight asked, completely astonished. Blue a Diamond just nodded.
"That's about it. I have to be, with how many Gems are on Homeworld. Speaking of which, how was Blue Peridot's tour?"
"Very helpful, thank you for asking. And I must say, your city is truly a marvel to behold," Rarity complimented.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves. I do hope the rest of your stay will be as grateful."
~~~~~~
Later on that day, Amethyst, Rainbow, Diopside, Fulgurite and Pearl were out on the town again. While Diopside, Rainbow Dash, and Amethyst mainly wanted to explore some more, Pearl was mainly there just to watch things, to make sure if anything goes wrong. Fulgurite was just along for the ride at this point. Amethyst and Rainbow both thought over what they had seen yesterday, and Amethyst deliberately went in the same direction as on the tour just to see if she could catch the larger Gems again.
"Dang, look at this place. Sure jumped on all the tech huh?" Fulgurite commented, looking around.
"Well five thousand years would do that," Pearl replied.
"True that. Still, heck, looks straight out of one of Steven's sci-fi picture books."
"You mean comics?" Diopside asked.
"Either or."
As they kept walking on, soon Amethyst and Rainbow saw the same passageway coming up, but unlike before, they didn't seem to hear anything going on. Of course, that didn't prove they weren't there or not, and Amethyst especially wanted to see for herself. Rainbow looked on ahead, having a better view from the air, and didn't see any training going on in that spot. Farther away, other Gems were still gossiping about the newcomers, still wondering on who they were and all that. However, amongst some, one Gem had her eyes not set on the flying pony ...
"Hey."
The voice got their attention quick, and they all turned around. Standing behind them was another, rather talk Gem. She looked at least Garnet's height, with her crescent, grey hair just adding extra height to her. For color, she matched Flint's rather closely. Her skin was grey, and her full body suit was a darker shade, with yellow diamond symbols on her shoulders, chest, and knees. She had a light blue visor, but only over her left eye. Her eyes (judging by the one) were a very dark green. Her expression was rather stern, and focused mainly on Pearl.
"What're you doing?" She asked firmly, arms crossed.
"Excuse me, do I know you?"
"Don't play that," she stated. Her visor seemed to be giving her some information, making a scan of this Pearl in particular. Soon though, something red showed on her visor.
"I thought so. Come on, back with me," she demanded, grabbing Pearl by the arm. Of course, the others made her let go of the confused Gem.
"Hey, hey, what gives?" Rainbow asked annoyed.
"She wandered off that's what. I'll just take her back," the Gem insisted, grabbing Pearl by the arm before she could run off.
"No you're not, she's with us, you can't just take her!"
"Yes I can. Thought you can steal a Pearl off from me, did you?"
"Steal?! Why you little -" Rainbow and Amethyst were ready to fight her for such claims, but Diopside got in the way. Last thing they needed was a street brawl.
"Guys, wait, don't!" Diopside insisted. Then she turned to the distributor.
"Please, mam, we didn't steal anything, she's been with us since we arrived here."
"I'd known that if it did happen. If you want a Pearl that badly, then you'll have to get one ordered, pre-paid, and delivered like everyone else."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Pearl asked.
"No," replied the Gem. Soon, their patience was warring thin.
"Hey, who do you think you are?!" Amethyst snapped.
"Melanite; prime Pearl distributor to Yellow Diamond. Now if you excuse me I have a job to do," she explained, a screen forming up in front of her. After a few clicks, before any of them could grab her or before Pearl could get herself free, suddenly a set of white rings popped up. They rushed up and down them both, before they ended up teleporting away. Even with Fulgurite and Rainbow, they weren't fast enough to get her ...
"Oh crud."
......
"Melanite took her?" Blue Diamond summed up.
"Yeah she did! She even called us thieves over it!" Replied Amethyst.
Of course, the four went straight back to Blue Diamond for some help. If anyone can give them a helping hand, it would be her. This sort of trouble didn't take long to reach the others though.
"Of all the nerve!" Rarity gasped.
"I can't believe it, what'd she do wrong?" Added Twilight.
"Nothing! She just came in, took her, and went away," Fulgurite said.
"I can't say I'm surprised. Melanite is rather strict to rules, one of which is to not let a unauthorized Pearl roam," Blue Diamond explained. That just made the others even more upset.
"The hay?! What kind of rule's that?!" Rainbow snapped.
"It is a ludicrous rule, but one that's been around for a long time by Yellow Diamond, to avoid renegade as she puts it. I'll try to consult with her about it, but in the mean time, you're all going to have to be patient," Blue Diamond explained. Fulgurite didn't like that plan at all, for multiple reasons. Of course, there's the fact on waiting for what will come, and Fulgurite didn't enjoy that, but also, Pearl could easily end up in a lot of trouble. If Melanite was true to her words, and if Pearls are treated more like tools by what she said, then Pearl could easily end up sold to some other Homeworld Gem.
"Can't you just tell her to release her or something? you are in charge, aren't you?"
"Melanite doesn't work for me, only her Diamond can tell her that kind of demand."
"But what about your Pearl? I'm sure you didn't had trouble getting her!"
"My Pearl was specially picked as a gift; she wasn't just taken, and therefore has legal rights at my Pearl. I'll try what I can, but I can't guarantee anything," Blue Diamond promised. It didn't exactly help too much with everyone, and only left Fulgurite more frustrated. If Melanite's treatment towards Pearl was anything to go on, it wasn't going to be easy. Eventually, frustrated and not wanting to wait, Fulgurite quickly bolted out lightning fast, leaving Amethyst and Diopside in a tailspin. She moved far too quick for anybody or anypony to get her. Sapphire wondered for a little bit after Fulgurite raced off, and then she got an idea ...
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Pearl was teleported to an entirely new location by Melanite. It wasn't anywhere that Pearl would recognize; a large rounded holding room, with a holographic wall splitting the area up. With a few clicks, the hologram opened up, and Pearl was put inside. Pearl tried to get herself out, but it closed right away, and as such she was stuck.
"Would you calm down? You'll get properly owned soon enough," Melanite sighed, signing her in.
"I don't belong here, this is a big mistake!" Pearl retorted. But, although annoyed, Melanite wasn't impressed.
"You don't have a say in this, remember? Now look good, behave yourself, and you'll be let out once someone buys you, okay?" With that, Melanite walked away, leaving Pearl in her supposed cell. She didn't hear any other sounds, but she could guess that there were other Pearls somewhere here. From in the room, she saw the main lobby looking more like some sort of prison hold, or one of those places on Earth called dog pounds. Pearl tried over and over, but no matter what the method she tried, she couldn't get pass the hologram wall without hurting herself in the process. She tried shooting with her spear, but all that did was making the weapon dissolve almost instantly. Pearl could only hope that her friends could figure things out for her soon.
As for Melanite, she exited the building she put Pearl in, which looked like a factory from outside (a ton of pearls stored inside probably). It wasn't too far from another tower, which didn't look the exact same as the one Blue Diamond was in. Similar structure, yes, but some slight coloration differences to match the other Diamond Melanite followed.
"Must've been messed with," thought Melanite. Before she could go ...
"HOLD IT!"
Before Melanite could just go, a yellowish blur rushed by her fast, startling her a little. In a screeching halt, and turn around, Fulgurite was standing there again.
"You again?"
"Yes, me again! I want Pearl back, you can't just take someone like that!" Fulgurite snapped.
"First of all, she wasn't yours to begin with. Second, if you want one, just order one and we'll deliver a Pearl to you. It's that simple," Melanite explained, ignoring Fulgurite's childish anger. Fulgurite just groaned.
"So, if I pay, I'll get her back?" Fulgurite cleared up, thinking it would be the Pearl she knew from Earth.
"You'll get a Pearl, what's difference does it make? They all act the same anyway."
"Wha - no! I want MY Pearl, not some replacement!" Fulgurite yelled, getting a bit too close for comfort. Melanite was starting to loose her patience with her, leaning over with an equally annoyed glare.
"Listen here, Gem, all Pearls behave the same, they're made the same, and they all follow orders, there's no point in choosing one Pearl over the hundreds of others! Now, go away before I call the guards!" Melanite ordered. Fulgurite wasn't so easily intimidated, and stood there with her foot impatiently tapping the dirt.
"HA! You're bluffing! I'm not leaving without her!" Fulgurite firmly stated. Melanite waited a bit to see if she'll just go, but Fulgurite stayed anyway. Melanite rolled her eyes, and just sighed.
"Don't forget; you asked for it," Melanite warned. But, instead of calling the guards, she instead went inside the building. Fulgurite moved to the door, ready to open it when something shot out, and stabbed her stomach! Suddenly, she poofed right then and there, her lightning gemstone falling to the ground. Melanite walked back outside, and picked up the Gemstone, along with what stabbed her; a Gem Destabilizer! Guess she was more prepared than what Fulgurite gave her credit for. After picking up the gemstone from the ground, a simple motion actually got her to teleport the gemstone away, far from the location.
Done and done, just like that.
~~~~~~
back with the others, they waited back at Blue Diamond's tower as they were told to do, as Blue Diamond and Sapphire were in another room trying to handle the issue as promised. It'd been rather quiet, only muffled sounds of Blue diamond in the other room trying to discuss it with her equaled ruler. It'd been quite a while, and the wonder over if it'll work out was starting to bite at them. Twilight was pacing around the room, back and forth while the others tried to remain calm.
"Can you sit down, Twilight?" Amethyst insisted, not feeling much better with Twilight's pacing about. As they werw waiting around though, something started to pop up in the air above them. Turned out, it was Fulgurite's gemstone! It stayed mid air for a second more until it fell onto Pinkie Pie's head, making her jump. Very soon, Fulgurite wasted no time in reforming herself, yet she was furious upon fully recovering.
"What's with you?" Amethyst asked.
"I'LL SHATTER THAT GEM!" Fulgurite screamed in rage, her hair sprawled out as electricity shot out from her rage. No one got hit, but Lapis rushed over to calm her down.
"Fulgurite, wait, calm down please! Deep breaths, deep breaths," Lapis said. While trying to hold her in place was slightly painful with the electricity, Fulgurite began to slow her breath and relax enough to keep her senses, her hair falling back to normal.
"Now, what happened?"
"I tried to get back Pearl, but that stubborn Melanite kept refusing me, and even hit me with a Gem Destabilizer!" Fulgurite revealed, feeling her anger grow a little bit again upon reminding herself what happened. She hated being beaten by such a cheap trick.
"Aww! Now what do we do?" Steven wondered, also wondering what's going to happen to their Pearl.
"We'll just have to wait and see if Blue Diamond can sort it out," Twilight concluded, sitting down next to Steven. Pinkie Pie went over right to the door, between them and Blue Diamond, as she tried to hear what they were saying. She couldn't make it out too well, but soon the door opened up (Pinkie being pushed off aside) as Blue Diamond came out ...
Unfortunately, she shook her head.
"Oh man," Rainbow groaned, hoof to forehead.
"I tried what I could," Blue Diamond noted, before walking off. At least they could say that she had tried. But the question remained; what do they do now? Before any answer would come around, suddenly Blue Pearl came in.
"Where's Sapphire?"
"She'll be busy for this evening."
~~~~~~
For the next couple of hours, Pearl was basically kept inside her room by Melanite to keep her from running off again. Pearl really felt a bit in the rough at the moment; being stuck in such a place just because she's a Pearl with no exact owner. Throughout the day, Pearl could see more of her type of Gems being brought out, heading to different areas of Homeworld time and again. Pearl knew in her heart that she wasn't meant to be in here, she was to be with her friends at least.
"I can't believe this. We haven't been on Homeworld for more than a day, and here I am in a cell ... like any other Pearl," Pearl thought, sighing miserably. She stopped trying to force herself out at this point, so all she could do was wait and hopefully she'll get lucky somehow. She heard Melanite come back in her teleportation for the twentieth time that day (and even then she wasn't sure if that was all of them), looking over her screen and keeping track of the Pearls in the facility. as Melanite was about to call it for the day, there was, oddly, a knock at the front end of the building. Melanite then went off to get the door, and once she opened it up ...
"Hello."
"If you're here for a pickup, you'll have to wait until tomorrow; just closing," Melanite informed. Pearl couldn't see who was talking, so, it was a pure guess on who it really was.
"I'm sure you have at least one more order ready for me?"
"I've dealt with seventy five today, and none of them are for -" suddenly, Melanite's screen went off with a yellow diamond beep. Pearl hadn't been around for long, but she knew enough that the beeping meant a notification for another order. She heard that same beep a good fifty times now, and caught on after that. As for the information, Melanite looked at the order to see what was what, and soon got the information in. The information mainly consisted of name, and picture of the Gem in particular.
"Hm ... Sapphire ... Wait a minute."
turned out, she was right in front of her.
"May I have my Pearl please?" Sapphire asked. Melanite still needed a minute for the Houdini trick before answering Sapphire.
"How'd you do that? You messing with my screen?"
"No; I set an order earlier today. Just thought I see my Pearl in person, that's all," Sapphire replied. Melanite still wasn't sure on this, for it wasn't the regular form of order. The main thing was for her to get an order, teleport the Pearl to the right place, earn her keep, rinse and repeat. Here though, the order was messed up just from Sapphire being there at all. Either way, the aristocratic Gem went on inside, Pearl seeing Sapphire come in, as Melanite followed.
"I believe my Pearl should be ... there," Sapphire assumed, and then pointed right at Pearl. Pearl knew exactly what Sapphire was doing, but Melanite looked stern to Sapphire.
"Wait a minute, you sure you want her? She's a troublemaker, and it might be some time before she would be mended."
"I like her just the way she is. I'll happily take her," Sapphire concluded. Melanite still wasn't too sure about Pearl in particular, but an order's an order, and she wasn't taught to not take one. So, with a few clicks, Pearl was released. Happy as ever, Pearl went right over to Sapphire with a big smile on her face.
"Thank you," Sapphire said. Melanite nodded, and soon after some pay, Sapphire and Pearl walked out. Melanite offered to teleport, but Sapphire insisted to just walk with Pearl. Besides, with how furious Fulgurite was back at the tower, it might save Melanite the trouble on facing her again. Pearl and Sapphire smiled to eachother, Pearl grateful that she was out and in her company. Sapphire herself was just glad to have her friend back, and she was sure that everyone else will be happy too once they see her.
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Hmm. . .
Melon HeadMelanite keeps insisting that Pearl is just like all of the others. With this kind of logic, she should not have cared either way if Fulgurite wanted to pay to get her back. It was only when she thought that a high ranking member of Blue Diamond's court intervened that she relented. Her refusal to accept payment tells me that either she was just doing it to be a jerk to a lesser gem, or that she somehow knows that Pearl is not really like the others.7138199 a interesting observation dolis :)
So... Pearls can be high ranking guards... and slaves at the same time?
7138342 if assigned to the right Gem
7138211 It's little details like these that make interesting stories.
Once again, nailing Fulgurite's persona. Would make sense when you hang out with Amber for several millennia.
Love Melanite's enforcer role. Fits nicely.
7140996 I'm happy you're enjoying it ^^ Also, I'm glad I'm getting Fulgurite right.
Just reread the chapter, and find myself wondering why nobody or nopony has asked what exactly the threat that Big Blue mentioned in the recording was. I still think it could a certain kirin.
7142461
Ugh. I don't even want to think what sort of fortune Sapphire had to use to get Our pearl back. Though I am going to admit something here that I don't often do: you changed my mind about this story.
I'm serious. part of me was just moving my way through this without a lot of enthusiasm as I felt a bit...disoriented by all the OC's, sudden introductions of Tirek, shifting characterizations and so forth. But, after an "episode" like this, I think I'm going to like the rest of this homeworld arc. If the arrival wasn't clear enough, the different characterization for Blue Diamond is definitely making me more invested in this very different interpretation of SU.
One of the perks of being a sapphire.
9022340
Planning ahead's always a good thing ^^
Its "dont you Fret" not threat
9830886
I'll go fix it
Now since this takes place before S3 came out, I understand that clues that Pink Diamond is Rose Quartz wasn't that big at the time. Though if I'm being honest, I felt that Pearl was marked as a rogue pearl even though in the show she is Pink's Pearl and that I doubt they can tell between a pearl that's rogue to an unregistered pearl... I think I just answered my own question.
Other than that, the only problem I have with this chapter was the fact that Blue Diamond or her Pearl didn't register the gems and organics that came with Sapphire are on a VIP-list, I felt that would of been more sensible for a race that's all about efficiency above everything else.