My Little Universe II

by EquestrianKirin

Child's Play

Harmony Gems.

By the time you're reading the enclosed passage and possibly questioning life as you claim it, I'd already return to my realm and discussing matters with the deities. I've been well aware that you've been setting up your "attempts" to persuade me not only of the world's adaptation to magic, but more over to return Discord and White diamond's power. In a way it worked. But, not in the way you wanted. Your "Ronaldo Fryman" shown me that Earth has been shown to, as he kept stating it, "conspiracy and secrets" long before Discord's known involvement. In short, I will admit I am wrong in saying Earth isn't magical. On that thought, I've given Ronaldo my own personal regards to be the informant to the Harmony Gems on the otherworldly matters outside of both Equestrian and Gem knowledge.

P.S.: NO, this doesn't mean I'm giving their magic back. That is no longer under my decision, and never will be. DON'T TEST ME.

.......

Colony Production Study no.71-3

The current colonial development on the 'Independent' colony Earth has been steadily continuing its process over Earth's so-called "Winter Season". Some surprise additions to Little Homeworld had been in the works for quite some time due to suggestion by the local Flint representative. Personally, the idea of this "museum" is an unnecessary addition to the colony, as it seems to serve no functional purpose other than to ... "Preserve the Past' ... like we can make use of THAT. I'll continue the follow-up reports by the end of the week. Peridot 2F5L Cut-5XG out.

Another day and another personal report made out to who-knows-where. At least the other rejuvenated Gems had something to do with themselves with the Harmony Gems, but Peridot was mostly left to her own devices, and stuck on her own wandering around Little Homeworld to try and work things out for herself. At least she had her modified Limb Enhancers for her to make her reports on ... well, reports as in to write them down on a piece of paper for her a bit easier.
The green Gem was currently taking her time in Little Homeworld, having a seat by one of the loading crates as some of the worker Gems were still trying to make up for lost time. Watching the ruthless Quartzes working on the buildings reminded Peridot how glad she was NOT no be involved in their work.

They might beat her up probably.

"What mindless drones. All they know is to take something, and move it around. I bet they don't even know how a Limb Enhancer works. Heh, what clods," Peridot thought, a smirk forming on her face. The mindset of her rejuvenated self kept putting her above the quartzes, even if most of them were much bigger and stronger than her, especially when one of them was walking around with a large crate of supplies with relative ease, only to slam it down right next to her co-workers.

"Do they not care how fragile that stuff is?" Peridot wondered, cringing at the possible wrecked tools inside the crate.

"I don't know. They look like they're having fun.'

Peridot jumped up and suddenly drew out her arm "weaponry' in the form of a fist at the sudden voice. Turning around fast, all she saw though was Star Quartz standing there.

"Hello, mom. Are you doing okay?" asked Star. Peridot calmed down, standing up at attention.

"Who do you think you are, sneaking up on me?!" Peridot demanded angrily. Star Quartz tilted her head as she usually did with such questions.

"I'm Star Quartz. Is everything ... okay?" Star asked. Peridot rolled her eyes, and decided that focusing on her data logs would be a much better thing to do than to deal with this Ghost Gem. Even if her limb enhancers were made up of many of Steven's appliances, some upgrades were given to them and Peridot managed to seemingly make a touch screen out of the local 'iPod' screens. Peridot began walking away, working out some of the data she had been working with for the last week or so, jut to find Star following her, hands behind her back.

"... Are you gonna keep following me?" Peridot questioned, unamused by Star that much.

"Well maybe. I want to give you something," Star said.

"Which is ... what?"
The answer came with a simple move of her hands, bringing both hands around from behind her back to show the technician something. Turned out Star was actually holding something in those hands of hers, and when Peridot looked she saw what looked like a flower. In particular, a one metal flower from one Prime Kindergarten. Star stood there for a little bit more, just holding the flower in her hands and making sure Peridot was seeing it.

"A piece of local flora?" Peridot correctly wondered.

"It's a flower. The others said you saw one of these at the Prime Kindergarten, so ... here you go," Star answered, offering the flower to her. Unfortunately for the Star Quartz Gem, Peridot didn't exactly make the connection, and all she did was push the flower away.

"I've made enough studies on the flora on this planet, thank you."

"But don't you like it?" Star asked.

"If i wanted this "flower' I'd investigate myself, but I'm NOT investigating gray appearance modifiers on the local flora life so ... no thanks,' Peridot explained, before the green Gem began to walk away. She would go and comment on the whole "mom" and "you saw this" thing, but she was too pre-occupied with her own technology to really care about it. All she did do was leave Star Quartz standing there with the flower in her hands. She looked down to the flower, then to the Gem, then back to the flower again.

"Mom ...?" Star Quartz held the flower closer to her, closing her eyes. It all was just so ... weird to her. Sad, but weird.

"That didn't work either?"

It was only a minute or two, but Diopside and Jade did catch up to Star Quartz at this point, just after Peridot wandered far enough away. With everyone else gone and away doing who-knows-what, this left the trio of Gems with basically watching over Little Homeworld.

"Dang it, I swore that would've done something: it's her Cutie Mark," said Diopside, pointing to her own cheek. Star sat down nearby where Peridot was sitting, the other two Gems nearby her.

"Don't worry, Star. We'll figure out how to get Peridot back," Jade promised her.

"... What even happened to her? She used to be so ... different from now. I thought she knew what a flower is," Star said.

"Star, she's been rejuvenated remember? She doesn't remember anything except for the basics, which means boring studying, mechanics, and ... staring at her arm all day," Diopside said, the three looking to her just to find her doing just that while holding a piece of local metal. It was something for her to study on. Even after weeks, and Star still felt like it was too big of a switch.

"Anyone hear from everyone else yet?" Diopside asked. Star Quartz paused for a minute.

"Hmm ... Bismuth and Flint went to the Strawberry Battlefield, Lapis and Steven went to the Reef, Twilight and her friends went to Ponyville for a bit, and Fulgurite and Emerald went to check on Jasper." Star explained.

"Thanks, Star," Diopside simply said, though that wasn't what she meant. Regardless, it reminded the three how busy everyone else was compared to them. Before their conversation could continue, the three suddenly began to hear a commotion: Peridot got too curious with her study and was checking the toolbox the Quartzes were working with.

"Hey! Get out of that, that's ours," a Jasper shouted.

"You got dozens of these," Peridot simply said, walking away with what looked to be a large metal saw. Only to have one of the quartzes snatch it away from her.

"How about you be a good Peridot and take your studies AWAY from my work zone," suggested a angry Amethyst. Peridot was getting annoyed herself, and just tried to get something else to study, only for a Carnelian to swipe that away.

"Stop that!"

"I said "take your studies away from my work zone"."

"Don't you all have something heavy to be ... MOVING. AROUND?!" Peridot asked, irritated as ever.

"Oh geez, not again. Guys, wait don't -"
Diopside was just about to go in and try to stop this face off, but before she or Jade could jump, Star Quartz was suddenly missing from her seating spot. The two looked around and sure enough, Star was suddenly standing right between the Amethyst and Peridot, a hand on each of their shoulders.

"The heck? What're you - ... doing? ..." the angry Amethyst started to feel a lot more relaxed all of a sudden, no longer so ticked off and angry at Peridot for her work, and Peridot meanwhile looked almost zoned out, gently placing the tool back down onto the ground. Star kept her hands on them for a little bit more until she was sure they both had calmed down.

"Feeling better?"

"Whooooa. I don't know what you did, but that was ... wow that's ... something," the Amethyst only heard rumors of Star Quartz's powers to calm down, but she didn't imagine that a hundred years of spa treatment can slam someone all at once. Peridot was so "relaxed" she actually fell down onto her butt, dazed somewhat.

"But are you feeling better?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah I'm all good. You take whatever," the Amethyst said, walking away and letting Peridot do her thing with whatever she wanted to study.

"You okay, mom?" Star Quartz asked. Peridot was still dazed a little before she snapped back to reality.

"What the heck did you do to me?" Peridot simply asked. She wasn't even upset about it, she was just dumbfounded if anything. Peridot slowly got back to her feet, hand by her head, as Star Quartz just answered her.

"I just didn't want to see you two fighting. I guess my powers activated again to help me," Star Quartz answered. None of them ever really bothered to explain that ability. That wasn't important though, as Peridot got back to her full senses again, actually starting to put that into question. This was a Quartz right?

"Huh ... Quartzes aren't known to control emotions of Gems ... Does this ability activate willingly, or is it more naturally occurring?" Peridot inquired, studying the gemstone on this quartz Gem some more. Peridot made sure she was eye-level with the gemstone on her.

"I don't know. It just happens," Star Quartz shrugged, not too fazed by this invasion of privacy. Peridot, for the first time in a long time, was actually starting to become intrigued by the Gem. She had seen her for a while, sure, but her abilities never really struck her until now. Too bad (for her anyway) that Jade and Diopside went over and pulled Star aside.

"Is everything alright? What'd you do?"

"I just helped them calm down," Star replied.

"Thanks a lot, but we're supposed to do it the "Talking" way, not the "Making" way," Diopside reminded.

"Oh! ... Sorry," Star said. Peridot was probably the only one confused.

"The what way?"

"Oh it's just something we've been talking about, don't worry about it P-dot," Diopside said. She'll probably remember when they get her memory back anyway.

"It's Peridot," Peridot simply answered. The lack of enthusiasm in her voice was just painful. Peridot will have to work this out later, but for now she'll have to go and work out some tool studies. She gave the three one more glance before walking away from them all. After walking off a bit more, she decided to pull out her iPhone data log again.

Science study: Star Quartz Emotion Project.
Case Study: 01
Just today, I have discovered that one of the local Gem residence of the Gem colony Little Homeworld has apparently inherited abilities beyond what is current known in the Quartz database. With the solo exception of the Rose Quartz subspecies, Quartzes had never been known of any psychological or emotional abilities. Well, until now. Current study in production.

"Are you talking about me?" asked Star Quartz, making Peridot jump.

"Peridot, out!" Peridot quickly said, closing her data log quickly before it could get interrupted again. In fact, she quickly made a brisk walk away before they could bother her. They knew a Peridot in study might not be the best thing to get involved with anyway. ... Especially for Star Quartz.

"... Do you want to study me?" Star bluntly asked. Might as well offer it up front. Peridot ... wasn't sure how to react to that.

"....... Yes? ... wait, you'll let me?" Peridot asked confused. Star Quartz smiled, and nodded to her innocently. Not only was this Gem having an ability unheard of in Quartzes, but willing to let Peridot study this further too? Talk about an opportunity.

"W-Well, great! If you can follow me, we can begin some tests to see just how this ability operates."

"I'll follow you, mom."
Peridot didn't want to ruin her chances here, so she didn't point anything out. Diopside and Jade looked to one another briefly before looking on to Peridot, Peridot and Star beginning to walk away. Diopside quickly grabbed Star Quartz before she could go any further.

"Eh, Star Quartz? Doesn't that sound a little bit concerning to you?" Diopside inquired. Star though didn't really understand the troubles in being someone's subject.

"I don't see anything wrong with it. I get to spend more time with my mom, and she actually wants me around her. That's good isn't it?" Star asked.

"No, of course not. But being a subject and being a daughter are ... kinda different. Just be a little careful, okay?" Diopside said, Jade nodding in agreement. Star Quartz wasn't too sure what they were talking about, but for their experience on Earth, Star should at least listen to their advice.

"I'll be careful," Star answered.

"Thank you, Star Quartz," Jade replied. With that said, Star simply began walking on her way where Peridot had gone off to. Diopside and Jade both knew Star Quartz enough that she would listen to them, but all the same she was still a very young Gem.

"So ... should we do something about this? I don't want Star to be Peridot's umm ... guinea pig," Diopside asked, a little bit worried over their young friend.

"We shouldn't get involved in it, but just to be safe we'll see what happens," Jade answered.

~~~~~~

"Should we get involved now?" Diopside asked.

As Jade and Diopside watched from the entrance, Peridot didn't waste anytime with what she had in mind, and went straight into the sci-fi zone: Star Quartz went with Peridot to the town hall of Little Homeworld, the ghost Gem sitting comfortably as she looked all wired up from head to toe. Peridot had Star Quartz in multiple wires, several along her head near her gemstone, a few along her arms and sides as well, and all of em were attached to some sort of monitor Peridot managed to whip up together in her spare time, working kinda like a heart monitor.

"Readings look ... normal," Peridot said, looking to the rather mundane results so far, nothing too extreme going on at all. Star Quartz looked to the monitor herself.

"You don't sound happy about that," Star Quartz said.

"How am I gonna get any results if nothing happens? I didn't spend ten minutes checking each wire length just to get nothing outta it," Peridot said, her tone a little irritated by no results. She then began to think somewhat on how to proceed, her subject jut sitting there kicking her feet like a bored kid.

"Star? Allow me to ask you an scientific question: You're absolutely sure that this ability isn't activated by anything in your radius? Any sort of physical presence that can activate this ability?" Peridot inquired, ready to include any special information in her notes.

"I've ... never thought about it. They just kinda happen," Star shrugged.

"Literally impossible: To every action there's a reaction. Your powers can't just "kinda happen"," Peridot made clear, working off of science logic more than anything.

"Why not?"

"Leave me to solve the questions," Peridot instructed. Star Quartz kept quiet from there as Peridot got back to the monitor again. Peridot tapped the top of it to be sure it was still working, but it sure looked to be in working order. Still nothing to show though.

"Still inactive. ... Come on, you stupid -" Peridot started banging on the device, only for it to start to short-circuit and zap at her limb enhancer. Not her official arm, but it still hurt her. Star Quartz was startled seeing Peridot suddenly bolt away, holding her hand.

"Mom! You okay?" gasped Star Quartz, rushing towards her despite all the wires on her body. Peridot checked her limb enhancer, moving the fingers to be sure they worked properly.

"Go sit down," instructed Peridot, "And put back on your wires, some of them got loose when you got up."

"Oh. Okay," Star replied. She took a seat and started to re-work the wires on her so they were back on her good and tight. Peridot checked the monitor after that display, only to find that basically nothing happened. The monitor was still showing the basic signs of a normal level.

"STILL nothing? Any normal Gem would've gotten something!"

"Sorry, am I doing it wrong?"

"You're doing fine, just let me think," Peridot said, trying to figure out what to do now. Any ability would've at least become shown on the monitor, but this wasn't the case for Star Quartz here. Star Quartz watched Peridot stressing out some more, starting to worry about her mother a bit. Was she doing something wrong or not?

Her eyes moved towards the monitor.

"Mother?"

"Okay, stop calling me that. What even IS this "mom" any -"
Peridot took a look over to the monitor when turning around to her, and her eyes caught sight of the monitor screen. It was shown quiet for a while now, but when she was starting to worry about her, the results were beginning to become more erratic. They were catching something STRONG coming from her, and Peridot was quick to notice the activity. The line on the screen started to zoom up and down fast.

"The readings are going crazy! Hold on, I think we found something," Peridot said, quickly trying to get this written down before it could go away. Unfortunately for her ...

"According to the readings, they present what appears to be a release in aura around the physical body - Wait! Nonononono, don't go away on me now," Peridot pleaded. But alas, whatever power that was being read on the screen no longer were active anymore, and the readings were back to normal.

"Did you get it?"

"Subject, you have to do that again! Whatever you did, do it again, i need the end results," Peridot said. So close to getting a full understanding of it, and it just suddenly dropped like that, it riled her up so much!

"But I didn't do anything. I just looked at you, and then it started happening. ... Is it you, maybe?" Star said. Peridot paused and looked back to the monitor again. She had one hypothesis, but she needed more data for that to work ...

"Hmm ... maybe this ability's a response to more physical activity. ... Hold still," Peridot instructed.

"STOP!"

Probably a very good call Diopside wasn't gonna let Peridot go any further, rushing in fast and getting in between the two before this experiment could even start. Anything physical with a science-nutty Peridot was not suiting well for anyone.

"What did I tell you about interfering?!" Peridot snapped.

"Forget interfering, I'm not gonna let you hurt my friends," insisted Diopside, arms out spread so the techy wouldn't go in any further towards Star Quartz.

"hurt her? What're you talking about, I didn't say anything like that! I'm merely using physical contact to test her natural response in her ability," Peridot explained matter-of-factly.

"That's the same thing!" Diopside yelled.

"No it's not, now stop being a bickering clod!"

As Diopside and Peridot continued their own form of fighting, Jade walked over towards Star Quartz, who still was sitting casually as they were arguing right in front of her. She can already tell that the two weren't going to stop anytime soon.

"Excuse me? ... Can I "the making way" with them now?" Star asked Jade.

"Let's just give them time to talk it out. Sooner or later they'll come to their conclusion," Jade reassured. How long will that be though? It was kinda difficult to say, considering it was Peridot they were talking about. Rjuvenated or no, the quick to anger ratio was still as evident as ever.
Still, with Peridot and Diopside trying to figure out the fate of the Star Quartz, the two sitting aside were slowly beginning to notice there was something else going on outside. And that something was beginning to close in on the main tower, far above the ground ...

"Look, if I wanted an assistant for my test runs, I'd say so, all you're doing is making this harder than it needs to be. I just want to know how this worked. Is that too much to ask?!"

"Peridot, come on, can't you test a different way that isn't anything physical? Or at least not painful?" Diopside pointed out.

"... Not ... physical. You do know that there needs to be at least one per case study, correct?" Peridot questioned. That didn't really make anyone feel any better.

"Peridot -"

*whoosh*
The interior of the main tower started to turn into an indoor wind storm, as the wind from outside began to gust and blow into Peridot's personal testing chamber! This basically caught everyone off guard, covering up with whatever they could from this sudden wind blast. The monitor was swept up in the wind, crashing into the back wall as the Gems hunkered down to let this wind pass them by. The only one not doing that was (guess who?) Star Quartz, who was just ... sitting there casually, her hair being blown like mad behind her.

And just as quickly as it began, the wind just stopped. It died down from a swirling blast into a very soft breeze at the absolute least, and eventually it stopped altogether.

"What. The. ...?" Diopside groaned, as Peridot peeled herself off of the back wall. Star felt all of her wires gone now, scattered across the ground. As the winds died down and everyone was getting back to their feet, someone else from just outside of the main tower began to make her way inside. Her large shadow was cast inside the tower, and they all began to feel a sudden shivering bitter cold began to touch their skins.
An uninvited guest from beyond their own world. One would think it was princess Luna, but they knew she wasn't gonna be visiting their world for another week or two.

The Spirit. The Spirit of the World Yet To Come.

"What in the world? I-It's you!" gasped Jade.

"Hello," waved Star. The Spirit relaxed her large wings, calling off the cold winds she had brought forth with her presence for a little bit, giving everyone else a usual stern expression. However, this one wasn't as much authority as it usually was, probably from the last time the Harmony Gems last spoke with her.

"Salutations. ... Don't tell me. THIS is all you have here today," the Spirit correctly confirmed after seeing only three of the twenty plus Harmony Gems.

"U-Umm ... yes?" Diopside replied. The Spirit, not in the mood for these games, could only gave a rough sigh.

"Every time I come forward, everyone else steps aside and out of sight," groaned the Spirit, shaking her head in disapproval. What a track record she kept putting for them. She turned her gaze back to the trio after a good roll of the eyes.

"Well, thank you Harmony Gems. For once again picking a precarious time to handle your own practices against my wishes, for it is now that the Spirit Council has reached their decision regarding your ... "Suggestion" regarding Discord and White Diamond," the Spirit revealed, though she did not sound too thrilled about it, mainly because of just how many of the group had basically fled the scene. Diopside, Jade, and Star Quartz felt that this was either a trick or just some twisted luck because WHY would they show up now of all times?! Rejuvenated Gems one way and everyone else gone on the other, they literally had no one right now!

"Now? As in "Right now" now?" Diopside asked.

"Yes. Now. Unless you all changed your mind and WANT the sentence to be carried out," the Spirit said.
As she was talking, the Spirit glanced away from the three knowing Gems, and saw Peridot off nearby, looking ... pretty much like her mind paused. The green Gem's eyes stared up and down the Spirit, taking in all sorts of mental notes of every single detail of this giant Alicorn-like deity.

"What ... what even are you? This material's changing solidity on its own," Peridot said in amazement, watching how the Spirit's fullbody hoodie and how it faded from fabric into pure air. Peridot tried to take what fabric she could, but the Spirit forcefully yanked it away.

"Don't even think about it," the Spirit chillingly warned. It was a tone enough to make any unruly Gem obey her command, and Peridot only hunkered down in an *eep*, keeping her distance away from the Alicorn lookalike.

"It's nice that you all considered, but ... I-I'm afraid we can't right now," Jade said, humbled as ever as the titan spirit looked down onto her.

"And why ever not?" the Spirit questioned. Jade took a deep breath and plucked up her courage.

"Because everyone's gone. Half of our team has been rejuvenated, and the other half's trying their absolute best to watch over them until they're all better. I-I'm sorry, Spirit, but the answer is "Not now"," Jade answered. She tried her best to make this answer work with no disrespect to the Spirit.

"... You do realize ... that this isn't entirely a request. ... You all made time out of us, and we're not going to put that to waste because of your inconvenience. NOW COME."

Not even a word in edge wise.

The Spirit's horn began to glow bright white, the lines of white magic spiraling around her horn before she started to summon something out of pure thin air. The horn didn't cut into anything, or exactly destroyed anything, but all it seemed to do was conjure up a circular portal going off to who-knows-where. It was more formal and simple then the Portal Key nonsense they've used before, plus the Spirit had more control over where this portal went to. All the Spirit had to do then was signal the Gems involved to follow her on her way.

"I guess we're doing this today. ... Come on everyone. We'll have finish this later," said Jade. A good answer. The only one not good with this answer was Peridot, seeing Star Quartz starting to go with them.

"Wait, you can't leave, you're my test subject! Test subjects can't just waltz away with their own plans! I NEED YOUR DATA!" Peridot pleaded. The Spirit raised one of her large wings and blasted a freezing touch of wind to the loud green Gem.

"You are not in control here. They all demanded this time, and they will come with me back. whether you need them or not."

"But my data! My studies!"

"That is NOT my concern."

"... Can I at least have some fabric? For scientific purposes," Peridot asked, pointing to the fazing fabric of her clothing. The Spirit didn't even bother to answer her at first, but made a sudden magical zap at her when she saw her try and grab some of it off of her anyway. NOBODY is touching her fabric and is getting away with it.

"No. No you can not. Now, off we go then," the Spirit re-stated.

"I'll be right back here, mother. I just promise them I'd help them too. Maybe when I get back, we can do that wiring again," Star Quartz promised, sounding sincere about being her test subject ... for some weird reason. It was probably the best they were going to get out of it though, so the best they could do was leave it at that. It was off to the Spirit Council.

Whether they wanted to or not.

~~~~~~

Leaving Little Homeworld (and Earth for that matter) for the sake of the Spirit's insistence, it hardly was under a minute before they got from Earth ground to the realm of the gods, following behind the Spirit's step. With Peridot's potential involvement now out of the way, all of their focus was primarily on what the Spirit Council had in mind for their Draconequus and the Diamond specifically. At least this time they weren't sneaking around or having to lie to any of the locals.
Speaking of the local area, the Realm of the Gods was a bit vacant for their arrival, at least compared to their last visit. Not as many spirits going around, not many cranes or herons giving out their messages or whatever it is, much of the walk was just them and the Spirit walking along their way to the Spirit Council ... wherever they are. Sure they did see a very few passenger cranes flying along their way through the sky, but that was about it. Through the whole walk, the Spirit made sure to keep well ahead of the Gems behind her, head held high like some regal queen, and only occasionally glancing back at them just to be sure they were indeed following her. Jade would look up to the Spirit, only to look ahead quickly when the Spirit would look back to them.

"Soooo ... Where is everybody?" asked Diopside, looking around at the area some more.

"At the Spirit Council," answered the Spirit, "After all, this is the first time a mere mortal has ever enforced any of us into their bidding. It's become quite the word."

"Enforcing, who's enforcing? We just wanted to get White and Discord's magic back!"

"Exactly," the Spirit simply answered. Diopside grew quiet again, though not really in the best mood either.

"What's wrong with trying to help a few friends?" Diopside thought. Trailing behind them a bit in their walk, Star was taking her time in looking around this large, and highly unexplored realm. Comparatively speaking off of what the others keep talking to her about, this world was probably the least understood, and Star Quartz was taking her time in looking around and taking in what information she could gather. Her eyes were just about to observe and investigate some of the scrolls in a nearby pot when the Spirit spotted her again.

"Keep out of there, if you please," the Spirit demanded, wings spread so Star could see her.

"Why?"

"I don't need to explain why, just do as you are told," the Spirit warned. This was no time to play anymore games. Star Quartz looked over to the scrolls one more time, but not wanting to get in trouble she decided to just leave it there. She can probably check them out later.

"Now she's enforcing?!" quietly exclaimed Diopside.

"Just stay calm, everything will be okay. Let's just ... tolerate her," Jade advised, though truth be told she wasn't sitting well with the Spirit either. Must be more akin to the whole "god" mentality. It also didn't help that the Spirit kept her magic on and at the ready just in case.
From their the walk was mostly undisturbed and non-sidetracked, the group continuing to move along through this realm of theirs for a while longer. Still, given the time it took to get to the council, there still was a bit of small talk.

"Should I even inquire where the rest of your group has gone off to?" the Spirit asked. Well second verse, same as the first, as Star began to explain.

"Bismuth and Flint went to the Strawberry Battlefield, Lapis and Steven went to the Reef, Twilight and her friends went to Ponyville for a bit, and Fulgurite and Emerald went to check on Jasper. Everybody else got umm ... re-juvin-ated. ... Did I say that right?"

"You got it, Star," said Jade.

"Hmm ... how convenient," the Spirit huffed.

"Convenient?"

"That you all will pull a endeavor such as this knowing that this council meeting was going to happen. Almost as if you're all expecting us to just hand it all over to you without any bother."

"I wouldn't think so. Everyone was just busy since Grogar showed up. We're afraid he'll invade with those two too weak to fight him."

The Spirit simply needed to hear that name before she felt even more disappointment in them all. scoffed, "Out of all the threats your group seemingly has conquered, and you're all worried over this one? Grogar doesn't exist, for he's just a fabricated legend about another Gusty the Great, who defeated him by simply swiping away that ridiculous bell of his thousands of years long before Equestria was even thought of."
Now THIS was interesting, but a bit off-putting as to how casually the Spirit shared this information. hen again, Grogar probably didn't matter to the Spirit anymore than anything else was at this point. The most she actually cared about their world was with the Everstorm, and that passed by them months ago already without too much trouble (aside from a few obvious things).

"Are we talking about the same Grogar? Because this one's really different from what you just said," Diopside asked, confused.

"Not questioning my judgement are you? But tell me: what is the Grogar you know of like?" The Spirit questioned. Everyone else had their opinion on the tyrannical ram, in one form or another, most of which basically wanted him to die already. As for Star though, she had her own idea in mind. Well kind of.

"Grogar? He likes calling himself the king of Tambalon, and he has this big army of all sorts of things. He took over Homeworld for a few weeks and turned everyone into monsters or treated them very badly ... but ... I think he's just scared of everyone too. He doesn't like showing it, but he's scared. Not happy. ... At least that's what Sumu told me."

The Spirit suddenly halted, Star accidentally bumping into her. The Spirit, for the first time in their walk, turned around to face them completely, not simply a turn of the head this time.

"....... And who's this ... Sumu?" the Spirit questioned suspiciously.

"Oh, she's my friend," explained Star, "She's very smart, and she likes telling stories she hears from all the plants around her. She used to be called the Plunder Vines, but Grogar gave her her own name after he dug her up and brought her to Homeworld."

"Discord Plunder Vines had been left unattended, and are sentient now?!" bellowed the appalled Spirit, her voice making them all shutter a bit, including Star Quartz.

"Discord? ... Oh yeah, she's his daughter! I almost forgot," Star said. Well not exactly true, but the Spirit quickly regathered herself from the shock of this apparently big piece of news.

"I'll have a talk with him later. The Spirit Council will hear of this, no doubt," the Spirit concluded, before turning around and starting to continue on her way there. Star nodded and followed her too, but Diopside and Jade were ... kinda blown back too.

"When did this start happening?!" Diopside asked.

"When did what start happening?"

"You and Sumu. Yes you told us about who she is, but we never knew you and her were close friends, not to mention Sumu being Discord's daughter and all!" Jade said.

"Yeah, Sumu and I've been friends for a few years now. Is that bad?" Star asked, a little confused as to how making friends was a bad thing.

"No, it's not bad making friends, but ... why didn't you say anything?"

"Nobody asked me," Star simply shrugged. A bit of a blunt answer coming from Star Quartz, but hey they only asked about what she could do, and nothing more than that so ... technically they didn't ask about Star's relationship with Sumu anyway.

"We better remember that when we get back," Diopside said.

.......

From there, the Gems and the Spirit kept a better pace and didn't have any distractions this time as they made their way to the Spirit Council. The idea of Discord's Plunder Vines being friends with Star Quartz, not to mention this extra information regarding Grogar from the Spirit still lingered on in the Gems' heads for a good while. This "Gusty the Great" was never mentioned by anyone before, nor Grogar himself being a mere legend in Equestrian folklore. Whether it was true or not though would have to wait for now, they had to keep themselves focused on the Spirit Council and their decision on White Diamond and Discord. Homeworld needed their leader at full strength and Discord's chaos magic could help them out a lot now with Grogar's army.

The closer they got to the right location the more commotion started to stir up, a low sound of numerous voices growing stronger and stronger as the group started heading towards a magnificent building. A tall tower seemingly made up of golden material, jutting out of the clouds underneath like a pure spire. They saw a few birds encircling the building too, some trying to get inside while others simply flew around it in simple soaring. Was this the same building Discord and White Diamond went to?
Diopside, Jade, and Star all stopped briefly when they got closer to the front door, which the Spirit didn't hesitate to march right on up to and beginning to push it open. The noise from inside the Spirit Council building boomed out good and loud, almost overwhelming the three small Gems right at the front door. They saw a number of the higher spirits already present there, including Your Great Honor already seating up at the very back, towering for all to see him.

"Are we in ... another court session?" Diopside gulped nervously.

"Everything's going to be fine, Diopside. Just stay calm," Jade said.

"I can keep you all calm. If you want," offered Star Quartz.

"No, no, that won't be necessary. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home safely," said Diopside, though she still was worried that most (if not all) of their friends couldn't take their time to come here today. The only thing they could do right now was follow the Spirit inside, walking up towards the center of the spirit-crowded room, as the Spirit herself found her position right in front of them all.

"Your Great Honor. I have brought before you: the demand! ... Or rather, what was available," the Spirit said, sounding as if she was spitting venom by the end of her introduction.

"BE SEATED, PROSECUTIONER," bellowed Your Great Honor, his voice so forceful it made the Gems shake on the ground as if an Earthquake went off. Not only did the demand have the Spirit move to her respected spot, but this also silenced the large crowd and jury of this council. All voices silent before Your Great Honor. Speaking of, Your Great Honor raised up his mighty head, that alone enough for Diopside to fall backwards just from watching him raise up.

"DEMAND! YOU ALL HAD COME FORWARD BEFORE THE SPIRITS IN DEMAND FOR DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND'S RETURN TO POWER. STEP FORWARD, YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!"

Too bad the Diamonds weren't here. But they had to pick someone to do it. For Diopside, not having any idea how to do this, she nudged Jade and gestured her to move forward. Jade at least spent more time with Flint and had some idea on how this sort of thing worked, but that didn't mean it was gonna be easy. Especially against the largest tortoise of all time.

"Our representatives couldn't make it, so I will speak for them!" called Jade. She had to muster up all her courage just to stand there.

"DO AS YOU WISH! YOU ALL CLAIM THAT DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND NEED THIS POWER! WHAT IS YOUR REASONING?!" Your Great Honor bellowed. Jade needed to keep herself together, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't getting any chills from Your Great Honor's words. They did try to explain it once, though Jade knew this was for all of the council to hear, not just him. Jade took a breath.

"White Diamond need her power to ... maintain her position over the Diamond Authority!" said Jade, "Without it, the whole Gem empire wouldn't be able to operate properly! I understand the reasoning behind the court's actions, but she's learnt from her mistakes. She won't try to abuse her power any more."
As for Your Great Honor, he turned to the Spirit.

"PROSECUTION, PLEASE RISE BEFORE THE COURT!" Your Great Honor demanded. The Spirit nodded, knowing what she was there to do and knowing what to say as she moved out before everybody.

"Your Great Honor, the Diamond Authority, as we've all observed, is no longer as essential for Gem kind, for they've extinguished their roles entirely as of last autumn. Giving back their powers for such a reason would be a waste at best for something no longer needed."

"N-No, that isn't true, the Diamond Authority is still the highest power of Gemkind. They've just been ... less enforcing," Jade admitted, which would basically sum up the whole positioning with the Diamond Authority as of now. Jade unfortunately wasn't allowed to speak just yet, and all she got was a stern look from the Spirit, being ignored completely.

"If it were as important as they claim, it would've all crumbled by now. But as we've all seen, it's still thriving. Why lend White Diamond power over those who can thrive well without her? Along with that, can we really assume that White Diamond wouldn't attempt to abuse any of these powers? The risks are too high," the Spirit continued. The others of the council spoke with one another quietly, working out these details themselves.

"Did she just say she's better of dead?" Diopside thought, not believing her ears. Not even ten minutes on and the Spirit Council was already drilling them. Still, Your Great Honor was being "fair", and he turned back to the Gems in question.

"WHAT IS YOUR CASE FOR DISCORD THEN?!" bellowed Your Great Honor. They got the main case handled with White Diamond, now onto the Draconequus. Unfortunately, the trio of Gems were not too familiar with Discord as opposed to White Diamond. They HAD to say something though ...

"Umm ... well, you see ... Discord is uh ..."

"HURRY UP!" bellowed Your Great Honor. This anger-filled bellow made all three Gems fall onto their knees from the sheer force of the roar. Jade was just terrified over this colossal spirit, as he probably would want it.

"Hey, hey give her a moment," insisted Diopside, still rattled over the yelling.

"H-He's a ... Draconequus. And they've always been known for their use of ... chaos magic. It's ... like taking away a fish's ability to swim. He won't survive."

... None of them were remotely moved. It didn't help that Jade didn't have the confidence in that either.

"PROSECUTION?"

"Discord, while weakened now, is easily shown to be alive and healthy. Taking away his chaotic abilities is not, nor ever been shown to be proven hazardous to his kind's health. That, and may I remind the jury that it was HIS involvement that has caused the Everstorm to pass early in the first place? And just moments after we released him from his first quarantine, he immediately defies our laws and reveals our presence to those who should not!"

"What's THAT got to do with anything?!" Diopside shouted suddenly. Your Great Honor immediately reacted to the sudden voice.

"SILENCE!!" bellow Your Great Honor, "I DID NOT SAY YOU COULD SPEAK! PROSECUTION, CONTINUE."

"Thank you. And to answer your informal question, this proves that a being as unpredictable and as rebellious as Discord cannot be trusted with powers beyond even his own understanding. Allowing such a monstrous animal to roam as freely as he had with a power that could destroy the very fabric of time as we -"

"GET TO THE POINT, SPIRIT!"

"... We can not allow that," the Spirit summed up. After a minute of the silence, the Spirit started to quietly move back to her seat, watched over by the colossal tortoise before Your Great Honor looked back to the other Gems.

"HAVE EITHER OF YOU ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY?"

They would if they knew what to say. But they couldn't come up with anything. With no other words to say, Your Great Honor began to speak again.

"IN CONCLUSION, THE SENTENCE WILL NOT BE LIFTED FOR DISCORD AND WHITE DIAMOND! THEY ARE MENACES TO SOCIETY, AND THEIR PUNISHMENTS ARE TO BE CARRIED OUT! THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT IT! DISMISSED!" Your Great Honor raised his mighty foot, and slammed down into the "ground", enough power to shutter an entire city. This was enough of a signal for everything around to start to leave the Spirit Council.

"Already? Wait, we haven't even said anything about -" Diopside was cut short when they felt magic start to come over them by the Spirit.

"Your Great Honor has spoken, and YOU are tiresome. Now let's go," the Spirit cut in, starting to drag the Gems away to leave the Spirit Council building. They struggled to get themselves free, but they weren't getting out of the magical aura from the Spirit. While every other spirit flew off on their way, Your Great Honor started to bury himself out of the room, the whole world shaking a bit in his subterranean exit. the Spirit dragged the Gems right on out of the door, which slammed tightly shut behind them. There was no word for discussion here, and everyone heard him loud and clear. The Gems weren't freed from the aura until after the door was shut tight.

"There. Satisfied now?" The Spirit inquired.

"Well. NO! No, we hardly even got to do anything: all you did was proved us wrong and that's it, that's all! You didn't even tell him about Grogar or Sumu!"

"Who said anything about telling the council during the session?"

"You did!"

"You are wrong. What more is there to say? ... Now. You all are going to go back home. You're going to tell your friends what happened today. And we'll never do this again. For your own good."

If any of the others were around, the Spirit would be given a LOT more talk and fight, but it seemed that Diopside and Jade weren't sure how to do this now. Maybe an actual fight would break out if they were backed up, but that wasn't gonna happen either. Diopside and Jade looked back to the giant door again, knowing that Your Great Honor was right inside there. They hardly had much time for it though, the magical aura gripping them again. The Spirit herself got the portal opened again, and without giving it a second thought, tossed the Gems right inside.

They were back on Little Homeworld ground just moments later. Unsuccessful.

"Maybe it'll be better when everyone else gets back," sighed Diopside. The others were much better at this anyway. But there was just one more problem ...

"....... Star? ... where'd she go?"

~~~~~~

This situation turned from bad to worse.

For one moment, Star Quartz was with Diopside and Jade within the Spirit Council building. And the next ... well, she didn't know exactly. Aside from herself, which was glowing a fine white, everywhere else was just too dark to see beyond a good five feet or so. Star Quartz looked around what she could manage to see, only to find just empty space and a very flat floor, almost artificial despite everywhere else looking like natural cloud cover. Sound was hardly any too, the only main sound Star was hearing being a strong wind from somewhere outside, telling her that the room she was in wasn't as thick as it appeared. Also it told her she was in a room at all.

"Hello?!" Star called. Her voice had a very slight echo to it, like in an empty room more than any cave. She started walking around, her footsteps sounding like they were walking on hollow metal.

"Diopside! ... Jade! ... Spirit! ... Where am I? It's so dark in here," Star asked, not hearing anyone anywhere to help her out in this situation. The light around her body though was helping her out a little bit more when it came to the darkness, Star Quartz seeing more and more of the large room around her.
Her footsteps were quiet, moving along throughout the area like the ghost she appeared as, seeing if there was a way out of this place. The more she kept moving, the more she started to wonder just what kind of place this is. Quiet, alone, and having no idea where she was going. She only briefly stopped when she looked down to her feet.

"So this is what clouds are made of. ... Mom'll wanna know this," Star Quartz said, hand on the floor and feeling the surface of the ground. She always thought clouds were made of much lighter things. She was inside a cloud though, so this should be what they were made of. She eventually stood back up and started walking again, reminding herself to tell her mom about it once she gets back. If she could figure out how, that is.

The more she moved through the area, the more she began to feel uneasy. It didn't feel welcoming in the slightest, more akin to a very old abandoned hospital building. Perhaps just as well, these walls were showing Star Quartz something else that she probably could've gone better off without knowing. As she walked, the walls tightened from a large empty room, into more of a empty hallway. A hallway with rustic walls, as if it hadn't been used for some time. The hallway seemed to go on forever, Star Quartz's light unable to show what was on the other end of it as she tried her luck and kept on going. It would've been easier if Peridot were here with her flashlight Gemstone able to light the way for her.

"... Hmm. Mom can do it. ... Maybe I can?" Star wondered. It'll be worth a shot, but the question is how. She closed her eyes.

"Here I go."
The method was silent, but she tried putting a lot of focus into her gemstone to try and mirror that same sort of flashlight light. A few short grunts got out of her mouth as she kept trying, the light around her body trying to get into her gemstone for a more focused one. Flashlights worked better than glowsticks anyway. Her gemstone flickered like a weak lightbulb, until eventually she just stopped doing it.

"It's not working. I wish I knew where everyone is ..."

*rattle*

Normally Star Quartz wouldn't be as jumpy, but given her current situation, she really couldn't help but turn around fast at the strange rattling noise. It sounded a bit distant, and similar to that of moving chains. It was only briefly though as the noise stopped shortly after she turned around.

"Sumu? Is that you?" Star called.

*rattle* went the chains again. Only one way to find out what was there: Star Quartz began to move quietly down the hall some more. The chain rattling was, while quieter, more abundant as she continued going along. Should there even be chains inside of a cloud? Well if it were Sumu that would make more sense but there were some places even Sumu couldn't go. Unless she someone grew wings. Meanwhile the hallway turned into a more multi-pathed one, as the hallway opened to more room underneath the realm above. The rattling grew louder and closer.

"Who's there?"
She found it.

Or rather, found him.

Her natural light helped her see somewhat what was in the room next to her, the entrance opening up into a large dome like shape, like a Colosseum set up in a way. The thing that caught Star Quartz's attention first though was the creature located inside, strapped to the floor with thick heavy chains to keep him still. What bites the most was that the creature was, in essence, their closest friend here in the realm:
Quetzalcoatl!

"Are you okay?" Star asked. Quetzalcoatl, needed a minute to find where Star Quartz was, the winged serpent curled up with his wings unable to flap enough to fly away. He still can move his head fairly well and managed to find Star Quartz standing by the decently-sized door.

"Star Quartz. ... One of the Harmony Gems, if I'm not mistaken. Nice to see you in person. ... Are the others with you?"

"No, it's just me. Everyone else is ... I don't exactly know. Do you know where I am?" Star asked. Q sighed and rested his head.

"The Catacombs," Q sighed, "Those who defy the laws of this realm are sent here to reflect and stop causing trouble. I'm sorry you had to be put down here as well, dear."
Quetzalcoatl hunkered back down, Star Quartz hearing the chains rattle slightly as he moved again. That would explain the noise she was hearing. Star simply sat down by the edge of Q's exhibit.

"Was I? I just remember falling in here after the Spirit Council talked to us," Star Quartz said. Quetzalcoatl looked back up to her again.

"Falling in here. You mean you went here by accident?"

Star simply nodded.

"Hmm ... a part of me wishes you didn't. This isn't the best place for any being to find themselves in," Q explained. Star Quartz looked around the holding area for a bit, to see what she could see.

"It doesn't look too bad," Star said. Quetzalcoatl shook his head.

"I suppose. Still, it's temporary punishment until the Spirit Council works out what to do," Quetzalcoatl said.

"Is that why you're all chained up?" Star asked, bringing attention to the chains wrapped around him. Quetzalcoatl looked to the chains on his wings.

"It's no less than what I deserve. After all, I did directly involve myself with the mortals, something we're not supposed to ever do. ... That, and my defendant for Discord and White Diamond not too long ago didn't end so well either," Q explained. Star Quartz began to recap a few of these, remembering what the others had told her about. The biggest ones that came to mind aside from the trial was his involvement with Steven Universe.

"... You were just trying to help."

"It's the law of us Spirits here of the Spirit Council to not directly involve ourselves with mortal affairs. ... In other words, I should've never met him. Now all I can do is wait until Your Great Honor decides what to do with me."

"That doesn't sound very fair. Why don't you try getting away?" Star asked.

"Defying Your Great Honor's words? Not a very good idea, thank you. Besides, it wouldn't be possible even if I wanted to," Q replied, moving the chains that wrapped his wings. He was lucky the Spirit Council didn't remove them from him altogether. Still, Star Quartz only needed one look at the wings before she hopped down into the place with him, going right up to the chains themselves. She kneeled down, feeling the surface of these chains. These felt cold to the touch, but didn't exactly have the same texture as your typical steel chain.

"You don't look very comfortable in these," said Star Quartz.

She was trying to break them. It started off with a few tugs on the chain to find where they connected, which was at the wall, and once she worked that out she simply tried to pull them free. She pulled and pulled and pulled some more for a change of pace, but the chains weren't going to budge from any Gem strength. All that pulling and tugging though was making a lot of noise ...

As she kept trying to figure things out, the dim light around her suddenly started to turn a dark red.

"HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!"

Your Great Honor! The thundering voice made Star spin around fast, falling over in mere seconds as the sheer power of his voice knocked her right off her own feet. All she could see of the giant tortoise in this room were his draconic eyes glowing in the darkness. The rest of him she couldn't even make out from where she was.

"Hello," Star said.

"HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?" the giant tortoise repeatedly demanded.

"I didn't really "get in" here. I sorta fell in," Star Quartz answered, pointing up towards what ceiling there was, if there even was. The giant tortoise looked up to the ceiling briefly, recalling his own rough leave from the Spirit Council. However, looking up did give him a kink in his neck so he stopped quick. Still, he had a pest to control in this chamber.

"THEN GET OUT! YOU DON'T BELONG IN HERE! ESPECIALLY WITH THE PRISONERS!" Your Great Honor bellowed.

"Prisoners? He doesn't sound like one though."

"DON'T QUESTION MY AUTHORITY! HE DEFIED OUR LAWS AND IS SEVERELY PUNISHED! NOW GET OUT UNLESS YOU WANT TO SHARE HIS FATE!" A warning that would make anyone run off.

"Do you know how to do that? I'm not sure," Star said, hardly understanding how she even got here in the first place. Your Great Honor snorted, the breath feeling like gusts from the strongest dragon wings. Q simply coiled back a bit from the titan.

"THE SAME WAY YOU GOT HERE," Your Great Honor bellowed.

Seemed simple enough. After all, she didn't see a ceiling, and clouds were able to be flown through so maybe that was what it only took. Star shrugged and gave it a try. Like a spring, she hunkered down, and sprung straight up into the air with all her strength ... only to hit the ceiling and fall to the floor.

"NOT IN HERE!"

"But you said -"

"IN THE SAME ROOM YOU STARTED IN! AND NO YOU WILL NOT LET HIM FREE!" corrected Your Great Honor. He didn't think he'd have to explain it in detail to anyone. Amazing though he answered Star Quartz's next question.

"He didn't do anything wrong, he just wanted to help. That can't be bad enough to be put in jail for," Star pointed out. Your Great Honor was fuming.

"ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY DECISIONS? HE DEFIED THE LAW IN INTERFERING WITH YOU MORTALS!"

Star Quartz was confused again after something else came up in her mind, something mentioned earlier during the meeting at the Spirit Council.
"The Spirit of the World Yet To Come did that too, and you're not punishing her."

"THAT WASN'T THE SAME AS TO WHAT Q HAS DONE. SHE MERELY MADE A WARNING, HE DELIBERATELY THREW HIMSELF INTO DANGER FOR THE MORTALS SAKE. HE SHOWED HIMSELF IN FULL WHEN THE SPIRIT DID NOT! NAME ONE TIME WHEN SHE DID SO!"

"The Everstorm," Star immediately answered. It was common fact by now, but Your Great Honor was starting to have enough of this girl.

"YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE?!"

"I just answered your question, why're you so upset?" Star inquired.

"I DEMAND SATISFACTION! I WILL NOT BE INSULTED!"

"Insulted, for what? Did I do something?" Star asked. She may be legitimate about these questions, but Your Great Honor only saw this as petty insults towards him. She should know what she was saying wasn't a good idea, not to mention trying to get Q free didn't suit well with him either. The tortoise made a choice.

"FIRST YOU INSULT ME, NOW YOU TREAT ME LIKE A FOOL?! A CHALLENGE AT SUNSET IS IN ORDER. THAT WILL SHOW YOU YOUR PLACE, MERE MORTAL!" Your Great Honor demanded. Q couldn't bare to look, turning away and closing his eyes tightly as Your Great Honor moved back and raised his gigantic foot. Any sort of light was blocked off completely thanks to his foot, only Star's own light remaining in the pitch black holding cell. All Star Quartz could do was just stand there and take the hit. She looked up to the ceiling, but as Your Great Honor started to bring his foot down, she began to see a kind of bright light emitting from the bottom of it.

One stomp, and she was gone.

...

Right back to Little Homeworld where they started. Star Quartz picked herself up off of the ground from the strong stomp, brushing off the dust from her dress. She replayed what just happened through her head.

"I made a mistake."

~~~~~~

Now what're they gonna do? Star Quartz still didn't know what she did wrong, but apparently they all now had a impossible fight to look forward to by Your Great Honor himself. The hours ticked on by towards the given time of the fight, and it was leaving them all trying to think on how to avoid this. So many of their fighters were gone, their negotiators weren't round either to talk their way outta this like pros, all Diopside, Jade and Star Quartz had was basically eachother. Well, that and a few supporters, but in the grand scheme of things how was that supposed to help them?

"How did we end up in this mess?" Diopside wondered, pacing back and forth as Jade sat aside, "We never wanted a fight, and Your Great Honor just challenges us out of nowhere? We hardly even got our team together and we're supposed to fight him?!"

"Perhaps he doesn't want to fight. Maybe he's just trying to frighten us away," Jade wondered, trying to think of a reason why a challenge would have to be done with beings so much smaller than him.

"I mean ... maybe? I dunno, Star how serious did he sound when saying that?" Diopside asked.

All Star Quartz did was shrug. With how much he spoke so far, it was hard to tell if he even had a "just kidding" voice over the voice they kept hearing.

"He sounded pretty serious to me," Star Quartz said.

"Man. Not even the Diamond Authority stood up to him, how're we supposed to fight him? He's a literal mountain," Diopside wondered. Unfortunately the trio just weren't sure what to do.

"I'm so sorry about this," Star said gravely.

"No, Star, don't blame yourself. We don't even know what made him so insulted in the first place," Jade said, placing a hand on Star Quartz's shoulder. Star felt differently about it though.

"But I made him mad. I don't know why, but I still made him mad anyway ... I don't even like fighting anyone," Star said, her eyes looking to the ground. Star already told the two what had happened while she was in the Catacombs, so it was hard to deny that she somehow did make him angry at her. Even if the Gem didn't know what she was even doing.

"Hold the phone. ... Now give the phone to me."

A familiar voice, and lucky for them this one wanted to help them out rather than give them a hard time. After hearing their conversation, Diopside, Star and Jade turned and began to see their Harmony Gem leader Garnet walking towards them. If there was anyone who could help them get out of this mess it would be her.

"GARNET! You're back!" exclaimed Jade.

"And you're back together!" added Diopside.

"Hello, Garnet," said Star with her hand raised.

"Nice to see you all again. It's been too long since I've checked everything out. Speaking of which ..." Garnet said, adjusting her shades as she would do. Just coming back and seemed she was already starting to get back into the game. It was Diopside who, after gathering herself, decided to explain things to her.

"Yeah, we got a problem. I don't know how it happened, or why it happened but we ... we kinda ... sorta ... maybe started a fight with a god," Diopside said. She waited for some sort of response from Garnet, but it seemed that this cool Gem already got an idea about it.

"So you three got called by the Spirit, and talked to Your Great Honor just for him to say no. And by the sound of it, you three got him wanting to get even with you."

"... Pretty much."

"I'm so sorry Garnet," Star repeated. "This is all my fault. If I'd done something different ..."

"It wouldn't matter. There's no timeline when you three didn't have to fight him," Garnet admitted. They weren't sure if she was trying to help them or not, but it did sound more like fate than mistakes here. ... It didn't make em feel any better though.

"Do you at least know how this'll end?" Diopside asked. Garnet paused and thought about it for a little before answering them.

"... It'll be like the Lion and the thorn."

Huh?

"Lion and the - what? ... I don't get it," Jade admitted.

"You'll have time afterwards to look that up before you'll have to go. But in any case, you three will have to face him before anything else could happen."

"Garnet wait, can you come along? They were pretty mad when they heard everyone else was gone," Diopside asked. Garnet checked ahead.

"I could ... but you three have a better chance than I ever could," Garnet replied. Did she mean that? It caught the three off-guard really, given how much more Garnet had done compared to either of them. A nice gesture.

"You think so?"

"I know you will," Garnet said. The fusion then kneeled down a bit so she was more level with Diopside. Garnet had something extra for this Gem. Bringing her lips up, right then and there, she gave Diopside a kiss on the forehead. It was brief, it was quick, but the effects from this power immediately made Diopside get shivers, her Gem eye almost freaking out as it readjusted itself to the visions she was seeing fly by her.

"W-Whoooa. That just gave me chills," Diopside said, holding herself a bit as Garnet straightened up.

"Be home in time for the get-together tomorrow morning. They'll want to hear your story when you get back," Garnet said, before turning around and beginning to walk away. Sometimes a small gesture would be enough to help anyone out. Diopside still rubbed her Gem eye to get her focus back again.

"Diopside? What happened?" Star asked.

"... We better get going," Diopside replied.

Then a portal opened up nearby.

~~~~~~

"WHERE'RE THEY?! THEY SHOULD BE HERE BY NOW!"

Your Great Honor's voice echoed across his realm as the Spirits all gathered around the area. As if the locals weren't surprised enough a mere mortal was making them make decisions, now there was an actual fight to be had! It was big BIG news, and none of the free Spirits were missing this opportunity to see it happen. The area this time looked like a large arena, cleared out to make room for Your Great Honor to stand in, as numerous spirits were gathered around the large area as if it were the same Colosseum design.
Typically an arena would be filled with chatter and roar for the fight to start, but in this battle arena the audience was eerily quiet, apart from a very few known voices. Could be as to not anger Your Great Honor, or maybe it was just to keep their voices for the actual fight, but it was very quiet either way.

"I knew these Harmony Gems were rebellious, Your Great Honor, but even this seemed so careless of them to challenge you," the Spirit said, finding the whole idea completely stupid on the Harmony Gems' part. Even they should know better than that but alas they proved her wrong again.

"THEY SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER THAN TREATING ME LIKE A FOOL," Your Great Honor said. Whether or not that was true, it really didn't matter anymore. The fight was called, and they were going to come in and fight him whether they wanted it or not.

Speak of the devil: three Gems began to move in from the entrance to the arena. Jade, Diopside and Star Quartz walked in together, looking around at the crowd around them.

"It's very quiet for a Colosseum," said Star.

"It is isn't it? ... Are you sure you're up for this, Diopside?" Jade asked. Diopside looked to Your Great Honor again, the giant tortoise waiting for the word to start the battle he started. They didn't deserve any of this, they knew that.

"Well ... I don't want to, but Garnet said she trusts us to do this. And I've yet to hear Garnet lie to us about anything, so we'll have to try," Diopside concluded.

"You did see into the future. Maybe we should try it," Star said.

"GET OUT HERE!!" Your Great Honor roared. No more time to discussion anymore. Diopside, Jade, and Star Quartz had no choice. Diopside was the only one who knew what was to come, so she had to try and keep herself together. She looked back to her friends one more time, before all three of them walked out to face him.

"Your Great Honor?! If you want to change your mind, we can do that anytime you want to. We didn't mean to make you mad," Star called.

Your Great Honor was not moved.

"YOU ARRIVED IN OUR REALM FOR WHITE DIAMOND AND DISCORD'S POWER. IN YOUR STAY YOU TALKED DOWN TO ME, REFUSING TO TAKE MY COMMAND, AND WORST OF ALL: YOU TALK TO ME LIKE A LOWER BEING! I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF YOU BUT I WILL NOT TAKE THIS INSULT TO THE SPIRIT COUNCIL. I WILL SHOW YOU THE POWER OF THE GODS FOR THIS!!"

"I guess we're doing this," Diopside said meekly.

What first strike could any of the three even do here? That honor was to Your Great Honor, the first strike in the form of his colossal footstep forward, making all three of them bolt and scatter away from him to avoid a move that would kill on the spot. None of them wanted to get crushed by a mountain. All they got was Garnet's main warning to hold them together, but they weren't sure how to handle it.

"Ok ok ok, what did Garnet say? Something about a thorn, and a Lion? Come on think what did she mean by that?" Diopside wondered, only to bolt aside when Your Great Honor tried to attack her again.

"HOLD STILL!" the giant tortoise demanded. But of course none of them listened and could only jump one way to another. The very few attacks they did manage (Diopside's acid or Jade's projectiles) couldn't even be considered painful to the giant. Not a single scratch left anywhere on him. All Your Great Honor did was scoff at their hits, and started using his head like a club.

"YOUR ATTACKS ARE NOTHING TO ME!" Your Great Honor roared. Jade upped the steaks, and brought out summoning one of her Dragon projectiles to keep Your Great Honor's focus distracted. The green Chinese dragon flew right in the tortoise's face, claws slashing and teeth biting, but still not leaving anything other than annoyance.
Here though was the curving point: Your Great Honor swung his neck along the ground, scraping it all the while, and aiming to crush them underneath him! Jade and Star Quartz jumped one way, and Diopside jumped high in the sky the other way.

Something caught her eye ...

"Is that what I think it is?" Diopside thought. Skidding to a stop after landing from her jump, she covered her normal eye so her Gem eye could get to work. Star Quartz and Jade's Dragon kept Your Great Honor busy just long enough for her Gem eye to adjust and get a much closer look at his neck. The object of interest in question seemed to be located right on the back of his neck, just where the shell and skin meet. It was very small (comparatively speaking), most of it stuck in the tortoise's scales with only the smaller end of it exposed.

"Jade, Star Quartz!" Diopside called, waving them over back to her. The two Gems rushed away just in time, avoiding another killer stomp from Your Great Honor in doing so, and soon all three were back together.

"What is it, Diopside? What did you see?" Jade asked.

"I can't make it out, but there's something stuck in the back of his neck," Diopside said, pointing to the area where that stub still jutted out. Compared to the titan of a tortoise, the stub was about the size of a large splinter, but that didn't mean that the colossal tortoise didn't feel it there. He tried to look back, but lifting up his head made his shell push down on that stub, making him groan and winch in discomfort.

"Poor thing, it must've hurt a lot. We should pull it out for him," Star suggested.

"I don't think he wants us anywhere near him," Diopside said.

"The others would."

Your Great Honor got himself turned around now, and the Gems had to gain some distance again before the giant tortoise could stomp on them and send them back home. The clouds wavered and shook again, and all three were scattered around a bit. None of them could even lay a dent on the giant tortoise, and they weren't there to defeat anyone either. Plus the other Gems would do that for him.

"Okay. Jade, you're gonna have to get it out, it's too small for Star and me to grab it."

"Alright, but I need to get up there first," Jade replied.

Not much of a problem for Star Quartz to handle. Your Great Honor got himself turned around to them again, but when he tried stomping this time, the group split in two: Diopside did the distracting for them this time as Jade and Star took their focus on the back of Your Great Honor's neck. Star Quartz only needed a jump or two to reach the part Diopside was talking about, and now that they were closer they got a much better look at the object.
The object specifically looked like the handle to a weapon of some kind, but the weapon was in too deep to make out what the weapon really was. Regardless, Diopside was right about how deep it was in Your Great Honor's neck, as Star Quartz wasn't able to grab hold to it properly when she tried to get it.

"Nothing."

"Here, I'm smaller," Jade said.
Diopside down below kept Your Great Honor busy as best she could, rushing right and left to keep the giant tortoise on his toes as Jade and Star got to work. Jade's smaller hands got a firm grip on the weapon, and she tried her hardest to pull the object out. It didn't help that they were being swung around in gravity too as Your Great Honor kept moving around.

"How're you two doing over there?!" Diopside called.

"It's stuck in tight. Star, I need help!" Jade said. Star Quartz grabbed Jade and pulled hard as she could. With their combined strength, the object started to move.

"AAAHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE?! GET OFF!!" Your Great Honor bellowed, feeling a sharp sting from just behind him. The Gems didn't listen though, and even Diopside managed to make a few Gem jumps off the ground and up to where the two were. In anger, Your Great Honor began shaking violently, trying to force them off of him.

"It's too deep in, I can't get it loose," said Jade.

"Hang on, I think I got an idea," Diopside said. The handle was pulled out a bit more, so the other Gems could get a hold of it too. Jade released it briefly, and Diopside got a firm grip on it but that wasn't the only thing she was doing: seeping it a lot from her Gem eye, she got some strong acid to come out to the edges of Your Great Honor's scales, right where the weapon met. Of course this stung the giant beast, but this actually was making the weapon loosen its grip on him.

"Almost! Got it!" groaned Diopside.

"GET OFF ME, YOU NUISANCES!" demanded Your Great Honor. Jade took to action, and while Diopside's acid loosened the weapon's grip, Jade's healing abilities started to ease the pain away from this procedure of theirs, healing up what burning wounds Diopside's acid was leaving on him. Then, all of a sudden ...

*pop*

"THAT'S GOT IT!" Jade shouted. And just in time, one more violent wing finally forcing all three of the Gems right off of his back, the weapon being flung in the air. Jade just managed to grab a hold of it on the way down, and Star got hold of her just before they all landed on the ground.

Your Great Honor raised his giant foot one more time ...

Time seemed to have stopped. All of the Spirits held their breath, staring, waiting for Your Great Honor's weight to finish off the three unworthy Gems underneath him. All it would take was one single slam of his foot and they'd be gone for good. Some of the Spirit Council were betting on it, actually. But as the giant tortoise stayed still, his eyes went down to the giant sword that Jade was holding. Diopside and Jade moved back a few steps but Star simply stayed put, either not aware or not scared of Your Great Honor's deathly foot looming just above them. The only sounds they heard were distant gusts of wind.

... He stepped back.

"Anyone would move out of my way by now. And what is that?" Your Great Honor asked, his voice shockingly "quiet" compared to the booming bellows he'd normally make.

"It's some sword, we don't know. It was stuck in your neck, so we ... got it out for you?" Diopside said, lifting up the sword so Your Great Honor could see it better. He lowered his head, his gigantic eye on level with the weapon he was seeing.

"The sword ... you pulled it out. ..."

"Yeah, we did. Do you feel better now?" asked Star.

Your Great Honor tested it himself. He filled his lungs with a deep breath, and lifted his head up good and high, much higher than he would with that sword in his neck. That annoying and irritable sting he would feel every time he'd like his head up was now gone. His low bellowing of relief proved how much better he felt, especially when some sore muscles cracked to help him relax.

"My neck pain. It's ... IT'S GONE!" He bellowed, the voice carrying over the entire Spirit Council. "... Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome, Your Great Honor, sir," said Jade, smiling. Even if he was an angry tortoise towards them, it still felt good to help him out.

"But I've treated you all so badly. Why did you help me?" Your Great Honor questioned. Star smiled.

"Well we saw you were hurting, it was the natural thing to do. Besides, every creature deserves kindness. Once in a while," Star said. Fluttershy would be proud of her if she saw this. As for Your Great Honor, he took a moment to relish in his freedom of that dreaded sword, getting more kinks out of his sore neck and taking time to see the rest of the Spirit Council around him. All of them waiting to see what Your Great Honor would do next.

"ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER. JUST SAY THE WORD, AND I'LL RETURN THE FAVOR," Your Great Honor said.

"Huh. Sensitive guy, isn't he?" Diopside quietly noted. The Spirit Council couldn't believe their ears, but the three Gems were pleased hearing this news. But the question was what to do now? Should they ask up front for White Diamond and Discord's magic back, or have Quetzalcoatl be freed? The trio spoke quietly with eachother for a little bit before Diopside came back out holding something.

A small coin.

"Heads or Tails, here it goes," said Diopside.

The coin was flipped.

And landed right on tails.

"Your Great Honor! I know we originally came to get White Diamond and Discord's magic back, but since that's not forever, we'd like to ask something else: We'd like to ask that you all free Quetzalcoatl and forgive him for breaking your law of trying to help us!" Diopside concluded.

"GRANTED." Your Great Honor decided.

"WHAT?!" The Spirit couldn't stand it, and despite his wishes flew right in from the crowd, straight over towards Your Great Honor. "B-But his sentence! His punishment! Your Great Honor, the law states that -"

"I AM THE LAW!! AND I HAVE SPOKEN!" Your Great Honor bellowed, his voice forcing the Spirit back and away from the arena. The Spirit in spite of all her power had to simply agree with his decision, no matter what she might think. At least Discord and White Diamond were still gonna be out of commission for a while longer.

"Yes ... you have spoken. ... We'll let Quetzalcoatl free," the Spirit decided, flying off to the Catacombs to do just that. No one in their right mind would deter Your Great Honor (again). After that decision was rightfully made, Your Great Honor did one extra favor for them, and with a more "gentler" stomp onto the ground, opened up a portal for them.

"Thank you very much, Your Great Honor. Let's go home," Jade said. She and Diopside were about to head in, but before they could go off, Star Quartz had one more thing to do: she placed the sword down onto the ground.

"Here you go. The sword isn't ours, so you can have it back if you want."

"MUCH APPRECIATED," Your Great Honor said. They'll handle that weapon before long. So with a smile, Star Quartz started off following the others, and the three went right back to their own world.

Author's Note:

Well they didn't get White Diamond and Discord's magic back just yet, but it's a step in the right direction. Now we covered what happened to all of the team throughout the Team's split ^^

Time to get the team back together now ^^

Comments

[Shadowshame]

The spirit counsel is extremely bias every single one of them including your great honor the fact that they go by guilty until proven innocent shows this as well as the fact that they never consider that World Yet To Come has always been against Discord which makes her a bias prosecutor whose emotions control how she reacts to mortals

In short none of the "spirits" cared what was to be said in the defence of Discord and White for either trial as they had already made up their minds with the trials only being an obnoxious formal thing to tell "mortals" that they are "wrong" always and they will never be "right"

[EquestrianKirin]

10145193
sadly, you are right :/

[Angel Star]

A very interesting chapter...First, I wonder how Your Great Honor got that sword stuck in his neck. Glad that they pulled it out of him though! Second, Poor Quetzalcoatl! He was just trying to help, and they lock him away for it...(At least he's free now.) Goodness gracious. Thirdly, oh man, I hope they can find someway for Discord and White Diamond to get their powers back! Great chapter as always EquestrianKirin! Keep up the great work!