When Steven and Connie screw around during a warp, they find themselves in Equestria. Without the other Gems to help them, they have to find a way home, protect their new friends and stop several monsters/villains along the way.
Much to my dismay this story is now cancelled, due to general uninterest in finishing it. I've just lost all will to continue this story, and I would like to apologize.
When Steven and Connie screw around during a warp, they find themselves in Equestria. Lion soon follows, but for some strange reason won't take them back Without the other Gems to help them, they have to find another way home, protect their new friends and stop several monsters/villains along the way. Perfectly normal for Steven, Lion, and Connie, but not as much for the ponies and monsters that they'll meet along the way.
Will not be excessively gory, but features blood, tagged with gore just in case.
Twilight Sparkle pulled her eyes away from a large book, before turning to check another one. it hadn't been long since she'd become an Alicorn and she was eager to see what her new magical capabilities were, and she decided to use it on a spell that she'd been dying to try. It was supposed to be a form of teleportation spell, only capable of traveling through the fabric of their dimension, reaching other worlds! She grinned, knowing that she just had to finish a few minor calculations then she'd be ready to try it out. While a small purple dragon didn't share her enthusiasm.
"Uh... Twilight?" Spike asked, but she hadn't heard him. "Don't you think this might be a bit much? I mean, you've only recently become an Alicorn, maybe you should tone it down a bit." He asked, and this time she had heard him.
"A bit much? Spike, if I can pull this spell off, then imagine what it could mean! We could meet beings from another dimension, we could possibly create an amazing alliance between our kinds, think of the various goods and services that we could provide for each other, think of all the knowledge that we could contain, think of the millions of possibilities! I need to see how powerful my magic is, if it's about the same as the Princesses, or if it's weaker." Twilight shouted, never once losing her large smile, which made Spike feel a bit nervous.
"Okay... As long as you've got it under control... Last time you tried this we ended up getting chased by Manticores in the Everfree. Then there was the time we were sent to Appaloosa..." Spike shuddered at the memory, there had been at least ten of the feline like beasts trying to hunt them down. However Twilight had stopped listening and continued to search through the various tomes and books, making her final calculations.
Steven let out a loud sigh as he sat on his couch, knowing that Connie was coming over for sword training he had been preparing himself for hours, but was just getting bored waiting for her. The other gems were keeping themselves busy, considering it had been a slow week for change, no monsters, no creatures, no missions, and finally nothing to do. Steven looked around the room and took in what the gems were doing. Amethyst sat at the counter, eating as much as she wanted, Pearl was organizing several objects, while Garnet sat next to him with her head laid back on the couch, most likely trying to relax. Steven was about to let out another loud and long sigh, when he heard knocking on the door, which made him leap up in excitement.
"CONNIE'S HERE!" Steven shouted happily, his eyes literally becoming stars, while the Gems all let out silent laughs. It was obvious that they had certain feelings for each other, but if asked either one of them that they'd push it away and quickly try to change the subject. Steven flung the door, open startling the girl who stood on the other side. It was Connie, Steven knew that from the beginning, and today she wore her usual battle attire, she had with her a bag that most likely held her other clothes, for her parents still did not know about this yet.
"Were you trying to give me a heart attack!?" Connie asked, still taking in sharp breaths.
"I'm sorry, I've just been so excited! Pearl said she had something really cool planned for today!" Steven shouted, and Pearl quickly put in her side of the story.
"No I didn't. I said I had something significant planned." Pearl said, not once looking away from her little project. She had begun to stack several small boxes on top of each other. Steven grabbed Connie's hand and quickly ran through the large room, before grabbing Pearls arm with his other hand, dragging her towards the Warp-Pad.
"C'mon, c'mon,c'mon!" Steven yelled, while Pearl let out a sigh.
"All right Steven... We can go..." Pearl said, but noticed Amethyst rushing towards them. "Oh, great..." Pearl muttered, although no one noticed.
"Wait up! I'm coming with!" She shouted, quickly leaping onto the large Warp-Pad, nearly knocking Steven and Connie off.
"Amethyst, be more careful!" If you'd had done that while we were warping then they would have fallen out for sure!" Pearl yelled, but Amethyst rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... Let's just go all ready!" Amethyst said, before they began to warp, leaving Garnet alone in the room. The blue/white light that surrounded them made it impossible to pick out any complex details about their appearance, showing only their shadows. Steven hummed a soft tune, before stretching his arms, and felt his elbow hit Amethyst's face. He let out a soft gasp, and felt Amethyst gently push him. The two began laugh, while shoving each other, even getting Connie to join in. The three of them were quickly interrupted when Pearl began to shout.
"Would you three stop!? This is serious! Any of you could end up out there, with no way to return! We were barely able to get Steven the last time it happened! You've been too reckless lately! I just don't know why you find it so hard to listen!" Pearl yelled, and Amethyst narrowed her eyes.
"So, you don't want me to do this?" She asked, pushing Steven again, this time a bit more forceful. Pearl let out a gasp, and glared at the purple Gem. "Well, then how about this?" Amethyst asked, shoving Steven, this time hard enough to make him wobble. Pearl noticed this and began to say something, but was quickly cut off by Amethyst. "I bet you really don't want me to do this!" She shouted this time, pushing Steven like was a crate of fruit, which sent him tumbling towards the warp's edge, which made them all gasp. Steven pinwheeled his arms, hoping to regain his balance, but despite this began to teeter over the warp's edge. Connie rushed forward, quickly grabbing onto Steven's hand, but the momentum combined with his weight only succeeded in pulling her down with him.
"STEVEN!" Both Pearl and Amethyst shouted, while the two slowly floated away from the warp, they could only watch as the blue/white light slowly began to disappear from view, they began to feel cold, horribly, horribly cold.
"S-S-Steven...?" Connie asked, while Steven turned to look at her. "W-What's g-g-g-gonna happen? Will the Gems b-be able to f-f-f-f-find us?" She asked, and Steven sighed, he felt it was only fair to tell her the truth.
"I don't know..." Steven replied, but then noticed something from below them, a violet glow began to fill the area below them, acting like a warp, slowly moving them upwards. "It's the Gems! They've come to save us!" Steven shouted.
"That was fast... A little too fast..." Connie muttered, but it wasn't audible over Steven's shouts of joy. They both began to laugh, realizing that they'll be able to put this behind them, and hopefully just move on.
"Come on Twi! You've got this! Reel in that dimensional monster!" Rainbow Dash shouted, mostly as a joke, but fully aware that Twilight may actually bring a monster.
"Rainbow Dash, I can't break my concentration! If I do then the spell will fizzle out..." Twilight said, sweating heavily, taking in deep breaths, just generally stressed.
"Yah ain't lookin' too good right now Sugarcube... Maybe yah should..." Applejack had begun, but she trailed off, noticing something. The large pillar of purple light had drifted over the Everfree, whether she had meant to do this or not was unknown. "Uh... Twi, you do know that it's over the Everfree now, right?" Applejack asked, and Twilight let out a gasp, quickly looking upwards she was able to verify that it had indeed moved over the Everfree. This simple action had broken the concentration that Twilight needed to keep the spell going and saw two distant figures drop from the disappearing pillar of light, they began to plummet down towards the ground, and she could see trees shake as the two hit them.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!" Twilight yelled, realizing her mistake, and the fact that she had just possibly killed two creatures from another dimension. "We... We have to find them! Make sure they're all right!" Twilight shouted.
"Um... Twilight..." Fluttershy's quiet voice spoke from behind her lavender friend. "You sound really concerned... I mean... More concerned than one should be..." Fluttershy said, which was strange having come from the very shy mare.
"I'm so concerned because I may have just started a dimensional war! We need to find them and explain what happened!" Twilight yelled, panic evident in her voice. The six mares agreed, and quickly rushed off towards the Everfree, leaving a sleeping baby dragon.
Steven groaned, and began to sit up, but his body was filled with pains and aches, making it too painful, so he lied back down. Steven looked around and began to take in his surroundings, from what he could tell it was a dark forest, almost like the ones you'd hear in a spooky campfire story, above him was a large amount of broken branches, several large and barely hanging by their bark, but then he remembered something. "Connie!" He shot upwards, completely forgetting about the pain, only hoping to find his friend, and he saw her lying unconscious a few feet away, she was covered in scratches and had a few bruises, but for the most part seemed fine. "Connie!" Steven called again, trying to wake her up, only now becoming aware of a pain in his leg. Looking forward he quickly saw what was wrong, a tree had fallen on his legs, pinning him down, although the tree wasn't too large it was very heavy, making it nearly impossible for him to move on his own. He then heard Connie moan, quickly looking over he saw her getting onto her hands and knees, placing her right hand against her head. She looked up and let out a loud gasp.
"Steven!" She shouted, running over to him. "Are you hurt?! Here let me see if I can..." Connie began, before trying to lift the log off Steven's legs, but found herself unable to budge the tree. "Wait here! I'll go find help!" Connie shouted, before turning and running out of his view.
"Wait here...? What else can I do...?" Steven asked himself.
Twilight ran through the forest, despite the protests from her friends to slow down, she continued, whipping her head from side to side, searching for any sign of the two mysterious figures, hopefully alive. Rainbow Dash was perhaps the only one who was able to keep up with Twilight at this point and noticed something rushing in the exact same path as Twilight, but before she could give out a warning the two collided, smacking heads together.
"Twilight! You all good?" Rainbow Dash asked, landing next to her friend, before looking at the creature that had collided with Twilight. "You've got a lot of nerve! Ramming my friend like... that..." Rainbow Dash shouted, but then noticed that the creature was covered in scratches and bruises, now there was a new gash where Twilight's horn had hit its head. "Oh! Uhh... You okay?" Rainbow asked, unsure of what to do at this point, while Twilight got back onto her hooves, and while the others caught up. "I think we found one of them..." Rainbow said, looking back at the creature. It had a light brown skin coloration and wore a blue Kalari with a red sash, its feet were bare of any kind of shoe and it had bandages wrapped around its right hand. Its hair was tied back in a braid.
"You all can... Talk...? What is this some kind of dream...?" It asked, with a voice that was clearly female. They watched a she pinched her own arm, and let out a quick yelp of surprise. "Definitely not dreaming..." She seemed amazed that they were capable of speech, but then shook her head and began to speak again, this time in a shout. "Please! I need your help!" She shouted, and this took the ponies off guard.
"Help? Help with what?" Rarity asked, closely examining the clothing that she wore, most likely something worn for combat, that much was obvious.
"My friend is stuck! Please, you have to help me!" She shouted again, with tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Don't worry, we'll help you out! Right?" Pinkie asked, turning to face the others who all nodded in response. The creature smiled then quickly turned and ran, motioning for them to follow. It wasn't very far from a large fallen tree that they saw what appeared to be another of the creature pinned underneath the fallen plant.
"Connie? Is that you? Did you find any help?" The second creature asked, with a male sounding voice, and the female ran over, before pulling on the log, but it didn't move.
"Please, help me move this tree!" She shouted, still trying to make the massive plant move. It had taken all six of them to move the tree, and it seemed that the male creature was fine, aside from the cuts and bumps that were randomly placed on his body. He quickly moved onto his feet and nearly tackled the female in a hug.
"Connie! I'm glad you're all right... What's this?" The male asked, pointing at the gash on her forehead.
"That's my fault... We sort of... Crashed into each other... I just can't believe it, beings from another dimension! Here! Omigosh! I almost forgot, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to drop you in the forest!" Twilight half said half shouted at them, which only seemed to confuse them.
"Drop us in the forest? You mean you made that weird purple light?" The male asked, and Twilight nodded. "Oh... Well I'm Steven, Steven Quartz Universe, and this Connie Maheswaran." Steven said, motioning towards himself, then the female creature.
"Of course, introductions! How rude of us!" Rarity said, stepping forward. "My name is Rarity." She was quickly pushed away by Rainbow Dash.
"Name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria!" Rainbow shouted, before pushing Fluttershy forward.
"Um... H-Hello... I'm... Fluttershy..." The pegasus said, barely audible over the natural sounds of the Everfree. Suddenly something pink had leaped before their eyes.
"HI MY NAME'S PINKAMENA DIANE PIE BUT MY FRIENDS CALL ME PINKIE PIE! YOU CAN CALL ME PINKIE PIE TOO NOW, BECAUSE WE'RE FRIENDS NOW TOO! THAT REMINDS ME THAT I STILL HAVE TO THROW YOUR 'WELCOME TO PONYVILLE' PARTY! IT'LL BE SO MUCH FUN WITH CAKES AND GAMES AND BALLOONS AND..." The pink pony shouted, startling the two, although she had seemed not to notice, before she could go on, Applejack stepped forward.
"Ah' think that's enough fer now, Pinkie. Howdy, I'm Applejack. Mah family an I run the apple orchard on the other side of town." Applejack said, seeming perfectly calm compared to Pinkie's explosive personality.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle. I was the one who brought you here in the first place... Sorry about the rough landing..." Twilight said, giving a nervous smile. "If you don't mind my asking... You two aren't some political leaders from your dimension... Are you?" Twilight asked, which confused the other ponies.
"I don't... Think so..." Steven said, looking to Connie who shook her head. It was then that the two of them became aware of a thin blood trail tripping down Connie's face, and she let out a sigh.
"That hurts... I guess I was so busy trying to help Steven that I forgot about it..." She said, reaching into the black bag that she carried, pulling out a wash cloth. She quickly began to wipe the blood away, but Steven stopped her.
"I can fix it." Steven said before licking his thumb, and much to the ponies' disgust, wiped it across the gash.
"EEW! WHY IN EQUESTRIA WOULD YOU DO SUCH A NASTY THING!?" Rarity asked, but then much to their amazement the wound began to sparkle and soon healed, leaving nothing behind. "H-How did you...?" Rarity began, speaking for all of them at that point.
Steven chuckled before responding "I'm magic."
"Magic?" Twilight asked, now intrigued. She looked at Connie, who took a step back.
"Don't look at me! I'm just human." Connie said, and Twilight looked back at Steven.
Steven scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Well, half-magic. On my mom's side. See...My mom was a magic alien known as a 'Gem'... And she had come to Earth with other Gems, but the other Gems wanted to destroy Earth... My mom didn't want Earth to be destroyed, she liked it there, so she and several other Gems fought against the Homeworld Gems, and from what Dad says lots of Gems lost their lives... Both Gems and Humans... Eventually the Earth Gems known as the Crystal Gems were taken out until only five of them remained." Steven began to dig around in the pockets of his jeans and found a folded up photograph. "There was my mom, her name was Rose Quartz..." Steven then began to point at the figures in the photo. "This is Garnet. Garnet's a combination of two Gems, Ruby and Sapphire, they fused together and made Garnet. That's Amethyst, she's really fun to be around. She loves to eat and sleep, although Gems don't have to..." Steven explained, but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash.
"Don't need to eat or sleep? I'm pretty sure that everything has to eat and sleep." The cyan mare said, but Steven shook his head.
"Nope, not Gems." Steven began to put his attention back into the photo. "This is Pearl, she's really smart, and kind of strict, but she can be fun too... When she's not arguing with Amethyst... They argue a lot really. Amethyst is really messy, and doesn't really like to be told what to do. Pearl is clean, organized, and has a plan for almost anything." Steven smiled and began to chuckle.
"Who's that?" Pinkie asked, placing a hoof on a man's face. Steven gave a large smile and began to laugh harder.
"That's my Dad! He runs the car wash back home. He used to be a one-man-band, but when he met Mom stayed around Beach City for a while. She was the only one to show up to his concert there." Steven explained, but then noticed that the ponies seemed anxious about something. "What's wrong?" Steven asked, and looked behind him to see a large, maned animal standing behind them, with glowing white eyes. "Oh... That's what's wrong..."
The animal towered over all of them, with large paws that could easily swat a pony aside with a single swipe, its large star shaped mane surrounding its head, at the end of its long tail was a small tuft of fuzz, its pure white eyes stared at them, not once even showing a sign of blinking. It started to move forward, and more details could be picked out. It was fully pink, except for its hear shaped nose which was a dark brown, while its body matched that of Pinkie's fur, its mane matched Fluttershy's almost exactly, when it fully stepped out of the shadows its eyes ceased to glow, revealing black pupils, but no other discernible eye colors. It let out a loud yawn, stretching and revealing several large sharp teeth with its open mouth, but then as quickly as it opened, it closed, leaving the ponies stunned. It quickly lied down, and stared at them for what felt like several moments, before Twilight found her voice.
"A lion...? Here...? A pink... Fluffy... Lion...?" Twilight asked, before Steven and Connie rushed forward, wrapping their arms around the animal's sides they both shouted something.
"LION!" Their voices seemed to cheer, and Lion let out another yawn, this one softer than the first.
"You know what this thing is?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying near Lion's head, she quickly began to poke at his mane, while Steven climbed onto the animal's back.
"Yeah! He's my pet lion! Well... Not really a pet... More like... A magic animal companion." Steven said, giving a large grin.
Fluttershy looked up at the large beast with a look of bewilderment, she slowly began to smile and trotted up to it. "Hello. My name is Fluttershy. May I ask what your name is?" She asked, and the animal let out a quick growl. "Lion? That's your name?" Fluttershy gently began to run the top of Lion's head, and he showed no sign of joy, or discomfort.
"Really? The lion is named... Lion?" Twilight asked, before saying "That would be like naming a dog Dog, or naming a cat Cat, it would be like naming a pony Pony!" Twilight said, and she let out a loud sigh as Steven pulled Connie onto Lion's back, where they sat and stared at each other for another moment. Suddenly something came to Twilight's mind and before she could scream in shock, Applejack began to talk.
"It's like it shows no emotions... It ain't happy, it ain't angry, it don't even look bored... Just... A blank face..." Applejack muttered, but noticed Lion stand.
"It was nice meeting all of you, but we should really get home now..." Steven said, waving, while Connie revealed a pair of glasses, before placing them onto her face.
"Huh!? Y-Y-You only just got here! You're not really going to leave before Pinkie's party are you?" Twilight asked, hoping to find some reason for them to stay, if only for a small amount of time. She had a lot of questions to ask, but the real reason was something much more important than that.
"Sorry. When you help protect an entire city from evil monsters that want to blow up the planet, you've really got to prioritize." Steven said, and Connie gave a quick nod.
"Besides... I doubt my parents would like the fact that I'm in another dimension... They aren't really even comfortable with me hanging around Steven..." Connie added, which only seemed to add more weight to the situation.
Twilight sighed and said "All right... I guess we won't keep you waiting... But... I have one request..." Steven and Connie both looked at her in confusion. "We all get to ask you a question each, before you leave..." The two humans nodded, and Twilight gave a bright smile, before revealing a scroll and a large feather. "Question One: If these 'Gems' do not need to eat or sleep, do you?"
"Yep, cause I'm half human. I used to really love eating these things called 'Cookie Cats'. They were ice cream sandwiches, and they were two chocolate cookies in the shape of cat heads, and the ice cream between them was half vanilla, half strawberry, and when you ate it, the three flavors combined to make a brand new flavor! It's like... It's like... Choco... Strawber... Nilla!" Steven shouted, and they swore that his eyes literally became stars.
"That's... Nice..." Rarity began, before facing Connie. "All right, I'll go next. Connie?" Rarity asked, getting her attention. "Why are your glasses lacking... Lenses?" This seemed to catch Connie off guard, for she suddenly looked nervous.
"Steven had... Healed my eyes..." Connie said nervously, but this only confused Rainbow Dash.
"So he spit in your eyes?" Rainbow Dash asked, before realizing something. "That didn't count as my question did it? That better not have counted!" Rainbow yelled, and Connie quickly shook her head.
"N-No! He didn't spit in my eyes! It was... He just... I... I really wouldn't like to talk about it at the moment..." Connie said, blushing madly, and an idea came to Rarity's mind.
"Does Connie...? Oh... My... Celestia..." Rarity thought before Rainbow Dash interrupted her thoughts.
"My turn! You said you fight monsters? What kind of monsters? Are they awesome monsters!?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying closer and closer to Steven's face as she asked.
"Rainbow, that's three questions. Yah can only ask one." Applejack said, and Rainbow groaned.
"Fine, fine, fine... How about... What are the coolest, and scariest monsters you've fought?" Rainbow asked, and Steven placed his hand to his chin.
"The coolest...? The coolest was probably the Centipeetle Mother. It was this big centipede monster, with an eye in its mouth, and it could shoot acid, and it had this big ol' white mane! I... Accidentally released it a second time, and I was able to make it my friend... For a few hours... It got scared when the other Crystal Gems summoned their weapons... Then... It saved my life... I was told later that it's a Corrupted Gem... It was like Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl at one point... What I don't know is what happened to make it so... Mean..." Steven explained, and the ponies seemed shocked at this.
"Really? A Corrupted Gem? So... What's the scariest?" Rainbow Dash asked, hoping to get the second half of her question answered.
"Probably the Gem Mutants... They were at one point regular Gems, but they were forced to do something... Well, Gems have the ability to fuse together and make a bigger Gem, a stronger Gem! These Gems were forced to... Fuse... Making them these... Horrible... Monsters... Just limbs and more limbs, hands, legs, arms, mouths, eyes..." Steven said, suddenly giving a sad expression, and this had left many of the ponies silent, far to horrified and surprised to say anything. "Don't let that stop you, ask away." Steven said, giving a weak smile.
"Well... How did you meet Lion?" Fluttershy asked, and Steven let out a chuckle.
"I met him on a mission. We were searching for something called the 'Desert Glass' although it was more like a pillow with a large lens on it. Lion was there, and he followed me home... At the time I thought he wanted to be friends, but found out he was after the Desert Glass, and once it was properly taken care of, he just stayed around." Steven answered, and Fluttershy gave a smile.
"All right. Now it's mah turn. What's this 'Beach City' like?" Applejack asked, and both Steven and Connie smiled.
"Well, Beach City's a great vacation spot! Right next to the ocean, miles and miles of beaches, lots of shops, restaurants, and hotels and things for tourists. Although... It seems a little big considering only about twenty people live there year round. You've got the Beach City Funland, Beach Citywalk Fries, Fish Stew Pizza, the Big Donut..." Steven began to list off, and Pinkie quickly let out a gasp.
"How big is it? How big is the donut!?" Pinkie asked, grabbing Steven's shoulders.
"It's not an actual donut, it's the name of the shop. They sell donuts there." Steven explained, but this didn't satisfy the hyperactive mare.
"Well... Then where do you get all your fudge? And your CUPCAKES!?" Pinkie practically shouted, shaking Steven.
"The Big Donut sells a lot of that stuff too, for the rest you go to Danny's! The candy shop!" Steven yelled, and Pinkie stopped shaking him. "I guess you can ask your question now Pinkie." Steven said, but the mare simple giggled.
"I already did silly!" She said, and Steven frowned.
"You used your question on 'How big is the donut'?" Steven asked, and she nodded.
"Well, it was nice meeting you all, but I really think we should get going now... Pearl's probably having a panic attack right now..." Steven said, muttering the last part.
"Well, I've been hoping not to tell you this but... I don't know a spell to send you back!" Twilight yelled, mentally kicking herself for her stupidity. "GAH! I'm such an idiot sometimes! I don't even know why I didn't think of that before!" Twilight yelled, as her head began to hang low.
"H-Hey, don't feel bad! You were just excited... And... And... You didn't know that we'd be hurt! You were just trying to make sure we were okay! And we really appreciate that!" Steven said, trying his best to make Twilight feel better, but he found that no matter what he did, she just stood there. "D-Don't worry, we're not stuck here! We have a way to get home!" Steven yelled, and Twilight lifted her head.
"You do?" She asked, her eyes starting to fill with hope.
"Yeah, Lion can take us home." Steven said, and Twilight looked at him confused.
"What do you mean? Your home is in another dimension! So unless Lion can make portals to different locations, then I don't see how..." Twilight began, but Lion turned away from them and let out a loud roar, causing pink waves to shoot from his mouth. They stopped a few feet away and formed a pink portal, and through it they could see Twilight's castle. "Really!? He can actually do that!?" Twilight asked, and the other ponies began to cheer, mostly from excitement.
"What else can he do!?" Rainbow asked, and Steven smiled.
"Well, he can do this roar, that's like a sonic boom or something, it breaks things with his voice! He can walk on water, he has what Pearl called a 'Pocket Dimension' in his mane, he can all sorts of cool things!" Steven yelled.
"What?" Pinkie asked, before grinning and saying "You'd better not be... Lion... To us!" Much to her surprise there was no laughing.
"Well... If you must go, then go. It was nice meeting you both." Rarity said, not wanting to hold them from any responsibilities that they may have.
Steven closed his eyes and inhaled before shouting "All right Lion! Take us home!"
"All right Lion! Take us home!" Steven shouted, but noticed that Lion hadn't moved. "Uh... Lion? You there?" Steven asked, gently tapping the animal's forehead. This did not inspire Lion to create a new portal, but rather travel through the one that had just been opened, he burst into a run towards the large portal. Before jumping inside, quickly disappearing. The ponies let out gasps and jumped in after them, landing with loud thuds.
"What was with that?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying into the air.
"I don't think he wants to leave..." Steven muttered, hopping off Lion's back to help the ponies onto their hooves. "He usually listens when I tell him to do stuff like that... I wonder what's wrong..." Steven muttered. He had just helped Twilight back onto her hooves when Connie moved next to him.
"If Lion won't leave... Then how are we going to get home?" Connie asked, and Steven shrugged in response.
"When Lion does this... It typically means that there's something important to do here..." Steven narrowed his eyes and began to scan around, but stopped at a small purple creature that was dozing off. "Maybe something to do with that?" Steven asked, and Twilight began to giggle. Steven turned to face her with a confused expression. "What?" Steven asked.
"That's just Spike. My assistant. He helps me with everything, from cooking, to cleaning, to cleaning, to just being my friend." Twilight explained.
"Well what is he?" Connie asked. "Some kind of dragon?" Connie and Steven began to laugh at this remark, until they saw the looks that the Mane Six were giving them. "Is he actually a dragon?" Connie asked, serious this time.
"Yes. Spike is a dragon. A very young dragon." Twilight explained, she gently began to lift the dragon using her magic intending to take him inside, before noticing something. Both Steven and Connie were covered in dirt and grime, their clothing had several stains, and they each had a few bumps and bruises. "Would you two like to come inside and clean up a bit?" Twilight asked, and she saw both of their eyes light up. Twilight giggled again, knowing that these two would be a bit of a hoof-full.
It hadn't been long after Steven had finished showering that Rarity began to let her personality more obvious. "You really have several of that... Outfit...?" Rarity asked, partly intrigued, partly horrified at the lack of diversity in his clothing.
"Yep, I really like the design... I think it's because we all have stars somewhere on our outfits... Pearl's is on her shirt, Amethyst has two on her knees, and Garnet's are on her gauntlets." Steven explained, and Rainbow Dash flew in front of his face.
"Gauntlets? What are gauntlets?" She asked, and Steven pressed a hand to his chin.
"Well they're like big metal gloves, only most of them are used as armor. Garnet uses hers as weapons. They're really big, and really heavy." Steven replied, and Rainbow Dash nodded.
"So do the other Gems have these 'gauntlets'?" Twilight asked, and Steven shook his head.
"No, each Gem has a unique weapon. Pearl uses a spear, Amethyst uses a whip, and I use my Mom's shield." Steven answered, but noticed the curiosity on their faces. "Here, let me show you." Steven said as he rose onto his feet. Just above his waist, a red circle began to glow, the bottom of his shirt started to billow, revealing a rose quartz and around his left arm, a pink shield formed, the pattern on it seemed to match that of a rose.
"Wow..." The six ponies muttered almost simultaneously. Steven grinned and quickly caused the shield to disappear, much to Rainbow and Pinkie's disappointment.
"Aw... Come one, do it again!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but Steven shook his head.
"If I do it too many times, it makes me tired..." Steven said, grinning. They heard footsteps and saw Connie had returned from her shower, with her hair still damp. She had her empty glasses on, along with a white and mint green dress with a mint green bow at the top, and yellow knee high socks with peach boots.
Rarity gasped before rushing over and letting out compliments, utterly gushing over the adorableness of her outfit, and how it really suited her. Connie gave a nervous smile and moved over with the rest of the group. "Don't let me interrupt your conversation." Connie said, taking a seat.
"Actually, Steven was just telling us about the Gems' weapons, but I think we should get into a more serious topic. How are we going to get you two home?" Twilight asked, and they all turned to face Lion. "So Lion thinks that there's something here that you need to do? What would that normally be?" Twilight asked, while Steven and Connie began to brainstorm.
"Maybe there's some ancient Gem artifact here, and he wants us to get it!" Steven shouted.
"Maybe a Home-World Gem made its way here?" Connie suggested. "Or maybe a Corrupted Gem... For all we know, Lion just wants to stay here for a while..." Connie said, leaning on her elbows. She felt something press against her head and noticed that Lion had put his front right paw on her. "Maybe he just wants to spend some time with us...?" Connie suggested, and he took the paw off. "Or not."
"You need to get the stone!" Pinkie shouted, which caused the rest of the group to stare at her in confusion. "You know the little orange stone..." Pinkie said, only raising more questions. "The one in his hair!" Pinkie shouted, pointing a hoof at Lion.
"You mean in his pocket dimension?" Steven asked, and Pinkie started nodding like mad. Steven moved over and tapped Lion's head gently, which prompted the large animal to get closer to the ground. His mane began to glow, becoming a brilliant pink that shone with a truly beautiful light. Steven took a deep breath before jumping inside of Lion's mane, quickly disappearing.
"So he really does have a pocket dimension in his mane!?" Twilight asked, astounded at this fact. It should be noted that at this time, a certain purple dragon had woken and entered the room.
"Twilight...? What's with all the..." Spike began, before trailing off when he saw Connie and Lion. "I take it your spell worked fine...?" Spike asked, and Twilight slowly nodded. Spike went to say more, but was interrupted by Steven popping his head out of Lion's mane, gasping for breath. He had one hand raised above his head and in it he held a small orange gem.
"I had no idea this was in here! I think I remember Pearl talking about these things once... She said something about them being an ancient Gem communication device or something like that..." Steven shouted, before noticing Spike. "Hello." Steven said with a big smile, and Spike waved to him.
"Twilight. I think you'll need to explain what's going on." Spike muttered.
It had taken a short amount of time to explain what had happened to Spike, who seemed to understand. "So... Steven has a what?" Spike asked, just hoping to get this story finished.
"A gem... My Mom's gem to be more exact." Steven said, pulling his shirt up just high enough to expose the jewel. Steven swore he saw a drop of drool fall from Spike's mouth, and he began to get worried. "What was with that...?" Steven asked, releasing his shirt, allowing it to cover his gem once more.
"Spike is a dragon. A dragon that eats..." Twilight began, before she realized why Steven had become so anxious. "...Gems." Twilight finished, and she saw Steven's eyes widen, before he inhaled sharply. Connie let out a gasp and quickly slapped one of her hands over Steven's mouth, blocking the scream.
Steven yelled for what seemed to be several minutes, before he slowly stopped. "You done now?" Connie asked, pulling her hand away slightly.
"Not quite..." Steven replied, and Connie's hand went back in place over his mouth for a few seconds. "Now I'm done." Steven said, before staring at Spike. "That... That's something you wouldn't want to tell the other Gems... They'll think that you're too dangerous for me to be around." Steven said, and Spike raised an eyebrow.
"Why? Do you need those things to live?" Spike asked, and Twilight slapped a hoof onto her forehead.
"Spike! Were you even listening?! We already said that, yes, they do need their gems to live." Twilight half shouted, half spoke.
"Sorry, I kind of dozed off." Spike explained, giving a sheepish grin.
"Well, I think it's about time we see if this thing even works..." Connie said, turning to face Steven. He nodded and tapped on the orange jewel twice, but nothing happened. "You don't know how to use this... Do you?" She asked and Steven shook his head.
"Well, I'm sure that we can figure this out, and until you're able to find your way home, you three are more than welcome to stay here." Twilight said, giving a warm smile.
"It'll be like a home away from home!" Steven grinned and noticed that his gem began to glow, along with the Communication Device.
Pearl paced around in Steven's room, just as she had been doing for the past four hours, each foot hitting the same spot exactly, and this had started to create small indentations into the wooden floor. She was unaware of a small orange gem appearing on the floor a few feet away, that slowly floated into the air, and began to glow. "Where could they be? Where could they be?" She kept asking herself, trying to go over every possible result, but no matter how hard she tried not to go there, her mind always wandered to the horrible outcomes. They were both frozen in space, their faces trapped in an eternal scream. They were trapped somewhere on Earth, with no possible way to return, slowly starving to death. They were being chased by Corrupted Gems, or Home-World Gems, or possibly even the Cluster Gems. She stopped and grabbed at her own face, she could see it now, Steven and Connie both dead, having been killed by some horrible monstrosity, having been ripped apart limb by limb, with their intestines hanging out of... Her thoughts were interrupted by Garnet entering the room.
"Garnet! Please tell me you found them! Tell me you at least found some kind of clue! Something, anything!" Pearl shouted, grabbing Garnet's shoulders. Pearl waited for a response, but when Garnet gave none, she knew that nothing had been found. "No... We... We can't stop searching. They're out there somewhere... Hopefully..." Pearl muttered, before looking over at the large couch that sat in the room, while Garnet quickly entered her room. Amethyst sat on it, with her knees pulled up to her chest, covering her gem. "I don't see how you can just sit there! Steven and Connie are lost somewhere, and they probably have no idea where they are!" Pearl shouted, but Amethyst ignored her. "Need I remind you that this is your fault!? If you had just listened to me, then this never would have happened, we wouldn't be running around, searching for them! If you had just listened to me, then they'd still be here! Steven would be out in town enjoying life, and now, it's possible he's dead. And what about Connie? We swore that we'd protect humans, not get them killed! Can you just tell me what we're going to tell her parents!? If we do manage to find them, and Connie's parents end up finding out about this... They'll never let her near this place again! I can already see how... how... devastated Steven will be!" Pearl shouted, but before she could continue Amethyst began to yell.
"You think I don't know this is my fault!? Do you think I don't regret doing any of that!? If I could go back, I'd listen to you! Heck, I'd never do anything like that again, but I can't! You want to know why I didn't listen to you!? It's because you always tell me what to do, everything I do is never good enough for you! I could bring you the gem of every monster, every one of those freaky fusions, every single Home-World Gem on a silver platter, and you'd still find some reason to criticize me!" Amethyst yelled, but a third voice broke the conflict.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Garnet yelled, startling both Gems. "Arguing isn't going to help us find Steven or Connie!" Pearl . "We're a team, and teams need to work together. So here's what we're gonna do. Pearl, you'll search the Battlefield. Amethyst, you check the Kindergarten. I'll look in the..." Garnet was interrupted by a bright orange flash of light, and soon a large hologram of Steven appeared in the middle of the room.
No one spoke, until the hologram raised an eye brow and asked "Guys? You feeling all right?" The Crystal Gems remained silent for about thirty more seconds before they couldn't contain their happiness and shock anymore.
"STEVEN!" The three shouted, quickly rushing to the hologram, all of them expressing their joy to see that he was safe.
"Steven, thank the stars you're all right!" Pearl shouted, getting onto her knees to be eye level with him. "But... Where are you? Is Connie safe as well?" Pearl asked, and gave a relieved sigh when Steven nodded.
"Steven, I am soooo sorry! I was just mad at Pearl, and I wasn't thinking, and I've never been so scared in my life!" Amethyst shouted, pushing Pearl out of the way.
"We're glad to see you're not hurt, but Pearl's priorities were straight there. Where are you?" Garnet asked, looking down at the hologram.
"Um... About that... We're sort of in another dimension..." Steven said, more nervously than anything.
"You're WHAT!?" Pearl asked, rushing back into Steven's view.
"You might want to sit down, this may take a bit of explaining... I guess I really should have gone into more detail about how I got here to you guys too." Steven said, looking away from the Gems for a moment.
"Steven...? Who are you talking to...?" Amethyst asked, and Steven tensed up.
"I'll show you, but you have to promise not to freak out!" Steven yelled, and Pearl began to grow worried again.
"This isn't going to turn out to be like the Centipeetle Mother... Is it?" She asked, but received no response.
"Twilight, the Gems want to meet you..." Steven said, scooting over to his right, allowing room for a horse like creature to step into view. The Gems' jaws dropped, even Garnet seemed shocked at the sight of this... Creature stepping into view.
"Hello... I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Steven tells me that you're the Crystal Gems." Twilight said, trying her best to smile, but based on the shocked looks found herself nervous. "Um... Maybe we should start explaining... Steven start from the beginning." Twilight said, and Steven stepped back into the center.
"Well, I woke up with a slight blueberry taste in my mouth, I went downstairs and..." Steven began, but was cut off by Amethyst.
"Skip to the end." She said, crossing her arms.
"No! Well, skip ahead to what happened after Amethyst pushed you out of the Warp." Pearl said, and Steven nodded before starting to explain.
Steven finished brushing his teeth, and quickly spat into the sink, before he brushed out his hair, and cleaned his ears, he sat down on the closed toilet and lifted his shirt up, exposing his Gem. With a white cloth, he wiped the Gem, polishing it until he was able to see his reflection, giving a smile he hopped off and exited the bathroom. Even if he was in another dimension, that wouldn't ruin his nightly routine, something he'd been doing for years now. He looked at the two beds in the room, one was for him, and the other was for Connie, who was currently getting a pair of pajamas, although they were originally made for ponies, Rarity quickly modified to be used for them, until she was able to get them custom made clothing. He walked across the room, but stopped and began to squeeze the soft carpet between his toes, he chuckled and climbed onto his bed and began to think about the moments that had passed.
Pearl was in disbelief, having recently been told just how Steven got there. "Well, first of all I'd like to thank you for saving Steven and Connie..." Pearl said, and Twilight smiled, but noticed Pearl's own smile starting to fade and become replaced with rage. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!? THAT 'SPELL' COULD HAVE JUST PICKED ANYBODY OF THE STREETS! YOU'RE LUCKY IT WAS THESE TWO AND NOT SOME HUNTER OR EVEN SOME KIND OF DESTRUCTIVE HUMAN! WERE YOU EVEN THINKING ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED!? WE THOUGHT THEY WERE MISSING, STARVING, FREEZING, POSSIBLY EVEN DEAD ALREADY! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO SCARED IN MY LIFE! PERIDOT DIDN'T SCARE ME, JASPER DIDN'T SCARE ME THIS BAD, AND EVEN MALACHITE DIDN'T COME CLOSE TO THE FEAR I FELT!" Pearl shouted, and she would have continued, but felt a hand grasp her shoulder.
"Pearl, calm yourself. She was just excited to use her magic, its not like she wanted to leave them stranded there." Garnet said, looking down at them, before she went silent, thinking about what they could do.
"You say Lion won't take you back? What if it's because he can't. Maybe he isn't just being lazy for once." Amethyst suggested, and this worried Steven and Twilight, but their eyes widened as they noticed something behind the Gems. Lion sat there, staring at the holograms, with what Twilight would say was a smirk, perhaps the only facial expression they'd seen beyond indifference.
"Um... Guys..." Steven said, pointing behind them. When they turned and saw Lion, Amethyst sighed and looked back.
"Okay, so maybe there is something there that he needs done... But what?" Amethyst asked, and Lion quickly disappeared into a pink portal, returning to Steven.
"Maybe we should save this for another time... It's starting to get dark, and I suppose you're all exhausted." Garnet smiled, and quickly added something. "Try to get some sleep, we can talk again tomorrow, and Steven..." Garnet moved onto her knees to be eye level with Steven, lifting a hand to her face, she removed her shades exposing her three eyes, which startled Twilight although Garnet ignored this. "...We love you." With that, the hologram began to fade, before the image disappeared completely, leaving the Crystal Gems standing in silence, although Steven and Twilight could still hear them speaking.
"Garnet...?" Pearl asked, getting her attention. "Do you... Do you think they'll be able to come back?" Pearl asked, now on the brink of tears.
"I do." Garnet replied, but this only prompted more questions from Pearl.
"How? How could they possibly do it without our help?" Pearl asked, and Garnet began to chuckle.
"It's just like with the cat fingers, he solved that problem on his own." Amethyst said, and Garnet nodded.
Garnet placed her shades back onto her face, and grinned at her friends. "You just need to have a little more faith in Steven."
Steven's thoughts were broken by Connie entering the room, she had her glasses held in her right hand, wearing a simple purple night gown that stopped just at her ankles, even though it was nothing special, in Steven's opinion, she still managed to make it look amazing. "What?" Connie asked, raising an eyebrow at Steven's staring.
"N-Nothing! Nothing at all, just looking at what Rarity got you..." Steven lied, although Connie knew it was a lie, she ignored this and looked at what Steven was wearing. He wore a light pink flannel shirt, with a matching pair of pants. "So, uh... Ready to go to bed?" Steven asked, and Connie shook her head.
"I kind of want to explore, I've never been in a castle before..." She said, looking around the rather large room. Steven felt the same way, but he actually was exhausted, and wanted to sleep at the moment.
"We can explore tomorrow... Well if Twilight says it's okay... At the moment I just want to sleep..." Steven said, suddenly getting washed with a heavy feeling of sleepiness. "Sleep is a curse, yet it is a curse that I need to live..." He yawned and soon heard Connie yawn too. "Tired now?" Steven asked, giving a sly grin. Connie laughed before throwing one of her pillows at him, it bounced off his face and he threw one back. Despite the overwhelming sense of tiredness, this got them into a laughing fit, which led to Twilight investigating.
"Is everything alright?" Twilight asked, and the two nodded. "Good, but you should stop being so rowdy and get some sleep. Okay?" Twilight asked, and they nodded.
"Hey Twilight?" Steven asked, just as Twilight was about to exit the room.
"Yes?"
"Do you think... That we could explore the castle tomorrow?" Steven questioned, and Twilight smiled and nodded, allowing them to sleep in peace and silence.
"Spike, prepare to send a letter to Princess Celestia." Twilight said, looking as the tired baby dragon unfurled a scroll and picked up a quill.
"Dear Princess Celestia, In an effort to test the limits of my magic I recently attempted a spell designed to create a pathway from our dimension to another, and it was a success, for I was able to bring two creatures from another dimension here. They are humans, who go by the names of Steven Universe, and Connie Maheswaran. Although the spell fizzled and they fell into the Everfree, they suffered no... Lasting damage... However it seems that they are stranded here, for in my hastiness I had forgotten to search for a spell to return them home. I would like for you to meet them, and speak with Steven's..." Twilight paused and tried to think of the appropriate term. "Guardians. Please respond soon. From, your fellow princess, Twilight Sparkle." Spike sent the letter, and quickly left to sleep himself, while Twilight waited for a response from the Princess.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I am glad that you have decided to test your new magical capabilities, but next time please try not to do something so reckless. As to your request to come and meet them, I would be delighted to, I should warn however that I will be joined by Luna, Cadance, and your brother, mostly because I am sure that they would like to meet these creatures just as much as I would. On a more serious matter, I will assist you in finding a spell to return 'Steven' and 'Connie' back to their homes.
Steven stood on brilliant white bricks, while Pearl looked down at him with a frown. Her left hand was currently holding a sword, which was being swung at a Holo-Pearl, that blocked every attack. "This isn't one of your ridiculous movies! This is real sword fighting!" Pearl said, with obvious frustration. Garnet and Amethyst watched from a distance, and if they had been closer then maybe, just maybe they would have noticed the quick sparkle in the Holo-Pearl's eyes. "It's about having patience, and waiting for the..." Pearl was cut off as the Holo-Pearl avoided her next attack, and quickly stabbed Pearl through her head, causing her sword to drop, and her gem to shatter.
Steven gasped, before shouting as loud as his voice would allow "PEARL!" Pearl gave no response as her body instantly vanished, and the shards of her gem fell onto the stone below.
Steven shot awake, sitting up right away, covered in a cold sweat. "Steven?" He heard Connie tiredly ask, she sat up in her own bed, and faced him with her eyes still closed. "Are you all right? You seem kind of... Tense..." Connie muttered, and Steven quickly nodded.
"Perfectly fine...! I mean, its not like I had a nightmare or anything!" Steven said, despite his own attempts to remain calm. Connie was too tired to realize this however, having just woken up.
"Oh... All right... I'm gonna lie back down, wake me when its morning..." Connie said, but Steven began to giggle. "What? Whats so funny?"
"It already is morning, look." Steven said, yanking the curtains away from the windows, allowing sunlight to flow in. This began to make Connie feel more awake, and she rose onto her feet with loud yawn. "Wanna go get some breakfast?" Steven asked and Connie nodded, before the two rushed out to find the kitchen. Much to their surprise they were already near and could smell frying eggs and cooking toast. They pushed the door open and saw Spike was standing on a stool to reach the stove, while cooking all of the delicious smelling food.
"Mornin' Steven, mornin' Connie." Spike said, before asking "You two want some eggs and toast?" They both nodded, and Spike turned back to the cooking food, before placing some on a few plates.
"I didn't know you could cook. " Connie said, taking one of the plates, while Steven did the same.
"Yep, just follow me to the dining room, everypony else is up." Spike replied, but that raised a question from Steven.
"Every...Pony?" Steven asked, and Spike nodded. "That must be your version of 'everybody'." Steven commented, before he and Connie joined them in eating.
Steven pulled his shirt down over his gem, and exited the bathroom, now dressed and ready to start to the day, he knew what was planned for the next several hours. He and Connie would be exploring the castle and trying to make a map of the place, for future reference of course. He had all the necessary tools and equipment: A large piece of paper, a pencil, a variety of markers, and Lion. Now all Steven had to do was wait for Connie, which should be fairly short. He had failed to notice however that she was sneaking up on a him and once she was behind him poked his side, which made him burst into laughter as she continued to poke at him. They fell silent when a guard moved by, staring at them with suspicion, until he noticed Lion, who stared back. The guard quickened his pace and left.
"Well, you ready to explore?" Steven asked, and received a nod from Connie. They climbed onto Lion's back and began their exploration.
Half an hour. That's all it took to explore this entire castle, they'd mapped it out, they'd searched every little nook and cranny, and it only took them half an hour... Although they suppose that was for the best, especially when Twilight said they had a surprise for them. It hadn't taken long to get to her, and he was instantly given instructions.
"We need you to call your friends... Er... I suppose I should be calling them the Crystal Gems." Twilight said, and Steven pulled the Communication Device out from his pocket, before his gem started to glow and the Device activated. They saw nothing, until Garnet stepped into view.
"Sorry, we weren't expecting you to call so early. We've been out all night." Garnet explained.
"What for?" Rainbow Dash asked, and Garnet grinned.
"Hunting." Garnet replied, and this made the ponies cringe.
"Hunting what?" Steven asked, and before Garnet could answer, Amethyst jumped in front of her and began to whisper.
"Be vewy, vewy quiet. We're hunting Pewidots..." She burst into laughter before saying "Peridot doesn't know what's coming for her!"
Rarity seemed shocked about this. "You mean another Gem? I thought you said you four were the only Gems on Earth." She said, and Garnet shook her head.
"Not since Peridot arrived, and not to mention now we've got an angry fusion trapped in the ocean." Garnet said, and this was who the ponies assumed was 'Malachite'.
"So where's Pearl?" Steven asked, and Garnet shrugged.
"You don't know?" Connie questioned, and Garnet nodded.
"She said something about going into town, I think to tell Greg where you are." Amethyst replied.
"I don't think he'll take it well... Considering he finds all of this strange already." Garnet added, and Steven began to frown.
"You guys didn't tell Mr. and Mrs. Maheswaran, did you?" Steven asked, and Amethyst began to laugh.
"No, of course not. I shape shifted to look like Connie, painted myself to look even more like her, then I went told them that I'd be staying here for a couple days, and left." Amethyst said, and this seemed to shock both Steven and Connie.
"And they just agreed!?" Connie asked.
"Well, they seemed kind of busy. Something about the hospital and just wanted me to do something other than be there at the moment." Amethyst replied, which seemed to relax the two.
"Hospital? Your mother works at a hospital?" Rarity asked, and Connie nodded.
"She's a doctor." Steven said, and they heard Pearl entering the room.
"Well, Greg took it surprisingly well." Pearl said, and she quickly noticed Steven and Connie. "Oh, you two are up early."
Twilight frowned before saying "It's almost noon." Pearl seemed shocked by this, and quickly looked at a clock on the wall.
"So it is... Sorry. I've just been... Distracted lately. Peridot's been sending more and more Robonoids out. I doubt she has an unlimited supply though, so it's only a matter of time before she runs out!" Pearl exclaimed, and noticed the confusion on Twilight and Connie's faces. "Robonoids are the spherical robots that Peridot sends out. They repair damaged Gem structures and some have even shown defensive capabilities... They've already tried repairing the Galaxy Warp fifteen times..." Pearl explained, before noticing a knocking coming from the hologram.
"Is that something you should be concerned about?" Amethyst asked, and Twilight's eyes widened.
"They're here!" She shouted, before bolting out from the room, leaving Steven and Connie standing there alone.
Twilight rushed through the corridors, just trying to make it to the front door, after all she didn't want to keep the Princesses waiting. When she arrived, she quickly took a moment to recollect herself, before opening the door, and saying "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, it's so nice to see you again..." Before she realized that it wasn't the Princesses that stood before her. Instead it was Zecora who had a troubled look.
"Ah! Twilight, just the pony I needed to see! I have a big problem, and I require assistance immediately!" Zecora yelled, and Twilight invited her inside to explain what was going on.
It hadn't taken long for Steven to convince the Mane Six and the mysterious zebra to allow him and Connie to join them. With a few begs, and a quick statement from Garnet was all it had taken, now they were heading for Zecora's hut, to hopefully find out what this problem was. However the moment they saw glowing green eyes from the darkness, they found out what had been troubling the zebra.
It was nearly silent in the Everfree forest, and it had not taken long for them to arrive where the trail led, and they a small hut, decorated with strange looking faces made of wood. They did not understand what this was, but there was no doubt this was where they were supposed to be. They sniffed at the ground, hoping to find any hint of the Zebra's scent, and found a very fresh trail. They growled, knowing that the Zebra would not be able to escape this time, this was their forest, and the Zebra was invading their territory. They moved aside for the Alpha to see, to get the scent, to lead them to the Zebra, but within a matter of seconds they heard the sounds of approaching creatures, and the unmistakable smell of the Zebra, but with her came a variety of other scents, others which were vaguely recognizable as ponies, and three new scents that were completely foreign, not that this would stop them. They wanted that Zebra, and they would kill anything foolish enough to cross their path. However, striking in the open would leave them vulnerable, for now they chose to hide. Hide and wait for the perfect time to ambush their prey.
The strange group traveled through the darkness of the Everfree forest, although both Steven and Connie had been here before, they had failed to notice the general creepy atmosphere of the gloomy section of woods. They followed Zecora, with the two humans riding on Lion's back, while the others walked or flew. It hadn't taken long for them to reach Zecora's hut, decorated with tribal masks, and various charms, it reminded Steven of something you'd see in a movie. "So what's the problem Miss..." Steven began, but stopped realizing he'd forgotten her name.
"Zecora is my name, and brewing potions is my game. I was simply here when I heard a growl, and then attacked by creatures most foul." She replied, while Connie rapidly looked from place to place.
Steven chuckled and muttered "You scared?" He had a small grin, not that he enjoyed seeing his friend scared, just that he wasn't the only frightened one. Connie nodded, and let out shriek as something jumped for her. Lion was the first to react, he sucked air into his lungs, before letting it out in a loud and forceful roar, creating visible pink waves of sound that slammed into the opposing creature. There was a loud snap, not the snapping of bones, but rather of wood and the creature retreated, but this revealed several sets of green eyes that stared at them with hunger and malice.
"S-Should we be worried?" Connie asked, still shaken from the monster's leap.
"Yes! For these wolves are not what they seem! We need to fight back, not just sit and scream!" Zecora yelled, narrowly dodging an attack made by one of the beasts. Lion leaped forward and slammed his front right paw down on the animal, trapping it. Steven let out a gasp upon seeing it, for it was a wolf made completely out of wood, while parts of it were thick as a tree, others dwindled down to simple twigs, but they all had large glowing green eyes.
"What are these things!?" Steven asked, he jumped off Lion and summoned his shield, blocking one of the monsters from attacking Fluttershy. Twilight, who had been fighting, turned to face Steven.
"Timber Wolves!" Twilight replied, and Steven let out a gasp as he turned to face Connie and Lion.
"Connie! You ready?" Steven asked, and Connie nodded, with a look of determination on her face. The Timber Wolves circled them now, slowly inching closer, like sharks. Twilight moved to look at Steven, and found herself shocked, along with the other ponies and zebra. Lion's eyes glowed pure white, while his mane shone and flowed in nonexistent wind. Suddenly something began to protrude from his forehead, upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a hilt of some kind, Connie and Steven both grabbed onto it, before pulling with all of their strength, and a long pink sword began to reveal itself, the blade was large and appeared sharper than anything that they had seen before. Steven released his grip on the weapon, and Connie held it by herself, despite the blade being comically larger than herself.
"Let's do this!" Steven shouted, as Connie rushed forward, swinging the blade downwards at the nearest Timber Wolf, which was caught off guard. The Wolf had no time to avoid the sudden attack, and as a result was sliced cleanly in half, although this only seemed to cause a slight annoyance to the wooden beast. Connie and Steven fought in perfect harmony, dodging, attacking, moving with the grace of dancers, but the ferocity of a furious warrior. Little by little the wolves began to flee, realizing that these creatures would not simply allow themselves to be eaten, but the Alpha remained, now enraged by the very fact that these creatures were actually fighting back. He began to charge at the two, and Steven held his shield above his head, allowing Connie to bounce off it, and deliver a powerful strike to the Alpha's head, slicing it in two. The Alpha knew it was defeated, and ran off, with its tail between its legs.
"That... That was... It was just..." Twilight began, struggling to find the proper word, but Rainbow Dash had her own way of describing it.
"AWESOME!" She shouted. "You and Steven were great out there! The way you two fought! And, and, and... The way you both...! Then with the...! Too cool for words..." Rainbow said, while Steven chuckled.
"We'd better keep this out for now..." Steven said, motioning towards the blade that Connie still held.
"Where did you get a sword with such beauty? The patterns are simply glorious, and the color is just... Perfect..." Rarity said, examining it closely.
"It belonged to Steven's mom." Connie answered, and Steven nodded, but Zecora quickly moved to them.
"Steve, Connie, I cannot thank you enough. You really showed those Timber Wolves that they aren't so tough!" Zecora said with a large grin.
"We should start heading for the castle, after all, I hope that our special guests hadn't arrived yet..." Twilight muttered, before they began their trek back for the large castle, saying goodbye to Zecora, hoping to rest for a while.
Steven had barely walked through the door of the castle when he heard noticed a flashing. He moved forward to see that the Communication Device was floating and glowing, which meant that the Gems were trying to contact him. Steven rushed over and tapped a finger on the crystal, causing the holograms of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl to appear. "Steven, there you are!" Amethyst shouted with a grin, and Steven smiled back.
"Here I am. What's up guys?" Steven asked, and Pearl began answered.
"Well, Twilight told us to try speaking with you again around now, something about a 'surprise'?" Pearl said, looking at the mare.
"Yes, but the surprise hasn't arrived yet, until then let's have Steven tell you about the problem that Zecora was having." Twilight said, hoping to find any way to stall for time. Steven's eyes lit up and he began to tell them about their encounter, from meeting the zebra, to traveling through the Everfree forest, to the battle against the Timber Wolves. They each seemed to be having mixed emotions about this. Pearl seemed mostly concerned, although proud of him for dealing with such a threat. Amethyst was excited to hear about how the Wolves were beaten. Garnet however, seemed to keep a blank face, not showing very much emotion, although it was assumed that she was also proud of Steven, but a knocking got Twilight's attention.
"They're here! I'm sure of it this time!" She shouted, rushing out of the room.
Needless to say the Gems were confused, Twilight had just bolted away, leaving Steven, Connie, and the other ponies confused. Who exactly Twilight was speaking about they were unsure, and uneasy. They could soon hear Twilight approaching, and four other unfamiliar voices.
"Yes, they're right through this door, talking with the Crystal Gems. I'm sure they'll be delighted to meet you." Twilight said, before opening the door to reveal four taller creatures. Three of them resembled twilight, based on the fact that they both had wings and a horn. However that was where the similarities ended. One was white as snow, with a large colorful mane that flowed in a non-existent breeze, she had a sun on her flank.
The next was a deep shade of blue, with a darker mane that sparkled, but moved in the same flowing motion, instead of a sun she had a moon, surrounded by a dark black expanse.
The third was slightly shorter than the other two, with pink fur, a large pink, purple, and cream colored mane. The mark that she had was a heart made of crystal, with two golden objects on the side.
The final one was pure white, much like the first, but with a few key differences, based on the basic shape of this creature they could tell that this one was male, and his mane was a deep blue. His mark was a purple shield with a pink sparkle in the middle, one that nearly matched Twilight's.
They all stared at Steven, Connie, and the Gems with both caution and curiosity. After several moments of silence, Amethyst was the first to speak.
"Wow... You two are very tall... I mean, not as tall as Garnet, but still, you two are like skyscrapers! You two are just meh." She shouted, which took them off guard.
"Um... Thank you?" The blue one said, obviously confused about the entire situation.
"Steven, Connie, Crystal Gems, I'd like to introduce you to Princesses Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and finally my big brother, Shining Armor." Twilight quickly intervened, hoping this wouldn't be as much of a train wreck as she knew it could turn out to be. Steven and Connie quickly bowed, while the Gems remained standing.
Celestia smiled before saying "You may rise." However they noticed that when Steven rose, his eyes had once again become stars.
"Wow! I can't believe I'm actually meeting royalty! I mean I never thought that I'd meet one Princess, but now I've met four!" Steven said, practically yelling at this point. Celestia and Luna exchanged amused glances, for the only pony that could rival this energy was Pinkie Pie. "Oh, I'm Steven. Steven Universe." Steven reached out a hand, and the four shook it. Steven pushed Connie forward, who also extended her hand.
"Connie... Connie Maheswaran..." She said, never once breaking her gaze with them. She looked back at the hologram while the Crystal Gems stood there, just as stupefied as they were.
"These are my friends, the Crystal Gems!" Steven shouted, throwing a fist into the air. "That's Pearl."
"Um... Hello."
"That's Amethyst."
"Sup?"
"And that's Garnet."
"Charmed."
The four were shocked to say the least, and were unsure of how to continue. However, it seemed that Shining had found something else interesting.
"Where did you get that sword?" He asked, looking at Connie, she had picked up Rose's sword and leaned it against the wall.
"It's not mine! I just use it..." Connie said, before inhaling through her nostrils. "It had belonged to Steven's mother. I use it when fighting monsters or other things..." Connie explained.
"So you're familiar with how to use this blade?" Shining asked, and Connie nodded.
"We train a lot. I use my shield, and Connie uses Mom's sword." Steven said, and this caught their attention.
"Shield? We... I do not see a shield anywhere." Luna said, pausing at one point, almost as if she was correcting herself.
"Oh... Well... I kind of summon it using my magic." Steven explained.
"Magic? You have magic in your world?" Cadance asked, and Steven nodded with excitement.
"Yeah, all the Gems have magic. Dad doesn't really like being around it that much, he says it freaks him out... And that it may ruin what's left of his hair." Steven replied, and this seemed to provide mixed feelings.
"Does this mean that he can't use magic?" Celestia asked, and Steven nodded slowly this time.
Pearl sighed before saying "Gems can use magic. Humans..." She stopped and glanced at Steven. "With the exception of Steven... Cannot use magic. To tell the truth, they seem frightened of our magical capabilities, and our advanced, although equally outdated, technology." Pearl went to continue, but a loud roar got their attention. "Oh, that's just perfect..." Pearl said, before rushing out of view.
"Guys? What's going on?" Steven asked, and Amethyst shrugged before running after Pearl.
"Steven, we can talk more tomorrow, but for now..." Garnet began, and the gems embedded in her palms began to glow, and a pair of large gauntlets appeared. "Duty calls." Garnet disappeared, and the communication device ceased to glow, there was a soft clink as it fell to the ground.
"What was that?" Shining asked, and Steven shrugged.
"Probably a Corrupted Gem." He replied, and Shining turned to look at him.
"Which is...?" He prompted, and Steven looked at him confused, before having a realization.
"Oh, I haven't told any of you yet. A Corrupted Gem is a Gem, like Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet. Only something happened to them, and it made them become these... Monsters..." Steven said, and the four new ponies seemed to be shocked by this.
"Other Gems? What exactly happens to them?" Luna asked, and Steven once again shrugged.
"I don't know. If the Gems know then they haven't told me." Steven replied. Suddenly, a clock tolled, startling them all, but provided a small moment of humor once it faded.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Steven and Connie, but it's getting late and we should really begin heading home. Have a good night." Celestia said, before the four began to file out, but not before exchanging goodbyes with all of them.
It had been fairly easy to make it back to Canterlot before the sun needed to be set, but they still had about another thirty minutes or so, and something seemed to be bothering one of the royal sisters.
"Tia?" Luna asked, and Celestia turned to face her sister.
"Yes, Lulu?" Celestia asked, and Luna paused, before finding the courage to speak.
"When the unknown creature roared... Did you feel something strange...? A unique and evil power?" Luna asked, and Celestia frowned.
"I had... I was hoping it was simply my imagination, but if you had felt it as well... Then it is very real... However, there is nothing we can do but wait, for it is not in our world..." Celestia replied.
Luna began to feel fearful. "Are saying we should just sit here and do nothing?" Luna asked.
Celestia gave a warm smile and began to nuzzle Luna. "No, I'm saying that we wait here and wait for the Crystal Gems to do their job..."
"Don't let it burrow again!" Pearl shouted, narrowly avoiding the large claw of the monstrous creature, as it swiped at her. The monster itself was a large chameleon like lizard, with eyes that rotated, the ability to change its color to match its surroundings, and finally the basic shape and look, but it was something far from a simple animal. Standing at least twenty feet tall, with claws three feet long each, a tongue that ended with a poisonous stinger, and annoying tendency to dig tunnels through the sand. It began to use the large claws that it possessed to dig into the soft sand of the beach, quickly making a tunnel for it to hid in. Garnet rushed forward and grabbed onto its tail, trying to dig her feet into the soft ground in order to prevent it from escaping.
"You got this Garnet!" Amethyst shouted, using her whip to grab its front right leg, but this only succeeded in slowing the creature, despite the attempts made by both Gems it let out a loud roar and with a forceful shake it snapped the whip that restrained its movements, and cracked its tail like a whip, launching Garnet a few feet away. It scrambled down into the tunnel, and the sand bean to collapse behind it, while Pearl assisted Garnet back onto her feet. Amethyst began rushing to join them, while her whip disappeared in a purple glow, but the ground beneath their feet began to rumble. "That can't be goo..." Amethyst began, but the creature leaped out from under her, scooping the purple Gem into its mouth, before closing it, swallowing her whole.
"Amethyst!" Pearl and Garnet yelled, before they realized what needed to be done, this creature was far too strong to be defeated by conventional means, but perhaps a different approach would be the key...
Steven gently tapped the communication device, waiting for the Gems to call, it had been almost an hour since they had said they would, an he was growing worried. This was obvious to anyone in the room, which Connie and the Mane Six were, and they too felt worried about the Gems, mostly because of the roar they had heard last night.
"I'm sure they're fine, just... Just wrapped up with something." Connie said, trying her best to cheer her friend up.
"Yeah... Yeah, you're right! I'm sure they're just out on an important mission." Steven said with a smile, and he had no idea just how right he was. Before him the small crystal began to glow and float into the air, before activating and revealing a strange scene. The communication device itself had been placed on the railing outside of Steven's room, allowing a full view of the beach and ocean, along with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. The device had activated just in time to see Amethyst get eaten by the large monster, which made them gasp in shock and fear, hoping that Pearl and Garnet would be able to help their friend.
Garnet and Pearl were hoping this would work, it seemed the creature like to catch them off guard, hiding under the sand, sensing for when they put away their weapons, then striking with deadly accuracy and precision. They had a plan figured out, Garnet stood on one of the many large sections of stone that lined the Temple, holding a large red rock, that she had broken from the many surrounding them. Pearl stood down on the sand and took in a sharp breath, before her weapon disappeared in an extremely light blue glow. Then there was the same rumbling that had been there before, and the large lizard like monster broke through the surface of the sand, grabbing Pearl in its mouth, preparing to swallow her like it had Amethyst, but before it got the chance to, the large red rock hit the side of its head, causing the beast to drop Pearl, and fall over onto the sand. It groaned in obvious pain, and went to get up, but Garnet jumped at the beast, delivering a quick blow to directly to its spine, which made it let out a loud bellow of pain and agony, before it disappeared in a cloud of white smoke with an audible poof. A dark green gem fell onto the sand along with a slimy and wet Amethyst.
"Gah! It smelled so bad in there!" Amethyst shouted, shaking some of the goo off her hand. "We got it... Right? It didn't just spit me up and burrow again?" Amethyst asked, and Garnet shook her head, the gem was floating above her hand, trapped within a red bubble.
"We got it." Garnet replied, sending the bubble to the Burning Room. It hadn't taken long for them to notice that the communication device had activated, and that Steven, Connie, and the Mane Six had witnessed almost everything that just took place.
"Guys, that was awesome!" Steven shouted once the Gems had moved close enough to the device to hear him. "I mean, thew way you beat that monster with a big rock! Pure coolness!" Steven continued, which made the Gems give smiles, just seeing Steven happy tended to do that.
"Was that what I think it was...?" Twilight asked, and the Gems turned to face her. "Was it a Corrupted Gem?" She asked, and Pearl nodded in response.
"Yes... It was... Some of these Gems were our allies... Others were our worst foes... It doesn't matter what they are... Or were... We're going to help them." Pearl added, and looked to Steven.
"Anything cool happen there lately?" Amethyst asked, and Steven shook his head.
"Not really, we've just been hanging out... Twilight says she might take us into town soon!" Steven said, and this seemed to make Pearl nervous.
"Uh... Is that a good idea? They won't try to hurt Steven, will they?" Pearl asked, and Twilight quickly shook her head.
"Of course not! I mean, they might be a little frightened, but other than that there shouldn't be any problems." Twilight reassured, and Pearl relaxed.
"Well, it's starting to get to that time again. We'll speak again tomorrow Steven." Garnet said, and the communication device shut down, leaving them standing there.
"So... Do you guys know who that Gem was? Or is it like some big mystery?" Rainbow Dash asked and Steven shrugged.
"I'm not really sure, so I'm going to say we don't know who it is." Steven replied, before they began to prepare for bed.
Steven and Connie could barely hold their excitement, after three days of staying cooped up inside of Twilight's castle, they would finally be able to get out and see the new world that they were in. "All right, now it's essential that you listen to me. You're about to travel with us to Ponyville, a town that's not too far away from here, its a rather small town, but compared to what you had said about Beach City, this place dwarves your town by a substantial amount. So it may be a bit overwhelming..." Twilight began, but Steven began to drift off, not really paying attention to what was being said, and let his thoughts flow forward freely.
"I wonder what it will be like. Will other ponies really be afraid of us? I don't see why they would, we aren't scary... Are we? Nah, Twilight probably meant that they would just be freaked out by us. Or maybe she was saying that Lion would scare them. What was I doing again?" Steven thought, and then noticed Twilight was speaking. "Oh man, she's still going? Is this why Rainbow Dash warned me to be careful when talking to her? Probably, but it's just like with Pearl. I can't start listening now, or I won't understand... I really need to stop doing this..."
"That's all you really need to know about the place." Twilight finished and began to move forward. Steven leaned over to Rainbow Dash.
"I kinda zoned out there, did she say anything important?" Steven asked, and Rainbow shook her head.
"Nah, just boring facts and history and stuff." Rainbow Dash replied, and Steven noticed Lion began moving.
"H-Hey! Lion, wait up!" Steven shouted, climbing onto the animal's back, before assisting Connie in getting on. Although the small village of Ponyville was not a great distance away, it seemed to last forever for Steven, who would be seeing this place for the first time in his life. He just hoped that he didn't cause too much of a panic. Rarity looked at Connie, who had Rose's Sword draped over her back.
"Connie, darling? If you don't mind my asking, why are you bringing that with? I can assure you that nopony will try to harm you." Rarity said, and noticed that Connie shrugged.
"I just have a strange feeling that I'll need it... Do you know what I mean?" Connie replied and Rarity nodded. They could see the tops of the buildings in the distance and new that their destination approached. However, once they arrived, it was eerily quiet, there appeared to be no signs of a pony or anything else around.
This worried Twilight and many of the other ponies, seeing how it was only eleven in the morning, the town should be awake by now, with its little hustle and bustle. "Is it usually this... Dead?" Connie asked, and that seemed to make Twilight tense up.
"Y-Y-You think that everypony is dead?! Is that even a possibility?" Twilight asked, but Connie quickly explained.
"No! It's just an expression where we're from... It means slow, not very busy, or even completely abandoned..." Connie said, which caused Twilight to relax a bit more, but she was still tense, just based on the fact that this town was seemingly abandoned, after it had been a great home for her at one point. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but a moaning was brought to their attention. It was quiet, and sounded far away, but that at least meant that somepony was still there.
"We have to go and help that pony!" Twilight shouted, and the group rushed off to see if she could find the source of the noise, while the other followed close by. After what felt like an eternity, they finally found that the sound was coming from a nearby alley. Twilight instructed the others to stay put, while slowly entering the alley by herself, not wanting to frighten whoever was there. "H-Hello?" Twilight asked, trying her best to give a smile, but the moaning continued, this time getting louder and angrier.
"Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Twilight asked, and heard heavy thuds coming for her. What stepped out wasn't a pony, it wasn't anything she had ever seen before. To put it simply, it was a monstrous creature, made up of a bulky torso, while the rest of it was simply a mess of limbs, hands groped at the air, feet pushed against the walls, and in the center of its face was a small collection of crystals. It was at that exact moment, she realized why the town seemed so empty, they were hiding from this thing... Twilight's eyes widened as Steven's words filled her head.
These Gems were forced to... Fuse... Making them these... Horrible... Monsters... Just limbs and more limbs, hands, legs, arms, mouths, eyes...
The Gem Mutant began to let out cries and moans of anger and fury, before rushing at Twilight with incredible speed. She found herself unable to move, for fear had caused her muscles to ignore the frantic orders that her brain shouted at them. The Gem Mutant swung one of its massive hands, knocking Twilight out of the alley, into Rainbow Dash. Steven and Connie let out a gasp as the Gem Mutant made its way out of the alley, just barely able to squeeze its massive frame out. Rainbow managed to get the now unconscious Twilight off of her.
Steven knew that he would need a more open place to fight this thing, but was unsure of where to do it, but then realized the perfect location. "Run! To the center of town!" Steven shouted, and Lion grabbed Twilight with his mouth, before turning and running, while the others followed closely behind. They could hear the Gem Mutant's groans following them, as they began to increase in volume, until they reached the point of screaming. This prompted many ponies to open their curtains, windows, even peek out their front doors to see what the commotion was, and if the monster was still there. Steven just hoped that Lion would be able to make to the center of town before... He noticed a large shadow pass over them, and the monster landed in their path.
"Steven! We have to fight this thing! We can't just let it hurt anyone!" Connie yelled, and Steven nodded in agreement, before summoning his shield. They both jumped off Lion and landed, staring at the Gem Mutant with determination and fury. They both rushed forward, and the monster swung one of its hands at them, but Steven blocked the attack with his shield. The impact caused a loud sound to fill the air, almost like that of a gong, and Steven grinned. Connie took the opportunity to run around Steven and slash at the monster, landing a direct hit to one of its arms, but the beast had not been poofed. It grabbed at Connie, who was able to avoid the motions made by the massive monster. She delivered one more blow to it, this time directly at its torso, slicing the creature in two. It began shudder, before it disappeared in a cloud of white smoke, dropping several small Gem shards to the ground. Steven bubbled the shards and held it out for the ponies to see.
"The monster that threatens your town has been defeated! I will send it to a place where it will be watched over carefully, and never allowed to threaten any of you, or anything ever again!" Steven announced, and the town began to exit their homes, relieved of the monster's absence and curious to meet the warriors who saved their town. Twilight began waking up, and Lion set her down, while she placed a hoof to her head.
"Wha...? What happened...? Oog... My head..." She muttered, while Nurse Redheart began to see if she was alright. Steven and Connie were approached by the Mayor, who had a large smile on her face.
"I cannot express how thankful I am for the both of you saving our town from that monster. I must also say that I've never seen any magic like yours before... It's... Impressive." The Mayor said, and Steven gently pressed down on the top of the pink bubble, it floated upwards a small amount and disappeared before their eyes. "What are your names?"
"Steven. Steven Universe, and Connie Maheswaran!" Steven shouted, and began he was then flooded with questions. What he was. Where he was from. How old was he. Where did he learn to use magic. The questions were coming, and showed no sign of stopping, so he knew that he would be here a while.
While all the events above had been happening, a mysterious being watched from between dimensions, angered by the defeat of the Gem Mutant, it began to recollect its thoughts and attempt to calm down.
"GAH! How could it have been defeated!? It took a lot of magic to bring that monster here! I'll have to get more than one next time..." The voice said, before cackling maniaclly. "Those little ponies will pay for what they'd done to me, and I'll make their new friends suffer as well!"
It had been hectic, getting back to Twilight's castle, and even getting a hold of the Gems took a longer time than usual. While Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack remained back in Ponyville for the time being, Steven and Connie had been given a pair of cards. They were invitations to their "Welcome to Ponyville/Thank You for Saving Us From a Monster" party. While they would be attending the party later this evening, they had something they needed to do first. Joined by Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, they would need to tell the Gems what had happened. Although Steven knew they wouldn't take it very well.
"What did you just say!?" Pearl asked, her form becoming tense and nervous. Amethyst could be heard snoring in the background, while Garnet was nowhere to be seen.
"It was a Gem Mutant. One of those forced fusion thingies." Steven replied, but this didn't seem to calm Pearl, in fact she didn't seem to register that he had even spoken.
"Steven, what did you just say?" She asked again, and Steven sighed.
"We saw and poofed a Gem Mutant. Do you know how it got here?" Steven replied, and this time Pearl seemed to understand.
"No... It couldn't have gotten there unless... No, that can't be right... Can it?" Pearl began to speak to herself, and the noticed the confused looks that Steven, Connie, Twilight, and the other Princesses were giving her. "There is a possibility, but it's just so ridiculous..." Pearl added.
Celestia moved forward, and began to speak. "Well? What is it?" She asked, and Pearl grabbed a large blanket off the couch behind her.
"It is believed that dimensions are separated by an unidentifiable force... Like this water-proof blanket." Pearl began, before grabbing a large glass of water. She spread out the blanket, and tacked it down, before pouring a small amount of water on it. "The blanket prevents the water from dripping through to the other side... Are you all following me so far?" Pearl checked, and received nods. "Now, let's say that my spear..." Pearl paused and reached up to her Gem, which began to glow. She grabbed onto an object that began to protrude from her, and pulled out a short spear, but when she twirled it in her hand, it extended to reach its full size. "...Is the spell that Twilight had cast..." She quickly stabbed the blanket, allowing the water to flow for a small amount, until the spear plugged the hole. "It created a small portal, that ripped a hole through time and space, but at the same time corked it, allowing very little of our world to spill through." She removed the spear and the water inside the blanket began to flow freely through the hole. "However once the spell stopped, the 'cork' was removed and it allowed many things from our world to spill into Equestria, including the Cluster Gems. Now it's just a theory..." Pearl said, but a laughing filled the air.
"Do you honestly believe that's what happened?"A voice asked, and a strange creature appeared before their eyes. It was a mess of animals parts, with a lions paw, an eagles talons, a hoofed foot, a lizard foot, a bat wing, a bird wing, two mismatched horns, and a large fang. Its red eyes looked at them with an impossible mix of sanity and pure madness. "I'm afraid Miss Fancy, is wrong!" It said, smiling, while turning to face Steven. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you! My card." It said, handing a business card to Steven and Connie.
Discord, Spirit of Chaos
"Spirit of Chaos?" Connie asked and noticed that Discord had gotten uncomfortably close to her.
"Yes, although I don't suppose you didn't see very chaotic things before meeting Steven. Am I correct?" Discord asked, and before she could reply, Discord once again began to speak. "I'm glad you agree! Now, if you really want to know what's wrong, then you'll have to ask someone else, because this..." Discord paused. "...Trinket, doesn't know what she's talking about."
"TRINKET!? I'll have you know that I am a Cr-" Pearl began, but Discord cut her off.
"Crystal Gem? Like that means anything here. We don't have any Gems here, well, we didn't." Discord said, tapping Steven's nose.
"Well, then, what do you think it is?" Pearl asked, still fuming over Discord's comment.
"I was going to get to that, but a certain someone stopped me from saying it." Discord smirked at Pearl, who began to growl. "I cannot say, for that would ruin the story for the readers."
"Readers?" Steven asked, and Discord shrugged.
"I thought I'd try my hand at the whole 'Breaking the Fourth Wall' thing, but I think I'll just leave it to Pinkie Pie." Discord said, before noticing the strange glances that he was receiving. "Had no pony warned you? Listen, when it comes to the Mane Six, each one has a certain rule. Fluttershy's is do not harm an animal. Applejack's is, be honest, and don't touch the hat. Rainbow Dash's is praise her awesomeness, or she'll pout at you. Rarity's is do not get her dirty, or judge her fashion choices. Twilight's is that everything has an explanation and meaning. Finally..." Discord stopped, and began to lean towards Steven and Connie. "Don't... Question... Pinkie Pie..."
"Noted..." Steven muttered, and Pearl finally lost her patience.
"Look! You said that you'd tell us what is behind this, so are you going to or not!?" Pearl shouted, now furious. "Also, I would prefer if you explained why you believe that I am so misinformed!"
Discord's ears were pressed against his head, and he sniffled a small amount. "I-I-I don't know if I can anymore. Here I come, ready to give my assistance and you shout at me like I mean nothing! I'm sorry, but I will not be helping you anymore!" Discord shouted, snapping his fingers and disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.
"What!? After the insults and the shenanigans I just put up with, he just leaves!?" Pearl asked, and Steven shrugged, but noticed Discord behind her, mimicking and mocking her.
"You want to know why I said you're wrong?" Discord startled Pearl, and she whirled around to face her. "When someone says 'It's just a theory' what I hear is 'I don't have a basic understanding of science'. As for what's causing all of this, I haven't a clue. However, I do know of a way for you to find out..." Pearl grabbed her spear and swung it at him. Discord was able to avoid the attack by splitting himself in half, allowing the spear to pass between his pieces. "Well that's rude." Discord muttered.
"Get back into you're own dimension! Who knows what trouble you'll cause here!" Pearl shouted. Discord rolled his eyes, before disappearing in another cloud of white smoke, appearing next to Steven.
"She's a bit cranky, wouldn't you agree?" Discord asked, and Pearl pressed her palms against her forehead.
"I... I need to go for now... I'm not sure how much of this... Thing... I can take." Pearl said, before adding "We'll talk again tomorrow Steven... Just... Just stay safe..." Pearl walked off, and Discord chuckled.
"I haven't had that much fun in ages! It's a really nice turn change of pace. Well, I suppose I should be going. After all, I don't want to miss the party tonight!" Discord said, patting Steven's head. He disappeared, but this time left a rabbit where he had just been.
Steven grinned and said "He seems nice, a bit obnoxious, but nice."
Steven and Connie lied on their beds, they both groaned in soreness, to keep things short and simple, they had just experienced their first Pinkie Pie party. Steven rolled over to face and Connie, and with a smile said "I don't think I've ever had so much fun..."
"Yeah... I just wish Pinkie had been a little less... Rough on us..." Connie agreed, and the two began to laugh. Connie slowly closed her eyes, and felt herself drifting, but not yet sleeping, although she was tired enough to pass out at any moment. She just floated between sleep and consciousness, enjoying the peace and relaxation, but a loud thud filled the room, and literally shook her out of bed, causing her to fall onto the ground. She shot up and noticed Steven had fallen as well, only he was still asleep. "What... What was that?" Connie asked, and despite the soreness and pain she felt at the moment, got onto her feet to investigate the source of the noise. She stopped and turned to face Steven, before sighing and lifting him back onto his bed. She tiptoed over to the door, and slowly opened it, before slipping into the hallway. She pulled a flashlight that Pinkie had given her, out of her pocket, and quickly switched it on. She took a step forward, and heard a moan, she suddenly felt cold, and shivers went down her spine.
"GeT oUt... " A voice whispered into Connie's ear, making her eyes widen. She whirled around, aiming the flashlight beam to reveal... Nothing. There was nothing behind her, not a pony, not a monster, not a ghostly creature like her mind had thought. Connie continued forward, pausing only when she heard the occasional hoot of an owl, or the chirp of a cricket, both of which seemed strangely quiet tonight. She slowly became aware of steps behind her, and she quickened her pace, but heard that they quickened as well, she began to move faster and faster, until she broke into a run, but the steps matched her speed. She looked back to see who or what was pursuing her, but tripped and noticed the steps stopped, which confused her, until she decided to try something. She tapped her foot against the floor, and heard her footsteps echo, they sounded just like the steps that had been chasing after her. She sighed and pressed her face into her palms.
"It's all just my imagination... It's all just my imagination..." She muttered, until she heard the door next to her creak open. She let out a gasp and scrambled onto her feet, scooping up the flashlight and began to sprint away from the door.
Connie heard something begin to chase after her, it was hard to tell what it was, but she didn't care, right now she was too scared to care. Her breathing was rapid and short, but it did its job. Eventually the sound of feet behind her stopped, and she leaned against a wall, hoping to catch her breath, but felt something grab the leg of her pants. She turned and swung the flashlight, knocking something on the head, it let go and the beam revealed what it was. It was Spike, he held his head and looked up at Connie, who let out a gasp and dropped the flashlight, before rushing over to him. "Spike! I'm so sorry, are you okay!?" Connie asked, in a whisper. He nodded and gave her a thumbs up.
"I'm fine. Trust me when I say that didn't even scratch me." Spike replied, and Connie let out a sigh of relief. "What are you doing up so late?" Spike asked, and Connie looked around.
"I'd heard something, a loud... I don't even know what it was, but it shook me out of bed... Literally!" Connie responded, before Spike began to giggle. "What?"
"I think you're just tired after Pinkie's party. You know what always helps me get to sleep? A snack, how about we head to the kitchen and get something?" Spike asked, and Connie gave a soft smile.
"Sure... Why not." She said, before following him towards the kitchen, but a part of couldn't help but wonder what had made that sound, or if she had heard it at all.
Connie had just finished a small snack, and she had to admit that it did help. Spike was still popping various jewels into him mouth, which she knew would have made Steven, or the other Gems nervous. Although she trusted Spike, she was still curious as to what had happened, was it some kind of creature, some sort of monster? Was it Twilight working on something, or something much more sinister...
"Are you sure Princess? I'd like to think that Steven would have told us if he was having nightmares..." Twilight said, while Luna nodded in response.
"I am positive Twilight Sparkle, he has been having terrible nightmares that feature his friends..." Luna paused, inhaled sharply, and quickly finished. "Meeting their doom." Twilight's eyes widened at the very statement, having never thought of Steven's young and innocent mind being able to even consider such things.
"Really!? He has nightmares about the Gems... Dying? He's... He's just so... Good hearted, I never would have thought he was capable of thinking such things..." Rarity said, while Luna created a sphere before them.
"It is strange, I wish to help him, but something is preventing me from entering his mind and clearing away these foul dreams." Luna began. The orb began to glow, and they saw Steven standing near a tall cliff, while Amethyst pranced around the edge. "Almost as if they aren't natural, it seems like an outside force is causing them... Although it may invade his privacy, I believe that you should see these nightmares for yourselves..." Luna muttered.
Steven looked around, he recognized this place, and saw the lighthouse nearby. "The light house? That must mean I'm..." Steven started, but noticed Amethyst near the edge of the cliff, and it looked like someone had taken the fence down. "A-Amethyst! What happened to the fence?" Steven shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to project the sound. Amethyst let out a loud laugh before looking to face Steven.
"Fence? You're crazy Steven! There hasn't been a fence here!" Amethyst shouted, and that's when Steven noticed the smokey tendrils of darkness lazily moving around the edge of the cliff, almost as if they were waiting for...
"This is another nightmare... It... It isn't real... It isn't real!" Steven shouted, grabbing the sides of his head. Amethyst had stopped and looked at Steven with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh, Steven? You okay there? You're starting to sound a little... You know." She twirled her pointer finger near her head, and let out a whistle. "Crazy." Steven looked up and let out a gasp as one of the tendrils suddenly shot to life, wrapping around Amethyst's ankle, before starting to slide back down towards the darkness off the edge of the cliff. She grabbed onto the grass, but it was quickly ripped from the ground as she was yanked down, shouting Steven's name. "STEEEVEEEN!" Steven rushed over the edge and saw nothing but a pair of red eyes staring back at him, with a malice that made his spine shiver, and his skin crawl. Steven had failed to notice to the tendril moving towards him, and it wrapped itself around his wrist, pulling him down into the darkness below.
The orb had faded to black, and they couldn't see anything at the moment. The Mane Six were shocked to say the least, this nightmare seemed so intense, so real, almost as if they were being included in it, but the blackness of the orb began to clear, and they saw Steven again, this time lying on the sand of a beach.
Steven climbed back onto his feet and noticed the Gems standing in front of him, with an ominous green glow emanating from around them, he heard speaking as well. "All right... This is still a dream, now let's try this again..." Steven muttered reaching into his pocket. "Mashed potato." He pulled a tiny Pinkie Pie out of his pocket and stared at her.
"HI STEVEN! OOH I'M SO TINY! AND MY VOICE IS SO QUIET! LOOK THE AUTHOR USED THE TINY TEXT TO SHOW THAT BECAUSE I'M SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT IN YOUR POCKET, MY VOICE WOULD BE..." The adorably tiny Pinkie was cut off when Steven placed her back in his pocket, he sighed and continued to move closer to the Gems, and the voice began to grow more clear.
Steven thought he recognized this voice, but hoped that it wasn't. "This is all you've brought me here for? A perma-fusion, a Pearl, and a defective Amethyst?" Steven moved around them, and his suspicions were proven. It was Jasper and Peridot, they stood on the extended finger of the large hand ship, and Lapis was standing near them. Steven saw Jasper's eyes finally land on him, and her face twisted to confusion. "What is that?" She asked, and Lapis rushed forward.
"It's a human! It doesn't have anything to do with them!" Lapis shouted, and Jasper rolled her eyes.
"I know what a human, just... Just blast them with the ship's cannon." Jasper said, waving her hand, as Peridot began to punch commands into her small screen. Just as she was about to punch in the final command, a loud roar filled the air. Something began to rise out of the ocean, two giant, pitch black hands extended onto the beach, pushing the massive creature up. It continued to rise and rise, revealing many other features, six more hands began to aid in its rising, its horned head had risen, and its blood red eyes glared at them all. It stood on its knees, but its back was perfectly straight, even then it was big enough to crush the Temple with four of its eight hands. It slowly began to laugh, while the small tendrils of darkness that Steven had seen before protruded off its body. It scooped Jasper, Peridot, and Lapis into three of its hands, before squeezing its palms, until they disappeared in clouds of white smoke.
"So We FiNaLlY mEeT. sTeVeN uNiVeRsE aNd ThE cRyStAl GeMs." It's deep voice echoed, and it glared down at them, never once moving its eyes. "ThIs Is HoW yOu TrEaT tHe OnE wHo SaVeD yOuR lIvEs? WiTh SiLeNcE?"
The Gems summoned their weapons, and glared at the monster, who cocked his head to the right. "We don't know what you are, but you're obviously not a Gem, and not friendly at all!" Garnet shouted, lifting her gauntlets into the air, while Pearl an Amethyst nodded in agreement.
"NoT fRiEnDlY? aS i HaD pReViOuSlY sAiD, i JusT sAvEd YoUr LiVeS! hOwEvEr, YoUr AsSuMpTiOnS aRe TrUe. I cOmE bEaRiNg A mEsSaGe... BeWaRe StEvEn UnIvErSe! FoR yOuR eNd ApPrOaChEs! AlOnG wItH tHoSe WhO vIeW uS nOw!" It shouted, before raising one of its gargantuan hands above its head.
The ponies could only watch in horror as the beast brought its hand down upon them, and smirked, but soon its arrogant look disappeared, as it lifted its hand. There was a large pink bubble around them, but a fifth figure had joined them. Twilight's eyes widened as she recognized the person from the photo that Steven had shown them. It was Rose Quartz.
"Mom?" Steven asked, while the Gems themselves had looks of shock. The bubble faded and the monster began to chuckle.
"It SeEmS yOuR mOtHeR's StReNgTh StIlL lIeS wItHiN yOu ChIlD... jUsT kNoW tHiS! tHe EnD fOr BoTh YoUr WoRlD aNd ThE wOrLd Of YoUr LiTtLe PoNy FrIeNdS dRaWs NeAr!" It shouted, before disappearing in a large cloud of thick black smoke.
Rose sighed and turned to face Steven, before reaching out a hand. "Steven... You need to wake up... Your friends are going to need your help... Don't let them down..." Rose said, giving a warm, motherly smile. "And... Remember... I love you..." Rose said, and Steven's vision began to go blurry, and the world around him began to fade.
The sphere popped like a bubble the moment Steven woke up, and they quickly rushed in there to check up on him. Steven was met with a flurry of questions and comments, about his dream. "Steven, look next time you're having nightmares, you need to tell us. We'll be here to help you." Twilight said.
"And we'll help you beat that big monster too!" Rainbow Dash added.
"Did you see the teeny tiny me? She was so adorable!" Pinkie yelled, and Steven smiled.
"Thanks guys, I'm glad I can count on you... I have just one question though..." Steven said.
"Ask away." Twilight said, and soon wished she hadn't.
Between dimensions, the Dark Voice began to ponder the events that had transpired. "I wonder if he had fully realized my warning, hopefully he didn't just take it as some strange dream... Let's see about bringing more of those Cluster Gems here..." The Dark Voice began to return to its work, using powerful magic to shift the creatures between dimensions.
"A strange monster? And you said that you'd dreamed it?" Pearl asked, and Steven nodded. "It may have just been a meaningless dream, but it wouldn't be the first time that Steven had communicated through his dreams." Pearl said, and Pinkie shot a hoof into the air. "Um... Yes?" Pearl asked, and Pinkie inhaled.
"So are you saying that it's like when Steven spoke with Lapis during your slumber party?" Pinkie asked, and Pearl nodded.
"It seems that Steven's kept you up to date..." Pearl began and Steven's hand shot into the air.
"You all realize that you don't need to raise your hands or hooves, right?" Pearl asked, before motioning for Steven to speak.
"I never told them about that." Steven said quickly, and Pearl's eyes widened.
"Then... How did she...?" Pearl began, staring at Pinkie Pie, who waved a hoof. "Right... It's like what Discord had said isn't it? Don't question Pinkie Pie?" Pearl asked, and Twilight nodded. "Well... Yes, it's exactly like that. Whether it was or not, only time will..." Pearl continued, but was cut off by a voice.
"Had someone mentioned me?" Discord appeared out of thin air, and grinned at Pearl. "Hello Pearly! How are you this fine day?" Discord asked, and Pearl scowled at the draconequus, and sighed.
"Hello Discord. If you don't mind, I was just about to say that only time will tell." Pearl moved and got down onto one knee, so that she was eye level with Steven. "You need to be on guard. Don't let this prevent you from... Enjoying yourself, but just remember that there's something strange happening. You and Connie may be the only ones protecting this world from utter carnage and destruction. You need to be serious about this... Okay?" Pearl said, and Steven nodded, before moving his arms straight above his head. "Not that serious." Pearl added, just as the hologram began to fade.
"Goodbye Pearl!" Steven happily shouted, and Discord moved next to him.
"See you later, Skippy!" Discord shouted, and Pearl's eyes widened again.
"Wait... Skippy?" Pearl asked, before the hologram fully disappeared.
"I don't think she's particularly fond of me. I don't see why. I'm fun, aren't I?" Discord asked, before sighing and snapping his fingers, which caused a violin to appear in his hands. He began to play a song, if it could even be called that, the violin made angry screaming sounds instead of music.
Twilight rolled her eyes before muttering "Geez, I wonder why..."
Steven looked around in confusion, before asking "Where did Lion go?"
"It's not to far ahead!" Sweetie Belle shouted, as she charged forward, normally that would be something that Scootaloo does, but today she was excited. She had discovered something, and she couldn't wait to show it to her friends, and her friends matched her enthusiasm. The part that really had her excited was the fact that this wasn't in the Everfree forest, meaning there was no chance of her getting in trouble for this. She stopped and pointed a hoof at a large group of small crystals sitting in the dirt. Applebloom and Scootaloo, having seen this, began to grow less enthusiastic.
"That's what you brought us out here for? These tiny gems?" Scootaloo asked, tapping one of the relatively small jewels.
"Yeah, aren't they pretty? I was thinking that we could get them for Rarity, and then maybe she'll let us use her sewing machine again." Sweetie Belle explained, and Applebloom shook her head.
"Ahm not so sure. Last time we brought it back, she didn't seem too happy about the condition it was in..." Applebloom said, and Sweetie Belle shrugged.
"It can't hurt to try." Sweetie Belle moved down and grabbed one of the crystals with her teeth. She pulled, and pulled, and pulled, but the crystal didn't budge, instead it seemed to do down a small amount. She released her grip and failed to notice them disappear underneath the ground. "Maybe we could get something from the farm to help. Like a..." Sweetie Belle began, but a loud groan made them fall silent. Suddenly a large creature burst out from underneath the dirt, leaping at them with massive hands ready to crush the small fillies. They screamed in terror, and waited for the monster's attack, but it never came. They heard a roar, and saw the monster get flung away. Standing a few feet away was a pink lion, one they recognized.
"It's Lion!" Scootaloo shouted, although they hadn't personally met Steven, Connie, or Lion, they had heard their sisters describe them, and this creature matched the description perfectly.
Lion rushed forward, his teeth barred and his eyes glowing white. While this may have been enough to make anything else stand down, it was not the least bit intimidating to the Gem Mutant. It stared at Lion with its eyeless face and let out an equally as aggressive roar, before charging to meet the large feline. The Gem Mutant raised its massive hands and prepared to slam them onto Lion's head, but he managed to teleport away, before appearing behind the monster, letting out another offensive roar. He watched as the large forced fusion was slammed into a tree, and slowly recovered. It let out a groan, filled with agony and pain, it started a charge, while it moved slowly at first, it began to build up speed, before swinging a large arm at him. Lion leaped over the attack and bit down onto the Gem Mutant's shoulder, slamming it onto the ground. It didn't rise, but its moans of pain and anger still filled the air, it sounded sad, almost as if it was expressing some form of regret at its actions. Lion lifted a paw and brought it down onto the Gem Mutant, causing it to explode in a cloud of white smoke, leaving several small gems lying on the ground. Lion wasn't sure what to do with them at this point, he couldn't bubble them, and he certainly didn't have Steven or any of the other Gems here to do it. He let out a snort and picked them up in his mouth, before turning to face the astounded fillies.
"I always thought he'd be a lot scarier, with big teeth, and claws!" Sweetie Belle said, before noticing that the ground began to shake, the cluster of gems began to move, and several more Gem Mutants bust out from the earth, making the fillies scream in shock. Lion had to make a choice here, and it was simple what he would do. Lino dropped the shards, and rushed over by the fillies, lowering himself enough for them to climb on, and he began to run, before letting out a roar, creating a portal back to Twilight's castle. He quickly disappeared within, just as one of the monsters had reached them, but the portal closed before any of them could get though.
Unknown to Steven, Connie, the Gems, the Mane Six, and the Princesses, the Dark Voice had finally waited long enough, he was tired of sitting an doing nothing more than watching as his plan was ruined every time, he would now play a personal part in their demise...
Pearl was panicking, she was definitely panicking. From what these three, young, ponies have said, there are tons of Gem Mutants there, and they weren't exactly hidden either, there was no telling how long it would take for them to find some town and attack. She groaned and cupped her head in her hands, she didn't know what to do. It would take weeks before they were all defeated, and she had a feeling that Connie's parents were starting to get suspicious. She let out a groan, while Steven, Connie, the Princesses, the Mane Six, and Shining Armor, watched on, hoping that she would be able to provide some kind of advice. "I... I... I'm at a loss... I don't know what to do, I don't know what can be done... Things were so much easier before any of this happened..." Pearl muttered, before looking up and adding "Not that I have anything against any of you! It's just that... I've never been so stressed before!"
"It's understandable, but we need to agree on some kind of a plan... Something has to be bringing these creatures here, but what could have the power to do something like that?" Celestia asked, and that left them all silent. "Is there anything from your world that would have the capabilities to do any of this?" Celestia asked, and Pearl shook her head.
"Although we have technology far more advanced than the humans here, not a single Gem has been able to successfully create a way to cross dimensions, let alone bring dangerous creatures with." Pearl replied, and tried her best to think, before asking "Do you know anyone who would do something like this, who would send monsters this... Dangerous?" Celestia began to think and chuckled to herself.
"Now that you mention it, there is a short list of foes that we've faced before... There was Nightmare Moon, but her influence had been cleared from Luna's mind... Chrysalis hasn't been seen since the changelings' attack during Shining and Cadance's wedding... Sombra is... Dead..." Celestia stopped, still trying to find other possibilities.
"What about Discord?" They heard Amethyst say, although she couldn't be seen at the moment. "I mean, we've seen him travel from your dimension to ours. Couldn't he be a candidate?" Amethyst asked, and a soft gasp could be heard.
Fluttershy nearly tripped rushing forward, before saying "Oh no, no, no! Discord wouldn't do anything like this. He may have been mean at first, but now he's our friend, I can't see why he'd want to do this."
Pearl sighed, and pressed a hand against her Gem, she just wanted to get this over with, and hopefully find a way back for Steven and Connie. Her mind was racing with possibilities and yet nothing seemed to make it to a simple conclusion, nothing seemed to work out, nothing seemed to lead to an answer.
Twilight's eyes widened as she had a sudden realization. "What if it's nothing we've faced before... Something that is evil by nature, that was born to be a destructive monster?" Twilight asked, and suddenly it made sense. This must have been the answer, but they had no idea how wrong they were.
The Dark Voice began to put a plan into action, in order to attack those who had ruined his life, he would need to create body to inhabit, and with the surplus of Gem Mutants in the area, he already knew what he was going to do. Several of the creatures began to come together, and almost as if under some kind of a trance, moved towards a cave, and slowly emerged with crystals and gems of various sizes. At this point they were nothing but slaves to the Dark Voice, and his evil plots. They began t construct something, a large object, and although it would take a while, the Dark Voice knew that this would lead to his rule over Equestria.
"So what do we do? Just start beating up those Gem Mutants?" Rainbow Dash asked, and Pearl sighed, before she could say anything the house she was standing in began to shake.
She stood up and placed her hands together, before saying "Until we can come up with an actual plan... I don't think we have a choice, but just be careful... All of you." Pearl said, before the hologram started to fade. "Remember, start thinking while I'm gone." Pearl added, before she disappeared, leaving them all standing there in silence.
"Well, you heard Pearl. Let's go smash some Gems!" Rainbow shouted, and just as she was about to fly out the window, Celestia stopped her.
"You need to travel as a group, stick together, but most importantly stay safe my little ponies, and as for you two..." Celestia turned to face Steven and Connie, who suddenly felt nervous. "You both need to stay safe as well. Now then, try and defeat as many of these Gem Mutants as possible, I will relay a magical signal to Twilight when we have discussed a proper plan." Celestia exited the room, with Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor followed.
Steven turned to face everyone, and he grinned before shouting "Now then, let's go kick some Gem Mutant butt!"
