> My Little Universe: Season 3
>  by EquestrianKirin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Kirin Empire PT1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Twilight Sparkle:

I am very pleased to hear that you all had made it home safely. I can't express how grateful I am grateful that the Gem Homeworld has been saved, and that the Crystal Gems had returned safe and sound. I honestly didn't expect to see Kyra after so long though, but I am happy to say that he is home as well. I would like to thank you, and looking forward to what both you and your friends accomplish in the future.

Sincerely; Princess Celestia


Twilight felt a warm feeling in her heart when she read over Celestia's latest reply to her message since arriving back in Equestria. She was glad to be home, and so was the rest of the Mane Six. Her, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy were glad to be back all the same, though being gone for a winter meant that they had some things to do. Not that they didn't mind - some expected that really. Twilight too expected to handle a thing or two once they returned; and that included working out the books in her library (which hadn't been touched all winter). After reading Celestia's letter, and wrapping it up, Twilight got right up from her bed and headed down to the main lobby. Her house wasn't as bad as others would think, mainly because Spike had been keeping it nice for Twilight's sake. Speaking of Spike, the little dragon was pretty much worn out, and asleep in his bed. Twilight didn't bother to wake him yet, letting him sleep for a while as the alicorn began something she never got the chance to back on Homeworld; reorganizing her many books.

"It's good to be home, and back to normal again," Twilight sighed to herself, as she began moving a few books here and there to their proper places. Yeah, her life had been a roller coaster, but it was nice for sometime to chill out, and go on a regular day. As she was busy going amongst the books, the racket began to stir the dragon. After waking up, Spike stretched his arms, and yawned good and long.

"A bit early?" Spike asked sleepily, rubbing his eye as he saw a number of books being moved.

"Morning Spike. Sorry, but I haven't done this in months. You did move them like I said, did you?" Twilight asked, noticing a ton of books weren't moved around much.

"You left plenty of messages about that," spike said, getting up, and pointing a dragon thumb to a pile of notes left by Twilight by his bed. Twilight blushed a little bit, as she continued.

"Oh yeah, right."

"Hey, how was Homeworld anyway? Did you find anymore of those Gems?" Spike asked, as Twilight exchanged one book on one shelf, and moved them around on one section.

"Tons! I think they're just as diverse as we ponies, there's so many," Twilight answered. she could still remember plain as day of how many, and how diverse the Gem species was. So many kinds of Gems on Homeworld, it was unbelievable. However, Spike felt a bit bummed out.

"Sure wish I could've come," commented Spike, slumping a bit as he came downstairs. Twilight stopped for a moment, and went over to her assistant.

"Spike, you know somepony had to look after everything while I was away. Don't worry; who knows? Maybe we can visit again. Of course, that means you have to be careful with your appetite," Twilight joked, as she continued. Spike knew she was right about that, and as if on cue, his stomach growled a bit. Spike felt his stomach rumbling a bit.

"Eh, speaking of which, thoughts on breakfast?" Spike asked. His stomach began to growl more fiercely, Spike feeling kind of funny. Twilight turned back to him, as he suddenly felt something coming up. Pretty soon, a burp suddenly came out, the signature dragon breath coming out of his mouth. Twilight expected a letter from the princesses, as that was the main result of Spike's fire messages. However, the alicorn was given a little surprise for that morning; when the letter did finish, it wasn't exactly a Celestia scroll that Spike brought up. Well, yes, it was a scroll, but not the same ones Celestia would send. The emblem keeping the scroll together wasn't Celestia's symbolic C emblem, nor Luna's symbol. Instead, this one seemed to have a unique sort of picture on it, looking like a dragon with a branch growing out of its head. The paper too was a bit different, the coloration looking more like a silver blue than the regular paper Celestia would use. Twilight was a bit intrigued, and assumed it was a special letter from Celestia. Spike recovered a bit, as Twilight got the letter up and began to read it over ... or rather, she tried to.

She turned it sideways, and even upside-down, but she couldn't exactly make heads or tails of the writing on the scroll in question. If this was from Celestia, she would read it easy, but the language used was not one she made any exact study on. When Spike looked at it, he too was just as puzzled up, scratching his head on the gibberish words and lines. The very top had a emblem of what looked like some sort of hybrid between a reptile and horse, not in the same sense as Kyra though. Then Twilight had an idea.

"Can you hold this for a second, Spike?" Twilight asked. Spike held the scroll, trying to read it out himself, as Twilight went through some of her stuff. Eventually, she came across one of the books with a similar symbol on it, which matched the one on the scroll. She skimmed trough some of the pages until she found one in particular; basically it was an alphabet translation of the language to one she could understand.

"Okay Spike, can you write this out please?" Twilight insisted. Spike happily obliged, happy to be helping Twilight, and got out a blank scroll. What Twilight did was look at the scroll given to them, and Twilight read off what letters they were. Basically, Spike was translating it so Twilight and Spike could understand. Once they were finished (which took a while to do), the message read as followed;


Dear Princess Twilight:

We've heard of what you've accomplished, And we are very impressed. This may be of short notice, but we wish for you to come to Neippon, for we do have a situation we think you and your friends can aid us with. We wish for the Gems to aid us as well, if they're able to; from what accomplishes they've achieved, we'd appreciate it.

Signed; "The Duke"


It was pretty soon, all and all, but Twilight couldn't exactly ignore this. first off, Neippon was a far away place, so, how exactly did they hear about the Gems? They didn't exactly try to become popular amongst the pony population, and most of their big exploits weren't done in her world. Still, they were friends of Celestia, and probably news of that got to them anyway. Either way, this 'Duke' was interesting to say the least. For one, it went to Twilight for help rather than Celestia, and also, it knew a spell that the alicorn princess only used for Twilight. And lastly, how'd the duke know Spike in particular would get the message? Anyway, these sorts of question would have to be answered later. For now though, she needed everybody (and everybody) to get this message. Looks like they have another trip planned out.


~~~~~~


As for the Gems, they've been taking it easy since their return to Earth. After a fight with a giant of Flint on Homeworld that would otherwise wipe out the planet, relaxing a bit was something they pretty much needed. For those that didn't go with them, they were treated to their stories with intent ears, and many of them were glad they had returned alright. Along the beach near the Beach House, Steven took the time to tell some of his close friends; Star Quartz, Jade, Flint, and Connie respectively, about what had happened on Homeworld. With help from the others, they told them every detail of their trip. From their involvement with Blue Diamond, right down to the final battle to save Homeworld.

"... Amazing ..." Said Star Quartz.

"Indeed. I can say that we're all happy that Homeworld's better with us," Garnet said with a smile. Probably the most impressed though was Flint; he and Jade didn't return to Homeworld mainly because of their past involvement with it, but after hearing all of this, Flint felt simply speechless. Jade noticed too.

"They've really done a great job," Jade said with a smile, Flint looking to her. She didn't talk too much, but, Jade wasn't afraid to congratulate them on that much.

"Uh ... Yeah, they did," Flint replied. He never would've expected this little plan to be enough to get this kind of result, but he was amazed none-the-less.

"... You all fused too?" Asked Star.

"We were HUGE! I never felt so powerful in my life!" Amethyst exclaimed, remembering how they used their fusion to pummel the giant beast Osicone.

"Not to mention tall. Felt like we could see for miles from where we were," added Diopside. Flint and Jade were amazed how so many gems could stay together without risk of splitting up. They all must be more in synch than they first take them for. Flint sighed.

"Well, you did a great job, I'll give you that," Flint stated with a slight grin. He could say that much, anyway. Before they could go any further, a signature magic door opened nearby. They hadn't seen that in a while, but they knew right on the beam on what it was; Twilight magic key door. Sure enough, the alicorn soon went right through the door, and onto the beach.

"Hi, Twilight! We were just telling about our big adventure on Homeworld," Steven said with a big smile.

"That's nice, Steven. Anyway, I have something I think you should look at," Twilight said, levitating the letter she got that morning to Garnet. It was the one she had Spike write out rather than the original, so they could understand it a bit better, and a bit quicker. When Garnet looked over what the message was, and who wrote it to them, Garnet took a moment to think. When Fulgurite looked it over, she felt a groan escape her.

"We've only been back for a week, and we already have big issues again? Seriously, we've done a lot already," Fulgurite complained. Not exactly something that should be said, but, it was true. After all, they just went off planet and were nearly killed by the Osicone to save it, and suddenly they got this message about another issue off Earth, and in Equestria.

"True. But, if we're called, then so be it," Garnet replied. Twilight realized that maybe it wasn't the best idea ever, especially since they've done so much already.

"Wait a minute. Maybe only some of you should come then. You guys done a lot," Twilight decided.

"You sure?"

"Yeah I am. You did fight the Osicone after all."

"I want to go, I'm fine!" Steven suddenly said. He was fine to go, and wanted to see Neippon anyway. It'd been too long since he had been in Equestria. Connie wanted to go to, again being too long since last seeing Equestria.

"Uh, Steven, maybe we should wait until -"

"Go ahead, Steven," Garnet suddenly said, cutting off Pearl. Pearl was surprised, but Steven was beaming.

"W-Wait, you're letting him go without -"

"It'll be fine, Pearl. Diopside? Peridot? Connie? Would you like to go with him?" Garnet asked. Connie and Diopside nodded, and Peridot just went along anyway. Diopside never seen Equestria yet, and Peridot hadn't heard of Neippon before, so, that intrigued her a bit. Twilight can understand for some of the Gems to come, while the rest took some time to chill out.

"Thanks. We'll be sure they're okay," Twilight assured them, as they began heading through the door.


~~~~~~


The time they took to get to the next spot was quite a long one on a straight train trip. Twilight and the rest of the mane six, joined by Spike, Steven, Diopside, Connie and Peridot, waited on their train as it went off on its tracks. Diopside had her eyes practically glued to the window throughout the ride, taking in the sights of Equestria as the train went on. Being her first time in Equestria, everything seemed so colorful and different overall. Peridot was more interested on where they're going rather then the route to. they never heard of Neippon, and the idea of heading towards somewhere new was fascinating to put it lightly. What was Neippon like? And who's this "Duke" that wants them there? They'll have to figure that out once they get there.

Eventually, the train went to a screeching halt as it arrived at its designated station. The station was old, and slightly out of date, but it was still their stop for where they need to go. The ponies stepped out onto the train station, only to find that they were in a more forested area of Equestria. Many of the trees were tall, and many of the leaves and branches were out of reach from anypony. The cold winds from the nearby mountains brushed against them, and what remained was a dirt trail leading off towards the highlands. Everyone took a moment to look around a bit as the train left the station. The springtime air meant that flowers were also blooming on the trees, which added a nice touch to the scenery. The group looked around for somepony that would be around for them.

"Anypony see whoever called us?" Applejack asked.

"Hello!" Pinkie suddenly said, waving her hoof, and looking away from the station.

Down the path in question, one equine was indeed coming towards them in a trot. The appearance of the pony alone was enough to catch their interest. Her body seemed to consist of scales and fur, with scales running along down her stomach, reaching up her neck. Her mane was black, and flowing down her head and neck, like Connie's almost. On her forehead, she had a unique looking horn which looked more like a straight antler, or a tree branch; with an extra point sprouting up top and on the bottom. Her body appeared like a pony, yet her tail looked almost like a lion tail; straight with fur on the end of it, which was just a flowing as her mane. Her hooves resemble a deer's cloven shape instead of a regular horse, with dark fur lining her silver hooves. Her flank didn't had any cutie mark though, which was different from many of the other ponies the Gems had seen. The creature stopped after a bit, and looked to them.

"Twilight?" She asked, pointing to the alicorn. Twilight nodded a bit.

"Yeah, that's right. Who are you?"

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kansha. My name is Shinrin. Grateful that you got the message," she said, moving over to the group. A surprised feeling went across about everyone.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're "The Duke"?" Rainbow questioned. She looked rather fragile for a duke as far as she was concern. Shinrin realized their confusion, and laughed.

"No, no, that wasn't me. I can take you to him though, he's just down here," Shinrin said, motioning a hoof for them to follow her. She may not be this Duke that gave them the letter in the first place, but if she knew who, then they might as well follow her and get it over with. No point on going on a wild goose chase when they got their answer here.

Without much fuss, the group soon ended up following their unique-looking guide down the path away from the station. While they were there because a situation needed to be handled, the scenery was captivating as they went along. The trees weren't from Ponyville, or Beach City, so seeing these blossoming trees was something for them to look at for the time being. This actually made the walk towards where Shinrin guided them much quicker, and almost before they realized it, Shinrin had got them to the spot.

The location itself was a small house over along the highlands, bordering a mountain forest. The house itself was small, but didn't appear like the cottages cottage back in Ponyville. While the cottages of Ponyville were made of yellow straw roofs and were at least two stories up, this house was a single-floored one, with a sliding door, walls that looked like paper, and the roof in a triangle with the points curved upwards. Shinrin went right over to the door, and slid it open with ease as she went right in. The interior was a bit different from the exterior. For starters, the first room they walked into didn't had too much furniture apart from a short coffee table. there was a wide open door looking out to an open field, and the table had a kettle of tea, fresh and hot. Next to it was a plate of dumplings, also currently made. It was nice, and simple. Peridot and Diopside were more interested in the kettle though; not seeing one like it before.

"What this odd device? Is it a weapon?" Peridot wondered, looking at it all around. Connie went over, and helped herself to a seat. 

"That's just a kettle," Connie chuckled, though Peridot wasn't sure. Shinrin looked over to them.

"Help yourself to the tea and dumplings, if you wish. I'll be right back," Shinrin said, and headed outside again towards the field. While some settled by the table, others went out and watched Shinrin go out towards the fields of green by the house. Shinrin soon found another pony out working in the field. This pony looked more robust than Shinrin, with scales lining his stomach, and back. He had a 'goatbeard' on his chin that went down his neck, and his horn resembled Shinrin's own. His tail looked like Shinrin's too, but completely scaled apart from the furred tip. His mane, tip of tail, and goatbeard were silver in color, along with his hooves. His main fur color was a lime green, and his scales were a very dark green. The others could just hear her, but when she spoke to him, it wasn't in a language they understood.

"Ani! Ani!" Shinrin called. The older pony stopped and turned to her.

"Nani?" He asked.

"Ponī wa, karera ga anata no messēji o motte, imakoko ni arimasu," Shinrin replied. Those hearing her and the other pony looked kinda puzzled.

"You know what they're saying?" Rainbow whispered to Pinkie. She just shrugged, as Shinrin and the other pony went over to see them, still talking to eachother a little.

"Karera wa neipponese ni seitsū shite imasu ka?" The other pony asked Shinrin. Shinrin shook her head.

"Watashi wa karera ni hanashi o kiita, karera wa omoni equestrian o hanashimasu," replied Shinrin. It was hard to understand, but mainly Shinrin was telling the pony that they were here, and that they don't speak Neipponese like they do. The older pony looked to Twilight, and cleared his throat.

"Kon'nichiwa," He began, but realized he just blabbered Neipponese again, so he cleared his throat once more. "Hello. I am Firudo Yama. Are you Twilight?"

"That's me, and these are my friends," Twilight introduced. Firudo nodded, as he and Shinrin headed in, only to see Steven, Diopside, Peridot, and Connie. Firudo was a bit tired, and slightly dirty as he wiped his hooves before going in. When Rarity saw him though, she saw a buff and handsome stallion.

"Hello there, darling. My name is Rarity, a pleasure to meet such a strong stallion," Rarity said, acting a little flirty in her tone. The others were embarrassed a little, but Firudo knew a flirty mare when he saw one. He just gave Rarity an unimpressed expression, and sat down over by Connie and Peridot. Rarity felt insulted, and gave a humph before she sat down too. Meanwhile, Shinrin sat down by Firudo, and her horn suddenly glowed a lime green. Soon, the plate of dumplings started to be passed around for whoever wanted out. It was a surprise to see her using magic, considering her horn didn't match to Twilight's or Rarity's, but they weren't normal ponies either way so they didn't question that. They all took their dumplings apart from Peridot, who didn't see a dumpling before.

"These look delicious. Itadakimasu," Connie said, before taking a bite of her dumpling. Shinrin giggled at that saying, though admittedly impressed she had some of their language down pact, even if it was one saying. They all were also given a cup of warm basil tea, still steaming a bit. Seemed Shinrin wanted some fresh food for their guests once they showed up. Not everyone jumped to the tea though, especially Steven, Pinkie and Peridot. Steven and Pinkie didn't like tea very much, and Peridot didn't had much clue on what the tea was. Peridot tried a gulp of it after watching the others. The taste wasn't what bothered her, but the heat hit her like a train. Her eyes bulged out, and she got her hot tongue out, putting the cup down.

"Hot,hot,hot,hot," Peridot repeated, fanning her tongue. Rarity turned to Peridot.

"You don't gulp it down, dear. Little sips, like this," Rarity said, sipping her tea. It didn't bother Rarity much, for she was used to tea, and she enjoyed this one. Peridot mimicked what Rarity did, and by her league, Diopside, but while the heat wasn't as much of a bother, the taste was. The basil leaves left a odd taste on their tongues, but it was dull so it mainly tasted like hot water.

"Uh, pass," Peridot decided, placing her cup down. Shinrin didn't mind it though; not everybody liked tea anyway. Firudo looked over to Diopside and Peridot, interested a bit by these new creatures. He heard of them, but this was the first time he saw one.

"So, you are Gems?" He asked curiously.

"Yep, genuine Gems," Steven smiled, showing them his gemstone. He wasn't a full Gem, but he was one still none-the-less. He then continued with, " So, what are you two?"

"Oh. We're both Kirin actually," Shinrin answered with a smile. Honestly, they thought they were Draconian, but seeing the two Kirin made them interested just as much. Shinrin took a moment to sip her tea, when Rainbow interrupted.

"Alright then, cool, now what's this about? I'm pretty sure you didn't get us out here just for tea time," Rainbow said. So far, they didn't get much information about what exactly needed to be done. Shinrin and Firudo looked to eachother, as Shinrin placed her cup down.

"I'm sorry. Let me explain," Shinrin began, moving over to outside for a second. She eventually turned back to them after a bit.

"Umakumo," she simply stated.

"A what-now?" Applejack asked.

"The Umakumo has been around Neippon lately. It's a large half-pony, half spider creature, and it's been kidnapping villagers for quite sometime. Our father tried to stop it ... but ..."

"He was taken too?" Diopside suddenly cut in. The Kirin just nodded, and sighed sadly. The situation was quick to get to; basically this Umakumo was kidnapping Kirin, and they have to find it and rescue them. Seemed simple enough.

"We'll find that Umakumo for you, and rescue everypony captured," Twilight promised. Firudo smiled to the alicorn.

"Sōdaina," Firudo sighed in relief, basically Neipponese for 'grand'.

"Alright, where is it? I'm ready for it," Rainbow said, stoked and ready to go.

"We don't know," sighed Firudo. This was a pure bum-out. Guess they have to figure out that first.

"Do you know anypony who does?" Twilight asked. Shinrin and Firudo glanced to eachother before Firudo got up. Shinrin seemed rough on it, but Firudo spoke for her.

"You can try the princess, she's at the main village," he said, looking outside, further off. When looking, they could barely see their destination. Next stop; the village.


~~~~~~


It didn't take too long until Shinrin and Firudo brought them to the main village. The village itself was a bit bigger than they thought it would be, with the buildings matching the designs of Shinrin's house, but as big as Ponyville cottages. The main road had lights hanged above it, which looked like paper lamps hung in a row. Colors varied from yellows, to oranges, to reds, and added an interesting feel to the village. As for the residents, the Kirins were more varied than they first realized. Different colors, different manes, different sizes, and even different sets of horns. They can safely say that the Kirins are as diverse as anypony else. Steven, Connie, Peridot and Diopside were the most impressed with the Kirins.

"You Kirins have an ... Interesting choice of architecture and visual appeal," Peridot noted, looking up at the hanging lamps.

"You mean the lamps? Yeah, it's a traditional thing for us Kirins. They make nights very lovely," Shinrin explained. Peridot examined the details on the paper lamps as they went. They liked to look about, but Shinrin and Firudo brought them right to one particular building down the road. Anymore time messing around could mean more and more trouble with whatever ponies were caught by that Spider-Pony hybrid.

The building they're brought to had a clear temple royalty to it. Long steps leading up to the large front doors of the palace. Statues next to the doors resemble huge, wingless dragons. Shinrin stopped herself by the steps though.

"I'll just wait out here," she sighed. The others were confused, but they went off anyhow. Peridot, Diopside, and Connie weren't sure why she didn't want to go, and kept it in mind as they went up. Firudo looked back to Shinrin before continuing on to the front doors. They all stood there for a bit, but eventually it was Steven who did the honors and knocked on the door. No sooner after he did, suddenly they began to open up.

"Keep calm," Firudo advised, as the doors fully opened, and they went through. Immediately, they were treated to the sight of the current princess. She had a rather special look to her, with a sort of charm for a fem fatale. Her throne looked more like some special pillows than any actual chair, and she was laying down on her side upon them. She didn't seem to have that much scales on her stomach, but most of hers lined her back, and some on her chest (make of it what you will). Her patterns seemed to match with a Koi fish, with white fur and red scales. Her mane flowed down her neck as if she just came out of the water, with white highlights in them. This also went with her tail, which the fur went up it like a tail fin. The main thing to show she was a Kirin was a set of deer antlers, and the cloven hooves. Surely one way to make a first impression. Firudo went over, and bowed in front of her.

"Junsui-sama," Firudo began. Junsui smiled.

"Firudo. Watashi wa anata ga Neippon no soto de nan'ninka no yūjin o motte sanshō shite kudasai?"

"Hai."

The red and white Kirin stood up, and moved off her pillows. She moved her head back so her mane wasn't in her face (and possibly to add some charm). She thought they were just here to see the princess herself, so, she might as well show off a bit.

"Kon'nichiwa, saiai no hito. Kanojo jishin neippon no ōjo o mi ni kite?" Junsui asked. They would answer if they knew what she was saying.

"Mi no alba Española," Rainbow groaned, only getting her bonked in the head by Rarity.

"I'm sorry about that. But, we don't speak Neipponese, princess," Twilight said, as Rainbow rubbed the bump on her head. Junsui nodded her head, but rather than clear her throat, her horns suddenly glowed a bit. A small sparkling flash went around her head, as she spoke again.

"There you go, dear. Better?" She asked, now easily understood by everypony. Twilight was impressed more than most, but nodded; not everyday you get to see a translator spell used in action.

"Much better, thank you," Diopside replied. Junsui went over to the Gems nearby, looking them over.

"Oh? Interesting creatures, I see. Come to see the princess herself?" She asked, her hoof going through her smooth mane. Pretty, but a bit into herself by the looks of it.

"We arrived after receiving a message regarding an issue revolving this area," Peridot answered. Firudo watched as Junsui began moving off a bit. The main issue currently was the Umakumo, and if they were here in regards to that ...

"Oh, that. Yes, we've been having trouble with that beast for quite sometime," Junsui explained.

"How many?" Fluttershy asked. Junsui thought it over for a little bit, her hoof to her chin.

"Hard to say, really," Junsui replied. That answer made them wonder just how long was the Umakumo around for, and how many villagers were taken by it. Rainbow was loosing patience.

"Okay, just tell us where this Uma-whoever thing is, will ya?" Rainbow groaned. She really wanted to get going, and this chit-chat wasn't giving them anything. However, Junsui gave a small yawn.

"I suppose I could."

"Why don't you?!" Rainbow snapped. Junsui rolled her eyes.

"I'd hate to put anypony else at risk of such a creature. Other soldiers tried. They never came back," Junsui explained, as she sat down on her pillows. They were a bit spooked on such news, but what seemed odd was her tone was more like it was just business rather than anything remorseful. Only Connie and Peridot seemed to catch it though.

"You can go now. You can stay in my village as long as you wish," Junsui said. Firudo began to go in a sigh, as the others agreed to head off, Connie and Peridot glancing to eachother as they were walking away.


~~~~~~


With the princess not giving them much help, they were pretty much stuck at square one. They knew what the problem was, but, without knowing anywhere that the Umakumo could possibly had gone to, then running around like mad wasn't going to work out in the long run. On the bright side, at least this gave them some time to look around the village for a bit. Shinrin and Firudo were dismayed with the news, though the group was aware that she might know something. Her reasoning seemed fair though, and if others were sent and never returned, then Junsui may not want anypony else to share their fate, Pony, Gem or otherwise. As they walked on, they thought over what to do next.

"So, now what do we do? Not even the princess seemed to know anything about where this Umakumo is," Steven wondered, trying to think. Twilight sighed after a bit.

"Let's just go back and get Junsui to tell us. Seriously, she flat out said she knew where this Uma-thingy is," Rainbow gripped.

"Look, I'm not giving up just yet. We'll just have to ask around and see if we can find any clues -" before Twilight could finish, Pinkie shoved her head down, and saw a stand close by, which apparently was selling ice cream to some Kirins.

"Yummy!" Pinkie beamed, and rushed off. Twilight needed a minute to regain herself, shaking her head, before she turned back to the rest. Almost right away, some of them began to get a bit hungry.

"How about we try to get some food first? Maybe somepony would know there?" Rainbow insisted.

"Well, alright. Steven, Connie, do you want anything?" Twilight asked, turning to them.

"I'm good, thank you. You go on ahead," Connie decided. Peridot stuck around with her, as the rest went off to try some of the Neippon food. While they went off though, Connie felt like she needed to get something out of her head. Since leaving Junsui, she seemed to have her doubts over the princess, and how she acted to them.

"Hey. Had any of you noticed something odd with Princess Junsui?' Connie asked, turning to Peridot.

"You mean aside from her questionable display?" Peridot asked sarcastically. She didn't know too much on royalty amongst equestrian, but she was sure showing off on some pillows wasn't a regal move.

"Well, yeah. I don't know, she sounded like she didn't want to tell us where the Umakumo is," Connie explained.

"Didn't she say it was for our safety?" Peridot pointed out. Connie closed her eyes, her hand to her chin, rethinking of how Junsui said that.

"She didn't sound like she really cared though. Anybody noticed how monotone she was for her village being taken by the monster? Sounded like she expected it, or something," Connie concluded. Peridot thought for a moment or two.

"Oh yeah, I noticed that too; and she seemed ready to have us go soon after that without much current information. Shouldn't she be more troubled over this than she is? If she wanted to get rid of the thing, she'd tell us right away," Peridot hypothesized. Both girls came to the similar conclusion; Junsui had her own reasons that she wasn't telling them about, and she didn't want them involved in the Umakumo incidents not for their safety. Before they could go any further ...

"Ōi."

Connie and Peridot looked around for a second or so, trying to figure out where the voice came from. So far, they only saw their group, and a few far away Kirin residents ... Well, then there was one that caught their eye. It was hard to tell at first, but the voice belonged to a rather old Kirin. His mane draped over his eyes, and his head has a single, aged horn on it. His scales lined his stomach and tail, that and his fur a dullish green color. He had apparently overheard their conversation, and their doubts over princess Junsui. He made a check on the other Kirin around, seeing none of them noticed him. No one noticed him except Connie and Peridot, which seemed to be what he wanted.

"You two talking about the princess? I heard you both," He asked. Lucky for them, he spoke good Equestrian. Connie thought he would be mad for them thinking negatively over the princess.

"N-not in a bad way, really, we uh -"

"We have our doubts," Peridot cut in. Connie was a bit worried but ...

"Good."

Good? What did he mean by that? He followed Junsui right? Connie looked more puzzled than worried, as it seemed every Kirin should follow who was in charge of their village. Why would having doubts exactly be a good thing for him? The old Kirin continued.

"Your group mentioned about the Umakumo, right? I think I can help you," the Kirin offered.

"You know where it is? I'm positive we can take it from there," Peridot noted.

"Better; I can show you."

What luck! Leave it to the old guy to know where the Umakumo was. The old Kirin then began to scrap the ground with his hoof, making out a sort of arch.

"Meet me at the eastern gate. We'll continue from there," the Kirin advised. It sure was a generous gesture from the old old Kirin to give them. After that was explained, the old Kirin them turned away, his tail wiping away the picture in the dirt. Connie and Peridot weren't sure why he did that, but they got something to work with.

They got a guide.
> The Kirin Empire PT2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You sure this is the spot?" Fluttershy asked.

"That's what he said," replied Peridot.

It didn't take very long before Connie and Peridot explained to the others about the old Kirin, and what he had in mind for them. At this point, it was the best shot they got at handling this Umakumo, or at least figure out where it was. While describing him, Shinrin and Firudo both recognized the old Kirin, which turned out was named Ion. However, both Kirins didn't know Ion that well aside from his name, so, the name was all they got going for them. For the time being, the group awaited Ion at the spot in question; the eastern gate of the village. The gate stood facing off towards a path leading to the forest highlands, one mountain peak standing in sight. The group waited a minute or two before the Kirin in question began coming into sight, walking alongside the village wall to the eastern gate.

"Ah, there you are," Ion said. As he head over though, he stopped on seeing Shinrin and Firudo. He knew they met other Kirins, but bringing them along wasn't what he intended on.

"Alright then, Ion right? We arrived as requested, so are we going to go now?" Peridot said, ready to head off. But Ion didn't head out at first, looking to the other Kirin.

"Watashi wa anata ga sorera ni seitsū shita koto ni kidzukimasendeshita," Ion said. The two glanced at eachother.

"Watashitachiha, chichi ga anzen ni shitaidesu," Shinrin noted.

"Ma. Dakara futari wa Junsui ga anata ni itta nochi demo, kite yorokonde imasu?" Ion asked, though not sounding judgmental. They'd not want to go against the princess, but Shinrin was quicker to answer Ion than Firudo, which just came out as a nod of the head. Ion smiled.

"Yoi. So no baai ni wa, ikimashou," Ion decided, heading off on their way.

At first, the walk seemed about as calming as it was from the train station to Shinrin's home. The ground under hoof was firm, though not as comfortable to walk on as the walk from the station was. Ion kept a focused mind, but the fact he supported negative thoughts against the princess didn't escape their heads. First he was happy Connie and Peridot had doubts, and now he's good with Shinrin and Firudo going with them despite Junsui's supposed wishes. It just seemed a bit odd. And normally untrusting for just blatant defiance. Still, the princess's behavior made that a bit confusing, as they were still aware that the princess wasn't as good either according to Connie and Peridot. When they got far enough away, Peridot decided to go over to Ion, tapping him on his shoulder.

"Yes?" Ion asked.

"Explain to me, Kirin; why would you consider negative actions against your current ruler as something worth encouraging? I may not know much about how hierarchy works in Neippon, but I know enough that mocking your overlord is considered a bad move," Peridot questioned. Ion looked back, seeing they were pretty far off at this point, and then stopped. Peridot's question got some others curious as well, Shinrin and Firudo especially. 

"What is she talking about, Ion?" Firudo asked firmly. The old Kirin took a moment to look at the ground, rather than answer any of them right away. Ion examined the dirt for a second, and then looked ahead.

"We're on the right path."

"HEY! Are you listening?!" Peridot gripped. Ion cringed a second or so, focusing on what they were saying. He'd rather wait, but since they were far enough, and since they weren't too far from where they needed to be, he turned around to face everypony.

"Follow me on this. The Umakumo is a legend for hundreds of moons. However, it never appeared physically until after Junsui became princess ... You do the math," Ion stated, starting to walk again. Firudo though went in his way, angry with him.

"You're not blaming Junsui for the Umakumo attacks, are you?"

"About it," Ion bluntly replied. That got Firudo angry (and no longer caring for the language barrier).

"Dono yō ni aete anata wa hime o bujoku shimasu! Kanojo wa, narabe-gae no nani mo shite inai to omoimasu. Umakumo kōgeki to kanojo no jōkyō wa tan'naru gūzendeari, anata wa sore o shitte imasu!"

"FIRUDO!" The old Kirin's voice bellowed, shocking the group, and silencing the angry Kirin. Seemed he had his loyalty down pact, unlike Ion. Shinrin felt slightly torn, and didn't try to get her own opinion in. Ion stood there with gritted teeth for a bit until he just gave a low sigh.

"Anata wa ikken ni ōjo o shinrai suru koto wa dekimasen. Kanojo wa,-sōdenakereba, kanojo wa Umakumo o shori suru tame no yori ōku no taisaku o tameshite mita, kanojo wa hontōni kanojo no ōkoku no sewa o watashi ni shōmei suru tame ni wa itatte imasen. Anata ga mushiro ki ni shinaidarou baai wa, chōdo modotte." Firudo took a moment to let the words sink in (whatever they were). After a long wait, eventually Firudo turned around, and began to head back to the village, leaving Shinrin standing there. She didn't feel exactly the same as Firudo, and felt slightly torn. Ion sighed and turned around again, seeing that Firudo wouldn't bother. If only the others felt as strong to it as Shinrin did ...

"What did you tell him?" Steven asked, not getting a single word.

"I told him that you can't trust a princess right away, and to go back if he couldn't handle it," Ion said, starting to move off ahead. Steven wished it didn't had to come to that. Firudo did stop eventually when he realized that Shinrin wasn't following him. Firudo turned back, and saw that the Kirin was standing by the others. Even if her views matched Firudo, their father was still missing, and she wanted to find him. Firudo didn't want to hear any insults to the princess, but if it meant to save their father ...

The walk continued on from there, with the Mane six and their friends following Ion as they went. Their walk got them further and further away from the village, and deeper in the forest. The old Kirin knew exactly where he was going, and the ground underhoof felt harder as they went to the drier mountains. As they continued, Ion lead them off the main trail at one point, turning from frequently traveled road, to rock trails. The trails began to turn small, and more rough to walk down, hoof or foot. The old Kirin knew where he was, and what's coming, and didn't bother to slow down as they continued on. The Gems, humans, and ponies following the old Kirin tried to handle the terrain as best they could, but suddenly Ion stopped once one of his cloven hooves stepped in something.

Webbing.

"We're close," Ion warned, moving along with some small bits of web on his hoof. It didn't take long before the others noticed the silk along the path. However, Rainbow was still flying in the air, and with her eyes to the ground, she failed to noticed a decent sized web right in her way.

"AH- hey!"

It took just a few seconds to ground Rainbow, just after she flew right in the web. The silk wrapped around her wings, and she ended up on the ground in a mess, trying to get the silk off of her. Everyone stopped once they saw her on the ground. The silk managed to get her wings locked, her front hooves pulled to her body, and her back hooves wrapped together. Rainbow squirmed, and shook, but that only made it worse. Ion stopped and turned back, as the others tried to help her out.

"Get this stuff off me," Rainbow demanded. She got one wing free, but she couldn't fly with one wing, and every beat just made her roll on the ground.

"Stop moving, you'll only get into more trouble," Twilight advised, trying to get the stuff off. Twilight tried to tear the silk off, but it was stuck to Rainbow good, and it didn't seem to help. Steven and Connie tried too help themselves, and did get farther with their fingers at work, but they got as far as to get Rainbow standing again, but they couldn't get the mess off her wings.

"What's with all this? Stupid web," Rainbow groaned, trying herself to get the silk off, but to no avail. As she was dealing with that, Ion moved further ahead until he was at a clearing in the path. The webbing thickened where he was, as he waited for them to catch up to him. Trying to avoid getting tangled in the webs, they did end up moving over to Ion, and saw what he was looking at.

Up ahead of them, a good ten feet away, all the webs along the ground lead into a larger cave within the mountain face. Much of the silk the group were standing on lead straight inside, but if one were to remove much of the silk, the walls and floor of the cave would appear smoothed out, along with the rock walls. Many bushes and trees were also obscured by the increase of webbing, draped in white silk all around. No normal spider could've made all this, and if this wasn't a sign of any danger, what would be? Most of them moved over to the cave, looking into the darkness. Even with the lighter webbing, it ended up much darker further in, so they couldn't see any farther.

"It should be just inside. If you really want to face Umakumo, then there you go," Ion said.

"Aren't you coming?"

"I wish I could help. But I'm too old. My fighting days are long behind me," Ion said, sitting down nearby. They should be lucky that they got this far, and if the beast is inside, they got it right where they want it.

The others lined up in front of the cave, ready to head in. The only person that Steven was worried about was Connie. Yes, she had practiced with Pearl for weeks now, but this was different; while Pearl was Connie's teacher, and she would never dream to kill Connie, this Umakumo didn't had any true connection with Connie, and therefore it won't hold back when it came to attacking her. Steven didn't want to see Connie hurt by this thing, or worse. The others could sense Steven's worry.

"Connie, stay with Ion. Can you do that?" Rarity insisted. Connie looked surprised.

"W-What? No, I want to join you!" Connie insisted. She didn't train with Pearl just to keep herself back when its called for it.

"Connie, please wait here. I don't want you hurt," Steven said, hand on her shoulder. Connie didn't want to leave them going in there. Everypony were ready and armed, yet Connie didn't had much of anything, so, that was another good reason to keep the young girl out of the way while they went in.

"I won't! Steven, you saw me training with Pearl, I can handle it I swear," Connie insisted, determined as ever. She even rushed off, and grabbed a branch to use as her weapon. She held it like a sword, ready for use.

"Come on, I can get my weapon no trouble, I can handle myself, no matter what the danger!" Connie insisted, moving about the branch like she would do a sword.

"Connie! You have no weapon, you have no true way to protect yourself. Best for you to stay out here with me," Ion suddenly protested. He knew enough why she couldn't go in with them, and can understand their worry. Connie didn't want to be put on the sidelines again, though, and looked to Steven, right in the eyes.

"Steven, please. Remember what you told me that one time? During my training?  I don't want you to fight for me, I want you to fight with me!" Connie strongly answered. Steven remembered what Connie was talking about, and felt his own words come back to him, what he used to talk to Connie during her training. Steven felt her hand, and then smiled.

"Ready?" Steven asked. Connie nodded her head, picking up her sturdy branch. No sooner after that was decided, everyone looked into the cave entrance, and soon began to venture inside. Ion awaited close by, and watched as they disappeared inside...


~~~~~~


It did not take very long before the cave they got into became too dark to see. Twilight quickly fixed that though with a quick glow of her horn to light their way. The entire cave was covered, top to bottom with an entire sheet of silk, covering the entirety of the cave walls, floor, and ceiling. Each step they took got their hooves and feet about ankle high in the stuff, but this webbing didn't get tangled up in their fur, or stuck on their feet. The cave went fairly deep, and curved after a while, so they weren't able to see the exit after that. Only Twilight's own magic light kept their way lit afterwards, and with each step they all knew, that Umakumo was somewhere around in here.

It didn't take much longer before they all heard a stirring up ahead of them ...

"That must be it," whispered Diopside. Some more stirring occurred from their sight, but Twilight's light couldn't exactly catch what it was.

"Finally. Alright, Umakumo, prepare yourself!"

"Rainbow, wait!"

Before anypony could stop her, Rainbow Dash took off in a flash, rushing off towards whatever it was. Seconds later though, the stirring had stopped, and Rainbow Dash was ready for anything ...

Well, everything except nothing.

"I know your in here!" Rainbow called out, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Rainbow, get back here," Applejack quietly demanded. Rainbow didn't seem too worried though.

"what? There's nothing here!" Rainbow replied. Rainbow just stood there with her back turned, looking back to the others. At this point, Peridot took a strong look around where Rainbow Dash was standing. The Pegasus was standing in a widened part of the cave, and the floor was completely covered in silk ... But, when she looked further to the back, she began to notice something amongst the shadows ...

Something was moving, shuffling its hooves in the silk.

"OVER THERE!" Peridot yelled, pointing behind Rainbow Dash. The scream made everyone jump, and Twilight increased her light, as she charged for an attack.

That's when they all saw it.

With Twilight's light brightening up the cave, it turned out they were at the end of it. There, standing by the back wall, staring right at them, was a shocking beast. The animal looked part pony, but many fetures told the Gems and ponies otherwise. One obvious example was the multiple legs, the front and middle set of legs held up to its body as the second pair, and back pair supported its weight. The head of the creature also has a pony-like appearance, but the snout was shrunken in, and its eyes were accompanied by five more on its forehead. It's flank looked gigantic, and sagged behind it like that of a spider more than any horse. Its body was covered in bare skin, pale and almost pure white

This was Umakumo.

Umakumo stood completely still, like a deer caught in a headlight, as it stared directly at everypony/everybody there. It didn't attack, or do anything at first apart from staring them down.

"Holy smokes," Peridot gasped. Rainbow looked ready to fight, and rushed forward, but the Umakumo thought otherwise. Rather than fight them, it quickly turned, and raced through a part of silk concealing a smaller tunnel. Guess this cave was bigger than they thought.

"Hey, get back here!" Rainbow yelled. Before she raced down though, Applejack grabbed her by the tail with her teeth, making Rainbow stop.

"Hold on there, partner. We're here to get them villagers outta here, remember?" Applejack reminded.

"And what about spider-mane down there?! We're just going to let it scurry away?!" Rainbow retorted.

"Course not! But, one thing at a time. Obviously that critter's made a bigger cave outta this here tunnel, so, let's keep lookin around til we find them, alright?" Applejack insisted. Applejack looked around a bit, trying to see if there was anymore extra tunnels around the place.

"Hey, Peri? You got good eyes, don't ya?"

"You mean vision spheres, right?"

"Eh, yeah. Anyhow, can you see anything like an extra tunnel?" Applejack asked. Peridot looked around for a bit, trying to make sure, but all she saw apart from the one tunnel was tons and tons of silk everywhere. It really wasn't helping out too much though, and Peridot moved over to one side of the wall, casually despite the beast just being there.

"Not what I can - EEP!" Before Peridot could finish her sentence, suddenly something seemed to open up, and Peridot ended up tumbling down another tunnel! It wasn't too deep, and she ended up covered in silk from head to toe. The others rushed over fast, as Peridot struggled with the sink.

"Eww," Peridot groaned, trying to get the stuff off of her. The tunnel went down deep, with more silk to follow along the floor. Diopside and Connie hopped down, and tried to untangle her from the silk.

"You okay, Peridot?" Steven asked.

"I'm okay," Peridot replied, just after getting herself cleared of all the silk.

"Hey, we can't just leave it alone!" Rainbow snapped. She'd rather go after the thing rather than stand around.

"Alright, alright. We'll split up; half of us goes down there, the rest go after Umakumo. Fair enough?" Peridot decided, arms crossed. It was a risky choice, but after some discussion, they eventually reached their conclusion. Steven, Peridot, Connie, Diopside and Fluttershy go down the new tunnel, while Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie and Twilight go down the other.

"We'll all meet back at the entrance once we're done. Whistle, and we'll all come back together immediately. Good luck," Twilight said, and soon the two teams went off. Five down one tunnel, and five down the other.


~~~~~~


Peridot, Steven, Connie, Fluttershy and Diopside continued off down their tunnel, trying to avoid as best they could from tripping over the silk webs. The tunnel further down was much darker this time, but that was only because they didn't had a light to use ...

"Anyone see anything?" Diopside asked.

"No," squeaked Fluttershy. Suddenly, Fluttershy gave a yelp as something grabbed her front hoof.

"Fluttershy, it's just me. Everyone hold hands, we can stay together that way," Steven said. So they did so, with Peridot taking the lead, and Diopside at the back. Peridot had the best eyesight, so she had a better shot on seeing ahead with whatever light was left. Steven had both his hands in the middle of the chain with Fluttershy and Connie. They continued on from there for a few more feet until Diopside suddenly felt something touch her other hand. It felt like a hoof, though not seeing well, she thought it was Fluttershy.

"Uh, Fluttershy? Are your hooves always this cold?" Diopside asked.

"I'm ... I'm over here," Fluttershy stuttered. The group stopped and turned back to Diopside. Diopside took a minute to move her hand back, feeling another leg ... Then the chest ... Then the head.

She took a big breath.

"... He's right there, isn't he?"

Peridot could only see the answer standing right behind her, shocked out of her wits.

"Diopside. Come here, slowly," Peridot warned. Diopside, instead, turned around to see who she was touching. Suddenly, her one eye was staring right at the seven eyes of Umakumo! How'd it get pass the others?! Diopside jumped back, the Umakumo raising its head, but not attacking right away. Everyone could just see Umakumo, backing up together as Umakumo advanced towards them, each leg moving along the floor and walls. Steven quickly got out his shield before Umakumo could trample them, the spider horse slamming into the pink shield, pushing everyone back. At first, Umakumo was surprised seeing this sudden shield spring up from nowhere, but its hooves tried to get it out of the way.

"Get back!" Connie yelled, moving to the side and lashing out with her branch. surprisingly, Umakumo stepped back, Connie a bit surprised as well how easily it was working, but Umakumo didn't back away because of Connie's lashing out. It gave a loud neigh, rearing back, and slamming its front four hooves on the ground. The silk wasn't as sturdy here, so ...

"Uh oh."

As quickly as Diopside said that, part of the silk under their feet suddenly gave way! Fluttershy tried to fly, but trying to pull the others out ended up dragging her down too. They all tumbled head over heels down a steep inclining tunnel, despite the extra silk. Soon, they did eventually stop, completely covered in the webbing from head to toe. It took sometime to get themselves loose, with Diopside being first.

"Grr, come on, get off," Diopside yelped, squirming about until she finally got herself free of the sticky stuff. Without being asked, she began to get the others out of the silk. They didn't had any clue where they ended up in their stumble, the tunnel too dark to see anything correctly, even with Peridot's visors. They got up, and tried to get back together before that Umakumo would come back.

"Everyone okay?" Steven asked. They agreed, but -

"Ow! What the -" Peridot yelped. Walking around the dark, she had accidentally knocked her foot on something, but even with her visors, she couldn't see what. She was getting very annoyed.

"Anybody got a light? Anyone?" Peridot asked. None of them really had such a light, so, that wasn't something easily answered. Suddenly, Steven got an idea; with a quick movement, he summoned back his shield. the shield made of light, it gave a soft glow to help them see a little bit. Not a first choice, but still a choice for them to use. He felt a little tired on doing so, but it still helped them, and that was worth it.

As for where they fell to, the place looked just like another part of the cave, covered all around in spider silk, but this one seemed a little different compared to the tunnels and caves they were going through. One thing was this part had a number of items put in a pile, one of which Peridot hit her foot on. The stuff mainly included a few items, such as a few scrolls slightly covered in silk so they wouldn't be rolled around. One of these did end up dislodged, and was what Peridot stepped on.

"How'd these get there?" Connie wondered, heading over to the one on the ground. Peridot and Connie opened it up, and looked over what it said, or tried to.


私は、私はそう懸命に試みた...しかし、毎日、それが悪化し、悪化しています...私の新しい存在に対処するために懸命に試みました。私はもう何の多くに焦点を当てた私の心を維持することはできません - 私はこの時点でこれを書くことができラッキー。任意のポニーがこれを発見した場合......他の人のようなモンスターが持っていたとして私を見ないでくださいしてください。その魔女は私にこれをしなかった、私はそれが...私のために彼女を停止します知っています


No, they didn't had too much clue, yet Connie tried her hardest to look it over, up and down. The end of it looked rushed, and more like chicken scratch than proper. Diopside, Fluttershy, and Steven tried to look it over too, Steven's shield their main light, but they couldn't make heads or tails of it either.

"What sort of language is this?" Peridot questioned.

"Neipponese, I guess," Fluttershy replied. As they looked, Diopside tried to look at some other scrolls from some extra clues, but whatever was written on them was just as illegible.

"Weird," Steven commented, trying to read it out himself. As they all tried to get the message figured out, none of them noticed that something had come down to join them ...

Umakumo!

"S-Steven!" Fluttershy gasped, the first to see it. Steven quickly turned around, seeing Umakumo standing there. Everyone else saw it, and went together, but the Umakumo laid down onto the ground, apparently not wanting to fight them. Even when laying down, it was still taller than the others were. Steven kept his shield up, and putting it between himself, and Umakumo. However, Umakumo didn't seem fazed this time around, ears folded back. They all then began to hear a sort of sound that the Umakumo was making, like grunts and moans, though it didn't seem to lower their guard.

"S-Stay away you -"

"What?" Fluttershy suddenly said. Umakumo turned towards Fluttershy, continuing its grunts and moans, Fluttershy listening with full attention. Nobody else had a single clue what Umakumo was saying, if anything, but Fluttershy's expression became more and more troubled. Suddenly, Umakumo gave a louder moan, and after this Fluttershy looked shocked, and moved back. The others thought it was ready to attack, and armed up.

"Wait, wait, stop," Fluttershy suddenly said, moving in between them.

"What for?" Peridot asked, angry and surprised.

"Everypony, please," Fluttershy said. Before she could continue, Umakumo got up again, and moved over to Connie, who had the scroll in her hand at the moment. Connie back up in fear, but with a quick grab from its front hooves, it snatched the scroll from her hands. It was enough to make Connie fall backwards, as Umakumo backed up towards Fluttershy, and dropping the scroll at her hooves. Fluttershy glanced back at Umakumo before opening up the scroll, and opening it up again. To their surprise, Fluttershy cleared her thruat, and with one ear listening to the Umakumo, she actually began to recite the message written.


I, I've tried so hard ... But, every day, it is worse, we are worse ... it was hard to attempt to deal with my new existence. I will not be able to keep my mind focused on a lot of what the other - I lucky can write this at this point. Please and please do not look at me as any of the pony had a monster, such as in the case ...... other person who discovered this. The witch did do this to me, I know it is ... to stop her for me.


It wasn't the best translation ever, but it was just enough so everyone else could get what was going on. Umakumo was involved with some sort of witch, and it lost more of its sanity as time went by because of it. Dark, but, made sense. Umakumo meanwhile, just went over and laid down in the corner of the web chamber, apparently falling asleep soon afterward. Connie and Peridot got their minds working on this information, and what it can link to. Then they remembered what Ion had said ...

The Umakumo is a legend for hundreds of moons. However, it never appeared physically until after Junsui became princess

Then it hit them.

"Junsui," Connie and Peridot concluded. Steven, Diopside, and Fluttershy looked to them, hearing the name come out of them both. Connie and Peridot's suspicions were correct after all.

"Come on, we gotta go," Connie suddenly said, her and Peridot starting to go up where they fell in, using the silk to grip onto to get themselves out.

"Hold on, where you going?" Diopside asked.

"We'll tell you later. Come on, let's get the others," Peridot quickly replied, her and Connie getting up the tunnel. The others weren't sure, but then began to follow. The last to was Fluttershy, who looked to Umakumo first.

"You going to be okay?" she asked, kindly. All Umakumo did was moan calmly, yawn, and continue its slumber. Fluttershy then followed the others after that.

After scrambling out of the tunnel, Peridot lead them all back to the main chamber where they first split up.  Connie quickly gave a loud whistle as she was told. She made sure to keep it long and loud, to make sure anypony else in the tunnels heard her loud and clear. By the time the others caught up, the rest of the mane six managed to hear her, and quickly bolted back to her. They were ready for a fight, but only to find Umakumo not around.

"There you are. Everypony here?' Peridot asked.

"Yeah, why?" Asked Twilight.

"Because we got the answer. Come on, back to the main village," Connie said.


~~~~~~


"I'd hate to say I told you so," Ion said. The others came outside soon after gathering together, and once they did, Connie and Peridot fully explain what they think happened. With the evidence they got, and the support Fluttershy and Ion gave to them, it was hard not to believe them. It made sense to Connie and Peridot, since Junsui didn't show much care when they wanted to go after it, and she didn't care much about how many had apparently gone after it already. They didn't find anypony for one thing, and the idea of the Umakumo being made this way was even worse. Shinrin and Firudo both were outside with Ion too, and also listening to them both.

"She wouldn't," Firudo firmly stated, a slight glare on his face.

"Umakumo just told us, I swear," Fluttershy insisted.

"That thing can't talk Equestrian, nevermind Neipponese," retorted Firudo. Ion turned, and gave a rough snort at him, getting him quiet. Then he looked to Fluttershy.

"You're the first to understand him. All there is to do now is handle Junsui -" Ion quickly turned to Firudo before continuing. "Despite some of us and their loyalty, it must be done."

"But what about the other Kirin? What about our father?" Shinrin reminded, worried more than most.

"We didn't see anypony else in there. Nothing but tunnels and sticky webs," Applejack answered, still trying to get some webbing off her hat. Shinrin honestly felt dismayed.

"W-what? But, but our father he ..." Shinrin trailed off, but Ion nudged her.

"That's for another time. For now, let's head back," ion decided, already starting to go back, away from the cave.

Their rush back to the village was a quick one. They didn't bother to fully think over what they're going to do, but, lead by Ion, they went straight off to the palace. No fuss, no time wasted. Pretty soon, everypony was right at the door. Some of them were a bit hesitant, but Ion didn't bother to ask about that, and went right on through the doors. At the moment, Junsui was resting on her pillows, working a file on her hooves.

"Junsui," Ion bellowed, getting her attention. She looked surprised on seeing them back so soon.

"Oh, you're back -" her tone was more excited than needed to be, so she corrected herself. "- y-you're back. Some of the Kirin informed me you ran off after Umakumo?"

"Yeah we did, Kirin," Peridot answered, angered in tone. Junsui wasn't deterred by the reaction though.

"Good, good. So, where's its head?" She questioned nonchalantly, working out the end of her cloven hoof with her file.

"It's still alive, Junsui -"

"Princess Junsui if you please," Junsui suddenly cut in.

"No, Junsui. Leave," Ion said, his hoof aimed to the door. Junsui looked hurt.

"Leave? Do you know who you're talking to?" Junsui boasted. That point she had her eyes closed, and a hoof to her chest, so she didn't notice Connie glancing around the pillows a bit ...

Something stuck out from one of them. It looked like a slip of paper of sorts. She got Spike to notice too...

"I'm the Princess of the Kirins, I go wherever I wish, I do whatever I -"

"What's this?" A voice suddenly asked. Junsui stopped, and suddenly saw Spike holding the paper in his claws! Junsui used her magic to yank it away quickly before he could properly read it.

"Not your concern, dragon," she firmly informed, rolling it up tight. Ion seemingly expected this from her.

"Why is it your concern?"

"It's not! I-It's just some paper," she insisted.

"Then you wouldn't mind us looking at it?" Ion said with a smile. Firudo and Shinrin glanced to each other, the only ones worried over this sort of behavior. For Ion, it was a basic move; if nothing's wrong with something, why hide it? They all knew this, including Junsui. In the end, she groaned, and gave it to Ion. Ion then brought it to Firudo and Shinrin, the others trying to look too. Firudo was the one in particular who gave it a strong look over. As he kept reading, he looked completely shocked ...

This was a transformation spell ...

When they looked back, they suddenly saw that Junsui had disappeared! That was more than enough proof at this point.

"She's gone!" Rainbow yelled.

"She's right there," Ion chuckled, a hoof aimed to the pillows. Before anypony could question that, Ion levitated the pillows up, just to show Junsui cows ring under them ...

"Seriously?" Peridot and Spike commented. Junsui looked, and saw all of them staring at her. The Kirin suddenly went to action, jumping up to her hooves, and bolted to the door.

"Hey!" Shinrin called, running after her. Honestly, it didn't take very long before she was knocked off her hooves, and pinned down. The others found this WAY too easy ...

"That ended quickly," Rainbow noted, as Ion moved over to Junsui and Shinrin. Junsui squirmed, but Shinrin had her pinned down pretty good. Ion knew she wronged, but she still had a lot of life value in her (even if to herself). Still, Ion turned to the two that knew from the start ...

"Well? What should we do with her?"

"Excuse me?" Connie asked.

"You figured it out before anypony else. So, what shall we do?" Ion asked again. Connie and Peridot weren't prepared for this; deciding the punishment for a wrongful princess. Peridot and Connie weren't used to handle this kind of thing, and the others didn't think physical harm would be a good idea. Technically though, he was right; outta the mane six and gems there, Connie and Peridot knew first. After a small whispering discussion, they reached a decent medium.

"We got it. First; you're going to change Umakumo back. Second, you're to step down," Peridot announced. Junsui was surprised, but was grateful to have her head still all things considered. The punishment was brief and blunt, but it still was a big one regardless on how you look at it; loosing status and all. Steven and Fluttershy especially were glad not to see her hurt for a punishment. Peridot felt more in power doing this, so, announcing the punishment made her feel strong a bit. Junsui, scared on what else they had in mind, could only nod in agreement. Ion nodded to Shinrin and, though hesitant to, moved off of Junsui. The Koi Kirin steadied herself up to her hooves, and only then realized something wrong with her head ...

"My antler!" Junsui gasped. Turned out, her right antler had cracked when Shinrin pinned her down, and only when she got up did it fall off her head. She was more scared, than upset though, and an attack now would be crazy. All she could do was back up slowly, and gallop out the door. The princess had been de-crowned.  

"Get back here!" Rainbow demanded, ready to fly after her, but Ion used his own magic to make her stop midair.

"No need. She'll be out of the way now. Thank you," Ion decided, letting her go when Rainbow landed. The others were unsure though; for she ran off without going back to Umakumo and undoing what she'd done. Still, Ion went over to the spell in question, and lifted it up.

"But what about Umakumo?"

"I'll handle it myself, I promise. The meantime, it's starting to get late," Ion noted. Connie suddenly realized what he meant.

"Oh man, my parents! I'm sorry, but I have to get back home, they'll be worried sick," Connie realized. She didn't tell her parents she'd be gone all night, and if she waited too long, she'll be in big trouble.

"But what about the missing villagers?" Twilight noted.

Ion didn't answer apart from a sigh.

"They'll be found. You've done well, thank you all," Ion concluded. It felt a little bit odd overall at this point really, Ion insisting they could go off home at this point, yet Ion was sure at this point. Then he turned to Shinrin and Firudo.

"Anatagata futari. Kimasu."


~~~~~~


Later on, when all was said and done, there was only one thing left to really do. Ion, Shinrin, and Firudo were heading back later on that night, after the Mane six, Humans, and Gems, all went off back home. It honestly didn't take long before the three Kirin arrived back at the cave, the spot unchanged from earlier. Shinrin and Firudo were ready to head in, but Ion raised his hoof to stop them, as he stood forward right in front of the cave. with one of his cloven hooves, he gave a loud whistle, which echoed into the cave. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but shortly after the whistle, something began to appear from the darkness of the cave ...

Seven, red eyes.

Upon seeing it, Firudo and Shinrin were ready to fight, but Ion then cleared his throat, his horn starting to glow.

"Akuma no kokoronouchi ni tojikomerare, kyōki ni yaburemashita. Watashi wa anata no gurippu kara anata o kaihō shi, dokusō-sei,-shin, soshite tamashī ni modorimasu. Bakku anata ga katsute nanideatta ka ni kite, futan no jibun jishin o kaihō shimasu.

... All seemed quiet. The three began to hear hoofsteps from the cave, heading out. However, these steps began to become quieter, and quieter, as whatever was inside started to move out. Soon, a completely different Kirin moved into the moonlight. Shinrin and Firudo looked in complete shock, as Ion simply smiled ...

"Okaerinasai. Hanshu kirin."
> Play Date to Crusade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Pilot to co-pilot, ready for take off? Over."

"Skies clear for take off, mam. Over."

With the snap of some goggles over his eyes, Steven gave the thumbs up. With the word, Lapis Lazuli happily spread out her water wings in the sunlight. Steven went on her back, piggy-back style. They were on top of the barn house, and having some freedom, decided to have some fun. Steven had his magic key in hand, and oddly he also had a make-shift slingshot. With a flap of the wing, and a hop off the roof, Lapis and Steven were airborne. Lapis flew at a good speed, going over the hillsides and open fields. Steven readied his slingshot, and put his magic key in it, aiming forward. He also added some thick string to the handle to work with what idea the two came up with. Soon, Steven shot the key forward, and downward, with the key rushing downward. They waited until they saw the key land correctly, and the magic door opening up, before Lapis folded in her wings, and began to dive towards it. As they did, Steven grabbed the string on the way down, and soon they both rushed through. With Steven holding the string, the key popped out of the keyhole, and shutting the door behind them, as they flew through with high speed. Soon, they went from Earth skies, to Equestrian skies, as the door had opened up to the skies above Ponyville.

"WOHOO!" Steven beamed. Steven fished back the magic key, as Lapis slowed down her flight, and basically went to cruising speed, her wings out spread. They had a great view of Ponyville from where they were, and flew past the clouds with ease. Steven loved flying with Lapis, and sat up on her back, his arms spread out like he was flying himself. Lapis looked up to him with a smile, glad to see a smile on his face too, as she glided along. However, as she went, she didn't noticed where she was going for that one moment.

They both ended up going right through a cloud. Even at slower speed, they were still going pretty decent, and they got through the cloud after a little bit. They were alright, but Steven looked back to his hands, and realized something.

The key was knocked out of his hands!

Lapis and Steven looked down, but barely caught a glance of Steven's key tumbling in the air, down to the ground below. as it fell, it ended up getting knocked about in some tree branches a number of times, until it finally landed on a rooftop, sliding to the edge of the roof's gutters. The roof didn't belong to a house exactly, at least not in the sense like a cottage.

This small building looked more like a small house, built in the understory of a old apple tree. Some steps lead up from the ground to the front door. The whole house was purely made of wood, from the foundations, to the porch, hammered together with nails which showed in a number of places. A rope also connected a part of the stairs to one of the tree branches as extra support. The house itself had a slightly red appearance, possibly from the material being made of a sort of redwood perhaps.

"Alright, Cutie Mark Crusaders! The official meeting is now in session!"

Inside the house, some ponies were already inside, known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. One of these ponies was actually Apple Bloon, the same little yellow Earth Pony, and Applejack's younger sister. With her were two other ponies, looking about the same age as her. One was a white unicorn, her mane and tail well maintained, curled, and a mix of lavender and pink colors. The other one was a young Pegasus, though her wings were too small for her to fly. Her fur was orange, and her tomboyish mane and tail were purple.

"Roll Call; Sweetie Belle?"

"Here," the white unicorn announced, hoof up so Apple Bloom could see.

"Scootaloo?"

"Here!" the Pegasus said, hopping in the air with her wings beating like a hummingbird. Apple Bloom nodded.

"Everypony here, great!" Apple Bloom smiled.

"Alright, Apple Bloom, what's on the agenda today?" Scootaloo asked, ready to go.

"Oh, I got some good plans, girls," Apple Bloom assured them. The clubhouse had a map of Ponyville up on the wall, and the yellow Earth Pony got their attention to it. A few spots on the map were circled, and these spots was what she was referring to.

"Okay, what do we got? Paragliding cutie mark? Racing cutie mark? Boxing cutie mark -"

"Gardening," Apple Bloom revealed. Scootaloo immediately lost her interest, but Sweetie Belle was happy with that answer.

"Gardening sounds great!" Sweetie Belle said. Apple Bloom then pointed to one part of Ponyville on their make-shift map.

"Mr. Greenhooves is doin some extra work this morning, so why don't we lend a hoof? We might get our Gardening cutie marks!" Apple Bloom explained, heading to the door. It may not be the craziest idea they tried (they've done crazier), so Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle went over to her. Apple Bloom stepped out of their clubhouse, confidence on her face.

"Alright, Cutie Mark Crusaders, time to get our - OW! What the?" suddenly, the key on their roof suddenly fell, landing right on Apple Bloom's head. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both saw the key land on their front step. Apple Bloom rubbed her head as all three looked at the key. The three surrounded it, as Sweetie Belle picked it up with her hoof.

"A key? How'd it get here?" Sweetie Bella asked, confused as anypony.

"I dunno, maybe somepony dropped it," Scootaloo figured, looking to the sky.

"From the sky?" Questioned Sweetie. As they thought, Apple Bloom looked up closely to where it could've come from. As she did, something came into sight. She got her hoof above her eyes as she tried to see it correctly. Then, as she saw the water wings, she got it almost immediately.

"The Gems!" She shrieked, excited as ever. Scoot and Sweetie looked at eachother, not hearing of the Gems yet. Now, Apple Bloom saw that it made sense. Heading down to the ground from their clubhouse, Apple bloom waved her front hooves in the air to get their attention, a smile on her face. Lapis and Steven, flying high above, saw the filly waving to them, and Lapis decided to fly down to them. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle watched in awe, as Lapis landed gently on the ground.

"Howdy," Apple Bloom said, as Steven got off Lapis's back.

"Hi, Apple Bloom. Did you see a yellow key drop around here?" Steven asked, looking around for where his key had dropped. Soon, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo walked over to them, Sweetie holding the key in question.

"You mean this?" Sweetie Belle asked, holding it for them to see it. Steven got a big smile.

"You got it! thanks!" Steven beamed, as Sweetie Belle gave him his key back. Steven and Lapis hadn't met the other two ponies before.

"So, what're y'all up to?" Apple Bloom asked, glad to see them.

"Just having some fun. What about you?" Lapis asked. Before Apple Bloom could answer though, Scootaloo was looking over Lapis's transparent water wings. Her face looked kinda funny since she was standing behind Lapis, and her reflection was distorted like that of a funny mirror.

"Whoa. Are these water wings?" Scootaloo asked, trying to get a grip on one of them, only to have her hooves go right through them. They ended up wet, like she stepped in a puddle of water.

"Yep, and they work well too," Lapis replied, hovering in the air a little bit to show what her wings can do. Scootaloo was surprised that wings made of water were enough to get her to fly, as Steven went over to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

"You know these two?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yep. Steven, I like y'all to meet my friends; Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo," Apple Bloom introduced. Sweetie Belle politely nodded to Steven, who smiled to her, as Scootaloo just waved hello with a big grin.

"So, what're you up to?" Steven asked.

"We're just heading down to see Mr. Greenhooves. Wanna come with us?" Sweetie Belle offered. Apple Bloom nodded in agreement to her.

"Sure, let's go!"


~~~~~~


With a steady step, and a whistling tune, one pony was happily at work with his gardening work. This pony didn't look overly colorful like many other ponies were, with his fur a faded brown. His mane and tail were a bit scruffy and grey, with a long goat beard on his chin, as long as his neck. On his back was a blue sheet, looking like a saddle, and he had a large, saggy hat on his head He looked like a fairly old stallion, but one unique detail was that his flank had no Cutie Mark on it! That didn't seem to bother him though, as he continued going about some of the neighborhood gardens as apart of his daily work to Ponyville. He dragged behind him a empty wooden wagon, with some gardening tools and potted plants inside it. The Earth Pony went over to the community flowers, ready to begin his work.

These flowers were rather close to the town square, by one of the town's bridges. When he got there, he parked his wagon nearby so he wouldn't be in the way, unhitched himself, and began with digging a decent sized hole in the ground, nearby the bridge. After this, he'd grab the potted plant, and proceed to plant it himself. However, after he was done this time around, suddenly the plant ended up right in front of him, held in front of him by Steven. Lapis, and the CMC stood nearby, as he took a minute to figure out what was going on. 

"Morning Mr. Greenhooves," Steven said. Mr. Greenhooves took a minute, clearing his throat.

"Mornin there, youngsters. Thank you, I'll take that," Mr. Greenhooves said, taking the potted daisy bush from Steven. Lapis was more intrigued by what Mr. Greenhooves was doing, rather than help him out like the others wanted to. As Mr. Greenhooves continued with his whistling tune, Lapis kneeled down right by the hole, observing the old pony working on his planting.

"What're you doing to that?" Lapis asked, as Mr. Greenhooves placed the pot next to the hole.

"Planting, of course. Never seen a gardener before?" He asked, followed by a chuckle, as he got the daisy bush out of its pot, and putting it in the soil.

"Well, is this what you ponies normally do?"

"It's what I normally do, mam," Mr. Greenhooves replied, as he went back to his wagon, looking inside it.

"Where's that shovel?" he wondered, his hoof moving around some stray items and tools. Suddenly though, Apple Bloom popped out of the wagon in sight, holding the shovel in question. Mr. Greenhooves was startled a bit at first.

"Here you go," Apple Bloom said, a bit muffled from the object in her teeth. Mr. Greenhooves looked a little skeptical, as he took the shovel from Apple Bloom. As he walked back to bury the plant correctly, Apple Bloom spoke again.

"so, I was wonderin if, maybe, you need some help?" Apple Bloom asked, hoping for a good answer. However, Mr. Greenhooves preferred working by himself, so unless these kids were going to learn from him, he didn't feel like he needed it. So, after a bit, he turned back to Apple Bloom.

"Eh, I'm good youngin, you go off and play," Mr. Greenhooves said, waving a hoof to her, as he continued until the daisy bush was properly planted in the ground. Apple Bloom seemed a bit down.

"You sure you don't need anything?" Apple Bloom asked. Mr. Greenhooves walked over to her, a hoof scratching his chin.

"Ya know? There is one thing you can do for me."

"Really, what?" Apple Bloom asked, excited ...

All Mr. Greenhooves did was move her out of his wagon.

"There ya go, thank you," Mr. Greenhooves said. He didn't want to act rude, but Apple Bloom knew when somepony didn't need their help. With his first plant properly planted, Mr. Greenhooves got his wagon hitched, and he trotted off again. While Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were bummed out, Scootaloo felt slightly relieved that they didn't waste the day on flowers.

"Well, now what?" Sweetie Belle wondered. Then Scootaloo had an idea after looking to Lapis, and remembering her water wings.

"Hey, I know what we can do!"


~~~~~~


"I don't know about this," Sweetie commented.

Scootaloo's fancy idea got her, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom up on the Sweet Apple Acres barnhouse roof. Steven stayed on the ground as Lapis hovered nearby the fillies. The Pegasus had got herself a large glider, so it was pretty obvious what she was going to try to do.

"It'll be fine! Hang gliding cutie marks will be a synch!" Scootaloo assured, ready to go. Apple Bloom knew this won't work; trying something familiar a long time ago with bad results. Sweetie Belle was scared and had enough common sense. Before anypony could stop her though, Scootaloo started to run forward, and leaped off the roof! At first it seemed to go well, but the wind wasn't kind to her glider, and a few gusts got the thing broken up right away ...

"You got to be kidding me."

That was all Scootaloo could think before she started to fall down to the ground. Steven looked up and saw she was going to fall right onto him! Almost instinctively, Steven protected himself with a bubble, which was enough to break Scootaloo's fall. Lapis brought Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle down safely, as Steven removed the bubble, the fall not as painful as it would've been.

"How'd you do that? That was awesome!" Scootaloo asked.

"I guess it just happened," Steven said modestly, shrugging. That was purely out of impulse, so he didn't fully pay attention much to how he did it. Still, it was good that Scootaloo didn't break anything. For Scootaloo, she only checked her flank to find it was still bare.

"Aww man."

"You okay, Scootaloo?" Steven asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. Anypony have any other ideas?" Asked Scootaloo.

"Hopefully not as dangerous," added Lapis. She didn't want to see anypony hurt in these shenanigans. As they tried to think, Sweetie Belle noticed Steven's key, the handle poking out of his pocket. Sweetie and Scoot both weren't told too much about them, and the only main thing they were told about them was they're from another world. That's when a light bulb lit up in Sweetie's head.

"I just got the best idea ever!" Sweetie Belle beamed, catching their attention.

"Does that idea involve sewing?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie Belle looked over to Lapis and Steven next.

"Steven, right? You two are from another world, aren't you? Can we have a visit?" Sweetie asked.

The answer was quick to decide.


~~~~~~


The barnhouse was rather busy at the moment, with the sounds of power tools being used. Inside, Peridot was busy handling some mechanical experimenting. Since there was a lot of stuff inside the barnhouse, there was plenty of stuff to look at and examine. Working on the Galactic Ray was fun, and gave her plenty to look around in the barn already, but she still had a few items she didn't get to look at. Here, she was opening up a compartment to an airplane engine, looking over how it works.

"Primitive," Peridot noted. she leaned in, ending up on her tip-toes, and just one foot. She was a bit too busy to really notice anyone else with her. Behind her, someone walked right over to her, casually ...

a push on her butt made her fall in.

"ACK! HEY!"

Peridot turned around to a snickering of another Gem. This one was a Gem that the group took in for the time being after the whole shebang back on Homeworld; Emerald. However, Emerald looked a bit different from before though. Thanks to some help from the Gems and Steven, his Gemstone no longer had such a large crack on it, and therefore was healed up. Not too much was changed on his body apart from a few things; his eye patch which once was covering his left eye, was replaced with a set of visors. These visors didn't look like those of Peridot, nor Garnet, but instead looked more like sharp-edged glasses, like a sharp-edged W. They did had a shade of green to them, much like Peridot's visors.

"Gotta be aware, Peridot," Emerald snickered.

His freedom to move his mouth also came back ... For better, or worse.

"Did you have to do that?" Peridot grumbled, getting herself out, and wiping off some dust.

"You were standing there, exposed as anything. Of course," Emerald joked. Peridot was flustered and fuming; Emerald hadn't been very good company for her since bringing him back, and Emerald seemed to love messing with her head more than he would with the others. Maybe it was because he got a better laugh out of teasing her, or maybe they were both small green Gems. Whatever the case, Peridot herself was regretting letting Garnet bring him along at this point.

"Why are you still staying with us again?" Peridot wondered. Emerald can easily leave the Gems, as far as she's concern. Emerald casually leaned on the side of the airplane engine.

"Unless your gang has a quick ticket back to Homeworld from here, I'd rather hang about Beach City, thank you."

"We didn't use this 'ticket', we used a spaceship. Why didn't you stay anyway?" Peridot groaned, rolling her eyes. Emerald lost his cheeky smile at this point (something he hadn't done in years).

"First off, Just an expression. Second, you had the quick fix for my gemstone, and you weren't going to heal it there," Emerald pointed out. Peridot didn't care though. Before they could continue, they heard a knock at the barn doors. The knock may not be needed, but it was loud enough for Emerald and Peridot both to hear. Turning to the door, they saw three ponies neither recognized, along with Lapis and Steven. Peridot stopped her tinkering when she saw the trio of Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony. As for the three, they were bummed out earlier when they discovered that world jumping wasn't their special talent either, but they didn't keep that sort of feeling once they showed up.

"Hey, Peri! What'chu doing?" Steven asked, as he, Lapis and the CMC ventured in. The three fillies looked around with curiosity, as Peridot went over to Steven.

"And who are these three?"

"That's Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. We're just showing them around," Steven said, as the three began looking at the same airplane engine, not seeing such a thing before back in Ponyville. Emerald didn't seem bothered by the three ponies looking around the engine. Yet, Scootaloo got herself above Emerald, on top of the engine. However, one misstep, and Scootaloo ended up tumbling off of the engine, and landing on top of him. Peridot found this her own way of getting even

"Eh, sorry," Scootaloo said. Emerald sighed, and used his own version of telekinesis to move Scootaloo off of him. He checked his gemstone for any damage, but it was alright.

"Just watch where your stepping," Emerald said. He appreciated it if he didn't get his gemstone cracked for a second time since getting it fixed, accidental or not. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were looking in their reflections off of the engine.

"This one of those fancy future Gem machine things?" Apple Bloom asked, scratching her head.

"This is just archaic compared to our technology," Peridot boasted, a smile on her face. That got the CMC interested.

"Really?! Like what?" Scootaloo asked.

"Believe me, it's nothing anypony can simply imagine," Peridot said. However ...

"OH! Do you Gems have limb pieces with floating digits?" Asked Sweetie Belle.

"Or teleporting disks you can slap on the ground anytime?" Added Apple Bloom.

"Or AWESOME flying hand spaceships?" Finished Scootaloo.

Peridot didn't know what to say, rather blank-faced ...

"I take back my previous statement," Peridot noted. These three basically summed up Gem warp pads, their spaceships, and limb enhancers with their own minds. And here she thought these ponies were primitive. As they were finishing up, suddenly another visitor came to the barn, rather fast, and looking worried.

"Hey, did y'all see - Apple Bloom!"

It was Applejack. She'd found that the three had pretty much disappeared, and she was looking for her younger sister for a while. She didn't look worried anymore though, when she saw Apple Bloom with her friends.

"There you are. You alright, I saw y'all on top of the barn roof, and then you disappeared on me!" Applejack asked firmly. Indeed, the older pony did see them hanging out on top of their barn roof, but she didn't go fast enough to stop them from running off to Beach City.

"Sorry, sis," Apple Bloom replied. Applejack sighed, she was just glad the three weren't hurt from that little act. Then she turned to the Gems nearby.

"Were y'all involved with that?" Applejack asked. Peridot and Emerald didn't had a clue on the matter, and Steven and Lapis glanced to eachother before answering.

"We ... Didn't stop them," Lapis admitted. Steven shrugged and smiled, embarrassed. Applejack didn't put much blame on them really, though at least they weren't hurt.

"Anyhow, bout time for you to get home. We gotta get things ready, remember?" Applejack reminded. Apple Bloom flat out forgot about that - a mental slap to the face.

"Oh yeah! Sorry Steven, girls," Apple Bloom said.

"Ready for what?"

"Spring forward Apple sale. We get loads of ponies wanting our apples, and we need everypony in support," Applejack explained, referring to Apple Bloom. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both had to leave too. Applejack got out her own magic key, and got the door to open up. It was a bummer that this had to be cut short.

"We can hang out with them later, right?" Steven asked.

"Course you can. Just avoid jumpin off anypony's roofs," Applejack said with a wink. Steven and Lapis promised (of course), and Applejack began to guide them through the portal back home. Okay, so this trip was short, but they can meet eachother again soon.
> Out on the Ranch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a blow of the whistle, and the roaring of the engine, the Ponyville express train continued on down its tracks, making express time towards its destination. It was a decent trip as it was, and the passengers were patiently awaiting to arrive. Among the passengers on the train, one of its cars also had on the Mane Six, also awaiting to reach their destination. Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack all were in the same car, but they weren't the only ones. Deciding to lend a hand to the group, Steven, Amethyst and Lapis were joining them as well, again in the same car. On the way, Amethyst and Rainbow Dash both pretty much fell asleep for the ride there, with RD having Applejack's hat over her eyes. This main trip though was more on Applejack than most, and everypony else was there for her support. That didn't mean they didn't had anything to do on the way; Fluttershy, Steven and Pinkie were playing cards, while Rarity and Lapis were both looking at a romance novel, titled "rustic charms", that Rarity brought along. Applejack, sitting in between Rainbow and Fluttershy, was looking at a letter, which was what got them going in the first place. Twilight had a book with her two, but rather than one she was reading, she instead was adding to it with a quill.

"Oh, a trip to the untamed west! This will be perfect for my journal," Twilight commented, though mostly to herself as she continued writing on. The journal Twilight had going was basically their adventures going about, which she began since arriving back from Homeworld. nothing too bad, and something that she wanted to try. Rarity, sitting next to her, nodded her head.

"I do hope it's rustically charming like my novel. Though the town in it is rather primitive. Maybe we should stop in a larger town for some accouterments," Rarity added, referring to the novel she and Lapis Lazuli were looking over.

"Accounter-whatta?" Questioned Pinkie, though her question went unanswered. Applejack though didn't look as enthused as everyone else, the letter she got anything but friendly.

"This ain't no joy ride, y'all. We're headin out that way because my great granduncle Chili Pepper's up and left off on vacation without tellin anypony. Canter Creek's lookin to my family to handle things til he gets back," Applejack reminded, a hoof pointing to the letter she was holding.

"What's the name of the farm? does it say?" Steven asked after a bit.

"Rancho Bronco. Sounds like some two-bit operation to me," replied AJ. She never really saw Chili Pepper as somepony who'd had much sense, honestly. Still, she'd rather not just go on about it. Even if she could, there wasn't much time for it; not too long afterward, the conductor soon opened up the door after the train came to a stop.

"Last stop. Welcome to Canter Creek everypony!" he announced. that was their cue to get going, but Amethyst and Rainbow Dash were still asleep. All it really took was Applejack to get the hat off of Rainbow's head to wake her up (dazed, but still awake), though it took a bit longer to get Amethyst awake.

"Ugh, I don't wanna go to school," Rainbow murmured, trying to wake herself up so they can go. Lapis had to soak amethyst's head in water to wake her up, which unlike Rainbow Dash, got her bright eyed almost right away.

It really didn't take too long before everypony was off the train, and out on the Canter Creek train station. Immediately, they all got a pretty good taste of what Canter Creek was; a sure fire look of a western town. Many of the buildings were made of dark wood, and had a pure old, western appearance to each one they saw. The ponies they saw still looked as colorful as anywhere else though, but not all of them. One of these ponies was actually waiting for them at the station. He was a stallion, not really as vibrant of colors as some other ponies. his fur was brown, and he had a small diamond-shaped white patch in between his eyes, on the bridge of his nose. His outfit mainly consisted of a dark tannish vest, and a cowboy hat on his head. His hooves, mane and tail had a light cream color. He also wore a sheriff's star on his vest, and even his cutie mark was a sheriff star (hammering the basic point on where he stood).

"You must be Sheriff Tumbleweed," Applejack said, going over to him. Tumbleweed turned to her with a smile.

"And you must be Applejack! We've been expecting you. Glad to make your acquaintance," Tumbleweed replied. Nearby though, Rarity only needed one look of the stallion, and ...

"OH~ What a dashing young stallion. you simply must tell me where you got your fetching hat," Rarity cooed, fluttering her lashers. Tumbleweed didn't really know how to respond to it, and Applejack just looked away, a bit bugged. After that, Tumbleweed and Applejack started to go off ahead.

"Follow me, I'll take you to the ranch. Applejack, you can introduce me to your friends along the way," Tumbleweed said, which Applejack agreed to. They might as well get to know the place before settling down and figuring out the problems.


~~~~~~


Pretty soon, the group was brought right over to the place in question, ala cart. Lapis, amethyst, and even Steven kind of questioned the idea, since another pony was who moved the cart in the first place while other ponies rode in it. Convenience? Part-time job? Well, maybe, but either way, soon the Mane six and their pals got themselves right over to the Rancho Bronco. Despite Applejack's comment about it being just a two-bit operation, it surely showed like it was prospering regardless. The main establishment showed a large barnhouse, and about three tall silos behind it. The ranch was settled right nearby a copse - a patch of trees in one spot, and most of the land had a good amount of crops despite Canter Creek being in the more arid areas of Equestria. The fields were green, and the place itself was by far bigger than Applejack's own sweet apple acres farmhouse. Heck, the main building itself looked bigger than their barnhouse alone, never mind the rest of it. Lapis and Amethyst both never saw such a big and healthy farm before. Sure, they had their barnhouse back in Beach City, but it was just a storage shed rather than what Chili Pepper did here.

The group was brought in from the Rancho Bronco's front gate, and soon the wagon came to a stop inside the property line. Tumbleweed got off first, as the rest followed. Applejack felt humbled by just how well her great granduncle had actually did, as she hopped off to look around with the others.

"Well I'll be. Great granduncle sure did good with the place," Applejack commented, as Tumbleweed brought them over to one of the patches of vegetables growing on the ranch. Nearby a field of wheat, Tumbleweed showed them the gold produce of Rancho Bronco, which looked like a type of red pepper. Rather small, bug enough to fit on one hoof, as Tumbleweed picked one off.

"This here ranch grows all sorts of things. There's even ten different types of peppers, including the Windigo Ghost pepper; the hottest in Equestria!" Tumbleweed explained, the Windigo pepper bring what he picked out to show them. Pinkie and Amethyst both showed some interest, Pinkie Pie sniffing at it like a curious pooch. Amethyst though took her own sample from the plant itself.

"I'll be the judge of that," amethyst boasted, and before anyone could stop her, Amethyst tossed the plant above her head, and she ate it in one bite! At first, Amethyst didn't seem too fazed, but seconds later she started to feel a little warm ...

Suddenly, Amethyst started to sweat like crazy, her face completely red all over, and she opened her mouth with her tongue on fire! The heat was like if she bit into a lava ball, or something, with the stinging power of a whole hornet nest in seconds. Of course, it only took a good five seconds for it to pass, leaving Amethyst comically burnt in the face, and with smoke out of her mouth for a little bit ...

"I'd like a bag to go," Amethyst stated. She didn't had any money, but these peppers were about as effective as her signature fire salt, maybe even more so, but didn't last as long as the fire salt would do.

"Er ... Why don't I show you the town?" Tumbleweed suggested.


~~~~~~


Soon, they were off towards the town rather than continue going about on the farm. The tour itself was going along pretty well, and the three Gems were liking the whole trip as well. Steven and Amethyst only saw this kind of stuff on western cartoons, and seeing it in real life was rather sweet to see. Lapis found the entire town quite intriguing as well, and was enjoying the whole tour.

Eventually, later on that day, they all ended up at the Canter Creek Saloon, all around a roundtable. The whole place was old western in its glory; the walls a dark brown while the floor was tanned wood, and the building was two floors high. With a drink ordered up for a few of them, some of them were treated to cider, as they chatted on for a bit more.

"So without Chili Pepper, there's nopony to run the ranch? Can't somepony fill in for him?" Twilight asked at one point, after Tumbleweed explained to her the issue at hoof. Tumbleweed just sighed.

"That's the kicker. you might've noticed all the wanted posters around town?" Tumbleweed started to explain. Indeed, they had been seeing a number of them all over the place, including at the train station itself. Rainbow sucked down her cider before she gave her own opinion.

"Yeah, there's everywhere, why?"

To answer, Tumbleweed showed them all one particular wanted poster. The poster in question showed a rugged bull, dark sideburns, black eyespots, and a black cowboy hat (typical really). The information on the wanted poster rewarded five hundred bits for his arrest, yet the bull in the picture actually shown to be waving with a smug grin. Obviously, this bandit didn't seem conflicted with getting his smug face on a poster. The name of the troublemaker, right under the picture; Longhorn.

"This yellow-bellied cattle rustler has been terrorizing my town. He keeps robbing us of our food and water, and we can't keep this up," Tumbleweed explained. Steven and Lapis looked over the wanted poster for a bit, already feeling what they had to do.

"And you need someone to help deal with him?" Lapis asked. Tumbleweed nodded his head, glad they got the idea right away. Lapis and Steven both looked back at the picture for a second, but before anypony could continue ...

"Yee-hah!"

A distant yelp from that was just loud enough to get their attention. The first to head out was Tumbleweed himself, followed by some of the ponies. Just outside, they began to look around for a bit on where the voice came from. After a while, eventually their answer began heading in from the setting sun. What they saw was danger in the flesh; a herd of bulls heading right to the saloon! Each bull was big, tough, and packed with muscle. The bulls looked tall, Longhorn the biggest of all, who was about as tall as Garnet at the shoulder, and each one of them rode into town on goats which they towered over, and barely had room to sit on. The goats didn't seemed bothered though, even if they were smaller than the ponies in question, and move at pretty fast speed towards the sheriff. Each one had different colors, ranging from white to rustic brown, but one bull lead the charge; Longhorn himself! Steven took a moment to compare the picture to the real thing.

"Wow, these picture look just like him," Steven commented. Still, the situation was anything but calm, as Tumbleweed glared at them as they stopped.

"It's the cattle rustlers! They're back, everypony!" Tumbleweed warned, as Longhorn himself got off his goat mount. Tumbleweed didn't hesitate to go right up to him, the bull not showing very much trouble with the sheriff. Some of the others came out, as Tumbleweed glared at the grey bull.

"Longhorn! I thought I told you not to come in my town again!" Tumbleweed growled. However, Longhorn looked innocently thinking, a hoof scratching his chin, and his eyes seemingly trying to look for an idea above his head. What happened next caught everypony off guard.

"You did say that, didn't you? ... I didn't listen."

And the second he said that, with a flick of his hoof, Sheriff Tumbleweed was sent flying back, his hat knocked off his head, and being replaced with an oncoming support beam. His goat mount pointed a hoof, and bleated in humor like it was laughing, as the sheriff was on the ground seeing stars (and not the one on his vest or flank). This was rather quick, and Longhorn just moved on. As the sheriff laid dazed, Longhorn and another bull began to get their goods. A tannish bull with a bandana over his mouth (like it'd matter), was holding a currently empty sack, as Longhorn himself brought some ponies over like he was politely escorting.

"Alright, you little ponies know the drill; fill up the saddlebags with food, water, and whatever else will fit in, and nopony else gets hurt," Longhorn said, his tone surprisingly polite for what he was doing. The town ponies quickly complied, and arrived with different fruits, and grains, and whatever else that will work. Immediately, anger got to the others seeing the sheriff get tossed aside.

"Why I oughta'," growled Applejack, cracking her hooves. She wasn't going to just sit there and see this happen. Rainbow and Amethyst weren't going to do that either. Applejack spoke first.

"Hey, you yellow-bellied brisket cowards!" Applejack shouted. Longhorn raised his head, hearing the insult loud and clear. He turned around, and stared daggers at Applejack and her backup.

"What did you call me?" Longhorn asked, a angry snort accompanying his expression. Applejack wasn't scared though.

"A Yellow. Bellied. Brisket. Coward! How dare you scare these ponies and robbin them blind!" Applejack retorted.

"Yeah, clear out of here you cows, or get your teeth cracked!" Warned Amethyst, cracking her fists together. Longhorn raised an eyebrow, not even bothering to stop his fellow bulls from robbing the ponies. Of course, Longhorn didn't budge, so Applejack, Rainbow, and Amethyst charged forward ...

Only for Longhorn to push them back into a barn. There wasn't even much trouble, just a quick ram with his head was all it took to send the three flying off into it! This bull was tougher than they thought.

"Leave them alone!" Lapis yelled. The intimidating bull turned to her. Lapis suddenly felt the intimidation of Longhorn, as the bull snorted at her. Lapis didn't realize just how big these bulls were, and this beast had its attention to her. The other ponies who didn't go flying went around her, having their attention directly to Longhorn so he wouldn't attack her as well.

"And what's a blue lass like you going to do?" Longhorn asked. They all looked to him for a while.

"We don't want to fight, but I'm not going to let you terrorize the town anymore. I-I want you out!" Lapis demanded. However ...

"Alright, see ya later."

Wait, what? That was it? Longhorn whistled for his goat, got on it, and then rode off. Honestly, the felt too easy. At first, the victory felt alright, but Fluttershy then noticed what really happened, when she pointed to an amount of empty barrels and bags ...

He robbed the town, and they were distracted.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"


~~~~~~


With their loot, the bulls ended up back at their hideout later that night. Their loot was mainly consisting off food and water this time, mainly with the vegetables the town got from Rancho Bronco. It was a decent-sized robbery, though Longhorn himself seemed more or less troubled. These newcomers seemed to be a bit of trouble, and Longhorn didn't want anypony stopping his spree really. it was Applejack in particular, who started it, that bothered him the most. As his gang was enjoying the spoils of their spree, Longhorn pondered a bit by the fire about what to do about them. He knew they'll be on his tail at any minute, and as he was thinking, one of his accomplices, a white bull with a black spot over his right eye and a bowler hat in between his horns.

"Eh, boss, what're we gonna do bout those newcomers?' he asked.

"Trying to figure that part out. If they stick round here, we'll be in a heap of trouble," Longhorn figured. If these ponies weren't going to stand by (not to mention those other odd creatures), then who's to say that they'll do him and his gang in? As he tried to think, he got his hoof on one of the vegetables they robbed the town out of. What he got though was one of the Windigo Ghost Peppers. He took a hearty bite in it as he was thinking, and the spice of the pepper took effect. He made a huge snort of smoke. Maybe it was from that, or the spice of the pepper, but that gave Longhorn an idea.

"Alright, gang, bring it in. I got an idea."

.......

Further away, the group who went down the path, trying to find the bulls, were starting to close their distance between Longhorn and themselves.

"See them, Rainbow? Lapis?" Applejack called. The two fliers flew up quite high up, but not too high out of earshot. However, the two didn't seem to find any sort of trace just yet. As they were flying though, and looking around, Lapis then caught sight of something, and scent of something.

Smoke.

"A barn's burning up ahead!" Rainbow yelled.

Immediately everyone rushed off ahead., trying to see what was going on. Lapis and Rainbow both had a head start since they were flying. Sure enough, once they arrived in a clearing, they all saw the devastation that was going on; the Rancho Bronco barn completely in a blaze! Dancing flames were all over it from floor to rooftop. Nopony was around, so whoever caused it had hightailed it at this point. They all were shocked beyond belief here.

"Lapis, we need to douse out that fire, now!" Applejack yelled.

"I need more water for a fire like this!" Lapis replied. Luckily for them, Rainbow gave a loud whistle, showing them a water tower further away. Perfect. Quickly, Lapis Lazuli flew right up to the top, and took control of the water inside. Everyone got out of the way, as Lapis got half the water out of the water tower, and threw all of it at the fire. In a huge cloud of smoke and steam, the fire was doused out as quickly as it had started. However, that didn't save much of it, most of the foundation now black as coal, and as flimsy as matchsticks.

"Way da go, Lapis!" Steven cheered, joined by Pinkie.

"Those blasted cows!" Applejack yelled.

"Bulls," Fluttershy corrected, though Applejack didn't care; seeing her relative's barn on fire was more important than that. Applejack trotted over to the burnt barnhouse, looking around it. It was too coincidental that these bulls arrived and caused trouble, and then had this barn light up in flames hours later. To make matters worse ...

"Uh, AJ? I think this is for you," Steven said. As he was looking, he found something nearby where they came from. What he found was a message, tied to a rock just in view so Applejack could see it. Applejack rushed over, as Steven opened the letter for her to read.


Stay around this town any longer, and you'll be getting more trouble for your precious ponies.

Signed: Longhorn.

~~~~~~


The next morning, they all were back with Tumbleweed back in Canter Creek. Without any luck finding Longhorn and his fellow Bulls, the situation was becoming critical. Not only did they rob the town, but they burnt down Chili Pepper's barn house! Thievery and property damage were on their heads, and yet they couldn't find where the hay they went. Since they were dealing with something that could toss a pony with a flick of the hoof, this was something they had to handle before anything could get worse.

They met with Sheriff Tumbleweed in his office, with the group explaining to Tumbleweed what had happened. Tumbleweed didn't like to hear such news; they need that gang behind bars before it's too late.

"Oh pony feathers. How can Longhorn and his gang just up and disappear? I swear on Celestia, they'll have the town at this rate," Tumbleweed wondered in worry.

"What does he want with the town anyway? He got what he came for, so why don't he just go off with that?" Amethyst asked. If she stole something, she'd be done with it and go, but by the sound of it these bulls came around time and time again. Tumbleweed sighed again.

"That bull's had his eye on Rancho Bronco for a while. Chili Pepper kept him at bay, but now he's gone, he's tryin to get it for himself. You own the ranch, you basically provide for the town. You get where I'm goin, don't you?"

That got them thinking a little bit, though that reason doesn't explain him burning the barn down. Sure, it would give the bull ownership of the property, and in tern the town, but then why attack apart of it? Their only guess was that it was a scare tactic to get them gone, and it wasn't going to work! Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle got her eureka moment.

"I got it! Tumbleweed, how long has Rancho Bronco been here?" Twilight asked.

"Since the town's been founded, why?"

"Perfect! Listen up everypony, I got an idea so Longhorn can't get the property, but It's gonna take some time. Make sure they don't cause any trouble while I'm gone, okay?" Twilight explained, as she was heading out the door, wings spread.

"Wait, where're you going?" Rarity asked.

"To Celestia. If this works out, Longhorn can't even touch the place. I'll be back as soon as I can," Twilight assured them.

"But what're we supposed to do?" Amethyst asked. Twilight had a pre-plan conveniently made, and gave it to them. Leave it to Twilight with a written plan on the dot.

"Here, try and follow this plan. It might hold the Bulls back from Canter Creek until I get back," Twilight instructed. The Alicorn readied herself, and soon, she took off flying. She had to do this fast, and she relied on them to keep things in order. The group watched Twilight go from there, leaving them in Canter Creek to figure out what to do about Longhorn until she got back. That bull could show up at anytime, so they themselves have to get the town ready in case of another attack from that gang ...

Later on in the day, the group began to get a bit busy. It'll only be a matter of time before Longhorn would come back around, so before things could end up bad, they have to get the town prepared. With some help from Tumbleweed, their main plan was setting up barricades to keep them out (not the best solution, but one they got going for them). They didn't know where the bulls were, so rather than rush around looking for them, they'll catch them coming to Canter Creek. Everypony played their role in setting up; Applejack, Tumbleweed and Rarity helped build a sturdy barbwire fence as the first line of defense. Amethyst, Pinkie and Rainbow helped out with a extra trap, as the instructions stated.

Twilight written in it as a "syrup + feather trap". Straightforward. The trap mainly consisted of syrup barrels and feather bags all wrapped together as some extra baggage if the fence doesn't work. It honestly wasn't the best idea, but Twilight didn't had too much time to get her act together, so they had to work with what they got. As some extra precaution, they waited alongside to jump them once the trap had slowed them down. Tumbleweed got everypony else out of the way once they show up, giving out the word on what they're trying to do.

"Alright, that should do it. Y'all ready?" Applejack asked, as she wrapped the final bit of rope to the Syrup and feather trap. They nodded, as Pinkie was holding some of Amethyst's peppers she got from the ranch, as Applejack trotted over to them.

And not a moment too soon.

Soon after they got out of the way, ready to pounce, the very bulls in question could be heard coming in from the horizon. Sure enough, Longhorn and his gang were riding in hard, not slowing down. Longhorn could easily see what was in store for him and the group, but rather than slow down, Longhorn gave a smirk. nothing prepared anypony for what happened next ...

First, the Bulls all plowed right through the barricades, crumbling the wood, and snapping the barbwires in their charge. Then, they barreled through the syrup and feather trap, getting soaked in black sticky syrup, and white feathers around them, but that didn't make them flinch in the slightest. As this happened, Pinkie took a bite of the peppers. Before they could jump them, Pinkie suddenly ended up blasting out fire at them! The flammable stuff lit up almost right away, but that didn't even bother any of the bulls at all! ...

They're on fire, and that didn't bother them ...

"Wha - ... What? ... They. They are bulls, right? ..." Lapis breathed out, completely speechless on how to even comprehend what they were seeing. Even as they were being cooked, the Bulls still carried out their robbery business, and the townsponies had to comply. The Bulls weren't even conflicted; they went right on ahead and got their loot.

"Fill em up," Longhorn said smirking. The others were bewildered by the sight; they were still robbing the town, even if on fire! ON FIRE! Even with their hides blazing, the Bulls got their bags full of food, and whatever else as before. Amethyst for one, had enough with standing by.

"Cover me!" Amethyst demanded, before rushing out to get them. This wasn't apart of the plan, but Amethyst wasn't going to let this bull of a bull get away with this again (not to mention sending her flying into a barn). To even the field, a quick alteration in her body, and she turned into a huge purple bull. Longhorn was t-boned by a good charge, knocking Longhorn off his hooves. The fire was doused as they rolled around in the dirt, until Longhorn kicked Amethyst off of him. Amethyst was launched at another building support beam, snapping it, and having the frontal porch roof fall onto her. This time, the others went for the other bulls, and stopped the robbery from continuing. Amethyst (turning back to normal), exploded out of the wreck, whips blazing at the Bulls. Longhorn though grabbed a whip with his teeth, and swung her at the others. It was hard to fight them since they were still slightly on fire, and the Bulls knew this too. However, thanks to roughhousing in the dirt, and some attacks from Lapis, the fire was doused out from the bulls.

"Give up, Longhorn!" Rainbow demanded. Longhorn snorted, checking his horns to see if they were bent in anyway. Still, he was starting to loose his patience with these defiant ponies and Gems. Teeth grinding mad, Longhorn charged in, and suddenly grabbed hold of one of the defying newcomers; Rarity!

"Hold it! You wouldn't want this young lady hurt, do you?" Longhorn warned, holding her up in the air by her hair. Rarity was shocked.

"You ruffian! Put me down!" Rarity demanded, trying not to have her hair wrecked by the rough Bull. The others were stopped when they saw Rarity pretty much be taken hostage. If they continue, she'll get beaten to a pulp.

"Wait, wait! Maybe we can work something out?" Steven offered, trying to make peace with the Bulls.

"Okay then; give us all your food, and we'll let this lass go."

"Can't we all just share instead? you don't have to keep taking food from Canter Creek, right?" Steven pointed out, still trying. Longhorn didn't let her go, his other hoof scratching his chin as if he was considering the idea.

"Okay then; how about hundred for me, and zero for you?" Longhorn mocked. Suddenly, he brought his free horn to his mouth, and whistled good and loud to get his Bulls moving. They got their bags, got onto their goat mounts, and began to go. Lapis and Rainbow rushed to block the way, wings spread, but the Bulls didn't seem too worry though, and barreled through them both as easily as the barricades. Longhorn tossed Rarity aside, got onto his goat, and began to head off to join his group. They got everything, and they just have to get outta dodge while the ponies dealt with their own issues. Rainbow and Lapis were bruised up, with goat hoof marks all over them, their eyes spinning in a daze.

"Not a good idea," Lapis said.

The Bulls left Canter Creek with their loot, from the same direction they came from, leaving the nearby buildings in a wreck. Broken glass, stray wood, barb wire, and the mess that was the syrup and feather trap laid all over the ground, and the main sign for Canter Creek was on the ground, cracked in two. At this point, Tumbleweed was left with worry, looking down at the wreckage in a sad sigh. Only one day, and they had their front area wrecked, their barn burnt, and their food robbed twice. Applejack went over and comforted Tumbleweed.

"Whatever your friend's going to do, she better do it soon," Tumbleweed sighed. Applejack could only hope so too.


~~~~~~


Hours afterwards, it was some process to clean up the mess left behind by Longhorn and the gang. the residents lend their hooves in the help, but it was a rough blow. Lapis and Rainbow recovered quickly, yet they didn't have time to track down Longhorn and figure out where he went. It was really starting to become quite a bit of trouble, really. If they couldn't handle Longhorn while Twilight was away, then she'll have no Canter Creek to return to! Lucky for them, Longhorn was busy with his own stuff, and as of Twilight, she was taking sometime to get back to Celestia. They thought Twilight was going to hurry back, but by sunset ...


Dear friends: 

I'm trying my best, but Celestia was very busy. I managed to arrive this afternoon, but she was stuck in the middle of a meeting, and I had to wait until she was done. I can't get it  done tonight, believe me I tried, but I'll promise it'll be done by tomorrow. Hang in there, everypony.

Signed: Twilight Sparkle


Yes. It seemed that Twilight wasn't going to make it until sometime tomorrow, which didn't help the situation for anypony. So much for it being soon. Applejack looked to it in dismay, after she read it off to the others. They met up back at the Saloon after everything was finished and cleaned up.

"UGH, how much longer?! If I see another cow, it'll be too soon!" Rainbow groaned.

"Bulls," Fluttershy corrected.

"Whatever, I don't care."

"Twilight's trying her best, everyone. We're just going to have to handle the issue until tomorrow," Lapis assured, though being trampled by their goats didn't suit her either. she was just glad her gemstone wasn't hit ... that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Amethyst chugged down some more cider before she spoke.

"Man, if they come back here, I'll make T-bone steak out of them," Amethyst growled, slamming a fist on the table. Steven, who ordered a glass of milk, got his glass up before it could be knocked over. To Amethyst, that would be plenty satisfactory, and would give her something to eat too in the end at some Barbecue.

"W-Wait, Amethyst, let's not get too hasty," Steven insisted, not wanting to see anypony butchered up. That's the last thing he wanted to see anyway. As this went on, Rarity took a glance outside from the Saloon window. Across the saloon, she could see the local Notary, but it was who was there that left her puzzled.

"I think you guys should see this," Rarity said. They all took a moment to look outside to what Rarity was seeing. Just in front of the Notary looked like another Bull, but this one didn't look like a bull from Longhorn's group. He looked smaller, with brown fur and a dark grey mustache. He looked more formal than Longhorn ever did; in a vertical lined dark blue suit, and a white bowtie. After stopping in front of the building, the Bull then went on inside the Notary. Curious, Rarity, Applejack and Steven went over outside, and went over to the notary, just as the same Bull stepped back out. The pony in charge of the Notary went out to watch him go, the papers he had catching their attention.

"May I see those?" Rarity asked, having a look at the papers. The Bull saw Steven and Applejack standing close by.

"Ma'am. Sir," he said politely. soon afterward, he got back on his goat mount, and rode away. Applejack was left perplexed, but slightly suspicious. so far, the Bulls hadn't been very kind, to put it lightly, and here's a polite Bull just coming up out of nowhere. As for Rarity, the documents she was seeing gave her more cause of alarm, as she brought the documents over to Applejack and Steven so they could see. The others came out to investigate after the Bull left. Turned out, this document was a ownership's deed of Rancho Bronco! What's worse was who the name labeled; Longhorn!

"Seriously?! He robbed the town like mad, and NOW he pulls this?!" Applejack snapped.

"Where'd that Bull go?!" Amethyst growled, but only finding that the Bull was out of sight already. Those goats sure could move fast.

"Hey, hey we got this, just make some confetti," Pinkie said, already taking one of the forum pieces, and shredding it up in her hooves. she tossed it up high in the air for some extra fun, as she kept going. This problem, albeit a big one, was easy to take care of. She continued more and more until they all were gone, and turned to confetti. Rainbow looked to Pinkie.

"Good job, Pinkie. now he won't have that property for -"

"Wait a minute," Applejack suddenly said, looking over what they did. Looking at the documents, then she realized something important ...

"Follow that Bull!"

.......

"And here's my end of the deal," Longhorn said to the Bull in question, as another member of his gang gave the Bull a bag of potatoes. Seemed Longhorn got his own idea on what to do, though showing up back at the place wasn't going to work well for him. So, after an idea from another bite of the Ghost Pepper, he got this Bull to handle notification for him. The Bull gave Longhorn the signed document, while he collected his bag of potatoes. He tipped his hat to Longhorn.

"Pleasure doing business with you," the Bull said, as he got on his goat with his bag, and went off on his way. After he left, one of the Bulls, a black and white Bull, tapped Longhorn on the shoulder.

"Didn't think you'd be one to give like that," he noted. Longhorn pushed the document in his chest, and walked off as he looked it over.

"Hay, once that fancy ticket becomes official by sunset tomorrow, we'll be havin enough to retire early," Longhorn assured, laying down comfortably by the fire, front hooves behind his head, and relaxing. He felt confident, and he was sure nopony else would notice this. all they and to do was chill out, and they got the whole property all to themselves, and all the stuff that went with it...

Peaking through the bushes, the ponies that'd been fighting against them soon found their camp, and found out what they're up to.

"Those yellow-bellied scoundrels," scolded Applejack.

"About time we found them. Come on, let's pound their sorry faces," Rainbow insisted, ready to do just that.

"Wait a minute, isn't there another way?" Steven said, holding her back. 

"Did you, or did you not see what those cow did to Canter Creek?" retorted Amethyst.

"Bull," corrected Fluttershy - again.

"And a lot of it," stated Amethyst.

"Even if we won, what about that document? If we drive them away, their place is still here," Rarity noted. She was right about that; the place will still be here, even if they drive the Bulls away. They'll just come back anyway, so, they were kinda in a loop. Applejack tried to think as best she could on how to handle this ... After a good while, Applejack got it.

"I got an idea."


~~~~~~


As the next morning began to come around, Longhorn was still snoozing through the morning, his hat over his eyes as he snored. The night went on without a hitch, and with the property in his own clutches, he can afford sleeping in for the morning. As he continued snoring, a bird began tweeting up a ruckus. Longhorn and his gang didn't take much notice, but as the bird flew past, something landed on one of their heads. It was in a ball, and it bounced off his head, just enough to wake him up. He still was a bit woozy, and it took a bit to get himself up, but he did eventually notice the item dropped down to them. The Bull got up and opened up the paper ball, and skimmed it over. Soon after, he got Longhorn woken up with some shaking.

"Wha-? Why you -"

Longhorn was then shown the paper before he could punch his snout. Longhorn casually grabbed the paper, and looked it over.

"Full documentation needs to be completely notarized. Head to the notary to complete," Longhorn read off. He pulled out the document, which appeared fully signed like it was supposed to. Right on the dotted line, as it's supposed to be. And here Longhorn thought it would be over and done, and they'd be laying in luxury by sunset. Longhorn felt his hoof over his eyes, groaning.

"Hold down the fort, y'all, be right back," Longhorn groaned. He just wanted to get this over with; if that two-timing Bull didn't do it right, then he had to do it himself to make sure it was done right. As Longhorn took his leave, a few familiar faces watched him go. That's one Bull up and left, but the others were still there. In the bushes, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow dash and the Gems all now had to consider what to do about the rest of the Bulls.

"Great, what do we do about the other Bulls?" Wondered Rainbow. Pinkie smirked.

"I say we improvise."

Pinkie's idea to improvise? ...

Well, as the Bulls stood guard around their camp, the group began their little tricks. As for what they could do, not everyone in the Bull group are aware of what they could do. Amethyst, maybe, but not Lapis, and this could work in their favor. Some of the Bulls were a bit tired, still keeping an eye out, so their guard wasn't at its best. Pretty soon, the plan was set in motion; with some fancy tricks, the group had gotten their work together. They got a basic white cloth, two eye holes cut out, and Lapis had made a small water orb for the cloth to settle on. This was a basic trick they're going to do, and an old fashioned one. Lapis, steadily, got the cloth off the ground like it was flying.

"oooooOOOOOOooooo"

Steven provided the voice for their extra trick. It was surely loud, and got their attention fairly quickly. The second they saw it ...

"AAHH, GHOST!!"

The Bulls looked completely terrified, cowering on sight of it. The Gems were shocked that this was even working, as the Bulls cower. Lapis played around with this, and moved their ghost act all around them fast. The Bulls pretty much hightailed it out of there after that.

They couldn't help but snicker.

"Okay, now they're gone, let's get this off the property before they get back."

That was their plan; getting the campsite off of Ranch grounds with the Bulls away. How can they have a claim if they weren't there to begin with? Lapis made sure the Bulls weren't around, as the others began to move the place away. It was fairly easy to handle, and they all got at least some part of the camp away until it didn't seem that anything was there, or any campsite was there to start. It wasn't mind-boggling. it wasn't creative. But it was efficiently effective. They just had to get it off the property line, without any trouble, and they should be good. The Bulls stayed hidden in the nearby woods, as they went ahead and began taking their stuff, and moving it away. Lapis and Steven were also happy to take their loot to give back to the town while they did so. They might as well.

.......

As team A was doing that, team B was back in the main town, expecting Longhorn to show up any minute. If their message got through, then they should've gotten him up and moving at this point. Sure enough, Longhorn began to arrive into town, stopping by the Notary in question. His goat waited outside, as Longhorn went right in.

"Hello mr. Longhorn. Did you receive our message?" The notary pony asked.

"Yeah yeah, I got my own stuff to do, so let's get this over with," Longhorn groaned. Again, if that other Bull got it right, he wouldn't have to deal with this. If it meant making it easier though, then he might as well get it over with. The Notary presented him with some extra papers, and a ink bottle with a quill. Longhorn took the quill, and began signing away, one paper at a time. Longhorn was going rather careless though, signing them fast, until he was supposedly finished.

"Done," Longhorn announced, shoving the papers at the Notary pony. The Bull turned to go, as the Notary pony looked each over. However, as Longhorn was just about to head back ...

"Mr. Longhorn?"

"What now?" Longhorn groaned, hoof to forehead. The Notary pony showed him the papers again.

"Not all of these papers are notarized," revealed the pony. Sure enough, the documents remained blank even after he signed them. Longhorn roughly groaned, snatched the papers, and went in to try again. The Notary noticed Fluttershy and Rarity further away, giving them a wink before heading in himself. The Notary was apart of their plan, and he was in on it. This part was simple; all they needed was some invisible ink and Longhorn would be stuck there all day. Longhorn wrote in the documents again, and came back out. This time he got as far as getting on his mount when ...

"Mr. Longhorn?"

This time though he was getting suspicious, looking back at the Notary again.

"What this time?"

"Notarization."

Longhorn went back in once more, and began the same procedure, but when finished, the suspicious Bull stuck around ...

"Aren't you going to go?"

"Just testing something," replied Longhorn. He loomed over the documents, staring directly at them for a good while. The notary didn't want him to stick around, and neither did Rarity and Fluttershy. Longhorn stared to where he wrote for a good minute or so. It was at this point when his signature started to disappear! Longhorn glared at the worried pony, who was giggling nervously. Longhorn summed up his mood with a angry snort.

The jig was up ...

After a few minutes, Longhorn got right back outside, and left right from there. Worried, Rarity and Fluttershy went right to the Notary, only to find the Notary pony tied up and knocked out, a notable hoof print right on his head!

"Uh oh."


~~~~~~


Fuming, Longhorn hightailed it straight back to where his camp was, his goat moving as fast as it could. With this trick, he could be for sure that something was happening to the camp, or something of the sort. His goat skidded to a stop once he arrived, but when they did, they ended up to their whole camp missing! His Bulls were gone, and all of his stuff wasn't around anywhere. No fire pit, no loot, no backup. The only main thing he did see was sets of tracks in the dirt, and a slightly damp cloth.

"Idiots," Longhorn groaned under his breath, as another snort got out of him. He told his boys to stay put, and he finds everything gone the second he comes back. He didn't know where they went, but he was more dead set on getting his stuff back at this point. His goat mount went right to his side, as he hopped back on, and started following the trails quickly. It took a little bit, but the Bull eventually began to catch a glimpse of the culprits. The ponies and Gems weren't too far from the property line, and if they could make it any further, then Longhorn would be off the property. Longhorn wasn't having that.

"HEY!" Longhorn called, charging in towards them. They all turned around, only to confront Longhorn.

"Double ponyfeathers," groaned Applejack. Rainbow and Amethyst got in the way, and charged into him. But unlike before with the rest of the gang, Longhorn was knocked back off of his goat, hitting the ground. Longhorn knocked  then back with a sway of his horns, and was ready to charge, but Steven rushed in the way. Longhorn charged forward, and Steven got out his shield just in time to stop Longhorn. Hitting the shield made Longhorn bounce back.

"You brat, outta my way!"

"Please, I can't stand seeing you fight eachother! Isn't Equestria supposed to be for harmony?"

"I'd give, if I cared, now MOVE!"

Longhorn charged at them a number of times, not doing any sort of damage to the shield in question. Each hit made Steven a little more stressed each time, straining to keep the shield up against the angry Bull Longhorn wasn't enjoying it much either; each ram giving him more and more of a headache. He stopped after five rams, trying to regain himself. Steven's shield was starting to shrink a little bit, but still was up to protect.

"I'LL HAVE THIS RANCH, OR SO HELP ME -"

"No you won't!"

The new voice suddenly got everyone's attention, looking up to the sky. Flying down, arriving just in time before the fight could escalate, Twilight Sparkle finally had arrived. Once more, the alicorn had some written documents of her very own, showing them to Longhorn. While his document contain his ownership of Rancho Bronco, which had to wait until sunset to make it official, these signed documents made it clear that he can no longer do that.

These documents in particular, signed by the princess of the sun and moon themselves, had marked Rancho Bronco as something more than just Chili Pepper's ranch, but also an historical site! Basically this made owning Rancho bronco like trying to claim ownership of Canterlot Castle, or something like that. He'd tear it up, but he was so upset he didn't think straight.

"On word of the princesses, only Chili Pepper and his workers now have ownership of Rancho Bronco. Better luck next time, Longhorn," Twilight revealed. Longhorn was bucking mad - literally. Nearby, his reckless bucking had accidentally whacked his own camp, sending the fire pit flying in the air in a mess. The launching rocks ended up hitting up the nearby foundation, even strike a nearby building on the property ...

Right in front of an Alicorn ...

"Oh bull."


~~~~~~


Later on that day, it seemed that everything at once was going in the Gem and Pony favor, rather than the Bulls. Next thing Longhorn knew, he was stuck behind jail walls. He looked as grumpy as grumpy could get him, his front hooves around the bars of his jail cell. Of course, he wasn't the only one; his buddies were found out, still where they last saw them in the bushes, and put within the jail as well. It's never a good idea to stay cowering after their boss was captured and thrown in jail. As for their goats, they were given a proper home in Canter Creek with some suggesting from Steven and Fluttershy. With a comfy place and plenty of food, they're pretty content with this change. The news quickly spread throughout Canter Creek, and the group happily returned what the Bulls had stolen from them, making things much better for everypony. All of their vegetables, water, and other things were given right back to them directly by the gems, whom felt better for helping out Canter Creek. Steven though wished that the Bulls would've listened to them, but sometimes the main answer is the one that they'll take. Besides, at least Canter Creek wouldn't have too much trouble now.

With their job done here, they all awaited at the station for their train back to Ponyville, with Tumbleweed there to say goodbye.

"Thanks y'all for handling Longhorn. now we can keep our food and water without it getting taken," Tumbleweed said.

"It's no problem, Sheriff. Happy to help," Applejack said with a nod. It did feel good to help out a town held together by her family. Soon though, they heard the train's whistle, telling them that they had to get themselves on and get going. Chili Pepper will come back around, and he wouldn't have to see his farm taken over once he does.

"You're welcome in or town anytime, Applejack."

"Thanks. and hey, if you ever visit Ponyville, stop by Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack replied, and soon, they were in the train. The train whistled once more, and it's wheels started to turn. Tumbleweed waved goodbye, as Applejack did the same from one of the car windows. Their stay in Canter Creek may not had been the most relaxing, but it was still good to help them out all the same.

And now, it's off into the sunset, and back to Ponyville.
> The Tale of Two Dragons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Busily going through her library, as per usual, Twilight continued with heading on through her books. The alicorn got through many of her books, a number of times switching them around, and looking through some of her favorites. Mainly this was from getting her journal in the right spot, and after a while, the Alicorn began going through more and more until she ended up reorganizing the library again. She had gone through plenty of books by this point. As this was going on, Spike was trying to sleep - again. It was still in the morning, yet the dragon kept getting woken up by Twilight's busy work. Twilight tried to keep quiet, but Spike ended up knocked out of bed by mistake, landing on the bottom floor.

"Ow," Spike groaned, sitting up and shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Spike," Twilight said, stopping for a brief moment and turning to her assistant. Spike got back up, holding the new bump on his head.

"How much longer will you be doing this?" Spike asked, looking around at all the books floating around them. Twilight put about five other books away before answering him.

"I'm going to be a while. Why don't you go out and play for a bit?" Twilight offered. she liked spike helping her out, and he liked doing so, yet Twilight can handle this herself. Plus, Spike can have a day-off if he wanted to. Spike would rather go around Ponyville, instead of dealing with Twilight's books this morning.

"You sure I can?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, I got this. I heard the cakes have some crystal cupcakes in stock," Twilight revealed. That got Spike pretty hungry, and right out the door to have one. He could never pass up a treat make by Sugarcube Corner. Twilight just chuckled, as she continued her sorting.


~~~~~~


It really didn't take very long for Spike to get right over to Sugarcube Corner. Just as Twilight had said, the cakes had a pretty good set of crystal cupcakes, one with Spike's name on it. Just a quick visit, and two bits, Spike got himself a delicious, sparkling lavender cupcake, shining with purple shards of Quartz gems. Thank Celestia, the other Gems from Beach City weren't around. Even if he was told it was alright, and by a Gem no less, he still began thinking twice about what he ate ever since then, especially if it involved gemstones. As he walked away with his cupcake, he took a few extra looking glances, just to be sure, before he eyed his treat with his tongue licking his lips. It surely looked delicious for a treat. His tongue gently licked the cupcake, taste-testing it. His eyes quickly lit up, and a big smile shined on his face.

"I should savor this," Spike thought. He shouldn't just gulp it. One, it was such a delicious treat, and two, who knew when the cakes would restock? So, instead, he just began walking around Ponyville, taking bites of the cupcake as he went. It was a nice day to just go around Ponyville, since the Pegesi made sure this day was nice and clear, not a cloud venturing into Ponyville skies. The ponies were busily going about their day as well, something Spike didn't mind in the slightest. He waved hello to the ponies as he went along, whoever would wave to him anyway.

"Mmmm, the cakes sure did good today," Spike told himself, licking his lips of the frosting. He didn't realize it at the moment, but his wandering had ended up bringing him towards the edge of town. He was too distracted by his cupcake to really notice though, and by the time he finished his snack, and when he did, the little Dragon only then realized he was right outside Ponyville! He stopped, and found himself about five feet outside the town. Not too much, but it was a bit of an error on his part.

"Eh, oops," Spike said.

He was just about to head on back into Ponyville, but then his nose suddenly caught wind of something in the air. The smell was absolutely delicious, and the little Dragon immediately charged course, walking further away from Ponyville. His nose guided him along, putting him in an almost trace, as he walked along with a smile. Spike kept this walk about for a good ten minutes or so, going in one main direction away from Ponyville, until he walked right into a rock. Only then did he snap out of it, but his curiosity over such a smell got him climbing up the rock. He can get back later, no problem, but the mystery of the phenomenal smell came first.

"Let's see what we got here."

Spike climbed up the rock, until he could see over it. Once he did, his eyes gave him quite a sight. He could see a clear stream not too far away, just passing through. The land dropped down about a foot, a large bank to the river, nice and dry. In this clearing, the dragon saw a picnic set up; basket, blanket and everything. The sweet smell was coming from the basket, which was slightly open to reveal a horde of sweet, ripe gemstones inside! Spike drooled on seeing and smelling the delicious delicacy, leaning for a closer look...

Too bad the rock didn't had much grip.

Next thing he knew, Spike felt a wind blow against him, and he tumbled head over heels in a somersault, until he landed right inside the basket! Spike scrambled to get a better footing, but as he was, he began to hear something going on. Footsteps, just outside! Spike stayed quiet, hoping for whatever it was to not find him. If he did end up in somepony's lunch box, he'll be in a heap of trouble. The dragon kept quiet for a bit, but then something opened up the basket, and a clawed hand reached in, and actually grabbed him! He was pulled out by his head, and soon he found what was the owner of this basket.

Another Dragon!

"Uh ... Hi?"

The Dragon gasped, and threw him back fast, Spike hitting the bank wall. Spike needed a minute, and so did the other Dragon. This Dragon didn't look that much older, but was about as big as a pony. She looked more like a four-legged variant of Dragon, rather than a bipedal one like Spike, with each foot having three claws on them. She had a number of spikes on her legs, one behind each foot, and an extra on her back leg. She even had a set of spikes curving down from her chest. Each one of these spikes, along with a few backward-facing spinal scales, were colored a grayish silver. On her head, she had a set of larger, yet stubby horns, which aimed backwards from her head. Her three clawed toes were a darker blue, along with her reptilian eyes. The end of her tail had a triangular tip, a typical feature for a common dragon. She didn't seem to have any wings though, and the rest of her body, from head to tail, was a light lavender, lighter than Spike. She took a moment.

"Who are you? And what're you doing in my basket?" She asked, still trying to gather her nerves, as Spike got himself upright.

"Wait, that was yours? I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Spike said innocently, looking to the basket of gems. The female Dragon picked out a gemstone from her basket, the smell peaking Spike's interest again. She was a bit surprised that he didn't just try to take the gems and run.

"I didn't think any Dragons lived near here."

"Huh? Oh, I was just passing through, and I couldn't help but notice some of those nice, sweet, delicious gems," Spike explained, glancing at the gems time and time again. It was at this point though, that the female dragon pulled one out.

"You like them? It took me months to get it right. It's not easy to make gems," she said, as Spike sat down next to her. He seen many gems, and these were rips as ripe can be. The female Dragon started to relax a little bit once she realized he wasn't there to hurt her. Spike picked out a blue gem from the basket, looking it over.

"I know what you mean; it took me months to get a gem ripened correctly. It's hard to hold back beforehand though," Spike admitted. He knew very well how long it takes to ripen a gem correctly, but keeping yourself from gobbling up your favorite treat beforehand can be a tough task for some. The female dragon chuckled a little, finding the situation very relatable.

"I know just what you mean," replied the female Dragon. Spike took a bite of the blue gem in his claws, finding the taste delicious. She took out, and ate another gem before Spike spoke again.

"So, do you live nearby?"

"Well, no. I'm just here on a spring trip, that's all. I'll be leaving back home in about a week ... Though, it does get lonely sometimes out here," she explained, lowering her head on the second statement. Spike didn't had that problem much, having plenty of friends back in Ponyville, and beyond Equestria in the case of the Gems. Though, as far other Dragons go, he didn't had much to show for it, if anything. She was the first Dragon that didn't try to beat him down, and that was good enough for him.

"Not seeing many dragons, huh?"

"Not friendly dragons, no. Most of the time they'd try to take my stash of gems and take off. At least you didn't threaten me for them," she stated, a clawed foot pointing to her stash. Spike didn't know why he would, anyway, and easily remembered his last main encounter with Dragons. It wasn't the best ever if he was honest with it.

For the next half an hour or so, Spike and his Dragon friend basically chatted for a while, subjects going back and forth for a while. Spike was happy to meet a Dragon that wasn't going to mock him or beat him to a pulp, and apparently the female Dragon felt the same way. Their conversation only stopped once the gems ran out (not Spike's fault). Once she noticed, she got up, and picked up her basket with her tail. Spike helped her out by folding up the blanket for her. It was the least he could do for having some tasty gems.

"Thank you. You are sweet," she said. Spike rubbed the back of his head, smiling.

"Well, you did let me have some gems. Least I can do, right?"

The Dragon simply nodded. Before she left though, she failed to ask one question throughout their conversation, and she might as well ask now.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Spike," Spike answered, clawed hand to chest.

"I'm Scarlett. It's nice meeting you," replied the Dragon. Scarlett and Spike shared another smile before Scarlett started to go. Spike found it refreshing to see another, nice dragon for once, but it seemed a little too soon for this to just end. Then he got an idea.

"Hey. you think you want to ... well, meet up again? Tomorrow?"

Scarlett could only smile.


~~~~~~


For the next few days, it'd been like that for a while. Spike and Scarlett would meet up back at the same spot along the river outside Ponyville, and basically spend some time together. Spike had told Twilight about her after the first day, and Twilight was happy that Spike was making a new friend. Both Dragons basically did either chit-chat with one another, or did a few outdoor games or activities and such. Scarlett felt grateful to meet such a kind Dragon, which for her was a rare one, and same thing went for Spike. However, throughout the whole thing, that was as far as it'll go; they just met at the one spot and that was about it. As Spike was seeing how nice Scarlett was, he'd yet to tell her about the others back in Ponyville just yet, trying to think on properly introducing her to the rest of his friends.

One day, Scarlett and Spike were at the same usual river spot, basically relaxing in the afternoon sun. It was relaxing to lay in the sun, listening to the flowing river nearby.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Spike asked, after a bit. Scarlett brought a frontal claw to her chin.

"I'm dunno. It's feels nice to just lay around in the sun," Scarlett replied, rolling onto her back, and feeling the warm sun cover her. Spike laid next to her, trying to think on what to do. The last couple of days had been pretty fun with her, but it was just him and her for the most part. It was then that Spike got his idea. He soon sat up, as Scarlett watched.

"I got it, how about you come back with me? You can meet the rest of my friends," Spike offered. Scarlett lifted her head up a little bit, turning upright again.

"Really? you sure it's okay?"

"Of course! You're sweet, fun, kind, and I'm sure they'll like to see another Dragon like you," Spike said, his compliments making Scarlett blush a little, but smiling a bit.

"Oh, you're just saying that," Scarlett said bashfully, waving her foot to him.

"No, I mean it, really. Come on, you'll like them and I know they'll like you," Spike said, going up the bank. Scarlett smiled sweetly, and got up the bank to join him. For the fun of it, both Dragons began to run to where Spike had in mind. Scarlett had a larger stride than Spike, though the young Dragon kept a good pace ahead of her. As they went though, it was then when Scarlett looked ahead, and realized where they were going.

Spike was heading right to Ponyville.

When she noticed this, she suddenly began to slow down, Spike not realizing until he looked back to see Scarlett in a dead stop on the road, suddenly feeling unsure of this decision. Spike walked back to the young Dragon.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked.

"Um ... well, we're heading into Ponyville."

"Uh, yeah, my friends are in there," Spike said, a clawed thumb pointing at the town, not seeing a problem in it. However, that left Scarlett a little confused on top of hesitant.

"But ... But, you're a Dragon," Scarlett pointed out. Being a young Dragon, Spike didn't seem to get the idea yet, and just shrugged it off.

"Come on, you're going to be fine. Trust me, they'll like you," Spike encouraged. Scarlett still wasn't very sure, but she followed him anyway, a sigh passing her lips.

It didn't take very long before the two arrived in Ponyville, Scarlett keeping quiet. Spike still didn't see much of a problem with it really, though Scarlett oddly kept a wary eye on the many different Ponies around her. Her Dragon friend didn't seem to noticed any real harm, and could only assume she was just being shy. Though admittedly, he felt a big Deja Vu with her and one particular Alicorn princess when she first came to Ponyville. As they continued through Ponyville, Spike began to look off ahead, and began to see his friends in question. To his luck, it wasn't just the ponies who were hanging out, but Steven and Lapis also came around to play. This is perfect! Before Scarlett could say anything ...

"Hey everypony!" Spike called, waving his arm in the air. The others soon turned to see them, Scarlett feeling slightly worried.

"Hi Spike! Who's your friend?" Lapis asked, seeing Scarlett. Rather than say anything, Scarlett actually started to back up a little bit. Spike turned to her.

"This is Scarlett. Come on, say hi," Spike encouraged. Scarlett still wasn't too sure about this, seeing so many other types in one place. All Scarlett did was shyly wave her front foot for her hello, smiling nervously. Though, her smile quickly disappeared, as she looked away. Before she could try to relax though, Pinkie happily bounded over to her, catching her completely off guard.

"WOW! Are you another Dragon? That's so cool - new Dragon buddy!" Pinkie beamed. However, Pinkie erratic and bouncy behavior worried Scarlett more than most, as she took a big step away from her for some more space. It was reasonable though; not everypony can get used to such a lively pony upon first meeting her.

"S-so. You're Spike's friends?" Scarlett asked.

"That's right. Spike told me a bit about you," Twilight said, though that didn't seem to make anything better, as her three clawed foot kicked the dirt shyly. Spike didn't expect her to be so shy, especially for how much fun he had with her over the last couple of days. Steven and Lapis made didn't help Scarlett feel more comfortable, but she did grow a little puzzled towards them. The ponies were one thing, but these two didn't look familiar in the slightest. Steven and Lapis both never saw any other Dragons apart from Spike, so seeing Scarlett was something new and exciting. However, Scarlett turned to Spike, poking his shoulder.

"Uh, Spike?" She asked, beginning to move away with him so she could talk to him alone.

"What's the matter?"

"I-I don't know about this, Spike," Scarlett whispered, leaning in closer to him.

"Come on, Scarlett, they're not bad."

"But they're not Dragons," Scarlett admitted, glancing back to them, who looked a little confused.

"So what? They're still great to hang out with," Spike retorted. Scarlett still felt rather sheepish though. Before it could go any further, Lapis then hovered over to them, Scarlett freaked out on seeing Lapis's water wings come from nowhere. Just earlier she didn't had any, and now she was flying above her. Scarlett backed up some more on seeing this.

"Is something wrong?" Lapis asked, concern. Scarlett just felt rather rough with this overall, keeping her safe distance from them. Spike did eventually stop her though, holding onto her leg. However, Scarlett just couldn't get her act together, but she just shook her head after a while after seeing Spike with an assuring smile.

"Hey, hey, don't be like that, we're cool," Rainbow assured her, giving her a friendly noogie to the head. Scarlett rubbed where Rainbow did so.

"So, what're you guys doing?" Spike asked.

"Just ready to show off who's the fastest flier," Rainbow said. It'd been WAY too long since they last checked, and Lapis and Rainbow Dash both needed to see who was the better flying champion this side of Equestria. Lapis and Rainbow both were hovering, excited for their little race. Spike found it exciting to do, and Scarlett still felt unsure with anything here.


~~~~~~


Pretty soon, the group found an open area in Ponyville to do the race at, where the skies were clear, and nothing was in the way to either obstruct the view or to get in the way of the racers. Although the sky didn't had much clouds, some of the Pegasus (even a particular wall-eyed blonde mare) helped put up some clouds as checkpoints and obstacles. The checkpoint clouds were pure white while the obstacle clouds were a light grey, enough to tell the difference between the two. The others sat aside to watch the race, along with whoever helped with the arrangements Spike brought Scarlett over to sit next to him, though being around so many non-dragons didn't suit her all too well, as she squirmed a little bit in her spot. She moved over to the side of the crowd, rather than be right next to Spike, though Spike agreed to have a seat by her to make her feel more comfortable (he was still sitting next to Twilight either way). Lapis and Rainbow Dash stood side by side over by the starting line, where Steven was standing with the starting flag at the ready, raised up in the air, as the racers got themselves ready to fly.

"You'll like this," Spike told Scarlett. Scarlett looked to him before turning to the race in question. The others were ready to go, as Steven readied the flag.

"Ready? ... Set ... GO!"

With the wave of the flag, Lapis and Rainbow shot right off past Steven, and right up into the air, leaving Steven spinning like a top before landing on the ground. Both flying speedsters were making pretty good speed, keeping up with one another. The clouds shifted in their path as they went along, which both dodged fairly easily as they flew off to the first checkpoint. Rainbow flew pretty good, and was faster In straight flights, but Lapis's broader water wings maneuvered her better than Rainbow, thus making them both fairly even. The ponies down bellow cheered them on, and their cheers varied between Rainbow Dash, and Lapis Lazuli, depending on who the pony (or person) was cheering. The only one who stayed quiet though was Scarlett, trying to pretend that she was just with Spike and not all these other creatures. She just didn't feel right, and Spike was starting to see that in her. While everypony was distracted by the race going on, Scarlett sighed, and finally couldn't take it. While they all looked away, Scarlett silently backed away. Without saying a word to anypony, the shy and uncomfortable Scarlett then left them all there. Scarlett decided to go when both flying racers were at the final stretch, and the only one who actually saw her begin to go was Lapis ...

Lapis slowed down just slightly, but rather than just making her loose, Rainbow flew right through her water wings, bringing them both to the ground below! Rainbow tumbled head over hooves, leaving her face first into the dirt, and soaked in both her fur and feathers. Lapis ended up dirty from the fall too, with half a wing splashed off of her. She quickly recovered, and regained her water wing.

"Lapis, Rainbow! You both okay?" Steven asked, as he and Fluttershy helped them up. Rainbow shook the dirt out of her mane, and flapped her wings for similar reasons. Lapis spat out some dirt from her mouth before she answered Steven.

"Yeah, I'm alright. But, Scarlett left," Lapis pointed out, pointing to where she saw Scarlett leave ...


~~~~~~


It took her quite a while, but the Dragon did end up back to outside of Ponyville, and back to the river where she and Spike first met. She settled down by the river, looking down in the water before her, seeing her reflection shutter and shiver in the flowing river. She felt much better at this point, but her only regret here was that she ditched Spike with them without saying a word. In the middle of his attempt to introduce her to his friends, and Scarlett just left him like that. Her sudden absence left the other ponies there a bit confused, and Spike went off to try to look for her. Since Spike had met her up at the same spot a number of times before, he went over that way first. Surely enough, he climbed over the same rock, and found her looking at the river.

"Scarlett! Hey, Scarlett!" Spike said. Though, just as they met before, he tumbled forward, and landed onto the riverbank. Scarlett turned, and saw Spike go over to her.

"Oh. It's only you."

"Scarlett, what happened back there? Nopony even noticed you leaving," Spike asked.

"I'm sorry, Spike, it's just ... Just ..." Scarlett trailed off after a bit, but all that came out was another sigh. Spike sat down next to her. He knew she was a great Dragon to hang out with, but what happened back with the rest of his friends disserves some explanation. Scarlett, flustered a little bit, scratched the ground in front of her.

"Do you even want to talk about it?" Spike asked, turning to her. Scarlett looked down to her reflection, both front feet overlapping in a crisscross, before she felt ready to answer him.

"Well ... Look, Spike, I just ... have some resentment."

"Resentment, for what?"

"Well ... non-dragons," Scarlett admitted in chocked sigh. Spike looked a bit confused, tilting his head, and eyebrow raised.

"Non-Dragons? You mean my friends? Seriously, what's wrong with them?" Spike asked, feeling a bit hurt himself. The first Dragon he made pals with, and she has this sort of resentment towards every other friend he had with him. He knew she was great, but it can't work if she won't open up to the others.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all ... Only -"

"Only what? My friends are great, I don't see why they'll give you any trouble."

"No, no, Spike listen. I uh ... I tried. To be friendly with other ponies when I was little, just a hatchling, but ... well ..."

"They didn't treat you well?" Spike cut in, kind of seeing where this was going. He took the words right out of her mouth, really, so all Scarlett said was a sigh.

"They called some freaky lizard, and got me under a rock, calling me a -" she brought her claws up to quote her words. "- Rock dweller." She brought her feet down and continued. "My own kind didn't treat me like that. So, I guess I preferred being with them, than ... With others ..." Spike now saw why she would be hesitant with other species outside her own. Scarlett still remembered the event, clear as day, and didn't want to risk it again. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Guess we have other things in common," Spike commented. Scarlett turned to Spike in surprise.

"They bullied you too? But, why are you still with them, then?" Scarlett asked.

"No, no! ... Well, maybe. You know the big Dragon Migration, right?" Spike began.

"Of course I do, why?"

"Want to hear a story?" Spike asked first. Scarlett was interested at this point, and nodded her head. Spike laid down on his back, hands behind his head, before he began remembering.

"Well, let's see. I've been with Twilight for my whole life, and never really figured out what it means to be a true Dragon. So, I decided to join he migration, and I found plenty of other Dragons ... but ..."

"But ...?"

"Well, they kept mocking me the entire time I was there! Small, meek, still sucking my claw at night, being a pony in a costume! Seriously, it was awful," Spike complained. Scarlett looked puzzled.

"Wait. Other Dragons mocked you while you were there? Why would they do that, they knew you were a Dragon, right?" Scarlett asked, sounding like no other Dragon would bother her. Spike sat back up.

"They all never believed I could do anything they could until I fell into a lava pit! And even then they want me to go right to stealing a Phoenix nest. Who does that?!" Spike then calmed down after pretty much making himself angry. "Anyway, for the longest time, I didn't want to deal with any other Dragons, and I knew many other Ponies, but you know something?"

"What?"

"Even with Twilight, there are good ones, and there are bad ones. I met with bad Dragons at the migration ... and then I met one good Dragon right here."

Scarlett felt a bit speechless. For a start, yes, other Dragons hadn't treated her badly. Spike hadn't had much interaction with Dragons before this point, and he felt like she's the first Dragon who treated him nicely. Scarlett didn't know what to say, or could think of what to say. For Spike, he knew there were many different types of Ponies, people, or whatever, and they all can make a difference all depending. After a bit, Spike then grew a bit more happier.

"So, Scarlett. I know you may not have had the best time, but, you can at least give it a chance."

Scarlett turned to the Dragon, and then gave him a smile. Though, despite it all, she still felt a little unsure, but at least she had something to go on. Scarlett looked back to the river after a while, thinking over what the Dragon had said ...

Something seemed ... Off.

Scarlett took a moment to keep looking into the water, trying to get her eyes to focus on what was going on in the river. Spike caught her gaze after a bit.

"Uh, Scarlett?"

Before either one could answer, something began to form up on the surface of the river. It started out kinda slow, but soon something began to slither out of the water, and onto the riverbank. Scarlett got up into her feet, keeping Spike close to her as the strange creature slithered out. It seemed to grow bigger and bigger, and not seeming to have an end to it. Its entire body looked slimy, and looked like living sand, soaking wet and solid by the water from the river. It had multiple sets of stubby legs, six in total, each ending in a round foot with stubby toes. Its head was rounded out, with a mouth that almost looked like a puppet's mouth, with eyes that stare off into the distance. The creature didn't notice them at first, as it pulled its hefty body out of the water, ending up dangerously close to the Dragons. Its mouth gaped open, as its long thick tail was pulled out of the water, curling up on the banks. Scarlett and Spike didn't know how to take this sudden arrival, and both of them had no clue what this thing even was, or how it got here so subtly. With its tail blocking the river, and its body blocking the bank, it basically had both Dragons cornered along the same spot. It made a loud, hissing sort of noise as it laid there, making Spike and Scarlett gulp. Both Dragons began to slowly move back, away from the hissing mouth, but it wasn't enough to get away from the thick tail. Scarlett's tail accidentally brushed the beast's giant tail, and that was all it took for a immediate reaction.

In a loud hiss, the beast swing its head around, mouth wide open! Scarlett narrowly avoided getting bitten, but Spike wasn't so lucky; the giant jaws biting down on his tail! The creature then started heading back into the water! Before Scarlett could grab him, Spike was swung right into the river! Scarlett grabbed it by the tail, but she was knocked back. It was no use; the beast was back in the river!

"Spike!" Scarlett yelled, shocked and heartbroken. She could only watch Spike getting pulled upriver from the riverbank she was standing. A Dragon that shared so much with her over the last few days, and he was taken away by this freak of nature. Scarlett fell to the ground, in pure dismay, crying quietly. Not too long afterwards ...

"Scarlett!"

This time, it wasn't Spike. Instead, the voice belonged to Steven, who had just found her at this point. The others began to come around, as Steven slid down to the bank. It was clear something huge was just there, since the ground was indented in it like a giant snake just slithered through. Scarlett turned back to them, tears down her face. They didn't see Spike anywhere.

"What happened here?" Applejack asked, looking at the damage done. Scarlett needed a moment, wiping away some tears, before she could muster up what just happened.

"Spike, he's - he's gone! That thing took him!"

The message was brief, and to the point (and the first time Scarlett was straightforward when talking to them), but it was enough to get them all shocked. Whatever was here now has Spike, and judging by the huge trail it left, it wasn't some tiny creature that snatched him up. 

"Oh my Celestia!" Rarity gasped.

"Where'd they run off to?" Twilight asked urgently. Scarlett felt sad still, and all she did was point her claw upriver, where she last saw her Dragon friend before he was pulled away from sight.

"Thanks, Scarlett. come on, everypony!" Applejack said, already starting off after the danger. Scarlett listened to them go off, but didn't move at first. She still felt a bit uncomfortable for the moment, being with non-Dragons and all, but she remembered what Spike had said. Should it be anymore of a danger to at least give it a try ...

"Wait for me!" 

She began to trail them.


~~~~~~


The beast continued its swim up the river, like a huge snake, with limbs on the side of its body. Even with being pulled upriver, Spike was still breathing, and still stuck in the creature's jaws. Spike was simply stuck for the longest time until the beast settled itself down in a shallower part of the river, ready to finish him off. With no other supposed predators to bug it, the creature was ready to have its snack. It shook around Spike while he was underwater, making him very dizzy and light-headed from lack of air. The Dragon kept being shaken up, but Spike, being pulled by the current at the same time, finally manages to get himself free. Spike bolted to the surface, gasping for air, and quickly managed to swim to the shores of the river, as the creature got onto the shore itself.

"Twilight! Steven! Somepony help!" Spike called, running from the beast inland. Even with such a lumbering body and stubby legs, it moved pretty decently on land, like a legged train on a set course at Spike! The river travel had got him into a forest, so at least the trees gave him some advantage to keeping one step ahead of the beast. As Spike ran like mad, the beast then whacked a tree, falling right towards him! Spike screamed, bracing for the tree to fall on him. However, be it convenience or dumb luck, Spike stood just where a tree hole was on the tree, and ended up inside the tree! Not the best hiding spot, but Spike was ready to take anything at this point. The giant creature saw where Spike ended up though, and tried to get its snack out from the tree. Spike gripped the inner bark, seeing its mouth constantly lunge, and try to bite him. The more it did so, the more unstable the tree was getting. It slammed into the tree more and more, and at one point even started to climb onto the tree itself. Spike could see the tree creek and split slightly under the creature's weight. Spike curled up, and covered his eyes with his clawed hands. Before the creature could continue though ...

"Incoming!"

Suddenly, the creature was hit by something in the head, sending it off the tree, and slamming into the ground. The hit spun the tree a little bit, enough for Spike to see outside at who came around; his friends! The giant creature hissed loudly at Twilight (who shot at it to knock it off in the first place), before lunging at them. As it did, it rolled the tree back until it hit some other trees.  Spike was dizzy as he can be, still stuck inside the tree. They managed to hear his screaming, and they all knew where he was at that point, but they had to get past the monster first.

"Alright, come at me, you overgrown worm!" Rainbow yelled, flying head long into battle. She was joined by some others, while Steven tried to go around and get Spike. The beast fought much like a crocodile would; swinging its jaws around the place, and whacking with its tail at whatever came at it. As the others kept the creature distracted, Steven soon skidded to a stop right by Spike. At this point, Scarlett managed to catch up, watching what was going on, with most of the group fighting the beast, and Steven helping Spike. She was amazed with so many friends or different species working together to help Spike out.

"I got you, buddy," Steven replied. Steven grabbed Spike's arm, and tried to pull him out. As the fight was going on though, the beast's giant tail swung in their direction! Steven pulled Spike out just seconds before it whacked the tree so hard, it flew right off out of the way, knocking down three other trees! Steven got out a good shield before the tail could crush them.

"Spike, Steven, come on!" Twilight yelled. Spike readied to rush off, and Steven bolted out, removing the shield just before he did, and getting out of the way before the tail hit the dirt. Before they could fully get out, the beast circled them both, and got them trapped in a ring of its own body. Twilight flew up, and landed right with Spike and Steven, before activating her teleportation spell, just before the hissing beast clamped its jaws onto any of them.. Scarlett, who was standing further away, tried to think about what to do to help. Scarlett quickly scanned the area, and then found her answer; a large tree precariously on a hill close by. That'll work.

Scarlett bolted right over to the tree, and began to work at the tree, as Twilight teleported Steven and Spike to the rest of the group. The giant beast unraveled its body, turning to face them with a hissing mouth wide open. As the group readied to go, they began to hear wood staring to crack, and break. They turned back, only to find Scarlett digging a cut into the tree with her claws, and pushing the tree over!

"Timber!" Pinkie yelled. The large tree fell right down, and while everyone else bolted out of the way, the attacking beast ended up being slammed to the ground by the tree, pinning it down under it. It's eyes were spinning in a daze, a groan escaping its mouth.

"Come on, before it gets out!" Scarlett called. It didn't take long before they got going, leaving the beast to struggle under the tree itself. It will get out, just they'll be long gone before it can do so.


~~~~~~


The walk back to Ponyville was a far quieter, and much more relaxing compared to the fight they just got. Scarlett still couldn't believe she had just did that, and the Dragon herself felt surprised all alone from that. Still, she managed to beat the beast, and everypony was happy for that.

"Thank you for helping us, Scarlett," Fluttershy said after a bit, smiling to her. Scarlett sighed.

"Yeah, great job with the tree!" Lapis added in. Scarlett looked to both different species, but unlike before, she smiled, but then stopped for a moment to turn back to them.

"Thank you. Listen, I do want to ... apologize, for running off on everyone. I just wasn't used to it," Scarlett admitted. Before things could get awkward though, Scarlett quickly continued. "But, I see you all are such good friends, even if you're all different from eachother."

"See, Scarlett? They're great friends," Spike said, patting her on the shoulder. Scarlett smiled to him, and then turned back to the others.

"I see that it's okay to have all kinds of friends. They can surely help you out of trouble," Scarlett said, a smile growing more on her face. Everyone else was very glad to hear that from her. Here was Scarlett, a Dragon, with an Alicorn, a Unicorn, two Pegesi, two Earth Ponies, a Human, and a Gem. All friends. She began to feel much better now with these friends, and she didn't think that they'll be a danger to her anymore.


They all were friends, and Scarlett was just fine with that.

Scarlett: It takes all sorts,
to make a world.

Scarlett moved on ahead a bit, as Lapis began to play around with her. Scarlett moved over behind another tree as they were playing around.

Short, and tall sorts.
Large, and small sorts.

As she continued singing, Scarlett stopped over by some forest flowers, where a yellow butterfly happily fluttered about in front of her, as Scarlett watched it fly by. The Butterfly gently landed over on Fluttershy's head. It was a pretty sight to see, not to mention cute.

To fill this pretty planet
with love, and laughter.
To make it great to live in
tomorrow, and the day after.

Next, it was Steven's turn to sing.

Steven: It takes all types,
without a doubt.

The butterfly then fluttered off of Fluttershy, and flew away back to the flowers, as Steven continued singing, and going on ahead.

Dumb, and wise types.
Every size types.
To do all the things
that need to be done.


Lapis, Fluttershy, and Steven: To make our life fun,
find our place in the sun.


Scarlett went on singing, as she trotted ahead, hopping right onto a hill in the path.

And the brightest way,
the rightest way, 
According to reports is simply to
take all sorts.

They all were very happy at this point with this, and were more than happy to join in with their new friend.

Twilight: It takes all sorts
to make our day.

Spike: Smart, and slow sorts.

Pinkie: High, and low sorts.

Lapis landed happily next to Scarlett, wings spread out, as the two sang together.

Scarlett and Lapis: To make the world we live in
a place worth being.
To try and make our future
a future, really worth seeing.


Soon, they all were going along the forest route, until they reached a much smaller creek, unlike the river. It was pretty shallow, and clear, so it was safe to cross, especially with the stepping stones along the way.

All: We need all types, to make our way.


Spike went first, hopping along each rock, as he sang too.

Tried, and true types.

Pinkie: Me, and you types.

Pinkie hopped along the rocks, though she landed in the river instead, splashing them. They didn't mind though.

All: To create a world,
that's truly worthwhile.

They all then went right on across. Some flew over, some hopped on the rocks, and some just went right through the river. They were across the creek easily, some a bit wet, but happy, as Pinkie shook off the water. After that, it was a one way walk from there.

That knows how to smile,
how to do things in style.

Scarlett: So the surest,
and securest way,
which everyone supports is simply to -

All: Take all sorts!



~~~~~~


The rest of Scarlett's stay, for the next two days, was far better than ever. Now feeling much better about things, the Mane Six soon saw just how much fun Scarlett really was, just as Spike hoped. Scarlett had fun with everypony there, and some extra fun with the Humans and Gems whenever they came around to visit her. Scarlett had a splendid time, but eventually, it was time for her to go. With her stuff packed up, Scarlett met up with the Mane six at the main entrance to Ponyville.

"You sure you have to leave?" Spike asked. Scarlett nodded.

"It's not a big deal, I can't be on vacation forever. Besides, I had the best time ever, thanks to you and your friends," Scarlett said with a grin. Pinkie was suddenly by her side, and gave her a big hug for the road.

"Oh, we're going to miss you so, so, so, so, much," Pinkie said. Scarlett wasn't as used to Pinkie's hugs, but this time happily accepted them with a hug of her own.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to come back here next time I come by," Scarlett assured, even playfully fluffing Pinkie's mane.

"That would be splendid, darling. I sure hope you come back soon," Rarity said, everypony else agreeing. Scarlett never felt more loved than that moment right there, as Spike also gave her a hug. Scarlett returned the hug.

"Thank you, Spike. I hope I find more Dragons like you out there."

She then turned to the other Ponies.

"And I hope I find plenty of nice Ponies too."

"I'm sure you will," Twilight replied.

And on that note, Scarlett turned around, and happily started off to her own home, as the others waved goodbye. It was very nice to know another nice Dragon amongst Equestria.
> The Good Luck Package
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a cottage among Ponyville, one resident amongst the many ponies was going through her book. The book in question was a picture book, full of many sorts of pictures she'd taken as pure memories. One shown her in a city, one around her home, and one even with Twilight Sparkle. With each one of these, there was one other friend she was always with. In these pictures, they show two particular characters. Each picture shown two brown donkeys, looking mainly normal in brown fur, long ears, and so on. One of the donkeys looked mainly grumpy throughout these pictures, with a yellow wig on his head. The other one looked more cheerful though, a female donkey. She had on a set of blue pearl earrings, and a white flora neckpiece.

This donkey, Matilda, was the same one looking at the same pictures.

The happy donkey went on to a open page in her book, took some glue, and got it onto the page. This was her latest addition. And this she believe was a special occasion, and she happily placed the next piece upon it. As she did, the front door then opened up, showing the other donkey she'd been with; Cranky Doodle Donkey.

"I can never understand the ponies in this town," Cranky started, closing the door behind him with a back hoof. "Everywhere I went, they were all Gussin up and looking at me funny. Kept asking if I was nervous."

Matilda just smiled.

"Did they forget that the wedding is tomorrow?" She asked. Cranky went over to her.

"Oh, maybe they're just as excited for us to be married as I am," Cranky replied with a smile of his own.

Yep, this was the big news; their wedding was coming up. Two donkeys in love, and ready for the big step in their relationship. And they both couldn't wait for it to come around. The two snuggled a little, before Matilda turned back to the scrapbook.

"Well, they're going to feel awfully silly when they realize they've got the wrong date," Matilda noted, looking back at the invitation in her scrapbook. However ...

"The invitations are wrong! This says the wedding is today!"

Oh no.

"But I got such a good deal on them," noted Cranky, hoof to his chin. Matilda though was freaked out.

"Everypony in town got these! The princesses have even RSVP'd!" Matilda said, in absolute worry, hooves shuffling in place.

"I told you we should have eloped!" Cranky retorted.

"Oh, dear. The caterer, the flowers, the musicians! We've got to move it all to today!"

"What?!"

Soon, Matilda rushed out the door.

"Where's my wedding planner?!"

As Matilda rushed off, Cranky looked back to the invitation, seeing the big mistake on the invitation. They were excited for the wedding, same as anypony, but not this way! Cranky got a grumpy look on his face.

...

"You told me you could do it for half of what the others charged, and then, you sent invitations to everypony in town with the wrong date!" Cranky complained, followed by a loud snort. He wasn't taking any slack from his planner, getting right in the office and send his complaints. The particular mare in question, worried over her mistake, pulled out a basket of muffins ...

"Muffin?"


~~~~~~


"Face your doom."

"No, please, not again, don't!"

With a click of the button, Garnet sent Steven's character flying off screen, with an explosion and the word "FINISH" on Steven's TV screen, Garnet won her victory against Steven. With spare time on them, Steven, Peridot, Garnet, and Diopside were playing a fighting game together. Peridot, and Diopside were basically watching them, and Garnet claimed her victory with a grin.

"That's the tenth time you beat us, Garnet. you're very good!" Steven noted.

"I swear your cheating with that future vision of yours," Peridot accused. Garnet just calmly got up, stretching her arms, satisfied with playing with them.

"I assure you, I didn't use future vision," Garnet assured them. But, Peridot didn't believe her on that one; having ten wins in a row and all. Garnet went downstairs, as Diopside and Steven decided to continue with a one V one match. Peridot, grumpy, just watched them instead of joining them. The fusion was ready to go outside for a bit, but just before she could go, the door then opened up. Garnet stepped back, as Jasper came inside, holding somepony in her arm.

"Jasper. Pinkie," Garnet said, as her hello. Pinkie looked extremely happy, and Jasper had to carry her back to the Beach House before she could just go all nuts with her excitement and energy. Jasper held Pinkie with one hand, keeping a firm grip on Pinkie's body.

"Can you guys take care of her? She kept running around me all morning," Jasper asked, as she dropped Pinkie Pie to the floor. Still, Pinkie Pie was very excited, hopping in place. In her mouth, she had a piece of paper in her mouth, which she then gave to Steven.

"What's that?" Diopside asked.

"It's a super duper fun invitation to Matilda and Cranky's wedding! Everypony in Ponyville got these, and you got a special invite too!" Pinkie beamed. Steven looked moved, and smiled on hearing this news, but none of the other Gems really knew what was going on that was such a surprise.

"Wedding?" Peridot questioned. Suddenly, Pinkie was right in Peridot's face.

"You never heard of a wedding?!" Pinkie yelled, shocked.

"... No? Care to elaborate?" Peridot asked, needing a moment before Pinkie gave her some space, her eyes starry and hopeful, and front hooves together.

"It's a beautiful moment in everypony's life, when they meet that special somepony, and they become married, and be together forever! There's balloons, streamers, a HUGE wedding cake, all for the lovely bride and groom," Pinkie explained, in her own way.

"Is that a form of fusion?" Jasper questioned. It was Garnet who was first of the Gems to figure it out, bringing her hand up to her chest, a warm smile appearing on her face.

"That's very lovely," Garnet said in a sigh. Being pretty much made of love herself, hearing this marriage being worked on, and hearing what it was about left her with a warm feeling inside. Jasper still didn't seem to really get it, though, along with Peridot and Diopside. Pinkie was super psyched for the wedding to begin, and Steven was excited for it too.

"Here I thought the Wedding was going to be tomorrow. Even Matilda was shocked that the wedding's today," Pinkie blurted out, giggling at the end of it. Suddenly, Garnet seemed unsure.

"Wait, Matilda was shocked too? Isn't Matilda the one getting married?"

"That's an even bigger surprise than I thought it would," Pinkie replied, not seeing the issue. Garnet though quickly caught it, and suddenly looked determined.

"The wedding was mislabeled; everything was supposed to be tomorrow," Garnet concluded, as everyone else turned to her.

"Gems, we must help this wedding come to life before its too late!" Garnet announced, determination filling her voice. Jasper crossed her arms though, not too convinced on it. From what she heard, this challenge didn't seem to action-packed, or too over-the-top.

"Why? We got enough to do as it is here, and this is an Equestrian custom," Jasper said. Suddenly, Garnet got both of her hands on her shoulder, a bit tightly to get her attention.

"Two ponies are in love, Jasper. Saving that love is the best reason there is!" Garnet firmly answered. Jasper was a little surprised on hearing and seeing this reaction from Garnet, but Garnet was fully determined.

"To Equestria!" Garnet announced, her key in her hand, and pointing it off to the door.

"To Equestria!" Pinkie and Steven replied, with equal enthusiasm. Jasper, Diopside, and Peridot were involved, no matter how little they know about this wedding business, and by the sound of it, perhaps the rest of the Gems would be involved in this as well.


~~~~~~


Back in Equestria, Ponyville was waiting for the wedding to begin. With everypony thinking the wedding was today, Matilda and Cranky were both pretty much on borrowed time. They planned everything for tomorrow, but thanks to the misprint, they needed everypony on their hooves with the preparations. As for the one responsible for the problem, she still needed to get her act together as well, and as she was sitting at a outside dining table, she was still trying her best to work it out in her head.

"I really messed up on those invitations. I feel just awful, Doc," Derpy said, her hooves over her face in shame. Her friend sitting across from her, listened to her while sipping his drink. He was a basic looking pony, with brown fur and darker brown mane and tail, both of which were slightly scruffy but average compared to the other ponies in Ponyville. His flank had a special hourglass cutie mark on it, the one thing making him stand out from everypony else. not that it bothered him though.

"I promised Cranky I could do it for cheap, but that meant hiring a pony with no experience with a printing press," Derpy continued.

"Well, it wasn't entirely your fault then, is it?" He said.

"But, what am I gonna do? I can't change them now, especially after everypony in Ponyville had gotten their invitation." Derpy tried to think some more, but the more she tried, the less that comes around. She rested her chin on the table, as Doc patted her head.

"Hey, hey, chin up, Ms. Hooves. The day's still young, I'm sure everything will be ready by sunset," Doc assured her. Derpy looked to him with her usual wall-eyed stare.

"You think so?"

"Sure as I'm the Doctor." Derpy felt better, but then that raised the question; what to do for the Wedding. What can she do that won't end up simply messing everything up again? she already messed up a big step in this Wedding, and she didn't want to make it any worse. Doctor Hooves then got a suggestion ready in his head for her.

"Great whickering stallions, I got it! How about a Good Luck Package?" Doctor Hooves suggested. Derpy perked up upon hearing that.

"Good Luck Package?"

"Of course! Every Wedding has one for the bride, what better way to help than give them that little extra luck, eh?" Derpy thought for a moment on that. she knew what a Good Luck Package was at the end of it all, and Doctor Hooves was correct on that part. Weddings usually have a Good Luck Package for good luck, and if this Wedding was to happen, Matilda and Cranky need luck to get everything settled. She then got very excited, hopping up in the air, wings beating.

"That's perfect!" Derpy exclaimed. However, her excitement was short lived though, and she landed back on her seat. "Wait, but I can't get it all myself before the Wedding starts; I need somepony's help," Derpy concluded. Before either pony could think of what, the magic door from Beach city began to appear again, and sure enough, the Crystal Gems began to head through, and soon they were at Ponyville. Garnet was through first, and then was Peridot, Pinkie, and Jasper. Diopside and Steven both stayed in Beach city, as they wanted to get some things ready for the Wedding first. Doctor Hooves nudged Derpy.

"Aren't those the Gems you told me about?" Doctor Hooves asked.

"Awesome! Thank you, Doc. I'll see you at the Wedding," Derpy said, as she flew over to them. Doctor Hooves chuckled, and trotted off to get ready himself. It didn't take very long before the Gems noticed Derpy flying over to them.

"Excuse me?" Derpy called, as she landed by them. Peridot slightly recognized her from one of her earlier trips to Equestria, when she still had her enhancers.

"Derpy?" Peridot muttered.

"What is it?" Asked Garnet, though if anypony had a few bits, she probably knew the question already.

"I need some help making a Good Luck Package for the bride. Please, I need some help, can you help me please?" Derpy asked, hoping for a good answer. Peridot scratched her head. She was still puzzled with the wedding, but there was a Good Luck Package too?

"Define this Good Luck Package," Peridot insisted.

"It's a gift for Weddings so the couple can have good luck. Please, we need all the help to get this Wedding to work."

"We're here to make sure this Wedding works. Of course we'll help you," Garnet said, not wanting this wedding to end up wrecked. Derpy beamed, and flew up to Garnet's level to hug her. Jasper rolled her eyes, still not as interested, as Garnet turned to Peridot.

"Peridot? You can help this mare with the Good Luck Package," Garnet instructed. However, while Garnet was confident in things, Peridot still didn't had too much of a clue on this whole thing.

"Why me?" Peridot complained.

"Because Jasper and myself already have an important job for the wedding."

"We do?" questioned Jasper, not hearing a thing about this sort at all. Still, Derpy was happy to have some help with the Good Luck Package.

"Oh, thank you, thank you. come on, Peridot, there's no time to waste!" Derpy said with excitement, taking her arm with her hoof, and going off. It didn't take long before Jasper and Garnet were alone again. Jasper still didn't had a clue exactly what really was going on, and walked over to Garnet's side.

"And what exactly are we doing?" Jasper quizzed, eyebrow raised. Garnet smiled.

"Just follow me, you'll see. I'm sure you'll like this, and it'll help everyone," Garnet assured, walking away. Jasper still wasn't sure, but followed anyway. It was going to be an interesting day.


~~~~~~


Sometime later, things continued on, trying to get the wedding to work out. Matilda and Cranky both were trying to get the wedding to work out, and the Gems were doing the same. When the group split, Pinkie was rushed off to Sugarcube corner to make the wedding cake, with help from the cakes of course. Steven and Diopside had gotten the other Gems involved after some convincing, and they were lending their helping hand out in the situation as well, in their own way. It took a while to figure out what needed what exactly, but in the end, everypony was busily getting ready for the wedding later on. Still, not everypony was happy things headed along. Matilda was still on the edge of things, and still rushing around town to get some help for the wedding preparations. She stopped for a moment, looking around and trying to figure out her wedding planner.

"Oh, why didn't I have this planned yesterday? Come on, Matilda, think, think, think," Matilda told herself, pacing for a bit with a troubled look on her face. There was so much to get ready; flowers, the cake, the wedding decorations, it was all on rush now. The wife-to-be chewed at her hoof in worry, until then she realized something else. Looking further away, the donkey then noticed a flower stand close by. There was many of flowers up for sale, but one in particular caught her eye; a bouquet of lovely roses. Her expression turned to hope, as she raced right over to the shop at race horse speed. Outside, one pony was happily humming, and working on the flowers displayed outside with a nice tune going in her head, when Matilda skidded to a stop in front of her, startling her a little bit.

"You! Please, please tell me my wedding bouquet is ready," Matilda said urgently.

"But, isn't your wedding tomorrow?" the pony questioned. Matilda made the information to the flower ponies in advance, so they had the bouquet ready by tomorrow for pickup.

"I need to get the wedding from tomorrow, to today!"

"Today?! Oh my Celestia, I didn't know. I'll get on it right away!" she promised, rushing inside to get the bouquet ready to go. Matilda went inside, having to wait until that bouquet was ready.

Peridot and Derpy both passed by the flower shop soon after Matilda went in, still trying to find some clue to this Good Luck Package. So far, they didn't seem to have any sort of luck with it overall. Derpy hovered a bit, looking around some more, but Peridot was still becoming more frustrated.

"Alright, this is getting us no results. I mean, what're we supposed to even look for?" Peridot griped, as they continued on a bit. Derpy turned over to her as she flew, flying sideways as she did so.

"We need four things; Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue -" Before Derpy could finish, she flew right into a building sign, knocking her to the ground. She needed to learn how to fly straight, and watch where she was going. Peridot knew the main things, but what exactly in particular still needed sometime to work on. Peridot thought over the little saying Derpy told her on.

"Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue," Peridot repeated, trying to think on what will work. First thing was something old, which shouldn't be too hard. Technically, she herself had been around for a good number of years, so, she could consider that, but she'd rather not give herself to the bride, so she had to think of something else. As they went, Peridot then noticed somepony exiting her library; Twilight Sparkle. If anypony would know what to look for, it would be her. Before Twilight could go, Peridot quickly caught her before she flew away.

"Twilight, wait!" Peridot said.

"Oh, hi Peridot. What's wrong?"

Peridot cleared her throat.

"I've been given a task by Garnet, and I was wondering if you might have some knowledge in this "Good Luck Package"?" Peridot asked.

"Oh, that; Something old, something new -"

"Something borrowed, something blue, I know I know," Peridot cut in, "But, do you happen to know what items should be required?"

Twilight only smiled at her.

"They're probably staring you in the face. Now, I have to get going; the wedding isn't going to be planned itself." With that, Twilight flew away to begin things. Matilda did get Twilight to plan out the wedding, so that was one thing down, though her words left Peridot some food for thought. Basically then, it could be anything. Peridot still followed her idea with the 'something old' part of the Good Luck Package, and tried to think on what to do. However, as she thought over the exact details, she and Derpy both then noticed another pony go by. This time it was Mr. Greenhooves, pulled a wagon full of decorative flowers he got from the flower sisters for the wedding. Suddenly it struck her; something old.

"You there, wait a minute!" Peridot yelled, running after him. Derpy flew over with her, as Mr. Greenhooves halted for a moment on hearing her.

"What be the trouble, youngin? I got some flower to deliver," Mr. Greenhooves asked, not wanting to wait any longer to get these flowers to the right spot.

"We've been tasked to locating items for the Good Luck Package. So, perhaps you can contribute by being our uh "Something Old"," Peridot explained. Mr. Greenhooves knew he couldn't, though found it funny for them to jump to that kind of conclusion.

"Please, Mr. Greenhooves?" Derpy asked.

"Sorry, kiddo, up to my neck in work. But, maybe I got somethin ..." Mr. Greenhooves unhitched himself, and looked through the wagon for a little bit. Peridot waited impatiently, but soon, the gardener pony then found something.

"Aha!" Soon, Mr. Greenhooves pulled out a rusty looking hoe with his teeth, and dropped it in Peridot's open hands. Peridot inspected the odd-looking object, as Mr. Greenhooves spoke again.

"I've been using that hoe since I was just a little colt, so I'm sure that's plenty old by now, heh." Mr. Greenhooves said. Peridot looked it over curiously, as Derpy thanked the pony for the object. It wasn't what Peridot originally had in mind, but still, it was something for the list of stuff they had to get.

Something Old.


~~~~~~


As for the others, Steven had gotten their help over at the location where the wedding was to take place. Twilight had arrived to give some direction. Steven had gotten Pearl, Lapis, Emerald, and even Jade, and Flint, to help with the preparations. Jade and Flint both were rough to convince, but after explaining what a wedding was, and how it worked, the two decided to lend a hand with it anyway. For where they were, the group was inside City Hall, where the wedding was to take place. Pearl and Twilight both helped with some organizing and exact details with the decorations, as Lapis and Emerald helped moved them into place. Flint brought Jade onto his shoulders to help with some of the higher decorations, since neither he nor Jade could fly anyway.

"Okay, Lapis, move it over to the left a little," Pearl instructed. Lapis was dealing with a decorative curtain, and was steadily trying to move it in place. Lapis began moving the curtain part over a little more, until Pearl raised her hand to stop her.

"Stop, stop, right there. Perfect," Pearl said. Lapis smiled, and Lapis managed to keep it in place with some water magic.

"Oh, this is going to be a amazing wedding. thanks again for helping us out," Twilight said.

"Think nothing of it, Twilight. Besides, seeing such a lovely pony custom like this sounds so delightful," Pearl said, hands together, and sighing dreamily. Pearl was one of the Gems that found this concept of weddings rather lovely more than most, but as she was thinking -

"Hey, salty! This lined up?" Emerald suddenly called, catching their attention. Pearl's mood quickly changed, as she turned up to emerald. He was standing on one of his hexagon pieces, using similar telekinesis to move about some large bows in between the meeting points of the curtains. Pearl looked each over carefully, but then one of the bows ended up coming loose, and falling from its spot. The bow landed right on Jade's head, Flint catching it soon afterward. Flint was about to say something rough to Emerald, but Jade's giggle and smile changed his mind.

"Can I see that, Flint?" Jade asked.

"Well, okay, here," Flint said, giving Jade the bow. Emerald looked down, and saw Jade waving the bow so he could see. Emerald got his telekinesis to work just enough to get the bow up from her hands, and back up to his level. After that, the front doors to the City Hall opened up, with Peridot and Derpy standing there. Peridot just stepped inside, thinking on the next part of the Good Luck Package, as Derpy flew right on inside.

"Oh, Peridot, there you are. Good thing you showed up, listen, we can use some -"

"I'm already busy with a task, Pearl," Peridot said, looking through some decorations to find the next part of the package; Something new. Derpy still has the old hoe, as Peridot tried to figure it out. Without consulting anypony, she found a box of bows, streamers, and other decorations, and began looking through it. She kept tossing stuff out (some of which kept hitting Twilight and Pearl), trying to find something else to include.

"Find anything?" Derpy asked, as Peridot popped her head out, a bow stuck in her hair, right above her gemstone. Cute, but, not what she was looking for. Emerald suddenly came down, upside down with his feet hanging onto the hexagon platform.

"Hey, Bow, What're you doing?" Emerald asked. Peridot got the bow off her head, and tossed it back, which Pearl caught in her hand.

"Trying to find the something new," Peridot groaned.

"The something new? Check that grammar," Emerald commented. Peridot just ignored him, but when Flint grabbed her, she couldn't ignore it. He held her up by the collar, so Peridot couldn't hit him.

"What're you talking about, Peridot?" Flint questioned. Peridot stopped struggling after a bit.

"Well, apparently this wedding is required to have this "Good Luck Package" and I've been tasked to assist Derpy here to gather the items together," Peridot explained, before Flint placed her back onto the ground.

"Well, can you look somewhere else before you tear apart these decorations?" Flint insisted. Peridot got to her feet, and wanted to keep looking, but Flint didn't want the stuff torn up. Then, something just struck her.

"Wait a minute ... are these considered, new?" Peridot asked.

"Uh ... I suppose?" flint asked. Suddenly, Peridot yanked another bow out, triumphant in her approach. Derpy could see what she was getting at.

"Alright, the Something New! Let's continue searching, Derpy," Peridot instructed, going right out with the bow. Derpy waved goodbye, and thanked them before following Peridot out. The others were left confused, aside from Twilight.

"Good Luck Package?" Pearl repeated.

"It's like it sounds. It needs to have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue," Twilight explained. Pearl began to think a little bit on what that meant. Derpy had something old, something new and borrowed weren't anywhere for them, but as for something blue ...

Pearl glanced to one particular someone blue with a smirk, and an idea.


~~~~~~


Farther away, Jasper and Garnet were heading off to the edge of Ponyville, Garnet leading the way. Jasper still didn't had much clue on what they were going to do, or why they were going out of Ponyville to do it. Garnet knew where they were going to do, and didn't stop until they both were nearing the Everfree Forest. Both Gems hadn't seen the Everfree Forest yet, so they didn't entirely know what was in there. Still, Jasper was quickly loosing her patience with Garnet (as usual). She didn't feel like getting involved with the wedding in the first place, and now she was on some little travel with a fusion who refuses to talk.

"Listen you, if you don't start telling me right now -"

Garnet raised her hand to quiet her, standing in a particular spot in the path. Soon though, she brought out her glove gem weapons.

"Get ready," Garnet said, calmly and with a smile. Before Jasper could say anything else, a growl suddenly began to be heard from the Everfree. After a little bit, their answer came out.

Hovering in the air, a deadly creature started to come out from the Everfree Forest. It was rather big, bigger than Jasper, hovering off the ground with transparent, bug-like wings. It had six strong limb, each ending in large paws, and claws like daggers. It's whole body was striped in white and black like a hornet, and the end of it had a large stinger at the end of it. It had the head of a polar bear, red eyes glaring and teeth bared in a snarl. Two small antennae jutted out from its forehead as well. Obviously, this beast was not here for any friendly greeting. Jasper didn't expect this thing to just show up, but by the look on Garnet's face, seemed she knew.

"Let me guess. Future vision?"

"Saw the Bugbear ready to tear apart Ponyville. Thought it'll help if you and I handle it first."

Jasper then gave a smirk to Garnet.

"You never stop."

"You just have to keep up," Garnet commented, smirking. Still, Jasper preferred this over what they originally came for, and cracked her knuckles, ready to rumble.

The Bugbear gave a loud roar, before it dove at them with stinger in direct aim. Garnet and Jasper quickly jumped right aside, the Bugbear's stinger digging through the ground, leaving a cut in the dirt. As for targets, the Bugbear targeted Garnet first, seeing her as a thinner and weaker target (though only one fact was right). Garnet and the Bugbear fought it out for a good while, with Garnet easily dodging many of the Bugbear's swipes and swings from its six clawed paws. Jasper saw her opportunity for a easy hot, and charged headfirst, head-butting the Bugbear in the back. Garnet rushed forward, and slid under the Bugbear on her back, giving the Bugbear a upward kick to the stomach to send it hurling through the air. The Bugbear managed to shake it off, just managing to fly straight before it could slam in the ground. It was shaken up, not expecting the strength, and gave another roar at them, before Jasper and Garnet rushed at it again. They wanted the Bugbear away from here, and they need to get that message to the Bugbear loud and clear. With a swift run around, Garnet got behind the Bugbear, the snarling animal ready to attack again. Jasper got her own fists ready for what Garnet was going to do next; the fusion dodged a swing of the Bugbear's paws, grabbed it by the shoulders, and swung it over her head right towards Jasper. The orange Quartz got her own gem weapon out at the ready, and slammed it directly on the Bugbear's head, slamming it in the dirt!

The Bugbear laid dazed, bruised and bemused, with a large bump where Jasper struck it. When it came back to its senses, it looked up to Jasper one more time, before quickly rushing away, yelping. Jasper felt good to have some action since arriving back from Homeworld, and beating down the Bugbear was just the ticket she needed. Garnet walked over to her side, and the two shared a high five to a job well done.


~~~~~~


Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Cranky Doodle Donkey was still grumbling, and still trying to get things going fairly well for the wedding. Like Matilda, Cranky didn't plan anything today, but with this mess up, things really began to go down hill, and on borrowed time. While Matilda was working on the flowers, Cranky had another idea in mind; the wedding cake. What's a wedding without a wedding cake? Cranky went straight to the best spot in town to get a cake; Sugarcube Corner (obviously). As he approached the bakery, he began to notice someone just coming out. She wasn't a pony, but instead one of the Gems helping out; Star Quartz to be exact. Cranky wasn't really that fazed by seeing such a odd creature (being old means he seen plenty of odd stuff already). Nearby, Mr. Greenhooves was also there, with his wagon empty of the flowers and plants.

"Must be one of those Gem people things," Cranky thought, as he began to head over. Star's eyes soon met with the donkey.

"... Hello ..."

"Hey. Say, is Pinkie working in there, or what? I need a wedding cake, and I need it now," Cranky firmly demanded. Star Quartz tilted her head, Cranky a little annoyed for having to wait to talk to her.

"... She is inside ... She wanted my friends to help her make a surprise ..."

"Well, whatever it is, can't it wait?" Cranky asked, stomping his hoof down. He didn't had time to wait around for anypony, he needed everything ready for the wedding! Star Quartz needed a bit to answer him, but before she could, their answer came out from the front doors. Star and Cranky both moved aside, as something huge was being pulled out. Steven came out first, walking backwards like trying to signal a truck in reverse. What came on out was the very thing that Cranky was looking for, and hoping to get; a HUGE wedding cake! It was just short enough to fit through the door. The entire cake was made of white frosting, with some fancy decoration along the rims of the three four layered cake, small figured of Matilda and Cranky at the very top under a frosting-made arch of flowers. Diopside and Amethyst both helped carry the cake back outside, with Pinkie and Fulgurite balancing it out so it won't fall over. Fulgurite had her hair in some stretchable cloth so her hair won't get in the cake. Cranky found this as the biggest struck of luck ever, as Pinkie happily bounded over to him.

"Hi, Cranky! Here's your super duper, giganto-epic, vanilla wedding cake!" Pinkie announced, both Pinkie and Steven presenting Cranky with the cake itself. Cranky looked impressed, and playfully fluffed Pinkie's mane.

"This'll be perfect for the wedding! Just need it down to City Hall now."

"Way ahead of ya, Cranky. Load her up, and we'll be off, eh?" Mr. Greenhooves said. Diopside and Amethyst steadily got the cake into the wagon. Amethyst licked her tongue, and she really wanted to have a taste of it, but Pinkie whacked Amethyst's greedy hand away, glaring at her. She didn't want Amethyst to gobble up the cake before the wedding was done. Mr. Greenhooves felt the weight of the cake on the wagon, but it didn't bother him too much. Greenhooves began to pull the wagon along, turning it around as the others tried to keep it balanced out.

"See you at the wedding, Mr. Doodle," Mr. Greenhooves said, before trotting away. Cranky didn't had to worry about that part. They had the planner, the decorations setting up, the wedding cake. Cranky felt better about things by this point, and at this point, all that was left for Cranky was to get himself freshened up for the big moment.


~~~~~~


While Cranky was starting to get freshened up, Matilda was already at the hair saloon and spa freshening herself up for the big moment. Still, even if she got the flowers figured out, and fixed up, she still didn't know how much else was actually prepared and all set. Even with the other workers calmly working on her mane to get her ready, Matilda was still a bit on the edge of things, really.

"Oh, there's so many things I'm forgetting. I hope Cranky remembers to tell the musicians! Oh, oh, I'll NEVER get my mane done in time!" Matilda said, going close to a panic. However, one of the workers, working on her mane, didn't want to see her in a panic before the ceremony.

"Calm down, dear, we can handle anything. We even got a pony's hair done during the ceremony," she assured her. Matilda still wasn't too sure, but luckily for the pony working, she had somepony else to back her up, who was right next to her in a tub of water ...

And not a pony ...

"Oh, it's true, it's true! They really are the best! Matilda, I've just got to say, I already feel like we're family."

Matilda saw, to her surprise, a huge sea serpent chilling out in the hot tub talking to her. He had purple scales, with a impressive mustache, and hairstyle, which both were orange, and a set of human-like arms. Honestly, Matilda didn't expect this kind of visitor to suddenly appear.

"You do?" Matilda asked, completely clueless.

"Of course! I'm Steven Magnet; Cranky's best beast!"

"You're Steven Magnet?" Matilda asked. Matilda did hear of Cranky saving somepony before with the same name. In fact, Cranky actually saved Steven Magnet from a place called Flash Freeze Lake by what she knew. She wouldn't of guessed that it would be a sea serpent though.

"Oh, I know, I know. Typical Cranky; to leave out such minor detail like, y'know, I'm a sea monster right?" Steven took a moment to chuckle "I just love that old burro!"

At least the sea monster wasn't dangerous, as she calmed down a little bit.

"I didn't realize you and Cranky went on so adventures."

"Oh, honey, you don't know the half of it! But let me tell you something. In all that we've been through together, the only thing he ever cared about was finding you," Steven said, gently touching her nose with his finger to prove his point. Matilda calmed down fully at this point.

"Really?"

"Well, that and a baldness cure," Steven said, a few bit of laughing escaping his serpentine lips.

"He is the sweetest thing, isn't he? All the stress I've put myself through. All the stress I've put him through. The only thing that matters is that we're together. Oh, but there's so much left to do; decorations, the cake, the musicians!" Matilda began to worry a little again, but Steven chuckled again.

"Don't get your mane in a knot, dear, you'll be just fine," Steven Magnet assured her.

"You think so?"

"Sure! Haven't you noticed? Those Gems from Beach City are helping prepare the ceremony for you two lovebirds. They've been all over the place today; getting your cake ready, freshening up the City Hall. By the rate they're going, the wedding we'll be an hour early! you have nothing to worry about, or my name isn't Steven Magnet," Steven explained, a few laughs afterwards. Matilda felt much better after hearing that. She hadn't heard too much about the Gems really, but if even half of what they said were true, then she had nothing to worry about.


~~~~~~


"Okay, we got this old tool hoe, the new bow, and the borrowed head rest from that odd sleeping furniture shop. Anything else left?"

Peridot and Derpy both were down to just one thing left by this point. During their look about, the bed shop owner agreed to let them borrow one of his presenter pillows, so that part was done. Something Old, something New, Something Borrowed ...

They had one thing left, but couldn't come up with anything.

"All we're missing is something Blue," Derpy said, who was holding the pillow, as Peridot held the bow and hoe. The two still tried to think on something, but as they continued on, suddenly Peridot had her mind in the clouds so much, that she didn't pay attention to where she was going exactly. Soon, the green Gem and grey Pegasus both went right into someone, making them both stop. Turned out, the person they walked/flew into was Jasper, just coming back with Garnet from their tussle with the Bugbear. The two looked fairly well considering that.

"Having good luck?" Garnet asked.

"All but one. Something old, something new, blah blah blah," Peridot summed up, showing the items. Garnet looked each over, and then basically smiled.

"Then I suppose we should start heading to the wedding then," Garnet decided.

"But, we didn't find all the things," Derpy reminded. Garnet smiled though.

"I think you'll be alright. You'd be surprised," Garnet assured them, starting off to the wedding. Derpy shrugged, and then followed Garnet. This left Jasper and Peridot both walking together, heading to the same location.

"So ... How's it been with you?" Peridot asked.

"Eh, beat down a bugbear with Garnet earlier, so that was interesting. And you?"

"Been running everywhere finding these stuff. I only need one thing left by what was instructed."

Yeah, not much talk ...

It did take a while, but they did end up at the City Hall. By this point, the place looked ready to go. The Gem's help really made the City Hall shine up with the decorations, as they were hoping for. Many of the guests for the wedding were showing up from all over Ponyville, brought to the spot by Mr. Greenhooves trusty wagon. The plants he dropped off added some extra scenery to the entrance. All sorts of ponies were arriving at this point, many colors, many shapes, all eager to get in and see the event. However, as they were going through, Peridot and Derpy both then saw someone coming over to them; Lapis Lazuli. She was freshened up for the wedding as well, hair fresh, and clothes glistening in the late afternoon sun.

"OOOOO, you look pretty," Derpy commented.

"Thanks. So, is this the rest of the stuff for the Good Luck Package?" Lapis asked kindly, referring to the stuff Peridot and Derpy were carrying.

"Yeah, but, we're missing one part of it."

"Not anymore."

"Huh?" Derpy questioned. Lapis laughed.

"Remember how it went, you two? Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and ..."

"Something Blue!" The answer, as Twilight had said earlier, was staring them in the face; Lapis was the Something Blue for the Good Luck Package! Peridot slightly felt stupid for not realizing it earlier, but considering the time, it was sure enough. Lapis brought her arms out to hold the other items, and just like that, the Good Luck Package was done. Derpy and Peridot high fived eachother. They couldn't have gotten the package ready at a better time either; Matilda was just showing up! Not a moment too soon.

"Hello, everypony," Matilda said, who looked primped and freshened up, and much happier now everything was in order in spite of everything. Derpy immediately remembered the reason for all the trouble though.

"Oh, Matilda, I'm so sorry for messing up on the invitations, I didn't mean to make things so hectic," Derpy said. However, Matilda didn't feel angry with her, since everything was in order anyway.

"It's alright, Ms. Hooves, we all can make mistakes sometimes. After all, everything worked out," Matilda said. It was then that Peridot and Derpy brought her attention to Lapis. However, it was Garnet who announced it.

"Matilda Donkey, may I present to you; the Good Luck Package. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue. All found and gathered by these two," Garnet announced, referring to Peridot and Derpy. Matilda looked to Lapis, and gave a big smile. This was the one thing she didn't plan for, and it was a great surprise! Lapis felt happy to be apart of it too.

"Oh, thank you all, this is a wonderful Good Luck Package!" Matilda exclaimed. Even after the scavenger hunt, Peridot and Derpy felt happy to get it all together. Matilda went over to the three, and gave each of them a sweet kiss as her way of thanks. With everything that happened, Matilda felt so much happier at this point. Lapis and Derpy were happy, feeling warma nd fuzzy inside, though Peridot needed a moment, a hand feeling where she'd been kissed. Derpy giggled a little, as Peridot blushed up.

A nice surprise for both sides.

After a few more minutes, everything was all set up. The interior of City Hall was not only beautiful, but packed with many ponies of all shapes and sizes. It wasn't often that the City Hall was this full of ponies, and the Gems (although as colorful) admittedly stuck out as being the only two-legged guests there (not to mention most of them were taller than the average pony). Everypony from Ponyville was there, from the Princesses themselves, to some of the younger fillies and colts. Matilda and Cranky both were at front, facing eachother, as Mayor Mare addressed everypony. Some of the ponies looked down from the upper boxes, and Steven Magnet even watched from outside through an open window. Mayor Mare cleared her throat before beginning.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two in mare-trimony. As I look around this room, I can only imagine how uncomfortable Cranky must be."

Some of the ponies chuckled,with Cranky grumbling a little before Mayor Mare continued.

"But I also see so many ponies from all trots of life, brought together by love. Cranky searched all across this great land of ours to find Matilda, and no matter what obstacles kept them apart, love would finally bring them together, just as it has brought all of us together now. It's remarkable to me how a story like Cranky's search for Matilda could fill this room with such a unique collection of ponies! It makes you realize that everypony is the star of their own story. And it's not just the main characters in our stories that make life so rich! It's everypony – those who play big parts and those who play small. If it weren't for everypony in this room and many more who couldn't be here today, Cranky and Matilda's lives wouldn't be as full and vibrant as they are."

Some of the ponies were touched with this speech, and even a few of the Gems too, Steven Magnet tearing up even. Mayor Mare then continued on, with Matilda and Cranky smiling to eachother.

"And so, in front of all these loved ones... Cranky, do you take this donkey to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"You bet I do!" Cranky replied, proudly. 

"And do you, Matilda, take this donkey to be your lawfully wedded husband?" 

"I do!" Matilda answered, some slight tears of joy going down her face.

"Then I'm proud to say, I now pronounce you jack and jenny!"

Upon that announcement, Matilda and Cranky both shared a kiss, the crowd applauding the newly wedded couple. To think, the start of today was more than hectic for the two donkeys, but everything all worked out in the end of it.

It was a splendid day, indeed.


~~~~~~


At the end of the day, with the celebration over, the Gems all returned back to their world. They all had a pretty good time, opinions varying amongst each Gem, but overall they had a good time. Among them, Peridot began to feel the best about it. With the celebration, the accomplishments, and the beauty of it all, Peridot simply felt good with it.

"I love weddings," Peridot sighed, though she thought of this aloud.

"Did you enjoy your kiss?" Emerald asked cheekily, giggling. Peridot just ignored him though, not wanting her night messed with by his teasing. Besides, she did feel loved when she was kissed - something she hadn't gotten before. Lapis too felt nice with the kiss from Matilda, and can relate to Peridot's feelings towards it. Lapis and Peridot, along with the others, headed off back to the Beach House.

Again, it was a great day.
> Sweet Tooth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happily going through Beach City, with some special supplies in hoof, Pinkie Pie was happily hopping along through the Beach city amusement park, known as Beach City Funland. Behind her, Pinkie Pie had a number of delicious baked goods she'd been making for a good while, being pulled along in a wagon. Being spring and all, and the weather warming up, Pinkie Pie decided to go with a spring theme for her yummy baked goods. Ponyville had gotten plenty of them already, so, giving some of this to Beach City residents would be a nice change not just to herself, but for the residents and customers she can ring on in. If she knew one thing; anybody would love some delicious sweets! At the moment, Funland was pretty busy with many people going about their time at the park, so getting some customers should be easy. Steven was happily following her, agreeing to help her out. Both of them got a stand set up already, so the two simply got right to the stand, getting Pinkie's treats set up for sale. Soon the stand was lined with cupcakes, muffins, and even some mini cakes.

"Come one, come all! Anybody hungry for some yummy equestrian treats?!" Steven called, advertising the delicacies to those who'd listen.

"Freshly baked, straight from Sugarcube Corner!" added Pinkie Pie. For the first few minutes, nothing really came about, but the two remained hopeful. The first customer to come about that day was actually Sadie, who was visiting Funland for some time off from work. For Sadie, she hadn't spoke with Steven in far too long, not seeing him all winter much like everyone else. When she saw the two, she went right on over to the stand, catching their eyes.

"Hey, Steven, Pinkie! What's going on?" Sadie asked.

"Steven and I are selling some equestrian goodies! Freshly baked and ready to serve, straight from Sugarcube Corner! Free sample?" Pinkie offered, holding a cupcake with green frosting and an apple slice on it. It didn't look too bad really, and getting a free treat wasn't bad either.

"Oh. Well, thanks, but, I already ate," Sadie insisted. Pinkie looked bummed out, but waited a bit before she decided that it was going to be her final answer.

"Suit yourself," Pinkie said, tossing the cupcake up in the air, and landing it on her tongue for a quick gobble, chew, and swallow. Still, Sadie was more interested in talking to them, and catching up rather than have a cupcake from Sugarcube Corner. Sadie rested her arms on the stand, looking to Steven.

"So, how was the big trip, Steven? Haven't got a chance to talk to you all winter," Sadie said.

"It was awesome! Homeworld has so much cool future stuff all over the place, and the Gems saved Homeworld!" Steven said, arms out as if presenting the news to Sadie. Sadie was happy that Steven had a good time, but was more surprised that all of Homeworld was saved by the Crystal Gems, giving him her applause.

"Congratulations, Steven! I'm glad you had a good time," Sadie replied. Soon, Pinkie slid up in between them.

"You sure you don't want a sample?" Pinkie asked, with an exact copy of the cupcake in her hoof. Sadie began to notice that Pinkie didn't want to have any cupcakes go to waste. 

"You know what, I'll have it for later," Sadie decided, taking the cupcake in her hands. Pinkie smiled sweetly as Sadie moved off from the stand. However, with both human and pony eyes, the stand and its treats were being eyed by one particular customer from high up in the air. Soon after Sadie had walked off, the next customer soon came around, landing nearby the stand. This customer?

A crafty Seagull.

"Oh, hey there, birdie," Pinkie said, as the Seagull walked right on over, hopping up onto the stand. Obviously this bird wasn't worried about this multi-colored pony and human right there. The white bird looked over the treats, and began to eye a small batch of Oatmeal Hayseed cookies.

"Shoo, shoo, that's not for you," Steven said, trying to shoo the bird away. The bird gave a quick squawk at Steven, before suddenly grabbing the cookie in its beak, and flying off.

"HEY, you didn't pay for that!" Pinkie snapped, bolting after the flying bird. However, since their stand was over on a dock (the Funland park was all out to sea on a thick sturdy dock), that meant that the Seagull flew right out to sea with the cookie. Pinkie rushed right off the dock, comically stood there for a few seconds ... and fell into the water. The Seagull landed at the edge of the dock, eating the cookie while watching Pinkie down below. The pony popped her head out of the water, her mane soaked and over her face. The Seagull squawked up a bit, as if laughing, as Pinkie looked up to the bird, and getting herself out of the water, ala a ladder on one of the dock beams. By the time the wet pony got to the dock, the bird was gone already. Pinkie's mane and tail were soaking wet, stretching out like Fluttershy's would. Pinkie did  quick shake, getting her poofy cotton candy mane and tail back to normal. After that malarkey though, something else fell from the sky.

a dollar.

Looking up, Pinkie saw that same Seagull, as it flew away ...

"Have a good day!"

For the rest of the day, stuff went fairly well for Steven and Pinkie when it came to the stand. By around five, they've got a good amount of money from their little trip in Funland, using this to have some fun on the rides and some arcade games (you didn't think they'll pass that up, did you?). They did a pretty good job, and Applejack would be happy with this result if it was her who did it. With what they got left, Steven and Pinkie first arrived back to the Beach House to see if anyone else wanted to have some. Their wagon for when they first showed up was a lot smaller than earlier, leaving two small cakes and a batch of cupcakes to boot. By the door, Lion and Blue were chilling out until Steven and Pinkie showed up, with Blue happily getting up onto his paws, wagging his tail, and barking once he saw Steven.

"Hey, boy," Steven said, happily fluffing the dog's head, as they went inside. Inside, some of the Ponies were there as well, along with the Gems. Rarity was calmly braiding Star Quartz's hair, the gem wondering how it worked, and found it relaxing really. Lion waited outside, as Blue went right on in. One Gem who was more than eager to see them was Amethyst, seeing their tasty treats.

"Hey, Pinkie, Steven! You got those scraps?" Amethyst asked. Steven promised Amethyst to give her any sort of scraps they had left. Pinkie Pie moved the wagon over to her, the eager hungry Gem licking her lips. She grabbed the wagon, lifted it up, and quickly gobbled down every last crumb in under ten seconds. Rarity didn't want to watch, though Pinkie was ecstatic for seeing somepony enjoy her treats so much. After gobbling them all up, she gave Pinkie two thumbs up.

"Goodie, goodie, goodie!" Pinkie beamed, hopping in place.

"... Is it normal to consume like that?" Star Quartz asked. she'd been seeing Amethyst eating like that for a while, and it was bugging her a little bit.

"Not entirely. It's her own way of helping herself," Rarity explained, though personally, she wished Amethyst didn't.  Still, Pinkie didn't seem to be bothered by Amethyst's beastly eating, as she got her key out of her mane, and the door opened up where the screen door would be.

"See you all tomorrow everypony!" Pinkie said, happily hugging Steven and Amethyst, before heading through.


~~~~~~


The next morning came around fairly quickly for the bright-eyed, pink mare. She had really been antsy about selling her goods again, and that morning Pinkie Pie was already busy baking up a storm of goodies in the kitchen. She wanted to get everything made, and everything to give out to the residents of both Beach City, and Ponyville. At the moment, Pinkie Pie was happily humming a tune to herself to go with her cupcake making, stirring up a bowl of dough for her next batch to be baked up. Pinkie had on a chef's hat as well, better looking the part of a baker pony. Nearby was a cookbook, a bit dirty from stray flour landing on it, which was opened to the recipe she was working on. She glanced back and forth a few times, going along the recipe as she went with fast speed from her hooves, busily at work. As she was getting the recipe working together, the front doors opened right up, the pink pony hearing it loud and clear.

Standing at the front, by the counter, was actually Applejack. She was waiting at the front, hooves on the counter.

"Pinkie Pie?! Where is that mare?" Applejack wondered. Seconds after that, Pinkie popped up behind the counter, a plate of freshly baked cupcakes sitting proudly on her head.

"Morning, AJ! Wanna cupcake before I start my sale to Beach City?" Pinkie Pie offered. Applejack though wasn't there for a morning cupcake, as Pinkie Pie had hoped for.

"Actually, Pinkie, that's what I wanna tell you about. See -"

"They don't like my cupcakes?!"

"Eh, no -"

"I can't sell at Funland?!"

"No, Pinkie -"

"The local shops are mad at me, and want to drive me out with pitchforks and torches in an angry mob?!"

"What the hay - No!"

Applejack calmly sighed before she got to the point with the over energetic mare. Pinkie was full of nutty ideas, and Applejack just had to calm down and get on with it.

"Look, let me just show you. C'mon, follow me."


~~~~~~


Pretty soon, with what she had gotten, Pinkie and Applejack went from Ponyville, back to Beach City. The door had got them straight from the Sugarcube corner, and straight over to the Beach City Funland. As it turned out, some of the Mane Six were there too soon after they got the news. Applejack didn't put too much of a rush into it, but Pinkie Pie hopped right off in a humming tune, plate bouncing up and down from her head. Pinkie was stuck wondering what was up, when -

"OOF!"

Wouldn't you know it? She hopped right into a wall. She didn't loose any treats from her plate, but she didn't remember such an object in this particular spot. It took Pinkie a moment before she got her mind straight, and see what was there.

As for what she hit, the object looked like some new building, red exterior, and about as big as a side road diner, or something similar. It wasn't like Pinkie's stand, although it seemed to operate in a similar way (as in no indoor seating). In the front, above the front counter, a neon display of some sort of velvet frosting pastry shined up for all to see. The thing was though that it hadn't been very long, and yet it was basically packed, many people in line and waiting to get their share. Pinkie and Steven didn't get this much hubbub this fast yesterday. But then came the big surprise.

A pony working the counter!

It may not be the first time a different pony had came to Beach City, but not only did they not know this pony, but she wouldn't have had any method to get herself to Beach City from Equestria. This pony had red orange fur, with a mane and tail that were pink with white highlights, like flowing ice cream as it were. She didn't appear any taller than Alicorn Twilight either, and her head was covered with a white chef's hat. On her flank, her cutie mark didn't seem to involve baking in anyway, as it just showed a few shooting stars, similar colors to her mane. Both her mane and tail flowed down, like Fluttershy but shorter. As for what the pony was selling, she was bringing out a number of different pastries or doughnuts, though many of them had the velvet red frosting on it, or had velvet filled jelly in them. Regardless of each one, everybody there was pretty hyped for it.

"Wow, who's the new pony?" Pinkie wondered. Oddly, as she was watching the treats being sold, she was getting suspicious of the seller in charge. Even her baked goods didn't sell immediately on the first day.

"I more wonder how she even got here. Did anypony bring her over here?" Twilight asked. However, none of the Mane Six recalled even knowing her, nevermind bringing her over. For Pinkie though, she wondered more on what could be in those sweets that would make everyone this psyched over it. the pink mare soon spotted one of the customers go off, chewing away at the jelly filled doughnut she had gotten with a big smile on her face. That was when Pinkie went right over to the crowd, as the others tried to figure it out about the new pony showing up. As the crowds began to move aside, the pony getting quite a bit of cash for the sale, Pinkie looked up to the counter with a rather serious look on her face. When the crowd left, Pinkie saw the pony putting her money away.

"Ahem," Pinkie said. However, the pony didn't seem to hear her at first, trying to count how much she made.

"A-AHEM!" The more prominent *ahem* got the pony's attention. She looked over to the counter after putting the money away, seeing Pinkie.

"Oh, hello. Can I help you?" She asked. Pinkie Pie hopped up onto the counter, startling the other pony a bit.

"Yeah; what're you doing here?" Pinkie demanded. A bit overboard, and rather jumping the gun, but seeing this happen after the first day of her own selling did get to her quickly. The other pony, though a bit spooked, got her nerves together.

"Uh ... selling treats?"

"OH, are you?" Pinkie questioned, uncomfortably close to her (right in her face with hers to the point of pushing snouts).

"... Uh, yeah."

"Oh." Pinkie said, suddenly much calmer than before, backing off, and sitting on the counter. The other baker pony straightened herself up.

"What're you selling?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head. Her mind was more focused on the treat selling rather than the obvious fact that another pony was in Beach City aside from the Mane Six. The other pony brought out a pastry with the same velvet frosting on it as she had been selling.

"Oh, just pastries, doughnuts, the usual stuff. Do you like to try one?" She offered, getting out a velvet jelly-filled doughnut for the pink mare. Pinkie gave a sniff or two at the treat, and gave her a suspicious glare again.

"... free sample?" Pinkie asked, not changing her expression. The baker pony nodded yes to the pink mare. So, not changing her expression, or stare even once, Pinkie slowly took the velvet treat from the baker pony. Pinkie did a "I-got-my-eye-on-you" gesture with her free hoof, before going away. The other pony was just left completely awkward, but eventually she relaxed herself, as Pinkie walked back to the others with the velvet treat, sitting down right next to Twilight Sparkle.

"She's a tricky one," Pinkie whispered to Twilight, who was flat out confused with this reaction. The pink mare though was for sure in her assumption. Instead of jumping to it right away, Twilight decided to check it out herself. Since the crowds weren't around for the moment, Twilight went over to the stand, and went over to the pony with a much friendlier demeanor.

"Hey there, can I help you?" she asked. Twilight brought her front hooves up onto the counter to have a better view to the pony she was talking to.

"Hello there. I guess you already met my friend?"

"You mean the pink mare?"

Before their conversation could continue, Pinkie suddenly popped into frame, a serious look on her face. She gave the "I'm keeping my eye on you" thing again, as she slid away from them both. Twilight regained her composure before continuing on.

"Right. Anyway, I was wondering how did you get here? This isn't exactly "Equestria"."

"I know it isn't. Somepony gave me some directions and tricks while going pass Appaloosa, one thing lead to another, and here I am," she answered. not too detailed honestly.

"And who might this somepony be?"

"Not sure. He just looked like a regular grey pony to me," she replied. Twilight thought about it for a moment or two before changing the subject on it.

"Well, thanks anyway, ms ..."

"Oh, Velvet Sugar," replied the pony, properly introducing herself.

"Twilight Sparkle," replied Twilight, shaking hooves with her before heading back to the rest. Pinkie still had her doubts over this newcomer, yet the other ponies seemed content with her for the most part. The only confusing thing was that a random pony just came in and told her how to get here, apparently without the use of any key.

.......

"Another pony?" Pearl questioned.

Obvious choice; the Mane Six (after Twilight told them about Velvet Sugar) went off to the Beach House, and told the Gems about it. After all, with this being their world, and their city, they might as well be told of what was going on with the newcomer Velvet Sugar. At the moment though it was mainly Steve, Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet, the others not seeming to be around for the moment. They were sure though they could tell Garnet, and she'll get the word around. Still, hearing that a new pony that arrived in Beach city was fairly different news.

"She just showed up without any way," Rainbow answered.

"Eh, it's not the first time this happened," Amethyst shrugged, remembering the only other pony that got himself in their world without Discord involved in the introduction. Before anyone could add anything else though, Pinkie barged in the conversation.

"But it IS the first time twenty five pastries and doughnuts were sold in ten minutes on a Tuesday. A. TUESDAY. HOW?!"

They were used to it at this point.

"I don't see anything wrong with her, Pinkie, really," Twilight insisted. Pinkie then went to the Gem who can be sure with it. Pinkie leaped up, grabbing Garnet by the shoulders and staring her in the face.

"Garnet, you got the psycho powers, Velvet Sugar going to wreck Beach City with her evil velvet frosting?" Pinkie asked. Again, they were used to it, but it was still weird. Still, Garnet got Pinkie off of her in a way Jasper would do, and dropped her on the floor. Garnet took a breath, and brought her hands up to the sides of her head, focusing on the future vision she got going. Everyone waited (Pinkie chewing away at her hoof, with nail clippings flying, like she was chewing corn). After a bit though, Garnet nodded.

"You'll be fine. I don't see anything catastrophic in the future because of Velvet Sugar," Garnet revealed. Pinkie then gave a sigh of relief, laying on the ground like she was a balloon, the air going out of her mouth. Then another thought hit her head, as she pulled out the surprisingly clean pastry from her mane.

"But what about these?" Pinkie questioned. Garnet took the pastry from her, looking it over.

"If it makes you feel better, Pinkie, I'll have it," Garnet decided. She needed more proof, and Garnet just decided to do it.

"Hey, what about me?" Amethyst complained.

"You eat garbage in your room, Amethyst." Amethyst does eat a number of odd things, so, getting an accurate taste test from her may not be as well. Before anyone could stop her, Garnet opened her mouth, and ate it up in one bite. Pinkie, once again, went back to chewing her hoof nails, waiting for a response from Garnet. Garnet took a moment to take in the taste, not saying anything to them.

"Not bad. Nothing wrong with it," Garnet announced. Pinkie exhaled again, as Twilight went over to her.

"Pinkie, don't worry. It's not like she's here to cause trouble right?" Twilight assured her, a wing around her. Pinkie thought it over, and in the end, she might as well give her a chance at least.


~~~~~~


So, it'd been like that for the next few days since Velvet Sugar had showed up. At first, Pinkie Pie didn't really feel too bothered with Velvet Sugar selling her goods, and making a pretty good profit, but as time went by, things began to get slower and slower for Pinkie and her own goods. Ponyville was fine, sure, but Velvet Sugar seemed to really leave her mark on Beach City with her sweets. Seriously, everyone in the city, whenever Velvet Sugar had a batch ready, there was always a chance that she would sell at least seven or more would get a decent sized batch of her treats, compared to Pinkie Pie's two or so sales. For the pink mare, it began to beat her down bit by bit, seeing her treats go uneaten, while seeing everyone else happily gobble up the red velvet of Velvet Sugar's cooking. Sure, Pinkie would get a decent sale time to time, but not only would they fall short, but usually they were from closer friends (Amethyst in particular). She began to notice something else with these people; how much it was affecting them. To put it simply, they were getting bigger from coming back for more, and Pinkie easily took note of it as she was watching them go by with either a doughnut or pastry by the new chef on the block. They seemed to be more quick to the treats too; she noted one customer coming back about five to six times after just four hours or so.

At this point, Pinkie Pie was sadly sitting at another stand, some of her treats sitting on the counter. Pinkie rested her head on one hoof, the other lazily hanging off the front of the counter. Aside of her was a rather odd guest; a small alligator, Gummy. Gummy just chilled out next to his owner, same blank stare, as Pinkie Pie just sighed.

"Oh, Gummy. What am I doing wrong? I make so many super duper yummy sweets, but everypony's getting full and plump with Velvet treats. Is there something I'm missing?" Pinkie asked Gummy, looking at him with ears folded back, chin on the table. Gummy was looking right at Pinkie Pie, his tongue licking Pinkie's nose. Normally that'll be good, but it wasn't enough to cheer her up. For such an energetic and happy pony, this was just degrading. She'd already dealt with her party passion almost a year ago, and now her baking was being overlooked. One of these, a pair of teenage twin sisters, walked nearby her stand. One, more stern looking, didn't look too bad, and didn't had any treats. But the other, more laid back, went all out and got herself a full dozen of velvet doughnuts in her possession, happily munching away on one of them in one hand, and holding the box with the other. Pinkie had seen her time and time again, and she could've swore the girl had put on a few pounds to her frame, a bit wider in the hips than before, though it also looked like she didn't care much either.

"Anypony interested?" Pinkie asked, catching at least one of the sister's attention.

"Sorry, spent all my money. Maybe next time," she said. Pinkie noted that she glanced to her hungry sister, telling the mare that she spend her cash on her twin's food. Pinkie waved goodbye to them with one of her fake smiles ... And then her face hit the counter, a groan escaping her.

Another customer not stopping by.

As she was sitting there, she looked back to the stand, seeing Velvet Sugar selling her latest bit to a plump customer, but Pinkie Pie also noticed that Velvet Sugar had no more on display for sale. The thing though, Velvet Sugar took a glance around, before going in, and closing the main door to the stand. The pink pony saw this and got a bit suspicious over what that Velvet Sugar was up to.

"Gummy, hold down the fort for me," Pinkie whispered, bolting off as Gummy just stood there. Like a spy, the mare quickly rushed closer to the other stand, hiding behind some dock boxes nearby. Soon, she was right across from it, conveniently having some binoculars because Pinkie logic. She tried to see what was going on, but it was hard to tell with the front closed off from sight. The mare kept trying over and over again, but without much luck. Pinkie went for broke, and slid right to the building, her back to the wall, and binoculars around her neck. Pinkie just noticed a tiny little window, which Velvet Sugar opened to get some smoke out, and get some air. Pinkie hopped right up to the window, just keeping herself up, and got her binoculars through the window. Pinkie Pie just managed to look inside, seeing Velvet Sugar making some more goodies, and restocking. It didn't seem to be anything special, basically making average doughnuts and pastries. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, as the baker pony got out her latest batch, and readied to put on the velvet frosting. Before she did though, she gave it a lookover first, and then removed her chef's hat.

A horn!

Pinkie watched Velvet Sugar's horn glow slightly, as she seemed to sprinkle something into a jar of frosting she was using, and it wasn't until after that did she cover the pastry batch with the frosting. Pinkie's eyes widened, pupils shrinking as she made a huge, dramatic gasp. It wasn't enough for Velvet Sugar to hear her though. Pinkie fell down onto her back, the binoculars landing on her chest.

"That cheater!" Pinkie gasped, shocked and angry. Got leaped up to her hooves right away, rushing straight back to her stand before Velvet. She looked right back to the other stand, to which Velvet Sugar opened up again, and got the treats out for sale. As expected, whoever smelled the treats went on over after a while, money in hand and ready to buy some of the fresh goods. Pinkie glared in the direction.

"Did you see that Gummy? She used magic to make her treats taste so good! She's a cheater - a baking cheater," Pinkie said, though Pinkie remained unchanged in appearance as Pinkie held him close. Pinkie put Gummy in her mane, got all her treats together, and bolted away as Velvet Sugar was distracted with her many customers.

Rushing off at high speed, it didn't really take Pinkie very long to rush right through Beach City, and right to the Beach House, Gummy gripping her mane the whole time with his toothless mouth. Pinkie didn't hesitate to rush right up to the door, swinging it open fast. Inside the Beach House; Steven, Lapis, Pearl, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Blue, and Lion.

"Everypony, I need help!" Pinkie yelled, getting their attention (if the door didn't).

"Pinkie, what's wrong?" Lapis asked, urgently.

"Velvet Sugar's cheating in cooking!!"

The tenseness immediately went away upon hearing that straight from the pony's mouth.

"Uh, Pinkie Pie? You still going out at Velvet Sugar?" Rainbow questioned. Pinkie felt insulted, grabbing Rainbow by the shoulders, holding her face to face.

"SHE'S USING MAGIC TO CONTROL EVERYPONY WITH HER EVIL FROSTING!" Pinkie yelled, shaking Rainbow as if trying to get her to see sense better by doing so. All that did was make her dizzy, eyes spinning.

"That's ridiculous! Garnet said it's fine, remember?" Applejack said, trying to give Pinkie some sense.

"The frosting must've infected her as well! Don't worry, AJ, I'll protect you from her mind-altering ways!" Pinkie promised, sounding rather sincere and trusting with her promise. It would be sweet if the situation made any sense; they seen Velvet Sugar, and they never saw her use magic once. Lapis flew down to Pinkie, though the pink mare began to notice something about her ...

"Pinkie, wait a minute. Are you sure you saw her use - AH!"

Suddenly, Pinkie was going around her, feeling her body with her hooves, trying to feel some sort of difference. Even if it wasn't seem by her outfit, Pinkie began to feel that Lapis's body was ... slightly more soft. Lapis blushed bright blue, as Pinkie went right up to her face, her eyes squinting to get a closer look to her face. In particular, she looked very closely at Lapis's lips. With a very keen eye, Lapis had something very small on her face ... a very tiny bit of velvet frosting.

"NOOO! Lapis, not you too!" Pinkie cried out, over-dramatic in her crying, and sliding down until she had her head on her knees, crying. Lapis was simply speechless with Pinkie Pie.

"Okay, I had a few, I'm fine," Lapis insisted.

"Don't try to make me feel better!" Pinkie whaled, her tears comically pouring out like sprouts on a water fountain. Rainbow, hoof to face, flew down, picked Pinkie up, and went right ahead to meet her hoof to the side of her face. Pinkie stopped crying almost immediately, eyes spinning for a few seconds until she shook her head.

"Better, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, setting her down. While not crying her eyes out, she still was on her mindset about the magic in the frosting by Velvet Sugar.

"Can somepony help me, please?!"

"Pinkie, there's nothing wrong with her. No one in town's getting physically harmed in anyway because of Velvet - though they had been looking ... different, as of late," Pearl said, thinking about the last statement a bit. Pinkie was suddenly in Pearl's face.

"SHE'S EFFECTING THEIR BODIES AND THEIR MINDS!" Pinkie screeched, slowly backing off with an equally serious stare. Pinkie wasn't exactly making things any better, or gaining much help this way. Looking around, Pinkie began noticing that most of them weren't exactly believing in her.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Steven suddenly decided. This made Pinkie feel a lot better, hugging him tightly. Steven was a bit unsure with the whole thing, and he too had been noticing this change going on lately, so he might as well help Pinkie out.

"I knew I can count on you! Come on," Pinkie suddenly said, picking Steven up (much to Pearl's surprise). Pearl couldn't move fast enough to get her though, before Pinkie rushed out the door. They all were sure this wasn't going to end well ...


~~~~~~


"Okay, everypony here?" Pinkie said firmly, walking to a board like a general to the army. As for her "group", she got Steven, Blue, and Gummy into the idea, though the only one who [probably knew what was going on fully was Steven. Pinkie got them over in an alley, and Pinkie managed to get herself a clipboard and some chalks ... somehow. Hard to question it really. The first picture on her board was showing Velvet Sugar herself.

"This is the enemy; Velvet Sugar, with her tongue-twisting, taste bud altering magic ingredient! If we don't fix this -" Pinkie quickly drew out one of the twin sisters she saw earlier, comically round as a ball. "- everypony in Beach City will become round, bouncy balls of Velvet's jelly and frosting! - which would be funny but - NO! -" She then drew out what she saw in terms of the frosting Velvet Sugar was using. "- That ingredient has to be taken from Velvet, before she can infect anypony else with her addiction Kickstarter of a ingredient! Any questions?"

Everyone was lost at this point. Blue had his head tilted in confusion, Steven didn't know what to say, and Gummy was just staring off into space, licking his eyeball. Steven didn't realize thievery would be involved in this. Steven raised his hand.

"Yes, Steven?"

"Do we have to steal her ingredients?" Steven asked. He didn't want to make any enemies, or cause trouble for this. Pinkie got right in Steven's face, far more serious than he was used to.

"Steven Universe, all of your favorite treats; the doughnuts of the big donut, the pizza of fish stew, the fry bits, all of them will crumble because of the Velvet treats! ALL OF THEM, EVEN COOKIE CAT!"

"NO, not Cookie Cat!" Steven gasped. His favorite treat? Gone?! He will not have that happen to his favorite ice cream treat, and neither did Pinkie Pie. Blue and Gummy didn't had anything to say, even if they could talk. Pinkie Pie got their attention back to the board, which Pinkie wiped clean, and drew out the building where Velvet Sugar was working.

"Alright, everypony! Here's the plan!"


~~~~~~


Plan A:

"Thank you, come again," Velvet Sugar said, as she made her latest sale. The happy baker (who had her hat on to cover her horn) took a moment to count out her cash, which from this sale was about ten dollars total. Velvet Sugar had been doing fairly good in terms of business, but, she hadn't heard much about Pinkie Pie in quite sometime. She'd been seeing Pinkie at her stand, but not much chit-chat with her in particular.

As her next customer had went off away, somepony else started to come over. What Velvet Sugar saw was a pink furred Pony, but with a large bowler hat, and one of those fake mustache and big nose glasses. Velvet Sugar was left a bit bemused at first.

"Excuse me, Madame. I am mister hoofington; stand inspector. I've heard of such a charming place, and I'm here to inspect. And stuff."

Obviously this was Pinkie Pie, no doubt - trying to disguise, and keeping a slightly masculine voice. Velvet Sugar eventually gave a giggle, hoof over mouth.

"Is this some kind of joke, Pinkie?" Velvet asked.

"Pinkie? Pinkie who?" Pinkie asked, trying to be oblivious to obvious. Velvet Sugar leaned in, and simply removed the glasses from Pinkie's face.

"Pinkie you," Velvet said with a smile. All Pinkie did was groan, and bolted off before she could do anything. Velvet found that moment a bit weird, but also quite funny in the end of it. Velvet took a moment, looking at the funny glasses. Meanwhile, Pinkie went back to her stand, where Steven, Gummy, and Blue were waiting.

"I knew she was a tricky one," noted Pinkie Pie.

.......

Plan B:

"Excuse me, mis. Sugar? Mind if I ask you some questions?" Steven asked, dressed as a news reporter, having a notepad in hand. Velvet Sugar found this simply adorable, and looked down from the counter.

"Oh, how cute! Of course, ask away," Velvet replied. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was sneaking off around so she can get at the ingredient. Steven was the distraction for Velvet Sugar, as the pony listened to each question. The sneaky mare went around to that same window she saw Velvet Sugar earlier, and tried sneaking her way though. She struggled through the window, narrowly slipping through. As she was, Velvet Sugar, as she blabbered on with Steven, moved something right under the sneaky mare ...

A slippery rag.

Sure enough, one step got Pinkie slipping and sliding around, until she ended up rocketing out the back door ...

"Okay, continue," Velvet Sugar insisted, again with a happy smile. Pinkie just laid outside, hoof tapping the ground as she tried to think.

.......

Plan C:

It was getting later in the day, and Velvet was getting good with what she got going. Her pastries were getting low here, after selling the latest batch, so, she took the moment to get some more. As she had her back turned though, Pinkie popped her head around the corner, and quickly placed Gummy on the counter.

"Okay, Gummy, look fierce," Pinkie whispered, pulling back out of sight. Self explanatory.

When Velvet Sugar turned back around, she suddenly found Gummy staring directly in her face, the baby gator hissing a little bit. Pinkie waited for the pony to run away from the fierceness that is Gummy, but ...

"Oh, hello little guy. Here, you want something?"

Gummy looked to one of the cookies (not having any frosting yet).

"Here you go," Velvet said, happily lending Gummy a cookie with her hoof. Gummy got the cookie in his mouth, Pinkie looking on, ready to pull her mane out with both hooves.

"Who's side are you on, Gummy?!" Thought Pinkie Pie.

.......

Plan D:

Velvet Sugar, on break, was happily wiping her counter clean with a cloth. She made sure to put an "on break" sign so her customers don't storm her while she was cleaning up for the next sale. The pony began to feel another attempt at her shop by the pink mare and her group. Sure enough, after wiping her counter clean, her ears picked up a sort of creaking from her roof. Velvet Sugar took it in stride, a content smile, as she began walking to the center of the building. The floor itself was pure wood, and Velvet Sugar pinpointed exactly where the sound was before she began moving the floorboards. Velvet Sugar ended up making a hole in her floor, and she simply moved aside, and leaned on the nearby wall. Sure enough, she heard a pony open up a spot on the rooftop ...

"HIYAA!"

Pinkie leaped down, but instead of landing on the floor, she fell right through the hole, right down to the water below the dock. All Velvet sugar did was re-cover the hole, and went back to her business. As for Pinkie, the pink mare got her head out of the water, her eyes stuck in a annoyed, bored expression, ears down, and only the top of her head above the water.

"She's good."


~~~~~~


Soon, they were pretty much back at square one. Pinkie Pie tried to think on what the hay to do next, pacing back and forth, as the others stood by, trying to figure things out. Pinkie Pie got her hair dry, but the pink mare wasn't planning to throw in the towel just yet. However, for Steven's sake, it was pretty late at this point, so Pinkie allowed Steven to head back home as Pinkie tried to think on their next approach. Steven and Blue got themselves back home, dark by the time they did so. The lights were off, and they both were pretty tired by the time they got themselves inside. Whatever Pinkie Pie had planned, Steven and Blue at least hoped it won't be until tomorrow morning. None of the Gems, nor Ponies were inside the place at the moment when Steven turned on the light, except for Garnet who was sitting on the couch, apparently waiting for them. Garnet, although she too had been enjoying Velvet's treats, didn't look too different on the surface unlike the people in Beach City.

"Hello, Steven."

"Hey, Garnet," Steven yawned, heading off to the bathroom to start his night time routine. Garnet already had his PJs for him, so, Steven thanked her, and went off into the bathroom with them. Blue simply went up the steps, and fell right asleep by the foot of Steven's bed. Garnet could hear the water run from the otherside of the wall, as she got up and waited by the bathroom door.

"How did your plans go?" Garnet asked.

"Not very good; Pinkie wanted to get her frosting so she'll stop, but we got nothing," Steven answered, as he switched into his PJs, and basically did his nightly routine.

"I see. is Pinkie coming back soon?"

"She'll be out for tonight. Hey, Garnet? Are you a bit worried about Velvet Sugar?" Steven asked, before he started brushing his teeth. Garnet took a moment before answering.

"Not at all."

"But, what about her being here? How'd she do that?" Steven asked, though his voice was muffled as his toothbrush and toothpaste was in his mouth.

"If I'd guess; Discord wanted to show Beach city around to a few ponies, and Velvet Sugar so happened to be one of them," Garnet figured. It wasn't too farfetched, and something Discord would do, though honestly it was a pure guess. Steven spat out the access toothpaste, and continued with the rest of his stuff before stepping out in his PJs. Garnet moved aside to let Steven go by, as the kid went upstairs to his bedroom.

"Steven, Where'd you see her last?"

"Near Funland. Why, you want to help?" Steven asked. Garnet then opened the door to outside.

"I'll help in my own way. One important thing before I go," Garnet said. Steven turned to look to her, only for her to have her hands in a heart shape.

"I love you. Bye."

And with that, Garnet went out the door, turned off the lights for Steven, and left. Steven just smiled, blushing.


~~~~~~


Back with Velvet Sugar, the baker pony herself was just finishing off another day's work, putting up a closed sign on the door, as Velvet readied herself to go off. It'd been a pretty interesting, and admittedly fun day thanks to Pinkie Pie's antics. Yeah, they were annoying to some, but, Velvet Sugar found it different from the regular growing customers. A nice sale can be fun when somepony decides to make it interesting somehow. Anyway, Velvet Sugar began to close up shop, making sure the door was locked and shut tight. Hiding off in the shadows farther away though, a particular pink mare (who was in a black thief's mask and suit), kept just out of sight from the unicorn in disguise. Gummy was hidden himself, somehow also in a black thief's mask. Pinkie snuck around the best she can ever do, tip-toeing, sliding, and leaping behind cover time and time again so Velvet Sugar couldn't see them.

Pinkie was soon one jump away from getting into the building, as Velvet Sugar began to move off a bit. Pinkie got herself right on the wall, her back right to it, and she quickly did a mix of tip-toe and side-step until she slipped inside. Quick, quiet, and clean. Pretty soon, Pinkie and Gummy both were inside the building, immediately seeing the working area, and kitchen in the place. Pinkie Pie began to look around a bit, though being much darker, Pinkie found it a bit troubling to figure out what's where. Gummy was set down by the door.

"Keep watch, Gummy," Pinkie whispered. Gummy just sat there with his aimless stare, as Pinkie tried to look over the place, top to bottom, searching high and low for that stuff Pinkie saw being hexed by Velvet. All she had to do was get rid of it and be off on her way. However, Pinkie began to have some trouble. She looked in the oven - nothing. The counter - nothing. The drawers - nothing. Where'd it go?!

"I know I saw it somewhere," Pinkie told herself. Pinkie looked down in a cabinet, only her flank and tail out as the rest of her was in it, looking around as best she could. As she kept moving around stuff inside, Gummy began to move away, as the door suddenly opened slightly. Suddenly, someone flicked on the lights, but Pinkie didn't had much time to notice. In fact, it was at this point when Pinkie managed to find a jar at this point, being the stuff that Velvet stored away earlier. Just what she needed!

"Pinkie."

The sudden voice made Pinkie jump, hitting her head. Pinkie scrambled like crazy to get herself free from the cabinet, and soon popped out with the jar in her hooves. As for who was at the door ...

Garnet, and Velvet Sugar.

"What're you doing?" Velvet asked. Pinkie thought Garnet was there for backup, so Pinkie went on with it.

"Getting rid of your hexed treats!"

"Wait, what? Hex?"

"Yeah Hex! I saw you use magic to make this stuff super tasty - that's cheating!" Pinkie accused. Velvet Sugar looked shocked.

"Cheating?! Pinkie, I made those treats with my bare hooves, I didn't -" before Velvet Sugar could say anything, Gummy suddenly got his gums on her hat, and pulled it off to show her horn to everyone present! Velvet looked surprised and exposed.

"AHA! I got you! I told you -"

"I already know, Pinkie, calm down. I think this has gone long enough," Garnet suddenly cut in. There was some bit of silence before Pinkie broke it.

"WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HER THEN?!?!" Pinkie yelled. Garnet took a moment to adjust her shades.

"The treats were good. I didn't want them gone yet."

An even longer silence filled the air, Pinkie's expression blank for a bit. So Garnet knew what Velvet did, yet didn't bother to stop her due to her own liking to the treats. Oh boy. However, before this could continue, Velvet Sugar felt a bit guilty.

"Okay, I admit it! I used my magic to make them taste great, but I can't help it; it's so hard to make treats right, it's unbelievable! I try so hard, but I can't ever get it as good as others had," Velvet explained, sitting down with her head lowered. Pinkie Pie and Garnet both continued listening.

"So your magic makes your baked goods better," Garnet said.

"You can't cheat around cooking! You won't build up your skills as a baker if you just zap your treats to make them tasty," Pinkie added in. Velvet Sugar didn't look to them. Pinkie Pie then got an idea in her quick mind.

"IDEA! I'll show ya how!" Pinkie decided. It was rather quick, but then again, Pinkie was a quick kind of Pony. Velvet looked up to her.

"You will?"

"ONLY if you stop this hexing stuff on your treats," Pinkie advised, hoof forward. Garnet found this fairly decent, and pretty nice to see with Velvet and Pinkie now on better terms.

"It's a deal!" Velvet Sugar replied, shaking hooves with Pinkie Pie. Happy that things worked out, albeit fast. Either way, it was nice that things worked themselves out.


~~~~~~


After some talk, Pinkie got her and Velvet Sugar back into Equestria, stand and all, thanks to some power of the magic key, and Garnet ended up back at the Beach House. It'd been a pretty nice result, as she expected it to. Garnet went right off back to her room, making sure not to wake up anybody else. She didn't want to wake up Steven, as she settled down in her own room. Normally, she'd just chill out as Garnet until the morning, but this time she felt on trying something different; splitting up. In a flash of light, Garnet split up, and was back to Sapphire and Ruby. Sapphire looked fairly normal, but the pastries did affect Ruby, leaving her comically round, and laying on the floor. Considering the number of trips Garnet had made to have some, under Velvet's magic trick, it was Ruby who was mainly the one affected ...

"You surely enjoyed yourself, did you?" Sapphire giggled, though Ruby was a bit dazed to really say anything to her, both hands resting on her frame.

"I'll get back to normal later," Ruby promised. She didn't want to stay this way, and she can switch back soon enough. Now though, she was too tired to do so. Still, Sapphire patted Ruby's midsection, as the red Gem started to fall asleep. Sapphire knew it won't be too long before she was back to normal (and longer for everyone else, really). Still, Sapphire settled down next to her sleeping Ruby.

"Goodnight, Ruby."
> My Life as a Earthbound Gem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, Peridot, you can make it!"

"Okay, okay!"

Inside the Beach House, things began to get a bit interesting when it came to the "smaller" Gems of the group. Many pillows, sheets, and other things were scattered around. Since there wasn't much going on, and since Steven wanted to, he, Peridot, Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby, all decided to play a game Steven called "Lava Hop". Basically, this game was made up of getting from point A, to point B, without touching the floor. In this case, the group of small Gems had to make it from the Warp Pad, over to Steven's bed. Ruby and Sapphire didn't play as Garnet, since she was too big to make this much of a challenge, and Peridot insisted that they should split up for this. At this point in the game, The farthest ahead was Sapphire, who was sitting comfortably on the couch. Steven and Ruby both were on the just ahead of Peridot by one pillow, with quite a gap in between them. Peridot needed to jump across in order to get to the next platform. Peridot readied her legs, and made a good jump towards the next pillow. She did just manage to get one foot on the pillow Steven was on, but the momentum of her leap accidentally got her forward, and she ended up tumbling into Steven, and they both tumbled onto the floor, off of their platform. Soon after that, a notable laugh came out from another green Gem, Emerald. Emerald was on the bed already, comfortably chilling and watching the other Gems go about.

"Having fun, Peri? Looks like your out," Emerald said with a smirk. Peridot got off of Steven, who was also disqualified since he was knocked off of the platform too. Luckily for her, Ruby already got her own words ready for the cocky pebble.

"You should talk; you just floated over there on a pillow!" Ruby snapped, which was true.

"No one said I couldn't," replied Emerald, happily putting his hands behind his head, and kicking back on Steven's bed.

"I did," Steven pointed out. Though, Emerald didn't really care much. on that. He got there, and that was that. As he laid there, he took a glance at Steven's clock to check the time, as the others were busy with trying to finish up their game, Sapphire more focusing on them than with Emerald. Steven and Peridot basically had to start over from the beginning, Sapphire sitting comfortably and watching them do so. With their attention off of him, Emerald got up, his attention at the door rather than the Gems, and started to quietly head to it. Thanks to some quick steps, Emerald just managed to slip himself right out the door, and begin to go off. However, Sapphire caught him going off seconds after he stepped outside, but it wasn't until after he walked out of sight when the others then noticed the green Gem off the bed, and basically gone.

"Emerald? Where'd he go?" Steven wondered.

"He went out," Sapphire answered. Peridot went over to the window, and she saw Emerald walk away along the beach for a little bit. After a quick check, he got out one of his hexagons, stood on one, and got his telekinesis to work, soon flying off out of sight. Peridot began to think a bit on this soon after he flew off, slightly suspicious over him just leaving.

"What's with you?" Ruby asked.

"Emerald has been rather ... Absent lately. Anyone else noticed that?" Peridot questioned. This wasn't the first time Emerald had snuck off on them since they came back; most of the time he'd just disappear and reappear depending on the day, and he never really said once on what he did. Then again, not many of them exactly said anything about it so, there's that.

"What's wrong with that? He's probably the type of person that likes his privacy," Steven guessed.

"No, Flint's the one that likes his privacy. Emerald doesn't know what privacy is," Peridot retorted in a groan. Emerald's behavior towards her was proof enough. Steven didn't know if he should bother with him, but, it was curious to what Emerald actually does while being gone.

"I can see where this is going," commented Sapphire.

"I say we go scope it out," Peridot decided. Sapphire called that one easily, though Ruby and Steven both had mixed feelings to this plan.

"Do you even know where he's going?" Steven asked.

"That's what I'm going to find out! Seriously, he just runs off for hours and pops up whenever. Who does that?!" Peridot replied. Ruby and Steven, curious too, still didn't know until -

"Let's go. It can be fun."

Everyone in the room turned over to Sapphire, who was smiling at the idea. Sneaky, sure, but it sounded like a ball to see what Emerald was going to do.

"Thank you, Sapphire - wait, wait, wait. What if he spots us?"

"We really going that far?" Ruby groaned. However, Sapphire got her own little plan already figured out. 

"Don't worry, Peridot. How do you feel about a makeover?"

"Excuse me?"


~~~~~~


With the wind at his back, and the skies clear, Emerald kept flying off on his hexagon transport, along the coastal route towards his destination. The flight there was alright, though Emerald had to keep focused on keeping his own transport in the air, or risk falling prematurely to the ground below. After another thirty to forty minutes of flying, the land ahead started to curve inland a bit, the water flowing inward from the sea, into a sort of gulf by the looks of it. When flying over, Emerald than saw what place he was heading off to.

Along the coast around the bay, there was a sort of town, roughly the same size as Beach City in comparison, though might be a bit bigger depending on how you look at it. This place ran along the coast of the bay, some notable docks along the way as well. It didn't go inland too much, but the incline of the land meant that the further inland the town went, the higher up it was. The town itself didn't appear too different from Beach City building wise, not many of them going over two stories or so. The road leading into the town had a sign that signified the boarder, and showed the town name.

Welcome to Bayburgh.

"Alright, time to land," decided Emerald. At the moment, not many people were about in Bayburgh, so they didn't notice Emerald just casually fly in, and landing close to the town Boardwalk. One step off of his hexagon, and it soon disappeared, as Emerald took a walk back into the town, going along the coast, and then heading more inland along the sidewalk. While it was nice checking out the place, he was more set on heading to one building in particular. This one was signified by the sign looking like a large buffalo, mid charge, with a target for the eye. As for words, under the bull it read off as "Bull's Eye Books n' Vids". Emerald took a moment to look at the building before happily heading right off inside. Not much longer after he did so, unaware to him, Steven, Sapphire, Ruby, and Peridot all saw him go in. Yeah, it may seem odd that they show up as quickly, but a few bikes can get somebody from one point to another fairly quick (especially from the aid of a fast Gem like Sapphire). However, while Steven was still the same, the other three had gone through some changes ...

For Sapphire, rather than the usual regal princess look, she instead looked more like one of those Japanese school girls in a sense. She had a blue skirt that went to her knees, with white stockings and even black school shoes. Her top was short-sleeved, and also white. She still had her signature gloves on her hands, though Sapphire was sure it wouldn't be much of an issue.

For Ruby, her attire made her look more like she lived on the streets than compared to Sapphire's good girl look. Her shirt had a fire emblem on it (five bits to guess why), and looked similar to an exercise shirt with no sleeves. To put it simply, it was like she was copying what Amethyst would wear in terms of designs. As for her hands, she had on some biker gloves to cover her gemstone, and to look the part honestly.

For Peridot, however, her choice of attire was mainly Sapphire's choice, since Peridot wasn't as familiar with the Earth attire as Sapphire and Ruby were. This included some glasses over her eyes, which matched the color of her visors beforehand for comfort, a star shirt much like Steven's, average jeans, a pair of green sneakers, and a backward cap to cover her gemstone with. It wasn't really the average thing, and the cap mainly covered one top of her triangle hair, but it'll have to do.

So to put it simply; Sapphire was the "Schoolgirl", Ruby was the "street smart girl", and Peridot was "the nerd girl". Simple to understand, and fitting them each (although Peridot was regretting this decision for how stupid she felt).

"Why did I agree to let you clothe me?" Peridot thought.

Soon, the four went over inside to Bull's Eye Books n' Vids, looking through to see what Emerald was up to. The store itself was books, magazines, comics, VHSs, and DVDs galore! Each shelf along the walls or stands were stocked full, and had its own section depending on the genre each one had. As for Emerald, Peridot and Ruby managed to find him over by a section labeled "Manga" (whatever that was), looking through those in particular. Peridot was more focused on what he was trying to look over rather than browse around the place. Emerald did hear the door open, but, he didn't exactly see who came in just yet. After a bit more, Emerald than pulled a manga off of the shelf, and then went off. Seconds after he did, the spying Gems snuck over, and tried to see what he was getting at.

"Okay, Emerald, what do we have here?" Peridot wondered, grabbing the exact same manga copy from the shelf, and quickly began skimming through the pages. She looked through picture after picture, but it didn't seem to make much sense really. Her face of suspicion turned to one of confusion, especially since this manga had a ... perverted side to it. Especially since one of the characters looked like one particular blue, one-eyed Gem ...

"Eh ... Okay then? Forget it," Peridot said, tossing it over her shoulder, and for it to land in Ruby's hands on. Ruby ended up looking at the same character. Her face turned redder than normal, eyes fixated, and even steam came out of her head after a little bit. Steven glanced over at Ruby, who didn't really notice him until he tapped her shoulder.

"What's that?"

"N-Nothing," Ruby quickly said, shutting the manga fast, and putting it back on the shelf. Ruby made sure to pull Steven away before he could get a chance to look at them ...

It did take a while before Emerald got what he needed, again not seeing the group just yet as far as Peridot, Steven, and Ruby were concern. In his arms were a number of manga, and a few DVDs as well, which he brought right over to the counter. At the moment, Sapphire was actually standing over next to him, holding a DVD set in her hand, and placing it up about the same time as Emerald did. What it was, the other three couldn't see what it was exactly. Peridot was worried that Emerald will recognize her, although not much of a disguise was even used. The cashier did Emerald's first, and counted out how much money Emerald needed.

"That'll be thirty four twenty five," he said. Peridot and Ruby then watched him actually take out a wallet from his pocket, and got out a fifty dollar bill! Okay, where'd he even get that? Once more, why didn't he call Sapphire out yet?! After a little bit, Emerald got his change back, and Emerald went out the door, as Sapphire walked over to the others with the DVD set Emerald bought, for her apparently.

"What just happened back there? Didn't Emerald - what is that?"

"We'll watch it later, Peridot. I know you'll like it," Sapphire replied, giving the DVD set to her. Turned out, the DVDs she bought was for the series "Camp Pining Hearts", and in this case it was the complete first season. They might as well get some souvenir on their trip while in Bayburgh. After they got that, they then left off after Emerald.


~~~~~~


As the day went on, Emerald basically went along his way around Bayburgh for most of the afternoon. Honestly, the actual judgment of what he was doing was taken more seriously by Peridot, though as the afternoon went, the others began to turn this little study into basically a day vacation away from Beach City. Even if they had a basic study in mind, it didn't hurt to have a little fun with their trip through Bayburgh.

As Emerald went along with his stuff, his next stop was the Bayburgh local market. He had a list with him, some stuff he wanted to grab as well (which was surprising considering his fifty dollar bill payment earlier). Emerald, being the size he was, had to go with one of those kiddie carts to use rather than the average-sized ones. Embarrassing, but, efficient all the same.

"Alright, let's see now. Do, de do, de do, what do ya got today?" Emerald wondered, pushing his cart along into the store. Sapphire, Steven, Ruby, and Peridot went in after a while through the sliding doors. Sapphire decided to hang out by the door this time, and letting the others go off into the store. Honestly, it wasn't too much going on, and the situation was getting boring pretty quickly for Steven and Ruby. If they got anything from this, is that Emerald somehow had enough earth cash to get the stuff he needed. After what felt like forever, Emerald then went over to the check out. Peridot noted that Emerald easily worked out the machine, from scanning the items, to proper payment. Peridot kept a sharp eye on the machine in question, and she watched Emerald bag his stuff. However, as Emerald headed to the doors, he quickly caught glances with Sapphire, and soon stopped.

"Hello, Sophie," Emerald said, waving her way. Sapphire decided to use that name for the sake of the disguise from earlier.

"Nice to see you again. How're things?" Sapphire asked. Emerald kept a cool attitude, even leaning on the wall next to her with a smug grin. Ruby, Peridot, and Steven saw this further away.

"Eh, I'm doing alright. Feel like I got some paparazzi after me though," Emerald joked. Sapphire giggled with him, and while Peridot found this confusing, Ruby began to feel unsettled, steam coming from her head again ...

"Hey, by the by, heard there's going to be some party going on by Bayburgh docks."

"You don't say."

"Yep. There's going to be plenty of peeps there, and your visiting, so ..."

"Sounds like fun. Do we need money though?"

"Nah, it's cool. Party starts at eight, I'll see you at the Seaside Hotel, k? Be sure to bring some friends."

"I'll be sure to," Sapphire promised. Emerald gave a wink, and then went out the door. The three didn't exactly follow the conversation too well, though Ruby was a bit ticked to see Emerald basically showing off in front of Sapphire. The trio soon went over to Sapphire sometime after that.

"What was that?!' Ruby gasped, arms out to emphasize how surprised (and upset) she was.

"It's okay, Ruby."

"Okay? Are you kidding me, Emerald just -" Sapphire gave Ruby a kiss on the cheek, which made Ruby change her mind right away.

"Eh ... Nevermind," Ruby finished. Sapphire looked off outside, beginning to think over on what to do next. Emerald wasn't seen at this point in time. They've been basically following Emerald since showing up in Bayburgh, and at this point it was starting to get a little bit late, and if they try to get home at this point, it probably wouldn't go as well judging by what Sapphire was seeing in her visions.

"Oh great, it's getting late," Peridot groaned, realizing what time it was. Peridot assumed Sapphire would want them back home at this point, but -

"Not a problem. We'll go back tomorrow."

"Wait what? B-but what about Steven, we can't just keep him away from Beach City too long," Ruby retorted. Well, that, and she also didn't want to track down Emerald all night. Sapphire felt that some explanation was needed here more than most.

"We might as well. If we go, by the time we get to the route, we'll get ourselves lost in the dark, and end up being mugged while going along. We'll be that way along the trails until tomorrow afternoon." Clearly, this was one of Sapphire's future visions, and a rather detailed one at that. It sounded believable until she mentioned the whole "mugging" bit.

"Mugged? Seriously? We're Gems, we can handle it!"

"You'd be surprised when you find out how strong a iron baseball bat can be," stated Sapphire, again seeing that in her future vision. Peridot, Ruby, and Steven were a bit spooked, and unsure what to say at first. Peridot wasn't sure what a baseball bat was exactly, but if it was enough to act as a weapon, then it was something to consider.

Ruby pointed up, like trying to find a point, and inhaled for her reply ...


~~~~~~


A quick decision really, but the four did eventually go their hotel room in Seaside. The room itself was pretty standard for a hotel room as one would usually go. Basic white walls and carpeting, two beds, a lamp in between, and a TV. Basic stuff, and nothing out of the ordinary. Since Emerald wasn't around to see them, Peridot decided to get out of her disguise, back to normal attire - visor and all. Ruby did the same, yet Sapphire decided to keep her look until tomorrow. Peridot, Sapphire, Ruby, and Steven got comfy on one of the beds, using the TV to turn on "Camp Pining Hearts". While the Gems were fairly new to it, Steven had seen the series already himself, and already knew what to expect for the most part. It was around this point when Peridot was starting to slightly question this love drama, especially when it showed the two main characters kissing.

"What is this strange ritual?" Peridot asked. Steven tried to explain.

"Uh ... Well -"

"Are they attempting fusion?"

"Well, my dad said when a boy and girl reach a point in age -"

"How can anyone indulge in this?! Faceless dribble! I'll have to part of it," Peridot decided, arms crossed, and firm with her word. Sapphire can safely say that Peridot's statement won't go very far on that one. Sapphire looked off outside, out the window, seeing the barely lit sky, not much up in the sky except for the rising moon. It did look nice for the Earth's moon, starting up the night. Sapphire could just imagine if Luna was controlling that moon to make it as beautiful as it was. Things went pretty fine after a few more minute, but after those minutes, they were surprised to hear a knock at their door. Steven decided to check first.

"Hey, you guys in there? We got a party to catch," a voice insisted from the other side of the door. That seemed a little odd, and familiar sounding. Steven placed his ear on the door, trying to hear the voice to better recognize it. Whoever was there knocked on the door again, but with Steven's ear right on it, it was much louder than he expected.

"Who's there?" Steven asked.

"Your escort, that's who. Can you open the door now?"

Escort? Steven didn't remember any escort to any party exactly, but Sapphire happily obliged. Sapphire opened the door, seeing that their escort was Emerald! Peridot quickly hid so Emerald couldn't see her, but Emerald could still see the Gem's hair from behind the bed. He looked a little amused when he saw her hide, but he still wanted to get going.

"What's with her? C'mon pizza slice, I know it's you," Emerald revealed, as Peridot pulled herself up so she could see him.

"What's a pizza slice?"

"You'll find out when we get to the party, now let's get going. Party's already started," Emerald insisted.

"What party? We didn't get told of any party," Ruby said, as Emerald leaned on the door frame. Then Emerald looked a little confused, but remembered Sapphire. Both of them laughed quietly before Sapphire answered.

"Emerald invited us earlier while we were at the market," Sapphire said.

"Cool!" Steven beamed.

"Wait a minute! You knew we were there the whole time?!"

"Come on, Peridot, it's hard not to recognize three Gems walking about town, especially when they look like a square red block, a green pizza piece, and blue cotton candy. Nice try with the disguises though," Emerald explained. While Peridot and Ruby were annoyed, Sapphire couldn't help but giggle at Emerald's joking. She knew that Emerald, although a teaser, still meant well. Peridot though still had a number of questions, even going as far as to pull out some money from his pocket.

"Then where'd you get this?!" Peridot demanded, holding Emerald's money in one hand, and pointing to it with the other. Emerald took his money back, slightly bugged.

"I have a job on Earth too you know. I'm just visiting here on some vacation as all," emerald said, putting his money safely back in his pocket. The others didn't expect Emerald to have a Earth job, since he was a Gem himself.

"You have a job, Emerald?" Ruby asked, completely confused.

"Course I do, what did you think I've been doing on Earth, anyway? Apparently, humans demand this cash for some reason to get anything around here without it being considered stealing, so a job's the only way I can get the stuff without - again - stealing. Seriously," Emerald explained. He personally didn't know what the point was with this green paper and round coins, or why humans have such a high demand for it, but he didn't need to get into trouble with local police for constant stealing so, he basically complied with it. He'd done well with it since. After this, Steven spoke again, him still on about the party.

"So, where's the party at? I'm ready to go!" Steven said, excited. Emerald was glad to hear that, giving a toothy grin.

"Just down by the docks, party boy, you can't miss it if you tried," Emerald answered, starting to go, and signaling the others to follow. Steven was excited, and went right off to join him. Before Sapphire could go though ...

"Why didn't you say anything about this?" Ruby asked.

"I'd like to have some fun. Now let's go do that," Sapphire replied, going with Emerald as Peridot and Ruby followed. Peridot felt played...


~~~~~~


Guided off to the docks by Emerald, they began heading off out of the hotel. The party itself, after looking around, was indeed over by Bayburgh Docks, in particular the center of town. They took a road within Bayburgh that lead straight to it, a bit downhill, and leading right to the center of the docks. Even if the hotel was called "Seaside", it was still higher inland, up on the hill with the road leading downhill to the sea. From where they were, it was still a ways away, and they could see the activity going on for those at the party. Emerald, Steven, Peridot, Ruby, and Sapphire were all looking down from where they were, a straight line right downhill to the party. With the others having their bikes, and Emerald having his floating hexagons, getting there was little to no trouble. Plus it was fun flying down the empty road on their bikes, without the daily traffic getting in the way.

As for the party itself, the place was about as lively as outdoor parties would be. When the Gems arrived and parked their bikes, there was a decent amount of people from Bayburgh at this party; some dancing, some chatting. As for what they saw, there was quite a buzz for it; a DJ for dance music, and a food bar. Mainly it was like an outdoor school dance, or something like that. The dock was cleared for the main floor for the guests to dance, and have fun. As for the music, it was mainly a mix of pop and electro, shifting between the two depending on what the DJ wanted to do. The group of Gems parked their bikes at the nearest bike rack, before heading over to the party spot.

"Woo! Party time!" Steven beamed.

"Eh, is this a normal occurrence? I expected this more from the pony species," Peridot said, observing the many people around. As far as parties go, she mainly saw them whenever the ponies were around.

"Come on, it's a party!"

"I'll pass," Peridot decided. Steven felt bummed out, but Emerald got a little idea in his head.

"Oh I see ..."

"You do?" Peridot asked, surprised and perplexed hearing it from Emerald.

"Yep. You're just scared."

Never mind.

"No I'm not!" Peridot snapped.

"You're totally scared! Scaredy pebble."

"I'M NOT!"

"You are."

"I'M NOT!" 

"Of course you are!"

"I'LL PROVE IT!"

Peridot, flustered, stormed right onto the dance floor. Emerald crossed his arms, as the rest joined on in. There was a number of things working against Peeidot though. First of all, no one noticed her because she was small, and once more, she hasn't exactly done this before. She looked all around her, seeing nobody doing any fusion as they were dancing, and this sort wasn't what Peridot could exactly do. Fusion dance was one thing, but casual dance was another. Peridot just stood firm at an opening in the crowd, not sure how to proceed. As she was standing there, she saw Sapphire, Ruby, Steven, and Emerald dancing about, fairly well might she add. Ruby and Sapphire were dancing together, and Steven and Emerald were just free-styling on the dance floor. Eventually, Peridot decided to forget it, and she walked out of the crowd in a stiff walk. The only one who saw was Steven, just seeing her walking out of the dance floor. Peridot didn't stop until she was out of the dance floor, over to the bike rack again. Only then did Peridot relax a bit, as Steven followed her out.

"Hey, Peridot!" Steven called, as he went over to her. Peridot didn't realize she was being followed until that point. Steven didn't stop until he was just a foot away.

"Is everything okay?" Steven asked.

"Y-Yeah," Peridot replied hesitantly, blushing slightly. It was hard not to notice how hesitant her reply was.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure!" Peridot snapped, not meaning to. Steven felt a bit hesitant when she responded like that, and Peridot quickly corrected herself.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine. You, uh, go back to the party," Peridot said, her tone normal. Steven looked back to the party for a second, remembering what Emerald did to get her in there to begin with. Honestly, Steven was a smart kid and it didn't take long to put two and two together. Peridot wouldn't admit it, but, she was simply scared with this sort of thing, and Steven had the suspicion that the others knew this too. Peridot saw how unsure Steven was, and decided to quit hiding.

"Okay, maybe I'm a little bit ... Uncomfortable," Peridot admitted, turning away from Steven. The young kid then began to understand a bit more, but then he got an idea in his head.

"With what? Everyone else is dancing."

"Steven, this is different. Nobody in there's fusing or anything, they're just going about, and goofing off ... Anyway ... I ... can't dance."

"Huh?"

"I can't dance, okay?!" Peridot snapped, this time meaning it. Steven though smiled, and took her hand. Kind of odd to hear, since Peridot did a fusion with Lapis months ago, and she had to know how to dance for that to work ... right?

"It's easy, come on, I'll show you," Steven promised. Peridot sighed, trying to relax but found it difficult. She didn't stop him though, and Peridot was back to the dance floor again with Steven. Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire didn't notice them just yet, and the two were basically side by side. Steven began to dance a bit, but Peridot still wasn't too sure yet.

"Come on, Peridot, just move your body to the music," Steven said, as he continued happily dancing about. Peridot began to hear the music, which was mainly beat after beat of pop music. Peridot watched Steven carefully, seeing that Steven's dancing wasn't exactly specific. No exact style, but just him going with the beat. Eventually after a bit, Peridot's foot started to tap to the beat. And a little bit after that, her hips began to sway with the beat. Peridot closed her eyes, and focused on the beat more than much else, trying to go with the music as Steven told her to do. After a minute or two, Steven stopped for a minute to look to Peridot.

She was dancing.

And very good too.

Peridot, letting the music control her body, began to dance the night away, going all out with a number of different styles of dancing. Steven even noted a dance that mixed the moonwalk, and the robot - impressive. Sapphire, Emerald, and Ruby eventually noticed Peridot got all out on dancing, Peridot herself enjoying the dancing pretty well. Peridot cut out the troubles for the moment, and went on with her dancing, enjoying every moment of it. They saw Peridot even smiling during her dancing, and they could tell she was enjoying every second of it. The more Peridot danced, the more she was getting into it, her movements flowing and erratic in dance steps and styles to match the music. Other people began to notice Peridot dancing about, and stopped to watch as the music continued. Emerald and Steven both happily encouraged her with some cheering, though after a bit on hearing them, Peridot opened her eyes ...

Only then did she notice the crowd around her watching.

"Eehh ... heeheehee ... uhh ..."

Peridot, flustered up again, just slinkered away in a sidestep until she was back with the other Gems. The party continued from there, Peridot not entirely sure what just happened back there.

"What happened?" Peridot asked, looking like she was trying to hide behind Steven.

"You were having fun," Sapphire replied with a giggle, playfully fluffing Peridot's hair. The night was young, and they had plenty of party left to enjoy the night.


~~~~~~


The group basically, to sum up their party experience, was a fun one. They stuck around for the next two hours, having a lot of fun throughout the whole time. Despite all the fun though, they had to get back to the hotel at least, since Steven was ready to fall asleep the second they got back to the Seaside Hotel. When the next morning came back around, it was time to get back on their way back home. Getting their stuff, and checking out, they began to ride off out of Bayburgh, and began to return to Beach City. Lucky for them, there was no mugging on their way back home, much to Sapphire's vision correction, and delight. Nice they can avoid getting Steven in trouble with any thief with a iron bat. From the morning since leaving, they managed to get themselves back to Beach City at around nine, tired but overall enjoying their trip. When they got to the Beach House, Star and Diopside were both at the door by the time they showed up.

"Steven, there you are!" Diopside said, happily going right over to see him. Star Quartz came over too, glad to see them back too.

"... Where were you all?" Star asked, a bit confused.

"We visited Bayburgh," Sapphire answered.

"... Where's Bayburgh?"

"Eh, it's not too far from here. Hey, got something to show you," emerald said with a wink. Suddenly, he pulled out something else that he kept saving; a IPhone. Yes, he got one of those. Once more, much to Peridot's surprise, Emerald clicked around with it for a bit, and something began to show on the screen. Diopside and Star Quartz looked, and noticed that a video was being played.

Peridot dancing.

"... That's some unique movements ... You moved uniquely, Peridot," Star Quartz said, Peridot surprised, and looking spooked. blushing up and eyes wide, she saw herself dancing about at the party last night. Peridot knew she wouldn't live this down ...

"You clod, when did you even get this?" Peridot asked, still blushing in the face.

"You were having so much fun, my little pizza slice, I'd thought you'll like a reminder over last night. You have to admit, that's a good shot," Emerald said, showing Peridot some good shots of Peridot dancing from where Emerald was. Since Emerald also had his own telekinesis trick, he also got some cinematic shots, possibly from making his IPhone fly around Peridot.

"Well, maybe, but I insist you get rid of that thing," Peridot said, but Emerald smugly put his IPhone away back in his pocket.

"Eh, I'll get to it after get this up. I swear, this is going to be the next meme by tomorrow morning," Emerald chuckled, not bothering to explain what that was. Sapphire knew that Emerald was joking, not seeing any future vision of that happening, but as for Peridot ...

"Hm ... WAIT A MINUTE, DON'T YOU DARE!!" Peridot suddenly screamed, running inside after Emerald before he can upload her face onto the closest social site. Sapphire just smiled.

Just another day in the life of the Gems.
> Gallop to the Gala
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With her wings happily spread, and the wind blowing against her mane, Rainbow Dash took the afternoon to clear away the skies of any clouds, even if nopony asked her to. Honestly, not only was it fun to beat down the clouds floating around Ponyville, but also it was nice to fly around fast around in the air. It at least gave her an excuse to fly about as high speed. Of course, she can do that anytime she wanted to, but to her, this still helped out Ponyville, and basically killed two birds with one stone; helped the skies, and helped herself. Rainbow did many twists, turns, and a few bucks here and there to beat down the clouds just above Ponyville. Rainbow Dash went over about fifteen clouds, going on twenty, when she decided to land over by a nearby tree to chill out. As much fun it was to go fast around in the air, chilling out in the afternoon sun was just a bit nicer. Like a bird looking for a comfy perch, Rainbow flew around a little bit until she found a good sized branch, and settled down comfortably onto it like a beach chair. With her back to the tree, and front hooves behind her head, Rainbow gave off a good sigh, ready for an afternoon nap. Just before she could ...

"Hey, Rainbow!"

The voice belonged to Amethyst, and was enough to startle the Pegasus. It wasn't enough for her to fall out of the tree, but she did end up catching herself on the branch with her front hooves, her back hooves dangling a bit. After regaining her footing, she looked down and then saw Amethyst on the ground. Rainbow Dash got back onto her branch before looking down to her. For Amethyst, the Gem appeared to be holding something in her hand, though was a bit hard to tell from her standpoint.

"Do you mind? I'm just about to get busy napping," Rainbow said, looking down to Amethyst. Amethyst then brought the tickets up, waving them so Rainbow could have a better look at them.

"Believe me, I know how important that is, but just come down for a second will ya?" Amethyst asked. Rainbow, although still annoyed with being interrupted from her nap so 	quickly, decided to come down anyway, hovering down to the ground. When she did, it was then that Rainbow Dash got a better look at what Amethyst was holding. In her hand were two golden pieces of paper, about the size of a train ticket a piece. Immediately, Rainbow Dash got two and two together, and knew exactly what the tickets were.

"You got two Galloping Gala tickets?!" Rainbow gasped, enough to get her hovering off the grounds, her wings beating like a hummingbird.

"Yeah, got them this morning. So did that others. Twilight said to get you so you can get ready," Amethyst explained, giving Rainbow Dash one of the tickets. "Sweet!" Rainbow smiled, getting her ticket on her hooves. Still, Amethyst didn't entirely know what the buzz was truly about.

"So, mind giving me the gist on this Galloping Gala thing?" Amethyst asked, still not exactly getting the idea too well. Rainbow Dash knew what the Galloping Gala was about, going there herself once before.

"It's a party held by Celestia at Canterlot! All sorts of fancy ponies go  there, and many keep calling it the biggest night in Equestria," Rainbow summed.

"And what do the few call it?"

"Eh, a bore fest. But hey, we can easily spice it up, if you know what I mean," Rainbow Dash said, with a nudge and a wink. Being the rebellious Gem she was, Amethyst easily caught onto the idea very quickly after thinking a bit. If this party was a bore fest, she was sure to bring up some lively action to the party. Her, and a few others as well.

"Oh yeah," Amethyst chimed, smirking. Rely on what group better to liven up a party, after all. Rainbow, ticket in her grip, flew off to get herself ready, as Amethyst did the same.


~~~~~~


With time going on, the night for the event came about fairly quickly, much to the delight for those higher class in Canterlot, and those invited to the event in question. The Grand Galloping Gala was set to take place, as it usually does, at Canterlot Castle. The decor, and the catering were all set up inside by the Canterlot staff, and everything was prepared for the groups of aristocratic guests to arrive for the event. For the guests themselves, they were all greeted by the princesses themselves, as formally dressed up in princess dresses, colored for each princess. Luna had a midnight corset, long and flowy. Celestia's was similar to this, but in a rainbow like her mane rather than Luna. Now, usually, it would just be Luna and Celestia in this greeting stance, often the first to introduce guests to the event, and the first sight they see. This year, they had another Alicorn to greet the guests; Twilight Sparkle. Her formal attire consisted of a silver blue dress and glass horseshoes, the dress lined with stars along the rim. Like Celestia and Luna, Twilight also had her priority for the event in terms of greeting the guests. Not the best job in the world to be gifted with, but, it will only last until all the guests show, and then she will be free to join the party. That wouldn't be bad if so many didn't show, but Twilight knew better than to complain about it. She just stood there next to Celestia, smile on her face and hoof waving the coming guests in a greeting. At the front doors, there was an announcer who had a royal horn to present the more regal or special guests. The mane six had already arrived a while ago, so, Twilight wasn't waiting on them. Eventually, he blew his horn.

"Presenting the friends of Earth; the Crystal Gems!" He announced.

Sure enough, going through the front doors came in the Gems in question. They all were in formality, sure, though some didn't really dig the idea like others. Most of them were in dresses or skirts, while Flint, Emerald, and Steven were in tuxedos. Few of the more tomboyish girls (Amethyst and Fulgurite in particular) found the idea of dressing all fancy not exactly their cup of tea. Yet other Gems (Lapis, Pearl, Star, etc.) fit in to a perfect tee. Each outfit the Gems wore all matched their wearers in colors, with Garnet being an exception (main base Red, the rim and shoulders blue).

"Welcome to the Gala, Gems," Celestia said.

"It's nice to be here, Celestia," Garnet replied, though she couldn't say the exact same for everyone ...

"Do we really have to wear this stuff?" Amethyst complained, not comfortable in her purple dress. Pearl, who was wearing her white dress she'd kept since their first arrival in Equestria, hushed Amethyst. It wasn't exactly a good idea to start complaining in front of the princesses. Soon, with greetings taken care of, they soon went off to the party, Twilight seeing them off. While she knew she had to, the job of standing at the door and waving left her most bored. Sure, the event itself may not exactly be a wild gig, but at least it gave Twilight more to do than this. Still, Twilight knew her priority, and stayed around. Still, Celestia turned to her former student.

"We should only have one more pair arriving, Twilight. You're free to go soon as they arrive, I promise," Celestia assured.

"Huh? No no, I'm fine Celestia, really," Twilight insisted, smiling. Celestia knew her student pretty well already, however. As if on cue, the announcer blew his horn again.

"Presenting the spirit of chaos, Discord, and ..." The pony seemed a little forgetful on who Discord brought along, but then a slip of paper magic'd itself in front of him with his answer. After reading, he announced again.

"Member of the great Diamond Authority, Blue Diamond!"

Twilight couldn't believe her ears on what she just heard, but surely enough, as the two came in, it became perfectly clear. Discord arrived inside with a orange tuxedo, rustic bow tie, and orange top hat. And there, walking in, was Blue Diamond herself! Blue Diamond was dressed in a beautiful, sea blue flowing dress, with a necklace around her neck, and diamond-patterned bang around her right wrist (beats a pearl bracelet). Blue Diamond didn't had her cloak, and so her head was exposed for them to see. The Diamond had lovely blue eyes that almost seemed to glow, and her hair, which was surprisingly short, rested on the back of her neck. However, Twilight Sparkle remembered her to be a towering giant (comparing to ponies anyway), but here she didn't look more taller than Garnet, especially when comparing her to Blue Pearl next to her (who was also formally dressed for the occasion).

"B-Blue Diamond?" Twilight thought, as Blue Diamond gave a small now to Celestia.

"A pleasure to be here," Blue Diamond said.

"It's grateful to see you face to face, dear," Celestia replied. They should be the last, so Celestia, Luna, and Blue Diamond started to head off to the party. Discord was about to go himself, but Twilight Sparkle was soon in his face.

"Oh, hello sweet Twilight."

"Listen, this is a very important night, Discord," Twilight strictly informed. Twilight glanced back to Celestia, waving her hoof before continuing. "Keep your magic, under control."

"Yes, yes, sure. Now, have you seen Fluttershy anywhere?" Discord asked, although he began walking off to the party anyway. Twilight was still shocked to see Blue Diamond, of all Gems, to show up. Homeworld was far enough away from Equestria, and Twilight could only wonder how the other Gems will react to see her.


~~~~~~


As for the Grand Galloping Gala itself, the event was in full swing at this point. The main ballroom of Canterlot Castle was fully decorated, seating set up, plenty of room in the center of the ballroom, and a red carpet lined along the floor, leading to an Alicorn statue on display by the Canterlot windows. Also, there was a stage set up to the left of the statue; red silk curtains and smooth white flooring, with four ponies providing the music. One was on piano, one on a stand-up bass, one on a harp, and one on a sousaphone. Many mares and stallions from all over Canterlot were there at the event; Pegasus, Earth Pony, and Unicorn alike, all from a high class standard. Of course, the Gems seem to stick out from the crowds of ponies, but that didn't seem to really bother anypony else there. After all, they were invited guests, same as anyone, and it wouldn't be dignified to mock any guests there. Many of the Gems and Ponies pretty much split up and were doing their own thing in this party, although what exactly to do remained to be said. Some were alright with the formality of it all, maybe even impressed with it, but some just found it completely boring. Even if it was a big night for every guest, there wasn't exactly anything to spice it up. No action, no big activities, just basically a formal get-together.

Not the best thing ever for the best night ever.

At the moment though, the Gems didn't realize that another one of their own was coming in, since Blue Diamond and Blue Pearl didn't get to the ballroom yet. Over by the punch bowl, Emerald and Star were both over there hanging out. His suit mainly consisted of a lime green tuxedo, with a white and green striped tie. On his head was a rather big top hat, also green with a white trim. As for Star Quartz though, since she was pretty formal already (and didn't had much clue on it), mainly looked the same apart from a small addition of a gold bracelet on her hands - best she could figure out from what the others said.

"... These ponies look different," Star Quartz said, looking around at the neatly dressed ponies, as Emerald helped himself to some punch.

"They're just fancy schmancy, that's all. Wants some?" Emerald asked, pouring himself a drink of the fresh fruit punch in a glass cup. Star Quartz looked down to the punch for a bit, as Emerald waited a bit for an answer. Star Quartz though was a bit slow, and eventually Emerald just shrugged, and enjoyed his own drink. As he drank, Star Quartz noticed that Emerald was holding the cup with a pinkie extended. After Emerald had his sip, Star Quartz gently held Emerald's pinkie, a bit curious.

"... Something wrong with this digit?" Star asked, wiggling the pinkie. Emerald got her to let go, a little awkward from Star's questioning, but can get the idea to why.

"No, no, it's just something fancy people do. At least people off TV," Emerald said, taking another sip in the same manor. Star didn't know what TV was, so, it didn't help too much. Still, she picked up one of the cups from the stand, and looked over to the fruit punch.

"... What's that? ..."

"That's fresh fruit punch."

"... It attacks then ..."

"No, no, just a name! Here, try some," Emerald quickly correctly, going on and pouring a glass of fruit punch for her. Star looked into her glass cup, seeing the purple juice inside. She looked over to Emerald, seeing him drink it in the same fancy manor. Star Quartz wasn't sure exactly why she should do it, or if she should drink it or not. As Star Quartz was trying to figure it out, the Gem then began to hear someone walk over to her. Once she turned over (and while Emerald had his back turned), Star Quartz then saw Blue Diamond there! She never met her before though, so seeing her wasn't as surprising as it should be.

"Hello, dear," Blue Diamond said.

"... Hi ... Are you another Gem?" Star Quartz asked, head tilting slightly, as she looked to Blue Diamond's blue eyes with her own starry eyes. Emerald turned around, and nearly dropped his drink he was so surprised.

"W-What the?! What're you doing here?" Emerald asked, shocked as ever.

"I heard about this event, and decided to come down to Equestria to visit. I assume the other Gems are here too?" Blue Diamond asked. She was more than sure if any other Gems were there, they'd make her out almost immediately at this point. Blue Pearl looked around, and can see plenty of ponies around them, and she also saw the Crystal Gems in a number of spots too. Considering Blue Diamond was taller than anypony else, even if shrunk down, it was easy for the Gems to spot her. Pretty soon, many of the Gems were right over to her, Blue Diamond happy to see them.

"Blue Diamond?" Garnet said, in surprise.

"Garnet. A pleasure to see you all again. And introducing myself to some too," Blue Diamond said, seeing the Gems that didn't go to Homeworld before. Flint kept the most distance from her, but he soon found that Jade had began to get curious with her, especially since she acted so nice towards the other Gems there.

"Wait a minute; didn't we leave you from Homeworld? How'd you get here?" Amethyst questioned, scratching her head. Surely a question on many of their minds the second they saw her.

"And ... weren't you taller?" Added Fulgurite, again a question on their minds.

"I'd tell you, but, he insisted to keep it a secret. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise," Blue Diamond said with a smile. Surprise? If it was who they think, why was there any surprise to begin with? Still, the fact that Blue Diamond was there at all was surprising enough.

"Okay then, but what happened to you? I swear, you were tall enough to touch the ceiling," Amethyst asked.

"I shrank down, to sum it up. Might as well not break down Celestia's entrance for my first arrival. Don't let me stop you though; you all enjoy yourselves," Blue Diamond insisted, letting the Gems go off back to the event. She even allowed Blue Pearl sometime with Pearl by the punch bowl. Blue Diamond smiled, and allowed Blue Pearl to stay as she went off.

At first, the two Pearls stayed quiet, not entirely sure how to start a conversation. Blue Pearl turned to her, looking at Pearl's outfit. Blue Pearl and Pearl had similar outfits for the occasion, with colors matching the Gems.

"You look lovely, Pearl," Blue Pearl said after a bit. Pearl blushed a slight blue from the sudden compliment, her gentle fingers holding a part of the dress's flowing rim.

"Well, Thank you. My friend Rarity made it when I first arrived in Ponyville," Pearl said, letting the dress gently flow back down. Blue Pearl watched it for a moment before looking back to Pearl's face.

"The unicorn?"

"That's right. Maybe she can make one for you too."

At this point Blue Pearl blushed up, turning away sheepishly.

"Well ... I don't know. I'm just a Pearl ..."

"Believe me, Rarity will be more than happy to help. I mean, she is the elements of generosity," Pearl replied, confident Rarity would make something for her. Blue Pearl still felt a bit bashful on the subject, but seemed Pearl was more willing than her. Of course, one Pearl was more free than her, so that can easily add to why she'd think so. Still, the outfit did resemble someone that Blue Pearl had heard of in the past. Her faced blushed up a dark red before she felt ready to ask ...

"Pearl? ..."

"Yes?"

"Um ... how was, uh ... well ..." Blue Pearl couldn't seem to get the question out correctly, and she could feel the awkwardness grow with each passing second. Pearl began to feel a bit awkward too.

"How was ...?"

"... Um ... R-Rose," Blue Pearl finally got out, her voice hushed, and her face a deep blue hue from her blushing. Pearl wasn't sure if she heard it correctly, but she still felt like it was taken from nowhere. Sort of. Blue Pearl gulped.

"Rose? You mean Rose Rose?" Pearl asked, a bit surprised herself. All Blue Pearl did was nod slightly, not turning to her. It was Pearl's turn to blush a slight blue, though perhaps the outfit reminded Blue Pearl of her. Pearl took a moment, lowering her eyes to her hands, which she held together for the moment as she remembered her sweet Rose Quartz. She hadn't seen her in such a long time, but she couldn't forget Rose's sweet, motherly face, and her compassionate towards every being, even Pearls ...

"Rose Quartz was a wonderful Gem," Pearl began, a small smile on her face. "She was very sweet towards many forms of life while she was around. I couldn't have asked for a better Gem to be with than her ..." Pearl paused, remembering the sweet memories as Blue Pearl took this information in. How close was Pearl with Rose Quartz? ...

"... So ... Everything you said before on Homeworld ... about her ..."

"It was true. She made me feel like everything ..."

However, when Pearl looked back, something didn't look right with Blue Pearl. Blue Pearl looked down to her feet ... and something began to run down her face ...

Tears ...

"Pearl?"

"I ... I'm sorry. I-I think I heard my Diamond ..."

And with that, Blue Pearl went away to go off to Blue Diamond. Pearl didn't know what happened, or what troubled Blue Pearl like that. Pearl tried to get to her, to figure out what was wrong, but Blue Pearl was soon gone from her sight. Did she say something wrong? ...

Pearl felt like she did ...


~~~~~~


"Where are you, Discord?"

Taking the moment to check things out, Garnet began to look around for Discord. Even in a crowd full of ponies, the Draconequus sure can hide himself. Seeing Blue Diamond suddenly show up was something she had to figure out, or at least understand to be sure. It took her and the Gems at least a month full to get to Homeworld, and they weren't back on Earth for that long. For the crowd, she saw many ponies and a bit of her own group around the place, but she didn't see any sort of Draconequus anywhere. Considering she was trying to find a being of chaos, Discord could pretty much be anywhere.

"You know I can sense you," Garnet said, looking around some more. However, Discord still didn't seem to be around. Eventually, after a good while, she then looked up and noticed a dragon tail just sticking out from the chandelier above her. Immediately, she knew who was up there the second she saw it. She looked to one of her hands, and with some body morphing, her arm stretched up and grabbed the tail, pulling Discord down to the floor.

"Evening, Garnet," Discord said, hovering in mid air from his bird and bat wing. Garnet, having Discord's attention, released his tail.

"I'd like to talk to you, Discord," Garnet said, arms crossed. Discord, kinda figuring as much, suddenly snapped his paw fingers. Suddenly, both he and Garnet were teleported to the castle balcony, which connected back to the ballroom from the upper floor. It was secluded, so it was only Discord and Garnet. Discord laid down on his side, right on the rim of the balcony stone fence, with a small glass of fruit punch in his talon. He took a moment to spin the drink in his glass before saying anything else.

"So, what's up?" Discord asked, beginning to drink the glass, rather than the fruit punch.

"It's about Blue Diamond," Garnet replied, as Discord finished his drink (sort of), and tossed it aside.

"Oh, her! You like the surprise? Blue Diamond was such a sweetheart for letting me bring her here to Equestria. Almost like a particular Alicorn we know of," Discord said, with a wink on the last part. Well, that answered one of her questions in a way.

"So you got her from Homeworld to Equestria, then?" Garnet questioned. Discord fluttered over by her, leaning against her like she was a brick wall, with a fancy cane for some extra accessory to his outfit.

"Well, more or less. Didn't check out Homeworld though, so that fifty percent for you," Discord said, drawing a fifty in front of Garnet with his pointy talon finger. It stayed there until Garnet brushed it away like dust, though Discord seemed to make the original idea a bit confusing.

"So, how'd you get her if you didn't see Homeworld first?" Garnet asked, eyebrow raised from under her shades. Discord laughed, but turned away, waving his paw finger to her.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no spoilers Garnet. You and your pals will have to wait for that cute little answer in oh ..." Discord paused, and suddenly conjured up an old fashioned alarm clock. "Few days, maybe a week, give or take," Discord finished.

"Discord, you've made us magic keys, made the blueprints for the Galactic Ray, and you even got Kyra onto Homeworld without it. I'd imagine -"

"Oh, it isn't me this time, I hate to say."

"... Excuse me?"

Suddenly, Discord was in a jack-in-the-box, popping out.

"Surprise! HA HA! That's right, Garnet dear; it wasn't me bringing her from Homeworld. I'd normally pop her with that cute little door, but I didn't had the key, and opening dimensional doors isn't like window shopping," Discord joked. However, Garnet ended up thinking some more about it quite a bit, as Discord stood tall, leaning on his cane with a smug grin. If Discord didn't get Blue Diamond here, who did? Blue Diamond did say "he" wanted to keep it a secret, so Discord must have some sort of involvement in it somehow. But Discord wasn't make it any easier; he was involved, but he didn't bring her here, so that left one question ...

Who brought Blue diamond here? Or how did she get here, for that matter?

"So let me get this right; you didn't bring her here, yet you were still involved?"

"Oh, let's leave those questions for the thinkers at home for now. Now, come on Garnet, there's still a Gala to play with," Discord encouranged, walking back inside alongside Garnet.

Meanwhile, Blue Diamond was taking her time to look around, and basically see how the Galloping Gala was handled. So far, Blue Diamond found it pretty quaint; nothing over-the-top, or anything rough either - mainly a aristocratic approach like she would do for her court. Even if the exact details didn't match what a normal Gem would do, it was still pretty cute to see, and charming. With the other Gems coming and going around the ballroom, enjoying themselves to some degree depending on who, Blue Diamond decided to go over to and see the main hosts to it all; Celestia and Luna. When Blue Diamond did find there, the two princesses were over by the Alicorn statue, the two talking to a few other ponies for a bit. Interestingly, Celestia also had another little pal with her, sitting down in her back on a make-shift perch. It looked like a bird, just taller than a equestrian pony, but rather lean too. its feathers were beautiful shades of red and orange like flames to a fire, signifying its species. Pretty soon, the bird noticed her just before Celestia herself did, the others ponies going off.

"Ms. Diamond, pleasant evening. How're you enjoying the Gala?" Celestia asked, as her bird calmly turned to Blue Diamond.

"It's a nice event, Celestia. Mind if I ask about your creature?" Blue Diamond asked, pointing to the bird on Celestia's back. The bird smiled to Celestia, as the Alicorn looked up to her again.

"Oh, her. She's my pet phoenix," Celestia explained, as her phoenix moved from off her back, and onto her raised hoof, the bird looking up to her. "This is Philomena. She's such a sweetheart, isn't she?" Celestia said. Philomena flew up to Blue Diamond, circling her in the air to look her over. Blue Diamond was impressed with the bird, even seeing some slight flames going out of the bird's wings as she flew around her. Philomena landed by Celestia again, giving a happy squawk afterwards.

"She is a lovely-looking phoenix," Blue Diamond complimented. Philomena blushed on the compliment, as Celestia smiled to her bird. As their conversation continued, the Diamond Gem then began to hear something coming down to her, soon wrapping around her neck like he was a scarf. Turned out it was Discord.

"Oh, Philomena is a lovely bird, isn't she? And how're you enjoying Equestria?" Discord asked. Blue Diamond didn't want Discord around her this way, so she picked him up, and dropped him on the floor. Discord quickly regained himself, wiping off some dust on his suit.

"To be honest, I do enjoy it so far. This 'Galloping Gala' as you call it is quite charming. Aristocratic by many means," Blue Diamond complimented, looking around at everypony going about. Blue Diamond could see many of the aristocratic ponies going about the event, reminding her of the aristocratic Gems back on Homeworld. As she was looking around though, she then began to notice something else ...

Where's Blue Pearl?


~~~~~~


Quiet and alone for the time being, Blue Pearl took the moment to get herself out of the crowded ballroom, and out onto the Canterlot gardens. She didn't knew where the gardens were, but more of finding it by accident while trying to find a spot to keep away from Pearl until it was time for her to go back to Homeworld. At least it was calming in the Canterlot Gardens for the moment. The grass was soft, and the animals amongst the garden kept their distance as to not bother her. Blue Pearl found a good spot by a small tree, and sat down comfortably. She'll head back in once she calmed down, but for now, she needed a minute to think it over ...

"Pearl? Where did you go?"

Guess she wasn't going to get the chance this time. That voice proved as such. Blue Pearl looked up a little bit, as she heard that voice. Further away, just entering the Canterlot Gardens, Pearl had come around, trying to find Blue Pearl. Seeing Blue Pearl just go off like that and everything, Pearl herself had to at least apologize, or at the very least figure out what was wrong with her. Pearl kept looking around until she saw Blue Pearl sitting all alone. Blue Pearl didn't act like she noticed her, but Pearl still went over to her anyway. Blue Pearl didn't say anything as Pearl sat down next to her.

"Pearl? Is everything okay?" Pearl asked in concern. Blue Pearl glanced over to Pearl, though not moving all too much, and not saying much to her.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Pearl, really I didn't. I know you have your loyalty to Blue Diamond, and I'm not saying -"

"I'm sorry."

The response was hushed, and rather quick. Pearl heard something come out of Blue Pearl, but Pearl couldn't make out exactly what it was.

"Wha?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Blue Pearl got out. Pearl was taken aback, as Blue Pearl continued.

"I didn't realize how nice she was. I should've done something during the rebellion - maybe then Rose can still be here with you ..." Blue Pearl brought her head to her knees. Pearl's expression of surprise turned to a calmer expression.

"It's not your fault, Pearl, don't blame yourself. You didn't make the rebellion happen," Pearl assured her, hand on her shoulder. Blue Pearl looked over to Pearl, tears streaming down her face. 

"I've been with Blue Diamond though during it all, I could've done something to change her mind, maybe spare her ... I'm so sorry, Pearl."

"No, no Pearl, it's okay. Please, Pearl, I don't want to see you hurt," Pearl said, trying her best to comfort her. Unless Blue Pearl planned Greg to meet Rose sometime before this, then there wasn't any way Blue Pearl would be held responsible for the rebellion. Blue Pearl took a moment, sniffing and rubbing some tears off her face. Pearl also helped to move some tears off of her face, Blue Pearl touched a little bit. As Pearl was, she could just see more of Blue Pearl's face; a sweet, blue, innocent, yet sorrow filled eye looking to her. Pearl didn't expect her to have just one eye, but then again, one of her friends had one eye too. That, and Pearl didn't want to make Blue Pearl feel any worse. Blue Pearl took a moment before answering her.

"... I'm sorry, Pearl ... She sounded so sweet ... and now ..."

"sshh. There, there," Pearl said, her motherly side of her showing here. Blue Pearl took a moment before she then hugged Pearl. Pearl didn't expect it, but she returned it regardless of it. Blue Pearl felt so sorry for Pearl to loose her closest friend, and master as well, and with the rebellion splitting her off from Earth, she felt like Rose should deserve more than this. Pearl just simply kept the hug going for a little bit, gently stroking Blue Pearl's head to calm her. Pearl eventually released Blue Pearl, allowing her to do the same. Blue Pearl still felt hurt for having Pearl loose Rose, but at least Pearl didn't blame her for what happened like Blue Pearl was doing to herself. The two pearls got back up after a bit, after Blue Pearl calmed down.

"Feel better?" Pearl asked. Blue Pearl only replied with a nod to that question, wiping a few final remaining tears off of her face. The two both knew that it should be better to have fun at the Gala rather than stay outside. After a little bit, the two then began to head on back inside, Blue Pearl shyly smiling a little bit, side by side.

Up on the Canterlot roof, having watched the whole thing go down, draconequus Discord was laying down comfortably on the rooftop, head resting on his paw and talon with a smile on his face. He had heard everything, and kept himself a grin on his face. 

"Oh, it's nice to make some relationships happen, isn't it? Have a good night," Discord asked the audience with a wink, before he flew off back into the Gala himself. Before he did though, he hanged a little sign on the door, and closed them. With the sign reading;

End of Chapter.
> Gem-Swapped
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Amethyst, we need to clean up your room."

That was Garnet's order for the day for the, to be honest, annoyed Gem. Amethyst wasn't one to clean up her room, at least not in a way any normal person or pony would. Her "room", if one would call it such, was basically made up of a huge, crystal lined cave with light coming in from a waterfall close by. The floor was mainly sandy, with puddles and streams from the pre-mentioned waterfall flowing in, not that Amethyst minded much. What she did mind though was having to clean up her stuff. Many of this stuff consisted of all sorts of human knickknacks, from small little objects to pieces of furniture. Amongst these piles included animal hunting trophies, a fridge, a number of bikes, all sorts of instruments, and even a fully in tact T-Rex skeleton, just to name a few things out of her many piles of junk. To Amethyst, this was basically cleaning out her place, in terms of what goes where. Even if they all just look like piles for the nearest junkyard, Amethyst still had some spots still, in her own eyes, categorized (a pile with stuff for music, and another pile for extra weapons for instance). No matter the case, Amethyst still was put in charge of cleaning up her room to make it look a bit more decent. To Amethyst, "cleaning up" mainly would include throwing things away, and that was something she especially didn't want to do. On the bright side, if anything, she didn't have to do it by herself; a number of other Gems were also tidying up Amethyst's piles of trash everywhere. As for help in general, Amethyst got Pearl, Lapis Lazuli, Garnet, Peridot, Emerald, Fulgurite, and even Jasper was brought down to help out. As far as to who did what, it was self-explanatory. Garnet and Jasper handled some of the heavier stuff, Lapis and Pearl handled precise details, and Peridot and Fulgurite handled the lighter things. Amethyst wasn't thrilled at all with this idea, as she watched them all go through her things for stuff to throw out, and basically cleaning up her room.

"Come on, Garnet!" Amethyst whined, not wanting any of her stuff messed with.

"Amethyst, it has to be done," Garnet replied strictly.

"This is my room, I can handle it if I want to! You're messing up my whole system!" Amethyst retorted, arms out in emphasis. Her "system" was putting stuff in messy piles, really, but it was still her system. Unfortunately, not a system everyone agreed with. Before Garnet could go any further, the T-Rex skeleton was being pulled from place by Jasper, making amethyst rush over.

"Hey, put that down!"

"We don't even need this," snorted Jasper, as she held the T-Rex head up above her. She may not be too familiar with organic creatures, but, whatever owned this skeleton was pretty big and threatening indeed. She could care less though, as Amethyst tried to get it back in place before it collapsed into itself, being fragile enough as it was.

"It's called "decoration"? Seriously, who wouldn't love a T-Rex in their room?" Amethyst said, seemingly presenting the T-Rex skeleton to Jasper. Rather than ask what a T-Rex was, Jasper just rolled her eyes, pinching the bridge of her gemstone.

"Not even my room's this clustered," Jasper groaned. She didn't care much for cleaning either, but at least her room didn't look this bad. Nearby, suddenly a pile of picture frames and paintings were levitated in the air by Emerald, who was enjoying this just as much as Amethyst was ... other words, not at all.

"Can't we just chuck this stuff in the sea or something? nobody and nopony for that matter bothers with it there, and I see humans do it all the time," Emerald suggested, wanting the job over and done. Pearl however was against it.

"The sea's polluted enough with them involved, there won't be any life left in the ocean if we dump all this in," Pearl said in a salty tone.

"Oh, HA HA, very funny," Amethyst sarcastically remarked, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. Seriously, she knew things were messy, but she didn't need that kind of salt-filled remark from Pearl. She'd much rather do anything else than this; stuff her face, sleep the day away, anything but this.

"You go on ahead, fine, I'll be with Steven if you need me," Amethyst said, just about to head out the door for someone who'd rather play than work. However ...

"No, Amethyst, you help too. Besides, Steven isn't here," Garnet told her, making the purple Gem stop.

"Where'd he go?"

"He went with his father to show him Equestria today. It'll give you enough time to clean up," Garnet said, going through a pile of furniture, and pulling out a old-used sofa. Groaning loudly, Amethyst decided to just bugger it, and get to cleaning up her piles of stuff.

"Alright, fine, I'll do it!" Amethyst groaned, finally going through one of her piles as Garnet wanted. The pile she started with was a pile of animal stuff, and as she tried to get something out of the bottom, the sheer force of her pulling managed to dislodge a rhino hunting trophy from its place, landing right on her head.

"OOF!"

The purple Gem sat down in a daze, the stuffed rhino head apparently replacing her own , even aimed like it was her real head. While unexpected, Pearl and Emerald couldn't help but snicker, as Amethyst tried to pull the head off of her own head. She'd not work for more than twenty seconds, and already she made a completely idiot of herself.

"Get it off," Amethyst murmured from in the rhino head. Peridot, being close by when this occurred, decided to try to pull it off herself. It wasn't exactly easy, but with a good *pop*, the rhino head was dislodged from Amethyst's head. Peridot flew back, landing on the ground with the rhino head staring her in the face. Peridot cringed, and tossed it aside, as Amethyst shook off the thick foam that was used to keep the head together. After Peridot tossed it though, something else suddenly rolled off of the pile, and landed nearby Amethyst, rolling out smoothly until stopping in front of them all.

The object looked fairly small, and appeared to look like some sort of odd Gem piece. It didn't look like any normal gemstone like they had on them, and once more, it didn't had any exact shape. If anything, it looked more like one of those Rubix cubes; multiple extensions of different colors put into one shape. Different sides showed different colors, and it made out different point like a chipped away, icy ball. The appearance alone wouldn't normally get attention, but the reaction it got from landing on the ground did; beginning to blink a little bit like a lightning bug or something.

"What's that thing?" Peridot questioned, pointing to it. Amethyst actually shrugged, her *hmm* sounding like "I dunno."

"Shouldn't you know what this is?"

"Hey, I can't keep track of everything in here!" snapped Amethyst, as Garnet went in and picked it up, looking it over a little bit more. As she held it in place with one hand, the object continued blinking, though it didn't appear to be anything dangerous really. Everyone took a moment to look at it, when it suddenly began to blink a bit faster, different colors aimed at different Gems. at first, the colors matched each Gem aimed at, but the second time it did this, the colors switched about quickly. Once that was done, it calmed down, and became dormant again.

"What's with the light show? It trying to give us seizures?" Emerald commented.

"Gems don't get seizures," stated Garnet, as she got it in a bubble easily. the object spun a little inside the bubble, but not much else. Garnet then turned to the others.

"I'll go handle this. you all keep going," Garnet decided. Garnet didn't entirely know what exactly it was herself, and she much rather have it in a safe bubble rather than have it. As Garnet began to walk away, the object inside the bubble started to spin some more, becoming agitated from being bubbled up. Garnet looked back at her bubble, but it was too late for her to react; the object spun around, and one of the sharp edges popped the bubble from the inside. Suddenly, it launched itself upward in the air fast, the lights blaring out of it like a electric disco ball, yet bouncing around as erratic as a rubber ball would. Everyone tried their best to catch it, but it moved too erratic for even Fulgurite to get it. The more it bounced around, the more brighter it got. And finally ...

*BOOM*

The object quick made a huge booming noise, a camera-like flash exploding out so no one could see what was going on. When the light cleared, and things calmed down, the object had disappeared, launching itself out of sight, and out the door during the light. As for the Gems themselves, no one was physically hurt, but they all needed a moment to regain their eyes from the glare that flash gave them. It took a few more seconds before they felt better, but then the Gem group began to realize something after a while. The first to regain herself was Pearl, but ...

"Uuughhh ... What happened?" Pearl groaned. However, her voice did not sound the same at all ...

"I don't know. That -" Amethyst cut herself off, noticing something was wrong with her voice too. There was a long silence, as everyone in the room began to try to piece together what the heck happened. Pretty soon though, it was starting to become painfully clear to every Gem there. Everyone looked eachother over more and more, and they all came to the big conclusion ...

"MY BODY!" Jasper gasped.

Sure enough, their bodies were indeed swapped! Quite a shocker, to say the least. In Jasper's case, rather than her huge Buffy body, she was stuck with Peridot's miniature doll body. Her large body, shaggy hair, and muscles were all gone, and Jasper didn't know exactly what to think. The same thing can be said about everyone else, their shocked expressions easily apparent as they tried to figure out who was stuck in what body. As for who was in Jasper's body. Well, if Jasper got Peridot's body, it was only reason to think that Peridot would've gotten Jasper's body. However ...

"This is new."

That was all Emerald could really say. In just a few seconds, he'd gain over double his height, triple in weight, and got muscles to put bodybuilders to shame. Of course, height was something she needed to get himself used to. He got up, suddenly finding himself towering over everyone else - something he couldn't do with his old body. Much to Jasper's anger, Emerald began checking himself out, his hands exploring a little bit.

"Dang, Jasper, you got some nice curves," Emerald complimented, making Jasper even more ticked off. Bad enough her body was switched, now someone else was pretty much feeling her up. Seriously.

"Stop that, you clod!" Jasper demanded. Of course they weren't the only one's having trouble; Pearl and Amethyst both were basically swapped too, and Pearl didn't enjoy being the opposite of herself. Pearl quickly figured out who had her body from the embarrassed smile.

"Amethyst!!" Pearl growled, going as far as to grab Amethyst by her throat.

"Eh, sorry about that."

"Sorry?! You manifested us into eachother's bodies! How're we supposed to -" Pearl stopped, getting very bugged by all of her new shaggy hair. "How do you even manage with all this hair?"

"How do I manage? Seriously, what did you do to yourself?" Amethyst retorted, referring to her new thin body. Sure, she was taller and that was nice, but Amethyst was more used to some more mass on her rather than being so rail thin. However, before their bickering could continue, suddenly they all heard someone becoming undone. The body switching didn't stop at the single Gems, and soon Garnet was soon split in two. Ruby stood firm, but with a deeply calm expression, though Sapphire looked absolutely terrified, both hands gripping her head. Pretty clear that Sapphire wasn't in her own body here.

"Everyone just relax. Arguing won't get us anywhere," Sapphire instructed, from Ruby's body. For whoever was in Sapphire's body, she was going through quite a rough stage with what she was trying to handle. Switched bodies meant switched powers, and only the real Sapphire knew how to properly control them.

"W-What just happened?! Where's my body?! Who has it?!"

Eventually she saw Jasper in Peridot's body.

"Give me back my body, you clod!"

"Oh, there's Peridot," Emerald commented. It was easy to figure out who was what when they call out their own bodies. Sapphire cleared her throat first.

"Okay, okay. Let's start with figuring out who's where. Sapphire."

"Amethyst."

"Pearl."

"Emerald."

"Jasper."

"Peridot."

"Lapis."

"Fulgurite."

"Ruby."

Well that was simple enough to figure out. Everyone in the room basically switched bodies with someone else, and the main result from that was complete confusion and worry. Sapphire was probably the calmest out of all of them, basically already understanding Ruby inside and out. Too bad she couldn't say the same for everyone else. After roll call was made out, Lapis (who was in Fulgurite's body) then pretty much brought up the elephant in the room.

"Where'd that thing go, anyway?"

"Its not here?! You gotta be kidding me," Ruby said (who was in Lapis's body).

"Don't worry. We'll find it eventually."

"Wait, I got it. Come on, Sapphire, check that future vision of yours, did you see where it ended up?" Fulgurite insisted, going right up to her. Unfortunately, Sapphire simply shrugged.

"Not my power anymore. I'll have to help Peridot with that," Sapphire replied, turning to Peridot, who was still trying to figure things out. If they were going to get anywhere, Sapphire's future vision was what they needed. However, since Peridot was now the holder of that power, that might be a lot of trouble to figure out. Sapphire went over to Peridot, getting her to her feet.

"In the meantime, it looks like we all have to play pretend for a while until we get this sorted out," Sapphire said, starting to go to the door. Lapis though wasn't so sure about it, and rushed over to Sapphire and Peridot. However, with Fulgurite's speed, that immediately got her charging right into the room wall in a blur. Lapis peeled herself off the wall, completely dazed, and trying to regain her senses.

"Easier said than done," sighed Fulgurite. Did they really need to deal with this kind of trouble?

"Eh, can't be too hard to play as Pearl. You just needed to practice like me," Amethyst said, hand to chest. Of course, Pearl got a little suspicious.

"What do you mean you practiced?" Pearl asked, judgmental. Amethyst cleared her throat.

"Hello, darling, I am Pearl. You did such a splendid job on making breakfast, but I'm afraid I have another engagement to keep, tidying up my room and all because I enjoy it O so much, because I'm the primpiest, and most stylish Gem in the whole team!"

There was a pause for a bit, Pearl annoyed at the past bit. Emerald smirked to Amethyst.

"Perfect impression," Emerald commented.

"I'm not primpy - whatever that is," Pearl said with a bemused expression. It was going to be a pretty weird day, they could all tell ...


~~~~~~


With each Gem swapped about, things had to be put under wraps until they could figure things out. If anyone told them this would happen, the most likely answer would probably be for it being ludicrous (sort of), but yet it happened anyway, even without Sapphire's future vision warning them in the first place. It didn't exactly help that what they ended up with was, more or less, not what they were used to. So, until they could get their minds and identities back into place, they had to figure out how each bodies worked, and the powers that came with them. Luckily for them, the other Gems weren't around to see what had happened, so they had that going for them anyway. At a more secluded area of the beach, far enough to not cause much trouble, one Gem though was taking this opportunity to check out what power his new body had. Emerald, being a normally small Gem, now had a body that towered over his own. With such power and strength now at his disposal, the opportunity was too good to pass up. Fortunately, the spot was where Jasper would normally go and train/release some stress. And now, with Jasper's body, Emerald decided to "release some stress".

"Oh yeah! I don't even feel it!" Emerald yelled, in the zone with testing out his newfound strength. Jasper stood aside, watching Emerald go all out on the boulders, rocks, and whatever else around. Jasper knew what Emerald was talking about, but what can she do to stop him with Peridot's body?

"Are you done beating up the place yet?" Jasper asked.

"You kidding me? This body's awesome! I mean look at this." Emerald then grabbed a huge boulder, and lifted it up with ease. Jasper wasn't really impressed. After all, this was her body Emerald was playing with, and Jasper basically did this a lot of times. Emerald, with one huge swing, threw the boulder clear out to the ocean. After that, he gave a flex of satisfaction, though he was enjoying the body more than just the strength it gave him, as a hand rested on his new enhanced hip.

"I swear, Jasper, how does a hot beefcake like you not distract every boy on the beach?" Emerald joked, showing off in front of Jasper. It felt rather uncomfortable to Jasper, mainly because she was basically having her own body being shown off by a male Gem. Like Jasper needed to be reminded this way how her body looked. Besides, she didn't know what this 'beefcake' was. Sure, she knew what a cupcake was thanks to a particular pink pony, but a beefcake?

"What's a beefcake? I'm a Gem, not food," Jasper said crossly. Emerald laughed, patting Jasper on her new pointy head.

"That's a Earth term - it means you look downright gorgeous with your muscles and your sweet curves," Emerald teased, again showing off Jasper's own body. Jasper blushed up, and thought the idea was downright ridiculous. She was a Gem to fight, not a Gem to show off her body to other Gems, or other races for that matter. Still, the cheeky Emerald pretty much showed off her beefy body to Jasper to prove his point. For Jasper, it was hard to watch, but harder to ignore.

"Stop. Just stop."

Emerald turned to her, bending down to better look to her (and possibly to show off the curves to Jasper's body).

"Aww, does widdle cheese puff wanna feel?"

"What's a cheese puff?"

Before Jasper got her answer, suddenly Emerald was on top of her - literally! Laying down comfortably, Emerald ended up having Jasper under him! Since Jasper had a body that was a lot smaller, she was pretty much smothered by Emerald's huge, thick body. Emerald laid on his side, resting his head on his hand, and shoulder in the sand, as his other arm rested on his hip. Jasper just avoided getting her entire body under Emerald, but only her arms and head stuck out as the rest of her was stuck between her own body, and the sand.

"When I get my body back, I swear on my Diamond's gemstone, I'll murder you," Jasper growled. Emerald didn't seem to care though, playfully giving Jasper a noogie with his giant fist. Oh how satisfying it will be once Jasper gets her body back when all of this was over ...


~~~~~~


"Okay, Peridot, breathe."

Back at the Beach House, Ruby, Sapphire and Peridot were staying there, trying to help Peridot figure out this future vision stuff. Peridot, personally, was very curious over how exactly Sapphire's future vision actually worked overall, but this wasn't what Peridot had in mind. She had plenty to work with, and plenty more to try to get used to (not that she wanted to keep it). This worry was also making the room a lot colder, as far as having ice form up where Peridot was sitting. The only other thing there was Lion, resting over by the front door next to the stairs, but since he was a animal, the Gems figured it was alright (how could Lion talk to anyone anyway?)

"How do you even deal with this?! All these pictures going through your head, how do you even control it?" Peridot asked, annoyed and freaked out over what the future vision was doing. All of the possible futures were really messing with Peridot's head, and she didn't know how to get them to stop! So many futures, none of them Peridot was sure would happen or not. Sapphire rested her hand on Peridot's back.

"Listen to me, all you have to do is calm down, and relax to get the visions to cease. The more frantic you are, the more visions become visible and unstable. Now, just breathe deeply," Sapphire instructed. Peridot tried to relax, ignoring some of the visions she was seeing, and after five minutes of breathing and calming her nerves, Peridot was as cool as a cucumber, the visions calming down, and now able to see the present much better.

"My stars. No wonder you're always so calm, Sapphire," Peridot said, getting her nerves together. Ruby and Sapphire were glad that Peridot wasn't getting paranoid from the vision surfing her mind took. Course, that wasn't Peridot's only issue; having one eye and a long dress past her legs wasn't Peridot's usual forte.

"Also, how do you deal with one eye? It's so we - uh I mean, special. Yeah, that's what I meant," Peridot said, correcting herself so she wouldn't insult Sapphire. Still, Sapphire could understand Peridot's feelings towards the changes, especially when changing from two decent-sized eyes to one big one. That, and being able to turn any place into ice was also something to trouble over.

"Don't worry, I understand your discomfort, Peridot. You'll have your own body back once we figure things out," Sapphire promised. Peridot felt good after hearing that, a sigh of relief, but suddenly another vision rushed through her head, not anticipated by her own will. This one was quick, short, and showed Flint and Jade coming in soon ... And sure enough ...

"Hello, everyone," Jade said.

As if like clockwork, Flint and Jade both soon enter the room from the back door, Ruby, Sapphire and Peridot seeing them. To Jade and Flint though, it was Lapis, Sapphire, and Ruby there, not aware of the body swapping earlier.

"Hi, guys! What's up?" Ruby asked, trying to act friendly like Lapis Lazuli would normally do. On the bright side, the voices changed with their bodies, so trying to change their voices wasn't much trouble to do, and it seemed to work with Jade and Flint.

"Had any of you seen Diopside anywhere?" Flint asked, arms crossed as per usual. None of them seen the girl around, so, this answer was pretty easy to say.

"No, we didn't. sorry," Peridot answered, acting calm and collective like Sapphire normally does. The two were bummed out from that, as Lion raised his head to look at them. It was Flint though that noticed the ice on the couch, but he didn't know Sapphire that much, so he dismissed it as just a side effect to her powers.

"Well, thank you anyway. Come on, Jade," Flint said, beginning to go out the door. Jade nodded to the three, who were relieved that the two didn't suspect anything wrong with the situation. Lion knew what was going on though, and got up soon after Flint and Jade left. Peridot, getting worried again over what Lion might do, went right over to him, falling to the ground and holding Lion's front paw.

"W-Wait, please, please, please, don't tell them. Please, Lion," Peridot begged. Lion knew it wasn't such a good idea, but to get Peridot to let go (and avoid freezing him in place), Lion just nodded yes and slipped his cold paw from Peridot's grip, stepping outside before it closed on him. Peridot sighed in relief, still on the floor. Still, Lion took an extra glance from outside before walking off from the Beach House. This feline knew this wasn't going anywhere at this rate, especially if they were going to be quiet about it to the other members of the team.


~~~~~~


"Amethyst!"

With a hop in her hooves, and a sharp eye out, Pinkie Pie had come back around to their world from Equestria, finding it a nice moment for meeting her purple Gem. Since her friends were still going about with Steven and Greg in Equestria, and since Pinkie Pie had finished her bit when showing him Sugarcube Corner, she felt in her heart that it'll be a nice moment to get Amethyst for a nice favor she had in mind. As for where she ended up to locate Amethyst, the magic door her key had got her nearby the farmhouse. Not seeing the place in sometime, and a nice spot to see if Amethyst was indeed somewhere around here. As Pinkie hopped over, she tried to see of anypony was around, but she couldn't see anyone there. She then gave a whistle.

"Here, Amy, Amy, Amy -" Pinkie was suddenly cut off when she heard something zoom by behind her, too fast for her to catch a glimpse of it. Pinkie turned around, feeling the wind rush against her tail, but didn't see anything. Soon, she felt the same rush behind her again, closer that time, but then she spun around and saw who it was. To her eyes, it was Fulgurite with Emerald holding onto her, but in reality, it was Lapis and Fulgurite in body-swap mode. The two didn't notice Pinkie yet.

"Did I do good there?" Lapis asked, though Fulgurite was in a bit of a daze, the body she got not used to such high speed.

"Yeah. you got it," Fulgurite responded, before falling down onto the ground. Lapis still wasn't used to going so fast just by running, but at least she got the main idea down without charging through a wall. As for Fulgurite, she wasn't bothering to get used to her body; she wanted her body back A.S.A.P. It wasn't until Fulgurite landed, and looked up to the sky, when Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up in front of Fulgurite.

"Hi, Emerald!"

"Oh. Uh, hi Pinkie," Fulgurite replied. Pinkie Pie hopped over Fulgurite, looking up to Lapis (who she thought was Fulgurite).

"Hi, Ms. Sparky!" Pinkie Pie said with a big grin. While knowing her, Pinkie had come up with her own nicknames for the Gems, Ms. Sparky being for Fulgurite for her electric powers. however, Lapis Lazuli wasn't aware of this, and she made a critical error; she hesitated.

"Uh, yeah, hey Pinkie Pie. Thought you were helping Steven," Lapis said, rubbing the back of her head. Pinkie, being the childish pony she was, didn't take in account of the sudden toned-down behavior just yet.

"Steven's got it covered with his daddy tour of pony world. you seen Amethyst anywhere; got a super duper fun thing for her that I just KNOW she'll love to do without question!"

Talk about forcing it in, and in this case, that meant telling her where Pearl was, not Amethyst. Still, if any task by Pinkie was for Amethyst, maybe it wasn't the best idea to get the pink pony involved with her. Lapis and Fulgurite tried to think of something to say, Pinkie Pie quickly catching their hesitation.

"Well, I don't know if it's such a good idea," Lapis quickly said. Pinkie tilted her head in confusion.

"Why not?"

"She's on mission, that's why - Garnet got her on it this morning while you were away, and we don't have a clue when she'll be back, right Fulgurite?" Fulgurite quickly said, nudging Lapis to play along.

"Uh, Y-Yeah that's right! Slipped my mind. sorry Pinkie, another time then?" Lapis said. Pinkie Pie, having gone through a similar situation before involving a chase all over Ponyville to get at Rainbow Dash, and her having a bucket of turnips for a friend for a few minutes, knew a bit more than that. Pinkie took a good look at them both, a suspicious stare eyeing them both down, even if Lapis was taller than her. The two kept on their smiles to try to look innocent, as Pinkie tried to read into what they were really trying to say ... Eventually, Pinkie quickly got happy again.

"Okie dokie lokie! I'll just check in on Garnet when she'll be back. See ya!"

And with a quick pink blur, Pinkie Pie bolted off before anyone could stop her. Oh well, they were out of hot water, for now at least.


~~~~~~


Unfortunately for the swapped Gems, it wasn't just Pinkie Pie going about from Equestria to look for a Gem; with a magic door opening up closer to the Beach House, this time it was Rarity who decided to come around to visit. She stepped out onto the sand, her hooves comfortably taking each step, as the door closed behind her, and Rarity putting the magic key away. She looked over to the Beach house, where Lion was still sitting around by the sandy shore. Like Pinkie, Rarity had a sort of planned date with one of the Gems, and now she decided to come over to get her. As she trotted over the sand to the Beach House, Rarity took a moment to see Lion, who got up once she approached.

"Oh, hello Lion. Nice day, isn't it?" Rarity said, stroking Lion's mane. As she did this, Lion began to hear something coming their way from further up the beach. It started out small, but was growing very fast as whatever was coming closed in fast. Lion took a glance up the beach, and quickly pulled Rarity away as Pinkie rushed by them, skidding to a stop over by the Beach House porch steps.

"Hi Rarity! Hi Lion!" Pinkie said, waving her hoof. Only until after Pinkie Pie bolted by did Lion let Rarity go, and letting the unicorn move around. Rarity trotted over to Pinkie Pie.

"Ah, Pinkie, nice to see you," Rarity said, as they both went up the Beach House steps.

"Cool to see ya too, Rarity! Here for a Gem too?" Pinkie asked.

"Well, not the proper way to put it. Me and Pearl were going to work on a collaboration dress, but she didn't show up so I'm here to see if she's available," Rarity explained.

"Oh, I need Amethyst to eat up some yummy sweets for me," Pinkie replied. Pretty soon, the two ponies were right in front of the front door. Lion snuck to the bottom of the stairs, and watched as Rarity used her magic to open the door. Comically, the two were hit by a deep cooling wave, enough to have snow cover them from head to hoof. The two took a moment before shaking off the snow, and seeing what happened inside. Inside, Peridot and Sapphire both were still inside, but Peridot's worrying over if Lion was going to spill the beans (somehow) kinda froze the place up, the floors and ceiling covered in a thin, cyan blue ice sheet. It was a odd thing to see, and considering the two ponies knew Sapphire for a longer while, that just upend the ante.

"WOO! INDOOR ICE RINK!" Pinkie beamed, immediately starting to skate around the house. Peridot didn't mean to, by any means, but she still didn't had a grip on the ice abilities. Trying to balance herself, Rarity got herself over to the center of the room, over to who she thought was Ruby and Sapphire, but really Sapphire and Peridot. Sapphire was worried to look.

"Pardon me dear, but, is everything okay?" Rarity asked, as Pinkie happily was zooming around on the ice in the background.

"Y-Yes," Peridot replied, though trying to be calm wasn't something she wads getting good at by this point. Of course something was wrong - the whole house was frozen! Rarity still wasn't sure if she should believe that.

"You sure, darling?" Rarity asked, trying to keep from falling onto the floor.

"I'm sure, really. What brings you by?" Peridot replied, still a bit jittery. Sapphire couldn't watch this, and even without her future vision, could sense things were going downhill. Rarity cleared her throat.

"Well, I was wondering if Pearl was available. She and I were going to work on a dress together, but she didn't show up," Rarity explained, Pinkie still skating around, not paying attention to what was going on. Sapphire decided to answer this time.

"Oh. Well, honestly ... I haven't seen her. She's probably off on -" before Sapphire could finish, they all heard the door open up, Amethyst walking in. Being stuck with Pearl's body was a pain, but Amethyst had it handled by just staying in her room. Amethyst wasn't aware of what was going on though, and after stretching her arms out from a nap, Rarity (trying not to fall), went over to her, thinking she really was Pearl.

"There you are, Pearl dear. Pardon for my intrusion, but, you ready to work on our dress?" Rarity asked, excited to begin as anypony. Of course, Amethyst didn't know a thing about this, nor knew what she was talking about.

"Wha?"

"Uh, our project? We talked about it over tea yesterday, remember?" Rarity asked, obviously confused. Amethyst didn't know what to say to get out of it. Pearl glanced over to the others. As Pinkie was busily zooming around, Peridot, worried, quickly made a slicing motion across her throat. This was something Amethyst had to just roll with.

"Oh, oh yes, the collaboration, of course! How could I possibly forget?" Amethyst said, trying to act formal like Pearl would. The attempt wasn't very impressive, and Sapphire could only pinch the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes.

"Oh? Well, in that case, let's be on our way," Rarity said, beginning to open another magic door. Before they left though, suddenly Pinkie leaped right onto Amethyst, holding herself up with her front hooves wrapped around Amethyst's torso.

"Hey, Pearl! You seen Amethyst around? Is she done with her mission yet?" Pinkie asked, looking around with a hoof over her eyes like scaling the horizon. None of them knew where that came from, and weren't prepared for it. Then again, who would be prepared for Pinkie's antics, really? Rather than let Pearl off the hook, Amethyst became the lure.

"Oh, Amethyst? I last saw her over by the lighthouse, why?"

Before she answered, Pinkie Pie rushed right out the door, the ice probably making her go faster, as Rarity opened the magic door to go. If it's anyone's guess, Pinkie would find Amethyst in a maximum time of two minutes. Still, Amethyst couldn't get out of this, so, she had to go with Rarity. Pretty soon, with Peridot and Sapphire waving goodbye, Amethyst went through the door with Rarity, the door closing. Now, the two Gems didn't know exactly what to really do. When they glanced out the front window, what do they see?

Lion, sitting there, shaking his head slowly with a disappointed expression in his eyes.

"What?!" Peridot snapped.


~~~~~~


"So, why do you need me again?"

As expected, probably, Pearl was quickly found out by the lighthouse. Like Amethyst, Pearl figured just staying away until getting her old body back would make it easier on herself, but unfortunately, Pinkie Pie wasn't giving her the chance to even come up with an excuse. She'd have to deal with Amethyst later though, as she had to play out as Amethyst until Pinkie was done with her. On the bright side, at least for the time being, both Pearl and Amethyst had the same problem, so whatever Rarity was having Amethyst to do couldn't be any better for her. Soon, Pinkie Pie brought Pearl right over to Sugarcube Corner, as she told the other Gems, and happily went right inside. Pearl followed her inside, and what did she end up seeing?

Inside Sugarcube Corner, it turned out there was a ton of boxes, stacked up nice and high.

"I got an order earlier this morning, and I swore the customer said he wanted twenty cakes to go. Turned out he wanted just two, and now I'm stuck with eighteen yummy, super, duper, jelly cakey goodness!" Pinkie explained, as erratic and goofy as ever. It didn't take a scientist to know what Pinkie wanted, but there was a problem; Amethyst loved to eat, but Pearl did not. In fact, Pearl found eating as disgusting, but she was stuck with the body of a Gem who loved to stuff her face whenever the opportunity rises. It's too bad that Pearl now had to deal with it.

"So, you need me to eat up these cakes?"

"I knew you'd love it!" Pinkie answered, moving away to let her do her thing. Pearl knew all too well that she couldn't get out of this without Pinkie suspecting anything, so what else could she do other than begin? Pearl opened up one of the boxes, seeing a Jell-O cake inside, made up of blue Jell-O. Pearl got the cake out, not sure if she wanted to. Again, Pearl thought eating was completely disgusting for her to do, but she had to play out as Amethyst still for the time being. Pearl gulped, and opened her mouth, at the ready. Gathering up courage and guts, Pearl got the cake all in her mouth, tasting the cake in her mouth. Pearl chewed carefully, and after what felt like forever, finally swallowed. Pinkie Pie found it a little bit slow, but she still thought it was still Amethyst. It was far to celebrate though, as Pearl had many more to go ...

Oh joy.

.......

It took longer than Pearl would like, but after what felt like forever, she had just managed to finish up her food, much to Pinkie's delight. Amethyst felt stuffed like a Christmas goose, and stuck with the taste of Jell-O in her mouth. On the bright side, Pinkie felt happy that she found a good use for the goods she made by accident, and didn't had to throw anything away. For Pearl, she could only wonder how Amethyst was holding up on her end? Pearl had managed to hear what was going on with Amethyst thanks to Pinkie's rambling, and her next stop was straight off to Rarity's Ponyville boutique. She had to at least figure out if Amethyst had wrecked everything yet.

The walk was slow, but Amethyst did manage to get herself off to the boutique. Pearl knew well where Rarity worked, which in this case was up on the second floor. Just walking right into the boutique on a whim was out of the question, for Amethyst wouldn't normally bother herself when just stopping by for no reason, so she decided to took in from the Boutique window. Just inside the building, Pearl could see Rarity busily at work, and she saw Amethyst inside trying her best to help her out. From outside, Pearl could easily tell that she was having trouble figuring things out. Amethyst didn't know a thing about sewing, or making dresses in general, so this was hard to watch for Pearl outside. Pearl tried to think on what exactly to do in order to pull this off. Eventually, she got it, and began heading for the door. Soon, they both then heard a knock at the fornt door, with Rarity going over rather than Amethyst.

"Oh, Amethyst. Quite unexpected," Rarity said.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, is Pearl in there, or what?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah, she's right here. Sorry, is there a problem?" Rarity asked, unsure why would Amethyst just stop by to see Pearl. For Amethyst, standing by the sewing machine, unsure how to proceed, she was on thin ice at this point. She'd been trying to act it out, but there was only so much she can mimic.

"She was supposed to be helping us, that's what," Pearl replied, arms crossed. Rarity looked a little bit puzzled, as she didn't hear a thing about this from Pearl herself. Still, looking at the dress, it wouldn't be very long until they were finished with it.

"Well, just give us a few minutes, dear, and she'll be free to go back with you. Just have to find some bows somewhere," Rarity explained, trying to locate some bows somewhere in her boutique. However, as she kept looking, she couldn't really find any around, though she was sure she bought some the day before.

"Hold on, maybe I left some upstairs. Be right back," Rarity said, beginning to leave them alone. Good thing too; Amethyst was having too much trouble with this. The second Rarity was out of earshot, Amethyst grabbed Pearl by the shoulders, looking frantic.

"Pearl, I can't take this! You have to help me, please," Amethyst said, almost begging. Very few things can push Amethyst to beg, and being Pearl in this situation was one of them. For Pearl, while she saw this as the universe giving her a free B for payback, she didn't want to see the collaboration project go to waste, or go to disaster.

"Maybe this will have you think twice before taking strange stuff like that," Pearl said, quite salty in tone. Amethyst knew she was right, but she'd do anything to get out of this.

"Come on, Pearl, just do this. I mean, you love sewing, don't you? And your so much better at it."

"True. Just to let you know, I'm only doing this so this mishap stays silent, understand?" Pearl explained. Amethyst was more than happy to have that, and the two basically switched places, tagging eachother as they did. Amethyst relaxed over by the front door, as Pearl got to work right away. She may not be used to her thick arms and chubby fingers, but she still managed the best she could with what she got. Lucky for them both, Rarity was too busy upstairs looking for the bows to realize anything going on downstairs, as Pearl continued her work to get the dress correctly. It took just a few minutes, with Pearl's deep focus and precision. Soon, the dress was properly made, looking beautiful. Of course, Pearl didn't finish it completely, as it was a collaboration after all.

And not a moment to soon.

"Alright, Pearl, I found the -" Rarity stopped cold once she saw the dress just made, a levitating box of bows by her. Rarity was amazed; not just from how much improvement was done, but also from how quickly it was made. Yes, Rarity made excellent dresses, but when it comes to speed, she'd take her time with it to avoid any mistakes. This was her own level of precision done under a few minutes, and the results were amazing to say the least. Rarity turned to Amethyst (who was right by the dress to avoid any suspicions).

"Excellent work, Pearl. Thank you so much! now, all it's missing are these," Rarity said, levitating some bows out with her magic, and sewing them into place along the rim. While Rarity had her back to them, both Gems gave a quick high-five to eachother, pulling it off. Pretty soon, the dress was complete, and it looked simply divine with the bows sewed into place. It had a sort of old England regal look, with colors of velvet red and rustic orange mixed in, the bows highlighting the orange colors.

"Alright, great. Can we go now?" Pearl said, mimicking Amethyst again. It wasn't too hard to act rude, and Amethyst would act the same way if she had to wait here to get things finished. Amethyst, acting like Pearl, just gave a glare to her. The unicorn took the dress, and got it set up on one of her standees to make fine adjustments to the design.

"I'll be able to work it out from here. Have a good day you two," Rarity said. Grateful to be able to go without much trouble, Amethyst gave a sigh of relief, as the two went for the door. But the second Pearl did so, the two were suddenly greeted by a loud, blunt growl. It was enough to make them both jump back, as a large pink feline strolled in.

"Lion? What're you doing here?" Rarity asked, appalled to have Lion just show up. She didn't remember Lion going back with her, or him having any real key to figure things out exactly, yet Lion was undeterred. to make sure there was no tricks, Lion closed the door behind him with his back leg, having Pearl and Amethyst both inside. Lion had enough with this game of secrets, and the process was getting nowhere really when it came to finding the object.

"Oh, what a surprise Lion! I'll get him. Shoo, shoo," Amethyst said. However, Lion knew who she really was, and wasn't playing along with them. Instead of going away, Lion began to venture around Rarity's boutique. They tried to stop him, but Lion knew what he was doing, and won't be bothered by the two sneaks. After some snooping around, Lion managed to locate some sketch paper Rarity had.

"Lion, drop it. Drop it!" Rarity said, but Lion ignored her, as his jaws also got out one of Rarity's pencils. For such a large cat, he was surprisingly accurate with his mouth, managing to get the pencil pointed out correctly. Soon, with two pieces of paper, Lion drew out a Pearl and an Amethyst on each piece of paper. Rarity didn't know what Lion was exactly doing, looking over to see what was what. After that, Lion picked up both pieces of paper, and placed them down on the floor in front of the two Gems in the room.

"Uh, Lion?" Rarity asked, obviously confused. Lion aimed his paws to each picture, and pointed to who they belonged to. However, by how they were set, Lion seemed to messed up. From what the drawings shown, Amethyst was Pearl, and Pearl was Amethyst according to the drawings and where Lion was directing each one to.

"I'd hate to disappoint you, Lion, but I think there might be some ... misunderstanding," Rarity said, trying to be friendly about disagreeing. Lion gave a low groan, and grabbed the pencil again. Quickly, Lion added something extra to the drawings he did; words.

I.D.

"I.D. ... Identity?" Rarity questioned. Lion nodded, and pointed to the two again. Rarity thought over the identity hint a little bit, looking them over, but then it hit her.

"Wait. A-Amethyst?" Rarity asked, looking to Amethyst in Pearl's body. Lion nodded yes, the two Gems not sure what to say. Eventually, Amethyst just gave up.

"Alright, fine, you got me! I can't keep up with this," Amethyst said, just giving up on the sharade. Rarity's eyes went wide, ears bent back, not expecting this. Rarity looked over to the dress that seemingly Pearl made.

"B-But if your Amethyst, then who -"

"I did it," Pearl said, one hand over her face while the other raised up. Rarity still tried to comprehend what the heck happened.

"Wait. Does Pinkie Pie know about this? She took you to Sugarcube Corner didn't she?" Rarity said.

"I still taste that jelly cake," Pearl said, feeling a little sick from thinking about it.

"Seriously?! Your lucky," Amethyst said, feeling annoyed that she missed out on such a fun job. She'd rather do that than deal with Rarity. Lion still had more to get aware of the problem though.


~~~~~~


"Lion somehow told you, then?"

"How could you?!"

Lion got Pinkie, Rarity, Amethyst and Pearl back to the Beach House, where Rarity pretty much explained what happened at her boutique. Of course, with some time on his paws, Lion managed to locate Jade and Flint too, who both were standing by the door, listening to what Rarity had said. Peridot really didn't want to get this secret out until the problem was solved, but what good would it do at this point? They tried though, that was all they could say. Luckily, the house wasn't full of ice this time, Sapphire using her new heat ability to warm up the place. It was still wet, but not as cold anyway.

"OH, OH, waitwaitwait, let me guess!" Pinkie said excitedly, wanting to play the guessing game with the Gems to figure out who's who. Pinkie Pie brought her hoof under her chin, trying to think over who was in which body.

"I shouldn't matter who's where. How did it even happen, and how many were involved?" Flint asked firmly. He didn't have much interactions with the group on personal terms, but he wasn't going to play any guessing games with who was supposed to be who. The Gems decided to just get on with it.

"We were trying to clean Amethyst's room for a bit, when we came across this spiked, flashing, thing or whatever-it-is. It made came alive, bounced around the place, and I guess ... switched us somehow?" Ruby explained. The details were pretty vague, as the blinding light blocked their vision from what actually happened. Flint took a moment to think it over a little bit.

"As for how many; I counted about nine Gems," added Sapphire. It was easier to figure out who Sapphire was due to her calm behavior, especially in a body of a hot-headed Gem like Ruby (no pun intended).

"And ... You didn't see where it went?" Jade asked, still trying to take it in.

"No. We did not."

"It did this weird flash thing before it disappeared."

"That so? Well, it can't go off too far unless it grew legs. Had any of you looked around here for anything?" flint asked, as Lion was actually doing just that; sniffing around the place for some sort of clue. Lion would get Blue if he wasn't with Steven, thus making it easier to do.

"Someone froze up the house," Ruby said, eyes over to Peridot.

"Hey, I'm still new to this, give me a break!" Peridot snapped. The issue though; when looking at who they were talking to, it just ... didn't feel right. Pinkie hopped over to Lion, who was still looking around the Warp Pad for some sort of clue to where this thing had gone. Lion had his head to the ground, sniffing the ground like a dog would, and keeping his eyes wide open and focused, even with the pink mare close by. All of a sudden though, Lion turned, and began growling loudly to get their attention.

"What's wrong now, cat?" Flint asked. Lion suddenly began to paw the ground, Jade going over a bit as Lion did so. All of a sudden, Lion dug a small hole, bowed down, and lifted his head up to show -

"What? ... IT WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME?!"

"Hi Ruby," Pinkie chimed in. Low and behold, despite everything, the object in question was in Lion's mouth! After being launched out, it hid itself underground in the same room, but it wasn't enough to avoid Lion. Of course, they all felt flat out stupid for not noticing it hiding right next to them in the first place. For the moment, it was dormant, and not much light being shown on it that time, but it still showed its colors from before, mixed matched in a number of places.

"At least we got it. Thank you, Lion. You wouldn't mind getting the others, would you?" Sapphire asked. Lion nodded, and gently placed it down on the couch next to Ruby, before heading off out the door. It was a good thing Steven wasn't back yet, because they'd like to get this fixed before that at least.

It took quite a while, more or less, but Lion did manage to get every Gem who was switched outside the Beach House to start. Flint, Jade, Pinkie, Lion and Rarity stood clear away, just in case the thing would end up making them switch instead. To make sure it didn't end up zooming away, they all encircled it, blocking off any sort of escape it had to go. Even if being switched might've benefited some more than others, it was best to get themselves back into their own bodies.

"Well, isn't it gonna do anything?" Jasper asked, growing impatient.

"Maybe it needs a good kickstart," suggested Ruby. As if not wanting to be forced or get hurt, the object began to become active again. It flashed its lights at the others, at first messed up, but then the correct colors for the correct Gems. After spinning in place, shining bright as before ...

*BOOM*

The blinding light shined again, the sound ringing in the Gem's ears. Those on standby waited for the results, as the light faded, and the object dropped to the ground. The others came down soon afterwards, and waited for someone to speak, for something to happen ...

"Uugghh ... Wait. Wait. YES, I'm back!" Amethyst beamed, seeing she was back in her own body. A bit fuller than she remembered, but still her same body no less.

"Oh, that's so much better," Pearl added, checking herself to be sure. Yep, everyone was back in their own body, and therefore, no more confusion.

"Oh, thank the stars, no more visions," Peridot sighed, finally able to properly relax herself without seeing tons of images flash in her head. As for the object, Lapis started to go back over to it, but before she could, Lion suddenly got in the way, giving a tough snort. Rather confusing, really, but Lion knew what he was doing. And after checking her future vision, Sapphire knew to (she was so happy to have that back)

"Alright, Lion, you can handle it," Sapphire allowed. Lion nodded, backed up, and bowed down to the object. Lion saw it still flickering, but Lion made sure to be gentle as he picked it up. Soon afterwards, he turned, and ran off. Probably a good time too, as Jasper realized she had her body back. Which means ...

"Oh Emerald~?" Jasper said, almost in a angered sing-along tune. Emerald suddenly remembered what Jasper told him before, and he looked a bit nervous.

"Oh, would you look at the time, I, uh, got to, uh, fix up Greg's van, OK see ya!"

Soon, Emerald bolted off.

"COME BACK HERE!" Jasper bellowed, charging after him. Jasper was not going to let him off that easy, and the others only wondered what Emerald actually did. Whatever it was, Emerald needed all the luck he could get to avoid getting pummeled.

A LOT of luck.


~~~~~~


As for Lion, his running with the object in his jaws had quickly got him from Beach city, off to the countryside. Lion had come by this part earlier, before getting himself to Ponyville to get Amethyst and Pearl, and for him, he knew exactly where to go to find the true owner of this object. The object itself remained dormant, not only from not feeling threatened, but also for the fact only one being was present. Lion kept going, occasionally slowing down to sniff the air, until he stopped over by a familiar old tree. Once he stopped there, Lion placed the object down, and looked up to the branches. As he figured, a particular creature was sleeping comfortably, with his own blanket and pillow, and even two slice pickles to cover his eyes like those in a spa. Lion wasn't having any of it; he inhaled, and gave a mighty roar. The roar was so forceful, it woke him up immediately, and he tumbled out of the tree. Upon landing, he hopped right back on his goat and dragon feet, in a boxing pose ready for a rumble. Lion gave a quick growl to get his attention, moving the object to his feet.

"Oh, there it is, my body puzzler! Been wonderin where it ended up. Good kitty," He said, playfully patting Lion's head.

Lion just sighed.
> Time Warp
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside with the calming beach, and with the sea breeze going along in, Amethyst happily snoozed in the morning sun. She'd set up a beach blanket for herself along the coastline, not too far away from the Beach House, and the day was pretty much treating her pretty good with the sun warming her body up like a heat lamp. She could feel that today was going to be a nice one for her; nothing but chilling out in the sunshine without much responsibility planned out for the day ahead. All she wanted to do was just sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice jug of juice. Arms behind her head, Amethyst gave a content sigh.

"This is the life," Amethyst sighed happily. As she snoozed, Amethyst then began to hear the Beach House door open and close. She took a glance over with one eye open, and actually saw Steven and Greg come out. Greg had himself a suitcase, looking full by the looks of it, and Steven himself had a loud shirt as well, Hawaiian by appearance. A bit interesting, as the farther and son went over to her direction.

"What's up, Amethyst?" Greg said.

"What's with the getup? Going somewhere or something?" Amethyst asked, turning to face the two.

"You bet! Steven and I are heading off for a week road trip - father and son trip," Greg explained, playfully fluffing Steven's hair, the kid laughing.

"Really, now? Where's this trip going anyway?"

"Dad told me this about this awesome motel, where they serve square pizza, and have an outdoor pool right outside the motel rooms! We're going to check it out, right dad?" Steven explained.

"Right, champ. Now, we better get going; could make it there by tonight," Greg said, going off with the suitcase in hand.

"Eat a pizza for me, champ," Amethyst said, seeing them off as the two went down the beach to Greg's van. Soon after Steven left, Amethyst stretched out on the blanket again, and rested her eyes again. It did sound nice to go off on a trip with them, but, she might as well let them have their father-son time. However, her own relaxation didn't last longer than half an hour.

"There you are, sugarcube," said a pony voice. Amethyst opened her eyes, and saw that someone's shadow was in her sunlight. Upon looking up, she soon saw Applejack and Pearl standing there. Amethyst didn't expect a visit from the ponies today. The orange pony stood there for a bit, as Amethyst sat up.

"Sup?"

"Come on, Garnet wants us all for a mission," Pearl said. So much for her relaxation.

.......

Sure enough, much to Amethyst's surprise, the Crystal Gems and the Mane Six all had come around for this one, requested by Garnet, and they all actually met up at the Barnhouse (plenty of room compared to the beach house). Amethyst, Pearl, and Applejack took the Warp Pad to the barn, where everyone else was waiting. It must be pretty important if all of the team was called in. For Garnet, she was at front and facing the crowd, as the last arriving found their seats. Behind her was a large map, few spots marked of a particular location on it. Amethyst though, was still a bit tired, and not paying much attention. As for everyone else, they all listened on up to what mission Garnet had in mind.

"Listen everybody; there's an unknown presence located in the area here. Many humans who'd gone there were either driven out, or disappeared. As the Crystal Gems, we're to investigate, and take care of whatever danger's located," Garnet explained, referring to the marked spot in question. It'd been nice on the small missions, but getting everyone together for this would make this a breeze. Everyone got it right away.

"About time we got something tough to do," Rainbow Dash said, hooves together.

"Been too long," agreed Fulgurite.

"So, what're we talking here? Gem beasts, Rogue dragons, Ghosts? Help me out here," Emerald asked, psyched for it, same as anybody.

"It's an unknown presence, Emerald, of course we don't know," Flint reminded, bemused.

"What, can't I hope?" retorted Emerald.

"... Where is this place?" Star Quartz asked after a bit. That would be a nice thing to know, at least.

"The humans call the place Jersey Quarry. Not exactly a Gem location, but there's a Warp Pad close by. We'll use that to get there," Garnet explained, pointing back to the map again but further east from the Quarry. Star turned to Peridot, who was sitting next to her.

"... What's a Quarry?"

"It's where humans dig for earth minerals and stuff," Peridot replied.

"Well, dunno about y'all, but sooner we go, sooner we hogtie that troublemaker," Applejack said after a bit, hoof stomping the dirt. Star didn't even bother to ask about that one. Amethyst got to attention again after Pearl noticed her ready to fall asleep again, and flicked her head.

"Alright everyone; to the nearest Warp Pad!"


~~~~~~


With a flash from the Warp Pad, pretty soon the group had made it from Beach City, off to the Jersey Quarry. The land comparing both places changed rather dramatically; the place has turned a bit more arid, and open-spaced as they went towards the Quarry, and the heat higher than Beach City from being more inland, and heading to late spring. As for the Quarry in question, the place was huge and all down within a man-made valley, dropping a good twenty feet down. A number of human machinery, which would normally be in operation, were now just sitting there collecting dust. Buildings also stayed silent and still. The entire Quarry was made up of paths of gravel, and machines in a number of places. It was surprising to think that this was a successful Quarry up to this point. The group of Gems all looked down from the top of the Quarry walls, observing the landscape for some sort of clue as to what was actually there. Lapis Lazuli, Rainbow, Twilight, and Emerald took the better view when flying around above them.

"See anything?" Flint called from the ground.

"Nothing yet," called Twilight back.

"The anticipation's killing me!!" Screeched Pinkie, grabbing and squeezing Jasper's arm. The Gems and ponies started to venture in, heading down the wall. It was rather quiet, and nothing really seemed to be around. The flyers circled for a bit before coming in close to the other Gems.

"You sure we're at the right place, Garnet?" Rainbow asked.

"It's here," Garnet replied.

Garnet couldn't be anymore precise with what she just said.

Seconds after she said that, they all heard a low moan coming from further off. The others turned to the same direction, and it was then that something started to appear...

The source of the disturbance began to slowly move over towards them all. It looked rather tall, about a good fifteen feet tall. It had a humanoid like shape, but too many factors say otherwise; it had six arms, three eyes in a triangular shape like Garnet, a human-like head with diamond-shaped hair, and a stiff torso. It's whole body looked to be made of hard, rustic desert rock or clay, and it appeared to have a bandana-like cloth over its mouth - unusual for a corrupted Gem if that was what it was. It appeared to be hovering in the air, its legs crisscrossed, almost like its meditating in a way.

It appeared to be expecting them ...

"Holy smokes," commented Peridot. It floated there for a bit, its three eyes scanning the group it was faced against. It saw every Gem and Pony there, and each eye soon turned red, it starting to loom over to them. A few backed away, but the rest were ready for a fight on their hands (or hooves for the pony).

"Gems, to battle!" Garnet called, charging first. Rainbow, Jasper, Fulgurite and Amethyst followed her step faster than the others, and they all charged in like one single force. The Gem beast countered their charge almost effortlessly with a sway back, all of them flying by and missing. While the others had to land or skid to a stop, Rainbow Dash made a quick one eighty in the air, and managed to get a good hit right on the head. As if it was in zero-gravity, the Gem beast spun around in the air, but not touching the ground below. In fact, it still kept its meditated stance, as they continued at it. Amethyst then raced in next with her whips blazing. One swing though, and the beast grabbed it with little effort. Amethyst tried to pull back, but the beast got two of its six hands firmly gripped, and it swung Amethyst clear across the Quarry!

"Amethyst!" Twilight gasped, flying in the same direction. The beast saw her flying off, but rather than let her go, it quickly, almost out of nowhere, got her in a sudden suspension beam, forcing Twilight to a halt mid air! It quickly swung around the force, catching the other Mane Six in the same orb in one big swoop, having all six of them stuck in a force field orb! The Gems rushed for it, but it had other tricks up its sleeves; it retracted its bottom arms for a quick moment, and once they came back out, they turned into a particular type of Gem weaponry ...

Gem Destabilizers ...

Amethyst was still running helter skelter right back to where the fight was going on, not aware of what was going to happen next. The purple Gem took a moment to look ahead, still running as fast as she could, but what she saw made her skid to a halt. The beast wasn't anywhere to be seen, but it wasn't that. There. Scattered along the earth. Were a group of gemstones and magic keys, each one matching apart of the Crystal Gems! The sight of her entire team just left in their stones like this left Amethyst speechless, and once more, the Mane Six were nowhere to be seen ...

She was alone.


~~~~~~


Not too long afterwards, with a flash of the Warp Pad again, Amethyst got every Gemstone and magic key of her friends back safely. It was shocking that one Gem beast could take down this many Gems in just one fight alone. Amethyst would go after the beast and the Mane Six, sure, but with all of her friends pretty much poofed so fast, she knew she couldn't just charge after it herself without shattering on the spot. Besides, who knew what'll happen to the Gems while she was gone anyway? Even if they'll reform eventually, Amethyst would still have to figure things out herself. With the Mane Six and Steven away, and her Gems stuck as rocks, Amethyst was just stuck all alone in the Beach House. Wherever that Gem beast had gone off to, it at least gave Amethyst quite a scenario to work her way around. If Steven came back home to just have her standing, what then? Amethyst surely didn't want to see Steven crying when he comes back. Amethyst though didn't had a clue how to speed up the process when it came to reformation aside from her own, so the best she could do was try to wait it out.

And wait out she did.

For the next three days, Amethyst waited, and waited for at least one of the Gems to reform, but no such thing happened. Amethyst kept all the Gemstones together, comfortably on some pillows whenever she decided to move them around. Amethyst tried to make the best of a bad situation, but it wasn't what you'd call easy. She tried a number of things to see if it'll get something out of them, but she wasn't doing so good. During those three days, she basically hung around the stones, hoping something would trigger them coming back. Amongst these things included watching TV with them, training with them as observers, eating food in front of them, but no matter what she tried, nothing was working. It just wasn't the same thing as it would be for her. At one point, she even placed the Gemstones on the sofa, and Amethyst began to pick up a few plates, deliberately tossing them onto the floor.

"Oh no, look at this mess I made! Sure would be great for somebody to come back out and clean this up," Amethyst monologued, referring to Pearl specifically. Not the brightest idea, but she was getting anxious at this point. But, as before, nothing seemed to happen to any of the Gemstones. Just her luck. Amethyst sighed gravely, and got up onto Steven's bed, Pearl's gemstone in hand. She laid down, and held the gemstone out in front of her.

"Man, what's taking you guys so long?" Amethyst said, though of course she got no reply. She placed Pearl's gemstone down beside her, as she just stared at the ceiling for a bit. It sure was different without all the Gems and Ponies to keep her busy.

"Dang, this is torture. Wish I could go back in time and get this right. Least then It won't be so quiet around here ..."

She laid there for a while longer, just staring off to the ceiling, lonely ... However, then she suddenly heard something this onto the floor close to her. The object was small enough to fit in her hand, and was about as big as a baseball. Translucent overall, it had a figure of an hourglass inside, with the object itself split down the middle. She did remember Steven having something familiar, but she also remembered a ton of other Stevens, and Steven smashing it as well so it couldn't be the same thing as before. Amethyst took a minute or so before she got off the bed, and went down to the object in question. She picked it up, and looked it over a little bit, beginning to notice something. Along the fine line, she saw that one part was marked in. Amethyst could only assume the object was supposed to be turned that way. At one part of the line, it showed a thicker Mark, probably where it would start from its current point.

"What is this thing? Is it another time gizmo?" Amethyst wondered allowed.

Only one way to find out ...

"Well, here goes nothing."

Amethyst felt that she was able to turn it, and soon she turned one part of it to the marked spot until both marks aligned. Upon release, Amethyst waited for something to happen. After she did that, the object in her hand started to glow brightly, the shine growing more and more until Amethyst could no longer see anything in front of her.


~~~~~~


"AH!"

Amethyst woke up with a startle, eyes open wide, staring off to the sky. She quickly sat up, and found herself on her beach blanket, back outside, just like she remembered to do that morning. She looked around at the beach, and then gave a sigh of relief.

"Just a dream," she thought aloud. However, that soon changed when she felt her hand scrape something on the sand. When she turned to look, the exact same item she had found earlier was right by her side. Her look of relief quickly turned to shock seconds after seeing it. There was no way it was a dream if that was still with her after the end of her supposed dream.

"Wait, if this is here ... that means -"

Before Amethyst could finish her thought, she heard the Beach House door open and close again. There was Greg and Steven, again, with Greg holding the suitcase, and Steven in his loud shirt. Amethyst, confused, decided to test something.

"What's up, Amethyst?" Greg said.

"What're you two doing? Going somewhere?"

"You bet! Steven and I are heading off for a week road trip - father and son trip," Greg explained, playfully fluffing Steven's hair, the kid laughing.

"Where's this trip going anyway?"

"Dad told me this about this awesome motel, where they serve square pizza, and have an outdoor pool right outside the motel rooms! We're going to check it out, right dad?" Steven explained.

"Right, champ. Now, we better get going; could make it there by tonight," Greg said, going off with the suitcase in hand.

... Exactly the same. Rather than make her extra comment, Amethyst stayed quiet and watched them go. There was no way a dream can reenact so precisely and so timely like that. Instead of going back to sleep again, Amethyst got up to her feet, looking down at the time traveler tool in her hand.

It did bring her mind back in time! Which means ...

"Maybe I can save them," she realized. She glanced around the area, and got the object hidden in her pocket. Her next stop; the barnhouse.

It seemed like the biggest de ja vu for Amethyst; every exact thing repeated itself from the day of that mission; from the pep talk by Garnet to the side chats by the Gems and Ponies. If things were going to repeat, then that would mean that the mission (including the kidnapping and defeating) would also repeat itself. It was that part where Amethyst had to avoid for the sake of everyone else. After sitting through the same talk and instructions (more alert this time), Amethyst was off to Jersey Quarry again.

"See anything?" Flint called from the ground.

"Nothing yet," called Twilight back.

"The anticipation's killing me!!" Screeched Pinkie, grabbing and squeezing Jasper's arm. Amethyst then remembered that at this point, they'll go down into the Quarry, and confront the beast then. This was her chance.

"Hey, Garnet, how about we fan out? You know, cover more ground," Amethyst suggested. Before they were altogether, which Amethyst figured was how it defeated them all so quickly, so if they split up it would make it much harder for it to get them all at once. Garnet turned to Amethyst, considering the option.

"Fair enough. Spread out; call if you find it," Garnet instructed. Everyone then split up into small teams to cover more ground. Amethyst was with Fulgurite for this one, which was alright for her. Fulgurite and Amethyst went off from there along the eastern area of the Quarry, trying to find the Gem beast. She could be sure that the beast would at least be up and about by that point, so she was ready for it this time. For the first couple of minutes though, they didn't see any sign of it anywhere.

"Come on, where are you?" Amethyst thought.

"Find anything yet, Amethyst?" Fulgurite asked.

"No," Amethyst replied, though she was surprised by her own answer. Something so big should at least be able to be spotted by now. But then ...

"BACK OFF YOU -"

They all heard the screaming of Jasper, close by too, just before a loud poof echoed. Fulgurite and Amethyst raced off to see, but their answer flew to them instead; the same gem beast! The strange thing was though that it was a lot smaller than Amethyst remembered, about as tall as Pearl at most. Amethyst was left perplexed, but still got out her weapon anyway to face it. But then, the two heard something else ...

Another Gem beast floated into sight.

Then another.

And another.

Soon, Amethyst and Fulgurite were surrounded by these copies of what Amethyst thought was one Gem beast.

"T-There's more?" Amethyst thought, still in the state of shock. Suddenly she heard a stab from behind her, and saw Fulgurite was hit with a Gem Destabilizer! She poofed almost immediately, the clone grabbing it off the ground. Amethyst could understand how this was possible, for she remembered one and only one! Then the copies started to float together, and Amethyst watched them all form together, back to what Amethyst remembered. It was holding all the gemstones again, Amethyst just shocked and scared.

"What?! How?!" Amethyst shrieked, as it floated closer to her. Amethyst gave a warning shot of her whip before turning tail and running. This plan didn't work, and it was the same as before. As she ran, she got the time capsule out of her pocket, seeing it reseted itself. Amethyst quickly turned it, and it reactivated again with its light shining.

Here we go again.


~~~~~~


Her eyes shooting open again, she was back at square one; back on her beach blanket and back at point A. This time she knew what happened, and she had to think on what to do next before her friends end up poofed off again. This time, she just said bye to Steven, went straight to the mission without much trouble, and basically everything went on as normal. Amethyst, the whole time, was more or less thinking about what to try this time, impatient throughout the whole pep talk. Splitting apart was a complete bust, and sticking together made it easier for it to take everyone out apart from her. Amethyst decided to try something else.

When the group got to the Quarry again, rather than wait, Amethyst was off like a light.

"Amethyst, hold on," Applejack yelled, but Amethyst didn't listen. Instead, she rushed right into the Quarry, whips at the ready. She was in pure battle ready this time, and ready for anything.

"Alright you Gem assassin, where are you?!" Amethyst called out, ready to face it as the others stood up and watched. As it was the first time, the beast soon could be seen floating over to her. Rather than wait, Amethyst rushed at it, whips lashing out at it. Rather than grabbing the whip though, it kept dodging the attacks with little effort. Rainbow Dash could be heard flying towards her, which was what Amethyst didn't want to occur again. The beast looked to the Pegasus as she flew in hard.

"Take that!" Rainbow called, but she actually ended up going through it! The Gem beast suddenly glitched out like an AI ...

Another fake!

"Oh no," Amethyst groaned. She closed her eyes, and turned around. Upon opening them, she saw just in time, up on the top of the Quarry wall, the real Gem beast finishing off the last of the Gems, and removing the Mane Six. Rainbow tried to help, but she ended up in the same fate as the other Ponies.

"OH COME ON!" Amethyst yelled. Sad, yes, but now she was getting upset. Seemed this beast was smarter than she credited it for (seriously). The A.I clone disappeared as the real deal stared her down, almost getting disappointed itself. However, Amethyst noticed that a cut was edged on its face, slicing down on its right cheek, and the bandana cut off to show a calm frown. Amethyst rushed away, pulling out her time capsule again. This time she wasn't going to take anymore risks, as she turned it once more.

Further back in time.


~~~~~~


When she awoke this time, rather than laying about on her beach blanket, she woke up inside the Beach House, laying down on the sofa. It was the night before the mission, and she knew this from Steven still asleep in his bed, and his own suitcase by his bed, packed up for tomorrow morning. Just what she wanted. Making sure no one heard her, Amethyst got to the Warp Pad, and teleported to the barnhouse. As she hoped, not a single Gem or Pony was there.

"Sorry, guys," Amethyst said, taking out her whip. Turning to the Warp Pad, she rallied up, and slammed her whip down onto the Warp Pad, making it crack! The way she figured, that this Warp Pad gone meant they can't get there. Plus, it'll give her an excuse to keep from going on a mission anyway, so, double win!

.......

"There you are, sugarcube," a voice said the next morning. Amethyst had gotten herself back to the Beach House by that morning, confident that the mission would be a bust, and can't get started anyway. Everything went along as they'd been the last number of times, so Amethyst felt accomplished. Applejack and Pearl found her chilling outside in a beach blanket again. Amethyst thought she was clear, but ...

"Come on, Garnet wants us all for a mission."

"What?" Amethyst asked, not believing her ears at first.

"Just come on, at the barnhouse."

"Why there?"

"Uh ... Amethyst, it's too small in the Beach House."

"But the Warp Pad?" Amethyst blurted out. This time travel stuff meant that they didn't know what she did, but Pearl just crossed her arms.

"You know we have more than one Warp Pad, don't you? Just come on, okay?" Pearl said. The two left, but Amethyst felt completely stupid. Of course they had more! Amethyst groaned, hand to forehead in a slap, before pulling out her time capsule again. She was starting to get desperate.

"Okay, that's it!" Amethyst growled, switched back in time once more. She saw them getting taken away, and didn't want to deal with it again.

This time, it's personal.


~~~~~~


When she woke up that time, it came with a jolt of her body, sitting up almost immediately. Back in time again, she was back to the beach, on her beach blanket but predictably with Greg and Steven going to leave for their vacation. However, her mind was more dead set than before, and she jumped right to her feet. She couldn't  waste anytime anymore. She didn't bother to say goodbye to the two this time around, and raced past them both. The two avoided getting hit by inches, watching in surprise as she went into the Beach House. No meeting, no waiting, she knew where to go and what to do. One factor she especially wanted to be sure of; the others shouldn't come. She couldn't bare to see her friends get beaten again, Pony or Gem. Amethyst went right onto the temple Warp Pad, quickly activating it. Instead of going to the barnhouse for the meeting (like she needed to hear it again anyway) she immediately teleported to the Jersey Quarry. As pre mentioned, she wasn't going to take any chances this time. Every time before, the others were with her and they were beaten down each time. This time, she had to do this herself; at least this way she can have the rest alright in the long run, and she can have a head start on fighting the Gem beast before the others. If she can defeat it before they show up, it'll be great. She got out her whip, got off the Warp Pad, and quickly spun around. Using the whip, Amethyst gave the Warp Pad a powerful hit, enough to make the pad crack! Now it was a guarantee they won't show up, and therefore, no casualties for them ...

"There," Amethyst simply said, before running straight to the Quarry. This time without backup, Amethyst may have more trouble than it's worth, but she didn't take that into account, as she slid down the Quarry wall, whips in both hands.

"Okay you, I know you're here! Just you and me, amigo!!" Amethyst shouted, psyched and rearing to go. She was ready for anything at this point, and she turned almost trigger happy with her whips; the slightest sound of the Quarry making her ready and aim to whack away. She was sure this time that the others will be fine for sure, and if she can take care of this thing before they showed up, even better. She kept walking around for a bit, but it seemed this beast took into hiding. Amethyst was quickly losing patience.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Amethyst screamed, almost barbarically even, but nothing seemed to show. It was then that Amethyst turned back to where she came in. Up on the Quarry wall, she began to notice something floating up there; the Gem beast! Amethyst snarled, readying her whip to attack. The Gem beast floated down to her, as Amethyst rushed forward as fast and as strong as she could. The beast watched her charge, and apparently it had enough with her. Amethyst lunged forward, but it just took one hand to grab her, making her stop. Amethyst struggled in its grip, trying to get free but, it wasn't any good. The two stared at eachother, Amethyst glaring at it.

"Let go of me!" Amethyst demanded, but it brought another hand up to quiet her. A third hand came up to that bandana, and actually pulled it down from the right side. Amethyst immediately stopped cold by what she saw ...

A cut down the right cheek.

That didn't make any sense what-so-ever; Amethyst remembered a cut that the Gem beast got, but that was in a different past. Did she travel to a different time period? No, Steven and Greg still left that morning so she got that right. The other Gems showing up to cut it was out of the question, due to the Warp Pad being damaged. Amethyst stopped struggling upon seeing that, as a forth arm retracted inside the Gem beast's body, and pulling out to hold something; Amethyst's time capsule! Amethyst tried to feel if it was indeed her own or not, but before she could figure it out, the third arm released the bandana, and began to twist the capsule, more and more. It shoved the time capsule at Amethyst, the capsule activating in her hands, much to her shock! It winked to her, and threw her away from it, just before the capsule activated completely, and she went back one more time ...


~~~~~~


Amethyst needed a second before she woke up, feeling a bit off from the prolonged time travel. Her time capsule was still on her chest, held there by both hands. She didn't know how far she went, or how much it will affect her future, but one thing's for sure; she wasn't in Beach City anymore. For starters, what time it actually was seemed a bit hard to tell, the only main light coming from a hole in the ceiling. Around her, it seemed a lot more ancient than it would be. For one thing, the floor and walls were made up of clay blocks, cracked in a number of places from signs of worn out time. A number of vines grew from a number of spots, only emphasizing how old the place was. Around her, Amethyst saw four pillars holding the ceiling up, each one also vine covered.

"Where am I? Guys?!" Amethyst called. But, nothing. She was alone again, and this time she didn't know where she was, or how far back she went ...

"Amethyst, my sweet little troublemaker. Jumping around time, aren't you?"

Amethyst immediately recognized the voice, and she tried to see where it was coming from. All she could see though was the four pillars ... One of which had a strangely familiar animal engraved on it. Which began to move.

"Wait ... Discord!"

"Bingo! Nice to see you again," Discord said from the engraving. Judging by what Discord had just said there, Amethyst could easily put two and two together as the Draconequus stepped out of the pillar, colors back to normal, and in some sort of explorer's outfit like Daring Do.

"So, how're you doing jumping around time?" Discord asked. With a few questions already answered in Amethyst's head.

"It sucks! I can't get anything to work, and that stupid Gem beast keeps beating up my friends!" Amethyst said, figuring Discord knew that anyway no matter what she said. If he knew she was time-traveling, what was the point really? Besides, why question the intelligence of a reality-breaker anyway?

"OH, you mean TJ. He must've been giving you a run for your money has he?"

"TJ?"

"Short for Time Jumper! He's no Gem beast; he's got his brain in tact. He's just a bit grumpy for people to play sand castle in his house," Discord said, laying down by Amethyst, his face in front of her face.

"I don't care; I don't want to go through all week by myself ..."

Discord gently wrapped around her and hugged her.

"Aww, you sweet thing you. It is hard to go through some things without your pals, isn't it? It's too bad TJ's been keeping track of you since you got your little thingy there, otherwise it'll be a synch," Discord said, pulling the time capsule from Amethyst's arms and looking it over.

"What do you mean?"

"That TJ's not attach to time very well, so he's been seeing what you've been up to, and countering it. He's smart like that."

"But how do I stop him?! I can't keep this up forever," Amethyst retorted, though Discord seemed pretty casual with it.

"I'm not one for rough news, but sorry sweetie."

"Sorry?! Discord, the nearly shattered every one of my friends, and your friends were trapped by him and -"

"AND got bonked off to a remote part of Equestria," Discord cut in. "He never liked getting messy."

"But my friends ..."

"Oh, just be patient. Tell you what I'll do, I'll get ya back to your own time period soon enough, but all you have to do, lumpy space Gem, is to just chill out. I had to wait hundreds of years until I got out of my statue, sure you can wait a week, no? Sometimes you gotta have some alone time to be a little bit older, am I right?"

Amethyst felt ashamed by that point. The Draconequus basically summed up her flaws and shoved them in her face, the factor that basically started this in the first place. Discord wouldn't normally just blabber out the answer before the problem had finished, but Discord figured that'll be longer than any of them would like. For both TJ, and Amethyst too. Regardless of the case, Amethyst stayed quiet and looked to her time capsule ...

"Discord. I'd like to go home now."


~~~~~~


Amethyst opened her eyes after her Time Travel jump again, back to where she started; Steven's bed. However, instead of where the mission started, she put herself to when she discovered the time capsule in the first place, with the Gems still stones, and Ponies still missing. Amethyst herself knew what she had to do this time. Strange thing though; the marked spots disappeared on the time capsule upon looking at it again. Though, Amethyst no longer cared about it. She kept the gemstones of her friends together on the table, and she went right to the Warp Pad with her capsule. She went right back to Jersey Quarry, no longer in the mood for fighting. But, rather than going to the Quarry, turned out TJ was already there, expecting her.

"Oh. It's you," Amethyst said, getting no reply.

"Listen, TJ right? Time Jumper? Right, look, I'm not sure what you really did to my friends, but ... Well, just, here," Amethyst then presented her time capsule to TJ, looking away from him. TJ didn't respond.

"I don't want this anymore. I tried changing the past, but it didn't work out, so you have it."

There was some silence, as TJ removed the bandana again, showing the cut cheek again. A hand reached out, and took the capsule away from her. Amethyst didn't know what TJ was going to do next, but he then made a miniature time portal (apart of his bag of tricks, no doubt), and dropped the time capsule inside. TJ then looked down at her again ...

"You see now how tedious it is to change the past." TJ's sudden new voice was unexpected, low-pitched, and regal almost. Amethyst didn't expect it to talk, but kept quiet as TJ brought two hands forward, one on her head, and one in a flicking position.

"Your friends will find you soon. Until then. Enjoy your rest."

With one flick of the finger, it was lights out ...


~~~~~~


"Uughh ... What happened?"

"Amethyst, your back! YIPEE!"

Amethyst couldn't grasp what happened back there, but next thing she knew, she was suddenly tackled to the ground in a tight hug. She felt a bit groggy, but fine, and soon was face to face with Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie?"

"Yes siree bob!" Replied Pinkie Pie. Amethyst took a moment to look around some more, seeing where she was. Somehow, someway, she was on a royal bed inside one of Canterlot's bedrooms. Amethyst saw Steven as well, so it must've been after his vacation. As for an extra, and equally surprising guest, Amethyst saw the grand Alicorn Celestia!

"What happened? How'd I get here?"

"The Gems all found your gemstone at your universe's Jersey Quarry. You've been inside your gemstone for a few days now. How are you feeling?" Celestia asked, as Amethyst got off the bed.

"I'll be okay," Amethyst replied.

"Great! Then you can see the surprise with the rest of us," Steven said with a smile.

Surprise?

After a bit, Amethyst followed Pinkie, Steven, and Celestia for a bit of ways. Celestia brought them over outside the Canterlot castle, and off to an open-spaced, open plain further off from Canterlot itself. The plains were comfy, green grass underfoot and underhoof, crossing ways between Ponyville and Canterlot. Much to her relief, and glee, Amethyst saw that everyone was alright and reformed. All the Gems were there waiting for Amethyst, and she was just glad to see them again. The destination Celestia had in mind though was actually off to the Everfree Forest. It did take a bit, for sure, but no one minded it one bit. Pretty soon, everyone was at the front doors, Celestia at front.

"Everypony ready?" Celestia asked. They all nodded, and Celestia then opened the doors. The doors lead straight off to the main castle's throne room. The castle of the Everfree, and nothing much had changed since they last saw it. Celestia brought them over to a new area of the castle, which was outside, and cleared of any debris to the point of being a pure flat platform. There, shining in the light of the open platform, was a brand new, gleaming Warp Pad! This Warp Pad looked different from the regular ones used; light gold rather than silver, and the markings of shooting stars lined the rims of it, including the symbols of the Elements of Harmony. There was also three spheres on it, facing the Canterlot doors, the one on the left glowing yellow while the other two were dormant.

"A Warp Pad?" Questioned Jasper.

"Not just any Warp Pad," Celestia noted, as she walked over to it, placing a hoof on it.

"This is a special Warp Pad. I took sometime to study on the Gem warp pads, and soon after hearing your accomplishments on Homeworld, this is my personal gift for you all. This Warp Pad can bring you from Equestria, to Earth, and to Homeworld," Celestia explained. They all were as surprised as surprised could be. This explained how Velvet Sugar came to Beach City, and how Blue Diamond came to Equestria - through this Warp Pad made by Celestia herself!

"Wait, that means you made others?"

"Correct; Blue Diamond helped make one on Homeworld, while Discord helped make the one for Earth. Let's give it a try," Celestia said. She then gently pressed one of the buttons with her hoof, and that button farthest to the right glowing green. Celestia hopped up into the Warp Pad herself. They all were surprised, but unsure. Did she mean from here to Earth, or here to Homeworld? Still, they got on, and it was big enough to accommodate everyone of them (can't be too careful to how big some users can be).

"So how does it work?" Rarity asked.

"Give it a second," Celestia said. After everyone got on, the Warp Pad began to glow slightly, and suddenly it fully activated! No sooner until after that, the entire group was teleported away from Equestria, and when the light faded away, their destination landed. The whole group was suddenly back on Earth - the Warp Pad worked! This warp pad was similarly designed, though the colors were a sea green, and only the green sphere glowing. As for where it was, the Warp Pad was actually located inland from Beach City, the area cleared away of trees and bushes, their view perfect of Beach City. Lovely, and a good spot.

"Well I'll be," Applejack said simply. Celestia hopped off, along with a few of the Gems and Ponies, and Celestia readied to press the center sphere.

"Anypony want to see Homeworld?" Celestia offered. She wasn't making anyone go by any means, and she didn't expect very many to want to go either. The original six Crystal Gems, seven including Steven, stayed on the platform. Celestia waited for a bit before finally touching the sphere, it glowing blue. Celestia got into the Warp Pad before it started again. How long it took to teleport; under a minute.

When it finished, the sight was breathtaking; it worked again! The group of Crystal Gems all looked around in amazement. This Warp Pad was blue in color, and actually having a transparent seal so it won't get damaged. For location, it was up on an isolated raised platform, like ones one might see in South American temples. For the view, it was the perfect one to see the Homeworld Capital City, in all its glory. Garnet couldn't be happier, even a tear coming out of her eye.

"Thank you so much, Celestia," Garnet said, finally. Celestia nodded. If there was one thing going through anybody's mind, it was this:

The future's going to be very interesting.