Alarms were the main sound echoing in its ears, as the figure raced through the halls. Lights were little to none except for the reoccurring lights turning on and off with each ring of the alarms. Guards ran helter skelter every which way to try and catch this renegade runner. Quartz soldiers on high alert to their orders to recapture and relocate, with the figure moving at high speed. The figure didn't have any normal run, racing through the paths and halls in a long stride, almost resembling a gallop of sorts, though any of the soldiers who saw the runner seen no animal that resembled such. All the quartz soldiers tried their hardest to catch the runner, but somehow it was evading many of them well.
"There it goes!" One of the soldiers called, as she saw the creature race across the hall. The group of Quartzes rushed at it, but the creature skidded to a halt at one point, and jumped out of sight. The Quartz soldiers ran by, but the animal evaded them just long enough, sticking itself to the corner of the ceiling like a spider. Once they left, it left too and was running off again.
The figure made every turn and every stop to find a way out of this place, so far not getting anywhere. The only thing it got was more soldiers running after it.
"There he is!"
"Capture him, hurry!"
"You're not getting out of here!"
These screams just made the figure bolt off once again. Every soldier who saw him ran after as fast as they could. During the run, the figure finally caught sight of something that looked promising. A rather small part, a hatch almost, but it was just what he moved towards as the other soldiers closed in. There wasn't much time to think, but the figure looked too big to get through fast enough. He could probably, but no time to do so. The figure looked back for one moment before he grabbed something, and tossed it into the hatch just before the soldiers fully arrived. The room the other object was tossed into closed up tight, and the figure found a control panel nearby, to which it quickly activated. This hatch then became active, and after a little bit the hatch detached itself, and suddenly blasted away! It wasn't entirely what the figure planned for, but it was just enough.
All he could do now was face the onslaught.
Night time. And a group over on one planet was enjoying a perfect time of stargazing. The hillsides rolled on through the Equestrian countryside, and it's these hills that made for a wonderful spot for this group to enjoy the stars above. The stars flickered and danced in the air like small twinkling diamonds, and they all were up on display for this group down below. For those down below the star's eyes, they consisted of quite a mixture: a few Earth Ponies, Pegasus, a Unicorn, an Alicorn, a human, and a Gem being.
These went by the names of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight, Steven, and Garnet.
And what a night to stargaze too, for the night shined alive with shooting stars, zooming by like the Pegesi of ol. Steven was sitting in Garnet's lap, with Fluttershy and Twilight side by side.
"Oh, oh, I wish ... I wish for a new baker's set!" Pinkie said, hopping up and down.
"You've already made wishes on twenty shooting stars now, I think you can let them have a break," Twilight chuckled.
"But I won't get my wish if I miss it," retorted Pinkie. Technically correct by her logic, anyway, as more stars shot by. Nothing better than just watching stars go by with friends.
"What do you wish for, Garnet?" Asked Steven. Garnet just fluffed Steven's hair.
"My wish is for your wish to come true," Garnet replied.
"Aww, how sweet," Fluttershy commented. Steven felt very happy about that and his gaze went back to the stars.
Shooting stars were a nice surprise for the night, but tonight was a true spectacle to behold. Each pony kept their eyes to the sky, and as they were, it seemed that one of these stars stuck around pretty long compared to the others in the sky. It looked just like one, though it seemed to be staying in place and seemingly growing. Strange for a shooting star.
"OOOO, that's a big one," Pinkie pointed out, a hoof aimed to the star. The others took notice of it, and saw what Pinkie meant.
"Make a wish sport," Applejack suggest, looking to Steven. Steven quickly got his wish going after a few seconds of thinking, making sure the star didn't miss him. Steven kept quiet for a moment or two, but as he was, Twilight took another look at the shooting star. She seen shooting stars, that's for sure, but this one seemed a little bit different from other shooting stars. Twilight squinted her eyes as it grew closer, trying to make sure that this shooting star is a shooting star. But the more she kept her eyes on it, the more she started to put that theory into question. It didn't move away, or disappeared after a bit, and it only grew bigger by their perspective. It just kept getting bigger, and bigger. And bigger ...
"It's coming straight at us!" Twilight realized.
And not a moment too soon. The flying star was indeed coming right at them, and they all saw it go right over their heads! So close in fact, they could see the flames from the speed shooting from the shooting star's tail. Lucky none of them were ten feet up, otherwise it would've struck one of them at the speed it was going. The star rushed by them, and just five feet behind them, down the hill, the object made contact with the ground. The hit wasn't straight down, so it skidded along the ground until a few sturdy trees stopped it cold. The impact left a strong streak into the dirt, leading right up to the supposed star.
But then came the real shocker. The shooting star, wasn't a star at all. The object didn't even look natural at all, and appeared like a large round orb of sorts. Nothing too specific, but strange all the same. The outer shell of the object was smooth, fire-resistant metal that gleaned in the moonlight. Not any evidence of a usual hatch anywhere, but it did appear that something did open up on one end of this thing, revealing that something had ended up on the ground, not far from the object. At first it seemed harder to tell on who, or what it was, but it didn't take very long until they all were at the spot.
"A space shuttle," Garnet stated. A odd sight to see, but with how much they've seen as it was, it wasn't too surprising. Their attention then turned to the collapsed thing not too far away. It looked small, only about pony-sized, but the body was by no means equine. Once the moonlight got to her, she was quickly recognized by plenty of them. The bluish hue of her red skin, and Gemstone on her navel made her an immediate recognizable Gem from their previous encounter.
"It's Navy!" Gasped Steven.
"Eh, that's a Ruby," corrected Garnet.
"That's her nickname. Because she has her Gemstone on her navel."
"OH. I get it."
"But wait, isn't this Ruby with that squad we met with before?" Twilight questioned.
"Now you mention it, I did recognize her from that group. But where're all the others?" Rarity wondered. Navy surely did look a bit rough on first appearance. Her body ragged, her face tired and hair a little messed up for its square shape. Before anyone could answer that, Navy slowly started to come back around. A very muffled groan just grew audible enough for them to hear, and Navy started to open her eyes, just a little bit. She took a moment to look around, and then she saw a sort of blue figure close by. ...
Suddenly, Navy went psychotic: she jumped up fast, and tackled the closest thing to her (which was Rarity) and suddenly Navy summoned out a pair of spiked knuckles!
"I WILL NOT BE SHATTERED BY ANYONE, YOU HEAR ME?!"
"WHOA, whoa, calm down!" AJ said, grabbed the Gem and pulling her off of Rarity, alongside Fluttershy. Clearly something was incredibly wrong with her if she were to just lash out like that. Now pulled back into more view, Navy's problem became more apparent this time around: her Gem had been brutally cracked!
"Oh no! Here, hold still," Steven said, his healing spit brought out to his hand, and he got it ready to be placed on Navy's stone. Navy was still freaked out, yet exhausted, and tried to break free until Steven got to her Gemstone, his healing powers going to work right away. Navy could feel her Gemstone getting filled in, and this moment gave her time to regain herself, and sure enough her stone was whole again. But even with the Gemstone healed, she still felt extremely tired. Once released, Navy collapsed down on the ground, and fast asleep after a few seconds.
"Navy? Navy?"
"Leave her be. She can tell us what happened in the morning, but for now let's give her some rest," Garnet instructed. Something they couldn't agree more. The Ruby was lifted up easy by Garnet, and moved on her way. If she is to rest, it wasn't going to be out in the open.
"Here we go," thought Rainbow.
.......
Navy took a bit of time before she started to stir a bit. She felt a little tired still, but feeling a lot better than the initial crash landing at Equestria. The morning light from outside hit her eyes, and it was enough to get her waking up from her first time snooze. After getting her eyesight together, she took a moment to check the surroundings. She still remembered the crash site, and she found that it wasn't anywhere near her spot. Instead of by some trees, she found herself inside of a tree. Twilight Sparkle's house to be more specific. She was up on the upper level of the library, under the covers in Twilight's bed. The bed was cozy, much better than the ground she crash landed on, and the scenery was all new to her. She never been inside Twilight's house before, after all. Navy took the time to check in the area around her. She saw the picture and clock over by the bed, the smaller dog bed for Twilight's friend Spike, a few spare books, and a sitting stool. Enough indication to say someone had kept an eye on her throughout the night. The Gem yawned and stretched her arms, waking herself up as she got herself out of bed, trying to make some sense of things.
"Hello?" Navy called. Navy walked down the stairs to the main floor of the library after a while, and sure enough her movement was picked up on by whoever was inside the house. The call got Twilight's attention, the Alicorn moving in with some others who found out about Navy's little crash. Naturally Twilight wasn't the only one there to see her that morning, for she had a few visitors that arrived, including Ponies and Gems alike (Twilight, Steven, Garnet, Applejack, Fluttershy, a Bismuth, a Flint Gem, a Amethyst, and a Pearl)
"Navy, you're awake. How're you feeling?"
"Oh, hi Steven. I'm okay, but ... who's "Navy"?"
"That's Steven's little nickname for you," replied Fluttershy.
"Oh. Ok," Navy simply said, as Amethyst went over to her.
"Now, what on Earth happened to you? Garnet said you nearly killed Rainbow Dash last night," Amethyst stated. Navy needed a moment or two to get her own mind together, and to get her memory going. Since her Gemstone was cracked when they found her, it was a little vague, but little by little her mind started to get the images of what had happened before they found her. Navy sat down on the floor, soon after her full memory came back to her. And by the look on her face, it didn't seem like anything good.
"Ruby? You're free to tell us," Garnet assured her.
"Yeah, we're all pals here," added Bismuth. Navy took a seat near the Library's center statue before she decided to start speaking her situation, as much as she didn't want to.
"Well ... I don't know. ..."
"Ruby, you assaulted one of my friends last night, AND we found your gemstone all cracked up. Something must've happened," Steven said.
"That pod didn't look like your usual red spaceship either. And where's the rest of your squad? Weren't there supposed to be five of you?" added Twilight, remembering the last time the Ruby squad stopped by. Navy placed both hands over her own gemstone for a moment or two.
"... I don't like them. ..."
"Like who?" Asked Fluttershy.
"It's a bit of a long story."
"Well we have a lot of time, so go on ahead," AJ encouraged, sitting down and getting comfortable.
"Well, let me see now. Me and the rest of my Ruby squad were going through the Milky Way Galaxy on a mission to the V system and we were about a few hours away when, uh ... when our ship was brought to Gem colony Aredox in Star System 5 III. ... W-We were brought in. For some reason, a-a-and ..."
"Uh ... you okay?" Asked Pearl, walking over to her. Navy started out alright, but the more she tried to remember correctly, the more scared she appeared to be.
"I ... Those ... the Agates wouldn't let us go ..."
"Aredox? What're you talking about? ... Navy?" Steven asked.
Navy was a little too traumatized to even answer straight. The Ruby ended up on the ground, laying on her side and huddled up.. Whatever happened on Aredox took a severe toll on the small Ruby. Eventually, Navy suddenly snapped back, and pancaked herself to Garnet's face.
"PLEASE, OH PLEASE HELP ME SAVE MY FRIENDS! I-I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'LL DO WITHOUT THEM!" Navy begged, eyes locked with the fusion. Navy sounded very desperate for help, and Bismuth pulled Navy off of her.
"There, there Ruby, calm down. Where's this Aredox place? Is it far?"
"Oh, no not at all! It's only two hundreds years away," Navy stated, a bit happier in tone. However, the rest of the group didn't have that kind of time, especially with Steven and the ponies: both with limited lives compared to the Gems. How can they even LIVE that long to even get there?! Bismuth placed Navy down on the floor after a little bit, the Ruby gem still with begging eyes and both hands clasped together, as Flint moved over to the Ruby.
"We don't have that kind of time. Is there a faster way to get there, if any?"
"You can use a spare Ruby ship. A wormhole can cut time short," Navy figured.
"Wait, what about your ship?"
"Those mean Gems confiscated it," Navy simply said, able to get that out a bit easier than the other things. Despite everything, Flint looked a bit unsure about it. He was the type of Gems that tries to avoid trouble as much as he could, and this surely sounded like a lot of trouble on the surface.
"Eh ... I dunno," Flint admitted.
"Please?"
"Ruby, I know they mean a lot to you, but I don't know if this is such a good idea," Flint made clear, a bit unsure himself. Navy stayed quiet, looking very sad. This Ruby had a little trick up her sleeve.
"Oh. Okay then, I guess I'll just go then. Maybe little ol me can find a new group of Rubies. It took me a long time to get those perfect group of Rubies as my friends, but ... I'll find others. *sniff* It may take months, years even, but -"
"OK, FINE WE'LL DO IT. Just ... stop that!" Flint groaned. Navy's mood quickly switched, and Navy hugged Flint tightly.
"THANK YOU. I knew I could count on you!"
"Yeah. Sure."
Pretty soon, the group went on over from Equestria, and over into Steven's main would. With Gems more common there, that's where Navy was taken for some more time to recover from her crash. Steven's home was actually a beach house, attached to what looked like a ancient Gem temple alongside the beach. A typical home for the Gems to take. Keeping around the Beach House, Amethyst, Steven, and Fluttershy stuck around to keep a better eye on Navy as the others tried to get everything ready for their flight to Aredox. Someone had to at least handle that during the wait.
"It's been a long time since we've been on a space trip like this. I wonder what Aredox is like," Steven wondered, excited to see a new Gem place, as Amethyst nibbled away on some snacks.
"Who knows? It's about time we got some serious space missions! I'm ready to kick some butt anytime," Amethyst said, doing a few kicks and punches in place. Fluttershy took the time too in order to get some snacks together, though mainly they were for the road, and not for herself. Though she did start drinking a small juice box at a point.
"I just hope the Rubies are okay," Navy commented, the Ruby sitting in between Steven and Fluttershy. The Pegasus placed a hoof on Navy's shoulder in comfort.
"Don't worry, they'll come back home safe and sound, I promise," Fluttershy assured Navy.
"Yeah, we ain't gonna let those Gems beat up your squad."
"But wait, the Agate patrols are too strong for you! You'll get shattered if you just charge in," Navy suddenly advised, remembering her own experience at the Gem colony. That got the other three a bit by surprise.
"What do you mean?" asked Steven.
"Or can you even tell us without freaking out?" Amethyst added in.
"No. No. I'm better now," Navy insisted. With her mind in a better place now, Navy was ready to give them the full story, or at least tell them what they're dealing with here. It was probably for the best that they know that anyway.
"The colony of Aredox is run by Agate Gems. They all run everything, each Agate in control of their own group of guards. The entire colony is run by a big, mean Agate - Holly Blue Agate."
"Wait a minute, isn't the Diamonds in charge of these colonies?" Amethyst questioned, scratching her head. Navy shook her head.
"I don't think so. I said that to them, and they told me Holly Blue is put in charge of the colony altogether. Everything is run by how she sees it. I don't know why either."
"So the Agates are in control, not the Diamonds," restated Fluttershy.
"Yep. And they're very strict too. You can't even walk around without being taken away to be punished."
"Hence the cracked Gem?" asked Amethyst. Navy paused and placed her hand onto her gemstone.
"Yeah."
"Oh my, you poor thing," Fluttershy said sorrowfully, rubbing her head with her hoof. Navy just sighed on memory, and could only wonder how the rest of her squad is holding up on that planet.
"Maybe you should tell the others about this, they should know about what happened," Flutters suggested. It took a little bit, but Navy eventually agreed to it.
.......
"Run by Agates, is it? Not too surprised," noted Flint.
Didn't take too long for them to get the others together for Navy to tell them her story, or at least what she told Steven, Amethyst, and Fluttershy about. This time around a larger group was together for the meeting, with all of the current Crystal Gems and Mane Six present to hear her out. The place she was telling this was at a barnhouse: a abandoned barn where they had used for outdoor work and construction projects in the past.
"Some of them must get out," stated Rarity. Navy thought it over a little bit.
"Actually, one did try to while we were there. She didn't get very far though, but I didn't see what they did with her. ... I did hear her though," Navy said, the last part making her shiver. The others looked to eachother for a bit on the implications Navy left. Navy then started to remember something else.
"There's another too. I think he's named Razor. I couldn't of escaped without his help."
"Why didn't he come with you?" Pearl asked.
"I don't know. ... Something about the others?" Navy figured, though she wasn't entirely sure herself. Interesting information for some of them, and that last part made it clear on why he stayed rather than leave with Navy.
"Alright then, I'll get the others and we'll be off!" Rainbow said, ready to fly off, but Garnet was quick to stop her.
"Not everyone, Rainbow. We'll get a team together, the rest can watch things here until we get back. Ruby, you better stay here. You're known to them and it could be dangerous for you," Garnet advised. Navy was worried, but it was probably best for her to stay off Aredox anyway. She was technically an escaped convict after all.
.......
There she is. Send in the roaming eyes, and recapture her.
So after that, the group got busy. In the barn, much of the group got themselves into working out coordinates. Navy being the main guide for this venture. Information about where the exact planet was was, for lack of better words, vague. Lucky for them, Navy already drew up a sort of star chart from a chalkboard Steven and company dug out from the barn's many spare parts and extra items. With chalk available, Navy took little time to draw out their directions, linking from Earth to Aredox in the quickest way she could think of. At least to the Gem, it was a quick trip, but anything over years of travel was not even going to suffice for any pony or Steven on the trip. Currently, Pearl, Twilight, and Navy were at the barn looking it over, as Bismuth and a CG Peridot prepared some extra resources for the travel.
"So, this is the Earth. And WAY over here is Aredox," Navy directed, as she drew a line from Earth to Aredox. According to the drawn charter, the planet Aredox looked similar to a ring planet, like Saturn for example. Pearl and Twilight both looked over the charter.
"I see. With the approximate time of two hundred years by regular space travel, a warp-based Ruby ship can make the time in ... Let's see ... Two hundred, convert into light years, divided it by the average warp speed, plus added weight of estimated passengers on board, and ... ten to twelve Earth days," Pearl concluded.
"Ten to twelve days? That's not too bad. Provided we keep on a straight schedule," Twilight added in, concerning of anything they might run into during the flight.
"So ... Ten to fifteen then," Pearl corrected, putting Twilight's suggestion into consideration. Better secure than sorry. Then they began to hear the racket made by the other Gems nearby.
"Bismuth, Peridot, what're you two doing?"
"Me and Bismuth agreed that we're being presented with unforeseen risks, so we decided to cooperate some backup just in case," Peridot explained, presenting what Bismuth brought out. The object didn't look too big, but that was only because it was more compacted.
"And that is ...?"
"Portable teleporter. Just a little something we whipped up together," Bismuth said. She simply tossed it, and as it landed, it opened up into a much larger teleporter, though at the moment it was inactive.
"OH, bravo Bismuth," Pearl applauded.
Before things could continue for them, a distant humming sound began to slowly come around from farther away. When they looked up, they began to see what the other pals had been up to, as they tried to drive down a borrowed Ruby ship from Homeworld. However, the flight patterns on this ship were a bit more sporadic than they would be comfortable. Speeds shift, altitudes altered rapidly, and angles jumble about. The others on the ground had to move inside the barn fast before this Ruby ship ended up slamming down into the ground with a loud thud. The hatch opened up, and out stumbled the pilots of this Ruby ship: Amethyst and Steven. Took some maneuvering after the first ten minutes to get one of these, but it sufficed anyway.
"One ship ready to fly ..." Amethyst said, finger aimed to the air as if finding the point above her head. By the sound of it, the flying wasn't all too good. They weren't the only ones in the Ruby ship though, as one ruffled Pony stumbled out as well.
"Don't you know how to fly those things?" groaned Applejack.
"I'm no expert in driving Ruby ships," Amethyst said, picking herself up with Steven, as AJ pulled her hat out from the hatch. A bit dusted up, but they at least got their ship altogether, and in one piece. Now they got the plans, and the ship to get them there. The noise of the rough landing got Flint coming back outside to see the situation.
"Okay, I think we got the - what happened to the ship?"
"Rough landing," Steven simply said. Flint looked through the hatch into the Ruby ship to be sure that it wasn't damaged. Lucky for them nothing inside the ship was even remotely affected by the landing.
"So what were you saying?"
"Oh, right. I spoke with Garnet, and she made up the best members to go off. Right here," Flint explained, presenting those there with a list of names. Twilight got the list from him and looked it over from there. The list seemed decent enough, though Steven found he wasn't on the list, along with Amethyst.
"Eh ... aren't you missing a few people?"
"No? I don't think so."
"But you forgot to put Amethyst in, Steven too."
"You two aren't going," Flint simply stated.
"What?!"
"Steven, Amethyst, it's for the best. You two nearly died back with White Diamond as it is, and Garnet doesn't want you two going through that again. Besides, Navy could use the company."
Both Amethyst and Steven glanced over to Navy, who spun around on a swivel seat for a moment. While a number of them didn't need to be reminded about White Diamond and what happened on her space station, it was probably the best and only point Flint had to get them to stay, as reasons go. Not the best reason, but still a reason. There was no way Navy was going to go with them, and whoever else staying can't stay around Navy the whole time they were gone, so the factors stood against them. As for Flint, he didn't give them much time to answer, before he addressed the others.
"Hey Pearl, can you get the others together? Make sure they're ready to go, and to meet up at the Temple for the initial liftoff. I'll get the ship ready and meet you in a few minutes," Flint instructed. Pearl soon went off on her way to get the team set up.
"Dang Flint, you're on a roll. First White, and now here," Bismuth complimented.
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, Bismuth, is there a connection end to that thing? I see that's a teleporter, but you need two for it to work.
"Peridot's almost finished with it in the barn."
"Good, then being that along and meet Pearl at the Temple. We might need that for a quick getaway."
Bismuth needed no further explanation, and went in the barn where Peridot was still tweaking with the other teleporter connection. By the look of it, it wouldn't be long until that was all fixed up and ready to go. With this preparations and all that, Steven and Amethyst were left with nothing to do. They may have brought in the Ruby ship for them, but that was really all they needed here. Whatever Aredox had in store, they weren't seeing it.
"Is there anything we can do?" Steven asked, a bit hopeful for something to do. However, what Flint had in mind ...
"Just spruce up the barnhouse."
.......
"Did you have to ask?"
Few minutes later, and Amethyst, Steven, and Navy by extension, were in the barn and sprucing things up. Navy stood aside and observed what the two were doing, which was simply shifting stuff around just to make it look good. Steven, being slightly stronger than Amethyst, did some of the shifting a bit better, but both shared in it pretty equally overall. Navy only stood there with her arms behind her back, and a rather casual posture and expression. Her focus was on more of the stuff in general rather than actually doing anything to clean it up.
"Cheer up, it looked a lot worse before," Steven reminded, as Amethyst placed a box over to one part of the barn.
"Hey, what are those things?" Navy asked at one point, referring to Steven as he was moving around a leftover piece of a propeller. Navy looked over the propeller as Steven answered.
"Oh, this is a propeller. People use it on their planes to fly, and boats to zoom along water," Steven said. Navy looked a bit confused, as any alien would to human structures and uses.
"Humans used this to fly?" Navy questioned.
"They used to. Now it's mainly jet engines and hot air balloons."
It honestly wasn't too much going on for the next ten minutes after that, and it was mainly the same. Navy would ask time to time about some objects in the barn, and the other two would just keep their work in moving objects to their better places. Not where they were supposed to be, but better spots anyway. Far as they were concern, it was nothing more than a simple chore that anyone could've done. The stuff they did move were just in more categorized piles, in a manor similar to how Amethyst handles her stuff over in her room.
Still, be that as it may, it seemed that something might've gotten them their own method to Aredox. Steven stopped for just a moment and glanced over towards the barn's open window. He'd normally see the sky with maybe a cloud or two, maybe even a bird if given a chance. But that wasn't the case today. ...
"What is that?" Asked Amethyst, who also saw the window too. Navy, Steven, and Amethyst witnessed something entirely new come in from the window, suspended in the air by an unknown force. It looked about their size, but the shape looked like a true diamond Crystal; a pointed end with a flattened front like a cone. The flat end was silver, with a single small gem at the center that resembled a blue Gem, shape of an octagon. The strange thing floated in, the 'eye' locked onto the three inhabitants inside the barn. Navy stayed absolutely still as it approached, though Amethyst and Steven had never seen something like it before.
"Navy?" Steven asked. Before anyone could say anything, the object started to flash a sort of light at them, brought out like that of a scanner. It started at their heads, and moved downward. As it did so, the gemstones on Navy, Amethyst, and Steven suddenly started to glow bright white, much to Navy's worry. Once it made a proper scan of them, the thing turned from passive blue, to aggressive red, and started to move in on them, Navy specifically. The center stone began to charge up, but it gave the others enough time during this to react.
"NAVY, move it!" Steven said, shoving Navy aside just before it went off. What they thought was going to be a laser or beam ended up being a capturing method. It looked like a net, strands red and electrified, and it got around Steven and Amethyst, Navy only being missed by a hair due to being moved. Both Gems tumbled, the electricity paralyzing both. It wasn't just electricity that activated during the capture. Seconds after Steven and Amethyst got stunned, the net turned to a red bubble, capturing them both in it. It seemed like they were had ...
"Steven, come on we're gonna -"
Well, they got one more shot. Applejack. The orange pony halted her own thoughts on seeing the situation: a Gem thing capturing Steven and Amethyst, with Navy hidden away. Obviously something was wrong, and this object turned its attention to the pony. A similar blue scan appeared on AJ, but this time the object didn't seem to pick up on anything.
"Applejack, a little hoof here?" Amethyst said, trying to break the bubble herself. The thing continued its search for Navy, the Gem trying to keep hidden from the scanners, but AJ was quick to take action, and went straight for the red bubble. The bubble wasn't too strong on the outside, so a good kick was all it took for it to pop and let them out. The scanner quickly sensed their escape, an alarm going off in its system. But its focus was on finding the refugee Ruby, scanning light trying to find her. Navy tried to hide, but the scanners just manage to catch her gemstone and began to close in, readying another Gem net. Amethyst got her whip out, and lasso'd her out before the net could capture her. The object apparently had a limited time to get this handled, because the light on it started to flicker a bit after that. With limited energy dwindling, the object changed color from blue to a silvery grey color. Not much charge was made this time, and a sort of transparent wave was being emitted towards their general direction.
The reaction from the others was a swift one: One quick grab and throw of AJ, and Navy found herself over by the door. Steven, Amethyst, and Applejack got themselves caught in the waves, and suddenly their bodies appear to distort and deteriorate, until all three of them disappeared completely! That action used up the rest of the machine's energy, and it fell to the ground.
And just like that, it was serious.
...wake up...you hear me?... WAKE UP...
Groggily, after a faded voice made the command, Applejack began to wake herself up. She felt a bit uneasy after what she could assume was a teleportation, and it took her senses some catching up to do after her body got up on all four hooves. When she got herself together, her position was clear: she's been captured!
For a start, the pony found herself inside what appeared to be some container. Not exactly a cage, but more like a see-through tank. Smooth plexus glass covered the entire container, so simple bucks weren't going to get her out at any point. AJ wasn't alone in her cell, with Amethyst and Steven laying not too far away, in the same cell. Where the cell was, was a bit more ambiguous in details, since AJ was mainly seeing nothing but midnight blue walls, VERY simple in details as far as rooms go.
"Guys! Y'all okay?" Asked Applejack. Amethyst and Steven came to after a bit.
"About time!" yelled a voice. The trio turned over to the source of this gripe, and they found a strangely familiar figure. Or at least, it looked familiar at first, but after the light grown more visible, the three Gems found a newcomer to them.
This figure, clearly some sort of Gem, moved on over towards them , standing just outside the cell and staring them down. The Gem stood taller than all three of them, about as tall as Flint but a bit thicker in her curves and overall body. The main color theme for this Gem is blue. Her skin was a lighter blue color, her main bodysuit very prominent in a deep sea blue coloration. Many parts of this Gem showed a kind of authority: white soldier boots, a diamond symbol on her chest, and a general-like expression. Her light blue lavender hair was made in a set of hair buns, both which having a lighter ring around then before reaching the tip.
"And who're you?" Amethyst demanded, getting up to her feet. The Gem looked each one over for a bit more before her hand met her face.
"Stupid roaming eyes. Programmed for one job and I end up with a overcooked runt and her posse of freak rocks?" The Gem opening thought, only ticking off Amethyst a bit further.
"Who're you calling a freak rock?!" Amethyst snapped, trying to get herself out with punches and kicks. But even for a Gem, this plexus glass wasn't going to break up anytime soon. The Gem was by no means intimidated by this 'little runt' as she puts it.
"Where're we?" Steven asked. But the Gem didn't really acknowledge Steven all that much, if at all. Instead, the Gem turned and gave a whistle. A short time later, a few Gems came in, and they all look a little bigger than her, about Jasper size.
"Can one of you pebbles explain to me why these three ended up here instead of that runaway Ruby?" The Gem questioned.
"I don't know, I'm sure the roaming eye was programmed correctly. Must've got some of her allies instead," said one of the other Gems. The single blue Gem looked to the trio in the tank. Obvious this Gem wasn't happy about it, but she didn't go off on them right away.
"Oh fine. Just dump these ... things, with the others. Put them to work."
Not what they wanted to really hear.
Outer space. Considered by many a race as the final frontier. And within the vastness of this space, the Crystal Gem Ruby ship zoomed through with lightning fast speed for the longest time. The pilots on the ship here wasn't planning any stops over on this flight, especially now. For the team on board, it was a bit of a gamble, but those on board were about as ready as ever to reach Aredox. The members on board include: Bismuth, Garnet, Pearl, Flint, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie. Some couldn't really get going on this trip for a number of reasons, the main one being that they need to watch over things. Someone had to. Transmission back to home was made fairly easy thanks to some quick fixes by Peridot just before they left, just giving enough of a signal for a clear communication. Speaking of, during the flight through space, this same communication started to come up.
"Testing, testing. Can you read me?" Asked Peridot from the other end of the call.
"Loud and clear, Peridot. We're only a few minutes to Aredox at this point," Flint replied. On the screen, Peridot was joined up by Navy, who still looked extremely frazzled for some reason. Garnet looked to the screen as well.
"Ok, Ruby. Now calmly tell us what happened," Garnet said.
"No offense, but when you came to us ..." Rainbow added.
.......
"STEVEN-EYE-BLUE-GOT-SAVE EM!!"
.......
"Not much to go on there, sport."
Navy still looked a bit freaked but she was just good enough to get her words together. Still worried, but enough sense to get it right.
"It's the Agates: they sent a roaming eye, they captured our pals!"
"WHAT?!" Flint gasped.
"I-I don't know how it happened, I'm so sorry. I should've left you alone, otherwise they would never had been caught!"
"OK, OK, calm down. Thank you, Ruby. We'll get him back."
"AND my squad! Oh, who knows what those mean Agates are doing to them!"
"HEY, watch the shaking, you'll break the camera!" Peridot cut in, moving the screen away from Navy before she could wreck it with her panicking grab-n-shake. They didn't need a broken communication track before getting home.
"Good luck," Peridot said. Garnet nodded and cut off the communications back home.
And just in time. For Pearl started to slow down the ship just enough for a more reasonable speed, as another planet started to grow into view. The details on this planet were pretty prominent in the lack of water, and varying mountains visible from orbit. Also visible from orbit was what looked like streams of warping, going around from place to place. None of them knew exactly where these were going, but either way it was clear this was a Gem colony.
"Aredox. That has to be the place," Bismuth stated.
"Right. Prepare to -" before Flint could finish up his sentence, the group started to see some company. Somehow this colony must've sensed them, because a set of small space pods left the planet, and soon the lone ship was confronted by the set of ships. No doubt these ships were orbiting patrols for the Agates. They didn't even get into the planet's atmosphere and already they were caught.
"Oh great, a patrol!"
"Calm down, I'll handle this. Twilight, you and your friends stay out of sight," instructed Garnet.
"You too Garnet, they'll be all over you the second they see you," Flint added in. Before Garnet could do anything, one of the ships started to make a rather vague transmission screen at the front window. Little time to protest, they quickly went right out of sight, leaving only Flint, Pearl, and Bismuth on the screen's radar. The screen in front showed the head of what looked like some Amethyst, though larger like a Jasper would be.
"You! You're crossing by Agate territory," the Amethyst stated. Flint cleared his throat.
"We're well aware of that, thank you. Don't mind us, we're just passing by that's all," Flint stated. The amethyst didn't seem convinced by such things.
"You know, that Ruby group said the exact same thing," said another amethyst on the same ship. Well this just proves that they got the right planet if they know that kind of information off the bat, and so easily at that. One of the ships looped around the Ruby ship, catching it in a sort of captive ring of sorts. They tried to move, but they couldn't get themselves out no matter the typical movement. Obviously the Amethysts were going the direct approach on this one. The transmission screen was removed, and gave them time to try and get the ship moving.
"Crud crud crud, we're stuck!" Flint groaned, trying like mad to get the ship out, hitting controls like mad but getting nowhere. They're just going to get captured the same as the Ruby squad if they let them do this. Both ships had tractor beams connected to the ring, and started towing them towards Aredox.
"Okay, time to clear out," Bismuth said, moving in and reaching for one particular switch on the controls.
"Bismuth wait!"
Too late. Bismuth activated the ship's warp speed function. The Ruby ship went crazy, and the extra oomph to their speed was enough to quickly snap the barrier of the ring, leaving the space pods in the dust. Since they were going so quick, Bismuth had to quickly turn it off before they would zoom through the planet, or blast too far away. It may had been quick, but it frazzled everyone on board all the same. ...
"BISMUTH, the heck was that for?! We could've ended up across the galaxy with that!" Flint snapped.
"We're here," Garnet announced, opening up the hatch to see the planet. Good thing she got that out before Flint would just scream his head off. Turned out, the ship was probably the luckiest it's ever been. Looking out, not only was the ship not crashed, but it was actually snug in a fair sized ditch in the Aredox dirt, the ditch on top of a large hill.
Flint stayed quiet ...
"Nice park job," commented Pinkie.
"Well, let's get away and try to find somewhere before those space pods find us again," Garnet concluded.
"And in you go."
With those words, Steven, Amethyst, and Applejack all were dumped down right into the opening area. These newcomers were oblivious as oblivious can get. At the least AJ was allowed to keep her hat, but that was it in advantages. Not that it even mattered here.
Speaking of, the 'here' looked a bit like an assorted prison yard. The ground underfoot matched a sort of cinder, smooth and like stone. The sky itself looked roughly purple in color, though that could be from the time zone. The landscape laid out looked bordered by a long steep hill, looking like the borders of the place. The area they landed in particular was accompanied by various other creatures put in by the Agates. Most of these didn't pay too much attention to them, the trio staying together as they observed the situation. When it comes to Gemkind, the only main ones they saw were the guards and Mark captains, rarely any in the prisoners side. That was mainly given to other species, some human, humanoid, some quadruped, some beyond that. Regardless of what what looked like, they seemed to be under constant watch, some eating in only designated areas when they had oddly similar growing fruit. As the trio looked, one of the guards nearly attacked one of the prisoners just for wandering too far from their designated area.
The trio had an area indented in a small ditch, over by what seemed to be a workers pit, a brutish looking Carnelian on guard over a group of Gems, each mining by the look of things. They drilled into the rocks with their own fists until the Carnelian called them off with a few claps. Seeing how they all just fell to the floor told the trio that they've been at it for a while, as the Carnelian went off to check the others out.
"Hey. Is it me, or aren't those Navy's squad members?" AJ pointed out.
"Wait ... yeah. Yeah, you're right," agreed Steven. Rubies may seem the same on the surface, but the details on each one of these was just enough to distinguish them. As for the squad, the first to notice was a Ruby with one eye, the other covered by her Gemstone. She didn't say much, but did get a more boisterous Gem's attention about it, as the three walked over.
"Hey, squad! We've been looking for you," Amethyst said.
"... Do we know you from somewhere?" questioned one of the Rubies, this one having a visor over her eyes.
"We're part of the Crystal Gems. We met when y'all were looking for that Tunguska place," said AJ. However, the Rubies still weren't figuring it out. They remember the mission, but not them exactly. Their interaction was a bit brief after all.
"Eh, here, remember this?" Amethyst chimed in, as she quickly transformed herself into another member of their group: Ruby. Their Ruby.
"Hmm ... HEY, it's the Earth Gems!" said Doc. Not the exact name, but it fits. At least they recognized them now, Amethyst changing back to normal.
"You all okay? Doesn't look like these guys are treating you any good," Steven asked, worried for their safety. A Ruby, Army Ruby, simply flexed one of her arms.
"I feel great. All this mining's boosting my muscle," Army replied. She seemed the most comfortable outta her squad, though the same thing can't be said for the other three.
"Why're you here?" another Ruby asked, this one with her stone on her leg.
"Navy wanted us to get you out of here, so here we are."
"Who's Navy?"
"Uh, oh right. ... Your other Ruby, with the Gem over her navel," Steven corrected, pointing to the spot on his own body for a more visual aid. Doc seemed to get it pretty quickly.
"So she did make it. Where's she now?" Doc asked.
"She's back on our planet. She had a cracked Gem when she showed up, but she's all fixed up now."
"Good, good."
"The other Gems and ponies are on their way. They'll get us outta here," Applejack assured them.
Well, they hope so. ...
Farther away, along the boarders of the Agate prison hold, the others were just about arriving along the lines. Their arrival may had been tricky, but they managed to work it out, and with their ship hidden away, they got moving. The group was about a mile away from the main spot, hidden away in a indent on the hill. Lucky for them the pods didn't locate them here.
"Well, there it is. The Agate prison hold," said Flint, looking off to the location along with the others.
"I bet there's some evil boss behind it," Rainbow figured, hovering over by Pearl.
"Well, not evil, but surely some headstrong authority figure," Pearl responded.
"Look, whatever the case is, we have to watch ourselves. If they catch us, we'll be as free as a harvest stone. ... Who knows what they're doing in there?"
"They'll be okay, Flint," Garnet said, looking off ahead. There wasn't any sort of sky patrols, guards, or anything like that, but what they did manage to catch was a sort of pathway, just a little bit away. Probably their only way inside.
"Perfect. Rainbow, mind scouting for us?" Garnet asked. Rainbow only replied with her actions, and took flight.
It didn't take very much longer before they all were off and on their way. With Rainbow as their eyes in the sky, they had a clear path right to the prison hold. Twilight joined Rainbow Dash in the flying game as the rest took the traveling on foot, keeping an eye out themselves as they neared the entrance to the hold. It was plenty long, wide enough for them to go in easy. Seemed fair enough, and rather forward.
Up in the air, Twilight and Rainbow had a better layout of the area they were going in: a rocky opening in the hillside border, with the interior of what seemed to be a patrol trail. And a pretty prominent one at that. The path looked pretty clear for their group, but that was quick to change when the Pegasus and Alicorn looked over farther away, around one of the prison buildings, a set of brutish Agate guards marched forward. Both gems didn't even acknowledge the flying horses above, which was lucky for the other two. Twilight and Rainbow Dash quickly zoomed straight down to the others back at the gate.
"Okay, problem: Agate patrols coming right this way," called Rainbow.
"Heh, no problem. Let's just thump them," Bismuth suggested, cracking her knuckles. However, Garnet quickly went in to stop her.
"Bismuth, no. We'll all get into far deeper trouble if you do that, now come on," Garnet warned. They could easily beat a set of Gems, but Bismuth knew by now that Garnet had her decisions pre-planned. The more they waited, the more likely they'll get found out, and the fliers could see both guards closing in on their walk path. They had no choice but to get going, and they started to head back outside the prison hold. Steven was in there, along with the Rubies, and their other friends but they needed to think things over before rushing in.
As they kept going, one of the Gems stopped and looked over to Flint, an idea coming into her head.
"Flint you go on ahead. This may be my one chance to get into Aredox," Bismuth stated, glancing back to the patrol path.
"What? But it's too -"
Flint stopped himself the second he saw Bismuth's face. That look of stubborn determination on her face told Flint right up that she wasn't changing her mind here. And with how strong and strong-willed Bismuth was, Flint couldn't get her talking out of it. Even if he could there was no time.
"... Alright. Take care, Bismuth," Flint said, this stalling making the others stop for a moment.
"Now Twilight will meet you over by that prisoner's building. Tell her then what you're able work out."
"Guys, what's the hold up?!" Called Rainbow, reminding them of the guards.
"She's right, you have to get moving!"
"Ok ok. We'll all be at the ship, tell Twilight what you want us to do."
"What I want you to do is find a way to keep them from following us. NOW GO, before we're all caught!"
With that, the group then went off to leave. Bismuth herself stayed behind from there, and moved on in.
The large Gem knew the guards will be coming onto her at any moment, and with her friends now off out of the way, Bismuth had no reason to worry over anything. Still, Bismuth needed a bit for them to show up, and time to work things out so she quickly made it her own to find somewhere to scope out. In the end all she got was hiding behind a boulder near the path, just big enough to cover herself up. The least she can do.
As the patrol neared her, Bismuth took one look off out to the scene, and she started to notice something else coming in. Just about fifty feet in front of her, two other figures snuck out into view. And they too soon see the Agate patrol guards coming towards them.
"Be careful, Razor," said one of the figures. Razor nodded and began to move in. As the Agates pause for a moment, Razor suddenly moved into their sights. The response was rather immediate, and both Gems give chase. Razor turned away and made a run for it, the Agates hot on his heels. As for the other figure, it hunkered down and waited until both guards moved passed. Once they did, she made a break for it, moving straight for the only exit there was. Razor kept moving, but unfortunately the Agates were far faster, and spun around to see the second figure trying her luck. She nearly got to the exit, but that was as far as she got before the Agates were all over her, beating her into submission.
One step outside not only made the Agates stop, but also got Bismuth well in their sights. She was found out.
"Clarity. We found this Gem on the outskirts this morning," reported the Agate.
For Bismuth it was straight to the head of the prison hold, or the warden as the others put it. The room she was brought to was small, but bright in energy color, the color itself an assorted mix of blues and whites. As for the Clarity, she stood there with a few Amethyst guards at her side. Comparing her to the other Agates, their clarity looked a bit thicker than the other Agates, and the same one who decided to put the trio into the mining hole in the first place.
"Who're you?" Asked the Agate.
"I'm Bismuth, Agate."
"Holly Blue Agate to you!" The other Agates corrected, rather harshly. It didn't really faze Holly Blue though.
"What were you doing by the outskirts? Helping some refugee trespassers make a run for it?" Accused Holly Blue. Bismuth was a little impressed that Holly Blue got the basic idea, but she mustn't know that just yet.
"No, not at all. I've come to join Aredox," Bismuth corrected.
"... Why?"
"Surprised you even asked." Bismuth glanced to one of the glaring Agates, before correcting herself. "Clarity. ... Is there anything wrong with that?"
"I'll ask the questions, thank you. What can you do?" Asked Holly Blue. A rather odd question for an elite Gem to ask. Still, Bismuth might as well comply anyway.
"Well, I can fight."
"Heh, fight can you?"
"I was a soldier of the Gem war." Well that wasn't exactly correct, but Bismuth needed to look good for the Agate. Holly Blue began to walk around Bismuth, looking over the large blacksmith Gem. Bismuth did seem like a large and imposing Gem, all things considered. ...
"So you want to join Aredox, eh?"
"Thought you might have some use for me."
"Well. For the time being you'll be assigned to a post patrol. You take orders from Fire Agate here," explained Holly Blue, referring to one of the captains standing next to her. Well at least Bismuth was in the ranks, one step closer to finding the others amongst the prison hold.
Well, good news: Amethyst, Steven and AJ had found the Ruby squad. But the bad news: they don't have an escape plan at all. They were in enough trouble on how they even got here at all. With their group stuck with most of the squad, they basically had to go through the motions here at this point.
"This place blows," Amethyst groaned, as she, Applejack, Army, and Leggy were being escorted away to their corridors.
"Quit complaining and get in line. You're lucky we even bother to feed you," said the Jasper guard escorting them away. They spent enough time outside in the yard according to the guards in charge, and now they were heading straight to their group's Mark hold. It mainly was a large building with rooms for the prisoners to sleep. Leggy didn't have much of a clue on what to do otherwise, but the others were more willing to show their discomfort. Soon as Army was tossed into her cell for example, she quickly leaped back to the barrier, and tried to bust out like a caged animal. The work she didn't mind as much but that didn't mean she liked the place. Leggy was tossed in the next cell over, landing on her head in a joined cell with Applejack. Amethyst was placed across from them, and she's been trying to bust out for a bit longer than Army, but like her it was no use. Speaking of cells, they matched the typical Earth and Equestrian jail cells, but the bars were altered to better hold stronger prisoners like the Gems.
"Oh pony feathers," Applejack sighed, as the Jasper guard moved away. Leggy flipped herself around onto her feet, looking unfazed by the tossing.
"You okay Ruby?"
All Leggy did was nod, but they both cringed when they heard the whipping from across the jail hall.
"Feisty aren't you?"
"Let me out and I'll show ya how feisty I am!" Amethyst threatened, her whip at the ready. The Jasper guard didn't remotely care for it, but Amethyst gave a good whip that just slipped between the bars, hitting the Jasper. All that did though was make the Jasper grab it, and pull so hard and so sudden, Amethyst was pulled off her feet and slammed into the bars. The Gem stumbled and lost her weapon from the blunt force, and it made the other cringe on seeing it.
"Try that again and you'll be out permanently," the Jasper growled, tearing the whip like string. Not a good sight to see. Once that was done, the Jasper left them to their squabbling.
"So this is what you were stuck in since getting caught?" AJ asked.
"Yep," said Leggy simply. Applejack sighed and laid down. They could tell that this wasn't a nice place to really be, not at all. Army, just across the wall, sat down and heard what they were saying.
"How'd you get caught? Those Agates catch you on Homeworld?" Army asked. Yeah they saw them come in but details were hardly any for them to work with.
"Not exactly: some freaky robot thing showed up and teleported us here. It tried getting one of your Rubies but we got caught instead," said AJ as she sat down over by the back wall. Leggy sat over down next to the orange pony.
"You mean you didn't come to save us?"
"No no, of course we did. ... We just weren't supposed to come along, apparently."
"You weren't?"
Before they could continue, there was another ruckus as another prisoner was forced in. This one looked a bit bigger, and was put into the same cell as Amethyst.
Amethyst got the best view of this thing being brought in. It looked rather tall, about as big as a typical Flint Gem, though his body was a bit of a tricky one. He stood on all fours, though his arms appeared elongated compared to normal arms, about as long as his legs. His skin was slightly pale, a more silver look with a hint of blue. His hair was shaved half way along his head, and his body looked almost uneven in front and back legs, more like a gorilla than a human being except his hands were moving on palms instead of knuckles. Not a typical motion for this kind of creature. The creature looked over to the first Gem he ended up stuck with.
"... Uh ... Hi?"
The creature didn't answer her, and just observed the newcomer, and looked across at the pony as well.
"You're new around here."
"Eh yeah. Name's Amethyst."
"I can see that. And is that your friend across the way?" He asked, pointing to the pony in the other cell. AJ, Leggy and Army looked right to him.
"Hi Razor," said Leggy, waving to him. Razor wasn't too focused on the Ruby, but instead focused more on the new pony.
"Yeah that's her," Amethyst replied. Razor moved to the back of the cell, laying down on the floor. Amethyst, not having anything better to do, went over to the prison bed, and got herself comfortable.
"Never heard of a Gem being friends with ... that thing," noted Razor.
"She's a Pony, and we've been friends for years now," Amethyst corrected, remembering well the first time she saw the orange pony.
"Have you now?"
"Yeah. We first met WAY long time ago. I had my Gem cracked before, and when I got off to get healed with the rest of my team, there she was right at the same spot, and we've been pals ever since," summed up Amethyst. Razor settled down as she was talking, glancing back at Applejack again.
"You don't say. Nice you two were put in together then, unlike some of the others," Razor noted.
"How many others are in this place? We saw a ton outside already."
"Oh, dozens on dozens of prisoners, just counting one mark in this place. You might as well get comfy for now," Razor advised.
And they might as well do so.
Later on in the day, it was patrol time for Bismuth. Being new to the whole regime as it were, Bismuth took some sort time to do her own scouting among the grand prison hold. Being a patrolling officer gave her some time to check out the area a bit, and without any trouble from other passing guards. The patrol path was through the outdoor trail, heading near the main yard. For a place so crowded up, it was a rather quiet walk along the way. Still, her mind was a bit more focused over on finding her targets over just simple patrolling, but so far she hadn't found much.
"Come on guys, where're you?" Bismuth thought. If she couldn't find them in here, then who knows where they had ended up? She'd be walking around all over the prison for no reason whatsoever.
As she continued her walk, she eventually passed by another cell, but this one looked a bit harsher in appearance compared to most of the prisoners she had seen so far. She looked like a pony, but the pony looked beat up and mangled a bit. Her mane and tail looked torn, and her ears oddly shorter than a typical pony. Bismuth was given a brief summary of the prison schedule, but many a prisoner were out already.
"Aren't you going out?" Bismuth asked. The pony recoiled, but realized Bismuth wasn't going to hit her.
"... Not at this time," said the pony, her voice much like Fluttershy in meek shyness, but more raspy and dry. After a short bit, one of the Amethyst guards joined up with Bismuth, to see the weak pony sitting there.
"Tell her why you're here, Cloud dancer," said the Amethyst. The pony took a bit before she started to talk. The Amethyst brute towered over her to be sure she'll talk.
"I-I've been punished for trying to escape the prison! The Agates were merciful. ... The Agates were merciful. ..."
Probably lucky for her that it was good enough to pass. As some prisoners walked by, the Amethyst guard pushed Cloud dancer back, to keep her from going over with them. After they passed, Bismuth and the guard walked onto the main yard, passing by a number of feeding prisoners under guard.
"That thing keeps trying to run away," explained the guard, "Sandstone Agate caught her this time. Those Agates tore her up hoof to tail and says she has to present herself every morning and afternoon as an example. One more attempt and they'll poof her for sure, I know for a fact."
Bismuth cringed on the images getting to her head on hearing her. Being a Gem of Homeworld for a long time meant that she can get how dangerous and merciless Agates can really be. And to think Cloud dancer called that being merciful, of all things. As the two continued on, Bismuth looked around at the prisoners, but none of them looked any familiar, really. Still, in their little walk, she did begin to catch sight of one human and one other figure amongst the crowd. ...
"Wait. ... Who're they?"
"Him? He keeps calling himself Steven; one of our new coming pebbles to the prison. You ask me he won't last long at all. That larger one there is called Razor, but I'd stay away from him if I were you, he's a troublemaker. The council's got their eye on him," explained the Amethyst, as she went on ahead.
.......
Time ticked by, and the group was going on and enjoying the growing fruit. While they were under guard, Razor did begin to slip farther away from the weaker guards, though not trying to do another escape attempt as he did before. As he was just roaming. ...
"Razor?"
Razor turned quick, but he only saw it was Bismuth.
"Mam."
"I want to talk to you," Bismuth said. Razor sat down in submission as Bismuth approached.
"I'm under your order, mam."
"Do you remember a Ruby you helped escape from here on a space pod sometime ago?"
Razor was silent at first, glancing around from his spot in case other guards were around somewhere.
"You have me mistaken."
"Now look, Razor, I live on a planet where life is free, where you can live as you wish. I don't follow these Agates at all," revealed Bismuth.
"But ... you're a guard."
"I only became a guard to get in here in the first place. I'm here to get my friends out, and nothing more than that. Are you familiar with any newly arriving prisoners to the hold?" Bismuth questioned. Razor didn't seemed too confident about that at all, but under her order ...
"A few rubies, a Amethyst, a few others I believe. ..."
"Perfect. Here, tell them to meet me over by the western arch during their second release, in between the fourth and fifth prison hold, think you can do that for me?" Bismuth asked quietly. Razor looked back to the others in the mark nearby.
"... you're a spy. Sent by Holly Blue."
"Now you know I'm not. Just tell them to meet me there, that's all I want you to do, trust me," Bismuth said, trying to convince him. He was willing to help Navy, why wouldn't he try again? Still, Razor turned away from Bismuth to the rest of the mark completely. Lucky the other guards didn't notice them yet, or at least didn't do anything about it.
"Well ... alright, alright," Razor finally agreed.
Hoping they've overheard the plan, Bismuth took position exactly where she said she would be, and all she had to do was wait for them to show up. Razor seemed trustworthy enough in this game of breakout, but Bismuth needed to be sure on what they could do before just taking off. For starters she needed them in position before they can do anything, and without catching any unwanted attention. Any agate or other guard finding them out would be more than enough trouble on the little squadron. Bismuth stayed just hidden away behind a corner of one of the prisonholds, making sure that the other guards didn't catch her hidden off away. The clock was ticking, and the longer they wait the less chance they got to get out.
"That Razor. Hope he got them informed by now," Bismuth thought.
The tough Gem waited a little bit more, but eventually she started to hear a set of footsteps starting to head her way. Bismuth stood at attention, looking like she was just pausing on her patrol in case it was either a Carnelian, Jasper, or Amethyst. Bismuth waited a little bit, but soon the answer came right into view. The Gem was off lucky that it wasn't any guard showing up, but instead it was exactly who she wanted to see: Steven, Amethyst, Applejack, and the Ruby Squad.
"Bismuth!" Steven gasped.
"SSHH! Good to see ya," Biamuth said, trying to keep quiet.
"You guards make poor jokes," noted Doc.
"No no, I'm not joking here, I swear on my own gemstone. Now listen, I got a plan, and if it works you'll all be out of here in no time. During one of my patrols I managed to find out where those space pods were. One of your squad got out over there, and you all can do the same. Just get yourselves inside one of those things and that'll be good enough to get you flying out of this prison, no time at all."
Bismuth's plan was a bit of a on-the-fly one, and one that held many a chance for them all to get caught one way or another.
"Isn't that risky?" Leggy asked.
"Of course it is," Bismuth said, more confident and her hands turning themselves into power hammers. One thing Bismuth liked was a challenge. ...
"Bismuth!"
Well, they didn't even get very far before they were found out. One look behind, and wouldn't you know, a Agate had found them. In particular, Holly Blue Agate! What're the odds the queen of queens would find them out here? Holly Blue was quick to see the prisoners there, the towering Bismuth at the ready too, and at first Agate didn't say much. Her expression was stern and she walked over to them, hand behind her back in a military fashion. Was their escape over before it even started?
"... Intriguing."
"Huh?"
"Only having you for a day and you're already taking charge of these prisoners. Catching seven escapees on the spot before they even reached the gate. Good work," Holly said. Bismuth glanced to the weaponized hand, and quickly connected the dots on the said matter. Though, at least the group wasn't in as deep of trouble as they first thought they would be, but it still wasn't getting them any closer to getting out either way. Tough luck for them.
"Uh, thank you clarity," Bismuth said. Holly Blue nodded.
"Right. Now, you get them in their stones, and put them right back in the prisonhold," Holly Blue instructed. As much as Bismuth didn't want to, she had to comply in front of Holly Blue herself. She still had her role to keep up after all, but to get them in their gemstones that only meant one thing. Bismuth looked over to Holly Blue one more time, waiting for the end result. The Rubies were a little bit unsure on words, but Bismuth raised her hammer arm to Army first. Army took a step back, glaring at Bismuth for a moment or two, before Bismuth sighed and swung her hammer. One hit and Army was in her gemstone. The same thing was done with Doc, Eyeball, Amethyst, and Leggy, each one adding another stray gemstone sitting on the ground. Soon, only Applejack and Steven remained, shaken up from the attacking, but Bismuth stopped her assault there.
"Well? Aren't you finishing up?"
"How? These two aren't Gems," Bismuth simply said. Holly Blue became the judge of that, and went over to the two remaining prisoners. Holly Blue looked each one of them up and down (much as they felt uncomfortable with it all) and Holly Blue didn't find anything on Applejack. But as she looked over Steven, his Quartz stone was soon found. AJ she could by but how was Steven not a Gem exactly?
"Here's one Gem. You gonna do it or do I have to do it myself?" Holly Blue questioned, getting impatient with it all. Steven had to think of something, and fast.
"W-Wait I'm not a Gem! We humans have things called piercings, they just look like gemstones, I swear," Steven said. However, Holly Blue glared to Steven from his noise.
"Oh brother, what's with this thing's barking? Nevermind, I'll shut it up," Holly Blue said. Even if she understood him, she didn't care for it, as she cracked her knuckles. Bismuth jumped in before she could do anything.
"Hold on! My clarity, he is a human. He's just got this thing called a piercing. They just resemble gemstones," Bismuth said.
And THEN did Holly Blue pause ...
"... Fair enough."
"WHAT?" Steven gasped, voice hushed. So when he says something Holly took it as gibberish barks, but when a GEM says the exact same thing, THEN she gets it. Either she was non-bilingual or simply prejudice (latter being more likely). Holly Blue didn't let up on her whip though, whipping the ground at their feet.
"That case, get them straight back to their cells," Holly Blue instructed.
"Yes, your clarity," Bismuth said. AJ and Steven could only go on with the act and Bismuth moved them off around the corner. Now, Bismuth didn't want them locked up again, but what was she going to do with Holly Blue standing just twenty feet away.
"Oh pony feathers. Anypony have any smart ideas?" Applejack asked quietly. All of their targets were in Bismuth's hands, and they couldn't keep them here either. What to do? Holly Blue was right there, so they had to think of something.
"Uh, uh, AJ hide this," Bismuth said, giving her the gemstones. Applejack scrambled to hold them all, and hid them in the only spot they had: under her hat. And just in time since Holly Blue sounded like she was moving their way! Quickly, Bismuth shoved both of them to the wall, and Bismuth stood at attention. Her larger frame made her body like a hiding shield, Steven and Applejack just out of sight.
"Back already?"
"It didn't take long, your clarity. Those two were VERY submissive," Bismuth stated. Holly Blue nodded and smirked.
"Such annoying animals. Hey, follow me. There's another job I want you to do," Holly Blue instructed, gesturing her to follow with her finger as she started walking off on her way.
.......
Well, here they were now. Next thing they knew, they were following Holly Blue along through the halls of one of the prison-hold's buildings, this one in particular more for the guards rather than the prisoners, due to the lack of any cells and what not. For Bismuth, this turned into the most stiff walk she ever took, AJ and Steven staying very quiet, as much as they could ever be. Applejack and Steven had to match their steps with Bismuth, and not to make a single sound that might alert Holly Blue just a foot away. They'll all be in trouble the second that leading Gem catches them, especially now.
"You know, Bismuth, you impressed me today. My experienced guards were lucky to handle just two or three, and you handled seven. Well, then again, they are just quartzes: nothing but brawn and little knowledge, right?" Holly Blue said. Bismuth nodded, though felt a cringe in Holly Blue's mockery. It was probably good that Amethyst wasn't still around, otherwise she'd be all over Holly for mocking her Gem cut.
"Eh, yeah. ... So, what is this other job?" Bismuth asked. Holly Blue glanced back to Bismuth, and suddenly gave her a glare after a bit.
"What is this other job, your Clarity."
"Better," Holly Blue simply said. Bismuth rolled her eyes, not amused by the behavior at all. But she still had the others, so she had to hold herself back just a little bit longer.
During the walk, eventually Holly Blue moved over to the next room, through a set of sliding doors. This room was pretty high up from the prison, windows having a clear view of the entire compound AND the skies above Aredox. The area appeared to be a docking station. Bismuth, Steven and Applejack were quick to see the rather familiar space pods docked not too far away, all up in a row. Bismuth, AJ, and Steven observed the space pods, which matched the one Navy crash-landed in back in Equestria. Guess this was where that pod came from in the first place. Suddenly, Holly turned around to Bismuth, AJ and Steven making sure they were right behind Bismuth to avoid being spotted.
"Listen good: I'm putting you in charge of guarding the space pods for the time being until more Jaspers come in. If I find even one of these Space Pods launching off unprovoked, It'll be your stone. Get it?" Holly Blue instructed, not letting up on her authority-strict tone with Bismuth, despite the apparent capturing she had just done ten minutes prior. Steven and AJ only needed one look at the space pods to actually get the basic idea. Both pony and human glanced to the other and nodded in assurance, but they couldn't do anything just yet with Holly Blue standing right there.
"Yes, your clarity," Bismuth said, making sure to correct herself this time around. However, it was here that Holly Blue started to take a better look at the Bismuth gem. ...
"Is there a reason why're you ... so stiff?"
"Eh ... no?"
Now AJ and Steven were getting a bit troubled, both silently gulping. Bismuth had to stand still, but Holly Blue began to do something that made them all worry: to walk around her. Applejack and Steven did the only thing they could do, and quietly move around Bismuth themselves. What else could they do? AJ and Steven moved exactly with Holly Blue, Bismuth just large enough to keep them out of Holly Blue's vision. It turned into a game or runaround for a little bit, AJ and Steven continuously looping around Bismuth as Holly Blue was. This kept up for about five loops until Holly Blue stopped, looking suspicious for a few moments. ...
"Hmm ... Eh, must be assuming things," Holly noted, as she started to head off on her way, leaving Bismuth to her guarding duty. Holly Blue walked off through the door, and the second that door closed, AJ and Steven feel out in relief, sighs all around and a huge relief sweeping over the orange pony and human Gem. After she left, they all took the look to one of the space pods.
"You two get in there," Bismuth whispered. Quickly, Steven and AJ bolted inside the space pod without a second to spare, but Bismuth didn't go on in just yet.
"Hold up, what about the others? Razor, Cloud Dancer, there's so many others too, we can't leave them," Steven pointed out.
"Steven, just get in there," Bismuth insisted, not wanting to get caught, and she managed to close up the hatch for the time being.
"Bismuth!" AJ yelled from inside the hatch.
"I'll figure it out. Just tell the others that I'll be busy here for a bit. Tell them to hold tight until I show up, ok?" Bismuth instructed. She knew that they were suffering here, no doubt about that at all, and NO WAY was she going to try and leave them alone here, especially after one of them already helped one of the rubies and pointed the group in the right direction as is. Though, if she were to launch the thing now, then they are going to get into more trouble, but Bismuth needed them out of the picture and fast. She can't keep them stuck behind her back the entire time. Before AJ and Steven could handle their own word on it, Bismuth heard the doors open up again. Quickly, Bismuth turned to face whatever it was that entered, worried that it would be Holly Blue coming back for a check in on her suspicions. Lucky for them, it was just a pair of Amethysts, both of which didn't pay them much mind and chatting about other things. Applejack and Steven hid just out of sight as they went passed them, though eventually one of the Amethysts noticed Bismuth.
"Hey, newbie. Heard you captured a runaway group earlier today," one of the Amethysts said, both coming over. Bismuth leaned against the space pod, blocking the visible window inside just enough so they couldn't see in so easily.
"Oh hey. Yep, caught those runaways just like that," Bismuth said, trying to act casual as she snapped her finger to further the point. Steven and AJ had to keep especially quiet inside the hatch, Steven doing the 'shush' gesture as they were talking outside.
"What're you doing here, B?"
"Holly Blue's orders. She wanted some Gem to guard the docking station. You know, to avoid another little mishap," said Bismuth. The Amethysts seemed a little bashful about it.
"Oh that. Eh, Razor's always trying his luck getting out one way or another. Dunno why Holly Blue's keeping him in here," said one Amethyst.
"He's got the entire place locked down by now, he's bound to bust out at one point," agreed another.
As they were talking outside, the other two tried to keep quiet, but Applejack started to feel a little disturbance under her hat. Her hat shuffled and started to glow in between the cracks. Applejack tried to keep her hat down, pulling it down with both hooves.
"Say, how'd he end up in here anyway?" Bismuth asked, slightly genuine in curiosity.
"You tell me. One of the Diamonds dropped him off one day, and that was it," the Amethyst answered.
AJ tried to keep her hat down, but eventually her hat finally slipped out of her hooves, a light showing one of the Gems were starting to form: their Amethyst forming! The light began to worry them, and both Steven and Applejack tried to block off the light by dog-piling the forming. If they get caught now, who knew what they would do?
"What's up with the space pod?" one of the Amethysts asked, seeing the slight light. Bismuth didn't even notice the light until it was brought up. Bismuth tried to block off the light herself as much as she could.
"Nothing at all, just some maintenance going on in there."
"Maintenance? For what?" asked the other Amethyst. Bismuth had to think fast.
"Holly blue told me some of the Space Pods got messed with, and some of her Gems are trying to fix it in there," Bismuth informed. Both Amethysts paused for a moment, looking to eachother, but both did shrug it off.
"Eh, well good luck with that," said the Amethysts, both guards going off out of sight. Luck saved them all. Looking inside, Bismuth saw that AJ and Steven had an extra Gem in there, which was their Amethyst. Amethyst was a little dazed, but alright overall, not remembering how they even got there in the first place.
"Guys, you have to go. I'm not asking, just go!" Bismuth said, hushed but still forceful. With that near capture, they had no choice, but they don't know how to even start the thing at all.
"What the? Where are we?" Amethyst asked, dazed.
"No time, sugarcube," Applejack said. Steven managed to find the controls to the thing, and he began to try and get the thing started. Bismuth looked in from the hatch, seeing Steven fiddling around with the controls for a good twenty seconds before things finally got somewhere. One hit of the switch, and the Space Pod began to activate. Bismuth could only step back as it got off the ground, a bit shaky, and started to go off on its way.
"I'll be back soon." Bismuth sighed.
Back at the ship, the rest of the team was still waiting around for what Bismuth wanted them to do. Not a single patrol managed to find them out, thank goodness, and they found the perfect spot to handle their operation. Still, even with them hidden away, they still were left wondering on about Bismuth, their friends and the Ruby squad. In their hideaway, what remained of the Mane Six were starting to get a little antsy over how they might be doing.
"It's taking her a long time. You think they're okay?" Twilight asked.
"They'll be fine. Bismuth should've found them out by now," Garnet said, looking off in the general direction to the prison-hold. Nearby, Flint was pacing back and forth, awaiting the group to return, but he was unable to keep himself still since coming back.
"Dude, can't you stand still?" Rainbow asked, not feeling much better from
"No, no I can't. Why didn't I just go and get them?" Flint groaned, hand over his stone in frustration. The longer Bismuth took, the more troubling things felt for them. Eventually, Garnet moved over to Flint, and set a hand on his shoulder.
"They're fine. In fact, they should be arriving any moment," Garnet said. As nice as that sounded, Flint didn't look convinced, as some of the others looked on ahead.
"Go and try to comfort me, but I'd rather see for myself -"
*BAM!*
Not too far away, they all heard a pretty loud bang, about twenty feet away from them. Of course, some fo them went over to investigate the trouble. Looking off down the way, the whole group saw sight of a renegade Space Pod, which crash landed not too far away. And who popped out of the hatch: Steven, AJ, Amethyst and the rest of the Ruby Squad!
"close enough," Garnet stated.
"STEVEN! AMETHYST!" shrieked Pearl, running right over to them. It didn't take long before Pearl grabbed Steven in a tight hug, extremely relieved to see him and the rest alright. Pinkie Pie joined in the hug as well, and grabbed AJ in a hug so quick the two were spinning head over hooves. Flint breathed a sigh of relief when they all showed up.
"I'm so glad you're okay. You two are okay."
"We're okay. Thanks to some help," Steven said, smiling to the Ruby squad. They had to admit it, they wouldn't have gotten out without some help from them. Meanwhile, Pinkie was simply baling over AJ.
"I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN!" Pinkie wailed. AJ accepted the hug until Pearl moved the pink pony away. Still, they were glad to see them. Flint went over to the rubies.
"You Rubies alright? No permanent damage?" Flint asked, as he went to the ruby squad.
"We can't be taken down that easily," said Army, flexing to prove her point. Doc and Eyeball went over to the ship, but before they could go in, Garnet activated their make-shift teleporter.
"No need for a ride. Just step in here and you'll all be safe back on Earth," Rarity said, gesturing to the teleporter over the ship they came in.
"Really?" Leggy asked.
"Peridot made this before we left. It'll get you out to safety, for sure," Garnet assured them all. Comparing to a ride on their ship to a quick ticket back out of here, the option was immediately picked. Doc, Army, Leggy, and Eyeball went right onto the teleporter. When they all were on there, after a few clicks to fully activate it, the teleporter came alive. They said their goodbyes to the Gems just before they all were teleported away, and all was said and finished.
"Finally. Well, good job Bismuth. now let's go home," Flint decided, ready to go himself. ...
"... Bismuth?"
"Eh ... She's not here," Applejack admitted.
"WHAT?!" Flint gasped, rushing over to the space pod. Not another Gem was in there, not even a Gemstone. Sure, they may have got their Ruby Squad back safe and sound, but they didn't do it so Bismuth could go missing on them! Now they were troubled all over again.
"I had a feeling this might happen," Garnet sighed, looking off towards the direction of the prisonhold. Course she would feel this happening.
"I should've never let her go," Flint groaned.
"Yeah, why is she staying there?" Amethyst questioned.
"We wanted to get some more out before we head off home, so Bismuth had to stay back," Applejack answered.
"What others?! We don't need to get any more," Flint retorted.
"Flint, there's others that don't deserve to be here, we swear."
"But -"
"Flint?" Garnet suddenly cut in, a hand on his shoulder. Flint got quiet after that, and a rough sigh escaped him.
"Please be okay."
One. Only one left. And that was Bismuth herself. It did feel a little bit odd to continuously going about the motions of the prisonhold even after getting those others out, though Bismuth had the right of mind here. After all, Steven and Applejack were right: there was more prisoners in here that didn't deserve to be locked up, and going through harsh treatment. She should just go. She should just go off and get home, and complete their own mission. But if she'd done that, those trapped here would continue to suffer, and considering they helped Navy escape in the first place, they had enough of a heart to be trusted. So, after sometime to get herself isolated from the other guards, Bismuth waited over by her location in question as said by Flint, and waited for Twilight to show up. Bismuth kept her eye out just in case any guards would pop up somewhere, but so far nothing was coming around that would sabotage the mission at hand, so that was good for her. As Bismuth moved off towards the arch, Bismuth soon caught sight of Twilight just flying overhead, her broad wings making her decent quiet. The Alicorn landed gently over right next to her.
"Twilight, there you are. You weren't spotted, were you?"
"No, I'm alright. No one noticed anything," Twilight assured her.
"Good, now listen. I don't know how many, but I'm going to get the word out and try to get Razor and the others to come with us."
"What?!" Twilight gasped.
"SSHH. Yes, they don't deserve to be here anymore than the Rubies did. Now anyway, we'll meet you over at the eastern arch at midnight, soon as you see that moon past the mountains," Bismuth explained, pointing to the mountains near the east arch. Twilight began to understand her reasoning. Being a pony from Equestria and part of the elements of harmony, she would've thought the same thing.
"What do you need us to do?"
"You, Rainbow Dash, and Amethyst fly above, guide us back to the Warp Pad soon as we reach that arch. If any guards show up, you must clear them out, keep them away, get it?"
"Got it. Good luck, Bismuth," Twilight said, taking to the skies again and flying off to tell the others. Bismuth had a bit of work to do, and she needed to get the others on the level as soon as possible.
.......
"An escape, mam?" asked Razor. Bismuth wasted no time to getting to Razor with the plan, and at a time when no other guards were around either.
"Trust me, my friends are not far away. Will you come with us, and tell your friends as well?" Bismuth said, trying her best to convince him. Razor looked down to his front feet, toes digging into the dirt.
"... My courage, it ... has been so much weaker than before."
"Look, we can escape from Aredox, believe me," bismuth insisted. Razor stayed quiet for a moment thinking.
"... Yes ... I think I do."
"Good to hear, now listen. When you tell them what's what, we'll be escaping out of the eastern arch, about at midnight tonight," Bismuth explained. All Razor did was nod his head on the given information and bismuth started to move off a little bit more before Razor spoke.
"... You know. You're the first Gem outside of prisoners who wants the better for everyone. ... I've heard rumors about such, but ... I never thought I'd get the chance to meet one. ..."
"Trust me, you'll meet a lot more once you're out of here. Now remember, midnight tonight. OH, and an Alicorn will be fighting for us."
"A ... An Alicorn?"
"Even Holly Blue won't expect that." With that final exchange, Bismuth went off back to her post, and Razor slipped off into his mark to do the same. Bismuth took a slight moment just to be sure that Razor returned to his mark without trouble, and sure enough his Carnelian guard didn't get too troubled when he came back. She even saw him already looking to one of his fellow inmates and slipping the message down to her. If that wasn't enough to convince her, then nothing would. With that, Bismuth went back to patrol, and went through the motions again.
The stage was set for a great escape.
Time continued to tick on by for Aredox, and Bismuth followed along through each of the patrol paths and motions like it was no big deal, knowing Razor was going to handle the messages around the prison. How many Razor was bringing along though was really up for debate, but Bismuth promised an escape, regardless of how many, and that's what she was going to do by midnight tonight. She could only hope that whoever Razor was getting together wouldn't complicate anything.
Eventually it was beginning to turn to sunset. Sure, it would still be hours before the initial escape would actually begin, but she still had to be sure things were all set anyway. If the eastern gate wasn't available, the whole plan would be in jeopardy. Bismuth began to head off that way to check it when ...
"Bismuth!"
Return of Holly Blue. And she wasn't alone here: her Agate court following behind her. Bismuth soon found herself surrounded by the Agates, leaving her a bit stuck. She may be bigger than them, sure, but a fight would ruin everything and she knew it (unfortunately).
"That ... thing you were talking to this afternoon."
"Thing? What thing mam?"
"That pony. With a pair of wings and a horn. What was that all about?" Holly Blue questioned, stepping forward to her. Bismuth didn't even realize that someone from the force even saw them come in with this, nor even saw her talking to Twilight earlier, so this came as quite a bug for her.
"Well, I uh ... I saw it fly in, and drove it away."
"Is that so?" Holly Blue questioned. The look on her face proved that it wasn't going by as easily.
"Well, to tell you the truth mam, I think I was uh ... Trying to impress?"
That was awfully weak, and Bismuth knew it too. She was just hoping that it would be enough to get by this Agate. Holly Blue kept them on guard, but she straightened up.
"You may have proven to be a good catcher, but stay in your position," Holly Blue advised. Bismuth nodded, and was just about to go off on her way when Holly Blue confronted her once more.
"One more thing: some guards found a bit of tracks by the gate. Know anything about that?"
"I saw some tracks, but can't tell you anymore than that, mam."
"I see. Now, I'm planning to set out a patrol tomorrow, trying to cover their tracks. I want you to come along," Holly Blue Agate concluded. Bismuth needed to consider this option. Lucky for her, the time of the escape and time of investigation doesn't intertwine with eachother, so Bismuth took it in stride.
"Yes, your clarity."
With that, Bismuth was let free, and the Gem continued off on her way over to the eastern arch. ...
"Fire Agate. Follow her. Don't let her out of your sight."
Night time. The time to finally get the operation at hand moving. It took all day, and a close shave with Holly Blue herself, but Bismuth finally managed to get things all settled down, and getting everything all set. Guards at this point were a bit vague, so she had the night all planned out and luckily without trouble. Bismuth had some time to handle some extra work before she decided to head towards one of the remaining night shift guards by the said prison hold building. She loomed near the guard for a little bit, seeing that another prisoner, Cloud Dancer, was sitting right beside her. The Jasper guard stood at attention as Bismuth approached.
"Relax, it's just me. Now one of the Agates informed me morning roll call has been canceled," reported Bismuth. The guard looked rather skeptical of this claim.
"No one told me anything about it."
"Look over there, and you'll see why."
The Jasper took a glance following where Bismuth meant, but once she did, the truth was being played out right in front of her. The prisoners were suddenly starting to pour out of the exit! Before the Jasper could do anything, Bismuth turned her hand into a pick axe, and poofed her with one hit! No way were any eyewitnesses going to get out of here if she had anything to do with it. Cloud Dancer was humbled at the sight of this, but she saw the number of prisoners running out, and Cloud Dancer hobbled along after them. Razor managed to get a fair amount of prisoners, about ten more prisoners. Once Bismuth shook herself off, she quickly raced off to join the escapee group. So it begins.
Bismuth lead off the charge for the eastern arch. The group Razor got together kept close together with him and Bismuth, following as best as they could. With this commotion, not all of the guards were blind to the matter, and they were seeing some trying to stop them. Bismuth was quick to react though, and was quick to make short work of the Gems in her way, hammer hand and pickaxe hand beating every Gem that dared tried to stop them. She didn't shatter any Gems in her path, but she was relentless in her approach during this big escape. All the prisoners kept their minds straight, and went right over to the eastern gate as the message was brought on to be. Even with the night time sky, the arch was unmistakable in the night and gave them all a easy target to rush over to. In their run, they all managed to reach the eastern arch, stopping just at the center of it. The escapee group stopped there to catch their breath, though they knew the longer they stayed the more risk they all were in. Then again, the prisoners needed a guide and none of them saw what was supposed to be the guide.
"Bismuth. Bismuth, where's the Alicorn?" Razor asked, trying to look for it.
"She'll be here," Bismuth assured them, trying to locate Twilight and Rainbow up in the sky. However, she wasn't seeing them anywhere here, and it was starting to trouble them. The prisoners all looked around for this Alicorn, getting more anxious as time went on for their arrival, but it wasn't just them who they should be looking for.
"It's Holly Blue! Bismuth, what do we do?" asked Cloud Dancer, shivering in fear. When they looked back, the whole fleet of Agates were showing up right behind them! The prisoners didn't run back, but Holly Blue and Fire went around as the rest blocked them from the back. It was not a good sign to see, and Bismuth was put in pure blame for it.
"Stay here," Bismuth instructed, as she moved off towards Holly Blue Agate herself. Obviously, Holly Blue was extremely upset.
"You traitorous-! Fire, get this pathetic excuse of lifeforms back to the prisonhold! I'll deal with you myself, Bismuth. No need to take you back," Holly Blue said. When finished, Holly Blue Agate pulled out her own Gem weapon to present to Bismuth, the weapon itself being a electrified blue whip! That screamed domination, surely. Bismuth was not so easily intimidated, and both hands turned into power-housed hammers.
"Come here and try, you cracked slave driver!" Bismuth growled. Holly Blue and Bismuth stood up to eachother as Fire Agate confronted the crowd of prisoners, each one of them falling back in submission, but not budging as Bismuth wanted. They wanted freedom as much as any other prisoner anywhere else in the universe. Holly Blue readied her whip to attack Bismuth, no turning back. ...
"HIYAA!"
BAM, in came their fliers. Suddenly, Holly Blue was clocked in the head by a rainbow Pegasus, slamming her with her back hooves, aerial kung-fu style, and knocking Holly Blue off her feet and too the ground! Talk about timing. Looking up, Twilight and Rainbow caught up to them at last.
"Holly Blue!" shouted Fire Agate in surprise. This distraction gave Razor time to actually rush forward, and ram Fire Agate aside, giving all the prisoners a chance to make a run for it, with the rest of the Agates running after them. Rainbow Dash continued fighting Holly Blue, darting at her back and forth like an angry magpie, whacking her with each hit whenever she could hit as Holly Blue tried to fight her off correcting. Fire Agate confronted Bismuth, but the large Gem made short work of her by slamming her aside hard. Holly Blue tried to whip Rainbow out of the air, but the speedy Pegasus didn't make it easy. After every prisoner managed to run off, only then did Bismuth and Rainbow begin to rush off too.
"Talk about a crowd, Bismuth. This is the great escape all over again," Rainbow Dash commented, flying alongside Bismuth.
"Let's get them to the Warp Pad," Bismuth ordered, Rainbow saluting and flying ahead to join Twilight in the sky. They knew where to go, and the prisoners had to follow them based off that. Unfortunately, the Agates weren't going to let them get away so easily. As Twilight and Rainbow looked back, Holly Blue sent out her Agates after them, spreading them out to cut off escape routes on their end, and what's worse was that they moved a lot faster than they did. Twilight wasn't going to have that, and as Rainbow Dash flew on ahead, she stopped for a moment and aimed her own magic down to the ground at the Agates. Her magic beams, launched them back, and kept them at better distance. The Agates were no match for Twilight, and they had to slow down to avoid getting blasted, giving the group enough time and distance to keep ahead.
As they continued, they began to get near the destination they had in mind, though suddenly a Gem suddenly rushed forward, scaring some of the prisoners back.
"Keep going, she's with me," Bismuth said, getting them back on track and running past her. The Gem was Pearl, and she was more than glad to see Bismuth return after her extra work. Rainbow and Twilight flew on by as Bismuth stopped by Pearl.
"Bravo, Bismuth! You did it!" Pearl complimented.
"I did didn't I? It's not over yet," Bismuth said, as Bismuth and Pearl rushed off after the rest of the prisoners, just as more Agates started to close in. The sooner they get out of here, the better.
As for the rest of the group, they all were still waiting over by their hideout, and the Warp Pad when the group suddenly showed up on the horizon. The amount of the group alone was enough of a surprise, to say the least. The group stopped for a moment, unsure where else to go at first, until they saw the Warp Pad right there. Twilight and Rainbow both landed fast nearby, Rainbow skidding upon landing. Now that they were here, it was time to get on their way.
"Get onto the Warp Pad," Garnet quickly instructed. Little time to think, and with the Agates closing in, they all did as told and raced onto the Warp Pad right then and there. Pearl and Bismuth caught up at this point, Pearl getting there faster, and joining the rest onto the Warp Pad.
"Get it started, Holly Blue's right behind me!" Bismuth said. But as the rest got onto it, the Agates finally caught up to them. The prisoners just got out before they did this, so it left only the Ponies and Crystal Gems there.
"I trusted you, Bismuth! This'll be the last time you're getting any sympathy from me. Now, run into the wastes or be torn to pieces? Fire Agate, Emerald Agate. When I give the word, we go straight into them," Holly Blue instructed, each Agate bringing out their own respected weapons. The Gems remaining drew out their weapons as well, but at this point. ...
"STOP IT!" Flint demanded, getting their attention very fast. A battle right now would not help anything, or anyone. Course, Holly Blue Agate wasn't going to have it.
"Quiet you! What position you have to talk over me?" Holly Blue yelled. Flint had about enough of this game. He took one look to Bismuth. A rather long look. Before turning to Holly Blue and her Agates. ...
"Is that a way to talk to one of White Diamond's court?"
Everyone fell silent when he said that. Agates, the Crystal Gems, Mane six, all of them. Did ... did he really say that?
"W-What? ... White ... Diamond?"
"You heard me right. My apologies for my colleagues pathetic, and rather overly-confident antics. We're here to retrieve those prisoners for White Diamond's experiments," Flint explained.
"What're you -" luckily Garnet quickly stopped Rainbow from talking, a smile on her face.
""Impossible! we would've got a notice before you arrived," said one of the Agates.
"You really expect White Diamond to waste her breath by giving you a notice on pickup? She's far too busy to deal with the likes of such creatures like you personally. That's why I'm sent here."
"B-But. But the breakout."
"Clearly one clod got over-excited," Flint insulted. Bismuth felt angry, but she knew what he was up to so she didn't say anything. Holly Blue actually felt humbled, as Flint stepped forward, posture in a similar manor Holly Blue herself would use on lower classes of Gems and what not. It wasn't Flint himself, but more on who he belonged to.
"H-How can you allow your own squad to just tear apart my prison like this?! When those Diamonds hear about what you did here -" Flint raised his finger, and placed it on her mouth to keep her quiet. Flint looked back to the others, Pearl feeling a bit antsy about the situation, but not in much fear, but instead in some bit of power. Flint simply gave a silent look to give Pearl the freedom o speak.
"You're really gonna tell the Diamonds that you refused a group from White Diamond herself to enter a highly secure facility and collect potential experiments under her command? My, oh my, Doesn't sound like a wise thing to do, Holly Blue. So do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut. That will be all."
Holly Blue was speechless, and dumbfounded. When all that was finished and spoken of, the remaining group stepped onto the Warp Pad. All Holly Blue could do was just stand there and watch them go, unable to do anything to them now with this knowledge in her head. With that final thought, the remaining group activated the Warp Pad, and were off home.
"Did ... Did a Pearl just show me up?" Holly Blue wondered.
Mission successful. Morning at the barn, and with the Warp Pad end out of commission, not only did the Agates no longer have any sort of way to get back to them, but also the prisoners who escaped had no risk of being recovered by the Agates again. The barn surely had a number of guests, much to Fluttershy and Peridot's surprise. No group was missing this time: Ruby squad, Crystal Gems, and Mane Six all together again. The Ruby Squad had been and gone, and most of the prisoners were resting from their big escape at this point, and while many of those involved felt grateful, the only one feeling a little bit troubled was Flint (who else?). Some of the group spent their time trying to heal the others inside the barn, Cloud Dancer especially.
"How're they doing in there?" Asked Garnet.
"They're worn out, but other than that alright," said Steven, using his healing spit to help heal some of the escaped prisoners of the injuries they've gained in the prison.
"Come on, Flint, we did great. You did some sweet acting back there," Bismuth said, playfully punching him on the shoulder.
"Yes, but now what? We barely even know these things," Flint pointed out. However, Garnet had a different idea on why Flint was troubled.
"Flint, there's nothing to worry over: I've cut off the connection from the Warp Pads just before we all left. Holly Blue won't be able to find us," Garnet assured him. Flint considered the options carefully, and eventually came to a similar conclusion.
"I suppose you're right, Garnet. But what do we do with them now? We can't keep track of -" Flint paused, and took a slight moment to count out how many escapees there was. "... Twelve prisoners."
"Most of the prisoners appear equine, equestrian to be exact. It can't be too hard," Peridot noted.
"What about the ones who aren't? What about Razor?"
"What about Razor?"
Walking out of the barn was the thing in question, coming out alongside Fluttershy and Rarity. Bismuth took a glance to Flint before walking to Razor.
"Ok, so most of you are from Equestria, I get that. Mind telling us where you're from?" Bismuth asked. Razor looked around a little bit before he made his answer, though even before he could say, his expression wasn't too promising.
"No need to worry about that. Just get the others back home, if you can," Razor said, looking back into the barn.
"But dear, surely you have a home somewhere to go to," Rarity said, but Razor just sat down.
"I'll get home. But, this place, it doesn't appear to be Equestria at all. ..."
"That's because it's not. There's a Warp Pad that can get them there, no problem," Bismuth assured, pointing in the general direction to the main Warp Pad. That seemed to lift Razor's spirits a little bit, as some of the other pony prisoners also heard the idea.
"Is it far from here?" asked Cloud Dancer.
"Not at all. come on, let's get y'all back," Applejack said, trotting on ahead towards the Warp Pad. Much of the prisoner group followed Applejack on her way, the others watching them go off. Razor followed them behind after a while, taking a glance over to Flint at one point before going off himself. It'll be some time, but they'll all get home they were sure of that. Or at least find a home in either Earth or Equestria. As the others followed the group to the Warp Pad, and ticket home, Garnet took some time to wait and watch them all go, keeping her eye on Flint the most. ...
"Good job, everyone."
