> My Little Universe: Season 6
>  by EquestrianKirin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Off-Colors PT1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took some time for things to finally begin to chill out, but as Winter started to reach its later months, things were beginning to return to normal. With just how much had been done to Beach City thanks to some peculiar happenings however, it still left them with just a little bit more to do, though it was a cakewalk compared to last year's shenanigans.
Within Beach City, it was probably the calmest it has ever been since these shenanigans. While winter had been a bit hard on the city, it was indeed recovering one way or another. The water tower was removed altogether, and a number of houses were rebuilt good as new. In fact, one of the houses was just about finished up good as new that morning, with Steven happily bringing over a sign for the side of the house.

"I declare this house ... open!" Steven announced, placing the welcome mat right down in front of the door. The house, this one being Sadie's house, that just got finished up, and Steven was more than happy to make the finishing touches. It even got refurnished from the ground up since most of the furniture had been either destroyed or washed out to sea. A pretty good feeling when something like this had been complete, and Sadie and her mother surely were pleased.

"Millers? You humble abode awaits," Steven said, sounding rather fancy and British in tone.

"Look at that, good as new! Good job kid," Mrs. Miller said, playfully fluffing his hair before heading off inside. Steven smiled as Sadie walked over to him.

"Thanks for all your help Steven. I didn't think we'd get our home back for a long time," Sadie said.

"I'm just glad everyone was okay after the whole water tower flood," Steven replied, not recalling any causalities after the event. Sadie and Steven went up to the front door.

"Speaking of which, you said those snakes are handled now?"

"Yep: they won't be bothering you or anyone else anymore. Whelp, see you later Sadie, I'm gonna go check on the rest," Steven happily answered. The ones that flooded the town in the first place, they took care of them good enough so they wouldn't end up coming back. Sadie was more than glad to hear that as well, now the residents can live their lives without any snake whispering in their ears on what they should and/or shouldn't do.
After that, Steven went on his way to check on the rest of the city. He only got through about five different houses until he saw another familiar face further down the way as he and his friend were delivering some mail for the morning paper route. Even if some of the houses were still unfinished, the mail-run waits for nobody, and these deliveries were to the finished houses anyway.

"Lapis, Jamie," Steven called, heading right over to them. It was surely nice to see them both again.

"Hey Steven," said Lapis Lazuli. Her new form was nice, but she made it a bit cuter with Jamie letting her wear his hat for the paper route.

"See someone's doing pretty fair these days," noted Jamie.

"You bet: Beach City's spruced up pretty much. There's only two houses left," said Steven happily.

"So we've noticed. To think that there wasn't much left just last year, and now it's blooming back to its glory once again." and Jamie was right about that. Some of these spots were completely cleared off thanks to that water tower, and now barely a thing from that incident remained to be said aside from memory for the local history books.

"Yeah. Hey Lapis, how's your paper route?" Steven asked.

"It's pretty ... quiet. But hey, it's a break from how much we've done already," Lapis admitted. compared to fighting monsters, handling missions, and other gem stuff, this was a walk through the park (and town square, and the boardwalk, and the houses). It was then that Lapis suddenly remembered something.

"Oh right, Steven, we have something for you!"

"You do?" Steven asked. Jamie started to fish out what they got for him, and soon enough a package was brought out and given to him. Why wait to give it to him at his house when they could give it to him now? Steven opened up the package, and found that it was a new kitty clock. Steven's eyes sparkled on seeing the thing, and that was the main thanks they needed to see.

"Oh, and something else for you too," Lapis said.

"Two packages? Awesome!" Steven beamed.

"Uh, Lapis, we only had one for him," Jamie whispered. However, Lapis wasn't referring to a package exactly, and her gemstone began to glow behind, her hands behind her back to bring out something else she had gotten. It looked surprisingly familiar, looking like a sort of data log, and seeing how advanced and clean it looked, a fairly new one at that.

"Homeworld dropped it off this morning just after you left. Come on, open it up," Lapis encouraged. It took Steven a little bit to figure out how to open it, but eventually the thing did indeed activate, and with a simple message written out on it.

you're invited to my palace for a informal get-together. I can't thank you all enough for what you've did for me, and I'm willing to give my thanks when you arrive. Signed: Blue Diamond.


~~~~~~


Over in Equestria, events there had been pretty standard, snow still around all over Ponyville. Even so, as the town was quiet, there echoed the distant sounds of what seemed like booms, roars, alongside some battle cries. The ponies in town found this slightly curious, but they didn't bother with it too much. Though it was probably good that they didn't bother with it too much. ...

*RAAAWWWRR!*

Because just outside of town, a bit of a battle was underway with a pesky Equestrian creature vs. a dynamic duo of Gems. The monster in question this time was a rather angry, and rather tough furry lizard called a Slingtail, and this one had ended up engaging combat with the two Gems in question. And according to the area around them, this fight either had been going on for a while, or they all had really been itching to bring the pain. One of the Gems, the powerhouse blacksmith Bismuth, ended up right in front of the Slingtail, and the beast tried to swing its tail at her, just for her to grab it. The Slingtail ended up head over heels with Bismuth's powerful swing, though this wasn't just an aimless swing.

"Hey, Jay, coming at ya!"

"Right!"

Then came the final blow: with a powerful swing of her fists, the Slingtail got a gut slammed with double-fisted strength, which sent the Slingtail flying for a good ten seconds before it ended up slamming into the snow headfirst. It got stiff at first as if it was some sort of dart or arrow, but it ended up completely falling over with its head stuck in the cold dirt. As for who made the hit, Bismuth was joined in this little task by the equally tough, and all powerful Jasper! Yep, Jasper's back in action! Bismuth and Jasper smirked smugly to eachother, as the Slingtail pulled its head out of the ground, completely dazed and seeing stars, either off of the Gems or around its head.

"Had enough, you boulder? Because we're just getting warmed up over here!" Bismuth said, cracking her fists for another go whenever ready. The Slingtail turned to them, but instead of getting angry, it cowered slightly, backing up from both Gems.

"Teach you to hurl rocks at Ponyville. Coward," Jasper stated. It may be natural for a Slingtail to hurl rocks, but they drew the line at tossing boulders at houses (it started the fight in the first place). The Slingtail, tail between its legs, cowered completely and ran for the foothills. Well, a victory done for them: bismuth shared a few fist pumps with eachother, fists hitting eachother just before their hands met in a handshake. OH, how long had it been since they both had that kind of action together?

"HEY!!"

AND looked like one rainbow Pegasus was just a little late to see the action unfold for her. Rainbow Dash had tried to catch up, but even speed to make a sonic rainboom just wasn't quick enough to handle some of the action outside Ponyville. Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop, snow skidding under her hooves as she did so, and she looked around for some sort of fight just to find nothing.

"Darn it, I missed it - again! UGH, you two fight way too fast," Rainbow groaned.

"You just gotta keep up," Jasper said. She couldn't help but feel a little cocky considering how long it had been since she last did this. Rainbow flew back over to them.

"Come on, Jasper, let's check in on the rest of the troops," Bismuth said.

"Sounds good to me," Jasper, as both Bismuth and Jasper started to head off on their way back to their home. Rainbow landed in the snow, a bit disappointed that she just flat out missed a pretty good fight.

"Wonder what Pinkie's up to?" Rainbow wondered.

.......

"Bakin cupcakes, bakin hay-n cupcakes. Get some hay and you put it in a cupcake, bakin cupcakes, bakin hay-n cupcakes, HEY-N CUPCAAAKES!"

When Rainbow caught up to her friend at Sugarcube corner, she caught Pinkie Pie baking up some morning hayseed cupcakes, hearing Pinkie singing her little tune during it all. But the pink mare's ears didn't for a moment miss her Pegasus friend come in with the chime of the door's welcoming bell. And just in time for Pinkie to pop her treats out of the oven and out onto the display case, fresh from the oven.

"Morning Pinkie, see you're already baking," Rainbow noted.

"What kind of cook would I be if I didn't? And great time you came by, because may I introduce to you the new breed of doughy cupcake-y goodness: hayseed!" Pinkie announced, one of the cupcakes out for Rainbow to have. It sure smelled pretty good.

"Hayseed? That's a new one."

"I know, I'm so excited! Here, first one's on the house!" Pinkie said, tossing a free sample to the Pegasus. Rainbow actually caught it with her wings and popped it in her muzzle. The taste of fresh hay with Pinkie's magic of cooking made them a good seller right off the bat. Then again, would she really doubt Pinkie's creations?

"Thanks. So, anything new Pinkie?" Rainbow asked. Before Pinkie Pie could answer, they both heard something just outside. The sound of the mail mare dropping off today's mail. Derpy Hooves just got the mail in the mailbox, and that sound was  all Pinkie Pie needed to hear, and she bolted off straight outside, leaving Rainbow spinning like a top. Guess Pinkie Pie was expecting a little something in the mail. As Rainbow went outside, Pinkie was already looking through the mail like mad, letters tossed aside as she looked through what was what.

"Find anything interesting?" Rainbow asked, just for some of the letters to land on her head. she shook them off easy, but eventually Pinkie Pie got one particular letter rolled up in a scroll. Pinkie unrolled it fast and quickly looked it over fast, just for her own eyes to rip through the paper (yeah that's a thing).

"An invite! Rainbow we got an invite!" Pinkie beamed, shoving the thing in her face. As Pinkie was hopping in place, Rainbow looked over what the letter said, at least what she could make out that wasn't torn open.

"Equestrians, you're invited to my palace for a informal get-together. I can't thank you all enough for what you've did for me, and I'm willing to give my thanks when you arrive. Signed: Blue Diamond."

"WE CAN SEE THE LADY IN BLUE TODAY! LET'S GOGOGO!" Pinkie said, super psyched about it.

Guess they knew what they were doing today.


~~~~~~


"You sure? You're sure it's fully recovered?" asked Rarity.

"We're sure, Rarity, it's been months. Your mane looks fine," assured Applejack.

Eventually the Mane Six, and the Crystal Gems were all invited back to Homeworld. Being gone from Homeworld, while on the surface didn't seem to be bothersome, but it was nice for many a them to get access back to Homeworld. The group was over in Blue Diamond's city, and their casual walk through the city was met by a number of other Gems. Their main destination was Blue Diamond's palace itself, and somewhere they haven't been to for the longest time.

"Wish the others could've come along with us," said Steven.

"I know, Steven, but they're still making amends towards Beach City. Hey, I bet they'll be just as happy when we tell them what happened," said Diopside. Yeah, it wasn't too many Crystal Gems there: Steven and Diopside being two out of four. Those that came included: Steven, Diopside, Garnet, Amethyst, and Connie. Amethyst and Connie were the guests of honor this time, since it was them who saved Blue Diamond in the first place.
Eventually, the group managed to arrive over right to the front doorstep of Blue Diamond's palace, somewhere they hadn't gone to in quite a while, and once they got to the door, Blue Pearl was waiting for them right there. The Pearl looked very pleased, a smile on her face, and awaited their arrival since earlier that morning.

"Welcome back. We're grateful to see you," Blue Pearl said, even bowing to them as if they were a set of Diamonds themselves.

"Now now, there's no need for that dear," said Rarity. Blue Pearl blushed slightly and got back upright.

"Uh, sorry. Here, let me," Blue Pearl said, beginning to open the doors to let them in.
Oh how long had it been since they last seen this throne room? Not too much had changed up in the place, it looking the same as it always had been and even still as clean thanks to Blue Pearl. It was a nice sight for sore eyes to see, but what made them especially happy was who was sitting on the throne waiting for them with a relieved grin on her face. It was a face many of them had missed for the longest time.

"Blue Diamond. Welcome back," said Garnet with a smile.

"It's good to be back, thanks to your efforts," Blue Diamond replied, grateful to be back in familiar territory.

"Good to hear you're better, Blue Diamond. ... You are, are you?" Twilight asked, flying up to her to be sure. Considering how long she was gone for, not to mention why she was missing, it couldn't hurt to at least ask about it.

"Feeling better than I had before. I want to give my personal thanks to you two," Blue Diamond said, her eyes looking down to Amethyst and Connie. The exact information on what happened did manage to reach Blue Diamond during her recovery, and while the two were happy to hear that it was still an enigma on how they did that in the first place. A human and a Gem fusing like that? Practically unheard of.

"Eh, it was nothing, just glad you're alright after everything. How'd Yellow handle it, by the way?" Amethyst asked.

"She needed several minutes to let go of me in her hug," Blue admitted, though she couldn't blame Yellow Diamond for feeling relieved about her fellow Diamond coming back after getting kidnapped.

"Nice to hear," said Garnet.

"Speaking of ... HUGIES!" suddenly Pinkie hopped up and gave Blue Diamond her own hug. Her hooves weren't big enough to wrap around her, but Blue Diamond did like the gesture and simply smiled.

"I missed you too, young pony," said Blue Diamond, gently rubbing Pinkie's head with her finger. Blue Diamond then got up, Pinkie hopping up off of Blue Diamond's lap and going back to the others. Blue Diamond then took a look to Connie.

"Steven had mentioned about you a number of times, Connie. Are you enjoying your visit to Homeworld?" Blue Diamond asked. Connie felt humbled by the towering Diamond, and recoiled slightly.

"Everything's ... well, big. Big and advanced, it's amazing," Connie admitted. It was Connie's first time visiting Homeworld, and to say the least of her reaction she was simply speechless with it all. How often does a human visit an alien city anyway? Blue Diamond was glad that she was enjoying it all for her first visit. Blue Pearl smiled softly, and it was Diopside who noticed a tear coming down her face.

"You k over there, Pearl?" Diopside asked.

"I ... I'm just happy everyone's great," Blue Pearl said quietly. Considering she was a Pearl who thought she lost her Diamond, Diopside could get the picture. Still, Diopside gave Blue Pearl a pat on the back.

"Glad you're doing good too, Pearl. Must've been tough being alone, huh?"

"Eh ... w-well uh ... in a way," Blue Pearl simply said.

"Gems, ponies, you've all done so much. You've saved Lapis and Jasper, and stopped the Cluster, and saving me as well. For that I think you all could use a reward," Blue Diamond then said, seeing that a reward was at least mandatory.

"No, no, that won't be -" Garnet tried to say, but Rainbow cut her off.

"Let's see what it is first," Rainbow quietly insisted.

"Rainbow."

"What? Come on, how often do you get a gift from a Diamond?" Rainbow insisted, shrugging. Blue Diamond couldn't help but giggle, as she looked to Blue Pearl. The pearl heard her loud and clear, and she was more than happy to go off and get it for them. When Blue Pearl returned, the object she had in hand was brought to them with great care, and Blue Pearl stopped right in front of Steven. It looked rather small, about as big as a dinner plate, its body round like an egg, and as smooth as glass. Swirls of colors suspended in place and giving it a almost surreal appearance. Steven, Amethyst, and Connie's eyes sparkled on the gift, and Steven held it in his hands.

"What's this?" Twilight asked, genially curious and intrigued by the object in question.

"A little surprise: just plant it wherever you please, and you'll find out. I think it'll be very useful for you," Blue Diamond explained. That just made them even more curious over the object, and if anyone of them wanted to see what it actually was, they'll have to wait until they get home. Still, they didn't think it was anything worthless if Blue Diamond gave it to them, so it had to do something. Steven had the honor of putting it in a bubble for later, and sending it back home.

"Thank you kindly," Applejack said.

"Yes, it looks simply divine," added Rarity, also admiring the object.

"It's my pleasure. Free to stay as long as you like," Blue Diamond said.

.......

"Do my eyes deceive me?"

Well, the happy little reunion was put on hold with that voice, the group turning over to the door where they came in. Unfortunately for them, the voice belonging to this was actually not a member of Blue Diamond, but actually the recognizable figure that was Pearlis! They hadn't seen her since their little court session involving Blue and Pink Diamond, and none of them expected her to suddenly show up.

"Oh, hey Pearlis!" Pinkie said, waving her hoof to her.

"Pearlis? What're you doing here?" Blue Diamond asked.

"Here to deal with some rebellious rubbish as all, don't worry about it," Pearlis stated.

"Excuse me?" Rainbow questioned.

"Don't tumble my rocks, pony. Now if you'll come with me, we'll suit you up for your harvesting," Pearlis informed, but naturally none of them Gems were so willing to comply. This caught Blue Diamond completely by surprise, not to mention Connie as well.

"Pearlis, what're you talking about? What did they even do?" Blue Diamond asked firmly. Pearlis turned her attention towards Blue Diamond and cleared her throat.

"Listen, my flawless, perfected, and wondrous White Diamond had officially stated and I quote, that the Crystal Gems had been banished from Homeworld due to prior events. And the punishment if any of them were to return would be harvesting, so -"

"Time out, we got Blue Diamond back, she's right there!" shouted Rainbow, pointing a hoof at the Diamond. That only annoyed Pearlis.

"I can see that, but it doesn't excuse that other incident. Now the Carnethysts will be waiting for you outside. Sorry that this news didn't get to you yet, my Diamond," Pearlis said. Being reminded of Blue Diamond felt like a stab through her feelings, but with how much they've done to solve the recent problems AND rescue her, she felt it was just a little bit unfair. ... Even if they had involvement with Pink. She motioned Blue Pearl to move before she looked to Pearlis.

"There's no reason to punish them. I was the one who called them here," Blue Diamond said, Pearlis turning to her.

"You were?"

"I did. Though I wasn't aware that White Diamond had banished them from Homeworld, it shouldn't still apply since they've saved me."

"An excellent point!" called Amethyst.

"Quiet Onyx - er I mean, Amethyst!" Guess one Gem was too used to another Gem bugging her. Pearlis flustered a bit, but quickly recovered and added, "They did save you, but still hold responsible under murder charges."

"... Can they at least be allowed to stay in my part of Homeworld? They did more than enough to prove."

"That's for my Diamond, not me. I merely found them wandering towards your palace."

"But Pearlis, surely it can be made an exception for this one time," Blue diamond said. At this point, Blue Pearl was right beside one of the ponies, catching the attention of Connie right next to her. All Blue Pearl did was silently point to the door ...

"The order of White Diamond cannot be ignored. If the punishment calls for harvesting that's what it has to be, isn't that true?"

"But in any sentence, if the crime is weakened so is the overall sentence. They've been banished for two crimes, one of which they've managed to fix."

"I never said that they were charged with your capture, they're charged for murder. Don't you care at all about what they -" when Pearlis suddenly turned around, she caught a small sight of Fluttershy just before she bolted out, everyone else having left apart from Blue Pearl standing there.

"You got to be kidding - GET BACK HERE AT ONCE!" and Pearlis raced after them. Blue Diamond and Blue Pearl were left alone, Blue Pearl going back to her diamond, feeling a little troubled.

"I'm sorry ..."

"It isn't your fault, Pearl. ... Good Luck, Rose."

.......

At this point, the group had just gotten outside, hearing Pearlis going off after them making the situation a little more troubling than it needed to be. Just getting back and already they're in trouble by White Diamond cohorts. When they got out the door though, they didn't exactly see any of those Carnethysts Pearlis told them about, at least not right at the door so they still got some sort of a start on wherever they were going off to. There was still a gap between them and the Warp Pad, and even then it was still a long run all the same so they didn't waste any time starting to go.

"You weren't kidding about that," Connie said as they went.

"I know, but it's still going on? Come on, what's with her?" Rainbow wondered.

"We'll figure it out later, now come on," Garnet instructed. They had little time to figure anything out, the longer they were here, the more risk they were in for getting harvested. Especially now when Rainbow looked back and saw Pearlis outside, and only then did the Carnethysts show up alongside Pearlis. With a snap of her fingers and pointing off ahead, the guards then began to give chase behind them.

"FREEZE!"

AND a line up right in front of them! The whole group skidded to a halt on the Carnethyst line up. Before any of them could turn back, the other Carnethysts ended up trapping them in there as well. Next thing they knew, the guards had them surrounded, making them all feel a little worried as Pearlis came up.

"Eh, sorry this didn't turn out so well Connie," Steven said, feeling very guilty about this.

"I-It's not your fault," Connie insisted.

"Actually it is," Pearlis stated, making Steven feel even worse. snapping her finger and pointing again, a number of Carnethysts separated the Gems from the humans and ponies. Garnet, Steven, Diopside, and Amethyst got separated and apprehended as the others were left alone, but that didn't mean they weren't blocked off by the other guards, the tall purple Gems keeping them back as the Gems were apprehended.

"How embarrassing. But at least you're all handled, so we can be on our way," Pearlis said, as if this was a business call rather than a capture.

"Reconsider, Pearlis please: we helped save Homeworld before, and we saved one of your diamonds."

"This again? You can save the world dozens of times -"

"Which we did," Amethyst said.

"Shut up - but it will not, repeat, will NOT cover this murder case you did. All of Homeworld knows about it at this point, I'm just appalled you went through here at all without getting called on the spot." Pearlis's words were not making things any better, and it seemed that so long as that was over their heads, they were wanted no matter what they did. At least that's what she was saying. This was more than enough for the ponies to hear.

"Ok, that's it!" Rainbow leaped up and barreled through the guards keeping them back, and actually knocking back the guards that got the Gems apprehended.

"Rainbow!" Garnet yelled.

"Less talk, more go-go, now go!" said Pinkie said, pushing Garnet forward to get her moving. The Carnethysts started to charge in for the ponies next, and Steven jumped in with his shield to keep them back. Garnet was getting a bit scared now, and Pearlis was seeing that in her face. Bystander Gems were small, but they didn't interfere with the authority Gems of White Diamond's arsenal, disappointing as that was, but understandable.

"Really, this isn't even involving you ponies," Pearlis stated, more annoyed than manipulative about the whole thing.

"It is if it's gonna hurt our friends," stated Connie. Pearlis just shrugged.

"Alright, fine, maybe we'll have some slots in the experimental lab for you," Pearlis stated, having the Carnethysts try and apprehend them as well.

"Time to go, everypony!" Applejack called. with all odds against them, they had no choice but to hightail it out of there and race for the Warp Pad. If they could at least do that they could have a better chance of getting away. The Carnethysts gave chase straight from there, but only some of them chased right behind them as the others split off to try and cut off their main path.

"This way!" Garnet said, suddenly cutting corners.

"But the Warp Pad's -"

"JUST GO!" Pinkie said, grabbing Connie and bolting for it. They didn't have time to question where to go, and even if they went that way the Carnethysts would've cornered them again. They kept trying left and right through who knows where, but the Carnethysts seemed to come from everywhere they went. Each time Garnet went down a different path in the city, they weren't too far behind. Any local Gem witnessing this kept clear out of their way so they wouldn't get run over

"How the hay are they keeping up with us?"

"They can't keep up forever. ... Well, they can, but, I don't want them to," said Garnet.

"You and everypony else. In here!" Twilight said, finding another path for them to follow. A good call on her part, since the path ahead got blocked by Carnethysts again for the fifth time in this chase. How were they even doing that, they weren't going to try and answer, they just wanted to get away from them before it could get -

"STOP!"

Any worse. Pinkie Pie hit the breaks fast, and skidded a ways ahead until she finally stopped right on the very edge! Guess they made one wrong turn this whole chase, and they ended up finding themselves in what looked like a abyss! The path ended on a cliff, none of them able to even see the bottom of this steep drop, and any longer running and Pinkie would've fallen off down. Now they got a bigger problem: trapped between a cliff and a army of Carnethyst coming their way!

"Anyone have any ideas?" Connie asked. It ewas then that Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped forward, ready to do the only thing they could do: fight.

"We fight em' off that's what. What else could we do?" Applejack asked. And unfortunately the Carnethysts ended up blocking their only escape route from their spot.

"Connie, I'm very sorry this first trip didn't turn out the way we planned," said Fluttershy, scared out of her mind.

"Attention: you're all surrounded!" called one of the Carnethysts.

"Tell us something we don't know!" called back Amethyst.

"Come quietly or we'll be forced to resort to lethal force!"

They had no choice now: either jump off the cliff or fight them off, and by no means were any of them going to take a death leap down from here! They were left at a stand still for a moment or two, until Garnet stepped out in front, the gem weapon gloves coming out and ready to fight. If they can get away, it'll be worth it. That was the only signal they needed for the final answer, and the Carnethyst started to move forward towards them. Garnet felt uneasy about it the most ...

*POOF*

"What the heck?"

What happened next just went by almost in a blur. All of a sudden, the first Carnethyst that was leading the pack got shot right in the neck by what appeared to be some sort of arrow! None of their team had any arrows to use so this was especially surprising. Several other Carnethysts ended up getting attacked and poofed with arrows hitting through them as well. They tried looking around for whatever was shooting the arrows at the attackers, and as it turned out the culprit was up on one of the building walls, clinging to it and shooting off with a bow in hand. It was too far to see who, or what, it exactly was but whoever it was, it was fighting for them. After the rain of arrows were shot, the figure raced along the walls, on its hands and feet, and right towards them! Once it was right above them, it leaped right down to them in a spin attack, slamming the ground right in front of them. The force was strong enough to make the platform crack a bit, and considering they were on a ledge basically, this meant only one main thing.

"Bubble up!" Steven said. Steven didn't waste any time, and with little aid in flight, nor time to get away, it was all they could do. The figure disappeared out of sight, and suddenly the whole ledge gave way! All of them could only brace for what impact they had to end up with, as they all fell out of sight from what remained on the ledge. Pearlis only then showed up and looked down the cliff, extremely frustrated.

"Don't just stand there, go find them, they can't go too far," ordered Pearlis.

.......

They all needed a minute to regain themselves after that little tiff, but eventually Steven finally removed the bubble that had saved their lives, or at least saved from serious injury in their mile fall. Just one little get-together with Blue Diamond and they were already on the run from White Diamond's Gems, but on the bright side they survived, and were far away from those Carnethyst guards. After the bubble was removed, they got up and tried to recollect.

"What a fall! I thought we'd be in China by now," Pinkie said, shaking off what dust got onto her mane and tail with a few doggy shakes, though some of it got onto the others, some coughing a little bit.

"That's just a myth, Pinkie," Connie said.

"I don't get it, we got Blue Diamond back that should've pulled away the banishment, shouldn't it?" Diopside wondered.

"Apparently not. Hey Steven, you ok over there?" asked Applejack. The impact did take a lot of energy to keep the bubble up, and while Steven was tired, he gave a thumbs up while laying on the ground. Fluttershy and Rarity helped Steven get up, and then Connie asked the big question, more in dismay.

"... Where are we?"

That surely got them looking around at their location. Being so far down, it looked far more gloomy and dim than the lively, bright city above their heads. Dried, grey sand laid everywhere with dull rock walls, not dissimilar to the prime kindergarten, lined up alongside them. Wherever they were, it was simply a dead-end area, somewhere not used in who knows how long. When they looked at the walls in question too, they were all lined up with humanoid-shaped holes, lining up and down the wall all over the place. The area they landed wasn't in just any normal pit, but actually some sort of large cliff side, the edge about thirty feet away.

"I think we're in a Kindergarten," Steven concluded, as some of them (Steven, Diopside, and Fluttershy) began to move over to the cliff face and take a good look around.

"... A very. Big. Kindergarten," Fluttershy managed to say.

The word "big" didn't do it any justice. In fact, it didn't even begin to cover it. Looking down from the cliff, they found colossal pillars stretching in multiple directions from underneath them, like giant trees, and every single one had holes covering the entire surface, making it all look less like a Kindergarten and more like a bee hive, the holes just as crowded too. Even the one they were standing on had so many holes in them. Millions, upon billions of Gem creation holes could be seen from where they were, so they could only wonder exactly how many Gems were created here. Now it was nothing more than husks everywhere, holes lifeless and activity diminished.

"WHOA, just how many were made here," commented Rainbow, flying around a bit and checking out the multitude of holes as the others went over and saw what they saw, just as speechless as to the sheer size of it.

"And here I thought the Prime Kindergarten was huge, it's a fly compared to this place," Amethyst noted.

"We are on Homeworld, Amethyst. This is the Homeworld's Supreme Kindergarten," Garnet said, and since she was a Gem made here, it was a sight for sore eyes for this fusion. So many different types of Gems created in one place, and all these holes proved not only that, but for just how much they would use in space to create another Gem, not a single spot missed. This told them all that Homeworld had way more Gems than expected to be. While it was impressive, that wasn't the main issue, as Garnet looked up from where they fell. It would take them forever to climb back up, and flying anyone up was out of the question with how little flying helpers they actually had, plus Pearlis and the Carnethysts were still up there.

"Oh well. Nothing for it. Let's try to find a way out of here," Garnet finally decided.
> Off-Colors PT2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the only trail they had alongside the cliff, they all went off in a line down the path. The sidewalk of a path kept them all quiet as they looked around at the quiet landscape, Rainbow and Fluttershy flying alongside just in case someone would slip. They had that secured anyway. Still, an area such as this surely left them a bit troubled, considering many of them had never been here, and apparently it'll take a long time until they would find some way back up. The only sound they heard was the steps of their feet and hooves, echoing all over the place.

"I always wondered what a Homeworld Kindergarten would look like, but I never thought it'll be like this," Amethyst said, looking around.

"You think anyone would still be here?" Twilight asked.

"Highly doubt it. This kindergarten hasn't been used in a long time. We're just going to have to figure it out ourselves," Garnet concluded. The sheer size of the place made that statement, while unsettling, a little bit doubtful too. Not even one Gem in this entire place? Like saying there's only one fish in the ocean.

"There has to be someone," Connie said. It was then that Steven stopped for a short moment.

"HELLO?!" Steven called.

Hello?! ... Hello?! ... Hello?! ...

Not much help there.

"Nothing," Steven sighed. Pinkie then got an idea for something.

"Oh, oh, I always wanted to try this," Pinkie said, hopping over next to Steven and Connie. Pinkie cleared her throat and ...

"CRY-CRY-CRY-STAL-STAL-STAL-GEMS-GEMS-GEMS!"

Crystal Gems! ... Crystal Gems! ... Crystal Gems! ...

"Not bad," said Steven, impressed.

"I saw it on a cartoon once."

"Come on you three," called Rarity.

With that call, Pinkie, Connie, and Steven went off to the group. It didn't take them very long to catch up to them, but by the time they did, the group found another little problem up in front of them. The trail split off into some sort of arch now, and if they didn't want to keep going in circles, they had to cross it. The arch was long, flat, and like every other wall in the Supreme Kindergarten, with many holes as a fine Swiss cheese. With the holes though came trouble, as none of them really knew how strong the arch actually was because of those holes edging the walls under it.

"Keep close everyone. And don't look down," Garnet advised, starting to go off ahead a little bit. In a line and keeping together, the others followed her over the arch. They were a bit worried, but Rainbow and Fluttershy were the only ones off the arch, flying around it as they went. While Fluttershy stayed by the others though, it was Rainbow Dash who was casually flying around the arch, even flying in circles over and under the arch. She had been used to heights since she was a filly, so this didn't bother her too much. The walk along the arch gave them all a bit more to look around the place.

"You think the Diamonds were made here?" asked Amethyst at one point.

"Well, this is Homeworld, so probably," said Diopside, looking around herself at the place.

"Guess they stopped working here, huh," noted Steven.

"Yeah, it couldn't last forever. I'm still surprised it's still here to be honest," she replied. Diopside continued looking around some more at the Supreme Kindergarten, her Gem eye adjusting itself time to time, just to make sure they were indeed alone in the area. The only thing she could see was the empty holes of Gem birthplaces. 

"Wow, so many birthdays! Wish I was here, there'd be parties for years," said Pinkie, just imagining how big a party she would throw every day for the many birthdays being started here. It'd be her big break! As they were going though, Garnet suddenly stopped at the end of the arch, Pinkie accidentally bumping into her.
Turned out, what everyone saw next was a fork in the road: one path down the walls again, and another through some sort of tunnel to another part of the Kindergarten. Garnet had to think about this one, and since none of them were too familiar with the place in terms of mapping, they really had a difficult choice to make here.

"We'll waste a lot of time if we pick the wrong way," Garnet noted, though they all could figure that alright.

"Hmm ... Eeny. Meany. Miny. Moe!" Amethyst's little method for figuring out where to go wasn't the best they had, but again, with little knowledge on the mapped area, what other idea did they have? Amethyst took the lead this time, but the rest of them stayed put, a bit unsure about this.

.......

"AAHHH!"

"Amethyst!" gasped Garnet. She was just about to go right in and get her, but Amethyst already got that covered and was already running back outside, accidentally bumping into Steven as she did so. She looked simply terrified by whatever she saw in there, and if it could scare Amethyst that easily, it just had to be dangerous. This was Amethyst, a Gem willing to fight anything if she wanted to, yet here she was scared out of her wits.

"Amethyst, you okay, what happened?" asked Connie.

"S-something in there!" Amethyst said, her eyes not moving an inch away from the tunnel entrance. Garnet took a look in there herself, wondering herself what could possibly freak her out this much, but as she was, she then started to hear multiple footsteps coming their way.

"Carnethysts. Come on, this way," Garnet said, already heading down the other path. They weren't going to give the Carnethysts any chances. Even if they won, they had nowhere to go so what was the point of a fight without an escape? They all were off from there and away from the cave. They were in no mood to get captured by them at this point, They got far enough to get past a corner of the path, just enough time for whatever was in there to come out and miss them. A lucky break, but they needed to get out of here if the Carnethysts were already down here.

"You gotta be kidding me, do these guys teleport or something?" said Connie, not believing it.

"Just stay together, and we'll be fine. No one's going to take any of us away, I promise," Garnet assured them all.

"Let them try, I'll buck them to the stars and back," Rainbow said, doing a few kicks.

"Rainbow, let's not jump at them right away, we have to get out of here somehow," Twilight said.

"I agree. This place is so barren, not to mention needing some spring cleaning. Plus we got so much to do back at home anyway," Rarity agreed, wiping off some dirt from her hooves.

"Hey, hold it!"

"Move, move, move!" said Diopside, getting them all moving down the path. They were found out by someone, but they didn't try to figure out who or what. They did end up hearing something giving chase after them, and pretty fast too. Unlike before though, they had very little path to take them away so all they could do was run forward down the path. The side wall path ended up nearing another arch further away, leading into a tunnel, this one looking a bit more flimsy. When they neared it, both Diopside and Garnet skidded to a halt, one by Future Vision, the other by her enhanced eye vision.

"What, why stop?"

"If we run across this, it'll crumble and collapse," Garnet said.

"What?! We're stuck!"

"Not for long. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Twilight, Amethyst, fly to the otherside," Garnet instructed. The two Pegasus knew where this was going, so they did, and Garnet got herself ready by picking up Applejack first. Amethyst made a leap to the otherside herself, though even with her enhanced abilities, she still just barely made it with a single jump, almost falling off if it wasn't for Rainbow's help.

"We're ready, toss them over!" called Amethyst.

"Wait, what?" Applejack asked, but he was thrown over by Garnet before he could process it. It wasn't too strong for Garnet's strength, and it was Amethyst who caught him, her body turning into a mattress for the landing. Diopside and Garnet had little time to wait, so they kept it going, the same thing with Rarity, Pinkie, Steven, and Connie. Soon it was Garnet and Diopside on one side and the rest on the other. Garnet made an easy jump over to the other side, and Diopside needed to back up first before she started running. Instead of just a basic jump though, she aimed her Gem eye to the arch, and acid was launched down right at it mid-air. The acid practically ate the arch until it was completely gone. Once they was done, they all went straight into the tunnel and hid away from sight as the figure skidded to a stop, and they all waited for something to happen. They peeked just enough to see, and only saw one figure there on the otherside, the dust from the collapse making it a little rough to see for both sides. It was then the same figure turned around and moved away, giving them all a sigh of relief.

"That was too close," Fluttershy said.

"We have to keep going, she could be getting reinforcements," figured Garnet figured, which was understandable. Before any of them could figure out where to go, they then heard something being moved close by, and when they looked, a passageway was opened up on the floor, big enough for them all to fit inside.

"Think we found our exit," said Amethyst, Steven hopping inside first. One by one, everyone took a hop down, Garnet being the last one to move a large stone back over the hole so they wouldn't be followed. The tunnel was a bit linier, smoothed out, and very dark for many of them to even see, too dark.

"Twilight, mind giving us a light?" Garnet asked.

"Just *pant* give me *pant* a minute," Twilight panted. This action was getting them a bit tired, so they needed to chill out. Her and the others in the group as well.

"Sorry guys. Kinda forgot you don't have the same stamina as us," Diopside said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Don't worry about it, at least we're out of sight," said Connie, having a seat for a moment.

.......

"Don't be afraid."

"You're safe now."

"Eh ... w-who said that?" asked Applejack. Spoke a little too soon. They all then began to hear something move closer to them. They could see some sort of figure standing there, but they couldn't exactly make out too many details, but eventually a light started to glow from the figure, and only then did they end up seeing who showed them this passage. A tall, slender Gem with short maroon hair that was styled up into a point at the top and light red skin. No nose, or ears were present on the face either. the figure wore an open-toed dark red and black bodysuit, which is red with black stripes on the right half, and black with red stripes on the left half.
While that seemed like any normal thing for a figure like this, there was still one obvious fact that presented itself. This wasn't just one figure, nor was it two figures, but they were conjoined! Two heads, two torsos, two legs, one arm on the right and one on the left, and a Gemstone on their navel, which was shaped in a sort of Y shape. All figures who saw these conjoined twins froze on the spot.

"AAHH! There it is again!" Amethyst gasped, making the twins worry a little bit. But honestly, Amethyst was even more freaked out over seeing Gems like this than they were over them.

"Amethyst, wait a minute," said Steven, trying to calm her down. If they weren't willing to fight them, then maybe they were friendly. ... Maybe? The twins began to look them over a little bit, the right side looking to Twilight as the left was looking to Diopside.

"Strange. Most of them sure look different," said the right side.

"Not like any Gems we've seen before," agreed the left. Seemed these two were at least a bit friendlier.

"Guys, where'd you go? I saw you go in here?" called a voice just outside of the tunnel. The conjoined twins, unprompted, actually went over and moved the rock to investigate, much to their surprise. However ...

"Tiger's Eye, over here!" called the right side, the left side waving her arm to get her attention. Now this was a bit confusing, the others peeking out of the hole as the twins stepped out. The figure they saw earlier was already on the other side with them, yet didn't look like she belonged to White Diamond's side at all. This Gem at first was on all fours, but stood upright when she saw the twins. Her hair was a mix of red, orange, and yellow, much like the colors of autumn, and only reached her shoulders. She had a small dress accompanied by a body suit underneath, similar to what Blue Pearl would wear except being orange instead of blue, yellow flats on her feet, and her gemstone located on her chest. Her eyes really showed the her namesake, looking like cat eyes more than regular eyes. Tiger's Eye looked over to the others in the tunnel.

"No, no, wait don't go. I'm not going to hurt any of you, please," Tiger's Eye insisted. Now calmed down and seeing the situation a bit better, they all walked out into view of both Gems.

"Carnethysts, Garnet?" questioned Rainbow.

"We can't get them right all the time," Garnet admitted. She didn't think quickly this time, but at least which Gems they did find weren't after their heads the same way as the Carnethysts and Pearlis were.

"So, you're not trying to hurt us," Twilight reassured.

"I swear I'm not. In fact, I just saved you all back up there," Tiger's Eye said, referring to the figure attacking the Carnethysts earlier.

"So that was you who shot those arrows. Thank you," Garnet said.

"Well sorta. Now we're uh ... kinda stuck," Amethyst said. The twins and Tiger's Eye looked to eachother for a moment, considering the fact they were found running from the law.

"How about you come with us?" offered the twins.


~~~~~~


Sometime later, and that's exactly what they decided on. Following Tiger's Eye and the twins, the group was then brought over to another area of the Supreme Kindergarten. This one was fairly large and surrounded by the walls, with a holed pillar right at the middle of it. It surely seemed that they were alone aside from eachother, but then the twins gave a good whistle.

"We're back!" called the left twin.

"You can come out now!" called the right twin.

"Oh, thank goodness. I hope you weren't followed. You weren't right, y-you double-checked?" said a rather scared voice, as another Gem came out of hiding. This one took Garnet by surprise the most, as she looked ... well, like her. Not exactly, but very close. She was about as tall as Garnet, similar body build too, but she possessed four arms instead of two (the upper pair thick, the lower pair thin), along with four eyes: top ones black, bottom ones pink. Like the twins, her skin was also a bit reddish, and had wide, black, afro-style hair with mauve highlights. Her outfit looked more like a mishmash to be honest: a black and mauve jumpsuit with a diamond-shaped cutout at the navel, revealing one of her gems, and mauve leggings, with one leg that covers her entire right leg and the other only covering part of her left thigh. She had a black ballet flat on her right foot and a mauve boot on her left. She also wore a sheer pink shawl over the second pearl gem on her chest and had deep burgundy gloves from the elbow-down on her lower set of arms. All she needed was one look at the group, and ...

"Y-YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWED!" she yelped, backing up as they tried to come close.

"No, no, calm down. W-We're not a threat, really," Steven insisted.

"Easy Rhodonite, we brought them here," said the right twin.

"They're with us," added the left.

"But can we trust them?" Rhodonite asked, worried and stressed.

"We think so," the right twin said.

"Everyone!"

And now in another Gem. This one appeared right behind Fluttershy and Applejack, who moved aside to let her walk in. Unlike the other two, this Gem was easier identified, or at least the type of Gem: a Sapphire. This one was short, roughly the same height as the ponies there. She had a peachy orange complexion, plump lips, and shoulder length, deep peach hair, with bangs covering her eye and a cowlick on top of her head. Her attire also mirrored a Sapphire: consisting of a beige, dull red, and light orange floor-length gown, with a beige collar, shoulder pads, and elbow-length gloves. The skirt was also a dull light orange, and it had a reddish upper layer with an off-white trim and tied back into a bow, as well as a flower-like design. Her gemstone was located on her right hand like their Sapphire, only on the outside rather than inside her palm.

"A wondrous vision has appeared before me: the twins of Rutile and Tiger's Eye will bring back a group of one. No, several. Strangers to our current place of hiding," she said, smiling.

"We know, Padparadscha, it just happened," said Tiger's Eye. Bit odd for a Sapphire to make a prediction like that, especially as delayed.

"Tiger's Eye and I found them being cornered by these ... new Gems, uh, what did you call them again?" the left Rutile asked.

"A Carnethyst," said Connie.

"Yes, a Carnethyst," said the right Rutile.

"I don't know what that is, but you didn't think on actually fighting those things," Rhodonite said.

"Eh ... well, I did, but it didn't last too long and none of them saw me, so they didn't come down here ... maybe," Tiger's Eye said, but it didn't exactly make Rhodonite feel too much better. 

"What do you mean 'maybe'?!"

"We weren't followed by them, we're sure of that," the right Rutile said.

"Let me see."

And now for the final player. Connie, Amethyst, and Diopside turned around on the very slow, old sounding voice, and found that another, much larger Gem had crawled out to see them. Now the others looked different, but they were humanoid at least, but this giant Gem looked more like a caterpillar! She had six greenish-blue eyes with some pairs often staying closed. She has a large, bulbous nose and wavy, shoulder-length, fluffy, light-blue hair with a variety of intermixed styles. This Gem had a segmented body with each segment, in order from her head down, being green, blue, purple, and pink in color, though the lower colors may be a neck-down bodysuit. Each of her first two body segments has a pair of slender arms. The first of these arm pairs has elbow-length pale periwinkle gloves. Both arms are small-handed, and blue in color. The other three body segments had short, thick legs with corresponding darker-colored boots. Now Rhodonite and Garnet had two gemstones, Rutile had a gemstone split in two, but this one? She had a total of six gemstones: two on her forehead, three on her first body segment, and one on her second body segment. Her gemstones displayed vibrant colors: pink, green, blue, yellow and purple, interchangeable patterns and coloration arrangement depending on the lighting. She wears a pinkish-violet, bluish-purple, and dark blue striped vest that drapes over her top two body segments. Garnet was simply speechless on the sight of this one, much of the group backing up as the giant Gem moved closer to see, but the sweet smile didn't show any ill intent on her part.

"They don't look like Gems," the giant Gem noted, her voice very slow, and sounding as if she was a grandmother.

"That's what I said!" said right Rutile.

"I said the same thing!" added left Rutile.

"Eh, well some of us are: Amethyst, Diopside, Garnet. Connie's a full human, Steven's a half human, and the rest of us are ponies: one alicorn, two Pegesi, one unicorn and two Earth Ponies," Twilight explained, trying to keep calm. The Gem found this interesting.

"So that's why you look so ... unusual."

"WE look unusual?!" Amethyst gasped.

"Amethyst!" Rarity said.

"Well I can't lie!" Amethyst retorted.

"Of course you are! You can't walk around on the surface like that - you're off-color, just like the rest of us," Rhodonite said. Now that was a term many of them hadn't heard before.

"Off-color? What do you mean, we're pretty colorful, and you all look snazzy," Pinkie said.

"That's not what they meant," Diopside said.

"Then what does that mean?" Connie asked.

"You know. Wrong," said left Rutile.

"Not right," added right Rutile.

"Flawed," finished left Rutile.
Flawed? Well, in the eyes of the diamonds that might be the case, but what was actually wrong with them to their eyes?

"We don't see anything wrong with you," stated Garnet.

"Gems like us aren't needed. Padparadscha can only predict things that just happened," explained the giant gem.

"Here comes Fluorite," said Padparadscha. Well that explained that.

"And then there's me. I mean, you'd think that a Tiger's Eye quartz gem would be a strong and powerful soldier, but that didn't happen to me."

"Don't tell me; you've been in the ground too long?" Amethyst asked, thinking how she came to be.

"No, I was put in the wrong place: a stray Tiger's Eye got stuck in a ground of Lazulis, and ... well, it got to me," Tiger's Eye explained, showing herself to them again. Guess it would explain the more feminine features apart from a typical quartz Gem. Now that she pointed it out, she did look a lot like a Lapis Lazuli. Rhodonite spoke next.

"And a fusion like me? It's unforgivable," said Rhodonite.

"No it is not!" Garnet suddenly insisted. Last thing she wanted to hear was a Gem saying a fusion is unforgivable, especially since she was one herself! Rhodonite stepped back from the sudden statement.

"W-Well, nice of you to think so, but when my - er. our Morganite found out about this ... let's just say we were replaced," Rhodonite explained. Garnet found that act more unforgivable than the fusion itself. How dare they replace her? However, before Garnet could say, Rhodonite spoke again.

"But I'm nothing. Fluorite, how many are you now?"

"Six. Maybe more, if we meet the right gem."

"Six gems?! You're kidding me!" gasped Diopside, as Amethyst counted out how many gems were on her, and sure enough it was indeed six gems. And they thought a regular fusion was good. Then stepped over the Rutile Gems.

"And then there's us."

"Wait, you're not a fusion?" asked Twilight.

"We're a Rutile that ... came out wrong. We only survived because all the other Rutiles ran away," explained left Rutile.

"We only survived because ... they were afraid of us," finished right Rutile.

So. A Sapphire who can't predict the future, a rutile split in two, two Perma-fusions, and a Tiger's Eye with the wrong DNA. This was simply leaving Garnet without any words, having no idea what to say to any of them, but eventually she did end up having some sort of word.

"Right, we're sorry about that. Uh, listen, maybe you can help us find a way out of here?" asked Rainbow.

"Why would you want to do that?" asked Fluorite.

"Because we want to get home?"

"But they were just chasing you up there," Tiger's Eye pointed out to them.

"We know, but if we can get home, then maybe we can get away from those guys."

Before she could continue, Garnet tapped her by the wing and signaled her to come over with her for a moment, her and the others as well.

"Why would you want to leave?" asked Padparadscha, as they left.

"Just a second," Garnet said. The group then went over to a further distance away from the Off-Colors so they can discuss. They were the only Gems that found them, and actually helped them since that morning, and they could sense they all had a similar conclusion.

"You all thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Connie.

"Yes: we can't leave them here like this. They're practically another group of Crystal Gems," said Steven.

"Yeah, they'll fit right in at home at our home," Pinkie said.

Honestly their discussion didn't last very long, and soon they were all going back to them again, Garnet up first.

"I'm very sorry to hear all this. None of you should be treated the way you've had, you don't deserve any of it," Garnet said, feeling very sorrowful for them and removing her visors to see them with her three eyes.

"No, don't worry about it, it's bound to happen. Be glad you're not any different from any other Gems," Rhodonite insisted, feeling bashful on that too. All Garnet needed to do was show the Off-colors her gemstones to show she knew what they were talking about, especially for the other fusions in the group.

"We're all different in our own way, but that's not right to drive you all away like that. I enjoy fusion as much as you do, Rhodonite, I know how it is to have Gems think so bad of you," Garnet explained, remembering her own experience. Rhodonite wasn't sure what to say.

"Y-You're a fusion too?" Rhodonite asked.

"Indeed. If you can help us find a way out of the Supreme Kindergarten, we'll be more than happy to let you come back to Earth with us. You'll all be free there, no need to hide, no need to be afraid," Garnet offered, hand extended. While the idea sounds amazing, but many of them started to recoil a little.

"I predict that Garnet will show her true self. Oh, how exciting!" Padparadscha said. Fluorite sighed.

"It's not possible."

"Of course it is, just show us the way out of here and -"

"It does sound nice. But unfortunately, we all know that the Earth was -"

"Was decimated by the Diamond Attack! ... Sorry," Rhodonite finished, feeling antsy again. Well that news shot through them all pretty quickly, and rather surprisingly. A diamond Attack? They would've known something about that by now, but none of the Diamonds ever told them such a thing. Not White, not Yellow, not even Blue.

"... Diamond Attack? What?" Amethyst asked, Diopside shrugging.

"Look, Earth is still there, we swear, we just came from it this morning. We even got a Warp Pad to get there and everything, we just need to get to an exit and we can all get out of here," Steven offered again.

"You sure about that?" Rhodonite asked.

"Absolutely! We can play games, explore Earth, do all sorts of things," Pinkie said.

"And Earth is pretty much used to seeing Gems like us, so no need to be scared of it anymore," added Connie.

"It is a very nice place," Fluttershy said. The Off-colors started to think about it a little bit.

"Where we can be safe," said both Rutiles.

"To do what you wish," repeated Rhodonite.

"You just came here this morning?" asked Padparadscha, surprised and hopeful in tone.

"... They're telling the truth. We accept," Fluorite decided. That was just the thing they wanted to hear from them.

"Great! Now, uh, the way out?" Connie asked.

"There is one way that should be good to get out of the city, but getting there's going to be difficult," Tiger's Eye said.

"How come?" asked Steven.

"Eh ... well ..." Rather than answering them, Tiger's Eye got down on her fours again, and raced off to an opening in the same area, moving much like a hare or rabbit. Tiger's Eye hopped up onto a rock right by the exit, and the whole group, Off-Colors, Mane Six, and Crystal Gems together, looked out to see. The exact exit appeared to be a distant tunnel, but it was very far away, and they had a number of other pillars to get over there first. That, and no exact walking path seemed visible for them to just walk there.

"Oh ponyfeathers," sighed AJ. It was enough of a hassle just to get there, but now they had to fly basically everyone over. But how're they going to do that exactly? Especially with Fluorite to deal with.

"We'll do whatever it takes," Garnet said, fully determined to help the Off-Colors out. The others were just as well, but before they could do anything ...

Where're they?!

They couldn't have gone far!

Check the tunnels!

"O-Oh no, you we're followed! They're gonna find us - they're gonna break us!" gasped Rhodonite, starting to go in panic a bit.

"No one's getting broken, I promise," Garnet said firmly, them all hearing footsteps closing in.

"Quickly, block the entrance," Fluorite said, and a number of them immediately raced off to do so. A boulder was nearby the tunnel entrance, which looked just big enough to help pull this off. Rainbow, Diopside, Rutile and Garnet got right over to the boulder, and pushed it straight over to the entrance.

"I-Is it gonna be enough?" Rhodonite shivered. The Carnethysts just on the other side could be seen with the lights they were shining off, and time and time again they kept passing them up. None of them said a word at first ...

"Get ready everyone, something's going to come our way!" Padparadscha suddenly shouted, making everyone jump. If it was an actual future vision or just a reaction for earlier didn't matter, and Connie quickly covered her mouth. A shout like that was surely enough to get someone's attention.

"Padparadscha, why?!" whispered Rainbow. Connie and Steven went back over to the opening and tried to find an exit strategy. Their best bet was a arch far below them, down a good forty feet, but it reached the other side still.

"There's an arch down there, think it can work?" asked Steven.

Hear something?

It's over here!

"We don't have a choice. Geronimo!" said Applejack said, taking the first jump down. It didn't take very long until the others followed her, quickly leaving the area. The Rutile twins grabbed Padparadscha and Garnet grabbed Connie before they went. They all got down there just in time, and began to run straight to the exit tunnel.

"I'm going to regret warning everyone," said Padparadscha, now a little sad.

"No one's blaming you," said left Rutile.

"We all make mistakes," said right Rutile.
Now was not the time to put any blame on anyone. They all were just about half way across the arch when one of the Carnethysts looked out the opening, seeing them all running away. A loud whistle made them all aware they were found out, as they reached the other side. Tiger's Eye wasted no time and was already climbing up the wall fast, but it didn't help the others out too much. They looked back and were seeing the Carnethysts jumping down and rushing towards them.

"Oh no, oh no, we're found out! This is a terrible plan!" yelped Rhodonite, actually getting a little angry.

"Get up the wall," Garnet instructed, getting out her Gem weapons. That only freaked out Rhodonite even more.

"Are you crazy?! You can't fight them by yourself!" Rhodonite gasped. Fluorite though, wanting to keep them safe, actually grabbed Rhodonite and began to climb up the wall. Garnet turned and readied herself to charge ... or it seemed that way. What she actually did was raised her fists up, and slammed them down onto the ground. The force of her hit was strong enough to crack the entire arch. The weight of the Carnethysts was enough to break up the whole arch, and all the Gems after their tail ended up falling down, and poofing on impact with another arch underneath them. Only then did Garnet catch up with the others at the exit tunnel.

"Getting here wasn't difficult at all," noted Fluttershy.

"We can't leave you behind," Padparadscha said, reacting to Garnet readying to fight earlier.

"Don't worry. No one's getting left behind," Garnet finally said, and pretty soon, they all took the exit tunnel out of there.

.......

"What do you mean you lost them?"

"My apologies, my diamond, but somehow we lost them in the Supreme Kindergarten, along with most of the Carnethysts I brought. ... Do what you will."

"... That law still stands against them. They're out of Homeworld, that's all that matters."
> Pearl's Day Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over in the Beach House, Pearl was going through her own typical day as it were, and with this case, it was cleaning up the house. The house had been a bit quiet for a while now since the others got back from Homeworld, since they've been slightly pre-occupied with what the Off-Colors were up to. She only just heard from the grape vine about the Off-colors, but she herself hadn't seen any of them face to face just yet. Not that she was having time to do so anyway, as she had plenty to do already. And by plenty, that meant cleaning up the Beach House. Just a typical Tuesday for this Pearl, and at this point, she just got Steven's clothes folded up nice and neat, and putting them away.

"And there. Nice and neat," said Pearl, once it was finished. It took her a while to do so, but she was happy to finish it all off in the end, especially with what else she did. Pearl looked over to the kitchen, seeing the dishes all clean and done. Steven's bed was sorted up, and to sum everything up it was clean as a whistle. Pearl surely felt good with herself, and she looked over a list she made for herself.

"Clean up house, check. Fold clothes, check ..." Pearl took a glance over on the table, and saw some of Steven's figurines all lined up in a row. Pearl took a moment and moved Steven's teddy bear so it was exactly lined up with the rest of the toys.

"And perfect," she finally said. Only Pearl. She got done with it just in time too, as not even a minute after cleaning up the entire house, Pearl then heard someone knocking on the door.

"Wonder who that could be," Pearl wondered, walking up to the door herself. Not often did they get anyone knocking on their door, though it was a good time for whoever it was, since Pearl just got done with her work around the house. When Pearl opened the door though, her calm expression turned a bit surprised on who was standing there waiting for her. One looked a little pleased, the other slightly impatient.

Yellow, and Blue Pearl!

"Oh. Hello," said Pearl. Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl went on inside, and out of the cold. Yellow Pearl started to look around a little bit.

"So is this where you reside. No screens, no glass, not even decent flooring? Who's bad idea was this?" Yellow Pearl commented.

"Wha?" Pearl questioned. Blue Pearl tapped her shoulder.

"Eh, well, my Diamond thought it would be a good idea for me and her to come here for a while. Something about a ... time off?" Blue Pearl explained. Pearl began to see what she was talking about, but a bit odd since this happened not too long after that last excursion.

"OH, a vacation right?"

"Is that what you call it?"

"It doesn't matter what it's called, I'm not stayed in this kind of accommodation," Yellow Pearl spat.

"I just cleaned this place u, just so you know!" Pearl retorted.

"Well, it isn't the best work I've seen."

"Pearl," Blue Pearl whispered. Yellow Pearl looked to her fellow pearl and just sighed.

"Well, I suppose we can make something work with you two for the time being. I assume your diamonds aren't with you?" Pearl asked.

"No. My Diamond insisted to stay behind," said Blue Pearl.

"Any more days with her gone and the whole city will go hysterical," added Yellow Pearl. With Blue Diamond being gone for so long already, Pearl could see the logic behind that.

"And Yellow diamond?" Pearl asked.

"My Diamond doesn't need to waste her time with a "casual" visit. such a great Gem has her responsibilities," Yellow Pearl explained. Is this what they were going to deal with for the day?

"Pearl? Can you show us around? I-I've only been here once," Blue Pearl asked. Yellow Pearl may be obnoxious, but Pearl smiled to Blue Pearl after a little bit.

"If you'd like."


~~~~~~


Back at the barn, some of the other Gems were making some accommodations ready for the Off-Colors. They didn't have any home to call their own according to the ponies, and the first thing many of them came to was the barnhouse. No one was living there, so it wouldn't put anyone's nose out of joint. Steven did the honors of bringing the actual Off-Colors to the barnhouse. Rutile, Rhodonite, Tiger's Eye, and Fluorite were requested to close their eyes under the ponies request, Padparadscha being given a free pass.

"WHOA, are they the new Gems?" asked a voice.

"That's right. Go on, you can open your eyes now," said Twilight. The Off-Colors eventually went on to open their eyes to see what they had going for them. A welcome sign hung up above the barn door, the doors wide open to see the new accommodations the Off-Colors were given, and a few more of the Crystal Gems were there to see them: Fulgurite, Bismuth, Flint and Jade were there and joined with the rest of the Crystal Gems and Mane Six who helped the Off-Colors get themselves here.

"Welcome to your new home!" announced Steven.

"How wonderful," said Fluorite, as the Off-Colors continued looking around the barnhouse. Those new to the group looked on with interest, the Off-Colors seeing their new home. Padparadscha stood over by the door, and Rhodonite and Rutile looked around the place some more. It was the first actual home they had, and it was something they all had to get used to, though Fluorite had a tiny bit of trouble due to her size.

"Our very own home, at last," said left Rutile.

"Without worrying to hide," agreed the right Rutile. The twins were just about to check out the upper levels, but before they could, Fulgurite popped up right next to them.

"Hey there, Rutile is it? So you two are conjoined?" Fulgurite asked, looking them over. The twins looked to eachother.

"We came out wrong," both of them answered. Fulgurite looked them both over up and down and soon saw sight of the gemstone. Rather than looking worried or anything, Fulgurite looked rather intrigued.

"Huh, and here I thought I'm the only one."

"Wait. You're not a fusion?" asked right Rutile.

"Course not, my stone just got split in two and I formed from them that's all. Here, check it," Fulgurite said, lifting one knee after the other and showing the Gemstones on her knees. The Rutile Twins looked simply amazed by that answer, thinking they were the only ones too.

"We're not the only ones," said right Rutile.

"We're not alone," added left Rutile.

"Any of you ever heard of the Crystal Gems? Seriously, we're all practically Off-colored when you think about it," Fulgurite said.

"Really?" they both asked. As they were talking about that, it was actually Bismuth who went over to them.

"That's about right, you two. We got our differences from the normal cut, but that doesn't make any of us any worse. I'm sure Garnet told you two, but we're all our own people, and we can be whatever we decide to be, no need for judging here," Bismuth stated.

"You really think so?" asked left Rutile.

"I know so! The Crystal Gems are our own family, and you Off-Colors fit right in. Nice to have a good pair of Rutiles to join us, and a few more fusions too. And don't look now, but I think Garnet's taking a big liking to Rhodonite," Bismuth joked, seeing the two talking to eachother. The twins could see that, especially with how much they looked like eachother. Permafusions stick together after all.

"We're gonna love living here," said right Rutile.

"My thoughts exactly," agreed left Rutile.

"I have a interesting vision: we're going to be given a new, and better hiding place to call our own on the planet Earth. How very nice of them to be doing," said Padparadscha, very excited.

"It's not a hiding place, it's your home. You don't ever have to hide here," Jade said. Padparadscha needed a minute for her reaction to come around, looking a bit confused.

"Uh ... Padparadscha?"

"You really think so?" she finally asked. Well, quite a delay in reaction, but who was she to judge? Applejack was quick to get the answer out right though.

"Sure thing! Listen Jade, Padparadscha can only predict things that just happened. She means well though, right sugarcube?" AJ explained.

"........ Right! But, what's a sugarcube?" Padparadscha asked. It was something they needed to get used to. At least she wasn't malicious in her reaction time.

Anyway, nearby, Flint was observing the group interacting with the four new Gems here, a bit mixed on the situation. Not really what they were, he could care less about that, but more about just how sudden it all was. Five Off-Colored Gems just showing up out of the blue during a visit to the Homeworld planet. As he was observing, Tiger's Eye and Rhodonite caught sight of him, and went over in her four-legged bounding motion. A bit odd for him, but he kept that under wraps.

"Hello. I just wanna say thanks again for the home," said Tiger's Eye.

"Don't worry about it. ... So, is this all of this "Off-Color" group of yours?" Flint asked, looking at them again.

"Yeah, that's about right. wish we could find more Gems to join us, but it's so great to be here!" Tiger's Eye replied. Flint took her excitement in stride, though one question did bug him a bit.

"One question though: they mentioned that you've all been hiding all your lives?"

"Oh that. Eh, yeah, kinda, that's just because -" Rhodonite suddenly cleared her throat to get her quiet.

"Rhodonite, chill out will ya? They just gave us somewhere to live, remember?" Tiger's Eye asked, a little unsure what it was going about.

"L-Let's not just jump in right away, please?" Rhodonite insisted, still a little uneasy unlike the rest of her group. Tiger's Eye just sighed, and walked away, leaving Flint and Rhodonite by themselves for the moment.

"Trust issues?" Flint asked. Rhodonite tried to not look to him, one pair of arms crossed as she did with the upper arms on her hips.

"W-Well, we just got here, you don't have to know everything just yet ... and you're sure we can trust you," Rhodonite stated, though by the sound of her voice she had trouble just saying that to him. Flint rolled his eyes and started to get suspicious.

"Apparently. Looks like Garnet was more than willing to get you all here, so you must be doing something right. Then again, why wouldn't she?"

"That sounds a bit harsh," said Rhodonite, ironically relaxing a bit.

"Well, I know when to keep my distance. Far as I know, you all could easily be sent here by Homeworld to shatter us."

"You thought that too?" Rhodonite suddenly covered her mouth on that question. Flint felt a little insulted, but he could tell this was a smart Gem, if not a cautious Gem. Something he could relate to. Eventually, Rhodonite sighed.

"Well, if you want to know, our boss found us out and ... wanted to replace us."

"Sounds familiar actually," Flint said, looking over towards Jade. The only Gem he knew for a fact that was gonna be replaced to some other Gem line up, if in a different way.

"Well, at least I know your friends don't exactly lie. This planet is still alive after ... well, you know what."

"The cluster? Yeah, I can't believe it either, especially at the time," Flint said. Rhodonite looked a little confused after that.

"No not that, the Diamond Attack," Rhodonite said. Flint suddenly looked shocked on that kind of answer. When Rhodonite saw him, she looked even more unnerved, and took a step back.

"... The Diamond Attack?"

"Don't act like you don't know, all Homeworld Gems know it. That or they told you already," Rhodonite said, humbled this time. That really worked the gears in his head, and seeing that made Rhodonite realize that he truly never heard about it. Him, or the others for that matter now that she thought of it.

"You really don't know ...?"

"... No. No we don't. Hmm ..."


~~~~~~


Meanwhile, the trio of Pearls were still going about the place for a while longer, the trio heading around Beach City. It was nice for the Pearls to be here, but CG Pearl still had her own responsibilities to the place, and of course to the state of the city itself. It had been going very well through the winter, and at the tail's end of it, so was the amount to be done here. Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl followed Pearl behind, only Yellow Pearl more familiar to the place over Blue Pearl.

"So, as you two can see, the progress in Beach City has been doing pretty well," Pearl explained, as if she was on some tour guide. Probably not far from the truth.

"Sure looked different from last time I was here," Yellow Pearl said.

"The place needed to be repaired, remember? Acid and Cyanide destroyed the place," Blue Pearl reminded, hearing about it from her own Diamond as well. It was bound to reach them eventually, and Yellow Pearl could just imagine what the trouble would be if even half of what the reports say were true.

"You know, it is interesting that both Diamonds would let you two go here like this. I thought they'd come with you," Pearl had to admit.

"You and me both," Yellow Pearl groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe it could be ... fun?" Blue Pearl suggested.

"Fun? You didn't have to deal with Earth the way I did, I can go well without it - ow!" as Yellow Pearl was complaining, she ended up walking into a stop sign. Yellow Pearl quickly gathered herself, but looking across the street she noticed something ... interesting. Something she hadn't seen just yet from last time's visit. Looking across was the  ... local jewelers.

"... You harvest here?"

"Eh, no, t-that's not us. Apparently Humans have this sort of habit from finding various gemstones and use them as ... well, appearance modifiers." Pearl may have been here for thousands of years, but there was just some things she would never truly get used to, this jewelers thing being one of them. Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl were quiet for a moment.

"... That's sick," both Pearls said.

"I know. Eh, let's try over there," Pearl decided, pointing to a building further down the way, this time appearing to be a clothes shop, "T-Shirt Shop". Nothing too fancy, but it beats seeing a harvest shop in the middle of town. Besides, Pearl didn't need to freak out her fellow Pearls.
The T-Shirt shop, much like other places in Beach City, had been given quite a makeover since the water effect months prior, and now new dry shirts were hanged up and on sale. Despite the name, thanks to some thought, other types of clothes were sold too (jeans, shoes, a hat or two). Guess some names in town weren't as strict as they thought, but hey it was something to do, so the trio went on inside to check the place out.

"What's this place?" Blue Pearl asked.

"Well, the humans call this a "T-Shirt shop". Seems Humans have a knack for creating and displaying appearance modifiers time to time, some of which they make themselves," Pearl explained, the overall idea anyway, and in a way to make some proper sense of it all. Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl took this opportunity to have a look around the place, and see what there is to offer. So far, the exact appearance of the place was a bit lacking: many shirts and pants didn't seem to fancy them too much. Especially Yellow Pearl, over half of the items leaving her rather appalled.

"They would actually wear this stuff? It's so dull, and tacky. I fail to see why they can't just form some modifiers."

"Humans can't do that, Pearl, their bodies aren't made of light like ours," Pearl reminded. Yellow Pearl just shrugged, but Blue Pearl then walked over to them, holding up a shirt for them to look at. The shirt showed what looked like an angel, wings flowing in water, and her silhouette eclipsing the moon. The shirt had plenty of stars on it as well, and Blue Pearl looked a mix of embarrassment with some curiosity over their opinions.

"Do you think this becomes me?" she asked.

"You might want to stick with your original outfit," Yellow suggested. Blue Pearl looked to the shirt and thought it over, as Yellow Pearl continued looking around. There couldn't be anything in here she would even remotely consider. No way would she -

"Wait ... what is that?"

A nice dress: yellow in color, with a nice feathery flair to wrap around the neck. There was a small label nearby the price tag saying (Rarity brand). Two bits to guess who made this. Maybe it was the color, or maybe it was the fanciness of it, but Yellow Pearl's eyes sparkled and she went over to see it. Pearl couldn't help but smirk.

"What were you saying about dull and tacky?" she smirked.

"Eh, w-well this is an Equestrian piece. I-It doesn't subtract my opinion."

"Whatever flies your ship."

"I-I mean it!" Yellow Pearl insisted, flustered up. They knew she wanted to try it no doubt, but her own pride was getting a bit over herself. Blue Pearl took it into her own hands, and ...

"Are we allowed to take this?" Blue Pearl asked the cashier, the one she assumed to be in charge of it. Yellow Pearl grew even more flustered, her face more yellow than usual, and Pearl went to join with Blue Pearl.

"You're gonna have to pay for it first. That'll be fifty bucks."

"Bucks? ... hmm ... Pearl? I heard the ponies talk about that. Is that what he's talking about?"

"Eh, just let me do it," Pearl simply said, giving the man his money. Yellow Pearl felt her pride fall down to her feet.

"Let's do something else."

.......

"So ... this is what you wanted, Pearl."

Oddly, the next stop was the library, and it being Yellow Pearl of all Gems to suggest it. It was fairly crowded this time, several people in there checking out the books, but the Pearls didn't get too bothered by it. Yellow Pearl seemed pretty good about it herself though.

"With all consideration, I find this knowledge area quite fascinating, even if outdated for a number of these," Yellow Pearl said, already getting out a few of the books in question. It couldn't hurt to check it out really, and Blue Pearl found a rather interesting one about minerals and stones (go figure).

"You've been in here before, Pearl?"

"On a research mission, yes. Honestly, this place saved so much extra work for me."

"Wrong ... wrong ... wrong ..."

Yellow Pearl and Pearl looked over to Blue Pearl, who was checking out what "facts" were being said in her science book. As far as she could see, the facts were all over the place.

"And what is wrong?" Yellow Pearl asked. Blue Pearl then showed her fellow Pearls the page in question. Wouldn't you know, it was about Pearls.

"It says here Pearls are made inside these things called "clams", as a result of an irritating microscopic object becoming trapped within a shell's mantle folds."

.......

All three Pearls couldn't help but laugh themselves silly. A Pearl being made in a clam? Ridiculous!

"Yeah right," Yellow Pearl said.

"Impossible," agreed Pearl.

*SSSHHH* said the crowd. That got them quiet, but the idea still sounded hilarious to them, as Blue Pearl skimmed the pages over to another kind of page, this time talking about Diamonds (convenient, isn't it?). This part especially intrigued the Pearls, considering who Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl belonged to originally.

"This is interesting. "Blue diamonds ... the second-rarest Diamond in the world." ... Wow."

"Does it say anything about Yellow Diamonds?" Yellow Pearl asked, waiting for some information. ...

"I don't see anything."

Buzzkill.

"Wait. Second rarest?" Pearl asked.

"The rarest of them all is the Red Diamond. Almost non-existent apparently," Blue Pearl said, looking over what it said. While they were looking over that, it did get Pearl to think just a little bit more about these Diamonds. ...


~~~~~~


"OK, is everybody here?" Garnet asked.

"All but Pearl and Lapis," said Diopside.

It took a bit, but eventually Flint got the whole group back together over within the Beach House, with the exception of Pearl, Lapis, and the Off-Colors. While it was nice to get the Off-Colors into their new home, this new information about the Diamond Attack surely did make it a bit more interesting, something Flint thought for sure that they needed to discuss among other things. Flint got a bit disappointing that they didn't have everyone here, though, but two absent was better than all of them gone.

"OK, someone try and tell them later then, when we're done," Garnet asked.

"I'll tell her next time I find her. One question though: what's this even about?" Bismuth asked. Flint cleared his throat, and then brought his attention to everybody there. No time like the present. Garnet, who was standing next to him, then nodded her head.

"Are any of you ever aware of the Diamond Attack before?" Flint began. Most of the group was a little bit quiet at first, seemingly a bit unsure about what this Diamond Attack actually was about.

"What Diamond Attack?" asked Fulgurite.

"Rhodonite mentioned this to me as they were getting situated, and I'm trying to better understand this. I for one never heard of it myself," Flint explained.

"That sounds like a final attack to me," noted Bismuth.

"I think it is. By the sound of them, they're not ever aware of the state between us and Homeworld just yet," Twilight figured. Now thinking about it, the Off-Colors did sound like such. None of them mentioned about the Osicone, the big announcement by Blue diamond for their peace, or anything of that sort.

"You think it might be ... a Gem war thing?" Fluttershy finally asked.

"Sure sounds like it," Amethyst said.

"Hmm ... Wait. Anyone know how that even ended? Rhodonite did say the Earth was "decimated" after the Diamond Attack. Right?" Steven brought up. That was one thing that they really didn't explain too well to most of them. That answer came a little quicker than the previous one.

"You remember the Gem Battlefield, Steven? The one where we gathered weapons and where Connie was training at? That was the sight of the final battle between the Crystal Gems and Homeworld," Garnet explained.

"Whoa really? Wish I could've seen it," Amethyst stated.

"No you wouldn't: countless Gems lost their lives there. It was a maelstrom of destruction and death," Garnet made clear. The drama really amped up on that statement, most of the group taken aback by the statement. Most of the Gems involved in the war, didn't see the end like she did.

"O.K. ... How did it end?" Star Quartz asked.

"The Crystal Gems drove Homeworld out, to sum it up."

"No you didn't," Jasper suddenly said. The group turned to her.

"What do you mean, she just said they had won. ... Didn't they?" asked Connie.

"That's one side of the coin. Listen, I will say we did leave Earth behind, but not because the Crystal Gems made us. Our generals demanded it," Jasper corrected. That, and she didn't want to be shown as a coward in war too.

"They ... demanded you to leave?"

"The Diamonds instructed the generals on order to get all the soldiers to leave Earth. If I remember right, it was a mad dash out of there, but no one even mentioned why. We just left -"

"So the Diamonds can attack the planet, of course!" Flint finally concluded. That single add-on made the final battle sound a lot more different than either of them got to realize.

"But hold the hay, what did that attack even do? I mean, it didn't "decimate the planet"," asked Rainbow.

"We can see that, but I don't know, and neither does the Off-Colors. If you ask me, that decimation thing's nothing but a cover-up."

"Cover-up for what? The Crystal Gems?" Star asked.

"Unlikely: I've been tasked to come down to Earth to check on the Cluster, remember? I wouldn't even be here otherwise if all of Homeworld knew the planet was decimated already," Peridot pointed out.

"I think none of us would be," added in Applejack.

"But she does have a point. But then, why even the Cluster? It kinda doesn't add up," Connie said. So with all this, they basically had a little conundrum of conflicting events because of this Diamond Attack, whatever it was. If the Cluster was set to emerge, then why was the Diamond Attack needed. Or for that matter, why the Cluster if they did the Diamond Attack? It just didn't make sense all and all. Eventually, Garnet finally got their attention.

"I think we all know what to do now."

"OH, Can I say it?!" Pinkie asked.

"By all means," Garnet said. Pinkie Pie bolted off for a brief moment, and then came back from the front door, with a Sherlock Holmes hat and pipe in mouth.

"Well gang. It looks like we got a mystery on our hooves," Pinkie said, bubbles coming out of the pipe.

And a mystery they're all ready to figure out.
> What Counts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"....... What a lovely morning this is. Good morning, everyone."

Padparadscha's morning greeting may have been late, but it still was full of enthusiasm for their new life at the barn. It took them a little bit of time to get themselves settled in, but the Off-Colors were enjoying themselves pretty well, a good step up from the Supreme kindergarten. The Rutiles and Tiger's Eye were checking out some of the barn's personal items some more. In this case, the items turned out to be apart of an airplane. Or at least whatever was left that wasn't made for the Galactic Ray that is.

"What kind of mechanics does Earth have?" wondered right rutile.

"I don't think I've ever seen something like this back home," added in left Rutile, confused as well. Tiger's Eye was perched up on a wing like a cat would be, looking down to the Rutile twins.

"I don't know, I guess this colony hasn't caught up with Homeworld yet," Tiger's Eye shrugged, looking to what looked like a car engine. Fluorite slowly moved off outside to check out the world for a bit. It was still a little chilly, but much brighter and lively than the Kindergarten was by a mile. Padparadscha went on out with her to see the area.

"....... It's so bright out here."

"So much organic life, too," Fluorite said, smiling as she looked around. Fluorite rested down, and waited until Padparadscha climbed up onto her back, and only then did she go off for a walk around the countryside. The landscape was about as one would expect from the tail end of winter: a cool weather with some cool packing snow and dry earth underneath. both Off-colors were enjoying the world for what it is, but they didn't venture too far from the barnhouse, only checking out the nearby hills and a few trees. Still, the area surely looked nice.

*mooo*

Fluorite stopped on hearing the odd noise, and it took a bit before Padparadscha turned as well, equally curious on the strange noise. Turned out, some nearby cows had wandered a little closer to the barn, and both Gems were probably as curious about the cows as the cows were about them. I mean, how often would one see a gigantic caterpillar anyway?

"What's this?" Fluorite wondered. Her slow speech gave Padparadscha enough of a gap to fill in her answer more accordingly.

"I foresee a few local lifeforms coming to see us," she said, though the cows were already doing that. None of the cows were exactly scared of them to the point of bolting, but they were still wary when Fluorite slowly moved over to them. A few backed up a bit, but they didn't just bolt off either. Eventually, Padparadscha hopped off and moved over to see these creatures, the first time either of them had seen cows. One of the dairy cows slowly moved over to Padparadscha and gave a few sniffs to her face, which Padparadscha stayed quiet about until after a little bit, to which she them backed up a little, hand on her cheek.

"Oh my," she said. Fluorite grabbed Padparadscha gently, and lifted her onto her head. The dairy cows weren't as willing to move as close to Fluorite, but then a beef bull wandered over to investigate. The bull was a bit braver than the dairy cows, and went straight up to Fluroite to the point when its snout touched Fluroite's nose. Guess this bull didn't like them worrying his herd.

"Interesting," said Fluorite, gently placing a hand on the bull's head. Rather than staying still, an instinctive response happened rather fast and the bell quickly bowed his head, swinging its horns to keep them back. Fluorite backed up to give the bull some space, Padparadscha gasping after they backed up, though Fluorite was more surprised than spooked. She was a lot bigger than the bull, after all. Eventually, the herd started to slowly move away, the two Gems also moving away from the herd and continuing to explore a little more. Perhaps their next encounter won't be as surprising.

.......

"Where's Fluorite and Padparadscha?!" gasped Rhodonite. She only stepped out for just a minute, and already some of her group was missing from the barn.

"Calm down, Rhodonite, they just went out for a bit," said left Rutile.

"We're sure they'll be back soon," added right Rutile.

"No, no, no, no, w-we just got here they can't just wander off like that! I-I mean who knows what actually lives here?" Rhodonite asked, worrying her head over the situation. She wasn't more familiar over Earth than any of the other Off-Colors, so who knew what's actually dangerous around here?

"GOOOD MORNING OFF-COLORS!"

And in enter the pink party mare. Rhodonite bolted away from the door and soon saw Pinkie Pie standing right by the door, apparently very happy to see them. The feeling was one-sided though, at least with Rhodonite.

"Oh, morning. You doing okay? ... You're looking a little funny," Tiger's Eye asked, seeing just how big a smile Pinkie Pie had on her face. After a little bit, someone else showed up from behind the pink mare, showing Steven Universe had also come by to check on the gang.

"Morning everyone. How're you doing in here? You like it?" Steven asked.

"Nice," said right Rutile.

"It's great," added left Rutile. Pinkie and Steven though quickly noticed that there was a bit of a lack in numbers: Fluorite and Padparadscha weren't there inside. Before Rhodonite could bring it back up though ...

"We're back."

Rhodonite felt a big relief run through her when they saw Fluorite and Padparadscha come back, and in one piece too. Good timing for them to show up. Padparadscha was placed down on the ground, as Pinkie Pie and Steven went right up to them. Tiger's Eye, Rhodonite, and the Rutile twins went on outside to see them too, Rhodonite making sure they were alright after their walk.

"How was your walk?" asked the Rutile twins.

"We had an enjoyable time," Fluorite said with a gentle grin.

"There's Steven and Pinkie," said Padparadscha.

"Well you all are going to have an even more enjoyable time today! Guess what, guess what, guess what?" Pinkie said excitedly, hopping in place.

"What's that?" Tiger's Eye asked. Right on that answer, Pinkie Pie presented a equestrian poster to them. It mainly showed a pony by a growing plant, just dug from the snow, with the sun beaming down onto it.

"The Winter Wrap-Up's going on back in Ponyville, and Pinkie and I thought that since you're new here, we can introduce you to Equestria," Steven explained, Pinkie Pie barely able to keep herself still.

"Equestria? Is that another planet?" Tiger's Eye asked.

"Yep, yep, yep. And a fun one at that!"

"WHOA, wait a minute. We barely just got comfortable here, you expect us to just -"  unfortunately, the Rutile twins cut off Rhodonite before she could finish.

"Let's check it out. It could be fun," said left Rutile.

"Sure sounds like a good time," added right Rutile.

"What's this new place about?" asked Fluroite.

"It's where we ponies come from: colorful, magical, a very, very, Very fun good time! And they got a lot of cool creatures, so they'll like you all in no time," Pinkie explained, meaning every word of it. It sure sounded interesting for many of them, as Rhodonite looked over the poster. Fluorite saw how troubled Rhodonite was and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a soft smile.

"... Oh ... oh, alright."

They hardly needed anymore convincing before Pinkie and Steven started to bring them along.

"Right-o, everypony, off to the Warp Pad!"

"Wait, what?! And back to the Homeworld soldiers?!" Rhodonite quickly brought up. It was quick to what point Rhodonite was trying to make. Their last excursion with Homeworld would not go unnoticed, and risking using the same Warp Pad was a little too dangerous right now. Luckily, Pinkie Pie already pre-planned for this, and her hoof wrapped around the curl in her mane, pulled the front down, and released it to let it bounce. As it did that, something was launched out into the air, and landing on her hoof.

"What's that?" asked the twins.

"Say hello to our little magic key! We got these cuties before the Warp Pad was made, and we can use them now. Here, watch," Pinkie explained, trotting over to the barn door. No one was in the barn, so this wasn't an exact issue for her. She close the barn door first, and then aimed her key to the "key hole" (there was none on said door, but magic's magic). When Pinkie moved it again, they all met with a magical light, and the portal had been opened.

"W-WHAAA?!" Rhodonite gasped.

"WHOA, a Warp Pad making key! And that's from Equestria, you said?" Tiger's Eye gasped, in amazement.

"We got the magics! Come on, we can take a ice skating run around before the snow melts," Pinkie said, before bolting into the barn door. Sure felt like some nostalgia for Steven to see that portal again, even if it was barn-sized. Just big enough for Fluorite to go through with ease. Well, here they go.


~~~~~~


Winter wrap-up, winter wrap up~ let's finish our holiday cheer~ Winter wrap-up, winter wrap-up~ cuz tomorrow, spring is here~

That main little jingle rang through Jade's head as she was, surprisingly, in Ponyville and helping out with the event. She was working with Applejack in the Plant team, AJ plowing snow aside with a snow shovel as Jade was burying some seeds for a good harvest later in the year.

"Am I doing it right, AJ?" Jade asked, as she sprinkled down some more seeds into some dug out holes.

"You're doing just fine, Jade. Keep planting and this place will look greener than the jungle in no time at all," Applejack replied, plowing some more snow along with a few other ponies. These were just grass seeds, but seeds are seeds, and Jade was happy to give this all a try. Dr. Hooves strolled alongside AJ and shoveled off some snow with her.

"Phew, quite a number this year," Dr. Hooves said.

"You know they needed to make up for it, Doc," AJ said, getting a good shovel of snow off the ground for Jade nearby.

"I know, but my goodness, it's a strain on the neck," Dr. Hooves admitted. Having to use their mouths to work the shovels didn't make it easy, but it could be worse. They both took a moment to check on Jade, who was getting some help in planting by Mr. Greenhooves.

"Your Gem friend's surely having a ball over there, huh?"

"Yeah, it's her first year doing the Winter Wrap-Up with us. Can't tell ya how excited she was when I told her the news this morning."

"She must have a good green hoof for this stuff then," Dr. Hooves noted. AJ couldn't help but agree, seeing how fascinated she was in the amount of plants she was working with. As she was looking, Dr. Hooves started to trot over to another location, just about ready to shovel some more snow again, when something bumped into him. He took one look and ...

"Great whickering stallions!"

"What's wrong over there?" AJ asked, turning to Dr. Hooves, just to see the Off-Colors showing up. guess this pony got caught off-guard by their largest member.

"I'm sorry. did I startle you?" asked Fluorite. Dr. Hooves recollected himself.

"Eh, admittedly," Dr. Hooves said. Fluorite didn't seem too threatening, but when the doc saw the gemstones, he began to understand who and what he was seeing. AJ trotted over to them as well, Mr. Greenhooves and Jade taking notice as well.

"Hey, AJ, doc. Meet the newest members to our family: the Off-Colors," introduced Pinkie Pie. AJ had seen them before, but Dr. Hooves started to feel a little intrigued with this group of gems. He had seen Gems, but not like these, especially counting Rutile and Fluorite.

"Hello, earth pony," said Padparadscha. Dr. Hooves trotted up to the Rutile first, Rhodonite backing up.

"Fascinating."

"Eh, doc, give her some space, they just got here," insisted Steven. He didn't want them uncomfortable here.

"You think we're ... fascinating?" asked right Rutile.

"Not ... strange?" added left Rutile. Dr. Hooves nodded.

"Naturally. I mean, I've never seen a creature quite like you before," Dr. Hooves stated, not sounding like he was afraid or insulting her in anyway. The Rutile twins actually blushed slightly from it.

"So what're you doing? moving stuff around?" asked Tiger's Eye, trotting over to the shovel nearby. AJ went to the shovel and scooped up the snow, getting it into a pile.

"We're handlin Winter Wrap-Up. It's an equestrian tradition to clean up winter, and get things ready for spring coming up," said Applejack. Tiger's Eye looked around at the scenery, and seeing others of the plant group doing something similar to that.

"So that's what you're doing," Tiger's Eye said, scratching her head. Mr. Greenhooves and Jade went over after a bit, and seeing what the group was about.

"Well, you all those gems, are ya?" asked Mr. Greenhooves.

"We're new around here," said right Rutile.

"Not familiar," added right Rutile. Mr. Greenhooves took notice of Rhodonite standing off further away, and the pony trotted over to her.

"Hey there youngin. Welcome to Ponyville," said Mr. Greenhooves. Rhodonite had been a bit quiet, but she had enough with this.

"Ok, why aren't any of you scared? O-Or freaking out, o-or something!"

"Should we be?"

"What? Well, look at me, what am I?!" Rhodonite shouted in disbelief. Mr. Greenhooves gave her a little look over, and simply said "... Tall?"

"No! W-Well, yes, but I'm an Off-color! you know "drive out the freaks, they're not needed!" Doesn't that bother you?"

"Nope."

"... Really?" she asked, calmer this time.

"Really really," replied Mr. Greenhooves. Rhodonite didn't know what else to say about it, being so used to others freaking out over them, or at least getting upset, but these ponies were neither of those things. 

"See Rhodonite, we're all friends here. It doesn't matter what we look like, or anything," Steven reminded. Pinkie felt a shiver through her mane and quickly got excited again.

"Oh, oh, I feel a song coming on! Ready Steven?"

"I'm always ready!" replied Steven.


Then cue the music.

(We Got Lots in Common parody)

Steven:Oh, we got lots in common where it really counts,
where it really counts,
we got large amounts.
What we look like doesn't count an ounce.
We got lots in common, where it really counts!

Steven hopped up on the fence alongside them, and started to go along it a bit with his arms out to his side, as the other Gems watched him, Jade, and Pinkie go along and sing. It sure was a catchy tune. The Off-Colors were enjoying the little tune bit by bit.

Steven: You got pink fur, I got skin,

Steven, Pinkie: but both our outsides hold us in.

As they went, Steven started to lose balance a little bit, only for Pinkie to happily catch him, and give him a ride on her back, the pink pony gleefully hopping along with the tune. 

Pinkie: I got hooves,
you got toed feet,
but we both move where we please.

Steven hopped off and both skipped along side by side down the path, the Off-Colors following them with a smile on their faces.

Steven: Cuz we got
Lots in common where it really counts

Steven, Pinkie, Jade: Where it really counts,
we got large amounts.
What we look like doesn't count an ounce.
We got lots in common where it really counts!

The Off colors were really enjoying it now, and were starting to get where we were going. In fact, they felt like singing a bit themselves, which Steven insisted with a big smile on his face. Waving them over, Rutile and Rhodonite joined in their little jig. Padparadscha, Tiger's Eye and Fluorite just smile and enjoyed the tune.

Pinkie: You got a nose, and I a snout

Pinkie, Rhodonite: But the both of us can sniff about.

Both Pinkie and Rhodonite danced along, Pinkie giving a few sniffs before playfully hopping up on the fence again and moving over to Rutile, who was going in the tune herself.

Rutiles: We say "Hi!"
and you say "Nay!"
but we're talking either way.

Steven, Pinkie, Jade: cuz we got
lots in common where it really counts,
where it really counts,
we got large amounts.

Rutile, Rhodonite: What we look like doesn't count an ounce.
We got lots in common where it really counts!

Now it was Jade's turn, who gleefully moved over to the Off-colors group, feeling very happy with the song, Rutile mainly.

Jade: you're made to scout
and me write down
both we both love where we're at now.
We share the sun, the world, the sky
and that's the reason why

Steven, Jade: We've all got
lots in common where it really counts

Pinkie, Rhodonite: Where it really counts
we got large amounts.

Rutile: What we look like doesn't count an ounce.

Steven, Pinkie, Jade, Rhodonite, Rutile: We got lots in common where it really counts!


"I predict that Steven, Pinkie, Jade, and two of our Gems are gonna sing a very heart-warming song," said Padparadscha, a small smile on her face.

~~~~~~


So after the decent introduction, it was off and working out the Winter Wrap-Up. The Off-Colors were having a bit of a hoot with the whole thing, even if it was simply working to clean up Ponyville. For Fluorite and Padparadscha, they were going through Ponyville, and helping with some of the shoveling. The gentle giant Gem fusion was really enjoying herself, not only because everypony was enjoying their company, but the fact that she was actually helping out in general. How long has it been since she was truly wanted? Fluorite helped gently shovel the snow, Padparadscha taking a joy ride on her back as she went. Working multiple shovels made Fluorite work like a street cleaner: tons of snow being pushed out of the streets to the nearby river, where some other ponies will handle the rest. Surely saved them a lot of time and extra work too.

"Look out everypony, we're about to plow through," said Padparadscha, mainly as a warning just in case somepony was in the way.

"That's three days worth of work done in one afternoon! Thanks for the help," said a pony, as her crew started to work out the snow from there.

"Happy to be of service," Fluorite said, as the two started to stroll off to the town square. Fluorite was a bit new to the attention as she went (it was kinda hard to miss a fusion the size of a cottage), but at least it wasn't of ill intent. As they went, Padparadscha looked over and saw Mr. Greenhooves again, though it seemed he ran into a little snag with his wagon, one wheel stuck in the snow.

"....... He needs our help."

"Who does?" Fluorite asked, stopping for a moment.

"....... A pony has an object stuck over there," Padparadscha answer, pointing to Mr. Greenhooves a ways back. Fluorite could see that the pony just couldn't get his wagon out of the snow. He just had to make that one wrong turn and get himself stuck. Fluorite went over to them, and she simply gave a small push to move the wagon out of the snow for Mr. Greenhooves.

"Ah, about time. Thanks, Gem," Mr. Greenhooves said.

"My pleasure."

"Don't worry, we want to help you."

Mr. Greenhooves had to make up time from the setback, so he had to trot off fairly quickly.

"You know, Padparadscha. I think our time here will be a nice one."

"....... I really like it here," Padparadscha agreed. As they went along, neither had noticed that they were being watched not too far away, hidden off just out of sight behind some remaining snow. And next thing they knew.

*SPLAT*

"... EEP!"

Padparadscha got hit in her side with a snow ball. Looking over, Fluorite soon saw some mares peeking around the corner, the orange Pegasus Scootaloo being the one who threw the snowball. She was joined by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and it was clear they want to check out the newcomers.

"You okay?" Fluorite asked. Padparadscha took a minute to give her answer, which was a simple nod. She was more surprised than anything.

"WOW, you're the biggest Crystal Gem I've ever seen!" gasped Apple Bloom, amazed by the size of Fluorite.

"What's the meaning of that attack?" Fluorite asked, not appreciating it.

"Attack? what attack, we're just throwing snowballs," said Scootaloo.

"Why at my friend?"

"I'm alright, it's just chilly," Padparadscha replied, though it was to the previous question.

"Because it's a snowball fight, you're supposed to. We won't be doing this again for the rest of the year, all the ponies are in on it," said Sweetie Belle, before playfully throwing another snowball at Fluorite's nose. The hit was light, and while it made Fluorite's nose chilly, it didn't hurt them much at all. Before they could continue, Scootaloo quickly ducked when another snowball. The fillies look and saw some more of their classmates, whom of which bolted off before they could get hit by them again.

"We gotta go, join up whenever before the snow all melts," said Scootaloo offered, before the girls galloped off after their fellow foals. This snowball flight won't be one they're gonna forget anytime soon.

.......

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Steven and the Rutile twins were helping out with some of the animal team by making up some birdhouses for the return of the birds. It was a fairly decent task, and the twins were ... still trying to work out how to even do this. No Gem on Homeworld was specifically made to create bird houses.

"Ok, so this goes here ... just a little more ..." gently, the twins got the roof of the bird house placed down correctly.

"Good birdhouse," Steven said with a smile. However, when they picked up the birdhouse ... it ended up upside down: the roof on the bottom instead, and the hook on the bottom of it. Everything else was placed as if both ends were in the right spot, so it was literally a roof on the floor of the birdhouse. She compared it to Steven's birdhouse, and quickly saw the problem.

"It's upside-down," said right Rutile.

"Not right-side up," agreed left Rutile.

"No, no, it doesn't have to be. Now yours stands out," Steven insisted. It wasn't textbook, but at least it stayed together. The Rutile twins saw one of the ponies then placing their birdhouse over on a nearby tree. Following Steven, both of them did the same thing on a different branch. And not a moment too soon, as the birds were starting to return back to their summer home. Steven had seen this before, and he was greeted by a small yellow canary.

"Your new home, madam," Steven said, sounding formal as the canary fluttered into her new home. Both twins wondered if a bird was willing to go into their home, but as the flock went by, each of the birds ignored the house.

"No one wants to live in our birdhouse," sighed left Rutile.

*chirp*

Well, she spoke too soon. both Rutiles looked on right Rutile's head, and saw an ivory-billed woodpecker had made a perch on her. It took a look over at the birdhouse they made, and decided to give it a look inside. It looked up and down inside, and after a little bit, went in and got itself more comfortable. Well, that made the twins feel better. When the twins were done, they both took a look at the nearby pond, many a pony skating around upon it. As they looked, Pinkie Pie was actually showing Rhodonite how to skate ... with mixed results.

"I hate this," Rhodonite thought, barely able to keep her balance straight. Her arms flailed around here and there, her legs as stiff as sticks, as Pinkie Pie waved to the others on shore. Well at least one of them was enjoying it.

"You can do it, Rhodonite!" Called the twins. Rhodonite was too preoccupied with this stupid activity to answer. As rutile was focusing on that ...

"Steven!"

A familiar voice, and Steven knew the voice right away. He turned around, and sure enough, he wasn't the only human who was joining in on the Winter Wrap-Up festivities: Connie. Connie with a birdhouse in hand. Of course, she did look a little different, but Steven knew Connie when he saw her.

"Connie! Great to see you here. Nice birdhouse," Steven said, watching her placing the birdhouse on the tree, and a little red cardinal making a home out of it.

"Great to see you at last. Connie's told me a lot about you," she said.

... Wait, what?

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I thought you were my friend Connie, you look so much like her," Steven quickly corrected, a little embarrassed.

"I'm Connie."

"... What? Is this third-person, or -"

"Hey, Steven."

Steven turned around and ... Well, there was Connie in regular. Steven just stayed quiet ... very quiet. Looking back and forth between both Connies.

"... Whaaaaat?"

Both Connies just laughed, the real Connie nudging him.

"Steven. Meet Connie the second: she's my Equestrian counterpart," Connie introduced.

"How do you do?" said Connie II. Steven was surprised on this sudden introduction, and Connie II pulled her hood back to show Steven her cutie mark. Steven had to try and process this for a moment or two before he got his mind properly straight.

"Wait. If she's my Connie. Then, what're you?"

"You know that mirror pool outside of Ponyville? Connie got me out of there for some company. One thing lead to another, and here I am," Connie II explained, keeping it brief and simple. Steven had heard some story about Pinkie's experience with the pool and the infamous story of a "pink pony invasion", though he never realized Connie not only attempted it, but actually got it to work right. Not to say he wasn't amazed by this other Connie though.

"WOW! Can you do magic, Connie the second?" Steven asked, getting excited. Connie II was prepared for this: and pulled something out of her pocket: it appearing to be some sort of silver wand. One of many of her magical doohickeys, honestly, and one she wanted to present today. All she had to do was focus the energy into the wand as if it was a horn, and sure enough, Steven felt himself starting to float up into the air a bit. Steven was impressed with Connie II's attempt, and Connie II added a little color fix and flicked the wand. Suddenly, Steven found himself with pink skin and pink hair like a particular lion.

"Sweet!" Steven gasped, eyes sparkling. Connie II reversed it so his colors were back to normal.

"It took me a few weeks to get that color spell right," Connie II said, putting the wand away.

"You never told me you had a doppelganger, Connie," Steven said.

"Well, we both had been apart for a while," Connie admitted. With what they've been up to, it would be hard to keep track of everything one way or another. The Rutile twins eventually noticed both Connies at this point.

"Another Connie?" they both gasped in amazement. Connie II didn't realize that the Rutile twins were standing there.

"Oh, hi there. A new Gem?" Connie II asked, looking over Rutile with as much intrigue as Dr. Hooves was.

"Yeah, this is Rutile. She arrived a few days ago, and it's her first time in Equestria," Steven explained.

"Connie did mention about some new Gems being with us. Well, you're friends with me, Rutile," Connie II reassured, shaking her hand. The twins were surprised again at how friendly she was being.

"You're not scared either?" asked right Rutile.

"Why should I be? You look like a friendly pair of Gems, besides, there's plenty of scarier things out there. By the way, you want to hear some stories, Steven? I'm heading to the square to share my tales, but you're free to come along," Connie II offered.

"Of course! Can Rutile come too?" Steven offered.

"If they want to," Connie II said. The Rutile twins needed little encouragement.

"Sounds great," they both said. Both Connies started to go off ahead, but after they got some steps. ...

"Oh, one more thing Steven?" Connie II said.

"What's that?"

After a little bit, both Connie's turned to them, smirking, as Connie reached to her cheek, just to remove a magical pad to show HER cutie mark! Connie II used the pad to wipe off her cutie mark, showing it was just some paint.

"I'm Connie. She's Connie the second."

"... I think my brain crashed."


~~~~~~


As time ticked by, the group continued doing their fair share in the town's little event, though the only one who wasn't having as good of a time was Rhodonite. The other Off-Colors were having a fair time with everything, though Rhodonite was still a little bit shaky, considering she nearly killed herself out on the ice with the other ponies earlier. She may be by herself, but both sides were chatting on in her own head at this point, the Fusion isolating herself just in case somepony would see her.

I-I don't know. Everyone looks pretty friendly. I-I mean, no one has tried to hurt us yet. I guess they're not. But what's the rest of the place like? Maybe they'll tell us? W-Well, I don't know anything about this place. I guess they would tell us if we ask. ... Maybe.

"Hey Rhodonite."

Rhodonite jumped on the voice, though it turned out to just be Tiger's Eye, who was on all fours and perched on the nearby rooftop of a cottage. Her cat eyes looked down onto her, Rhodonite withdrawing a little as she hopped down.

"Oh, it's only you Tiger's Eye. You've been keeping out of trouble, right?" Rhodonite asked.

"Yeah I've been fine, and everyone else too: Fluorite and Padparadscha's giving ride to some of the young here, Rutile and Steven are hanging out with Connie and Connie II, and -"

"Connie the second?" Rhodonite asked quizzically. Tiger's Eye scratched the side of her head.

"Apparently humans have their own "cuts" I guess," Tiger's Eye shrugged. She didn't really ask them about it, but she did overhear them while she was roaming around so there was that. Rhodonite wasn't so sure though.

"Steven never mentioned anything about that."

"I know. How're you doing here by the way, you still look a little jittery," Tiger's Eye asked.

"I nearly shattered myself on the ice," Rhodonite quietly admitted, one pair of arms wrapping around herself. Tiger's Eye blinked once before she answered her.

"Come on, Rhodonite, I thought you were over this. You sang that song earlier."

Rhodonite got flustered.

"Ok, so the song was pretty catchy," Rhodonite admitted, a shy smile on her redder face.

"Eh ... well, anyway, it seems the group's going to see Connie II and her stories over in the square. You wanna come?" Tiger's Eye offered. Rhodonite still wasn't sure about this secondary Connie, someone that none of them were told about.

"You sure we can trust them?"

"Maybe," Tiger's Eye simply said. Not too convincing really for this fusion, but ...

.......

"So there I was, face to face with the Bulette. Her mouth was big enough to swallow me up in one easy bite, and I couldn't get pass her, and it was either Yakyakistan or bust. My Calmer's Flute was no match for this beast's anger, so I had to improvise."

It took a bit for Rhodonite and Tiger's Eye to catch up with the others, but they did eventually find them in the town square. A number of ponies had stopped to check out Connie II's story with her encounter with this "Bulette", the other Off-Colors there as well. At this point Connie II was pretty deep into her story, and showed off some of her own magic with her own two hands. Sparkles and an aura of green hovered in the air for a bit as she was explaining, those in the crowd intrigued and amazed with her story.

"What'd we miss?" Tiger's Eye asked, going right over to the rest of the group. Steven was the most into the stories, his eyes still wide and full of amazement.

"Well she talked about she fought off a Chuul, and her experience with something called a Senmurv. Now she's talking about how she faced a Bulette," Connie said, catching them up.

"What happened?" asked a bystander.

"Well she held up quite a fight. But in the end, she was just upset that she couldn't get any sleep, and so many yaks keep taking that route back and forth. So she and I made a deal: she now the Bulette has a comfy home further away from the path. Bet she's plenty happier now," Connie II finished. Not exactly a big ending as some were thinking, but Connie II was pretty good with the end result.

"Wonderful" said Fluorite, giving her own applause along with the others in the crowd. Once she was done with her stories, the crowds started to disperse, and Connie II went over to her counterpart, and the rest of the group.

"You really did that?" asked Padparadscha, possibly from a previous story.

"Every word of it," Connie II simply answered with a smile on her face.

"Amazing," said right Rutile.

"Incredible," agreed the left.

"It's amazing that one individual can do so much, and all by yourself," said Fluorite.

"Well when you put your mind to it, you can do anything. Especially in a world where magic is an option," Connie II joked, her fingers flinging off some sparkling magic their direction to prove her point. Honestly she wasn't wrong, considering how varied and expansive magic is in general.

"Connie the second, you HAVE to come to our world for a bit! Everyone will go crazy seeing you!" Steven insisted. Connie II turned a bit humbled on that answer, and Connie knew why.

"Eh, well, I don't know Steven. My mom and dad would probably get very hysterical if they found another "me" running around," Connie admitted. That was the biggest reason for it in the first place, since the very beginning, and both counterparts understood it all though it did bum out Steven a bit.

"Um ... actually, maybe it can work out," Jade actually decided.

"How so?" both Connies asked.

"Earth's been going through a ... I don't know, a shift? And at this point I think you going around may not be as bad as you think," Jade pointed out.

"Wait, you're right: Remorhaz, the light beasts, that pterodactyl thing during the race, maybe a doppelganger won't be too bad," Steven realized. Both Connies started to see what point they were actually making here.

"Well ... Maybe it couldn't hurt for a little visit in the future."

"SWEET!" Steven beamed. Sounded like Connie II will finally be coming back to their world after all. It couldn't hurt for a little visit, right?

.......

Further away, and without much of their knowledge, there was another player in this game that was seeing the situation from its perch, hidden off just out of sight from many a pony, human, gem, or otherwise. It was silent, curious, and a bit intrigued by the stories it had just heard about. All it simply did was give a calm, low groan, one of which none of them had picked up on. With that, it slowly slithered away, now with some new information to work with. ...
> The Rose Tree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn't take them much longer until they all arrived at the place in question. Having gone there once before, much of the Mane Six got right to the Palanquin in little time at all, the place the exact same as they last saw it months ago. Still laying there, still covered from top to bottom in rose vines, and still the prime area for Pink Diamond's supposed shattering. At least they all thought it would be according to the trial they remembered. Twilight and Rainbow Dash flew around the Palanquin itself, as the rest of the ponies continued checking on the ground. The only one not looking was Lapis Lazuli, who simply stood back.

"To think that a Diamond was actually shattered right here. Oh, it gives me the shivers just thinking about it," said Rarity.

"I know," agreed Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie actually had the nerve to hop right into the Palanquin, her face right down on the ground and sniffing like a dog.

"Roomy. I could fit the Sugarcube corner in here!" Pinkie said.

"Pinkie Pie, get out of there! That's where Pink Diamond got shattered, remember?" said Twilight. She didn't want their main crime scene contaminated by anything. Pinkie Pie paused for a moment. ...

"... YAAAHHH!"

Suddenly, in panic, Pinkie Pie jumped out of the Palanquin with rocket speed, and was gripping Garnet, her hooves wrapped around her square head as she trembled. Garnet picked Pinkie Pie up and off of her, and dropped her nearby. Quietly, Fluttershy went over to the Palanquin herself, feeling a sense of misery for Pink Diamond. She gently placed a hoof on the bush that surrounded the Palanquin.

"On this very spot. You really think there could be something here?" Fluttershy asked.

"Can't hurt to try. Twilight, Rainbow, find anything?" called Applejack.

"Nothing but pink flowers, bushes, and vines. This is getting nowhere, let's try somewhere else," Rainbow decided.

"Be realistic, Rainbow: it's been here for thousands of years, you're not going to find anything that fast. Let's keep looking," Twilight said, flying a little closer into the interior of the Palanquin. Rainbow joined her inside, but they didn't really find much of anything in there. It was pretty empty, yet it still had the throne inside, but nothing to exactly be worth the time.

"Oh boy. This is getting absolutely nowhere, there's nothing here but flowers and a wrecked palanquin! UGH, you sure you don't know anything about this? Anything at all?" Rainbow asked, directing to Garnet. The fusion paused.

"About the exact moment. ... Not entirely."

"DANGIT!"

"Calm down Rainbow. There's got to be someone that could've seen it," Applejack said. The others took a moment to think a bit more about it. It seemed they had little to no witnesses to go off of, considering Garnet and Pearl know of it, and only had that to go off of. That would work if the factors didn't stack against it so much, especially with the Diamond Attack and the Cluster added to it. Was there someone else? ...

.......

"GAAAAAHHHH! LAAAAPIIISSS!" Pinkie cried.

"I'm right here, Pinkie," Lapis simply said. Pinkie Pie got the big eureka moment, and suddenly was right in Lapis's face.

"YOU! YOU! YOU!"

"W-What about me?"

"Wait. Wait, oh yeah, Lapis! You're the one who reported the event to Blue Diamond, so you have to have seen it happen!" Twilight realized. Lapis felt humbled about the question, her hands up to her mouth for a reaction.

"Uh ... well, it's been a long time. Give me a second, uh ..."

"Well, we got all day, there's no need to rush," Garnet said. Clearly it was something troubling for Lapis Lazuli to deal with, and Garnet was not willing to force it out of her fellow court member. Lapis worked out her memory as best she could do, this event happening so long ago, and needing a lot of working to get it remembered. After a bit, she actually started to fly, and landed over nearby the trees, the others following her.

"... I was right here."

"Here?"

"I think so. Up in that tree, there. I was flying by, heading back to my court, when I started hearing something nearby. I landed up there, and looked off towards that way -" she points over to the Palanquin. "- ... and I saw Gems all over the ground ... and Pink Diamond's remains. I, uh ... well, uh ..."

"Well ... what?" Twilight asked.

"I-I'm trying to remember, but ... no. No, I don't know too much after that."

"So in other words: you only saw her shattered and that's it."

It was the best Lapis could manage.

"Nice try anyway, Lapis." Garnet concluded. Although it was strange to see her act like that. She was normally more open and cheerful about things, but whatever happened here must be a pretty traumatic one.


~~~~~~


"Eh, My Diamond? Pardon this intrusion, but is everything alright?"

On homeworld, the situation had become a bit more precarious than many would think. Blue diamond was silent and still in her palace, her mind trying to sort out the best in her situation. She was more than grateful to return same as any Gem within her court, but this news that the Crystal Gems had been completely banished was ... a bit mixed. At the moment, her Blue Peridot had come in to see her.

"Peridot. ... I just have a bit on my mind right now."

"Well, it's understandable. You were sort of taken away by a few earth serpents, but I can assure you that -"

"No, not that. ... I mean with the Crystal Gems," Blue Diamond sighed, getting up from her throne.

"Wha? how do you mean, they got you home, they're back on earth, everything safe and sound."

"... But it's not." Blue Diamond slowly walked off towards one of the side doors, Blue Peridot following her.

"W-What do you mean, you are alright are you?"

"I'm fine, Peridot. ... But I never realized that the saviors of Homeworld will ever truly be ... banished. I mean, I can see if they never reappeared since the Gem war. At least now I do ..."

"And now?" Blue Peridot asked. Blue Diamond sighed, and turned to her Peridot with her soft smile.

"It's nothing for you to worry about."

"My Diamond!"

Sounded like they had another guest, and she sounded very frantic about it too. Looking over, both Blue Peridot, and Blue Diamond, saw it was one of the Amethysts amongst Blue Diamond's city that had showed up, and she looked completely freaked out over something. What that was they weren't sure just yet, but whatever it was, it was simply terrifying to this Gem.

"Amethyst? You alright?"

"D-Diamond! There is - *pant**pant* Y-You have to - *pant**pant* C-Come on!" Amethyst was too freaked out to talk correctly, and it would seem that something especially surprising was happening just outside.


~~~~~~


So, outside they went. Blue Diamond was quick to head out of her palace, following the Amethyst, and it was quick that there indeed was some sort of commotion aside from her. Multitude of Blue Diamond's citizens were heading over to this direction of said surprise, trying to see what exactly was going on for themselves. And for Blue Diamond, it was no different. Whatever could drive her people into such a frenzy had to be investigated.

"I got her!" called the Amethyst, much of the Gems moving out of the way so Blue Diamond could see the situation.
And see she did. It was over near the city's square, and standing tall appeared to be some sort of ... foreign object. No Gem object they've ever seen, or any object from Gemkind for that matter. The main body was circular, and the flared out top made this object some sort of tree. Not just any tree, of course: the bark was a sort of dullish purple color, as the leaves and flowers hold a distinctive color of pink (as if the memory wasn't hard enough). This tree appeared very healthy too, standing tall with the aroma of the flowers drifting through the air, a smell many Gems were not knowledgeable about in the slightest. Blue Diamond stayed quiet at first, not sure how to take this, as the only thing that came close to something like this was on a planet months away by spaceship.

"Where did this come from?" Blue Diamond questioned, looking to the people around her. However, the Gems were a bit more antsy, and Blue Diamond couldn't get an exact answer out of any of them due to their talking.

"One at a time. ... You. Do you know where this came from?" Blue Diamond asked, signaling out a blue Rutile from the group.

"I-I don't know, it just appeared. one moment it was all clear, and then next thing you know this ... thing, just pops up," she said. Not the best explanation they could've given, but it was the best many of them could make of it. There wasn't even a shift in the ground of any roots, which made the tree even more confusing. Blue Diamond placed her hand on the trunk of this tree.

"How curious. ..."

"This is a defiance of logic: the closest organic materials, commonly called "trees" can only grow within specific conditions - none of which are found here! no H2O, no CO2, no proper soil, nothing," Blue Peridot noted in disbelief.

mmmmmmmm

It spoke! Blue Diamond moved back, along with her subordinates, as this tree slowly started to come around. The low, quiet moans could be heard by every Gem there. A sort of line began to appear on one part of the tree, which slowly started to open up. Once it did fully, it showed that this thing was more alive than they would ever think: a single, Diamond eye! It even had the Diamond iris symbol in it like Blue Diamond did, showing some bit of importance to the Homeworld community.

"I-It has a vision sphere?" wondered Blue Peridot.

"Nobody go near it," Blue Diamond stated. Not that any of them were going to try anyway. Blue Diamond locked her vision with this thing here.

"... What are you?" she asked. However, the tree didn't say much of anything, and instead examined the group it was seeing. It didn't have a mouth so it couldn't speak ... so it seemed.

... Blue. Blue. ... Do not be afraid ...

Did ... did it talk? Talk to who though, to her?

"That isn't what I asked," Blue Diamond said.

My identity shall remain concealed. As the mouse conceals herself from the cat. ... I wish for no harm on your people, my dear.

"... You do seem lacking in that regard."

"What is she talking to?" whispered a Ruby.

"It must be telepathic communication," whispered Blue Peridot. The people waited for Blue Diamond instructions from there.

"... Peridot, go to Yellow Diamond. She should be informed about this."

That was the main order, and that's what they went off to do. Eventually the rest of the group went away, and Blue Diamond took a look over at the tree before walking off herself.

.......

The tree itself remained still and stood tall at where it was, many of the Gems amongst the city not remotely getting near it. None of them were too familiar with this thing, nor knew what it could exactly do to any of them so it was probably best for them to just leave it. Besides, Blue Diamond suggested such things, so there was that too. The tree did little on any of the Gems within the city, apart from some occasional moaning time and time again, some pink leaves gently being released and floating down to the ground. Not many of the Gems did try to venture close.

"Well, go up to it."

"What? why me, you do it."

"No way, I'm not as expendable."

"Ok, ok, fine."

The tree didn't have its eye open, but it did sense that a Gem did eventually venture closer to it. It opened its eye slowly as before, and soon saw that it was a small Ruby, who looked pretty humbled and worried on sight of said tree.

"U-Uh ... hello."

... Ruby. ... Ruby. ...

The ruby stepped back, as it focused it's eye onto her, making her feel a little shaky.

"... C-Can you understand me?"

Needn't you be afraid for your safety. I wish no harm to come onto you. ...

"Y-You really think so?" the Ruby asked, not sure if she should trust it or not. A low moan was the simple answer. The Ruby was a bit hesitant, but she was as curious over this thing as anyone else would be.

"Oh, I wish we knew what you were about."

Those words were all that this tree needed to hear, apparently. Its large eye closed up slowly, and they began to hear something rustle in the branches. The ruby quickly backed up, but then something else then got itself out of the tree, and floated down to the ground. It appeared to be some sort of paper with a written out message, information regarding this particular tree. The Ruby picked it up and looked it over up and down, it all written out in common Gem language. Her previous worry started to turn into amazement, her looking up to the tree again, who opened its eye to look down to her once more.

"Oh my stars. ..."

"What in Homeworld is this?"

The Ruby jumped on hearing that forceful voice, and Blue Diamond had made her return, this time with Yellow Diamond not too far behind. The Ruby moved off away from the tree, and allowed both Diamonds to see this object.

"Many of my people aren't sure what to make of this organic object, yet it told me that it doesn't want to hurt anyone," explained Blue Diamond.

"As if we don't have enough problems. I've heard about these, it's impossible for one to be growing here," Yellow insisted, just for the eye to reopen and look up to her.

... Yellow. Yellow. ...

"How did you know my identity?" Yellow immediately demanded. The Ruby quietly slipped over to Blue Diamond, poked her side, and waved the paper to get her attention to it.

... I don't wish to harm your people, my dear.

"I didn't ask that, I asked how did you know me," Yellow said.

My knowledge is vast. ... Wide, as the winds move through the seas of unsure, and return with the currents of answer.

"What does that even mean?" Yellow retorted. Blue Diamond picked up the paper the Ruby had, and read it over. It only took that for Blue Diamond to understand what this tree was actually about, her eyes widening in shock.

"Well, we'll have some quartzes remove it from the -"

"No!" Blue suddenly said, grabbing Yellow Diamond.

"Why? We don't know what this organic thing truly is."

"But ... but it was hers."

Yellow felt a little confused once again, but then Blue Diamond showed the paper her Ruby gave her. Yellow read it over, and quickly figured out what it meant. However, Yellow wasn't as easily convinced, and she looked to the closest Gem that could've given her that message.

"Ruby, where'd you get this?" Yellow asked. The Ruby felt scared, and quickly pointed her finger right to the tree itself. The tree gave a low moan again. Yellow then confronted the tree.

"Don't try to tumble my rocks here. Is this just a lie so we wouldn't hurt you?" Yellow asked firmly. The tree le3t out a simple moan again, but before Yellow could go over to it, Blue Diamond went over to her, looking humbled and shocked.

"W-Wait, don't harm that tree," Blue insisted. If this was indeed belonging to who they were thinking, it would be a piece of her they would be destroying. Then again though, they couldn't just leave it growing right here. Yellow then got an idea: she went right up to the tree, and brought both arms forward, and hands hovering just around the radius of the tree. After some bit of focus, the tree then found itself encased within a large, yellow bubble.

"Here, let's transfer this tree to a different location. My scouts saw a decent sized mountain not too far from your city, off east of here, so let's put it there," Yellow decided. It was probably the best option they got about it.


~~~~~~


There was some good silence for the tree after it was moved, outside its bubble, and now instead of appearing in the middle of a densely populated city, now it was put on a tall mountain, giving it a good view of Blue Diamond's city. It was calm, content, yet a little bit lonely being out so far away. Only the slightest breeze actually brushed against its leaves as it sat there. Stray leaves scattered down underneath the tree branches, as it waited patiently for anyone who'd be willing to come by. While far enough away, Blue Diamond could still see it from her palace observatory, taking into account on what information she now knew about said tree. At least, the possible origin of it anyway.

"Still thinking about that tree out there?" asked Yellow.

"How could I not? That tree belonged to - ... her ..." Blue stayed quiet as Yellow looked out to see the tree again. Blue could feel a wave of grief run through her again, but unlike before, Blue Diamond got calmed down a bit faster than she had before. Yellow placed a hand on her shoulder.

"There, Blue, don't start that. Nothing can happen to the tree out there," Yellow reassured her, the reassurance more for Blue's sake.

"If only we knew back then. ... Oh, I wish I had more preserved of her. At least then we had more of her legacy," blue sadly said.

Then came a rather odd breeze from the window. Yellow noticed it first, and saw that a few of this strange tree's leaves were floating inside the palace. Yellow saw the leaves swirl around above them, but eventually a cluster of leaves swirled around right in front of Blue Diamond. They kept together closely for a little bit, but once they dispersed, something thudded onto the ground. Both Diamonds took a look as the leaves settled on the ground, and found this object to be some sort of chest, and a fairly big one too. Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond took a moment or two before Blue went on to open the chest.

"O-Oh my." Blue's eyes opened wide in amazement at what she saw, and Yellow Diamond was a bit surprised herself. Inside appeared to be a few items, looking like one of those care packages. Some of the items included:



A neatly folded, Era 1 Homerworld suit

A Homeworld emblem flag with all 4 Diamond symbols

A dull red scabbard

A pink lined scarf-like fabric

A pink-colored Gem log

... A small note


Blue and Yellow looked to the letter, both down on their knees to have a better look.

"A memento for your dearest," read off Blue. And it was clear what memento was for. That, and they also knew where the object came from too. Yellow gently lifted up the scabbard, and Blue lifted up the fabric, still as soft and gentle as she remembered. Blue Diamond was quiet, and she even took a moment to place it on her cheek, her eyes closed.

"... Such a good tree," Blue silently admitted. Yellow got to her feet, and looked to the only source where it could've came from.

"That tree is connected to her."

.......

Yellow. ... Yellow. ...

"I want a straight answer, tree. What do you know about Pink Diamond?" Yellow asked sternly, now standing back at the tree again. If this thing did have some salvage with Pink Diamond's belongings, clearly it had something to do with her to some extent. The tree stayed quiet for a minute, its eye closed.

... A broad question.

"You somehow held her belongings, you know something about her, now talk!" Yellow demanded. The tree wasn't too scared.

... The horse merely wished for water. I simply provided it.

Yellow just got a bit more frustrated with this odd talk from this tree. She barely knew what a horse was, let along the meaning behind its words. She wanted a basic answer, and this tree wasn't giving her anything that could be helpful to her.

"You do know Pink Diamond. How?"

... I'm afraid that's an answer as complicated as hieroglyphics. ...

"What's Hieroglyphics? You're dodging my question," Yellow said. The tree then grew silent, and looked just like any other tree. Yellow Diamond was getting very impatient now, and she even began to hit the tree to get an answer. Despite her strength, the tree stayed completely sturdy, and not effected in the slightest by Yellow's assault. Then Yellow got another idea, and it was a complete guess at this point.

"I wish I knew your involvement with Pink Diamond."

The tree was smarter than that, and nothing happened. The leaves didn't act up this time, and Yellow was left with no answer to her question. ... Unless ...

.......

Meanwhile, Blue Diamond was reminiscing some of the items she had been given. So many of these things she thought she had lost over the thousands of years, yet here they were in peak condition. It was at this point when she took notice of the Gem log. She did feel a little curious over this thing, and for the sake of some nostalgia, she went on to activate it. The Log was more of a video if anything, and it took a bit before Blue Diamond saw a clearer picture. The first thing Blue Diamond saw when she looked was herself, adjusting the gem log so it was just about right. Blue got up after that and gently walked aside, the screen showing a healthy pink cherry tree. Not exactly the same as the tree they got at Homeworld, but a pretty close second. Blue saw herself walking off aside, and then coming back into frame with another Diamond.

"P-Pink," Blue quietly gasped. Pink Diamond. Wearing the same Homeworld Era 1 outfit as in the chest, and keeping her eyes closed as she was gently guided up to the tree. Blue Diamond remembered it all now, and a smile appeared on her face with some tears coming down as she continued to observe the video. Pink Diamond opened her eyes, and at first looked a little puzzled, but after Blue explained a little bit, Pink looked a lot more excited, her eyes sparkling. Pink Diamond gleefully hugged Blue Diamond, very happy for the gift. As nice of a moment as this was, Blue's smile began to fade after watching the video. She turned off the Gem log, and closed the chest, keeping most of the items inside. With the exception of the scarf.

Don't try to deny it, Diamonds. The Crystal Gems shattered Pink Diamond!

White Diamond's words echoed in Blue's mind, her hands tightening around the scarf. She knew, in her soul, that it didn't sound correct. Not at all. She looked out to the horizon, just able to see the tree once more.

"I swear. ... That whoever murdered Pink. ... Is gonna pay for it."
> To Give, Or Not to Give
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the first time since they had arrived, spring time was finally beginning to take its effect on Earth. The Off-Colors were seeing just how different the world looked, as much of the snow had actually melted away due to a warm spell passing through, and this left plenty of places for discovery. Tiger's Eye was the most curious with this big change, and she wasted no time in exploring the area, going around like a curious dog would. As she was exploring, she found a butterfly waking up and flying around, nearly landing on her as it fluttered a bit. Honestly, Tiger's Eye couldn't help herself and started to chase after the little insect.

"W-Wha? What on Homeworld happened? Why's everything ... colorful now?" Rhodonite asked, a bit unsure what even happened. First moment the place was covered in snow, and the next it was all wet and green everywhere.

"I predict that the world we currently live in will make a great change in appearance. OH, what a mystery!" Padparadscha said in glee, rather excited about the change.

"Yes. A very interesting change indeed," said Fluorite.

"But what happened? It was all white and colorless just yesterday. Oh, maybe Steven knows what's happening," Rhodonite said, heading over to the barn. Steven had given them a little something so they can contact them at any time they needed it, and that sort of something turned out to be a phone. Rhodonite was still a bit new to this thing, and it took a bit longer until the call finally went through.

"Morning, what's up?"

"S-Steven, what happened to the planet?! Did something happen, why is it so green now?" Rhodonite asked nervously.

"No, no, calm down, it's just spring."

"... S-Spring?"

"Yeah, that's Earth for you: always changing and always giving surprises."

"I'm not one for surprises, Steven."

"I know, I know, it's not a bad thing. Every year it happens: some of the year has a lot of snow and ice, and another part is all warm and colorful. It happens every year," Steven explained, as Rhodonite walked outside to see what Steven was talking about. Tiger's Eye was still trying to get her butterfly, as it then landed on Padparadscha. The Sapphire took a minute to realize what landed on her, and looked surprised and flustered by the little creature.

"So this always happens?"

"Yep. Here, we're gonna be coming up there in a bit, I'll tell you more when we get there," Steven promised.

"Good," Rhodonite sighed, before Steven hung up.

And what a time to stop. Suddenly, the group began to hear a sort of odd noise filling the air. Rhodonite wasn't sure if it was a common occurrence, but looking up in the sky, she soon noticed something ... foreign flying overhead. It was an old-fashioned flying plane basically, and it was flying rather close to them.

"Quickly, take cover," Fluorite said. Rhodonite, Rutile, and Fluorite did go off, but Padparadscha and Tiger's Eye were left out in the open. The plane missed them, and landed over just by the barnhouse. Soon though, Tiger's Eye and Padparadscha heard something else step out of the plane.
There he stood, right by the barn, looking more than surprised at what he was seeing. He was shown wearing an olive-colored pilot's jacket and a gray undershirt along with khakis and black boots. Along with a brown aviator hat which covered his head and ears. To sum it up, he looked about the same age as Greg, maybe older, and it took less time before he saw sight of Padparadscha, and Tiger's Eye.

"....... Can we help you kind sir?"

"Help? Help?! Some hobos broke into the barn!" he shouted, obviously angry. He went over and began trying to remove some of the odd items stuck in there, which worried them a bit.

"Hey, what're you doing?! That's our stuff your throwing out!" gasped Tiger's Eye.

"Oh, you're Hobettes? Being a Hobo is a man's job!" He snapped. It was at this point though that he got a good look at both Gems.

"Wait a minute. ... Those strange constructions. Your weird appearances. Your strange jewels. I know what you are." The tone of this human man made both Gems a little nervous, Tiger's Eye backing up slightly like a cowering dog. Padparadscha stayed frozen for what he had to say.

"... You're hippies! I hear of you on AM radio! What are you doin'? Comin' in here and socializin' this fine, American barn?!"

"Wait, what? What's a hippie?" Tiger's Eye asked, now confused more than anything.

"That's what you are, and you're on my property, now scram!" the man demanded, an accusing finger pointed off towards the hills and away from the barn.

"Scram? Y-You mean leave?!"

"Do I have to spell it out for you!"

"We're not hippies. We're Gems," Padparadscha said, a bit humbled.

"I don't care what you call yourselves, your on my property, and I didn't let you come here!"

"B-But neither did we! We were given this place since we got here!"

"Given? Given by who?" He demanded. Before Tiger's Eye and Padparadscha could actually answer him, all this commotion caught the attention of some of the humans; Steven and Greg mainly, along with the Mane Six. Rhodonite was relieved that the call even worked at all.

"Thank the stars, they'll sort this out for us," Rhodonite hoped.

"What's going on here?" asked Twilight.

"Oh come on, more of you - wait. Greg?"

"Andy?" Greg said. Well, that was a bit surprising, and rather fast too. Andy was pretty pleased to see him.

"Good timing! come on, help me chase off these freeloaders," Andy said, thinking he got an ally in this little fight. Many of them didn't even know what was going on though, so there was that trouble.

"Uh, wait, hold up -"

"Who gave you permission to barge in here and screw everything up?!" Andy yelled.

"I did!" Steven suddenly said.

"You? you brat, you can't just go around throwing property at people like it's candy on some free-candy holiday!"

"Andy stop! Leave him alone!" Greg demanded.

"What? Why, this is my parent's barn!"

"Dad, what's he talking about?" Steven asked. It was then that Andy suddenly calmed down.

"'Dad'? That means ... no way."

Well, the truth sank in pretty quick, and he realized who Steven actually was.

"Steven. This is Andy: my cousin. Andy, this is Steven. He's my son," Greg introduced. Immediately, Steven grew very pleased on seeing him all of a sudden, going right up to him.

"Wow, it's so nice to meet you! so does that make me ... your first cousin, once removed?" Andy chuckled and picked up the tyke.

"Just call me uncle Andy. Boy, I'm an uncle, I can't believe it! Greg, you turd, why didn't you tell me?" Andy questioned, holding Steven under his armpit like he was some basketball or something. Greg was still trying to get things straight here.

"N-Now how was I supposed to, I haven't seen you in years!"

"And who's fault is that? You think you're so important you just took your van, and drove off."

"Uh, can you put me down?" Steven asked kindly.

"Oh sorry. I'm not used to holding nephews," Andy said, setting Steven down before turning to Greg and adding "Cuz I didn't know I had one!" Greg withdrawn again from Andy's rough accusations and Andy took his attention over to the Mane Six next.

"Hey, Greg, never took you for being Mr. farmer of the family. So, did you get these from a fair, or did you just pick em up?"

"HEY, we're not livestock!" Rainbow suddenly snapped, catching Andy completely off-guard. not only was she flying, she was talking.

"Whoa, you can talk?! What kind a hippie magic trick is this?" Andy questioned.

"It's not a hippie magic trick, we promise. Now, what seems to be the problem?"

"The problem is that you just dumped these random hipster folk on my property. This barn belongs to the DeMayo family!" Andy insisted.

"DeMayo?" asked Tiger's Eye.

"Yeah, you know: Steven DeMayo, Andy DeMayo, Greg DeMayo. We're the DeMayos," Andy said, hand around Steven and Greg to prove his point. That simply reminded him of something else though.

"Uh ... I thought it was Universe."

"Universe?"

"You know: Steven Universe, Greg Universe. The Universes," said Twilight, doing a similar gesture that Andy did, but with her wings. Now Andy was getting upset all over again.

"Oh, what, you waltz out on us and drop the family name? what're you tryin to do here?!" Andy yelled. As the arguing continued, Tiger's Eye began to hear some sort of odd sound. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Padparadscha was ... trembling. Her hands were over her ears at this point, and that made Tiger's Eye look horrified.

"Oh no."

"Well, anyway, I'm giving ya to the count of three to get outta here before I call the fuzz on you!" Andy said.

"Now, now, sshh, quiet," Tiger's Eye said, trying her best to get andy to stop yelling, but Andy wasn't going to stop that easy.

"Quiet for what? Quit stallin and start packin!"

"B-But Andy -"

"But nothin!"

Tiger's Eye glanced over to Padparadscha once more, but saw that Andy was just enough to tip her over the edge. Too late now.

"Your loss. Take cover everyone!" Tiger's Eye warned, before bolting off for the nearby bushes. And not a moment too soon.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Never had any of them heard such a terrible scream! Everyone around the vicinity immediately covered their ears in pain. This was Padparadscha pushed too far, and her scream just kept on going on that single note, like she was a siren or alarm going off, and twenty times as brutal.

"AH! Shut her up, someone!" Andy yelled, though they were lucky to even hear him at all. Rhodonite had enough and ran right up to Padparadscha. It wasn't the first time this had happened.

"Padparadscha, I-it's okay! Here, here, calm down, we're here," Rhodonite said, holding Padparadscha in one pair of arms as the others covered her ears. The screaming continued on for a bit more, but little by little, Padparadscha started to calm down, and the screaming ceased. It took them all a bit for the ringing in their heads to stop, all humbled and shocked by what just happened.

"W-What just happened?" Fluttershy asked. Rhodonite didn't answer at first, holding Padparadscha close for a bit more, Padparadscha taking a few heavy breaths. Once she was calmed down, Rhodonite released her, and held her hand.

"Eh, look, y-you can have the barn, we're sorry. Come on, let's go somewhere else," Rhodonite said.

"What?" Tiger's Eye gasped. But Rhodonite didn't want to start a fight, especially after that little event happening. Andy was trying to clean his ears, and just looked to the two. All Rhodonite did when she saw Andy was turn away quietly, and began to walk away.

"What was that? It sounded like there was a -"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Fluttershy hissed, her anger finally having enough of Andy's comments. Andy grew humbled, and Fluttershy trotted over to her. This was going to be a bit harder than any of them had thought.


~~~~~~


"Well, now what do we do?"

That was the main question at this point. The Off-Colors, now having little home to head to, had to go with the others over back to the Beach House. It wasn't really a happy moment though, since the Off-Colors had to leave against their will. If this was just a casual visit, then that would be fine, but that's not the case here.

"I'm really sorry, guys," said Steven.

"Don't blame yourself, Steven. It's not your fault, anyway," Rhodonite said, though her gaze turned angry towards Greg.

"Whoa, hold the phone, I didn't drive you away. I would let you stay there -"

"Greg, right? You didn't say anything about this Andy, or the fact someone else owned the barn since we got here!" Rhodonite accused. Now was not the time to get into yet another fight, especially with Padparadscha still trying to relax a little bit, Fluttershy sitting right next to her with a wing around her shoulders.

"Look, I'm sorry about that, I'd never would've guessed Andy would just show up out of nowhere."

"Is there anyway to convince him to change his mind?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know. Andy's never been the type to change his mind about something, and he's really got his longjohns in a twist. It's gonna take a lot to calm him down," Greg admitted. Before they could go any further, the Warp Pad nearby activated, and in came Flint, Garnet, and Jasper.

"Ok, that several places so far, and none of them had any clues," Flint sighed, looking at a written list he had in his hand as he and Jasper walked over the room. Though, it didn't take too long until all three Gems noticed the group of Off-Colors standing inside.

"Come by for a visit?" asked Jasper.

"Well not exactly. We don't have anywhere to go," left Rutile sighed.

"We're homeless. again," added right Rutile.

"Homeless? But we all thought you liked the barn, didn't you?" Jasper questioned.

"No, no, no, we did of course, but uh ..." Rhodonite couldn't finish it, so Tiger's Eye chipped in.

"It's like this: we found him in front of our barn, making all this fuss, and he turned out to be Greg's ... what did you say he was?" Tiger's Eye asked, scratching her ear.

"My cousin, Andy."

"Don't tell me: he showed up, and made you all run off before you had a chance to explain yourselves, right?" Flint concluded.

"Y-Yes, exactly!" Rhodonite said, though she was a bit shocked that Flint got it altogether so quickly.

"Well, we tried explaining but he kept calling us this ... "hippie". Whatever that is," said Tiger's Eye.

"It's a group of humans who's beliefs counter the common way of thinking. ... We fit into that a whole lot," Garnet noted.

"Does that even matter? The point is, is that he's acting like a stubborn stone over it. No offense, Greg."

"I-It's okay," Greg replied bashfully. Stubborn would fit Andy pretty good.

"We'll have a word with him, Rhodonite, maybe we can reach a common understanding. Greg, he's your relative, where would he be at?" Garnet asked.

"My guess? Probably getting the junk out of the barn. It won't be too long I think before he flies off again."

"Flies off?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah, he showed up in this weird flying machine, which nearby crashed the barn!" said Rhodonite.

"Hmm ... a pilot, eh?"

.......

Well, Greg wasn't wrong about his assumption: by the time a number of them had arrived, Andy was actually getting some loose "junk" out of the barn so he had room for his plane to get in. Not too much trouble for Andy, but it did prove what point they had in mind. The Off-Colors weren't there this time (obvious reasons), and it was mainly Greg, Steven, Garnet, Flint, and Jasper.

"Hey uncle Andy!" shouted Steven.

"Ah, back are ya? Here, mind giving me a hand with this?" Andy asked, trying to get out. Steven simply moved over to help his uncle out (or cousin, whichever you want to see it), and with a bit of a pull, Andy found Steven got out the metal part rather easily. Andy took a moment to get his breath before the others confronted him. Jasper wasted little time though in actually picking him up.

"Ok, there."

"Jasper, hold it, put him down. That wasn't what I meant by 'handling it'," Garnet quickly said. Jasper found this easier, but she just placed him down.

"Not. cool," Andy groaned.

"Excuse me, Andy. We'd like a word," Garnet stated. Andy though wasn't amused with more "hippies" coming by the barn, but thinking it over, he started to get the idea.

"OH, gotcha. K, Greg, who's the wife eh? Gotta give her my condolences, am I right?" Andy joked, nudging Greg. However, the Gems got a little bit uncomfortable again.

"What, I gotta guess? alright, let's see, uh, you!" He then points over to Jasper. "He's gotta have a big girl to keep him in line, eh? Er, not big, I mean your tall, not -"

"I get it," Jasper groaned. She could see why the others didn't like him now.

"Rose is not with us ... not anymore," Garnet simply answered. That was all that Andy needed to hear to get the idea. He grew a little perplexed before Greg started talking again.

"Andy, listen, their friends needed a place to stay, and my son wanted to give them the barn. They're a group of refugee aliens who -"

"Illegal aliens?! You couldn't even marry an American?!" AND he got angry all over again.

"Why does that matter?!"

"Uncle Andy, please. I know I didn't know you owned the barn, but it means a whole lot to everyone," Steven said, not wanting another fight to happen.

"Well it means a lot to the DeMayo too. Every year we come here, sit down, have a good meal, and catch up with one another," Andy said. Steven quickly got his next idea.

"Oh, yeah? Well, we can do that, too. We've got a farm here with plenty of food. Let's make a big, traditional meal and eat it together. You'll have a good time, and then you'll have to admit their family. And would you kick family out of the family barn?" Steven proposed. Well, they weren't expecting that so suddenly, but Steven was determined to give the Gems a good home. Andy felt a bit humbled again, but at least he wasn't screaming his head off like before.

"... I'll give your coven a chance and eat your dinner, but only 'cause I lost my sandwich in the Atlantic. Now, excuse me, I gotta go get my junk out of the plane," Andy finally decided, walking away towards his plane. It was probably the best they're gonna manage with this, but if it'll work or not will entirely be on them.

"You sure about this?" asked Jasper, unconvinced.

"W-Well what else could we do?"

"Flint, Jasper. He's apart of Steven's family. The least we can do is try to get on his good side."

"But Gems don't exactly have families," pointed out Flint. Garnet looked to Steven and smiled.

"Not until we came here. So Steven, for the sake of our family, tell us what we need to do," Garnet said, waiting for what he had to say. Steven was starting to feel confident.

"Let's head back and tell the others first, they will give Andy DeMayo the best time ever," Steven said, starting to head on back. While many of them followed, Flint paused and looked over to Andy, who was getting a few things out of his plane. Well, it was now or never, and he went right up to him, clearing his throat.

"Uh, Andy? It is Andy, is it?"

"What is it now?" he asked. Flint too a look at the plane.

"Can I assume you're a sort of pilot with this flying machine? Looks pretty ... authentic," Flint began. Andy started to see where he was coming from and smirked.

"And a good flyer too. Been all over the world in that thing."

"Have you now."

"You better believe it. It's really something else, you know? Just you and the hum of your engine up in that thin air," Andy said. Flint took that into consideration, but then Andy started to get another idea in his own head.

"Wait a minute. if you think you're gonna butter me up for this dinner, then I'm not fallin' for cheap tricks here," Andy made clear.

"You can believe what you want. Now, can I change the subject and ask you a question?"

As Flint and Andy were talking, it didn't take much time until the group took notice. Or at least Steven did.

"And what's that?"

"Well, you said you've been all over the world in this plane. Did you happen to notice anything out of the ordinary in your flights?" Flint questioned, pacing around the plane and looking it over. Flint had more on his mind than just to persuade him, apparently.

"What's it worth to you?"

"Everything."

"What are you, some kind of cop?"

"Detective actually, and I'm in the middle of a case here." Technically he wasn't a detective by nature, but if it could get Andy to cooperate, he could pull it off well. Andy looked a little surprised, but not too convinced.

"Uh ... Case? What case?"

"Considering you are apart of his family, this case involves your cousin's son ... well, sort of."

"WHAT?! You're joshin! What'd they do, kill somebody?"

"That's what the Diamond Authority is stuck thinking, and unless this is worked out, I'm afraid execution for everyone's almost inevitable," Flint explained. Andy could feel his heart pound out of his chest from the freakout, mixed with anger towards the supposed good kid he would call his nephew.

"Y-You're kidding me. No way, that cute kid? How'd he get charged with that?" Andy asked in disbelief. Flint needed a moment to figure out how to word it right. This was a man who thinks Gems are hippies after all.

"Let me explain DeMayo: It has come to our attention that Rose, Greg's currently deceased wife, has been charged with murder over a member of the Diamond Authority. Unfortunately, and don't ask me why, but they're charging her son with the same crime despite him not even being involved at all. It was questionable as is, and I'm trying to get this solved before they get his head."

"Diamond Authority. That's ... what, a mob gang?"

"Something like that, though one of them is smart enough to move on from it. Now, back to the previous question -"

"HA! They think they can get part of the DeMayo, they got another thing comin to em!" Andy said, sounding confident in fighting for one of his family members.

"Don't start that! You get in a fight with one of them, you'll get crushed under their foot - literally."

"Literally?" questioned Andy. Flint was losing patience.

"Oh, nevermind that we're getting nowhere here. Now can you answer the question or not?" Flint demanded, arms crossed. Before Andy could answer.

"Flint, come on! Leave him alone, we're gonna figure this out later," called Jasper.

"Alright, don't tumble your rocks. We'll finish this later," Flint sighed, before going off on his way.

.......

"A ... dinner?" questioned Rhodonite.

"Yeah. All we have to do is show Andy how wonderful you guys are. It doesn't sound too hard," Steven explained. It sounded like a pretty good idea in his eyes, but the Off-Colors weren't so thrilled.

"I-It's not gonna work out, I know it won't."

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea: a family get-together with some good eats. Sounds like a good time to me," Applejack said.

"It's the best shot we have. Unless being driven off from home to here's fine with you." Garnet stated.

"It's fine, I'm down with it!"

"Rhodonite!" snapped Tiger's Eye. Clearly one Gem wasn't willing to try that approach.

"We'll try our best with it," right Rutile said, left Rutile nodding in agreement.

"That's more like it. Jasper and Flint are telling the others about it: if he's going to meet the family, he might as well meet all of them," Garnet informed.

"Maybe? Isn't twenty five a bit uh ... high?"

"No one's forced to come, but Andy will demand to see everyone involved when we get there. Regardless of what path we try, he'll demand it anyway," Garnet explained, adjusting her shades. Her Future Vision had given her a rough scenario to work with indeed, but if it could work out in the end, then so be it. Even if it'll be a bit overwhelming for Andy.

"Well, in that case, I'd better get cookin. Pinkie, care to lend a hoof?" AJ asked. Pinkie was more than willing.

"The party mare's gonna make this happen!" Pinkie beamed. And for a quick measure, Pinkie popped the key out for quick access back home.

"Let's get to work!"


~~~~~~


So time ticked on by for Andy at the barn, the barn was cleaned up and cleared out of any foreign objects. His plane was nicely parked inside , and at the moment, Andy was polishing up his plane. It was nice and quiet, the slightly warmer air making the snow softer and thinner under foot, and with everyone no longer there, Andy was given time to think about things. Despite that, it was just ... well, that. quiet. A little too quiet for his tastes.

"Hello."

Andy jumped back on the voice, and found one of the "hippies" was there again, and this time it was Star Quartz.

"Dang it, don't do that, you bound gave me a heart attack," Andy snapped, hand over his heart from the surprise visit.

"Are you Andy? Steven's ... wncke?"

"Uncle. And yeah, what's it to ya?" Andy asked.

"The others just told me to come here," Star answered, having a seat on some nearby hay. Andy was unamused.

"I'm already dealing with a group of hippies and their dinner tonight, I don't need anymore of em," Andy griped. Star scratched her head.

"Hippie? But aren't they Gems?"

"That's what I said. How many more of you are there anyway?" Andy asked. Star paused, and started to count out the members with her fingers. The more she added together, the more surprised Andy got.

"... I have to say about fourteen."

"There's fourteen of you?" Andy asked, the most surprised he had been all day.

"Well, if you count the Off-Colors and the Mane six, that's twenty five."

"Twenty five?! You gotta be kidding me!" Andy gasped. How many members of this family was Greg keeping from him.

"You didn't know?"

"Course I didn't know, that space nut Greg didn't tell me anything," Andy griped, taking a seat next to her.

"Why would he tell you?"

"He's my cousin for one thing. A cousin who'd rather bolt off on his family than stick around," Andy said. Star was quiet for a moment or two.

"... Wait. But, you're the one in the plane, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Andy growled. Star didn't see what her words were doing yet, so she continued.

"Well, Greg seems to be stuck here most of the time. And Flint told me how you were flying all over the planet."

"It ain't my fault he ditched the DeMayo family! I've been trying to keep the family together, and here he runs off on us after some rock band gimmick like it's nobody's business! And you're telling me it's my fault?!" Andy yelled. The whole time though, Star was only slightly surprised, but she didn't get too emotional. In fact, she actually started thinking.

"Oh what, got nothin to say to me?"

"... Did you read the Zays story?"

Well that was out of nowhere.

"... What? what's that got to do with anything?" Andy questioned. Star got up, and began to go into the barn, looking around slightly before jumping up with little sound, and landing gently on the second floor. Andy never got to that part yet, so everything was right where she remembered, and eventually she jumped back down with a book. It looked like a nursery rhyme book. Star Quartz sat down on the hay again, and started skimming through the pages until she saw a picture of what looked like a set of birds, both standing stubbornly in pride right in front of eachother, not budging from one to another. Star Quartz cleared her throat.

Out in the plains known as the haze, and moving west a ways came a west-going Zays.
And then, late but not least, off and heading east, came an east-going Zays.
A west-going Zays.
An east-going Zays.
Both Zays on the move, to their world a new, until a thump camp to.
And there stood the Zays, standing firm and upset between them both too.
"Fellow Zays!" yelled the west-going Zays with little care "What do you think standing in my way, as you dare! Move out of my way, as I'm heading West, and moving out of my way will be your absolute best!"
"Who's in who's way?" retorted the Zay, east going prideful-ness on high. "You're the one in the wrong, and not am I, for you're in my way, for I'm going east, so I will not budge, not an inch at the least!"
The West-Going Zays, now angered almost a daze, pushed him with his beak and said. "Oy Vey! And Oy Vey to you if you dare not move by this noon, as I'm not anywhere else but West anytime soon. I'll prove you're wrong, and here I'll stay, even if it takes me 79 days!"
The East going Zays was calling his jargin, and as just as well willingly took the bargain. "Is that so, well fine, and stand here shall I until you veer, and I'll stay here for 79 years! You will move out of my way, and then move I will, even if it means you, me, and the whole world stands still!"

Star Quartz then turned the page, and both birds were still standing there, but this time with a busy street worked all around them, going around and even over them.

But of course, the world didn't stand still, and it never did even under their will.
A busy highway was made with the Zays standing there, going around and going over without little care
and in the end, the world continued on and relaxed, as those two stubborn Zays were left. Un-budging, in their tracks.

Well, Andy never expected to hear a childhood story today, and Star Quartz closed the book.

"Remind me again what this has to do with me?"

"... You're acting like a Zays," she simply said.


~~~~~~


The day continued to tick on by, and the Gems and Ponies were pretty busy with this new get-together. Many of the Gems weren't familiar with this get-together plan, but if it meant keeping the Off-Colors home and not leaving them homeless (again), then it'll be worth it in the end. Applejack, Amethyst, Steven, and Pinkie Pie were the bakers for today, and they really got it all down pact after such a long time of baking, plenty of food left out for plenty to eat. They had to be with the twenty plus "family members" coming by to see Andy DeMayo. Fluorite was the only singular exception for meeting Andy face to face (for obvious reasons), and Rhodonite was given a bit of a pass since Andy didn't freak out on seeing her earlier.
Off around sunset was when the big eat was to take place, and about time for the group to finish up. A table was set up for the dinner, and lined on it was all sorts of food. For the sake of the ponies, most of it was a vegetarian diet (salads, fruits, cake, etc.). No meat was present at this banquet, though hopefully it wouldn't be too much of a problem. But for Andy ...

"Is it just going to be a bunch of vegetables? I should've known, you're a bunch of vegetarians!"

Another issue. The other didn't officially show up yet, but Andy got a good look at their meal first, alongside Steven and Greg.

"A vegetable grown by a family's love nourishes the body and soul," said Steven.

"Aw, don't let them get to you Steven. I'll get you a stick of pepperoni for your birthday," Andy decided, fluffing his hair. Steven wasn't sure if he was rolling with it, or being legitimate about it. Anyway, it was at this point when some of the group did start to show up, the first being the flyers: RD, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Lapis specifically. A bit odd to see them flying around, but like any other human in Steven's world, he didn't question it too much.

"Steven!" Lapis called, landing down gently nearby them.

"Hi, Lapis," said Greg.

"Are the others coming?" asked Steven.

"They'll be here in just a bit sport," Rainbow said, still hovering in the air as the rest landed over by the table.

"Holy. Steven, you sure outdone yourself this time," Fluttershy complimented. Steven smiled, going over to them. Andy actually looked a little surprised.

"Hold up. He made all of this?" Andy asked, pointing to the table of food.

"I had a little help," Steven admitted, but he was glad he had so much made here for the dinner. Andy glanced over to Greg for the moment, Greg feeling a bit bashful about it.

"Well, that's one thing he got from you, Greg," Andy admitted. Steven heard that loud and clear.

"You didn't tell me you're a natural chef!" Steven said. Andy glanced at Greg again, unamused, but at the same time expecting it. Greg recoiled a little.

"Eh, I dabbled a little when I was your age."

"Dabbled? Heck, he had enough to cook in those fancy diners, but no he'd rather run off and play Mr. rock star. Still fiddling with that guitar by the way with that, er what's-his-name ... Matt?" Andy asked, though he wasn't sounding too interested in his answer whatever it would be.

"What's he talking about?" Twilight asked.

"See, before I gave up on it, I was in my rock career, and I had a manager named Marty as I went around Delmarva. ... He's dead to me," Greg simply said. Blunt, but that about sums it up.

"Bout time we agreed on somethin today," Andy added in, arms crossed. Before they could continue on that (if they wanted to that was), it was then that the others finally arrived. Aside from Flint (five bits if you can guess why), everyone seemed to have arrived. The second Andy saw just how many other members were there, he was ... speechless, to say the least.

"Wow ... that silver girl wasn't joshin' after all, gees," Andy commented.

"You mean Star?" asked Greg.

"Know any other silver women?"

"Hello again."

Andy jumped again when Star Quartz just popped up right behind them, Andy having a hand over his heart.

"A-Again? You need a bell or something," Andy said, trying to recollect.

"Andy DeMayo? Meet the family," Garnet said, giving her basic introduction for Andy to everybody there. Andy was still a bit surprised as to just how big this family even was. Sure, he wanted to see the family, but this was a bit overdoing it. The first one to go up to him was Bismuth and the Rutile twins. Bismuth was alright, but seeing Rutile come up sent a shiver through Andy's spine.

"Hey there, DeMayo, so you're Steven's uncle, huh?" Bismuth noted.

"Nice to meet you," said the twins. Andy took a step back from the Rutile twins, and his face showed a bit of worry, which the twins easily caught. Andy then noticed Star Quartz nearby ...

"Er, uh *ahem* L-Likewise. You all take a seat, and we'll get comfy," Andy simply said. Both twins glanced to eachother, and they began to head over to the table.

"Is your friend one of those "Siamese twins" or something?" Andy whispered.

"Let's just agree to call it that, if it's all the same to you," Rarity quietly suggested. It would probably be for the best if Andy kept his judgmental comments to himself, at least until after dinner. Andy mainly agreed though so he wouldn't set off Padparadscha again.

It didn't take them much longer until they all were sitting down at the table. Sure, all these Gems and ponies did make things a little bit crowded, but it didn't bother them too much, as the table was surely large enough to accommodate them all, with a little magic, of course. Andy was pretty impressed, to say the least, once he got down to it. He didn't know how many chefs were in this family, but they knew how to feed them all together.

"Alright, let's get started. Since we're throwing tradition out the window, let's start with this gorgeous cake! Dessert before Dinner," Andy decided. He was ready to dig right in, but he quickly caught himself before he could take his bite.

"Where are my manners? Steven, pass this down to your friend," Andy said, giving a slice of cake to Steven. Steven was glad to do so and passed the plate down. What happened then, well ...

"Oh, where're my manners?" said Lapis, passing the plate.

"Where're my manners? Here you are," said Rhodonite, passing the plate.

"Thank you, P, but where're my manners?" said Fulgurite, passing the plate.

... This kept up for a good minute, and after a pretty long while, the only ones who were left with any cake were the ponies, Greg, Steven, and Andy. Everyone else was left out of it.

"What, none of you like cake?" asked Andy.

"Gems don't need to eat. Well, Amethyst enjoys it that is," Garnet stated.

"Eh, I'm good, I had three bottles of cooking oil earlier," Amethyst said, followed by a burp, which came with some purple fire. no one got burnt, but it was comedic if anything.

"So that's where it all ended up!" Pinkie realized.

"Eh ... It's alright," Andy said. At least the ponies had some cake, though he was weirded out someone would actually eat cooking oil. Anyway, it didn't take long until they started to get into their meals - whoever got a meal - and started some small talk.

"So, Steven. you got a pretty colorful family here, don't ya?" Andy noted. Andy didn't mean to make that a joke, but a few did snicker anyway. It was more literal considering the group.

"Yeah, all my family," Steven said with a smile.

"Yeah. Though I see women are especially strong in this family," Andy noted.

"Hey, I'm a dude!" Emerald corrected.

"We don't have genders, Emerald," corrected Jasper.

"So? You look at me, you think I'm a girl?" Emerald said. However, it was pretty quick that many of the girls didn't look too ... well, girly.

"I think you don't have a problem here," Jasper simply said.
As they were chatting, the ones who had the most discomfort towards the situation though was Rhodonite, still a bit uneasy about what happened earlier. Rhodonite kept a closer eye towards Padparadscha, who was still sitting there with her smile on her face, as she would normally do.

"You are alright, are you Padparadscha?" Rhodonite whispered, wanting to be sure.

"....... It's such a nice get-together," Padparadscha replied. Rhodonite breathed a sigh of relief on that answer, something Peridot caught.

"What's with you now?" Peridot asked.

"Just checking, that's all," Rhodonite insisted. She wanted to keep it as that, but Rainbow Dash was quick to oblige in filling the gaps here.

"Padparadscha had a ... little situation earlier. She seems pretty alright now, though," Rainbow Dash said.

"Seriously?" Rhodonite said under her breath. Some people were such open books, it really bothered her. Peridot thought it over a little bit, but then there was one situation that came to her mind.

"Wait. That scream you mean?" Peridot stated. RD just nodded, and Peridot turned over to Padparadscha, who at first was still smiling, but after a little bit laughed a little nervously, embarrassed that her high screech was overheard that much.

"Well, Sapphires are known for their tones of voice, so ... yeah, makes sense," Peridot shrugged. At least it wasn't as bad as they brought it out to be.

"Well, as long as everyone's happy," Fluttershy said, as Pinkie Pie was happily eating away as her own cake. She looked up and nodded her head in agreement, swallowing down her piece.

"Yep, I'd hate to have anypony all grumpy here. By the way, where's Flint? Is Mr. grumpy too busy again?" Pinkie asked, not seeing him in the crowd.

"I tried to get him to help, but he insisted on working. ... It would've taken hours," Garnet sighed, a bit disappointed admittedly.

"You did what you had to do, don't sweat it. We wouldn't have any time to get all the ingredients together if we waited for him. He probably preferred it anyway," Applejack stated, which was probably true anyway.

"Wish we could've taken one of those carts with us. We could've added it to the barn!" said right Rutile.

"That would be stealing," Pearl firmly stated.

"Because it's made of steel," Steven then joked, the Rutiles chuckled on the joke.

"We did save the world from mass destruction, we should have access to anything we want," Peridot said in pride. Andy would ask, but a part of him knew better.

"Eh ... fair point, but rules are rules, Peridot," Pearl stated.

"You just don't want to run into the cops again, right?" Emerald teased, making Pearl blush.

"I can guarantee you I did nothing wrong, and you know it Emerald."

"We just played a game with him, Pearl," Star said.

"Can we change the subject please?" Pearl quickly suggested. Being reminded of her little line walk with a cop was not something she wanted to do.

"Calm down, Pearl, it's alright. You didn't hurt anyone, and everything turned out okay," Peridot reassured.

"Yeah, true."

"Everything turned out alright in the end. It sure is funny though: to think that this place used to be a battlefield for hundreds of Gems," Bismuth brought up, aiding Pearl in changing the subject.

"I know right? And here we are, playing around with dinner on the same ground some Gem ship was probably sitting on. Goes to show how much things can change, eh?" Fulgurite said.

"For better especially," agreed Amethyst, giving Fulgurite a high-five. It was then that Greg got an idea.

"Well, how about we share our thanks?" Greg decided, raising a glass.

"Oh, good idea," Steven agreed. The others weren't sure what this was about, but they went along anyhow. If it was apart of this tradition, then so be it.

"I would like to thank everyone for helping make this happen. This turned out to be a great dinner," Garnet started.

"Well, all that gardening was done by Applejack, I thank her," said Amethyst.

"Thank you kindly. And I'd like to give my thanks for all your hard work."

"I agree. With how much we all have done, I want to raise my glass to you. The world would never have looked so bright if it wasn't for all of you here today, and all the determination and care you've all put in making this future possible. Cheers to a brighter future, everypony," Twilight said.

"Cheers!" everyone said.

"....... Cheers!" Padparadscha finished.

.......

"Ok. You can have the barn."

This was rather sudden of Andy to say, and he didn't feel to good about it. Without another word, Andy placed his hat down on the table, and actually started to walk away.

"Huh? Andy, you ok?" Steven asked, but Andy didn't answer, and he started to head over to the plane. Seeing all this made Andy feel ... sad. And in the end he didn't want to deal with anymore. Some of them tried to get him, but eventually Andy got into his plane, started it up, and actually flew off and away!

"... Alright, we did it!" Rhodonite said with a smile. However, Jasper gave her a rough nudge to keep her quiet.

"Andy, wait!" Greg called, but it was no use. Andy had left.

"Oh dear," Rarity simply said.

"... Wait a minute. Where's Star?" Peridot asked.


~~~~~~


Off out on the wing, Andy was all silent. Normally, a fly over the ocean would give him a good feeling, but this time the situation just seemed a little bit down hill for him. Seeing all this just didn't sit well for him, seeing Greg in such a different way, seeing so many new people, hearing how much they've done ...

"Where're you going?"

Andy couldn't believe his ears. He was sure that no one else was in the plane with him when he left, but when he looked around, he saw that he wasn't alone up there in the sky. Star Quartz! And worse yet, Star Quartz was sitting casually on the plane's left wing!

"You mad?! Get off of there!" Andy yelled. Sure, he was still fifty-fifty on the Gems, but he didn't want them hurt like this!

"What happened back there? Is everything okay?" Star asked, surprisingly casual as she sat there.

"NO everything's not okay, you're sitting on the wing! Get down from there before you fall off!" Andy snapped. Star didn't see what was so dangerous, being a Gem and all, and even if she fell she had little weight for a hard landing anyway.

"... Sorry Mr. Zays."

"It's. DE.MAYO. DeMayo!" Andy yelled. Star didn't say anything, and it could be Star's ability acting up or just the flight itself, but Andy did begin to calm down.

"I thought they were having a good time. Weren't you having fun?"

"You don't know nothin about me! I wanted everything to stay the same, but no one else would! Everyone just didn't," Andy finally admitted. Strange, and he even found it strange, that he would just flat out say something like that to a complete stranger like Star. Star herself still felt a little perplexed about the whole thing, but the idea to her sounded ... well, a little silly.

"What's wrong with change?"

"What's wrong with it? My whole family had left me, that's what. ... No one cares anymore ..."

"Not even you?" Star asked.

Andy was silent, continuing the flight forward, and looking out to sea. Star laid down on the wing, and looked down to Andy.

"Steven looked like he cared to me. Greg looked pretty caring too. I don't know why they wouldn't care if they wanted to have this "dinner" with you," Star pointed out, and she was right. If they really didn't care, why were they trying to even do this? They would've just driven him off if that were the case, but instead they were willing to try and make him comfortable. Andy just groaned.

"Everything just happened so fast. It's like yesterday that we were all just together like real family ... then there's just me. I didn't decide to get into flying until after practically everyone flown the coop without me, and ... well, here I am, flying solo. And hearing how much Steven's aunts, sisters, uncles and brothers did already, it's just - ..."

"... I may not know as much of the Earth as the others do. I'm only a few years old after all ... but all this change that happens here. It's actually comforting to me."

"Comforting? ... Wait, you're how old?"

Star laid down on the wing, turning over to her back as she looked up to the sky, feeling the wind blow by her.

"When I was made, I only had the Kindergarten. Cold. Alone. No one was there except for me. ... When I found my mom, it changed. ... Weren't you happy to see Greg again, or ...?"

Andy didn't have a correct answer for her. I mean, he was upset at Greg for being gone this whole time, one way or another, and for him just ditching the family like everyone else did, but a part of him ... felt glad. He knew Greg was ok, and he found just how big of a family the DeMayo now was thanks to the Universes. And that's when it hit him.

"Eh, I'm just a stubborn Zays aren't I?" Andy commented.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothin. Let's get you back home, your family's probably worried sick about ya," Andy suggested, gently turning the plane and starting to fly on back.

.......

"YOU WERE ON THE PLANE?!"

Andy couldn't call it any better when they got back. They all were glad to see that Star Quartz was okay after her little fly around the sea, and when they got back they explained everything. Er, well Star did, Andy just kept quiet at first.

"Thanks for bringing back Star, Andy," Garnet said.

"Eh, well I wasn't gonna leave her on the wing like that, you know? Anyway, I figured you could use some help with the leftovers. You know, since you don't eat and all," Andy said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Understood. We'll get it situated for you," Pearl said, her and a few others getting some items ready for Andy's flight. Then Greg went over to him.

"Thanks for the barn!" called the Rutile Twins, as they too helped the others.

"Glad you came back, Andy," Greg said. At first, there was some silence between them, but Andy then smiled.

"EH, come here you goofball!" Andy finally said, hugging Greg, and giving him a playful noogie to the head. Greg couldn't help but laugh with him, seeing Andy was happy to see him too. Looks like they got another member in the family after all. Star saw them both, and all she did was smile. Garnet was smiling as well, seeing this happen.

"Welcome to the family."
> Waving the Red Cape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


My dear friends of the Earth. It's my great honor to offer this request for you and your company to come to the Summer Sun Celebration. I do understand that you've all had a rather hard time as of late, considering how much you all had to handle over these last few years, though if I recall correctly, none of you had seen the Summer Sun Celebration before. So I'll take the time now to invite you to the upcoming event.


A rather long time it had been indeed for the Alicorn princess Celestia. A simple writing of a letter was even a bit for her, as all of the preparations still called for her to be present. She was lucky to have the time to write this out, let alone get the letter prepared altogether. Just as she was putting the finishing touches on the letter, the study door opened up and in walked Luna.

"Sister, there you are. Preparing that letter we talked about?" Luna asked, trotting to her side, as Celestia rolled up the scroll with a bit of magic.

"I just finished. I do hope the Crystal Gems do have time this year to come visit. It's been too long," Celestia said, as she wrapped the letter in her signature red ribbon. Once that was done, Celestia focused her magic, and had it teleported away (she can give Spike a break from belching her letters).

"Eh, speaking of which, how much is left until the celebration's ready?" Celestia asked.

"Oh, it's almost ready ... but ..."

"But what?" Celestia asked. Luna's mood towards the event got her slightly bummed out all of a sudden.

"Well ... I don't know if I should be there or not."

"Pardon me?"

"The Summer Sun Celebration's a nice party, I know, but ... it's marks the day Nightmare Moon was defeated." On the surface that sounded good, but all it was was just a reminder to the alicorn of her alter-ego that took control of her for the longest time. All Celestia did though was rest her wing on her back and smiled to her sister.

"It also marks the day hat my dear sister has come back to us," Celestia said. Luna didn't need too much more convincing on that statement, mainly because it was true and a far better meaning than Nightmare Moon's defeat. Luna hugged her sister on that note, grateful for that, when ...

"Princess!"

The doors to the study suddenly swung open, and one of Celestia's pegesus high guards was suddenly in the room. And by the look on the guard's face, the news he had on his mind wasn't the best news he could give to them. Both sister turned to the guard at this point.

"What seems to be the trouble?" Luna asked. The guard needed a minute, his wing wiping his forehead of some sweat since he flown all the way there nonstop.

"I'm so sorry to report this, so close to the celebration and all, but ... something's come back."

"Something? What sort of something?"

*ARRROOOOOOO*

That was more than enough of an answer to the alicorns in the room. The distant sound wasn't exactly a howl of a wolf, but more like a low moo, but just as ominous. Both alicorns looked shocked on the sound, Celestia looking out from the study's window. She may not see what danger was coming their way, but she knew well what was actually coming.

"What shall we do?" asked the guard.

"Have the unicorns create the magical barrier. It should be enough to keep him away," Celestia advised. The guard nodded, and galloped off to pass word.

.......

Off over in Ponyville, just leaving from the boutique, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle had some outfits for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. It took Rarity a while to get the outfit for Twilight just right for the celebration, even if it was just a simple alteration from the Grand Galloping Gala party. Same thing could be said for the other outfits Rarity had brought on for the rest of the group, along with a few extras for a few other Ponies. And just as well, they were on their way to the train station for the ride up, and to meet up with the rest of the party.

"Oh, I swear, time surely has flown by, hasn't it?" Rarity commented, carrying her neatly folded outfit in a blue aura of magic.

"I know what you mean. It felt like it was just yesterday we were at last year's Gala."

"I know! Such a fun and life-changing experience to last a lifetime every year, and I've heard that Canterlot's going to make this one a little special," Rarity explained. Twilight wasn't sure what Rarity was getting at, and Twilight tried to work her memory on the event.

"OK, you got me, what is it?"

"Steven's first Summer Sun Celebration of course! He and the Crystal Gems are invited as honorable guests!"

"Oh yeah, that's right! They should be there by now ... well, most of them," Twilight said. Both ponies knew that the Gems are very busy, and with what they now had to deal with, it wouldn't surprise anypony if most of the group didn't show up. They are trying to solve a case after all.
Anyway, it wasn't much longer until they reached the station, and today the springtime warmth had given the station more business than ever for the springtime travelers. As Celestia had already wrote on about, warm weather had hit hard in Equestria this year, and it was to be expected that ponies of all ages would be wanting to go off on some vacation in the nice weather. The Mane six were there too, along with the CMC and Spike, and all of them were ready to go off on their way, the train itself awaiting departure.

"Twilight, Rarity, there you are! The train's about to go!" called Rainbow.

"Sorry, everypony, there were just a few little adjustments and trinkets I just had to add to the outfits before we went," Rarity said, presenting each and every one of them their own outfits for the Summer Sun Celebration. Even Spike was put in a cute tuxedo, red rose included.

"Oh, you just look so adorable!" Pinkie said, honestly not able to help herself, as she hugged Spike. Spike flustered up a bit.

"Well, it fits," Spike said meekly.

"Don't worry, sugarcube, it's not like this is some life-changing experience or no - thiiiiiiiin?" Before Applejack could finish, she turned and saw that Apple Bloom was all dressed up and ready to go off herself, Rarity doing the honor of putting the outfit on her. Seeing Apple Bloom in that green dress with apples lining the rim actually brought tears to AJ's eyes.

"My little sister's all grown up," she wept in joy, smile on her face. She even went as far as to blow her nose on Rainbow's tail.

"HEY!" Rainbow snapped, pulling her tail away. All the same though, all the ponies were pretty much ready to head off towards Canterlot. They all were outfitted, all having everything finished before hoof, and all rearing to go.

"Ok, everypony, let's make this celebration one to remember!" Pinkie beamed.


~~~~~~


Pretty soon, with the calm rumbling of the engine, and a clear line ahead of them, the Ponyville express went off on its way from the main station and over towards the grand Canterlot castle. Typically a train ride wouldn't be too crowded, but it wasn't just the Mane Six and CMC on this train, many other Ponyville ponies taking the trip to the Summer Sun Celebration. It only made sense for plenty of them, as it was the quickest way to reach the place before the true event was to happen, even if it was a day prior to the true event the next day. It was also a good time to see the spring landscape, no longer full of snow, and green and healthy as can be. Fluttershy smiled and sighed happily seeing nature at its finest here.

"It's so lovely," she sighed. While some ponies were glad for a good view, others were getting a little antsy on the ride up.

"How much longer?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's still gonna be a while yet, so just sit tight," Rarity advised, though it didn't help Scoots out any. Scootaloo just sat there with Applebloom next to her, as Rarity turned back forward.

"Hey, Scootaloo, cheer up. And hey, maybe we might find one of those monsters on our ride," Apple Bloom said. That got Scootaloo pretty excited all over again, but unfortunately, Applejack wasn't having it.

"Oh no, we're not havin that today."

"Come on, sis, you've been everywhere, can't we tag along for at least one?" Apple Bloom asked.

"No way. Sorry, you two, but they're way too dangerous for just anypony to jump at. Besides, if y'all ask me, we've been going through enough of it, Equestria and Earth could use the break," Applejack explained. A pretty true statement agreed on 5 out of 6.

"Aww," both fillies sighed.

"Cheer up, you two, we'll have you come along one day. Just maybe on a day that isn't involving a yearly holiday," Rainbow said, though in her heart, some action would be nice. Why not?

"Looking forward to it," Scootaloo said. That surely sounded pretty good, and good enough for her. It was just the matter of which day that would end up being exactly.

"Oh, speaking of which, check this out!" Pinkie was waiting for a good audience for this, and her hoof went into her mane, and popped out a letter.

"A letter, Pinkie?" Twilight asked. Pinkie nodded quickly, and got out the message. She got the letter opened up, and cleared her throat a little bit before she started reading.


I got through some of my errands, I'm sorry that I just had to run off after my visit to Ponyville, but I had to be called away for something. It's the last bit of my BIG list I had, and I'm gonna be stopping by Beach City at the end of the week. Connie already knows, and probably told Steven already, but I thought you'd want to see me too. hope to see you then.

signed: Connie II


"Who? Connie ... two?" Spike wondered, scratching his head.

"Don't you remember silly? She stopped by with amazing tales of wondrous adventures with big mean monsters, and lots of magic tricks! She talked it up in town square during Winter Wrap-Up!" Pinkie said, actually hopping on the back rim of the train seat, and looking like a superhero in stance ... until she fell backwards back in her seat.

"Oh yeah, I saw her then too! If even half of those stories were true, the girl's got guts to face all those things by herself," Rainbow commented, having seen the girl as she was flying around Ponyville. Kinda hard to miss during her flight around town., especially with the crowd she had with her for these said stories.

"I wonder how everypony else will react to her," Fluttershy wondered.

"Oh, I know I know. Ahem ..." It took Pinkie a moment, but suddenly she looked absolutely shocked, her eyes wide, irises shrunk, and ears tucked back in shock, blank in overall expression.

"Eh, I don't think the Gems will be that shocked," Twilight noted.

"No, that's for Connie's parents."

"Oh. In that case, nevermind," Applejack said. It would only be a matter of time before Connie II would meet her technical "grandparents", and mother and father of Connie, so a reaction like that was sugarcoating it, if not spot on. Far as they were aware, Connie probably never told her parents about Connie II yet, for obvious reasons. They'll cross that bridge when they get to it, but for now it was the Summer sun Celebration they have to get to.
Meanwhile, the conductor for the train kept the whole thing moving right on schedule. Tracks all cleared up, and the conductor and firemare were actually relaxing. The conductor kept his eyes on the tracks ahead, as the firemare rested on a nearby chair. If all goes according to schedule, they should be there in no time at all. The world zoomed by the windows, though as the conductor looked on ahead, he took notice of something standing right in the middle of the tracks! There was a lot of distance between them and the object, so the conductor went on the blow the horn good and loud. Usually that would send it going ... but instead, it turned and charged towards them!

"Ponyfeathers," he muttered, before quickly going for the breaks! The wheels locked up and the train started to screech a horrid noise. The passengers on said train were only mildly surprised, the other cars not too effected by the quick breakage. And if that didn't get their attention, the sudden halt of the entire train did! The object, whatever it was, made contact with the train's front, and stopped it dead in its tracks, literally. And the hit made almost everypony thrown off their seats towards the front, some ponies slamming against the wall! It was just a few seconds until the train made a complete stop, everypony in the train getting to their hooves in a groggy state.

"What the hay happened? Everypony ok?" Applejack asked, shaking her head from the hit. The ponies were alright overall, albeit a bit sore from the hit.

"What a stop that was," Pinkie said. Spike took a look out the window to see what was what, and it was clear that something was indeed on the tracks, but he couldn't see what it actually was. The train was letting off steam, and smoke bellowed out from the engine.

"I think we got a little problem," Spike said, as some of the other ponies took a look outside. The conductor and firemare came out to see the situation themselves, and they could just make out a leg moving in front of the train.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" Fluttershy gasped, almost blindly jumping out of the window and straight to the front of the train. Fluttershy skidded to a halt, and the result was just as she feared. It was an animal who got hit, and a fairly large one at that. It looked unconscious at best from the train itself, though it had to be very strong to make the train stop like that. The rest of the Mane six were outside at this point to see the situation for themselves.

"What happened?" asked Rarity.

"I swear to Celestia, I tried to get it away, but instead it charged right at us! What kind of animal does that?" the conductor questioned. AJ and Rainbow took a look to the train's front, which had a deep dent to the cowcatcher on the impact.

"One that can dent metal, apparently," Rainbow simply stated.

Then the animal began to come back to life. As Everypony watched, the large animal raised itself back onto its hooves, shaking off the blunt force of the hit. As for what this animal was, everypony got a far better look at this thing and saw that it was some sort of bull. A big. Red. Bull. And not just any bull, but more rather a Muskox. Dark red fur ran all over its body, large sturdy hooves holding him up, none of which were broken surprisingly. The horns curved back to create a bony helmet on its head. The Muskox shook its head and soon turned to the ponies nearby. its snout sniffed the air before it began to move again, its bulk pushing past any pony in the way, until it stopped in front of Twilight and Rarity.

"Eh, we apologize for ... running you over. You alright?" Twilight asked, only to get a loud snort to her face.

"Not nearly enough," the ox snorted.

"Ok, ok, let's not start getting upset now," Rarity insisted, but the muskox wasn't giving them much chance

"Anyone would be finding vermin by the tracks!"

"Eh, couldn't have. Mice don't really like going by such big, loud tracks," Fluttershy explained.

"What mice?" the muskox spat.

"... The vermin by the track?" Twilight said. The muskox snorted again and moved forward, enough to make Twilight and Rarity fall onto their backs.

"I mean you! You're the vermin!"

... Huh?

"We're the vermin?" Twilight asked, skeptical of course.

"I'm glad you admit it," the muskox said, as the two got up. Why would this bull see Twilight and Rarity as vermin? The two were very good as far as everypony else was concerned.

"I think you got em confused, pal," Rainbow said. The bull didn't turn to the Pegasus.

"As far as I'm concerned, any pony with a horn on its head, or uses magic, is vermin. That makes you vermin," the muskox concluded, marching towards the unicorns right in front of him. Both of them moved back until their flanks touched the train, the muskox snorting at them again.

"Now let's not go down to petty insults! You're talking to the elements of harmony, you know. May I remind you, we actually saved Equestria from -"

"I don't care."

Well, that was blunt. So much for that card. AJ then made a bold move against the muskox, and bit into the brute's tail. That made the beast freak out, and buck like crazy to get AJ to let go. One of these did hit someone, but it struck Fluttershy instead, sending her flying into Pinkie Pie! AJ released the ox when she saw this, and they all rushed over to her seeing a hoof mark implanted on her chest, Flutters in a daze.

"OH, you're on thin ice, you cow!" Rainbow warned, cracking her front hooves, ready for a rumble.

"I don't have time to deal with you. Where's Canterlot?" the muskox demanded, not looking to the Pegasus flying overhead. No way were these ponies going to tell this ox where Canterlot is if he was treating them like this. Odd thing though, Canterlot was in plain sight from the tracks there. Rainbow glanced over to the castle from where they were.

"... Eh, that way," Rainbow said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Which way?" the muskox questioned.

"That way, over there."

"Over where?"

"Come on, THAT WAY!" Rainbow kept saying. All she was doing though was getting the muskox ticked off at her for not giving any details. Seemed though that this Pegasus wasn't getting the idea yet. Before Rainbow Dash could blow a gasket, Applejack gave it a try instead.

"Now, turn around, about one eighty, and start marching off that way, and you'll run into it in no time," AJ said. The muskox stood there for a moment or two, and actually followed Applejack's instructions. He turned about one eighty degrees from where he was standing, facing away from the train, and he stormed off as fast as he could, barreling through some bushes and even a tree on the way. Not the most peaceful way to avoid a danger, but at least nopony else got hurt in this odd encounter. Though, they do have a little something to tell Celestia now.


~~~~~~


Well, the rest of the ride to Canterlot was without incident, and without any more angry bulls messing them up again. And aside from being a little sore from the actual crash, and a few from the muskox's hits, everypony made it through fairly uninjured. Their arrival to Canterlot was met with plenty of nice faces, and some good decoration for the event to come tomorrow morning. Plenty of magic surely helped getting things together too, and while it may not be as extravagant as Heart's Warming, or the Galloping Gala, it still showed some interest anyway. Seemingly though, the Gems hadn't arrived yet by what the group could figure out, so they had the moment to themselves going around town. Good thing the train could make it there before it needed repairs, otherwise it would've taken them all day to get there.

"Canterlot never ceases to amaze me with their decorations," said Rarity.

"I see ... flags," started up Apple Bloom, pointing over to a few hanging up on some banners down one of the streets.

"And I see some guards," Scootaloo said. Some passed them by, and Scootaloo actually gave them a salute as they passed, one of them doing the same to her. Might as well give some respects as they went along.

"You know what I don't see? The Crystal Gems! I really was hoping and hoping and hoping they would visit this time," Pinkie said, not seeing them anywhere.

"It's not like they didn't want to, Pinkie. but really, if anypony deserves a stop, it's them," Fluttershy agreed. With how much they've done, who wouldn't think that?

"They'll show up somewhere, but it's not like they'll just pop up outta -"

"SNEAK ATTACK!"

She stood corrected: before Twilight could finish, suddenly a Crystal Gem zoomed out of nowhere, and Lapis Lazuli had the alicorn in hand. And she was surely in a good mood to be here, and she wasn't alone either: some other Gems started to walk out to see them.

"Hello everyone," said Fluorite.

"Hey, gang, see you made it," put in Amethyst.

"Hello." said Blue Pearl quietly.

"My prediction says our friends will meet us here soon," said Padparadscha.

And adding in with Pearl, Tiger's Eye, and Steven, they got a fair group here. So there's nine ponies, one dragon, and eight Crystal Gems joining the celebration.

"They did pop up outta nowhere," Pinkie commented, smirking and nudging Twilight.

"Howdy partner, good to see you all made it here," Applejack said, going up to the Crystal Gems there.

"We missed this too many times, no way I'm missing this one," Steven said, psyched to be there, and being able to be there all the same. It was then that Fluttershy looked and noticed Blue Pearl standing over nearby.

"Oh. You're visiting Canterlot too? ... Where's your Diamond?" Fluttershy quietly asked.

"She's back home," Blue Pearl simply said, quietly. At least Blue Pearl was with people and ponies she knew weren't willing to harm her, or her Diamond in anyway.

"Blue Diamond's letting her come with us for a while. Apparently she's been hanging around for a good two weeks, Yellow Pearl too. ... though Yellow's not interested," Tiger's Eye explained.

"....... Blue Pearl's staying with us," answered Padparadscha, though Tiger's Eye literally said the same thing moments ago.

"Sweet! more friends for summer sun fun time!" Pinkie beamed, hugging Blue Pearl. Blue Pearl flustered slightly from the sudden grab, but didn't make an attempt to get herself out of the hug.

"There's no reason to be afraid," said Fluorite.

"I-I'm just not ... not used to it," Blue Pearl said. Pearl got Pinkie Pie off of her so she could get a little more comfortable. No reason for anyone to get uncomfortable during a celebration like this.

"Hey girls, you can show the Gems around a bit, I want to go see the princesses," Twilight said, ready to fly off to them. It was bound to happen.

"Alright, see you in a few," AJ said, as Twilight started off towards the castle.

.......

And the red muskox was rushing off there as well. Or at least, where he thought was the right way. Plenty of forest was in his way, yet this charging bull stopped and yielded for nothing. Any bush he trampled, and tree he knocked aside, any boulder he crushed, this beast was relentless in his charge.

"Canterlot can't be farther now," he thought. As he huffed and puffed, his snout started to realize something, and he skidded to a halt for the first time since he left the tracks.

"Wait a minute ... it's weaker now. ... Blast, they tricked me!" the ox realized. And almost immediately, he turned around and began charging back the way he came. Now he was ticked off.


~~~~~~


It took just a little bit of fly time before she reached the castle, and a good time as well. With the odd bull that attacked them on said train ride, it was probably a good idea to tell Celestia and Luna about the situation, considering his goals seemingly involved Canterlot. By the time Twilight reached the throne room, Celestia was waiting for her. It was only her, Luna not around for the moment, and Twilight landed down gently inside the throne room.

"Twilight Sparkle. I trust you came here safely?" Celestia asked. Immediately Twilight recoiled a little bit on that statement, all things considered.

"Well ... yes and no."

"You ok?"

"I'm alright, and everypony else, but ... I-I'm very sorry to just barge in and ask, but do you know any ... ox?" Twilight asked. Celestia was hoping she wouldn't say that, and the alicorn princess lowered her head, sighing sadly as she walked over to the throne windows to check outside at the shield covering.

"So you did meet him," Celestia simply stated. Twilight looked a bit perplexed, trotting over to her teacher.

"Meet who?" Twilight asked. Celestia stepped away from Twilight a little bit, her horn glowing brightly until a projection of the same red muskox now stood right in front of her. It was smaller of course, but still the same bull.

"The muskox is named Solitaire: a large and dangerous ox with a deep hatred for our kind," Celestia started. Twilight's ears folded back in worry.

"Is this another thousand year old enemy? A-Another tyrant wanting to take over Equestria?" Twilight asked. If her encounter said one thing, it's that Solitaire was a deadly adversary to be charging into Canterlot. Celestia shook her head.

"Actually no. Solitaire wouldn't reveal to me or my sister why he wants to attack Canterlot, or why he hates our kind so much. He arrived into Canterlot many years ago, and immediately tried to tear the city to pieces. Me and my sister managed to drive him out, but he swore that he will return to finish what he started. If he does manage to get in here ..." Celestia didn't really need to finish her sentence to get the idea across. Whatever reason Solitaire was against them surely was something deep, and by the sound of it he wasn't talking. Though, this was probably the first true enemy Twilight had met in Equestria who wasn't a thousand years old, or had a larger reason for attacking Equestria. Sombra, Tirek, even Discord wanted to take over Equestria, but this Solitaire didn't seem to have that kind of motive in him. All the same, that didn't mean Solitaire's going to get a free pass into Canterlot though, not if she could help it.

"Don't worry, Celestia, me and my friends will be sure that Solitaire doesn't get into Canterlot," Twilight proclaimed.

"Thank you, Twilight. We've already had the guards raise the kingdom's shield in case he does arrive, so you don't need to worry too much," Celestia then stated, a hoof aimed back outside at the shield. Twilight saw at the moment that Luna was checking on the shield, making sure it was still as strong as ever. Guess that explains the shield itself being up.

"I would've done the same thing. Anyway, our group already sent him the wrong way."

"Excuse me?"

"He kept demanding us to tell him where Canterlot is, so we just pointed him the wrong way. It'll take him a while to get here, even if he figured it out by now," Twilight explained, informing her what happened earlier.

"Hence the damaged train?"

"Heh, yeah," Twilight said, a little flustered about that. They both knew it wasn't her fault, but she still wished the accident didn't happen. At least nopony was hurt, that's the important thing. Twilight looked on outside, wondering just how big of a threat Solitaire actually was. If that muskox could shake off being hit by a train, that should suggest some sort of mighty strength in him, one way or another.

"In that case, everything should be fine," Celestia simply said. They had the elements of Harmony, and a huge shield to boot, and with Solitaire seemingly going the wrong way, Canterlot should be alright. After that was discussed, Celestia turned to her student.

"Now, that aside, do you know if the Crystal Gems arrived yet?" Celestia asked, changing subjects so they wouldn't worry too much about it. both alicorns walked on out of the throne room and continued their conversation.

"Not all of them, but yeah they're here," Twilight answered. suddenly, something else popped in her head, and she galloped in front of Celestia.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot, uh princess, we actually have some new members visiting for the Summer Sun Celebration. So if you see a ... giant caterpillar, t-them don't be alarmed."

"Giant? Caterpillar?" Celestia asked, a little confused. she knew the Gems, but none of them resembled any caterpillar. Twilight felt herself fluster up, realizing how stupid that actually sounded now that she said it, without much context no less.

"It's ... kinda hard to explain," Twilight replied meekly. Celestia them smiled.

"Then why don't we go meet them? Any new members of the Crystal Gems shouldn't be wary of us. Happen to know where they are?" Celestia asked. Twilight calmed down a little bit, glad to hear that. Plus, it would be good for the Off-Colors to meet the princess of Equestria, and what better time than now?


~~~~~~


Meanwhile, the group within Canterlot was going through with some anticipation, especially the Off-Colors of the group, who had never been here before. All these new colors, and preparations were making the whole place pretty interesting to say the least. In fact, much of the group arrived over in the seating areas where the main event was to be taking place.

"So what actually happens during this Summer Sun thing?" Tiger's Eye asked at one point.

"Oh, it's so exciting: a big party for Canterlot, and then tomorrow morning Luna and Celestia bring the moon and sun up and down, and then Twilight flies in and BOOM! Magic flair!" Pinkie explained, super psyched for when that'll happen. It'll have to wait until tomorrow morning, but Pinkie really couldn't wait for it any longer, finding a good seat for a good view of the event itself. Not a single pony was there, so seats were a plenty for everyone.

"Sounds dandy ... so, when is this?" Tiger's Eye questioned.

"Tomorrow morning," Pinkie chirped. It was a big event, but considering it was still the afternoon, why stick around?

"Tomorrow? Pinkie, aren't we a little bit premature about waiting right now?" Rarity asked.

"Nope."

"Come on, Pinkie, we got all day. Let's check and see how Twilight's chat with Celestia is doing," Rainbow suggested. Pinkie thought it over for a bit, at first happy, but turning a little bit unsure.

"Oh, yep, ok," Pinkie said. The others started to head off to do just that, but after a few little steps, Pinkie Pie stopped herself.

"Wait! I can't."

"You can't? Why?" Steven asked.

"Because if I go away from here, I might miss the event, and if I miss the event Twilight will be disappointed, and if she's disappointed, she wouldn't concentrate, and if she can't concentrate, she won't do so good, and if she can't do so good all her dreams will be crushed! And it'll be all ... my ... fault." Her spas ended with Pinkie Pie falling down onto her back, leaving the others ... confused, to say the least.

"... So in other words. Your staying right here," Pearl concluded.

"Yep," Pinkie chirped. Well, fi many of them knew anything, it's that it would be hard to get Pinkie out of a decision like this one, so they just left it at that.

"Suit yourself," said AJ, just before they went off to check on the rest of the festival. So, Pinkie Pie sat there at attention, and waiting much like a pup would by the door waiting for her master to come home. Well, they knew what Pinkie Pie will be up to today, and she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"K, didn't she kinda jump to that?" Tiger's Eye asked.

"That's Pinkie Pie for you," replied Rainbow. Best not to question the pink mare, under any circumstances, unless you want your mind blown to the moon and back. Padparadscha actually giggled slightly after that. Fluorite was looking to Padparadscha, and seeing the shy and timid Blue Pearl not too far away, and then she got an idea.

"Padparadscha? Blue Pearl?"

Blue Pearl stopped on hearing her name, turning to Fluorite.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you two go, and have some fun in the celebration?" Fluorite suggested. Blue Pearl wasn't too sure about it, as just like Beach City before her vacation started, she only been here once, and even then it was mostly in the castle itself, not around Canterlot. Blue Pearl looked around a bit more, and eventually Fluorite gently placed Padparadscha down, just for Padparadscha to say "Ok."

"Uh ... Y-You sure about this? I'm not too familiar with Canterlot."

"Oh clod, you sound just like Rhodonite. It'll be fine, just stay around in Canterlot, that's all. We'll meet up later," Tiger's Eye said. It sounded pretty simple enough, and with the shield they had a boundary, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad if they went around a little bit. The others stopped at this point, and heard what Fluorite suggested.

"Here, I'll tag along with ya if it helps," Amethyst decided, going over to them. She may not live in Canterlot, but she knew the place far better than these two.

"... Thank you," Blue Pearl simply said. At least they had some sort of guide around here, pony or not.

"Well, alright then, see you guys later. Meet us by Pinkie Pie when you're done," Applejack said, as the trio went off on their way from there. Well, that's four members now out of the current group. One waiting for the event to occur and three going off to check out the rest of the place. Well, it was bound to happen anyway.

"K, Pinkie's one place, they're going somewhere else, where we going?" Spike asked. Before anyone could answer, a silhouette began to appear from above them, and landed down gently over nearby: Twilight and Celestia. The ponies immediately bowed when Celestia showed up, though brief, yet Celestia was quick to notice the "giant caterpillar" Twilight told her about.

"Greetings, everypony. You must be the new Crystal Gem Twilight told me about," Celestia said. Fluorite nodded slowly.

"Indeed. A pleasure," she said with a soft smile.

"Hey girls, sorry for the wait," Twilight said, going over to them.

"Don't worry about it. We were heading your way anyway," Applejack answered. Tiger's Eye showed a bit of interest in seeing Celestia, heading over on her four legs, and seeing what this new arrival was about. The long flowing mane, the multiple colors, the royal appearance, it all intrigued Tiger's Eye.

"Huh, a clarity. Oh, I really like your mane," Tiger's Eye said, feeling her flowing mane. Celestia kept her composure together, and gently moved her mane out of the way.

"And you're a new Crystal Gem, I see. First time in Equestria."

"Well, second time, but first time here. And yeah, we're new to the Crystal Gems through and through. They're nice enough to give me and my group a home back on Earth," Tiger's Eye explained.

"How thoughtful of them. It's a pleasure to have you all here for the Summer Sun Celebration," Celestia said, a smile similar to Fluorite. Tiger's Eye felt the leadership and gentleness of one when she saw that smile, since both smiles had a similar feeling about them.

"Well, not everyone: most of the Crystal Gems are fairly busy right now, you understand," Pearl stated. It did bum her out a little bit, but Celestia understood it better than anyone else.

"I see. Oh well, at least you've made it to see the celebration. Is this everypony?" Celestia said.

"A few of us had left just moments ago. You know, checking out Canterlot," Tiger's Eye answered.

"I see. Well, I hope you all enjoy your stay for the celebration."

"Oh, wait, before you go, one question: why's there a huge bubble around Canterlot?" Tiger's Eye was referring to the shield around Canterlot, pointing off to the shield in the sky around the kingdom. Celestia and Twilight glanced to eachother before Twilight answered, as much of the ponies could probably guess why.

"That's a shield to make sure Canterlot's safe and sound," Twilight answered.

"Oh. Clever," Fluorite complimented. A simple security measure wasn't something that should be questioned too much. With how much goes on, some shield magic was a necessity at least. Plus, it would be bad for a threat to barge in during the celebration, of all times.

"I do hope you enjoy yourselves. I'll see you all again tomorrow morning," Celestia said, before opening her magnificent wings and then flying off back to the castle. It'll be a bit until she would meet up with the rest of the group, but she wasn't going to rush them on that part. So, with Celestia going one way, the rest of the group went off to enjoy the celebration themselves.


~~~~~~


Time ticked by through the afternoon, and as they were hoping for, not much incident so far. Celestia got the sun down to sunset as it was supposed to, leaving the sky a nice amber and orange. Much of the group went around town and basically enjoying themselves, Pinkie being the only exception since she was still sitting at her seat for the actual event. As most of the group did their thing, Blue Pearl, Padparadscha, and Amethyst were going around Canterlot themselves, over nearby the outskirts, still checking things out for plenty of them.

"Ah, that was delicious," Amethyst said, still licking her lips from having a little snack on their walk around.

"I guess it is," Blue Pearl replied. Blue Pearl actually had a little extra something on her person by this point: the shirt she bought while out with Yellow Pearl and CG Pearl.

"I predict that the sky will change in hue," Padparadscha said, looking up to the sky and seeing the nice colors.

"It's called a sunset, and Celestia's got it all covered with her magic anyway," Amethyst said. It took a bit, but Padparadscha looked surprised.

"Who?"

"Princess Celestia. She's got a lot of magic, and apparently she can move the sun and moon around in the sky," Amethyst said. Padparadscha was amazed, never had she heard of a being so powerful they can move the stars! Not even the Diamonds could do that, and that was saying something from a Homeworld Gem.

"....... Incredible!"

"You're telling me."

"But the sun and the moon rotate around in gravitational pulls. You can't move it with magic ... can you?" Blue Pearl asked.

"It's magic, don't question it," Amethyst simply advised, which was a wise thing to say actually. Magic knew no limits when it comes to the laws of the world its in, so questioning that was way too difficult to get an actual answer. During their walk around, Lapis Lazuli started to fly on down to see them, and she gently landed over nearby.

"Hey guys, there you are! ... Is that me?" Lapis asked. Blue Pearl blushed up like crazy, and quickly got the shirt off of her and folded up so Lapis didn't have to see it. Blue Pearl liked the shirt, but she didn't want to give the wrong idea.

"What's up, Lapis?" asked Amethyst.

"Here comes Lazuli," said Padparadscha.

"Just wanted to see where you're at. Celestia wanted to see you, Padparadscha," Lapis said.

"....... To see me?" Padparadscha asked, in surprise. Lapis nodded.

"Well, let's check her out then," Amethyst decided. As they continued walking along, Padparadscha then stopped at one point, her gaze aiming up to the sky for a minute, Amethyst, Lapis, and Blue Pearl stopped and turned back.

"I predict that the sky will start to shiver."

"Shiver?" Amethyst questioned. They looked up into the sky, and sure enough, the shield covering Canterlot was starting to shake in waves, as if something was actually slamming into it from somewhere. From where exactly they weren't too sure about, but it had to be a bit tough in order to make that kind of impact.

"Eh, here Amethyst, you go and put Padparadscha away, we'll be with you in a minute," Lapis said. And so, Amethyst did just that and started to bring Padparadscha along, as Lapis and Blue Pearl started to head off towards the odd occurrence. Shields shouldn't ripple like that unless they're made of water, and this shield wasn't water.

Lapis and Blue Pearl took the moment to head over to the edge of the border shield, which honestly didn't take too much time, and soon they found the cause of the disturbance. Over outside of the shield, they found that someone was just on the other side, and he wanted in. Solitaire had redone his tracks, and now he actually got the place found, but the shield was brutally keeping him out, regardless of how many hits this ox made to the shield. He banged, charged, and rammed over and over again, but it wasn't working in the slightest for the bull. Lapis and Blue Pearl weren't sure what was going on with this beast, and they also saw a few unicorn guards making sure the shield was still up and strong enough to keep the bull back, but it seemed this was going on for a while. Solitaire backed up again for another charge at the shield, and rushed forward, making a hard ram on the shield again.

"What's going on?" Lapis asked.

"Solitaire's trying to break in, that's what," one of the guards answered, just as Solitaire slammed into the shield again. After that, instead of backing up, he just kept banging his head down onto the shield over and over again. Not as strong as a full charge, but more persistent. It surely wasn't enough to break open the giant shield.

"Give it a break, Solitaire, you're not getting in here!" a guard yelled. Solitaire snorted.

"That's what you think, you magical rat," Solitaire snorted, backing up for another large charge. Lapis didn't want to see him hurting himself any further, so she actually got out of the shield and stood in Solitaire's way. However, the muskox wasn't stopping for anyone, and barreled at her! Lapis though her standing there would be enough, but the muskox just trampled right over her! Lapis avoided getting crushed, but the muskox slammed into the shield again, still not breaking through it. Solitaire backed up again, but he backed into Lapis next, which made him spin around, swinging his horns at her.

"Sneaking up on me?!" he yelled.

"What're you talking about, you ran me over! Now what're you doing?" Lapis asked. Solitaire huffed at her.

"I'm trying to get into Canterlot, that's what," Solitaire announced, turning himself around to face the shield again. Lapis went over in the ox's way again, and the muskox started walking again. However, he didn't stop until he bumped into her, quickly backing up.

"How'd you do that? You were behind me, you didn't teleport!"

"I ... just moved," Lapis said blankly. Surely this bull would know that, right? ... Right? ...

"Just get out of my way, unicorn," Solitaire said. that made Lapis even more confused, Blue Pearl gently moving out as well.

"I'm not a unicorn, I'm a Gem. You can see that for -" Lapis suddenly stopped herself, a thought striking her. On that thought, she moved closer to the still muskox, and took a good look at the bull's eyes. nothing but white, blank slates. Lapis and Blue Pearl both looked shocked.

"... Y-You're blind," Lapis concluded. Solitaire snorted again.

"I'm not blind."

"But, then how -"

"I just can't see," Solitaire stated, which was basically the same thing. The muskox moved back again, gaining some distance, before he began to charge. Blue Pearl was in the way this time, and almost instinctively she got a grip on Solitaire's horns. A ox who can halt a train, and Blue Pearl, somehow had enough strength to skid him to a halt!

"Whoa."

"Let go!" Solitaire demanded, shaking his head until Blue Pearl released him.

"Please stop," Blue Pearl said, not enjoying seeing him hurting himself in front of her, though she was intimidated same as anyone else by this angry beast.

"Why should you care unicorn?" Solitaire asked.

"I-I'm a Gem," blue Pearl said meekly.

"Same dif."

"No, not same dif., big dif.!" Lapis insisted, but Solitaire was getting annoyed, and he grew tired too. All that ramming can drain energy out of anyone, or anything.

"Whatever. You didn't care for me then, you're not going to care now. And I as heck am not caring about you, so out of my way," Solitaire demanded. Lapis didn't think that was a good idea, Blue Pearl going behind her fellow Gem.

"But. Were you always ...?" Lapis asked, concerned. Solitaire couldn't believe his ears. That, and with him being tired already, took a break by the nearby tracks, laying down for a minute, facing away from Canterlot (he didn't realize it of course).

"Oh, hush it. I can still see things in my head, you know."

"What kind of things?" Lapis asked, fluttering over to him, and landing by him. Solitaire groaned before answering.

"I see this unicorn standing in front of me. Small, standing out in the cold. I see this glow of light shining bright off the horn, then something sharp. Then I fall asleep. ..." really, it didn't take much to put two and two together here, and one of the guards actually decided to gallop off to tell the princess about this. There was no better time to do that than now, and no way Solitaire would tell them otherwise.

"And look who's fault it is," Solitaire scoffed, referring to the unicorns nearby.

"Not wait a minute, Solitaire, you can't blame all species for one incident."

"Why not? Only a unicorn could do a cruel thing like this," the muskox insisted. Lapis knew well there are worse things that other species could do to him, speaking as a species who would take down an entire planet.

"I know, I can get someone to get your eyesight back," Lapis decided. It was the best she can do for Solitaire. The muskox didn't feel too confident about it.

"And why would they do that?"

"Just stay put, we'll be right back. Come on, Pearl," Lapis said, starting to fly through the shield again, Blue Pearl following behind. It sounded like a pretty easy fix fi this could work.

"I'm not planning to go anywhere anyway," Solitaire groaned.

.......

"Where are they? They should be around here somewhere."

As time ticked on to nightfall, Lapis and Blue Pearl went on back to Canterlot, and as Blue Pearl actually just returned to the others, Lapis took it on herself to try and find where the Alicorn princesses were. If anypony could help and undo this mess it would be them, but she had to look for them first. At least she can confirm that they didn't leave Canterlot, Summer Sun Celebration and all that. And the first place for her to fly off to was the castle itself (obvious, I know). Lapis flew on inside through the throne room window, but when she landed, she found that no one was really there. No Celestia, Luna, no one.

"Princess! Where're you?" Lapis called, only to be met with the wind blowing in outside slightly. A bit odd to see the two gone like this. But the commotion did get one of the guards to check into the room, and find Lapis inside.

"What's going on?" the guard questioned.

"Have you seen the princesses? I thought they'd be here," Lapis asked. The guard stood at attention, hoof over his head in salute.

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had stepped out."

"Stepped out? Where are they, I need to tell them something about Solitaire," Lapis explained. Before she could detail who Solitaire was, the guard went on answering her.

"They already got the message from one of their high patrols. They're going to help him as we speak, they shouldn't be too long if everything goes well."


~~~~~~


And back at the shield covering, the muskox in question still stayed and kept his lonely, silent wait. A part of him wanted to believe that Lapis would figure something out, but another part of him knew better than that. He kept quiet, knowing in his mind that at least one guard was still there to maintain the shield itself, so another charge would be futile anyway, not to mention another bang to the head might give him a migraine at this point.

"Is he sleeping?" whispered one of the guards.

"Doubt it, just keep watch soldier," whispered another soldier.

"Oh Celestia, I never would've guessed he was blinded. For a blind ox he's good at going around," a guard commented, still wondering about that himself.

"Me neither. Speaking of which, they should've got that message by now. Hope they come soon."

"I'M STILL AWAKE, RATS," Solitaire suddenly said, getting back up onto his hooves, and turning to the voices. The bull started moving to them, only stopping when his head bumped the wall of the shield.

"Stay down, Celestia will be arriving any moment."

"Why? You plan to tear off my horns too?" the muskox snorted, the snort fogging up the shield. Some of the guards stepped back from the muskox.

"We want to help you, Solitaire," one of the braver guards said. Solitaire was not buying it.

"Yeah, right, and I want pigs to fly over my head dropping bombs on me. You drove me out last time I was here, rodents!"

"Hey, you tore down half of Canterlot, what were we supposed to do?!" shouted one guard.

"And besides, none of us knew you got blind, why didn't you say anything?" asked another. The ox turned away.

"Sure. The same species who blinded me will suddenly change their mind. How big of a fool do you take me for?!" His question ended with another ram to the shield, again quickly being mended up by the guards standing there. Solitaire shook his head, and was just about to charge forward again, but then his snout started to smell a stronger source of magic slowly coming their way. Solitaire stopped and aimed his head upward, the guards doing the same.

"Your highness!" one of the guards said, bowing to their presence. Celestia and Luna landed down in front of Solitaire. The muskox backed up slightly, but was ready to fight them either way.

"Solitaire."

"Celestia. Luna. I supposed you've come to fight me, but I swear I won't give us as easily as before."

"Solitaire, wait. We never knew what happened to you before, Solitaire. You never said anything when you first arrived about it."

"As I told your other vermin over there, why should it matter? You made me blind in the first place!"

"And we're willing to heal you ... if you'll let us," Celestia proposed. The muskox scoffed at the idea.

"You think I'm stupid? You're just here to finish me off, aren't you?!"

"What? That's not what we said at all," Luna said.

"You can't fool me, princess. Now get trampled!"
suddenly the muskox dug at the ground, and charged forward right to them! The guards were ready to come out to help, but Celestia extended one of her wings as to block them, keeping the guards back. The muskox charged closer and closer with each stride, the ramming head ready to clobber both alicorns, but both princesses knew what had to be done. Just before the muskox could trample them, Celestia used her magic around the bull to keep him still, and Luna's horn started to glow. Solitaire struggled, and bucked like crazy for a little bit, but Luna's horn gently tapped on the muskox's head, a flash happening pretty quick. Solitaire freaked out after that, and only then was he released. He shook his head for a bit, his eyes staring right at the ground for a moment or two.

"What did you do to me, you bloody -" the muskox paused when he looked up to them again. looked. So many colors, shapes, and textures. Solitaire could see again!

"There Solitaire."

"... And why did you do this?"

"Because we wanted to help you. Solitaire, nopony deserves what you got back then. The least we can do was heal you if anything," Celestia stated. Solitaire used his new eyes to see who Celestia really was. This youthful, beautiful alicorn princess of Canterlot. He could tell that this was no joke this time, and he turned red faced and turned his gaze away. Such an anti-climactic way to end things, but it was an ending all the same.

"Well ... I may be cured of my blindness ... but I still don't like unicorns," Solitaire stated, giving one more snort their way before he turned around, and started to slowly stagger away. Crisis obverted.
And hey, no fight this time!

.......

Well, that was that. With Solitaire now gone, the actual Celebration itself could go on as properly planned. and in the twilight hours of Canterlot, much of the group was now ready to see the main event of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony gathered up along the area, and looked up to the main balcony. Twilight, Celestia, and Luna were up and ready to go.

"Citizens of Equestria, it is no longer with a heavy heart but with great joy that I raise the summer sun. For this celebration now represents not the defeat of Nightmare Moon, but the return of my sister, Princess Luna," Celestia announced. Luna smiled on that, and everyone watched as Luna took the stage first, flying up. With the moon behind her, Luna floated in the air, and started to lower the moon downward, and alongside her, Celestia began to raise the sun up from the horizon behind her. The brightness of the sun and beauty of the stars mixed in from the moon dazzled the crowd. And then the final jump: Twilight opened her wings, and then charged up right in between them, released a huge blast of magic, it looking like her cutie mark as the main event. The crowd cheered when this was all done, the main act now complete.

And while this was going on, another figure silently slithered off with the knowledge it now gained, same as before. And out of sight of everypony in Canterlot.
> Holly Jolly Harmony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------






I got through some of my errands, I'm sorry that I just had to run off after my visit to Ponyville, but I had to be called away for something. It's the last bit of my BIG list I had, and I'm gonna be stopping by Beach City at the end of the week. Connie already knows, and probably told Steven already, but I thought you'd want to see me too. hope to see you then.

signed: Connie II

~~~~~~


The day was quiet, and the weather fair, as a particular portal began to open up. Winter had officially subsided at this point in time. If one were to look around now, not an inch of snow would be able to be seen practically wherever you would go. And for those over on Earth, the weather and landscape was showing its true colors of spring. After just a day from the Summer Sun Celebration, much of the group had decided to start their offer they've been given, and Connie brought one other special guest from Equestria back to Earth. And she was more than happy for her to be coming here, as she took her steps through the portal, and to Earth.

"Well, what do you think?" Connie asked. Her doppelganger, Connie II, took a moment or two to have a look around. Being stuck in Equestria for most of her existence gave this place a bit of a nostalgic sense for her.

"It's been such a long time. So ... where is everypony? Er, everybody, sorry," Connie II corrected. They weren't in Equestria anymore, but some things kinda stick after a while, and to her that included some common phrases. Connie paused, and looked around. They weren't too far from the barn, but it seemed rather quiet.

"Yeah, where is everyone? Steven said he'd get them here," Connie wondered. Both connies went out a bit more, walking around the open spaces, trying to see if any of the Gems or ponies were anywhere around, but all they did see was the countryside, and part of the farmland. Nothing out of the ordinary there. ...

"Gotcha!"

Sneak attack from the flank! Connie caught attention of the jump first, and got Connie II to duck down, as something jumped right over their heads, and landed not too far away. both looked forward, and there stood Tiger's Eye, down on her hands and feet, though a bit ticked that her pounce had missed.

"Oh, Tiger's Eye it's you."

"Hey girls. What kept you?" Tiger's Eye asked, up on her two feet now.

"Sorry, I had to get some of my spells together. Where is everyone, anyway?" Connie II asked. Tiger's Eye took a look around for a little bit herself.

"Oh, the other Gems? Well the Mane Six flown by the barn earlier, and they ... I think went off to the temple. Odds are, they're there," Tiger's Eye said.

.......

"So who's this stranger we're seeing again, Steven?" Peridot questioned.

Tiger's Eye wasn't wrong either: over in the Beach House, after some work, the group had gotten plenty of the Crystal Gems together. It wasn't just some half-flanked attempt this time, and EVERYONE of the group was there and waiting. Took a lot to get that handled.

"It's a surprise, can't tell you that yet. She'll show up," Pinkie made clear.

"Hopefully soon. I was in the middle of a good study in our little problem," Flint said.

"There's a little something called a "break", ever heard of it?" Fulgurite asked, though it was more making a point rather than being a legitimate question.

"It won't hurt to rest for just a little bit, Flint," said Garnet.

"I know, I know, but -"

"HEY!"

The conversation was interrupted by Tiger's Eye, the Gem rushing in from up the beach. Instead of the typical rabbit-bounding run, she instead was moving more like the ponies that were beside them, and that was because Connie and Connie II were being given a ride. From the angle they were looking, they could only see Connie, yet Tiger's Eye had Connie II's hood on (a request by both Connies for the sake of presentation).

"Connie? We're well aware of her by now," Jasper pointed out, obviously confused. Connie got off of Tiger's Eye, and she then took a side step. From their view, it looked like Connie literally made another copy of herself just by side-stepping, the only key difference being the outfit and cutie mark.

"Everyone, welcome in Connie the second!" Connie announced.

"Hello, Gems," Connie II said.

Well, much of the Gems weren't expecting the sudden new doppelganger. Emerald actually took a moment to take off his visors, give it a quick clean, and put them back on over his eyes to be sure. but he wasn't having a bad time seeing, there was indeed two connies!

"Wow" said Garnet.

"Oh my," added Pearl.

"Wait, WHOA." Amethyst went right up to Connie II, alongside Bismuth and Lapis.

"One, two? Two Connies?! How long was this going on?" Bismuth asked.

"I've been around for a while ... a few years, while," Connie II said, both Connies feeling the awkwardness coming in from that statement, but lucky for them, this was the Crystal Gems. That, and a number of them had already met Connie II before. speaking of ...

"Oh! It's you, is it?" Peridot asked.

"Hmm ... do I know you from somewhere?" Connie II asked, trying to work her memory. She surely looked familiar, but so much was different about her. The cutie mark on her cheek, the shortened height ... Wait a second ...

"Peridot, it's you! It's been such a long time, how're things?" Connie II said. Well, Peridot found herself in a bit of embarrassment, especially with how sudden that was. Some of the eyes turned to her, and Peridot collected herself.

"Yes, it has been the ... long time," Peridot simply stated, but the others weren't just gonna let her drop it so quickly.

"K, Peri, what's your history with her?" asked Rainbow, landing over next to her.

"Well, it's been years ago, before I became an honorary Crystal Gem, I was tasked to an expedition to Equestria. She ... saved me from one of the local monsters," Peridot said. Funny how memory works like that: she barely could remember too much from her early years of Earth and Equestria, but a simple reminder had the memories quickly flowing back in, no problem.

"And as if a Chuul, Bulette, and Senmurv weren't enough, you saved Peridot too! You're on a roll, Connie II," said AJ, recalling the stories they've picked up from her Ponyville visit. Connie II smiled.

"It was a nice little visit. Boy, it's almost like a completely different person back then. You surely changed. and hey! you got a cutie mark like me!" Connie II also noticed, pointing to the metal flower cutie mark Peridot had on her cheek.

"You bet; this Gem can do what no other Peridot can - manipulate metal. Eh, Peridot?" said Bismuth, fluffing the durito's hair. Peridot smiled too, it being a while since it was brought up.

"Really? Congratulations, Peridot!"

"So, what brings you by this way, C2?" asked Emerald. The nickname was a bit of a new one, but Connie II didn't mind it.

"Oh, I just got a few things done and wanted to come by to see you all. From what Connie told me, you did a whole lot here with her," Connie II explained, Connie nodding her head.

"Well, that's nice and all, Connie ... two. But we -"

"I never knew humans had doubles. So, are you a carbon copy of her, or some twin sibling we never heard of before?" cut in Amethyst. Flint was bugged to being cut off his sentence.

"Eh, well no. She's my Doppelganger," Connie said.

"That's right: from the mirror pool outside Ponyville," added in Connie II. Pinkie perked up on hearing that.

"The mirror pool?! The same mirror pool outside Ponyville where hundreds of copies ran ramped around Ponyville in a pink plague of party fever and copycat craziness?!"

"... Eh ... I've heard something about that, but not exactly. Same method though," Connie II said.

"Oh. COOL!"

"Hey, Steven told us that you can do magic? That true?" asked Fulgurite.

"Sure I can. I got the cutie mark to prove it," Connie II said, pointing to her cutie mark as well.

"What kind of magic are we talking here?"

"Yeah, can we see some, please?" Diopside added in. Connie II really didn't need too much motivation to show what she could do. She cracked her hands before she focused her energy in her own hands, and after a little bit, the sand under her own feet actually began to be levitated, similar to a snake in movement. A simple yet impressive feat for a Doppelganger to use, especially a doppelganger of a human who didn't have an inch of magic in her.

"Very nice," Star said with a smile.

"Oh, I'm not done. Step back everyone," Connie II said, and so they did. Soon, this same sand snake started to fly up, and turned into an elaborate Chinese dragon, which flew around over their heads for a bit like the real thing. Not too bad really, and nice in detail. However, Connie II couldn't keep it up for too long, and soon all the sand dropped down in a pile nearby, Connie II getting tired and needing a moment to breathe.

"Well, who's showing off?" Emerald joked. As most of the group was liking her, the only one who was getting a little impatient was Flint, and you could probably guess why.

"Hey, Garnet? I know this is her first time here, but can I head off now? The others can have their fun with her," Flint said.

"Try not to push yourself, Flint, and you can go," Garnet decided. Flint simply nodded, and went off towards the temple portal, though for some reason Garnet believed that he didn't mean it. Still, Connie II was here, and they might as well have some fun.


~~~~~~


So, not long after she arrived, it was right in the Beach House for some bit of story time. Connie II told a bit of a good yarn already back in Ponyville, but it couldn't hurt to re-tell some stories to those who didn't show up during Winter Wrap-Up. To be honest, many of the Gems were impressed in some way to her stories, be it true or not.

"And all of those are true, Connie II?" asked Pearl.

"True as I'm standing here," Connie II said, once she was finished up. The crowd gave her a bit of an applause once she was finished with her tale, and Connie II sat on down over by Steven and Garnet.

"You enjoying your visit to Earth, Connie II? I know it's not as extravagant as Equestria, but we get our own surprises here," said Lapis.

"No, no, it's great here. Quieter than back in Equestria actually," Connie II had to admit. Equestria and Earth had their differences for the time being, and to Connie II it was a bit nice to be visiting somewhere that wasn't as extravagant.

"Hey, Earth's got their own share of surprises," Connie II."

"I'm not saying it doesn't. Hey, enough about me, what about you guys? You all must've done a whole lot over these few years, hadn't you?" she asked. Fulgurite decided to get up next on that little request.

"Oh, where do I even start? Sombra and Tirek took a stop here, we went off back to Homeworld and faced an Osicone, there's a lot of drama with White Diamond we had to deal with, then there's the Cluster we had to get too, and then we faced a bunch of voodoo snakes. That's not including the tons of corrupted Gems, new monsters, and Equestria's beasts we had to deal with too." It wasn't exactly the most dramatic rendering of what they've done season by season, but it went over all the details quick and easy. Connie II only recognized Sombra and Tirek out of all that, but by the sound of it they surely did a lot all the same.

"You just rushed through all that, you do know that?" Jasper pointed out.

"It's how I do things, Jay, if I went through the details we'd be here all day."

"That's true," Amethyst agreed.

"Geesh, you all surely got a lot on your plates, huh? Did you take any holiday during all of that, or is it just all work?" Connie II asked.

"We had our breaks, but the only actual holidays we did was in Equestria. You know, Winter Wrap-Up, the Summer Sun Celebration, Hearts Warming, that sort of thing," explained Bismuth.

"So much goes on, it's hard to really find a break in it sometimes," Garnet admitted.

"Well, come on, surely you have one holiday you have here where you can have a break," Connie II insisted. There actually was a bit of silence in the group for a bit before one of them answered.

"Hmm ... now that you say it, the only actual holiday we had was Halloween. I don't think we have any others," Connie brought up. That did damper the mood a little bit, but Steven started to think just a little bit more about that. Holidays on Earth were few and far between. yeah, they had Halloween, but that was so far away still. Such a long gap between holidays, what few they had anyway. Garnet took one look at Steven, and knew exactly where this was going.

"... Let's make one."

"What Steven?"

Steven suddenly got starry-eyed, and that told everyone there that Steven had a big idea in mind. And if any big idea was anything special and fun, it would be from Steven Universe. He then got up to his feet, his eyes as starry as Star Quartz.

"Our own Holiday. We can create our own holiday, our own tradition, something we can do every year around this time here on Earth! Our own, special, fun time together!" Steven declared. Clearly Steven was all down for that.

"Make our own holiday, Steven?"

"EXACTLY! We can do it, and we got our own holiday experts right here in this room!" Steven added in, referring to the Mane Six. Made sense, and it actually sounded rather dandy to do.

"We could use one of those around here. Equestria holidays are fine, but we don't have our own here. Sounds like fun," noted Diopside.

"LET'S DO IT!"

"Hold on, sport, we don't even know what to do! I mean, a holiday can't just pop up out of nowhere," noted Applejack. That made sense, but then Pinkie Pie spurred into action, and suddenly bolted for the wall, pulling off a calendar that Steven had.

"Let's pick a date, ponies! Er, um ... THERE!" Pinkie skimmed through the days on the calendar, and quickly found the perfect one to do it on. And even better, it wasn't too far away either, just two days away from that day. Steven looked it over himself.

"That's the perfect day for it!" Steven said.

"How come?" asked Peridot, just to have the calendar held right in front of her face, as the others took a look at it. 

"How come? Guys, look at what day it even is! Lapis's arrival, Stevonnie's birthday, we celebrate so much on that exact date, let's amp it up a notch!" Pinkie suggested. when they looked too, the date wads actually on the right spot for both other events to occur. Lapis and Connie especially understood this, and it surely was surprising that it was already that close to the time already.

"Our birth-iversary already? Time sure flies," Connie noted, Lapis nodding her head.

"Eh, I don't know, that's a lot of stuff crammed into one day. I know, how about this weekend? That's four days to figure things out this holiday stuff, what do you say?" suggested Twilight. Thinking it over, Steven and Pinkie Pie concluded that to be the perfect day to do it on.

"Great! Connie II, can you come to the Holiday, please?" asked Steven. He didn't want to leave anyone out if he could help it. Connie II thought it over a little bit, and both Connies nodded to him.

"Count on it," thyey both said.

"Are we really doing this?" Pearl quietly asked Bismuth.

"I'm up for it if everyone else is. All these new traditions are spicing up this place, plus they could use a good advisor to plan out the holiday. Oh, I wonder who would be good enough for that?" Bismuth said, though Pearl knew immediately who she was referring to especially when Bismuth smirked to her. Pearl went over to the others with a smile of her own.

"Let this "holiday" begin."

"YES! Come on, let's go plan this out," Steven then said. Well, looked like everyone was going to be a little bit busier this week.


~~~~~~


And so, the days came and went, and they began to handle their own work on things, trying to figure out what to exactly do, and what traditions should be put in for this new holiday. planning for the holiday was more than a challenge to be sure, but they didn't have too much trouble with what they wanted to do thanks to some expert planners and organizers: Twilight and Pearl mainly. It was Lapis, Steven, and Pinkie Pie who came up with the many ideas for the Holiday, and what to do with it, and they were brought over to Twilight and Pearl to be checked out and organized properly. They would probably get swamped if they just went all crazy with it, and Twilight and Pearl were trying to make sure that didn't happen. Well, then and the rest of the Mane Six of course. Connie and Connie II even gave their own hands in helping with the Holiday , one side with preparation, the other with the magical touch.
With each day that came and went, they surely got a whole lot figured out, and before any of them knew it, the week was up (they took time to celebrate the Birth-iversary of course, they couldn't skip over that if they tried). but all the same, the Holiday was really starting to come together, and Steven was more than excited for what suggestions, and what activities were being done by tomorrow morning. And Steven was going to be sure that this Holiday wasn't going to be missed.

And the morning sun of that particular day began with the sweet sound of the clock, and the wake-up call from Steven.

.......

"Happy Harmony Day!" Steven announced, the moment he woke up. Yep, that was the official name for their holiday, and something they went over quite a bit. Steven was especially excited, and soon as he got out of bed, it was straight over to the bathroom for his preparation. He wanted to waste no time in getting Harmony Day started, even if the racket did wake up Blue abruptly, the Gem dog waking up with a startle. Blue wasn't sure exactly what was going on, and he was on his paws, trying to figure it out. Steven was soon to finish up his own routine, and he came right on out. However, instead of the usual star shirt, he instead got himself a spring flower shirt, a blooming sunflower onto it for the spring time. Not the standard outfit, but Steven was happy with it anyway.

"How do I look, Blue?" Steven asked, showing the shirt to the dog. Blue took a moment before barking a few times, mainly because he was getting excited from the commotion himself. Steven hugged Blue for a moment, the gem dog giving Steven a few morning licks. Such good morning fun, and Steven was ready to get this Holiday on the road. Before he could, the door over to the back then opened up on them, and soon Peridot and Pearl came in.

"Morning Steven. I see you're already beginning this new ritual of yours," Peridot noted.

"Of course! Harmony Day tradition says showing love and harmony through fun flower shirts," said Steven. That wasn't the exact way to put it, but it was close enough in Steven's book. Pearl had the list of essentials for this new Harmony holiday in her hand, and she actually went on to mark it up.

"And that's step one all done already."

"Wait a minute, why aren't you two in outfits?" Steven asked, seeing their own outfits rather unchanged.

"Oh, Steven, we'll be more than happy to continue with your holiday, though we agreed it was a more optional thing for the event," Pearl explained, but Steven was already getting some shirts out for them. He had a bit of extra time to get a good amount of shirts, and soon he had two pair for Pearl and Peridot.

"Here you go! Go on, put them on," Steven insisted, super excited. They both took a glance at eachother, but they just shrugged and got them on anyway. Pearl's shirt had a picture of a red rose on it, and Peridot's had a green buttercup, though Peridot's shirt was a tad too big for her, the sleeves going over her hands. If it was for the Holiday, Peridot was willing to let it slide for now. ... Plus, Steven thought she looked far too cute in that, his eyes starry again.

"Well, customs are customs," sighed Peridot. Blue then, getting all hyped up, went right to the door and started to paw at it, trying to get it open. That gave Steven a good reminder right there.

"Good idea, boy. Let's go and celebrate this with the rest of Beach City. After you, sir," Steven said, opening the door for Blue. The Gem dog was quick to go on out, ready to head off into town, and Steven too took a step outside. Pearl and Peridot joined in, but before they could go, they had another visitor flying in from above, which Blue was getting them to notice. Looking up, and they saw Lapis Lazuli flying on in from the beachside, landing over nearby Steven.

"Hey, Steven, glad to see you're up," Lapis said, landing over down towards them. While her overall outfit had changed already, she took Steven's advice for Harmony Day, and had her own Harmony shirt on herself, hers being a blue Violet flower. It suited her pretty nicely, and still room for her wings to come out.

"Happy Harmony Day, Lapis," Steven announced. 

"Right back at you, Steven. You ready to take this out to the town?" Lapis said, trying to get Steven excited about the whole thing, which wasn't too hard for her, as Steven was psyched already.

"You bet! Pilot to co-pilot, ready for take-off," Steven said, Lapis letting him hop onto her back.

"Careful, Steven!" Pearl quickly said.

"Don't worry, I'm with Lapis," Steven reassured her, the water wings opening up wide.

"You two wanna come?"

"Eh, you go on ahead. We still have to "decoration", and that might be a little while," Peridot said.

"See you later then. Prepare for launch in three, two, ONE!" And with that, Lapis Lazuli took off towards the town. Blue, barking all the while, ran off after them, as Pearl and Peridot both went back inside to handle the decorations on the Beach house.


~~~~~~


So, it was right off to Beach City from there, and Lapis and Steven were soon flying right on down to the boardwalk. It was a good call that they did it over the weekend, because not only was there plenty of people out and about, but they also had a lot of good weather, good and clear for their Harmony Day. What luck they had there too. Both Gem and Gem hybrid flew down to the boardwalk, and were met with plenty of people enjoying the good weather, probably for the first time since last year for some.

"So, Steven, what do you want to do first?" Lapis asked. Steven stopped and thought it over for a moment or two, trying to remember what stuff during the holiday they could do.

"Well, Harmony Day is about having fun with your best friends and family. So ..." before they could figure something out, they both then began to hear some nearby seagulls in a bit of a scuffle, just to find Blue barking at them. not entirely a Harmonious thing to do.

"Blue, Blue, no, no, that's not how you treat your neighbors on Harmony Day," Steven said, going up to Blue and keeping him from getting any of them. However, this just got one of the seagulls to squawk at them, and even give Steven a quick peck before flying away. Again, not the most harmonious of decisions.

"It's only the first time, Steven, it'll catch on," Lapis assured him, as Steven rubbed the part of his head where he got pecked. At this point though, they did catch something a lot better over nearby, and this time it wasn't an oncoming attack. Connie and Connie II had arrived for it after all.

"Hey, Steven, Lapis!" they both called. Both girls were in the same outfit, and yet, none of them had a Cutie Mark this time, which made things only slightly confusing. for Harmony day, they both had matching shirts, each one with a equal match of a bouquet of dandelions.

"Here we go again," Steven concluded.

"Again?" Lapis questioned, scratching her head. Steven had been handed this before, but now it wasn't that simple, as they both had no Cutie Mark to distinguish one from the other. Blue looked pretty confused especially, not sight nor scent helping him figure out who's who.

"Ok, guys, guess who's the first Connie," they both said, even getting into a side-by-side pose as if it were some sort of game show. Connie and Connie II were having too much fun with this, they could tell, and Steven already had his mind crash once before. Lapis looked over them both pretty carefully.

"Now let me see ..." Lapis started walking around them both, trying to find at least some sort of clue as to tell them apart, but with a real one to a Doppelganger, it was extremely hard to tell out of the two. In the end, Lapis began to raise her finger in a point.

"Er ... You!" she concluded, pointing a finger to the left Connie. ... just for her to remove a pad off her cheek and show her Cutie Mark. Whelp, she got it wrong.

"Dang it, I thought I had it," Lapis said, finger snapping in disappointment, but the Connies were having fun with it.

"This is more fun than I thought," Connie admitted, giggling with her Doppelganger. Steven needed a minute to get his mind back working, Blue rubbing his head in confusion.

"You two are good at that. Really, you two should do a mirror act together," Steven commented.

"What's a mirror act?" Lapis asked, a little confused.

"It's an act between two people between a door frame. You know, copying eachother as if it was a mirror," Connie explained. simple enough, really, though they still had a holiday to do.

"Happy Harmony Day, by the way," said Connie.

"Happy Harmony Day, Connie, Connie II. So, what do you want to do this holiday?" Steven asked, still not figuring out what to do just yet.

"Oh, well in that case, why don't you tag along with us? I know just the place."

.......

"FUNLAND AMUSEMENT PARK!"

Why didn't they think of this earlier?! What better place to spend a holiday about friendship and harmony than in Funland? Connie and Connie II shared a high-five with eachother for the good choice, and they all took some time to head on in.
And boy was it a good day for the amusement park: it was plenty busy, a good amount of people in it, and plenty of the booths and rides all operating and giving plenty of smiles to whoever was there. Steven and Lapis went around the place, checking out what they can do, and trying to figure out what to do first. It was hard to decide to say the least.

"Told you it'll be perfect! Ok, Steven, should we try one of the rides first, or take a shot at one of the booths? Your call," asked Connie II.

"Oh, I don't know where to start, there's just so much to do," Steven said, and he wasn't wrong about that. However, their answer came in the form of a winning bell close by, and soon they saw one of the booths close by. It was one of those ring toss games, and the latest player just one herself a small plush toy. That looked pretty fun, but then Lapis Lazuli took note of one particular toy up on display in the corner: a green alien with a top hat. Her eyes lit up.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Lapis asked with a smirk. Steven knew exactly where this was going, and next thing they knew, they were right and lined up by the booth. And upon coming over, the winning girl was actually Amethyst, who at the moment was also having a Harmony Day shirt on, hers being a purple tulip.

"Hey Amethyst!" Steven said, happy to see her.

"Hey dude, happy Harmony Day. Been waitin for ya to show up," Amethyst said, playfully fluffing his head.

"Hey Steven, Lapis! Good to see you both," said the man behind the booth. he was a tall bald man with a darker complexion and a mustache that frames his very large and bright smile. The outfit: a collared gray-blue shirt with a geometric print of periwinkle circles and sulfur yellow triangles tucked into olive green mid-thigh length shorts, light brown boots, and a fanny pack. Boy, this guy just screamed happiness, and the right guy to meet for Harmony Day, that was for sure.

"Mr. Smiley! Happy Harmony Day," Steven said. Amethyst already gave Harold Smiley the low down on this new holiday that they came up with - why wouldn't she? - and Mr. Smiley was more than glad for that.

"Happy Harmony Day to you too, Steven. Your friend told me you made up the holiday over the week?"

"We all did: it's a holiday to celebrate our friendship, and have fun with our best friends and family," Lapis said.

"My kind of holiday. Now, which one of you lucky kids wants to have a go at the ring toss?" Mr. smiley offered, presenting the challenge itself. It seemed fairly simple: about twenty bottles standing up in a square, and a set of rings to throw at them with. Seemed simple enough, and Lapis took a look to the big plushie.

"How much for the alien toy up there?" Lapis Lazuli asked. Mr. Smiley took a look to the toy in question.

"You gotta get ten rings in for that kind a prize? Wanna give it a go?" he offered.

"Ten rings? You wanna try smaller? That's a bit high, and this is a difficult game," Connie II asked.

"Connie, look at it. Harmony Day has us giving presents to each-other, don't forget, and I know one little green Gem who'll simply love that," Lapis said. They knew exactly who she was talking about.

"Well, give it a shot then," Connie II said. Soon, after a little pay, her rings had been given to her and Steven to try. If it'll get that toy, it'll be worth it.

"Ok, Lapis, all you got to do is throw the rings into the tops of those bottle," Steven instructed. Again, it sounded simple enough, and with a nod of the head, they began. Both threw each ring like a Frisbee, but it was soon apparent that this game was a little harder than Lapis thought. About five rings in, and she saw how hard it was, each ring either missing the tops, or bouncing off of them. Steven wasn't having it any easier, and the rings ended up in a similar sort of way. They got at least three in totally before they ran out of rings.

"Already?" Lapis sighed.

"Hey, don't get discouraged, you still win something," Mr. Smiley promised, and after a little bit, he gave Lapis Lazuli a little finger puppet of an alien. Not what she had in mind, really.

"Oh well, better luck next time," Connie said. Amethyst and Connie II though saw what they were trying to do, and decided to try themselves.

"Oh, you want another go at it?"

"Sure, stock us up," Connie II said. She knew it was difficult, but as pre-mentioned, if it can get that toy then fine. After paying for the booth, Mr. Smiley stocked them up again, ten each this time.

"Ok, Amethyst, I think I got a plan to figure this out, so just try to -"

"Sshh," Amethyst suddenly said. she had her own little method, and she waited just a little bit until Mr. smiley turned his back. Suddenly, Amethyst got all ten of her rings, and instead of throwing them, she used her own body altering skills to just lift them all over. One by one, quietly, she got each ring down into each bottle without Mr. Smiley noticing. She got about nine inside, the group keeping quiet at this, and at the last one, amethyst dropped it and her arm quickly returned to normal before the clanking of the ring caught Mr. Smiley's attention.

"Whoa. Yep, that's ten rings alright! Here you go, kid," Mr. smiley said, happily giving the big plushie over to the winner of the game. not the exact way of doing it, but hey, it was a way of doing it and they got what they wanted. And they still have a lot of day left to enjoy Harmony Day yet.

"Thanks Mr. smiley," Steven said, waving to him as they walked on to check out the rest of the place.

"And thank you, Amethyst," said Lapis.

"No problem, we buds stick together," Amethyst said. Good answer. Lapis, who was now holding the alien plushie, took a look at the alien's cute looking face, it just reminding her of the gem in question.


~~~~~~


"Just a little bit more ... and ... THERE, THERE, right there!"

Back at the Beach House, Pearl, Peridot, and a few other Gems now, were getting the place all readied up for the exchange later on. so far, much of the Beach House had some basic decorations of a few lights for the interior, some streaming along the beams for the roof, and at the moment, Bismuth and Peridot were getting a reef placed up above the door, something they picked up during the week, and they made sure that Rose's picture wasn't too obscured. Once they got it in place, and having a better look at it, Rose Quartz was right in the center of it. A perfect fit.

"Nice," Bismuth said.

"So that's the circular flora, the beaming light fixtures, anything we're missing?" Peridot asked, looking over the list in her hands. They've marked off quite a number of things already, and they were almost done too. Before she could say what they needed though, the Warp Pad activated over behind them, and two other Gems came in to check on the celebration. And it was a bit of a interesting surprise: Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire.

"Oh! Ruby, Sapphire!"

"Yeah, I know, it's different, but hey it couldn't hurt to have them here," Emerald said, heading over to the others, and then turning around. Ruby and Sapphire were also a bit festive for the Harmony Day season, Ruby having a shirt of a red rose, and Sapphire, a blue gem flower (something Rarity knitted herself during the week).

"Hello everyone. You did a lovely job with the place," Sapphire said, looking around.

"With our combined efforts, I would say so. We got the circular flora piece right around the picture frame, we lined the borders of the base with hued string light fixtures, but I think there's something missing here," Peridot explained, showing Ruby and Sapphire the list. They got a good amount of things handle according to it.

"Hold on a second, I think I know what it is," Emerald said.

"You do? Well, what is it?" Bismuth asked. It was then he used his telekinesis to lift up a small patch of leaves, with some fake red berries on it, tied together with some red ribbon into a bow. It didn't seem like very much, but Emerald brought it up to the beam separating the room from the main Warp Pad cave, and got it hammered in with a nail. Sapphire saw this, and actually giggled a little bit at it.

"What's that you put up there? We already have the reef," Pearl noted.

"Applejack told me about this: it's called a Mistletoe. And uh, don't look now, but look who's under it?" Emerald then pointed over to two Gems standing just underneath the Mistletoe. At the moment, it was Peridot and Sapphire.

"What about it?" Ruby asked, sounding slightly suspicious about this. Sapphire though knew exactly what this was about, Peridot overhearing the chat.

"Is there something I'm missing here?" Peridot asked.

"It's a tradition that I decide to include. When two people are standing underneath the Mistletoe ... well ..." Sapphire wanted to say it, but she didn't want to ruin the surprise at that moment just yet.

"Well ... what?"

"They do this."

And then Sapphire gave Peridot a kiss on her Cutie Mark cheek! Peridot froze up and ended up blushing after that, though Ruby had a more immediate reaction to this part of the custom Sapphire chimed in. It just sounded fun to her, and a bit romantic too for Harmony Day.

"Ooooohhhh," Peridot said, eyes wide and starred, and a hand gently pressed on her cheek where Sapphire kissed her. Sapphire smiled at that sweetly, but suddenly Ruby was standing right behind her, looking a little bit quiet, as she got her attention. Sapphire knew exactly what she wanted.

"And Happy Harmony to you too, Ruby," she giggled. Ruby smiled and waited for that kiss on her cheek, eyes close and anticipating, but it didn't come around right away. Instead, Sapphire moved her face, and gave her a kiss on the lips, good and fast. Ruby grew redder than usual, smiling wide, and even steaming a tiny bit. Bismuth and Emerald couldn't help but laugh at the scene, it was just simply adorable.

"AND that's the Mistletoe hung up, mark that off the list," Emerald said, bismuth picking up the list and doing just that. Even if it wasn't apart of the list originally, she took the moment to add it in and then mark it.


~~~~~~


Meanwhile, after some more Harmony Day fun and some gift grabbing, Steven's little group went off from Funland, and took a flight off from Beach City and over to the barn. The group made good time to get there, Lapis flying as the rest rode on Lion for a good run over. As for the Off-colors, they had gotten this news after Tiger's Eye got the information down pact after some explanation over the week, and once they arrived, they found that they got a little something set up just outside. Padparadscha, Fluorite, the Rutile Twins, and Tiger's Eye, had managed to get their own Harmony Day tree all set up with some help from Jasper: and it sure looked splendid.

"Hey everyone!" called Connie.

"Here they come!" called the twins, getting the attention of everyone else as they slowed down.

"Wow, look at that tree! You did all that today?" asked Amethyst, as she went right over to it. The tree was a maple nearby the barn, over by the wooden fence, and one that they had decorated with a number of necessities: a few streamers, some lights, a few flowers they plucked, and such other things to make the tree look pretty with the modifications. Again, it sure looked nice for what they were doing.

"What do you think? Does it look nice?" Fluorite asked.

"It looks fantastic!" Lapis said, flying around the tree.

"You helped get the decorations up, Jasper?"

"Yeah, I did, and it got me pumped too," Jasper said, flexing an arm to prove the point. Though, it wasn't the tree she was talking about, but the decorations over on the barn, which made up of a car on the roof that was lit up with Harmony Day lights. That made more sense than a few flimsy bulbs on a tree.

"I'm glad you liked the tree," said Padparadscha.

"NICE," amethyst said, giving Jasper a fist bump.

"Hey, any of you seen Rhodonite? I thought she'd be here," Connie II said, looking around to try and find her. Tiger's Eye went over to the two confused Connies.

"Rhodonite went out for a bit, something about wanting to clear her head for a while. If you ask me, she's too worked up," Tiger's Eye noted.

"Sounds like Flint in a way," Jasper commented.

"I hope she comes here for the present exchange, I had the perfect gift for her," Steven said, going into Lion's mane, and then pulling out a brightly colored box. The others looked intrigued at seeing this.

"Colorful," said right Rutile.

"Very pretty," added left Rutile.

"Just a container?"

"It's what's inside the container," Steven explained, "And I really want to see how Rhodonite would think when she sees it."

"What is it exactly?" Jasper asked.

"What's that supposed to be?" asked Padparadscha, ironically on time with her delayed question.

"I can't tell you, it's a surprise!"

"Rhodonite's not a fan of surprises, Steven," Tiger's Eye said.

"I think she'll like this one," Connie said, knowing what Steven had gotten for her as well. At least, they were hoping that she will like it anyway.

"Well ... did you bring anything for us?" left Rutile asked.

"Of course we brought something for you guys, but you're going to have to wait until we start exchanging. It won't be fair on the others," Connie II said. Connie had to agree on it, and so did everyone else.

"Speaking of which, how do you think they're doing with the decorations back at the Beach House? you think they're done by now?" asked Lapis. Steven almost forgot about that.

"Oh yeah! Come on, let's go see!" Steven said.

"Well, you two can go, Connie and I are going to finish up shopping; we still have a few presents to get," Connie said. They got a lot already, but there's still a few missing, and they can get it no problem. It was pretty quick to see where they were going from there.


~~~~~~


So, off they went: Lapis and Steven went off back towards the Beach house, and both Connies went off into town for a bit to get their own stuff together. They had their own list too, which they've been following since they left Funland. And according to the list, they had a good amount left, which they can handle pretty good here, especially with the shops around.

"Alright, we got most of the Crystal Gems, the Off-Colors, still missing a few for the Mane Six," Connie II noted.

"Yeah. Here, let's get Pinkie Pie first; there's a toy store not to far from here," Connie noted. Both Connies came to the agreement, and started to head off that way. It didn't take them too much time until they arrived there, and Connie was ready to head on in. They could see that there's a lot to choose from in there, so it would be some time until either Connie would figure out what will suit Pinkie Pie.

"I'll wait out here. You can get the gift here, I'll figure out where to go next," Connie II said. Connie nodded, and then went on inside to get the present. As she was doing that, Connie II stood over by the door and checked out the list a bit, marking off Pinkie Pie already. Honestly, it was bound to happen if they were looking in a place like this. Coonie II didn't look at the page for more than a few minutes when ...

"CONNIE!"

Uh oh. Connie II jumped at the voice, looking to the source, only to find a shocked Priyanka standing there! what in the world was she doing there, of all places? Sure, Connie told her she would be visiting Steven, but she didn't expect Priyanka to show up.

"Oh, h-hi there -"

"I can't believe you! Here I am coming to get you, and I find my own daughter with a tattoo on her face!" Priyanka snapped. Connie II freaked out a little bit.

"W-what? Nonononono, t-this isn't a tattoo, I swear it's not -"

"OH no, don't you start lying to me, young lady!"

Thankfully, or unthankfully, Connie made her purchase and went outside to join Connie II, though she didn't notice Priyanka standing there just yet, the large toy obstructing her view a little. Priyanka was quick to see her though.

"Ok, I got the gift, this oughta put a big smile on Pinkie's face, you think so?"

"Uh. Connie?"

"What?" All Connie II did was point over to Priyanka, and soon enough they all were aware of the situation. Priyanka was just staring wide eyed, frozen in place. So, who was the real Connie here?

"AH! M-Mom, I uh, I thought you'd be at home," Connie stuttered, but Priyanka couldn't get her mind straight as fast as others could, trying to process this sudden surprise. Both Connies were hoping to avoid this for a while longer, but fate apparently had other plans for them here.

"... W-Which one of you is my daughter?" Priyanka asked, a shaky finger pointing at them. Connie just went for broke.

"I am. This is Connie the second. My ... Doppelganger," Connie introduced, though a little awkwardly. Connie II was feeling that too, a hand waving to her as she chuckled nervously. both Connies were worried on what Priyanka was going to say after that one. Priyanka tried to get some better process about this, hand to her head.

"A ... A what, a-a Doppelganger? W-what's that even?"

"Look, I came to be after Connie summoned me out of Equestria's mirror pool. She uh ..." Connie II paused, not sure if she should continue without the real Connie saying anything. However, Connie did start to explain.

"W-Well ... I got her out when I ... ran away that one time. I wanted someone who could understand me, so ..."

And during every other second, she's jumping between worlds, and had made a doppelgänger of herself after you drove her away with your constant beating down. And you call yourself a good parent, no less.

Priyanka finally remembered a particular unicorn mentioning this to her, though she didn't believe it until now. She had to calm down a little bit.

"No ... no ... don't lose it," Priyanka told herself, taking a deep breath, and then looking to both Connies again.

"Ok. just make this clear with me: did this result in anything ... bad? You know, when you, uh ... came out?" Priyanka asked. Connie and Connie II looked to eachother before answering her.

"Not really. I feel fine, and so is she," Connie said, Connie II agreeing. Priyanka breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ok. Then, why does your ... Doppelganger have a tattoo, Connie?" Priyanka questioned.

"It's not a tattoo, it's a Cutie Mark. I know it looks like a tattoo, but -"

"Ok, ok, let's just leave it at that," Priyanka quickly said. she didn't care how it happened, so long as her Connie was alright. she already agreed Fusion was a thing for her, maybe it wasn't best to push it any further than that.

"Yes mam," both Connies quickly said, standing at attention.

"Ok. Anyway, you're supposed to be home by now Connie, what're you doing?" Priyanka asked, referring to the purchase.

"I'm getting ready for Harmony Day, mom."

"Harmony day?"

"It's a holiday Steven and her made up over the week. Connie told me she told you that," Connie II said. Priyanka started to feel a little embarrassed all of a sudden, face turned flustered. Both Connies looked a bit dumbfounded.

"I, uh ... sorry, it must've slipped my mind."

"She did forget," both Connies thought. They weren't upset with her though, both knowing that she was a busy women, and details like this would slip by her after a while with what she had to do.

"Ok, how long are you going to be? You're going to come home tonight, are you?" Priyanka asked.

"Yes, of course," Connie assured. She would never plan an overnight stay without telling them first, if she could help it anyway.

"Alright. I wish you'd told me about her sooner, but ..."

"It's alright," both Connies said. As long as that point was across, it was ok.

.......

"Where are they all?!"

Flint wasn't doing so good. He was probably the only Gem who wasn't told about this holiday, and he didn't know what was going on. what he did know was that many of the Gems had suddenly gone missing today, and he tried every single floor in the Temple, but with no luck. At the point, it was now that he went into the basement to try and find someone, but all he was met with was the quiet Gems still bubbled everywhere. no current Gem standing here, though he did see Blue Diamond's object floating by his head, but that was about it.

"OH, come on already. Where could they've gone to? Oh clod, if that Diamond got to them all -" Flint monologue stopped when he stepped into the Beach House, seeing it all decorated all over the place. Flint was slightly dumbfounded, but at least he found Rhodonite inside, the first Gem he'd seen in a while. Rhodonite was taking the moment to relax a bit, which was a bit rare for her, as she enjoyed the calm atmosphere of the colors.

"What's ... going on?" Flint asked, confused. Rhodonite didn't realize someone else was in there until that point, and she sat up on hearing him.

"Oh, Flint, I-is that you? You've been gone for days," Rhodonite asked.

"I know, I know, but ... what happened in here? Did I miss something?" Flint asked, seeing the reef on the picture frame.

"I don't know exactly, one of your pony friends came by the barn one day, and she went on about this "holiday" thing they wanted to do," Rhodonite answered, though she wasn't sure what was exactly going on either. Flint stopped by the boundary beam.

"Holiday? Seriously, is that what they've been doing all week?" Flint groaned, as Rhodonite got up and went over to him.

"I-Is it a bad thing?" Rhodonite asked, nervously.

"Well, technically no, it's some get-together thing some of those in Equestria do to pass the time. But really, don't they know we got more important things to do?" Flint said, annoyed at the other Gems for just running off on him with this.

"I know, but they all seemed a bit open to the idea. In a way," Rhodonite said, though personally she wished they weren't.

"Rhodonite, do you at least know where they ended up? I've look for them all day, and can't find them anywhere," Flint asked. Rhodonite pointed over to the Warp Pad.

"Er, if they're not here, then ... the barn, maybe?" Rhodonite then said. Flint had to take it.

"Come on, let's see if they're still there," Flint sighed.

It's too bad neither had noticed they both were under the Mistletoe.


~~~~~~


Time ticked by from there, and pretty soon, it was near sunset. This was the time for the present exchange for the group, and it took them a while to get together. At this point, much of the Gems had went to the Barn for the main exchange. It was the best place to do it for so many Gems and ponies showing up.

"This is so exciting! Oh, I wonder what I got for Harmony Day," Pinkie wondered.

"We'll all figure it out in a little bit. Soon as Steven gets here when that leaf falls," Sapphire said.

"What leaf?"

"Over on the maple tree, over there," said Sapphire, pointing over to the tree they decorated. As if on cue, a small leaf got blown off by a good gust of wind, and on that cue.

"Happy Harmony Day!"

In entered Steven. him with Lapis Lazuli, Connie and Connie II, having the remaining presents for every creature there.

"There you are. Are those the last of the gifts?" asked Fluttershy.

"You bet they are. OK everyone, we know you've been patient, but please, feel free to open your gifts," Connie announced. Pinkie didn't need to be told twice, and zoomed past them along with Fulgurite and Rainbow.

.......

After a few minutes, it was a great time of giving, many of the Gems giving and receiving different gifts. Most of these were from the ponies, but some of the Gems did pitch in as well with their own gifts to eachother. There was plenty of Gems and ponies to give and receive to, which was what they were counting on actually. Gifts of all kinds were passed back and forth, and they got all sorts of things, be it friendly gifts like a necklace or a book, to more fancy gifts like weapon enhancements or some future Gem object. It was a bit of a hoot for the most part. At one point, it was Peridot's turn to give a gift, and she went on to give one to Lapis, which turned out to be a tambourine. Peridot actually had a bow tie on at this point, one which AJ had given her, so she was enjoying this exchange too.

"What's this?" Lapis asked.

"I took the time to study on various gifts humans would give to eachother, and I found that musical items are a highly popular gift. So, here's your musical item," Peridot said, excitedly. Lapis moved her hand over the base of the tambourine, hearing a slight chime from the bells on it. Lapis closed her eyes, and felt the smooth surface, hearing the instrument make its music. She tried giving it a pat, making the bells chime even more so. Peridot was excited for this, and she got out a little musical triangle, and gave it a tiny chime with a shake of her finger, the instrument floating due to her metal powers.

"Now we both can play the music together!" Peridot said, playing her instrument. Lapis started to play along with a smile, dancing a little bit as she gave Peridot a good beat with her own instrument. That was a good hoot, and Twilight walked over to her.

"See you two are having fun," Twilight giggled.

"We are. Is that for a particular somepony?" Lapis asked. she recognized the packaging on it, as she levitated it over to her. Peridot couldn't wait for this one, and like the other presents she had been given that were wrapped up, she went on to tear off the paper to see what she was given.

"We hope you like it, Peridot. Amethyst, Steven, Lapis and the Connies did a good job getting it," Twilight said as Peridot got it free, only to be met with the alien plushie from the funland earlier. Peridot's eyes sparkled on seeing this being.

"Its large head, swollen with thoughts. Those compassionate eyes. It understands. ... OH, WOW THANKS!" Peridot gave Lapis Lazuli a big hug for her efforts into this. Lapis just smiled, and giggled, as Peridot went off to have fun with this little being of hers. Over off nearby, Sapphire and Padparadscha were standing there with smiles on their faces. It surely was a nice sight.

"....... This is a lot of fun," said Padparadscha.

"I knew it will be," said Sapphire. She was sure that Padparadscha knew something of it.

"....... did you get something?"

"I don't need to get anything. Seeing everyone happy is all the gift I need."

.......

"Where're you guys?!"

Soon, Rhodonite and Flint finally arrived to the barn, and soon they found everyone there doing the present exchange. As if seeing the Beach House all sparkly was odd enough, seeing this surely made Flint a bit off his guard, but thanks to Rhodonite he had a handle on it.

"Flint, Rhodonite! We're just in the middle of our exchange. Here, I got something for you," called over Diopside.

"Exchange? What exchange?" questioned Rhodonite. She stepped back when Steven came over with Diopside, both with a present in hand, though while she was spooked she ended up confused more than anything.

"For you, honorary Crystal Gem," said Diopside. She hesitantly took both gifts, and took a bit more to open each one. Looking in, she saw Steven's gift first, and found that it was a beautiful looking bracelet, each glistening in the late sun. Rhodonite picked out Steven's bracelet, and got it on. Rhodonite felt humbled by this affection.

"Well, uh ... thank you."

"Go on, open mine," Diopside insisted. And so Rhodonite took a look in there, and she found a wristband inside, made of glistening glass that Diopside made herself. She got it onto her wrist and looked it over, feeling more humbled now. If this was what it all was, then it shouldn't be too bad. Rhodonite just stayed quiet, but Flint was more vocal.

"You do realize we got more problems to worry about, don't you?"

"Flint come on, we can relax a bit. Don't you want a gift?" Steven asked, showing him the present.

"No thanks, now as for this little incident, I think we got -"

"For you."

Suddenly, Sapphire was standing next to him, holding what looked like a gift in her hands. she had been waiting for him to show up to give him this, and Flint wasn't sure how to react at first. For the longest time, he wasn't ever really given anything, at least not this way and not so forward. Padparadscha walked alongside her, and smiled up to Flint.

"Uh, for me?"

"Jade thought you'll appreciate it. And I thought so too." Sapphire said. Flint saw Jade over nearby, also waiting for him to open it. Well, if it was from Jade, Flint just sighed, and opened it up to figure it out.

"Don't you want to open your present?" asked Padparadscha, as he was opening it. Flint didn't answer her, and got it completely opened, only to find something ... interesting. It was rather small, but it did show a sort of importance: a ring. A silver ring.

"A ... ring?"

"Doesn't it look familiar?" Sapphire asked. That surely was confusing to him, but Flint examined it more closely, studying it as if it were some piece of evidence he had found. And little by little, something started to come back to him. ...

"... But ... but it's been so long. H-How did you even find this?" Flint asked, astonished.

"I had a little help."

"Do you remember it yet?" Padparadscha asked.

"... Yes, I think I do. ... Oh Jade," Flint sighed, going over to her. He couldn't be strict anymore with this. He can look over the evidence he had gathered later on, but for now, maybe it was time for him to relax a little bit. As he went over to Jade, Sapphire and Padparadscha smiled to eachother.

"Happy Harmony Day," Sapphire said.

"........ You too, Sapphire," Padparadscha said, as she too joined the crowd after a bit. 

Sapphire stayed quiet, and then turned to the audience, smiling herself.

"And Merry Christmas."
> Dream a Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"K, is the sign 'pull me up' one wiggle, or two?"

Off out on a lifeboat, the search for any clues about the Pink Diamond case was still deep in effect with the Crystal Gems. It was a bit troubling for many of them, sure, but in the case of this situation, Flint was extremely focused on it more than anyone else. For his own safety, he got a few others to join him, courtesy of Garnet's decision making, and Flint had his crew with Jade, Diopside, Emerald, and Steven. Flint and Jade were looking around on the boat, Steven off on the side of it and looking underwater with Emerald's help.

"Will you stop fooling around, Emerald?" Flint asked. Emerald shrugged and dropped Steven in the water. He popped up again over in front of Flint, spitting out a fish in the process.

"This is why we use life jackets," Steven stated.

"Here Steven, I got you," Diopside said, reaching out from the boat, and picking him up out of the water. Steven landed in the boat, and flopped around a little like said fish out of water.

"This is getting nowhere, feels like we've been searching for light years!"

"Uh, light years measures light, not years," Emerald corrected.

"It still takes a long time to do."

"Will you two quit complaining? I could've sworn that I found a good spot here, but where in the stars is this thing? I swear, it's right here," Flint said, even dunking his own head in the water, and his gemstone lighting up. All he could see was the empty expanse of the ocean from where they were though.

"Ok, I'm just gonna say this right now: you're worrying about this WAY more than you should!" Emerald griped. Flint gasped and pulled his head out of the water.

"Emerald, I'm putting more effort into figuring out this mystery, and you know that! The sooner we can figure this out, the sooner we can clear our name," Flint reminded. Give them something they don't know, but soon Steven was down and asleep in the boat.

"Can we at least get Steven back home? I think the Beach House is more comfortable than being out on a boat," Diopside said.

"Huh? No, no, I'm up. Let's solve this case, girls," Steven said, half asleep, as he went on over to the side of the boat. He was about to jump in when Diopside grabbed him by the foot, him passed out in a mid-air jump position.

"Yeah, let's go back."

.......

"We should be back out there searching, not here, not searching!"

So, into the beach house they went. It was still dark by the time they got there, and Steven was ready to fall asleep at any moment, unlike the others. They weren't alone though, as Garnet was over nearby with Bismuth.

"Steven needs his sleep. Come on, you don't want to wear him out completely do you?" Diopside said.

"Steven's not like us, Flint. He needs his rest," agreed Garnet. Flint felt like everyone was against him again, but Flint might as well not argue.

"Oh, fine. Get Steven to bed, I'll keep going. You all can stay if you'd like."

"Don't you need to rest too? You look exhausted," Steven said, worried over him. He wasn't wrong, Flint did look completely out of it: hair slightly messy, eyes straining a bit, and bags starting to form underneath said eyes. He looked like a wreck.

"OK, that's your opinion," Flint groaned, ready to go. Before he could go back out there, Garnet grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Flint. No. You'll be too uncoordinated," Garnet warned.

"Oh, how do you know?" Flint asked. Garnet made a slight adjustment to her shades, which despite the dim light still made that O so cool shine to them. Jade walked over to Flint next.

"Flint? Please?"

"... You're should be glad I like you," Flint groaned.

"Everyone needs to chill out once and a while. and maybe I can liven things up with ..." Steven took a moment to get some pillows together and presented them to the others. "A slumber party!"

"Sweet!"

"That sounds fun. come on, Flint, let's -" before any of them could talk to him, oddly, Flint was already laying off down on Steven's window seat, his back to them, and him just looking off outside at the night.

"Looks like he knows how to chill after all," Diopside said.

"Shocker," Emerald commented.

.......

There she stood. Off outside of Steven's world, Equestria apparently had their own problem right now. At the Castle of the Two Sisters, a rather old location. Princess Luna stood still, silently waiting for what seemed to be the oncoming attackers galloping up the halls. It was the Mane Six, all rushing in from the nearby halls as fast as they could. Luna simply stood there, but she wasn't afraid of the coming fighters, as odd as the situation may be. Luna then began to hear something else show up not too far behind her, but again she didn't feel too worried. In fact, she grew to expect it.

"Greetings, Tantabus. I'm ready. Do your worst," Luna said. This Tantabus looked less like an actual creature and more like some ball of magic, but it understood her all the same and acted accordingly. The skies outside the castle grew dark like the night, and Luna began to feel a deeply familiar transformation take place inside her, just as the Mane Six showed up. All six ponies gasped on what they saw next, and Luna began to alter her form: her irises slanting, her teeth sharpening. With a victorious laughter, Princess Luna had returned to Nightmare Moon once more.

"Oh no! Luna's returned to Nightmare Moon!" gasped Twilight.

"Well we got the cure for that," Rainbow said. Nightmare Moon wasn't so easily intimidated, and she was about ready to attack them, when

*slice*

Turning around, Nightmare Moon saw something that made her eyes bulge out: the Tantabus wasn't going to stick around to see the end result. With a small cut into space, it opened up what seemed to be a sort of portal, and next thing she knew, the Tantabus had left.

"What? IT'S GONE!" Nightmare gasped. And not a moment too soon: looking to the mane six, each one of them had the elements of harmony on them, which started to swirl and spin above them, their magic activating within them. The colors of the mane six, gleaming in a rainbow, swirled in the air in a beam, and Nightmare Moon found herself trapped in a vortex. This was too familiar to the Alicorn princess, and that same power that gave Nightmare Moon power was suddenly drained away.
In little time at all, Luna was brought back from her torment. The mane six were more than happy to see Luna return to normal, and all hug her with all smiles.

...

With a jolt, Luna was awake in her bed. She was normal still, back at Canterlot castle, and by the look on her face, she seemed pretty well rested.

"My dream ended ... happily? ... This. Cannot. Happen!"


~~~~~~


Next following morning, and everything else seemed relatively normal. Over off at Rarity's boutique, the Mane Six were going about their day and handling their own business. In this case, rather than handling somepony in the spa, it was pet grooming day, and they all were giving their pets some good treatment. However, and oddly enough, the group just looked ... well, out of it. Each pony looked rather worn out for some reason, though it was hard to say what. They didn't had any big adventures, or some sort of action this week.

"Thanks again for letting us do this, Rarity," Fluttershy said, a yawn escaping her muzzle as she was brushing Angel.

"A grooming day for our pets is a great idea," Rarity replied, a yawn escaping her too. During their little tidbit, Rarity was quietly brushing Opalescence's fur, the kitty cat smiling and purring in glee, feeling the comb run through her fur. However, Rarity tried to stay awake, yet began to doze off a little, and ...

*poke* RROOOW!

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just didn't get my usual amount of beauty sleep," yawned Rarity, as Opalescence hissed at Rarity for the poke, hanging from the wall drapes with her claws.

"You know," Twilight said with a yawn, "I didn't sleep any good either."

"Same," said AJ.

"Ditto," added Rainbow.

"I'm totally beat too!" finished Pinkie. Despite the fact she was doing cartwheels as she said that. Eventually, a bark from Winona got Applejack awake.

"Alrigh' time for a brushin'," AJ said with a smile. however, the farm mare was so tired, she couldn't exactly see what she was doing. Instead of grabbing the brush, she grabbed the alligator, and with her eyes dozing off, she brought Gummy to Winona, just to have the gator bite her ear! Thank celestia he didn't have teeth, but that didn't mean Winona liked it, and shook the gator off ... just to land on Twilight's Owlowiscious, the pet owl flying like mad around the boutique, Pinkie trying to get Gummy down. Winona was not amused by that at all.

"And I went to bed early last night ... but then I had a horrible nightmare," Flutterhy then yawned.

"Me too!" said the others. Odd coincidence.

"Eh, you know, except mine wasn't that scary," Rainbow added in, though mostly it was to show she didn't have too much trouble with "scary". Twilight yawned again.

"Well mine was. I was in a lovely library, but then this blue smoke monster came up and -"

An estimated four to five jaws dropped to the floor.

"... What?"

"I saw something like that too," Fluttershy said.

"So did we!" gasped Rarity. Now it was more than a coincidence if their nightmares were getting this exact with eachother.

"Wonder why I didn't have it. I slept great," Spike noted, who was more awake than anypony else in the room. Not really a helpful comment, and RD just rolled her eyes.

"Weird. What could've given us all the same nightmare?" Rarity wondered in surprise. Though, she wasn't as surprised if not more tired. Twilight, hoof to chin, eventually got to a probable answer.

"I don't know. But I think I know who would. Spike, can you get a letter to Princess Luna?"

"Ready!" Spike said, already having his quill and scroll ready. Never a good idea for a messenger to forget his tools, even on the most mundane of trips. Spike unraveled the message, and began to write it in.

"Dear Princess Luna, last night my friends and I all dreamt of a creature made of blue smoke. I'm sure you're very busy, but -" Twilight paused to yawn. "- when you have the chance, please let me know if you have any idea what it could mean. Yours, -" another yawn escaped her. "- Princess Twilight Sparkle. ... You can leave out the yawns."

"Alright," spike replied with a smirk. Once that was done, he rolled it up, tied it up nice and neat, and then sent it on its way with a single breath. Seconds later ...

*BAM*

"WHICH ONE OF YOU SAW THE BLUE SMOKE MONSTER IN YOUR NIGHTMARE?!"

"... That was fast," Fluttershy said. Yep, Luna had arrived, frantic on the idea, and door lucky to not be wrecked on her arrival.

"We all did. ... Well, except for Spike," Applejack said, glancing to the fully refreshed Spike next to her. Luna started to feel a little bad, her ears folded back in worry.

"Know anything about this?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm afraid so. This is a Tantabus: a parasitic creature from my nightmares! It escaped it while I slept yesterday," Luna revealed.

"But how'd it get into our dreams?" Twilight asked.

"It's like a parasite: it feasts off of nightmares onepony dreams of. My dreams must not be enough to quench it anymore, and now it escaped mine and got out into yours. It must've known about you when it saw you in my dream," Luna explained, though it didn't make the situation any better for any of them.

"One question: did anypony see anyone else in any dream yet?"

"Aside from the Tantabus? I didn't, did any of you?" Rarity asked, but most of them shook their heads for no. Underline most.

"Ok, so the Tantabus will give us bad dreams. No biggie," said Rainbow.

*BAM!*

*CRASH!*

Suddenly, someone else bolted through the door, this time going so fast the door was knocked off its hinges and spun in place for a full three seconds before falling to the ground. Sure, Rainbow moved that quick, but that made everypony in there jump, including Luna. Looking over, they found Fulgurite had come by, though breaks were a bit lacking, and she was stuck with some mannequins and a curtain on her. Fulgurite quickly shook it off, tossing the curtain off of her.

"Fulgurite?" Twilight asked.

"Girls! Hey, look, I know you may be busy, but I need to -" Fulgurite stopped talking when she saw Luna standing there, suddenly jumping over to her.

"Luna! Great, just the pony I want to see! Listen, I've been told hundreds of times about your little tricks inside a thing called "dreams" right? Someone, or somepony falls asleep, and all that, right?" Fulgurite asked, but Luna needed a minute to gather herself, considering Fulgurite was talking as fast as an excitable Pinkie Pie.

"Did you see the Tantabus too?"

"Tantabus, what? No, just come here!"


~~~~~~


"... Oh dear."

It took less than a minute to get the entire gang off and over at the Beach House, but what they found once they got there was a bit out of place, to say the least. They found Pearl (her Gem covered up), Amethyst, Peridot, Jasper, Jade, Lapis, Steven, and Garnet all over on the ground in the beach house. Diopside, Flint, and Emerald were also there and getting them comfy, and Flint just got back with Jade in his arms, who also looked unconscious much like the others on the ground.

"Hey, Flint, got her," Fulgurite announced, just as Flint placed Jade down on the couch.

"Luna, thank the stars," Flint said. He walked over to her, but had to watch his step over the other there first, narrowly missing stepping on Amethyst's hand as he did so.

"What in tarnation happened here?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know, you tell me," Flint answered, looking right over to Luna in particular. Twilight went over to Peridot, and lifted her up with her magic, only to find that Peridot was passed out, fast asleep with some stray drool passing her lips.

"They're just sleeping," Twilight sighed.

"I know that, but they won't wake up. We've tried everything, but it won't work. Emerald, show em," Flint instructed. Emerald did as he said, and brought out a bat in hand, and just went to town on Jasper, whacking her like crazy! While it was a bit ... weird to watch, it didn't wake her up.

"Nothing."

"Was that really necessary?" Fluttershy quietly asked.

"Actually, yes," Fulgurite answered.

"Oh no, the Gems won't wake up! It's My Little Universe: Mindwarp all over again!" Pinkie gasped. Luna went over to one of them and investigated them all, seeing them all in a similar situation. None of them woke up, and they all didn't look hurt according to the gemstones on them all. Then one other thought went through her head that made her even more troubled.

"Did anypony see any of these Gems in their dreams? Any of you?" Luna asked. At first, nopony actually answered her, but ...

"Eh ... Ok, guilty."

"Rainbow!" Flint yelled.

"What?! We were in some crazy fight with a giant diamond rattlesnake, and they all fought with me."

"No they didn't: they were here this whole time, We found them passed out in their rooms and brought them all here," Diopside corrected.

There was a bit of a pause in the room.

"... You never had a dream, had you?" asked Rarity.

"May I remind you, Gems don't need sleep. I didn't have any sleep for a literal earth week, and I feel fine," Flint answered.

"One tantrum, hold the ice," Emerald commented, which didn't help Flint any. Luna took this new information into account, as she reached her answer.

"I saw that the Tantabus had grown more powerful, but I did not realize that power was enough to enable it to escape my dreams. If its power grows, it could very well find a way to escape into the real world. It could turn all of Equestria and Earth into a living nightmare!" Luna revealed. None of them knew much about this Tantabus, but if this was any indication, it was no joke on what this thing could do.

"Ok, I take back my earlier comment: that's bad. really bad!" Rainbow said, hooves on her head.

"Well, it's not going to be easy, but we don't have much choice: I'll have to enter into their dreamscape and stop the Tantabus myself," Luna decided.

"OH NO! I'm going in there with you," Flint answered.

"Flint, I can't let you. The dreamscape is a highly dangerous place -"

"Luna. My Jade is laying right there, and can't wake up because of this Tantabus. If you think I'm going to just stand here and let you run off alone, you got another thing coming," Flint made clear, even gripping the alicorn at her front hooves. Suddenly, Fulgurite gave him a whip to the head with her electric hair, giving him a shock to snap him back to his senses. Flint took a minute before he got back together.

"... Thanks. I needed that. I'm all better now," Flint said, sounding calmer.

"Good. So Luna, what do we do?"

"Don't worry, we got it," Spike said, already arming himself up for his guard duty.

"Very good. You keep watch here, alright? and don't fall asleep," Luna advised, the ponies all agreeing. Since they couldn't wake up, Luna could just start herself off now, and went over to the center of the room, standing on the table, and her horn glowing. Eventually, white light escaped from it, like strands of spider silk, and each one connected to each Gem and into their own dreams, whatever that would be.

"There she goes," Rarity said. Flint surely felt hard here, angry, and unable to do anything.

"She better bring her back."


~~~~~~


.......

"AH~ This is the life, eh babe?"

"I couldn't agree more.~"

The first Dream, Luna flew off in what looked like a pretty picnic scene, both Ruby and Sapphire sitting down on a blanket and watching the stars go by above their heads. Honestly, pretty cute, but Luna wasn't there simply to sight see with them, she had a Tantabus to find. The landscape was wide open, and not much cover for much of anything, so it shouldn't be that hard to find where it could be hiding. As it stood though, there wasn't too much of a sign of this Tantabus anywhere. At least, she didn't at first, but eventually the starry sky that Ruby and Sapphire were looking at with such comfort then started to slowly move a little bit before it actually "touched the sky" before bolting for it.
Next thing they knew the starry sky turned into what at first looked like a lovely display of shooting stars. Well, these stars turned into projectiles, and extremely fast attackers, as Ruby and Sapphire bolted to their feet to avoid the hits! These same stars turned into monsters themselves, and each one hissed at them. Luna quickly took action and blasted a few of them out of sight before meeting with the two.

"Ruby, Sapphire!"

"Luna! What's going on here? When did stars turn savage?" Ruby asked, Sapphire cowering slightly as a few more stars almost shot them!

"The Tantabus did this," Luna confirmed. Neither knew what a Tantabus even was, but they soon saw the creature floating nearby. Luna raised her wings and tried to fly at it, just for the Tantabus to split open the dream again and fly off.

"It's going into another dream."

"Well, let's go after it!" Ruby insisted, Gem weapon at the ready, but Luna refused.

"No, I don't want you to suffer because of me. I have to go where you can not," Luna said, and with that final statement, she flew off after it, leaving Ruby and Sapphire to deal with their shooting stars.

.......

For the Tantabus, the next stop on its little hunt for nightmare fuel was off from one fusion, to one singular servant Gem, and the whole scene shifted from a nighttime picnic, into a tropical scene: a scene with Pearl gleefully enjoying herself with a big smile on her face, holding what appeared to be Rose Quartz as they surfed along a wave on top of a pizza slice.

"Ah hahahahahaha! Oh Rose, this is wonderful! I'm just having so much fun spending time with you, Rose!" Pearl beamed, eventually blushing and adding in "Forget about Greg! Let's go travel the galaxy!"

The Tantabus knew exactly what to do. One tap on her head, and ....

"Thank you so much ... for fixing my van!"

To Pearl's horror, Rose's face turned into that of the very man she had just said to forget about, freaking her out like crazy, as "Greg" gagged out a pizza slice from his mouth. Only now did Luna arrive, but she was just too late to do much, and the Tantabus was off and flying away again, acting like an arrow and skewering through time and space to get to the next dream. Well, here we go again.

.......

This time, Luna got to the next dream first, and wasted no time in skidding to a halt to see which dream they ended up in now. As with the other dreams, this one didn't start too bad, and this time the dream appeared on what looked like some sort of stage. Looking over to said stage, she found it was in the middle of some sort of play, or act, and Lapis Lazuli was center stage, and dancing beautifully and gracefully alongside Pearl in a lovely ballerina duet. A nice act, but the Tantabus was still looming, and sure enough, Luna quickly caught sight of this Tantabus looming not too far away, appearing just above the stage.

"There it is," Luna thought, opening her wings, and readying to attack. Lucky for Lapis and Pearl on stage, this time the Tantabus didn't have time to alter anything, and quickly tried to get away from Luna. Lapis and Pearl didn't really notice Luna, and the alicorn wanted to grab hold of the Tantabus before it could go any further. Luna flew right at it, and the Tantabus began to work itself away from the scene, off and hidden away backstage, Luna following close behind. The Tantabus was just about to jump into another dream, but this time Luna caught up with it and pinned it under her hooves.

Bad decision.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

.......

Luna bolted in a huge startle, and suddenly collapsed backwards off the table and onto the floor nearby the door, everyone who was still awake in there now startled.

"Princess Luna!" gasped Twilight, going up to her and getting her to her hooves, Luna startled and shaken up herself.

"What happened?" asked Diopside. Luna needed a minute to calm down before she could answer.

"I, I'm not sure, it must've forced me out somehow," Luna concluded, though she was shocked that it could even do such a thing. On the bright side, looking back, they then noticed Pearl and Garnet were already away, though Pearl was still gagging over Rose-ivied Greg and his gagging pizza, while Garnet was still half-shaken by the shooting star attacks. Lapis got up as well, though she appeared more surprised than scared, possibly from the screeching that the Tantabus had made before Luna got kicked out.

"You three alright?" asked Fulgurite.

"Perhaps. Though I can't say the same for Pearl," Garnet answered, Pearl still trying to regain herself. Lapis got up to her feet, and actually yawned a little bit.

"Boy, what a dream. What's going on?" Lapis asked, stretching a little bit, feeling a little bit more rested than the others in the room.

"Luna was trying to get this Tantabus out of these dreams, and clearly it shoved her out. Luna, you got to get us in there," Flint insisted again. Luna got up to her hooves, looking right up to Flint. Luna felt deeply conflicted here; this was her problem to deal with, not theirs, and she already caused enough trouble with Nightmare Moon twice before, thrice if included the second return of Sombra.

"I'd hate to bother you with another problem of mine. It's something I must fix."

Flint started to grow cold.

"Well it didn't work, did it? It knows what you can do, but not us."

"Flint," stated Lapis, disappointed a little bit.

"Luna? Clearly this problem is highly dangerous, and if you're unable to follow it, then perhaps it would be best to have a group of Gems go in," Garnet suddenly said.

"What? Garnet, I'd hate to see my problem become one you'll have to face. Just allow me to -"

"Luna. You said before: this is a species issue that can't be crossed. You did a lot to get into our dreams to begin with, so it would be easier if a Gem would go in."

"You're awfully cooperative with Flint, huh?" Emerald questioned.

"I don't want Luna to hurt herself trying to get the Tantabus any further," Garnet said. Luna withdrawn on that statement, but little by little, Luna reluctantly nodded.

"You all have to be careful when you're in there: the rules of real world logic don't apply in the dreamscape. Is everyone ready?" Luna asked. Flint nodded his head. The alicorn sighed, and her horn began to glow again, the same white lines connecting once more to those sleeping, and multiple one branching over to those who were standing. Flint was hit first, and he quickly started to feel tired. ...


~~~~~~


"Ok, where am I?"

Flint got up to his own feet, and took a moment to check his surroundings. The whole area was quiet: seemingly in nowhere but a sea of stars, and a blue abyss above him. There was a solid ground under his feet for him to stand, though it more appeared like pixels of light rather than hard earth. He, Emerald, Diopside, and Fulgurite were all there at the same spot, and bit by bit the group all got up and observed the area. It wasn't just a empty landscape here, and looked a foot away revealed a lot of doors, each one with a Gemstone to signify which one of them had which dream inside. Flint armed himself up with his Gem pistol.

"So, is this that 'dream' place Luna was talking about?" Diopside asked.

"Stay alert. That Tantabus is somewhere here. ... So which one to try first?" Flint asked. The group started walking down the unforeseen hall with the doors surrounding them. It was a bit hard to really say, as the Tantabus could be literally anywhere in there, and with so many doors to choose from, this could go on for a long time.

"Oh, ok this is interesting: we're checking in the group's inner psyche. Wonder what goes on in Garnet's head?"

"We're not here just to sightsee, Emerald."

"Well you know what, we're doin it anyway! Onward we go!" Emerald announced, and before any of them could stop him, he bolted for the closest door by him, in this case being Jasper's dream. Well, they gotta start somewhere.

.......

They went through the first door, and soon the group found themselves from bright stars, into a palace of sorts, much like the palaces back on Homeworld. The exact room in particular appeared to be a throne room, rather standard for one admittedly, nothing too new about it.

"Homeworld? How the heck did we end up here?" Fulgurite asked.

"That's the thing with dreams dude: you can be here to anywhere in the world just like that," emerald said, snapping his finger.

"So. We're not on Homeworld?" Flint questioned.

"Eh, nope. Now, what's cheesepuff got going on in here?" Emerald asked.

"Welcome home my dear. Look what I got for you, my Jasper."

Well, their cheesepuff had their answer. Looking to the throne, which suddenly was a bit further away at this point. A being was sitting in the throne, but they couldn't figure out who it was exactly, and Jasper was standing good and proud, looking like a pure elite soldier of Homeworld, cape behind her like the one she first arrived to Earth with. Pretty straightforward this one, and the figure then gave Jasper what looked like a wonderful, beautiful medal of honor. Jasper sure looked happy for it.

"It is with great honor that I present to you as captain of the royal guard."

"I humbly accept," Jasper said with a smile.

"Man, I was hoping for some big secret reveal or something," Emerald griped.

It was then though that they got a taste of what this Tantabus could do. Coming in from a side hallway, the creature in question floated on inside. Once it got there, like the others, a wave began to occur, and the effects of this nightmare immediately began to go crazy: the medal around Jasper's neck tightened and turned into a cuff, one attached to a long, long, chain. Jasper's moment of happiness turned into surprise, as the end of the chain reached the same being, who now had her in her grasp. Jasper tried to get free, but the chain suddenly whipped her upward, and slammed her into the ceiling!

"Jasper!" Diopside gasped. Fulgurite bolted up to her, but the Tantabus wasn't gonna give her a chance, and whacked her aside like a bug, isolating the group from Jasper as she tried to get away. It wasn't even close to be enough though, but before they could even manage, a door opened up behind them, and the group was sucked out fast, seeing Jasper's shocked face just before the door slammed in their face.

Just like that, they were back in the room again, and before they could go back in the room, Jasper's door disappeared from sight. They got themselves recovered, just in time to hear the Tantabus slip into another door. Which one, they didn't manage to see.

"K, that happened," Diopside said, getting up and shaking her head. Well, that was one door, and they had a bit more to go here.

"Well, let's pick a dream, find it, and take it down," flint instructed, before he reloaded his gun, and began to move on to the next door of his choice. Seemed simple enough, but if one dream was this dynamic, then who knows what'll be in the next one?


~~~~~~


The place this time: one step through the door, and they found themselves backstage in ... some sort of studio, they weren't too sure. Steel walls, a few wires on the floor, the door they entered having one of those "exit" signs above it, the typical backstage settings. A few cameras were set up with a label saying "EQG", along with some lights fixated to some sort of box, and a few chairs.

"Interesting."

.......

Children's Music. Odd to hear in such a place. Looking off ahead, the group soon saw that there was actually a bit of a set up going on here: peeking around a nearby wall, they were indeed on some sort of set. The setting looked like a living room of sorts. nothing looked too over-the-top, and looked less like a room and more like a doll set: a simple red table, a round clock on the wall, fridge and counter along the back wall under a window, and three simple chairs. As for who was there, there was three characters in the chairs: Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet, each one apparently enjoying some breakfast ... or something like that. One thing too; they didn't look entirely real. Less like actual Gems and more like one of those string puppets, and they were moving just as well as one.

"Wait ... what's this I'm even looking at here?" Fulgurite asked.

"That doesn't matter, the Tantabus should be here any minute. just look around for it," Flint noted. Emerald only needed just a few short seconds to see what was going on here, and a shiver ran through him.

"Uh, guys?"


What's your favorite idea?
Mine is being cre-a-tive!


"What the?" Diopside said. The group took a look in the room again, and found that all three Crystal Gems were listening to what looked like a paint can. A paint can with a set of hands, one of which had a paint brush on it.


How do you get the idea?
I just start thinkin creatively!


"Psst, guys, come over here where it's safe," Emerald whispered, now hidden off closer to the exit door. Fulgurite, Diopside, and Flint did so, but it was weird to see Emerald this freaked out over something. So as they were singing, they went out of the way.

"What's wrong?" Fulgurite asked.

"Guys, listen to me: I think that Tantabus had gone by already."

"What?! When?"

"Beats me, but now we're stuck in a 'Don't Cuddle Me, I'm Afraid' skit!"

"... Huh?" the three other Gems asked. What was that even? The group took a look again, and now the group was staring out the window, the paint can bringing their attention to it outside, apparently the clouds changing into all sorts of things, Pearl and Amethyst acting accordingly as Garnet stayed quiet.


I can see a hat!
I can see a rat!
I can see a player with a baseball bat!
I can see a log!
I can see a bog!
I can see a apple, eaten by a hog!


"What's so wrong about this?" Fulgurite questioned.

"Keep watching," Emerald advised through gritted teeth. Suddenly, the group was at the table again, this time the paint can having what looked like a painted hairdo.


Look what I did with my hair!
I use my hair to express myself!
Garnet: That sounds simply boring.
I USE MY HAIR TO EXPRESS MYSELF!


"What?" Fulgurite wondered.

"Ah ... I get it," Flint said, getting the idea just off of that. It was a vague idea, but if this was going where he thought it was going, then it might as well be.

"Do you get it now? This idea is just horrid," Emerald shivered.

"Looks simply mundane to me," said Fulgurite.

"Oh, we're not even there yet, and I'm not waiting for it to start!" Emerald quietly yelled. But Diopside began to notice something from her position. Her Gem eye focused a bit more like the cameras on set, directly to the paint can. The paint can, and the particularly black paint that was inside it, which at first they thought was standard red. Though admittedly, it could be just as disturbing.

"Flint, over there," Diopside quietly instructed, pointing to the paint can. The others eventually soon saw the same thing, while not as clearly as Diopside, but just enough to get it right. Oh, flint wasn't gonna wait around for this one.

"I got this," Flint instructed, and he started to turn invisible on them, and slip into the scene. With his cloak on, no one on set really noticed him, or if they did, they weren't doing anything about it. And what a time too, as more singing was ready to come on, and now the group had a picture frame for each one of them to use. Garnet didn't go along with it, but the other two were right with it, following the paint can.


Think you're getting the hang of it now,
Using your minds to have a good time! 
Pearl: I might paint a picture of a clown
Whoa there friend, you need to slow down!


Suddenly a can full of ink was suddenly poured down on Pearl's picture. Sticky, black, slimy goop covering the clown picture from top to bottom. Emerald could feel that they were getting close to that particular part.


Okay everybody, let's get -


*click*

What happened next came out of nowhere, and made the entire studio jump: Flint fired! One shot hit the paint can, red paint and black ink spewing on the wall nearby. The paint can screeched, and the entire scene suddenly glitched out like crazy! The Tantabus formed back to normal, but with the injury, it didn't have much control over what was going on, so it had to retreat out before Amethyst could wake up!

"GET BACK HERE!" Flint yelled, the group racing after it as it bolted through the exit door. All they could do was follow it through, and just as they got back to their main hub, Amethyst's dream door cracked, crumbled, and disappeared. Guess someone else had woken up, or the Tantabus made sure no dream was repeated. The next door.

Jade.


~~~~~~


Stepping through Jade's door, the group were met with a rather quiet sight. So far their dreams had some sort of offer to it, but this time they were in some sort of cave. Long, quiet, and cold. When Diopside looked back, they found the entrance of the cave, but outside it was in the middle of winter.

"Where did we end up now?" wondered Diopside.

"And who turned up the AC?" Emerald added, shivering a little. Sure he was a Gem, but that didn't mean cold didn't affect him. Flint quietly walked ahead, though this time he didn't really keep his weapon up. He stayed that way, and continued looking around, going further into this cave until ...

"JADE!"

Looking around the corner, he found that the Tantabus must've stopped by already: Jade looked trapped, found out by what he only could assume to be more Homeworld soldiers. He saw his own gemstone getting crunched and shattered in front of Jade. Jade looked horrified. Before anyone could stop him, Flint immediately opened fire on the soldiers to keep them from getting to her. Jade was shocked as shocked could be, as the soldiers were destroyed with ease.

"F-Flint? But they, but you -"

"No, no, Jade, it's okay. I'm here," Flint said, going over to her. Jade was still shaken up by what had happened, but she was just glad that Flint was still with her, hugging him tightly. Flint returned the gesture, but unfortunately, this was short-lived.
The Tantabus was closing in right behind them.

"No you don't," Fulgurite then said, her lightning speed quickly grabbing the Tantabus before it could go any further. Jade had been spooked more than enough, she didn't need anymore from the Tantabus.

AAAAAAA - MMMMMPH!!!!!

"What's that?" Jade asked.

"Tantabus. Don't worry Jade, stay with me," Flint said, reloading his pistol of shots before going over to the Tantabus, which Fulgurite wrapped in her electrified hair to keep it down. But no way was this creature going to be stopped that easily, and it started to cut through the time and space to get to another dream, but the others weren't going to let go of it that easily ... Even if the cut was large enough to get them all inside.

"You clod."


~~~~~~


AND with a thud, they all, including Jade, landed in what they assume to be another dream, and soon they were ready for anything at this point. For where they were, it was surprisingly ... familiar.
Looking around, it looked like some sort of alien planet, many flora unfamiliar to any typical earthling. The plants, ground, even the sky wasn't exactly matching up to what Earth or Equus would look like. The spot they landed in wasn't really just some random part of the planet either, the exterior looking like some glass in a dome.

"Wait. Are we on a colony?" wondered Diopside, scratching her head.

Yellooooooow!

"Clod, hide!"

In such a place, they weren't going to take any chances anymore. No, they didn't recognize the voice, but with what that Tantabus could do in this dream realm, it could be anyone. Unfortunately, there was no such place to hide at first, but then a chair started to appear. A diamond chair. No time to be picky: Fulgurite grabbed everyone, and bolted behind the chair, just in time to see Yellow Diamond sitting in her seat with a screen in front of her. ... Or, it looked like Yellow anyway.
Sort of.
They peeked around the corner, and found that it wasn't exactly Yellow Diamond, but more rather some human cosplaying as her. Seeing brown skin, long brown hair with a yellow diamond hair "helmet", and wearing Yellow Diamond's clothes. This wasn't Yellow, it was Priyanka in diamond clothing. As they kept looking. ...

"Hey yellow." Then entered Stevonnie, who wasn't exactly in a cosplay.

"Oh. You're still here," the other cosplayer said, even having Yellow Diamond's voice. Funny thing; Stevonnie didn't have the same voice either.

"Did we end up in Amethyst's dream again?" Emerald wondered.

"I don't think we did." Flint said.

"What're you doing?" Stevonnie asked Priyanka.

"I'm commanding the dropships to colonize this planet," Priyanka replied, not too enthused. That got Stevonnie excited.

"I wanna command a dropship!" she shouted.

"Well when you get your own colony, you can command whatever you want."

"I WANT A COLONY!"

Priyanka didn't even bother with an answer, and she began to work out a screen. Four diamond symbols appeared on screen, which Priyanka began to work with. The group took a look and saw the order: White, yellow, blue, pink, white. Once that was done, a screen of another dropship appeared.

"What's that?" Stevonnie asked in amazement.

"I'm contacting the commander."

Stevonnie's eyes widened, but they weren't the typical star symbols one would normally see, but instead diamond eyes.

"I want to do it."

Suddenly, Stevonnie was up at the screen, her hands messing with the controls and contact commands, Stevonnie giggling all the while. That must made Priyanka grab her by the arm and pulled her away.

"Don't touch that!" Priyanka yelled.
As this was going on, the group hidden nearby couldn't help but scratch their heads on this odd little act.

"Wait a minute, something's not right here. Stevonnie's not this childish," Fulgurite quietly noted, obviously confused. Much of the group had to agree.

"... That's not Stevonnie up there," Flint said, almost surprised in tone, just as Stevonnie pulled her hand away.

"Why not?! You got all of your worlds, and I don't even have one! It's not fair!! I! WANT! ONE!" The end statement was met with a stomp of her foot, which surprisingly began to send a very slight echo throughout the room.

"I want my own army! I want my own planet! I deserve it! I'm just as important as you!!" Stevonnie yelled.

"THEN WHY DON'T YOU ACT LIKE IT! PINK!"

"... Pink?" Diopside gasped.
As with any situation in their world with such big information, before this could go any further, Fulgurite began to hear something going on from above them. And once Fulgurite looked up, his non-existent heart skipped a beat, him gulping.

"Guys, don't look now, but we got company."

"What're you talking about now?" Flint questioned. All she had to do was point upward, and the group could see what happened.
They weren't alone in their little cell: just outside their little glass dome, they saw something huge was eyeing them all. And no exestuation, it was almost as big as a Diamond would be! Tentacles stretched across the expanse of the dome, gripping it like tree roots, a humanoid-like figure upside down and peering in on the situation. Suddenly, everything just disappeared apart from the floor: the world, the chair, both Stevonnie and Priyanka, nothing but them, the figure, and the floor. The odd figure expanded and extended all around them in a menacing way, a set of glowing whit eyes staring them down from miles high.

"The Tantabus!" Flint said, bringing out the pistol and trying to shoot it, but before they even could, the ground under their feet began to crack and break. Before Flint could take a shot, the ground broke completely, and they all suddenly fell down fast, avoiding whatever that thing was.

.......

"Dang it, we're back again!"

Well, on one hand, the Gems were no longer asleep, but they still didn't get their Tantabus after everything they did. In the beach house, the only one who was still sleeping was Peridot, and if anyone would have the Tantabus now, it would be her.

"Did you get the Tantabus?" asked Luna, hoping for some good news. Unfortunately, Diopside shook her head.

"No, we lost it," Diopside sighed.

"Oi, that's enough nightmares to last me my whole existence," Emerald said, hand on his head. Jade quietly went over to Flint, the Gem still scared, but relieved that Flint was still with her, even after what she saw. Flint was glad she was back, but his mood shifted to anger.

"How dare that Tantabus do that to us? ... Gems, did any of you see anyone else in your dreams?"

"A dream? Is that what that was?" Jade asked humbly.

"Yeah, sometimes they're not fun," Emerald answered, going up to her. The other Gems weren't too sure, thinking about what they saw, but then Amethyst thought of something.

"Eh ... does a TV show count for anything?" Amethyst asked, yawning.

"TV show, Amethyst?" Luna asked, a little confused.

"Eh, well, me, Pearl, and Garnet were on some kid's show, and then Flint just showed up and shot everything like crazy."

"You're welcome," Flint stated.

"Wait ... the cameras. EQG ... OH CLOD," Fulgurite said.

"You don't think ..." Luna knew where that was going, and this Tantabus was far smarter than she thought. Cold sweat slipped down her face, irises shrunken and ears folded back at the horrifying idea nearly becoming a reality. She fell down onto her stomach, terrified more than most.

"Can someone tell me what a "Tantabus" is?" asked Amethyst.

"It's something out of Luna's head that will throw everything into chaos if this keeps up," Fulgurite answered. Summed up the situation pretty well.

"I'm so sorry about everything. And now ..."

"Luna, don't jump to conclusions yet. Get us back in there."

"No. I don't want anypony else -"

"LUNA, EQUESTRIA'S GETTING PLAGUED BY THIS THING, DOES THAT EVEN MATTER?!"

The room quickly went quiet on Flint quick outburst.

"Er, I mean. We know you want to handle it, but if what we're thinking's right, then it'll have to be a team effort of some sort in order to actually finish it off."
Luna thought it over a little bit more, but she still felt a bit rough on the idea. But at this point, what else could she do? Luna walked over to the only one sleeping in the room. Luna didn't say a word, and her horn began to glow. Rather than the simple strand of white magic, a extremely bright light shined, and soon covered everyone there.


~~~~~~


Then came the ultimate dreamscape: when the others came up to, the whole group soon began to see that they've been put over into Ponyville, the whole place in nighttime. On the surface, nothing really seemed too out of place, but they quickly saw Luna over nearby in what looked like a transparent sphere, her horn constantly glowing in a strain to keep this dreamscape from collapsing. Bit by bit, they started to see the whole extent of what the dreamscape was like, and many a residents of Ponyville were in it as well. It was like a scene discord would conjure up: some ponies floating without wings, others defying logic in multiple ways, be it growing to huge sizes or having extra horns or wings.

"Dang. Not even my dreams are this crazy," Amethyst commented, seeing one very tiny pony run by with Opalescence chasing him.

"Nevermind how crazy it looks. Luna, you okay?" asked Emerald. Luna tried to keep herself focused a bit, but some of the ponies actually bowed to her.

"No time for bowing, ponies, for there's something terrible coming - no! It's already here!"

And on cue, the Tantabus slowly started to rise up from the ground not too far from the group, but this time it grew a LOT bigger than it had before, and once more, the creature showed a unicorn-like appearance, towering over everyone present. The sight of it scared many a resident, as it stared them all down.

"I'm so sorry! I brought this all on you, but I'll end it now!" Luna said, some of her magic branching off of her horn and hitting the Tantabus. However, the creature didn't even cringe on the hit, and soon it started to branch out like a web, around to the others, and to the buildings nearby.

"What's wrong?!" Lapis asked.

"It's taking all my strength to keep this dream together. I hate to ask, but you'll have to handle it," Luna said as she strained to do just that.

"Already on it!" Amethyst said, her whip out and at the ready.

The Tantabus was quick to notice the group coming its way, but it wasn't going to make this easy: it made multiple taps on multiple buildings, each and every one turning into a monstrous version, and immediately began to attack the residents of Ponyville. Some of the group had to get at them while the others had to get the Tantabus itself. Three houses already had ponies stuck in their grasp, each house growing limbs, claws, teeth and menacing eyes. The first pony had to race out of her own house as a tongue rolled out after her.
Another pony was grabbed by one of these monsters, roaring at his face, only to get blasted by Pearl's spear, just enough to get him out.
A third pony was actually trapped inside a mouth of one of these things, his hooves straining to keep the jaws open, as Amethyst just saved his life with a whip wrapping around him.
It seemed that the more they fought, the more keep springing up around them, and the more ponies they had to save as the Tantabus grew stronger as time went by.

"Where're all these monsters coming from?" Pearl asked.

"Doesn't matter: we'll  be too busy saving ponies to stop the Tantabus from getting into the real world!" Rainbow said, freaking out on the end result idea still.

"Sure, How are we gonna know when it can do that?" Emerald asked.

Speak of the devil: the Tantabus stretched one hoof to the sky, the end turning into a sword, as it sliced into the very fabric of space, creating a gigantic portal to do just that.

"Oh, I think we'll know," Rainbow answered.
The Tantabus actually began to seep itself down into it. Thinking quickly, Twilight blasted a magic beam at it to keep it back, and Luna, using what strength she had, sealed the exit for the Tantabus to escape. Even more strain on the princess. Rainbow Dash flew right at it to try and finish it, but the Tantabus turned into a ring, and she flew right through it without injuring it in anyway.

"What the?!" Rainbow said, just before the Tantabus swatted Rainbow away to the ground, and reforming itself. It was not going down that easy. The Tantabus tried again, but then Lapis intervened, and her water knocked it back once more before it could even slice it. It was then that Fluttershy reached her conclusion.

"Everypony, we need your help too!" Fluttershy said to the residents.

"She's right: we all have to work together to stop the Tantabus from escaping!" Twilight agreed.

"but what can we do? We don't have your magic or your speed," pointed out a distraught Velvet Sugar.

"That's true. ... In Ponyville!" Rainbow said.

"She's right. This isn't Ponyville, this is a dream. and once more, your dream! Anything you can do in your dreams you can do now!" Twilight explained. They thought about it, and one baby dragon immediately got the idea. With a snap of his fingers, he took a second to think, and then Spike turned into a muscular, brave knightly dragon!

"Hey, when you're dreaming, might as well dream big, right?" Spike stated, just before he jumped, and landed on kaiju Derpy's back, the huge mare ready for the fly, and soon flew up with high speed to the beast. This was more than proof enough for many of them. Derpy and Spike flew alongside the beast, and with a slice of his mighty sword, Spike spiced the Tantabus in two, making the beast shriek in discomfort.

"Alright, let put an end to this!" Garnet announced. And everyone there agreed.

What happened next was a onslaught of containment and breakout: The Tantabus tried over and over again to get itself out into the real world, but with each try, either a pony, or a Gem would stop it dead in its tracks, force it back in some way, and seal its escape route. It tried one moment to slice a portal, cutting it like a pair of scissors, but then bring forced back by Scootaloo's sudden massive wings, each beat blowing it back. It tried another moment to cut through the timeframe, just for Amethyst, who had a purple panther wrestler get-up, to jump in and force it down. The more times this happened, the more frustrated it grew to be, and nopony and nobody was letting it go. Rainbow and Fulgurite came next, Rainbow now in a superhero's outfit, and both of them raced around the Tantabus and creating a cyclone to suck it down.

"It's working!" shouted Rainbow.

"But it's not enough!" shouted Flint, the Tantabus pulling itself out of the cyclone, much to their surprise. Lapis flew in next, and with some focus, an entire ocean appeared above her (at least it looked like such), and all that water wrapped around the Tantabus to keep it still. However, the Tantabus broke free of that restraint, just to have it shot at by Flint, the shots now having rope to keep it wrapped up. Applejack joined in on that regard, and lasso'd one of the ropes and pulled down hard. Twilight summoned up a flock of book bats to distract the Tantabus too, and Pinkie joined in with a flock of bird cupcakes. This was becoming critical for the Tantabus, no longer in such a unicorn form, and brought back to just a mass of shadow. Luna observed all of this, but felt very guilty.

"This is all my fault! I-I can't hold this dream much longer. Equestria will fall because of me!" she cried, tears of both straining and emotional pain going down her face.

.......

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

It wasn't enough to break the dream, but it did launch everyone back, all restraints breaking completely, and even disappearing altogether. This horrid mass began to take shape again, growing far larger than earlier, and once more, as if to truly slam the nail in the coffin, took a form that made some of them stop cold in sheer shock.  Four legs, two arms, long hair, and four eyes.

Malachite.

"How dare you," growled Garnet. With a sharp set of claws, starting from the ground up, it carved a gigantic portal far too large to be just sewed together and shut.

"Is it me, or did it grow bigger when she said that?" Spike asked. It was then that the pieces fell into place.

"Luna, it's feeding off of your guilt!" called Twilight.

"If that is so, then perhaps that is how it grew strong enough to escape in the first place!" Luna strained.

"Say what now?!" Emerald asked. Luna couldn't hold herself back any longer.

"I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night -" a shot of pain rushed through Luna for a moment. "- to punish myself for the evil I caused as Nightmare Moon!"

Now it was out, and the reaction was no less shock filled.

"WHAT?! But why would you do that?!" Fluttershy asked in shock.

"To make sure I never forgave myself for how much Equestria suffered because of me! But it seems I have not learned my lesson, for now I have only made you suffer more!" Luna said, feeling completely horrible about it. The Tantabus, ever slow slowly, started to march its way through the portal it created, and now none of them could even touch it.

"But that means you might just be the key to stopping all this!" Pearl called.

"Yeah!" Amethyst agreed. "If it gets strong because you feel bad about what you did as Nightmare Moon, then you just gotta stop feeling bad for what you did!"

"How can I forgive myself? I am no better now than I was then. My creation is about to turn the world into a living nightmare!" Luna bellowed.

"But that's not what you're doing."

A new voice, and one that shocked even the princess of the night herself. As the Tantabus was moving still, a shot of light slammed into its side, making it stunned for a moment and stop moving. It was then that the figure flew right down to her dearest sister.

"Celestia!" the others gasped.

"S-Sister?" Luna gasped. How was her sister here with her? Celestia landed close to her suffering sibling, Luna feeling just awful with herself on having Celestia see what she had done. The sun princess took just one look at the Tantabus, and felt some sorrow run through her as well.

"Why didn't you ever say anything, sister?"

"I-I'm terribly sorry. This is all my fault, I should never forgive myself for all the torment I've caused, and now it's happening again!" Luna cried. The Tantabus began to regain motion, and ever so slowly moved forward once more as Celestia spoke again.

"But look at what you're doing! Nightmare Moon would've wanted the Tantabus to turn Equestria into a nightmare! You're doing everything you can to stop it! Don't you see? That proves you're not the same pony you were then! Everypony who knows you now, knows that Nightmare Moon is in the past! We all trust you, Luna, Equestria and Earth! Do you trust us enough to believe we're right?"
Luna stayed quiet, tears still going down her face, as she looked to everyone around her. The Mane Six, the Crystal Gems, everypony else in Ponyville. They all don't see her as a monster anymore, nor had they ever had been since she had returned to normal. Eventually, her tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy, a smile coming up to her face.

"I do!"

AND that finally did it. The gigantic Tantabus started to deform a little, and something forced it back hard into the dreamscape. Shock and confusion edged it's face, as it suddenly began to shrink before everyone. It molded back into a pony-like shape, one that mirrored Princess Luna herself, and shrunk down to her size. Without another word of defiance, and without the guilt to feed off anymore, it walked right up to her, molded into her in light, and disappeared from sight. and just in time too, as the dreamscape started to shine and disappear too, albeit more peacefully.

"Thank you."

.......

"Wha?! What in the stars was that?"

Peridot was the first to wake up after everything, and many of the others followed suite not too long afterwards. They were back home, and the problem had been diminished for good, according to the dream they all had shared. Everyone was back, safe and sound by the looks of things, and the crisis of a nightmare world had been adverted.

"Good work everyone," Garnet said.

"Good work what? what happened?" Peridot asked, completely out of the know on everything.

"We'll tell you about it in a minute," Amethyst answered.

*thud*

Net thing they knew, Flint had fallen back onto the couch, far too exhausted, and in no time at all was soon fast asleep. Ironic, really, but Garnet couldn't help but giggle a little bit. However, he wasn't the only one sleeping now, and she turned over to Luna, who was also sleeping peacefully on the ground.

"I wonder what she's dreaming about now?" wondered Jade.

.......

And in Luna's dream, the alicorn was having the perfect one: a resting alicorn sleeping in the middle of a cool island by a river, a blooming night flower gently beaming a cozy light down on her, as the beautiful dream world presented a lovely scenery.

Peace. Perfect peace.
> Wild Timber
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, that's the last of em. Bring em in!"

Sweet Apple Acres was as plentiful as ever with the latest harvesting of the farm's apples, a good five wagons full from the entire acre. AJ and Big Mac worked together to get the wagons over to the barn, Big Mac handling a good three wagons while AJ got two wagons full. It had been a long day of working on the farm, but they were pretty happy for it. Once they parked their wagons by the barnhouse, AJ took off her hat for a minute, and wiped some sweat off of her forehead with her hoof.

"Phew, talk about a haul. Good work out there, Big Macintosh," Applejack said.

"Eeyup," replied Big Mac. both ponies took a moment to check out their work back on the barn, many of the trees no longer having too many apples on them. For just two ponies, that was pretty good. So, with their loads, the mare and stallion trotted on inside with one of the wagons, and apparently they couldn't have come at a better time either.

"You lazy swine! I, Peridot, command you to move to the circular water pool at once!"

*oink*

They weren't the only ones aiding the ponies out today; the Crystal Gems (Steven, Peridot, Jasper, and Lapis respectively), took the time to stop by the barn as of Steven's request, but so far their aid in helping out the ponies wasn't doing so good. At least off of Peridot's end, who was trying her best to get the farm pigs into the bath tub, but the pigs just won't listen to her. Guess 'lazy swine' is more of a statement than an insult to the pigs. Peridot groaned in defeat, as one of the big pigs just snorted at her to keep her quiet. AJ and Macintosh glanced to eachother, before Big Mac walked over to her, clearing his throat.

"You're Equestrian swine are extremely irritable," Peridot simply stated. Big Mac needed one look at the pigs to figure out the problem, and walked over to the tub. Big Mac took one whistle to the pigs, just enough to wake em up, and then presenting them with a fresh corn on the cob.
Suddenly, the pigs jumped up to their own hooves, and bolted right over into the tub where Big Mac was. Peridot didn't get out of the way in time, and when the hogs got in the tub, Peridot was left with plenty a hoofprints on her. Oh joy.

"... Ow."

AJ picked Peridot up off the ground, the small Gem dazed but alright at the end of it all, as Steven and Jasper came in, moving some hay bales for them. Like a little ant holding a rock, Steven held about three hay bales above his head, and Jasper had a whooping seven hay bales: three for each arm, and one balanced on her head.

"Where do you want these?" Jasper asked, not looking strained at all with the weight. Big Mac was pretty impressed with the amount she was carrying, more surprised than anything.

"Eh, just put em over by the cow stalls over there," Applejack pointed over to the stalls nearby, and an opening to where they're supposed to be, so Jasper and Steven got theirs placed down there with little trouble at all, getting it all in a good square with all the hay bales. Steven gave Jasper a high five for a job well done, though Peridot wished she was as successful as they were in her little escapade.

"How did the pigs go, Peridot?"

"Sign me for another task, please," Peridot simply groaned.

"No one gets their farmhooves on the first day, don't sweat it. How bout you see how Lapis is doin with Granny," Applejack suggested.

*Bam*

"DANG NABIT!"

Uh oh. AJ, Big mac, and the Gems went on outside to see what had happened, and soon they found what Lapis Lazuli was up to not too far away from the barn itself. Turned out, Lapis was giving Granny Smith a helping hoof with the chicken coop, only for Granny herself to bang her head inside, freaking out a few of the chickens inside. Lapis quickly caught a few chickens before they could bolt off out of the barnyard, and Granny walked on outside, rubbing her head as she carried out a bucket of eggs from their hens. some of the running chickens went by the others, AJ and big Mac getting a few of them, as one of them actually landed on Jasper as it fluttered about, which Jasper easily grabbed. One flew at Steven, and was a bit harder to hold still.

"I told ya to watch yer step, missy, them cluckers scare easy," Granny scoffed at Lapis.

"Yeah, lesson learned, sorry," Lapis sighed, as a stray chicken landed on her head. It's never a good idea to scare chickens in a coop. Lapis got the hen off her head, and AJ and Steven helped rally them up and get them back in their chicken coop.

"You know, Steven, suggesting for us to partake in this daily routine of the Apple family, was a good idea when you mentioned it to us half an hour ago. But now, I'm not so sure," Peridot said.

"That's how life is on the farm, Peridot," Steven said. 

"Is this how it is all the time?" Peridot asked.

"Eeyup," Macintosh answered. Granny smith brought over the bucket of eggs, and placed them down in front of Peridot.

"Here's somethin' ye can do: how about putting those eggs in the kitchen?" Granny said. Peridot just sighed, and used her metal powers to levitate the bucket, fingers up in the air and aimed at the bucket as she walked to the house. This was one thing she could do that won't get her trampled or something.

"Thank y'all for the extra help. With our cider season just round the corner, this saves us a ton of time," AJ said.

"Happy to help you out, AJ. Anything else before we head off?" Steven asked. Before AJ could answer, the group began to hear knocking over at the Sweet Apple Acres gate. Looking over, and there stood the mail mare Derpy Hooves, waving over to them. and hey, she didn't fly into the gate on landing, good for her and for the mail she had for them. Granny walked over to her, as Derpy got out a letter.

"Letter for Granny Smith."

"For me? Well, let's see what we got here," Granny said, as Derpy gave the letter to her. The old mare opened it up, and took her time to read it over form top to bottom, mumbling to herself as she went. Once she ended up finishing the letter, her eyes grew wide, and a smile got on her face.

"Well, save me down and call me a mole-rat, sounds like your uncle Paula Red's inviting ya over for a day out fer some logging," Granny said, walking back over to her granddaughter, showing the letter to them.

"Uncle Paula? Haven't heard a word outta him in years," Applejack noted, looking over the exact details of the letter. None of the Gems heard of this new member of AJ's family tree before. After a short look over in the details of said thing, she turned over to Steven.

"Hey, sprout, you wanna come along?"

"Can I?" Steven asked, excited to see another member to AJ's tree. He had heard bits of her family, and just how expansive it was, so meeting a new member was something he would want to meet. Applejack nodded her head, and gave Steven the paper for him to read over. And after getting the main idea, his eyes starred up. This was going to be an interesting trip.


~~~~~~



Howdy there nephew: This is your uncle Paula Red. So, I got a little bit of a project going on for this Connie fella, and I wondered if y'all be interested in comin over to the ol' White Tail Woods, and we can meet up at the site. I got it drawn out on the letter, so if you can bring some extra hoof power and lend a pony out, that'll be super. Hope to see you soon.

Paula Red


And so, one thing lead to another, and now a good group had showed up at the place in question after a good trip on the train. White Tail Woods was quite a different look then, say, Everfree Forest. for a start, many of the trees were large pines, and many of them were plenty tall when compared to the jungle-like Everfree back in Ponyville. A good chance of pace for a more northern setting over the typical look. Anyway, for the exact spot in particular, the place was a bit closer to a flowing river, a small dock already set up for where this new house would be placed, and it's on the dock where the others were deciding to wait for this Paula Red to show up.
For those hanging out at the dock, those included: Steven, Connie, Applejack, Jasper, Peridot, and Lapis. All the same, they got a good amount of help for Paula Red whenever he would show up, whatever the case may be.

"So Connie II's getting her own house here?" Connie asked.

"She's really going up in the world. Now aside from fighting monsters, she can relax at her own home," Steven replied, a bit excited for this news. Connie was especially intrigued that Connie II would be getting her own place after all her time alone in Equestria.

"Well, soon as Paula shows up we can get started," Applejack reminded.

"Where is Paula Red?" Jasper wondered.

Whooooa! Whooooa!

Well, there's their answer. The group tried to look around, but they didn't see Paula Red anywhere. Eventually though, something did begin to present itself further up the river. It started off to just be a moose strolling down alongside the river bank, but on closer inspection, this moose was actually pulling in a rope of some sort, the rope leading out to the river itself.
And soon they saw it: a raft filled with a good triangle pile of logs. The raft itself was pretty huge, and made out of the same logs it was carrying down the river with relative ease. On the raft as well came up a stallion who was rowing the raft along the river. It was hard to make him out, but Applejack knew who this pony was for a good mile away, and AJ immediately got herself off her own hooves and began galloping off to see him. The pony was a pretty tall one, a good strong stallion that looked a bit similar to Big Macintosh in a number of ways. His main fur was a lime green, and his scruffy mane and tail were a dark red, like a ripened Paula Red apple like his namesake. A bandana wrapped around his neck, and his cutie mark showed what appeared to be a saw with a cut apple on it. AJ would know such a face anywhere, and Paula Red steadied the raft on its course until it reached closer to shore.

"Paula Red! Over here!" Called Applejack from the shore. Paula Red looked up and saw his nephew waiting for him. He waved his hoof, and with the help of the moose on the shore, got the raft parked right next to the dock. The others got up and gave Paula Red some room to climb up onto the dock himself. It wasn't until now that they noticed, but this pony was a very tall one, about as tall as Lapis Lazuli.

"Well, howdy there," said Paula, checking out the group of Gems and Humans.

"Howdy. Everyone, meet Paula Red. Uncle Paula, these are my friends: Steven, Connie, Lapis, and Jasper," Applejack introduced. Steven was happy to see him, and shook his front hoof. 

"You're the biggest pony I've ever seen," Connie said, saying the obvious of the situation. Paula chuckled on that remark, as his attention was drawn back to the logs. Onto the raft he went, and pulled out into view a tool box, which Paula pulled out an axe from. What's a logger without an axe to work with?

"So we're using ... wood," Jasper stated.

"You bet your boots," Paula said, walking around to get to the rope that held the pile together. Jasper wasn't too sure about the structure though.

"You do know there's other, better structures we can use: steel, tungsten ... glass."

"Sounds like we got a couple of city ponies. Trees can be just as powerful as dragons, so don't try to scoff em," Paula advised. But Jasper had her own doubts. She was pretty strong herself, and can throw these trees like sticks easy. Then again, she was talking to a pony, not a Gem, so she didn't push it further than that. Besides, who knows how different trees were here compared to Earth anyway. That aside, Paula Red got his axe ready, and in one easy chop, the rope was cut off, and all the logs began to roll into the river!

"What're you doing?!" Connie gasped.

"Easy now, just getting the logs off the raft. So let's go to work," Paula said, hopping into the water himself. His splash got Connie and Steven, both giggling a little bit. If this is what loggers do, then they shouldn't have too much trouble.

"Alright everypony, let's get to it!" AJ decided, also getting into the water with her uncle.

.......

And so, things got busy: the first thing they did was get the logs right out of the river, which itself was ... actually, pretty easy. Once they figured out what to do anyway. The logs were brought to shore by the moose that agreed to help out, and once that was done, they carried the logs over inland a bit, right alongside the shoreline, but a foot away from the bank. Jasper made it look easy (naturally), and Paula Red did it pretty well even with no arms to grab the logs with. Steven and Connie did their share, though Steven got more done than Connie did, being stronger than Connie herself was. During the log moving, both kids got a little bit troubled in getting the logs moving, only able to roll one at a time. And seeing how the others went a little bit faster, that did kinda bugged them a little bit.

"These logs are heavier than they look," Connie said, taking a minute to catch her breath. It didn't help that Jasper strolled over to them, one arm holding about three of the logs with relative ease.

"Having some trouble?" Jasper asked.

"No, no, we got it, just catching our breath," Steven reassured her. Jasper paused, but strolled on to add the logs to the pile off the bank. Eventually they began rolling the log again. However, neither had seen the rock that was in front of them, and next thing they knew it, they stopped altogether. They pushed as hard as they could, but the log wasn't budging, catching the attention of Applejack, Lapis, and Paula. Lapis whispered something to Paula Red, and Paula gave AJ a wink, pulled out some rope, and got it around the rock in a lasso as the two were pushing.

"Okay, one more time. One, two, three!" Just before Steven said three, Paula yanked the rock out of their way, and suddenly the push was made a whole lot easier for them. Both ponies giggled to themselves, and allowed them to roll the log to the others.

.......

"Back, forth, back, forth, you got it, Lazuli."

Eventually, Lapis and Paula were sawing at some logs, using a push saw to do so. It was tedious, and repetitive to Lapis, but it was something to keep her mind busy, as the others nearby were dealing with cement mixing not too far away. Eventually a piece was cut off, and dropped to the ground, which Paula picked up and placed aside.

"Phew, this sure lasted a while."

"Cutting it didn't felt too long," Lapis said.

"No, I mean the tree. Take a gander at this," Paula said, flipping the log part to show Lapis the rings inside. Both of them looked it over a little bit, and Paula got to a quicker conclusion, counting out the rings inside.

"I'd say this tree was a good two hundred year old."

"How can you tell that?" Lapis asked, scratching her head as she looked closer at the piece. Paula pointed to the rings on the tree piece.

"Just count the rings: each ring is a good year, and a good foot to the tree," he explained. Lapis started to count it out a little bit in her head, and if Paula was right about how a ring can be the age, this was probably a rather old tree. 

"This must be a tall tree then," Lapis concluded. Paula stepped back and smiled.

"You think that is tall. I once saw a tree that was so tall, that if you climbed to the top, you could've touched the moon," Paula claimed. Lapis's eyes widened at such an idea, even if it was scientifically hard to believe. How thick, and how tall would one tree had to be to touch the moon of all things? Well, that would be something for later.

"Hey, Lazuli, come here!" called Peridot. Paula allowed her to go off and see what her friend wanted, and soon she found Peridot was actually "bending" the cement around, much like how Lapis would work her water. It was a pretty interesting sight, to say the least.

"Look, this substance is made of metal! I'm you now!" Peridot said with a signature triumphant laugh, as she played around with the cement, and easily spread it along the layer of the logs as another large log was placed onto the cement by Jasper. Well, thoughts can wait, and they still had a house to make.

.......

And BOY did they get a lot handled for just one day. With the efforts of the Gems, humans, and ponies themselves, this house was surely starting to take up shape: the foundries of said house being done within hours of beginning! Shocking to many, but with workers that can move five trees in one hand, one that can manipulate cement apparently, and such other things, projects like these wouldn't take too much effort, or time to complete. It took all afternoon, and just off to the night, but eventually the house was really beginning to take shape, with the main borders of the house being made up in little time, and it won't be long until the windows, door, and roof would be added to.
Still, as with everything, a break was surely needed, and by the time nighttime came around, Connie, AJ, and Steven were getting awfully hungry, and were a bit winded from all of their hard work. Lapis, Peridot, and Jasper were alright though, and once everything was done, the group took time to relax by a fire right by the river. And a meal was especially given, AJ giving Connie, Steven, and Paula Red some snacks they've brought earlier that day. And let's just say there wasn't much left when they were done.

"That's the best meal I've had in ages," Paula stated, licking his lips.

"Thanks, unc," AJ said.

"Oh, I'm stuffed," Connie said, rubbing her stomach from the good meal, and Steven couldn't help but agree. Jasper glanced over to the house.

"Looks like the house is almost complete," Jasper stated.

"Yeah. So, Paula Red, you seem to know a lot about building these houses. I assume you've lived in one for referencing?" Peridot asked. Paula shook his head though.

"Nope. I live in the woods where it's nice and quiet."

"You do?" Jasper asked.

"I got my tent, my roll out bed, and that's the life for me," Paula asked.

"Don't you get lonely?" asked Connie.

"Sometimes. So it's nice to know, that I always have a family to come home to," Paula answered, fluffing AJ's mane. That was a nice thought to have, and Jasper began to feel a similar vibe from a long time ago, almost a Deja Vu if you will.

"Yeah."

"So, now what? Anyone ready to get back at it?" asked Peridot. Paula yawned.

"Eh, nah, we can finish it in the morning. for now, how about we pass the time with some good ol campfire stories?" Paula suggested.

"Campfire stories?" Lapis asked.

"Been years since we got a good story. K, let's see, who wants to share a story?" Applejack asked. The others thought it over a little, but suddenly Steven got a far bigger idea in his head.

"Lapis! Peridot, Jasper! Don't you guys know any stories from Homeworld?" Steven asked, excitedly. The three Gems didn't need to take much time to give Steven an answer.

"Homeworld isn't known to just "make up stories" Steven, we don't really have any campfire stories to share," Peridot made clear, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Aww." Steven sighed. While Jasper and Peridot didn't have much of anything, eventually something did cross Lapis's mind in terms of a story.

"... I know one," Lapis said.

"You gotta story, Lazuli?" Paula asked.

"Blue Diamond told me this story once before. It's a bit long, so get comfy," Lapis said. They did just that, and Steven got especially cozy when laying on the ground, his head resting on his hand.

"Ok, not that comfy," Lapis said.

"Story for Steven!" Steven beamed.

"What story are you even talking about?" Jasper asked. Lapis smiled.

"It's the story of Terra."

"Ooooohhhh! I forgot about that story," Peridot realized. Despite things, Lapis just chuckled, and as soon as everyone got themselves comfortable, she cleared her throat and began her story.

~~~~~~~

Many eons ago, there was a group of Gems who lived as apart of a small colony on a small moon out in the galaxy. There were three in particular amongst the Gems.

The Gem colony in question was in a rather early stage. not too many assortment of buildings up, and still plenty of nature left on the planet to signify its own life. A few buildings were already made, and three different Gems currently were going over some of the plans for the colony. One looked a lot like Amethyst, but with her hair flaired up and with red skin rather than purple, along with the Homeworld outfit of course, with her gemstone on her left cheek. Another one had multitude of colors on her, not too far off from what Rainbow Dash, or Bismuth would have, though the style mirrored that of Rose Quartz, her body a standard Agate design with her stone on her right elbow, and a Homeworld outfit too. And in between them was a fairly large, thick-bodied Gem, greenish skin like Jade with hair similar to Ruby with her gemstone on her chest.

Each one had their own identification: Fire Quartz Facet502-CutX12, Rainbow Agate Facet701-CutJX3, and Rainforest Topaz Facet477-CutXJ9. They had their own unique nicknames however, and they're also known as "Magma", "Comet", and "Terra". Amongst the Gems, Terra was the oldest, and the name came from her appearance similar to the forests she was made in.

Terra went on to give some proper direction to a few Fulgurites during the process of the colony, one of which had a bit of trouble operating a few of the machines, which Terra was happily lending a hand to.

She was very happy about this, and enjoyed keeping the other Gems in order, even if she wasn't an Agate. And whenever any of them did anything she thought wrong ...

At one point, Terra kept an eye over on a few working Amethysts and Jaspers, two of which ended up slamming into eachother by mistake while unloading some materials from a arriving dropship. 
Terra just went right up to them, and said "That would never suit her clarity."

Many Gems came and went, but out of all of them, it was Terra who still stood tall. Magma and Comet even made up their own nickname for her, and would call her "fossil" time to time.

At a point, Terra was passing by Magma and Comet as she got her latest reports on the colony in progress, doing a fairly decent job too. She had just finished that up, just to hear ...

"Gems come, and Gems go, but Fossil goes on forever!" chanted Magma and Comet. Terra grew a little bugged by that.

"You little pebbles, what're you coming to?" Terra questioned, arms crossed as she walked over.

"Oh nevermind, Terra, we're only young once," said Comet.

"Well, you two better mind, unless you both wanna end up like Silver."

"Silver? Who's Silver?" asked Magma. Terra cleared her throat.

"Silver Rutile Facet678-Cut8X2. And that Gem was a complete show off! That little clod kept getting into trouble over on my last colony; breaking injectors, messing up plans, you know the lot. I kept telling her to be careful, but all she did was simply laugh. ... That was, until Yellow Diamond showed up, and decided to make her useful at last. She stopped laughing then."

Magma and Comet got a little puzzled.

"W-Why? What'd she do?" asked Magma. Terra smirked.

"She had her harvested and turned into a Dropship generator. You can still find her gem inside one of the dropships' engine rooms. She'll never bother anyone again."

After that little story, Magma and Comet because very useful Gems, and they all worked happy together for many years.

.......

Then hard times came. ...

Many of the Gems who were working on the planet were hit with some rather puzzling, if not sad news when they got to check in. All they got to see was a notification which mainly says "closed" on it. It would seem this Colony had been shut down.

After a while, the Diamonds had concluded the planet to be inefficient, and ultimately decided to close production on this colony. That also meant no more work for Terra's group too. Eventually, some of the leading Agates came to pick out which Gems they wanted.

And choose they did: about several different Agates had arrived down on the planet to figure out which gems would work, Terra herself being off and over to the back of the line. There was several other Gems apart of the chopping block, and one by one, after some looking over, more Gems were sent off to different places to work their use, as picked by their new advisors. Their Rainbow Agate, unfortunately, had little to say on it, even if she would technically be in charge. Soon, it was down to only three.

"We'll take the Quartz and Agate," said one of the higher Agates.

No one wanted Terra. They thought she was just too old and rusty to be of any good use, and one even suggested to leave her behind. Unfortunately the other bosses agreed.

"Cheer up, Terra. We'll find you a nice new colony, and you can come and keep us in order," called Magma. That brought a soft smile to Terra's face, as her Gems went off to be transported by their new boss.

They all tried to be cheerful and positive, but no one thought that the dream would come true. ... Once they all left, only two small Rubies remained. They gave Terra their goodbyes, and then had to go away and find work. ... Terra was alone.

It was nighttime now, and Terra simply looked around the remains of the now non-working facility. It sure felt weird without all the noise and racket. So, Terra walked over towards one of the buildings, and settled down easy.

"Oh well. I'll try and rest a bit, and see what'll happen. It'll pass the time."

So much time ticked by from this decision. When it would rain, the water washed down soil from the nearby hillside, covering up more and more of the building, none of which got into the place where Terra was resting. So much time went by in fact that the local flora began to grow around, and on top of the building. All the while, Terra was none the wiser to this passage of time, sleeping it all away like it was nothing.

You wouldn't have known the building was even there, let alone the Gem inside. ... But she was never forgotten.

.......

"My Diamond? You have some Gems who wanted to talk to you."

"Really? Send them in."

After making that report from Blue Pearl, Blue Diamond waited patiently inside the throne room, and awaited for whomever it was to come inside. It turned out, it was one of the Agates, along with a few other Gems amongst her group. It wasn't exactly the agate in particular, but instead it was Magma who wanted to see her, and she went up and quickly did the Diamond insignia.

"Greetings, my diamond. Got a minute?"

"I do."

"Good, um ... Well, we've talked about something for a bit, and uh ... We want to find Terra again."

"... Terra?" asked Blue Diamond.

"Rainforest Topaz Facet477-CutXJ9," corrected the Agate. Blue Diamond pondered for a bit in memory, and soon it came back to her.

"OH. I see. And you want to find her?"

"She's helped us all so much, we want her to be happy," Magma got out, feeling more confident now. Blue Diamond paused again, but then smiled.

Sure enough, a rescue team was sent down onto the planet to look for Terra. Days, weeks, time ticked by but they weren't willing to give up in their little search for her. They continued looking, until one day ...

"She's here somewhere," thought one of the rubies apart of the search team. The team made up of several different Gems, and the ruby in particular went up onto what she thought was another part of the hill, until -

*crack*

"Huh?" the ruby barely had time to react when the ground suddenly broke under her, catching the attention of the team! The ruby landed on something big, and actually bounced off of it like a ball, and landed nearby on her square head. When she took another look at the thing she landed on, she quickly got to her feet and got very excited, just as the others got there.
she found Terra!

"Excuse me, but are you a rebel?"

"My stars, no! We couldn't find the entrence so we dropped in up there. Come on, let's go!" The ruby said happily, starting to climb out.

"Go where?"

"Go home! I know a Fire Quartz and Rainbow Agate who'll love to see you!"

"So they did remember!" sighed Terra happily.

And off they went for Terra's new colony.

.......

From an old dark building, into the limelight of the new colony, Terra took the time to observe the workers as she had before. Hidden not too far away, Magma and Comet couldn't believe their eyes on seeing their old friend again, Comet starry eyed and with a big smile, as Terra was resting a little.

"She's here!" Magma squeaked, not too loudly, but Terra woke up anyway.

"You woke me up! In my young days, Gems were -"

"Seen and not heard, Fossil, we know," joked Magma with a grin.

"We'll all be back to work tomorrow, Terra, it's awesome you're back. We can keep you in order now!" Comet said, jokily.

"Keep me in order? Be off with you!" Terra laughed. And so comet and Magma did, all smiles of course.

Terra simply said "Little pebbles."

~~~~~~~

"But Terra's eyes sparkled, and for the first time in years, she smiled as she rested in the sun."

Upon completion of the story, as Peridot and Jasper were enjoying it, Lapis found that her story had more of an effect on one member of the group, as he was getting very drowsy, and was already asleep by the time she looked.

"I told him not to get that comfy."

"Don't blame him too much. Sounds like we all could use a snooze before Luna's moon zooms by us. G'night," Paula decided, stretching before getting comfy by the warm fire. Well, guess this was what they were going to do.


~~~~~~


.......

Close to midnight, the moon looking down onto the group resting by the river. None were stirring, all sleeping soundly ... all but one. Turning back and forth, as if trying to just keep her eyes closed, Lapis Lazuli felt nagging, and soon she gave up on trying to actually sleep. It was awfully quiet, only the sounds of the distant nighttime insects, and the flow of the river right next to them. Many of the others were still sleeping, and the fire had depleted a little bit from the passage of time. Poor Lazuli didn't want to wake anyone else up right now, and she had too much floating around on her mind now to explain anything to anyone. Getting up to her feet, and opening her wings, Lapis took one more glance back to make sure none of them were up for now. After being sure of it, on one flap, she was off and on her way to ... wherever the destination would end up being.
And where did this end up being? Lapis found a tall hill over in a clearing that looked down to the rest of White Tail Woods, and she landed down gently. It wasn't too far away from the group, but she was by herself ...

I was a monster back there, Steven. You and the rest of your friends saw that in Malachite. All that anger, that blind rage, the corrupted confusion, all of that was from me! ... You shouldn't be around me. I'm too dangerous.

What? That's not true, Malachite was terrible, but -

I'M TERRIBLE! I attacked the Diamonds, I nearly killed the rest of you - twice in fact! GO ON, TELL ME I'M WRONG!!

"... I thought I grew past this. ..." Lapis thought, sitting down by the edge of the hill, and looking out to the forest. She wasn't showing it, but it still was a major issue she needed to get over ... but why was it so hard to? All that time isolated in her cocoon, and even her new form when coming out was supposed to be her getting past this hurdle. Or it seemed to be, but Lapis still felt it looming over her like her own shadow under her. Her hand reached for the scarf around her neck. Her thoughts then loomed back to another incident, but before it could go any further, her eyes glanced off to the forest again, and noticed something different. A single pine tree, taller than any of the other trees.

You think that is tall. I once saw a tree that was so tall, that if you climbed to the top, you could've touched the moon.

"Is that the tree?" Lapis wondered. If she wanted to get this off her mind, she needed to think about something else. So, with a flap of her water wings, she began to fly right to the tree.

It only took her a few minutes to get there, and she started off right at the bottom of the tree. BOY did it look tall from where she was standing, and she couldn't see the top of it. She could, however, see the moon up right above her head, and Paula Red's little claim was what drove the gem to begin her little flight up the tree. It was a bit strange to find such a tall tree, and curiosity on this tree's destination pushed her on upward. She didn't even realize how high she had gotten up the tree until after a good ten minutes, glancing back down and found that the rest of the forest looked extremely small from where she was.
Higher, and higher she climbed up the tree, not looking back, and only focused on where the top reached. Finally, after a surprisingly short amount of time, Lapis made it right to the very tip of the pine tree, and what did she find? ...

The moon. an arms length away from her.

"Paula was right. This does reach the moon," Lapis thought in amazement. She looked back down, and she could barely see Equestria, let alone White Tail Woods, and the view of the world was simply amazing, seeing for miles on end. When she looked back to the moon though, there was another creature up there with her, standing on the moon and looking right at her.

"Huh? Luna, is that you?"

But it wasn't Luna exactly, but rather a more shadowy version of her, almost like the Tantabus in some way, but a bit more of a blue tiny to the coloration. At first, it just stood there for a bit, but eventually it began to reach out to her, the body altering into a more human-like shape, the reaching hoof turning into a slender hand, and it gently touched Lapis's forehead.

*FLASH*


~~~~~~


But look at what you're doing! Nightmare Moon would've wanted the Tantabus to turn Equestria into a nightmare! You're doing everything you can to stop it! Don't you see? That proves you're not the same pony you were then! Everypony who knows you now, knows that Nightmare Moon is in the past! We all trust you, Luna, Equestria and Earth! Do you trust us enough to believe we're right?

Well, that was surely a thought Lapis had been stuck with the next morning, and she tried her best not to show it for the other's sake. On the bright side, building the house didn't take much longer, and soon they got a full-sized house complete, the roof door and windows now complete. all there was left to do now was wait for Connie II to show up to her brand new house, and they all went over to a nearby hill to wait for her. Lapis only stayed quiet as they waited, her mind too wrapped up in thoughts to really say much of anything.

"Where is she?" Peridot wondered.

"Who knows? Connie II travels all over place, it could be all day," Connie said.

"Or it could be how she's getting here. Maybe she's coming by wagon," Steven wondered.

"Or train," AJ suggested.

"Maybe she's walking?" shrugged Peridot. It could be anything in such a magical place, who really knew?

Then came a large shadow ...

"Hello down there!"

The others jumped up to their feet, recognizing the voice, but looking around they didn't see her at first. That was, until one of them looked above their heads, and there she was! Connie II was up in the air for her ride here, somehow having a hot-air balloon as her transport. Good ol' Connie II, always with surprises one way or another.

"There she is!" Steven said, pointing up for the rest to see, as the hot-air balloon flew right over their heads. The others ran under her, following her to the river. Connie II could see the landing zone under her from there, and began to release the air from the balloon to descend.

"Grab the ropes," Connie II called, as she tossed down some ropes to them. Paula Red and Applejack grabbed two of the four ropes, and pulled back hard. Their hooves dug into the earth, trying to stop the hot-air balloon as it slowly descended, only to stop completely when Jasper grabbed hold. The trio kept the hot-air balloon still as best they could until the hot-air balloon landed down gently onto the ground. Once all the air was out of the balloon did Connie II jump out to see the others.

"Connie II, you made it!"

"I'm sorry I took so long. Wind currents were a trouble to work around, you know how it is," Connie II said, just as glad to be there herself. It was then that Connie II took a look over at her house.

"What do ya think? We spent all day yesterday making it, all for you," Peridot said. Connie II's eyes sparkled on seeing the house, especially grateful that they did it so quick, and with a great result as well. Instead of bolting to the house though, Connie II began to go back over to the hot-air balloon basket, and actually started to get some new items out of the basket.

"Let's make this house a home."

.......

And so, with the group's help, they started to do just that. The overall house foundation was pretty good, but now they got on to do the fun part in actually decorating, and making the place rather cozy to live in. This part was more thanks to Steven and Peridot, who helped out with the décor the most out of the whole group as more and more things were brought in from the basket, and into the house. for a single hot-air balloon, Connie II had quite a collection of things stored inside, though that mainly was because a bit of magic made traveling with all these items pretty easy.
The first rooms they got done was the living room and bedroom upstairs: a carpet, few chairs, coffee table and lamp for the living room, and a bed, clock, and a few books for upstairs. Connie II mainly did the essentials and didn't go too overboard with it. What did impress what some of the knickknacks she was setting up from her travels around Equestria. some were draconic in nature, others from ponykind, some even from unknown places like a mask from Zecora's homeland.

"You've got quite a collection here." commented AJ.

"Well, being a traveler, it kinda happens," Connie II shrugged, getting a giggle out of AJ. At this point, Connie and Steven both got together, and planned a little something for her. Peridot came from upstairs.

"Ok, Connie II. We got a little surprise for you!" Peridot said, sounding enthusiastic.

"You do?" Connie II asked. Peridot cleared her throat, and gave a signature two-hand clap as the signal for Steven and Connie to come down. Or rather -

"Hey there, little sis."

"W-Wha?! ... WHOA."

Instead of Steven and Connie, she got Stevonnie. Her last trip to see them didn't give her this privilege, and they figured they got the good time now to do it. Peridot, Jasper, and AJ were pretty surprised by this themselves. Connie II began to look Stevonnie over a bit, Connie II's eyes wide in curiosity and amazement.

"F-Fusion. Connie, you can do fusion?! You with ... With Steven!"

"Well, we both grew up since we first started," Stevonnie said with a smile. Connie II couldn't help but agree: with Connie and her fusion, and Connie II with her magic.

"I know, it's exciting isn't it?! Your counterpart Connie has single-handed created the first ever human-Gem fusion hybrid in all of existence!" Peridot explained, as excited as Connie II was about it. It took some time for at least one of them to notice, but eventually Jasper looked around, and saw that Lapis Lazuli ... wasn't there. Jasper got Applejack's attention on the matter before she looked out the window, and over to the river.

Off outside, Paula Red and Lapis Lazuli were actually readying the raft for a ride back down the river by the time AJ and Jasper showed up. The only thing they had left to do was to untie a bit of rope to the dock.

"Leavin already Paula Red?"

"Yep. It's time for this logger to get back on the river," Paula said, looking back to the house they've made. Well, it only made sense, the project being done and all that. AJ trotted over to him and gave him a hug, the logger stallion doing the same.

"Well, it's been nice seeing ya, uncle."

"Don't sweat it, AJ. It's good to see ya again," Paula replied, as he hopped onto his raft, paddle at the ready. Without all the extra logs, it should be a lot easier to go down the river now.

"Alright, let her go," Paula said. AJ did just that, and untied the rope to the dock, and in no time, the raft began to move off on its merry way. Both ponies waved to eachother, and as Paula went off out of sight, AJ and Jasper started to head back to the others in Connie II's new home. As they continued though, AJ glanced back and saw Lapis was still standing over at the dock.

"Come on, Lapis!" AJ called. Lapis snapped back to reality, and went off back to the others.

.......

And off in the river, its eyes peering just above the water surface, another also went off. Information acquired.
> Fusion Solution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

... For the last two days, the same Gem had been supposedly escaping its own bubble, only after you told us you found a Gem object, and kept it in the burning room. And now, when YOU decided to go back and put away that same Gem yourself, what did we happen to find? ... Not only ANOTHER Gem beast released, that I KNOW didn't get out on it's own, but also the drill that ended up destroyed! THAT drill's wrecked, and we were all put in danger BECAUSE OF YOU!

"GAH!"

With a jolt, Pearl was now upright and troubled again. To think, just one time, one time to actually try to sleep, and a nightmare had to go through her head, and this one didn't involve pizza or Greg.

"Seriously. ... Oh, what else can I do?" Pearl thought. No way was she going back to sleep again here, even if it was a favor to a particular human Gem. After getting up, Pearl went through the door back to the Beach House. It was just getting dark, and when looking into the room, Steven was just going off to sleep, with Lion and Blue sleeping not too far away. Pearl was just about to go up to Steven's bed when ...

"Pearl."

Pearl squeaked and quickly covered her mouth when she turned around as Garnet grabbed her by the shoulder. This future fusion got the idea already, apparently.

"O-Oh, Garnet! Uh, I was just, uh -" Garnet got her quiet when she raised her finger to Pearl, the worried Gem clamming up. Garnet could easily tell Pearl was a bit more troubled than usual.

"Pearl, you've agreed to not watch Steven anymore," Garnet made clear, looking over to sleeping Steven. Sure, that wasn't why she stepped out exactly, but Garnet wasn't going to force the problem in just yet. Pearl did promise that, and a blue blush filled her face.

"Oh yes, of course. It must've slipped my mind," Pearl admitted, trying not to upset Garnet again. The fusion stayed quiet at first, and if Pearl had a heart it would be racing. Garnet stayed quiet a bit more, but eventually she looked Pearl in the eyes.

"Why don't you go for a walk. It might help clear your head," Garnet suggested.

"What? Oh, no, I don't have a problem with anything right now, seriously," Pearl insisted, but Garnet knew a lot better than that. After some silence ...

"... And I'll be going," Pearl decided. Maybe sometime walking around outside could be a bit better for her. Garnet didn't say another word, and Pearl walked off on her way out. Garnet just stood there and pondered some more.

For Pearl, she went on from there and went down the beach for a while longer. The sun was just starting to set at this point, and while it did give the beach a rather pretty look, Pearl's mind ... just wasn't in it. Her hand gently felt her gemstone, her eyes looking to the shoreline for a bit more. Looking to the shore though, there was still something that caught her eye from the reflection of the water, flying just over her head.

"Lapis? ... where's she going?"

...

Lapis found a silent perch off on a particular Cliffside of Beach City's Brooding Hill, and with such time to herself, Lapis was simply silent for the longest time. And Pearl could tell from seeing her that she looked deep in thought about something, if not simply miserable because of it. Lapis Lazuli sat so her view was keen to Beach City, and that her back was facing Pearl, even in the dim light her stone still gleaming a little bit. Lapis stayed quiet, and Pearl began to wonder, and possibly take a guess, on what the poor water Gem was doing there. And Pearl was feeling a bit down herself.

"... Can I have a seat?"

Lapis didn't realize that Pearl had come by, and she almost looked ready to fly away, her wings shooting out.

"Pearl? What're you doing here?" Lapis asked, Pearl quietly walking over.

"Just want to ... clear my head as all," Pearl sighed, sitting down and looking out to Beach City. Lapis sat back down, and just scooted over to give Pearl (and herself) some more space. both Pearl and Lapis at first simply stared off to the city in the distance, street lights glistening in the dusk light, and the waters shimmering like stars dancing in the waves. As nice of a view it was, both Gems were a bit pre-occupied, and they both were starting to feel a similar guilt come up on them. ...

....

"... Is everything okay, Lapis?" Pearl finally asked. She felt it, and so did Lapis, but the blue Gem wasn't too willing to talk.

"I'm fine," Lapis simply said, and she didn't go much further than that. Pearl could already tell though that she was far from fine. Lapis glanced over Pearl's way and saw that Pearl just wasn't feeling so good herself, Pearl looking down to her feet. 

"What's the matter with you?"

"Me? Oh, nothing, it's just a uh ... hmm. Nightmare? I think that's what it's called. ... And ... you?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Lapis simply said. Pearl nodded, and they both looked back out to the city again. Unfortunately for Lapis, the silence and tranquility didn't last for too long.

"... So ... Steven thinks something's ... bothering you."

"Pearl, stop it. Everything's fine: I'm fine, you're fine, Jasper's fine, Steven's fine, we're all just peachy!"

"Jasper. ..."

Lapis and her frustration got the answer out for both of them to hear. The main response out of this Gem was her face burying into her knees, now both she and Pearl getting the situation just a little better. Well, in a way on the subject anyhow. Pearl tried to think about it a little bit.

"Lapis, I ... I didn't think that was bothering you."

"... I thought I did too, but that Tantabus just had to bring it back!" Lapis said, the image of that creature morphing as the fusion in question still fresh in her memory.

"No, Lapis it's okay, everything -"

"No it's not!"

Pearl actually backed up on Lapis's answer.

"Malachite nearly killed the diamonds, she nearly killed you, no amount of "it'll be okay" will just get rid of that!" Lapis made clear, sounding hurt in her voice. These months she kept it locked up in her head, but that Tantabus ... it was like a creeping omen that found it's way back into her mind, and she simply hated it.

"Believe me, I know what you mean, but Lapis you -"

"Oh, come on, how would a Gem like you know?" Lapis cut in, not wanting to hear what she figured were just lies to make her feel better. Sure, the positivity was there, but Lapis didn't want any of it from her. Now Pearl started to feel a little bugged.

"How do I know? You're talking to a Gem War veteran, Lazuli! I had to go through a thousand years of fighting to get to where I am!" Pearl insisted, but again it wasn't helping Lapis. In fact, she got even more upset.

"You and about a million other Gems, so what? You weren't stuck in some messed up fusion - no, stuck in some small mirror for centuries on end!" Lapis snapped back, now on her feet with Pearl.

"What're you complaining about? Yeah, you were in a mirror, you missed just how terrible that even was. I'd rather be in that mirror than out with all that carnage!"

"No you wouldn't. Trapped inside such a thing, no one to talk to and no one willing to listen to you for thousands of years. but you? you got all the friends in the world during that war and after that, and look at you running around with Pony friends. I had nothing! nothing!"

"You really think you're the only one, Lapis, I've seen each one of my friends get lost during that war, get captured, get shattered I nearly lost all mine now because of some corrupted mask!" Pearl suddenly slammed both hands over her mouth, not realizing until after on what she just said. Amongst the things that Lapis had gone through, that part was completely foreign for her. At this point, both Gems were breaking themselves up with these short-comings, and the nightmare surely wasn't helping Pearl any. Guess frustration was making her open more too.

"A corrupted mask. What?"

Pearl just sat back down, facing the city view again. Pearl placed her hand onto her stone, remembering vividly on the very moment when her gem was almost shattered in front of her.

"I-I'm sorry. ... I nearly killed everyone. ..."

"What?!" Lapis asked.

"... One of the Gems brought in a corrupted Gem mask, and wanted me to put it away. ... One thing lead to another, and I ... I ..." Pearl didn't go into detail, trembling on how angry Garnet and Flint were with her, their thundering words making her very humble. Lapis started to calm down a little bit, and she and Pearl just sat down side by side, facing the scenery out to the sea. Lapis could feel her own guilt coming in and tears coming down her own face as well.

"You ... you can stay around here if you want to, Pearl. ..."

"... Thank you. ..."

This was gonna be a rather unique night.


~~~~~~


"Tiger's Eye, slow down!" Rhodonite called. Tiger's Eye kept going off ahead and exploring the Brooding Hill, the other Off-Colors not too far away and looking around themselves.

"It's fine, Rhodonite, what's wrong with a casual stroll?"

"Nothing's wrong with a walk, it is wrong for you to keep running ahead," Rhodonite stated.

"Alright, fine, have it your way," Tiger's Eye groaned, slowing down enough for them to catch up, like a dog waiting for her master. The Rutile twins, Fluorite, and Padparadscha kept up fairly easily, Fluorite giving Padparadscha a ride on her back.

"It is a nice day," Fluorite said, something many of them could agree on. Padparadscha nodded after a bit and looked off towards a clearing in their path, just out of the way.

"Hey, does anyone want to see the human town?" Left Rutile asked.

"I don't think any of us went over there yet," agreed Right Rutile.

"Eh, maybe that's not a good idea," Rhodonite replied meekly.

"Who's that?" Padparadscha asked.

And there it was. Someone was there on Brooding Hill, Strange this figure. for one start, this figure looked fairly tall, about Sardonyx height, but maybe a little shorter. Upon some closer inspection, the figure had a greyish-blue tint to her skin. Her hair was a similar case, but a bit darker in tone, and a bit short yet fluent. Details on this figure appeared to be a bit familiar, but not: her nose was pointed yet her face held a bit more detail than just a simple circle. Her outfit told the Off-Colors one major fact that this wasn't just some odd human (if the size wasn't the first clue): a outfit of a short dress, a sort of turquoise color to it with a light yellow rimming, the dress splitting at the front for a darker blue link, also with light yellow rimming with a four-pointed star at the bottom of it. She had a sleeveless top with a similar color scheme to it, though in a triangular shape in design, a light yellow rimming on the collar and to a four-point star at the center, and to her legs was a set of leggings that ended in a light yellow diamond symbol to the front of the foot, dark blue in overall color, and stopping at the top of the calf and the top of her foot. Wrapped on her stomach looked like a light blue, watery band that almost seemed to glow when looked at the right way to the spring sun. She was laying down on the ground, though she didn't look hurt, but more as if she fell into a peaceful sleep. Tiger's Eye was quick to begin investigating the figure, on all fours.

"Hello? Hello? Anyone parking their ship in there?" Tiger's Eye wondered, trying to wake this sleeping giant. Rhodonite got a bit spooked, and picked her up from the figure.

"Tiger's Eye, you don't know who it is. S-She could be working for Homeworld," Rhodonite said, keeping quiet.
Unfortunately, it still was enough to make the figure start to wake up. Rhodonite bolted back to the rest of the Off-Colors for some distance, as the figure slowly but surely started to wake herself up. A few groans escaped her mouth, one hand rubbing her eye as the other lifted her body up.

"Oh. That was a nice rest - ... huh? What am I doing with - ... my hand?" suddenly the figure jumped up to her feet in shock, now much taller than most of the Off-Colors (Fluorite being a probable exception). She looked shell-shocked for a moment or two, taking time to look herself over. 

"Everyone, I have a wonderful vision seen before me!" gasped Padparadscha said in amazement. "I predict that we'll find a fusion of our kind up on Brooding Hill. How exciting!"

"Padparadscha, it just hap - ... D-did you say "fusion"?" Rhodonite asked. Was this Gem a fusion? Tiger's Eye nodded quickly.

"I saw a gemstone on her forehead, and look, there's one on her back! Unless it's another Fulgurite or Rutile twin, that has to be a fusion," Tiger's Eye said. They looked again, and sure enough, there was the extra gemstone on her back for them to see. It looked like a perfect circle but with a extra bump at the top, and the color made it look more like ice than a Gemstone.

"I you - ... we - ... I'm ... okay?"

"Interesting," Fluorite said with a smile, slowly beginning to move over to her, a smile on her face. The fusion began to take notice of them, and turned around.

"Oh. Fluorite?"

"And who might you be, fusion?" Fluorite asked kindly. But the fusion wasn't sure at first, looking herself over.

"Hmm ... What would a fusion like me be? ... Aquamarine? No, that doesn't sound right ... Tanzanite? No, that's already taken. Ok, let's see now," the fusion paused, hand to her head as she tried to figure it out. The name was on the tip of her tongue, and after a few snaps of her fingers, she finally got it.

"Spinel."

Spinel. That was her name, the name that instinctively came to this fusion's combined mind. It sounded about right, and it suited the type of Gem she was as far as she knew. The Off-Colors looked over the fusion for a little bit, Rhodonite actually becoming less scared and more intrigued than anything.

"D-Do you ... do you know us?" Rhodonite asked. Spinel paused and smile.

"Lapis and Pearl do. And so do I," Spinel said. Well, that explained how she knew Fluorite right away. Still, if that was the case, then maybe they should get some more in on this.

"Eh, maybe Garnet should know about this, eh?"

"Go get her," Fluorite suggested. Tiger's Eye nodded, and bolted off to get them. As for Spinel, she went over back at the top of Brooding Hill, and took a seat, this time going into a more meditation-like position.


~~~~~~


Tiger's Eye wasted no time in her mad dash to the temple. Sure it took a bit to get there (a run through town usually is). When she did arrive at the door, she took a moment to calm down and get herself together. Once she did, her step inside was met with a ... little surprise. Yes, Garnet was indeed there, Steven, Peridot, and Twilight too, but another person was standing in the center of the room, one that Tiger's Eye didn't recognize, the figure as tall as Garnet and holding a surprising amount of similarities.

"Am I interrupting something?" Tiger's Eye cut in.

"Oh, Tiger's Eye, hi! No, come in, you're fine," said Steven. Tiger's Eye had her focus more on the tall figure in the room, walking over to her like normal.

"Who's she? Another Garnet?" Tiger's Eye asked, scratching her head. Garnet and the figure both chuckled on the remark.

"No, I'm Ammie. nice to see you, Tiger's Eye," she introduced, smiling to her. Tiger's Eye took it in stride, even if this normal-looking person had three eyes looking right to her.

"Guess they told you about me?"

"Nope."

"... Wait, wha?"

"Tiger's Eye. Ammie's a fusion, like me. You're looking at a true fusion of human and Gem," Garnet stated.

"OH. K, got it. ... Wait, a human fusion? You can do that now?" Tiger's Eye asked.

"It's amazing, I know, and we're trying to figure out how it's even possible," Twilight explained, as Tiger's Eye looked over Ammie. A bit nosy, but Tiger's Eye had never seen an actual fusion of a human and Gem before (at least not officially).

"So ... she's another Stevonnie then?"

"I doubt it: Steven can fuse with Connie because he's half human, half Gem. There's no other Gem like Steven to exist," Peridot made clear.

"You sure?"

...

"We are, Tiger's Eye. Now, what is it you wanted?" Garnet asked. Tiger's Eye suddenly remembered why she got there with a shake of her head. Guess the idea of a human/Gem fusion got her mind in the wrong place for that little bit.

"Oh, what was it, what was it, right on the tip of my tongue - OH YEAH! Garnet, there's someone up outside of Beach City I think you should see," Tiger's Eye said. Garnet paused for a moment to think about what this person could exactly be. ...





"... You ok, Garnet?" Tiger's Eye asked, a little spooked more than anything.

"Lead the way, Tiger's Eye," Garnet beamed, sounding more excited than normal.

And how could she not be?

.......

"OMG, Spinel!"

Introduction to Spinel was a bit sweet once they did end up finding the other fusion up on Brooding Hill. And honestly, Garnet couldn't be more excited to see her, Steven and Ammie as well. Ammie and Peridot were looking over Spinel up and down with curiosity, Spinel just standing there and letting them do so.

"Lazuli, Pearl, is that you?" Peridot asked in surprise. Spinel nodded her head.

"So yeah, we just found her like this this morning," Tiger's Eye said. Ammie was more than happy to see her, her own eyes starry.

"Whoa, look at you two!" said Ammie, summing it up.

"And look at you two," Spinel replied, gently fluffing Ammie's hair. Ammie fixed it up after that, with the other Gems looking on.

"It's so nice to see two new fusions. It shows how connected they really are," Fluorite said.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," agreed Garnet. Who would know better than two perma-fusions? Steven began to count out just how many fusions were in the same place, probably just as excited about that as seeing Spinel, reaching up to five fusions! Steven then got a big idea.

"I know! Why don't we all go out on a field day? All fusions, going out and doing fusion stuff together," Steven suggested. What better time than now with so many fusions together in one place?

"Sounds like a great experience," Garnet decided, sounding pretty excited about it herself. Rhodonite felt a bit unsure about it, naturally, but Fluorite went over to her.

"You sure about this?" Rhodonite asked meekly.

"We'll be okay. They won't try to hurt us, Rhodonite. They ARE fusions, after all," Fluorite reassured. Rhodonite could see why she would think that, being a fusion of about six Gems after all.

"Can we come too?" the Rutile Twins asked.

"You two are technically a fusion. Sure!" Steven suggested. That surely was a good answer for the twins to hear. So now they basically had their "Mane Six" of Fusion Gems for their day together.

"So non-fusions aren't allowed to go?" Tiger's Eye asked.

"You all can come if you'd like," offered Spinel, even playfully picking up Padparadscha and Steven, much to their excitement. Of course, Padparadscha needed a minute to notice and grow just as excited as Steven. Rhodonite was a little concerned to see her Gem being lifted up so high off the ground, but Fluorite made sure to calm her nerves.

"Fusion FIELD TRIP!" Steven beamed.

"And I know just the place," stated Garnet.


~~~~~~


Normally they would use the Warp Pad to get from one point to another, but for the sake of time saving, Garnet got the usage of Steven's warp key, which made a good opening from one world to another for them all to fit through easily. Fluorite gave a ride for Steven, Padparadscha, Rutile, and Peridot as they went through. For the area where they ended up, as Garnet had hoped, looked like a great open plain. The open plains looked like a great countryside, a lake over down into the valley with a few scattered oak trees. The brighter colors told them right out this was an Equestria location, or somewhere on Equus at least. The cool air brushed up against them as they all started to walk and look around the place.

"....... What a lovely looking plain," Padparadscha said, as she was placed down by Fluorite over by the lake.

"The Peruvian Plains. Good choice Garnet, there's surely enough space for all of you to play around in," Twilight said, recognizing the place from one of her many books. It's kinda hard to miss such a large grassland for a landmark.

"So what do you want to do? Go fishing, play tag, have a volleyball tournament?" Steven suggested.

"I think Spinel already found something to do," Garnet said, looking over to the fusion. Spinel had found a cozy spot nearby one of the oak trees, taking some time to enjoy the calm atmosphere, her eyes closed as though she was sleeping again, meditating with both hands together.

"That's not too bad," Rhodonite said.

"Boring! Come on, I want to see what the fusions can do. I'll take up on this uh ... volleyball," Tiger's Eye said. A far better answer over the initial option, and it can show off a little bit.

"What's Volleyball?" the Rutile twins asked.

"It's easy: The game is made up of two teams, a volleyball net, and a volleyball. Each team is placed on each side of the net. You have to hit the ball over the net to the opposing team, and they have to do the same. You earn a point by making the team either miss the net, or let the ball hit the ground. The first team to get to five points is the winning team."

"You call that easy?"

"W-Well figuratively speaking," Ammie said, blushing a little bit. The Connie part of her must've came up to explain the game. And looking around, Garnet then noticed two sturdy trees that looked just lined up to do the job. She smirked and adjusted her glasses.

"Twilight, care for a barrier?"

.......

"INCOMING!"

In no time at all, the match was soon started after some quick setup. Twilight kept the magic barrier for a net line, and for the teams it was Rhodonite and Garnet vs. Ammie and Rutile. The others took time aside and watched it from afar, with the soul exception of Spinel, who was still over by her tree in meditation. Ammie started it off, a good amount of strength in her swing, and for the first couple of hits it seemed like a fairly normal game with each player going back and forth with the ball. Rhodonite was just trying to keep herself together throughout the game, but it wasn't easy when the ball kept on going their way. Precisely, her way. The Rutile Twins struck the ball after a side-jump, and Ammie got an idea that could work to the team, as she brought out her whip. She spun it clockwise for a bit, and with some good timing, struck the ball skyward!

"Is that even allowed?" Peridot wondered. But that wasn't too much of a problem for Garnet, who immediately jumped high into the air. Her own gem weaponry came up onto her hands, and she slammed the ball right down towards the ground, extremely fast.

"Should we move?" asked left Rutile.

"Yeah, we should," replied Ammie. And they both did. By the time it jumped off out of the firing zone, the ball struck ground with such force, that the ground underneath actually turned into shards, frozen in place mid-explosion. Rhodonite looked on in complete shock as Garnet landed.

"Did you know that when sand is super-heated, it turns to glass?" Steven said after seeing this.

"I did not know that," Tiger's Eye replied.

"Deja vu," Garnet commented, adjusted her shades again. A bit odd that a grassland would have sand, but eh whatever, Callbacks and whatnot.

"Hang on, I got it," Ammie said, using the same whip to slice up the shards of glass until it was just a smoothed out plate. It might make things a little easier actually, not too many bumps in the ground to bother the players with. Plus, it got the ball out good as new, so there's that.

"So that's a point for Garnet and Rhodonite. Go ahead Ammie," Twilight said.

"This is an interesting game," Fluorite noted.

"It's always fun to do back at the beach," Steven responded. Ammie rallied up the shot, and launched the ball good and high. Back, and forth, and -

"AAHH!" Rhodonite quickly ducked as the ball rushed to her thanks to Ammie, the ball bouncing off towards the lake nearby Spinel. Guess that was a point for Rutile and Ammie.

"You okay, Rhodonite?" asked Garnet. Rhodonite needed a minute to re-gather herself.

"I'm ... not good with fast-moving objects, Garnet," Rhodonite replied, getting up to her feet. Fair enough. Once that happened, Twilight went on and trotted over to get their ball, which ended up right along the bank. Twilight levitated the ball out of the water, letting it dry off before she turned to head back to the others. Before Twilight could though, the alicorn stopped and saw Spinel, but something about Spinel made her stop in her hoofprints. Spinel seemed to be at peace with herself, but she had a stream of tears going down her face. If Spinel knew that was going on or not was to anyone's guess, but Twilight wasn't gonna ignore it either.

"Spinel? Is everything okay?" Twilight asked. But Spinel didn't answer, deep in meditation. Twilight flew up to her face, trying to figure out how to wake her up, but she didn't look like she was gonna wake up.

"What're you waiting for, Twilight?" Steven called, coming over to her along with some of the others.

"I think something's wrong with Spinel," Twilight answered, and it didn't take them very much time for them to notice the tears flowing as well.

"Oh dear."

"Spinel, you ok? Spinel!" Peridot called, trying to wake her up. Spinel though wasn't waking up from their attempts, and the tears continued to flow down.

"Well, someone's not waking up," Peridot said.

"She's not sleeping, she's meditating. And by the looks of it, she's in a deep trance," Garnet concluded. Whatever trance she was stuck in, it couldn't be an enjoyable one with all the crying.

"Well, shouting in her ear didn't work. ... Twilight, did you say something about some dream magic before?" Tiger's Eye asked. The alicorn realized what she meant, and walked over to a more suitable position.

"You're not thinking about trying it," Rhodonite said. The Off-Colors got the information not too long after their last venture with the Tantabus, in case some are wondering.

"Well, if something's wrong inside her head, we can help her this way," Steven said.

"And Twilight's the only one that can do it so - ow!" Tiger's Eye got her mouth shut by Garnet, who didn't want her saying the wrong thing. Twilight Sparkle had to focus a little bit on this particular spell, her first time giving it a shot at all, and her horn began to slowly glow a similar white. The alicorn really had to focus on this spell, and a small line of energy, ever so slowly, started to connect to the Gemstone on Spinel's head. It looked like the spell worked out in their favor.

"Good luck in there," said Right Rutile.

"Be careful," added Left Rutile.

.......

Twilight sure felt a little dizzy after that. She landed down on something slightly wet, but at the same time, leaving her body high and dry. It wasn't very much more than a small pool, and Twilight could stand up with little trouble. But what she got when she looked around did take her breath away.
Just stepping out of the pool, Twilight found herself in what looked like some sort of topiary garden. A small pool where she had landed connected to a stone sidewalk, lined along with shrubs, each one with a mix of roses and violets, possibly from the fusion aspect of both Pearl and Lapis. Old Romanian stone pillars, small stone plazas seemingly hung from nowhere with multi-colored stones inside, and a number of various objects collected over the millennium scattered around everywhere. Even the sky within this new world looked a bit different: a shade of purple with varying symbols of Gemkind diamond and stars mixed up like snowflakes frozen in place. Twilight needed a little bit to take it all in, before she began to walk around. She was so enthralled by this odd place, she wasn't exactly looking where she was going before her hoof stepped on something. Looking down, she saw the unmistakable object that was Lapis's scarf. The alicorn lifted it up.

"Lapis's scarf. ... So am I in Lapis's dream, or in Pearl's dream?" Twilight wondered. She slipped on the scarf and continued walking around for a little bit. This walk through dreamland was only stopped when she heard a distant splash. Her walk turned into a trot, going over to the noise. There was another area amongst this land, and Twilight found herself peering out to a larger pool with a rock waterfall included. The whole pool was bordered by a beach, and that was walled off by plenty of old stone rocks. Twilight thought they would be in some sort of trouble, but she didn't see any trouble anywhere. In fact, both Pearl and Lapis looked ... rather happy. In fact, Lapis and Pearl were both sharing stories, most of these from Pearl's end as she was going over the Gem War to Lapis Lazuli, and what she had gone through as she was holding what looked like a Crystal Gem honorary flag. Twilight stayed back and listened in.

"You really have done a lot during the war," Lapis said, as Pearl went over and placed the flag down by the shore.

"I know, it was a fight everyday just to keep my freedom," Pearl replied. both she and Lapis took a seat by the shores of the pool, looking to the star diamond mix in the sky.

"... Pearl? ... you know. ... Thanks."

"For what?" Pearl asked.

"For fusing with me. ... Let's be honest, I'd probably keep on shutting myself away from everyone if you didn't fuse with me," Lapis admitted, hand through her hair.

"... I should be thank you too, Lapis. ... I actually thought I was the only one for a little bit, but now ... Well, I know that I'm not alone."

"Same here. And the best part of this? I'm fused, and ... and no one's getting hurt. I'm so happy for that." Lapis felt a single tear show up, which she rubbed away, but this was a tear of joy rather than one of sorrow. Pearl and Lapis shared a hug after that, and Twilight Sparkle could confirm on one thing: there was nothing wrong here.

.......

With the light going away, Twilight was back into reality. A bit dazed, but ok. It took a little bit, but Spinel did come around, only then noticing the tears coming down her face. One hand felt the stream of water on her cheek, and it took a second more for her to see the others noticing the tears as well.

"Oh, sorry about that," Spinel said, smiling softly as she wiped off the tears.

"Something wrong? Your eyes were pouring out a lot of tears," Tiger's Eye noted. Normally, Pearl and/or Lapis would try to bring their attention away from her problems, but this fusion knows as well that it probably won't help too much if she kept hiding emotions.

"Don't worry, everyone. I'm uh ... We're just glad to know someone understands," Spinel said, smile on her face as a few more tears came out.

"Someone understands ... ooohhh." Steven got the pieces altogether, and it went through to some of the others as well.

"Well, somepony did just - MMPH!" Garnet covered up Tiger's Eye's mouth.

"That wonderful to hear," Garnet said softly, Tiger's Eye trying to get Garnet to let go of her. Spinel stood up after her time of meditation, a smile on her face and now fully at peace.

"So ... Wanna join our game now?" Tiger's Eye managed to ask.

"We'd be glad to."

With that main decision being made, the group started to head on back over to the rest of the group. The only one that didn't go on right away though was Garnet, who could only smile.

"Those two are perfect for eachother."




> Renegade Gem vol.2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been awfully quiet over back at the Temple, and over in the Beach House part it was some extra time for some of the Gems to have their own fun over around the countryside. The barn was free for the moment since the Off-Colors were gone for the day, so some of the Gems decided to take this opportunity to have some fun time by the nearby pond. The springtime air had brought up a number of animals they hadn't seen in a while: some blooming lilies and some frogs to name a few things. Over by the pond edge, Jade sat there comfortably, looking down at a nearby lily as a Dragonfly stayed perched onto it. A fairly peaceful scene ...

"Coming at ya!"

A tremor off nearby ended up spooking the dragonfly away from the lily. Needless to say, Jade wasn't the only one who was there. Looking off over nearby, there was Jasper and Bismuth going at it with eachother in a fit of training. both sides were enjoying the training session, and off watching as some bit of an audience nearby was Diopside, Fulgurite, and Emerald, mainly just to get a good show.


Jade: third year Crystal Gem, and considered an emotional foil to her close friend Flint. Her favorite things include nature and plant life, and her current Gem weapon is a Wyvern Staff. Often considered as a supporter Gem when compared to the other Gem "frontliners", and as such isn't shown much in the foreground.


"What's going on?" Jade asked, walking over.

"Oh, hey Jade. Bismuth and Jasper are having a little contest over here, wanna watch?" Fulgurite asked.

"Oh. Well, no thank you," Jade replied, cringing when she heard one of them take a bit of a crash.


While some don't mind this, I for one feel unconvinced to her development, it's not exciting enough. It feels like there's something missing in her character arch!


And she got it: Before Jade could get back to her pond, eventually Star Quartz walked up to them with what looked like a note in hand. And good timing too, as Jasper and Bismuth called it a break, and took five to see what was up.

"Nothing like a good day training, eh J?" Bismuth said smugly, playfully punching Jasper in the shoulder. 

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Jasper replied. Soon, their eyes saw the letter in her hand.

"What'chu got there, Star?" Bismuth asked.

"Flint asked me to give a message to everyone before he left," Star Quartz replied, giving the letter to Diopside, who already began to open it up with her finger acting like a knife and cutting it open easily.

"Left? That workaholic's still going all out on this case of his? Even Garnet knows when to take a break," Fulgurite sighed.

"Does sound like him. So, where'd Flint run off to this time? The Commination tower, the Warp hub, the Strawberry battlefield," Bismuth wondered, waiting for whatever answer Star had. At this point, Diopside had the letter opened up and read it over top to bottom. On the end of it, when the others saw her, she looked completely horrified, almost shivering.

"Flint ... You can't be serious."

"What's up, Dio? Looking a little pale," Emerald said. Diopside can't even answer, and showed the message to Emerald. Fulgurite looked over his shoulder and read it over to.

...

"WHAAA?! He's crazy!"

The reaction out of them got them all to jump.

"Ok, stop it, where'd he go?" Jasper asked.

"H-He ... He went to Homeworld." Diopside, Emerald, and Fulgurite replied at once, all shaken, and all shocked that he would even do that. Bismuth and Jasper were a bit surprised on that themselves.

"Homeworld? give me that," Jasper replied, grabbing the message and looking it over with Bismuth.

Attention: I'm going to be gone for today. I know this is nothing new with what I've been doing, but this time's a little different: to further look into the matters of the Pink Diamond case, I'm going to have to head to Homeworld to gather information, and speak with our only ally as of now - Blue Zircon. I'm giving you notification, and I've already cleared it up with Garnet, so everything will be alright.

Flint.

"I doubt he actually told her," Bismuth commented.

"Oh, nevermind that, what do we do? If Flint gets caught, we're all gonna end up being used as gear pieces!" Emerald responded.

"We have to wait for him, that's what," Jasper concluded.

"Wait? you sure?" Diopside asked.

"Everyone, this is Flint we're talking about here. It's not like he has never gone in situations like this before. Besides, if we all go in after him, we'll get caught for sure one way or another. Or did you forget how our group got to know the Off-Colors," Jasper reminded. None of the Crystal Gems would want to even risk such a thing now. ... Well, none of them wanted to. It took a bit of time, and one of the Gems actually started to walk away.

"You really think so?" Jade finally asked, thinking hard about it.

"Come on, Jade, you know him better than any of us do, isn't he always getting into things like this?" Emerald questioned with a shrug. Jade thought it over her mind bit by bit, remembering not only his initial involvement with the Pink Diamond case, but also the Cluster beforehand.

"... Actually. ... He doesn't get involved in something like this so deeply. If anything, most of the time he tries to avoid subjects like this as much as possible," Jade said, thinking far back.

"But, he's really been involved in these. right?" Star asked.

"Well, yeah sure, but I don't think he could've gotten out of it even if he'd wanted to. These are problems he can't just run from: there's the Cluster which could destroy the planet, and now Pink Diamond's shattering is on his head," Fulgurite concluded.

"You mean on Rose's head?"

"Look, it doesn't matter now: if he did get there, then all we can do is wait it out until he gets back. He wouldn't want any of us following him anyway," Jasper concluded. Though she took this decision with a grain of salt, as staying behind was something she wasn't all too used to. But it was still better than getting harvested. Still, Flint was taking a very high risk for doing this, and they all knew it. Jade was the most troubled with this news, and began walking away from the situation.

"Where're you going?" Fulgurite asked, noticing her leaving first.

"I'm just going back to the Temple," Jade replied.


Yes! This is what she's been missing! A true moment in the spotlight! Yes, character development is bound to happen now!


"What're you doing, Pinkie?"

With a yelp, the mare stumbled back on seeing Emerald pop up next to her. Guess Pinkie's narration did get someone's attention after all.

.......

With the sound of the Warp Pad, Jade got herself back to the temple. With most, if not all of the group no longer there and doing their own thing, it did leave the place rather empty. The only single thing in there for the moment was lion, who was grooming himself when she got back. Jade stayed quiet at first, but instead of going into the beach house, she turned and went over to the back door. Lion, having nothing better to do, got up and followed her to the next room.
This part of the Temple was Jade's personal room, though it looked less like a room and more like a spaceport: a metallic room similar to one inside a Gemship. Mainly think of it as a futuristic bedroom. Anyway, Jade walked on inside for a bit, Lion peeking in from the main Temple Gate, as Jade sat down and thought over a few things, regarding to what Flint would be doing.

"Oh, Flint," Jade sighed. Though, in all honesty, she can understand why in a way. Lion simply stood there for a little bit, but eventually Jade got a few things from her room, and walked back out. 

Lion saw that she had a sort of notebook in hand. ...


~~~~~~


"... Well. Here it goes."

How long has it been since she last seen such a place herself? A good century probably, millennium perhaps. Either way, the minute Jade went through the main Warp Pad from Earth, her first sight of her Homeworld was as breathtaking as the Crystal Gems described it. At first, Jade simply took a moment or two looking around and taking in her surroundings, but she wasn't there simply to sightsee. After the minute had passed, she looked to the notepad she had with her. She saw huge buildings to the nearest city, and for her, the potential for a dropship load of information. She kept her nerves together.

"Alright. This should be Blue Diamond's city. How do I get to her?" Jade wondered. Well she wasn't gonna figure that out simply by standing there. Jade began a quiet walk towards the city, her gaze looking around the borders for the quickest way to the palace. It sure was easier said than done.
As she walked along though, with her thoughts still trying to work out an answer, something far off to the right caught her eye. Something entirely new. From her position it looked fairly small, but she surely didn't remember it being on Homeworld the last time she was here, nor did any of the other Gems actually mentioned anything about it.

"Wait. Is that a tree?" Jade thought. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but hey, if it could help her out with the situation, then that could make all the difference. So, instead of going to the city, she went off and headed straight to said tree.

It surely took a while for her to get there, and seeing the tree itself was out of place. No way, no how, could any plant grow on Homeworld, so Jade took the time to study up on said tree for a little bit.

... Jade. Jade. ...

Jade quickly stopped herself on the odd echoing voice, looking around for some sort of figure, but only finding nothing. Where was the source of this noise? Eventually, Jade began to turn and focus on the tree itself, which was the only thing around here, only to see the tree opening its eye to see her. A typical Gem would freak out, but Jade had seen her fare share of freaky and magical figures off back in Equus and Earth, so she stayed firm, if not slightly humbled by a talking Homeworld tree. 

"Um ... H-Hello?"

... Do not be afraid. I have the answer you seek. ...

The answer? Sure Jade had some questions but how did this tree know about them? Well, take what you can.

"Well, ok. ... Can you tell me then?"

The tree was very silent at first, but then it closed its eye and for a moment looked like any other normal tree. Jade took a step back, but then the eye of the tree opened up again, but instead of a normal eye, it looked more like a screen of sorts, a little static at first like a screen off an old TV. Eventually though, as Jade watched, a image started to play out.

-------

Much to her surprise, it actually showed Flint apparently inside one of the many buildings within Homeworld! Blue Zircon and Flint both were sitting down across from eachother for this discussion in Blue Zircon's chambers, probably the only main spot where they could remain together without too much trouble from outside forces. Blue Zircon still felt slightly uneasy, since she was practically sitting over by a wanted criminal, but she was still willing to hear him out.

"Yes, that is quite an enigma. Why would there be both a Cluster and a Diamond Attack at one time?" Blue Zircon wondered, in deep thought.

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Zircon. Considering you worked rather close to the Diamonds and the royal court, maybe you might have some thoughts on the matter?" Flint questioned. Blue Zircon got up and soon enough, she started to pace around a bit more.

"Well, any Gem could look at this and simply say that it's the Diamonds trying to destroy the planet completely, and after the Diamond Attack didn't work, they resorted their hopes into the Cluster. Which also didn't work. ... Uh, if I may ask, would this have anything to do with some previous involvement?"

"Zircon, you were there at the time, and we did manage to retrieve Blue Diamond after some effort. I'm sure you know that much."

"And yet you're still banished from Homeworld? Blue Diamond welcomed you all fairly easily, yet White Diamond still is keeping to her punishing word. Something she would do, but ... It doesn't make sense!" Zircon realized.

"I know it doesn't make sense, Zircon," Flint repeated. Blue Zircon started her statements as if she was in the middle of a court session, pacing and thinking over the situation.

"Yes. Yes, it doesn't make sense. Rose Quartz is a Gem who would have everything to gain from shattering Pink Diamond: safety of Earth, protection of the humans, freedom of Gemkind on said planet. But even if she wanted to ... could she?" Now Flint was getting interested, leaning forward a bit.

"Go on."

"According to your Lapis, not any other Gem was at the scene when it happened apart from a selected few. Flint, had, or had not anyone sense her approach? You'd think a Sapphire would've predicted this, or a quartz raising an alarm, or her own Pearl at least saying "WATCH OUT, MY DIAMOND!". But according to Lapis ... nothing like that happened."

"I see. So whoever would've done this had to be someone Pink Diamond had complete trust over, and someone who would have to have full access, and able to actually isolate Pink Diamond from her own Pearl. Whoever did it had to have some big control to do that," Flint said, thinking over what she just said herself.

"Agreed. It's hard to get a Pearl away from her own Gem if not directly instructed to. And to be in the line of sight of Lapis Lazuli at that moment, just long enough for her to make her report to Blue Diamond afterwards upon the event," added Zircon. This was getting very interesting to both Blue Zircon and Flint, with what they got here anyway.

-------

The tree ended the message there, and when it looked with its normal eye, it saw Jade quickly writing down the information she had just gathered. Something like this could be proven useful to this case of theirs that needed solving. A good start, and at least she knew that Flint wasn't in any trouble, for now at least. Once she finished though, Jade looked up to the tree.

"Thank you, tree. ... Did Flint tell you what he was doing?" Jade asked.

... His presence is known throughout my roots. ...

... So, that was most likely a no. Still, for the moment, Jade felt that she had a pretty good thing here, and started to head off just a little ways back to the Warp Pad, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that ... well, she needed a bit more than this. Flint would keep running around here if this was all they had to work with, and no doubt in her mind if he was going to start coming back on a whim then he would do it again.

"Flint. Oh, I wish there was some way I could help ..."

And that thought was heard easily by the tree. Jade began to hear a strange rustling up in the leaves, despite having no wind blowing by. Jade turned around to the tree, and actually began to see something fall out of the branches. She expected a few of the leaves, but what was surprising was what also came down with it: paper. In particular, a number of pictures of individuals that had landed down nearby her feet. Jade picked up a few of them and found that each one of these pictures were of Homeworld individuals, different Gems amongst the Diamond city with a full body shot and even placement of Gemstone just to be sure to signify who was who.

This could shed some new light onto the case.

"Witnesses. ... Thank you very -" Jade paused when she looked back to the tree, which suddenly looked like a regular tree all over again, albeit a bit thin in leaves. Well, what else could she do? Jade gathered up each one of the pictures scattered on the ground and got them into her notebook for some reference. It was good to have some method of guidance in this investigation, be it for a detective or a reporter.

"Well, let's begin."

.......

"Still nowhere to be found."

A long patrol through Homeworld downtown, and according to the hybrid soldier patrols, there still was no sign of the Crystal Gems or the Mane Six since their previous escapade in homeworld. Pearlis and Onyx were out at the moment, Pearlis trying her absolute best to find out where these criminals had gone. Onyx though was a bit more chill about it, just leaning over by one of the buildings, not caring too much for the situation, unlike Pearlis.

"This is completely ridiculous, they couldn't have gotten out of the Supreme Kindergarten!" Pearlis said, completely stressed out from the lack of results.

"Maybe you should freak out some more, that's really gonna help us find them," Onyx commented. a comment not passed up by Pearlis's ears, and the Gem was quickly on top of her.

"I can't believe your attitude, Onyx. And now you're just slouching over here doing nothing!" she snapped.

"Hey, it's not my fault the Crystal Gems aren't there. Why do you have to make things worse by squawking at me?!" Onyx snapped.

"I don't squawk! Pearls squawk!" Pearlis insisted ... though she was technically part Pearl.

"Yeah, you're squawking at me and commenting on my posture!" Onyx replied. As they were bickering and squawking amongst eachother, one of the Carnethysts tapped Pearlis on the shoulder, catching her attention.

"Yes. What is it?" Pearlis asked, trying to sound calm but on the inside being on her last nerve. The Carnethyst brought her attention away from Onyx, and over to the street down a ways. Pearlis didn't really notice too much when it came to anything interesting, but as a few larger Gems moved aside, the Gem her Carnethyst did see made Pearlis a bit more accomplished in the task. Onyx simply stood nearby and watched, and Pearlis began to head right towards her with a few of the hybrids behind her. If there was one Crystal Gem, then there's got to be more.

"Stay calm, stay calm," Jade told herself. It didn't take her long to have noticed the police coming her way, and soon a good several Carnethyst officers surrounded her.

"Crystal Gem! You didn't think you'd get away that easily, would you?" Pearlis informed, triumphant in finding the first Crystal Gem since their last escapade. Jade tried to keep herself together, but the officers weren't making it any easier for her. She stared up at the officials, notebook held over her mouth.

"We warned you about the consequences of returning to Homeworld. Take her away and have her harvested," Pearlis instructed. Jade felt them move in towards her, and Jade had to think of something. What would Flint do in a situation like this? ...

"I-I didn't do anything wrong!" Jade got out, but she had to look to her feet first so she wasn't staring up at anyone.

"You just did, my young Jade: you thought it would be a good idea to come back after you've been banned."

"B-But wait, it doesn't imply to me!"

... Pearlis raised her hand to make the Carnethyst stop.

"... And how does it not imply to you?"

"I-I wasn't there, that's why. Y-You implied that to all the Crystal Gems I heard, and I wasn't there, right?" Jade really was relying on thin hope for this excuse. Pearlis, lucky for Jade, tried to think of a rebuttal but that argument proved just a little too complicated for her to sort out properly. That, and who was to even say that Jade was even a Crystal Gem to begin with? Onyx nearby overheard it.

"She got ya there," she commented. Pearlis simply groaned, and with a snap of her fingers, the Carnethysts moved back.

"My apologies. ... Though if you do find any Crystal Gems here, inform me or one of the officers, and that would be very much appreciated," Pearlis said, sounding very disappointed. Guess it was back to square one in their look around, and soon Pearlis, Onyx, and the Carnethysts went off on their way. Jade didn't look up until after they had gone a good twenty feet away, and she gave a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank the stars," she thought, hand to her head as she tried to calm down. She can't freak out now, not with her task at hand. On the bright side, at least Jade won't be getting thrown into harvesting for being here. So, after that, she began to look over the pictures she had on retainer. Now she had the rights to go around Homeworld without any trouble.
So, where to begin?


~~~~~~



Witness#1: Aquamarine




Well, who'd of thought she would end up here? To find this particular Gem, she needed to go from the basic streets and to the highest court in the city (not something she would do otherwise). Just being near the palace was a bit unnerving for her, but if the chit-chat from the Crystal Gems were anything to go off, then maybe it wouldn't be as bad as expected. Then again, Jade had never been this close to the palace before, even during her days as a Homeworld worker. Jade took one more look at the first eyewitness.

"Well, she's the closest one here. Hopefully this works out," Jade told herself, trying to keep relaxed, and she went over to the palace. However, as she neared, she was almost immediately confronted by some of Blue Diamond's Amethyst guards.

"You have business with her clarity?" one of them asked.

"Eh ... Well uh ... I-I'm looking for someone," Jade said, and soon she presented the picture of Aquamarine to them. Both guards looked it over for a brief moment.

"Oh, that all? Well you're in luck, she's already inside," said one Amethyst.

"But they're in the middle of a meeting right now, so you might have to wait until she's done," added in the other. Jade didn't expect them to act so casual so quick, but she did have a friend that was an Amethyst so perhaps that was come to expect. At least Jade had the idea on where Aquamarine was.

"Oh. Uh, thank you," Jade replied, walking by them both as both guards allowed her inside.

Pretty soon the little reporter was inside the Blue Diamond palace. Even if she had visited Homeworld recently, this was her very first time roaming around inside Blue Diamond's main palace, looking at just how huge it was compared to the tiny Gem. It was like a mouse running around a home, and Jade just as curious as a mouse would be in such a place. Still, as much as she either wanted to leave or wanted to explore, she had to find where Aquamarine was to get some information. The little Jade ... really had no idea where she was going.

"Aquamarine. Well, she has to be around here somewhere ..."
Jade kept her gaze down to the notebook and pictures she had been given, a little too long as it turned out as she accidentally bumped into something big. It had enough bounce back to knock her to the ground. When Jade got her stuff together and looked up, she was met with a very large Homeworld Gem. He looked very thicc, similar to someone like Bismuth, or even Smoky, maybe even bigger in such a sense, though he was fairly tall at about Jasper's size, possibly a foot taller. clearly a Gem bigger than much of the Crystal Gems she knew. His skin had a strong yellow color to it like Yellow Diamond, hair cut like those humans found in the military: only at the top and cut to a flat surface. His legs were a bit stubby like Smoky, and arms were thick and muscular. Like Fulgurite, he had a set of gemstones rather than a singular one, each one disk-sized, and on the sides of his head as if they were his ears. Jade surely felt humbled on seeing this Gem, and the serious expression on his face didn't help any, standing firm and on guard.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jade said. The large Gem didn't exactly answer, but still looking down at her like any other Gem on Homeworld. Jade kept her composure the best she could do, and noticed that this guard was right by one of Blue Diamond's doors. Seeing that, she pulled out the picture and presented it to the large Gem, hopefully getting an answer on her location.

"Do you happen to know where she is? I just want to ask a few questions to her," Jade asked, keeping her gaze down to her feet again. The Gem stayed quiet still, but Jade really had to wonder what kind of Gem would have this kind of guard, if this was indeed Aquamarine's guard. Jade looked over to the door he was standing at, and decided to test something out. It was risky, but she might as well see. As he was confirming the picture, Jade started to slip by and head to the door, only to be met with a Gem weapon slamming down in front of her to keep her back. The weapon looked like a double-ended staff, each end with large gemstones on it.

"Yep. The meeting's behind that door," Jade thought. Why would a Yellow Diamond guard be at Blue Diamond's palace otherwise?
Jade could hear voices inside the room, but she couldn't exactly make out what they were really saying. And it probably wasn't a good idea to stand right by the door either.

*bang*

"Ow!" Wouldn't you know the door would hit her face. Jade stumbled back, rubbing her forehead from the hit. Guess this meeting was all finished up, and much of the royal court was exiting the room, meeting done. Not many of them really bothered with Jade, Jade simply standing there and watching the multitude of Gems walk past.

"Topaz. Come on, you boulder," called a voice, as she came on out from the meeting room.
What Gem came out next was clearly a member of Blue Diamond's court, and pretty significant at that with a cyan blue tint to her skin, and an almost doll-like look to her (no nose or ears visible). her hair was short, light cerulean and bobbed, accompanied by a dark blue bow. If Jade was considered a Kimono in appearance, than this Gem had a more school prep uniform: a blue skirt, white gloves and stocking, midnight blue shoes, and a dark blue diamond symbol at her chest with white triangles alongside to resemble a "tie". An aristocrat if Jade ever saw one, with her Gemstone mirroring a teardrop right under her eye. But there was one detail that Jade would never of expected. ...
She was only as big as she was. In fact, she may be even smaller.

"Oh. ... Are you, uh, Aquamarine?" Jade asked, perplexed more than anything at seeing Aquamarine.

"And who's this? As if I don't have enough trouble already," she griped. Guess this meeting, whatever it was, didn't suit Aquamarine very well. At least Jade can look to Aquamarine without her looking down at her. Anyway, she got herself together, and opened up her notes. She made a quick comparison between the picture and the Gem, and found it matched up pretty well.

"Uh, My name is Jade, and I want to ask you a few questions, is that ok?" Jade asked. Aquamarine then smiled, though this one was less friendly and more of a knowing look.

"Oh, can the lesser Gems leave me for one moment? Alright, what do you want to know about me?" Aquamarine asked. Jade just took a moment and began to look over the main questions she had, getting a writing pen ready.

"I want to know your involvement in the Gem war," Jade began. Aquamarine's smile disappeared into a more annoyed frown.

"Oh. Just that. Why don't you talk to my Diamond if you want to figure that out, then? A Gem as important as myself has a pretty busy schedule," she said, waving her away as if she was some stray cat or something.

"W-Well. I would, naturally, but I wouldn't want to trouble our Diamond with that sort of thing, so -"

"So you'd rather trouble such a special Gem? Topaz, let's go," Aquamarine said. This Gem actually had some water wings on her which came out as she said this, though they looked more like a butterfly wing than a bird wing. She flew right up to Topaz's head and sat down comfortably as if Topaz's head was a chair. Topaz nodded and began to walk by her, but Jade quickly skimmed through the questions she had. If she was going to get anything, she might as well try to get to the point. She plucked up courage.

"Can't you answer just one question?"

Aquamarine rolled her eyes and sighed, and reached for her bow. When she grabbed it though, the "bow" changed in a flick of the wrist and turned into what looked like a dark blue magic wand. Jade thought she was gonna blast her and quickly bolted aside, but still got caught in a tractor beam. Jade was lifted up and moved in front of Aquamarine and Topaz.

"Please make it quick," Aquamarine stated, as they went along. Jade, who was still floating there, looked to her notes at the question.

"Do you know anything about Pink Diamond?"

Aquamarine paused for a moment or two, trying to work out her memory about the subject, though she was surprised about Jade asking that out of nowhere. Topaz stayed silent as they went along, though he looked a little surprised as well, but tried not to show it.

"Pink Diamond? This have anything to do with that trial?" Aquamarine questioned.

"Well ... no, just curious. You were apart of the Gem War ... right?"

"And you immediately assumed I knew about Pink Diamond. Blue Diamond's the lucky one to have me. I only seen Pink once or twice myself."

"Really? Tell me about it. ... Please?" Aquamarine would rather toss her aside, but for the sake of her questions, Aquamarine just groaned.

"Fine, if you have to know to be on your way. Blue Diamond had me sent down to Earth during the rebellion to get some of Pink Diamond's soldiers properly sorted. Of course, who'd be better than me? And a good thing I did, her quartzes were scattered all over the place, not having the slightest idea on what they're doing. Another time me and my beloved, sweet Diamond visited Pink Diamond to another colony a galaxy or two away, and Pink kept trying to fiddle with the controls. To tell you the truth, I had the obvious privilege of showing Pink how they work," Aquamarine's unique chit-chat didn't reveal as much as Jade would like, but it was something, and she took note of it down fast. Though admittedly, Jade was surprised that Aquamarine was talking about Pink Diamond like she wasn't too special. Jade finished up, but before she could continue, Aquamarine moved her aside and dropped her.

"Well, you got your question, I got my admiration, I call it even. Now good day," Aquamarine stated pompously, as she and Topaz walked away, leaving Jade sitting there for a moment or two. An interesting report from a pompous Gem. As annoying as hearing her ego was, Jade got up and began to head on out with what information she got. Surely Flint can find a connection once she would get back, and Jade marked Aquamarine off the list.

Onto the next one.




Witness#2: Ruby-1F4 Cut-4ND




"One! Two! One! Two! You got it Rubies!"

Jade had to go around through the city for a little bit, and soon it quickly changed from aristocratic, to military, as Jade neared the quartz training grounds. A bit of a rough place to stop by, but all the same, Jade probably could find it a bit easier to talk to a Ruby over an Aquamarine, and once more, the description was a lot more distinctive over the last one, so finding Ruby would be easier too.
When Jade arrived to the area, it sure looked pretty busy with activity of multiple Gems: Jaspers, Amethysts, and Rubies respectively. With so many around though it was going to take a bit to figure out where her target was located in this -

"Ruby, you're turn!"

"Right."

Eh, nevermind. Jade looked over to one group of Rubies, and found the Ruby in question standing. As it turned out, the Ruby was actually Eyeball, and as before, this quiet Gem was on her game in the Ruby squad. At the moment, Eyeball Ruby was busily beating down a few practice dummies, the rest of her squad sitting aside and watching her. However, Eyeball was going a little slower than Army would like, and all of a sudden she came right up and punched her in the shoulder.

"You're moving too slow!" Army yelled. Eyeball didn't answer and walked away from there as Army demonstrated just how powerful and fast one should do in the battlefield. Jade stood pretty far away from it, watching the whole thing, but rather than sitting with her squad, Eyeball was actually already coming Jade's way.

"Can I help you?" Eyeball asked. Jade didn't expect Eyeball to have seen her from way over there, but found this easier anyway, so she went to her notebook.

"Eh, maybe. I'm looking for a Gem named Ruby 1F4 Cut-4ND."

"And you found her," Eyeball simply said.

"OH! Well, in that case, can I ask you a few questions?" Jade asked, readying her pen to write. She got a fresh page so the note separated from what Aquamarine had said. Eyeball glanced back to the squad not too far away, who were pre-occupied with Army's tough on fighting skills.

"They'll be expecting me."

"Well then I'll be quick: you were involved in the Gem War, right?" Jade began.

"I'm considered a veteran of Rubies, yes. Though many people keep thinking my boss has gone through more than I have," Eyeball admitted, and since she was further away, she could speak her mind a little bit without angering Doc (not that it mattered too much anyway). Jade nodded and went to the next question.

"Can you tell me a bit about Gem Colony Earth?" Jade asked. Eyeball took a minute to work out the details of Earth in her mind, giving a sigh.

"Earth was Pink Diamond's colony. Everything was going smoothly at first. Kindergartens were incubating their first soldiers. Big, warm pieces of Quartz - like the mountain of a Jasper you have - were being created from its rich minerals with great success. Then bam! One of Pink Diamond's very own Quartz soldiers started a rebellion and ... took it too far." Jade knew exactly what Eyeball meant by that, and it actually went through a few other questions right away, which was pretty good for Jade.

"Too far. ... I assume you mean ..."

"Yes. I was there myself, and I remember seeing Pink Diamond's shattered remains by her palanquin. ... Though ..."

"Though what?"

"... Well, it's a little hazy, but ... Rose Quartz looked bigger than usual when I saw her. Something ... different," eyeball stated, trying her best to work out the memory as best she could do. Jade wrote down every single word in. Compared to Aquamarine, this was a very good step in the case. And good timing too.

"Ruby, what're you doing?! Come on, we're waiting!" called Doc.

"Gonna have to cut this short. Good luck," Eyeball said, before heading back to the others. Jade nodded and went off on her way, marking off Ruby from the list of witnesses. Onto the next one.




Witness#3: Melanite




"Huh. Some things didn't change much after all."

Jade found herself up at the pearl distribution building, probably the first building that was still original from her own memory since she got here. While standing there, she took a minute to look over the last picture of her set. Aquamarine and Eyeball did a fairly good job in information, but it would probably be for safety's sake to get all three and get all sides to this story, according to the tree. Well, she did the only main thing to do, and knocked on the door. However, no one really answered at first.

"And you. Sentry to Jasper at 7G4."

Curiously, and hesitantly, Jade actually began to open the door herself. Jade was quiet on her entry, and soon she found that, over passed the main entry room, Melanite was actually getting a number of Pearls ready for distribution. Melanite was so busy with the test that she didn't even hear Jade come in.

"And you. Servant to Fire Agate at H72."

"Uh ... Excuse me?"

"And the five of you. Diamond service on sector 764."

"Excuse me?" Jade grew a little bolder and tapped Melanite's side. Melanite looked down to the little Gem standing there.

"Oh. Can I help you?" Melanite asked, glancing down to her. Jade stayed calm and went through the motions.

"You Yellow Diamond's Pearl distributor?" Jade asked.

"Yeah, that's me. Though, I don't recall having a Pearl under your ID," Melanite noted, taking a moment to check her own list of orders.

"Oh, well, I'm not here for a order, I'm here for some questions," Jade said, opening up the notebook and with pen at the ready. Melanite checked the orders for the day first before looking down to Jade. For some reason, Jade wasn't as humble towards Melanite as she would to Topaz earlier.

"Well, I just got finished, so go ahead."

"Ok. Now, you were involved in the Gem War, right?"

"Top distributor during the war time under the Diamond's name," Melanite answered. Well that was pretty fast.

"Good to know. Now ... speaking of which, do you know much about Pink Diamond?"

Melanite paused on that particular question. Jade wouldn't jump to it right away, but Melanite did go through a few questions right away.

"Pink Diamond? Haven't heard that name in millennium. ... Anything in particular?"

"Well no, just whatever you want to share. I'm not going to make you if you don't want to," Jade made clear, mainly to not upset Melanite. The Gem tried to think a little bit, her screen going off a little bit as she tried to look back in her studies.

"Well, I did get a specialty order from her before the war started. It was supposed to be my biggest shipment ever."

"It was supposed to be?"

"Pink wanted every single Pearl in here, but of course the other Diamonds made her lower her options. You know how younger Gems are, always wanting more than they can handle," Melanite said in a joking tone. Jade paused on some memory reminder before going back to her questions.

"I see. ... Ok, one more question to finish. ... Well ... what do you know about -" suddenly, Melanite leaned in and took a closer look at the notes she had been doing The sight of a few notes and some pictures made her a little suspicious. Even more so when she saw her very own picture amongst them.

"Where'd you get these?" Melanite asked, more suspicious this time. Jade clammed up on the question, and her mind scrambled to find a answer.

"Eh, m-my diamond gave me those."

"... Really?"

"Yes, and she wanted me to ask those Gems these questions," Jade answered, trying to sound convincing. Melanite wasn't as gullible however.

"Which Diamond?"

"... Blue. Diamond?"

...

"Well, continue."

Jade was relieved and went onto the final question.

"What do you know about Pink Diamond's uh ... s-shattering?"

"Oh! ... Oh ... Here, let me think," Melanite said, trying to work her memory as best she could. Jade was ready with whatever word she had to say, patient and not willing to push anything out. Unfortunately, Melanite shrugged.

"I don't have very much for you, sorry. It's just too far back to remember," Melanite answered. Well that was pretty unfortunate for Jade to hear.

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway. Have a good day," Jade replied, starting to take her leave and leaving Melanite to finish up her work.

Once out of the building, Jade paused and marked off Melanite from the list she had. So that was Aquamarine, Ruby, and Melanite off of the potential witnesses, each one with their own opinions on Pink Diamond, yet only one with significant information on the actual thing itself. A bit odd that it was from a lower ranking Gem though.

"And now for home."

.......


"... What's it to you that cutting me down would bring? Would it make you feel ... more important? ..."

"... Don't take this personally, my dear. It's just business. ..."

> The Results Are In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"EXCUSE ME?"

The news of Jade's escapade off in homeworld was quick to take note for the group once she got back with info in hand. A number of the Gems were also there alongside Flint: Garnet, Steven, Connie, and Fulgurite. Jade got all her notes together, and got them open for the others to make out.

"I thought that it would be helpful in our uh ... little problem," Jade said, everyone knowing well what that problem was. Garnet took it personally and read over each of the notes, and with what information she gathered on the Gems she interviewed.

"Hmm ... Aquamarine. Ruby. Melanite. How'd you manage to get their information?" Garnet asked after a bit. Jade began to feel a little bit humble again.

"I had my resources," Jade simply answered, not sure if they'll believe her if she said there was a tree growing back on Homeworld, if all places. Flint read over the information she had gathered, but while Aquamarine and Melanite were good, it was Eyeball's report that intrigued him.

"How far are you guys in this case anyway?" asked Connie.

"Beats me, but Flint's been going all out on it since the Off-Colors showed up," Steven answered. Connie knew a average amount amount their situation, but only that they're dealing with the problem in the first place, and that was it.

"And I think we're found a good clue. Garnet, you've known Rose, you know if she can change her size at all?" Flint questioned.

"No. and if she did, she never needed it," Garnet stated. That was pretty good news for Flint, and he showed them to Steven.

"Homeworld's in trouble alright," Flint said, surprising them with his ... friendly nature.

"How so?"

"Blue Zircon and I had spoke a while ago, and we both came to the same conclusion. Rose Quartz can't have done it without setting off some sort of alarm, and with so little witnesses, then that means. ..." Flint paused and actually smiled to Steven before saying "That means, Steven, you're innocent!"
now THAT was the best news they've heard in a while. All of Flint's studies had reached that conclusion, and these inconsistencies in Rose being the murderer surely showed that promise. Fulgurite, in glee, gave Steven a good hug.

"Congrats, you lucky kid!" Fulgurite said.

"Now not too fast. We can say that he's innocent, but that doesn't reveal on who really did it. We still have a bit to go," Flint made clear.

"Well, it's a start," Connie said. And indeed it was. for much of the group, they were at the half-way point.

*grrrrr*

"Look, I want this done too, don't get mad at me for the slow process," Flint firmly stated.

*grrrrr*

And that time, they could see no one was groaning in displeasure.

"We got company," Garnet said, taking a look out the window.
Looking out from the windows, those inside the Beach House easily saw witness to what actually decided to come by for a visit. And it wasn't anything normal they've seen either, as it moved along the beach. It was a creature not familiar to Equus, Earth, or Homeworld for that matter now that they thought about it. A strange quadrupedal creature was roaming around out there, frail looking in its limbs, and relatively huge, about as big as a rhino, but long as a bus. Its body resembled a large dog, with a tail very thin like that of a whip. The head had a armor plate on it like a shield, but lacked any external ears, nose, or eyes, yet a set of jaws were still present, and despite no external nose was still moving its head close to the ground as if trying to find a scent. None of them went outside to confront the beast just yet.

"What's that thing?" Steven asked. Flint looked at the creature a bit more closely, and noticed one other detail on the creature's neck, which actually looked like a particular collar of sorts. ...

"A dog. ... Diamond's dog."

And as if it had heard him, the "Diamond Dog" turned towards them, and growled menacingly, growling and hissing like a lizard. They weren't sure if this was some corrupted Gem, or maybe a Equestrian creature, but regardless of whatever case, Flint can confirm that the Diamonds had this thing in their arsenal, and judging by coloration of said collar, and perhaps greyish white color of the beast, which diamond that would be wasn't too complicated either. Pretty soon, it was Garnet who went out first, catching the attention of said beast to her, before she jumped on out. The creature growled and roared as she came near, its tail whipping around like crazy in the air. It was so vigorous, Garnet actually slowed down a bit. Flint charged up his pistol, and went out to join her, already taking a few shots, just for them to bounce off its armor plating.

"Looks like she found us," Garnet simply said. Flint couldn't agree more, and aimed his weapon at the beast. However, this beast's sights were far more focused, and when they both rushed forward, it actually zoomed by them, straight to the Beach House! Fulgurite jumped outside as it made it up the path, her electricity-filled locks whipping out towards the animal. The lightning made the animal skid to a stop, roaring and whipping her hair back with its own tail. Steven, Connie, and Jade were a bit surprised, and even more so when the beast charged through Fulgurite, and crashed right through the door! Flimsy wood wasn't a good idea after all.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you!" Steven said, shield up and ready, as the animal snarled and growled. The tail whipped like crazy, Fulgurite, Garnet, and Flint catching up to the fray. As the tail whipped, it suddenly whacked a part of the collar, which ... was actually a button to activate something on its collar. Suddenly the beast stopped and just barred its odd teeth, looking more like razors than actual canines.

At this point, I'm sure you've met my little pet, Crystal Gems, possibly with your human friend just a few inches away. I've made it especially clear to each and every one of you to not, repeat, Not. Return to Homeworld, as you all were under banishment charges, and the concequences were to harvesting. But you didn't figure that out, did you? Flint, Jade, you two especially should've known better than to sneak back into the Diamond authority's eye. And for you, my dear Rose. I'm willing to make a counter offer though, you did defeat the cluster after all. ... Rose. Or Steven, howveer you wanna call yourself. You're the one who caused the War in the first place. If you agree to surrender yourself alone to me, then I'll allow everyone else all to continue your existence. If not, then I'm sure your planet will be happy to be removed from my star maps. I'm sure you can figure that out for yourselves, and before you think on some retaliation, I have the button right in front of me as we speak, and a drone at the site. I'll know if you refuse. Especially when it'll start attacking your friends again. ... so. Make you're choice, my dear little Quartz. Your life, or everyone else's?

The room was still, and Garnet quietly pondered her hardest on such a horrifying idea. And the voice of White Diamond was unmistakable, Steven's very core shaken by the idea. It was all on his head, either him or his friends, and the steaks had been put up extremely high. The recording had finished up, and the beast began to roar again, as if it had woken up from some trance.

"Steven, we can face him. come on, let's fuse, we can win," Connie quietly said, only for the animal o roar again at her specifically. Normally Steven would, but with the situation, Steven didn't know what to do here. The beast waited for an answer out of Steven, ready for the word. Steven's eyes went around to those in the room with him, none of them wanting to follow through with such a thing. All the same ...

"Steven? ..."

"The world's on the line," Steven repeated, as if just realizing how dangerous this really was now. All of this was his fault ...

.......

And he brought his arms out.

"W-what? Steven, don't do it!" Fulgurite yelled, but the beast took it: grabbing Steven in its jaws, and running for the exit, only for Garnet and Flint to grab it last second. Steven was still gripped, and the beast whipped them both off with a flick of its tail before running down the beach. Fulgurite raced to it with ease, and tripped the beast at its legs, making it tumble, but not drop its cargo. The others caught up to the monster now, the beast's tail whipping around and keeping the Gems back. It tried to go again, but Connie grabbed hold of its tail.
Wrong decision. Angry, the beast threw Steven aside, and shifted targets to Connie, whipping her to the rock wall. The others grabbed the now unconscious Steven, just in time to see the beast run at Connie, sinking its teeth into her. If they weren't going to cooperate, it was taking a snack for the road. The animal lifted Connie, and swung her up high ...

*SNAP!*

.......


~~~~~~


.......

If one word could describe the Maheswaran family for now, it would be deeply worried. Such an accident befalling onto any person would be proven horribly fatal, or crippling for life as far as they knew. This was a problem immediately calling for emergency service, and Priyanka and Doug both were over in the urgent care of their local hospital. Doug remained outside, pacing back and forth in the waiting room, waiting for some sort of news, as Priyanka, being a doctor of the hospital herself, took it on herself to help their daughter pull through as best she could possibly manage. Each tick of the clock surely didn't help, as every second ticked by either Connie's life or Connie's demise. As Doug was still waiting in the room, eventually another family came in: the Universes. Greg and Steven could tell that poor Doug Maheswaran was at his wits end, having been pacing ever since Connie ended up in here. It didn't take long for the disturbed father to notice Steven and Greg walking in.

"Oh. Hello," Doug said.

"look, I-I'm really sorry about your daughter," Greg started, rubbing the back of his head. Doug was angry, but he was smart enough to know when and when not to get out his anger.

"Well, it's not your fault," Doug simply said, sitting down at one of the waiting room chairs. Greg sat down next to him, and Steven ended up as worried as Doug, maybe even more.

"I never should've let her go off on those missions," Doug groaned, feeling like a complete idiot.

"Now wait, it's not their fault this happened, it's nobody's fault -"

"Except for that thing that attacked my daughter!" Doug suddenly snapped, making Greg almost jump out of his seat. Doug quickly saw his mistake, and sat back down.

"Yeah, you're right there," Greg simply said. Guess a simple conversation wasn't going to happen, and who could really blame Doug for that?
Pretty soon, the doors opened up to the doctor's office, and Priyanka eventually came out. Her face suggested that it was not looking good. The first one to head over to her was actually Steven, who was already up on his feet unlike the other two.

"Well? H-How is she?" Steven asked, hesitant on what answer Priyanka had for them. It didn't help that she was on the verge of tears either, but as a doctor, she had to keep her emotions under wraps for the time being, as hard as that was for her. At first she didn't even answer Steven, looking to him and Doug.

"... Well ... it's uh ... worse than we thought ..."

"W-WHAT?! Is she gonna make it, please tell me she'll make it!" Steven pleaded, already on tears.

"No, no, she'll make it. That's the good news."

"And the bad news?" Doug asked, walking up to his wife. Priyanka looked away, trying to figure out how to word it properly in front of them. It was hard for her to keep together and get herself to say it, but eventually she went over to Doug and simply whispered the situation to him. Doug's eyes opened wide in complete shock on what she had to say, and simply stood there for a minute or two. He even looked ready to pass out, only for Greg and Steven to catch him. They may not know what's really going on, but if it had that kind of reaction, it can't be good.

"... Can we see her? O-Or no?" Steven asked. Priyanka sighed a long sorrowful.

"Not right now, no."


~~~~~~


"Connie? ... Connie?"

Connie needed a minute to get herself together, hearing the faint yet friendly voice in the patient room. Connie woke up laying quietly and weakly in bed, covers over most of her body except for her head and good arm. She had a few medical syringes in her arm connecting to a blood bag, and a heart monitor was on her as well, just to make sure that was still going in her. Priyanka had a lot of mixed emotions on seeing this happen to her. Of course a part of her feels bad for seeing such an accident, but another faint part of her felt grateful that she will pull through. It could be worse. That didn't mean the situation here was a preferred one though, and she and Doug went over to her.

"Hi mom. Hi dad," Connie said tiredly.

"How do you feel, sweetie?" Doug asked, gently rubbing his daughter's forehead.

"Tired," she simply answered. Doug felt worried, but Priyanka had come to expect it honestly.

"The anesthetics still need to wear off. You just relax," Priyanka advised.

"... I'm very sorry."

"No, no, Connie, the important thing is you're still here. But as your father, I think it's time you take a break from those uh ... missions of yours," Doug advised. Connie was afraid of this, but with what happened to her, she can't blame them for thinking that. Connie simply sighed, tired from the painkillers and the whole experience herself, and began to drift off to sleep. Priyanka and Doug looked to eachother for another moment before they got up, and let her be. It'll still be some time until she would be free out of this hospital.

.......

Hours ticked by, and Connie was still laying there quiet, and still thinking about what happened to get her to this point. It was all she could do. Sure, the missions were naturally dangerous to her there was no denying that, but their fight against this particular monster was ... different in some way. Not exactly the monster itself, but more over what the group did with her. Connie had easily proven she can defend her own in such a fight, yet for some reason they felt best to protect her? To the point of moving her out of the fight? How could they do that? She would think that at least Steven would be on her side about it, but ... no. ...
Connie stayed quiet in bed for a while more, but as she was laying there, another one of the nurses came in to check up on her.

"Ok, Connie, now your mom insisted on asking for measurements, so this will only take a moment," the nurse explained. Connie only nodded on the answer, and the nurse grabbed a measuring tape, and then proceeded to move the covers off of Connie in order to do this correctly. ...

What the nurse saw next made her completely frozen. To the point where she dropped the measuring tape down onto the ground. How was this even possible?

"W-W-What the? ... Y-You're arm ..."

"I know my arm is -" before Connie could finished, she attempted to move her bad arm. But not only was it feeling a little heavier than it had been since the initial attack, but functioning easy. Connie's eyes darted to the arm and found it was good as new! no injury, nothing broken, not even any scars to speak of. Sure, her skin still felt a little sensitive comparing it to her other arm, but everything was still there, and still functioning as if nothing happened at all! Connie couldn't believe her eyes, and even pinched her cheek to be sure that this was or was not some sort of dream, but nope. It was real, and the biggest shocker to Connie in a LONG TIME. The nurse thought she was seeing things, and touched Connie's once broken arm, but it was all there. The nurse had to get this new information out to her parents, this wasn't something that can be ignored or brushed off. She got out of the room, and what timing there was too, as Priyanka was just down the hall, waiting for her.

"Dr. Maheswaran, y-you better come see this."

"Why, what's wrong?!" Priyanka asked urgently, worried for her daughter. Did her condition get worse? Was there something else with her?! Priyanka went right into the room, but her fear quickly turned to blank when she saw her daughter's arm good as new. Her eyes went wide as she went closer to her, looking over her arm to be sure that this wasn't some sort of trick of the eye, but after looking it closely, there was no denying the fact that Connie's arm was good as new, even after such a horrid event.

"Connie. ... H-how do you feel?"

"I don't know. I-I guess a bit freaked out?"

"Ok, we're on the same page, good. It doesn't hurt or anything?" Connie felt a sense of Deja Vu on the earlier statement before she sat up and moved her arm a little bit, eventually moving it like she would everyday. Even her fingers were moving fairly normally, albeit a little stiffly at first.

"Uh ... No," Connie replied, surprised by her own answer. Wasn't her arm just wrecked by the monster just yesterday? Priyanka was a good doctor, but no way could she properly explain this.

Then a thought went by her head on who might.


~~~~~~


"And ... That should do it."

The Beach House was a bit quiet for the moment. The monster had been and gone, but the damage to the house itself needed to be fixed up. Lucky for them, the main area needed fixing was the front door and front window. Fulgurite was a bit busy with that as Garnet and flint ran off to check on this drone White was talking about. Fixing this up was probably the easiest thing to do, Jade lending a hand in some work as well, finishing up the front with placing the door in position, and locking it there.

"Well, looks like Homeworld's out for us now," Fulgurite said.

"I know, I-I'm very sorry," Jade said, feeling sad about this happening.

"Why're you sorry? Jade, you got more info about this case than any of us did."

"But they saw me. I tried to work around her rules like Flint does, but ... guess I'm not good enough to do that."

You're a Crystal Gem, it was bound to happen sooner or later, don't beat yourself up over it. Besides, White Diamond's been after us since our escapade in her space station, why wouldn't she come after us now?" Fulgurite pointed out. The only time Jade could remember her actually fighting against White Diamond. Sure, she held her own fairly well with her staff and magic tricks, but that didn't mean she wanted to throw her whole team into the problem.

"I guess that's right. But how did she find out?"

"Who knows at this point?"

"HEY!"

Oh no, not more trouble. Fulgurite and Jade looked off up the beach, and soon they saw the distraught set of parents heading straight up to them.

"Can we help you?" Fulgurite called, already going down with Jade.

"Right you can help me! What did you do to our daughter?!" Priyanka demanded, going straight up to Fulgurite's face.

"Wait, what do you mean we, what happened?" Fulgurite asked, backing up and nearly tripping over Jade.

"Our daughter's healed herself!"

...

"... And ... that's a bad thing?" Jade asked, very confused. Typically someone getting healed was a good thing, wasn't it?

"You all saw what happened to her, didn't you?" Doug asked firmly.

"We did, but this means that it wasn't as bad as it looked. ... Right?"

"NO, it was as bad as it looked, I should know. This shouldn't be possible, clearly you had something to do with it," Priyanka made clear, making Jade back up a bit.

"What do you mean, did it happen to you before?"

"I'M A DOCTOR, I TREATED HER."

"... Oh. Well, I hadn't gone by yet, neither has Jade, and the rest of our group had been a bit busy to stop by Connie, so -"

"I can give a little light to the situation."

The others were a bit confused on hearing this odd voice come from, seemingly, nowhere. Next thing they knew though, something popped up above their heads, over by the couch, and quickly slid down like that of a zipper. And just as well, the zipper motion came with a fabric of space being torn open, and in entered probably the only person to actually answer this question: Discord!

"Long time no see," Discord said with a smirk. Priyanka and Doug both tried to keep it together, but it was just so random and so 'out-of-nowhere' that they didn't have a clue what reaction would be appropriate. All that came up was a wide-eyed blank expression. Of course, no one could truly get too used to Discord's crazy antics, regardless of what they are, or who they are.

"Oh, hey Discord. How long has it been?" Fulgurite wondered, scratching her head for a moment.

"If I were to guess, I'd say, oh, too long," Discord joked.

"Y-You know this thing?" Doug asked. He didn't mean to think out loud, but Discord would've heard them either way (Discord logic, you know).

"Oh, sorry, have we met? You must be Mr. and Mrs. Maheswaran. Yeah, I can be a little flashy like that." and as a visual pun, his body started to light up like one of those Las Pegasus neon light advertisements. Doug and Priyanka didn't want to know anymore about him, so they kept quiet.

"So ... Y-You know -"

"About Connie's little miracle? Oh, it's elementary, my dearies," Discord said. With a snap of his talon, he was suddenly in a scientist outfit, including the mad scientist wig and big nerdy glasses, and grabbing the top of the screen, he pulled it down to show what looked like a few scientific drawings he made himself. Where'd he get the drawings from, they had no idea, and discord began to explain his elementary through pointer and direction.

"Every creature of our world is made up of a little somethin called Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or for you simpler people: DNA. Gems are able to perform fusion by fusing their bodily DNA from their lighted masses to created a new being. In the cases of unfusing, both sides retain their strands of DNA. In the case of Connie, her fusion with Mr. Universe has left her with strands of Gem DNA in her system. The more times she fuses, the more Gem DNA she gets, and now she's reached a point where she has enough DNA to not only fuse with true Gems, but also gaining a few of said abilities, including regeneration."

"... You know, you think you're explaining yourself, but you're really not," Priyanka said meekly.

"He means that Connie's fused with Steven so much that she's become Half-Gem. I think," Jade summarized.

"WHAAAT?!" Priyanka screeched. They were told nothing bad would happen to Connie in this fusion business, but this was ... pretty shocking to say the least.

"Chill, she's not too bad is she? I mean, how far of a Gem is she anyway?" Fulgurite asked, shrugging. Priyanka and Doug both took a moment and glanced to eachother before Doug went over and whispered it into Fulgurite's ear. Her casual look turned into one of surprise once Doug had finished.

"Huh. Dang, where's Garnet when you need her, she should hear this."

"Nevermind her, where's Steven?" Doug asked.

"Oh. Well, he heard about Connie's release, so he actually went to check on her. I do hope nothing's wrong," Jade answered.

.......

And it surely looked that way. Off down the road, Lion ran right towards Connie's home with Steven riding on his back. If Connie was indeed all better, than he wanted to head over and see how she was fairing, and how she managed to heal so quickly. and for the half-Gem himself, he didn't need to take very long to see Connie, who actually not only was feeling better, but standing off outside as well.

"Connie! Connie, you're alright!" Steven called, not stopping Lion until they were only a foot away. Steven was grateful to see Connie ok, though Lion could sense that the feeling of happiness was more one-sided. And he wasn't wrong, as Connie stayed quiet.

"Umm... y-you are okay, are you?"

"Of course I am, and I'm happy to see you, Steven."

"... But ...?"

Connie needed a minute, but she had to try to make her feelings a little clear to him one way or another.

"But how could you just give yourself up like that?" she finally asked.

"Well, first, I went up to it with my arms out, and -"

"No, I know how you did it. I mean, you just gave up."

"I had to. That creature was going to take you all away, take you away!"

"But what about our training? Stevonnie. Jam buds. I believed in us. We could have done it together."

"This is different," Steven insisted.

"How? How is it any different from the monsters we fought before?" Connie asked.

"That monster was owned by White Diamond, it wasn't gonna stop until it had me, and look - everyone's ok. ... Well, you weren't for a bit, but you're good now too."

"But... I'm hurt."

"No, you're not: You're safe. You're here. I'm here. We're safe. Everything's fine," Steven insisted. Connie couldn't believe her ears, was this Steven Quartz Universe talking to her? Steven wouldn't be this blind to it, would he? ... But no, he was serious on what he was saying. Connie couldn't even look at him, and walked passed him.

"... You don't get it."

"Get what?"

Connie felt quiet again, as if Steven's question was the nail in the coffin. Connie simply climbed up onto Lion, and kept her gaze away from him. Lion took a look at Steven, but even he seemed to look a bit angry at him, almost disappointed himself. Whatever was going on, Steven wasn't understanding. Without another word, Lion turned and he carried Connie away. Leaving a confused and admittedly distraught Steven standing at her door. ...

"Wow Steven, it sure was brave of you. I'm glad you're okay too," Steven said. Though it was mostly to himself.
> A Hoof in the Right Direction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earth itself may be going through it's ups and downs, but off back in Ponyville, the current events playing out was on the up, up, and up. With summer now in full swing, there was a little something going on for the mares and stallions. Amongst one area of Ponyville, closer to the school, there was quite a bit set up. Along the path by the nearby stream, there was plenty of booths lined up: some for geese, some for rabbits, some for foxes, etcetera, etcetera. Over in some nearby trees, a few colorful flowers were hung up, which included banners and streamers  hung along the trees across the way, and balloons and bows decorated and tied in several places, be it on bushes or by a potted flower plant. Even a nearby shrub was trimmed to look like a pony for said event. Some of the booths were selling bird houses as well. some ponies around town were setting things up, but off from the bridge to the north, another little something something was getting handled and set up.
The decorations were pretty good and all, but a group of four ponies were setting up a few things for themselves as well. The group was made up of two stallions and two mares:
A tall, azure colored earth pony with a cutie mark of a star made up of shoes, named Toe-Tapper.
A yellowish grey Mare with a deep red mane, and a hat cutie mark named Torch Song.
A light grey mare with a dark gray mane and tail, and a violin cutie mark named Octavia
And Big Macintosh, a face well known in Ponyville.
Each one of these ponies was dressed up in greenish-blue suits, bow tie and all, and in front, Octavia started to clear her throat.

"Very well, everypony. Once more from the top," Octavia said. Toe, Torch, and Big Mac nodded, and Octavia then blew on a small starting whistle. And with the beat going through them with a small starting tap of Octavia's hoof, Big Mac went first.

Bum, bum, bum-ba-da, ba-da
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da ah
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da, ba-da (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da ah (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)

Everypony's sayin' you should learn to express your voice (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
But if talk doesn't seem like it's the answer (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)

Luckily you have a choice!

When you find you've got the music (Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind the music)
Got the music in you (Oh, you)
Find you've got the music (Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind the music)

Got the music in you!

Some of the nearby crowd gave their round of applause to their rehearsal. Even if it wasn't the finished product, it sounded simply great.

.......

The world may be fine over there, but back on Earth, things were starting to escalate. With Connie now having ran off, and with Lion no less, the situation for the Crystal Gems was a bit precarious now, at least when it came to Steven.
Over in the Beach House, Steven was left in a bit of a slump, unsure what truly happened and what he did to Connie to make her so mad. If anything, what he did was supposed to save her, or at the least make her go "wow thanks", but that didn't happen at all here. And with so many other scenarios and monster fights they've dealt with when the result was the same and in a positive way, that's a bit of a problem. The half Gem stayed in his room, unsure of what to really do, or what he should do. Should he go and talk to Connie? Or should he figure out what he did wrong first? As he laid on his bed and trying to contemplate, some of the other Gems in the room were starting to pick up on Steven's slump, and worrying a little themselves.

"He's still down about what happened?" Noted Amethyst.

"I don't know why he is. He tried to save Connie, from what I heard," said Jasper.

"Well, yes, but something else happened out there," Garnet sighed. The fusion knew the detail of what happened that seemed to miss everyone else. Steven nearly gave himself up, yes, but that wasn't the only thing.

"And what's that something?" Jasper asked. Garnet would say, but with Steven sitting right there, she was oddly quiet. Why, they don't know, but Fulgurite knew one thing that needed to happen.

"Garnet, this something Steven has to know?"

"Steven has to learn it himself," Garnet stated, taking a moment to walk off to Steven, enough to catch his attention.

"Steven?"

"Hey Garnet. ... Are you mad at me too?" Steven asked.

"Not at all, Steven. Tell you what: how about you take some time, and go visit Ponyville? I heard they're doing a fundraiser, and I think they could use your help," Garnet advised. Steven was more worried about his own predicament, but if it can clear his head, then perhaps he should go and try to see what he can do. Steven got up off the bed, feeling a little sore still from the scuffle thanks to that beast of White Diamond's, but he still was good enough to head on out. Not too cheery, but not too mosur able either, quite in partial.

"Yeah, ok," Steven replied, walking out the door. The Gems simply stayed quiet as he left, Garnet knowing well what's going on here.

"... Good luck, Steven."


~~~~~~


Pretty soon, distraught Steven was off and at Ponyville now, and while the town was as giddy as it could be to any event in regards to this, he still had more than enough to try and figure things out in his own mind. Maybe he should at least try to talk to Connie and better figure it out ...

"HI! What'chu doing?"

"AAHH!"

"AAHH yourself! But that doesn't answer my question, silly."
And out from a nearby flower pot, out came the happiest pony on the face of Equestria Pinkie Pie. But not even her smiley muzzle could bring a smile to Steven's face. Pinkie Pie hopped out and shook off the spare dust, moving out so quick that the flower went up and down, right back into the pot.

"Why the looooong face?" Pinkie asked, her hoof pulling down Steven's mouth for some comedic measure. While funny, it still didn't help him out.

"Hi Pinkie," Steven said, "It's just ... well, a lot has happened, I'm just trying to figure things out."

"Figure what out? Is it a mystery? Detective Pie's got your back," Pinkie said, pulling out a magnifying glass from her mane and looking around as if trying to find clues. Steven didn't want the others too freaked out over this problem yet, so he tried to think of something else to keep his mind busy.

"Well, no," Steven said.

"Oh. Aww man, I wanted a detective montage," Pinkie sighed, tossing the lignifying glass out of shot.

"It's ... kinda hard to explain."

"Lay it on me, Stevie, tell sister Pinkie what's on your mind," Pinkie insisted, hoof up to her ear and ready to listen. Steven had a bit of a suspicion that she'll keep nagging at him until he would tell her, so to avoid trouble he might as well go and get this over with. So, he whispered to her ear the situation, and ...

*GAAAAAHHHHH*

"B-But it's gone now!"

Pinkie breathed a long sigh of relief on that answer, laying on the ground, drama obverted. Pinkie got up to her hooves, and looked right to Steven.

"We have a friend emergency!" And much to Steven's surprise, Pinkie then pulled out a megaphone from her mane.

"Everypony be calm, there is a friend emergency, I repeat, friend emergency, situation's being taken care of, we have a friend emergency, thank you!"
So much for not freaking anypony out, but lucky for him the ponies didn't go into frantics, but now the problem's scattered everywhere. Even cheery Steven found himself with a hand to forehead on that response, something Pinkie Pie caught.

"Pinkie."

"Oops." That was really all Pinkie could say before putting the megaphone away.

"Ok, can you please promise me you won't tell anypony else? Maybe it's for the best," Steven said. Pinkie felt a bit confused, but she knew when a friend needed to keep something quiet.

"Cross-my-heart, hope-to-fly, stick-a-cupcake-in-my-eye," Pinkie promised. Steven had that reassured for him, but he still didn't feel too good.

"I don't know what to do. I mean, I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Steven asked, a bit more meek than usual. The pink mare scratched her chin, and then shook her head quick.

"Nope, nope, nope."

"You sure?" Steven asked, this time Pinkie nodding.

"Yep, yep, yep. Come on, Mr. Grumpy, let's go and see the Pony tones, that'll turn your frown upside-down!"

"The Pony Tones?" Steven asked. Pinkie bolted off for a brief moment, Steven ending up in a tailspin for a moment, and another one again once the pink mare came back, this time with a poster in her mouth for Steven to see. This one showed all four Pony Tones up on stage, singing in unison, with a banner above their heads of bunny rabbits and a heart at the center.

"They're a music group who sings great songs. And they don't even need a starting musical number! Come on, they're rehearsing right now for tonight's show," Pinkie insisted, giddy like a little mare as she hopped off to see em. Steven thought it over, and before he decided to go, he took out his phone. He planned on texting Connie ... but there was no reception in a place like this, so he was just going to have to wait until later.

.......

Speaking of the Pony Tones, the singing group was over back at the same stage they were already practicing in, but at the moment instead of the four like yesterday, there was instead three. Octavia stayed quiet and pacing back and forth as Rarity was getting a few decorations up for some flashy display for the show. Toe Tapper and Torch Song were present and ready, but Big Mac had yet to show up, much to Octavia's dismay. Fluttershy was the only one there to watch the show with her bunny Angel, wanting to see how the Pony Tones were doing.

"Where is that stallion? We can't begin practice until he shows up," Octavia sighed, her back hoof tapping the ground with impatience. Rarity finished up putting some bows up when she heard this. Octavia then took a look up to Rarity.

"Are those decorations set up yet?" she asked.

"Almost," Rarity said, trying to get a bow up just right. She moved it back and forth, inch by inch, until she found it to be in the perfect spot. Both she and Octavia stepped back a bit to see the work Rarity put in, and to sum it up, it was simply beautiful.

"Well done, Rarity. I knew I made a good choice in putting you for decoration," Octavia complimented.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Anything to help with the Fluttershy's animal fundraiser," Rarity said, waving her hoof. As nice as the decorations were, they still needed the forth member, and soon they began to her hoofsteps galloping their way. They hoped it would be Big Mac, but instead it was Pinkie and Steven coming by to see them practice. Good for a crowd, but not for the time.

"Hi! How're those canary-singing Pony Tones?" Pinkie asked, as Steven hopped off.

"Well, not all of our ... "canaries", had showed up yet. You hadn't seen Macintosh on your way here," Octavia asked. Unfortunately, both the pink mare and half-gem shook their heads, much to the discomfort of the mare. However, they didn't have to wait for too long, and soon some heavy hooves stepped up onto the stage. Big Mac looked a little worried, if not tired, but he was there.

"Macintosh, there you are. What in Equestria kept you, we need this moment to finalize our performance for the show, and we can't waste time any longer," Octavia stated, getting a bow tie onto Big Mac's suit before the other performers got into position. She brought the same whistle up, and then began to tapping. normally, big Mac would begin the chorus, but this time ... well, he wasn't saying much of anything. Toe Tapper nudged him to go, but he still didn't feel too ready. However, as they always say in show business, the show must go on. So ...

*BUM, bum bu - *hack* *cough**cough*

Uh oh. Big Mac covered his mouth, the other Pony Tones surprised, as the small crowd, to hear such a hoarse voice. And no, that's not meant as a corny pun. Big Mac, ears folded back, felt pretty sad on what had happened.

"Oh no. Did - did you lose your voice?" Rarity asked urgently.

"... Eeyup," Big Mac croaked, scratchy in his voice. No wonder he was taking his time showing up, and when they found this out, Octavia began to feel a little bit troubled.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy said, worried herself.

"Oh sweet Luna, of all times to have a frog in one's throat, and the show starts tomorrow!" Octavia said in dismay. Pinkie hopped up on stage and checked Big Mac's throat.

"I don't see any frogs, but his throat does look a little scratchy," Pinkie said. Octavia rolled her eyes, but at least she didn't have to explain to the mare.

"Now what're we supposed to do? We don't have enough time to get a replacement for bass," Octavia wondered. Steven got up onto the stage, Big Mac trying to get his throat working again, but only to be met with dry coughs.

"How'd it happen?" Steven asked. Big Mac felt a bit more embarrassed as he tried to think about it.
As far as he could contemplate and explain, not long after his first rehearsal, he could only figure out one particular moment in mind: a family-friendly contest of turkey calls. A little something that just so happened to occur after his practice yesterday, and while for the first bit he did fairly well against his fellow kin, he ended up going into a bit of trouble on the last opponent. ... You can probably guess what happened next.

"A ... turkey call. ... You grew hoarse from A TURKEY CALL?!" Rarity asked, not believing her own ears. Big Mac thought it was fun at the time, but then again most things are without thinking about the consequences, and for this stallion, he just couldn't do it.

"Well, this is just wonderful," Octavia sighed.

"It is!" Pinkie suddenly said.

"What? That's just an expression, Pinkie, like the one with the frog."

"I know, but I still didn't see any frogs. But we got Mr. heals-a-lot standing right there! He can spruce him up good as new!" Pinkie said, though putting Steven on the spot. Steven was still a bit down, but he didn't want to disappoint.

"Ok, just give me a second. You'll get your voice back," Steven reassured, as he licked his hand. big Mac was a bit concerned, if not grossed out, when he felt the spit smeared onto his throat, making big Mac shiver a little bit. Once that was done, the group waited a minute for Big Mac to start again.

"Well? Anything?" asked Rarity. big Mac tried to clear his throat.

Bum, ba, bum bum bu - *HACK*

Didn't work.

"Mr. Heals-a-lot?"

"I-It doesn't always work," Steven said, meekly. What a time for it NOT to work, and he had such a good record too.

"Well, nothing for it. We'll have to cancel our performance."

"Wait, what? No! You have to perform! Otherwise, the fundraiser will be a disaster!" Fluttershy said in worry.

"Well, we cannot perform tonight with only three voices," Octavia stated.

"Why not?" Steven asked.

"It would take rearranging all the music, and we just don't have time. I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but I have no remedy for this situation," Octavia said. That sure sounded bad, and Steven felt more baggage for not being able to heal Big Mac of his throat. However, the word remedy did get Fluttershy's gears rolling, and suddenly she got it.

"Of course! A remedy! Follow me!" Flutters insisted. If she had the answer, then what do they got left to lose? ... Well, aside the show, that is.


~~~~~~


"Hmmm ..."

And what better person for special remedies than a zebra? Zecora took the time to look over Big Mac's sore throat, quietly taking her time, and Big Mac trying not to hack and cough again in the zebra's face. Fluttershy, Steven, Octavia, Angel, Rarity, and Pinkie were waiting off nearby for some answer to the problem, and hopefully one that could fix it up in time. Eventually, Zecora allowed big Mac to close his mouth.

"I can cure this pony that is hoarse, but it will take a longer course," Zecora said.

"Uh, come again?" Rarity asked. Zecora sighed.

"Mm. I can mix a brew that can work just right, but it cannot heal him by tomorrow night."

"Oh, no! Ah! Where are we ever going to find a deep voice to replace Big Mac's?" Fluttershy asked.

"M-Maybe we don't have to? I can do it for him!" Steven insisted, trying to mend his mistakes, but unfortunately Octavia shook her head.

"I appreciate it, but no: The Pony Tones have four parts in it: Soprano, Bass, Tenor, and Alto. You're voice isn't uh ... Bass enough. sorry," Octavia said, which was true.

Yeah it is, look!" Steven began to clear his voice, and quickly began to do the part.

Bum, bum, bum da da bum bum, bum da bum buda bum!

"... No, too high-pitch," Octavia sadly said, bumming him out even more, as Pinkie tried to comfort him. As if to add to injury, they suddenly began to hear Zecora chuckling.

"Pardon me, Zecora, but this is no laughing matter! We need a bass voice for the harmonies to work! Without it, the performance will be ruined!" Rarity made clear, slightly angry, but Zecora just smiled.

"Please, forgive my strange elation, but I was not laughing at your situation," Zecora stated, before moving over to Big Mac.

"Then what?" Fluttershy asked.

"Think on back, my pony folk, when your kind stumbled into poison joke," Zecora began.

"Oh, not the fondest memory, and such a horrid mane too."

"And I couldn't even talk. I mean, what a life without talking, I couldn't laugh, crack a joke, smile, all I could do was spit and wiggle my tongue all day. It was horrible!" Pinkie added.

"Yes, it was hard and I can see why, but remember what occurred to Miss Fluttershy?" Zecora brought up. Pinkie and Rarity thought it over for a short bit, but then Rarity realized something on memory, especially when fluttershy first spoke.

I don't wanna talk about it.

"Yes, yes! Your voice became really low, making it sound like..."

"Flutterguy!" Fluttershy gasped. Now they got the idea! At least, most of them did.

"May somepony explain to me how somepony else's trouble with poison joke can help in our problem?"

"Miss Fluttershy has an unusual change, deepening her vocal range. And her deepened range of voice will be the Pony Tones' perfect choice," explained Zecora, already beginning to work out something in a nearby cauldron pot.

"With these leaves I can mix a brew, creating the same effect on you," Zecora reassured, looking to Fluttershy.

"Zecora, that's fantastic!" Steven beamed. Maybe the show would be saved yet.

"Yes! I'll do it! I'd do anything for the animals!" fluttershy said, sounding determined in the task at hoof.

"Why, you'd even appear on stage!"

"... Oh. Except that. I just can't bring myself to sing on stage in front of everypony," Fluttershy said meekly. not a good answer to hear, and angel, who moments ago was cheery, was now simply disappointed.

"I think you'll be great!" Steven insisted, thumbs up. And then Pinkie decided to come in ...

"Yeah! It'll be so amazing! You'll be there on stage, basking in the hooflights! The center of attention! A shining star! Everypony staring at you, judging you, jealously noting how they could be way better than you! Why wasn't it them? Why wasn't it them? And then, when you choke, they'll turn on you, becoming a seething, angry mob, and you'll be horribly humiliated, never able to show your face in Ponyville again!

... WHAT. WAS. THAT?

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity and Octavia snapped, Octavia even hitting her with her tail. Seemed that hit got her back to her senses, but sweet Luna, it didn't help the Pegasus out.

"What if you sang not in front of everypony?" Rarity decided.

"Huh?"

"What if Big Mac was on stage, moving his lips while you're behind the curtains singing his part? It would be just like singing in your house! Nopony would know it was you!" Rarity confirmed. That did sound a bit better for the shy mare, but it just didn't seem to fit her all well.

"Even still, I just don't think I could sing in front of -"

"You must! For the animals!" Rarity said, bring up Angel bunny, who at the moment was doing a sort of "puppy dog eye" routine, even putting in some tears to good work. It was just enough to make it work.

"Oh... Okay then... Mix it up!"

.......

So, it was soon back at the stage, and after some explaining to the rest of the Pony Tones, it was time to do some "modified" rehearsal. Big Mac was still there up with Toe Tapper and Torch Song, something that simply had to happen at this point. It would still be sometime until the group was to be ready, and so they needed to do another rehearsal just to be sure that things would come across correctly. Steven was up there to help them out too, having a whistle in hand.

"Ok, everyone ready?" Steven asked, the Pony Tones nodding.

"Fluttershy, are you ready?" he called, looking off back stage. Fluttershy poked her head out from behind the curtains.

"I don't know. You sure about this?" Fluttershy asked. Zecora surely wasn't kidding about a deep voice, any deeper and he'd of thought she was talking underground. But it still matched big Mac's voice close enough.

"Just do it like we said," Steven insisted.

"Oh ... Okay," Fluttershy replied, heading backstage. Steven raced up to front, and went on with the starting whistle. Octavia did the starting off hooftaps, this time loud enough for Fluttershy to hear. After getting the beat down right, Fluttershy closed her eyes, and then began.

Bum, bum, bum-ba-da, ba-da
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da ah
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da, ba-da (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da ah (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)

Trot outside and you see the sunshine (see the sunshine!)
Something's in the air today (Oh, ah-ah, today!)
Sky is clear and you're feelin' so fine (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
Everything's gonna be A-Okay (Everything's, oh-OoooooKay!)

[Toe-Tapper and Torch Song]
If you listen carefully (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
On every corner there's a rhythm playing (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)

[Toe-Tapper and Octavia]
Then it happens suddenly (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
The music takes you over and you'll (ahhhh - AHHHH)

find you've got the music (Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind the music)
Got the music in you (Oh, you)
Find you've got the music (Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind the music)

Got the music in you!

"... Not gonna lie. That's the best performance I've ever seen," Steven said, very impressed as Pinkie Pie applauded them for a job well done. Fluttershy poked her head out, seeing how happy they all were, and it made her start to feel a bit better about things.

"Well done, everypony, well done. Though, may I suggest some extra practice."

"D-did I do something wrong?" Fluttershy asked, backing up a little bit.

"No, no, you were fine. But if we really are doing this, Big Mac, Fluttershy, you two need to be more in synch. I notice your mouth not linking to the words at least four times," Octavia noted. It was a bit of a bummer to hear, but hay, they got until tomorrow night to figure this out.

"Don't worry you two, it'll blossom in no time at all by the time the performance arrives, just you wait and see," encouraged Steven.

"You really think so?" Fluttershy asked.

"I know so, and I'll help you out until it happens."

"You don't have to do that, Steven," Octavia said humbly.

"Practice makes perfect, silly!" Steven insisted.

"Uh, I-I think it's okay, you don't have to do that," Fluttershy insisted.

"I want to help, really, it's ok! come on, let's try again," Steven insisted, ready to blow the whistle. Guess the Pony tones will have an extra helper in their little practice. So, as Steven was left there to help the Pony Tones, Rarity and Pinkie Pie walked off to get everything else handled for the fundraiser, or at least just to be sure everything's handled at this point.

"Sure's a hoot that the Pony Tones have their little helper," Pinkie said, hopping and smiling, though she was more happy to see Steven happy. As they went though to the south bridge, Rarity began to wonder about something she managed to overhear earlier.

"Uh, Pinkie Pie, mind if I ask you something?"

"Ask away."

"... You mentioned something earlier today about a "friend emergency"?" Pinkie suddenly stopped hopping in mid air, only to slowly float back to the ground. Rarity stopped.

"Pinkie Pie -"

"NO, I can't! I made Steven a Pinkie promise, Pinkie. Promise. Steven will be crushed if I did say anything," Pinkie said, quickly digging a hole into the ground, and shoving her head in like an ostrich.

"Is something wrong with Steven, Pinkie?"

"LA LALALA, CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Pinkie shouted, muffled from the dirt on her head.

"Come now, Pinkie, you can tell me. ... Tell you what, I give my Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony else," Rarity reassured. Pinkie bolted her head out, her mane and face now covered in a block of dirt.

"Really?" Pinkie asked, still muffled until the dirt fell off, showing Pinkie with a more suspicious expression on her face. Rarity knew how this worked, so she sat down and cleared her throat.

"Cross-my-heart, hope-to-fly, stick-a-cupcake-in-my- OW!" Rarity's Pinkie Promise was cut short when her hoof ended up actually hitting her eye, but the point was still made across for the pink mare. Pinkie looked back to the young boy with the Pony Tones, who on the surface looked pretty happy.

"Oh ... Okie-dokie," Pinkie decided, waving her hoof so Rarity was in whispering range of the mare. Pretty soon, Pinkie explained the situation just as Steven had told her, and when she was finished, Rarity looked simply appalled.

"O-Oh my Celestia. Did they find out where she went?" Rarity asked, only for Pinkie Pie to shake her head. Rarity and Pinkie shared a moment and looked back to Steven.

"He must've took it pretty harshly. do the others know?"

"Nope, nope, nope," Pinkie replied.

"Hmm, well ... Oh, we'll just have to wait until he's willing to talk about it," Rarity said.

"Good answer," Pinkie replied. She JUST promised Pinkie, and breaking it moments after was not going to do well, as much as it would be wrong to leave the others out of it.


~~~~~~


So, the hours ticked away, and to the next day, the Pony Tones had been doing some pretty good time in practicing for the upcoming show. Even with Big Mac's hoarse voice still evident, with Fluttershy's voice cover, it appeared as if nothing had happened at all with Macintosh. Not too bad really, but as many of the Pony Tones were getting themselves prepared, something seemed to be missing. And Octavia was still pacing.

"All this practice, and she's still not here? Did anypony see her on the way here?" Octavia asked. Unfortunately, Toe Tapper and Torch Song shook their heads.

"Nnope," Big Mac croaked, still sore in the throat. This was starting to get a little troubling, and now at sunset, it was starting to get close to showtime, as a number of ponies were getting themselves settled and ready for the show. Nice to see a crowd, but it didn't help the situation all too much. Eventually though, Steven did end up showing up, but Steven Universe looked simply beat, his eyes looking a little red.

"Steven! ... You feeling alright?"

"Me? no, I'm fine, never better! Is everypony ready?" Steven asked, though clearly Steven was simply out of it and tired.

"Almost, soon as Fluttershy gets here we can perform. did you see her on your way here?"

Before Steven could answer, Rarity then galloped on in. Steven may look out of it from all the practicing, but Rarity looked a bit worried herself.

"Everypony, we have a little problem."

.......

"Fluttershy? You in here?!"

And suddenly, the group turned from the stage, and now Rarity and Steven were off and back to the only place where Fluttershy would actually run off to; her own house. At first, no one really answered, but eventually Steven and Rarity opened up the door into the cottage, just to see that Fluttershy was on her couch, huddled up and in worry, and now that she saw the other two. Guilt.

"Yes... I'm here."

"Fluttershy, what're you doing? The show's going to start any minute now," Steven said.

"I ... I just can't."

"What?! Y-You can't just throw the show like this! I really believed in you! I really believed in us!" Steven insisted, shocked as ever. Fluttershy knew he was right, but she just couldn't bring herself up to such a thing.

"I-I'm sorry, Steven. Rarity. W-What if they find out it's me singing? W-What if they get mad at me? I won't be able to show my face in Ponyville again!" Fluttershy said, tears down her face. Rarity and Steven needed to talk to Pinkie Pie after this, but first things first. Rarity walked over to the shy mare, sitting down next to her with a hoof on her shoulder.

"Trust me, Fluttershy, they won't. You've been going strong, and if you ask me, you've got the most beautiful voice out of any mare I know," Steven complimented. Fluttershy blushed a little bit.

"W-Well ..."

"It's only for one night, I promise you that. Your performance is everything they need, and I know that they'll have the times of their lives," Rarity reassured. Fluttershy looked between Rarity and Steven for a moment or two, seeing that they truly believed in her. She may not be able to perform on stage, but the Pony Tones still needed her. Eventually, Fluttershy got up to her hooves, and smiled.

"Let's go, everypony."

Good answer. So, Rarity and Fluttershy started to head off, and Steven began to trail them behind. It was nice to see Flutterhsy happy, but then Steven began to play out what had just happened in his head. His smile began to disappear, and a utter realization struck him.

"But what about our training? Stevonnie. Jam buds. I believed in us. We could have done it together."

"This is different," Steven insisted.

"How? How is it any different from the monsters we fought before?" Connie asked.

"That monster was owned by White Diamond, it wasn't gonna stop until it had me, and look - everyone's ok. ... Well, you weren't for a bit, but you're good now too."

"But... I'm hurt."

"... Connie. ..."


~~~~~~


Nighttime. And just a short minute away for the Pony tones to make their ultimate performance for the group on outside for the fundraiser. Octavia, Toe Tapper, Torch Song, and Big Mac were all in position outside, with Fluttershy hidden just behind the curtains. The mare could hear the chatter outside, looking out from a crack in the curtains. This was it. This was the big moment for her. Sure, she wasn't out there, but Fluttershy and her deep voice was what they needed here. Rarity  and Steven were out in the audience, waiting for it to begin.

"Just like how we practice. Like I'm at my own house," Fluttershy quietly told herself, trying to calm down. Pretty soon, they began to hear the starting whistle from Octavia, and the signature hoofsteps. Fluttershy and Big Mac both smiled.


The time is now.

Bum, bum, bum-ba-da, ba-da
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da ah
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da, ba-da (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da ah (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da, ba-da (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
Bum, bum, bum-ba-da ah (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)


Trot outside and you see the sunshine (see the sunshine!)
Something's in the air today (Oh, ah-ah, today!)
Sky is clear and you're feelin' so fine (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
Everything's gonna be A-Okay (Everything's, oh-OoooooKay!)

[Toe-Tapper and Torch Song]
If you listen carefully (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
On every corner there's a rhythm playing (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)

[Toe-Tapper and Octavia]
Then it happens suddenly (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
The music takes you over and you'll (ahhhh - AHHHH)

find you've got the music (Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind the music)
Got the music in you (Oh, you)
Find you've got the music (Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind the music)

Got the music in you!

Oh O-o-o-oh!
Everypony's sayin' you should learn to express your voice (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)
But if talk doesn't seem like it's the answer (Oh, ah-ah-ah-ah)

Luckily you have a choice!

When you find you've got the music (Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind the music)
Got the music in you (Oh, you)
Find you've got the music (Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind the music)

Got the music in you!


The song concluded, and just like that, the crowd began to cheer for a job well done, and when Fluttershy was hearing this, she began to grow very happy about it. Rarity was right after all.

.......

And back in Beach City, once it was all over and done, Steven had to at least try and make things right over Connie. It had been a little too long since there was any word, and he had to at least try to fix things. Soon as he got back home, no one was there except for Blue sleeping nearby. Steven quietly went for his phone and sat down, trying to give Connie a call. ...

...


> An Apple a Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------











"Hope you're not mistaking your phone for a tennis ball ... tennis ball? Really Universe?"

A rather tough time for the young universe, as he kept sending text after text to see how Connie was doing. Unfortunately for him, even after a day of trying, it just was leaving him with nothing to go off of. He hadn't heard a thing out of Connie in days, and while the Pony Tones were a nice little piece of fun, it didn't last very long for him. How was Connie? Did she not want to be with him anymore? Well if there was something he can count on, it was that Priyanka and Doug were probably worried sick right now for their daughter. It may not be the first time Connie ran off, but that didn't make the fact any better.
Steven was over at AJ's barn while he was looking over his latest texts, the last one not really so good to his eyes. He would send another one if reception existed in Equestria the way it did for Earth, and as he was, Steven had failed to really notice that Applejack was having a little bit of trouble. She, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh were busy as bees in setting some things up, and AJ was trying her hardest to get a banner up on the barn door. Not so easy on a rickety ladder.

"Hey, sugarcube, mind lending me a hoof down there?" AJ called.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, coming!" Steven said, putting his phone away for a moment and holding the ladder still. With the support, AJ got the banner up and fixed, hammering in the last nail to keep the banner up and good. The banner itself mainly showed green or red apples lined up in a row. It wasn't exactly Rarity-style perfect, but for the pony, it's good enough. AJ slid down the ladder and hopped right off, backing up and seeing the banner. The banner was slightly lob-sided to the right, but to the farm mare, so long as it didn't fall into anyone, it was fine as is.

"Phew. This is gonna be the best family get-together we've had yet. Think so, Steven? ... Steven?" AJ looked around for a bit, only to see Steven sitting back down on his piece of hay bale, trying to think on what reply to send next. K, clearly something was wrong with him, and unlike Pinkie or Rarity, Applejack wasn't gonna let this off so easy.

"Alright, Steven, what's up?"

"Huh? Nothing."

"Steven, you know that's not true. I've been seeing ya mopin' since you got here. Now come on," AJ insisted, more firmly this time. Steven didn't want to tell her and clammed up, but the more AJ waited, the more Steven felt himself relent.

"... I screwed up, big time."

"Screwed up? Screwed up what?"

"I did something I shouldn't have, and now Connie's mad at me. I just want to know if she's okay, and that I'm sorry," Steven explained. It wasn't detailed, but summed up the situation best. AJ took a glance over at Steven's phone, and seeing message after message left on his phone. She had only vaguely been told how they work, and seeing so many of these left her a little puzzled.

"By golly, Steven, how long as this been goin on?"

"Most of those were from yesterday," Steven simply said. AJ started to put two and two together now. Clearly Steven's main worry was over Connie, and all these messages said he was about as worried as a snake in a mongoose den. Eventually, AJ placed her hoof on the phone, and pushed it down so Steven was looking at her.

"Now, hold on there, maybe you should take your mind off of all this for a while."

"What? But what if -"

"Steven. I know yer worried about Connie, and all that, but you constantly plaguing her with these messages isn't gonna help. Play it cool, and give her some time to put her word in, ok? Who knows, maybe it's not as bad as you think," AJ advised. Steven felt guilty all over again for these messages, but all the same AJ did had a point. He'd been worried up and down ever since Connie had taken off, and he'd been a nervous wreck about her since. For his own sake, and possibly even hers, maybe he should try to ease up a little bit. Before this could continue on, suddenly they both then heard a crash off nearby, just to find Big Mac there in a little bit of a heap. Somepony left a stray towel on the ground from wiping some windows, and guess somepony forgot to pick it up. And now the red stallion had a bit of a mess of apple buckets to pick up. AJ and Steven went over to him.

"You alright, Big Mac? You're not hurt, are you?" Steven immediately asked. Big Mac felt a little embarrassed.

"Eeyup, and Nnope," Big Mac replied, shaking off a apple bucket from his head. AJ flipped it over.

"Well, guess we're setting up the apple bobbin here. Get the apples in the buckets would ya, Steven?"

"Oh, sure, ok," Steven said, immediately grabbing two apples at a time and getting them into the buckets alongside Big Mac. AJ allowed them some space, backing up until she was right by Granny Smith, who was holding an egg bucket from the chicken coop, and a small calling card inside it.

"How's it goin out here, youngin? Get dem buckets settin up yet?" Granny asked.

"Handling that right now," AJ said, pointing a hoof to the event setting up not too far away. The old green mare was plenty good with it, but she could already tell something was up between Steven and AJ. But then a smirk came on her face.

"Hey, why don't ya go and get the barn sweeped up?" Granny Smith said.

"Alrigh, I'm on it," AJ replied, trotting off to do just that. Granny Smith looked over to Steven, and went off over to them, getting a few apples and tossing them into one of the buckets herself.

"Well, howdy there, Stevie. Been doin a good job helpin us set up," Granny said.

"Oh, well thank you mam," Steven said, continuing to get more apples into the bucket until it was filled up. There was still a few more buckets to go though, Big Mac already starting on his own bucket.

"So is this a yearly thing for you?"

"You bet your horseshoes it is! All the Apple clan comin together for a good ol' fashion hang out. Haven't seem some of em in years," Granny Smith answered, even showing Steven a little calling card she'd been working on, which she had with her. Steven just nodded and went back to work.

"Well, I hope you all have a good time," Steven simply said. He just wasn't in the mood right now to go and have a party plan. Eventually, all the apples were placed in all the buckets, the activity all set up.

"Ok, so what else is there?"

"Eh, we can take it from here, young sprout, y'all can head on back now," Granny said.

"You sure? I can help AJ sweep, o-or Apple Bloom set up the pies."

"It's fine, we got this. Thanks for your help, Steven," Granny insisted. Steven just sighed.

"Yeah, ok. Hope you have fun," Steven said, as he began to turn and check his phone again. As his back was turned to her, Granny Smith, ever so quietly and carefully, slipped the calling card into Steven's back pocket just before he began to go, Steven not even noticing the move on him. He was too pre-occupied anyway. Big Macintosh did notice though, but he didn't say anything when Granny Smith gave him a wink.


~~~~~~


Well, it took Steven a while, but he did eventually get himself back home to the Beach House, at the moment by himself, and with nothing better to do, decided to do the dishes. However, his mind pre-occupied didn't make him focus properly, and instead of spraying the liquid soap, he was just rubbing the plate with the bottle like it was a bar of soap. AJ told him not to worry so much, but -

*vibrate*

"AH!" Steven gasped, throwing the soap and plate out of sight before attempting to reach his phone. However, before he could, he quickly stopped himself.

"No! Play it cool," Steven told himself. He did pick up the phone, but instead he had a "cool" look to his eyes, looking away as if it was no big deal. Yeah, not exactly what Applejack meant. Steven quickly picked up, hoping to the stars and back that it was who he thought it would be, and who he hoped it would be. However ...



Ronaldo. The guy had lent him a little something called Koala princess sometime ago, and apparently he'd wanted to check in on him. Steven had never been mad to get a message if this was any other exception. All Steven did was groan, and place the phone down aside of him. It was then that he heard the Warp Pad go off, seeing Garnet come in. She wasn't alone though, as Tiger's Eye, Rhodonite, Padparadscha and the Rutile Twins were with her.

"Oh, so this is the Temple? I thought it would be a lot bigger," Tiger's Eye said as she looked around.

"You make bases out of wood now? what happened to all the metal?" Rhodonite asked.

"This is only the Beach house for Steven," Garnet answered.

"What a small, cute Temple," Padparadscha commented. Steven just ignored them as they were given a look around the place, but they surely noticed Steven pretty quickly.

"Hey, Steven, how's it going?"

"I'm fine," Steven simply answered, reaching for another dish to clean that up, this time actually grabbing a sponge this time and wiping it down.

"So is this all of the Temple, or just one small room for it?" asked left Rutile

"It's my room," Steven replied.

"Oh. Well, nice place you got here," said right Rutile. Steven felt quiet, but then he began to feel something pull out of his back pocket. He turned around and found Padparadscha had pulled it out and looked it over in her usual slow way.

"What's this?" she finally asked. Steven went down as the others looked over the calling card. Rhodonite was the one who said it though before Padparadscha could.

"You're invited to the Apple Family get-together."

"I am?" Steven wondered allowed, looking at the message. It didn't say his name, but the Apple Family told him that it was mainly their invitation to members of the family. Why would he get one of these exactly? Garnet went over and checked it out herself as well.

"... Steven? Why don't you take us and the Off-Colors to the get-together? It sounds like a fun experience," Garnet suggested. Steven already had to set things up for the get-together, but he never planned on actually going to it. But then again, what else should he do? Taking the phone, and checking it one more time, he got out his warp key and opened it up good as new.

"So, any reason why we're going? Something in the future that would be important for us to be there?" Rhodonite asked.

"No. I just want Steven to be happy," Garnet simply replied. Eh, good enough.


~~~~~~


The family gathering was now in full swing. Steven stayed plenty quiet with what was happening around him, but that didn't mean that nothing got his attention. The entire area of Sweet Apple Acres was bustling with activity. Over by the barn was the biggest piece of activity going on at the moment, most of said activity including dancing, chatting and socializing. As far as the ponies went, there was quite a lot of them, easily over twenty strong. Hard to believe all of these ponies are from a single family tree, many a pony showing some sign of Apple Family goodness, namely on their flanks with their Cutie Marks being some sort of Apple.
It wasn't just the barn itself bustling, plenty of other areas of the acre had a lot of activity as well. Amongst these things included a lot of family traditions: apple bobbing, some races, a pie eating contest, and a number of others admittedly more suited for a carnival or fair. With all of this, everypony there was happy to be there, be it either seeing some old relatives, meeting new ones, or catching up with one another. Steven felt like a sore thumb in this crowd, the phone cradling in his hands and waiting for that one text call, that one moment when he'll figure out if Connie was indeed alright or not. It'll be a while to get this nervous wreck out of his system, but with the Crystal Gems and Off-Colors all there and happy, he might as well keep his little issues to himself. Yes, he was sad, but he didn't want to spread that to the rest of the group, especially during an event like this.
For the Apple Family's main hosts, AJ was surely happy to see so many familiar faces going about the farm, and it actually took the farm mare a moment or two before she took notice of the Crystal Gems over by the front gate.

"Howdy there! Glad y'all could make it," AJ said, trotting over to the group and waving a hoof.

"Hey there! So is this ALL of the Apple Family?" Amethyst asked, looking around her. Fillies, colts, mares and stallions were simply everywhere, again hard to believe it being apart of the same tree.

"Well most of em. Some couldn't make it unfortunately," AJ said bummed out.

"How many are here?" Amethyst asked.

"Eh, O, twenty five give we take," Applejack answered. They may not know much about families of the organic variety, but dang that's a ton of family members for anyone and anything! As they were chatting, Granny Smith walked on over to see the group of Gems there, Fluorite being the first Gem to catch her eye.

"Hello there, young pony."

"Young pony? Hahaha, funny. So you'd be dem Off Colors, are ya?" Granny asked.

"That's us," said left Rutile.

"Twenty Five's a lot of family," Padparadscha said.

"Oh this isn't even all the family. If I'd got my way there'd be all fifty seven in the Apple Clan!"

"Fifty seven?!" Gasped Rhodonite. Granny Smith snickered.

"Yeah, and I bet there's some even I dun know about yet. Please to meet ya, youngin," Granny said, hoof shaking Rhodonite's hand. Well take their friendly gestures when one can.

"Young?" The rutile twins shared a little chuckle on that gesture. Everypony knows by now that they were easily over 1000 years old at this point, which wasn't too bad for a Gem but ancient for any other animal.

"So, how about we start this with some good introduction? You want to get to know the Apple Family?" AJ asked. Nice, but Garnet denied it.

"We'd be here a while," Garnet said.

"Eh, that's true. So, let's try some activities instead then," AJ decided. Now that was something they can do.

"Alrighty, while you do that, I er um... Ah pony feathers! I'd forget my mane if it weren't attached to my head!" Granny replied, walking away to join the others. A little giggle got out from the twins, but soon Rutiles left and right peeked off to see Steven still worrying over his little bit of electronic messengering. Still no word, and still no reception unfortunately.

"Come on Steven," said Left Rutile.

"Let's have some fun," added right Rutile, both twins going on into the event. All Steven did was sigh, and simply went off to join up with the others. Granny smith saw him go off and she couldn't help but snicker to herself.

"Oh, I'm such a wily old coot."

.......

In little time, the group dispersed and began to have their own fun with the get-together of the Apple Family. As the event went on, the Apple Family got comfortable with the Gems being there, and even if they weren't technically apart of the family they made them feel very welcome, even fi they looked so different. Steven tried to have his fun, though it mainly was because he couldn't really talk to Connie over the phone anyway. All the same, seeing the other Gems going around and having their fun did at least make him feel a little bit better, even if for a moment.
Eventually Steven looked over to one part of the events, seeing Amethyst joining the ponies in a pie eating contest. Though contest might not be the right word, as Amethyst finished off her single pie in one quick gulp.
Looking away from her, Steven saw Fluorite giving rides to some of the younger fillies and colts, the gentle giant enjoying the sweet young children having a good time with her.

"Hey, Steven, come here!" 

Steven snapped back to reality for a moment on the shared voice, looking over to the Rutile Twins standing by the Apple Bobbing buckets.

"What's up, Rutile?"

"They want us to join on this Equestrian custom, but ..." left Rutile began to explain.

"We're not entirely sure how it works," finished right Rutile. Steven and the twins looked over to the other ponies, who were making it all look fairly easy.

"It's not that hard, all you have to do is drunk your head into the water and pull out an apple," Steven said, summing it up and pointing to the bucket as another pony finished up with a total of eight apples pulled out. Seemed simple enough, and by the looks of it, they weren't allowed to use anything else aside from their mouths, so the twins had to figure this out as they went into position.

"Like this?" the twins asked.

"You got it. AND GO!"

On the starting whistle, the twins tried to copy what the first pony did, though only one side went in, the right side a little more hesitant than the left, and grabbing the apples was a bit of a rough effort. Eventually, both twins glanced to eachother and then decided to use both mouths. No one can say that they can't use two mouths, right? So, both the twins went on and quickly pulled out apple after apple until another whistle called for them to stop. Though, Steven had to make them stop first. Total apples? ... Actually, seven.

"Well, good try anyway guys," Steven said, giving them a pat on the back. They may have not won, but who really could blame the first-timers? Besides, the Rutile twins weren't too upset with it anyway, and were having a good time with the experience.

.......

"....... you're going to prepare for a song?" Padparadscha asked.

Most of the activity for the get-together may be outside, but in the barn, there was just as much preparation as to clearing up the barn for a stage to be set up. Big Mac and Apple Bloom were mainly the ones doing such, though they did get some help from Paula Red when it came to setting up the stage., which in this case was a wagon. Tiger's Eye and Padparadscha were watching them getting prepared with their curiosity.

"Yeah, it's our turn to be doing the singing this year. We got a traveling theme planned, so we got to get the feel right, right big Mac?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac replied. He and Paula Red got the wagon in the right spot, right at the back of the barn, facing to left of the door. They weren't planning on going anywhere, but set up in a way that it would probably roll right out the door. Paula and Big Mac did a brohoof once done, and Tiger's Eye, Padparadscha, and Apple Bloom went on over to the wagon.

"Maybe this song thing will get Steven out of his slump," Tiger's Eye said, looking back outside the barn. Steven was doing some other activities, in this case doing some crafts with some of the younger fillies and colts.

"What's eatin him?"

"Dunno. Somethin about a arm, or something?" Tiger's Eye said, though honestly she didn't had too much information to go off of.

"Our song's gonna cheer him up in no time," Apple Bloom said, the mare trotting over. Padparadscha and Tiger's Eye had no real idea what kind of slump Steven's in, Tiger's Eye scratching her head. Her own curiosity got the better of her, and she began to head over towards Steven. Padparadscha wondered what Tiger's Eye was up to, and trailed behind. Steven heard the Gem coming over to him, but he tried to keep himself pre-occupied with his own little bit of arts and crafts.

"Hey. So ... what'chu doing?" 

"Making some art," Steven simply replied. It honestly didn't look too impressive, just a circle made up of some apple seeds and dried up noodles. It really wasn't too much.

"That looks a lot like that girl Connie, doesn't it?"

Oh Celestia, it did! Steven groaned and flipped the plate over, blocking the image from his brain.

".. I think maybe I should go for a walk," Steve said, getting up to his feet. However, Tiger's Eye wasn't going to let him get away from her so easily, and she hopped over him, and landed in his way.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, don't worry," Steven said, trying to get passed. However, Tiger's Eye kept getting in his way, jumping side to side on all fours, and keeping her eyes on him like a big cat would.

"What're you doing?" Steven asked, eyebrow raised. 

"I'm not letting you go off yet. Besides, they're about to sing in there, and Apple Bloom said it'll make you smile, so come on let's go," Tiger's Eye insisted, pushing Steven off towards the barn for the little presentation. Steven felt silly being pushed like this, but at the moment it wasn't going to go well for him either way with his problem.

.......

Well, sometime later, and activity at the barn itself was getting a bit crowded. It was almost time for the singing show to begin, and many of the Gems were already over by the building, waiting for the show to start. However, this wasn't without problems, as Steven was still hoping to get some sort of reception while he was here. This has gone on for long enough.

"Come on. Can't you give it another shot?" asked AJ.

"What are we supposed to do? He just doesn't want to talk about it," said Amethyst.

"If Steven won't talk to us, then the help we can give him is limited," Garnet said.

"Well, I got some idea of it ... what happened again?" Tiger's Eye questioned.

"White Diamond sent an alien creature to capture Steven. She threatened to re-release the Cluster and destroy the planet if he didn't give himself up. He did. Then we beat it." Garnet finished her last statement with a adjustment of her glasses.

"Soooo what's the problem? He's fine, we're here, that ... thing's taken care of."

"I know, I know. ... I think I do. I just hope Steven finds happiness soon," Garnet sighed. It was sad since Connie had left, and even Garnet can't fully pinpoint when the girl would come back either. And even then ... if she'll actually talk to Steven directly. Garnet had the idea down, but she wasn't going to force it out of him, nor just bring it up for Steven's sake. It would be better for him to say so himself.

"Did he say anything to you?" asked Amethyst to Tiger's Eye.

"Not enough to say the full problem. Look, someone else talk to him before he collapses or something. Someone tell him Connie's fine and we'll meet her soon."

"That would be lying," AJ stated.

"To make him feel better. What, you got any better idea?"

"That's enough. ... Pearl. Take Steven home," Garnet decided, as hard as it was to say. Clearly Steven was not in the right mind for any of it right now.

"Me?" Pearl asked. Garnet simply nodded. Pearl just sighed, and began to walk over to him. They really were hoping this would be good, but in the end it just wasn't really working out for him.

"Whelp, dang it. Connie, wherever you are, please get back home so this can end," Tiger's Eye sighed. A rude statement, but yeah, Steven's worry over Connie would end if he could meet up with her again, just to make sure who's alright in the end. They all simply watched as Pearl rested her arm on Steven's shoulder, the kid looking up to her. Eventually after some small chat, Steven and Pearl both began to head off home. So much for another song to cheer the guy up.

.......

Eventually, both Pearl and Steven got themselves back home. Pearl simply kept quiet, walking Steven back over to bed. It was getting very late anyway.

"There, there, Steven. Everything will be fine, I'm sure. now you just get tidied up, and head off to bed," Pearl advised. Steven didn't really answer her, but then.

*beep**beep*

"Connie?!" Steven gasped, quickly checking his phone. Yet ...



Steven could feel his hands tremble.

"COME ON!!!"

In a fit of rage, Steven had enough and threw his phone square on the couch. All day worrying, and it wasn't even her after all day!

"Steven!" Pearl said, but one look on his face told Pearl that Steven was going through a lot on his mind. Sure he looked upset, but behind those eyes he was hurting. Pearl and Steven locked eyes for a moment, and without another word, Pearl took Steven's phone off the couch, and kept it with her inside her stone, much like a tractor beam.

"Pearl, don't -"

"Steven."

Steven stopped himself, seeing Pearl actually acting a bit more stern with him.

"Steven. I know you're worried about Connie. What happened with White Diamond, it isn't your fault. Perhaps it is best if she's out on her own for a while, it's probably her way of coping with the situation. I mean, she did just come out from the hospital," Pearl attempted to make a joke out of it, but it was clearly not working, even after Pearl chuckled at it.

"OK, bad joke. W-What I mean is that -"

"Ok, Pearl, Steven needs alone time now. ... You just go back to the party," Steven said, as he walked on upstairs and toss the covers over his head. 

"Steven, I -" Pearl halted herself when her hand met her mouth. She got that removed, but she didn't speak anymore. Well, time does heal some wounds, and Pearl could only hope that Steven would be healed up over time.

"I'm sorry. ... Well, sweet dreams," Pearl replied. Without another word, silent Pearl went on out, and the sound of the Warp Pad signified her exit. Steven had the lights turned off, and all he did was lay there and looked out the window. He was curled up in the blankets enough to when only his eyes could be seen looking out. It was a clear night, but that didn't help him. Despite all of his questions, there was only one he had left that was the biggest one of all, one he just can't figure out. ...

"Do you hate me, Connie? ..."
> Gone Carin'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lone road. Nighttime. Not a usual time for many to be up and about for the time being, but with one creature, he was still going about and running along the open spaces, and along the side of the lone road to who-knows where. Well, Lion didn't know exactly, although the space did give him plenty of room to go wherever this place is. And neither did Connie, who was simply sitting there on Lion's back without much of a word.
It may have been a day or two since she had left her home on Lion after Steven's visit, but it sure felt like forever had flown by. Not that it mattered all too much for her, anyway, her mind was a bit pre-occupied for the moment really. Then again, who wouldn't be if they were in Connie's shoes right now? On the bright side, the night was looking pretty good despite the clouds going by. Eventually, after nearly half a day of running along the road, Lion took a moment to stop over by a patch of greenery alongside the road. Connie got off of Lion and sat down on the ground over by the big cat, Lion already starting to get comfy.

"Sorry for burning you out like this, Lion," Connie simply said. Lion gave his apology acceptance by a simple lick to her face, before dozing off to sleep. They would continue going, but Connie didn't want that to have to happen to Lion.

*beep**beep**beep*









Connie covered her ears for a moment, letting the phone ring up a storm. It was a thing that made her completely freak out in her head even more, but then she eased up when the call ended.
Lucky for Connie, the attempt to contact her didn't seem to wake Lion up, or if it did he didn't bother too much with it. With Lion sleeping, Connie got up and began to walk away for a little bit. Now, the phone call may have not bothered Lion, but Connie moving away did. Lion got up, and saw Connie stop at about a good twenty feet.


Connie had a lot on her mind. What was a girl to do?

They kept telling me that Gem stuff's dangerous
I didn't want to believe it up to now
They always seemed apprehensive
And now you're really freaking out
What do I do?
I don't want that for you. ...

Connie then felt her phone vibrate again. However, instead of answering, Connie quickly placed it aside, face down, and covered her ears until it stopped. another call unanswered, much to Connie's own dismay as she laid down on the ground. As she was, she leaned to her side and started to look through her pictures, many of which showed her with the Crystal Gems, the Mane Six ... and Steven.

You told me before my life is precious 
And the planet Earth, but that means you
When you're there to protect me
Who is going to save you
What do I do?
I don't want that for you. ...

Her phone went off again, making Connie drop it. Her mind really was in turmoil on what she was supposed to do. She's mad at Steven, but now ... well, the question remained: what to do? She was on the brink of tears at this point, though none of them came out yet, as she began to reminisce just how much she had gone through with them.

What am I going to tell you?
You're better off not worried for someone like me,
I don't want you to worry about where I've just been,
About what I've just seen
I don't have to be a part of this
I know you won't want me to be
You don't need this
You don't need me


Connie began to hear the phone go off once more, and again it was Steven. She just was too wrapped up in her mind to really even figure it out, or even touching the phone for that matter. This call lasted a good while longer, and in her state of confusion ... she clicked ignore.

It felt too soon.

.......

Throughout the night, and onward into the day, Connie and Lion continued onward from there. Would she head off home right away? Well, again, it felt a bit too soon. As the sun started to come up, It didn't bother Lion, nor did it bother Connie too much after getting some rest before moving on. And as both of them continued, Lion going at a steady pace to not have Connie fall off of him, they both passed a sign that showed just how far away they actually were.

Ocean Town: no longer on fire.
Sure, they had gotten here before in a simple walk along the road, but all the same, it was still a ways away from Beach City and how much was going on over there too. That, and Lion and Connie didn't travel too far through the night, so there was that. Either way, the two didn't bother to stop at the sign and continued going along the landscape down the road, heading right passed the sign. At least, they would've kept going until -

*Phreeeeeeeet!*

Lion skidded to a stop on the loud whistle, and that got Connie more aware than ever. Looking back, both big cat and human took a look at who called em, seeing a police car with a police officer coming over to them. With her as young as she was, and riding a lion, that might be a bit of trouble to anyone, let alone her. 

"Uh ... w-what's the problem officer?" Connie asked sheepishly.

"The problem? Do you even have a license to ride a lion around here?" The officer asked. Connie felt very worried on that answer.

"T-This isn't a Lion, it's my ... dog."

Dog? Really?! He'll never buy it. The officer looked over the animal up and down, Lion getting a bit annoyed, especially when he was checking out his tail.

"A dog, eh? ... And what kind of dog is this?" the officer questioned. Connie felt cold sweat come down her head, Lion getting impatient. Connie didn't want to get into anymore trouble, and hopped off of Lion.

"Uh ... H-He's a mixed breed."

"... And mixed breed," the officer stated suspiciously.

"Sure it is, come on boy, show the nice man. Lion, speak!" Connie commanded. Lion gave Connie one of those "you-got-to-be-kidding" looks, Connie waiting for the bark from her "dog". Eventually, Lion rolled his eyes and groaned a little bit.

*rrrrRRRRrrroooff!*

"There, see? He's all dog," Connie insisted. not the most convincing woof from an animal, but Lion had never barked before, nor did he enjoy it. Lucky for them though, the Officer then shrugged.

"Must be a new breed. ... Aren't you far from home though, kid?" The officer asked, arms crossed.

"Well, yes, I'm just taking him for a walk."

"On the edge of Ocean Town?" The cop asked.

"H-He needs a lot of exercise," Connie insisted. The cop scratched his head, but he could see some logic to it.

"... and your parents know you're out this far?"

"Of course they do! I got their phone right here, look," Connie insisted, taking out her phone and showing it tot he officer. Well, the cop knew she wasn't out of contact with them, otherwise they'd both be in a bit of a pickle. Well, nothing against the law here, though Lion without a collar was a little iffy.

"Well, I'll let you off with a warning, but next time, I advise you to have a collar on your pet. Especially along a two-lane highway."

"I'll keep that in mind," Connie said. She began to head off on Lion, but that triggered one more question.

"Eh, one more thing. ... Why're you riding him?"

"B-Because ... how often do you get the chance to ride a dog?"

"... True. Well, hurry on home then," the cop advised, and Lion began to run off. The cop watched them go, and Connie was grateful that the cop wasn't following them. That didn't mean Lion enjoyed the little act they had to do, him looked back to Connie with an annoyed look.

"I won't tell anyone," Connie promised. Lion simply snorted.


~~~~~~


Well, crisis one averted. Lion and Connie continued on from there and entered over into Ocean Town. Connie had only been here once before during the rock show event, but at least then she had a reason to be here, and there was no internal crisis going on in her mind too. It didn't take too much time until empty space turned into settlements, namely suburban houses down extra roads connecting to the highway. It really wasn't too bad from there, and it looked pretty peaceful when looking around, some of the people taking note of the girl on her pink "dog" riding along through. Connie hopped off after a bit and allowed Lion some time without being her own mount, and walked alongside him. Guess having Lion around really took the cake when it came to getting attention, but the proud creature simply ignored the inferior creatures around him. They already had their excuse to the officer, it can work for other locals too.
As they continued walking through, there was one little detail that Connie kinda forgot about when it came to just taking off ...

*gggrrrr*

"Man, I didn't get anything to eat yet," Connie sighed. A bit odd though; she'd been going around for days, and NOW she starts to get hungry? She hadn't noticed it until now, but that was a LONG time to go without food for anyone, let alone just her. Well something for later, but for now it was time to get something to eat ... with whatever allowance she actually had on her. Unfortunately she didn't had much to work with, and all she got at most was about five dollars. Probably enough to maybe get a meal at a fast food joint or something, if there was one nearby that is.

"Maybe I should've brought more, huh?" Connie said to Lion. Lion could care less about coins and paper though. If he was hungry, he would go and find a Zebra, buffalo, bird, or reptile and soup's on. Then again, Connie was no lion, and her appetite needed different types of food without all the rawness, and for some reason that required coins and paper. Well, what's a hungry girl to do? Connie and Lion went around down the road for a bit more, but then Connie began to notice something off down the way.
The place looked like a small diner, and one just over by the corner at a stop sign. not too bad of a place to just show up like this. Not exactly the first place Connie would just go off to, but beggars can't be choosers as they say. Connie could probably get some fries at least, or maybe a drink.

"Wait out here, okay Lion?" Connie said, as she went on in. Just for Lion to stroll out of the parking lot to do his own thing. As any kitty cat would do.
It didn't take Connie very long until she was inside and having her own seat in one of the booths inside. As it was outside, the diner was indeed pretty and rather old-fashion, as if someone took it out of the eighties and slapped it into present day in terms of design choice. Not too many people were in there, and it left only her to check out the menu in front of her for something she can get with only five dollars in her pocket. As she was looking, she paused for a bit and looked at her arm, the same arm she was sure had been broken to pieces. Incredible to think that it was victim to the teeth of some alien creature, and predicted to have been stuck in some cast for months at best case scenario. At least, that's what she could recall before the anesthetics kicked in from the operation. Connie felt her stomach growl and went back to looking at the  -

"Hey, Connie."

Connie felt startled on the voice, but once she saw the Doppelganger Connie II sitting across from her, she began to calm down. At least it was someone she knew from town.

"Oh, C2, it's only you," she sighed. Yeah, it's not the most creative nickname, but it beats constantly calling her "Connie the Second" all the time. C2 was in a more casual outfit, albeit still having that eyepatch over her eye.

"Nice to see you again. Is everything doing okay?" Connie II asked. Connie felt humbled again.

"No, no, everything's fine."

"Come on, Connie, I know you're not. Now come on, out with it."

Connie knew her doppelganger was right, in more ways than one. Why would she even bother to argue with herself, metaphorically and literally? So, she just sighed.

"I need a break from all this Gem stuff."

"Come again?"

"Steven wanted me to stay away from the fights going on, and he tried to save me during one of these attacks. I tried to help him, but ... well, it didn't end very well."

"Broken arm," Connie II assumed, even pointing to the girl's once broken arm in the process.

"... Yeah. Funny thing though, my arm's ... still there."

"Still there? Sure it got broken, but it wasn't that bad."

"Tell that to my scheduled prosthetic," Connie sighed. That made C2 a bit spooked, seeing just how deep of an extent this attack had done to her arm. C2 didn't want to think too deeply on the subject though, thinking that Connie's statement was more than good enough.

"Well, your arm looks ok now. But you're not sure why."

"My arm shouldn't be there. I mean, I'm happy, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't make sense, I-I mean it defies medical science."

"Connie, you're talking to your own doppelganger you pulled out of a mirror pond."

"... Point taken," Connie simply said. Yeah, with how much magic, Gem or otherwise, had been going around here, there, and everywhere, this was admittedly a minor thing. Before they could continue, the waitress had seen them and went over to them both.

"Can I take your order?" the waitress asked. Connie snapped out of it for a moment and looked over the menu for the only item she had found that could work for this case.

"I'll just have a small burger please," Connie simply said, showing the waitress the cheapest one they had. The waitress nodded and went on back to confirm her order. C2 didn't even bother to order anything, more concerned with Connie over some food. Besides, she wasn't hungry anyway.

"Anyway, I don't know how it happened. By all rights, I should still be in the hospital right now."

"Well, let's think for a minute here: who else or what else do you know that can heal this quickly and efficiently?" Connie II asked. Connie paused and thought it over extensively on what options could be the cause. However, the more she tried, the more unlikely things came up.

"Well let's see. Unicorns. Alicorns. Jade. Steven. Rose, I think. Oh, but none of them were with me at the Hospital," Connie said, sure of at least that, and sounding upset over that too. Why wouldn't Steven come to the hospital to see her? Sure he gave himself up to save her (which didn't work), but the least he could do was check in afterwards, right?

"Well, what it sounds like to me is that one of them stopped by and healed you while you were asleep. Sounds simple enough," Connie II figured. It seemed easy enough to figure out, and you know what they say: when hearing hoof steps, think horses not zebras.

"Guess so, but ... UGH, why'd he do that? We could've done it together," Connie said. Connie II knew what her frustration was coming from, and sighed herself.

"Well, I know you need some time to think about it. You can come back to my home if you need to," Connie II offered. A friendly gesture surely, and Connie just smiled to her double.

"I don't think It's bad enough for me to jump to another world. Thanks though," Connie replied. And not a moment too soon, as her meal began to come out for her. It literal was just a small burger on a plate, but that was good enough for her. She gave her thanks, and began to eat up her first meal in days, a smile showing up on her lips, tasting the thin meat and condiments in her mouth. For a moment, Connie was forgetting -

*bing* ... *bing*

... Nevermind. Connie swallowed her piece and checked her phone, only to see ...



Connie didn't reply to it though, unfortunately, and simply left her phone upside down on the table. Connie II could see how much she was trying to handle the situation, and all of this just wasn't going to help her the more reminders she kept getting.

"Too soon?"

"I think it is ..."

"... Here, I think I got an idea."


~~~~~~


Soon after she was finished with her meal, Connie went on through ocean town with Connie II riding along with her on Lion, the big cat not minding too much for an extra ride. With the sun higher up, the residents were starting to become a little more active as they went on by. Sure a few were already awake when they got into town, but now all of the residents were up and about, and the town was plenty active at this point. It really wasn't a bad thing, none of them really questioning a big cat going along through town with two twins riding on it. I mean, who would, right?
As for what Connie II initially had in mind for her counterpart, she had brought them on through town until they found themselves off in an alleyway. Or at least a suburban alleyway, lined up by wooded fences, the ground underneath fully concrete, and a few garbage cans off in the alley as well. Connie and Connie II got off of Lion when they got there, but Connie really wasn't sure what exactly was coming their way, or what Connie II exactly had in mind for the girl, but Connie II had a rather basic pastime that could work out.
And what did they had in mind? Well. ... Cans.

"Target practice?" Connie asked, as Connie II was setting up a good several pop cans on the edge of a garbage bin. Connie would've though of something more elaborate than this, but then again, showing off some magic spells in the middle of a neighborhood of humans with little experience of magic was probably not the best idea ever.

"Well, it's something kids do, and we've barely acted much like actual kids for a while. Come on, let's try it," Connie II decided, getting out some pebbles to use as their ammo. Lion yawned, and walked over to the side of the fence, laying down for a mid morning snooze as the kids were playing their game. Connie placed her phone down nearby before they could get their game started.

"K, you wanna go first?" Connie asked.

"Sure thing," Connie II replied, getting into position. The game was pretty simple: knock over the cans with the pebbles. Seemed straightforward enough. Connie II rallied up one pebble in hand like a ball, and threw it good and hard, getting a bee-line to one of the cans.

"Nice! K, Connie, you're turn," Connie II replied. Connie rallied up her pebble next, and got a good shot in one of the cans, landing it back into the bin.
This similar process kept in a loop for a good five minutes: Connie and Connie II going through can after can like a shooting gallery. Connie II got the cans reset about three times during their little game, and for the time being, Connie actually had a decent time with this. It kept her mind off of her problem for a while at least. Connie kept going at it and trying to actually out-do her at some point. At a point, only three cans were still standing, the other cans knocked back into the bin.

"You're turn," Connie II said. Connie gathered her focus for this next move. One can at a time was fine and all, but Connie started to feel a little competitive here.

"Watch this," Connie stated. Connie II did so, stepping back to give her some space, as Connie tried to figure out what to do here. One stone and three cans, how do you do this? ...
Then came the moment of truth: Connie felt a strong bit of accuracy hit her, and next thing she knew, the stone was out of her hand and thrown right at the cans. Connie had some good accuracy as shown throughout the game, but this extra throw was met with a little extra surprise. The stone whacked the first can, bounced to the second can, and from that hit the second can whacked the third can, leaving the stone landing off outside of the bin as the three cans landed in it. Connie couldn't believe her own eyes when this happened, and Connie II was beyond impressed. However, this feeling didn't last too long, and a very contrived event then happened when the stone hit the fence, and fell down near Connie's phone. Connie had placed her phone on a plank, and with the stone hitting the other end, her phone went flying into the air, and over the fence into someone's backyard.
To say that was contrived was an understatement, but that was still Connie's phone, and she'll be in a heap of trouble if she lost it. The bang on the fence was enough to wake Lion up, the cat getting up to his paws as Connie and Connie II went straight over to the fence.

"I got it, I got it," Connie insisted, starting to climb up the fence to get her phone back.

"Need a boost up?" Connie II asked.

"No, no, I think I can get it," Connie said, though with some difficulty got herself up to the top of the fence to see where her phone had ended up. Connie II and Lion glanced to eachother as she was doing this, but stood aside just in case something would happen to her.
Looking over the fence, Connie saw that her phone had ended up a little farther than she thought it would be, five feet from the fence, possibly from bouncing on the ground before landing. Lucky for Connie, the phone didn't look like it was damaged (thank the stars for rubber casings), it landing right side up in the green, fresh cut grass. The backyard itself wasn't really too fancy: fresh grass with the exception of a tree over by Connie's left side, ten feet away from her. Connie didn't see anyone at first, but that changed once she heard a hose go off nearby.
Looking off from her position in the fence, she then saw a teenager off nearby, her hair pink and shaggy, fairly big-boned like Amethyst, and for the moment thanks to the warmer weather in some green shorts and a camo bikini top. Connie hadn't met her before but if Pearl were there she would've freaked out on seeing her, though in a more positive light. Connie looked between her and the phone on the ground, and since the other girl looked a bit busy with watering some plants, so perhaps Connie can go in, get the phone, and then go. Sounded simple enough on its own, but execution was still a matter.

"Ok. Just go in, and get out," Connie told herself, as she lifted herself over the fence. Connie landed down quietly and on her feet, keeping an eye on the person off nearby, as she went to the phone on the ground, Connie II and Lion off nearby, and peeking over the fence. The other girl was a bit further away so maybe this won't be too bad if she can make this quick. But alas, unorthodox events usually would happen in something like this. ...
Suddenly, Connie jumped up in instinctive shock when the sounds of crazed barking rang out, as a dog raced out from seemingly nowhere. The dog wasn't really too big, just a Boston terrier, but the little yapper still was enough to raise an alarm to this part of the neighborhood, and this dog wasn't going to let Connie off the hook that easily. The dog skidded to a halt at about five feet away, mouth yapping and on a hair trigger. Connie thought it was gonna jump at her or something, and the terrier indeed was pretty close, but it was more of a talker than a fighter. Besides, the owner of said dog heard it loud and clear, and soon saw Connie spooked and standing with her phone in hand. A few whistles from said girl was enough to make the dog stop, and the pooch trotted over to its owner.

"Sorry about that. you ok?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Connie replied. The girl looked over to the back fence, and saw Connie II and Lion peering over as well, which the dog growled at.

"S-Sorry, my phone just got knocked over here," Connie then added in.

"Well you here to wreck my yard?" she then asked with a smug grin.

"... No?"

"Then you're fine." Connie felt a sigh of relief go through her. At least she wasn't going to get into any trouble with this girl, yet her Boston Terrier still went over to the fence, barking up a storm at Lion and Connie II, so hyperactive that it slammed against the fence first. The girl whistled again and the dog went back.

"It's okay guys," Connie reassured them.

"You don't need protection?"

"No, it's all good," Connie said. The girl nodded to reassure it, and both of them hopped over. The girl was a little surprised when Lion hopped over, as did the doggy which immediately went into a barking fit while standing behind its master, but Lion really didn't worry too much about it, and a simple snort got the dog quiet. The more she looked to Connie in particular though, the more was starting to look vaguely familiar to her.

"Say, do I know you from somewhere?" she asked, scratching her head as she tried to think. Connie felt a little humbled and off guard on that question.

"Eh ... no, I don't think so ..."

However, the girl had to disagree, the memory coming back to her.

"Wait, that's right: I saw you over at that rock show. You must be pretty happy with your big sister, huh?"

Connie didn't realize that she was even there at the time, let alone seeing her and Smoky during that rock show they went off to see. It was a fun night, she can agree to that, and after thinking, the girl could also remember Lion amongst the group too now that she thought of it. Kinda hard to forget a big pink Lion sitting off not too far from the actual rock show, doesn't matter who said what. While Connie can't say that Smoky was her "big sister" per say, it was a nail in the coffin that she was indeed there and saw Connie with her and Lion. Guess that explained why she wasn't as freaked out as one would be seeing them.

"Oh, really? I didn't notice," Connie simply replied. Before anything else could happen, Connie's stomach growled again. The burger was nice, but that wasn't enough to satisfy apparently. Well, one good thing was that they got the other girl in a good mood.

"How about a bite to eat?" she offered. Pretty generous of her really.


~~~~~~


"This looks delicious, Sabina. Itadakimasu!"

A few minutes later, Connie and Connie II were over by her back porch, enjoying some sandwiches that they took the time to make. Being a nice day, both Connies took the time to relax outside of the house, and look up to the clouds for a bit. Their host joined them in having some lunch herself, and off nearby them, Lion took a good snooze to catch up from earlier, as the little Boston Terrier was trying to play around with the big cat, Lion not paying it much mind. A quiet moment, and it was plenty good for Connie to have when compared to the small burger she had earlier.

"So, is she like your twin?" Sabina asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Connie II replied, though Sabina can't help but see the eyepatch over Connie II's eye. Connie II didn't seem to mind it all too much. Connie II placed her hand over the patch.

"Got into a fight?" Sabina asked.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Connie II replied humbly. Sabina was still a bit curious, but Connie II wasn't really as willing to talk about it that much. A bit odd since Connie II was telling stories like crazy over back in Ponyville.

*bing**bing*

Well, here we go again. Connie might as well look, and she simply went over and looked at who it was this time ...



"... Tennis ball?" Connie wondered, scratching her head, whatever joke trying to be made flying over her head. She knew who this was from, but it really didn't help the situation, neither the joke. Connie II had no idea either, and simply shrugged, Connie placing her phone aside and continuing to eat. Sabina saw the run of messages left by this person, and began to get two and two together on what was going on.

"I get it."

"Get what?" Connie II asked, as Connie just went back to eating.

"This kid your boyfriend, isn't he?"

Well THAT came out of nowhere! Connie almost did a spit take of bread and condiments, but just managed to swallow it as her face turned almost a glowing red in such a conclusion.

"W-What?! N-No, no, no, he and I are just friends, we've been friends for a few years, h-he's not my boyfriend, what would make you say that?" Connie insisted.

"You're acting like you're in a romance comedy," Sabina bluntly stated, only making Connie feel even more red, and more embarrassed, her hands covering her mouth as she turned away. Is that what people were seeing them as? She only could wonder how Steven would feel hearing that.

"Ok, ok, Connie calm down," Connie II insisted, trying to help her out. Sabina found this as only confirmation more than anything.

"Alright, I'm only joking. Sounds like you're taking time away from him," Sabina concluded. How obvious was it?

"Ok, you got me. ... I don't know what to do."

"Well, lay it on me," Sabina said, Connie II ready to hear herself. The young girl sighed a bit. All of this going on, she might as well explain herself or at least get it off her chest.

"W-well ... Steven and I ended up involved in a fight, and ... he didn't want me involved in it though, and was willing to give himself up. I'm happy he's fine, but ... OH, I'm mad at him, but then I'm not, but ... UGH!" Connie's frustration made her just fall onto her back, these confusing emotions were really overwhelming her. The more she thought about the situation, the more she didn't know what to do. Sabina nodded her head.

"Sounds like a TvP situation."

"A T.v.P.? What does throwing rolls at a house have to do with anything?" Connie II asked, but that just made Sabina laugh.

"No, no, that TP. T.v.P. is basically Truth verses Peace. You want Truth Connie, and he wants Peace. That about sum it up?" Sabina asked. Connie and Connie II both thought about that statement, and suddenly -

You're the one who caused the War in the first place. If you agree to surrender yourself alone to me, then I'll allow everyone else all to continue your existence.

"The world's on the line. ..."

If Connie's hand hit her forehead any harder, she'd probably knock herself out. That little idea Sabina said now made everything sensible, and now she was beginning to understand what Steven was coming from. It could be right, it could be not, but now she understood why he did that, or his reasoning behind it at least.

"Oh, Steven," she groaned, now feeling a bit blind to the situation herself. At least, not blinded anymore. It was then that Connie got up and went over to Lion, who was now on his paws and ready to go off.

"Guess we'll be heading back now."

.......

"Steven! Steven!"

After a good run, Connie, Connie II, and Lion went right off out of Ocean Town, and straight back to Beach City, made a lot faster after a portal jump being made by Lion. It had been long enough since Connie had spoke to Steven, so, she had to at least try to talk it out with him. It was the least she could do. Connie went straight to the door, and swung it right open.

"Steven, I'm -"

Nobody. No one was in there. Connie didn't see Steven, the Gems, the ponies, or anyone. No, she found just an empty place with no one inside. She tried to look around a little bit, but nothing was evident.

Steven was gone. ...

"... Steven? ..."
> Mind no Compute
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What am I going to do?"

With the sound of the Warp Pad, she and Flint were back from their own escapade, and over by the Off-Color barn. And in an admittedly rare case, Garnet was feeling a bit troubled almost as much as Flint on the situation. Sure, they stopped that monster from going on its rampage, and according to the remains of some metal and rods in Garnet's hand, that was two problems down. But the results from said fight were a bit more problematic than what was brought on to be.

"Ok, look Garnet, we already know Connie's going to be fine, you said so yourself. That's the least of our problems right now."

"The least of our problems?" Garnet asked, not believing her ears.

"We still got White Diamond and Pink Diamond to deal with, remember? If this means anything, then clearly the authority are gonna be after all our heads. At least we can say that Rose Quartz didn't do it," Flint concluded, but that just made Garnet even more troubled, rubbing the side of her head. This was a bit to take in, even for her. Yes, she was happy for that, but with the attack that happened, she had a bit of mixed emotions here.

"... I suppose. And Connie should be around in due time as well," Garnet confirmed, adjusting her shades for her signature Future Vision pickup.

"There you go. Now, if we can try to figure out our current situation -"

"Eh, Flint, I'd rather not get into it right now," Garnet actually said. Flint would normally protest, but he too was there when it happened, so this time he didn't really force her. Flint just sighed.

"Well, ok then. you go and calm down, I'm gonna try to get Jade and find a new tie-in," Flint said, heading over back to the Warp Pad as Garnet walked on. Well, she may not have personally wanted Flint to keep such a strict life to himself, but on the bright side, the mystery was still moving forward in its own way.

.......

"YOU. DID. WHAT?"

Well, the feeling was a bit less supportive once this sort of thing got to the Off-Colors ears over at the barn. Something like this was bound to get to them eventually, and once it did, Rhodonite was completely freaking out about it. Funny thing, she was the only one over at the barn for the moment, the others out and exploring still. 

"Calm down, I know it's shocking, and we're going to handle it -"

"Handle it?! She gave you a way out!"

"We're not giving Steven up to her," Garnet firmly stated.

"Why not?! It's him or you!" Rhodonite retorted. Clearly this Gem fusion was a lot less enthused about fighting them back, much to Garnet's surprise. How could she say that about the same Gem who helped them get out of Homeworld?

"Rhodonite, how can you say that?"

"I just did! and if you won't do that, then we're all gonna be stuck as the Diamonds' gear parts!" Rhodonite made clear, right in Garnet's face even. Garnet was quickly losing patience.

"Rhodonite, that's not going to happen, not if I can help it. You don't deserve to be harvested, I won't let them get you," Garnet promised.

"Do you even realize what you've pulled already? This isn't just some technician from Homeworld, or some combat veteran here, this is White Diamond, the ruler of Homeworld! She can destroy any space rock with a snap of her touch stubs!"

"Nothing we haven't handled before."

"EXCUSE ME?!"

At least when she was arguing with Flint, he had some more logic to back his arguments up and kept a more level head. Rhodonite was simply freaking out about her own safety and well-being over something she wasn't even sure would happen. Tiresome she is.
As this argument was going on though, neither had noticed that someone else was keeping a small eye on them from the top of the roof. Even if Garnet might've foreseen this, she was a bit too busy with Rhodonite's bickering to really bother with it right then. As they continued, this same thing began to crawl along the ceiling, landing on one of the barn's support beams. Soon though, something began to reach down, looking like an arm or tentacle or something. The very end of it turned into a hand, and then actually pinched Rhodonite's butt.

"AH!" Rhodonite yelped, bolting around with her arms in a karate-style attack pose. Garnet and Rhodonite followed this tentacle upward as it retracted, and soon they saw one particular Draconequus up there with his usual little smirk.

"Hello Discord," Garnet said with a smile. Rhodonite was of course spooked and backed up to behind Garnet, as Discord hopped on down.

"Hello my dears. Hope your time in the barn's doing just peachy, Rhodonite," Discord said, a peach suddenly popping up in his hand. Oh, the puns can be painful sometimes, can't they?

"H-How'd you know my name?" Rhodonite questioned, just for the Draconequus to disappear for a moment, and suddenly pop out of her hair.

"I'm special that way, just like you," Discord replied, pinching her cheek. Freaking out, Rhodonite forced Discord out of her hair. Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be scared. He's virtually harmless, if not obnoxious," Garnet reassured.

"Obnoxious?! Since when have I - ... You know what, don't answer that," Discord realized.

"Good answer." Discord then pulled himself up and off of the ground, and stood upright, conjuring up a feather duster and dusted himself off.

"So, I heard from a little grape vine that you've got a breakthrough in your little Pink Diamond case," Discord said, in a detective's outfit, and peering into Garnet's head with some magnifying glasses.

"We came to the conclusion Rose Quartz didn't shatter Pink Diamond. Odds are you already knew that though among other things."

"Indeed, and also that a little boy and girl had ended up running off together into my dimension after their magic warp keys started to play tricks on em. You know how kids are."

"... Is that all?"

"Is that all? Is that what you have to say?" Garnet asked, more urgent in tone.

"Well how in the stars am I supposed to react to that?!" Rhodonite retorted. Very good point. Well this situation suddenly turned completely crazy if Connie and Steven ran off to that dimension in particular. Garnet may have not seen it herself, but if it belonged to a creature like Discord, then who's to say what could be going on there? Discord could already tell what was gonna happen, and before Garnet could do much, Discord conjured up one of those said magic keys, and dropped it onto the ground, opening up a door at their feet.

"I'm coming Steven, Connie," Garnet said, before she jumped right on it.

"Eh, okay, so that happened."

"Your turn."

"Wait wha - AAHH!" All of a sudden, Discord's tail was right behind her, and actually knocked her into the same door too! Discord got his tail back, but before he went on in, he took a look to the viewers.

"I know, I know what you're thinking: what the hay did you do that for, you jerk? Don't freak out, they'll be fine and so will Steven and Connie. You're just gonna have to ponder a little. Arrivederci!" And in a style of a swan dive, Discord dove right into the portal himself, the door shutting up behind him, leaving only the key behind. Not like they're gonna need it anyway.


~~~~~~


(Sardonyx's note: If you lose track of the story, be consult your local dodo bird)



*thud*

Since the portal was upside-down, landing just wasn't exactly easy for the Gems to land, but they did eventually get themselves into whatever place Discord was talking about. They landed down on what one would call a hill, but this one was very steep on both sides and looked less like a hill and more like a trapezium. That was the least of what they found in here though: a purple sky flowing and rippling like water, ground floating in several places, they even saw some pigs flying around the place. Once they got up and around though, they found that wasn't the only thing that changed.
Garnet wasn't there, but Ruby and Sapphire were.

"We unfused? How the heck?!" Ruby gasped, realizing what happened.
And soon they realized that they weren't the only ones who unfused in the fall. Looking off next to them, they found two other Gems off nearby them:
One was a Pearl. For starters, her color scheme showed a lavender complexation rather than the multi color that Pearl had on her, with an outfit almost mirroring Yellow Pearl yet with a skirt instead of a body suit, purple gloves, more flair that went around her shoulders and upper chest, and her hair a bit more curly like Stevens hair. Her gemstone was on her chest, and her eyes were a pinker complexion.
The second one looked like a Ruby, and looked very similar to Navy Ruby, but with a standard redder look to her, and yellow bands on her shoulders. Her gemstone was on her navel too.

"Huh? Wait wha ... WHY'RE WE UNFUSED?!" the Pearl yelped, freaking out.

"Discord must want us to be apart for this," Sapphire concluded, getting up to her feet and looking around.

"Who's he to decide that?!" the Pearl snapped.

"E-Easy, Lavi, m-maybe it won't be too bad?" the Ruby said, trying to calm down her Pearl, named Lavi apparently for a nickname.

"I saw this as a option, but I never realized it's the path we'd be taking," Sapphire commented. No amount of Future Vision can really help anyone in a place like this, no doubt. It was then they began to hear some chuckling above their heads, only to see Discord up on what looked like a chocolate rain cloud. His face was white, and his cheeks were red, but he was all there either way.

"Hello everyone, welcome to my little corner of the universe, hope you enjoyed your ride," Discord said.

"Nevermind that, where's Steven?" Ruby asked. That was the more important thing right now, and with what happened not to long earlier, who could guess on where Steven and Connie would be in here? Discord took a better look down to the group of four Gems, intrigued on seeing Lavi and the second Ruby, and like a spider descending from its web, slid down from under his cloud to see them.

"Oh, it's difficult to say. It might take you all hours, even days to make your vast and amazing trek through -"

"They're not here, are they?" Sapphire suddenly cut in. Discord flinched.

"Eh, bu - what - OH Sapphire, what kind of creature do you take me for?!"

"liar, cheat, trickster, obnoxious, with a little hint of salt," each word Sapphire said almost seemed to stab at Discord, arrows flying in out of nowhere with these very words on them. The last one actually knocked Discord off of his feet, and fell backwards onto the floor. Discord was about to say something else but Sapphire placed her finger over his mouth.

"And yes, I do expect you to drop us in here without a reason other than boredom. You never had much to do for months," Sapphire finished. Discord clamped his mouth shut. He could feel both Rubies and Lavi stare him down.

"You know, if you put your mind to it, you can be absolutely obnoxious."

"You would know," Sapphire answered with a smile. Discord groaned, and shook off the arrows, only for the second Ruby to jump at him.

"Then that's good! Can you send us back then?" asked the second Ruby, only for Discord to pick her up by the back of the collar.

"Ok, so they're not in here, but why cut the party short Button?" Discord asked. Button gulped on him remembering her nickname, going over to Lavi.

"Because we have more problems to worry about!"

"Pink Diamond's not going anywhere. But I'll give you a little trinket to get you to the exit," Discord said, and he reached his lion paw into his ear. His hand worked out a little bit before it pulled out what looked like a compass. Of course, this one had Discord edged all over it, including a face of the Draconequus, with the eyeball at a sort of compass needle. Freaky, but it works.

"Follow the eyeball, I presume?"

"Stop spoiling it, will you?" Discord asked, starting to get annoyed now. It was no fun when everyone knew what he was going to do. What else could he expect from a Sapphire though?

"Can't you just get us out of here?" asked Lavi, who was clearly not in the mood for any game this creature would have for them. Discord though wasn't up for that just yet.

"Whine, whine, whine, is that all you do?" Discord complained. Oh, the things she could've said to him right then and there, but Discord actually zipped her mouth shut before she could. Then, much to their annoyance, the Draconequus disappeared. So much for getting his help.

"We'll be fine," Sapphire reassured them.

"You really think so?" The second Ruby asked.

"Yes ... though I think we'll have to go through a musical number first."

"What?"


"Bewaaaare. Bewaaaare.~"

"Oh my, w-what's that?" asked Lavi, starting to get nervous again. And it didn't take too long to see why: the group looked off ahead just a little bit as a distant beat began to play. If this wasn't a signal for a song to play, then what was? One thing was for sure, the crazy stoats were on them. This time though it was four stoats that popped out of the ground right in front of them, each one as tall as Rhodonite and Garnet would be, so they were all taller than them, and each one a different color (Red, blue, green, and purple). Here they go.

(mix of Pink Elephants on Parade Djjack remix + Heffalumps and Woozles + Good ship Misery)

They're black
They're brown
They're up
They're down
They're in
They're out
They're all about!
They're far
They're near
They're gone
They're here
They're quick, slick, and insincere!
all: Beware! Beware! Beware, beware, beware!

With each verse said at their fast neck pace, the freaky creatures were actually making the team back up more and more until they all actually ended up stumbling back through a conveniently open door behind them, and falling down a pit. Sapphire's Future Vision wasn't enough to stop it. Lavi, Button, Ruby, and Sapphire both ended up landing in a different part of the place, this time appearing like a bunch of boxes and other things that appeared like cages for Meerkats. First one to sing this time was a grey bald one stuck in a scuba diver helmet, three pink Stoats just above his head.

If you do not care for sanity.
Sanity!

Then jumped down the green stoat, this time looking like a seaman that lost one of his legs, and inside a lantern for some sort of reason.

If you love the great indoors

Just to pop out from the bottom and jump over towards the pink stoats and dancing with them, them all holding eachother by their shoulders and kicking their legs.

Welcome to our lil world Chaosity!
Insanityyyyy's all yours!

On that final word, the platform suddenly crashed into a wall, making Lavi and Button stumble off and split away from Ruby, and Sapphire for the moment. As Ruby and Sapphire were trying to handle themselves, they all began to hear loud trumpets being played. A spotlight then beamed down on Button and Lavi, both Gems having no idea what was going to happen next and holding eachother as they began to hear thumping come out of the darkness and into some more spotlights, which followed what looked like a group of parading, cartoony rats with long pointy noses and large ears, marching on two feet, each one playing a different instrument for the music with a leading penguin, as a voice continued singing from apparently nowhere.

Look out,
look out,
the big rodents on parade, 
here they come,
hippity-hoppity!

As the voice sang, the marching rats were circling Lavi and Button, soon not having very much to go to as they continued their march, some of the rats getting a little close to them. Suddenly they picked them up, and they continued marching in line, both Button and Lavi bouncing on their heads and being taken along for the ride.

They're here,
and there,
squeaks and tails everywhere!

Next the two suddenly fell off, and they both landed in a big, soft bed. First soft landing they had since showing up, but that didn't ease them as they could still see the rats marching around them.

Look out,
look out,
their walking around the bed,
on their head,
clippity-cloppity!

Some trumpets blasted at their faces during the tune, making them both hide under the covers, hoping it would keep them safe. But this place wasn't going to give them a chance, and the bed was suddenly walking on them, carrying them along for the ride again.

The big rodents on parade!

Meanwhile, as Lavi and Button were carried along on their bed, Ruby and Sapphire could be seen nearby, both in a spotlight with each color matching each Gem. They were as lost as the other two were, trumpets announcing their appearance as well, as the same four Stoats showed up again.

They're red
They're green
They're pink
They're beige
They're round
They're square
They're a horrific stage!
They tie themselves in horrible knots
They come in stripes
or polka-dots!

Ruby and Sapphire found themselves at a cliff again, much to Lavi and Button's horror as they continued their chorus.

There's never sun,
The mice had run!
Does anyone remember fun?!

Both red and blue stoats glared at the grey stoat.

thought I'd ask.

That just made the other stoats push away the grey one, knocking Ruby and Sapphire off the cliff, and landing in the same bed right next to Lavi and Button. At least they had a soft landing, but it didn't stop the bed from moving, the bed continuing its march through chaos land, the rats and weasels still following them the whole way. Be it from the moment or just for the sake of song, well ...

Lavi + Button: What do we do?
What do we do?
What an unusual view!

A huge bang of a symbol right behind them rang out, the Gems seeing a giant rat with said symbols in hand, and when they split, it showed two Meerkats standing there. One looked yellow, and dressed like a scientist, the other blue, and looking like a lawyer. No, it didn't confirm anything.

I can keep my mind intact
looking at microscopic gnats,
but technicolor Stoats, and Rats,
It's really too much for me!

The scientist suddenly squashed himself, laughing, and found himself in a mad scientist outfit: freaky hair, swirly glasses and a madman straitjacket, making them back up a little bit, only for the blue one to block their way.

I am not the type to cheat
when things are off, or strange to me,
but seeing things you just don't see
can certainly give you an awful fright!
WHAT A SIGHT!

The lawyer Stoat tore off the outfit, and showed itself as a gambler instead of a lawyer.

Lavi + Button: Chase em away!
Please go away!
We're afraid, we need some aid -

giant rat: THE BIG RODENTS ON PARADE
raid
raid
raid

With the giant rat chorus, the bed suddenly stopped on the spot, as if arriving at a destination (wherever that was). The bed started to flip over and fly away, literally dropping off the Gems to the ground as it disappeared. The blanket was dropped off with them though, changing into a hot-air balloon, taking the Gems high up fast. Button would've been left behind if Sapphire didn't help her into the basket. Other hot air balloons soon caught up with them, similar stoats joining them again.

If you think that this could never be.
Think again!
If you think it's the Ritz!
Fat chance!
Sorry, but the lil world chaosity ...

A yellow rat them floated over to them, a napoleon hat on his head.

Is a REEEEALITY!

with a poke of his sharp tail, the hot-air balloon suddenly popped and disappeared, the Gems falling down to whatever was underneath them, just for them to land on a flying pirate ship, driven by the same napoleon rat, as more rats and stoats sang along their tune.

Stoat Red and Blue: They're extraordinary
So never, be wary
because they come in every shape and size!
Size!
Size!
Size!
Rats: If Ponies what you cometh
you find that: we love it!
Because we just so love the things you prize!

Lavi, Button, Sapphire, and Ruby needed to get away from these things somehow, but it was far easier said than done, especially on a flying pirate ship. Lucky another hot air balloon was nearby, and they all jumped right into the basket to get away from them. That didn't last to long, as a glitching giant weasel head suddenly popped up right by their balloon.

I can keep my mind in ta-a-a-a-a
technicolor Stoats and ra-a-a-a-a
looking a microscopic gna-a-a-a-a
It's really too much for me-e-e-e. E E

The glitching weasel head actually touched the balloon, making the whole thing glitch out, and the strings keeping the basket on cut loose, making them fall again. This time there was nothing under them to catch their fall, and they continued falling. Looking to the falling basket, it actually turned into an Umbrella, Lavi grabbed it, and she, Button, Sapphire, and Ruby grabbed hold of her as the umbrella slowly floated down with them holding on. as much as they could as another voice rang out.

What'll I do?
What'll I do?
What'll I do?
What an unusual view!

Beware
They're here
They're there
The big rodents everywhere!

The umbrella suddenly broke, and they all fell again, but their fall turned into a slide as a crazily long, swirly tunnel slide suddenly appeared, them zooming down in spirals, loops, and corkscrews down the slide. But not without one more chorus from their Stoat friends out of sight.

They're black
They're brown
They're up
They're down
They're in
They're out
They're all about!
They're far
They're near
They're gone
They're here
They're quick, slick, and insincere!
all: Beware! Beware! Beware! Beware! BEWAAAAAAAAARE!

~~~~~~


Well, after that bunch of random nonsense, the four Gems finally met the bottom of their tumble into another part of this chaotic world. Not even a few minutes in here, and now they had no clue where to even go, or even where they were for that matter. If any of those weasels and rats pop up with them, it would be too soon. And just that taste alone was enough to make them completely freak out (Lavi and Button anyway).
As for where the group had fallen down into, they found themselves in a pretty colorful room, but not as crazy or dynamic as where they were just at, instead looking more like something one would find in a funhouse: green and red in big swirls. As far as paths go, the only one they could see was the slide they came in on, and a hallway door over by the opposite wall.

"Where're we now?" groaned Button. Sapphire, still having their compass, took a look at it and saw that it was facing off right over to the door, much to their dismay.

"Oh no, come on Lavi!" Button said, trying to get back up the slide. However, just like any other slide, button kept trying to run up but constantly sliding back down. Lavi tried to go up herself, helping Button up a bit further, but both Gems in the end simply slid on back down into Ruby and Sapphire. Before they could try again, the slide started to roll back up to the hole in the wall, which closed up fast so they can't keep trying. Now they only had one room to go to.

"Are we really doing this?"

"We've no choice. Come on," Sapphire replied, beginning to walk on to the door. Ruby stayed close to her Sapphire, as Button stayed close to Lavi, and the four went on from there. The door, as if it knew they were coming, opened right up for them into this strange world they've fallen into.
And soon, they found themselves from a small room, and out into some strange open plain. no grass was under their feet, instead just some dirt, and the whole place looked like it was straight out of some abstract painting: empty landscape with odd shapes which should be trees scattered about the place. Simple yet odd as the chaos realm would be. In this part of the world, there was little real evidence of birds, animals, or whatever. At least no animals they could recognize. ...

*FLASH!*

"What the - hey!" Out of nowhere, the four got hit with what looked like a flash of light. Looking up a tree, they all then saw what looked like one of those stoats again, the grey one from the musical number, this time having a camera around its neck, just finished taking a picture of them before scurrying away. Well, that didn't help them much on where they were, and only left them blindsided for a moment. That same stoat popped up over by Sapphire, at this point no bigger than the blue Gem in question. Hard to really tell what this stoat was thinking when looking at the face, but Sapphire saw one particular option.

"I wouldn't," Sapphire warned, but the stoat didn't really seem to care. And all of a sudden, the stoat held Sapphire in a sort of romantic stance, and gave her a peck on the lips! ... Right in front of Ruby, Button, and Lavi. ... did this stoat have a death wish? It didn't help that the stoat laughed at them before taking off.

"COME BACK HERE, HOMEWRECKER!" Ruby snapped, steaming up a storm as she gave chase. No one sneaks a kiss on her Sapphire and gets away with it! However, the stoat was moving very fast, and got a very big head start on Ruby. The stoat skidded over to a stop at a point in the path, and with a flick of its tail it turned into a pencil, which the stoat proceeded to pick off and draw out something in the air. After a tiny bit, and with some surprisingly good drawing, the stoat drew out a pie, big enough to dive into. However, the cheeky stoat did a sort of Ole' on Ruby, making her slam into the lemon moraine. After landing, Ruby popped out of the pie tin, covered in cream, lemon, and a cherry on top of her head. Ruby's anger made the pie boil up and bubble, and the stoat bolted on out of there before they could do much to it.

"You ok, Ruby?" asked Button. Lavi and Sapphire pulled out the ticked off Gem, still covered from head to toe in the pie cream. Ruby shook off the cream, all of it simply disappearing.

"What does that stoat think she is?! I'll have my revenge!" Ruby declared. Just in time for -

"WOOOOOOOOOOO!" the stoat suddenly shouted, sounding like a siren and made Ruby jump right into button's hands. The three spun around to try and catch the annoyed Stoat, but the stoat was out of screenshot the second they turned around. What they did find was a giant, flying goldfish with balloons tied to it. You know, the usual.

"... I feel uncomfortable. Excuse me," Button said, getting a head start on leaving the area.

"Hold the dropship, Button," said Ruby, as she, Lavi, and Sapphire began to go off down the path to find their way out.


~~~~~~


Well, the four continued going along from there, going in nowhere but a straight line, with Sapphire taking lead, the others trailing behind. Honestly, if one word really summed things up for this place, it would be confusing. Everything looked so out of place: trees upside down, whatever sign they found a complete smudge of actual direction, animals freaky even by Equestrian standards, and who knows what else.

"How in the stars does Discord deal with this all day?" Lavi had to asked, as she saw winged oysters fly by her.

"Don't worry too much about it, Lavi. They're just for show."

"I don't think they're just for show," Lavi retorted. Then Button got an idea.

"Sapphire, you can tell the future, can you tell us what's gonna happen? Or at least if we're going to get out," Button asked, as they continued walking. Sapphire focused a little bit as they kept walking, focusing more on Sapphire than where they were going.

"... It's difficult to say. Though in future, we're probably going to defy gravity for a short bit before we end up in a pool full of milk, and then get lifted up and poured out into a water slide, and then everything will turn white."

"... Wha?" Lavi asked.

"When is this going to happen?" asked Button. Then they stopped.

"In about three seconds."

...

They were upside-down now for some reason. Here it goes.

"Oh clod."

Pretty soon, they all suddenly fell down into the "sky", or ground or whatever you wanna call it. Their screams went on for just a little bit until they all splashed inside a decent-sized kiddie pool, which the liquid inside was all white. They all popped up at the surface, wet and tasting 1% milk on their tongues. This world was easily a lot faster than their reactions, because before they could shake themselves off, the whole pool began to shift and lift up, a giant rat holding it up and checking it out. It looked ready to swallow them up, but seeing the Gems inside made it change its mind, and pour the milk out, making them all fall out in a milky waterfall. The milk itself found some sort of surface in the ground, covering the area and the whole screen, leaving nothing but a bunch of white, and only white. Well, Sapphire was on the nose this time, but not in a good way, and now they had no clue where they were once they shook off the milk and became visible. Well, Lavi was freaking out now, and it didn't help that they lost practically everything now.

"O-Ok, ok, don't panic. There's got to be a way out of here," Button tried to reassure.

"We'll never escape, this is our new home!!" Lavi shouted.

"We'll get out. You're overreacting," Sapphire said.

"I'M NOT OVERREACTING!!" Lavi screamed, as she proceeded to make a run for it in a blind panic like some crazy maniac. She would run off a good mile, but discord physics and logic made her run back and forth until she slammed into Ruby. and then -

*FLASH*

"You again!"

Enter back the cheeky stoat. No, it wasn't exactly what they wanted to see again, especially Ruby. Once she got Lavi off of her, Ruby began to chase after the Stoat in circles around the group. They went faster, and faster, until the Stoat was nothing more than some little blur. this stoat wasn't gonna get caught, and it suddenly disappeared in a pop, the camera the only thing left, which landed on Button's head. And before they -

"That's good. I'm ready for this episode to end now," Sapphire cut in. Sapphire did some of her own focus, inhaling a bit more before she let out a Sapphire scream. No exact noise could be heard by any normal ears, but the entire screen suddenly cracked up like broken glass. All that nonsense and it was all going way too fast for them to properly contemplate, so they might as well cut it short. And when all the pieces disappeared, they found themselves in what looked like a ...surprisingly normal house. Looking more like the living room to a cottage. And not just any house, no no, over on the couch was the owner, and the owner turned out to be Mr. Draconequus himself, who suddenly found his TV static. And he wasn't enjoying it.

"Oh poo, done so soon? That barely cloaked at nine minutes!" Discord griped, only to see the four Gems standing over nearby. Before Lavi, Button, or Ruby could go over though, Sapphire grabbed the camera ... and gave it to Discord.

"For you," Sapphire said. Discord looked at the camera, and was simply beaming.

"Oh, I knew you'd get my camera back!" Discord said, giving Sapphire a kiss on the head.

... OK. WHAT?

"We went through all that just to get you a camera?!" yelled Ruby. So much trouble with those rats and weasels in such a short time, and they only got one small little object that apparently they can always get from a dollar store. Button, Lavi, and Sapphire stood further back, as Ruby marched right up to Discord, getting right in his face. Discord wasn't too deterred by the angry little square.

"Oh, please, it's not the camera I'm getting all tied up over. But anyway, you all won and you all deserve a little prize," Discord said, a floating claw grabbing the camera and giving to the draconequus. Discord got himself out from under Ruby, and then did his own magic tricks. He flattened the camera into a paper thin version, and with a flick of his wrist, a number of pictures then presented themselves. Discord tossed the camera aside, which exploded off screen, and blew the pictures over to Sapphire.

"Just a few little shots you all can look over in your little "PD case". Well, the exit's right over at the door whenever you're ready," Discord said, before slipping out the window to his house. Lavi, Sapphire, Ruby, and Button all took a look at the pictures Discord had given them, and all of them seemed to be varying in overall appearance, but it was Sapphire who was getting the details in with each one. ...

"Let's get these back."
> The Sound Of Silence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the sound of the Warp Pad going off, Sapphire, Ruby, Lavi, and Button all were out and with their sets of photos all in hand. Their rather distracting visit with Discord may have been a random and questionable one, but Discord did do them one service by getting them these pictures, at least Sapphire thought so. Though if they were to admit it - and they would - their visit to Discord's crazy realm of stoats and rats was rather unneeded. Then again, Lavi and Button probably would never unfuse otherwise, whether they wanted it or not. Sapphire was happy for it either way, and once off of the Warp Pad, they were over back to the barnhouse. Sapphire's Future Vision told her that he would be here.
As for the barnhouse itself, at the moment it was pretty active actually, in it's own way. The Off-Colors were back at the barn, but they also found Spinel there too. Impressive that the two were still together, and by the look on their faces, still pretty calm and looking pretty happy all the same. Spinel was over by the farm fence, meditating it would see, as the other Off-Colors were chilling out and waiting for Rhodonite to come around. However, Jade and Flint were also there and waiting, Flint pacing around a bit, and not even noticing the four other Gems coming in straight away.

"Hello everyone," Sapphire said.

"Sapphire? Well, nice t - who're they?" Flint immediately asked. He recognized Ruby and Sapphire surely, but Lavi and Button were a bit new to come around for him. However, the Off-Colors were a bit more shocked to see the two standing there.

"Wait," Tiger's Eye said, hopping down and going over to the pair. Lavi and Button stayed close to eachother, as Sapphire went over to Flint. Jade joined Tiger's Eye in seeing the two, though she wasn't as invasive as Tiger's Eye was, the curious Gem down on her four legs and looking her over like a curious dog.

"... Hold on a minute. Do I know you two from somewhere?" Tiger's Eye asked.

"S-Stop that," Lavi said blushing, she and Button both a bit uncomfortable. The other Off-Colors were surprised at this as well.

"....... Rhodonite!" Padparadscha gasped, her reaction delayed as always, but just as much of a reveal as it would normally be. Flint, Tiger's Eye, and Jade were expecting a little more of unfusing from Sapphire and Ruby over Lavi and Button here, personality in consideration and all.

"You two were Rhodonite? ... W-What happened to make you unfuse?" Jade asked.

"Discord," both Gems said in unison. The Draconequus may have not met everyone, but it was a name that got tossed around a whole lot, so they were at least vaguely aware of what the creature could do. And if Discord could separate Lavi and Button from eachother, it had to be a pretty strong hit to do so, or a LOT of persuasion whichever.

"I always wondered what you looked like split. So, which one's in charge of Rhodonite, Pearl or Ruby?" Tiger's Eye asked, not missing the opportunity to ask. If Rhodonite was anything to go by, this would probably be the only time they'll ever see these two.

"You don't need to know!" Lavi snapped.

"It's nice to see you two after so long Lavi, Button." Fluorite said, going over to them both herself. As if she wasn't intimidating before as they were Rhodonite, now both Gems were smaller, and felt a bit meeker looking to her, but Fluorite still wasn't going to hurt them here, and instead gently rubbed Button's head with a smile on her face. Button was humbled, but eventually a smile formed on her own face, feeling safe with Fluorite. Pretty cute, and far better than the realm they were just dumped into.
Anyway, as they were dealing with Lavi and Button, Sapphire and Ruby went over to Flint, holding the pictures.

"So where were you two, I wanted to have a word with you on -"

"Already taken care of, Flint," Sapphire replied, suddenly showed Flint the series of pictures that Discord had for them. All pictures were pretty good on their own, and all pretty well detailed in their own right. As Sapphire had seen the specialties and importance of these pictures, Flint didn't see it straight away himself.

"And where'd you get these?" Flint asked, slightly confused.

"Discord." Sapphire simply replied, before she began to stroll away towards Lavi and Button. Flint however couldn't see what the main deal was with each of these pictures, as they seemed completely random to eachother, and had little relation to the problem they had, or the case Flint got stuck with.

"What's wrong this time?"

"Something on your mind?"

both Rutiles took a moment off of Lavi and Button and were quick to notice Flint and his pictures. Flint was taken off guard when they showed up, but quickly gathered himself.

"Don't worry, it's just these pictures," Flint replied.

"Can we see?" asked both Rutiles.

"Uh ... ok?" Flint asked, a little confused, but showed them the pictures anyway. Both the twins took a look at what pictures Flint had on hand.
These weren't just simple pictures that Discord gave them, but looking at them, these were pf particular events that had happened throughout their escapades, though these were more well known for the veteran Crystal Gems rather than the Off-Colors. Each picture had a date on them, and a particular name as well:
"Albino Diamond" - a screenshot with White Diamond standing in her throne room with the other Diamonds, and the ponies and Crystal Gems in frame as well, the good team more in frame as if it was to focus on them.
"The Call" - this one showed what looked like most of the Crystal Gems over in the Beach House, being told about the Cluster by Yellow Diamond in her message to them.
"Objection!" - just some random shot during the whole court session for the Crystal Gems and the Diamond Authority, again the frame more focused on the Gems.
A few other pictures accompanied these, and all seemingly during bigger events of their adventures, namely during the Gem stuff going on. A bit disturbing that Discord got a hold of all of these pictures, and Flint will REALLY have to have a talk to him after this, but Rutile was a bit confused over these pictures as well. Flint eventually was given the pictures back.

"Sapphire told me they would help with the case, but ... exactly what can be helpful here?" Flint wondered, scratching his head as he looking them over and over again, examining each and every picture. Sapphire would not give him these if they weren't important in some way.

"Speak to me, pictures. Speak to me," Flint thought, examining each and every single one a bit more closely, the twins peering in from behind him, each twin on each side of him as they two looked them over curiously. Then they found it. It took them quite a bit to see, but there was indeed some sort of connection in these pictures. Sure there was the events playing out, naturally, but one detail was more evident the closer they looked to the Crystal Gems. They all looked fine overall, but there was one Gem that caught their eye. It was Pearl.
Pearl, in each one, had her mouth covered. Usually with both hands, and it was during each of the more important events, notably with the Diamonds. It was still a rather vague detail, but probably the only odd thing they could catch as they were looking. Flint looked to both twins, and he straightened up each picture.

"Strange," said the right Rutile.

"I was thinking the same thing," replied Left Rutile, hand under her chin in thought.

"What're you doing, Pearl?" Flint wondered.

"Well ... maybe, she's just worried or scared," left Rutile suggested.

"Looks like you all were in some dangerous places," agreed right Rutile, but Flint was unsure. That could easily be the case, yet who's reaction would be to cover their mouth? Flint worked out some of the possibilities in his head for this, but there was one way to figure it out. Good thing that Spinel was not too far away to start this off with. Flint went off from there, and walked right over towards Spinel. Spinel was in deep thought, meditation at its height, and he had some questions ready for this fusion.

"Spinel, may I have a word with you? ... Spinel? ... Spinel, wake up!"

Well, so much for asking directly. Spinel didn't even flinch during the yelling, so whatever meditation she was doing must be very high up there. Flint will just have to wait, but this idea shouldn't be completely ignored.


~~~~~~


"Well, after some consideration, I feel that it should be made known to you all."

After some time, and while some Crystal Gems were away during the family reunion for AJ, Flint got a discussion together with some of the others. In this case: Jasper, Bismuth, Jade, Lapis, Fulgurite, Peridot, Star Quartz, Emerald, and Diopside. He would get Pearl to be apart if she were still here, though Garnet did suggest a bit differently since they already had plans. Their meeting place this time was at the barn again, and with the Off-Colors off and busy, they had it to themselves this time, at least for a little bit.

"So what's this about this time?" Jasper asked.

"Did you find anything big on the case?" Bismuth asked.

"Well, good news and bad news: the good news is that we can say without a doubt that Rose Quartz indeed did not shatter Pink Diamond. The bad news is we still are low on suspects, so there's no one to pin it on ... However, we did find something out," Flint revealed, Jade taking the time to help them out and show them the pictures brought back to them.

"Eh, is there something we're missing?" Lapis asked, scratching her head. Diopside studied the pictures with her gem eye.

"Try to focus on finding Pearl in those pictures. Do any of you notice anything in common with them?" Flint asked. It took some a bit quicker than others to see it, but they soon notice that Pearl did indeed have her mouth clamped shut behind her hands in these pictures. However, that was still a bit unconvincing.

"Hold on, yeah. Pearl kept covering her mouth during all of these," Diopside noticed, her Gem eye taking in the details easily, and naturally quicker than the others had.

"Yeah, so?" Emerald asked.

"Doesn't that come off as odd to any of you?" Flint asked.

"Not really. I mean, ok, she has her hands over her mouth, but that's always been her ... thing," Bismuth answered. She found it pretty casual, but that just intrigued Flint even more, as Diopside studied up on each of the pictures some more along with Fulgurite.

"Her thing? Bismuth?" Flint asked, very intrigued.

"What're you trying to say, Flint, that she's responsible?" Jasper cut in.

"Of course not! However, out of everyone so far, she's been the most quiet about it. I mean, you've all shared your experience with the Gem war already, right?" Flint brought up, letting the others think for a moment.

"... You know, now that you say it, Pearl never brought up what she knew exactly. I mean, sure, she fought alongside Rose Quartz, but that's about it," Emerald realized, scratching her head.

"Well, there has to be more to it. ... Lapis, you were fused with her just this morning, did you see anything that could help here?" Flint asked. Lapis paused for a minute and thought it over more and more, but unfortunately for them all, she simply shrugged. Bummer.

"Eh, nothing, sorry. she and I had fun, but I never really saw much inside Pearl's memory," Lapis answered. Well, scratch that option off the list. Bismuth got up after that.

"Flint, stop that. K, so she's been a bit quiet about the Gem war. She's been apart of the Gem War, so have we. Who knows what she might've gone through," Bismuth made clear.

"Wait, were you?" Emerald asked.

"I was the blacksmith for the entire Crystal army!"

"For a few hundred years? I've been in the war, buddy, and I don't remember seeing ya once. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing most of ya in there. ... Except for Jasper over there. Where were you guys anyway?" Emerald said. That brought on some odd silence from most of them.

"Bubble," said Bismuth.

"Geode," Fulgurite added.

"Mirror," put in Lapis.

"I wasn't even made yet," Peridot stated.

"Same," Star replied.

"What's with all the captures?" Emerald thought, though he was also surprised that Peridot was actually younger than him, but that was something for later.

"Well, we know about her from Lapis at least. Right?" Jade asked, looking to Flint.

"Yeah, but she doesn't have much to go off of. No offense, Lapis."

"None taken," she replied. Flint didn't realize just how little they actually had for him. As it stood, the only one who mainly had any info regarding Pink Diamond at all was Lapis, and even then it was very lacking in detail.

"Look, if you want to talk to Pearl about it, you're going to have to wait: she just left with the others to join Applejack in some "Family reunion"," Jasper answered. So long as they can get some sort of answer, then he might as well wait for her. As much as he didn't want to.

.......

And wait they did, all throughout the day. Whatever this little event was going on back in Ponyville, it surely was taking their time, as some of them were waiting around over by the Temple for the Crystal Gems to come back later on in the day and to the night. They took their position just outside, chilling out over at the shoreline, some Gems looking up to the night stars, as some were playing around in the water. It gave them something to do to pass the time, anyway.

"Ok, did anyone hear how long this reunion's gonna be?" asked Flint, keeping an eye back to the Beach House.

"Be patient, please? They'll be back eventually," Jade replied.

"But when is "eventually"? If we're gonna play detective, I wanna actually start," Emerald groaned, staring off to the sky on the sand. The stars sure looked nice, but it wasn't going to cure any of their boredom just yet. ...

"COME ON!!!"

"Steven!"

The group took a look over to the Beach House on hearing Pearl and Steven come in. Guess they were just too far to hear the Warp Pad go off, but the screaming was heard loud and clear, and just who Flint was waiting to see. However, it didn't sound like they were very happy over it.

"Wait here," Flint instructed, before beginning to head off and putting on his camouflage cloak, making him disappear in the low light. Everyone else out on the beach decided to keep behind as Flint got himself right up to the door. With his cloak on, he was practically invisible so long as he didn't budge or knock over anything, or make any extra noises for that matter. Flint got himself just at the window, peering in just in case if his cloak didn't work, listening in to what was going on.

"Steven. I know you're worried about Connie. What happened with White Diamond, it isn't your fault. Perhaps it is best if she's out on her own for a while, it's probably her way of coping with the situation. I mean, she did just come out from the hospital," Pearl attempted to make a joke out of it, but it was clearly not working, even after Pearl chuckled at it.

"OK, bad joke. W-What I mean is that -"

"Ok, Pearl, Steven needs alone time now. ... You just go back to the party," Steven said, as he walked on upstairs and toss the covers over his head.

"Steven, I -" Pearl halted herself when her hand met her mouth. She got that removed, but she didn't speak anymore. Well, time does heal some wounds, and Pearl could only hope that Steven would be healed up over time.

"I'm sorry. ... Well, sweet dreams," Pearl replied. Without another word, silent Pearl went on out, and the sound of the Warp Pad signified her exit. Very interesting. Flint took some special note over Pearl covering her mouth before he too took his exit. Flint kept on his cloak until he got back to the other Gems over down the beach, just to be sure Steven and Pearl didn't see him.

"Well?"

"Let's give her until tomorrow morning. Now here's what we're going to do. ..."


~~~~~~


Their operation took into progress next morning, which to them was more than enough time to give Pearl to calm down and get herself together after last night. For this first shot at the plan, the first ones to do this was Star Quartz, Bismuth, and Flint. It took a bit for them to find out where Pearl had gone off to, and eventually they found her off in the boardwalk, trying to cheer Steven up alongside Greg apparently.

"Are we really doing this? Maybe it's not as bad," Bismuth quietly said.

"I never said it was. Ok, Star, you know what to do?" Flint asked. Star nodded to him, and she began to walk over to Pearl and Steven. Looking to them, the two were actually sharing some ice cream, Steven namely having a swirl as Pearl had vanilla, though Pearl wasn't exactly eating hers.

"You enjoying your uh ... food?" Pearl asked Steven.

"It's ok, thank you," Steven replied, a bit more humble than usual as he simply licked his ice cream. Both of them didn't even notice Star there until she stopped only a foot away, though Steven was startled when he did see her, tongue mid-extend. Steven and Pearl both looked over to Star Quartz standing there.

"Oh, hi Star," Pearl said, Star Quartz walking over to them.

"What're you doing?" Star asked.

"We're just having some ice cream. Want some?" Greg asked, presenting his piece to her. Star shook her head, but something else was on her mind, thinking about what happened last night.

"... Are you two mad at eachother?"

Well, awkward.

"Wha?"

"Flint saw you two arguing last night. Are you still worried about Connie?" Star sure was cutting right to the quick on this little problem, though even she could feel Flint banging his head in a wall somewhere. Pearl and Greg didn't want Steven to feel worse about things, but Steven just sighed.

"I-It's fine. ..."

"... That's not a very confident "it's fine"," Star stated. To Steven, Star Quartz was seeing right through him, but Pearl didn't want to add more drama to this.

"Now, Star, maybe we should talk about something -"

"Connie hates me!" Steven suddenly said. It had been long enough of silence for the kid, and Pearl and Star looked to him.

"Steven?"

"I'm not upset about what happened with that monster although, yeah, a lot of that was really messed up. But my relationship with Connie is even more messed up. I left her behind to surrender to Homeworld after promising we'd face everything together. I'm sure I really hurt her, more than just her arm. I've been calling and texting her for a week, but she hasn't responded once. ...Connie might never talk to me again." That last part was met with some tears coming down his face, him looking down to his feet. Pearl and Star looked to him with some concern, now fully understanding his side of the story. Steven's emotions would've been a lot worse if Star Quartz's calming aura method wasn't keeping him level headed to some degree, keeping him there and not bolting off in his emotional huff.

"Schtuball, if this was about Connie, why didn't you say anything sooner?" Greg asked. Steven recoiled.

"I was embarra..."

"You were embroidered, embroiled, emboldened to talk to your old man about your problems?"

"I was embarrassed, okay? You and the Gems all like Connie, and I was worried that if you heard what happened that you'd be mad at me too," Steven replied. Sure, Garnet wasn't upset with him, but that was still just one Gem compared to an entire team.

"Oh, Steven, of course we're not mad," Greg sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And I'm sure Connie's not mad, either. Well, at least I'm sure she doesn't hate you. That whole handing-yourself-over-to-Homeworld thing was definitely a high-stress situation. It really scared all of us. I'm not exactly over it either, but I guess carting you off here for some ice cream to spend time with you is my way of dealing with it. Maybe having some distance from you is Connie's way."

"But the last thing I did was send her some dumb texts and messages," Steven retorted.

"Where is your phone, anyway?" Star suddenly asked. Pearl clammed up on that answer, and simply sighed, before her stone started to glow again, bringing out Steven's phone from her inner inventory. Star took a look at it as Steven groaned.

"I bet she didn't respond yet. My last message to her was some dumb joke about tennis balls."

"Tennis?"

"Told you," Steven sighed.

*Bing*

Bing? A Bing?! Steven thought he was hearing things, but that was indeed, in all truth, a Bing. and there was only one thing that could make that Bing, and that was his phone! However, Steven thought that this was just Ronaldo again, so he wasn't too thrilled. ...

"Connie has a pretty funny face."

He wasn't dull anymore.

"L-Let me see!" Steven gasped, almost yanking the phone out of Star's hands. His eyes widen in surprise, and sure enough, there was Connie! Connie actually responded. And what did she have to say?



"... This has been fun, guys, now if you excuse me, I got somewhere to be that just came up. Thanks for the ice cream!" and sure enough, Steven was off and running, a lot happier, and tears coming down his face, this time of joy. Connie was not hating him! Greg and Pearl were especially glad for it that Connie had forgiven him after everything. And when that was done, Star turned and began to walk over back to where she came ... just to see Bismuth and Flint again. Flint had a bit of ... mixed emotions.

"... Did I forget something?"

"Maybe we should try something different. Thanks though."

.......

"I predict that this is going to be a compelling story," Padparadscha said, about in the middle of it.

After their visit to Equestria, the Off-Colors were back to the barn home, and in this particular situation, the other Gems were in quite some luck now, as Pearl had went on by to the barn and was actually telling them some stories. And by the time Flint, Bismuth, Jasper and Emerald arrived, Pearl was going through details of the Gem war fight, having a scabbard in her hand that housed Rose's sword. Old callback to years prior.

"Rose Quartz led us to glorious victory! The odds were against us, and our hearts were uncertain. (lays scabbard on her chest dramatically) But we chose to fight alongside Rose, and here we made our stand against Homeworld."

"Fascinating," Fluorite said. Padparadscha looked off and saw the trio of Gems coming over to them.

"The quartz soldiers were probably surprised seeing a Pearl beating them up, huh?" Tiger's Eye asked.

"Probably," Pearl replied smugly. What a better time to bring up the subject than now?

"Here comes more Gems," Padparadscha said after a bit. Only then did they all see the four show up.

"What's up, Pearl? Telling about your adventures I see," Bismuth said with a smile, seeing Pearl holding the scabbard.

"Well, since they've never had the privilege of seeing it, I thought it would be fare to tell them what they've missed," Pearl explained. Pretty basic enough of a reason, although it had been a while between their first steps on Earth and now. Then again, better late than never for this sake.

"Oh. you all enjoying the story?" Emerald asked.

"You bet! So many different fights, advances, disadvantages, who'd of guess she would go through so much? Pearl got a little quiet at a point, but other than that, it was fine," Tiger's Eye explained, Pearl feeling herself recoil on what Tiger's Eye said. A bit odd to hear, but maybe it could help them out in some way.

"What part's that?" Jasper asked, though at this point, they knew Tiger's Eye would answer right away, and now was no exception.

"The Pink Diamond bit. Rhodonite brought it up, and suddenly Pearl wasn't saying a word." And all of a sudden, Pearl was doing it again: her hand brought up to her mouth once again, same as all those pictures, and same as her conversation with Steven.

"Tiger's Eye," Rhodonite snapped, making her flinch a bit. Well, on the bright side, they don't have to think about bringing it up now, but seeing Pearl clam up like this wasn't gonna make it any easier for them to get some special information.

"You ok, Pearl?" Bismuth asked, though Pearl didn't remove her hand from her mouth. It took her a bit to remove her hand.

"I ... I'm sorry. But I just have some  ... trouble. With that subject," Pearl meekly admitted, though her hands were still hovering over her mouth, as if they were waiting to clamp again. Jasper helped bring her hands down gently before she spoke to her.

"You still feel shocked about it, huh?"

"Eh ... yeah. I'd rather not talk about it," Pearl said, her hands covering her mouth again afterwards.

"I know it's a hard subject, but it can't hurt if you could say a little something about it," Flint said, but this time Pearl didn't remove her hands. Earlier it was understandable, but why was she still clamming up this much? Eventually, Pearl did calm down and just sighed.

"I uh ... I was about done anyway, so ... I'll just be going," Pearl decided, and she went off on her way. Not exactly the answer that they wanted to hear, but clearly this was a subject Pearl had a harder time with. Clearly if they were gonna get anywhere with the Gem, it'll need some more effort.

"This'll be harder than I thought," sighed Flint.

"Ok, Flint, maybe you shouldn't pester her. I know you want more information, but if she isn't willing to talk about, then you shouldn't keep trying her," Jasper stated. Still, Flint was especially suspicious.

"but she did this before, and so precise. ... There's got to be a way to get her to talk."

Then Emerald got a particular idea.

.......

"You sure you know what you're doing, Emerald?" asked Flint, as Emerald concentrated the drink for the full effect, once he and a few others got back to the Beach House.

"Hey, you want Pearl to talk without getting her mouth clamped right? I see this all the time: they drink this and they'll tell you anything anytime anyday. That and then some," said Emerald, swirling the drink in his hand so it'll mix well.

"Whatever it'll take to get this to work. All those other witnesses didn't give us much, this has to do something. Pearl's the closest we got," Flint sighed, but he had a very bad feeling about this. With a little swirl, the drink was finally complete. And just in time too, as they heard the Warp Pad open up from behind them. Flint, Peridot, Fulgurite, Jasper, and Emerald saw their main chance, and Fulgurite took the drink and ready to serve.

"There you are Pearl, how ya doing?"

"Well, actually I've been trying to relocate some more Gems. Shouldn't you be out and helping Bismuth right now?" Pearl questioned. Fulgurite needed to get to the subject, and she showed Pearl the drink.

"In a bit, but first try this out," Fulgurite suggested. Pearl grew a little suspicious over this offer.

"What's this?"

"Twilight found this kind a "truth-seeing serum" the other day, and she just dropped it off while you were away. We talked it over, and if anyone could use it to handle our little case, it might as well be you," Fulgurite explained. Pearl took a look to the drink.

"Twilight would've told us something, wouldn't she?"

"She was a bit busy. you know, being a princess and all, working on the cases, she doesn't have too much time to explain things right now."

"Hmm ... well, Twilight did mention she used a potion to find a tree of friendship before ... Well, can't hurt to try."

"Exactly. And make sure to drink every last drop of it," Fulgurite advised. If it can help them out, then Pearl was as willing to solve this case same as anyone else. Pearl felt a little reluctant at first, but eventually she closed her eyes and began to drink down every last drop. Pearl waited for a moment or two with the result of the drink taking hold of her mind. Gems do have a strong tolerance to this, but this was extremely concentrated, and not even Pearl could end up immune to the drink. They all stood back from her to give her some space, waiting for some sort of reaction from her, the cup sliding out of her hand and landing on the floor. Pearl simply stared off ahead of her, eyes wide as if she was seeing the mystery girl for the first time again, a blue hue starting to show on her face.

"Uh ... Pearl? How do you feel?" Jasper asked. Pearl needed a minute to try and get herself together, but when she saw Jasper, her mind started to wander a little ...

"OH my. R-Rose!"

"... What?" all of a sudden, Pearl was hugging Jasper tightly, a big smile on her blue face. Well, the buzz from the drink was REALLY getting to her head, and much of the Gems had no clue what to say here, Pearl looking right to Jasper's body.

"Why aren't you so soft, Rose? You were so soft and warm before," Pearl asked, poking Jasper's stomach, her voice a little tipsy.

"EMERALD?"

"What, it's a side-effect. go on, ask her," Emerald insisted. Flint groaned, but, he went up to her anyway.

"Ok, Pearl? Do you know anything about Pink Diamond? Anything at all?" Flint asked, not cutting any corners here. Pearl took a moment to stop trying to find "Rose's soft torso" to try and answer his question.

"Well ... she's pink and ... she's a diamond."

"... Let me rephrase: do you know anything about her being shattered?" Flint corrected. Unfortunately, her hands were back right up to her mouth again, Pearl looking overly shocked. ... and they didn't get off her mouth. Again. Flint, hand to forehead, just left a big groan. This was simply getting nowhere, and her tipsy state wasn't making it any easier.

"This isn't working," Jasper sighed.

"What's not working? You ok, Rosie?" Pearl asked, hugging her again. Jasper simply sighed, and actually did some ... modifications (is that the right word?) to her body to make it feel softer and less muscular. Pearl felt it, and closed her eyes.

"There it is. So warm,~" Pearl cooed, cuddling her. If Pearl wasn't off her mind right now, then this would be WAY creepier than it already was. Emerald prepared to go, but Flint grabbed him by the shoulder before he could go.

"How long does this last?"

"Well, according to Gem intake from her ... previous escapade with this human liquid, I would have to guess ... a few hours," Peridot answered, probably the only one who could actually answer it accurately.

"Can I kill him?" Jasper bluntly asked.

"Ye - no! ... We'll wait until she comes back around."


~~~~~~


that afternoon, Pearl finally came around back to normal, but for the moment by herself, she was walking along the beach, now having a bit of a headache from Emerald's attempt to make her talk. She needed a bit of time to think it over without getting a bigger migraine.

"What on Earth happened back there?" Pearl asked herself, having little memory of her "cuddling with Rosie". As she was going along, she found a nice, quiet spot on the beach for her to think over what actually was going on here. She perched herself onto a seaside rock, and gave a long sigh, just before another pair of Gems found where she walked off to, and this time Flint wasn't with them. That didn't mean Pearl was happy much, her headache bugging her more than anything.

"You alright now, Pearl?" Lapis asked, Pearl having her hand on the side of her head

"Yeah. ... Oh, what's going on with him today? I know he wants to solve this case, but ... did he send you two after me?" Pearl asked.

"No, no he didn't. We even told him you were still out of it so he would stop bothering you," Lapis reassured her. Pearl sighed in relief, but this was not the end of her ordeal. she still failed to talk about her situation entirely.

"Pearl. ... Look, I trust you with my Gemstone ... but ... it wouldn't hurt if we know," Bismuth said, trying to make it the nicest she can.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" Pearl asked, feeling her hand go to her mouth again. Out of anything she could say, she chose to pick those words? Guess it was time to come clean.

"Pearl, listen. We're all trying in our own way to handle this Pink Diamond case. We all want to be lifted of our ban and this crime, but the only one who didn't say anything about Pink Diamond ... is you. We all trust you, Pearl, you can tell us anything," Lapis said. Pearl moved her hand down, thinking about what she just said. Pearl trusted them, she really did, with just how much they've done together, especially with these two in particular. As somber as it was, none of them were ready for what happened next.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions you'd like answers to. About me, about Pink Diamond. There are things that are impossible for me to explain. ... But I want to! I -" her hand quickly covered her mouth again, Pearl pulling off.

"Lapis, I -" suddenly her hand covered her mouth again, this time more forcefully. Pearl began to double over, shivering as she tried to make herself remove her own hand from her mouth. This made Lapis jump up and stand over by bismuth, both gems caught off guard by Pearl. Pearl shivered, and her other hand tried to pry the first off of her mouth as much as she could.

"Pearl what's wrong?!" Lapis asked. Finally, Pearl yanked her hand off her mouth, panting and freaked out. Bismuth had enough of it, and went right up to her, grabbed Pearl, and gripped her arms tight.

"Come on, Pearl, I got you. Come on, talk, you can do it!" Bismuth said, but Pearl can't seem to fully say much of anything, as the more she tried, the more she seemingly was defying her, her arms gathering strength. Bismuth waited for Pearl to say what she knew, but she could feel her defying her every step of the way, her arms shivering and trying to move up to her mouth again.

"B-Bismuth, I ... I ..."

"Come on, fight it Pearl. We're here for you," Bismuth reassured her. Pearl's own body was not listening to her, or Pearl for that matter, and the amount of strength in her arms was intense, the hands actually, ever so slowly, moving up to Pearl's head. Bismuth tried to keep her arms down, but it wasn't enough: Pearl's arms forced themselves out of Bismuth's grip, but it wasn't her mouth that they were aiming for, as they suddenly gripped her neck.

*snap* .......

"... I'm sorry ..."

*POOF*

Bismuth and Lapis needed a minute to comprehend what just happened. bismuth could remember Pearl shedding a few tears just before she did herself in, and all that remained now was a gemstone down in the sand. Bismuth just stayed wide eyed, only barely able to comprehend she was so shocked, as she looked down to the Gemstone. Lapis and Bismuth paused and looked to eachother for a small moment, before Lapis picked up Pearl's gemstone. ...

"Bismuth! Lapis!"

And then came in the Crystal Gems, this time with Garnet in toe. The group of Gems skidded to a stop once they caught up with Lapis and Bismuth, only to find Pearl's own gemstone in Lapis's hand. Seeing just that made them realize what happened here.

"P-Pearl?! what happened?!" Fulgurite gasped.

"We tried talking to her, but ..." Lapis trailed off in thought as Garnet was given the stone. Flint looked up to the fusion, feeling slightly guilty for this.

"Garnet, I-I'd like to apologize. If I'd known, I'd -"

"Don't be."

Everyone there turned to Bismuth. She had her back turned to them, but she did turn around, suddenly having a face full of anger, enough to intimidate even Jasper.

"Bismuth, it's not his fault," Garnet said, not wanting Flint hurt. However, Bismuth moved passed her, and was standing right in front of Flint.

"Flint. You know her. Would she make this happen?"

"Who? Pink?"

"No ... White."

.......




"Get them."



> Butterfly Wings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If somepony had told me when I was a blank flank that one day I'd give a speech to a class at Celestia's School of Magic, I wouldn't have believed it, but I hope that I have been up to the task, because I can tell that all of you are and that the future of Equestrian magic is in good hooves."

Off in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle had gotten the big opportunity by princess Celestia, one that the alicorn herself was both nervous and excited to have privilege. For the longest time she was given the lessons by Celestia herself, and learning lessons herself. Now it's time for this alicorn to give her lessons to others in a more professional light. With Spike working the slides for the camera, Twilight stood at her podium and presented the day's studies to a number of magic students, most of these unicorns, though some other magic students were apart of this as well.

"Uh, next slide please," Twilight said, waiting for the slide to change. However, Spike ended up falling asleep through the first half. A particular equestrian Doppelganger nudged Spike just enough to wake him up, and once that happened, he scrambled like crazy to get the next set of pictures. Eventually, after some workings, the picture of the mane six were presented, seemingly around what looked like a rainbow ring at the center.

"I can speak from my own experience that the power of Cutie Mark Magic is very real, and in the instance of my friends and I, it can be traced to a single event! Without Rainbow Dash's race to defend Fluttershy's honor, this rainboom wouldn't have happened. Fluttershy might never have discovered her love of animals. Applejack might never have realized that she belonged on her farm. And Pinkie Pie might never have decided to leave hers. It must be hard to imagine Rarity without her sense of fabulousness. But it's even harder to fathom what my life would be like. Without this rainboom, I might not have gotten into magic school. Celestia wouldn't have taken me on as her pupil or sent me to Ponyville to meet my friends. And the most powerful thing about Cutie Mark Magic that I found is the connection I share with them."
Each word Twilight had explained in her grand lecture was met by some eager and intrigued ears of many a magic user in the room. Spike kept his focus up this time and kept up with the pictures as things went on, but as Twilight continued, she saw ... something. she squinted her eyes to be sure her eyes weren't playing tricks, but when she looked back again at who she was sure was there ... it was gone. 

"The real question about... Cutie Mark Magic is... who it seems to affect."


~~~~~~


"Starlight Glimmer?"

"I was sure I saw her, Spike. But when I looked again, she was gone! I'm just worried what she could be up to," Twilight explained, as she and Spike made it back to Ponyville with little trouble since the presentation. And who could really blame her though? Twilight hadn't seen the magic mare in a VERY long time, and last she could remember was with the leader of Homeworld on a vengeance spree not just to her but her friends as well.

"Nothing good, I bet. I heard she wasn't very happy the last time you saw her," Spike said, bringing up the very same point, or maybe one further on. Twilight sighed as she and Spike went along.

"Forcing everypony in her village to have the same cutie mark wasn't right. We had to do something! I was really hoping she would try to learn from it, but ..." Twilight slowed her thoughts on that remark, but Spike had it covered with his own idea.

"And now she's coming back for revenge," spike concluded. Though seeing the alicorn's worried face made him switch and said "Uh, or she was just really interested in your speech!"

"Honestly, Spike. I'm not really sure what I saw. But as long as I have my friends, I know everything will be all right," Twilight concluded. she had her friends of Ponyville, and her friends from Beach City, so she had that going for her, whatever the case. After all, they've gone through many a problem before this. Eventually, Twilight and Spike were at the front door to the library.

"Maybe I was just more stressed about that speech than I thought."

"Yeah. That sounds better than Starlight Glimmer coming back with an evil plot for revenge," Spike pointed out. O so true.

"Well, when you say it like that, it does sound kinda silly," Twilight finally concluded, just as she opened the door. ...

"Or it's totally true!"

Dear oh dear. Twilight was a little confused at first, but when she looked into the library, she saw a sight that almost made her heart skip a beat. There, sitting casually by the library's center statue with a cocky, triumphant smirk edged on her face, was the very unicorn in question, levitating what looked like a scroll by her eyesight. And worse yet, it seemed this unicorn knew she was coming.

"Welcome home, Twilight!" Starlight said, as she read over the spell she had with her. Twilight and Spike looked completely shocked to see the unicorn in their own home of all places, and Starlight wasted little time in activating the spell in question. Up above their heads, the sight of what looked like a portal started to open up above them, a sight of green and blue mixture amongst the portal greeting them inside. some pages from Twilight's books actually started to swirl around, magical lightning zapping here and there, almost hitting Spike and Twilight.

"What are you doing, Starlight?" Twilight demanded, only to be met by Starlight's laughing.

"I'd tell you, but I don't want to ruin the surprise! Won't be needing that anymore," Starlight decided, crumbling up the scroll into nothing but scrap paper, and tossing it away, Spike catching it. After that was done, Starlight Glimmer began to float up with a magical aura around herself, using her own magic as she did before. Starlight rushed up through the portal, but soon she wasn't the only one beginning to get sucked in, Twilight quickly seeing Spike starting to get pulled in as well!

"Got you, Spike!" Twilight said, desperately grabbing him by the tail, but soon she too started to get pulled in, and soon both alicorn and baby dragon were sucked into the portal with Starlight! Starlight looked back through the portal, just to see this happen, and NO WAY was she going to do that.

"OH NO, you're not stopping me this time, Twilight Sparkle!" Starlight declared, turning around for a brief moment, and gave them a perfect blast of unicorn magic. Twilight Sparkle and Spike were too focused on keeping eachother from getting hurt for a counterattack, and the alicorn was hit especially strong and tossed around in the portal warpstream!


~~~~~~


Eventually, a portal did start to open up on one end of the world, and it made them all tumble and soon enough, Spike and Twilight ended up landing rather roughly on solid ground. The alicorn and dragon spun and stumbled until finally stopping in the dirt, both her and Spike dizzy from their fly around through time and space. Twilight got her horn out of the dirt, shaking herself off, as Spike coughed a little bit. Looking around, both Spike and Twilight seemingly found themselves just outside her home. Or at least, it would seem that way.
For one moment, Ponyville looked like the spitting image of friendship and harmony, friendly, sweet, and cozy to live in. But now, all the buildings and cottages they could see and make out had a rather horrifying look of decay on them. Each house they could see had at least two to three holes in their hay rooftops, some buildings with doors and windows boarded up, and trees which were once flourishing and full of life now simply stood like skeletons with only bark on their limbs swaying in the breeze. Twilight and Spike were left pretty shocked on what the hay happened to their world, and once more, the place didn't really look too inhabited either. Sure they saw a very few, but those they did see were not willing to come out to see them. Both of them began to head through town, and saw this same scenario practically all over Ponyville, one way or another.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," Spike said.

"W-Well, ok, maybe Ponyville looks a little uh ... low-maintained, but this is Ponyville! How bad could this be?" Twilight asked.

However, it appeared this Alicorn spoke just a little too soon. They were heading on over towards Rarity's boutique, but once they got there, the building looked just as bad and decrepit as anywhere else, the doors and windows boarded up from top to bottom, and no true way to get in.

"Rarity! Rarity, you in there?!" Spike called, pulling on the boards to look in. However, no such luck.

"I don't think she's here anymore, Spike. ... Oh, what in Equus and Earth happened?" Twilight wondered. Spike took a better look at his alicorn friends, and ...

"T-Twilight?"

"Spike, I know this looks bad, but there has to be something that hadn't changed. ... Spike?" Twilight turned to him and saw that Spike looked completely freaked out, irises shrinking, and finger claw pointing over to Twilight's back. Twilight followed his eyes, and what she saw shocked her to her core. Or rather, what she didn't see: her Cutie Mark, and her wings! Twilight yelped in shocked. As horrifying as this appeared to be for her, there was only one conclusion that she could make out for this happening.

"Did you think Starlight did this? Maybe if we find her, we can fix this! Now, where is she?" Spike wondered, but Twilight saw the paper in his claws, and took a quick look at it. And that's when it clicked.

"Not where, when!"

"What do you mean?" Twilight levitated the spell out of Spike's claws, and quickly looked it over, straightening it out.

"This spell! Spike, this is Starswirl's time spell. Starlight must've found it and went back to the past to alter something. Her knocking us back must've sent us back to the present."

"Good! ... Wait, our present or her present?"

"Looks like we're in hers Spike," Twilight concluded, looking around Ponyville. And just to show how decrepit everything had gotten, they both heard a distant sign fall to the ground., echoing throughout the town. Spike felt a shiver run through him as he gulped nervously.

"But what do we do now? I mean, nopony's going to listen."

"I know somepony who might! Come on, to Canterlot!" Twilight said, leaped up onto the air. However, all that did was make her thud to the ground, the now Cutie-Markless unicorn forgetting for a brief moment that she had lost her wings.

"I don't think they would listen to you either. Sorry but, you're no princess anymore," Spike pointed out. Twilight groaned and got back to her hooves.

"Oh, you're right. But there's got to be somepony. ... Wait. I think I got it!"

.......

And there they were. After their run around, their next stop was straight over to Sweet Apple Acres. However, the once happy, hard-working farmland now turned into a rough, hard-working factory. The barnhouse had a number of smokestacks coming up from it. To say that this was out pf place was surely an understatement. Twilight went over towards one of the windows, and looked on inside, only to find the barn completely turned into an assembly line: Big Macintosh and Applejack inside and working the machines around them. Neither looked very good though, both in full body suits, and masks over their mouths. This was indeed a scary situation, but Applejack was a nice sight to see, as the orange pony rolled out a barrel outside and towards a nearby wagon.

"Applejack! Oh, thank Celestia you're still here!" Twilight said with a smile. However, AJ's reaction was more mundane than most, and pushed Twilight off of her.

"Can I help you?" she asked, before going back to work.

"It's so good to see you. I didn't find Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, or Fluttershy, but I knew you'd still be here."

"Of course I am, I live here. But who in tarnation's Pinkie Bow and FlutterDash? ... Or you for that matter?"

"You ... Don't know who I am?" Twilight asked humbly, as AJ got another barrel, and rolled it passed.

"Nope. Rarity sounds familiar, but she left years ago to manehatten."

"To fulfill her dream as a fashion designer I bet," Spike said, hoping that was the case. However, AJ had a different story.

"Doubt it. Last I heard she went to help the cause like everypony else," AJ answered. The cause? what cause? Sure things looked bad, but what was it they would be handling exactly? AJ looked back to them, and saw just how confused they were.

"Ya know, the war. The Lunar empire against the Crystal Empire?"

"W-WHAT?!" they gasped. AJ felt startled.

"Hold on. Y'all really didn't had a clue? Where have you been," AJ asked, eyebrow raised.

"Eh, more like when," Spike corrected. AJ still felt a little confused.

"Applejack, I know it's hard to believe, but those ponies I've mentioned and you are friends, myself included!" Twilight insisted. However, Applejack didn't seem to buy into it, and walked in between her and Spike.

"Really? Pull the other one, it has bells on it."

"I'm telling the truth, really!"

"Sure. And I reckon you had a set of wings and a little princess of friendship where you came from too, right?"

"EXACTLY!" Spike and Twilight gasped. That just frustrated AJ.

"Alright, look, I don't have a clue what y'all are talkin, but if you wanna figure this out that badly, go and talk to princess moon. If anypony's got a clue, it'll be her. Now, if you'll excuse me, I got some crates to deliver," AJ said, and with that remark and the final barrel in place, and began to head off. Well, guess the two knew where to go next.

"Do you know where she is?" Twilight asked, trotting up to her. AJ then stopped again on that question, and saw that this odd pony was being sincere about it.

"You really aren't from around here, huh?" AJ questioned. Twilight and Spike shook their heads.

"... Well, her castle's over within Everfree. Kinda hard to miss. Good luck in ... whatever you're doin," AJ stated, before going on her way.

"Look, I now you may not believe me, but I promise you, we're gonna make things right."

"... I hope you do."

.......

So with the directions given to them both, Twilight and Spike were on their way again, this time racing off towards the Everfree forest. Despite how much Ponyville had changed, the forest was still as lush and green as ever, so it couldn't have been that bad. At least on a global scale. The two knew the route to the castle like the back of their hands (or hooves in Twilight's case), but by the time they did get there, they found that the castle of the two sisters was not only still standing, but in peak condition. Considering it was in ruins in her timeline, that could only mean one thing to her, but to be sure, they had to go in there and look themselves.
Twilight and Spike wasted no time in getting into the castle, and when they managed to open the doors, the whole place almost mirrored the castle in Canterlot in appearance, although most of it had a blue feel to it rather than the white. The two didn't take more than a few steps inside when -

"Excuse me, but what business do you have here?"

Rarity! Er, kinda. Spike and Twilight looked and saw Rarity off nearby, seemingly cleaning some of the tapestries. Her mane and tail were in buns, her outfit a sort of maid uniform accompanied by front horseshoes, all of which were midnight blue.

"The castle's not open for tourists right now, as the tapestries are in need of cleaning. Again," Rarity stated.

"Rarity! It's me, Spike!"

"I do not consort with dragons, and I don't know anypony that does," Rarity made clear. Well that really was a heart-breaking moment for the dragon.

"Rarity, wait, listen we -"

"Oh hush. And how do you know my name, anyway?" she questioned, suspiciously. Twilight and Spike weren't sure how to react.

"Er ... well, it's kinda a long story, but -"

"I don't have time for it then. I've got far too much to do other than to handle somepony's fantasy," Rarity made clear.

"B-But Rarity, please listen, there's somepony that has completely changed the past, and I have to go and make things right."

...

"Time travel? Now that's something interesting."

Not a comforting voice that she wanted to hear. Twilight turned around next, and then she saw a particular Alicorn stand there behind her. But it wasn't Cadance, or Celestia, or even Luna. Well, not in the way that they would've wanted anyway. And it only took one look at the Alicorn's eyes for Twilight and Spike to know exactly who this was.

Nightmare Moon!

"Tell me how you came by this magic to travel through time," she demanded, looking down to them. Twilight felt herself gulp, and without much of her magic to use, it really wasn't much she could really do.

"The princess asked you a question! And unless you wanna end up in the dungeon, you'll tell her what she wants to know!" yelled one of the soldiers, as a group of them suddenly came out to confront the pair. Spike and Twilight stayed close.

"Nopony in my kingdom but me should possess a magic powerful enough to change time."

"Your kingdom?" spike asked, just to be nudged by Twilight to keep quiet. Last thing they want is to be thrown in jail.

"Who else?" Nightmare questioned.

"Um... Celestia, of course!" Spike said meekly. No that didn't seem to help, but lucky for them, Nightmare Moon wasn't too upset with that fact.

"My sister has been killed years ago. Taken down by Sombra himself. And you say you think she still rules around her anymore?" Nightmare questioned. Now THAT was a scary thought: the princess of the sun killed by such a unicorn. They could only wonder just how strong Sombra really was in this timeline, but with their encounters before perhaps it wasn't as surprising. Nightmare Moon moved closer to them, making the two back up.

"Anyway, reveal to me this source of time magic," Nightmare said again. Twilight had to comply.

"Well, your highness, I-it wasn't exactly us who did it."

"Hmm ... seems so. not often a blank flank would have such a power without a Cutie Mark to show for it," Nightmare figured. That just reminded them both just how much was altered, Spike glancing to the blank flank again. Nightmare began to ponder though.

"Then if it wasn't you. Then who?"

"... Starlight Glimmer. She altered something in the past, a-and we're trying to figure out what that actually is. We were told you might have an answer?" Twilight asked. It did felt kinda of ironic that she would be asking a pony like Nightmare for help, but if Sombra was the same as before, Nightmare would probably be the better option to pick. Nightmare shook her head.

"Sounds like one of King Sombra's pawns. I've ruled this kingdom for years, and I've never heard that name once. I would've known of her existence in my kingdom by now otherwise," Nightmare stated. Guess that made sense.

"W-What happened with Sombra anyway? Wasn't he defeated already?" Spike then asked. Nightmare paused for a moment, and then turned towards the throne, with her horn beginning to glow. Soon, a map of Equestria began to show, but this showed a huge divide between Nightmare Moon's kingdom to the south, and King Sombra's kingdom to the north in a clear north south split, with Canterlot just along the borders of it.

"My sister and I. Yes ... But when the Crystal Empire returned, so did he. The cold north he brought on began to ruin Equestria for everypony. we went to the Crystal Empire on his release, but he learned from before, and it only took moments before my sister was taken down. Right in front of me as well ..." Twilight and Spike saw a tear slide back down from her face as she recalled the memory of such before she continued. "After that, Sombra's winter storm started to spread south, turning the world colder and dryer. The Changlings had gone extinct in that time, but that was the only good that storm had brought upon us. I had to try and stop him before all of Equus turns into nothing but an ice age."

"Hence the war?" Twilight asked. Nightmare turned back to them and simply nodded her head. It was strange: normally Twilight would be horrified and angry at Nightmare Moon, but seeing her here ... this just wasn't the same Nightmare Moon. But more rather a different form of Princess Luna, and nothing else.

"I ... I'm sorry," Twilight said, going up to her. Nightmare looked down to her, but cleared her throat to turn more formal again.

"Part of that is why I don't allow magic greater than mine to be here. If there was anypony who could match and even surpass me in magic, then it could prove horrendous, and something Sombra could use against me. ... And by the sound of it, you're timeline didn't end this way?"

"Actually yeah. In fact, King Sombra never even had the chance to come to power," Twilight said. She didn't feel too right in telling Nightmare Moon about what happened to her, but hearing that intrigued Nightmare.

"Did he now? ... And my sister, is she ... still with you?"

"Alive and well, last I remember. And you were too."

"... As Nightmare? Or Luna?" Nightmare inquired. Twilight wasn't sure how to answer this correctly, but with guards around her, and with little option, and looked to Nightmare.

"As ... As Princess Luna."

There was some pause, and Spike and Twilight were worried that they would end up in trouble from that answer. But Nightmare didn't call for an attack or anything, in fact she didn't look too upset with them much. In fact, she looked a little surprised by what they were saying.

"... You know. There was one who came by and told me something like that. No one believed her of course, but ... that sure sounds like a far better world to live in than this one. ..."

"You'd be right," Spike said. This time Twilight didn't stop him from saying that. Nightmare pondered for a little bit more on what Twilight was saying.

"... I may not know how to travel through time, but it sounds like there is somepony out there who does. What's your name?"

"Twilight Sparkle. and this is Spike."

"... So, Twilight. What I gather here is that in an alternate world, everything was peaceful, but Starlight wanted to get back at you in someway, and upon doing so, has sent you two to this one so you won't be able to stop her. And now you're trying to make things right. Is that about it?"

"Well ... yeah, that about sums it up," Spike answered.

"Wish I could help you, but I know little about time magic. That, and you two already know what she looks like and what she can do. Therefore, your best chance would unfortunately be within the Crystal Empire itself. That pony must be stopped before her time traveling magic could alter anymore of our history. You two better get going," A statement that both Twilight and Spike could agree on.

"I promise, princess, that we'll make things right," Twilight said, before she and Spike went out of the palace.

"... I sure hope so."

.......

"This is worse than I thought," Twilight said as they raced down the road.

"No kidding: first Sombra's taking over, Celestia's gone, and nopony even remembers us," Spike summed up. Twilight felt heart broken on Celestia's news, feeling tears come down her own face before she shook them off. Now was not the time to grieve.

"Spike, we have to stop Starlight."

"I know, but how? I mean, none of us saw her since she popped up at your little speech in Canterlot," Spike said. Suddenly Twilight skidded to a halt, enough to make Spike fall off.

"Spike you're a genius!"

"Really?! ... What for?" Spike groaned.

"Spike, the Sonic Rainboom! I told everypony in my lecture that it was that who brought all of my friends together, and Starlight went back in time to stop that from happening. Without that Rainboom, my and my friends never would've met, and therefore couldn't stop the return of Nightmare Moon, King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis, and -"

"Yours truly?"

Twilight and Spike jumped on that voice. Both Unicorn and dragon looked up into a nearby tree, and soon saw the only Draconequus that the two knew of sitting up there looking down at them! Unlike practically everypony else around here, Discord looked pretty much the same as he was before.

"Discord?!" Twilight gasped.

"In the flesh. Finally figured out what Starlight Glimmer's up to?" Discord asked.

"Wait. You do know what we are, do you?" Spike asked. Discord simply laughed.

"I'm sorry, have we met? I'm Discord: spirit of chaos and disharmony, hello? You really think one time-splitter spell is gonna change this Draconequus?" Discord asked, flying down from the tree like a stray feather, and just as light too. Well, they couldn't argue with him there.

"So you remember everything then?" Twilight asked, just for Discord to pop up behind them, paw and talon wrapped around their shoulders.

"It's so hard to forget a few cute little Gems. Plus who could forget this little face, eh princess?" Discord said, playfully pinching her cheek. As annoying as it is, this was probably their best bet to figure things out.

"Right. Now, Discord, you saw how much has happened, we have to make things right again."

"Eh, I dunno, I'm enjoying all this little brand of chaos. could make for some good fanfiction, don't you think so?" Discord said, writing in a book as they were talking. Twilight and Spike couldn't believe their ears, but Discord then laughed again.

"I'm only kidding! It wouldn't be the same without those Gems running around here, and all this fighting's getting bland," Discord said.

"It's terrible here: Sombra's spreading his empire, Nightmare Moon has returned, and Celestia is ..." Twilight didn't want to finish that sentence, but Discord knew what she was talking about. And he wasn't happy with it himself.

"Know what you mean. Sure I like to mess around with ponies, but killing them? Geesh, pushing the boundaries there. Tell you what, I wanna help ya out."

"You know how to get back?" Spike asked.

"Tell you? I'll show you!" Discord said, pulling out a key from his ear like some magic trick. It wasn't exactly the same as the keys he gave them, Next thing they knew, Discord got a door opened for them, and both of them saw a familiar sight of Cloudsdale on the other side! Just what they wanted. However, before they could go, Discord tapped Twilight's back, and not only returned Twilight's wings, but her Cutie Mark as well, the Draconequus giving them a wink.

"Let's go Spike. Thanks, discord," Twilight replied, as Spike hopped onto her back.

"Good luck, everypony," Discord said, before he too disappeared.  Now knowing what to do, Twilight and Spike jumped right through. Off to the past!


~~~~~~


"You're Going down, Rainbow Crash!"

"In history maybe. See you at the finish line!"

It was a moment of truth for one young little Pegasus, as Rainbow Dash, currently blank flank, readied herself up for a particular charge down the race track with a number of young bully pegesi. Her young friend, Fluttershy, stood up in front of them with a starting flag in her muzzle. With a simple wave, the race began to start, and all three of them quickly made their bolt for it, racing past Fluttershy so quickly she ended up in a tailspin, and fell off her cloud. Those that seen the story would know what would happen next, but for one Unicorn hidden just out of sight further down the track, that was not on her mind.

"That's it. Come here. Almost there," she said in a sly voice, her horn starting to glow. ...

"Starlight, wait!"

Unexpected company, and not what she wanted at all. Her concentration stopped, and low and behold when she turned, Twlight and Spike were coming her way, flying fast. Immediately though, her spell zapped right at her, Twilight narrowly avoiding it, but unfortunately a second blast struck her, and soon she and Spike were stuck encased in crystal! And as the weight of the crystal was making them sink down, Starlight started to float around them in her magic.

"Well, finding her will be easy! But stopping her's gonna be harder than you think. Sorry to disappoint you, but I created that spell to send myself back in time. So even when you cast it, I still get sent back here. It wasn't difficult to change Star Swirl's spell. He'd already done the hard part. But figuring out I could use the map to go to any time or place and pull you along with me? [short laugh] I even impressed myself with that. I knew you'd try to stop me. You're so predictable. Why else would I leave the scroll behind? Touching it triggered the map to whisk you here and watch me erase the one thing that linked you with your friends! My village was a sanctuary of equality, where nopony's cutie mark allowed them to feel superior! It was a special place, and you and your friends took it away!"

... And they were gone. Starlight, a bit bugged, flew under the cloud just to find them still encased, just underneath the cloud rather than on it.

"Now it's my turn to take something special from you! Without the rainboom, you and your friends will never form your special cutie mark bonds! Cutie marks for cutie marks! Sounds like a fair trade to me!" And with a hit of her hoof, the crystal began to fall! Twilight, thinking quickly, got her own magic together and just strong enough to make the crystal break, releasing her and Spike at once. Twilight made sure to catch Spike before he could end up falling to the ground. Twilight looked back up and quickly flew back to Starlight, finding her back in her place.

"Starlight, please listen to me, this -"

"This what, princess! WHAT?!"

"Starlight, what you're doing goes way beyond Cutie Marks - one change here and all of Equestria will be in extreme trouble! All of Equestria is hanging in the balance!" Twilight warned, hoping that would go through, but Starlight wasn't buying it.

"Spare me your overblown ego! Even if you're a princess, nopony's friendship is that important!" Starlight yelled, her horn glowing again and ready to shoot Rainbow Dash out of the sky. Quickly, Spike jumped off of Twilight's back, and landed on Starlight's head, making Starlight miss and for the bullies and Rainbow to pass by. Angry, Starlight bucked Spike off, Twilight catching him.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Wrong with us? look, Starlight, please, if you do this, then Nightmare Moon will return, King Sombra will start a war with Equestria, and Princess Celestia will pass on from all of us if you do this."

"Oh come on be real, no single friendship removed will cause all that!"

"But it did! I saw it happen. Please, Starlight, I'm begging you, don't do this, it'll ruin far more than you'll know. Even to you."

"Ruin me? My life was just happy and fine before you showed up and ruined EVERYTHING I've built, and you know it!" Starlight accussed.

"Starlight, I'm sorry for doing that, and I don't know what happened to make you start that village, but -"

"You want to know? I'll show you!" Suddenly Starlight Glimmer zapped something else to show up. Twilight and Spike braced for whatever impact, but this hit aimed right at Twilight's horn. And the Alicorn began to see something. ...

Twilight, Spike, Starlight were suddenly in a house of sorts, albeit in a sort of hologram form. Looking around, they ended up seeing what looked like a study of sorts. Twilight saw two ponies, one a colt and one a filly: the filly being Starlight, and the colt looking like an orange unicorn.

"Sunburst. He and I always stayed together. In fact, I don't remember a time we ever were apart. ... Until today," Starlight sasid. And suddenly, as young Starlight was working out some more books, a particularly large pile actually started to fall towards her! They thought she was going to be covered in books (at least Spike did), but then Sunburst suddenly had a spur of magic come up, and saved her from such, not to mention levitating tons of other books. And just like that, something ended up showing on his flank that changed everything: a Cutie Mark. As great as this was, Sunburst suddenly raced outside, passed his friend, and went on to show everypony else what was going on. Starlight sighed.

"And just like that, I lost my best friend. He went off to Canterlot, and I never saw him again."

"What? Why not?" Spike asked. Starlight grew angry again.

"Because of his cutie mark! He got his, and I didn't! He moved on, and I didn't! I stayed here and never made another friend because I was too afraid another cutie mark would take them away, too!" Starlight yelled, some tears actually showing up on her face.

"That's ridiculous. A cutie mark can't take your friends away," Twilight stated.

"Not everypony's lucky enough to get her cutie mark at the same time as her friends."

And with that, they were suddenly back at square one: back in Rainbow Dash's race, and Starlight ready to finish things up here.

"But once I take away that moment, you'll know what I'm going through!" Starlight readied to fly off, but then Twilight actually grabbed her by the tail with her muzzle, keeping her back.

"Starlight, you're right! I don't know what you went through! But I do know you can't do this! I've seen where this leads, and I know you've had too! Things don't turn out well in Equestria without my friends!"

"Ugh! What's so special about your friends?! How can a group of ponies that are so different be so important?!" Starlight yelled.

"The differences between me and my friends are the very things that make our friendship strong!"

"I thought Sunburst and I were the same. But we turned out different, and it tore our friendship apart!" Starlight stated again, more tears coming out. Twilight went over to her and placed a wing around her.

"So try again! Make new friends! And if something that you can't control happens that changes things, work through it together! That's what friendship is! And it's not just my friendships that are important to Equestria! Everypony's are! When yours ended, it led us here. But just imagine all the others that are out there waiting for you if you just give them a chance!"

"... How do I know they won't all end the same way?" Starlight asked quietly.

"I guess it's up to you to make sure they don't," Twilight answered. Starlight stayed quiet on this, and began to slowly come around to this idea. Did she really try to make friends after Sunburst left? No. All she did was trying to make people stay with her, and nothing else. Not truly friendship as what Equestria was known for. That, and if what Twilight was saying was true ... then she would be held responsible for far more than just some Cutie Marks.
During this, they all began to hear a distant explosion far off, and next thing they knew, a similar looking Sonic Rainboom had occurred. The impossible had happened, and history stayed as it was. As for Starlight, she looked to the Alicorn, and when Twilight gave her hoof in friendship, Starlight smiled and placed her own onto hers. Perhaps it was time for her to try again. At this point, Spike got out the similar spell, and both Alicorn and Unicorn got it to activate to send them all back.

Looked like this crisis was over.

.......

Starlight, Twilight, and Spike went through the time and eventually got themselves off back to their original timeline. With the Sonic Rainboom happening, they were sure that things would come back to normal. The portal was meant to bring them back to Twilight's house, but instead they were in Beach City, the city very busy right now with plenty of familiar faces around. Lars, Sadie, Connie even, and plenty others from Beach City saw them show up, but oddly they weren't too worried about that right now.

"Uh, did you change the spell for us to pop up here?" Spike asked.

"No, I don't think so," Starlight replied, just as confused as they were.

...

"Welcome back. Twilight."

In a sudden attack, Twilight suddenly found herself in what felt like an aura of white, her and Starlight suddenly stuck inside it! Spike jumped off just before the unicorn and alicorn got caught, and both of them were completely frozen in place, not even able to perform any magic spells, or even twitch a muscle! Spike fell into Lars's arms, and he saw the culprit getting her prize.

White Diamond herself.

And she wasn't alone in this little mission either. Looking up in surprise at this gigantic women in their midst, all found that the Diamond had quite a collection with her. Every single pony, and every single Crystal Gem, all captured in a single bubble. They were trying over and over again to break out, but it was no use, and Twilight and Starlight both were then moved right inside of it.

"STEVEN! TWILIGHT!" shrieked Spike. Every single one of their friends were all trapped in there, and White Diamond was not going to let any of them go. Connie instinctively got hold of her sword, but White Diamond was not going to have any of that, and her foot lifted up to crush her! Doug grabbed his daughter and pulled her back, but her sword ended up crushed under her foot, nothing left but a bunch of shattered metal of her sabre.

"Connie, don't try to fight against impossible odds. Noble, sure, but seriously, you're about as desperate as your friend here," White Diamond noted, referring to Steven stuck inside, who was freaking out from the stomp himself.

"What're you doing to them?!" yelled Spike.

"Taking them away, of course, what does it look like I'm doing?" White Diamond stated.

"Let them go!" Sadie yelled. White Diamond glared down at the little human, making her especially quiet.

"... Give me one good reason why," White Diamond instructed, but Sadie's worry made her draw a blank for a moment, too slow for White Diamond.

"I fail to see why everyone here is so worked up over them."

"They've done so much for the city, that's what! They're our friends! If you don't let them out, I'll -"

"You'll. What?" White Diamond kneeled and leaned to Connie, making her back up. However, White Diamond found this rather amusing.

"Listen to yourselves. for the longest time you all just stand aside and play as the crying pebbles. You can talk, yell, scream all you want to, but none of you have any way to defend any of your kind at all. you only want these creatures around just so you can sleep peacefully at night knowing someone else will fight all the fights for you." This response actually got a steak knife thrown right at her head. It barely did much, but still got White Diamond's attention. Looking down, she saw Onion on one of the rooftops, ready to throw another, but White Diamond simply chuckled a laugh at Onions attempts, and her hand swung down at him! Onion bolted back, narrowly avoiding White Diamond's fist, but it crushed the roof!

"How desperate of you."

"What'd they even do to you?! What deed had they done to deserve this?!" Jamie yelled.

"Let's see: defying my court, causing a Gem war which lasted a thousand years or so, killed one of my Diamonds, slaughtered hundreds of Gems, trespassed on my Homeworld, attempted murder on yours truly. ... Shall I go on, or do you feel shocked enough?" Everyone grew quiet for a moment, not remotely aware of just how many crimes they've committed over the years. A number of the humans and baby dragon looked to the Crystal Gems inside.

"Garbonzo." Garbonzo hissed under his breath, angry for nearly killing his friend, as mad as the rest of Onion's gang.

"Oh hush. Think real for a minute: how much of a role do any of these Gems truly have on any of your lives? You're all upset because I'm taking away your guard dogs."

"GUARD DOGS?!" shouted Bismuth from inside the bubble. What White Diamond did next was as cruel as it was childish: she grabbed the bubble with both hands and shook it up like a snow globe! Gems and ponies shook around like crazy in there for a good ten seconds until White Diamond stopped, leaving everyone in there dazed and wounded. That just angered some, and frightened others even more.

"White Diamond, please! Yes, they've done a lot wrong in the past, but they're different now! They're friends to Homeworld, they saved it! The war is over!" Connie yelled, but White diamond paid her no mind.

"Save your breath. I'm sure your mother and father wouldn't want to visit their daughter's grave, now don't they?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Doug shouted. The response he got was a stomp of White diamond's foot, directly on top of them! They all thought that they died on the spot, but only saved by the heel of her foot holding up a space just big enough to avoid being crushed under her weight. White Diamond smiled.

"Be grateful I decided to wear my heels today. I suppose it's time for me to go," she joked, though the feeling of joy was strictly one-sided, as she raised her foot off the cracked ground, the other people quickly pulling the family out from the area. White Diamond had about enough of them though, and her mighty Diamond started to glow bright white for a moment, and the mighty leader pulled something out, looking like another Gemstone or diamond, yet this one was floating in mid air, and surrounded by a faint white glow. With a snap of her fingers, the diamond began to spin faster and faster, as White Diamond turned away, and began to stroll off towards the beach, keeping her Gems hidden in the bubble before a tap of her fingers made the bubble disappear from sight. The only ones who reacted was Lars and Spike, both bolting for some cover behind a building from what they thought was going to be a mighty blast, many of the others outside not sure what was going on, or what was going to happen.



*BOOOMMM!!*


> "I'm A Friend" PT1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"AAHH!" 

In a jolt, Lars woke up back in his bed, freaked out and his heart still racing from what he thought would be his last moment on Earth. However, he felt alive still, or at least, he didn't feel hurt from anything. Such an explosion would've left him with who knows how many injuries, but all he felt hurt right now was a headache for the sudden wake up call.  After what felt like a bit, Lars did eventually calm down, and checked around his room, just to be sure that it was his room and not just a pile of wood.
Lars's room was actually up in the attic of his house: multiple windows from the sky light filling in his humble abode. His room wasn't the most well-kept room ever: number of clothes on the floor in several places in spite of a clothes rack to his right, along with a cabinet with a torso-length mirror, his rug by his cabinet slightly bent, his covers tossed about onto the floor, and to his left being his flat screen TV with his Xbox tilted from some socks under it, boxes to his right up on a self above his clothing, and a couch to his left. Not really the best room ever, but Lars breathed a sigh of relief saying that his room was still there at all, and not blown to smithereens.

"What kind of dream was that?" Lars asked himself, wiping some sweat off of his forehead. It sure felt like a real dream in some way. however, eventually, Lars shook it off and got up to his feet, stretching and going along his morning. At least, it felt like morning to some capacity. No way was he going to regain his sleep after a dream like that.

It took him a few minutes, but after sprucing himself up, and going through his own version of a morning routine, he got downstairs and tried to act like nothing was wrong as he went right to the kitchen. His house downstairs was pretty modern, if not a bit standard for a house like his, and Lars began to help himself to what was available in the kitchen before realizing that his mom was already cooking something for him.
There stood a middle-aged woman with light-brown skin and long red hair, similar to Lars. Her outfit consisted of yellow tinted circular glasses with a brown rim, a cyan sleeveless ankle length dress with a fish-like pattern, and purple shoes with magenta flowers on it with a gray band on them.

"Oh, morning sweetie. I-I didn't realize you were up already," she said.

"It's ok, really. Just had a hard time sleeping last night. so what's for breakfast?" Lars asked, looking to the eggs and bacon being cooked on the same pan. As he was, another person came into the room, and sat down at the kitchen table. He's a middle-aged man with light-brown skin and short dark-brown hair with a large bald spot on the top of his head. His outfit consisted of a white polo shirt underneath a gray jacket, a pair of beige pants, brown loafers, and gold-rimmed glasses. Easily confirmed to be Lars's dad, no doubt, just as breakfast was ready for the family to eat. Lars was still a little off in the head, but both his parents had other things in mind.

"It's so good to see you this morning, Laramie - er I mean ... Lars," the women said. Laramie was his true name, but obviously Lars had a preference for that here, but Lars didn't care for the moment, starting to eat his eggs.

"Now, Lars, we know school is a touchy subject, but we need to talk about this," the father suddenly said. Lars paused himself on that, as the father went on to show him something: a report card. Unfortunately, the main letter on said report card from school showed F after F after F, with the soul exception of a B and a D, but that was about it. Lars groaned, and then his mom spoke again.

"Please, Lars. We let you move into the attic, and your grades are still below average. All we're asking from you is..."

"A little effort!" both parents concluded, smiling and one hand holding eachother, hoping it would be good for him. Lars could feel a curse almost escape him in this noise. first the odd dream, and now this nonsense? Seriously, he wasn't in the mood that morning for that. course, he wasn't in the mood to continue it any harsher either, so he simply finished breakfast and got up.

"Eh, yeah, fine. I'll keep that in mind at work. See you later," Lars said, before stretching his arms, and starting to head out the door. not the best results they got.

"... Well, he said he'll try," sighed the mother.

"And he didn't even swear this time," added the dad.

Both of which Lars heard. He simply began to head off to the door, about ready to head off on his way, though he took the time to glance off to the side wall, and noticed a number of things on it that his parents had hung up, mainly a few drawings Lars made as a kid, and a portrait of him and his parents when he was younger. Failing grades, a weird dream, and his parents getting on him about that, he sure needed some bit to figure things out. He promised he'll think about it, but thinking about it was all he planned to do. It's the easiest thing to do after all, as he took a step outside and started to head off on his way. He didn't hate his parents at all, far from it, like any kid, but their intentions just flew passed his head and it simply came off as annoying to him.

Pretty soon after getting on his shoes and work shirt, he was out on the street, and strolling off to the Big Donut, like any other day. Lars stayed "cool" with his hands in his pockets, and going along on his way. Although he won't admit it to anyone in particular, he just didn't feel up to snuff this morning. Guess he really did had a bad night. He saw a few other people go by him, including Jamie on his daily route of newspapers and mail, and Lars caught sight of the Onion Gang too, which at this point was going about in Garbonzo's makeshift boxcar. It really was nothing too special or important, a typical day in the summer in Beach city. Lars didn't really bother much with them really, as he went down the boardwalk and off to the workshop. Lucky for him, by the time he arrived - it was ten minutes late - no one was there at the moment so he was let of easy, but he did see Sadie go around and set things up for the day, nothing too weird going on. Yet.

"Morning, Lars," Sadie said, as he came in.

"Yeah, hey. Slow morning?" Lars replied, heading right to the front counter, and chilling out on a stool at the front counter.

"Yeah no customers yet. Try to keep them in line when they do come here, ok?" Sadie asked, but Lars paid her no mind here.

"So glad I don't have to deal with this tomorrow," Lars sighed. That seemed to remind Sadie of something.

"Oh, yeah, they're closing shop to get those gulls out of the vents. Any plans?" Sadie asked. Lars got out a magazine from the counter, and gave it a look over.

"Nah," he simply said. Sadie stayed quiet for a little bit more, and then she got an idea. It wasn't the best idea ever, but an idea nonetheless, though she was a bit quiet about it.

"Would you... want to come by my place? I know it's kind of been awhile, but we could get some food, watch some movies."

"Nah. Sounds boring. I'll see if Buck wants to do stuff," Lars commented, not really noticing how bummed out Sadie was on that answer. Sadie sighed, and looked away.

"Well, I hope you guys have fun together," Sadie said. Again, Lars didn't pay Sadie too much mind, and simply turned the pages of his magazine.

"Yeah. We will," Lars sighed. Eh, if he was going to make plans for himself, he might as well do it on his own terms, even if it wasn't well-planned. Still, Sadie did have something else she wanted to say to him, and she had to get herself together. She might as well try.

"Hey, can I ask you a favor?"

"Now what?"

"Well ... There's tests coming up next week, and I might have to leave work early on Monday to catch up. you wouldn't mind filling in for me would you?" Sadie asked. OH boy, first the dream, then the grades, and now the extra work. Lars wasn't too up for it himself, but he had some days to chill out before the day would come around.

"K, fine, but if Steven or Amethyst come in here, I'm leaving," Lars stated. Normally he expected Sadie to say some sort of joke, or at least chuckle or something like that. But Sadie instead gave Lars a sort of perplexed kind of look.

"Ok ... well, sounds like they really like their donuts," Sadie said. A odd statement to say, but Lars rolled with it, not paying much attention anyway.

"You're telling me. It's a pain just to get all their orders in every week. surprised they hadn't run us out of business yet," Lars joked.

"Uh, yeah sure. Thanks for filling me in," Sadie replied, before going back into the storage to get some more donuts set up. Lars simply moved his legs, not even moving himself off of the chair, as Sadie went by. Lars watched her go, but the donut girl stopped and looked to him for a moment, before she went off to the back. Lars didn't had much mind on her, the boy more focused on what the next issue was about over taking her words in.

"She's messing with me," he thought.
for the next hour, the place was pretty quiet throughout the day, not many people coming by for any donuts or whatever. Lars didn't mind it much, and allowed him to simply chill out here for minimum wage. On a typical day, Steven would come by and get his fix of donuts, or Amethyst would binge up on them, but neither of them were there to do so. It wouldn't be the first time, of course, so Lars didn't bother too much with it. One thing that he couldn't ignore though was the phone suddenly ringing.

"Sadie, phone!" Lars called. Sadie came out and got to the phone, talking to whoever it was on the other end for a minute, before confirming a order. Which caught Lars off guard.

"Since when do we deliver?" Lars asked.

"We started last week, remember? Here, try to get this over to the Maheswarans, please?"

"Fine," he groaned. He forgot they had a new system to their own little place, and now Sadie had her own box of donuts ready for said delivery. Lars wasn't too thrilled about it, but it will get him some more fresh air.


~~~~~~


Soon, Lars was off on his way again, this time on a job delivery with box of donuts in one hand, and the address in the other. He at least had a bike for the ride up, and this was going to be a long one out of town to get to Connie's place. No, not thrilled at all.

"Seriously? since when did that family order donuts? Steven went on about how vegan they were, didn't he?" Lars told himself. But business is business. And boy, what a business. However, his route went on through town, and at first it was about as mundane as a bike ride would be. As he went along though, he looked up, and suddenly saw the boxcar from Onion's gang zoom by him, making Lars skid to a stop.

"Watch where you're going!" he yelled. However, when he looked on closer to town, he found that something was a little bit different this time, as there was quite a commotion. Plenty of people were over near the boardwalk, and seemingly worried and curious over whatever the heck's going on. Be it mundane luck or flat boredom, Lars shrugged and decided to check out what's what here.
A good amount of people were there, most of the residents of Beach City to be exact, and to such an amount that he couldn't see passed many of them. until he pushed passed a few of em, but then when he looked in, he saw a ... questionable situation.

There were two creatures that cowered off a bit, stuck together and not having a clue where to go. They tried their hardest to talk to these people, but none of them really had much idea on what they were, or what they were talking about. A mixture of "keep away from me" and "get out of our sight" was tossed around everywhere, but it was who he saw that made Lars confused. There, over just off the road and by a streetlight was the Rutile Twins! Lars looked a bit spooked, but that was quickly subsided when he saw a baby dragon Spike over at her feet, and in a mixture of luck and unlucky circumstances, the Maheswaran family was there too, and by the looks on their faces, seemed that Connie was in their midst, and they didn't want that at all.

"Wait a minute. Hey, what's going on?" Lars asked to the closest person there. In this case, it was actually the Cool Kids Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck.

"Those three freak shows tried to take that girl away, that's what! That's so wrong," Jenny said. Two freaks? Well, they weren't all wrong about that when he saw the twins there, but calling Spike a freak wasn't exactly correct. 

"Two freaks? Ok, the conjoined twins, I get -"

"And it was joined by that ... that purple lizard," cut in Sour Cream.

"You mean Spike?"

All three of the kids paused and looked to Lars, very confused.

"You know that thing?" Sour Cream asked.

"Eh, yeah, he's not exactly a stranger. why're so freaked out over something like him anyway?" Lars questioned. Before any of them could answer, chat from the family against the "freaks" got their attention again.

"For the final time, she doesn't know you!" yelled Priyanka.

"We're telling the truth: she saved us from Homeworld!" said right Rutile, almost pleading with them.

"And now we got to go save our friends! Connie, tell them!" the left Rutile replied, equally pleading. However, Lars could see that Connie looked ... freaked out more than usual.

"Still saying that? Keep away from our daughter, or I'll have you arrested!" warned Doug, even threatening to hit them with a police stick! Lars may not have met the Rutile Twins personally, but even he knew something was wrong here. Didn't this family just seen at least Spike not too long ago? If so, why were they freaking out so much like this?

"What?" Lars simply said. Suddenly a rock was thrown out of the crowd, turning out to be from Onion himself, who was well armed with the rest of his little group. That was enough to make him cringe at the direct hit, and the follow-up hit on Spike. Spike tried to get them to stop, stumbling in his steps, until he ended up at Lars's feet. Spike looked right up to him.

"Lars! Err, wait, you do know me, do you?" Spike asked, hoping for a good answer with his claws together.

"Eh ... sort of."

"Oh, COME ON!" Spike yelled in frustration.

"Hey, I only met you one day when you jumped in my arms, I'm not gonna know you that quick," Lars snapped. It may be a dream, but that was the only memory he really had of Spike. Still, that was good enough for him, and the dragon jumped to his feet, feeling much better.

"You do know me! and about time - OW!" only to be cut off with another rock thrown at him. Lars didn't want to get involved, but looked like he had no choice.

"Is that thing yours?" asked Doug, angrily.

"Well, I kinda know him, but -"

"Well keep him away! that thing and those twins had assaulted my daughter, and if he does belong to you, I will charge you!"

"Me? What'd I do?!"

"Ownership over a dangerous animal."

OK, Lars have had about enough.

"OK, OK, is this some weird play you're all pulling off or something?" Lars asked.

"Does it look like I'm playing?" Doug growled. Lars actually walked by them, and went straight to Connie.

"Ok, Connie, look, I don't know what game you and Steven are trying to pull here, but keep me out of it, alright?" Lars asked angrily, but that made Connie freak out. Then came the next question as Connie backed up.

"W-Who's Steven?"

"... What? Steven, you know! Steven Universe, that kid with all the magic powers with those Crystal Gems, don't you hang out with him all the time?" Lars asked, annoyed as ever. But Connie didn't had a clue on what he was even talking about, and she even whacked him away, making him tumble back into the Rutile Twins.

"Hey!"

"This is your final warning, you meddlers: we don't know Steven, we don't know the Crystal Gems, and we don't want you messing with Connie, you got it?!"

Lars ... didn't know what to say, but not because a police officer was yelling at him in the face, but more over what they were saying. Don't know Steven? Don't know the Crystal Gems? How the hay can that be, they've been friends for years now according to Steven's stories he would chat on about when he visited the Big Donut.

"... Spike? Is all this some sick joke?" Lars asked.

"Finally, someone believes me. No, we've been telling everyone this all morning!" Spike answered. Lars was starting to get a little scared now, and very confused. Lars quietly looked around to everyone in town for a brief moment. If it is what he thought it was, then he was in far more trouble than he'd realize.

"Does anyone know what we're talking about? ANYONE?!"

... Silence. Pure silence, and none of them stepped forward to who could easily be the only person standing there who actually knew what the twins and Spike were talking about without a long lecture about it. Lars felt a extremely strong reality strike him, and his supposed "dream" turned out to be a lot more real than he would know. Now he also got an idea on what that strange object did, and it wasn't just some explosion.

"... Oh boy. None of you are lying, huh?" Lars would never realize that he would be the only one with a memory in tact. That Diamond object erased them of any Gem or pony memory. This was a problem. A really big problem. And if Lars's so-called "dream" was anything to go off of, there was no Gem or Pony to try and fix this. For the first time ever, Lars felt like the smart one here, but now there was not only lack of any special team to save anyone ... but he made a complete idiot of himself because of it. He felt himself fluster up over what just happened, but before he could continue, he saw Soup readying her slingshot again, but this time Lars got in the way.

"Will you cut it out already?!" Lars finally snapped. The gang didn't appreciate that, and started to aim their rocks at him instead. Several of them got their mark before Lars started to run for it, but not before his getaway made a clear path for the Rutile Twins and Spike to bolt off as well, finally getting out of the situation they all were in. The four freaks were now out of the way, leaving much of the town a bit confused as ever.

.......

Next thing they knew, Lars, Spike, and the Rutile Twins were now off in a far more secluded area in a alleyway, plenty of extra accessories in terms of cans and a large garbage bin to keep them some cover for the time being. Spike and the twins were semi-happy for that, but their focus was actually over to Lars, who at the moment was just trying to work out what in the stars was going on. He was practically hiding out with two refugees for the moment, and his frustration knew no loyalty aside from himself.

"Ok, before we could go any further, can one of you tell me what's going on here?"

"We're really sorry," the left Rutile started.

"We're not trying to cause any trouble," added right Rutile.

"Well you did a good job for not trying," Lars stated, making both twins a bit humbled. He wasn't wrong, of course, especially after just how much of a racket they've brought up back there.

"Well, at least we're trying to fix things," Spike said.

"You mean with that giant white lady? What was she even trying to do anyway?" Lars asked. Normally it was nothing for him, but some information would be nice, considering that this giant white lady nearly killed some of the residents and they're going on like nothing happened! Sure this town had plenty of people who just allowed this stuff to slide at this point, but this was overdoing it.

"That was White Diamond; the ruler of Homeworld and leader of the Diamond Authority. She's been after the Crystal Gems for months now," the left Rutile explained.

"And now that she's captured them all and those ponies, there's no one here to truly protect the planet anymore from any of her threats," right Rutile added.

"But why does everyone not remember you guys? I'm pretty sure they would remember at least one of you," Spike asked. Both twins had little idea, not even being there when White Diamond was, but they could get a good idea of it.

"White Diamond must've brainwashed them."

"Mind-wiped."

"Altered their memories."

"W-Well, she's done messing with the planet now ... right?" Lars asked, but unfortunately the twins weren't so enthused about that answer.

"If she's doing what we think she is ... then the world will be turned into just another colony. ..."

"And all life will be ... shattered here."

Well, Lars was freaking out now. Just that bit of information made this even more horrific than it needed to be, and with all of the Crystal Gems now gone, not to mention the Mane Six as well, then there really was no one to truly stop and opposed White Diamond from doing just that, or simply get rid of the planet altogether! Lars and Spike both looked to eachother, both completely horrified at what they just said. It wasn't "everything will die" in terms of words, but they're smart enough to get the hint.

"Oh boy. ... This is a bit uh ... bad."

"Terrible," agreed left Rutile.

"Horrid," agreed right Rutile. But then another question came up in his mind on this revelation, once he took a look at the gemstone the twins had.

"Wait a minute. If you're a Crystal Gem, why didn't she take you?" Lars asked, a little confused. Both twins looked to eachother.

"She said we were ... a mistake. We weren't interesting to her, for our stone was ... flawed."

"She thought we would shatter ourselves before she would shatter us. ... So she took everyone else instead and left us here. ... Just like back home."

"Wait, back home?" Spike asked.

"... White Diamond didn't want anymore Rutile to panic because of us like we were before. They were all ... scared of us."

"Afraid. We were defective, and we had to ... well, hide. That was until we arrived here."

"But now, if they're just going to make another colony, it's going to be that all over again. ..."
All of this took Lars by surprise. Ok, sure, Lars can see why anyone would freak out over seeing these conjoined Gem twins, no doubt about that, but hearing all of this and how bad it was for them, well, Lars began to feel sorry for them. He rubbed his arm for a second.

"Wow. And I thought being embarrassed at school was bad," he said. Though both Rutile twins didn't feel too much better about that statement.

"So, you two have been hiding your whole lives? ... What'll happen if they find you?"

"... We ... We'll be ....... shattered. ..."

Lars couldn't believe his ears. These two were far more than some refugees, they were targets. Targets for a bunch of hunters willing to wipe her off the face of this crummy planet. And she had to do this for her whole life? For so long, Lars had his own problems feel like the worst thing in the world, but now he met someone in a far deadlier, and far worse situation than him. And by the sound of it, she had already given up, now with all of her friends taken away from her.
So that was it: White Diamond took everyone away, and everyone's memories had been wiped clean of their existence so no one would bother her, somehow sparring him, and the only ones who don't have that problem can't even go through town without panicking everyone. Not only did this explain how lax everyone was after that event, but also what exactly that Diamond object did. that was no explosive, that was a mind-eraser! And now this same person will kill these two just for how defective they were? That ... that was just sick. Far as he was concerned, they were her children, and she was more than willing to kill her own daughters just because they didn't come out right. ...

"... I don't see anything wrong with you."

"You don't?" both twins asked. Lars shook his head.

"Whoever this White Diamond is, is simply messed up. I don't have the slightest clue what's going on, but ... I wanna help."

This was a surprising revelation by Lars, of all people, but with just how bad everything was sounding, and how he was the only one with a working memory for now, he was the only one who had the right track in his mind. Both the twins could actually feel some tears come down, and hugged him tight.

"Eh. You're welcome ... you can let go now," Lars said, and both twins did. Spike and Rutile were glad at least one person in town remembered them, and was willing to actually help them. Not like Lars really had a choice anyway - he didn't want to get killed for the sake of a Earth Gem colony. Though why did he have a feeling he was going to regret this?

"Well, I guess the first thing we should do is try to fix this mind erasing game," Lars said. First thing's first, and all this confusion was more than enough for him to take.

"Eh, how're are we doing that?" Spike asked.

"I don't know, what'd she even use?" Lars said. But Spike was just in the dark about it as he was, so that wasn't going to help, and since the Rutile Twins weren't even there, asking them was out of the question, for sure. Lars really had to think hard about it, but there was one particular idea that could at least get them in the right direction. ...

Though he was not thrilled about it.


~~~~~~


"Do we have to see him? Last time I saw him, and he was thinking on putting me in a pickle jar or something," Spike said shivering a little as they stood over in front of the lighthouse.

"Just be quiet and we'll get through this with our reputation ... somewhat in tact," Lars said. Lars looked on back and made sure that no one else was not seeing them up there, but lucky for them no one else was up behind them, so Lars went on to knock on the door. At first, not much of anything happened. Lars tried over and over again, but eventually a voice did end up coming through.
And what looked like a slingshot aimed right at them. Lars quickly backed up, covering for yet another rock from Onion's gang, but lucky for them, the person ceased fire.

"Wait. ... Lars? What're you doing here?"

"Yeah, hey Ronaldo," Lars said. Boy this was a bit of an awkward moment, but the Rutile Twins were quick to catch Ronaldo's attention first, as the Gem twins went on over to him, shaking his hand.

"So you're Ronaldo Fryman? It's a pleasure to see you," said right Rutile.

"Lars told us a bit about you, and how you're so knowledgeable about Gem kind, it's such a honor," added left Rutile. Well, not exactly how Lars said it, but it was better than his interpretation as a conspiracy egghead. Spike stayed well back just in case his memory was somehow in tact of him. Ronaldo stayed quiet seeing such a strange creature standing in front of him.

"W-whoa ..." at first, the Rutile twins were worried that he would freak out, and he did ... only in a different way, seeing some familiar starry eyes and a big smile. "A polymorphic sentient rock! I knew it!" Well, not the exact word, but hey, Ronaldo at least wasn't gonna tear into them. It was then he went straight up to Ronaldo.

"You've had a Polymorphic sentient rock with you this whole time?! Why didn't you tell me?! Here I thought you gave up on all of the great conspiracies!"

"Don't get your hopes up," Lars stated, making Ronaldo let go, and snap him out of his psyched state. There was some more important things to get to other than to deal with someone's spas behavior. The Rutile Twins went over to him again.

"Lars said you have a lot of stuff that could help us?" asked left Rutile. Ronaldo went on over to the door, and opened it up for them.

"Come on in," Ronaldo said. both twins, Spike, and Lars went on inside, Lars trailing them off behind, as Ronaldo stayed up in front with the Rutile twins.

"You're friends with Lars?" Ronaldo asked, quizzically.

"Isn't everybody?" asked the twins. Ronaldo could feel a breath go through him, and he knew he was in for a bit of a rough time. Lars could hear this conversation, but tried to act like it didn't bother him.
Their walk up the lighthouse went on calmly and quietly without trouble until they got up to Ronaldo's little base of operations right at the top. It was their first time visiting here (Spike and the Rutile Twins that is), and Lars took a moment to look around the place, and stood over by the door. All the papers and doohickeys scattered everywhere was easily all of Ronaldo's conspiracy work.

"Well, at least this is still here," Lars sighed, having mixed feelings about it. So this was just how much Ronaldo had been up to? The Rutile Twins took the time to check out the many different, odd conspiracies being dotted up everywhere.

"Wow."

"Accurate."

"There's always facts willing to hide for all normal eyes to see, and it's the job for people like me to spread the truth to the world," Ronaldo stated, sounding ... oddly cool for the moment, even adjusting his glasses, which gave off a cool shimmer to them like Garnet would. Weird. But if anyone was gonna listen to them it would be Ronaldo, even if his mind wasn't in the right place.

"Well, maybe you can "spread" some information to us about something else?" Spike asked.

"You have even more?! This will be perfect for my blog! What is it?" Ronaldo asked, eagerly. They had little idea about his blog, but Lars wanted to cut right to the quick so they could be on their way.

"Here, I'll show you. You got a some, or maybe a -" Lars stopped when he looked to the chalkboard off nearby, some spare chalk on it to use. Heck, it'll work, but Lars got a little bit of trouble when seeing all the papers pinned up.

"Ok, let's just get this out of the way," Lars said, before knocking some papers aside to get some space, much to Ronaldo's displeasure as he quickly picked them off of the ground before Lars could step on them.

"What're you doing?! I put them in that order for a reason!" Ronaldo yelled.

"Yeah, yeah," Lars sighed. From there, he began to draw something out on the chalkboard, good enough for them all to see, though art design wasn't exactly the best. Lars drew up a diamond up in the sky, with a number of stick figures just underneath it, with some lines to show the flash of light. It honestly wasn't the best performance of arts and crafts, which promptly earned him his D on his report card. The group then just looked at what he had made.

"K, you got any "conspiracy" ideas about this?" Lars asked, not sounding too enthused about it, but Ronaldo went right up to it and studied up on what Lars had drawn out. Lars went on back with the Rutile Twins and Spike as he was studying it and working what memory he probably had remaining on him. Eventually, something did finally struck him, as Ronaldo was looking at a dollar bill amongst the items he picked up.

"I know what the Diamond means ..."

"And ... what is it?" Spike asked.

"This is an act of mind manipulation!" Ronaldo said. That surely was confusing to hear, but Ronaldo was more than eager to get the idea down pact.

"The Diamond Authority wants our planet, and to get our kind wiped off the face of Earth, so to keep us from interfering in their plans, they decided to use the Diamond technology in order to erase our memories of their existence so they can take over the world with little intervention!"

"That's what I said!" left Rutile gasped.

"I said the same thing!" right Rutile added in surprise. And White Diamond thought they were simply stupid, this human's got the whole plan down pact after looking at one picture!

"Yeah, glad you're happy. Now how about a way to reverse this," Lars said, wanting to get to the point already. Not really the kindest way of putting it, but Ronaldo was too psyched at the moment to point that out. Ronaldo had to get his thinking cap on for a possible method, but he began to find his answer when looking over at the dollar sign again.

"... The mind's eye. The cure is the eye of our minds."

"... Eh. Yeah." Before his sanity could be questioned any further, Lars began to hear his own phone going off in his pocket. It was a simple text off of it, but it did remind him of a particular job he had to at least try to get to.

"What's wrong?" right Rutile asked.

"Stupid job. I gotta go ... Uh, hey, Rutile, Spike, maybe you two should stay here," Lars suggested.

"In here? With him?" Spike asked.

"You wanna deal with him or the mob outside?" Lars bluntly asked.

... Needless to say, Spike was right next to Ronaldo, and keeping as close to him as he could. Well, they're staying here. Lars at least can say, until this is all sorted out, that they wouldn't get beaten and pelted by rocks some more again.


~~~~~~


Well, it was back to the Big Donut again, and for Lars, it was right back to work. The distraction surely made the day fly by a bit quicker than he realized. Perhaps it was with how less of people came by for their donuts, but that could just be irrelevant. However, for Lars, the work day was nothing more than a distraction, as he had a little bit more on his mind now than he would usually do, and it wasn't just about "more effort" either. All that stuff really did happen, and he's going to have to try and work out what the heck to do about it. Should he leave it to Ronaldo, Rutile, and Spike, or should he actually go in a bit deeper? He did say he'll help them out.
Well, for the moment, Lars was simply chilling out over in the back, as Sadie took the next shift for him at the front counter. Normally, he'd be checking out a magazine or listening to music, but with what just happened his mind was a bit too wrapped up in things, Lars just staring off to the ceiling as if it was something that could give him a proper answer, as he sat on a chair with his feet kicked up onto the staff coffee table.

"So, how'd the delivery go?" Sadie asked at one point.

"Eh, it went," Lars said.

"So ... did you hear about that incident in town?" Sadie then asked. Well, Sadie wasn't there, but that surely got around very fast.

"Yup," Lars sighed. Eventually, with their lunch break, Sadie ended up to the back, and tried to get herself some donuts for the lunch. Lars simply ignored her and tried to comprehend things. Sadie stayed a bit quiet at first and took a bite of her donut. Sadie can tell that Lars was thinking about something, but didn't try to bring it up straight away.

"So ... how're things going on at school?"

"Fine," Lars simply said.

"Oh. Well, good ..."

And yet, another small conversation happened once again. Lars didn't want to keep getting bothered, so he went on and got up.

"I'm getting some soda. Want anything?"

"Eh, no, I'm good, thanks," Sadie replied. Lars simply walked on out, and went right over to the vending machine for some juice. Well if he can't figure it out on his own from just staring off into space, maybe he can figure it out over a cold beverage. After opening it up with the machine key, he pulled out a soda pop, and just as he closed it up and readied to get his drink on, his eyes took a glance off outside of the donut shop. Outside looked typical enough, but as he looked, someone was actually going by that caught him in some surprise.
This was someone he didn't really recognize, naturally, although the true appearance was vaguely familiar to some others he had seen time to time again before. There was only two of them, large, muscular, and looking like some soldiers to some extent really. It wouldn't be that bad of an issue for him to get involved with, but then he took a closer look and saw something with their outfit. Greys, black, and whites. With a Diamond symbol just visible to him.
White Diamond soldiers?!
The sight of them almost made Lars upchuck his juice, seeing this as way to familiar to the brute White Diamond was, and the fact that they were still here was way more than a basic shock to them either way. What on earth were they doing here still? Lars, be it from curiosity, or intrigue, finished up his juice, placed it on the front counter, and began to head on to the door.

"Where're you going?" Sadie asked, seeing him from the back.

"I'm uh ... I'm going for a walk, I'll be right back," Lars said, starting to head off out of the donut shop, and off down the beach. Sadie was really beginning to wonder what was wrong with Lars today, looking on through the front door in concern.

.......

Meanwhile, Lars was running on down the beach, going in the same direction here he saw the soldiers come down. If memory served, this would be the direction to where Steven's house would be, though it was a bit iffy as he only been there once before as a favor to Buck a while back, in particular when two snakes and a voodoo anaconda were still a problem and he had to check in. The soldiers he had seen were way far ahead, and well out of his sight as he went on along down the coast. Her didn't rush it completely, not wanting to get even more attention to himself to anymore Gems, wherever they were going, and if this could help Rutile out then maybe he should do this for them. No way they could do it without getting shattered to pieces, anyway. It took him a good ten minutes to be sure, but when he got there, he was left ... well, speechless.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Well, ok, the Temple was still there, and the front cave sure, but every bit of evidence that Steven Quartz Universe had lived there had been completely removed, down to the last floorboard! No front deck, no stairs, no house! All that was left was the cave itself, and the smaller Warp Pad and door inside as Lars went close to see this for himself.

"Wait the. ... Where is everything? Didn't Steven have a -" Lars was quickly cut short when he heard the door to the Temple open up. not wanting to get caught, Lars quickly dove out of sight just out of the way of the cave, peeking in. As it turned out, and with some difficulty on their part, the two Gem soldiers turned out to be a pair of Jasmiths, and they both were carrying out a lot of what appeared to be gemstones, all in some large container. They didn't look to be the Crystal Gems (far too many to be the group originally). The two that had arrived were also joined by a few other Gems, pure white Pearls as it turned out, seemingly in charge of this group, and had been there before the two showed up. The Jasmiths got out the multitude of Gemstones.

"Is that all of them?" one of the Pearls asked the Jasmiths.

"It should be. To think those traitors had been going back and forth all those thousands of years with these," commented the Jasmith, looking to just how many gemstones they had in that container.

"They had been here for over five thousand years, they needed something to do."

"Yeah, I'd bet. Get these sent off," the Jasmith said, a number of the Pearls taking the stones and rushing out of sight, Lars just out of sight enough to not be noticed.

"Ok, that's got to be enough."

"Be sure nothing's left," one of the remaining Pearls reminded.

"We've removed every dust of this place already. Besides, didn't our Diamond already removed their memories of all of this, there's nothing left that will remind them of anything," the Jasmith asked, getting a little bit annoyed with how much detail they had to get. The Pearl shook her head.

"The humans may not be able to do a thing about us, but White Diamond will not tolerate poor performance. She instructed that every single bit of evidence in this cave is to be confiscated and removed, and that's how it has to be. Now, destroy that Warp Pad, and then we can head off on our way," the Pearl said, pointing to the Warp Pad there in the cave. Both Jasmiths smiled on this instruction, and went straight up to it, and with their combined strength, slammed four fists right into the top! The Warp Pad cracked under the pressure, and such made it inactive, and destroyed. Lars felt himself shiver on seeing that, imagining himself or someone else in the grip of those space amazons, turning the Warp Pad into nothing but rubble once they were done with it. A fine Warp Pad turned into just some pile of rock. As some Pearls were getting the pieces, one Jasmith looked to the door.

"Should we destroy that too?"

"We've tried ten times already. There's no Gem left that can make it work anyway, so just leave it alone," the Pearl said. Well, if you can't beat it up, leave it. Lars scurried off more out of sight as the Gem group walked out with what they got in hand, as another thought struck them.

"How long you wanna bet until they're harvested?" one Jasmith asked.

"Oh, they'll be way more than Harvested when they're through. This is White Diamond we're talking about. Hope she puts them for practice dummies," the other Jasmith replied, getting a chuckle out of them as the group left. Lars could feel a gulp come up, and with the coast clear, he went on out of hiding and looked into the cave. Nothing left except for smooth floors, and the Gem door. If the Crystal Gems were coming back, they're gonna be ticked off to oblivion and back when they see what happened. Lars looked around a bit at the cave, standing over where the Warp Pad used to be for just a bit, as his eyes drifted over to the Gem door. The only thing that remained of the Crystal Gems left in here. 
Lars went on over to it, trying to open it, but it wouldn't budge. He couldn't even find a opening for that matter, his hands now finding a corner or some sort of grip on said door. He knew something was back there, he saw the Gems walk out of that room, but he just couldn't get it open at all.

"Come on, open up!" Lars groaned, trying his hardest. Nothing. Maybe he should get the others on board with this, but for now, he needed to get back to the donut shop first. That door wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon, but there was only one Gem with him that could do the job.


~~~~~~


Well, after that it was right off from the cave, and right back to the shop. He would have to pass there in order to get to the lighthouse anyway, so there was still that. As he was heading off towards the donut shop and around the back, he could see Sadie there and actually waiting for him, which was a little bit weird to find, but Lars had some more important things to worry about.

"Lars, there you are!"

"Not now, Sadie," Lars groaned. However, Sadie had about enough of this herself, and went right over to him.

"Wait a minute, what's going on? You've been acting ... weird," Sadie said.

"I've been acting weird?" Lars snapped. This was no time for some simple chit-chat, and he had WAY too much dumped on him, being the only one who actually knew what was up right now. The planet was on the line here!

"Eh ... yeah."

"W-Well, maybe I am, maybe I'm not, I don't have time for this. Go and handle the store, or whatever," Lars said, before readying to go passed her.

"Ok, what's wrong? You're acting paranoid, you've been running off, I even heard you got involved with a bunch of freaks at -"

"Rutile's not a freak, now get off my back!" Lars suddenly yelled, making Sadie jump and almost tumble off her own feet. Lars got himself snapped out of it, but Sadie looked rather angry at him.

"... Fine," Sadie suggested, though she actually sounding a bit more upset with him more than anything, starting from his demand moments earlier. Lars had enough trouble with all of this, and he felt himself jump when he heard the backdoor slam shut. Lars felt a bit guilty all of a sudden, and he didn't want to add yet ANOTHER issue to think about, so he had to get this one out of the way.

"Now, Sadie, wait a minute -"

"No! You go on ahead and do whatever the heck you wanna do! I'll stay here and handle the store like I always do!" Sadie replied from the other side of the door.

"Sadie, just listen, there's a lot more going on here!"

"Ok, fine, name one!"

"Alright, let me think. Oh, wait, how's this: there's aliens running around Beach City, and they've already brainwashed everyone except me into forgetting all about those 'freaks' everyone saw in town today, and they're going to wreck the planet unless this is fixed!"

"... WHAT?!"

Lars just sighed. How was he going to do this if she can't remember?

"Oh forget it. You won't believe me anyway. ... I'm sorry. ..."

Lars was just about to go off on his way, a lot quieter now, but before he could finally go, he heard the door open up again, this time with Sadie standing there with a small tear down her face, which she wiped off. Guess she was feeling bad about yelling at him too.

"... Well. Maybe you're not lying. You don't ever really apologize to me," Sadie stated, feeling a bit puzzled with  it on how to feel. Lars felt a little mixed with the insult, but at least Sadie was more willing to listen and hear him out.

"Yeah, sorry for that too. ... Look, I got a whole lot on my mind right now, so -"

"Wait a minute. You said Rutile was one of those  ... Gems, right?"

"Yeah, but apparently most of them were taken away already," Lars replied. Sadie thought it over a little bit, but then realized something.

"Hold on. If they're looking for these Crystal Gems, wouldn't Rutile be in danger too?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?!" Sadie gasped. Oh dear.

"... Maybe we should check?" Lars asked, getting worried.

"Ya think?!"

.......

Next thing they knew, Sadie and Lars were going off up the hill right to the light house. It was the last place where Lars had left the Rutile Twins and Spike to Ronaldo's care. This was something he really didn't consider much about, and with the group still going about, it was a high chance that a light house would be a place for to even look. Lars and Sadie both didn't stop running until they caught better sight of the light house, and they both were off and straight at the door.

"Ok, now you didn't see her, she's not a monster, don't freak out," Lars warned.

"Um, ok," Sadie replied. They had little time to explain, and Lars readied to open up the door ... just for it to open for him.

A White Diamond Jasmith soldier prime. Right in front of him. And this one was just managed to get through the door after bending down, her sheer size making Lars and Sadie back in sight of her. Didn't help much that this one had her gemstone over her eye either, as if she lost it in combat. This was the worst case scenario he didn't want to happen, and now he was found by the large Gem.

"Uh ... uh ... Hi? How ya doing? Havin a good day?" Lars asked meekly, the expression unchanged as a few more started to come out.

"What're you doing here?" the Jasmith asked.

"Oh, us? Uh, w-well we're here to uh ... maintain the Lighthouse, yes! So, I-if you could just let us go in, we can start up," Sadie said, hoping it'll work. Unfortunately, the Jasmith wasn't buying it, turning to one of the other Jasmiths coming out.

"We have a few intruders. Any ideas?"

"Throw them over the cliff."

That escalated quickly! The Jasmith grabbed them both by the collar, and like two pieces of trash, carried them right to the cliff in question! It was a long drop down, and no way can they survive such a fall, which was the general idea. Sadie and Lars freaked out, but Lars reacted first, and as the Jasmith released them, he quickly got a death grip on her arm, Sadie grabbing Lars by the waist. The Jasmith tried her best to shake them off, both flailing around like crazy, but both humans were not going to fall to their death like that! Eventually, the Jasmith swung them over her head, and towards the lighthouse, making them both let go and crash land onto the ground. Lars and Sadie shook themselves off, looking to the other soldiers just in time to see -

"LARS! HELP!"

The twins! they and Spike were captured, stuck inside a Gem bubble as they were pulled out. Both Rutiles were terrified about their capture, and Lars knew exactly what was going to happen to them if he'd let this go. However, this got the attention of the other Jasmiths to Lars, Sadie being thrown into a nearby bush and out of sight. but her fall, may be a lucky break, as the Jasmiths left her alone, and aimed right to Lars. Lars tried to get to the Rutile Twins and Spike, but unfortunately, one particular Jasmith grabbed a hold of him by the head, and all she had to do was throw him high in the air, aiming off away from the lighthouse, and down the hill! Lars landed hard, rolling and tumbling down the hillside for a bit before he could stop himself, only to look and see a Jasmith leap down at him with a fist right to the face.


~~~~~~


"... Laramie! Laramie, wake up, please! Can you hear me?!"

"Give him space, he's coming to."

Well, mission failed. Rutile and spike were taken now, and when Lars woke up, he found himself all the way down the hill, and leaning on the side of a building, possibly where the Jasmiths left him after beating him senseless. Or at least, he could barely comprehend it enough to get it right. However, the people around him was far less recognizable in his state, and he quickly thrashed out at them, thinking they were the Jasmiths again. It took him a bit to realize that it was just the other residents around him instead, which included his parents, who looked completely horrified to find him this way.

"Laramie? Oh, thank the lord," his mom said, hugging him tightly with tears in her eyes. Lars got to his senses fully at this stage, and felt a headache come around to him. He still had his memories, thank god.

"Wait. What happened? Where's -"

"Right here, Lars," Sadie said, standing not too far away. Lars took a moment to try and regain his memory on what the heck happened, and the only thing he can't recall was the initial hit. Lars took the time to look around, and saw a number of other familiar faces: Onion's gang, and the Maheswarans to name two. however, as he kept thinking, one question just came out.

"Rutile. Rutile, where are they? Are they still here?" Lars asked, but he forgot for a short moment that none of them even knew what he was talking about, and even if they've regained their memories, none of them really had met the Rutile twins before so that barely helped. The only one who actually had a proper answer for him was Ronaldo, who came out of the crowd with a bandaged head.

"Well, Ronaldo, where are they?" Lars asked, getting out of the hug and heading to the only person knowing her by name. Ronaldo needed a minute, his head still pounding.

"They got them. The White Diamond authority took them away. My armor proved inefficient," Ronaldo said, trying to control his headache. Lars couldn't believe it. After hearing what Rutile had went through, hearing her being taken made him think of what death sentence Homeworld would have for her. No. No, this won't do. There was only one thing left to get now.

"E-Excuse me!" Suddenly, Lars went off running.

.......

Despite his injuries, and his fall, Lars made record time in running straight back to the Gem cave, some of the other people following him, though Lars failed to recognize that. He didn't stop for any moment, almost slipping on the smooth floor, before heading over to the door in the back almost immediately. But with his attempts, Lars just couldn't get it open at all, no matter how many times he tried to get it busted open. As they said, only a Gem could open it, and their only Gem had been taken away. ...

"Garbonzo?"

Lars flinched and spun around, but lucky for him (maybe), it wasn't any of the Gems coming back, but instead Onion's little gang of kids: Soup, Squash, Pinto, Garbonzo, and Onion himself. His feelings were kinda mixed, but he did have a sigh of relief knowing none of Homeworld found him snooping around.

"Oh, it's only you. ... Wait. how long were you standing there?" Lars questioned, but none of them answered, and instead were checking out the cave that had just been cleared up. Squash, Garbonzo and Pinto were seeing the very smooth, almost reflective floor, as Onion and Soup went over towards Lars to check out the door. Curious themselves, they tried to open it, but with no luck about it. Soup tried to whack it open with a wooden spoon as hard as she could, but that didn't really do much either.

"Stop that, only a Gem can get in there," Lars sighed, though he was just as curious about this door as they were, and wanted in himself. However, the gang actually had a solution on them, be that as it may, and Soup snapped her finger with a smile in realization, and pulled the pot off her head to show  that she actually had a gemstone in it! Grant it, it still had what looked like a price tag on it, but that's another story. If they can beat the system, then alright. Soup gave it to Onion, and he proceeded to place it up to the door. However, at first, nothing seemed to happen, as he kept hitting it onto it. Lars found this kinda stupid.

"Come on, we know that's not gonna -" before he could finish, the world and its logic decided to prove Lars wrong, and the Sapphire part of the Gemstone door actually began to glow! And sure enough, the door was open! "... help."

Well, guess they found the cheat code to this scenario, regardless of just how off it was. Squash, Pinto, and Garbonzo soon noticed the door open, and the gang, with little hesitation, decided to go in and investigate. Lars kinda did the same thing, and had a look inside.
Well, the good news was that they found a way in, but the bad news was that there was little to show for it. The whole room was the basement of the Temple, where many of the Gemstones once were, but unfortunately the only thing left was a very dark room, much of the light from the bubbles no longer illuminating the place. It looked as ancient as it looks now, and looked as if no one had been in there for centuries, despite the group just being in there a short time ago. much of the basement in structure still looked the same, but only with all the lights off and completely dark. The gang tried to find something out of it, but they really weren't having much luck in it, Lars checking it out himself.

"Well, this is the Temple Steven kept talking about. Sure looks empty in here," Lars commented, though the gang weren't sure who he was talking about if it all was meaning much of anything. Lars went on around for a bit more, eyes up to the now silent heart of the temple, looking right up to it for a bit. Was this what the Crystal Gems lived in? Well, Lars was a bit more distracted than he realized, and his foot ended up nudging something, enough to make him lose his footing for a brief moment, and falling over.

"Garbonzo!" the others went over to see what happened, as Lars got himself up and looked back. Turned out, his foot had got caught on what looked like smoother ground, and this wasn't just dirt either. The gang found this very interesting, and actually began to dig up whatever Lars had found, Lars turning around and actually doing the same, albeit a bit slower. Eventually, something did end up being dug up, and BOY was it a score! At the beginning of this charade, this object was only the size of a dinner plate. But now, it was about as big as a beach ball, and heavier than any brick as the gang tried to get it out themselves! The colors swirling inside this glass egg was becoming a bit more vibrant now, and a lot more active, but the gang saw what they thought was a mighty score of jewels, as the whole gang picked it up and began to head out with it.

"Hey, give that back!" Lars shouted, heading out himself. It was surely an odd thing to see, but he didn't know what it was or what it was going to do, as the gang rushed off outside of the room, and heading towards the beach. Lars was quick to follow them behind, and actually managed to get it out of their hands, holding it above his head, but what happened next was a bit more shocking than the realization.

And it happened the second they got the egg outside.

Feeling the warm sunshine up outside for the first time in a while, the egg started to become a lot more active now, the colors inside starting to swirl and spin inside as if the egg had a hurricane in it. Lars stopped and felt the egg move about, making  him freak out and actually drop it. He didn't have a clue what was going on, and the egg began to lift up off the ground, shaking violently as it began to glow. The egg, in fact, began to crack open, light beginning to shoot out, one of which aimed right to Onion's gang! Lars tried getting to them, but the light was too fast, and shot them all down! One hit on each one of the gang members, and knocked them out on the spot much to Lars's shock. Lars looked to the egg, and even more light shot out as it continued to crack. Suddenly, the egg burst open, sending a huge light into the air, and straight to Beach City in an explosion!

"Crud, crud, crud, crud!" Lars gasped, freaked out as he ran blindly right over to the city. What did they just do now?

.......

Well, if Lars wasn't freaked out before, he sure was now. With all this stuff going on, he didn't want to see anyone else disappear from the premise by some weird Gem object. Lars raced off right back to where it started, and soon he was met with a rather scary sight: a ton of people down on the ground! They were groaning a bit, and by the time Lars had actually arrived, they were beginning to come around a bit. The first person Lars raced over to was Sadie, who tried to come back to.

"Sadie! Sadie, you ok? Say something!" Lars said, Sadie just getting herself back around.

"Lars? Whoa ... wait ... wait, what's going on?" Sadie asked. she didn't look too hurt, thank goodness, as the others began to get up themselves. Lars tried to figure out if anyone else was hurt, but none of them seemed anymore hurt than they were already.

"Anyone hurt?" Lars asked, Sadie up on her feet now.

"I ... I don't think so. Wait, what am I saying?!" Connie suddenly gasped.

"What, you feel bad?!" Lars asked.

"Nevermind me, the Crystal Gems, the Mane Six, where're they?! Where'd they go? White Diamond didn't leave yet, did she?"

... And just like that, everything explained what that egg did. It didn't hurt anyone, it got them their memories back. Well, up to a point, anyway.

"Look, everyone chill, I'll explain the whole thing to you."
> "I'm A Friend" PT2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"W-where is everything?!"

If one word could describe the overall feeling of the situation, it would be confusing and scary. White Diamond had been and gone, and practically all of Steven's stuff had been taken away from the area, as Lars soon showed them. He didn't bring everyone along, but Jamie, Connie, Sadie, and Onion's Gang had come back around and saw exactly what was wrong. Thanks to their regaining of memory, they knew that there was a home for Steven Universe here. Or at least, there was supposed to be, but when they all saw just how little there really was left, they just couldn't believe it. Especially Connie.

"I told you, those White Diamond soldiers took all of it. something about confiscating or whatever," Lars reminded. They tried to find some sort of remain, but the only thing they had left was the door in the back, and even then there was little to actually go on.

"This can't be happening. Someone please tell me this isn't happening. I-I need a chair to sit down," Jamie said, on the brink of fainting. Luckily, Soup and Squash got him on the way down before he could end up falling.

"Ok, ok, everyone calm down. Look, we have to get them back."

"Get them back?" Sadie asked.

"Of course! guys, White Diamond has every single Crystal Gem AND Mane Six right now. I'm going to get them back, now who's with me," Connie said, and with what White Diamond did to them already, the decision came to a lot quicker, and with good results. Onion was up for it along with his gang, surely.

"Garbonzo," said Garbonzo in a serious tone.

"Ok, that fun and good, but what can we do? This is someone who can crush a house, literally!" Lars said.

"Lars, seriously! The Crystal Gems and Mane six had been doing so much for us: they kept monsters away, they've saved our planet multiple times, and they've helped build up Beach City when it got flooded out, remember?" Sadie said.

"Sadie's right: they've done so much for us, and now they need our help. It's our turn to go and save them," Connie stated, bringing her hand out. Lars felt unsure, but then the memory of Rutile and Spike in that bubble flashed through his head. Lars could feel a bit of anger rise in him, and determination that almost felt foreign for him. And he ended up being the first to bring his hand out.

"I'm in," Lars decided. A brave move on his part, much to their surprise.

"So am I," Sadie said, also bringing her hand in. So that was two. Eventually, Jamie came up and did the same thing.

"Me too. They won't take our Gems that easily," Jamie stated. Onion's Gang already agreed and brought their hands in as well. Well, that was that, and they all were more than ready to go off. This was a pretty good start, though one fact still presented itself.

"Great, but where do we go? They seemingly smashed up their Warp Pad, whatever that is," Jamie asked, looking to whatever remained of it on the ground. That was the only problem that they didn't fully think over, and with that gone, they had no quick access. Though, none of them were Gem enough to activate one anyway.

"Lars, did they say anything about the Warp Pad by the barn?" Connie asked.

"Um ... No, I don't think so. But how does that help, that only leads back to Equestria," Lars questioned.

"Equestria AND Homeworld. That Warp Pad can connect back to the Gem Homeworld, and if they're taken anywhere, it'll be there," Connie said, already getting a head start on heading off to the barn. It was something they had to get to quick, though it would be a long time til they would get to the barnhouse, and as such to the nearest working Warp Pad. But, before they could even get thirty feet away from the cave, they had one other visitor rushing in from the opposite side of the beach.

"Connie!" she called, making much of the group stop on seeing her run up. They were a bit surprised to see her, but Connie was more than pleased to see someone like her.

"C2!" Connie called in glee, rushing over to her. Connie the second was very glad to see Connie again, with what just happened and all, though the others were a bit surprised to see a second Connie suddenly show up.

"C2?" wondered Jamie.

"Connie, oh thank Celestia, a-are you alright? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," connie said. Connie II was especially happy for this.

"Good. I felt something wasn't right, and I tried to contact you, but for some reason I couldn't go through. I couldn't find you at home, and I thought something very bad happened to you," Connie II said.

"But something bad did happen," retorted Connie. "Steven, the Crystal Gems, the Mane Six, they're all captured!" Connie revealed. They probably could feel this fact being a common thing being brought up in future no doubt, though all the same it was still a shocker to Connie II to hear.

"Captured? By who?"

"White Diamond did, and she tried to brainwash all of us to forgetting the whole thing!" Sadie answered. Connie II pondered on that.

"So That's why I couldn't contact you. But looks like you can remember now," Connie II said in relief. Before they could keep talking, Squash grabbed Connie II by the arm, and tried to get the group moving. nice time to chat, but they got other things to do.

"Onion's right: I can hardly imagine what devastating things they must be going though. We have to go," Jamie stated, and much of the others in the end had to agree on it. Jamie had Lapis missing, Connie had Steven, and Lars had Rutile, just to name the specific Gems that they were the most worried over of the team. So, they kept on talking as they continued on their way.

"So how're you getting there?"

"Warp Pad, how else?" Connie answered. That made Connie II troubled.

"But the Warp Pad doesn't work!" she yelled. This made the entire group skid to a halt.

"What're you talking about?"

"As I was trying to find you, I tried using the Warp Pad but for some reason it didn't work. I tried over and over again, but nothing," Connie II said. Lars felt a curse under his breath at that answer, and he could probably take a wild guess at why that would be. Onion snapped his finger at the idea shot down, and Connie felt especially struck down for that being their only main way to get there.

"Well, now what do we do? We can't get to Homeworld without a Warp Pad to use," Connie tried to think of some solution, along with the others, but as they were trying to figure it out. It took a lot of memory use, but them, Lars suddenly got it.

"Wait a second. ... Didn't Steven go on about a magical Lion before?"

.......

Off along the outskirts of town, sleeping over by a tree, Lion was seemingly unaware of what danger had happened off over back in Beach city to his master. Well, a answer they really weren't expecting but it was probably the best shot they got for right now. A long run through town, and some time of searching, the group did eventually found Lion by said tree, and wasted little to no time in getting right over to him.

"This was your idea, Lars?" asked Jamie.

"Steven said he can make warps, so why not?" Lars shrugged, though it was a wild guess at this point. Connie, being more familiar with Lion, went over tot he big cat.

"Lion! Can you make us a special super warp for us?" Connie asked. This did wake Lion up, but the big cat didn't sound too interested in any of it, even if the humans were crowding him a little bit.

"Come on, Lion, we gotta do this to stop White Diamond! If we don't there's gonna be no more Earth!" Connie explained, but that really didn't seem to go through to the cat. Jamie decided to try.

"Come on, you valiant creature. Help us in our mission and give us the aid we need. It will be a great honor if you would to -" Lion gave a grunt to Jamie's dramatic performance mainly to shut him up. Well, royal talk wasn't gonna work.

"come on, Lion please? There will be no more home, no more fish, no more friends," Sadie said, but again it wasn't working. Sadie went for broke. "... no more naps?"

Lion's eyes shot open on that answer. That was a line that White Diamond had crossed. Lion got up onto his four paws, his mane shifting as if it was gaining power, and Lion's eyes grew shiny white like stars, before a mighty roar echoed from his determined and mighty being. A very amazing display from the pink animal.

"Guess it was naps," Sadie simply said.


~~~~~~


And soon enough, after getting everyone comfortable on Lion's back, the great big cat began to make his run down the hill. Connie, Lars, Sadie, Jamie, Connie II, and everyone in Onion's gang just managed to fit themselves onto Lion's back, and while normally Lion had a weight limit for this sort of thing, the big cat had a mission to do for the world, and they weren't as much weight anyway. Everyone riding Lion kept a good grip just to be sure none of them would fall off of the big cat in his run. Eventually, as Lion got some pretty good speed, Lion gave a mighty roar, and soon they all were through a warp stream in one of Lion's mighty jumps. The whole group looked in shock at the warp stream, but they were more concerned with keeping a firm grip on Lion's back more than anything, not wanting any of them to fall off during the flight. As they kept going, Lion made more roars, and the group kept going faster, and faster, and faster!

"Go Lion, go!" Connie managed to say as they went. They all kept their heads down, and Lion stayed focused forward until the end of their warpstream presented itself. Once they got through, Lion had to skid to a stop, his claws digging into the earth. However, their actual stop was made when Lion slammed into what turned out to be a wall. A rough landing, but at least no one was lost in that flight. It wasn't until after they stopped though that Lion collapsed onto the ground, tired from the strain, and making everyone get off of him.
Looking around, the group of Humans had found themselves in a rather isolated area, but an opening to a far more brighter area quickly caught their attention, seeing that they were far higher up than they thought they were. Looking out to a dropoff of the Gem buildings, and seeing a futuristic city with a palace off far away and in their sights.
This group had made it to Homeworld.

"This is Homeworld? It's so ... huge," Sadie managed to say.

"Such a amazing expanse. Oh, where art thou, my dear Lazuli?" Jamie wondered. If this place was where they were going to be looking, they got a LOT to check, and it seemed that getting to the main palace was going to be enough of a challenge.

"I think we got another problem," Connie II then said, looking down. It wasn't the exact edge of the cliff she was looking at, but more of what was on the otherside to a nearby road. turned out, some patrols were set up around the homeworld city, and much to their trouble, some more Gem soldiers seemingly were going around. Guess White Diamond was putting them on edge as well, and the human group backed up to stay out of sight from the troops.

"Oh great, now what do we do with a bunch of Gem troops running around?" Connie asked.

"Nevermind that, how the heck do we get down from here?" Lars asked, looking down the cliff.

"Well ... maybe it's not that deep?" Sadie asked. Squash was already on it, and grabbing a stone, threw it off the cliff. Sadie, Squash, Lars, and Connie listened and waited to hear the impact. Five seconds ... ten ... twenty ... thirty ...

"You'd think it would've hit by now," Lars groaned.

"Garbonzo," groaned Garbonzo, hand to forehead.
But that didn't mean that it was completely ignored. The stone tossed down struck it, and floating up, the humans suddenly found themselves in their first bit of trouble: a small, tan, cone-shaped robot. The base consists of a hemispherical shape with a red pattern that serves as the front of the robot. And this robot on patrol as well caught the sight of these figures in their spot.

"Eh, hey Lion, up for another favor?" Lars asked. Unfortunately, Lion was too exhausted to do much about the moving object.

"Run for it!" Sadie said.

"Wait! If we stand perfectly still it won't see us. I saw it in a movie once!" Lars said. That was completely stupid, but what have they got to lose here? Plus, they had nowhere to go, so they all stood completely still, as this strange robot hovered in place for a minute. If they can juke this robot, then that would be swell, but then a sort of beam escaped from the robot's head. It didn't hurt, but it turned out to be a scanner, and it slowly went up and down the entire group. Once the scan completed, it simply floated there, and with a *bing*, the light turned from red to blue.

"That sounds good!" Lars said hopefully.
He said as the robot charged up an attack on them.

"I beg to differ! Duck!" Jamie said, and the whole group jumped aside, narrowly avoiding what appeared to be a white light beam. It missed them all, Lion included, and once it hit the back of the platform wall, it made a might explosion, sending dust and debris. The explosion woke up Lion with a startle, and everyone was just glad that they weren't blown up.

"I think that movie... was about dinosaurs," Lars admitted in a groan. When the debris cleared, they actually saw another pathway. Onion took his chance, and immediately made a bolt for it, wasting no time in jumping right out and across! They were freaked out, but turned out they actually saw a part of another, much closer path, albeit farther down. It wasn't a exact path to take, but with an angry robot right behind them, options were limited. Onion encouraged them to jump with a strong whistle, and while much of the group was unsure, Onion's gang didn't hesitate, and each one of them made the jump. Soup almost stumbled back, but Pinto actually grabbed her hand to pull her up. This was a scary situation.

"Come on, guys!" Connie said.

"Connie, I-I seem to be paralyzed with fear - Whoa!"

"Hang on, Jamie, I'll fix it!" Sadie said, actually grabbing him by the arm and starting to run with him. Soon, they quickly made their jump across, Lion the only one still behind the group. The robot didn't seem too interested in Lion, and kept its focus onto the human group, floating over fairly easily over their gap. The group thought of going, and did go back a bit, but Soup actually stuck back.

"Come on ,kid!" called Sadie. However, with this thing chasing them, Soup wasn't going to go through that kind of trouble, and looked and saw some stones on the ground. Soup gave her own whistle, and understanding the call, Squash lifted his hat, and actually was armed with a tomato, which he tossed over to her. Soup got herself armed up with a slingshot she hat under her pot, limed up the tomato, and shot it square into the robot! The splattered tomato on the robot made it start to malfunction, and try to blast it off of itself.

*boom*

Well, that was that. All Soup did was turn around to them and shrugged, though seeing the surprisingly calm look on her face, especially with some splattered tomato on her, made everyone feel ... well, uncomfortable. Except for the Onion gang, of course.

"... So ... that happened," Lars said, Soup catching up to them.

"Yeah. Indeed it did uh ... happen," Jamie replied. Seeing the thing gone now, Lion hopped down and trotted over to them, just about when they regained themselves and started to walk again.

"Well, Connie, where do we go from here?" asked Connie II. Out of all of them, Connie was the only one who'd been here before, so it only made sense for her to try and navigate a little bit. However, one visit doesn't completely solidify an entire city, especially since her first visit involved running away from White Diamond soldiers. They weren't trapped, but they still had to get around and figure out where they were first before going off to any other location. However, this place didn't look familiar to her at all in the slightest, so simply answering was out of question. Still, there was one particular Gem she could try to meet with.

"We go to Blue Diamond, I guess," Connie decided.

.......

And after some explaining to the others, that's what they did, and fairly quick too as such an explosion would surely send some guard running whatever the case may be. This surely was a big problem in and of itself: here they were in a world none of them practically had been in before, and already they had killer robots looking for them. So, with that in mind, their traveling through this Homeworld city became a very big, and dangerous game of hide and seek. Even if they were outside, they still had to get to their next destination, somehow without setting off patrol. With their rag tag human team, not to mention a large lion, that surely sounded easier on paper. Still, if there was anyone on Homeworld they know they can trust, it would be Blue Diamond, or at least trust enough so she won't throw them in jail on sight.
The process to make up tracks to get to said palace did take a bit of time, with each minute adding another minute to whatever torture or punishment the Crystal Gems and ponies could be going through by White. Eventually though, they found themselves along the borderline sight of the palace.

"Ok, I know you've hanged out with the Gems, and know way more about this stuff than we do, but ... you sure you know what you're doing?" Lars asked.

"Well without knowing where they are, it's the best shot we have," Connie replied, which was true. Connie looked left and right for a bit before giving the signal for the others to follow out into the open. They got the front of the palace just fine, but then there was the matter of getting in. Right to the front door they went, though a little bit hesitant to be going right up front to the Diamond Authority, but as Connie tried to get someone to answer the door, no one seemed to answer it for them. And the longer they were in the open, the more danger and risk they were in. However, the door itself actually opened itself, as if someone forgot to lock it (which was unheard of in a place like this). As it opened, they actually began to see what looked like a blue light, or faint blue aura begin to go out, getting Connie 

"Whoa, back up, back up!" Sadie said.

"Connie, you ok?" Connie II asked in worry. Looking to her, Connie didn't appear hurt, but her eyes were suddenly swelling up in tears.

"No, I don't think so. I don't feel hurt."

"Don't feel hurt?! You're baling your eyes out!" Lars pointed out. Connie felt her right cheek, feeling a decent stream of water come down from her eyes. Apart from that though, Connie didn't feel any different, and when she stepped out of the aura, the tears suddenly stopped, like turning off a faucet. Maybe this was a security system? Squash stepped into the aura itself to check it, finding that he too began to cry, only to step out and have it stop.

"Doesn't look like it hurts. Looks like just a emotional aura. I think it's okay, guys," Connie II replied, testing it with her hand.

"As long as my eyes don't flood out," Lars commented, just before the group started to slip on inside. 

Just moments after each one of them got in, the aura effected them to a powerful degree, and each one began to give the aura their own brand of Earth tears. If this wasn't from the aura itself, then it would be a very depressing moment to them all, though as they kept looking, and with Connie leading them on, the effect of the aura was leading them closer to the source, and faint whimpers were beginning to be heard down the halls. Eventually, one door was found, and the aura looked so thick it appeared to be seeping out from under the door. Looked like they found the source of it.

"Are we really doing this?" Sadie asked, worried on what could be on the otherside of said door.

"It's worth a try. Here it goes," Connie said, doing the honors and actually knocking on the door. The weeping actually paused for a brief moment, whoever inside hearing them loud and clear. It took a bit, but the door did eventually open up, yet it was Blue Pearl who answered it, a stream of tears down her own face from her single eye. She didn't recognize many of them, but Connie she can recognize right away.

"C-Connie?"

"Is Blue Diamond in there?" Connie asked, trying to wipe some tears from her eyes.

"She doesn't wish to be disturbed," Blue Pearl replied, not sounding too happy herself either, be it from the aura or not.

"Y-You don't understand, there's a major problem right now, and -" before Connie could finish, Onion decided that if they are gonna see Blue Diamond, then they might as well see Blue Diamond, regardless. Almost nonchalantly, Onion slipped passed Blue Pearl and right into the room before Blue Pearl could stop him, and Jamie rushed and tried to get him, only for them both to end up in sight of the Diamond in there.
Or rather, two. In the private quarters of Blue's room, Jamie and Onion found not only Blue Diamond in there, but Yellow Diamond as well! Blue Diamond was down on her knees, very depressed with her own tears coming down her face as Yellow Diamond was trying her absolute best to comfort her, the aura effecting her vision spheres just like everyone else in the aura.

"Why, Onion?" Lars quietly hissed. Jamie gulped on seeing the set of giants in front of him, and both after a bit turning to him. Jamie had to get himself together.

"Y-You're ... You're excellency," Jamie managed to say, going into a bow of respect, hopefully not insulting them for not doing so. He saw Lapis do it before as they were together, so all he could do was try to mimic it. However, the word "excellency" may not be the best choice.

"And who are you?" Yellow asked, annoyed that any guests would just come up. Onion actually had the nerve to push Jamie forward so he could speak to them, though it honestly didn't make the situation any better. Jamie cleared his throat.

"I-I'm Jamie. H-Human of Earth, you're excellency," Jamie said, keeping his gaze down. Yellow Diamond was in no mood to deal with him, or anyone else for that matter.

"We've got more than enough trouble right now to deal with humans," Yellow Diamond firmly made clear, and while it scared a good number of them, Blue then spoke.

"Yellow, please don't be mad at him," Blue quietly stated.

"Don't worry about it, Blue. and as for you," she added while looking to Jamie, "go and bother someone else."

"I know it looks bad to you, b-but if you'll let me explain -"

"Pearl, get them out of here! We don't have time right now," Yellow Diamond suddenly instructed, getting bugged. Yellow Pearl, who was at the moment trying to comfort Blue Diamond, went away from her, and grabbed Jamie and Onion by their arms, pulling them to the door. Blue Diamond was the closest they'll get, and Jamie was losing his chance to help the others out.

"N-No, wait a minute, just let me explain! W-We need help, the Crystal Gems, t-they had been taken!" Jamie finally got out, but it may already be too late. Blue Diamond suddenly grew surprised, a gasp escaping her.

"There's no time to deal with it right now. Bad as it is, we have our own problems," Yellow said, getting annoyed.

"B-but you're excellency, we -" Jamie suddenly shouted, straining to stay in there. All of a sudden, Blue Diamond reached out, and Grabbed Jamie off the ground, and into the palm of her hand, much to the surprise of the others. Jamie wasn't hurt, but found himself standing on Blue Diamond's hand, looking eye to eye with Blue Diamond herself, the Gem's eyes still glossy from the tears.

"Did you say that the Crystal Gems ... were taken? Human?" Blue asked. Jamie gave a sigh, calming himself down as best he could despite his tears, before nodding his yes.

"Y-Yes, they've been taken. Gone. Plucked off of Earth like crystal flowers, and off to the stars by White Diamond for crimes of war. I'm sorry we had to interrupt you this way, but if we are to help them, we need help. For our mission to succeed, we need to know their location," Jamie said, a flair of his "drama zone" coming up during that (some reason it was easier to talk that way). The mention of White Diamond made the situation clear as crystal, and just as precarious, Blue Diamond looking in dismay.

"Oh dear... not again."

"Again?" Jamie asked, a little surprised, as Blue Diamond gently brought him back down to ground level. Blue Diamond was quiet at first, but she did start to explain.

"So many Gems had been going missing as of late. ... Tell me. Is there ... any of them left?" Blue asked. Calmer now, and the aura actually fading a bit and less tears coming out of them all.

"I'm afraid the capture was fully successful ... none of them are left," Jamie said, feeling guilty for saying that. It was strange though, both Jamie and Blue Diamond thought of Lapis at the moment, worried, and thinking about what other trauma she could be going through. Yellow glanced off to the door, seeing the other humans looking in from the safety of the door. Well, she might as well at this point, and Yellow Diamond walked over, and opened the door wide, making them tumble in. At first she was a bit bugged, but looked intrigued when she saw Connie amongst them.

"Connie? ... You do have a bit of nerve to return after the stunt you pulled," Yellow said, as they all got up.

"He told you why, your Clarity. Very sorry for just -" Connie said meekly.

"No, don't be. ... Now I know where my missing Gems are."

"You do?! Well, where?" Lars asked. Yellow Diamond glared at him for missing two words, but it flew over Lars's head.

"What?" Lars asked, shrugging before Connie nudged him.

"You're supposed to say "your Clarity"," whispered Connie. Either way though, Blue Diamond was willing to talk to them still, and didn't want anyone getting hurt here. With their reaction to their last visit, it was actually something she expected to happen the minute Jamie brought up White Diamond in his explanation.

"You're not thinking ..."

"Yellow. They don't deserve it," Blue simply said. Yellow felt a little uneasy, but she did eventually stay quiet for Blue Diamond to talk. It had been enough of an emotional run since Pink Diamond started. Well, with everyone in there, they all went up together, and waited for Blue Diamond to explain herself, now the aura gone and everyone's eyes can be saved of more crying.

"If it was White Diamond who took them, the only place they'll be would be in her own space station. ... But getting there's going to be difficult," Blue Diamond informed.

"How come?" Sadie asked.

"The Warp Pads on White Diamond's station only activate if close to a planet. And it's impossible to say where she would be right now."

"Isn't there some way to find them? I mean, you got all your futuristic gadgets and gizmos, don't you have some tracking device, or something?" Lars asked, hesitantly. Blue Diamond thought it over, but then she took a look over to Yellow Diamond. Blue Diamond was a ruler, but technology was more Yellow's department.

"Please, Yellow?" Blue asked. Yellow felt unsure, but eventually she sighed and began to comply.

"If you have to know, our kind has easily invented and used tracking devices over the millennium. Unfortunately, none of them could work on White Diamond's space station. ... (murmuring) for some reason."

"There's got to be some way to get there. They're heroes to us all, and they could be going through anything at this moment," Jamie said, as if they needed another reminder. Yellow needed little time to think of something.

"... Are any of you experienced in piloting a ship?"

.......

Next thing they knew, it was from the palace, and off into what appeared to be a docking station for Homeworld. blue diamond had one similar to this, but this one was Yellow Diamond's docking station, which actually mirrored the one White Diamond used, albeit a little smaller in size, with a multitude of ships inside being attended to by a number of Peridots. Who'd of guessed that they would end up in here for their attempt to go? Still, if Warp Pads weren't going to work, then this was the next best thing, so long as it can actually get them to the right place. The Diamonds went on inside with the group of rescuers, many of the Peridots humbled upon seeing the Diamonds come in, making their respected insignias with their hands. A typical respectable gesture to the diamonds, but they were in a bit of a hurry right now, so they didn't worry over it too much. What they did think over though is what ship they should do.

"So we're flying a ship there?"

"With little idea on where her location is, it would be the best option as of now. We may not have tracking devices to pit her location, but we do have scanners on these ships that could be useful."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Sadie then asked.

"... Let's find which one you should take," Yellow simply answered. The Peridots overheard this no doubt, and they quickly got themselves down and tried to make the ships they were working on presentable to the Diamond as she looked around the options. Many of the ships around them looked varied in option, be it the flying saucer model, or one of those space ships one would find on those old Atari games. Either way, the human group had little to no idea on which one to actually pick out of them.

"Let's see. Well, we need a very fast ship, and probably one that can't be seen. So any of your ships have a warpspeed, or a cloaking device?" Lars wondered, trying his best to think on it.

"How'd you know that?" Blue Pearl asked.

"I've seen them on sci-fi movies before, I know these things too," Lars insisted. As they were looking around, Jamie turned and he and Connie II took sight of one particular ship.

"What about that one?" Connie II asked. The group stopped and looked to the ship in question. The ship itself had a Atari-like style to it, shaped like a triangle or hexagonal, and colored in a shining gold. Two wings came out from the back sides of the ship, and it ended in a sharp point. At the moment, the ship was on hover mode, and being maintained by a set of green Peridot, these two a bit more of a darker green than their Peridot. The humans went over there first, as the Diamonds went on and followed.

"The Sun Incinerator. Well, it's not a cloaking ship, but it is the fastest ship I currently have on option with its nova thrusters. If you're worried about time, then this will do," Blue Diamond said. The humans looked it over a little bit, but considering their goal, they had little time to actually get things decided, so they had to take it.

"Thank you very much," Connie said, as they began to go off inside. The interior of the ship appeared circular, with the ceiling made out of a glass with the Great Diamond Authority insignia on it. The walls were green, with green diamond shapes covering the entire circular shape of the interior. At the front of the ship looked to be control panels, and two staircases going down to a lower floor where the ship's engines were stored. It was a pretty straightforward idea.

"You don't suppose an auto-pilot is installed in this ship, do you?" Lars asked, as the group could see the diamonds off outside of the ship from the ship's windows.

"Once you program them into the controls, they should guide you on from there. They should be, as you earthlings say, straightforward," Yellow Diamond said. Connie and Connie II went over to said controls, and as it turned out, the controls themselves looked no different from their IPhone touch screens. Indeed, a very nice little bit of convenience again, but exactly what did what was still up to debate. Blue Diamond actually gave them some bit of honor, by gently pushing them off to the launching dock, giving them plenty of space to get the ship moving off the right direction.

"Ok, well ... put it in," Lars said.

"Ok, let me see," Connie wondered. The gang nearby tried to figure it out themselves, but then Garbonzo started to figure something out.

"Garbonzo!" he said in realization, snap of the fingers, as he went right up to them himself. Connie and Connie II moved aside to let him work it out, little Pinto looking over his shoulders and wanting to see them himself. Garbonzo and Pinto went through the screens and what information they had, and eventually figured it out on the exact info gathered in it. It turned out, pre-saved data from previous travels had been programed into the ships system, one name being the White Diamond Space Station!

"This is becoming too easy," Connie shrugged.

"Don't count your eggs before they hatch," Connie II said, Soup and Squash nodding in agreement nearby.

"Ok, now how do we begin our voyage?" Jamie wondered, trying to figure out these controls himself. Garbonzo though was on the verge of figuring out their little problem, and as the Diamonds watched, the ship began to lift off into the sky. It was a little bit iffy, but the positioning system started to work out what track to take, and actually aimed them in the right trajectory, much to their delight. Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond watched on, and after some bit of starting up, the Sun Incinerator began to come to life, and the thrusters started them off on their way from Homeworld, and into the final frontier. Next stop: the White Diamond Space Station.


~~~~~~


Well, they were off and on their way, and for the next half an hour, it was mainly just a simple flight off towards the Space Station. Well, they kept at the controls as best they could, much of it being tracked by Garbonzo, Connie the Second, and Connie, as the rest were waiting for their drop off. Lion was the only one actually sleeping on the flight up. It was all fun and good, but the rate they were trying to reach said ship wasn't exactly a good thing for them. They wanted to get there as soon as possible, and simple thrusters weren't going to cut the mustard.

"Can't this go any faster?" asked Connie.

"We're trying to find that out," Connie II replied, trying to make sense of this.

"Wait. didn't one of those Diamonds say something about Nova Thrusters?" Sadie asked.

"Wait, oh yeah, she did! Try and bring them up," Lars said. Garbonzo managed to find them, and found that they were actually weren't even going. The thrusters they had on weren't nova power, apparently.

"Eh, wait, I don't know. We don't know how fast this can actually get, and if it's too fast for us ... well, we might be pancakes with how much G forces it can use," Connie II realized, making some of them troubled. It could be a move that would get them more hurt than anything, but after a little bit, it was Jamie who went forward.

"If I am to be a pancake, then bring on the syrup!" Jamie decided, and before anyone could get a word in otherwise, he activated it.

If that was a good move or not was something they had to figure later, as the Sun Incinerator began to adjust itself inside and out to get the nova engines ready for warp speed. The normal thrusters behind the ship retracted, and were replaced with what looked like odd propellers, which began to glow. The ship began to move forward again, but in the sudden adjustment, the entire ship began to thrust forward at breakneck speed! No Sonic Rainboom could match this speed, and almost seconds after that, everyone felt all the G forces slam into them. They tried to stay still, but those standing were suddenly pulled right to the back wall, slamming into it! Connie and Jamie just managed to stay in their places, Jamie grabbing hold of the control seat as best he could, as Connie found herself almost glued to her seat. Garbonzo was flung back off his seat to the back with the others, Pinto in front of him so he wasn't crushed under him.

"Too fast! Too fast!" yelled Lars.

"DO SOMETHING!" shouted Sadie.

"I'm trying!" Connie strained, trying to even reach the controls again, but the forces were far more than they can handle. Stars, galaxies, and plants zoomed by them in complete blurs, but one good thing (and only good thing), was that they were making record time as the screen showed the ship closing in on the Space Station. Bad news was they couldn't stop!

"Connie?!" Jamie yelled, his body being pulled back with only his hands gripping the seat.

"I can't reach it!" Connie replied.

"WHAT?! We're gonna crash at this rate!" Lars shouted, and at the rate they were going, that wasn't too far from the truth. Connie had to try, but simply lifting her arm was like lifting a ton of cement, and just as hard to move on her own, but as they were flying, suddenly a floating meteor suddenly whacked the ship, making Jamie and Connie tumble off and fall right to the back wall! This was bad: now no one had control, and every second passed by with them closing in on the White Diamond Space Station!

"W-What do we do?!" gasped Connie.

"G-Garbonzo!" strained Garbonzo. They all were bracing for the crash, but then Sadie got an idea.

"Lion, give me a boost up!" Sadie yelled. With their lives on the line, they had no time to argue, so Lion grabbed her and moved her so she was in front of him, and the big cat gave a mighty roar! The G forces were strong, but Lion's roar was just powerful enough to move Sadie from the back wall to the control seat, Sadie grabbing hold of it. And just in time before Lion stopped roaring.

"Thanks," Sadie called, before gathering her strength to pull herself from the ground, and into the seat. She just managed to sit down, but found herself glued to the seat like Connie was. Her teeth grinding together, and using every ounce of strength she could muster, she brought her hand up forward, and with a touch of her straining fingers, click the same screen Jamie did. Upon that very click, the warp-speed suddenly stopped, and they gained control again. Those on the back wall stayed stuck to it for a moment before they fell onto the ground. Sadie never felt so relieved, a huge breath escaping her as she slumped in the same seat.

"Glad that's over," Sadie sighed, feeling weak, but glad to be alive still.

"C-C2!" Connie gasped. The others looked over to her, and found Connie was right by Connie II, but for the doppelganger, something didn't look right. Her eyes looked very dilated, almost completely white, and she simply laid there on the wall as if passed out, but what freaked her out more was her body was actually flickering out!

"C2, come on wake up! Snap out of it!" Connie said, trying to wake her up. Connie II needed a minute before her eyes started to come to, and her body to fully solidify. Connie II felt very dizzy, and shook herself back to her senses.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine now."

"Y-you sure, you're body, it ..."

"Oh that. My body just was too slow for the warp speed, that's all," Connie II replied.

"... Don't wanna know," Lars replied. now was not a good time to really question anything. As they all were coming to, Jamie then felt Onion whack him square in the head.

"Ok, yeah, I deserved that. Sorry," Jamie said meekly.
Well, after that little bit, they took a moment to look out from the frontal window. With the world now far slower when compared to warp drive, the group could now get a proper grip on what they got to deal with, and off just ahead, they can see their main goal. The Space Station was right ahead of them!

"We're coming guys."

The sun incinerator was like a spec compared to the Space Station, and they tried their best to figure out a way of entry. What kind of navigation can they use now? Sure, they found it, but Connie could barely remember what door they used, or what docking station to actually enter the place. If White Diamond was smart, she probably won't use the same station twice, so they really had to figure this out, and figure it out fast. Who knows how long it'll be before they could enter this place again, and who knows what the others were going through inside? The sun Incinerator was kind of stuck in an orbiting system for just a bit, going around the sides of the Space Station for a bit, but eventually something began to look familiar.

"Garbonzo, get the ship in there," Connie said, pointing to one part of the station. Looking on, they all could make out a familiar looking transparent glass, and if Connie remembered right, the glass was how they got in. Good call on her part: the ship slid on into the hole. However, this wasn't exactly the same hanger they were in last time. This room was another docking station, sure, but this one wasn't as inviting, and had an upper level for the door. After some fiddling with the controls, the ship landed on the ground, albeit a bit roughly. Well, they were in, now what do they do? Opening the hatch, they cautiously stepped out into the space station. However, one thing that did come bad was a few more guards lined up, yet none of them saw them yet.

"K, we're in. Now where do we do?" Lars asked.

"Here, give me a second, I got an idea," Connie II advised. The group took a step over back into the ship, and Connie II began to work out some of her magic tricks. After some working with her fingers, and a few flashes, the group suddenly found themselves in a rather ... different appearance. To put it simply, each one of them were different colors:
Lars was colored green with lime green hair.
Sadie had yellow skin and sun hair.
Jamie had a color of grey to his skin with silver hair.
Connie and Connie II had orange skin and red hair.
Garbonzo and Pinto were both colored red in hair and skin.
Soup had a more yellowish-tan to her skin.
Squash was colored turquoise.
Onion ... remained unchanged.
Regardless of color, the group had a bit of an outfit disguise as well, them all wearing Homeworld outfits and suits, all matching each-other as a typical Homeworld Gem citizen. They all took a minute to check eachother, and seeing what Connie II had did.

"Not what I had in mind, but this will work," Lars sighed. What else could they do? Well, after that was taken care of, they began to exit out. The guards up top took note of them down below as they started to head forward towards their only access inside. They didn't stop until one of the guards stood in their way. A set of Carnethysts were on guard here, not a set of Jasmiths.

"Halt. State your business," one of the Carnethysts demanded firmly. However, their focus was actually more on Lars than anything, making Sadie and Connie back up. Guess Lars's height made their assumption as him in charge, which was both troublesome and weird.

"Eh w-we're here to uh ... to uh ..." Lars's mind was on a blank now that he was on the spot. However, Jamie got up his nerves, and stepped over in front of Lars.

"Do not go on and assault my crew like that." He stated firmly, sounding like a strong authority figure.

"Sounds like he's in charge," one of the Carnethysts noted. Still, that didn't truly get them to back off.

"I don't recognize you ... who are you?" she asked.

"Who am I? I am uh ... Grey Emerald uh, Facet, 7X12 Cut uh ... B27. I'm under report of the Diamonds, and arrived strictly on business with the superior," Jamie explained. Acting wasn't the best in lying, but the group had him as the best actor they got, but the Carnethyst looked rather confused.

"What? Grey Emerald? I've never heard of you."

Time to pull how the drama bomb, Jamie style.

"Excuse me? I'll have you know I've been a captain ever since you were but a pebble! What an insult to such a high ranking Gem such as myself. Wait until White Diamond hears of this. I've heard she's been looking for new shards."
That last part sealed the deal, the Carnethyst gulping in worry.

"W-Wait, don't do that! I'm very sorry, I-I didn't recognize you. Please, go right in," she said, stepping aside to let them through. Jamie, keeping up the leader appearance, went on passed, and the rest of the group went on to follow him. If they can keep from avoiding an alarm, then that would be great. The group kept their calm faces on, though one Carnethyst was a little confused seeing Pinto, but for the sake of avoiding some shards available, she didn't try to question it.

Well, the group was in now, and they kept a professional look until the minute they turned the corner, all of them relieved as ever to have that happen.

"I can't believe that worked," Lars sighed in relief.

"All those months of acting paid off," Jamie stated. Connie found a sense of Deja Vu, and even some nostalgia looking down these halls, but none of that nostalgia was anything good, as they began to move on. The halls were empty, and as futuristic and metallic as they were during Connie's last visit here.

"Garbonzo?" Garbonzo asked, just for Onion to shrug. Squash pulled on Connie's shoulder, and for some reason Connie understood.

"I'm not sure, really. I've only been here once before," Connie admitted. Not an entirely good answer to their situation.

"Well, we better figure it out soon before these guys start to get smart," Lars brought up. They practically were in the belly of the beast, and if they get caught now, it will be all over for them. Them and their friends. And so, they have to figure out where to go from here without running into anymore of the Gems. A lie like that can only go so far, and it'll only be a matter of time before someone would catch on. Onion glanced off and noticed something up on the wall, making him stop. If they didn't want to be noticed by any of the Gems in here, then this was just their little ticket, and Onion gave a good whistle to get their attention to it.

A vent.

.......

In such a large Space Station, this wasn't the only thing going on here. In fact, as a bunch of troublemakers were going on through, another was actually on the run from a Jasmith and Carnethyst, racing down the halls and trying her absolute hardest to not get recaptured. She was terrified, and trying her best, and eventually, the Jasmith and Carnethyst stopped once they lost sight of her. The Carnethyst, groaning, got to a earpiece communicator.

"We lost her."

"Well find her then! And get her back into her cell before she can get out of the Station!" their advisors warned, before both of them went on down the hall. Unaware to them both, their little runaway was up and off the floor, hands and legs pushing against the walls and keeping her off the floor on the corner of the ceiling. She felt glad that they were gone, but she also knew she can't jump back down.

*thump**thump*

"Huh?"

Looking up, the little Gem found that she was right by a vent opening, and hearing the thumps and steps made her feel uneasy, if not curious. But she wasn't going down without a fight, no sir, no way, no how. She continued hearing the steps come closer and closer to her. Feeling the edge, she gunned for it: jumping right through the grate, and right onto another White Diamond Gem.

"I won't be shattered by anyone, you hear me?!" she shrieked, bringing out the big guns and her Gem weapon: spiked knuckles.

"No, no, no, wait, I'm not - mmmph!" she covered her assailant's mouth so he wouldn't keep blabbering on. When she looked, there was a LOT more than she expected. Sure they were smaller than Jasmiths and Carnethysts, but she wasn't taking any chances. Luckily for the one pinned down, one of them grabbed the attacking Gem by her arm to keep her back.

"I-I know it looks bad to you, but if you'll let us explain -" said another figure.

"You're not shattering me - whoa!" suddenly, a smaller one grabbed her head, and placed her ear on his chest. As she calmed down, and listened to a particular noise that no normal Gem could ever have.
The sound of a heartbeat.

"... OH. You're all just a bunch of humans. And here I thought little ol' me was in trouble, hehe."

"Get off me!" Lars demanded, before tossing her off of him, the Gem landing on her square head. The Gem was still a little confused, but at least she can reassure that she wasn't gonna be shattered by these humans (somewhat).

"Geesh, you're like a smaller, more annoying version of Garnet," Lars groaned. That got ruby a bit surprised actually.

"You know Garnet?!" she gasped, pointing to Lars although she was still upside down.

"Yeah, do you?" asked Sadie.

"Of course I do. I'm one of her dearest friends. Where is that fusion friend of mine anyway?" she asked, sounding a bit childish about it as if it was just some gossip. Whoever this little Gem was clearly didn't see the danger of the situation, as Connie, Jamie, and Connie II glanced down to be sure no guards saw her come in.

"Don't know, probably locked up in some cell somewhere with the rest of the Crystal Gems," Connie said. The Gem peeked over Lars's shoulders, and looked down with them.

"Oh no, that's terrible. We have to help them!" she said, though they were kinda taken by surprise by her answer, as she slid off of Lars's back with Lars straightening up.

"Wait a minute. You're not with them?" Lars asked.

"Nope," she simply answered with a smile.

"AND you want to help us get home?"

"I'll fly you out of here myself, just stick with me!" she insisted, almost in a sort of sing-along tone to her last bit of statement. The group really weren't sure about this exactly, but then again, she wasn't exactly wearing the White Diamond outfit, nor appeared to be any hybrid of sorts, so perhaps they could. ... Maybe? ...

"Eh, hey, can you give us a minute, miss ..."

"Ruby Facet-7K2 Cut-67A. You can call me Navy if you want. My buddy Steven likes calling me that," she answered innocently. Well, this was strange, but they consulted together, leaving Navy in the company of the gang for a moment. Onion simply stared at Navy with suspicious eyes, Navy feeling a little bit confused, but not too threatened by the cute little human. Not too long after, they got back to her.

"Ok, Navy, you can come along," Lars said. Navy was sure pleased.

"Horray! Lead the way friend," she said with a grin. A bit odd, but they just went on anyway. However, as Navy followed, Sadie had the honor of staying over with Onion.

"Can you and your gang keep an eye on her?" Sadie whispered. Onion gave his response with a little salute. They've all just met the Gem, and like her, they weren't taking much of chances here, especially now. Navy kept her position over by Jamie in their crawl through the vents, Connie getting overly curious and decided to go up to her.

"So, are you from White Diamond's troops, or no?"

"Nope. They were going to punish my little ol' Ruby squad, all for nothin," Navy replied.

"Really?"

"Yep. But now I got a great team to help me!"

"Slow down there, Navy. We're letting you come, but we're trying to get the others out first. If we find them on the way, then we'll get them out ok?" Connie II promised.

"Why can't you get mine first?"

"I didn't say we weren't getting them, one thing at a time," Connie insisted. Before they could continue another step, Lars actually stopped himself. The abrupt stop made Sadie bump into Lars, which made Navy bump into her. They stopped at a crossroads in the ventral system, branching off in two ways.

"What's wrong up there?" asked Navy.

"Will you be quiet for a second? I think I hear something," Lars said, slowly moving off down away from the group into the other vent. They all stayed silent for a moment to let Lars hear, Lars focusing on what the sound could be. It was very faint, but Lars just managed to catch it.

"HELP! LARS! SOMEONE HELP!"

"Rutile!" Lars gasped, starting to go down the vent after the sound. The others started to follow him, and turned out the noise was coming off from another ventilation grate.
Lars found this grate after two turns off the path, and while vision was a bit iffy when looking through the ventilation grate, what he can make out made him freak out to put it lightly. The room was rather small, about the size of an operation room, and to an extent that was probably what this was. And as Lars had feared, the Rutile twins were inside the room, just getting themselves forced down onto a table, strapped arms and legs so they couldn't move, and being strapped down by none other than Pearlis.

"Oh, will you stop struggling, please? You're more trouble than you're worth this way, you know," Pearlis groaned.

"N-No stop, we don't want to be split!" right Rutile exclaimed.

"We're fine as we are, really!" left Rutile added, equally terrified. Pearlis just rolled her eyes.

"Is that what the rest of the Rutiles said when they ran off, screaming for their lives? Just stay still, you'll only hurt for a moment."

"WE'LL DIE!" the Rutiles yelled.

"I'm surprised you two were alive as long as you have. Don't know why my Diamond changed her mind on leaving you behind, but well, she always is such a resourceful sort," Pearlis said, as she started to reach for the operating tools. Lars couldn't believe his ears, but felt a bit torn. Yes, he wanted to help her, but he also wanted to keep the group out of trouble. Pearlis sure looked like an important figure after all, and at this point the others caught up, and saw the same situation.

"R-Rutile. I gotta get in there!" Lars thought, trying to open the grate to get in, but it was locked up tight. Despite the attempts, Pearls had already begun to start on the process, and took a drill to Rutile's stone! The whirring began, and both twins screeched in horror more than pain, worried that their stone was going to shatter at any moment. Unfortunately for Pearlis, the stone stayed in tact, and still stuck together. Though, the drill did leave a slight crack in it.

"This'll be tougher than I thought. Oh well, nothing some acidic laser testing won't fix." Like it was called fixing!

"What's she doing to her?" Sadie quietly asked.

"Don't mind the details, just get this open for me," Lars replied. He already failed before, he didn't want her to fall twice. The right Rutile could glance over at the grate from the position, and once she saw what was going on, both sides of her stayed very quiet. Pearlis didn't seem to notice it though, yet what she did notice was a missing piece of equipment.

"Clod, where is that thing?" Pearlis groaned. And it was at this point that the grate finally got loose, and it slowly began to be moved. Lars looked on in, both twins able to see who it was, yet Lars gave them a gesture to be quiet, finger to his lips. Looking over to Pearlis, he could also see a door opened up to outside. What the plan was, was as simple as it was precarious.

"I gotta be brave. Stop being scared," Lars thought, before he gathered his nerves and actually dropped inside. Pearlis appeared too busy finding the piece to notice Lars in there, and he silently began to take baby steps towards her. Closer and closer he got, his heart racing and breath quickening. If she turned around now, it was done. Pretty soon, he was literally inches away from her, his arms raised, and ready to attack her. However, there was only one little detail he forgot to count on.

his shadow.

Suddenly, Pearlis spun around, and grabbed Lars by both arms, and next thing Lars knew, he was face to face with what he thought was Pearl.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Pearlis asked. she heard him fall, and now she saw the grate open. This was bad, and Lars was now backed in a corner by Pearlis. Now what's he supposed to do? Well, there was no reason to hide anymore, and Lars brought up his foot to kick Pearlis square in the stomach, yet that didn't do much of anything, and all it did was make Pearlis smirk, as she carried Lars over to the Rutile twins.

"L-Lars?!" gasped left Rutile.

"Lars? Is that who you are? One of our Jasmiths did mention a minor inconvenience at that "lighthouse". Though if you want to see your twins one more time, then you got your chance," Pearlis said, proceeding to bind his hands down. The group had to act now:

"HIYAA!" Pearlis turned, only to find Connie's foot in her face. Lars's kicks were tough sure, but since this one was closer to her gemstone, Pearlis backed up. Pearlis's moment of power was quickly dashed, especially when she realized that she had moved outside of the room, and for Garbonzo and Jamie to shut and lock the door from the inside! Pearlis tried to open it, but no luck to them.

"Garbonzo!" Garbonzo laughed, sticking out his tongue at her. Pearlis looked through the glass of the door, just to find the group now inside and not only getting Lars free, but the twins as well. Now she was getting upset.

"You rebels! Open up! I don't know how you all got in here, but you won't win!"

"There wasn't any guards set up at the front gate," Lars commented.

"There were fifteen Jasmith guards!!"

"Oh? Really? We didn't see em'," Lars replied smugly, helping the twins up into the ventilation shaft.

"I'm reporting this!" Pearlis replied angrily, before bolting off out of sight. Now they really have to get moving, and get moving fast. They did a bit of a scramble, but they did manage to get themselves into the vent again, and get out of there before any guards would show up. Well, they got one Gem out, but they still had twenty four more to find and save. If the treatment the Rutile twins had gotten were of any indication, then the others wouldn't last too long.

"Did you find the others?" the right Rutile asked.

"Not yet, I don't know where they are. But I bet they're gonna be hunting for us now," Lars figured. But now, he didn't care, so long as they're going to be safe, that was just fine with him. Navy felt very freaked out on the Rutile twins, but lucky for the group, Soup got that covered when she placed her pot over her face as she screamed. Only when Navy stopped did Soup remove it and continued on.

"Will you not?"

"B-But, but she -"

"She is fine," Lars said, making sure that was put very clearly to the Gem. The others found it almost foreign that he would act like this, but then again he was the only one who wasn't brainwashed, so something can still happen during that time. Lars and Sadie looked over to the twins, who thanks to their now cracked gemstone was beginning to act up, her body glitchly slightly. As if being two Gems in one wasn't enough of a challenge, now she had glitching to deal with, making the twins tumble a little whenever her hands start to glitch out.

"Ok, maybe not fine," Lars admitted.

"You ok? How're you holding up?" Sadie asked.

"Bad."

"Not good."

The twins began to feel unstable, and Sadie and Lars stood beside them as support as they continued on into the vents. No one was leaving anyone behind. Sadie took a minute to look over to Lars, who looked more determined than before. Was this the same Lars she met yesterday at the Donut shop? Eventually, Connie II stopped at the front, seeing that they were stuck in another crossroads, this time the path splitting into three different sections: two branching straight as one curved in an S shape to the right.

"Mane. Now which way?" Connie II wondered, trying to figure that out. Navy went over to her side.

"In a turn of events like this, best thing we can do is send a scout down each path and see where they end up," Navy suggested. That suggestion though only got her bumped forward by Onion. Guess he found their volunteer.

"Good idea, Navy. See what's down them and come right back to us," Sadie said. Yeah, not what she had in mind, but with her already bumped down one of the vents, she just started going on ahead a bit.

"Well this isn't very fare," Navy grumbled.

"Your call, therefore you go," Lars stated. And so Navy did, starting with the straight path. It took her a few minutes, but as she was doing that, Soup began to wonder about the other paths just a little bit more than the rest were, and Jamie turned and caught her going off down the S tunnel.

"Where're you going?" Jamie asked, but she didn't stop.

For Soup, she took it on herself and checked out what the next path was about. While most of the vents so far had been decently lit up with the lights from Homeworld rooms seeping in, this one was a bit darker, and Soup had a bit more trouble seeing the further she went in, it getting a bit darker due to lack of light. Soup found herself over in a dark tunnel, barely able to see much of anything. However, while she couldn't see much of anything, she could feel around a lot better, and as she kept going, she then felt the unmistakable feeling of yet another ventilation grate under her hands.
Interesting.
Soup took a look in there, but however, this room just was a little too dark to make out from up in her position. However, fate kinda had different plans, and as she moved over the grate to continue on, her weight started to make the grate slightly unstable, and creak under her. Before Soup realized it, the grate suddenly broke, a gasp running through her mouth as she fell with a thud! Lucky the fall wasn't too long, Soup landing on her pot helmet, yet now she was too far down to get back to the vent. On the bright side, she can have a better look around on the room she fell into. She landed on what looked like a metal floor, holed on the bottom, and rather wide. Soup tried to get back up, but it wasn't any good, no matter how many times she jumped, and reached. It was too dark to make out any details, but Soup figured that this was some sort of storage in this Space Station. It didn't sound like anyone was in there either, so stealth could be put on hold for the moment. With her slingshot, Soup grabbed her pot and started to bang on it like a drum to get the group's attention. It was just loud enough for the rest to hear her, and Onion's gang almost immediately began to head off down the other vent just as Navy got back.

"What's going on?"

"Guess they found out where to go, come on," Connie replied.
Soup needed little time to wait, as she saw Jamie and Onion first, looking down from the vent and seeing her wave up to them. however, she instead waved for them to come down, believing she found something interesting. Jamie was unsure, but Onion didn't hesitate and jumped down to her, landing on his feet.

"What'd you find?" the twins called, but neither of them answered.

"Eh, they can't talk," Lars quietly said. With the rest of the Onion gang going down as well, they had no other option than to join them down there. However, none of them could really see all that well, but the only light they could get was from another door down on the bottom floor, and that only went in about twenty feet so that didn't help out too much either way.

"Can anyone see where we're at?" Sadie asked.

"Garbonzo," Garbonzo replied gravely. They tried to think, but then Connie remembered something with Rutile.

"Rutile? Didn't you make your gemstone glow when we first met you? See if you can do it again," Connie suggested. The twins looked to eachother, but with their gemstone slightly cracked, they weren't sure if it'll work.

"Well. Ok, we'll try," both Rutiles replied, as they tried to make their gemstone glow for them as a light. However, there was actually some bit of spark leaking out of the stone as they did that, and it flickered like a weak flashlight, and probably offered just as much light. During the flickering, they did get a bit of sight of where they were on a height level however, and right next to them was a set of stairs going down about four levels to the bottom floor. Well, they managed to get down there long enough as the twins' light could manage, before the Rutile twins got too tired. Having a cracked gemstone surely made some tasks more difficult than needed to be.

"Thanks," Lars simply said.

"Well, we're on the bottom floor, but we still don't know where we are. anyone have any idea at all?" Connie asked, now not having the slightest clue on where they are.

"I wish we can say we do, but ..." right Rutile started.

"We're very new to the Space Station ourselves. Sorry," left Rutile finished.

"Okay, Navy how about you? Do you know where our location is?" asked Jamie.

"Nope," Navy simply replied, shrugging. As they were talking, Sadie then noticed some wording on a nearby create, which she went on over to investigate along with Onion. The box was colored silver, and hard as the metal under their feet. In the dim light, the two started to make out some words engraved onto it, like words on a shipping container.

Chamber 77

Looking at a few more nearby, they all were saying similar numbers on them, each one at least having "Chamber 77" somewhere on them, suggesting that they were either in the same place, or in just another storage room. Either way, it gave them at least some idea on where they are.

"I think we're in one of the chambers in this place. Number seventy seven," Sadie answered, showing the group the crates she and Onion found. It didn't prove too much, but they had some idea anyway, and that was better than no idea at all.

"Chamber 77, huh? ... Well, we got a vantage point, so maybe we can work with that," Jamie concluded.

"But where is Chamber 77? We could be on the otherside of the Space Station right now," Lars asked. Connie and Connie II both tried to figure out some clue, but then the two took note of something over in the back. Something big. They weren't sure exactly what was in there, too dark, but there was still an engraving onto it that they can just make out.

Facet-2 cut-1X3

.......

"Enjoy your trip?"

*BAM*


~~~~~~


A rather quick turn of events of one were to admit. It all happened so fast, too fast for much of them to work with or comprehend, but it was quickly lights out for a majority of the group. Who's to say just how long they were stuck that way. The first one to become a bit conscious, albeit with a bit of a groan, was Lars, only because a bright light was glowing not too far away.

"Oh! What a turn of events," gasped Navy, once reforming. And she wasn't alone in this place: the human group was stuck in there too, the first one to fully be awake being Connie and the Rutile twins.

"Is he okay?" the twins asked, scared, as Connie placed her hand on Lars's chest.

"His heart's still beating, but he's unconscious."

"Hmm ... didn't Steven mention something like this before?" right Rutile wondered. There was plenty of time between their first visit and now, and Steven did take his time to get some new things taught to them. Suddenly, Navy raised her hand.

"I thought he did. About mouth-to-mouth, I think? Did he say it'll bring someone back?" left Rutile wondered.

"Oh! I'll do it!" Navy said.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Lars suddenly said, sitting up fast so none of that could happen. He wasn't tired anymore, though the rush up did get him a headache, whoever finding them giving him a good knockout hit. Not all of them were knocked out though, as he started to see the others close by and waiting for him to wake up. Once he was fully up though, he took in the sight of where the group had actually ended up, and it turned out to be a sort of cell. Strange light blocked their exit, and this was accompanied by lines of metal bars for some extra measure. Whelp, they were caught.

"Oh great," groaned Lars, as he was helped up by Navy. Almost immediately, Onion tried to go over to the bars and get themselves out of said cage, but on contact with said bars, they suddenly began to heat up, to the point when Onion's hands started to burn! Onion quickly backed up and shook his hands like crazy, as if he just touched a hot pan, seeing his hands slightly burnt. That just made Onion upset above all else.

"Well isn't this just wonderful?! The second we're dumped in that 77 place, we get caught. NOW what're we gonna do?!" Lars yelled.

"No, calm down Lars," right Rutile said.

"It's nobody's fault," added left Rutile.

"So what're you in here for?"

The whole group stopped on this voice, it sounding very familiar to them in some sort of way. It took a bit in the light for them to figure out on who was talking to them, looking to the back and seeing a silhouette of someone else within the confines with them. The shape did hold a striking resemblance of sorts.

"Amethyst?" asked Connie.

"Eh, no, Onyx," the figure answered, walking out into the limelight and showing herself. It wasn't exactly who they've expected it to be, and when Connie saw who this really was she looked a bit more puzzled.

"Wait. Onyx? As in White Diamond Onyx?"

"Yep, that's me. Or, was me," Onyx said, though she did not sound very happy about what was going on.

"What happened to you?" Jamie asked. Onyx stretched a bit.

"Let's just say that White Diamond really doesn't want anyone peeping in on Chamber 77. You all saw what was in there too?" Onyx asked.

"Eh, kinda. There was something in there labeled "Facet-2 Cut-1X3"."

"Facet-3? Hmm ... never heard of that one before."

"Hold on a minute," Jamie said, as he was thinking, "So, Onyx, you were indeed a member of White Diamond's court, but were removed just for seeing what's inside Chamber 77."

"That's what I just said," Onyx replied. Jamie got his thinking cap on for a bit, and suddenly found a unique hypothesis in that sort of action.

"You don't think there's something ... important, in there, do you? Something White Diamond is trying to remain concealed from the public?" Jamie figured, scratching his head.

"You really think that's it?" Sadie wondered.

"Well, no matter what it is, we can't do anything in here -" Connie II then was cut off when Onion actually nudged her, smiling for whatever reason. Since he couldn't really talk though, it was just simply weird.

"Huh?" Connie II only got nudged again, this time followed up by a wink from Onion, still smiling.

"Well, what is it?"
Onion then turned over to Squash, who was smiling himself in his usual way. Once given a nod by Onion, Squash then lifted up his cap, only to show what looked like a gem inside! A white gemstone, shaped like a small diamond. They were a bit surprised on this, but it was the Gems who were even more so.

"WAIT. How the stars did you get one of those?" Onyx gasped, as Navy took it and looked it over in amazement.

"It's just some other gemstone, so?" Lars shrugged.

"Just a gemstone? Buddy, that's a Diamond Communicator!" Onyx answered. Now the group understood this, and just in time as Navy actually went right on to activate it. Soon the communicator got up a diamond screen for the diamond line, and when they saw the yellow in it, they knew immediately who this was calling up. Talk about their luck!

"You have reached the Yellow Diamond control room," said a familiar Pearl's voice, showing Yellow Pearl on the other end. Better than any White Diamond troops showing up on screen.

"Ruby Facet-7K2 Cut-67A, happily reporting in," Navy answered, doing a signature Diamond symbol. Yellow Pearl looked a little confused on this name, but more on "it-couldn't-be" rather than "who-are-you". Before she could continue, a voice off-screen spoke.

"Who is it?"

"I-It's Ruby Facet-7K2 Cut-67A. One of the Ruby Squad members that had gone missing," Yellow Pearl reported. The screen was suddenly grabbed and lifted up, and showed not only Yellow Diamond, but Blue Diamond as well, just for them to see the human team there.

"Blue Diamond, good to see you."

"It's you! But ... but how'd you manage to make this call?" Blue Diamond asked in bewilderment. Some of them glanced over to Squash, who simply replied with a wink. Connie couldn't help but smile as she turned to the screen herself.

"We had a little help, Blue Diamond. We managed to get into White Diamond's Space Station, and managed to find a few of our friends on the way."

"You look caught though," Yellow noted.

"Eh ... We are. B-But we're working on getting out. And anyway, there's something I think we should tell you," Connie replied.

"Well we're listening."

"As we're going through the ship, we ended up stumbling onto something. A place called "Chamber 77". Does that sound familiar to either of you?" Connie II asked. Both Diamonds looked to eachother.

"I've seen it on my last visit, but White wouldn't let me in there," Yellow admitted.

"I knew it!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Knew what?"

"Your Clarities, we've ended up in that chamber. We found a Gem who saw inside herself and White actually imprisoned her too just for seeing in there," Jamie explained, showing them Onyx inside. The two Diamonds recognized Onyx as apart of White Diamond's court, and found this interesting.

"What else did you see in there?" Blue asked.

"Well not very much. We did see something labeled in the back of the chamber. I don't know exactly what it is, but it looked important."

"And what was it labeled?"

"... Facet-2 Cut-1X3." That answer made Blue Diamond's eyes wide, and she even took a step back on such an answer. Yellow too looked a bit intrigued by that answer, and both Diamonds consulted together. Blue went off screen and Yellow looked right to them all.

"Excellent work on the report. You continue your task. Now if you excuse us, Blue Diamond and I have a little meeting to plan," Yellow instructed. Once that was made, the communication was cut, and the communicator grew dormant. Message given.

"Well, they know now."

"But there's still a problem on getting out of this cage," Lars reminded, pointing to their only exit.

"Tough luck trying: one touch on that and you're light will be completely fizzled out," Onyx warned, and considering Onion had already tried to pull on the bars, that was probably not too far from the truth. However, Onion didn't touch the odd screen behind the bars, but they weren't ready to do any sort of testing on it just yet.

"Come on, there's got to be a way out of here. ... You there, can I have your slingshot?" Lars asked. But Soup wasn't as willing, and backed up a bit, keeping it close to her.

"It'll just be a second," Lars insisted, but Soup was persistent, and shook her head. However, Onyx wasn't one for waiting, and yanked it out of Soup's hands. Soup tried to get it back, and tackled Onyx to get it, only for the slingshot to be thrown into the air and straight to the bars! Soup closed her eyes, waiting for it to fizzle out as it slid right through the screen and between the bars. ... And nothing happened to it. They calmed down, Connie being the first to reach over to it. She recoiled quickly on feeling the screen in between the bars, but Connie found that they weren't hurting her, though it did make her veins look like lit-wires with her arm in it. Carefully, and her whole body tingling, she held her breath and slid right between the bars. She felt a bit hot from the threatening bars, but she did eventually slip through, albeit a little bit shaky from the strange screen.

"Huh?" Navy went over and tried it, but the second she touched it, her hand glitched like crazy and forced her to stay back.

"Here hang on, I got it," Connie said, trying to bring her arms through so they could make an opening for them. It wasn't easy with trying to avoid getting burned by the bars, but eventually a slight opening was made for them to go through. One by one, they've managed to slip through, but the only one who couldn't do that was the Rutile Twins, too big and finding it too difficult to work with in their state.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out, I promise," Lars said, him trying to make the opening taller for her. However, the twins just couldn't make the connection. The twins were stuck.

"Darn it. Onyx, know how to open this thing?" Lars asked. Looking over though, Connie II was backing up a bit until she was a good ten feet away.

"Eh ... how many friends were you trying to get out?"

"Why?" Connie asked.

"Here comes Connie!" shouted a voice. A voice a bit too familiar. Everyone else went on to back up, and looked to where Connie II was looking, and sure enough, there they all were! Groups of three to four, each in a good amount of cells around, looking almost like a beehive in a way. Well, good news was they found em. But, how to proceed?

"Eh ... oh boy."


~~~~~~


Well, as this was going on, White Diamond herself continued on with her own pursuits. With the Crystal Gems and the Mane six in her custody, she felt pretty content with herself, taking time to look through some of her screens on some of the project updates.

"Very nice. And you informed me that the humans had been caught and apprehended as well, Pearlis?" White Diamond said at one point, looking down to her hybrid Gem.

"I've seen them go in there myself, My Diamond. And even if they get out, there's the tiring trouble of trying to get the others out, which will give our soldiers plenty of time to arrive and put them back in," Pearlis figured. 

"Very good," White replied. White Diamond continued checking in on the experiments and projects going on, but as she was, she glanced back to Pearlis, who actually appeared to be a little bit preoccupied.

"I do hold some apologies over what happened towards Onyx. but it was her own fault for peering in."

"I-I know, I know, but ... eh, I-if you don't mind me saying, but ..." Pearlis got quiet when White raised her hand.

"Everything will be alright, Pearlis, I've told you this. Needn't you worry your head."

"... I do hope so."

Before their conversation could go any further, White Diamond began to get a signal from Homeworld, a Yellow gemstone appearing on screen, blinking. White Diamond knew what this was about, and motioned her hand for Pearlis to go before she answered. She expected Yellow Diamond, but she didn't expect Blue Diamond to be there as well.

"Ah. Yellow, Blue. How unexpected."

"Blue and I would like a word with you, White," Yellow stated firmly. White would expect such.

"Well, you have one now. What is it?" before Yellow could say what, Blue Diamond went on and cut to the point.

"What do you know of Chamber 77?!"

"... Pardon me?"

"Chamber no.77. Facet-2 cut-1X3. Any of this sounding familiar to you?" Blue asked angrily. White felt herself cringe on that answer, feeling slightly annoyed that they found that out sooner than she expected. Still, White Diamond just sighed.

"That was supposed to be a surprise present. I'd like to thanks those humans for ruining it for everyone," White said, figuring that was how they would know.

"A ... present?"

"Pink Diamond, naturally."

"WHAT?!" both Diamonds gasped.

"You heard me. I know how some of you are feeling about Pink Diamond's unfortunate passing, so I've been taking my time to gather up the pieces, and to put it in simpler terms "build her back together"."

"But you can't revive a shattered Gem, that's impossible."

"It worked on Rupee, didn't it? And in a way, Rose Quartz is still alive, but in a different way. I'm sure if a runt of the cluster Crystal Gem could figure it out, then so can I. Is there something wrong with bringing her back?" White asked. Blue and Yellow were still a bit unsure about the whole thing either way.

"We're gonna come by, anyway. Just to be sure." Yellow said.

"Now, don't bother yourselves with -"

"This isn't a request. We'll be there soon."

"Yellow -" before she could finish, the screen was cut short, and connection was gone. White was expecting this more of Blue Diamond than Yellow Diamond, and found herself trying to figure out what to do with that chamber of hers. Sure, Yellow Diamond had already been given a taste of what's done back there, but that chamber was not one to be taken lightly, especially with what she was trying to do. Groaning, she went to another screen, which appeared to be some sort of list. ...

"... Well. This could be beneficial after all."

.......

Well, for Blue and Yellow Diamond, travel time from there to White Diamond's Space Station was a bit slower than the sun Incinerator, but they did eventually make it there with little retaliation from the local troops. White Diamond wasn't with them here, and in an odd way it was probably preferred for the two at this point. Yellow alone knew the way to the testing chambers. It was a silent and long walk, but eventually after some searching. And next thing they knew. They were standing right at the door, the 77 number planted right on it.

"Ready?" Yellow asked. All Blue did was nod, and with a sigh, both Diamonds opened up the doors. ...

Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond just stared on into the interior of the chamber, both their eyes good and wide, and taking in each and every detail that Chamber 77 had to offer to them. This was the chamber that only White Diamond herself had common access to, and this was the chamber that had every single answer in it to this whole mystery. Quietly, both Diamonds ventured inside, Yellow closing the door behind her to be sure, and they both got a good look around.
Silent. Cold. Lifeless. These words just scraped the surface in this test chamber. There wasn't much light in there, mainly because when it came to containment cells, there was hardly any if at all. Each step the Diamonds made as they went through echoed through the silent chamber, only met with the sounds of silence. Well, almost silence. There was some sort of odd items here and there as they looked around along the walls and corners, hearing to the very back of the chamber as to not miss anything in there. Blue Diamond looked to one wall, and she got the first taste of what was in here. Along one part, she noticed that some data plans were left out, one of which showed a humanoid shape onto it. Blue went closer and picked it up, showing that these plans were a bit more complex than she realized, showing the anatomy of a Gem basically, and once more the figure looked oddly familiar to her.
Yellow Diamond looked off to another area as they walked on, and found something even more troubling than just some picture plans. It was enough to make her stop and move over for a better look. This time it was some testing tubes: each one here with a organic heart in it, one of which was still beating as if the creature it was taken out of was still alive somewhere. The testing controls for these were left a bit untouched for the most part, though there was a odd detail to it. By one of the hearts, there was some more data plans with a similar outline from what Blue Diamond had found.

"What are these doing in here?" Yellow silently wondered. Her eyes drifted off to just behind the tubes, and saw another little display for both Diamonds to see, and it made Blue gasp slightly. A skeleton. One with wires attached to it, and a screen nearby showing the interior of the skeletal bone in the form of DNA spirals.

"Oh my," Blue gasped.
Then came the very back. Both Diamonds, Blue still carrying the plans, moved over to the back of the chamber, and found a large containment cell, though it was too dark to see exactly what was in there, or who, if anyone at all. There was some controls for the chamber nearby, but they were turned off for the moment as no one was there to control them. The cell itself was huge, big enough to fit both Diamonds inside fairly comfortably, but none of them were willing to test that kind of suggestion.

"Do you want to do it?" asked Blue meekly. Yellow could tell that Blue Diamond was getting scared.

"I might as well," Yellow sighed. They made it this far, time to find that final piece of this crazy puzzle. Yellow Diamond felt a bit reluctant to continue further, but as she said, they'll never figure this whole thing out if they don't.

She activated the controls.

The lights went on.

Blue felt faint on what she saw next, her and Yellow both. The cell revealed a fellow Gem inside. Silent. Still. And not reacting very well to the noises. She looked tall too, tall as they were to be exact, though a little smaller possibly. The cell was liquefied, the Gem suspended in some form of liquid, whatever it was. They saw her Gemstone: a scrambled mess, cracked like an egg, and one hit away from being shattered completely. In fact, it didn't even looked connected at all, it was so shattered up. Her eyes were wide open, glazed and staring off to nothing, as if she too was paralyzed in place by whatever sight she was seeing before her. The gemstone, the face, the colors. Seconds was all it took for them to recognize who it truly was that was inside that cell.
As if by some unseen force, or perhaps it was for turning on the machine itself, the screen walls that kept it altogether, slid open. Liquid spilt onto the floors in front of their feet, all drained down through the floor. As for the Gem, the mess felt the weight of the world, and collapsed onto the ground in a heap. Her body laid limp, only the occasional glitch springing up time and time again, as both Diamonds stepped back in sheer horror. The body did nothing, but her limbs started to move in such a limp, and groggy way, reanimating herself back to life. Moans gurgled from her soul, as she was barely able to get to her feet, her hair draped down over her face and a singular eye of a tortured soul staring back to the two Diamonds.

"Oh my stars," Yellow gasped. Blue couldn't even say anything, yet her eyes were locked in place. The gem reached a hand out to them, her voice strained, and sobbing. She was confused. Scared. And the only Diamonds there didn't know what to do. Blue and Yellow started to move back to the door, the Gem trying to follow after them, but a light chain began to activate and pulled her back hard! Yellow Diamond had to drag Blue Diamond out of there, neither really knowing what to do for her. They heard one more gasp from that Gem before the doors closed behind Yellow and Blue diamond. They both were shaken, and something else started to grow in them. ...

"... That ... that was her ..."
> "I'm A Friend" PT3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"O-Ok, ok, steady. Whoa, whoa, wait - WAIT!"

After being thrown up to another holding cell, Connie had just managed to grab hold of the side. It took her some effort, but she did eventually pull herself up there, moving through the screen. This one didn't had any human or pony in it, but still worth getting since it was a Gem-filled cell: Emerald, Zircon, Button and Doc specifically. Connie brought her arms out as  much as she could, and Zircon jumped right on out, down to the floor where many of the others were waiting.

"S-So we just ... jump down?"

"Just go!" Doc said, pushing Button down. Button panicked as she fell, but she was caught by Garnet, who was waiting at the bottom. Doc was caught shortly afterwards, and it was Bismuth who caught her.

"Gotcha," Bismuth said, before placing Connie down. This was a process they've did for quite a bit, and due to their efforts, they got quite a good amount of their group out including those they just got, with all of the Mane Six, and Ruby Squad fully evacuated. Some members of the Crystal Gems and Off-Colors though were still in their cells, amongst other stray Gems. Button immediately went right over to Lavi, both of them sharing a hug, both glad to be alright as Doc went to her squad to check in on them.

"Ok, so that's uh ... twenty six. Almost there," Sadie said, after counting them out.

"How the heck did you guys even find us? We thought you were brainwashed or something," Rainbow asked.

"Well, almost everyone. I tried to get everything back to normal for you guys, so ..."

"Wait. You? I thought you didn't care for all this Gem stuff," Emerald said.

"It's not like I had a choice: either live in some episode of Warp Zone or try to get you guys back. Plus, I'm not a big fan of having my planet blown up," Lars said.

"I'll buy that last one."

"So what happened back home? Did White Diamond send her little pawns down there yet to wreck everything?" Jasper asked, her fists clenched together.

"Eh ... maybe?"

"What do you mean maybe?" Amethyst asked. Lars closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"You ... kinda don't have a home anymore."

"....... What?" Padparadscha asked.

"Yeah, uh. How do I put this? ... Some large, brute Gems took every bit of evidence that you all existed. There's not even one of those "Warp Pads" anymore, there's just some smooth gave with a door," Lars explained. This was a very harsh blow, especially to the Crystal Gems. That had been their home for who knew how long, and in just a short time there was nothing left.

"Everything? There's no house?" Steven asked meekly.

"Not even a floorboard. I'm very sorry, Steven," sighed Connie II, as Garnet moved over to Lars, looking him eye to eye.

"Tell me the truth, Lars Barriga. Tell me what exactly happened there."

"I didn't see them take your house, but they did have quite a haul from the back room."

"Gems ... how many?"

"Eh ... enough to fill up a shop?" Lars shrugged. It was hard to say exactly how many Gems were indeed taken from the Temple, but when Garnet heard this, the shock was more than enough to make her drop to her knees. As she was trying to fully contemplate, Twilight flew on down with another Gem, Melanite. She may not be a Crystal Gem, but -

"HOW DARE SHE?! All my years in service to the Diamond authority, and my reward is imprisonment?!"

Similar reasons got her there.

"D-Don't scream like that, the guards will hear us," Rarity insisted, not wanting to get captured again.

"And we'll lose our hearing," Tiger's Eye commented, her ears ringing from the yell.

"Don't act like you're the only one. When I find that diamond, I'll clobber her! Right in her face!" Army said, ticked off more than an angry bull in red.

"Don't get any crazy ideas! White Diamond could destroy you, all of you, in seconds! The best thing we can do is get out of this station before the others find us!" Zircon insisted.

"Agreed!" Lavi and Button said, hands raised.

"We can't leave yet, what about Aquamarine, Topaz, Fluorite, Pearl, Lapis, and Diopside?" Pinkie asked.

"Needn't you worry. Twilight and Rainbow should be getting them all down from the final level, and when they quietly land, then one of them will tell us where to escape from here," Garnet said.

And BAM, landed Topaz nearby, holding Lapis and Diopside under her arms as Twilight, Rainbow, and Aquamarine flew on down.

"Close enough," Garnet simply replied, turning back to them. Diopside was met with by Jade and Flint as Jamie went right up to Lapis.

"Dear Lapis. Are you alright? No permanent damage?" Jamie asked.

"I'm okay, thank the stars. I was so worried about you," Lapis replied, both sharing a hug. Their attention then went over to Aquamarine and Topaz, Aquamarine fuming. Topaz stayed quiet, not saying much of a word, but Aquamarine was a lot more vocal with her words

"What is the meaning of this?! This is all you're fault!" Aquamarine yelled, pointing directly to Jade.

"Me?"

"You were the one that interrogated me! You should've known better than to set me up!" Aquamarine yelled, ready to attack her wand, but Flint quickly grabbed it and yanked it out of her hand.

"Stop it, nobody did anything! You blaming the first person you see will not get any of us out of here! Speaking of, anyone got an idea?"

"We do! The Diamonds gave us a Sun Incinerator to fly here, we can use that to get back home in no time at all," Connie answered.

"Awesome! Where is it?" Fulgurite asked.

"Eh ... I have no idea. some docking station," Connie admitted. With her being knocked out, she didn't see how they were brought here, and added to that, who knew how long it'll be until they would find their ship. 

"How's that gonna help? There's several docking stations all over this place," Onyx said, though that didn't help the situation.

"I don't care where it is, figure it out!"

"You know, maybe we should leave you here. Could give a good distraction," Tiger's Eye said, not liking her complaining.

"Don't you dare!"

"That's enough! Your arguing's getting us nowhere. We better start moving," Jasper said. Something they'll have to do. However, Rainbow flew back down to them after that.

"Fluorite and Pearl are missing."

"Missing?" asked right Rutile.

"How?" left Rutile added.

"What do you mean how, they're gone. I looked up and down these cells, and I didn't find them anywhere."

"Well, we're not leaving until we find them."

"We're not?" asked Lavi. A few glares got Lavi to shut up.

"O-Ok, ok, we're not."

"You're not, I'm leaving! Come on, Topaz, let's get out of here," Aquamarine decided, starting to fly away. However, to the surprise of them all, Aquamarine didn't get too far before she flew right into someone. Someone gigantic. Aquamarine looked up and soon found White Diamond herself of all people suddenly showing up!

"Took you all long enough," White Diamond simply said. The fighters readied themselves to face her, but some of the group began to high-tail it away from her. White Diamond quickly caught them though, and with a snap of her fingers, her set of Pearls quickly jumped down in their way, their own brand of spear Gem weaponry aimed right at them to keep them back. White Diamond wasn't at all worried about any of them, even with all of their weapons drawn.

"Please, save your violence at least until we reach the throne room, thank you," White Diamond sighed.

"Not a chance!" Rainbow said, jumping off of the ground, directly at her, and joined by Bismuth, Jasper, and Garnet. White Diamond though had a few more tricks up her sleeve, and as they rushed up at her, White Diamond raised her arm, and swung it at them all! Only Rainbow managed to dodge it, but Garnet, Bismuth, and Jasper were slammed into the wall. They weren't poofed, but were pinned all the same.

"You! I demand an explanation for this false accusation right now! I've done absolutely nothing wrong to be thrown into that bloody cage, and you'd better -"

"Help me bring them into the throne room, and you'll be free to go."

... and moments later, Aquamarine rushed down, and quickly grabbed her wand from Flint.

"Scatter!" shouted Fulgurite. With a more impish smile, Aquamarine quickly got her wand to activate, and like a branching web, actually managed to get every single Crystal Gem, pony, and human, within the beam made by her weapon. Aquamarine brought them together into one orb of still energy. The only Gem she didn't put in the beam was White Diamond herself, her pearls, and Topaz.

"THAT'S ALL IT TOOK?!" Emerald and Tiger's Eye screamed in anger. Even White Diamond was surprised by how quickly she did that, but then again, it made things easier for White.

"Well, this makes up for the wait. Now, if you'll kindly follow me, Aquamarine, I'll show you where to go," White Diamond said. Aquamarine was more than happy to comply, and with a few flaps of her wings, started to follow White Diamond. So much for a getaway sequence.

.......

It took them little time until they've reached White Diamond's throne room. New to some, and a bad bit of memory lane for others. Once they passed through the doors, all of the pearls placed themselves under guard, and after they all stayed by the door, White Diamond gave the signal for Aquamarine to drop them, they all landed rather roughly, and the first one to actually look to White Diamond was Starlight.

"Eh ... Hi, White. ... Long time no see, eh?" Starlight said meekly.

"... Just to let you know, I don't appreciate you running off on me like that," White made clear. Starlight was really regretting doing that now. White Diamond took a seat over onto her throne.

"Now, what am I gonna do with you? Harvesting seemed like a petty punishment," White wondered, trying to think of what kind of punishment would properly work out for them. Bismuth was ready to fight, but Jasper got her arm out to stop her. If they did start something now, there really wasn't a way to get out of here.

"How is it?" Star asked.

"How is it? I've placed you all under quarantine and kept you off of Homeworld. But it seems you can't ever follow orders. Then again, you Crystal Gems are always known to be such trouble. Now, let's see ..."

"But what about us, we didn't do anything to be banished!" Melanite yelled.

"Do be quiet, I'm thinking," White Diamond replied.

"Save that for later, White."

And one more guest arrived: Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond! What timing for them to arrive, and they can easily tell that they weren't pleased with her at all. The humans were glad to see them.

"Ah, Blue, Yellow. Enjoy your little tour?"

"You got some explaining to do, White Diamond," Blue Diamond said.

"Look, I already told you that it was just a present released a little too early," White said, glaring to the only recent culprits that would give them said information.

"Don't give us that. Now give us the truth," Yellow stated.

White Diamond stayed silent at first, seeing the situation before her. These Crystal Gems. These Equestrian Ponies. These Human Beings. These two Diamonds. They all had the same question, and were demanding some sort of answer out of her, one way or another, and all of it revolved around the exact same thing. What's going on with Pink Diamond? And what did she know about Chamber No.77? Clearly the "big surprise" act wasn't going to work this time. White Diamond simply sat there, her eyes traveling around from one group to the other, as if she was scheming something for each one of them. She wasn't scared, nor troubled, but just needed a bit to get her mind together. Then, she finally got to her feet, hands behind her back, and a long sigh escaping her mouth.

"... You all are aware. Of how Gems are created, am I correct?" she began. Some more silence followed.

"We do," said Blue Diamond. White Diamond wanted to be sure, apparently, so she looked to the Crystal Gem Peridot.

"Peridot. Could you kindly tell everyone here how Gems are created? Being a Prime Kindergartener yourself, and all," White Diamond instructed. Peridot had trouble dealing with her own Diamond, let along White Diamond, so with a gulp first she started explaining.

"Eh, w-well, the gemstone is injected into the ground and the energy from the planet is absorbed into the DNA in order to create the physical structure and identity."

"Well done," White Diamond said. For a moment, Peridot felt pretty good with herself, and a rather nervous smile appeared on her face, before it quickly disappeared again when White diamond walked aside.

"What's that got to do with anything?" spat Twilight.

"... Everything."

The whole room was silent again, White Diamond keeping her back to the entire potential mob right behind her. It still didn't exactly explain Pink Diamond's current situation though, which both Diamonds especially wanted to hear, along with everyone else.

"I'm sure you're all aware by now, of the ... disappointing results of Gem creation. All the natural resources, energy, minerals, and so on, all sucked away and leaving the land in a miserable husk. The Beta, Prime, even Supreme Kindergartens keep resulting in this husk you can't do a thing to. All those walls with so little space, each hole for a single Gem type, it's such a trouble."

"You're not saying you actually care for Equestria or Earth, because we all know you could care less by now!" Fulgurite said. White Diamond just ignored her, but still gave the angry Gem a glare.

"Yeah, and what does that have to do with that chamber, anyway?" Yellow Diamond added, wanting to get to the point, and White Diamond knew that.

"You've always been impatient when the pressures on, aren't you? Then again, you are the youngest Diamond currently here. Well, second following over you-know-who."
Well that was something none of them knew about, but that was the least of their problems right now, so they didn't continue on it.

"Would you quit stalling?!" roared Jasper. This was her Diamond they were talking about, she didn't want to wait all day for it.

"We all know you're trying to dodge the questions, so just give it straight already!" agreed Amethyst. White Diamond felt angry, but she didn't try to threaten any of them here this time. Silence again, but eventually she turned back to the group.

"... Garnet? Topaz? Steven? If I may want to take this moment to ... congratulate you. for being the inspiration you've given me for my more recent steps."

"I-Inspiration?" Garnet asked, very confused.

"For what?" Steven asked, also worried about the answer.

.......

"... For my Hybrid Fusion. ..."

.......

"... No. ... No, you don't mean - ..."

"It was a long and precarious road, I have to admit. But honestly, the idea behind these so-called Fusions has been, while interesting, highly dysfunctional, and non-beneficial. ... Well, at least the original method, that is." It was then that she snapped her fingers, and some of the screens started to appear behind her, many of these showing DNA, and structures of various Gems, humans, and other creatures, along with the anatomy of various Gemstones and the effects. One that caught Steven, Connie, and Amethyst's attention the most though was a particular screen showing off Earthstone, and the DNA she had! It was horrifying by where she was going with this.

"You see: the idea behind these fusions, at first, was highly precarious. I mean, to have a strong bond with two Gems in order to even do such a thing, and even then with the restriction of a single Gem type as well, it truly was a rather wasteful idea. For the longest time, Gems considered it disgusting, even saying impossible, to fuse different types of Gemstones together. That was, until you came along, Garnet." Garnet could feel a cold, and horrid shiver run through her entire being on that supposed "thanks" on White Diamond's part. Some of the group looked to her, and could sense how much pressure she was feeling. She knew what was about to be said, no doubt.

"A Sapphire. And a Ruby. Such polar opposites, and yet when put together create a Gem that one could even argue rival a Diamond. You all saw how well of a leader your Garnet could be, and such use when put in the right place, yet, taking such a long, long time to even make it work. It took thousands of years for you two to even get started. Anyway, the idea that two Gems of such polar differences opened the door to O so many opportunities. And not just you: Sardonyx, Carnelian, Smokey Quartz, Sandstone, Tanzanite, Nephrite, and so many more over the years. Such power and potential ... yet so wasteful."

"So you created the Hybrid Gems as a alternative to that. To get more out of one individual," Blue Zircon concluded.

"Nice of you to figure it out, Zircon. Yes: why go through all the trouble in creating Gems, acquainting them to eachother, and then fuse for your desired power when you can easily create a gemstone with multiple properties to get the same result? That, and it save so much space. You can have as many Gems as you wish for the price of just one simple stone, instead of sacrificing so much space for multiple. We can get hundreds of Gems just out of a mere two dozen. I only blame myself for not coming up with this myself rather than having an "accident" happen beforehand to inspire me."

"HOW DARE YOU! You say that I, Aquamarine, am not good enough?! I'm more than capable of defeating any Hybrid Gem with a flick of my wrist, AND shatter any Gem that stands in my way," retorted an extremely angry Aquamarine, even going as far as to fly in White Diamond's face. White Diamond simply flicked her aside. Aquamarine was caught by Lapis Lazuli, but Aquamarine lost her wand after that, which White Diamond simply crushed under her foot, freaking out the small Gem.

"Still believe you can do that, Aquamarine? Now, if you were to be a hybrid Gem of your Topaz, then you wouldn't have any problems right now." White Diamond moved her foot and showed a completely shattered wand, sparks still flickering out from it before going silent.

"... How could you do this to your own kind? Forcing fusions like this, it - it's terrible!" Garnet yelled.

"First of all, it's not exactly a forced fusion if the Gem isn't fused to begin with. And anyway, you're one to talk, rebel. Shattering Pink Diamond to begin with and rebelling for a good thousand years during the war -"

"SHUT IT! We know now Rose didn't do it, Diamond, and you know it too," Flint cut in.

"Don't get your rocks in a knot, Flint ... or is it Azlet?"

"Azlet?" Blue Diamond questioned.

"A name for my Flint-Zircon hybrid, naturally. Look at him: the level head of a Zircon and the determination of a Flint. All put into a far better being than both of those, even when they're fused."

"Don't. Call me. By that name." Flint growled, his fists trembling from that revelation.

"Still sour about it, are you?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Yellow Diamond suddenly roared. The room fell silent again, and Yellow Diamond had reached her breaking point.

"Tell me, right now. And I want a straight answer. ... You were the one who knew about Pink Diamond's death earlier than any of us. ... So tell me, White Diamond. Did you really care at all?"

White Diamond questioned this a little, but she turned to face her fellow Diamond.

"One can't change the past, Yellow. For me to mourn about her now would be rather pointless."

.......

"... You did do it. Didn't you? ..."

"Excuse me?" White Diamond questioned. Everyone in the room held their breath.

"Lapis Lazuli was the only Gem who saw the event that wasn't once apart of Pink Diamond's court, yet, she reported that she was missing. You made Blue Diamond and me perform the Diamond Attack down on Earth, even if it meant corrupting our fellow Homeworld soldiers. You greenlit the project to create the Cluster, just to be sure that the Crystal Gems would be destroyed for good, and to remove the Earth from our star maps permanently. You forbade the Diamonds from ever returning to Earth, and banished the Crystal Gems from ever returning to Homeworld. ... It all makes sense now."

"What are you getting at?" White Diamond asked, not really amused. Blue Diamond went over next, not even daring to look her in the face, but not out of fear.

"You want to know? It wasn't Rose Quartz that shattered Pink Diamond. ... IT WAS YOU!"

Her accusation echoed throughout the entire room, everyone now very angry with White Diamond, who remained sternly stone-faced. She looked, for the first time in a long time, legitimately upset with them all.

"... And what proof do you have?"

"Don't even try, White," Blue Diamond suddenly said, stepping forward. "You altered the memory of my own Lapis Lazuli in order for her to think that she had gone missing, AND brainwashed those under Pink's court to then say that Rose Quartz shattered her! YOU demanded the Diamond Attack and the Cluster just so that whatever evidence remaining would just destroy itself when the Earth would perish! AND you forbade me from going back to Earth so I wouldn't find out, AND forbade the Crystal Gems from returning here so they won't reveal anything! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR OWN FELLOW DIAMOND?! WHAT DID SHE EVER DO TO YOU?!" Blue Diamond broke into tears, the whole room covered in a blue hue. So many of the creatures in the room all shared her pain and went into tears, but just to show how little she cared for her, no tears came out of White Diamond's eyes. In fact, her own aura shined white to reflect the effects! For a moment, they were all crying, attended our not, as they just stared in absolute shock. White Diamond caused the Gem war, and she didn't even bat an eye about it! In fact ... she started a slow clap. A soft smile on her face.

"Well done my sweets Diamonds, you really proved to actually put some legitimate effort into your work, as misguided as it may be. ... However ..."

"And what, you traitor?" hissed Yellow.

"... And your numbers just. Came. Up."

All of a sudden, before any of them could even react, groups were encased in iron power bubbles all around them! The Mane six, the Crystal Gems, Homeworld Gems, the Humans, even Yellow and Blue Diamond suddenly ended up captured and trapped in these things! They all tried their best, but none of them could bust out of the bubbles for their lives.
Bubble one: the Mane Six.
Bubble two and three: the Crystal Gems.
Bubble three: the Homeworld Gems.
Bubble four: the Humans
Bubble five: both Diamonds.

"LET US OUT!" they roared, trying to get themselves free, but White Diamond paid them little mind.

"I should thank you for coming to me and saving me the trouble. Once we're finished, you'll all have more potential than ever."

"YOU CRAZY ROCK!" Bismuth roared.

"I SWEAR ON CELESTIA, WE'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" added in Pinkie.

"Crazy? Eh, no, no, crazy is doing this purely for one's entertainment with no gain whatsoever. I'm doing this for Gemkind's future, the start of Era 3. Era 1 and Era 2 Homeworld were tolerable to be sure, but this will spark the beginning of a new era."

"Yo, not better!" Amethyst said.

"You're a traitor to Homeworld, White Diamond! When we get out of here, I swear I'll have your Gem!" Yellow reassured in rage. White Diamond shook her head.

"No you won't. And when Pink Diamond returns as the way I meant her to be, she would have a far better Gem to look up to aside from you two." Yellow Diamond roared in anger, electricity blasting out of her body in waves of rage, but not even that destroyed the bubble she was encased in. As she was looking though, she began to take in sight of Peridot, and began to think just a little bit.

"Hmm ... Oh. Peridot. Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG. I believe it was you who actually was in charge of the Cluster, am I correct?" White Diamond then asked. This Diamond got another idea in her head, and she got Peridot out of the bubble, holding her in the palm of her hand. Peridot had faced her once before, but her fear over her hadn't gone away, and this time she was alone to face her.

"... You know. I am willing to let you slide."

"W-what? Really?"

"In one condition, of course. ... The Cluster."

"N-NO!" she immediately shouted. She knew where it was going, but White Diamond herself looked down to her.

"... You're quick to answer, huh?" Peridot had to think about this one. The typical "friendship talk" won't work on this Diamond, so Peridot had to think about it through her perspective. Eventually, she got it.

"The organic ecosystem creates resources unique to that world, we can't sacrifice all that potential just for one geo-weapon! Perhaps if I tell you some plans I came up with to utilize the planet without disrupting the local -"

"I don't care about Earth's potential and resources," White cut in, cutting Peridot short. "I want that Cluster. and I want that planet to die. ... Make that happen."

"B-But, no!"

"I know you're trying to appeal to my better nature, but your very badge on your face tells me otherwise," White said, referring to her Cutie Mark.

"But -"

"I'm not interested in the puny thoughts of a Peridot. Your original mission was to check the status of the Cluster, and you've failed in every step of it. If you want to avoid their fate, then your only chance to redeem yourself, is to obey this simple order: You are to go back down to Earth and release the Cluster. You are to leave the Cluster to grow. It will tear apart the Earth, and I will take immense satisfaction in erasing that hideous rock off of our star maps! Is that clear?!"

Peridot felt something snap.

"I won't do it! I can tell you with certainty that there are things on Earth worth protecting!" she bellowed. White grew tense.

"What do you truly know about the Earth?"

"Apparently more than YOU! You... CLOD!!!!"

Even White started to feel slightly fazed by this, as the final word echoed throughout the room. Did Peridot really say that to her? It didn't faze White at all though, and she took a look to the ground underneath. It turned out, there was one Gem who was still standing on the ground.

Pearl. Their Pearl.

"... My Pearl. Would you care to do the honors?" asked White Diamond.

That did it. Their own Pearl, this whole time, was White Diamond's own! All this stuff revealed so much about Flint and Pearl with a few words. And it explained so many things too. They were waiting for Pearl to deny her, to try and help them out of there, but ...

"... Yes. My Diamond."

"WHAT?!"

White Diamond smiled, and gently stroked Pearl's head, and White Diamond gave Pearl the screen that will send them off on their way to the strange room.

"Pearl, don't! Don't listen to her!" Fluttershy called.

"You don't have to do this! Remember, you're your own Gem!" shouted Steven.

"Pearl, please!" called Diopside.

"We know you don't want to do this! You belong to no one, remember?!" bellowed Bismuth.

But it seemed that no matter who called what, Pearl didn't hear them. Or if she did, she wasn't listening ...

"... A Pearl's duty is to her Diamond. ... I love you all."

"PEARL!"

It was no use: Pearl activated the bubbles, and suddenly they all disappeared from the White Diamond throne room. Pearl was especially quiet, but White diamond looked down to her.

"Don't worry your Gem. They're just a phase. A novelty at best."

"... Yes, o-of course."


~~~~~~


After being teleported away, the entire group found themselves from the throne room, and into a science test chamber. After some adjustment, they were put in some very secure cages: all lined with iron bubble walling, and a slight electrical charge to mimic a destabilizing weapon. It was a similar concept to the cells earlier, but instead they were in far tighter, and slimmer bars so nothing can just slip through like what the humans did. Unlike before they all were put down in the same cage, the cage itself about as large as the barnhouse, if not slightly bigger, but that didn't give them any better chance to get out. The exception to this was Aquamarine and Topaz due to their help, both outside of the cages despite Aquamarine's outburst. A deal was a deal after all, as precarious as that deal was. Aquamarine was just glad she wasn't in said cage, Topaz keeping guard over nearby just to be sure they stayed there, under Aquamarine's command. Yellow and Blue Diamond were separated from them and in their own bubbles, which not even they could break out of. However, it was where Fluorite was located, them finding her not too long after being dropped off.

"Come on, Topaz, you don't have to do this! Can you get us out, please?" Pinkie tried to say.

"Don't bother: she can't hear us with those Gems on her ears," Lars sighed, Topaz still quiet and standing there.

"How dare you go against us so quickly, you dangerous yellow coat!" Jamie said. Nearby though, one other Gem was actually laughing for whatever reason, but it wasn't exactly a normal laugh. Looking over, it turned out to be Peridot, but her apparent laughter wasn't a happy one.

"I called White Diamond a clod! Right to her face!" she said in triumph. Only to immediately realize what she did and fall to her knees. "I call White Diamond a clod ... right to her face," she repeated meekly, that word actually passing through her lips almost like a record player being on repeat.

"Uh, Peridot? You gonna be okay?" Steven asked.

"NO!" Peridot yelled, with a big, happy-go-lucky smile on her face.

"Look, just calm down sugarcube. You're with us, remember?" Applejack said, trying to help her relax, but then Peridot spun around to her.

"Y-You don't understand! I just straight up defied a Gem in charge of an entire race! And I called her a straight up clod for it! She'll never forgive me, never! And now, she's gonna take my gem and crumble it into teeny tiny pieces! I'm a traitorous clod! I'm never want to think about what I'm done again!" Peridot said in almost panic ... just to start laughing in glee moments later.  Flint though went on over to her, and actually gave her a thumbs up, arm out stretched towards her.

"So are you ... happy you did that, or ... no?" Tiger's Eye asked, very confused. Leggy was just as confused, scratching her head on seeing the mixed reactions from the same Gem.

"No I'm not!"

"Calm down, you've already fought against her before," Jasper pointed out.

"Yes, but I didn't straight up insult her in the face, and gave her a reason to call on the troops ready for the word to shatter me!" Peridot fell to the ground, hugging her knees as she was shaking.

"You don't have anything to worry about, I'm the one she's far more upset at," Starlight said, hoof on Peridot's shoulder, feeling guilty with what was going on.

"Don't worry, Peridot, Starlight, we're not gonna let them get you," Twilight promised.

"Haven't I caused you enough trouble?" Starlight asked sadly.

"Don't worry: It's our sworn duty to protect anything that calls Earth and Equestria home. And that includes clods like you two."

"That's my word ..." she simply said, but it did get her calmed down a little bit. Twilight placed her wing around Starlight, the unicorn smiling to her. She would've never gotten that kind of attention from White Diamond.

"You're forgiving her this quickly, Garnet?" Bismuth asked.

"She may have fought us before, but right now, she's going through the exact same problem as we are. That, and Twilight had forgiven her. It's best to give everyone at least one more chance," Garnet pointed out, which was true by the looks of things. Starlight knew what she did was wrong, and she didn't expect them to forgive her that quickly, ears folded back, and looking away.
Then came a moment between Steven and Connie. both of them felt a mix of happiness and sadness seeing eachother, considering just what happened the last time they actually saw eachother at all. Steven and Connie were a bit quiet, Garnet's statement going through them for a little, but Connie went first.

"Steven, I ... I'm very sorry. I wasn't trying to ignore you. I was going to text you back. I-I wrote, "I can't talk to you right now," but then I realized if I sent it, that would be talking to you. And it didn't make any sense. I wasn't making any sense. If we were going to talk, I thought it's got to be in person. So I rode Lion to your house, but no one was there, I-I don't even know what to say to you. I'm angry. I miss you. I feel like I'm out of my mind."

"No, you're not," Steven insisted, Connie looking surprised a little bit. "I surrendered myself to White Diamond. I let her take me away, maybe forever, and then I came back and I tried to act like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal. I couldn't stand the thought of you being taken away, but then I did that to you. I promised you we'd always be a team, and I let you down. ... I'm sorry. Jam buds?" Steven asked, hoping and waiting for a good answer. Connie looked to her feet, and then smiled.

"I'm sorry too, jam bud," Connie replied. Steven was so happy to hear that, and Connie gave Steven a hug, Steven returning the gesture. Their friendship was still as strong as ever.

Eventually though, the whole group then began to hear the doors opening up, and there she stood. Walking into the chamber where they were trapped in. And of course, none of them were really happy to see this traitorous Gem walk in so calmly. They would all go right out and attack if they weren't in a Gem-proof and organic-proof cage. White Diamond wasn't alone either, as she was joined by a few more of her hybrid Gems, and Pearl herself as well. Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond stared daggers at White, but it changed little to what she was going to do.

"You two comfortable in there? I promise you one thing: it'll only hurt for a moment."

"You're making a big mistake: Homeworld will know when two Diamonds disappear!" warned Yellow. Surely White Diamond wasn't planning this without considering that.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll just advise them of a new Diamond coming in, and I'll just have them transferred. Common knowledge really."

"You think they'll believe you?" Blue hissed. White Diamond simply ignored that question there, and she turned down to Pearl and Pearlis.

"My Gems. Do you want to do the honors, or shall I?" White Diamond calmly asked, even presenting the controls to them. Pearl was simply horrified, and even Pearlis was a bit humbled on the decision. Sure, hybrid Gems were a common cut to the White Diamond court, but to do the same to two Diamonds? That seemed a bit extreme, at the least.

"Uh ... Well, maybe you better do it," Pearlis stated. It was a bit rare to see Pearlis humbled on anything, but before White could even consider any ideas, the other Gems started talking again.

"What're you doing to them?!" shouted Diopside.

"Oh, save your words. I gave you all enough time to ask questions before I put you here."

"But if we were scheduled for this, why even bother telling us anything?! You could've just kept your mouth shut and let this lie run on until now!" Yellow yelled, electricity sparking out of her hands as she tried to fry her cage. White Diamond wasn't intimidated in the slightest. As White was thinking though, Pearlis spurred back to life again.

"How dare you try and insult my Diamond like that! She can make any decision -"

"I'll tell you a story about our kind, everyone. A true story about Gems and Diamonds," White began, cutting her off. Everyone, who was moments ago were trying to get themselves out of there, now stood quiet so they could hear what this Diamond had to say.

"Yes. I'm the shatterer, you're right. I was there when it happened, I did have Pink Diamond isolated from the rest of her cut at the birth of the rebellion. And once I was sure she was alone, I buried my blade into her stone."

"A fact we all figured out by now!" Emerald yelled. White simply ignored him though.

"Soon after, I had those Gems who laid witness to it altered in DNA, in order to redirect the blame onto another sort of Gem, and one that was already in rebellion: Rose Quartz. Not too long after, I begin to study on the Crystal Gems, and saw the potential in Garnet's current fusion, and I begin to learn on the genetics and powers one can obtain from it. It occurred to me that I can turn the cycle of history, and make a greater, more sufficient age for our kind."

"Greater? Sufficient?" If the Diamonds had any blood, it would be boiling by now, as White Diamond continued explaining to them her little story.

"I had few allies to get this project started at the time, mostly made up of my Pearls and a few stray Peridots and Fulgurites who placed science above individual value. I started with a simple pair, but soon the program ... broadened out." White paused, and glanced over towards Flint, the Hybrid Gem who rebelled against her and fled Homeworld from her radar along with Diopside and Jade.

"I was forced to keep this quiet, I had no choice, to preserve the purity that this new Era 3 required. ... And that was my reason for involving you two. Once I hybridize you both, you will become my successor - the leader of the mighty Era 3 Homeworld."

"B-But Pink Diamond, why did you eliminate her?" Zircon suddenly asked. White Diamond stared daggers at them, but answered anyway.

"... She grew a little too comfortable one day, and stumbled onto my project. If I'd let her go, she would've told them everything, and so there was no choice."

There was a long silence. ...

"... So now we know it all ... and what I know disgusts me," Garnet said, summing up everyone's reaction to White's story. Some were more scared, and others ticked off, but disgust summed it all up pretty well. White Diamond simply gave a sigh to them all.

"Oh dear. You live through your ordinary little day, and fall asleep to dream your ordinary, carefree dreams, throughout the peaceful, undisturbed night. ... But then, I brought nightmares to your mind. ... Do you deny it?" Steven suddenly saw what she meant, remembering the dreams he had involving Rose Quartz in particular. A cold shiver ran through him.

"You're a monster," Tiger's Eye finally said, her anger reaching major levels.

"Interesting thing though. On Homeworld, I would be seen as such. But the crowning role of hatred on Earth, is humans. ... And the joke, my little pebbles ... is that we're now no different to them."

"HUMANS DON'T DO HALF OF WHAT YOU DO," Amethyst yelled.

"And you're so sure about that?"

"I know more about humans than anyone else! I lived with them my entire life! They complain to eachother, they fight time to time, maybe even draw a gun at eachother, but they know when to stop themselves. But you? You willingly went behind your kind's back and plan to shatter them all just because you found a better brand of Gems to replace us all! I may not be a science nut, or anyone too important, but I can speak for everyone when I say you're sick, twisted, and we'll not stand for it!"

And to their sickness, White Diamond laughed.

"Ah, but that's the kicker is it? As inspiring as that may be, I'm still the leader of the entire Homeworld race. Even if they know why Pink Diamond really died, they won't do anything, because without me all of Homeworld will fall apart. A empire's nothing without it's queen. I got Homeworld to where it is today, and there's some who still think you killed Pink Diamond. Willing to spark another Gem War with me, because I can easily make the word, and your planet won't last very long at the state it's in."

"And you're so sure about that?" Amethyst spat.

"More than anything. Yes, I understand that your little planet has a bit of Equestrian magic now, and yes it may or may not give your planet a bit more surprises. However, and be that as it may, the fact is you're very outnumbered. Besides, you've worked hard enough to keep this "alliance" between Homeworld, Earth, and Equus for a good two to three years now. Would you want to throw that all away?"

"We were going to die, either way," pointed out Flint.

"True. ... But would you want to die as a friend? Or a foe? I'd prefer the former if I were you," White Diamond stated. That horrid idea made much of them worried more than ever. Was she really willing to call another Gem War so freely? And what's worse, she was using that to keep them in line! Garnet felt her heart sink. White Diamond decided to hammer the final nail.

"We have to go back. We have to," Garnet simply said, even trying to punch her way out. White then smiled softly, and got down to her knees so she was closer to Garnet's level.

"Go back? Back to what? Your Temple's gone, your Gems are all confiscated, your planet is open for whatever I wish, and every single human and pony no longer believes you even exist. Those humans you've tried so hard to protect for Rose's sake could barely bat a vision sphere at if you're gone or not. Do you understand yet? No one's going back ... because there's nothing to go back for." Garnet tried to see through her future vision, in some way, to see if this was all some cruel sick joke, but the images in her head all showed exactly what she said, and what Lars told her. ... There really was nothing to go back for. ... Garnet felt defeated, as she collapsed to the ground herself. White Diamond, with a feeling that she truly won, stood back up and looked to the other Diamonds. Some of them tried to get to her, but they were either burned by the bars or glitched from the screens, depending on who. Twilight and Starlight even tried magic beams, but all that did was bounce off the walls of their prison cell. They weren't going anywhere, anytime soon.

"Now, where were we?" White Diamond asked. Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond tried getting themselves out, but White simply got what looked like a sort of energy rope, got it around the bubbles, and started to drag them to the back of the chamber, a door opening up. All they could do was watch as both Diamonds were taken away. The group was completely stunned the second those doors shut.

"Don't worry, we'll get out of here."

"... Why?" the most unlikely Gem, Garnet asked. "... White Diamond knew everything. She set us up. She knew from the very beginning that she would beat us, and now look at us. ... She won."

.......

"I can't believe what I am hearing!"

The whole group turned to Fluorite as she went straight up to Garnet, looked disappointed in her like a mother to her child. Garnet felt her chin being lifted by Fluorite's hand.

"You've done so much already, and when you're captured by Homeworld, you simply give up? The shame on you! Shame on you, shame on you!" Florite ended up pushed Garnet back, the distraught fusion almost falling down off her feet from that alone, even if it wasn't too rough of a push. Fluorite looked down to Garnet.

"And what's worse? You and your friends risked your lives in order to help such Gems like us. Rhodonite. Rutile. Padparadscha. Tiger's Eye. And me. Us. And you've got me to believe, for the first time in a millennium ... that such a fusion like me was wanted. Needed. Worth enough to spur others into action. ..." Garnet looked up to Fluorite, seeing how Fluorite was into tears at this point, a single line going down her eyes. That look of sadness switched though to a more determined one.

"... But you know what? ... You were right. And I'm going to continue on believing it. I will not give up, not now. And I will not give up on you. We Off-Colors, must stick together."
There was a silence that hung in the air after Fluorite had finished, but not a negative one like those left by White Diamond. She looked around for a moment at just how many Gems, Ponies, and even Humans were willing. Those humans with them went all this way just to find them and get them out, and thinking back at how much they've done already. Sombra, Osicone, the Kirin Empire, Starlight's escapades, The Cluster, Grootslang, not to mention their previous encounter with White Diamond. All of those things, and they were still together. Garnet smiled ...

*sniff*

"That's so, so beautiful. Even in the clutches of certain doom, you're happy to have each other."
Topaz. They turned over to her, and now the seemingly emotionless and uncaring Gem was now crying, touched by what she was hearing.

"Topaz?" Jade said.

"I don't know what Topaz would do if she didn't have Topaz," she began, still crying, "I've always wanted to tell me how I'm helping me through this, but there's always someone between us! They're always sending me on these miserable missions. I'm always pretending I'm fine with it. I have to pretend I'm fine." Topaz paused for a brief moment to wipe away her tears before continuing. "But you -- you're so honest and open... so *sniff* I wanna help you guys. What do you need?"

No way were they missing this.

"Some way to get out of this cage for a start," Sadie said. A good of start as any, and with her Diamond's life on the line, Topaz didn't bother to hesitate, and immediately began looking around for a weak point on their cage, bringing out her Gem weapon to find some sort of clue. No exact lock mechanism was on this cage, not one on the surface by what they could see. In the end, Topaz just tried her own weapon on the outside, but her weapon just bounced off of the surface of the wall.

"Wait, Topaz, try the corner, I think I see something there!" Sadie then said, looking to the corner herself. Looking there, they actually began to see a sort of small object, obscured just passed the bars that seemed to be making the shield come to life. Topaz nodded and aimed her weapon right at that instead. From where they were, none of them could reach it, but Topaz, being on the outside, was right in the perfect place, and with one well aimed hit of her Pugil stick directly at it, in a few fizzles, the Gem shield was down.

"Alright everybody, stand back. I got this," Bismuth said, cracking her knuckles and going straight up to the heating bars. With their shield down, there was nothing holding back this blacksmith Gem from her strength, and both arms grabbed hold of two of the bars. She felt her hands heating up, but it didn't bother her at all, her strength making the bars creak and bend until she snapped them off like twigs! She went on to pull off a good seven of them until the group started to race out of the cage, big enough for Fluorite to slip on through.

"Way da go, Bismuth!" Fulgurite said.

"But the Diamonds, they're still in there!" pointed out Eyeball. They quickly rushed for the door, but of course, White Diamond made sure to lock it up behind her.

"Allow me." Fluorite then said, going over to the back door. The giant fusion then reared back onto her last set of legs, and actually started to slam her body into the door! It was strong sure, but the commotion brought on more than just courage from the group, as several shattering Robonoids started to fly in! A backup measure, obviously. Not to mention over on the ground, hybrid Gem soldiers started to come in and line up.

"Alright you guys, time to kick some butt!" Emerald said, as they began to arm up.

"My favorite time of the day," Rainbow added in.

"Good. Topaz, Jasper, Bismuth, Rubies, help Fluorite with the door. The rest of you, make sure those Robonoids don't get close to them," Garnet quickly instructed. There were a ton of Robonoids coming out, a good forty of them, and they all were ready to shatter and apprehend every single escapee standing there. There was a big fight to be had, and now they got everyone ready to go.

"Can I?" Peridot asked.

"Go for it, you clod," replied Garnet with a smile.

"CHAAARGE!"

The first shots fired were from the Robonoids, several of them immediately beginning to shot down at them, lasers shooting right to the wall as they quickly made their dodges and blocks. Twilight made her firing shot first, directly aimed at one of the robonoids, which in turn made a clear path for Rainbow Dash to fly by and slam into another robonoid. Needless to say, it didn't take very long until it turned into a warzone in there: multiple ponies, Gems, and even humans fighting against hybrid gems and robonoids. With their strongest focusing their energy on just getting the door open, everyone else had only a slight disadvantage, but it barely showed at all. A bit odd though that White Diamond didn't really come out on all that noise, but they were a bit too busy to pay attention to that. The Gems and Ponies may be holding their own, but amongst the humans, Sadie, Lars, and Jamie tried to keep their distance. Unfortunately for them, they were targeted by a pair of Jasmiths, both ready to clobber them! No prisoners were going to be taken this time.

"Let's put these animals back into the zoo," one of the Jasmiths said. Sadie got in the way, but it was Lapis who whacked them aside with a hit of her water wing. She didn't had much time to check on them, flying out of the way of a robonoid laser fire. However, another Jasmith grabbed her by the foot and slammed her down hard!

"Lazuli!" gasped Jamie, the Jasmith swinging her right their way. Or at least, she was about to until Rarity gave the Jasmith a kung fu fly kick to the side of her head, making her let go. Lars started to hear the Rutile twins having some more trouble, confronted by multiple robonoids. They didn't shoot at first, and readied to give her a scan.

"Sadie, over here," Lars said, rushing over to her. He and Sadie got in between the robonoids scanners, both blocking and keeping the twins' gemstone out of range. Once scanning was done, both robonoids actually stayed still for a bit, turning inactive. This only lasted for a short moment until Soup shot one of the hybrid gemstones at the robonoid, sending it into a tailspin. The second robonoid turned to Soup, armed up, but immediately shot her! Soup, panicked, grabbed her pot, and used it like a reflector, the shot bouncing off of the pot, and hitting the wall nearby, some had to scatter on the explosion, three hybrid soldiers getting poofed from the blast.

"Excellent idea, Soup!" Amethyst said, rushing over to her, and getting the pot. the robonoid tried again, but this time, Amethyst got the shots to aim at the other soldiers, and even other robonoids coming at them. Though, some stray shots did cut close to hitting their pals.

"Watch where you're aiming that thing!" shouted Emerald.

"Sorry!" Amethyst called, just for a Carnethyst to come up and whack the pot out of Amethyst's hands, and giving the robonoid a better thing to shoot at. However, it outlived its usefulness, and a flurry of green needles stabbed the robonoid.
Jade ended up targeted by several robonoids at this point after that needle blast, her wyvern staff already out as she tried to keep the robonoids back, joined by Flint and Diopside.

"Well, isn't this some nostalgia, isn't it?" Flint said, as he shot down two robonoids in one blast. 

"You can say that," Diopside replied. Diopside saw a large Jasmith charging over towards her, and Diopside started to drool acid before lunging at her, and biting her neck! The acid did some short work and quickly made her retreat into her gemstone in little time at all. Jade turned and saw the others trying to get into the other room, but a few robonoids closing in.

"Look out!" Jade called, sending a flurry of needles at the robonoids. Out of the three shooting, only one got one out before getting shot at, Fluorite leaning aside and narrowly avoiding the explosion.

"Thank you," Fluorite said, slamming into the door again. The group had made some good dents into the door, but the door still remained sealed shut. Jasper, Busmith, Topaz, and the Rubies stopped.

"Open up already," Jasper yelled, punching the daylights out of the door to unlock it or break it. They could get a grip on the opening, but it just wasn't working.

"Hurry up with that door, this is getting intense out here!" called Onyx.

"We're going as fast as we can!" called Bismuth. for the ruby squad, this was more than enough.

"Rubies! Combine!" Doc announced. And soon, all the rubies came together, and the light of a fusion started to appear, all of the rubies from her squad, now together! It was mainly a giant ruby with multiple gemstones on her, but the up in strength was just what they need as the giant Ruby gave a mighty roar. The ruby went right to work and got her hands right in the crack of the door, and soon came the strength! Their power had weakened the door already, but with the fusion's extra power, and a mix of heating metal from the angry fusion's hands, finally made the giant door start to give. The entire room began to hear a loud groan of bending metal, signifying that they finally got the door open, in their own way! The ruby fusion strained, gritting her teeth, and the metal finally making an entrance into the next room.
The Ruby fusion was the first to see what the next room had to offer, and to her surprise, she saw Yellow and Blue Diamond still in their bubbles, but over nearby some strange machine. A huge machine of epic proportions, the size of a two story house, and that was just counting the base of the machine, with both Diamonds side by side over in a set of containers, connected to the main body of the machine itself, looking like a huge tank with the controls hidden off on another balcony a floor or two up, with a clear path up to it, yet with White Diamond herself over by the controls! Pearl was with her at the moment, and she seemed too occupied to even notice the door open yet, which gave them more of an advantage. The ruby squad gave a loud whistle, and got their attention.

"Everyone, move!" Garnet called.

"Just a second! Steven, spike ball!" Amethyst called.

"Bubble up!" Steven answered, summoning his bubble, and the bubble came with spikes on them. Amethyst got a hold of the bubble with her whip, and in no time began to swing Steven around, hitting multiple hybrid Gems and robonoids in no time at all! This gave much of the group a good headstart, and both Gem and Gem human hybrid stopped, and bolted through the exit, threat on their end now completely gone. Well, the minions were gone, but now they got to get their Diamonds out.

"Had fun with my Gems, I noticed. You really want to keep the world as they are."

"Just let them go, White!" Connie yelled.

"This is going to happen regardless of your input. Progress always wins. Allow me to demonstrate," White Diamond then snapped her fingers, and out came a flurry of twenty two White Pearls, all armed up, and including Pearlis and Crystal Gem Pearl. As if to mock them further, Pearl attacked first, and aimed directly at Steven! Fulgurite quickly saved him before he could be skewered. The White Pearls were a different ballgame when compared to the Jasmiths and Carnethysts earlier: faster, more agile, and they can shoot as well, making the group dodging more than attacking.

"Pearl! You don't have to do this!" Steven called. Pearl hesitated for a bit, but White Diamond snapped her fingers again, and Pearl charged him, making Fulgurite bolt away from her again.

"The heck Pearl?!" Fulgurite called.

"She's not even listening! PEARL! Wake up, you don't have to follow her!" screamed Jasper, but Pearl at this point truly wasn't listening, and tried to make a kabob out of Steven specifically.

"Of course she's not listening, she's not even there." Flint concluded.

"What're you talking about, she's right there!"

"Haven't you figured it out yet?!" Zircon yelled. "White Diamond already altered memories, what do you think she did to her?"

"OH she did not," Bismuth growled, looking to Pearl. Her eyes almost looked dilated at this point, almost as if she was blind or something. This Pearl was completely under White Diamond's control, whether she wanted to or not.

"Where the heck's Aquamarine?! We could use that wand of hers right now!" Rainbow asked, narrowly dodging one of the White Pearls's spears, losing two feathers in the process. A set of Pearls actually managed to jump the Pegasus, landing on her back, and slamming her to the ground!

"Off of the pony!" shouted Diopside, jumping at them. both Pearls jumped aside, but did get off Rainbow.

"AH, these Pearls are too fast," groaned the twins.

"INCOMING!" shouted Garnet. This indeed was just a distraction for them, and looking up, they suddenly saw White Diamond jump down right on top of them! Everyone on the ground had to bolt away and scatter before any could be crushed under her! The stomp made the ground shake, but White Diamond wasn't just jumping down to simply crush them, and her hand bolted out, and grabbed Lars and Connie right off their feet!

"Connie!!" gasped Steven.

"Lars!!" gasped Sadie. White Diamond straightened up, holding both small humans in her hand, and rather than go into anymore trouble, she got them both in each hand.

"I think we've had about enough of this trouble, don't you? You've had me for a runaround, yet this will be as good as you'll get."

Then came the moves to their horror: White Diamond began by grabbing Connie into one, and proceeded to raise Lars up high before letting him fall out of her hand. As he fell, she whacked him downward, making him slam into the ground at two stories high and as fast as a sonic rainboom! She turned her gaze towards Connie next, and her fist clenched tighter around Connie's body, and they all began to hear her bones cracking before she began to turn limp. Only then did White drop her. Two bodies laid motionless on the ground, everyone staring on in horror. So easily did she finish the two off. The whole fight seemed to have stopped when this happened. Even in that fall, Connie was still alive, but barely, and hardly moving. 

"Connie! Connie, you okay? Say something!"

"I ... Steven, I can't move," Connie said meekly. D-did she cripple her? Steven went over to Lars next, and tried to wake him up, but there was nothing. Steven placed his ear onto his chest. not even a heartbeat. Lars was gone.  Steven's tears started to come up, as Connie was being helped up as best the others could manage. Steven's tears went down gently onto Lars's face. ...
Then it began to glow.

.......

"Ugh.... Whoa, what...happened?"

"Oh my, something incredible is going to happen to Lars!" Padparadscha gasped.

And indeed something did. Lars got himself back together after what should've been his last.

"I-I don't know, but I think I brought you back to life!"

"Back to life? So I was ... away from life?" Lars wondered. Then he took a good look at his skin.

"... WHA?! I-I'M PINK!"

And that was the main thing that separated the Lars from five minutes ago, and the Lars now. His skin and hair matched one particular Lion, but apart from that, everything else on him appeared to be pretty much the same.

"Do you feel okay?"

"I don't really know."

"You're forgetting something."

And Garnet quickly grabbed Steven, Lars, and Connie, and got them out of the way of her foot. 

"Really. I kill two of your humans, and you all suddenly stop cold? I do wonder how you even made it this far with that kind of reaction. This is going to happen, whether you want it to or not," White said. The others were obviously upset, but some of the Gems were noticing something that White Diamond didn't. Something that could be good to their favor.

"B-But. But isn't there at least  one type of Gem that doesn't have to be hybridized? I mean surely you could've seen one Gem that is good enough on their own," Peridot said.

"You'd want to think that, would you? So many different quartz soldiers that do basically the same thing, surely one type with each one can do the exact same thing and better. Jaspers, Amethysts, Citrines, Carnelians, why all that variety when you can get only one?"

"There's nothing wrong with any original Gem! You're just upset because a bunch of original Gems are doing way more than you've ever could!" accused Jasper.

"Oh please, you're all constantly getting into trouble. You've all been influenced in some way to cut away from your original code, and now look at you. Your Peridot for instance: she was influenced, and she's stripped of her enhancers, her status, and her dignity."

"I have one of those things."

"OK then, tell me: Why do you all even bother anyway over such a shell?"

"It's not a shell, there's so much life. Living there, that's what I'm doing! I'm living there! I've been learning new things about myself all the time! Like how I can make metal do my bidding, and look! I even got a Cutie Mark out of it! The point being Earth can set you free," Peridot insisted. 

"And I suppose they told you that too? You're all not trying to be free, you're just being greedy and selfish at best. Your lives weren't to your liking, so you're willing to shatter others of your own kind just to have your own life the way you want it."

"Like you should talk! You were just trying to kill us a minute ago!" Rarity yelled.

"Says the group constantly hunting other Gems practically everyday."

"Stop right there, White, they're not dead, they're bubbled! They're still alive, and they're not suffering!" retorted Amethyst.

"And I'm not a fool either. But considering all you plan to do was leave them in there, they might as well be. I did you a favor taking them away, they could be of more use than stuck in a bubble for all time. ... Or do you prefer them useless to anyone?"

"Well, there's only one thing I have to say about that. ..." Lapis said.

"Well, I'm listening. Go on. Give me your best shot," White insisted. Lapis took a deep breath, brought her up, and ...

*PPPPPPPPPPBBBBBBBBBBHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTT!!!*

... Ok then.

"... And what was the point of that ... noise?" White asked, more confused than anything. Jamie decided to answer.

"That, Diamond, is what we earthlings call a distraction!"

Then it happened. White Diamond turned up to the controls, and suddenly she saw Onion and Starlight Glimmer up there! What's worse, they were right next to the main power, and she looked just in time to see both unicorn and kid cut the power not just to the machine, but apparently to the whole chamber! The machine went quiet, and the sound of draining energy echoed throughout the entire area, even the lights slowly going out! With the light dimming out, White Diamond used her own gemstone as a light to see what had happened, only to find Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond out of their own containment, alive, fine, and ready to fight her.

"I can't believe I've fallen for that," White groaned, just seconds before Yellow charged forward at breakneck speed, slamming White out of the chamber, and slamming the opposite wall. It was now or never, and White Diamond immediately felt surges of electricity course through her body. White Diamond kicked Yellow off of her, seeing the whole group starting to take their leave.

"Good on you, Onion," Sadie said. Onion gave them a wink. Yellow wanted to fight White for what she did, but Blue got her up on her feet. They had a much bigger object to look for, and fighting White Diamond wasn't going to get her out at any point. White found the whole group running away, leaving her with only her Pearls for company. White Diamond sighed, and got up to her feet, a bit frazzled but overall alright.

"... Well then. One of you check on the backup generator, the rest of you go and track where they're going for me, please?" White groaned. So from there, they all were separated. And it was Pearl who went for the backup generator, finally leaving her alone for now. ...


~~~~~~


"How much power did that cut out?!" Tiger's Eye wondered. Something many of them were wondering about as they raced along through the White Diamond Space Station. While Onion and Starlight's trick did cut the power, it made the whole place lose power judging by where they were going! Much of the halls and rooms looked far dimmer now than usual. some lights were still glowing from a backup battery, but in the end that was pretty much about it, as they only had the dim light to run through in order to see where they were even going. It won't be long until other soldiers do arrive to handle them, so they couldn't waste any time with this.

"This way!" Garnet called, seeing a crossroads up ahead, and taking a right. Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond though had their own goal in mind, and turned off left instead.

"Where're you two going?!" AJ called, spinning around and skidding to a stop.

"Saving Pink. We'll meet you back on Homeworld, we promise you that. Stay alive!" Blue answered, looking back to them for a brief moment as she ran.

"Hold on!" AJ called, but neither stopped for her. And however, neither did the others.

"AJ, get a move on, the guards are gonna be on us any moment!" called Flint. AJ felt a little bit torn, but when she began to hear some of the guards coming in, she turned and bolted for it. She couldn't stop, and neither could anyone else. Applejack eventually caught up with everyone else in her gallop.

"Where'd the Diamonds go?"

"They're gonna meet us there," AJ answered.

"Well, does anypony know where we're going?" Rainbow asked.

"I do: straight ahead and to your right," Garnet said. Were they at the end already? Well, they might as well be off on their way if they were right there, and off cutting the next corner after a good half an hour of running, the human group began to see something familiar: a familiar looking hallway, and a door leading right over to their docking station! And better: their Sun Incinerator was still there!

"Garbonzo!" Garbonzo said in glee.

"Can we all fit in that thing?" Tiger's Eye asked, as they got the ship open and started to get inside.

"We have to try, now come on!"

"But what about Pearl?!" Steven gasped. Before any of them could say anything however, another more ominous sound started to echo behind them, heading straight their way. They all thought it was gonna be White Diamond coming back, but what they saw next left them surprised if not at a lost for words.

*raaahhhrrrrr*

Something suddenly barreled on into the docking station, but it wasn't White Diamond. It wasn't even a soldier for that matter, but instead looking like a animal! A large, four-legged behemoth, brown skin, cloven hooved, parrot-like beak, and crystalline armor from its back down to its head, armed like a tank and angry as a bull in a fighting pit. It could see the Gems getting in, whoever remaining outside gasping on sight of this new monster. It wasn't just the Diamonds who were freed from the loss of power. And this beast was not happy to see them.

"A corrupted gem?"

"Everyone! Get in!" Garnet yelled, quickly grabbing Steven and rushing inside. They don't have time to fight a corrupted Gem, and with so many injured, they couldn't chance it any further. And neither was the Gem beast, snorting and digging its foot in the ground for a charge. Not all of them were inside the Sun Incinerator when the beast began to rush at them! In a mad scramble, they just managed to get in, and shut the door. And just in time too: the Gem beast wasn't waiting for them to fly away, and rammed the Sun Incinerator so hard, it launched it right out into space! The beast grunted and bellowed, and the inhabitants inside the ship ended up stumbled and shaken up, one of which landed right on the controls of said ship!

Initiate Warpspeed.

"Oh clod," Peridot groaned.

Suddenly, the ship began to spur to life, and aimed right back in the direction it came, and suddenly the ship zoomed off right out of sight! The whole crew were completely taken by surprise by this sudden shift in speed, but unlike before, this quick shift was suddenly stopped after a good half a minute as opposed to the time the humans took.

"Wha? What happened? Everyone okay?" Garnet asked

"What idiot installed a warpspeed to this thing?" Lars groaned.

"I did, and I regret it every bit of it," Peridot groaned.

"Someone check and see where we ended up, please?" Flint asked. Jade, a bit dazed from said flight, went on over to the front window to see what had happened. ...

.......




"... Where are we? ..."