> A Princess’s New Playmate: A MLP/Steven Universe Crossover > by Lord Shadow Eclipse > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: A New Start > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A girl named Jessica was putting the final touches on her Spinel cosplay. She was applying the tear streaks to her face to give herself the tragic villain look. She put down her applicator and looked at herself in the tall mirror that hung from her bedroom door. Her costume was perfect. Jessica dyed her hair the same color as her "Steven Universe" character and tied her hair into Spinel's twin pigtails. She even made her pigtails spiky to give herself that unhinged look. She painted her face, arms, and legs pink. Jessica was able to stitch her own Spinel costume by hand. "I have to remember to thank Grandma for teaching me how to sew", Jessica thought to herself. She was even able to get Spinel's shoes and gloves down-pat. As for Spinel's Gem, she simply made a paper version which she then glued to her chest. Jessica had wanted Spinel's Rejuvenator so she got a long stick and made the blade out of cardboard. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she was absolutely delighted to see herself as her favorite Gem. There was just something about Spinel that she loved more than the other Gems on the show. Was it her quirky, Harley Quinn-like personality, her tragic past that made her a more sympathetic villain, her jester-like appearance, her rubber-hose style of movement and fighting? Jessica decided to go with a simple "all-of-the-above" and leave it at that. One thing she loved about her cosplay is that she looked just as skinny as Spinel. Jessica was known at school for being quite skinny. She wasn't as buxom as some of the other girls, but she was content with herself, so she didn't care one bit. Jessica then left with her fake Rejuvenator and sat on the couch, waiting for her friend Amy to pick her up. Amy was Jessica's best friend and wanted to accompany her to the Comic-Con they all got prepared for. Amy wanted to hop on Jessica's "Steven Universe" train and wanted to cosplay as her favorite Gem, since they were both fans of the show. Amy was going to go as Peridot, the small and geeky one of the bunch. Jessica had actually noticed how similar Amy was to Peridot in terms of their personalities. Both Amy and Peridot were quite smart and didn't really like other people touching their stuff. Amy even had Peridot's habit of calling people "clods". They both don't pick up on social cues very well and tended to be loners, unless they were hanging out with people that they trust. Both were also quite short, with Amy only coming up to Jessica's chest. Jessica looked up what "clod" meant and apparently, not only doe the word actually exist, but it means "a lump of earth or clay". Jessica guessed that the word would be quite an insult to Gemkind. Eventually, there was a knock on Jessica's door. Jessica opened the door and was greeted by a familiar-looking green Gem. They both smiled and gave each other a hug. "Wow, Amy! You look great! I see you pit in about as much effort into your costume as I did.", Jessica said after getting a good look at the Peridot lookalike before her. The fake Peridot smiled. "You look amazing as Spinel. Your hair actually looks better in that style. It would definitely make stand out at school.", Amy said. "No. I'm not interested in popularity. Besides, most of the popular kids are clods, anyway, right?", Jessica asked with a smile. "True. Compared to us and our good grades, those clods would be lucky to even work for us, someday.", Amy said with no small amount of pride. Amy then did the Diamond salute. "For the Gem Empire!". Jessica repeated the salute. "For the Gem Empire!". The two fake Gems then went to Amy's car and drove to Comic Con. To say that Comic Con was impressive would be an understatement. The place was pack with all kinds of booths, showing off whatever cool merch the vendors were selling. There were comics, DVD's, manga, figurines, and cosplay props being sold at every one of these booths. Jessica and Amy were very impressed with all the different costumes people were wearing. People came to this dressed up as their favorite cartoon or anime characters. Sure, some came that weren't dressed up, but that was fine. Jessica and Amy were genuinely surprised at how many people came dressed up as "Steven Universe" characters. They saw Steven, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Ruby, Sapphire, one of the Diamonds, Lapis Lazuli, even one dressed up as Jasper. "It's a good thing that we're not the only Gems here. I would have been really embarrassed if we were.", Jessica said with a sigh of relief. "Yeah. We probably would've looked like real clods. So I'm happy that more people enjoy 'Steven Universe' as much as we do.", Amy replied. After a bit of wandering, Amy spoke up. "I have to go use the bathroom. Can you just hang around the nearby booths until I come back?" "Sure thing. I'll wait by the booths by the restroom. Don't fall in when you get there!", Jessica said, joking about Amy's height. Amy gave her a dry look. "Ha. That was so funny, I forgot what laughing was.", Amy said sarcastically. Amy left for the restroom. Jessica was waiting by the booths when she noticed one booth, in particular. It didn't have a sign advertising what they were selling. Speaking of what they were selling, it seemed to be random cosplay props of all kinds. There were weapons, fake artifacts, masks, even fake animal ears and tails. The merch was also not neatly categorized; instead it seemed to just lay in a random pile on the table. As for the vendor, he was a bit odd-looking: the vendor had a long black coat, a black hat, and Coke-bottle glasses that perfectly hid his eyes. The vendor also possessed a wide grin that was somehow beckoning her to come closer. Jessica went up to the vendor to see what exactly he was selling. She didn't see anything that stood out to her until she passed a small case he had placed on the table in front of her. The case was filled with various gemstones. Jessica thought that they were fake gems at first, but somehow they looked like real gems. Jessica's eyes fell on one gem that stood out to her more than the others: a pink spinel cut into the shape of a heart. The same shape as the character Spinel's Gem! Jessica looked to the mysterious vendor. "How did you get a gem like that?", Jessica asked with keen interest. The vendor looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a sly grin. "First of all, most people call me 'The Merchant'. Secondly, are you interested? I can give you a decent price for it.", the Merchant offered. Jessica seemed to consider the potential cost of a real gem. "I think that this gem may be an entire solar system outside my price range.". "Don't worry, dear. In fact, since your Spinel costume is so well-made, I'll give you the spinel gem for only fifty bucks!", the Merchant haggled. Jessica's eyes were as wide as moons. "How can this Merchant sell a gem like this for so cheap? Shut up! Don't question it! This will be way better than this paper one. I better take advantage of this offer.", Jessica thought. She looked at the Merchant's glasses and spoke with a clear voice. "I'll take it.". Jessica reached into her pocket and pulled out the fifty bucks needed to pay for the possibly-real spinel. She handed it to the Merchant who took it with an all-too-wide grin. "Thank you so much, dear.", the Merchant said after handing Jessica the gem. As Jessica was walking away, she heard the Merchant whisper, "Have a nice new life in your new home world!". Jessica wasn't sure what he meant, but decided to ignore it. Suddenly, the gem started to give off a blinding light. The light made Jessica fall to the floor and hit her head. As she was losing consciousness, she started to feel her body changing. It started to feel like she wasn't solid mass, anymore. There was a pulling motion, too, like her body was moving somewhere on its own. What was even more bizarre was the feeling that she was losing her memories along with her body. Everything in her mind was slipping away until there was nothing. After that, there was nothing but darkness. > Chapter 2: Your New Best Friend > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a bright and sunny day in the sweet little town of Ponyville. The birds were singing, the townsfolk were milling about their day-to-day work, and Princess Twilight Sparkle was taking a solitary walk around the edge of the Whitetail Woods. "It feels good to get some time just for yourself. Yes, I love all my friends to death, but sometimes you just need to take some time alone and not have to worry about anything, at all.", the Princess thought. Between her duties as a Princess and her spending time with her friends, solitary moments with just her thoughts were few and far between. And what little moments of solitude she could get were not to be wasted by any means. It took a lot of convincing to get Spike to let her go out for something as mundane as walk in the woods. Spike was insistent that he go with her as an escort. She didn't want any Guards or protective dragons going with her, so she bribed the young dragon with a quartz crystal. The dragon happily accepted the bribe with a wide grin. She reassured him that she was going for a walk in the forest. Not the Everfree Forest, no, but certainly a forest. She hopped over a fallen tree when she happened upon the base of a smooth cliff wall going fifteen feet above her head. The rock was quite smooth and noticeably weathered. The cliff itself seemed to stretch on as far as the eye can see, like a protective city wall. Twilight chuckled to herself. "Oh, Maud would probably take an interest in the stone of this cliff." She was just about to leave when she heard a strange sound coming from the wall of the cliff. Like a combination of rock crumbling and something powering up. As she listened to the sound, she noticed that the grass and bushes around one particular spot were withering away and dying. "But why are they dying around that one spot?", she wondered. But before she could come up with some theory as why this was occurring, a glowing shape started to take form in the spot she was looking at. It started out small, something in the shape of a heart. Then the heart seemed to grow a new form around it. This new form was, given her experiences in the human world, humanoid in shape. It had a bipedal body structure, with arms and legs and a human-like head. The head grew what looked to be either ears or pigtails in the shape of hearts. Suddenly, the figure burst out of the cliff wall, leaving behind an impression of her form! This strange being opened her eyes and looked dazed for a moment until her eyes met Twilight's own shocked ones. Now that she had a good look at this being, Twilight thought that she was looking at one of those old rubber-hose cartoons that human Pinkie liked to watch: it had large eyes with black irises, a simple body plan, and it didn't seem to have bones, with the arms and legs looking like they were rubber hoses. There was also a perfectly-cut pink gemstone in the shape of a heart on its chest. This new being also appeared to be female. They stared at each other for a good few minutes until the being gave Twilight a large, warm smile. "Hiya! Who are you?", the figure asked, snapping the shocked Alicorn out of her trance. "M-m-my name's T-t-twilight S-sparkle. Who are you?", Twilight stammered. This strange creature simply gave a curt bow. "Why, I'm your brand-spanking new BEST FRIEND!" Twilight didn't know what to make of this until the figure started singing. "This will be fun! Aren't you the lucky one? My cut is perfect and I'm pink, as well. I'll bring you endless entertainment! I'm your new friend, Spinel!" The being called "Spinel" then stretched out her arms and coiled them around the Alicorn like a couple of snakes. Spinel pulled Twilight to her in a big full-body hug! Twilight was a little scared at first, but she realized that this strange being meant her no harm. Plus, Spinel was quite warm. Twilight snapped out of her comfort-induced stupor and started racking her brain about what exactly Spinel was. She obviously wasn't a creature that she was familiar with in Equestria. In fact, she doubted that even Fluttershy knew what Spinel was. Spinel seemed harmless enough, so she decided to ask her "new best friend" some questions. Now that Twilight thought about about it, she could've discovered whole new species! She couldn't pass up an opportunity to contribute to Equestria's knowledge. She gently pushed herself off of Spinel and faced her. Spinel was smiling and giggling like a little girl. "I'm sorry, but since you're my 'new best friend', would you mind answering some questions for me?" Twilight asked. Spinel gave Twilight a hopeful look. "Are we playing Twenty Questions? I love that game!" Spinel asked, jumping up and down like Pinkie. "Wow, she's just as energetic as Pinkie Pie. And she seems to love games, too.", Twilight thought. "Yes, we are playing Twenty Questions. I'll ask a question, and you try to answer them to the best of your ability." Spinel looked quite confused. "Are you sure that you're talking about Twenty Questions? I thought Twenty Questions worked like this: you make one player ask up to twenty questions about a clue that you give them." Twilight was expecting that. "Yes, that's the normal game. But we're playing a new one. I ask you questions, and you try to answer. That seemed to be enough to satisfy Spinel, due to the big smile she threw Twilight's way. "Okay! Let's do it! Let's play!", Spinel said, getting really excited. Twilight conjured a quill and some paper and cleared her throat. "First question: what species are you?" "I'm a Gem, Twily!", Spinel replied, giving Twilight a nickname already. "Gem? Like these?", Twilight asked while showing Spinel a topaz. Spinel simply chuckled. "No, not like those. I'm a Gem, a race of sentient gemstones. We're gems given life, basically." Twilight wasn't sure what to make of that response. Sure, there are magical creatures in Equestria that were bizarre to say the least, but this was the first time she ever heard of a sentient gemstone. That would explain the gem in her chest, though. Twilight decided to press onward. "What's with you forming out of the ground?", Twilight asked, pointing a hoof to the Spinel-shaped hole. "That's how Gems are born: we're given the bio-energy of the surrounding soil to begin life. We're also born with adult-level knowledge from the get-go.". Twilight used the quill to put at Spinel's gem. "Is the gem in your chest significant?" "The gem is me. My entire being.", Spinel replied. "Then, what's with your body?" "To serve my purpose and because my physical body is a representation of who I am as an individual." Twilight looked confused. "So, you're actually the gem and your body is who you are as a being? And what do you mean 'to serve your purpose.'" Spinel gave a very happy smile. "To answer your first question, yes. And to answer your second question, to make the life of my brand-new best friend happy and bright. To put a smile on their face. To be the bestest friend on this planet. That is what all Spinels are made for." "All Spinels? Are there more of you out there?", Twilight asked. "Yep. Spinels are given as luxury items to the high-ranking Gems of the Gem Empire. The Gem Empire is great. It's filled with lots of great Gems, all led by the Diamonds.", Spinel said while giving the Diamond salute. Twilight was even more confused. "'Gem Empire'? 'Diamonds'? 'Luxury items'? Could you explain a bit?" "Well, the work that the high-ranking Gems do is hard. They all do great work for the Empire, but they need something to take the mental load off. That's were us Spinels come in: we are basically the jesters for the Gem elite. Each Gem within the Empire is made for a unique purpose. The Empire is ruled by the Great Diamond Authority. Their words are law for our kind. The Diamonds are the most perfect beings in the universe, and are the only ones fit to rule the Gem Empire. The Gem Empire itself is made up of thousands of different planets.", Spinel explained. Twilight diligently wrote down every single word the jester-like Gem was saying. She took stock of what she was saying, too. If Gems had an empire that spanned thousands of different planets, they must quite advanced and powerful. "I need to tell the other Princesses about this as soon as possible. But Spinel obviously doesn't have malicious intentions. Still, I should introduce her to my friends. I know Pinkie and Rarity are going to love her.", Twilight thought. "Hey, Spinel?" "Yeeeeees, bestie?", Spinel asked, wrapping an arm around Twilight's neck. "How would you like to come back with me to Ponyville and meet my other friends?", Twilight offered. Spinel's smile only got bigger. "Really?! I get to make new friends and playmates?! Yes! Yes, let's go!" Spinel then held Twilight's wing as they walked out of the forest. After the Pony and Gem left the area, something appeared in the cliff wall next to Spinel's hole. It was a small green light. The light seemed to move and take on a new appearance. This new form the light took was that of a small, humanoid figure with a triangle-shaped head. The rock in front of the light crumbled to the ground revealing a short green Gem. This new Gem opened her eyes and instinctively did the Diamond salute. " Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG, reporting for duty!", the green Gem Peridot exclaimed, ready to do her duty for the Gem Empire! > Chapter 3: Peridot > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in the Human World When Amy came out of the bathroom, Jessica was nowhere to be seen. She looked to the left and right of the immediate vicinity, but she could not see her best friend anywhere. What happened? Where did she go? Amy was starting to panic. "Where is she? Did she get herself kidnapped? No, there's too many witnesses around for that.", Amy thought while still trying to come up with some excuse as to why Jessica might have disappeared. She decided that the best thing for her to do was to ask around to see if anyone dressed like Spinel was seen. The first one she asked was a rather peculiar-looking vendor. The vendor she went up to looked odd, to say the least. He had a long black coat, a black hat, Coke-bottle glasses that covered his eyes, and a creepy grin on his face. His booth was a mashup of different cosplay paraphernalia. Still, Amy saw that his booth was within sight of the women's restroom, so she knew he had to have seen her. "Hey, have you seen my friend? Looks like Spinel from 'Steven Universe'?", Amy asked the creepy vendor. He just continued to grin. "First of all, people call me 'The Merchant'. Second of all, I did see Spinel. Just a short time ago, in fact. She had purchased one of my special gemstones.", the "Merchant" said, producing a case of beautiful and real-looking gems. The beauty and quality of these gems caught Amy off-guard. She had to admit that they were indeed beautiful. These stones looked way to good to be fakes. Amy mentally slapped herself in the face. "Focus, you clod! You are supposed to be looking for Jessica! Not gawking at possibly-real gemstones like a magpie!" "You said that you saw my friend. Do you know where she went?", Amy asked hopefully. The Merchant put his finger to his chin in thought. "I'd say she's having an out-of-this-world experience.", the Merchant replied. Amy was quickly getting annoyed with this Merchant. "Do you know where she is or not, you clod?!", Amy shouted. The Merchant kept his cool. Then he leaned in closer to Amy. "Look, I'll tell you where she is. But, you have to buy one of my gems, first." Amy was rightfully confused. "What is this? Some weird extortion thing?" "Alright, fine! What do you recommend?", Amy asked, wanting to get this over with. "Well, since you are dressed up as Peridot, how about I give you this lovely peridot for the astonishingly low price of fifty bucks?", the Merchant offered. Amy was indeed astonished. Fifty bucks? She didn't know much about gems, but she figured that peridots had to go for more than that. Still, fifty bucks would be worth it if he could tell her where Jessica was. She reached into her wallet, pulled out the money, and handed it to the Merchant. The Merchant then gave Amy her peridot. Now that Amy was looking at it, she noticed that it was even the same shape and cut as Peridot's peridot. She finished admiring the beautiful gemstone and looked back at the Merchant. "Okay, I bought your peridot. Can you please tell me where my friend is, now?" The Merchant just gave an even bigger smile, if that was possible. "Oh, she's in the same place you are going." Amy wasn't sure what to make of that response until her peridot suddenly emitted a blinding light. Amy fell to the ground from the shock of being blinded by the gem. She suddenly started to feel sick and light-headed. She felt a combination of sleepiness and an urge to throw up. She felt odd sensations all over her body, too. It was like she wasn't solid mass, but instead being transformed into something else. Next came the feeling that her whole being was being drawn into something. The next thing Amy knew, everything went black. In the Whietail Woods, Equestria The new green Gem born from the Equestrian Kindergarten opened her eyes and instinctively did the Diamond salute. Standing at attention like a soldier, the new Gem exclaimed, "Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG, reporting for duty!" After a short while, Peridot noticed that she was the only Gem in the immediate area. In fact, there didn't seem to be any sign of Gem activity in this area. She looked around for any Gem to come out and give her her first orders. On Homeworld, Peridots were mainly used as scientists or engineers, designing the advanced technology the Empire used for expansion, managing the various Kindergartens to mass-produce more Gems, and generally coming up with new ways to make the Gem Empire function for the Diamonds. But as Peridot looked around, there was no other Gem in sight. She face-palmed in annoyance. "Why are there no Amethyst or Jasper soldiers to escort me to my new station? Are they all useless clods?", Peridot thought to herself. As she turned to walk away, she noticed that there was another Gem hole right next to hers. Peridot was happy that there was at least another Gem born here. But how long ago was this one born? Peridot looked closely at the hole, she noticed that this Gem was born just a few minutes before she was. And judging from the shape of the hole, this new Gem was a Spinel, the entertainers of the Gem elite. "I have to find this Spinel and see what my duties on this glorified mudball of planet are.", Peridot said to herself. With her special visor, Peridot noticed that there were two sets of footprints near her. One set was obviously the Spinel's footprints, while the others were unknown to her. Perhaps it was one of the native creatures on this planet if the abundance of organic life was anything to go by. Peridot knew that the Spinel would be safe, since Gems are really tough to hurt. Even if the Spinel was damaged enough to poof, she'd still recover with time. Not wanting to waste any more time, Peridot left in the direction of the footprints. > Chapter 4: Defending Your Best Friend > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight and Spinel had a rather... interesting time walking through the Whitetail Woods. Spinel would either be giggling or trying to get Twilight to play "I Spy" while they walked. Twilight tried to pay with Spinel to keep her happy, but she couldn't find anything in the forest for Spinel to try to guess that would be different. She tried to get Spinel to see if she could spot a blue jay that had rested on a fallen log by the path, but the bird flew away before Spinel could see it. Finally, it was Spinel's turn. "I spy with my little eye something... some walking pile of sticks!", Spinel challenged. Twilight just looked confused. "What do you mean 'walking pile of sticks'?" Before Spinel could respond, there was a canine growling from the bushes in front of the duo. Out of the bushes came not one, but six Timberwolves! All of them were growling with fierce animal hunger. This didn't make any sense! Timberwolves were only supposed to inhabit the Everfree Forest. Not the Whitetail Woods. Twilight was terrified while Spinel just looked at them with bright eyes. "Awww! Puppies! You wanna play with them, Twi?", Spinel asked with all the innocence of a child. Twilight could only look at Spinel with stunned eyes. "NO! No you cannot play with them! They're Timberwolves! They want to eat us!" Spinel suddenly looked downtrodden. She didn't mean to make her best friend mad. The dear Gem put her gloved hands behind her back and looked down at her feet. When she next spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. Spinels aren't supposed to make their besties upset.", Spinel said, looking up at Twilight with the biggest puppy-dog eyes she had ever seen. Twilight's anger immediately disappeared. "How can anyone stay mad at a creature this adorable?", Twilight thought. Twilight quickly remembered the situation they were in and kept an eye on the pack of Timberwolves who had encircled them, by this point. "Look, I'm not mad. But this is a dire situation we're in right now. See, these creatures want to harm us. I can try to fight them off, but they might eat us if we don't do something now.", Twilight explained to the pink Gem without taking her eyes off the Timberwolves. Spinel's face changed from that of sadness to, surprisingly, anger. That look was very unlike the Gem, who by this point had looked so happy and gentle. In fact, they hadn't even known each other for very long and Twilight pegged Spinel for being similar to Pinkie in terms of their shared personality traits. But then again, Twi had seen Pinkie get angry before and it wasn't pretty. In fact, Spinel's angry look was even more terrifying than Pinkie's. Her brows were furrowed, her jaw clenched, her hair became frizzled, and her eyes changed colors. Instead of the cartoonish black irises Spinel was born with, they suddenly changed to a glowing bright magenta color. Next, Spinel's gloved hands started to glow a soft pink and changed into pink boxing gloves! She stepped in front of Twi and took a fighting stance. "No one's going to hurt my best friend! NO ONE!", Spinel shouted with such ferocity that even the beasts in front of them looked scared. But this was short-lived as one Timberwolf launched itself at Spinel. The monster clamped its jaws around her left arm. Twilight cried out in alarm, but was silenced by the fact that Spinel didn't cry out in pain. In fact, it looked like Spinel couldn't feel the bite at all. Spinel just stood there, glaring at her beastly opponent. Spinel then lifted her right arm and swung her boxing gloved fist at the attacking Timberwolf. The beast's head shattered into splinters and the rest of its body fell apart at her feet. Twilight was shocked by this display of power Spinel possessed. The rest of the pack, seeing one of their own being taken down by this weird pink creature, decided to ignore Twilight and all attack Spinel at once. The Gem effortlessly punched one of the wolves 40 feet into a nearby tree, shattering its body. She grabbed two of the wolves in her hands and choke-slammed them into the ground. The last one opted to run after seeing its packmates get destroyed. But before it could get too far, two rubber arms wrapped around its body and pulled it back to the strange pink creature. Spinel just smiled and sadistically glared into its eyes for a good while until she used her boxing gloves to completely crush its head into the ground! The Timberwolf's head shattered into pieces. With the threat to her bestie's life eliminated, she changed back into her regular appearance. "Don't worry, buddy! You're safe now.", Spinel said, wrapping Twilight into a snake-arm full-body hug. Twilight was too shocked to even think to speak. She had just seen Spinel not only defend her from a pack of attacking Timberwolves, but effortlessly dispatched them with a ruthlessness she had never seen before. And that physical change! Twilight had guessed that that form was suitable for fighting off opponents. But still, the way Spinel took down that last Timberwolf was pretty frightening. The Gem looked like she could kill anything without remorse. Twilight made a note not to get on Spinel's bad side. Once Twi made herself lucid again, she willed herself to speak. "Hey, Spinel. Thank you so much for saving me.", Twilight said. She then noticed that Spinel was shaking and could feel her shoulder getting wet. "Is she... crying?" She was! Spinel was actually crying! "Well, her 'new best friend' was about to get eaten.". Twilight then heard Spinel's distressed voice. "I'm so happy that I didn't lose you, Twi! If something happened to my best friend, I'd be all alone! I don't want to be left all alone!", Spinel said between sobs. Twilight nuzzled Spinel's cheek. "It's okay, Spinel. I'm never going to leave you alone.", Twilight said. Spinel looked at her with teary, yet hopeful eyes. "You promise? You're never going to leave me or abandon me?". "I solemnly promise that I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, will never abandon my new best friend: Spinel.", Twilight promised the crying Gem. Spinel put her head back on Twilight's shoulder and was rocking back and forth with Twilight coiled in her rubber arms. Twilight had taken this time to notice that Spinel was actually quite warm, almost enough to make her fall asleep. But before she could, she had to get out of Spinel's embrace. "Hey, Spinel, we should really get going if you want to meet my other friends.", Twilight suggested. Spinel just shook her head. "A little bit longer?", Spinel asked. Twilight just smiled and sighed. "Okay, we can stay like this for a little while longer." And with that, Twilight succumbed to Spinel's body heat and finally fell asleep. > Chapter 5: Meeting Twi's "Other Friends" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- With Twilight and Spinel Both Twilight and her new Gem friend were still cuddled up underneath the trees of the Whitetail Woods. Twilight was being gently held in the snake-like arms of the very Gem who saved her life, having fallen asleep because the generous amount of heat Spinel's body seemed to produce. Twilight groaned softly and slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Spinel's smiling face. She seemed to have long stopped crying and regained her cheerful mood. The second thing that Twilight noticed was that it was now nighttime. Twilight shot up like an arrow. "It's night? How long have I been asleep?", Twilight asked, looking at Spinel. Spinel just gave Twilight a curious head tilt. "'Asleep'? What does that mean?", Spinel replied. Now it was Twilight's turn to look confused. "'Asleep'. Meaning when you were sleeping.". The pink Gem just looked even more confused. "You mean that weird thing you did when you kept your eyes closed and didn't move for four hours? I thought we were playing the quiet game. Since you were the first one to talk, that means I win!", Spinel exclaimed while punching a fist into the air. "No, I was asleep! You mean to tell me you don't need rest, too? You were in a pretty intense fight." Spinel looked like she finally understood what Twilight meant by "sleep". "No, I don't need rest. Like, at all. Gems don't need sleep, food, water, or even a need to breathe". Twilight was shocked by this revelation. A race of beings that don't have the same necessities as other creatures? That was something rather unheard of. Even Discord, the literal Embodiment of Chaos, had a necessity to eat, drink, and sleep. If Spinel and the rest of her kind don't need these kinds of things, that would make them almost akin to gods! Twilight was going to enjoy studying Spinel. She could only imagine the things that Gemkind were capable of. Twilight had remembered that she was going to introduce Spinel to her friends before the Timberwolf attack. She could imagine the looks on their faces when they all got a good look at Twilight's savior. Rarity would love to get a closer look at Spinel's Gem. Pinkie and her would get along right off the bat because of their similar personalities. If Applejack found out that Spinel doesn't need food, she'll probably want to throw Spinel a whole feast. Rainbow Dash might want to challenge the Gem to an Iron Pony Competition after seeing her rubber-hose limbs. Fluttershy would probably be a little shy around Spinel at first, but will quickly warm up to her. And Spike... Twilight's eyes suddenly widened with terrifying realization. Spinel saw the frightened look on Twilight's face and started to feel concerned for her bestie. "Hey buddy! Are you okay?", Spinel asked, waving a hand from side-to-side in front of Twi's face. Twilight didn't move a millimeter. "Oh no! Spike! He's a dragon. Dragons love to eat gems! What is he going to do when he sees Spinel?", Twilight thought in a panic. But then she remembered the ruthless brutality with which Spinel fought the Timberwolves. "A better question might be: what will Spinel do if he tries to eat her?". The nighttime temperature around them started to drop. Twilight started shivering in her horseshoes, but Spinel seemed perfectly fine. Gems apparently don't get cold like ponies do. Wanting to get out of the cold, Twilight decided to take care of the dragon-Gem problem after they returned to the castle together. She turned to the smiling Gem. "Okay, Spinel, I think we've stayed in the forest long enough. Let's go back to the castle so that you can meet my other friends.", Twilight suggested. Spinel's smile just grew bigger. "Oooooooooh! More friends?! Yay! I can't wait to for us all to play together!" Twilight gave Spinel a smile and they both left the Whitetail Woods. At the Castle of Friendship Spike had gathered the rest of the Main Six to the castle to try to search for Twilight. Being the Alicorn's adopted son and her number one assistant, he was obviously very worried about where she could've gone. "The last thing she told me was that she was headed for the Whitetail Woods to go on a solitary walk and that she'd be back in two hours! And it's been six hours since then!", Spike recalled in a panic. "Oh my! You don't think she got lost, do you?", Fluttershy asked with the most volume she could muster into her voice. "If Twilight were lost, she could just fly up above the trees and try to get her bearings. That's gotten me out of a lot of bad situations.", Rainbow said to reassure the shy Pegasus. "If she IS lost, hopefully she's not injured or bein' hunted by Timberwolves.", Applejack said. "I can't imagine anything happening to our darling friend Twilight! But I'm sure she's fine. Timberwolves don't live in the Whitetail Woods, anyway.", Rarity stated to try to soothe her friends' emotions. It did little to help, but that was something. Pinkie was exaggeratingly panicked. "What if she's been kidnapped by some Diamond Dogs or some yet unknown villain and is planning to use her as a bargaining chip to take over Equestria?!" That cryptic question just made Spike even more worried for Twilight's safety. "Everyone! If we don't move now, we may never see Twilight ever again! We have to leave now and comb the forest for any sign of Twilight!", Spike exclaimed. The other friends rallied behind him and started making their way to the front doors. But before they were fifteen feet away from the doors, the doors burst open to reveal none other than Twilight Sparkle, alive and well! And in the company of a creature that none of them had ever seen before! But that didn't matter right now as Spike lunged at Twilight with such force and speed that he almost knocked her on her flank. The young dragon wrapped his arms around Twilight and hung on for dear life. The others were too interested in this strange pink creature to really focus on the fact that their "missing" friend was right there. "T-t-t-twilight! I thought you were l-l-lost and we'd n-never see you again!", Spike said between sobs. Twilight just smiled and stroked his head spines lovingly. "It's okay, Spike. I'm still alive. If not for my new best friend, I wouldn't be here right now." It was at that moment that Spike finally took the time to look at Twilight's new companion. It didn't look like anything that he'd ever seen before. Spike didn't really care that much as he went to Spinel and hugged her tightly! "Thank you so much for keeping Twilight safe, Whoever-You-Are!", Spike said. Spinel just smiled and hugged the relieved dragon back. "You're quite welcome!", Spinel replied. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "It doesn't look like I'll have to worry about those two having any problems." Rarity approached Twilight without taking her eyes off of Spinel. "Darling, we're ever-so-glad you're back safe and sound, but if I may ask: what is this unusual creature you've brought back here? I've never seen a creature like it." Twilight made sure she had everyone's attention before speaking. "Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Spinel, my new best friend! She's a Gem, part of a race of sentient gemstones." The others in the room were stunned by this, especially Rarity, who happened to know a thing or two about gems. She had worked with gems for years, but she'd never come across a sentient one. Spinel took a place right beside Twilight. "It's true. Twilight was there when I was born, so that means...". Spinel suddenly started to sing. " This will be fun! Twilight's the lucky one! My cut is perfect and I'm pink, as well. I'll bring Twi endless entertainment! I'm her best friend, Spinel! " Twilight chuckled and began to explain everything to her friends: witnessing Spinel being "born", everything Spinel told her about Gems and the Gem Empire, how Spinel destroyed a pack of attacking Timberwolves, even how Twilight fell asleep in Spinel's arms. Twilight blushed at that last part. With the rest of the Main Six being introduced to Spinel out of the way, the friends took their turn introducing themselves to Spinel. Rarity was the first one to approach the Gem. "Darling, thank you so much for saving Twilight's life! And might I say, your Gem is absolutely divine!", Rarity said with all the poise of a noble from Canterlot. Spinel just giggled. "You'd definitely fit in with the Upper-Crust Gems back on Homeworld. Most of them talk just like you do." Rarity thought that seeing other types of Gems would be an endeavor worth pursuing. She made a mental note to ask Twilight about it later. Pinkie was the next one to come up to Spinel. "Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's Party Pony! Since you're new to town, I should throw you a party! A Gem-themed party! I have so many ideas buzzing around my head!", Pinkie exclaimed with all her usual energy. "Ooooh! I can't wait to make even more friends and playmates!", Spinel replied with just as much energy as Pinkie. Suddenly, a blue face with magenta eyes appeared in front of Spinel's. "Hey there! I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria! Thanks for keeping my flying buddy safe.", Rainbow said, nudging Spinel in the shoulder. A farmer-accented voice spoke up. "Hey there, sugarcube. The name's Applejack. Anyone, or Gem, that's saves another's life is A-okay in my book.", Applejack greeted the Gem with a warm smile. Next up was the young dragon Spinel hugged earlier. "My name's Spike, Princess Twilight's number one assistant. I'm eternally grateful to you for saving Twilight's life. If you ever need help with anything, just let me know.", Spike said while shaking Spinel's gloved hand. Spinel just smiled. "Yaaaaaaaay! I get not just one, but seven extra friends on the same day! I hope we can all play together forever!", Spinel exclaimed. Later that night After everyone went home, Twilight and Spike got ready for bed. Spinel was just watching them all go about their bedtime routines until Twilight went to her own room. With her Gem friend in tow, of course. As Twilight lay on her bed, she felt a familiar warmth cozy up next to her. The Princess opened her eyes to see Spinel staring at her. "Hey, Spinel? I know that Gems don't need sleep, but I do. And it's kind of hard to do if someone's watching you while trying to sleep." Spinel put a finger to her mouth in thought. "Well, we don't need to sleep, but I think we can if we wanted to. How does sleeping work?" "Well, first you close your eyes. Then you empty your mind of all thoughts. You let your mind drift away to peaceful sleep", Twilight responded. Spinel tried the method her friend suggested and with a few minutes, Twilight could hear a light snoring coming from the Gem. Twilight got a good look at Spinel's sleeping face, even in the dim light of the room. "She's somehow even more adorable when she sleeps!", Twilight thought before dozing off herself. Unconsciously, Spinel reached out with her arms and wrapped them around Twilight, who returned the gesture. Soon, they were both wrapped up in a warm cuddle. That would be the best night's sleep of Twilight's life, and a great first day of Spinel's life. With Peridot Peridot had followed the trail of the Spinel and the organic it was with for about four hours now. Eventually, she followed them outside the forest and headed towards some sort of native primitive settlement. Peridot gazed upon the town in confusion. "This doesn't look like a Gem-controlled territory. Where are the spires and temples dedicated to the Diamonds? Where are the light cannons used by the Army to defend it from this planet's creatures?", Peridot asked herself. Again, Peridot saw no sign of Gem presence anywhere. The green Gem was eager to serve the Diamonds in any way she can. But so far, her only lead was a Spinel. Who just so happened to have gone into this weird settlement. "Focus, Peridot! Find the Spinel, get her to take you to the nearest Gem colony on this planet and work to make this glorified rock a new addition to the Gem Empire!", Peridot said to get herself to focus. She had a mission to carry out, and she would do anything to achieve her mission's success.