Lamp Entertainment presents…
Chapter 15: Christmas on Little Homeworld
Little Homeworld…
December 15th.
Not only was Homeworld and the gem empire at large preparing for Christmas, but so was Little Homeworld. As a matter of fact, most of Little Homeworld was in the know of Operation Christmas; the Diamonds had informed them when they came to visit on the day of the Crystal Gem's first Annual Snowball Fight. Only the gems closest to Steven were kept in the dark, to ensure he didn't find out about the operation.
Suffice it to say, Little Homeworld was just as excited to celebrate Christmas like the rest of gemkind. They were busy preparing in their own way. They had decided to deliver gifts to the citizens of Beach City, so several gems were busy making gifts. The Heaven and Earth Beetle had volunteered to sneak into the humans' houses to deliver the gifts. The new Lapis Lazuli, the one with the golden freckles, said she'd fly them around in a small sled.
While the environs of Beach City had been turned into a snowy winter wonderland, Lapis Lazuli and Lapis Lazuli had both agreed that there could be more. So they had practically buried the place in fluffy white. The Quartzes loved it, of course. More ammo for snowball fights. Ever since the legendary snowball fight between the Crystal Gems' Core Team and B-Team, the Quartzes were trying their darnedest to upstage it, with varying results. Most of them being cracked gems that Steven had to heal.
Snowflake Obsidian and Little Larimar enjoyed the snow too, of course. Not all gems were so fond of it, though. You'd think the Heaven and Earth Beetle would loathe it, but they actually found it fun to dig long tunnels through the snow. So did all the Pebbles that came to visit.
The Rubies, on the other hand, hated the snow. They had no fun whatsoever digging through the thick snowbanks that covered the streets. Most of them took to melting pathways through the snow with their fiery breaths to get where they wanted.
This ended up causing more problems, however, as the water froze again into slippery ice. More than a few gems ended up slipping and falling flat on their butts. Which the Rubies thought was hilarious… until one gem with her gem placed rather… unfortunately, ended up cracking her gem after she slipped. After that, Lapis and Lapis had to make sure to clear the streets at least a little so all the small gems could walk on them unhindered.
In the middle of Little Homeworld stood a large Christmas tree. Some of the big strong gems had ventured deep into the dark forests and hauled home the biggest spruce they could find. It was just over fifteen meters tall and every single gem had helped decorate it in some way.
The gems that could fly or were good at jumping got to decorate the top of the tree, of course. Some of the smaller gems that couldn't reach that high got to carry and place all of the Christmas gifts underneath the tree. The wrapped gifts soon formed a large pile awaiting the day when they could finally be opened.
The tree was a beautiful sight to behold. It was decorated with lights and candles, colorful glass baubles, and glitter. The entire tree shimmered as if enchanted by wondrous magic, and perhaps it was. Steven got the honor of placing the star at the top. It was a large, five-pointed golden star, the Crystal Gems' symbol. Its light reached far and wide, even beyond Little Homeworld itself.
xxXXxx
A pair of lonely eyes peered at Little Homeworld in the distance. There was a shining golden light atop a large tree that hadn't been there before.
Jasper scoffed. Another one of these dumb Earth traditions, no doubt.
She plodded through the snow back to her cave. She had tried to clear the area around it from the cold white stuff the best she could, but every night, more seemed to fall from the sky and she had to dig her way out of the cave.
She arrived at the cave and immediately noticed something was wrong. There was a faint light coming from inside the cave.
Jasper slowly made her way closer. She was surprisingly light on her feet for someone that massive, but the squeaking snow beneath her boots betrayed her position. It made Jasper wince. She might as well loudly announce her position to the unknown enemy inside her cave.
She reached the entrance and peeked inside. There was no one there. Just a large candle and something wrapped in colorful paper.
The Christmas gift had two stickers. A smaller one that said, "To: Jasper, From: ?" The large one said, "Do Not Open Until Christmas!"
Jasper tore the paper off without a second thought. Inside was one of those things humans used to store information. What was it called? A Book? A book called "The Art of War."
"Useless trash," Jasper muttered. As if some human could possibly have anything to teach her in the noble art of warfare. She threw it to the side and lied down on her favorite lying rock. She decided to keep the candle lit, just so she could see if anyone tried to sneak more garbage into her cave.
An hour passed by. The candle lasted a lot longer than Jasper thought it would.
Another hour went by. It was dark outside now. If she looked far away, she might spot the light from the golden star at the top of the Christmas tree in Little Homeworld. But aside from that, the only light that reached her eyes came from the candle.
A few more hours. Snow started falling slowly outside. The cold didn't bother Jasper. Still, the faint warmth from the candle was pleasant.
She picked the book up. She might get a laugh or two out of it.
Jasper stayed inside her cave for many more hours, reading through the book in the light from the candle. She did not laugh, but there were the faintest hints of a smile on her hardened face. Maybe this human wasn't so dumb after all.
She never did find out who left the candle and the book for her. She didn't really care. And perhaps it didn't matter.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Shoutout to my friend Toonfreak. She sorta, not really, but kinda gave me the idea of that poor gem slipping on ice and cracking her gem.
Also, remember that scene with Jasper. It'll be important later. Thematically, anyway.