So things sure had been a bit different over the summer, had it? It was difficult to say at first on just what were to become of both Earth and Equus, but as one were to look around today, it didn't seem like it had too much of bad effects on it. Sure, bad stuff happened one way or another, but just like the seasons themselves, time was making it's own amends to everything. Well, that, and adding some new things as well.
Much of this activity too came up over by the Barn this time, which itself had remained a bit unaltered despite how much had happened. Even so, the barn was going through some bit of alterations now that much of both the Crystal Gems and Mane Six were there and working out a few decorations for the place. Some bows along the rimming, a picnic table with some balloons tied to it, and a good sized banner stretched out across the barn door itself, good and big so anyone and everyone could see. The two words up there said it all.

"I can't believe today's my Birthday," said Steven, as he was working over some of the décor for a little bit alongside Amethyst, who herself had just finished up the banner itself.

"You better believe it, birthday boy, times been flyin," said Amethyst, playfully fluffing his hair. Steven couldn't help but chuckle. A good old fashion birthday, something they've not really gotten into on schedule for … well, a while. But a good thing things had calmed down enough to actually make this work. Many of them did work out decorations, but Amethyst and Steven were the only ones hanging out by the barn for the moment to get their last bit of stuff together.

Amethyst gave Steven his present already, him having one of "Rose"'s own trinkets in the form of a necklace (no gems harmed in making of said necklace). Amethyst and Steven went over to the table, which by now they also had a open book showing all sorts of dessert ideas.

"Ok, sport, what cake are you craving this year?" Amethyst asked, as the two started looking through some of the pages.

"Gee, I don't know. My tastebuds been leaning between Apple cake, and maybe carrot. But I've been thinking on trying a little different flavor," Steven said, the last three words he made sure to sound fancy for.

"NOW you got me interested," Amethyst said, licking her lips, "So how about one of those German chocolate cakes? I heard they've been in good stock."

"You mean they were in good stock," Steven said with a knowing smile. Amethyst shrugged with one of those "guilty yet not regretting" smiles on her face. Take a wild guess where those cakes went.

"Steven anything sounds good to me when it comes to food. Come on book, give it to me, where's that Chiffon Cake at?" Amethyst said, skimming through the pages alongside Steven. Honestly though, so long as it wasn't a dull-tasting cake, any cake would work for this party. But as they were skimming through the pages, they were unaware that someone was coming up behind them. Silently until …

"AAHH!" and Steven and Amethyst stumbled onto the ground, only to look up to see Star Quartz standing there with a small box. One of the many Crystal Gems they got on retainer, and as well just as willing to give a good gift for the birthday boy.

"Geesh girl, you need a bell or something," Amethyst said as she and Steven got up to their feet.

"What do you got there, Star?" Steven asked, looking to the present. The present Star Quartz had with her looked pretty promising: the wrapping paper fancy and sparkling like stars. Steven readied to have it, but Star Quartz held it up and out of reach.

"Yes," Star replied. So Steven tried getting it, but whenever he got close with his hands Star would yank it and hold it differently. Steven even tried jumping for it, only to miss … and launch a good ten feet off the ground.

"Steven, watch your jumping remember?" Amethyst called, jumping up to get him, and grabbing him. With the added weight, Steven was slowly brought back down to earth, both Gem and half-Gem settling down right next to Star Quartz. With the new world came some new stuff to get used to, which included Steven's "low-gravity" ability. Which apparently he still needed some control over. He didn't want to be up by the planes on his birthday.

"Maybe I should wait until the flyers come by before I jump like that, huh?" Steven figured.

"OH YEAH. Can't have cake way up there," Amethyst replied. Star Quartz went over to the table and placed her present down by it. They were for sure (or hoping anyway), that the presents will pile up for him.

"Hey, have you seen the others yet?" Steven asked Star. Star Quartz looked to him and shook her head.

"No. … But now I do," Star replied, pointing off to the distance a bit. It was always hard to really figure out Star.

Call in the squad! Steven and Amethyst looked off towards the country road to reach the barn, and they began to see someone started to drive on up, in his signature van. Steven and Amethyst knew that van anywhere, especially with the "universe" word right along the side as it always does. The van parked with its back turned to them, but that didn't bother them all too much.

"YO, Greg, you made - … it?" Amethyst went right up to the front, but for some odd reason, there wasn't exactly Greg in there. In fact, no one was in the driver's seat for some reason, yet the driver's wheel did look like magic WAS controlling it somewhat with the aura on it fading slightly. So they had some logical explanation for a self-driving van.

"OK, looks like the van's alive or something," Amethyst shrugged, walking back to Steven and Star.

"Really? Wonder what stories it could tell me?" Steven wondered, but Star knew what was going on here a bit more than these two. Star glided over to the side of the Van, and then went on ahead to knock on the side about three times. A personal signal, and both Amethyst and Steven waited for what would happen next.

Those were the three words that echoed in the air the second after the door opened up. A little special surprise entrance from Crystal Gems and Mane Six alike. It was amazing that so many could even fit inside the, but Twilight's own brand of magic made that a bit easier, releasing them out of the van in a sort of "explosion" of friends in a way. This was accompanied by a flurry of confetti, streamers, and balloons, making the introduction even more dazzling for Steven to see. Steven was super excited to see this, stars in his eyes and a big smile on his face.

"Oh, you guys!" Steven squeaked. He can clearly tell that this was Pinkie's idea. Only the pink mare in party mode can come up with such a awesome "Happy Birthday" entrance. Steven was soon met by a variation of hugs by a number of his friends, and the greetings by others.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Birthday Gem boy!" beamed Pinkie Pie, having Steven in one of her constricting signature hugs. It was impossible to break out of one of those. Steven then felt himself get picked up by someone, looking down to see Bismuth putting him on her shoulder.

"Whoa, great!" replied Steven. Nice to be this high without just floating aimlessly. But then his face turned "serious" for a brief moment.

"Oh, I got gooder than the goods," assured Bismuth, before turning to Jasper. "Hey AJ, let's not keep the big boy waiting!"

"Already on it," AJ replied, already working with Jasper to get it out from the back of the van. And what did she pull out to show Steven for his birthday? A pocket-sized Gem boat! … well, pocket-sized in relevance - it was big enough to hold in the whole back of the van.

"No way!" Steven gasped, hopping down to have a better look. The Gem boat itself was one of those Sloop boats with a single sail, markings looking like that of a gem pattern, water marks flowing along the rim of the boat. It was a basic gift, but having a personal Gem Sloop was just the thing to give a smile to Steven's face.

"Wait. How'd you all fit in the van?" Steven then asked once it crossed his mind.

"How do you think?" asked Bismuth, before she started to alter her body and shrink all the way down to just a literal gemstone with arms, legs, and a head. A pocket-sized Bismuth. Well that explains that.

"We all made our own contributions to making this for you Steven," said Pearl, "Jasper and Bismuth did the frame work, - obviously -. Peridot, Twilight, and Fulgurite worked out the interior mechanisms, and Rarity, Connie, Lapis, and myself helped in working the design."
Steven could easily tell where the work was put in for each part, though as Steven looked over the Sloop, he began to wonder something else.

"Hmm … AHA!" Steven suddenly bolted off at Pinkie Pie speed back to the table, getting some marker and duck tape to work with. After some quick writing, he went right on back and got it taped right on the side of the boat. "Harmony Gems" was now the label right on the Gem Sloop.

"The Harmony Gems? Don't you mean Crystal Gems?" asked Fulgurite, pointing to the name.

"Well, we can still call ourselves the Crystal Gems. But we've been through so much these last five years, I thought we could go for a new name. Something that tells this team for what it truly is. Besides, gotta include the Elements of Harmony in the name somehow. It's like a fusion, but with two groups," Steven said, namely meaning the ponies nearby.

"Harmony Gems. Not too complicated of a name change, but I like it," confirmed right Rutile.

Steven then felt someone's hand rest on his head, him looking up to see a notable fusion.

"Did I say how much I love you Steven?" Garnet asked. Steven thought a little bit.

"Then we need to fix that: I love you, Steven," said Garnet, even kissing her favorite human a kiss on the cheek. Garnet did find it simply adorable that he would put the team's name on his birthday present, and she couldn't help but love Steven for it. Garnet straightened up just as Greg showed up.

"OK, move over, Garnet, I was his best friend first. Happy Birthday!" Greg beamed, hugging his kid in a good strong hug. After that he placed his kid down.

"Sorry, it's just … oh boy, it feels like yesterday that you were just a baby, and now you're sixteen years old."

"HOLD ON A SECOND," Pinkie declared. Suddenly she had a glass of water on her hoof, and she gobbled it all down … before spewing it out in complete shock on the revelation. Spit Take has been deployed. "STEVEN! you're sixteen?!"

"... Yeah? You didn't know that Pinkie?" Steven said, actually shocked this little detail eluded her. PINKIE PIE, who practically knew everypony no matter how impossible, somehow didn't know Steven's exact age by now?

"Nope, I knew, I just wanted to do the part when someone is super shocked and has to spit out their water."

"But I didn't!" Connie said, "S-Steven, you're older than me? That means you should be in high school by now, but you look like a middle-schooler!"

Now that she pointed it out, Steven did look like he was no older to be in at least the 6th or 7th grade in school, not 10th grade! That two grade schools apart from eachother!

"Eh, no offense Connie, but you're one to talk. How old are you now?" Tiger's Eye asked.

"I'm fourteen and three quarters. Yeah, I still look a little young for my age, but Steven … I-I can't believe it!"

"Hang on, I got it. Good thing I brought this baby," Greg said, bringing out a small book with Steven's name on it, and his signature star. Any parent would have a portfolio of birthdays in the past, and for some good proof now would be a good time to show it.

"Oh, sure. Not all humans have as good of memory as yours Lapis, so I got this for each birthday. Here, check it out," Greg replied, opening the first page. The first picture showed little Steven as a tiny little baby, still with his pacifier and wearing the birthday crown and cape of the day's birthday king, with a tiny cake with the number one for the candle.

"Ohmygosh, STEVEN YOU LOOK SO ADORABLE!" Lapis squeaked, trying to hold back herself with her hands covering her mouth. Steven blushed.

"See, here's Infant …" said Greg, as he then turned to the next page. It showed Steven slightly older this time, still with his outfit as he curiously looked to his cake, now having a Two for the candle instead of one. His second birthday.

"This is Steven as a baby …" then he turned the page again, now showing Steven's third birthday, Steven smiling cutely to the camera. He even had a gap in his teeth.

"This is him as a toddler …" Greg then turned the page to what looked like Steven's eighth birthday, Steven just standing there smiling to the camera.

Each page Greg turned, and with them all checking it over, it almost looked like the exact same picture each and every time. The only difference between shots was the Birthday Cake for it. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Each one of those years almost looked like the same but with a different number. and Steven looked exactly the same each and every time.

"What, no, no, I couldn't have. Here, let me see," Steven said, looking over the pictures again. But sure enough, they were all the same again. He grew just fine for the first eight years, so why did he just stop? After EVERYTHING he had gone through over the last five years, and he hadn't aged up physically once?

"You sure look youthful to me," said Fluttershy. But then the book was placed back on the table.

"Here, let's not worry about that now. It's your birthday, let's have some fun with it," said Twilight. The Alicorn then brought out the next little bit to their surprise for Steven: a good sized, Cookie Cat Chiffon Cake. Garnet made sure it was a Chiffon Cake, by the by. Twilight also levitated out what looked to be Steven's birthday cape and crown, which were up in the front seat (there was just so much room they could make in the van before it got crowded).

"Thanks, Twilight," Steven said, taking the cape and crown. He was probably sure they still fit since his last birthday. And the one before that. And before that. Well, with this revelation in mind, he went off into the barn to get ready, as the others handled their own preparations for the birthday. Finishing touches and extra presents, stuff of that sort.

"Hey, guys? Can I … Talk to you for a second?" Connie then asked, soon as Steven was in the barn. They could probably already guess what this was about.

"So … he's not gonna grow up," Connie said. Not a question, but more on the subject either way.

"Well, I'm not sure really. I mean, I've known the Gems since I was 22, and they didn't change much, but Steven's not like the others he's half human," said Greg. This sort of subject did give a bit of a shiver down Pearl's metaphorical spine, her own memory going back a little bit.

"Eh, l-let's do us all a favor and try not to touch on the subject too much, please," Pearl suggested.

"What for, Pearl? Anymore secrets about this?" Rhodonite asked suspiciously. Pearl quickly corrected herself.

"No, not that, it's just … well, let's just say last time Steven thought about his age, it kind of went … out of hand."

"Yeah, what else is new?" shrugged Rainbow Dash, "Steven nearly kicked the bucket at least a dozen times, and he's ALWAYS sprung back from it. What's different about this?"

"So what does this mean? Is Steven going to grow up or … not grow up?" Connie asked.

"Not sure, Connie, but look at it this way: Even if he doesn't you probably won't either. You're half-Gem too, remember?" reminded Fulgurite. Connie realized her point, hand over her heart. She had grown a bit used to being Half-Gem overtime, with much of her Gem abilities a normality at this point. But she had never considered Gem longevity being done for her as well.

"I don't know if it works like that. Steven was born a half-Gem, and I just … happened. I think I still have a normal human body. … I think," Connie said, though her age did look a little bit prolonged lately now that she thought of it. But then again this didn't last over five years, so who was to really confirm that?

"OK too much deep thinking, cake time now!" said Amethyst, bringing out the delicious looking cake again. This was a birthday celebration, they didn't need to actually get this worked up over it all. But as they were going off to get their minds on this, there were some that did notice a set of peering eyes and ears right by the barn door. And who to catch this better than Starlight and Lapis Lazuli.

Naturally the two would go in and check on Steven himself with the subject in mind. The barn house was pretty quiet with only Steven inside, looking into it. He had yet to put on his cape and crown, leaving that over by the door as Steven was left to contemplate on things. No doubt in their minds that he overheard what they had said.

"Hey, Steven. Ready to come out?" Lapis asked. It seemed they were catching him off guard because Steven was quick to turn around on hearing the voice.

"Uh, in a minute," Steven said. He hoped they would go out, but Lapis and Starlight went into the barn instead.

"You say your fine like you're about to panic, Steven. Come on, what's wrong?" Starlight asked. Well, Steven didn't think that lying would be the best idea, so he just went on with it, turning around.

"Am I not gonna grow up?" Steven asked. Lapis and Starlight weren't sure exactly how to answer that at first.

"What? Of course you will, I mean, *pfft* come on!" Starlight said, waving it off with her hoof. As much as this was good intentions, Steven didn't look as reassured.

"Are you sure? I've known you guys for years and I don't remember you changing that much. W-what if I don't change? What if I live to see Crying Breakfast Friends season 50? How am I even gonna COMPREHEND that?!"

"Whoa, whoa, Steven," Lapis said, hands on his shoulders, "Steven, look at me. Everything's gonna be fine, ok? You may be half Gem, but your half Human, so you have to grow up somehow, right?"

"... I guess so. But I stopped growing at eight years old," Steven reminded. Then Starlight had an idea.

"That's not entirely true," Starlight said. She then walked over to one of the barn's wooden beams, and made a slight mark in it, like a line. It wasn't the most complicated method for figuring it out, but it would give Steven some sort of confirmation.

"Ok, so if you did stop growing at eight years old, then you would be only about this tall on average. So Steven, if we put you right here, then -" Starlight levitated Steven to be placed right next to the line. However, when compared to the line, the only thing that made him taller was his hair, adding just a inch to his frame. … Some help.

"Well?" Steven asked, though they could probably tell he knew the answer already.

"Uh … well, you grew about an inch taller! That's something … right?" Starlight said sheepishly. Steven didn't find this any helpful though, and just walked off a bit, laying on the ground with a headache. Before either could go much further on this though, both Gem and Unicorn began hearing their names being called outside.

"We'll check back on you, Steven," Starlight said. Starlight trotted on outside, but Lapis Lazuli needed a minute before joining her. She wished there was something she could say or do to get Steven to stop worrying about this, but without much concept of age herself, she didn't have much in mind either. Soon, Steven was by himself again, just laying there in the barn with a bit of a headache going on. Hi mind began to go into a brainstorm, as he looked to his limbs a bit and then looking to the cape and crown. What was a magical boy to do?

It was a bit of effort, but everyone else had plenty more surprise waiting for the birthday boy, much of his friends up and waiting for another big "surprise" announcement. And yet, despite this, it wasn't Steven that was gonna be receiving the surprise next, especially in the second Steven opened that door.

So it began. Out stepped Steven, this time full of smiles unlike earlier. However, there was something different about this birthday boy. It wasn't his outfit persay: his standard star shirt, blue pants, sandals, and the addition of the crown and cape. It wasn't his behavior, which was cheery and happy as usual. But when it came to physical appearances, Steven actually looked bigger. Taller. Older! Just earlier this morning he was Twilight's height, but now he was as tall as Lapis, his shirt no longer covering his signature Diamond Gemstone.
This just happened so suddenly, none of them really knew what to say at first, taking in this sudden newly-sized Steven. Steven himself started to walk on out to join them, one step at a time to handle his new, longer legs as the others went to check him out. It was the same Steven, just looking older, a true sweet sixteen Steven.

"Wait. Steven? Are you feeling alright?" asked Rarity. Steven gave a stretch of his new limbs.

"I feel great," Steven replied, his voice sounding a slightly lower-pitch than normal thanks to age.

"You HAVE ONE!" Amethyst exclaimed. It was a bit hard to tell before, but now there was no doubt in her mind he indeed had something between his head and shoulders.

"So what happened in there? You just "grew" all of a sudden?" asked Connie, very confused as she and Twilight looked Steven over.

"I had a magical growth spurt. Cool, right?" Steven said, feeling pretty good with himself. It was a bit weird that they were just talking about Steven's age, and here he was now looking older. But magic is what magic does, and by the looks of it, that was what seemed to be.

~~~~~~

And so the party began to get underway, and first order of business was the birthday gifts. There was a bit to say about the present count, since every Gem and Pony had gotten Steven at least one little gift for him (they got more than just a Gem boat of course). Steven had gone through a few of them already, the open boxes off aside, and a place for his gifts along the picnic table. Steven's birthdays seemed to grow bigger with each year when it came to presents, and this year it wasn't too different in such regards. Each year always seemed to add one more gift to the pile, and who knows just what other item Steven was gonna get here, especially now that the group had a ton of money to use from Greg's tab.

"Me next, me next!" said Peridot, giving Steven her present. Steven took the gift and opened it right up, much to Peridot's glee, only for Steven to find a metallic item inside. It looked like a diamond piece, rotation included, and it shown a nice shine of steel to it.

"Yeah, I know. I even got time to get your name in there," Peridot said with pride. and indeed she did, the name "Steven" engraved on the platform underneath the diamond. It was a simple piece, but a pretty good one regardless. Peridot felt glad Steven liked her meepmorp (as she came to call them). Next present coming up was Tiger's Eye, showing a very nicely-striped present for Steven. Steven went and opened it up, and found … nothing.

"I made that mistake too the first time I did it," Star said, comforting Tiger's Eye as it was Rarity's turn, who had a dazzling box for Steven to unwrap as per usual.

"Here you are, Steven. I've worked a fortnight to make it work," Rarity said. Steven could probably guess what present it would be, but opened it anyway and found (you guessed it) some dazzling clothing. Namely, a pink shirt with a pink diamond lining along the rim and sleeves. Rarity inspiration was pretty clear on this one.

"A pink shirt - my favorite color," Steven said with a smile. Of course, naturally he went to put it on. The sleeves fit nicely, but when it came to buttoning the short, Steven just couldn't seem to exactly do so. It was just too small for him.

"It's alright. It fits fine just like this," Steven said, throwing in some chuckles for good measure. K so he couldn't get it to fit, it was still wearable and that was just fine by him. As nice of a gesture this was, they didn't really noticed the concern glances Lapis and Starlight were making to eachother close by. Something was up with Steven, but what exactly?

After many of the presents were unwrapped and seen, it was off to the party games. As with presents, there always seemed to be something extra year by year. This time though things had downgraded a little bit to that of simpler party games (as standard as Pinkie would even allow). In this case, it was a game of tennis, with the bird going back and forth as the two teams went at it. Steven working with Twilight and Lapis, as Connie was working with Rainbow and Starlight. It was a basic set up of ground, magic, and flying members really. A good crowd watched on from nearby, each one waiting to see what will come out on top.

"Alright, kiddo, eyes to the sky!" warned Starlight, rallying up her next hit. Spinning her racket, the bird went flying off into the air with one good hit. The bird went flying up into the air, but Rainbow Dash got it handled pretty quickly with a whack of her wing. Connie slid to knock the bird back up to the sky. A good hit on her part, but nothing that Steven couldn't get as he jumped high into the air, hitting it well at a good twelve feet skyward. Good thing the flyers were there to help Steven back down, otherwise they'd have to deal the rest of the birthday up in the sky.

Steven hardly took much time to get to the tree in question, and Steven didn't need much more time to actually get the birdie out of the tree either. All he had to do was jump up and grab hold of one of the branches, the shaking just from that enough to knock the birdie out of the tree.

"Ok, there we go. you maybe a bird, but you belong on the tennis court," Steven said. Some birdies don't belong in the wild, no matter what the case may be. With the length of the swing, he ended up pretty far away from most, much of the group not even noticing him right away. Which was probably good with what happened next.

Just before Steven would start going back, he suddenly started to feel a bit of strain in his body, namely the same arm the birdie was being held with. It was enough to make him drop the birdie onto the ground, but his arm started to glow a slight pink, before it suddenly started to shrink on him! Steven looked again and found his arm was no longer as long as his other arm, leaving it looking a bit stubby.

"Oh no!" Steven stuttered. He began to put a lot of focus in his arm, his gemstone glowing a similar pink color as his arm glowed pink again. It took a lot of willpower and a bit of grunts escaping his gritting teeth, but eventually his arm popped back to the "correct" length to his other arm, like nothing happened at all. A good relief for him. Once that was handled, he reached down to get the birdie, only to look back up to find …

"W-Well … what're you doing?" Steven asked, trying to pretend like nothing even happened. But Lapis and her keen eyes in the sky already saw what he did, yet she confirmed something was wrong for quite a while since he showed up like this. And even worse, Lapis wasn't alone.

"Why're you doing this, Steven? This isn't like you," Lapis asked. Well, might as well get it over with.

"Because, I can't be a kid forever!" Steven answered, looking off towards Connie from a distance, "When Connie grows up and becomes president, what does that make me? First boy?!"

"Steven, you can't keep this up forever. If you do it for too long, you can really hurt yourself," said Amethyst, remembering a LONG line of shapeshifting experience herself. She would know the best on how that would work, but Steven was willing to call bull on that.

"Seriously? Amethyst, have you ever been in a form you really wanted to be in, and you didn't want to change back?"

"Yeah, and after hours, I collapse and feel like I wanna kill myself! Steven, I'm up for pushing the envelope, but this isn't safe."

"Well you know what, maybe it's different for me! Mom stayed in a new form for over six thousand years, so why can't I?! We'll just have to wait and see, right?" Steven snapped. A fair argument, considering Rose quartz was the identity Pink Diamond somehow kept for so long without breaking down until the night of Steven's birthday. Lapis sighed.

"I don't know, uh, forever? At least until my next birthday when I can grow older," Steven replied.

"No it's not, I'm too old to be naïve!" With that being said, Steven turned and went off on his way back to the others to continue their game. But for Amethyst and Lapis, they got some things to work out before going on.

"I don't know, maybe Steven has a point. Rose did keep her form for thousands of years."

"We'll just have to wait and see, I guess," Lapis decided. Though as they watched Steven go back to the others, they would need to keep an eye on him and keep it quiet. At least until Steven was ready to actually tell them what was up.

So as the day went on by, the party continued on as it should be. Or at the least, as good as Steven tried to make it out to be. Lapis Lazuli only told Starlight about this little revelation, but for his sake this information was kept amongst her, Starlight, and Amethyst. The others were kept out of the blue, but whether or not they would actually know already was anyone's guess honestly. They continued on with a good amount of party games for the afternoon, but it seemed that every single one Steven was having more and more difficulty with.

For instance, there was one point when the group began to do a good dance party with Pinkie Pie cooperating good ol' DJ PON-3 for some dance music. Many of the ponies and Gems had a ball with it (no fusion dancing this time), but while many of them had their fun with their own kind of dance, Steven looked a bit stiff in his movements. His arms and legs going up and down, back and forth, as if he was a sort of robot or something. A minor detail, yet not many really noticed this. Lapis even made sure to dance with him just in case, giving Steven a wink as she cut in during the dancing.
Next up was a little bit harder: having some cake. Many of the Gems left the cake untouched for the most part, Steven having the honor of blowing the candles. Candles were easy enough, but when it came to eating the cake he was given, that was just a little bit difficult to keep his form AND put effort into eating. Amethyst had to handle this department, and when she had an opening gobbled up Steven's slice of cake for him. Steven made the signature signals of a good meal: thumbs up, licking lips, that sort of thing. A little sketchy, especially after Amethyst had a burp escape her.

After this, then came a more calmed down activity in looking towards the dawning stars. They've survived the afternoon, and dusk was coming up on them just enough for the stars to come out. At least HERE Steven didn't have to move his body all that much, and got comfortable enough to just look up to the stars and that's it. … Oh, and think of names for fake constellations, that was something they were doing.

"That one is … Canis Helicopterus," said Connie after pointing it out in the stars. It was a bit vague, but putting some suspension into disbelief and they began seeing Dogcopter.

"Ok, but promise to make it reasonable this time," asked Pearl. Pinkie focused her mind on the stars above, and …

"I see a party pony elephant with one eye, one horn, playing with a big bouncy inflatable castle!"

"Hey, don't hold that baby back, that's bad parenting. Here, let me take a crack at it," Emerald said. Well, Emerald went on up onto Fluorite's back for a better look at the stars. It took him a little bit to figure it out before he got something in his head.

"You do?" asked Flint quizzically. Emerald landed by him, trying to aim his gaze for the constellation in question.

"Yeah, check it out: there's the guy right there, and if you follow that star, that's the rim of his guitar," Emerald explained, pointing it out in his explanation. It still was a bit vague to Flint, but he could still see how it would look like that.

"I'll take your word for it. Hey Garnet, what do you see?" Flint asked. Garnet looked up to the stars, taking off her shades for a bit for her three eyes to examine the night sky. This took a little longer for her to work out, but she eventually raised a pointing finger to the sky.

"I see two figures. On the right is a beautiful princess, and on the left, a noble fighter, standing side by side and holding hands."

"U-Uh, I like me," said Garnet, blushing a little bit. The others couldn't help but laugh at that response, but none of it was for ill intent. They knew Garnet basically loved herself, given she was made from love of Ruby and Sapphire. The rings on both her ring fingers more than proved it.

"Well, I don't know about you but I see a battle royale of the Ursa Major in combat with the Great Lion, and above them observed by the Bird of Ziz," said Peridot, pointing out both the giant bear and lion in combat with one another on their hind legs, swatting at one another with their mighty claws and both roaring at one another. Lion specifically approved of this, easily seeing himself in the Lion's place.

"Well when you've been on space expeditions for thousands of years, it tends to be a regular pastime in between trips. Plus it's pretty creative," Peridot replied.

"I like all the mythology in that one," Starlight said, "Sounds like something straight out of one of the old texts of Starswirl or something."

"Hey Steven, you've been awfully quiet. what do you see up there?" asked Fulgurite. Honestly Steven was hoping he would go unnoticed in all this chitchat, just staring up into the sky. However, he was too focused on keeping his body together to really think properly.

"... O... K ... you ok, Steven? You look like you're gonna hurl," asked Fulgurite. Steven tried to play it off, but it was a lot harder than it looked this time.

"I predict that things will start turning awkward," said Padparadscha. Anyone with eyes could tell Steven was NOT okay: sweat down his face, one eye even squinting. Lucky for Steven, Lapis Lazuli was right next to him and brought out one of her water wings to gently wrap around him, much like putting her arm around someone to help them relax.

"He's fine, it's just all day of all those games uh … worn him out. Right Steven?" Lapis said. Then she started to work the water in her wings to ease Steven's muscles a bit, so he could better concentrate on them without the will straining. Fulgurite took a moment to look them over.

"...…. Alright," Fulgurite concluded. Pinkie Pie's party games usually were a bit nutty, and they got a LOT of them done today. Steven was given a break for now, and thanks to the comforting wing of Lapis Lazuli, it made it easier to work out his mind on working a better constellation while keeping his body in tact.

"I think I see … I think … I think I see Q flying up there," Steven said, pointing to a particular constellation of their winged serpent, wings spread open in the sky. Lapis looked up and she began seeing the serpent herself. Connie nearby was seeing Steven's trouble, the problem itching in the back of her mind. CLEARLY something was wrong, and Steven was not telling anyone.

"I'm much better, thanks," replied Steven quietly. Lapis knew this wasn't a permanent solution, but it would suffice for now. … At least, they thought so.

"Hey, Steven, I got another surprise for you," Connie suddenly said, getting to her feet. A bit quick, but Steven had to play along somewhat.

"Oh? Well, what is it?" Steven asked, hoping this surprise was either right here, or could be brought to him.

"Come on, I'll show you. We'll be right back," Connie said, getting Steven up to his feet, and out of Lapis's comforting wing. Lapis removed her water wing, but immediately felt a little concerned as Steven was on his feet and being moved off away.

Steven and Connie were soon on their own now, away from the rest and off back to the barn. It was getting late by this point, but Connie didn't mind that. Steven though was in a bit of a mess-up in his mind. One hand, he didn't want to upset Connie, but on the other, he wished she would hurry up with this, whatever it was. Steven just stood over by the table, and waited for what Connie had in mind for him. For Connie, she was working out a little hidden surprise from inside the barn.

"Ok, Steven. Close your eyes," Connie said. Well, he got nothing better to do, so he just went and did so. Connie didn't want to keep him, so she went on and got the present to him lickity split. When Steven opened his eyes, he was met with a pretty special kind of present. … Or rather, Star Quartz's present.

"Ok, so this isn't my surprise technically, but Star did say this is for me to give to you, so … here," Connie said bashfully.

"Huh. So that's why she kept it from me," Steven figured, taking the present. He was a little stiff-jointed in working the present, but he did manage to get the present open, popping off the top of the box. And what was inside of it for him? Well, nothing he could figure out by looking at it.

"Yeah, pretty much what I thought when I saw it too," Connie said, as Steven pulled the object out. It was a pretty fancy object, looking like an instrument really. It was lined in a stripe coloration, a few holes along the rim like a flute, or clarinet. But instead of an opening at the end, it showed a diamond symbol with each side a different coloration. The shape of said diamond matched a particular Pink Diamond.

"It's a Diamond flute," Connie said, going off of what they told her about it, "The ponies and Gems got this together for you along with the Gem boat. I … really don't know what it does, but no time like the present right? Try it out!"

Well, it couldn't hurt to try a little go at it. So, Steven brought it to position, and gave it a good blow. Turned out this made the gemstone on the end of it glow good and strong for a moment, but mainly that was just from him blowing into it so hard. Steven blushed.

"I guess I need a little bit more practice with it," Steven said, placing the flute down.

And then the background music started to play. Though, this music in the background was a bit more romantic than the party music they were listening to. Connie and Steven began to put two and two and two together and they got the memo. So, since no one was around and it was just them two, Steven and Connie moved out to the dancefloor in front of the barn and began to dance together in a embrace. Nothing like a slow dance to make the night a little more magical.

"I still can't believe you're sixteen now. Maybe you can sneak me into a teen-rated movie sometime," Connie said as they danced.

"Just kidding, I won't ask you to break the law. … But, it's funny that I have to look up to you now though. Literally," Connie said.

"Funny good," Connie replied. The dancing stopped for a brief moment, and she actually rested her head on Steven's chest. Steven felt like he was captured now, unable to even move an inch. Connie though felt happy with him. The two had gone through a lot through the years together, and perhaps it would be time for Connie to have some more alone time with him while she can.

"... You know Steven, when your dad showed us those pictures, I was a bit worried at first. But now, I just wanna say now … I'm happy I get to grow up with you."

That did it. Steven's willpower in that brief moment was finally broken. Steven just felt so meek in this game of his. So little. So small.... And Connie began to feel Steven suddenly start to shrink. Connie stepped back as Steven seemingly began to disappear into his own clothes! Next thing Connie knew, the boy she was just looking up to was gone completely, leaving only a lump where Steven's shirt is. Connie felt like pinching herself, to see if this was just some weird dream climax twist or something. And when she found Steven?

"S-STEVEN?!" Connie gasped. There was little, little Steven. Now a tiny little baby just a year and a half old. Steven looking at his arms and legs and realized what happened, his body small enough to be completely covered by his own shirt. Steven only had one thing to say.

The blunt yet real question the second Connie came back with little baby Steven in her arms, baby Steven still crying his eyes out as to what had happened to him, now in front of everyone. He tried so hard to make this all work, but not even a boy with Diamond abilities seemed to do everything to its full potential. And now, Steven couldn't even talk properly, tears from his eyes. As for everyone else, this fun day went south REAL quick.

"I-I don't know what happened, we were just talking," Connie said frantically, as lost as the others were. The only ones that were in the know about at least what caused this was Lapis, Amethyst, and Starlight, who felt guilty both in seeing this, and for keeping quiet about it all day. Something that didn't go unnoticed by a few in the crowd.

"Dude, I told you: stretching yourself for that long is NOT good for you," said Amethyst, now holding little Steven. Steven tried to speak, but he only made a bunch of babbling like a infant would do. This line though did turn some heads.

"Um … all day," admitted Lapis, "We tried talking him out of it, but -" she was quickly quieted when Steven wailed and cried again. Guess Steven didn't want her to finish and wanted to say it himself. You know, if he could speak.

"I work with politics and mysteries, not kids! Eh, here Pearl, you take him - you knew him longer than me."

"Oh no, no, don't give him to me!" Pearl said hesitantly. Garnet then stepped in.

"Well, ok, here you go," Amethyst said.
Garnet then held Steven in her arms, holding him out in front so he had a good look at her face. She had all her eyes closed, but soon she started opening one eye at a time. And then she stuck out her tongue. Funny face? …

"My powers mean nothing to an infant," she sighed. Clearly the Gems had no idea how to properly handle this kind of situation, so perhaps the organic creatures might have a better idea on what to do. So, next up was Rainbow Dash.

"Hold on, let me try," Rainbow said, taking the kid and placing him down on the ground. Rainbow Dash tried a similar method, but a bit more energetic for some good measure: her tongue out as she shook her head first, then sounding like a bwah-bwah trumpet while pulling down her eyelids, and then putting her hooves in her mouth as her cheeks puffed out. But that didn't really accomplish anything, Steven just looking confused more than anything and just crying again.

"Will you two stop it, you're just freaking him out," Jasper said firmly. She may not know much about babies but if the method didn't work, it didn't work.

"Alright, this is my department. Come here, Steven," Greg then said, going over to the little fella and picking him up.

"Hey, I'm gonna tag along too if that's alrigh'," said Applejack. If there was anypony that would know how to take care of younger characters it would be her.

"If you want. Come on, let's get you home," Greg decided, bringing Steven over to the car, joined by a few others.

"Is it wrong that I was waiting for something bad to happen out of this?" Tiger's Eye asked.

"Connie, look, let us take you home. We'll call you back once we get all this sorted out, ok?"

Connie didn't answer, and just watched as Steven was brought to the car. And the rest of the day went so well too.

The ride back home did not do it so well either, and Steven was simply miserable. The whole ride off back home was with Steven still crying a bit, as the others tried their best to calm him down. Greg drove on towards home, a relaxing drive with one of his more somber songs playing on the radio. Applejack joined him in the front seat, Star Quartz and Starlight were side by side with him, Lapis Lazuli and Peridot in the back, and Amethyst was shaped into a baby seat, seatbelts included. And yet, none of them seemed to be working. Star tried shaking the Diamond Flute in front of Steven's face, it giving off a little glow, but that didn't seem to do much of anything either.

"You think they knew the first thing about raising a baby? That was all me! But I don't get it, this always used to calm him down," Greg said, as they continued going on home.

"Well I'm up for anything at this point," Amethyst murmured. She then brought out some water from her gemstone, but instead of some wings, she brought out some little water orbs, shaping them into cute little animals and stars. Lapis then brought them in front of Steven, making the cute little things dance a little bit. Steven paused briefly, but went right back to crying again. Clearly THAT wasn't working.

"NO he didn't, I would know by now," Amethyst said before AJ could finish. She knew where AJ was going, and they can jot that off the list of possible things. But all the crying wasn't suiting well for some.

It took them a while longer for them to get back to the Beach House, but even with them all there, they still were having trouble dealing with all of this crying and all this noise, which while calmed down slightly, was still ringing out. They placed Steven back in his bed, the little sprout still crying up a storm at this point.

"UGH, find something out and make him stop, PLEASE!" groaned Peridot, covering her ears at a point. All this crying was really a pain to her ears, as with any newbie baby parent.

"Ok, let's start from the beginnin'. Anybody know what even happened to him?" Applejack asked.

"No, no, I mean earlier today, the whole story. Starlight?" Applejack corrected. Starlight glanced up towards Steven and she began to rub her hoof.

"Well … he might have been stretching himself all day. You know, to look older," Starlight admitted. This time Steven's crying didn't cut them off, and they overheard everything.

"I know what's goin on: Steven heard us gibbering about his age this morning, so he did this all day to look his age until … well, this," AJ concluded, pointing a hoof to Steven who was still whimpering in bed. The plan was out, and Steven … well, it was bound to come up eventually, but it didn't make him feel any better.

They stopped talking when Steven started crying again. With no magic fixing this problem, and with many other sources not working too well, the only option they got now is to let him sleep. Applejack and Star Quartz decided to work together for this part.

"There, there sugarcube. It doesn't matter what age you look like, we still love you no matter what," Applejack reassured Steven, him stopping his crying for a moment. He did try to speak again, but that didn't do so well in translation either.

"It's getting late, so why don't you get some sleep? Everything will be better in the morning. Star, you mind watching him, and make sure nothing happens to him?"

"Thanks. And, one more thing ..." Applejack said. She didn't need to finish, so Star Quartz nodded, and as she gently placed a soft hand on Steven's head to calm him down, Applejack then started to speak again, this time having a little lullaby for him. And she sang this as the others quietly started to go on out to not disturb him.

Hush now little pony, you're loved by all you know
you'll never lose their friendship know matter where you go
there ain't no call to worry, so don't you cry or fret
a little trait won't change you, no matter what you get.

After all that was said, Applejack joined the others on outside, quietly closing the door to let Steven fall asleep comfortably without interruption. Just one night would work out just fine.

~~~~~~

It was just enough: Steven, under the soft words of the farm pony and the Gem's calming aura, was fast asleep in his bed to let dreamland figure out what to do with him. For the next couple of hours into the night, Steven was staying well asleep, and Star Quartz silently kept her visual over him. Star kept quiet and sat down by the foot of Steven's bed, not keeping her gaze away from the boy for even a moment. She was supposed to watch him, and that was what she was doing. Steven never did have to handle with someone watching him sleep outside of Pearl, or perhaps someone else if it did come down to that, but baby Steven couldn't tell her to go away even if he was awake.
Star meanwhile rested her arms and head on the bed itself, watching the infant with what could only be described as a thousand light year stare. Which was a normal look for her, really. Good thing Gems didn't need sleep otherwise it would be a pain for her.

"Do Humans always start off this small?" she wondered, moving closer to Steven. He was still murmuring in his sleep, but the sounds this time were not as bothersome as the crying beforehand.

A bit late at night for any visitors to the beach house. But it wasn't loud enough to wake up Steven again, so that was something good. Taking a moment off of Steven, Star Quartz went downstairs and went right over to the door. Was it a pony coming by? A human? A Gem maybe?
Well, no. Standing out in front of the doorway was what looked like some sort of small animal, no bigger than a dog. It had many of the features much like that of a dog, but it looked very skinny with very large ears and eyes more like a rabbit, or even a bat. Something like a mixture of coyote and hare. And one other detail is that the thing looked very nervous, with an arched back and tail tucked between its legs in submission. For a moment, Star just looked to the funny looking creature just standing in front of the door.

"U-Uh, yeah hi. … C-Can I come in?" the creature asked. Star Quartz glanced back to Steven and, not seeing the harm in it, stepped aside to let the creature inside. The creature hesitated at first, but did end up scurrying inside once it knew for sure it was safe.

"M-Me? They call me Stubby," the creature replied, though he didn't expect that question to come up so casually. At least there was only one to deal with. Stubby started looking around, looking as if he was walking on glass as he scurried around a bit. Then he caught scent of Steven.

"That's Steven," Star replied, as she and Stubby went up to the sleeping infant. Stubby got onto the bed hesitantly, sitting down and looking to the baby. The infant was fast asleep and didn't wake up from any of the conversation.

"He had a bit of trouble earlier today. Now he's stuck as a young infant," Star explained. Stubby moved a bit closer to the baby, his nerves on edge just in case he were to wake up, but Steven was silent as can be.

"J-Just for a little bit, please? I'll bring him back," Stubby reassured her nervously. Star Quartz went over to him, but out of impulse Stubby immediately bolted back a few steps.

"Are you doing anything with him?" Star Quartz asked after thinking. Stubby shook his head frantically.

OK? That's it? That was all it took? Stubby couldn't believe it at first, but as he slowly got Steven off the bed, holding the sleeping baby by his shirt, Star Quartz didn't do anything except for watch. She didn't attack him or anything. It wasn't easy carrying little Steven, but after some maneuvering, he had Steven's shirt much like a wrapped up bag, Steven's head poking out and still sleeping. With his eyes locked onto her, he began to move back down the stairs, slowly going back to the door. Star Quartz still wasn't doing much of anything other than watch this all go on. Stubby tried getting the door with his tiny paws, but being a canine it wasn't really easy to do. Star Quartz then came down and actually opened the door for him, and waited patiently for him to go. With a very small whimper coming out of him, Stubby continued walking in a way so he kept his eyes locked onto her, expecting Star to jump him at any second. But even when he got to the bottom of the porch stairs, Star Quartz didn't do much of anything to him but watch.

Stubby kept looking to Star Quartz at the front porch until he felt his paws touch the sand. Only then did Stubby turn and bolt away as fast as he could, leaving nothing but dust behind. The canine kept running like mad as fast as the thing could go, not even remotely stopping himself until he found a good spot down the beach, hidden behind some large rocks and out of Star Quartz's sight. Sweet relief …

Stubby got a bit freaked out, before snatching Steven and bolting for it again like lightning, again leaving nothing behind but dust. Star Quartz was left a little confused, but not too fazed.

For such a small animal, he moved very quickly on his stick legs, the baby in his short snout still not exactly waking up despite the scream. Guess Steven must've been a heavy sleeper. With the baby, he went into Beach City - the only spot other than the beach to go to. Night time, lucky him, was with many a person was fast asleep so no one was around to bother him as he bolted into town. Once a good distance, he stopped just by an alleyway, checking up the road to be sure Star didn't follow him again. All he saw was just some lights off the street, so he felt pretty good he got away. For the next three seconds.

"G-Get away from me!" Stubby shouted, before snatching Steven again and bolting for it. Star Quartz walked out of the alleyway, but the creature was long gone already. Well, an alleyway wasn't gonna work, and Stubby had to try something a bit more creative in getting away from her. Eventually, he found a hiding place in the form of a dumpster behind the Big Donut. Not the most creative, but heck it was something. He took one more look around before he got himself inside. Probably good too that there was no garbage inside, otherwise he'd get his fur all jacked up.

"Okay, that should do it. You're coming home with me," said Stubby. Somehow, Steven was still sleeping.

In a loud bang, Stubby shot out of the dumpster with Steven in his teeth, and bolted off yet again, Star Quartz coming out of the dumpster where Stubby was just hiding in.

"This is a weird game," Star said, before coming out of the dumpster herself and strolling off again. This really wasn't too much for her, even if Steven might be in big trouble during this whole crazy event. Besides, as long as she was watching Steven and can see him, then things should be alright.
In his desperate attempt to get away, Stubby went straight away from the Big Donut, and off across town right over to the Beach City Funland. Nothing was on and operating right now, so perhaps Stubby could get a break getting in this place and hiding out for a while. He stopped only for a moment once he got passed the front gate, glancing back to be sure Star didn't follow him this time before running off into Funland. He had to pull off the stops this time - somewhere he KNEW she won't be able to get him.
This time Star Quartz was a little bit late, but not by too much as she walked into the seemingly quiet Funland. Stubby and Steven didn't seem to be around anywhere this time, which did seem like a bother since she was supposed to be watching him. Everything around Funland was not in operation, leaving a sort of "abandoned" feeling in the air as Star walked along to try and figure out where Stubby had gone off to this time. The only sounds around was Star's own feet, and the summer wind. Star seemed to stand out like a sore thumb, her glowing body making her easily seem by whatever would be around anywhere.

A distant noise, but it was good enough for Star Quartz to hear them. And by the sound of it, Steven was finally awake and obviously freaking out at whatever was going on. Star followed the noise, looking around for a little bit until she finally found the source's destination. Just in time too, as off nearby one of the booths, a light from the Portal Key began to make an appearance, and soon Star's friends (Rainbow, Applejack, Starlight, Lapis, Greg, and Connie) rushed out to find Star Quartz by herself.

"Oh, star, thank the cosmos we found you - … where's Steven?!" Peridot gasped.

And then she pointed to the most terrifying place for an infant to be by himself. They all looked, just to find the Ferris wheel. And Stubby had somehow managed to climb all the way to the top with Steven by him, both measly creatures stuck up at the top cart. Stubby peeked down in fear, and they all heard the faint sounds of Steven's crying.

"Something named Stubby came by and wanted to play a game I think. But he said he wasn't gonna do anything with Steven, so it's alright."

"Him running off with Steven IS DOING SOMETHING, STAR!" Peridot yelled, freaking out.

"Oh ponyfeathers, come on. Steven, we're comin!" Rainbow Dash called, as she and Lapis Lazuli raced up to the Ferris Wheel. Starlight and Greg went right over to the controls, but Stubby thought ahead and already ripped off the lever to make the thing work. Lapis and Rainbow Dash were right on it though, flying straight up to the top riding cart, Stubby freaking out from seeing both Gem and Pony around him with Steven crying.

"Well this is simple," Lapis said, going in to grab Steven. Stubby though wanted to get his prize and just leave, so he grabbed Steven by the shirt, pulling back a bit. This of course didn't last too long as Rainbow Dash forced him to let go. Steven was safe, and Stubby tried once more to grab him … just to fall out of the cart.

"Oh boy," Stubby muttered, before falling straight down to the wooden floor bellow. The others went back together, as Stubby actually fell through a hole in the floor, getting into the water underneath. Well, he was off lucky, and all Stubby could do was scurry away.

"Star Quartz. You and I need to have a talk," Peridot said, dragging the confused Star Quartz away. Well, Star wasn't going to be watching anyone anytime soon. Guess the concept needed better understanding.

"Geesh. Alright, let's go and get him home," Greg decided. Steven started to murmured and cry again, but this time it was Connie who wanted to talk to him.

"It's okay, Steven. Listen, it doesn't matter to me what age it seems like you are, I'm going to hang out with you no matter what. I'll keep an eye on you when the others aren't around: Greg still has the carwash, the Gems have to do missions, and the ponies have to do their stuff. After training with Pearl, I can visit you then too. Doesn't that sound fun?"

And for the first time, Steven stopped crying on his own will, as he smiled and gently held Connie's finger. Everything will be better in the morning.

~~~~~~

Since they almost lost Steven that night, Connie decided to stay at Steven's place instead of running off home. It was probably better for them since Steven was going to probably be in trouble otherwise (plus Star wasn't put on watch anyway). And it worked pretty well, as nothing else unexpected happened throughout the night, and onward into the morning. The sun of a brand new day was now onto them, and Connie woke up a bit groggy but feeling a little bit more content knowing Steven was alright. It could've gone a lot worse if they didn't decide to check on them on the night of.
But even with this all that, there was still one more little problem to contend with as Connie woke up and looked over to Steven's bed, only to find his shirt and nothing else.

"Ohmygosh. D-did he just get smaller? He's turned microscopic! He's reverted back to a zygote!" Connie said in complete panic, grabbing Steven's shirt to try and find him. But there was no sign of him anywhere! She was ready to get up and bolt out to find the others, but there was one thing that stopped her from completely panicking - the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing.

"Look. … It fits now," Steven said humbly, showing his brand new pink shirt. He no longer looked older or younger than when the birthday had even started. Connie didn't care about the shirt though, her mind now happy and with joy to see her friend back to normal again.

"Yeah. … I'm very sorry about what happened yesterday, and making everything a disaster. I-I wanted to look older for you," Steven admitted as Connie went right up to him.

"I don't care about that Steven, it's okay," Connie replied, not even remotely thinking about the party at the moment. Steven, who still felt at fault for how much trouble happened at the tail end of the birthday celebration, still wanted to at the least give his apologies. After all of this, it was time to come clean.

"I … heard what you all said back at the barn. About how I probably won't grow up, and don't age like you do. … Is it okay if I don't age like a human?" Steven asked.

"Steven, of course it's okay!" Connie replied, "I love you just the way you are. I wouldn't ask for anything different," Connie said, and soon Steven and Connie were in a hug with eachother. Sometimes a hug was more than enough for someone to forgive an apology, and Steven, red-faced a little, returned the gesture. It was hard to stay mad at Connie. But then Steven realized one tiny thing in that statement, and seemingly Connie realized it too.

She said "love". Not like. LOVE. Connie clamped shut, and her face turned deep red on this realization.

Well. After everything, it was finally out there. And about time too. Both kept the hug going for a little bit more, but as sweet and nice this hug was, it wasn't really something that was gonna last for too long.

"Uh, Steven I … think something's going on with the Diamond Flute," said Connie.

The Diamond Flute was left along in the Beach House since they dropped Steven off, but it wasn't until now that this Diamond flute was starting to come to life on them. There was a slight glow to it, but apart from that there didn't seem to be that much else going on with it.

Whelp, he dared. With a good strong blow, he blew into it as strong as he could. The light on the end of the flute glowed bright and strong, as if it was kicked well into overdrive. But nothing really seemed to happen at first.

And boy did they get their answer when they stepped on outside. Steven had gotten a Gem boat for his birthday, and a Diamond Flute. But there was one final piece of this gift that they just were speechless over: a large pink spaceship shaped like a pair of legs and also shaped like heels. Throughout the ship's legs, light pink lines are present and create square shapes in different parts of the exterior.

My Little Universe: Season 8

by EquestrianKirin

Happy Birthday To You