AN: The song used in this chapter is "Magic Inside of You" from My Little Pony.

"I'm scared." The two words were quietly uttered, making Steven sound even younger than he looked. The two were sitting together on Steven's bed, with Steven nestled against his older brother's side.

Moonlight illuminated the room. "About what?" Twoie asked softly. He carded his fingers through his little brother's hair.

"About everything. The gem mutants really scared me. I don't like knowing that there are gems out there that are suffering and can't be helped." Tears welled up in Steven's eyes as he continued. "At least we'll be able to help the corrupted gems, but the shattered gems won't ever be fixed. They'll just suffer. Forever."

He shoved his face into his older brother's chest, clenching his shirt with trembling hands. "And then there's Malachite! In my dreams, I've been seeing Lapis struggle to control Malachite. She's suffering too! I just wish I could do something." Twoie let Steven cry. He remembered all the times he'd pushed down his emotions, or stayed awake for hours after waking from a Homeworld-induced nightmare.

"Sunshine. It's okay to be scared. And sometimes, you just can't do anything." He looked out the window. It was a clear night. Stars glittered in the vast sky, amidst the pale moonlight and the shades of dark blue. "You're putting too much pressure on yourself. I know you love helping people, but remember that you need to help yourself too. There's more to life than helping others. Remember what Dad said when we were pretending to build rockets?"

Steven nodded. "Sometimes, you just gotta know when to bail."

"Yup. If it hurts you to help someone, Sunshine, then you have to bail. Find someone who can help, like you did with me earlier at the hospital. Can you do that for me, Steven?" Steven hummed in agreement. The two sat together in comfortable silence for a while.

This gave Steven the chance to reflect on their talk. Not once did Twoie tell him he was overreacting, or that anything he felt was wrong. He just let him talk and offered advice when he needed it. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes again. Twoie seemed to notice his change in demeanor. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Steven wiped his eyes with his hands. "Can I talk to you about some other things too?"

His older brother hummed. "Of course, Sunshine. It's fine to not be fine, so what else do you want to talk about?"

Steven twisted some of the blankets in his hands. "Do you remember when Amethyst turned into Mom?" Twoie stiffened at the memory. He could feel his cheeks light up pink, but a deep breath had it fading a second later. "Yeah. I remember."

Steven continued to fiddle with the blanket's edge. "It really hurt that she did that." His voice cracked. "A-and… that was probably the c-closest I'd ever be to seeing what M-mom was like. She made Dad uncomfortable, she made me uncomfortable, and she never even apologized for it!" Steven sobbed. Twoie held him close, letting him get everything off his chest.

"And then there was Pearl! I tried not to think about it, but she was going to let me fall. I just wanted to help." Steven bit his lip. "I know I don't know Mom. I know I'll never know Mom. I didn't need to be reminded that she's gone because of me." He clutched his shirt where his gem was. "I know that Pearl sometimes wishes Mom were here instead of me. She told me, back at the Strawberry Fields, that I sound like her at times. She told me that she wonders if I ever had any of her memories or if Mom could see her through my gem. And then when she was training Connie, she called me Rose." The kid buried his face in his blanket, muffling his voice. "I feel like I have to be her. The perfect Crystal Gem."

Twoie sighed as he recalled every moment Steven brought up. "It's not right that Amethyst and Pearl never apologized for their actions. The way they made you feel is wrong. You are not Rose, and you don't need to be her. I know you get compared to Rose a lot. I know you think you should be more like the gems. But you aren't. And that's fine." Twoie pulled away so that he could place his hands on Steven's shoulders and look him in the eyes. "Because you are Steven Universe. And Steven Universe is a kid who loves his family and friends. Who loves to sing and dance, and learn. Who will one day save the galaxy because he doesn't want to fight; he wants peace and love."

Steven chuckled as more tears welled up in his eyes. "I'll save the galaxy one day?"

Twoie laughed as well. "That's what you picked up on? Yeah, Sunshine. You will. This isn't Rose's gem anymore; it's yours. You're not Rose Quartz." Twoie and Steven looked over to the portrait of Rose hanging on the wall. "I always thought I had some magical destiny that I had to fulfill, but the truth is we don't. You can make a difference, not because you have to, or because you're expected to, but because you want to." Steven smiled as he started crying again.

"You have a special kind of magic inside of you, Sunshine." Twoie turned back to his little brother. "You have more love and compassion in your heart than anyone I've ever met. And that magic is what the universe needs." He wiped the tears from Steven's eyes.

Steven smiled and scooted back over to his brother. He hugged him again. "Wow. This is nice. This is really nice!" Twoie held him closer. Steven laughed softly. This whole conversation had been so relieving. "It feels good to talk about this. Sometimes, I feel like the gems think I'm overreacting when I'm upset."

Ah. Twoie knew that feeling. Like he could never talk to the gems about his problems. He could remember several occasions where the gems had brushed him off or misunderstood him, and he'd never gone to his dad about a lot of his issues because he didn't like getting involved in gem stuff. But now, Steven had him. Someone who wouldn't judge him. Someone who would listen, offer advice, and just provide comfort. Now, they had Dr. Maheswaran too.

"You've dealt with so much, Steven. I want you to know that anytime something is bothering you, you can come to me. No matter how trivial you think it is, if you want to talk about it, I'll always be willing to listen." Steven hummed in reply. He shifted slightly so that he could look at the stars too. Twoie took a deep breath.

"I'm here to help you as you go," Steven stilled. Was Twoie really? "Tell you it's fine to not be fine. There's more to life than gems and woes,"

Steven thought about everything Twoie had said to him. He didn't need to be Rose. Stars, how many times he felt like everything would be better with her around? But that way of thinking was wrong. He didn't need to be someone else. Steven continued the song.

"And now I feel my stars align." He was enough. "For I had believed what I was sold," All the times he'd heard the gems wishing for Rose to be with them. How she would've solved their problems. How it hurt to feel like he wasn't wanted.

"I did all the things that I was told," All the times he'd struggled to get his mom's-no, his powers under control so that he could feel included. So he could be a Crystal Gem. "But all that has changed, and now I'm bold." Look at all the things he's done now because of Twoie. Because Twoie believed in him and took the time to work with him.

"Cause I know, I don't need to be perfect." Many more moments flashed across his mind. The starry sky disappeared, replaced with memories of his past adventures. "I make mistakes from time to time." The sea spire, the mirror, the island.

"Who cares what they expect?" No more trying to be Rose. "I'll put my heart out on the line" Just be Steven. "And let the magic in my heart stay true, oh-oh-oh-oh. And let the magic in my heart stay true, oh-oh-oh-oh." He turned to Twoie, the best brother he could've ever asked for, and booped him on the nose. "Just like the magic inside of you." Twoie laughed at the action.

Steven encased himself in his pink bubble, dismissing it as fast as he'd summoned it. Then he summoned his shield. The light glinted off the pink glow. Every gem seemed to be defined by their colors in some way: Garnet's magenta, Pearl's light blue, Amethyst's purple, Mom's pink. Steven wouldn't let that define him. "And now I see my colors right before my eyes." He dismissed the shield.

"I hear my voice so clearly, and I know that it is right." He jumped off the bed and floated to the first floor. "I thought I was weak, but I am strong. I had to be her, but I was wrong." He glanced at the picture of her. He no longer felt the constricting pressure that he had to be like her. He burst out the door, with Twoie following, and stood on the railing. He felt like he was on top of the world!

"I don't need to be to still belong." One fist was clenched against his chest with the other at his side. He looked across the beach, the waves calmly lapped against the sand. He smiled. "Cause I know, I don't need to be perfect!" He jumped from the porch, waiting until the last second to activate his floating powers.

"I make mistakes from time to time!" Twoie stared in awe as Steven danced across the sand. This moment was something that had taken White Diamond pulling his gem out for him to finally achieve. Steven was breaking free from their mother's shadow.

"Who cares what they expect? I'll put my heart out on the line!" Steven dashed feet deep into the water. He sang at the moon. "And let the magic in my heart stay true, oh-oh-oh-oh. And let the magic in my heart stay true, oh-oh-oh-oh." Twoie walked up beside him. Steven held onto his hand as they stared out into the horizon.

"Just like the magic inside of you." Today. Right here. Right now.

"Just like the magic inside of you." Steven finally felt found.