Author's note: Gah, the sheer pointlessness of this chapter angers me. Oh well, at least part two has some character development.

The Bright Side of Fusion

"And that's how we found out that Sapphire has future vision." Connie explained to Pee Dee, sitting on the beach next to him and her brother.

"Man, you guys sure have some awesome adventures." Pee Dee commented.

"You think that was weird, you should hear about the time Lion decided to try and attack Ruby on one of our trips." Steven said. "I of course stopped him."

"Heh, whatever bro." Connie said.

A vibration could be heard, Steven and Connie turning to see Pee Dee pulling his phone out of his pocket. He turned it on and immediately groaned.

"What's wrong?" Connie asked Pee Dee.

"Ronaldo. He's been bugging me all week about some dumb alien thing. He's been trying to get me to do all sorts of things to 'attract' them here for his blog or something. Now, he's moved on to trying to teach me how to dance or something like that. Says that it's for the betterment of the entire human race."

Connie cracked a grin. "Betterment of the human race. Sounds like a huge responsibility. What are you going to do?"

Pee Dee smiled, laying back. "Just ignore him until he gets over it and moves to some other stupid thing to bug me about… Hopefully back to sneople. I don't have to worry about anything if it's that."

Steven's face lit up. "Oh my gosh, Connie…what if you taught him how to dance?"

"What?!" Connie and Pee Dee exclaimed.

"Yea, Pee Dee needs to learn how to dance and you're one of the best dancers I've ever seen!" Steven exclaimed.

"I'm the only dancer you've ever seen." Connie responded.

"So who else better than you?" Steven asked.

Pee Dee looked to the ground. "I don't know."

Connie thought for a moment before smiling. "You know what? Why not? It could be fun."

"Wait, really?" Pee Dee asked.

"Sure. We'll just be two friends dancing together. It could be a fun new experience." Connie told him.

Pee Dee Slowly worked up an awkward smile. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Great!" Steven said, pushing the Peedee and Connie close to each other. "Wait right there while I go put on some music!" Steven told the duo.

Connie and Pee Dee stood in front on each other awkwardly, each trying to avoid eye contact as the sweet music played on from the phone.

"I'm sorry." Connie said, giving a grin. "Steven's just trying to help; he's really not trying to make this awkward."

"I know." Pee Dee told her. "He's my friend too."

Connie let out a sigh of relief. At least Pee Dee didn't seem to hold any hard feelings.

After a few more moments of silence, Connie managed to make herself look at Pee Dee, turning away as she noticed that he had done the same.

Connie suddenly managed a laugh, earning a confused look from Pee Dee. "Sorry." Connie said amongst her laughter. "It's just...what's happening now is really silly. We can hang out together so easily. Heck, we hung out yesterday with no trouble at all. It's kind of funny to think about how awkward we're acting right not."

"You know what, you're right." Pee Dee said, laughing with her. "I don't know why this is so hard. All it is dancing." Pee Dee straightened up a little. "I said I wanted to help and that's exactly what I'm going to do." Pee Dee shakily offered his hand to Connie. "So, may I have this dance."

Connie smiled. "Sure." Connie said, taking his hand. As she did, something in her stomach tightened...but she couldn't help but enjoy the feeling. As she felt another pair of eyes on her, she turned to Steven, the boy staring at them with a smile. "Um...do you mind if..."

Steven's eyes widened. "Oh not at all." He said, walking away towards the Beach House. "I'll leave you two to it." He said with a wave.

"So, where were we?" Connie asked with a playful smirk.

Pee Dee looked at her uncertainly. "I-I'm not sure...I wasn't kidding when I said that I didn't know how to dance."

Connie smiled "That's why I'm here to teach you. Okay, so first you..."

Connie took a step forward, Peedee almost stepping forward as well, but correcting himself and stepping backwards instead. He looked up at Connie hopefully, feeling relief as her expression told him that he was doing fine. As the shaky waltz continued, their dance became more graceful and Connie began to feel something within her…something warm.

As they continued, Connie suppressed a giggle, looking to see Peedee doing the same. As more time went on, the bubbly feeling within them only grew, every second becoming twice as powerful as the last. Eventually, Peedee gave Connie a light twirl, taking both of her hands and pulling her close. Soon they found themselves wrapped in a dazzling light and then...darkness.

Steven gave a squeal, stars in the hybrid's eyes. "Oh. My. Gosh... This is so cool!" He told the tall person that had been born of the dance between his sister and friend, running up to them.

"I know, right?" The person said in a teenage sounding voice.

The person standing before them was half Opal's size, a dark tan complexion about them. They had a slim build, little fat on them but showing some muscles on their arms and legs. They had a round face, a short pointed nose sticking out. The had long, dirty blond hair and their eyes were a deep, dark brown. The person wore a light blue tank top over a plain white crop top t-shirt, the blue rose quartz symbol on the tank top. They wore cutoff, blue jean shorts and no shoes.

"Well this is...strange." Ruby said, investigating their form.

"Guys, what's happening to me- him…us?" They asked curiously

"Connie? How did- you two-…you and Pee Dee fused?!" Opal exclaimed, on the borderline of excitement, pride, and pure terror. "How is this even possible; forming a fusion with a human?!"

"Wait, fusion?" They asked. They turned to Sapphire. "Sapphire what's a…fus…ion?" They began, stopping as they saw her with a wide smile on her face, the blue gem giving a quiet, high pitched squeal.

Steven tapped on Opal's leg, earning the taller gem's attention. "Hey, what's this fusion thing?"

Opal looked nervous. "Well um…I don't know if I should…"

"Why not?" Ruby said with a shrug.

"But…what about…you know?" Opal asked.

"Well, they already know about what fusion is now; what'll explaining what it is do?" Ruby told her.

Opal thought for a moment before sighing. What Ruby said did have a point. Opal looked up, racking her brain for a way to explain this. "Well, fusion is…well it's…it's like… actually it's hard to explain." Opal smiled. "I guess the best explanation I can give would have to be that it's when two gems synchronize to the point where their forms merge into a combination of the two, that at the same time is their own entity. For instance, if Ruby and I were to fuse, we would form Fire Opal. And if Sapphire and I were to fuse, Ice Opal. And Connie and Pee Dee have made," Opal squinted her eyes at the fusion in thought. "…Connie…Dee… Ponnie maybe?"

Steven's eyes lit up. "Wow, that sounds awesome."

Opal gave a light chuckle. "That's an understatement."

"So, this is completely normal?" The fusion asked.

"Well…sort of." Opal told them. "To be honest, no gem has ever fused with a human before. That makes this pretty special."

Ponnie gave a bashful smile. "Well thanks I guess."

Steven squinted at the tall gem questioningly. "Wait a minute, if fusion is so amazing, why didn't you want us to know about it?"

Opal looked flustered for only a moment before regaining her composure. "Well…you see…since you and Connie both have part of your mother's gem, they are incomplete. And since this is true, they are naturally trying to regain the state they once had. To make it easy for you to understand, the way your gems work, you can actually force the process if you were so inclined, which was why we had wanted to wait a little while before telling you about it." Opal looked to the new fusion. "But, now the cat's out of the bag, so there's no real point in keeping it a secret."

"Ah." Steven said with a nod, completely enthralled by what he had just learned.

"So…what now?" Ruby asked. "Should they unfuse or something?"

"No."

Everyone looked over to see Sapphire walking forward, floating up to the new fusion's face.

"What is happening now is something to cherish." Sapphire cupped the fusion's head in her hands. "Connie, Pee Dee. Today, you have not only made your first fusion, but you have made the fist fusion of your kind."

"…Okay?" Ponnie said. "So what do we do now?"

Opal chuckled, walking up to them. "Whatever you want. Today you're not a single person, you're not two people, you're an experience. You're something beautiful. Now. Go. Have. Fun."

Ponnie ran as fast as she could across the beach. Today, they were something new, something neither had experienced before. They were going to see what they were going to do. Ponnie jumped as high as their legs would allow them, coming down. They chuckled.

They were strong. It was an interesting sensational to feel as powerful as they did now. Yet, they wanted to go even further. They wanted to test their limits, see what they could really do. Ponnie ran again, this time flipping, landing on their feet. They didn't rest, quickly moving into a cartwheel and then another, then another, and finally another before falling onto the sand, laughing.

They felt so elated in that moment, hugging themself tightly. They couldn't imagine a happier moment in either of their lives.

Without warning, they felt their stomach grumble.

"Huh, I was sure that I ate breakfast." They reached into their pocket, feeling two cell phones. They picked one out and turned it on, surprised to find that it was already three. "Wow…time flies when you're having fun I guess." The said, turning their phone off and putting it in their pocket. "We could go back to the temple and get some food…nah, I'm kinda in the mood for pizza. Did I bring any money? No… I'll just go to the temple and get some then. Then, why don't we just eat something there. Nope, I want pizza." Ponnie decided. "And I want it now." They said, running off in the direction of the Temple.

They reached it in almost no time, opening the door quickly and bolting in.

"Hey Steven, hey mysterious stranger, I'm just here to get something!" They called, running past, only to stop after a few steps. They turned around see a strange new person standing near. "Well hello there, who might you be?"

The person held her right hand up. "Hi, I'm Garnet."

Ponnie's eyes lit up at the sight of the garnet gemstone embedded in her palm. "Oh my gosh. You're a fusion."

"Yep."

Ponnie stared at Garnet for a moment, each silent. Suddenly, Ponnie shook their head. "Sorry, I better get my thing." They said, running into Connie's room. After a few seconds, the ran out, heading out the door without another word.

"She seemed interesting. Yea, but I'm too hungry to care. I'll talk to her later." Ponnie told themself, running off.

Ponnie opened the door to the beach house, collapsing to the floor as they shut the door, giving a few pants, a large smile still on their face. As they laid there, they let out a laugh. That was the most amazing day of their life, and it was only the first day of her life. Everyone had been so kind to them as they went about, always giving them complements and they had even gotten their pizza for free. Poor business practice in truth, but still kind. Then, they got invited to a party, or as their cousin Sour Cream called it, a 'rave'. Ponnie frowned at the thought of getting invited. Sour Cream had been so bashful around them, it was odd. He didn't even call them by one of the many nicknames he had given to Connie. Oh well, he was still nice. The party had been a blast too, though it got a little weird when some guy insisted on dancing with them. Thankfully, he got the message and left them alone after they showed him who was boss on the dance floor.

"Hey there," Steven began, stopping abruptly. "Um…what do you want me to call you?"

"Huh?" Ponnie looked at themself and laughed. They had completely forgotten to unfuse. They had meant to do that earlier because Pee Dee needed to get home. "Ponnie, I like how it sounds. Of course, I'm thinking that if-"

Ponnie gave a little twirl, turning into a ball of light before separating into Connie and Pee Dee.

"You just call us by our names." Connie said, laughing.

Steven smiled. "Glad to see you two."

Pee Dee stretched. "Yea, but that sure does take a lot out of you. I better get back home before my dad freaks out. See you Connie," Pee Dee blushed a little. "and thanks." He said before leaving.

Connie plopped onto the couch next to her brother. "Man, today was awesome!"

"Glad to hear that you had fun," Steven cracked a cheeky grin. "with your boyfriend."

Connie was about to object, but she stopped, letting out a sigh and putting on a smile. "Ha ha…still…that was amazing. I can't wait to do it again."

"We'll, you didn't do all that much teaching earlier, so I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities."

Connie's eyes widened. "Shoot, I forgot all about that!"

Steven waved his hand in the air. "I wouldn't worry about it. I bet he'll be looking forward to it just as much as you are."

Connie smiled. "Thanks…so, enough about me. What did you do while I was gone? Did you have fun with Garnet?"

Steven's smile faltered. "…Sure."

Author's note: So, was that shattering Pink Diamond thing sort of obvious to anyone else? I had it as the first chapter of the "Water Witch" prequel, which I began a year ago.