Turquoise, Amethyst, and Steven find Ruby, sitting next to Greg by his van.
"Ruby!"
"Oh boy... So she's all the way out here..." Amethyst says
"After everything Sapphire said, she must be heartbroken." Turquoise says, wiping his mouth
Turquoise, Amethyst, and Steven proceed to walk up to Ruby and Greg.
"Hey guys!" Steven greets
"Steven? How'd you find me?" Ruby asks
"We sensed you...!" Amethyst jokes
"We heard you ordered pizza." Turquoise says nudging Amethyst a little
"Ruby was just telling me about your mom." Greg says
"Oh... Are you okay?" Steven asks
"Well, I fell in love with Rose Quartz, and she fell in love with Mr. Universe. Sure, she never told me she used to be Pink Diamond, but, heh, I never told her I used to be Gregory DeMayo." Greg explains
"So... How are you holding up, Ruby?" Turquoise asks kneels down
"I'm okay!" Ruby holds up a box of pizza to turquoise and Steven."Want a slice?"
"Uh... Thank you..." Steven takes a pizza slice, Turquoise does the same."Wait, really? You seemed so sad before."
"Yeah, but me and I talked it out. I'm fine now." Ruby explains
"Are you sure?" Turquoise asks
Amethyst takes Steven's pizza slice off his hand.
"Yeah. Sapphire was kinda right about everything. We really did stay Garnet because Rose told us to be her... Uh...'answer'. It's my first time thinking about it... It's my first time really thinking about... me!" Ruby explains
"What do you mean?" Steven asks
"Back when I emerged, the first thing I did was get crammed together with a bunch of other Rubies! Then... I was with Sapphire all the time. I was always checking in on someone. But now... I can go wherever the wind takes me!" Ruby grabs three pizza slices and three comic books in each hand. "I'm up here, eating pizza, reading comics! I don't know if Sapphire wants to read comics. I don't have to know!" Ruby throws the items on the ground and somersaults onto the roof of the Greg's van. "The rest of my life could be like this! I don't have to be Garnet... I can be on my own!"
"Sure!" Greg says
"You sure about this?" Turquoise looks at Ruby slightly worried
"I guess."
Steven shocked. "Whhhaaaaat?! B-But you guys love each other! You're my favourite couple! You're - You're like sugar and flour, I- I love eating them separately, but I still want cake! I'm sure Sapphire would want -"
Ruby halts Steven. "I'm not fussed about what Sapphire wants! I've seen my own future now. And it's nothin' but Ruby!"
Steven silently starts freaking out.
"Relax, kiddo. This could be what she needs." Greg says, putting his hand on Steven's shoulder
"But, Dad! What if they never form Garnet again?! We gotta get them back together!"
"Woah... Tha-That's not our call to make! Ruby's gotta want that for herself! If that's not what Ruby wants, then it's not what Garnet wants, right?"
"Mmm... Ugh, I guess so..." Steven says as Ruby begins jumping up and down on the van in enthusiasm.
"So... Where are you going after this, dude? Are you just gonna stay out here?"
"I wanna live free! One with the wilderness! Facing danger in every turn! Not leaving nothing or nobody to get me by! Just like... this guy!". Ruby holds up a comic book titled "Dolphin Tail."
"What's a dolphin?" Turquoise asks, taking the comic
"Hmm. Do you mean... something like this?"Steven shows Ruby another comic called "Lonesome Lasso. "
Ruby jumps down from the van and takes the comic book
Ruby gasps. "That's even better! The open plains, that's where I wanna go!"
"May I see that?" Turquoise asks as Ruby hands him the comic
Turquoise skims the lonesome lasso comic, eventually stumbling across a page with the villain of the story "The Blue Bandit."
"I think I know just the place. I'll get ya there."
"Thank you!!" Ruby cartwheels away in excitement
"Alright, alright, if this is how it's gotta be. I'll support Ruby in her quest for emotional growth." Steven ponders
Ruby makes finger-guns atop Greg's van. "Yee-haw! Pa-pow, pa-pow! Bang bang bang! Woo-hoo!!"
Turquoise glows and changes his outfit into a cowboy themed outfit, taking inspiration from the comic
"What do you think?" Turquoise tips his hat
Greg drives Ruby, Turquoise, Steven, and Amethyst to an open outdoor range.
"Y'all ready to wild west it up?" Greg asks as Ruby kicks the back doors of the van open, revealing to be dressed like a cowboy, and jumps out. She pulls the Lonesome Lasso comic from under her hat and begins to read.
"Here I am, on the open range... At least you understand me, horsey."
"Horsey?" Turquoise looks at the page
"Oh, Ruby, you need a steed!" Steven says excitedly
"I'm always down for a little... horsin around." Amethyst grunts loudly as she begins to shapeshift into a horse and neighs proudly. Turquoise looks at the comic, then Amethyst, then the comic again
"Giddy-up."Ruby begins riding on Amethyst's back and treads into the open range, while Turquoise, Steven, and Greg follow behind.
"How's it goin', Ruby? Feel like a real cowboy now?" Greg asks
"Yep. I sure reckon I do."
"Sorry, I gotta be a yellow-belly about this, but we don't even have a map. I think we're just gonna get ourselves lost." Steven interrupts as Amethyst snorts.
"We have quite literally drove twenty miles out of beach city," Turquoise corrects
"I already am lost. That's why I came out here to find myself." Ruby's says proudly
The group comes to a hedge that blocks their way.
"It's a dead end." Ruby dismounts Amethyst."This is what I mean. What's behind this brush... I don't know! Sapphire ain't here to predict for me. It's my chance to find out for myself!" Ruby crawls into the hedge and then screams loudly.
"Ruby?!" Steven, Amethyst and Turquoise all say shocked
Turquoise runs through the bush closely, followed by Amethyst
Turquoise sees Ruby hanging onto a loose rock and jumps down into the ravine
Steven catches up to Amethyst. "Where's Ruby and Turquoise?" Steven asks, worried
Suddenly, a wave of hot steam shoots out of the ravine, followed by a loud crack of a whip
"Whoa!! I had no idea this ravine was here." A voice says as a figure jumps up to the other side of the cliff.
"I almost fell down there, though it was rather unsafe. it was all my choice! Yee-haw!! Independence!" The figure says
"Ruby?! Turquoise?!" Amethyst and Steven yell
"Oh howdy y'all," the figure turns and reveals a fusion of Turquoise and Ruby
"WHAAAAAAAT?!?!" Steven yells excitedly
The fusion jumps back across the ravine and crouches in front of Amethyst and Steven as Greg comes out of the bush
"Howdy, hey, the names, Heliotrope!!!" Heliotrope puts one of their hands on the side of their mouth and whispers "or Bloodstone, but Heliotrope sounds better. "
Heliotrope (Bloodstone) jumps across the ravine with Greg, Steven, and Amethyst in hand
"♪ This ol' Ruby rider, ♪ Is Ruby ridin' alone. ♪ She's a sturdy, ♪ Solitary stone~ ♪" Heliotrope (Bloodstone) sings
Heliotrope continues riding on Amethyst into the evening, while Greg drives his van behind. Heliotrope (Bloodstone) then attempts to lasso a bull on the range and succeeds, but the bull begins chasing the group in agitation, Heliotrope then summons a revolver gauntlet and firing a hot steamy blast into the air scaring the Bull away
"♪ This ol' Ruby rider, ♪ not a fusion no more. ♪ Now the dirt and the dust, ♪ And the danger is my new home~ ♪"
The group encounters a rattlesnake, and Heliotrope decides to have a showdown with it. She glares at it, points a finger-gun at it, and succeeds in scaring it away. Night quickly falls, Heliotrope (Bloodstone) claps, then rubs her hands together that lights up a campfire, picks up a guitar, and continues to sing.
"♪ I used to think I, ♪ Would always be by your side. ♪ But lately you've been rather cold. ♪"
Heliotrope (Bloodstone) sings, Greg, Steven, and Amethyst harmonize with her.
"♪ One look in your eye, ♪ Could make an honest Gem cry. ♪ But Ruby Rider don't need no one to hold. ♪"
Bloodstone stands atop a rock their hoof digging into it slightly and begins whistling her song while strumming the guitar.
"Wow. They've been fused for hours, and Ruby must really get into this."
"Seriously! I just taught her how to play guitar like ten minutes ago!" Greg says dumbfounded
"Turquoise can play guitar... WAIT!!! No, Dad, I mean the whole "cowboy-being-alone" thing. I've never seen her like this before... She seems really... happy." Steven says, looking at Heliotrope (Bloodstone)
"♪ This ol' Ruby rider, ♪ Is Ruby ridin' alone. ♪ She's a sturdy, ♪ solitary stone~ "Yee-haw~"
Greg and Amethyst are fast asleep, Greg is snoring loudly while Amethyst whinnies in her sleep. Steven, in his caterpillar sleeping bag, looks up at Heliotrope, who is still sitting atop the rock.
"Hey, Helio?" Steven asks, looking up at them
"Hmm?" Heliotrope (Bloodstone) turns and looks down at Steven
"Y'know... I got really scared when you said you didn't want to fuse with Sapphire anymore. I felt like I was losing someone I cared about. But when you and Turquoise fused and I saw how much fun you were having today. All this buckaroo-ing really suits you. I'm sorry I tried to push you back into being Garnet." Steven rambles
"It's... not true..." Heliotrope looks at Steven steamy tears forming in her eyes
"Huh?"
"That stuff I sang about... It's not true...!" Heliotrope quickly unfuses, sending turquoise onto the cold sand
"What?!"
"I mean, I did have a lot of fun today; I loved it! But... the whole time, I... I kept thinking about how much more fun I'd have if I were with her. Sapphire was always there with me."
Turquoise sits up and rubs his head. "What happened?"
"Feel her smile just like it was mine. It's so lonely now... Gaaah!"
Ruby leans backwards and slides down the rock, landing on her head with her arms crossed in annoyance.
"That's lame, right?! I came here to be my own gem, but I'm still thinking about what she'd like! What'd she want! All the time! Ruby flops over. "Turns out, I'm no good at not needin' nobody."
"Turquoise, I'm sorry for fusing with you,"
"Don't be, I had fun being a cattle-man," Turquoise smiles
"A cowboy Turquoise," Steven corrects
"That's what I said." Turquoise looks at Steven, confused
"C,mon, that's not lame. You, Heliotrope! led us on a frontier adventure! You're still the same Ruby who did all that stuff, even if you're thinking of someone. Im missing Peridot and Lapis, but they you have to consider that they feel the exact same way. Look at our friend Lonesome Lasso."
Turquoise picks up the Lonesome Lasso comic book and walks to Ruby.
"They call him that 'cause he's lonesome! "I miss Sally May!" He's still a rootin'-tootin' cowboy, blazin' his own trails. But, he loves someone too." Steven explains
Ruby blushes and gazes up to the sky. "Well, if I'm making my own decisions... Then, I'll decide I wanna be with Sapphire." Ruby sighs and gets up
"Yes! That's what we wanna there!" Turquoise stands up
"I mean, I've gotta ask her first. I just don't want it to feel like we're going back to how things used to be back when someone else told us to be together. I want it to feel different..."
"Wait a sec!" Steven takes the comic flips through the comic book."What do you think of this?"
Steven shows Ruby a page of the comic, and she gasps and grins in delight.
Pearl and Sapphire are seen sitting on the couch, still troubled over Ruby's departure, when Steven enters the house.
"Steven! Turquoise?! Did you find Ruby?" Sapphire asks sorrowfully
"She's outside." Turquoise says bluntly
"She's got something to say to you."
Turquoise, Sapphire, Steven, and Pearl step out onto the porch when they see Ruby and Amethyst standing on the beach in the sunrise.
"Ruby!" Sapphire quickly runs off the porch and up to Ruby.
"Ruby, I'm so sorry! I should have never said those awful things to you. That we didn't matter anymore; I shouldn't have pushed you away like that. I was wrong."
Ruby spits away the wheat grass she is chewing out of her mouth. "Pt'ooey! Naw, you were right."
Sapphire reacts in shock as Ruby jumps off of Amethyst's back. She pats Amethyst's side, signalling her to run off, and approaches Sapphire.
"Someone else told us we were the answer. But... I don't believe that anymore. At least, not 'til I hear it from you." Ruby holds out her hand to Sapphire. Sapphire takes her hand, and Ruby kneels before her as a wind blows away her cowboy hat.
"Sapphire... Will you marry me?"
"What?" Sapphire chuckles."Marry you?"
"Yeah! This way, we can be together, even when we're apart! This time, being Garnet will be our decision. What do you say?"
Sapphire smiles. "Of course."
"Yee-haw! Mmmm...!" Ruby hugs Sapphire tightly
"I've been waiting to kiss your cute face!" Sapphire kisses Ruby on her cheek. Ruby lifts Sapphire up and spins her around, and they begin laughing together in joy.
"AWWWW!" Steven and Pearl watch on the romantic scene on the porch, when Amethyst approaches from behind, startling Pearl.
"Psst, it's me. I'm a horse."
Pearl smiles and places her hand on Amethyst's mane. Ruby continues twirling and throwing Sapphire up in the air and catching her in sheer happiness, as Steven holds up the final page of the Lonesome Lasso comic book, showing a wedding scene and reading "To be continued..." In the corner of the page
HERE IS HELIOTROPE!!!
That's chapter 40!!! WHOW NEW FUSION!!!
see yall in chapter 41. "Made of honor"
Let me know what you think in the comments!!!
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