A Single White Hibiscus (Pearl x Rose)

21. Stasis

*Listen to this amazing soundtrack from a rhythm game called "Lanota": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seY45BJkUQE

I love this kind of music.

--

 Awakening from her dream, all the same, had been usual. Nothing had changed. She peered open her large eyes to stare up at a big ballroom made of beautiful blue crystal. And when she eyed sideways to look for her diamond, she could very easily spot a cotton candy-like, fluffy, pink hair that belonged to her. Pearl quietly smiled and softly whispered out her name.

"My diamond?"

"Pearl. You're awake."

Pink Diamond replied in a steady tone that anticipated everything, deep into the eternal future. The past, the present, and the future would all be so creepily identical. That fact, that horrible naked truth that the concept of time did not matter to them, gems, made Pink Diamond irked inside.

"Would you like me to do something now?"

"What do you mean, Pearl?"

"What I mean is—you put me to sleep, and I did that, so I was wondering if you wanted me to do something else now."

"Um, no. Nothing. You could even go back to sleep again, if you wanted to."

"If I wanted to? What you want is more important to me, my diamond."

"Oh yeah? Then you could just shut up and stand next to me, doll."

So she did. She stood next to Pink Diamond, looking out through the large, transparent windows that displayed the outside's deep blue sky, and the pitch-black universe beyond that. Only the beeping sounds coming from the diamond navigating device filled the silence of the huge room, and Pearl stood there motionless for what seemed like eternity. She had lost the track of time eons ago, and wasn't sure if that concept still existed somewhere out in the unchanging universe.

Sometimes, she did observe a change. In the endless sky that certainly existed in front of her and her diamond, colorful comets flew across the galaxy and Pearl could see that. Fiery red, glowing green, and cyan blue comets and blindingly white stars flew and exploded and popped in the purplish blue sky, adorning the atmosphere.

But nothing changed, at least inside this giant diamond hub dedicated to Pink Diamond's very existence. White Diamond, an absolute authority over all of homeworld, had presented Pink Diamond with this gigantic place, as a gift for her birth. But since then, nothing had changed. Pink Diamond just emerged, and that was it. She was forever tapping away at her diamond navigating device, sometimes contacting other diamonds, but largely being alone and staring out at the infinite universe.

"My diamond." Pearl at last spoke, splitting the silence that was growing too heavy and long.

"Yes, Pearl?"

"Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"You sound not."

Pink Diamond remained silent and still. Her expression remained largely the same, but Pearl acted genuinely concerned, but despite her efforts, nothing changed.

"Pearl."

"Yes, my diamond?"

"One day, I hope to escape here and explore the vast universe that exist out there. That would make me much happier, and this place would then finally feel like home. I've heard stories about the outer world from Blue and Yellow. Although they are so overly protective, they do tell me interesting stories about outside. They say some planets are full of boiling hot lava—which is a hot red gooey substance of liquified rocks—some are underwater entirely, and some are so freezing and beautiful with scattered snow. I want to see it all. I have to see it all."

"Wow..." Pearl was dazzled, sighing in wonder and curiosity.

"Right?! Wouldn't it be amazing? And I think seeing those worlds myself would help me to find my true self."

"Yes, I agree. I hope that we can see those wonderful worlds some day."

Pearl could feel Pink's mood improving just by imagining those things, and felt the air inside the diamond hub growing warmer.