Not the Same (Gemsona AU)

If I Were

{Set during the same time as "Message Received"}

It had been years since the diamonds fled Earth, leaving an array of corrupted gems behind.
It had been years since the original Pink Diamond was shattered, leaving thousands of grieving gems. 

It had been years since the remaining diamonds sought to see Their Pink again, experimenting with her 'shards' and creating someone entirely new... Who rebelled but was eventually captured and forced to take on the position of their supposedly shattered predecessor.

And it had been years since that someone had seen the Earth. 

Now, they were lost in their thoughts, staring blankly out the window of their base, contemplating. 

Raspberry Pearl's voice took them back to reality "What do you mean you meant to call Yellow Diamond? What business did she have sending you to earth when that's Pink's world?"

"Pearl, its okay, give it here, I'll sort it out" They gently took the communicator from Raspberry.

"Ah, Peridot... Yellows sending gems to 'my' planet again, huh? I don't mind... I'm sure the crystal gems can handle themselves..." Their voice was gentle, they spoke just loud enough to hear. There was a certain sadness to it, as if they could cry at any moment.

Peridot composed herself and did the diamond salute. "Pink Diamond. Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG. I- It was Yellow I meant to call, but well- I had trouble and -" She glanced at something- or someone- off screen before continuing to speak "I dropped it, and when I fumbled to pick it up I had accidently called you" She smiled sheepishly.

"That's quite alright... As long as you're here, could you tell me.... How is the Earth?" They asked, rather solomely. 

"It's... Full of life-"

"That's wonderful..." They said with a smile, though their voiced tinged with sadness and nostalgia. 

"- But... the cluster.. It's set to emerge anytime now..."

"The cluster...? Yellow said she wouldn't... I should of known she was lying!" They slammed their fist onto their chair's arm, muttering to themselves for a bit.

"But! We can fix it, after this I'm going to call Yellow Diamond. She has to know there's life on this planet worth preserving and protecting!" Peridot said, determined.

"Haa.. good luck with that. I've been trying to reason with Yellow for thousands of years... But thank you Peridot, I appreciate your effort." They smiled again, although this time it seemed less sad and more genuine.

"My diamond, your meeting..." Raspberry Pearl reminded them.

"Ah... I have to go, but good luck Peridot, I hope to hear from you again soon, if that's alright?"

"Of course, Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG over and out" She signed the diamond salute again, and ended the call. 

Pink sighed, it had been so long since they heard any news from Earth, and of course Yellow had gone behind their back to send gems there and plant the cluster. Not that they had any real say in it... The other diamonds didn't give them the respect they deserved, they felt as if they were nothing more than a figurehead. 

Still, they felt bad for them... They had lost the original Pink... 'Their' Pink. And they weren't a fit replacement... But sometimes it felt like they were actually a family, in the rare case Blue and Yellow both came to visit. But White never did, always inside her head, doing who knows what. 

They snapped themselves out of these thoughts, as they often had to, and headed to what would most likely be a boring meeting.