Steven Universe: The Diamond Legacy

Gift of a Friend

Ever since I came back from that desolate planet with Aunt Garnet, I couldn't take the dream off my mind. I was always thinking about it, how my grandmother's memories melded into my present, and the Gem that appeared as my Mother, the one who was so kind to her, was the one who established a Remnant Empire and was out to kill me. I wondered who she really was and I knew exactly who I needed to ask.

I found Aunt Pearl folding my laundry. "Nora." She smiled. "I was just finishing up." "Thanks for doing that."

I sat down with her. "Aunt Pearl, is it okay if talk to you about something?"

"Of course." Her face displayed concern. "You can talk to me about anything. Is something wrong?"

"No." I shook my head. "It's just...." I began to explain. "When I was on that husk planet with Aunt Garnet. I had a dream about Grandma. I was her and and I saw Mom as Tanzanite. Tanzanite was very kind to me, she let me sit in her lap and showed me how to work her control panel. After that I hugged her and I told her she was the only one who believed in me. She was like a mother figure to me, someone who I could trust and someone who was willing to accept me for who I am. Maybe that's why she appeared as Mom in my dream."

I touched the shard in my chest. "Did you know her? Was Tanzanite the cold, heartless Gem I imagine her to be? She seemed so sweet and warmhearted in my memories, nothing like the cruel and menacing figure I've made an impression about from everything I've heard."

Aunt Pearl was quiet for a moment. She fiddled with her shirt before telling me. " I saw her when I emerged. Tanzanite was assigned by the Diamonds thousands of years before as your Grandmother's bodyguard, but truthfully she was meant to watch her and keep her out the way of the other Diamonds. In reality she was more of a babysitter than a bodyguard. She occasionally would watch us when I was attending to your Grandma, but never actually knew her. I was a Pearl and she was the most elite Gem second to only your aunts, she always seemed distant yet attentive to her Diamond. She never directly interacted with me."

She gripped her hand to her mouth. "That is until the day your Grandmother finally received her colony. I'll never forget it. I was waiting outside the throne room while she was getting instructions from the other Diamonds. Tanzanite walked outside (She is a huge Gem, bigger than your Grandma but nowhere as tall as your aunts.) and spoke.

"What did she say?" I asked intrigued.

"She told me she would be assigned to the Earth Colony to establish a base for our soldiers. She was looking away when she said this, but, I still remember it as clear as day, Tanzanite approached me. I didn't know what to make of it, a Gem of her status acknowledging a Pearl, it was unheard of. Yet there she was standing over me giving me direct eye contact and said. 'Look after her and make sure she understands that she is more than they think her to be. She is unlike any Gem I've ever known.' Right after that your Grandmother came out of the palace doors and hugged Tanzanite, she was so excited and happy she finally got her own colony. Tanzanite kneeled down and hugged her in return."

"Was that the last time you saw her?"

"Yes." Aunt Pearl explained. "During the Rebellion your Grandmother made sure I wasn't anywhere on the battlefield when Tanzanite was around, in fear she would recognize me. I wasn't there when they dueled."

"I'll never understand why Grandma never told her who she really was. How didn't Tanzanite figure it out? I've been around a real Rose Quartz and they sound nothing like Grandma did. Did she speak to Tanzanite at all when they fought? Cause that would've been a dead giveaway."

"Your Grandma altered her voice to sound like a Rose Quartz when they encountered each other, that I do know." She sighed. "She kept many secrets, even from me. She wasn't going to risk losing the entire war for one Gem, even one she loved and trusted. Who knows how Tanzanite would have reacted, she could have joined our cause but she more likely would've gone right up to the Diamonds and revealed it all."

I saw the pain in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No." Aunt Pearl placed her hand on mine. "Never apologize for wanting to know about your Grandmother. I promise I will tell you everything if you only ask."

"Thank you." I nodded. "It's nice, knowing in those early days, before she met you, she had a friend who trusted and believed in her. I know how much that means to someone. I only wish it ended better. Maybe Tanzanite would have been my friend too." I tenderly hugged my aunt. "But I'm so glad Grandma had you in the end."

Aunt Pearl hugged me back and later on we sat together on the balcony, me in her lap with my head resting on her shoulder. Aunt Pearl ran her fingers through my hair, nestling me close to her heart as she had done so many times throughout my life. "I love you so much, Nora."

"Love ya too Aunt Pearl." I smirked, closing my eyes soothed by her hair stroked. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me on the forehead. We watched the surf beneath a bright sunny day.