There were billions of shattered Gems here. Countless lives that had been created by the work of herself and her fellow Diamonds, yet still came out as inadequate, imperfect. The rubble of their lives, brief or filled with longevity, lay now at her feet, as she stared across mountains and mountains of scattered pieces and shards, many that disobeyed orders, many that were simply created as imperfect, many still that tainted themselves by fusing together when not given the order. They were beneath her, quite literally. They were always beneath her.

If she spoke, the caverns would answer back in her voice.

But she didn't speak. Instead she walked among the mountains, the shards, keeping a critical eye out for pieces of pieces. The one in her hand was a Pearl-a sorry little thing she was, thinking that by speaking out against her-her-she wouldn't be punished. Now the heart of her Gem was nestled in the palm of her hand, that molten, milky center cracked along the edges and dim and cold and lifeless. She wondered if she could give it life. The echo of her footsteps, of the rustling of the Gems, answered her movements.

She could have been there for centuries. For decades. She wouldn't have been able to tell the difference-nor would she care. She was never disturbed in her quest-her mission to decide if the impossible was possible, and she was determined to see it through to the end. Part of it was driven by boredom. Part of it by something else entirely. But eventually she managed to find a particular piece-another piece of Pearl-and picked it up carefully, carefully-so carefully now, for the slightest fumble of her steady fingers could cause it to be lost... until finally, carefully, she set it in its place.

The likelihood that she found a shard of Pearl was astoundingly low. The fact that it fit together perfectly even moreso.

Pearls were a delicate Gem. They followed instructions perfectly and were the ideal servants for Gems of high-standing to have. It was a privilege to work for the Diamonds, especially. And yet she herself never found a use for them.

[It might be because she grew bored of them.]

She dug her way further into the reaches of the shattered remains of Gems, and after a long, silent time, found another piece. Closer inspection showed it had a faint yellow tinge. Curious, she thought without feeling, lifting her hand to see the color of the Pearl piece she discovered earlier. Her jaw clenched. Still, she looked to see if it fit together, by some miracle. Unsurprisingly, it didn't.

She had time to think. Too much time.

She didn't worry about her colonies. They were the farthest topic that her mind was focused on. She had many more than her fellow Diamonds, so many more that they would be able to sustain themselves for the better part of a couple thousand cycles. She didn't worry about being bothered, either. They knew.

She found with annoyance that the most Pearls that fit were the slightest shade of pink.

It reminded her.

She didn't like to be reminded.

So she didn't let it remind her.

Not now.

Trying to fit all of these pieces together was like trying to finish a puzzle using pieces from different origins. A corner from one puzzle forced into place with the edge of another's. They were all varying sizes, of varying shapes, and there were millions of them here before her. By this point, she was sure that thousands of cycles had already passed, but she was so close. There were only a few more pieces remaining, and she was curious to see what the results of her test would be.

Her mind began to wander. It began to wander to eons past, when she would return to Homeworld and commune with Yellow and Blue-how the small one would run around at their heels, barking for attention. There was nothing to be said about it other than the annoyances that it caused, the frustration of not only having to focus on a topic of conversation, but also having to watch her own feet so that she didn't accidentally step on her. Yellow seemed to be of a similar mind despite being her primary caretaker-occasionally she would snap at her to get her out of her way, to leave. To stop being a pest. Blue always took the time after to commune with her.

Yellow took care of her daily, Blue took care of her emotional needs. White was the one she would complain to the most.

"I want my own planet," she said often. "My own colony!" She stared down at her impassively, stoic and silent as she often was, staring down at her angry, small face. That cycle, she waited for a reason. She didn't expect one to be given. She didn't expect her to cry.

But Pink Diamond's face melted as tears unexpectedly bubbled in her eyes. "I know, I know I'm small," she wept. "I know that you and Yellow don't think I can do anything... but-please-how can I prove myself to you if you won't even let me?"

She gave her Earth to stop her crying. It was embarrassing for a Diamond to do.

She gave her Earth because it was small. It was best to start her off small, let her gain experience in that way, let her work her way up to larger, more indomitable planets thousands of cycles in the future. It was a plan ahead for an immature Diamond in the hopes that it would teach her how to mature and stop acting like a lesser Gem.

She gave her Earth because she didn't expect the Rebellion.

Now she didn't have to deal with the threat of stepping on her. She didn't have to deal with her aggravating attempts at grabbing everyone's attention. She didn't have to deal with her distracting whining when she was busy conducting business.

It was her fault.

She found it ironic that, of all the Gems to fit into the final slot, it had to be that one. But she took the piece of crystal anyways, and she delicately slid it within the final gap. The Rose Quartz fit in perfectly. She was done.

It took her a while to exit the place where the shattered Gems lay, but when she finally did, she still didn't attend to her own business. Instead she walked into the teleporter, and walked all the way to her chambers, where she proceeded to continue walking until reaching the far end of the room. She pressed her hand against the wall, and a hidden door opened. The technology hummed as she stepped in, straight-backed and proper as she ever was, even after cycles and cycles and cycles of being gone, and she set the reconstructed mold of Gem into a compartment and pressed a button.

It did its work. It filled the space between the pieces with liquid that cemented them together. It jump started the spark of life. The pieces of the Gem were now one, a gross amalgamation of minds and thoughts that-hopefully-held one singular purpose in mind. She removed it, and she set it down, and she waited.

It took shorter than she expected.

The Gem seemed to struggle with itself at first, struggling to find a true, suitable form. Arms and legs and voices melded from it as it struggled to find purchase, but eventually it settled to a relatively... stable form. A form that stood before her tonelessly and gazed up at her with a vacant expression. Maybe there were too many voices in her head, too many pieces. Every inch of her skin was a different shade that seemed to match the colors of her Gem.

She wasn't the same Pearl that she had shattered.

[She tried not to be disappointed. She really did.]

"Yes, My Diamond?" the amalgamation said-slowly, speech slower than a crawl. It was hard to tell if there was a multitude of voices in her voice, or if one voice spoke for the majority of them.

White Diamond clenched her jaw.

She remembered the little one running after each and every one of them, asking eagerly-so eagerly-what they were doing, wanting to help. She remembered the look of joy on her face when she relented and gave her a planet to conquer, when she created her own Gems to serve her, when she made one entirely new. She remembered.

And she was disappointed.

She tried, and she failed. She failed Blue Diamond, who she was sure even now was either in her chambers, mourning the loss of the little one, or on Earth, mourning by her palanquin instead. She failed Yellow Diamond, who-if she were to guess properly-was lost in a broiling rage that wouldn't stop simmering until the ones responsible for her shattering were destroyed. She failed Pink Diamond. There was no way to bring her back. She failed herself.

There was no way to bring her back.

She failed them all.

[She didn't like failure.]

She began to walk. Her new Pearl-if she could even call it that-hastened to follow, prompt on the uptaking. She wondered how many voices she heard. She wondered what they were saying.

She wondered what Pink Diamond's final words were before she died. What her thoughts were as Rose Quartz' sword plunged through her naval and shattered her Gem. She wondered whether or not it was painful.

Finally, a new thought emerged. Not quite new so much as almost-forgotten. One that neither witnesses nor inspectors had been able to answer. One that only Rose Quartz herself could likely answer.

[Where were her missing pieces?]

I have absolutely no idea. This whole premise is actually from a Steven Universe story that I've been considering for the past couple years (before Blue Diamond's face and personality was ever revealed) and have never really gotten to-and, indeed, almost forgot. But, let me say...

I'm absolutely unsurprised about the idea of Pink Diamond being small. Of her being a child, I find it unique and unexpected. I like it.

I am so glad that defective Diamonds are a thing. Otherwise, my story concept would absolutely fall flat.

I'm not sure if I'll post the story on here, though. Or ever. I likely would never even finish it, all things considered. I've done that before-so, for the time being, have this little characterization concept.

Please leave a review with thoughts and criticisms! I'm always open to them!