"Pearl, where did Gems come from?"
Steven's dark eyes gazed up at Pearl. She blinked twice, confused.
"We come from the ground, fully formed, as you know, Steven."
Steven's eyebrows scrunched together. "No, I mean, where did the first Gems come from? Before the Diamonds started growing new ones."
"Oh." Pearl's eyebrows rose as her voice dropped into her serious tone. "Why do you ask, Steven?"
"I want to know."
Pearl took a deep breath. Talking about Homeworld was always... complicated. She still felt a tie to that planet which the other Crystal Gems lacked. She hated to admit it, but she did have a lot in common with the ever-annoying Peridot. She yearned for renewed connection with her home planet and people, but that connection would never be in reach. She could never return home, and it would no longer be home even if she could. So telling Steven stories was nice, a reminder of her heritage, but it was also painful. Sometimes, unbearably so. And with everything their little family had at stake right now, some Homeworld stories would be too dangerous to tell. Maybe they would always be dangerous.
This story seemed harmless enough, though. This knowledge couldn't put Steven at a disadvantage, and it was impersonal enough for Pearl to share without spilling tears.
"Pearl?" Steven stared at Pearl, concerned about her lengthy silence.
"Sorry, Steven." Pearl cleared her throat. "I got lost in thought for a moment. You asked how Gems began...
"Hundreds of thousands of years ago, hundreds of thousands of light years away, a planet very different from Earth orbited a star very different from yours. By your standards, this planet could not support life, but life was forming there.
The Diamonds formed first. I can't imagine what life must have been like then."
"Wait, you mean the original Diamonds?"
Pearl smiled at Steven's exuberant surprise. "Yes, Steven, the four original Diamonds."
"But, they'd have to be... like, a million years old!"
"Your measurements of time have no units for the current age of the Diamonds. Even Homeworld Gems face confusion when trying to track such an ancient story.
"As I was saying, the planet was empty and barren, devoid of purpose or function. Yet it was brimming with possibilities! The Diamonds harnessed and shaped the planet into a structure of use and beauty. Oh, I wish you could see it, Steven. What it must look like now, what new developments have surely been created..."
Pearl shook her head. If she wanted to finish this story, she needed to focus.
"So the Diamonds existed first. Being wise and ordered beings, they investigated how they came to be. They examined their holes and studied the substances around those holes. When another Gem came into existence, they saw it happen, and that gave them the final piece of information they needed. The process was similar to your own species' evolution, though without your organic carbon material.
"The new Gem was different, though. It was smaller than the Diamonds, much smaller, and weaker, and not as intelligent. It was a Quartz, although stories vary as to which type. The Diamonds taught the Quartz the basics of their planet. The wisdom, strength, and experience of the Diamonds made them seem to the Quartz like the gods of Earth history seemed to humans. The Quartz served the Diamonds, taking her place under them.
"New Gems formed and appeared in a similar manner. As a variety in sizes, strengths, and abilities was discovered, each Gem was granted a different level of value and different expectations. Quartzes were stronger than other Gems, but not as smart; Pearls were the prettiest, but also... what some considered fragile. A social hierarchy formed."
Pearl sniffed as she said this. The hierarchy of Homeworld was one thing she certainly didn't miss.
"As you know, Gems can live forever as long as their Gem stays intact. For ages, Gem society continued to grow and develop peacefully. Eventually the planet became crowded, and the Diamonds decided to employ their Gems to explore other nearby planets to seek further living space."
Pearl paused. Even as ancient and impersonal as this story was, it still contained heartbreaking tragedy.
"The first Gem to ever... shatter... was one of these early explorers. Some stories say it was a Topaz. Others, a Quartz. Some say a Peridot. Some even say a Pearl, though what a traditional Pearl would be doing on that expedition, I haven't any idea. Regardless, the wilderness on the other planets was not something young Homeworld Gems were prepared for, no matter their personal strengths. The sharp cliffs of one of the new planets dashed against the Gem and shattered it to pieces."
Pearl closed her eyes and shuddered. The loss of any Gem was unsettling. Such an unnecessary waste...
"The rest of her team waited for her to reform, but she never did. Eventually, they... gathered the pieces, and returned to Homeworld. The Diamonds studied the shattered Gem closely. Gems had poofed and reformed before, but no Homeworld Gem had ever even cracked. After waiting longer than any Gem had ever taken to reform, the Diamonds knew she would never reform.
"The Gems all waited to honor their fallen friend, and of course the Diamonds wanted to honor such a brave explorer's unexpected sacrifice. They decided to remember the Gem's life by returning her gem to her hole, the place where she began. They buried her gem.
"Time passed. Gems never forgot this tragedy, and they learned from it. Expeditions became more cautious. One day, something strange happened.
"One of the shattered Gem's friends visited her hole. She had done this many times before, but this time was different. The ground began to shake. All at once, quite suddenly, five Gems popped out of the ground. Their holes were right next to each other, practically overlapping, completely covering the fallen Gem's original hole.
"The visiting Gem was terrified, naturally, and fled screaming to tell the Diamonds. The Diamonds immediately had the new Gems brought before them to be studied. Based on the Gem types and the nature of their existence, the Diamonds formed a theory. It was many, many years later that they could test this theory, but another Gem did eventually shatter. This time, the Diamonds buried each piece separately. As they expected, the location of each burial eventually became the holes for new Gems of the same type."
"Wait," Steven demanded. "So, all the kindergartens... all the Gems like Amethyst... they're all grown from pieces of shattered Gems? Dead... Gem... bodies?"
Pearl nodded, her face grave. "Yes, Steven. The more we explored the universe, the more dangers we discovered, and the more Gems cracked and shattered. Cracks we learned to heal, but shattered Gems were lost forever. As society grew and some Gems started to question or rebel against our society, some Gems were also shattered as punishment. The pieces from all these tragedies were repurposed to create new life, bringing hope into our most awful experiences."
It truly was a beautiful way to honor the dead, Pearl thought. She chose not to tell Steven about the Gems who shattered themselves or chose to be shattered for the purpose of growing new Gems, nor of the Gems chosen by the Diamonds for this. Her story, she decided, would have a pleasantly happy ending.
"Woah." Steven stared wide-eyed past Pearl, apparently lost for words.
Pearl cleared her throat, feeling suddenly emotional again. "Does that answer your question, Steven?"
"Yeah," he breathed. After a moment, his eyes refocused on Pearl, and he nodded. "Thanks, Pearl."
She smiled. "Any time."
If only all the Homeworld stories were this pleasant and simple.