The New Gem

'You called me, My Diamond?' I was in White's head, bowing before addressing her.

Hours ago, I was working on the new kindergarten, when I got an urgent message, asking me to come to White's quarters. It was not often White called for me, and she rarely comes out of her head, not allowing anyone inside. Except for this time it seems.

Like always, White Diamond stood with her arms out, staring of to something. It was almost like she was in a whole other world, not aware of what happened here. I cleared my throat to announce my presence again.

White looked down when she heard my voice, but said nothing. A silence fell before she suddenly moved her arm. In her hand palm appeared a bubbled gem. The gem was black with purple in the middle and had an oval shape. It was huge compared to an ordinary gem, maybe even bigger than that of a Diamond.

'This is a rather special gem.' White began. 'This gem was successfully created in my lab and will be useful in battles.' She traced a finger over the bubble. 'Though, she needs to learn some manners before we can release her. That's where you come in.' At that point she looked at me. I didn't quite understand what she was implying, but I took the gem. I noticed that there was a little drawing encarved in the middle.

'What exactly do you want me to do?' I asked.

'I want you to train her. Teach her how to obey and respect us.'

'Train her?!' For a moment I forgot who I was talking to. 'Do you even know how much time that will cost? I already am so busy and—' White's stern gaze cut me off.

'Is there a problem?' Her voice was dangerously soft. I gulped. I knew I didn't have a choice.

I cleared my throat before speaking. 'N-no, I will make time for her.'

She narrowed her eyes. 'Good. I will visit you after a few decades and expect to see improvement. That will be all.'

I was on the verge of saying something, but decided against it. It didn't matter anyway. I paced away, but just before the door closed behind me, White called me back.

'I have to warn you, Yellow Diamond. She can be spicy.' The last thing I saw was the grin on White's face, before the door closed behind me.

It was a few hours later. I sat on my throne examining the gem, letting the bubble roll in my hands. I noticed that the little drawing engraved in the middle formed an eye. It was reptile-like, with the pupils split by a thin line. I wondered why it was drawn there. Maybe as a logo for future gems like these?

'Pearl.' I said. I saw her immediately perk up.

'Yes, My Diamond?'

'Bring this gem to the arena. Don't pop it until I arrive.'

'Yes, My Diamond.' Carefully she took it, which barely fit in her arms, and walked to the nearest warp pad. In a flash of light she disappeared. Now I was the only one in my room, so I opened my screen. Hundreds of new messages appeared: one about the new planet, a few about the resources and a lot from the emerging of the new gems. I sighed and read a few messages, some I answered back. My hands worked on automatic pilot as thoughts about what happened with White consumed me. Before I left White, I wanted to ask her why she didn't just train it herself or let one of the commanders train it for her. How hard can it be to train a new gem?

'I have to warn you Yellow, she can be spicy.'

White's words repeated in my head. Maybe that's the reason why she chose me instead of a lower gem, because she knows I can handle it. This means that White trusts me and this is my chance to confirm it. I suddenly saw this task less as a burden and more of a way to earn White's favor.

I finished my last message, before I walked to the warp pad. I'll make White proud. This task will be a pain, but I resolve to do it, because I'm Yellow Diamond.

I arrived at the arena, which was big with high walls surrounding it, and a special spot for a diamond. Above, there were a network of cables and steel beans making the arena a sort of cage. It was the perfect spot to train this new gem, because it could not escape that easily.

Pearl stood in the middle, still holding the gem. I took it from her, popped the bubble and placed it carefully on the ground, but after waiting for a while, nothing seemed to happen.

That was strange. How long was it even in that bubble? Surely it mustn't take this long to form. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the gem glowing, until my Pearl cried: 'My Diamond, watch out!'

Before I could react, the gem lit up. With a deafening explosion that I felt in my teeth, it started to form into a long neck with dark colors, prickles, and ice. A reptile-like head looked down at me, two long, curled horns on her skull. The gem was on his forehead. With four crooked claws he landed on the ground, causing an earthquake. I did not expect him to be this huge. He was at least twice as large as me.

The dragon spread his wings and roared, a deafening sound that shook my eyes in my sockets. I was so caught of guard that I instinctively charged my energy. It formed in my hand, ready to strike. The magnificent, yet beautiful beast looked at me with his dark purple eyes, and stormed towards me with his huge jaws open. His claws rattled across the floor.

He did not get far, a wave of lightning raced through the air. They hit the dragon on the head, but deflected without causing any damage. The beast screamed and flapped his wings. Sweeping his long, spiked tail, the dragon attacked.

So he liked to play hard? Then he can have it hard. I closed my eyes, knelt down and put my hand on the floor. A lightning flash came, and the electricity spread rapidly over the floor. It hit the beast and he howled as he fell down. Sizzling, the dragon continued to struggle to get up.

I jumped in the air, electricity around me like a charged cloud, and with all my strength I fired the lightning at the dragon. He roared, while my electricity cursed through his body and crashed down with a loud thud.

'Pearl, get the destabilizer collar.' I said, without losing sight of the growling beast in front of me. He tried to get up, but his resistance became weaker as the aftershocks persisted. 'Looks like we'll need drastic measures.'

I paced back and forth through the arena, thinking of how I could train this… this malicious beast, who growled whenever I got too close. his neck was chained with the destabilizer collar, which held him down and prevented him for using his powers. He watched me closely from the corner, waiting for a chance to attack and he even send hungry gazes at my Pearl.

I rubbed my temples and groaned, this was going to take a long time.

'Hey Yellow!' A sudden voice cut through my worrying and I almost crashed against the pink gem in front of me.

'Pink? What are you doing here? How did you even get in?' The only way in was closed by a heavy door. So it should be impossible for anyone to enter the arena without my permission, but then again, this is Pink we're talking about. 'You know what, I don't even want to know. What do you want, Pink? And don't tell me you're just here for fun.'

Pink put her hands casually behind her back. 'Oh you know, I just wanted to see what you were up to, since I noticed you weren't in your control room.' She grinned.

I arched my eyebrow. 'What I'm doing is none of your business. So please go back to whatever you were doing and leave me to my work.' I sternly gazed into her eyes, giving her the silent treatment. Most gems would quiver before me and leave as soon as possible, but of course it didn't work on Pink. She just stared right back at me.

'Ah! You blinked! That means I win.' Pink said, pointing a finger at me.

'What…?'

'Now don't say you didn't, because I saw you just did. Admit it, I win and you lose… but we can also have a rematch if you'd like.' Pink added, when she saw my face became red. I had to restrain myself not to yell at her. That would only cause more problems, like last time when Blue visited me, or better, stormed into my headquarters to have a 'nice' conversation about how I treated Pink.

I closed my eyes, and slowly let the air escape. 'What is the real reason why you're here Pink?'

Pink tipped her index fingers together, looking down at the ground. 'I just wanted to spend some time with you.' She mumbled.

'Pink, you're a Diamond. Diamonds don't mumble. Speak up.'

She sighed. 'I miss you Yellow. I miss you having around. I miss our time together. I want you back. Can't we spend some time together like we used to?' At this point she pouted her lips, looking as sad as possible.

I bent down and placed my hands on Pink's shoulders. 'Listen, I know you want to spend time with me, but just not now. I'm really busy.'

'Ugh! That's what you always say.' Pink huffed. 'It's almost like an excuse to get rid of me! I'm going to tell Blue.' There it was, I knew she was going to say that.

Pink wriggled herself free to stomp out of the arena. I wanted to stop her, mostly because I didn't want Blue's wrath, but I knew it was better this way. A shuffle from the corner told me that the dragon was still watching me with his head slightly bent to the left.

'What are you looking at?' I spat.

'I'm not looking at anyth-... dragon!' Pink, who hadn't left the arena yet, now hopped to the beast.

'No Pink!' I tried to grab her, but she already unlocked the collar.

Immediately, the dragon tore himself loose and blasted an ice storm my way. Off guard, I hit the wall. I tried to wriggle free, but with no success. The ice covered me up to my neck. Then the dragon turned to my Pearl, ready to attack her too, but Pink stepped between them.

'Pink, RUN!' I desperately yelled, but Pink stood there, examining the massive and yet beautiful beast in front of her. Growling, he began to circle around her.

'Why are you standing there? Run, Pink, run!' I yelled one more time, but to my surprise, she did the exact opposite. Step by step, she came closer to the dragon, holding her hand outstretched. I watched with horror as the dragon began to growl louder and stood on her hind legs, jaws wide open. But instead of attacking her, the dragon bowed her head so Pink could place her hand on it. She started to pet it, stroking her hand over his gem to his horns.

'Aww, you're so cute!' The beast softly purred as Pink wrapped her arms around he snout. 'Yellow, why didn't you tell me you had this amazing dragon?'

I blinked a few times, I could still not believe what just happened. 'How… how did you do that?'

'Do what?' She asked, petting the dragon's belly.

'That, what you're doing right now.'

'Oh, that's pretty easy.' She said. 'The only thing you have to do is be nice. Isn't that right, you beautiful creature?' Pink scratched even harder and the dragon let out joyful sounds while rolling over. 'Now be a good dragon and free Yellow.' Immediately he growled. 'Come on. I know Yellow can be mean sometimes, but once you get to know her you'll understand that she's actually a big softy.'

'I'm not!' I huffed. If I wasn't stuck in this ice, I would have crossed my arms.

'She just doesn't want to admit it.' Pink loudly whispered in the dragon's ear while winking to me. I narrowed my eyes.

With a combination between a growl and a defeated sigh, the dragon stood up and walked to me. We locked eyes for a moment, before he lifted his claw. I swear I could see the dragon grin when he scratched the ice, with one mighty swing, to splinters. Once I landed, I had to duck to avoid the dragon's tail.

The dragon walked back to Pink and laid down, ignoring me.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. Why do these things always happen to me? I watched the giggling pink blurr, who was moving around quickly while petting and scratching the dragon's belly, and an idea lit up in my head. It was a ridiculous plan, and I was probably going to regret it, but it was my only option. I cleared my throat before saying: 'Pink, could you come over here please?'

'What is it?'

'You wanted to spend more time with me, right?'

She gasped and clapped her hands. 'That would be awesome!'

'Then let's make a deal: if you help me train him, you'll get to spend more time with me and the dragon.'

Pink's eyes lit up and the corners of her lips turned upward. 'Yes! I'll be glad to help!'

'Good, then let's start.'

'So… I just need to pet his belly…?' I nervously stood before the dragon, unsure of what to do while the beast venomously glared at me. 'Yeah… I don't think that's a good idea.'

'Yellow,' Pink began while crossing her arms, 'if you want to train him, you'll need to gain his trust. The best way to do that is petting his belly... he loves that,' she added with a wink. 'Although, I guess his head would be fine too.' She said when she noticed my uncertain look.

'This is a bad idea.' I mumbled, shaking my head. Even though, I slowly reached towards his head, but that caused the dragon to narrow his eyes and he took a step back, growling. I glanced nervously at Pink.

'Don't worry, nothing bad will happen as long as I'm here.' Pink reassured me.

I sighed and reached my hand out again. To my surprise, the dragon didn't take a step back or even growl at me. He let me come closer, which would be a good sign if he didn't look at me in a murderous way. My gut told me I couldn't trust him and I was right, I pulled my arm back just in time before the dragon could bite it off.

'I knew it! I knew this was a bad idea!' I yelled.

'Yellow, take it easy. He just wanted to play.' Pink said, stepping before the dragon, calming him down.

'Play? He almost bit my arm off!'

'So? He just needs to warm up to you and you need to be nicer to him.' The dragon snorted in agreement.

'I need to be nicer?! What about him being nice to me?'

'M-my Diamond?' Pearl nervously said, interrupting our conversation which was about to escalate.

'What is it?' I snapped, gazing angrily towards my Pearl, who cowered before me.

'I-I'm so sorry to bother you right now, but there is an urgent message that requires your assistance.'

I turned back to the dragon and the pink puffball petting him and decided I needed a break.

'Fine. I'm done here anyway.' I said.

I stomped out of the arena, my Pearl hurrying after me. We warped away.

I sunk on my throne and put my hands on my head. I had finished answering the urgent message, which took about two hours, and kept working after that.

Moments later, the door opened behind me.

'Please, get out Pink. I need to be alone right now.' I said, without turning around. Shuffling sounds came towards me and stopped behind my throne.

'You're not giving up, are you?' Pink softly spoke.

I stopped typing. 'No, I… I just need some time to think.'

A pink glove traced the armrest, until Pink stood in front of me.

'About what?' She said, tilting her head.

'…Nothing special.' I shook my head and typed further, but Pink didn't let me off that easily. She put the screen down and looked me in the eyes as sternly as possible.

'Yellow…' She warned. I had never seen Pink that serious in all my life, but the worst thing was the silent treatment. Now, from who could she have learned that? Shivers ran down my back and I broke: 'I can't do this, Pink.' I mumbled, not able to look Pink in the eyes.

'Speak up, Yellow. Diamonds don't mumble.'

I did what I was told, but only because I was surprised to hear those words come out of Pink's mouth. Pink saw my surprise and said: 'Your words, not mine. Now tell me what you can't do. You're Yellow Diamond. You can do anything.'

'But not training this dragon!' I yelled. 'I've never had to train any gem before. They already know who to respect and obey, what their purpose is and what to do. My only job was to lead them, guiding them. I didn't have to train them at all! And now I'm supposed to teach this dragon everything it needs to know? How can I teach him anything if he keeps attacking me? I'm not meant for this.' I rattled on until Pink laid a finger on my lips, shushing me.

'Listen, Yellow. It's not over yet. We can still do this,' she said while climbing on my lap and putting her hands on my shoulders.

'We? I'm pretty sure White gave only ME the task.' I sighed. 'And she'll be so disappointed in me once she finds out the truth.'

'Why?'

'Because I've… I've… I've failed.' Admitting this was even harder than I thought, and tears welled up in my eyes. I've never failed before. I blinked the tears away and looked away so Pink couldn't see me like this. Unfortunately, I was too slow. Pink put a hand on my chin and guided me to her eye level.

'You haven't failed yet.' She began. 'And it's true that White gave the task to you, but that doesn't mean you can't accept help, and I'm willing to do that for you. I'm here for you Yellow, like you were there for me.' She wrapped her arms around my neck. 'Let me do this for you.'

The pressure on my shoulders, which I had felt since the beginning of this task, slightly disappeared and I untensed. 'Gladly.' I answered, while hugging her back. We stayed that way for a while, seeking comfort in our embrace. Eventually, I broke the hug. 'Come on,' I said, 'Let's get back to that beast.'

'Dragon.' Pink corrected. 'He doesn't like to be called a beast.'

'Fine. Dragon it is.' I put Pink down and we walked to the warp pad, my Pearl followed suit. Before we warped away I turned to my Pearl next to me. 'Pearl, stay here, it will be saver.'

'Yes, My Diamond,' came the usual answer. I nodded and warped away.

Since then, a lot of training sessions passed and it looked like we got somewhere. The dragon respected me, and actually followed my commands. Pink was there to cheer us both on and help me create a better bond with him. Sometimes, she even rode on the back of the dragon whenever there was a chance. Soon, White came as promised, and watched as the dragon made loops in the air, blasted breaths of ice and retreated whenever I commanded it to.

'Well done, Yellow. I knew I could count on you.' White said. I proudly rose my chest and couldn't stop the smile that was on my face. It was not often you got a compliment from White.

'Thank you, White Diamond. Though, I have to admit I had a little help.' I said, while looking at Pink, who smiled in return.

'Then well done to you both. Because of this, I have decided to assign more of these gems to the both of you.' White continued. 'From now on you two will be the official dragon trainers. Congratulations.' Immediately, my smile turned upside down and my eyes spread wide. 'What?' Pink and I said in synch, though Pink with happiness.

'M-more of these things?' I stuttered.

'Really?' Pink added in disbelief, barely containing her excitement, while jumping up and down.

'Yes. Isn't that fun? It's so much better than sitting all day behind a screen answering messages and colonizing planets. I'm quite jealous of you two. You must be really pleased.'

'Eehh…' was the only thing that came out of my mouth.

'Oh thank you, White Diamond!' Pink jumped from behind my back and wrapped her arms around White.

White was caught off guard; no one has ever dared to touch her like that. For a moment she froze, unable to do something, but eventually decided she liked it. 'No problem, Starlight,' she chuckled, while patting Pink's head as response. 'Well, speaking of colonization, I think I'll go back to work now. The new gems will arrive shortly, so you can start right away. You'll be happy to hear that I've already made thousands of them. Enjoy the training!' With that, White warped back to her ship, a satisfied smile on her face.

I remained stunned, even when my Pearl called me a few times. In my head, there were all sorts of horror stories playing of how I will meet my end with these beasts. Pink on the other hand, was happily dancing around the room. She hopped over to my direction and hugged me tight. 'Yellow! This is amazing. We are going to spend so much time together! And training those cute dragons… This is the best day of my life!' Pink babbled on, while I could only think about how much time it will cost me and how busy I'll be. Training one dragon was already a lot of trouble, but a whole horde of them? Everything before my eyes circled around me until Pink brought me back to reality. 'Yellow? Yellow are you ok?'

'Wha? Oh, yes I'm fine.'

'Are you sure?'

'No,' I sighed. Because I knew lying to Pink was pointless. 'But I will be, if you help me get through it.'

'Hmm, you know what,' Pink suddenly said, while putting her finger on her lips, pretending to be thinking, 'I'm actually kind of bored training these dragons, so I guess I'll go to Blue now. Later Yellow!' She happily waved me goodbye, making her way to the door. Meanwhile, I stood there, not believing what had happened. This was a joke, right? But when Pink didn't return after a while, I grew anxious. I hurried to the door, looking left and right in the corridor, with no results. 'Pink? Pink! Don't you dare turn your back on me now.' I said, when I suddenly felt a heavy weight on my shoulders. 'Got you.' Pink winked. 'You didn't actually think I was going to leave you, did you?' She asked with a smirk.

'No…Well, maybe for a moment.' I admitted.

'Yellow, I'll always be there for you, no matter how busy you are, even though you don't always want it.'

'I know. Now, let's go train some dragons.' And for the first time I was actually looking forward to it, as long as Pink was by my side.