The small Gem had to agree. Being the only Pearl inside of her host's "Surface" area could get a bit overwhelming at times. There were just...SO many items to organize! SO MANY...
Sometimes she would organize them alphabetically. Other times, she would get a sudden urge to re-organize them by their Latin roots, or function, or color. It seemed that her host was never satisfied on how these random items should be classified...slightly annoying, but manageable.
The tiny Pearl spent most of her time carving and creating new spears. It was a never-ending, FRUSTRATING task! Each battle would deplete her stash, and she would have to start making a new set of spears all over again!
The little Gem was also in charge of holograms- whether they be memories, pictures, or Holo-Pearls. Admittedly, Holo-Pearls were the most difficult to construct. It was no easy feat- bending light in a way that would allow it to manipulate and hold solid objects...such as swords.
The Surface Pearl's favorite thing to create were dreams and nightmares! Her host rarely slept...but when she DID, the little Gem had the most fun creating fictional movies! If she happened to be in a particularly devious or vengeful mood, she would prank her host by making the most hilarious, disturbing imagery she could possibly think of! Turning Rose Quartz into Greg...that was her doing! The tiny Pearl laughed! Served the host right for overworking her constantly!
Thus, the day Steven appeared in her space was a surprising one indeed! Her host rarely sent in organic life, and certainly NOT family members! The Surface Pearl figured she had sent Steven inside to protect him during a battle or something similar. When her natural programming kicked in, she figured she should put the boy in a space alphabetically by name.
Needless to say, the half-human quickly declined the choice of wanting to be placed next to the stethoscope, and informed the Surface Pearl (which he decided to call "the Pearl inside of Pearl's Pearl"), that he had simply been sent in to retrieve a cell phone. He insisted on going into the host's repressed memories (the poor dear), before the little Pearl obliged, and sent him on his way...
...
...The Surface Pearl was alone again. That small amount of quick banter was the first time in HUNDREDS of years she had directly spoken to anyone! She sighed. It wasn't always this way. In the beginning, there were at least five of her in here...but as the years droned on, each friend would get placed in (yet another) repressed memory. She ultimately wondered if she, herself, would get stuck in a time loop of the mind eventually as well.
When Steven finally found what he was looking for, he exited the gemstone so quickly, that the boy didn't even thank her for her assistance! She saw him wiz by in a barrage of light. The host obviously wanted her family member back quickly!
The tiny Surface Pearl sighed again. The entire back and forth had been quite...undignified! Certainly, Steven could have stopped for some tea...or had a small conversation at least?
NOPE.
The tiny Pearl suddenly felt very...ALONE. She didn't go back to organizing. She didn't make any new spears. She didn't construct any new holograms. The Pearl inside of Pearl's Pearl simply sat on the floor, and wept.
It was several days later before Pearl realized that her gemstone was acting strangely. She figured, (at first), that it was just the natural grief and stress of the situation that was causing her stone to malfunction.
...but then, she started realizing that her gemstone wasn't functioning AT ALL. She could not create a Holo-Pearl to practice her sparing. She could not retrieve the kettle from her pocket space to make tea. Heck...she couldn't even summon a spear! What was going on?! Had releasing her secret about Rose Quartz' true identity frightened her so badly, that her brain was just...refusing to function?! Despite her better judgement, she asked Steven to (once again), go inside of her gemstone, and see what the problem was.
The family member obliged, and in a mighty flash of light was sent back into his friend's head.
As the brightness subsided, Steven could immediately see what the problem was. The once clean "surface space" was now in complete disarray. The floor was littered with items. There was a wall with a computer attached to it that was displaying an "ERROR" message. There were no more spears. Bits of holograms were walking around mindlessly like glitches in a video game. The place looked less like the mind Steven had once seen, and now resembled a space more like Amethyst's room!
"PEARL!...or...erm...PEARL INSIDE OF PEARL'S PEARL! WHERE ARE YOU?!" The boy shouted in desperation as his eyes wandered across the magnificent collage of objects.
Steven turned the corner, and jumped in shock!
"MPH?!" The Surface Pearl looked at the boy- incredibly surprised and embarrassed! She had a spoon in her mouth and had located a tub of ice cream. Just because her host didn't like eating her feelings away, didn't mean that SHE couldn't!
The boy surveyed the area. There were snack wrappers EVERYWHERE. Most of the empty bags and boxes consisted of food Steven liked to bring on missions.
"Oh! Pearl inside of Pearl's Pearl! What...happened?!" Steven was (understandably) concerned! It looked like a bomb had gone off...
"MPH!" the Gem swallowed the wad of ice cream down quickly. Her face was puffy with tears in her eyes. "I...I...I'm sorry Steven. I'm just going through some stuff right now. Why did she send you THIS time? A box of TISSUES?! You can tell her that we're OUT." This was a rather obvious statement. There were wadded up tissues EVERYWHERE.
"Erm...no. She wanted to see why her gemstone was having so many...difficulties?" Steven attempted to make the statement sound as non-offensive as possible.
The Surface Pearl scoffed! "WELL! You can tell her to make her OWN spears, keep her OWN things organized, and create holograms for HUNDREDS of years ALL BY HERSELF! I have absolutely no one to talk to in here...AND never even receive a once in a while "Thank You" of appreciation!" The Surface Pearl "herumphed" before continuing the tub of ice cream.
"Oh boy..." Steven was completely baffled! What does one do when the tiny voice inside of your brain is literal, and refuses to function properly?
He would have to talk to Pearl...HIS Pearl- to get this situation under control...