Fifty years after Pink Diamond emerged, the colony was coming along splendidly. All of the initial structures had been built, including the Galaxy Warp, which meant Pink Diamond and her crew were far more in touch with Gem society than before. Blue and Yellow Diamond had paid several more visits, to check on Pink's progress and offer advice, and Pink had had the chance to briefly leave earth, and explore the rest of Gem space. She had even been able to formally meet White Diamond on Homeworld.
If Pink had felt out of touch on her ship, it was nothing, compared to the feeling of being on the Gem Homeworld. Pink didn't like to admit it, but she detested it there. She felt like she was suffocating, being so many lightyears away from the nearest plant. As it turned out, Pink Diamond's first impression of White had been accurate. She was cold, efficient and practical. She had congratulated Pink on her progress so far and wished her well in the development of her colony, showing no interest in spending any more time with her than necessary.
With the colony underway, Pink Diamond and White Pearl had had to bid a tearful farewell, as White Diamond required her Primary Pearl back. They had journeyed to the Galaxy Warp without an entourage, so Pink could see Pearl off in private, and so that they could promise each other not to let Gem society make them forget who they really were.
Pink's first kindergarten was progressing nicely too, the spider-like injectors had crawled up and down the canyon, at the command of a team of Peridots, who had them drill into the surface of the rock, and inject the dirt with a liquid, mineral solution, which would ultimately lead to the formation of solid gems.
Pink had been excited at first, but she was only now beginning to understand what an effective kindergarten entailed. No Gem ever spoke of the environmental decay, caused by Gem production, not because it was a secret, or because it was distasteful, but simply because they didn't care. Pink, on the other hand, cared very much. She had been looking forward to seeing the joyous faces on her Quartz soldiers, when they emerged into the canyon, and saw the flowing river, the plentiful flowers, and the thriving trees, but as the years passed, Pink began to slowly notice the damage being caused.
One by one, the trees in the kindergarten were beginning to wilt, the river had shrunk to half of its former width, and the grass felt dry and lifeless beneath Pink's feet. It had happened so slowly, she hadn't noticed at first. Like how a human parent might not notice their child growing, until they needed a new set of furs, Pink didn't realise what was happening, until the day she gently ran her hand through a tree, accidentally causing several leaves to fall, followed by an entire branch. The inside of the wood was rotten and white.
Instantly, she had summoned the three chief Peridots in charge of managing the kindergarten.
"Look at what's happening to the local plant life! Why is this happening? What can we do!?" Pink babbled, in a panic.
The three Peridots shared nervous glances. They were all similar to Peridot Prime, except for being various shades of green. Two of them had visors, the third had a slender pair of gauntlets. One's gem was on the side of her cheek, the second's was on the back of her forearm, and the third's gem was in her navel, like Pink. They seemed nervous, as though they ought to be panicking about the plant life too, although they weren't sure why.
"Erm... pardon me... my Diamond." One said, drawing attention to herself by raising a finger in the air, nervously. "But... what's wrong with the plants?"
Pink reacted, just as the Peridot feared she would. She gasped, seeming shocked and offended. "'What's wrong'!? They're dying!"
"Yes!" Another Peridot eagerly agreed, still unsure what the problem was. "Your Rose Quartzes are siphoning the energy from the ground perfectly! I'm sure they'll be a magnificent cut!"
"Siphoning...?" Pink whispered. She had thought that unborn Gems were charged by the injectors. "You're telling me that this is normal...?"
The Peridots shared another nervous look. "Yes... my Diamond. This is what Gems do."
Since Gems weren't made with this information, Pink's ignorance didn't surprise the Peridots. What was confusing and alarming them, was how she was reacting to it. Most Gems, upon learning this, would be casually interested, and think no more of it, like how a human might react to being told there are 206 bones in their body.
Pink Diamond reeled. What was she going to do? Her dreams collapsed around her and shattered. How could she possibly create her part of an empire, if it meant destroying the earth? For all she knew, it was the only planet in the universe, with organic plant life. Suddenly, she thought of Homeworld. How could she have been so stupid? She had assumed Gem-controlled planets were simply rich in minerals, enabling Gem production, but what if they had once been as green and full of life as earth was... before the Gems arrived?
Pink was about to collapse to her knees, when a glimmer of hope shone through her despair. "Wait, what about me!?" She demanded, to the Peridots. "When I emerged, the area was still full of plant life!"
The Peridots were surprised by this.
"Really?
"That's odd..."
"But you're a Diamond! You should have drained the continent!"
Pink sighed, having hoped the three of them would know more about her birth. "Do any of you know who would know more about how I was made?"
The smaller Gems briefly conferenced. "Well, Blue and Yellow Diamond kept the honour of injecting you, to themselves, but Peridot Prime oversaw your gestation! She might be able to help with this... problem?"
The Peridot who spoke up, was clearly too timid to pry further, but her sisters were clearly braver.
"Forgive me, my Diamond." One of them said. "But why exactly is it a problem if the plants die?"
Pink frowned, crestfallen, hurt by the dismissiveness. She knew Gems didn't care for organic life, but she had hoped, at the very least, that the idea of caring wouldn't be entirely ridiculous.
"Because I like them!" She said, and then paused reluctantly. "Don't you?"
Again, the Peridots nervously considered their words.
Pink rolled her eyes, before they replied. "Never mind, just... wait here."
Turning around, Pink walked further down the valley, out of the Peridots' earshot. She lifted her fingers and made a gesture in the air, and a circular display appeared, featuring Pink Pearl, sitting at her desk in Pink's control room.
"My Diamond." She saluted. "How can I serve you?"
"Hey Pearl. Can you put me in touch with a Peridot called... Peridot Prime?" Pink asked.
Pearl frowned, she wasn't familiar. She tapped on her controls and quickly found the relevant information. "Ah yes, here she is. Putting you through now."
Pearl vanished, and the screen was blank for several seconds, before she was replaced by an image of a white Peridot. Peridot Prime was sitting at a work station, much like Pearl's, in a spacious, white room, with a stunning view of space, through the domed ceiling. She was surrounded by data screens, hovering in the air around her.
She looked up suddenly at the screen. "Pink Diamond! My stars, what a coincidence! It's an honour to talk to you in person!" She scrambled to her feet and gave the Diamond salute.
"Hi Peridot. Some of my own Peridots were just telling me that you oversaw my gem, before I emerged?"
"I did indeed have that honour!" Peridot confirmed. "You were a most peculiar case..." She frowned, and cleared her throat, cautious of being disrespectful. "I mean, those crystals, and the unique effect on the ecosystem. Then again, I suppose it's fitting that such a uniquely exquisite Gem, should have such a unique, personal kindergarten!"
In other circumstances, Pink might have blushed, but it was a serious situation. "That's actually why I'm calling. Do you know why I didn't absorb the energy from the ground, like most Gems?"
"Well... you actually did draw energy from the ground, except, once you were fully charged, you returned the energy back to the earth. Frankly it's stumped me ever since, I was just reviewing the data I gathered when you called."
Pink was crestfallen, but she wouldn't give up. "Are you busy right now, Peridot? I mean, does White have you working on anything?"
Peridot adjusted her visor slightly. "Not really, no. With the war with the Darmites over, Gem production has slowed, and I've recently completed an inspection algorithm which, to be honest, has drastically reduced my kindergartening workload." Sure enough, Peridot sounded bored of her situation, which was perfect for Pink.
"Well, if White doesn't mind, how would you like to come and help me on a very important project?" Pink proposed. "I want to understand how I was made and what caused my gem to act the way it did."
"Are... are you suggesting we conduct some... experiments?" Peridot gasped. Her voice was brimming with anticipation and joy, as though she had been waiting her entire life for such an opportunity. She bit her bottom lip and tried to keep herself from breaking into an enormous grin.
"Yes! If we can isolate what it is about me, that caused the energy exchange, and apply it to the designs for future Gems..."
Peridot unapologetically interrupted Pink. "…then Gem production would be massively more efficient! We could generate ten times the number of Gems we normally could, per kindergarten!"
Clearly this was a concept Peridot Prime had spent a great deal of time and energy on, and one which no one had yet encouraged her to entertain. That hadn't been what Pink was about to say, of course, but she was glad there were benefits for both humans and Gems, for environmentally considerate Gem production.
"Sounds great! I'm sending a set of co-ordinates to you now, meet me there. I'll have a lab built, and we can get to work."
Peridot input the co-ordinates to one of her displays. "Ah yes, of course, I'll see you... oh wait... that isn't earth."
"No." Pink confirmed. "Earth is the third planet in this system, I want you to meet me on the fourth, the unnamed red planet. Until we figure this out, I'm not depleting the earth's resources on ordinary gem production. "
"That's... very ambitious..." Peridot breathed. "Buuut, I suppose in peace time, one can afford to delay short term progress."
"Thanks Peridot. I'll see you there."
Pink dispersed the screen, and made her way back to her own Peridots, who were anxiously awaiting her. Before any of them said anything, Pink Diamond spoke up.
"I'm suspending the kindergarten." She said, bluntly.
Pink was met with a series of shrieks and gasps. "But... but... my Diamond! The soil surveys have been spectacular! Your Rose Quartzes will come out perfectly, and we're all set to begin work on the rest of your Gems! The potential for Amethyst's here is nothing short of..."
Pink lifted the palm of her hands, requesting silence. "That's an order. I don't care how the other Diamonds have done things, before me. I won't grow any more gems here, at the expense of the earth. I'm meeting Peridot Prime off world, and we're going to find a way to produce Gems, the way I was made. A way that sustains the planet, and doesn't harm the ecosystem!"
While Pink Diamond spoke, one of the Peridots, the one with gauntlets, was visibly trying to contain an outburst and, when Pink finished, she failed. "WHO CARES?" She snapped. "They're just plants!" No sooner had the words come out of her mouth, did she gasp, salute, and practically squeak, "…my Diamond..."
Pink felt a new emotion bubbling inside her, one she hadn't felt before, searing through her form. Anger. She stomped over to the Peridot, until the smaller Gem fell backwards, trying to look up at her.
"I care!" She shouted. "And I know it's not a popular cause for concern, but so do the trillions of life forms on this planet, who happen to not be Gems!"
Pink turned around, and made to stomp towards her palanquin, at the mouth of the canyon, but she had barely made it a few steps, before another Peridot timidly called after her. "M... my Diamond?"
She spun around. "What?"
"What would you like us to do about the Gems... already gestating here?"
Pink looked at the walls and sighed, she had almost forgotten about her Rose Quartzes. If they stayed, the environmental decay would only get worse, but if she pulled them out of the ground too soon, they'd emerge misshapen, mutated or corrupted. As much as she loved the earth, would she sacrifice her own people for its wellbeing? No. No, she wouldn't. Pink hoped that didn't make her a hypocrite.
"Keep an eye on them... Let me know when they emerge." She said. "But there will be no more production in this Kindergarten! Until I get back, this colony is on hold!"
