In the Diamond Base, on earth's moon, Pink was exhausted. Even though it had been several years since she'd had time to indulge in a night's sleep, Pink had never overworked herself, or gotten stressed, to the extent that she was now. Her encounter with Yellow, at the weapons testing facility had haunted her since her return. White Diamond was right, Yellow must have known she would never get permission to use her gun, but she had made it anyway. Why? Would she use it without permission? Would she find a way to sway Blue diamond?

Every shard in her gem was on edge, ready for Yellow's next move, whatever it was. She monitored the Galaxy Net and all earth broadcasts, for any sign of Yellow's activity, from her throne, at the very top of the base. The earth hung in the sky above her. Despite everything that had happened, it looked exactly the same as it always had, from space. Pink sighed, as she stared up at the world that could have once been her colony. She had spent a lot of time daydreaming lately, about how wonderful the colony would have been, if she had gotten her way, and there were no other Diamonds to interfere with and threaten her.

Pink jumped slightly, as she was stirred from her thoughts, when the hatch in the floor beside the throne slid backwards, and Pink's Pearl, and one of her Sapphires ascended the stairs. Besides being pink, the Sapphire was also distinguished from other Gems of her cut, by tying her hair into pigtails, proudly revealing her singular eye.

"My Diamond!" Pearl greeted, in an anxious voice, saluting. "One of your Sapphires has come to me, with a most disturbing vision!"

Pink turned to face them. "What is it?" She asked.

Pearl led Sapphire to the front of Pink's throne, and instructed her to relay her prophecy with a nod of her head.

The Sapphire saluted. "My Diamond... I have foreseen you travelling to earth, to Sector 12-AY. While you are there, you will be confronted by Rose Quartz, informed on where to find you by Blue Diamond's own, rebel Sapphire."

Before Sapphire finished, Pink's mind raced, as she considered what possible reason there could be for her or Rose to go to that sector. Perhaps Rose had learnt of Yellow's weapon and wanted to talk about strategy? What confused her the most, was the location. Sector 12-AY had no base, no weapons, no Gem activity whatsoever, in fact, the only Gems who knew the significance of that place, were Peridot Prime and the Diamonds.

"While you are there..." Sapphire continued, her voice trembled, just slightly. "Rose Quartz will shatter you... I'm not certain how..."

Sapphire's words hit Pink like a bolt of lightning. She sat in her throne, staring, unblinkingly at nothing in particular, while the gears in her mind raced once more.

"My... my Diamond?" Pearl prompted, hesitantly, with a desperation in her voice, for some kind of defense strategy.

Pink snapped out of it. "Right... Y... yes. Thank you, Sapphire." Pink said, absently. "Leave me alone for a moment... please. I... I need to think."

The two smaller, pink Gems hesitated for just a moment, before saluting, and chorusing, "Yes, my Diamond."

As they reached the stairs, Pink called after them. "Sapphire... who else have you told about this?"

"Only your Pearl, my Diamond."

"Good... no one else can know about this... that's an order."

The two Gems gave another, hesitant affirmation, before descending the stairs to the lower base, and allowing the hatch to close behind them.

Rose was going to shatter Pink!? Why? Pink held her head as she strained to keep track of all the moving parts of this conspiracy. It had been hundreds of years since Pink had seen Rose, but the Rose Quartz that Pink knew would never shatter another Gem, even if it meant the end of the war. Then, Pink thought of Yellow. It seemed very unlikely that it was a coincidence that this would happen so soon, after Pink had vetoed the use of Yellow's weapon. During their fight, in the Prime Kindergarten, Yellow had admitted to wanting Pink shattered, and now she had further motive, still, and if Yellow wanted Pink gone, then there was only one Gem who could do it, and cause no one to ask further questions.

Of course, Pink didn't want to be shattered. Gems feared their mortality, just as organic life did, even if they had the benefit of potentially out-living the universe. But if Rose wanted Pink shattered, and Yellow had something to do with it, then there must be something severe looming. A small part of Pink hoped that Sapphire was wrong, and that a peaceful resolution could be found, but one way or another, she was going to meet Rose Quartz.

The Sapphire would have to have her memory erased, no one could know that Pink would deliberately meet with Rose. In addition, Pink had been travelling with a defensive entourage, out of sincere concern for her own safety, whenever she visited earth. She would need to take them with her, too, for appearance's sake. No matter what happened, no one could ever know the true nature of Pink and Rose's relationship. Of course, they would try to fight off Rose, but Pink had been holding onto a very special Gem artifact for just such an occasion.

Pink rose to her feet, with a look of resolve and determination on her face, but nevertheless, her hands trembled slightly. She made her way down the stairs to the rest of the base. The location of Pink and Rose's meeting quickly made sense. If there was a chance Pink would be shattered, then there was somewhere she wanted to be, one last time.

-x-x-x-

It was incredible to Pink, how the earth was constantly changing, while, in many ways, remaining the same. She had been to Sector 12-AY countless times over the centuries, and although the towering mountains and serene crashing of the ocean were always the same, the foliage and animals she saw never were. Pink's most significant memory of the area was, of course, her very earliest memory- of emerging from her crystals and meeting Tayko for the first time. Since then, she had grown her tree, several humans moved into the area, the humans (to Pink's dismay) burned the tree and the surrounding forest, but then the foliage had returned, stronger than ever.

Pink's palanquin landed gently in a small clearing, next to a barely noticeable pile of cloudy, grey crystals. The small vessel had barely touched the ground, when there was a blinding flash of light, which resulted in the appearance of two dozen combat-ready Gems. Mostly Agates and Jaspers, but also a handful of Rubies.

The entourage stood around the palanquin, with discipline, facing away from it, prepared, should an enemy sneak up on them. Although they had all heard the palanquin doors open, it quickly caught the Gems' attention that no one had come out. Eventually, an Agate carefully turned her head. Pink was sitting in the vessel's seat, resting her forehead on her hand. Her Pearl stood next to her, frowning in sympathy, but not saying anything.

"M... my Diamond?" The Agate eventually spoke up. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes..." Pink sighed, not entirely convincingly. "Everything's fine."

Pink rose to her feet, and descended the stairs of her palanquin. She had taken just a few steps, when a lone figure descended just beyond the small group of gems, as if having fallen from the sky. In one hand, she held a pink sword, on the back of the other, was projected an iconic shield.

High up on the mountain, Pearl, Garnet and Tayko watched the scene with anxious anticipation. Tayko breathed so loudly, she was practically growling, and her fists were clenched. Garnet rested a hand on her shoulder, sympathetically, without restraining her. On the other side of the clearing, the tiny, smoldering form of a Corundum stealthily watched the scene developing.

"Rose Quartz!" Several of Pink's Gems shouted in alarm.

Pink's entourage immediately fell into formation, just as they had been trained to do. They divided into defensive and attack positions, so that they might attempt to capture Rose, while still ensuring Pink's safety. Rose cringed. She still couldn't say, with certainty, that she would be able to shatter Pink, but either way, she would have to disrupt her entourage first.

Rose shot forwards, sword-first, Pink's soldiers did the same, but before the two forces met, Pink held up her hand and opened her fist. A ring of white light expanded horizontally, across the clearing and into the distance, and when it faded, Rose slowed to a halt and marveled at the result. With the exception of Pink and Rose, everything in sight was utterly motionless. The Gems stood frozen, in their fighting stances, birds hung in the sky, and the crashing of the ocean had given way to eerie silence. Unbeknown to Pink and Rose, even their stealthy spectators were frozen in time.

Rose looked to Pink, in awe. Hovering above the palm of the Diamond's hand, was a tiny, glass sphere.

"It's called the Hour Glass." Pink explained, half-heartedly. "I pulled it from Homeworld scientists mid-development. Its power is limited... we don't have long..."

Rose slowly approached Pink, fighting back tears. "I almost hoped you wouldn't come..." She whispered. "You know why we're here?"

"I assume Yellow had persuaded you to shatter me... probably by threatening to do something worse."

"Her Sapphire showed me..." Rose said, desperate for Pink to understand. "If I don't shatter you, she'll destroy this entire planet, with you on it..."

A nervous grin spread across Pink's face, which became a distorted laugh. "Damn her..." She said, miserably. "My stars... everything would have been so wonderful, if not for her."

Pink stepped across the clearing towards the crystals and picked up one of the remaining shards. It seemed like millions of years ago, that a cheerful, bright-eyed Diamond had emerged from this very spot, with dreams of a sustainable colony on earth. She could just about remember the feeling of sleeping in a tree, eating apples and climbing a mountain, just for the fun of it.

Eventually, Pink turned back to Rose. The smaller Gem stood immobile, her sword in hand, clutched tightly. The conflict was clear on Rose's face. "Rose... a long time ago... I gave you the freedom to do as you pleased, for the liberation of Gems on earth... I'm revoking it." Pink said, in a serious voice. "I'm ordering you to do what you have to do to protect this planet!"

"Wh... what?" Rose asked. She had no idea how this encounter would go, but Pink's response was surprising.

"Protect my world, Rose Quartz!" Pink shouted, a tear rolling down her left cheek. "Whatever it takes!"

A deafening silence followed, more so, for the absence of the sounds of the forest. After what seemed like an eternity, Rose saluted, without dropping her sword. "Yes... My Diamond..."

Fighting against all of her inhibitions and morals, as they tried to pull her back, Rose forced herself to step towards Pink Diamond, and trained her sword at her matriarch's gem. Pink closed her eyes and took a resounding breath through her nose. Quite without warning, a second circle of light receded into the glass sphere in Pink's hand. Pink's entourage were mobile again in an instant. Rose spared them one look, before turning back to Pink and thrusting with her sword.

CRACK

Aaaand fade to darkness. So that's my theory. Don't unfollow just yet, as there'll be a short epilogue, but then the story's finished. I hope y'all liked it!