As Pink Diamond's leg spaceship, filled with an entourage ready to begin their colonization, approached the Crystal System, the internal systems quickly recognized that it had eight planets in total. However, none of them were ever named by another Gem; so, they were simply Crystal System Planets I through VIII.

This was unacceptable, and Pink Diamond's first order of business was to give them names.

The only person who she could entrust with such a task, if her integrity and authority among her court were to be preserved, was, of course, Pearl. Since there were no other Pearls within the star system's limit, it was fine to refer to her as just Pearl, or at least, Pink thought so.

So, Pink pulled Pearl away to a private quarters in the spaceship, and asked about the question at hand. "I know this is a bit of a silly matter, but believe me, I won't get bored in here as easily."

"Of course, my Diamond. Shall I procure a system map to aid the designation efforts?"

"Yes, please."

What Pink didn't anticipate, though, was that Pearl would just project a graphic, spanning at least twice the height of herself, straight out of her gemstone. "Wait, you can do that?" she couldn't help but ask.

"All Pearls are equipped with projective powers from their gemstone in order to aid their masters. You should have known that; aren't you as ancient and timeless as the other Diamonds?"

"...let's just get to the fun part." Pink allowed herself to immerse in the system map.

The planets of Crystal System appeared to come in two major groups: four (relatively) small planets orbiting the star very tightly, and four big planets orbiting the star at much greater distances. There were also two distinct bands of asteroids, one between the two groups of planets and one surrounding the outermost planet, VIII.

Actually... if she thought about it, those outer asteroids were really "ptoo"-ing around VIII, sometimes even getting closer to the star than itself. She played around with the sounds some more, with Pearl, serious as she was, eventually engaging, and landed on Neptune.

They did a similar thing for the rest, largely just making up words and seeing what sticks, not really based on anything. And admittedly, the planet just inside Neptune's orbit, VII, probably needed a better name than what Pink and Pearl threw together in their quick session.

III, the planet Pink was colonizing, though, needed a special name. From her first glance on its oceans and continents, it felt like a new home, and needed an appropriate name. Pink and Pearl must have gotten through quite a few names before they landed on the perfect one: Earth.

Yeah. And especially with that new name she came up with not too long ago, Pink really felt like she had something: Rose Quartz, of Planet Earth.

Maybe. Maybe not. These were all temporary names.

Also, the relatively large satellite orbiting III required special attention.

The first order of business for a Diamond who actually took colonization attempts seriously was to establish an observation base on a natural satellite of the planet she was colonizing, and if such a satellite didn't exist, an asteroid which would be brought into orbit around the planet. The assorted members of Pink's court knew this procedure, without ever needing to be explicitly briefed just before departure, and therefore, it was unsurprising that they had already landed on III's satellite, on the side which would be facing the satellite's parent planet, and the construction of the observation tower was already underway.

III - no, Earth - would be off-limits for the Diamond, though.

Which was boring, let's face it. Pink couldn't imagine not interacting with the local organics or newly made Gems of the planet.

Boo.

Noo.

Moo.

Moon.

Pink had already made kind of a habit of just randomly stretching out and mutating random words in order to land on more potential names for objects within Crystal System, and without realizing it, she had landed on the perfect name for Earth's companion in the system.

She continued glancing out towards Earth, really wondering what organic life was like down there. Perhaps her garden could use some new flora.

Finally, as she was gazing towards space, Nephrite walked up to the private quarters. "The standard observation base on the satellite is complete, my Diamond. The observation orb still needs calibration in order to observe Crystal System Planet III..."

"Why don't we go for a friendlier name than that? What do you think of 'Earth'?"

Nephrite, Pink figured, was as good a Gem to test this idea of newfangled, nonstandard names for planets as they could get.

"This is an unprecedented request, but this is a request from a Diamond, so I must honor it. Anyway, observation of Earth won't be possible until at least a couple local days down the line, so in the meantime, you can do whatever you please."

So, it was mostly informing the other Diamonds that she successfully made it to her designated planet and got a start on its colonization, then, entire days in cloudspace until observation was finished.

Yet, more than that, Pink was just happy that the name stuck, if only because of an implicit order, and that the other names could similarly make her squadron more interested in it all - not that they needed interest, but it didn't hurt to get some, and not just do things because a Diamond asked them to.

Also, the sooner she stopped being a Diamond, the better. (She knew that she wouldn't stop being a Diamond anytime soon, or ever, but one could always have some wishful thinking for herself.)

Over the next few days, months, and years, literally nothing of note happened.

This was not an exaggeration. As far as Pink, Pearl and her squadrons, coming one after another, could see, the only definite progress was in creating structures to house Gems, as well as a single Kindergarten - the Prime Kindergarten - to create Gems. Yet, the total population of Gems produced on Earth was at zero, and remained at zero, ever since the colonization attempt started.

And, since Earth was still off-limits for a Diamond, and since she needed to be in Crystal System to monitor her colony, the only other place left for her to be was cloudspace.

Well, physically, the base on the Moon, yes. But these days, Pink slept for days on end, and cloudspace felt much more familiar - and friendly - to her than Crystal System ever could.

In cloudspace, Pink could have anything she wanted... provided that she knew what she actually wanted.

That was the whole problem. Pink didn't know what she actually wanted, and since cloudspace had already helped her discover a whole lot about herself, like an alternative name and an alternative appearance, it would eventually reveal to her her entire, proper personality. And yet, she simply couldn't ask cloudspace to "reveal what I want", and the only thing she could do was to spend more and more time in cloudspace, to the point of addiction.

It was absolutely an addiction; every time Pink was forced to snap out, either because her gemstone felt like it would crack or because she needed to pay attention to specifics of colonization, she immediately felt regret and resent, and as soon as she could, she just hopped in again. However, at no point was Pink informed that this was unacceptable behavior - again, Yellow and Blue liked it when she wasn't actively causing trouble or stalling colonization, and as far as Pink was aware, colonization was going at a nominal tempo, despite the abysmal results - and therefore, anyone who told her differently could get lost.

In fact, these days, she spent so much time in cloudspace, she thought she literally heard a voice, calling for her, again and again. Yet, another cleansing to get a clean slate, and the voice disappeared, leaving Pink alone.

Maybe that was what she needed: a voice, a conscience of sorts, to guide her through her own inner sanctum. Yet, the voice she heard was evidently not friendly, and not wanting to hear a single word from her, Pink shut her out, as best as she could.

Eventually, she would establish a physical counterpart to cloudspace, where she could just... live. Yet, for now, the best cure for mysterious, possibly malevolent voices was to awaken in the Moon base and review colonization status, once again.

Nothing happened, and Pink kept exchanging glances with Pearl. She then said, for what must have been a thousandth time since the colonization attempt started: "Could you imagine that running a colony would be this dull?"

She tried to inject enthusiasm, but she just... failed. It really sounded forced this time.

To say nothing of the fact that Pearl, the perfect servant, completely misunderstood the remark: "I could imagine it, if you would like me to, my Diamond."

Those words, again and again: my Diamond. Pink really wanted to just tell her entire fleet to stop calling her that, but the ensuing chaos would definitely negatively impact the colony.

Instead, if Pearl was going to be like this, Pink might as well get something useful from it. "Show me the status of the Prime Kindergarten."

Pearl obliged, entering codes to the panel on the top floor, where she and Pink were situated. She then informed, as best as she could: "The first Quartz soldiers are due to emerge soon."

This remark changed everything. For once, Pink didn't feel like calling it another "nominal" and slipping back into cloudspace; she was going to live through these new Gems as best as she could. She and Pearl rushed to the second floor, where the observation orb was situated, and with Pearl's help, looked at the Kindergarten from up close.

And surely enough, there it was. The injectors had done their job in making the soil an appropriate color and an appropriate everything for Gems to potentially emerge, and just as Pearl turned on the observation orb, a Gem emerged: in another Gem's eyes, a typical Amethyst, but in Pink's eyes, another friend.

"Welcome to Earth!" Pink called out towards the Amethyst, inviting her for a hug, only for the illusion that she was really here to shatter once the Amethyst walked right through her.

Alas, some dreams were to remain dreams. "I wish I could just be there..." Pink couldn't help but sigh.

"I'll have us warped in the Kindergarten at once, my Diamond."

Was Pearl really willing to break all sorts of protocol just to satisfy her Diamond's demands? "What? No, no, if I went down to the Kindergarten I would never hear the end of it from Yellow and Blue. Oh, but could you imagine? Me, down there, laughing and playing with the Amethysts?"

Try and guess what the perfect servant did: she immediately created a hologram, a full physical representation, of Pink together with the newly formed Gems.

"You look so happy." she even added.

"I won't be so happy when Blue and Yellow find out." Pink immediately objected.

"They won't find out."

"How's that?"

"Because..." The version of Pink in Pearl's vision suddenly transformed into something... familiar.

It was her "more comfortable" form, with a slight change: now, she wore the sort of outfit that a newly formed Gem would wear.

"You look just like a Quartz. You changed your shape for a day!"

This was perfect. This was beyond perfect; this was the sort of creative idea that literally spun worlds. In fact, Pink wasted no time in getting ready.

From her very first moments, being a Rose Quartz brought Pink so much relief. She still had to ask Pearl to stop referring to "my Diamond" every ten seconds, but other than that, she truly felt unity with the Amethysts of Earth, and was glad that she could at least greet one of them into the world.

Even better, though, was that part where Pearl suggested that Pink check out the rest of the planet.

Everything struck her so hard. The plants, the animals, the water flows - everything about the Earth's life was mesmerizing, but especially two things: growths that didn't really allow anything near them, and those creatures that looked like Gems but didn't have gemstones. Was this the primitive civilization that Pink was briefed on? If so, then primitive civilization was the best thing that could happen to this planet.

Yet, as Pink and Pearl found themselves back on the Prime Kindergarten, something was obvious. The "healthy" colors, which signaled the creation of Gems, were primarily purples and grays created when absolutely no organic lifeforms were present.

It was at this point when Pink spoke, sure that Pearl was the only one who heard: "All this life that's been growing wild here on Earth... none of it... will survive my invasion. We're not creating life from nothing. We're taking life, and leaving nothing behind."

"Forgive me, my Diamond. I shouldn't have brought you to such a place." Pearl immediately apologized.

"No. I needed to see this."

The next few days, months and years were primarily shaped by Pink actively halting the colonization process, as much as she could without getting Blue and Yellow's attention. Most squadrons were dismissed, and only the bare minimum required to sustain colonization - a population mostly made up of Earth's Amethysts, with only a few notable exceptions, such as Nephrite - remained. In addition, Pink would try to talk about the importance of preserving organics with Blue and Yellow as much as possible.

Yet, each such attempt fell to deaf ears.

It wouldn't matter that much if the only voice was of simple dismissal. Yet, one thing that Blue and Yellow did sent Pink over the edge.

She was, once again, monitoring the colony, only ensuring the completeness of Gem structures, which she liked, and the Prime Kindergarten, the only Kindergarten which would be allowed to exist under Pink's jurisdiction and orders. However, Blue and Yellow rang (another non-word Pink made up in order to describe them starting communication), causing Pink and Pearl to turn their attention to them.

"Pink! Isn't it lovely? Your colony has come so far, it would be a shame if it collapsed and bore very little fruit due to your negligence!" Blue spoke.

"Of course." In these sorts of calls, whenever Pink's competence as a Diamond was questioned, her voice was usually reduced to pleasantries.

"That being said, we think your concern for preservation of organics on your colony is valid, and to this end, we present to you: your very own zoo!"

From the video feed, Blue and Yellow were evidently outside a structure, made primarily in pink colors to reflect the Diamond they made it for, with housing in various forms. They then allowed their ships to take them to inside the structure, where they revealed a mini-ecosystem primarily consisting of Earth lifeforms.

It reminded Pink of something... a garden of some sorts... where she used to play...

But more than that, this was completely missing the point. Pink didn't know why she felt that, but she felt like organics needed to be preserved on Earth. Otherwise, to get them to so much as to live, some obvious shortcuts would be needed.

As Blue and Yellow kept showing Pink and Pearl the structures, they commented on each one, discussing how the feature would preserve Earth organics (except they never said "Earth" or any other term Pink made up; they always referred to either "Pink's colony" or "Crystal System Planet III", the formal names).

However, there was one particular comment, delivered in part by both of them, that really stuck out. "As far as hoo-mans go, though, it seems that you want them preserved the best you can. And thanks to your research into their mating cycles, we believe we have a solution! In order to avoid any bloodline contamination, each hoo-man is specifically told which other hoo-man to mate with. And we shaped the telling procedure after their primitive rituals! We call it 'The Choosening'. See, even we can play the made-up name game!"

First of all, they were humans, not "hoo-mans" - Pink really believed she had her made-up terminology straight - and second, they were primarily creatures of free will, and telling them who to mate with was really going in the wrong direction.

"You will have to excuse me. I need some time to process it all, but I do not believe any current or proposed solution to organic preservation is constructive." Pink spoke, before shutting off her video feed - no, hanging up, as she liked to say these days.

"Is everything okay, my Diamond?" Pearl immediately asked.

"No! And would you please stop saying 'my Diamond' once and for all? You know you can refer to me by something better - something I actually live as." Pink snapped, though still managing to retain some composure in front of Pearl.

"Apologies, Rose... I really shouldn't be saying this in a Diamond's base. I will leave you be." In the very least, Pearl had learned to leave Pink alone when the latter was flustered, which was an increasingly common occurrence these days.

This was never going to work, Pink thought to herself, as she sat back down in her throne on the Moon base, allowing herself to return to her more comfortable form - the "Rose Quartz" form - once again.

She had never felt so angry before - with herself, with the other Gems, with the whole idea of colonization.

During her time on Earth, she was already quite privy to how much humans were able to mature and change compared to Gems. And yet, each and every time, she underestimated how much of brick walls Gems were, and how talking nicely to them simply wasn't an option.

The only alternative remaining to Pink was a violent rebellion.

With that thought, though, Pink heard a voice that sounded strangely familiar, yet foreign. Yo! What's that supposed to be about?

Was any other Gem physically present? Pink glanced around herself, yet, couldn't find a trace of anyone - not even her Pearl, who was downstairs, interacting with the observation orb and most likely being mesmerized by structures she and Pink had found the other day.

I've been tryna to talk to you ever since you got a new Pearl, you know! the voice spoke, again, coming back.

Given that this voice was aware of what she was thinking, it must have been a voice in her head; in cloudspace. Yet, Pink was pretty sure, there was no one else in cloudspace. Cloudspace was where she was safe. Cloudspace was where she could explore herself. The thought of it being otherwise was unfathomable.

Nevertheless, the voice needed to be addressed. Pink spoke, barely above a whisper: "Who are you?"

Who am I? the voice repeated, as though it was insulted. I am Pink Diamond! The latest and greatest of the Diamond Authority! The one who's supposed to be sitting in that throne of yours!

"Wait, what? I'm Pink Diamond." Pink tried to assert.

No; you're Rose Quartz. You're the one constantly going on about how you should be an Earthling instead, and all that nonsense which has no place in the Empire.

From the very first moments, it was clear: this was a matter best addressed in cloudspace.

In preparation, Pink shifted back into her usual form. She knew this matter could potentially take a while, and if someone caught Rose Quartz in Pink Diamond's throne, her rebellion idea would fail before it even started.

Then, she closed her eyes and let herself drift into cloudspace.