It was no secret to the other Crystal Gems that Amethyst had a serious image problem. She always saw herself as the underdog and relied on her boundless humor and smart mouth to hide her discomfort. Rose used to be the one she felt she could lean back on, but now she was just as lost as the others and this funeral brought out all that confusion in spades.

For two days she had been roaming around Beach City and the surrounding area to come to grips with her feelings. To her it was the only option. She could not turn to Pearl without getting a monologue and talked down to, she was never comfortable around Garnet because of how unshakably confident the perma-fusion was, she already felt guilty for snapping at Steven so he was out of the question, and she doubted Peridot and Lapis would have an answer.

The first day of her impromptu exile took her down the streets of the town observing people. For how much the Gems talked about being the guardians of the Earth, she felt she was the only one who actually belonged here. She just sat back and watched the human experience go on around her, occasionally stopping to overhear a conversation or fish a snack out of a random garbage can. As the sun fell on the first day, she came across a familiar sight: Greg's car wash. His van was parked outside and the back was open.

As she approached, Greg was preoccupied with his guitar. He strummed a familiar melody and seemed lost in thought.

"Hey Greg." Amethyst waved sheepishly

"Amethyst?! What are you doing here?" he asked while putting his instrument down

"This whole funeral has got me worked up. I need someone I can talk to."

"Wow. You can't talk to the other Gems about it?"

Her sudden interest in the ground was a clear answer.

"Sure, we can talk. Have a seat." He patted the spot next to him.

"Thanks. I blew up at Steven over all of it and then Pearl and Garnet flipped out. I hate when they get all sappy."

"Well we ALL know how much a soft spot Rose is for us, right? Don't sweat it, we all flub up occasionally."

"Yeah, except you don't have everyone screaming at you for it."

"You should have seen what my early conversations with Pearl were like. No screaming but pretty… unpleasant."

"Really? I knew she was clingy but…"

"Oh, you don't want to know" he said remembering how passive-aggressive the slender Gem was years ago. This finally got Amethyst to crack a smile.

"It's just that… since we're all so bummed out about it, why bring it up with some big fancy ceremony? It's only going to make everyone upset again." she pouted

"True, everyone will be torn up for a little while but it's better to let it out than just have it build up and go nowhere. Trust me on that."

"Maybe…" she shrugged "It just feels like there's something missing all the time now. Steven's a great guy and my best friend, but Rose was the only one who I could talk to without being judged. No offense."

"None taken. Believe me, I know how hard this can be…" Several moments passed in silence as the sun drifted down the horizon.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I really can't."

"Huh?"

"You were with Rose for thousands of years, right?" he asked. Amethyst nodded.

"Well she and I were together for a fraction of that time. To spend literally millennia with one person as a figure to look up to is a lot to get rid of. Not even the Purple Puma could lose all that baggage so quickly."

She let out a giggle at that quip. "You're right. I just hate feeling this way."

"We all do." He draped his arm over Amethyst's shoulder, finally getting the pint-sized guardian to smile. With their chat done, she felt an urge to return home. After visiting another friend she could share her feelings with.

She decided to wait until the next day knowing Vidalia would be asleep and spent another day aimlessly wandering around the sleepy town. Walking by the shoreline, randomly jumping people's fences and spooking their pets and stopping to grab a bite from a nearby grocery store waste bin ("Who cared if the yogurt was a day past it's 'expiration date'?" she thought.)

Night fell as she came by her destination; a simple blue-green house in the suburbs outside the city with a curtain in place of a garage door. Light shown through the gap in the curtain wear a middle-aged woman was currently painting with fervor whatever came to her mind. Vidalia did not notice her old friend until the Gem was only steps behind her.

"Where do you come up with this junk?" Amethyst teased.

Vidalia jumped, splattering cream-colored paint over Amethyst's face before giving her retort "Whoa! Scare me anymore and I'll be as purple as you!" The two laughed over their quips and went inside the house to the modestly decorated living room. Vidalia went off and came back with a cup of tea and the tea bags she used for Amethyst to munch on.

"So what's up? You having trouble with mystical-alien voodoo?"

Amethyst's brow creased as she explained the funeral and how it did not sit well with her. Even after talking to Greg, she still felt wound up over the whole ordeal. She was not ready to confront this and definitely not ready to tell the others yet. Not after the way she exploded in their faces.

"Yikes. Who knew a bunch of aliens could have so much drama?" asked Vidalia as she sipped her tea.

"Heh. Trust me, this is kinda tame by our standards. At least nothing got blown up and no one was abducted."

"True." She shrugged. She watched the news and heard whispers of some violet-jungle cat themed wrestler shaking up the underground scene. "It's a little weird given how outgoing you are, but it makes sense."

"What does? How I screwed up everything…again…" she muttered.

"It's classic overcompensation. I'm no shrink, but I knew why Marty wanted 'multiple smaller women' as he put it oh so classily when I was younger. The last thing you want to be seen as is weak. So you run around with a big ol' smirk spouting jokes and being reckless so no one will see that ugly side of you. It took me a long time to realize that I can't get rid of that."

"I'm thousands of years old! I still haven't learned that!"

"So? Some people live their entire lives running away from themselves. They may not live as long but at least you see that side. You may not like it, but you can face it. Trust me, I made a lot of dumb decisions in life to learn that. I know someone as awesome as you can figure it out."

Amethyst just sat there speechless as someone she barely saw gave her a heartfelt lesson. All she could do is wrap her arms around her old friend in thanks. With that done, she waved Vidalia good-bye and snatched her tea bags before walking out the garage past the dozens of paintings where the nonchalant mother released all her doubts.

It did not take long for her to return to the temple. By the time she managed to trudge back home the sun was setting and the funeral was only one day away. She tip-toed into the beach house hoping not to run into the Gems until morning when she was ready to lay down her feelings after a well-deserved nap.