“There’s a reason Peridot has never heard of a Moissanite before. That’s because I’m the first and only one.”

“The only one?” I mimicked.

“Yeah. Crazy, right? It sounds ridiculous.” Mo chuckled, the sound tainted by churned emotions. “Apparently, when the Peridots were sent in to maintain a Kindergarten in a new colony, one the Injectors was accidentally damaged during transport. None of them realized it was busted until after it buried a few Gems. They immediately dismantled it, but the damage was done. They reported the error and thought that a few Off-Colors would be the worst result. Then, boom, I pop up. They had no idea what to make of me. These Peridots had accounted for every Gem that could have emerged from that Kindergarten, but I suddenly show up, a Gem no one had ever seen before. I had no instinctual orders like all the others, and no one had any place for me. I was an outcast, the worst possible mistake. I drifted for thousands and thousands of years with no purpose. When I joined the Rebellion, my whole world changed. I was finally a part of something! I was working with thousands of other Gems for a common goal. I loved it.”

“It sounds great,” I told her. The others had talked with reverence about the Rebellion, but Mo didn’t. It wasn’t some grand act of justice to her. It was a place she belonged because she could be with others like she never had before. To her, the Rebellion wasn’t fighting: it was her friends.

“It was, for a time. Before I started to notice.”

A stone sank into my stomach. “What did you notice.”

She still had that little smile, but her eyes had changed; she seemed so sad. “They steered away from me. I could fight with them, but none of them would come near me. Except for Rose, Bismuth, Pearl, and Garnet. They treated me like everyone else. And then I went and screwed it up.” She laughed, a broken sound tinged with regret. “I tried to fix it but I ended up pushing them farther away. After that, Bismuth was the only one to stand with me.”

“That doesn’t sound like them,” I argued. “I’m sorry, but they wouldn’t do that, not to their friend.”

“I guess I wasn’t their friend anymore.”

It hit hard. It shouldn’t have hurt, but it did. Like each word had been a blow that dug deeper into my gut. “What happened?” I repeated.

Her fingers were still stroking the sleeping bag, wandering purposelessly. “Being the only Gem of your kind comes with having powers no other Gem has. Maybe they’re powers a Gem shouldn’t have. Either way, my abilities, vital to the fight, were the nail in the coffin.”

“What can you do?”

“I should tell you, I know that, but I just can’t. I’m sorry,” She genuinely meant it, her eyes emphasizing every word. “I want this illusion to last a little longer. If I tell you, it’ll shatter. May I have tonight? Just tonight?”

Another secret. I’ve dealt with secrets my whole life, and they never turn out well. Looking at Mo, I know this is a different kind of secret. If I pressed even a little, she’ll tell me the entire truth. I can tell. She’s asking me, not deciding for me. She wants a little more time.

“Alright, it can wait,” I told her.

The effect was immediate in the way her limbs relaxed. “Thanks, Steven.” She yawned, which in turn made me yawn. “I’m going to sleep some more. Sorry for disturbing you.” She laid back and rolled over, hiding away in her sleeping bag.

I stared at her back, turning over her story in my head. I can’t imagine Garnet and Pearl pushing a Gem away like that, especially an ally. Maybe this is all a misunderstanding. Mo may be forgetting something, or she missed something. Tomorrow, Garnet can give us some answers and sort this whole thing out. While the thought should have comforted me, I still had trouble falling asleep. Still, I know I drifted off long before Mo.