She began to cry, almost like Lapis’s outpouring of sadness and emotion in Mystacor, after which Stevonnie tried to calm her down when she lamented about the painfulness of fusion, recalling her abusive fusion with Jasper. As tears ran down her cheeks, Adora tightly gripped Pearl’s hand for support, seeing her as a friend to rely in these dark times. Perfuma reassured Adora she would do anything ”for the She-Ra,” and noticed that Adora was holding the hand of Pearl. ”Who is your new friend, that looks like a ballerina? I vaguely remember her from the war council in Bright Moon but I never got a proper introduction.”

Pearl blushed, with bluish marks on her face, as she was a bit embarrassed. Still, she was more than happy to tell Perfuma about herself. It was the chance she had been waiting for to make friends with the beings of Etheria. So, she jumped at the opportunity like an excited rabbit. ”I am Pearl, a gem of many skills…dedicated to guarding the Earth and all its living creatures from harm as a member of the Crystal Gems!”

Perfuma persisted, asking why she seemed so chummy with Adora and…why they were still holding hands. Pearl was not expecting such a question. She froze up, not knowing what to tell Performa. So, she awkwardly hesitated with an ”um” and ”well.” Luckily for her, she was saved by Adora’s directness, who got right to the point. ”I’m done with everyone trying to figure out my relationships. She’s my friend…and I’m never letting go! We will stay on this planet…together!”

Not only were Amethyst and the Gem fusions (Stevonnie, Amazonite, and Garnet) shocked by this display, but so were Glimmer and Bow. They never would have expected Adora to blurt out something like that, or for her to be so protective of someone she just met. They asked themselves what really happened when Pearl and Adora were in Bright Moon some days back. Sure, Bow and Peri were in the same room, but Pearl had erected a bubble of silence around both herself and Adora so neither Bow nor Peri could hear what they talked to each other about, at the time. Everyone else was still unsure what this all meant.