"Blast you, you miserable cat! Let me go!" Skeletor squawked.

"Reel it in, bonehead," Catra replied coolly. She was leading Entrapta's rebellious reprogrammed robot by what amounted to an ear, his arms full of stolen sugar plums.

"Please, let me explain!" Skeletor protested. "I must save the children!"

"Tell it to the queen," Catra shrugged back. "If you really wanted to get away with it, you wouldn't have let me catch you. And anyway, Wrong Hordak says we need more help at the snack tables."

"You overgrown fur coat," Skeletor grumbled. "How dare you embarrass me in front of everyone?"

They were walking down a hallway of Bright Moon palace, making their way toward one of the large common rooms. On most weeks, Wrong Hordak used the space to hold a support group for clones and other former members of the Horde, who met to talk about their lives and their feelings. Together, they healed, held on, and let go. And, with great bravery and reluctance, they tried new ways to be themselves.

Today, they were hosting a wellness afternoon.

Catra pushed open a pair of double doors and was greeted by the sight of a warm, bustling room. The therapy group regulars were there, but so were various palace staff and citizens of Bright Moon, as well as former Horde soldiers cautiously following the flyers distributed by an enthusiastic flock of clones. Mixed together, they mingled, tentatively.

Stations were set up in this and the adjoining rooms, each providing sample servings of various simple self-care options. In one area, Netossa and Spinnerella taught comics and cartooning to a circle of curious clones. In another, Swift Wind pranced at the head of an aerobics group. Glimmer had set up a portable kitchen by the window and was showing some palace guards how to make vegetable dumplings. Just about everyone looked like they were having a good time.

Catra waded through all of this and found Wrong Hordak teaching an improv comedy workshop — alongside the regular support group's newest member, who was currently hanging off the cheerful clone's shoulder like a feathered boa constrictor.

"Yes, and?" Double Trouble prompted the group, raising an emphatic hand. "Tell me what comes next! Show me passion! Show me imagination!"

"Start the performance! I demand to be amused!" interrupted Skeletor.

Everyone fell silent and turned to look at Catra. "I got Skeletor back," she said simply, showing off her perturbed prisoner.

"Wonderful work!" Wrong Hordak exclaimed. He pulled a small instruction manual bearing the seal of Dryl out of his pocket and flipped through the handwritten pages. "Skeletor, please perform…" He squinted at the messy longhand. "...Relationship-building subroutine eighteen. Ah, I think I see what the problem was."

Skeletor abruptly saluted, dropping most of his plums in the process. "I hate to leave this touching scene, but I see my plan has failed! I'll be back another time, my friend," he said, marching off to greet new arrivals and attend to the snack tables.

Catra turned to go, but found her way blocked when Double Trouble materialized in front of her.

"It's good to see you back, kitten," the lizard smirked. "We almost thought you'd abandoned us! And speaking of, look who I found while you were away." They pointed. "Some old friends of yours!"

Following the gesture, Catra looked around and felt her insides do a flip-flop as she recognized Kyle, Lonnie, and Rogelio among the group. Double Trouble seemed about to say more, but was instantly distracted when Wrong Hordak winked and called them over for help with an armload of props and costumes.

...Which left Catra alone to face her three erstwhile friends. Who had already made eye contact and started walking towards her. The former force captain wished furiously for an alien abduction, or to be struck down by lightning, but she had no such luck.

"Hi Catra!" Kyle squeaked. Rogelio rumbled something in a friendly tone.

"Catra," Lonnie greeted simply, wearing an unreadable expression.

"Oh wow," Catra stammered. "It's, uh, it's been a while guys. Haven't seen you since…"

"Since you went off the deep end and we deserted the Horde?" Lonnie finished for her.

Catra shrank a little. "Yeah. Since that. I'm… really sorry about all that, by the way. Have you all been okay?"

"We stick together. We have a good life. And we heard that you and Adora got married, so now I guess I owe Rogelio money." Lonnie laughed. "No invitations for us, huh?"

"It was really small," Catra muttered, feeling worse by the second. She touched her ring. "Just a few guests in the park. Nothing major."

Lonnie held up her hands. "Hey, it's cool, none taken. I just hope you treat her better now than you did when we were in the Horde."

Catra felt her hackles rise and did everything she could to squash them back down again. "We're fine," she managed, eventually. "You haven't seen her around anywhere, have you?"

"Yeah. Over by the board games with the science princess and, you know..." Lonnie mimed a tall, fanged figure with a squinting scowl. "Though I still don't know how I feel about those two."

Kyle and Rogelio looked at each other.

"Thanks," Catra muttered, and slunk away.

Catra found herself stuck in her own thoughts as she wandered in the direction Lonnie had pointed, barely able to muster a friendly wave as she passed Scorpia in Perfuma's yoga group or Bow at the jigsaw puzzle table. She kept replaying the conversation in her head, thinking about things she could or would or should have said.

In the pit of her chest, she could feel the faint fear of a voice that said she hadn't changed at all. Unbidden, the image of her own hand on the portal lever came to her. Stupid, stupid, she thought at herself, until the self-loathing drove away the shame.

Catra sighed. She was working on it.

Fortunately, she didn't have long to perseverate. Sure enough, Adora was in the board games area, seated around a table with Entrapta, Hordak, Emily, and Imp. All five of them were thoroughly engrossed in a heated round of Betrayal at Horror Hall.

"I've rolled a three," Hordak declared as Catra approached. "Is that good?"

"No, it means you're still trapped in the Dark Dimension," Entrapta explained evenly. "My turn! I move into the throne room and attack the ghost!"

"Attack! Attack!" Imp echoed in her voice.

Emily beeped.

"Hey Adora," Catra sighed with relief as she joined them. "How's it going?"

"Emily betrayed us all, the Dark One has escaped, and I'm dead!" Adora wailed. "In the game, I mean," she clarified, gesturing to her battle figurine, which was tipped on its side. Catra smiled and settled in, already feeling more assured of herself.

"Oh, and you have got to try Hordak's new coffee," Adora continued, proffering a steaming paper cup. "He called it a… peppered mint mo-cah?" She looked at Catra with immeasurable eyes and giggled. "I think I can hear space."

Catra had a thought. She glanced at Entrapta.

"That reminds me," Catra started cautiously. "You know that charity stunt or whatever you goons have planned for the night before Adora's birthday?"

"You mean She-Ra Day Eve?" Adora asked, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Yeah, that one. I changed my mind about staying home. I want in."

"Oh, yay!" Adora nearly fell out of her seat leaning over to hug her wife. "We're gonna have so much fun!"

"It will be a significant benefit to have extra helpers," Hordak added with approval as he looked up from the game board. "Entrapta has engineered quite an undertaking for this event."

"She has? Uh, how elaborate are we talking, exactly?" Catra asked, already beginning to regret her decision.

Entrapta leaned across the table. "Oh, it's gonna be big," she boasted, grinning. Then she sat back in her hair and laughed madly, swinging her feet with delight.

Catra gulped. Somewhere, she could hear a bell ring.

They were standing outside in the starry night.

It did not snow in Bright Moon, but the air was chilly, and everyone assembled was wearing heavy winter coats. Catra, sinking into hers like a turtle, leaned against Adora's arm and groaned.

"I'm gonna be so bad at this," she complained.

"You're gonna do fine," Adora cajoled. "You'll get to throw stuff at people! You love doing that."

"It wouldn't be the same without the whole Best Friends Squad anyway!" Bow added, as Glimmer nodded beside him.

"It's better with you here," the queen said, smiling.

Catra felt her stomach twist and looked away. But that only faced her toward the group's tallest member, looming lazily on her other side.

"You seem stressed, Catra."

Catra glared back up at Hordak. "Easy for you to say! Your wife's birthday isn't a national holiday!"

Hordak huffed. "Perhaps not where you come from."

"I can't take much more of this," moaned Skeletor.

Catra threw up her hands. "Okay, and why is Skeletor here?" she asked helplessly.

"Silence, you furry fool!" Skeletor retorted. "You ought to know me better than that by now!" He crossed his arms and sulked.

"We require a full crew for this endeavor," Hordak explained, more calmly. "Entrapta insisted upon using one of the larger models."

"Models of what?" Catra demanded.

As if on cue, a loud rumbling sound filled the air. The ground began to shake, and an enormous Horde tank rounded the corner, trundled down the road, and came to a juddering halt in front of the gathered friends. It was covered in tinsel and had been repainted with jolly, festive colors.

"Speak of the gremlin," Catra mumbled, staring.

The tank's front hatch popped open and Entrapta emerged astride Emily, hefting a huge burlap bag. Imp was sitting on her shoulder, wearing a new pair of booties with curled and pointed toes.

"Merry She-Ra, one and all!" Entrapta crowed. "Welcome aboard the Wrapper Tank!" As they filed past her up the ramp, she rummaged in her bag and passed out what appeared to be accessorized figurines resembling each member of the group.

Skeletor stared long and hard at his. "Only one is really me! Which one is it?" he mused.

Glimmer was delighted with hers and immediately set about making it hold hands with Bow's. Catra held hers uncertainly while Adora toyed with the miniature She-Ra's sword arm action.

"Look, it's a tiny Hordak!" Entrapta squealed with glee as she presented her partner with his own likeness. "Isn't he cute?"

Hordak smiled as he accepted the gift. "Your craftsmanship is remarkable, as always."

Inside the tank was a command bridge the size of a throne room. Several more bags stuffed with small toy princesses rested in the center of the floor. On every surrounding wall there were blinking control panels and swiveling gunners' chairs. Skeletor sat down in one and spun giddily.

"I made tiny versions of all the heroes of Etheria!" Entrapta exclaimed, sweeping her hands over everything. "Bow helped with the designs. And then I used my fabrication lab to mass-produce them!" She held her sides and cackled wildly.

"We're going to give them out to all the homes in Bright Moon," Adora added, settling into another chair. "Something for the kids, you know?" Catra, already brightening at the sight of weaponry, grinned and joined her.

Entrapta tossed herself back into the pilot's seat. "If this experiment goes well, we'll be able to expand the operation to other kingdoms next year! Maybe even the whole planet!"

"Okay, but how are we going to be able to deliver presents to every house if we only have one night?" Bow asked.

"That's easy!" Entrapta bragged. "Behold, the power of the Wrapper Tank!"

With a flourish, she dropped one of the trinkets into a large funnel near the control panel. In seconds, automated arms had bound it in wrapping paper and a purple bow, and fired it out the front cannon at high velocity.

"This baby can do thirty of these things a minute!" Entrapta shouted proudly as she continued shoveling toys into the machine.

"Is everyone comfortable?" Skeletor asked. He didn't wait for an answer before pushing as many buttons as his bony arms could reach.

With a roar, the engines came to life, and then they were rolling down the road, strafing the kingdom with presents that mostly landed where they were supposed to go. The inside of the tank became a bustle of activity as the crewmates passed gifts to one another and sent them shooting off into the night. Distantly, they could hear people cheering, as well as the occasional sound of something breaking.

"Is this what we're doing all night?" Catra asked. She flipped a switch and raised her eyebrows as a Frosta doll hurtled through someone's window. "You were right, it is kinda fun."

"This is the main event, yeah," Adora replied, launching a volley of Sea Hawks down the block. "We've got a few more personal stops to make on the way, though. The first one's in the Whispering Woods!"

Catra froze for a moment, imagining the ghosts that were waiting for her in those dark and shifting trees. She shook her head and ignored the thought.

"What idiot started this whole thing anyway?" Skeletor griped.

The tank made its first stop at a tiny cottage, so small and low that it would have been easy to mistake for nothing at all.

"Madame Razz?" Adora called as she ducked through the doorway. The others followed behind her in a curious huddle.

"I brought you some cookies and sweets and stuff," Adora said, setting the goodies on the table. Bow and Glimmer gazed with interest at the many mystical odds and ends decorating the walls. Entrapta struck up a conversation with the broom. Hordak, who was taller than the ceiling, crouched in as dignified a manner as he could manage.

"Who knows what evil lurks behind these doors?" Skeletor hissed in a hushed whisper.

At the far side of the cottage, Razz sat in a rocking chair and tipped slowly back and forth, staring at nothing. Catra felt her hair stand on end.

Adora looked worried. "Razz? You there?"

Madame Razz blinked and snapped out of her trance. "Yes, yes, deary! Come in! I remembered this was going to happen." Leaping to her feet, she held out a stuffed doll with pointed ears, blue hair, and soulless eyes. "Look here! I have a gift for you also."

Adora took it gingerly. "How… nice. What is it?" She turned the doll over in her hands. It wore a rainbow jumper and a plastic smirk.

"It's a Loo-Kee on a Ledge!" Razz explained cheerfully. "You put it in your home. Move it every night. Tell the children it can see them. Makes the young ones more obedient!"

"Thanks, that's terrifying." Adora passed the doll to Catra, who seemed far more interested in its potential applications. "I bet it'll make a nice game."

"Game?" Razz turned and stared through her glasses in confusion. "We are not here for games, we are here for fruit cake!"

Before Adora could stop her, the old woman had rushed to her little cottage oven. She made a show of reaching inside with protective mitts and extracted a cold stone brick, which had been placed in a pan with some wild nuts sprinkled on top.

"You want a slice now?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Entrapta pushed her way to the front of the group, producing a small buzz saw and a sample jar. "I've been reading up on geological gastronomy!"

"Uh, hey, Entrapta!" Adora intervened. "Did I ever tell you that Madame Razz knew some of the First Ones? Like, personally?"

"What? Really?" Entrapta turned toward Adora in surprise, and then back to the old woman with renewed interest. She peered through a pair of multi-lensed goggles and raised her eyebrows. "Though that would explain all the tachyons in here. Quick, how many temporal causalities am I holding up?"

"Ah! You're a sharp one, deary!" Razz laughed.

Entrapta shook her hands and pulled a recorder from her pocket. "Aah! You — you're a walking quantum event! Tell me everything!"

And in her own way, Razz did. As they chattered back and forth, Adora looked between the old witch and the scientist and wondered why she hadn't introduced the two of them sooner.

"That's a handsome, strapping lad you've got there!" Razz whispered conspiratorially to Entrapta. "Does he have a brother?"

Entrapta smirked.

"You have a brain that could warm my heart," Skeletor said. "If I had a heart!"

Much to Catra's consternation, their next stop did not take them out of the Whispering Woods. While Entrapta and Skeletor tuned up the tank, George and Lance cheerfully embarrassed their youngest son in front of his friends.

"We're delighted by your presents!" George punned as his husband passed out mugs of hot cocoa. Hordak took two and carefully decanted the extra into several tiny thermoses.

Bow handed his fathers a huge stack of neatly handwritten pages. "We brought these for you — Adora's been helping me translate some of the First Ones records you found at the ruins!"

"It's… not very exciting," Adora admitted. "There's a lot of complaining about this one guy who just sold really terrible etherium."

Despite this, George and Lance seized upon the pages and flipped through them eagerly, talking over each other in excitement. While they sat and chatted energetically with Adora about what the writings contained, Glimmer dragged Catra away to show off her increasing knowledge of the expansive library.

This left Bow standing alone with Hordak for the first time in the night. The archer and the ex-lord looked at one another, the former desperately searching for something to say while the latter gently nursed his cocoa. They both seemed to sense that some sort of social interaction would be appropriate, but were entirely unsure of what that ought to be.

"Excuses, excuses! I'm tired of all your excuses!" Skeletor yelled from outside. "Fix the problem and go!"

Hordak cleared his throat. "Entrapta tells me you are the one who gave my brother his rather... derivative name," he tried after a moment.

Bow made a noise.

"He thanks you for it," Hordak said sincerely.

"I'm sorry! I mean, what?" Bow cautiously opened his eyes.

"He considers it an essential part of his journey to freedom from Prime's grasp." Hordak studied his claws with a careful expression. "Many have encouraged him to take on a more singular moniker. I am among them. Perhaps someday he will. But for now, it is as beloved to him as that theatrical lizard seems to be."

"You're… welcome?" Bow ventured.

"You are a highly competent engineer," Hordak stated. "I once mistook your work for Entrapta's. When we were still enemies, that is." He hesitated. "I… am pleased that we are not enemies any longer."

"Thank you?"

Hordak bowed.

Skeletor popped his head around the door.

"Get a move on, you slugs!" he called. "Hurry! Faster, faster!"

Eventually, the Wrapper Tank rolled to a stop at the front gates of Bright Moon palace, precisely where it had begun. There was only one visit left to make.

"Micah! It's so good to see you!" Entrapta chirped. "How have things been since we both lived at the mercy of techno-organic island monstrosities?"

"Quieter," Micah remarked. "And my food doesn't get stolen nearly as often." He smiled. "It's good to see you, too."

"I made you She-Ra Day crackers!" Entrapta exulted, holding out a pile of shiny paper cylinders. "They're an old Dryl tradition, ever since last year. When you pull the ends, tiny snacks come out! And I've improved these ones with twenty percent more explosives!"

"It should be quite a blast!" Skeletor chuckled. "Enjoy the fireworks!"

Gingerly taking the armload of gifts and setting them down as carefully as she possibly could, Castaspella welcomed everyone into a warm and cozy den. She and Micah had lit a roaring fire in the fireplace and were decorating a fir tree with glowing light-charms. A small table held a large platter of cookies, which Adora immediately set about devouring.

Skeletor paused at the door. "Tell me a riddle!" he demanded.

Castaspella looked confused. "Excuse me?"

"He thinks it's what sorceresses do," Entrapta told her. "You gotta humor him!"

"Oh." Castaspella tapped her chin. "Well, in that case, um… why did the twigget cross the road?"

Skeletor considered this for a great deal of time before surrendering. "Oh, I'm horrible at riddles," he groused. "Who's good at riddles here?"

However, everyone else had already settled in around the fire, tired from a long night of bauble bombardment.

"What do you think of our She-Ra Day decorations?" Castaspella asked proddingly. "Micah wanted a fake tree, but I set him straight on that. Honestly, I don't know how my brother survived on Beast Island without me."

"You certainly would have helped scare the monsters away," said Micah.

"Y'know, I've always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling," Adora thought out loud. "Could you imagine me with, like, a long-lost First Ones twin? We'd kick so much butt!"

Hordak, Bow, Micah, and Castaspella all shared a look that spoke to something universal.

"It's a mixed bag. Casta used to trick me into stealing food for her," Micah complained. "Pretended it was a game and I got more points if our parents didn't see me sneak into the kitchen."

"He hit me with a tree branch once, you know," Castaspella responded.

"I did no such thing!" Micah argued. "All I did was lead your horse under a tree. It's not my fault it had remarkably low hanging branches. Or that you didn't duck in time."

"Anyway," Bow cut in, "I think what Micah and Castaspella are trying to say is that despite their differences they get along now and they're glad to still have each other after all this time." He glanced at Hordak. "...Even if they used to be enemies."

Micah nodded sagely. "That is precisely what I meant," he lied.

While they continued with their conversation, Glimmer noticed that Catra was standing alone at the far side of the room, her back to the others, staring at a small portrait of Angella hung above the door.

"Fascinating," Skeletor said. "That little insect is feeling sorry for itself!"

Glimmer whispered something to her father and stood up to approach the fretting feline. "Hey, everything okay?" she asked. "You've seemed off a lot tonight. You didn't even laugh when I showed you that book of dirty First Ones jokes in George and Lance's library."

"Huh?" Catra looked up, surprised to have company. "I guess so. Maybe. I don't know. I mean… are you really sure I should be here?"

"Well, it's all Adora has been talking about for the past week, so yeah, pretty sure."

Catra shook her head. "No, I mean here at all. Being happy, instead of rotting in a dungeon somewhere." She scowled. "I know we've talked about it, but I just… I did so much bad stuff, back in the Horde. I hurt people. I was awful to Adora. I'm even the reason your mom…"

Catra trailed off. A deep gulf of silence stretched between her and Glimmer. The queen appeared pensive.

"I've done some really bad things too," Glimmer said eventually. "So I guess maybe I'm the wrong person to ask?" She gave a lopsided smile.

"But what do you do when people hate you? And you deserve it?"

Glimmer looked concerned. "I don't think anyone here hates you. Not currently, anyway. Where's all this coming from?"

"I'd hate me if I were you," Catra quietly admitted.

"Maybe. But I'm not you, and you're not me." Glimmer turned away and hugged herself. "I'm always going to miss my mom. And it's always going to hurt. But… I don't think it's much use to make that hurt worse by hating you." She looked back up. "I think anyone can make up for a mistake, as long as they really know it was a mistake. I hope so, anyway."

Catra scratched her head. "So, what, feeling bad means that I'm good?"

"Something like that," Glimmer giggled. "Seriously though, there's responsibility in this. We never stop working on it."

"Was that a royal 'we'?" Catra quipped.

"No, it goes for both of us. All of us. I mean it." Glimmer gazed around the room. "Mistakes… never really get completely fixed, you know. It took me a long time to get that. But we can grow something better and stronger with the lessons we learn from them."

The queen smiled again. "Besides, I'm happier being friends. Look at us all!"

Catra did.

Everyone, in one form or another, was relaxing around the glow of the fireplace. Entrapta and Imp knelt by the hearth, doing something with chestnuts and an acetylene torch. Hordak and Micah sat on the couch, swapping horror stories about Shadow Weaver. Bow watched closely as Castaspella instructed him in a new knitting pattern. And Adora appeared to be trading pleasantries with Skeletor as though they were age-old friends.

"Here, She-Ra! A gift!" Skeletor said. He held out a freshly-baked doomberry pie.

Catra laughed. Suddenly feeling lighter, she went to join them. Glimmer followed. And the great world spun on.

Entrapta clapped her hair. "Thanks for coming, Catra! This was loads of fun!"

It was early morning and they were all going their separate ways again. Glimmer had already dragged a dozing Bow back to the palace, while Catra and Adora disembarked in front of the small home they shared together.

"The mission was a great success," Hordak agreed as Entrapta leaned into his side. "You showed exemplary courage in the field."

"Thank you," Catra said, and meant it.

Adora, gazing at the sky in contemplation next to her, suddenly realized that the stars weren't the only things twinkling.

"Entrapta?" she asked. "You know the space tree?"

"The large plant growth that overtook Horde Prime's flagship when She-Ra defeated him and which remains in low Etheria orbit as a constant reminder of the power of love and healing? Yes, I'm familiar with it."

"Did you put lights on it?"

Entrapta beamed. "Yeah, little blinky ones! Or at least they look little from here. They actually have a diameter of about one Darla each. Alternating current, naturally. Aren't they great?"

"You know," Adora smiled, "I really think they are."

They turned and went home together, which left Entrapta and Hordak to return to the Wrapper Tank hand in hand, relaxing into each other's arms as they sat and shared a tiny thermos of hot cocoa. Under Emily's supervision, Skeletor and Imp drove the tank back to Entrapta's Bright Moon lab, and only argued over the steering wheel once along the way.

As soon as they returned, Hordak sought out their bed and fell gratefully into the soft sheets. Entrapta made to follow him, but before she did so she pulled Skeletor aside with one ponytail, hands hiding something behind her back.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Skeletor questioned.

"Skeletor, you've been a big help over the past year," Entrapta said to the spindly robot. "And I wanted to say thank you. So, I made you another present. You deserve to have a helper too!"

She pulled her hands from behind her back and revealed a lop-eared robot puppy with wide and innocent eyes. It sat up in her arms and fixed Skeletor with a curious gaze.

"His name is Relay! What do you think?"

Skeletor gasped in surprise, reaching out to take the robotic canine. "Even Hordak doesn't have anything like this!" he gushed in a joyous tone.

The puppy wagged its tail and let out a tiny synthesized bark. It licked Skeletor's face.

Skeletor hummed happily. "This is perfect!"

Above them, the stars and the lights shone brightly. And even Skeletor, despite his better instincts, was merry. The world was at peace.

"A season of love? Caring? Joy? Ugh! Very clever, you muscle-bound moron," Skeletor conceded. He patted Relay on the head. "Another time, She-Ra! Another time!"