Authors Notes - This is a reupload. I messed up with the scene breaks so it read like absolute garbage. Hopefully it's fixed now.

Some words or phrases refuse to leave us no matter how hard we try to forget.

"Little Sister" was one such phrase. It still gnawed at the back of my mind like an itch. An itch you just couldn't scratch no matter what you tried. It was at its worst when it was quiet. Night, usually. It made sleeping hard. Sometimes outright impossible. Even when sleep did manage to come around, it was almost always uneasy and nightmare filled.

Sadly, it seemed tonight was one of the more impossible ones. Nothing I tried had worked. Tea, listening to music, reading. Nothing. As such, I took to simply sitting in bed, staring at the wall. A familiar sight, to be sure, but still quite a foreign one.

"Mmn…"

The sweet groan beside me gave me a little shock, but looking at the slow rise and fall of the woman beneath the sheets managed to bring at least a little comfort. Though it also brought a slight pang of irritation. "Stupid Adora… sleeping like the dead when I can't so much as close my eyes." I huffed and buried my face into my knees.

Looking at the foot of the bed was no different. Melog was sprawled out, snoring up a storm. Paws twitching every so often.

How long had it been since the end of Horde Prime? A few weeks? Maybe a month. It was a little hard to tell. A lot had happened in the interim. Some stuff good, some stuff bad. For one, Bright Moon had been reclaimed and was in the process of being rebuilt. The other kingdoms spanning the globe were in a similar state. Even the Fright Zone was being colonised and rebuilt.

Though it was largely being used as temporary housing for the thousands of Horde Prime Clones. A refugee camp of unparalleled proportions.

"Pffft… don't know why we didn't just off 'em all. It'd save us the trouble…"

Ugh, bad Catra. That line of thinking was exactly the same as Prime himself. Some habits really do refuse to die.

I shook the thought off, opting to focus on something other than that whole mess. When everything came to an end, the four of us - Adora, Glimmer, Bow and I - decided we should spread magic back into the galaxy, but as it turned out, we didn't need to.

According to Entrapta, the magic released from the Heart of Etheria would naturally filter out into the universe and - over time - the energy would spread and create new sources. All we had to do was not destroy the planet. Heh, tall order. It almost happened twice already. Still, I didn't understand half of what Twintails was saying, but what I did pick up on was that things were going to be ok.

At least for now.

At least until some other tyrant comes along looking to destroy the universe.

I caught myself scratching at the back of my neck. A nervous habit I seemed to have developed. The scar left behind from that infernal chip still gave me all kinds of trouble. My claws probably didn't help all that much.

"I need a drink…" Quietly, I crawled out of the bed and quickly sped out of the huge bedroom. Bright Moon's living arrangements were so garish and grandiose it was almost nauseating. Granted it beat sleeping on a camping cot with a ridiculously itchy blanket and lumpy, unwashed pillow.

Outside, the hallway stretched to the left and right. Even in the dead of night it was brightly lit. A waste of power, perhaps, but at least it made navigation a little easier. If not painful on the eyes at first. "The kitchen is… down… this way? Right?" I made it about two steps before I stopped short. "No… wait… this way. Maybe… uuuugh, this place is more confusing than Prime's Flagship!"

"I'll try to take that as a complement."

"AH! Sparkles! Don't sneak up on me like that!" It took a second to fight off the sudden adrenaline surge. I've been notably more jumpy and it has been something I've been working on, but still, good days and bad days. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"I could ask you the same. Not doing any secret sabotage, I hope." Glimmer's tone and smirk elicited a brief twinge of irritation, but it was quick to subside. After all, the queen's little digs were only in jest these days. Not the scathing, hate filled remarks they used to be. It was difficult to get used to, being on the opposite side of the conflict for so long, then suddenly being almost like sisters.

I winced at that. Maybe not the best label.

"Just lookin' for a drink of water. Is there a kitchen around here? Or do you just… wish really hard?" Glimmer gave a chuckle.

"Wait right here, I'll get you some."

Glimmer poofed from existence in a small cloud of sparkling dust. Not a moment later, she reappeared, glass in hand. Honestly, it was less about the water and more about something to take my mind off of things. Still, now that the water was here, I may as well drink it. In one long gulp. "Thanks. Needed that."

"Seems like you need something other than water. What's up?"

I scowled out of habit.

"None of your b-" I stopped myself, and took a deep breath.

It's ok to talk. It's ok to be vulnerable.

"Sorry… old habits." My shoulders sagged, expecting to be met with anger. Instead, a gentle hand found its way onto my shoulder. Glimmer smiled with warmth. She remained silent, simply waiting until I was ready to talk. I would probably never be ready to talk, but what was the use of keeping everything bottled up. All that ever accomplished was hurting everyone around me.

Something I still needed to atone for.

"It's just… strange. Difficult. My entire life has been one fight after another. Conflict in both the war and… not." I hung my head, clenching my fists. "Suddenly going from that to… well… not that is just…"

"Overwhelming?"

I nod.

She giggled quietly. "Come and walk with me." I followed before I even made the conscious decision to. "It's been one hell of a war. We've hurt each other. A lot of pain and suffering has been the result of this war. We've both made mistakes, Catra. If I didn't activate the Heart of Etheria, Horde Prime would never have found us… however, you likely would never have finally realised your own mistakes."

I could feel a lump in the back of my throat. I didn't expect my quest for water to end up like this.

"I can't say I've fully forgiven you for everything. What I can say, though, is that I'm glad you're here." She rounded a corner and led me towards a balcony overlooking the huge spire. The gargantuan gem glistening in the moonlight. "And I know for a fact Adora is too. After all, you two make a pretty cute couple."

My cheeks flushed bright red. Though I couldn't help but jab Glimmer in the shoulder. "I'm not cute!"

"Of course you're not." Glimmer giggled once more, retaliating with her own gentle shoulder nudge. "But seriously, it's so heartwarming to see the two of you together. Even if you still have a lot of issues to work through."

"Believe me, I know…" Slumping over the stone railing of the balcony I let my eyes gaze into the Moonstone. Spending so long trying to conquer and destroy this place, I never actually took a moment to appreciate its beauty. Even if it wasn't entirely my thing, it still managed to put stars in my eyes every now and then. To think Adora lived here all this time.

And I had to make do with the Fright Zone.

Granted I probably would have been driven insane with how garishly sweet everything was back then. Now it was a little less sweet. Reality had smacked this place in the arse. Looking below and down to the courtyard, the refugee camp was quiet. People who had lost their homes during the war had flocked to Bright Moon. It was a timebomb of stress, tension and despair. Even though Bright Moon was one of the more stable kingdoms right now, food was very much an issue.

As the war progressed, the Princesses focused less and less on agriculture in a bid to shore up their military might. Sure it bought them time, but with less farmers, came less harvest. At least Perfuma was able to shoulder some of the weight, though even her powers had limits. Accelerating plant growth took energy, after all. One super powered echomancer wasn't enough to feed thousands.

Sure, after the initial jubilation and euphoria of victory, there was a time of happiness. Then the stresses of post-war de escalation set in. It was a huge adjustment for everyone. Especially ex-horde.

"How's things with the other Princesses? I heard Mermista and Sea Hawk have gotten engaged. Took 'em long enough."

"They haven't set a date yet. A wedding might be what everyone needs right now, though. Something happy to lift everyone's spirits." She fell into a momentary silence. At first I thought it was one filled with sorrow, but the slight upwards curl of Glimmer's lips said otherwise. Though she quickly switched back to conversation mode. "We're sending Perfuma and Scorpia out to Plumeria in a bid to set up some more farmland there. We're lucky we have such fertile land at our disposal! Otherwise, we'd probably have to set up an entirely new settlement, and that would require resources we just don't have."

"Wow, Sparkles. Look at you being all queen-like."

"Shut up, Catra." She allowed herself a laugh a little louder than a giggle this time.

"Those two seem pretty close."

"Yeah. Seems everyone's finally settling down."

"How about you and Bow?"

"We're fine. Better than fine, actually. Honestly not much has changed between us. Except… y'know… sleeping arrangements."

"Yeah, I got it. Just be sure to keep it down, would you?"

We shared a laugh. Honestly, I felt a little better. This was good. I never had this back in the Horde. Or at least, I never took the opportunity. There were definitely plenty. Scorpia was always aching to connect with me and I always shut her down in the worst possible ways. No wonder she left. Come to think of it, we never actually talked things through. Sure, she said she forgave me, but no, I could tell she was still conflicted.

Ugh… all this gooey-gooey niceness was rubbing off on me. Whether or not I liked it was still up for debate.

Still, perhaps things were finally looking up. Even if there were several thousand problems left with no solution, at least there wasn't the ever present threat of Prime any more.

"What are you still doing awake?"

"Paper work. Boring ass pencil pushing. Like I said, we're sending Scorpia and Perfuma to Plumeria. Even though Perfuma is in charge over there, we still have to go through all the diplomatic riggermeroll. We might have to cut some trees down to make room. It'd be a bit of an abuse of power if I just made the order and not give anyone time to object." Glimmer sighed and rested an elbow against the stone railing. "Politics. Blegh!"

"Can't say I envy you!"

The two of us fell into a moment of silence. At first, it was a little awkward, but then, it slowly became comforting in a strange sort of way.

"All we can do is look to tomorrow. No matter how bleak things might get, tomorrow will always be a little less bleak."

"Uuugh… your dad's rubbing way too much off on you. Stop before I throw up rainbows." The conversation had run its course. I felt a little better now that I had shared at least a little. Even if it wasn't Adora. Standing up straight, I gave a big stretch. "Anyway, I'm going to go try this sleep thing again. You should do the same."

"Yeah… g'night!"

"Uhuh."

Without a moment's pause - and before I even had a chance to say thank you - Glimmer poofed away leaving nothing but a brief display of sparkles and glitter. I was alone once more. Though I was strangely calmer. Credit where credit was due… Sparkles was a pretty good listener.

"Wait… where's my room, again?"

"Wake up, sleepy head! It's already past noon!"

"Hhgggh… hmnn…"

"Catra, come on, it's time to get up."

"Mmnn… five more minutes…"

"Catra."

"Grrr…"

"Fine. FOR THE HONOUR O-"

"AH! Alright! Geeze, Adora! I'm awake!" With a pretty sharp jolt to an upright position at that. Even still, my brain was still muddled from sleep. Adora stood at the foot of our bed with a huge, smug grin smacked across her face. "Y'know… She-Ra isn't an alarm clock... " I moaned. To which she gave a shrug.

"Hey, I already let you sleep in. I know you've had trouble at night, so I thought you could use it."

I wanted to say thanks, but all I could muster was a drowsy groan of acknowledgement. I hope that got the sentiment across either way.

Once the melatonin began to clear, I gave a big stretch, popping the stiffened muscles back to life. "How's everything with the farmland excursion?" That managed to raise an eyebrow, did Adora not know about that?

"That? Eh, there were a few protests, but Perfuma managed to calm everyone down. I'm surprised you knew. You never turn up to the briefings!"

"What's the point when I have you to bark orders at me!" I smirk, hoping to get a laugh. Though it didn't come. Instead I was met with a stare so done I almost felt Adora's eyes slapping me upside the head. Wow. Tough crowd. "Sparkles told me last night. We ran into each other during my quest for water."

Adora gave a small sigh before shrugging it off. "Well, whatever. Scorpia and Perfuma should be there for another week. Or rather, Scorpia will be. Perfuma's got a kingdom to run." Her gaze then fell back onto me. One that filled me with dread. Oh no. I know that look… "As for you…" here it comes... "It's bath day!"

"NOOO!"

"I hate you."

"I love you too."

I couldn't help but scowl, arms folded. My hair was still damp and my tail was a damn mess. As far as moods went, my current one wasn't faring too well. Still, I had to at least make the effort to kick myself. There were a lot of refugees out there without access to luxuries such as regular bathing.

As I glared off to the side, doing my best to pout, I felt Adora drum gently on my back. "Oh, yeah, we have a job tomorrow!"

Biting back the instinctual sarcasm, I managed a curious grunt.

"You'd probably call it babysitting. While Scorpia is doing her thing, we'll be patrolling the temporary housing at Plumaria."

That sounded a little suspicious. If all the information I had gathered was true, there was little to worry about. At least for now. Were they expecting trouble? Though given the circumstances, it wasn't all that surprising.

"So yeah, babysitting."

"Catra…"

"What? Ugh… fine. So what are we patrolling for?"

Adora shrugged, eliciting a small pang of irritation. "I'unno. Big scary monsters?"

"Such an enlightening assessment…" I sighed. As much as I loved Adora, she could be a little oblivious to reality. A quality that was very hit or miss. "We're probably there to keep the refugees from tearing each other apart. We might be in Peace Time, but things are far from peaceful."

The drumming on my back stopped. Up until now, I was facing away from her. Turning to face the woman I couldn't help but gulp. She looked so despondent. "Do you really think that?"

Well, that was a question more loaded than one of Scorpia's protein shakes. Another sigh passed my lips. After all she had been through, Adora still held such an optimistic outlook on life. Something I was pretty jealous about.

"Well…" I paused. As much as I wanted to be honest, I really didn't want another argument. "I'm sure things aren't as bad as I think. Hopefully…"

A moment passed.

Then another.

Finally, Adora's expression slowly turned into a small smile. Tiny and barely noticeable, but a smile nonetheless. "Sorry, Catra. Sometimes I forget the mess we've found ourselves in."

With that, the conversation moved away from such heavy topics. It was nice. A moment of levity.

It gave me hope that things were actually looking up.

At least for us.