"How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Glimmer asked, giving the Doctor a confused look.

"That thing you did back there, with the POOF! and the sparkle dust. What was that?"

"It's my power. I can teleport short distances."

"But how are you doing it? Is it some kind of cybernetic enhancement? A genetic mutation?"

"Magic."

The Doctor shook his head. "Don't be silly. Magic is just science that hasn't been explained yet."

Bow rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, we've got a skeptic here."

The Doctor looked offended. "Not a skeptic! Never a skeptic! I'm never skeptical!"

"Then what are you?" Adora asked.

"I'm a scientist. I've travelled across time and space, I've seen a lot of magic, and I can assure you with complete confidence that everything has an explanation."

"Well, how do you explain Adora's...transformation?" Silence. "You have no idea, do you?"

"I have several theories," The Doctor replied, defensively. "I just need some time to sort them out."

Bow shushed them. "We're getting close to the village."

After throwing together a makeshift disguise for Adora they entered the village square. "What're they all doing?" Adora asked.

"They're throwing a festival. Y'know, a party?" Silence. Bow went wide-eyed. "You've never been to a party?!"

"Bow, focus! We have to contact Brightmoon." But before Glimmer could stop him he grabbed Adora and dragged her off towards the food vendors. "Uggh."

The Doctor patted her on the back. "C'mon, Glimmer, it's a party. We can stick around for a while. Let Adora have some fun."

"'Let Adora have some fun.' Hmph." Glimmer muttered. "What does everyone see in her that I don't? She's a freaking HORDE SOLDIER, yet she does one fancy sword trick and everyone's suddenly cool with that!"

The Doctor grabbed two sticks of candy floss from a passing vendor and handed one to Glimmer. "Adora has spent her whole life on the wrong side of the war. Now she's questioning everything that she's ever known, questioning her place in the world, and her role in it. You're still going to look down on her for wanting to change?"

"I know, it's just…the Horde has taken so much from me, from Etheria."

"I understand. I think Adora is starting to understand, to. Think of the courage needed for her to go against the people she thought cared for her, to crawl out from under the Horde's authority and seek her own path? She's doing what's right, in spite of all she's been told. You've never gone against authority like that?"

Glimmer looked down at her candy floss. "The reason I came looking for the sword was to prove to my mom that I could fight for the rebellion. She thinks I'm still a kid. I just wanted to prove her wrong, that I had what it took to be a part of the rebellion."

The Doctor rubbed her shoulder. "You're not a kid, Glimmer. You're old enough to make your own decisions, and so is Adora. And so far, it seems like you're both making the right decisions." It should be noted that he'd given this whole motivational pep talk with a mouthful of candy floss. "Ar yu gonna phinish yurs?" Glimmer sighed and handed him her untouched stick. "Fanks."

The 31st Tank Brigade was quickly mobilized. They left the Fright Zone at 0900 hours under the command of Force Captain Grizzlor. Four skiffs of ground troops, consisting of Cadet Infantry Unit 147, formed the end of the column.

"You must get this all the time, but this souffle is brilliant!"

The baker's assistant blushed. "Thank you, but I didn't make it. My boss did. I still can't get mine to rise without burning."

"Well, your boss isn't here, so I'm going to compliment you in his stead. I'm going to need another four for my party." The Doctor gestured to his table.

"That blonde girl is really going at it," the baker's assistant said, watching as Adora inhaled an entire platter of fruit.

"This is her first party. She's really excited. Better get her an extra souffle."

They reached the boundary of the Whispering Woods at 1200 hours. Initial progress was slowed by the Wood's annoying tendency to repel invaders, but a serviceable path was quickly cleared through the use of high-explosive rounds. Three tanks were put out of commission, snagged and tangled up by the forest's fast-growing vines. The rest continued onward. They were now ten klicks from the target.

"So there I was, trapped in the bowels of the Dalek ship, surrounded on all sides. My blood ran cold as the Daleks began to shriek in unison. 'EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!'"

"What happened next?" a young fawn girl asked. "Did you manage to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow?"

"Of course he did, dummy," the boy next to her said. "He wouldn't be here if he hadn't."

"Very astute!" The Doctor said. "But please don't interrupt. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. 'EXTERMINATE!'"

Glimmer and Bow watched as the Doctor continued his tale. "He sure has an overactive imagination." Glimmer muttered.

"Shhhh! He's getting to the good part!"

Two klicks from the target, the column split off. Attack Group A circled the village to cut off retreat. Attack Group B discharged ground troops and sphere drones and waited for Group A's signal.

"Check me out!" The Doctor did a little spin to show off the tie-dyed tunic a villager had given him. "What do you think?"

"You look ridiculous," Bow said, laughing.

The Doctor sniffed. "I'll have you know that tie-dye is cool."

Glimmer smirked. "Well, at least it's better than those rags you were wearing."

"Yes, I really do need a new wardrobe. Maybe an all-tie-dye one. I haven't been this technicolor since I was a curly-haired youth. Where's Adora?

Glimmer pointed to the paddock. "Making a new friend."

"You're so cute!" Adora said, rubbing the horse's snout. "I'm going to call you...Horsey."

"Wow, original," Glimmer muttered.

The horse whinnied. The Doctor shook his head. "Actually he'd prefer to be called Swift Wind, Liberator of Equinedom." He turned and looked at their confused faces. "What? I speak horse."

Force Captain Grizzlor checked his wristwatch. He had given his troops enough time to get into position. He raised the signal flare and fired.

Eyes turned skyward. "Is that a firework?" Bow asked.

Acting Force Captain Catra lowered her binoculars and smiled. "Open fire."

Adora's heart stopped. "No," she breathed. "It's a signal." She grabbed the Doctor and threw him onto the ground. "Everyone down!"

A moment later the artillery barrage commenced.

Adora couldn't see through the dust and smoke. There were screams all around her. She could make out figures running in and out of the smoke, see the red glow of fires, hear the thumping and bursting of shells. She felt something wet on her face. It was blood.

"Don't, worry, it's mine." Someone pulled her to her feet. It was the Doctor. "This is the third time someone's broken my nose in the last forty-eight hours. I'm starting to think the universe is out to get me." He wiped the blood from his nose with his tunic, leaving a red smear across the tie-dyed pattern.

"It's the Horde," Adora said, ducking instinctively as a shell flew overhead.

"We have to get to cover. Follow me." The Doctor pulled Adora along back into the village square. The bandstand had been reduced to kindling by a direct hit, and several of the huts around the square were burning piles of rubble. Villagers were running left and right, children crying for their parents, parents crying for their children. A few of the villagers had started a bucket brigade to fight the fires, but with every shell that landed, another structure went up in flames.

They took cover in a blacksmith's shop. Its roof was half-caved in but it was standing, and not yet on fire. Bow and Glimmer were there, too, along with several other villagers huddling in shelter. "I don't understand," Bow was saying. "Why would the Horde attack a civilian target like Thaymor?"

"Wait, this is Thaymor?"

Glimmer glared at Adora. "Did you know about this?"

"No! I mean, yes. But Thaymor is supposed to be a heavily-fortified rebel base, not a village."

Glimmer grabbed Adora and pushed her towards the doorway. "Do you think the Horde gives a shit?" She asked, pointing at the devastation outside.

The Doctor pulled them both back in. "Glimmer, please. Now is not the time."

"No! I can stop this!" Adora tore off her cape. "I can tell them to call it off, stop the attack." She stopped at the door and turned to them, tears gathering on the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry." Then she ran out into the chaos.

"Adora!" The Doctor said something in a long-dead language. "I'm going after her. You two, evacuate the civilians."

"Doctor, you can't go out there! It's a war zone," Bow shouted

"I've fought in a war before," the Doctor replied, his expression darkening. "This is child's play."

The artillery barrage had ended. Now the tanks and ground forces were breaching Thaymor's shattered defenses. The Doctor ran through the narrow streets, dodging the laser fire. There was no counterattack. No one was fighting back against the Horde. They have no defenses, no garrison, the Doctor thought. This is a peaceful village. He gritted his teeth. No, this was a peaceful village.

A tank shell exploded, blowing apart the hut the Doctor was running alongside. The blast picked him up and threw him ten yards into an abandoned food stall. He sat up, dazed and covered in custard but unharmed. He made to stand up but a taser was jammed into his shoulder blades. Seizing up, he fell back down, helpless. The Horde soldier above him grinned and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

BONK

The grin fell from the soldier's face and he fell down in a heap next to the Doctor, his helmet split open from the strike of a cast-iron skillet. A hand pulled the Doctor up. "Are you okay?"

The Doctor was surprised. "Souffle Girl?"

"I have a name," the girl replied.

"Well, thanks! I owe you one!" The Doctor dusted himself off. "Oh, this is your stall, isn't it?" He wiped some custard from his face and shook it into the pot. "Sorry, I'll pay you back for the damages."

"Wait!" the girl tried to grab him but missed. "You're running towards the attack, not away from it!"

"I know!"

The Souffle Girl watched him as he vanished into the smoke. A second later he reappeared. He grabbed the downed Horde soldier's taser and grinned at her. "I'm probably going to need this!"

Adora dropped to the ground, stunned, as hundreds of volts shot through her.

"Ohh, man, that was a lot stronger than I thought! Are you okay?"

Adora rolled over, propping herself up by her elbows. "Why are you doing this, Catra?"

"Because you left me! And if I don't bring you back Shadow Weaver is going to have my head!"

"Who says you have to go back?" The Doctor emerged from the fire. "You could always come with us."

Catra nearly dropped her taser. "Doctor?"

The Doctor smiled. "Hello, Wildcat. Sorry I kept you waiting."

Catra looked back to Adora, her eyes livid. "What is He doing here?"

"He came back," Adora said, smiling. "It just took a little longer than he'd planned."

"Don't worry, she punched me in the nose, so there's no need for that to happen again." Catra responded by tasing him. "Ahhhhh! Why?"

"So that's why you won't come back," Catra said. She walked over to the Doctor and kicked his taser away. "He came back with his magic box and promised to take you away. And you trust him?"

"Catra, this doesn't have to happen," Adora pushed herself to her knees. "You can come with us. We can finally be free of Shadow Weaver, just like we always dreamed of doing."

Catra looked between the Doctor and Adora. "No. My dream was to rule the Fright Zone, with you. To get the power and glory we deserved. I am not going to give that up and put my faith in a liar." She pointed the taser at Adora, adjusting to its highest setting. "It's him or me, Adora. What do you choose?"

Adora stood up and stepped towards Catra, stopping with the business end of the taser pressed over her heart. "I choose what's right." She saw the hurt in Catra's eyes, only to see it fade into rage. Adora shut her eyes. "Do what you have to do."

BONK

Catra dropped like a fallen tree, her taser rolling away from her still form. Adora opened her eyes. "Who are you?"

"Alright! Souffle Girl for the win!" The Doctor threw his arms around the girl, causing her to drop her skillet. It bounced off of Catra's head, knocking her back out as she was trying to get up.

"Adora!" Glimmer and Bow galloped into the clearing on Swift Wind. Glimmer leapt off and pushed the sword into Adora's hands. "We need She-ra—we need you."

"But, I thought you didnt want anything to do with me."

"I was wrong. I needed your help in the ruins and I needed your help fighting the beetle, but I was a jerk and screwed it all up. You have what it takes to use the sword."

"But how do you know you can trust me?" Adora asked.

The Doctor stepped up and smiled. "I think I can vouch for her."

"Me, too," Bow added.

They looked over at the Souffle Girl, who was inspecting a dent in her skillet. "I don't know who any of you are."

Adora looked down at the sword. Her reflection looked back up at her through the blue pearl on the crossguard. She knew what she had to do. And for once, it felt right. "For the Honor of Grayskull!"

Force Captain Grizzlor sat on top of his tank, which was parked in Thaymor village square. He was eating a souffle he'd found among the debris and dictating a letter to his aide-de-camp. "Force Captain Grizzlor reporting to Fright Zone Military Command. All rebel defenses have been defeated, and Thaymor is taken. Victory is for the Horde."

"Retreat!"

Grizzlor choked on his souffle and sat up. Dozens of Horde soldiers were running through the square, away from the front. "What is the meaning of this?" He jumped down and grabbed one of the fleeing soldiers. "Who said you could retreat? The battle is won, soldier!"

"But...the giant lady, sir!" the soldier pointed into the smoke.

"You're all running away from a woman? One woman? What is wrong with you?"

A second later a tank flew out of the smoke and crashed into Grizzlor's, rendering both vehicles into scrap metal. Grizzlor picked himself up and stared in shock as a tall, blonde warrior woman stepped into the square, sword held high. With a shout, she drove the blade into the ground, creating a shockwave that tossed him off of his feet. He picked himself up and turned to his stunned ADC. "New message: we have encountered unexpected resistance. A tactical retreat has been ordered." He ducked as a dismembered sphere drone flew over his head. "Everyone, retreat!" he shouted.

Adora watched the last Horde soldiers high-tail it into the woods. They were gone, and just in time for her knees to give out. She slid down to the ground and transformed back into her normal form, the sword slipping from her grasp.

"Adora!" She was nearly knocked over as Bow pulled her into a hug. "That was amazing!"

"What happened?"

"You fought off the Horde! We won!"

"I fought off the Horde?" Adora's heart sank. "Where's Catra?"

"She disappeared."

"I fought off the Horde." Adora whispered. "I'm a traitor, a defector! What have I done?"

"You did the right thing." The Doctor clapped her on the shoulder. "You saved a lot of people today. Thaymor has you to thank." He looked around at the destroyed village. "Whatever is left of it."

"It's true, Adora," Glimmer rode up on Swift Wind and climbed down. "We couldn't have done it without you."

Adora picked herself up. "So, what happens now?"

"You could come with us," Bow said

"R-really?"

"Sure I bet the Rebellion could use you on their side," The Doctor replied. "You sure have proven yourself today."

"We could use your help too, Doctor."

The Doctor smiled. "Well, I guess I'm stuck on this planet until the TARDIS decides to come back. Might as well make myself useful if I can."

Glimmer held out her hand to Adora. "So c'mon, let's go home."

Bow clapped his hands together. "Best friends squad!"

"Oi!" A young woman marched out of the smoke towards the four.

"Oh! Souffle Girl! So glad to see you!"

"I have a name, you know. Where are you going with my horse?"

Swift Wind whinnied. "Swift Wind says he belongs to no one," The Doctor translated.

"Ughh, okay, where are you going with the horse that I feed, groom, and provide shelter to?"

"We're headed to Brightmoon," Bow said. "We didn't know the horse was...under your care."

"Well, I don't really have the resources to care for him anymore," the girl looked back to the remnants of the village. "Guess I'm moving on again."

"You could come with us," The Doctor said. "The more the merrier."

The girl shrugged. "I guess I'd've ended up in Brightmoon anyway, with the other refugees." She walked over to Swift Wind and climbed on its back. "Lead the way."

The Doctor clapped his hands. "Alright! Looks like Souffle Girl joins the squad!"

The girl smacked the Doctor on the back of the head. "It's Clara, you idiot, but thanks." Clara smiled. "Thanks for having me."

Is it real? I wanna go back

Times have all changed and I don't want that

As I feel our lives roll past

Look the wrong way when I'm moving too fast