A/N: Another fairly fun chapter here! Not much to say, and i do mean that this time XP! Next part might be the last depending on where i end things on here, which is hopefully the case since then I won't have to worry about finishing the episode-episode friday and can focus on my school work.
Hope everyone enjoys, and remember: any parts rushed, it's cause of medication + working on this at several different points in time. Either way, enjoy!
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"Catra?" Glimmer called out walking through the village. "Catraaa?"
Typical.
Expected, yet typical.
Their first mission was nothing more than a simple supply run for the to aid the kingdom of Plumeria, the kingdom that belonged to Princess Plumeria. They were supposed to go in there, provide relief and aid for the villagers with a large surplus of supplies, after the Horde cut off their supply routes and resources, possibly drive out any Horde forces if they were under attack, and then get out. It wasn't just a mission to aid and potentially recruit one of the princesses of Etheria into the Rebellion, it was one of the first ones with Catra/She-Ra with them.
Catra was a new symbol of Hope for the Rebellion. With her ability to transform into the mighty She-Ra, she became a symbol of everything good in the Universe and everything it stood for. She was possibly the one single force that could combat the Horde, push the Rebellion forward. She-Ra was known for her beauty, strength, wisdom, courage, bravery, kindness, and most importantly, decency. With her on their side, the Rebellion actually had a chance of fighting back!
Unfortunately, the new She-Ra seemed less than interested in maintaining any sort of respect or honor. Instead, she seemed incredibly interested in showing off her new She-Ra-ness to the surrounding townsfolk.
In hindsight, bringing her to a town full of villagers that loved and adored She-Ra like there was no tomorrow was probably a bad idea. It was basically the equivalent of pouring fuel to a fire, watching the fire blaze out of control and waiting for it to burn itself out It didn't help in her case she spent the first several minutes by herself unloading the various boxes of provisions before searching the village for Catra. She thought it would be easier to find her if she just followed any small crowds she came across or anyone mentioning She-Ra, but she found them to be all over the town with people talking about "The incredible She-Ra!" all over the place.
At least the village was fairly small for a kingdom's capitol so finding Catra in this place shouldn't take that long.
Especially if she just followed the never-ending cheer that's been driving her crazy for the last fifteen minutes.
"She-Ra!"
"She-Ra!"
"She-Ra!"
She swore she was going to have that chant stuck in her head for the rest of her life at this rate. Thankfully, she finally came to the last large group of people who finally had Catra with them compared to the last dozen groups that were just cheering her name. The sight she came across was rather strange.
"67... 68... 69..." Catra huffed with each squat.
Pushing her way passed the crowd, Glimmer finally got a clear view of what Catra was doing. With her ego continuing to rise higher with each and every squat she did, she showed off in front of the crowd as she lifted weights in front of them while they cheered and praised her. What made the cheering and weightlifting so spectacular here? The fact she was squatting an entire bench filled with people on her back without breaking a sweat! While Glimmer could admit it was impressive on it's own, it was only furthering to fuel Catra's ego and the people's worship of her.
And Catra wouldn't have it any other way!
This, everything around her, was exactly what she wanted! Maybe she would've gone with a different look for a kingdom compared to just numerous tents surrounding one massive tree, but she would take what she could get. The people worshipped her here, they praised her! She's never felt so much joy before in her life! This is how she wanted every single day of her life to be when she finally became leader of her own realm, gaining constant love and support of her fellow peers.
And why shouldn't they love her? She was awesome! After all, she was the greatest warrior who ever lived, She-Ra, and they should be graced with her presence. She-Ra was the hero this Rebellion needed, something she was going to make sure of. Appreciation and support was just a natural thing that should've came her way anyway! They were lucky to have her, they were supposed to want her.
There was nothing she couldn't do with the constant support she had!
"98... 99... 100!" With a final huff, Catra carefully lowered the bench filled with villagers as the townspeople continued to cheer. Gazing amongst them, she couldn't help but feel all giddy inside, evident by the giant smile on her face. "This is the greatest day of my life!" She muttered to herself, walking over to a nearby table as the townsfolk followed her.
"Catra! Wait!" Glimmer tried to call out, only to fall on deaf ears as her voice was drowned out by the masses.
"Ok," Catra smirked placing her elbow on a table, "taking all challengers! Let's go!"
"I'll take that challenge!" A muscled-bound villager proclaimed, pushing through the crowd. He was the prime example of every muscle bound meathead Catra could picture. Muscles bigger than his own head, big tough attitude as he uncaringly pushed passed the crowd, and making the entire ground shake as he slammed his massive elbow onto the table. "Come on, shrimp!" He taunted, grabbing her hand.
Oh this was too easy.
Almost immediately, the large man grunted loudly as he attempted to push down the mighty She-Ra's formidable hand, wanting to prove himself just as tough as the legendary warrior herself. Veins could be seen popping around his skull and face as sweat flowed down his face. Catra on the other hand, just smiled the entire time, letting out an insulting yawn with her hand over her mouth. If she wasn't in her current She-Ra state, he might've actually been a challenge. As it stood though, he felt stronger than a simple mosquito that she would slap down the minute she felt it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did we start yet?" She taunted. By the time the man could so much as glance back to her, she already slammed his massive hand's back onto the table. Like everything else she did, as it should be, the entire crowd cheered in praise as the buffed man slumped over in a pout, walking away from the table. "Ok, who's next!"
In the matter of three minutes, she quickly dashed away challenger after challenger, beating them flawlessly and without exhaustion, minus the small bit she felt before coming here. Time after time, she downed another opponent, many of which clearly tried their hardest. From young to old, the masses that challenged her lost, some of them taking defeat with pride while others felt honored to lose to the beloved She-Ra, adding on to the cheering she heard. She even beat an entire group of five or so villagers that tried to arm wrestle her at the same time. She took absolute joy out of tossing them off the table all at once.
"Come on, isn't there anyone who can give me a proper challenge?" She asked slightly taunting again with another yawn. That was when she saw the next contender come up to the table, growing surprised by the sight as the rest of the crowd awed.
It was a young girl, possibly around five-years-old, with light brown hair and small horns on the sides of her head. She had a nice little yellow dress on and a pink flower along her left ear. Like everyone else around here, her eyes sparkled at the sight of the infamous She-Ra, grinning widely as she took in Catra's awesomeness. She actually reminded her a bit of Kim from Thaymor, the young girl seeming full of energy as she took Catra's hand.
This shouldn't take long... Catra grinned to herself. Almost immediately the little girl started grumbling to herself as she tried to push down Catra's incredible strength to no avail. Catra actually found this a little sadder than the previous performances. At least with those people she actually felt a little something pushing against her, here it was nothing more than a brush of wind against her palm. She took greater joy as she slowly lowered the girl's hand towards the table, the little girl panicking as she tried using both hands to push back.
That was when she noticed the crowd beginning to grow silent, shifting her eyes around as she paused. Everyone was so excited and happy up till now and suddenly she found the crowd murmuring and muttering to themselves with worry because the little girl was losing. While no one was saying anything, nothing her ears could pick up at least, she could tell they were all concerned more for the little girl than her at the moment. It was a bit ironic that up till now, winning was getting her praises and cheer, and after the girl showed up, the cheers her wins were getting her were starting to dwindle.
Grinning to herself, she put on her best act as a look of terror filled her face, moaning to herself as she grabbed her wrist with her other hand. "Oh no!" She screeched, catching the girl's attention. "Can't... keep... up!" Realizing what was happening, or at least what she thought was happening, the little girl immediately grumbled to herself again as she pushed with as much force as she could. To her joy, and the rising joy of the audience, Catra's hand started falling into the opposite direction, Catra seemingly doing everything in her power to keep her hand off the table. Despite her best efforts, she let out a cry of fear as the little girl eventually slammed the mighty She-Ra's hand to the table.
It was as if a bomb went off with the uproar that the crowd let off as everyone doubled in praise at cheer at her loss. Everyone respected and cheered for the selfless She-Ra that let the little girl win, the little girl herself cheering for herself with both hands in the triumphantly. "I won! I won!"
"Heh, you sure did kid." Catra congratulated, patting her head. The crowd continued to cheer as the little girl giggled, walking off back to her parents as the praises continued.
This. Was. Paradise. She could do whatever she wanted here and she would be praised. She could defeat anyone that she came across and she would be worshipped. She could probably ask for anything and no one would question it. This was a small taste to her of what her kingdom would be.
Absolute Joy.
"I could get used to this." She commented to herself as she leaned back.
...
This was utterly shameful on Glimmer's end of things. Catra didn't even know these people for a minute before she went crazy for the attention she was getting. She was taking clear advantage of these people by milking them for as much praise she could get out of them, and she hasn't even made any demands for things she wants yet! She was not looking forward to things when she finally wanted something around here.
"This is embarrassing..." She pinched herself between her eyes. Hero of the Rebellion, the person she finally trusted with all her life, acting like the exact opposite of how a princess should behave in every practical way!
"Isn't she amazing?" Opening her eyes again she saw a beaming Princes Perfuma standing before her with her hands clasped.
"Hey," the two looked back as they heard Catra calling, "where can a hero gets some grub around here?" She asked picking her teeth with her claw. Several of the nearby townsfolk wasted no time as they ran off to search for food.
"...She's something all right..." Glimmer muttered crossing her arms. "I'm really sorry about her."
"Sorry? What do you have to apologize for?" Perfuma asked as she smiled. "You've given us a great blessing today!"
"I would've gone with a more appropriate term like curse, but ok..."
"No, really! It's so amazing that you answered our hour of need!" As if to clarify the importance of the matter, the two watched as several dead leaves fell around them. "Our forest has been dying for awhile now, ever since the Horde came in."
"The forest is dying?" It was just now Glimmer realized just how distracted she was by this She-Ra fiasco. Look around herself, she saw the numerous trees and flowers that slowly withered the further away from the village they went. "I don't understand. How is this happening?"
"It's because of the Heart Blossom, our Runestone of Plumeria." Perfuma explained as she directed her towards the giant tree in the center of the village. The tree seemed to be the healthiest of all the foliage she's seen around here, the pink healthy leaves atop it's branches being a symbol of the peace and love Plumeria stands for. Yet even that didn't prevent it's leaves to fall slowly, one leaf at a time. "Ever since the Horde arrived, the Heart Blossom has grown weaker by the day. They're draining the forest of it's energy, including the Heart Blossom itself."
"Wouldn't the Horde have to be close to drain the forest like this?" Glimmer pointed out.
"They are." She trailed Perfuma's hand as she pointed beyond the forest to the North. "Whenever they start draining our land of it's energy, smoke rises from their base up ahead. Even after they stopped, they've still monitor everything around them."
"Wait, the Horde stopped draining the forest's energy?" That didn't make any sense at all to her. "Why would they just suddenly stop? Did you attack them or something?"
"Good heavens, no! We're opposed to violence, all we want to do is live in peace." At there there was some sense coming from these people. None of them appeared to be the least combat experienced, even those who were built up to fight. "Even if we weren't, we couldn't risk leaving the Hearts Blossom unguarded while it's weakened."
"I understand that, "Glimmer nodded in agreement, "I don't know what life would be like if we ended up losing the Runestone of Bright Moon." It was a thought she rarely ever wanted to come across as she saw the sparks at the tip of her fingers. What would her life be like if she went through it all without any of her magic powers? More importantly, what would happen to her if something happened to the source of her powers?
"But you don't need to fret any longer. Now that She-Ra's here, everything will be fine!" Something sounded a little worrying about that statement.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because now that she's here, she can finally heal the Heart's Blossom itself! She's returned at the hour of our greatest need, just like in the stories!" Her face let off a brief flash of realization. "Ooh, I better make sure everything's ready!" With this she turned away as she headed back to the center of the celebration with excitement.
All at once, everything around her made sense while also filling her with worry. These people weren't just worshiping her because she was She-Ra, they expected her to actually heal the Hearts Blossom itself! How was she supposed to know how to do that when she didn't even know how to turn the She-Ra form thing off in the first place? Better yet, could she even turn it off at all? For all they knew she could be stuck that way.
"Catra!" Glimmer called out worriedly as she ran back towards the celebration.
...
*crunch*
"Does this food please you, She-Ra?" One of the horned woman asked as she served another bowl of the green-colored fruit.
"Aww 'oo 'idding?" She mumbled while eating her food. She let out a great belch, one that nobody seemed bother with, as she swallowed another mouthful. "This stuff is g...g... achoo!" She sniffled a little, finding that the pollen issue wasn't as gone as she thought it was. It didn't help she had several floral necklaces around herself. "Great!" There wasn't a lie about it either! They didn't have anything close to this good in the Horde, even when it came to fruit! Granted some of it was rather salty, but she wasn't about to complain any time soon!
"Oh, that makes me so happy to hear!" The woman brightened with delight, running off to collect more food.
If there was something better than paradise, Catra was pretty sure this was it. All these people were her all time favorite people in the world by this point forward! They had the right attitude to her, they had more than enough respect to offer her, and they definitely knew how to make a hero feel welcomed! If she could trade up her new Rebellion life to live out the rest of her days in this place, regardless of all the flowers and pollen, she'd do it in a heartbeat!
*thud*
"Huh?" Catra eyed the strange bell-looking thing the five-year-old girl from earlier set upon the table.
"It's for you!" She said with a bright smile. Her ears tilted a bit as she grabbed the strange looking decoration.
"O-Oh! T...Thank you..." She put on her best smile while examining the strange thing with mild confusion. She was more than happy to accept a gift from anyone around here, though it would help a little more if she knew what it was in the first place. The rest of the crowd seemed to adore the sight of the small child interacting with the greatest hero in the Universe, so Catra did her best to show her appreciation. "It's ehh... I-It's lovely!" She felt awkward as she examined the strange balls tied to string within it. "I mean, I've always wanted one of... these things so I could... uhhh... this here..."
"Wind Chime!" The girl beamed happily.
"Yeah, that! Wind Chime, just what I was going to say!" Catra quickly said, trying to sound like she knew what she was saying. "This is by far the best Wind Chime-y thing I've ever gotten. Thank you so much!"
"Hehehe, you're welcome!" The girl squealed excitedly as she giggled. Catra watched on as she ran back to her parents again, the two of them patting her head as she overheard how proud they were of her.
"Catra!" Glimmer called out again as she teleported behind her.
"Huh? Oh hey Pinky, what's up?" She didn't bother giving her any attention as she dug right back into her food.
"Catra, I need you to come with me. We need to talk." She stated.
*crunch*
"'an 'ih 'ait ju'sh a minn'a? I'm bu'shy." She claimed digging back into the food.
"No it can't wait just a minute, now!" Glimmer fretted as she began pulling her arm.
"Hey, hey, hands off!" Catra yelped a little pulling away. "Go mess with the flowers or something, I'm in the middle of something." Getting back to her feet, she called out to the surrounding villagers again as she made her way back to the other table. "Ok folks, round two! Who's up for more?" Almost immediately she was surrounded again on all sides as she made her way.
"Catra! Mmmmmmmh!" Glimmer grumbled loudly as a small bit of steam rose from her head. "Fine, if you wanna play it that way..." She muttered before teleporting in a purple dazzle.
"Ok, who's up next?" Catra called out as she planted her right elbow back on the table.
"I am!" Glimmer didn't even give her a chance to accept or decline as she suddenly teleported on the opposite end, grabbing Catra's hand without intending to let it go.
"Fine, but don't expect me to hold back or nothing." She grinned, tightening her grip.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Ha, your funeral. Ok, get ready annnnd...Go-! Ngh!" Catra was suddenly startled as she found her hand already halfway towards the table. Apparently the princess here had a lot more strength behind her than Catra originally thought. There was little doubt she was possibly channeling a portion of her power into her strength, just to keep up with Catra.
"When I win, you're coming with me!" She declared.
"F-Fat chance!" The Magicat She-Ra gritted her teeth, bringing her hand to the middle of the table again. Everyone around them watched with much enthusiasm and excitement as their body could muster. They weren't just graced with the presence of She-Ra, now they got to enjoy the sight of another princess challenging her! "Why do you have to be such a buzzkill around here?"
"I'm not being a buzzkill, I'm trying to help you!" She retorted quietly . "Catra, these people care more about She-Ra than they do you."
"Uhhhh helloooooo! I am She-Ra?" She rolled her eyes.
"No you're not! Your name is Catra and you're a part of the Rebellion!" Glimmer corrected. It was like Catra had completely forgotten about her old life in the last half-hour they've been here.
For all she knew, she did.
"Ugh, why are you so laaame? Why can't you be more like Bowey? He has the right idea."
"Bow?" She had almost forgotten about him after everything that's happened. Without skipping on the details, Glimmer looked to the right as Catra's tail directed her.
Off over in the distance, a couple dozen yards away, she saw Bow entertaining several kids and adults while holding a stick like a sword. "How about the time she saved Thaymor by staring down an evil Horde Captain, and made them call off an attack through sheer willpower! Or how about the one time when She-Ra borrowed my toothbrush, and single handedly defeated a hundred Horde Soldiers!"
"Bowey, don't lie to them!" Catra called out with a grin.
"You're right, I'm sorry... It was two-hundred soldiers!" The kids around him cheered with excitement as Catra laughed.
"Hahaha, I officially know which of you two I like more now!"
"Yeah, I'm just going to ignore all of that." If Glimmer got irritated by every witty or sassy comment and insult from Catra, her hair would've gone white by now from mere stress. "Look, Catra, I know you think these people worship you, but it's not like that! They think you can help them with their problem here."
"And who says I can't?" She questioned proudly. "I'm the great She-Ra after all!"
"But not like this!" Her ego was becoming more inflated by the second. She didn't know if it was possible, but she was pretty sure Catra's head would've popped by now by how inflated it was. "Catra, the only thing these people are interested in is what you can do for them, not you yourself."
"Hmph, says you." Her eyes narrowed a little angrily. "I don't know if you've noticed Glimmer, but these people love me. I don't care if they want me to do something for them. I'll gladly do it, and they'll praise me even more for it!"
"But Catra, you don't understand! Just listen-"
"No, you listen!" She hissed as she leaned forward. "You wanna know what I think? I think you're just jealous!"
"Jealous?"
"Yeah, jealous! You're so used to being mommy's little princess, getting all the attention by anyone you wanted, and getting anything you wanted that you're jealous of anyone else who seems to be hogging the glory!"
"That's not even true! I'm trying to help you-"
"No, it is true!" She wouldn't give her a chance to finish so much as a sentence. "I'm surrounded by people that want me and you're trying to ruin it with your princessness. Why can't you just be happy for me?!" There was a small quake in Catra's tone as she said that.
"Catra, please, I'm not trying to-"
"No, I'm done listening, now you're going to listen. I finally found a place that feels better than any home I've ever had, and I'm not going to let anything happen to it. I won't let anyone destroy it, I won't let anyone interfere with it, and I'm certainly not going to leave it anytime soon! And you wanna know one more thing?"
"What?"
She grinned. "I've been holding back this whole time."
*Crash!*
That was a little unexpected and planned on Catra's part, but she hoped she proved her point. By the time Glimmer could react, it was already too late. In one fell swoop, Catra not only slammed Glimmer's hand away with relative ease, she also ended up tossing her several yards to the side through the air. What was unplanned about it were the several barrels she ended up hurdling her into, not intending to do that much damage to the princess. She didn't let it get to her though as the townspeople rallied in cheer at her newest victory, almost ignoring the fact she just tossed a princess away through the air.
A small fraction of her actually wondered if she was okay.
Seeing the scene that unfolded, Bow quickly set the children climbing on him down as he ran over to where Glimmer landed somewhat worriedly. "Glimmer!" He called out, pulling one of the barrels off of her. "Are you ok?" To his relief, he saw her pulling herself out almost instantly after he pulled one of the barrels off of her. Thankfully the barrels seemed to be empty for the most part, only a few of them having anything in them and just a few pieces of fruit at that.
Glimmer on the other hand was fed up. With a scowl, she ignored everything going on with Catra, even as the She-Ra looked back to her with a slight hint of concern, patting all the dust from her shoulder, boots, and so forth. With a single grumble to herself, she teleported angrily back to Catra's side as she stood up.
"Hey Pinky... you-"
"You know what? I've had it." Glimmer interrupted without a care. "Every time I try to help you, either of us try to help you, you always have to be bitter, bossy, annoying, or some other thing, just to get a reaction out of me or Bow, and you know what? I'm done. I'm done trying to help you. So instead, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to just watch. I'm going to stand off to the side and watch everything unfold. And when your world shatters in the next few minutes, I'm going to force the biggest grin I've ever made onto my face and tell you 'I told you so', and I'm going to be happy about it."
"She-Ra!" The two looked over as Perfuma made her way over to them happily. "Preparations are in order the main event! Will you be gracing us with your blessing now or after the Drum Circle?"
While having no idea what she was referring to, she was still a little peeved as she glanced over to Glimmer. What was this girl's problem? First she tries to steal her away, then she tries to ruin her happiness, and now she tries to ruin her mood in the midst of all this?
How ungrateful!
"You know what? Let's do the whole blessing thing now while we're all up and at it." Catra's insistence was followed by another round of applause and cheer by the crowd. With another smirk to the other princess, Catra walked on as Perfuma lead the way, the crowd following behind her continuing their cheers and praise as they followed along.
Looking between the two back and forth, Bow quickly walked over to his dear friend as she continued to stare. "H-Hey, are you ok?"
"Just go with her." She practically ordered. "I want to enjoy this in private."
"Look, Glimmer, I know she can be stuck up, but you have to remember she's from the Horde." He reminded. "Maybe she-" She didn't give him any time to finish. Before he could finish his sentence, Glimmer teleported, to who knows where. Sighing to himself, he jogged himself over to the moving crowd.
He knew perfectly that this wasn't going to end well.
...
"Allow me to extend my deepest gratitude again, She-Ra, for gracing us with your presence!" Perfuma thanked with her hands clasped.
"Heh, yeah, you're welcome... for the fifteenth time..." Catra replied. It was starting to get a bit embarrassing just how much she was being praised.
But not boring.
"Behold, the heart of our beloved kingdom, the Heart Blossom!" Bow and Catra gazed upon the massive tree as their eyes widened at the sight.
This might've been one of the biggest trees either of the two had ever come across. Stretching far above to the sky, maybe half as tall as Bright Moon Castle itself, was a gigantic pink plaster of bark that could be seen from the furthest stretch of the clearing here, from any single place in the entire village! The massive roots of this great oak stretched far beyond anything either of the two could comprehend. Massive sized roots dug throughout the soil of this giant tree, with individual roots sprouting flowers from the tips of these additional roots.
Everything about this place spoke peace and beauty to all that gazed it.
That's when Catra's attention shifted to the giant pink runestone embedded within the center of this great tree. It was weird, strange to her. Being this close next to one of the first Runestone's she's seen since the Black Garnet, a runestone she wouldn't dare come near again, she could've sworn it was humming. She felt a warmth coming from the great stone the closer she got to it, a warmth none of the others seemed to feel save for possibly Princess Perfuma herself.
But it was also weaker, she believed at least. There was something about it, cold, hurt, feelings emanating from it that told her that it was in pain. Was it another ability she possessed being She-Ra now? Could she sense how the tree was on the inside? The color itself made her question if the tree was even healthy as it appeared. She could almost swear the runestone was supposed to shine brighter than this.
"What do you think, mighty She-Ra?" Princess Perfuma asked with a small bow.
Scratching the back of her head, she tried to think up an answer for the villagers. "Well it's... uhh... certainly big... and... pretty?"
"Thank you! We respect all boundaries of nature and live alongside it peacefully." She replied touching the tree. "It's been here for centuries, providing us with protection and prosperity for our people." As she went on, Catra and Bow took notice as several leaves began falling from it's branches, quickly shriveling up and decaying practically into dust before them.
"What's going on with the leaves?" Bow asked as he watched more fall. "Is something wrong with the tree.
Perfuma frowned as she turned her head a little. "The Horde has been collecting and siphoning the tree's energy up to this point. Until recently, the tree's grown weaker by the day and the plants around us have begun to die."
"Until recently?" Catra repeated. Did that mean they stopped? Why would they stop in the middle of something? With the village being as peaceful as it is, they could easily overpower the villagers and take the tree's energy without a second thought.
"But that's all in the past now because you're here with us!" Perfuma chirped as she walked back to Catra. "Now you can use your power to restore the tree and the land as it once was!"
"Uhhh do what now?" A small tingling sensation was growing in the back of Catra's mind. It wasn't anything that could kill her and the troubling part was something told her she wanted it to compared to what she was about to go through.
"You know, restore it! Heal the tree and save our land!" She pleaded. "Just like the stories!" She walked off along the sides of the giant roots as she used her magic to move the foliage covering several scriptures involving She-Ra. "She-Ra, the warrior that tamed the beasts of Beast Island with a single word!"
"Uh... I did that?"
"Yes! Every time we've needed you, the Universe answered our call and brought you to us!"
"Like the Great Famine that struck us several millennia ago!" A villager called out.
"Or the time you struck down the mighty beowulf with one hand!" Another called out.
"And now, you're here to answer our pleas again!" Perfuma said assuringly.
"She-Ra!"
"She-Ra!"
"She-Ra!"
Catra smiled nervously as the villagers walked closer to her while chanting.
This might've been a slight problem. Here she was, recent center of attention, who was tasked with doing something magical with the sword, healing in this case. Why did it have to be healing of all things? She thought she was going to fight a Horde soldier or some monsters, or maybe save some villagers from some evil monster trying to eat their children! What did she have to do instead? Preform some magic with a sword she's barely used at all to restore an entire land to it's former self! She might as well be ending world hunger while she was at it!
That's when she noticed Glimmer, princess of Bright Moon and Queen Angella's daughter, passed the crowd. Sure enough, just like she promised she would be doing, she was leaning against one of the trees while crossing her arms with a giant smirk across her face. She was going to watch this and enjoy all that she could get out of it.
There was absolutely no way she would ever give her that satisfaction!
"Hmph, fine then, I'll do it!" She said with a determined face. Like everything else she did, this was followed by cheers and applause from the people around her, all watching as she walked up to the tree.
"Use my Wind Chime for good luck!" She heard the little girl call out. She looked back for a second before looking to the Wind Chime she was still holding.
"Uhh Catra?" Bow called out as he walked over. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He whispered.
"I don't even know how to change back to normal, what makes you think I can heal this thing?" She whispered back nervously.
"Then let's just step back for a minute to practice or something."
"Are you kidding? Do you see how they are now? They need me to do this!" She looked at the sword in her other hand, seeing the person she needed to be right now.
She-Ra.
"If they expect me to be a hero, then that's exactly what I'm going to do."
"But how are you going to do it then? You've never done anything else with the sword."
"Well... how hard can it be?" She gulped to herself as she leaned the sword against the tree, using her free hand to feel the tree itself. With direct contact to the stone, she could feel it. It was definitely in pain like she thought, a small fraction of it's power slowly draining to the surrounding forest. Taking a deep breath, Catra closed her eyes as she tried to concentrate, everyone, Bow and Glimmer included, watched intently as Catra tried to work her literal magic.
Come on, please! She said to herself. Give me whatever power, use whatever power you have, to help these people...
She needed this to work. It had to work! This wasn't just a matter of proving Glimmer wrong, she wanted to make everyone proud of her! They worshipped her and praised her ever since they got here! Even someone of Catra's demeanor couldn't bring herself not to repay their generosity! They're some of the nicest people she's ever met, they didn't deserve whatever cruelty was being inflicted upon them. And she was willing to fight off anyone she needed to keep these people specifically safe.
As she concentrated, she heard numerous oohs and awes as the people watched.
"Catra, you're glowing!" Bow announced.
"I'm trying to concentrate!" She quickly shushed back to him. This had to be it, it had to be working! She dared not open her eyes as she tried to focus all her thoughts on the tree itself. If she was glowing, it had to be a good sign.
She drowned out the numerous murmurs and mutters she heard around her as she continued to glow, her hair raising slightly as her body coursed with power. Nobody knew what to expect, Glimmer herself actually finding herself surprised by what Catra was doing. Was she really going to pull it off? Was she actually going to heal the tree and save the day like Catra said she would? Maybe she wasn't just showboating about the whole She-Ra thing either?
I... I can feel something... This warm soothed her nerves as she continued to concentrate. This strange warmth brought her comfort in this hour of need. Perhaps all her troubles were finally behind her now? Maybe she really could be this legendary She-Ra everyone begged of her? This was fantastic! It brought a smile to her face. She finally had a purpose in life and a place where she belong-
It stopped. Everything stopped. All the feelings she felt, all the thoughts running through her mind, it all left her. Nothing filled her mind or her heart until she started hearing several disturbed gasps and murmurings coming from behind her.
"What?" She asked looking back. Save for Bow, everyone else looked at her in shock. Catra looked at what was troubling these poor people that had been so good to her, eyes widening at what she saw.
Herself.
Her transformation had finally ended.
She was just plain old Catra again.
"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me!" She growled grabbing her sword. "Of all the stupid times to change back you pick now?!"
"Who are you?" She looked back as she saw the somewhat scared and questioning looks of the villagers. They looked like they were just meeting her for the first time again, but more nervous or angry instead of happy or joyful. "Where's She-Ra?"
"Uhh right in front of you?" She answered like a rhetorical question. "I've been She-Ra the whole time here, it's just this stupid sword that transforms me into-"
"Are you not She-Ra?" Another woman questioned her. There was a sense of dread emanating from the audience who watched her.
"She's just a girl!" Another elderly woman said.
"News flash, so was She-Ra." Catra retorted. "Anyway just give me a few minutes to get this thing working, I'll have it down in no time."
"But you're not even She-Ra!" Ok now it was starting to get annoying.
And concerning.
"I thought you were here to help us!"
"What did you do to She-Ra?"
"Bring us back She-Ra!"
All around her the entire crowd of people just went from one thing after the other as they continued to bombard Catra with an array of questions and demands from here. What just happened to these people? Here they were, worshipping her literally one minute ago and now they throwing words and, at this point, insults at her like she was a witch from a witch hunt. Did she just enter some parallel dimension or something while her back was turned?
Even Perfuma looked at her with complete shock and dismay at what just happened. This wasn't the She-Ra she remembered! She-Ra was supposed to be a soldier radiating with an aura power and wisdom. She was hope incarnate that would come to their world in their greatest hour of need and save them from whatever evils left them in peril.
This? This was a Horde soldier. A Horde soldier who's animal-like features actually looked more terrifying to her than anything she's ever witnessed. Sure, she wasn't as terrifying as a monster or anything, but compared to her previous attire and appearance, she looked like a wolf who took off sheep's clothing.
"Can... you not save us?" Princess Perfuma finally asked. Now Catra was starting to get steamed.
"What is wrong with you people?!" She shouted squeezing her fists. "I AM She-Ra!"
"Catra-!" Bow tried to interrupt.
"I CAN get the sword to work!"
"Catra-!" She was oblivious to the increasingly worried look on his face.
"If you just stopped pressuring me, I can get it done in no time!"
"CATRA!"
"What?!" She finally growled back, too little too late.
*CRACK!*
Her ears twitched as she suddenly picked up on the noise, finding the source of it coming straight from her hand. Her eyes widened in shock as she just realized what she had done. In the midst of all this anger and frustration that was being built up, she failed to sense any feeling of touch coming from her hands. Because of this, she was completely unaware as she continued to squeeze the beautiful Wind Chime someone had gifted to her all before any of this stuff happened. And without skipping a beat, she brushed it in her bare hands like it was nothing.
It was a gift from a simple five-year-old girl, one she let win in arm wrestling, and one who reminded her of Kim. The very same girl who now had tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she looked back. For one of the first times in her life, at least since leaving the Horde, she felt a tinge of remorse. She was someone who idolized her, even if it was because she was She-Ra, and on top of making her cry in front of all these people, she destroyed something that was precious to her.
She didn't even have the time to utter an apology before the girl ran away back to her parents. They quickly hugged her in turn as she cried into their legs, glaring back at the would-be She-Ra like the rest of the villagers had.
"You're a monster!" The villagers shouted.
"You're not She-Ra, you're just an imposter!"
"Go back to where you came from and leave us in peace!"
This... was a nightmare. Nothing but a complete nightmare. She was no longer in the same paradise that she once relished. She was in a nightmare of her own personal torment, her own personal torture.
One that she designed.
"Ugggh! Forget you stupid people, I'm done!" She growled. Gritting her teeth she picked up her sword as she hastily marched her way back into the woods. Princess Perfuma could only shake her head at the scene before returning to her villagers, trying to calm them down and come up with a way that could best explain what was going on along with Bow.
At the same time, a princess off in the distance continued to smile at the scene. This is exactly what she told her would happen, what she tried to warn her about, but did she listen? No. She decided to be stuck up as always and completely ignore Glimmer even as she tried to help her. On top of that, she felt it necessary to toss her aside into a cluster of barrels. Whether or not it was an accident, it didn't matter to her. She didn't want to listen to anything she had to say and she was the one suffering for all this.
And now she was going to walk into the woods to reap her rewards from the selfish egomaniac herself!
...
...
"Oh Catraaaa~" Glimmer called out with glee.
Thaymor.
That's what this entire scenario reminded her of. It had basically the same formula of the disaster that struck the down, or at least involving Catra and not the Horde attack after. She mingled with the people, participated at a festival of sorts, got chewed out by adults who were angry with her, and then she ran off into the woods to pout. The only difference this time is that she didn't care!
She was done trying to help the girl whenever she didn't truly need it. She thought she could get away with acting like a complete snob when she was trying to help her in the first place? Fine! Who cared what happened to her in the process as long as she didn't get hurt! Ever since she met her she was mean, prideful, snobby, selfish, uncaring, rude, lazy, and, a new one she could add to the list, egotistical!
So now, she was going to get her time. Glimmer was going to find her in these woods and rub it in her face just like everything Catra did to rub any insults into her face.
Sure enough, just like Thaymor, she found her beside a tree again, now standing on the ground like she was. This time, she was near it with her right shoulder leaning against it with her back towards Glimmer, no doubt crossing her arms in a huff. Oh, she was going to enjoy herse-
*sniff*
"?"
Was she crying? She couldn't tell as she felt a moment of concern. Or is it the pollen again? It must've been the latter here. After all, she was still wearing several of the flower necklaces she was given at her celebration. Shaking the thoughts from her head she quickly smirked as she crossed her own arms.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here." She waited briefly for any sort of reaction out of her. No doubt she would remain silent through most of whatever insults of "I told you so" Glimmer had to dish out. "Did you enjoy the festival? I know I sure did!"
"..."
"I think my favorite part was right after you turned back to normal in front of everybody. Gee, talk about bad timing, huh-"
"What do you want?" She asked turning her head barely an inch. There was something weird about her tone of voice, being impossible to see her expression passed her hair. There was a strange coldness to it unlike anything she's heard Catra say before. There was no emotion to her words or any sense of demand from it. It was just nothing, hollow. It's like she's lost any emotion she ever had.
Still, she wasn't going to let it ruin her chance of payback. She pushed aside the thoughts as she continued. "Oh, nothing, just came to see where you ran off to. I was surprised to see you running so fast, and after such a fun festival too!"
"..." Catra just turned her head again away from Glimmer.
"You know I'm pretty sure if you weren't so keen on doing everything like a goddess, you wouldn't be in this mess."
"..."
Ok, now it was getting a little annoying. She didn't think Catra was capable of keeping to herself for this long when someone was purposely trying to mock her. Her tail wasn't wagging around through some subconscious means or anything. It just remained lifeless, like she was being. "It was a shame you had to go and destroy that gift that little angel made you, you know? I'm sure at least then someone still would've liked you, even if you weren't She-Ra."
"..."
*sniff*
Something was wrong.
Everything about this was wrong. It became more apparent to her as she suddenly saw Catra rub the corner of her eye against her arm. It wasn't just that, it was Glimmer herself. Why was she doing this? She wasn't feeling any better about all of this, she wasn't getting any joy out of these reactions. If anything, she felt a little sicker with herself just for trying to get some sort of reaction out of Catra. She came here hoping to smile her whole way through this, but now she was just feeling concerned... and a little hurt herself.
"Catra..." Catra ignored the shift of emotion in her voice. "Are... Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" She hissed.
Well that got a reaction out of her.
"Huff, look, Catra, if you weren't so obsessed with wanting to hear how great you are, none of this would be happening."
"...What?" She turned her head a little more back.
"I just mean if you just tried to act normal and not show off in front of everyone, you wouldn't be feeling as bad as you do now. You just let all the praises and compliments get to your head, that's why things ended up like this."
"...You think I was doing it for all the praises and garbage they were giving me?" She finally turned around to her, facing her directly. It was impossible to tell if she was crying at any point or not. All Glimmer could see was an empty stare into her eyes.
"W-Well... yeah... I-I mean that's why you were showing off in front of them and everything... wasn't it?" This conversation was starting to flip in on itself from how Glimmer pictured it.
"Showing off? What part of anything made you think I was showing off just so they could praise me?"
"Huh?" Was she joking or using some form of reverse-psychology on her? Did Catra even know how to comprehend reverse-psychology? "What do you think? Try everything you were doing in front of them that earned you cheer!"
"Pinky, I could care less what they were cheering for me or praising me for." She squeezed her fist a little. "I was showing off because these people actually cared about me!"
"You... think they cared about you?"
"I know they cared about me!" She hissed, turning around to lean against the tree once more. "They enjoyed seeing me, they liked having me around here! They brought me food, cheered at everything I was doing, I got a freaking gift from someone for pete sake! And I didn't know these people and they still cared about someone they just met!"
"Catra... Ohhh..." Oh, great. Just great. She definitely wanted things to turn out this way! Oh how happy she was to see everything flip in on itself the one time she wants to be the snobbish one around here. "Catra, they weren't caring for you in the way that you're thinking. They were just happy because they thought you were here to solve their problems."
"Yeah, and I probably could've if they didn't instantly hound in on me the minute I changed back!"
*sniff*
There was little doubt left about what the sniffling was from. She was crying earlier.
"Look, Catra, that wasn't..." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I thought you were doing it for all the attention and everything. I just figured with how you throw yourself at everything in front of people, you liked the attention they were giving you. Just like the attention people gave you in the Fright Zone." There was an eerie silence looming around the air as she waited for a response. When she didn't get one, another thought occurred to her that she didn't think of. "...Did... you get any attention in the Fright Zone?"
"Oh, yeah, sure, I got plenty of attention in the Fright Zone." She quickly replied without hesitation. "I got just comforting words like "oh hey look, it's that freak again", and "oh great, what is she doing here", or my personal favorite "ugh, why do they allow that in the Fright Zone"! They really knew how to make a girl feel welcome you know!"
"Mmmh look, Catra, I know kids can be cruel sometimes, but-"
"Who the heck is talking about kids? I'm talking about the stupid adults that raised us!" She shouted. "And they were the nice ones about it too! They at least muttered it to themselves thinking I couldn't hear them! Don't even get me started with the children I was raised along with..."
Ok. This was completely unfair.
Here Glimmer was, who hoped to go into the woods to confront an egomaniac named Catra and get back at her for all the hardships she put her through and the annoyances she had to put up with up till now, after one single day in the Rebellion. She was going to do it, show off in front of Catra, and feel totally better about everything that happened up to this point.
What happened instead? She came to a greater realization than anything she or Bow could've thought up. Catra wasn't showing off just to upstage anyone, she didn't want the world thinking she was the greatest person alive, or at least not around here. She wanted to show these people how good she was because she thought they welcomed her, respected her. She thought all the attention she was getting was a sign of compassion of some sort.
Like a family.
And it left Glimmer with a sickening feeling after realizing all of this. She thought someone as hard struck as Catra wouldn't be bothered by all these emotions and whatnot, especially since she was raised in the Horde. Here, she was nothing more than an average person, one who's life was torn upside down like the rest of the world, if not more so given the people who raised her. And here she was planning and wanting to rub it in her face thinking Catra was a snob.
She was nothing more than a person who became intoxicated with the amount of praises she got, thinking it meant others cared for her.
Glimmer had nothing but ultimate regret for every reason she came out here to find her.
"Catra... I'm... I'm sorry..." She apologized lowering her head a little. "I didn't know."
It didn't matter to her at this point. This entire mission, everything about it, was a complete crush on her mentality and her emotions at this point. She couldn't wait to get back to the Castle as of now. At least then she'd be surrounded by people she knew didn't make her feel welcome.
"...Just forget it." Both of them wished they could.
"Catra! Glimmer!" Bow could be heard shouting as he rushed up to them.
"Bow? What's wrong?" Glimmer was the first to turn around curiously, noticing the worry in his eye as he panted out of breath.
"Huff... Huff... " He fell to his knees as he collected his breath. "The... The Horde..." Catra instantly turned around at the mention of the word. Nothing with the word Horde in it ever resulted in something good.
"What? What Horde? What happened?" Catra demanded as she ran to him.
"The Horde, they're..." He let out a final breath before getting back to his feet. "They're at the village, an entire force of them! At least fifty, maybe!"
"They're attacking the village?!" Glimmer fretted. That was just great. Now she was going to hear how the Horde appeared out of nowhere just after she left it for her own selfish reasons.
"Well..." The two looked at him bewildered as a strange look crossed his face. "That's the thing. They're not attacking, they're... negotiating."
Glimmer and Catra looked at each other as if they had never heard the word before. Negotiating was a staple of what every war should've been to avoid bloodshed and violence, so lives could be spared and both sides were relatively happy. Never have they heard the words "Horde" and "Negotiating" ever in the same sentence.
"Negotiating?"
...
...
...
A/N: So what's the moral of today's story? ... I don't know, that's why I asked you guys XP.
Lol, anyway, had a bit of fun with the ending of this one (I mean it still tug at my heart but you get the point). Fun thing about my writing, if I know what I intend to write about and whatnot, I can write out lickity split! Otherwise for the scenes that are going scene-by-scene from the show, they take awhile obviously cause i have to keep going back and forth with watching it and writing it down and whatnot.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed todays episode! I have work all day today so dk when/if I'll even be back before possibly 10 TONIGHT X_X i'm gonna be tired... but I will have my phone at least so feel free to message me about concerns or questions you have.
And again, let me know if you guys want the intro in the beginning of all episodes, or just the first part of every episode. Idky I just feel like it would be nifty if the intro was in all of them rather than one-third of them or something...
Anyway! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!