Chapter Nine: The Zombie Apocalypse Begins

It wasn't long before Skeletor's influence had been spread all throughout Etheria. While the man himself hadn't been sighted for a while, the locals began to notice that certain things were...off. For one thing, crops all throughout the kingdoms began to come out much less healthy than before: they weren't wilting outright, but what was thought to be an excellent growing season was turning out to be quite the opposite. Wild animals were noticeable more skittish than usual, and domestic animals were becoming more wild and aggressive. Disease plagued the kingdoms, spreading through an unknown means.

But worst of all, even though Skeletor had disappeared, his influence was still felt. Armies of the dead had risen, laying siege to any civilization they came across. Travel among kingdoms was now limited to heavily-armed groups, and severely regulated at that-nobody wanted to run into a roving pack of the dead alone. Within a matter of days, Skeletor had become a notorious force of devastation, arguably more feared than even the Horde. It had gotten to the point that many Etherians refused to utter his name, for fear he would hear them.

One of the towns under attack from the undead was a small village called Thrush, not far from Brightmoon. Queen Angella had sent some guards to defend it, but after hearing nothing back for some time, decided (with some coaxing from Glimmer) that She-Ra was her best option. And so, Adora, Glimmer, and Bow set out to investigate Thrush, and fight off any attackers if necessary.

"So, Thrush," said Adora. "I've never seen it on any maps before, in Brightmoon or the Fright Zone. How come?"

"It's a pretty small town," Glimmer said. "There's not much there, but they and Brightmoon are pretty close, because, well, they're so close."

"That's where one of my dads is originally from," Bow said. "The two of them actually met there before they moved out into the Whispering Woods."

"So we've got a lot on our hands if they really are under attack," said Glimmer. "They're so small, they don't even have any soldiers there. The ones Mom sent are all they've got."

"Then we'd better get a move on!" Adora said.

The trio carried onwards on the path to the village. Secretly, all of them assumed the worst, what with nobody hearing any report back from them. Plus, they were all too familiar with Skeletor and his machinations…

It wasn't long before they heard the screaming. The sounds of battle carried over a hill, which they hurried over as soon as they heard it. The scene was chilling: walking corpses rushed at the overwhelmed soldiers from all angles the terrified villagers trapped inside the buildings. The undead hordes were dangerously close to breaking through the defenses.

"Mom was right, they're in trouble!" said Glimmer. "Let's get down there!"

"Way ahead of you," said Adora. "For the honor of Grayskull!"

Down at the village, the guards were in way over their heads. The first assault had been merely a scouting party, one of only several dead, that the locals themselves had been able to fend off. This second wave, though, was a full-on siege. Dozens of the dead rushed towards the village-individually weak, though their strength in numbers soon brought the defenders to their knees. It was not only humans and humanoids that had been raised. Undead animals sieged the town as well, acting as attack animals to the other ones.

One of the guards was surrounded by newly-felled bodies, but she was becoming fatigued. The monsters were coming faster and faster, and her spear could only dispatch them so fast. She turned to one of her fellows. "Quickly! We need to evacuate the civilians!"

Her partner, equally exhausted, shouted back. "We're surrounded, there's nowhere to take them!"

This was it...seventeen years of loyal service to her majesty, and she would be eaten but the undead. The first guard steeled herself, preparing to meet a valiant end as one of the horrible beasts charged at her. She lifted her spear forwards and...the risen fiend fell suddenly to the dirt, an arrow protruding from its rotting skull.

"What?" The guard looked around to where the projectile had come from, and saw a trio of warriors charging down the hillside to their aid.

"Look! She-Ra is here!" another guard shouted. The villagers, initially despairing at their soon-to-be demise, were now filled with hope once again. They began cheering for their rescuers.

Another handful of corpses ran towards them, only for every last one to be cleaved in half by the Sword of Protection. Glimmer teleported towards the guard, blasting another dead with a glitter beam. "We'll handle them," she said. "Get to Brightmoon and tell them to send backup and supplies."

"Right away, Princess Glimmer!" said the grateful guard. She hurried back to the kingdom while the Best Friend Squad rallied the other soldiers for one last push.

Bow nocked an arrow. "Almost there, everyone just hold tight!" He let the arrow fly, which landed in the grass in the middle of an advancing group of zombies. The arrow then exploded, dispatching them all.

Adora sliced through the undead in droves. "Heh, good thing they aren't as tough as their boss!" she quipped.

"Adora, focus!" Glimmer said. "We're almost there!"

Adora turned to see one of the risen dead staring at her from a few meters away. As soon as she made contact with its cold, dead eyes, the corpse silently sprinted towards her. She-Ra grabbed the monster before it could touch her, lifting it above her head and slamming it back into the ground. As it was still moving, she drove her sword into the ground and clean through it. The purple pinpricks of light in its eyes faded to nothing.

Though she couldn't eliminate them as fast as Adora or Bow could, Glimmer could use her powers to blind the dead, and therefore open them up to the soldiers' spears. She was too fast for them to catch, teleporting around faster than the eye could see. "Oh, man, I can't tell you how good it feels to have my powers back!" she said.

The battle only lasted several more minutes. While not what one would call 'easy,' the Best Friend Squad made short work of their foes far faster than their latest fights, especially those against Skeletor himself. Not long after, backup arrived from Brightmoon, along with supplies and reinforcements.

"Wish I could have been there to see this!" said Amethyst after having been told of the battle. "I've been itching for a fight we could actually win. It's been a while since we've had one of those…"

"I just can't believe we're dealing with zombies!" Connie exclaimed. "Wait, so, we won't turn if we get bitten, right?"

"Uh…'zombies?'" said Adora. "You have a name for these things?"

"Of course," said Steven. "Dead bodies that rise from their graves because of a plague or a curse, hungering for brains! They're really popular in movies."

Adora turned to Pearl. "They weren't real," said the Gem. "At least, up until now."

"I guess Lars could technically be called a zombie," said Steven. "Lion, too. Probably not the most respectful term for them, though…"

Bow returned from checking up on the townsfolk. "Everyone here is accounted for, if a little shaken up," he reported. "And in answer to your question, I don't think their bites turn you into one of them. Some of the villagers got bitten, but as long as you clean it out, it should be fine."

"Hmm, yes, that makes sense," said Connie. "These are magical zombies, after all. We'll need to apply different rules to defeat them."

"I still can't believe you guys have a word for these things!" said Glimmer. "We've just been calling them the walking dead, or whatever."

The General of Brightmoon's forces approached the group. "Princess Glimmer, my scouts have surveyed the surrounding area. No more of the undead have been spotted nearby."

"Okay," Glimmer said. "Still, we should stay here a bit longer, just to make sure we're in the clear."

The General raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure your mother would approve of that?"

"She sent us here to protect Thrush, didn't she?" said Glimmer. "That's what we'd be doing!"

While skeptical, the General agreed with her logic. The eight of them (as Bismuth had stayed back at the castle) would stand guard until the next morning.

"Adora? You doing okay?" asked Glimmer. "You don't look too good…"

Sundown had come and went, and the group had been keeping watch well into the night. All of them were tired, but Adora in particular could barely keep her eyes open. "Whaddya mean?" she said groggily. "'M fine…"

"It doesn't look that way," observed Garnet. "Why don't you get some rest?"

"But I…"

"Adora, don't worry about it," Bow said. "We'll pick up the slack while you're gone. Besides, if more...what were they called again?"

"Zombies," Connie said.

"...zombies show up, you'll fight better if you're well-slept."

"That's a fact!" said Steven. "And the Gems don't need to sleep, so it's not like they'll be slacking. Don't worry, I'll be watching them to make sure!" he added jokingly.

"Okay, I guess," said Adora. "Good luck out here." With that, she headed into a tent to bed down for the night.

"Sleep well, we'll see you in the morning, hopefully!" said Steven.

Adora slept like a log as soon as she hit the mattress. But after an hour or two had passed, she awoke to the unmistakable sound of someone entering her tent.

She turned over to get a better look at who it was. She wasn't worried, as the others were standing guard, so it couldn't have been someone she didn't know. She looked up to see a figure standing over her, its face obscured by darkness and grogginess. "Hello there!" it said.

Adora rubbed her eyes. "Glimmer, can't this wait until-wait...Entrapta!?"