It was a pleasant day. But then, when picking berries, everything was pleasant. The air was filled with the gentle promise of good conditions for routine activity. It was fairly perfect for the hunched older woman, pale purple hair cascading down her aged body, her eyes made large through glasses. She clung to her wooden staff with a casual cheerfulness, as though it weren't really there to help her walk, but to make her feel more adventurous. Butterflies fluttered about as she walked the familiar paths that led her along the bushes of berries she knew to be the best. Despite the shoddiness of her memory, Madame Razz was not one to forget something as essential as the art of berry-picking.
She hummed as she went about her beloved task. The tune nonsensical; a song that was only known to her. Her basket soon becoming full to the point of overflowing. Pleased with herself, Madame Razz made the long stroll back to her little hamlet. The woods were still peaceful and so, to liven it up a bit, she began to hum her songs all over again, though this time it was slightly louder. She felt a bit of satisfaction as she heard some of the forest dwellers rustle in the trees and foliage at her disturbance.
The return home came with little fanfare. There was no one to welcome her there, but it did not dampen her spirits any. Living alone hadn't ever been a sad thing to her. There was plenty to fill her day, and she liked being away from those who might judge her too harshly or bother her with silly things. Madame Razz set her staff to one side as she took a moment to admire her berries within the safety of her home. They were truly perfect. They might have even been the best berries that she had ever picked. Maybe. With a pleased new hum, she made her way to the counter she prepared food on. She dumped the basket out over it and watched as the dark fruits tumbled out, with some threatening to fall to the floor. She caught them with surprising quickness for a woman of her age, pushing them back together. Then, with a dramatic raise of the hand, she began to smash the berries and break them down. She soon began to press and push them together. However, a quick glance over told her that she had not smashed them enough, at least, to her tastes. She raised one berry-stained fist in the air and readied it to smash down one last time, when another smash entirely caught her attention.
Through the wall of her home, Adora came flying and barely missed her. The young woman looked like she had waded through a warzone. Even with her withering vision, Madame Razz could spy the bruises and wounds that covered her body, eyes that held exhaustion, anger, confusion, and hesitation simultaneously. She had obviously been fighting for quite a long time, and whatever it was that she was going against seemed to be taking its toll on her. Adora groaned as several pieces of rubble from the wall tumbled onto her already broken body. As she noted all this, Madame Razz clapped her hands in delight and offered her the brightest smile she had.
"Hello dearie! I didn't expect to see you so soon. Are you here for Madame Razz's special jam?"
Her voice was so loud and sharp that Adora's attention snapped over to her despite the danger. The former soldier's eyes grew nearly as wide as the old hermit's, and she began to push herself up with newfound motivation. More of the wall broke as she did.
"Madame Razz, you need to get out of here now! It isn't safe-"
Adora's warning came a moment too late. A snout latched forward through the hole in the wall, its crooked jaw clamping down on her arm. She screeched with pain, but she had no time to give any further warning before she was yanked back outside. Madame Razz took a few steps forward at this. Concern was creeping into the old woman's features even as she still held an aura of eccentric indifference.
The Princess of Power had been pinned underneath what looked to be a horse, one covered with roots of light that wrapped around its powerful body, nearly consuming it completely. Madame Razz's eyes trailed along them, following their path of movement until she arrived at the origin of all of them; a shard that oozed power which formed the base of it's horn.
The beast was, understandably, furious. The rage bordering on the insane. As Adora squirmed and did her best to dodge while pinned, the creature's powerful hooves slamming down into the earth around her, each strike coming close to making contact with her frame. It's braying was excruciating; a mournful sound buried in pity and anger. Adora winced more at the sound of that then at the bite cutting into her toned flesh.
"Mara dearie! It's so sweet of you to visit me out of the blue like this! You are always with the surprise visits-" Madame Razz chirped, and Adora yelped as, with a violent display of strength, wrenched her arm free.
"Madame Razz, please! This really isn't the time! You need to-" The horse lashed forward, and Adora rolled again, it's horn cutting through the soft ground with ease.
"Ah, but the table hasn't been set! If you're going to be staying for dessert, then I need to have the table ready." The old hermit half-hummed as she glanced back inside her half-destroyed house, surveying the the table that had somehow escaped the damage.
"I can't eat dessert right now! I'm trying not to be killed!" Adora's features shone with absolute exasperation. "Madame Razz, please-"
The corrupted mare lunged for her throat, tired of the talk. It was the opening she needed. In the instant before the horse's large and cruel jaws could clamp down, Adora grasped its mouth and held it back. She leaped, and without hesitation wrapped her muscular legs around the beast's neck. With her own strength and ample leverage, she forced it down. A thunderous impact followed; Adora forced to suck in her breath as the struggle continued. Wails and soil were kicked into the sapphire sky above for several agonising minutes until everything became still.
Several moments of reprieve passed before Adora finally pulled herself up. The tiredness that Madame Razz had first witnessed was even more pronounced. Her legs were practically shaking from the effort of keeping her up. Beads of sweat ran from her forehead down her cheeks, streaking the dirt that had been caked on there. Her whole chest seemed to be heaving up and down as she caught her breath, but her gaze was still alert. One of the primary lessons taught to her during her time with the Horde; ensure the absolute destruction of your enemy. Okay, so it was a little heavy handed, but it never hurt to be sure.
Her instinct was swiftly proven correct.
With a hollow roar, the horse snapped its head in an unorthodox fashion and began to rise once more. Adora felt a groan escape her before loosely holding up her fists; a standard defence pose that was shoddy at best due to exhaustion. This was going to be a rough round.
At least it would be, if it weren't for the glorious neigh from high up in the sky. A flash vibrant color, a burst of wind, it descended down to earth with shocking speed. Like a living rainbow, it slammed its hooves right into the side of its withering counterpart. The impact sent a tremor that could be felt on the very edges of the Whispering Woods. The beast was still once more.
"Where were you?!" Adora seemed to exhale for the first time since Madame Razz had seen her. Her guarded and tense expression fell into deep relief as she approached what was revealed to be a rather stunning alicorn. "And what took you so long?!"
"Well, excuse me Princess! Why did you leave the castle in such a hurry?!" it huffed back, giving a dramatic shake of their mane. "And why did you leave without this?" it nodded to their side. Perfectly balanced along it's back, the familiar, glassy sheen of Adora's sword reflected the late morning sunlight.
There was an undercurrent of unease and implication within those words. Adora suppressed another groan as she understood intrinsically what Swift Wind had been getting at. She had, after all, left in the middle of an important meeting with the Princess Alliance. It wasn't exactly unusual for urgent matters to arise mid-conference, but she knew that it was still odd for her to suddenly bolt off on her own. Adora hadn't even given any sort of explanation, though she knew she'd be doing a lot of that when she returned.
"How mad is everyone?" Adora chose her words carefully, hesitant on how much she actually wanted to know. "Specifically Glimmer? On a scale of one to ten."
"Solid twenty," the alicorn replied. "It's really not my business, but couldn't you have handed things a little more...tactfully? Your friend just became Queen, after all. Not a good look for you to sudden bail without an explanation."
"It's complicated. Really complicated." Adora's shoulders slumped as far as they could go as she reached for the sword, her dour expression perfection captured within the sword's crystalline features.
"Ooh! Is your friend going to be staying for lunch too? I suppose I have enough to make more now, but never fear, Madame Razz is always prepared!"
"Lunch?" Swift Wind's whole body seemed to perk, ears and tail in particular rising slightly up in the air. Lights seemed to sparkle around his face.
"No, no, no!" Adora grasped onto Swift Wind's saddle, grunting a bit. She gave him a scolding and unimpressed look. "I'm really sorry, but we need to get back to Bright Moon as soon as possible. I need to talk to Glitter and hope that she doesn't completely hate me."
"Are you sure dearie?" Madame Razz gave such a large pout that some part of Adora did actually feel bad, though she swallowed the feeling down. The hermit motioned back inside her house, where the crushed berries still sat pristinely on the counter. "I have enough for both of your winged compatriots!"
"No, really, it's fine. I…" Adora trailed off and furrowed her brow as the woman's words sunk in. "Both?"
Adora and Swift Wind exchanged a look. With the same level of reluctance, the pair turned to look behind them. The large, demonic horse had risen once more and was glaring down at them, even if both its eyes were rolling out in opposite directions. The unnatural horn giving off an insidious glow that could blemish the sun. More roots began to crawl from the shard, entangling the body further, along with an accompanying scream so potent that even Razz was forced to cover her ears. Between all of the bucking and braying, two shapes could be spied forming at the base of its back. Two large, crooked, bone-like wings. The light on it's body blinding and cold. Upon completion, it resembled a twisted reflection of a typical alicorn.
And Swift Wind found the whole thing borderline offensive.
"And what is THAT supposed to be?!" he snorted, and they dug one hoof into the ground in a display of their disapproval. "Are you trying to copy me? Well, see here sister, you've got another thing coming if you think you can duplicate this magnificent-"
It replied with a sound that was neither human nor animal, but something monstrous. Their own hoof slammed into the earth, and Adora watched with horror as the ground was actually split from the point of its impact as if it had just been stabbed by one of the Horde's war machines. Her and her steed were only barely able to get out of the way before the jagged earth broke beneath them.
"This…wouldn't have anything to do with those complications you mentioned, would they?" Swift Wind timidly muttered. The bravado that they had once had was quickly dulled by the attack, and the alicorn was slightly more tense as they eyed the mutated beast warily.
"Unfortunately, yeah, it does." Adora fought back a sigh. Her gaze went between Madame Razz and Swift Wind before she took a large step forward. Without hesitation, she raised her sword into the air and focused. "FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL"
Adora felt immense warmth as the radiance enveloped her as it always had. Embracing her as the transformation commenced. Though it was never truly felt, she was keenly aware of her body growing in size and strength, now adorned with the robes and armour of Etheria's champion. The light soon disappeared form her view, or rather, she was the light. One with flowing blonde hair, golden bracers, and armed with the most powerful sword in the cosmos.
She was She-Ra.
Without a word, she pointed the sword at the beast in a silent challenge.
Using the twisted wings that had formed, it lunged at her with double the speed. It was before her in the blink of an eye, but that was that was needed to ready her sword defensively. The horn crashed into the blade, causing an unholy resonance of swords as the two otherworldly materials collided. After the impact, however, the Princess of Power became aware of the sounds of pots and plates moving, as well as the sound of cooking and an all-too-familiar hum. She spared only a passing glance back to see what she had already knew - Madame Razz had shuffled back into her home and had set about cooking.
"Seriously?!"
Without a wasted breath, the beast tried to use her distraction to gain ground. Taking a few defiant steps forward, attempting to chip through her sword and gore her body, but She-Ra was not so easily moved. With a mighty stomp, she dug her feet into the earth underneath, leaving indents that could put the hooves to shame. The princess' hold on her sword grew firmer. With a determined cry, she pushed back against the horse and made it retract its steps and then some. The power struggle becoming painfully one-sided as her raw strength was put on full display.
Desperate, the same wings that had propelled the horse forward began to slam at the sword; a fleet of root daggers against the blade's brilliant edge. The sound of clashing that had first filled the air a short time prior now echoed repeatedly and urgently with every strike. The collision of them grew more powerful until aftershocks radiated from each point of impact. She-Ra rooted herself more firmly in the earth, taking every blow as it came. Swift Wind struggled to get close enough to do anything. By the time the alicorn was able to finally make their advance, the possessed horse's wings had been left to tatters.
Beyond the boiling point, the tense hold between the two was suddenly loosened as the beast used their battered wings to propel themselves up into the air. As the pair watched, the light that emanated from it's horn began to brighten, an encircling layer of magic gathering, becoming so potent it was like a second sun.
"That looks like one of those finishing moves!" Swift Wind screamed out, almost in hysterics.
She-Ra's eyes darkened.
"Leave it to me."
There was no holding back anymore. She took several steps forward and readied her sword, outstretched, still as a mountain. Moment's later, the unholy light burst forth from the horn, cutting through the air, right for her. It struck with enough impact that anyone else might have been incinerated instantly, but she took the attack in its entirety with only a flinch and a gasp. It began to push her down, and she could feel her feet sliding back. There was no room for her to doubt. No room for her to accept that it was stronger than her. Adora was She-Ra. She had the duty. She had the will.
And she had the power.
Her battle cry echoed out as she forced herself forward, the tip of the blade cleaving through the pillar of light; leftover sparkles disappearing back into nothingness. On an on it went, until an opening became clear. With all her might, she swung her sword in a perfect arch, countering the blast and propelling it back at the aerial assailant, the force of which caused the shard-horn to shake and splinter, its wicked wings nothing more than ash. She watched as, with a scream, it plummeted back down to the earth.
Without a moment's hesitation, Adora and Swift Wind rushed over to the creature, her transformation already reverting mid-stride. Her gaze twisted with sympathy and grief as she saw the horse still writhing in agony and insanity upon the ground, it's body well and truly broken. It was painfully obvious that it wasn't in control of itself. Uncertainty gripped her; Adora had never seen anything like it before, and the creature was in so much pain. Dread filled her belly as she looked down at the sword in her hand, the beginnings of a thought she did not want creeping up in the corners of her mind.
"I don't want it to suffer anymore..."
"Though sometimes necessary, the blade cannot solve all matters in life."
The elderly voice made Adora yelp. She nearly dropped her weapon, her face contorted with a medley of confused expressions.
"Who said that?!" Adora looked around wildly, though part of her knew that the voice had come from within her head
"An open hand can do so much more."
"Do you hear that!? I'm not imagining things, right Adora?! You definitely heard that! Why are we hearing voice?!" Swift Wind mumbled to themselves in a panic. Like Adora, they had been looking around wildly but, as nothing seemed to just appear out of nowhere, they had turned their gaze to their rider for support. Kicking out of habit. Definitely not in a good headspace.
Adora didn't respond. Her gaze had furrowed as she considered the stranger's words. The horse was still before her, still writhing. She took a deep breath, and sheathed her sword With slow steps, Adora made her way over and knelt down. She stared at the shard, imprinted onto the animal's skull. Another moment's hesitation, before she reached for it.
At her side, her sword began to glow. It was a beautiful colour, much more soothing than the poisonous light from before. As she pulled the shard little by little, the roots began to retract and fade with it. With a final grunt, Adora yanked it away in its entirety, falling back, now with a misshapen piece of bark wrapped in-between her fingers. Most surprising of all, there before her was a beautiful mare. Alive, healed, and normal. Unable to help herself, Adora gave a laugh as relief washed over her.
The horse, evidently confused and more than terrified of the horror that it had just had to endure, rose to its feet. As it did, Adora did too. She brought one hand to the horse's neck and pet it gently. It allowed for several moments of petting before letting out a potent snort, jetting off into the thickness of the woods, disappearing from view.
"Adora. Partner. Dear friend. Please help me out here; what is going on?!" Adora turned as Swift Wind spoke, watching as the alicorn paced around her, caught between excited and terrified.
"That voice...was the reason I left." Adora felt her exhaustion begin to creep back over her body, but offered Swift Wind a tired smile. "It started talking to me out of nowhere, so I panicked. I was headed straight for Light Hope to see if what it was saying was true. I didn't know if I was losing it, or this was another of the Horde's traps, so I ran without telling " She looked out in the direction the horse had run in. "I ran into our little friend on the way and, well, you know the rest."
There was a heavy silence in the air as Swift Wind processed the explanation. Saying it out loud, Adora was struck by her own words too. After all, she hadn't exactly had much time to consider the situation with everything happening so quickly. Things hadn't gotten this extreme this the day she had first become She-Ra. She was distracted from her reminiscence as she felt Swift Wind nudge at her arm.
"So, we're not crazy?"
Adora slumped a bit. Her smile had faded into a concerned frown. "No, and that's what's so scary."
Swift Wind jolted.
"Why?"
"Because it means the Horde isn't our only problem anymore, there's something worse out there. Much worse."
As another deep silence was threatening to fill the air between the two, the smell of delicious cooking and the tell-tale hum exuded from the small hamlet. The two spun around to see Madame Razz approaching them with the biggest smile the woman had to give, a large tray covered with jam sandwiches held teasingly in front of them. It seemed that she had prepared them for a great deal more than three people.
"Oh good! You're all here! Now we can eat!"