Chapter 36: Mystacor

Soon after Brittni touched the hand of the red armband, her eyes closed and everything went black. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and found herself lying atop a purple, marble-coated floor. Brittni sat up and rubbed her head, with it feeling as though somebody smashed a bottle over it. The walls of the room she was in were a resplendent white, ornamented with purple trims and fine woodworking. On both sides, flush with the walls were statues of people. Brittni switched glances between each statue, becoming more confused with each glance.

"Where… am I?" Brittni wondered to herself as she picked herself up fully. She was in some kind of hallway, that much she knew. But what hallway was it? Brittni began walking to investigate her current circumstances. As she moved towards the end of the hallway, she stopped at a particular statue. This statue looked eerily familiar to Brittni as she took a closer look.

"Shadow Weaver…?" Brittni thought as she studied the very similar features of the statue. Brittni then noticed the sign above the doorway, indicating what the hallway was. The sign read, 'The Hall of Sorcerers.'

"Sorcerers…?" Brittni said aloud, "I must be in some kind of Rebel installation of some sort…" Brittni concluded. Her pondering would have to pause, however, as voices from the next room sounded through her ears. Brittni moved to the door and put her ear to it.

"You think that you can change Glimmer back to the way she was? A spineless rebel with no nerve to fight?! She was nothing before she found me! And you will NOT bring her back to that insignificant state!" A deep, feminine voice shouted. After the shout, Brittni could hear a clattering of metal and ice. Brittni had heard the distinctive ice noise before… it had to have been the powers of that ice princess she had seen at Dryl. Without any more hesitation, Brittni kicked open the door and reached for her laser pistol.

The scene that was playing out before Brittni was a tremendous, one-on-one battle. Sure enough, it was the ice princess, Frosta. Her opponent was… a Horde soldier? This Horde soldier had the moves of a ninja, however. Despite being covered head-to-toe in Horde armor, the soldier was performing backflips, bobbing, weaving, and combat rolls as though they were wearing only clothes. Oddly, the Horde soldier was also only armed with swords.

The room they were fighting in seemed to be the entryway; as it contained costly furniture, extravagant paintings and statues, and a nice tiled floor. In the middle of the room were finely crafted staircases that converged together to the second floor. Although, all of these decorations had been disheveled from the battle that was going on. The battle that Brittni was witnessing was happening on the first floor.

Frosta was firing shards of jagged ice, but each piece was being easily deflected and dodged by the Horde soldier. The Horde soldier ran towards Frosta and narrowly dodged an icy spear that was aimed at their chest. As the spear was flying towards the Horde soldier, the soldier dropped down into a prone position and slid across the tiled floor with their sword aimed to slice Frosta's feet. Frosta quickly formed an ice barrier at her ankles which stopped the blade from hitting her ankles. However, the Horde soldier managed to unsheathe the other sword that was on their back. As they slid passed Frosta, they curved around and were about to plunge the other blade into Frosta's back… until Brittni intervened.

"Stop! Stand down, soldier!" Brittni commanded. Brittni's shouting took both of the combatants by surprise. Frosta narrowed her eyes at Brittni.

"Another Horde soldier?!" Frosta exclaimed. Before she could say anything further, the Horde soldier finished their job by sticking both swords into Frosta's back. The swords ran through Frosta until they were protruding from the front. Frosta let out a frightened gasp, coughed up a large amount of blood, and choked as she attempted to breathe.

"Frosta! No!" Brittni cried out, she then glared at the Horde soldier, "what are you doing?! I told you to stand down!" Brittni growled. Brittni could hear a faint, but devilish chuckle coming from the Horde soldier. In the blink of an eye, the soldier retracted the swords from Frosta's body. Once that was done, Frosta's body fell to the floor, seemingly lifeless. Brittni brandished her laser pistol at the soldier and yelled, "identify yourself!" The Horde soldier's chuckle evolved into a maniacal laugh.

"I think I remember you…" The Horde soldier disclosed, "you're the twin of the one that nearly killed this ice princess." The Horde soldier then switched their gaze from Frosta back to Brittni and added, "how ironic. One twin attempts to kill her, the other attempts to save her."

"Shut up! I told you to identify yourself!" Brittni snapped. The Horde soldier smirked under their helmet.

"Very well…" The Horde soldier said. The next development that took place was something absolutely bizarre. Seemingly out of nowhere, a swarm of darkness with beads of neon green dots began enveloping the Horde soldier. Brittni took a step back in fear.

When the darkness dissipated, there stood Void in her purple and black bodysuit and armor. Brittni gave a widened glare at the apparition before her and shuddered.

"What… What are you?!" Brittni demanded. Void's feminine voice came back as she chuckled.

"Oh, darling… a good magician never reveals their tricks." Void jeered.

"What are you planning on doing, Void? Why do you want the portal technology?!" Brittni continued her demands. Void simply scoffed and put a finger to her cheek.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Void asked, sarcastically. Brittni let out a growl and let her rage take over. Without hesitation, Brittni fired a few rounds off her laser pistol. Something unexpected happened, however. As the lasers flew towards Void… they went right through her as though she weren't there.

"What the-?!" Brittni exclaimed. Void waved her finger back and forth and clicked her tongue.

"Tsk, tsk. Don't you know that you can't harm people in your dreams?" Void inquired. Brittni widened her eyes in surprise.

"...I'm dreaming?" Brittni inquired.

"Ding, ding! Give the girl a prize!" Void said facetiously as she clapped her hands. Brittni growled and began running towards Void. Before Brittni got to her, Void pulled out a small ball and hurled it at the ground. At the point of contact, the ball exploded and emanated a large amount of smoke. Brittni coughed as the smoke permeated her lungs. As the smoke cleared, Void disappeared without a trace.

Brittni scanned the room to find any indication as to where Void had runoff, but there was nothing. No footprints, no noise, nothing. Brittni heard a groan and realized Frost was still alive! She quickly ran over to Frosta and immediately set to work on healing her. Brittni pulled out a roll of gauze and attempted to wrap it around the wounds, but just like her lasers, the gauze seemed to be intangible.

"No, no!" Brittni protested. Just as Brittni was about to lose hope, she heard Frosta cough. Brittni gasped, "Frosta? Frosta! Hang on, I'll find help!" Before Brittni could turn, Frosta grabbed Brittni's wrist. Completely bewildered that somehow Frosta was able to grab her seemingly intangible hand, Brittni looked back to see Frosta slowly lift her head up. She was still coughing up blood but managed to choke some words out.

"Brittni… we're at Mystacor… you still… you still have a chance to stop the portal. And.. And, save Glimmer and… and me...Please… please hurry!" Frosta behested.

"Frosta? Frosta!" Brittni begged as Frosta's hand began turning into dust. Her skin flaked away until there was nothing. Brittni heavily shuddered as she knelt down and witnessed this scene. "No… No!" Brittni screamed as tears began pouring out.

Quick as a flash, Brittni jumped to her feet and began running towards the entrance of the building she was in. She ripped open the door to witness utter destruction happening outside. Buildings were on fire, corpses were piled across the street, Mystacor sorcerers and Night Moon soldiers were battling it out with beams of energy and magic flying all around.

Suddenly, Brittni felt a presence behind her. She immediately whipped around and brandished her laser pistol at the person. She gasped when she realized who it was.

"A...Adora?" Brittni inquired. Adora's countenance looked disturbed and worried. Suddenly, Adora grabbed Brittni by the shoulders and was slightly shaking her.

"Brittni? Brittni, wake up! Wake up!" Adora pleaded with Brittni. Suddenly, everything around the two girls began crashing down, including those they, themselves. Brittni attempted to scream, but her voice would not come out. Brittni screamed harder as she fell faster and slowly her voice became more audible until finally, she opened her eyes and felt a hand clamp over her mouth.

It was Adora!

"A'moruh?!" Brittni inquired, her mouth muffled from Adora's hand. Adora quickly removed her hand and wrapped Brittni in a hug. Brittni looked around. She was in a bed in an unfamiliar bedroom. The room was cluttered with bits of technology, scrap metal, wires, a few computers, and various other gadgetry.

"So, the unconscious prophet finally wakes up," Catra muttered, sarcastically. Brittni looked over and saw that Catra was sitting atop a bookcase with her legs dangling off.

Also in the room were Brett and Bow. Brett was kneeling next to Brittni, while Bow was standing behind Brett a few feet away. Brittni slowly rose up and rubbed her head.

"Here, take this." Bow offered as he handed her a cup of water. Brittni nodded in gratitude and took a few sips.

"Thanks…" Brittni muttered, gratefully. She blinked her eyes a few times and rubbed her head, "ugh, I feel like I got run over by a skiff. What happened?" Brittni inquired. Catra scoffed.

"Well, you touched a guy and went unconscious for a couple of days," Catra muttered. Brittni's eyes widened.

"A couple of days?! What's happened?" Brittni demanded.

"Whoa, easy, Brittni." Brett cautioned as he put his hand on her shoulder. Adora, who was sitting at the end of the bed, spoke up.

"Yeah, you went unconscious and we had no idea what to do," Adora admitted. "We didn't think it would take you this long to wake up." Brett then spoke up.

"Right now, Amazona took a small detachment to scope out Elberon. The place is locked down tight and they've definitely increased their defenses…" Brett said, aggravated. "But, they did manage to pose as wandering merchants."

"A lotta good that did them…" Catra scoffed, "they couldn't find anything about a portal, and Night Moon's leaders weren't there, anyway."

"Please, tell us that you have some good news." Bow inquired of Brittni. Brittni slowly nodded.

"Actually, I do… When I touched that guy, I started experiencing a vision I had never encountered before." Brittni began before being interrupted by Catra.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Catra said as she jumped off the bookshelf, "a vision? Are you kidding me?" Catra demanded in disbelief.

"Hear me out," Brittni advised, "anyway, this vision was… it was like, interactive…" Brittni then went onto explain exactly what happened in the vision. There were different reactions to what Brittni said. Catra continued to remain undeterred from Brittni's proclamations. Bow and Adora were in shock; not only because of Night Moon's attack on Mystacor, but also because of what happened to Frosta. Brett's countenance was as though he had accidentally killed his best friend.

"She… She dies?" Brett inquired with his lip quivering.

"I don't know…" Brittni admitted, "but I think there's still time to stop this from happening!" Brittni said with hope.

"Only one way to find out…" Brett muttered. He stood up and turned to Catra, "Force Captain, I hate to say this but we're a little thin in numbers since Amazona took her squad to Elberon. It's too far from Mystacor to reinforce us on time… but…" Brett then turned to Adora, "what if we had help from the Rebellion?" Adora cocked her eyebrow at Brett.

"What?" Adora, Catra, and Bow exclaimed simultaneously.

"Hold on!" Catra commanded, "the Rebellion?! Did you forget who the enemy is, Infiltration Saboteur?!" Catra demanded, walking towards Brett. Brett groaned.

"Look, I know. I get it. But if Hordak and Brittni really believe that this… this Horde Prime is this serious of a threat, we need to stop that portal from happening." Brett explained. Catra hissed for a moment then looked away. She then let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine," Catra muttered.

"But, Brett…" Bow protested, "even if we manage to get the Rebellion's support; I mean, if they see any Horde soldier's, they'll cut them down.

"Pfft, I'd like to see them try," Catra muttered. Bow and Adora glared at her.

"Not to mention that if we were to even attempt to tell Queen Angella about working with the Horde, she would think that we'd gone absolutely insane… she'd never listen to us." Adora chimed in.

"They've got a point," Brett said, putting a finger to his mouth in thought. He paced around for a few moments then took a look outside and saw some Dryllish soldiers attempting to maintain order. "... what if we were to have our soldiers disguise themselves as Dryllish soldiers? Maybe tell the Bright Moon queen that Dryl wants to get their princess back?"

"That's a good idea. Bow and I can go send that transmission out now!" Adora said.

"Okay, great," Brett said as he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, "okay, in the meanwhile, I can go gather all our soldiers and have them change into Dryllish armor," Brett said.

And with that, Brett, Bow, and Adora left the room, leaving only Brittni and Catra. There was an awkward silence between the two. Brittni sat up in the bed while Catra leaned against a wall.

"You miss her, don't you?" Brittni inquired. Catra widened her eyes and turned to Brittni.

"What are you talking about?" Catra demanded. Brittni chuckled.

"Catra, throughout our lives growing up in the Fright Zone, I've unintentionally and… well, intentionally noticed your complete infatuation with Adora." Brittni explained.

"Oh, my gaw… seriously? You really want to talk about this right now?" Catra groaned. Brittni giggled a bit.

"I mean, we have time, so why not?" Brittni inquired.

"Because it's none of your business!" Catra snapped.

"Maybe not…" Brittni admitted, "but apart of my medical training was mental health." Brittni explained. Catra cocked her eyebrow at Brittni.

"What? Mental health? How did that get approved in the Horde medical academy?" Catra demanded.

"Heh, it actually didn't… I found a dusty old book hidden in Keirnan's library." Brittni explained. Catra shook her head.

"Nevermind that, why are you even asking me about this?" Catra demanded, walking over to Brittni.

"Because…" Brittni started, looking away for a moment. She let out a sigh, then looked back at Catra, "because you two are my friends."

The moment that Catra heard 'friends' come from Brittni's mouth, she trembled. Catra had very rarely heard the term 'friend.'

"F...Friends? W...What makes you think that we're friends?!" Catra snapped, looking away.

"Slight stutter and diverting gaze? Catra, you don't need to be on the defensive… we're not in the Fright Zone and nobody else is around-" Brittni began before being interrupted by Catra.

"You think I care about whether anyone is around to hear us?!" Catra exclaimed, she then growled and began pacing around the room, "You wanna do the psychobabble? Alright, fine! Here you go: I've lived an incredibly hellish life. Shadow Weaver played favorites with Adora and always brushed me aside. Because of the way she treated me, everyone else seemed to follow suit! No matter what I did, nothing was ever good enough for anyone… Everybody saw me as a burden even when I was just a kitten!... So…" Catra sighed, stopped pacing, and looked down, "so I acted out… I thought I could find happiness in having a little fun… but the more I tried to do that, the more hate I got…" A single tear began streaming down Catra's eye. She then walked over to the bed and sat at the foot of it, clasping her hands together.

"I was picked on by so many… I remember one time during training, I did really well and managed to secure an objective while also taking out the princess bots. After the training, Adora had to leave early. I was on my way to the locker room when Lonnie and a few of her lackeys cornered me. I asked them what their problem was and they claimed I cheated. I tried to walk away but one of the bigger ones shoved me against a wall. I was going to fight back but they all started hitting me… I tried so hard to get them to stop, but I was too fatigued and beat up… there was nobody there to help me… I was alone. Alone and scared…" Catra sighed and a little sob came out. After a few moments she continued, "After they left, I laid there for an hour just… just crying." Catra began trembling as many more tears began streaming down her face.

"I just…" Catra began, with a few more tears steaming out, "I just wanted people to accept me… or at least not hate me." Catra said, choking on a sob. After a few moments of her sucking up her emotions, she continued, "But… Adora… she was the one that was always there. If I did have those bad days, she was there to comfort me and listen to me vent."

"But then she left…" Brittni said, finishing Catra's monologue.

"...Yeah…" Catra said, trying to stifle a sob.

"Oh, my… Catra, I… Catra, I'm so sorry." Brittni said, genuinely, "I… I've been wanting to talk with you about this for a while… I just wish I had asked about this sooner." Catra turned to Brittni with her eyes red and her cheeks puffy.

"Oh, yeah? You've had our entire lives to talk about this, but you never cared! The only thing you ever cared about was being the top of your class at the medical academy and being the best! The only one that's ever cared about me is Adora!" Catra said, choking on more sniffles, "and then she left… and I… I had nobody!" Catra exclaimed. She then began sobbing, tears falling like a waterfall.

At that moment, Brittni felt absolutely terrible. After all, Catra had made some good points. Although it was not Brittni's responsibility or obligation to be friends with Catra, she nevertheless felt that she could have tried a little harder to be there for her.

"You're right, Catra…" Brittni began with a few tears of her own streaming down her cheeks, "I did bury myself in my academy work and career… I was so passionate about being the best that I didn't take the time to help others." Brittni admitted, somberly, "it's ironic. I spent so much of my time learning how to help people that I didn't stop to actually… help people that were right in front of me." Brittni said wiping her tears. Brittni sat up, reached over to Catra, and put her hand on Catra's shoulder.

"Catra… I know that I can't change the past, and I admit I did see some signs of how you were feeling. I admit I was a little afraid of you… I mean, at the surface level, anyway. But, inadvertently, I knew deep down that all of your lashing out at others and always putting yourself out there… you just wanted people to notice you; even if it was negative attention." Brittni said with a sigh, "but you're right. I definitely could have been better. I know it might not mean much now… but for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Brittni said crying a little bit. She then added, "but maybe… Maybe I can help fill that void? Maybe we can… be friends?"

For possibly the first time ever in Brittni's life, she saw Catra's face change from something other than a scowl. Although it was incredibly uncharacteristic of Catra; because of all of her repressed feelings of anger and hatred, Catra actually managed to crack a smile and give a little nod. If there were an illustrated allegory to represent exactly what was happening at this moment, it would go something like this:

Because Catra had been bullied most of her life, she had slowly but surely built a strong brick wall surrounding her from all sides. Any attempt from anyone trying to pierce the wall caused Catra to strengthen the wall with continued anger and bitterness. Instead of trying to break through the wall, somebody had to talk to Catra through the wall until she decided to unlock the door and let the person in. In this instance, Catra allowed this to happen.

Brittni could not be happier at this moment, though. She coughed a little bit from all the emotion that was surging through her body which manifested itself in a hug that Brittni wrapped around Catra. Admittedly, Brittni knew that this was a risky move. On one hand, Catra could have accepted the hug and been happy with it; on the other hand, Catra could have sliced Brittni's face open with her claws. Lucky for Brittni, it was the former that happened. The two girls hugged as though they had been best friends their entire lives. Together, they both cried; Catra, at that moment, felt years of pain being released in the form of tears while Brittni felt tears of guilt being released. Nevertheless, both had begun to feel better.

"Thank you… Brittni." Catra whispered as she held her close. Brittni squeezed a bit tighter.

"You can thank me by telling Adora how you feel…" Brittni teased. Both girls chuckled and pulled away.

"After this war is over." Catra jeered.

"I'm holding you to it." Brittni jeered back.

Meanwhile, at the communications center with Adora and Bow…

Adora and Bow had patched their transmission through to Bright Moon, and Queen Angella was rather quick to respond. Once her face came on the screen, the two rebel leaders saw just how anxious Angella had become.

"Bow? Adora? Are you all alright? Where have you two been?! Did you find Glimmer?!" Angella demanded, firing off multiple questions at once.

"...That's a long story." Bow admitted as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Then give me the short version…" Angella said impatiently. Adora nodded.

"Well, it's like this…"

Adora then went on to explain everything. Their trip to Elberon, Glimmer killing Arya, her joining Night Moon, their attack on Dryl, the abduction of Entrapta, and now their attack on Mystacor. Queen Angella's face could not look paler than it did at that moment. Between the mountain of information that was just dumped on her, the most disheartening revelation was of her daughter performing evil acts.

"Glimmer… Glimmer, what have you done…" Angella muttered to herself, as she looked away hiding her tears. After a few moments Angella looked back at the screen with a desperate expression, "please, tell me… is there any hope for my daughter? Please tell me we can bring her back!" Angella cried out. Adora looked down, let out a sigh then looked back up.

"I have to be pragmatic about this, Your Highness… it doesn't look that way." Adora admitted, glumly. Queen Angella could not hold back her tears any longer. She began sobbing uncontrollably into her hands for a few minutes. Adora and Bow remained silent. After those few moments, Angella took a deep breath.

"Alright… thanks to our raids on the Horde outposts, we've been able to secure a hefty amount of resources from the Horde. I can send a platoon of some of our elite soldiers. I'll contact the other princesses and see if they can lend any aid…" Angella said, almost dismally.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Adora said, gratefully.

"I just have one request…" Angella began.

"We'll do what we can to bring her back, Your Majesty," Bow promised, anticipating her request. Angella choked on another sob and nodded her head.

"Thank you…" Angella said, sniffling. Her face then became more serious, "now, if Night Moon is attacking my Sister-in-Law's home, I want you to head there right away. We'll see you at Mystacor." Angella said, determinedly. The two other rebel leaders nodded and ended the transmission.

"Okay, " Adora said, "let's get ready to head out…

Meanwhile, back at Mystacor…

To say that the citizens of Mystacor were unprepared for an attack would be an incredible understatement. For generations, the magic users relied upon their mystical cloak from being up in the sky surrounded by clouds. But once the sorcerers witnessed the Night Moon airships appear in their sky, it seemed apocalyptic.

As a warning shot, the front cannon that was mounted below the main airship's hull slowly ignited. Once it was fully charged, a blast of orange energy discharged towards one of the tall sentry towers of Mystacor. Once the energy made contact with the tower, right below the roof, chunks of concrete flew in all directions and the dome collapsed through the wall, completely knocking it down.

The nearby sorcerer's gazed in absolute horror at the trepidation they had just found themselves in. Panic had begun pervading Mystacor as the sorcerers that were still outside ran for the gate into the faux safety of the cloud castle.

Castaspella's lips quivered in anguish at what had just transpired. She switched her gaze from the tower towards Glimmer who had turned to face her.

"Change your mind?" Glimmer inquired, facetiously. Castaspella's widened eyes had curved into a glare.

"Glimmer! How could you do this?! What is wrong with you?!" Castaspella demanded. Glimmer scoffed.

"I didn't do this. You did. Now, if you hand over the First One's technology, we'll be on our way." Glimmer sneered. Castaspella continued to gaze at Glimmer in unbelief. The two fixed their gaze with severe contempt with one another. Castaspella let out a sigh and began removing her robe. Underneath her robe was a purple wrapped shirt tied with a kimono. At this moment, Glimmer knew that Castaspella was ready for battle.

Castaspella moved her hands around in the air as though she were drawing symbols. Indeed, as she moved her hands around, a trail of tangible light followed. Through her studies at Mystacor, Glimmer knew that Castaspella was binding hard-light armor to her body.

Glimmer could hear a sound coming from the airship. She recognized it as the main cannon charging up to fire another energy blast. Glimmer simply held up her hand in protest to the airship's cannon. She then got on the radio.

"Save the cannon's energy. We came for the First One's tech. Start landing the troops and have them search all of Mystacor… I'll deal with Castaspella." Glimmer muttered. A sigh was heard in response from Void.

"Well, I was hoping to settle my score with her, but I suppose we have to put the mission first." Void said over the radio. "Okay, you heard my niece; everyone get going!" And with that, the various airships landed on the ground. Clusters of Night Moon, Kingdom of Snows, and Red Armbands poured out of the transports, wielding weapons of their respective faction. To Castaspella's left and right, the collective Night Moon soldiers charged towards the gate. Castaspella performed a few more hand signs. Soon enough, lights began emanating from the palms of Castaspella's hand. As they grew brighter, a discharge of magical energy fired from her hands in a straight line that she pointed at either side of herself. Those that were caught in her line of fire were killed or severely injured, as the magical energy burned through them.

Glimmer growled at what Castaspella had just done. She attempted to conjure her purple aura to surround Castaspella, but her hard-light armor simply blockaded it. Some of the soldiers that had avoided Castaspella's attack began firing upon her with their lasers. With quick reflexes, Castaspella performed more hand signs in a circular motion. When she finished, two large hard-light shields were summoned and she ducked down, using the shields to protect herself. The lasers that were flying towards the summoned shields simply ricocheted off towards other Night Moon soldiers, cutting many more down.

"Forget her! Just get to the gate!" Glimmer commanded. Per her command, the soldiers ignored Castaspella and continued running towards the gate to get into the town. Castaspella turned towards the stampeding soldiers that had run passed her and was about to conjure up more energy blasts. Before that happened, however, she felt a large mass being thrown at her back.

"Oof!" Castaspella cried out as she fell to her knees. The hard-light armor managed to protect her, but she looked back to see what had caused it. There, Glimmer was standing around twenty feet away holding a chunk of concrete in her purple aura that had fallen from the tower. Castaspella grimaced at this action but swiftly picked herself back up. The Night Moon soldiers that made it to the gate rammed it open, and poured inside the cloud castle to search for the First One's technology.

Glimmer raised her hands above her sides, and as she did, a bundle of concrete chunks began levitating in the purple aura and slowly revolved around her. Glimmer threw her hands one at a time, and as she did so, flurries of the concrete chunks flew towards Castaspella. Castaspella held up her shields and managed to block each concrete chunk that flew towards her. However, Glimmer's strikes were quite powerful and each chunk of concrete that hit Castaspella's shields weakened it and pushed her back. As Castaspella was trying to hold off Glimmer's onslaught, Glimmer crept ever closer until she was within a couple of feet away.

Glimmer then focused her purple aura to her right fist and hurled it towards Castaspella. With the energy being poured into her fist, Castaspella's shield shattered and dissipated. Glimmer cocked her arm back to punch Castaspella again, which Castaspella blocked again with her shield… only for her shield to disintegrate as well. With only her hard-light armor protecting her body, Glimmer again re-focused her aura into her fist to break the armor. As her fist launched towards Castaspella's chest, Castaspella quickly performed more hand signs. When she performed the hand signs, she sucked in some air and blew out an incredibly cold breath. The ice breath had completely frozen Glimmer's aura-immersed hand.

"Agh!" Glimmer winced in pain as the ice quickly burned her hand. Castaspella then did the same hand signs to blow more ice breath at Glimmer's other hand, but Glimmer rolled to the right, out of the way, while simultaneously pulling more concrete from behind Castaspella towards her head. Using her aura, Glimmer launched the concrete chunks to the back of Castaspella's head. Again, the hard-light protected her, but it also distracted her While Castaspella's attention was averted towards the concrete chunks, Glimmer slammed her fist that had been coated with ice against the ground. She screamed in pain as the ice broke, but she did manage to move her hands again. Glimmer then decided to test out the new move she had been working on. She put her hands together and slowly pulled them apart. As they pulled apart, a surge of dark purple electricity began surging between her hands. Castaspella refocused on Glimmer and realized that she was generating electricity. Because of her command of the elements, Castaspella was able to emulate that trick as well.

After a few hand signs, Castaspella also generated a ball of electricity. The two then stared down at each other; one angry, one disappointed. Nevertheless, they both had a mission, and at this point, all they could do was fight. With that, both of them hurled their balls of electricity, both balls flying at super speeds. Once the two balls of electricity converged, they began spinning faster and faster until…

BOOM.

A tumultuous shockwave produced from the two balls of electricity blew both Aunt and Niece several feet away from each other. Glimmer was injured from the blast that launched her onto the ground, while Castaspella's hard-light armor began disintegrating.

The two women groaned as they slowly picked themselves up. Castaspella got up first and coughed a few times.

"Is this… is this really what my niece has become?" Castaspella demanded with a tear streaming down her eye, "Glimmer… why? Why are you doing this?! And who are those people?! The Rebellion would never attack its own people! How could you do this?!" Glimmer simply scoffed.

"Oh, Auntie…" Glimmer started as she fully stood up, "I quit the Rebellion long ago… I'm Night Moon, now. And we're an actual threat to the Horde." Glimmer jeered. Castaspella pointed an accusatory finger at Glimmer.

"You've become a greater threat than the Horde ever was!" Castaspella snapped. The moment Castaspella made that declaration, Glimmer felt something stirring in her heart. It was an amalgamation of several emotions; surprise, rage, but most importantly… guilt. Castaspella then continued, "if you're so fixated on destroying the Horde, then why are you here?! These are your friends, I!... I… I'm your aunt… how could you do this?!" Castaspella once again demanded. Castaspella did make good points. The guilt that Glimmer was feeling suddenly escalated passed the rage she was feeling. Maybe she was beginning to realize how far she had fallen. Nevertheless, Glimmer tried to save face. She shook her head and snapped back.

"Well, again, if you had just handed over the tech, none of this would have happened!" Glimmer snapped, "Aunt Void was right, you Mystacor types never did anything to help the Rebellion!" Castaspella cocked her eyebrow for a moment and loosened her muscles.

"Aunt Void…?" Castaspella inquired.

"Aunt Starr! Whatever her name was before you cast her out!" Glimmer snapped. Castaspella completely loosened her muscles and stared hard at Glimmer.

"Aunt Starr… Angella's sister?" Castaspella inquired.

"Yeah! The one you cast out!" Glimmer repeated. Castaspella looked absolutely confused at what Glimmer was suggesting.

"Aunt Starr…" Castaspella echoed as she wrapped her head around what Glimmer was saying. "When did Aunt Starr tell you this?" Glimmer gave Castaspella a puzzled look.

"I dunno! Like, a day or two ago, why?!" Glimmer demanded.

"Glimmer…" Castaspella began, "Glimmer that's impossible.

"How is that impossible?!" Glimmer demanded.

"Because…" Castaspella said taking in a deep breath.

"Aunt Starr died almost a decade ago…"