"Bow, do you think it was right of me to let Scorpia leave like that?"

Glimmer had been travelling all over Etheria to attend the parades, so she was almost ready to doze off right there in Bow's lap at 8:30 pm, but Glimmer never slept well with her worries. Bow gently brushed her hair through with his fingers. "It's the best a friend could do. You saw she was worried, you knew she could be in danger, and you thought of her needs first."

"I hope you're right, Bow, but I feel like I have to keep control of this situation. Scorpia can leave behind Angellia if she likes, but not every princess can leave their realm behind. I certainly can't leave Brightmoon." Glimmer yawned and slowly blinked.

"It's hard to be a responsible queen if you don't get your sleep. Let yourself recover a bit, and come back to the problem tomorrow. It will be a lot easier to solve it that way."

Bow had a feeling Glimmer would have tried to stay awake for this one, and he wasn't going to let that happen. He shifted his body lower down on the couch and cuddled up behind her. "I know you can't keep those eyes open forever." Glimmer mumbled something vaguely angry-sounding but didn't move an inch.

Bow's soft snore was the first thing Glimmer heard as she awoke. Out the window, the sun was still down, but the sky was beginning to lighten, and the room was perfectly still. She gently shuffled out of Bow's arms, careful not to disturb him, and walked toward the balcony. Spanning from the sea's horizon, the earliest dawn just began to shine, but directly over Glimmer's head, the stars were still out. There was something uncanny about being awake at such an early hour. Other than the waves on the shore, there was almost no noise at all. Almost… but Glimmer wondered if she could hear something moving.

Suddenly, a familiar face popped up over the ledge. "Hey, Sparkles." Glimmer yelped and jumped back. "Catra?" The cat girl hoisted herself over the ledge and sat atop it, looking cheeky. Glimmer shook her head, bewilderment plastered over her face. "Catra, hold on a minute. First of all, what are you doing here? Second, what are you wearing?" Indeed, Catra was wearing something a bit unusual: her old Horde uniform, from just before she got taken to space all those years ago. Even her hair looked just like it used to.

"Surprised to see me, dressed so out of date? I know, it's not my best work. I haven't seen the poor cat in years." It was at that moment that Double Trouble transformed themselves out of their Catra-impression and back to their usual form, causing Glimmer to yelp once more. Just inside, Bow stirred slightly, but his eyes stayed closed. "Sorry about the big surprise. I'll try to keep it down, since your Prince Charming needs his beauty sleep." D.T. jumped down from the ledge and leaned back onto it.

"Wait. I know who you are. You're that shapeshifter who was working for the Horde! What could you possibly want from me? The war's been over for a while, you know."

"No, I wasn't working for the Horde. I was working for money, which is the only thing I ever work for."

"That gives me even less reason to trust you, Double Trouble."

"On the contrary, darling, it gives you even more reason to trust me. If you know I'm in it for the money, you can trust I'll hold up my end of a deal until I get paid. In fact, I'm here to do us both a great favor."

"What would that be?"

"Glimmer, I offer my espionage services to you. I am going to make my way into the ranks of these mysterious Ascendants and be your eyes and ears. At the same time, I'll ensure they don't pose as much of a threat as they would like to."

Glimmer froze up. "What do you mean, as much of a threat as they would like to?"

"I've been hearing the talk all over the planet, but especially in Angellia. Etheria's beginning to grow out of its baby clothes. People are wondering whether they even need a queen anymore."

"What's in it for you, if I remain queen, then?"

"For helping to save your skin, I'd be a favored guest of Brightmoon, naturally. Beyond payment in cash, maybe a knighthood would be in order?"

Glimmer's serious expression broke, and she began to choke back laughter. "You've got to be kidding! I really have no reason to trust you at all." She shook her head. "Of course I'm not interested in your dumb deal. I'll be able to handle these newspaper peddlers just fine without your help. Plus, if you keep sneaking into my castle like this, I'm gonna have you arrested again."

Double Trouble rolled their eyes. "Way to kill the moment. Oh well, no matter." They transformed again, and suddenly Glimmer was face-to-face with… Glimmer. "If you don't feel like taking me up, I have other ways of getting what I want. Besides, I'm sure I'd make a better queen than you." Glimmer slapped D.T. across the face (her own face?) for that one. "Ouch!" They winced, then diabolically grinned and shifted back to their usual form again. "No offense intended, of course. So, what do you say? Which side would you rather me be on?"

Glimmer breathed deeply. "I think I don't have much of a choice. If you want a stupid knighthood for your stupid spy crap, you'll get one." Double Trouble nodded. "Your end of the deal, by comparison, will be far easier to uphold. Keep this meeting a complete secret—so I don't blow my cover, of course. After it's all over, you can reveal what I've done to save you and the other princesses will practically be begging to have me knighted."

They both shook on it, and Double Trouble was gone just as suddenly as they had arrived.

"I call this Emergency Meeting of the Princess Alliance of Etheria to order."

As the guards closed the blinds and locked the doors, Queen Glimmer stood at the head of the table, as dignified as her mother had ever been. The old alliance had been called into the war room for the first time in five years, and all the members were present. Also present was Mayor Lonnie of Angellia, sharp as ever in a gray vest and red tie. Glimmer began.

"Welcome, everyone. I don't want to waste time with details, but I will summarize briefly so we are all refreshed. Due to the threatening suggestions of a certain newspaper called Etheria Ascendant, Princess Scorpia has chosen to move to Plumeria and transfer executive power to the Mayor."

People began to shift in their seats, but no-one opened their mouths. Glimmer picked up a sheaf of papers from in front of her and thumbed through them a bit before turning to address Scorpia.

"Your Highness, as your departure from Angellia was somewhat… understated, I have considered announcing it as a mere family matter and nothing more. We are not giving any free publicity for these bullies, are we?" Scorpia looked unsure, but nodded. "I suppose that would be best." Glimmer continued. "To resolve this problem quickly is important. Scorpia, once it's safe, you will have to go back there eventually, even if only for part of the year or something. I know it's not the most delightful place for you to live… still, we can't let them think they've won."

Perfuma almost jumped from her seat. "I know I won't let Scorpia go back until we are one hundred percent sure she's safe. Glimmer, promise me this!" Glimmer gestured for Perfuma to sit back down. "Perfuma, you have my word on it. For the time being, I want all princesses and all guards on alert. I expect all of you to be fact-finding, taking notes, reporting back to me about any suspected sympathizers of this paper, and that especially means you, Mayor Lonnie." All eyes turned toward Lonnie, who'd seemed to hardly move a muscle the whole meeting. Lonnie leaned forward on the table a bit. "Your Majesty, if I have permission to speak freely?" Glimmer nodded.

"I've been named by these people, so it may lead to the assumption that I'm on their side. You Brightmoon folks see things differently from former members of the Horde, of course… I have been hearing the grumblings of all the old soldiers since before the war ended and it's no news to me. They don't have the meanest of intentions, but I do think they'll fight to break Angellia away from Brightmoon entirely if they think it's necessary. What I'm trying to say is," and at this point she stood up, "although I think conflict can be avoided, I don't think it's impossible. I think that Brightmoon should at least prepare for protests, if not riots."

The air in the room seemed to chill. Glimmer leaned back in her seat. "Lonnie, what would you propose to deal with… protests, if not riots?" Lonnie smirked. "Ironically enough, it's been a request I made which Scorpia refused to sign for me before. I want to transform the Angellian Guard into a real police force." Glimmer turned to Scorpia again and raised her eyebrow. Scorpia looked a little sheepish. "To be fair, your Majesty, it was three years ago and we had far smaller problems than today. I trust Lonnie's judgment on this."

Catra looked back and forth between Scorpia and Lonnie, frowning. "Hold on for just a minute. You said, a police force? A police force, for Angellia? We literally grew up in that dump together. Do you think those people, many of whom went through the same training we did, are going to want cops running around town and rooting out anyone who doesn't like Princesses enough?" In so many ways, though she was now in the alliance, Catra did not think like a princess. "I think if you go looking for Ascendants, you'll find them even if they aren't there. We'd be better off if Lonnie takes leadership permanently and Angellia becomes independent of Brightmoon. The chance of a conflict would be tiny, and relations would improve afterwards."

"Catra, it seems you don't understand. I refuse to break the terms of the Treaty of Salineas. I refuse to give good ideas to villains elsewhere on Etheria. I refuse to sacrifice the legitimacy of Princess Scorpia's throne and title to appease people who want her dead! If we have to suppress these would-be assassins by force to maintain that, it's a battle worth fighting!"

The room went completely still. All eyes were on Glimmer.

About sixty seconds had passed when Perfuma began to very quietly weep into her hands. Scorpia reached over and tried to console her. From across the room, Adora squinted at Glimmer.

"Hold on, Glimmer. What do you mean, want her dead?"

"I —"

Glimmer sat back down in her chair.

"I just… assumed."

Catra rolled her eyes. "Can you dismiss us already and let us go? I feel almost as though Her Royal Majesty, the Queen of Brightmoon, is being a little condescending with me."

Glimmer didn't look at her. "Lonnie, Scorpia trusts your judgment. You have our permission to go ahead."

Adora stood up. "Okay Glimmer, not so fast. You can't just drop a bomb like that and then assume people will be okay with your decision. I understand where you're coming from, but Catra's suggestion isn't a bad one either. At least take it seriously."

"Adora, I'm not calling this decision because I assume anyone agrees with me, other than Scorpia. The main reason I'm calling this decision is because I have that right as the leader of this alliance. Neither you, nor Catra, nor anyone else at this table has that right. I will take one of her suggestions seriously: the suggestion to dismiss this meeting. It's over."

A guard unlocked the door.

Catra stood and left immediately, and Adora followed close behind. Then Scorpia helped Perfuma up and they both left. The rest of the room started filing out. Finally, Glimmer was alone.