Adora struggles to adapt to motherhood. She begins to neglect the baby to the care of the nursery staff; running off on missions, barely healed. She eventually breaks apart… spectacularly.

Odd one this: it's set across most of S4. ND says the series takes place over 3yrs. S1 was 1yr, S2 & S3 was 6 months, and S4 to end was 1.5yrs. So Part A is S4 EP'S 2 & 3. Part B is 4 & 7. EP's 5 & 6 happen simultaneously, but are irrelevant to the story - so they happen over 1 day. Make sense?
No.

Great ?

On with the show!

The first day passed in a violent blur for Adora. After she'd sat on Glimmer's bed, shell shocked after giving birth alone, the young Queen had fussed over the baby, making sure she was ok. Adora's daughter (god, that felt weird to say) in all her hour of life, was quite a placid baby. Not that Adora knew what a newborn should sound like, but she knew there was supposed to be screaming. Like… a lot of it. Glimmer forced her to drink water as well.

Lots of it.

It kinda hurt her belly, to be honest. Try as she might, Adora couldn't hide the whines of pain as she swallowed more liquid. Glimmer rubbed her shoulder. "When did this happen?" She asked softly, holding the baby tightly. Adora's hands shook as she held the glass. "Shortly after midnight," She whispered. "Why didn't you come get one of us? We would've helped you," Glimmer said gently. Adora shrugged softly. "I only went for a walk," She whispered. "Then… the contractions started. And- and I was too far away to get help," She took another sip, despite feeling incredibly sick. "I wouldn't have made it,"

Glimmer simply rubbed her shoulder. "You're probably in shock. Are you cold?" She asked. Adora glanced at her shaking hands. "I don't know," She whispered. Glimmer simply hummed. "Here, hold her," Adora's glass was snatched away, replaced by a sleeping baby. She fumbled, grasping her as Glimmer had. The young Queen draped a warm blanket over her shoulders. An aroma filled her nose, calming her immediately. It reminded her of-

"It was my mom's," Glimmer's voice was quiet. "Don't tell anybody this, or I'll kill you," She said, gently touching the blanket. "I spray it with her perfume every week… just so it smells like her," She sighed softly. "It helps everything,"

Adora felt the tears brew in her eyes before the stinging. Luckily, she could easily put it down to the newborn snoozing in her arms. The two friends sat there in silence, only broken by the soft snuffling of her daughter. Shortly after, the doors creaked open. "Your Majesty? The healers are here," Juliet said, smiling softly at the baby. "I never thought Adora would be the first of us to have a baby," She said playfully. Adora's lip quirked into a small smirk as she gestured to the baby. "I'm just that irresistible," She whispered. Juliet snorted as she let the healers in.

One took the baby softly and another held Adora's hands. "I hear you had the baby earlier than we'd planned?" Adora's nerves were put to rest at the sight of her long-term doctor; Amalthea. She nodded, still in shock. Adora turned back briefly to Glimmer. "Want me to come with you?" She asked quietly. Adora nodded. "I can't be alone," She whispered, her voice cracking. Glimmer was by her side immediately, wrapping Angella's old blanket around her shoulders. They walked quietly, with Glimmer filling in the questions Amalthea asked as best she could.

"No, she hasn't had the placenta yet," Was the sentence that snapped her to attention. Amalthea mewled. "That's gonna hurt," Adora whined. "Well, not as much as childbirth itself… but then again, you lucky soul, everything's gonna hurt for the next few days," Adora groaned. Amalthea was way too cheerful for two in the morning. "But don't you worry. We've got all the right stuff to help as much as possible,"

…

Because of the shock she was in, Glimmer looked after the baby for the first few hours, whilst Adora had the placenta and all her post-birth checks, and a few hours of sleep: as required by the doctor. She didn't like seeing her best friend so pale on the bed, with various lines of fluids running into her body. "Queen Glimmer?" Amalthea approached. Glimmer tutted. "It's just Glimmer before nine in the morning," She joked, smoothing back some baby hairs on the newborns head. "Glimmer," Amalthea said slowly. "I-the baby. How old is she?" Glimmer shrugged. "I have no idea. Adora reckoned she came to mine straight after birth. Maybe less than four hours? Why?"

Amalthea pulled back the blanket lightly, wincing. "She looks a little jaundiced," She said slowly. Glimmer nodded. "That's bad, right?" Amalthea wiggled her hand. "It can be. But a lot of babies, especially premie babies, come out jaundiced. She'll be put in a special machine for a few days until the yellow skin goes away," Glimmer handed the newborn over. "It might not be the worst thing anyway, for Adora to observe from afar for a while," Amalthea adjusted the newborn accordingly. "What makes you say that?" Glimmer asked, crossing her arms. Amalthea bit her lip. "For one thing, she's early. By nearly a month. That itself is spooky. And Adora… I think because she had to go through the hardest thing in the world, on her own, traumatised her. She's gonna need some time to come to terms with it,"

Glimmer took the seat by Adora's bedside. "Do we have a name for the baby yet?" She asked. Glimmer shook her head. "No… I don't think she does," Glimmer draped her mom's blanket over Adora's sleeping form, already missing its warmth. "I trust you, Amalthea. You've been here since I was a baby," She smiled. Amalthea smiled back before rushing off with Adora's baby girl.

Glimmer watched over her friend for the next nine hours, waiting for her to wake. Around eleven, she left for some food… where she was promptly thrown into the wall by Bow and the alliance.

"Where were you? You missed the meeting today," Bow asked. Glimmer opened her mouth to speak-
"-are you ok? You came out of the infirmary!" Perfuma interrupted. Again, Glimmer opened her mouth to sp-
"-she's probably hungover. I know I am," Mermista drawled. Glimmer sighed heavily. "If you'd let me spea-"
"-oo! Was it Queen stuff?" Frosta grinned. Glimmer humphed. The alliance shifted uneasily.

"Great. Now, if you'd let me explain," She leaned against the window, rubbing her eyes. "What I tell you now, cannot leave this hallway. Understood?" It wasn't really her business to say anything, but they deserved to know why their Queen, neither their most powerful fighter, would be absent today… and the latter for a fair while. "Glim? Is everything ok?" Bow gasped. "You're not announcing a new ruler are you!?" He exclaimed. Glimmer rolled her eyes. "No!" She barked. Glancing around, she grabbed their arms. She teleported them into the room where Adora's baby was being kept, in a tube to fight the jaundice.

The alliance gasped in variations of pitch. "Did you find this orphan outside? Oh, poor thing!" Perfuma cooed. Glimmer snorted. "No. She's not an orphan," She chuckled. Bow gasped loudly. Glimmer smiled. "Adora went into labour this morning. This is her baby," She announced, filled with an overwhelming sense of joy. Bow began to wail softly, Perfuma cried softly, Frosta pushed up against the glass - eyes wide with childlike wonder, and Mermista watched with wide eyes. "Oh my god! Really?" The former cried. Mermista gestured theatrically to the baby. "Nah, they just kidnapped one from the local orphanage," She drawled.

Glimmer snorted. "Nope, it's hers. She came to me at two this morning, brand new baby in her arms," Perfuma sputtered. "Wait, she had the baby on her own? By- by herself?" Glimmer looked at the baby, whose eyes were staring back up. Her eyes were already a striking violet. She was cute. "Yup. Apparently she went for a walk and went into surprise labour," Glimmer explained.

Bow suddenly wailed. Mermista flapped to cover his mouth, desperately looking at the baby, who was watching them all with narrowed eyes. Glimmer snorted. Yup. She's definitely her mother's daughter. "It wasn't surprise labour!" He blurted. Glimmer crossed her arms. "No?" Bow shook his head. "No. She'd been in labour the whole day," He admitted. Glimmer blinked, frowning. "No, that can't be. She was fine all day!" She argued. Bow shook his head again. "No. I made her see Amalthea before Casta brought the robe to you," He rubbed his neck. "Amalthea said it probably wasn't early labour, but to take it easy anyway,"

He scoffed softly. "She started contracting around lunchtime, but didn't want to worry you… so she hid it," Glimmer's eyes filled with tears. "No… no, she- she couldn't've done! Why!?" She hissed. "She didn't wanna ruin your day," Bow answered. "Even… even during the quest?" She whispered. Bow nodded. "She hid behind a chunk of rock when she had a contraction… so you had your day to yourself,"

Perfuma began sniffling loudly. "Oh, that girl! She's too good for us," She cried. Even Mermista was quiet. "But… she knows I wouldn't have cared, right?… right, Bow?"

"Cared about what?" Came a new voice.

Glimmer rushed at her friend, grabbing her tightly in a hug. "Jesus, careful, Glim. Still sore," Adora joked, leaning on the doorframe a little too heavily. Glimmer slapped her arm. "Why didn't you tell me you were in labour yesterday!?" She hissed. Adora glared at Bow. "Why'd you tell her!?" She hissed. Bow wailed. "I don't like lying!" He cried. Adora rolled her eyes, grabbing Glimmer's shoulder. "I didn't wanna ruin your day… it was hard enough already. You didn't need me and my body adding to it too," She smiled. Glimmer wrapped her arms around her tightly. "You know I wouldn't have cared. I wouldn't have let you go through it on your own, if you'd told me! I could've been there for you!"

Adora's eyes drifted to behind her shoulder. "What is that?" She asked. Glimmer sighed heavily: she'd badger Adora about it later. She guided the recently turned mother over. "Amalthea said the baby was looking jaundiced… so she's in here for a few days to cure it," She mumbled. Adora nodded with a frown. "Why are you whispering?" She whispered back. Glimmer gestured to the room. "I don't know if you wanna tell them the gender or not yet,"

Adora continued frowning. "Well, why wouldn't I?" She asked. Glimmer shrugged. "Sometimes people do a gender reveal party," She explained. Adora's eyes lit up. "Is that an excuse for cake?" Glimmer cackled. "Of course!"

...

Later, Adora cut a piece of cake, displaying the pink sponge. As predicted, Bow began weeping through the violet buttercream, Perfuma sang Plumerian hymns about life and birth, Frosta demolished the cake and Mermista asked the question. "Uh, why the violet buttercream? Why not white? Kinda gave it away," She chewed on a piece of cake. Glimmer hummed around her own mouthful. "Yeah, why the colour violet? I thought you liked red,"

Adora nodded, wiping some cream off her face. "I do. But that's her name," She took another bite. "What, Red? That's stupid," Frosta mumbled. Adora snorted. "No. Not red. It's Violet," The group fell silent. "You announced the gender and name of your kid in the form of cake!?" Mermista asked bluntly. Adora shrugged. "Two birds, one stone," She crammed her mouth full of more cake. Mermista nodded. "Respect,"

...

The alliance took to Violet immediately. Adora smiled when she held her but felt no like towards her. Nor dislike… but nothing. To her, she was just a baby. She would feed her, burp her, and pass her off to a friend.

Glimmer knew something was wrong with Adora. She'd never had a problem bonding with kids before. She had a look in her eyes whenever she talked to one; one of childhood wonder and unending kindness. But with Violet... there was nothing. Glimmer tried to reason with herself, perhaps it was because the kids she'd interacted with before were out of the baby and toddler phase, and it'd take a while to adjust to it. Glimmer decided to test her theory by holding the sleeping baby out. "Do you want to cuddle her?" She asked her best friend of two years. Adora looked up from her map, pen in her mouth, and gave a small smile with a shake of her head. "I'm ok,"

Glimmer knew something wasn't right then, and she was determined to sort it out...

and that day was the three days after.

Adora, despite the advice from Amalthea and her team, had been up and moving around within four days. She was too unstable to charge into battle (and to ensure she didn't sneak off, Bow had Glimmer hide her She-Ra sword - much to the blonde's chagrin) but not too unstable to mill about the castle. Glimmer often found her cleaning her room excessively, moving in ways that a woman four days postpartum should not be moving in.

Glimmer was running some lunch up to her after a meeting, which she'd attended via tracker pad (very pissed off the entire time) when she saw Adora unconscious on the ground. Glimmer dropped the tray in a fright, immediately rushing to her friend's aid. She screamed, high and shrill, at the (looking back on it, very small) pool of blood surrounding her body. She teleported them straight to the infirmary, rushing out what she could.

Amalthea assured her everything would be fine. "It was 50/50. Part of it was a routine accident, one that definitely wouldn't have caused her to faint. All she did was cut her palm. The other part was her blood loss - she's anaemic," Amalthea said with a small smile. "What does that mean?" Glimmer asked. "Just that she'll need to take iron every day for a while. Could be a post-birth issue, which, if it is, it'll go away within a few months. If not, she'll just take iron daily," Glimmer had frowned. "But why did that cause her to pass out?" Amalthea took off her gloves. "Anaemic people who lose blood, even in something as simple as a period, are very susceptible to fainting spells. Adora is no exception. It happens. Don't worry about it,"

...

Adora woke up abruptly. "Hey! It's me!" Someone yelped. She spun her head to the left and sighed when she saw Glimmer. "Did we win?" She asked. Glimmer frowned. "Uh… we didn't fight anything?" Adora sunk back onto the pillows with a sigh. "What did I do?" She asked. Glimmer shifted. "You passed out… because you're anaemic now," Adora blinked. "Just means you have to take iron every morning. It's no biggie," The Queen waved off.

She nodded with a small smile but stayed quiet. "Adora... what's on your mind?" Glimmer broke the silence. She frowned but still smiled. "Aside from the war?" She played. Glimmer shook her head. "Something was bothering you before we even left,"

And, like a damn, she broke.

Glimmer jumped in shock slightly. Adora sobbed into her hands, violently. Glimmer bundled her into her arms, rocking gently. "Is it the baby?" She whispered. "I just... I don't feel anything for her, and I hate it! She's my daughter, she should be my world!" Adora continued sobbing into her shoulder. "Hey, hey, shhh," Glimmer continued rocking back and forth. "Some just... don't bond with their children. My mother didn't bond with me until I was two months old. It'll happen,"

Adora just cried softly into her shirt.

Glimmer felt like the biggest pile of shit for being unable to help her friend in a time when she needed her so.

"I have a plan. But it's gonna depend on you, Perfuma,"

The mandatory ten days (talked down from fourteen, thanks to She-Ra's excellorated healing) passed quickly, leaving Adora full of energy. At the first chance she had, she rushed on a mission, desperate to stretch her legs after no use for so long.

"You should probably come up with a different plan, then," Adora sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Come on, Perfuma, you're one of the strongest people I know… If you hadn't come to my rescue in the Battle of Bright Moon, I wouldn't even be here right now,"

"Or me. You rescued me from the Fright Zone," Bow chimed in, rubbing her shoulder. "But we're not in the Fright Zone. We're here, and I'm just a useless flower girl," She sobbed into her knees. Adora shot a glare at Huntara: one of the catalyst's for Perfuma's self-doubt. The former Horde solider shifted, clearing her throat. "No, you're not," Perfuma sniffled loudly, lifting her head slightly. "I've been wrong about a lot. I was wrong to leave my home, I was wrong about Grox, and I hope I'm wrong about you, because we need your help,"

Perfuma scoffed softly. "You want my help?" Adora shifted on the rock, moving her weight to her left leg, leaning on her staff. Maybe the healers were right in that she should've rested for longer… she was beginning to hurt in a way that wasn't easily ignored. Ah well. She can take some pain killers when they get home and sleep it off. Violet's in the nursery again today...

...

Adora grinned as She-Ra boosted her with her power and energy she needed. The transformation after Vi's birth wasn't as bad as she'd thought. The aftermath sucked a bit, but it always did when Adora was hurt. She spied a lone soldier and winked at Bow before dropping from the cliffside. The solider stumbled as she crashed to the decking. Adora balanced the sword on her shoulder, bouncing her eyebrows. "Hello," She smirked.

The Horde soldier whipped out her taser, running at Adora. She simply dodged the attack. God, it felt good to be back! The Horde soldier swung for Adora again, but missed as Adora continued to doge. On the third swing, Adora grabbed the solider's wrist and tossed her onto the path.

MOVE

Adora flinched back seconds before a green laser shot at her form. It decimated the rock behind, leaving an incredibly shallow hole. Adora wrinkled her nose in slightly annoyance. She swung the sword over her body, deflecting another laser. She ran for some more soldiers, turning the sword into a lasso. She whipped at their ankles, either sending them off the path, or into another charging solider.

Swinging at another trio, Adora-

"Hey!" Adora whipped the trio off the cliff with a grimace. She glared up at Catra's emerging form. "Careful with the goods," She jumped from her board, catching Adora off guard - like she did every goddamn time. Adora grunted as they fell from the boarding, crashing onto the ground. Adora wheezed slightly, tucking into a roll and landing on her knees. Catra flew from the dust cloud, swiping at her angrily.

Adora yelled as she grabbed Catra's wrist and threw her upwards. Catra disappeared over the boardwalk, the only indiction she was even there, was the distinct clacking of her clawed feet. Adora grunted as she jumped, leaping onto the boardwalk.

She gave Catra chase.

...

Distantly; Adora was aware Perfuma was succeeding in lifting Mara's ship. Thankfully, Catra had yet to notice. Which was odd in on itself. Catra, as much as Adora loathed to credit her in any way, shape or form, was always aware of her surroundings. Adora pushed it to the back of her mind with a grunt, blocking a swipe at her neck.

Huntara's voice rang across the valley. "We have a problem!" Adora made the mistake of twisting her head to listen. Catra grunted, and Adora fell on her ass, sliding off the plank. She managed to grab on by the skin of her teeth. The broken wood splintered into her skin. Adora swung her body like a swing, using the momentum to flip up onto the walkway. She picked up her discarded sword with a quick swipe and charged after Catra.

The magicat spun with a hiss, deviating from the original path Adora assumed, and moved to the right, running up a sloped one. Adora simply stopped and swung her sword at a support. The walkway creaked as it collapsed. Catra yowled as she failed to grab the wood properly, sliding into Adora's waiting arms.

Looking into Catra's heterochromic eyes, all of the fury from her colossal fuck up with the portal came bubbling to the surface.

If it wasn't for Catra: Glimmer would be happier.
If it wasn't for Catra: Angella would still be alive.
If it wasn't for Catra: Adora's baby wouldn't have been born a month early.
If it wasn't for Catra: Adora wouldn't have had to wait by her daughter's side for three days, waiting for the yellow skin to go away as she lay in a tube, unable to be held.

Channeling the anger, Adora brought Catra forwards and slammed her into the wall. Catra grunted in pain, going temporarily limp. Adora reached over and grabbed a discarded metal gate. She plucked it off the wall like it was nothing, slamming it over Catra's confused form. The magicat sneered, clawing at it. Adora winked. "I've got something more important to do. It was fun distracting you, though," She smirked.

Adora turned and ran, using the momentum to launch herself onto the ship. She tucked into a roll, slicing at the rocks on the ship, physically pushing the ones that wouldn't move with her magic. Adora groaned, using all her strength to shift a boulder. Her fingers crackled with energy as her body grew hot. Glancing down briefly, she saw her hands alight in white. She continued swinging and pushing the boulders off, only stopping when Mara's ship finally left the canyon.

Panting slightly with exertion (because damn it, she'd not been able to exercise to her usual in the last five months), Adora leaped off the ship, landing into a smooth roll where she'd trapped Catra.

With a frown, she glanced around.

Where she thought she'd trapped Catra. "How did she get out of that?" Finally letting go of She-Ra, Adora grimaced as her aches and pains became known. Can you blame her? She'd only just popped a kid out ten days ago!.. and spent no where near enough time with - her inner voice sneered. Adora shook her head, turning to face the trio of warriors.

"-journey of personal growth today. I was so wrong to insult your home… it turns out cacti have flowers too," Adora grinned as Perfuma put a cactus headband atop Huntara's head, adorned with pink flowers. Adora wouldn't have been surprised if Huntara slit Perfuma's neck there and then. But instead, she smiled, bringing her into a high hug.

POP

Adora turned with a soft smile. Glimmer yelled, brandishing her sword. "Hey, you didn't save any bad guys for me! I made it here as soon as I could, I only got a little lost… in the ocean," Adora snorted as Glimmer picked off some seaweed. "Aw. You should've waited for me," She whined. Adora winced. "Sorry… but we did get the ship!" She gestured to the massive First Ones artefact. "Your first mission as queen is a success!"

Glimmer smiled as she hummed. Adora subtly leaned against the cave wall, only slightly regretting running off on a mission ten days postpartum. "Queen Glimmer, I need to stay, and take the waste back for the rebellion and for my people," Huntara glanced to the destroyed canyon. "I won't abandon my home again," Adora nodded in understanding: she got it.

She'd abandoned people too… they were just beyond saving, though… which made it so much worse.

Perfuma cried out. "Aw, say no, Glimmer! I've gotten fond of this desert rose!" She yelped as Huntara lifted her off the ground, glaring. With the flower/cactus crown, she was about as threatening as Swift Wind. "Let anyone hear you calling me that and I'll throw you into another exploding cactus!" Perfuma stared wide-eyed for a moment, only cracking a smile when Huntara cackled loudly.

Adora shared a worried look with Bow, chuckling alongside.

Glimmer stomped her foot. "Ugh, I don't get it!" She whined. Adora pulled her into a side-hug. "Eh, you had to be there,"

Despite Adora being at a party (being held for her) she just couldn't find it inside to be happy. Something inside her, something… primal… almost, was whispering horrible things into her ears about Vi.

She's gonna grow up without her mom around.
She's not gonna know who you are.
She's crying in the nursery, and you're eating cake.
She's crying because she misses you, and you're partying.
You're abandoning your child.
You're a terrible mother.

She walked around in a daze, mostly. Smiling when needed, thanking people when needed. It didn't help that Vi was cluster feeding, meaning she was up every hour, feeding for at least half an hour each time. With nobody to help, Adora had to do it on her own. Over the last ten days, she'd gotten maybe two full nights of sleep, at a push. On the nights she set Violet in the nursery (usually before a mission) she couldn't sleep anyway. She'd be tossing and turning, when she wasn't in the throws of a nightmare. If she finally fell on the cusp of sleep? She'd roll over and wake up in pain, needing to pump the milk out and run it to the nursery.

Then she'd be awake again until evening the following day.

Never mind the fact Bow had saved her ass so many times against Glimmer's cutting (albeit coming from a place of stress) remarks because she'd drifted off in a meeting, or rushed out to pump some milk for the nursery. Bow had been her saving grace, to be honest. When she was resting after a mission, the nursery brought Violet back for some bonding. "The most important time for bonding is the first four weeks," They'd say, dropping the seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven day old in her arms. Adora, try as she might, simply couldn't form a connection to her… when Vi would scream (as newborns did) and scream, despite Adora doing everything she should, it'd bring the elder blonde to tears as she paced with the screaming infant in her arms.

Bow would swoop in, having had nearly his whole life in experience with babysitting various nieces and nephews, and Vi would stop immediately. Adora totally wouldn't sob to herself in the bathroom as Bow rocked the baby to sleep.

So, apparently thanks to her overall shittiness as a mother, Adora threw herself into missions. If she couldn't raise her kid, then she'd stop the Horde from razing a town.

...

That's how she found herself facing against Catra in another Horde base. "Hey, Adora," The blonde glared at the magicat, tightening the grip on her sword. "Took you long enough to show up," Adora sneered. "Catra," The magicat's eyes were wide with glee. "Though, I can guess why," Adora squeezed her sword tighter. "You've obviously been busy popping your kid out!" She cackled. Catra leaned on the bar, mockingly putting her chin on her hand. "What'd you have? Another traitor? Or traitoress?"

Adora huffed. "Can we skip the speech? I'm done playing your games Catra. Too many people got hurt when you set off that portal," The magicat hissed. "I hope it was worth it, because I won't let you hurt my friends, or anyone else, ever again!" Catra laughed loudly, her tail swishing behind. "Too busy playing mommy? You were the one who left the villagers unprotected. You're good enough at hurting your friends without my help," Ouch...

"But you're still terrible at spotting traps," Catra smirked. Adora's body lit up in pain, red tendrils of electricity winding up and down her arms. It froze her body, leaving her no choice but to yell in pain. Her muscles tensed beyond what she thought was possible. She fell to her knees next to Swift Wind, panting and grunting against the pain.

One good thing about (apparently as she later discovered, she couldn't had pain meds - which would've been pretty fucking good) childbirth, was that it was the most painful thing the Etherian body could experience. So, her pain tolerance was somewhat a little better.

"Pretty good, huh? I got the idea from Shadow Weaver," Adora glanced up briefly, crying out as the electricity grew stronger. "If only your friends could see you now," Adora grunted against the pain, desperately trying not to curl in on herself. One thing she'd learned from Shadow Weaver's… disciplinary… methods, was that if you tensed whilst being held by the red tendrils, it hurt so much more. It took her a long while to learn that.

The pain grew to an almost blinding level, and despite the urge to not do it, Adora curled in on herself, shielding herself from blows that weren't hitting. There was a high voice screaming at Catra from behind, followed by Bow's distinct voice screaming for her. Adora turned to her faithful steed. Despite the electricity getting worse and worse, Adora forced herself to move through it. She gave birth on her own, in the woods, god damn it! She could do this!

"Swift Wind!" She grunted. Swift Wind shouted as he moved towards her outstretched hand. She craned to reach his horn, her fingertips brushing it, just a little fur-

She-Ra's energy burst forth from the contact, rushing over her body. She yelled, throwing out the energy. The surge caused the bots to malfunction, and the electricity to fizzle out. She swung her leg over Swift Wind's back, sitting proud. He reared up, slamming his hoofs onto the ground. A wave of white energy washed over the Horde base. In the midst of the chaos, Adora heard Catra yell.

Blinded by rage (over a lot of things, really) she raised her sword and shot at the bridge Catra stood on. She yelled, jumping back, barely avoiding the blast. Adora levelled her with a scathing glare. Catra's eyes were wide; though with anger or shock, Adora was too far away to tell. The magicat slunk off into the smoke, leaving no trace she was there at all.