Archive of Our Own

The New Normal

Glimmer was already tired when she awoke for the day. Sunlight lazily streamed through the curtains, pretending like this morning could be anything other than an endless list of things to get done.

Yawning, and trying to wake her body up ever so slightly with a stretch of her arms, she turned to face Bow next to her. He slept soundly and heavily, with his face planted almost directly into the pillow. A light snore resonated from his chest, and a small puddle of drool formed on the pillow. Glimmer smiled, wishing she could stay for an hour, two hours, the entire day.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and worked up the courage to get out of bed. She desperately wanted to teleport, but she knew that even though Bow was a heavy sleeper, the sound of her magic would awaken something deep inside his brain. He’d seen one too many missions go suddenly wrong to not have shortcuts like that buried into his subconscious. Glimmer felt a deep sadness arise as she thought of it for a moment, but pushed it away. He was here now. We’re safe now, she told herself.

She lightly kissed his forehead, and a little smile traced across his lips. Glimmer quietly shifted up and climbed down the floating platforms that made a staircase up to her bed. She got properly dressed and splashed water across her face, hoping that would erase the dark circles around her eyes. She didn’t even bother looking in the mirror, she knew they wouldn’t go away that easily.

Glimmer stopped at the doorway and stared back up at the bed. She was queen, after all. Who’s to say she had to do anything? She longingly wished she could stay with Bow. They could grab Adora and Catra and go to the Woods, disappear for a few hours. Maybe they would go visit Razz and she’d send them on some strange errand. It would be fun.

But then Glimmer remembered the crowded marketplace full of angst and tension, the half-dozen councils that were meeting to handle the Horde Trials, the long line of people waiting to petition her with some new request. She could spend the whole week doing nothing but meeting people in that line, and it never seemed to get shorter. Glimmer rubbed her shoulder, feeling it harshly tight. She carried all of her stress in her back these days, and it was getting worse. She made a mental note to ask Bow to massage it later. He was so good at that.

She gave herself a few moments to complain internally, and then walked out the door. Time to be queen, she grumbled.

Her hopes for a slow morning were dashed twenty steps down the hallway.

“Queen Glimmer!” A Brightmoon guard walked quickly towards her. “You’re needed in the Reconstruction Council, it’s-,”

“It’s urgent,” Glimmer finished. She sighed. “Thanks for coming to get me, Solan. I’ll be right there.”

“Of course, your majesty.” Solan stood in place, waiting for Glimmer to follow. Glimmer was mildly annoyed, but tried not to show it. She had been planning on just teleporting there, but knew that was a bad idea. A lot of the refugees and petitioners reacted really poorly to her sudden appearance. Surprises didn’t go over very well for people who’d seen their village invaded. She’d had to learn that lesson quickly as Brightmoon became the central hub of Etheria after the war ended.

The morning raced by for Glimmer. She dispatched another team of construction workers and supplies to the rebuilding of Salineas. Aunt Casta needed another batch of food stocks because Mystacor was blowing through them, trying to feed villages that had their lands burned. Perfuma needed another transport from Plumeria, as her mediators were already overwhelmed with resolving conflicts in the city. Entrapta was hoping for another expedition to recover First Ones tech and continue the upgrades to Brightmoon’s infrastructure.

A couple hours later, and Glimmer really wished she had stayed in bed. There was so much to do and NOTHING ever seemed to get better. It was just problem after problem after problem and she was responsible for all of it and if anything went wrong then -

She stopped herself. She knew that she couldn’t let herself go down that path, too many people were counting on her. After a citizen of Elberon asked for help with rebuilding their art center and Glimmer shouted that art wasn’t a priority when people were starving, she realized she had to take a break. She asked another guard, Tinita, to go apologize to the artist on her behalf and help them with whatever they needed, and then stepped away from the throne for a bit.

She entered the side hallway, where no one would see her, and teleported to the Moonstone. Glimmer basked in its restoring glow, and cast a spell that created a sort of bubble sphere around herself. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs until her breath gave out. She fell to her knees, frustrated and exhausted, and knowing there was nothing she could do but keep going.

A half hour and then I go back, she told herself.

She collapsed the bubble around herself, half-walked, half-crawled to the edge of the platform, and sat down with her feet dangling off the edge, taking in the view of the Whispering Woods.

“Hey, Glimmer,” she heard Bow’s voice behind her. “Taking a break?”

“Fuck off, Double Trouble, I’m not in the mood right now.”

“Oh, come on!” Bow’s voice changed to Double Trouble’s unmistakable slick and measured tone. “How did you know this time? You must tell, as an actor it is my duty to put on a believable performance.”

Glimmer sighed as Double Trouble sat down next to her on the ledge. They were back in their normal form, and they cuddled up next to Glimmer. They really have no sense of personal space, Glimmer thought to herself.

“If I told you, I’d have to exile you,” she joked.

Double Trouble sighed. “Fine.” They rolled their eyes and looked away dramatically. “I was going to tell you that your cape was on backwards, but I guess now you’ll just walk around like an idiot.”

Glimmer laughed lightly, and reached up to check her cape, and Double Trouble stopped her.

“I was lying! It looks great, obviously.” They held Glimmer’s hand, scanning the tiny details of it. Glimmer had gotten used to them doing things like this. There was nothing romantic or suggestive in it, they just liked to figure out tiny ticks that made a person who they are. She wondered if Double Trouble had noticed something she didn’t know about herself.

“What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were back in the Crimson Waste helping Huntara.”

“Huntara is no fun.” They sighed. “She’s all rocks and women and work, and she HATES the arts. Booorrinng.” Double Trouble steadied themself for a moment, and became more serious. “The trio is well, as is Imp.”

“That’s a relief.” Glimmer released some tension in her shoulders. Double Trouble began massaging them slightly. She thought about stopping them, figuring they were just scanning her again, but it was nice to relieve some of the tightness. “Any luck getting Kyle on board?”

“No.” Double Trouble stepped back and changed to look like Kyle, and spoke in his squeaky voice. “Hordak had his chance! Impy has a better life with us, where he can be himself!” They shifted to Lonnie’s form. “Come on Kyle, it’s just visitation rights.” Back to Kyle, “No! I’m not letting Impy back into an environment like that!”

Glimmer nodded. “Figures this is the first time he grows a backbone.” She shrugged lightly. “Good for him, I guess.”

“Bravery looks so CUTE on him,” Double Trouble stared at Kyle’s reflection in the reflective gold of the platform, posing a few times. They shifted back to normal, and stared at Glimmer, perhaps slightly nervous, tapping the tips of their fingers together. “So, about our… arrangement. Can we finally consider the debt settled?”

“I’ll think about it.”

Double Trouble crossed their arms, scowling and grumbling to themself. Glimmer stood up and put a reassuring arm on their shoulder.

“Come on, DT. Doesn’t it feel nice to do something worthwhile for once? To stand for something good without being paid for it?”

“Of course it doesn’t!”

“Well, I tried.” Glimmer laughed lightly. “Get Kyle on board, then we’ll talk. I can’t bear to deal with Wrong Hordak’s angst to see his ‘nephew’ any more.”

Glimmer teleported away, back to the hallway outside of her throne. She was surprised to notice that she was feeling a little better. She took a reassuring breath, strolled back inside, and found it unexpectedly empty. She looked around, confused, and went to find Solan again.

“Solan, where is everyone?”

Solan looked relieved to see her. “Your majesty, finally! The Horde Trials have reached a verdict on Catra’s case! We’re late, and they need you to preside right away!”

“WHAT!?” Glimmer grabbed Solan and teleported, shocked and surprised.

They arrived at the Brightmoon Courthouse, and found it was overflowing with people. It wasn’t really a courthouse, just the largest room they could find to accommodate the needs. Everything felt so makeshift in her kingdom these days.

She looked outside to see that a massive crowd had assembled, eager to see what happened to the former second-in-command of the Horde. Glimmer was terrified by the energy in the space. Before she had joined the Rebellion, Catra had waged a terrifying war across Etheria. There were a lot of people who lost everything because of her. Some people wanted her head.

Glimmer walked into the main room, taking her place on the council’s dais that overlooked the room. She looked across the crowded space, and for the first time really realized how big of a deal this was. So far, the Horde Trials had been passing judgement on small level Horde soldiers, usually just pushing for them to be tasked with some form of community service or rebuilding effort to make amends. Other than Scorpia, who’d gotten off fairly easy, Catra was the first actual officer they had reached a verdict on, and Glimmer knew the stakes were high.

A gavel sounded out, and the council took their seats. They were an assortment of representatives of the various kingdoms, about twelve in total. These days, the princesses were too busy running their kingdoms to be on it, and had sent various officials to speak on their behalf. The head of the council came from Mystacor, Elder Haverfoth.

Elder Haverfoth stepped forward and took her seat, bringing the courtroom officially into session. Glimmer spotted Adora and Catra for the first time, sitting in the front row for the defendants. She smiled at them, and Adora smiled back, nervous. She held Catra’s hand tightly, and Catra stared at the floor, trying not to look at anyone. Glimmer knew that Catra had done a lot to grow as a person, but she figured that sitting in a room of people who hated her couldn’t be going well.

Haverfoth sounded out the gavel again, and stood up to address the room. “Welcome, citizens of Etheria. The council has finally reached a verdict in the case of Catra Elizabeth Applesauce Meowmeow, former Force Captain of the Horde.” The room held its collective breath as the Elder spoke. Glimmer sat in her throne amongst the council, holding her forearm tensely. She finally caught a glimpse of Bow, a few rows behind Catra and Adora, and he gave her a thumbs up, though she could tell he was freaking out.

“The case of Catra is a difficult one. Over the course of her trial, we have heard from many witnesses the story of her life. How she was a victim in the Horde’s training of children for their army, as well as the abuse of the late Shadow Weaver. We have also heard from dozens of citizens of the seven kingdoms, who lost everything because of attacks that she led. The conquest of Salineas and the surrounding oceans represent the most consequential warpath that she was in charge of.” Elder Haverfoth paused for a moment before continuing. “We have also heard of her role in ending Horde Prime’s reign on Etheria, helping the She-ra destroy the Heart of Etheria and ending the tyrant’s reign. Though, we are also aware that her actions activating the Portal also brought Prime to Etheria in the first place.”

Glimmer looked towards Catra, and could see the shame across her face. Adora put her arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. Glimmer thought she could see Adora whisper, “I’m sure it’s going to be fine. We told them everything, and I bet they’ll show compassion.”

Haverfoth continued. “Up until this point, Catra has been sentenced to a probation period, community service, and mandatory meditation. We have heard testimony from Perfuma, who speaks to the massive amount of growth Catra has gone through. She attests that Catra has truly reconciled with the damage she has caused, and will not return to patterns of violence. Based upon this testimony, the council has elected to end this mandatory requirement of her probation.”

Adora looked relieved and thrilled, hugging Catra and beaming. Catra looked back at her weakly, trying to smile. Adora glanced at Bow, and the two of them looked towards Glimmer, sharing a moment of relief with her.

“However,” the elder continued after a moment. “We cannot simply excuse the harm that was caused by her actions. Entire villages have disappeared as a result of her attacks, not to mention the environmental damage. While the threat has dissipated, the council believes the people of Etheria are entitled to a symbolic gesture to atone for the loss.” Haverfoth paused for a moment. “We recommend that Catra be de-clawed.”

The room erupted into chaos. Some shouting in joy, others in fury. Adora stood up and yelled at the council, enraged. Bow leapt up and joined her, the two of them shouting at the council that the judgement was cruel and inhumane. In the distance, Glimmer could see a furious Swift Wind, flying next to a window outside, and that Scorpia was pushing through the crowd to get to Catra.

The gavel sounded out, again and again, trying to quiet the crowd. Slightly in a daze, Glimmer heard Elder Haverfoth shout, “ORDER! Silence in this courtroom!” The crowd quieted, though the energy remained unstable. After a few moments, Haverfoth spoke again. “In the meantime, we will be temporarily taking Catra into custody.” A couple of Brightmoon guards walked over to Catra and handcuffed her. She went with them willingly, in shock and shame. Adora tried to follow them out the door, but was blocked by the guards, furious.

“This decision will go through the appeals process,” the elder told the room, turning to Glimmer, “but ultimately is subject to the Queen’s judgement.”

All eyes in the room fixed on Glimmer, and she froze. A long, tense silence filled the room as Glimmer scrambled to think of something to say. “Adjourn for recess?”

She teleported away, back to the throne room. Pacing back and forth, Glimmer tried to process what had just happened.

A few minutes later, Bow and Adora crashed into the room.

“Oh, good, Glimmer!” Adora ran up to her, seeming relieved to see her. “This is easy, right? You just tell them that Catra’s all good now, and this is a terrible decision. Case closed!”

Bow stared at his own hands in horror. “How could they do that!? What’s Catra going to do without her hands!?”

“Bow, her claws are the nails that come out of her hands, not her hands itself,” Adora scowled. “They’re not going to cut off her hands.”

“I know that! But it’s like cutting off her metaphorical hands!” His voice cracked slightly, the way it always did when he was stressed. Glimmer remembered finding it slightly annoying when they were younger, but now she found it cute, and reassuring.

Adora stared at Bow and shrugged. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter because Glimmer can just tell them not to, and this is all fixed, right Glimmer?”

Glimmer froze again as Adora turned to face her. She kept thinking about the Sea Gate at Salineas on fire, the months and months of losing battle after battle to the Horde, the hundreds and thousands of refugees that poured into Brightmoon. She didn’t know what to say.

“Glimmer?” Bow looked at her, his eyes serious and concerned. “You can’t really be thinking about letting them go through with it, can you?”

Glimmer sighed and plopped down on the steps in front of her mom’s throne, groaning. “I don’t know what I’m thinking right now!”

“There’s nothing to think about,” Adora stood over her, increasingly worked up. “Catra has already made amends for her actions! Without her, Horde Prime would’ve used the Heart to destroy us all!”

“Tell that to the thousands of refugees that watched her light their ancestral homes on fire!” Glimmer dropped her head into her hands, exhausted. “Adora, literally a dozen people come to me every day just to ask that I put Catra in prison or worse. She’s better now, but a lot of people are suffering because of things she did! Catra is my friend, too, but how am I supposed to look someone in the eyes and say, ‘I’m sorry you lost your house, farm, and family, but at least Catra’s a good friend now?’”

“But Glimmer,” Bow stepped up, “de-clawing Catra is cruel. If we start cutting off body parts of every person who wronged us, where does it end? That’s not justice, it’s vengeance.”

Glimmer sighed and slumped onto the steps even more. “I… I’m worried about what will happen if we undo the council’s ruling. There’s such a fragile peace in the city already, and if they find out Catra’s sentence was turned over just because she’s got a friend on the throne, there’s going to be a riot.”

“I can handle a riot.” Adora crossed her arms and glared at her. Glimmer wondered if she was thinking about transforming into She-Ra and busting Catra out of prison. ‘Prison.’ It’s literally just a guest room that’s been barricaded. Everything was getting so messy these days.

“It’s not going to come to that, Adora.” Bow put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We can find a way to keep the peace,” he turned to face Glimmer, “without letting them hurt Catra.”

Glimmer felt so small as the two of them stared at her, waiting for an answer. Everyone was always looking to her for an answer now that she was Queen, like she suddenly knew things. One day, she was just the princess who could rush off into battle against the Horde and come home laughing with her friends, and the next she was in charge of somehow rebuilding the planet and settling all the scores. Glimmer was a fighter, not an administrator. She spent so much time these days thinking that they’d all be better off if her mother was still Queen. She was never a warrior, but she was a damn good administrator.

She looked back at them, and shrunk back into herself a bit. “Just, give me some more time to think, okay?”

“What’s there to think about? This is wrong, and you can stop it!” Adora’s face was flushed as she got more and more upset. Glimmer knew she was mostly just worried about Catra, but it still hurt to see her like this. She didn’t respond, and Adora stepped back, frustrated. “This is just like when you wanted to use the Heart of Etheria. You never listen to us when you’re wrong.”

Glimmer’s chest tightened with shame, and she felt horrible. She remembered the feeling of the magic being ripped from her body when the Heart was activated - sometimes she had nightmares about it. Glimmer looked over at Bow, who couldn’t make eye contact with her, and she suddenly felt deeply alone. She tried to say something to make it better, but her words failed her, and nothing came out.

Adora, seeing that Glimmer wasn’t going to respond, stormed out of the room in fury, leaving the two of them alone. Glimmer wanted to cry, to sob for hours and have everything feel better after she did, but she couldn’t. She felt numb. She covered her face with her hands, trying to feel something, anything.

“I’m a monster, aren’t I?”

Bow sighed, trying to sort through his own feelings. “You’re not a monster.” He walked over and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her.

“They’re actually trying to mutilate a friend of mine, and I can’t even figure out how to tell them not to! What’s wrong with me?” She stared down at her hands, horrified with herself. “I don’t even feel anything right now!”

“Hey, come here,” Bow pulled her into a full hug, holding her tight. “It’s going to be alright.”

“No it’s not! Either they hurt Catra and Adora never talks to me again, or I stop them and a riot destroys Brightmoon! I can’t win!” Bow went silent, and Glimmer felt even worse. “You think I’m a terrible person.”

“I don’t think you’re a terrible person.” He took a deep breath and tried to get a hold of his complicated emotions. “I think you’re in a tough position, and have to deal with a lot of things the rest of us don’t have to carry.”

“So what do I do?”

“I don’t know.” She pulled back and gave him a suspicious look, and he sighed. “Okay, I think you should tell them it’s wrong and hurting people isn’t the answer. But, I’m not Queen of Brightmoon, and I’m not a refugee. I don’t know what you should do.”

Glimmer nodded, and took a deep breath. “Can you go find Adora and keep her company? I’m going to go talk to some people and figure out how to get out of this mess.”

“I can do that.” Bow kissed her forehead and stood up. He hugged her one last time, and started heading towards the door. Then, he stopped himself and turned back to her. “You were wrong about the Heart of Etheria, but that doesn’t mean you’re wrong about everything else. That was war, and we’re at peace now. The rules are different. Just… just stick to what you know is right, okay?”

Glimmer nodded and smiled weakly, and he left the room. She sat alone for a moment, trying to figure out who she could go to for answers. She made a list in her head, and mentally prepared herself for the next few hours, knowing it was going to suck.

She returned to the trial and sent everyone home for the rest of the day, saying she would have a decision tomorrow. Then, she spent the afternoon going kingdom to kingdom, getting the other princesses’ advice. Mermista told her to stand by the council’s decision, though Glimmer knew she was still dealing with the weight of rebuilding a kingdom Catra wrecked. Frosta didn’t think the punishment was cruel compared to the damaged caused, and sided with Mermista. Perfuma exhorted Catra’s growth and the power of forgiveness for over an hour; she never actually told Glimmer what to do, but Glimmer figured she could tell what side Perfuma was on. Entrapta wasn’t much help, simply musing that it could be an interesting opportunity to figure out how to upgrade Catra’s natural claws to something with more functions. Scorpia was baffled that Glimmer would even ask her, but ultimately didn’t think hurting ‘Wildcat’ was the right move. Her dad said he wasn’t around for enough of the war to judge without overstepping, and told her to trust her gut.

The sun began to set, and Glimmer finally went back to Brightmoon, still unsure of what to do. She paced in the throne room for an hour, getting nowhere. She found the statue of her mother and stared into her eyes, desperately hoping there was some magical solution she was missing. Finally, she decided that she couldn’t keep skirting around the issue, and went to visit the Brightmoon prison.

Glimmer stood outside the doors for a while, trying to work up the courage to go inside. She was startled when Adora suddenly exited the prison, stopping to stare at Glimmer for a moment before walking down the hallway wordlessly. One of the guards shuffled nervously, trying not to draw Glimmer’s attention. “We, ahem… we know that guests weren’t supposed to be allowed inside, but-,”

“-but she’s She-Ra.” Glimmer nodded sympathetically. “That’s okay, she can visit Catra.” The guard let out a sigh of relief. “Why don’t you take a dinner break? I’m going to go in for a bit, and I can handle her.”

“Oh! Um, of course, your majesty.”

The guard looked relieved as she walked down the hallway, and Glimmer felt sorry for her. Maybe she was just feeling sorry for herself. Everything felt so jumbled up inside at this point. She entered the room.

It was the same room they had held Shadow Weaver for a time, and it never felt right for it to be converted to a prison cell. A magic barrier had been set up that closed off half of the room, and it cast a soft light across the space. Catra sat up on the small cot they had given her, and looked surprised and relieved to see Glimmer. Glimmer smiled weakly, trying to look brave, but she didn’t feel it.

“Hey, Sparkles.” Catra’s voice tried to sound confident, but it wasn’t. Glimmer knew she was scared.

“Hey, Horde Scum.” She stood in place for a moment, feeling awkward. “Can I stay with you for a bit?”

“Sure.”

She walked closer, and Catra sat down against the barrier, her back facing Glimmer. Glimmer sat down in the same way, and they sat facing away from each other. She was reminded of being on Horde Prime’s ship, only she was on the other side of the barrier that time.

“You can feel it too, right?” Catra mused lightly.

“Yeah.”

“I remember gloating that you were in the cell then, and I wasn’t, and then you told me I was just as much of a prisoner as you were.” Catra sighed. “How are you doing, Sparkles?”

“Feeling like you did on Prime’s ship.”

“Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“Adora’s never going to forgive me, is she?” Glimmer buried her face in her hands.

“Nah, she’ll get over it.” Catra spoke with her usual swagger, though Glimmer knew it was mostly a projection of confidence she didn’t really feel. “She’s having a hard time accepting I’m a war criminal. She really thought it’d all blow over.”

“I wish it did.”

“Me too, Sparkles.” Catra stared at her hands, feeling the tips of her claws, trying to build a memory of what they felt like before they could be taken from her. “I deserve it, though.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“I did bad things, Sparkles. I’m a better person now, but part of being in a better place is owning up to mistakes, and making amends.” She chuckled a little. “Or, at least that’s what Perfuma says it’s about.”

Glimmer suddenly stood up and faced Catra. Catra turned around, shocked at the sudden change. “Why aren’t you mad at me, Catra!? I have to power to stop this, and I’m not doing it! You should HATE me!” Glimmer threw her arms up in exasperation, pacing away a few steps.

“I already told you, I deserve it.” Catra’s tail curled around her own waist, comforting herself slightly. “And I don’t hate you.”

“Why? I’m a monster! You SHOULD hate me!” She walked around aggressively. “They’re going to rip your claws out, and I feel nothing about it! I should feel horrible, but I don’t!”

Glimmer stared at her with an expression of confusion, remorse, and desperation. Catra stared back for a long moment, trying to think of how to respond. Glimmer felt profoundly alone.

“‘Just do one good thing in your life,’ that’s what you told me, right Sparkles?” Catra walked up to the barrier and put her hands on it, leaning forward. “Well, I did that one good thing, and you know what? My life is incredible now!”

Glimmer stared at her, unsure of what to say.

“I thought I was never going to see Etheria again. I was going to run away from all my problems and try to get by with some miserable life on some miserable planet.” Catra looked briefly ashamed, before becoming confident again. “But now, I have friends. I have a home. I get to be with Adora again. And I finally feel something other than pain and anger.”

She looked at Glimmer with a seriousness and gratitude that smashed through any wall Glimmer tried to raise up against it. “You gave me my life back, Glimmer. I could never hate you.”

“Catra…” Glimmer tried to say something, but once again, words failed her. All of the emotions of the day broke through the numbness she felt, and she finally cried. Her chest let out little puffs of air as she tried to hold it back, but she gave up and let it come.

Catra looked slightly uncomfortable. Maybe it was because there was nothing she could do on her side of the barrier. Maybe it was because she didn’t know her words could mean that much to a person. But when Glimmer eventually stood back up, she saw a tender smile spread across her friend’s face.

“I… uh, guess what I’m trying to say is, ‘thank you.’ Or, something like that.”

Glimmer laughed. “Don’t ruin the moment.” Catra laughed with her, and she sat back down by the barrier next to her.

After a moment, Catra broke the comfortable silence. “So… have you figured out what you’re going to do yet?” She held her hands nervously. “Cause I do want to remind you, even if I won’t hate you, I’d still like to keep my claws.” An anxious smile spread across her cheeks.

“Yeah, I think so.” Glimmer let out a steady breath. “I’m going to go give out a couple of orders and set some things up for tomorrow. But after that, do you mind if I came back here and spent the night?”

“Like, a sleepover?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure, Sparkles,” she looked reassured. “I’d like that.”

A few hours later, Glimmer lay awake in a mattress of spare blankets on the floor, next to Catra. They’d chatted for a while, and Glimmer felt a strange comfort in her loneliness. Something about the experience of Horde Prime’s ship made their relationship healing in this way - she and Catra were different in so many ways, but both of them had felt that same loneliness for all of their lives. And because of that, both of them knew how to make the other feel less lonely, in a way no one else could.

She looked over at Catra, and couldn’t tell if she was actually asleep, or just pretending to be. Just a few years ago, Glimmer would’ve wished for nothing more than a chance to punch her across the face, and now they were friends, having a sleepover. Around that same time, Glimmer’s only friend was Bow, and now she had so many other people in her life.

“Oh, no.” Catra shifted over and stared at her, surprising her slightly. Glimmer strained to see her expression clearly in the low light, but the glow from Catra’s eyes reminded her that her night vision was far better. “We’re the same person, aren’t we Sparkles?”

“Fiendishly charming?”

Catra laughed and pushed her. “No, shut up.” She paused for a moment. “We’re both lonely, clingy people, aren’t we?”

“Oh.” Glimmer was lost in her thoughts.

“Bow is your Adora, isn’t he?”

“My boyfriend? Uh, yeah?”

“Not that.” She mockingly tapped Glimmer’s head to see if it was empty. “He’s the first person that made you feel less alone.”

Glimmer nodded. “I never really had any friends other than him for so long.”

Catra nodded with her, agreeing. “And now it feels so overwhelming, like being pulled in thirty directions.”

Glimmer let out a sigh of relief. “You feel it, too?”

“Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a while, staring at the ceiling as the quiet and the darkness held them like a soft blanket. Bow had been Glimmer’s only friend for so long, sometimes she forgot that they were really different people. Adora was really different, too. Sometimes it felt like Catra was the only person that actually understood her, and she wondered what she would have thought of that a year ago.

“Sometimes it feels like I was thrown into a dark cave without a flashlight,” Glimmer said after some time. “And I’m just stumbling along trying to figure out where my friends are.”

“Or like, everyone’s doing a combat drill perfectly, but you’re still trying to figure out what the rules are.”

Glimmer stared at her with an amused smile. “One of these days, we’ll teach you what a board game is.”

“And I’ll beat you at it, Glitter.” Catra laughed, then sighed after a moment. “I don’t get how you do it. It’s taking all my effort just to figure out this shit, and you’re doing it while being Queen.”

“That’s the closest thing to a compliment you’ve ever given me.”

“Well, don’t get used to it.” They stared at each other, and burst out in laughter.

Glimmer grew serious after they settled. “I don’t really feel like I’ve been doing it well. These days, I just don’t really have time to be around any of the people I love.” She looked briefly ashamed. “Not that I don’t love the people of Brightmoon.”

“I get what you mean.”

“There’s just so much to do,” she continued, “and being Queen these days is just more work than one person could ever finish.”

“Why not share it with someone?”

“What, like make my dad co-queen?”

“I don’t know. There’s so many people who know how to do things better than you,” she looked over at Glimmer apologetically, “no offense.”

“None taken. I feel like shit.”

“But, what if you could step down and let a bunch of people share the burden?” She looked over at Glimmer, who seemed lost in thought. “I don’t know, it’s just an idea.”

“Yeah,” Glimmer felt her mind wander. After some time of silence, she turned to find Catra cuddled up into a little ball, fast asleep. Glimmer smiled, and decided she should get some sleep, too.

The next morning, Glimmer woke up exhausted again. She had hoped that the change of pace that evening would have helped, but she was slowly accepting she needed a long break away from everything if she was going to get any rest. Catra was still sleeping, and Glimmer knew it was because it was still really early in the morning. These days, she could hardly sleep past sunrise, always waking up from the stress.

She left Catra behind, and went about her morning quietly, mulling over a dozen ideas and plans. With dark circles under her eyes, she found herself at the courtroom a little while later, finally feeling like she knew what to do.

Glimmer stared across the large crowd that had assembled, and felt an uneasy tension across the room. Bow and Adora sat in one of the front rows, slightly concerned. She had sent them a few messages last night, apologizing and telling them it’d all be fine without a ton of details, and she knew they were waiting to see what happened. Bow looked at Glimmer, exchanging a glance of attempted reassurance, and she tried to steady herself. Adora stayed firmly planted in her seat, staring at the floor with her arms crossed, until Catra was brought in the room and she jumped up to see her. Catra smiled warmly and confidently, and Adora was surprised to see her doing so well. For the first time, she glanced up at Glimmer, confused.

The council took their seats, and called the court to order. Elder Haverfoth turned to Glimmer. “Your majesty, have you reached a decision?”

“I have.” Glimmer stood up, and felt herself flush with nervousness as all eyes in the room focused on her. She felt small, but took a deep breath, and tried to feel confident. As she began speaking, she couldn’t help but think of her mother.

“It has been a long six months since the end of the war, and we are still feeling the scars it left behind. So many people were lost forever, so many homes destroyed, and I often worry that peace will always feel strange and uneasy for us. I’ve worked hard as your Queen to try and put things right, but there are so many scores left unsettled. We have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us, but I know we can do it.”

Glimmer took another deep breath, and stared at Catra, feeling inspired.

“With that in mind, I have decided to pardon Catra.”

The room erupted into chaos again, with some shouts of joy, and some of fury. Catra looked back to Adora with an expression that said, “See? I told you there was nothing to worry about,” and Adora looked back with desperate relief.

After a few moments, Glimmer used her magic to lightly toss a ball of gentle light into the center of the room, and was thrilled to see everyone slowly come back to order.

“I am also issuing pardons for all of the remaining Horde Trials.” This time, the room stared at her in horrified and mystified silence. Elder Haverfoth stood up quickly, baffled, before quietly sitting back down.

“The damage has already been done, Etheria. My mother, and so many others, lost their lives in this fight and they aren’t coming back. We cannot honor their memory with vengeance when we’re finally at peace. I will not be responsible for more conflict.” Glimmer could feel her mother, as though she were standing right beside her, and she knew her mother would be proud. “A friend recently reminded me,” she looked at Catra again, her eyes filled with pride, “that doing one good thing can make life worth living again. We have had six months of grief and reconstruction, and it is time to begin looking forward, as much as we can.”

“This is not to excuse the hurt that was done,” she continued. “We will still be working towards reparations and reconstruction. But, we are going to do that together, as one planet. I believe that people can change for the better. I have to. Because if we don’t believe that, we’ll never be able to move on from this war. Going forward, we will no longer be punishing our enemies, but pushing them to find their place in our collective healing.” She turned over to face a side door, where she waved for someone to stand beside her. The crowd gasped as Hordak entered the room, looking deeply apprehensive.

“In his six months since being free of Prime, Hordak has been working with Entrapta to rebuild the infrastructure of Brightmoon. Without their work, there would be far more hungry mouths in our kingdom.” She turned to face him, and he looked down at the floor, nervous. “Hordak,” she paused and thought through her words carefully a moment, “I forgive you.”

He looked up at her, shocked.

“You have caused so much damage with your actions, but you are one of us now. You will spend every day of your life working towards peace and reconciliation, not as our prisoner, but as a member of our family.”

Hordak stared at her, and Glimmer swore she could see tears form in his eyes. He thanked her quietly, before bowing and leaving the stage.

“I have one last thing to say,” she turned back towards the crowded room. “As of today, I am moving to abolish the monarchy.”

As the crowd stared at her, dumbfounded, Glimmer wondered briefly if she was taking things too far. But then, she found her father in the crowd, and he smiled with eyes full of pride. This was the right decision, she told herself.

“I will be appointing a team to draft a new structure of governance for Brightmoon, one that shares the burden of our collective wellbeing with all of us. If we want peace and justice on our planet, we all have to choose to heal from these wounds.” Glimmer looked over the crowd, one last time, and felt a little less alone. “This is our way forward, and I can’t wait to see what our future holds. Thank you, my friends.”

Glimmer stepped down from the dais, and left the room through a side door. She quickly teleported to the statue of her mother, and sat at the steps, staring at her for a while and wondering what she would think of her daughter now.

The doors to the pavilion behind her burst open, and she turned to find Bow, Catra, and Adora racing towards her. She stood up suddenly, staring at them with just a little bit of fear about how they would see her now. Adora stepped forward and wordlessly pulled Glimmer into a tight hug, and she knew that everything was going to be all right.

“Glimmer! Uh, wow!” Bow was clearly in shock, but she could hear the joy in his voice.

She pulled them all into a group hug, and they sat down onto the steps a moment later. Catra leaned up next to her, amused and delighted.

“Something I said really got to you, didn’t it?”

“Sure did, Horde Scum.”

“Hey, hey, hey, you just pardoned me. I don’t think you can call me that anymore.” She smiled, and Glimmer felt a deep warmth inside.

The rest of that afternoon, Glimmer spent trying to answer questions from confused citizens and leaders. People seemed unsure of what things would look like, but she could tell there was a curiosity to try it out. After spending some time picking out some people to start the process of drafting a new plan for the government, she finally went back to her room.

She opened the door, and was thrilled to see that Bow, Adora, and Catra had created a massive fort of blankets and pillows, ready for the sleepover of a lifetime. She lay down on the pillows, overwhelmed with love for her friends, and fell soundly asleep.