A Familiar Mural

Glimmer couldn't believe what was happening. Bow was actually trying to be all buddy buddy with their prisoner, a Horde who turned into a gross fat dickgirl moments ago.

Actually, it wasn't that hard to believe. Bow was a naturally nice guy that could find the good in anybody. It was one of the facets she admired about him. In this case though, she could not see how he could possibly find anything redeeming about their captive. Everything about her was suspicious from her ability to read First Ones writing to transforming into a massive warrior. As gross as she was, Glimmer couldn't deny that taking her down would have been a problem. As she held the sword, Glimmer wondered what it would be like to possess that sort of power. They only got a glimpse of it but she wondered if it would be enough to turn the tide of war. That would surely be worth the trade-off of turning into a fatty. While Bow was chatting up the prisoner, Glimmer raised the hilt to her mouth and whispered what the soldier said.

Nothing. Nothing happened.

"What are we doing?" Bow cheekily inquired.

"Nothing! I mean uh..." Glimmer lowered the sword and searched for anything that could change the subject. The last thing she needed was for the prisoner to get the wrong idea about her. "Look at these carvings." As she got a better look at the doorway ahead, she realized something. "I think this might be a First Ones ruin."

"What's a first one?" Adora asked.

"You've never heard of the First Ones?" Glimmer was beginning to question just how clueless their prisoner was and if she was worth interrogating. Bow was patient enough to explain how the First Ones were the original settlers of Etheria and how they disappeared mysteriously a thousand years ago. Leaving behind their technology and never-ending, maddening, frustrating, pitch-dark ruins. Since Adora wasn't being helpful and Bow didn't have magic, Glimmer took it upon herself to get them out. "Everyone, stand back."

"Uh Glimmer? Maybe you should take it easy," urged Bow. "We're a long way from Bright Moon. It'll be a while until you can recharge."

"Bow!" There were only two ways she could replenish her powers: the crystal back home or by getting some food. And the last thing she wanted was to make a pig out of herself in front of the enemy. Not that they had any food to begin with.

Adora snickered. "You have to recharge your powers?"

"Can we NOT talk about this in front of the Horde soldier? Now stand back."

Bow obliged and stepped beside Adora. Focusing all of her concentration on the orb of light, Glimmer strained herself and tossed the orb into the air. The darkness gave way to a blinding light and the trio were finally able to see their surroundings. Adora gazed up in awe while Bow checked on the princess. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Bow," Glimmer brushed off. She was smothered enough as is back home. She didn't need to be coddled by her best friend. No sooner after she said that did they all look up at the sharp, angular mural before them made composed of various shades of violet, pink, blue and pale green. It was ten times their size and depicted a humanoid figure posing nobly with a rotund build and a phallic object in hand.

"Oh, hey! That's you!" Bow pointed out.

"What? That doesn't look anything like me," said Adora.

"No, I mean, the other you," he clarified. "The scary one in the cape with the uh... tiara."

Glimmer knew what Bow was going to say and that he was too polite to say it. She couldn't blame him since she didn't want to discuss it anymore than necessary. Why anyone would make a mural to that gross being completely baffled her. Almost as much as the inscription below the mural written in First Ones writing.

Bow nudged Adora and asked, "You can read the inscription, right? What's it say?"

Adora peered at the writing underneath and uttered a single word. "She-ra."

The inscription glowed and the mural flashed pink. A wave of shining pixels spread underneath the floors and walls and brightened up the room. It was as mesmerizing as it was confounding for Glimmer. If they weren't trapped in there, this would have been an exciting expedition. Then out of nowhere, a hooded, translucent figure appeared right in front of them and startled the party when it asked, "Greetings, Administrator.". Like the mural, it was also humanoid-shaped but this was a chubby indigo woman holding out an orb with a pot belly jutting out underneath. It shimmered and flickered in a static position. While not as fat as Adora was, the figure had chubby cheeks, luscious lips, and a second chin.

"What is this thing?" Adora whispered, flinching along with her captors.

"What is your query," It asked mechanically.

Bow was the first to recover and note, "I think it's some some kind of ancient hologram."

"What is your query?" It repeated.

Glimmer clutched the sword like a safety blanket while Bow handled this. He was much more tech-savy than she was. "Hi. What is this place?"

No response.

"Hoooooow...doooo weeeee.... get ouuut...of heere."

"What is your query?"

"Well, she's broken."

"She's old," Glimmer commented, stepping forward. "I'm surprised any of this stuff still works at all." She put her hand through the hologram phasing it through. Glimmer's cheeks warmed when it occurred to her that her hand was going through the hologram's gut.

Said hologram turned red and announced, "Administrator not detected. Lockdown initiated."

The rest of the room rumbled and went crimson as well and alarm sounded off. All the exits were sealed behind them, save for two whose withered doors were crumbling. Even the ceiling was quaking and the diamond tiles shaking loose.

"Adora, you got to get it to stop!" pleaded Bow.

"What makes you think I can?" said Adora, indignantly.

"Query not recognized."

Adora rattled off some guesses of what the password could be but got no response. She looked back up at the mural and turned to Glimmer. "Give me the sword!"

"What? No!" Glimmer stepped back and held the sword out of Adora's reach.

"We need the fat, gassy lady in the cape. I don't know how but she's the key to this place. So maybe she can get us out."

She had a point. There was no denying that the dickgirl had a connection to these ruins but Glimmer refused to give her rival the satisfaction. "You're a Horde soldier! I'm not giving you the sword."

One of the ceiling tiles came loose and Glimmer rushed into Bow's arms before it could crush her. The shaking worsened and Glimmer noticed another ceiling tile was about to come loose. Determined to prove her mom and herself that she was capable of handling sticky situations such as this, Glimmer grabbed Adora and Bow then pulled them close. "Hold on!"

"Glimmer, no!" shouted Bow.

Ignoring his plea, Glimmer channeled her magic into pulling off something she'd never done before: teleporting three people at once. She shut her eyes, concentrated all of her will power, and the three of them vanished. The alarm stopped blaring and a cool breeze brushed against her cheek. That was the last thing Glimmer noticed before blacking out. When Glimmer finally opened her eyes, she was lying on the grass while Bow and Adora were standing over her. She groaned and asked, "Did it work?"

Bow chuckled, "Yeah, it worked. Barely. Are you alright?"

Glimmer pushed herself up and was about to answer when her stomach rumbled louder than ever. Anyone passing by could have easily mistaken it for a predator's growl. She clutched her aching gut and admitted, "I think I used too much power getting us out of there."

"I don't know who could have predicted that." Bow helped her back onto her feet and with a knowing smirk. "Oh right! Me."

"Bow-"

"Like an hour ago."

"Bow!"

"Sorry, I'm just glad you're okay." Glimmer picked up the sword and fought back the urge to smile at that sentiment. "No more teleporting. You could really hurt yourself."

"I'm fine. Let's just get back to Bright Moon so I can recharge already." After the day they just went through, Glimmer was ready to turn in and steal something sweet from the kitchen. Unfortunately, they had a long walk ahead of them before they were home sweet home. There was also the matter of the Horde soldier who hadn't taken the opportunity to escape. "Why are you still here?"

"What?"

"Bow and I are hardly a crack security team. You could have escaped at any time. Why didn't you?" Any other Horde soldier would have. Why was this one so...different?

Adora hesitated before giving an answer. "I just... I wanna figure out what's happening to me, and not just the weird fat stuff. If I go back to the Fright Zone, then I'll never know. I never knew where I came from or who my family was. Shadow Weaver said it didn't matter who I was before, that-- that I was nothing before Hordak took me in. There's always been a part of me that I don't know anything about and... and all of this, it feels familiar somehow. I don't know how else to explain it."

For a moment, Glimmer felt sorry for Adora. As someone who lost her father at a young age, she also remembered very little about him. But any sympathy she had melted the moment she saw that wretched Horde badge pinned on Adora. A reminder that it was because of soldiers like her that her father was gone.

"Glimmer's mom knows more about First Ones' tech than anyone," mentioned Bow. "She'll know what's going on with you and the sword for sure. So, if you want your questions answered," he held out his hand to her and asked, "Stick with us?"

Before Adora could accept the friendly gesture, Bow smacked it away and said, "Let's go. There should be a village a few miles from here. They'll be able to give us a ride to Bright Moon." Bow may have bought Adora's sob story but Glimmer wasn't that gullible. She knew better than to lower her guard around the enemy. If she wanted to tag along with them, so be it. But Glimmer had her eyes on Adora. "We've wasted too much time already."