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Glimmer is running (RUNNING! She hasn’t had to do that for months, since that last mission when they were evading shots from leftover loyalist Horde soldiers) through the halls of Brightmoon Castle. Because she can’t just teleport, oh no, because she would only be able to rely on sheer luck to pop in on her, and even then Glimmer wouldn’t have enough time to actually grab her before she ran off again. So here she is, following after the trail of destruction that has befallen her castle, hoping she’ll be able to catch up and maybe corner her, or perhaps get some guards to help keep her from escaping. Stars, she wished there was a meeting this week, any of the princesses would be useful to have for this.
A pair of guards come around the corner, startling as a sparkling blur runs past them, almost missing that it was their queen, until she screeches to halt, and teleports back a few feet right in front of them, causing them to jump in surprise.
“Have you seen a cat!?” she questions them, her voice strained as she tries to keep from screaming while frustration rolls off her.
“A-a cat, Your Majesty? Do you mean Catra?” one of the guards asks.
“No, I mean yes, UGH! If you see ANY cat, detain them and inform me immediately!”
“Yes, Queen Glimmer,” both guards say without hesitation. As Glimmer turns and runs further down the hall, they both look at each other, their mouths pursed in confusion.
As Glimmer continues, she sees a few more signs of the little gremlin’s handiwork. Knocked over vases, clawed tapestries… how the hell is she able to get around so fast and cause this kind of damage??
Running past the library, she notices that the door is slightly ajar, and from inside, she can hear some thwumps. Slowly, Glimmer peeks through the door and finally spots her. She’s sitting on one of the shelves, taking her time as she knocks over each book one by one, seeming satisfied to watch them tumble to the floor.
Gotcha, Glimmer thinks to herself, grinning. She teleports herself over to the cat, who reacts too slowly to the twinkling bells of Glimmer's magic appearing beside her, finding herself in Glimmer’s grip as she teleports them both back down to the floor.
“HAH! I got you!” she says triumphantly, while the cat twists her head around and hisses at her, ears pinned back and tail lashing.
“Will you relax? I’m sorry, it was just a prank. I can fix it if you just let me- OW!” Glimmer is interrupted as the cat bites down on her hand, causing the queen to yank it back, and giving the feline enough room to wiggle out of her grip and run out the door.
“Oh no you fucking don’t!” Glimmer seethes, as she teleports out into the hallway.
*******
It’s been just over a year since the end of the war, and things were going well. There is still a lot of work left to be done between the many reconstruction projects underway all over Etheria, the many refugees needing to find homes, the Horde soldiers who are trying to establish new lives for themselves, and re-educating the clones who did not remain hostile after the erasure of Prime. But despite it all, the princesses and friends have never felt so free. No longer fighting for their lives and the freedom of all Etheria, they’re able to really take time off and enjoy life in between their many duties.
Glimmer, for example, has been continuing her sorcery training under Micah and Castaspella, often taking trips to Mystacor with Bow, and even convincing Adora and Catra to join them every now and then, whenever they could be persuaded into looking away from each other for more than a few seconds.
Seriously, Glimmer knew she and Bow were a lovey-dovey couple, Mermista and Frosta have made plenty of comments, but no one could compare to the couple whose love saved the universe. The two of them have been inseparable since the end of the war. Even on their worst days, when one of them would trigger the still simmering emotions from years of hurt and emotional trauma, they would always find their way back to each other at the end of the day to apologize and curl up together in their shared bed.
For so long, no one could understand how Adora, She-ra, could love one of the single most efficient and brutal soldiers the Horde had ever seen within it’s ranks. However, through the last year of observing them together and seeing Catra actively trying to be a better person, including talking with a therapist recommended through Perfuma, even Mermista couldn’t continue to hold on to her contempt for the hybrid. Catra’s involvement in the rebuilding of Salineas certainly helped, especially with all the infrastructure ideas she had to help improve the city, and her getting involved physically, working to clear rubble and destroyed structures and building up new ones. They might not be proper friends yet, but they no longer avoid each other when in the same room, and even seem to be able to banter casually. Once, Glimmer swore she even saw Mermista smile while talking with Catra.
Frosta is still salty about Princess Prom, but she promised that she would have her revenge in the form of the ultimate prank at the next big event they all attend, so that’s probably fine. At least, Glimmer sure doesn't plan to intervene. It’ll probably be hilarious.
On the subject of hilarious things, Glimmer looks down at the pale yellow potion she has spent the last hour creating. She sports a mischievous grin as she picks it up and swirls it around, satisfied that it’s complete. Part of her sorcery training has been learning alchemy and how to create magical items and potions. Infusing items with magic has been difficult, but Glimmer finds making potions a bit simpler and more entertaining, especially when the results get unexpected (and/or explosive!). And after practicing consistently for the last few months, she’s gotten quite good at it, able to make a variety of potions (one of her favourites has been the stamina potion that she keeps topped up in her nightstand…). This one though, this will be the greatest one she’s managed to put together, especially once she gets to actually see the results.
Still grinning to herself, Glimmer pops into the kitchen, collecting a tray of snacks and putting together a couple of sandwiches, before grabbing a couple cups, dumping the contents of the potion vial into one, and then filling the rest of it with apple juice. She then precariously balances all the food she’s collected on the tray, still keeping a solid grip on the cup containing the potion, and teleports just outside a familiar room.
She knocks on the door once before promptly opening it and walking in, not waiting for any response, and then kicks the door closed behind her.
“Seriously Sparkles? You still can’t be bothered to actually wait for ‘Hi come on in!’?” A familiar raspy voice drawls from a desk further in the room. “Have you learned nothing from experience?”
Blushing at the reminder, Glimmer sets the food on the table, placing the special apple juice within grabbing distance of Catra while holding onto the other one for herself.
“Well, since Adora isn’t here, I know that you're either gonna be clothed or burrowed into your nest, so I’m safe from your indecency,” Glimmer teases, taking a sip.
“The only indecency is the fact that you just walk yourself into our room constantly,” Catra snarks, rolling her eyes and picking up the provided drink.
“Maybe if you didn’t constantly hole yourself up in here drafting up plans, I wouldn’t feel the need to bring you food so that you’ll actually eat. Seriously, I’m gonna turn one of the rooms on the opposite side of the castle into your personal office and move this desk in there just so you actually leave this room.”
“Whatever, I’m more than capable of looking after myself, Queenie.” Catra picks up the cup, sniffing the contents before setting it down with a groan. “Fucking seriously? Apple juice?”
“What? It’s the good stuff,” Glimmer says, smirking over her own glass.
“I regret ever telling you assholes anything.”
“Whatever, Applesauce Meowmeow, eat a sandwich if you’re gonna be picky about your drink.” Glimmer laughs while holding out one of the sandwiches to her friend.
Catra rolls her eyes again, but accepts the sandwich and bites into it, a small purr sputtering to life as she tastes the tuna. She blushes when she realizes and sees Glimmers grinning.
“Shut up,” she mumbles as she takes another bite, purr still going.
“Just be happy Bow’s not here, you know how he gets when you purr.”
“Ugh, he’s almost as bad as Adora, I don’t get why you all are so obsessed with it. It’s not that big a deal.”
Glimmer’s grin softens to an affectionate smile. “We like it because we know it means you feel comfortable, and we are all happy to see you happy.”
Catra chokes on her sandwich, coughing while her face turns crimson and Glimmer cackles at her.
“Fuck off, Sparkles,” Catra chokes out, grabbing her cup and chugging down the drink. She drinks it all down, hoping to buy herself time for her blush to die down, while Glimmer practically vibrates with excitement watching her friend finish the drink off.
Catra slams the cup back down and glares at Glimmer as she tears off another piece of her sandwich, Glimmer eyeing her while she continues nibbling on her own food.
Catra swallows her bite, and darts her eyes over to the purple menace she has come to see as a friend.
“...thanks,” Catra mumbles out, staring down at the table.
Glimmer just smiles at her, touched by her friend's moment of vulnerability, and feeling slightly guilty about what’s about to happen.
“No problem, brat.”
Catra just scoffs and continues eating. By the time she finishes her sandwich, she notices that something is off, body feeling slightly warm and like it’s… vibrating?
“Uuuh Sparkles, you make sure you used non-expired food? I’m feeling a little weird.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Say, you remember when you snuck into our room that one time, and left hair everywhere, like the bed and my brushes, and then scratched up my table?”
“Psh, it wasn’t just scratching, I made it better.”
“Right, cause writing ‘Catra was here bitches’ and doodling cartoony pictures of all of us is the height of art and design.”
“Hey, Bow loves those pictures!”
“And I’ll admit, I actually kind of like them too, but I also like a table for guests that doesn’t constantly catch on tablecloths and dishes, and can actually be cleaned without making it worse.”
“You act like you can’t just go and order someone to bring you in a new one,” Catra sasses, as sweat starts beading on her forehead.
“I can’t, because if I even suggest it, Bow gives me his sad puppy eyes,” Glimmer says, narrowing her eyes at Catra. But then she breaks out into an ominous grin. “So then I had a thought.”
Catra glares at Glimmer. “And does this thought have something to do with why my body feels like it’s trying to vibrate out of my skin? Did you poison me as revenge?” Catra gasps, playing it off as mocking, but starting to actually feel a bit worried.
“Don’t be so dramatic, it’s not poison. I just thought that since you seem to enjoy giving into your feline instincts at my expense, I’d give you a chance to truly get in touch with that side of yourself.”
“Okay, what the fuck are you talking about?” Catra growls at her, her claws unsheathing and digging into her desk.
“Don’t worry, it’ll wear off sometime in the evening, and I’ll be sure to give you some nice fish to eat as an apology when it does.”
“Seriously, wha-” Catra cuts off as she stands, knocking her chair back. Her body shrinks down instantaneously, bending over to lean on all four limbs. In a matter of seconds, in the space where Catra was getting ready to rage, there is now a medium sized cat. They sport Catra’s tawny coat of fur, as well as her stripes down the back and on the legs, and glowers at Glimmer with intelligent blue and yellow eyes.
Glimmer full body laughs, leaning her hands on her knees as tears run down her face. “Oh, oh stars! This is as hilarious as I thought it would be! I can’t believe you look even grumpier as a cat!” Catra hisses at her in response, tail lashing behind her.
Just then, they both hear a confused mewl coming from the door, and looking over they see Melog coming in from one of their walks.
“Oh good, you’re back, Melog,” Glimmer greets, while smirking down at Catra. “You can keep Meowmeow here company until she turns back.” She grins as Melog creeps over, looking between Glimmer and Catra with a confused look on their face. They reach Catra and sniff her. Catra leans back slightly with her ears pinned back in response, but doesn’t move away from Melog.
While Melog checks in on their friend, Glimmer brings out her trackerpad and starts taking pictures of them, especially of the newly turned cat. Catra’s ears twitch at the shutter noise. She snaps her head towards Glimmer and rushes towards her, meowing angrily.
Glimmer disappears just as Catra leaps towards her, and reappears next to Melog, snapping another picture of the hissy feline. “Alright Catra, enjoy the experience for the next few or so hours! You can thank me for it when you can talk again.” She winks as she disappears again, and arrives in her own office, ready to get back to work after all the fun.
Not long after, Glimmer has settled down at her desk and started looking over reports on the reconstruction efforts. Despite how she’d rather be out messing with her newly transmogrified friend, there is still work to do.
But after what must have been only ten minutes, the door to her office opens. Glimmer’s brow furrows in confusion as she looks and sees Melog sitting in the entrance to her office. Then Catra hops up onto her desk, sitting by Glimmer’s pile of paperwork with her tail slowly swishing behind her as she stares down the Queen.
“Need something, Meowmeow?” Glimmer teases as she picks up another report. Catra narrows her eyes at her, a low growl rumbling out. She then stands and moves a bit closer to the papers, still staring at Glimmer.
Glimmer narrows her eyes back at her. “What?”
Catra simply flicks an ear, then immediately bats the paperwork off the table.
“Catra! What the fuck!?” Glimmer shrieks as the papers spill over the floor, a few sheets sliding multiple feet away. Catra just continues glaring, yelling at Glimmer with an angry mrow.
“What, do you want me to turn you back?” Catra’s ears both perk up at that. “Well sorry, but I don’t have any way to do that. You just have to wait it out,” Glimmer huffs at her.
Glimmer has never seen a cat give a murder stare quite like she was getting right now. Suddenly, Catra pounces to the other side of the desk, knocking Glimmer’s ink and quill towards her.
Glimmer yelps and teleports out of the way in time to avoid getting splattered, but the ink spills all over her chair. She scowls at Catra, who jumps over to the love seat that Glimmer uses for her break time and paws at one of the pillows.
“Seriously, Catra? Real mature. You’ll be back to normal later tonight, so can you just relax.”
Catra turns to look at her and Glimmer swears that she smirks as she raises a paw and unsheathes her claws.
“Catra, don’t you dare...” Glimmer warns, realizing what Catra is about to do.
The two of them stare at each other, Catra paw still raised and brandishing her claws, before giving a short meow and slashing down, easily slicing through the pillow like it’s nothing
“That’s it!” Glimmer screams, as she teleports over to grab at Catra. Unfortunately, it seems like Catra’s senses are just as sharp as always, because she nimbly dodges out of the way and runs over to Melog.
“I’m going to catch you and lock you in the guest room until you change back,” Glimmer seethes out.
Catra continues looking at her with her cat-smirk, before she jumps onto Melog’s back and pats them once. They both disappear from view.
Glimmer can feel the veins in her forehead pulsing as her magic builds up around her fists.
“I’m gonna turn you into a scarf!” she bellows, teleporting out of the room to give chase.
***
One. And a half. HOURS! She’s been chasing this little monster for almost two hours! In that time, various decorations around the castle have been knocked down or mauled, and Catra even managed to get into the throne room to carve up the throne like a scratching post. She could probably wait out the time until Catra turns back to normal, she’d get bored eventually and Glimmer could get some work done while contemplating all the ways she can get back at Catra for this, but it’s the principle of the thing. She won’t give Catra the satisfaction of winning this fight. Glimmer is absolutely going to catch and tape her to the wall, or something equally embarrassing.
To start, anyways…
She hasn’t seen Catra since the library a while ago, but she has managed to alert the majority of the guards, though they are all confused about their queen's obsession with finding a cat. She also found Bow, and after a quick explanation and bit of admonishment from him, she got him on the lookout in hopes that maybe Catra would let her guard down and allow Bow to catch her. She knows Catra would never dare hurt Bow, so she knows he’d be able to keep a hold of her.
Where the hell is she?? Glimmer thinks, as she rushes through the corridors, panting. Catra has already spread her destruction through most of the castle, what else could she fuck with?
She passes by the entry to the gardens and pauses. There wasn’t really anything that Catra could damage out here, and also nothing Catra would want to damage. She loves coming out here when no one else is around to lay in the grass and soak up the sun, or into the branches of one of the trees to nap. Catra might not be causing mayhem, but instead might be out here relaxing all smug and content, thinking she has Glimmer on the run.
Oh yeah, she is definitely out here.
Glimmer creeps out into the garden, staying low behind a group of azalea bushes as she tries to spy Catra. She doesn’t see her in any of the low branches, but she could also have gone higher to try and stay out of sight. She continues to stealth around the garden, keeping her eyes open for spaces that Catra could have hidden herself in, when she finally spots her. Just. Lying down on a bench, in plain sight, soaking in the sun, looking just oh so happy.
Glimmer swears she hears her forehead vein pop.
Melog is sitting nearby, so Glimmer has to be extra careful trying to sneak up to the bench. They both seem to be completely out, ideally giving her the best chance to finally put an end to this and stick Catra in the guest room while she thinks of some way to get back at her for all of this. Maybe she’ll bring Mermista in on it. That woman can do petty better than anyone else…
Glimmer lets herself imagine her revenge for a moment longer before finally making her move, teleporting over to the bench and making a grab for Catra. But as soon as she appears, Catra is already up, jumping away and landing next to Melog.
“What the fuck!” Glimmer shouts, stamping her foot as she glares at her friend (currently worst enemy), who Glimmer can tell is preening after dodging her.
“This has gone on for long enough, kitty litter, either you come with me, or I start getting serious,” Glimmer growls out, her fists lighting up.
Catra and Melog both arch their backs, hackles raised and growls rumbling when suddenly-
“Hey Glimmer, Melog! Funny seeing you two out here together!” A familiar voice comes from the direction Glimmer entered the garden, causing the trio to look over in surprise.
“Adora!” gasps Glimmer. “What are you doing back?? I thought you weren’t going to be finished until tomorrow?”
“Well, it turned out that the situation wasn’t as serious as they thought, or at least, they hadn’t realized how much having She-ra there would make it easier,” the blonde laughs, “so I showed them what She-ra could do and took care of business.” She punctuates her statement by giving finger guns at Glimmer, causing Glimmer to groan, and the smaller cat to chuff. But Melog meows delightedly, mane turning pink and immediately walking over to Adora, reaching up to put their paws on her shoulder before proceeding to lick Adora’s face, causing her to giggle happily.
“Awww. Hey buddy! So happy to see you too! Aren’t you affectionate today! Say, do you know where Catra is? I was hoping to surprise her, but she wasn’t in our room, which I was really happy to see. it’s so great to see her getting out of the room more! But I also looked in her usual spots but haven’t seen her and really want to-”
Adora is interrupted by a loud meow and immediately whips her head down to the third being in the garden. Her eyes widen, causing Glimmer to suck in a breath, realizing she was going to have to explain to Adora that this was her girlfriend for potentially the entire evening, and wow she is not looking forward to that.
Adora looks stunned as the cat approaches her, seemingly in shock, but she snaps out of it as Catra rubs up against her leg, purring loudly.
Adora bends down and starts petting down the cat’s back. “Glimmer...”
“Wait, Adora, before you say anything you need to know-”
“Where did you find this cutie!? Look at them, they look like a kitty version of Catra!”
The other three freeze, Glimmer’s mouth falling open, Melog’s mane returning to its neutral colour, and Catra’s purr immediately stopping as they all stare at her.
“Err, right! Yeah, don’t they just look just like Catra! Ha ha...” Glimmer stammers out, thankful for the first time that Adora is such an oblivious mess. Catra whips her head over at her, glaring. “It was going to be a surprise for you two, but well, they’re a bit energetic and I’ve been chasing them all over the castle for hours. Why don’t you go find Catra, and then I’ll come find the both of you to surprise her!”
Maybe I can bribe Catra into not telling Adora what I did while she’s distracted, Glimmer thinks, desperate to avoid upsetting her. It wouldn’t be a problem, really, but if Adora finds out that Glimmer turned Catra into a cat, thus ruining her surprise early return because she has to wait for her girlfriend to turn back to normal, Adora will probably try and get revenge by eating all the desserts again, which will be annoying.
Adora really has picked up her own flavour of pettiness from Catra.
Speaking of, the small feline hisses at Glimmer, hackles raising as she continues sending her the most intense cat glare.
“Hey, it’s okay sweetie, Glimmer’s not so bad,” Adora soothes. She reaches down to pull the cat to her chest, interrupting her growl and immediately setting off another purr as Catra presses her head up into Adora’s neck and rubs against her while her paws knead her chest. Glimmer just rolls her eyes at the display, not surprised but still finding it ridiculous that such a terror can so easily switch into the sweetest creature alive as soon as Adora is within touching distance.
Adora just looks absolutely delighted, stars shining in her eyes as the attention continues. “They are so sweet! Where did you find them, Glimmer??”
“Uuuuh, you know, I was just walking around town, and well, ya know, she was just there!” Glimmer gets out. Her eyes glance down at the cat, who’s looking downright smug now, likely reveling at Glimmer being in the hot seat like this.
“Aww, were you out on the streets on your own, kitten?” Adora says, switching her hold on the cat so she can bring her face to face with her. Adora seems to just stare at the cat for a moment, as the cat slow blinks at her and purrs, her smile softening and eyes shining with She-ra magic.
“Are you alright?” Glimmer asks, not sure why Adora would be getting like this when she doesn’t actually know this cat is her girlfriend.
“Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m fine.” Adora says absentmindedly, not taking her eyes off Catra. “It’s just… it’s uncanny how much she looks like Catra. It reminds me so much of Catra when we were kids. The colours, how small she was, those eyes, and it just brings back some memories, and makes me remember how lucky I am to have her in my life...” The blue in her eyes intensifies as her smile grows at the thought.
The cat meows loudly. Catra is likely dying inside at the embarrassment of what Adora is saying, while also loving it and hating that she can’t respond, either to tell her girlfriend to shut up or kiss her. Glimmer has been witness to many moments like this between the two, and is really happy she doesn’t have to endure yet another sudden and intense make out session between her friends.
But then Adora brings the cat up to her face and gives it a little kiss on the nose.
BAMF
Suddenly, normal hybrid Catra is in Adora’s hands, just staring at the blonde, while the blonde stares back, the shock of what happened startling the glow right out of her eyes.
“What the fuck, Adora?!?”
“What the fuck me??” Adora yelps incredulously. “What about you? You were a cat? How, why!?”
“Yes, dummy, that was me,” Catra says, rolling her eyes. “I can’t believe you thought Glimmer just so happened to find a perfect copy of me as a cat while wandering around outside.”
“Well, what was I supposed to think? You think my first thought would have been ‘Oh hey look, the love of my life is a cat now!’?”
Catra’s face lights up in bright blush at Adora’s words, still not used to the sappy language that her princess liked to throw out every now and then.
Glimmer watches the exchange, eyes darting back and forth between the two of them. She realizes that obviously She-ra’s magic undid the transmogrification potion’s effect early. And, while confident that she could take Catra in a fight normally, Glimmer is tired, and she knows if Catra comes back to her senses before she disappears, her very sharp clawed friend will be running on a lot of wrath. She doesn’t fancy her chances without back up. Time to teleport and try and find Bow, and maybe they can hunker down somewhere until this all blows over…
“Wait, Glimmer gave you something that turned you into a cat!?”
Glimmer watches as Catra turns to face her, a sharp smile full of pointy teeth directed at the queen. Glimmer has never felt more like prey in her life.
“Yeah, and she made a few threats, like locking me in the guest room and turning me into a scarf.”
Adora’s mouth drops in horror as she stares at her best friend. “Glimmer!!”
“Now hold on! Catra was-”
“Hey Sparkles?”
Glimmer cuts her gaze back to Catra, her rage building back up as Catra obviously tries to get Adora on her side before Glimmer can complain about everything kitty-Catra did.
“How big of a scandal would it be if the queen was caught running around without clothes?”
Glimmer pales, looking at her friend, who has hopped out of Adora’s hands and turned to face her fully, claws unsheathing.
“You wouldn’t...”
“One word, Queenie… run,” Catra snarls the last word, her eyes flashing at Glimmer.
Her friend lets out a small “Eep!” and disappears, leaving Catra, Adora, and Melog alone in the garden.
Catra’s lover comes up behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist.
“You’re not actually gonna tear up her clothes, are you?”
“Nah, princess,” she purrs. She leans back into the embrace, fitting her head into her spot at the crook of Adora’s neck and pressing her nose closer to breathe her in. “Buuuut, she’ll likely be paranoid enough that she’ll go find Bow and hide somewhere until they think I’ve given up. Which means they likely won’t be in their room. Sooo...” Catra straightens up, turning to be face to face with her girlfriend, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes that is immediately reflected in Adora’s.
“Time for some hide and seek?” the blonde finishes.
“You got it. I was thinking of stashing some of her favourite outfits around the castle, and maaaybe a few of her more… risqué attire?”q
Adora blushes, but her grin still widens to match Catra’s. “She’s gonna be so mad.”
“Yeah well, she should’ve thought about the fact that I am a vindictive bitch before pulling something like turning me into a fucking cat.”
Adora just chuckles at her girlfriend's antics. “You have to admit, it is pretty funny.”
Catra turns to glare at Adora, who smiles smugly. “I’m guessing you weren’t looking to get in any cuddling now that you’re home, huh?” Catra says idly.
Adora’s eyes widen, and she straightens up, making a zipping motion across her mouth, smile still in place.
Catra rolls her eyes at her girlfriend's dorkiness, reaching out to grab her hand and begin dragging her back into the castle.
“C’mon, dummy, let’s go give Sparkles hell.”