Chapter Text
“Even Shadow Weaver failed to get Catra back. I can fix everything if I just take Shadow Weaver’s place. Then, maybe Catra will come back and win the war for the Horde! But to do that, I need to get rid of Shadow Weaver and impress Hordak.” Adora ranted.
“You could try something at the all-princess ball! All Princesses will be there, so Catra will probably be there too! Oh, and this year’s theme is Winter Wonderland.” She stated, while looking at her invite.
“How’d you get that?” Adora asked.
“I’m a princess, remember? It’s part of the Force Captain Orientation!”
“I missed Force Captain Orientation!?” Adora asked. She didn’t wait for Scorpia to answer, though. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s go crash a party.”
“I dunno, I’ve never really gone before… The princesses never liked me, I don’t fit in.” Scorpia murmured.
“Well, I’ll go as your plus one, and we’ll show them what they’re missing, eh? Not like you have a choice, anyways.” Adora stated.
/////
“Glimmer! Bow! I found this scroll next to my door this morning, something about an ‘All-Princess Ball’?” Catra yelled, knocking on Glimmer’s door.
“Princess Prom!” Glimmer squealed, opening the door, as she and Bow danced around the room. “We’re going to Princess Prom, We’re going to Princess Prom!” They chanted.
“That doesn’t answer my question.” Catra muttered.
“It’s a huge party and all the Princesses in Etheria are invited!” Glimmer explained excitedly.
“That’s a lot of rules for a party.” Catra replied.
“Yeah, it’s been a thing for like, hundreds of years, so there’s some old school etiquette stuff you have to do before you can party, but it’ll be fun!”
“So long as I don’t have to wear a dress, I’m in.” Catra stated. Glimmer squealed and hugged her.
“Perfect! The three of us will have so much fun!” Glimmer exclaimed.
“About that…” Bow tried to interject, but to no avail.
“The Best Friend Squad, partying like never before.” Glimmer continued.
“Glimmer.” Bow spoke.
“The party won’t know what hit them when we arrive.”
“I’m going with Perfuma!” Bow shouted.
“ WHAT!? ” Glimmer shrieked.
“Why is it such a big deal?” Bow asked.
“I’m just… surprised. When did you even talk about this?”
“Mid-battle with the Horde. Kinda slick, actually, if you ask me.” Bow responded.
“Oh, ok.” Glimmer muttered.
“Something wrong, Glimmer?” Bow asked.
“No!” Glimmer replied. Catra, knowing better, elbowed her in the side. “Ow!”
“You don’t want to get elbowed? Say what you really mean.” Catra returned.
“Fine. For the longest time, it was just me and you, Bow. Now, everything’s changing and what if you leave me behind?”
“No one is leaving you behind, Glimmer. In fact, you and Catra can hang out with me and Perfuma all night, if you want. You’re still my best friend.” Bow explained, resting his hand on Glimmer’s shoulder. Glimmer began to cry. “I’m gonna head over to Plumeria, get ready and make sure Perfuma gets there on time. I’ll see you there?”
“Yeah, see you there, Bow.” Glimmer murmured through tears. Bow got up and walked away, smiling at her before he shut the door.
“Any chance there’s a suit in this castle with a tail hole?” Catra whispered.
Glimmer looked up at Catra, who was standing next to her, and smiled. “Makeover time!” Glimmer wailed. Catra’s tail started thrashing, slightly nervous at how quickly Glimmer’s expression changed.
“No makeup, no dresses.” Catra reminded Glimmer.
“I can work with that. I am gonna be brushing your hair though.” Glimmer replied.
“Can I add one more veto?” Catra groaned.
/////
Adora put on a form-fitting black dress, with red heels and eyeliner, as well as a red scrunchie replacing her usual black hair tie. She made Scorpia change a few times, but as soon as Scorpia came out of her room in a black dress that showed off all of Scorpia’s muscles and cleavage, Adora turned red. Scorpia also had red gemstone earrings and four larger gemstones to match on the belt tightening the dress to her waist, all the same shade of red as Scorpia’s pincers. Adora hadn’t felt her face get this hot since…
/////
Catra ended up caving to Glimmer’s insistence on letting her brush Catra’s mane, and it looked softer and fluffier than usual. Glimmer wore a cute purple dress, one that exposed her shoulders and back, and was about knee length. Catra was given a black suit jacket and pants to match, as well as a golden button-up to go underneath it. She wore her usual golden headpiece as well. She also got a blue tie, to match her right eye. She wasn’t a fan of her hair being brushed, but she still had to admit to herself that she looked amazing that night. Of course, she wouldn’t admit it to Glimmer.
/////
By the time Glimmer and Catra had arrived, the party was already pretty packed. Catra did not want to give up her sword, but she knew the rules stated no weapons, so she reluctantly handed it over to the royal guard who looked suspiciously like Kyle from the Horde. Given that he didn’t immediately drop it, Catra figured she must be mistaken. Kyle was too dumb to pull that off. They walked inside, and got in line. Catra bowed and held it for 3 seconds, as stated in the rules. When she looked up at Princess Frosta, who was hosting the ball, she was taken aback by how young she looked. Glimmer quickly led her down the stairs to find their friends. The first people Catra recognized were Entrapta and Mermista. Entrapta was studying social behaviors as if she were on some sort of jungle safari. She was also wearing the exact same outfit as usual, but her shirt was clean for once. Mermista was casually hiding from her plus one. She failed, however, and as Sea Hawk spotted her, he began singing loudly about Mermista’s beauty and how lucky he was to be there with her.
“He’s just my ride.” Mermista growled, but Catra saw right through the act.
“Whatever you say, Fish Whisperer.” Catra teased.
“I’ll have you know most fish are really interesting to talk to.” Mermista retorted. Upon realizing that Mermista actually could speak to fish, Catra burst into laughter.
Bow and Perfuma walked into the ballroom a couple minutes later, and after doing all the fancy etiquette stuff, they quickly came over to join the group. Perfuma looked gorgeous, her hair was poofy, and not straightened as usual. She wore a pink dress which had flowers on the sleeves, and where it met her neck. Bow, as if he was incapable of wearing anything else, was wearing a crop top, with a suit jacket over it. He had pink flowers attached to it to match with Perfuma. All was well, and Catra was actually starting to have fun, until she spotted Adora. She was immediately speechless, especially with how hot Adora looked. She elbowed Glimmer and pointed. Glimmer’s jaw dropped.
“What do we do?” Glimmer whispered to the group.
“Well, Scorpia is a princess, and Adora is more than likely her plus one. Under the rules of the ball, they are welcome and there isn’t anything we can do.” Perfuma whispered back. Adora smiled at Catra as they passed the group, and Catra couldn’t help but hiss at her.
“We should keep eyes on them until the ball is over.” Catra growled. The group nodded, and split up. Mermista ended up chasing after Sea Hawk, making sure he couldn’t get his hands on anything he could use to set something on fire, but Bow and Perfuma followed Scorpia, and Glimmer and Catra followed Adora. Adora made a big deal about putting something in a trash can, only for Catra to embarrass herself by knocking it over only to find a note that read “Hey, Catra. Miss me?” Glimmer eventually went to find Bow, leaving Catra to follow Adora alone. Adora went up to the upper level of the room, and approached Entrapta, who was surveying the people below from the railing. Catra dashed up the stairs as fast as she could.
“Stay away from her!” Catra shouted at Adora, as she approached Entrapta. Adora ignored her, catching Entrapta by the hair before she could fall from the railing.
“You’re right, Adora, the view is much better from up here!” Entrapta exclaimed.
“Entrapta, she’s from the Horde . You know, the enemy of the Rebellion, of which you are a part of.” Catra stated.
“Oh. And…?”
Catra groaned. Adora chuckled a bit, before getting close to Catra. She pushed Catra against the wall, and put her hand on the wall, leaning over her. “Someone seems obsessed.” Adora teased.
Catra’s fur could no longer hide her blush, causing Adora to laugh. She scratched Catra behind the ear, a place only Adora knew was sensitive and made Catra purr. Catra couldn’t suppress it, making Adora’s already shit-eating smile grow even wider. “Says the person who came all the way out here to put her hands on me.” Catra fired back.
“Oh, you think that’s the only reason I’m here? How cute.” Adora whispered against Catra’s neck. She backed away from Catra, and began to walk back downstairs. Then, the music started, and it was time for the dancing. Catra had studied the rules of the dance, and was confident enough in her ability. Her first dance partner was, of course, Adora. She kept that shit-eating grin going, especially as she held Catra close, and whispered into her ear, “You did a good job keeping your eyes on me, but what if that was the plan?” Before Catra could respond, Adora spun her to her next partner, who happened to be Perfuma.
“Perfuma, Adora’s definitely up to something, where’s Bow?” Catra asked frantically.
“He went to get his jacket ten minutes ago…” Perfuma responded, before Catra was flung to her next partner, Sea Hawk.
“Why, if it isn’t the only one who can defeat me in arm wrestling.” he announced.
“Have you seen Bow or Glimmer?” Catra asked, and Sea Hawk understood she was being serious because she wasn’t using nicknames for once.
“No, I don’t think I have. Scorpia went outside though, maybe they followed her?” he answered. He sent her spinning back into a dance with Perfuma.
“Shouldn’t Bow be back by now?” Catra asked.
“Yeah, he should. Glimmer just asked me about him though, and went outside to look for him.” she responded, before finishing the circle by sending Catra back into Adora’s arms. Adora dipped Catra to the ground, and then made a motion as if she was about to kiss the frustrated Magicat, but then whispered, “Maybe you’ll beat me next time, Kitten.” Catra hissed and slashed at Adora’s face with her claws, and she deserved it for calling her that. Blood began to drip down Adora’s face, and that would definitely scar, Catra thought. Before anyone could react, Adora bolted for the door.
Once Catra followed her outside, she noticed Glimmer and Bow, knocked out, and being hauled into a flying machine shaped like a helicopter, as well as Adora holding She-Ra’s sword. Adora waved at Catra as the machine took to the skies, taking Catra’s best friends and her powers far away.
///// 5 minutes earlier
Glimmer went to find Bow, just to check on him. She found Perfuma at the bar, chatting with the bartender. “Where’s Bow?” Glimmer asked.
“Oh, he got cold because of the crop top, so he went to get his sweater.” she answered, and by the way she spoke, less cheerfully than usual, and definitely less clearly, Glimmer knew she had been drinking.
“How about Scorpia?” Glimmer questioned, grabbing the drink from Perfuma’s hands and “dropping” it on the floor “accidentally.”
“Jeez, you don’t have to be so rude about it. She offered to help two of the guards bring some boxes of liquor inside, given how muscular she is.” Perfuma responded.
“And when was the last time you saw either of them?” Glimmer growled.
“Five minutes ago.” Perfuma replied. Glimmer groaned, and went into the main hallway to follow after Bow, seeing if he was outside still getting his jacket, but as soon as the door to the ballroom shut, she was jabbed in the back by something sharp, and she was unconscious within seconds.
/////
Catra turned to go back inside and get help, but Frosta met her at the door. “You have broken the rules of ancient hospitality, and I hereby declare that you are no longer allowed inside this castle.” Frosta seethed.
“But Adora and Scorpia…” Catra started.
“I don’t want to hear it. I have stayed out of your petty little war for a reason .” Frosta roared, before closing the door. Not five seconds after the door closed, explosions rocked the castle. Catra kicked the doors open and ran inside. The first thing she did was help Frosta to her feet.
“Do you see what I mean, now?” Catra muttered. “Can you use your powers to hold this place together while I get people out of here?” Catra asked. Frosta nodded, and brought pillars of ice to hold the ceiling up.
Catra dashed inside, and checked on her friends. Sea Hawk and Mermista were fine, so they ran themselves. Entrapta was already outside somehow . Catra pulled Perfuma to her feet and threw the flower girl’s arm around her shoulders and carried her out. Most people were helping each other out and the castle was evacuated within a couple minutes. Once everyone was safe, Frosta began working on repairing the damage done by the Horde’s heat bombs.