Song: "Moment of Truth" from The Music of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

I'm not afraid of pain, but the reason for it. I would rather suffer knowing I tried to make things better for myself, and thereby others, than stand by and allow the world to beat me blue in the face.

❂❂❂

The Lunarium that night was icy cold, the moons' light glinting down like knives through the sky-window. The crystal stones cast their craggy reflections upon the walls, and the mounds of moondust gathering in the corners of the room flashed wicked bits of light toward the cauldron.

They walked to the center of the room. Light Spinner handed Micah a piece of paper, her hands pulsing with warmth rather than a constant heat. "The Spell of Obtainment is difficult. You must stay focused. Once we begin casting, we cannot stop."

The eye in the center of the mandala glared at him. Her story about the Spell echoed in his ears. This is different, right? She's modified it. I'm not learning dark magic from her. Even though we practiced this spell together a few hours ago. 

He swallowed. "Are you sure about this?"

Light Spinner clenched the sides of the cauldron. "We need this power. It's the only way to help our people."

She wouldn't do this selfishly. She is a good person. She would never use me on purpose.

After the Spell, he would ask her about what had happened following the Guild meeting. They would discuss all of what she'd been hiding, and she would get a therapist, and they would be together.

Together.

Micah shook himself out of his thoughts, as Light Spinner poured the potion of absorption in. "Do exactly as we've practiced." They drew a large circle on the outer rim of the cauldron, and the rings on the floor of the Lunarium lit up, framing her face in a lovely blue glow.

A huge power prism formed at the top; with their combined strength, it was surprisingly easy to control and maintain. He pressed his fingertips together, looking at Light Spinner, who smiled back at him.

A hissing noise seeped into his ears; Micah frowned up at the power prism. Blackness plagued the clotted magic, its cold hands pressing against the sides of the prism. The sleepy, icy touch caressed his stomach from the connection between his body and the prism. Dark magic. She never mentioned this would happen with her modifications!

"Light Spinner?" he stammered, dropping his hands. "What's going on? What is that?"

Light Spinner squinted at the ceiling, then gasped. "Keep going!" she shouted, turning to the cauldron and casting. "Do not stop now!"

Micah's fingertip raced over the edge of the water, the waves stirring as cool wind swept through the Lunarium. A bead of sweat trickled down his neck. This was what his teacher had been so afraid of. What the Guild was afraid of.

It's okay. I won't let anything happen to her. I can't.

A shattering sound popped his ears, and his eyes snapped to the ceiling. The shadow monster ripped free of the power prism, training eight ugly eyes between the two of them, roaring so loudly that sharp pain shot through Micah's head.

Light Spinner continued to cast. A blazing fire rested in her green eyes. Micah's elbow was seized by a hand, the coldness burning his skin through his shirt, and he wrenched it off.

Micah's heart raced. His hair stuck to his neck, his lungs sucking in air, which was turning to ice around them. Trembling seized him so his muscles grew sore. "This - this isn't right!" he screamed, running for the doorway.

"NO!" Light Spinner shouted back. Micah spun on his heel as the monster seized her, crushing streams of darkness around her waist and binding her shoulders in shadowy chains. But as Micah tore back to save her, her name a scream on his lips, the monster lifted her into its maw and swallowed her whole.

✧✧✧

Agony filled Light Spinner to her core, as though something had taken her, turned her inside out, and scraped her raw. For a long moment, she couldn't register what had happened. Her head was fuzzy and throbbed with a roaring headache.

She mustered the strength to move, for a split second forgetting what her own name was. Wetness dripped down her body, and her mouth was wrought with agony. The world lumbered in slow motion. Her feelings conglomerated into a hideous monster, a mix of danger and tameness, a confusing blend of good and evil.

As she forced her arms onto the cauldron, her vision cleared, though her eyes were stabbed by needles. Burning, sharp pain coursed up her arms, along her entire body, and she let out a huge groan. Her breath came out heavily, her hands ice-cold.

Dull ringing settled in her ears, and she shuddered, laying her head in her hands. Crying was impossible, though she was overwhelmed as memories tumbled into the front of her mind. She spat teeth into the cauldron - four lost, her canines. Her lips burned with ferocious pain, blood streaming down her chin.

Her first thought while under the Spell of Obtainment: Micah failed me. He allowed the corruption to devour me.

Faintly, his voice reached her ears, but she launched a protection spell that he bounced off of. Why she cast it, she was unsure. So he wouldn't die? So Norwyn couldn't complain about this too?

Norwyn...

She staggered to her feet and lumbered around, pressing a hand over her ruined veil. Her lips were bleeding, that much she knew - she would have to address the wound later. Micah stood with Norwyn, Festinia, and Ahelia. The three people who had disrespected her, hid the key to this power from her. They were here. But Micah didn't belong with them. He couldn't.

Micah's voice came timidly as she gazed upon him out of one eye, covering the other with her bedraggled hair. "Light Spinner?"

She coughed, finally able to speak. "Micah...how could you?" Her voice shook in her ears. "After everything I taught you - the Spell was working!"

Instead of shying away as before when she'd berated him, he knit his brows together. His voice was stronger. More mature. "The Spell was evil. You saw what it was doing to the room. To us."

Don't cry. Don't you dare cry. Were these even her thoughts anymore? The tears wouldn't come, but her pain was too much. The agony from her throbbing extractions and her bloody lip and the deep, welling cuts on her now gray skin. The confusion, shock, and strange anger that settled over her for no reason. Am I even yelling at him? Is this me, Light Spinner?

Norwyn spoke. "You've always hungered after power. Bringing you into our ranks was a grave mistake." He drew a mandala that Light Spinner recognized - a spell she herself knew how to do, though she was commanded never to because it was evocation magic.

Of course you know how to perform that spell, you hypocrite. She spoke in a snarl, this new tone searing her throat. "The only mistake was seeking the approval of a fool like you. You're all weak. None of you deserve my help." A scream of rage burst from her throat, and her pain fed the fire. She would never trust the Guild, or anyone on the Guild, ever again.

As three hurdles of evocation magic shot toward her, she cast a protection spell, and the spells neutralized. An enormous blast of light formed in her hand, and she aimed it at Norwyn's heart. He dodged the blast, and it struck Festinia straight in the face. Another well-placed hit rendered Ahelia's arm useless.

Norwyn brought his spell at close range, but Light Spinner cast another evocation spell, trapping his head in a thick cloud of magic. His aging hands struggled to reverse it, but she thickened the spell, swallowing him.

At last...her enemy, who had drowned her in shame and lies, was mere fuel for Light Spinner's power. Every scar would build her throne now. "The Spell worked!" she cried, a blast of pleasure dulling the pain. "I am stronger than all of you!"

The only person still standing was Micah. He tried to cast his fire rune, but she picked him up before he could finish the mandala. His hair whipped around his terrified face. "Light Spinner! Please, don't!"

He shut his eyes, and Light Spinner was frozen in time - whisked back to when she had first met him. He had been so young then. So small, an impoverished, sweet miracle. To harm him would tear her apart irreversibly.

Don't be afraid. I have not forgotten my love for you.

She reached forward and placed her scarred, bleeding hand on his cheek. Her chilly fingers wiped his tears away, and he gazed into her aching eyes, his own so dark and pure and good.

Goodbye, Micah.

She mouthed the words, her voice gone, her hand playing with his hair on its own, red touching his face. Setting him down gently, she cast a transportation spell and dipped into oblivion, the moment of clarity gone a second later.

❂❂❂

Did you know...

● Due to this entire chapter being novelized from the show, and my art style not doing it justice, I decided to just use images from the scene. If you're not a fan of She-Ra, I hope they give you a taste of the animation.

● I watched the episode this scene is from late at night, and almost cried. I never expected that Shadow Weaver would love someone.

Tell me what you think...

● What will happen to Light Spinner now? (This is another easy one.)

● How do you think Micah feels about what just happened?