Azure's POV

Pushing myself up in the dirt, I stared yet again at the glowing ethereal figure. Petra's mouth was hanging open, and I used my pointer finger to slowly close it. This was just too much...

"Glimmer?" Bow whimpered.

"Ya, I see her Bow." Glimmer said. Petra hoisted me up, and I looked at her.

"I did not sign up for this." She muttered.

"We didn't sign anything." I objected teasingly, and she playfully elbowed me.

"Okay, I wanted to make sure it wasn't just me." Bow mumbled staring.

I felt like my eyeballs where drying out, and it was getting bright. The glow subsided, and the girl looker at herself in the white shorts' getup, with the long hair, and the big sword. She screamed, and fell backwards, swiping at herself.

She landed on the ground with a flare of pale blue light. She sat shaking and breathing hard for a moment before Glimmer teleported over to her. Glimmer grabbed the sword, and pulled it, but she would not let go. Glimmer, and her sounded like two wild cats snapping at each other.

"Stay where you are!" Glimmer barked.

"What did you do to me?!" The girl yelped.

I was not as interested in the fight as I was the big bug right next to them.

"What do you mean what did I do to you?" Glimmer spat back.

"I didn't know being a princess was contagious!"

I rolled my eyes. Is that what princesses, and alphas where now? Some kind of disease? Bow got in-between the two, and grabbed at the sword

"Okay, okay, everyone calm down!" He yelped. "Want to tell us how you did that?" Bow then asked, trying to keep calm.

"I didn't do anything! All I did was pick up the sword, and whoosh, I'm in a tiara!" She blabbered, and Petra grumbled something.

"I don't care how she did it. We just need to make sure she doesn't do it again!" Glimmer hollered.

I stood in front of them, and gripped the handle or the sword, and pulled it out of everyone's grasp. I then handed it to Petra, who examined it.

With a small rumble the bug lit up again, and reared back roaring. It respected this glowy girl person, not any of us.

Diving away before we could be crushed again; Bow, and Glimmer slid into the deep cavern of roots under a tree, but the bug had seen. It rammed its head into the tree, and Bow cam sprinting out, holding out the sword.

"Do it again! Do it again!" He hollered.

"Bow!" Glimmer protested, and teleported over, just as the bug leveled the tree.

"Do what you did before!" Bow howled, nervously jumping from foot to foot.

"I don't know what I did before!" She cried.

The bug charged, and I stepped forward, putting all my force into my arm.

"I have had it!" I shouted, and punched the bug, square in its big flat nose. The bug seamed shocked and did not move.

Turning to the others, I grabbed Bow's arm.

"I bought us a few minutes, let's go." I said, throwing myself into the foliage.

We ran through the trees, dodging falling logs, and I heard the bug shudder back to life. It sounded pretty dang angry.

"How did you do that?" The girl asked, but I kept my eyes ahead as I responded.

"Lots of nerves on his nose, you could feel it!" I replied hurriedly.

We took a slight turn and faced a steep hill. With a jump I managed to stop. But Bow grabbed my arm as he slammed into the girls as he started fall, but I fell with him. Landing in a pile I jumped up, grabbing hands, and pulling them up.

"What is this place?" the girl asked. I turned to see a large temple and charged towards it.

"No idea, but in there's got to be better than out here." Bow stated. The bug loomed over us.

Petra yelped, pulling the others towards me.

"Grab on everyone, I can get us in there!" Glimmer said while we tried to open the door.

"No Glimmer, you could get hurt." I said yanking on the door.

"What's written on the door? It looks like some kind of password." The Horde girl said.

I looked up at the door it was complete nonsense to me.

"You can read that?" Petra asked, and she looked at us.

"You can't?" The bug got closer.

I grabbed a large stone and chucked it. The bug reeled back as the stone hit its eye.

"What's its say?" Bow shrieked.

"Uh, Eternia!" She shouted. The door lit up and cranked open.

"Oh, come on!" Glimmer snarled. I pushed her inside, and the door shut just in time behind us.

An orb of light opened the massive dark hallways, and I looked around. It was all crystal and reflected the light from Glimmer's hand. I looked around for Petra and found her next to me. I got up and winced before crumbling to the ground.

"Azzy?" Petra asked worriedly. I waved my hand and pulled my boot down. My ankle was swollen, and red. It was broken.

"I think my ankle is broken." I said, and Bow helped me up.

"So, Horde Solider, have you always been able to read first one's righting?" Bow asked, and she just looked up at us.

I watched the exchange.

"Want to tell us what exactly is going on here?" Glimmer asked.

"I told you I don't know, I just read the word on the door." The girl replied.

"You read a word in a language that no one has spoken for thousands of years." Glimmer snorted.

"And the door just opened into a mysterious ancient ruin? ... Sure." She chuckled.

"You think I did this on purpose, that I wanted to be a princess?" The girl said standing, looking very annoyed with all this.

I mean, who wouldn't?

"Princesses are monsters!" She snapped.

Glimmer looked like she might explode... and she did.

"Monsters?! You're the monsters!" She shouted back.

Bow left me with Petra and stepped between them.

"Whoa, whoa, Glimmer, she did save us." He tried, and Glimmer shook her head.

"I don't care! We can't rust her Bow. After everything they've dome to us. The people we've lost?" Tears welled in her eyes, and I now understood.

Limping over, I looked down at Glimmer, and she looked up at me. I opened my arms and hugged her. There were no words exchanged, but when I was finished Glimmer was done crying.

"We need to find another way out of here, and get her to Bright Moon soon... My mother will know what to do with her." She said and started through the tunnel.

Petra supported me, and we followed.

"So, thanks for saving us from that Bug thing back there, when you could have escaped instead." Bow said to the girl.

"Okay, well I didn't save you. I wanted the sword okay?" She retorted and crossed her arms.

"Are you sure it's not because you secretly like us?" Bow asked cheekily.

"W- no I don't like you, you're my captors." She said and started walking away.

"Sure... Thanks for saving us anyway. I'm Bow, by the way." He introduced himself as we walked.

There was a small empty patch of silence before she spoke. "Adora." She said, and I looked back at them.

"Adora..." Bow tested the name out. "Weird name for a Horde soldier." I suppressed a smile.

Glimmer had stopped, and was now looking the sword, and whispered something, it sounded just like what Adora said before she turned into that taller, glowy lady.

"What are we doing?" Petra asked as we were right behind her.

She jumped with a yelp. "Nothing! I mean... uh... look at these carvings. I think this might be a first one's ruin." She said.

I examined the place. It did look like the tech we found in underground tunnels sometimes.

"I think you're right." I said looking around.

"What are First Ones?" Adora asks, and I cocked my head.

"Wow." I mumbled.

"You've never heard of the First Ones?" Glimmer asked skeptically. She gave no details to Adora, so Bow turned to her.

"First Ones are the original settlers of Etheria. They disappeared a thousand years ago, but they left a lot of old ruins, and technology like this." Bow said, and we kept walking, or... limping.

"So, what happened to them?" Adora asked, and Petra shrugged.

"No one knows, they just disappeared. The Horde didn't tell you about them?" she said with a grumble.

"Seems like there's a lot the Horde didn't tell me." She said looking annoyed.

I felt bad for her, as weird as that sounded, after all the Horde had done, and all they took from me... from everyone, I felt sorry for her.

"Gah! How do we get out of here?!" Glimmer groaned.

"It will take forever to get out at this rate." Bow said, and I sighed.

"We should draw straws and decide which one of us to eat first."

Bow gave me a look, and I nudged his shoulder playfully.

"Want to turn on some lights Adora?" Bow asked with an excited gasp.

"I don't know how to do that." Adora said flatly. Thinking nothing of it Bow though a moment.

"Maybe there's a magic word. Ooh, what is the First Ones word for 'lights'?" Bow asked.

"I don't know, I'm not magic." Adora objected.

"Obviously." Glimmer spat.

"Guys." I called, trying to get them off each other's throats.

"Everyone stand back." Glimmer said holding the ball of light with two hands.

"Um... Glimmer, maybe you should take it easy." Bow tried.

"We're a long way from Bright Moon, it will be a while before you can recharge." Bow said worriedly.

"Bow!" Glimmer snapped, embarrassed.

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

I gave Adora a look, baring my teeth, and growling low in my throat. It must have been more threatening than I meant as she took a step back.

"Can we not talk about this in front of the Horde Solider? Now stand back." Glimmer whined.

We lined up next to Adora and watched. Glimmer grunted, expanding the ball of light until it flew into the air, and shone a light across the room. Adora gasped in awe, and I looked at Glimmer who whimpered, and slouched, on the verge of fainting.

"Wow, are you okay?" Bow asked trying to help Glimmer.

She refused his help, and instead grabbed the sword he held.

"I'm fine Bow." She said turning away.

I saw the large mural carved into the temple. It was the tall glowy person that Adora had changed into.

"Oh hey, that's you!" Bow said, also making the connection.

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

"No, I meant the other you, the scary one in the cape." Bow replied, and Adora looked up again, in wonder.

"That was me?" I nodded.

"Oh yeah, tall, and really glowy." I confirmed.

"You can read that inscription, right? What does it say?" Bow asked, nudging Adora, looking at the plate she narrowed her eyes.

"It says... She-Ra..."

The inscription flashed a few times before the carving lit up as well. The light spread over the room, and even lit the dark halls around us. There was a gust of wind as well, but it seemed to be coming from the carving, and it smelled old, not like the crisp air of outside.

With a flash of light, a person popped up.

"Greetings Administrator." It said mouth unmoving.

With a single sniff I knew it was not a real person, it was a hologram.

"What is that thing?" Adora gasped.

"What is your query?" it asked, as a ripple of static washed over the image.

"It's a hologram." I said, and Bow moved forward, extending a hand.

"What is your query?" it asked again.

"Uh... Hi, what is this place?" Nothing.

"How do we get out of here?" Bow asked loudly.

There was no indication the hologram understood.

"What is your query?" It asked again.

"She's broken." Bow stated.

"She's old. I'm surprised any of this stuff works." Glimmer added walking up to the hologram, her hand passing through it. The hologram turned red and flared.

"Administrator not detected. Lock down initiated." It said, and my eyes widened.

"That's not good." I said numbly.

The whole place shook, and a sound blared overhead. Doors closed off the halls that went in every direction. A door to the right of us broke, and caused the tunnel to cave in.

"I didn't do it!" Glimmer yelped.

"No, No lock-down!" Bow shouted waving his hands.

A second door splintered, and the ceiling above showered down stones.

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

"What makes you think I can?" He shouted back.

"The fact that you got us this far." Petra snapped.

"Query not recognized." The hologram said.

"There's got to be a password or something." Bow whimpered.

"Uh, Stop It!" Adora shouted at the hologram.

"Um, Eternia, Eternia!" She tried. "Give me the sword!" she said turning to Glimmer.

"What? No!"

I yelped as I stepped on my ankle, and I fell back into Petra who held me up.

"We need the scary lady in the cape!" I shouted.

"Can't you shift or something?" Glimmer cried back, and I shook my head.

"It's too risky, I could permanently lose function of my leg if I shift with it broken!"

"We need the scary lady, I don't know how, but she's the key to this place. Maybe she can get us out." Adora agreed with me.

"You're a Horde soldier, I'm not giving you the sword!" A large piece of glass from the roof fell, and we all turned our backs to it to avoid the tiny razor-sharp shards.

"Eternia! Uh, cape! She-Ra!" Adora shouted.

More glass panels came lose and fell. I felt glimmer wrap her arm around mine, and grab Adora' shirt around me, and Bow with her other hand.

"Hold on!" She shouted, and my eyes widened.

"Glimmerno!" Bow cried, but as soon as he said it the place around us blurred, andthen... We were falling...