Huntara: Warrior of Justice

Huntara thought back to the days when she was a Horde soldier, before she ran off from them and defected. Before she made the Crimson Waste her new home and became the leader after besting Tung Lasher in a fight of rulers. Before she met the goat bartender and fell instantly in love.

Before she felt so alone…

“At attention, Force Captains,” said the Sergeant, a blue furred bi-pedal individual. “Your simulation is about to begin.”

Force Captain Huntara stood at attention with Scorpia, Octavia, Grizzlor, and Gator, an older lizard cadet. 

“In your scenario, you will be entering the heart of the insurgency fortress Bright Moon. One of your subordinate cadets is being held prisoner by the evil Princess Queen. Your mission: rescue him and defeat the Rebel armada. Those who pass will be permitted to a briefing session tomorrow morning on an invasion mission. Good luck.”

The Sergeant left as the metal doors opened. Huntara led the way into the simulated chamber. Using scouter glasses, she searched the area.

Metal slabs took up much of the chamber, resembling a castle wall. There were a few footholds for the cadets to climb up. Other pillars of metal reached toward the ceiling.

Huntara’s tracker beeped in warning. She glanced over to spot a robot pointing laser guns at the group. Through her glasses, it looked like one of the princesses.

But that robot wasn’t the only one.

“Scorpia, Octavia, take care of them!” Huntara commanded as she rolled on the floor to avoid the lasers.

Octavia used her tentacles to swipe at the red blasts with other weapons. Through her glasses, in image of an evil Princess Mermista appeared over the bot. The image raised her hands, showering waves of laser blasts like harsh rain over Octavia. She yelped and covered her head before running for cover. Gator launched himself at the bot, and the laser rain ceased. Octavia moved from behind a slab and nodded to Gator in thanks.

Scorpia, meanwhile, was taking on several rapid-moving bots with images of Glimmer over them. Grizzlor swiped at another robot resembling Perfuma. The robot shot vines of chains at Grizzlor, temporarily trapping him. With a loud yell, he broke free and punched the bot hard. The circular sphere of metal crashed into the wall and exploded with a boom.

Huntara scaled up the metal slabs, using her spear weapon to help her up. She reached the top, at multiple paths.

Pausing for thought, she shrunk her weapon and used it as a compass needle. The weapon showed her the way, so she grabbed her weapon and hurried forward.

“Wait for us, Huntara!” called Octavia from below. She was currently helping Grizzlor and the others up. Scorpia had already made it to the top on her own.

Huntara continued on her way and kicked open wooden double doors.

She looked ahead to find in a hanging suspended cage…

“Kyle,” she sighed. Octavia and the others rolled their eyes.

“Hey guys! Can you get me outta here? Why is it always me?!” the blonde boy called.

The ground shook and parts of the path collapsed from underneath them. Huntara launched Octavia into the air, where she grabbed hold of the cage with her arms and tentacles. She used her strength to try and pry the bars open.

“Why…won’t they…budge?” she strained.

A much larger robot emerged from the opening floor below. Huntara could see the image of the Queen over it.

“Scatter!” she called, as the lasers flew at the group.

Gator jumped off the wall and landed with a flip onto the ground. He bashed and slashed at the robot’s metal legs, but was only kicked back into the wall.

Using her weapon, Huntara launched herself upward and landed on top of the robot. With a downward strike of her spear, the glass broke and her weapon pierced the robot’s interior.

Sparks flew everywhere as Huntara leapt off the machine, covering her eyes and face as it exploded.

“Errr….got it!” called Octavia from above, prying one of the bars loose. The cage shook and the chain broke with a snap.

Kyle and Octavia fell, but fortunately, Gator and Huntara caught the cage before it crashed.

“What did I miss?” Grizzlor asked, walking over to them with a slight limp.

“A whole bunch,” said Octavia, hoping off from the cage. Huntara broke open the rest of the cage, allowing Kyle to get out.

“Whew,” he said. “So this was my new punishment from my usual floor scrubbing duty.” He sighed. “I always have the worst of luck.”

“Heh,” said Huntara. “I’m surprised you’re so used to it. Maybe it’s a natural fit for you.”

Kyle turned red in the face as the other Force Captains laughed.

“Got some cold water for that burn, Kyle?” chuckled Octavia as he stormed off.

“Training session successfully completed,” said the voice over the speaker.

The group emerged back in the hallway and looked at the board. Huntara had gotten the most points, Scorpia got second.

“Nicely done!” said Scorpia, giving her a hug.

Huntara narrowed her eyes. “Personal space, Scorpia.”

“Oh, right,” she said and stepped back.

“You’ll get to lead the mission,” said Octavia. “We’d best get ready for our assignment tomorrow.”

“Defeating those princesses will be a piece of cake,” Huntara said with a grin. “We’ll be heroes!”

“Indeed we will,” replied Grizzlor.

“Just hope that Shadow Weaver doesn’t show up,” said Gator in a low voice. “You know how strict and temperamental she is.”

“Shadows under her eyes? Hard to tell because she’s so dark to begin with,” Scorpia muttered with a giggle.

The Force Captains made their way to the locker room, and Huntara removed the metal/glass guards from her arms and legs. She was wearing a standard dark gray Horde uniform and under that, a red shirt with the Horde bat symbol on it in black. The Force Captains soon went their separate ways.

After Huntara ate her usual measly meal of oats, gray stuff, and brown stuff in the mess hall, she wondered back toward another room where the bunk beds were.

Voices nearby made her stop to look. She peered into the throne room, were two guards shuffled a handcuffed cadet forward.

Hordak stood up from his throne, displeased.

“If I am to understand, you decided to abandon today’s invasion of the land of Princess Perfuma. Care to explain your illogical, ignorant decision?”

The Horde girl was young, with brown hair and light green skin. She stared at Hordak with fear in her eyes.

“It was f-for a good reason, Lord Hordak,” she stuttered. “I have family members who live in the village. It would be unjustifiable to…to storm the area with our tanks and put them in danger.”

Hordak walked toward her, fists clenched. “No reason is sufficient enough to delay our mission, especially those so trivial such as yours.”

“My grandparents s-suport the Rebellion,” she stammered.

“And you support the Horde,” Hordak replied. “You sought opportunity like so many others. And now you blew that chance by refusing to follow your orders.”

The girl gulped. “I did what I had to…”

‘Enough!” Hordak turned to the guards. “Take her away to Beast Island. Let this be a lesson for those who disobey…”

“No! Stop, let me go!” she pleaded, but her cries grew fainter as she was led away.

“…and those I deem as failures,” Hordak finished, red demonic eyes glowing. Huntara gasped; she could have sworn Hordak was staring right into her soul.

Without turning back, Huntara ran with all her might down the hall, not stopping to talk or even catch her breath.

Luckily, her weapon was stowed safely behind her…she always carried it with her. Huntara raced outside into the night air, the breeze blowing her white ponytail around. Shoving two soldiers aside, she got onto a skiff and started the engine with a key from one of the guards.

“Stop her!” called one of the guards, firing stun blasts at Huntara, but missing. She pressed her foot down on the gas and zoomed off into the night.

She didn’t know where she was going or who she would meet. She only knew that she had to get as far away from the Fright Zone as she could.

No other princess would accept her, due to her status as a Horde soldier. She had just defected from them after seeing how Hordak threw away his soldiers like they were useless bits of garbage.

Only a specific place would be good enough for Huntara.

So it was a strange coincidence that they next day, she happened to crash land in the Crimson Waste.

Brushing herself off, she stared back at the broken skiff. No point in turning back now.

Thanks to her training from the Horde, Hordak soon figured out how to navigate the barren wasteland. She learned about the quicksand, the dangerous plants, and the gangs nearby. With more experience she gained, the tougher she became, and the more domineering she appeared to others. She liked it that way…it was the only way to hide her vulnerable side from the others.

It was also a good distraction to keep her from berating herself as a coward. She reminded herself that the others had run away from something like she did. The goat and a blue reptile soon became her goons, though Huntara had to constantly keep the troublesome talkative goat in line.

Huntara’s biggest achievement was beating Tung Lasher, the orange reptile gang leader in battle. He may have had the whip and brawn, but Huntara had the speed and the brains. Sure Huntara tripped over the whip several times, but Lasher’s cocky attitude got in the way. Huntara would launch strong kicks at her opponent, quickly getting up and flipping into position. She swiftly punched Lasher into the air, the reptile smashing hard into a rock wall.

“Who’s the biggest bad in the Crimson waste?” Huntara called.

“Huntara! Huntara!” chanted the crowd. Tung Lasher was helped up by a few of his members. Lasher and the rest of his gang hissed in anger and ran off.

“Oooh, you certainly are amazing!” said a light blue goat with long magenta hair. “You’re the new hero of the Crimson Waste. And dare I say…”

She whispered “hottie” into her ear out of earshot from the cheering crowd.

Huntara’s face turned pink and she smiled.

“What’s your name, cutie? I’m Huntara.”

They traveled to the bar together, where they became close friends…and soon, lesbians.

Present Day

Adora, Bow, and Glimmer, pulled open the curtain to reveal a dingy pub from inside the animal skeleton. Sitting at one table were a bunch of animal humanoids wearing dark sunglasses. A green frog sat at another table. The bartender, a goat like woman with magenta hair and pale blue skin, was busy wiping a mug in front of lanky fox humanoids sitting down for drinks. A tiger and several reptiles lounged on the ceiling, sitting on the skeleton rib bones that made up the structure of the place. Another guy with four arms was casually sharpening his sword at another table. A female with four eyes was looking at a map from another chair. The four rowdy animals with sunglasses glared in the direction of the newcomers.

“Just act tough. Try to blend in,” Adora encouraged.

Glimmer spit with a “Ha!”, while Bow sighed and followed his companions.

“Good afternoon, fellow patrons,” Bow said as he walked through the place. “Except, I don’t even care if you do have a good afternoon.” He clenched his fists and arms. “Because I’m bad.”

“Bow,” Glimmer responded, not pleased.

Adora walked over to the bar and faced the bartender.

“Hi. Is this the center of the Crimson…”

The woman turned around, ignoring her.

“Excuse me? Hello? We…”

Adora was still ignored and the woman walked away.

“Okay, that didn’t work.”

Glimmer chuckled nervously. “Adora, I’m not so sure these are the kind of people we should be asking for help.”

Adora stood up on the counter, nearly tipping over a patron’s mug of water. She raised her hand.

“Hello. Sorry to interrupt, uh, but we’re not from around here, and were hoping someone would give us directions?”

Bow and Glimmer waved their hands, trying to get Adora to stay quiet.

Just then, a white goat walked over to Adora, beside a dark blue reptile in a brown cloak.

“You’re outsiders,” the goat stated.

“Uh, yeah, I guess we are,” Adora replied, before she was abruptly pulled down by the goat.

The blue reptile held Bow and Glimmer.

“We don’t like outsiders here,” the goat said to Adora. “And since the Crimson Waste didn’t take care of you, we will.”

From further back, the sound of glass breaking made the goat turn around. A lavender skinned woman had smashed a vase of a drink at an orange frog man, causing him to fall unconscious to the floor. Without looking down, the woman stepped over the frog and walked to the center of the room.

“We didn’t mean to disturb you,” said the goat.

The goat and the reptile goons were soon thrown outside by the woman known as Huntara. She had a long white ponytail, lavender skin, pointed ears, and earrings shaped like fangs. She wore combat boots, a dark sleeveless outfit, and a padded skirt. Red slashes of cloth covered her chest. A spiral tattoo decorated the far left side of her face.

“There’s only two rules in the Crimson Waste. One, the strong make the rules. And two, don’t annoy me when I eat. I made rule one. They broke rule two.”

She clenched her fist and everyone gasped in fear.

“Are you all staring at something?”

At once, all the patrons turned away…all of them, that is, except for the bartender, who gave Huntara a smile.

Huntara walked over to the group. “Kids, what are you doing, asking these lowlifes for help? Don’t you know you can’t trust anyone in the Crimson Waste?”

Adora stared at her admiringly, with wide eyes.

Glimmer chuckled nervously. “Up until two minutes ago, we didn’t know there was anyone in the Crimson Waste.”

Huntara narrowed her eyes. “Scoundrels, criminals, outlaws, all of them. Be careful, kids. Next time, I might not be around to save you.”

“Oh wow,” Adora breathed. “We need her.”

“What?” Glimmer gasped as Adora ran after her.

Huntara and the bartender stared at each other with admiration in their eyes. The bartender even let Huntara hold her hand like she was a princess. Indeed, the bartender had admired Huntara’s muscular form and no-nonsense personality for quite some time. In return, Huntara appreciated the bartender’s quiet exterior, her composure and how she never let anything bother her, whether it was rude customers or frequent bar brawls. The bartender had given Huntara her favorite steamy drink in an edible horn made from some kind of desert plant.

“Excuse me? Hi, can we join you? Great.”

Adora had popped out of nowhere.

The bartender giggled and ran off, while Huntara reached out her hand, silently begging her to come back.

Scoffing with frustration, she picked Adora up and set her down on a chair.

“I’m Adora. This is Bow and Glimmer. And we came to…”

Huntara silenced them by slamming her drink on the table.

“Blondie, Boy, Glitter, got it. Huntara. Now what do you want?”

Huntara glanced to her left at the bartender, who was serving drinks to the foxes at the table. Glimmer blocked her view.

“It’s Glimmer. Actually, Princess Glimmer.”

“Oh, a Princess. Me too,” Huntara sarcastically remarked, leaning in. “I’m the Princess of Crimson Waste. Can you tell? Or am I not sparkly enough for you?”

“We’re looking for something in the center of the Crimson Waste,” Adora explained. “It’s important we find it. You seem like you know this place well. Can you take us?”

Huntara sat down. “Did you not hear what I just said about trusting people?”

“Well, yeah, but you said that while saving us. So, you can’t be all bad. What do you say?”

Bow laughed nervously. “Excuse us for one moment.”

Bow turned Adora around.

“You sure about this, Adora?” he whispered. “All the scary people are scared of Huntara, which is not usually a great sign.”

All of then turned around to see Huntara gulping down the rest of her drink, and then eating off a piece of the rim. They huddled back.

“We can just ask for a map or…” Glimmer began.

“A map won’t get us past the scary plants or quicksand or whatever else is out there. We need a guide.”

Huntara stood up.

“If I say no, you’ll go out there by yourselves and get killed, is that it?”

“I mean, not ideally, but yeah,” Glimmer said.

Huntara smiled and picked up her pole weapon, spinning it in the air, and shrinking it down. Then she tucked it safely behind her.

“Looks like you’ve got yourselves a guide,” Huntara said, holding out her hand.

Adora reached over and shook Huntara’s hand with both of hers, much to Huntara’s displeasure.

“Great. See, guys, problem solved,” said Adora to her uncertain friends.

Huntara let go of Adora’s hands. “Let’s get a move on, then.”

Huntara stood up and walked out of the room, the other patrons taking care not to stare. Adora followed behind her, while Glimmer and Bow followed last.

The harsh desert sun was blinding and hot once the four of them exited the bar through the skeleton’s mouth. Huntara turned to the left and the rest of the group followed.

Soon, they reached the point where Adora had kicked off a spear of rock. Huntara used her small concealed weapon as a compass needle. With a graceful swipe, she took the weapon, where it expanded into a sharp spear point and continued onward.

“So, heh, for a place that’s supposed to be uninhabitable, the Crimson Waste sure is habituated,” Adora said, trying to make small talk. Bow helped support an exhausted Glimmer along.

“Crimson Waste takes in all sorts,” Huntara explained. They come running from the law, from their enemies, from different kingdoms.”

“From the Horde?” Adora asked.

Huntara growled in response.

“The war will destroy all those idiots caught up in it.”

“What are you running from?”

Huntara whirled around and shoved Adora against a rock wall. She lifted her spear up close to Adora…

…only to strike a blue caterpillar-like bug next to her.

“Huntara doesn’t run from anything. You got that? I want to be here.”

She spun her weapon around, and promptly chewed off the bugs head.

“Wait,” Adora called.

She ran over and threw a rock into the sand, which quickly sunk.

“Huh. Not bad, Blondie,” Huntara said. Adora smiled and folded her arms. “What can I say? I’m a fast learner.”

“Cocky. Heh. I like that. Give it some time, you’ll do well here.”

“No, thanks. This has been a really terrible, snake-filled day.”

Adora added, “Honestly, I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”

Huntara smiled genuinely, as no one had ever complimented her before. In fact, she hadn’t had a real friend like that either.

Returning to her tough composure, she grunted and walked away.

Night soon fell. Bow whispered to Glimmer, “We should say something.”

“No,” she said. “We are supporting her. Now, shh.”

“You shh,” Bow responded.

“Shh.”

“Shh.”

“No you. Quiet.”

“What? You.”

“Your travel companions are loud,” Huntara remarked to Adora in annoyance.

“Ha. Well, it’s been a long trip from Bright Moon.”

“Bright Moon?” She grunted.

Bow pulled Adora to the side.

“Listen, I know my tracker pad isn’t working, but I’m sure we’re going the wrong way, a different way than we’d been going.”

“We wouldn’t be going anywhere without Huntara,” said Adora. “This is probably a shortcut.”

“We’re here,” Huntara announced. Adora ran over and followed Huntara through a dark tunnel with spiked rocks surrounding them.

Adora, Bow, and glimmer, raced down the pit and stood in the center of the circle where a pointed rock stood. Huntara watched them from above.

“Uh…we’re where?” asked Glimmer.

Adora kicked the rock in the center. “This can’t be the center of the Crimson Waste. There’s nothing here. There has to be something here. I was so sure. The message said…”

A blue dart flew and hit Adora’s knee. She pulled it out. “What?” She collapsed to the floor.

“Adora!” shouted Bow and Glimmer. Glimmer appeared next to her.

A dart hit Glimmer in the wrist, and she collapsed with a groan.

Bow got his arrow and Bow ready, looking for the person shooting the darts. He spotted the blue reptile hiding behind a rock. Bow dodged the first dart, but the second one hit him in the neck, and he, too, collapsed.

“For the honor of…” Adora murmered grogingly before passing out.

Huntara walked over, holding one of the darts proudly. “Paralyzing darts,” she mentioned with a grin as the goat and the blue reptile emerged behind her.

Huntara looked down at Adora. “But you probably figured that out, being a fast learner, and all.

Huntara picked up Adora’s sword and stored it in a slash behind her. Then she picked up the limp Adora and made her way up the hill and toward a deep pit close by. She stopped at the edge and dumped Adora down below. The goat and the reptile threw down Bow and Glimmer. Adora glanced up at the full moon shining from above. Huntara stood, holding Adora’s sword. The goat held the sack of arrows, and the blue reptile held Bow’s bow.

“Outsiders are a risk to all of us,” Huntara called down to them. “I did tell you not to trust anyone, Blondie.”

Huntara and the others cheered before Huntara led the way toward a mountain in the dark.

Unbeknownst to them, Glimmer helped Bow and Adora escaped the pit after several attempts at teleportation. Adora pointed out Huntara’s footprints in the sand and they followed them.

Huntara and her goons made a campfire and they rested against the cool rocks. Huntara held Adora’s sword, examining it.

“What do you think this one does?” asked the goat, touching one of the arrows. He gasped and a net fell on top of him.

Huntara stood up and slashed the net apart.

“Stop messing around.”

“Come on, we’re just having fun,” said the goat, pushing himself up. “Didn’t you see the shock on those outsiders’ faces?”

Huntara seethed and turned away.

“Oh, look at this,” the goat taunted. “I think Huntara liked them. Are you feeling guilty?”

Huntara whirled around, dropped the sword into the dirt and pinned the goat against the rock.

“I did what I had to keep us all safe.”

The goat laughed. “You mean, keep yourself safe. You act so tough, but you’re running scared from something just like the rest of us.”

Huntara growled and punched the rock hard, near the goat’s face.

“I don’t run away from anything. I am Huntara of the Crimson Waste.”

A blast of magic hit Huntara in the cheek. She spun around to see Glimmer in the air.

“Nice. I’m Princess Glimmer of Bright Moon, and I sparkle!”

Glimmer fired another blast that hit the goat. Glimmer teleported to the sword and struggled to pull it from the ground. She got it free, but Huntara slid forward and kicked Glimmer, causing the sword to fly into the air.

Huntara caught the sword and pointed it at Glimmer. Glimmer glanced over to the sack of arrows. With a yell, she grabbed the sack and vanished.

Suddenly, Adora raced from behind and rammed herself into Huntara.

From above, Bow fired his arrows at the goat, while Glimmer taunted the blue reptile with her teleporting. She stuck out her tongue, and blew raspberries before vanishing.

Adora glanced at the sword in Huntara’s hand. “That’s mine.”

“Then come and take it,” Huntara replied, kicking her to the side. She flipped backward with the sword in hand. Adora responded with flips of her own. With a grin, Adora reached behind her and pulled out Hunatra’s weapon.

“That’s mine.”

“Then come and take it,” Adora said, slashing it forward. No spear emerged.

Huntara charged full speed at Adora, who struggled to open it.

The spear finally emerged before Huntara reached her. Sword and spear slashed against each other as the two women fought.

Bow fired an arrow at the goat, temporarily pinning him to a rock. The goat pulled out the arrow in anger, only for Bow to fire a net at him, trapping him

“Ha!” he cheered.

A rumbling sound made him turn around. He noticed the blue many armed reptile coming in to attack. Glimmer led him to a mountain, where he punched it, trying to get Glimmer. Cracks spread across the mountain of rock, then the rubble collapsed on top of him in a heap.

Meanwhile, Adora and Huntara slashed their weapons and continued to fight. Both growled at each other. Huntara then kicked Adora away, Adora sliding back on her knees. Huntara pointed the sword at Adora. Huntara swiped the sword at Adora, who ducked and leapt at Huntara. They both knocked their heads against each other. Adora then struck Huntara with a mid-air kick and a flip. Huntara watched from the ground as Glimmer retrieved the sword and vanishes.

 “Quick, time for She-Ra!” called Glimmer as she tossed the sword to Adora, who caught it.

Huntara gasped.  “Wait, you know about She-Ra?”

 “Know about She-Ra?” Adora asked with a laugh. “I am She-Ra! For the honor of Grayskull!”

She transformed into her superhero form: red cape, long flowing blonde hair, white outfit trimmed with gold and armor.

Huntara couldn’t believe her eyes. “She-Ra is a person?”

She-Ra walked over to Huntara, and pointed the sword under her chin.

 “Where did you hear about She-Ra? After all, it’s not like it’s something they teach you in the Horde.”

Huntara stared at Adora, her identity exposed. “I was a Horde soldier. They told us we were heroes, freeing Etheria from the evil princesses. But when I saw what we were doing, how Hordak just threw soldiers away. Well, you know what we saw. You were one of us. That’s where you learned to fight, isn’t it? I’d recognize that training anywhere.”

She-Ra looked at her. “You deserted. I did, too. And I joined the Rebellion.”

Huntara scoffed. “Then you’re a fool. One girl can’t make a difference against the Horde, even a tall shiny girl like you. It’s useless to try.”

 “Maybe,” said She-Ra, “but I’m not alone. I won’t stand by and watch people get hurt. And I won’t run away.”

Huntara looked away, but She-Ra moved her chin forward.

 “Huntara, I need your help. I need you to help us find what we came for. Together, we can all bring this war to an end.”

Their conservation was interrupted by the sight of the goat holding Glimmer in a stronghold. The blue reptile held a surrendering Bow.

Goat grinned and held the stun gun in his other hand. “You need to drop your weapons. Come on, Huntara, let’s grab our loot and go.”

Huntara walked over to the goat. She pushed goat off Glimmer and the reptile was pushed off Bow.

The two goons took one look at Huntara and fled the scene.

Huntara retrieved her weapon.

 “You’re right. What I saw in the Horde scared me and I ran. But I’m not gonna run anymore.”

Huntara shrunk the spear and put her weapon away. 

Huntara walked over to She-Ra. “I face my problems, head-on. And if you’re trying to stop the war, then I will do what I can to help you.”

She-Ra smiled and they both shook hands.

 “Come on,” said Huntara. “We’ve got lots of ground to cover before we reach the ship.”

 “What ship?” asked Adora.

Huntara led the group to the top of a hill, which overlooked an old spaceship in the distance.

Bow breathed, “Adora…what is that?”

Adora responded, “It’s…it’s Mara’s ship.”

They reached the ship by daylight.

 “I can’t believe I’m standing in front of Mara’s ship,” Adora exclaimed.

 “How do you know this is Mara’s?” asked Glimmer.

 “Light Hope showed me Mara’s ship crashing. Right before the stars disappeared,” Adora stated.

Huntara walked beside her. “I don’t know who Mara is, but that’s definitely the ship that says your name.”

 “Wait. Says my name?”

 “Not Adora. It says She-Ra.”

 “This is incredible,” said Bow. “A First One’s ship? This thing used to travel through space.” He shouted with excitement. “Think of all the amazing things it contains.”

The four travelers entered inside and all they found was a small room and a blank rock wall.

Bow looked disappointed. “Or it could be empty. That’s an option, too.”

Adora walked forward and ran her hand on a rock.

 “This can’t be it. Where’s the message coming from, then?”

Glimmer looked around. “Has this ship always been here?”

Huntara explained, “The Crimson Waste got hit with the mother of all dust storms. And when it cleared, this was unearthed.”

 “And then people stole everything they could pry up and take,” added Bow.

Huntara continued, “If they didn’t want things stolen, they should have bolted everything down. Besides, no one comes here anymore.”

Glimmer chuckled. “Because they’re nothing left to steal?”

 “Well, that,” said Huntara. “And it’s haunted.”

Right after she said that, a strange voice echoed throughout the room.

 “She-Ra. Etheria. Gone.”

Adora searched the area with wide eyes. “Where is that voice coming from? And where’s the door? This ship is massive, but this room is tiny. There has to be a door around somewhere.”

Adora glanced down at an ancient shield symbol on the floor.

 “Hold on.”

Adora pulled out her sword and transformed it into a golden shield. The shield glowed and the lines from the design on the floor lit up. A diagram of She-Ra appeared on the wall, and the door soon opened. A fury of bats flew out from the hole and screeched as they flew by.

 “Whoa,” Adora breathed as they entered through the darkness.

Huntara curiously reached out her finger toward a loose wire but Glimmer slapped her hand away.

Bow sat down on a metal chair, pushed a button and a map lit up.

 “This is it. This is the same message from my tracker pad.”

A holographic image of Mara appeared in pink. Adora walked over.

“I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone.”

“Mara. I have so many questions for you,” she said. “I don’t even know where to start.”

The holograph repeated the message.

Huntara placed the spear through the rippling image.

 “Well, that’s unsettling.”

Huntara listened as the holographic image of Mara speaks.

Catra and her new gang arrived, Catra clapping her hands.

Huntara narrowed her eyes. “Who’s there? Come out and face Huntara!”

Glimmer and Bow soon got hit with darts, while another dart hit Huntara’s weapon.

Huntara stared stunned as the goat and the reptile appeared with an entire gang. “You two joined Tung Lasher?”

 “They haven’t joined him,” said a familiar feline voice. “They’ve joined me.” Catra appeared, with a grin. “Hey Adora.”

Catra snaped her fingers and the two minions blew more darts darts. Huntara stepped in front of Adora, taking the blows and collapsing.

Adora ran toward the sword and lifted it up. “For the honor of…”

Catra snatched the sword from Adora’s hands with her whip while Scorpia grabbed Adora’s wrists.

Catra grinned. “This might be the quickest I’ve ever won a fight. Always so dramatic with you, isn’t it, Adora?”

Huntara groaned and shakenly stood up.

 “Huntara! Get them out!” Adora shouted.

Huntara grabbed the limp Bow and Glimmer and pushed her way through the crowd. They made it outside. When Glimmer could feel her body again, she teleported the three of them to Bright Moon. Huntara stared around at the unfamiliar fancy council room.

Huntara walked over and played with the holographic map in fascination before being pushed away by SwiftWind.


SEASON 4 SPOILERS FOLLOW! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!


(Birth of Perfumatara or Huntafuma: Huntara and Perfuma

Huntara was lounging in a chair, filing her nails in the council room at Bright Moon.

“So, where’s Glimmer, again?” asked Adora. “Didn’t she call us here?”

“Um, I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” Bow replied, unsure.

Both of them shouted in surprise as Glimmer teleported between them with a flash.

“You’re all here. Good. Just one second.”

“Glimmer…” Adora began, but Glimmer had vanished.

Huntara gave Adora a wink. “Oh, I see. She’s really taking this queen stuff seriously.”

Glimmer appeared moments later with Mermista. The dark-skinned water princess stood with a drink in her hand. Mermista ate the lemon as Glimmer said, “As part of my new anti-Horde strategy, I’m sending you, Adora, Bow, and Huntara to retrieve Mara’s ship from the Crimson Waste. Then, Bow will repair it and then we’ll have a spaceship.”

Glimmer punched the air in front of her. “Take that, Horde.”

Mermista absent-mindedly slurped her drink.

“Uh, Glimmer?” Adora said, walking over.

“What?”

“The Crimson Waste is a desert. Doesn’t Mermista need, like, water, to use her powers?”

Mermista glared and slurped her straw.

“Oh, good point. Be right back.”

She grabbed hold of Mermista and they both vanished.

“She gonna do that all the time now?” Huntara asked.

Adora folded her arms. “Oh, definitely.”

A dark-skinned female guard arrived. “Did I hear the queen? She’s needed in the defense meeting immediately.”

Glimmer appeared back with Perfuma.

“Oh! Hello, everyone,” chirped Perfuma. “What a wonderful…”

She sneezed. “…interruption to my morning meditation and to see so much of our beautiful planet before I’ve had my daily tea ceremony.”

She brushed snow off her shoulders and wrung out her long blonde hair.

“Sorry, I may have gotten a little lost on the way,” said Glimmer. “But like I was saying, the Waste has tons of plants which you can use to bring the ship back.”

“The Crimson Waste?” Perfuma softly asked.

“That’s the one,” said Glimmer. “As my first act as queen, I’m sending you all on the mission while I stay back and do important queen duties.” She hung her head in disappointment.

Adora spoke up. “Hey, leave it all to us. It’ll probably be a boring mission anyway.”

Perfuma chuckled.

“Queen Glimmer,” said the guard, “you are extremely late for your next meeting.”

Glimmer sighed then smiled. “We’ll go the fun way.”

The guard shouted as she and Glimmer vanished.

Later, Adora, Huntara, Bow, and Perfuma walked along in the desert. The sky was pale green and the skulls of large animals stood half buried in the sand. Purple round cacti were not too far off to the left. At one point, the group walked casually through an entire upright animal skeleton.

“So, this is, like, your kingdom?” Perfuma asked Huntara.

“I’m not a princess,” she replied.

“Still, it must be nice to be home. Do you miss it?”

“I left. Now I’m back. No need to make a big thing out of it.”

“Mm-mm,” Perfuma nodded, taken aback.

They were silent for a moment as they walked. Huntara tried to make casual conversation with this new blonde girl who seemed so different…so pretty, even.

“You, um, make flowers?”

“I control all plants,” Perfuma explained. “Watch.”

Perfuma walked over to a round purple cactus plant, with a bird claw stuck on the top. She hummed and waved her arms and hands.

Nothing happened.

“Uh huh,” said Huntara.

Perfuma tried again, this time managing to make the plant expand.

Perfuma smiled. “It’s just something I’ve been blessed to be able to…”

The plant shot green slime into her face. Huntara walked over and trailed a line of slime with her finger. “Uh-huh. Blessed.”

She walked toward and Adora and spoke in a low whisper. “If we run into trouble, is flower girl gonna be able to handle herself?”

“Oh, Perfuma?” asked Adora. “Oh yeah, she’s a demon in battle.”

Huntara looked back to see Perfuma trying to swipe at the substance to get it off.

“Plus, I got this,” Adora added. Her golden bracelet gleamed in the sun.

Huntara glanced. “A bracelet?”

“No.”

Adora pressed the light blue circle and the sword appeared in her hand.

“This is how I’ll carry my sword form now on.”

The sword transformed back into the bracelet.

“It’s pretty great, right?”

Adora took off running, but Huntara crossed her arms. “I know you trained with the Horde, too, but I think all this time with the princesses has made you…soft.”

Adora whirled around. “Soft?” she chuckled. Then she deadpanned. “Are you serious? I’m as tough as ever. I bet I can beat you to the ship.”

“Not gonna happen,” Huntara snorted.

After a smirk from Adora and a sneer from Huntara, the two warrior women raced ahead and run up a nearby hill.

Adora and Huntara made it over the hill, Adora out of breath…only to find a crater where the ship had been.

“I can’t…I can’t believe the Horde took the ship,” she panted. “Also, I could’ve run more.”

“Or it could’ve been any number of Crimson Waste scavengers, and I could’ve run more.”

Huntara crossed her arms, pleased with herself.

Perfuma sighed. “Gosh, well, I guess we’ll just have to come back another time.”

Just then, a beeping noise filled the air, Huntara and Adora got into fighting positions.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Adora added.

Bow held up his hand and pulled out a device. “Sorry, it’s my pad. I souped it up so Glimmer can check in.”

“How’s the mission? Got the ship yet?” Glimmer asked from the other end.

Bow chuckled nervously. “Well, there’s a small problem…”

Adora frantically whispered to Bow, “No. Hang up. Bow. Turn it off. No, Bow. Stop it.”

Adora waved her finger and arm.

“What’s Adora doing?” asked Glimmer.

“Dancing,” Bow lied. “Because, uh, the mission is going just so great. But we, um, have to go do more mission stuff, now. Talk, later. Bye.”

“Wait, don’t…” Glimmer began before the screen turned off.

Bow breathed out a sigh.

“There’s no reason to worry her,” said Adora. “We’ll find the ship.”

“This is my home turf,” said Huntara. “Huntara can track anything in the Waste.”

“I’m an expert tracker too,” Adora added.

“Then you know, it’s all in the sand.”

Huntara bent down and scooped up a pile of sand in her hand. She licked it. “”mm-hm. Rubber. Mechanical. You may be right, it was the Horde.”

Adora scooped up sand and licked it. “Uh-huh. Definitely, definitely getting rubber. And uh, sand.”

She spat out the sand in disgust several times and brushed off the rest with her hands.

Bow mentioned to several long tracks in the sand. “We could also, you know, just follow these.”

So off the group went, Huntara in the lead.

“Oh, of course. I should have known.”

“Uh,” Bow said to Huntara. “Should you, though? Because I don’t see anything.”

“Oh, well, we tried!” called Perfuma.

Huntara turned around. “Don’t give up yet, flower girl.”

Huntara ran over to the edge of the cliff side. “The Valley of the Lost. It’s a smuggler’s haven, and my home.”

The Valley stood on the other side, long bridges of wood and rope connecting the large gap. Small white dwellings with green thatch roofs were built within the large canyon wall. Reptile humanoids wandered the alleys, the same criminals and people who were at the previous bar. A light blue-skinned man with blonde hair examined a sword in his hand, while another bluish animal hybrid pushed a pedal to sharpen a curved sword. A dark blue reptile carried a sack tied to a bone. The pretty bartender and the other goons from the bar were hooting as they watched a fight between a blue metallic caterpillar and a blue bug with huge spikes coming from its body. The caterpillar knocked the bug on its back with a whip of its tail.

Huntara glanced around and snatched tan blankets from a pile. She handed them to the group to cover themselves.

“How are we supposed to find anything in there?” Adora asked in a low voice.

Huntara grinned, showing her sharp fangs. “This has been my gang’s base since I arrived here. Nothing can hide from me in this valley.”

In an alley, a purple frog had hold of a robot’s metal arm, the robot held a sack of gold coins and medallions. The toad gave the robot the arm and the robot gave the sack of money. With a still grin, the robot shot a taser at the frog, then proceeded to take the sack of money back.

A green frog holding a bone ran from a couple of Horde soldiers. One of them said, “Come back here,” a Horde woman.

Perched in the shadows above, none of the heroes noticed a lizard-like entity watching them with interest…

Huntara turned a corner and gasped. The purple frog was in a discussion with her two former lackeys, a blue lizard and the white goat-man. Huntara growled just before Adora bumped into her.

Huntara made her way toward them but Adora grabbed her arm. “No.” She pulled her back behind the dwelling.

“Shh,” whispered Adora. “Catra’s goons are here.”

Huntara spit. “They’re not her goons. They’re my goons. I just never got a chance to fire them. I’ll fix that now.”

“Maybe it’s best to avoid confrontation?” Perfuma asked.

“You’re afraid to fight, flower girl?”

Adora held her back. “No, Perfuma’s right. There’s sure to be others. We’ll be outnumbered.”

“I don’t like not fighting,” Huntatra stated in anger.

“Understood,” said Adora. “But finding the ship is our mission.”

A group of Horde soldiers ran along the path. One woman shouted, “They went this way! Over here!” The heroes ducked down until the soldiers had left.

“The Valley is crawling with Horde soldiers,” Bow stated. “And we still don’t know where the ship is.”

“This is still my home,” said Huntara. “And I know who can help.”

Huntara led the group down a path of stairs, barrels on the right, and a white wall on the left.

Perfuma whispered to Adora, “Are you sure we can trust her contact?”

“You scared?” Huntara asked.

“Of course not,” Adora deadpanned.

“Good, because we’re here.”

Huntara led them under a tan colored tarp into a darkened area.

“Ugh,” Huntara scoffed. “Who would pay for this junk?”

She rolled her eyes at the items for sale and the wooden crates scattered around.

“Fools, just like you,” said a gruff voice.

A hairy man with black fur over his face and a black pirate patch over his left eye emerged from behind the red torn tarp. One of his arms was a metal claw.

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe. Hurry.”

The man pointed toward the back and the group ran in.

They were now in one of the dwellings: tarps hanging from the wooden roof.

“Grox, what’s going on? Where’s the gang?” Huntara asked.

“Hiding,” he replied. “The Waste has been infested with Horde scum since you left. Can’t turn without running into them, interfering with business.”

He spit and Perfuma shrieked in fear, jumping back.

“Things here haven’t been easy,” he continued. He placed his metal arm around Huntara’s shoulders. “You’re a real sight for sore eyes.” He gently punched her stomach.

“You too,” said Huntara. “Grox, I need your help. We’re looking for a ship.”

“And I got just the thing to help.”

Grox walked toward a pile of junk, throwing pieces of metal around. Bow noticed a red Horde banner fall among the junk.

“Aha,” said Grox. He held a white horn in his hand. “Found it.”

“Now, before I do this, Huntara, I need you to remember one thing.”

He took several steps back. “One very important thing you forgot. This is the Crimson Waste. Trust no one.”

 He blew the horn loudly and yelled, “I got the Rebel intruders!”

Huntara lunged at him.

“You sold us out?”

Grox laughed. “Look at you. The Huntara I knew would’ve seen this coming. You’ve gone soft.”

Rage flared in Huntara’s eyes.

The Horde soldier woman called, “They’re in there. Come on.”

“Leave her. We have to go,” said Adora.

“I’ll be back for you,” Huntara declared.

“Run along now. That’s what you’re good at.”

Huntara shoved Grox to the ground.

The group ran down the path. “They went out the back,” Grox told the soldiers as they gave chase.

The heroes soon found themselves cornered by the goat goon, the blue lizard, and the Horde soldiers running from the other side. The goons held pipes for weapons.

“Looks like there’s no avoiding a fight now, princess,” said Huntara, getting her spear out and twirling it in her hands.

Adora yelled “For the honor of Grayskull!” and transformed into She-Ra.

Perfuma looked down and spotted a little cactus plant by a barrel.

Adora pointed her sword at the plant. “Perfuma, cactus, block off this alley, so they can’t surround us.”

Adora clashed her sword against the blue lizard’s pipe, while Bow nocked an arrow. Huntara blocked the goat’s pipe with her spear.

Perfuma knelt down and took a deep breath.  She positioned her hands over it. “You can do this.”

The Horde soldiers came charging through, and the cactus plant moved…and shot spikes right at her. Perfuma shouted in pain and said “I can’t do this!”

“Run,” said Huntara, grabbing Perfuma and racing down another alley.

She-Ra waved her sword at a wooden platform, sending a barrel onto a soldier.

The soldiers ran off, their footsteps growing fainter.

Just after they all breathed sighs of relief, Bow’s tracker beeped loudly. Bow gasped in shock. Huntara and She-Ra shushed Bow.

“Bow, turn it off,” She-Ra whispered.

Bow frantically pushed buttons and Glimmer’s face appeared on the screen. She yawned with her hand supporting her chin.

“Ugh. I’m in the middle of the most boring meeting.”

Bow and Perfuma tried to shush her.

Bow whispered, “Can’t talk. We’re being chased through a smuggler’s den.”

Glimmer gasped out loud like an excited child. “You are? That sounds so fun.”

“Quiet that thing,” Huntara seethed.

“I’m gonna have to call you back,” said Bow.

Glimmer began, “Don’t hang…” the screen turned off.

Adora lifted her head slightly from inside a wooden box. “Perfuma, what happened back there?”

Perfuma plucked out the spines from her face and arms and grunted, “I hate cacti. There, I said it. I love and honor all things except cacti. And I don’t like spitting or Crimson Waste. It is full of negative energy.”

Huntara looked equally troubled and upset. “Well, it wasn’t always like this. It used to be a great place, where an honest criminal could carve out a life.”

“Well, it’s terrible now,” said Perfuma.

“I know.”

Both women covered their eyes in sadness, Perfuma wincing, “ouch.”

Adora tried to comfort Perfuma when Bow’s device beeped again.

“Did you seriously hang up on me?” Glimmer asked, annoyed.

“Yeah, but just because we were running from the Horde,” Bow explained. “And now were hiding from the Horde. Also, the Horde has Mara’s ship.”

Too late did Bow realize his mistake.

“Sorry,” he whimpered at Adora’s glare.

Adora spoke up, “We totally have it under…”

“Really? This is so cool,” Glimmer exclaimed. “A dire situation. Odds against us. I can’t believe I’m missing this for a dumb meeting. Okay, hang tight. I’m on my way.”

“Wait, Glimmer, don’t…” Adora began, but Glimmer already vanished.

“We can’t wait for Glimmer. The Horde’s probably going to take the ship, whatever they can get, back to the Fright Zone.”

“I think I know how to find it,” said Bow, getting an idea. “We’ll use this.”

He held up a red Horde jacket.

The women exchanged confused looks.

Bow took off a Horde badge and held it upside down. “Horde badges have tracking devices built in. That’s how they found Catra when we…kidnapped her.”

Bow opened the badge with his arrow. “I can hack into their system and see where all of the Horde soldiers are in the valley.”

He then connected the interior opening to the tracker pad with a wire.

“They’re sure to be with the ship.”

The four looked down and saw teal elongated icon in the center of purple lines. “And there’s our ship.”

Adora looked at the bottom of the canyon from above. “I have a plan, but it’s gonna depend on you, Perfuma.”

Perfuma sat sadly on a rock, knees tucked in. “We should come up with a different plan, then.”

Adora sighed. “Come on, Perfuma, you’re one of the strongest people I know. If you hadn’t rescued me in the Battle of Bright Moon, I wouldn’t be here now.”

“Or me,” Bow chimed in. “You rescued me from the fright Zone.”

“We’re not in the Fright Zone,” said Perfuma, sadly. “We’re here, and I’m just a useless flower girl.”

Huntara shook her head, walked over and planted her hand firmly on her shoulder. “No, you’re not.”

Huntara wasn’t the kind of person to comfort others or express her more tender feelings. Yet here she was, letting a softer side of her flow from her hard exterior façade.

“I’ve been wrong about a lot. I was wrong to leave my home. I was wrong about Grox. And I hope I’m wrong about you because we need your help.”

“You want my help?” Perfuma meekly asked.

Huntara answered with an affirmative grin and reached out her thick hand. Perfuma took it and smiled.

Adora transformed: “For the honor of Grayskull!”

While Adora was busy fighting the Horde soldiers on the rickety bridges, Huntara and Perfuma wandered down to the bottom of the ship. Huntara sneaked behind the green crates. In a quick motion, she knocked the two guards out with her weapon.

Perfuma closed her eyes and grunted as she stood in front of cacti.

“Focus,” Huntara said. Then she decided to try what Perfuma usually did best. “Um, uh, hmmm. Right? Do it with me.”

Perfuma and Huntara both hummed and closed their eyes.

“You got it? All right,” said Huntara. “Yeah, yeah.”

The cacti grew and soon reached up to touch the ship.

Perfuma opened her eyes and sighed. “I’m not strong enough to lift this by myself.”

Perfuma then noticed curled roots growing from underneath the cacti.

She gasped. “I don’t have to be. We’re underground.”

Huntara shoved a guard to the side. “You’re just noticing that now?”

Perfuma smiled, her confidence growing. “You know what else is underground? Roots!”

She lifted her hands and strong thick roots burst from the ground to the surface. The roots pushed up the ship as they rose higher and higher. Perfuma grunted with effort.

She clenched her fist and it glowed with a green light. More roots burst from the rocky canyon walls.

Huntara gasped, stunned.

Perfuma smiled. “These cacti have the most powerful root system I’ve ever seen. I was so wrong about them.”

Huntara smiled. “And I was definitely wrong about you, flower girl.”

Huntara gasped as boulders fell on top of the ship, adding more weight. Perfuma strained.

Huntara called over to She-Ra, who was busy fighting Catra. “We have a problem.”

She-Ra jumped onto the ship after defeating Catra and sliced apart the boulders. She threw more off the ship and even threw another one to stop another one falling down onto the ship. Perfuma and She-Ra powered up, Perfuma’s body glowing green, She-Ra’s glowing yellow. With a loud “Ha!” Perfuma shot out her hands and the roots glowed green, getting stronger. The ship was pushed up to the surface and She-Ra blasted the rest of the rocks away with her sword.

Huntara playfully pushed her in the back. “Oh,” she gasped, as Huntara laughed, her hand around her back.

She-Ra jumped from the ship and landed on a bridge, transforming back.

“Yeah, yes, we did it!” the group cheered as the princesses came together.

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” said Huntara, pulling Perfuma into a side hug.

“It’s all right,” Perfuma replied. “We’re all on a journey of personal growth today. I was so wrong to insult your home. It turns out cacti have flowers too.”

Perfuma held out a bundle of light green cacti, with seven dark pink flowers on them. She dropped it into Huntara’s hands and Huntara wordlessly placed it on her head. Huntara now looked like a princess of the Crimson Waste with her new cactus crown.

Just then, Glimmer shouted as she appeared, dripping wet with a vine of seaweed hanging on her staff.

“Hey, you didn’t save any bad guys for me. I made it here as soon as I could. I only got a little lost, in the ocean.”

She pulled off another string of seaweed. “Aw. You should’ve waited for me.”

“Sorry, but we did get the ship,” said Adora. “Your first mission as queen is a success.”

Huntara turned to Glimmer. “Queen Glimmer, I need to stay, and take the Waste back for the Rebellion, and for my people. I won’t abandon my home again.”

Perfuma tenderly touched Huntara’s shoulder and hand. “Aw, say no, Glimmer. I’ve gotten found of this desert rose.”

Huntara picked her up. “Let anyone hear you calling me that, and I’ll throw you into another exploding cactus.”

Huntara then burst out into laughter, Perfuma soon laughing as well.

“I don’t get it,” Glimmer said.

“You had to be there,” said Adora.

Huntara convinces her gang to rejoin her and support the Rebellion, after fighting off Horde soldiers. Wanting the previous carefree life she once had, she supports other lowlifes and encourages them to stand up to the Horde. She also contemplates her current relationship with the goat bartender…and fantasizes a bit about Perfuma, the princess so delicate and chipper, her complete opposite.