"Wow, this place looks like it was almost wiped out! I wonder who did this?"

"Bzzt! Beep! Beep! Boop!"

"Oh. Heh. Yeah. It was. But I wasn't involved in this one."

Two figures scurried through the remains of a once-prosperous town at the edge of the Whispering Woods. Hundreds of homes were little more than rubble, and the ones that were mostly in one piece, had been re-purposed with tents and building materials into group shelters for the dwindling population.

A couple of young children were trying to lift a large, half-buried crate with a Horde emblem on it. The markings on the side clearly identified it as rations, but it was too large, and too secure to open with the tools they had at hand (or hoof, not all were human). Around the box several adults sat, arms wrapped around their legs, or simply staring into the smoking ruins around them with a lost expression.

The children eventually gave up, and fell to their knees next to the adults. They looked up when a large figure approached, wrapped in a cape with a hood. Next to it, another larger (if shorter) figure with a curtain on top of it that barely covered the glowing purple panel on it stood menacingly.

The gathered survivors beheld the pair with growing horror—followed by growing confusion.

"Hey little guys! Let me help with that."

The remaining people watched in awe as the stranger put her arms around the front of the crate and picked it up with no effort, setting it straight on the more solid ground next to them.

"I have to wonder how this thing got here. Maybe it was from a destroyed transport?" the figure mused aloud, pressing a series of buttons on the side of the crate. With a hiss, the door released its lock, then pushed out slightly before sliding up, revealing rows and rows of rations neatly stacked within.

The figure motioned to the interior. "There you go!"

Hesitantly, the survivors approached, giving her and her companion doubtful, sidelong glances, then quickly made their way in, grabbing the rations. The little children, with their little knapsacks already full, ran towards the large figure and briefly embraced her.

"Aww. You're welcome."

The pair of hooded visitors watched the town come alive around the crate as word spread of the food. "Heh. I guess there's life here after all."

"Bzzt! Fizz! Beep! Boop!"

"You said it, Emily!"

The pair started walking away as more and more refugees emerged from the ruins, rushing to get to the food before it disappeared.

"You know, I'm not too hungry since leaving but I sure could use something to drink."

"Beep! Zizzle! Bzzt! Fizz! Beep! Bop!"

"Ha! Try pulling my tail. There's no such thing as—" her voice trailed off when she noticed the sign and the door. "Huh. Would you look at that. Do you think it's open? No one else is around."

"Bzzt!"

"I guess there's no harm in that."

"Would you look at that!"

The voice was new, as were the electronic noises that responded animatedly. One of Sunset's favorite things about her bar was just how unexpected things could be. Even if it was sometimes scary, most visitors brought with them unique views and experiences, as well information about amazing worlds that lay across the multiverse. Sometimes they were similar to things she already knew… a lot of times not. And that was usually the case with unknown voices.

The person that walked in was tall, and well built. She wore a heavy cloak around herself, hiding most of her features, and had Sunset not heard her voice earlier, she wouldn't have known whether she was male or female under it. Regardless, she was tall and imposing enough to be intimidating if she wanted to. Behind her, in a rather more comical take on the "going undercover" approach, was what could only be a spherical robot of some kind, almost as tall as Sunset, and walking on four metallic legs. Its "cloak" was little more than a large rag thrown over it and tied around to give the impression that it was hidden under it, but had the effect of making it look—at best—like a banged-up table of some sort covered by cloth.

The bipedal figure strolled across the bar, making surprised and excited comments about the guitars, the signed Villian Court poster, the pictures, the jukebox and even the tables before it turned around to face Sunset.

"Hello, and welcome to Sunset's Isekai," Sunset said, taking the chance to speak up. "This is an inter-dimensional bar which appears to those that really need a drink, and possibly an ear." She motioned to the bar stools. "What can I get for you today?"

The tall figure raised her... pincers? Sunset blinked. She hadn't seen that kind of thing until now. Paws and hands were more common for guests so far, and she almost expected an insectoid face under the hood, but it looked very human. Short white hair in a crew cut, and a somewhat naive-look to her face. She seemed to be wearing some sort of chitin armor decorations that protected her spine and went around her cheeks.

When she sat, Sunset noticed a bit nervously, that she had a scorpion's tail, which curled up just above her shoulder, which seemed to be spiky under the cloak. The tail was not ready to strike, but it was menacing nonetheless.

"Heeey!" the large woman said, leaning into the bar. When the cloak fell back a bit more, Sunset could see that the pincers only went up to her elbows and soft human-like skin went on from there. It was very different, but kinda cool too. "So," the woman continued awkwardly when Sunset didn't say anything, "I hope you don't mind serving former Horde soldiers?" she asked with a self-deprecating smile.

Oddly enough, it made Sunset want to give her a hug.

"Of course not," Sunset said, "ex-Horde soldiers are welcome, I guess." The bar wouldn't let anyone harmful in anyway, and part of its mission statement was to help those that needed it, after all. "I'm not really sure what the Horde is, so…"

"Hah, yeah, you did say it was an inter-dimensional bar, huh?" her guest said. "Anything good?"

"Yep! I have a menu, right here," Sunset said, passing it to her guest, who took it with her surprisingly pliable pincers. Sunset had to remind herself that, odd as it looked, it was technically less suspicious than being able to lift a tea-cup with a hoof.

"Oh, wow, that's a lot of options!" her guest said, and her robot made an appreciative noise as it looked over her shoulder.

"So what's your robot's name?" Sunset asked, glancing at it. "Does it need recharging of some sort? I have a multiversal adapter somewhere here."

"Emily? Nah," her guest said. "She has a First One core keeping her running, she'll be fine. She's also not technically my robot, but she's a good friend." She looked up, blushing a little. "And I'm Scorpia, by the way."

"Name's Sunset Shimmer," Sunset replied, fist-bumping Scorpia's pincer. "Like I said, I've never heard of The Horde, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but it doesn't too sound friendly."

"Oh! It's great!" Scorpia said, eyes wide and a grin on her face, which froze. She sighed, the smile fading altogether. "Or it was. Or I thought it was. I don't know anymore, it's all confusing."

"Right," Sunset said, "let me get you something to drink. Anything you like so far?"

"Well, do you take credits?" Scorpia said, raising an odd square coin up in her pincer. "That's basically all I have, I'm not sure what 'isekais' use for money otherwise."

"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem," Sunset said taking the credit and having her spell scan it. It gave her a positive ping. "Yep, apparently a place called Eternia has a solid exchange rate for these."

"Huh. Never heard of it."

"Might be another universe with similar currency, you never know," Sunset said with a shrug. "Point is, you're good."

"Great!" Scorpia said, glancing down at the menu and tilting her head. "I still don't know what to order. Maybe something fruity but with a kick? I need a bit of a wake-up call that makes me feel better."

Sunset tapped her chin in thought. "How about a Tequila Sunrise?"

Scorpia frowned. "Never heard of it."

"Well then, let's fix that." Sunset set out to work, grabbing the tequila, grenadine and triple-sec as she walked up and down her bar, procuring the other ingredients. "So," she ventured, glancing over her shoulder at Scorpia, who was studying the bar again, "You left the Horde?"

"Sorta?" Scorpia said, her voice lowering. For all evident her physical strength, she seemed very vulnerable right then. "The Horde—it's been my home for most of my life. I don't even really remember my parents… I just had a picture of them, you know?"

Sunset nodded, smiling encouragingly at her.

"It's all I've known… all my friends and… well, family of sorts had known. But then, at some point Adora left to join the Rebellion and turn into a princess, and Catra went haywire over that… but then Entrapta joined us, and I thought things were working out for a while, but then Catra betrayed Entrapta, and I wanted to prove that it was just a big mistake but then Catra took it out on me when I didn't want to destroy Emily for some data and—I just left!"

"Right," Sunset said, sliding the little umbrella decoration into the drink and gently putting it in front of Scorpia. "Take a deep breath, try this… and we can slow down. Don't worry, I'm here to listen. There's no rush."

"Right, right," Scorpia said, sighing. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Sunset replied fighting the urge to give her a hug.

She watched her guest sip the drink and smile at the taste, which was rewarding in itself. Rather than stand there awkwardly, waiting for Scorpia to talk, she studied Emily, who seemed to be studying her right back. There was a bit more than simply technology in this "little" robot. "Huh, that's interesting. There seems to be actual magic involved in you… some sort of technomancy spell."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Scorpia said, smiling at Emily. "She was built by my good friend Entrapta, who's a princess."

"I'm getting a familiar vibe here," Sunset said. "So princesses have extra magical powers?"

Scorpia hesitated. But then slowly nodded. "Most of them do. Like, Adora? She can turn into an 8-foot tall powerhouse that is strong enough to lift tanks and throw them, or heal people, fix super-powerful magical barriers and stuff like that. Or Mermista, who can control water, or Glimmer who can sparkle and teleport…"

"Surprisingly accurate names."

"Yeah, ain't that a kicker?"

"So Entrapta has powers over machines?" Sunset prompted.

"Yeah! She's amazing! I mean, if she's still alive…"

"Bzzt! Beep! Beep! Boop! Beep!"

"Which of course she is!" Scorpia added quickly. "Haha! Why wouldn't she?!"

"Beep! Bzzt! Beep! Beep! Boop!"

"I-I'm sure Catra was just…"

If faceless machines could give "that look", that is exactly what Emily was doing to Scorpia, in Sunset's opinion.

"I… okay. She totally betrayed her," Scorpia admitted, shoulders drooping.

Sunset patted her pincer. "Why don't we start at the beginning? What's the Horde, and how did you come to be in it?"

Scorpia took a quick sip of her drink and waved her pincer in the air in a small circle. "Oh, wow. Where to start? Well, the Horde is like, awesome. They came to my planet and took over my kingdo—my people's territory back in the time of my grandfather, then started to make the world a better place in the image of Hordak's will."

Sunset blinked. "Right."

"And yeah, so I was born into the Horde, and I grew up there, and all my friends and family were there, you see?"

Sunset nodded.

"And all was going well until…" she trailed off and her smile slipped away. She glanced at the drink in her pincer with a morose expression on her face.

"Hey, it's alright, you can tell me," Sunset said gently. "I admit it's my first time trying to comfort someone that seems to come from a facist alien army intent on world domination, but if you're ex-Horde I think a lot of things have changed?"

Scorpia looked up in surprise and studied her carefully before nodding. She looked away. "Oh boy. That's stating it mildly. I thought Catra was my best friend—" She cut herself off and sighed, looking up at Sunset. "She's the Horde's Force Captain, second only to Hordak himself. She's… had a tough life, and grew up under Shadow Weaver's supervision, with Adora."

"With a name like Shadow Weaver I can't imagine much good coming out of it," Sunset said.

Scorpia laughed. "You have no idea!" She chuckled, then took a deep breath. "When Adora left, she… just didn't take it well. Especially when we discovered that she was actually a Princess too. Adora, I mean. But, we kept fighting against the rebellion until we captured Entrapta." She turned and smiled at Emily, patting the robot's round surface like a pet. "Or rather, she chose to stay with us. I thought… I thought we were friends. And I think that Entrapta thought so too."

Scorpia paused to sample a bit more of her tequila sunrise, then continued, "I thought we were having fun together, you know? Entrapta, Catra, and I… even Kyle, Rogelio, and Lonnie." She noticed Sunset's confusion because she immediately added: "Catra and Adora's fellow graduates, they also grew up in The Horde."

Sunset pressed her lips together, trying to find the right words. "It… seems like The Horde wasn't really the nicest place overall. I'm glad you found friends."

"Yeah!" Scorpia said, eyes brightening.

It was really hard to believe that this was someone that was on the side of invading other people's worlds and destroying all opposition. "I don't get it," Sunset blurted out, eyes widening.

Scorpia looked up. "What?"

"Sorry… it's just…" Sunset sighed. "How do I put this? You… seem like a really nice, caring person. And it doesn't fit with what The Horde does."

"It's not a bad place!" Scorpia said.

"Beep! Beep! Beep-boop!"

"Okay, okay, so we did destroy some towns…"

"Beep! Bop! Beep-beep!"

"...and yes, we did attack Salineas for years until Catra and Hordak finally conquered it—"

Beep! Beep-bop-fzzt!"

"And yeah, okay, so people call us The Evil Horde. Fine, I get it." Scorpia looked down. "It's not like I like hurting people."

The robot's sounds became somewhat less abrasive.

"Beep! Beep-bop!"

Scorpia smiled a little. "Yeah. I guess-I guess that's one of the reasons I left, you know?" she said, looking up at Sunset. "The Horde is everything I've known. I was told that my grandfather was a great man because he gave our territory, our kingdom and crystal to the Horde…" She looked down. "I've been telling myself for years that it's okay. That things will be better. That I'm happy. That if people just… follow our rules, the world will be fine."

"Bzzt…"

"Thanks Emily," Scorpia said. She glanced from the robot to the rest of the room, avoiding Sunset's eyes. "There are things that don't make me happy, but I thought it was worth it because I had Catra…. I always thought Adora had made a mistake when she joined the rebellion… I thought she was wrong to leave Catra behind. That it was her fault that Catra was… angry."She sighed. "But Catra just… she had no reason to do what she did to Entrapta. She was with us. A friend to us… even to Hordak! I think… I think I even saw him smile once!"

"But it wasn't this… Adora's fault then?" Sunset asked gently.

"No," Scorpia said, shaking her head sadly. "No. Catra took it very personal, but she just started to become worse and worse when Adora stuck to the rebellion. She started taking it out on us. On her friends." She took a deep breath. "When Entrapta and Hordak figured out how to make a portal, she betrayed Entrapta and blamed everything going on on her… and they sent her to Beast Island."

Sunset blinked. "I take it it's not a good thing."

"No, it isn't." Scorpia straightened up. "It's the worst place. No one that gets sent there ever comes back. That's where the Horde has always sent the worst criminals and traitors." She looked down, guilt filling her eyes. "And I-I let it happen. I didn't say anything. I-I thought Catra would turn around and say it was a joke. That Entrapta was coming back. But when I asked her, she just… got angry." She looked down.

"So that's what finally pushed you to leave?"

"I… she asked me to do something that I just couldn't do and when I said I couldn't she just… I'm starting to believe that the problem might have not been Adora after all." Scorpia trailed off and gulped and forced a smile to her face. "So now we're on a mission to rescue Entrapta. We'll head over to Brightmoon and ask the other princesses for help. Entrapta is their friend too… I'm sure they'll want to help her."

When the big woman sniffled, Sunset couldn't help but feel for her. "Sometimes people are stuck in one place, or just a specific philosophy, thinking that there's nothing better," she said. "And sometimes they find the strength to leave those places full of hate and fear, maybe for themselves, like Adora seems to have done, or for someone else, like you." She patted Scorpia's pincer gently. "That you're kind and self-sacrificing despite that environment speaks highly of you; and the fact that you're trying to save your friend from such a horrible place tells me that you're stronger than anybody ever thought. For what it's worth… I'm proud of you for doing all of this."

A bit of life returned to Scorpia's eyes when she heard that, and the smile became a bit more honest. "Heh. Thanks, Sunset. That's very kind of you to say."

"Hey, we've all had moments where we wish we had seen the light sooner right?"

"Yeah… I just still worry about Catra… even after all of this."

"Sometimes," Sunset said, "as hard as it is? It's for the best to leave. You can't force someone to change or care about other people. Sometimes you become so toxic to others that it takes a really hard look at yourself to realize just what you're doing."

"Hey," Scorpia said, patting Sunset's shoulder, "it's my job to be depressed, not yours."

Sunset laughed. "I've seen another version of me who didn't learn that lesson, and they left no choice to the one person that loved them but to let them go." She sighed. "I saw the damage they did when this young girl saw me and thought I was the other Sunset."

"Wow. That must be… confusing."

Sunset smiled. "It was more sad… I had a really hard time separating what that Sunset had done and how she had forced Rarity to do from my own experience." She licked her lips. "In any case, the way I look at it, is a bit similar, you know? This other me didn't leave her lover any choice but to let her go if she didn't want to be dragged down, I think some people may think it's selfish, but the truth is, Rarity—just like you—needed to take control of her life and not let someone else put them in a position where she was betraying her core values and morals." She shrugged. "You reached that point. It doesn't mean you don't care about what happens to Catra, but you need to care about you first. Maybe she'll change and be worthy of your friendship, but right now, it seems like she's hell-bent on burning bridges."

"Yeah, well, it's part of the whole conquering thing—"

"It's a figure of speech," Sunset clarified, "it means that she's antagonizing and losing friends, rather than making an effort to keep them."

Scorpia's eyes went wide. "Oooh, because if you burn the bridge you cannot cross it again! Ha! I get it!"

"Yeah, well, where I come from it's not looked at as a good thing," Sunset said chuckling.

"Well, speaking of crossing bridges, I have a long one to cross at Brightmoon," Scorpia said, drinking the last of her tequila sunrise. She set down the glass, her face turning serious. "So… you don't think I did the wrong thing by leaving?"

Sunset took a deep breath. "I think you left for the right reasons… and even if Catra now has to be alone because of this—from what I understand of the situation—maybe that's just what she needs to get a reality check. In the end, you can hope that she realizes what she's doing wrong and aims to change it, and just be there for her if she starts that healing process, and you feel comfortable with it."

"Heh, yeah. I guess I have a lot to think about," Scorpia said a bit sadly. "But first, I have a friend to help. Thank you for the drink, Sunset."

"Sure thing," Sunset said. "Before you go, let me get a picture with you."

"Y-you want to take a picture with me?" Scorpia asked, her voice lowering. "No one wants to… you know, they're intimidated and—"

"None of that," Sunset said, smiling as she walked around the bar. "In here you're just you, not your baggage… and who you are is someone I like. So what do you say?"

Scorpia smiled. "Sure."

Author's Notes:

Kudos to Scorpia for standing up to herself! Don't get me wrong, I loooove Catra, but she's such a toxic character right now, that the hurt just pours out of her pores. Here's hoping she starts getting it together next season.