Adora transforms for the first time since being pregnant.

Set during S2 EP4

~

The revelation of a baby went about as well as expected. Bow was over the top excited, going as far as ordering some wool to knit baby mittens, socks and a hat (seeing as Adora was due somewhen near a holiday called Christmas, though she'd never heard of that before... all she knew was that it could get cold), Perfuma cried about the joy of life (wait till you're the one hurling up your guts every morning for eight weeks straight, Adora thought bitterly), Mermista was her usual monotonous self, Sea-Hawk proclaimed he and Mermista would be the next ones to have a baby (to which he was doused in water from an angry and flustered Mermista), but Angella had stayed silent until the evening.

Long after the others had retreated to bed, Angella summoned Adora to the kitchen. When she arrived, Angella was munching on a biscuit. Adora narrowed her eyes in thought as she approached the bench. "What're you eating, your majesty?" She asked. Angella held the plate out, offering some. Adora took one hesitantly, sniffing it as she brought it close. Angella ate another one. "These are berry biscuits," She said, wiping her mouth free of crumbs. Adora cautiously put it into her mouth. She began to chew. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god," She mumbled, reaching for another. "These are really good!" She spoke around the food, shoving a third one in.

Angella chuckled softly. "They were my favourite thing to eat when I was pregnant with Glimmer. They were also the only thing I could stomach for the first four months," She tilted in consideration. "Well... alongside bland foods,"

Adora shoved a fourth biscuit in, pushing the plate away. "I'm gonna eat 'em all," She warned. Angella smiled softly, picking up her second. "How are you finding it?" Adora frowned. "Pregnancy," Angella clarified. Adora's hand subconsciously rested on the tiny little bump, she was convinced was baby and not bloat. "Hard," She admitted. "I'm sick all the damn time," She moaned. Angella hummed. "I can sympathise... I don't believe my sickness with Glimmer stopped until I was well into my second trimester," She said.

Adora whined. "I've got another three months of this?" She groaned, dropping her head into her hands. Angella laughed. "Motherhood isn't all rainbows and sunshine," She said. "Wait until that first nappy," She cringed. "Micah had to change Glimmer for the first few weeks... I simply couldn't stomach it," Adora sighed. "Great. I'm on my own and doing nappy duty," She wrinkled her nose. "Alone? What about the baby's other parent?"

Adora felt her heart squeeze painfully. "The Horde levelled her town... there were no survivors,"
She didn't mention the trademarked red hair belonging to the mother of her baby, sprawled on the ground, charred from ash and mixed with dried blood.

Angella mewled in her throat. "I am sorry... parenthood is hard without support," She said. Adora puffed her chest slightly. "Glimmer and Bow can be the other parents," She said. "They said they would," She shrunk back a little. Angella hummed in thought. "Yes. Glimmer has always fantasised about becoming a mother,"

She'd be good... Adora thought.

Angella suddenly displayed a box. "I thought you should have this," She pulled out a long, fuzzy... dress? Adora frowned as she looked at it. "It's a blanket dress. Or... a dressket... as Micah put it," Adora picked up the gown, feeling the soft fabric within her grasp. "I was saving it for either you or Glimmer in the future, but it would appear that future was now," Angella stood fluidly. "It was the most comfortable thing I've ever worn. It'll do you wonders as you grow further along," She said. Adora shrugged the dressket on, bringing her arms in close. "Oh, your majesty... this is... it's-"

And she burst into tears.

Adora sniffled, trying to regulate her emotions. "Oh, Adora," Angella cooed, enveloping the girl in her grasp. The tears flooded harder as she hurried her face into Angella's shoulder. "You're more than welcome,"

~

A few days later found Adora freaking out about a Horde outpost, maybe a mile or so, away from their camp. Nobody in the alliance was taking the threat seriously enough. Maybe it was thanks to her pregnancy, but having the Horde that close to her home made her the most on edge she'd ever been... and she grew up in the Fright Zone. Being realistic (and a little bit too harsh) Adora counteracted every move made by the alliance. "Fine. You throw your strategies at me, and I'll combat them as an ex-Horde Captain," She leaned back against the wall of the tent, hands splayed across her semi-flat belly.

Glimmer puffed her chest. "I teleport in-"
"-and run out of teleports," Adora argued. Glimmer pouted. "My plant golem tears down the wall-" Perfuma began. "The horde will set it on fire," Adora began to chew her fingernail. "Frostbite smashes the wall-"

"-the ice armour cracks as you hit the stone," Adora sang. Mermista stood up. "Sea Ra destroys the bots-" Adora's temper flared as she pinched her nose. "There is no Sea Ra and you aren't taking Catra into account!" She exclaimed, fisting her hair. "Sure we are!" Perfuma explained her view of Catra, followed by Frosta, then Glimmer, then Bow's.

Adora felt the anger bubble to the surface as she swiped her hand across the board. "No! None of this is right!" The pieces scattered across the room. The alliance grumbled in exhaustion. "We've been here for hours. It's time we attack!" Glimmer whined. Adora shook her head. "No. The horde will counter whatever we throw at them. We'll go again. We won't leave until we have a perfect plan,"

She couldn't face going into a battle, knowing outright that she was gonna lose. What kind of mother would she be if she didn't even try? Bow's hesitant voice brought her back to Etheria. "Adora... isn't this going overboard? We've faced the horde before. What's the worst that could happen?"

Thousands of scenarios sped through Adora's mind. She took a slow inhale through her nose, and out of her mouth.

"You wanna know the worst that can happen? Fine," She picked up her figurine. "I'm the heaviest hitter, so Catra will separate me, trap me, take my sword, do something so I'm helpless when she turns on you. She knows everything about me. What I'll do, how to take me out," She placed her figure on the map again. "They'll overwhelm Frosta and Mermista with bots," She swiped the aforementioned Princesses off the map. "Fire on Perfuma, and use her to draw out Bow pinning him between bots and Horde soldiers," She flicked Perfuma away. "Glimmer will teleport in, but won't have enough magic, trapping them," Glimmer and Bow landed on the ground. "Catra will make me watch before she finishes me off. Everyone is gone, the Horde wins, Etheria crumbles, It's all my fault,"

She tossed her figure off the table, head in her hands, emotions riding high. She took a steadying breath to combat the anxiety. "The Horde nearly destroyed Etheria. We were barely able to stop it. If this plan isn't perfect, if I'm not perfect, everyone will-"
my baby will grow up in the Horde, just like I did... be abused, just like I was... all because we weren't strong enough.

She sighed harshly, standing up abruptly. "I need air,"

~

Later came the battle. She hesitated initially in charging in, wanting to let Glimmer take the lead instead. She'd shook her head with a grunt. "I don't even want this stupid baby," She mumbled to herself, holding the sword up high. Her heart fell to her feet. Her shoulders dropped. She shook her head. "No. I can't do this," She said. "Whatever happens, happens,"

She held the sword up high, taking a deep breath. "FOR THE HONOUR... OF GREYSKULL!"

The power rushed over her body, stretching her by another three feet. Her arms grew into the muscles she'd obtained in the last year. Her legs grew cold as the skin-tight shorts materialised on her legs, long above her knees, accessorised with her boots. She flexed in the mirror, twisting and turning. "Hey, Ador-oh my god!" Glimmer popped behind her back with a small gasp. Adora turned, sword brandished. "What? What's the matter?!" Glimmer's hands were against her mouth, her eyes wide. "Your bump's bumping!" She squealed.

Adora glanced down with wide eyes.

Her bump was, indeed, bumping. "Shit, it's big, huh?.. For ten weeks, at least," She turned in the mirror, admiring the small bump on her stomach now. It was noticeable, which meant the Horde would target her more, putting her down to a vulnerable pregnant woman. Little did they know... "Oh, I can't wait until you get bigger!" Glimmer grinned. Adora wrinkled her nose. "Yeah," She agreed with a despondent sigh. Glimmer tutted. "Come on. Kicking Horde ass'll make you feel better. It always does,"

~

~

She was right.

It did.