To be frank, I think my new Horde friends are actually kinda cool. They have a more edgy vibe to them, and they are more combat oriented then my friends in Equestria, which is good in a pinch.
"I volunteer to try and kick your ass, Nathan!" Catra says, walking into the arena. She looks pumped and ready for action.
"Okay. I will be fair. No magic, no superpowers, just melee style, okay?" I ask Catra, who nods, "Yeah, I was expecting that, totally fine. Ready when you are, mate." Catra says, launching herself towards me to attack. While I am in my Hybrid form, I try to keep my reflexes normal. I dodge, but Catra manages to move her body in sync with mine, grabbing my arm and pulling my body down towards the floor.
"Gotcha! My turn now, Nathan!" Catra says, pummeling me on the floor. She even drew blood.
"Impressive, but I am not finished with you yet!" I say, using a pressure point technique to stun Catra, sending her towards the floor. I actually used my wing to do it, since Catra held both of my arms down with her legs, disarming me. The technique nearly knocked all of the wind out of her lungs, and she needed a minute to catch her breath.
"Alright, you got me. Damn impressive if I say so myself, and no magic, either!" Catra says, trying to regain her strength.
"Oh! Me next! Me next!" Kyle says, running towards the arena.
"Kyle, you doofus! You couldn't even get basic training done with Adora. You think you can beat this guy? If I can't, you sure as hell can't!" Catra says scoldingly.
"Nah, let him try. We need all hands on deck for the coming conflict. Besides, at the End of Time, you can literally practice forever. He'll get better eventually. I promise." I say, beckoning Kyle to join me in the arena.
"Same rules apply. Melee only, no weapons or magic. Gotta play fair for you guys." I say, attacking first this time. I try to go for a full nelson hold, which Kyle dodges, grabbing my arm and breaking it.
"Ah fuck! How did you...Ahhh! It hurts." I say, waiting to heal my arm after the bout. I still have two wings and legs that I can use, so that's what I do. I ran really quickly up to Kyle, and roundhouse kicked him in the chest, knocking him back a few dozen metres, given my super strength. My arm really hurts, but I gotta wait and see if Kyle is still able to fight. I fly over to check on Kyle, and he is quite durable! He got up from the kick without a scratch. Are all the Horde teens Hybrids?
"It ain't over yet, Nathan!" Kyle says, pulling a dagger out of his shoe, trying to stab me.
I notice this, and quickly use my magic to heal my arm. I pause time, grab the knife, and throw it away.
"Huh, where did my knife go?" Kyle says.
"I thought we agreed to play fair, Kyle. You need more honor. At least Twilight had that." I say, grabbing him by the neck, flying back towards the group.
"Force Captain, I hate to break it to you, but Kyle cheated during our mock fight. We agreed on no weapons, and he tried stabbing me with a dagger." I say, releasing Kyle from my grasp, dropping him on the floor.
"Hey, I couldn't breathe, man! Not cool!" Kyle says, wheezing.
"I didn't even hold your neck that tight, mate. I just wanted to prove a point to you. If you want the Horde to win, you gotta fight properly. No funny business. Now, I have a more important question, one that applies to all of you. Who's of legal drinking age here, besides me?" I ask, using my magic to summon a six-pack of cider straight from Sweet Apple Acres.
"Uh, I am." Entrapta says, being the only one raising their hand.
"Alright, no booze then. New plan!" I snap my fingers, and the cider becomes non-alcoholic.
"I took the booze out, sorry guys." Kyle looks disappointed. He was only two years away from legal drinking age in Etheria, but it seemed like a long time.
"Hey, I didn't get to go yet!" Entrapta says, pushing a button on her goggles. This button caused her goggles to transform from mere eyewear into a full body exoskeleton.
"How hydraulic power for ya, Nathan?" Entrapta says, launching a grappling hook at me, trying to drag me along the floor.
"Okay, weapons are allowed now. This is going to get interesting." I say, powering up slightly, snapping the cord with my sharp claws. Entrapta activates the jet boots on her exoskeleton, and takes to the sky above the arena.
"Oh, now we're talking!" I say, powering up even more, and flying aloft as well. This fight with Entrapta was the longest one yet, with shockwaves being sent all across the End of Time.
"Damn, didn't know Entrapta had an exoskeleton on her." Catra says to Kyle.
"I know. It's awesome!" Kyle replies, taking some popcorn from my snack bin and watching the two of us fight above the arena.
BRIGHT MOON: ETHERIA
"Isn't it a bit unfair that Adora has Swift Wind to fly around everywhere, and Glimmer can teleport, and you can fly, while I can't really do anything cool?" Bow asks Twilight as the group was packing their belongings to go on the search and rescue mission.
"Well, what can you do that is special? In Equestria, everypony, wait sorry, everyone, has a special mark on their body signaling their unique talent. Mine is magic, so I have magic as my mark." Twilight says, pointing her wing towards her cutie mark.
"Well, I am a gifted archer. Both of my dads taught me at a young age." Bow says, showing his bow and quiver of arrows. "In fact, I have several different kinds of arrows, ranging from regular, to explosive, to electric!" Bow says, showing Twilight the different colors of arrows he has.
"Ah, an archer, then. Very cool, indeed." Twilight says. Sometimes, she forgets that not all hominids are hybrids with any abilities. They are like earth ponies. They have latent potential, but it isn't always extremely obvious to see. Especially now that she is sovereign, she has to make sure the three different pony races get along, so noticing the smaller things is important, as well. Honestly, Twilight felt a little bad for Bow, but she wasn't entirely sure how to deal with this problem.
"Well, I have no idea how to get to the Fright Zone, so I am trusting you three with directions." Twilight says, waiting to see what the three teenagers were going to do.
"Well, I have to go and find Swift Wind. He must've flown off somewhere, probably to drink with Seahawk or something." I need a few minutes, okay?" Adora asks, but it didn't matter, since Twilight just used her magic, and Swift Wind just appeared.
"Not cool, Adora! I didn't know you could do that!" Swift Wind says, annoyed that he didn't get to have his happy hour.
"Sorry, Swift Wind, but we need to go on a search and rescue mission to find this Nathan guy, and maybe Catra too." Adora says, trying not to think too much about her best friend.
Twilight had an idea. She went over to Glimmer, and smiled: "How would you like a powerup, Glimmer?" Twilight says, sending a blast of magical energy at the young princess, giving her newfound strength.
"Woah, this is so cool. What did you give me?" Glimmer asks Twilight.
"Well, I saw you teleport before, so I made it easier for you. I can't change your biology or anything, but I can make it so you use less energy when you teleport, so that's what I did. Also, photokinesis. You're welcome." Twilight says sarcastically.
"Alright. Search and rescue starts now. For the Honor of Grayskull!" Adora says, grabbing her sword and transforming into her warrior state.
"Hate to break it to you, guys, but you aren't going anywhere!" A voice says. The group of heroes turn around, and everyone is confused.
"Uh, do we know you?" Adora asks the woman standing in front of them.
"Twilight might, but you three sure as hell don't. My name is Veronica Schroeder. Hybrid #1930-C, otherwise known as Vinyl Scratch." Veronica says.
"Ah, I do know you. You were the one who asked Samantha at the DEA about Nathan, correct? How did you get here?" Twilight asks, confused.
"Uh, Prime Minister Rarity sent me through a portal here. She said I could help." Veronica says, taking her headphones off.
"And how exactly are you going to help out? I mean, you're a unicorn Hybrid, right?" Twilight asks Veronica.
"I might be a musician by training, but I am not useless!" She says, pushing a button on her headphones, which she always wears.
"DJ-PON3, my pony counterpart, actually taught me a few things a few days ago. Watch this!" Veronica says, beginning to power up herself. Her once shaven horn grew back, and her hair grew much longer, more like a pony's mane. Her lime green energy flowing around her, sending shockwaves around the group.
"Holy shit! How did you do that!" Twilight asks Veronica. The Etherians were just as stunned as Twilight was.
"I call it "ponying up". It is a new technique the Hybrids made to better harness their Equestrian DNA. It took years to figure this out, but now my magic is exponentially stronger. Like, watch this!" Veronica says, using her magic to funnel soundwaves into a boulder, completely obliterating it.
"Ah, that makes sense. Your talent is music, so you can harness soundwaves. Cool!" Twilight says. "What I am worried about is how you are going to get to the Fright Zone. I mean, you can teleport, like all Unicorn Hybrids, but only short distances." Twilight really didn't want to do this, since she finds it demeaning to her kind, but she lowers her body onto the floor, allowing for whoever needs to to fly to the Fright Zone.
"Bow, now you have your answer. Get on. I think Swift Wind has room for Glimmer." Twilight says. It's a good thing alicorns are much bigger than regular ponies, or this plan wouldn't work.
"I fly fast, so try not to fall, okay?" Twilight says to Bow, who is a bit nervous about this. I mean, Swift Wind usually doesn't like anyone else other than Adora.
"Good thing I brought my hoverbike!" Veronica says, taking off her backpack and pressing a button, turning the bag into a full sized hoverbike. "I designed it myself. It uses bass boosters to fly!" Veronica says, getting on her hoverbike, while Glimmer and Adora mount Swift Wind.
"Okay, Operation Turn Back the Clock is in full force now. Let's save our friends, and maybe take down the Horde, too!" Adora says, leading the way towards the Fright Zone, with Twilight and Bow following suit, followed by Veronica's bass boosted hoverbike.
Too bad they didn't know I was in the End of Time...