Welp, if Twilight Freakin' Sparkle is on her way to try and find my sorry ass in Etheria, she will probably find me at one point or another. I am not in the mood to get in a fight with her after five years, so I open a portal back to Horde HQ.
"Wait, you're going BACK!" Catra says, a bit shocked. "Aren't you worried that Twilight and Adora are going to kick your ass?" Entrapta says, still a bit shaken aback by Pinkie Pie's meta appearance a few minutes ago.
"I've dealt with worse. Trust me, guys!" I say, running through the portal, making sure I am in my human form, since the rest of the Horde doesn't know I am a time god Hybrid. Kyle, Entrapta, and Catra make sure to follow me, and are left a bit disoriented by the massive jump backwards in time. It's normal! I make sure we return only thirty seconds after leaving, notwithstanding the time dilation.
"Ah, there you are, Force Captain!" Hordak says to Catra, running into the laboratory where we were before running off to the End of Time.
"We have spotted a group of rebellion fighters at the perimeter, including Adora! Code Blue!" Hordak says, pushing a button on his armor, turning his left arm into a blaster.
"Well, if this is code blue, they are probably here for me, right?" I say, trying to make sense of things.
"Yes, I believe Sentry spotted a purple flying unicorn, with a person on it's back. I think that's your vengeance calling, Nathan!" Hordak says, with an evil smile.
Yup, Twilight is here. I teleport outside, waiting for my former friend to arrive. I gauge that she will arrive with her Rebel team in around 90 seconds, so I need to think about what exactly my plan is. Do I fight her, or have the Horde deal with her? She saved my life! I can't just go about pretending that didn't happen. Someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around, and see that Entrapta also teleported to the front gate.
"Sorry we couldn't finish the time machine, mate." Entrapta says, a bit disappointed that she couldn't build the time machine.
"It's fine, Entrapta. You've met this "Adora" before, correct? Is she something we can take on, or is she going to go all willy nilly with the Magic of Friendship like Twilight does?" I ask, to which Entrapta replies with a shrug.
"Look, Nathan, I have your exact same condition. I know jack all about people. Why do you think we get along so well?" Entrapta says, laughing.
Shit, she's autistic, too? That makes so much more sense now that I think about it further. The lack of eye contact with me, the obsession with robots and technology, and her somewhat reclusive nature.
"Anyways, before the Rebels come over and we have our epic fight, I thought I should let you know that when doing your biopsy trying to make my time machine, I saw something quite fascinating. Apparently, the ancient time dragon that your DNA is based on, Azatoth, is still alive!" Entrapta says, with her eyes widening just thinking about it.
Wait, I thought the time dragon's name was Azimuth, like the Galvan dude from the Plumber Saga? Must be mixing things up, I guess.
"Wait, if the original time god is alive, could he help us?" I ask my friend, who doesn't have time to answer, since she points to the horizon, showing the rebels approaching rather quickly.
"Welp. I'll get to your existential crisis in a bit. Showtime!" Entrapta says, activating her powerful exoskeleton. I power up in turn, with my cobalt blue aura enveloping me.
"Is that your friend, Twilight?" Bow says, pointing to me and Entrapta whilst astride on Twilight's back.
"Yeah, he looks scrawny." Glimmer says. Veronica, on the other hand, recognized me instantly, with her cyan hair blowing in the wind on her hoverbike.
"Yup, that's him. Weird that he is in his human form. Must be holding back, I guess." Twilight says, landing, and using her magic to lift Bow off her back.
"Yeah, that's him, alright." Veronica says, trying not to let her crush on me interfere with the mission.
"Woah, never saw Twilight with passengers before. She always thought it was demeaning to her race." I say snidely to Entrapta.
"What do you mean, horses do that all the time! Wait, magic horse goddess with an ego. Got it!" Entrapta says, trying to gauge the power of Twilight. "Fuck, she is something else. Not as strong as you, but stronger than Adora, which is odd, because of the First Ones Tech."
"Nathan of Earth!" Adora says, turning into She-Ra, dismounting Swift Wind. "I am She-Ra, and you will stop assisting the Horde immediately!" She says, trying to be more authoritative than usual. "As for you, Princess Entrapta, I am sorry we forgot you in the Fright Zone. I had a lot of shit going on." She says, feeling a bit bad about the past encounter.
"Oh, I heard all about you, Adora. I am not made with a pencil. Frankly, I don't want to deal with you right now. I have important shit to do, like kill Micah and Angella for creating The Foundation, which tortured thousands of kids across the universe over the centuries!
"Nathan, don't even think about it!" Twilight says, running over to me and embracing me. "I already lost you twice. Don't do this. Please! I am your friend, at least, I thought I was." She says, with tears dripping down her face. I am taken aback for a minute. As much as I care for Twilight, I can't let my emotions mess with my MO today.
"Look, I know I tried the forgiveness is magic thing last time, but it didn't work. Luna tried to kill me anyways, and we both had to prune her and Celestia from the timeline. You should know better, Twi." I say, using her pet name which I haven't used in a long time.
I let go of my embrace, and took off towards Bright Moon, my dragon form enraged and ready to kill.
"Oh no, you don't! If I have to fight you to get this message through your numb skull, then so be it! I got stronger over the past five years!" Twilight says, bolting after me, sending a massive energy blast at me point blank.
I paused to dodge, which gave me a minute to compose myself.
"Nathan, dear. You taught me how to bypass time pausing!" Twilight says, breaking free of the grip of frozen time, bucking me towards the ground, making a massive crater.
"I don't want to fight you, Twilight." I say, resuming the flow of time and teleporting away.
"Fuck! Where did he go!" Adora says, trying to figure out what is going on.
"Sorry, horsey. I don't have the same proclivities as Nathan, so I am more than willing to kick your ass! Ion Cannon firing in 3...2...1.." Entrapta says, activating her ion cannon. Bow quickly pulls an arrow out from his quiver and fires it at the ion cannon.
"You think that is going to do anything, Bow? It's an arrow against First Ones tech. How stupid are you!" Entrapta says, laughing as her ion beam fires.
"Well, smarter than you, apparently! This arrow is fitted with an EMP. It'll disable your exoskeleton!" Bow says with a grin, as the arrow explodes, sending a massive electromagnetic blast across the front gate of the Fright Zone. Completely frying all of Entrapta's tech.
"Ack! I am stuck in my exoskeleton!" Entrapta says, trying to struggle her way out. Even the emergency escape hatch is fried. She is trapped in a prison of her own making!
Catra hears an explosion outside, and quickly makes her way down the four flights of stairs, bolting through the door, only to see her former friend and teammate towering over Entrapta, freeing her from the exoskeleton.
"A...Adora?!" Catra says, trying not to let her camaraderie interfere.
"Catra. I thought I might find you here. Where did Mr. Time Guy go?" Adora says, trying to figure out the story pertaining to my mission."
"I am afraid that is classified, Adora!" Catra says, laughing, while eyeing Veronica.
"You must be new here. Are you one of Nathan's friends, vainly trying to rescue him?" Catra says, noticing that her power level is higher than anyone else's, except for Adora.
"Maybe!" Veronica says, charging her magic to launch a sonic blast at Catra. Catra's Hybrid reflexes came in handy, enabling her to quickly dodge the attack.
"Not bad, Terran." Catra says, as the two begin to fight.
Meanwhile, Twilight is trying to sense my energy. "Uh, guys? Nathan made it to Bright Moon, and is literally within arm's length of killing your parents, Glimmer!" Twilight says with urgency, teleporting away.
Finally, after an eternity, I am moments away from avenginy my creation. I see a woman in the castle with wings, fitting the description I heard.
"YOU!!!" I say, my scales turning red, activating the form of The Destroyer.
"Wait! Child, you don't understand. I had no choice. I needed to save my family!" Angella says, pleading for her life, knowing she stood no chance against me.
"You had every option not to experiment on children and sell the tech to the highest bidder. If the Horde is really evil, which I believe they are, you needed to have the moral high ground! You are no better then them!" I say, grabbing Angella by the neck and pummeling her to a pulp.
"You might not know this, but your tech ended up in the hands of an evil woman named Nightmare Moon, who took me from my family and maimed me to a point of inhumanity. You might not have done this to me, but the blood is on your hands. Think about everyone in Etheria who got experimented on! Catra, your daughter! The other princesses. Have you no humanity!" I say, warping the very fabric of spacetime around her, putting the queen in excruciating pain.
"NATHAN! STOP!" Twilight says, teleporting in between us, healing the queen of her injuries.
"Twilight, I don't want to do this. I have no quarrel with you, only them!" I say, reverting to my human form.
"Remember the magic of friendship and forgiveness.!I don't want to fight you, but if I have no choice…" Twilight says, begging me to stop.
"I really would love to, Twi, but I can't. You know I can't." I say, charging a temporal attack, aiming it at Angella.
"I will blow this whole fucking planet up! I need to. Nobody can ever do this to anyone again!" I say, my red scales burning with passion.
"I am giving you five seconds, Kronos. If you don't stop in 5 seconds. I will attack you, no holds barred."
My attack continues to charge
One...two...three...four…
"CEASE FIGHTING!" A voice says.
"Who the fuck is that?" I think to myself. The very fabric of reality begins to deteriorate, as a crimson red dragon, the size of a kaiju, appears, sending myself, Twilight, and Angella into some kind of interdimensional plane.
"Azathoth?" I say, realizing who this dragon probably is.
"Yes, Nathan. We need to talk!" The dragon says, shrinking down to the size of a human.
I dissipate my attack, realizing that my original version can probably evaporate me by blinking.
"Queen Twilight. You have done well in aiding this lad. I applaud you for your work." Azathoth says, with a nod of approval.
"As for you, Smith. Luna did unspeakable things to you, and you exacted your pound of flesh, justly so. Frankly, I wish I was there in person to see it! I have been watching you since my DNA got infused into your body, human. You might be upset to hear this, but the timeline called for you to become my successor." Azathoth says solemnly.
What. Is the time god serious? I was SUPPOSED to be maimed as a child, put through hell countless times, and suffer eternally. What kind of a cruel joke is this?
"As time dragons, we are both immortal, but that comes with a price. I have been watching this universe consistently cycle over and over again, getting more powerful each time. I want a break. Fate made you my successor, although I would have picked a better way of doing it. Human experimentation is abhorrent." The dragon says, looking at Angella.
"Notwithstanding this, you were wrong in experimenting on children. You are no better than the Horde! Some sovereign you are. Killing you would be an act of mercy. I have a better idea. Nathan, would you like to do the honors?" Azathoth says, winking at me.
"Yup, it's Void time!" I say, as Azathoth and I charge an attack, sending Angella to the Void, forever.
"I have seen countless races try and fail to achieve balance, but the Equestrians are truly gifted in this regard. Frankly, the magic of friendship, while distorted by Celestia and company, is truly the binding force of the universe, if not equal to that of time and space. I have a gift for you, my child." Azathoth says, reaching his claw onto my forehead.
I feel a massive surge of power, more than anything I have ever felt before. "What...what did you do, Azathoth?" I ask the time dragon.
"Simple. I undiluted your perception of time. Before now, you saw the timeline from a myopic lense, based on vengeance for the injustice done to you. Now, you can see clearly. Consider it a gift from a friend…" Azathoth says, laughing.
"So, what now? Do I just leave Etheria to its own devices and let the Horde do whatever the hell it wants, or do I switch sides?" I ask the time dragon, who shrugs.
"I am not the guardian of time anymore, you are, Kronos!" Azathoth says. "One final word of advice, child. Twilight Sparkle rescued you for a reason. She is the other half of the puzzle."
"What! What the hell does that mean? I am not in love with her or anything."
"Yeah, he wants to date that Veronica Hybrid. What the hell?" Twilight says, chuckling at the mere thought of the two deities as a couple.
"No, not like that! I mean that the elements of Time and Magic compliment each other, and that your friendship defies the very laws of spacetime. Even if Nathan weds this "Veronica", she will eventually die, but you two will not. You cannot fight anymore. You NEED each other. That is my final word of wisdom. Time is key, but friendship triumphs over all!"
Azathoth says, slowly disappearing from this interdimensional plane, restoring the universe to its previous state.
"So, that was weird, no?" I ask my friend, who just runs over to me and embraces me, tighter than she ever has before.
"We need to fix this, the right way. Can you handle that, Nathan?" Twilight says.
"Yeah. I guess I am switching teams!" I say.
The real fight begins!