So, I figured I should warn you about how this finale is gonna work.
First off, this is being done by five authors (including myself) at once, over a discord server to make this possible. Secondly, we all live in different time zones, so this will be at a very slow pace. But I'm not gonna quit so easily. You'll just have to be patient is all. Third, Nightblade Sparkle (for whatever reason) keeps changing his profile name, so the credit that's given to him may sound odd.
Other than that, hope you enjoy!
"I'm so glad you all could make it here today," TD remarked to the group of friends before him. They were inside his personal meeting room, which he had made bigger on the inside with his magic to hold the large number of creatures, especially Cobra and Lantana.
"You'd better be. And this had better be good," Chuck remarked, earning a nudge from Pinkie.
"Be nice," she scolded.
"I believe that I told you we would always be there for you TD," Tempus said, smiling slightly as Michael landed beside him.
"Well, glad to be here... I guess," Joy remarked and looked around towards all the new faces. "And, nice to meet all of you..."
A slight sheepish smile came upon his face.
"So, what's happening?" Rainbow asked. TD sighed.
"My oldest enemy, the Nameless One, has returned," he remarked. "And our good friends, Evan and Dr. Hooves, have reported that his fleet is on its way here to Equestria."
He gestured to the figures in question as he spoke.
"How many do we face?" Michael asked, the Pyrunian's wings flaring slightly.
"Yes, that always is helpful to know," Tempus said in a quiet voice.
"Possibly... two hundred," Twilight replied. "And from William's told me, each one is armed for war." "That is grave news indeed," Luna remarked, her expression very grave.
"Of all you here, only one other besides myself has faced him down personally," TD motioned to Joy. "Prince Joy Star, you were there with when he attacked your world. What can you tell our friends?"
"Hmm... The Nameless One is the most powerful, and ruthless enemy our Equestria ever faced," Joy explained. "That scrappy junk was not only after me, but he tried to hurt my family many times. If there's anyone I really hate in my life, that'd be him. And also many of his soldiers are immune to magic or can use powerful forms of dark magic themselves."
"Oh. Great. That's just great," Chuck remarked grimly.
"Well, that does make our task slightly more difficult..." Cobra grumbled, only to yelp as Lantana whacked him over the head with her tail.
"Be nice!" She snapped.
Tempus rolled his eyes, before getting serious again. "And how long until they arrive?"
"Not too long, if what I know is right," Evan stated. "And trust me, almost everything I know is right."
"In fact, according to the calculations of my friend here..." TD gestured to Red, who stepped out into the open and finished for him.
"Starting about now," Red commented, "we have approximately three days, six hours, thirteen minutes and twenty seconds... nineteen seconds... eighteen seconds, seventeen..."
"I think we get the picture," Fluttershy cut him off.
"Well, we'd best get preparing then," Michael said, and Tempus nodded.
"TD, if my wife has alerted them by now, Task force Omega will be standing by for whenever they are needed," The brown alicorn added. "They'll come if needed or called. My family will also fight by your side; you're not just a friend of mine, but my entire family."
"You can count on my support too," Nightblade called out.
"And as an old friend, I'll be right by your side til my last breath..." Joy spoke with spirit. "But let's just hope that it doesn't come to that."
"We'll help too," T-bone remarked. "If he's threatening one of you, he's threatening all of us."
TD smirked and looked over to Chuck.
"Chuck? Don't leave us hanging man," he stated.
"Fine," Chuck sighed. "I didn't want to die old anyway."
Tempus raised an eyebrow, before smirking.
"Who does ever want to die old?" The alicorn asked wryly. "Much better to go out fighting for what's right than just watching as your body slowly ages to the point where-"
"Tempus," Michael said flatly. "Shut. Up."
Tempus blinked, before snorting and shutting his mouth.
"Excuse me, " Evan spoke up. "One thing I should mention is that, he's not coming here alone."
"What do you mean?" Nightblade asked. "He's got more than just the fleet?"
TD's eyes widened. "No... please tell me that he didn't..." he pleaded.
"Tragically, yes," Evan stated grimly. "He tricked me into knowing The Beast's location."
"Buck," Tempus grumbled flatly.
"Well, then I guess we'll need all the help we can get," Michael said, cracking his knuckles. "Haven't had a good fight since the war on our planet. You got that sword for me TD?"
"Still in the vault," TD remarked. "I kept it particularly sharp for the occasion." He then sighed. "But it's not so much the battle that concerns me as the economy of Equestria."
"He means, he fears he'll have to put Equestria into a war-driven economy," Bill Prower explained, coming from one corner.
"But didn't Aunt Twilight see a future where that happened when Starlight changed the past?" Screwball asked.
"I did," Twilight agreed. "And it didn't look too good."
Tempus sighed, before he raised his hoof. "My Equestria can do it," He said softly. "We've got plenty of factories that have been closed for a while. Plus I have a friend who's an amazing weapons designer."
"And I've got plenty of manufacturing plants down in Mobius," Red added. "Provided that you can keep a gateway between our worlds open, we can provide all the firepower you need."
Celestia chose to speak up then. "We'll do it too. As much as I hate to try it... if it'll save Equestria, then we'll do it."
Michael frowned, before he spoke up. "I may be able to obtain some old Pyrunian guns and ammunition if I can track down a warehouse on Earth... I can't promise anything, but if I do find some, they'll be useful. One of our guns can destroy a small mountain with a couple shots."
Tempus glanced at the Pyrunian, before shrugging.
"I'm not surprised by what Pyrunians used to be like before their race was almost entirely wiped out anymore," he said.
"I wish I had my book right now," Evan sighed. "In my time of need..." he grunted. "Buck that Nameless Scrap."
"Do we know where he'll show up at?" T-bone asked.
"Sadly, no," TD admitted. "So we'll have to get some scouts out to every corner of Equis and establish a communications system."
"Then that's where I come in again," Bill remarked, pulling out some coms that were familiar to some of the figures in the room. "Miles and I have saved these since The Crossover and improved upon their design. Will they suffice?"
"That'll do it," Applejack told him. "And if y'all are lookin' for some firepower, Nightblade's been working on some projects of his own. Ah'd say now's a good time to use them."
"But what about you darling?" Rarity inquired. "You've got an unborn foal to think of!"
Tempus blinked, before putting his hoof to his ear as if listening to something, before grunting
"TD, Task force Omega is requesting to travel here to take place in planning our defenses," the alicorn said, lowering his hoof. "Should I allow them to or not?"
"Let them through," TD answered. "We need all the help we can get. And as to the problem Rarity pointed out..." He sighed and let Celestia finish for him.
"I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice but to let her help, and she won't take no for an answer," the white alicorn remarked. "Although, I'd ask for you to keep an eye on her Nightblade, just in case."
Nightblade nodded and placed a wing over AJ's shoulder. "I understand."
"Trust me, I understand how you feel mate," Evan said to Nightblade.
Tempus nodded, before putting a hoof to his ear and saying, "Task force Omega, permission granted. You're cleared to come through."
There was a second's pause, before a portal suddenly crackled into existence behind Tempus, and a white unicorn with a blue main and tail who had a silver double-bladed axe across her back stepped through, followed by three alicorns and a bipedal metal suit of armor that was black-and-silver.
"Chris, remove the helmet," Tempus ordered, and a few seconds later the entire front of the armor opened up, and a human with scruffy black hair stepped out, brushing off his jacket.
"You're no fun Tempus," Chris grumbled.
"Hey, if you guys need more troops, we've got plenty of Changelings to spare!" Pinkie piped up. "We can also ask favors from the other hives."
"Well, that's all fine and dandy... for most," Anthropod added.
"So, now we're strategically prepared for the upcoming battle?" Joy asked. "I mean, whenever that comes around?"
"I'd say we have a better chance," Michael said as one of the alicorns stepped up beside him, her cyan cat eyes scanning those assembled. "Task force Omega is a good team, and then there's the probability of reinforcements coming from Tempus's and mine Equestria from the Canterlot Royal Guard and the Crystal Guard."
"Princess Flurry Heart may not be able to provide reinforcements." Tempus's dark side said in a dark, yet caring voice. "She is still trying to rebuild the Crystal Empire after the war with Herobrine and ClearSHC. She will probably be unable to provide support."
"Well, yours might not, but ours can," Bill noted. "I hear she's going to be the next Princess of Love."
"Why's that?" Fluttershy asked.
"Because Cadence chose to remain mortal with Shinning Armor for... obvious reasons," Bill replied.
"Well, I can respect her choice," Tempus said, before lowering his head and letting out a muffled sniff. "My Cadence didn't even get a choice..."
"We shall all remember her and her husband, Tempus," Nightmare Moon replied as she walked up to the alicorn prince, who nodded before raising his head, a single tear visible running down his face.
"Well, for now, I say that we start thinking about upgrading ourselves," T-bone spoke up. "My armor's tough, but I think it's also outdated by now."
Red gave him a smirk. "Well, lucky you, I've got plenty of ways to fix that problem."
"Good thing we've got Red here," Joy said.
"Oh, Red's not the only one we'll have helping, and neither is Bill," TD said with a smirk.
"I can help too." Chris said, as his armor walked up to him. "I'm good at technology and weaponry."
"He meant among his rouge personalities," Twilight pointed out.
"I don't know how much assistance I can be of, but I shall help where I can," Tempus's dark personality said, as Tempus smiled slightly at Twilight.
"He doesn't really know TD that well Twilight. He'll learn as time goes by," the alicorn explained.
Twiilight smirked. "Then I guess it's time he introduced himself."
"T-bone, Crystal, Cobra and Lantana, I believe this figure may be familiar to you," TD said with a smirk. "Say hello to my rouge evil personality, Diego Kapila."
He stepped aside to reveal another human with two mechanical gauntlets on his arms; one was a greyish-red, the other a bright yellow. He gave them a smile.
"Good to see you again, old friends," the rogue remarked.
"Nice to see you too Diego," Joy said with a smile. Tempus's Crystal opened her mouth to speak, before she closed it again, shrugging.
"You know what, buck it. I've just got to get used to the fact that there's another me," the white unicorn said, and Tempus smirked.
"You really do," the alicorn agreed, before stepping towards Diego, holding out a hoof. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Tempus."
"Diego Kapilia of Remnant," Diego answered shaking his hoof. "A pleasure." He looked up to the Sandwing and Rainwing nearby and chuckled. "I see you two haven't changed much since we last saw each other. However, for whatever reason, I almost thought you'd be taller."
Cobra grunted. "We stop growing rapidly at twenty years of age," the SandWing explained. "After that, we don't grow as fast."
"Well, regardless, it's good to see you again," Diego answered, then turned to Joy. "How's the family, Joy? I hear you were blessed with another treasure in your life?"
Joy nodded. "Yes, my second son, and third child... Aqua Blaze."
"I'd like to see him when it's quieter, but for now what's the plan?" he asked. Bill took the lead.
"We set up watch on every corner of Equestria, train up and recruit all the warriors we can, and then prepare for all Hell to be set loose upon us," he announced.
"And for those that don't know, Hell is the equivalent for Tartarus," Red explained.
"I know that," Tempus, Michael, Tempus's dark personality, and Chris all said at the same time.
"Cool. Hell. My Grandma always told me that's where I'd go. Good thing it's coming to me," Chuck remarked bitterly, finally breaking the silent streak he had been doing for a while.
"Well Chuck, it's either you help and Hell comes upon you, or it comes upon you and you die in a very pitiful way," TD stated bluntly. "Personally, if I'm going down it's with a fight."
"I guess I'll die in a... badbutt way," he said, changing that word practically killed him inside, or at least made him feel sick.
"Agreed." Joy remarked.
"I'll go out helping my friends," Michael said.
"As shall I," Tempus's dark side agreed.
"You know Chuck, that was one of the few words I actually wasn't censoring," TD remarked. "As long as it's not me saying it."
"Verbal oppression is so hard to understand the parameters of," Chuck sighed.
"Badbutt," Evan let out a muffled chuckle at this before he looked around and ceased chuckling. "Sorry, I can't let the image get out of my head."
"Well, what are we waiting for then?!" Rainbow Dash demanded. "Let's do this already!"
"She's not wrong, we should get a move on," Red agreed.
"Then I say that since we all know the basic jest, this meeting is officially adjourned," TD announced. "Everyone knows their jobs, or should know them. So let's get to it! Feel free to stay or leave to perform other duties as you please."
Tempus glanced at his dark personality, who nodded.
"I'll inform Celestia and Luna," He said, before vanishing in a flash of light.
"I wish I could see the possible outcomes of this..." Tempus stated with a sigh. "But I can't. And it's driving me mad being blind to the future."
"Knowing everything hurts as much as knowing nothing," Evan said to Tempus. "Trust me, I know this by experience."
Tempus gave Evan a wry look.
"Bud, you're talking to the Guardian of Time," Tempus said. "I can see every past, present, and future. Except for this."
"But that's not your fault," TD explained as the majority started to leave the room. "The Nameless One has many methods of remaining unseen and this is one of those moments in time when nothing is certain."
"And do you think I don't know about your guardian powers?" Evan passed him a smirk. "Anyways, I need to get to my wife." Evan moved from his place and disappeared.
"See you soon," A voice was heard as he vanished.
"Let's go Pinkie," Chuck got up. "I'd like to take one last nap before this inevitably kills me."
"We'll be fine," Pinkie reassured him as they left. Her husband didn't reply verbally, opting to use a quick snort of laughter in response instead.
Tempus sighed, before there was a flash of light beside him and his dark personality reappeared, holding a crate in his magic.
"So, I told our Celestia and Luna." He said, before ginning as he held up the crate. "And I managed to snag some of Chris's strong stuff from his bar to bring here for whenever we want a drink."
Tempus rolled his eyes, before snorting in annoyance.
"TD, can I have the Sword of Death now?" Michael asked the chaotic entity.
"Certainly," TD answered while looking at a map of Equis with Twilight. "Diego can take you to the vault, and it's been set to allow you access."
"Follow me please," Diego said as he led Tempus out of the room. As they left, he heard Twilight and TD speaking to each other.
"William, do you think you can beat him again?"
"I'm not sure, Twi..." His voice sounded tearful. "I don't know what's gonna happen..."
"I guess, I will leaving too," Joy said. "I need some time to myself."
Joy stood up and left the room as well.
"Poor TD," Diego remarked as he walked towards where the vault was located. "Sadly, that's how all three of us rouge personalities feel about our own families too."
Tempus sighed as he walked alongside Diego, Michael walking behind the alicorn.
"I feel the same way towards my family as well," the alicorn said. "But I said I'd fight beside TD till the end."
"And for that, I'm grateful," Diego replied with a nod. By then, they had reached the vault and Diego stepped forward. His hands glowed a sickly red and the doors opened for him. Inside, he noticed the many different weapons and other artifacts TD had gathered over time. Among others was a Ring that had a glowing amber stone set inside for the jewel. The glow seemed to be an evil one. Diego picked it up and then looked to Tempus.
"Don't tell TD I took this," he pleaded. "It's the ring his Nazgul used to wear before he was liberated from Sauron's grasp only to be dominated by TD. I feel that it may come in handy... if I can alter it a bit."
Tempus nodded, before he stepped aside as Michael stepped forward and grasped the handle of the Sword of Death. The Pyrunian pulled it from the vault, removing it from its sheath and grinning as an icy blue shimmer worked its way down the blade.
"The blade has accepted me as it's new wielder," Michael said, sheathing it and hanging it by his belt. "Now I feel ready for what lies ahead."
"Let's hope so," Diego remarked, then looked to his Ring. "Now, I must alter this as best I can. You see, this Ring, like all eight of it's siblings, were designed to subjugate their wearers. I guess you could say, you wouldn't possess the Ring; the Ring would possess you." He held it up. "I plan to fix that, so that one of our allies may be able to use it for themselves. But to do so... I need to have the Ring on my finger when I begin the process."
"Isn't that exactly what you don't want to do?" Tempus asked, nervously eyeing the ring.
"Under normal circumstances, yes," Diego admitted. "But I know a way around it."
"Care to elaborate?" Tempus asked as his dark personality suddenly appeared beside him. "Because if you don't, I'll probably freak out."
"There's a spell I can cast that will undo Sauron's intentions with the Ring," Diego explained. "And I'll be honest, I had to make plenty of deals with some... undesirables to learn it. Thankfully, they were deals I could walk out on or that I managed to close permanently. I'm not an idiot in that regard." He looked to them. "But if it goes South, I need you to take it from me, by force if necessary."
Tempus nodded, as his dark personality merged with him and his eyes turned to glowing red cat eyes tinged with green. "Understood."
Diego sighed and put on the Ring, chanting as he did so, his voice sounding dark and terrible.
"Unaz ob Orka, Sharbtur ob Sauron, parfutag nar ma orka!" (Ring of Power, servant of Sauron, wrestle no more for power!)
The Ring glowed brightly for a few moments and Diego struggled with something inwardly, then all abruptly stopped. He gasped a few times and looked to his friends.
"It worked..." he managed, almost sounding like he didn't believe it. "Sauron's hold over this is Ring is broken..."
Tempus smiled, which looked slightly disconcerting because of his teeth being slightly jagged now.
"I'm glad it did," he said, before adding. "Because I would hate to have seen you be blasted by an energy rifle which my friend Chris is holding from the hiding spot he totally isn't in around the corner behind us."
There was a yelp of surprise, and Tempus smirked.
"He wouldn't have been able to do much harm anyways," Diego remarked as he took off the Ring. "I've survived things that would normally kill someone, both on Remnant and then some." He held it up. "In truth, I only asked you to be here so I could see just how much of me fell if it didn't. The truth is... TD, and the rest of the rouge personalities, cannot fall to the Ring's power. The reason being that we possess a power far greater; what need do we have of such trinkets?"
Tempus shrugged, as Chris rounded the corner, holding a rifle that had glowing LED's along the sides. Behind him, his armor walked, it's blasters powered up.
"Power down Gideon. It's safe," Chris said, and the blasters stopped glowing as the suit lowered its arms.
Diego chuckled. "Iron Man vs Thanos all over again." He then looked serious. "Friends... you realize this may be our final battle, so thanks for coming. It means a lot to us all. Especially... him."
"We know," Tempus said, smiling. "And we're all willing to make the sacrifice of our life if it means victory."
"You may be, but I'd rather live than get chewed up by Sunset for dying on a totally different planet then her," Michael muttered darkly.
"You two seem to have a history," Diego noted. "Care to enlighten us?"
"She's my..." Michael started, before trailing off and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Michael and Sunset are married," Tempus explained, smiling. "Michael made a new form for himself as a pony, and him and Sunset got married after she followed him back to our Equestria from the mirror world."
"Hold up, which mirror world?" Diego asked. "Because unless I'm mistaken, every time we use the mirror here, we're technically traveling to a pocket dimension on TD's homeplanet."
"Tempus has a weird name for it," Michael muttered in explanation.
"So that's a no?" Diego clarified.
"He's talking about the same world, just using his name for it," Michael said.
"Oh. My. Gosh!" Diego laughed. "That is such a killer! Hahaha!"
Tempus raised an eyebrow, before a random giant wooden mallet materialized out of nowhere and slammed into Diego.
"Don't. Laugh. At what I saw," the alicorn said as the mallet disappeared.
"You're that scared of her, aren't ya?" Diego asked as he stood up, not even looking a little hurt. "Fine. I'm just... surprised of how ironically convenient it is. I meant no disrespect."
"Michael is of her. I'm not," Tempus said.
"Figures," Diego shrugged. "Isn't that how we all feel about our significant others?" A beep was heard from one of his gauntlets, and he chuckled. "We need to get going. I have a stop to make and some friends to reunite, as well as bring in the cavalry. See you guys soon!"
A sickly red portal appeared behind Diego and he walked through it, disappearing back through to his own world.
Tempus sighed, before he led himself, Michael, and Chris back to the room they had come from. The alicorn pushed the door open, walking inside.
-Flashback-
"How do you know my name?!" the boy demanded with surprise, staring at the strange figure before him. The figure made a groan.
"I cannot explain it all, so I'll tell you what you need to know," he answered. "I am a Guardian of Existence, and my hour has come. My life fades and I must find a successor to take my place. You were chosen for this task and the part to play in it all. So I come to grant to you a power of your choosing to use against your enemies and to protect others."
William was taken aback. Guardian of Existence? Successor? Powers? Where was this going and why was he so important to it? The figure managed a weak chuckle.
"All your questions will be answered once you choose your power," he explained. "There are several to choose from: Water, Fire, Time, Order, Chaos, Life, De-"
"Whoa, whoa whoa! What was that one you said?" William asked with curiosity.
"Life?"
"No, before that. Did you say 'chaos?' How's that one work?"
The figure sighed. "The powers of Chaos allow one to break the laws of reality, space, and time, and alter things to his will. It also allows him to create destruction and devastation or turn something into something it should not be. To put it simply, the power to do whatever you want, whenever you want."
If the creature was still explaining something about those powers, William didn't pay much to it. He was lost as soon as he heard about doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.
"I want the powers of Chaos!" he exclaimed.
"Be careful, young one," the figure breathed with difficulty. "Those powers are addictive and it's hard to not succumb to what it offers you. This, coupled with the fact that these powers are beyond your comprehension, makes it a difficult one to master. Are you sure you want to proceed?"
"Yes, come on!" William shouted impatiently. The figure sighed.
"Then you've been warned..."
Unexpectedly, William suddenly felt a huge surge of power entering his body, too much for him to register. It was... unfathomable. The closest he had ever gotten to knowing about such power was from his religion, and it was incredible... yet terrifying. It was too much!
"One mind cannot fathom such power," a voice suddenly spoke inside his head. "Let your mind be split, and the power will be balanced."
William didn't hesitate, and soon he felt as if his mind had been torn in two, each half reflecting a different side of him. But it wasn't enough! the power kept coming and coming!
"It's worse than I thought!" the voice remarked. "He's not prepared for this!"
"Split it again!" a second voice shouted. "We don't have a choice!"
"But never has this been tried before!" the first protested.
"You want him to die?!" the second demanded. The voices went silent and William felt his mind split again, this time feeling as if this next one was a bit smaller than the other portions but still just as powerful. Still the power crawled into his bones. After what seemed to be an eternity, William felt the power abruptly stop and he gasped as he looked to where the figure was sitting, only to realize that he was nowhere present. It was as if he had never been there in the first place. William looked about, still feeling weird in his head from what had happened.
"Sean is not gonna believe this," he said aloud, and then headed back for his home, still feeling weird inside...
-Present day-
TD sat up in bed, having woke from the dream he had just received. The time when he had first been given his powers. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"I should've said no, or gone with a different power then," he said to himself quietly, so as not to disturb Twilight's sleeping form beside him. "I should've walked away or had it explained to me in full what I was getting into. Instead, I chose to recklessly and foolishly charge headlong into a situation I knew nothing about and fell prey to the temptations my power offers."
Twilight breathed loudly next to him, causing TD to look over at her. There was just enough light in the room for him to barely see her form. He smiled and pulled her close, hearing her sigh in bliss even while sleeping. As if on instinct, her wings wrapped around him as well as her front hooves. TD embraced her too, stroking her mane softly and gently.
"But in the end, after all the pain and suffering, I'm glad it did happen," he whispered. "Because if it didn't happen, I wouldn't have found you..."
He looked out to a window installed in their room that peered out at the moon outside. It wasn't a full moon, but it still looked beautiful as always, thanks to Luna's efforts.
"I won't let him take you from me," TD vowed. "Even if Zecora's prophecy says I'm to fail without Sean's help."
He looked down at Twilight and leaned his head against her own as a final thought came to mind.
"But no matter what happens... I will always love you, my little North Star."
Still not feeling too sleepy yet, he softly began to sing a song to her.
TD: Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around.
Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around.
Demons are prowling everywhere, nowadays
I'll send 'em howling
I don't care, I got ways.
No one's gonna hurt you, No one's gonna dare.
Others can desert you,
Not to worry, whistle, I'll be there.
Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,
But in time...
Nothing can harm you
Not while I'm around...
TD dozed off on the last notes, still holding Twilight close to him like a precious treasure as the night crawled onward.
And there we go! Chapter two out of the way!
So, why did Chuck and Nightblade not talk much during that time? Well... Nightblade Sparkle (who recently changed his profile name to Nightsoul Distortion) wasn't available and for a while neither was Impressionsguy. Nightblade I was allowed to control personally in such situations, but I personally didn't want to handle Chuck. Plus, Chuck's not much for politics anyways, so no harm done.
Song used: "Not While I'm Around" from Sweeney Todd.
Anyways, thank you all for helping out today! Cya in the next chapter!