The Final Battle is a series of events and conflicts between the Rebellion and Horde Prime's forces that led to the permanent defeat and destruction of Horde Prime and the disestablishment of his empire. The Final Battle had an immense effect on the lives and allegiances of many on both sides, including the defection of Force Captain Catra, who turned again the Horde to liberate the captured Queen Glimmer (whom she had befriended) from the Velvet Glove, which resulted in her capture, 'purification' and eventual joining the Best Friends Squad.
Following this defection, Horde Prime set about adding all of Etheria, especially the Rebellion and Princess Alliance, to his hive mind with his chipping devices, eventually infecting Scorpia, Mermista, King Micah, Spinnerella and many ordinary citizens and using them to enforce his regime, as well as forcing the remaining Rebellion into hiding, allowing Prime to rule basically undisputed, albeit at the cost of losing the support of Catra. The return of Adora, however, which brought with it the addition of two ex-Horde members - Catra and a defected clone named Wrong Hordak - as well as Melog, to the Rebellion, giving the remaining rebels some insight into Prime's plans as well as three new additions to their crippled force.
Adora and the new Resistance subsequently began a steady campaign to free Etheria, liberating Erelandia, freeing Spinnerella and seizing a failsafe to the Heart of Etheria, which Horde Prime was attempting to seize without the aid of She-Ra. Their revolution, unbeknownst to them, also concurred with uprisings from at least twelve planets already occupied by the Horde, diverting some of the Horde's resources.
The battle finally ended in a vast conflict between the Rebellion and their allies and the armies of the Horde under chipped Scorpia, Mermista and, later on, King Micah's command, during which all those enslaved by Prime (along with everyone else that has been chipped and his clones) were saved from him, Prime's body and essence were both separately killed and the Heart of Etheria was destroyed by Adora, bringing true peace to the universe, albeit at the cost of Shadow Weaver's life, the sorceress sacrificing her life to protect her once-despised ward, Catra.
The battle centralizes around the events throughout the arc of Season Five.
History[]
Background information[]
Initial Conquests[]
Many centuries ago, a being that would eventually become known as Horde Prime sought to conquer the universe and bring it into his "eternal light", justifying his actions with the claim that it was the only way to achieve ultimate peace, though where he came from and why he pursued this is unknown. To this end, he created a massive army of clones using his genetic material. To ensure his clones were obedient, Prime implanted all of them with cybernetics that connected them into a hive mind under his control, permitting him to possess their minds and talk through them if he wished. Through the hive mind, Prime essentially became immortal, as he would easily transfer his consciousness into a fresh clone body anytime his current body broke down or aged.
Horde Prime embarked upon a mass conquest of the universe. After conquering his first planet, Prime took the planet's prized treasure, a glass orb of significant importance to the inhabitants, as a souvenir. He would later consider the orb to be his favorite trophy amongst his collection of artifacts and objects taken from conquests, which varied from items to foods made rare by their planet-of-origin's destruction. Eventually, Prime had the entire world's population killed, presumably in answer to constant rebellion against his reign, before continuing on his conquest.
From then on, Horde Prime would go on to successfully conquer countless worlds and eventually entire galaxies with his vast army. During this period, one of his clones gained enough of his favor to become Prime's top general. This unnamed clone would later be known as Hordak and Prime gave him the nickname "little brother.”
Eventually, however, Horde Prime came into conflict with a rival race of conquerors known as the First Ones. They fought each other in a devastating war, which Prime ultimately won. He then dismantled the First Ones' empire and wiped out most of their race, although a small faction escaped the massacre. During his war with the First Ones, Horde Prime invaded Krytis, a planet with powerful magic that the First Ones were attempting to harness. Prime defeated the colony stationed there, but was unable to conquer Krytis, as he had no method of countering the planet's wild magic, which was enough of the threat that all memory of it was declared forbidden to speak of among Prime's forces. Prime eventually gave up and left, but not before having nearly every living being left on Krytis killed. A magical creature named Melog was the only survivor of Horde Prime's massacre, of which its entire race had been victims to. Melog claimed to have driven the galactic emperor - who it referred to as the 'one who destroys' - off. Prime forbad all mention of Krytis and claimed it was just one of many planets he had obliterated in his mission for 'peace'.
Decades prior to the Final Battle, however, Horde Prime had Hordak demoted and cast out. Hordak believed that he was punished due to his genetic defects. In reality, Hordak had developed free will and became independent of the clone hive mind. Unwilling to allow his clones to possess such a 'default', Prime sent Hordak on a suicide mission to the front lines. After Hordak disappeared into a mysterious portal during the middle of a battle, Horde Prime assumed the defective clone had perished and continued to rule his empire for decades. At a later point in time, Prime's army ravaged and destroyed the Star Siblings' planet, leaving the siblings apparently orphaned and with all family but themselves gone, though the three were able to flee. He also attacked a crystal planet that had served as a refugee center for those fleeing from him, including the aforementioned Star Siblings, who were able to again survive and hide out on the decimated planet, searching for a way to leave and continue running.
Hordak's Reign[]
What Horde Prime didn't know was that Hordak had not perished when he vanished but had in fact found himself on a planet known as Etheria, located in the otherwise empty dimension of Despondos. Etheria was once home to a colony of First Ones who had been mining for its magic, just as they had on what had become the sorry remains of Krytis, despite the efforts of one of the colonists, Mara, and her rebel clique of First Ones.
After arriving in Etheria, the clone's ship crash-landed in a kingdom ruled by Scorpia's family. According to Scorpia, the clone was welcomed with open arms by Scorpia's family and joined forces with them, acquiring the Black Garnet in the process. However, images conjured by Light Spinner show that Scorpia's people were enslaved by the Horde, putting the validity of Scorpia's claim into question. After being stranded on Etheria, the clone became obsessed with proving himself to Horde Prime. He set out to conquer the planet in hopes of impressing Prime, unaware he had been cast aside. Naming himself "Hordak", the clone formed his own division of the Horde, recruiting members of numerous races, and successfully took over and occupied most of the planet.
To put an end to the Horde's threat, a resistance movement known as the Rebellion was created by the kingdom of Bright Moon's rulers, Queen Angella and King Micah, who also created the Princess Alliance (consisting of various princesses from the different kingdoms of Etheria). Unfortunately, the Rebellion suffered a crushing defeat by the Horde, which resulted in King Micah's alleged death and the dissolution of the original Princess Alliance. In actuality, King Micah was captured by the Horde and marooned on Beast Island.
Horde Prime's Arrival[]
Conquests and Rebellion[]
Invasion of the Rebel Camp[]
Skirmish by the Spire[]
Glimmer's Incarceration and Catra's Doubts[]
Rescue from a Sudden Defector[]
Saving a Foe[]
After meeting the Star Siblings, Adora goes to Horde Prime's ship to rescue Catra, only to find out that she's been chipped. The chip's programming forces Catra to attack her friend multiple times, and when she tries to break Catra free from it, Prime possesses her to the point that when the chip malfunctions, she is rendered unconscious. Inside Darla, She-Ra heals Catra while they escape.
Prime's Grip on Etheria Strengthens[]
Horde Prime is furious that Adora saved Catra that he decided to get his revenge on her by invading Etheria and ordering his clones to chip a huge amount of citizens as possible, including members of the Rebellion. The citizens that have been chipped are Micah, Spinnerella, Scorpia, Mermista, Huntara, the entire town of Elberon, the patrons in the Enchanted Grotto, the guards of the Rebel Camp and the sorcerers of Mystacor.
Partnership Between Sorceresses[]
Hearing about what happened, Shadow Weaver and Castaspella are making a plan about how to stop Horde Prime. Their plan is about bypassing the Heart of Etheria and using its magic stored inside of it in an attempt to defeat Prime once and for all.
Krytis and Return to Etheria[]
While Etheria is in a blockade, the group is forced to go to Krytis, where they meet an unusual creature that is currently the only remaining individual of its species, Melog. When they make their way back to Etheria, Melog uses its invisibility to keep the ship safe from the blockade.
Encounter in Erelandia[]
Once returned from Krytis, the group wonders what happened to the majority of the Rebellion. They go to Erelandia where they can ask the citizens what's going on but they are scared to answer. Meanwhile, a chipped Spinnerella attacks the village only for Netossa to defend it from her. After a discussion, the group returns to the village and frees it from Prime's defenses and Spinnerella.
Fighting in the Fright Zone[]
Adora, Perfuma, Netossa, Catra and Melog return to the Fright Zone, not only to find that it is currently in ruins, but most importantly, to save Scorpia. Catra gets attacked by Scorpia to the point that she is separated to the group. She learned that Scorpia is not alone and that she is with Mermista who attempts to drown her. On the other hand, when the group deals with Scorpia, Spinnerella shows up and Netossa chases after her. Adora and Perfuma enter Hordak's throne room only to find out that Horde Prime has remade the Fright Zone in his image. He orders Scorpia to attack them, but Perfuma tells her that she can resist, and by this, Scorpia allows them to escape by missing on purpose. Meanwhile, Netossa fights Spinnerella in order to deactivate her chip. He takes advantage of an old injury she received, which is twisting her ankle. Once Spinnerella is trapped in the net, Netossa incapacitates her by using her nets on the chip. They are then teleported to the base by Glimmer.
Mission to Mystacor[]
Once Spinnerella is freed from Prime's control, the group goes to Mystacor finding the Crystal of Arxia, where the failsafe to the Heart of Etheria is stored. During the mission, the group faces a chipped Micah and two chipped sorcerers while Adora decides to sacrifice herself by accepting the failsafe on her own. The problem is that only She-Ra is capable of surviving it. Micah uses dark magic in an attempt to interrupt Adora's accepting of the failsafe. Adora accepts the failsafe just in time and saves her friends by binding Micah and the two sorcerers. She then orders the group to leave Mystacor for their base.
Catra's Desertion[]
Catra is disappointed that Adora sacrifices herself to save Etheria that she decides to leave the group with Melog.
The Battle[]
Preparations for Battle[]
Project: Freedom[]
The Failsafe to the Heart[]
Freeing the Chipped and Rallying the People[]
When Bow helps Entrapta finishing her work on the device that will deactivate all of Horde Prime's chips, Scorpia tries to stop him by shooting him multiple times. He manages to distract her long enough so that he could push the button to activate the device and everyone on Etheria is free from the chips. Scorpia apalogizes to Bow for what she did to him. Bow gives a speech to the entirety of Etheria that they should stand against Horde Prime and fight for She-Ra, for their homes and for each other, leading Prime angrier than before.
Confrontation and Sacrifice[]
Ending a Tyrant[]
Once the Heart of Etheria is destroyed, She-Ra saves the universe from Horde Prime by destroying him.