Chapters A Mystery Enshrouded By Darkness
The monks jumped backwards at the surprise of this event. The new arrivals were out cold from the fall they had. The monks decided to put them out of the cold and wrap them in blankets.
They woke up and looked around them. Then they all stared at the monks. Fluttershy huddled away behind the other ponies, Spike was also not visible behind this crowd.
"What happened?" Asked Twilight.
"What are those?" Rarity exclaimed, looking at the humans.
The monks looked at each other.
"Are y'all horses?" Clay asked, ignoring Rarity's question.
"Nah, we're ponies." Applejack replied, familiar with Clay's accent.
"Talking, colourful ponies? But some of you are unicorns and some are pegasi by the look of it." Kimiko commented.
"Of course a girl would know all about mythical equestrian creatures." Omi noted.
The ponies and Kimiko glared at Omi. He flinched and stopped talking.
"So I guess they got here because of the Wu?" Raimundo asked.
"Wu? What does that mean?" Rainbow Dash asked, "you better speak up!"
The monks took their time to explain everything the ponies may have needed to know. They told of humans, the Shen Gong Wu and Xiaolin Showdowns. They also briefly went over the monk's past. The ponies took a while to get this all in their heads.
"So you don't know why we're here?" Twilight asked.
"No clue, mam." Clay confirmed.
Master Fung entered the room to see what all the chatter was. As soon as he saw the ponies his eyes opened wide.
"You must all come with me at once." He commanded sternly.
Everyone followed the wise master. Fluttershy was a little further back from everypony as usual.
Master Fung had led the crowd into the scroll room. He took a seat and quietly started looking through the scrolls.
"Master Fung, what is going on?" Omi asked.
"Omi. Give me time." Master Fung said, again very seriously.
He continued to search through the scrolls. He then found what he was looking for.
"I knew this would happen eventually," he began, "The Celestial Horn was made so that it would activate only if no Shen Gong Wu had activated itself for an entire year since the last one. It meant that the most powerful of the Shen Gong Wu would start to reveal themselves."
Everyone listened intently.
He continued, "The Celestial Horn's purpose was to help good triumph over evil when these Shen Gong Wu revealed themselves. Master Dashi did not create a majority of these Shen Gong Wu; they were created by Wuya herself."
The ponies quickly remembered who Wuya was from the story they had heard.
"Master Dashi and Dojo still managed to obtain these Heylin Wu and hide them, so they will act just like normal Wu. Except..." He sighed.
"Except what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Except that only Heylin Warriors can use them to their full potential; or anyone who has been on their side at one point," He said, looking directly at both Omi and Raimundo, "the equestrians were sent here so that they may assist in the gathering of the Heylin Wu. I'm going to have to appoint you seven as Xiaolin Dragons in training."
"So we get to use Shen Gong Wu and have Xiaolin Showdowns and stuff?" Pinkie Pie gleamed, "that sounds so fun!"
"It may be somewhat fun, but it is a most serious matter." Omi noted.
"Wait seven? Master Fung sir, there are only six ponies here." Clay commented.
"Nope...there's seven of us," Spike said, walking out from the back, "I'm not a pony, I'm a dragon."
"Another dragon? Dojo isn't gonna like this." Raimundo commented.
"What am I not gonna like?" The green dragon said, entering the room.
He took one sight of Spike and jumped to the ceiling.
"Another dragon?! Am I being replaced? What'd I do wrong?" He cried.
"No worries, Dojo was it?" Applejack reassured, "we're new Dragons in-training."
"Oh. Welcome then. So you're the equestrians that Master Dashi once blabbered to me about." He recalled.
Spike and Dojo then became jittery.
"Twilight! What's happening to me?" Spike asked.
"I don't know!" She cried.
"It's a new Shen Gong Wu!" Dojo said, "looks like your buddy here can sense them too!"
"So what is it, Dojo?" Raimundo asked.
Master Fung opened a different scroll.
"Ah, the Dizzy Top. A strange Shen Gong Wu. When spun, it's user gains the ability to spin at high speeds. When one stops spinning, they are able to make their opponent as dizzy as they would be." He explained.
"That magical moving picture is something awesome." Rainbow Dash said in awe.
"Let's go then. Let's get the Dizzy Top!" Spike cheered.
"Um...some problem here," Dojo said, "I can't fit you all on my back."
"Sorry to burst yer bubble there partner, but it don't look like nopony can sit on yer back." Applejack chuckled.
Dojo stepped outside and everyone followed him, the monks grinned. He then began to grow larger and became his flying size. The ponies looked in amazement.
"I'm sure I can fit the guys and a couple of you on here but not all of you," he then looked at Spike curiously, "hey dragon?"
"Spike." He introduced himself.
"Yeah, Spike. You know when we sensed the Shen Gong Wu? Have you ever had that feeling before?" Dojo asked.
"Only earlier, like the moment we were in the portal to this world." He recalled.
"Then I think this world has given you powers." Dojo predicted.
"Are you saying I can grow just like you?" Spike gasped.
Dojo nodded and then explained to Spike what he does to grow. Spike tried and tried, then he suddenly began to enlarge and mature. Amazingly, he reached the size and look of the time he rampaged on his birthday.
"This is awesome!" He boomed in a deeper voice, "can I fly too?"
He let the ponies climb onto his back as he sat horizontally.
"Just follow my lead!" Dojo laughed as the monks climbed onto him.
Dojo then took off. Spike closed his eyes tight and did the same as Dojo. He was flying!
"Look at me, guys! I'm doing it! I'm flying!" He said, crying with excitement and joy.
"This is very cool," Fluttershy cheered, "again, I'm so excited I could scream!"
As Fluttershy let out an almost inaudible scream of joy as Spike caught up to Dojo in the air. They were close enough so that the monks and ponies could talk to each other and hear them properly.
During their time in the air, the monks and ponies had introduced themselves. They entered a cave where the Dizzy Top was hidden. As they landed, Dojo and Spike returned to their normal size and form. The group then started to look for the Shen Gong Wu. Twilight was the one to find it, but as she picked it up with her magic, something stopped her from taking it away. She looked directly ahead to see Jack Spicer.
"Who are you?" The two asked each other.
"I'm Jack Spicer, evil boy genius!" The evil boy bragged.
"Oh yes, I've heard of you. I heard you're no good!" Twilight intimidated Jack.
"Who might you be?" He asked.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm a new Xiaolin Dragon in-training sent here from Equestria to help gather the new Shen Gong Wu. My friends and I were transported here from The Celestial Horn's power and we were recruited into the Xiaolin Temple's ranks." She explained.
Jack looked slightly confused and bored, "Too much talk, not enough winning this Top."
"I suppose now we enter a Xiaolin Showdown?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. Twilight, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! Jack challenged.
"I accept. What do you want to play?" She asked.
"Murder in the Dark. The first one to find the other wins." Jack explained.
"Alright, your wager?" She continued.
"Uh-uh-uh," Jack said, "I challenge you to a Shengi-Bu-Dare."
"Shengi-Bu-Dare?" Twilight asked.
"It's an additional challenge to a Showdown." Kimiko explained.
"Neither of us use any Shen Gong Wu. The winner gets the Dizzy Top and only the Dizzy Top." Jack challenged.
"I accept. So no wager." Twilight said.
"Then let's do this." Jack smirked.
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" The two shouted.
The darkness of the cave became worse. The monks changed into their Showdown outfits and the ponies got a black belt around their torsos. Eventually nothing in the cave was visible.
"GONG YI TENPAI!" The two shouted, not knowing where anyone was.
Twilight started slowly, making as little noise as possible while still listening closely for any sign of Jack. She could hear very light sounds far off. She decided to sit still and wait for the sounds to get closer. She had a plan. The sounds gradually get nearer and louder, then a small lot of sounds race past her.
"Jack must be running past me. He knows where I am!" Twilight thought to herself.
She prepared some magic and teleported ahead of herself as not to get caught, but it seemed that she had been outsmarted. She was poked on the side.
"Tag, I'm it. It being the winner." Jack said.
The cave brightened and the Wu brought itself to Jack. The monk's outfits and ponies' belts faded away and the cave returned to its normal brightness. Twilight looked very upset as Jack flew away with his jetpack.
"I lost my first Showdown," she said with a tear in her eye, "how did Jack know I could teleport? How did he know where I'd go?"
"No offense sugarcube, but you could expect as such from a unicorn." Applejack admitted.
"I could see Jack slightly," Rarity said, "he was carrying rocks. He must have used them to trick you."
"I feel I've greatly shamed us all." Twilight cried.
"It's fine." Kimiko said, petting Twilight.
"Yeah we all lose sometimes!" Raimundo smiled.
"He must've had no Wu," Clay said, "that's why he called the Dare."
"We have plenty anyway. Do not be down with the trash." Omi said.
"Down in the dumps." Raimundo corrected.
"Yes," Omi continued, "there was no loss here."
"Thanks everyone." Twilight said, wiping away a tear.
"You were brave to accept the challenge, Twi!" Rainbow Dash smiled.
"Yes, I think if Jack had played a little fairer you would've won!" Fluttershy said.
"So, time to go back to the temple?" Spike said excitedly, growing to his new form.
"You lead this time!" Dojo smiled.
Back at the temple Twilight told Master Fung of her experience.
"Not to fret, young unicorn," he smiled, "next time will be successful."
"Thank you, master." Twilight bowed.
She walked outside to see Spike and Dojo preparing for another flight.
"Didn't we just get back?" She asked.
"Another Wu revealed itself!" Spike said enthusiastically.
"That was fast." Twilight blinked.
"Dibs on the Showdown!" Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Not if I find it first!" Omi challenged.
"So what is it?" Twilight said, climbing onto Spike's back.
"I'll read the scroll on the way. Let's go!" Raimundo said.
So the dragons and the...dragons flew off immediately in search of another Shen Gong Wu.
"The finding of the new Wu has been pretty easy recently." Kimiko commented.
"We have only found two." Omi noted.
"Still, they were glaringly obvious." Kimiko finished.
"So Rai, what's the new Wu?" Clay asked.
"The Beaver Braces," Raimundo read, "whoever wears them on their teeth might want to consult a dentist. Their teeth grows to a large size and they can bite through any material, no matter how strong it is."
"Then let's go get 'em!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
"And so, we begin our new quest to once again to search for the Shen Gong Wu. With some further assistance, I'm sure as ever we will succeed!" Omi rambled.
"There's probly gonna be a might of trouble with them new Heylin Wu." Clay commented.
"We can do it!" Shouted Fluttershy, louder than usual.
Everypony looked at her and laughed with her, then the monks. The new allies were already very close.
Dojo began to descend into a forest full of very tall trees. He flew in slowly to avoid being scraped by the pointed branches or being hailed on my pinecones. Spike however, full in the moment, was laughing and throwing himself down to the forest, forgetting the panicing ponies on his back.
"Hold on tight, everypony!" Applejack shouted amidst the screams, "LASSO BOA-BOA!"
Unleashing the power of the Shen Gong Wu, Applejack got the rope to latch around Spike's neck. She pulled hard on the Wu and managed to to stop Spike right in his track before he hit a tree. He began to gasp for air and Applejack suddenly loosened the rope.
"Sorry 'bout that pardner. We just needed t'slow ya'll down otherwise that there landin' coulda been a might rough." Applejack tipped her hat.
"I..understand...sorry...guys" Spike said, still catching his breath.
The ponies hopped off his back and he returned to normal size. Dojo and the monks followed shortly afterwards.
"Oh my," Rarity gasped, "my hooves are going to get awfuly muddy!"
She jumped up on to a nearby branch and hung on for dear sanitation.
"I am not coming down until I have shoes on my hooves." She demanded.
"We haven't got anything you could wear, Rarity," Omi said, "although I do understand that a female as yourself would be highly concerned about the 'muddy ground'. Realistically it is of no worries."
Rarity glared at Omi with fire in her eyes.
"However, I am willing to donate my shoes to you if it means you will help us to look for the Shen Gong Wu." He smiled.
"Oh, Omi. That is very kind of you, however dear, I have four hooves and you only have two feet." She laughed, instantly forgetting her rage.
"No problem. I always carry around a spare pair!" Omi's smile widened as he pulled another pair of shoes from his robe.
Rarity accepted Omi's shoes and awkwardly affixed them to her hooves. It took some struggle but they fit eventually. They began their search for the Beaver Braces.
"So what exactly are we looking out for?" Twilight asked.
"The scroll looked like it showed a pair of dentures." Clay recalled.
"With large front teeth." Raimundo added.
"Like these?" Pinkie said, smiling widely to her friends.
Her two front teeth had enlarged massively.
"BEAVER BRACES!" She began to bite at a tree, then chopped the whole thing.
She quickly jumped up it as it fell and shredded it to stop it from collapsing to the ground, but a strange force pulled her further forwards. She ended up with her teeth attached to the end of a magnet attached to a glove. The one wearing the glove was Wuya. The Beaver Braces began to glow.
"Who fare ou?" Pinkie spat, not being able to speak properly.
Wuya just stared at the smiling pink pony. She then smiled and mumbled to herself, "the time has come."
"I, equestrian, am Wuya. Witch of darkness!" She cackled.
"I know who lou are!" Pinkie continued to spit, "youl're ebil!"
"Well done. I suppose no introductions will be needed. Except for your name." She said.
"I'm Plinkie Pie." She spluttered.
"Plinkie Pie?" Wuya laughed.
Pinkie took the Braces out of her mouth. Her expression was very serious.
"I, Pinkie Pie, challenge you, Wuya to a Xiaolin Showdown!" She shouted.
"I accept. Name your challenge!" Wuya laughed again.
Pinkie looked at her surroundings, taking note of what could be suitable for the environment.
"Collecting wood. We cut down trees, the one with the most logs collected after three minutes wins." She said.
"Alright, I wager my Sword of the Storms." Wuya replied.
"What do we have on us guys?" Pinkie asked.
"We only brought the Mantis Flip Coin." Kimiko frowned.
"Well that won't be any good!" Pinkie compalined, "wait, Applejack, didn't you have that lasso?"
"What the Boa-Boa? Yeah I found it in the vault. Thought it looked pretty handy." She said.
"I wager my Lasso Boa-Boa!" Pinkie said.
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" the two shouted.
The forest remained the same, however birds flew around in large flocks and quickly wove giant nests for the two to rest their collected wood.
"GONG YI TENPAI!" the two began.
Pinkie immediatley jumped the the nearest tree.
"LASSO BOA-BOA!" she called.
The rope opened before getting to the tree and latched itself on. Pinkie gave a hard tug and the Lasso pulled a large chunk of wood right from the center, causing the top half to fall. Pinkie quickly threw her first log into her nest and used the Lasso again to get the top and throw it in. She checked on the progress only to see that Wuya was already dead ahead with her sharp Shen Gong Wu. Pulling the trunks wouldn't be enough to catch up. Pinkie kept trying anyway.
The two were rapidly cutting and pulling at the trees and Wuya was very far in the lead. Pinkie began to lose hope, but a strange feeling came upon her. She began to uncontrollably walk on her front hooves whilst shaking.
"My Pinkie sense!" she exclaimed.
"What does this one mean?" Fluttershy asked.
"It means something fun is about to happen!" Pinkie smiled.
She jumped up in the air and threw her arms up with a scream of joy. A pink light emenated from behind her.
"LAUGHTER!" She called, the symbols 笑声 formed in front of her.
She suddenly started bouncing around at high speeds, using the Lasso even quicker than Wuya was using her Sword. She then turned around and grabbed the Sword and began to use it at a much more efficient rate than Wuya.She then stopped. Time was up. Her pile was about three times the size of Wuya's!
The nests dissapeared and the trees returned to their normal state. Wuya dissapeared in a flash of green magic without a word.
"Nicely done, Pinkie!" Rarity said.
"That was a most interesting Showdown." Omi noted.
"Y'all roped those dogies in like a true cowpony." Applejack laughed. Only Clay joined her laugh.
"Thanks guys! That sudden burst of energy really gave me strength!" She looked up.
"That must have been your Element." Raimundo said.
"Element? Like the Elements of Harmony?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Whatever that is." Omi said.
"Aren't those the water and air things you were telling us about?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, they all represent a different Element," Dojo explained, "calling on it boosts their chi."
"Well we must all already know ours as Pinkie was Laughter. It must corrospond with the Elements of Harmony." Twilight said.
The ponies nodded in agreement.
"Can you utilise it at will?" Rarity asked
"Indeed." Omi replied.
"Well we should be getting home." Spike said, loving to grow to his bigger form.
The Xiaolin Dragons climbed on their dragon's backs and flew back to the temple.
"The Element of Laugher." Master Fung responded to Pinkie's recap of their search for the Beaver Braces.
"Yes, Master Fung." Pinkie nodded.
"We will have to put these Elements into practise." He commented.
"Alright guys! Let's go!" Pinkie jumped up.
"In the morning, Pinkie Pie," Master Fung laughed, "it is very late and you all must be tired."
"Oh. Yes sir, sorry Master." Pinkie calmed down.
Everyone simply laughed and went to their beds for the night. The next day would be packed with new training for the ponies for the perilous quest ahead.
Rainbow Dash was already high in the sky and precisely flying upwards in a straight line, leaving a huge rainbow in her tracks. She retracted the Wings of Tinabi and floated in mid-air, waiting for approval to perform her Apprentice move. Omi, only just visible on the ground, gave her a thumbs up and ducked for cover with the others.
"SONIC RAINBOOM! LOYALTY!" Rainbow Dash called, instantly zooming downwards.
A cone formed around her body and slowly closed in. She kept a stern expression and then a huge rainbow formed behind her and showered down along with her, her body was also covered in a rainbow aura. She loudly crashed into the ground, the aura and showering rainbow spreading out and destroying all the target dummies for a few meters around. The monks and ponies came out of their withdrawal and applauded.
"That was mighty fine for a first try, Rainbow Dash." Clay praised.
Applejack ran towards a target and faced the other way to it.
"APPLEBUCK! HONESTY!" She called, her hind hooves glowing orange.
Her hooves snapped and slammed into the dummy, sending a small orange shockwave also destroying other nearby dummies. Once again, the others applauded. Applejack took a bow.
"Naturally." She smirked.
Rarity was next. She stepped forward and closed her eyes, building magic in her horn. A thin, magical white wind began to swirl around her and the ground below her shook softly.
"STONE STORM! GENEROSITY!" She said with a laugh.
Rocks suddenly burst from the ground and spun around Rarity. There were four in total orbiting her torso. She pointed her head forward and her horn flashed; one of the stones flew forward and dug right in to the target, imploding it. She jumped up and unleashed the other three all at once, doing the same to other targets. There were none left. Everyone applauded the unicorn.
"Very graceful." Fluttershy whispered.
"You're up next, Fluttershy!" Kimiko smiled, petting Fluttershy on the head.
"Oh...I don't know if I'll do it right at first. I mean...I'm sorry but there are no targets left." She displayed a very forced smile.
"No problem." Master Fung said, observing from behind them.
Dojo and Spike simply went and set up more targets. Fluttershy walked back slightly.
"You'll do fine, Fluttershy. The others were fantastic!" Twilight reassured.
"Well if you're so sure..." Fluttershy stepped forward.
She flew up vertically and held her stance in the air. She closed her eyes and started to shake.
"I really can't do it on command." She said.
"I couldn't do a sonic rainboom on command," Rainbow Dash commented, "the Xiaolin world has given us new powers."
Reluctantly, Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked at a target dead on.
"Stare-Zhu...KINDNESS!" She began in a whisper, then a shout as her pupils dilated.
The target she was looking at knocked over violently, as did the column of targets behind it.
"Well done, darling." Rairty said, smiling at Fluttershy.
"That was pretty cool." Fluttershy returned a sincere smile, "Pinkie's next."
Pinkie bounced up to a target and smiled right at it, she stood on her hind legs.
"PINKIE SENSE! LAUGHTER!" She giggled.
Nothing happened, but her tail twitched. She then jumped up, pressed down on her tail, and bounced high upwards. She landed tail-on into the target and destroyed it, then bouncing up and landing on the next and then another three times. Everyone laughed with Pinkie.
"That is a most ridiculous yet powerful Apprentice move, Pinkie Pie!" Omi said amidst his laughter.
"And after me just leaves Twilight!" Pinkie beamed to Twilight.
She had her head in a scroll but had been paying attention. She folded it up and coughed, readying herself for her attack on the last three targets.
"HARMONY HUOHUA! MAGIC!" She shouted, her horn glowing a deep purple.
The bright colour from her horn minimized and turned into a small spike of magical energy.
"Okay..." Twilight said, looking up at the small orb no larger than a fly.
It zoomed into the middle target and suddenly let out a huge purple explosion, knocking everybody back with it's tremendous power.
"That was amazing!" Rainbow shouted.
"Very well done!" Raimundo said.
"It's a good thing we're finished," Dojo said, leaping into the air, "just in time for a brand new Shen Gong Wu!"
Spike belched fire and the Shen Gong Wu Scroll appeared from it. Earlier on, Dojo and him had discovered this very convenient use for his ability. Spike opened it up.
"The Emerald of Guang," he read, looking at the picture, "it creates light energy inside itself to shoot at the enemy in the form of sharp gemstones."
"GEMSTONES?!" Rarity screamed, "we must get this Wu at all costs! It looks simply gorgeous!"
Rarity drooled at the picture of the huge diamond shape with two strands of fabric coming from the back.
"Spikey-wikey, you'll get us to it extra fast for me, won't you?" She said, rubbing herself against the baby dragon.
"O-of course Rarity!" Spike blushed, growing to his full size.
The other ponies giggled and hopped on his back.
"Omi, fetch the Beaver Braces. As embarrasing as it sounds and looks, I need to wear them. The Emerald of Guang is underground and we don't have the Tunnel Armadillo." Dojo sighed.
Omi ran and came back with the large buck teeth, Dojo put them on and grew to full size, taking the monks on his back and launching off simultaneously with Spike.
***
Dojo reached the point on the surface where he needed to start tunneling.
"BEAVER BRACES!" He shouted, his teeth growing to a ridiculous size.
He slammed into the ground and began to munch away at the dirt, doing his best not to swallow any. Spike and the girls tried not to laugh loudly following him down his tunnel. He suddenly started to bite at air and fell face-first on the floor of a cave. He didn't have to tunnel anymore. He returned his teeth and self to normal size.
"Alright everyone, look for the Emerald!" He said, trying to draw attention away from what his teeth had looked like.
This search took longer than the others, but they knew it was a success when they heard a loud scream.
"WAHAHA!" Rarity squealed, trying to pull out the magnificent gem wedged in the wall.
"Rarity's found it." Twilight laughed.
She managed to pull it out with her magic, but what she did not realised on the other end of the Wu was Wuya. The Wu began to glow.
"So you must be Rarity." Wuya hissed.
"And I know that you are Wuya. If you know what is best for you, I would back away from the pretty gem!" Rarity scowled.
"Feisty little pony, aren't you? This gem is as good as mine," Wuya laughed, "Rarity, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown."
"And what will I do to win this precious jewel?" Rarity smirked.
"A gemstone hunt. Gems will be hidden in crystal walls. Touch one and it is added to your collection. The one with the heaviest set of gemstones after a minute wins." Wuya challenged.
"Fine, sounds easy enough!" Rarity accepted.
"I will use my Fist of Tebigong." Wuya wagered.
"And I shall win with the Thorn of Thunderbolt." Rarity said.
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" The two shouted, staring intimidatingly in each other's eyes.
In a flash, the brown walls of the cave turned to a brilliant and clear light blue, small gem stones clearly visible within them, The low ceiling raised itself higher and the walls grew outwards and lost some of itself to form a maze. The Xiaolin Warriors all wore their Showdown outfits.
"GONG YI TENPAI!" They shouted.
"FIST OF TEBIGONG!" Wuya shouted, slamming her fist into the nearest wall.
Some gems poured out, she touched them and they teleported to a dish on a side of a pair of scales with digital weights displayed above each end.
"THORN OF THUNDERBOLT! THORN OF THUNDERBOLT! THORN OF THUNDERBOLT!" Rarity yelled desperately, blasting all the nearby walls.
The crystal shattered and Rarity quickly collected the gemstones. Right now, her pile was heavier.
"FIST OF TEBIGONG!" Wuya called.
Her Wu slammed straight through a wall, collecting a long chain of gemstones as she smashed. She hit a weak spot of the wall and it all collapsed. Wuya acted fast to get the gemstones, but Rarity tried to get some for herself.
"FIST OF TEBIGONG!" She screeched, hitting Rarity hard in the face as she was running.
Rarity was sent flying backwards into a wall, the crystal shattering around her and collecting a few gemstones where she had landed.
"Oh. It. IS. ON." Rarity whispered.
The ponies stood back. Stuff was about to go down.
"THORN OF THUNDERBOLT!" Rarity called, continuing to hold the Wu with her magic.
She ran towards Wuya as she called on it's power and used the lightning to knock the Fist of Tebigong right off her. She ran past Wuya and caught the Fist on her hoof. It quickly changed to the shape of her hoof and fit perfectly.
"It's like a metallic sock!" Rarity squeed.
She carried on running forward to see a formation like her cutie mark in the crystal.
"FIST OF TEBIGONG! THORN OF THUNDERBOLT!" She called upon both the Wu she held and demolished the wall in front of her to reveal a diamond around three times the size of her.
"Look out Wuya!" She said, moving her hoof slowly forward intimidatingly.
"NO!" The witch screamed.
"HERE COMES TOM!" Rarity shouted, tapping the large diamond.
It teleported to the scales and slammed down on Rarity's pile. The scales went down instantly on her side and broke the digital scale. Wuya's gems were forced up from the force, some of them landed back but others fell out or landed in Rarity's side. The minute was up and everything returned to normal.
***
Back at the temple during sundown, Rarity had set herself a very large amount of targets. She held the Emerald of Guang tight in her hooves. Raimundo had gone to return the other Wu to the vault but the others all watched carefully.
"EMERALD OF GUANG!" Rarity shouted in joy.
The Emerald began to glow a blinding white and shards of light shot out from it's interior at very fast speeds. They stopped shining and became gemstones of many different colours. Rarity moved slowly with her Wu to make it spew out gemstones in the right places to get the targets. It was like a vertical waterfall of the gems. No targets remained.
She set down the Emerald but kept a hoof on it. She focused her magic and her magic wind started to blow around her.
"Thanks for telling me about this, Master Fung darling," she laughed, "STONE STORM! GENEROSITY! EMERALD OF GUANG!"
The stones that normally rose up from the ground became large colourful gemstones. She turned around and looked at Spike. He opened his mouth wide and she shot the four gems right at him. He swallowed them.
"Best gems I've ever tasted!" He said with some still in his mouth.
Everyone laughed, but Raimundo ran up to the crowd.
"Get to the vault, quickly! Jack's trying to steal Shen Gong Wu!" He panted.
***
Long story short, they couldn't get there in time. Jack had escaped. Raimundo explained that Jack used the Dizzy Top to make him lose his sense of just about everything telling him where to go. Master Fung returned from examining the vault.
"Unusually, Jack has only taken one Shen Gong Wu from us. The Tongue of Saiping." He said positively.
"What's the Tongue of Saiping?" Applejack asked.
"It's a Shen Gong Wu that allows the user to talk to animals." Kimiko replied.
"WHAT?!" Fluttershy shouted, everyone looked at her, "oh..well that's unfortunate. I would have liked to try that."
Everyone decided no harm was done and returned to their rooms. They all fell asleep very quickly and didn't notice that someone had gone missing. Somepony.
Fluttershy walked out of the vault in her sneaking gear with some Shen Gong Wu. She was going to retrieve the Tongue of Saiping.
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(and now back to your favourite Xiaolin Showdown/My Little Pony crossover!)
Fluttershy untightened the string on her saddlebag and walked out of the entrance to the temple. She took one look back and whimpered.
"No," she said, "I'm doing this for the sake of the animals and for the sake of the good!"
She opened up her saddlebag and took out the Golden Tiger Claws with her wing. She put it on her hoof and the claws transformed into a fitting shape.
"Golden Tiger Claws ." she whispered, slowly flying into the portal she calmly slashed open.
~~~
She jumped out of the other side and returned the Tiger Claws to her saddlebag, tightening the string. She then pulled a mask over her face, leaving just her eyes, snout and mouth uncovered. She tiphooved beside the wall of Jack's garden and stood directly towards it.
"Stare-Zhu! Kindness...oh and please be quiet! " she whispered, giving a large glare at the wall as she faintly glowed yellow.
The wall silently crumbled infront of her. She smirked and began to move into Jack's garden. She scanned the area, looking for anything that may detect her and began to stealthily move across the garden towards a window.
"Oh what do I do now? It might take too long to ready the Tiger Claws." she thought.
She saw a light in the window and instantly ducked. A voice came from inside.
"It's so stuffy tonight. It stinks of Jack's sweat too. Why does that boy never open the window?" The screechy female voice said, lifting the hatch of the window and opening it.
Fluttershy smiled and waited for who she assumed to be Jack's mother to pass by. She silently entered through the window and looked infront of her. There was a large metallic door.
JACK'S PALACE. KEEP OUT. FUTURE WORLD RULER JACK SPICER ONLY.
Fluttershy sniggered at Jack's pathetic behaviour, then looked to see what would open the door. She heard footsteps come far from behind it and backed up against the wall, furiously searching through her bag. She then heard returning footsteps from the woman and saw in a glint of moonlight she was carrying a washing basket. Fluttershy simply closed her eyes and hoped she would walk past. As the woman walked by, Fluttershy felt something cover her. She almost screamed but shoved a hoof in her mouth before she could. She felt the fabric around her and thought it must have come out of the wash basket Jack's mother was carrying.
"Wait..." she thought, feeling it a bit more, "this unusual texture is just like something Omi described. A Shen Gong Wu..."
"Shroud of Shadows " she whispered.
Fluttershy instantly vanished from her own vision. She waved a hoof infront of her eyes and couldn't see it in the moonlight. Success! She then heard the other footsteps from behind the door get closer and the door opened, unleashing a horrible smell. Fluttershy held her nose and she crept in to the room as Jack exited, closing the door behind him.
"Now where is she?" he said; Fluttershy assumed he was talking about his mother.
She walked down some metal stairs, then began to lightly fly as she noticed she was making noise on them. She saw a Jackbot flying in circles at the bottom of the stairs and swiftly avoided it, tightly gripping the Shroud of Shadows she wore. She then looked at the rectangular table in the center of the room and found what she was looking for. The Tongue of Saiping! She flew over to it and picked it up, then heard the doors open again. She let go of it and hid under the table as she saw Jack come down.
"Alright Jackbot. Did you see anything?" Jack asked.
"Nothing." The robot replied.
"Go and deactivate then," Jack pointed towards a heap of switched off Jackbots, "conserve your batteries."
The Jackbot rushed to the pile and switched itself off, making a loud clang as it fell on them.
"JACK, GO TO BED, IT'S MIDNIGHT!" Jack's mother screeched from upstairs.
"I'M WORKING, MOM!" Jack shouted back, throwing a blue sphere at the door, "oops."
He ran to pick it up and returned to the table.
"The Tongue of Saiping. Just the bait I needed...but were my calculations correct?" He set down the sphere next to the Tongue and walked to his computer.
He began to mumble and type, Fluttershy quietly flew up to the table and grabbed the Tongue, quickly putting it in her saddlebag under the Shroud of Shadows. She tried to grab the sphere but she panicked and dropped it, causing a loud bang on the floor.
"Ah, my guest has arrived!" Jack said, spinning round in his chair.
Fluttershy gasped and galloped for the door, ditching the Shroud of Shadows. She fumbled through her bag whilst running and grabbed the Golden Tiger Claws. Jack chased after her. She leapt out of the window and next to a pond in Jack's garden. She held tightly onto the Tiger Claws, but saw Jack was also holding onto it. The Claws began to glow.
"Fluttershy! I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" Jack smirked.
Fluttershy avoided eye contact and whimpered.
"The game is to stay on the rocks. The one to not fall in the pond wins." Jack said, "I wager my Dizzy Top. What do you have again?"
"Th-the Mantis F-flip Coin ." Fluttershy whispered.
"Alright. LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" only Jack shouted.
Fluttershy and Jack were moved to the stones in Jack's pond. Fluttershy's sneaking outfit was replaced with her black belt. The rocks rose skyward and floated in the air.
"GONG YI TENpai" Jack shouted, Fluttershy whimpered.
"DIZZY TOP!" Jack instantly called.
He began to spin fast and Fluttershy could not distinguish which way he was facing at any time due to his spinning speed. Fluttershy chose not to be distracted and focused on staying on the stone, which was only just wider than her.
"DIZZY TOP!" Jack called again, the Doppler effect making it hardly audible.
He stopped spinning perfectly on the stop and an after image of him spinning shot out of the Dizzy Top, launching itself at Fluttershy. She cowered behind her hooves and was struck by the ghostly spinning Jack, she began to wobble and fell backwards, grabbing on to the edge of the rock with a wing. Jack jumped over to her.
"This will end quickly." He laughed.
Fluttershy's face turned serious. She held the Mantis Flip Coin in her mouth.
"MANTIF FWIP COY!" she called, flipping forwards furiously and landing on another rock.
She spat out the coin into her wing and smirked at Jack.
"MANTIS FLIP COIN!" she called, flipping to and kicking Jack.
He fell off, "DIZZY TOP!" he called.
He was spinning in midair and rose up to the stone. Fluttershy flinched and tried not to be hit by him. He rammed into her and she fell off. She began to fly back up, but Jack stopped again.
"DIZZY TOP!" he called.
The afterimage hit her again and she uncontrollably fell downwards. Jack won the Showdown. Everything returned to normal.
Fluttershy was still falling, but she landed on something soft and did not impact on the ground.
"Are ya'll alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, petting Fluttershy softly.
"Applejack?" she said in tears.
"It's okay buddy. Spike got us here just in time." Rainbow Dash smiled.
Spike, who had just swooped in to her rescue and was flying back to the temple, looked back and gave a thumbs up to Fluttershy.
"Oh darling, when we noticed you were gone we just knew that you had come here to get the Tongue of Saiping." Rarity explained.
"We were so worried about you, Fluttershy!" Pinkie added.
"We're lucky we guessed right," said Twilight, "we're just glad you're okay."
"Thanks guys," Fluttershy sniffed.
"That awful boy Jack was horrible to you in that Showdown." Rarity pouted.
"Oh...sorry girls. I lost the Golden Tiger Claws and Mantis Flip Coin." Fluttershy began to cry again.
"Aw it's alright, Fluttershy," Applejack consoled her, "y'win some y'lose some. Did y'all get the Tongue of Saiping?"
Fluttershy checked her bag. She brightened up when she grabbed something wet and pulled out the Tongue.
"I got it!" She said, wiping away her tears.
"At least you got what you came for!" Rainbow Dash patted her on the back.
"TONGUE OF SAIPING!" Fluttershy called.
She looked at a flock of birds who had just risen during sunrise and talked to them with it, then started laughing.
"What'd you tell them to do?" Pinkie asked.
"Oh, just a little thanks to Jack for not noticing I took the Tongue." Fluttershy giggled.
***
"JACK! WHY IS THE HOUSE COVERED IN BIRD POOP? I'M BLAMING YOU FOR THIS ENTIRELY! NOW GO AND CLEAN IT UP AND NO HELP FROM YOUR ROBOT TOYS!" Jack's mother shouted.
"How did this happen?" Jack cried, scrubbing the roof of white splotches just about everywhere.
Raimundo ran along the outside of the temple, quickly avoiding Rarity's blasts from the Emerald of Guang. He jumped and landed behind her.
"WUDAI STAR, WIND!" he called, unleashing a relentless gust against the unicorn.
"STONE STORM, GENEROSITY!" Rarity called, cleverly using the stones she rose to cover her hooves and hold her in place against the gale.
Levitating the Emerald with her magic, Rarity moved the Wu in a 'u' shape movement, forming a large slit of light in the same shape.
"EMERALD OF GUANG!" she shouted over Raimundo's gust.
The light solidified into a marvellous ruby and shot at Raimundo.
"JET-BOOTSU!" he called, jumping directly over the ruby and flying over Rarity.
"So that's how he was runnin' on the wall!" Applejack gasped.
"I could have done it regardless." Omi bragged.
Everyone ignored him and focused on the spar. Rarity was shooting wildly with the Emerald of Guang but Raimundo avoided every hit. He then simply flew up to Rarity.
"Tag. I win." he smiled, poking her on the horn.
"Well played." Rarity bowed.
"Raimundo advances to the next round. Rainbow Dash, you are next." Master Fung looked at the distracted blue pony.
She was playing a game on Kimiko's handheld.
"Rainbow Dash." he called again.
"Yeah gimmie a minute. The zombies are launching goo at me like there's no tomorrow." she grunted.
Master Fung went up to Rainbow Dash and kneeled to her level.
"How are you doing, Rainbow Dash?" he asked with a smile.
"Awesomely! Look, I nearly defeated the goo zombie lord!" she bragged.
"You know, there is an excellent shortcut to finishing him." Master Fung commented.
"Yeah? Like what?"
He turned off the console.
"NO!" Rainbow cried.
"You are sparring Raimundo now. Choose a Shen Gong Wu." he reminded her.
"Urgh. Right." she looked to the chest next to her.
Without much care, she chose the Eye of Dashi and wore it around her neck.
"Ready, set, go!" Master Fung called.
"JET-BOOTSU!" Raimundo called, tackling Rainbow Dash to the ground.
"No fair! I wasn't ready!" she complained.
"Fine, one redo. Ready..." Master Fung began.
Rainbow Dash looked back at Kimiko's game console.
"Set..."
She thought to herself, "Zap the goo zombie. Raimundo is a goo zombie."
"GO!"
"EYE OF DASHI!"
The shot went straight past Rai, who walked up and tapped Rainbow Dash on the head.
"Alright, back to goo zombies!" she beamed.
Master Fung sighed, "Clay, you're next. Choose your Shen Gong Wu."
"I reckon I'm fine with just the cloth on my body." he tipped his hat.
"This'll be easy then." Raimundo smirked.
"Ready, set, go!"
"JET-BOOTSU!" Raimundo called, flying straight towards Clay.
He held out a hand and stopped Raimundo by his head.
"Lookie there, I win," he laughed, "that arrogance is why you and Dashie lost."
"Right. We gotta think of any possibility." Raimundo said.
"Exactly." Clay bowed.
Spike, watching on the side, suddenly belched up the Shen Gong Wu scroll.
"Hot from the press." Kimiko laughed.
"Doesn't smell like new ink to me." Twilight wafted her hoof.
"What's the new Wu, you?" Pinkie giggled.
Dojo read the scroll.
"The Shroud of Silence. Whoever wears it will make no sound whatsoever.
"Sounds creepy." said Fluttershy.
"It is the sister Shen Gong Wu to the Shroud of Shadows." Master Fung commented.
"The Shroud of Shadows?!" Fluttershy exclaimed, "Jack Spicer has that!"
"But with the both of them in his hands...the sheets are about to come down!" Omi gasped.
"Shi- you know what, I don't even think it's appropriate to say." Raimundo stopped himself.
"As much as I doubt Omi was censoring anything, we gotta stop thinking about it and hurry!" Spike said, growing to his flying size.
***
The ponies and monks began searching the field they landed in for the Shroud.
"Enough of this, I'll just take to the skies and look from above!" Rainbow said, opening her wings.
Just as she lifted off, she tripped and fell on the ground. Tripped on nothing. She tried again but bumped into thin air again.
"What?" she said, rubbing her face where she had whacked into something.
Jack then took off a shroud and mouthed something.
"Jack Spicer!" Omi gasped.
He mouthed something again, then realised not even he could hear himself. He took off another Shroud.
"Too late, Xiaolin losers! I already got the Shroud of Silence!" he laughed, then put both Shrouds back on.
"Well we're not psychic," Dojo sighed, "let's head back. We lost this one."
***
It was night and just after dinner, everyone was fast asleep. Nobody knew that Jack Spicer was taking advantage of both the Shrouds and went into the Shen Gong Wu vault to steal their Wu. There was nothing left in there by the time he had left.
***
In the new day, everybody gathered to the courtyard, ready for another day of sparring. Master Fung calmly approached the group.
"All the Shen Gong Wu have been stolen." he said.
They all gasped and muttered.
"It's like when you have all your weapons taken off you in Goo Zombies 7," Rainbow Dash said, "but you still have one hidden!"
She held the Wings of Tinabi out from under her wing. Everyone cheered.
"Nice going, why'd you have it stashed away anyways?" Applejack asked.
"It's cool!" Rainbow laughed.
"I've infiltrated Jack's house before," Fluttershy smirked, "I say we go there and take our Wu back."
"How out of character, Fluttershy..." Twilight said.
"But it sounds so...fun!" Fluttershy laughed.
"I like the way you think!" Pinkie gave Fluttershy a hoofbump.
"So it is agreed?" Rarity smiled.
"Let's do it!" Omi said.
***
Fluttershy suggested that everyone dress in some sort of sneaking suit, so everyone was covered with a black outfit.
"It worked last time!" she said, sitting on the flying Spike.
"So what exactly did you do last time?" Kimiko asked on Dojo.
"His mom opened the window...I guess I got lucky." she answered.
"Then we'll just have to count on luck." Applejack said.
"Or one of us could be a distraction?" Raimundo suggested.
"Too risky. We just need to get in, dish the Wu and get back home." Twilight said.
"True," said Omi, "so let us just see what happens and go with the flow."
The dragons flew in to Jack's garden and returned to their normal size, everyone but Rainbow Dash sneaked off to find a way inside Jack's house. They didn't notice that she had disbanded from the group.
"This is the window I came in through last time ." Fluttershy whispered.
Luckily, the window was open again, so the ponies snuck in and listened for any signs on Jack.
"He's not likely to be using the Shrouds is he? " Kimiko asked.
"Don't think so. He ain't expectin' us. " Applejack replied.
"I wouldn't count on that. " Fluttershy said.
"What do you mean?" Omi asked.
"Jack acted a lot like he knew I was coming last time. " she explained.
"Odd. " Rarity commented.
"Hey guys? " Twilight asked, "where's Rainbow? "
Everyone gasped as they noticed she was missing.
"No time for that now. Go for the Wu! " Dojo said.
So they entered Jack's basement in search of their stolen artefacts. Of which there were a lot.
Rainbow was outside, looking around intently.
"I know you're out here, Jack! Show yourself!" she commanded.
Her only reply was being flung into a wall by seemingly nothing. She smiled.
"Knew it." she said.
She was about to pounce at where she was thrown from, but then remembered her sparring session with Raimundo. Instead, she simply waited for Jack to come to her. She held a hoof out and stopped an 'invisible force' in its tracks. A golden aura began to glow in front of her.
"Jack, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" she challenged.
No response.
"Take off the Shroud of Silence, you idiot." she sighed.
The Shroud fell to the floor, but the glow around nothing was still there.
"I accept, Rainbow Dash." he replied.
"The game a stealth contest. The one who sets off the least traps wins. I wager my Wings of Tinabi."
"How do you have that? I took all your Wu!"
"So it WAS you!"
"Whatever. I wager the Shroud of Silence." Jack offered.
The Showdown was for the Shroud of Shadows he was wearing.
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" the two shouted at the same time.
The stone path of Jack's garden extended and split into two. The stepping stones became larger and the grass disappeared, turning into hot coal. Rainbow Dash wore her black belt.
"GONG YI TENPAI!"
Rainbow Dash laughed and thought that her knowledge of Daring Do would come in handy. She risked her hoof and picked up a coal, mimicking hot potato at first, but then threw it at the stone ahead. Spikes shot up instantly and retracted. She tried to fly but her wings wouldn't let her.
"WINGS OF TINABI!" she called, flying ahead to the third step in a burst of rainbow.
Jack was already quite ahead, using his jetpack. His traps were different, but he cheered loudly at 'expertly' avoiding a ball of fire (not knowing it burnt off the tail of his jacket) and darts came from all directions at him. He ducked quickly.
"SHROUD OF SILENCE!" he called, walking directly over the next few stones.
Rainbow Dash continued flying forwards, but she became too full of herself and was distracted, flying straight into a bundle of weeds which trapped her. She struggled.
"I'm not gonna win! There's too many of them! Darn it's just like Goo Zombies!" her eyes widened, "the perfect way to defeat the goo zombie lord!"
She closed her eyes and relaxed, effectively switching her worries off. The weeds loosened and she became free. She then saw Jack only just up ahead, very near the finishing line.
"HAH! I'm gonna win! It's in the bag! You snooze you lose..." he kept saying things like this, but Rainbow Dash simply stood and watched.
"You better watch your arrogance, Jack!" she laughed, "I'm just thinking of any possibility."
"And what does that me-" he was interrupted and slammed into a bouncy spider web.
He flew backwards to the starting line. Rainbow calmly walked to the end.
"That's why you lost!" she smirked, grabbing the Shroud of Shadows.
In a flash, everything returned to normal.
"SHROUD OF SHADOWS! SHROUD OF SILENCE!" Rainbow Dash called, disappearing into thin air.
"Oh great..." Jack sighed, before being kicked over the wall of his garden by what looked and sounded like nothing.
Jack's scream made Rainbow laugh, but not even she heard her own joy. She went to find the others and saw they had just exited the building with two sacks full of Shen Gong Wu. Rainbow Dash stood in front of them and sniggered, then took off the shrouds suddenly. Everyone screamed, then sighed in relief as they saw her.
"Rainbow Dash! The Shrouds...how did you?" Twilight was in a high sense of confusion.
"Your plan for us all to go in was pretty arrogant. I thought of all the possibilities and hey look, we got more than we bargained for!" Rainbow said.
"Looks like a distraction was a good idea." Clay said, tipping his hat.
"So what'd you nab?" Rainbow asked eagerly.
"To remain in good spirit, we only took back what Jack took from us." Omi explained.
"Fair enough, so can I ride at the front?" She smiled at Spike.
"I suppose you can, winner." Rarity smiled.
"Alright! My first Showdown was a success!" Rainbow fist pumped.
***
Twilight was studying some scrolls when they returned, but they began to float away.
"Rainbow!" she shouted angrily.
Rainbow appeared out of nowhere.
"Oh, c'mon Twilight! How'd you know I was there? It could've been the wind!" Rainbow complained.
"Firstly, the window is closed and secondly," Twilight gave a cheeky smile, "I didn't even have to think of all the possibilities to know you were up to no good."
The two laughed, Rainbow Dash decided to have a read of some scrolls too. The two studied the night away.
A Good Ol' Two-Way Sho-Down
"Honestly, Twilight!" Applejack shouted, being raised up high by something green, "how did you do this again?"
"I just used the Heart of Jong to see if that tree would come to life!" she panicked.
"BEAVER BRACES!" Pinkie called.
She bit through the trunk of the giant tree monster and it collapsed, freeing Applejack. One end of the trunk started growing roots and the tree reformed, trapping Applejack in a wooden cage.
"Well we can't hit it with fire, we might hurt Applejack." Kimiko commented.
"No, but we can do this! MOONSTONE LOCUST!" Omi called.
The Shen Gong Wu released a fusillade of locusts, but the tree used its leaves to make sure the swarm didn't get to its wooden parts.
"This thing's trickier than a free bull in a slaughter house," Clay exclaimed, "wait a second!"
He reached behind him and brought out the Lasso Boa Boa.
"LASSO BOA BOA!" he called.
The snake wrapped itself around a branch and Clay pulled it right off. The tree monster screamed in pain. Clay ignored it and pulled the bars off from Applejack's cage.
"Wait, Applejack!" he shouted to her before she jumped down, "take both of these!"
He wrapped the Moonstone Locust with the Lasso and threw them up to Applejack. She caught the Lasso in her mouth.
"Thanks, pardner. Now what?" she asked, adjusting them to her hoof.
"Mosey on inside and take the Heart of Jong out." Clay replied.
"Got it! MOONSTONE LOCUST!" she used the locusts to tear a hole in the tree.
She held the Moonstone in her mouth and immediately found the Heart of Jong. She tried to pry it but there were roots holding on tight.
"MOOSPONE WOCUS!" he called with it in her mouth, "WASSO BO-BO!"
The locusts immediately started to shred the roots hanging on to the Heart but they grew back very quickly.
"Consarn it!" she shouted, dropping the Moonstone to the floor, "wait a sec."
She used the Moonstone again and noticed that when the roots were weakened, the Heart wobbled slightly. Applejack paused to think. Clay, outside, was checking her progress with the Falcon's Eye. The monster was about to smash a building in the courtyard.
"APPLEJACK! YANK IT OUT WITH THE LASSO!" he shouted.
"WIGHT! MOONSPONE WOCUS! WASSO BO-BO!" she called with a mouthful of Moonstone.
Just as the locusts ate away at the roots, Applejack used the Lasso and grabbed the Heart of Jong. The monster began to collapse again. She was naturally high up and began to fall to the ground, the impact could be fatal.
"TOUNGUE OF SAIPING," Fluttershy called quickly, "bird friends, help Applejack get down safely!"
A large flock of birds grabbed on to Applejack and helped her elegantly reach the ground.
"Fine work, Applejack." Clay said.
"Twilight, no more Heart of Jong." Applejack said, throwing the Heart to Master Fung.
"Sorry..." she blushed.
"You listened quite precisely to Clay's instructions." Omi noted.
"They sounded like they'd work. No harm in tryin'." Applejack commented.
"Since the monstrosity has been dealt with, it is safe to do today's training." Master Fung said.
"Not so fast." a voice called from up high.
Jack Spicer floated down slowly with his jetpack as many Jackbots followed.
"Jackbots, use your traps!" he commanded.
Only nine of the robots unleashed nets, trapping everyone but Clay and Applejack. The others struggled and tried to escape but the nets were stuck to the ground tight.
"Did I really forget to replace your net holders? Ugh. Whatever, attack the cowpoke." he sighed.
They flew in for a full attack on the two. Applejack turned around and stood ready.
"APPLEBUCK! HONESTY!" she called, kicking a robot and slamming it into another, causing a large explosion.
Clay grabbed something from his belt.
"BIG BANG METEORANG!" he called, throwing the two boomerangs at more robots.
The Jackbots spontaneously exploded, the debris forcing other Jackbots to slam into the ground. Clay did not notice one sneaking up on him, but Applejack did. She turned around quickly.
"Clay, watch out! APPLEBUCK! HONESTY!" she kicked the robot high into the sky.
Clay turned around and just caught his boomerangs, then threw them again, blowing up the other robot.
"Nice call, Applejack." he tipped his hat.
"It 'aint over yet." she commented.
More Jackbots came flying at them. They both jumped up and attacked the robots together. Jumping hard from one to the other and destroying them, then riding one back down to the ground. They had destroyed them all.
"Spill it, Jack." Applejack demanded.
"Why're you here?" Clay asked.
"I just...wanted to try out my...alright maybe I don't have a reason," he started to fly away, "but at least I can learn from my mistakes!"
"That Jack's more confusing than a stranger runnin' for sheriff." the two said together, then looked at each other and laughed.
They proceeded to help the others out of their traps. They were thanked, then Spike and Dojo ran to them with the scroll.
"Honestly? A Shen Gong Wu? Why is it always after something like this happens?" Raimundo asked.
"What is it, dear?" Rarity asked.
Spike opened the scroll, "The Sauna Sphere?"
Dojo began to read it, "Oh yeah, when used, it unleashes and infinite amount of thick, hot steam. Handy for getaways or...relaxing. I remember it always used to do my pores good." he looked at his tail.
Dojo and Spike turned to their other size, however Dojo took a little longer and his transformation was shaky.
"Sorry, the thought of the Sauna Sphere is making me tense. I could really use it right now." he sighed.
"We'll do our best to get it." Kimiko said climbing on the green dragon.
The two dragons with their parties fully assembled flew off.
***
They arrived in a very dry wasteland with only a few broken and lifeless trees in sight. Dust flew just above the boiling, cracked ground. Spike touched down first, his hand placed on the dirt.
"ARGH!" he cried, "that's hot!"
Dojo descended slowly and tried the ground out.
"OH DARN IT!" he yelled, "I think the ground's alright, we're just sensitive because we're near the Wu."
The ponies and monks dismounted the dragons with no struggle. It really was just their reactions.
"'Aint nothin' around fer miles. You sure the Wu's here?" Clay asked.
"Certain," Dojo answered, "look harder. My hands are feeling horribly dry."
"I don't think we can find it." Omi sighed.
Then there was a large rumble in the ground, causing everyone to wobble violently.
"Is this an earthquake?" Kimiko shouted over the rumble's roar.
The ground then exploded in front of the group and a large brown robot with drills for hands burst up. In the cockpit in the chest was Jack at a control panel. The robot looked just like one if his Jackbots but with legs.
"Jack!" Raimundo grunted.
Something fell on the ground infront of them after being thrust up by Jack's robot. It was a bouncy white orb with a gold ring around it, about half the size of a beach ball.
"Oh look here, Drillbot. Let's take the Sauna Sphere and get outta here!" he made the robot grab the Wu.
It quickly took hold of the wu and began to make it's way down into the hole it created.
"Not so fast!" Twilight shouted, "everyone, go in!"
Spike, still in his larger size, rushed down to the hole before the others could take action, carrying Applejack and Clay on his back.
"You guys sure you can jump it from here?" he shouted over the loud drilling sound.
"We'll make it." Applejack smiled.
They jumped off and Spike flew back up after getting the closer to the Drillbot.
"LASSO BOA-BOA!" Applejack called, grabbing onto the Sauna Sphere mounted on the robot's head.
She pulled it upwards but then the Drillbot tugged back on it, drilling with one arm. Clay was holding onto Applejack's hoof as they descended.
"Looks like this calls for a Xiaolin Showdown." Applejack said.
"A four-way Showdown." Clay added.
Jack's voice came from the robot, "alright, you two verses me and Drillbot. I wager my Golden Tiger Claws and Dizzy Top against your Beaver Braces and Kazusu Atom. The game is a digging contest. First to dig 1000 meters wins."
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" the three called.
In a flash they were back at the surface and the heroes were in their Showdown outfits.
"GONG YI TENAPAI!" they shouted.
Jack's Drillbot jumped up and drilled into the ground. Applejack put on the Beaver Braces.
"Clay, grab on to mah tail. BEAVER BRACES!" she gnawed at the ground rapidly and started to dig a tunnel at half the speed of the robot.
A rock very quickly appeared in their path.
"KAZUSU ATOM!" Clay called, destroying it and allowing Applejack to carry on drilling.
"GOLDEN TIGER CLAWS!" Jack called, making the robot slash a portal and appear at the other side of a rock. He had it easy.
Applejack was distracted by the sounds in the other tunnel. She bumped into the rock and hurt her teeth, shocking her before she realised she could eat through the rock. Clay was shocked by the impact.
"KAZUSU ATOM!" he suddenly called, not aiming it properly.
The blast rebounded off the walls of Applejack's tunnel and blew up a part high up. The tunnel shook and rocks began to fall.
"Applejack! Eat through the rock!" Clay commanded.
"Right...I'll just...BEAVER BRACES!" she nervously shouted.
She was too distracted by the falling rocks.
"CWAY! BROW UFF DA WOCKS!" she muffled with her mouth full of dirt and rocks.
"Yeah I'm tryin'! KAZUSU A-" a rock collided with his hand, causing him to drop the Wu.
"Aw shucks, well done!" Applejack said, spitting out the Beaver Braces.
They both forgot the rocks.
Luckily, Jack had just finished 1000 meters and the Showdown stopped with his victory. Everything returned to normal.
"Nice going there." Clay sarcastically commented.
"What? I wouldn't have been distracted by rocks that could crush us to our deaths if SOMEONE paid more attention to his aim." Applejack replied.
"Well if y'all were a little smoother on 'yer bashin' against that there rock I won't have been jumped." Clay gritted his teeth.
"Guys, you gotta stop arguing! A new Shen Gong Wu has already revealed itself while you were in the Showdown! It's right here, too!" Spike said in his regular size, sitting on Twilight's back to avoid the ground.
The two glared at each other and then turned away.
"What's the Wu?" Fluttershy asked.
Spike belched up the scroll and read, "The Wrangle Tangle. Looks like a skipping rope. It says whoever is caught in it's jump will either begin or end a quarrel."
"That would be very useful right now." Omi commented, peering over Spike's shoulder.
Applejack took a menacing look at Omi and Spike backed up, then tripped over something. He pulled something out of the ground.
"The Wrangle Tangle!" he exclaimed.
Jack was already on the other side.
"A Showdown!" Spike gasped.
"No," said Twilight, "Spike you're not a Xiaolin Warrior! You can't take part in a Showdown like that! I'll do it."
"As if. I like what we've got here," Jack sniggered, "Spike, I challenge you to a Shengi Bu Dare. Instead of you playing, Applejack and Clay have to play again against just me!"
"We'll have to accept," Raimundo sighed, "otherwise he gets the Wu free."
"We can't risk that. But this menace in the Showdown field again?" Applejack growled.
"Now listen here, missie. If we wanna win this we'll have to settle it all. Just admit that it was your fault we lost!" Clay replied.
"Mah fault? Yer the one who almost got us killed!"
"Guys, guys, can we please get to the Showdown?" Jack laughed.
"Name yer game, Spicer." Applejack said.
"A magical skipping contest. First to trip on the rope loses. I wager my Mantis Flip Coin and Sauna Sphere."
"We wager the Jetbootsu." Clay wagered.
"And the Lasso Boa-Boa." Applejack added.
"The Lasso? What help'll that do." Clay asked angrily.
"Ah think Ah know what Ahm doin'!" Applejack growled again.
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" they all called.
The landscape suddenly turned white, the Warrior's outfits changed and two golden skipping ropes rose up.
"GONG YI TENPAI!" the three began.
The ropes started slow and everyone jumped over with ease. Applejack and Clay glared at each other menacingly.
"Y'all better not mess this up." Clay said.
"Same goes fer you." Applejack replied.
After a dozen or so bounces the ropes began to speed up and the jumps became more frequent.
"MANTIS FLIP COIN!" Jack called, jumping and landing faster so he could be in time with the rope more precisely.
"JET BOOTSU!" Clay called.
He jumped high up and landed back down on the rope. He disappeared in a flash to the other monks.
"Sorry y'all." he sighed,
"You should be." Applejack laughed.
"SAUNA SPHERE!" Jack suddenly called, enveloping Applejack in a thick mist.
She couldn't see the rope but kept with the timing she had before.
"The rope could speed up at any time." she thought.
She blew in the direction of Jack and some of the stream cleared.
"The Sphere!" she realised.
"LASSO BOA-BOA!" she called, the lasso clearing away the steam that was gushing out of the Sphere.
It latched in and Jack tried to stop her from pulling the Sphere to her, but her pull was strong. She held the sphere tight and was about to use it, but then she had a quick thought. This was what Clay told her to do earlier. Clay knew what he was doing in the last Showdown too. It was her who slipped up.
"Clay!" she said, trying to keep with the rope, "I just thought...Ahm sorry! It truly was mah fault we lost the Sauna Sphere! Ah should've known you knew what you were doin'!"
"Honestly, it was my fault too!" he added, "maybe we both messed up."
"I take that as the honest truth," Applejack gained an orange aura, "SAUNA SPHERE, HONESTY!"
The Sauna Sphere unleashed an explosion of orange steam which hit Jack hard and made him fall into the rope. Applejack was the last standing and had won.
The wasteland returned to normal.
"So what if you won those Wu...I don't care! I'll win the next one!" Jack panicked, drilling down back into his tunnel with the Drillbot.
"Honestly. What a sore loser." Applejack said, everyone laughed.
Spike still looked a little disappointed. He could've had his very first Showdown, he was sort of jealous of the others when all he could do was pop up a scroll and take them to their victory. He kept all this to himself though.
***
"That is a most interesting story. Applejack, your epiphany was most wise," Master Fung commented, "I see you will all be ready to work as a team in the future."
Applejack and Clay bowed.
"We better get a rest from all these Showdowns. Just watching them makes me tired!" Pinkie laughed.
"Speaking of tired," Kimiko yawned, "it's late. I'm gonna hit the hay."
"Ah, don't speak to me about hittin' hay. I miss home." Applejack sighed.
"Perhaps tomorrow we could start looking into getting you home?" Omi suggested.
"That would be sweet, but I do like it here." Rainbow Dash commented.
"Still, it would be worth having a look." Twilight said.
Spike thought to himself, "Yeah, I'd like to be home too. I have a meaningful purpose there."
Unneeded Light, Wanted Darkness: Part 1
"Hey guys, have you seen Spike?" Twilight asked the training monks.
"Nope. No word or sight of him all day. He's been quieter than a dead buffalo." Clay said.
"A dead buffalo?" Fluttershy whimpered.
"It's just an expression, dear." Rarity giggled.
Raimundo was checking out his Blade of the Nebula, which seemed very dirty and dusty.
"I haven't used this baby in a while." he smiled.
"It's true. We haven't needed to use our Wudai Weapons since the Shen Gong Wu stopped revealing themselves." Kimiko sighed, looking at the Arrow Sparrow's pouch.
"I used the Shimo Staff against Jack for The Celestial Horn." Omi noted.
"That was a good call, using it to help you up the temple." said Raimundo.
The ponies were somewhat confused as to what exactly the monks were talking about. Twilight then turned to Omi.
"Speaking of The Celestial Horn, do you mind if I take a look at it?" she asked.
"I don't see why not." he replied.
Twilight trotted off to the Shen Gong Wu vault to find it. When she entered the building that the vault was in, she heard a crash in the ceiling and quickly avoided some glass shards that fell from the roof. She then looked in front of her and gasped. The Shen Gong Wu vault was open. She then looked above her to see that the entire glass roof of the temple was destroyed, the frames were very unstable and began to collapse onto themselves, then brick by brick the building began to fall. Twilight quickly ran outside and called the others over.
"What's that loud noise?" Applejack asked.
"It's the vault room! It's collapsing!" Twilight panted.
"What?! How?" gasped Raimundo.
"I don't know! I think someone broke in..they destroyed the roof and now the whole place is going down!" Twilight cried.
They turned around to see what they could do about it, but just as they did so, the building smashed down onto itself, causing bricks and rock to go flying around, a particularly large one headed for the group. Clay slammed his hands quickly onto the ground.
"WUDAI SHIELD, EARTH!" he called, making a huge rock dome to cover the ten.
The large piece of debris slammed into the shield, but didn't cause a dent. Smaller rocks rained upon the dome too. When he was sure the wreckage had stopped, Clay detracted the shield but used the front to extend and sweep away the rocks covering the entrance to the vault, which was now in the open surrounded by rubble.
"Great gravy..." Clay gasped.
"Who could have done this?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We gotta check the vault to see if anything's missing!" said Pinkie, bouncing in the direction of the vault.
After thorough checking, no Shen Gong Wu seemed to be stolen, but deep at the bottom of the vault, a scream was heard.
"Who was that? One of the ponies?" Omi asked, thinking the high pitched wail came from one of them.
All of the ponies were behind him as they stumbled down the stairs in a row, only to find Dojo at the bottom shivering furiously.
"Dojo? What in tarnation were you screamin' about?" Applejack asked.
"It's....it's... one Shen Gong Wu was taken." he cried.
"Which one?" asked Raimundo.
"The Celestial Horn," Dojo said, "but I know who took it."
~~~
Earlier that night, Spike was sat on the roof of the vault room, reflecting upon his importance in the Xiaolin world.
"Do they really need me as much as they say?" he sighed.
Spike thought that all he was good for was carrying the ponies to the Shen Gong Wu, but he was sure there could be other ways for them to get there. Twilight had stopped him from entering a Showdown which he could have won with enough concentration. He felt unwanted.
A blackbird swooped past his head and landed next to him.
"You must be useless too, little guy." he sighed, burying his head in his knees.
"He's not as useless as you think. And neither are you." said a dark yet soft voice from beside the blackbird.
Spike looked up and saw a young man stood on the roof. He had long flowing black hair and olive green eyes. He wore a suit or armor in a similar colour with an eye on the belt.
"Who are you?" Spike asked.
The man laughed and sat down next to Spike, the bird flew to his shoulder.
"I am Chase Young." he said.
"I've never heard of you. What are you doing?" questioned Spike.
"I'm simply here to offer you some help. Spike the dragon, you are not as useless as you think you are. In fact, I have studied scrolls for hundreds of years and I know all about your destiny." Chase explained.
"Hundreds of years?" Spike gasped, "you look no older than twenty!"
"Finding life's secrets comes with many advantages." Chase laughed, petting Spike on the head.
"So you think I have a purpose?" Spike asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"I know you have a purpose. If it werent for you, you wouldn't even be here right now."
"I did open that portal back in Equestria..."
"Exactly. Only you could have done that. But right now, you are on the wrong side."
Spike looked at Chase with confusion, then stood up.
"You want me to sit on your right?" he asked.
Chase laughed and patted Spike on the head again. The blackbird on his shoulder squaked and Spike sat down again.
"You may not believe me at first and I understand completely if you don't," Chase began to explain, "but you are indeed useless where you are right now. Here at the Xiaolin Temple? They don't need you. There would be no difference if you were not here. There's another side that needs you."
Spike edged away slightly and looked down to avoid eye contact with Chase.
"You mean...I'm not supposed to be helping good...I'm supposed to be helping evil?" he whispered.
"There is no good or evil, Spike. To the monks, they are good and we are evil. However, to those on the Heylin side, we are good and the Xiaolin monks are the evil ones."
Spike stood up and walked to the edge of the roof, gazing at the moon.
"And you're sure of this?"
"One hundred and twenty percent." Chase nodded.
Spike exhaled loudly, then turned to Chase.
"What do I need to do?" he asked.
Chase smirked and got up to stand beside Spike. He pointed down to the entrance of the vault.
"In the day you must sneak into the vault and take The Celestial Horn." he said.
"The Celestial Horn?" Spike gasped.
"It is vital for our plan to work. My bird will stay with you. You must exit the temple quickly, try and destroy it too. We want to be sought after. The bird shall direct you to my palace where you shall stay and we will execute our plan together. But first, leave this in the Horn's place." Chase said.
He passed Spike a note, but told him not to read it. Spike turned to look at the moon again.
"Chase...are y-" he turned back, but Chase was not there. His bird sat on Spike's shoulder. Spike stared at the moon again.
He looked down to the bed chambers and his eyes narrowed. He nodded and clutched the note tight in his hand.
"Tomorrow, I find my purpose."
~~~
"So spit it out, who took it?" Rainbow Dash asked Dojo.
"The thief left behind a note. I was hoping I'd never hear his name again." Dojo opened the note and gave it to Kimiko.
"Xiaolin monks. I have taken the Celestial Horn. Come and get it. That is all." she then gasped loudly.
"Who is it from?" Omi asked.
Kimiko turned around.
"Chase Young." she muttered.
"And who is this Chase Young person?" Rarity asked.
"Only the baddest of the bad." Clay said.
"Right. He's an evil, evil man who used to fight along Grand Master Dashi." Omi added.
"That is until he turned to the Heylin side. He can turn into a fierce dragon and is one of the most confusing dudes you'll ever meet." Raimundo explained.
"He doesn't scare me!" Rainbow Dash boasted.
"Um...he kinda scares me." Fluttershy cried.
"Well no matter what we feel, we gotta go and get the Wu from him. Heck, he might even know where Spike is." Applejack said.
Everyone nodded and headed to the courtyard. Dojo grew to his full size.
"Now, I'll take the ponies. You guys hit the Silver Manta Ray." he said.
"SILVER MANTA RAY!" Raimundo called, causing the small model to transform into a larger flying vessel.
They flew off to Chase Young's palace, clueless as to what to expect.
Soon, they arrived at the stone entrance. The air was cold and gusty, leaving everyone uncomfortable. When she jumped off of Dojo, Twilight immediatley noticed someone at the large doors.
"Spike?" she smiled.
"Hello Twilight." he said, plainly.
"Spike? What are you doing here?" Pinkie asked.
"Follow me." he said, turning around and opening the doors to Chase's palace.
Everyone was confused, but decided it would be best to follow. They entered the large hall and looked upon the inside. The glorious streams and waterfalls gushed smoothly and glistened against the bright white floors. The palace now stood on three levels. At the top, Chase Young was seated on a throne, watching intently and on the middle, The Celestial Horn sat waiting to be taken.
"Chase! Finger over the horn or face a humiliating defeat!" Omi threatened.
"I think you mean hoof over the horn..." Rainbow Dash giggled.
"Or hand." Kimiko sighed.
Chase stood up and smiled.
"If you want it, you'll have to win it in a Showdown."
"Name your game." Clay said.
"Spike?" Chase laughed.
Spike walked to the middle level and brought down the horn.
"Who's gonna take part in the Showdown?" he asked.
"Spike? Are you working for Chase?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Yeah. He's showing me the right path." he said, rolling his eyes.
"No way, dude! He's nothing but trouble!" Raimundo said.
"Not from what I've seen and been told. Now who's gonna face me in a Showdown?" he hissed.
Everyone but Raimundo stepped back.
"I suppose I will if you won't listen to anything else." he sighed.
"Alright, Raimundo. I challenge you to a Heylin Showdown!" Spike smirked.
"A Heylin Showdown?" Dojo gasped, "no...no you can't do that Spike!"
"Oh, yes I can."
"Wait, hold up, what's a Heylin Showdown?" Raimundo asked.
"A Heylin Showdown is fought over a Heylin Shen Gong Wu," Chase explained, "you heard me. The Celestial Horn is a Heylin Shen Gong Wu! The rules of a Heylin Showdown are quite simple. You can wager absolutely anything. Shen Gong Wu, loyalty, one's life. The winner can also choose something else; anything their heart desires that the Heylin magic can conjour."
"I can't refuse this. Name your game, dragon." Raimundo said.
"The game is last one standing. My Serpent's Tail against your Zing-Zom Bone." he challenged.
"Agreed." Raimundo nodded.
The two glared at each other and shouted.
"THIS IS IT! HEYLIN SHOWDOWN!"
There was a large red flash and Raimundo was suddenly in his leader outfit. The other monk and ponies were in their Showdown outfits too. A bottomless pit was formed underneath the palace floor and the levels became even as one level.
"ZHENGQU NI DE SHENGHUO!" Spike shouted.
Dojo began to violently shiver and cry again.
"What does it mean?" Twilight asked worriedly.
"It means...fight for your life." he breathed.
Raimundo began to run towards Spike, hoping to easily kick him off of the stage. He jumped with his foot outward, expecting to hit him directly, but he forgot something. Spike grew to his larger size and send Raimundo flying back. He landed hard on the floor but quickly got back up. He opened out his arms.
"WUDAI STAR, WIND!" he called, flying up to the air and clapping, sending a tornado the size of Spike flying at him.
Spike simply bashed it with his tail and it flew back to Raimundo. He was in too much shock to notice it coming towards him. It sent him off the edge of the platform as he hung on with one hand. Spike jumped over to the ledge and laughed. Raimundo pulled something out of his shirt and pulled it apart with his free hand.
"BLADE OF THE NEBULA!" he called.
From between the split blade came a cyclone, which carried Raimundo upwards quickly as he stood on it like a surfboard. He directed himself towards Spike and crashed into him, knocking him off the edge.
"SERPENT'S TAIL!" Spike called, gliding upwards and slamming into Raimundo.
Raimundo fell down and Spike stood back.
"This is your third strike, Xiaolin leader, and you're out!" he laughed, whacking Raimundo hard with his tail and sending him flying too far to get back.
Everything returned to normal and Raimundo fell hard on the lower level of Chase's palace. Spike stood grinning evilly with the Shen Gong Wu he won in his normal size.
"And my Heylin wish...is to have Heylin blood running in my veins!" he announced.
Twilight began to cry and looked the dragon directly in the eye.
"Spike! Please! Think about what you're doing! We're your best friends! How could you betray us like this?"
"I still like you guys. I love you all. But I want to be important." his eyes suddenly turned red, "to rule the world!"
Chase jumped down to Spike and stood by his side.
"Now, Spike. Unleash your true potential!" he said.
Spike put The Celestial Horn on his head and it began to glow with a red aura.
"Heylin Shen Gong Wu can only have their true powers unlocked by those on the Heylin side," Chase explained, "this one inparticular can only be activated by Spike himself! We shall use it to carry out our master plan! Do it Spike!"
"No!" the Xiaolin warriors cried.
"CELESTIAL HORN!!" Spike yelled, feeling a burst of evil energy.
The horn shot a blinding red light into the air, which exploded violently in a white flash and tore a black hole in the air. Every few seconds a flash would appear and things began to suck into the hole. The Xiaolin warriors had to stand firm to stop from being sucked in.
"What is that?" cried Fluttershy.
A crackle of electricity slammed out of the hole.
"It's a portal." said Spike.
Another flash appeared, water from the palace began to make its way in.
"A portal to where?" Applejack asked.
Another bolt of electrcity struck between the Heylins and Xiaolins.
"A world quite familiar to you ponies. Your world. This portal leads to Equestria!" Chase Young announced.
He began to laugh evily and loudly. He held the Zing-Zom Bone tight and grabbed Spikes hand and the two jumped into the portal, which promptly closed.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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Slap a Ring on That Hoof (April Foals chapter, not canon)
Pinkie Pie was wondering around in the Shen Gong Wu vault looking for something fun to play with. The others were training and she got bored quickly. Pinkie loved using Wu more than anything and they were doing athletic skills. She heard a rip behind her and a portal opened up. Jack Spicer came through.
"Jack!" Pinkie growled, "don't bother trying to steal any Shen Gong Wu, 'cause I'll defend them!"
"Whoah! Pinkie, I'm not here for anything bad," Jack rubbed the back of his head, "in fact..."
He got on one knee and pulled something out of his pocket. A ring.
"Will you marry me?" he sniffed, a tear was forming in his eye.
Pinkie's face brightened and she put on the biggest smile anyone had ever seen.
"Oh my gosh, yes Jack Spicer! Yes I will marry you!" she beamed, hugging the evil boy genius.
"There is one condition." Jack noted.
"Yes?" Pinkie asked.
"You will have to join the Heylin side." he said.
"For you Jack, I would do anything." she hugged him tightly again.
***
Pinkie was the only one with actual friends to invite to the wedding. Master Fung served as the priest. At first everyone was suspicious of Jack's behaviour and Pinkie didn't tell them about the Heylin deal, but they were happy for her none the less.
Omi, the ring bearer, carried the ring to Jack. He only had the one and it enlarged itself to put on Pinkie's hoof.
"That ring looks odd." Clay noted.
"Do you, Jack Spicer, take Pinkamena Diane Pie to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Master Fung asked.
"I do." Jack said.
"And you, Pinkamena Diane Pie, do you take Jack Spicer as your husband?" Master Fung asked.
"Pinkie, could you say this instead? It would mean so much to me." Jack sniffed another tear, handing a note to Pinkie.
"'The Ring of Nine Dragons'?" she said, then suddenly the ring she was wearing began to glow.
"NO!" Kimiko shouted.
"Oh no, with the kind of stuff Pinkie can do..." Raimundo and the others ran away.
Pinkie was extremely worried, everyone had ran away, even Jack who was laughing evilly. The ring was still glowing and Pinkie split into two...three...six...nine Pinkie Pies! The entire earth began to tremble, Pinkie's inner chi power had exceeded the power of the Ring and the Pinkie Pies kept splitting into more and more like bacteria. There were thousands in just one minute. Then, the chi of all the Pinkie Pies merged into one light and destroyed the entire universe.
No more Pony Showdown. I'm sorry folks, it had to end. We figured that Pinkie would discover a power that was too much for anyone's good and Jack came along and did all this...I'm just so sorry to all my fans.
As Omi would say, "you are all the schlemiels of the month of April!"
It was three weeks since Chase Young was banished to the moon when another Shen Gong Wu revealed itself and with the boost of encouragement that came from the new Xiaolin Dragon, Spike. He discovered that his Xiaolin element was Unity and it was his existence that brought the ponies and monks together. He felt much more important now that he was the one providing transport and support for the other Dragons.
Off he and Dojo took to the skies, with Twilight levitating the Shen Gong Wu scroll in front of her with a purple aura of magic. She then read the text it was showing her.
"The Frigid Field. It's a staff that, when slammed on the ground, the surface below turns to the slippiest of solid ice, but the one who holds it will be able to traverse it with no trouble." she explained.
The picture showed a man stabbing the ground with a staff-shape and another man tripping over. Twilight folded the scroll up, Applejack lifted up her hat and Twilight moved the scroll underneath it. Applejack returned her hat to the back of her head.
Fluttershy wiped her forehead, "is it getting hotter up here?"
The others began to sweat, then noticed an awful smell rising from the ground below. Their vision was suddenly blinded by a thick black smog as they coughed and spluttered, trying to hold their breath and their eyes closed. They flew through the lingering cloud of smoke directly into another. Everyone was almost sick with the strength of the smell.
"Looks like we're flying over a few volcanoes," Spike said, not realising what an understatement he had just made.
Before the two dragons and the monks was an entire valley of holes in the ground, all spewing an almost deadly and opaque smoke. Dojo and Spike's magical Shen Gong Wu senses had brought them here for the location of the Frigid Field. The dragons hung in midair, trying to find the precise location of the staff, but a nearby volcano fiercely expelled a geyser of lava and with it, a covered black vehicle.
"The Black Beetle!" Kimiko exclaimed.
"But who's in it?" Pinkie Pie asked.
The top of the Black Beetle opened up and Wuya revealed herself, standing up tall and holding a crooked brown stick with an ice-blue pointed crystal sat on top.
"The Frigid Field is mine!" she hissed.
Then, Jack Spicer quickly flew in on his jetpack, grabbing the staff as he flew past, "not if I can help it!"
Raimundo jumped down from Dojo and landed sat on Jack's shoulders. Jack let off a loud 'oof' as the monk's heavy body collided with him. Raimundo quickly held the Frigid Field also.
"Jack, Wuya, I challenge you both to a three-way Xiaolin Showdown," he announced.
"Fine! The game is to avoid the black smoke the volcanic holes belch," Wuya replied.
"I wager my Dizzy Top for Wuya's Reversing Mirror and Raimundo's Sword of the Storm," Jack declared.
"That's fine with me," Raimundo agreed.
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" the three shouted.
As Raimundo gained his Shoku Warrior outfit in a flash, the human monks wore their Showdown armor and the ponies, and Spike, wore their belts. The hollow crater in which the small holes dwelled expanded, revealing more of the magma-filled mini-craters which widely covered the area.
"GONG YI TENPAI!" the Showdowners yelled, carefully studying the area to see what would happen.
A few of the small volcanoes erupted with the onyx smoke and the trio knew what they were going to be up against. They each stood at different ends of the large crater, but Jack instantly ran towards Wuya using his Dizzy Top. He spun quickly and rose to the air, then stopped and unleashed an after-image towards Wuya, who held out her Reversing Mirror and activated it, sending the see-through Jack right back at him. The 'genius' didn't anticipate this move and collided with the spinning ghost, which knocked him clean off his feet and sent his brain spinning.
Raimundo, using his tiger instinct, predicted a nearby spurt of smoke.
"SWORD OF THE STORM!" he called, blowing the smoke with a twirl of his blade.
The effect was not as he imagined. The smoke simply cleared. Raimundo noticed the two other contenders completely focused on each other, he was in the clear and saw his chance to strike. He turned to Omi, who was stood outside of the crater.
"Hey, Omi, wanna see some Shoku Warrior skills?" he asked, braggingly.
"Oh, yes please! This will be most exciting!" Omi replied, suddenly grabbing a bag of popcorn from nowhere.
Raimundo turned back to the Showdown and meditated on the spot. He gained a white aura and his eyes flashed the same colour.
"SHOKU MERGE, WIND!" he called and slowly disappeared to nothing, his Sword hit the floor with a loud clang.
"Where did he go?" Fluttershy gasped.
Suddenly, another volcano erupted with smoke, which quickly bunched up in a ball and just as swiftly moved of its own accord. Omi was in complete amazement and he explained to the others that the 'Shoku Merge' move allowed one to join his element, in this case, Raimundo became the wind. The smoke he controlled struck through Jack, eliminating him from the competition. Wuya tried to run, but Raimundo was too fast and quickly won the Showdown.
As the field returned to normal and the monks boarded their dragons to return home, two beings covered with brown hooded capes onlooked from the distance.
"Looks like we were a little late to the party, my dear," one of them said sinisterly.
"You told Trixie that she would win this time. If you are smart, you will not lie to Trixie again," the other scolded.
"Oh, no worries, Trixie. Your time will come!" the first spoke, the wind blowing away his cape. Hannibal laughed evilly.
***
Everyone was merrily skating in the temple courtyard, happily leaping around and gliding on the slippery surface below. Rainbow Dash had the bright idea to use the new Shen Gong Wu to make a skating rink so that they could have some fun before they trained. The Frigid Field stood at the center of the ice, firmly placed upright as the crystal atop reflected the bright sunlight to create a beautiful blue effect on the walls around the monks. Fluttershy was having troubles skating for the first time, she kept falling over and nearly went to sit out, but Kimiko kindly used the Tangle Web Comb to create a strong and gentle rope for the both of them to hold on to so that the pegasus wouldn't fall.
Omi leapt towards the Frigid Field, "who wants snowcreams?" he asked.
"It's snowcones , Omi," Raimundo corrected, "but pass one over here!"
All the others asked for one too and Omi acquired paper cones for each of them, then held onto the new Shen Gong Wu.
"Frigid Field, WATER!" he called.
The crystal began to glow a white hue and Omi quickly threw the cones to everyone, then the staff unleashed several balls of snow which all landed perfectly in each cone. Just before any of the team could take their first bite, however, Master Fung peacefully walked over the ice with no trouble and held the staff.
"Frigid Field," he called calmly.
"Awww," everyone cried.
"Training has been canceled today," he began.
"Hooray!" the monks all cheered.
"Because a new Shen Gong Wu has just revealed itself,"
"Do we ever get a break?" Rarity whined.
Master Fung revealed the Shen Gong Wu scroll from his sleeve and opened it out, reading what it said to the group. He explained that the new Wu was called 'The Needle of Life'.
"The one who manages to master this delicate Shen Gong Wu will be able to bring to life and control any inanimate object," he finished.
"Looks like we won't be havin' any more Heart o' Jong incidents," Applejack sniggered, looking towards a blushing Twilight.
Dojo and Spike approached the monks with worried looks on their faces as their tails both wagged furiously; but it wasn't the Shen Gong Wu that was getting to them, it was its location. After they explained where it was to the monks, nobody was sure if it was right to do.
"It's located in a museum, and we would have to steal it to get it,"
"Why is a sewing needle in a museum?" Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Sewing needles are intricate specimens, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity sighed.
"I've really had enough snooping around places to steal things..." Fluttershy said.
The monks decided that Fluttershy could stay behind (if she did all their chores) and set off to find the museum where the golden needle was kept.
***
Dojo and Spike landed at the front of the museum, located in a city in Switzerland, and looked at the night-shrouded building before them. Everyone was dressed in their sneaking outfits, then looked to Raimundo to begin their plan. The Xiaolin leader stood and relaxed, then gained a white aura.
"Shoku Merge, Wind!" he whispered and quickly disappeared, quite literally, to thin air.
One of the lowest windows tilted upright and opened, which was Raimundo going through the wall as air and using a gale to push it open from the other side. Everyone else moved in but the dragons, who were staying hidden in some shrubs nearby. The monks stayed bunched up together and Raimundo appeared from the air, then, Omi held out two cloaks which everyone held onto and called, "Shroud of Shadows! Shroud of Silence!"
Then they all disappeared, but could still feel each other and stay bunched up as a group, they then held on to a third Shen Gong Wu, the Falcons Eye, and silently used its power. What they all saw before them was red lines dotted around the corridor they had entered. It would have been easier to navigate separately, but they might have been seen by the CCTV cameras or heard by some sensor; the Shrouds provided the perfect cover.
Swiftly, they avoided all the lasers and reached the end of the corridor, then slowly opened a door to see before them a glass case with a brightly shining golden object encased within, but it was heavily surrounded by red lasers. It was the Needle of Life. From under the Shrouds, Raimundo used the Eye of Dashi and his wind element to short circuit and shut off the lasers and security systems, but then they heard a voice.
"Thank you for making Trixie's job easier," the raspy, feminine voice spoke.
Twilight ran out from under the Shrouds, "Trixie?! How did you...what are you..."
"Oh, please, there will be time for catching up in due time, my dear Twilight, but for now I need to get this Shen Gong Wu," she cackled.
She used her magic to levitate the case and bring out the Needle. it was tiny, literally the size of a baby's smallest fingernail, but shone a magnificent golden light, but then Twilight's magic conflicted Trixie's and the golden light became brighter.
"Trixie, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown,"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie accepts. This will be the perfect revenge for upstaging Trixie those many months ago," Trixie giggled.
"You're still not over that?" Twilight said in a way to make the blue unicorn feel pathetic.
"Oh, please, after that fiasco everyone knew of Trixie's bluffs. From town to town Trixie went, but she only got laughed at! Then, one day, from seemingly nowhere came quite a little fellow who offered the Great and Powerful Trixie a chance for vengeance and equally, a chance to rule another world. Yes, Hannibal Roy Bean is quite the charmer,"
"Hannibal Bean?!" Applejack gasped.
"Someone had to be behind this," Omi commented, "but how did you get here?"
Trixie laughed, "you see, after the whole Chase Young incident, the portal to Equestria was not closed properly. There was a gap, and Hannibal got in and found Trixie. He also snuck in to the forbidden section of the Canterlot Archives and found a way to bring anyone, anypony back and not break the event horizon! You can probably guess where he is now..."
"You mean," Rarity whimpered in a similar style to the absent Fluttershy.
Trixie laughed again, more menacingly this time, "he's building a team of your opposites! Those you have upstaged or angered in the past and want revenge! With him, we will rule this world and Equestria!"
Twilight screamed and shoved herself in Trixie's face, "the game! Get to the outside of the museum without being detected! I wager my Tangle Web Comb!"
"Hasty pony, aren't we, Twilight Sparkle? Very well, Trixie accepts your Showdown yet again and she wagers her Serpent's Tail, which was kindly left behind at Chase Young's palace when he was sent to the moon,"
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!" the two shouted.
As the monks were dressed with their Showdown uniforms, the corridor outside extended and many new obstacles were created. Suddenly, a siren wailed loudly and red lights faded in and out.
"GONG YI TENPAI!" the unicorns began.
"SERPENT'S TAIL!" Trixie immediately called, flying at high-speed towards the exit. Twilight could only gallop, so she did so as fast as she could.
Trixie thought she had the easiest win, but the Showdown wouldn't let this go so easily. She approached a laser filled square and was instantly shocked through her ghostly figure as she collapsed to the ground. Twilight laughed, but suddenly slipped past a 'wet floor' sign and lost control of her direction. There was a gap ahead of her and she couldn't stop herself. She then looked to her mane to see the Tangle Web Comb placed nicely within and she levitated it, then called on it and held on to a locked door handle. Thankfully, seeing Kimiko and Fluttershy on the ice earlier had helped her to devise the quick strategy. The rope quickly tugged on the handle and stopped Twilight just before the deep pit. She then retracted the comb's rope and leapt over the hole, racing on ahead. By this time, Trixie had escaped her electrical torture and was already neck and neck with Twilight, seeing that her Shen Gong Wu may not be all she thought she would need.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie will not allow you to upstage her again!" she screamed, then bumped her side into Twilight's.
The purple unicorn grunted and bashed Trixie back, the two were crashing into each other furiously and repeatedly, but neither noticed squares in the ceiling opening up. A white glue-like ball crashed onto Trixie's mane, then expended, sticking it to her neck. She screamed and cried about her fashion disaster, but didn't notice a second glue-ball falling ahead of her. She stepped right into it and it expanded, her left hoof getting stuck to the ground. Then another dropped, causing her to lose her grip on the Serpent's Tail, which was now stuck to the floor away from her. She tried to pull the glue off but it was too tightly stuck. She couldn't move, but would not accept her imminent loss.Twilight took caution and watched the ceiling intently and saw several squares in front of her open up. She gasped, not this many had been set on Trixie. The balls fell, but Twilight couldn't control her hoofing and kept galloping. She then desperately called,
"TANGLE WEB COMB! MAGIC!" and several roped reached out and shone with a pink aura and just kept expanding. They wrapped themselves round the glue balls and covered them completely.
The balls fell to the floor and bounced as Twilight finally reached the exit and cheered. Trixie grunted and everything returned to normal. The dragons quickly grew and the monks ran out as alarms went crazy inside the museum. They quickly got on the dragons and flew home unseen. Trixie managed to escape before hundreds of guards entered the museum, all armed, only to find nothing as Trixie fled into the shadows.
***
The monks, all very tired, finally reached the Xiaolin temple at sunrise and walked slowly and exhaustedly to their bedrooms, not paying attention to their surroundings. Raimundo, at the front, suddenly slipped over and hurt his back.
"ARGH!" he cried, "is this really gonna become a thing with me?"
Fluttershy, who was skating on ice created by the Frigid Field, quickly slid up to him, "oh my gosh! Raimundo! Are you okay?"
He slowly got up and said he was fine, rubbing his back. Everyone looked at Fluttershy in confusion, then Clay spoke.
"Are y'all skatin' on yer own?" he asked.
"Yep! I managed to teach myself and now I'm confident! I haven't fallen over for three hours!"
Everyone gasped, "three hours?!"
"Do you wanna join me? It's so much fun," Fluttershy exclaimed with a huge smile.
The others shook their heads and yawned. They really wanted to sleep.
"Are you sure, guys? An early morning skate won't hurt anyone," then they all collapsed into sleep, "oh, sorry..." Fluttershy giggled.
At the noon of a bright, sunny day at the Xiaolin temple, the Xiaolin warriors were all in a mix of relaxing and training. Whilst Kimiko and Rarity exchanged beauty secrets, Rainbow Dash obnoxiously took to the skies and performed tricks of all manners. Under the cool shade of a fat tree, Twilight carefully studied yet another of the thousands scrolls from the scroll room, learning more about the Xiaolin world as she read, Dojo was sunbathing atop this tree, holding a mirror to his face and hiding his closed eyes behind a cute little pair of shades. Fluttershy talked to the birds with the Tongue of Saiping, finding out what was different from the birds in Equestria to them. The other boys all stood round for competition to see who was the best in different categories. Pinkie and Applejack simply watched them.
"It's a race for the ages," Spike commentated playfully, "today, Omi and Clay will go head to head, foot to foot, to see who is truly the faster warrior!"
The two Xiaolin monks stood ready, flexing and stretching at the starting like of an oblong race track painted around the courtyard.
"This race shall be a piece of pie," Omi flaunted.
"Piece of cake," Raimundo sighed.
"Both sound good to me!" Pinkie happily shouted, licking her lips.
Spike held a stopwatch in his hand and placed his finger firmly on the button, "gong," the monks crouched, "yi," they grinned, "TENPAI!"
Omi dashed off at a lightning pace and, as was his trademark, Clay stood still. Omi looked back, still running and giggled to himself, "they say that the slow and steady wins the race, but I will prove them wrong!"
Clay turned to face the goal post and waited for Omi to approach; Raimundo snickered to himself expectantly. Soon, Omi was directly horizontal to Clay on the track, "WUDAI CRATER, EARTH!" the Texan called, slamming a foot to the ground and launching Omi far across the temple grounds, even through the scaffolding of the under-construction refurbishment of the previously destroyed Shen Gong Wu vault room. Twilight looked up after hearing the loud screams of the flying Omi and looked towards the Shen Gong Wu vault.
"Oh, guys, watch! I learned something cool I can do to protect the vault whilst it's under construction," she announced.
She trotted towards the vault and opened it, descending to fetch a Shen Gong Wu as the other monks watched. Omi, having just recovered from his fall, joined them in their spectation. Twilight then emerged with the Sphere of Yun levitated by magic, with a smile she stood still and called, "SPHERE OF YUN, MAGIC!" and suddenly the Sphere flashed purple and unleashed a giant purple shield of magic, similar to that used by Shining Armor to repel Changelings. The monks applauded her as she returned, but the shield quickly vanished behind her. She turned around, "clearly a mishap. SPHERE OF YUN, MAGIC!"
The shield appeared once more, but not too soon afterward it dissappeared again. Everyone questioned what was going on until a familiar laugh was heard. Rainbow Dash looked from above to see a pony stood on one of the temple rooftops. She swooped down and tackled the pony to the ground.
"What are you doing here, Trixie?" she interrogated to the unicorn.
"Trixie is simply here to say hello and introduce her new friend!" she replied, "emerge, partner in evil!"
From the same rooftop, another creature stood proud. With the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, she was all too familiar to the ponies.
"Friend of yours?" Kimiko asked sarcastically.
"Pah! As if! Why would I be friends with these dweebs?" the griffin mocked.
"THIS is Gilda," Rainbow Dash sighed, "a griffin with some attitude and respect problems."
"And I've joined Hannibal Roy Bean's army! We were assigned to steal your Shen Gong Wu today, so sit back and let us do our job!" Gilda demanded.
"How did you get rid of the shield?" Twilight grunted.
Trixie levitated a golden, yet small harp object, "with this, of course!"
Dojo, from the top of the tree, suddenly perked up and his tail wagged furiously, Spike also became agitated.
"Is that a Shen Gong Wu?" Fluttershy gasped.
"Spike! Dojo! How could you not tell us?" Omi asked angrily.
"We didn't detect it," Spike said innocently, "I don't even know what that is!"
"It's the Humble Heartstrings, my dear Xiaolin losers," Trixie playfully teased, "with the ability to undo absolutely anything with a simple strum."
"Where'd y'all get that?" Clay asked.
"That's for us to know and for you to find out! Trixie, to the vault," Gilda said, to which Trixie nodded. The two galloped towards the vault with the Xiaolin warriors chasing after them.
Omi quickly grabbed something lying on the ground and pointed it towards Trixie, "FRIGID FIELD!" and from the cold crystal on top came a harsh blast of ice, which froze the ground beneath the unicorn, causing her to slip and fall over, dropping the Humble Heartstrings too. Kimiko seized her chance and grabbed on to it, but she could not pull it way quick enough as Trixie had already used her magic to hold it too.
The other monks had seemed to stop, with Gilda getting away. She told them to go after her, "I'll take care of Trixie."
The humans and ponies nodded, then went off towards the griffin, then Trixie challenged Kimiko to a Xiaolin Showdown.
"I accept your challenge, Trixie. What's the game?" Kimiko asked.
"See the pond over there? The Harp shall hide at the depths of it and the first to find it is the winner."
"I wager my Gills of Hamachi," Kimiko offered, "what do you have?"
"Trixie will wager the Moby Morpher."
"Is that all you got?" Kimiko teased, "are you ready?" the unicorn nodded.
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"
The two turned around to look at the small koi pond. Nothing seemed to happen, but flashes of light and Kimiko assuming her armor indicated that the Showdown had made some changes, "GONG YI TENPAI!" the competitors shouted.
"GILLS OF HAMACHI!" Kimiko called, wearing the small brace on her neck and quickly developing gills, fins, scales and other features of a fish. She jumped into the air and somersaulted down into the water, which would normally be about knee-deep, but she went right down as if it was the middle of the ocean-like depths. She continued to swim down as the depths of the water became darker and wider. Suddenly, a shark zoomed past her, gloating; it was Trixie and she was much faster than the girl. Kimiko faced backwards and held out her hands.
"WUDAI MARS, FIRE!" she shouted violently as her hands unleashed fire, which was quickly turned into steam by the underwater atmosphere and propelled her downwards at a rivaling pace to shark-Trixie.
Meanwhile, Gilda had reached the Shen Gong Wu vault and stood ready to fight at the entrance. The Xiaolin dragons ran quickly at her and she smirked, then held up a front claw and slammed it downwards, breaking right through the floor of the vault.
"How in tarnation did she do that?" Applejack asked worriedly.
Placing her claw through the hole she had made, Gilda broke the rest of the floor and leapt down into the vault. The monks quickly followed down through and saw that many compartments for Shen Gong Wu were missing. Gilda had worked fast and she was nowhere to be seen, but a roar that was not hers was heard from deeper into the vault, then the corner lit up. Omi quickly held out the Frigid Field as a wave of fire crawled up to the gathered Xiaolins.
"FRIGID FIELD! WATER!" he called quickly, blasting a wet torrent at the fire.
At this time, Kimiko and shark-Trixie were already bashing into each other's sides to try and slow each other down, but they just kept going. Trixie paused for a moment, then slowed down; Kimiko laughed at her, but was instantly slammed into by a giant koi and was grabbed by its jaw, which carried her far away from the Humble Heartstrings at the bottom of the pond. Trixie in turn laughed at her and when Kimiko couldn't see, developed a propeller at her tail and finished the showdown with ease, grabbing the Harp with magic. She was then gently sent back to the surface, but Kimiko was sat on the hard ground dripping wet with a koi flapping on her head. Gilda was standing at a rooftop with a sack full of stolen Shen Gong Wu, about ten in the bag and another in her claw.
"Let's get outta here, Trixie!" she said quickly, "SILVER MANTA RAY!"
The small object in her hand grew and the two villains quickly jumped in and blasted off before a tired and wet Kimiko's eyes. The other ten warriors walked up to her, also looking very wet but also with a high temperature.
"Gilda used the Star Hanabi to try and fry us, but Omi fought back; it didn't seem to be enough. Looks like you're all wet too," Raimundo said slowly.
"I lost the showdown. Trixie has the Harp still and now the Gills of Hamachi," Kimiko explained with an audible sigh.
"Not a big loss, but I really just wanna show Gilda that I am not a pony to be trifled with," Rainbow Dash angrily shook her hoof and her voice got louder, "what reason does she have to be against us? What is she trying to fulfill?"
Twilight stood beside Rainbow Dash and shook her head, "looks like she just plain hates you I'm afraid to say. She just wants to be against you."
"But Trixie wants revenge on you, what would Gilda want with me?"
"I'm not sure, the details do seem a little slippy," Rarity pondered.
"I think she just doesn't like you anymore," Pinkie said.
"She stole some right decent Wu, but we don't know where they're hiding," Clay explained, "looks like we gotta just wait it out until we see 'em again to get the Wu back."
And with that, the dragons went to have lunch.
***
Around the same time the next day, the team assembled in the scroll room after Dojo told them a new Shen Gong Wu had just revealed itself. Spike held the scroll for all to see and Omi read its script.
"Ah, I've heard of this one before! It's called the Chenzang Shield," he explained, "it starts off by being able to strap around your shoulder, but when you activate it, it becomes the same size as you and if you keep using it, it can get bigger and bigger."
"Sounds useful," Fluttershy commented.
"So we should go and get it right away," Spike said as he magically grew up and spread his wings, letting the ponies climb on board. Dojo did the same for the monks and they quickly took off.
***
With Spike in an Ariel lead, the Xiaolin warriors arrived at a very mountainous area, which led to causing trouble for the flying dragons as a furious blizzard relentlessly pelted against their scales, forcing them to be weighed down and having to land at the very bottom of the mountain.
"I'm sorry fellas, but you're gonna have to climb halfway up the mountain to find the Shield," Dojo apologised.
Accepting their current task, the warriors prepared suitable clothing for the weather and geared up to climb, some using Shen Gong Wu for their difficulty. Raimundo laughed obnoxiously and jumped up, levitating in the air.
"See you at the middle!" he cockily boasted, "JET BOOTSU!"
Calling upon the mystical boots' power, he boosted upwards and ran vertically up the oddly straight mountain. Rainbow Dash opened her wings, then brought out a small Shen Gong Wu which in turn opened up to a wingspan shape, "WINGS OF TINABI!" she called and burst upward with a beautiful rainbow streak.
Gracefully, Rarity levitated her signature Emerald of Guang and waved it in the air, creating a white slit of light and called upon its power, "EMERALD OF GUANG!"
The calling of the power caused the white light to solidify and turn into a marvelous ruby, which moved quickly and slammed into the side of the mountain, lodging itself through the rock. Rarity hopped on and waved her hair, "I'll get the Chenzang Shield before you know it, darlings!" and the ruby roughly took upwards, grazing the mountain and causing a small rock slide as it did so.
Then, Clay held a dragon-like Shen Gong Wu up high in both hands, then wore it on his back, "LONGI KITE!" and took off with a loud 'YEEHAW!" and the small dragon on his back quickly rocketed the cowboy to the skies. Omi simply jumped on different rocks sticking from the mountain and leapt from one to another and quickly made progress up; Twilight then followed using the power of the Mantis Flip Coin.
Pinkie Pie looked to Kimiko and Applejack, then smiled, "I'll see you up there!" as she dashed off out of sight.
"That mare," Applejack laughed, "I don't have a way to get up, Kimiko. What about you?"
Spike, still in his larger form, walked up to them, "I can probably climb up," his developed voice boomed. The earth pony looked to Kimiko and nodded, then the two hung on to Spike's back as he dug his claws into the mountain and began to climb, with Dojo holding on to his tail.
***
The mountain housed a small cave at the direct center, which was covered by large icicles the size of a huge statue. Stood at the entrance to this cave was Gilda and Trixie. The griffin held a star in her hand and pointed it towards these icicles and called upon its power.
"STAR HINABI!" she shouted as the Star belched out a searing flame and destroyed the icicles, leaving a path for the two villains to enter.
In a small glacier-like prison sat a small Shield with a wrist strap, the very Chenzang Shield they were searching for. Once again, Gilda unleashed another blaze, melting the strong ice surrounding the Shield. Trixie then lifted it with her magic and the two waltzed outside. The blizzard was still raging and Gilda brought out the Silver Manta Ray, then began to call its name, but was interrupted as she was tackled by something quickly. As she grinded along the ground, she quickly opened her eyes to see Raimundo leant on her.
"Not so fast, Gilda!" he said, "hand over the Shen Gong Wu!"
"Pah! Fat chance, loser!" she insulted.
She then leapt up and pushed him off her. Quickly behind him, every other Xiaolin warrior followed and stepped onto the cliff, posing for battle. Rarity stepped forward and levitated the large ruby she traveled on, "EMERALD OF GUANG!" she called, and launched the ruby towards the top of the cave, which caused a small avalanche and threw Trixie off her concentration, causing her to drop the Chenzang Shield she was levitating. Everyone quickly ran towards it, but then Gilda brought out another Shen Gong Wu on her left talon, the Fist of Tebigong, and slammed it to the ground whilst announcing its name. Distracted, everyone but Rainbow Dash who was flying tripped over from the tremor and fell as the ground beneath them cracked and fell. All being too distracted to do anything, they continued to fall down the large mountain. Rainbow Dash yelled out over the edge, but it was too late. She quickly growled at Gilda and flew towards the Shield, holding it at the same time of the griffin. It shone a bright gold.
"You know what this means, don't you, blue wad?" Gilda smirked.
"Of course I do. Gilda, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"
"I'll wager my Ruby of Ramses for your Wings of Tinabi, and the game is the first to reach the top and take the Shield wins!" Gilda said.
"LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"
Rainbow Dash wore her belt around her torso and looked off the cliff edge again. Spike and Dojo had caught the Xiaolin warriors and flew to a ledge to watch.
"GONG YI TENPAI!" they yelled at each other.
Gilda quickly began to fly upwards at an impressive speed, with Rainbow Dash closely tailing. She then opened the wings of her Shen Gong Wu, "WINGS OF TINABI!"
Then she accelerated and left a rainbow stream behind her. She saluted to the left-behind griffin and continued upwards, but then Gilda held out her Shen Gong Wu, "RUBY OF RAMSES!"
As she was falling, Rainbow Dash managed to get a grip and carry on her path upwards. She held the Wings of Tinabi to her heart and became covered in a sphere of rainbows. She smiled widely with excitement and held out the Wings.
"WINGS OF TINABI!" they opened, "SONIC RAINBOOM! LOYALTY!"
With the passion to defeat Gilda in her heart, Rainbow Dash had acquired the power to fulfill her wish and race on upwards with a solid rainbow, after a circular rainbow expanded with a loud bang and she shot upwards at an almost invisible pace. She whizzed past Gilda, who stopped in mid-air in shock. Rainbow Dash zoomed past and grabbed the Shield and ended the showdown. She then heard, "I WILL GET YOU, RAINBOW DASH!" as Gilda and Trixie quickly departed on the Silver Manta Ray.
Back at the bottom of the mountain, Rainbow Dash met up with the others and congratulated her as she bragged of her beautiful victory. They then left, but didn't notice another ship which had just arrived to the cave where the Shield was. A boy and a woman stood outside and looked in the former resting place of the Wu.
"Aw man! How am I late? How did I miss it?" the boy winged.
"Jack. Please remind me WHY I teamed up with you again," Wuya sighed, pressing her hand against her face.
Status Quo Returns. Plus Seven.
"MANTIS FLIP COIN!" Kimiko shouted, avoiding a red blast from her sparring opponent.
She leaped into the air, doing several forward turns at the same time and landed directly behind Raimundo.
"KAZUSU ATOM!" Raimundo called, trying to hit Kimiko again.
"MANTIS FLIP COIN!" She dodged the blast again.
"LOTUS TWISTER, EARTH!" Clay's arm extended, twisted and turned to stone.
He swept Kimiko and Raimundo down in one swing of his rubbery, yet completely solid, arm.
"GOLDEN FINGER!" Omi called from a rooftop.
The three monks instantly froze in their place. Omi jumped down from the rooftop.
"MIKADO ARM!" He called, holding another Shen Gong Wu.
His arms suddenly bulked up and he swung down at Clay, smashing his arm completely off. It reverted back to it's original state. Omi ran to Kimiko and grabbed her Flip Coin, which she has just flipped before Omi froze it in midair, then took Raimundo's Kazusu Atom, he was careful to point it upwards as when it unfroze it fired a shot. He then ran to Clay and quickly pulled away his Lotus.
"GOLDEN FINGER!" He called again, unfreezing everybody.
The three got up and got to grips with the end of the training. The aim was to obtain everybody's Shen Gong Wu and Omi had won.
"Nice one, Omi." Rai commented.
"I didn't see y'all up on that there roof. Good play, pardner." Clay tipped his hat.
"Thank you, Dragons. I snuck up there with all the ruckus between Kimiko and Ra-" He was interrupted.
Fire viciously burst from a nearby doorway, headed straight at the monks.
"KAZUSU ATOM, WATER!" Omi called, using his element to deflect the blaze.
A mighty storm of steam erupted from the collision and the fire stopped, as did Omi's blast of water. From the steam, which took a long time to clear, came Dojo crawling along the ground.
"Guys...," he wheezed, "guys...come to the scroll room...quick."
"Dojo! Did that fire come from you?" Kimiko asked.
"The first sign I've had in years." Dojo noted.
"Sign? You mean..." Raimundo asked.
"Yes. It's been an entire year and it may be hard to believe but, a new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself." Dojo stared sternly at the Dragons.
***
Twilight paced back and forth in the vet office, waiting for her baby dragon to come back to her. Spike had recently been belching up fire but with no scrolls or letters from anypony. She was told she could not see him when he was being examined and she was extremely worried the moment she left his room.
"Twilight Sparkle?" A nurse called.
Twilight ran up to the unicorn nurse in a hurry. The pink pony levitated a clipboard with her magic, her kitten cutie mark looked scorched.
"Is Spike alright? What's wrong with him? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay!" Twilight blabbered.
The unicorn simply smiled and put a hoof to Twilight's mouth.
"Spike seems to be fine, Miss Sparkle," she patted her on the head, "would you like to see him?"
"Oh, yes please." Twilight calmed down.
She followed the nurse into Spike's room. He was sat on a desk and looked rather sad until Twilight walked in. He jumped off the desk and ran to hug her.
"I'm okay Twilight, I might just have gas!" He smiled, "Gas, Twilight! GAS!"
Twilight smiled, slightly creeped out over the dragon's enthusiasm.
"Wonderful, Spike." She looked towards the nurse, "so what's your diagnosis?"
"We're not entirely sure. We haven't had symptoms like this before. Never heard of a dragon belching magical fire with nothing else." She read over her clipboard.
"So...it might not be gas?" Spike frowned.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not," the nurse continued, "Come back in say, a week?"
"Sure." Twilight said, looking down slightly.
She trotted off with Spike to go back to Ponyville.
They opened the door to the library and Pinkie Pie jumped out almost instantly.
"SURPRISE!" She shouted, popping a party popper at Twilight and Spike.
The confetti landed on the unamused duo. Pinkie toned her happiness down a little and stepped out of the way to let them in. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were also there.
"Sorry for the downer guys, but we don't know what's up with Spike. We have to go back to the Canterlot vet next week." Twilight sighed.
"That's a swell shame, sugarcube. We made this cake just 'fer Spike and all." Applejack revealed a cake in the shape of a gemstones that was also lined with gemstones.
"I'll eat it now!" Spike drooled, floating to the cake.
"No, Spike you ca-" Twilight tried to object but it was no use.
Spike gobbled up the confectionery in one bite. Everypony giggled, then his face puffed up. He turned a sickly green and started to float. The statue of a unicorn head in the center of the room also began to glow the green colour. Spike couldn't hold it in any longer. He belched at the statue and a portal appeared in its place, sucking the seven in.
***
The monks rode on Dojo's back to the first Shen Gong Wu for a year. It was a bumpy ride as Dojo had gotten used to relief of the horrible things that happened to his body after an activation. Everyone gathered around Omi as he read from the sacred scroll.
"The Celestial Horn," he read, "I have never heard of this before."
The picture on the scroll depicted a man wearing a large horn on his head, then drawing a circle with it. A portal appeared and some equestrian creatures came through the portal.
"It says it's a one-time-use Shen Gong Wu," Omi continued, "it has the power to open a portal to a strange dimension. The portal leads to a place called Eque-"
He stopped, the image and text faded and the scroll folded up.
"What happened?" Kimiko asked.
"I do not know. But I think there are some things we will have to find out for ourselves." Omi commented.
"It opens a portal to another universe," Clay muttered, "what's with all them horses?"
"No clue. They looked a little small to be horses, didn't they?" Raimundo noted.
"They did look the same size as Omi." Kimiko laughed.
"I am simply miniscule boned!" Omi shouted.
"Small boned." Raimundo corrected.
"That too." Omi sighed.
"Get ready, folks. We're descending." Dojo said.
The Dragons prepared for landing. They arrived in a dark forest. There was a large light in the middle.
"Well that's not obvious." Raimundo said sarcastically.
Omi ran up to the light, which eventually formed the shape of a horn. He picked it up, but something stopped him. He looked directly opposite him to see Jack Spicer.
"Long time no see." He smirked.
"Jack Spicer. The first Wu in a year and I had a feeling you would be after it," Omi commented, "where is Wuya?"
"Not paired up with me anymore," Jack replied with a slight whimper in his voice, "I'm riding solo now!"
"Enough chatter chitter! Jack Spicer, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" Omi contested.
"Name your game, Omi." Jack accepted.
"The game is a magical obstacle course. The first to reach The Celestial Horn wins." Omi offered.
"I wager my Monkey Staff." Jack said, holding the Wu proudly.
"Against my Kazusu Atom." Omi wagered.
The two nodded in agreement and shouted, "LET'S GO! XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"
In a flash of light the greenery of the forest began to twist around and a large temple rose up form the ground. The podium that the Horn was situated on served as the peak of the temple. Jack and Omi got a quick glimpse of it before it shot off in another direction and the forest continued to build itself into an obstacle course. A confusing maze of mystical fire, water and random gales completed itself. Omi's costume suddenly changed to his Wudai Warrior gear, as did the other Dragon's; spare Raimundo, who wore his Shoku attire.
"GONG YI TENPAI!" The contestants shouted, beginning the Showdown.
Omi instantly raced ahead and jumped over and ducked under bars, leaving Jack in his dust. The evil boy genius got himself together and also began to run.
"MONKEY STAFF!" He called, instantly assuming the form of a monkey.
He chanted with monkey screams and caught up to Omi fast with his improved agility. There was a large pit ahead filled with lava. Neither Omi nor Jack could jump across. Several bursts of lava shot up from the pit, carrying stone platforms. Jack seized the opportunity and jumped across, destroying every platform as he jumped off it. There were no more rocks left, but Omi had a plan. He waiting for the shot to calm down and jumped down into the pit.
"Omi! No!" Kimiko cried from afar.
There was no sound from the pit except a bubbling, then came a voice.
"KAZUSU ATOM! WATER!" The voice shouted.
Omi rose up from the pit laughing. He held onto the Atom tight as it sent a burst of water downwards, which was deflected by the lava and forced him upwards.
"KAZUSU ATOM! WATER! WATER! WATER!" He called three times, jumping off the other lava plumes.
He landed on the other side, still behind Jack a considerable distance. Jack looked back and pressed a button on his wristwatch and called several Jackbots.
"I'd forgotten how tricky you are Omi. Luckily, I have my own tricks too!" He screeched and continued down the course.
Omi jumped and broke a couple of Jackbots, still running forward at the same time.
"KAZUSU ATOM!" He called, destroying another few in one flash of the Wu.
There was one left. Omi jumped on it and broke off it's head. It continued to fly in the opposite direction of the course, but Omi turned it around and rode on it to catch up with Jack.
"KAZUSU ATOM! WATER!" He called again, unleashing a high pressured blast of water to speed up the Jackbot.
Jack looked behind him and saw what was happening. Before he could dodge, Omi smashed right into him with the Jackbot and continued on running as Jack struggled to get up from under his creation. He managed to eventually and continued to run after Omi. He spotted a nearby vine and grabbed it. He was going between vines at a speed that got him parallel to Omi and he jumped back on the track. A large geyser was up ahead, which caused Jack to stop.
"I'm not going in there! My coat'll get wet!" He cried.
Omi ignored his remark and continued running.
"WUDAI NEPTUNE! WATER!" He called.
The hot water separated and left a trail for Omi in the middle. He returned it to normal and shot the geyser back at Jack, pushing him much further back into the maze.
"Peace in!" Omi shouted, running to the temple.
Raimundo just sighed, he would have thought that Omi had given up on slang by now.
The temple was very low down, Omi only needed an extended leap to reach The Celestial Horn. He pulled a blue cylinder out of his pocket.
"His Wudai Weapon? He can't use that! He only wagered one Shen Gong Wu!" Jack screeched,
"Actually, 'genius', a Wudai Weapon technically isn't a Shen Gong Wu. He can use it as much as he likes!" Dojo laughed.
Jack realised now that it was no use and sat down to watch his defeat.
"SHIMO STAFF!" Omi called.
He struck the staff to the ground and balanced on it with one finger. It extended upwards to the height of the temple. Omi jumped to the podium and grabbed The Celestial Horn. He had won.
At the temple, the monks were sat in the courtyard, all looking at the new Shen Gong Wu.
"So whadda ya suppose it does?" Clay asked.
"Something to do with another dimension." Omi mumbled.
"I don't like it. I think I may be al...al...ACHOO!" Dojo sneezed fire right onto The Celestial Horn.
It began to glow and shot a green orb of light upwards. The orb expanded and out of it fell seven creatures. Six ponies and a purple dragon.
Unneeded Light, Wanted Darkness: Part 2
PREVIOUSLY ON PONY SHOWDOWN:
"Hey guys, have you seen Spike?" Twilight asked the training monks.
"Nope. No word or sight of him all day. He's been quieter than a dead buffalo." Clay said.
--
"What's that loud noise?" Applejack asked.
"It's the vault room! It's collapsing!" Twilight panted.
--
Clay detracted the shield but used the front to extend and sweep away the rocks covering the entrance to the vault, which was now in the open surrounded by rubble.
--
"Dojo? What in tarnation were you screamin' about?" Applejack asked.
"It's....it's... one Shen Gong Wu was taken." he cried.
"Which one?" asked Raimundo.
"The Celestial Horn," Dojo said, "but I know who took it."
--
Spike looked up and saw a young man stood on the roof. He had long flowing black hair and olive green eyes. He wore a suit or armor in a similar colour with an eye on the belt.
"Who are you?" Spike asked.
The man laughed and sat down next to Spike, the bird flew to his shoulder.
"I am Chase Young." he said.
--
"Spike, we need you on the Heylin side to make the world a better place."
--
Soon, they arrived at the stone entrance. The air was cold and gusty, leaving everyone uncomfortable. When she jumped off of Dojo, Twilight immediately noticed someone at the large doors.
"Spike?" she smiled.
"Hello Twilight." he said, plainly.
--
"Spike? Are you working for Chase?!" Fluttershy gasped.
--
Alright, Raimundo. I challenge you to a Heylin Showdown!" Spike smirked.
--
"A Heylin Showdown is fought over a Heylin Shen Gong Wu," Chase explained, "you heard me. The Celestial Horn is a Heylin Shen Gong Wu! The rules of a Heylin Showdown are quite simple. You can wager absolutely anything. Shen Gong Wu, loyalty, one's life. The winner can also choose something else; anything their heart desires that the Heylin magic can conjure."
--
"THIS IS IT! HEYLIN SHOWDOWN!"
--
"CELESTIAL HORN!!" Spike yelled, feeling a burst of evil energy.
--
"This portal leads to Equestria!" Chase Young announced.
He began to laugh evilly and loudly. He held the Zing-Zom Bone tight and grabbed Spikes hand and the two jumped into the portal, which promptly closed.
The ponies and monks stood in Chase's empty palace with pure shock and horror visible in their faces. Twilight then burst into tears, followed by the rest of the ponies, except for Rainbow Dash who just frowned visibly.
"Why would my Spikey-wikey do this to us?" Rarity asked.
"How could he go to the dark side?" Fluttershy sniffed.
"Spike's all good!" Applejack exclaimed.
"I'd like to show that Chase Young what for!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pounding her hooves together.
Raimundo lay on the ground, his body in great pain from the fall. Clay and Kimiko lifted him up and held him with their shoulders.
Everyone stared at the space where the portal had just closed.
"What was their plan?" Kimiko asked.
"I suppose we will have to find out." Omi sighed.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion outside. The group ran to the entrance to see that, in the distance, the world had once again been turned into a wasteland.
"Their plan must be working. Here's 1000 years of darkness." Dojo sighed.
***
Shining Armor galloped to Celestia's throne quickly and bowed at her feet, panting heavily.
"Shining Armor, hello. Have you any leads on the location of the Elements of Harmony?" she asked.
"No. Not yet. But we have a bigger problem on our hands, your majesty." he said quickly, trotting to her window and pointing out.
She slowly approached and looked for herself. She gasped loudly, her pupils dilated and she fell to her knees.
"A human?" she whimpered.
"Looks like he's got Twily's pet dragon with him too." Shining Armor added, squinting out the window.
"Humans have never found their way to Equestria. This must be a time of great danger," Celestia exclaimed, "Shining Armor, it is imperative that you prepare our strongest guards immediately. This human is all too familiar and he must be exterminated."
Shining Armor saluted and galloped away. Celestia watched out the window.
Moments later, Shining Armor and four other guards burst out of the castle's front door in very flashy gold armor, all leviating silver spears with their magic.
"Alright, human bro, step back to your world." Shining Armor said sternly.
"I'll do anything but that," Chase laughed, then held out a Shen Gong Wu, "ZING-ZOM BONE!"
The Wu opened up and a gunky liquid was shot out, hitting the guards and Shining Armor in the face. The ooze sunk into their heads and their eyes lost all colour, becoming black as night. They were zombies.
Spike jumped from Chase's shoulder and onto Shining Armor.
"Now, Shining Armor, I need you to call all of the guards down here." he whispered to him.
Shining Armor blankly nodded as Spike jumped off of him and he trotted back to the castle. A moment later, hundreds of guards flowed from the gates led by the zombified Shining Armor. Chase held out the Zing-Zom Bone again and used its power. He had a mass pony-guard army at his disposal and he intended to grow it even further.
"Bring me your leader," Chase demanded, "minions, bring me Celestia!"
A row of guards from the back entered the palace and returned with Celestia who did not look pleased one bit.
"Chase Young." she nodded.
"Celestia. Long time no see." he smiled.
"You two know each other?" Spike asked.
"All too well," Celestia sighed, "he is the one who drove Luna to become Nightmare Moon!"
She closed her eyes for a moment of silence, then suddenly opened them again.
"Spike? Are you with Chase?" she gasped.
"I am. We're making Equestria and the Xiaolin world better for everyone!" he smiled.
"Spike, this is not right." she shouted.
"Enough of this mindless talk! ZING-ZOM BONE!" Chase called, turning Celestia quickly into another of his zombie pawns.
A small thud was heard and Luna came flying down from a high tower.
"STOP, FIEND!" she cried, firing a purple blast at Chase.
He jumped and avoided it.
"Zombie guards! Attack with your spears!" he commanded.
The guards all used their magic to throw their spears at Luna. All but one missed, which grazed her wing and caused her to fall to the ground before Chase.
"YOU SHALL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS, CHASE YOUNG! WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" she shouted.
"Oh, but you WILL let me! ZING-ZOM BONE!" Chase called again, turning Luna into a zombie also.
"Now we have both of the rulers of Equestria." Spike said.
"Indeed," Chase nodded, "and we shall carry out the next step of our plan."
Chase walked past the guards, who cleared to make a path for him as Celestia and Luna mindlessly followed him to the very top balcony of Canterlot castle. Chase stood at the edge and laughed loudly, then turned to the alicorns.
"Focus all your magical power to the Zing-Zom Bone." he commanded.
The princesses nodded and blasted the Shen Gong Wu with magic from their horns. It began to glow colours of both their magic as well as its own golden colour. Chase held the Zing-Zom Bone high, Spike stood at his feet. Shining Armor slowly walked to them.
"And now we need a shield." Chase nodded at the unicorn.
With a groan, Shining Armor projected a shield of magic just as Chase shouted again.
"ZING-ZOM BONE!"
A large green light erupted from the Wu and began to grow to an immense size and cover every inch of space. The light expanded and covered more ground until it had enveloped Equestria. The shield was taken away from Chase and Spike when the light faded and below them was millions of ponies all at Chase's command.
"And now your big part, Spike." he said.
Spike wore The Celestial Horn and Chase held him high.
"CELESTIAL HORN!" the dragon called.
The Horn shot a white light at the ground before the zombie army and opened a portal where the drones walked in by hundreds at a time.
"This is where we rule both worlds." Chase said and jumped down into the portal with Spike to return to the Xiaolin world.
***
Luckily, the Xiaolin temple was untouched by evil. Master Fung was meditating above the Shen Gong Wu vault when the dragons ran to him.
"Master Fung, are you alright?" Dojo asked.
"I am fine. However, the world has been struck with darkness." he said.
"You don't say?" Raimundo muttered under his breath.
"How did this happen?" Pinkie asked.
"It would seem that whatever plan Chase Young intended to carry out worked. Whatever it is, we will have to find out." he explained.
"We gathered that, but what should we do?" Applejack asked.
"For now we will have to w-" Master Fung was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound.
The walls broke forth as hundreds of zombie guard ponies burst through and surrounded the monks.
"Ponies?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"What in Equestria...in the Xiaolin world...what are they doing here?" Rarity exclaimed.
"This is Shining Armor's army." gasped Twilight.
They held up spears with their magic and aimed them towards the group, but then, Shining Armor heroically dropped before them.
"Guards! Hear your leader's commands! Return to Chase Young's palace!" he shouted clearly.
The guards all slowly turned around and marched in the opposite direction. Master Fung led the ponies and monks into the temple as soon as the zombies were out of sight and served tea for everyone.
"Shining Armor, big brother!" Twilight smiled with a tear in her eye, "I can't believe your here! How did you get here?"
She ran up to hug him but he pushed her out of the way.
"I'm not your brother," he laughed, "MOBY MORPHER!"
Clapping his hooves together, a golden piece of jewelry on them began to glow as he pulled them out and changed size and shape. A small red thing jumped down to the table, causing the monks to stand up and ready to fight.
"Hannibal Bean!" Omi exclaimed.
"Now, you all settle down. I ain't here to cause no harm." he laughed.
"You're evil! Why should we believe you?" Kimiko asked.
"Did I not just save your behinds by warding off a deadly pony army?" he said.
The monks loosened up a little.
"What do you want?" Raimundo asked.
"What I want, my dear Xiaolin warriors, is a simple truce. Hear me out as I explain what Chase Young is up to first. Scriptures had foretold of the coming of the equestrian creatures after The Celestial Horn activated, but there would be one who was not one of them. The Equestrian Key." Hannibal explained.
"You mean Spike?" Fluttershy asked.
"Spike? The dragon, yes. The dragon is The Equestrian Key. Now, the Key is the only one able to open a portal between both the Equestrian and Xiaolin worlds."
"We know all this mumbo jumbo. Get to the point, bean paste." Applejack said.
"Hold your horses," Hannibal continued, "Chase Young has obviously convinced the Key to come to his side so he can take advantage of his ability. The Equestrain Key is the only one able to use The Celestial Horn after it uses itself, of course. Being a Heylin Shen Gong Wu, however, the Key can only use it if he has Heylin blood running in him. Now, Chase had the plan to go to Equestria and turn all the inhabitants into zombies not to threaten everybody, but to break the time space spectrum."
"The time space spectrum? But surely if that broke we'd all be Texas toast?" pondered Clay.
"Not exactly. This is a specific dimension of time space we're talking about. It's located in the portal between worlds and is called the 'event horizon'. Since so many creatures from another universe were coming to another, it overpowered the event horizon and broke it, plunging the world into destruction and darkness. With this, Chase can overthrow any power he wants because he knows how to take the darkness to his advantage using his army of zombie ponies." Hannibal finished.
Everyone took a moment to let all the information sink in. It was a lot to think about and believe.
"And you want a truce because...?" Omi asked.
"Because Chase is not sharing any of his world ruling with anyone else, the selfish dope!" Hannibal shouted.
"I think we should trust him." said Fluttershy.
"You do?" Kimiko asked.
"Bare in mind that this is one of the most evil minds in the universe on the table." Raimundo said.
"I'm flattered, but your pony friend is right to believe me. I want to help you stop Chase and then we're mortal enemies once more." he offered.
"Fine." agreed Raimundo.
"Excellent, then I hope you won't mind a couple more tagging along?" Hannibal asked.
"Like who?" Twilight asked.
Through the door stepped Jack Spicer and Wuya.
"Like us." Wuya cackled.
"Oh Celestia." Rarity sighed.
"Hey now, we wanted some of the...ruling the world...pie." Jack stuttered.
"Not very good with metaphors, are we, Spicer?" Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Shut up! We're on a truce, we're all friends here!" he shouted.
"Whatever. So what's the plan to get back at Chase?" Raimundo asked.
"He has zombies all over the land." said Hannibal.
"Luckily, I have the Reversing Mirror. We can revert them back to their normal state." Wuya explained.
"And then we can use them to help us fight back." Jack continued.
"So basically, we journey to Chase Young's palace?" Omi asked.
"Yes. Shall we begin?" Hannibal asked.
Everyone put their hands and hooves in a pile and nodded. They were ready to take back the universe.
Luna and Celestia stood side by side to Chase's throne, watching intently at the entrance ready to strike at any intruders. The levels of his palace were also filled heavily with guards and in front of the gates stood Shining Armor. Chase raised a goblet and took a long drink from it.
"To world domination!" he called after finishing.
"Yeah...!" Spike unenthusiastically said, raising a smaller goblet.
He looked at the red liquid inside and swirled it around, then sniffed it.
"Chase, what is this drink anyway? It's good!" he said, taking a sip of his own.
"Pig's blood." Chase replied.
Spike sprayed out the blood at one of the guards, who's zombie mind was too absent to notice. Chase laughed and patted Spike on the head.
"You have served well." he commented.
"Yeah, thanks, but is this all there is to it? Sitting doing nothing? We rule the world!" Spike waved his arms around.
"Would you like to explore?" Chase asked.
"Yeah!" Spike smiled.
"Then let us explore!" Chase chuckled.
The sky outside was a deep orange colour and black clouds roamed the skies. The ponies, monks and temporary help were at the base of a mountain with Jack at the lead.
"This is a shortcut to Chase's palace." he said.
"Are you sure? Just looks like a mountain to me." Wuya commented.
"No way! It's..." he looked up at the mountain and realised he was wrong, "just a mountain."
Everyone moaned, then heard a deeper and drier moan from nearby which stunned everyone into a deadly silence.
"What was that?" Fluttershy whimpered.
The groaning noise grew louder and longer and a large shadow crept around the mountain base. It was the shadow of a pony and it was huge.
"One of Chase's zombie ponies..." Twilight whispered
Then a small figure slowly approached. It stumbled with each step and it took a short time for the pony to become truly visible. Applejack's heart leaped as she ran forward.
"Apple Bloom!" she gasped.
"Uuuuurrrrrrrr...." the zombie filly replied.
"Aw shoot. That Chase gotcha too? Why, when we find him, he'll be in more trouble than a sleepin' sherrif!" Applejack said.
Apple Bloom breathed a loud moan again and leapt at Applejack, crashing her to the ground.
"Sis! What're you doing?!" she cried.
Apple Bloom stomped on Applejack's face with her front hooves and groaned in a howling fashion to the moon. Wuya quickly stepped forward.
"REVERSING MIRROR!" she called.
The mirror unleashed a silver ray of light which wrapped itself around Apple Bloom. When it unraveled, her pupils were no longer pitch black. She looked at Applejack who she was stood on.
"Sis?" she whispered.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack cried, hugging her sister tight.
"Applejack, where am I? How did I get here? Who are these people?" Apple Bloom asked, pointing at the unfamiliar humans and Hannibal.
"It's a long story, sis. Y'all need to come with us, I'll explain it to ya on the way." Applejack wiped a tear from her eye.
"So which way is it to Chase's palace?" Omi asked, then narrowed his eyes at Jack, "Jack Spicer did not know."
"Hey! I knew! I just..." Jack sighed, "got it wrong."
"Luckily, I have my eye in the sky." Hannibal said.
A bird swooped down and landed on the ground infront of Hannibal, who jumped onto him.
"Yingyang will lead us to Chase's palace," he bragged, "just follow her."
Dojo grew and allowed the ponies to climb on his back, except for Applejack who stayed put with Apple Bloom.
"Not coming, Applejack?" Rarity asked.
"I hope y'all don't mind if we hitch a ride in the Silver Manta Ray?" she asked.
"That'll be fine, but Wuya and Jack need to ride on Dojo." Raimundo replied.
"On Dojo? But dragon travel makes me queasy...can I ride up front?" Jack whimpered.
"Don't be such a baby, Jack." Wuya sighed.
"You're not coming on the front. You'll puke all over my had. To the back." Dojo commanded.
Jack's eyes grew and glistened like a puppy's, but Dojo returned a menacing glare and the boy climbed to his back.
"SILVER MANTA RAY!" Kimiko called.
Once everyone was ready, they followed Yingyang to Chase's palace.
As they approached the palace, those in the open air could hear what sounded like a prolonged and never-ending droning sound. As they cleared the dark clouds they saw a horrible sight. The path to Chase's palace was filled, absolutely crowded by thousands of zombie ponies.
"Oh my. Can we turn back? Is it too late to turn back?" Fluttershy panicked.
"I'm with her. Let's go before we're killed." Jack said.
"We are going and we are restoring peace to the world." Twilight said sternly.
She looked carefully and saw her brother at the gates of the palace.
"I need to bring Shining Armor back to normal." she said.
"Well we only have one Reversing Mirror." Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Oh! Oh! I have an idea!" Jack beamed.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring.
"What? You're gonna ask it to marry you?" Pinkie laughed.
"No, that's a Shen Gong Wu. The Ring of Nine Dragons. It allows the user to multiply into up to nine copies of them self." Dojo explained.
"And what will nine Jacks do? Apart from fail." Rainbow Dash said.
"Hey! Right here!" Jack shouted.
"Actually, this is quite clever for you, Jack. I see where you're going." Wuya said.
"See!" Jack said, with a huge grin on his face.
He held the Ring and placed it on the Reversing Mirror.
"RING OF NINE DRAGONS!" he called.
"REVERSING MIRROR!" Wuya quickly called afterwards.
The two Shen Gong Wu began to glow and the Reversing Mirror split into two copies of itself.
"Now, this Reversing Mirror will be weaker than before. Be careful with using it." Wuya explained.
"I will. Dojo, drop me off at the entrance, quickly!" Twilight commanded.
Dojo rushed down and swooped back up as Twilight jumped off and landed next to her brother. Shining Armor turned around quickly and used his magic to throw a spear at Twilight. Twilight used her magic to levitate the Reversing Mirror and she quickly sidestepped away from the spear. Shining Armor groaned and five guards galloped to his side.
"REVERSING MIRROR! MAGIC!" Twilight yelled.
The Mirror gained a pink tint to it and unleashed a pink veil at Shining Armor, who was quickly returned to normal. He shook his head and looked at Twilight for a moment.
"Twily?" he whispered.
"Big brother!" Twilight cried.
The two ran up to each other to hug, then stood side by side and struck a fighting pose.
"Looks like the guards won't be driven to normal too easily." Shining Armor commented.
"Right. We're gonna kick some flank?" Twilight nodded.
Shining Armor nodded back and the two galloped towards the guards, kicking them hard with their back hooves, causing them to collapse and struggle to get up in their zombified state. Shining Armor added his magical aura to the Mirror.
"REVERSING MIRROR! SIBLING MAGIC!" the two called, engulfing the guards in a large pink light.
Down below at the bottom of the mountain, Dojo and the Silver Manta Ray landed. Everyone stood ready and charged at the zombie army, yelling at the top of their voices.
"REVERSING MIRROR!" Wuya screeched many times, returning zombies to normal as they joined the charge.
From above, Twilight and Shining Armor looked down.
"It's not enough! There are thousands of ponies and just the two Reversing Mirrors!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Then looks like we'll have to show off a bit!" Shining Armor smirked, preparing some magic.
He levitated the Mirror high above, in the skies above the battle, then shot a long stream of pink magical light at it. He struggled to keep the stream flowing and looked to Twilight.
"Twily! Help me out here!" he grunted.
"Right!" she stepped forward and her horn began to glow brightly.
She closed her eyes and the glow became bigger and brighter, then she yelled in a volume that could only be rivaled by the Canterlot royals.
"HARMONY HUOHUA! MAGIC!"
The light skyrocketed and collided with the Reversing Mirror, which became invisible under the bright light. A large wind kicked up that brushed the ponies manes as every singe person and pony stared at the bright light in the sky.
"REVERSING MIRROR! HARMONY! " Shining Armor and the Elements of Harmony yelled.
The light expanded and suddenly showered down in a large storm on the zombie ponies, restoring them all to their original states. One by one, they began to come to their senses and wonder where the were.
All the ponies and people cheered, but suddenly stopped when a snapping voice boomed above all others from behind Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle.
"WHAT. IS. GOING. ON?"
Shining Armor and Twilight turned around and before them stood Chase Young, arms folded, looking so furious he was literally steaming. Behind him was Spike, in a state of pure shock.
"Twilight? You did this?" the dragon gasped.
"Spike! You need to come back to us!" Twilight cried, about to run to Spike, but Chase slammed his arm out against her and knocked her to the ground.
"TWILIGHT!" Shining Armor shouted, then turned to Chase and fired a magical blast at him.
Chase dodged the shot and suddenly began to bulge. His skin turned a darker colour and he grew. He quickly transformed into his dragon form.
"I WILL KILL YOU AND EVERY PONY HERE." he screeched, lifting Shining Armor by the horn and throwing him to the bottom of the path.
He landed hard against the ground and was knocked unconscious. Twilight screamed and stood up.
"Chase! What are you doing? These are my friends!" Spike cried.
"Friends? Spike, on the Heylin side there ARE no friends." Chase shouted.
Spike looked in horror at the hurt ponies, the de-zombified ponies and the unconscious Shining Armor.
"Then the Heylin side is no place for me." he said.
"You cannot simply leave! You have Heylin blood!" Chase sneered.
"Then, Chase," Spike ran into the palace and out again with The Celestial Horn, "I challenge you to a Heylin Showdown."
"So be it!" Chase laughed.
Spike was no match for Chase, but he would take any chance to defeat him. He now realised he had been used. Chase did not care about him. Perhaps he would not even allow him to share in his glory of world domination. Spike had no say in whatever Chase did, he simply followed. He had no purpose of his own will; unlike on the Xiaolin side. Spike now knew what he wanted most and that was to assist his friends and stop this evil man from anything he may try.
"The game is Running of the Leaves. The first to reach the finish line wins." Spike challenged.
"And the wagers?" Chase asked.
"Mine and the Xiaolin's word that we will let you keep the world to yourself. If you win, keep the world and we will do nothing to stop you."
"And I shall wager nothing. If you win, you must rely on your Heylin Wish."
"That's fine enough by me." Spike nodded.
"THIS IS IT! HEYLIN SHOWDOWN!" the two yelled.
The Celestial Horn shot a portal and the two were at the start of a trail surrounded by autumn trees losing their leaves. The thousands of ponies who were once zombies cheered in the audience.
"ZHENGQU NI DE SHENGHUO!" the competitors yelled.
Chase, still in his dragon form, dashed ahead at a very quick pace. Spike grew and used his flight powers to try and catch up. The two were neck and neck.
"Cheetah scolding student!" Chase called, bashing into Spike.
Spike resisted the attack and focused on flying forwards. His wings beat fast and he was tiring himself quickly. He began to fall back.
"Horse slamming door!" Chase called, kicking Spike hard in the face.
Spike fell to the ground from the hard hit and slowly got up. Chase had gained some distance quickly, but Spike got back in the game and could see Chase in the distance, but he saw something else. It was long but the colour was not visible. Then he noticed. It was a tree and it impacted on his face, knocking him out cold.
Spike could hear voices. Voices of his friends. What he visualized was his smaller form's head surrounded by those of the ponies and monks.
"I'm sorry guys. We're gonna lose." he cried.
"Don't be like that!" Kimiko said.
"Spike, you can do it. We believe in you." Fluttershy exclaimed.
"But...he's way in the lead and I'm just lying here." Spike replied.
"Get back in the game, Spike!" Raimundo encouraged.
"Only you can bring peace. It all lies with you." Applejack said.
"It's your unity of us that will win this race!" Rarity said.
"Unity?" Spike said, thinking.
He then saw another figure. Tall and thin man with a yellow thin head. His voice was soothing.
"Spike, you are not useless. You are a Xiaolin." he said.
"Who are you?" Spike asked.
"I am Grand Master Dashi." he said.
Spike gasped, "I can't win this, Dashi. I'm not like the others. I'm not a Xiaolin Warrior."
"You think? Then you're all wrong!" Dashi laughed.
"What?" Spike gasped again.
"Spike, you have just realised it now, you are the Xiaolin Dragon of Unity. That is your Element. Now use it and win this!"
Spike regained consciousness and the last sentence Dashi said echoed in his head. He shrunk to his smaller form and closed his eyes. He gained a golden aura and a black belt appeared on his torso. Then, in a magical flash, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie appeared around him. He began to float and glow, as did the ponies. Streams of light from the ponies connected their magical glow together in a hexagon shape, with Spike in the center.
"HUANJU HEXAGON! UNITY!" he yelled.
Suddenly, the seven of them propelled forward at a breathtaking pace. The trees he flew past were immediately stripped of their leaves and he knocked Chase out of the way, sending him lying very far back and slamming to the hard ground with a loud thud. Spike flew to the finish line and in a flash, he was stood at the entrance to the palace again, ponies whooping and hollering at the top of their voices.
Chase knelt on the ground and coughed loudly, spluttering as he spoke.
"I still have Celestia and Luna at my side. Attack!" he commanded.
Luna and Celestia burst from the doors of the palace and aimed their horns at Spike.
"Not so fast! My Heylin Wish! I wish to no longer have my Heylin blood!" Spike quickly said.
His eyes flashed white and thin red streams exited his body and vanished into the air.
"The Mirror! Quick!" Spike yelled.
"RING OF NINE DRAGONS!" Jack called, merging the two Reversing Mirrors into one.
Twilight threw the Mirror to Spike with her magic. He caught it and held it high.
"No!" Chase screamed.
"REVERSING MIRROR! UNITY!" Spike happily called.
The Mirror displayed a blinding white light, causing everyone witnessing this to close and shield their eyes. The bright flash faded out and Celestia and Luna returned to normal, then glared at the helpless Chase.
"I think I know just what to do with this one." Luna laughed.
"I agree. Moon banishment?" Celestia asked the ponies among her.
"MOON BANISHMENT!" the thousands of ponies yelled.
Celestia stood firm and concentrated a light to her horn, then aimed it at Chase.
"Mercy!" Chase cried.
"You've shown no mercy to my people. I am doing what is appropriate. Experience the pain Luna had to feel because of your curse. Feel the pain for each and every pony here you brainwashed and hurt. Chase Young, I hereby banish you TO THE MOON!" she announced.
Chase was lifted by a white aura, then shot at high speed to the sky.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo!!" he yelled, his scream becoming less audible the further he traveled.
The ponies cheered even louder, then fell in silence.
"How are we gonna get home?" one in the crowd asked.
Celestia and Luna closed their eyes and held their horns against the Celestial Horn.
"CELESTIAL HORN!" the two called.
The Horn opened a portal against the side of a mountain and ponies began to flood in. The Xiaolin warrior ponies galloped to Celestia and congratulated Spike on saving the world.
"So I expect you shall be accompanying us back home to Equestria?" Luna asked the seven.
They all looked at each other for guidance, then shook their heads.
"We're needed here." Spike said.
"When our quest is complete, we will return, but for now, this shall be our home." Twilight explained.
Celestia nodded, "I understand."
Celestia, Luna and Shining Armor were the last left to enter the portal. Twilight hugged her brother one last time.
"I'll miss you." she said with a tear in her eye.
"I'll miss you too, Twily. Next time we meet, let's kick some more bad-guy flank!" he smiled.
The three entered the portal, which slowly closed. The moment the two ends of the portal met, the wasteland of earth magically returned to its normal state.
The monks, ponies and Spike assembled in the temple courtyard. Master Fung was stood in front of them, holding a black sash on his arm.
"Spike the dragon, for your bravery, correct realization ands willpower to stop a catastrophe you had created, I am proud to present this to you. Welcome to the Xiaolin training. You shall go straight to the Apprentice level with your pony friends." he bowed.
"Thank you, Master Fung!" Spike bowed back.
It seemed that all was well.
All was well, except for on the mountain where a portal to Equestria once was open, a small grey swirl of the portal remained. Small enough for a certain villain to fit through.
Hannibal Bean entered the portal to bring his own evil plan to stop the Xiaolin monks to power.
