Mlp Ninja-Go: Legend of the Light Ninja

by Blaze-saber

Rating: everyone
Tags: Ninjago, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Young Six, Other, Drama, Original Character, Comedy, Adventure, Crossover, Flash Sentry
Length: 103531

The Ninja train Lloyd to defeat his Father someday, or will they soon discover there maybe an even greater evil they must face? The Final Battle is drawing near.

The threat of the Great Devourer is over and now the Ninja must face their newest Challenge: Training Lloyd to the Light Ninja and Defeat Lord Garmadon.

However at the same time Garmadon has forged the Golden Weapons into a powerful Mega Weapon, and has allied himself with Lord Tirek, Queen Chrysalis and remaining forces of the Serpentine. Now the two sides clash with each other again and again, the balance always shifting between them.

...But little do Lloyd and Garmadon realize is that they are merely pieces in a much larger and greater plan that has been at work for a millennia.

With clock ticking closer and closer to the ultimate fight, who win the final battle and determine the fate of the Magical land of Equestria?

(Co-Writer https://www.fimfiction.net/user/366238/HarryBuilder)

Published 2022-11-13 19:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2022-12-25 02:29:19 UTC

Chapter 2: Pirates VS. Ninja

(200 years ago…)

Sailing through the waves of the Endless Sea, the Destiny's Bounty rode through the storm as the crew of Pirate birds attempted to keep their ship afloat.

Down below in his quarters the ship's Captain, a parrotlike Ornithian, was writing in his Log Book. His feathers were tan, black, and red, he wore a black pirate captain hat and jacket, his left talon-foot was a peg-leg, and his right claw was a hook, and he work an eye patch over his left eye.

We have spent months searching the Endless Sea for this fabled Island of Darkness, but for a dozen moons, all me eye sees is nothing but water.

I fear me crew has given up, believing the legend to be false, but I hold out hope that it exists.

-Captain Salt-Beak

With that final line, Captain Salt-Beak closed the book and headed out on deck as his crew was dancing, drinking rum, and singing shanties. "Hardy, hardy, hardy, ho. Hey, we all in a yo-yo-yo," they sang as the captain glared at them.

"This is no time for fooling around!" the captain told them. "Who's steering the ship?!"

One of the drunken crew members answered. "Don't worry, captain. No-Eyes is behind the wheel," he assured.

The captain gaped in shock before smacking his face. "No! Not No-Eyes!" He looked to the helm and saw a pirate bird with two eye-patches over his eyes and a white rat on his shoulder.

"Left!" the rat said as No-Eyes turned the wheel to the left. "No, your other left!" the rat quickly warned as No-Eyes grumbled. Then, through the fog, the crew could make out some rock formations.

"The Island of Darkness?" one of the Pirates asked as Salt-Beak recognized the rocks and rushed to the bridge.

"No, you fool! He steered us back into Equestrian waters!" Salt-Beak warned as he grabbed the wheel from No-Eyes. "All claws on deck!" he ordered as all the Pirates head for their stations, but Salt-Beak could not turn the ship around fast enough, as it headed right for the rocks!

"Brace for impact!" were Captain Salt-Beak's last words before the Destiny's Bounty crashed into the rocks and sunk behind the waves and killing all aboard it.

(200 Years later…)

In their rundown apartment, Flash was training Lloyd with some oven mitts as makeshift boxing pads while the colt kicked and punched them as hard as they could. "Good, keep it up!" Flash encouraged as Lloyd keep up the attacks.

"Hooves of Havoc!" Lloyd called out while giving some more punches. "You can't even see 'em move, I'm so fast! Ha!" He gave one last punch.

"Save the gloating," Flash said as they took a short breather. "It can only be used against you by your enemy; it gives away your position and distracts you."

"Oh please!" Lloyd waved off with a confident smirk. "I'm ready to face whatever you throw at me!" He gave a flying kick to the mitts knocking Flash against the wall.

"Whoa there, grasshopper. You’re not even ready to face the tip of my hoof," Flash quoted the same words Wu said to him when they first meet.

"I see the student has become the teacher," Wu said after taking a sip of tea while observing Flash’s lesson. "You will learn fast, Lloyd, with lessons from the six Ninja."

"Great, now that that lesson is over, how about some target practice..." Landrush suggested before adding with a smirk, "…on Trail?" Trail flinched at that.

“You’ll each get your turn,” Wu said, “But first I don’t want you to be late for you next lesson with Aqua.”

Lloyd whined, “Aww, but when will I learn Spinjitzu?”

“Patience. It will only be unlocked when the key is ready to be found,” Wu sighed as Lloyd groaned and then left the room.

“Hmm, sound familiar to you, boys?” Gaia asked, glancing at Trail.

“Come on, I wasn’t that whiny,” Trail retorted.

Frost shook his head. “No, you were worse,” he joked.

Thunder laughed. “Guys, I know we’re trying to prepare Lloyd,” he started before gesturing to their apartment, “but it’s hard to give him the best training in these conditions.”

“Thunder’s right. I miss the Destiny’s Bounty,” Landrush said, before looking down. “Too bad it’s gone.”

Wu looked around and indeed saw this room was nowhere near big enough to train Lloyd. “I see your point,” he reluctantly conceded. “Perhaps we could find somewhere else to aid in his journey.”

“Sounds like a good excuse to tour the rest of Equestria City,” Flash said as the others nodded.

Lloyd made his way on the roof where Aqua and Ultra Dragon are. "Now that they had their medicine, they should be able to fly properly soon," Aqua told Lloyd.

"Yes, and it's important to know how to ride us, because one day we will be yours," Nimbus added, which made Lloyd excited.

"Whoa, really?!" He asked.

“Yup, when we were just Six Elemental Dragons, we were loyal to the six Ninja,” Flame answered.

“But as the Ultra Dragon, they’re now meant for the Light Ninja to ride,” Aqua finished.

“Whoa, I didn’t know that,” Lloyd said as Ultra Dragon stretched its wings.

Rocky’s head then turned to him, “Well, just goes to show that even a six-headed dragon and Samurai like us can teach you a few things,” he said.

“But I don’t know how to fly a dragon,” Lloyd admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

“It’s all in the hind legs,” Aqua said as Lloyd looked at his hooves. “They’ll be the fastest and strongest dragon in all of Equestria!”

Ultra Dragon then stood up. "It looks like we're already feeling better!" Rocky pointed out as Ultra Dragon flapped its wings.

"Let's catch some air!" Wisp shouted as Ultra Dragon took off into the sky.

Later, Lloyd returned to the others near a bus stop. "It's time we search Equestria City for a more suitable place to train Lloyd," Wu told his pupils.

"Oh, but sensei, Equestria City is huge," Thunder complained. "It'll take us all day to find it on hoof."

"And without our golden weapons, we have no Spinjitzu Vehicles," Frost added. "How are we going to get around town?"

Wu the showed them some strange circular items. "You'll learn to travel using these," he said.

"What are they?" Gaia asked.

"They transport you anywhere in the city," Wu explained as the Ninja grew excited.

“Like a magic portal?” Trail asked.

“Ooh, or a Spinjitzu vortex?!” Thunder guessed.

Flash took one of the objects and then noticed something. “Hey, wait a minute… These are just bus tokens!” he exclaimed with disappointment as Wu chuckled and the others grimaced, realizing their master just conned them.

Meanwhile, on the Black Bounty, Garmadon, Chrysalis, Tirek and the three Serpentine Generals were looking at the newly forged Mega Weapon. "So, this is all six Golden Weapons merged into one?" Chrysalis asked as she sounded unimpressed. "Doesn't look all that powerful to me."

"What doesss it even do?" Acidicus asked Garmadon.

“The Weapon possesses unspeakable powers,” he answered.

Fangtom pressed onwards, “Like what exactly?”

Garmadon groaned, “I told you fool, they're unspeakable!”

"So, we went to the Golden Peaks to create this Weapon, and you don't even know how to use it?" Chrysalis asked before she chuckled. "Oh yes, the Recreator of Equestria, indeed…"

Garmadon then turned to her with a fierce growl, silencing her chuckles. “I freed you from that stone prison, and I can put you back into it, just as easily! So, watch your tongue!” he warned as Chrysalis gulped and he turned back to the Weapon. “And of course, I know how to use it! I just... don’t have anything to use it on!”

“Lord Garmadon! We spotted something!” A Serpentine said as he entered the room. They went outside and saw Ultra Dragon flying up ahead.

"Ah. The Ninja’s pet dragon," Garmadon remarked as he, Tirek, and Chrysalis walked out to the helm of the ship with the Mega Weapon. "What better way to test out the Mega Weapon's power."

Tirek then turned to the Serpentine. “Keep up with that flying Hydra, you slithering idiots!” he ordered, “Don’t let them get away!” With that the Bounty began the chase.

Flame looked behind them and saw the Black Bounty. “Hey, isn’t that the Destiny’s Bounty?” he asked the other heads and they turned as well.

“Whoa, it is! But… why does it look so evil?” Orchy asked.

“Who cares? It’s coming right at us!” Shard reminded her.

“Evasive maneuvers!” Nimbus said as they began flying around in zig-zags.

"Eliminate dragon!" Garmadon shouted as he pointed the Weapon at Ultra Dragon, but nothing happened. Both the Bounty and the Dragon did a sharp turn in the sky. "Keep it straight!” he warned his crew before he called for the Weapon again. “Destroy!" He tried again with the same results.

The Bounty the rammed into the Dragon. “Ouch!” the heads said before spinning back around and kept on flying towards the sea stacks.

“Fire! Annihilate!” Garmadon commanded again but still nothing. Ultra Dragon just kept on flying as the Bounty was falling further and further behind it. Soon, they were flying over the sea and dodging some large rocks. "Bad dragon! Shoot it down pretty, pretty, pretty please?!" he begged the weapon and even banged it against his head.

Chrysalis and some of the Serpentine snickered behind him, as Ultra Dragon was soon out of range of Garmadon. “Can’t concentrate with all this jostling around!” he said as the Ship landed in the water.

“Well, that didn’t work,” Tirek said bluntly.

"Oh yes, you know how to work it just fine," Chrysalis told Garmadon while trying to hold back her laughter.

"Obviously, if we had a proper crew that could fly this ship, I would've had a clear shot!" Garmadon shouted at her before he turned to the Serpentine. "This is all your fault!" With that he marched off deck and inside the captain’s quarters.

“Agh! They dare mock me?!” he asked himself slamming the Mega Weapon around, “How does this accursed Weapon work?!” He then slammed it on the desk and a logbook popped out of a hidden slot.

"What's that?" He turned to see both Tirek and Chrysalis standing by the door before they walked in and Tirek picked up the book. "He just wanted to what you were doing down here, while I just wanted to mock you some more," Chrysalis admitted with a smug chuckle. "You obviously have no idea how that Weapon works."

"Of course, I don't know how it works!" Garmadon shouted at her, his horn glowing and aiming at her. "But you know I can easily turn you back to stone and throw you overboard right now!"

"Both of you be quiet!" Tirek shouted as the two turned to him before he started reading the logbook that he took from Garmadon. "Captain Salt-Beak... Island of Darkness... interesting,” he rubbed his chin.

Garmadon looked at the log with interest, “You mean this ship belonged to a pirate crew long before the Ninja ever had it?” he asked with interest. “Now this crew sounded like they knew how to fly a ship! I wish they were here to show these scaly idiots how it’s done!” He slammed the Mega Weapon down and Chrysalis noticed the black aura around it.

“Um, Garmadon?” she said, pointing to the Mega Weapon as Tirek noticed it as well.

Garmadon raised a brow at her before he noticed his Weapon as well, “What? What is happening?” The black aura then looped around the logbook. Tirek quickly tossed the book down as a golden aura on the top of the weapon mixed in with a black aura and Garmadon's magic grunted in pain.

"What is this?!" Tirek asked in shock.

"The power...of the Mega Weapon...It won't let...me let...go of it...!" Garmadon strained as he fell to the floor.

"I...feel weak," he said as they heard talking up above.

"All hands on deck!" an unfamiliar voice said from the main deck.

"What has it done?" Garmadon asked as Tirek and Chrysalis helped him up.

"I am Captain Salt-Beak!" the unfamiliar voice said again.

"Captain Salt-Beak?!" The three villains said in surprise.

Back in Equestria City, the Ninja got off the bus and stood in front of a dojo. "This is where Lloyd is going to train?" Landrush asked when they saw the sign that reads 'Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo'.

“It is the first Dojo we’ve found,” Flash pointed out.

Gaia smirked. “And anyplace is more adequate than our rat’s nest of an apartment,” she joked and then they walked in.

They walked into the dojo area when suddenly, appearing from the bead curtains of the door opposite to them came a tannish brown stallion, with brown stylish mane, wearing all brown and sloppily tied brown belt. “Welcome to ‘Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo’,” he welcomed, “I am Grand Sensei Dareth, and I ‘Dareth’ you to join my dojo. Heeya!” He then did some karate moves, only to get tangled in his bead curtain.

"Is it too late to go back to our apartment?" Gaia whispered to Trail as Dareth untangled himself.

"Face the wall of karate trophies," Dareth told them as walked over to a few shows with trophies on them. "If you look closely, my name is on all of them." he bragged as he picked one of them up. "That is because I am a highly skilled karate machine."

"Look, Dareth, we're wondering if we could share your dojo," Flash said as he stepped up with Lloyd. "You see, we've been put in charge of training this little guy to become the greatest Ninja in all the Equestria."

Dareth looked unconvinced. “Not possible because I am the greatest in the land,” he said before looking at the Ninja. “How many trophies do you have?”

“Now look, pal, we’re the ponies who saved the city from that giant snake!” Thunder told him.

Dareth laughed and deadpanned at Thunder. “Am I looking at Lord Garmadon? Because unless I'm stupid, and I'm not, Lord Garmadon was the one who destroyed the Devourer,” he pointed out.

The Ninja just sighed. “Are creatures seriously still talking about that?!” Trail asked. it was as if all Equestria had forgotten that the one who saved them was also the greatest villain ever.

Thunder laughed sheepishly, “Hehe. That's been a huge misunderstanding. Actually, we were the ones who dest--” He tried to before Dareth interrupted him.

“However! I'll let you train here, but only on one condition. You can defeat me. If you succeed, we will share the dojo,” he declared before getting a combat stance, “Unh! That's right. I, Grand Sensei Dareth, master of all animal fighting styles, challenge one of you to a battle.” He then went on to do absurd fighting styles.

“I know the Roaring Tiger.” He growled and acted like a tiger.

“The Coiling Python!” He stood on his back hooves and swayed while hissing.

“Marching Penguin!” He stiffened up and made penguin squawks.

Flash rolled his eyes before he gestured to Gaia who smirked. After flipping her hood on, she pounded her front hooves, and did Spinjitzu. Dareth screamed as he spun around on his belly and looked up at Gaia who stood in front of him smugly. “How did you...” he tried to ask but trailed off.

“You might know ‘Zoo-Jitzu’, but we know Spin-Jitzu!” Gaia declared as Dareth stood up.

“You can train in my dojo, anytime!” he said with a bow.

On the Black Bounty, the Serpentine were shouting at a pirate crew that had suddenly appeared on board as Chrysalis was looking at the pirates with confusion. "It makes no sense," she whispered to Garmadon and Tirek. "That 'Island of Darkness' was the last thing written in that log, a surefire sign that those pirates perished. Yet, here they are now."

“Curious that they appeared, after you wished that they were here to show the Serpentine how it’s done,” Tirek noted to Garmadon as he looked at the Weapon, putting the pieces together.

“When I commanded it to destroy the Ultra Dragon, it didn’t,” Garmadon recalled before looking at the pirates, “But when I wished for Captain Salt-Beak and his crew to be here...”

Then they realized it. “Could it be?” Chrysalis asked in realization.

"It's the only conclusion," Tirek told as he thought the same.

"The Mega Weapon doesn't have the power to destroy, it only has the power to create!" Garmadon confirmed.

Meanwhile the Serpentine and the pirates were still arguing, “I ssstill don’t sssee how you got on our ship!” Acidicus told the pirates.

“Yer ship?!” The pirate asked, “We built ‘er with our own claws! So why don’t ye slither yer’self off the plank!” He suggested as the Venomari General growled.

“I finally have an army I can be proud of,” Garmadon said with a smirk before turning to the Pirate Birds. “Batten down the hatches, fellas!” he commanded.

“Who ye callin’ fellas, pony?!” Salt-Beak demanded, pointing his sword at Garmadon.

"Me, Lord Garmadon," he answered through his panting. "I created you, you fool. I am your captain now."

"‘Created me’? I be Captain Salt-Beak, stealer of the seas," the captain told Garmadon. "Raise your weapon!"

One of the Serpentine whispered to another. "The Mega weapon musssst've created them, but now Garmadon isss too weak to ussse it again," he said, noting the Dark Lord's fatigue.

Tirek noticed this as well. “Hmm, it seems the cost of using the Mega Weapon even once is all of your magical strength, leaving only enough for you to at least hold it,” he hypothesized.

"Take it from him," Salt-Beak ordered as one of the pirates walked towards Garmadon to grab the Mega Weapon.

"Unh! No, don't!" Garmadon tried to warn him as the body of that pirate began to disintegrate while the Weapon glowed. "It's too powerful! Only I can--" But it was too late as all that was left of that pirate was his hat while his crew was shocked about what they just witnessed. "Only I have the power to wield the Mega Weapon. It may have drained my power for now, but when my strength returns, I’ll deal with you."

“Well, too bad for ye then! Because we’re takin’ back our ship!” Salt-Beak declared.

Chrysalis then leapt in front of him. “Excuse me, but just because Garmadon is weak now, it doesn’t mean we still can’t fight!” she said, powering up her horn as Tirek powered up his magic too.

Salt-Beak however was unfazed by their threats as he raised his sword up and it glowed bright. The blade then turned green before shooting out two beams at both Tirek and Chrysalis. When it stopped, Chrysalis tried to power up her magic but nothing worked, as did the same with Tirek which baffled the two.

“What have you done?!” Tirek demanded.

"As I told ye, I be stealer of the seas," Salt-Beak repeated with a smirk and a sly chuckle, “of both riches and magic.”

“Wh-what did you--?” Chrysalis tried to ask.

"Lock them and all their reptilian friends into the brig!" Salt-Beak ordered his crew.

No-Beak stepped forward as his rat spoke, “Left!” No-Eyes grabbed Salt-Beak and the captain grimaced at him. “No, your other left!” the rat shouted. No-Eyes then grabbed a Fangpyre and threw him down below.

Tirek, Chrysalis, and Garmadon looked at each other, suddenly feeling that their good day had just taken a nose dive.

Garmadon grunted as he dropped down into cage with Chrysalis, Tirek, Acidicus, Skalidor and Fangtom being the last.

Chrysalis rubbed her head as she groaned, “This is madness! How did that featherbrain cancel out our magic?!” She asked, still baffled by what happened and Garmadon answered.

"It can only be the Emerald Cutlass of Hazador," he said, sitting up. "It is said when you are struck by its power, it forces a block on any and all magic you have. But fortunately, it can be easily removed, if I am at full strength."

Chrysalis groaned realizing all they could do is wait. Tirek then crossed his legs and arms and hummed in thought. Well, the apprehension aside, at least now we know what the Mega Weapon’s true power is,” he said, glancing at the weapon.

“Yessss. Ssso once we get out of thissss cage, we’ll be able to use it to dessstroy the Ninja and the Council of Friendship,” Fangtom said.

“If we get out of here, you mean,” Chrysalis pointed out, as on deck the oirates reattached their symbol onto the sails while Salt-Beak and a crew member went to the bridge.

Salt-Beak then noticed the buttons and electronic devices around them. “It seems somecreature’s done something to me ship,” he summarized as none of this technology looked familiar to him.

The crew member with him scratched his head, “Aye, she ain’t like how we left her, captain,” he said scratching his head.

Salt-Beak then walked over to the screen which showed a map of Equestria. “Hmm, must be some sort of treasure map,” he guessed and then noticed a button. He pressed it, and then the pirates were surprised when the ship started shaking and then to their surprise started rising.

No-Eyes’s rat then saw what was happening. “Flying!” he squeaked. “Flying!” Soon, the Bounty was in the air as Salt-Beak came up on deck.

"Ah, your rat speaks the truth," Salt-Beak told No-Eyes. "A flying ship! Oh, this be too good! Just wait till Equestria get a load of us!" The Black Bounty then took off to who knows where.

Meanwhile, unknown to Captain Salt-Beak and his crew, another flying pirate ship was following behind it.

Meanwhile in Equestria City, Starlight was walking with the Young Seven, Sunburst, and Trixie through the streets. "A field trip to Equestria city was a great idea, Sunburst,” she told him.

Sunburst blushed and fiddled his glasses. "Heh, well, I figured since this is the place where so many creatures gathered to help rebuild after the Devourer's attack, it’d be a good place for our lesson in teamwork."

"I just wonder how Lloyd is doing," Cozy said, sounding a bit concerned. "I'm a little worried since he's going to have to fight his own dad someday."

Gallus ruffled her mane. "Hey, he's still only a squirt," he reminded her. "Even if they have to fight, it could be years away from now."

"Yeah, it's not like he's going to go through a growth spurt or something like that," Silverstream said before they saw Twilight with the five baby Serpentines on her back and Spike up ahead.

"Twilight!" Starlight waved as Twilight turned and approached them. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, hey Starlight," Twilight greeted. "We're just here to see the progress is doing."

"That, and because the little snake babies missed their daddy," Spike added while Twilight blushed a little. "We're on our way to a place called ‘Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo’. Want to come with?"

“Sure, lead the way,” Starlight said, with that the group began walking to the dojo and eventually reached it.

They walked in and saw the Ninja and Lloyd already practicing. Both he and Flash were standing on wooden poles on one leg each, before Lloyd jumped forward and Flash jumped back. He lost his balance but quickly regained it.

"You gotta be light on your hooves," Flash told him before he jumped forward and Lloyd jumped back.

“Looking good, Lloyd!” Cozy said as Lloyd smiled and they stopped.

Lloyd then moved onto Landrush and Gaia stacking up ten boards of woods. “When you strike with your hooves, concentrate,” Gaia told the colt.

“Right, you may be small, but you're strong,” Landrush added, as Lloyd focused.

With his hoof starting to glow orange and brown, he struck the planks so hard it caused a mini earthquake that knocked everycreature back and split the boards clean in half, even creating a crack in the floor.

"That was the power of the Scythe of Quakes!" Trail said in awe as Lloyd looked at his hooves. "And you did it without the Golden Weapon!"

"That must be why you have the potential to be the greatest Ninja,” Frost told him. "You can harness all of the elemental powers."

"Just as you saw in your dream, Frost," Flash reminded.

Lloyd looked down at his hooves with interest, never realizing the power he had. “Really? Ha, cool!” Lloyd said.

“With this power, you must be careful,” Wu advised the colt as Lloyd frowned. “You must learn to control it before it controls you.”

“Yeah, take it from me: Power has a nasty habit of getting to your head,” Cozy said, remembering her days as a villain.

"I have to admit, not bad for a kid," Dareth said as he walked in with two colts behind, carrying boards. "But instead of ten boards, how about fifty? Stack 'em, boys."

Wu sighed as the colts stacked the boards.

“And perhaps if I, Grand Sensei Dareth, can break through them all, you will allow me to join your team and become…” he said before he put his own Ninja hood, “...the Brown Ninja!” he declared.

The Ninja and the other snickered. “The Brown Ninja?! Seriously?!” Smolder snorted.

"Even Trixie will admit, it must be a joke!" Trixie spoke up.

"Sorry, pal. Club's already full," Landrush told Dareth.

"Okay, okay. Then maybe this demonstration of my superpony strength may persuade you," Dareth told them before he walked over to the boards. "Boys, are we ready?"

"Yes, Grand Sensei Dareth!" Both colts said with a bow.

"Observe," Dareth told them as he stood on his back legs as they watched. "I call upon the greatest animal to give me strength, the Dragon. Hee-yah!!" He slammed his right hoof down on the boards, but they did not break, although his hoof did become visible redder. There was a bit of silence for a few seconds before Dareth broke it. "YYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" He held his hoof in pain as the others minus his students burst into laughter at that performance.

“Looks like the Dragon didn’t have much to give today, huh?” Smolder quipped in her laughter.

Yona then stepped forward. “Yona want to try,” she said as Dareth, still nursing his hoof aside. Yona then lifted her hoof up, giving a yak cry as she slammed it down on the wood, shattering them to pieces. Everybody applauded the young Yak while Dareth was astonished that a child managed to outdo him.

“Nice job, Yona!” Sandbar complimented as Yona smiled brightly and blushed.

Meanwhile outside the city, the creatures were just going about their day when suddenly a dark shadow fell over them. They looked up and screamed in terror as the Black Bounty flew over them, on deck Salt-Beak and one of his pirates looked down at the unfamiliar world below them.

“What be this place, Cap’n?” the pirate asked his captain.

Salt-Beak smirked. “A place to plunder. Never have me eye seen such treasures,” he answered and then turned to the rest of his crew. “Boys, take whatever ye want!” he told them.

In one of the buildings, some ponies were preparing for a meeting when they noticed the Black Bounty flying by with the cannon aimed at them. “Are those… pirates?” the head mare asked.

“Fire!” Salt-Beak commanded as the Bounty shot a cannonball at the window, shattering it.

In the streets, Derpy was delivering some mail when she noticed something, “Hey what’s--?” She wondered before a pirate swung in and stole her mailbag. “Hey, you can’t do that!”

The pirate just laughed at the Mailmare’s shouting.

Meanwhile, Salt-Beak led another group in front of a bus, stopping it in tracks. The driver honked the horn to tell them to move, but it only aggravated them.

“Aye, a creature! Let’s give it a taste of our steel!” Salt-Beak told his men as they started attacking the bus. The ponies on board then handed over their bits and valuables. “It surrenders and gives us its loot, Har-har-har!”

The pirates laughed as they took all their ill-gotten goods back to their ship. The group exited the dojo and saw the Black Bounty flying not too far from where they were.

"Hey, that's our ship!" Thunder pointed out when he saw it.

"But why does it look like that now?" Gaia asked as they wondered the same thing.

"And pirates...?" Trixie pointed out.

"But the only pirates around are the ones me and my friends met when the Storm King attacked." Twilight reminded them.

“Those aren’t just any pirates, though,” A voice familiar to Twilight and Spike. The others looked up and then dropping down was Captain Celaeno and her crew dropped down from their ship. “That’s Captain Salt-Beak and his crew!”

"Captain Celaeno!" Twilight called out. "What are you and your crew doing here?"

"And how do you know about the pirate that has our ship?" Flash added.

“To answer the first question, we were passing by when we saw the Destiny’s Bounty flying toward the city and decided to follow,” she answered before turning to her ship. “As for the second, I know who that old buzzard up there is, because he just happens to be the most determined and fearless Ornithian pirate in all of Equestria.”

"The Destiny's Bounty was his ship, before you ponies found it." Mullet told them.

“They called him ‘Stealer of the Seas’! He robbed and looted the Endless Sea along the islands and shores around Equestria, of any loot or magical artifacts he could get his claw and hook on,” Boyle added.

“No village was safe from him and his crew!” Lix Spittle finished as Squabble just squawked.

“But what really confuses me is how he’s here,” Celaeno said, rubbing her head. “I thought he died at sea 200 years ago, searching for a lost island.”

"I sense Lord Garmadon is somehow behind this," Frost theorized.

"We have to stop them before they wrecked the whole city," Flash told them before he turned to Celaeno. "You think you can give us a ride on your ship?"

"I could, but the Destiny's Bounty was the fastest ship that ever sailed the Endless Sea," Celaeno admitted. "Now that it's a flying ship, I doubt ours can keep up."

"Then how are we gonna follow them?" Sunburst asked as he pushed up his glasses.

"Perhaps this can be of some use," Trail told them as he held up a bus token. A bus then stopped right next to them and they all climbed in, with the pirates riding on the roof, as Trail put in the token. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but follow that ship!” He ordered as the bus took off.

The Ninja flipped up their hoods, but then turned to Lloyd. “I don’t think it would wise for us to bring Lloyd. It’s too dangerous.” Gaia told the others.

Lloyd looked eager to help though, “Please, please, please! I’ll be super good!” he promised as Frost kneeled next to him.

“The powers inside you are still too great. Too uncontrollable,” Frost said as Lloyd went to the seat and sat in disappointment.

"One of these days you'll be able to join us," Landrush reassured him. "Sorry, kid."

"Me and Trixie will keep an eye on him with the others till you get back," Sunburst told them before the Ninja got on the roof of the bus.

The bus was coming close to the Bounty and they were prepared to board it by the anchor before it came to a sudden stop. They almost fell off when Trail quickly used his sword to latch onto it while they grabbed hold of one another. As they looked down at the front of the bus, the Ninja saw the reason why it had stopped: an old unicorn mare was slowly crossing the street and shakily levitating a bag of groceries.

"Come on ma'am, we're trying to save the city here!" Thunder shouted, but the old mare continued to walk slow.

"It's getting away!" Gaia told the others as the Black Bounty was getting further away from them.

Just when the old mare was halfway, the bottom of her bag ripped open and her groceries fell out, causing the Ninja to let out a sigh of frustration. This was going take a while.

Meanwhile on top of one of the building, Dareth with his Ninja hood looked at the Bounty. “This is my chance to prove they need the Brown Ninja!” Dareth declared before cracking his neck. “Let’s do this!” he said before jumping on the deck, surprising the pirates. "Hee-ya! Surrender, or face the Brown Ninja!" he told Captain Salt-Beak and his crew.

"Pajama Colt! Get him!" Salt-Beak commanded his crew as they approached Dareth as he did his Zoo-Jitzu.

"The Howling Wolf!" he howled.

"The Hissing Spider!" he hissed.

"The Rampaging Hippo!" he snorted.

The pirates laughed while Salt-Beak sliced his shirt open with his talons.

"Oh! Those claws are really sharp, heh-heh," he said nervously, covering himself.

Salt-beak smirked as his crew tied up Dareth. "Aw, ponyfeathers," Dareth sighed.

"Boys, keep yer eyes out for any other silly masked pajama ponies," Salt-Beak told his crew.

"Oh! Please! Help!" Dareth cried out the ninjas as saw the Bounty from down a street from where they were.

"Ah, dang it, Dareth," Flash said as he facehoofed himself.

"We need to get onboard that ship," Landrush reminded them.

"Except the moment they see us, who knows what they'll do to Dareth," Gaia pointed out.

Thunder then noticed a costume store. "Ah-ha. There are other ways a Ninja can hide in plain sight," he said.

Moments later, after walking in, the Ninja walked out of the store wearing pirate costumes. "Hm, always wanted to dress like a pirate," Flash said.

They then snuck aboard the Bounty while the crew were distracted by Dareth.

"Haha! How about we have him walk the plank?" Salt-Beak suggested to his crew as he pointed his sword at Dareth and made him walked over to a plank. The crew laughed and cheered at that idea while Dareth looked really nervous.

"Y-you’re making a big mistake," he warned them as he was pushed closer and closer to the edge. "Don't make me call upon the Dragon!"

"We have to save him," Landrush whispered to the others.

"We can't get close without blowing our cover," Trail told him as Salt-Beak had Dareth on the edge of the plank.

"Who here wants to see ‘im go splat?" Salt-Beak asked his crew as before they cheered for that.

"Who here wants to see ‘im live?" Thunder asked in their accent and the crew cheered for a bit before they looked at each other and wondered who asked that.

"Hehe. The plank's gettin’ shorter, huh?" Salt-Beak told Dareth as put his sword around his neck.

Dareth whimpered, "We don't have to do this, guys! I'm a lousy martial artist! In fact, what I do, I wouldn't even call it an art! I know say I'm a brown belt, but… I painted it! And my trophies, they're all fakes!" he confessed to being a fraud while the Ninja rolled their eyes and sighed, knowing he was not a real martial artist.

Salt-Beak then pushed Dareth off, who screamed as he fell to his doom. But at that moment, Lloyd flew in on Ultra Dragon and saved Dareth. "I... I called the Dragon?! I called the Dragon!!" He shouted excitedly.

"Whatever you say, dude,” Rocky said as they flew away.

"NINJA, GO!" the Ninja shouted as they did Spinjitzu, changing to their suits and revealing themselves while Captain Celaeno and her crew climbed up onto the deck.

Salt-Beak looked surprised, "More Pajama Ponies, and… pirates?!" He asked in shock.

"Where? I can't see!" No-Eyes asked.

"Ninja versus pirates. Who will win?" Trail asked as the Ninja ready their weapons Twilight got them.

Landrush then swung his scythe, slicing off the feather on Salt-Beak's hat. Salt-Beak growled at that before he and his crew charged at them.

As Captain Celaeno fought Salt-Beak and her crew fought some of his, Frost took out two smoke bombs and squeeze them to create a smokescreen before throwing his shurikens at one of the crew members of Salt-Beak's to pin them to the wall behind them.

Thunder managed to flip over two of his crew members, when they swung their swords at him before he took out his nun-chucks and whacked one of them overboard and another to the floor.

Trail was fighting some pirates before one tried to attack him from behind, but Trail saw his reflection in his sword and blocked it, he then jabbed his sword into the deck and spun around on it, kicking the pirates away.

Gaia dodged some sword swings from the pirates before she jumped and gave a split kick and Flash swung his bo at one pirate before he dodged only to swing again, but the pirate dodged again. Finally, on the third swing he managed to punt him back. Gaia then pulled out a whip as one of them charged at the two and try to strike them with said whip. They managed to dodge three of them before she spun around and knocked them back.

Landrush was dealing with No-Eyes, and surprisingly having a difficult time with him, mostly because of his rat. "Left!" The rat said as No-Eyes swung his weapon, missing Landrush but also dodging his attack. "No, your other left!" No-Eyes swung and missed again but Landrush got his scythe stuck. Landrush tried to pull his scythe out before he came up with an idea. Before No-Eyes' rat could tell him anything, Landrush quickly granted and closed its mouth so it would not say anything before he held up his hoof in front of No-Eyes.

"Right!" Landrush imitated his rat's voice. No-Eyes heard it and moved right in the way of Landrush's hoof.

As the fight went on, Squabble noticed a gumball machine and got an idea. He then smashed the glass Jar and the gumballs spilled out. That way, when the pirates stepped on them, they started to slip and fall over, but the Ninja and Celaeno's crew fell over also.

"Squabble!" Mullet, Boyle, and Lix said as they scowled at him. Squabble looked sheepish and squawked out an apology.

Salt-Beak moved his foot away from the gumballs and stayed standing and Celaeno did the same but put a claw to her head while Salt-Beak laughed. "Haha, a fine flock ye got there!" He mocked before pointing his sword at her. "And ye fight well fer a lass. There always be room in me own crew fer someone like ye, pretty bird… if ye be interested."

"Thanks, but I already have a crew of my own!" Celaeno told him before the two clashed blades and try to keep their balance. Ultra Dragon flew over the ship before Lloyd jumped off and swung on a rope down.

"NINJA, GO!" Lloyd cried out before he kicked Salt-Beak down and he landed on deck.

Salt-Beak got up and scowled at Lloyd. "PIRATE, GO!" he shouted, striking at Lloyd before Gaia blocked him.

"Lloyd! You aren't supposed to be here!" she said before stuffing Lloyd in a barrel. Lloyd grunted before he managed to tip over the barrel that she had put him in down before standing up and charging blindly into Salt-Beak to knock him down. Lloyd then lost his balance and hit a switch that lowered the anchor while the ship was in the air and moving.

He then rolled towards Gaia and she ended up standing on the barrel and rolling around. She then fell off the ship, grabbed on to the anchor as it fell. "Oh dear, not again!" she cried out as she hit the ground and the anchor was dragged along the road. "Oh apologies! I will pay for that! Ah, that's gonna leave a mark! Oops!" she winced as she knocked over cars and chariots.

In brig, Garmadon was using his Mega Weapon to reach for the keys on a hook. With luck, he smirked as he managed to snag onto the cell keys.

Back on deck, Salt-Beak tried to slice Lloyd in the barrel but the little Ninja just kept dodging. "Hold still, ye blurry little munchkin!" he demanded.

Lloyd may not have been able to see him, but he was able to dodge each attack Salt-Beak threw at him as he hopped from side to side.

"NINJA, GO!" Lloyd shouted from within the barrel as he spun around until he spent so fast, he became a silver tornado. Lloyd suddenly realized that he had done Spinjitzu before he unknowingly stopped right in front of Salt-Beak. "Whoa! Spinjitzu! I just did Spinjitzu for the first time!" he celebrated too soon as Salt-Beak struck him from behind.

Down in the streets, Gaia was still riding on the anchor but was heading straight for a tanker. “Oh no, oh dear, OH CELESTIA NO!” she cried. Luckily for her, Lloyd bumped the switch again and the anchor was being pulled up, nearly missing the tanker. She was then helped up by the others and they stood their ground against Salt-Beak and his crew. From the entrance to the lower deck, Garmadon saw his son and could feel his power growing.

"My son. He's growing stronger," Garmadon whispered as Lloyd charged up his horn in a ball of light surged around him.

"Lloyd, don't! Your powers are too uncontrollable!" Flash tried to warn him before Lloyd launched the ball of light towards Salt-Beak and his crew. But then the light bounced off from Salt-Beak’s sword and onto the mast. The Ninja and Celaeno’s crew turned just in time to see the mast fall on top of them.

They crawled out from under the mast and looked up to see Salt-Beak and his crew over them. “Ye and yer pirate friends lose, Pajama Ponies,” Salt-Beak said as the Pirate held their weapons close to them, “Now, ye all walk the plank!” As he and his crew laughed at their eventual demise.

Suddenly, a loud thud was heard, and then another, and another as one pirate noticed the liquid his cup was shaking. They all looked up and saw Aqua in her Samurai mech heading towards them. She climbed onto the ship and the pirates ran for it before she picked up the mast and used it to knock them down. She then put it back into place and Celaeno used her peg leg to keep Salt-Beak down while she took his Cutlass. "I'll be taking this, captain," she told him with a smug smirk.

The Ninja stood up as Aqua spun around her glaive and then slid down on it through the sail and landed on Salt-Beak. “Who wins in the battle between Pirates and Ninja? It’s Samurai!” Thunder declared as Aqua chuckled and he sighed dreamily.

Soon The Ninja and pirates were rejoined by Twilight, Spike, Starlight, Sunburst and the Young Seven with Captain Salt-Beak and his crew were arrested for their crimes. As Salt-Beak was pushed into the prison carriage, an officer turned to the Ninja. “Good work, team,” he congratulated.

“Hey, don't forget to include these guys too,” Trail said, gesturing to Celaeno’s crew and Lloyd and giving the colt a noogie as he laughed.

The officer looked a little unsure before turning to Flash. “By the way, sir, that your ship?” he asked.

“Sure is,” Flash answered before they heard the engines turning on. They turned to see Garmadon, Chrysalis, Tirek, and the Serpentine on the deck as the Black Bounty was lifting up into the air.

"Sorry! You snooze, you lose!" Garmadon bragged at them as he, Tirek, Chrysalis and the three Generals stood up on deck.

"Lord Garmadon!" Flash and the others glared at him.

"Chrysalis!" Twilight and Starlight shouted as Twilight kept the baby Serpentine and Spike behind her and Starlight stood in front of Sunburst, Trixie, and the Young Seven when they saw them.

“Tirek?!” Cozy Glow gasped as she moved behind Twilight.

“Dad!” Lloyd said, reaching out to Garmadon.

"You're becoming stronger, little colt, but you'll never be strong enough to defeat your own father!" Tirek told Lloyd, attempting to break down the foal’s confidence.

"He's right!" Chrysalis spoke up. "We saw how easily you fell to those pirates! If you can't even defeat them, what chance do you have against your own daddy?!"

"Give up, before it's too late!" Garmadon told his son. Lloyd took a moment before looking down in shame then looking at his friends who gave him a confident look, telling him that he could do it. He then had a confident smile on his face as he backed up to his friends, signaling his father that he's not giving up. "Have it your way! Another day, Ninja. Another day!"

“And don’t worry, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer! You and your friends will be sharing the Ninja’s eventual fate as well!” Chrysalis promised.

“And then, Cozy Glow… you’re next!” Tirek promised to the filly who stood beside Lloyd, looking just as brave.

"Ah, great! Lord Garmadon is back with the Serpentine, he’s freed Tirek and Chrysalis, and now they’ve got our ship!" Thunder complained.

"Well, at least we've still got this little guy," Landrush said as he patted Lloyd's head as the Black Bounty took off with the Villains laughing off into the distance.

As the heroes watch the ship fly off, knowing they would be ready for anything Garmadon could throw at them. Dareth was whistling as he walked up behind Gaia and in hopes to surprise-attack her, only for her to instinctively grab his hoof and flip him over her shoulder right in front of the group.

“Gaia two, Dareth zero,” she bragged while dusting herself off.

"Oh, come on, guys," Dareth spoke up. "I ‘Dareth’ you to forgive me." The group gave a laugh as Flash gave him a pat on the back.

Chapter 3: Double Trouble

Inside Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo, Lloyd has a light bulb being hold by his magic while his horn was glowing blue. Right now, Thunder is trying to teach him how to control his power. "Focus, Lloyd," Thunder told him. "Control the electrical power inside you. When you feel a surge welling up... harness it."

"I understand," Lloyd told him. "I am in control..." He focused hard on the light bulb as he did his best to control his power and light it up.

"Come on, Lloyd, you can do it!" Landrush cheered as the light bulb flickered.

The Ninja looked hopeful, but just when Lloyd just about had it...the light bulb exploded, "Agh! Stupid light bulb!" Lloyd complained before turning to the Ninja. "You’re putting too much pressure on me! Let have another try!"

"Sorry, Lloyd. That was the last light bulb," Flash told him as the floor was covered in light bulb shards, the results of Lloyd's previously failed attempts.

"Clean up, Lloyd. We'll continue training tomorrow," Landrush told him as he gave Lloyd a broom, who took it just to use it to whack a sandbag in frustration.

“I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong, Sensei. No matter what I do, I just can’t teach him to control his power,” Thunder told Wu. Lloyd then hit himself with the broom and fell back.

"You dare to defy the Light Ninja?!" Lloyd shouted at the sandbag before he went back to hitting it.

"Patience, Thunder," Wu told him. "Sometimes, the greatest opponent we face is ourselves, and that's especially true of Lloyd. Remember where he came from. He's the son of Lord Garmadon. It's going to take time for him to embrace the light."

“Yes, when you grow up in the shadow of the Lord of Darkness himself, it takes a long time for you to step into the light,” Gaia added as Aqua then walked in, wearing the same dress from her first date with Thunder, and with Twilight.

“Hey, guys,” Aqua and Twilight greeted.

“Hey, Aqua! Hey Twilight!” The Ninja greeted as Thunder stared at Aqua.

“Hey, Thunder,” Aqua said with a blush. “Uh, wanna come by the autobody shop later?” she asked as Twilight approached Flash with a sweet kiss.

“Uh, the autobody shop?” Thunder asked with a curious smile while the others talked quietly behind them.

“Yeah. I got a part-time job. Thought I could fix up the Ultra Sonic Raider in my off time,” she explained as she smiled. “Maybe if you come over, I can show you what I've been working on?” she offered.

“Uh s-sure, heh,” Thunder laughed nervously and then noticed the envelope in Twilight’s magic. “So uh, Twilight, what’s that you got there?”

“Oh, it’s a letter for Lloyd,” Twilight answered, passing it to Wu.

Wu opened the letter read it. “Hmm. It's from Lloyd's old school,” he read to his pupils.

“The Darkley Boarding School for Naughty Foals?” Landrush asked as they others approached.

“Formerly naughty foals,” Wu corrected him, “Since the last time we were there, they've changed to the ‘Darkley School for Wonderful Foals’.”

“Heh, wait. They've turned good?” Trail asked finding it hard to believe.

“Why not? Lloyd and Cozy Glow changed for the better, didn’t they?” Twilight reminded him.

Wu read more of the letter. “Hmm, it is ironic you mention that, for it says here there's going to be a ceremony for the two of them.”

“I love ceremonies! That means there's going to be cake,” Landrush said.

“Lloyd and Cozy's change inspired them. Now they've invited them to give him an honorary degree in excellence,” Wu explained to them before they heard wood snapping. They turned to see Lloyd breaking the broom and then headbutting the punching bag.

“Don’t know about Cozy Glow, but are we sure we're talking about the same Lloyd?” Gaia asked as they watched Lloyd take out his frustrations on the punching bag.

Meanwhile on the Black Bounty, the Serpentine gathered around on deck while Garmadon, Chrysalis, Tirek and the Generals stood above.

“That’s it, sssqueeze in tight!” Skalidor told the soldiers. “You here and you over there! Plenty of room for everyone.”

“Can everyssssnake hear usss,” Acidicus asked as the Serpentine nodded. He then turned to Garmadon, “They’re all yourssss, Lord Garmadon.”

Garmadon nodded and stepped forward. “Okay everycreature, the reason why we gathered you all here is that we need your help in brainstorming on how to use the Mega Weapon to destroy the Ninja and the Council of Friendship!” He told his army.

“But remember, the Mega Weapon can only create, recreate or resurrect, never kill or destroy,” Tirek reminded them.

“And Garmadon can only use it once a day, as it drains out all his magic,” Chrysalis added.

“Ssso we must be sure, that whatever we come up with, isss good enough,” Fangtom finished.

Garmadon looked out at the Serpentine. “So, no such thing as a bad idea. Any suggestions?” he asked as one Constrictai raised her hand.

"What if you made more piratesss?" she asked.

"Oh, I’m so sorry but… BAD IDEA!" Chrysalis hissed at the Constrictai who asked.

"Throw her over the side!" Garmadon ordered.

The Constrictai grew worried at that as she was grabbed. “No, no, I-I was just kidding! No, wait!” But her pleads were for not as she was thrown into the drink.

"Anyone else?" Tirek asked, but they now knew they had to watch what they say. "Don't be shy. No bad ideas," he smiled, as if no one was at risk of being thrown overboard. A Venomari then raised his hand.

"What if you recreate the Devourer?" he asked.

"Congratulations, you just come up with a bad idea," Tirek told that Venomari.

"Over the side!" Garmadon ordered and that Venomari took a dip. "Instead of using old ideas that failed to destroy the Ninja, how about something new?"

"Can you create giant blueberry muffinssss?" said another Constrictai.

The three villains gave weirded out expressions; the idea was different. "Er, poisonous giant blueberry muffins?" Asked Chrysalis with a confused look.

"I hope not! I'm ssso hungry." Then he screamed as Tirek threw him over the side.

Garmadon then rubbed his face. “Ugh, this is impossible!”

"I know! Those pesky ponies always come out on top!" Tirek complained as Garmadon paced around. “How do you defeat enemies who so rudely refuse to be defeated?!”

"This is even more complicated than when I created evil doppelgangers of Twilight and her friends to try and take the Elements of Harmony!" Chrysalis rolled her eyes before Garmadon stopped in place and looked at her.

"Say that again!" He told her.

"… ‘This is even more complicated than when I evil doppelgangers of Twilight and her friends to try and take the Elements of Harmony’?” Chrysalis repeated in confusion as Garmadon gave an evil smirk.

“That’s it!” he declared.

"The giant blueberry muffin?" asked a Hypnobrai as the others were hoping that would be it.

Garmadon then punted the Hypnobrai off the deck and smirked. “Better. No more brainstorming!” he declared before turning to the Generals. “You three gather me any of the Ninja belongings left on this ship! And Chrysalis… bring me what’s left of those clones you made!” he ordered.

Six Serpentine went below deck and found the Ninja’s spare Gi’s before coming back up. Chrysalis soon came back with the six pieces of wood that were the doppelgangers of the main six. They placed the logs and suits in front of Garmadon as he held the Mega Weapon.

“Ninja, Council of Friendship. Today I wish for you to meet your match!” he declared as the Mega Weapon’s power activated. The Weapon’s power, which mixed with Garmadon’s magic, lifted both the logs and suits into a ball of energy. The others looked at it in awe while Garmadon grunted from the exertion of creation.

Then in a flash of light, twelve identical clones of the Mane Six and the Ninja appeared. Unlike the copies Chrysalis made of the Mane Six before, these copies, along with the evil Ninja, had glowing red eyes like Garmadon’s, and their color coats were a lighter shade. Garmadon panted as his energy was completely drained

"This is your idea?" Chrysalis asked as she learned from experience before. “Take it from me, creating clones of your enemies doesn’t mean they’re going to listen to you.”

“Don’t worry… I created these clones… to be equal to the Ninja and Council of Friendship,” Garmadon panted as he sat up, “and loyal...only to me.”

The twelve copies then bowed down, “Yes, Lord Garmadon!” they all said in unison, their voice with a slight distortion.

"Then I command...you to find...and destroy them..." Garmadon ordered them before Mean Twilight stepped forth.

"Rest easy, master Garmadon," she said with a bow. "Soon, they'll be destroyed and Equestria will be yours to remake into your image." She then looked at Chrysalis, who is still not convinced about this idea. "And you have nothing to worry about us. We're nothing like the ones you made before."

Chrysalis just sighed. “If you insist,” she said before Mean Twilight walked back to the other clones and then teleported them away. “You know they won’t succeed right?” she asked Garmadon as he stood up.

“Perhaps, but they will distract them long enough for my back-up plan,” Garmadon said as Chrysalis arched a brow in confusion. “Chrysalis, I need you take a little trip to Canterlot for me.”

Ultra Dragon took to the skies with the Ninja, the Mane Six, and Cozy riding on back. "Whoo-hoo-hoo!!" Thunder, Pinkie, and Rainbow shouted.

"Ha-ha, just like old times!" Wisp said happily.

"Remind me why we're coming along?!" Applejack shouted to Twilight.

"Well, since we founded the School of Friendship, I want to see how much of an influence one good seed can have," Twilight answered.

"Yeah, and now that we can ride Ultra Dragon, we should get to Darkley’s in no time!" Thunder added.

“That’s if Lloyd can get us there in one piece,” Trail said nervously.

“I hope he does,” Fluttershy said nervously.

“Just be gentle, Lloyd,” Gaia told him. “Any sudden movement could cause them to--”

“Any sudden what?!” Lloyd asked, giving a strong tug of the reins. That caused Ultra Dragon to do a nose dive and everypony but Lloyd screamed.

"The reins! Let go of the reins!" Gaia shouted before Lloyd did what she told and Ultra Dragon stopped diving.

Ultra Dragon then glided down and landed just outside the school. Nimbus then turned to look at Lloyd, “Never! Do that! AGAIN!” she growled as the others sighed in relief.

“Um, sorry,” Lloyd apologized as they all hopped off though Rarity and Fluttershy trembled a bit and need Landrush and Rainbow to help them out. “Well, at least I’m getting better,” he said sheepishly.

“All the same, I will be taking the reins going home.” Gaia told him as they all walked through the entrances, seeing the sigh that said “Darkley’s Boarding School for Wonderful Foals” in gold.

Then a cornflower blue, black-maned filly was working in the garden and then turned to them. “Lloyd?” she asked seeing him.

"Uh, Daisy?" Lloyd asked when he saw the filly.

"You came!" Daisy said before she over to him and gave him a hug. "So good to see you!"

Lloyd raised a brow, “Really? You put fire ants in my bed.” He reminded her.

“Please forgive me. I wasn't myself and have learned the error of my ways,” she apologized and looks at Cozy Glow, “Oh, you must be Cozy Glow. We’ve heard so much about you!” She took her hoof and shook.

“Really? Golly, that’s… really nice,” Cozy said, a little suspicious of Daisy’s “niceness”.

"And they must be the Ninja and the Council of Friendship!" Daisy said excitedly when she saw them.

“Uh, guys. Meet Daisy Tudabone.” Lloyd introduced the filly.

“Such a huge fan!” she said, shaking their hooves. “Go good! Haha… Uh, please, will you follow me to see the principal?” She then led them inside, and the mares and stallions noticed the empty rooms.

“Uh, forgive me for asking sweetheart, but shouldn't you all be in class?” Rarity asked Daisy.

“Actually, today is a new Darkley School tradition: Ninja-Friendship Day,” she explained. “We stay out of sight and show goodwill to one another at the same time, to honor the way of the Ninja and the Council of Friendship for showing us the light.”

Applejack looked around. “Huh, this here’s a good school. I'm impressed, sugarcube,” she complimented.

“If you want to learn more about being good, the School of Friendship is always opened to you,” Twilight offered.

Daisy then smiled. “Oh, I assure you, we plan on seeing the School of Friendship very soon,” she said as Cozy looked suspicious again. They soon made to the principal’s door. “Principal Noble Heart? Our guests are here for the ceremony!” she called inside.

"That, and the cake," Landrush added. "By the way, do you know what kind it is?"

“Yeah, chocolate, strawberry, tangleberry salsa?” Pinkie guessed.

"I'll be with you in just a moment," the principal said from behind the door.

"I should get back to the flowers," Daisy said before she exited the room.

"Okay, I know I don't go to the school, but she was really suspicious," Cozy Glow told them when Daisy left. "She was way too nice when we met her at the entrance. I would have expected a bit of unease in her voice when she spoke to me, considering my… well, checkered past."

“Plus, has anypony seen a single teacher?” Thunder asked.

“Indeed, their absence is most strange,” Frost added as they all grew suspicious.

"I'll see you now. Come in, come in," the principal told them before they entered.

Inside they saw a colt with a bright orange coat, red mane, and wearing glasses while standing on the principal's desk. Next to the desk was a fabricated skeleton, dressed up to look like a principal. "Welcome back, Lloyd!" the colt greeted his old schoolmate.

“Gambit?” Lloyd asked.

“And welcome Ninja, Council of Friendship, and of course you Cozy Glow,” he said as some colts and fillies along with Daisy walked out from behind the desk, “to the new Darkley’s School for Evil Foals!” Then he cut a rope and large sandbags landed on the heroes, knocking them out.

“Ugh, Gambit. I’m gonna get you… for… this…” Lloyd said before he passed out.

The Ninja and the Mane six soon came to and find some mares and stallions looking down on them before they sat up.

“Thank goodness you're here!” an elder stallion told them as they sat up.

“What happened? Where's Lloyd and Cozy?” Flash asked. “And who are all you?”

An elder mare answered. “We’re the teachers and we've all been taken prisoners,” she said. “We tried to teach the fillies and colts to be good but they overthrew us! They’re monsters!”

“But I thought Lloyd and Cozy were getting honorary degrees for inspiring them,” Rainbow asked.

“Oh, that was just the children's trick to lure Lloyd and Cozy Glow here and convince them to be their leaders. They’re planning to take over the School of Friendship and turn it into the new site for Darkley’s School for Evil Foals,” the stallion explained.

“They’re what?!” Twilight asked in shock.

Landrush and Pinkie looked horrified. “Wait?!” Landrush started.

“You mean, there's not...” Pinkie continued.

“GONNA BE CAKE!?” they both screamed.

Cozy and Lloyd then woke up and found themselves tied to chairs before a light was turned on. They saw the Darkley’s foals smirking at them. “Welcome to your ceremony, you two. Or, should I call it an evil Intervention?!” Daisy asked.

Cozy struggled to free herself. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted!” she said.

“Where are our friends!?” Lloyd demanded.

"Aw, they're better off without you," Gambit told him. "With friends like you, who needs enemies?"

"You may have forgotten, but we're your true friends," Daisy told Lloyd as walked around them. "And we want to help you undo the damage you've done to yourself and our school's reputation."

"But why am I here?" Cozy asked. "I never even went to this school!"

"Maybe not, but you are a legend around here!" Daisy told her. "I mean, stealing all the magic in Equestria, teaming up with Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis to divide the ponies, bringing back the Windigoes?!?” she retorted, shaking Cozy Glow before looked starstruck. “Are you kidding?! You never went to our school, and yet you turned out evil beyond evil! The evil bottom of the barrel!.. Or at least… you were, until that Princess of Friendship adopted you, and you changed!"

“Yeah, and I don’t regret it all!” Cozy assured, looking away.

“Oh, do you? Well, we’re gonna change that, and then help you take back your rightful place as the Headmare of that school once we make it our new base of operations,” Daisy promised as she held both Cozy’s and Lloyd’s shoulders, smirking again. “Be honest, you two. Doesn’t a part of you miss being the bad guy?” she asked as the foals looked at each other in concern.

Back in Equestria City, the Evil Ninja and the Mean Six arrived, wearing sunglasses to hide their glowing red eyes as they searched for the real Ninja and the Mane Six.

A mare then noticed them. “Oh Ninja, Princess Twilight. Thank goodness,” she said before pointing to a cat in the tree. “Could you please help reunite me with my dear Pebbles?” she asked only for the twelve to put her in the tree as well. “That’s not what I had in mind!” the mare retorted as the Evil Ninja and the Mean Six just laughed and left her.

“You wanted to be your cat, well you got it lady!” Mean Fluttershy said as the mare sighed and just hugged her cat.

They were causing trouble all over the city, like messing with the traffic lights, taking candies from foals, or even breaking ATMs. "Remember, we must find the Ninja and the Council of Friendship," Evil Flash told them.

“And I think I know just where to look,” Mean Rainbow said as she saw a Sign that Dareth put up to say that the Ninja were training at his Dojo.

They eventually made back to Grand Sensei Dareth’s Mojo Dojo where they found Wu sweeping up. "You're back," Wu said when he saw them. "So, how was it?"

"It was great. We had so much fun, we almost forgot where we were," Evil Flash answered as the others looked around.

“Hmm. I bet Lloyd and Cozy Glow had a blast,” Wu said, noticing the foals were not with them.

“Lloyd?” Evil Flash asked.

“Cozy Glow?” Mean Twilight added, “Uh, yeah, sure, yeah. In fact, they’re still there. They wanted us to tell you they think you should go. Like, now." She told Wu as he noticed their sunglasses.

“Hmm, is that so?” Wu asks before turning to the other Evil Ninja and rest of the Mean Six, messing around on the equipment. He knew full well that they would never behave like this, and came up with a theory as to why. “Mega Monster Amusement Park is no place for an old stallion. I'd just slow them down,” he said, testing his theory out.

"Mega Monster Amusement Park? Oh yeah, sure!" Evil Flash said before he and the others saw that Wu vanished before he reappeared with a battle stance.

“Lloyd and Cozy are not at the amusement park!” Wu declared. “You are not my students!”

“And you are not our master!” Mean Twilight shot back.

"NINJA, GO!" Evil Thunder shouted as he did Spinjitzu right towards Wu, but he easily knocked him back before he ran over and use Dareth's trophies knock the others down as well.

“Whoever or whatever you are, you all could use a lesson!” Wu said grabbing a sword on the wall. But the moment he had his back turned Evil Gaia threw her Sais at him, pinning the old stallion to the wall.

Evil Flash then went up to Wu, took off his glasses and revealed his red eyes, “Teach us, then. Where are the Ninja and the Council of Friendship?” he asked but Wu simply scoffed and turned his head from him.

“Forget it, he won’t talk,” Mean Pinkie said before they heard a phone ringing.

"Thunder? Are you back yet? Can't wait to see you at the autobody shop. See you then!" Aqua left a message on the phone, giving both the evil Ninja and the Mean Six an idea on how to find the Ninja and the council. They soon left the Dojo, leaving Wu hanging as he sighed.

Back at Darkley’s, the Ninja and Mane Six were trying to find a way out. Frost then opened his panel and flipped a switch. “Battering Ram Mode, engaged,” a computerized voice said as Frost stiffed up. The others then picked up Frost and tried to break down the door by slamming him into it, only for it to stay up.

"We're never going to open that door!" Trail complained.

“But we have to break out!” Fluttershy told him. “I hope they haven't turned Lloyd and Cozy. I don't think things can get much worse,” she said as they put Frost down.

“Look, don't worry, guys. I told Aqua I'd meet her at the autobody shop,” Thunder told them. “And since I'm so punctual, if I'm even one second late, she's gonna suspect something's wrong.”

“That’s right, Aqua will always come through for us!” Rarity added.

Aqua was working on the Ultra Sonic Raider in the auto body shop as Evil Thunder was humming and walking all cool like towards her. Aqua then turned to see him, lifting her welding mask up. "Oh, there you are!" she said, thinking it was the real Thunder. "I was wondering are you going to get here. You're usually not late."

“It's a whole new me, baby,” Evil Thunder replied as he looked over the Ultra Sonic Raider, “Nice work. We should take it out for a spin. Bet we could make a lot of creatures jealous,” he offered.

Aqua smirked at Thunder’s new flirty behavior. “I should've known spending time at Darkley's School would turn you into a bad colt,” she said flipping the keys of the Raider, walking in front of Evil Thunder.

“Darkley's School? Heh,” Evil Thunder repeated, adjusting his glasses. “Is that where we were?”

"What's gotten into yo--" Aqua asked before Evil Thunder quickly grabbed her and locked lips with her. Aqua was taken back this sudden action before she enjoyed it. Evil Thunder took this opportunity to take the keys from her.

“Heh, it’s a bad colt thing,” Evil Thunder said after breaking the kiss, which left Aqua dazed with a dopey smile. He then hopped into the Ultra Sonic Raider and drove off.

Aqua leaned against the wall as hearts danced over her head. “Call me,” she said flustered before she fainted.

Half of the Evil Ninja and the Mean Six were riding in the Ultra Sonic Raider while the other half was flying next to it. They were driving down the road, not bothering to stop even when an intersection had red lights on.

Then Garmadon came up on the communication screen, “Did you find them?” he asked.

“They’re at Darkley’s,” Evil Trail answered.

“Excellent! Now destroy them!” Garmadon ordered them.

“It will be our pleasure, milord,” Mean Rarity replied as they kept on driving.

The Ninja and the Mane Six were using long rulers to pry open the door before they broke in half. "If we don't get out of here, they're going to brainwash Lloyd and Cozy and undo all the lessons we tried to teach them," Flash said as he looked around the room.

"Not to mention, never taste cake again," Landrush added.

“Crime of the century!” Pinkie added, shaking her hoof.

“Would you two let that go already?” Gaia asked as Frost walked over to the Teachers.

“Principal Noble Heart,” he started, “how well do you and the teachers know this building?”

Noble Heart shook his head. “We barely know it at all, actually. We're new,” he confessed as the other teachers nodded. “The old teachers were highly committed to teaching evil and quit in protest when the school went good.”

"So, if the school building was originally built for evil, don't we have to assume there are hidden passages which none of you would even know about?" Frost theorized.

"That would explain how we saw Daisy in the principal's office after we saw her leave," Gaia added.

"You're right. It just wouldn't be an evil school without hidden passages," Rainbow spoke up. "Like one of those horror or mystery movies."

"Everypony spread out and find a switch!" Flash instructed. "It could be anything: a book, a plant, a tile, a fixture, even a painting." They all spread out and flipped books, moved furniture, and shifted paintings for anything that could be switch. Thunder then pulled back on a book on one of the shelves and heard a click.

"I found it!" he told the others before they all saw the ceiling coming down.

"Wrong switch, keep looking!" Twilight shouted as they were looking around faster before they were about to become pancakes.

Applejack then turned a plant and it was a switch too. "Ah-ha!" she said but her celebration was short-lived as the falling ceiling sprouted spikes. "Oh that is so evil!" she griped.

As the teachers began to panic, Frost noticed the lamp next to him and pushed it forward. Third time being the charm, the switch opened a secret passage behind the fireplace. "This way!" he told them as they quickly went through the passage and into a dark corridor.

Pinkie then giggled, "Haha, stop tickling me!" She told Gaia.

"I'm not tickling you," Gaia answered.

"Twi, could you give us some light?" Flash asked as Twilight lit her horn, finding that the corridor was fill with spiders. Almost all of them let out a horrified scream.

Fluttershy remained calm though. "Leave this to me," she told them, as she walked over to one of the spiders. "Um, excuse me. We’re very sorry for walking into your nest here, but could you please show us the way out? If that's okay..."

The spider chittered and nodded, before gesturing for them to follow. The group followed the spider down the corridor, hoping they weren't too late to save Cozy and Lloyd.

Back with the two foals, they hadn't been turned but instead pretended to be to trick the students to letting them go. "Ha, ha. Come on, you can untie us," Lloyd told them. "Really, this is just a huge relief. I couldn't stand being good."

"Me neither!" Cozy spoke up, playing along with Lloyd’s trick. "I mean, I only accepted being adopted by Twilight so I can plot my revenge and I could get away from those two losers that got me turn to stone in the first place. Thank you for saving us."

Daisy however looked unconvinced. “How do we know you're not lying to us just to escape and help the Ninja and the council?” she asked.

“Well, if I am truly good, I wouldn't be able to lie, which I'm not, but even if I was, wouldn't lying make me evil, thus giving you assurance that you could release me?” Lloyd asked with grin.

“And even we did escape after you released us, that would count as both lying and betrayal. And if we were truly good, we wouldn’t do that at all, so wouldn’t the thought of lying and betrayal make us evil?” Cozy added, raising a brow.

The students looked confused before Gambit spoke up. “Th-they’re trying to trick us with mind games!” Soon, the building rumbled as just outside, the Evil Ninja and Mean Six arrived and busted down the front entrance and blasted the sign.

The twelve clones then marched through the halls, trashing as much as they could as the students walked out of the intervention room. “Someone's coming.” Daisy said as they followed the noise and were shocked to see what they thought were the Ninja and Mane Six. “The Ninja and Council have escaped! Execute Doomsday formations! To glory!” she shouted as they gave battle cries.

"Spitball Brigade, step forward!" Daisy ordered as a few students with small straws step forward. "Fire!" Those students then started shooting spitballs at the evil doppelgangers. The doppelgangers then either dodged or hid behind Mean Twilight's shield from the incoming spitballs.

“Smoke Bomb Brigade, Fire!” Daisy ordered as the students all threw smoke bombs at the evil duplicates. The twelve were blinded and coughed from the smoke as the students laughed at them.

“NINJA, GO!” The Evil Ninja and Mean Six shouted as they used Spinjitzu to clear away the smoke.

“Dodgeball Brigade, FIRE!” Daisy ordered as the students then started throwing dodgeballs at them, but Evil Gaia and Mean Pinkie managed to catch them all and pass the balls to the others.

“Our turn,” Evil Trail said with a smirk.

"Run!" Daisy shouted as the students ran away as the evil Ninja and the Mean Six threw the dodgeballs at them. Some got knocked down but quickly got back up to run away. "Retreat!" She shouted before she got nailed in the face with a dodgeball. Evil Flash walked up to her and picked her up.

"Where are the Ninja and the Council?!" he asked in a threatening tone as Daisy whimpered.

Meanwhile Cozy and Lloyd were still struggling to free themselves. “Oh, why do we always get tied up?” Lloyd asked.

“Ya think we'd be pretty good with knots by now…” Cozy added. Lloyd looked around the room and saw the light bulb before getting an idea.

"Okay, you can do this, Lloyd," he told himself as he stared at the light bulb and his horn was glowing blue. He focused his energy and then the bulb blew up and the fragments scattered. “Haha, yes, it worked!” Lloyd and Cozy then fell to their sides and used the shards to cut the ropes.

“Haha, finally! We’re free!” Cozy cheered only for it to be called off when the students came back. “Aww, come on! we escaped fair and square.” she retorted as the student barricaded the doors.

“What are you doing?” Lloyd asked in confusion.

“Heh, your friends have turned pure evil,” Gambit told them.

Cozy and Lloyd were beyond shocked, “WHAT?!”

Meanwhile Daisy, being carried by Mean Applejack, led the Evil Ninja and Mean Six to the room where the Ninja, Council and Teachers were being held. Mean Applejack opened the door but found the room was empty, “What is this? Some kind of joke?!” she demanded.

"That's where they were, honest!" Daisy confirmed, but they weren't buying it.

"Looks like you just earned yourself a one-way ticket to Swirly Town. And don’t worry; we’ll be sure to use a used toilet," Evil Gaia told Daisy.

Daisy looked terrified and covered her head, “No, nonono, please! Anything but that!” she begged but then walking out of one of the lockers behind them was the Real Ninja and Mane Six.

“Whew, finally the way out,” Landrush said as they stepped into the hall way only to see their doublegangers.

“Sweet Celestia, are you all seeing what I’m seeing?” Rarity asked.

“If you mean us staring at ourselves then yeah, I think we are.” Trail answered as Noble Heart looked confused.

“Uh, this is too weird for us,” he said stepping back into the locker. “We’re just gonna stay in here a little longer.” With that he closed the door.

Thunder shrugged, “Huh, those who don’t fight, teach,” he said as the Evil Ninja and Mean Six took off their glasses revealing their red eyes.

"Drop the filly, you rotten, uh..." Applejack hesitated, feeling like she was insulting herself, "Me!"

Mean Applejack just narrowed her eyes as she dropped Daisy. "She ain't of any use to us anymore anyway," she said as the filly scrambled away.

"Who are you guys?" Flash asked.

"Or rather, what are you?" Twilight added.

Evil Flash answered, "You might say, we’re your evil twin brothers and sisters."

"Or more precisely, your betters and superiors!" Mean Twilight added.

"Really, I was always thought my better would be taller," Trail snarked.

"Then, maybe you prefer to call us your doom!" Evil Trail snarled.

"My early assessment tells me this must be Garmadon's doing," Frost told the others.

"My early assessment tells me you will be destroyed," Evil Frost told his good counterpart.

"I like to see you try, bucko!" Rainbow Dash shouted, slamming her hooves together.

"Wanna bet?!" Mean Rainbow Dash asked as they prepare to charge at one another.

“NINJA, GO!” They all shouted as they charged, each of the mirroring headbutts, kicks, magic blasts, and punches perfectly, neither side able to land a proper. As they fought the students, Lloyd and Cozy watched from down the hall.

“See, we told you our friends wouldn’t turn evil,” Cozy Glow told them.

“The evils ones must be my father’s creations,” Lloyd deduced as Gambit observed the battle.

"Fascinating," Gambit said with interest. "It's like fighting a mirror where the reflection countermoves in perfect sync and no one appears to be able to land a blow."

"We have to help them," Lloyd told Gambit.

"Just to be clear, which them?" Gambit asked with a raised brow.

Cozy and Lloyd back up as they realized what he meant, "Uh, our friends of course!" Cozy answered as the students closed in on them.

"Uh, she means the Evil Ninja and the Mean Six!" Lloyd told them.

"Uh yeah, because we're evil too, right?" Cozy asked as she and Lloyd did an evil laugh.

Pretty soon, Lloyd and Cozy were tied up again and grunted as they tried to wriggle free. "I am Lloyd Garmadon! Evil son of the super evil Lord Garmadon!" Lloyd declared.

"And I'm Cozy Glow! Evil Empress of Friendship and most powerful pony in all Equestria!" Cozy added.

"And we demand you release us!" they finished before laughing evilly but the students ignored them.

"Here's my theory on how to help the Evil Ninja and the Council of Meanness, as I like to call them, destroy the Good Ninja and the Council of Friendship," Gambit said as went up to the chalkboard and started to write some equations down. "Look what happens when positive energy connects with negative energy. So, if an evil counterpart manages to connect a single blow against his or hers opposite, that same spark should be so powerful as to eradicate their good counterparts."

The students looked confused before Gambit walked down. “Trust me, I’m like, a total evil genius!” he bragged.

Daisy shrugged, “Okay, good enough for me!” she said.

Then Cozy sighed in defeat as they turned to Her and Lloyd. “Fine you win, me and Lloyd are good,” she admitted.

Lloyd then smirked. “But guess what?” he asked before looking at Daisy. “So is Daisy.”

Daisy gasped in alarm. “Th-that’s a big fat lie!” She retorted.

"Is it? Then explain why, on the day we first met, you were nice to me," Lloyd asked as the students looked at Daisy while Cozy wondered where he's going with this. "When I arrived here on my first day, I didn't know how things worked around here and everypony made fun of me. Daisy even put fire ants in my bed."

That made Gambit laugh. "Yeah, I remember that. That was evil." he said before Lloyd continued.

"But when everypony was gone, she said she was trying to teach me how things go," he told them. "And after that, she took me under her wing, and she taught me the art of revenge."

Gambit turned to Daisy in confusion, “Why would you do that?” He asked.

“I wanted to get in good with his father,” she confessed but Lloyd knew better.

“No. It’s because deep down, she’s not all evil, and it’s not just her.” Lloyd said as he and Cozy stood up.

"Face it, every single one of you has a secret good side that stays quiet out of fear because it think its alone. But it’s not," Cozy told them. "And me? The only reason I turned evil is because Tirek taught me to and everything. I never even knew my parents, and when I got turned to stone, I regretted every evil thing that I've ever done and I regret hurting those that helped me and became my friends."

“We’re not destined to be evil just because of those around us are, and the two of us are living proof!” Lloyd declared proudly as he looked at the foals. “So, who’s with us?” he asked as Daisy sighed in defeat.

“It’s true. And I love planting flowers.” she confessed.

“You what?!” Gambit exclaimed as Daisy walked over to Lloyd and Cozy.

“Also, the Ninja and the Council saved me from a fate worse than death,” she said as she untied the two foals. “A kindness I plan to return.”

With the others fillies and colts joined them. Gambit however groaned, “My dad is gonna be so mad.”

“Yeah, join the club,” Lloyd said, already seeing the red on his father’s face in his head as Gambit walked over to them. “Okay, I got a plan on how we can help our friends, but we’re all gonna need to be a part of this.”

“Yup, so who here can sew?” Cozy asked, holding up a needle.

The foals gasped in confusion, “Sew?” Daisy asked raising a brow.

Soon the students started to sew some costumes while others got buckets of paint. Pretty soon, the colts all had dressed up in Ninja Gi’s and the fillies were painted and had their manes fixed to look like miniature versions of the Mane Six.

Cozy Glow had even made her Magenta Ninja Gi for the occasion. They all flipped up their hoods and as Lloyd and Cozy led charge, “NINJA, GO!” They declared.

Back in the hallway, the dueling doubles continued to fight and neither one of them could land a blow on the other. "We're so evenly balanced..." Thunder huffed as he and his evil counterpart were tired. "Ugh, this fight could go on… forever!"

"Or at least...before one of us...finally get...too tired," Gaia panted as she and her counterpart traded blows.

"We can't give up!" Flash said as he dodged a punch.

"Just keep fighting," Twilight encouraged firing a laser. But then they heard lots of small hooves rushing towards them and they turned to see a stampede of Mini Ninja and little versions of the Mane Six, led by Lloyd and Cozy charging straight towards them.

"NINJA, GO!" The foals shouted as they joined the fight.

"Hey, it really is Ninja-Friendship Day!" Landrush said after seeing the students in the costumes. Both Evil Flash and Twilight had confused looks on their faces before narrowing dodging attacks from their good counterparts.

"Guys, I see what they’re doing!" Trail said as pushed back his counterpart.

"Yeah, they’re trying to confuse them!" Rainbow said as her counterpart couldn't tell which Rainbow Dash was the Real one.

"Uh, yeah but it's confusing me too!" Pinkie said as she and her counterpart were fooled too.

"Oh good, so it's not just me!" Thunder said as he and his counterpart were confused as well.

A bunch of the students ganged up on Evil Frost and Mean Fluttershy into a dog pile. Unfortunately, they were easily pushed off.

"Keep your focus!" Frost told them.

"Frost, now! While they’re distracted!" Fluttershy said before they both they did Spinjitzu. Evil Frost and Mean Fluttershy were both sucked and screamed before they were tossed out and collided with each other, disappearing into black smoke.

"It works, just as Gambit says!" Lloyd called after seeing what happened to Evil Frost and Evil Fluttershy while dodging an attack from one of the doppelgangers.

"One hit from the goods, and poof they're gone!" Cozy Glow added.

Evil Landrush and Mean Applejack were flipping off the foals on them, before two caught them by surprise and knocked them off balance.

"Good BYE!" Landrush said as he punched his doubleganger into smoke.

"And good riddance!" Applejack added as she bucked away her evil twin. Mean Rarity and Evil Gaia were pushing back the students until one of them three a few dodgeballs at their faces.

"That look doesn't look GOOD on you!" Rarity told her counterpart before she blasted her into smoke.

"Looks like I'm even better than myself!" Gaia said before she did Spinjitzu and knocked her evil copy away for good.

"Don't think you can get rid of us that easily!" Mean Pinkie Pie told her good version.

"By the way, did I mention that I kissed Aqua?" Evil Thunder added, making his good counterpart furious.

"Also, before we got here, I should tell you that I crashed a little kid's birthday party. Made all the kiddies cry, too~ Hah-hah!" Mean Pinkie smirked at her red-faced counterpart.

"WHAT?!?! YOU DID WHAT?!?!" Thunder and Pinkie shouted with rage.

"Heha, yeah!" Evil Thunder laughed.

"Whatcha gonna do about it?" Mean Pinkie Pie mocked before they threw a punch at their good counterparts.

Both Thunder and Pinkie quickly blocked them before Thunder flipped behind his good counterpart and kicked him to dust. Pinkie Pie then pulled out her party cannon and blinded her evil counterpart before pulling out a metal boxing glove and punched her in the face to turn her into a puff of smoke.

Thunder panted, "NOPONY kisses MY Mare!" He declared.

"And NOPONY crashes a birthday party and makes kids cry!" Pinkie added, blowing on her boxing glove.

Evil Trail and Rainbow Dash were trying to fly up while a bunch of the students were holding on to their legs.

“Get off me, you brats!” Mean Rainbow growled as she shook her legs.

"Here, let me send you off!" Rainbow Dash told her evil counterpart as she flew right towards her and struck her in the gut. After she poofed and a puff of smoke, Rainbow quickly caught the foals as Trail kicked his evil counterpart in the face.

“Only two left!” Trail said looking at the Evil Flash and Mean Twilight.

The last two evil clones were currently wrestling with Cozy, Lloyd and some others foals before tossing them off, “Err, stay back!” Evil Flash growled.

“Forget this! Let’s get out of here!” Mean Twilight told him as they tried to run only to get smoke bombs to the face.

“Ugh, My eyes!” Evil Flash screamed rubbing his eyes.

“I-I can’t see!” Mean Twilight cried as the real Flash and Twilight walked up behind them. They both turned around when they found their shoulders being tapped. They soon saw their good twins uppercutting them in the jaws, and like that they were gone in a poof of smoke.

“Heh, ‘betters and superiors’, my flank!” Twilight smirked.

“Heh, not so smug now!” Flash gloated as the others all cheered and flipped up their hoods.

Daisy then wiped away the paint off her face. “It worked, you two. You did it!” she said to Lloyd and Cozy.

“No, we did it!” Lloyd corrected.

“Together!” Cozy finished as the foals all cheered again.

Principal Noble Heart and the other teachers then walked out, looking at their rogue students with pride. “Normally we would punish you for holding us captive,” he started as they walked towards the group, “but I guess now that we've all learned a valuable lesson, I suppose it's cause for a celebration!” he declared.

Pinkie then zoomed up to his hooves. “You like with a ‘real’ party?” she pleaded with puppy-eyes.

“Uh, and wouldn’t that also mean cake, now, would it?” Landrush also pleaded as everypony laughed and Twilight turned to the students and teachers.

“Also, if you really all want to learn and teach on how to be good, I think I know a much better school where you can do it,” she said.

After the little celebration and the agreement that the teachers and the students had with Princess Twilight to be transferred to the School of Friendship, the group got back in the Raider and on Ultra Dragon as they headed back home. "Oh, man! So great to have the tank back," Thunder said.

"Mmm, you said it!" Landrush mumbled as he rode with Gaia on Ultra Dragon while eating some cake.

"Can't wait till Sensei hears about this," Trail said as on the screen of the Ultra Sonic Raider, Garmadon appeared and scowled at the heroes.

"So, it is true. You have destroyed my evil counterparts of you," Garmadon said as Lloyd smirked with a sneaky idea.

"Keep 'em comin', Garmadon," Flash told with the utmost confidence. "Your attempts to stop us are only making us stronger."

"Even with Chrysalis, Tirek and the Serpentine behind you, some day we will defeat you once and for all!" Twilight declared.

Garmadon however chuckled, "Foolish princess, I knew my clones would fail to destroy you. They merely bought me enough time to gather what I needed to create new allies to aid me in my quest," he explained as the heroes gaped in shock, and Garmadon smirked. "And tomorrow is a new day, my little ponies. Mark my words, I will find new ways to finish you, once and for--" The transmission had been garbled up and the screen went all fuzzy.

"What? I can't hear you!" Rainbow taunted with a smirk.

"Aqua will be displeased," Frost said. "She just fixed it, and it appears it has to go back to the shop."

"Nah, it's not broken," Lloyd told them as he grabbed the two levers behind him and his horn glowed blue as power went down to his hooves and a video game was put on the screen in place.

The Ninja and Mane Six were surprised, "Y-you did that?" Thunder asked, stunned, "But it didn't blow up," he thought for sure the Raider would've exploded like the light-bulbs did when Lloyd used his powers.

"Hey, you go back to school and you might pick up a thing or two!" Lloyd said as he pulled out a game controller and started playing the game while the others laughed.

But as his friends just laughed Flash frowned in thought as Twilight noticed his expression, "Something still bothers me though," Flash said.

"What's that?" Twilight asked with a raised brow.

"Who are the new allies Garamadon said he was going to recruit for his alliance?" He asked as they looked up into the dusk sky in concern.

Back on the Black Bounty that night, Garmadon, Tirek and the Generals waited on deck until they saw Chrysalis flying towards the ship. "Well?" Garmadon asked as Chrysalis sat a bag down.

"It wasn't easy," she told them. "They beefed up security since last time, but I got them." She used her magic to levitate four items from her satchel: the Horn of Sombra, The Staff of Sacanas along with a head piece from the Storm King’s obsidian statue, and the Shattered Collar of Nightmare Moon.

She placed them down in front of Garmadon as he smirked. “Excellent,” he said as he readied the Mega Weapon.

“Are you sure this is a wise decision?” Tirek asked the Alicorn. “The last time Sombra was revived to join an alliance, he went off on his own, and got very poor results. Plus, bringing back the other two is a bit of gamble, isn’t it.”

"Oh, don't worry. I always have ways to keep things in check," Garmadon said with an evil grin as he looked to the clock as it struck midnight. “Midnight… A new day… to wreak evil!” He then raised the Mega Weapon and they all stood back. “Hear me, King Sombra, Storm King, and Nightmare Moon, and feel the Mega Weapon’s power of creation! I wish for it to rip open the Ethereal Divide and return you back into existence!” The Mega Weapon and Garmadon’s power then merged as it was directed towards the three items. A bright light filled the as everyone who was in it was blinded by it. Above them, black clouds crackled with thunder and lightning circles around the pale white moon.

The red horn then surged with dark magic as a black shadow formed from it and with eyes glowing green and purple. The shadow soon solidified into a dark grey stallion in silver armor and a red cape appeared from the smog with new life.

The Staff absorbed the lightning bolts from above, as black crystal pieces flew together to join with the piece currently present, forming a body that gripped the staff and then exploded revealing an ape-like creature reborn, as obsidian slowly became fur, flesh, and armor.

And finally, under the pale light of the moon, the broken color was surround by a miasma of dark blue energy that formed into a ball. The orb soon revealed a black alicorn mare decked in blue armor who opened her slitted cyan eyes and opened her mouth revealing sharpen teeth to take her very first breath.

As the magic of the Mega-Weapon dissipated, the three revived evils landed on the deck and Tirek and Chrysalis were amazed by what happened as Garmadon slumped forward. "Welcome back...from the Departed Realm..." Garmadon panted to the revived ones.

Sombra observed his new body with a smirk, "Flesh, bone. Once more, I return to the Realm of Living!"

"H-How am I still alive?!" Storm King shouted as he was looking at himself. "Last thing I remember was me about to turn those cute ponies into my new garden piece, until my backstabbing commander pushed me over."

"I believe he has something to do with it." Nightmare Moon said with a grin on her face when they looked at Lord Garmadon.

Garmadon then stood up slowly and looked to his new allies. "I've given you all life anew, to aid me in remaking Equestria and the lands beyond into my own image, and in preventing my son from ever becoming the Ninja destined to defeat me," he explained tiredly. "But even with my new army, I felt I need more allies to tip the scales."

"Hey, if it means I can snag some revenge on those meddling ponies, then I'm in!" Storm King quickly told him.

"A world remade in darkness as black as night for eternity? I am on board with this alliance as well. And then I can have my revenge on little Luna AND her precious Celestia," Nightmare Moon grinned.

Chrysalis then turned to Sombra. "What about you Sombra? Going to reject this offer as well and try to take back the Crystal Empire only to get blasted into Oblivion again?" She asked with a smirk.

Sombra growled. "I am not so foolish as to make the same mistake again when there is an easier method." He then turned to Garmadon. "If I help you in recreating Equestria, I want your word that the Crystal Empire is mine!"

"Oh, don't worry Sombra," Garmadon assured. "I promise once we are done, you'll all get your share of Equestria."

"Then we have an agreement," Sombra said with calmer smile.

"Good, but word of warning: DON'T try stealing my Mega-Weapon!" Garmadon warned. "Only I have the power to hold it without it destroying me from the inside-out."

"Ssso, the moment you touch it, it'sss back to the Departed Realm for you!" Acidicus added with a smug snicker as Sombra merely scoffed and turned away.

The Storm King then turned to Garmadon. "So what's the plan to get rid of those Ninja ponies, boss man?" he asked.

"While my evil clones of the Ninja and Council of Friendship failed to destroy the real ones, they did succeed in learning where they are training my son," Garmadon said with an evil smirk. "And I've recently learned that the owner of this place has fallen behind in his debts, so here is my plan…"

They all then gathered around as Garmadon whispered his plan to them. Come morning, a new plan to defy destiny begins.

Chapter 4: Ninjaball Run

In the dojo, Lloyd was struggling to stay on his front hoof.

“Focus,” Wu said as he poured himself some tea. “In order to bear the fate of Equestria on your shoulders, you must first learn to bear the weight of all of us.”

On his back hooves were the rest of the Ninja in a pyramid, as Lloyd was trying to keep balance.

"Focus," Wu told him after taking a sip of tea.

"Uhh… Sensei, I'm starting to think this was a bad idea," Thunder said nervously.

“Yeah, Sensei, he’s just a kid,” Landrush added.

“In order for him to succeed, we must all learn to trust each other,” Wu told them as they continued to keep balance.

“And we could’ve have just done something a little less risky?” Gaia asked before out of nowhere, a dragon’s clubbed tail crashed into the wall from outside, knocking the eight down.

They all groaned and picked themselves up. “What was that?” Flash asked as they turned to see two construction ponies and a big hard-hatted green dragon, looking at them in confusion and surprise.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!" Dareth shouted as he went over to them. "This wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow? Let me see that order," the forestallion asked the other pony who handed him a scroll. "Hmmm… oh yeah, my bad," he said sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," the dragon apologized. "We'll be back in the morning, and sorry about almost smashing you guys," he said to the Ninja.

"It's cool," Landrush assured as Dareth whimpered in concern and picked up one his bent trophies.

"Um, excuse me Dareth, but what was that all about?" Gaia asked.

"Well, I fell behind on some of my payments, and some developer named ‘Darnagom Enterprises’ is buying the whole block to put in some stupid frisbee-golf course!" Dareth explained, pointing to the sign behind him. "They say if I don't come up with fifty thousand bits by tomorrow, the dojo is gone."

"But we already lost the Bounty. you can't lose the dojo now!" Thunder pointed out.

"My trophies! Oh, all my fake trophies!" Dareth cried.

Frost then noticed something about the sign. “Wait ‘Darnagom’?” he inquired as he thought awhile. “When you rearrange the letters, it spells--”

“‘O Grandma’?” Thunder guessed, raising a brow.

Trail face-hooved, “No! Garmadon!” he said.

“Oh right. Heh, that would make more sense,” Thunder admitted sheepishly.

“My dad is behind this?” Lloyd sighed, disappointed that his dad would resort to ruining others’ lives to stop them.

"If he destroys the dojo, where will we train Lloyd?" Flash asked as they wondered the same thing.

"Any chance you got fifty grand in that teapot of yours?" Dareth asked Wu, gesturing to his teapot.

Wu shook his head however. “Worry not, Dareth. You're not in this alone. We're all with you,” he assured him.

“But how in Equestria are we gonna get that kind of money in such a short time?” Gaia asked.

"Did somepony say ‘fifty thousand bits’?" Aqua asked when she walked in.

"You didn't happen to win the lottery, did you?" Thunder gasped.

“No, but I have heard of ‘Ninjaball Run’!” She answered.

“Ninjaball Run?” the others repeated.

Aqua then explained, “It's the biggest road race in Equestria with a prize of a hundred thousand big ones. And it's tomorrow.”

“That’s convenient,” Flash said.

"I thank you, little lady fighter, but you're talking about the most dangerous race known to ponykind," Dareth told her as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Only the most serious of racers even stand a chance."

"But didn't you do upgrades on our Ultra Sonic Raider?" Flash asked her, who nodded. “Maybe we might stand a chance.”

“And I can enter with Ultra Dragon,” Lloyd suggested. “You did say I needed the practice with them.”

“This is so crazy; I think I’m starting to like this plan!” Trail smirked.

“So it is agreed. You will all enter this ‘Ninjaball Run’ to save the dojo,” Wu declared as Dareth started sobbing again.

“Are you still crying?” Aqua asked as she smiled and rubbed his back.

“Yes, but these are happy tears,” Dareth said with a smile, so grateful for such wonderful friends.

Crowds of creatures chaired as the Ninja were at the starting line with a few familiar faces, including the Darkley's students and Derpy.

From the stands, Wu, Aqua, Dareth, the Young Six, Cozy Glow, Mane Six, Spike, Starlight, Trixie, Sunburst, the Pillars and the Royal Sisters watched as a race announcer spoke. "Welcome everycreature, to the 14th Annual Ninjaball Run!"

"The Grand Prix, where it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get there first," a co-announcer announced. “But first let’s give a warm welcome to our very own Lights of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her Council of Friendship!” Everycreature then applauded and cheered as Twilight smiled and waved while her friends did the same.

“Well, now let's take a look at the racers,” the main announcer said as on the screen showed the Ninja and the other racers getting ready.

“I see the starter's line. And it looks like, along with the Ninja, we have a few familiar faces,” the co-announcer said as Derpy rang her bike’s bell before Ultra Dragon landed right next her, startling her.

“Hey watch it, big oaf!” she retorted.

“Sorry,” Orchy apologized as Lloyd gripped the reins nervously.

"You okay, Lloyd?" Flash asked as the other Ninja were getting ready. "You look nervous."

"Nervous? Ha, ha, ha. Maybe for you guys," Lloyd played it cool as Aqua hopped down from the tank.

"One final thing: I installed a pretty cool upgrade," Aqua started as she got off the Ultra Sonic Raider, "so if you're ever in a really tight spot, pull that lever because what it does…" Whatever else she said was drowned out when the Darkley's students purposely revved their bus's engine.

"What?!?!?!" Thunder shouted they covered their ears.

"Pull that lever, because if you pull that lever..." Aqua tried to tell them again, but the revving engine muffled her out again.

The only sounds that could be heard was the announcer. "Alright, the race is about to start. And officials are saying pit crews must take their places. We're about to begin!" he said.

Aqua soon finished her advice. "… only under those circumstances and no other. Anyway, I think that's my cue. Gotta go! Good luck!" she told the Ninja as she left to take her seat in the stands.

"Huh? Wait. Aqua, we couldn't hear you!" Flash told her.

"Looks like we'll have to find out when we need it," Gaia said.

They were then surprised to see Captain Salt-Beak and his crew were in the race, using a van as their vehicle, as well as Steprush and the other Royal Blacksmiths who pulled up in a modified pickup truck with a separate driver at the front.

"Hey! It's my dad!" Landrush said as he waved to him.

Steprush waved back as he and his fellow quartet members sang out, “Too big, too big. Too slow, too slow. We had a lead but let it go.”

"They've entered too?" Thunder asked before his parents pulled in on their Jalopy. "Oh, no," he moaned in embarrassment as he covered his face.

"Oh look, there's Thunder," Scrip said to Bolt. "Oh, he sees us, Bolt,"

"I see him too, Scrip. Ya don't need to embarrass the colt," Bolt told her.

"Well, if there is a plus, if either of your parents wins, we could at least ask them for half the prize money to save the dojo," Flash reasoned.

"I'm just relieved that my mother doesn't like competing in races, as much as she likes watching them," Gaia said in relief as she waved to her mother from the stands, who blew a kiss to her daughter.

"Still, is there anypony we don't know that we have to compete against?" Thunder asked sarcastically, before a portal opened up and both Nuckal and Kruncha came through on their giant skeleton vehicle.

"Oohh, you just had to jinx it, didn’t ya?" Trail asked.

"Wait a minute. Some Skeletons have crashed the party," the co-announcer pointed out. "Is this against the rules?"

"Rules?!" the main announcer laughed. "There's only one rule in Ninjaball Run, and that is ‘Cross the finish line first’," he said as he then gestured to the route the race would be taking as it seemed to be across almost all of Equestria.

"Let's take a look at the course. The first grueling leg starts on the streets of Equestria City and empties out into the treacherous Badlands. Racers, look out for the dangerous ditch known as the Ghastly Gorge, where the slightest mistake can turn you into a Quarray Eel's lunch! The next two legs of the race take us into the winding maze known as the Everfree Forest, and then through the perilous and icy Frozen North. Finally, in the fourth and final leg, racers must beat the scorching heat in the Dragonlands, which then takes us back to the finish line here in the heart of Equestria City!" he detailed as the giant magical screen showed the route through all the locations listed.

"I don't know, guys. If we're going to save the dojo, we're gonna have to beat some pretty stiff competition," Trail pointed out as he pointed at some old foes next to them.

"All we can do is just try our best to cross that finish line first," Flash told him.

"One final word: let's have a good clean race!" the announcer said as Gambit and another student discreetly removed a screw from the Ultra Sonic Raider, sniggering as they got back on their bus. "So good luck to everycreature!" The lights in front of them turned red as each racer prepared to go fast. Lloyd readied his dragon while other racers rev up their engines.

The lights then turned yellow. "On your mark, get set," the second announcer said as Flash readied the gas pedal and the audience held their breath before the lights turned green. "Ninjaball GO!" the announcer shouted and right then the racers took off.

"Come on, guys!" Lloyd called out as Ultra Dragon spread their wings and takes off. "Whoa!" Lloyd yelped.

"Hold on tight, kid!" Wisp said.

But then, when Ultra Sonic Raider was just a few feet from the starting line, its left traction belt soon broke off, causing it to stop. "What happened?!" Frost exclaimed.

"The traction belt is damaged!" Gaia exclaimed.

"We've been sabotaged!" Landrush stated.

Meanwhile, the others racers zoomed through the streets of the city. Salt-Beak attempted to ram into Bolt and Scrip, but they activated a special gadget on their Jalopy, inflating balls from the wheel hubcaps that bumped off Salt-Beak’s van before speeding off, crashing into the Royal Blacksmiths' truck, Derpy’s bike, the Darkley’s bus and the Skull Truck as they made a turn.

Lloyd was at the back of the others, struggling to control Ultra Dragon. "Wrong way! Oh, we're going the wrong way!" he shouted at Ultra Dragon when it went right instead of left like all the other racers.

"Hey, don't look at me, it's Flame's fault!" Rocky said.

"My fault?! Whisp and Shard were leaning right!" Flames shouted.

"Say what?! You can't pin it on us! We're controlling the legs!" Wisp retorted.

"Blame Orchy and Nimbus, they're controlling the wings!" Shard told them.

"How did we lose focus already?! We're supposed to be working together!!" Nimbus shouted at the other heads.

"And besides, Rocky was the one with more weight than us!" Orchy shouted.

"What?! Wisp is the one who eats half of our weight!" Rocky retorted.

“Oh, I’ve have had it with you guys since we all merged!” Wisp yelled.

"Oh, give it a rest!" Flame shouted

"Let's not argue in middle of a race!" Nimbus suggested.

"Cram a sock in it, foot face!" Orchy told him.

"I'm soooo sick of you guys!" Shard groaned.

"Me?! What did I do?!" Wisp asked.

"Knock it off already!" Flame demanded.

"YOU knock it off!" Rocky retorted.

"I can't believe this is my life!" Nimbus moaned.

"Can we go home and watch TV now?" Wisp asked.

"Would everyone just shut it?!" Orchy yelled.

"Someone put me out of my misery!" Shard asked.

"Did I mention I'm starving?!" Rocky said.

"And you think we're not?!" Orchy asked sarcastically as the arguing went in circles and Lloyd just sighed. This was gonna be a long flight.

Meanwhile, at the Equestria City jail, the other Serpentine Generals were using a Serpent Bus to bring down the walls. After the bus pulled off a section of the wall, where Skales was being held, the Hypnobrai laughs at his new freedom before jumping onto the roof of the bus and sees the other Generals. “It'sss about time!” Skales told them.

“Be grateful we decided to come back for you at all!” Acidicus retorted.

Skales just hmphed and slithered inside. “Let'sss get outta here,” he told them as the bus took off while two police car started to chase after them. They crashed through a barricade, coming across the racers and crashing into Bolt and Scrip’s Jalopy before turning, while the two police cars were hit by the Skull Truck, accidently joining the race along with the Serpentine. “What in Equessstria isss going on here?!” Skales asked as he and the other Generals looked at the racers in great confusion.

“It would ssseem we’ve entered a race.” Fangtom told him.

"What race?!" Skales asked as Acidcus kept driving.

“Let’s win and find out!” Skalidor suggested as Acidicus increased speed.

"Oh, things just got interesting!" the main announcer said as they saw the Serpent Bus on big screen. “And it seems some new competitors have entered the race. Meanwhile, the Ninja remain at the starter's line in dead last!” He pointed to the Ninja who were still trying to repair the damaged Ultra Sonic Raider Traction Belt.

“Can’t we go down there and help?!” Cozy asked.

Twilight shook her head however, “No, it’s against the rules, Cozy. They have to do it on their own,” she argued.

“Oh, great!” Thunder complained. “We're already out of the race!”

“Right even before we begin, too!” Gaia added.

Landrush however looked steadfast. “We can't quit now, not with Dareth’s Dojo on the line!” he told them. “Help me lift this thing!”

They all lifted the traction support up together, as Flash and Trail soon straightened it, reattaching the belt. The crowd cheered loud at the Ninja’s success.

“All right!” Rainbow, Smolder, Gallus, and Pinkie cheered.

“Well done!” Celestia congratulated in her Royal Canterlot Voice.

The Ninja then climbed into the Raider and restarted the engine. “So that's how this is gonna go,” Flash said as he looked to his team. “Alright, guys, let's do this!” With that the Ultra Sonic Raider roared to life and zoomed off to catch the other racers.

“Go, Ninja, Go!” The Ninja’s friends, family and allies cheered.

Meanwhile on the Black Bounty, Garmadon, his Legion of Doom, and the rest of the Serpentine had gathered on the bridge, for their plan was set in motion. “I must admit, this plan may be simple but it is just as effective,” Sombra told Garmadon.

“And you didn’t even need to use the Mega Weapon for it,” Tirek added.

"Yes. Now that the dojo will be destroyed, we'll crush them before Lloyd ever becomes a true Ninja," Garmadon told them.

"Yes, and if they ever try to find a new place, we'll just destroy that as well," Nightmare Moon said with a delighted tone.

Chrysalis however notice the Storm King was leaning back in a chair and watching TV. "What are you watching now, you big ape?" she snarled at him.

The Storm King just smiled and waved her off. "Oh, just watching those Ninja Ponies trying to win some big race for a hundred thousand bits," he said nonchalantly. "They're off to a pretty lousy start though."

"WHAT?!" the five of them shouted before Garmadon knocked him out of his chair and saw what was happening.

"We're here live at the 14th annual Ninjaball Run, where it looks like the Ninja are back in the race and now have a long shot at winning this year's massive cash prize!" the announcer said as the screen showed the Ultra Sonic Raider racing through the city before changing to the trophy.

Garmadon’s face twisted with rage as the other villains wisely took a few steps back. "They're trying to save the dojo?! Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" he roared at the Storm King, cowering on the floor.

"Hey, I just thought it didn’t matter, considering how far behind they are!" the Storm King explained frantically before Garmadon groaned.

"Argh! Set sail for the race at once!" Garmadon ordered one of the Serpentine. "We can't let them win!"

Back at the race, the racers had left the city and reached the Badlands. Bolt and Scrip were in the lead with Derpy in second and the Darkley’s Foals in third. They were soon coming up on the Ghastly Gorge. Seeing how their Jalopy would not fit through, Bolt pressed a button, releasing the balls from the wheelsto make it easier to pass through the opening while making it harder for the other racers to catch up to them. One of the balls even hit Derpy in the face. Bolt then pressed another button making spikes pop out of their wheels as they enter the Gorge.

Derpy finally manages to get the ball off her, only to nearly get run over by the Skull Truck. “Hey, watch where you’re driving!” she complained as Kruncha and Nuckal just laughed.

Salt-Beak’s van then came up to the Darkley’s Bus as a pirate aimed the roof-mounted cannon at him. Daisy saw this and then rammed the bus against them, nearly causing the pirate to fall off. “Treachery, me lads! Let 'em have it!” Salt-Beak ordered. The pirates then bumped into the bus before it bumped them back.

Daisy then noticed the entrance coming up, noticing how narrow it was, "Uh oh," she muttered before giving a hard shove to the pirates causing them to crash into the wall as they rolled right in.

"Ouchy-mama!" the main announcer called out. "Pirates are out of the race!"

The Mane Six and the others cheering for the Ninja looked relieved.

“Well, that’s one opponent down,” Rarity noted.

“Why do I let you drive?!” Salt-Beak asked No-Eyes before he yelled in frustration.

The Royal Blacksmiths rolled past them while singing acapella. “So long, A-do. You're wrecked and looking blue. Doo-doo, doo-doo. So, here's a song and here is a tune…” they sang as they rolled into the canyon as Salt-Beak walked out.

“Blast ye scurvy knaves! I'll get you for this!” Salt-Beak swore as the Blacksmiths, the Skull Truck, the Serpentine Bus, and the police cars zoomed past them. No-Eyes wandered around blindly as the Ninja’s Sonic Raider was rolling up on him.

“Left!” No-Eyes’ rat squeaked as he walked in the path of the Ultra Sonic Raider before he squeaked again, “No, your other left!” No-Eyes turned around just in time before the Raider zoomed past him.

"Ha, ha, ha! We're no longer in last!" Thunder cheered as they were catching up to the other racers.

“Nothing can stop us now!” Gaia declared before Flash noticed a large shadow over them.

He looked up and his eyes widened. “Umm, I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” he said as Trail looked up too and saw the Black Bounty over them.

“Oh no, Garmadon!” He said as the other looked up to and saw the ship too with Garmadon and the other villains.

“What?!” Thunder said.

“And look who’s with him!” Landrush told them as they saw three familiar villains with them.

"King Sombra, the Storm King, and Nightmare Moon?!" Flash shouted in shock. "As if having Tirek and Chrysalis back wasn't bad enough!"

“There they are,” Chrysalis smirked.

One Serpentine turned to Garmadon. “Lord Garmadon, are you going to ussse the Mega Weapon?” he asked.

"What's the point? Look at them." Garmadon pointed right where the Ninja are with an evil grin. "They're trapped like rats. Set all cannons to fire."

"This time, there's nowhere for them to run," Nightmare Moon grinned as the cannon aimed at the Ninja.

"Ack! We're sitting ducks! There's nowhere to run!" Thunder panicked.

"And are those cannons?" the main announcer asked as they all saw the Black Bounty aim its cannons right at the Ninja. "I would not want to be in the Ultra Sonic Raider right now!"

“Oh, I can’t watch!” The second announcer cried before looking to camera and smiled, “But you, the fans can, in glorious high definition!”

The Mane Six and the rest of the Ninja’s friends and allies gasped in dread, when they saw the Black Bounty aimed right at the Ultra Sonic Raider, but they were even more shocked by the most recent additions to Garmadon’s alliance.

“King Sombra?!” Cadence exclaimed in shock.

"The Storm King?!" Silverstream shouted in fear, but tried to remember what the Tree of Harmony taught her.

"And...me?!" Luna exclaimed when she saw Nightmare Moon on deck. "But that's impossible!"

Wu then noticed the golden axe in his brother’s hand. “Not with that!” he said, pointing to the Mega-Weapon.

Twilight looked carefully, “Is that… the Golden Weapons?!” she exclaimed. “Garmadon must’ve reforged them into that Mega-Weapon!”

“That’s how he rebuilt the Bounty!” Starlight realized.

“And how he created those pirates and those fake us’s!” Rainbow added as they watched the Ultra Sonic Raider trying to no avail to avoid the cannon.

“They can’t get out of the way!” Aqua exclaimed.

Dareth covered his eyes. “I can’t bear to look!” he said in despair.

As the Black Bounty hovered above the Ultra Sonic Raider, a couple of Serpentine were manning the cannons as they aimed them right towards it, ready to fire. "Goodbye, Ninja!" Garmadon declared as he howled with laughter.

But just before the cannon could fire... "Out of the way!!" The six heads of Ultra Dragon and Lloyd shouted as they ram into the back of the Bounty. That caused it to lean up, with the cannon misfiring and allowing the Ultra Sonic Raider to just barely dodge the cannonball.

"AHH! LLOYD!" Garmadon yelled as he and the others were knocked off their feet.

"Sorry Dad!" Lloyd apologized.

"It was their fault!" Wisp said.

"Was not!" The other heads argued as the arguing restarted.

"Nice going!" Flash told Lloyd over the coms.

Lloyd tried to reach for his reins but then he fell and hanged from them in front of the Ninja.

"You saved us!" Gaia told Lloyd and Ultra Dragon.

"We did?" Lloyd asked, before he smirked. "I mean, yeah, we did!"

"Well, me mostly." Nimbus bragged.

"You did not, windbag!" Shard retorted as Nimbus growled and the heads argued again.

"Hey, what do you say we work together?!" Lloyd suggested before the heads could argue again.

"Yeah! I say let's show ‘em what we Ninja are all about!" Thunder exclaimed.

"NINJA, GO!" All seven of them shouted as Lloyd hopped backed on his seat on Ultra Dragon and continued the race.

Lloyd then looked to the heads as they were still arguing, "Guys, come on! If we're gonna win, we need to do it together!" Lloyd pleaded to them. "So for the sake of the Dojo, please..."

"EVERYDRAGON, SHUT UP AND FOCUS! WE GOT A RACE TO WIN!!!" All six heads roared in unison as they picked up speed.

"Whoo-hoo! Haha!" Lloyd cheered as back the Bounty The Legion of Doom and the Serpentine got back on their feet.

"They're getting away!" Garmadon shouted as the Bounty was stable again.

"Uh, why don't you use your Mega Weapon?" A Hypnobrai asked.

"Because he can only use it once a day before it saps all of his energy, you scaly idiot!" Tirek reminded them.

"And who's going to slap you around to get this ship moving?!" Garmadon shouted before he did just that as the Hypnobrai yelled in pain. "NOW GET THIS SHIP MOVING!!"

"Okay, you heard the evil lord!" The Hypnobrai told the other Serpentine as he rubbed his cheek. "Full speed ahead!" The Bounty opened its sails as the flew faster.

"No one shall defeat me, even in competition. I will win this race!" Garmadon declared as the race was now truly on.

Back at the start, the crowd cheered as the monitor showed the Ninja working together to win the race. “Yeah! Go get ‘em, guys!” Sandbar cheered.

“Looks like our leaders are just about to enter the second leg of the race,” the second announcer said, “into the Everfree Forest.”

The racers entered the Everfree Forest as Thunder's parents were still in the lead. Creatures like manticores, cockatrices and timberwolves watched the vehicles rush past them, too lazy to want any trouble today. The Royal Blacksmiths were catching up but then they clipped a branch and spun off the track. They soon crashed in a big pile of leaves off the track.

"Too big, too big~ Too slow, too slow~ We had a lead~ But let it go~" they sang as the Ninja zoomed past them and Landrush rolled his eyes.

“Oh, Celestia,” he groaned.

“We'll never get through those trees to catch up,” Gaia told them. "I wish I still have my powers."

"We'll find a shortcut! Up, guys!" Lloyd told the others as he had Ultra Dragon flew up higher above the trees. “Hey, you guys actually went up!” he noted.

“Hey, teamwork makes the dreamwork, right?” Flame told him before he noticed a path passed the trees, and then they dove down. “Follow us!” he told the Ninja as they took the shortcut.

“Whoo-hoo!” Lloyd cheered as they made a sharp turned.

“Yeehaaaww!!!” Rocky whooped.

Thunder noticed their excitement and chuckled. “Wow, they’re getting the hang of it!”

“And it looks like we've made up the lost time,” Landrush said as they were catching up with the leaders.

“And every meter counts at this point! Let’s punch it!” Flash told them as they increased speed.

However, they were so busy picking up speed that they did not see that Nuckal had seen them being led by Ultra Dragon and put two and two together, “They’re working together!” he told Kruncha.

“Not if we can help it!” he remarked as he put the Truck on auto-pilot before he and Nuckal jumped onto the grapple cannon. They then fired the skeleton hand at Ultra Dragon.

The claw then grabbed on their back leg. “Whoa, we’ve been grappled!” Rocky yelled as he, the other heads, and Lloyd screamed and crashed into the swamp water.

“Oohh, I heard of hook, line and sinker… but claw, chain and crasher?” Orchy groaned as Lloyd rolled next to them. Kruncha and Nuckal laughed at their dirty deed, but if they had been paying attention, they would have noticed the grabble cannon’s chain had reached its limit. They soon screamed as they were pulled back, wrapped around the tree before crasing into the swamp themselves.

The crowd at the start gasp as they saw a double crash from both the skeletons and the dragon. “Oh no, Lloyd!” Cozy cried out as Rarity fainted.

“Ooh a nasty crash!” the main announcer winced, “More racers are out of the race. Hope they're okay.”

"Yeah, but if they're not, stay tuned for the slow-motion relay!" the co-announcer told anyone who is watching at home.

Back in the Everfree Forest, the Skull Truck was upside down and had lost two wheels as both Kruncha and Nuckal popped out of the swamp and started squabble-fighting each other as they blamed one another for their crash.

Nearby, Lloyd wades through the water and up to the downed Ultra Dragon. “Are you okay there, guys?” he asked.

The heads nodded. “Yes, at least we got them back in the race.” Shard told them.

“We may have crashed, but we crashed as a team,” Wisp told them as the other heads and Lloyd smiled and then turned to the Ninja rushing after the leaders. “It’s all up to them now.”

Back at the start, Dareth was sobbing before the announcers went up to him. "Excuse us, but you're all friends of that colt dragon rider, aren't you? Tell us how you feel," the main announcer said as he holds up the mic to Dareth.

“Oh, I feel terrible. This is all my fault. The only reason he and the Ninja entered this race was to save my dojo, because I was too busy bragging about myself to pay my bills,” Dareth admitted his guilt. “If they don't win and get that prize money, developers are gonna tear it down, leaving all my poor foals without a training center to help enrich their tiny little lives,” he gestured to his students who looked sad as well.

The crowded ‘aww’ed at Dareth’s reason before they agreed what to do. “Dojo, dojo, dojo!” the crowd chanted as they all stood up and the Mane Six, Spike, Aqua and the others looked around in amazement.

“Wow,” Spike breathed out.

“Too cool!” Smolder grinned.

"I don't know if you can feel it up there in the booth, but down here it appears the crowds have found their favorite racer, the Ninja!" the main announcer declared as the crowd continued to cheered for them.

"Oh, oh, I feel it, all right!" the co-announcer said. "But they better buckle their seatbelts, because next up is the most dangerous part of the race--"

"--the Frozen North!" the announcer said as on the snowy mountains some yaks were playing in the snow.

But then they got the surprise of their lives when the racers zoomed right passed them. "Hey! Creatures watch where creatures going!" one yak shouted.

Skales was behind the wheel of the Serpent Bus as the police were still giving chase. "I can't ssshake them!" he cried as he took over the wheel, but then the police moved around them and took the lead ahead of them.

"They aren't interesssted in catching you," Acidicus pointed out as they realized what they were really doing.

"Thossse coppersss just want to win the race!" Skales confirmed as the race was now heating up more. The police sandwiched Derpy between them only for one to flip over, and the other to crash into a Yak igloo.

Derpy smiled, thinking she was in the clear only to yelp when she crashed into a snow-yak that took her place on her bike. "Oh… Well, there goes my ride," Derpy sighed.

This only left the Ninja, the Foals, Thunder's parents, Skales and the other Generals, and The Legion of Doom in this race. Trail looked in the rearview mirror and saw they were finally in the lead, “Haha, finally. Nothing can stop us now!” he cheered before he noticed the engine started sputtering and the flames were dying down.

“Hey, what’s happening?” Gaia asked, noticing they were beginning to slow down.

Frost then saw their fuel meter was very low. “Oh no. We used up all of our fuel. We’re never going to make to the finish line.”

“And we can only keep up this downhill pace for so long,” Flash added as the Sonic Raider was using gravity to keep the lead.

“Oh, I hate to say it guys, but I think our goose is cooked,” Thunder told the others before he heard a horn honking and noticed his parents pulling up next to them.

“You ponies look like you could use a hoof there,” Bolt said as they kept their speed steady. “We heard on the radio that you're all trying to save Dareth's dojo!”

“Oh, yeah, we're so proud of you, son!” Scrip told Thunder.

Thunder smiled, “Oh, thanks, mom, but we're out of gas,” he told her.

“Ooh, then take ours. We don’t mind,” Scrip told her son. “We only entered this race to test out the Jalopy’s new features, and they work like a charm!”

“But how?” Thunder asked as he noticed the remaining racers were still behind them. “If we stop, we'll lose the lead!”

Bolt took out a fuel hose and smiled in determination. “Well, then we'll just have to do this the hard way, son,” he said as he got out of the car as Scrip took the wheel. He moved towards the filler cap, opened it up, inserted the hose, and held the other end out to Thunder. “Now, take this end, son!” he told him.

Thunder got out of the Sonic Raider and moved to the back, but he looked down and gulped at the snow blowing pass them. “Uh, keep it steady!” he told his friends as he came up to the Raider’s filler cap and opened it.

“Here you go, son!” Bolt said as he passed Thunder the hose and he hooked in up to the Sonic Raider.

“Ready, dad!” Thunder told his dad as he pulled a lever down, starting to transfer the Jalopy’s fuel to the Ultra Sonic Radar.

Meanwhile, above them, on the Black Bounty, Garmadon was angry that they were still behind them.

"We're not fast enough!" Nightmare Moon complained as they were falling behind. "We should be pulling away!"

"But we're up to maximum ssspeed!" A Hypnobrai told her before Garmadon grabbed him by the arm.

"Then get rid of the excess weight!" he ordered, which left the Hypnobrai confused.

"What excess weight?" He asked before Sombra stepped up.

“Oh nothing, just YOU!” Sombra yelled before he bucked the Hypnobrai off the Bounty and the other villains threw the other Serpentine off as well and down into the snow.

Some of them even landed on the room of the Serpentine Bus. “What was that?” Skalidor asked.

“Do something useful for once and slow those Ninja down!” Chrysalis ordered as the Serpentine got up and moved closer to the Ninja and Thunder’s parents.

Gaia looked behind her and saw the Serpentine coming towards them. “Boys, we’ve got company!” she told them.

One Venomari crawled over the Serpentine Bus’s roof and looked down at the windshield, “Ssskales?!” she said in surprise.

“Get off the windshield! I’m trying to win a race!” Skales demanded before he knocked her off with the windshield wiper.

The other Serpentine soon jumped off the bus and land on the Ultra Sonic Raider. “NINJA, GO!” Thunder shouted as he did Spinjitzu, knocking them off. “Need some help, guys!”

Frost, Gaia, and Landrush came out as Trail and Flash kept driving. “We've got your back. NINJA, GO!” Frost said as he did Spinjitzu, knocking a Constrictai off the Raider. A Fangpyre was reaching for the gas hose before Landrush noticed him.

"Oh no you don’t! NINJA, GO!" He shouted as he did Spinjitzu and knocked that serpent off just in time.

"NINJA, GO!" Gaia shouted she did Spinjitzu when a Venomari jumped on the Jalopy, but was quickly punched off by her. “Whoa!” she screamed before Landrush grabbed her. “Thank you, Landrush!” she thanked him.

“No problem!” Landrush said as a Hypnobrai tried to tackle him from behind.

“NINJA, GO!” Thunder yelled as he used Spinjitzu on the Hypnobrai, punting him away. “You're welcome!” he said to Landrush as he pulled Gaia back onto the Raider.

Another Hypnobrai landed in front of Frost and smirked, “Look into my eyesss, Ninja,” she commanded as she tried to use her hypnotic powers on Frost, but the white stallion turned his head all the way around to avoid the waves. “Oh, that is ssso grossss!” she said, greatly disturbed.

“Hey, down here!” The Hypnobrai looked down just in time to see Gaia and Landrush, throwing snowballs them at her, blinding her. “Haha, looks like we’re good at working together!” Landrush said to Gaia.

“Indeed!” She said with a smile before she turned to Frost, “Now, Frost! Give him a good spin! And please turn your head back around”

After turning his head back around, Frost faced the now blinded Hypnobrai. “NINJA, GO!” he shouted as he performed Spinjitzu, knocking her off. But she ended up getting thrown over to Bolt and Scrip's Jalopy, accidentally grabbing the wheel and turning it. This caused the vehicle to spin out of control and crash into the Ultra Sonic Raider as the Ninja screamed in surprise.

Skales screamed as the vehicles were spiraling straight for them and crashed into them. Daisy screamed too as she quickly turned the bus to avoid it, but the snow-yak on Derpy’s bike landed on the windshield, the snow sculpture scaring her and causing her to crash too.

Back at the start, the crowd gasped at the crash that most of the racers had been in while Rarity fainted again. “Not again!” Twilight cried out, hoping Flash was okay.

“I can’t take this anymore!” Dareth distressed, covering his eyes again.

The Black Bounty flew over them while the Legion of Doom were surprised by what happened. “...Well not exactly what I thought they’d do,” Chrysalis commented.

"Well, let's get going before they have a chance to recover!" Garmadon shouted as the Bounty was heading its way towards the finish line. Luckily for the Ninja, they managed to survive the crash and had a full tank.

“Come on! Garmadon and the other villains are getting ahead!” Flash told the others as they climbed in but Thunder hanged back.

“Wait! Stop!” he told them before he rushed towards his parents who were safe and sound. “Oh, thank goodness you’re okay!” he said with relief as he hugged his parents.

“Oh, we’re fine, son,” Bolt assured him as they broke apart and he and Scrip frowned at their wrecked vehicle. “Just wish I could say the same for the old Jalopy.”

"Yeah, shame she didn't get to the finish line," Scrip said before Thunder saw a small headlight was loose.

He then grinned before he took it off. “Well, I’ll make sure a part of her will,” he told them as he rushed back to the Sonic Raider and put it in the top part. He then leapt into his suit. “Come on, we got a dojo to save!” he said to his friends before Flash restarted the engines and the raced down the mountain.

“Go make us proud, son!” Bolt said as he held Scrip close.

The Ninja were now making their way through the Dragon Lands and trying to catch up to the Bounty. "Looks like it's just us, Garmadon, and his villains!" Landrush told his friends.

"This time, let's make sure that the nice guys don't finish last!" Trail declared as they zoomed under the Bounty.

The villains were on the bridge, thinking they had this in the bag before the Storm King looked below. "Um guys, I don’t know if this counts as ‘important’… but they're passing us!" he told the others as they saw them zoomed past them on one of the monitors. That was the final straw for Garmadon.

"That's it! I hate those Ninja!" he roared before he held up his Mega Weapon. "It's time! You think you can beat us, Ninja?! This race is ours!" he yelled.

"You might want to stand back," Tirek told the villains as they gave Garmadon some space he looked at the weapon.

"Hear me, Mega Weapon. I wish to rip open the Dragon Lands and make an insurmountable obstacle that they can never surpass!" he commanded as the Mega-Weapon surged with energy and mixed with Garmadon’s magic.

The ground of the Dragon Lands began to crack as it split open, creating a massive divide with lava flowing through it. Flash saw the river of lava and stopped the Raider just in time as the Black Bounty flew across easily. "Argh! That's totally cheating!" Thunder exclaimed as they backed up.

"Guys, it's impossible to cross that divide," Frost told his team as the Bounty was getting further away and closer to the finish line.

Garmadon was on the floor panting while the others villains were looking outside, shocked by the sight of the ravine. “Incredible,” Sombra said in awe.

“Wait, I thought you said that Mega Weapon thing couldn’t destroy stuff,” the Storm King asked Tirek, “Wouldn’t a giant crack in the ground count as ‘destroying’?”

"Not quite. Garmadon wished to create an obstacle that they can't pass," Tirek told him. "Now they can't catch up to us or finish the race."

"Ha, ha! We did it!" Garmadon told them as he was getting up after being drained from the Mega Weapon. "Did you see that? We win!”

“So, unless they learn how to fly, their Dojo is doomed!" Chrysalis said as they all laughed.

Back with the Ninja, they were backing away from the ravine. “Oh, we’re not gonna win now,” Thunder groaned.

"Wait a minute. This ain't over," Flash declared as he remembered the lever Aqua told them about. "Everypony, hang on!" Flash then put the Raider into full throttle and headed towards the obstacle at full speed.

“Um Flash dear, you do realize we’re heading straight for that river of lava, yes?!” Gaia panicked, thinking Flash was gonna do something crazy.

“I haven't had time to think it through, but just trust me,” Flash told her as he kept up the speed. “Oh, what was it that Sensei said? You gotta have trust!”

Landrush raised a brow. “Yeah, in each other, not in miracles!” he retorted.

Soon they were just a few feet from the ledge as Flash gripped the lever. “Aqua, don't fail us now,” Flash as just when were near the edge. “Alright, NOW!” Flash pulled the lever and then the top part of the Sonic Raider popped off and turned into a jet.

“NINJA, GO!!” Frost, Thunder and Landrush did Spinjitzu as they leapt on the Sonic Raider jet.

“She turned this part into a jet?!” Trail said in amazement.

“Ha ha! Trail, I officially LOVE your sister!” Gaia grinned as they flew across the lava river.

Back on the Bounty, the villains were congratulating themselves over their victory when King Sombra noticed the Ninja coming towards them in a jet.

“Umm, everyone?” he said before pointing outside. They looked as their laughter died down, giving way to looks of shock.

"No! No! No! NO!!" Garmadon roared before he put the ship at full speed.

Back in at the finish line everycreature cheered. “They pulled the lever!” Aqua declared.

“Now nothing can stop them!” Rainbow said as they all chanted for the Ninja. Both the villains and the Ninja were now raising through the streets of Equestria City straight towards the finish line. Both were neck and neck as they were coming close.

“It looks like it’s gonna be a photo finish!” The first announcer said as the Bounty and the Raider crossed the Finish line as Photo Finish managed to snap the photo and landed on the other side. The crowd came down from the stand lifted the Ninja up as they cheered.

"We won! We won!" Garmadon shouted after he and his Legion of Doom jumped off the Bounty.

"Clearly, we passed the finish line first!” the Storm King shouted.

"Ladies and gentlcolts, we have a winner!" The announcer told them as they draw their attention to the screen. With the photo finish showing them the small piece of the Jalopy on the jet over the finish line, meaning... "THE NINJA! THE NINJA HAVE WON!! BY A HEADLIGHT!"

The crowd cheered loudly as Thunder took off the head light and held it up in victory. "Yeah! I knew it would bring us luck!" Thunder declared.

The villains however were in denial. "Wait, what no! That's not fair!" Garmadon argued.

"That wasn't even part of their vehicle in the first place!" Chrysalis added.

"Is that even street legal?!” the Storm King asked.

"I don't know, and I don't care! They cheated! They used two vehicles in this race!" Tirek protest.

"We demand a rematch!!" Sombra demanded.

"Our ship was--" Nightmare Moon trying to argue but a familiar voice interrupted her.

"Your ship?" They turned to see Lloyd and Ultra Dragon standing on the Black Bounty with a serious look on their faces. "I believe this belongs to us!" he told the Legion of Doom.

"No, no, NO!!" Garmadon cried out before Tirek tapped on his shoulder looking nervous. "NOW WHAT?!" he demanded before he noticed the Ninja and their allies had them surrounded. "Oh dear."

"Looks like your time has come, Garmadon." Twilight told him before the Serpent Bus pulled up in front of him and Skales opened the door.

"Look who needsss who now?" he mocked before they quickly climb the board and drove off.

"Darn it, they got away!" Gallus grumbled.

"Well at least we found out how Garmadon created all those things before," Starlight said.

"And we got the Bounty back," Thunder said before frowning at the evil paint job. "But it looks like she’s gonna need some TLC before she's sky-worthy again!"

"Let us lend you a hoof with that darling," Rarity told him as she and the others stood side by side to each other. "But I have a feeling that won't be the last we see of them."

"We did it! We did it!" Dareth cheered as the trophy holding the cash prize was in front of him. "Whoo-hoo! We saved my dojo! And look what I can do!" He then jumped into the large trophy filled with gold bits. "Cannonball!!" Everyone laughed at their victory at the race, saving the dojo and getting the Destiny's Bounty back.

Chapter 5: Foal's Play

In Ponyville, a ball was kicked around by a young filly and her friends as they played a game of hoofball together. Hovering above them on the main deck of a familiar flying ship, Lloyd was looking down at them playing, enviously watching them fun that he could be having.

Ever since the Ninjaball Run race to save Dareth’s Mojo Dojo, the Destiny’s Bounty had been restored to its original state as the Ninja’s flying headquarters, after they took it back from Garmadon and his Legion of Doom. "Lloyd? Lloyd!" Flash called out that and snapped Lloyd out of it. "Concentrate!"

"Now that the Bounty is in our possession again, we can train you more effectively. But you'll have to focus," Frost told him. "One more time."

"Ah, but we've been training all day," Lloyd complained.

“It's all to get you ready to face your father, sweetie,” Gaia told him. “And now that we know he’s got a Mega Weapon, an army of snakes, and five villains, you will need all the training you can get.”

“Now, in position,” Landrush ordered.

Lloyd let out a sigh as the Ninja put up their hoods and he stood in front of them. Lloyd let out a yawn as the Ninja took a battle stance.

“Whatever,” Lloyd sighed as he gestured for them to come at him.

Trail charged at Lloyd first, trying to catch him with a diving kick but the colt punches him in the chest, knocking him back. The Ninja were surprised as Lloyd yawned again, like it was nothing. Both Frost and Thunder leaped into the air as they were attempting to attack Lloyd.

"NINJA, GO!" Lloyd shouted as he did Spinjitzu before jumping in the air and knocking the two down.

When Flash and Gaia charged at him while he was in the air, Lloyd did a double kick to them and knocked them down. Landrush then charged at Lloyd from behind, catching him off guard as he was flung in the air before crashing onto the deck. The Ninja stood up and took off their hoods as Lloyd looked up at them.

"That was fun! Are we done?" Lloyd asked.

“Oh, come on. You're better than this,” Thunder pointed out. “What's on your mind?”

Lloyd gets up and explains. “Well...The latest issue of Starfarer just came in at Doomsday Comix and it's a limited run, so if I don't go out and get it, it's going to sell out,” he told them as he paced across the deck. “Last they left off, intergalactic rogue Galactic Ranger was surrounded by the Imperial Sludge, and if I don't find out if he gets out alright, I think I might have my own doomsday!”

"The fate of Equestria rest on your shoulders," Flash reminded Lloyd. "As the Light Ninja, you have a giant responsibility to hold. I'm sorry, but you don't have time for such childish things."

"Other foals get to play and have fun," Lloyd pointed out as he looked back down at the foals playing. "All I ever do is train. And the only friends I have are the ones too busy at school to even hang out with me."

The Ninja felt sorry for Lloyd, it was bad enough he was destined to fight his father but also the fact he could not enjoy his childhood. Just then Aqua and the Mane 6 rushed up on deck.

“Guys! There's been a break-in at the Equestria City Museum of History, and witnesses outside saw you-know-who going in!” Aqua alerted the Ninja, who pretty much knew who was behind this.

“Garmadon!” Landrush growled.

"We have to stop him before he uses the Mega Weapon to start another one of his diabolical plots!" Thunder exclaimed.

Lloyd walked over to them and was about to ask something before they gave him a look that told him he knew the answer already.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Lloyd complained. "I can't go, and it's safer if I stay here and train."

"Mm-hm!" All six Ninja agreed before the Bounty made its way outside of Equestria City and the Ninja were in the Ultra Sonic Raider, ready to head out.

"We'll meet up at the Bounty as soon as we're done," Trail told his sister.

"We'll be waiting for your save return," Aqua remarked before they drove off to the museum.

Lloyd sighed. “Too old for comic books and too young to fight,” he complained. “When are they gonna make up their minds?”

“They only want what’s best for you Lloyd,” Twilight told him with a smile. “You’re like a little brother to them.”

“I know,” Lloyd said.

"Come on, pint-size," Aqua spoke up with a grin. "Show us what you got."

Lloyd let out a yawn as he knew he was not going to enjoy more training.

Night falls on Equestria City as the Ninja were sneaking their way into the museum where Garmadon and his Legion of Doom are. They used a rope to sneak in and hid on the higher levels.

Gaia quickly shushed the boys. “Look,” she whispered and pointed to Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, The Storm King, Nightmare Moon, and the Serpentine walking in.

Skales was holding a flashlight and looking around until he shined the flashlight on a Serpentine painting that looked nothing like any of the tribes. "Boy, did they get that wrong,” he said as they continued to look around.

“Yeesh, you’re telling me,” The Storm King commented.

“Why would come to a mussseum if we weren’t going to sssteal anything?” Acidicus questioned as Skales’s eyes landed on a golden sarcophagus.

"Because Master Garmadon has another plan to destroy the Ninja." Nightmare Moon reminded him.

"‘Massster’ Garmadon? Huh!" Skales scoffed. "He's no master of mine! SSSince hisss so-called Mega Weapon hasss failed every time, I don't sssee why we don't call our own ssshots."

“Because this time, I will not fail!” Garmadon shouted causing Skales to jump and drop his flashlight and staff, as the light shined on Garmadon and a large skeleton behind him.

"Yes, Lord Garmadon," the Serpentine Generals, minus Skales, and the other villains said as they bowed to him.

"Yesss, Lord Garmadon." Skales said in an unhappy tone as he bowed as well.

"So, what's with the dino skeleton behind you? If that’s the kind of creature that likes to munch on pestering pastel ponies, then you may be too late at recruiting,” the Storm King asked as he approached Garmadon.

“That’s not just any creature,” Tirek corrected his cohort before walked up to the skeleton. “I heard tales of this beast from Sendak the Elder, said to have been a personal favorite of Grogar’s upon its creation. That is a skeleton of the Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalicus, otherwise known as...”

“The Grundal,” Garmadon finished before adding on. "Although now extinct, in its time, it was the most feared and dangerous creature in all of Equestria, with claws that could slice through steel, heightened senses that could detect its prey from miles away. It could track the stealthiest of Ninja, and once it had picked up your scent, there was no hiding from it."

The Ninja listened from above as Gaia turned to the others. “The… the Grundal? I’ve heard about them,” she whispered. “My grandfather once told me that they were so vicious that even dragons stayed clear of them.”

"Boy, I'm I glad we live in an age where we don't have to deal with those things,” Thunder whispered.

"I wouldn't say that,” Flash whispered as he has a pretty good idea of what Garmadon is up to.

"Thanksss for the history lesson, but what are we going to do with a pile of bonesss?" Skales asked.

"I am going to make it so the great beast shall walk again!" Garmadon told him.

Skales looked unconvinced however. "Yeah right. Well show us then!” he challenged as Garmadon turned to the skeleton.

"Rise, Grundal, and feel the strength of the Mega Weapon," Garmadon declared as he raised the Weapon up. "I wish to create the power to make you young." Both his and the Weapon’s power merged as a purple smog coiled around the skeleton, causing it to rattle and jerk about. "Turn back the clock so that you are no longer extinct… but hungry… Hungry for the Ninja!"

Flash deadpanned as he remarked, "Yup, I thought that's what he'd do.”

Thunder then turned to him, "Oh, no, he's trying to bring it back?!"

"Not if we have any say in the matter," Frost told him as they pulled out their weapons and made themselves known.

"The Ninja are here!" Chrysalis shouted. "Stop them until he finishes the resurrection!” she ordered the Serpentine, who threw their spears at the Ninja as they ran along the side.

"Rise, Grundal! Rise!" Garmadon shouted as the Ninja were coming close and the skeleton shook even harder.

"We can't let him finish!" Flash shouted as they ran above the skeleton.

"Go!" Landrush told them as they leapt onto the skeleton.

"Stop them!" Garmadon ordered as the Serpentine ran next to the skeleton and thrusted their spears right at the Ninja.

"This is not a solid plan, Landrush!" Frost warned.

Suddenly, magic blasts from Chrysalis, Sombra, and Nightmare Moon were being shot at them. The Ninja were so occupied with stopping Garmadon, they failed to notice the Weapon’s magic was absorbing into them as well. Frost, Gaia, Thunder and Landrush were knocked off the skeleton leaving only Trail and Flash to stop Garmadon.

"It feels pretty heated up here!" Trail shouted as they tried to stay on.

"I have a plan!" Flash told him. "On three, throw me up in the air! One…” they ducked under a couple of magic blasts. "Two…” Flash tossed up his bo as they continued to thrust their spears at the two. "Three!" Trail tossed Flash up in the air as he fell back and Flash kicked his bo at the right time and angle right towards the Mega Weapon before he fell on top of the others. The bo managed to get a direct hit on the Mega Weapon and knocked it out of Garmadon's grasp, stopping the Grundal from being revived.

Garmadon trembled with rage. “Not again. NOT AGAIN!” he yelled in anger.

“And you said it wouldn’t fail,” Skales mocked.

"Retreat!" King Sombra ordered as the Serpentine made their way out and Garmadon quickly picked up his Mega Weapon.

The Ninja stood back up as Trail leapt back down. “Ha-ha! We stop them! It didn’t work!” Thunder boasted as Garmadon grabbed his Mega Weapon.

“Curse you, Ninja!” he cursed as ran to the exit.

“You can’t keep winning forever. Someday, we will defeat you!” Nightmare Moon promised as she ran out as well.

"Ha, ha. Well, I thought we handled that well,” Thunder bragged before he saw Skales and the other Serpentine Generals pick up one of the artifacts. "Hey, hey! They're trying to steal the golden sarcophagus!"

The four realized they were spotted and slithered as fast their tails could go. The Ninja chased after them as they burst out of the doors and saw them slithering down the streets.

“After them!” Gaia shouted.

Surprisingly, the four Serpentine Generals were faster than them as they slithered down a street and saw a manhole when they turn a corner.

"That'sss our way out of here!" Skales told them.

Skalidor opened the cover and they tried to push the sarcophagus in but were unsuccessful, “It won’t fit!” he told the other three.

“Forget it!” Skales told him, “Let’sss get out of here! If they catch usss, we’re on a one-way trip to Tartarusss!”

As the Ninja ran after them, they did not notice that their legs were becoming shorter. Skales then closed the manhole cover and disappeared into the sewers. The Ninja then peeked around the corner, only to find the Generals were gone and the sarcophagus was left behind.

"Ah. I can't believe we couldn't catch up to them,” Thunder complained, but his voice sounded different. Almost… higher. "I'm usually faster than that. It's as if my legs were half the size."

"I don't remember that thing being so big,” Trail said, also sounding different. "Did it grow?"

"Or did we shrink?" Frost asked as he sounded different as well.

"What's wrong with your voices you three?" Gaia asked before she noticed her voice was different as well. "Wait, what's wrong with my voice?"

Flash looked towards the window. “Um, guys?” he said, his voice also different. They looked to the window, noticing in the reflection that they were now half their original size.

Thunder gasped as he flipped up his hood. “WE SHRUUUUNNNKKK!!!!” he screamed as they looked down at their bodies too.

"No, we're... we're kids!" Flash corrected as they took off their hoods before all six of them screamed in shock and fear at what they are now.

“Oh, oh, oh, this is bad! This is so bad on so many levels!” Thunder yelled in panic.

“Oh, it’s impossible!” Landrush tried to deny as he turned to Frost. “We must be dreaming, Frost! TELL ME WE’RE DREAMING!!”

"If we were, Luna would have shown up by now!" Frost pointed out. "Perhaps Garmadon succeeded in turning back the clock, but instead of reviving the Grundal, it only affected us."

"Yeah, but you're a Nindroid!" Thunder pointed out. "And Nindroids don't turn into kids! Explain that one, genius!"

"I've extended my logic parameters, but nothing is coming up!" Frost explained as he looked at himself. "This does not compute!" Sparks fly as his eye twitched.

“Okay, I get it. We’re all in this together,” Gaia said before she started panicking again. “Oh, but I can’t be a child again! I hated being a child! You can't go anywhere by yourself, grownups force you to wear what you don’t want to, nopony listens to you!" Gaia then let out a gasp. “Oh, no… There’s something even worse than those things… EARLY BEDTIMES!!” she screamed before she lied down in a fetal position, frantically sucking on her hoof as if to calm herself down.

“Gaia, get a grip!” Landrush shouted, shaking Gaia out of her trance. “We’ll find a way out of this jam!”

Gaia blinked before she took a calming breath, and then smiled at Landrush. “Thank you Landy,” she thanked before she gave him a nuzzle as the brown colt blushed lightly.

The others approached as the two broke apart. “We told Aqua we meet back at the Bounty,” Thunder told them. “I’m sure Sensei or Twilight will know what to do.”

“Well, at least things can’t get any worse,” Flash said before they heard sirens.

A police chariot in front of them and blinded them with their bright lights before two stallions stood in front of them.

“Way to jinx it, Flash,” Trail grumbled.

“Well, well, what do we got here? Looks like we've caught our culprits to the museum heist. Who would have thought it was just a bunch of brats?” One of the officers joked as he noticed their outfits, “What have you got on, Little Rascals? Pajamas?” he and his partner laughed.

"These aren't pajamas! We're Ninja!" Thunder told the officers.

"Yeah, yeah, and I’m Star Swirl the Bearded,” the second officer joked as the two laughed again.

Flash frowned, “You won’t be laughing long,” he told them. “NINJA, GO!” He did a Spinjitzu motion, but instead of sucking up the officers, the tornado flipped the other Ninja on the Chariot. “Oh, no, our Spinjitzu doesn’t work while we’re this size!” Flash said as he cancelled his Spinjitzu.

"Easy, kiddo," one of the officers said as they used their magic to pick them up. "You six are coming with us to the precinct."

"Look, officers, this has been a great misunderstanding,” Flash spoke up. "We were trying to catch the ones who really stole it."

“Hey, you can tell all the stories you want when we return to the museum tomorrow to explain why you stole this,” the second officer interrupted him.

“B-But we didn't steal--” Trail tried to explained

“Zip it,” the second officer cut him off as the Ninja were tossed into the chariot. “You have the right to remain silent.”

The first officer then snorted, “Heh, kids.”

He and his partner then hooked up to the chariot and galloped off as nopony noticed a strange creature walking out from the alley ways, growling in hunger.

The next morning, Lloyd was reading a comic book with Cozy Glow, while Wu, Aqua, and Twilight looked out into the city, waiting for the Ninja to come back. "Oh, they should be back by now," Aqua said worryingly.

"Oh, I fear something horrible has happened to them," Wu hypothesized as he walked over to Lloyd who was still reading his comic book. "Lloyd, you're in charge of the Bounty while Twilight, her friends, Aqua, and I have a look around town."

Lloyd quickly switched to his textbook on Ninja weapons when he was called on and looked at Sensei Wu.

"Also, the CMCs and our students from the school will be here as well to help out with your training." Twilight added. "And watch over the hatchlings while I'm gone too.”

"Uh... Yeah, sure thing." Lloyd responded as Cozy nodded. As soon as they left Cozy pulled out the comic book.

“What Sensei doesn’t know, won’t hurt us.” Cozy said with a grin.

“Alright, Cozy, looks it’s just you, me and Space Ranger against the Imperial Sludge.” Lloyd said as they opened the book together.

Back at the museum the Ninja, minus Frost, were kneeling in front of the curator. “We’re sorry for stealing,” they apologized.

"But we didn't,” Frost pointed out. "I don't understand."

"Shh. The quicker we get out of here, the faster we can figure out how to return our bodies back to normal,” Flash whispered to him.

"I'm sorry for stealing too,” Frost quickly said as he kneeled as well.

"Thank you, children, for returning the sarcophagus. You did the right thing,” the curator told them with a smile. "But what about the skeleton?"

Gaia stood up, “Um, I’m sorry sir, but what skeleton? We never stole any skeleton,” she told him.

“The Grundal skeleton,” he explained as he pointed to where the Grundal skeleton was.

“The Grundal skeleton?” Thunder repeated as they turned to see all that was left were the metal beams that kept the skeleton up. “It’s gone!” The Ninja then huddled together. "You don't think..."

"It just walked out of here?" Flash finished what Thunder was going to ask.

"Theoretically, it is possible that if Garmadon successfully reversed the years on us, he reversed the years on the Grundal and brought it back to life,” Frost theorized.

"That means it's back and we're putting everypony in danger here,” Trail added.

The other gasped in shock before they turned to the adults. “You guys have to believe us! The Grundal's been brought back to life and it's on the loose. Its sole existence is to hunt Ninja and as long as we're here, everypony's at risk!” Thunder exclaimed, to which the three stallions laughed.

“I take you don’t believe us?” Gaia asked rhetorically and she was answered as she and the five colts were thrown onto a bench.

“Well, we'll keep a good look out for anything that goes bump in the night, okay?” one of the officers said. “Now, you six sit still until we call your parents to come pick you up,” he instructed as he and his partner turned around.

"We gotta get out of here,” Landrush whispered to the others. "Like, now."

"But how?" Thunder asked.

Flash soon noticed a group of school-aged foals walking behind them, likely on a field trip. An idea struck him.

"I got it! Ditch the Gi’s and follow my lead,” he told them as they quickly took off their uniforms.

They carefully snuck up behind the children before taking some of their extra clothing to blend in with them. Trail wore a red hoodie, Thunder wore a baseball cap and a blue t-shirt with a butterfly, Gaia wore a green frilly dress and white framed sunglasses, Frost wore a white shirt with a number 13 on it, Landrush wore a violet shirt a star pattern, and Flash wore a yellow shirt and black jacket.

When the officers noticed that the “children” were surprisingly quiet, they turned and saw they were gone. “Huh, where’d they go?” one of the officers said.

Back with the Ninja they were walking with the rest of the foals out of the museum, “Oh, this is so humiliating,” Thunder complained.

“I know. This reminds way too much of how my mother made me wear the most embarrassing dresses,” Gaia added as she fiddled with her sunglasses.

“I'm afraid if we can't use our Spinjitzu, we'll be no match for the Grundal,” Frost reminded them.

"Then we have to get back to the Bounty,” Flash told them as the foals are exiting the museum. Once they were out, the six of them ran away and had to find a way back to the Destiny’s Bounty.

However, their escape had not gone unnoticed. “Huh, hey where are you going?” the teacher (Noble Heart) leading the students called out before he heard something above him. “What was that?” He and the students all looked up on the roof as they heard a growl. "Hello? Is anyone there?” They then saw the Grundal with blood red scales, cold dead white eyes, and green saliva coming out of its maw. "A monster!"

Everypony ran for their lives as the Grundal jumped down from the roof and started running.

Once they got away from the school group, they headed back to the Ultra Sonic Raider to head back to the Bounty… except there was one little problem.

"Aww man! We're too small to drive!" Trail said as none of them could reach the controls or gas pedals.

"Let's just take the bus,” Gaia suggested as they got out and waited by a bus stop. "Any of you still have some bus tokens?"

The colts checked their pockets and Flash managed to pull out some. The bus came to stop and opened the door to them. "Excuse me sir, but me and my friends need a ride," Flash told the driver.

"Where are your parents?" the driver asked. "If you're going to climb aboard, you're going to need parental permission."

"Uh… we… uh…,” They tried to come up with an excuse before the driver closed the door and drove off.

"Did I mention… how I hate being a child?" Gaia deadpanned.

"Any other ideas?" Trail asked before Thunder noticed a phone booth.

"I got one!” he said. "Give me a boost!”

They went over to the phone booth and Thunder got a boost up from Landrush and Trail. Thunder put in a bit and took the phone after pushing a few buttons. "Collect call, please.” Feeling his support to be a little imbalanced, he looked down at the two colts. “Hold me steady."

Back on the Destiny’s Bounty, Lloyd and Scootaloo were playing a game while Cozy, Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom watched the baby Serpentine. "I never liked snakes, but these little guys are pretty cute in a way." Sweetie Belle said as the Young Six came in.

"Everything okay in here?" Sandbar asked.

"Yeah, just about to beat Lloyd!" Scootaloo bragged as her avatar was overpowering Lloyd's.

"Oh no, you're not!" Lloyd told her as he did a combo move with his avatar.

"Cool. I call playing the winner!" Smolder called out.

"But shouldn't we be training Lloyd?" Ocellus asked.

Lloyd just waved her off, “Aww, don’t worry. I’ve done plenty of training today. This is the first time I’ve been able to fun in a long while,” he said before the phone started ringing.

“Who could that be?” Cozy asked as she picked up the phone. “Hello, Destiny’s Bounty. Cozy Glow speaking.”

“Cozy, it's Thunder! Let me talk to Wu!” Thunder shouted on the other end.

"Thunder?" Lloyd asked as he heard his voice, taking the phone from Cozy. "Where are you guys? Why haven't you returned? Sensei Wu is out looking for you."

"Ah! Apparently, you need parental permission to take the bus and we can't seem to get out of the city!" Thunder complained, leaving them confused by what he just said.

“Say what?” Gallus asked with a raised brow.

Thunder groaned again “Oh, never mind, it's a bit complicated. Just meet us at Buddy's Pizza in ten minutes. And bring our weapons,” heinstructed them.

"Weapons?" Apple Bloom asked. "But we gotta keep watching the baby Serpentine."

“Then bring them with you! It’s an emergency!” Thunder yelled as the kids all covered their ears, with Lloyd and Scootaloo falling from their chairs.

“Okay, okay! Yeesh!” Silverstream told him as they rushed to the weapon cabinet, muttering to herself. “The way he’s talking, I swear he acts like a kid sometimes~”

The group soon arrived at Buddy's Pizza with the weapons Thunder asked them to bring and were looking around for the Ninja.

"Really?! Out of all the places we could have meet, you chose this place?!” they heard a colt complained.

"What? I like their pizza,” they heard another say.

“Psst! Guys…”

They turned and saw five colts and a filly sitting at table next to them.

“Hey beat it, brats. We’re kids on a mission,” Smolder said as they pressed on.

Suddenly, one of them, a yellow colt, stopped the Young Eight and the CMC. "It's me, Flash Sentry,” the colt told them.

The group gave another look at the six foals before they let out a gasp and they dropped the weapons.

“Holy Celestia!” Sandbar yelled.

“What happened?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Wh-What the...how did..." Gallus fumbled his question.

"Ninja ponies were...but now they..." Yona was completely baffled.

“Whoa! When did you get so...” Silverstream tried to say.

“Your...uh, uh…” Lloyd stammer.

"SMALL!!" All eleven of them shouted everypony in the room looked at them when they did.

"Keep it down!" Trail whispered to them. "We're trying to lay low."

"Look, this was Garmadon's doing,” Flash explained. "His Mega Weapon not only turned us into foals, but unleashed a creature whose sole purpose is to hunt down Ninja."

"Typical Garmadon,” Landrush rolled his eyes.

“And now, every time we try to tell a grownup what’s happening, they won’t believe us, ‘cause we’re kids!” Thunder finished, slamming his hoof on the table as the real kids picked up the weapons and started laughing.

"I don't see why you all find this funny!" Gaia glared at them.

"We know we shouldn't laugh… but it's so ironic," Scootaloo said through her laughter.

“Yeah, you give us grief about being kids, and now the shoe is on the other hoof,” Smolder told them.

“Well, I guess you know what we feel, being treated differently every day,” Lloyd said as they placed the weapons on the table.

"Look, this is serious,” Frost spoke up. "If we don't turn big so we can use our Spinjitzu, we don't stand a chance against the Grundal."

"What do you mean by that?" Cozy Glow asked.

"We're too small so our Spinjitzu doesn't work right,” Trail explained.

"But what about me?" Lloyd spoke up. "I know Spinjitzu."

"Yeah, but we don't know the Grundal,” Flash pointed out. "We all need to be at full strength. But we need to do first is find somepony who might know more about how to defeat one of these things."

Lloyd noticed a colt on another table reading a comic book. Soon, an idea just popped into his head.

“Lloyd, focus!” Landrush chided him.

Lloyd just chuckled and smiled. “Heh, I am,” he said as turned to them. “I think I know just the guy.”

The group followed Lloyd to a building with a large neon sign that says "Equestria Doomsday Comix" and they entered to find some foals reading comics. "You brought us to a comic book store?!" Landrush asked.

Lloyd looked pretty determined though. "Trust me. If there's anyone who knows how to defeat a monster that doesn't exist, I know just the pony to talk to,” he explained as they walked around the store.

"We're not going to pick up your stupid comic, Lloyd!" Flash told him as they stopped. "This is serious business.”

Thunder saw a comic book on one of the shelves and picked it up. "Oh, look. A first edition "Daffy Dale." I used to love that nut growing up,” Thunder laughed before he noticed his friends looking at him strangely. He soon cleared his throat. "So juvenile.”

The Ninja shook their heads while the CMCs, Cozy and Silverstream giggled.

"Geek!" Smolder snorted as Lloyd guided them to the counter.

"Everyone, meet Comic Marvel…" Lloyd introduced the stallion behind the counter, a light-red bearded pony with his mane done in a ponytail and wearing a T-shirt that read on the front… "…aka, 'Mother Doomsday'."

The stallion smiled at the colt. “Well, if it isn't Lloyd ‘Hemorrhoid’ Garmadon,” he greeted before he frowned sympathetically, “Sorry if you came looking for the latest Starfarer, I'm all sold out.”

Lloyd looked like he was gonna have a panic attack, “Wh-- Sold out?!” he screams, causing everypony to look at him.

“Lloyd, remember why we’re here!” Cozy whispered to him.

Lloyd calmed down and turned back to Comic Marvel. “Actually, Mother Doomsday, we need help.”

“Well, color me intrigued,” Comic smiled in interest.

"We have a problem," Apple Bloom stepped up. "There's a Grundal on the loose, and we need to know how to deal with it."

"Ah, a theoretical question," Comic remarked, intrigued by the ‘hypothetical’ query.

“Uh, yeah, theoretical!” Gallus confirmed, “So, whaddya got for us?”

Comic then walked towards to section of the store that held info about the Grundal. “Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalicus.” He took a breath before continuing. “Although extinct, there has been a plethora of film, television and comics exploring the mythology around the primordial predator.” He then grabbed a nearby comic, showing the Grundal. “Supposedly, they always get their prey,” he explained.

“Sounds like he knows his creatures,” Gaia whispered to the others.

"Twilight was so wrong about comic books." Cozy Glow whispered.

“Can it be stopped?” Sandbar asked.

“First thing you need to know is its thick shell-like hide is invincible to swords, scythes, nunchucks, bo staffs, sais, and throwing stars.” Comic listed as the Ninja realized that those were their weapons that he said were useless against the Grundal. “So your cheap imitations will do nothing to slow him down.”

"Swell,” Landrush said sarcastically.

"Second of all, it's nocturnal and will only hunt at night," Comic told them.

Scootaloo wiped her brow. "Oh, good, it's still daylight, so we can just relax for a while,” she said as Comic looked at her in confusion before she realized what she said and cleared her throat. "I mean, uhh, theoretically speaking."

"But how does creature smash nasty Grundal?" Yona asked.

"The only way to defeat one is with light," Comic answered as he put the comic down. "Like a vampire, with enough of it, it could potentially destroy it.” He then guided them to a cabinet. "If I had my weapons of choice, may I recommend the Illuma-Sword?” He opened the cabinet to show six toy swords, each in a different color. "These are authentic replicas that would come in handy, were you to live long enough to actually face a Grundal."

"Aren't these just toys, though?" Sweetie Belle asked, "If a real sword won't work, how will these be any better?"

"Well, if swords are your thing, maybe I can interest you in an authentic Ninja Gi, signed by the very Ninja that saved the city," Comic offered as he pointed to a glass cabinet with mannequins of the Ninja color Gi’s.

The Ninja felt a wave of awkwardness as those were suits that they wanted to get rid of after they shrunk in the wash.

"Uh, thanks but we'll just take the toys," Flash said as he reached for the Illuma-Swords.

"Not so fast," Comic said as he stopped him. "This Starfarer combo pack can only be won in the Galactic Ranger Trivia Battle Royale,” he pointed to some fillies and colts wearing costumes in a corner. "Do you have what it takes to be the best?"

"Well, we might not be able to, but I know who does," Cozy said before turning to Lloyd.

Lloyd looked nervous before Flash slapped his back. "You can do it Lloyd!” he said.

"Nopony knows Starfarer better than you!" Gaia encouraged.

"Sign me up!" Lloyd declared as the others cheered.

Twilight, Wu, and Aqua returned to the Bounty and find no one there. "Great, now the kids are missing," Aqua complained. "What's next?"

Twilight looked worried, "Oh, I hope they’re taking care of the Serpentine babies,” she said before she noticed the phone beeping. "Wait, looks like they left a message,” she said as she pressed a button a played the recorded message.

"Sensei! We're at Doomsday Comix. Garmadon turned the others into foals, and we're about to face a real life Grundal!" Lloyd said in the message. "If you get this message, this isn't a prank. Come quick!"

"Flash and the others… are now foals?!" Twilight said.

"A Grundal?!" Aqua added.

"WHAT?!?” they yelled in unison.

Wu hummed in concern. "Oh, dear, there is only one creature who can help turn the Ninja back to normal,” he told them.

The three quickly traveled to the tea shop in the village Wu and the Royal Sisters traveled to acquire the Traveler’s Tea, walking in to see the old mare here. "Hello, Mystake, we need a special tea."

"They're all special, you old fool." Mystake told him.

"Well, the tea we're looking for is one that can make somepony," Twilight started before glancing at Wu and then clearing her throat, "older."

Mystake smiled. "Oh, you seek Tomorrow's Tea. I only have one in stock in back,” she said before walking into the storage room. "Follow me.” They followed her into the back room as she started to look on each shelf. "It should be here."

"It's gone?!" Aqua asked with concerned.

"Just misplaced," Mystake assured her. "I know it's here somewhere."

"We need to find that tea before it's too late!" Wu told them as they searched the shelves for the tea.

Back at Doomsday Comix, it was turning to night as Lloyd was now facing off against a colt cosplaying as Galactic Ranger for the last two questions, “It's down to the final two. This question is for Lloyd!” Comic said, gesturing to Lloyd.

"Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd!" the crowd cheered.

"What is Galactic Ranger's famous catchphrase?" Comic asked.

"'Fear’? ‘Fear’ is not a word from where I come from.’" Lloyd answered with confidence.

“Correct!” Comic declared. “We're all tied up.”

The crowd cheers as the cosplay colt looks at Lloyd unimpressed, while Lloyd smirks at him. As they keep celebrating, Frost looks out the window and saw the day was turning to night. “It's getting dark,” he noted to the others. “The Grundal will be on the prowl soon.”

“Meanin’ that varmint will find us before we find it!” Applebloom added.

Trail looked confident. “Don't worry. I got faith Lloyd can win those Illuma-Swords,” he assured before they heard slurping and turn to Silverstream and Thunder, who were eating some cotton candy.

“Silverstream, Thunder, is this really the best time to be eating cotton candy?” Gaia asked.

“What? It helps me stay calm in tense situations,” Silverstream explained.

“And it makes me feel young. Deal with it,” Thunder added as he continued eating.

Then Comic spoke, “Final question, The first person to answer this will win.” He then turns to Lloyd and the Cosplay Colt. “In the latest issue of Starfarer, how did Galactic Ranger escape the Imperial Sludge?”

"Uh… it… uh… But I haven't read the latest issue!" Lloyd said before his opponents spoke up.

"By reversing the polarity of the ship's gravity transducer,” he answered.

"We have a winner!" Comic declared as the crowd cheered but the Young Seven, the CMCs, and the Ninja as they slouched in defeat.

“Drat!” Smolder complained.

"This is our fault. We should have let Lloyd get that comic if we knew this was going to happen,” Flash said before the Serpentine babies hissed. “Hey, what’s wrong kids?” he asked before the lights went out.

“Who shut off the power?” Comic asked before they heard a rumbling sound as the front sign fell off.

“Oh, no, it’s here,” Gaia said as they heard a muffled growl.

“What’s here?” Comic asked in worry.

"You know that theoretical discussion we had earlier?" Thunder asked with a nervous laugh.

“Well… what if we told you that it wasn’t exactly theoretical?” Cozy asked sheepishly as they saw a shape above them.

Comic shook his head, “Not the…” he said before The Grundal steps on the glass, cracking it as looked down.

“GRUNDAL!!!” they all screamed as the Grundal ran across the roof.

"We've got to get out of here!" Frost shouted as he and the group made their way towards the exit. Both Landrush and Yona tried to open it, but the sign was blocking it.

“Door stuck!” Yona said as they looked up and saw the Grundal charging at them again.

“Look, it’s coming!” Sweetie Belle said before it smashed the glass and feel in front of them, “AHHH! WE’RE DOOMED!!!” she screamed.

"Doomed as Brick Sarsovski in the Phoenix War, page 15!" Comic shouted as everypony before they left under its tail and it destroyed the glass cabinet with the Ninja suits. The Grundal turn its attention to the frightened ponies when it heard them.

"This way! We can't let it eat anyone!" Flash told the other Ninja as they ran over to the suits and took them before grabbing the Illuma-Swords.

“Hey McNasty Face! I thought Ninja were on your menu!” Landrush taunted as the Grundal turned to the Ninja as they waved the glowing swords at it. The light hurt its eyes as they pushed it back.

“It's working!” Thunder said as they kept waving their swords at it. Thunder then leaped over and hit the Grundal, only to break his toy sword. Just as Trail and Frost did when they tried and the only ones who had their own intact are Flash, Landrush, and Gaia.

"Stupid toy!" Gaia complained before the Grundal knocked all six against the front counter. It then opened its jaws, dripping with green saliva as the Ninja screamed.

"Not to worry, I'll take care of this!" Lloyd said as he jumped up from behind the counter.

"Lloyd!” the other Ninja shouted.

Lloyd powered up his horn in a bright light that hurt the Grundal. It was working very well before it swung its tail and knocked Lloyd down. It then opened its jaw again and was ready to devour its prey.

"Oh, gross!" Landrush shouted. "This is the end, isn't it?!"

Suddenly, a burst of magic burst open the door before Twilight, Aqua, and Wu came through, just in time.

"Everypony out! Now!" Aqua ordered as the foals rushed out.

"Flash, guys, use this!" Twilight shouted tossing them the Tomorrow's Tea.

Thunder caught the tea. "What is it?” he asked as the Grundal snapped at them.

"It'll turn forward the hands of time, turning you old, and reducing the Grundal back to dust and bones!" Wu told them as they jumped back from the Grundal. "But be careful. There's no turning back!"

"Grundal, prepare to be extinct!" Thunder shouted as he was prepared to throw it at it before Flash quickly stopped him.

"Wait!” he said as he, Landrush, and Gaia held up their Illuma-Swords and made the Grundal move back a bit. "What about Lloyd? He'll get older too!"

“You’re right! Lloyd, you gotta move now!” Gaia said as they turned to him.

“There’s no time! Just do it!” Lloyd told them.

“You’ll miss out on the rest of your childhood dude!” Thunder argued.

“And if you do grow older then that means the day you have to fight your father will come sooner than we thought!” Flash added.

“They’re right!” Trail said, “We can’t do that to you! It’s not fair!”

The Grundal growled before knocking the swords away and knocking the Ninja back. The tea fell out of Thunder's grasp and landed on Lloyd.

"‘Fair? Fair isn’t a word from where I come’!" Lloyd declared, channeling his inner Galactic Ranger before he stood up and threw the tea at the Grundal, causing a vapor to burst out.

Wu, Aqua and Twilight gasped in shock. “He used it!” Wu exclaimed as they watched the Grundal spin around, its scales and flesh blowing right off, revealing its skeleton.

“And it’s working!” Aqua said before the skeleton exploded in a blast of light and fell to the ground. Then the Ninja emerged from the scattered bones, now finally aged back to normal.

“What happened?” Trail asked.

Gaia cheered. “Ha-ha! It worked! We’re not kids anymore!”

“Looks like Mystake was right!” Twilight smiled.

Comic looked shocked to say the least. “They are the real Ninja,” he breathed out.

“We could’ve told you that,” Gallus commented.

Cozy looked worried however. “But, where’s Lloyd?” she asked.

Her question was answered when a stallion came out from the wreckage, and everyone was shocked to see who it was. The pony looked like Lloyd, except…

"I'm...older,” he said slowly as he looked himself over, speaking in a deeper voice after having skipped puberty and looking more around the Young Six’s ages.

"The time for the Light Ninja to face his destiny has grown nearer," Wu said as Lloyd felt concerned about it at first before the other Ninja stood by him and gave confidence smiles.

“I’m ready,” he said.

Trail gave a low whistle. “Look at you!” he commented bumping Lloyd’s shoulder. “Looks like the Tomorrow’s Tea was pretty kind to you.”

“I agree. You look like a prime example of a young stallion,” Gaia added before Lloyd glanced at his flank.

He then sighed sadly, “Well, I would if it weren’t one small thing,” he said as he showed them his still blank flank.

“Oooh,” Thunder, Trail and Gaia said as Flash, Landrush and Frost winced sympathetically.

"Don't worry," Apple Bloom sand as she and her friends stepped up. "As the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we’ll help you find what you're meant to do."

"Thanks," Lloyd said before he walked over to Cozy. "And Cozy, just because I'm older now, doesn't change the fact that you're still my best friend."

Cozy smiled as the two nuzzled. "So does this mean… you can give me a piggyback ride?" Cozy asked, Lloyd chuckled and lowered himself so Cozy could climb on.

They all walked out of the store and headed back to the Bounty but not before Comic stopped Lloyd for a moment. "Here you go, Lloyd,” he said, passing him a comic. "You can have my copy of Starfarer. You deserve it."

Lloyd just smiled and took it. "Well, I already know how it ends, but I think there's somepony else who might want it,” he said before passing it Cozy Glow as she squealed and started reading as they rushed after the others.

The picture soon became like an illustrated comic page, specifically the end page that would leave the story on a cliffhanger, revealing the now of-age Lloyd, holding up an Illuma-Sword with his magic and wearing his Light Ninja Gi as he stood before Lord Garmadon, as Wu’s voiceover came.

There comes a time when we all must grow up. When that time comes, it's important not to forget the lessons of our childhood because our childhood is the greatest training one can ever have. Yes, the time until the final battle has grown shorter, but the Light Ninja has grown stronger.

Chapter 6: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

It was a new day on the Destiny’s Bounty, and the Mane Six, Starlight, Spike, and the Royal Sisters had come over to review Lloyd’s training. Naturally, they were shocked by Lloyd’s extreme growth spurt, but despite the change, they still treated him like the same old Lloyd; Rarity even volunteered to make him some new clothes.

Currently, Lloyd was meditating while the Ninja surrounded him with their weapons drawn, while Wu, the Mane Six, and the Royal Sisters were watching. “Your new body is a fighting instrument,” Wu told his nephew.

“Like every instrument, it has a melody that it alone can play,” Celestia added.

“Listen to it, and only then will you continue to improve it,” Luna finished before Landrush made the first strike only for Lloyd to back-kick him away. Thunder swung his nunchucks at Lloyd, only for him to it and threw him over his shoulder. Lloyd then grabbed both Trail’s sword and Gaia’s sai from either side, locked them with each other, and tossed them aside and then he barrel flipped. Lloyd then jumped over Frost's shurikens when he threw them, causing them to cut into the watermelon Trixie brought in. She shot a glare at him when they were thrown at her.

"Since that young’un’s had his growth spurt, he's been movin’ faster than a rabbit on a sugar rush," Applejack complimented at Lloyd's skills. “Not to mention, he’s been pickin’ up things quicker~”

“But will it enough to defeat Garmadon and his villains?” Fluttershy asked.

“Only time will tell, young Fluttershy. Only time will tell,” Luna answered as Flash spun his Bo and then pointed it at Lloyd. He then jabbed it forwarded but Lloyd caught it. They were caught in struggle as Lloyd powered up his Light energy. But then at the last second, Flash pulled his Bo away, breaking Lloyd’s focus and causing him to fall over.

"Ha, ha," Flash chuckled before he helped Lloyd up. "You're getting pretty good, but that move you fell for was Spinjitzu 101."

"Yeah, if I had focused more when I was little, I would have seen that coming," Lloyd complained once he stood up.

"We cannot change the past, but we can improve for the future," Wu told his nephew. "Again. And this time, do not hold back."

“Um, guys? hate to interrupt but you might want head back on deck,” Aqua said over the Comm, “Frost’s Falcon just came back.”

They all rushed to the deck as the robotic bird landed on Frost’s foreleg.

"He's returned with troubling news," Frost said as a chip was removed from the Falcon. "What did you see, my mechanical feathered friend?"

The chip was plugged into the main monitor of the bridge and they all saw what the recording was.

“Hey, isn’t that--?” Spike started as they saw on the screen was a recording of the Legion of Doom overseeing the Serpentine training in a familiar city.

"The Lost City of Ouroboros!" Rarity said in awe. "But I thought it was destroyed when the Great Devourer was unleashed."

"They must have rebuilt it when we took back the Bounty," Flash theorized. "And it looks like they're preparing for a fight."

"Or an invasion," Twilight corrected. "They're gonna try and catch us by surprise."

"Then sounds likes this is gonna be more of a final battle," a mare's voice told them before they turned around and saw Tempest enter the bridge with Grubber right behind her.

“S’up ponies~ Miss us?” Grubber said with a wave and wink.

"Tempest, Grubber! You got my message!" Twilight said excitedly when she saw her as she trotted over to them and shared a hoof bump with the mare.

Tempest smirked and walked up to her. “Hey, you promised me a second shot at the Storm King, so how could I refuse?” she asked before turning to Flash. “So, you’re Flash Sentry, the coltfriend I heard so much about.”

Flash blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “Hehe, yup, that be me alright.”

“Well, you take care of her, you here? Or I’ll show you what I can really do,” Tempest warned with a grin and her horn sparking while Twilight just rolled her eyes.

Flash made a nervous chuckle and saluted. “Uh, yes ma’am.”

“Hey, if you got time to be a protective big sister, then we’ve got time to head to that Ouroboros place and kick some bad guy booty!” Grubber declared, giving off random punches and kicks.

Wu then turned to Aqua with a serious expression. “Aqua, you heard the hedgehog, change course. We'll head straight for them,” he said as Aqua saluted.

“As for the rest us, prepare for battle,” Celestia instructed. “Tonight, we end the threat of Garmadon’s Mega Weapon once and for all.”

As the Bounty changed direction towards the Lost City, the Ninja, Aqua, Wu and all their friends and allies prepared themselves for the fight.

That night, the heroes quietly snuck off their ship and into the city. Meanwhile Garmadon and the villains were overseeing the Serpentine upgrading their vehicles. "More firepower!" Garmadon demanded. "When we attack the Ninja, they won't see it coming!"

"I for one, am just itching to wipe the cute little smiles off those ponies when we invade them.” the Storm King said with a grin.

“And once we eliminate them, nothing will stop us!” Tirek added with a smirk.

"Our forces will be so strong, Equestria will be ours!" Chrysalis declared. "And I will take my rightful place as Queen of the Changelings once again!"

"And those fools will pay for ignoring my beautiful night!" Nightmare Moon growled.

“And I will finally rule the Crystal Empire!” Sombra smirked.

“And I will finally overthrow my foolish brother, Scorpan, reclaim my throne!” Tirek added, clenching his fist.

Little did any of them know that the heroes have already snuck their way into the city and once they were all in position, it was time.

"NINJA, GO!" Wu appeared in a Spinjitzu in front of his brother before stopping.

"Oh, brother!" Garmadon complained before Celestia and Luna dropped down beside Wu. “And sisters.”

“This ends tonight, Garmadon!” Luna declared before turning to Nightmare Moon. “And as for you, I’ve waited a long time for this chance!” she snorted from her nostrils.

Nightmare Moon simply chuckled, “I assure you, little Luna, the feeling is mutual!” she said as she powered up her magic.

“Well, I think you’ll find we are not without our allies,” Celestia added as the Ninja, Mane Six, Starlight, Trixie, Tempest, Grubber, Spike, and Aqua appeared, with their weapons armed.

“Oh, it’s you two,” the Storm King said boredly as Tempest growled as her horn sparked and Grubber got in a boxing stance.

"Oh please, you just made it easy for us to take you down, now that you're here!" Tirek told as he and the other villains stood by Garmadon.

"Bring it on, fools!" Garmadon shouted as he was about to use his Mega Weapon before Lloyd jumped in and his horn glowed white as a beam of ice shot at the weapon and froze it. Garmadon looked at the stallion who froze his weapon and was shocked when he recognized the Gi he wore. "L-Lloyd? Is that you?” he breathed out.

“Wha-what?!” Chrysalis gasped.

“When did?!” Sombra added in shock.

“Who did?!” Tirek sputtered.

"Yeah. I've grown a little since the last time you saw me, dad." Lloyd told them.

"And you can thank that Grundal you sick on us." Flash added.

“Along with turning us into foals!” Gaia grumbled as the villains looked weirded out.

“Say wha?” the Storm King asked with a raised brow.

Garmadon looked at the Mega Weapon in surprise. “This weapon is more powerful than I thought,” he murmured.

“But now, give up or else we’re going make you extinct too!” Lloyd threated as he stepped forward as his father was torn between using the Mega Weapon while his son was right in front of him.

"Stop them!" Garmadon ordered as he and the other villains ran away. As the Serpentine kept the heroes busy, the villains ran into a house and Garmadon beat the ice off his weapon as he shouted in anger. “Ah! Blast these Ninja and their friends!” he yelled as he smashed the Mega Weapon against the wall.

"I… can't… TAKE IT ANYMORE!!” the Storm King shouted with rage as he flipped a table. "ALL THIS FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE AND PONIES AND BLAAA!!"

"If only the Ninja weren't around!" Nightmare Moon snarled. "If only they never existed, then Equestria would have been ours sooner!!" After Garmadon freed his weapon from the ice, he looked at Nightmare Moon with a grin.

"That's it! We stop the Ninja from being brought together!" Garmadon told his Legion of Doom.

“How?” Chrysalis asked.

Garmadon then raised the Mega Weapon. “Like this: I wish to go back in time and make it so the Ninja were never formed in the first place!” he commanded the weapon as its power merged with his magic, creating a portal before them. Strangely though Garmadon did not feel tired, “Hmm, that’s odd, the Mega Weapon didn’t drain my power this time.”

"Who cares about that?!" Sombra told him. "Now we can finish the Ninja once and for all, so that your son never becomes the Light Ninja!"

"And Equestria will ours, forever!" Tirek declared before they all jumped through the portal just as the heroes burst through the door.

“Where’d they go?!” Rainbow asked looking around the room.

“All I see is that big portal thingy,” Pinkie pointed to the vortex.

Gaia grumbled, “Oh great, Garmadon used the Mega Weapon again.”

"Oh, swell!" Thunder complained. "Every time he uses that thing, something really bad happens!"

"The question is: what did he wish for this time?!" Flash asked before the door behind them closed on its own and sand begin to rise below them.

"What in tarnation is happening?!" Applejack asked.

“Is it just me, or is the sand starting to rise?” Grubber asked as he and Spike jumped onto Tempest and Twilight’s backs.

“Not exactly, I think the city’s returning back into the desert,” Twilight said. “Almost like it was never...Oh, no,” she said realizing what was happening.

"Like what?!" Thunder shouted with concern.

"As if the city was never found in the first place!" Starlight told him as she came to the same conclusion. "That's a portal to the past! They must have gone back in time!"

“To make it so Lloyd never became the Light Ninja!” Frost finished as they all turned to Lloyd.

“I can’t...I can’t feel my hooves,” Lloyd said as he felt himself fading.

"We have to go in and stop them!" Flash shouted as he and the other Ninja were the closest to the portal.

"If they change anything in the past, they change everything in the present!" Wu warned his pupils.

“One small change in the past can snowball in avalanche of trouble for the present!” Twilight added. "Protect our future, Ninja!"

The Ninja then jumped into the vortex as Twilight turned to the others, “Now let’s head back to the Bounty and hope they succeed!” she said as they waded through the sand.

Meanwhile in the vortex, the Ninja were screaming before they fell out and crash-landed in a river.

“Ohhh… remind me to pack a helmet next time we travel across space and time,” Thunder asked as they resurfaced.

"Where are we?" Landrush asked as he looked around.

"You mean when are we?" Frost corrected.

"Look!" Gaia pointed out a bunch of creatures heading towards Canterlot.

"Canterlot? But, where are those creatures off to?" Trail asked before Flash realize what point in time they landed at.

"I think I know,” he told them. "This is Twilight's coronation day and the day the Skeletons attack. We gotta warn them--!"

Landrush halted him, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ninja Charming! You heard what Sensei and Twilight said. We change anything in the past, it’s gonna create an avalanche of trouble for the present,” he reminded him.

“Uh, yeah I’m still confused by what they meant by that,” Thunder added.

"What he means is, our world is the result of past events that have already happened," Frost explained. "If for whatever reason events in our past failed to happen, then the future could radically change."

"I thought I sensed a little temporal magic," a familiar voice was heard before Discord appeared next to them out of thin air, surprising the six Ninja. "Hello."

“Discord?” Flash said, “How did you--?”

“Hello? Does the job title ‘Lord of Chaos’ ring a bell?” he asked as he pulled out in front of them a laminated license that read “Discord T. Draconequus, Licensed Master of Chaosology”. “Did you really think you could make a shift in the balance of Equestria and keep me out of the need-to-know loop? Pffth… hardly.” He gave a smirk as he snapped his claws, sending back the license. “So, what brings you to this moment in time, hmmm?”

"Okay, before we get to you, I just want to confirm something," Thunder said before he looked at Frost. "So, what you're saying is, we got to stop Garmadon and his Legion of Doom from changing anything.” He then looked back at Discord. "Pretend you didn't hear that part about you know."

"You know me: I live to keep Skeletons in my proverbial closet. My lips are sealed," Discord said as he literally zipped up his lips.

"But I don't understand," Gaia spoke up. "Out of all the times they could have gone, why did they choose this time period?"

"Because this is where it all began," Flash said as he saw himself in the training yard. "Today is the day I first met Sensei and began my training as a Ninja. Somehow Garmadon is gonna prevent that and we got figure out how."

Landrush sighed, "If only Sensei were here to guide us,” he said before they saw the old stallion in question walking into the city.

"Oh Look, there he is!" Thunder pointed out to past Wu making his way to where Past Flash is. "Maybe he can!"

"We gotta tell him what Garmadon has done," Landrush said.

"But we can't let Past Flash, Twilight, or anypony we know see us talking to him, or else it will affect the future," Frost reminded them.

Discord then unzipped his lips and grinned. "Leave that to me, my good Ninja,” he said before snapping his fingers to disappear again.

"A Ninja? Sorry sir, but you're a long way from finding any Ninja around here," Past Flash told Past Wu. "And I'm afraid you're not supposed to be here, for the ceremony isn't until later."

Past Wu scoffed a bit. "Well, I'm just here to find something special here,” he told Flash as he walked past him.

Past Wu then walked out of the training area only for somecreature to grab him from behind. "Sensei, we need your help!" Flash whispered to him before pulling him into the shadows.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute," Thunder whispered as the Ninja took off their hoods. "If we're trying to stop Garmadon from changing anything, wouldn't talking to Sensei kind of be like altering the past, thus changing our future?"

“He’s right. I believe a big ‘Oh pony feathers’ is an order?” Gaia asked.

Past Wu looked at each of them in shock and confusion. “Well, we haven’t changed any major or important events, so I think we’re safe,” Trail said.

“And even we weren’t, we can't undo what we've already done,” Flash said before turning to Past Wu. “Sensei, we really need your help.”

"All Six of you..." Past Wu said with complete confusion. "You... you..."

"Traveled back in time to warn you of impending doom? Yeah, it's a lot more complicated than it looks," Trail spoke up. "But we don't have time to explain. Can you help us?"

“I don't understand, but I can try,” Past Wu said as he stood before them.

“Okay. Any moment now, the Skeletons are going to attack and we think Garmadon may try to hurt me--I mean, the past me,” Flash explained to the old stallion.

“Garmadon?” Past Wu said, as he did not realize his brother was involved.

“Our Garmadon, not yours, at least not right now,” Gaia tried to explained before deadpanning. “Like Trail said, it’s complicated.”

“Right now, we have to do everything in our power to protect Flash’s past self,” Trail told Past Wu before the skies turned dark.

Flash frowned. “They’re here,” he said before he stopped Past Wu from doing anything yet. Everycreature took notice of it, including the two retired princesses, Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and Past Flash Sentry.

Everycreature then heard strange rumbling off in the distance, before Skeleton stallions on odd two-wheeled vehicles rode in, before a big one with four wheels and a giant Skeleton face on the front jumped in. "Oh, oh! Let me go down there first! Oh please, oh please, I've been dying to go down there!" Past Nuckal asked excitedly.

“Oh you nitwit, you’re already dead!” Past Kruncha retorted as behind the truck Garmadon and the other villains were disguised as Skeletons.

"Why did you ever trust these numbskulls?" Chrysalis asked Garmadon.

"I ask myself that question sometimes,” Garmadon confessed. ”But I didn't have much of a choice being trapped in the Underworld."

“Just remember, their failure here will our success later,” Tirek told the villains as they nodded.

“Attack!” Past Samukai commanded as the Skeletons charged into the city.

Everycreature saw the Skeletons approached Canterlot before most of them ran for cover as the royal guards and the rest preparing to fight back. "What are they?" Spike asked.

"Don't know, but they won't hurt anyone here," Past Flash said as he readied his spear. "Stay safe...” he told the princess as he flew towards a few Skeletons. Some of the guards were defending the civilians from the Skeletons as Flash used his spear to knock down a few of them.

Just as it looked like when Past Flash was on the ropes, Twilight and the Mane Six joined the fight. Observing the fight from behind one of the structures the Ninja and Past Wu stayed out of sight. “Well, can we help or not?” Trail asked.

“Don't look at me. I'm wise, but not that wise when comes to people from the future,” Past Wu told him.

“Uh, technically, since the past has already been altered, I don't see why we can't fight a few Skeletons,” Frost said, before turning to Flash. “Just as long as your former self or anycreature else never sees you.”

"Ha! You made my day, my dear Frost," Gaia said as three Skeletons jumped over the wall and she saw them behind them. "I truly missed beating these ruffians up.” She pulled out her sais and took a battle stand. The Skeletons used their arms as weapons before Gaia jumped in, kicked down, and punched them away before using Spinjitzu. “NINJA, GO!” she yelled.

“Sensei, watch out when Samukai throws his daggers,” Flash told Past Wu. “And don’t forget, you have to save me from getting crushed.”

“Huh?” Past Wu said tilting his head.

Flash just moaned and rubbed the back of his head, “Ugh, it will make more sense when it happens.

Back at the battle, Twilight blasted a couple of Skeletons from behind and Past Flash was shocked to see her here.

"Your highness?! It's not safe out here," Past Flash told her.

"I may be the ruler of Equestria, but I'm not helpless!" Twilight told as they continued to fight the Skeletons. She, her friends, and practically everycreature else were working together to fight the Skeletons.

Past Flash soon faced off against Past Samukai who then revealed his six arms. Past Flash gasped in shock before Past Samukai knocked Flash down. Past Samukai then spun his daggers around as he approached Past Flash while he is down.

“Sensei!” Flash told Past Wu.

“I’m on it!” Past Wu said as he rushed into battle. "NINJA, GO!” he did Spinjitzu and knocked Past Samukai back a few times coming to a halt.

"Sensei Wu, your Spinjitzu looks rusty," Past Samukai told him.

"Nothing like bone to sharpen its edge, Samukai." Past Wu responded.

Past Samukai took notice of Past Flash before he looked at a water tower behind Past Wu. Past Samukai chuckled before he threw his daggers right at Past Wu, who dodged the daggers which then hit the legs of the water tower, causing it to tip over. Past Wu saw the tower falling over as Past Flash was trying to get out of the way before he was going to get crushed by it. "NINJA, GO!" Past Wu shouted as he did Spinjitzu and saved Past Flash from being crushed by the water tower as Past Samukai returned to the big machine on four wheels.

“Lord Garmadon says, take the Princess!” Past Samukai commanded but before Past Kruncha could fire Garmadon came up, knocked him aside and deliberately fired the grapple cannon to miss Twilight. “Oh, you missed!” Past Samukai said to Garmadon before commanding to his army, “Retreat!”

As the Skulltruck backed up, Past Nuckal was shocked to two Flash Sentrys. One is wearing a royal guard uniform while the other was wearing a yellow Ninja outfit. "What is it?" Past Kruncha asked, but Past Nuckal could not explained seeing the exact same Pegasus twice in the same place.

"Uh...it's nothing," Past Nuckal told before the Skeletons retreated with the other half of the map to the Golden Weapons.

Back in the present Wu and the Royal Sisters saw dark clouds blanketing over the city. "Oh, my goodness," Celestia gasped. Meanwhile Lloyd began to vanish in the picture with the Ninja and the Mane Six.

Back in the past, Twilight was in a group hug with her friends as Flash saluted to Shining Armor while his future self and the Ninja were behind the fallen Water tower with Wu. "Oh no, this isn't good," Flash complained when he saw Twilight was still here.

"Why? We saved you and Princess Twilight," Past Wu pointed out.

"No you don't understand," Flash said. "The Skeletons were supposed to get away with Twilight. The only reason I agreed to become a Ninja was so I could get her back!"

Wu the understood. "Oh, I see,” he murmured and looked down.

"Well, now that they didn't take her, I have a feeling you're not going to be a Ninja." Discord told Flash.

"Sensei, no matter what, you need to convince Flash to go with you." Frost instructed.

"Why?" Thunder asked as he was clueless about their predicament.

"Because, bolt brain, if Flash doesn't become a Ninja, the world as we know it won't exist," Gaia told him. "The six of us will never unite and get the Golden Weapons. We'll never unlock our elemental powers. We'll never train Lloyd to become the Light Ninja.” She quickly turned to their past Sensei. "Pretend you didn't hear that part.” She then looked back at Thunder. "And most importantly, Aqua will never fall head over hooves for you." That did it.

Thunder zoomed over to Past Wu and grabbed his forelegs. "No matter what, you need to convince him to go with you!” he begged but then covered his mouth when Past Flash and the Mane Six came over and the Present Ninja vanished out of sight.

"Oh thanks for the save," Past Flash thanked Wu. "If it wasn't for your twist-itzu or tornad-zu, I would have been a goner.”

The Present Ninja looked at present Flash after hearing what his past self called Spinjitzu as he gave a nervous grin and scratched the back of his head.

"Spinjitzu," Wu corrected.

"Uh, Spin-what-zu?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Spinjitzu, it's an ancient art where the warrior spin so fast his entire being become a tornado," Celestia told them.

"And at the center of the tornado is a powerful weapon, and that weapon is the warrior," Luna finish before she turned to Wu. "It's good to see you, brother."

“BROTHER?!” the others said in shock.

Twilight than turned to Celestia and Luna in shock. “Y-You never told me you had a brother!” she exclaimed.

Celestia giggled, “Not by blood, but by love,” she explained. “I’m pleased that you came all this way for Twilight’s Coronation.”

“Thank you, Tia, but I’m afraid Princess Twilight wasn’t the reason I came,” Wu said before pointing to Flash. “He was. We must train. You must become a Ninja."

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm fine being a royal guard," Flash told Wu. "And after that attack, I got to help Canterlot get back on its hooves, so--"

"No! You must come!" Wu quickly interrupted. "It is very important that you become a Ninja."

“But, why does he have to?" Smolder asked when she and the other Young Six came over.

“Because… uh… we must harness the swift wind around you,” Wu explained as Flash looked confused. “The fate of Equestria will depend on it!”

Twilight then walked up to Flash. “Hold on, Flash. Maybe there's a reason this stallion came into our lives,” she said. "And I have a feeling that map they stole seems really important, right?” she asked Celestia who gave a nod in response. "If he needs you to become a Ninja, I think you should. I will come too.” she turned to her friends. "What do you say girls, one last adventure, just for old times’ sake?"

“Heck yeah! Who wouldn’t want learn that awesome Spinjitzu move?!” Rainbow asked as the others agreed.

"We'll come, too! We want to learn that move too," Sandbar said as she, Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Ocellus, and Smolder stood before them.

"Okay, but I'm only going to protect you, just in case those Skeletons try and get you again," Flash said before Shining stepped up.

"So will I, just to be safe," Shining Armor said as he gave Flash a look, as if to say 'Keep your hooves off my sister.'

"Very well, we'll keep an eye on Canterlot until your safe return," Celestia assured them.

“Safe journey to you all,” Luna said as they all left to prepare to leave in the morning. From the rooftops the Present Ninja observed.

“Oh, great. He's going. We saved the future!” Thunder cheered.

Frost however ended his celebration. “Not so fast. We still have to make sure he becomes a Ninja, in order for everything to get back on track,” he told him.

“He’s right,” Flash said. “Let’s stay close, but not too close.”

Discord then appeared above them with 3D glasses and popcorn. “Ohohoho, I’m gonna need more popcorn,” he said to the fourth wall before thinking. “Wait, didn’t I say that already?” he asked himself as the Ninja then followed them across the rooftops.

Meanwhile, the Skulkin were driving through the desert while Past Nuckal seemed to be playing ‘Eye-Spy’, “Kruncha, do you see two trees or one?” he asked, pointing to a pair of trees ahead of them.

"Two, you imbecile!" Past Kruncha shouted in an annoyed tone.

"Stop fooling around!" Past Samukai told Past Nuckal. "We failed our mission, and now Lord Garmadon is really going to let us have it!"

"Well, I just wanted to know if I wasn't seeing double," Past Nuckal explained. "I thought I saw the same Pegasus twice back there. Only one of them was wearing a royal guard uniform and the other was wearing a yellow Ninja suit." Present Garmadon and his Legion of Doom overheard him and knew what he was talking about.

"Two of the same pegasus?! You don't think--?" Sombra asked the others.

"No doubt! That was the present Flash Sentry!" Tirek growled, "and if he's here..."

"The rest of the Ninja followed us here and are going to try and fix what we altered," Nightmare Moon hissed.

"Don't these ponies know when to quit?!” the Storm King asked.

"Unfortunately, they are as annoying as they are troublesome!" Garmadon grumbled before he smirked, "We'll, two can play at this game."

"What's the plan?" Chrysalis asked. Garmadon soon whispered his plan to the others.

Meanwhile at the Spinjitzu Monastery, the Present Ninja were observing Past Flash’s training before Twilight came out with a few scrolls from the Monastery's library. The two of them saw each other and gave smiles before the punching bag Flash was hitting knocked him back. "You must focus, Flash," Wu told him. "Harness the wind that is around us."

"Yeah, I know that," Past Flash said as he stood back up.

Flash embarrassed by his past self, face-hoofed himself. "Oh, I'm hopeless,” he moaned.

"It's like you don't even want to be a Ninja," Landrush said.

"That's because he doesn't," Gaia confirmed. "It's like Flash said: the only reason he chose to be a Ninja, was so that he could rescue Twilight."

"Now with Twilight here, and his secret crush on her, Flash can't focus enough to train," Trail added.

"If Flash doesn't learn to be a Ninja, our future will be destroyed." Frost reminded them.

"Ah. Even when Garmadon does something good, it's always evil!" Landrush complained.

"Sensei ain't cutting the mustard. Guess it's up to us to get things back on track," Trail said before Thunder spoke up.

"I thought you said not to get involved. ‘Change anything, change everything’,” he said.

"Yes, but that was before Garmadon altered the past and changed the future," Gaia explained, "Now we gotta clean up the mess."

"She's right," Frost agreed. "The only way to save our future is for Flash to find his fire."

"But-- What're ya tryin' to say, Frost?" Thunder asked as he was not liking where this is going.

"He's saying, we have to give Flash his motivation back," Trail told him. "Just as my motivation was to get my sister back, we have to kidnap Twilight and deliver her into the hooves of the Skeletons."

Suddenly, Discord then appeared behind them. “Well, if you are going to do something un-Ninja-like, such as abducting the Princess of Schedules herself,” he said as he snapped his claws and six red egg-shaped stones red appeared in front of the Ninja, "use these. For anonymity?"

"What are they?" Thunder asked.

"Shift Stones. They can make you look like anycreature you wish just by thinking the form," Discord explained. "I ‘borrowed’ these from a fictional universe comprising of martial artist animals."

"Say what?" Thunder asked with a raised brow.

"Never mind that. The copyrights are too much at this point. Anywho, just think of who, or what, you want to become while holding the stone tight," Discord instructed them on how to use them.

Thunder took hold of his first, and thought about the Skeletons as the stone glowed before fading revealing…

"Uh...I still look like myself," Thunder said as he looked at the other Ninja.

"Not to us, you don't," Gaia said as she and the boys were wide-eyed at him while Discord smiled in satisfaction before he snapped his fingers and a mirror popped up in front of Thunder.

Thunder looked at himself and saw he was a Skeleton. "WAH! I'm no skin and all bone!” he yelled getting the attention of Past Flash and the others. The Ninja and Discord ducked down as they turned to where they were doing, then shrugged and went back to work.

Once the coast was clear the Ninja and Discord peeked up again, the latter informing them. "So, you see now? That is how you will look like now to everycreature else, as long as you are holding that stone. So don’t let them go, don’t lose them… and don’t you dare tell Faust where I got them! I’m chaotic enough to deal with the Princesses, but the copyright offices? No-hohoho thank you!”

“Uhhh… all right? So now that we have these stones, what's our plan Flash?" Trail asked.

"Well, just in case, if it's all right you guys, I've got an idea on how I can talk some sense into myself." Flash said as he was looking at his past self.

Later that night, as everyone were in their own rooms asleep, the Present Ninja minus Flash snuck onto the roof and made their way to Twilight's room. They finally dropped down with a sack and a magic ring. "Oh man. Doing this up close now makes it even harder." Thunder whispered when he saw Twilight sleeping all cozy. The five Ninja took their Shift Stones and transformed into Skeletons.

"Well, it's time to play our parts," Landrush whispered. “And apparently that means, being princess-snatchers.”

"Let's make this quick while Flash is giving himself busy," Trail whispered as Gaia carefully put the ring around Twilight's horn. The moment she felt it put on, she opened her eyes and saw Skeletons quickly put her in the sack.

“Wha!? HEL--” Was all she could say before she was sacked.

Meanwhile in Past Flash's room, he was brushing his teeth and when he bent down to spit, present Flash put down the mirror before his past self looked up, starting to mimic his movements. Past Flash felt there was something off about his mirror as he brushed his hair and even cleaned it off. "Hey, dummy!" Present Flash spoke and frightened his past self. "Yeah, I'm talking to you."

"Me?" Past Flash asked as he still thinks it's just his reflection.

"Would you get your head on straight and start listening to Sensei?" Present Flash asked. "The fate of Equestria kind of rests on it."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Past Flash asked.

"Look, you and I both know that Sensei came to Canterlot for you for a reason," Present Flash reminded his past self. "And I know you have a thing for Twilight, but it won't matter if Garmadon gets his hooves on the Golden Weapons and recreates Equestria in his image."

“Wha-what?! I don’t have a thing for the Princess, so show some respect!” Past Flash scolded his present self, “Besides I’m only here to protect her.”

Meanwhile back outside, the disguised Ninja were walking across the roof while Thunder was carrying the bag with Twilight inside, “Unhoof me, you bone-faced freaks!” Twilight demanded in the bag.

“Oh, we’re so sorry, Twilight!” Thunder apologized before Gaia smacked the back of his head.

“Hey! That’s Princess Twilight Sparkle to you, bub!” Twilight retorted, “When Flash and my friends find out about this, you’ll be sorry!”

“Actually, they’ll be quite relieved,” Landrush commented.

“Now we just need wait for Flash and then it’s smooth sailing,” Trail said with a grin.

Frost looked down and his eyes widened. “Um Trail? I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” he said, getting the other’s attention. “We’ve got company.” he pointed down and saw four stallions and a mare in black trying to sneak into the Monastery.

“Wait, isn’t that ‘us’?!” Gaia said a bit too loudly as the past Ninja looked up at them. “Oh dear.”

"It's a good thing we're in our disguises so we don't recognize ourselves," Landrush pointed out.

"Except I'm a little mad about the Skeletons taking my sister!" Trail reminded them before his past self jumped on the roof with his sword out. “See?”

“Where’s my sister!” Past Trail demanded pointing his sword at them.

“Uhh, that’s for us to know, and you to find out!” Thunder said, disguising his voice as past Gaia landed beside Past Trail.

“Ugh, Trail we’re supposed to work together, remember?!” Past Gaia told Past Trail, using her “commoner” accent.

Gaia looked surprised. “Wow, did I really use to talk like that?” she whispered to Landrush.

Soon a fight between Past and Present Ninja broke out as both Thunders were fighting down in the courtyard, matching blow for blow. On the right side of the rooftops, both Trails and Gaias were throwing or dodging blows perfectly.

On the left side, Landrush and Frost fought against their past selves as the latter pulled out his shurikens. “Let’s not hurt ourselves Frost, I’d hate to leave a mark,” Landrush warned him as Frost nodded and put away his weapons as the four fought.

As the fight went on Twilight struggled to free herself. “Flash! Girls! Somepony HELP!!!” she screamed.

Back in Past Flash's room, he heard Twilight's cries. "Huh? Your Highness!” he called out as he about to leave.

"Hey, I wasn't done talking to you!" Present Flash called out. "You can't leave!"

"Why not? The princess could be in danger!" his past self responded. "Besides, you can't stop me. You're just my reflection!"

Present Flash raised a brow before he punched his past self unconscious. "Sorry, but I can't have myself spoiling our plans,” he told himself before Discord appear next to him.

"Well, didn't see that one coming," Discord remarked, a little surprised.

"Discord, keep the others in the rooms until we get away with Twilight!" Flash ordered as he used the Shift Stone to transform into a Skeleton

Once he ran outside to join the others, he saw that the others were fighting with their past selves. "Oh, should've remembered," Flash scolded himself for not remembering the sneak attack.

He then made a beeline for Twilight's bag as screamed inside it, "Sorry about this, Twi,” he whispered before turning to the others and disguising his voice. "Forget these ponies, guys! Let's go before Lord Garmadon comes after us!"

The Present Ninja nodded before doing Spinjitzu and knocking down the Past Ninja. The moment the Present Ninja jumped over the wall, Wu, Shining Armor, the Mane Five, Spike, the Young Six, and Past Flash (now awake) ran outside to find the Past Ninja getting up.

"What happened out here?!" Rainbow Dash asked as Fluttershy, Silverstream, and Ocellus helped up the Ninja.

"The Skeletons happened," Past Landrush told her.

"They have the princess!" Past Wu told them.

"What, they took her?!" Past Flash asked before he punched a nearby wall in frustration as he blamed himself for her capture.

Back in the present, the dark clouds dispersed as Lloyd reappeared in the picture back on the Bounty. This had meant that the Ninja repaired the damage done in the past.

"We'll get the princess back," Past Wu assured Past Flash before he looked up and saw Present Flash on the wall without his disguise with a smile on his face. "In the meantime, Flash, I’d like you to meet your team.” the Past Ninja removed their hoods and met each other.

"Looks like the winds of fate have returned," Present Flash told his Ninja before they went off with Twilight.

They soon traveled through forest bounding across tree to tree to find where the Skulkin were based. “All we gotta do to get things back on track is to deliver Twilight to the Skeletons!” Landrush said as they kept on leaping.

“This way! I can see smoke from a campfire!” Trail said as they kept on jumping. Meanwhile the Skeletons, including the disguised villains, were roasting marshmallows. Past Samukai walks up to Past Kruncha and hit him on the head.

"This is no time to celebrate! We may have gotten the other half of the map, but we didn't get the newly crowned princess!" Past Samukai scolded them. "How would you like to go back to the Underworld and tell Lord Garmadon that we failed?!"

Frustrated, Past Kruncha got up and walked to a tree. "‘How would you like to tell Lord Garmadon that we failed?’" Past Kruncha mocked his master as he sat down.

From the top of the tree that he was sitting under, the Ninja had dropped the sack with Twilight inside in front of Past Kruncha, scaring him when it landed. He looked up to see who dropped it, only to see no one up there. He then peaked into the sack and saw it was Twilight before closing it up and blinked a few times.

"Uh, Samukai? How would you like to go back to the Underworld and tell Lord Garmadon that we succeeded?” he asked smugly.

"What are you blabbing on about?!" Past Samukai asked before Past Kruncha came over with the sack and showed him what he meant. He gasped as he saw Twilight glaring at her, "What?! But?! How did you?!” he sputtered as he looked at Past Kruncha.

Past Kruncha just shrugged and grinned. "Weeelll…” he started before receiving two fists to the face.

"Give me that!" Past Samukai shouted as snatched the bag. "Back to the Underworld!” he declared as the Skeletons returned to their vehicles. The Skeletons may not know how this was possible, but the disguised villains did. They know it was the work of the Present Ninja but weren't too worried for they had a plan.

In the Underworld, Past Samukai kneeled before past Lord Garmadon as he sits in his throne. "Well...?" Past Lord Garmadon asked with a brow.

"I’m pleased to say our mission was a success, master," Past Samukai answered. "We have both halves of the map and we have the new princess." Past Lord Garmadon gave an evil grin to what he heard. "Right now, my crew are putting her in the cell with the blacksmith mare as we speak."

"Good," Past Garmadon with a chuckle. "I will pay them a visit later. Now leave me be and head for the Caves of Despair and the Scythe of Quakes."

“As you command,” Past Samukai bowed and then turned and left.

Present Garmadon and the Legion of Doom were hiding behind the wall as they listened. They watched as Past Samukai left the room and then entered themselves. "Seems you're doing well." a disguised Nightmare Moon said to past Lord Garmadon.

"Who are you and why do you sound familiar?" Past Garmadon asked. Nightmare Moon chuckled and revealed herself to him. Past Garmadon gasped in shock. “What?! Luna?! How is this possible?!” he asked.

“You are both correct and incorrect,” Nightmare Moon answered. “I am merely the Darkness of Luna freed and made flesh, and I am not alone,” she then gestured to the other villains as they removed their disguises as well.

“Hello, Lord Garmadon,” Tirek greeted with the grin.

“Tirek, Chrysalis, Sombra?... the Storm King?!” Past Garmadon exclaimed, “How are you all still here?!”

"Because of me," Present Garmadon spoke up as he stepped forth, holding the Mega Weaponas he removed his disguise. This seemed to only anger his past self.

"What is the meaning of this?! Who are you?!" Past Garmadon demanded.

"It is I, your future self!" Present Garmadon answered.

"How can it be?!" Past Garmadon asked as he was confused by all of this.

“I know you are searching for Father’s Golden Weapons, and it is because of them I was able to bring these allies back into existence and to travel back in time,” Present Garmadon explained as he walked up to his past self, “and speak to you now.”

“I don’t understand,” Past Garmadon said in awe, “You are...I...I am...an alicorn with six legs.” he gestured to his present self’s body.

"I know. Kind of freaked us out when we first saw it,” the Storm King whispered to him.

"Enough of this and that." Chrysalis spoke up. "We need your help to get rid of the Ninja once and for all."

"Yes, now all of you, listen carefully," Present Garmadon told them as they group-huddled and he whispered his plan to each of them.

"My, that is dastardly," Chrysalis commented.

"Treacherous," Tirek added.

"Conniving," Nightmare Moon put in.

"Deceitful," Sombra said.

"Unexpected,” the Storm King gave his own opinion.

"Truly evil," Past Garmadon said before they all maniacally laughed together.

Back in the present, Wu and the Royal Sisters saw the dark clouds rolling over the city yet again. "Great Scott!" Wu gasped as he could tell it was worse than before.

"What could be happening back there?" Luna asked as Lloyd faded from the picture again.

Back in the past, the Past Ninja, Mane Five, Spike, Young Six, and Shining Armor were sleeping while the Present Ninja and Past Wu watched them from the trees. "Come on, why are we still here? I thought everything was back on track," Thunder said.

"Yeah, but we have to stay and make sure all goes as planned," Landrush reminded him.

"So what exactly happens next?" Past Wu asked.

"Our past selves have most of the Golden Weapons," Flash spoke up. "Shadow Garmadon now should have both Twilight and Aqua, and in about one minute, me and Trail get woken up and tricked into taking the Bo of Wind, after Trail took the Sword of Fire by mistake that will eventually unleash the greatest nemesis unto Equestria."

They watched as both Flash and Trail’s past selves followed the illusions of Aqua and Twilight, while Past Trail accidently took the Sword of Fire.

They followed them to the Temple of Wind and snuck inside and saw the two past Ninja standing before the two mares chained over the edge. "Oh, this where Flash removes Bo so we could save them," Trail said as they watched. "Then we get attacked by our own shadows."

"Don't do it! You know it's a trap!" Past Twilight told them.

"She's right, and besides... I can free us..." Past Aqua said as she tried to break free from the chains. "Okay, that's tight.” The chains then began to lower them down. Past Flash and Trail ran to them as the chains lowered before they heard Garmadon again.

"Tick tock, tick tock." Past Garmadon taunted.

Both Past Flash and Trail looked at each other and they knew they have to do it. So Flash ran towards the bo before he flipped over and grabbed it.

"NINJA, GO!" they shouted as they did Spinjitzu. The power of the Bo of Wind creating a wind draft witch they used to glide across over to Twilight and Aqua. Trail then used the Sword of Fire to cut the chain, as he caught his sister while Flash caught Twilight before they landed on the floor.

"Are you two okay?" Flash asked as they got up.

"Yeah, we're okay," Past Twilight said as they heard Past Garmadon chuckling.

"Stay close," Past Trail told the two as he and Past Flash took defensive positions while they made their way to the way out.

"Trust me, after what we've been through, we're not going anywhere," Past Aqua told her brother before Past Garmadon's shadow appeared in front of them.

"You can't hurt us, you're only a shadow!" Past Flash told Past Garmadon.

Past Garmadon seemed to be amused and said, "This time, I'm actually much more and not alone!"

Present Flash and Trail seemed surprised. "Wait, he never said that," Trail said.

"Something's wrong," Flash said as he saw six creatures stepping into the light. It was Present Garmadon and his Legion of Doom with evil grins on their faces.

"L-Lord Garmadon?!" Past Flash was as shocked as Past Trail, Twilight, and Aqua were to see him. "B-b-but Sensei said you're supposed to be trapped in the Underworld!"

"And three of you were supposed to be gone, while two of you are encased in stone with Cozy Glow!" Past Twilight added before turning to Nightmare Moon. “And Luna, what happened to you?”

"Oh, there's so much more you don't know!" Present Garmadon told them as he readied his Mega Weapon to attack.

“Go future me and my future allies!” Past Garmadon ordered. “Destroy them!”

“With pleasure!” Sombra declared as they charged. Past Flash and Trail charged back with the two Golden Weapons, as Past Flash took on Present Garmadon, Chrysalis, and Nightmare Moon while past Trail took on Tirek, Sombra, and the Storm King.

“We have to do something!” Trail said as he saw his past self being pushed back by his three villains.

“You’re right! We don’t stand a chance against that many!” Flash said as he watched Past Flash losing to the push between him and Garmadon. Then an idea came to him. “Wait, that’s it! Trail, follow my lead!”

Both Past Flash and Trail were pushed back before each villain clash weapons with them. Garmadon swung his Mega Weapon and knocked both the Bo of Wind and the Sword of Fire out of their hooves and out of their reach.

"This is the end of you," Sombra told the two before he was about to strike before the Bo of Wind hit him in the face. They all looked and saw it was Present Flash who hit him with the Bo before present Trail jumped beside him with the Sword of Fire.

“Two Trail Blazes and Two Flash Sentrys!?” Past Garmadon asked in shock.

Past Trail and Flash smirked. “Yeah!” they said as the villains charged again.

"I guess we have extra hooves and wings too," Present Flash remarked as his and Trail's past selves stood behind them in a pose before they turned sideways when Present Garmadon swung his Weapon down twice. They ducked another swing as their past selves gave them a look and nodded. The villains gasped in shock when Past Flash and Trail threw the present ones towards them and knocked them back.

Frost then landed in front of them. Seeing they were getting outnumbered, they moved back, only for the Storm King to bump into Landrush. “Now I got you!” he said grabbing the Storm King’s staff, only for Tirek to grab him from behind.

“And I got you!” Tirek said before tossing him towards the other three Present Ninja.

The four landed on a rock. “I think it’s safe to say the Past has been drastically changed!” Trail declared.

As they were done, the villains were hoof shaking one another as they thought they've won.

"I was thinking about that," Frost told them. "It could be possible to erase the events that have transpired so far by destroying the Mega Weapon that brought us here in the first place."

"You mean, if we destroy that weapon, everything goes back to normal?" Trail confirmed.

"Er...theoretically." Frost responded.

"One problem. Nothing can destroy the Mega Weapon." Flash reminded them. "Only a weapon of equal power has any chance of destroying it."

"Haha, like maybe the weapons forged to create it in the first place?" Present Thunder asked as he and Present Gaia had the other four Golden Weapons with the rest of the Past Ninja, the Mane Five, Young Six, Spike, Shining Armor, Wu, and Discord standing by them.

The villains noticed them and were shocked. “NO!” they yelled.

“The Golden Weapons!” Landrush declared.

“Yes, we suspected these might be necessary!” Gaia said as she and Thunder tossed Landrush and Frost their Weapons. “Now let’s hurry up and use them, dearies!”

Not one to let her secret out, Past Gaia turned to Past Landrush. “Wow, am I really gonna talk like that someday?” she whispered as Past Landrush shrugged.

"Okay, no time to ask how you got them so fast!" Flash shouted as he picked up the Bo while Trail picked up the sword. "We have to destroy the Mega Weapon once and for all!” He then flipped back and aim the Bo at the weapon as elemental power came out of it. "Wind!"

"Fire!" Present Trail shouted as aim the Sword of Fire at the weapon and it did the same.

Nightmare Moon tried to pounce on one of them to stop them before Past Flash kicked her back. "We need to take the heat off our future selves until they can finish guys!” he told his team.

“Got it!” they replied.

Past Gaia, Rarity, and Ocellus held off Chrysalis. Past Thunder, Pinkie and Silverstream took care of the Storm King. Past Trail, Rainbow and Smolder distracted Tirek. Past Landrush, Applejack and Yona handled Nightmare Moon. Past Frost, Fluttershy and Sandbar fought Sombra. Past Flash, Shining, Spike, Gallus, and Wu distracted Past Garmadon.

“Lightning!” Present Thunder shouted as he aimed the Nunchucks of Lightning at the Mega Weapon, firing a bolt of electricity at it.

“Life!” Present Gaia shouted as she aimed the Sais of Life at the Mega Weapon, firing a beam of flora at it.

“Earth!” Present Landrush shouted as he aimed the Scythe of Quakes at the Mega Weapon, firing a stream of rocks at it.

“Ice!” Present Frost shouted as he aimed the Shurikens of Ice at the Mega Weapon, firing a beam of ice at it.

Garmadon felt his grip on the Mega Weapon loosing as the elemental energy surged through it, “NO! What-What are you doing!?” Garmadon demanded.

“NINJA, GO!” Past Wu yelled as the Mega Weapon flew out of Garmadon’s grasp, and everycreature watched as the six Golden Weapons levitated towards the Mega Weapon. The seven Weapons spun around each other before the Six Weapon collided with their merged counterpart before blasting off, out of the temple and into the skies, exploding into a thousand sparkles, seemingly destroying both the Mega Weapon and the Golden Weapons.

The Wind Temple was shaking like crazy as the whole place was coming apart. Past Trail turned and saw Past Aqua fading away. "Aqua!” he shouted as he rushed over but just went through her.

"Twilight!" Past Spike cried as he ran to her, only to go through her too, "What's happening!?" Soon one by one everycreature faded away before everything went white.

The Ninja opened their eyes and found themselves below deck with their weapons. "What now?" Trail said.

"Did we just...uh?" Thunder asked.

"Return to the present?" Landrush finished.

"This feels familiar, but weren't we training Lloyd?" Flash asked.

"Unless the future was altered and there is no Light Ninja," Frost said before they all look down with a sad look. They then heard somepony coming and Lloyd entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Lloyd told them. "The CMCs were helping with my cutie mark. So, are we ready to get training?"

"Oh, thank goodness! You’re still here!" Gaia cheered as they all ran to Lloyd and hugged him.

"Um yeah...why wouldn't I be?" Lloyd asked awkwardly.

"So, when we went back in time and destroyed Garmadon's Mega Weapon, that didn't change anything?" Thunder asked as Trail picked up a watermelon.

"My father has a Mega Weapon?" Lloyd asked with concern.

"Wait a minute, you've never heard of it?" Flash asked Trail tossed up the watermelon and sliced it for everypony in the room.

"I-I think I would've remembered that." Lloyd responded. "Why? What is it? Should I be concerned?” They all laughed with relief at that question. "Hey, what are you guys laughing at? What's so funny?” He then took Trail's sword, tossed up his slice of watermelon and carved it into a miniature scale model of a dragon.

"I think some things are best left in the past," Flash told him. "Come on, let's just prepare for the future.” They all laughed, minus Lloyd, as they got what he meant by that.

"I don't get it," Lloyd remarked.

Meanwhile on top of the Bounty, Wu was looking up at the night sky at a star glowing gold.

Chapter 7: The Stone Army

In the City of Ouroboros, the Serpentine were having a small-scale Slither Pit tournament, two Venomari were fighting until one of them won. Suddenly, a Rattlecopter hovered down, the two fighters moving out of the way for a landing.

A Constrictai walked out, rolling out a purple carpet and carrying a chair and umbrella. A couple of Venomari were laying down two towels, one midnight blue and the other light green. Finally, three Hypnobrai were putting up lounge chairs as a female Fangpyre hold a tray with drinks with tiny umbrellas in them. "Ready!" she shouted as Garmadon and his Legion of Doom walked out of the Rattlecopter.

Garmadon sat down on the chair while the others took their spots and took his drink, "It's so bright!" Garmadon complained, "I never understood how your kind could withstand such heat."

"I don't understand why we couldn’t come here at night!" Nightmare Moon complained as she and Chrysalis laid on the towels. "You know I'm a nighttime mare!"

"Indeed. I look forward to when we turn Equestria into a world of darkness," Sombra said on his chair.

"If we can, you mean,” the Storm King corrected, wearing sunglasses. “So far, every plan ever since this Garmadaddy pony has gone to smoof! And the last one did cost us our magical ace in the hole~”

"For once, I agree with the Storm King. What are we going to do, now that the Mega Weapon is gone, along with the Golden Weapons?" Chrysalis asked as Tirek had a grin on his face.

"The Golden Weapons and Mega Weapon may have been powerful… but thankfully, I may know a new direction," he said as the Serpentine Generals approached them.

"Lord Garmadon, Legion of Doom," Skalidor greeted as he and the other Generals slithered towards them. "What brings you all to our humble home?"

"The Ninja may have destroyed my Mega Weapon," Garmadon lamented. "However, Tirek may have a new idea, so please, my friend… speak."

Skales asked the others in a hushed whisper, "Are we ssstill allowing them to be in charge of usss?" The Generals grumbled in agreement, remembering their abuse towards their people.

"Back when the Mega Weapon brought back Salt-Beak and his crew, Garmadon discovered the captain’s old log, and I’ve taken the liberty to look further into it. Apparently, the logbook mentions they had been looking for a fabled Island of Darkness," Tirek told them.

" Island of Darkness? I've heard of it," Sombra said. "Legend has it that the very soil of the land is made from pure evil itself. If we were to find it, its concentrated dark powers could help us conquer all Equestria!"

"Oh, pleassse!" Skales spoke up as he slithered up to them. "You're having us chase after fairy tales, now?"

"Not fairy tales, but a real place that existed long before any of us were around," Garmadon told them. "A place full of untold power."

Fangtom was the first to show genuine interest. “Untold power? Count me in!” he said.

“A place just dripping to the brim with darkness!” Nightmare Moon added with a smile.

“Darkness sounds nice!” Acidicus said as the other Generals smirked, already coming up with a plan.

"We're looking for a few brave Serpentine!" Sombra shouted. "Who'll join us?!"

The three Serpentine Generals cheered as Skales just facepalm himself.

All four of them joined Garmadon and his Legion of Doom back in the Rattlecopter before it took and the search for the Dark Island began.

Back on the Bounty, the Ninja were sleeping until they heard the alarm clock ringing and groaned. Thunder then threw a stone at it, knocking it into the gramophone which only made it go off louder.

The Ninja groaned in pain, except for Frost who was still sound asleep, before Lloyd blasted the clock with his light energy, finally ending the horrible noise. As the Ninja sighed in relief, they all sat up.

"Is it Wednesday already?" Lloyd asked groggily.

Gaia checked the calendar and moaned, "Ugh, indeed," She answered, scratching her bedmane, "and that means one thing, and one thing only, boys."

"Sunrise exercise," Thunder groaned. "I hate sunrise exercise."

Wu then entered the room as he was finishing up a cup of tea. "Ah. Good morning, morning, morning! Up, up," he told his pupils. "It's a new day, students!"

The Ninja got up, still tired.

"Sensei, we just got back after saving all of time! Can't we just catch some more z's?" Flash complained, to which Wu gave a light chuckle.

"A true Ninja never lets his guard down, Flash. True, you have saved destiny by destroying the Mega Weapon, but Garmadon and his forces will find another way to alter it. For destiny is never in a straight line, and so we must be wary.”

“Now, before we being sunrise exercise, Ultra Dragon accidentally made another mess outside," Wu told them as he opened the blinds. "It looks like a two-pony job." He chuckled as he left the room. What they just heard quickly roused them from their sluggish state.

"Uh what was that, Sensei?!" Landrush said as all the Ninja, minus Lloyd, frantically ran around.

“You know I think training is an awesome idea!” Flash yelled as the Ninja quickly got ready while Lloyd looked around in confusion.

“Did I hear an S.O.S. call come in?” Trail asked.

“I sense I need to be somewhere else!” Frost pointed out.

“My mane is a mess! gotta get that fixed!” Gaia cried as she quickly brushed her mane.

Thunder then went up to Lloyd. “Hehe, Lloyd! I’m sure the legendary Light Ninja can handle a job like this!” he nervously chuckled as the Ninja made a beeline for the door.

"Ah. You might've been able to dump chores on me when I was smaller, but I'm grown up now," Lloyd told them which made them halt. "That's not fair!"

The Ninja sighed in guilt. "Ah. You're right, Lloyd," Flash said as they turned to him. "It's not."

“Flash is right, we need to settle this like adults,” Trail said as they all gathered around. “With a game of Rock, Paper, Scissor!” They all join their hooves in the center while Lloyd just gave an annoyed look before joining his in. "Okay, on three. One, two, three!" The six of them had their hooves out flat while Lloyd had his closed tight.

The Ninja pulled away as the six Core Ninja whooped in victory and Thunder smirked at Lloyd, “Haha! Paper beats Rock!” he declared as they won and he lost.

Lloyd grumbled. “Agh, I’ll never understand how paper beats rock!”

Gaia just grinned as he handed him some equipment. “Well, you can figure it out while you clean up Ultra’s mess,” she said as Lloyd sighed in aggravation as he took it.

Lloyd, wearing goggles, gloves, and nose plugs, held a big brown bag filled with… “dragon mess”, and he glared at the others. “I always have to do the dirty work!” he complained.

Flame chuckled sheepishly. “Ha, sorry dude. When a dragon’s gotta go, a dragon’s gotta go,” he reasoned.

“Hey, taking care of a dragon is a big responsibility,” Landrush told the Light Ninja. “I mean, look at Twilight, and she only had to care for one mouth!”

“Didn’t your mom ever at least had a pet?” Thunder asked before Gaia bumped him. “Oof! What?!”

"I don't remember my mother," Lloyd told them somberly as he used his magic to take off the goggles. "She abandoned me when I was really young. I wanted to ask my dad about it before he left but…"

The Ninja frowned. “But if your mom was missing and your dad was in the Underworld, who raised you?” Flash asked.

“I spent my whole life at Darkley’s Boarding School,” Lloyd answered as he looked down madly. “Besides, my mom was probably a mortal mare my dad met a thousand of years ago, so she’s probably… gone by now,” he sniffed as the Ninja comforted him.

“Hey, I just realized. If your dad is a thousand years old, how did you not age more by the time we met you?” Thunder asked as the others thought the same.

Before they could get an answer, Aqua rushed towards them. "Hey, I have a mission for you guys!" she told them. "It's the Museum of History! They've asked for you guys! Twilight and the others are there waiting for you, right now! Something really strange has happened."

"What kind of strange?" Flash asked.

"You're gonna have to see it to believe it," Aqua replied.

"Here, Aqua. Hold this!" Lloyd told her as he handed her the goggles in the bag before rushing off with the Ninja.

“Wait, what am I supposed to do with these?” she asked before she turned to Ultra Dragon and realized. “Oh,” she frowned before pulling the bag away from the smell.

“Sorry, when a dragon’s gotta go, a dragon’s gotta go.” Flame retorted as Aqua groaned.

The Ninja and Wu ran as fast as they could until they swiftly arrived at the museum. There they saw the Mane Six, Spike and the Royal Sisters already waiting for them. “Hey guys,” Rainbow said as they all came together at the entrance.

“Come, the curator is waiting,” Luna said as they walked in and saw the curator pacing around inside.

“Oh, thank heavens you're here!” he remarked in relief before bowing to Twilight. “And please forgive the unexpected request, your majesty.”

Twilight waved him off. “It’s fine, sir. We were told there was a problem?” she asked.

“Yes, come, come. Quickly, this way,” the curator explained as he lead through the hallways where workers were mopping up something. “The Stone Warrior exhibit opens to the public today, and this couldn’t come at a worse time!” he expressed as Wu, Celestia and Luna gasped silently.

“Stone Warrior?” Celestia whispered in dread as the three glanced at each other.

“Um, what couldn’t have come at a worse time?” Spike asked as they kept walking.

The curator then explained, “Equestria City appreciates your help in destroying the Great Devourer some time back.” They walked past the workers and saw they were gasmasks as they mopped away a strange green, glowing liquid, as he continued. “But it appears its toxic venom has seeped into the city sewer system and has had the most unusual after-effect.”

The Ninja and Mane Six immediately repulsed when they caught a whiff of the smell. “Pee-yew! What a stench, and I smelled Big Mac after eatin’ Aunt Apple Jam’s seven-alarm chili!” Applejack complained as the others shouted or coughed as well.

“Oh, that stinks!” Landrush added as the curator led them to the gift shop.

The curator opened the door and they all saw little Samurai-taur figures made of stone with glowing green eyes messing up the place. "Now, that's something you don't see every day," Spike remarked after seeing the figures.

“The toxicity in the venom somehow brought our merchandise to life!” The curator cried as the bobbleheads ran crazily across the shop. “They're so unruly. I just don't know who else to call!”

One of the figures jumped in Frost's hoof before hitting him in the head. "Ah!" Frost grunted before crushing the figure.

"Heh, don't worry sir," Rainbow assured as she cracked her hooves. "We faced things a lot worse than a few toys!"

"And please, could you contain the fighting to the gift shop?" the Curator asked as they went in. "The doors to the new exhibit will be opening soon. Thank you." He then closed the door quickly.

The group quickly got to work, but it was easier said than done. The bobbleheads were fast, slippery, and mischievous most of all! "Hey, get away from that!" Pinkie said, failing to catch one who broke a vase.

Thunder smashed some with his Nunchucks as Lloyd was cornered by a horde of bobbleheads before some dropped a bust statue of a Stone Warrior on his head. "Ouch!" he yelped as he rubbed his head and then glared at the little creeps laughing at him. "Stupid little guys!" he growled before smashing them.

"Get out of my hair!" Rarity and Gaia cried as the bobbleheads messed up their manes, causing them to accidentally broke more merchandise. The others slipped on spilled marbles, causing the bobbleheads to laugh at them.

"All right, play time's over!" Flash shouted as he was now annoyed at them. "NINJA, GO!" He did Spinjitzu and destroyed a few more bobbleheads.

"NINJA, GO!" The rest of the Ninja minus Lloyd did Spinjitzu and they managed to destroy all the bobbleheads in the gift shop. Once they stopped, they saw that they destroyed more than just the possessed toys as everything in the gift shop was destroyed.

"Uh… oops," Frost said after seeing what they did.

"Um, maybe we should tell the Curator this was an accident?" Fluttershy suggested than Wu and the Royal Sisters noticed one bobblehead had slipped out and chased after it down the halls.

The bobblehead laughed as the three were getting irritated. "Come here, you little--!" Wu demanded before he stomped on it.

Luna sighed in relief. "Finally! I don't think I could handle any more of that infernal giggling!" she said before they heard the door behind them opened and turned to see Star Swirl walking out with a middle-aged mare with a silver coat, green eyes and graying blonde mane, wearing a beige archeologist jacket, green scarf, and silver round glasses.

"Star Swirl? And--" Celestia remarked, surprised to see her mentor before he and the mare turned to them and Wu and the Royal Sisters gasped in shock as they recognized her.

"Misako," Wu said in awe.

"Wu, Celestia, Luna," the mare responded as Wu blushed hard. "It's been a long time, old friends."

The former Princess of the Sun giggled at Wu’s reaction before they approached Misako, “It’s so good to see you again, Koko,” Celestia replied as the four shared a group hug.

"It's good to see you too," Misako replied as Luna gave her a hug too.

Luna then broke away with a frown. "But, how are you still alive?" she asked, but before Misako could answer they heard a throat clearing and turn to see the Ninja, Mane Six and Spike entering.

"Sorry to interrupt, but are you going to introduce us?" Thunder asked as they took off their hoods.

"And it's great to see you again, Star Swirl," Twilight added.

“And to you as well,” Star Swirl said before clearing hist throat. “Everypony, this is my new partner into the history of Equestria, Misako Mesozoic.”

Misako bowed her head to them. “It’s an honor to meet you all,” She said before giving an apologetic smile. “I hope my husband hasn’t given you too much trouble.”

“Um, why do you say that?” Gaia asked with a raised brow.

"Because she is Garmadon’s wife… and Lloyd’s mother," Wu answered them which shocked them to the bone, especially Lloyd.

"My… my mother?!" he asked in shock.

When Misako saw him, she gasped in surprise. "Lloyd? My little colt," she said with a smile as she approached him. "You're so much bigger than I remember."

She tried to hug him but he pulled back. "Yeah, well that what happens when you live your kid in an evil boarding school for a long time!" he retorted.

Misako sighed, "Oh, I didn't want us to meet like this," she said before frowning. "I have a reason for being away--"

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to hear it!” Lloyd yelled, interrupting her before he stormed out.

“Lloyd, wait! Lloyd!” Misako called but he did not respond and slammed the doors behind him. Everypony turned to Misako in concern as she sighed in guilt.

Meanwhile, out at sea and hovering in the Rattlecopter, Garmadon, the Legion of Doom, and the Generals were searching the waters for the Dark Island. “Nothing but endless sea,” Garmadon murmured as he moved his spyglass away from his eye. “I don’t understand.”

“You’d think an island nearly as big as Equestria would be easy to spot,” The Storm King commented.

Skales then slithered up to them. “It’s because there’sss no land this far west of Equestria,” he said. “We've been sssearching all day.”

"The island must be out there,” Sombra said as he took the spyglass from Garmadon. “If it didn’t, then neither Salt-Beak nor his crew would have learned about it.”

“It is quite possible that some meddling creatures deliberately erased any knowledge about this island, possibly to keep creatures from seeking the island out,” Tirek guessed, before he rubbed his chin. “Or perhaps to keep something from leaving the island.”

"Either way, we will find it!" Chrysalis hissed.

"We'll do another lap, then," Nightmare Moon suggested as they had their backs to the four generals.

"Garmadon is without his Mega Weapon," Skales whispered to his fellow generals. "They're vulnerable."

“We know. Thisss venture wasss a ploy ssso we could get rid of them,” Acidicus whispered back.

Skales smirked, glad that his fellow Serpentine had come to their senses.

“But how do you plan on getting rid of them?” Skaildor asked.

“Turn this Copter around!” Garmadon ordered the pilot. “We need to find that island today!”

“Yes, Lord Garmadon!” the pilot complied as he turned the Rattle-copter around.

Then Skales pointed out to the open ocean. "Ooh, there!" Skales shouted as he pointed out. "Isss that the island?!" That got Garmadon's attention.

"Where?!" Garmadon asked as he looked out to where Skales pointed before Acidicus spit his venom in the other villains' eyes and pushed them off with Garmadon, who was pushed by Skales. The six screamed as they hit the water with a giant splash.

After seeing the six land into the ocean below, Fangtom declare, “It’sss about time we had a SSSerpentine back in charge! All hail SSSkales!”

“All hail, leader of the SSSerpetine!” the three Generals said in unison as they bowed to their new leader. Skales howled with a victorious laugh as the Rattle-Copter flew back to Ouroboros to celebrate the coronation of the new leader of the Serpentine. However, they failed to notice a strange powerful current carrying the ousted Lord and his Legion of Doom further out to sea.

Back in Equestria City’s Museum of History, Misako opened a door to the Stone Warrior Exhibit. “Lloyd? Lloyd!” she called for her son as they all walked into the room and saw a large object, obscured by a large white tarp.

“Wanna bet that’s the large Stone Warrior that’s gonna be on display today?” Trail asked Rainbow and Spike.

“Lloyd must be around here somewhere,” Star Swirl said as they spread out. Misako then noticed the door to another room was slightly open, she walked in and found her son sitting close to the edge of very deep hole and in front of him were several stained-glass windows of a series of events that seemed to involved the First Spinjitzu Master.

Misako the walked up to him. “I’d watch your step, that hole doesn’t have a bottom, son,” she gently warned as Lloyd flinched. “It’s where I found the giant Stone Warrior.”

Lloyd then turned to her with resentment’ “Uh, ‘son’? You’ve been gone my whole life. A life I spent thinking you were dead!” he told her before looking away, “There’s nothing you can say to me.”

"Well, I'm going to talk anyway," Misako told him as she walked around the hole. "You wanna to know how I'm alive and what I've been doing all this time? Long before Wu, Celestia, or Luna ever knew who would be the Light Ninja, I knew it would be you. And I knew you would eventually have to fight your father. But I also knew you needed to do so in a different time. With help from Clover the Clever, she and I made modifications to Star Swirl's time spell and we went forward in time,” she explained as Lloyd was surprised by what Misako said as the others walked in as well. “I then dropped you off at the Boarding School so I could go learn everything I could about the prophecy, in hope of one day preventing the final battle of good and evil. All this time, son, I've been trying to save you and your father," she then looked to Star Swirl.

“Star Swirl, shall we tell them what we found?” She asked her partner as the old unicorn nodded and walked over to the stained-glass windows.

“It is time that they knew the full story. Long before time had a name, Equestria was created by the First Spinjitzu Master,” he recited the legend before Rainbow interrupted him.

“Yeah, yeah! We’ve already heard the story a hundred times already, Beardo!” She retorted before Twilight elbowed her.

“Perhaps, but you only heard half of it,” Star Swirl told her. “The story I’m going to tell you, is how this land came to be.” He then manipulated his magic making the stained-glass images seem like their moving.

Misako then took over the story telling. “In Equestria, there has always been balance in the forces of magic between opposing forces of Destruction & Creation, Order & Chaos, and of course, Good and Evil,” she said as the stained-glass formed the shape of a serpentine dragon with a lion-like mane, whiskers and antlers roaring, before it turned to a stallion wearing a bamboo hat and holding a golden sword. “So, you know how the First Spinjitzu Master created Equestria, using the six Golden Weapons.” The stallion then thrusted his sword up as mountains rose from the earth, forests grew, and rivers ran across the land around him.

“But what if we were tell you in order for there to be light, there must be shadow. And within shadow, there is darkness,” Star Swirl went next as the stained-glass fragments flipped over showing a dark pit, with black smog bellowing from it, and within that smog a creepy purple smile and magenta eyes glowed, as a haunting laugh was heard, sending chills down the younger ponies and dragon’s spines. “The blackest of darkness that existed from the very beginning. An ancient and evil spirit called the Overlord.” The smog then erupted upwards showing a black shadowy form floating over a forest, screeching loudly.

Fluttershy yelped and jumped into Landrush’s hooves trembling. Twilight looked at the shadow in shock, “The Overlord?” she whispered.

“The living embodiment of all that is evil and dark in Equestria,” Celestia said as she, Luna and Wu stepped forward. “With not a single drop of love or compassion in its heart.”

"You knew about this?" Frost asked the three.

"We had hoped if we kept the secret, that name would never be spoken again," Wu explained.

"Until now." Luna said before Misako continued.

“The balance was at stake, and their battle could’ve gone on for eternity. Each side powerful, either could truly conquer or be rid of the other,” she said as the stained-glass showed the Overlord and the First Spinjitzu Master clashes repeatedly, until the Overlord was flung back. The stained-glass then show the Overlord creating a Samurai-taur with stones. "Until the Overlord created his indestructible warriors: the Stone Army." The stained-glass then show rows on rows of Samurai-taurs, some with four arms, others with two that the Overlord had created.

"The Spinjitzu Master did what he could, but he knew against such numbers with such strength he would soon be defeated," Star Swirl said as the stained-glass showed the First Spinjitzu Master surrounded by stone warriors before he struck the ground and a crack of light formed across the ground. "So instead of losing the battle, he used all his power to divide the land in half! Thus, creating the land of Equestria and the land which would only imprison the Overlord." The stained-glass then showed the land breaking off from a black landmass as the two drifted away from each other.

"And lucky for us, since then there has been no trace of the Overlord, or his Stone Army," Misako said, "until our most recent discovery."

"So that's why the battle has yet to be decided," Flash spoke up. "It was never finished in the first place."

"But where is this Dark Island?" Rarity asked. "I've never heard of such a place."

"Disappeared, we presumed," Misako guessed. "But the legend states that so long as the balance between good and evil remains even, the Overlord shall remain trapped from this world. I have always feared your father's ambition will ultimately lead to a shift in the balance. That is why he must be stopped."

"We have each felt the power of the First Spinjitzu Master pass on to us in the form of the elemental weapons and overtime, we have also felt the Overlord's influence through those who wish to bring about an age of darkness and suffering, even ones who didn’t seem likely as threats like the Washouts, Iron Will." Starswirl spoke up as Luna winced, knowing he was also talking about her. "But now the power of the Spinjitzu Master has been inherited by the Light Ninja, which is why only Lloyd can defeat the ultimate evil. Or else all of Equestria will fall to darkness."

"Leaving you, Lloyd, was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," Misako admitted. "But faced with saving you and the world, I had no other choice."

Meanwhile, creatures have gathered outside the room where they are talking in the front of the large tarp where the Curator stood next to. "And now, fillies, gentlecolts, and creatures of all kinds, I present to you this museum's greatest find," he spoke to them. "It outdates every other piece we have here, found right underneath this very building. I give you…" He then went up to the tarp. "An ancient Stone Samurai Warrior!" He removed the tarp to reveal a giant four-armed Samurai-taur statue nearly double the size of Tirek.

The crowd applauded so loudly that none of them noticed a single drop of Devourer venom dropped down on to the statue’s head, reanimating it as its stone body turned black and red. It then flexed its arms and the ponies gasped in shock, “It’s alive!” One stallion yelled as they all backed away.

“Impossible! It just looks life-like,” the curator assured before the Stone Warrior grabbed him and spoke in an incomprehensible language. It then threw the curator at the stallion as the crowd ran out of the room. It looked around and heard voices.

“So, have you found a way to prevent me from facing my father?” Lloyd asked his mother and Star Swirl, but the shook their heads.

“Unfortunately, no,” Misako said, before she smiled. “But I have reason to believe that there is still hope--”

She was then interrupted when they heard a smashing sound and turned around and saw the Giant Stone Warrior at the doorway pointing his swords at him.

“WHOA! Excuse me for saying this, but can somepony please tell me,” Gaia started before she pointed at the giant Centaur, “WHAT IN EQUESTRIA’S NAME IS THAT?!?!?”

“The Stone Centaur Warrior,” Star Swirl answered with a glare.

“How is it moving around like that, though?!” Spike asked as he hid behind Twilight.

“The Devourer’s venom must’ve reanimated him!” Frost realized.

“Grrr… great! Even in death, that overgrown snake is causing us problems!” she complained before turning to Trail, “Trail, take care of him!”

“Um, me?” Trail asked nervously before he looked at the stone giant that almost seemed to be taunting him. He frowned before flipping up his hood and drawing his sword, “Okay rockhead! Take this!” He charged at the warrior with his sword aimed at it.

Star Swirl’s eyes widened. “Wait! Trail, don’t!” he called but he was too late. The moment Trail’s sword struck the Stone Warrior’s sword, it shattered into pieces.

"Well, in my mind’s eye, I saw that playing out entirely different," Trail said before he was picked up by the Centaur by his back leg.

"The Overlord created his Stone Army from an indestructible material only found on the Dark Island!" Misako explained.

"Ah. Great! You could've mention that earlier!" Trail complained before the Centaur tossed him over his shoulder. He then crashed into some pots.

"Lloyd! Use your powers!" Wu ordered as Lloyd charged up his Light energy and blasted the Centaur. The others cheered for Lloyd before they gasped in shock as the Stone Warrior was unharmed. It then spoke in its indecipherable language, sounding quite angry.

"Wait a minute. How are we supposed to destroy this thing?" Landrush asked.

"We can't," Star Swirl told him as they backed up as it was beating down the door frame.

The Ninja and Mane Six charged at the statue, but all their attacks bounced right off it as it just swatted them away.

Frost and Gaia threw their weapons, but the Stone Warrior knocked them away.

Landrush tried to swing his scythe but missed and then got kicked away with Applejack when she tried to buck its leg.

Thunder and Pinkie charged at it but were quickly punted away. “Oh, that didn’t work!” Pinkie said before she noticed the giant about to squish them under its hoof.

However, at the last second Flash and Rainbow flew around its head to confuse it, making it miss the two on the ground. The floor shook when its stomped, and Thunder and Pinkie rolled away from it.

“Heh, easy big guy, maybe this is a sign you need to lose a few pounds,” Thunder joked as he and Pinkie giggled but then they were elbowed and Thunder slid towards the pit. He panicked as he got close but thankfully Pinkie caught him just in time, “Whew, close one. Thanks, Pinkie,” he thanked as Pinkie helped him up.

“Don’t mention it.”

Soon, they heard Rainbow and Flash scream as they flew over their heads and faceplanted against the wall. “Ooh, that’s gotta hurt,” she and Thunder winced while the latter peeled the two from the walls with his magic.

Twilight and Rarity fired magic lasers at the Stone Warrior, but it deflected them with its sword and knocked them away. It then noticed Spike chewing on one of its legs before the young dragon groaned as he rubbed his jaw. “Ooh man, it’s so tough!” he grunted with soreness before he got tossed away and then caught by Twilight.

Frost then jumped and tried an air kick at the Stone Warrior’s chest but he only got bounced off. The Stone Warrior then thoroughly pummeled the heroes before he tossed them out of the room one by one, and they hit and slid down the walls.

“Oh, is everypony okay?” Twilight asked, as they moaned a ‘yes’ as they all helped each other back their feet.

“Ugh, this is gonna much harder than a bunch of bobbleheads, guys,” Flash groaned as Twilight helped him up.

Pinkie then walked up to the doorway. “Well, then I suppose it’s a good thing we’re in a museum,” she said nervously.

“Why is that?” Misako asked before the Stone Warrior burst through the doorway.

“‘Cause we’re all about to becone history! RRRUNNNN!!!” Pinkie screamed as they all ran for it.

They ran as fast as their legs could go but the Stone Warrior managed to stay with them as it was surprisingly fast for its size, “Aw hayseeds, the feller’s got a pair of horseshoes on ‘im!” Applejack said as she urged them to keep running. “Pick up the pace, y’all! Go! Go! GO!”

They ran across the museum but no matter where they went the Stone Warrior stayed right on their tails. “Oh man, he’s pretty fast for a big guy!” Trail noted.

“Actually, despite their sturdy, indestructible nature, the Stone Army’s armor and bodies were surprisingly light, making their maneuverability astonishing!” Star Swirl told him as they entered another room and barracked the doors.

For a moment they thought they were safe but then the Stone Warrior stabbed the door, scaring them as it roared and tried break down the door.

“This monstrosity is unstoppable!” Gaia said as the Stone Warrior kept crashing at the door.

“Indestructible, to be more precise!” Frost commented as they saw the door was beginning to crack.

Trail backed away. “That door’s not gonna hold him forever!” he said.

“Then let’s settle this like ponies,” Thunder suggested. “With Rock, Paper, Scissors! Loser has to face him, so the others can escape!” With that the Ninja and the Mane Six all put their hooves in.

But when Lloyd and Twilight put their hooves in Rarity pushed them out. “Ah, ah, ah, not you and the Ruler of Equestria, Chosen One!” she retorted to Lloyd, as he stared at their hooves, “Alright, on three, darlings,” That was when Lloyd and Twilight got an idea. “One, two--”

“WAIT!” Lloyd and Twilight shouted, halting them. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?” Wu asked with a raised brow.

“If you guys can distract him, I think me and Twilight know how to stop him,” Lloyd said.

Twilight nodded, “Trust us.”

The others looked at each other before Landrush spoke up. “I say we give the kid and Princess a shot!” he said.

“You're just saying that, 'cause you're too afraid to face him!” Rainbow frowned at him.

Landrush raised a brow. “Oh, then I suppose you wanna face it?” he asked as Rainbow turned to the Stone Warrior still banging on the door.

She frowned in fear, gulping a bit before smiling at Lloyd and Twilight. “I say we give the kid and Twilight a shot,” she said as the two nodded at her.

Flash then approached Twilight. “Good luck Twi,” he smiled and she smiled back before giving her a kiss.

Misako the walked up to Lloyd. “Be careful Lloyd, and good luck to you as well,” she said to her son.

Lloyd smiled. “Thanks, mom,” he thanked before he stood next to Twilight and she teleported them away.

“I can’t believe that’s actually Lord Garmadon’s son,” Misako sighed as she looked at where Lloyd and Twilight had vanished.

Celestia then smiled sympathetically at her. “Don’t forget, he’s also the son of Misako as well,” she said as she turned to Wu.

“He’s had a good teacher,” she smiled.

Wu smiled and gestured to the six Ninja. “You mean, teachers,” he corrected.

Garmadon and his Legion of Doom are found washed up on a beach of a small island. Somehow, they had survived. His Legion held their heads as the venom was wearing off on them. "When… I get… my hooves on th-those S-S-Serpentine…" Chrysalis grunted as well as feeling nauseous. Little that they know that through the palm trees, something was looking at them.

"Wh-Where are we?" the Storm King asked as was still a little dizzy.

“This is no island I’m familiar with,” Tirek said as he sniffed the air while the others stood up, “but the magic seems… different.”

“You’re right… It feels different,” Sombra said, as the magic around them felt… darker. He then gasped. “We are not alone,” he whispered to the others, as the villains also felt that something was watching them.

"Ah… I've been waiting for you all," they heard a weak, raspy voice call out, coming from within the jungle, the voice sending chills up and down their spines.

"Who goes there?!" Garmadon asked as they looked for the source of that voice, frantically. "Who are you?! Where are you?!"

“What is this place?! Where are we!?” Nightmare Moon demanded as they noted the palm trees. “This isn’t part of Equestria!”

“It is the place you were always meant to find,” the voice wheezily responded. “Destiny brought you all here.”

The villains realized what the voice meant. “Wait! You mean, this… this is the Dark Island?!" Sombra asked. "The one mentioned in Captain Salt-Beak's log?!"

“I kinda pictured it a little more… gritty and miserable-looking,” the Storm King commented.

Garmadon picks up some sand and then turns to where the voice was. “But then, who are you?” he asked again.

”I have worn many names in my lifetime, but you mortals may call me...‘Overlord’.” the voice rasped out.

The villains gasped. “The Overlord?” Chrysalis asked.

“I thought you were a legend!” Tirek said.

“I’ve heard of you,” Sombra said simply.

“The who now?” the Storm King raised a brow, looking rather unimpressed, which earned a glare from his fellow villains.

“I assure you, I am very real,” the Overlord told them, “and I believe, there is a reason you have come to the Dark Island.”

"Yes, there is. I… I order you to give us the power to defeat the Ninja!" Garmadon demanded. "Give us the power to turn Equestria into our own image!" The only answer they got was the Overlord howling with laughter.

“Why do you laugh at us?!” Nightmare Moon demanded.

"Soon, all of you will have everything you desire, but first, there is something you must do for me," the Overlord told them as he revealed himself to be a black orb covered in purple smoke.

"And what would that be?!" Storm King asked.

Back in Equestria, the Stone Warrior finally broke down the door and stomped into the room, but noticed that nopony was in here. As he walked around the room looking for the Ninja and their allies, he didn’t realize they were hiding above him. Star Swirl then gave Gaia a signal and she nodded before racing across the room, jumping over to hanging skeleton, slicing a rope, and dropping a massive creature’s skeleton. The Stone Warrior looked up just in time to see the skeleton burying him under a pile of bones.

“Whoa! Direct hit!” Thunder cheered as they came out of their hiding places.

They slid down the skeleton and cheered. “Nice job, Gaia!” Landrush congratulated the mare as she gave her a hoof bump.

They all stood where the skeleton fell on the centaur. “Did we get him?” Gaia asked before the Stone Warrior’s fist burst out from the bones as he roared.

“He’s still here!” Trail shouted as they backed away from the pile.

“Do you think Twilight and Lloyd are ready with their plan?” Frost asked.

“I sure hope so,” Applejack said as they all ran out of the room as the Stone Warrior’s body erupted from the pile, with the creature’s skull on his head. As they ran, Misako tripped and fell before Wu helped her up.

"I might not be a Ninja, but I can look after myself," Misako assured him before she jumped over a railing and slide down a piece of tapestry. The others followed her example and slide down the tapestry themselves.

Before they could run again the Stone Warrior crashed in the middle of them, knocking them all, minus Misako, down as it smashed the skull on its head before turning to the mare.

Misako ran as it brought its sword down and nearly hit her. It then gave chase to her as the others recovered. Misako ran down a hall and into a hallway filled with large pots and hide behind one of them. The Stone Warrior started smashing pots one by one, getting angry as he kept failing to find her, not realizing she was hiding behind a pillar. As he was about smash another one, he finally noticed her before she gasped and ran away again.

The Stone Warrior smashed open doorways as she led it back to its exhibit room and she ran into the stain glass room. “Over here!” Twilight called as she saw her with Lloyd waving to her and some buckets of paint and paper around them, and the pit was missing as well.

“Hurry!” Lloyd shouted.

“Lloyd! Princess!” Misako cheered before she over to them and the Stone Warrior broke the doorway again. Misako stood next to them as it roared at them.

“Hey loser!” Lloyd called to the Stone Warrior.

“You think you’re unbeatable, huh?” Twilight challenged. “Well, we got news for you!”

“Paper beats ROCK!” the two shouted as the Stone Warrior roared and charged at them.

The three rolled out of the way just in time to where Stone Warrior was standing where they were and fell into the pit hidden under the paper, screaming to the bottom. Lloyd, Twilight, and Misako walked over to the pit.

“Of course, the bottomless pit,” Misako realized.

Twilight smirked. “Ha! Looks like the Overlord didn’t give his indestructible army any brains!” she declared as she and Lloyd hoof bumped.

The others rushed to where they were and were relieved that they were okay. “Oh, thank goodness,” Rarity said in relief.

Misako hugged Lloyd. “I’m so proud of you,” she said as Lloyd smiled and flipped up his hood, wanting to hear that for so long. “I feel like the balance has brought us together.” She then kissed his cheek.

Flash then trotted up to Twilight and pulled her into a kiss. “I knew you could do it,” he said as he broke the kiss.

The others approached, with Wu making an offer. “Stay with us. Help us fight the good fight.”

Misako smiled and turned to Lloyd. “If that's okay with my son,” she said.

"Hey. The more, the merrier,” Lloyd quipped as Misako smiled and they hugged again.

Back on the small island, Garmadon and his Legion of Doom made their way through the jungle, pushing through the foliage. “How much further?!” Garmadon asked.

“We’ve wandering this jungle for miles! How far do we have to travel to do this favor for you?” Sombra asked.

“Until I say so,” The Overlord said as the orb floated above their heads, “You do want to turn all of Equestria into your image, right?” he questioned.

“Of course, I do!” Garmadon retorted as he pushed away a branch, “It's all I've ever wanted!”

"You could at least tell us what you need us to do!!" Nightmare Moon hissed.

They soon came across a clearing on a hill and walked up to a large rock sitting on top of it. Four front pressure plates were revealed to be on. Tirek looked at each detail and noticed something.

"Four hooves?" he pointed out before looking out in the jungle where the Overlord was watching them. "Is that a coincidence?!"

“I told you, it is destiny!” the Overlord said, almost amusedly.

“Just do it Garmadon, and let us see this ‘destiny’ he’s been going on about,” Chrysalis told the Dark Lord.

Garmadon rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said as he stood on his back legs and pressed the plates.

All six of them felt rumbling after he pressed the plates and the rock began to sink down as other larger rocks began to rise around the small island.

The Overlord howled with laughter as the villains were getting freaked by what was happening, “HAHA! Rise! Yes, RISE!” The Overlord yelled to the sky as it went dark as more rocks began to form out of the ocean around them. Pretty soon the rocks and pillars transformed the island into a dark mirror image of Equestria.

All six of them stepped back and gazed at their surrounding now that the scenery has changed. “Well, at least we know why no creature ever found this hunk of rock,” the Storm King commented

"The ultimate battle between good and evil has been foretold." They turned to see a purple orb of dark magical energy float, a Blackish core pulsating as it spoke with the Overlord's voice. "And with all of your help, we will rule this world!" All six villains laughed maniacally as they had found the island they have been searching for: The Island of Darkness.

Meanwhile in the Realm of Chaos, Discord was sitting on his cloud chair, reading a newspaper when suddenly his body went all squiggly and he gasped in shock. “No… It can’t be him… Can it?” he asked himself, literally as there was another Discord with glasses next to him.

“There is no denying it; he has returned!” the other Discord told him ominously with his eyes narrowed. An awkward pause came before the glasses-wearing Discord poked his copy’s nose. “Well, don’t just stand there like a Canterlot Gardens statue! Go and warn Celly and the others!”

In response, the first Discord snapped his claws, covering himself in an army uniform. “Sir, yes, sir!” he saluted before teleporting away.

The other Discord looked at the fourth wall and smirked. “Stay tuned viewers, this story is only halfway finished.”

Chapter 8: The Day Equestria Stood Still

The Serpentine Generals returned to the City of Ouroboros where all the Serpentine chanted Skales as they praised him as their one true king, for he had ended the false reign of Garmadon and his Legion of Doom. Acidicus, Fangtom and Skalidor then approached him, Fangtom gave him his staff, Acidicus gave him a crown and armor to symbolize his place as leader and Skalidor gave him...a box?

Skales looked at the sheepish Skalidor before he knocked the box out of his hand. “Idiot!” he said before waving to his new subjects, thanking them before whispering to the other Generals to join with the crowd. He then turned back to thanking the crowd for their praise before he made his speech. "Hypnobrai, Venomari, Conssstrictai, and Fangpyre! Hear me! The troubled reign of that duplicitousss pony Garmadon and hisss group of has-beensss..."

"You're it," a Hypnobrai woman tagged a Venomari, not paying attention to Skales’s speech.

"No, you're it," he tagged back.

“...isss finally at an end. And with that madcreature of an Anacondrai, Pythor, no longer misssleading usss all.” Skales continued his speech, “at lassst, our time hasss come.”

“Hahaha, no you!” the Hypnobrai Woman laughed as she slaps the Venomari on the back of his head.

“We SSSerpentine mussst now unite in a common dessstiny: to sssecure our place as rulersss of Equestria and the landsss beyond, and not let thossse other insssufferable sssurface-dwellersss win,” Skales declared as he smirked. “Ssso as my first order, I sssay we burrow beneath all their beloved citiesss, ssstarting with Equessstria City, to bury them ass they once buried usss!”

The Serpentine cheered at the idea as in the crowd a female magenta Hypnobrai swooned at the sight of Skales.

“Fellow SSSerpentine, it'sss time we knock Equessstria City back down to sssize!"

Meanwhile in Dareth's dojo, Lloyd was blindfolded as the Ninja had their weapons out and surrounded him. "Don't rely on your eyes," Flash told him. "Use your ears." Lloyd took a defensive stance as the Ninja were prepared to strike before Dareth walked in.

"Uh, guys, I'm teaching a class later, so I appreciate a clean dojo," he told them before they began sparring. The Ninja all swung their weapons at Lloyd but he jumped and kicked away Frost’s shurikens and knocking Thunder off balance. He then caught Landrush’s scythe and then grabbed Flash’s bo and used it to block Trail’s sword and flick away Gaia’s sais. Lloyd then used the scythe to spin around and kick each of them back. He even kicked Landrush right at Dareth before he rushed back in.

Lloyd heard him coming and quickly jumped out of the way as he crashed into his scythe before dodging Thunder's nunchucks and Trail's sword. He then twisted and redirected Flash towards Dareth’s fake trophy shelf, “Ah! No! No-no-no-no!” Dareth yelled as he frantically fixed his shelf while Lloyd continued to kick away the other Ninja and even kicked Gaia towards the window, which she almost crashed through if Dareth had not opened the window, and sent her flying outside before he closed it again, without letting her back inside.

As the other Ninja picked themselves up Lloyd then used his elemental fire powers as white fire appeared his hooves and some sparks landed on the floor. Dareth yelped and quickly stomped out the fire with his hooves and then sighed in exhaustion.

"Hey, open the window!" Gaia shouted from outside as she banged on the window. "Let me in!" Meanwhile back on the Bounty, Wu was looking out at the city before he took off his hat and pulled out a very old photo of himself as a teenager colt, along with his brother with very grayish black coat and red eyes (an early sign of his change to evil), a young Celestia and Luna, the former with her pink mane and the latter with her light-blue and much shorter mane, and a brown-maned young Misako.

Wu sighed sadly, remembering how simple and good everything was back then, desperately missing the old days. He was so busy reminiscing that he did not notice Star Swirl, Misako and the Royal Sisters were behind him. "I'd forgotten how grey Garmadon's coat was before his change to evil was complete," Misako spoke up, making Wu jump before he quickly put the photo away and his hat back on.

Wu cleared his throat and turned to her. "Misako, once again you slip through my defenses,” he remarked, trying to play it cool.

"We just walked in," Celestia told him. "You just didn't hear us come in."

“You’ll have to forgive us, we didn’t mean to pry,” Star Swirl said as he showed Wu some scrolls. “Misako and I had just finished bringing our research on the prophecy of the Light Ninja.”

“I thought maybe we could go over it together,” Misako offered as Star Swirl used his magic to lay them front of Wu.

"Hmm, my…" Wu remarked as he saw the amount of research. "There's so much. It will take days." He picked up on of the scrolls before the photo in his hat slipped out and he put it back up.

"I should have chosen you to look after Lloyd," Misako said as Wu was looking at the scroll.

“The past is the past,” Wu reminded her.

Luna smiled and approached him. “Yes, but there’s always the future.”

“And that has yet to be written,” Star Swirl added as Wu smiled. Suddenly, the tender moment was interrupted by a tremor. “The land trembles, I fear from unnatural causes.” Star Swirl said as the five joined the Ninja, the Mane Six, Spike, Starlight, Trixie, Sunburst, and the Young Six down in the dojo.

"ETV reporter Gayle Gossip on the scene of what appears to be earthquakes rocking all of Equestria." On a television, the reporter, a bright pink, crimson-maned unicorn mare, was holding a microphone while standing near a park. "But it's an earthquake like no other, as scientists have yet to pinpoint the cause. And more frightening still, the aftershocks are getting stronger."

“What do you think this could be?” Rarity asked.

“Wouldn't be surprised if it was Garmadon and his crew of cruelty,” Trail frowned.

“Probably. We haven't seen them since we traveled to the past,” Gaia added.

“Garmadon would never,” Misako defended her husband. “Lloyd's father is evil, but he would never do anything to put his son in harm's way or allow anycreature else to do so.”

Wu nodded. “Misako's right. He only tried to thwart his training.” He then stroked his beard. “This is something else.”

“But what is it?” Thunder asked.

Frost quickly whistled and his falcon landed on his foreleg. “My friend, be my eyes and look for danger in the streets from above,” the Ice Ninja told his falcon as he opened the window and the robotic bird took flight to patrol the city.

“In the meantime, we should probably help the creatures caught in these quakes,” Twilight said as they all nodded and rushed out into the streets.

Unbeknownst to any of them, the cause was not happening above ground, but beneath them. The Serpentine were executing the plan Skales came up with as a few Constrictai were drilling underground. "Drill, baby, drill!" Skales shouted as they continue further underground. But then a drop of green Devourer’s venom fell on his arm. “Uegh, disssgusssting!” he repulsed, shaking his arm, “The Devourer’sss infernal venom has ssseeped everywhere!”

Skales then bumped into a Constrictai. “Why are we ssstopping?!” he demanded.

The Constrictai bowed and gestured behind her. “Forgive me, your Highnessss, but we’ve hit sssomething that we can’t dig through!” she said.

“Impossssible!” Skales said as he slithered forward, “There isss no such thing!” He was proven wrong as in front of him was a giant stone wall covered in strange markings and a stranger language.

“It’sss ancient,” Acidicus said as he studied the wall drawings. “Perhapsss older than the SSSerpentine themssselevesss.”

Meanwhile on the Dark Island, Garmadon and his Legion of Doom were climbing up a cliff as instructed by the Overlord. "So, let me get this straight," the Storm King grunted as he lifted himself up. "This ‘Overlord’ thingy’s been around since the creation of Equestria and fought Garm’s daddy a long ago?"

“Indeed,” Tirek said as he panted. “And apparently, is now making us climb all this way, without even telling us why.”

"This is madness!" Garmadon roared. "You test me?! Lord Garmadon?! Equestria's rightful ruler?!"

"What's exactly on top of this heap of rock anyway that you forbade us to fly up there?!" Chrysalis shouted at the Overlord.

"Patience" The Overlord told them. "All will make sense in time. For now, follow my instructions."

"To what end?" Sombra asked, "What is so important at the top of this cliff?!"

"The key to the greatest army ever seen," The Overlord answered, "And the means, to the greatest weapon ever known."

"What good will these things do for us, marooned on this uninhabited island?" Nightmare Moon asked him.

"And how will we even return to Equestria?!" Tirek added.

"My master plan has been in the works since the beginning of time." The Overlord told them as he flew by them."Every piece moves in perfect harmony like the gears of a clock, slowly shifting the balance of power back to darkness. Every piece, that is, but the six of you."

Garmadon growled as scrapped the ground. “Alright then!” He jumped off the cliff and just barely grabbing on to the edge.

"Are we really doing this?!" The Storm King asked the others before they followed Garmadon's lead. "Ugh… I guess we're really doing this." He then joined them in climbing the cliff to the top.

Meanwhile back in Equestria City, many creatures were running as the earthquakes were getting worse and debris from the taller buildings were dropping down onto the streets.

One dog was barking at her owner, who was across the street. “Oh, Snickers! Stay there, Mommy's coming!” The mare shouted as she ran to her dog, only to get caught in the middle of a crevasse. Her dog barked to help her but the mare waved her off, “Oh, stay where you are! Help! Help ME!”

As if on cue, the Ninja and the Mane Six arrived. “Ninja and Council to the rescue!” Lloyd declared before he jumped, before the rest followed Lloyd, each pony grabbing the prior one’s hind legs, leaving Applejack and Landrush holding the living pony chain steady.

"A few more inches, guys!" Lloyd grunted as he could barely reach the mare at the bottom. Both Applejack and Landrush were holding on as best as they could while the dog was barking at them.

"We appreciate the support, doggy," Landrush told the dog before Lloyd grabbed the mare's front hooves. But then the ground under began to crack and broke off as the dog jumped off and the Ninja almost fell.

Landrush and Applejack jumped back on to more stable ground. “Whoa Nelly! Maybe we shoulda thought this plan through a bit more,” Applejack grunted as she pulled and the dog barked again.

“No more help, please!” Landrush groaned as the two managed to pull the rest of them out with all their might.

"Oh, thank you!" the mare told them as she reunited with her dog.

"No sweat," Lloyd told her as Applejack and Landrush panted.

"Speak for yourself. We did all the heavy lifting." Landrush complained.

“These things keep coming with no warning!” Trail groaned as Wu, Misako, the Royal Sisters, and Star Swirl ran up to them.

"That's it. A warning," Misako said as she, Star Swirl, Wu, and the Royal Sisters rushed over to them before she unraveled a scroll. "The scrolls said the earthquakes would be a warning." The scroll showed them a picture of many creatures of Equestria running in fear as the ground beneath them was split open while claws of shadow rose out from the fissures. "A warning for something far worse to come."

"Far worse?!" Thunder repeated. "What could be far worse?!"

“Wait! Misako, Star Swirl, the indestructible Samu-Taur Warrior we fought the other day,” Twilight remembered, getting a bad feeling what that ‘far worse’ was. “Where did you find it?”

“It was buried underneath the museum,” Star Swirl answered, seeing what the princess was thinking.

"You don't think there's more underneath Equestria, do you?" Rarity asked in a worried tone.

“I hope not! We couldn’t even hurt one of them!” Gaia remarked.

"Be on guard, everypony," Wu told them. "We must be ready for whatever comes our way."

Meanwhile underground beneath the city, the Serpentine were stuck in one place as they cannot drill through the wall in front of them while covering their heads from the venom dripping from above. This made Skales really frustrated. “I will not accept defeat! Thisss wall mussst be dessstroyed if we are to bring down Equessstria City. Call for every SSSerpentine and--” Skales ranted before he saw a certain scrawling on the wall. It strangely looked like a Hypnobrai with a familiar crown on its head. “What’sss thisss?”

“It looksss like you, SSSkalesss,” Skalidor noted.

Skales however frowned, “That's impossssible.” He tried to get a better look, only to be obscured by a magenta Hypnobrai. He frowned and grabbed her shoulder. “Get out of the way, imbec--” His words died in his throat as the Hypnobrai turned to him and he was starstruck by her.

"I'm ssso sssorry, my king," the magenta Hypnobrai said with a bow. "I didn't mean to get in your way."

Skales then cleared his throat and held his head up with dignity, “Uh, think nothing of it, my dear, but if you would be ssso kind asss to move away?” he requested.

“Of course, sssire,” the Hypnobrai smiled as she bowed again and moved aside for him.

Skales looked at her before turning back to the wall and feeling it. He then touched a button, causing the door to raise itself open and revealing a hidden chamber. “Ssspooky,” Skales commented as he and the Serpentine walked in. Seeing a lever and pulling it, it turned on hidden lights in the chamber, “Ssspooky.”

The room revealed to contains rows upon rows of countless Samu-Taur Warrior statues covered in dust. The Serpentine spread out and studied the statues. They could tell by the way they were carved that some of them were male while the others were female.

"Look at me, I'm a ssstiff," a Venomari joked as he stood at attention and acted like one of the stone statues.

"Ssso ssstiff!" a Hypnobrai woman said before the two laughed together.

But what they did not realize was that the venom of the Devourer had oozed into the chamber and started dripping down on to the statues. Their eyes glowed green as row by row the Stone Army was reanimated, turning from stone to flesh as the drew their weapons at the intruders.

"What?! It’sss a trap!" Skales shouted in alarm before he pointed his staff at them. "Attack!"

His army charged at the warriors. As some of the Serpentine clashed weapons with the warriors, they saw their weapons getting broken in half. Their arms did no damage on them.

"They're indessstructible!" a Fangpyre called out as other Serpentine tried to use their powers on them, but they also had no effect on these warriors at all. They were immune to the Hypnobrai's hypnotic gaze, the Fangpyre could not bite through their armor, the Venomari’s venom slid off their shields and weapons, and the warriors were able to pry the Constrictai coils off them.

"Our powersss are uselessss againsssst them!" Acidicus noted to Skales. "Do we retreat?!"

"No retreat!" Skales shouted as a few of the warriors surrounded him. "We're SSSerpentine, we fight!" He spun around and knocked down the warriors surrounding him with his tail. The Serpentine then did all that they could to fight back against the Samu-Taur Warriors, but the Samu-Taur Warriors managed to overpower them and marched their way towards the exit.

Skales sat up and saw as the Samu-Taur Army marched out the entrance was closing. “We’ll be trapped underground again!” He warned as he slithered as fast as he could to the exit. “No! Thisss can’t be true!” Try as he might Skales couldn’t reach the exit before it sealed shut, trapping the Serpentine once again, “NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” he screamed as he cried and banged on the door, before he coughed from the extended scream, only to continue after briefly catching his breath.

The Serpentine watched as their leader futilely banged on the door while crying. Skales was overcome by shame; he had failed! Just like Pythor before him, he had led the Serpentine to ruin and worse, right back to where they started.

As the magenta Hypnobrai watched her leader crumble to pieces, she walked over to him. "My king, it will be all right," she told him.

"No, it won't be!" Skales shouted as he punched the ground. "All that effort on getting revenge on thossse who trapped usss underground, hasss only to led usss to end up right back where we sssstarted!" He then looked ashamed. “I wasss a fool to think I could a greater leader than Pythor!”

“Ssskalesss, my old friend, do not dare sssay sssuch a thing!” Fangtom told him as he and the other Generals approached and Skales turned to them in confusion. “You are ten timesss the leader Pythor wasss!”

"You were the one who wanted usss to rule asss brothersss and sssistersss…" Acidicus added. "You were the one who got rid of Garmadon and hisss Legion of Doom."

"If anything, you're our true leader! All Pythor cared about wasss himssself, when you put all our needsss firssst!" Skalidor told him as the rest of the Serpentine cheered in agreement.

Skales looked at his people in shock. Even after leading them to be trapped again, they still believed in him. The magenta Hypnobrai then held his shoulder and smiled. “A true leader leadsss by example, my King, and perhapsss the example you should ssset isss one of peace and friendship, jussst asss Princesss Twilight doesss for her sssubjectsss,” she suggested.

"She is correct, my king," an elderly voice remarked, coming from deep within the chamber. Soon four figures slithered out of the shadows and the four of them looked like Serpentine Generals, only older and their staffs are a different color of metal. The female Hypnobrai Elder had a dark blue staff, the female Fangpyre Elder had a crimson red staff, the male Venomari Elder had a dark green staff, and the male Constrictai Elder had a dark orange staff. “There isss a greater threat on the horizon, and for usss to face it, we mussst abandon our warring waysss and move forward,” the Hypnobrai Elder said.

“For as they sssay in Equessstria, ‘The passst is the passst’,” The Fangpyre Elder started.

“‘…and the future is the future’,” the Venomari Elder finished.

Skales listened to their words before nodding and turning to the magenta Hypnobrai, "What isss your name, ma'am?" he asked her.

She then bowed her head, "SSSelma," she answered.

Skales nodded and looked to his subjects. "Fellow SSSerpentine, though we are once again trapped here in the underground, we ssstill keep our ssspiritsss high, asss we build a new age of Harmony, here in our new home!" he declared as the Serpentine cheered before he took Selma's hand, "And SSSelma, thank you for helping me realize how to be a true leader. And for that, I hereby dub you the new Serpentine General of the Hypnobrai!"

He held out his staff as she looked at it in shock. After an encouraging smile from Skales she took the staff as a glow engulfed her body. Her legs then merged to form into a tail, she held up the staff as the Serpentine cheered for her.

“Thank you, my brothersss and sssistersss, I promise to help King SSSkalesss and my fellow Generalsss guide you to a greater future!” she promised before turning to the elders, specifically the Hypnobrai Elder. “Now Mamba, you sssaid there may be a greater threat for usss to face.”

She nodded. “Yesss. Now gather round everyone, and lisssten to the Curssse of the Golden Massster,” Mamba said as every Serpentine listened carefully.

Meanwhile above ground, a Samu-taur Warrior burst out of the ground in an alleyway as it roared of its freedom. Frost's falcon flew by and saw the Samu-taur Warrior destroy a fire hydrant and was sending the footage back to Frost himself.

“Sensei, it’s just as we feared!” Frost told Wu. “Another Samu-Taur Warrior is loose on the streets.”

The ground beneath them began to burst as another one was rising behind them and scared them.

“I think you mean two!” Pinkie said before more popped up. “Or three, four, five…six--Okay I’m lost! It’s too many, right now!”

"No, no, no!" Flash shouted as more and more for rising out of the ground around them. Three of them turned a corner and saw the Ninja.

"No! We're under attack!" Wu shouted as they took a defensive position.

All throughout the city, the Samu-taur Warriors were terrorizing the city while the news reporter from earlier kept her broadcast going with her assistant.

"As this army of samurai centaurs sweeps over the city, no one is safe!" Gayle Gossip reported as some of the Samu-Taur Warriors were chasing down creatures down the street. "Mayhem and destruction are their only want." On the televisions, Gayle could be seen talking as another Samu-taur Warrior cuts out a glass shaped like itself, “Attempts at communication have failed, prohibiting even the desperate option of surrender! And we’ve just received reports of these monsters appearing in the major cities of non-pony kingdoms! This is no longer a threat to ponykind, but all creaturekind! The leaders of each nation have already called for a massive evacuation!”

In the Dragon Lands, many dragons were getting their young, both hatched and non, to safety as the Samu-taur Warriors were attacking. Some dragons were breathing fire at them but we're having no effect on them.

“Just use your fire to hold them back! Get the hatchlings to safety! We’re leaving NOW!” Ember ordered her dragons. She knew that dragons hated running from a fight, but she knew the safety of her people was more important than pride.

“You heard Dragon Lord Ember! Move your tail!” Garble told the adult Dragons as they created a fire and blocked the Samu-Taur Warriors from advancing as they carried their young and eggs to safety.

In Griffonstone, many griffons were trying their best to fight back against their enemy that had just popped out of the ground. The Samu-taur Warriors were tearing through the streets, destroying homes, The Griffons were more occupied with saving their gold and riches than protecting each other.

Gilda saw this and growled. After knocking away a Warrior, she flew up to the air and screeched, getting everygriff’s attention. "Hey, losers! We gotta focus on getting out of here!" she shouted. "Forget the gold! Our lives are more important than that!"

The griffons reluctantly complied, leaving their treasure to instead help anygriff who could fly to get away.

In Yakyakistan, even the yaks were having trouble against the Samu-taur Warriors as the creatures were proven stronger than the yaks. “Yaks not smash strange centaurs!” Prince Rutherford announced to his fellow yaks. “Yaks never run from fight, but this desperate time for all yaks! Yaks must leave home so yaks live to smash another day!” With that, the yaks gathered everything they could and ran for it.

In the Changeling Kingdom most of the warriors had changed into the most powerful creatures they could to fight the Samu-taur Warriors but nothing they did worked.

“Thorax! Our troops are being overrun by these things! I don’t know how long we can hold out!” Pharynx told his brother.

"Then we don't have any other choice. We must abandon the hive!" Thorax reluctantly said.

“You want us to leave?! But--” Pharynx tried to argue but Thorax was firm.

“Pharynx, they may take the Hive, but I won’t risk losing a single Changeling to these invaders!” He said, “Every Changeling gather anything of importance and follow me!”

“You heard the king. We’re evacuating, NOW!!!” Pharynx shouted.

The Changelings complied and before long the Changeling Hive was conquered as well, though the former inhabitants managed to escape.

The hippogriffs were not faring better as well. They thought that with their flight skills, they had the advantage but the Samu-taur Warrior archers derailed those plans.

Queen Novo, realizing they were fighting a losing battle, knew what needed to be done. "Quickly, into the water!" she ordered before some hippogriffs were coming out.

"Your majesty, they are in the water, as well!" a soldier told the queen as more Samu-taur Warriors emerged from the water.

"Just because they can move in water, doesn't mean they can swim fast!" she said. "Everygriff into the water. We're retreating to safer waters!"

The hippogriffs, using their Pearl shard necklaces, turned back into seaponies, and swam as fast they could, joining their underwater residents, organized by Novo’s sister Ocean Flow, in the retreats.

In the Crystal Empire, things were no better. Each time either Shining Armor or Cadence put a barrier shield, the Samu-taur Warriors easily smashed through it.

“Cadence, we’re being overrun!” Shining told his wife. “We need to leave.”

Cadence sighed, as she did not want to abandon their kingdom. But she knew they needed to run, “Everypony, to the train station! We’re evacuating!” she announced to her subjects. The Crystal Empire was about to become abandoned.

Back in Equestria City, banks for being robbed, homes were being invaded, and creatures were running for their lives away from the Samu-Taur Warriors.

At Grand Sensei Dareth’s Mojo Dojo, a Samu-taur Warrior walked into the dojo and cornered some of Dareth’s pupils. “Run!” Dareth told his pupils as he popped up in front of the Samu-Taur Warrior. "You picked on the wrong dojo." He grabbed a sword from the weapon wall, swinging the sword at her before she quickly caught it and tossed it behind her.

"Is that all weak pony has?" she mocked Dareth.

Dareth however looked undeterred. "Okay, amateur hour is over," he said before striking the Samu-Taur Warrior with a scythe only to get punted towards his “trophy” shelf and then rolled out of the way of a punch. "Nice knowing ya!" he waved before running out.

"Get back here!" The Samu-Taur Warrior roared.

Dareth ran outside until he bumped into Gayle Gossip's camera stallion and the two fell.

"That's it, I'm out of here!" the camera stallion said as he quickly got up and ran away.

"Quitter!" Gayle Gossip shouted before she quickly turned to Dareth. "You. Wanna be my camera pony?"

Dareth fiddled with the camera a bit nervously, "Uh, not really?" he said.

"Great, follow me!" Gayle misheard as Dareth reluctantly took the camera and stood up. "I need this shot." Dareth pointed the camera at the chaos around them as the Samu-Taur Warriors were trashing the city. "You getting this?" Gayle asked.

"I hope so," Dareth told her before he pointed the camera to her.

"Ahem… I'm standing outside Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo, training headquarters of the Ninja, only to find that even here, no one is safe," Gayle reported, completely unaware that one of the Samu-Taur Warriors spotted them from behind her.

"Uh, Gayle, um--" Dareth try to warn her as the Samu-Taur Warrior approached from behind her.

"Hey! I talk, you film!" she interrupted.

"But Gayle--" Dareth tried to warn again as the Samu-Taur Warrior got closer.

"No buts!" Gayle interrupted again before she was grabbed from behind.

"Gotcha!" the Samu-Taur Warrior said before he was kicked away by Gaia who then caught Gayle.

"You seemed to be in need of assistance, Ms. Gossip," Gaia said before the others rushed over.

"Thanks, Ms. Ninja," Gayle said before she was put down.

"We just got messages from the other kingdoms and said their evacuations were successful," Twilight said as she held up many scrolls with her magic just as more Samu-Taur Warriors charged at them. "They're all meeting at the west coast, so that's where we're going too!"

"Easier said than done!" Rainbow retorted as more Samu-Taur Warriors showed up.

"Stay strong. Show no weakness," Landrush said as they stood their ground.

Then at the last second, the Ultra Sonic Raider appeared, knocking the Warriors away as Star Swirl, Wu, Misako, Celestia and Luna jumped off.

"We have to protect the people!" Wu told the younger ones.

"Gather everycreature, and get them to our evacuation point!" Celestia added.

"We've got problems with that evacuation point, guys!" Aqua told them over the coms and where she was on the Bounty, a bunch of Samu-Taur Warriors were on the ground, jumping up and trying to get up onto it. "I can't find a safe place to land!"

Gayle had an idea and rushed over to the elders, "ETV News office building has a helipad on its roof!"

"Yes, higher ground! Perfect!" Luna said as she turned to Lloyd. "Lloyd, contact Aqua and tell her to meet us there!"

Lloyd nodded. Gayle then stood in front of the camera and held up her microphone.

"Citizens of Equestria City who have yet to evacuate the city, head towards the ETV building rooftop," she told them. "Our heroic Ninja, Princess of Friendship, and the Council of Friendship will evacuate you from there! But hurry. We're running out of time."

Across the city, everycreature heeded Gayle's report and rushed towards the ETV building to evacuate.

Wu turned to Misako. "And you, stay out of trouble," he told her.

"Looks like that won't be possible," Misako commented as more Samu-Taur Warriors appeared.

Lloyd looked behind him and saw even more coming. "Uh oh, there's more of them!" he said.

Just as they were getting close, Ultra Dragon landed and knocked the ones behind them down.

"We got your back!” Nimbus told them before they took off again.

"Yeah! Ha, ha!" Lloyd shouted as Ultra Dragon flew in front of them and landed.

"Stay where you are, ya walking statues!" Flame warned but the Samu-taur Warriors were unmoved by the threat.

"Lloyd, did you practice your Elemental Quakes?" Wu asked.

"Who needs to practice, when you're natural?!" Lloyd bragged before he jumped out of the Raider and his hooves glowed earth orange before he slammed them down to the ground. The sudden quake caused the ground to break, forming walls to block the Samu-Taur Warriors.

As the e Samu-Taur Warriors tried to attack while the others boarded the Ultra Sonic Raider, Ultra Dragon attacked.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Rocky said as they knocked away the Samu-taur Warriors. “And stay down!”

Lloyd jumped onto the roof of the Raider. “Good job, guys! Now see if you can make us a way out of here!” he told Ultra Dragon.

“Like you need to ask!” Shard said as he froze the risen earth, turning it into an ice ramp, “Now run!”

The Ultra Sonic Raider rolled up onto the ramp, jumping over the Samu-Taur Warriors. Lloyd then turned to Ultra. “Good, now save yourselves and anycreature else who can’t get to the building in time!” Lloyd ordered.

“You got it!” Orchy said as Ultra Dragon then flew off in another direction.

The Samu-Taur Warriors roared in aggravation as they ran after the Ninja, the Mane Six, and their allies.

Back on the Dark Island, Lord Garmadon and his Legion of Doom had made it to the top. “Finally… made it… to… the top!” the Storm King panted as he and the other looked to find an odd mechanism made of gold. At the very center was a Stone Samu-Taur, though the upper half seemed to oddly resemble Garmadon as he looked now, and the statue seemed to hold and wear six quite unique dark objects.

“What is this?” Garmadon wondered as they walked up to the machine, and the statue. “Is… Is that--?”

“It is…” the Overlord rasped out. “I led you here… to show you that it is truly… your destiny to remake this world into your image…”

“And what of this… machine? Is it a planetarium or a very advanced clock?” Chrysalis wondered.

"Who cares what it is? Check out the neat stuff that's on Garma-Stone!" the Storm King remarked as he approached one of the items held by the statue: a gothic-designed staff made of a dark stone with a purple crystal on the top. "Don’t know about the rest of you, but this staff has my name written all over it. It was definitely worth the climb."

“And what of the rest?” Tirek wondered as he noted the armor that seemed suited for him, Chrysalis took notice of the amulet of Changeling design, Sombra saw the crystal sword, Nightmare Moon noted the crescent moon scepter, and Garmadon seemed to eye the black helmet with flame-like horns on it.

“What are these items, Overlord?” Sombra asked as he found himself instinctively drawn to the sword.

"These… are what I wanted you all to find… The Keys to activate the Celestial Clock… This clock… was made to count down to the Final Battle, and to the awakening… of the ultimate power!" the Overlord told them as the Storm King already took the staff from one of the statue’s hooves, causing a piece of the Clock to start moving. "The Staff of Dark Hurricanes, able to conjure forth the mightiest of storms."

"Ooohh, forget my old Staff of Saca-Whatever! I'm totes keeping this one!" The Storm King said with a giddy shudder, as the blue of his eyes and own armor swiftly turned dark purple. “Ohhhhh… YEAH BABY! Now I really am… the STORM KING!” he cried out, feeling a new power flow through as he shot his scepter into the air. It released a dark purple ray that entered the clouds, which soon formed a powerful but brief twister that nearly blew his cohorts off their hooves while amazing them at the power of this item. “Ooh, yeah… Storm-Daddy likey!”

Soon, the others approached their selected items. “The Armor of Dominance, which amplifies the strength of its wearer a hundredfold,” the Overlord said to Tirek about his armor. He took the armor off the statue as another piece of the Clock started to move.

Once he put it on, he felt his muscles getting bigger, his horns growing longer, his skin turning purplish red. He felt stronger and eviler than ever, more than he did after absorbing all the magic from Equestria. "Now, this is more like it!" Tirek declared before he kissed his muscular arms.

Chrysalis was eyeing the amulet as she approached the statue. "The Amulet of the Shadow Swarm, able to call upon creatures from within the darkness," the Overlord told her as she picked up the amulet from one of the statue’s hooves and more of the Clock started to move.

The green of Chrysalis’s body turned purple as above, dozen purple and black evil changeling-like creatures flew above her. “Finally, my own TRUE subjects! I am a Queen once more!” Chrysalis laughed in elation.

Sombra looked at the sword. "The Crystal Sword of Nightmares, able to summon your enemy’s deepest fears into reality with just one swipe," the Overlord explained before Sombra took the sword and more of the Clock moved.

Sombra’s red horn and cape turned purple as his dark magic sparked even stronger while the Sword glowed evilly. “Such power! I can feel it coursing through my veins!” Sombra declared.

Nightmare Moon looked at the glaive. "The Glaive of Blackest Night, able to, with a single blow, make the brightest of days as black as night for a few moments," the Overlord told her before she took it and more of the final pieces of the Clock moved.

Nightmare Moon’s blue Armor turned purple as she cackled. “Finally, a weapon worthy of the Queen of the Night!” she called out as her blue slitted eyes became dark purple and almost like a dragon’s.

Garmadon then turned to the final item, which was on the statue’s head. “And finally… the most powerful and most evil of all the Dark Keys: the Helmet of Shadows,” the Overlord said as the six villains looked at the Helmet with intrigue. “Once one takes the Helmet of Shadows, the Clock will finally start.”

Garmadon liked the sound of the of that and reached for the Helmet. “But be warned,” the Overlord advised cautiously, stopping Garmadon from going further. “Though he who wears the Helmet of Shadows can travel between the Islands at will, once it is removed, the countdown cannot be stopped.”

“Any more warnings?” Garmadon asked impatiently.

“No,” the Overlord answered.

Satisfied, Garmadon took the Helmet of Shadows, replacing his own with it as he placed it on his head. As Garmadon laughed evilly while black armor formed on him and a newly-formed dark purple cape started waving behind his back in the winds. Suddenly, the Clock activated as the hands of the clock finally began moving.

"At last, the countdown to the Final Battle has begun. These Keys are your birthrights. With them, all of you have control of the darkness and of the army."

"Wait, what army?" the Storm King asked with a raised brow.

" My army…"

The villains then laughed. Luck was finally on their side.

Back in Equestria City, the heroes had finished the evacuation of the city and they along with the civilians were rushing into the ETV News Building. "Barricade the doors!" Twilight ordered as they blocked the doors with whatever furniture they could.

"Now we head to the stairwell," Frost said as he put one final furniture in front of the door. Dareth looked up and saw how many stairs there were to the top.

"Stairs? It's twenty floors!" he complained before he walked over to an elevator. "Let's just take the elevator, guys."

“It is unwise to take the elevator during an emergency, Dareth,” Rarity admonished him.

Dareth merely shrugged as the elevator reached ground floor, “Yeah, well I’ll take my chances,” he said, but his tune soon changed as a Samu-Taur Warrior was also in the elevator. It tried to attack him, only to step in a bucket, slip back into the elevator, and end bouncing around it like mad as Dareth dialed it to the lowest level. “Okay, stairs it is! Let’s get climbing, creatures!” Dareth said as they all ran up the stairs.

They continued to run up for a few floors, but Dareth was running out of breath. “Guys, I need to rest.” he panted before he heard a noise. He looked down and then out of nowhere...

“BOO!” A Samu-Taur Warrior popped out under the stairs.

Dareth screamed and zoomed up the stairs. “Second wind!” he yelled as he ran past Misako, knocking off her saddlebags without her noticing. As they all ran up the stairs, the Samu-Taur Warriors were catching up.

"Keep going," Flash told the others as they made it to the top. "We've got this!"

Twilight smiled. "You always do," Flash smiled back and nodded before they went their ways.

"We must buy time for our getaway," Frost told the others as they were repaired to fight.

"NINJA, GO!" all seven Ninja shouted in unison as they did Spinjitzu and ride down the railing of the staircase before coming to a halt at a few Samu-Taur Soldiers. Landrush elbowed one in the face before he knocked it down and a few of them behind it like dominos. Trail, Frost, and Flash then did Spinjitzu to knock them over the edge and to the ground floor.

Lloyd then jumped in front of some more. "Light up!" he declared as he fired a blast of light at them. Then Lloyd, along with Thunder and Gaia, pushed them over the edge, "Ha! Not so tough!" Lloyd mocked only to see they were not hurt and still climbed up. "Whoa… so tough."

"Let's hope we bought enough time," Gaia said.

Trail then looked towards the door. "Come on sis, we're counting on you," he said quietly.

Everycreature made it outside and was wondering where Aqua is. "Where's the Bounty?" Dareth asked as they looked around for it.

Celestia then saw something that made her smile. "Look!" she shouted and pointed to the Destiny’s Bounty flying in. The creatures cheered as Aqua brought the Bounty onto the landing platform. Wu and Misako were about to join hooves before the crowd got in the way and he was forced on to the Bounty.

“Hurry, they're coming!” Lloyd told the people as they walked onto the deck, while the larger dragons carried as many creatures as they could on their backs. But then Misako realized her saddlebags were gone.

“My research!” she cried as she knew the only place it could be and rushed back to the entrance.

Lloyd then stopped her, “No, Mom! It’s too dangerous to go back!” He cried.

“That research is too important to leave behind!” Misako argued before she smiled sadly and kissed Lloyd’s forehead. She then turned and rushed back to get her research back.

"Now, now!" Trail shouted as they lead some creatures below deck. Wu struggled to get past the crowd as the photo was coming out of his hat and he pushed it back in.

Once inside Misako saw her saddlebags tangled in the lighting. She then turned to the Samu-Taur Warriors coming right her, as she dodged and fought her way through them before sliding down the railing.

Some of the Samu-Taur Warriors managed to get onto the roof and charged at the Bounty. "They just keep coming!" Spike complained when he saw them.

“Hurry, hurry!” Sunburst told everycreature as they headed below deck. Then one of the Samu-Taur Warriors with a hammer jumped up to one of the front boosters and smashed.

Aqua gasped as she got a warning alarm, “Uh oh, this is bad.” She spoke. The boosters then got ready to lift off. "We have everycreature? We've gotta get out of here! Are only remaining booster won't last much longer!"

"We have to wait for my mom!" Lloyd told her.

Wu then darted his eyes around and then remembered something.

A younger Garmadon and Wu were standing beside each other at their father’s monastery, as the older brother turned to his brother. “Wu? If there comes a day when I can’t be there for my wife or my son anymore… promise me that you will always protect them,” he asked his brother.

"I promise," Wu whispered before he jumped off the ship and then bounced off the Samu-taurs’ heads before rushing back to the entrance.

“UNCLE!!” Lloyd cried to Wu.

“Wu! What are you doing!?” Star Swirl called out to him.

Wu did not even look back as the Bounty took off, “Keeping my promise to Garmadon!” He answered as battled his way through the Samu-Taur Warriors.

Misako could see her saddlebag below where she was and just out of reach. As more Samu-Taur Warriors appeared, she slid across the railing and swung on the lights to get to the saddle-bags. She managed to grab them but lost her grip and nearly fell off before she managed to grab onto the ledge.

Wu saw her in trouble and the only thing stopping him from reaching Misako was the Samu-Taur Warriors climbing up the stairs. He spun around his bamboo staff and took a battle stance as he began to fight off the Samu-Taur Warriors to Misako. As Misako held on to the edge, she heard fighting while she watched the Samu-taur Warriors and their weapons falling off the edge and towards the bottom. One even grabbed her saddlebags.

“Whew, that was close!” he laughed before Misako screamed as she lost her grip on her saddle bags and dropped them and the warrior. “Oh, come on!” he screamed as fell and Misako caught her saddlebags with her tail.

"Can't hold on..." Misako groaned as she was losing her grip.

"Misako, hold on!" Wu called out as he fought off the Samu-Taur Warriors and raced to her.

"...much longer!" she shouted as a tear was running down her face.

Sensei Wu knocked down a few more Warriors as he was getting close to her. The moment she could no longer hold onto the railing, she was about to fall when Sensei Wu quickly caught her by the hoof.

“I have you now!” Wu said as he pulled them back up onto the stairs. They stared at each before more Samu-Taur Warriors appeared. They leapt from the edge and ran, “This way!” Wu the lead Misako into another room but there was only a shear drop in front of them. “There’s no place to hide. We have to fight! Do you still know Spinjitzu?” Wu asked as he turned to the Samu-Taur Warriors.

“Did you forget you and Garmadon could never beat me?” Misako joked as she bumped him.

Wu looked sheepish at her. “I confess, I wasn’t really trying,” Wu admitted.

Misako smirked. “Neither was I,” she said as they turned back to the Samu-taurs.

"NINJA, GO!" the two shouted as they both did Spinjitzu and did their best to fight off the Samu-Taur Warriors.

Back on the Bounty, Luna saw Wu and Misako fighting on the building. “There they are!” she called out.

“We need to help them!” Flash shouted.

Frost then got an idea. “Aqua! Descend, now!” Frost told Aqua as she turned to her in confusion. “Do it now!”

Both Wu and Misako were surrounded and outnumbered as they were backed up into a corner near an open window. “I’m glad we go together!” Wu told his sister-in-law.

Misako looked out the window and saw something that gave her an idea. “Then let’s go!” she told Wu, implying that they would jump, as he looked at her like she was crazy. But her smile dismissed those thoughts. Then with one giant leap, they jumped from the building...

...and onto the deck of the Bounty, “What?” Wu said in surprise.

“Nice of you to drop in,” Celestia quipped before a strong wind blew off Wu’s hat, Misako caught it but the photo of their youth was lost to the wind. Wu sighed sadly as he watched the photo fly away.

Misako then passed him his hat. “The past is the past,” she said to Wu.

“But there’s always the future,” Wu smiled.

“And the future has yet to be written,” Celestia finished as Lloyd looked at them with a smile. But their smiles turned to frowns as they looked down and saw the Samu-Taur Warriors destroying everything around them.

“Why is this happening?” Starlight wondered aloud.

Before anycreature could answer, they turned and saw Discord, looking out of breath as he was approaching the Bounty on a magic motorbike that he “borrowed” from another universe. He managed to safely land on the Bounty’s deck as he got off, taking off his red, white, and blue stunt helmet.

“Whew… you tend to forget about snap-travel during times of crisis… and you’re forced to fly on your own for a whole chapter!... Well, half a chapter before I took a cheat and got a loaner from a universe of wizards,” Discord complained before sheepishly admitting as he stretched himself out while snapping the motorbike back to its universe.

“Discord? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked the draconequus who finally caught his breath.

“Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?”

“…What bad news?!” Twilight asked in shock.

"Bad news it is. Well, the Island of Darkness… it's risen from the Endless Sea!" Discord told them, causing them to have shocked looks on their faces. "And worse of all...the Overlord has resurfaced!”

“What?!” Wu, Misako, Star Swirl, and the Royal Sisters Shouted in unison.

“Oh, great!” Rainbow face hooved.

Flash then narrowed his eyes. “Three guesses of who brought them back,” he said as they all looked in the direction of the Endless Sea. “So… what’s the good news?”

“Well… I suppose the good news is, the Samu-Taurs will be leaving soon to join their master on the Dark Island, possibly to plot the big invasion of Equestria and its neighbors,” Discord replied with a relieved grin.

The ponies’ expressions were far from relaxed. “How is THAT good news?!”

“Well, compared to what they’re doing right now, a break from those beasties is a Faust-send at this point,” he shrewdly retorted.

On the Island of Darkness as the Celestial Clock continued ticking, Garmadon and the Villains stood atop a tall spire, “Villainy is back, Equestria!” Garmadon declared. “And this time, MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER!!!” He and his Legion of Doom let out maniacal laughs on the Dark Island.

And above them, the Overlord watched the, howl with laughter. If it he had a visible mouth, it would have been known that he was smirking right now. “…All according to plan,” he said to himself.

Chapter 9: The Last Voyage

After escaping from Equestria City, the Ninja, the Mane Six and their allies were surprised to find the races of their allies gathered outside Equestria City. Along with the dragons, yaks, hippogriffs, seaponies, griffons, and changelings, there were the Kirin, buffalo, and other creatures they had not yet properly met were also there, along with the ponies of the Crystal Empire, Canterlot, Cloudsdale, Appleloosa, and the other major Equestrian settlements.

While everycreature settled in, building makeshift homes, Frost, Wu, and Star Swirl looked across the Endless Sea and found the swirl of dark clouds in the middle of it.

“Hmm, most peculiar,” Frost said as his Falcon perched on his shoulder while Star Swirl looked through a telescope. “Yesterday there was nothing but open water, and now there is an island.”

"The Dark Island, Frost," Wu told him. "And what I find more peculiar is after Equestria was attacked by the Stone Army, today they have vanished."

"Do you think they are on this Dark Island?" he asked his teacher. "Garmadon and his Legion may be responsible."

"I fear that too," Wu said. "And it may have just confirmed what Discord had told us. But what's most important is we have to find out what is on that island."

Frost then turned to his Falcon. “Perhaps my Falcon can scout ahead for us,” he said as his Falcon flew off in the direction of Island of Darkness.

Down below the creatures were mingling amongst each other. There were initial tensions, but the leaders and the Council of Friendship were able to stop the before they got a bit too crazy.

Rarity was currently receiving an apology from the Diamond Dogs while calming an argument between them and the Abyssinians, Fluttershy and Applejack were talking to the Kirins and Buffalo, respectively, Rainbow Dash and the CMCs were conversing with Gilda and Gabby, and Celestia and Luna were discussing strategies with Novo, Thorax, Rutherford and Ember. Meanwhile, the ninjas were trying to repair the rocket boosters on the Destiny's Bounty when oil leaked out and sprayed Thunder in the face while he was trying to screw something in. "Ugh, useless pile of junk!" He complained as Aqua let out a sigh.

"Oh, it's worse than I feared," she said in a worried tone. "The rotors on the starboard booster are completely destroyed. The port boosters are shorted from the strain." She then turned to the others who are working on the other boosters. "Oh, sorry guys. She's not getting airborne any time soon."

"So, if the Stone Army attacks again, we're sitting ducks!" Landrush complained.

“Um, ducks can fly, Landrush. That reference doesn’t seem to work in this situation,” Gaia retorted.

"We just got our tails handed to us, and we couldn't even stop one of them," Trail complained as Wu and Frost walked up to them. "Ugh, I hate feeling helpless."

"We mustn't give up hope, Trail," Wu told him.

“But the Stone Army is indestructible," Lloyd reminded him. "You saw it. They're immune to any magic any creature in Equestria has, and all my powers can do is slow them down."

"That's not entirely true," Misako spoke up when she walked up to them. "There is a way to defeat them. And it is told within the scrolls." This has piqued their interest as they joined her in the bridge with the Royal Sisters, the Pillars, the Mane Six, and the Young Six. She then unraveled one of the scrolls she had and it was a picture of the six the Ninja, six ponies resembling Twilight and her friends, and six other creatures of Equestria (showing an odd similarity to the Young Six) giving power to the Light Ninja. "The prophecy reveals that the power to defeat the Stone Army lies within the Light Ninja."

“I tried! It didn’t work! I gave them everything I had!” Lloyd tried to say before his mother stopped him.

“Yes, but you’re stronger than you think,” Misako said before turning back to the scroll. "Look. The true power of the Light Ninja can only be unlocked when his six protectors, the six Guardians of Harmony, and the six Champions of Equestria and Beyond, find their true powers within."

"Are you talking about us?" Flash asked with interest as he gestured to him, the Ninja and the Mane Six and the Young Six.

"Pfft, silly question. Of course, she is, ha, ha…Right?" Thunder asked Misako.

"If we are what the prophecy is referring to, then we're doomed," Frost said.

"He's right. Our Golden Weapons no longer exist when we destroyed Garmadon’s Mega Weapon in the past," Gaia reminded them. "We cannot tap into our elemental powers without them."

"What’s more, the Elements of Harmony were destroyed by Sombra when he came back a third time, even though the Tree survived to become the Treehouse of Harmony. Either way, without them, the girls and I can no longer use their powers," Twilight added with her ears folded.

"And the only time we had powers was when all of Equestria's magic was being sucked away and the Tree of Harmony saved us," Gallus added before Sandbar gently elbowed and gestured to Cozy Glow. "Ah, no offense, kid."

"But that’s just it. The powers do exist, within each of you, including the magic from the Treehouse of Harmony and the Elements that once powered it," Misako told them, “And there is a way to unlock your powers on your own. We must go to the Temple of Light."

"‘Temple of Light’? What's that?" Aqua asked as Star Swirl placed down another scroll on the table and unraveled it.

"While it is true that the gold for the Golden Weapons was mined from the Golden Peaks, the place where they were forged was in the Temple of Light," he told them as they saw a picture of three hexagons, one inside the other with each of the Ninja’s elemental emblems, the Mane Six's cutie marks, and symbols of each of the Young Six standing at each corner and intersection, with an emblem of a dragon in the middle of the all. "A powerful place I thought only existed in legend."

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered above their heads. "Let's go there and power up!"

"Please, Rainbow Dash. There’s one big problem," Celestia spoke up. "When the First Spinjitzu Master split Equestria into two long ago, the Temple of Light was on the side that would become the Dark Island when it happened."

"So, what you’re saying is…" Applejack said slowly.

"Our only hope is to sail to the Dark Island and find the Temple!" Misako declared as she rolled up the scroll and stood up.

"And then we get awesome powers!" Smolder asked excitedly. "Wahoo!" She jumped up high.

"But there's still one more big problem: the Bounty can't fly," Aqua reminded them.

"But she is a ship, ay?" Rockhoof asked. "Canna’ she sail?"

"Silly question. Of course, it can, ha, ha!... Right?" Thunder asked the others.

"Well… if we are going to sail to the Dark Island, we need a proper crew to sail it… and I might know who to get for that," Twilight said as she had a great idea of a few friends to help with the journey ahead.

After getting the Destiny's Bounty onto the water in the Endless Sea, Everycreature had gathered to say goodbye to their heroes.

"We need to remain here and protect the creatures, in case those Samu-Taurs come back," Flash Magnus told them as he gestured to the Pillars.

"That's all right," Twilight told them. "We needed somepony here to keep an eye on things while we're away, anyway." She then turned to her family. "We promise we’ll be back and stronger than ever."

"Just come home safe," Velvet asked. "Not only does Equestria can't afford to lose a princess, but we can't stand to lose one of our children either."

Twilight then hugged her. "You will see me again, mom. I promise," she said as Velvet smiled and hugged her back.

"And here," Night Light used his magic to levitate a book over to Twilight. "We have a feeling you want to document of what you find over there on that Island, so we got you this to do so."

Twilight squealed and hugged the book.

Meanwhile Flash was talking an orange-coated Pegasus mare with a purple mane much like his, and an orange-coated, blue-maned Earth Pony colt with a baseball bat and ball cutie mark.

"Mom, I'm going to miss you," Flash told the mare as she came in for a hug. "And First Base, be brave for your big bro."

"I will, BB," First Base said nervously as Flash then ruffled his mane. He hugged Flash. "I'm gonna miss you much."

Flash's mother then held his shoulder, "You remind me of your father every day," she said.

"Thanks mom." Flash said as he gave her a big hug.

Meanwhile, Gaia was with her mom. "I bet Grandpa would be pretty jealous of me going to an island he’d never been to before," Gaia said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"To think my little filly who I thought was going to lead a life of cleanliness is going to an uncharted island, miles away from Equestria," Rose sighed before pulling out a compass. "Well, if you’re going to a new land, you’re going to need this."

Gaia raised a brow. "What is it?" She asked.

"It's your grandfather's compass," Rose answered as she placed it in her hoof. "It always guided him to the right place he wanted to go. And now… it's your compass."

Gaia's eyes started to tear up before she gave her mom a tight hug.

"I love you mother," she said softly.

Rarity was busy saying goodbye to her own family as she hugged her parents, but for some reason, Sweetie Belle was nowhere to be seen.

"I will be missing you both so much," Rarity told her parents. "But where could Sweetie Belle be?"

"She must be helping her friends with their job," Cookie Crumble said before she pulled out a box. "Now before we forgot, we have a little something for your little adventure."

Rarity looked a box curiously. "What is it?" She opened and was shocked by what she saw.

"Just a little something we made you," Hondo Flanks answered her as I side the box was a rainbow stone necklace, "Made from the rarest stones we could find. Now, I know we’re not much experts in gems like you are, pumpkin, but well--"

He stopped halfway when he and Cookie were caught in a hug, as Rarity smiled before letting them go to put on the necklace.

Thunder was saying his goodbyes to his parents. "Now, promise me you'll eat your vegetables," Scrip told Thunder.

"Mom!" Thunder grunted as his cheeks blushed red.

"Oh, I mean it! You get sluggish when you don't get enough vitamins," she told him before she turned to Bolt. "Bolt, tell him if he's going to save the world, he has to eat his vegetables!"

Bolt just sighed and smiled, "Errr… just listen to your mother, son," he said.

Pinkie was with her family, who held their emotions well compared to the pink pony.

"I'm going to miss you all so much!!" Pinkie Pie shouted as fountain of tears gushed out of her eyes and hugged her family tight.

"Hey buck up, Pinkie Pie," Limestone told her sister as she smirked. "You can't be miserable like me for this mission. You gotta be your perky and pinky self."

"Mmhmm," Marble nodded with a small smile.

"Just be safe, Pinkie," Maud said in her usual deadpanned manner.

"Prithee, daughter, do warrant to bring any rocks thou find yonder back," her mom asked with small smile as she tilted her hyper daughter's chin up.

"Upon thy return voyage, a celebration to thy standard we shall avow," her dad told her, which made her very excited.

"Oohhh… I love you guys so much!!" As she pulled them into a big hug, they just smiled and took it in as they were used to it after all this time.

Elsewhere, Landrush and Applejack were saying goodbye to their own families.

"Y'all gonna be fine without me to help out on the farm?" Applejack asked her brother, Sugar Belle, Granny, and Grand Pear.

"Don't ya worry about us," Granny Smith told her as she tied her scarf around her granddaughter's neck. "Y'all just focus on gettin’ them powers to kick that no-good Garmadon's keister."

"Eeyup!" Big Mac said as he and Applejack hugged each other.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Sugar Belle as the two hug as well.

"Thanks, Sugar Belle," Applejack thanked but looked around. "Where's Applebloom, though?"

"I believe she said somethin’ about helpin’ Cozy Glow with somethin’ with her friends," Grand Pear said as Landrush was saying goodbye to his dad.

"I don't know what to say," Steprush said as he hugged his son.

"You don't have to say anything," Landrush told him before he pulled back.

"You're right. I don't have to say anything. But I do have to sing!" he declared as he turned to his Royal Blacksmiths. They started to hum and scat acapella as Steprush began to sing.

"Who's gonna save Equestria's hide~?
Who's gonna to make his old stallion swell with pride~?
Landrush is~!
Landrush does~!
Landrush, Landrush, Landrush~! "

Everycreature gave an applause when they were finished and Landrush had a big smile on his face.

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard, pop," he told his dad as he hugged him again.

Rainbow was saying goodbye to her family as well as her dad ruffled her mane. "Go make us proud, kiddo!" Bow said.

"We know you'll stop Garmadon and come back home, better than ever!" Windy cheered.

Rainbow blushed and still smirked. "You know it!" She declared but looked around and scratched her head. "Say, you two seen Scootaloo around? Thought my number-one fan would come by to wish me luck~" she asked.

"She's with her friends on something. Some kind of secret project," Windy answered.

“She couldn’t even say goodbye?” Rainbow wondered before she shrugged.

Meanwhile Trail and Aqua were talking to Dareth. “Now Dareth, as the honorary ‘Brown Ninja’, your job is to help Ultra Dragon and the Pillars keep everycreature safe in case Garmadon launches a sneak attack while we’re gone,” Trail told Dareth. "Are you up to the task?"

"I won't let you guys down," Dareth told him before turning to the crowd. "Did you hear that?! I'm officially the Brown Ninja!" They all cheered before he turned back to Trail and Aqua. "Hey, what's my elemental power?"

“Umm… ‘Brown Power’?” Aqua answered sheepishly.

Dareth however did not notice the lackluster answer. “A power unique to me alone… Sweet~” he said as Fluttershy was saying her goodbyes to Discord and her family.

"You will take care of my animal friends while I'm gone, Discord?" She asked him.

"I promise you, that I will take care of them like they were my own kids," Discord told her as he briefly snapped into a “Mister Rogers” outfit and some of the animals into kids’ clothes before holding them close, almost like a picture-perfect family.

“Try to come back in one piece, all right, big sis?” Zephyr told Fluttershy as she rolled her eyes a bit with a light smile.

“Of course, Zephyr,” she said as her mother gave her a kiss on the cheek and her father hugged her.

"We'll miss you so much," Mrs. Shy said as she and her husband hugged their daughter.

Lloyd was riding on the back of Ultra Dragon looking down at the others.

"Discord and the Pillars are going to need you guys to help protect this place while we're gone." Lloyd told Ultra. "We know we can count on you!"

“You got it, little guy!” Flame said.

“If you ever need us, we’ll be there,” Nimbus promised.

Up on the Bounty, Frost was watching his friends saying their goodbyes with envy, as he silently wished he was down there as well.

"Is there anyone you would like to say goodbye to?" Wu asked Frost when he walked up to him.

"My only family is my Falcon, and my only memory of my mother was nearly erased," Frost told his Sensei. "I will miss Equestria, for it is all I know. But I am excited to see what the future has in store."

"Well, my Nindroid friend, there are a few who would like to say goodbye to you," Wu told him as he pointed out a bunch of females from each creature race as a fan club of his.

They cheered for him until Comic Marvel pushed through the cheering crowd. “I love you, you stupid Nindroid!”

Frost chuckled as he nodded to Wu. "Everything is ready!" Captain Celaeno said as her crew, Capper Dapperpaws and Grubber were finished up putting some supplies on board.

"Y'all ready to do this thang?" Capper asked.

"Hold on!" Tempest said, looking up as she saw something flying in. "Somecreature's coming!"

Everycreature looked up to see a gargoyle flying before landing before them.

The old unicorn wizard’s eyes squinted a bit before he recognized the visitor. "…Scorpan, old friend!" he remarked as he approached the gargoyle and shook his claw.

"Th-The Scorpan...?!" Twilight asked before she nearly fainted and Flash caught her.

"What are you doing here?" Celestia asked him.

"When I learned that my brother had been freed and started stirring up trouble again, unleashing the Stone Army upon this land… well, I knew I had to try and make him see the error of his ways," Scorpan explained as he bowed to Twilight. "Which is why, Princess, if you will allow me, I will join you on this venture to stop my brother and his allies."

"We’d be more than happy to have you aboard!" Twilight said excitedly.

"It will be like old times," Luna said as Scorpan smiled bright.

“Splendid!” he declared.

Cadence and Shining Armor then stepped forward, “Excuse me, everycreature,” Cadence said as she and Shining moved aside, “but we may have one more member joining this crew.”

Walking up from behind them was a purple-coated, cyan-maned unicorn mare with a brown shawl.

“Radiant Hope?!” Celestia, Luna and Wu exclaimed.

“Who?” the others asked.

"I’m sure you have questions, but they can wait. I was hoping to come with so I could talk to Sombra," Hope explained. "Please… I knew him longer than anypony."

The Ninja and the Mane Six glanced at each other. “I don’t see why not, as long as we get goin’,” Applejack said.

“The more, the merrier,” Thunder declared.

Hope smiled and came up onto the deck. “All right then, time to set sail!” Wu declared.

“And be careful,” Star Swirl warned. “Remember, it’s not just Garmadon, his villains, and the Stone Army on that Island.” Soon they all climbed aboard and Celaeno took the helm as it set sail for the Dark Island.

Everycreature waved them off as they sailed away. "Thunder, did you remember to bring extra clean underwear?!" Scrip called out.

"Yes, Mom!!" Thunder yelled an embarrassment as his friends laughed at him about what his mom said, though none of them noticed four pairs of eyes hiding in a crate peeking out.

“Good luck, my friends!” Star Swirl called to them as they disappeared over the horizon, “May Harmony guide you and keep you safe.”

The sun was beginning to set over the ocean. The Ninja, the Mane Six, and the Young Six were looking at the Dark Island at the bow of the ship as they wondered what was to come when they would arrive, while Gaia and Rarity were comforting a seasick Applejack.

Along the trip, the Mane 6, Young 6, and Ninja learned that Radiant Hope was a former student of Celestia and Sombra’s former best friend. She had abandoned her studies after he and the Crystal Empire had vanished. She had wanted to see him again so she used Starswirl’s time travel spell to travel to moment when the Empire would return, “Unfortunately, it seems I made miscalculation in the coronal position and I ended up traveling to when the Empire was evacuating,” Hope explained, “Though I suppose it was lucky that Sombra had returned in this time as well.”

“I still can’t believe you were actually friends with that creep,” Thunder commented.

Hope sighed, “I don’t what inside him changed, but before then he was a very kind stallion,” She said before looking determined, “And as his best friend, I owe it to him to find out why!”

“I agree. I failed once to reach my brother, I am not going to let that happen again,” Scorpan declared.

"I wonder what kind things we'll see when we get to the Dark Island," Trail said as they looked at the island far ahead.

"Maybe we get to see some never-before-seen creatures," Fluttershy thought excitedly.

“An entirely new ecosystem?” Frost suggested.

“Completely unused materials for fashion?” Rarity thought.

“Ooh! Veggies that taste like cake!” Thunder wondered.

“I’d like that!” Landrush commented as Pinkie nodded eagerly.

"I wonder if this is going to be the end of our destiny," Lloyd said nervously.

"We get it. You're scared about facing your father when the time comes," Aqua said as they gave him a comforting smile. "But we’ll be right by your side the whole way."

"In meantime, Yona very excited to get power that smash Stone Army!" Yona shouted as she jumped around, her size rocking the Bounty.

“Hear, hear!” Rarity added.

“But we should be careful,” Twilight told them. “Remember if the legends are true, then the Overlord will be waiting for us on that island too.”

"Hey Frost, still no word from your Falcon?" Flash asked as he noticed Frost looking a little concern.

“Not yet,” he said before he heard shuffling sound and turned to a crate and narrowed his eyes while activating his heat-reading vision which detecting four small creatures inside it. “But right now… I sense we have some unexpected company.”

The others turned to the crate moved towards it slowly. Both Flash and Landrush sneak their way towards the crate as did Capper and Thunder. Once they were close enough, they quickly grabbed the crate and yanked it up to reveal the CMCs and Cozy Glow.

"Apple Bloom?!" Applejack asked in shock to see her little sister here.

"Sweetie Belle?!" Rarity asked in the same tone.

"Scootaloo?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Cozy Glow?!" Twilight exclaimed before she walked up to the four. "What are you doing here?!"

Cozy, Applebloom and Sweetie looked a little nervous while Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head smiling sheepishly. “Hehe, well, funny story--” Scootaloo remarked, trying to explain things.

“What’s so funny?!” Flash retorted before he sighed. “You know you were supposed to stay back in Equestria.”

“When did ya sneak on board anyway?!” Trail demanded.

"We just came to help ya and everything, is all," Apple Bloom explained.

Before the CMCs and Cozy could be scolded more, they heard small hisses coming from their saddlebags.

"What was that hissing?" Capper asked as they all raised a brow.

Twilight and Flash recognized that hissing and narrowed their eyes at the four foals. “You brought Melody and the others with you, didn’t you?” Twilight growled.

The four smiled sheepishly once again, as curling up from the crate were the five young Serpentine. “Umm, it seemed like a good idea at the time, heh-heh?” Cozy explained.

"We asked you to look after them and stay safe!" he scolded the four of them before Frost's eyes turned bright blue and he can see what his Falcon is seeing.

"The Falcon has arrived at the Dark Island!" he told them all.

Twilight turned to the foals. “We’ll settle this later!” she told them warningly as they all went to the bridge.

Frost was wearing a special set of goggles as Twilight was hooking them up to the main monitor. "There, now we can all see." she told them as the screen turned on.

They all saw the Falcon flying near the beach of the Dark Island. Frost had the Falcon looking down when a Samu-taur seemed to spot it and threw a glaive at it, losing visual contact.

The impact shocked them all and knocked Frost off his hooves. “He’s… he’s gone,” he only said, a little shook up by what he had just seem.

“We don’t know that,” Celestia as they all stood up.

Fluttershy and Trail helped Frost up, “Oh Frost, I’m so sorry.” she apologized.

“He was our friend too, so we aren’t going to let him go in vain,” Trail promised. “If Garmadon wants a fight, then we’ll bring him one.”

“But right now, that’s gonna have to wait,” Celaeno said as she pointed ahead, “because we’re sailing right for storm! All claws and hooves on deck!”

The thunder and lightning crashed and flashed across the sky as the waves grew larger and larger.

Meanwhile on the Dark Island, the Stone Army had created a fortress and they were digging and scooping up an odd dark purple substance from within a pit while Chrysalis’s Darklings (a shortened name for “Dark Changelings”) patrolled the skies.

As some of the warriors were working, Garmadon and his Legion came down on the lift and walked over to them.

“This is foolish. We have an unbeatable army to conquer Equestria!” Garmadon remarked a little displeased at the recent work effort.

"And yet, here we are playing in the mud like a bunch of foals." Nightmare Moon hissed.

"Just what is that gunk, anyway?" the Storm King asked as he used his new staff to poke it. “And why the heck are we collecting this stuff? Doesn’t look good for anything~”

"It is not good for anything… because it is evil for everything we’re doing. What you call ‘mud’ or ‘gunk’ is concentrated evil," the Overlord told them as a lift was carrying up a huge load of it. "A Dark Matter that with one drop could make a creature's heart turn as black as night."

Tirek leaned close to the pit and felt the dark aura coming from it. “He’s right. I can practically feel the evil from this substance.”

“Still, just yesterday we managed to drive all the creatures from their Kingdoms. Everything was poised for us to take control!” Sombra retorted. “Why did you ask us to recall the army and start collecting this Dark Matter?!”

"Have patience, Sombra," the Overlord told him. "The Celestial Clock ticks backwards to doomsday and cannot be stopped." A drop of the Dark Matter fell out of the load and back into the pit where the Overlord emerged from it. "The time will come for all of you. But we must prepare. We must build a super weapon the likes of which has never before been seen." This has reached both Garmadon and his Legion's interest.

"Hmm. A super weapon?" Garmadon repeated before he gave an evil grin. "I like the sound of that!" He then started laughing evilly.

Meanwhile, the other villains decided to talking amongst themselves, out of listening range of their new “ally”.

“Have any of you noticed that the Overlord’s been quite quick to help us conquer Equestria?” Chrysalis asked quietly to the others.

“Yes. Quite eagerly, as well.” Sombra agreed.

“…Perhaps too eagerly.” Tirek said suspiciously.

"Well, why wouldn’t he? I mean, just look at him!" the Storm King told them as he gestured to the Overlord. “He's literally a ball of dark energy without a body. Not only that, but he was trapped here by that First Spin-what-zu guy for a really, really, really long time."

"Yes, but something tells me that he's up to something," Nightmare Moon whispered to them. "There’s no doubt he needs us, but to what end? It’s like he has something planned that’s he not bothering to tell us."

“And now, he’s got Garmadon wrapped around his finger,” Tirek said. “Um, metaphorically speaking. We don’t even know how all this will benefit him later.”

“May I suggest we tell Garmadon to watch where he walks around the Overlord, from now on? As do we all?” Chrysalis suggested, to which the others nodded as she looked out to the sky. “In the meantime, let’s not forget our ‘Mane’ problem.”

“Ahhh… right, those ponies of friendliness,” the Storm King said before giving a laid-back grin. “Ehhh, don’t worry ‘bout it. Let’s just say I sent them a little… ‘surprise’ to make sure they won’t get the drop on us.”

Meanwhile, the Ninja were helping the crew keep the sails up while the hurricane winds were kicking up. The only two not helping were Thunder and Rarity, as they were holding onto the rails and staying out of the rain.

“Hold the line!” Rainbow told the others.

“The winds are too strong!” Lloyd shouted.

“And the waves are too high!” Fluttershy cried.

“Just keep your eyes on the horizon!” Mullet told them.

“I can’t find the horizon!” Capper retorted.

"Thunder, Rarity, come here and help us!" Flash called out to them.

"He's right!" Frost shouted. "We need everyone's help!"

"But I don't want to get my mane all wet! Do you know what seawater does to a perm?!" Rarity shouted.

"And I don't wanna get wet either!" Thunder added. "I only have one pair of underwear!"

"Thunder, this is no time to be making jokes!" Gaia shouted. "And Rarity, you can just easily dry off once we make it through the storm! The Bounty can only take so much!"

"You think I'm trying to be funny?!" Thunder shouted before they all heard laughter coming from everywhere. "Okay, laugh all you want, but we'll see who laughs last, when I have to go commando!"

"Oh, for the love of Faust, we're naked all the time!" Applejack shouted with the rope in her mouth. "And who the hay is laughing anyway?!"

Meanwhile Celaeno, Aqua, Misako, Wu, Scorpan, and the Royal Sisters were on the bridge as they heard the laughter too.

“Ugh, sounds like some of us are getting a real kick out of all this!” Aqua retorted.

“That’s not laughter!” Scorpan retorted.

“What is that sound, then?!” Wu asked before they saw a bunch of starfish with teeth landed on the window.

“Starteeth!” Misako and Scorpan retorted.

“Oh no, we’ve sailed into their territory!” Celestia said.

“Hang on, everycreature!” Celaeno as she took the wheel. “I’m not making the same mistake Salt-Beak made what got this ship sunk!”

Meanwhile outside, three Starteeth jumped on the side of the ship as the others still heard the laughter.

"Uh, guys, why is the sea laughing at us?!" Trail asked as he was getting concerned about the laughter.

"And why do I have a feeling we're not gonna get the joke?!" Thunder added before some Starteeth jumped on board.

“Hey, what's that?” Landrush asked as he accidently let go of the rope. The others screamed as they were losing their grip.

“We’re coming!” Rarity cried as she and Thunder grabbed the rope.

“About time, you two!” Flash retorted as a huge wave crashed onto the deck washing over them.

“Oh, great!” Thunder and Rarity grumbled as Landrush picked up one of the Starteeth.

“It looks like some kind of… starfish?” Landrush said as he saw the urchin-like maw of the Star-Teeth.

“Wait!” Tempest shouted as she ran over to him, “Don’t let those things on board! They devour any ships that sail into their waters, and they won’t stop chewing until we sink!”

The Starteeth then bit Landrush as he screamed and threw it away. More of them then jumped on to the rope holding onto the sails and bit it in half. With the sails loose, the ship started to rock as more Starteeth came aboard.

"Quick, get these things off the ship!" Flash shouted.

They grabbed each one and quickly toss them overboard. Some of the Starteeth jumped onto Trail, startling him. "Argh! I'm starstruck!" Trail shotted before he quickly got them off him and threw them back into the ocean. "Unh! Good riddance, water-vampires!"

"Faster! Or we'll sink!" Lloyd shouted as he tossed more overboard.

"But for every one we throw off, five more take its place!" Hope said.

As Thunder tried throwing them off, some latched onto his back. "Oh, my! Aah! Get them off! Get them off!!" He panicked.

"Use your Spinjitzu!" Flash told him.

"NINJA, GO!" Thunder shouted as he did Spinjitzu, tossing the Starteeth off him only to land them onto the sails. "Okay, that was a bad idea," he said after he stopped spinning and saw the Starteeth eat off the sails.

"NINJA, GO!" the rest of the Ninja shouted as they did Spinjitzu and not the rest of the Starteeth overboard.

"Sink your teeth into that!" Trail shouted as Thunder saw some Starteeth chewing their way on the chains of the anchor.

"They eat through metal too?!" Thunder asked in surprised.

Twilight looked down and gasped, “Um, guys? I think we have another problem!” She said as they looked down and saw that the Starteeth had eaten a hole in the front port bow of the ship.

“Oh, I should’ve brought an extra pair of underwear!” Thunder complained.

In the morning, the Destiny’s Bounty was still floating but was slowly filling up with water from the whole and the sails had been badly damaged. The crew were currently trying to get the water out of the ship but with little success. Thunder used a bucket to scoop up some of the water then tossed it out of the same hole that was made by the Starteeth. Everyone on board were helping with the water and there was a bit of tension in the air.

"Ah, this is hopeless!" Trail complained. "Now that we have no rudder, we've been drifting aimlessly and will never get to the Dark Island."

"Not only that, we can't sail back to Equestria, so we're pretty much stuck," Landrush added.

"We only know what is foretold will happen. Not when it will happen," Luna told them. "We will find a way to the Dark Island, eventually."

Frost then dropped his bucket and looked out the hole. "What's wrong, Frost?" Fluttershy asked when they noticed him acting odd.

"I sense something," he told them.

"Is it the Falcon? Is he all right?" Gaia asked.

"No, it's, uh…" Frost started before he saw the Bounty sailing towards something up ahead. "Something else. Brace yourselves!"

The Bounty then bumped into a small island with a tall tower in the middle of the ocean.

Everyone groaned and stood up. They stepped outside and looked at the building. "Who would build a lighthouse way out here?" Lloyd wondered

"It's not a lighthouse. It's a prison," Frost corrected.

"You all go check it out and see who lives here," Tempest told them. "The rest of us will stay on the ship and make some repairs."

The Ninja, the Mane Six, the Young Seven, the CMCs, Wu, Misako, Spike, and The Royal Sisters began their walk up to the lighthouse before they heard a large growl coming from the ocean.

"Oh, I should've brought an extra pair of underwear," Thunder said.

"What was that?" Sweetie Belle asked as she trembled.

Fluttershy then frowned. "I don't know, but it sounds… sad." she said.

They then continued up the steps until they reached the door and saw a camera on top of the door looking down on them.

"Uh, should we smile?" Thunder joked a bit.

The camera looked at Frost before they heard locks being unlocked and a familiar mare that Frost was shocked to see open the door: an elderly, bespectacled, white-furred unicorn mare with a greyish mane, a scientist’s coat, and a pair of ice blue eyes who looked joyously at Frost.

"Frost!" the mare cheered. "Is it really you?! You finally found me!" She then hugged him tightly.

"Um, do you know him?" Smolder asked.

"Of course, I know him!" The mare smiled and adjusted her glasses. "I built the colt, for Celestia’s sake!" Her eyes widened as she saw Celestia behind Frost and the others, causing her to recompose herself. “Begging no offense, of course, your Majesty!”

"But my memory tells me that you passed away," Frost told the mare with disbelief at the sight of her.

"Ahh, you found your memory switch," she said before they heard the growls again which made the mare concerned. "Hurry, it can't know that you are here, or else there’ll be dues to pay," she whispered to them.

"And what is ‘it’ exactly?" Rarity asked with concern.

"I'll explain everything inside," she told them before she turned to Frost, "including why it is that you thought I was dead."

They all walked inside before Aqua gave one last look towards the Destiny's Bounty.

"Well, the Bounty's sailing days are over," Aqua said with a sigh before she joined everyone inside.

The mare then quickly closed the door and used a key to lock it. "Locking, barricading, hoof checking," Frost's mother said as she checked the cameras and sighed in relief, "I think we're safe. This way." She led them upstairs and into a room with a bunch of machinery around and a few blueprints as well. "Please, please have a seat. You must be thirsty."

"Uh, have a seat where?" Rainbow Dash asked before the mare pulled a lever, the giant light bulb flipping over to be replaced with a table.

"There, of course," the mare said.

"Wow, that's pretty smart," Ocellus said as they all took their seats.

"A technical wizard," Landrush commented.

Soon, as they were all seated, thd mare pressed a button. A tiny robot came up, hopping onto the table and placing several cups for everycreature. The robot then returned to the mare, who gave it a teapot before it returned to the guests. It began to pour them all some tea, but Gallus decided to mess around, deliberately moving his cup around and preventing the robot from pour until it accidentally poured the hot liquid into his lap. Yelping in pain, he started jumping around in pain while everycreature laughed.

Frost then noticed his blueprints on a board, oddly the same ones that showed his being a Nindroid, as his mother walked over to him. "But mother, I don't understand. I saw you pass," he said as he turned to her.

"Yes, you did, and believe me when I tell you, I thought I was kaput, but as you know in Equestria, the past is the past," The mare told him.

"And the future…" Misako started.

"…is the future." Wu finished.

"So how are you still alive, miss...?" Twilight asked.

"Dr. Tinker Gear," she told them. "As for how I'm still alive, after I turned off your memory switch, Frost, while your memories were still resetting, bonehead Samukai came into our home and revived me with a special elixir."

"Samukai brought you back?! But why?" Flash asked as they wondered the same thing.

"He wanted me to build state-of-the-art war machines for his army, but I refused," Dr. Gear told before she looked down with a sad look. "After that, he brought me here and told me that if I didn't, then I would never be able to see my son again. And to make sure I didn't escape, he chained a Leviathan to keep guard."

"A Leviathan? Is that what we heard outside?" Cozy asked.

"A very rare but powerful creature of the Endless Sea," Luna explained. "But surprisingly, they are normally peaceful creatures who only attack when provoked."

"Oh, the poor thing," Fluttershy said, feeling sorry for the giant sea creature.

"Yes," Dr. Gear spoke up as she turned to Frost. "When Samukai didn't return, I thought I would never see you again." Her ears then dropped back as she had a sad look on her face. "But as so much time has passed, I started to question if you would ever want to see me again. I was afraid if you found out what horrible things I've created, you would think I was a... a monster."

"We will get you out of here, mother," Frost assured her. "Now that we are together, perhaps we can invent a way off this rock."

"Could you repair the rocket boosters on our ship?" Thunder asked as he pointed to the Bounty out the window. Outside, the others were working on the Bounty when the booster Capper was working on exploded, the impact pushing the cat off and into the water.

"That pirate ship has rocket boosters?!" Dr. Gear said excitedly.

Aqua the approached her. "Yes, but the rotors and gears are shot--"

"Oh, pish-posh!" Dr. Gear assured her. "No problem at all! I'll have your ship airworthy by dawn!"

The growling from the Leviathan was even louder than before and Dr. Gear knew what it meant as the whole place began to rumble.

"It's an earthquake!" Landrush shouted as they all tried to keep their balance.

"No. It's much worse!" Dr. Gear told them as a blue tentacle rose out of the sea, just as when Capper and the others took cover from it. "He's here. Everypony hide!"

Everybody hid in the corners as the tentacle looped around the Lighthouse and three orange eyes on the end peered inside.

"Nocreature make a sound," Dr. Gear warned in a light hush, as she turned to the Leviathan with a smile. "Aha, if it isn't my old chum!" she said. The Leviathan eyed the cups she forgot about. She quickly rearranged them into a makeshift drum set and started playing with them using spoons. "Hehe, just marching to the beat of my own drum.” She scatted a bit before continuing. “You know, doing whatever I can to pass the time. Since I'm so, you know, heh, alone," she said.

The Leviathan then turned its attention to the Bounty and turned back to Dr. Gear. "Ehehe, oh my, how in Equestria did that get here?" she said nervously. "Oh, don't worry, I’m not going nowhere. Even if I could, that old ship’s in too terrible a shape to sail anywhere."

The Leviathan then lowered its tentacle back under the ocean and once it was gone, the others came out of hiding.

"If we're gonna make something to get out of here, we're gonna have to hurry before it comes back," Flash suggested.

"Well then, let's get to work," Twilight declared.

After introducing Dr. Gear to the others, for the rest of the day the crew got to work restore the Bounty’s flight. They got to work in replacing the sails, repairing the boosters, patching up the hole in the bow, and sewing together several fabrics for the sails, while some of the others took care of the Serpentine hatchlings. As they were sewing, Landrush, Mullet and Capper glanced at Boyle who was whistling “The Weekend Whip” and he turned to them. “What? It’s catchy?” Boyle said.

Meanwhile Celaeno, Aqua, and Twilight were looking over the blueprints. “Impressive work Aqua,” Celaeno commented, “but will she fly?”

"We'll see when we get done," Applejack said.

Meanwhile back in the lighthouse, Dr. Gear let out a burp as the little robot helper took her bowl.

"Excuse me, but I must say, I never had such a meal in all my life," she told Frost quite satisfied, as Frost took the bowl from the little robot. "Where did you learn to cook? I never programmed that into you."

"I guess I just picked it up," Frost told her before he had a look on his face that says that he wanted to ask her something. "Mother, if I wanted you to make a change in me, would you?"

“A change?” Dr. Gear raised a brow.

“An alteration,” Frost elaborated.

Dr. Gear chuckled. “But Frost, you're perfect. I could never make you any better than you already are,” she assured.

"But I see no reason for me to have a memory switch," Frost told her. "I happen to like my life and don't want to ever forget you again." He then walked over and looked out the window as his mother placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, my son," Dr. Gear said. "We will both never forget." Frost then looked at her as she was smiling and gave a nod. "I'm glad you found me." The two of them then shared a hug.

"I'm glad you made me," Frost told her before they heard the Leviathan's growl and rushed to the others.

“Everycreature aboard! It’s coming!” Dr. Gear yelled as giant blue tentacles rose from the ocean.

“It’s already here!” Lix shouted as they climbed onto the Bounty.

“Get us out of here, Celaeno!” Thunder shouted as the Ornithian captain rushed to the bridge and started the engines.

"I hope she's ready!" Celaeno shouted as the rocket boosters turned on and lifted off from the ground. Everyone on board trying to keep their balance as the tentacles of the Leviathan tried to grab the ship. "Come on!" she shouted as she gave it everything she got.

“It’s no use! It has us in its clutches!” Tempest said as they all held on tight.

Wu turned to Lloyd, “Lloyd! Use your elemental powers!”

“You got it, uncle!” Lloyd said as he powered up a ball of light, “Release us, you monster!” He fired the ball into the air as the Leviathan was disoriented and released them.

“All right, Lloyd!” Cozy cheered as the Bounty tried to fly away. But the Leviathan regained its sense and latched onto the Bounty again.

“Oh no!” Hope said as the Leviathan started pulling them down, “Now what do we do?!”

Then Frost and Fluttershy noticed something about one its tentacles. “It’s chained!” Frost remarked.

“That’s it!” Fluttershy realized before she turned to Silverstream. “Silverstream! We need your help!”

“Righty-o!” she saluted and ran over to them.

"I will need your help for what we need to do!" Frost told as he stood on the railing on the ship.

"Frost, what are you doing?!" Dr. Gear asked in a very worried tone.

“The Leviathan won’t let us leave!” Frost told her.

“But we think we know a way to stop it!” Fluttershy added.

“But you can’t!” Dr. Gear argued. “These oceans are filled with Starteeth!”

“We know.” the two replied before they and Silverstream dove into the water.

“Fluttershy!” the Mane Six shouted.

“Silverstream!” the Young Six screamed

“Frost! NO!” Dr. Gear yelled as she saw the three disappear into the water.

Silverstream used her Pearl shard to transform her and Fluttershy into seaponies as they dived into the water, where the body of the Leviathan was seen. There they saw the base of where the Leviathan was chained before they spotted a few Starteeth nearby.

“Don’t worry! You’ll be free soon!” Fluttershy promised as the three grabbed as many Starteeth as they could and placed them on the chain, which the creatures began to eat off.

Above the water, the Leviathan was dragging the Bounty closer and closer towards the water.

“Oh man! This is the end!” Rainbow cried as the Starteeth were close to eating through the chain and Frost, Fluttershy and Silverstream saw the Bounty beginning to be submerged while the others screamed.

“HELP!” Lloyd cried.

Then at the very last second the Starteeth managed to cut through the chain. The Leviathan roared in elation when it realized it was finally free and then released its grip from the Bounty.

“It let us go!” Sandbar said as they stood up.

"What happened?" Dr. Gear asked as they were all getting up.

"Frost, Fluttershy, and Silverstream released the Leviathan, and now it's letting us go," Lloyd explained as he helped her up.

"But where is my son?" She asked in a worried tone as the three were climbing back on board.

Spike pointed behind her. “Right over there!” he said as she turned to them.

“Frost!” she said as she hugged her son and kissed his cheek.

“Way to go, Flutters!” Rainbow said as she and the girls hugged Fluttershy.

“Nice job, Sil!” Smolder said as the Young Six hugged their friend.

“How did you know if you freed it from captivity, it would let us go?” Celestia asked them.

“Because nocreature deserves to be held against their will,” Frost answered. “Not even a monster.”

They then turned and saw the Leviathan raising its eyed tentacle out of the ocean, releasing a happy growl.

“You are very welcome, Mr. Leviathan,” Fluttershy said as the Leviathan started swimming away.

“Farewell, creature from the sea. Enjoy your freedom,” Frost waved with Fluttershy.

“Don’t be a stranger!” Silverstream as she waved.

Celaeno then started the engines again and the Bounty blasted away. “Next stop, the Island of Darkness!” she declared as the flying ship flew towards their greatest battle yet.

Chapter 10: Island of Darkness

Sensei Wu was sleeping in his quarters as a ceiling fan was spinning around overhead. The sounds of a clock ticking were heard, as far into the island, the Celestial Clock was counting down the seconds until the Final Battle. Sensei Wu woke up with a gasp at that sound.

Out in the jungle, two scouts, a Samu-Taur and a Darkling, were patrolling the area. "Hmm, nothing yet,” the Samu-Taur remarked, looking through a spyglass. Little did they know that both Flash and Trail were laying low to the ground watching them before they left.

Once the coast was clear, they both got up and ran over to a hill of sand, which was really an illusion charm meant to cloak the Destiny's Bounty while the others were doing their best to hide it.

"This whole island is swarming with both indestructible Samu-Taur Warriors and Chrysalis’s new Darklings," Trail whispered to the others.

"Ha! Good thing we're Ninja and we know how to hide," Thunder bragged as he placed down a coconut tree leaf.

"Who wants to run when you can fight!" Rainbow retorted. "I'm sick of always hiding with our heads in sand, I wanna fight these bozos!"

"But Rainbow, they have no apparent weakness," Rarity reminded. "It would be unwise for us to start something we cannot finish ourselves."

Wu then stepped outside. "That is why we must find the Temple of Light."

They all soon gathered in the bridge where Misako unraveled a scroll and spoke up. "The Scrolls says there is a hidden temple on the island,” she told them. “If you find it, it'll give the Ninja pure elemental powers, as well as powerful magical abilities to Princess Twilight, her friends, and their students,” she explained. "Powers that can destroy the indestructible Stone Army."

"So you’re saying we get to fight? Whoo-hoo! I got happy hooves!" Rainbow cheered.

Misako then turned to Lloyd. "And you, my son, it is written here: ‘For once the Light Ninja finds the Instrument of Peace, he will strike it and know the power of the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master.’"

"‘Ultimate Spinjitzu Master’? What's that?" Lloyd asked curiously.

"It means you will be able to invoke the power of the Golden Dragon, an ancient fighting style only practiced by the first Spinjitzu Master," Misako explained as the others looked like they were just getting the shorter ends of the stick.

"Wait. So, we get powers to beat the Samu-Taurs, but he gets a major power boost?" Landrush asked as Lloyd let out a laugh.

"Jealous?" Lloyd taunted.

"No!" they quickly denied.

"Besides, it can't be that easy," Flash said, "What’s the catch?"

"The catch is that the Temple could be anywhere on the island," Celestia explained as she pulled out a golden medal with three holes in it, "and the only thing we have to find it is this."

"What is it?" Cozy Glow asked before Dr. Gear took it to examine it for a moment.

"A medallion,” she answered. "It's like a compass. When the three holes match up, the medallion will reveal where the temple is hidden.”

Everyone in the room looked at her with an impressed look. "Uh, how'd you know that?" Thunder asked.

"When you're trapped on a lighthouse prison for a long time, you do some reading in your spare time,” Dr. Gear told him. "Adventure stories were my favorite.” She then gave the medallion to Frost.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Frost asked the others. The Ninja and the Mane Six got up to search for the Temple of Light, before Sensei Wu stopped Lloyd.

"Not you, Lloyd,” he told him, which made Lloyd give an irritated look.

"Oh, seriously? Are we still doing this?" Lloyd asked.

"Wu is right,” Scorpan spoke as he walked forward. "If you were to come across your father, it could prematurely start the Final Battle,” he explained.

"And with the Overlord somewhere on this island too, we need to be at full strength before we take any risks,” Luna added.

The others smirked, knowing Lloyd was once again benched. "Hahaha. Jealous?" Gaia mocked.

"No!" Lloyd pouted.

"Well, I could use some help around the camp,” Dr. Gear said. "We should get working on vehicles that might help give us a fighting chance."

"And we could squeeze in a bit more training while we wait," Smolder added, bumping Lloyd's shoulder.

"So, while we do that, you lot find that there temple," Capper told the Ninja and the Mane Six.

"But remember, the villains don’t know we're on the island. It's imperative that you stay out of sight,” Wu told them.

"Of course, Sensei. Don't worry. Have you ever known us to veer from a plan, huh?" Thunder asked as everyone looks at them unamused. "Uh, on second thought, don’t answer that."

"NINJA--" The Ninja and the Mane Six started, a little loudly, before Celestia shushed them.

"Not so loud! Are you trying to let the whole island know we're here?!" she whispered harshly.

The Ninja and The Mane Six realized their mistake and whispered, "...go.” The twelve of them soon went their way into the jungle in search of the Temple of Light.

Meanwhile at Garmadon’s camp, things were busy as the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings were hard at work. In Garmadon’s tent, he sat on a throne as Sombra, a four-armed Samu-Taur in red armor (Kozu), a female Samu-Taur with no mask covering her face (Kozu’s lieutenant), and another Samu-Taur stood before him. The Samu-Taur Warrior was carrying a tray filled with Dark Matter before he spoke in their native tongue. "What did he say, General Kozu?" Garmadon asked the four-armed Samu-Taur.

"The mining, they've dug to new depths and have struck Dark Matter,” General Kozu told them as the Samu-Taur stepped up to them and showed them. This Dark Matter looked more darker than what was initially dug from the pit.

"Amazing,” Garmadon said in an impressed tone. "I can practically smell the dark magic coming off it. The most powerful Dark Matter."

“Unfortunately, he also says they lost many Warriors down the Mouth of Eternal Shadows just to obtain this one piece,” the Samu-taur lieutenant told him.

"Then you both tell him we'll throw him down ourselves, because we need five-thousand more just like this one to make the Ultimate Weapon,” Garmadon told the three Samu-Taurs before they gave a bow to him.

“I’ll see to it personally,” Kozu answered as they walked out of the room.

The Overlord then floated in. “They respect you. This is good,” he said pleasantly before pausing as if to sense something wrong, “But I feel a shift in the balance.”

"Yeah… I also felt like you weren't menacing enough when you ordered them to dig for more,” the Storm King told Garmadon as he sipped a coconut drink. "Maybe you should have added lightning bolts thundering behind you for a more dramatic, more evil effect."

“No-no-no, you should’ve shaken your hoof more!” Sombra argued.

“Perhaps flipped over a table?” Tirek suggested.

“Blasted the ground with your magic!” Chrysalis guessed.

“Or maybe even--” Nightmare Moon tried to say before the Overlord interrupted her.

"No, you myopic mortals!" he shouted. "The Ninja. The Elements of Harmony. I cannot see them, but I sense their presence."

"Here, on the Island?!" the Storm King asked in an angry and shocked tone. "But we knew they were coming and I had that storm put out to slow them down!"

“Well, clearly it didn’t work!” Garmadon declared. “Alert all the Warrior Bikes! If they’re here, we’ll find them!” The six villains the walked out of the tent and outside.

Nightmare Moon then approached Garmadon. “Garmadon, I believe we need to talk about the Overlord,” she said.

“What about him?” Garmadon asked with a raised brow.

"There's something about him that doesn't feel right,” Tirek whispered to him. "He was so insistent on helping us, and yet he’s not even telling us what this Ultimate Weapon does."

“More importantly, none of what we’ve been doing seems to benefit him,” Sombra added.

"He's up to something and we need to figure out what it is,” Chrysalis told in a low tone.

Garmadon just let a low chuckle. “Don’t worry. Once the Ultimate Weapon is complete and Equestria is ours, I’ll simply have the Army overthrow the Overlord and leave him on this chunk of rock,” he told them.

“Oooh-hoo-hoo-hoo, I love a good backstabbing!” the Storm King said eagerly, rubbing his hands together.

"For now, we must find those Ninja and their little friends. They would be fools to set hoof anywhere near our camp,” Garmadon told them.

Little did he or the other villains know was that they were literally just a hoof outside their camp.

“Check it out. I think this Garmadon’s camp,” Pinkie whispered.

“Really? I thought it was a pop-up beauty salon,” Gaia said sarcastically.

"It looks like they're building something, but building what?" Twilight asked as they saw some construction work happening.

"We'll figure that out later once we find the Temple of Light,” Flash reminded them before he turned to Frost. "You still have the medallion?"

"Yes, let me see," Frost answered as he looked around. "Nothing match--Wait!" He stopped upon noticing something.

"You found the Temple?!" Thunder asked taking the medallion.

"No, but look!" Frost pointed to the armory where they saw a familiar friend.

"Your Falcon,” Fluttershy said with relief when they saw it laying on a table in the camp.

"I thought it got shot down and was lost for good,” Trail said before Frost stood up.

"Not if I retrieve it and get the pieces back to my mother,” he told them before Applejack grabbed his leg.

"Whoa there, partner. Just look at that place,” she pointed towards the camp. "If y'all go in there, it'll be like waking up an ornery swarm of bees from their hive."

“She’s right, Frost. You’re veering from the plan!” Landrush told him. “We're supposed to be finding the Temple of Light and staying out of sight.”

“If I were any of you, I'd do the same,” Frost told them as he stood up. “I have to get my friend back.” He then jumps down from the ledge and over to the armory.

“Not without me!” Fluttershy said as she followed him from behind.

The others tried to follow, but Flash and Twilight stopped them.

“The more of us that goes the more chance we'll get caught,” Flash said.

“We just have to stay here and hope they don’t get seen,” Twilight added as they stayed hidden.

“Aww, I wanna fight!” Rainbow whined as they watched Frost and Fluttershy sneaking around camp and trying not to be seen by the Samu-Taurs.

Meanwhile, as the Celestial Clock continued to count down to the Final Battle, Scorpan was showing a picture of its clock face to the Royal Sisters and Sensei Wu. "This is the clock you saw in your dream?" he asked Wu.

“Indeed,” Wu nodded.

"What do you think will happen, if the clock reaches zero?" Celestia asked with a concerned look on her face as she looked at the clock.

“I am unsure, but that skull-and-crossbones on the top can’t possibly mean anything good,” Scorpan answered as he stared at said symbol.

At the same time, Dr. Gear and Aqua were working on the vehicles they were talking about while the Young Six was training with Lloyd.

“That’s it; keep up!” Cozy cheered Lloyd on as he and Gallus spared.

Wu then came by with some more supplies. “Thank you, Wu. If you could fetch some more creek water, that should pretty much do it,” Dr. Gear said as Wu left with some buckets.

Lloyd noticed his mother giving Sensei Wu a smile before he left with a couple of buckets as he smiled back. "So how did you meet him?" Lloyd asked his mother.

"Who, Sensei Wu?" Misako asked.

"No, my father,” Lloyd corrected as he looked down.

Misako sighed as she held her son. “You know he wasn’t always like this. It took years for his poisoned heart to turn him evil,” she expressed before a warm smile appeared on her face. “There was a time when I loved him very much. And he was very proud.”

Lloyd raised a brow. “When was that?” he asked.

“When we had you,” Misako answered as they hugged.

Lloyd then frowned. “Now it all comes down to me, fighting him,” he said as they looked saddened. Lloyd then looked back at his mom and smiled, “So, how did you meet dad?”

Misako just giggled and recalled the day. “Well… it was right when the Great War had just begun, when Serpentine invaded the village where I once lived for a time,” Misako explained. “An Anacondrai caught me by surprise, but then Garmadon saved me. After that, he invited me to rest and recover at the Monastery. There I learned the art of Spinjitzu. Even succeeded in beating your father... twenty times.”

Lloyd chuckled, picture his mom kicking his dad’s flank several times over in his head, “So when did you two fall in love?”

"To tell you the truth, I was in love with both Garmadon and Wu, but my heart couldn't decide on either one,” Misako admitted. "While Wu was kind and gentle and Garmadon was cold and distant, I always felt something drawing me towards him. I decided unless Garmadon proved to me that he loved me more than as a friend, I would choose Wu."

"So, what convinced you?" Lloyd asked.

"The day Garmadon gave me a letter with the most beautiful words I'd ever seen. But the words weren't what set my heart ablaze," Misako explained. "It was the fact that the letter wasn't written by your father at all."

Lloyd was shocked, "Dad lied to you?" he breathed out.

Misako tilted her head a bit. "In a way. While I couldn’t tell whose words he used in the letter, I could tell the feelings he held for me in them were.” She then smiled. "When I saw he wanted me so badly that he'd use somepony else's words, it was proof enough to me that he loved me." She then frowned, and Lloyd did too.

"He doesn't know you’re alive, does he?" he asked.

Misako shook his head, "The only thing that scares me more than seeing you fight your father, is me reuniting with your father."

Meanwhile, Wu was filling up two buckets with creek water just as he was asked to as a butterfly flew by and landed on a rock. He then heard the Samu-Taurs speak in their foreign language and quickly took cover with the buckets. He looked up and saw three Warriors and two Darklings patrolling.

He tried to move away from them but he accidentally stepped on a twig which caught their attention. Realizing he was caught, Wu had to take off as the Warriors and Darklings trailed him. Both the Warriors and the Darklings pulled back a catapult before launching buzzsaws right at him.

Wu bobbed and weaved his way through the bamboo trees and the buzzsaws as he got further and further away. “Run him down!” one of the Darklings ordered as the Warrior Bike roared and zoomed over to Wu. The elder however broke off a piece of bamboo and, once the Bike got close enough, flipped the Warrior on it off.

But when he turned to strike the other one, it caught his weapon and threw it away. Wu tried to punch the Warrior but it did nothing and it kicked him flat on his back and into some bamboo. The Warrior spoke in its native tongue as it picked up four bamboos with sharp ends and prepared to launch them at Wu. Wu gasped before flames burned down the bamboos. He turned to see that nearby was Lloyd, who was the one that unleashed those flames, his horn glowing fire red.

The Warrior looked at the bamboo in surprised before Lloyd's horn glowed earth orange as he shot Earth at the Warrior, trapping him in dirt as a bird landed on top of its helmet and pooped on it. Then the Warrior Wu knocked stood back up and charged at him.

“Watch out!” Misako shouted as she dropped down and pinned the Warrior under Bamboo. She and Wu shared a smile, but once she was distracted the Warrior grabbed her foot, only for Lloyd, his horn glowing electric blue fired a blast of electricity at her, zapping her fiercely.

Then the two Darklings tried to charge at them but Lloyd’s horn glowed bright yellow, trapping them in a cyclone before Scorpan and Celestia jumped in and knocked the two away. The remaining Samu-Taur was readying more Buzz saws to be thrown at them before Lloyd used his ice element to freeze the catapult solid. The Warrior trying to make a run for it before Lloyd's horn glowed life green and travel down his Hooves before he stomped the ground and trapped The Warrior between bamboos.

“That was close. You’re lucky we noticed you were gone for too long,” Celestia told Wu as she helped him up.

“Our presence on the island cannot be hidden for much longer,” Wu said as the others tied up the Samu-Taurs and Darklings. “I just hope the others have located the Temple.”

“Knowing them, they have probably already found it by now,” Scorpan assured.

Meanwhile, Thunder was looking through the medallion while on his back as the others watched Fluttershy and Frost in the camp. "I spy, uh…” Thunder said as looked through the three holes and looked at one of the trees, "...another tree!"

"Thunder, how did you ever become a Ninja? Seriously,” Landrush complained as Flash let out a groan.

"Would they just get the bird already and get out of there?" he exasperatedly asked as he saw both Frost and Fluttershy hiding behind some barrels while some Samu-Taurs were inspecting the Falcon.

Gaia soon turned her back and brought out her grandfather's compass. She then flipped open the cap and what she saw inside really baffled her. The dial inside was spinning around until it was pointing towards where the mountains are. As this happened, Thunder stood up with the medallion and looked in the same direction the compass was pointing to and saw three lights shining through the three holes matching up.

"Guys, look!" Thunder told them as he gave Twilight the medallion and pointed towards the mountain. Twilight looked through the holes and saw the lights matching up with them.

“It matches up,” Twilight gasped.

Gaia then held her compass to where the mountain was pointing. “And my grandfather’s compass is pointing to that mountain too!” she said before realizing something. “My mother told me this compass always guided my grandfather to where he wanted to go. That must be where the Temple of Light is!”

“Excellent!” Rarity cheered.

Landrush laughed and turned to Thunder. “Thunder, I take back everything I said. You are a fine Ninja,” he said before adding. “Not finer than Gaia or me, of course, but still--”

His boasting was interrupted when they heard voices and looked down to see Frost and Fluttershy managed to get the Falcon but also got spotted.

“Oh, ponyfeathers,” Applejack grumbled.

The Nindroid and pegasus were surrounded, slowly being backed up into a corner as Frost held his Falcon close.

"I sense we may have gotten ourselves into a predicament, my friends,” Frost said as Fluttershy held her fore-legs tight around him as the Samu-Taurs and Darklings are coming closer.

"A Ninja and one of the Council, here?!" Garmadon growled as Fluttershy gave a nervous wave. "Seize them and make them tell us where the others are."

“Get those two!” Kozu ordered in both Ponish and his native tongue, as the Warriors and Darklings continued to close in on them.

“OK! That’s it!” Rainbow declared as she stood up and slammed her hooves together. “I'm fighting.”

“We can't, they're indestructible!” Twilight reminded as Rainbow prepared to take flight. “If we go in there, they'll know we're on the island too!” Flash then quickly jumped forward towards the camp.

"And if we don't, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives,” Flash told her. "Come on, no friend or Ninja left behind!" He then made his way into the camp with the others following close behind. The Samu-Taurs were closing in on Frost and Fluttershy before a large tank rolled in and knocked them back.

They were surprised to see their friends jumping down from it. "What are you two waiting for, a red carpet?!" Gaia asked sarcastically, "Hoof it!"

The twelve then took off. "They're getting away!" Tirek yelled before turning to Kozu. "Do something General!"

The Samu-taur general then spoke in their foreign language as he shouted the other Warriors to go after them.

"Remember when Sensei asked us to stay out of sight?" Trail asked the others as they ran well the Samu-Taurs chase them.

"Yeah, that was good advice!" Landrush shouted as their path was blocked by a wall. The Ninja then tried stacking on top of each other before spears were being thrown and blocked them from going over.

"Why didn't we listen to him?!" Thunder asked before they ducked when more spears for being thrown at them.

"Why don't we ever listen to him?!" Gaia asked as they were cornered.

Rarity looked to her right and pointed, "The gate! That's our way out, hurry!" She said as they rushed for the exit. As they made their way across the rope type bridge, Pinkie Pie accidentally broke one of the boards on the bridge and saw it fall into a deep hole. Trail then looked behind them and saw the Samu-Taurs coming for them.

"Hurry up! We're halfway there!" Landrush shouted before he saw more Samu-Taurs coming from the other side. There was nowhere left to go as both sides had them blocked and both sides were closing in on them.

"Ha-ha! Excellent!" Lord Garmadon said as he and his Legion sat in lounge chairs and got out some popcorn as they watched the Ninja and the Mane Six's demise closing in on them.

"This is gonna be good!" Chrysalis said eagerly.

The Darklings and Samu-Taurs started getting closer as the heroes were sandwiched from both sides. "We've been in situations like this a hundred times,” Flash said. "Quick, who's got an idea?"

Thunder then spoke up. "Um, we jump into that hole!" He pointed down to a pool of Dark Matter.

"Um, next plan, please!" Rarity requested.

"I say we fight!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"With what?!" Trail asked. "We don't have any powers yet! Uh, what about you Frost?! What do your computers say?!" Frost was looking at the boards as the Stone Army was getting closer to them and he noticed the ropes were not holding for much longer.

“I got us into this mess, I’m going to get us out,” Frost said before the bridge finally broke and they fell. “Grab a plank!” Frost ordered as they all did so.

“NINJA, GO!!” They all shout as they used Spinjitzu to ride upwards and then used their planks to sled above the trees.

The Villains were not happy. “Get them!” Nightmare Moon ordered.

"We're falling!" Rarity shouted as they ran out of trees to sled on.

"For those of you without wings, use your hood as a parachute!" Frost shouted as Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie grabbed Landrush, Gaia, and Thunder as they parachuted to safety.

The group soon ran back to home base where the others noticed they returned. "Hey, they found the Falcon!” Dr. Gear said when she noticed Frost holding it.

"But why are they running?" Apple Bloom asked.

“Prepare for battle!” Gaia said as they came to a stop, “We’ve got company!”

“You were spotted?! By one? Two?” Wu questioned.

“How about… all of them?” Pinkie answered sheepishly.

"What matters most is the Temple of Light,” Luna reminded them. "Did you find its location?"

"Yeah, it's at the top of the mountain,” Flash answered. "I hope those vehicles are ready, because we could sure use them now."

"Guess you're gonna have to figure out this baby out on the fly,” Dr. Gear said as she pointed towards a large vehicle with a large drill on the front. The Ninja, and the Mane Six quickly rushed and hopped into it.

"We've also packed a couple of other surprises in back,” Aqua told them as she pointed to two red and green chests in the back. "Perhaps it can be of use." She then gave Thunder a kiss.

"More Aqua surprises?!" Thunder asked excitedly.

"You all better go too," Misako told Lloyd and the Young Six. "Be safe,"

"We will,” Lloyd promised as they hopped into the car as well.

"Whatever you do, do not stop until you get to the Temple of Light,” Scorpan told them. "Our survival depends on it."

"This time, we'll stick to the plan,” Flash assured them before the glass to the cockpit sealed tightly.

"Good luck to you all,” Celestia told them as Landrush put the vehicle in full throttle and drove off.

Then out of the jungle, the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings chased them down, “Attack!” Kozu yelled as they chased the heroes down.

The heroes turned to see the enemy right on their tails and Landrush increased speed, driving in zig-zags to shake them, but they still stayed with them. “Um, you do know how to drive this thing, right?” Sandbar asked nervously.

Landrush had a look of determination as he turned the steering wheel and the vehicle went faster as it made a turn. Two of the Samu-Taur Vehicles was able to pass them before blocking their path.

Landrush then quickly steered to the right and launched the vehicle into the air before starting up the drill and boring under one of the Samu-Taur vehicles.

“Get them!” Kozu roared as his vehicle stomped the ground as the Warriors and Darklings went up to the hole.

Elsewhere, the Driller managed to dig right at the base of a mountain. Gaia checked her compass. “Yup, this is the place alright,” she said, as the Compass pointed forward.

“Well, there’s no way this baby is going to climb that,” Landrush said, gesturing to the mountain. “We’ll have to do the rest on our own.”

“But Yona and friends not reach Temple in time, before nasty Stone Army and Darklings find us,” Yona said as Trail and Gaia stepped.

“Well let’s see what my sister packed!” Trail suggested.

Trail and Gaia pressed the buttons on the two chests as they popped out of the Driller. Both chested unfolded into two Mechs, one red and one green. The Red Mech had a fire blaster on its right arm and the Green Mech had a seeding mechanism on its left arm.

"Trail, I love your sister!" Gaia told him as she was so excited about her own mech.

"Me too!" Trail said before they both climbed into their Mechs.

The Samu-Taurs and Darklings barreled up to them just as Trail and Gaia activated their Mechs. "Leave this to us!" Trail said as the two Mechs leapt in front of the Warrior Bike as the driver looked at them in surprise.

"Congratulation darling, you're the first," Gaia said with a smirk. "And do you know what you win?"

"A little of this!" Trail shouted as he picked up the bike and spun around before he tossed it and the Warrior a very good distance away. "Who's next?" Both him and Gaia took a few steps back as both sides looked ready to charge at each other. The two Ninja then ran and slammed into the ground with their Mechs’ arms, causing the rest of the Bikes to be knocked over and damaged.

Kozu then rolled up to the Bikes, lifted his vehicle’s back leg up and… well, extinguished the fire. He then noticed the two Mechs running back to the others and glared, turning to his remaining soldiers as he ordered, “Go!”

“These guys just don’t stop!” Gallus commented as the Bikes got closer.

Trail and Gaia then walked up to them. “Anyone who can’t fly, climb onto me and Trail!” Gaia ordered.

They quickly climbed aboard while the others flew up to the mountain’s peak with the others following behind. Trail and Gaia were going as fast as they can up the mountain while the Bikes were riding up it.

“Oh, they’re still coming!” Thunder said as he looked down.

“One of these days, we’re gonna have to fight!” Rainbow said.

“We’re not climbing fast enough!” Ocellus said as one Samu-Taur jumped onto the foot of Gaia’s mech.

Gaia then noticed the Warrior. “Hey! No free rides!” she complained as she shook her mech’s foot. They continued to climb their way up before both Ninja got an idea.

"Activate hook!" They both shouted as they held up one other Mech’s arms while hooks shot out from them, latching on near the top. Everyone aboard the two Mechs then ziplined straight towards the top. Trail and Gaia turned to see the army still coming.

“We made it to the top!” Thunder cheered but stopped when he saw nothing. “But where’s the Temple of Light?!”

“Are ya sure ya used that medallion right?” Applejack questioned.

Thunder retorted, “Of course I used it right!”

“My compass says it should be higher up the mountain,” Gaia said. “You go and take a look!”

“While we keep these guys from catching up!” Trail said as he and Gaia created a small rockslide that sent the Stone Army and the Darklings tumbling down the mountain. “That should be us a little time!”

The other Ninja, the Mane Six, and the Young Six started to climb higher until Lloyd spotted a light coming from just up ahead. He climbed higher and saw the place they were meant to find.

"The Temple of Light!" Lloyd said in awe. "Up here guys!" he called out to the others.

Soon, they finally managed to reach him and open the doors to the Temple of Light and walked inside. The temple interior was covered in dust and then along the walls, were stained-glass window like in Canterlot.

And Pinkie noticed something. “Hey, check out it guys! It’s us!” she said. True to her words, the windows detailed major events that happened in all their lives.

"Impossible. It's everything we've ever done in Equestria,” Twilight said when she saw the stained-glass windows. "Finding the Elements of Harmony, freeing Luna from Nightmare Moon, defeating and reforming Discord, turning the Changelings good, uniting Equestria."

"Not just what you girls did,” Landrush said as noticed a few stained-glass windows with the Ninja on them. "Finding the Destiny's Bounty, defeating the Devourer, even right now!" He pointed to one that was exactly what they were doing.

"But it doesn't look like anypony's been here for years," Fluttershy wondered. "How could this all be here?”

Lloyd knew the answer. "Destiny,” he said before he noticed one window with him surrounded by the others, lending him their power. "I think I know what we need to do."

Outside the Stone and Darkling Army were getting closer. "Get the Ninja and Council!" Kozu ordered.

Back inside the Temple, Lloyd dusted away the floor and saw a dragon head symbol on the floor, "Look,” he said as the others dusted the floor too.

Twilight dusted another spot and was shocked by what she saw, "My cutie mark,” she breathed out. Flash found the emblem for Wind in front of a pillar, with Twilight and her cutie mark on the right while Gallus found a picture of Grover’s Crown on the left.

The same was said for the others, Trail was in front of a pillar with the symbol of Fire in between Rainbow hovering on her cutie mark on the right and Smolder on the picture of Knuckerbocker’s Shell on the left.

Landrush was in front of a pillar with the symbol of Earth in between Applejack standing on her cutie mark on the right and Yona on the left picture of Yksler’s Helm.

Gaia was in front of a pillar with the symbol of life in between Rarity standing on her cutie mark on the right and Ocellus on the picture of Mirage’s Talisman on the left.

Thunder was in front of a pillar with the symbol of lightning in between Pinkie standing on her cutie mark on the right and Silverstream on the picture of Aurora’s Amulet on the left.

Frost was in front of a pillar with the symbol of ice in between Fluttershy standing on her cutie mark on the right and Sandbar on the picture of Clover the Clever’s Cloak on the left.

Lloyd looked down at his symbol and raised a brow. "Okay now what?" he asked before they heard the army getting closer.

"Seriously?! Why does everything have to be so hard?!" Rainbow complained.

Lloyd took a moment to think it over as he remembered what his mother said. “‘For once the Light Ninja finds the Instrument of Peace, he will strike it and know the power of the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master.’”

As his mother’s word rang over and over in his head, he looked up and saw a large bell above him.

"The bell! It's an instrument!" Lloyd pointed out.

“Wait! You mean… that’s the ‘Instrument of Peace’?!” Thunder asked Lloyd who was a little unsure, but…

"Only one way to find out. Are you guys ready?!"

"Let it rip, guy!" Smolder shouted.

Lloyd charged at one of the pillars, jumped off it, then struck the bell with a kick. A powerful loud chime was sent out, one that could be heard outside. Once Lloyd landed on the ground, a bright light shine down on him as something was happening.

"Whoa, what's happening?!" Lloyd asked when the light shined down on him and he felt something inside.

"No one move!" Frost told the others.

Lloyd then felt something and then he reflected the light off the armor on his hood which then bounced off the crystals around the room. The light soon reached the pillar where Flash, Twilight, and Gallus as the pillar glowed bright with the light. The three of them felt power coursing through them as Flash's changed to a Master Elemental Gi with the ancient equestrian symbol for wind on it and in his hoof is a grip with a dragon head on the top.

Twilight wore a crown resembling her old Element of Harmony, with a magenta star in it, a gold neck collar, wing armor and shoes and violet cloak. Gallus gained golden armor that formed on his claws, wings, and tail, along with a circlet on his head that oddly looked like a crown.

The light continued to reflect off the crystals around the room as each pillar was being lit up by the light and the Ninja's Gi’s changed as well as formed a grip with a dragon head on the top. Trail's Master Gi had the ancient Equestrian symbol for Fire, Gaia's for Life, Thunder's for Lightning, Frost's for Ice, and Landrush's had the one for Earth.

The rest of the Mane Six, minus Twilight, absorbed the light's power as well, transforming into Alicorns. They each gained armor around their horns, their wings, their necks, their legs, and their hooves. On each of their chests were jewels that resembled their old Elements of Harmony and cloaks in their respective colors.

Each of the Young Six also gained armor, along with special items. Along with Yona’s dark-orange armor, she found herself wearing a helmet with sharp horns, much like the Helm of Yksler, as well as iron gauntlets on her hooves.

With her aqua blue armor that had her pearl shard invented in it, Silverstream also found her armor had an amulet much like the Amulet of Aurora.

Ocellus had grown small antlers much like Thorax and Pharynx, along with golden armor similar to the Changeling guards, and a charm much like Mirage’s Talisman on her right forearm’s armor.

Smolder golden armor also included a golden charm necklace around her neck, the main one looking much like Knuckerbocker’s Shell but in whistle form.

Meanwhile, Sandbar’s arm also included a metallic cloak of chainmail, yet it did not seem to weigh him down.

Lloyd then levitated upwards as his suit changed to a Master Gi as well. As Lloyd began to spin around in mid-air, blades in each of the grips that looked to be made of crystal and the Ninja’s own elements formed on them.

"Everyone! Send him your powers!" Flash ordered as they all sent magical and elemental beams at Lloyd. Suddenly, in a massive explosion, a golden ethereal dragon roared out as Lloyd collapsed onto the floor, his armor having turned gold before the light vanished. "Lloyd!" Flash called out to the colt who managed to get back on his hooves.

Before long, the Samu-Taurs and Darklings had just arrived and were ready to fight off their enemy.

"Let 'em have it!" Lloyd shouted as he got up and they all took a battle stance.

"Finally, we get to fight!" Rainbow Dash shouted excitedly. Trail clash blades with one of the Samu-taurs but instead of breaking the blade, it actually withstood the attack as flames burst out when it did.

"Sweet!" Trail said in awe as he looped around the Warriors creating a wall of fire. Trail then charged in knocking them all away.

Smolder saw some of the Samu-Taurs charging at her, so she took a deep breath, blowing through the Shell which blew out a blizzard of ice that froze the soldiers in place. "Cool!" she exclaimed before breathing through the Shell again, which let out a tornado of wind that blew them away. “Ha-ha! My Shell turns my breath into Elemental Breath!”

Rainbow then saw Darklings approaching her. She then lit her new horn and from it fired a blast of rainbow-colored magic that split in six colorful beams that shot them all away. “Awesome!” she cheered as she fired again.

Some of the Samu-Taurs were charging right at Thunder with spears in hand. Thunder waited patiently before jumping on top of the two Spears there are thrusted at him. His Elemental Blade then charged up power before he jumped off and electrocuted each Samu-Taurs as they tumbled backwards like dominos.

Silverstream found herself sandwiched between Samu-Taurs coming at her from both sides before she smirked, concentrated, and turned into water, melting away as they crashed into each other. She then reformed behind them and laughed. “Gotcha!” she taunted before she flapped her wings and washed them away with a wave.

Pinkie Pie was hopping around in circles while avoiding attacks from the Samu-Taurs. Pinkie Pie then charged up our horn and threw glitter at them which exploded after a couple of seconds. "Glitter bomb power!" she shouted as she continued this pattern.

Some of the Samu-Taurs charged at Frost before he climbed up the pillar behind him. They soon stacked on top of each other before he used his Elemental Blade to freeze them solid before giving a powerful kick that shattered them when he reached the bottom.

Sandbar found himself facing some Darklings, but then his eyes glowed blue and then he could see that a rock behind him was just a Darkling in disguise. He jumped when the Darkling behind him transformed and tried to pounce on him and then he gave a powerful kick. “Whoa… I can see life energy? Cool!” he cheered.

Fluttershy was facing the Samu-Taurs as she mustered up her courage, took a deep breath and charged at them. Suddenly, her horn glowed pink as the ethereal form of a rhino head appeared around her and she knocked them back then her tail was surrounded by an ethereal version of a scorpion’s as she whipped at another Warrior. “I can use the powers of animals?... Yay!!!” she cheered as her voice turned into a powerful Lion roar, which blew some of the recovering Darklings away.

Both the Samu-Taurs and Darklings were charging right at Gaia before she stabbed the ground with her Elemental Blade and multiple vines shot up from the ground before whacking those Samu-Taurs and Darklings away.

Ocellus found herself cornered by the Darklings, she hyperventilated bit, remembering the times when she was bullied during Chrysalis reign. But she took a deep breath, remembering what she learned from the tree of Harmony. She then transformed into a big dragon and blasted them away with a fireball. She was surprised, as usually when Changelings transformed, they could only copy forms not powers, “Amazing!” She said to herself before she blew more fireballs.

Rarity was surrounded by Samu-Taurs as they prepared to launch arrows right at her. Rarity then channeled her magic as a crystal barrier formed around her which blocked the arrows when they fired. “Now that is beauty in battle!” she said with a toss of her mane, as she used her crystal barriers to use them as blades to strike back at them.

Flash flew at some Samu-Taurs before swinging his Blade, releasing a powerful wave of wind at them that blew them back against the wall. He then slammed the Blade downwards causing a mini-tornado to pick up the Samu-Taurs and tossed them across the temple.

Some Darklings were flying around and circling Gallus as he stood his ground. Just as they dived into attack him, he spread his wings and quickly shot up into the air and struck them back. "Now that's what I call high-speed flight!" he declared as he knocked down each Darkling.

Twilight was surrounded by Darklings and Samu-Taurs before she unfolded her wings and focused her magic. Swinging her horn downwards, she released a power wave of starry magic. “This is what happens when you mess with the Ruler of Equestria and her friends!” She declared in an advanced form of the Royal Canterlot Voice, before blasting out more star magic.

Landrush stood face to face with Samu-Taurs and Darklings as they looked ready to attack. Landrush then stabbed the ground with his Elemental Blade and rumbling occurred as the ground cracked before a mountain of dirt trapped the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings when it rose from the ground. Landrush let out a laugh before he moonwalked on his back hooves before backflipping and stomping on each head in the dirt. "Hee, hee!" he shouted as he spun around and held his head.

Yona found herself in front of some Samu-Taurs but was not afraid as she scraped the ground as her helmet’s horns glowed. “…YAK SMAAAAAAASH!!!” she yelled as she charged with the horns glowing and knocked the Warriors away like bowling pins.

Applejack trotted her front hoof as she was about to charge at some Samu-Taurs and Darklings. Each time that she dragged her front hoof on the ground, it sparked up some magic before she finally charged at them. Once they charged back, Applejack quickly turned around as her back hose were glowing bright and she buck them clear out of the temple. "Now that's what I call Earth Pony strength, partner!" she declared before she bucked some more.

Kozu and the rest of the Army moved to finish them off. Lloyd then narrowed his eyes. “My turn,” he said as the others gathered behind him before focusing his power, his white aura then turned gold and then from the orb of light transformed into a golden dragon.

Kozu’s eyes widened, “Retreat!” He ordered his army as they all ran out of the Temple as fast as their legs could go.

Back at the ship the others were getting concerned. “Do you think they found the temple yet?” Spike asked before they heard a loud explosion coming from the mountains.

They all turned to see a giant gold dragon roaring from it, with eighteen elemental and magical beams, in the Ninja, Mane and Young Six’s colors shooting off behind it.

“I think we have our answer,” Tempest said with smirk. Everyone aboard the Bounty cheered as the Ninja, the Mane Six, and the Young Six had reached and completed their task.

"They did it!" Aqua cheered with so much excitement.

"Yes,” Wu agreed before Misako pulled him in for a hug.

"Perhaps good will win after all,” she said with hope as Wu hugged her back.

Meanwhile at the Celestial Clock, the villains and the Overlord had witnessed the whole thing, “Well, well,” Chrysalis said turning to the Overlord, “looks like your ‘indestructible’ army isn’t so unstoppable after all.”

"Is it just me, or does anyone else think that every time we get a leg up in this race, those prissy pony do-gooders manage to pull a miracle from out of nowhere?!" the Storm King asked in an annoyed tone.

But rather than being insulted or angry, the Overlord was actually quite calm, "The Ninja and their friends may be getting stronger, but so are we,” he assured them. "When the Celestial Clock reaches zero, the Ultimate Weapon will be complete, and then there will be nothing they can do to stop you all from turning Equestria into your image."

The villains turned to the Clock and saw it was only hours away from reaching the skull-and-crossbones symbol. “Hmm, the Ninja’s days are numbered,” Sombra said as the villains chuckled. Garmadon however remained silent as he knew that there was still one thing he had to do before Equestria would be his and his allies’...

...defeat his son.

Chapter 11: The Last Hope

At the Celestial Clock, the Villains were anxiously waiting for it to strike at zero. “The clock is only hours away from finishing its countdown to the Final Battle between good and evil,” the Overlord said eagerly.

Tirek then noticed the sullen expression on Garmadon’s face. “This is the moment you’ve been waiting for millennia, Garmadon,” he said as the other villains turned to him. “I would’ve expected you to elated by this.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been all mopey since yesterday. Why so sad?” the Storm King asked as Garmadon was startled and turned to them.

“What? Me? Sad? Ha! Nonsense,” he laughed. “I couldn't be happier. It's just...” He then frowned and glanced away.

The villains all knew what he was thinking about “Lloyd?” they all asked in unison.

"I still have to battle my son in order to transform Equestria into my image," Garmadon reminded them in a sad tone.

"Battle and defeat, if evil is to prevail," the Overlord sternly reminded him.

Garmadon just looked at the Helmet’s perch where he took it before he turned and walked away from the group.

Chrysalis looked at the others and just gave them a stern look. "Why don't we cut him some slack?” she suggested. "It's not going to be easy, fighting somecreature of your own blood."

Nightmare Moon however raised a brow at that. "And how would you know?" She asked Chrysalis. "Do you have a spawn of your own blood?"

Chrysalis looked surprised but sighed. "Yes," she admitted. "My original heir to the throne of my Hive... Princess Ocellus."

"Order up! Coconut cream pie! Served well done!" Trail shouted as he readied his Elemental Blade. A coconut was flung into the air as he shot a fireball with a direct hit to it. The Ninja, along with the Mane and Young Six, were wearing some beach wear as they were having fun with their newfound elemental and magical powers.

"Nice shot!" Smolder cheered.

"It's good to have our powers back!" Frost said.

"And the powers we have feels so awesome!" Rainbow Dash posted as she used her new horn to use rainbow lasers to fire a few flung coconuts. "Alicorn magic is so awesome! I'm like 20,000% cooler than I was before!"

“When we get home, my “Hooray-we-defeated-evil-and-became-alicorns party” is gonna go off,” Pinkie started before Applejack launched another coconut fired into the air and she smirked, “with a BANG!” She finished blasting the coconut.

“I can certainly say, dears, that our victory will be coming in full,” Gaia started before she saw Applejack kicked the next coconut and fired a blast of plants at it, “BLOOM!” she quipped.

Thunder laughed. “Yup, you're right. And since we've all been working on our witty quips to follow every cool thing we do, I'd say we got this Final Battle in the bag. Or should I say…” He signals Applejack to launch another coconut. And then she gives it a good buck, launching it into the air, “... I'd be SHOCKED if we lose!” he said, blasting the coconut as they all laughed.

"Enough!" Wu shouted as he, Celestia, and Luna approached them. "Are you trying to reveal our hidden location?"

"We know that you're excited to have your elemental powers back." Celestia told the Ninja before she looked at the Mane and Young Six. "And the powers you have attained are enjoyable, but that's no excuse to be goofing off."

"Uh, sorry," Flash spoke up as a rubbed the back of his head. "We were just practicing our cool new Elemental Blades and magical powers."

"And our witty quips," Thunder quickly added.

“Be wary of overconfidence, young ones,” Luna warned. “While it is true your powers can defeat the Samu-Taurs and Darklings, only Lloyd alone has the power to defeat Garmadon.”

“And do not forget that he has five villains and the Overlord to support him,” Wu added. “When it is all over, then we will see who laughs last.”

“Yes Sensei,” They all said. The three then turn back to the Bounty where more vehicles were being prepared and Dr. Gear is repairing the Falcon while Lloyd, Cozy, and the CMCs watched.

"Every cog, every gear is important," she told them as she placed a cog in the Falcon and it reactivated. "If one piece is missing, or out of place, the invention won't work." She then closed the Falcon's front. "Come now, little one. Time to fly." The Falcon then took off into the sky as Sensei Wu and the sisters approached them.

“It is like you Ninja,” Wu said. "You each serve very important roles,”

“No one part is more important than the others,” Celestia continued.

“Alone you are nothing, but together, and you are all key parts to a magnificent fighting force,” Luna finished as Applejack spotted the Falcon in the sky.

"Eat these apples, dirtbag!" she shouted as she blasted a beam at the Falcon, thinking it was a coconut. Frost let out a gasp as he nudged her aside and quickly used his Elemental Blade to freeze the blast before it could hit the Falcon.

"That is not a coconut!" he told her.

"Sorry, and very nice reflexes," Applejack complimented as the Falcon landed on Frost's hoof.

"Good to have you back, old friend." Frost told his Falcon as it took flight again.

“If we're all gears, what if I'm the gear that doesn't work?” Lloyd worried. “What if I don't do my part? What if I can't defeat my father?” he looked down.

Scorpan then stepped forward. “And what if there are no more ‘What-ifs’?” he asked, placing a paw on Lloyd’s shoulder. “The Final Battle is almost upon us. When that time comes, we will know the answer to what ifs whether we like it or not.”

“I know you don't want to face your father, but there is no other choice,” Cozy said as she stepped up to him.

“But perhaps there is,” Misako countered as she and Hope stepped forward with the latter holding a scroll in her magic. “I used to think it was inevitable, but then Radiant Hope and I found this.”

"You mean, maybe Lloyd doesn't have to fight?" Landrush asked as he and the others work coming up the hill. "This I gotta hear."

Misako then unraveled the scroll and it showed a terrifying image of the Samu-Taurs and Darklings on it with a countdown clock, its hands reaching towards a skull-and-crossbones symbol.

"The scrolls say that when the Keys of Darkness are bequeathed to their rightful wielders, the Celestial Clock will count down to the activation of an unspeakable weapon," Radiant told them. "The first sign that the Final Battle between good and evil has begun."

"Did you just say ‘unspeakable weapon’?" Twilight asked in a worried tone.

"Uh, I'm still stuck on what ‘bequeathed’ means," Thunder said.

“Go on, Hope. Don’t let us interrupt you, please,” Rarity said as they walked up to the table.

"Yeah, how do we stop the Final Battle?" Flash asked.

“Well… it’s uncertain, but there is nothing here that says what would happen if the Keys are returned,” Hope told them as they were able to guess what she was getting at.

"Interesting," Wu spoke up with interest. "Remove the Keys, the clock starts. Put them back, the clock stops."

"And the Final Battle never starts," Ocellus finished.

“Bequeathed, anycreature?” Thunder asked, still frowning, “Is anybody gonna help me out with that?”

“It means ‘given to somepony’,” Twilight told him with a roll of her eyes.

"That sounds great and all, and I know we have our new powers, but you expect us to get past their whole army of Samu-Taurs and Darklings, and take their toys away?" Trail asked, making it sound more difficult than it needs to be.

"My brother's right," Aqua told both Misako and Hope. "They're good, but they're not that good."

“I know. And that is why I am going to take Garmadon’s Helmet. I'll just need a little help in getting the others Keys,” Misako told her.

“I’ll handle getting Tirek’s Armor,” Scorpan volunteered.

"I'll come with you," Hope volunteered. "At least it'll still give me time with Sombra and hopefully take his Key. With the three of us, we should retrieve all six Keys and stop the countdown."

They all then gathered in a group huddle before Wu stopped Lloyd from joining in.

“I'm sorry, Lloyd,” the old stallion apologized, “This mission isn't for you.”

“But I'm all powered up, I can help,” Lloyd argued.

“Wu is right, Lloyd. We mustn't let you and your father come face to face yet,” Celestia told him. “We're trying to prevent the Final Battle, not welcome it.”

Lloyd sighed, knowing that fighting his father was the last thing he wanted, and any chance to prevent that was too important. “Yes, Celestia,” he sighed sadly.

Back at the Villains camp, Kozu and his lieutenant were showing their masters their new vehicles. “To combat your enemies’ new power, we have honored your request to step up defenses,” he gestured to the vehicles.

“They won’t sneak in here again,” the lieutenant assured.

“Ha-ha, excellent!” Sombra said slapping their backs. “Now, this is more like it.”

As he and the other walked over to inspect the vehicles, the Storm King could not help but admire his own design. "I'm loving what I'm seeing!" he remarked as they looked at each vehicle. "I especially love the one that looks like a mammoth."

"Why build your forces, when all your attention should be on completing the Ultimate Weapon?" the Overlord asked when he floated above the vehicles.

"Don't ask us. Ask him," Nightmare Moon told him as she pointed to Garmadon.

“What good is an Ultimate Weapon, if we’re not around to use it?” Garmadon asked as he turned his back to the Overlord and crossed his forelegs. “Do not question my motives!”

The Overlord then circled around Garmadon in suspicion,“It is not your motives I question but your resolve,” He told him, “I fear you're hesitating as the hours count down to facing your son.” Garmadon simply grunted and looked away from the ball of gas. "So it is true."

"Never doubt my evil again!" Garmadon shouted at the Overlord with rage. "Not if you wish to remain as our ally when we rule!" He then turned to some Samu-Taurs and Darklings looking at them. "Get back to building the Ultimate Weapon! Do not stop until it is complete!" Fearful of his rage, they all quickly got back to work on the Ultimate Weapon, bumping into each other as they ran around frantically.

He then whipped around to the five Villains as they flinched. “And you lot! Do something useful and keep a look out for the Ninja!” he ordered. The five Villains looked shocked that he was ordering them around before they heard the Overlord chuckling.

"Yes… now there is the Garmadon I am counting on," the Overlord said with delight while the other five villains looked at Garmadon with annoyance.

Meanwhile outside the Camp's gate, twelve Samu-Taurs were taking Misako, Radiant Hope, and Scorpan prisoner. Unaware to the soldiers watching the group approach, those twelve warriors were really the Ninja and the Mane Six in disguise what the help of the Shift Stones that Discord gave them when they traveled back in time, and surprisingly still had them when they were turned to the present.

“Where did you get these stones anyway?” Rainbow asked the Ninja.

The Ninja glanced at each other and then turned to a tree, swearing they saw Discord’s eyes glaring at them. “Umm… trade secret?” Thunder answered sheepishly.

The girls shrugged and kept on walking to the gate. Once they were close, a disguised Thunder beat on the gate with his spear before it was being raised up by a few Samu-Taurs pulling on chains.

"Let us go, you creatures of darkness!" Scorpan demanded as he acted like they were really Samu-Taurs.

"We won't tell you anything!" Hope added as Fluttershy jumped from the gate closing behind her.

Kozu and his lieutenant approached, speaking on their native tongue as the twelve raised brows of confusion.

"What did they just say?" Landrush whispered to the others.

"I think it's an ancient language, because even I don't know what they just said," Twilight whispered.

"Well, somepony say something or they're going to get suspicious." Flash whispered as they thought of something to say. “Jew-jew-cala!” he said.

Landrush decided to play along. “Bada-bada bing-bong!”

"Kikiwaka! Kikiwaka!" Twilight joined in.

"Boom boom, bing-bang!" Applejack shouted.

“Cheep, cheep, tita-ta-ta!” Trail recited.

“Moolo-gula-gula!” Rainbow chimed in.

"Boo-loo, boo-loo!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Ity-ity-ity, wappa!" Gaia shouted.

“Tick-tock, tick-tock!” Frost said.

“Polly Wock Polly!” Fluttershy shouted.

"Eek, eek, eek! Mook, mook!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"Bequeath, bequeath, bequeath!" Thunder shouted while doing a bit of an odd dance before he noticed the two Samu-Taurs glancing at him in confusion. He quickly stood back at attention and remained quiet.

Misako then took over. “That’s right, you caught us. But we’ll never tell you where our base is,” She said as she looked Kozu in the eye. “And you won’t hear another peep from me unless you take us to your leaders!”

Kozu growled frighteningly at her as he and his lieutenant took her, Scorpan and Hope away while the Ninja and Mane Six explored the area, hoping to not draw any attention.

Garmadon was resting in his tent before the other five villains came in. "I said that I was not to be disturbed!" he shouted at them.

“Apologies for the interruption Garmadon,” Chrysalis said, “But we have a prisoner who knows the location of our enemies’ base, and I think you know her.”

Garmadon sat and then as the villains moved to the side, he saw a ghost from the past. A beautiful ghost from the past.

"M-Misako!" Garmadon said with shock. "You're…you’re alive?!"

"It's been a while, my love," Misako said with a smile.

"Must feel strange to have somepony you never seen in a long ti--" Sombra said before he caught a glance of Hope, “…you…” He breathed out.

“Hello, old friend,” Hope bowed her head.

Tirek then noticed the third creature. "Scorpan," he remarked with little emotion in his voice.

"It's so good to see you again, brother," Scorpan said with a smile on his face. "Have… you been working out?"

“Yes. Special regiment, courtesy of the Overlord,” Tirek said curtly, crossing his arms.

The other villains glanced at the three, having never encountered such reunions. “Awkward…” the Storm King commented.

Garmadon then shook his head and cleared his throat. "Release them," he ordered. "They're in our territory now, so they’d be fools to try and pull something now."

"As you wish," Nightmare Moon answered, cutting their ropes as they all left, Sombra with Hope and Tirek with Scorpan.

Misako then approached Garmadon who looked up a bit nervous to see his long-lost wife approach him. "Take off that silly helmet. Let me get a good look at you," she said as she reached for the Helmet.

Garmadon gently batted her hooves away from her. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not,” he said as he tilted Misako's chin upwards. "I've missed you, my love." As he gave her a gentle kiss, Misako was hesitant at first but she soon returned it.

At his own hut, Sombra was face-to-face with Radiant Hope. "How about a hug, for old times’ sake, Sombra?" Hope suggested, causing Sombra to blush madly. "And how about you put down that sword so you can hug me properly?"

Sombra cleared his throat looked at her without emotion. “What do you want, Hope?” he asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," she admitted. "I really missed you." Little did either of them know that Nightmare Moon was watching them from the shadows. "We used to be such good friends before you let the darkness inside of you take hold and you did to Princess Amore...” The memory of that night was horrible for Hope to bear, so she decided to change the subject. "Remember when you first saw Princess Luna, you admitted that you had a crush on her?"

Sombra merely glared. “Only for her to reject me. Why bring that up now?” he growled, but Hope showed no fear.

"You were a colt back then." she reminded him as Nightmare Moon blushed a little as she remembered that day. "You even told her that at night you always look up at our night sky and saw the wonder and beauty that it had." Sombra blushed harder and looked away.

"A-As you said, I was only a colt back then." He retorted. “The past is the past.”

Hope then placed a hoof on his shoulder and smiled. “And the Future is the Future.”

Sombra glanced back at her smile.

In Tirek's hut, both he and his brother did not know what they were going to say to each other, considering they had not seen each other in a millennium. “So… how’s the kingdom been, Scorpan?” Tirek asked his brother.

"It's been fine," Scorpan answered. "It's been a bit dull, from time to time." Awkwardness filled the air as they both did not know what to say or do. "Mother was heartbroken when I told her what happened to you," he said sadly.

Tirek flinched at the mention of their mother, but his expression turned back to null. “And our father? What did the great Vorak have to say?” he asked.

"He... To tell the truth, he was shocked that you used your magic the way you did," Scorpan answered with a tone that was sadder than before. "Even after you fought beside him in the Great War long ago, I guess he had… high hopes for you."

Tirek looked angry. “‘High hopes’? ‘HIGH HOPES’!?” he roared. “Nothing I did could ever impress him! In his eyes, I was always second fiddle to you, his favorite!”

Scorpan frowned as he shook his head sadly. “Father loved you more than you could imagine, brother. He loved you so much that he had to step down as King because he felt unworthy to lead anymore.”

"How about this?" Frost asked the others as they were waiting for Misako, Scorpan, and Hope. "It's ‘ice’ to see you."

"Uh, I don't know," Thunder said in a unsured tone. "I feel like you could do better."

"I swear I've heard that before," Pinkie Pie commented.

"Ugh! I feel like a trampling Buffalo in this body!" Rarity whined.

"We just need to keep this up until Scorpan, Hope, and Misako get the Keys," Gaia told her as General Kozu came up to them and pointed to the worksite.

"Uh, what did he say?" Rainbow asked.

"I think he's telling us to get to work," Twilight guessed.

General Kozu pointed to the construction site and roared at them in their native tongue. The way he roared scared them and made them jump. Applejack accidentally bumped Thunder and he fell and stubbed Frost's two hooves that made him hop on the other two.

“Bequeath! Bequeath!” Thunder squeaked as he and the others hopped like Frost did.

“Polly wock!” Fluttershy added.

"Tick-tock!" Frost shouted as they all made strange noises as they humped on only two hooves to the construction site.

Back in Garmadon’s tent, Garmadon circled around his wife. “So… you’ve been alive this whole time. And you chose not to tell me?” he questioned sounding offended. "But not only that, but you also know where our son is hiding, and I suspect you won't give him up that easily."

He then pointed a sword at her. "I know you too well, Misako. Why did you, Hope and Scorpan allow yourselves to get caught?" He questioned.

"Because Scorpan wanted to talk to his brother and Hope wanted to see her old friend once more," Misako told him. "And because I know you don't want to fight as much as Lloyd doesn't want to fight."

"Lloyd doesn't want to fight?" Garmadon asked in surprise before he quickly shook it off. "Uh, I mean, so Lloyd doesn't want to fight?" he exclaimed before he let out an evil chuckle.

Misako was unnerved by the laugh and pressed on, "If you’re still the stallion who stole my heart, I know you would never want to see him harmed," she said.

"But it is foretold. It is our destiny," Garmadon reminded her as she looked at him with heart break, "I don't care about him. I only care about turning Equestria into my own image!"

"Then you're not the stallion I married," Misako said with a sad look before she turned to leave. "I should go to your dungeon."

"No!" Garmadon halted her. "Don't leave me, not again."

Misako turned to him as he took off his Helmet. "Misako, I may look different, and evil may now course through my veins, but I am still the same stallion standing before you." He placed his sword on the table and put the Helmet on a perch. He then walked over to Misako. "I want you to rule by my side, as my queen."

Meanwhile the Ninja and Mane Six were carrying crates of Dark Matter. "Aw, man! No matter how many bad situations we get ourselves out of, we never seen to be able to escape chores!" Thunder complained.

"What exactly is this gunk, anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at the barrel of Dark Matter she was pushing.

"I don't know, but it's filled with so much dark magic that it's sending chills down my spine," Twilight said as she let out a shiver.

"So, in other words: Don't touch!" Flash said as he looked ahead of them. "Whoa, what is that?"

"It must be the unspeakable weapon Radiant Hope was talking about," Frost theorized.

"It sure looks massive," Trail said as they walked closer.

Then Landrush noticed something. "Hey look guys an elevator, sweet!" he said as he walked up to only for Kozu to block him. Kozu then spoke in his native tongue telling him that he is not allowed to use the elevator. "Ah. Relax, relax. Forget it." He and the others started to climb up the ramp to the top until. "Sheesh. What is wrong with these guys?" They soon saw a ginormous cannon as they continue their way up.

"I don't know about any of you, but that just looked like some sort of massive cannon." Trail pointed out.

"Oh... my...” Fluttershy whisper with worry when she saw the cannon.

"What do you suppose it's for?" Frost asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Gaia said sarcastically. "Perhaps it’s to destroy us?!"

"No, I think whatever this stuff is, it powers that weapon," Twilight countered, "so it may not have any destructive power."

"Well, let's hope we don't have to find out," Flash whispered as a fore-Darkling came up to them.

"Move faster!" he ordered. "The master wants his Weapon complete by noon!" He then bonked Applejack on the head with his spear.

"Hey, why don't ya bonk somepony your own size, half-stack?!" she shouted at the fore-Darkling.

"You don't tell me what to do, you--"

**A quick word from the writer and his co-writer.

What he calls Applejack will be really insulting and illegal to any women out there. To assuage any sensitivities, we’re going to skip to the part where she kicks him off.

Thank you.

The fore-Darkling screamed when Applejack bucked him off and he fell into a barrel.

Everyone looked up while Applejack dusted herself off. "Geez AJ!" Landrush exclaimed.

"What?! He had it coming after what he called me!" Applejack retorted. "Besides, you girls would have done the same if he called you then."

"Well, you just blew our cover by doing that," Twilight pointed out.

"Eh, we lasted this long anyway," Flash just shrugged.

They soon dropped their disguise as the Samu-Taurs and Darklings attacked them. The Ninja readied their Elemental Blades as the enemy charged towards them. "At least we get to break the ice!" Frost quipped as he threw the ramp coming up, causing the Samu-Taurs to slide all the way back down.

"Ha-ha! Nice one, Frost!" Trail complimented.

“Yeah, ‘color’ me, impressed!” Rainbow quipped as she blasted some Darklings away.

“Ha-ha, now you’re cooking with gas!” Thunder laughed before he noticed some Samu-Taur coming up on the Elevator. “Or should I say, electricity!” he quipped, zapping the Samu-Taurs and sending the Elevator down. "Going down?"

"Save some lines for us, Thunder," Landrush told him. "I wouldn't want us to bowl over the competition." He grabbed a nearby rope and ran and swung on it at some Samu-Taurs. They dodged him but he came back around. "Oh, this is bad! This is really, really--" He crashed into some barrels. "Bad."

Flash shook his head. “Maybe focus less on puns and more on fighting!” he said as he blew away some more soldiers.

"He's right!" Twilight shouted as she blasted a few back. "Let's get Scorpan, Hope, and Misako and get out of here!"

"NINJA, GO!" The sixth Ninja did Spinjitzu as they fought their way through.

Meanwhile back at Sombra’s tent Sombra had put away his sword as Hope slowly went for it while he was not looking. "You know, I only gave into the darkness because I was afraid that I was going to lose you," Sombra admitted as Hope was about to grab the Sword. "The Umbrum really have words of persuasion."

"The what?" Nightmare Moon said as she appeared before them, Hope quickly backing off from the Sword.

“My birth race. Creatures of darkness that trapped underneath the Crystal Empire unless the balance has been broken,” Sombra explained as Hope reached for the Sword again.

"‘Creatures of darkness’?" Nightmare Moon said with interest as she put down her Key of Darkness. "Do you think the Overlord might know something about them, my lover of my nights?"

“Y-you heard that?” Sombra exclaimed as Hope managed to snatched the Sword and Nightmare Moon’s Glaive as the alarm blared and she ran out. The two turned and realized their Keys were gone!

“My Glaive!” Nightmare Moon exclaimed.

“My Sword!” Sombra yelled before glaring. “…Hope!”

"If you had a second chance, would you do everything different?" Scorpan asked his brother. Tirek just let out a sigh before he removed his Key of Darkness and stretched his arms.

“Perhaps, but know I’ve always wanted what’s best for our kingdom.” Tirek said as Scorpan moved towards the Armor.

"Even if it meant that you destroy a trust of another kingdom after fighting alongside it?" Scorpan asked as the Storm King walked in.

"Hey, you two!" he shouted as put his Key of Darkness down. "I just have something ask you both…” The Storm King appeared to have a menacing look on his face… before turning to one of curiosity. “How old are you guys, anyway? I mean, which of you’s the big bro and the baby bro? I never really got the whole dynamic between you guys."

As Scorpan grabbed the Armor and reached for the Staff, Tirek answered. "Well, I am at least a thousand years old, and Scorpan is--" He was interrupted by the alarms as Scorpan grabbed the Staff and ran out.

"Hey! That's mine!" the Storm King yelled.

Tirek growled venomously. "Ever the cowardly Gargoyle, aren't you, brother?!"

In Garmadon's hut, he let out a sigh while his back was towards Misako. "Misako, I'm glad you finally understand me," he said as she quietly went for the Helmet. “Not many creatures do, you see.”

Misako continues to tip-toe towards the helmet but stops as she heard Garmadon sigh. “Being evil these days is really unappreciated.” he griped as she plucked the Helmet from the perch, “But you... I always knew I could count on you.”

As soon as he said this, he heard the alarms blare as Misako ran out. He turned to see his Helmet was gone. “She deceived me? Stop her!” he ordered.

Meanwhile outside, the Ninja and the Mane Six continue to fight off the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings before they saw Misako, Scorpan, and Hope run to them with most of the Keys. "You got the Keys!" Frost pointed out.

"Most of them, and you got spotted!" Misako remarked. "We just need the Amulet and then we can make our way to the Clock."

“Don’t look at us! It was Applejack!” Rainbow retorted as she pointed to the farmer mare.

"We can talk about it later!" Applejack shouted. "Let's just focus on what’s in front of us, find Chrysalis, get that key, and stop that dang-darn Clock!"

They then heard loud stomping behind them and turned to see Garmadon piloting a giant black alicorn mech. “Maybe we should focus on what’s behind us?” Trail suggested.

“Oh... my!” Fluttershy squeaked.

"Cut them down to size," Garmadon said as he let out a chuckle, signaling that he was going to enjoy this. He then controlled the mech to raise its sword and bring it down. They all jumped out of the way just in time as it hit the ground.

“If we don’t get the Amulet and return the Keys to the Clock, we won’t be able to prevent the Final Battle!” Misako told them.

"You were fools to even come here in the first place!" they heard Chrysalis saying before they turned to see her and the Darklings by her side.

"Well, now we have another problem!" Thunder shouted before you looked at the others. "How are we going to get the Amulet off her?!"

“And how are we gonna stop that mech!” Rarity asked as Garmadon stomped towards them.

"You girls try and get that Amulet while we handle Garmadon!" Flash told them as he readied his Elemental Blade.

"You be careful!" Twilight told him as she readied her magic.

“Let me knock you down to size, Chrysalis!” Applejack shouted as she bucked a rock at Chrysalis.

Chrysalis quickly changed into a small bug to dodge the large rock coming at her and crawled on it before she transformed into a massive bull and charge at them.

Rarity quickly stood in front of the group and concert up a diamond shield to stop her in her tracks. "She's been practicing!" she commented as she struggled to keep the shield up.

“But not enough!” Rainbow said as she blasted the queen with her color magic, only for her to change into a giant snake, weave around them, and then grab her by the leg and toss her into the siding. “Or maybe she did!”

"Surprise!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she gave Chrysalis a present. Chrysalis looked down at the present before Pinkie Pie popped out of it. "Double surprise!" She then fired a barrage of cupcakes right in her face.

"Try to keep her down, I'm going for the Amulet!" Twilight told her friends as she ran over to Chrysalis. She then jumped on to her and reached for them amulet.

“Get off of me!” Chrysalis yelled as she blasted them all away as her Darklings pinned them down. “You fools! None of you have the power to stop or take my Amulet!”

“Well how about me!?” a voice asked as Chrysalis was knocked over by a light blue blur. The blur itself kind of looked like Rainbow Dash before it transformed into a Flying Bison and rammed Chrysalis in the face. When Chrysalis transformed back, she saw the creature transform into a dragon, swiped away all the Darklings with its tail before it transformed into Ocellus. "Stay away from my teachers, mother!"

"MOTHER?!" the Mane Six shouted in shock.

Chrysalis merely growled a bit before she smiled. "Ocellus, my sweet little grub," she said pleasantly. "Such a fierce expression is worthy of a Changeling Queen."

"I'm doing it to protect my friends and the ones I love!" Ocellus growled. "Not that you would know anything about it!" Ocellus then transformed into a Bugbear and grabbed Chrysalis by the throat. "Now I'll be taking that Amulet!" She pulled the Key off her mother’s neck and jumped back.

Chrysalis took some gasping breathes. "Such anger, such determination. Mommy's so proud of you Ocellus," Chrysalis cooed as Ocellus growled. "You know there could be room for you in the new Equestria we make. Then we could rule together, mother and daughter, like we always wanted!"

"We got what we came for, so I think you know what my answer is," Ocellus hissed at her mother before she saw the other villains coming towards her, so she quickly threw Chrysalis at them.

Meanwhile the Ninja were trying to hold off Garmadon. Garmadon was struggling to pull his mech's sword out when he slammed it down. "We must hurry before we run out of time!" Misako exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'm on top of it!" Thunder shouted as he ran towards Garmadon when he got the sword out of the ground before jumping towards him. "Yah! Whoo-hoo-hoo!" Thunder grabbed hold of the sword when it was swung at him and was launched into the air. The mech then grabbed him when he came down before he was thrown to the ground and crashed. "Oh, maybe not. Unh."

“Let me wrap this up!” Gaia quipped as she used her blade to grow massive vines to wrap around Garmadon, only for him to pull the free and whip her away, “Oh, I’m going feel that tomorrow.” She groaned.

"Didn't his mama ever teach him ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall’?" Landrush asked as he reading his Elemental Blade while Garmadon let out an evil laugh. Landrush then thrusted his blade forward causing some rocks to be thrown at Garmadon. Garmadon used his mech to slice and dice each rock being thrown at him. "Oh, apparently she did."

The mech walking towards them as Trail readied his blade. He charged at Garmadon and created a wall of fire in front of him. He did not stop however as he made his mech go through the flames as he laughed. "Oh, great," Trail groaned.

“Bye-bye!” Garmadon mocked before he swatted Trail away.

Trail groans as the others gathered around him, “Oh boy. We better come up with something fast because,” he started as Garmadon and the Villains advanced at them, “I’m out of lines!" Suddenly, something emerged from out of the ground and poked him in the flank. "Hey!" He quickly jumped up and a giant driller vehicle burrowed out of the ground as the others got out of the way.

"Whoa, it's Aqua!" Thunder pointed out as Aqua punched it and drove towards Garmadon, knocking away a few Samu-Taurs in the path.

“Uh oh,” the Storm King muttered before Aqua knocks them down and then rolls back to the Ninja.

“Hey, guys!” She waved.

“How did you know we were in trouble?” Twilight asked.

Aqua pointed to Frost’s Falcon. “Look up.” She said before gesturing to the other seats. “Get in!” The Ninja, the Mane Six, Scorpan, Hope, Misako and Ocellus climbed in as Aqua revved the engines. "Hang on." The vehicle soon drove into the earth and bore down faster.

"Don't just stand there! Get them!" Garmadon ordered the Samu-Taurs and Darklings as they took the vehicles down into the hole after them. The Overlord then hovered above him and the Legion of Doom.

"You fools!" he shouted at them with anger. "You let them get away with the Keys?! Don't you realize if one of them puts on the Helmet or the Amulet, they will control the army?!"

"No, and that would have been very nice to know beforehand!!" Tirek retorted.

“We’ll see to it personally,” Garmadon said. “It’s our turn.”

Meanwhile underground, the group continued to drill their way towards the Clock with the Samu-Taurs close behind. "Heh. Cool hat," Thunder said as he put on the Helmet. "I wonder if it'll make me look more menacing."

"I normally don't go for jewelry, but this actually looks quite nice, despite being a Key of Darkness," Gaia said as she put on the Amulet.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Twilight asked, “If those things turn you evil, we’re turning you both to stone.”

"Uh, is that possible?" Thunder asked before he quickly took off the Helmet as Gaia quickly took off the Amulet. "Uh, it's probably got Garmadon cooties anyway."

"And I don't want Chrysalis germs all over me," Gaia said before she looked at Ocellus. "Speaking of, I can't believe you're the daughter of Chrysalis."

Ocellus sighed, "Yeah, technically, we were all considered Chrysalis’s children when she was in charge, but I was hoof-picked to lead the Hive before Thorax took over. But even after, he still promised me that when the time came, he'd give me the throne," she explained. "Honestly, I was the only one in the Hive my mom showed anything close to compassion."

"Did you get the Keys?" Wu asked when a video call came through.

"We did, and we're all accounted for," Aqua confirmed.

"Then let's rendezvous at the Clock," Wu told them.

"It's so dark!" Rainbow complained as she started hitting buttons. "One of these buttons must be a light switch," she said before a Samu-Taur jumped on the Driller, scaring them.

"Uh, sis, can we go any faster?" Trail asked nervously.

"We're going as fast as we can!" Aqua told him as the Samu-Taurs behind started to speed up.

"We're definitely not going fast enough!" Landrush exclaimed as Kozu pushes them put of the ground.

"Okay, that works!" Flash said and looked behind him to see more warriors approaching. "Aqua, faster! Come on!"

"Okay!" she shouted as she pressed down on the gas pedal and went faster going up.

They soon burst out of the ground and continued to make their way to the Celestial Clock. The Samu-Taurs however, they came out of the whole they burst out of but our heroes were going faster than them.

"We're losing them!" Thunder shouted when he looked behind and they all cheered as they thought they were home free.

But then out of the forest were Garmadon and the Legion riding on his mech.

"Oops, spoke too soon," Pinkie squeaked. Garmadon and his Legion was catching up to them as Garmadon had an angry look on his face.

"You won't get away from me again, Misako!" he exclaimed as he was catching up.

“Faster, faster! They’re gaining on us!” Applejack told Aqua before Sombra and Nightmare Moon grabbed the Driller with their combined magic. “Oh ponyfeathers!” The Driller was lifted into mid-air by their magic and they were face to face with them while they were still inside the cockpit.

"I believe you have some things of ours!" Nightmare Moon hissed as Garmadon shook the Driller, trying to get them out as the heroes bounced around. He then threw them in a tree.

“Let’s get out of here!” Fluttershy cried as Aqua tried to open the cockpit.

“It’s stuck!” She said as Garmadon picked them up again as they all screamed in panic.

“Oh, I’m gonna be sick,” Landrush groaned as Garmadon held them up to his face.

"We finally have you in our clutches!" Garmadon shouted with delight before all six villains let out an evil laugh as they were going to enjoy torturing them.

"LET THEM GO!!" Lloyd voice was heard before a blast knocked Garmadon and his Legion away from them.

The Ninja landed on a log as the cockpit opened and they turned to see Lloyd coming out of the jungle. “Lloyd! Be careful!” Hope warned as Lloyd turned to see his father climbing out of the mech while the other five villains were pinned under the mech. Garmadon however was injured from the blast and looked like he could not defend himself as Lloyd approached him.

"Holy guacamole, Lloyd and Garmadon in a faceoff!" Thunder shouted excitedly. "Take the shot, Lloyd!"

"He's vulnerable!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "You can end this now!"

"Do not hesitate!" Frost added.

"Strike now!" Trail shouted.

"Lloyd, do it! End this!" Flash exclaimed.

Lloyd quickly looked back at his friends before he turned back to his father who limped towards him. Garmadon let out a cough as a sure sign he is too injured to fight back.

“I’m sorry father, you leave me no choice.” Lloyd seriously as Garmadon drooped his head, as if accepting his fate, “It is our destiny.”

Lloyd then powered up his Light energy as everycreature held their breath, awaiting him to fire. But just as the light was fully charged, Lloyd saw his father in weakened state and halted his attack.

Garmadon stared at his son in shock. “No! What is he doing?!” Gaia asked.

“He can’t do it,” Twilight answered sadly as the Samu-Taurs and Darklings arrived.

"They're coming!" Scorpan pointed out. "Lloyd, we need to move!"

"The Clock is not too far from here!" Aqua told him.

"Okay!" Lloyd shouted as he quickly ran over to them as they drove off the log.

"Better hop in, Lloyd!" Ocellus told him as they made room for him before he jumped in.

"Go!" Lloyd shouted before they drove off to the Celestial Clock. Garmadon coughed as he was relieved by his brush with death.

"Umm, a little help here?!" Tirek asked as Garmadon turned to see him and the other villains struggling to free themselves.

At the Celestial Clock, Sensei Wu, the Royal Sisters, Spike, and the rest of the Young Six were waiting for the others before the Driller came out of the ground.

"You made it," Sandbar said as they stepped out.

"Wow, this Clock is mechanical masterpiece!" Aqua said in amazement.

"Such a technological marvel!" Twilight said as her eye sparkled.

"You’re welcome to study after we stop it," Celestia told her pupil as Thunder noticed the Clock.

"There's only a couple minutes left!" he pointed out.

"Quickly, place the Keys back where they were before and find the Helmet's perch! It could be anywhere," Misako told them as Scorpan showed them where the other items go.

"You know where the other Keys go, but not the Helmet?!" Spike asked in shock.

"Its resting place was the most important part of the Clock," she told her as she placed the helmet down but the Clock did not stop. "Oh, it didn't work." She then climbed up on the Clock. "Maybe here." She placed the helmet down but it did not work again. As she was trying to find where the helmet goes, the Sword and the Amulet were placed where they were before and two parts of the Clock stopped.

"Perhaps I've found the perch!" Frost called out before she tossed him the helmet. He then jumped on one of the revolving orbs and placed it on it, only for it not working. "No, wrong place!"

"Yona think Yona found perch!" Yona said as Frost passed her the Helmet and she placed it on a gear but it did not stop. "No, Yona wrong." The Staff and the Glaive was then placed where they were and another part of the Clock stopped.

"Oh, what about here?!" Thunder called out as the Helmet was passed to him. He then placed it on another place on the Clock, yet it still counted down.

"Maybe it's here?" Twilight said as Thunder passed her the Helmet. She placed it down but it still did not stop as the Armor was placed back and another part of the Clock stopped.

"Could this be the place?" Wu said as Twilight threw him the Helmet. But then Kozu bumped him out of the way and took the Helmet.

"Oh no!" Silverstream cried as behind Kozu was the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings.

"There are thirty seconds left," Kozu said as the Clock continued ticking and he and his army advanced on the heroes. "I think it’s time to--" he was cut off when a part of the Clock knocked the Helmet out his hand and higher up on the Clock. "NO!" One of the Samu-Taurs started to climb up the Clock to go for the Helmet.

"Get the Helmet!" Celestia told them.

"On it!" Flash said as he flew up towards where the Helmet is. It was a race between him and that Samu-Taur, the former having had a head start.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Gallus said as he grabbed the Samu-Taur and pushed him off. Flash then grabbed the Helmet but it slipped out of his grip as the Clock had only nineteen seconds.

The Helmet fell towards the others as they all struggled to catch it, but it kept slipping out their grips. The Clock was now at twelve seconds before completing. Spike got a good look at the helmet then noticed a perch in front of the Clock. "The helmet's perch, I found it!" he shouted.

"Hurry, there's only ten seconds left!" Scorpan pointed out before Spike quickly rushed over and picked up the helmet. There was about only five seconds when he grabbed the Helmet and quickly jumped to where its perch was.

And just as the Clock’s hands hit the top, Spike managed to place the Helmet and the entire machine stopped. “NNNOO!!” Kozu roared.

“I did it. Ha-ha! I DID IT!!” Spike cheered as Twilight hugged him.

“Way to go, Spike!” Twilight said happily as the others celebrated as well.

But their victory was cut short when the Clock restarted. The Clock soon emitted the blaring call of horns, as the pieces of the Clock started to move on their own despite the Keys being back in their places.

“Oh, no…” Celestia said in worry.

"Wh-What's happening?!" Rarity asked with fear in her voice as they heard the horns. General Kozu let out a laugh as he knew what was happening.

"It's the Horns of Destruction!" Misako explained in a worried tone. "We were too late!"

“You mean…?” Twilight asked fearfully.

Meanwhile back with the villains, Garmadon finally got the Legion of Doom out of the mech, “Thanks, Garm. You rule.” the Storm King said as they all panted and then they heard the horns. “Uh, why do I hear horns?” he asked out loud as he covered his ears from the blaring noise.

"Overlord, what has happened?!" Garmadon asked.

"What is the meaning of those horns?!" Nightmare Moon added.

The Overlord was silent before he spoke in an elated tone, “...It has started.”

The villains gasped in shock. “You mean…?” Tirek asked.

Then back at the Clock, a golden laser bounced around its many parts before its largest orb turned into a focusing orb as it fired the beam straight over the heroes’ heads, slicing through the trees and over the villains heads.

“What is that light?” Sombra wondered as they looked up.

“It’s heading back to the camp!” Chrysalis said as the six began the long trek back.

Back with our heroes, the Samu-Taurs had them being walked towards the edge of the cliff as the Ninja readied their Elemental Blades to fight back.

But then the ground beneath them began to shake and tremble. The Ninja, the Mane and Young Six, and their allies were on a rock about to fall while Aqua and Spike were still on the ledge.

"Aqua!" Thunder called out.

"Spike!" Twilight shouted.

"Twilight!" Spike reached out.

"Thunder! Trail!" Aqua called out.

"Sis!" Trail shouted before Kozu grabbed both Aqua and Spike.

"Let them go!" Thunder demanded.

"Or what?!" Kozu mocked. "You will make a big splash?!" he laughed as the rock chunk broke off.

"The ground!" Landrush exclaimed as they fell into the ocean screaming. Both Aqua and Spike gasp when they saw their friends fall before they were taken away. At the bottom of the cliff, our heroes gasped as they took in a breath of air when they resurfaced from the water and quickly got on to land.

"Yona... really need to... learn to... swim." Yona panted as they looked and saw the Samu-Taurs taking Spike and Aqua away.

Lloyd sighed, "This is all my fault!" he said. "I should've taken the shot!"

"We're all at fault, kid," Landrush assured Lloyd. "It's just the way the cookie crumbles."

"Ah! Are you still making jokes?!" Thunder asked with rage. "They have Aqua and Spike, and you're making jokes?!" He then tackled Landrush to the ground.

"It was just a poor choice of words!" Landrush explained.

"ENOUGH!" Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice, getting their attention. "We've already lost enough! We mustn't lose our focus or our unity as well!"

"Forget focus or unity!" Trail retorted.

"He's right! We have to get Aqua and Spike back!" Twilight added.

"By the time we get back up there, they'll be long gone," Flash told Twilight as he tried to comfort her. "We will get Spike and Aqua back."

"Yes, but the Clock has reached zero, and the Final Battle could start at any moment," Misako reminded them. "We must get back to the bounty to get prepared, so that next time you will not hesitate." She looked at Lloyd when she said it.

"Come on Lloyd, let's go home," Wu said, as they all walked back. "You'll get your chance."

Thunder and Twilight looked back up as they saw Aqua and Spike taken away.

Meanwhile Garmadon and his Legion of Doom made it back to their camp where they saw the beam of light hitting the construction site where the Ultimate Weapon was being built.

"Behold, my final gift to you all,” the Overlord declared. "The ultimate weapon: GARMA-TRON!!!"

The light downed revealing the Ultimate Weapon, a giant black and red tank, shaped like a monster stallion's head with a large cannon coming out from its mouth.

"It… It's beautiful!" Chrysalis cheered with some tears.

"Now that’s a weapon!" the Storm King declared as the Samu-Taurs and Darklings returned.

“We’ve retrieved your Keys, and two prisoners, my masters,” Kozu said, gesturing to Aqua and Spike who were struggling to free themselves.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't one of the Ninja's sisters and Princess Twilight's pet dragon," Nightmare Moon said in an amused tone when they saw Aqua and Spike glare at them.

“You won’t get away with this!” Aqua promised.

“Twilight and the others are gonna kick your butts into next year!” Spike added as Garmadon walked up to them.

"You know, I don't think those colors suit the both of you," he said as he placed an apple in both their mouths. "Why not try on a darker shade?" Two of the Samu-Taurs brought out two trays of Dark Matter. "Let's test it on the youngest first."

Spike looked nervous before spitting out the apple. “Wait, test me? Test me on what?” he asked as he was brought over to the Dark Matter. “Wait, what are you doing?!”

Sombra then levitated the Dark Matter over the baby dragon. “Now don’t you worry, little one,” he chuckled. “This won’t hurt… Probably.”

He then dumped the Dark Matter onto Spike as he screamed. The villains watched with evil grins while Aqua watched in horror as a monstrous black shadow loomed over and Spike’s screams of terror turned into primal ravenous roars. Garmadon and his Legion of Doom then let out evil laughs at the sight of what the Dark Matter could do while Aqua quietly hoped the others could stop them in time.

Final Chapter: Rise of the Spinjitzu Master

All was silent in Equestria City. The city was still in ruins from the Samu-Taurs first attack.

Suddenly Starlight, Trixie, Sunburst, Discord, and all of Fluttershy’s animals appeared. “Well, at least we’re away from Ponyville.” Trixie said.

“Starlight!” they turned to see Cadance and Shining holding Flurry, running towards them. “Something horrible has happened! A giant missile fell from the sky and corrupted the entire Crystal Empire!” Cadance explained.

“We know. That same thing happened in Ponyville,” Starlight told her.

“But where did it come from?” Sunburst wondered.

Shining then looked toward the Endless Sea. “Oh, Where’s Twiley when you need her?” He said before Discord patted his head.

“Oh, don’t worry, Shining Armor. Having battled against your baby sister, I know she won’t go down without a fight against any baddie. In fact, I can confidently say that they’re all on their way back right--” Discord tried to assure him but then the sky turned dark and interrupted him. “Um,… Okay, who turned off the sun?”

They all then looked up as a circular white light appeared in the center of the cloudy sky.

Both Kozu and Roodaka were tied up and tossed out of Dareth's dojo, as the dojo owner came out, along with the Pillars, Scrip and Bolt, Rose Boral, Steprush, and Daisy Tudabone. "Heh, I told you they'd do it," Dareth bragged about his students before he saw the sky changing. "Ooh."

"Ooh, is it the Ninja and the Council?” Scrip asked when she saw the clouds circling.

"It must be," Steprush commented.

"The Ninja and the council have won?" Rose asked with excitement.

"Ha-ha! We're saved!" Bolt shouted with glee.

“About time!” Daisy complained.

“Now to get this place up and running again!” Steprush declared.

Star Swirl looked up in the sky and could sense very dark magic approaching. "No… it's not them," he told them with concern as both Kozu and Roodaka began to laugh. "You both know what it is, don't you?!"

“Our master… has returned,” Kozu answered as the light grew stronger.

Dareth was the first to realize something was wrong. “What the...?” he said before in a big flash the Garmatron rolled up onto the streets with the Samu-Taurs behind it. “What is that?”

Starswirl felt his blood run cold as he saw what or rather who was driving the Garmatron. “No, it can’t be,” he said before the Overlord looked at them as Spike and Aqua landed beside him.

The ponies ran away in fright as the Garmatron came to a stop. Dareth bravely walked in front of the tank and glared at the Overlord as the monstrous creature chuckled in amusement at him. "All right!" Dareth shouted. "You will have until the count of three to leave here before I unleash the power of one: HEE-YAH! The dragon,” he waved his hooves in the air. "Two: Penguin,” he got on his back hooves and waddled like a penguin as the Overlord pressed a button on the console and gun torrents and right at Dareth. "T-Two and a half--"

"Three." the Overlord finished as he pressed the big red button and the guns started to fire right at Dareth but he quickly jumped out of the way just in time as the Dark Matter splat on the ground. Dareth watched as the Dark Matter started to spread on the ground before he looked at the Overlord.

"Ha-ha! You missed!" Dareth bragged before the guns aimed at him again. "Oh, no." The guns started to fire more Dark Matter at him as he quickly got up and started to run for it. "Aah! Aah!" The Overlord laughed his head off as he watched Dareth frantically bobbing and weaving away from each blast from the guns as he felt his evil growing. Dareth quickly hid behind a corner from the blasts before he looked around the corner and shot a glare at him. "We shall meet again! This I swear!" A blast nearly hit him and he screamed in fear when it hit the corner. "Where are those Ninja?!” he screamed as he ran away.

Both Kozu and Roodaka freed themselves from the ropes as the Ultimate Weapon rolled down the street and continued to fire Dark Matter everywhere, with the Samu-Taurs following behind. As more and more of Equestria began to corrupt into darkness, the Overlord began to change as well.

The horns on his head began to grow bigger as another pair of wings started to grow on his back. The claws on his arms started to become sharper as his tail began to become more and more draconic, with a sharp end growing on it.

Back on the Dark Island, the heroes were sitting by the shore, feeling helpless as they saw dark clouds floating over their home.

Lloyd was currently being nursed by Hope and Fluttershy. Fluttershy was bandaging his leg while Hope used her magic to speed up his healing. “Ugh, Can I still fight?” Lloyd groaned.

Hope sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry but I afraid even with my magic you won’t be able to do much on that leg,” she said.

“She’s right, it could take days for you to heal,” Fluttershy added.

Lloyd shook his head. “But we don’t have days!” he said before he yelped in pain as they continued to treat his leg.

Wu and Celestia looked out towards the sea. “The final battle, between good and evil, will be settled this very day.” Wu sighed, looking towards Equestria.

Rainbow growled in frustration. “And we can’t even get to the finale!” she retorted as she picked up a rock. “All because we’re stuck on this stupid island!” she chucked the stone out into the water and it splashed.

Thunder let out a sad sigh. "I wonder if I'll ever get to see Aqua again,” he asked as Applejack pulled her sister in close.

"Maybe you girls stowing away on the Bounty was the right call,” she told her sister. "Otherwise, you might end up being like Aqua and Spike if y'all stayed."

"Perhaps it's best to think of our friends as we remember them in our hearts, not as they are now," Frost suggested as Fluttershy and Hope helped Lloyd over to them.

"But I don't remember my father any other way," Lloyd told them.

"Your father loved you," Misako told him. "It was the evil of the Great Devourer that corrupted him."

"Sensei, I don't understand," Flash spoke up. "The prophesy said the Light Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord."

Rainbow Dash then threw another stone as it skipped a few times along the water.

Twilight turned to her teacher. "Celestia, please tell me, why didn't we win?" she asked.

Wu and Celestia just shook their heads sadly. “We… don’t know,” they said.

The others were shocked. “Don’t know?!” Gallus repeated. “B-but you’re Sensei Wu and Princess Celestia! You always know! You’re both at least a thousand years old, and and have a long white beard and a big rainbow mane respectively!”

“There must be some message to learn,” Trail said. “A lesson. A word of wisdom. Just a word? Something…” He looked to them.

"For once, I'm afraid there is nothing to learn," Wu said with a sad tone he looked upon their home being corrupted. "Only that evil has won."

"If Sensei or Celestia doesn't have a lesson, then I do," Lloyd spoke up. "I used to be nothing but trouble, but then I met you guys. You took me in. Showed me the importance of being brave, the importance of being strong. And most importantly, being good.” He then took a step with his broken leg and winced in pain. "When this battle first began, when the First Spinjitzu Master fought the Overlord and his back was up against the wall and he knew it was all over, did he quit? No. He found a way to keep the fight going. He passed his Elemental Powers to us. Of all creatures, a bunch of kids. But there must have been a reason he chose us. I like to think it's because he knew we'd never back down, we'd never give up. We've learned the ancient ways of the Ninja. And Ninja never quit."

“He’s right,” Twilight said. “We can’t give up Equestria to the Overlord.”

“Yeah! If that means we gotta swim across the Endless Sea to get back, so be it!” Trail as walked into the water.

Capper looked shocked. “The entire ocean?! But I’m not a good swimmer,” he admitted.

“And don’t think we have enough flyers to carry us all back,” Flash added as Trail groaned from the wet feeling.

Rarity shrugged. “Well, if anycreature has a better idea,” she said.

“I don’t,” Frost shook his head before he smiled and looked up, “but he may.” He pointed up to his Falcon as he flew away.

“The Falcon! He must’ve found something!” Dr. Gear said as they all ran after him from the ground.

The group soon followed the Falcon to the mountain of the Temple of Light, Trail and Gaia using their mechs to help carry up anyone who could not fly.

Once they reached the top however, they were confused. “He brought us back to the Temple?” Smolder asked. “I don’t get it. We were already here.”

Misako then took out a scroll and looked at the drawing. “This location, I’ve seen this before. I just never understood it,” she said as they all walked in.

Flash used his Elemental Blade to clear away the cobwebs and saw a slot that looked like his blade could go in in one of the Pillars.

"I think I found something," Flash told the others. "It's just like the drawing on the scroll.” He then walked up to the pillar and insert his blade into the slot as it glowed bright.

"There's another one over there," Luna told the others as she pointed to the pillar on the right.

"There's one on each of them," Scorpan said as each Ninja took out their Elemental Blade and walked to the Pillars. After they inserted their blades into the slots, they heard rumbling coming from underneath them.

"What is it?" Trail asked fearfully.

Suddenly, an opening began to form from out the floor, while a machine was being raised up from the center. It looked like a huge alicorn mech armor made of gold and silver.

"Cool…" Thunder said when they saw the mech.

"It is the golden fighting suit the First Spinjitzu Master used when he battled the Overlord," Misako explained what it was.

"You mean, the First Spinjitzu Master once sat here?" Landrush asked as he quickly climbed into the mech and sat in a seat on the top. "Ha-ha! Get out of here! How do you make it this thing work?"

Dr. Gear examined the mech and sighed. “Sadly, I think time’s done her in,” she said. “She’s only a relic now.”

Celestia then dusted the mech with her hoof. “If it worked for the First Spinjitzu Master, then perhaps it will work for the Second Spinjitzu Master?” she pondered as she smiled at Lloyd.

“It’s worth a shot!” Lloyd said climbing up the mech as Landrush jumped out of the cockpit and Lloyd took his place.

“Hey, watch out!” Landrush warned as he hopped off.

Lloyd fiddled with the controls but the Mech did not move. “Hmm, nothing,” he said before the Mech started moving around and glowing. “Whoa!” Lloyd exclaimed uneasily as the Mech bent its knees and flapped its wings.

“Whoa!” Tempest said.

“Looking good!” Sandbar cheered.

“Killer!” Pinkie added.

“Amazing!” Frost said.

“How’s the leg feel now, kid?” Celaeno asked.

Lloyd lifted the Mech’s hoof and smirked. “Stronger!” he said before he slammed the hoof down and raised his sword.

“Well, I think it’s obvious how he’s getting back to Equestria,” Gaia said before looking at the others, “but what of us?”

They then heard a familiar roar coming from outside.

"Did you hear that?" Fluttershy asked before they recognized the roar.

"We know that sound," Gaia said as she was excited to hear it. "It's Ultra Dragon!” They all ran outside as Ultra Dragon landed in front of the temple. "Orchy!" Gaia jumped and hugged the head of Orchy. "You're here and you're not corrupted!"

“Yeah, we just barely got away, thank the Great Mother,” Orchy said in relief.

“But everycreature else? Not so much,” Flame sighed.

“What about Cadance, Shining, and the rest of our families?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“Discord’s keeping them safe, but even his powers will fall to the Overlord eventually,” Rocky answered.

“Then there is no time to lose!” Luna declared. “It’s time we get off this rock!”

With everyone on Ultra Dragon and Lloyd in the golden Mech, they flew towards Equestria only to find black clouds covering the land. "Oh no, it's gotten worse since we left," Nimbus told the others as the flew above the clouds.

“Let’s take a closer look!” Lloyd said as he dove down and Ultra Dragon followed soon after. When they breached the cloud cover, they were horrified by what they saw.

“Oh, my goodness,” Scorpan gasped.

“No,” Ocellus said.

“This can’t be Equestria,” Rainbow breathed out.

“It is. Just not the one we remember,” Flash said as the entire city was blacked and corrupted by Dark Matter and the only white around was the white snow from the Windigoes circling from above.

"The Windigoes again? But how--?" Sandbar asked when he saw them.

"Looks like with all the evil going around Equestria, there's not enough friendship or harmony to keep them away," Celestia theorized.

"All the more reason to stop the Overlord," Lloyd told them as they began to hover above Equestria City. There they saw a very tall tower with a dark light shining from the top.

"What is that thing?" Apple Bloom asked as she pointed towards the tower.

"Garmatron," Sensei Wu answered as they look down and saw the Samu-Taurs and Darklings with barricades in front of the tower.

"It's turned into a fortress?" Luna asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah, things have definitely gone worse since we left to get you guys," Whisp told them.

Cozy then noticed some strange pony-like beings down there too. “What are those things?” She asked.

“The Umbrum,” Hope answered. “Sombra’s birth race, and now the Overlord’s servants.”

“Speaking of the Overlord, where is he?” Boyle asked.

Shard looked up. “We believe somewhere up there.”

“For now, let’s find a safe place to lay low,” Nimbus suggested as they flew down to the buildings. Once they were on the ground, they saw some ponies and other creatures who looked pale and as dark as Aqua and Spike did.

"He's turned everyone evil," Trail whispered to the others as they saw how miserable everycreature looked.

"Oh, just like Aqua and Spike," Thunder said with worry.

"And now they’re helping his cause. We need to find Discord and the others." Twilight told the others. "With more on our side, we stand a better chance at facing the Overlord."

“Well, you don’t have to look far,” a voice said they all turned to see Discord, Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry, Dareth and a few others, completely uncorrupted.

“Discord!” Fluttershy cried as she hugged him.

“I knew you’d be back.” Dareth said as he walked up to the Ninja

“Glad to see you’re okay.” Flash said as Twilight hugged Starlight and her family.

“Barely. The Overlord’s completely taken over,” Starlight said. “And not just here, but also in Ponyville, the Crystal Empire, the Dragonlands. Every kingdom everywhere has been corrupted.”

“Everywhere?” Twilight asked in dread.

Cadance nodded sadly. “Everywhere,” she said before smiling. “But the one silver lining is that you’ve all returned safe and sound.”

“Yeah, and now that we’re here I can’t wait to see the look on that dang Overlord’s face when he gets a load of--” Applejack declared but was interrupted when they heard a powerful roar and they all looked up.

"Oh..." Fluttershy started.

"My..." Gaia added.

"Goodness," Thunder finished when they saw the biggest black Draco-taur with four sets of wings flying over to Garmatron and landing on top of it. It then let out a large breath of Dark Matter straight towards them.

"Oh, sweet mother may I!" Rarity gasp at the site before she noticed the cloud coming straight towards Applejack and Landrush. "Look out!” They quickly jumped out of the way just in time as the cloud hit the building behind them.

“Was that the look you were hoping for?” Frost asked.

Applejack gulped. “Eenope,” she said.

Misako gazed up and her expression turned grim. “The metamorphosis is complete,” she said as the Draco-taur roared. “The Overlord has changed into his original form.”

“Oh great, like he wasn’t tough enough already,” Tempest commented.

"I think I liked the way he looked before that, when he was just an evil blob," Smolder commented.

“He’s still an evil blob,” Rainbow said. “He’s just got bigger muscles.”

"Looks like we're going to have to go up there and face him," Flash told them.

"But we can't fly up there," Landrush said. "The moment we do, we'll end up like everypony else."

"We have my father's golden Mech," Wu pointed out. "We have to draw their fire to help Lloyd use the Mech against the Overlord."

"We hear you loud and clear." Rainbow told Wu.

“Everycreature, hold on tight!” Nimbus told everyone riding on their backs.

In the Samu-Taurs’ defensive line, they prepared their catapults. “Wait…” Kozu said.

The Ultra Dragon got closer. “Wait…” Roodaka commanded.

The Ultra Dragon was getting really close now but the army still did not fire. “Wait,” Rabia said.

And once the six-headed dragon was in striking distance… “NOW, FIRE!!!” All three ordered as the army launched their ammunition.

"Incoming!!" Rocky shouted as Ultra Dragon flew on its side and took evasive maneuvers to dodge the incoming fireballs being launched at them. The moment the cleared the fireballs, The Archers took hold of their crossbows and started to fire flaming arrows at them.

"Pull up! Quick, pull up!" Trail shouted as the arrows were coming close before Ultra Dragon nearly dodge them as they pulled up skyward.

“The Samu-Taurs, Darklings and Umbrum will protect their master,” Luna said. “They will never let Lloyd get close.”

“Then we’ll just need to get close!” Flame declared as they kept drawing the army’s fire.

Meanwhile Lloyd was charging towards the wall at full speed. “Time to bring out the big buttons!” he declared as he broke down the walls and then knocked away the dark armies. "NINJA--" From out of nowhere, two blast shots came down and blasted off the right arm of the Mech. Lloyd looked up and saw Aqua on a torrent on the steps of the tower and Spike crawling around on walls like a gecko. Aqua let out an evil laugh as she continued to fire down on Lloyd and Spike did the same until the Mech came down.

"He's been hit!" Shining called as Ultra Dragon circled around.

"We need to protect him!" Cadance told the others as the army of Samu-Taurs, Darklings, and Umbrum closed in on him.

As Lloyd climbs out one of the Umbrum raised its hooves at him. “Oh no!” Lloyd rolled away as the dark army prepared to finish him.

“NINJA, GO!” The Ninja, along with the Mane and Young Sixes, shouted as they landed in front of Lloyd and held off the army.

“Ugh, I’m okay,” Lloyd said as he stood up.

Gaia turned to him. “Yes, but are we?” she asked as they were quickly surrounded. They then heard the Overlord roar as a cloud of Dark Matter was coming down at them.

"Ice!" Frost shouted as he used his Elemental blade to create a ice barricade.

“Allow me to assist!” Rarity said as she used her magic to add a protection barrier to the barricade as they blocked the Dark Matter from hitting them.

"Good job, you two!" Thunder shouted.

Spike crawled along the walls of the Tower before looking towards our heroes and letting out a fearsome dark breath of flames to melt down the ice block. Smolder then took in a deep breath before blowing into her shell and letting out a powerful earth breath back at him before he quickly dodged it by jumping higher up the wall.

Aqua then started blasting the barricade until eventually she bust through it. She then started firing at the heroes.

“Fire!” Trail called out as he used his blade to block the blasts. Aqua growled in annoyance as she moved up higher as Spike did the same. At the same time, the Dark Army was closing in on our heroes.

"I know we've always drawn a crowd, but this is ridiculous!" Thunder joked as they fend off the Dark Army.

"How can you be making jokes at a time like this?!" Trail complained as he dodged and counter-attack each one thrown at him.

"Hey, if we're going down, might as well go down laughing!" Pinkie told him as she brought out her party cannon and blasted a few back.

“Well, if this how friends go down, Yona happy Yona go down with good friends!” she said as she bashed another one away.

“Here, here,” Rarity said.

Above the battle, Ultra Dragon, along with those riding on them, watched the heroes becoming slowly and steadily overwhelmed.

“They may be strong but even they won’t last long against those numbers!” Mullet said, looking through a telescope.

“We need to go back and help them,” Wu said.

“There are too many of them,” Hope said before she looked up at the Overlord who was enjoying the battle like it was a spectacle, then she noticed something. “Wait, look,” she pointed. “The Overlord’s Keys must’ve fallen off during the Metamorphosis.”

"What does that matter?" Dr. Gear asked.

"They who hold the Keys, controls the army." Misako said which confused them.

"Uh, what does that mean?" Capper asked.

"It was written in the scroll." Misako explained. "What if the Keys are more than just the Keys to the clock? What if the Keys are the reasons why Garmadon and his allies were able to control the Army in the first place?"

“If we could find those Keys, we could stop them!” Hope finished.

“But they could anywhere!” Trixie pointed out.

“Then time is of the essence! Let’s fly!” Nimbus said as they flew to search for the Keys.

Back in the battle, even though they were completely surrounded, the heroes did not back down. “Just keep fighting!” Lloyd told them.

“Never give up!” Sandbar added.

“Ninja never quit!” Flash finished.

“And neither do friendship! NINJA, GO!” Twilight added as she did Spinjitzu.

“NINJA, GO!!” The other shouted as they did Spinjitzu too as they knocked away the Samu-Taurs, Darklings, and Umbrum. But then Aqua blasted at them, forcing them together, and then Spike fire a massive fire ball at them, knocking them out of their Spinjitzu.

The dark army then closed in on them again as they tried to block them. “We’re doomed, guys!” Fluttershy squeaked.

Ultra Dragon flew around the city until Trixie and Sunburst spotted two of the Keys, the Crystal Sword of Nightmares and the Glaive of Blackest Night. "Are those two of the Keys?!" Trixie called out as she pointed to where they are.

"Yes!" Scorpan answered. "They must be along the road! Find them!"

They spread out and found two more Keys.

“I got the Armor of Dominance!” Shining said.

“And we’ve got the Staff of Hurricanes!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she her friends brought over the Staff.

Misako nodded. “Good, now we just need the Amulet and the Helmet!” she then noticed them on the other side of the road. “There they are!”

"Ah, finally, a little protection for my noggin and a little extra bling," Dareth said as he picked up the Helmet and Amulet.

"Wait!" Misako called out as Dareth had put on the Keys.

"Eh, what?" he asked as the horns of Helmet of Darkness and the jewel within the Amulet of the Shadow Swarm started to glow right when he put it on.

Back with our heroes, they were utterly surrounded by the Dark Army and outnumbered as they were on the ground. They all brought their swords to end them before they suddenly stopped. They all let out a sigh as they did not die, but were a bit confused as to why they stopped suddenly. "What happened?" Trail asked as they stood up and the Ninja took off their hoods.

"They're frozen like statues," Ocellus said as Gallus poked one of them but they did not react.

“But how?” Applejack asked as she waved her hoof in front of one of their faces.

“All hail the Brown Ninja!” General Kozu declared as he pointed towards Ultra Dragon.

“What do you command?!” Roodaka asked as the heroes turned to Ultra Dragon in shock.

“Wait, did you say… Brown Ninja?” Silverstream asked with a raised eyebrow as they saw their friends with the Keys, and Dareth wearing the Amulet and Helmet.

"Heh-heh. What's up, fellas?" Dareth asked in a smug tone as Ultra Dragon landed and the Army backed up to make room. "Looks like we all know who's in command now."

"The Keys of Darkness controls the army!" Twilight said with realization. "Well done!"

"Oh, that means now we stand a fighting chance!" Thunder added.

Lloyd pointed to the top of Garmatron. “I need to get to the top of that tower!” he said before looking at his foot. “I might not be able to get there by myself, but with your help, I can face him!”

Frost, Fluttershy and Sandbar stepped forward. “For our friends,” they said.

Landrush, Applejack, Yona, Gaia, and Ocellus stepped up next. “For our families,” they added.

Thunder, Pinkie, Silverstream, Trail, Rainbow and Smolder then stepped up too. “For our home!” they continued.

Flash, Twilight, and Gallus were the last ones to complete the circle. “For Equestria!” they finished.

The Ninja then raised their blades above Lloyd’s head as they all cried out. “NINJA, GO!”

“Where’d you get those? I want one,” Dareth said, looking at the Blades.

Flash just smiled. “You too, Dareth. Today you proved you deserve to be part of our team… and our family,” he said passing Dareth a sword. “Care to do the honors, just for old times’ sake?”

Dareth grinned and raised the blade high. “NINJA, GO!” he declared as the Overlord and the Umbrum glared down at the heroes. "Army! About face!” he commanded with the blade as the Army turned to face the staircase going up. "Samu-Taurs and Darklings, go!” They all charged forward up the staircase roaring as they charged up to their former master. Aqua and Spike, however, were blasting the Samu-Taurs back with the blaster Aqua was on and with Spike’s fire breath, while the Umbrum confronted the Darklings in the sky.

"You better get this back." Dareth said as he gave back Flash's Elemental Blade while the rest of the Ninja, along with the Mane and Young Six, started to run up the steps. Yona and Landrush were carrying Lloyd up the steps as they ran.

"Let's help them out!" Luna suggested as Ultra Dragon took off.

Ultra Dragon tried to fire at Aqua, but Spike sent a powerful blast of dark fire to their tail.

"AAGH! We're hit!" Rocky cried.

“We need to land! This is as far as we can go!" Nimbus said as they went in for a landing.

As our heroes went up the steps to where the Overlord is on the top, the Overlord himself breathe out Dark Matter straight towards our Lloyd. Thunder, Pinkie, and Silverstream saw it coming and pulled Lloyd back.

"Look out!" Thunder warned, but it was too late as the Dark Matter hit Landrush, Yona, and Applejack.

"Guys, come on! Get up!" Lloyd pleaded as the three of them were grunting in pain.

"Ugh! We're hit! Go!" Landrush told them as he felt the darkness take over.

"Hurry, before...we change...!" Applejack grunted.

"Friends...go without...Yona!" Yona moaned as Lloyd reached out to them.

Twilight would never leave a friend behind but they had to hurry. “We need to move now!" Twilight told him as they rushed up the stairs while Landrush, Applejack and Yona's eyes turned purple as their corruption was complete.

The further up our heroes go, the more difficult it has become as the Wendigo were blowing a tough breeze towards them. The Overlord then Unleashed another cloud of Dark Matter towards them as Pinkie, Thunder, and Silverstream saw it coming before they pushed Lloyd out of the way and they got it by it. "Pinkie, Silverstream, Thunder!" Lloyd shouted when he saw them get hit.

"Get out of the way!" Thunder warned them as they felt themselves changing.

"Don't worry about us!" Pinkie moaned.

"Just keep going!" Silverstream told them.

Flash and Gaia rushed over to Lloyd. “Don't look, just keep climbing!" Flash said as ran up even faster.

"From my calculations, with the distance remaining to the top, the odds are only one of us is going to make it!" Frost said.

"And it doesn't help that we've already lost a fraction of our team!" Rarity added.

"Well, let's see if we can beat those odds!" Lloyd challenged before they heard growling coming from behind and saw their friends all corrupted and ready to attack them.

"That's not good!" Smolder commented when they saw their corrupted friends.

"Go on! We'll hold them back!" Frost told the others as he, Fluttershy, Sandbar, Gaia, Rarity, and Ocellus stayed behind to keep their corrupted friends occupied while the others continued up.

Gaia looked up and gasped. “Watch out!” she yelled as a ball of Dark Matter crashed on top of them.

Back with the remaining seven, they almost reached the top but were halted by their corrupted friends. “Aqua!" Trail said.

"Spike!" Twilight yelled.

Gallus then turned to Lloyd. “Okay, we'll draw their fire and you run for to the top and kick the Overlord's butt!” he said. Aqua then unleashed a fury of blast at them while Spike breathed out heavy flames before Flash and Trail draw out their blades and block both attacks.

"No, don't!" Lloyd pleaded with them. "We can do this together!" Smolder then placed a claw on his shoulder.

"No. There's only one Light Ninja and that's you,” she said with sincerity. "You're the only one with the power to do it.” She then looked towards Spike before she tackled him to the steps. "Now go!"

Lloyd rushed up the stairs but Aqua took the chance to taunt him. “You're hurt and alone! You hardly stand a chance!” she said.

"Oh, shut up already!" Rainbow said as she struck the blaster.

"Go Lloyd! Now!" Flash ordered. Lloyd nodded and hopped up the stairs.

Once he reached the top, the Overlord turned to him, seemingly amused that this little colt managed to reach the top, on three hooves no less.

Lloyd bravely flips up his hood and faces the dark lord. “I have come here to fight you, Overlord!” he declared.

"You're in no shape to fight," the Overlord spoke in a deep voice that rattled the ground. "It's over. Evil wins!"

"A Ninja never quits!" Lloyd declared causing the Overlord to cackle a little.

"You don't even have a sword,” he taunted Lloyd.

Lloyd then powers up his magic. “I don’t need a sword,” he said as he created a golden energy shield.

The Overlord stared at him. “Then all I have to say is..,” he started before giving a grin. “...goodbye.”

The Overlord took a deep breath in and the released a storm of purple fire at Lloyd. Lloyd held his shield strong as he was pushed to the edge. He panicked and the charged up his power even more. The Overlord kept spewing flames before Lloyd’s shield pushed him back in an explosion of golden energy.

Those on the ground saw the golden explosion of energy coming from the top and knew what it was. "He has become the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master," Misako said in awe.

"This is the final battle," Sensei Wu declared as the energy orb around Lloyd vanished and his silver Ninja Gi had turned to gold with silver outlines. The symbol on him had changed to the ancient equestrian symbol for “destiny”. His gray coat had turned into a golden coat as wings on his back had formed as well, turning him into an Alicorn.

"I am the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master!” Lloyd declared as he felt the power of the Golden Dragon course through him.

Lloyd gestured to the Overlord to come at him. The Overlord growled. “NO!” He roared as swiped his claw at Lloyd, blocked his attacks and then kicked him off the tower. “NO!”

Down below Dareth watched as Lloyd focused his power and then transformed into a golden Dragon and roared. “Awesome!” he said in awe.

"You can't defeat me!" the Overlord roared at Lloyd as he flew in the air. "Where ever the light may shine, there will always be a shadow to cast over it!"

"Unless the light is bright enough to illuminate that shadow!" Lloyd shouted before he shot towards the Overlord in a stream of golden flames and the Overlord was falling. Twlight, Flash and Gallus were wrestling Spike and Trail, Rainbow and Smolder were fighting Aqua before they saw the Overlord and Lloyd falling past them.

Dareth saw the Overlord falling and duck his head down when he thought he was about to come down on him before the Overlord flapped his wings and flew back up to where Lloyd is. His roars was heard when he flew up into the dark clouds that even the corrupted others could hear them from the steps. "This ends now," Lloyd growled as he glared at the Overlord.

"For once, I agree!" The Overlord shouted as the golden flames had turned into a dark cloud as he stared down Lloyd. Lloyd then noticed that the dark clouds around them started to wrap around as Overlord began to fly around him.

“WHOA!” Lloyd cried as he spun around in the darkness. The darkness started getting bigger, like it was trying to swallow all of Equestria.

Lloyd finally stopped spinning until out of the blackness he saw two purple eyes and loud haunting laugh and the fading into his vision was the Overlord’s giant head laughing loudly as Lloyd stared him down. The Overlord then snapped his jaws over Lloyd and got him in one bite.

But just when he thought he had won, the Overlord felt something in his mouth powering up as in between his teeth beams of light were seen trying to pry his mouth open. “No, NO!” the Overlord cried as he realized what was happening, and tried to keep his mouth closed. “NO!!! NNNNOOOO!!!!” he screamed as Lloyd burst forth from his mouth.

Then just as the entire city was swallowed into the darkness, a golden light pierced through it, eradicating it and destroying the Garmatron tower and spreading it’s light everywhere in Equestria. All around the city, creatures woke up, feeling quite dazed and confused by what happened as the new light shone down on them. From the crater that once was Garmatron, Trail, Flash, and Twilight opens their eyes to a clear sky with no Windigoes or Umbrum.

"What happened?" Flash asked as he and the other two sat up. They heard Thunder groan as he and Pinkie Pie was back to their old selves.

"I..I think Lloyd did it," Twilight said as she looked around. "He defeated the Overlord."

They then looked forward and saw two creatures who had also returned to normal.

“Aqua!” Trail and Thunder shouted as they ran up to her up.

“Spike!” Twilight cheered as she hugged the restored baby dragon to her chest and Flash joined in. “Ooh, it’s so good to see you back to your old self again!”

“My sister,” Trail said as he and Aqua nuzzled each other.

“Aqua, you’re back!” Thunder said as he hugged her too.

"Yeah, but what happened?" Spike asked as he rubbed the back of his neck. "The last thing I remembered was being captured with Aqua and getting taken to Garmadon in the other villains. I can't remember anything else after that."

"Don't worry about that," Flash told Spike as he gave him a noogie. "Everything's going to be all right, cuz we just won."

Each of the Young Six got up from the ground and found one another as Yona tackled the other five to the ground with a big hug.

"Yona so happy friends okay!” she shouted with joy as her friends were getting suffocated by her hug.

"That's…great…Yona!" Smolder grunted out as she was tapping Yona's hoof. "But can you…let us…breathe?" She quickly let them go and they all took in a deep breath.

The rest of the Ninja and Mane Six woke up as well and cheered for their victory.

"Come here, you tincan!" Landrush said as he helped Frost to his hooves.

"Brother," Frost said as they hugged.

Gaia then hugged Landrush. “Haha! Well done, everyone, well done indeed!” she cheered as Landrush hugged her back.

Ultra Dragon then landed beside them. “Well done all of you!" Shard congratulated.

"Is this really happening?" Dr. Gear asked as she was helped down by Celestia and Luna. "We did it?"

"We did it! You did it! I did it!" Dareth shouted with excitement. "Heck, who didn't do it?!"

"Yeah, but where's Lloyd?" Cozy asked as they looked around for him before they saw him in his Golden Dragon form as he was flying down towards them.

"Lloyd!” They all called out when they saw him as he transformed back into his pony form and used his newly formed wings to fly down towards his mother.

"You were brilliant, son," Misako told Lloyd.

"Because of you, Equestria is safe," Celestia said. “Because of you, there will be a tomorrow."

"So please tell me that means that the Overlord is finally gone for good," Applebloom hoped.

"He'd be pretty stupid to come back," Starlight answered.

"But if he ever tries showing his face around here again, we'll be ready for him!" Trail promised.

"And next time, we'll be a little more humble," Landrush said.

"And a little more wise," Frost added.

"And a little more prepared," Gaia continued.

"And with better catchphrases!" Thunder finished as they all laughed. Lloyd however looked down sadly as he knew he did not save every creature.

"We will all miss your father." Misako told his son, unbeknownst to any of them that four figures rose up from the rubble and walked towards them.

"Hey, who are they?" Rainbow asked when she saw them. A young alicorn filly with a pitch black coat, purple mane and tail, and has dragon like light blue eyes. A unicorn stallion with red eyes, darkest gray coat, and black mane and tail. A female changeling that looked reformed and looked as tall as Chrysalis, only her body was pure white and the parts that were once green were now sky blue. The final creature was an old unicorn stallion as tall as Luna with black and silver robes, his coat was medium grey and gray mane similar to Lloyd’s.

"Lloyd…" the stallion said in familiar voice as he shook his head. “What? What happened?" He asked.

"Where are we?" The alicorn filly asked as she is scared.

"Ocellus, are you alright?" The changeling asked her in a familiar voice.

"Hope, Luna, what happened here?" The second unicorn asked in another familiar voice.

"Mom?" Ocellus asked when she recognized the voice of Chrysalis from the changeling.

"Sombra?" Hope and Luna asked.

"Garmadon, is it really you?" Misako asked as tears started to form.

"Dad?" Lloyd asked as tears ran down his face. "Oh, Dad!” He then ran over to the old stallion and gave him a hug as Misako walked over.

“Mom!” Ocellus cried as she flew toward her mother’s waiting forelegs.

Twilight carefully walked up to the little filly and recognize the eyes. "Nightmare Moon?" she asked, though the filly looked as though she had no clue as to who she was talking about.

Meanwhile, Hope and Luna went over to Sombra and gave him a hug. "I can't believe you're still here!" Hope told Sombra while she was crying.

"And I don't sense a single ounce of darkness inside of you," Luna said. "You don't think...?"

"Every ounce of evil and venom is gone." Misako said as she joined her son and husband in the hug while Twilight gave a warm smile to the once known Nightmare Moon a hug of comfort. Sensei Wu had a smile on his face as he was happy that his brother had returned.

“I-I, I feel good,” Garmadon said as he embraced his family.

“Ha, it’s been so long!” Chrysalis said as she hugged her daughter.

“Hope, will you ever forgive for what I did?” Sombra asked.

Hope gave him a smile. “Of course, I can,” she said.

"Good to have you back, brother," Sensei Wu said as he and Celestia walked up to Garmadon.

"Wu, Celestia. Good to be back," Garmadon said with a smile.

Scorpan looked around with a confused look. "Wait, what about my brother and what happened to the Storm King?" He asked.

The others looked around too and realized that Tirek and the Storm King were nowhere to be seen. Then Cozy saw something. “Look, their footprints,” she said, as two trails of prints lead away from the crater.

“Looks like they got away,” Trail said.

“Perhaps, but something tells me that they won’t be bothering us for a long while,” Garmadon said as he held his family. “Right now, I prefer to enjoy life with my family.”

"Aw, would you look at that?" Thunder spoke up as Garmadon and his family walked away. "Who would have thought we'd ever see the day? You think we should dogpile on them?"

"Let's give them their moment," Flash told him. "They earned it."

"It's been quite a ride, fellas," Gaia spoke up with a smile.

"You think there will be others?" Frost asked.

"I hope so. I liked being a Ninja." Landrush said. "It's not like we have many other skills."

"Ha! Speak for yourself, I'm looking forward to doing a little inventing, maybe some model building, dabble in poetry--" Thunder started to blab on before Tempest covered his mouth with her hoof.

"Thank you," Gaia told her.

“Still, Thunder’s right,” Flash said as he turned to everycreature gathered. “We’ve all come a long way, and there’s no reason why we can’t use what we’ve learned in our everyday lives.” As Flash spoke, Wu looked down, wondering if they had truly won or not, before the pegasus came over to him and placed a hoof around his shoulder. “And who knows? We may have gotten the balance right today, but there’s always tomorrow. There’s no way of knowing what’s around the corner. But as long as there’s something worth fighting for, there’s always a need for a Ninja, and we’ll be ready.”

“But right now, I think these calls for a celebration.” Twilight declared as they all decided it was time they left.

In Canterlot, creatures from all over Equestria gathered for Twilight’s speech after the victory over the Overlord. Twilight stepped up to the podium and looked out towards the crowd with her friends behind her, all wearing formal outfits.

“Creatures of Equestria, tonight is an important celebration. For the prophecy of the Light Ninja has been fulfilled, and the Ultimate Evil known as the Overlord has been vanquished!” she declared as the creatures roared in applause. "But that is not the only reason we celebrate. Tonight, we congratulate the Light Ninja, now as the Golden Ninja and the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master, for saving and redeeming four former foes from the darkness!" Twilight spoke up as she looked towards the reformed Lord Garmadon, Chrysalis, Sombra, and the little black filly alicorn. "I give you… Master Garmadon, Lady Chrysalis, Sir Sombra, and my newly adopted daughter, Nyx! We thank the Golden Ninja, Lloyd Garmadon, for saving us all from the darkness the Overlord had brought upon us!"

Everycreature from across the land gave an applause as Lloyd and the Ninja approached Twilight took a bow down to her. Spike then presented her a ceremonial sword.

“By the power vested in me, as Ruler of Equestria,” Twilight started as she raised her ceremonial sword. “For your courage, honor and strength for protecting our magical land of Equestria, I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, hereby dub you Masters Trail Blaze, Landrush, Gaia Boral, Thunder Crack, Frost Gear, Flash Sentry and Lloyd Garmadon, all heroes of Equestria,” she finished tapping her sword against each of their shoulders.

The crowd cheered and applauded the heroes as the Ninja turned to them, smiled, and waved to them.

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The heroes and creatures danced the night away to the song while couples like Flash and Twilight, Sandbar and Yona, Thunder and Aqua had fun with each other.

However little did our heroes realize that from high above them and from the shadows a familiar and very unfriendly Anacondrai watches their celebration. “Enjoy yourself while you can, Ninja,” Pythor said quietly, “because peace can only last so long…” he then chuckled as all he had to was wait for his chance to strike.

Author's Note

Nyx belongs to Pen Stroke.

Merry Christmas to all of our fans from Saber and HarryBuilder.

But evil will return and threaten Equestria in the next part of this series:

MLP Ninja-Go: Rebooted.

Chapter 1: Darkness Shall Rise

It had been a whole month since the Great Devourer attacked Equestria City and was destroyed. Everycreature was doing their part to rebuild after the rampage of the Devourer, including the Ninja. but it wasn't so easy for them, as without their weapons they had lost their elemental powers as well.

They were currently fixing one of the lampposts along the streets. "Easy boys, easy," Gaia said as they straightened out the pole.

"Finally. All fixed up and Serpentine-free," Landrush said, while Trail tried to use his powers but only got a few sparks.

"Save your energy Trail," Flash said. "We've all tried, but gotten jack-squat."

"Aw, this is frustrating!" Trail complained. "Our weapons are gone, and most of our elemental powers are gone! I mean, we can still do Spinjitzu, but... Argh!" He was trying to use his fire again, only for Frost to bring out a blowtorch and weld the pole down. "I just feel so, I don't know, limited. And thanks to the Devourer, our tank is out of commission, Ultra Dragon’s hurt, and now that the Bounty is destroyed, we don't even have a place to sleep!"

Frost then flipped his mask up. "No one ever said being a hero is easy," he said as Trail frowned. "Though our good deeds may never make us rich, they make us rich in other ways."

"Yeah, well, I don't feel rich," Trail sighed.

"Um, boys, did you forget that I'm--" Gaia tried to say only for Thunder to interrupt her.

"I, for one, enjoy pitching in," he said as he threw away a broken radio. "I've always wanted to feel part of a community. Ah, speaking of which, has anypony seen Aqua or the girls? They said they were gonna help."

"And we have!" Aqua said as they turned to see the Mane Six coming towards them, along with Aqua and Wu riding on a motor scooter. "I may have found us a place to live!"

"Really? But, there's a waiting list a mile long to live in Equestria City," Thunder noted. "How did you do that?"

Aqua shook her head and pointed to Rarity. "Don’t look at me, Thunder. I didn't pull any strings. She did," she said as everypony turned to the fashionista.

"Well, through my vast business resources, I was able to dig up quite the chain of references. As it turns out, I know a colt, who knows a mare, and she knows another mare who knows another colt," she explained to them. "And well, this colt knows this mare who's a real estate agent, and said agent can help you find a place, if you catch my drift,” she said as passes him a pamphlet.

"And where are you off to?" Flash asked.

"Well, I need to head back to Canterlot to write down a report about all of this and send some construction workers to help with the work,” Twilight explained. "I also need to visit Zecora to see if she can make some Serpentine antivenom."

"Why?" Thunder asked before they heard a mare scream in fear. They turned to see the baby Fangpyre next to a chariot with a snake face on it. "Never mind," Flash quickly ran over and picked up the little baby snake.

"Sorry miss, Fang was teething," Flash said before walking back to the others.

"Fang?" Landrush asked after hearing what he called him.

"A bit on the nose don't you think?" Rainbow asked Twilight as she just shrugged. None of them could decide who should be the one to raise the Serpentine Hatchlings so they agreed they would all raise them together but would live with Twilight in Canterlot.

"And… how are the rest of the little Hatchlings mastering their powers?" Gaia asked Twilight.

"Well, Coal is so strong that it's hard to pull him off of something. With Sky, she's having a bit of trouble with her hypnosis. Toxsa keeps spitting at creatures whenever she gets scared, and Melody… Well, she keeps scaring everypony with her invisibility," Flash told them.

"I have faith that they'll master their powers soon. And once they do, we may be able to convince the rest of the Serpentine to exist with other creatures in peace," Twilight said with confidence as Wu finished drinking. "But until then, I'll be taking a trip to Silver Shoals and ask Celestia and Luna for something to help dull their powers a bit."

"We also have to find a couple of components to fix the Ninja Tank. And Ultra Dragon's healing ointment from Lord Ember has finally arrived," Wu explained, "It's a day's trip, but once we get back, they'll be flying again." He then chuckled excitedly. "Also, I love scenic drives. Haha, punch it, Aqua!"

"Aye-aye, Sensei," Aqua said as she revved up and drove off with Sensei Wu.

"Yee-haw!" Wu shouted.

"And I need to check in with Sunburst back of the school of friendship, so I'll be gone for a few days," Starlight told them.

"Yes, and we've been away from Ponyville for way too long than we'd like," Applejack said. "So, we'll on our way home too."

"If you need any help finding a new home, just call us," Fluttershy told them.

"And if you like to stay in Ponyville, I'll have your 'Welcome to Ponyville' Party ready and waiting!" Pinkie promised. After giving Fang back, Twilight and Starlight then brought their horns together and the Mane 7 teleported away.

"'Golden ‘Goldy’ Landing, Real Estate Queen,'" Thunder read the pamphlet. "Ha, this is exactly what we need. Once we get a roof over our heads, we can start properly training Lloyd."

"Good, 'cause if we know Lord Garmadon, he's not going to be taking any breaks," Landrush told them. "And let's not forget, the Serpentine are still at large."

"Yeah, but without Pythor to lead them, I doubt they'll be much of problem," Gaia reminded him.

Meanwhile, by the ruins of the Destiny's Bounty, the Hypnobrai, Fangpyre, Constrictai and Venomari had gathered around with their generals where Skales had stepped up to fulfill the role of leader.

"Serpentine! We have been exiled for the lassst time!" Skales said as they looked at him with scrutiny, the other Generals having told them of Skales's hand in helping Pythor deceive them. "But fear not, I will lead you!"

But then one Hypnobrai spoke up. "Lead usss?! To where?!" he asked. "The City of Ouroboros has been desssstroyed, our underground fortesss is gone, and our tombsss are completely barren! We have no home!"

"You want to lead usss ssso badly," a Fangpyre pointed at Skales. "Why ssshould we trussst you?" she asked.

"Becausssse I wasss the one who told you in the first place not to awaken the Devourer!" Skales answered, "But no, you lisssten to that madman of a leader Pythor!"

But before then any further arguments could occur a new voice piped in. "You want a home?" a familiar stallion asked as the Serpentine and gasped at what they saw. "We'll give you a home!" All the Serpentine turned to see Lord Garmadon, Tirek, and Chrysalis and with the Golden Weapons as well. Tirek was a lot buffer after Garmadon offered him some magic to absorb.

"Lord Garmadon!" Skales shouted in anger towards him before he looked at Tirek and Chrysalis. "And you two, we've heard you were turned to stone!"

"Hmph, you can thank Garmadon for our freedom," Chrysalis told them, glancing at the Alicorn.

"And you'll have to forgive me, I know I haven't been myself lately," he said, referring to his temporary alliance with the Ninja, before holding up the six Weapons. "But now that I have my father's golden weapons, it's time I got back to my roots. If I'm going to rule Equestria, I know I can't do it all by myself."

"And that's why he freed us from our stone prison," Tirek spoke up. "Not only to get revenge on those that put us there, but to let us rule beside him when he remakes Equestria into his own image. But it'll take more than the three of us to do so."

"Yes," Garmadon agreed. "All of Chrysalis's changelings have turned over to the light and the Skeletons served their purpose, but I've always been partial to snakes." The Serpentine were humbled by his compliment.

"So, if you want someone to follow, then follow us!" Chrysalis said as the Serpentine seemed to be in favor of them.

Skales, however, would not allow it. "You are to follow me! Not them!" Skales said but the Serpentine were more eager to follow Garmadon.

Garmadon then decided to convince them even more, turning to the Bounty's remains. "You want a home? We give you a home!" With his horn glowing, drawing power from the Weapons, Garmadon lifted the broken pieces of the ship into the air, reconstructing it and repainting it black and purple.

"The power of the Weaponsss..." a Hypnobrai said in awe as they saw what they can do.

"I give you the Black Bounty!" Garmadon introduced their new home as the Bounty landed and they all cheered.

"Imbecilesss!!" Skales shouted as he rushed towards them. "Do you not remember he was just helping the Ninja?! Now you blindly follow them becaussse of his sssorcery?!" he demanded before pointing at Tirek and Chrysalis, who looked unimpressed by his attempts to take control, "And what'sss to sssay that Tirek or Chrysalisss won't betray you once they get what they want?! They're not even Serpentine! Rule with me, and we rule asss brothersss and sssistersss!"

The Serpentine started talking before Tirek spoke up. "Interesting point, but we’ve got an offer you can’t refuse. Rule with us…" he started before holding up a Hypnobrai soldier while powering up his magic to absorb the Serpentine’s power, "or else..."

The Hypnobrai gulped as the decision was clear. "All hail Lord Garmadon!" the Serpentine cheered as they boarded the Black Bounty and flew away, leaving their Generals behind.

"Oh Darn it!" Skales whined as he slammed his staff down on the ground.

On board the Black Bounty, Garmadon took the helm as Tirek and Chrysalis were with him and four other Serpentine on the bridge. "Your Eminence, excussse my ignorance, but why isss it we fly in the opposssite direction of the Ninja, when you have the Golden Weaponsss in your possssessssion?" A Hypnobrai asked him.

Garmadon turned to him. "Because they have my son! And it is written that he will one day defeat me,” he explained as he raised a brow. "What good would turning Equestria into my own image be when that victory would be fleeting?"

"Then we dessstroy Lloyd!" A Constrictai suggested.

Tirek and Chrysalis looked at each other as they noticed Garmadon’s seething expression. "Ooh… you shouldn't have said that." Chrysalis told him with a nervous look on her face as Garmadon glared at him.

"Argh! Lock him in the brig!" Garmadon ordered before the Hypnobrai took the Constrictai away. "No one will touch my son. But by getting rid of my brother, my sisters, those pesky Ninja, and Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Lloyd will never reach his full Potential. The prophecy will never be fulfilled and Equestria will be mine... forever!"

A Fangpyre then cleared his throat. "But why are we flying away from the city?" he asked.

"Because, we are heading the Golden Peaks," Garmadon answered.

Chrysalis raised a brow. "The Golden what?" She questioned and Tirek answered.

"The Golden Peaks…” he remarked in awe. “I heard tales of those mountains, said to be the place where the First Spinjitzu Master acquired the gold for the Golden Weapons. However… I have a feeling there's a particularly evil reason to go there," he said as he looked at Garmadon with intrigue.

"Yes. Even the Golden Weapons have secrets yet to be unlocked, and once I uncover their full potential, nothing will stand in our way," Garmadon answered as the Black Bounty took off.

A bright pink mare with crimson pink mane opened a door with the Ninja and Lloyd behind her to an apartment. However, it was a rather crummy-looking one, thus lowering expectations.

"This one-bedroom, one-half-bath is a cozy dream. Who needs extras when everything is in arm's reach? Now, wait until you see the lighting," she said as she turns on the light, but the bulb flickers, burns out, and falls to the ground. She chuckles nervously. "Uh, who needs lights when you have this view?" she opens the window blinds, but the view was really a brick wall.

Lloyd then smelled something, "Um, why do I smell Griffon feathers?" He asked Goldy.

The mare turned to the colt. "Look, doll. I'm trying to work around your budget. This is all you can afford," She told him.

Flash looked around with a sheepish smile. "Uh, yeah this looks...promising," he said, but didn't sound very convincing.

"Remember, guys, Sensei told us our main objective is to train Lloyd, not kick our hooves up in some swanky suite," Landrush reminded them. "If this is all we can afford, this is all we can afford."

Gaia then raised a hoof. "Um, actually Landrush I think I might be able to--"

But then Thunder interrupted her, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's not rush into any decision,” he pointed out. "I mean, if it's really all about Lloyd, don’t we need to live in some place that'll make training easier?"

Trail caught on to what Thunder was doing. "Yeah, Thunder's right. If we have to get Lloyd ready to save Equestria from his father, shouldn't he at least have his own room?" he asked as Lloyd smiled at their thoughtfulness.

"Technically, that does not matter, he only--" Frost tried to argue only for Trail to gently elbow him.

Thunder then gave her a sheepish smile. "We're only thinking about the children," he chuckled.

"I do have another property that you'll just love," Goldy said as she led them out of the crummy apartment.

Goldy then brough the Ninja to a fancy skyscraper apartment suite that was ten times better than the first apartment. The Ninja were in awe of the suite.

"Oh, man." Thunder said.

"Incredible." Flash looked around the room.

Goldy then gave them a brief tour of the suite, "Now, this is the eleven-bedroom Hero Suite. Floor-to-ceiling windows, digital wall television, state-of-the-art game console..." she listed as the Ninja were amazed.

"Uh, it seems a little out of our price range., Landrush said.

"A little?! This place looks like it costs 20 times more than what we have!" Flash retorted to him.

"Actually, we can afford it since I--" Gaia tried to say but was interrupted by Goldy.

"Oh, sure it costs a little more, but you have the royal seal of approval from the Princess of Equestria herself, you deserve it," she said as Gaia growled at being constantly interrupted today. "I forgot to mention, there's also a dragon keep on the roof."

Outside the building Ultra Dragon was flying around it.

"Wow, now this is a fancy place," Flame commented.

"I'll say," Orchy said.

"Nice!" Trail said as they walked up the window.

"Hey, maybe we can get a hero discount? After all, we are the Ninja who saved the city." Thunder suggested.

"Really? I thought Lord Garmadon saved the city?" Goldy pointed out as Thunder hmphed and crossed his hooves. "That said, since the Ninja of Wind is the coltfriend of the Princess, I guess I could lower the price a bit for you."

"And the rest of us can get day jobs to pay for the extra expenses," Trail suggested.

"We always said we could use a little more responsibility," Frost added just before two scrolls appeared before them.

Flash took one scroll and read it. "Oh geez," he turned to the others while Gaia read the second scroll. "Sorry guys, Twilight just asked me to handle the training of some of the guards as their regular instructor is part of the City's repair team, so I can't help you with the rent."

"And I'm afraid I too cannot be of aid," Gaia said as they turned to her as she gave a guilty smile. "My mother requires my aid to help her with some functions and appearances this month, and I did promise her we'd spend more time together."

"That's okay, we'll handle the rent," Landrush assured them.

"But you also have to train Lloyd," Flash reminded them before Goldy stepped between them.

"Did I mention the in-house training facility?" She asked as she pressed a button on a remote and showed them an indoor training grounds, with all the equipment they needed for training Lloyd.

"We'll take it!" all the Ninja said in unison.

With that the Ninja began their duties. Thunder became a pizza delivery pony, Landrush became the Equestria City Bank security guard, Frost became a chef, and Trail became a party entertainer. Meanwhile Flash handled the training of the Canterlot Guard, while Gaia helped her mother with their family’s official functions.

At first, Thunder, Landrush, Frost and Trail had an easy time with their jobs, getting good pay and filling up their rent jar. However, they were so occupied by their jobs that they did not have a chance to train Lloyd yet. Meanwhile, Flash and Gaia were struggling to handle training guards and attending rich pony functions.

However, over the next days, Thunder was getting tired from running all over the city and had gotten less and less tips, Frost received more and more customers and forced to speed up his body, Landrush began to grow sore from standing and often mistaking normal ponies for robbers, and Trail had been gone from being a party entertainer to a living-punching bag for rough playing kids. Meanwhile, in contrast, Flash had begun to grow adept in training the guards, and Gaia had grown use to attending functions to the point of actually enjoying the rich-pony life again.

"Oh..." Landrush groan as he placed his backhooves in a bucket of ice water after a long day at work as Lloyd was training with a dummy before getting punted. "My hooves! I can't feel them any less than I did when I was preparing that Auction at Gaia's mansion."

"There was so many of them," Trail said as he was covered in bruises as he laid back on the couch. “And they wouldn't stop." Frost was oiling his hoof before spinning it around.

"My gears locked up even times more than at Gaia’s mansion," he complained as Thunder crawled over to the TV and raised his hoof up.

"I don't even have the strength to play video games," he moaned before he collapsed.

Lloyd then walked in, "Oh but, you guys said you’d train me, and Flash and Gaia still haven't come back yet," he said.

"Sorry, champ, they haven't and we can't until we make rent," Landrush told him before he looked at Thunder. "How close are we?"

Thunder looked at the jar which was only a third full. "Gah! Is this thing getting bigger? We're not even close!"

"And our rent is due tomorrow!" Frost told them.

"I can pull a double shift," Landrush said.

"And I can do overtime," Frost added.

"Maybe I can sling a few more pizza pies," Thunder said as he stood up.

"And I can make a little extra if I do the living pinata..." Trail said, causing the others to look at him with wide eyes. "Ugh, don't ask."

"Great, then our priorities are set," Landrush said "Tomorrow… we make rent."

"And, uh, what about me?" Lloyd asked.

"How about you help out and fetch me some more ice, huh?" Landrush told him as Lloyd frowned.

Deep in the Equestria City subway lines, Skales and the other Generals were discussing their next move. "Our fellow Ssserpentine followed Garmadon and those two has-beensss!" he told them. "We're going to have to do something truly diabolical if we're going to earn their respect back. Let'sss brainssstorm ideasss on how we can do that."

"Let'sss releassse the Devourer!" the Constrictai General suggested.

Skales facepalmed, "No Skaildor, you idiot. We've already done that. And need I remind you what happened to Pythor!"

The Venomari General suggested his own idea, "How about releasssing the ssswarm of evil beesss?"

"Ugh, Acidicusss, where would we even get evil beesss?" Skales groaned.

"I don’t hear you offering any ideasss." Fangtom pointed out as Skales groaned.

Thunder got off his scooter and quickly ran over to his boss that had a few pizza pies ready. "Pizza delivery. 21st and Union," the manager told Thunder, shoving the pizza into his hooves. "Get it there in time, or else it's on you."

Thunder was concerned about when he would get there. "Uh, how much time is left?" he asked his boss.

"Five minutes." he answered casually.

"But I'll never get across town in five minutes!" Thunder expressed frantically.

"Then I guess it comes out of your pocket." the manager answered rudely. "Now, get going!" With that, Thunder rived up his bike and rolled out. He drove past some ponies going by on his bike and went as fast as he could to deliver the pizzas. A big truck drove by in his path so he quickly ducked under and kept on driving.

As he drove, he heard somepony yelling, "Help! Help!" He turned and saw a mare being harassed and being robbed by three griffon thugs.

Thunder knew he was pressed for time but he also had a duty to protect the creatures of Equestria. "Help!" the mare yelled again as Thunder turned around and zoomed towards the thugs to help the mare as they laughed.

The thugs were still trying to yank the mare's bag from her Thunder pulled up into the alley, "Hey what's going on here?" he asked

"Mind your own business, Ninja," One of the griffons said.

"No way," Thunder glared.

"It's three blades against none," The second thug pointed out as all three pulled out daggers.

Thunder narrowed his eyes and revved up his bike and charged at them. The Griffons panicked and made a run for it only for Thunder to ride on the walls and cut them off. "Blind alley, guys!" Thunder quipped as the three ran away in the other direction with Thunder right behind them. The Unicorn then jumped and dove towards them. "Banzai!" he cried out, landing on the three as the mare smiled at him.

"Thank you," she thanked as Thunder handed her bag back, "Pizza Ninja." Thunder then rode as fast as he could towards 21st and Union.

Thankfully he arrived, but he was surprised to see there were only a few houses here.

He then saw a hippogriff walking by. "Hey, isn't this 21st and Union?" He asked, wondering if he made a wrong turn.

"Sure is, but there hasn't been anything built here in moons," The hippogriff answered and walked on. Thunder then got off his back and took the pizzas, wondering if whoever ordered them was here, "Hello? Anyone here?" he called out, before hearing a familiar voice.

"Ssso, after you rob the bank, we embark on phasssse two," Skales's voice said from inside a sewer entrance as Thunder walked towards it. "Ingeniousss!"

Thunder looked down and saw Skales with two of the other Generals with him.

"But bosssss, when are we going to get pizza? I'm hungry," Skalidor complained.

"Rob the bank?" Thunder repeated, backing away from the pipe only for Acidicus to grab him from behind with knife to his throat, causing him to drop the Pizza into the hole.

"Hey look, pizza!" Fangtom said.

"Lunchtime!" Skalidor said, as munching sounds were heard while Thunder tried to break free from Acidicus's hold.

"Ah, ah, ah… Where do you think you're going?" Acidicus asked him with a smirk. "We haven't given you your tip."

Thunder gulped, realizing getting fired was the least of his problems.

Three of the generals took a Subway cart and drove off while they left Thunder with his legs tied up.

"Oh, come on, Thunder, you got to warn the others," he told himself. "You can figure a way out of this."

He struggled his legs to get free before realizing there were too tight for him to get free from. "Okay, maybe not."

He then noticed the map on the wall that showed the subway routes and one that led to the bank. "So that's the Serpentine master plan. Wicked! Guys, I'm coming!" He then managed to get on his legs and started hopping down the subway line. "Unh! Hopefully, Landrush can stop the bank robbery."

Meanwhile at the bank though, Landrush was sleeping on the job until the bank owner came out. "Everything okay?" he asked, waking Landrush up.

"Aah!" Landrush yelped, "Nothing out of the ordinary, boss," he assured.

"Thanks for taking the double shift," The owner thanked before heading back inside.

"My pleasure," Landrush assured before he yawned. "And now, for a little more beauty rest." And so, he fell asleep again. Little did he know that inside the bank vault, the three Serpentine Generals burst out of the ground and the alarm sounded, waking him up. "Uhh!"

"Take it all!" Acidicus told the other two as they grabbed as much money as they could.

"Shouldn't wait for Skales?" Fangtom asked.

No, Fangtom, you fool," Acidicus reminded him. "He'sss carrying out the ressst of the mission, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot," the Fangpure said as they grabbed all the bags of money and jumped down the hole. Landrush then arrived in the vault but was already too late.

"Huh?" He looked down and recognized the hole as a Constrictai hole. He then heard voices.

”Now, let's take the subway!” Acidicus said.

"Subway?" Landrush repeated.

Meanwhile at the Park, Trail was entertaining another party and blowing up balloons. "I swear, I'm never taking Pinkie for granted again," he said as he blew the balloon even bigger before it popped and he heard the alarm at the bank go off.

"Trouble? Sounds like they need me." He then tries to leave, but he is stopped by the mare with the kids.

"Not so fast. I still have you for another hour." She told him.

"Uh, but the bank," Trail told her, "Ponies are in danger."

"Not until my son is done playing," the mare told him as she looked toward her son only to turn and find only the balloons in her hooves. She scowled at the retreating Trail. "Huh, you're fired!" she shouted.

Meanwhile at Frost's job, he was about to serve the food he made when he overheard a stallion talking. "It's true, at the bank," The stallion told the mare next to him. "I hear they stole all that money, and no one's doing anything about it."

Frost was so distracted by the conversation that he accidentally drops some eggs on a colt's head. He starts crying and his parents glare at him.

"Uh, uh, I'm sorry," he apologized only to end up ruining their food even more as the head chef came out and was not pleased.

"You're fired!" he shouted as Frost's artificial fur covering his eye started falling off.

"It must be my hard drive overheating,” he tried to defend as the family were freaked out, "I mean... never mind. I'm going!" He then ran out of the restaurant.

Trail and Frost then headed to the Bank as Landrush tried to explain himself to the Bank Owner. "I'll make it up to you, I swear," he said.

The Owner however looked unconvinced. "Hmmm, no. Why don't you go home and get a good night's rest, and go ahead and sleep in," he said sarcastically. "In fact, sleep in all day for all I care, because you're fired!!" he then marched back inside as Landrush sighed and his two friends joined him.

"Ugh, looks like we're all in the same boat,” Trail said as all three of the got fired in one day.

"Eh, that's okay. I hated that job anyway," Landrush assured. "Let's go. The Serpentine Generals are getting away."

"Which way did they go?" Trail asked.

"I overheard them saying something about the subway," Landrush told them.

Frost nodded. "Good call. But shouldn't we wait for the others?"

"No time, Let's go!" Trail said as the three ran.

"NINJA, GO!" They did Spinjitzu and put on their armor and hoods.

As they ran, Landrush spoke up. "I know, Flash and Gaia are too far away to wait for but, has anyone seen Thunder?"

Back in the subway, Thunder continued to hop with his legs still tied up down the line. "Hello? Anypony?" He called before sighing, "Boy, I think I may have picked the wrong track. I hope I see someone soon." He said as he kept on hopping.

Meanwhile Landrush, Trail, And Frost had made their way into the subway and saw a train coming. They then hopped onto the train, as inside the Generals heard them land on the room.

"Sssounds like we have company boysss," Acidicus told Fangtom and Skaildor.

"But I only heard three. Aren't there sssix?" Skaildor question asked.

"Don't know about the other two," Fangtom said, "but we already caught the blue one, ssstupid." he told Skaildor.

"Hmm, then it’sss possssible that Sssentry and the mare went after Ssskales," Acidicus guessed. "Alright, then we need to make sure thessse three aren't there to back them up," he said as the other two nodded.

On top of the train, the three Ninja were crawling along, trying to avoid getting blow off. Landrush looked down to find a way in but found none. "Ugh, isn't there an easier way to get inside?" Landrush asked, still holding on.

Trail grunted, "Not without a ticket!" He then felt something grab him. "Huh? Aargh!" he yelped as he was pulled into the train, leaving a hole on the roof.

"What the?" Landrush said.

"I believe Trail just found it," Frost concluded as they looked at the opening.

"Nindroids first," Landrush offered.

"Oh, you are such a gentlecolt," Frost complimented as he jumped in.

Inside Trail was bound by Skalidor as Frost landed on the floor and Landrush landed on his back, "Let me go, snake!" Trail demanded as the other two were surprised.

"Welcome to the part-ugh?!" Skalidor commented before Trail elbowed him.

Acidicus the approached them. "Care for a drink?" he quipped as he sprayed his venom at Frost causing to fall on Landrush.

"Sorry about that." Landrush apologized for standing on Frost.

"That's quite alright. Venom can't hurt--" Frost tried to assure only for Fangtom to whack him with his staff and laugh. Frost rubbed his head. "But that stings a little. Let me have this dance, snake," he said before grabbing Fangtom and throwing him to the ground.

Landrush stood up, "One down, two to go--" He was interrupted when Fangtom got back up, punched him, and then tried to bite him while Acidicus restrained Frost.

"These Generals are a lot harder to defeat without our Weapons!" Trail grunted as Skalidor increased his grip.

Landrush just kept dodging Fangtom's attacks. "Don't worry, these guys don't have Pythor to be their brains anymore,” he assured. "Just keep fighting, we not gonna let these fools get away with this!" He then threw Fangtom against the window as it broke.

"Get away? We aren't trying to get away," Fangtom told them. "We're trying to distract you long enough for ssso that Ssskales can foalnap Lloyd."

"What?!" Trail asked in a concerned tone.

Fangtom then explained, "We never had any interessst in the money. We just needed the boy." He laughed as he continued, "Who’sss the fool who needsss Pythor now?!" he asked as the three Generals laughed.

Inside the Hero Suite, Lloyd was taking a break from training and playing some video games. He grunted in disappointment as he didn't get the high score and tried again. Little did he know that a certain Hypnobrai was lowering himself near his window with a window cleaner lift. As Lloyd was playing, he then noticed Skales’s reflection on the TV and gasped in fear as he turned to the window where Skales tapped on it.

"Hello, my little pony," Skales said with a smirk.

"Help me!" Lloyd yelled as he ran to the door, but it was locked. He tried to unlock it but only got an automatic response. "Door is locked," the security system said.

Lloyd tried to yank the door open. "I know! I want it open!" he said as he kept on pulling. Skales then cut a hole in the window and slithered in. Lloyd turned to him trembling. "What do you want with me?"

"You ssseem to be the only thing your father caresss about. And he'sss the only one capable of keeping Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysssaliss in line," Skales told him as Lloyd tried to unlock the door again. "But with you asss my hossstage, even with those two by hisss ssside, he'll have no other choice but to let me lead the Ssserpentine! Hyah!"

Lloyd yelled before he realized what Skales said, "Wait, Tirek and Queen Chrysalis are working with my father?!" he asked.

"Yesss, but they won't help him, or you," Skales told as Lloyd was backed against the door. "Let'sss train."

Then on the other side of the door, voices were heard. "Hello? Lloyd, what's going in there?" Flash knocked with Gaia, Wu and Aqua with him as Lloyd and Skales were surprised by their arrival.

"Help!" Lloyd called.

Back in the subway, Frost ducked under a venom spit from Acidicus before he ran up the side and got behind him and punched. "We have to save Lloyd!" Landrush told them before blocking a punch from Fangtom.

"We can only hope that Flash and Gaia arrived in time to save him!" Frost said as he dodged Acidicus's venom and then knocked him down with a kick.

"Just give me a weapon, and I'll take care of these snakes!" Trail grunted as he tried to break free of Skaildor's grip.

Frost then grabbed the railings. "Who needs weapons when you can make your own?!" He takes apart the railing and uses the circular piece as a make shift shuriken and knock off Skaildor, freeing Trail.

"Ha! Smart thinking, Frost!" Landrush cheered as kicked Fangtom down and took off a pipe. "Here, Trail!" he threw the Pipe to Trail who used it as a sword to knock Skaildor into the wall when he tried to run.

Skalidor got up and saw Trail holding him at weapon point, "Unh! Uh, uh, uh...this was all a big misunderstanding,” he tried to explain nervously.

Trail raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" he asked before he heard Landrush speak.

"Guys," he said as he looked out the window, "I think I found Thunder." Up ahead he saw Thunder, still tied up and hopping right towards the speeding train.

Thunder saw the light on the side opposite to him, "Ah, finally the way out," he sighed in relief but it soon turned into terror as he realized the light was actually a train speeding right towards him. "Ah! Not good, not good, not good!!" He then started hopping as fast as he could but against a speeding train he would never outhop it.

Back on the train, Frost and Landrush hurried to the front while Trail kept watch on the three Generals. When they reached the front, they saw there was no driver. "Where’s the driver?" Landrush asked as they flipped up their hoods.

"The train appears to be automatically controlled," Frost explained.

Thunder meanwhile was still hopping as the train was getting closer. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Aah!"

"So, it's not gonna stop?" Landrush asked as Thunder kept on hopping faster.

Frost pulled on the brake handle, but the train was still going too fast as it screeched on the rails. "It’s not slowing down!"

Landrush then helped Frost pull the brakes, but the Train still wasn't stopping.

Back with Trail, he could hear his friends struggling, and knew they couldn't do it alone. "I’m sure they could use your help, but what do I know?" Acidicus asked with a grin.

Trail growled, knowing that if he left to help the three Generals would escape. "Ugh, we're not strong enough!" he heard Frost grunt. After that, Trail knew what he had to do.

"I'm coming!" Trail shouted as he dropped his pipe and ran to the front. The three Generals were surprised by his loyalty to his friends before they looked up at the hole and then climbed out of it to escape. Thunder kept on hopping until he fell over and he saw the other three Ninja pull on the brake handle.

"Together!" Landrush said as all three pulled as hard as they could as on the roof the Generals were slithering as fast as they could to get off.

"AH! OH BUCK ME! AAHH!!" Thunder screamed as the Train was a few feet away from running him over and closed his eyes, bracing for impact. Then with one final pull Landrush, Trail and Frost finally managed to get the train to stop and on the room the Generals fell off from the sudden stop.

They got up and slithered on, realizing that Skales's plan was a failure and who they should follow from now on.

Thunder opened his eyes and saw the train stopped, just barely touching his hooves, he gasped in relief and saw his friends, "Hey, there you guys are!" he said as he tried to loosen himself again. "Um, I could use a little help here?" he asked sheepishly.

The four then rushed back to the Hero Suite, hoping Lloyd was still there. "Lloyd?" Landrush called, hoping for an answer.

"He's not here." Frost said, fearing they were too late. Trail looked in the training room but Lloyd wasn't there.

Oh, I can't believe we let this happen, again!" Trail said in guilt. "We shouldn't have left him!"

Landrush then added, "We shouldn't have taken those jobs and just trained him in the first place," he told them, as their desire to live in the best place possible had cost them something even more important. "What were we thinking? Losing Lloyd to the Serpentine again was by far our greatest loss today."

They looked down sadly before they heard Wu speak up, "Or it could be your greatest lesson." They turned and saw Wu with Flash, Aqua, Gaia and...

"Lloyd!" all four of them shouted in relief to see him all right.

"You're okay!" Trail said.

"I wasn't going to be, until they showed up at the last moment," Lloyd explained.

"We turn our backs for a few days and EVERYTHING falls apart!" Gaia retorted.

Trail chuckled, "I guess you could say we don't need all the fancy stuff," he said, putting on hoof on Lloyd's shoulder. "We just need each other."

"Want us to help you clean up?" Flash offered.

"Well, we are a team," Trail said

Wu turned to Aqua, "Aqua, I think it's time for another road trip," he said.

Thunder sighed, "Doesn't matter, we'll never make the rent now."

Gaia then groaned in aggravation. "Oh, for the love of Celestia, I CAN PAY THE RENT!!!" Gaia snapped without her fancy accent as they all turned to her in surprise. "I'M RICH, REMEMBER!?!?!?”

"We remember, but we don't want to take advantage of that." Trail explained as Gaia calmed down, blushing as she realized the reason her friends never utilized that fact.

"My friends, you need to remember we're all family here, nopony is taking advantage of anypony," she said, and then smiled. "Now how about we get the rest of our stuff, make this place a real home."

"Hold on, I got a better idea," Landrush spoke up.

Soon the Ninja were moving their things into their new home, the rundown apartment Goldy showed them before. "It's not much, but this one-bedroom, one half-bath is a cozy dream, who needs extra when everything is in arms reach." Landrush quoted as the others were moving some stuff in.

"Hey, it's the simpler things in life," Flash said as he and Trail brought in a chest, only for Lloyd to bump into and causing him to drop the chest on Trail's hoof.

Trail whimpered before held his back hoof with front ones and hopped around, "Owowowowow!!" He yelled in pain as Flash chuckled, remembering something similar happening on the Bounty.

"Ha, feels like home already," Gaia said after she chuckled.

"Hey, at least we get to stay in Equestria City for a little while," Thunder said.

"And now without the distraction, we can put all of our energy into training Lloyd," Frost said as he stopped Lloyd from walking around aimlessly.

"Who's there?" Lloyd asked as Frost helped him move the table.

"And he's gonna need that training, ‘cause from what Skales told him, Garmadon has formed an alliance with Chrysalis and Tirek," Flash told the other stallions.

"What?!" the four shouted in unison.

"Lloyd told us after we saved him from Skales," Gaia explained.

"Plus, there was a report that their statues have gone missing," Flash added.

"Looks like we got our work cut out for us," Landrush said.

"Speaking of Skales, I know Acidicus, Skaildor and Fangtom got away, but you never told us what you did with him," Trail said.

"Oh, he found a home too, but it's not quite as roomy as here," Wu told him with a smirk.

As it turned out, Skales's new home was in a prison cell in the city detention center, resulting from a choice he was given between jail or Tartarus. "Mark my word! Thisss won't be lasssst you'll sssee of me!" he screamed from behind his bars.

"Lights out!" A guard shouted as Skales turned to the door.

"Oh very funny!" he retorted. "You'll rue the day you made a fool of me!"

The guard then hit the lights off and walked away. "Yeah, yeah." He said as Skales groaned, realizing he was going to be here for a while.

Meanwhile far from the city, Garmadon, Chrysalis, Tirek, and the rest of the Serpentine had reached the top of a tall mountain with a hole at the top, emitting a golden light. "The Golden Peaks, the wellspring of the gold of the Golden Weapons," Garmadon said as he held the Weapons up which glowed. From the pit of the Golden Peaks rose an orb of molten gold that floated up in front of Garmadon. The six Golden Weapons then flew into the golden orb and something began to happen within it. "Yes, it's working!"

"What is?!" Chrysalis shouted. "You still haven't told us what we're doing here!"

"Wait for it," Garmadon told her as then, when a dragon's roar being heard, the ball exploded and everyone gasped in awe as the six weapons were replaced with a single golden Axe-like weapon. The top of the weapon looked to be the six elements of each weapon collided together as it floated towards Garmadon. He had an evil grin on his face as he reached out for said weapon. "Behold, the Mega Weapon!" he exclaimed before he grabbed it and the veins in his hoof turned gold as he felt power surging through him and he kneeled, yelling from the overflow of energy.

"Your Eminence! Are you okay?!" A Venomari asked in concern as Garmadon caught his breath.

"Yes, In fact, I've never felt more powerful!" Garmadon declared as he then heard someone approaching. "Who goes there?!"

They all turned to see Skaildor, Acidicus and Fangtom, panting as they slithered up the mountain.

"What are you three doing here?" Chrysalis asked the Generals.

"It wasssn't easssy to track you down," Acidicus told them as the other two caught their breath, "But we've come here to join you."

"Why the sudden change of loyalties?" Tirek asked them.

"Skales'sss failure of a plan to capture Lloyd!" Skaildor answered and Garmadon landed in from of him.

"WHAT?!" he roared the three generals scrambled back.

"It wasss hisss idea! Not oursss!" Fangtom pleaded as the three bowed low to Garmadon, "Pleassse forgive ussss, Lord Garmadon!"

Before Garmadon could lose his temper, Tirek then put his hand on Garmadon's hoof before he could do anything. "Save that weapon for the Ninja and the Council of Friendship," he told him. "These three may be the only ones who can keep the Serpentine in line."

Garmadon lowered the Mega weapon and turned to the Generals. "Very well, you may join us." He conceded before narrowing his eyes, "But remember that my son is off limits!"

The three generals bowed again, "Thank you Massster Garmadon!" they said.

"Now to destroy the Ninja and the Council of Friendship, once and for all," he declared.

"And then finally claim Equestria as ours, forever!" Chrysalis declared as they all laughed evilly, echoing for miles.

Their echoes would soon reach Equestria City where the Ninja were asleep in their apartment well Sensei Wu meditated in front of a candle. Then the flame soon went out as Wu felt a disturbance in the balance and heard the echoes of his brother and his followers.

"I fear there's a great disturbance in the force," Wu said to himself when he opened his eyes.

Chapter 12: Return of the Overlord

The sounds of the Horns of Destruction filled the island as Dr. Gear, Tempest, Capper, the CMCs, Cozy, and the others heard it back on the beach. "What in tarnation is that noise?!" Apple Bloom asked as the Serpentine babies were hissing and rattling their tails.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's gotten these babies all rattled up," Capper said he covered his ears.

Soon the Ninja, Mane Six and the rest arrived, "Wh-what just happened?! Th-The horns?" Dr. Gear asked as the horns faded out into silence.

"The Celestial Clock has reached zero," Wu explained. "Garmadon’s Ultimate Weapon is now complete and operational."

"And the Final Battle between good and evil, has all but started," Celestia said worryingly.

"So you mean..." Cozy Glow asked, looking at Lloyd.

"Yes, Lloyd now must face his father," Misako confirmed.

"But where's Aqua and Spike?" Sweetie Belle asked when she noticed they were no longer with them. The others looked down with sadness as they knew what happened.

"They've been taken by the Overlord, but we'll get them back," Scorpan said as Flash placed his wing around Twilight and Trail placed a hoof on Thunder’s shoulder.

“For now, we have more important things to worry about,” Luna said, “including all of Equestria itself.”

Thunder scoffed as he took off his hood. “Who cares about Equestria?!” he retorted. “Aqua was my—uh, my...you know,” he struggled to finish.

"And she is my sister," Trail spoke up as he took off his hood.

"And Spike was like a little brother to me, so I know what you're going through," Twilight told Thunder. "I know them being captured is tough, but they're tougher. Aqua’s the toughest unicorn I've ever known. Tougher than any of us, and Spike is there with her. I know we’ll see them again."

Wu then turned to Lloyd. “Lloyd, your focus gives strength to invoking the power of the Golden Dragon,” he told him. “You cannot lose faith now, everything rests on your shoulders.”

“But sensei, you saw what happened when I could finally take out my father. I-I froze,” Lloyd said as he looked down sadly. “I can’t fight him.”

“You can and you must,” Wu told him. “It is written in the scrolls.”

Misako approached her son with a smile. “Remember, your father is just as scared as you are.”

“And that everything he has done up to this point, was to ensure he didn’t have to fight you,” Celestia said, placing a wing over him. “He won’t enjoy this anymore than you will.”

"Then the battle will be decided by who is willing to fight," Sensei Wu declared as Flash puts on his hood and took out his Elemental Blade.

"And you won't be alone," he told Lloyd as he stepped up. "I'll be right behind you. You have my wind."

“And you have my magic,” Twilight said stepping next Flash, spreading her wings.

"And you have my fire,” Trail joined as he took out his blade.

“And my loyalty,” Rainbow added with a smirk.

"And my earth,” Landrush said as he followed.

“And my honesty,” Applejack said with a tip of her hat.

"And my life,” Gaia added.

“And my generosity,” Rarity joined in.

"And my ice,” Frost joined.

“And my kindness,” Fluttershy meekly added.

"And my lightning,” Thunder joined in.

“Plus, my laughter!” Pinkie jumped up with a grin.

“And you’ve got the rest of us too!” Sandbar said as he and rest of the Young Six stepped up to Lloyd.

“We’re all in this together, Lloyd,” Cozy said as she and Lloyd shared a hoof bump.

Lloyd then smirked, “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s suit up!” he declared.

All of them were preparing for the battle that was to come, as Celestia and Luna used their magic to conjure armor that covered their hooves, bodies, and wings.

Twilight and Flash were ready to fight as Twilight practiced her magic, after looking a picture of her and Spike when they were young, while Flash readied his blade and spread his wings for flight.

Tempest charged up her horn and blasted a few boulders before readying her armor.

Celaeno and her crew ready their weapons as Capper put on a cape and hat.

Misako readied her scroll bag.

Wu spun his staff and practiced some moves while balancing a cup.

Scorpan spread his wings and sharpened his claws.

Hope looked at a photo of her and Sombra as foals before she threw off her cloak and readied her magic.

All of Twilight’s friends were also preparing as they practiced their fighting skills and magic for the battle ahead, while the Young Six also prepared by practicing their newfound powers as well. Cozy and the CMCs patted each of the Serpentine babies’ heads before practicing some moves of their own.

Trail readied his blade as he did Spinjitzu.

Dr. Gear gave Frost an oil up as he closed his chest and then did Spinjitzu.

Landrush and Gaia were back-to-back as the latter flipped her mane. They both readied their blades, nodded to each other, and readied their blades.

Thunder looked at a photo of him and Aqua at Mega Monster Amusement Park, just as she was about to give him a kiss. He then did Spinjitzu, determined to get her back.

Lloyd flipped up his hood and focused with his eyes closed. “I’m ready,” he said, opening his eyes.

The entire group began the charge right towards the enemy camp as they were prepared to fight to the end. They soon saw the gates to the camp up ahead as Lloyd jumped to the ground. "Get down, now," he whispered as they followed his lead.

"They won't know what hit them," Rainbow Dash whispered.

“Time to chop wood!” Gaia declared as they charged.

“NINJA, GO!” they all shouted, busting down the gate. But they were shocked to find the entire camp was deserted.

“Um, where the heck did everycreature go?” Boyle asked, scratching his head.

“Ugh, and here was ready to unleash my new bad-guy-butt-kicker cupcake special!” Pinkie complained.

"The Ultimate Weapon is gone!" Flash said as he pointed to where the construction site was. "We're too late." They walked across the bridge as they looked around for any signs of where they might have gone.

"Aqua? Aqua!" Both Trail and Thunder called out.

"Spike! Are you both here?!" Twilight called out. "I don't get it. Where are they?"

They then heard the Falcon of above as it circled around and flew towards them.

"My Falcon friend wants to show us something," Frost told them.

Rushing out the enemy camp, the party followed the Falcon who led them to a path in the jungle, where they saw large tracks heading outside the camp.

“Whoa, that’s one BIG weapon,” Smolder commented.

“Where are they going?” Lix asked.

“They seem to be heading towards the eastern coast,” Rarity said.

Lloyd looked confused. “Why? Wouldn’t they use it on us?”

“Wait, isn’t the Eastern Coast in the direction of…” Hope started before her eyes widened. “Oh, no…”

"Not on us… On Equestria,” Wu told Lloyd which made them all gasp in shock at realization. "Garmadon always wanted to turn our world into his own image. Now we know how it will be done."

"That Dark Matter we saw when we were getting the Keys," Twilight said as she realized what the stuff was for. "That stuff they were digging up, that’s what will help them change Equestria. We have to stop them!"

“I’m afraid that’s not even the worst part,” Luna feared.

“She’s right,” Misako said. “If they start turning things evil, the balance will shift and allow the Overlord to cross over into our world!”

“Meaning this was Overlord’s plan from the very beginning!” Flash said.

"Then we have to make sure that they never fire that weapon," Lloyd retorted as he puts his hood up. They began to follow the tracks towards the Ultimate Weapon when Frost noticed his mother was already out of breath.

"Mother," Frost called out as he ran over to Dr. Gear.

“You go on ahead,” Dr. Gear panted. “I’m an inventor, not a fighter. I’ll only get in the way.”

“But what will you do?” Frost asked.

"She can watch over Apple Bloom, the girls, and the Serpentine babies while we fight." Applejack suggested as the CMCs and Cozy Glow groaned.

"But we want to help!" Cozy exclaimed.

"Things are about to get ugly when we face off against Garmadon and the villains, with an entire army backing them up," Twilight told her. "I'm sorry girls, but this is where you stay put."

The CMCs looked upset but they understood that with stakes this high there was no time or room for arguing. "Okay," Sweetie Belle huffed before hugging her sister, "Just come back."

"We will, Sweetie Belle," Rarity promised as she hugged back.

"I want you to come home. I don't want you to be gone like mom and dad," Apple Bloom said to Applejack as she hugged her.

"I'm gonna be honest, sugarcube. I'm not sure if I'll come back or not," Applejack admitted, "but I can only try. Just promise me y'all be strong until then." Apple Bloom gave a nod in response.

“A pony as awesome as you will win, right?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow.

Rainbow ruffled her mane. “I can’t make a promise like that squirt, but I won’t go down with a fight,” she promised.

“I already lost one family; I don’t want to lose another,” Cozy said, rubbing her foreleg on the other.

Twilight pulled Cozy into a hug. “I’ll come back, Cozy. I promise,” she said softly.

“Ok… mom,” Cozy whispered as Twilight tightened the hug.

"We'll be back at the Bounty, waiting for all of you to return in one piece," Dr. Gear told them before she looked at Frost. "But don't worry, a part of me will always be with you."

"Be well, mother," Frost told her as his Falcon landed on his hoof.

The others then ran in the other direction as Dr. Gears and the CMCs and Cozy watched them. “Be safe, son,” the mare said.

As the others ran through the jungles, thoughts were running through their heads.

“Hey, have you guys been thinking about how this might be our final moment together?” Rainbow asked.

“Of course,” Rarity and Gaia answered.

“Eeyup,” Applejack added.

“It’s all I can think about,” Flash said looking down.

"We all have come a long way from our beginnings,” Twilight added with a small smile.

"Yeah, it wasn't that long ago when Sensei first found us,” Trail said as he remembered the day when he first met Sensei Wu. They then heard Thunder let out a chuckle.

"Hey, you remember that time when Trail thought he was the Light Ninja?" He asked them.

All but Trail, who blushed in embarrassment, laughed at that.

“That was quite the memory!” Frost said as something was watching them from the foliage.

“Yeah, he was so not!” Pinkie joked.

“Or how about the time, Twilight got so worked up about sending Celestia a letter, she made all of Ponyville fight over a doll?!” Applejack recalled as the Mane Six laughed and Twilight blushed.

“Ohoho, now I gotta hear that story when this is over,” Flash smirked at Twilight as none of them noticed something flying over their heads.

"Or what about when the Hypnobrai hypnotized Landrush and we were forced to fight him?” Gaia reminded them, making them laugh even more.

"We should have just kicked his flank,” Trail added as something zipped past them.

"Ha, you had to destroy my tree house,” Lloyd complained with a happy look.

“Or how about that time Sensei and Celestia came out of the guts of the Devourer’s belly drinking tea?” Flash recalled.

They all groaned and laughed as Misako grinned at Wu and Celestia, blushing in embarrassment.

“Oh, that was so horrid!” Landrush gagged while laughing as the two blurs zipped behind them.

“Yeah! I thought they were goners!” Rainbow laughed.

"Wrong again, Ms. Rainbowhead,” Wu said as he lightly whacked Rainbow Dash in the head with his bamboo staff.

They all continued laughing before two blurs zipped past them and Tempest noticed them.

"Stop!" Tempest shouted as they all came to a halt. "Did any of you see that?!"

“Yeah, something’s wrong,” Landrush said as they looked around.

“Something is watching us,” Mullet said.

“Where? Where?!” Thunder said as the two creatures jumped across the trees.

“I sense an evil presence,” Frost said looking around.

“Oh, not now! Where is it?” Twilight groaned as the creatures kept jumping around them.

Celestia then saw something out of the corner her eye. “Above us!” she said as they all looked up.

They all stood back-to-back as they stand their ground before two things did Spinjitzu and hit both Rainbow and Landrush.

“Ow! My jaw!” Landrush groaned holding his cheek.

“That hurt!” Rainbow cried out.

The two Spinjitzu Tornados, one red and one purple, spun out as they knocked over Lloyd and Twilight.

“Nocreature does that to the Light Ninja and the Princess of Equestria!” Flash told the two Tornados as the red one jumped on the purple one. When the two stopped spinning they revealed themselves to be...

“Aqua?!” Thunder said.

“Spike?!” Twilight said as she tried to reach out to them.

“That is no longer Aqua or Spike!” Celestia said as she stopped her.

“What did they do to my sister and the little guy!?” Trail demanded.

The way Aqua and Spike looked was completely menacing and very dark. Both of their eyes were glowing dark purple. Spike was on all fours while his wings had spines on the tips of them, and the spikes on his back looked very sharp. Aqua on the other hand looked menacing with her two extra hooves in the middle of her body, her horn as sharp as a knife, and sharp teeth as daggers.

"They must've used the Ultimate Weapon to corrupt them!" Misako realized.

Aqua gave a primal yell and Spike released a powerful roar that blasted hot air on their faces as purple flames emitted from his mouth.

"Garmadon must have sent them to slow us down,” Scorpan theorized as Aqua used her crafted magic to conjure up a ball and chain. "We must stop them from firing that weapon!"

"What are we supposed to do?” Smolder asked as the two looked ready to charge at them. "Use our powers on them?"

"NO! I don't wanna hurt Aqua!" Thunder told her.

"And I could never do that Spike!" Twilight added.

"They're right. We just need to find a way to keep them from--" Flash's sentence was cut off when Aqua through the ball and chain at his face and he fell to the ground. "...hurting us.”

Both corrupted creatures let out a growl as they looked ready to attack.

"Well, we should think of something before Garmadon fires that weapon,” Frost suggested as Flash was trying to stable himself.

"Lloyd, you go up ahead with the others while we take are of Aqua and Spike,” Landrush told him as Thunder used Spinjitzu to grab Aqua’s ball and chain.

Unfortunately, he also got hit in the gut. “Oh, that hurt!” he moaned as Aqua tried to pull free.

Spike was about fire at him but then Rarity jumped on to his neck. “Now, Spikey-Wikey, don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be!” Rarity begged as Spike started thrashing her around like a bucking bronco.

"But you said you'd always be behind me,” Lloyd reminded them.

"We will be! We'll catch up soon as we can!" Flash told them as Rarity got thrown off but Rainbow Dash quickly caught her.

"The Ninja are right! We must go!" Celestia told him as Twilight conjured up magic whips to grab hold of Spike and attempt to pull him down. “Good luck, young ones!”

With that, Lloyd, Celaeno’s crew, Capper, Scorpan, Hope, the Young Six, Wu and the Royal Sisters kept running, leaving the Ninja and the Mane Six to deal with Aqua and Spike.

“Spike, please! I know you’re still in there. Fight it!” Twilight begged as Spike snarled and broke free of his restraints and charged at her.

“Oh no you don’t!” Flash remarked before making a wind wall in front of Spike, stopping him in his tracks. Aqua then threw her ball and chain at the group before Landrush quickly caught it.

"Not so fast, sweetheart! This dance ain't over!" Landrush told her before he used the chain to fling her over and she landed safely on the ground. She then flipped back and let out a growl as she took a battle stance. "Triple Tiger Sashay!" Landrush leapt towards her only for her horn to let out a sonic ring around him, stopping him in mid-air before she grabbed him by the hoof and flipped him over her. She then tossed him over to the others knocking them down like bowling pins.

As they stood up, Aqua leapt onto Spike’s back and gave a primal yell as he roared at the twelve heroes charged again.

Meanwhile, the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings were following behind Lord Garmadon and his Legion of Doom as they were riding Garmatron through the jungle. As the Ultimate Weapon knocked down every tree it came across, they soon reached the beach and were prepared to unleash its power onto Equestria.

“Equestria is within reach,” the Overlord said in anticipation. “Activate the Weapon so all will know of your rule! May I suggest… the Crystal Empire as the first target?”

Sombra raised a brow of surprise. “Not that I’m complaining but why shoot there first?” He asked the Overlord.

"It is a great source of light and love for the Equestrians. And more importantly, it is where the Princess of Love rules.” the Overlord explained. "What better way to show power, than to turn a great source of light into a greater source of darkness? After all, the Umbrum are trapped underneath its grounds."

“You… You’d free them?” Sombra asked.

“You have… my word,” the Overlord promised.

The Storm King grinned. “Well, I’m sold. Yo, Kozu! Do your thing and load the cannon!”

Kozu commanded his solider to load a missile loaded with Dark Matter into the ammo tank.

“Now all that’s left is to push the button,” Chrysalis said as she turned to Garmadon. “Do it.”

"With pleasure. Finally, my darkest dream will now become reality!" Garmadon said as he walked up to the console and raise his hoof high, ready to press the big red button.

"Father, don't!" Lloyd's voice was heard that Garmadon stopped and turned to see him and the others coming out of the jungle.

"Lloyd!" Garmadon said.

"What are you doing?!” the Overlord demanded. "Push the button!"

"So, the balance has sent my son, my brother, my sisters, his little friends, and my wife to try and stop us?" Garmadon exclaimed. "It looks like our little surprise has kept the Ninja and the Council busy."

"Don't do it!" Misako shouted. "If you alter the balance, it will allow the Overlord to cross over."

"The balance will be destroyed, and we will all pay dearly!" Sensei Wu added.

"The Overlord has been planning since he was banished, Garmadon! Can't you see he's just using you and the others?!" Celestia pleaded.

The Overlord then floated over to Garmadon. "Don't listen to them," he said. "They betrayed you, whereas I have given you everything you ever wanted and more!"

"I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to!" Lloyd shouted towards his father. "This is about more than just us! This is about what is right!"

After a few moments of silence, Garmadon spoke. “Don’t you all see? I will never do what is right!" He shouted with both hurt and venom in his tone. "The evil in my blood can never go away! It has corrupted every ounce of my fiber, every bone in my body, every cell in my veins! I am Lord Garmadon! Destiny took my family from me, and the only way for us to be together again is to turn everything in this world into my image! Then you'll see, you'll all see what I see, feel what I feel, know what I know!"

As he said those words, the Legion of Doom could not help but feel sympathy for his plight. It was a strange feeling, showing empathy and care for somecreature else other than themselves.

It felt… nice.

"It's not too late!" Misako spoke up. "We can--"

"You've made your decision, and I have made mine!" Garmadon interrupted her before he turned back to the console, raised his hoof high, over the button.

"NO!" the group shouted as Garmadon slammed on the button but the Ultimate Weapon did not fire as the computer showed a timer.

"Garmatron warming up," the computer said as it showed the warming up percentage. “In T-minus 20…19…18…17…”

The Villains looked at the timer in disbelief. “WARMING UP?!?” they shouted in unison.

“Why didn’t you warn us this weapon had to warm up?!” Tirek demanded the Overlord.

"How could I? Garmadon was monologuing,” the Overlord excused himself, sarcastically.

"We have to get to the top of that thing and shut it down!" Tempest pointed out.

"Stop them until it's ready!" Nightmare Moon ordered.

General Kozu jumped down from the Ultimate Weapon as both the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings got in the way. Garmatron fired at them but Celaeno, Hope and Misako deflected the blasts. “Go!” Misako told her son.

Lloyd charged forward as the Legion of Doom joined the Fight, Nightmare Moon against Celestia and Luna, Tirek against Scorpan, the Storm King against Celaeno’ Crew, Capper, and Tempest and Chrysalis against the Young Six.

“This ends now!” Luna said.

Nightmare Moon raised a brow in amusement. “I couldn’t agree more,” she said as they clashed weapons.

Lloyd managed to ran past and jump towards closer to the Ultimate Weapon.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Garmadon shouted impatiently as Lloyd landed on the Ultimate Weapon. "No!" The timer was already at five seconds as Garmadon locked hooves with his son just before the lieutenant, Roodaka, jumped back on and grab Lloyd.

"Got you!" Roodaka told him as the computer was counting down the last three seconds.

"3...2...1…" the computer said as Garmadon smirked and then the Garmatron fired.

"NNOOO!!!" Celestia cried out.

"We're losing," Lloyd said in worry.

Garmadon laughed. "And we… win!" he declared as they watched the missile fly towards Equestria and to the Crystal Empire.

The missile carrying the Dark Matter which the Ultimate Weapon fired soon reached the Crystal Empire, releasing the concentrated evil across the kingdom. Every Crystal Pony within the Empire saw this as the Dark Matter began to spread around them.

“What is that?!” Cadance exclaimed in shock before she, Shining Armor and Flurry watched as their subjects became corrupted, the Crystal Heart slowly turned black, and the darkness from the Castle spread.

“Cadance, we need to leave now!” Shining said as he led Cadance and Flurry out of the Castle and towards the train station, avoiding the corrupted Crystal Ponies.

And then erupting from below a horde of shadowy pony-like creatures with insect-like wings, and glowing eyes appeared, “Our Master has called us!” The leader spoke in a rasping female tone.

Back on the Dark Island, Garmadon let out an evil laugh as his evil dream his finally coming true and he is transforming Equestria into his own image.

"Again!” the Overlord demanded.

“Again!" Garmadon and his Legion of Doom repeated as the Samu-Taurs loaded the Ultimate Weapon up again. Lloyd was raised up by Roodaka as to not let him get a shot in.

"The balance is shifting!" Scorpan shouted with worry as he fought off his brother.

"Lloyd, you must focus and put a stop to this!" Sensei Wu reminded him.

Lloyd then closed his eyes and focus as he conjured up his power and a beam of light shined down before Garmadon pulled a lever and both he and Roodaka fell down a trap door. The two of them then rolled and fell out back as Lloyd crashed on the ground. The Legion of Doom then was able to overpower the others and knock them back before they joined Garmadon on the Ultimate Weapon.

"You think you can stop us?!" Garmadon asked before he pressed the big red button again and fired another missile filled with Dark Matter at Equestria.

"Our worst fears." Wu sighed as another part of Equestria was getting corrupted.

Back with others, Aqua had Landrush, Applejack, Flash and Twilight tied to a tree, Spike pinned Gaia and Rarity under his claws, Rainbow, Trail, Pinkie, and Thunder were stuck under a tree.

“This is not good!” Landrush strained.

“Thank you for stating the obvious!” Rarity groaned as she tried to push Spike off her.

Trail grunted as he tried wriggle out from under the tree. “We gotta help them, I just heard cannon fire from the beach!” he said.

“Tell that to your sister and Spike!” Twilight said as Frost and Fluttershy were hiding behind a rock, “It’s twelve against two, and they’re winning!”

“Only because we can’t risk using our directly using our powers on them!” Gaia said.

That gave Fluttershy an idea. Frost was hiding behind a boulder and observing the fight when Fluttershy send those words.

"Perhaps we can use our powers, but without hurting them,” she suggested as Frost brought out his Elemental Blade and broke the chain with an icicle that dropped Landrush and the others. Aqua fell back when the chain was cut before Frost iced the ground Spike was on and he slipped on it.

"I like it!" Flash said as Twilight used her magic to get the others out from under the tree. "Let's do it!"

The others regrouped as Spike blew a purple fireball at them, but Rarity created a diamond shield to protect him, "Landrush! Flash! Can you blind them?" she asked.

"Thanks to you, sure thing!" Landrush said as Rarity dropped the shield.

Landrush stabbed the ground and Flash blew the dust at Aqua and Spike, blinding them.

"Ahh! My eyes! I can't see!" Aqua yelled as Spike shrieked in pain as they walked around blindly.

"Trail, Rainbow, quick, cut those trees!" Twilight ordered.

"No problem!" Trail said as he pulled out his Elemental Blade and fired flames at a tree while Rainbow Dash used her magic to cut down a few more over both Aqua and Spike.

"I know where you're heading," Frost told Twilight as he used his blade too freeze the top of the trees trapping both Spike and Aqua inside.

"And just so he can't fire his way out!" Gaia said as she stabbed the ground with her blade and vines wrapped around Spike and his muzzle so he could not breathe flames.

"Sorry sis, but this club just became Ninja only!” Trail told his sister.

"We'll find a way to fix you later, Spike. I promise,” Twilight told her little brother as they started to make their way where the others, along with the Ultimate Weapon, were.

In Ponyville, everycreature was just minding their own business, when another Dark Matter missile crashed into the town square and the dark substance began corrupting every good-hearted creature around.

Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie watched from behind a building in horror. "What's happening?!" Trixie asked.

"I don't know, but we can't stay here anymore. We need to move!" Sunburst said.

"Right!" Starlight said.

She did not want to run away from the school Twilight had entrusted her with, but they had to move. With that, they quickly moved past the corrupted citizens of Equestria and headed for Equestria City.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Discord cried, dressed in his fear and loathing outfit and carrying Angel, some of Fluttershy’s animals, and the rest of his things, all in a chain of suitcases as he flew after them.

Back on the Dark Island the Overlord felt the increase of dark magic and began to laugh with vile joy, growing louder by the minute. "I tried!" Lloyd shouted as he felt like he failed.

"We know," Wu told him as the Overlord was laughing louder maniacally.

"It is done," Misako told her son. "The balance has shifted."

Storm clouds above them started to circle and spiraled above them as the Overlord was laughing so loud that the villains were getting annoyed by it.

"Stop laughing now!" Garmadon shouted at the Overlord.

"Yeah, this is our victory!” the Storm King added before Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis noticed the clouds changing.

"Ummmm… are you doing that?!" Chrysalis asked the Storm King as he shook his head in response. Each of the Keys of Darkness started to glow as the clouds continued to circle.

"What's happening?!" Tirek asked as and the others looked at their Keys.

"You all helped offset the balance!” the Overlord told the six of them as he continued to laugh. "Because of you, I can now cross over to your world! I'm finally free!"

"Wait a minute!" Garmadon shouted with rage. "You stole that from my playbook!"

"Well, you can forget it! Equestria is ours!" Chrysalis told the Overlord as she tried to command the Darklings to attack him, but they would not listen.

Each of the other villains tried to use their Keys of Darkness, but they would not respond to them.

"Did you fools really think I wouldn't plan for your betrayal?” the Overlord asked in a smug tone. "Those are my weapons. They were never yours to be begin with.”

“But… But we had a deal!” Sombra shouted. “You swore each of us a piece of Equestria! On your word!”

"No. Equestria was never going to be yours. It… is… MINE!!” the Overlord then began glowing purple.

"Hey wha--?" the Storm King said before his body began to glow purple and he yelled in pain.

And he was not alone in his suffering, as the other villains began glowing as well, screaming in agony.

"OVERLORD! What are you doing?!" Sombra demanded.

"He's draining us of all our magic!" Tirek said as his body turned into orange energy, Chrysalis became green energy, Sombra red energy, The Storm King blue energy, and Nightmare Moon purple energy.

The wisps flew into the Overlord, and then a beam of light from him poured down onto Garmadon as he roared in agony. Just then the Ninja and the Mane Six arrived. "Sorry we're late. Do we miss much?" Thunder asked as they saw Garmadon yelling in pain, falling to his knees. "Sweet Celestia,” he squeaked.

Garmadon opened his eyes and felt to the ground as he felt something in his body...changing. He looked to his hoof started to turn into a claw. The extra hooves on the middle of his body started to transform into claws as well. On his head extra horns started to grow in as his face began to change as well. "What is happening to me?!" He asked as he felt more pain coursing through him.

"Are you scared?! I'm scared!" Pinkie cried.

"What is the Overlord doing?!" Flash asked as Garmadon's body began to mutate even more.

"Something…is very wrong here!" was all Garmadon could say before his head became dragon-like and from his fang filled mouth the Overlord's voice was heard.

"The Metamorphosis… HAS BEGUUNNN!!!"

"Metamorphosis?! What does that mean?!" Trail asked.

"Metamorphosis is a biological process by which someone or something changes into something new," Frost explained.

"Yeah, changes into something ugly!" Rainbow Dash said as she pointed at Garmadon.

The transformation soon worsened as the Overlord took began to merge his body with the other villains it had absorbed. His four forelegs altered, the upper ones becoming like Tirek’s and the lower ones like the Storm King’s. His four hindlegs had holes in them like Chrysalis and taloned feet. His tail shifted into the form of the Storm King’s, with the same cloudy energy Nightmare Moon had. His wings became feathered at the start and ended looking draconic with see-through webbing between the framing. His horn started to curve and turn purple at the top like Sombra’s, while two extra horns like Tirek’s grew from his head.

"Father..." Lloyd spoke as he saw his father transform into a hideous creature but Celestia stopped him.

"No Lloyd, that creature is no longer your father," Celestia told him.

“Nor is it Sombra, Chrysalis or the others,” Hope said as she saw the abomination her former friend had become.

"But what about the prophecy? It said I had to face my father," Lloyd reminded them before Twilight realized something.

"Not unless the prophecy wasn't talking about Garmadon at all,” she told them. “What if it was talking about the Overlord this whole time?!" she told them.

“Of course! And now the Overlord has possessed Garmadon and merged the other villains into himself,” Misako said before looking in worry. “And unlike your father, the Overlord will show you no mercy.”

"You can do this, Lloyd," Flash encouraged him.

"We're here and behind you all the way," Thunder added.

"He's tough, but you're tougher," Gaia told him.

"But we have to act fast before his evil gets more powerful," Frost suggested as they heard the Overlord laughing.

"Let's do this!" Lloyd shouted as he put up his hood with determination.

"NINJA, GO!!" They all charged and the Ninja did Spinjitzu at the Samu-Taurs and Darklings in their way. The heroes fought off the army and destroyed the tanks.

The Overlord gazed on with annoyance. “I need more dark power, but where to attack next?” He asked himself before turning to the Garmatron’s computer to see. “Equestria City.”

He then aimed the weapon at the city and then pressed the button to fire, only to find the weapon was still not loaded. Confused, he looked down and saw that the heroes had prevented his army from loading the cannon. "Thunder!" Wu called out as he, Celestia, Luna, and Misako tossed the missile filled with Dark Matter to him.

"This one's out of the ballpark!" Thunder shouted as he swung his blade and knock the missile far away.

"See to it personally that the cannon is loaded!” the Overlord ordered both Kozu and Roodaka.

They both spoke in their native language as they pounce towards the Royal Sisters before Sensei Wu kick them into the loading deck of the Ultimate Weapon. When the Overlord saw that it was loaded, he hit the red button and fired both Kozu and Roodaka at Equestria City. The Ninja and the Mane Six laugh at that while Sensei Wu chuckled.

The two screamed as they flew straight through the air, holding on to each other tightly before they crashed through the front window of Grand Sensei Dareth’s Mojo Dojo and landed on the floor.

As they groaned, Dareth came in with a scowl directed at them. “You and your little marefriend just messed with the wrong dojo, Mister,” he told Kozu before he stamped his hoof as some foals and the Pillars came into the room. “Pupils, ATTACK!!!”

The foals gave out battle cries as they jumped onto the two warriors and proceed to pummel them, Kozu and Roodaka were unable to fight back due to being disoriented from their little flight and crash landing.

Back on the Dark Island, the Overlord slammed his fist down on the console in frustration. "Fine! I'll load it myself!" he shouted as Trail and Flash knock back a few Samu-Taurs before one that was mounted on a turret pointed right at them.

“Heads up, Flash!” Trail shouted when he spotted the turret. He and Flash dodge the laser fires as they both hop on top of it as Trail kick a Stone Warrior off it. “Sorry. But only two can dance this dance.” He joked.

Flash then jumped off and kicked two enemies, a Stone Warrior and a Darkling, as Trail took control of the turret and fired at the Samu-Taurs while Flash did Spinjitzu to knock some of the enemies away.

While the Overlord’s back was turned, Lloyd managed to climb up to the Garmatron and he turned to the colt, “This ends NOW!” Lloyd declared.

“And so, the Final Battle has begun,” Celestia said.

“Let’s hope he is ready,” Wu said.

Lloyd recounted everything that has happened in Equestrian history, everything from Nightmare Moon’s return to where he was right now. “After all this time, everything has led to this!” Lloyd said as narrowed his eyes at the grotesque creature before him. “My friends carried the torch of friendship and hope this far. I won’t drop it now. I will defeat you Overlord!”

"Stupid colt!” the Overlord insulted Lloyd. "I've been planning this for thousands of years! All that had transpired in Equestria was all part of my plan! The Windigoes, Nightmare Moon’s rise, the Serpentine! All were stepping stones to ensure I would return! Even controlling the Great Devourer to attack your city! You have no hope to defeat me!"

"Eat light!" Lloyd shouted as he shot a beam of light at the Overlord.

“Show ‘em Lloyd!” Applejack declared.

The Overlord stood back and blasted a beam of dark energy at Lloyd. Lloyd dodged it but then the Overlord punched him off the Garmatron and onto the beach. As Lloyd picked himself up the Overlord charged up another attack and fire at him but Lloyd answered back with his own beam. After a brief struggled the Overlord fired another blast at Lloyd but he dodged it again.

Lloyd then focused his power and then blasted the Overlord into the forest.

“Yes!” Silverstream cheered before the Overlord flew upwards, completely unharmed, “No!” she cried.

The Overlord then laughed as he flew towards Lloyd like bullet and then crashed into the ground, knocking him right at the edge of the shore. "The battle for good and evil,” the Overlord said as he approached Lloyd. "I can do this for eternity, but can you? Your friends can't help you now! You are all alone," Lloyd then stood up and removed his hood as he stared at the Overlord.

"No, I'm not!" Lloyd retorted with determination. "My father and every villain you absorbed are inside you! They will fight with me!"

As if on cue, Garmadon appeared as his body return to what it was before the Overlord took hold of him.

"Lloyd! Stay strong!" Garmadon told his son before the Overlord tried to take control again and the other villains started to take places as if they were fighting for control.

“Release us, you demon!” Sombra’s voice said.

“You can’t control me! I am a queen!” Chrysalis’s voice yelled.

“I will not allow this!” Tirek’s voice declared.

“I demand that you undo what you’ve done!” Nightmare Moon’s voice demanded.

“This is so not cool!” the Storm King’s voice whined.

After slapping his own head for a bit, the Overlord turned to Lloyd. “Fool, you cannot defeat me!” he declared, pointing at Lloyd.

Then Lloyd unleashed a beam of light at the Overlord that knocked him high in the air and crashed on the ground. Lloyd then charged at him before unleashing a flurry of blows at him before kicking him into the air.

"I can try!" Lloyd shouted as he unleashed another beam of light before the Overlord got up and blocked it with his own magic. He then fired two beans of his own magic at Lloyd and laughed as they're two beans collided. "Fight him, father!"

The Overlord struggled again as Garmadon regained control. “L-Lloyd!” he struggled to say as a tear formed in his eye, before the Overlord took control again.

“Fight HIM!” Lloyd pleaded.

“He is the Light Ninja!” Flash said as they all watched with anticipation.

“Come on brother, shake it off!” Wu begged as Misako held her hooves together with hope. The Overlord was having a bit of trouble as each villain including Garmadon was struggling to take control.

"You will not...take..." the voices of each of them told the Overlord as they fought him.

"FIGHT HIM!!" Lloyd shouted at the top of his lungs.

"......His son/My son......" was the last thing Garmadon and the villains could say before the Overlord took full control.

"Your father...and those fools are...GONE!!”

The Overlord then unleashed a powerful magic beam at Lloyd with all the horns on his head with his claws that encased him in a dark orb. Lloyd screamed in pain as the damage he was taking was severe as the Overlord laughed at his pain before he threw him far and Lloyd crashed on the sands of the beach.

"Lloyd!" Wu called out before him and Misako ran over to him.

"My son!" Misako cried with worry as they checked to see if he was all right.

The Overlord then aimed the Garmatron at the three, while the others watched in shock. “Ha-ha-ha, for a warrior of light, you weren’t very…” the Overlord said as he pressed the button, “...bright.”

The Garmatron fired the Dark Matter missile at Wu, Misako, and Lloyd. It would have hit them had the Destiny’s Bounty not blocked it at the last second.

The heroes watched as Dr. Gear, Cozy, and the CMCS were steering the ship as it was spinning out of control, “I may not be able to fight!” Dr. Gear started.

“And we may be small!” Cozy continued.

“But we can FLY!!” the CMCs finished as the Bounty was about to crash. Dr. Gear quickly grabbed the four fillies and Serpentine babies as she quickly ran away from the fog of Dark Matter covering the ship before she jumped off and the Bounty crashed.

"Well, that went well." Scootaloo commented as they were getting up from the ground.

"Enough!” the Overlord shouted and getting the attention of his Samu-Taurs and the Darklings. "We don't need to waste our time with their pestering! We'll go to Equestria City to finish this, once and for all!" A vortex then formed in front of them, a glimpse inside showing it led straight towards the city. The Overlord commanded his army to go through it with the Ultimate Weapon.

“If they go through, that means we’ll be stuck here with no way back!” Capper told them.

They then rushed towards the vortex, “Get to the portal! go, go, go!” Trail said as flying over their heads was Spike with Aqua riding on his back.

“Buh-bye!” she taunted as Spike flew through the vortex. “Forever!”

“I’m there! I’m there!!” Twilight shouted as she flew towards the portal but then at the last second the portal closed and Twilight landed on the ground, “NNNNNNOOOOOO!!!” She screamed as the ran toward her.

They failed.

The whole group was gathered around Lloyd before he came to and sold them all around him. He was then gently helped up by his mother and Cozy Glow. "Did I… Did I win?" he asked as they all hung their heads down.

"I'm afraid not, Lloyd," Scorpan answered. "But you're alive." Capper and Thunder then helped Lloyd up as he could not believe that they lost.

"But the prophecy..." Lloyd said as began to walk before he felt pain in his back right leg and nearly fell.

"Easy, kid," Capper told Lloyd as he and Celaeno helped him. "You've been through a lot."

"My leg..." Lloyd said as he was limping towards what's left of the Destiny’s Bounty. "Did we lose the Final Battle?"

"What's important is we didn't lose you," Wu said as he walked up next to him.

Lloyd then walked closer to the Bounty before he stepped on a piece of wood and saw an ancient Equestrian symbol on it before he picked it up.

"The symbol for destiny,” he said as he looked at the symbol. "Destiny showed us who was stronger today. But destiny also wanted us around to fight another day." They all gathered around him before looking out into the distance of their home that was now being corrupted by the Overlord as they speak. "We didn't lose the battle. Today, we just lost the fight." Now there were only two questions remaining: How will they return to Equestria? And who will come out victorious, when the Final Battle truly begins?