Chapter 13: All of Nothing
Along the dark streets of Manehatten, a Venomari is running away from something as she looked back and hissed. She ran until something, or somepony, emerged from the mist. Frost stepped out with his Shurikens before he threw them on the ground and froze the area around them.
The Venomari then ran in another direction while slipping on the ice but was halted when a ball of electric energy flowed down a telephone pole. Thunder then appeared in flash and swung his Nunchucks at the Serpentine, sending bolts of lightning at her.
The Venomari ducked and tried to run into an alley but yelped and covered her face as a powerful wind blew right at her. Marching out of the alley was Flash, spinning his Bo from hoof to hoof before opening his wings and slamming his weapon down to send another gust of wind that nearly knocked the Venomari off her feet.
She then tried her luck for a fourth time, only to get blocked again when large leafy vines grew down in front of her, unfurling themselves to reveal Gaia. She jabbed her Sais into the ground making more vines to attack the Venomari.
The Venomari tried once more to run away into an alley but then tripped over some crates and realized the alley was a dead end AND that Trail who was surrounded in a swirl of fire, swinging his Sword to extinguish them, was waiting for her.
The Venomari got back up and ran right into Landrush, and fell flat on her back.
"Going somewhere?" Landrush asked as the others joined him and Trail, gathering around the Serpentine.
"Now that we have your undivided attention," Gaia started as the six then pointed their weapons at the snake.
"Uh-oh," the Venomari said as she was held at weapon point.
"Thought you could joyride through town and not be noticed, huh?" Thunder asked before holding his weapon closer to their captive. "Where's the last Fangblade?!"
"I… don't know what you're talking about?" The Venomari played dumb.
"You know what it is: The fourth Fangblade!" Trail told her.
"We already know you have three of them, so obviously that's what you're after now," Landrush pointed out. After they rescued Lloyd from the Volcano, they learned through Pinkie's Pinkie Sense that Pythor had recovered the third Fangblade that had somehow survived in the lava.
"And when Pythor find the last one, he plans to awaken the Great Devourer!" Flash told her as he narrowed his eyes. "So, talk! Where is it?"
"Oh. That Fangblade," the Venomari said before she chuckled. "You're too late. Pythor'sss already there now. He'sss probably already digging it up." The Ninja looked at each other with concern when she told them. "If I were you, I'd ssstart preparing for the worssst, because when the Great Devourer isss awakened, there will be nothing it won't consssume!" She declared.
"You do realize that means it'll consume you too?" Frost asked her.
"Huh? What do you mean?" The Venomari looked startled and confused by the question.
"Show her the book," Flash suggested before Thunder pulled out the book that held the truth about The Great Devourer and held it in front of the Venomari. After a quick read of the page shown to her, both realization and fear appeared on her face.
"AHH! Pleassse! You have to ssstop him! That sssnake is crazy! I don't wanna unleash the Great Devourer!" She pleaded, her allegiance to Pythor having changed after the horrifying revelation. "I'm a sssnake! Not food!"
"Is it really too late to stop Pythor from getting the last Fangblade?" Gaia asked her, to make sure she was not lying.
The Venomari whimpered as she nodded. "Y-You're daysss behind him! There'sss gotta be ssssomething elssse you can do!"
The Ninja turned to each other; they were in a very grim spot now.
The Ninja returned to the bounty where they told the others on the bridge about the news they have just learned. The computer showed the location of where Pythor is digging up the last Fangblade.
"The Venomari's right," Aqua confirmed. "By the time we cast sail clear across to the other side of Equestria, Pythor will have already beat us to the last Fangblade."
"Oh, come on, guys. This is the last one," Thunder spoke up. "We gotta get it."
"But even if we do get there, by the time we do, Pythor will have left for the City of Ouroboros to awaken the Devourer," Starlight reminded him.
"That's it, then? We're doomed?" Applejack asked.
"Come on guys, we gotta think of something," Spike said desperately.
"Maybe we could head to Ouroboros instead, and try to ambush them?" Rainbow suggested as they all started brainstorming.
"Hey…" Cozy Glow spoke up as everyone turned to her and Lloyd. "Maybe we're going about this the wrong way."
"Yeah. All we need to do is get just one Fangblade to stop them," Lloyd started. "So, what if we took back the other three they've already taken?"
Cozy Glow nodded. "Yeah. Think about it: Pythor wouldn't risk having the other Fangblades on him. He's probably hidden them somewhere while he goes for the fourth."
"Of course… It's so simple," Twilight said when they all realized it was.
"Why didn't any of us think of it before?" Rainbow complained.
"It can't be that easy… can it?" Thunder pointed out.
"'Easy'? My algorithms suggest taking the other three would be far more dangerous," Frost informed them. "Pythor would undoubtedly have them protected by his top generals."
"Which means, we don't have to hold back," Flash said as he cracked his hooves.
"Even if you could steal the other three, you don't even know where they are," Garmadon reminded them.
"He's right. For the past few weeks, there have been no signs of the Serpentine in any of the kingdoms," Celestia noted. "How are they moving around? It's like they're ghosts."
Fluttershy then got an idea. "…Or snakes! Bridge, give us a sonar sweep of Equestria for Serpentine… Um, if you don't mind?" she asked politely.
The computer did a scan of the map but found no traces of Hypnobrai, Fangpyre, Constrictai, Venomari or Pythor.
"See? Nothing. It's just like sensei said," Trail told Fluttershy.
"What's the point of that, Fluttershy?" Flash asked.
"What if they aren't traveling above ground? They're snakes, and snakes burrow," Fluttershy told them.
"I see where you're heading," Aqua said, now understanding her reasoning. "Bridge, give us a sonar sweep of Equestria, but twenty feet below surface."
The computer beeped as it projected a three-dimensional image of Equestria, showing a vast network of underground tunnels, and strangely off, the tunnels having been connected to the five Serpentine Tombs.
"I don't believe it," Gaia gasped.
"All the tombs and major locations around Equestria have interconnected," Trail said.
"It's a network of tunnels that runs under every kingdom," Luna added.
"And in the center, one big underground fortress," Landrush finished.
"That's how they got around so swiftly and silently," Rarity gasped out.
"And all this time, right under our muzzles," Thunder said.
"Or rather, hooves," Frost joked.
"Now that we know what's really under us, then according to this map… that's the most protected area," Twilight said as she pointed out a large underground chamber from where all the tunnels connected, filled with Serpentine readings. "The Fangblades must be held there."
"Then what are we waiting for? Aqua, set the course," Wu ordered.
"Already on it," she said as she programmed the coordinates. "We'll be there by sun up." The Destiny's Bounty then made their way to the Serpentine stronghold to get the three Fangblades and stop them.
Soon, as the sun began to rise, the Ninja were training on deck as Sensei Wu drilled them on how to deal with each of the Serpentine.
"There is no room for error. The Serpentine have shown that they have great powers, and to combat them, you must turn their greatest strengths into their greatest weaknesses," Wu informed them as he turned to Trail. "Trail, how will you defeat the Hypnobrai?"
"Their hypnotizing powers are useless, if their opponent can fight without relying on his eyes." Trail answered as he pulled down a blindfold over his eyes and swung his Sword around.
"Good," Wu said before he looked at Flash and Thunder. "Thunder and Flash, the Fangpyre is fast and his bite sharp... "
"But if he can't bite into you... " Thunder started, tapping his armored foreleg.
"... Or can't even touch you," Flash added, zipping from one side to the other.
"He can't turn you into one!" they finished in unison, before hoof-bumping each other.
"Yes. Landrush and Gaia, the Constrictai are strong," Wu told them before he pressed up on a remote and the two got ensnared by nets, "and they will not let go."
"But instead of fighting back…" Landrush grunted as he began to loosen himself.
"One should try to loosen up…" Gaia finished for him as they both wriggled free, "with as much grace as possible," she said tossing her hair.
"Plus… a bit of soft-shoe doesn't hurt either," Landrush added tapping his hooves on his net.
"Frost, the venom of the Venomari can make you see things," Wu told him. "Cloud your perception."
"Then I will use my new Falcon Vision," Frost said as his eyes glowed blue, as well as his Falcon's eyes, allowing him to see an aerial view of his surroundings.
"Very good," Wu said. "I have trained you well. You are all ready."
"What about you, sensei? Will you fight?" Flash asked him. "We need all the help we can get."
"My concern is that my old bones cannot keep up, but I will be there in spirit," Wu told his pupils.
"We're arriving at the Mountain of a Million Steps," Aqua told them over the PA. "You all might want to see this."
The mountain came into view and they could see the steps have been covered up with piles of dirt when they all look to the side.
"Look at all those piles of dirt." Thunder pointed out.
"They must have done this so nopony could get in." Twilight theorized.
"Which means, we're in the right place." Applejack said as the Bounty pulled up next to the mountain.
"What are you snakes up to?" Flash asked.
"Wait for us!" Lloyd said as he, Cozy Glow, and the Young Six rushed down the stairs.
"We're coming too!" Cozy Glow said.
"Yeah, we want some action too!" Smolder said, pumping her fist with a smirk.
Celestia however stepped in front of them. "This is not your fight, young ones," she said as the eight children looked disappointed. "The Light Ninja's too important for a future destiny," she place a hoof on Lloyd's shoulder.
Luna then turned Cozy and the Young Six. "And as the chosen representatives of your kingdoms, you all are too valuable to be put at such risk," she told them.
"So, you all will stay here with me," Wu instructed them.
"Aww!" the Young Eight whined.
Suddenly, Aqua then flew in in her mech before landing gently on deck. "Well, they're gonna have to look after each other, because we made room for you." she told Wu as she pointed towards a seat on the mech's shoulders.
"Well, you said you were concerned that you couldn't keep up, so Thunder and Aqua rejiggered the design so you could come along," Trail explained. "Well, what do you think?"
"I think... " Wu start before he popped on the seat. "Shotgun! Ha-ha!"
Garmadon then walked up to the deck. "I will stay back with Lloyd and the young ones," He said before shaking his head and looking towards his 'temporary' allies. "I don't enjoy saying this but... good luck."
They all turned to leave, but Twilight pulled Sandbar close before she left. "I want you kids to keep a sharp eye on Garmadon while we're gone," she whispered as she glanced at Garmadon suspiciously. "Just in case."
Sandbar nodded as Twilight left the ship and down to the Mountain of a Million Steps.
The group then went in the hole to the tomb of the Constrictai to find that the place having multiple cracks in the walls. "I thought you said this place would be heavily guarded, Frost," Thunder whispered when they reached the bottom.
"Forgive me. Even Nindroids make mistakes," Frost told him.
"Then where are they?" Rainbow asked
Landrush then noticed something. "Hey look at this."
They all looked over to the wall and saw goofy drawings of the Ninja and Mane 6 with a mustache on one of them.
"Pfft. That doesn't even look like me," Thunder said.
"Ah, they're gonna pay for that," Trail grunted.
"When I get my hooves on those snakes!" Rarity snarled as she took it personally the most.
"I mean, at least give me a decent mustache," Landrush said before he tried to wipe the dust off the drawing of the mustache on him. When he did, he accidentally pushed it, causing a secret door to open up in front of him. "Uh… I meant to do that."
They all then went down the secret corridor to find the three Fangblades, with Starlight rolling her eyes. "Sure, you did," she dryly remarked as they all entered the hidden cavern, looking down to see a huge room filled with Serpentine. They could overhear the four Serpentine Generals discussing the latest affairs.
"So, what happenssss when the Great Devourer is unleashed?" the Fangpyre General asked his fellow generals. "Will it really consssume everything?"
"I hope so, if only to teach the other creaturesss of Equessstria a lesson for locking usss underground for ssso many yearsss," the Constrictai General said.
"Who knowsss if the legend is true?" the Venomari General spoke up. "I, for one, am curiousss to see what happensss."
Skales then approached his fellow Generals. "Keep alert, Pythor should be back sssoon."
"There's too many to deal with all at once," Trail said.
"Then we travel by shadow," Twilight suggested.
"I'm right behind you," Aqua said.
"And I'm right behind you," Wu added. They all started sneaking down the stairs as Wu enjoyed a cup of tea.
Back on the Bounty, the Young Eight walked into the bridge to find Garmadon typing something on the computer. On the screen look to be Blueprints and schematics for mechs and other things. "Transferring files," the computer said.
"Ah! You're stealing?" Lloyd asked his dad in shock as Garmadon gasped.
"Why are the rest of us not surprised?" Gallus asked in sarcasm.
"Dad, my friends and the princesses are risking their lives to save Equestria, and you go behind their backs to gain an advantage?" Lloyd asked in disappointment.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help it," Garmadon explained with guilt. "Ever since the Devourer bit me, evil runs through my blood."
"We know, our professors told us," Ocellus told him.
Lloyd looked at his father with sadness. "You left me for so long. Where did you go?" He asked his father why he abandoned him.
Garmadon sighed. "Son, there are places beyond this world void of any good or Harmony," he said, looking down at his forehooves. "Dark places."
"Is that where Celestia, Luna and Wu found you?" Cozy glow asked.
"You children know how I've always wanted those Golden Weapons," Garmadon asked them, as he raised up his hooves and spread his wings. "Well, that place gave me the power to possess them."
"But why didn't you take me with you?" Lloyd asked him.
Garmadon looked at him with a sad smile. "Every child has a choice to grow up to be whoever they want to be. But I never had that choice. Because I was bitten, evil runs through my veins." He frowned as he knelt to his son's level and placed a hoof his shoulder. "But you still have a choice. You don't need to be like me, Lloyd. Because you have the one thing I never had at your age: friends."
Lloyd turned to Cozy Glow and Young Six as they smiled at him before he turned back to his father. "Your uncle and the Royal Sisters have a plan for you, and even though it may be to stop me one day, we have to follow our own destiny," he said before standing up and looking away. "And after I help the Ninja stop Pythor, I'll need to leave again."
"Then why don't you just leave now?!" Lloyd shouted at him, shocking him and his friends.
"Lloyd-"
"No, really!" he interrupted his father. "Go back to wherever evil place you came from!"
"All right, Operation Stealth was a total bust!" Aqua said over the radio. "We're gonna need reinforcements! Anypony there?!" Garmadon was about to answer before Lloyd stopped him.
"We don't want your help, and we don't need you here!" he told his father. "Maybe it would have been better if you hadn't come back at all." He turned his back towards him.
Garmadon looked heartbroken as turned and left. "If-if that's how you feel," he remarked, clearly upset, before turning to the Young Seven on his way out. "Take care of my boy," he told them.
Lloyd turned to computer and frantically pressed the keys. "I'm trying to help, Aqua! Just hold on!"
"Oh, what do we do, what do we do?!" Silverstream asked as she tried tapping on the keys too.
Garmadon gave one last look to his son and the Young Seven before he left.
Back with the others, lines of Serpentine were traveling down on the chains as the Ninja's cover had been blown. "Lloyd, Sandbar, Ocellus? Can anycreature hear me?!" Aqua asked but got no response.
"Forget them. We need to fight back," Wu said as he poured his tea onto a Serpentine climbing on the mech.
"Ninja, show them what you've learned!" Celestia ordered as they all went at it.
Landrush and Gaia were the wrapped up by the Constrictai General.
"Always wanted to make you my main squeeze," he said to the two, flirting towards Gaia.
"I'm... flattered... but I must say... you're quite good looking... yourself," Gaia shot back with a wink as the General looked nervous, his coils starting to give way a bit.
As Gaia distracted him, Landrush started to loosen up. "Must relax…" he said quickly. "Think loose..." Soon, he and Gaia managed to slip out of his coils.
"What?!" The General asked in shock.
"Triple Tiger Sashay!" Landrush called out before he flipped and kicked the general on the head before jumping off a Serpentine with his front hoof and then head butt a Venomari as to knock all three down.
"Don't feel too bad, but I prefer muscleheads to Serpentine," Gaia said to the trounced General.
Meanwhile, Trail was dealing with the Hypnobrai General. "You're sssurrounded, young fire ssstarter," Skales taunted as he and a few Serpentine had Trail surrounded. "Perhapsss you can now do our bidding," he remarked as he began to use his hypnotic gaze on him.
"Ugh. Must not look!" Trail told himself as he quickly closed his eyes. "NINJA, GO!" He used his Spinjitzu with his eyes closed, attacking each Serpentine surrounding him. "I wish I could see me now, because you all just got 'Trail Blazed'!" he declared after knocking them all back and he stopped.
Meanwhile Flash and Thunder were fighting off some Fangpyre as the General snuck behind them. The right head tried to bite Flash but he dodged him. Meanwhile, the left head tried to bite Thunder, but instead bit his armored foreleg. "AAHHH!" he screamed in pain as he nursed his mouth.
"What, don't like the taste of defeat?" Thunder mocked him as he tapped his armor.
Flash then rammed the General, knocking him away. "Well, get used to it! Because it's all you can eat!" he added. Aqua dropped down with Twilight.
"Nice job boys," Twilight flirted to Flash.
"Looking good," Aqua flirted to Thunder as well.
Thunder swooned. "Thanks you look great too," he said.
Flash smirked. "You weren't too shabby yourself," he flirted back.
"Don't mean to address the lovebirds, but we do have Fangblades to capture!" Frost called out from the bottom as he fended off some Serpentine. A Venomari then spit its venom into his eyes. Frost began to hallucinate the Serpentine as vegetables and fruit. He turned to see his friends rushing to aid him but saw them as food too.
Frost managed to remain calm, calling for his trump card. "Switching to Falcon Vision!" he called out as his Falcon watched the battle from above, allowing Frost to see everything from above to guide his fighting.
Pretty soon the group were pushing back the Serpentine and in the center of the room they found what they were looking for.
"The Fangblades!" Fluttershy said, seeing them held by a staff on a pedestal with green mist emitting from it.
"Flash, go get them while we have this chance!" Twilight called out as she blasted a few Serpentine back.
"It would be an honor!" Flash shouted before he charged right for them. Before he could get close, a claw shot up from the ground and grabbed his hoof. "Aah! It's a trap!" he warned the others before a cage got them by surprise.
They soon heard laughter as they turned to see Pythor with his scouting party, and worst of all… with the final Fangblade. "Come, come, can this get any better? Seriously, they fell right into my trap," he boasted and turned to his troops. "Well done, my friends. Now with the Ninja, the Princesses of Equestria, and their pathetic allies now in our clutches, Equestria is poised for us to awaken the Great Devourer and take our revenge!"
The Serpentine cheered as Twilight tried to make a last-ditch effort to make them see reason. "Please! Listen to me! There's something you must know about the Great Devourer! It's true that the Great Devourer was your ancestors' greatest weapon, but it was also their greatest mistake!" she called out to them as they listened to her in confusion. "The Great Devourer grew so large and powerful that it didn't just stop at consuming the Serpentine's enemies. It also threatened to consumed the Serpentine as well! It couldn't be controlled anymore! If you use the Fangblades to awaken it, you won't conquer Equestria with it! You'll destroy it, along with yourselves!"
The Serpentine started talking amongst themselves wondering if she was telling the truth. Pythor saw this and grew very angry. "Are you all honestly going to believe someone who fought us at every turn?!" he shouted. "They'll do or say anything to escape the punishment they and the rest of the surface world rightfully deserve for imprisoning us in those tombs! And the Great Devourer is the key to giving them just that!"
That seemed to encourage the Serpentine to believe Pythor as the Anacondrai smirked. Twilight slumped in defeat as the cage was lifted up.
"Oh, this isn't good," Trail groaned. "Where's Lloyd and the kids when you need them?"
The young Seven and Lloyd were continuing to try to get the computer working until Lloyd ran out of the room. "Where are you going?!" Sandbar called out.
"Forget him! If he's not going, then just let him leave!" Smolder shouted as they looked at her with surprised looks on their faces as they all shouted "What?!"
"Why do you hate Lloyd?" Ocellus asked.
"I don't hate him... or maybe I do... I can't explain it, but when I'm near him I can feel my blood boiling!" Smolder told them, as she honestly wasn't sure where that hostility came from either. "It's like something inside him that I don't like!"
"Because he's the son of the Dark Lord?" Gallus asked her.
"No, it's something else!" Smolder grunted. "Like a part of him that my whole dragon kind have hated for like centuries!"
"Oh golly. Well, whatever it is, you shouldn't let it ruin your friendship with him," Cozy Glow told her.
Smolder sighed. "I guess you're right. Besides I should show him some respect since he's-"
But before she could finish, Lloyd burst into the room looking proud and wearing the Light Ninja Gi, but with the sleeves and pant legs folded up to fit him. "The Light Ninja is here to save the day!" he declared.
"Oh brother... " Smolder rolled her eyes as Lloyd made his way over and puts up his ninja hood.
"Lloyd? Cozy? Smolder? Lord Garmadon? Is anypony there?" Aqua called out over the radio. They finally figured out how to respond as Lloyd spoke up.
"It's us Aqua, we're here! But my dad left." He told her.
"How ponies holding up?" Yona asked.
Back in the underground fortress, the Ninja, Mane 6, Spike, Celestia, Luna, Aqua and Wu were trapped still trapped in the cage but had all their weapons, armor and even Aqua's suit stripped from them and chained up. "Aqua? Hello?" Lloyd spoke through the mech but there was some static.
Aqua threw a rock at the mech as its comm was working again. "We're fine, but we're a little held up at the moment," she said.
"In more ways than one," Spike quipped.
"Our weapons have been taken, and we're locked in a cage!" Gaia explained.
"And Pythor's returned with the fourth Fangblade," Landrush explained.
"That's not good," Gallus said through the comm.
"Lloyd, where did your father go?" Frost asked the colt.
"I told him to leave," Lloyd answered. "He was trying to steal secrets."
"Ha. Big surprise there," Trail said sarcastically. "I told you about that guy, but you guys wouldn't listen."
"I told them to keep an eye on him, if it makes you feel better," Twilight told Trail.
"Garmadon is going back to where he came from," Ocellus told them.
"But don't worry, we'll save you!" Lloyd assured them.
"You are not ready, Lloyd," Wu told him with concern. "The children's and your destinies are too great to risk."
"I hate to tell this Sensei, but if we don't get out of here before Pythor unleashes the Great Devourer, it may be the end of all our destinies!" Applejack reminded him.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there in a jiffy!" Cozy promised as she and the other kids went to the weapon cabinet to takes some gear. But the moment they grabbed something, all the weapon fell on top of them.
"Ouch." Lloyd moaned.
"… This might take a while." Sandbar said.
Silverstream then had a thought. "Hang on! It may be just me… but shouldn't we have Ninja suits of our own too?" She asked as the Young Eight looked at each other.
In the underground fortress, all the Serpentine were cheering as they finally have all the Fangblades. "Together, we have taken back the four Fangblades!" Pythor announced as he put the Fangblade he retrieved with the other three held on the staff. "When we return them to the city of Ouroboros, together we will unleash the Great Devourer! And then with it, we will march upon Canterlot, overthrow the monarchy, and at long last, take control! Today Equestria, tomorrow… the world!" All the Serpentine cheered as the heroes watched on in horror. Pythor held up all four blades in triumph. "To the city of Ouroboros!" he declared before a Constrictai walked up to him.
"Forgive me sssir, but we ssspent so much time digging thisss underground fortresss underneath the kingdomsss' very feet, it would be a ssshame not to ussse it a little bit more," he pointed out.
"At leasssst let usss celebrate in capturing the ninjasss and their friendsss," the Venomari General suggested.
Skales leaned over to Pythor. "Give them thisss victory today, and tomorrow we shall return the Fangbladesss to Ouroborosss," he whispered to him.
"Fine! But I don't want anyone to let down their guard, you hear me?!" he ordered quietly as he did not want to give the Ninja any leeway in an escape. He then turned to his army. "Then tonight, we celebrate our victory, with a Slither Pit!"
The Serpentine cheered and drew their weapons as two at a time took center stage for the fights. The group either watched them from the change above, meditated while they waited, played a game of checkers with small stones or items from their pockets, or paced about the cage. "Ugh, so all we can do is just wait?" Trail granted as he was pacing around with Rainbow Dash.
"I know, right? This is killing me!" Rainbow complained.
"Patience. Lloyd and the young ones will figure out something," Wu told the two.
"We're putting all of our trust in a bunch of kids," Trail said, not sounding too happy about it. "Two of which are the son of the greatest villain Equestria has ever seen AND a problem child prodigy who tried to drain all the magic out of Equestria like a sponge. Uh, is anypony else having doubts about this plan?" He then walked over to the bars of the cage and reached out his hoof towards his Sword. "Just because we don't have our weapons, doesn't mean we can't use our powers. We just need to focus." He closed his eyes and tried to tap into his power.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the chamber was built out of Vengestone," Celestia told Trail. "A very rare mineral that nullifies both magic and elemental power. Our abilities are rendered useless in here. Patience."
Twilight tried to ignite her horn, but she could not even get a spark. "Ugh, she's right. I got nothing," she relented.
Trail and Rainbow sighed and then glanced over to Thunder and Rarity's game of checkers, and noticed the bottle of mane oil as one of Rarity's pieces.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Rainbow asked Trail with a smirk. Trail smirked back and then grabbed the bottle.
"Hey, that mane oil was just about to be kinged!" Rarity complained.
"Yeah? Well, Rainbow and I are just about to get us out of here," Trail said as he poured some of the mane oil on his hoof before rubbing it on Rainbow Dash's belly.
"Whoa, greaseball!" Landrush shouted when he saw what Trail was doing before Rainbow did the same with him. "How about warning us before you both do that?"
"Uhh, you can make jokes all you want, but I don't think we need our magic or special powers to get out of here," Rainbow told him as she and Trail walked over to the bars.
"Just a little ingenuity," Trail said as he and Rainbow squeezed through the bars and slipped out.
"Whoa!" Spike gasped.
"They made it!" Thunder said.
"Well, I'll be!" Applejack said.
"Look at that!" Frost said.
"All right, slicksters," Gaia complimented, "but now what?"
"Now, we quietly do a little ball and chain," Trail whispered before he quietly reached for the nearest chain and pulled it towards him. They would watch as he and Rainbow put the chain around the bar of the cage before lowering themselves down. The Serpentine continued their Slither Pit as Trail and Rainbow went lower till they were close to the bottom.
"Let'sss change the game, shall we?!" A Fangpyre announced before he pulled a lever behind him and a large wheel in the center began to spin until it stopped at a symbol. "Vat of venom!" All the Serpentine cheered as the announcer pulled another switch and the center opened up, revealing a humongous pool of venom. "Next two fightersss!" A Hypnobrai and a Constrictai started to fight on the narrow way above the vat while Trail and Rainbow were still holding on to the chain.
"One, two, three, jump!" Rainbow said as she and trail jumped from chain to chain.
"It's working!" Aqua said.
"Keep going guys! You're almost there!" Starlight said.
"Come on, everyone. Let's see if we can throw our weight around," Landrush said as they start running back and forth across the cage, rocking it to give momentum for Trail and Rainbow.
"Come on, more speed!" Thunder said as they kept on running. Little did any of them know that Pythor noticed both Trail and Rainbow were out of the cage and slithered off.
"Next one and we've got it," Trail whispers as they started to swing on the final chain. Once they swing far enough, they leaped off it and grabbed hold of the edge right where Pythor grabbed their hooves.
"Ah, ah, ah," he spoke to them with a smirk. "Trying to escape, are we?" Trail and Rainbow gave Pythor a nervous grin and a chuckle.
"Heh. I bet this looks kind of bad, doesn't it, huh?" Rainbow asked before they were placed back in the cage, and this time… all their necks had been chained to the bars so they could not try escaping again.
"Greaaat, we're in such a better place than we were before!" Applejack said sarcastically to Trail and Rainbow.
"And now we can't even play checkers," Frost lamented.
"And I was about to king you two! So, thank you ever so much for wasting a good bottle of mane oil!" Rarity exclaimed to the two pegasi.
"Now all we can do is wait," Flash pointed out.
Twilight turned to Wu, who along with Celestia and Luna seemed unbothered by their new predicament. "Don't worry Sensei. I have faith in the kids."
Back outside, the Young Seven managed to found the ninjas old uniforms and put them on. Gallus was wearing Flash's first Gi, Yona wearing Landrush's, Smolder in Trail's Dragon Master Gi, Ocellus wearing Gaia's old Gi, Sandbar wearing Frost's old Gi, Silverstream wearing Thunder's Dragon Master Gi, and Cozy wearing Thunder's old Gi.
"Ninja roll!" Lloyd said as he and the others rolled. "Flying Drag-Whoa!" He tripped as the others stopped before Lloyd stood back up. "Ninja-Recover!"
"Why are we doing all these moves again?" Gallus asked the others.
"Because it's fun!" Silversteam answered with a smile.
Cozy just shook her head. "Come on, we're almost at the top," she pointed out as they reached where the entrance was. "Ninja-Roll!" she commanded as they all rolled down towards the entrance.
"All right, ninjas! This is where we work together on freeing the others and getting those Fangblades!" Lloyd told them after getting up from the ground. "On 'go'. Ready?" They each put their hooves and claws in the center of theirs.
"NINJA, GO!" they all shouted as they break before they climbed down the rope.
Deep beneath the fortress, while the Serpentine celebrated, the heroes remained trapped in the cage, sitting in defeat. Suddenly, Trail noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, look up there!" Trail told the others and then they saw the Young Eight peaking up from the ledge.
"It's the kids!" Flash said with smile as the others stood up.
"Oh, are you sure this is good idea?" Ocellus said, seeing all the Serpentine down there.
"Come Ocellus, we're the future of Equestria," Smolder reminded her. "We can take these Serpentine dorks."
"Yes, friends smash nasty Serpentine together!" Yona added, slamming her hooves together.
Cozy turned to Lloyd who looked worried. "Come on Lloyd, you're the Light Ninja," she encouraged him.
Lloyd smiled. "Yeah, I can do this!" he exclaimed before waving his friends. "Let's do this, guys!"
With that they charged down the stairs. Yona however tripped on a rock and stumble forward knocking the others down as they found down the ramp to the bottom. The Ninja and the others watched as the Young Eight were tumbling down to the bottom and we're grunting in pain the whole way down.
"OW!/OOF!/OUCH!/THAT ONE HURT!/OWIE!/OH MY LEG!" The Eight grunted as they bounced and tumbled down the slope.
The Serpentine were watching two of them in the Slither Pit before the Young Eight rolled past them before they stopped right in front of them. The Serpentine gasped in surprise and looked at each other before Lloyd and the others quickly stood up. "I really gotta grow into this thing," Lloyd groaned as he looked at his Gi.
"Yona sorry. Yona not watch where she step," she sheepishly admitted.
They then turned to Pythor. "Well, if we don't meet again, Pythor P. Chumsworth!" Lloyd declared dramatically as Pythor looked at them in surprise. "Unhoof the ninjas, the princesses, and the council of Friendship, or suffer humiliation against the Light Ninja and the Friendship Squad!" He and the other posed heroically before Pythor and the Serpentine erupted with laughter as if these kids were a joke.
"Oh, yeah?! You? And I don't suppose you brought an army to help you?!" Pythor asked them, knowing none of them has anything to back them up.
The Young Eight looked around nervously, realizing they were severely outnumbered.
"Uh, we did… Our army of hooves, paws, and claws!" Gallus retorted as they started swinging their fore legs and arms wildly before they accidently kicked themselves. That only caused the Serpentine to laugh at them more… until a familiar voice spoke up. "Or this army!"
They all turned to see Lord Garmadon along with Shining Armor, Cadance, Trixie and the Skeleton Army on ledge.
"Dad!" Lloyd shouted in surprise to see his father had returned and with some help.
"You came back!?" Sandbar said in surprise.
Garmadon turned to his son."Lloyd, you and your friends helped me realized I do have a choice," he said before turning his attention to Pythor. "If there is anyone is going to threaten Equestria, it better well be me!"
"The Skeleton Army?!" Pythor shouted in shock. "But why would they fight beside you?! You betrayed them and Samukai long ago! And I don't see why those three are helping as well!" He pointed at Shining, Cadance, and Trixie.
"Because Equestria is our home and we will defend it with our lives!" Cadance declared.
"Plus… everycreature hates snakes, and we hate 'em more than we hate him!" Kruncha added as the rest of the skeletons cheered in agreement.
"Attack!" Pythor commanded his army of Serpentine.
"Attack!" Both Shining and Kruncha commanded as both sides charged at each other. Pythor the pulled a lever as the cage holding the heroes began to move.
"Hey! We're moving!" Pinkie said.
Gaia looked down and looked scared. "Yeah, but in the direction of the bubbling pit of acid!" She as they looked down to see they were heading towards the lake of poisonous liquid. Skales punched a skeleton back before he turned to see Nuckal babbling while doing an odd dance.
"Are you ssserious?" Skales chuckled before Kruncha came up behind him and whacked him with a bone.
"He never saw it coming," Kruncha said.
"Uh, saw what coming?" Nuckal asked before Kruncha literally made his head spin.
As the cage continued to sink the heroes climbed up the bars to avoid getting melted along with the floor. Aqua looked to her right and smiled. "Lloyd! Cozy!" she cheered.
Lloyd and Cozy used their smaller size to slip past the warriors, over to the levers and pulled them to stop the cage from sinking. He pulled a lever which freed the older ponies from their shackles. Cozy then pulled another lever that lowered the Ninja's weapons and Aqua's suit.
"Told ya we'd save you!" Lloyd smiled.
"Go, Ninja, go," Flash complimented the little colt.
Twilight then nuzzled Cozy. "I'm so proud of you Cozy!" she cheered as Cozy smiled and blushed.
The Ninja grabbed their weapons and Aqua regained her suit and joined the fight. "NINJA, GO!" All six ninjas did Spinjitzu as they knocked back a few Serpentine.
Within the fight, Pythor was trying to get away with the four Fangblades before Garmadon stood in his way with a scythe and a sword in his hooves. Pythor used his staff to block each attack Garmadon through at him before he turned and slithered away.
"So long, sucker!" Pythor shouted when he looked back at Garmadon frowning. But before he thought he was home free he bumped into Luna and dropped the Fangblades.
Luna looked at the Fangblades before scowling at Pythor. "Going somewhere?" she asked.
At that moment Pythor knew, he screwed up. "Oh dear," he muttered before he hissed when Luna put her sword to his throat and she picked up the Fangblades.
"We'll be taking these now," Luna taunted but Pythor smirked and turned invisible. Luna looked around in surprise. "Where did he go?"
"Who cares?" Trail told her. "We have the Fangblades! Let's get out here!"
"Everycreature! Fall back!" Twilight ordered as they all ran while the Skulkin kept the Serpentine busy.
"NINJA, GO!" The six ninjas did Spinjitzu the knock away a few Serpentine blocking their path to the way out as the main six, young eight, the royal sisters, the Spinjitzu Brothers, Shining Armor, Cadance, Trixie, and Starlight followed behind.
"Don't worry about us!" Nuckal told them. "We'll keep fighting the good fight!" Flash stopped spinning and used his wing to give them a thumbs up.
"Thanks for the rescue!" Flash thanked their old enemies.
"I never thought I'd be saying this but... GO, NINJA, GO!" Kruncha cheered as the ninjas made it out with the four blades.
Just before Twilight could fly out of the hole, she spotted about four Serpentine eggs hidden in a corner. She thought about the egg they already have and thought it would be lonely when it hatches, so she used her magic to grab the other four eggs and flew out of the hole with them. Once everyone was back on the Destiny's Bounty, it took off into the sky.
Inside the ship Garmadon was packing a suitcase as Lloyd entered the room. "You're leaving?" he asked his father, not sounding surprised.
"Now that you are safe and the Ninja have the Fangblades, there is nothing else I am needed for," Garmadon told his son as he picked up his suitcase.
"I need you," Lloyd admitted with tears in his eyes. Garmadon looked towards his son with surprise before they both looked down as they knew some day, they would have to fight each other. "I know you have to leave. But do know this: When we meet again, I am gonna do everything in my power to defeat you."
Garmadon then padded Lloyd's head. "I wouldn't have it any other way," Garmadon said with a small smile before he turned to leave. "Oh, and son? You're a good colt. Soon you'll be a great stallion. Although we're now on opposite sides, I'm still very proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad," Lloyd told his father before he turned to join the others on the bridge. "Oh and Dad, I want to ask you-" He turned to say one last thing to his father, but Garmadon was already gone. "… about mom. So long, Dad."
On the bridge, everyone was celebrating their victory of getting all four Fangblades as they were all dancing to the music while a disco ball was shining around the room. On the table in the middle of the room are the four Fangblades and the five Serpentine eggs in incubators. Twilight explained that the reason why she took them is because she wanted the egg that they already had to have siblings and in hopes that when they hatch, they would help bring peace between Equestria and the rest of the Serpentine when they were old enough.
Lloyd soon entered the bridge with his ears dropped back and a frown on his face. Cozy Glow saw this and walked up to him. "He left, didn't he?" she asked with sympathetic smile before he gave a small nod in response. "Then have some Snogfruit punch." She offered him a cup filled with the punch. "Landrush made it and it's actually not bad."
"To Lloyd's dad!" Twilight raised a toast.
"Hear, hear!" they all said as they raised a glass.
"To Dad!" Lloyd said as he raised his glass.
"So now that we have the Fangblades, what do we do with them?" Silverstream asked as she looked at them.
"I already wrote to Star Swirl and he along with the rest of the pillars are meeting us at Torchfire Mountain, where we will destroy them once and for all," Celestia told them. "And it couldn't have been done without your father," she told Lloyd as she nuzzled the little colt. "I'm going to miss him."
"As am I sister," Luna said.
"As will I," Wu agreed as the continued to enjoy their party. However, outside of the bridge the heroes did not realize that a certain Anacondrai had snuck on board.
"You're going to miss more than him when I get through with you, Ninja," Pythor promised with an evil chuckle. It seemed the danger had not passed just yet.