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.