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.