Chapter 12: Return of the Overlord
The sounds of the Horns of Destruction filled the island as Dr. Gear, Tempest, Capper, the CMCs, Cozy, and the others heard it back on the beach. "What in tarnation is that noise?!" Apple Bloom asked as the Serpentine babies were hissing and rattling their tails.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's gotten these babies all rattled up," Capper said he covered his ears.
Soon the Ninja, Mane Six and the rest arrived, "Wh-what just happened?! Th-The horns?" Dr. Gear asked as the horns faded out into silence.
"The Celestial Clock has reached zero," Wu explained. "Garmadon's Ultimate Weapon is now complete and operational."
"And the Final Battle between good and evil, has all but started," Celestia said worryingly.
"So you mean..." Cozy Glow asked, looking at Lloyd.
"Yes, Lloyd now must face his father," Misako confirmed.
"But where's Aqua and Spike?" Sweetie Belle asked when she noticed they were no longer with them. The others looked down with sadness as they knew what happened.
"They've been taken by the Overlord, but we'll get them back," Scorpan said as Flash placed his wing around Twilight and Trail placed a hoof on Thunder's shoulder.
"For now, we have more important things to worry about," Luna said, "including all of Equestria itself."
Thunder scoffed as he took off his hood. "Who cares about Equestria?!" he retorted. "Aqua was my—uh, my...you know," he struggled to finish.
"And she is my sister," Trail spoke up as he took off his hood.
"And Spike was like a little brother to me, so I know what you're going through," Twilight told Thunder. "I know them being captured is tough, but they're tougher. Aqua's the toughest unicorn I've ever known. Tougher than any of us, and Spike is there with her. I know we'll see them again."
Wu then turned to Lloyd. "Lloyd, your focus gives strength to invoking the power of the Golden Dragon," he told him. "You cannot lose faith now, everything rests on your shoulders."
"But sensei, you saw what happened when I could finally take out my father. I-I froze," Lloyd said as he looked down sadly. "I can't fight him."
"You can and you must," Wu told him. "It is written in the scrolls."
Misako approached her son with a smile. "Remember, your father is just as scared as you are."
"And that everything he has done up to this point, was to ensure he didn't have to fight you," Celestia said, placing a wing over him. "He won't enjoy this anymore than you will."
"Then the battle will be decided by who is willing to fight," Sensei Wu declared as Flash puts on his hood and took out his Elemental Blade.
"And you won't be alone," he told Lloyd as he stepped up. "I'll be right behind you. You have my wind."
"And you have my magic," Twilight said stepping next Flash, spreading her wings.
"And you have my fire," Trail joined as he took out his blade.
"And my loyalty," Rainbow added with a smirk.
"And my earth," Landrush said as he followed.
"And my honesty," Applejack said with a tip of her hat.
"And my life," Gaia added.
"And my generosity," Rarity joined in.
"And my ice," Frost joined.
"And my kindness," Fluttershy meekly added.
"And my lightning," Thunder joined in.
"Plus, my laughter!" Pinkie jumped up with a grin.
"And you've got the rest of us too!" Sandbar said as he and rest of the Young Six stepped up to Lloyd.
"We're all in this together, Lloyd," Cozy said as she and Lloyd shared a hoof bump.
Lloyd then smirked, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's suit up!" he declared.
All of them were preparing for the battle that was to come, as Celestia and Luna used their magic to conjure armor that covered their hooves, bodies, and wings.
Twilight and Flash were ready to fight as Twilight practiced her magic, after looking a picture of her and Spike when they were young, while Flash readied his blade and spread his wings for flight.
Tempest charged up her horn and blasted a few boulders before readying her armor.
Celaeno and her crew ready their weapons as Capper put on a cape and hat.
Misako readied her scroll bag.
Wu spun his staff and practiced some moves while balancing a cup.
Scorpan spread his wings and sharpened his claws.
Hope looked at a photo of her and Sombra as foals before she threw off her cloak and readied her magic.
All of Twilight's friends were also preparing as they practiced their fighting skills and magic for the battle ahead, while the Young Six also prepared by practicing their newfound powers as well. Cozy and the CMCs patted each of the Serpentine babies' heads before practicing some moves of their own.
Trail readied his blade as he did Spinjitzu.
Dr. Gear gave Frost an oil up as he closed his chest and then did Spinjitzu.
Landrush and Gaia were back-to-back as the latter flipped her mane. They both readied their blades, nodded to each other, and readied their blades.
Thunder looked at a photo of him and Aqua at Mega Monster Amusement Park, just as she was about to give him a kiss. He then did Spinjitzu, determined to get her back.
Lloyd flipped up his hood and focused with his eyes closed. "I'm ready," he said, opening his eyes.
The entire group began the charge right towards the enemy camp as they were prepared to fight to the end. They soon saw the gates to the camp up ahead as Lloyd jumped to the ground. "Get down, now," he whispered as they followed his lead.
"They won't know what hit them," Rainbow Dash whispered.
"Time to chop wood!" Gaia declared as they charged.
"NINJA, GO!" they all shouted, busting down the gate. But they were shocked to find the entire camp was deserted.
"Um, where the heck did everycreature go?" Boyle asked, scratching his head.
"Ugh, and here was ready to unleash my new bad-guy-butt-kicker cupcake special!" Pinkie complained.
"The Ultimate Weapon is gone!" Flash said as he pointed to where the construction site was. "We're too late." They walked across the bridge as they looked around for any signs of where they might have gone.
"Aqua? Aqua!" Both Trail and Thunder called out.
"Spike! Are you both here?!" Twilight called out. "I don't get it. Where are they?"
They then heard the Falcon of above as it circled around and flew towards them.
"My Falcon friend wants to show us something," Frost told them.
Rushing out the enemy camp, the party followed the Falcon who led them to a path in the jungle, where they saw large tracks heading outside the camp.
"Whoa, that's one BIG weapon," Smolder commented.
"Where are they going?" Lix asked.
"They seem to be heading towards the eastern coast," Rarity said.
Lloyd looked confused. "Why? Wouldn't they use it on us?"
"Wait, isn't the Eastern Coast in the direction of…" Hope started before her eyes widened. "Oh, no…"
"Not on us… On Equestria," Wu told Lloyd which made them all gasp in shock at realization. "Garmadon always wanted to turn our world into his own image. Now we know how it will be done."
"That Dark Matter we saw when we were getting the Keys," Twilight said as she realized what the stuff was for. "That stuff they were digging up, that's what will help them change Equestria. We have to stop them!"
"I'm afraid that's not even the worst part," Luna feared.
"She's right," Misako said. "If they start turning things evil, the balance will shift and allow the Overlord to cross over into our world!"
"Meaning this was Overlord's plan from the very beginning!" Flash said.
"Then we have to make sure that they never fire that weapon," Lloyd retorted as he puts his hood up. They began to follow the tracks towards the Ultimate Weapon when Frost noticed his mother was already out of breath.
"Mother," Frost called out as he ran over to Dr. Gear.
"You go on ahead," Dr. Gear panted. "I'm an inventor, not a fighter. I'll only get in the way."
"But what will you do?" Frost asked.
"She can watch over Apple Bloom, the girls, and the Serpentine babies while we fight." Applejack suggested as the CMCs and Cozy Glow groaned.
"But we want to help!" Cozy exclaimed.
"Things are about to get ugly when we face off against Garmadon and the villains, with an entire army backing them up," Twilight told her. "I'm sorry girls, but this is where you stay put."
The CMCs looked upset but they understood that with stakes this high there was no time or room for arguing. "Okay," Sweetie Belle huffed before hugging her sister, "Just come back."
"We will, Sweetie Belle," Rarity promised as she hugged back.
"I want you to come home. I don't want you to be gone like mom and dad," Apple Bloom said to Applejack as she hugged her.
"I'm gonna be honest, sugarcube. I'm not sure if I'll come back or not," Applejack admitted, "but I can only try. Just promise me y'all be strong until then." Apple Bloom gave a nod in response.
"A pony as awesome as you will win, right?" Scootaloo asked Rainbow.
Rainbow ruffled her mane. "I can't make a promise like that squirt, but I won't go down with a fight," she promised.
"I already lost one family; I don't want to lose another," Cozy said, rubbing her foreleg on the other.
Twilight pulled Cozy into a hug. "I'll come back, Cozy. I promise," she said softly.
"Ok… mom," Cozy whispered as Twilight tightened the hug.
"We'll be back at the Bounty, waiting for all of you to return in one piece," Dr. Gear told them before she looked at Frost. "But don't worry, a part of me will always be with you."
"Be well, mother," Frost told her as his Falcon landed on his hoof.
The others then ran in the other direction as Dr. Gears and the CMCs and Cozy watched them. "Be safe, son," the mare said.
As the others ran through the jungles, thoughts were running through their heads.
"Hey, have you guys been thinking about how this might be our final moment together?" Rainbow asked.
"Of course," Rarity and Gaia answered.
"Eeyup," Applejack added.
"It's all I can think about," Flash said looking down.
"We all have come a long way from our beginnings," Twilight added with a small smile.
"Yeah, it wasn't that long ago when Sensei first found us," Trail said as he remembered the day when he first met Sensei Wu. They then heard Thunder let out a chuckle.
"Hey, you remember that time when Trail thought he was the Light Ninja?" He asked them.
All but Trail, who blushed in embarrassment, laughed at that.
"That was quite the memory!" Frost said as something was watching them from the foliage.
"Yeah, he was so not!" Pinkie joked.
"Or how about the time, Twilight got so worked up about sending Celestia a letter, she made all of Ponyville fight over a doll?!" Applejack recalled as the Mane Six laughed and Twilight blushed.
"Ohoho, now I gotta hear that story when this is over," Flash smirked at Twilight as none of them noticed something flying over their heads.
"Or what about when the Hypnobrai hypnotized Landrush and we were forced to fight him?" Gaia reminded them, making them laugh even more.
"We should have just kicked his flank," Trail added as something zipped past them.
"Ha, you had to destroy my tree house," Lloyd complained with a happy look.
"Or how about that time Sensei and Celestia came out of the guts of the Devourer's belly drinking tea?" Flash recalled.
They all groaned and laughed as Misako grinned at Wu and Celestia, blushing in embarrassment.
"Oh, that was so horrid!" Landrush gagged while laughing as the two blurs zipped behind them.
"Yeah! I thought they were goners!" Rainbow laughed.
"Wrong again, Ms. Rainbowhead," Wu said as he lightly whacked Rainbow Dash in the head with his bamboo staff.
They all continued laughing before two blurs zipped past them and Tempest noticed them.
"Stop!" Tempest shouted as they all came to a halt. "Did any of you see that?!"
"Yeah, something's wrong," Landrush said as they looked around.
"Something is watching us," Mullet said.
"Where? Where?!" Thunder said as the two creatures jumped across the trees.
"I sense an evil presence," Frost said looking around.
"Oh, not now! Where is it?" Twilight groaned as the creatures kept jumping around them.
Celestia then saw something out of the corner her eye. "Above us!" she said as they all looked up.
They all stood back-to-back as they stand their ground before two things did Spinjitzu and hit both Rainbow and Landrush.
"Ow! My jaw!" Landrush groaned holding his cheek.
"That hurt!" Rainbow cried out.
The two Spinjitzu Tornados, one red and one purple, spun out as they knocked over Lloyd and Twilight.
"Nocreature does that to the Light Ninja and the Princess of Equestria!" Flash told the two Tornados as the red one jumped on the purple one. When the two stopped spinning they revealed themselves to be...
"Aqua?!" Thunder said.
"Spike?!" Twilight said as she tried to reach out to them.
"That is no longer Aqua or Spike!" Celestia said as she stopped her.
"What did they do to my sister and the little guy!?" Trail demanded.
The way Aqua and Spike looked was completely menacing and very dark. Both of their eyes were glowing dark purple. Spike was on all fours while his wings had spines on the tips of them, and the spikes on his back looked very sharp. Aqua on the other hand looked menacing with her two extra hooves in the middle of her body, her horn as sharp as a knife, and sharp teeth as daggers.
"They must've used the Ultimate Weapon to corrupt them!" Misako realized.
Aqua gave a primal yell and Spike released a powerful roar that blasted hot air on their faces as purple flames emitted from his mouth.
"Garmadon must have sent them to slow us down," Scorpan theorized as Aqua used her crafted magic to conjure up a ball and chain. "We must stop them from firing that weapon!"
"What are we supposed to do?" Smolder asked as the two looked ready to charge at them. "Use our powers on them?"
"NO! I don't wanna hurt Aqua!" Thunder told her.
"And I could never do that Spike!" Twilight added.
"They're right. We just need to find a way to keep them from-" Flash's sentence was cut off when Aqua through the ball and chain at his face and he fell to the ground. "...hurting us."
Both corrupted creatures let out a growl as they looked ready to attack.
"Well, we should think of something before Garmadon fires that weapon," Frost suggested as Flash was trying to stable himself.
"Lloyd, you go up ahead with the others while we take are of Aqua and Spike," Landrush told him as Thunder used Spinjitzu to grab Aqua's ball and chain.
Unfortunately, he also got hit in the gut. "Oh, that hurt!" he moaned as Aqua tried to pull free.
Spike was about fire at him but then Rarity jumped on to his neck. "Now, Spikey-Wikey, don't make this more difficult than it needs to be!" Rarity begged as Spike started thrashing her around like a bucking bronco.
"But you said you'd always be behind me," Lloyd reminded them.
"We will be! We'll catch up soon as we can!" Flash told them as Rarity got thrown off but Rainbow Dash quickly caught her.
"The Ninja are right! We must go!" Celestia told him as Twilight conjured up magic whips to grab hold of Spike and attempt to pull him down. "Good luck, young ones!"
With that, Lloyd, Celaeno's crew, Capper, Scorpan, Hope, the Young Six, Wu and the Royal Sisters kept running, leaving the Ninja and the Mane Six to deal with Aqua and Spike.
"Spike, please! I know you're still in there. Fight it!" Twilight begged as Spike snarled and broke free of his restraints and charged at her.
"Oh no you don't!" Flash remarked before making a wind wall in front of Spike, stopping him in his tracks. Aqua then threw her ball and chain at the group before Landrush quickly caught it.
"Not so fast, sweetheart! This dance ain't over!" Landrush told her before he used the chain to fling her over and she landed safely on the ground. She then flipped back and let out a growl as she took a battle stance. "Triple Tiger Sashay!" Landrush leapt towards her only for her horn to let out a sonic ring around him, stopping him in mid-air before she grabbed him by the hoof and flipped him over her. She then tossed him over to the others knocking them down like bowling pins.
As they stood up, Aqua leapt onto Spike's back and gave a primal yell as he roared at the twelve heroes charged again.
Meanwhile, the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings were following behind Lord Garmadon and his Legion of Doom as they were riding Garmatron through the jungle. As the Ultimate Weapon knocked down every tree it came across, they soon reached the beach and were prepared to unleash its power onto Equestria.
"Equestria is within reach," the Overlord said in anticipation. "Activate the Weapon so all will know of your rule! May I suggest… the Crystal Empire as the first target?"
Sombra raised a brow of surprise. "Not that I'm complaining but why shoot there first?" He asked the Overlord.
"It is a great source of light and love for the Equestrians. And more importantly, it is where the Princess of Love rules." the Overlord explained. "What better way to show power, than to turn a great source of light into a greater source of darkness? After all, the Umbrum are trapped underneath its grounds."
"You… You'd free them?" Sombra asked.
"You have… my word," the Overlord promised.
The Storm King grinned. "Well, I'm sold. Yo, Kozu! Do your thing and load the cannon!"
Kozu commanded his solider to load a missile loaded with Dark Matter into the ammo tank.
"Now all that's left is to push the button," Chrysalis said as she turned to Garmadon. "Do it."
"With pleasure. Finally, my darkest dream will now become reality!" Garmadon said as he walked up to the console and raise his hoof high, ready to press the big red button.
"Father, don't!" Lloyd's voice was heard that Garmadon stopped and turned to see him and the others coming out of the jungle.
"Lloyd!" Garmadon said.
"What are you doing?!" the Overlord demanded. "Push the button!"
"So, the balance has sent my son, my brother, my sisters, his little friends, and my wife to try and stop us?" Garmadon exclaimed. "It looks like our little surprise has kept the Ninja and the Council busy."
"Don't do it!" Misako shouted. "If you alter the balance, it will allow the Overlord to cross over."
"The balance will be destroyed, and we will all pay dearly!" Sensei Wu added.
"The Overlord has been planning since he was banished, Garmadon! Can't you see he's just using you and the others?!" Celestia pleaded.
The Overlord then floated over to Garmadon. "Don't listen to them," he said. "They betrayed you, whereas I have given you everything you ever wanted and more!"
"I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to!" Lloyd shouted towards his father. "This is about more than just us! This is about what is right!"
After a few moments of silence, Garmadon spoke. "Don't you all see? I will never do what is right!" He shouted with both hurt and venom in his tone. "The evil in my blood can never go away! It has corrupted every ounce of my fiber, every bone in my body, every cell in my veins! I am Lord Garmadon! Destiny took my family from me, and the only way for us to be together again is to turn everything in this world into my image! Then you'll see, you'll all see what I see, feel what I feel, know what I know!"
As he said those words, the Legion of Doom could not help but feel sympathy for his plight. It was a strange feeling, showing empathy and care for somecreature else other than themselves.
It felt… nice.
"It's not too late!" Misako spoke up. "We can-"
"You've made your decision, and I have made mine!" Garmadon interrupted her before he turned back to the console, raised his hoof high, over the button.
"NO!" the group shouted as Garmadon slammed on the button but the Ultimate Weapon did not fire as the computer showed a timer.
"Garmatron warming up," the computer said as it showed the warming up percentage. "In T-minus 20…19…18…17…"
The Villains looked at the timer in disbelief. "WARMING UP?!" they shouted in unison.
"Why didn't you warn us this weapon had to warm up?!" Tirek demanded the Overlord.
"How could I? Garmadon was monologuing," the Overlord excused himself, sarcastically.
"We have to get to the top of that thing and shut it down!" Tempest pointed out.
"Stop them until it's ready!" Nightmare Moon ordered.
General Kozu jumped down from the Ultimate Weapon as both the Samu-Taurs and the Darklings got in the way. Garmatron fired at them but Celaeno, Hope and Misako deflected the blasts. "Go!" Misako told her son.
Lloyd charged forward as the Legion of Doom joined the Fight, Nightmare Moon against Celestia and Luna, Tirek against Scorpan, the Storm King against Celaeno' Crew, Capper, and Tempest and Chrysalis against the Young Six.
"This ends now!" Luna said.
Nightmare Moon raised a brow in amusement. "I couldn't agree more," she said as they clashed weapons.
Lloyd managed to ran past and jump towards closer to the Ultimate Weapon.
"Come on, come on, come on!" Garmadon shouted impatiently as Lloyd landed on the Ultimate Weapon. "No!" The timer was already at five seconds as Garmadon locked hooves with his son just before the lieutenant, Roodaka, jumped back on and grab Lloyd.
"Got you!" Roodaka told him as the computer was counting down the last three seconds.
"3...2...1…" the computer said as Garmadon smirked and then the Garmatron fired.
"NNOOO!" Celestia cried out.
"We're losing," Lloyd said in worry.
Garmadon laughed. "And we… win!" he declared as they watched the missile fly towards Equestria and to the Crystal Empire.
The missile carrying the Dark Matter which the Ultimate Weapon fired soon reached the Crystal Empire, releasing the concentrated evil across the kingdom. Every Crystal Pony within the Empire saw this as the Dark Matter began to spread around them.
"What is that?!" Cadance exclaimed in shock before she, Shining Armor and Flurry watched as their subjects became corrupted, the Crystal Heart slowly turned black, and the darkness from the Castle spread.
"Cadance, we need to leave now!" Shining said as he led Cadance and Flurry out of the Castle and towards the train station, avoiding the corrupted Crystal Ponies.
And then erupting from below a horde of shadowy pony-like creatures with insect-like wings, and glowing eyes appeared, "Our Master has called us!" The leader spoke in a rasping female tone.
Back on the Dark Island, Garmadon let out an evil laugh as his evil dream his finally coming true and he is transforming Equestria into his own image.
"Again!" the Overlord demanded.
"Again!" Garmadon and his Legion of Doom repeated as the Samu-Taurs loaded the Ultimate Weapon up again. Lloyd was raised up by Roodaka as to not let him get a shot in.
"The balance is shifting!" Scorpan shouted with worry as he fought off his brother.
"Lloyd, you must focus and put a stop to this!" Sensei Wu reminded him.
Lloyd then closed his eyes and focus as he conjured up his power and a beam of light shined down before Garmadon pulled a lever and both he and Roodaka fell down a trap door. The two of them then rolled and fell out back as Lloyd crashed on the ground. The Legion of Doom then was able to overpower the others and knock them back before they joined Garmadon on the Ultimate Weapon.
"You think you can stop us?!" Garmadon asked before he pressed the big red button again and fired another missile filled with Dark Matter at Equestria.
"Our worst fears." Wu sighed as another part of Equestria was getting corrupted.
Back with others, Aqua had Landrush, Applejack, Flash and Twilight tied to a tree, Spike pinned Gaia and Rarity under his claws, Rainbow, Trail, Pinkie, and Thunder were stuck under a tree.
"This is not good!" Landrush strained.
"Thank you for stating the obvious!" Rarity groaned as she tried to push Spike off her.
Trail grunted as he tried wriggle out from under the tree. "We gotta help them, I just heard cannon fire from the beach!" he said.
"Tell that to your sister and Spike!" Twilight said as Frost and Fluttershy were hiding behind a rock, "It's twelve against two, and they're winning!"
"Only because we can't risk using our directly using our powers on them!" Gaia said.
That gave Fluttershy an idea. Frost was hiding behind a boulder and observing the fight when Fluttershy send those words.
"Perhaps we can use our powers, but without hurting them," she suggested as Frost brought out his Elemental Blade and broke the chain with an icicle that dropped Landrush and the others. Aqua fell back when the chain was cut before Frost iced the ground Spike was on and he slipped on it.
"I like it!" Flash said as Twilight used her magic to get the others out from under the tree. "Let's do it!"
The others regrouped as Spike blew a purple fireball at them, but Rarity created a diamond shield to protect him, "Landrush! Flash! Can you blind them?" she asked.
"Thanks to you, sure thing!" Landrush said as Rarity dropped the shield.
Landrush stabbed the ground and Flash blew the dust at Aqua and Spike, blinding them.
"Ahh! My eyes! I can't see!" Aqua yelled as Spike shrieked in pain as they walked around blindly.
"Trail, Rainbow, quick, cut those trees!" Twilight ordered.
"No problem!" Trail said as he pulled out his Elemental Blade and fired flames at a tree while Rainbow Dash used her magic to cut down a few more over both Aqua and Spike.
"I know where you're heading," Frost told Twilight as he used his blade too freeze the top of the trees trapping both Spike and Aqua inside.
"And just so he can't fire his way out!" Gaia said as she stabbed the ground with her blade and vines wrapped around Spike and his muzzle so he could not breathe flames.
"Sorry sis, but this club just became Ninja only!" Trail told his sister.
"We'll find a way to fix you later, Spike. I promise," Twilight told her little brother as they started to make their way where the others, along with the Ultimate Weapon, were.
In Ponyville, everycreature was just minding their own business, when another Dark Matter missile crashed into the town square and the dark substance began corrupting every good-hearted creature around.
Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie watched from behind a building in horror. "What's happening?!" Trixie asked.
"I don't know, but we can't stay here anymore. We need to move!" Sunburst said.
"Right!" Starlight said.
She did not want to run away from the school Twilight had entrusted her with, but they had to move. With that, they quickly moved past the corrupted citizens of Equestria and headed for Equestria City.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Discord cried, dressed in his fear and loathing outfit and carrying Angel, some of Fluttershy's animals, and the rest of his things, all in a chain of suitcases as he flew after them.
Back on the Dark Island the Overlord felt the increase of dark magic and began to laugh with vile joy, growing louder by the minute. "I tried!" Lloyd shouted as he felt like he failed.
"We know," Wu told him as the Overlord was laughing louder maniacally.
"It is done," Misako told her son. "The balance has shifted."
Storm clouds above them started to circle and spiraled above them as the Overlord was laughing so loud that the villains were getting annoyed by it.
"Stop laughing now!" Garmadon shouted at the Overlord.
"Yeah, this is our victory!" the Storm King added before Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis noticed the clouds changing.
"Ummmm… are you doing that?!" Chrysalis asked the Storm King as he shook his head in response. Each of the Keys of Darkness started to glow as the clouds continued to circle.
"What's happening?!" Tirek asked as and the others looked at their Keys.
"You all helped offset the balance!" the Overlord told the six of them as he continued to laugh. "Because of you, I can now cross over to your world! I'm finally free!"
"Wait a minute!" Garmadon shouted with rage. "You stole that from my playbook!"
"Well, you can forget it! Equestria is ours!" Chrysalis told the Overlord as she tried to command the Darklings to attack him, but they would not listen.
Each of the other villains tried to use their Keys of Darkness, but they would not respond to them.
"Did you fools really think I wouldn't plan for your betrayal?" the Overlord asked in a smug tone. "Those are my weapons. They were never yours to be begin with."
"But… But we had a deal!" Sombra shouted. "You swore each of us a piece of Equestria! On your word!"
"No. Equestria was never going to be yours. It… is… MINE!" the Overlord then began glowing purple.
"Hey wha-?" the Storm King said before his body began to glow purple and he yelled in pain.
And he was not alone in his suffering, as the other villains began glowing as well, screaming in agony.
"OVERLORD! What are you doing?!" Sombra demanded.
"He's draining us of all our magic!" Tirek said as his body turned into orange energy, Chrysalis became green energy, Sombra red energy, The Storm King blue energy, and Nightmare Moon purple energy.
The wisps flew into the Overlord, and then a beam of light from him poured down onto Garmadon as he roared in agony. Just then the Ninja and the Mane Six arrived. "Sorry we're late. Do we miss much?" Thunder asked as they saw Garmadon yelling in pain, falling to his knees. "Sweet Celestia," he squeaked.
Garmadon opened his eyes and felt to the ground as he felt something in his body...changing. He looked to his hoof started to turn into a claw. The extra hooves on the middle of his body started to transform into claws as well. On his head extra horns started to grow in as his face began to change as well. "What is happening to me?!" He asked as he felt more pain coursing through him.
"Are you scared?! I'm scared!" Pinkie cried.
"What is the Overlord doing?!" Flash asked as Garmadon's body began to mutate even more.
"Something…is very wrong here!" was all Garmadon could say before his head became dragon-like and from his fang filled mouth the Overlord's voice was heard.
"The Metamorphosis… HAS BEGUUNNN!"
"Metamorphosis?! What does that mean?!" Trail asked.
"Metamorphosis is a biological process by which someone or something changes into something new," Frost explained.
"Yeah, changes into something ugly!" Rainbow Dash said as she pointed at Garmadon.
The transformation soon worsened as the Overlord took began to merge his body with the other villains it had absorbed. His four forelegs altered, the upper ones becoming like Tirek's and the lower ones like the Storm King's. His four hindlegs had holes in them like Chrysalis and taloned feet. His tail shifted into the form of the Storm King's, with the same cloudy energy Nightmare Moon had. His wings became feathered at the start and ended looking draconic with see-through webbing between the framing. His horn started to curve and turn purple at the top like Sombra's, while two extra horns like Tirek's grew from his head.
"Father..." Lloyd spoke as he saw his father transform into a hideous creature but Celestia stopped him.
"No Lloyd, that creature is no longer your father," Celestia told him.
"Nor is it Sombra, Chrysalis or the others," Hope said as she saw the abomination her former friend had become.
"But what about the prophecy? It said I had to face my father," Lloyd reminded them before Twilight realized something.
"Not unless the prophecy wasn't talking about Garmadon at all," she told them. "What if it was talking about the Overlord this whole time?!" she told them.
"Of course! And now the Overlord has possessed Garmadon and merged the other villains into himself," Misako said before looking in worry. "And unlike your father, the Overlord will show you no mercy."
"You can do this, Lloyd," Flash encouraged him.
"We're here and behind you all the way," Thunder added.
"He's tough, but you're tougher," Gaia told him.
"But we have to act fast before his evil gets more powerful," Frost suggested as they heard the Overlord laughing.
"Let's do this!" Lloyd shouted as he put up his hood with determination.
"NINJA, GO!" They all charged and the Ninja did Spinjitzu at the Samu-Taurs and Darklings in their way. The heroes fought off the army and destroyed the tanks.
The Overlord gazed on with annoyance. "I need more dark power, but where to attack next?" He asked himself before turning to the Garmatron's computer to see. "Equestria City."
He then aimed the weapon at the city and then pressed the button to fire, only to find the weapon was still not loaded. Confused, he looked down and saw that the heroes had prevented his army from loading the cannon. "Thunder!" Wu called out as he, Celestia, Luna, and Misako tossed the missile filled with Dark Matter to him.
"This one's out of the ballpark!" Thunder shouted as he swung his blade and knock the missile far away.
"See to it personally that the cannon is loaded!" the Overlord ordered both Kozu and Roodaka.
They both spoke in their native language as they pounce towards the Royal Sisters before Sensei Wu kick them into the loading deck of the Ultimate Weapon. When the Overlord saw that it was loaded, he hit the red button and fired both Kozu and Roodaka at Equestria City. The Ninja and the Mane Six laugh at that while Sensei Wu chuckled.
The two screamed as they flew straight through the air, holding on to each other tightly before they crashed through the front window of Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo and landed on the floor.
As they groaned, Dareth came in with a scowl directed at them. "You and your little marefriend just messed with the wrong dojo, Mister," he told Kozu before he stamped his hoof as some foals and the Pillars came into the room. "Pupils, ATTACK!"
The foals gave out battle cries as they jumped onto the two warriors and proceed to pummel them, Kozu and Roodaka were unable to fight back due to being disoriented from their little flight and crash landing.
Back on the Dark Island, the Overlord slammed his fist down on the console in frustration. "Fine! I'll load it myself!" he shouted as Trail and Flash knock back a few Samu-Taurs before one that was mounted on a turret pointed right at them.
"Heads up, Flash!" Trail shouted when he spotted the turret. He and Flash dodge the laser fires as they both hop on top of it as Trail kick a Stone Warrior off it. "Sorry. But only two can dance this dance." He joked.
Flash then jumped off and kicked two enemies, a Stone Warrior and a Darkling, as Trail took control of the turret and fired at the Samu-Taurs while Flash did Spinjitzu to knock some of the enemies away.
While the Overlord's back was turned, Lloyd managed to climb up to the Garmatron and he turned to the colt, "This ends NOW!" Lloyd declared.
"And so, the Final Battle has begun," Celestia said.
"Let's hope he is ready," Wu said.
Lloyd recounted everything that has happened in Equestrian history, everything from Nightmare Moon's return to where he was right now. "After all this time, everything has led to this!" Lloyd said as narrowed his eyes at the grotesque creature before him. "My friends carried the torch of friendship and hope this far. I won't drop it now. I will defeat you Overlord!"
"Stupid colt!" the Overlord insulted Lloyd. "I've been planning this for thousands of years! All that had transpired in Equestria was all part of my plan! The Windigoes, Nightmare Moon's rise, the Serpentine! All were stepping stones to ensure I would return! Even controlling the Great Devourer to attack your city! You have no hope to defeat me!"
"Eat light!" Lloyd shouted as he shot a beam of light at the Overlord.
"Show 'em Lloyd!" Applejack declared.
The Overlord stood back and blasted a beam of dark energy at Lloyd. Lloyd dodged it but then the Overlord punched him off the Garmatron and onto the beach. As Lloyd picked himself up the Overlord charged up another attack and fire at him but Lloyd answered back with his own beam. After a brief struggled the Overlord fired another blast at Lloyd but he dodged it again.
Lloyd then focused his power and then blasted the Overlord into the forest.
"Yes!" Silverstream cheered before the Overlord flew upwards, completely unharmed, "No!" she cried.
The Overlord then laughed as he flew towards Lloyd like bullet and then crashed into the ground, knocking him right at the edge of the shore. "The battle for good and evil," the Overlord said as he approached Lloyd. "I can do this for eternity, but can you? Your friends can't help you now! You are all alone," Lloyd then stood up and removed his hood as he stared at the Overlord.
"No, I'm not!" Lloyd retorted with determination. "My father and every villain you absorbed are inside you! They will fight with me!"
As if on cue, Garmadon appeared as his body return to what it was before the Overlord took hold of him.
"Lloyd! Stay strong!" Garmadon told his son before the Overlord tried to take control again and the other villains started to take places as if they were fighting for control.
"Release us, you demon!" Sombra's voice said.
"You can't control me! I am a queen!" Chrysalis's voice yelled.
"I will not allow this!" Tirek's voice declared.
"I demand that you undo what you've done!" Nightmare Moon's voice demanded.
"This is so not cool!" the Storm King's voice whined.
After slapping his own head for a bit, the Overlord turned to Lloyd. "Fool, you cannot defeat me!" he declared, pointing at Lloyd.
Then Lloyd unleashed a beam of light at the Overlord that knocked him high in the air and crashed on the ground. Lloyd then charged at him before unleashing a flurry of blows at him before kicking him into the air.
"I can try!" Lloyd shouted as he unleashed another beam of light before the Overlord got up and blocked it with his own magic. He then fired two beans of his own magic at Lloyd and laughed as they're two beans collided. "Fight him, father!"
The Overlord struggled again as Garmadon regained control. "L-Lloyd!" he struggled to say as a tear formed in his eye, before the Overlord took control again.
"Fight HIM!" Lloyd pleaded.
"He is the Light Ninja!" Flash said as they all watched with anticipation.
"Come on brother, shake it off!" Wu begged as Misako held her hooves together with hope. The Overlord was having a bit of trouble as each villain including Garmadon was struggling to take control.
"You will not...take..." the voices of each of them told the Overlord as they fought him.
"FIGHT HIM!" Lloyd shouted at the top of his lungs.
"...His son/My son..." was the last thing Garmadon and the villains could say before the Overlord took full control.
"Your father...and those fools are...GONE!"
The Overlord then unleashed a powerful magic beam at Lloyd with all the horns on his head with his claws that encased him in a dark orb. Lloyd screamed in pain as the damage he was taking was severe as the Overlord laughed at his pain before he threw him far and Lloyd crashed on the sands of the beach.
"Lloyd!" Wu called out before him and Misako ran over to him.
"My son!" Misako cried with worry as they checked to see if he was all right.
The Overlord then aimed the Garmatron at the three, while the others watched in shock. "Ha-ha-ha, for a warrior of light, you weren't very…" the Overlord said as he pressed the button, "...bright."
The Garmatron fired the Dark Matter missile at Wu, Misako, and Lloyd. It would have hit them had the Destiny's Bounty not blocked it at the last second.
The heroes watched as Dr. Gear, Cozy, and the CMCS were steering the ship as it was spinning out of control, "I may not be able to fight!" Dr. Gear started.
"And we may be small!" Cozy continued.
"But we can FLY!" the CMCs finished as the Bounty was about to crash. Dr. Gear quickly grabbed the four fillies and Serpentine babies as she quickly ran away from the fog of Dark Matter covering the ship before she jumped off and the Bounty crashed.
"Well, that went well." Scootaloo commented as they were getting up from the ground.
"Enough!" the Overlord shouted and getting the attention of his Samu-Taurs and the Darklings. "We don't need to waste our time with their pestering! We'll go to Equestria City to finish this, once and for all!" A vortex then formed in front of them, a glimpse inside showing it led straight towards the city. The Overlord commanded his army to go through it with the Ultimate Weapon.
"If they go through, that means we'll be stuck here with no way back!" Capper told them.
They then rushed towards the vortex, "Get to the portal! go, go, go!" Trail said as flying over their heads was Spike with Aqua riding on his back.
"Buh-bye!" she taunted as Spike flew through the vortex. "Forever!"
"I'm there! I'm there!" Twilight shouted as she flew towards the portal but then at the last second the portal closed and Twilight landed on the ground, "NNNNNNOOOOOO!" She screamed as the ran toward her.
They failed.
The whole group was gathered around Lloyd before he came to and sold them all around him. He was then gently helped up by his mother and Cozy Glow. "Did I… Did I win?" he asked as they all hung their heads down.
"I'm afraid not, Lloyd," Scorpan answered. "But you're alive." Capper and Thunder then helped Lloyd up as he could not believe that they lost.
"But the prophecy..." Lloyd said as began to walk before he felt pain in his back right leg and nearly fell.
"Easy, kid," Capper told Lloyd as he and Celaeno helped him. "You've been through a lot."
"My leg..." Lloyd said as he was limping towards what's left of the Destiny's Bounty. "Did we lose the Final Battle?"
"What's important is we didn't lose you," Wu said as he walked up next to him.
Lloyd then walked closer to the Bounty before he stepped on a piece of wood and saw an ancient Equestrian symbol on it before he picked it up.
"The symbol for destiny," he said as he looked at the symbol. "Destiny showed us who was stronger today. But destiny also wanted us around to fight another day." They all gathered around him before looking out into the distance of their home that was now being corrupted by the Overlord as they speak. "We didn't lose the battle. Today, we just lost the fight." Now there were only two questions remaining: How will they return to Equestria? And who will come out victorious, when the Final Battle truly begins?