It was another Day in Equestria City, the creatures were waiting outside the Borg Store for the unveiling of the new Borg Watch. After the Overlord Virus Incident, Borg Tech changed the future of Ninjago with harmless appliances such as phones, tablets and other devices. Over the city was the Borg Blimp, detailing the release of Borg's new product.
Far away from the city, at the remains of the Monastery of Spinjitzu, which now had vegetation and animals growing out of it, Master Wu and Celestia sat in meditation before Wu then opened up his hand-clock.
The moment Wu opened his pocket-clock that showed the time at 5:30 p.m, thunder is heard as above the Monastery was a four-sided portal with red, blue, green and yellow color in it as coming out of was a stallion wearing a hood, his clothing was black, red and silver, on his chest there was the symbol of a gear and the hands of a clock while his eyes are goldish brown with black selca and green facial makings on it.
"Right on time." Celestia spoke simply.
"What?" The stallion said in surprise as he turned and saw Wu and Celestia behind him.
"Long time no see." Wu said, not turning from his watch.
"It's been a while, Acronix," Celestia greeted with a glare on her face.
Acronix seemed to recognize Wu's voice, "Master Wu?" He asked in surprise as he looked at Wu. "You look… old. As if your best days have passed. Not unlike your Monastery." He commented as he looked at the ruins of the Monastery once he saw it completely burned down and destroyed.
Wu put away his watch and stood up, "I still have plenty of days left, shall we finish what we started?" He asked Acronix, "I've been waiting decades for this."
"Really?" Acronix mused as he reached for his sword behind his back, "It doesn't feel that long to me." He stated before he looked at Celestia. "As for you, you look taller and what happened to your mane? It's like clownly water fall."
"You mean rainbow? Let's just say that I decided to go with a new look, since I retired from being a princess. But there's no time for that explanation." She said as the three narrowed their eyes. "This ends now." Celestia declared as the three stared at each other while waiting for the first move.
Meanwhile at the museum of history, the Ninja faced their greatest challenge, "This ends now, Samukai!" Thunder declared, wearing a new ninja outfit like the rest, as he was glaring at the plastic skull of Samukai before he had a bored look on his face. "Nope, pretending this is the actual thing does not make cleaning up the museum any more interesting."
"You can say that again." Rainbow complained, carrying a statue of Tirek, "This is so lame! We're the heroes of Equestria, not the cleaning crew!"
"Come on, guys, we're all kind of responsible for the damage to the museum." Lloyd said as he moved a statue of Pythor. "After all, if we hadn't had that massive battle on the Day of the Departed, this place would still be in one piece." He said as he rolled out the room.
"Ah ah ah, not true darling," Gaia said, walking in with a crate, "It was Dareth and the Flim, Flam brothers who destroyed the museum when Kozu and his warriors were chasing them."
"Yeah, and who's fault is that, Landrush?!" Thunder questioned as he and Rainbow gave Landrush a look while he and Gaia were putting some things away.
"Okay, how many more times do I have to say I'm sorry for accidentally unleashing the spirit forces of evil that attacked Equestria?" Landrush questioned after putting a painting in a wheelbarrow.
"How high can you count?" Rainbow questioned as Landrush was about to grab the wheelbarrow, but his hooves glowed orange as he dropped it while looking at his new powers.
"Speaking of which, you're still not used to having your old, non-ghost hooves back, Landy?" Gaia asked in concern as she picked the wheelbarrow back up straight and put the items back in.
"I'm working on it." He replied before he shook his hooves to make the glow stop. "Pinkie Pie has been calling my new power 'Magma Hooves', which I'll admit is a pretty cool name."
"Well, if they were magma, they would be hot." Gaia said as she walked up to Landrush and held his front hooves. "But, they're not really hot, but they do glow like your color." She said while giving a small smile to her coltfriend.
"Okay, can you two cut the sappy love stuff and move on?" Rainbow questioned with an eye roll.
"Easy there, Rainbow, we're going." Landrush said as he then grabbed the wheelbarrow and started pulling it out of the room as the others followed as Aqua placed her crate down.
"Ugh. This is exhaustion." Aqua said as she cracked her back and leaned on her crate. "If I could go back in time, I'd tell Dr. Saunders we were too busy to help."
"You said it, darling." Rarity said while fanning herself. "This is so much labor."
"Aqua, Rarity, you two may recall that the rest of us time-traveled twice." Frost said while moving the Kozu statue. "It can have devastating effects, and should not be used lightly. Certainly not to get out of labor."
"It's just an expression, Frost." Aqua said with a brow.
Flash then walked in with Morro, carrying a crate for the hall of Sidekicks, but then Morro bumped into a wall. "Oops," Morro said as he dropped the load on Flash's back hooves making him whimper.
"OWOWOWOW!" Flash yelped in pain as he hopped around holding his hoof.
"Heh, sorry," Morro apologized.
Flash hissed and rubbed his hoof before waving off with a pained smile, "Don't worry, I've taken worst. Still not use to the new body either huh?" Flash asked as the pain subsided.
"Yeah." Morro said while picking the load back up. "I'm still trying to get used to not being a ghost anymore." He added as he continued on. "It has been a while since I had my own physical body."
"Well, at least you're doing better than Landrush." Flash said while gesturing to the Earth Ninja. "He's been a ghost for a whole year and he had trouble adjusting to being flesh and blood again."
"Eh, probably because I possessed Lloyd one time and it felt like a physical body." Morro said with a shrug. "Though, I think the others may still have issues from our… last encounter."
"Give them time. They'll come around." Flash assured. "After all, you did help us remember Landrush and figure out what Yang was planning."
"Still, I'm not sure if I belong here in Equestria anymore." Morro said with uncertainty before Twilight walked up to him.
"So weren't the Pillars of Equestria after we brought them out of limbo, but they adjusted to our Equestria time nicely." Twilight said with an assuring smile. "Don't worry, Morro. You'll find your place. And you have us."
"If you say so." Morro said with a small smile as they continued cleaning up.
Trail was looking at a painting as Aqua walked up to her brother. "I… I don't believe it." He said in shock.
"What is that?" Aqua asked as they saw a portrait of two ponies, a unicorn mare and a pegasus stallion, with the mare with light blue fur with the stallion darker red.
"I think it's a portrait of… our parents." Trail said in shock as Aqua walked up to the portrait and looked at it.
"Actually, that's a portrait of your ancestors, the First Masters of Fire and Water," Clockwise corrected. "Otherwise known as The Siblings of Fire and Water. This portrait was made when your family's blacksmith job was first built after the Great War."
"Whoa, she's right." Aqua said after looking at the date on the back of the portrait. "This dates back to that time."
"I take it that your parents aren't around?" Clockwise asked them with a sincere tone.
"They disappeared when Aqua was only three years old." Trail explained. "We know so little about them too."
"But we do know that mom's side of the family are descendants of the Master of Water while dad's was the descendants of the Master of Fire." Aqua mentioned after conjuring some water.
"And they left us the old blacksmith shop and little else." Trail finished.
"They left us our powers." Aqua said with a smile.
"Hey, guys, look what I found!" Spike called as the others walked up to him as they saw a portrait of their old Monastery in some kind of battle with four familiar younger figures on the left side.
"Uh, isn't that Garmadon?" Thunder asked while pointing at seeing a younger Garmadon with his brother, Celestia, and Luna, each holding some sort of Gauntlet-like blades in one hoof while holding their standard hoof in the other.
"It is." Landrush said as he turned to Lloyd. "Lloyd, that's your dad."
"And there's Master Wu, Celestia, and Luna." Morro said to them while looking at the picture. "I know those faces."
"Garmadon looks so… young." Rarity said with a small smile before Applejack nudged her with a smirk.
"And I had no idea that Celestia's mane was so…pink back then." Applejack mentioned after looking at the young Celestia in the painting.
"Guess we have something in common!" Pinkie cheered with a cheerful smile and held Fluttershy close.
"Look at them, my father and my uncle, Equestria's two greatest Elemental Masters." Lloyd said in admiration to the mural.
"And my mentor and her sister, Equestria's two greatest princesses," Twilight added with a smile before looking down. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever live up to Celestia's legacy." She said.
"And I wonder if I could live up to either of my father's or uncle's." Lloyd said uncertainly before Flash placed a hoof on their shoulder.
"Hey, your not Garmadon, Wu, Luna or Celestia. Just Twilight Sparkle and Lloyd Garmadon," Flash said encouragingly. "You've both done great to this point so why stop now?" He asked as the two smiled in gratitude.
"First Trail and Aqua, now Lloyd and Twilight." Thunder spoke up with a smile. "It's family picture day at the museum." He joked.
"Does anypony recognize this battle?" Landrush asked in confusion.
"Pixal, analyze." Frost said as he walked up to the picture as Pixal scanned the mural.
"Facial contour mapping indicates this scene took place not long after the First Great War," Pixal deduced.
"After the Great War?" Rainbow repeated in surprise. "But Equestria was at peace. Who would they be fighting?"
"Well, our dad told us about it but he said it's nonsense of who they're fighting." Tempura mentioned while pointing to two stallions wearing masks in the mural.
"Refreshing time!" Dr. Saunders called out as he was carrying a tray with drinks on it. "Hot, sweaty work deserves a cool drink." He said.
"Ah, thanks, Dr. Saunders." Trail said as each of them took a cup as they all started drinking them.
"Enjoy the pickled beet tea." Dr. Saunders said with a smile, which made the Ninja and Council, minus Landrush, Pinkie, Thunder and Morro, do spit takes of disgust while Landrush looked at his cup.
"Uh… Oops!" Landrush called as he dropped his cup of tea on purpose. "New hooves. So clumsy."
Pinkie, Thunder and Morro looked at each other and shrugged. "You two first," Morro offered.
"Why thank you," Thunder said as he and Pinkie drank the tea and gave a satisfied smile, "Mmm!" He hummed.
"Yummy," Pinkie chirped.
Morro then drank his tea in one go and placed the cup down with a smile. "Ahh, been way too long," He said in bliss, missing being able to drink.
"Uh Dr. Saunders, can you tell us about this painting?" Twilight asked him while gesturing to the painting they were looking at. "Your daughter told us that you told them about the story, especially about the two stallions Garmadon, Sensei Wu, Celestia, and Luna are fighting."
"Oh, that? Nothing." Saunders replied. "Minor skirmish. No historical significance. That is why I don't hang it in the main gallery."
"Um, it looks pretty significant to me, this thing is huge," Pinkie commented.
"Yes, a huge myth. The folklore. Saunders added.
"But dad, you told us that it was a very important part in history with the Spinjitzu brothers and the Royal Sisters fighting against the Hooves of Time." Clockwise mentioned.
"The Hooves of Time?" Rarity repeated.
"I have no data on them in my database." Frost said to them.
"Well, supposedly there were two Elemental Masters, twin brothers, that controlled, as their name states, the most powerful yet dangerous element of them all: Time." Tempura told them. "Able to speed it up or slow it down, even stop it or reverse time itself."
"Basically all of time itself." Clockwise said to them.
Dr. Saunders gave a laugh. "See what I mean? Manipulate time. A ridiculous fairy tale." He commented.
"Uh, Starlight and I traveled back through time with Starswirl's time scroll." Twilight reminded him with a confused look. "But twin brothers controlling it, that's an interesting possibility."
"Well, we all thought that Nightmare Moon was just an old foalstale, and she turned out to be all too real." Spike mentioned.
"And the Pillars of Equestria." Pinkie added with a smile.
"Who's this one?" Aqua asked while pointing to one of the hands of time with a mustache.
"Oh, this handsome-looking fellow?" Dr. Saunders asked with a smile. "The legend says his name is Krux."
"And who's the nasty looking guy?" Lloyd asked while pointing to the second hands of time.
"Well from what dad told us, he's called Acronix." Clockwise said to them.
Back at the Monastery, Celestia and Wu started circling around Acronix as they each waited for the other to make a move. "You might as well give up, both of you!" He shouted at the two. "I'm the superior fighter! And your siblings aren't here to bail you two out!"
"No. But neither is yours, Acronix." Wu said with a look.
"And who's fault is that?" Acronix questioned.
"Garmadon, Luna and we did what we had to do to protect Equestria." Celestia told him with a firm tone. "You and your broth tried to take over Equestria and ruin the peace that we built!"
"And I will do what I have to do, and finish what we started." Acronix said as he drew his sword and charge at the two ponies. They clashed before they knocked him back to a pillar as Acronix dodged their strikes and magic blast before he climbed up and slashed at Wu's bo, cutting the tip off. "Huh. More spry than I would except. Let's see if you two can keep up." He taunted.
Celestia carried Wu as they flew up to the broken roof as they clashed with Arconix again.
At the Temple of Airjitzu, Ronin, Rivet, Wish Star, Cozy, Nyx, the Serpentine Kids, the Young Six, Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie, and Dareth are helping Misako and Luna unload the boxes they had brought to the Airjitzu Temple. "You think saving Equestria from evil is easy, try making an old temple into a new headquarters." Starlight complained.
"I don't get it? We have Canterlot Castle and the Bounty. How come we keep having a new place to move in?" Smolder questioned as she placed a box down. "How do they carry all this stuff around?"
"Come on, it's a temple that's flying in the sky on an island." Sandbar told Smolder. "How cool is that?"
"I think it's cool." Silverstream said with a smile. "Especially with the more solid ground and comforts of home that still gives power."
"Where do you want this last one, Misako?" Ronin asked as he and Rivet were carrying the last box in.
"Anywhere you can find room." Misako said with a chuckle as Ronin and Rivet placed the box down.
"Phew, okay, now for the really tricky part: unpacking." Rivet said while having a concern, looking at the multiple boxes. "Thanks again for helping us, all of you."
"Well, we are family. And what are friends for." Melody said with a smile. "Though, I am surprised Mom, Dad, and their team have so much stuff."
"How did all this fit into one ship?" Sky asked in wonder. "The Bounty is big but not that big."
"Gotta give them credit, they sure know how to fit so much in one ship." Cozy commented.
"I think mother is the one who helped them with that." Nyx said with a chuckle.
"Knowing Twilight, I get the same feeling as well." Gallus said with a sigh.
"I'm just happy to help." Trixie mentioned with a smile, sitting comfortably on a crate.
"Same here." Dareth spoke up.
"Help with what?" Wish asked them with a brow. "We were the ones doing all the heavy lifting of three hundred boxes while you both just sat there eating chips."
"I told you, I got a bad back." Dareth said in defense.
"And the Great and Powerful Trixie needs to supervise the unpacking." Trixie said as the others rolled their eyes. "Plus, I have a date with Blue Blood later and I don't want to get my hooves dirty."
"Sounds like something Rarity would say." Toxsa commented.
"Oh!" Luna spoke up as she saw something in one of the boxes and saw that it was Aqua's old Samurai X suit. "This came to the wrong place." She said as she held up Aqua's old helmet.
"Sweet sword fighter, get a load of that thing." Dareth said in awed.
"Aqua's Samurai Suit." Misako said as she walked up next to Luna. "This should have gone to her Samurai X Cave."
"What for?" Starlight asked in confusion. "I thought she gave up being Samurai X after accepting she's the Master of Water."
"She did." Luna nodded. "But she kept the mech and cave so we're sure she'd want this too."
"If nothing else, it's a souvenir of a past life." Misako finished.
"If it were me, I'd sell the whole kit and caboodle online." Ronin said while eyeing the suit before Rivet pushed him back.
"Don't even think about it, Ronin." Rivet said firmly but with a smile and waving a finger.
"Oh come on, a one of a kind tech like that and you think I'm going to pass that up?" He asked her before looking at Luna. "Some collector would pay a fortune. With that kind of cheese, she could buy all the souvenirs she ever wanted. Fill the place with some snow globes. Uh, tell Aqua I'd be happy to break her a deal. For a small fee, of course."
"Well, I'll just have to take it out of your paycheck," Rivet said with a grin while rubbing her chin. "I'd say about 10,000 bits?" She requested.
Ronin gapped, "What?! Do I look like I'm made out of bits?!" He asked in disbelief.
"Oh well, that changes things, 20,000," Rivet smirked while the others snickered.
"Okay, I see where this is going, and pretty clever, Snowflake." Ronin admitted before Dareth jumped down.
"Sell it? This baby belongs in a museum…" He said as he took the helmet. "Or my dojo."
"You still have a dojo?" Smolder questioned with a brow. "Didn't you sell it to pursue star making?"
"What? I have more than one job." Dareth said before he put on the Samurai helmet as he did sloppy hits and kicked the boxes. "Look out, Equestria, here comes Samurai D." He said as the others looked at him in confusion. "Samurai D." He repeated as the others shook their heads. "The D is for Dareth."
"Suddenly, the brown ninja sounds a lot better." Smolder whispered to her friends.
"You said it, Smolder." Ocellus said in agreement before she smirked. "So, you told Spike your feelings for him yet?"
This made Smolder blushed as she growled. "Really? Now?" She questioned as Ocellus giggled at her reaction.
Back at the monastery, Celestia ducked under a slash from Acronix while Wu used his staff to block the attack as they climb up higher. "Give it up, old ponies! I've got centuries on you both! I am faster, stronger!"
"That's your mistake." Wu spoke up. "You assume your youth is a greater weapon than our experience."
"But with age and experience comes wisdom and true victory." Celestia added.
Aronix then jumped up as Wu blocked his strike as he held onto the edge as he tried to strike Wu again before Celestia leaned him back before he caught himself from the edge as Acronix jumped up and Wu dodge his strike.
"Arrogant to the end." Celestia said with a glare. "Just like your brother."
"Arrogant? No…confident!" Acronix yelled out as he was about to strike them again, but Wu blocked and Celestia kicked him off as Acronix was about to trip over the edge as he dropped his blade.
Just as he was about to fall, Wu caught him by the cape and at that moment Acronix knew he was in deep stew. "Arggoant." Wu declared, "It was Krux's downfall, and now it's yours. Do you yield?" He questioned.
"Never." Acronix answered stubbornly.
"I would take a closer look at your situation if I were you, Acronix." Celestia said as Wu let go of Acronix's cape as he screamed before Wu caught him again as he was dangling further down. "Do you yield?" She questioned, narrowing his eyes.
Self-preservation kicking in, Acronix conceded, "I… yield." He sighed in defeat.
Wu and Celestia gave a small smile as they pulled Acronix up. "So 40,000 years after it began, the battle of the Elemental Masters versus the Hands of Time finally ended at precisely 6 p.m." Wu said as he opened up his hand-clock as it showed the precise time.
And not a second later did a vortex like the one Acronix appeared from opened up as a strange looking gauntlet with a green glow landed and suddenly Wu, Celestia, and Acronix appeared next to it as a wave of green elemental energy rolled throughout Equestria.
At the Temple, Dareth was still messing around with the samurai helmet. "Dareth, give back the helmet." Misako told him. "It isn't a toy."
"Give that back before Aqua decides to break your legs." Cozy told him.
"Please, allow-" Ronin started before the energy wave hit and they suddenly appeared in different places in the temple. Ronin was suddenly standing on top of Dareth as Wish Star was suddenly holding the helmet. "-me? How did I end up on top of you?" He said in surprise.
At Equestria City, the Ninja and the Council ran out of the museum with Tempura and Clockwise. "6 p.m. Quitting time." Trail said with a smile.
"Thank you again for letting us come with just so we could see that Airjitzu Temple." Tempura told Twilight with a bright smile.
"Well it's our-" Twilight started before the energy wave hit and they disappeared before reappearing on the bridge of the Bounty as an alarm started blaring. "-pleasure? What just happened?!" She questioned as they all looked around in confusion but Clockwise clenched her stomach in pain.
"Oh man, I don't feel so good…" She groaned in pain.
"Sis? What's wrong?" Tempura asked in concern.
"That was strange." Lloyd said in confusion. "Time just…"
"Move forward?" Flash finished in confusion.
Back at the Monastery, Acronix pushed Wu and Celestia back before he grabbed the green gauntlet and took Wu's pocket watch and looked at the time. "And at 6:01, the battle began again!" He called as he then swung the gauntlet at Wu and Celestia, who did their best to block it while pushing Acronix back.
Back at the Airjitzu Temple, the others are confused at the spots they're in now. "How did I get this?" Wish asked in confusion while holding Aqua's old helmet.
"And why are we in different spots?" Fang asked while scratching his head in confusion.
"I have the strangest feeling." Misako said in thought. "It's like deja vu, but in reverse."
"It's like time skipped a beat." Ronin said as Rivet looked at the clock.
"No, it skipped an entire minute." Rivet said in shock.
"Wait, that's impossible, right?" Trixie asked in confusion.
"Yeah, it shouldn't be possible for time to skip an entire minute." Starlight said in shock.
"I've felt this type of energy before," Luna said, recognizing the scenario.
"Please get off of me!" Dareth cried out with Ronin still on his back.
Back on the Bounty, Tempura is comforting her sister while the Ninja and Council look around. "Um, weren't we just outside?" Landrush asked in confusion.
"Yeah, when did we get back to the Bounty so fast?" Rainbow asked in confusion. "Fast even by my standards."
"How did we get here?" Spike asked in wonder.
"My circuits are picking up an energy displacement." Frost spoke up.
"There was a displacement all right." Trail said while rubbing his chin. "It displaced us right in here."
"It seemed to fit what would have taken a minute into a second." Morro deduced.
"What is going on?" Twilight questioned.
"I don't know, but it's loud!" Thunder yelled while covering his ears from the alarm.
"And why does my body feel like it's on fire?" Clockwise questioned through her moans of pain.
Back at the monastery, Wu and Celestia are still fighting Acronix, who now has the advantage with his gauntlet as they were pushed back a bit. "You two have your chance. You both should've let me drop." Acronix said as he pointed the gauntlet at them with a chuckle. "Now, let's see if your experiences are more powerful than…" He stopped as he pointed the gauntlet up as green lightning was absorbed in. "The Time Blade!"
Wu and Celestia glared at the Time Blade as they know what it's capable of while in a ready stance.
On the Bounty, the others are on the monitors while trying to find the source. "These energy readings are off the charts!" Aqua called in shock. "Where is it coming from?!"
"I'm trying to pinpoint the location!" Frost shouted as Thunder continued to cover his ears.
"How about pinpointing the location of the off button?!" Thunder called out. "These alarms are giving me a-" he stopped complaining when Twilight pressed a button on the console to turn off the alarms. "...headache. Ha, ha. Thank you."
"C-Can you guys slow down?" Clockwise asked them. "You're talking way too fast, it's giving me a headache."
"Uh sis, they're talking normally." Tempura told her sister.
"Hm, this is surprising." Frost said after looking at the readings.
"No, it's not." Thunder replied. "I've always had it sensitive ears and-"
"Not that, Bolt-for-brains, Frost meant he knows how we suddenly appeared on the Bounty all of a sudden." Rainbow told them before she looked at frost. "Right?"
"Yes, I do." Frost nodded.
"Then how?" Gaia asked.
"The displacement we experienced was not caused by just any normal energy. It was temporal energy." Frost explained to them.
"Oh, well, temporal energy." Thunder said with a sheepish smile. "Of course. Everypony knows that's, um… powerful."
"Yeah, very powerful." Pinkie said with a smile.
"You two have no idea what 'temporal' means, do you?" Trail asked with a small smile.
"We do not." Both Pinkie and Thunder admitted in unison.
"Don't feel bad, Lloyd didn't know what Cliché meant," Landrush teased.
"At least I know that Temporal means 'time'." Lloyd shot back.
"Precisely." Frost spoke up. "Whatever created that displacement can warp the very fabric of space-time."
"Which is powerful, right?" Thunder asked them as Clockwise continued to hear them talk fast and groaned in pain.
"Very. All the normal rules of existence no longer apply to such a force." Frost explained.
"Told you it was powerful." Pinkie said to Trail with a smirk.
"Well this temporal displacement also made my sister sick." Tempura mentioned.
"Please talk slower!" Clockwise complained before Fluttershy walked over to her.
"I'll take her down to our living quarters and see if I can make her better." She mentioned before guiding Clockwise out of the bridge.
"What's wrong with Clockwise anyway?" Morro asked with a brow. "She suddenly got sick the second we got on the Bounty."
"At the same time that temporal energy hit us. Interesting." Twilight said while rubbing her chin.
Back at the Monastery, Acronix pushed Wu back and he and Celestia blocked his strikes as the two were backed away from his attacks. "That's right, flee, Master Wu and Princess Celestia!" He taunted as Wu and Celestia pushed him back. "'Master', 'Princess'. Ha!" He mocked while holding the Time Blade. "To think my brother and I ever took orders from you two!"
Celestia and Wu glared at him before he charged at them. They leaned back as the blade caught strands of Wu's beard and Celestia's mane as they jumped back. "Weak! Afraid! Lacking any ambition!" Acronix yelled as the three circled each other.
"Your only ambition was to rule." Wu said to him.
"Because Krux and I deserved to rule!" Acronix retorted. "Do you two recall what I said, on this very ground, 40,000 years go?"
"Control time…" Celestia started with a glare as thunder clapped.
"Control everything." Wu finished.
"Excellent memory, old ponies." Acronix taunted. "And look who controls time again." He said as he looked at the Time Blade. "Just need a moment for my Time Blade to recharge." He said befor he charged at them as the three clashed.
Celestia then blasted Acronix to a pillar of the monastery as he fell down with the woods falling on him. Acronix groaned as he got the wood off him and saw that Celestia and Wu were not there. "Gone?" He asked as he stood up and look around for any sign of them.
Wu and Celestia were hiding at one of the remaining walls before they jumped in front of Acronix and tried to get him. But he quickly jumped back and swamped their attacks away. "It ends now, Arconix!" Celestia declared.
"It most certainly does." Arconix replied with an evil look in his eye as his Time Blade was glowing bright. Wu and Celestia were about to strike, but Acronix disappeared as he reappeared behind them just as Wu swung his staff while Celestia fired a magic blast before they turned and saw Acronix behind them.
"No, no, no, I'm not there now." Acronix mocked as the two dodged his strike from the blade. "That's where I was then." He said before Wu kicked him back to another pillar. Aronix saw the two charging at them, but he dodged a blast from Celestia and a strike from Wu's staff as they hit the pillar of what remains of the monastery's tower.
Acronix quickly moved away as the tower fell on Celestia and Wu as they were piled on with some wood as Acronix jumped up on what remains of the roof and saw the two get free as the Time Blade glowed brighter. "You know what that means. I'll see you two in just a…" Acronix stopped as he disappeared as the two looked for any signs of him. "...a moment!" He declared before he clashed blades with them. He soon reeled back before punching the two with a powerful energy surge from the blade that sent both Celestia and Sensei Wu flying back. Both of them seem to be covered in the same energy as the blade before they crashed onto the ground.
"Control time, control everything!" Acronix recites as Wu and Celestia start shaking with green energy surging through them.
Back onto the bounty, Frost hooked himself up to the console as they were trying to locate the source of the energy. "Okay, yes, there was a little hiccup in time." Thunder started to speak. "But just one. I'm sure it was nothing."
"Thunder, when has nothing ever happened in Equestria?" Flash asked him rhetorically.
"Okay, good point. But they probably happen all the time, and we don't realize it." Thunder said to them. "You know, like deja vu. Can we go home now?"
They ignored him as Morro gave a look. "I was in Lloyd's head, and I seem to have forgotten how much of a whiner he is." He said with a brow.
"You said it, partner." Applejack said as Frost looked at the monitors where Pixal is scanner around Equestria.
"Seriously. We just cleaned up an entire museum! Aren't you guys tired?" Thunder questioned.
"Don't you Ninja have a saying that Ninja never Quits?" Tempura questioned with a brow.
"She got a point, darling." Gaia said in agreement as Thunder groaned. "Frost, did you and Pixal find anything?"
"Well…" Frost started.
"Well?" Aqua repeated, letting Frost continue before Pixal spoke up.
"I've located the surge's epicenter." Pixal spoke up.
"Where, Pixal?" Frost asked.
Pixal then brought up a picture of their old Monastery. "The First Spinjitzu Master monastery." She answered.
"The monastery?" Landrush asked in confusion. "That place totally burned down. Why would anypony or anything be up there?"
"We should find out." Twilight spoke up as Thunder groaned.
"Oh, why? Landrush's right." Thunder said. "There's no reason for anypony to be up at the monastery. Frost's probably malfunctioning." He said as Frost stared blankly at the wall.
"Self-diagnostic indicates negative." Frost said before Thunder hit him on the head.
"How about now?" Thunder asked with a hopeful smile.
"No." Frost answered.
"You are way desperate, Thunder." Spike commented with a brow.
"Just wanting to make sure." Thunder said in defense.
"Thunder, stop trying to make an excuse out of our jobs." Flash said with a look. "And I agree with Twilight. We should go."
"Ditto." Trail said with a nod. "Where there's smoke, there's usually fire."
"And where there's massive energy displacement, there's usually trouble." Aqua added.
"Uh, well maybe it's, like, you know, a harmless massive energy." Thunder said as he gave a chuckle while the others gave him dull looks.
"Dude, there's no such thing as harmless energy displacement." Morro said as Thunder slapped himself.
"Come on. Seriously, I'm exhausted." Thunder complained. "We did our good deed for the day."
"Remember what Master Wu said, never put off until tomorrow what can be done today," Gaia reminded Thunder.
Lloyd then remembered something. "Wait, Master Wu and Celestia said they were going to the monastery. Something about 'finishing an old fight'." He reminded to them. "They said this was something they should do alone." This made them all worried.
"You don't think…" Fluttershy trailed off in concern.
Thunder then sighed as he knew they were right. "What are you waiting for?! Get us to the Monastery!" He yelled.
"Okay, there's that ninja spirit." Tempura said as the others then started pressing on the controls and got the Bounty airborne.
"Sorry we have to drag you and your sister along, Tempura." Twilight apologized. "We'll take you two home once we find out what's wrong."
"Sure. I hope my sister gets well fast. She wouldn't miss you all in action." Tempura said with a small smile as the Bounty then took the air and flew off at high speed.
Back at the Monastery, Wu and Celestia struggled to get up as Acronix walked towards them. "Ugh. Ouch. That last hit hurt, didn't it?" Acronix taunted as Wu and Celestia weakly got up while Celestia winced as she felt her wings hurt as she turned and saw one of it injured from the crash. "The blade gives it a little extra kick. I think I'm going to call that one the Time Punch. And its effects are devastating." He added with a sinister tone as Wu and Celestia weakly glared at him.
"We…" Celestia started in pain.
"We made a mistake." Wu finished.
"Yes, you two did." Acronix said to them. "You two never should have challenged me. Not 40,000 years ago, not today." He said before he walked up to them. "Don't worry, I can be merciful. I figured one more charge, one more Time Punch, and it will all be over fast." He said as he aimed the Time Blade at them. "Oh, how I wish my brother was here to see this."
"Me too." Wu said in agreement.
"Seems we'll have to play the final card." Celestia mentioned as they nodded to each other.
"Ninja, go!" They both shouted as they did Spinjitzu. Acronix was then knocked back by their tornado as he was sent flying to the roof, losing the blade as Celestia and Wu tackled him, but Acronix easily tossed them over as they fell and they each grabbed hold of a branch while dangling in the air as Acronix looked down.
"Hm! You know what they say. If the Time Punch doesn't get you, the fall will." Acronix said to them before he realized something. "Actually, no one says that. But they should." He muttered before he looked down. "Farewell. I'd like to stay to the end, but I have somewhere to be." He said as he walked back down to the ground before he looked up and saw the Harmony Bounty flying towards him. "I don't believe it. The legendary Destiny's Bounty." He said in awe, recognizing the details. "But what is a centuries-year-old pirate ship doing here and now? Flying? This has been a strange day." He said to himself.
On the Bounty, the Ninja and Council looked down at the remains of the Monastery. "Hey. Has anypony seen Master Wu and Celestia?" Lloyd asked.
"Mm. I only see that guy." Pinkie said while pointing at Acronix.
"Who's that?" Landrush asked.
"I don't know. Let's find out." Thunder said as he walked up to the anchor.
"No, no, wait. What if…?" Twilight tried to say as Thunder released the anchor as he rode it down. "Thunder!" She called out.
Thunder made it to the ground as he walked up to Acronix. "Yeah, hi, excuse me, I'm looking for a couple of ponies." He told him.
"That's no pirate." Acronix whispered to himself after seeing Thunder.
"What is he doing?" Morro questioned as they all watched from the bounty.
"Who do you seek, ninja?" Acronix questioned Thunder.
"A Spinjitzu Master and a former alicorn princess." Thunder replied. "One is yay tall, long beard, goes by the name Wu. The Alicorn is super tall, has a flowy mane, goes by the name Celestia."
"Haven't seen either of them." Acronix lied before Thunder pulled out his nunchucks.
"Odd, because judging by the new scorch marks around here, I think you have." Thunder said suspiciously as sparks were coming off the chains of his nunchucks.
"Thunder just pulled his nunchucks." Lloyd said with a serious expression, seeing a fight was about to begin, "We better get down there."
"Not gonna work. There's not enough room down there!" Twilight told him.
"It's just one guy, I'm sure Thunder can handle, um, whoever that is." Landrush waved off.
"Doesn't he look familiar, Tempura?" Clockwise asked as her and her sister looked down and look at Acronix.
"Yeah, it looks like…" Tempura then gasped at what she saw. "Acronix!" She called, which surprise the rest of them.
"Acronix?! As in, Acronix and Krux, the Hooves of Time?!" Landrush asked.
"From the painting?" Trail asked in shock. "But Dr. Saunders said that battle wasn't real."
"And even if it was, it was 40,000 years ago." Lloyd spoke up. "Acronix shouldn't be around today. But that guy down there is alive and young." He said after looking at Acronix.
"But that's impossible!" Aqua called from the bridge. "Unless. He time traveled?"
"We have to get down there, now!" Twilight called as Aqua moved the Bounty closer.
Thunder then charged at Acronix while swinging his Nunchucks as the two fought before Thunder punched Acronix back before he shot lightning at him. But Acronix blocked it with the Time Blade and disappeared to avoid another lightning as Thunder looked around in confusion before Acronix appeared behind him and whacked Thunder from behind, sending the Lightning Ninja crashing into some debris and getting stuck on some wood.
"A moment ago, I had no quarrel with you." Acronix said as he walked towards Thunder. "Unfortunately for you, I do now." He said as he raised the Time Blade.
The Ninja and Council saw this as they then slid down the anchor chains while Tempura and Clockwise remained on the Bounty. "Did you see that?! It's like…" Spike tried to say.
"He jumped forward in time!" Gaia finished.
"Oh yeah? Let's see him jump this!" Landrush declared as his Magma Hooves glowed before he jumped off the chains and shot some rocks at Acronix, stopping him from coming towards Thunder as Landrush landed on the ground and was about to land a punch on Acronix, but the master of time caught him by the hooves and spun him around before tossing Landrush to the others as they fell to the floor.
"More Ninja and more Alicorns? Curious." Acronix said as the Ninja and Council stood up as Thunder came next to them.
"NINJA, GO!" The Ninja and Council then all did Spinjitzu towards Acronix, but he simply raised the blade as he disappeared and reappeared behind them as the heroes tripped in their Spinjtizus and fell onto the ground.
"You only missed me by a few seconds." Acronix taunted.
Aqua then sighed. "Sometimes I wish I was still Samurai X instead of a Ninja." She groaned.
At the edge, Celestia and Wu are still hanging by the branches as they tried to climb up, but was struggling to even climb up.
Back up top, Tempura and Clockwise watch the battle from the Bounty. "Acronix is fast forwarding so much that the others can't seem to lay a hoof on him!" Tempura cried out in worry. Clockwise continued to clench herself as she still felt pain inside of her. "Sis?!"
"Your friend up there is right." Acronix told them.
"You may be fast, but are you faster than this?!" Trail questioned as he quickly threw a fireball right at him, but he simply stepped to one side to dodge the fireball. The fireball however, made what's left of the monastery lit up in flames.
Acronix then gave a laugh. "Ha, ha. Elemental Master of Fire. I've encountered one of you before. Long, long, ago." He said to Trail.
"Huh? You met my ancestor?" Trail asked before Acronix used the Time Blade to disappear.
The heroes looked around before Aqua saw him on the remains of the roof. "There he is!" Aqua called out.
"Ninja… come out and play." Acronix said with a sly tone.
"Okay, this is getting annoying!" Rainbow complained.
"Spike, Morro, Council, Trail, Gaia, Landrush. We get Acronix." Lloyd spoke up. "Flash Aqua, Frost, use your elemental powers to put out this fire." He instructed.
"Ninja… Come out and play." Acronix repeated while waving the Time Blade.
Thunder then realizes something. "Hang on, who put you in charge?" He questioned. "Why can't I help with the flames?"
"Thunder, do you really think lightning is better than water, ice and wind for stopping flames?" Rarity questioned with a brow.
"Good point. Let's go!" Thunder called as the group then started attacking Acronix while Frost, Flash, and Aqua went out to put out the fire.
"You got lucky last time." Landrush told Acronix as they both took battle stances. Acronix then jumped back when Landrush tried to kick him before he jumped forward and tried to deliver a punch but only ended up stuck in a wall.
"Clumsy! Like a fawn standing on her new legs." Acronix mocked before he saw the others jumped up and summoned their powers as they fired on Acronix, but he dodged their attacks as he ran around the roof.
Back with Celestia and Wu, they tried to climb again, but then their branches began to break.
Back up top, Frost, Flash, and Aqua continue to put out the flames while the others keep pouring their powers, boxing Acronix in. "Yes! Keep moving him back!" Twilight called out. "He's gonna have to surrender, or else the flame will get him!"
"Here's Acronix!" He shouted as he taunted them with his blade. They then fired their powers at the blade as he did his best to hold his own.
"It's gonna blow!" Applejac called out while the Time Blade then gave off a small explosion, which Clockwise yelled as her eyes glowed a bit green before she fainted.
"Clockwise?!" Tempura cried in concern as she held her sister, as neither of the group noticed Acronix disappeared and reappeared on the stairs before he quickly walked off before any of them noticed. The group was laying on the ground as they were knocked back by the blast before they quickly came to and sat up.
"Ah, the place is burning down again!" Thunder called out when he took off his hood. "Man, this place just cannot catch a break." He commented as the others looked around.
"Neither did Acronix." Lloyd said to them.
"Good." Rainbow said in relief. "You know me, I don't back down from a challenge, but I wouldn't want to face that pony again."
"No way." Landrush agreed. "He moved at, like, the speed of time. I could barely catch up with that."
"Come on, guys. Let's get back to the Harmony's Bounty." Lloyd told them.
"But what about Celestia and Wu?" Twilight questioned as she stood up. "We still don't know where they are!"
"Quick, spread out and find them!" Lloyd ordered as they quickly went to look for Celestia and Sensei Wu.
Landrush and Morro rushed up to where the Dragon's stables used to be just as Wu and Celestia's branches broke as they began to fall with screams, but Landrush, who have his Magma Hooves on, and Morro quickly grabbed them, with Morro catching Celestia's hooves while Landrush catching Wu's.
"Gotta… hang… on." Landrush strained.
"A little help, guys!" Morro grunted as the others came to them and helped the two pull Celestia and Wu backup as the two panted.
"Barely made it." Landrush said while looking at his hooves as they stopped glowing.
"Masters, are you both alright?" Morro asked in concern as Celestia and Wu got up.
"I fear not." Wu said to them.
"Why was Acronix here?" Frost asked.
"How did he do that?" Pinkie asked next.
"Why were you two fighting him?" Thunder asked next.
"Celestia, what's going on?" Twilight asked her former mentor.
"My little ponies, there is much to tell you." Celestia said with a frown. "And not much time."
"Come on, we better get you two back to the temple to get treated." Flash said to the two.
"Wait, shouldn't we get Clockwise and Tempura a ride home?" Rarity asked.
"Sorry, no time. Wu and Celestia come first." Lloyd said to her. "We'll take them home tomorrow. They'll have to spend the night with us."
"I'll write a letter to Dr. Saunders to let him know his daughters are staying with us for the night." Spike said as he took out a paper and quill as they headed back to the Bounty, not noticing that one of Celestia's feathers from her wings fell off.
Speaking of which, Clockwise was laying on the ground with her sister standing next to her with a concerned look on face. "T-Tempura…" Clockwise spoke as Tempura noticed a strange green glow coming off of her sister before Clockwise opened her eyes as they glowed green. "I feel strange…"
Meanwhile at the museum, Dr. Saunders was looking at his pocket watch before he saw someone coming in. "Where have you been?" He asked as Acronix took off his hood and mask to reveal a green facial mark between his eyes and he also has a dark green mane with blue streaks.
"Sorry I'm late." Acronix apologized. "Ran into some Ninja trouble. Equestria certainly has changed since I was last here."
Dr. Saunders then reached up and removed his mustache to reveal it was fake before he smiled at Acronix. Acronix smiled back as Saunders removed his glasses, revealing he has the same green facial markings between his eyes and suit to reveal the same one Acronix is wearing before the two of them hugged each other.
"Indeed it has, brother." He said, without his odd accent, as it is revealed that he was really Krux, but looked to be at least forty years older.