Rise of the Spinjitzu Master

Title card.

**Rise of the Spinjitzu Master** (**A Canterlot Wedding Battle - Part 2** in other media) is the seventeenth and final episode of The Friendship Continues and thirty-fifth overall episode of *LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: Masters of Friendship*. It is based on LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu episode of the same name and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode, *A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2*.

Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are set to be married, but Queen Chrysalis has a devious plan to ruin Shining Armor's happily ever after and the future of Equestria. This turns to be worse when the Overlord's forces invade Ninjago, and its up to Lloyd (with the help of the Alicorn princesses) to fight against the Overlord in this true final battle.

## Plot

### Trapped

Princess Cadance's imposter has trapped Twilight Sparkle in the caves beneath Canterlot. The image of her false form appears on the crystal walls, and she hints at her plans for Shining Armor and taunts Twilight. Twilight shoots magic at the cackling reflections and blasts away a wall to reveal the real Princess Cadance, startled and disheveled. Twilight quickly has Cadance at her mercy, believing her to be the imposter. Cadance pleads with her, telling her that she had also been imprisoned inside the cave, but Twilight doesn't believe her. Cadance finally recites the "Sunshine, Sunshine" rhyme she had taught Twilight as her foal-sitter, which the imposter didn't know. Twilight's suspicions are banished, and the two embrace.

Dark clouds gather over Ninjago City, forming a huge vortex in the sky. Dareth, Lou, and the others assume that the Ninja have returned, but the Garmatron appears instead. Determined to protect the city, Dareth challenges the advancing tank, but the Overlord drives him off with a few shots from the tank's side-mounted turrets. As a corrupted Nya looks on and Dareth wonders where the Ninja are, the Garmatron continues to fire shots into the city, spreading Dark Matter everywhere—atop the tank, massive wings emerge from the Overlord's back.

In the song This Day Aria, Cadance's imposter sings about how her plans will come to fruition as she prepares for the wedding in Canterlot, and the real Cadance sings about her determination to save her fiancé as she and Twilight try to find a way out of the crystal caves. After the song ends, a camera pans back on the Island of Darkness, the heroes are in a depressed slump over their recent defeat. Dr. Julien bandages Lloyd's injured leg, Jay wonders if they'll see Nya again, and Sensei Wu admits to Kai that for once, he has no words of wisdom to give. However, Lloyd rallies his friends, reminding them how they brought him from the path of evil to become the Green Ninja. He believes that there must have been a reason why they were chosen to carry on the legacy of the First Spinjitzu Master: they're ninja, and ninja never quit.

The Ninja are heartened by the speech but realize that they still have no means of reaching Ninjago. Kai is preparing to swim across the Endless Sea himself when Zane sees the Falcon gliding down to meet him once more. Deciding that the mechanical bird wants to show them something, the heroes follow the Falcon in Kai's Fire Mech, back to the Temple of Light. Cole wonders why they have returned, but Misako finds an area of the temple resembling a picture in one of her scrolls.

When the Ninja insert their Elemental Blades into the four slots around the room, the center of the floor opens up to reveal a large golden mech. Misako identifies it as the fighting suit used by the First Spinjitzu Master to battle the Overlord, but Dr. Julien notes that the eons have reduced it to a non-functional relic. Sensei Wu believes that Lloyd can remedy that—sure enough, the Green Ninja's presence in the cockpit restores the mech to its original state. Learning that the mech can fly, Misako quips that at least one of them can now reach Ninjago. On cue, the Ultra Dragon arrives, and the other heroes use it to accompany Lloyd back to Ninjago City.

However, Ninjago City is not as they remember; everything is shadowy, the people are apathetic puppets of darkness, and a massive tower dominates the skyline. Sensei Wu identifies the latter as the Garmatron, transformed into a fortress by the Overlord. Moving to the ground to get a better look, the Ninja narrowly avoid being hit with a blob of pure darkness—atop the tower, a massive black dragon roars to the sky. Misako realizes that the Overlord has finally regained his original form, and the group makes an attack plan: most of them will draw the Overlord's attention with the Ultra Dragon, while Lloyd takes the Golden Mech to fight the ultimate evil head-on.

Not long after Cadance and Twilight are beneath the hall where the wedding ceremony is starting, Twilight teleports herself and Cadance to the cave's exit, but they are confronted by the bridesmaids: Minuette, Lyra Heartstrings, and Twinkleshine.

### Chrysalis reveals herself

Celestia is about to pronounce the couple mare and colt when Twilight and Cadance burst in. A flashback reveals that Cadance and Twilight distracted the bewitched bridesmaids with a bouquet of flowers before escaping from the cave. She declares the imposter to be a changeling, a creature that takes the form of a loved one and gains power by feeding off of love. The imposter, enraged, reveals her true form: Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings. Chrysalis says that Equestria has more love than any place she's ever encountered, and conquering Equestria will give her and her changeling army more power than they've ever dreamed of. Even as she speaks, the changeling army is battering away at Canterlot's defenses.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, infuriated at having been deceived, declare that even though Shining Armor is powerless, they will defend their subjects. Celestia fires a white-golden beam of magic at Chrysalis, who retaliates with a green beam of magic. Chrysalis' beam overpowers Celestia's, smacking Celestia to the floor, knocking off her tiara, causing her mane and tail to stop flowing, and Chrysalis overpowers Luna as well, as a result both horns are scorched. Chrysalis is astonished by the power she has gained from Shining Armor's love. Struggling to remain conscious, Celestia and Luna instruct the six main characters to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, their only hope for stopping Chrysalis.

### Race to the Elements

The six ponies race towards Canterlot Tower where the elements are held. The changelings finally shatter the protective sphere and start wreaking havoc in the city. The six ponies are hemmed in by a crowd of hungry, vicious changelings, which take on the appearance of the six. Using everything from their hooves to Pinkie Pie's party cannon, the six ponies defeat the first wave of changelings. However, their reprieve is short; Canterlot Tower has already been overrun by more changelings. With the numbers stacked heavily against the Mane Six, they are eventually captured.

Back in Ninjago City, the Garmatron tower is guarded by Kozu—at his command, the Stone Army opens fire on the Ultra Dragon. Lloyd uses the distraction to advance on the tower by foot, cheered on by Dareth, who has managed to avoid the corruption. The Golden Mech breaks through the outer wall of the fortress and begins battling the Stone Army, only to be destroyed when Nya attacks it with a mobile defense turret. With the Green Ninja pinned down, the Ninja jump off the Ultra Dragon to fend off the advancing Stone Army.

Seeing his pupils in trouble, Sensei Wu prepares to lead the Ultra Dragon into the battle, but Misako tells him that there are too many Stone Warriors to defeat. Another option presents itself when she notices that the Overlord is no longer wearing his helmet—she quickly explains to the other two that whoever wears the Helmet of Shadows controls the Stone Army. The older trio sets off in search of the helmet, only to see Dareth putting it on his head; back at the fortress, the Stone Army freezes moments before they can deliver the final blow to the Ninja. General Kozu declares "All hail the Brown Ninja!" and the Ultra Dragon lands in front of the bewildered Ninja to allow Dareth to dismount. Impressed by the turn of events, Kai officially welcomes Dareth as a ninja before the group prepares their final push against the Overlord.

Dareth sends the Stone Army up the staircase surrounding the fortress, but Nya shoots them down with her turret. The Ultra Dragon draws Nya's fire long enough for the Ninja to begin climbing the stairs but are forced to land when a shot clips its tail.

### The power of love

In Canterlot, the changelings have imprisoned Celestia and Luna in lime green goo cocoons in the wedding hall and glued Cadance's hooves to the floor with the same substance. Cadance insists that the six friends will save them, but a group of Changelings walk in with the friends held in custody. Chrysalis gloats that everyone but Twilight was too fixated on the wedding to notice anything. Applejack apologizes on behalf of the others for ignoring Twilight’s doubts, and Twilight assures Applejack that she has no hard feelings. Chrysalis sings a stanza to the tune of This Day Aria as she observes the chaos in the streets below.

Twilight frees Cadance and urges her to try and break the spell on Shining Armor. Cadance embraces him and breaks his trance with her spell of love. Shining Armor says that he doesn’t have the strength to repel the changelings, but Cadance declares that her love will give him strength. The two connect horns, creating a powerful, bright pink, purple and white whirlwind of magic that lifts the couple into the air and shakes the room. When they look into each other's eyes, their bodies glow with bright white light and take on a heart shape as the magic expands outward as a bright, purple sphere. The ponies shade their eyes from the light, while Chrysalis and the changelings are thrown out of Canterlot. With the changelings gone, and Celestia and Luna free from their cocoons, the ponies prepare for the real royal wedding, but something terrible is going on, as darkness swept over Canterlot. Eventually, the Princesses and Twilight headed to Ninjago City, because they fear that the Overlord would try to overthrow them as well.

### The Final Battle

Meanwhile, the Ninjas' numbers slowly dwindle due to their enemies' relentless assault; Jay and Cole are corrupted by the Overlord's darkness, Zane stays back to fight his infected teammates, and Kai attacks Nya's turret to keep her occupied, leaving Lloyd to limp up to the roof on his own.

The Overlord turns his attention to the Green Ninja as he dons his mask and declares his intention to fight. The Overlord asserts that evil has won—Lloyd is alone, injured, and unarmed—but Lloyd charges his powers, saying that he will never give up. The Overlord bombards the Green Ninja's energy shield with a gout of dark fire, but Lloyd pushes back, dispelling the flames and rising into the air. His suit becomes golden as he finally unleashes his True Potential. Below, Misako comments that Lloyd "has become the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master," and Sensei Wu states that the true final battle has begun.

As the energy bubble fades, Lloyd floats before the Overlord, declaring "I am the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master!" The Overlord attacks, but Lloyd strikes back, knocking his foe off the roof and manifesting a Golden Dragon of pure energy to take to the air (much to Dareth's amazement). The Overlord snarls that he cannot be defeated—shadow will always exist alongside the light—but the princesses restate the false statement that light can beat the darkness and Lloyd retorts that his light will be bright enough to destroy the shadows. With that, the golden dragon and the Princesses tackle the Overlord, flying all around the fortress before the villain can break free.

Infuriated at Lloyd's persistence, the Overlord uses his ultimate attack, engulfing the Green Ninja in a sphere of pure darkness, until the Alicorn princesses protected them using the magical defence. The Princesses and Lloyd charge their powers and overwhelm the ultimate evil from within. With a final roar of fury, the Overlord is destroyed, creating a wave of light that removes the darkness tainting Ninjago and Equestria.

In the crater where the Overlord's fortress used to be, Kai awakens to find that both Jay and Nya are back to normal. The Ultra Dragon lands near Cole and Zane, and Dr. Julien wonders if they really did it—in response, Dareth says they *all* did it. Misako and Sensei Wu congratulate Lloyd as he descends and dismisses his dragon, with the Ninja vowing to be ready if the Overlord ever does try to return. Lloyd's mood quickly turns melancholy, however, as Misako tells him that everyone will miss his father.

On cue, a pile of rocks shift, and a man about Sensei Wu's age emerges to call Lloyd. Recognizing the voice, Misako and Lloyd are stunned—Garmadon has returned, completely purified of evil. Sensei Wu tells his brother that it is good to have him back, and Garmadon replies that it's good to be back. As the former villain walks off with his wife and son, Jay contemplates a friendly dogpile, but Kai tells him to let the family have their moment.

With evil firmly defeated, Cole tells his friends that they had quite an adventure together. Zane wonders if there will be others; Cole hopes so, as he enjoyed being a Ninja, and he's not sure if they have any other skills. Jay objects to the contrary, and Kai agrees—they can apply the lessons they've learned to everyday life. Kai also notes that new challenges and enemies might emerge one day, and as long as there's something worth fighting for, there'll be a need for ninja like them. Sensei Wu responds with a proud smile as he and his pupils look upon the sun-soaked city, at peace once more.

### The royal wedding

In the aftermath of the final battle, which is the wedding, Twilight takes her reinstated place as best mare as their parents look on proudly from the audience. Celestia pronounces Cadance and Shining Armor mare and colt and levitates their rings onto their horns. Celestia commends the heroism of Twilight, Lloyd and their friends and emphasizes the importance of trusting one's instincts. The bride and groom step out to a balcony to wave to a crowd of cheering ponies. As Shining Armor and Cadance kiss, Celestia reminds Rainbow Dash to perform her sonic rainboom for the ceremony.

The scene changes to the evening wedding reception in the courtyard, where the newlyweds start dancing. Princess Luna joins her sister, the Mane Six, Wu and Garmadon (who has been purified) and unknowingly asks if she missed anything. DJ Pon-3 works her turntables and Twilight and Lloyd sing Love Is In Bloom while a montage of humorous and memorable photos taken during the party is shown. At the end of the party, Shining Armor thanks Twilight and they hug. Before departing, Cadance tosses her bouquet to the onlookers, which Rarity, in a screaming fit, snatches from the other bridesmaids. Twilight, Lloyd and their friends happily watch the royal carriage depart, and Spike unknowingly humors them by saying that he has even better plans for the bachelor party, resulting in Dareth to have more champagne, and the Ninja laughed. The episode ends as fireworks light the sky above Canterlot.

## Cast

* Applejack - Ashleigh Ball
* Brad Tudabone - Kathleen Barr
* Cole - Kirby Morrow
* Dareth - Alan Marriott
* Dr. Julien - Mark Oliver
* Edna Walker - Jillian Michaels
* Fluttershy - Andrea Libman
* Garmadon - Mark Oliver
* Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
* Kai - Vincent Tong
* Kozu - Paul Dobson
* Lloyd Garmadon - Jillian Michaels
* Lou - Kirby Morrow
* Misako - Kathleen Barr
* Nya - Kelly Metzger
* Pinkie Pie - Andrea Libman
* Postman - Michael Adamthwaite
* Princess Cadance - Britt McKillip
* Princess Celestia - Nicole Oliver
* Princess Luna - Tabitha St. Germain
* Queen Chrysalis - Kathleen Barr
* Rainbow Dash - Ashleigh Ball
* Rarity - Tabitha St. Germain
* Shining Armor - Andrew Francis
* Spike - Cathy Weseluck
* The Overlord - Scott McNeil
* Twilight Sparkle - Tara Strong
* Wu - Paul Dobson
* Zane - Brent Miller

## Transcript

* Rise of the Spinjitzu Master (transcript)

## Locations Visited

* Ninjago
	+ Ninjago City
* The Dark Island
	+ Temple of Light
* Equestria
	+ Canterlot
		- Wedding Castle

## Songs

* This Day Aria (Reprise)
* Love is in Bloom

## Differences between this episode, the original Ninjago episode and MLP episode, "A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2"

* Lloyd, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight defeat the Overlord rather than just Lloyd himself.
* The Overlord offers Twilight a position in his army after seeing her friends not listen to her in the last episode, but she refuses.
* Lloyd and the Golden Dragon were not trapped in the Sphere of Darkness by the Overlord, due to the Princesses' magic barrier.
	+ As a result, the Overlord did not consume them.
* The Ninja, Nya, Dareth, Dr. Julien, Misako and the two sons were invited for the Royal Wedding.
* Nya also caught a bouquet, resulting she and Rarity to have a fight.
* During the montage, Cole eats the Wedding Cake with Pinkie Pie.
* Lou and the Royal Blacksmiths are singing to Cadance and Shining Armor.
* Dareth fires a champagne to celebrate their victory, resulting in Jay and Cole not getting wet.

## Trivia

* This episode marks the debut appearance of Princess Cadance and the first time that she does not appear in both parts of a two-part season finale (the antagonist was disguised as "Princess Cadance" in the first half and for most of the first act in this part as well).
* Just before Lloyd confronts the Overlord, Kai tells him that "There's only one Green Ninja." This is a reference to his accepting he's not the green ninja.
* Lloyd refers to his beginnings as a would-be-evil-overlord and how the Ninja turned him to the path of good (beginning at the end of "Boast Busters").
* It is the second duet in the series. The first was in "May the Best Pet Win!".
	+ Also, it is the first time where a song is performed between good and evil.
* Not counting the Flim and Flam's song from "The Competition", this marks the first major antagonist song in the series.
* During This Day Aria, Queen Chrysalis (disguised as Princess Cadance) looks in the mirror and trashes things around the room, which are a reference to the reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in the 1989 Disney film *The Little Mermaid*.
* Lord Garmadon is finally purified of the Great Devourer's venom, which he was infected with as a boy (seen in Sensei Wu's flashback in "Dragonshy"). His purified form is wearing the ceremonial kimono that Wu wore in "Battle Between Sisters," albeit with pale purple writing.
* This is the first appearance of Lloyd's Golden Kimono suit.
* It is the first time a main antagonist is defeated by someone else besides the Mane 6.
	+ Princess Cadance and Shining Armor defeat Chrysalis and the Changelings, while Lloyd and the Alicorns defeat the Overlord.
* During the fight sequence, the six ponies burst through a group of changelings as a dramatic music cue plays. This parallels a sequence from The Matrix Reloaded, where the protagonist Neo escapes a mob of Agent Smith's clones in the same fashion.
* Although in this episode, Misako knows that wearing the Helmet of Shadows controls the army, she did not seem to know this in *The Last Hope*, when she has the helmet but does not put it on to assist her escape.
* The Bridal Chorus, composed by Richard Wagner, is used during the wedding sequence. A single phrase is also played during the wedding rehearsal in the prior episode, as a background clip during Twilight and Cadance's confrontation with the bridesmaids.
* When purified, Garmadon's face is different to his human face in Season 3 and onward. This is because LEGO had not yet settled on his design.
* Originally, this was the series finale, though this was changed following the continuation of the series through Rebooted to Rainbow Roadtrip.
* Near the end of the episode, Kai mentions in passing that the Overlord may return, not only revealing the latter's survival but foreshadowing the events of the next season.
* It is the first time Celestia's mane isn't waving (after she's defeated by Chrysalis).
* In original concepts for the ending, Sensei Wu, after seeing Misako and Garmadon reconcile, would leave, with the Overlord manifesting inside him as the screen faded to black.
* This is the final appearance of Dr. Julien. In Season 3, it was revealed that he died again.
* This is the last appearance of Ultra Dragon, but its fate was revealed in Season 9. The Ultra Dragon was killed and its skulls were placed on Iron Baron's throne. This was confirmed by The Hageman Brothers.
* The Overlord would be defeated at the same site in Rebooted and Hunted.

## Errors

* In This Day Aria, when Queen Chrysalis (disguised as Cadence) kicks the table, the heart in her cutie mark is red.
* When Lloyd was hit and climbs out from the mech, his cast switches from on to off his leg.
* During the first verse of "This Day Aria," the reflections of the rose and Queen Chrysalis (disguised as Cadance) in the mirror come "out" of the mirror, overlapping the wooden frame.
* This rose then disappears at the wedding ceremony.
* There were a couple moments when Applejack's hat was missing.
* When Cadance and Shining Armor connect their magic Cadance's tiara is shown despite it being gone in the previous shot (before they rise off the ground).
* In this episode, Kai is in the water, but in "Stiix Sweet Stiix," he is afraid of it.
* During many times of the episode, Twilight has a red streak in her hair.
* Twilight was involved with the Princesses against the final battle with the Overlord, despite not being an Alicorn princess until "Magical Mystery Cure".
* When Rainbow Dash performed her 3rd Sonic Rainboom her body switches into a Filly Rainbow Dash.
* When the first wedding with Queen Chrysalis (disguised as Cadance), Lyra and others were clothes-less and in the hall. Then somehow they did go to underground and wearing maids suits.
* Again on the first wedding with Queen Chrysalis (disguised as Cadance) Twilight's father is before Twilight's mother. It should be the other way (also the ponies were facing Queen Chrysalis (disguised as Cadance) but right in next scene they are not).
* When the Mane Six fight the changelings, before the fight you can notice 2 flags in the background which wave, but in the scene where fluttershy pretends to be a changeling, the flags are not mooving at all. This also applies for the final wedding scene where Princess Cadance says "Princess Cadance is fine" there is flag with no motion again. (the previous scene were waving flag)
* In the second wedding, Cadance is sometimes seen wearing Chrysalis's version of the wedding dress before wearing her own.
* In the "This Day Aria" song when the Queen Chrysalis (disguised as Cadance) puts the rose in her hair the aura glow on her horn is the wrong style.
* In one shot when Queen Chrysalis says, "Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia," there are animatic numbers in the low right corner.
* At the after party where Twilight sings, Rarity's "bubble" head band goes missing and only the flower remains.
* When Queen Chrysalis (disguised as Cadance) sings "...him to be all mine!" in front of the mirror, the image of her in the mirror has a different nose shape and hairstyle. Her left eye is also closed while her right is open.
* DJ Pon-3 puts down a vinyl record at the end of the episode and music starts playing. Later on, DJ Pon-3 is seen scratching the record but yet the music continues as normal.
* Rainbow Dash's wings are seen folded in as Spike mentions the bachelor party. When the mane six begin to laugh, the immediate next clip shows Rainbow Dash's wings folded out instantaneously.

## Gallery

The Ninja arrived at corrupted Ninjago City.