The Beginning of the End: The Darkness Comes

Grogar briefing the Legion of Doom to stop Twilight Sparkle, Lloyd and their friends, once and for all.

### Writer

Joanna Lewis, Kristine Songco and Bragi Schut

### Director

Per Risager

**The Beginning of the End: The Darkness Comes** (**The Beginning of the End - Part I** in other media) is the first episode of March of the Oni and the one hundred fortieth overall episode of LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: Masters of Friendship. This episode is based on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode *The Beginning of the End - Part 1* and LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu episode, *The Darkness Comes*.

Following the events of School Raze, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna decide to retire and hand off the ruling of Equestria to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Meanwhile, the ancient villain Grogar bands together a legion of villains to conquer Equestria, but King Sombra has plans of his own. However, Faith arrives with a dire warning that the Oni have returned and are destroying the realms, one by one; Lloyd faces the possibility that to defeat this foe, he may need the help of another enemy.

## Plot

### Royal Retirement

The episode begins with the Mane Six and Spike racing to Canterlot Castle, having received an emergency summons from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Twilight Sparkle fears another villain has appeared with plans of revenge or world domination. However, when they arrive to the castle, Celestia and Luna are perfectly happy, and there is no crisis, despite the nature and swiftness of their summons.

They explain that Equestria is enjoying its longest period of peace in recent years, largely thanks to Twilight and her friends. Because of this, Celestia and Luna have decided to retire and leave the protection of Equestria to the Mane Six. Twilight is stunned by such a sudden decision and questions her ability to rule in Celestia and Luna's place. But they assure her that she is ready, having observed her grow and overcome many challenges over the years, and the rest of her friends agree.

Meanwhile, back in Ninjago, Noble shows Lloyd to the Overlord's wing, stating it was built just for him. After unlocking the entrance, he runs off, leaving Lloyd to confront the Overlord by himself. When he reminds the Overlord that he had requested to see Lloyd, the Overlord claimed that it was unusual. When Lloyd threatened to leave, the Overlord remembered and told him that the Bringers of Doom were coming and that although he didn't care, he would rather not be destroyed along with Lloyd. He said that he had decided to help the Ninja and Mane Six defeat them, and that he was the only one powerful enough to do so. Lloyd refuses his offer and angrily storms off, but the Overlord assured him that he will come back.

As Ninjago City rebuilds, Cole, Zane, and P.I.X.A.L. wait in traffic, complaining that they are thirty minutes late. They wanted to use the Earth Driller to dig under the road, but it was new, so the trio decided to get out of the Earth Driller and run to their destination. Once they arrived, the Police Commissioner gave a speech and presented them with a rebuilt Destiny's Bounty as a reward for saving Ninjago.

Twilight is even more overwhelmed when Celestia and Luna state that the transfer of power from them to the Mane Six will only take a few days. As she goes into a tailspin of stress and worry, her friends calm her down from her "classic Twilight-ing" and remind her of all the memorable times they overcame adversity together, including Samukai, Pythor, Kozu, King Sombra, Cryptor, Queen Chrysalis, Nadakhan, Tirek, Chen, Clouse, the Time Twins, Iron Baron and Cozy Glow. With her friends' support, Twilight feels more confident about her and her friends' sudden role.

### A League of our Own

At the Monastery, Jay is practicing how to ask Nya to be his Yang with Kai's help. Kai tells him to be confident, but Jay says it doesn't sound right. Suddenly, Dareth bursts in and asks them what's happening. Kai explains it to him and tells him to keep it a secret. Nya comes in and tells them that Wu is in the courtyard looking at the new Mural.

Meanwhile, somewhere in a forest, Queen Chrysalis expresses her unhinged desire for revenge upon Twilight and her friends, and she suddenly vanishes in a swirl of black smoke. In Tartarus, Tirek and Cozy Glow continue to serve their imprisonment sentences, with Tirek becoming increasingly annoyed by Cozy's efforts to befriend him, when they suddenly vanish from their jail cells in the same manner as Chrysalis. Elsewhere, a magical insignia is carved into the ground, restoring the body of King Sombra. Back in Ninjago, Pythor was angered due to the Ninja’s actions and he decided to have revenge on them, until he got vanished from nowhere. A mysterious Oni uses the Reversal Time Blade from the Boiling Sea and opened the Temporal Vortex to bring back Krux and Acronix, although they wanted to go back to the future to get revenge on the Ninja, especially Kai and Nya. The Oni also found the Teapot of Tyrahn and summons Nadakhan, as he wants to get revenge for what he have done, due to the destruction of Djinjago. At the Temple of Resurrection, the Oni used the Departed Blades to summon all the deceased villains from the Departed Realm. In the Realm of Oni and Dragons, the Oni frees Iron Baron by using his staff to break free from the molten rock.

In a remote part of Equestria, Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow, Sombra, Samukai, Cryptor, Pythor, Kozu, Chen, Clouse, Nadakhan, the Time Twins and Iron Baron appear in a strange cavern, unaware of who transported them. The one who summoned them is revealed to be the blue-coated ram Grogar, an ancient and powerful villain thought to be a figure of legend and the Omega, the destructor of the Sixteen Realms and the Bringer of Doom. Grogar and the Omega explain that they have brought the villains together to get rid of Twilight Sparkle, Lloyd Garmadon and their friends. Having observed all the villains' defeats at the hands of the Mane Six and the Ninja, Grogar has identified the secret to their many victories: working together. They demand that the villains team up with them to finally take the ponies, as well as the inhabitants from the Sixteen Realms down.

Sombra refuses to join forces with the other villains, however, and vows to retake the Crystal Empire on his own. Grogar encourages the overconfident Sombra to try and take over the Empire by himself, saying if he fails, he must submit to Grogar's will or else be sent back to the shadows. Sombra agrees to the ultimatum, and Grogar sends him away to the Crystal Empire. While Sombra is away, Grogar and the Omega tell Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow, Samukai, Cryptor, Pythor, Kozu, Chen, Clouse, Nadakhan, the Time Twins and Iron Baron to try and work together.

### The Fate of Two Realms

The Ninja went to look at the Monastery of how they did for the past adventures, until they witnessed Firstbourne crashing near the base of the mountains. They went down to check on her, but she opened her claws and let Faith fall out. Faith informed them that "Darkness was coming" and they took her inside of the Monastery to heal. The rest of the Ninja arrive. Wu said that both Faith and Firstbourne would heal and continued explaining what Faith had told him.

At the School of Friendship, Starlight Glimmer finds Twilight in her office; her spiral of self-doubt gets worse and worse as she races to get everything ready for Celestia and Luna's retirement in a few days. With her and her friends about to assume the role of ruling Equestria, Twilight leaves Starlight in charge of her castle and school.

Much like Twilight's earlier meltdown in Canterlot, Starlight has a meltdown and questions her ability to be in charge. When Twilight expresses her utmost confidence in Starlight's ability, Starlight returns the sentiment back at Twilight. But Twilight remarks that running a school is not the same as running an entire kingdom, and she gets even more stressed out.

A cloud of darkness had overtaken her home realm, and whoever touched it had been petrified. Lloyd told the others what the Overlord had said. Wu showed them a book containing a picture of an Oni. He said that his father had called them the "Bringers of Doom." The Ninja head out to warn the city.

Meanwhile, in Borg Tower, a watchman explains to his partner that artifacts from Hiroshi's Labyrinth had been relocated to the tower because it has better security. Unbeknownst to them, darkness escaped from the Realm Crystal and started to engulf the tower. The two escaped and wheeled Borg out while the other citizens evacuated.

The Ninja arrived to the Bounty and admired it. When they tried to fly, they realized that the thrust lever was wired backwards. After Zane fixed the label, they took off.

The Commissioner was working on a model ship, but an officer came in and told him that there was trouble in Ninjago. In the city, the dark clouds started petrifying everyone in its path. Back in Equestria, King Sombra begins his new, one-pony assault on the Crystal Empire. As he invades, he uses his magic to bring the Crystal Ponies and royal guards under his mind control, expanding his forces. Shining Armor rallies the remaining guards to battle while Princess Cadance sends an urgent S.O.S. to Twilight. However, when they realize they have forgotten to secure Flurry Heart, they race to her nursery and find Sombra holding her captive. Using Flurry as a hostage, Sombra secures Cadance and Shining Armor's complete surrender and gains control of both the Crystal Heart and the entire Empire.

### Enter the cavalry

Upon receiving news of Sombra's return and takeover of the Crystal Empire, Twilight calls her friends together at the Castle of Friendship. Instead of alerting Celestia and Luna or relying on Discord, Twilight takes this opportunity to prove that she and her friends can handle things on their own. Without the use of the Crystal Heart, Twilight suggests using the Elements of Harmony to defeat Sombra, and the Mane Six retrieve the Elements from the Tree of Harmony while Starlight looks after the school.

Zane claimed that they were too late and the Ninja sped off to rescue the people. The Commissioner and cops tried to stop the darkness, but without proper weapons, they had to back away. Fortunately, the Ninja arrived in time to save them and helped them up to the Bounty. The Ninja's Elemental Powers had no effect on the darkness, even when they used them together, and they also had to evacuate. Cole was grabbed by one of the tentacles, but Lloyd saved him.

When the Mane Six arrive at the Crystal Empire, Sombra uses his magic to make them suffer their worst fears. However, they overcome Sombra's dark magic with the Elements of Harmony, and while Sombra is distracted, Spike helps Cadance regain control of the Crystal Heart. The Crystal Ponies are freed from Sombra's mind control, and the Mane Six use the Elements to vaporize Sombra into smoke. With Sombra defeated, Twilight and her friends celebrate their surprisingly easy victory, and Twilight feels a little more confident about their ability to rule Equestria in Celestia and Luna's place.

After saving the citizens from the black cloud, Cole explained what the tentacle felt like. He said that he saw something inside the cloud that looked like an Oni, so the Ninja went back to Kryptarium to get the Overlord. Without another choice, they release him from prison. Some time later, the Mane Six return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony. Suddenly, black smoke fills the tree's cave, and a giant black crystal pops out of the ground beneath the tree, destroying it and shattering the Elements of Harmony to pieces. King Sombra appears before the Mane Six, his earlier defeat having been a trick to lead him right to the Elements. With the ponies' greatest weapon destroyed, Sombra cackles victoriously.

## Cast

* Acronix - Ian Hanlin
* Applejack - Ashleigh Ball
* Chen - Ian James Corlett
* Clouse - Scott McNeil
* Cole - Kirby Morrow
* Cozy Glow - Sunni Westbrook
* Cryptor - Richard Newman
* Dareth - Alan Marriott
* Discord - John de Lancie
* Flurry Heart - Tabitha St. Germain
* Fluttershy - Andrea Libman
* Grogar - Doc Harris
* Iron Baron - Brian Drummond
* Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
* Jimmy - Daniel Doheny
* Kai - Vincent Tong
* King Sombra - Alvin Lee Sanders
* Kozu - Paul Dobson
* Krux - Michael Daingerfield
* Lloyd Garmadon - Sam Vincent
* Nadakhan - Scott McNeil
* Noble - Paul Dobson
* Nya - Kelly Metzger
* P.I.X.A.L. - Jennifer Hayward
* Pinkie Pie - Andrea Libman
* Police Commissioner - Michael Donovan
* Princess Cadance - Britt McKillip
* Princess Celestia - Nicole Oliver
* Princess Luna - Tabitha St. Germain
* Pythor P. Chumsworth - Michael Dobson
* Queen Chrysalis - Kathleen Barr
* Rainbow Dash - Ashleigh Ball
* Rarity - Tabitha St. Germain
* Rufus MacAllister - Paul Dobson
* Samukai - Michael Kopsa
* Shining Armor - Andrew Francis
* Spike - Cathy Weseluck
* Starlight Glimmer - Kelly Sheridan
* The Omega - Zach LeBlanc
* The Overlord - Scott McNeil
* Tourist Dad - Michael Adamthwaite
* Twilight Sparkle - Rebecca Shoichet
* Wu - Paul Dobson
* Zane - Brent Miller

Misako and Faith appear in this episode but no lines.

## Transcript

* The Beginning of the End: The Darkness Comes (Transcript)

## Trivia

* Cole is the intro reader of the season.
* Kryptarium Prison has built a special cell for the Overlord.
* The Destiny's Bounty has been rebuilt from the blueprints that Rufus MacAllister mysteriously obtained.
* Faith, Firstbourne and Iron Baron enter Ninjago, this being the first time for Faith and Baron.
* In the book that Wu pulls out, the pictured Oni is shown having a staff that bears a notably similar design to Borg Tower.
* The Realm Crystal, along with other artifacts, were transferred from the Hiroshi Labyrinth Stronghold to the basement of Borg Industries because the tower had better security.
* This is King Sombra's first appearance since "Curseworld - Part I", this time he is voiced by Alvin Lee Sanders, instead of Jim Miller.
* This is the third season premiere to recount the previous episode.
	+ The others are Season 2 and Season 9, the episodes being "Lesson Zero" and "Firstbourne," respectively.
	+ This is the only season premiere to recount two episodes.
* It is revealed that those touched by the darkness become frozen in place like statues.
* Along with "The Beginning of the End: Into the Breach", this is the third two-parter episode to have a subtitle in each episode, after "To Where and Back Again: Operation Land Ho!", "To Where and Back Again: The Way Back", "School Raze: Lessons of Friendship" and "School Raze: Magic Destiny".
	+ This is the only season premiere to have a subtitle in each part.
* This episode no longer considers the comics being canon.
* This is the only time in a season premiere where Queen Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow appear in, since they usually appear in a finale.
* This episode marks the first appearance of Grogar and the Omega.
* The magazine the Overlord is reading in his cell translates to "Time," which is likely a reference to the real life magazine of the same name.
* The Wilhelm Scream was heard for the first time since "A Line in the Sand."
* Wu is revealed to know of the events of The Changing Effect.
* Nya wears her brand new kimono in this episode.
* This is the first appearance of Cyrus Borg since "To Turn Back Into Time - Part II".
* This marks the first appearance of Pythor, Kozu, Samukai, Cryptor, and Chen since "Day of the Departed", Nadakhan since "To Where and Back Again: The Way Back", Acronix and Krux since "To Turn Back Into Time", Queen Chrysalis since "Big Trouble, Little Ninjago and Equestria" and Iron Baron since "School Raze".
* Grogar's history as an ancient tyrant and creator of monsters resembles that of Morgoth, villain of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. His title of "Father of Monsters" is also similar to that of the Greek Titan Typhon, husband to the Mother of All Monsters Echidna.​
* Grogar's lair resembles the Hall of Doom from various DC animated media.
* After King Sombra captures Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Flurry Heart, he says "Kneel before Sombra", which is a direct reference to General Zod and his signature line, "Kneel before Zod", from DC Comics.
* After Rarity mentions "cakewalk", Pinkie Pie does her version of a "cakewalk", which is a variation of the moonwalk with cake made famous by Michael Jackson.
* This is the fifth and final season premiere to be a two-part episode, after "Princess Twilight Sparkle", "Cutie Markless", "Crystal to Fame", and "The Mask of Deception".

## Difference between this, a Ninjago episode "The Darkness Comes" and MLP episode "The Beginning of the End - Part 1"

* The Omega appears in this episode, even though he made his debut in the original Ninjago episode, "Into the Breach".
* When March of the Oni aired in the US, Faith's explanation about the Darkness is edited in "The Ending of the End: Endings" as the Dark cloud consumes Ninjago City and Equestria.

## Errors

* In the Overlord Sons intro "panel," Lloyd is dressed in his Hunted suit. Inversely, in the Hunted intro "panel," Lloyd is dressed in his Sons of the Overlord suit.
* In the intro sequence, the Dark Island Trilogy is shown before the Changing Effect, when they should be in the opposite order.
* When Cole got into the car, he opened both rear doors. When he leaves, both rear doors seem to be closed.
* When Twilight says "Starlight, can you stay here and take care of the school?", it is Starlight's voice that comes out of Twilight's mouth when she says "and take care of the school?", most likely from a change in the script.