Chapter 5: Foal's Play

In Ponyville, a ball was kicked around by a young filly and her friends as they played a game of hoofball together. Hovering above them on the main deck of a familiar flying ship, Lloyd was looking down at them playing, enviously watching them fun that he could be having.

Ever since the Ninjaball Run race to save Dareth's Mojo Dojo, the Destiny's Bounty had been restored to its original state as the Ninja's flying headquarters, after they took it back from Garmadon and his Legion of Doom. "Lloyd? Lloyd!" Flash called out that and snapped Lloyd out of it. "Concentrate!"

"Now that the Bounty is in our possession again, we can train you more effectively. But you'll have to focus," Frost told him. "One more time."

"Ah, but we've been training all day," Lloyd complained.

"It's all to get you ready to face your father, sweetie," Gaia told him. "And now that we know he's got a Mega Weapon, an army of snakes, and five villains, you will need all the training you can get."

"Now, in position," Landrush ordered.

Lloyd let out a sigh as the Ninja put up their hoods and he stood in front of them. Lloyd let out a yawn as the Ninja took a battle stance.

"Whatever," Lloyd sighed as he gestured for them to come at him.

Trail charged at Lloyd first, trying to catch him with a diving kick but the colt punches him in the chest, knocking him back. The Ninja were surprised as Lloyd yawned again, like it was nothing. Both Frost and Thunder leaped into the air as they were attempting to attack Lloyd.

"NINJA, GO!" Lloyd shouted as he did Spinjitzu before jumping in the air and knocking the two down.

When Flash and Gaia charged at him while he was in the air, Lloyd did a double kick to them and knocked them down. Landrush then charged at Lloyd from behind, catching him off guard as he was flung in the air before crashing onto the deck. The Ninja stood up and took off their hoods as Lloyd looked up at them.

"That was fun! Are we done?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh, come on. You're better than this," Thunder pointed out. "What's on your mind?"

Lloyd gets up and explains. "Well...The latest issue of Starfarer just came in at Doomsday Comix and it's a limited run, so if I don't go out and get it, it's going to sell out," he told them as he paced across the deck. "Last they left off, intergalactic rogue Galactic Ranger was surrounded by the Imperial Sludge, and if I don't find out if he gets out alright, I think I might have my own doomsday!"

"The fate of Equestria rest on your shoulders," Flash reminded Lloyd. "As the Light Ninja, you have a giant responsibility to hold. I'm sorry, but you don't have time for such childish things."

"Other foals get to play and have fun," Lloyd pointed out as he looked back down at the foals playing. "All I ever do is train. And the only friends I have are the ones too busy at school to even hang out with me."

The Ninja felt sorry for Lloyd, it was bad enough he was destined to fight his father but also the fact he could not enjoy his childhood. Just then Aqua and the Mane 6 rushed up on deck.

"Guys! There's been a break-in at the Equestria City Museum of History, and witnesses outside saw you-know-who going in!" Aqua alerted the Ninja, who pretty much knew who was behind this.

"Garmadon!" Landrush growled.

"We have to stop him before he uses the Mega Weapon to start another one of his diabolical plots!" Thunder exclaimed.

Lloyd walked over to them and was about to ask something before they gave him a look that told him he knew the answer already.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Lloyd complained. "I can't go, and it's safer if I stay here and train."

"Mm-hm!" All six Ninja agreed before the Bounty made its way outside of Equestria City and the Ninja were in the Ultra Sonic Raider, ready to head out.

"We'll meet up at the Bounty as soon as we're done," Trail told his sister.

"We'll be waiting for your save return," Aqua remarked before they drove off to the museum.

Lloyd sighed. "Too old for comic books and too young to fight," he complained. "When are they gonna make up their minds?"

"They only want what's best for you Lloyd," Twilight told him with a smile. "You're like a little brother to them."

"I know," Lloyd said.

"Come on, pint-size," Aqua spoke up with a grin. "Show us what you got."

Lloyd let out a yawn as he knew he was not going to enjoy more training.

Night falls on Equestria City as the Ninja were sneaking their way into the museum where Garmadon and his Legion of Doom are. They used a rope to sneak in and hid on the higher levels.

Gaia quickly shushed the boys. "Look," she whispered and pointed to Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, The Storm King, Nightmare Moon, and the Serpentine walking in.

Skales was holding a flashlight and looking around until he shined the flashlight on a Serpentine painting that looked nothing like any of the tribes. "Boy, did they get that wrong," he said as they continued to look around.

"Yeesh, you're telling me," The Storm King commented.

"Why would come to a mussseum if we weren't going to sssteal anything?" Acidicus questioned as Skales's eyes landed on a golden sarcophagus.

"Because Master Garmadon has another plan to destroy the Ninja." Nightmare Moon reminded him.

"'Massster' Garmadon? Huh!" Skales scoffed. "He's no master of mine! SSSince hisss so-called Mega Weapon hasss failed every time, I don't sssee why we don't call our own ssshots."

"Because this time, I will not fail!" Garmadon shouted causing Skales to jump and drop his flashlight and staff, as the light shined on Garmadon and a large skeleton behind him.

"Yes, Lord Garmadon," the Serpentine Generals, minus Skales, and the other villains said as they bowed to him.

"Yesss, Lord Garmadon." Skales said in an unhappy tone as he bowed as well.

"So, what's with the dino skeleton behind you? If that's the kind of creature that likes to munch on pestering pastel ponies, then you may be too late at recruiting," the Storm King asked as he approached Garmadon.

"That's not just any creature," Tirek corrected his cohort before walked up to the skeleton. "I heard tales of this beast from Sendak the Elder, said to have been a personal favorite of Grogar's upon its creation. That is a skeleton of the Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalicus, otherwise known as..."

"The Grundal," Garmadon finished before adding on. "Although now extinct, in its time, it was the most feared and dangerous creature in all of Equestria, with claws that could slice through steel, heightened senses that could detect its prey from miles away. It could track the stealthiest of Ninja, and once it had picked up your scent, there was no hiding from it."

The Ninja listened from above as Gaia turned to the others. "The… the Grundal? I've heard about them," she whispered. "My grandfather once told me that they were so vicious that even dragons stayed clear of them."

"Boy, I'm I glad we live in an age where we don't have to deal with those things," Thunder whispered.

"I wouldn't say that," Flash whispered as he has a pretty good idea of what Garmadon is up to.

"Thanksss for the history lesson, but what are we going to do with a pile of bonesss?" Skales asked.

"I am going to make it so the great beast shall walk again!" Garmadon told him.

Skales looked unconvinced however. "Yeah right. Well show us then!" he challenged as Garmadon turned to the skeleton.

"Rise, Grundal, and feel the strength of the Mega Weapon," Garmadon declared as he raised the Weapon up. "I wish to create the power to make you young." Both his and the Weapon's power merged as a purple smog coiled around the skeleton, causing it to rattle and jerk about. "Turn back the clock so that you are no longer extinct… but hungry… Hungry for the Ninja!"

Flash deadpanned as he remarked, "Yup, I thought that's what he'd do."

Thunder then turned to him, "Oh, no, he's trying to bring it back?!"

"Not if we have any say in the matter," Frost told him as they pulled out their weapons and made themselves known.

"The Ninja are here!" Chrysalis shouted. "Stop them until he finishes the resurrection!" she ordered the Serpentine, who threw their spears at the Ninja as they ran along the side.

"Rise, Grundal! Rise!" Garmadon shouted as the Ninja were coming close and the skeleton shook even harder.

"We can't let him finish!" Flash shouted as they ran above the skeleton.

"Go!" Landrush told them as they leapt onto the skeleton.

"Stop them!" Garmadon ordered as the Serpentine ran next to the skeleton and thrusted their spears right at the Ninja.

"This is not a solid plan, Landrush!" Frost warned.

Suddenly, magic blasts from Chrysalis, Sombra, and Nightmare Moon were being shot at them. The Ninja were so occupied with stopping Garmadon, they failed to notice the Weapon's magic was absorbing into them as well. Frost, Gaia, Thunder and Landrush were knocked off the skeleton leaving only Trail and Flash to stop Garmadon.

"It feels pretty heated up here!" Trail shouted as they tried to stay on.

"I have a plan!" Flash told him. "On three, throw me up in the air! One…" they ducked under a couple of magic blasts. "Two…" Flash tossed up his bo as they continued to thrust their spears at the two. "Three!" Trail tossed Flash up in the air as he fell back and Flash kicked his bo at the right time and angle right towards the Mega Weapon before he fell on top of the others. The bo managed to get a direct hit on the Mega Weapon and knocked it out of Garmadon's grasp, stopping the Grundal from being revived.

Garmadon trembled with rage. "Not again. NOT AGAIN!" he yelled in anger.

"And you said it wouldn't fail," Skales mocked.

"Retreat!" King Sombra ordered as the Serpentine made their way out and Garmadon quickly picked up his Mega Weapon.

The Ninja stood back up as Trail leapt back down. "Ha-ha! We stop them! It didn't work!" Thunder boasted as Garmadon grabbed his Mega Weapon.

"Curse you, Ninja!" he cursed as ran to the exit.

"You can't keep winning forever. Someday, we will defeat you!" Nightmare Moon promised as she ran out as well.

"Ha, ha. Well, I thought we handled that well," Thunder bragged before he saw Skales and the other Serpentine Generals pick up one of the artifacts. "Hey, hey! They're trying to steal the golden sarcophagus!"

The four realized they were spotted and slithered as fast their tails could go. The Ninja chased after them as they burst out of the doors and saw them slithering down the streets.

"After them!" Gaia shouted.

Surprisingly, the four Serpentine Generals were faster than them as they slithered down a street and saw a manhole when they turn a corner.

"That'sss our way out of here!" Skales told them.

Skalidor opened the cover and they tried to push the sarcophagus in but were unsuccessful, "It won't fit!" he told the other three.

"Forget it!" Skales told him, "Let'sss get out of here! If they catch usss, we're on a one-way trip to Tartarusss!"

As the Ninja ran after them, they did not notice that their legs were becoming shorter. Skales then closed the manhole cover and disappeared into the sewers. The Ninja then peeked around the corner, only to find the Generals were gone and the sarcophagus was left behind.

"Ah. I can't believe we couldn't catch up to them," Thunder complained, but his voice sounded different. Almost… higher. "I'm usually faster than that. It's as if my legs were half the size."

"I don't remember that thing being so big," Trail said, also sounding different. "Did it grow?"

"Or did we shrink?" Frost asked as he sounded different as well.

"What's wrong with your voices you three?" Gaia asked before she noticed her voice was different as well. "Wait, what's wrong with my voice?"

Flash looked towards the window. "Um, guys?" he said, his voice also different. They looked to the window, noticing in the reflection that they were now half their original size.

Thunder gasped as he flipped up his hood. "WE SHRUUUUNNNKKK!" he screamed as they looked down at their bodies too.

"No, we're... we're kids!" Flash corrected as they took off their hoods before all six of them screamed in shock and fear at what they are now.

"Oh, oh, oh, this is bad! This is so bad on so many levels!" Thunder yelled in panic.

"Oh, it's impossible!" Landrush tried to deny as he turned to Frost. "We must be dreaming, Frost! TELL ME WE'RE DREAMING!"

"If we were, Luna would have shown up by now!" Frost pointed out. "Perhaps Garmadon succeeded in turning back the clock, but instead of reviving the Grundal, it only affected us."

"Yeah, but you're a Nindroid!" Thunder pointed out. "And Nindroids don't turn into kids! Explain that one, genius!"

"I've extended my logic parameters, but nothing is coming up!" Frost explained as he looked at himself. "This does not compute!" Sparks fly as his eye twitched.

"Okay, I get it. We're all in this together," Gaia said before she started panicking again. "Oh, but I can't be a child again! I hated being a child! You can't go anywhere by yourself, grownups force you to wear what you don't want to, nopony listens to you!" Gaia then let out a gasp. "Oh, no… There's something even worse than those things… EARLY BEDTIMES!" she screamed before she lied down in a fetal position, frantically sucking on her hoof as if to calm herself down.

"Gaia, get a grip!" Landrush shouted, shaking Gaia out of her trance. "We'll find a way out of this jam!"

Gaia blinked before she took a calming breath, and then smiled at Landrush. "Thank you Landy," she thanked before she gave him a nuzzle as the brown colt blushed lightly.

The others approached as the two broke apart. "We told Aqua we meet back at the Bounty," Thunder told them. "I'm sure Sensei or Twilight will know what to do."

"Well, at least things can't get any worse," Flash said before they heard sirens.

A police chariot in front of them and blinded them with their bright lights before two stallions stood in front of them.

"Way to jinx it, Flash," Trail grumbled.

"Well, well, what do we got here? Looks like we've caught our culprits to the museum heist. Who would have thought it was just a bunch of brats?" One of the officers joked as he noticed their outfits, "What have you got on, Little Rascals? Pajamas?" he and his partner laughed.

"These aren't pajamas! We're Ninja!" Thunder told the officers.

"Yeah, yeah, and I'm Star Swirl the Bearded," the second officer joked as the two laughed again.

Flash frowned, "You won't be laughing long," he told them. "NINJA, GO!" He did a Spinjitzu motion, but instead of sucking up the officers, the tornado flipped the other Ninja on the Chariot. "Oh, no, our Spinjitzu doesn't work while we're this size!" Flash said as he cancelled his Spinjitzu.

"Easy, kiddo," one of the officers said as they used their magic to pick them up. "You six are coming with us to the precinct."

"Look, officers, this has been a great misunderstanding," Flash spoke up. "We were trying to catch the ones who really stole it."

"Hey, you can tell all the stories you want when we return to the museum tomorrow to explain why you stole this," the second officer interrupted him.

"B-But we didn't steal-" Trail tried to explained

"Zip it," the second officer cut him off as the Ninja were tossed into the chariot. "You have the right to remain silent."

The first officer then snorted, "Heh, kids."

He and his partner then hooked up to the chariot and galloped off as nopony noticed a strange creature walking out from the alley ways, growling in hunger.

The next morning, Lloyd was reading a comic book with Cozy Glow, while Wu, Aqua, and Twilight looked out into the city, waiting for the Ninja to come back. "Oh, they should be back by now," Aqua said worryingly.

"Oh, I fear something horrible has happened to them," Wu hypothesized as he walked over to Lloyd who was still reading his comic book. "Lloyd, you're in charge of the Bounty while Twilight, her friends, Aqua, and I have a look around town."

Lloyd quickly switched to his textbook on Ninja weapons when he was called on and looked at Sensei Wu.

"Also, the CMCs and our students from the school will be here as well to help out with your training." Twilight added. "And watch over the hatchlings while I'm gone too."

"Uh... Yeah, sure thing." Lloyd responded as Cozy nodded. As soon as they left Cozy pulled out the comic book.

"What Sensei doesn't know, won't hurt us." Cozy said with a grin.

"Alright, Cozy, looks it's just you, me and Space Ranger against the Imperial Sludge." Lloyd said as they opened the book together.

Back at the museum the Ninja, minus Frost, were kneeling in front of the curator. "We're sorry for stealing," they apologized.

"But we didn't," Frost pointed out. "I don't understand."

"Shh. The quicker we get out of here, the faster we can figure out how to return our bodies back to normal," Flash whispered to him.

"I'm sorry for stealing too," Frost quickly said as he kneeled as well.

"Thank you, children, for returning the sarcophagus. You did the right thing," the curator told them with a smile. "But what about the skeleton?"

Gaia stood up, "Um, I'm sorry sir, but what skeleton? We never stole any skeleton," she told him.

"The Grundal skeleton," he explained as he pointed to where the Grundal skeleton was.

"The Grundal skeleton?" Thunder repeated as they turned to see all that was left were the metal beams that kept the skeleton up. "It's gone!" The Ninja then huddled together. "You don't think..."

"It just walked out of here?" Flash finished what Thunder was going to ask.

"Theoretically, it is possible that if Garmadon successfully reversed the years on us, he reversed the years on the Grundal and brought it back to life," Frost theorized.

"That means it's back and we're putting everypony in danger here," Trail added.

The other gasped in shock before they turned to the adults. "You guys have to believe us! The Grundal's been brought back to life and it's on the loose. Its sole existence is to hunt Ninja and as long as we're here, everypony's at risk!" Thunder exclaimed, to which the three stallions laughed.

"I take you don't believe us?" Gaia asked rhetorically and she was answered as she and the five colts were thrown onto a bench.

"Well, we'll keep a good look out for anything that goes bump in the night, okay?" one of the officers said. "Now, you six sit still until we call your parents to come pick you up," he instructed as he and his partner turned around.

"We gotta get out of here," Landrush whispered to the others. "Like, now."

"But how?" Thunder asked.

Flash soon noticed a group of school-aged foals walking behind them, likely on a field trip. An idea struck him.

"I got it! Ditch the Gi's and follow my lead," he told them as they quickly took off their uniforms.

They carefully snuck up behind the children before taking some of their extra clothing to blend in with them. Trail wore a red hoodie, Thunder wore a baseball cap and a blue t-shirt with a butterfly, Gaia wore a green frilly dress and white framed sunglasses, Frost wore a white shirt with a number 13 on it, Landrush wore a violet shirt a star pattern, and Flash wore a yellow shirt and black jacket.

When the officers noticed that the "children" were surprisingly quiet, they turned and saw they were gone. "Huh, where'd they go?" one of the officers said.

Back with the Ninja they were walking with the rest of the foals out of the museum, "Oh, this is so humiliating," Thunder complained.

"I know. This reminds way too much of how my mother made me wear the most embarrassing dresses," Gaia added as she fiddled with her sunglasses.

"I'm afraid if we can't use our Spinjitzu, we'll be no match for the Grundal," Frost reminded them.

"Then we have to get back to the Bounty," Flash told them as the foals are exiting the museum. Once they were out, the six of them ran away and had to find a way back to the Destiny's Bounty.

However, their escape had not gone unnoticed. "Huh, hey where are you going?" the teacher (Noble Heart) leading the students called out before he heard something above him. "What was that?" He and the students all looked up on the roof as they heard a growl. "Hello? Is anyone there?" They then saw the Grundal with blood red scales, cold dead white eyes, and green saliva coming out of its maw. "A monster!"

Everypony ran for their lives as the Grundal jumped down from the roof and started running.

Once they got away from the school group, they headed back to the Ultra Sonic Raider to head back to the Bounty… except there was one little problem.

"Aww man! We're too small to drive!" Trail said as none of them could reach the controls or gas pedals.

"Let's just take the bus," Gaia suggested as they got out and waited by a bus stop. "Any of you still have some bus tokens?"

The colts checked their pockets and Flash managed to pull out some. The bus came to stop and opened the door to them. "Excuse me sir, but me and my friends need a ride," Flash told the driver.

"Where are your parents?" the driver asked. "If you're going to climb aboard, you're going to need parental permission."

"Uh… we… uh…," They tried to come up with an excuse before the driver closed the door and drove off.

"Did I mention… how I hate being a child?" Gaia deadpanned.

"Any other ideas?" Trail asked before Thunder noticed a phone booth.

"I got one!" he said. "Give me a boost!"

They went over to the phone booth and Thunder got a boost up from Landrush and Trail. Thunder put in a bit and took the phone after pushing a few buttons. "Collect call, please." Feeling his support to be a little imbalanced, he looked down at the two colts. "Hold me steady."

Back on the Destiny's Bounty, Lloyd and Scootaloo were playing a game while Cozy, Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom watched the baby Serpentine. "I never liked snakes, but these little guys are pretty cute in a way." Sweetie Belle said as the Young Six came in.

"Everything okay in here?" Sandbar asked.

"Yeah, just about to beat Lloyd!" Scootaloo bragged as her avatar was overpowering Lloyd's.

"Oh no, you're not!" Lloyd told her as he did a combo move with his avatar.

"Cool. I call playing the winner!" Smolder called out.

"But shouldn't we be training Lloyd?" Ocellus asked.

Lloyd just waved her off, "Aww, don't worry. I've done plenty of training today. This is the first time I've been able to fun in a long while," he said before the phone started ringing.

"Who could that be?" Cozy asked as she picked up the phone. "Hello, Destiny's Bounty. Cozy Glow speaking."

"Cozy, it's Thunder! Let me talk to Wu!" Thunder shouted on the other end.

"Thunder?" Lloyd asked as he heard his voice, taking the phone from Cozy. "Where are you guys? Why haven't you returned? Sensei Wu is out looking for you."

"Ah! Apparently, you need parental permission to take the bus and we can't seem to get out of the city!" Thunder complained, leaving them confused by what he just said.

"Say what?" Gallus asked with a raised brow.

Thunder groaned again "Oh, never mind, it's a bit complicated. Just meet us at Buddy's Pizza in ten minutes. And bring our weapons," heinstructed them.

"Weapons?" Apple Bloom asked. "But we gotta keep watching the baby Serpentine."

"Then bring them with you! It's an emergency!" Thunder yelled as the kids all covered their ears, with Lloyd and Scootaloo falling from their chairs.

"Okay, okay! Yeesh!" Silverstream told him as they rushed to the weapon cabinet, muttering to herself. "The way he's talking, I swear he acts like a kid sometimes~"

The group soon arrived at Buddy's Pizza with the weapons Thunder asked them to bring and were looking around for the Ninja.

"Really?! Out of all the places we could have meet, you chose this place?!" they heard a colt complained.

"What? I like their pizza," they heard another say.

"Psst! Guys…"

They turned and saw five colts and a filly sitting at table next to them.

"Hey beat it, brats. We're kids on a mission," Smolder said as they pressed on.

Suddenly, one of them, a yellow colt, stopped the Young Eight and the CMC. "It's me, Flash Sentry," the colt told them.

The group gave another look at the six foals before they let out a gasp and they dropped the weapons.

"Holy Celestia!" Sandbar yelled.

"What happened?!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Wh-What the...how did..." Gallus fumbled his question.

"Ninja ponies were...but now they..." Yona was completely baffled.

"Whoa! When did you get so..." Silverstream tried to say.

"Your...uh, uh…" Lloyd stammer.

"SMALL!" All eleven of them shouted everypony in the room looked at them when they did.

"Keep it down!" Trail whispered to them. "We're trying to lay low."

"Look, this was Garmadon's doing," Flash explained. "His Mega Weapon not only turned us into foals, but unleashed a creature whose sole purpose is to hunt down Ninja."

"Typical Garmadon," Landrush rolled his eyes.

"And now, every time we try to tell a grownup what's happening, they won't believe us, 'cause we're kids!" Thunder finished, slamming his hoof on the table as the real kids picked up the weapons and started laughing.

"I don't see why you all find this funny!" Gaia glared at them.

"We know we shouldn't laugh… but it's so ironic," Scootaloo said through her laughter.

"Yeah, you give us grief about being kids, and now the shoe is on the other hoof," Smolder told them.

"Well, I guess you know what we feel, being treated differently every day," Lloyd said as they placed the weapons on the table.

"Look, this is serious," Frost spoke up. "If we don't turn big so we can use our Spinjitzu, we don't stand a chance against the Grundal."

"What do you mean by that?" Cozy Glow asked.

"We're too small so our Spinjitzu doesn't work right," Trail explained.

"But what about me?" Lloyd spoke up. "I know Spinjitzu."

"Yeah, but we don't know the Grundal," Flash pointed out. "We all need to be at full strength. But we need to do first is find somepony who might know more about how to defeat one of these things."

Lloyd noticed a colt on another table reading a comic book. Soon, an idea just popped into his head.

"Lloyd, focus!" Landrush chided him.

Lloyd just chuckled and smiled. "Heh, I am," he said as turned to them. "I think I know just the guy."

The group followed Lloyd to a building with a large neon sign that says "Equestria Doomsday Comix" and they entered to find some foals reading comics. "You brought us to a comic book store?!" Landrush asked.

Lloyd looked pretty determined though. "Trust me. If there's anyone who knows how to defeat a monster that doesn't exist, I know just the pony to talk to," he explained as they walked around the store.

"We're not going to pick up your stupid comic, Lloyd!" Flash told him as they stopped. "This is serious business."

Thunder saw a comic book on one of the shelves and picked it up. "Oh, look. A first edition "Daffy Dale." I used to love that nut growing up," Thunder laughed before he noticed his friends looking at him strangely. He soon cleared his throat. "So juvenile."

The Ninja shook their heads while the CMCs, Cozy and Silverstream giggled.

"Geek!" Smolder snorted as Lloyd guided them to the counter.

"Everyone, meet Comic Marvel…" Lloyd introduced the stallion behind the counter, a light-red bearded pony with his mane done in a ponytail and wearing a T-shirt that read on the front… "…aka, 'Mother Doomsday'."

The stallion smiled at the colt. "Well, if it isn't Lloyd 'Hemorrhoid' Garmadon," he greeted before he frowned sympathetically, "Sorry if you came looking for the latest Starfarer, I'm all sold out."

Lloyd looked like he was gonna have a panic attack, "Wh- Sold out?!" he screams, causing everypony to look at him.

"Lloyd, remember why we're here!" Cozy whispered to him.

Lloyd calmed down and turned back to Comic Marvel. "Actually, Mother Doomsday, we need help."

"Well, color me intrigued," Comic smiled in interest.

"We have a problem," Apple Bloom stepped up. "There's a Grundal on the loose, and we need to know how to deal with it."

"Ah, a theoretical question," Comic remarked, intrigued by the 'hypothetical' query.

"Uh, yeah, theoretical!" Gallus confirmed, "So, whaddya got for us?"

Comic then walked towards to section of the store that held info about the Grundal. "Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalicus." He took a breath before continuing. "Although extinct, there has been a plethora of film, television and comics exploring the mythology around the primordial predator." He then grabbed a nearby comic, showing the Grundal. "Supposedly, they always get their prey," he explained.

"Sounds like he knows his creatures," Gaia whispered to the others.

"Twilight was so wrong about comic books." Cozy Glow whispered.

"Can it be stopped?" Sandbar asked.

"First thing you need to know is its thick shell-like hide is invincible to swords, scythes, nunchucks, bo staffs, sais, and throwing stars." Comic listed as the Ninja realized that those were their weapons that he said were useless against the Grundal. "So your cheap imitations will do nothing to slow him down."

"Swell," Landrush said sarcastically.

"Second of all, it's nocturnal and will only hunt at night," Comic told them.

Scootaloo wiped her brow. "Oh, good, it's still daylight, so we can just relax for a while," she said as Comic looked at her in confusion before she realized what she said and cleared her throat. "I mean, uhh, theoretically speaking."

"But how does creature smash nasty Grundal?" Yona asked.

"The only way to defeat one is with light," Comic answered as he put the comic down. "Like a vampire, with enough of it, it could potentially destroy it." He then guided them to a cabinet. "If I had my weapons of choice, may I recommend the Illuma-Sword?" He opened the cabinet to show six toy swords, each in a different color. "These are authentic replicas that would come in handy, were you to live long enough to actually face a Grundal."

"Aren't these just toys, though?" Sweetie Belle asked, "If a real sword won't work, how will these be any better?"

"Well, if swords are your thing, maybe I can interest you in an authentic Ninja Gi, signed by the very Ninja that saved the city," Comic offered as he pointed to a glass cabinet with mannequins of the Ninja color Gi's.

The Ninja felt a wave of awkwardness as those were suits that they wanted to get rid of after they shrunk in the wash.

"Uh, thanks but we'll just take the toys," Flash said as he reached for the Illuma-Swords.

"Not so fast," Comic said as he stopped him. "This Starfarer combo pack can only be won in the Galactic Ranger Trivia Battle Royale," he pointed to some fillies and colts wearing costumes in a corner. "Do you have what it takes to be the best?"

"Well, we might not be able to, but I know who does," Cozy said before turning to Lloyd.

Lloyd looked nervous before Flash slapped his back. "You can do it Lloyd!" he said.

"Nopony knows Starfarer better than you!" Gaia encouraged.

"Sign me up!" Lloyd declared as the others cheered.

Twilight, Wu, and Aqua returned to the Bounty and find no one there. "Great, now the kids are missing," Aqua complained. "What's next?"

Twilight looked worried, "Oh, I hope they're taking care of the Serpentine babies," she said before she noticed the phone beeping. "Wait, looks like they left a message," she said as she pressed a button a played the recorded message.

"Sensei! We're at Doomsday Comix. Garmadon turned the others into foals, and we're about to face a real life Grundal!" Lloyd said in the message. "If you get this message, this isn't a prank. Come quick!"

"Flash and the others… are now foals?!" Twilight said.

"A Grundal?!" Aqua added.

"WHAT?!" they yelled in unison.

Wu hummed in concern. "Oh, dear, there is only one creature who can help turn the Ninja back to normal," he told them.

The three quickly traveled to the tea shop in the village Wu and the Royal Sisters traveled to acquire the Traveler's Tea, walking in to see the old mare here. "Hello, Mystake, we need a special tea."

"They're all special, you old fool." Mystake told him.

"Well, the tea we're looking for is one that can make somepony," Twilight started before glancing at Wu and then clearing her throat, "older."

Mystake smiled. "Oh, you seek Tomorrow's Tea. I only have one in stock in back," she said before walking into the storage room. "Follow me." They followed her into the back room as she started to look on each shelf. "It should be here."

"It's gone?!" Aqua asked with concerned.

"Just misplaced," Mystake assured her. "I know it's here somewhere."

"We need to find that tea before it's too late!" Wu told them as they searched the shelves for the tea.

Back at Doomsday Comix, it was turning to night as Lloyd was now facing off against a colt cosplaying as Galactic Ranger for the last two questions, "It's down to the final two. This question is for Lloyd!" Comic said, gesturing to Lloyd.

"Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd!" the crowd cheered.

"What is Galactic Ranger's famous catchphrase?" Comic asked.

"'Fear'? 'Fear' is not a word from where I come from.'" Lloyd answered with confidence.

"Correct!" Comic declared. "We're all tied up."

The crowd cheers as the cosplay colt looks at Lloyd unimpressed, while Lloyd smirks at him. As they keep celebrating, Frost looks out the window and saw the day was turning to night. "It's getting dark," he noted to the others. "The Grundal will be on the prowl soon."

"Meanin' that varmint will find us before we find it!" Applebloom added.

Trail looked confident. "Don't worry. I got faith Lloyd can win those Illuma-Swords," he assured before they heard slurping and turn to Silverstream and Thunder, who were eating some cotton candy.

"Silverstream, Thunder, is this really the best time to be eating cotton candy?" Gaia asked.

"What? It helps me stay calm in tense situations," Silverstream explained.

"And it makes me feel young. Deal with it," Thunder added as he continued eating.

Then Comic spoke, "Final question, The first person to answer this will win." He then turns to Lloyd and the Cosplay Colt. "In the latest issue of Starfarer, how did Galactic Ranger escape the Imperial Sludge?"

"Uh… it… uh… But I haven't read the latest issue!" Lloyd said before his opponents spoke up.

"By reversing the polarity of the ship's gravity transducer," he answered.

"We have a winner!" Comic declared as the crowd cheered but the Young Seven, the CMCs, and the Ninja as they slouched in defeat.

"Drat!" Smolder complained.

"This is our fault. We should have let Lloyd get that comic if we knew this was going to happen," Flash said before the Serpentine babies hissed. "Hey, what's wrong kids?" he asked before the lights went out.

"Who shut off the power?" Comic asked before they heard a rumbling sound as the front sign fell off.

"Oh, no, it's here," Gaia said as they heard a muffled growl.

"What's here?" Comic asked in worry.

"You know that theoretical discussion we had earlier?" Thunder asked with a nervous laugh.

"Well… what if we told you that it wasn't exactly theoretical?" Cozy asked sheepishly as they saw a shape above them.

Comic shook his head, "Not the…" he said before The Grundal steps on the glass, cracking it as looked down.

"GRUNDAL!" they all screamed as the Grundal ran across the roof.

"We've got to get out of here!" Frost shouted as he and the group made their way towards the exit. Both Landrush and Yona tried to open it, but the sign was blocking it.

"Door stuck!" Yona said as they looked up and saw the Grundal charging at them again.

"Look, it's coming!" Sweetie Belle said before it smashed the glass and feel in front of them, "AHHH! WE'RE DOOMED!" she screamed.

"Doomed as Brick Sarsovski in the Phoenix War, page 15!" Comic shouted as everypony before they left under its tail and it destroyed the glass cabinet with the Ninja suits. The Grundal turn its attention to the frightened ponies when it heard them.

"This way! We can't let it eat anyone!" Flash told the other Ninja as they ran over to the suits and took them before grabbing the Illuma-Swords.

"Hey McNasty Face! I thought Ninja were on your menu!" Landrush taunted as the Grundal turned to the Ninja as they waved the glowing swords at it. The light hurt its eyes as they pushed it back.

"It's working!" Thunder said as they kept waving their swords at it. Thunder then leaped over and hit the Grundal, only to break his toy sword. Just as Trail and Frost did when they tried and the only ones who had their own intact are Flash, Landrush, and Gaia.

"Stupid toy!" Gaia complained before the Grundal knocked all six against the front counter. It then opened its jaws, dripping with green saliva as the Ninja screamed.

"Not to worry, I'll take care of this!" Lloyd said as he jumped up from behind the counter.

"Lloyd!" the other Ninja shouted.

Lloyd powered up his horn in a bright light that hurt the Grundal. It was working very well before it swung its tail and knocked Lloyd down. It then opened its jaw again and was ready to devour its prey.

"Oh, gross!" Landrush shouted. "This is the end, isn't it?!"

Suddenly, a burst of magic burst open the door before Twilight, Aqua, and Wu came through, just in time.

"Everypony out! Now!" Aqua ordered as the foals rushed out.

"Flash, guys, use this!" Twilight shouted tossing them the Tomorrow's Tea.

Thunder caught the tea. "What is it?" he asked as the Grundal snapped at them.

"It'll turn forward the hands of time, turning you old, and reducing the Grundal back to dust and bones!" Wu told them as they jumped back from the Grundal. "But be careful. There's no turning back!"

"Grundal, prepare to be extinct!" Thunder shouted as he was prepared to throw it at it before Flash quickly stopped him.

"Wait!" he said as he, Landrush, and Gaia held up their Illuma-Swords and made the Grundal move back a bit. "What about Lloyd? He'll get older too!"

"You're right! Lloyd, you gotta move now!" Gaia said as they turned to him.

"There's no time! Just do it!" Lloyd told them.

"You'll miss out on the rest of your childhood dude!" Thunder argued.

"And if you do grow older then that means the day you have to fight your father will come sooner than we thought!" Flash added.

"They're right!" Trail said, "We can't do that to you! It's not fair!"

The Grundal growled before knocking the swords away and knocking the Ninja back. The tea fell out of Thunder's grasp and landed on Lloyd.

"'Fair? Fair isn't a word from where I come'!" Lloyd declared, channeling his inner Galactic Ranger before he stood up and threw the tea at the Grundal, causing a vapor to burst out.

Wu, Aqua and Twilight gasped in shock. "He used it!" Wu exclaimed as they watched the Grundal spin around, its scales and flesh blowing right off, revealing its skeleton.

"And it's working!" Aqua said before the skeleton exploded in a blast of light and fell to the ground. Then the Ninja emerged from the scattered bones, now finally aged back to normal.

"What happened?" Trail asked.

Gaia cheered. "Ha-ha! It worked! We're not kids anymore!"

"Looks like Mystake was right!" Twilight smiled.

Comic looked shocked to say the least. "They are the real Ninja," he breathed out.

"We could've told you that," Gallus commented.

Cozy looked worried however. "But, where's Lloyd?" she asked.

Her question was answered when a stallion came out from the wreckage, and everyone was shocked to see who it was. The pony looked like Lloyd, except…

"I'm...older," he said slowly as he looked himself over, speaking in a deeper voice after having skipped puberty and looking more around the Young Six's ages.

"The time for the Light Ninja to face his destiny has grown nearer," Wu said as Lloyd felt concerned about it at first before the other Ninja stood by him and gave confidence smiles.

"I'm ready," he said.

Trail gave a low whistle. "Look at you!" he commented bumping Lloyd's shoulder. "Looks like the Tomorrow's Tea was pretty kind to you."

"I agree. You look like a prime example of a young stallion," Gaia added before Lloyd glanced at his flank.

He then sighed sadly, "Well, I would if it weren't one small thing," he said as he showed them his still blank flank.

"Oooh," Thunder, Trail and Gaia said as Flash, Landrush and Frost winced sympathetically.

"Don't worry," Apple Bloom sand as she and her friends stepped up. "As the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we'll help you find what you're meant to do."

"Thanks," Lloyd said before he walked over to Cozy. "And Cozy, just because I'm older now, doesn't change the fact that you're still my best friend."

Cozy smiled as the two nuzzled. "So does this mean… you can give me a piggyback ride?" Cozy asked, Lloyd chuckled and lowered himself so Cozy could climb on.

They all walked out of the store and headed back to the Bounty but not before Comic stopped Lloyd for a moment. "Here you go, Lloyd," he said, passing him a comic. "You can have my copy of Starfarer. You deserve it."

Lloyd just smiled and took it. "Well, I already know how it ends, but I think there's somepony else who might want it," he said before passing it Cozy Glow as she squealed and started reading as they rushed after the others.

The picture soon became like an illustrated comic page, specifically the end page that would leave the story on a cliffhanger, revealing the now of-age Lloyd, holding up an Illuma-Sword with his magic and wearing his Light Ninja Gi as he stood before Lord Garmadon, as Wu's voiceover came.

There comes a time when we all must grow up. When that time comes, it's important not to forget the lessons of our childhood because our childhood is the greatest training one can ever have. Yes, the time until the final battle has grown shorter, but the Light Ninja has grown stronger.