//------------------------------// // Tough Choices // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// Fire Fight and the Battle Foals along with Valkyrie quickly ascended the cliff path they took to get down into the gorge. All that could go through the red colt’s head was the sudden risk of his quest coming to an abrupt end with the appearance of Film Noir. Taking a quick glance back, seeing her and her film crew knocked unconscious tugged at his heart. He was forever grateful to her for defending him when he was at his lowest in Ponyville, even if her efforts were in vain, so to have Shadow Shroud have to knock her unconscious was hard for him, but the last thing he wanted to do was to let his team down, especially now that they’ve come this far. What he didn’t consider right away was how in the hay he was going to explain this to Valkyrie. The foals bolted into the woods near where they fended off the flock of harpies, making sure that nopony else was miraculously around to discover them. They stopped to take a quick breather as they looked around frantically. “D-Did we lose them?” Tidal Wave stammered. He had to let go of Spiral, who had just regained her senses after her little panic attack. Kickback looked around and listened intently. “Ah reckon we did.” “I made sure of it.” Shadow Shroud said. Her normally stern expression drooped down into shallow guilt as her eyes glanced toward Fire Fight. Turf War looked around some more. “Hol’ up. Where Valkyrie went?” Said griffonlet suddenly burst out from the bushes, and her expression told the foals that she was in no mood for taking a breather as she hovered above the foals. “Ok! I’m not moving another inch until you explain just what in Siegfried’s name I just witnessed!” Being a griffon, the foals weren’t really sure how much Valkyrie would care about their current situation, but it was clear that they wanted their help, they’d have to come clean once more with somepony they couldn’t avoid. Fire Fight sighed. “Alright, Valkyrie. Pull up a chair and listen.” “Incoming long story….” Spiral commented. Fire Fight, as usual, started from the top. However, with the sudden appearance of Film Noir, he felt the need to mention her role in his ordeal back in Ponyville. He was also sure not mention Shadow Shroud’s nature as a Shadewalker, nor her killing Gene Splice. The last thing he mentioned was their visit from Princess Luna, which is what prompted them to find the portal to the Asgard Forest to begin with, hence why they sought out Valkyrie. “So…..yeah. That’s, uh….that’s pretty much it.” All of the other foals bar Shadow Shroud were stunned to hear about Film Noir for the first time, and the very notion that who they just encountered knew Fire Fight further jarred them. Would she now be even more determined to find him now that she knows where he is generally? Valkyrie found herself pretty stunned at Fire Fight’s tale alone. The foals had demonstrated their skill and dedication on the battlefield already, and even through her inflated ego, she was able to see the true nature of their prowess. “Dude…..for real?” “Y’all think we lyin’? I ain’t got dis hammer just ‘cause I wanna look like a bad m*********, ya know.” Turf War said. “Valkyrie, please don’t rat us out! I absolutely do not want to go back home!” Spiral plead. “None of us do…” Tidal Wave said. Valkyrie gently fluttered back to the ground and sighed as she looked at the foals. “Nah. Don’t worry.” The foals were equal parts shocked and relieved to hear Valkyrie’s response. “R-Really?” “Yeah….I mean, I probably should, but…. 1. I promised I’d help you guys, and 2. Griffons don’t really care much for pony’s problems anyway. Besides, I’ve seen you guys in action. You’ll be fine.” Valkyrie said. Despite her somewhat callous response, the foals were just relieved that Valkyrie decided not to be their enemy. Fire Fight wiped his brow. “Phew! That’s a relief. Thanks, Valkyrie.” Valkyrie chuckled. “Sure, kid. But enough chit-chat. We’ve got a portal to catch!” she declared as she twirled her sword proudly before sheathing it. The foals all agreed, and they made their way back to the Great Horn Summit. They decided to hurry, but pace themselves carefully so as to not attract possible attention, and in case Film Noir and her crew woke up sooner than expected, though Shadow Shroud assured them they’d be out like lights for long enough for them to escape if they didn’t dawdle. As they crossed out of the forest and into the open plain, the little ninja appeared next to Fire Fight. “Hey…” Fire Fight looked over at her. He could tell that she too was thinking of Film Noir. “ You saw all of that happen back in Ponyville, didn’t you?” Shroud solemnly nodded. “I did. It was….a very…..tender scene.” She muttered. “I’m sorry, Fire Fight. My actions back there might have been a little….harsh.” Fire Fight shook his head. “No, Shroud. They weren’t. How else were we gonna get away without being followed?” Shroud seemed to narrow her eyes a little as she glanced down at the ground. “You’re not concerned about her at all?” she asked. “She was your only ray of hope in your darkest hour, and you’re okay with me subduing her as though she were some animal?” Fire Fight was caught off guard. “N-No! I didn’t like it any more than you did.” He said. But then he thought back to when the kindly actress held him in her arms before his adventure, and just a few moments ago. His mother was the only thing keeping him sane with all the support she could give him, but having a stranger stick for him purely out the kindness of her heart meant a lot to the headstrong colt. Admittedly, he felt a little spoiled, but it was better than being demonized by everypony else. Thinking about, her embrace moments felt no different from way back when, and he suddenly felt like an ungrateful jerk. “I just hope she….she’s gonna be okay.” Shroud put her hoof on his shoulders. “Tough choices, huh?” Fire Fight lightly chuckled. “You’re saying that now?” “Better late than never, I’d say.” Shroud teased. “But still….ever since Gene Splice, I sometimes wonder if we’re going a little too far.” The light mood suddenly dropped for the two of them, and Fire Fight was glanced down at his hooves. “Well…..Okay, it’s kinda weird hearing that from you, but…..” Shroud suddenly giggled. “You’re right. Maybe I’m thinking too much. Before I met you, I wasn’t used to caring about others.” Fire Fight regained his smile. “Well, don’t let me change you too much. If you become as soft I can be, we’re kinda screwed.” “ Duly noted.” Shroud said. From then on, the two had idle conversations about their adventure thus far. Meanwhile, Tidal Wave stayed with Spiral to make sure she wasn’t still dizzy. He didn’t let it on, but he was still a little rattled by her outburst of star power. “You still okay, Spiral? That seemed like a real doozy back there.” “Yeah, I’m fine Tidal Wave. Thanks.” Spiral said. “Sorry I nearly blasted you into oblivion…..twice.” “Eh. It’s okay. Sorry I tackled you so hard. Guess I was more panicked than I realized.” Tidal Wave said. “Can’t say I blame you. That was WAY too close for comfort.” Spiral said. “What? The rockslide?” Tidal Wave joked. Spiral sighed. “I’m serious, dude. I don’t even want to imagine being sent back to Hoofington. Everything was just awful there after I…..got kinda power hungry.” Tidal Wave frowned. “S-Sorry….I didn’t mean-” “No, it’s okay.” Spiral interjected. “I doubt you want to go back to Cloudsdale.” Tidal Wave shook his head. “Not in a million years.” He said, but then a thought crossed his mind and heart. “I just hope things will get better for my dad. I caused him a lot of grief.” “No you didn’t, Tidal Wave. Ponies just didn’t like the way you were born, and they decided to attack the messenger along with you.” Spiral said. “I made a decision that endangered the whole town, let alone my parents. I’m the one who actually screwed up.” “Maybe, but they opted not to help you. More than anything, you put yourself in danger, and everypony in that town was too scared and selfish to even approach you. You made the right choice getting out of there.” Tidal Wave said. Spiral creased a little smile. “Yeah. We both did. It was a leap of faith, but it worked out in the end when we met Fire Fight, huh?” “Ha! You sure wanna you talk to me about leaping?” Tidal Wave said. The two shared a little laugh. “So….what all happened down there? With the eel, I mean?” Spiral asked. “Oh! Well, when I got down into the nitty-gritty of the ecosystem down there, there was a lot of glowing fish and stuff. A lot of it was about normal sized, so I wasn’t too freaked out. Then I swam out into this….like shaft, I guess, and I could sense something big in there with me. I couldn’t make it out very clearly at first, but it stopped in front of me and lit up its body while looking me right in the eye!” Tidal Wave explained. Spiral’s eyes widened in horror as she imagined herself in Tidal Wave’s place. “Holy hayseed!” “Yeah. Needless to say, it didn’t like having visitors, so it tried to crush me. And it moved around that limited space easier than you’d think……Although, I guess it was an eel. Anyway, I finally thought to make a huge blade of water on my spear, and I just diced from there!” Tidal Wave said. “Yikes! Suddenly, Hydro Horse!” Spiral said. Tidal Wave looked surprised. “Jeez! How many comic series have you read?” “Enough to keep my mind occupied from the stars, thankfully.” Spiral said. “So was it the original series version, the version from that crappy spin-off from two years ago?” “What? Come on! It wasn’t that bad!” Tidal Wave argued. “Dude….his sword was changed to a freaking harpoon that he just made out of wrecked boat parts! What was that supposed to do?” Spiral said. Tidal Wave shrugged. “At least he took the time to make it himself rather than just have it pretty much handed to him.” “Well….sure, but all the villains were either just stupid or plain boring. I mean, come on! A mutated sea urchin, and all he could do was roll around? The original series had a jellyfish that could melt its body and basically had electricity powers. They could have at least a little creative with the spin-off!” Spiral said. Tidal Wave sighed. “Ok, ok. That was definitely one of the worst parts, but…” The two continued their conversation as they trekked on. At the same time, Turf War was watching Valkyrie strut across the grass when he noticed Kickback somewhat keeping his distance from the rest of the gang. Concerned, the ghetto colt walked over to his desert-dwelling friend. “What’s good, dog?” Kickback glanced over at his friend and creased his gentlemanly smile. “Nuttin’ much, Ah reckon.” He said. Despite his normally calm demeanor, Turf War could tell there was more to it than that. “Nah, son. You trippin’. Come on.” Kickback glanced down at the ground as his expression started to fade. “Ah just…..When Sheriff told us about that actin’ mare n’ all, Ah….well, Ah just couldn’t help but to think o’ mah mama.” He said. “Bruh! You still hung up on dat? I mean, no disrespect, but…….” Turf War said. Kickback lowly chuckled. “Ah know, Ah know. Ah’ve moved on n’ all, but that don’t mean Ah don’t miss her anymore. Ah remember one day when Ah came home from a….pretty rotten day at school. Sumthin’ Ah don’t care much to mention happened, and Ah just went home with a heavy heart. When Ah told mama what happened, she just held me in her arms n’ let me cry my emotions out. It was a mite embarrassin’, but she didn’t judge me one bit.” He sighed. “When she passed, Ah couldn’t much do that anymore. Ah always had to be the second man o’ the house along with pa. That ‘Film Noir’ pretty did the same thing fer Fire Fight. Darn shame that Ms. Shadow Shroud had to send her sleepin’.” Turf War couldn’t help but sigh upon letting his words sink. “Yeah…..Yeah, dat was kinda f***** up.” Kickback nodded. “Ah know we’re tryin’ to stay hidden n’ all, but Ah’m not rightly sure Ah approve o’ what happened just then. She was completely innocent, n’ the sheriff had no reason to hold any grudges, but we just up n’ stomped her in the dirt without much else than a little apology. It just….felt a mite harsh.” “I mean……What we was s’posed to do? She didn’t look like she was ‘bout to let homie go.” Turf War said. Kickback fixed his hat. “Well….true. Maybe Ah’m just thinking a li’l too much.” “Man! It ain’t wrong to think. I know I ain’t do dat too much, but when I do, it’s fo’ a damn good reason. Don’t trip.” Turf War said. Kickback tipped his hat. “Yer right, partner.” After some conversations and Valkyrie showing off a little more, the foals retraced their steps and returned to the foot of the Great Horn Summit. The cold winds rolled down the mountain as if the land itself was welcoming them back from their adventure. Despite never having been here, Valkyrie felt somewhat nostalgic in the presence of this revered place; perhaps it was the echoes of the griffons that lived here in ages past? Either way, the very sight of their finish was a major relief for the foals. “Think you can call Shrapnel with your water brooch, Tidal Wave?” Fire Fight asked. Tidal Wave nodded. “I should be able to.” He gently clutched his jewel and closed his eyes. He sensed the wooden titan’s presence on the summit and used the nature-empathic power it had to call him. “We did tell you that Shrapnel’s a timberwolf, right?” Shroud asked Valkyrie. “Yeah. Pretty sure you mentioned that. Not like it matters though. If he decided to go AWOL, I’d chop him into firewood before you could cry wolf.” She boasted. Turf War mockingly nodded. “Mmhm. D’hen you’d hafta deal wit Zebota, and he ain’t no b****.” Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” It took a moment or so, but the foals were delighted when they heard a very familiar, powerful howl echo from up the rugged terrain.