Tales of the Battle Foals

by Sirdubya


Lights, Camera...

School had at last ended for the day, and the foals all happily ran out to enjoy the rest of the sunshine. Fire Fight however, had other plans. That shadow, those eyes watching him, vanishing the second he catches wind of its presence… He had to know. Who was it out there, and why had he caught their eye? Fire Fight, not fearing the potential dangers, ventured into the woods, and began his search.

The woods were quiet with the sounds of nature occasionally breaking the silence. The absence of animals signaled the presence of a predator; whether said predator was Fire Fight, or his stalker, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t get a sense of eyes on him like before. It must have been him, because he was scanning and sensing the forest like a timberwolf hunting its prey. His horn was at the ready, liable to ignite at the first sign of trouble, namely that shadow. He searched tirelessly for at least four hours. Navigating the forest was easy since he knew what direction the town was in when he had to leave, but he was too determined to find that shadow to go back so soon. “I know you’re out here! Come out, and show yourself!” he demanded. He was only answered with silence. It was in that moment that the fiery colt decided enough was enough, and made his way back towards town. Not long into his hike, he heard what sounded like shouting off in the distance.

“AAAAHHHHH!! SOMEPONY HELP MEEEEE!”

Without thinking, Fire Fight immediately began rushing towards the sound of the scream. Parkouring over rocky terrains and rivers and the like wasn’t much different than the city, so Fire Fight could go quickly. Thoughts started racing in his mind. “Has that shadow given up on me? Are they targeting somepony else!?” he wondered. For now, he focused on that cry for help.

“LET GO OF ME!!”

Whoever it was still okay by the sounds of it, but their panic was clear, and Fire Fight needed to help them. Finally, he found the scene. A white Earth Pony stallion with a black mane had his grip on another Earth Pony, this one a dark grey mare with a mane of black and white stripes, and he looked pissed.

“I said LET GO OF ME, you stupid brute!!” she exclaimed.

“Shut up, and come with me like a good girl, now!” he shouted back.

Fire Fight was about to spring into action, but his conscious stopped him. What if this was another mistake? What if he would get punished again? He wanted nothing more than for that vicious cycle in Manehatten to finally end here for good in Ponyville.

But that mare… she was clearly fearing for her life, desperately struggling to break free from the stallion’s clutches……. He couldn’t just do nothing to save himself some grief; he HAD to help her. Her safety was his priority at that moment, so with all hesitation put aside, Fire Fight ignited his horn, and charged into battle.


Fire Fight ran through the brush towards his foe fueled by his fury. His focus was on that white stallion when he finally emerged to attack.

“Hey!” he exclaimed. The stallion’s attention drifted towards the red colt jumping towards him in a flying kick. The impact knocked him away from the mare, and the stallion to his hind legs; Fire Fight back flipped off of him, and ran in for an uppercut. It hit just as the stallion came down, knocking him back up as he was struck on the jaw. Fire Fight then executed an aerial roundhouse to his stomach, then spun around for a side kick that knocked the stallion back a good six feet. He once again flipped away from his foe on that last impact, then drew a flame around him. He did a front flip kick that launched the flame as a fiery disc towards the stallion, who dodged it just as he was regaining his balance. The fire disc exploded fiercely onto a rock, thankfully preventing a potential forest fire.

Fire Fight locked eyes with the glare of an apex predator with the stallion, who was stunned and confused at the sudden assault. “LEAVE HER ALONE!!” he shouted. The next second, he felt a gentle hoof touch his shoulder.

“Sweetie!” he looked up to see the mare he had just saved. She seemed more concerned than relieved. It was then that he saw a bunch of other ponies rush out of the woods. All of them seemed to be carrying show equipment of various kinds.

“We’re shooting a movie, kid!” one of them said. Shocked at that statement, he looked around. Sure enough, it was indeed filming equipment, and he could smell stage makeup on the would-be damsel in distress. Fire Fight felt crushed. He had messed up again! But now, it was in his new home town. He couldn’t do it; he couldn’t fight his instincts… no matter where he went. He was doomed to be the troublemaker he had been deemed the rest of his life.

“I…I-I…I-I-I’m really sorry! I…” he just couldn’t. It was pointless. He felt their shocked eyes on him as he awaited his judgment.

He felt the mare’s gentle hoof lift his chin up. “Did you really think I was in trouble?” she asked softly.

Fire Fight looked away from her in utter shame. All he could do was answer. “Y-Yeah… I-I saw him attacking you, and I… my instincts just sort of… kicked in and-” he was cut off when he suddenly felt her lips peck his cheek. He looked back at her surprised, and saw a sweet smile across her face.

“Sweet little colt.” She cooed. Fire Fight was shocked. He… actually got some kind of reward for his efforts! He wasn’t scolded, or anything! He relished in that short moment, basking in her sweet smile as, for the first time, he actually felt appreciated.

One of the crewmen then suddenly broke the moment. “Is Action Shot okay?”

Everypony looked at the white stallion, who was struggling to his feet against his injuries; Fire Fight had hit him pretty hard. They walked over to him to check on him. A medic was the first to his side, helping him up. “Rrrrghh… Kid hits hard!” he muttered.

“Are you alright, Shot?” the actress asked.

Fire Fight’s shame crept its way back into his heart, but the mare’s compassion had boosted his confidence. “Hey, mister… I-I’m really sorry. I honestly had no idea this was-”

“SHUT IT, YA BRAT!” Fire Fight jumped back. Action Shot was understandably not happy about having just been beat up by a colt, and he made it known. “Ya really think you can ‘sorry, mister’ yer way out of knocking me to the ground, nearly burning my mane off, or heck even killing me!? I don’t think ya know just how badly ya goofed up here, son!”

Fire Fight’s sudden confidence had just shattered. It was Manehatten all over again. He was right to think he couldn’t escape from his past.

“Action Shot, calm down!” the actress said. Fire Fight looked back up at her. She was clearly not happy with Action Shot’s attitude towards him.

“Yeah, really. Go easy on him, he’s just a foal.” One of the crew added. This only seemed to anger him more.

“The hay ya mean ‘he’s just a foal’!? If I didn’t know any better, I’d have mistaken him a pro kung fu movie star, and he nearly flame kung fu’d me into the ground! The heck did I do to deserve that, huh!?” he was looking at Fire Fight furiously. All Fire Fight could do was look away in shame.

Then the mare spoke once more. “I think you’ve had a long day. Go take a nap or something so you’re not so cranky anymore!”

Action Shot just glared at her for a second, then looked back at Fire Fight. “I’ll remember this, brat!” he growled.

The mare tapped his shoulder once more. “Come on, sweetie. I’ll take you back to town.” He graciously accepted her offer, and the two set off.


“I’m sorry Action Shot was so rotten about the whole thing, honey.” The mare said. “I had no idea he could be such a grouch.”
Fire Fight was too dejected to respond right away. Action Shot’s words echoed in his mind, making his ears ring at the very thought. After a short moment he replied. “It’s okay… I-I deserved it…”

The mare nuzzled his neck. “Oh, sweetie, of course you didn’t. Nopony deserves to be yelled at like that.”

“But… but I could’ve really hurt him! He looked like he was about to kill you, so I… *sob* I…” She started stroking the back of his neck, doing what she could to comfort him.

“But you didn’t. You came to my rescue… in a sense, and held yourself back before you could do anymore.” She pecked his cheek again. “That was very brave of you.”

Fire Fight stopped himself from crying any further at that, but he still felt dejected. “This time was no different from all the rest…” he muttered to her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, curious.

Fire Fight told her about his history in Manehatten, about how he tried to be a hero, but always got scolded for ‘being a brat’, or whatever. Even his own mother had difficulty being patient with her brazen son. “I thought that would all end here, but…” he sighed heavily. “I guess I can’t help but to be a bother to everypony wherever I go.”

The mare shook her head. “I think that’s just silly!” Fire Fight looked back at her surprised. “I don’t see why you should be punished for being so bold, and selfless like that. Nopony’s perfect, never will be!” They had finally reached the end of the trail that led into town. The sunset shimmered across the horizon like golden honey spread across a finely sliced piece of bread “I don’t think you’re a brat at all! I think you’re a brave little hero.” She kissed him once more on his forehead just below his horn.

He stopped. His heart stopped. His mind stopped. Everything stopped. He had just been called a ‘hero’ by a complete stranger. “R…R-R-Really!?” the mare maintained her sweet smile, and nodded. His heart was jumping for joy as he broke out into tears, this time, of joy. He hugged her hoof and sobbed heavily. He had at last received kindness, understanding, and love after what seemed like an eternity for his mistakes. All his guilt and worry seemed to wash right out of him along with his tears. “Thank you! *sob* Thank you so much!! *sob* *sob* No- *sob* Nopony’s ever said anything like that to me before! *sob*”

She embraced him, gently rocking him in her arms as calmed him down. “It’s okay, honey…” she whispered. After a couple moments, he calmed down. The two looked into one another’s eyes. Fire Fight’s still had some leftover tears, and hers were brimming with compassion. “I’m Film Noir, by the way. What’s your name?” she asked.

He wept away the last of his tears, and stood up, more confident than ever. “Fire Fight.” He answered.

Film Noir giggled at his newfound spunk. “Well, it was so nice meeting you, Fire Fight. I’ve got to get back to the set. Can you get home from here?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for everything, Film Noir!” Just before he ran off, he suddenly got the urge to ask. “Oh, hey! What’s the name of the movie you’re shooting?”

She perked at the question. “Oh! It’s called ‘Moonlight Rendezvous’. It’s… a complicated romance story. I don’t know if it’d be your thing.” She answered.

“Well, I’ll still see it when it comes out. I bet you’ll be great!” She giggled again.

“Well, thanks! Here’s hoping it comes out okay. Alright, bye Fire Fight!”

“Bye!”

Fire Fight ran off into the sunset. His heart full of joy, his conscious clear, and his energy to the max, he tirelessly ran and parkoured through town with a smile on his face, and without a care in the world. He was so caught in the moment, that he was completely oblivious to a familiar set of eyes watching him from the dark alleyways hidden from the remaining sunlight…

Despite his joy, he decided not to share what happened with his mother for fear that she’d freak out again. He walked in to find her making dinner. “Hey, honey! You were out for a while. Have a little too much fun?”

He laughed a little. “More or less. I went hiking in the woods, and lost track of time. It was some great exercise!” he proclaimed.

His mom seemed a little confused. “You didn’t play with your new friends?” she asked.

Fire Fight hadn’t thought of this, and quickly came up with a lie, not wanting her to know he had tracking a shadowy figure. “No… I hadn’t seen that part of town yet, so I decided to explore some more.” He answered. This seemed to satisfy her. The two had their dinner, and later went to bed.

Fire Fight lay in his bed with a much clearer conscious than before. The best day of his life so far had come to an end. He had been given love and forgiveness in place of contempt and punishment. That emptiness he felt last night had been filled, but… he didn’t quite know what with. It was something more than just Film Noir's acts of kindness... Something he knew well, but somehow couldn't identify.