//------------------------------// // To Ware And Back // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// Tomorrow had come, and as advised, Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud stayed in the makeshift hideout until Turf War came to get them. They took out some breakfast from their saddlebags, and ate it. Fire Fight did some pushups to prep for today, while Shadow Shroud quietly meditated. Finally, they heard a knock on the door above them. “Y’all in there? It’s Turf War.” They heard him say. Fire Fight opened the hidden lid, and emerged from the space. “Hey, man! Ready?” Fire Fight said. He could see that Turf War was armed with another Stop sign, and trash can. Both of which looked in much better condition than the ones from yesterday. “Man! You fo’ real think I’d come to tell y’all I wasn’t? Come on, man!” Turf War cheered. He was clearly pumped. Fire Fight looked into the hole to call for Shadow Shroud. “You ready, Shroud?” he asked. But… she wasn’t there! He peered more closely into the dark space to find her. “Shroud?” Turf War suddenly heard a voice directly behind him. “Yes, I am.” He turned around to see her standing mere inches behind him. “WHOA!” he shouted as he jumped back a little, causing him to fall into the hideout hole. He reemerged next to Fire Fight, shaking off his shock. He looked back at Shadow Shroud. “That was f***** up!” he exclaimed. Shadow Shroud flipped her mane. “Hmph. I highly doubt it’ll be the worst thing you experience today. I just thought I’d give you a little warm up, that’s all.” She sneered. Turf War’s eyes widened as he stared at her in shallow horror. He leaned in to whisper to Fire Fight. “Yo, she kinda scarin’ me right now.” He said. Fire Fight was as equally freaked out. “You’ll get used to it….eventually.” he stammered. After their belated rude awakening, the trio made their way to the pizza place with only some funny looks directed at Turf War. When they got there, Turf War hid his arsenal in an alley behind a dumpster before walking in with his two companions. True to his word, Turf War ordered a medium supreme pizza, and even paid for the drinks. The three had their hearty lunch, all the while with Turf War’s guests being impressed by their food. They could see why those thugs would target this place for robbery. After finishing, they set out. Turf War retrieved his gear, and lead his guests into the alleyway. They located the backdoor to the restaurant, and Turf War let his instincts guide him as they came across a lone manhole hidden deep within the city block. “I bet dis is it, y’all.” he said. “Then let us embark.” Shadow Shroud said as she removed the cover. She motioned for them to enter, and they complied. She inspected her surroundings as she followed, and put the cover back on. They found themselves in a dark sewer with a horrid stench assailing their nostrils. Fire Fight lit his horn to give them some light in this almost pitch black. Thankfully, all the sewage was contained in a deep channel between the walkways of each tunnel, so they wouldn’t get any on them so long as they were careful. “So, why aren’t we going into a manhole closer to the warehouses?” Fire Fight asked. “Did you not see the looks some ponies were giving Turf War with his…weapons? If we were to be seen going into a manhole in plain sight……well, I’m fairly certain I don’t have to spell it out for you there.” Shadow Shroud explained. “Fo’ real. And wit all the cops like Curfew, we’d be in serious s***….not that we ain’t already, Ehehe!” Turf War added. “Eh…good point.” Fire Fight said. “Think you can figure out where to go from here, Turf War?” Turf War nodded. “Yeah, son. I only been down here a few times, but based on how know the whole damn city, I think I can get us there. You just gonna have to keep dat fire going so I can see, a’ight?” he said. Fire Fight nodded. With some minor difficulty with the smell, navigating the tunnels based on the roadways, and Fire Fight occasionally looking back to make sure Shadow Shroud wasn’t up to anything, they eventually heard the sounds of factory machinery associated with warehouse work. Shadow Shroud peered through a hole in the manhole to confirm that were indeed directly below the warehouse district. “We’re here. Let’s wait until dark when everypony’s gone to make our move.” She said. The colts nodded. “Don’t think it’ll be too much longer. I think I can hear some of the machines shutting down.” Fire Fight said. “And it look like the sun’s ‘bout to go down. We been down here a while anyway.” Turf War added. Indeed, it only took about two hours for things to finally settle down. They listened carefully until they could hear no more activity around them. Shadow Shroud ordered the colts to wait a moment as she briefly ascended to scout the immediate vicinity. After a couple minutes, she returned into the sewer, and motioned for the two to follow her. When they got up there, Shadow Shroud led them into one of the darkened warehouses. She told Fire Fight not to light his horn so as to not draw any unwanted attention, and to let her lead them through the dark. Even without light, they could still see okay with the moonlight shining through the high windows. “I picked this one since its contents consist of shampoo- we’ll need some after that disgusting shortcut.” Shadow Shroud said. “Shroud, no! That’s stealing!” Fire Fight said. She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. It’s hardly the worst thing this city will experience. Besides, haven’t you and I both renounced Equestria? This is merely us surviving.” She argued. Fire Fight shook his head. “Yeah, but Turf War hasn’t, and he won’t take kindly to you stealing from his home.” He argued. “Yeah, Shroud. I’m a hafta stop you from doin’ dat, and I Will. Use. Force.” Turf War added. “Besides, if we’re caught stealing, ponies will come after us, and we won’t be able to live quietly away from everypony.” Fire Fight added. “Isn’t the fact that you ran away from home reason enough for ponies to search for you?” Shadow Shroud asked. “…Yeah, you have a point there, but they have no idea where I am, or that I’m with you, or that you even exist for that matter, and I highly doubt they’ll think to look outside of Ponyville after only a couple of days, least of all in a city like Detrot. Having police search for a thief, and a runaway foal who happens to be the same foal would make things really difficult for not only our mission, but our ability to stay hidden from Equestria.” Fire Fight argued. Shadow Shroud narrowed her eyes at him as she listened to his last rebuttal. Her answer was a deafening silence, and a glare of frustration that masked defeat. “Fine, then. I concede. I’ll be a good little filly, and not get us in trouble.” She hissed. Fire Fight sighed. “Look, I don’t want to live in Equestrian society any more than you do, but I don’t want to be a criminal either. It’d go against everything I’ve ever stood for, and I doubt the Shadewalkers have so little honor that they’d steal from the very ponies they want to protect.” He said. “Fo’ real.” Turf War added. Shadow Shroud’s expression softened considerably. Her glare lost its severity, and an almost unnoticeable smile creased her face, as if she was satisfied that she had lost the argument. “Yes…you’re right.” She said. Just a few moments after they finished their discussion, they heard one of the outer employee entrances begin to creak open. They quickly found cover underneath one of the huge storage shelves where they could see what was happening. A surprise awaited them as the thugs from yesterday walked one by one with their inflicted injuries still apparent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Man, I still cannot believe them brats beat us like dat!” one of them said. “You peep out that one wearing all dat black? Was she some kinda magician or somethin!? I couldn’t tell where she was, o’ nuttin’!” another one commented. “And dat colt wit all the fire sure as hell pack a punch! Golly! My head still hurts!” another commented. Their boss was getting fed up. “Shut up! I ain’t ‘bout to hear no more ‘bout those three li’l brats! Especially Turf War! I am so sick o’ his a** comin’ and f***** our stuff up. It’s bad enough he had friends this time to really ruin our day!” he exclaimed. “Yeah, why ain’t we done somethin’ ‘bout him yet, boss?” one of the thugs asked. The boss sighed angrily. “’Cause that no good cop ain’t doin’ his job! He need to at least give that brat detention, or somethin’!” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turf War’s eyes narrowed at the mention of his nemesis. He noticed that the thugs were beginning to snack on various foods and drinks. “So dis where they crash after all. Shoulda figured.” He whispered. “All I gotta do is show Curfew what they was doin’ here, and he just might stop bein’ a b****!” “So we would do well not to alert them to our presence here.” Shadow Shroud warned. The colts nodded, and resumed their quiet observation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So when’s he gettin’ here anyway?” one of the thugs asked. “Hmph. Hell if I know. He comin’ tonight though, believe that.” The boss answered. Wondering what they meant, the foals waited patiently for somepony to appear. They didn’t have to wait long before the mystery guest appeared, and Turf War was left utterly speechless.