Tales of the Battle Foals

by Sirdubya


Over The Hills, and Through The Woods

Some number of grass knots, water breaks, bad jokes, and spiders being frantically slashed in two later, the trio finally traversed the grassy plain as they reached the hills in the mid-afternoon light. Fire Fight was half tempted to just burn their way through to make things quicker, but knew he’d practically be signaling where they were. It was a refreshing hike nonetheless as it served for an effective afternoon workout for the foals.

At last, they emerged from the grass field at the foot a tall hill. Mother Nature had elegantly decorated it with a colorful array of flowers as if to encourage the foals to ascend it. The aromatic scents of each flower they passed strengthened their determination. As they reached the summit, they looked out into the distance. Before them was a humble village about Ponyville’s size a good five miles away; it was surrounded by a vast meadow of flowers on one side while a forest hugged the other. Turf War managed to spot the delivery trail he had mentioned, so he was sure this was the place.

“Do you know what this town is called, Turf War?” Fire Fight asked him.

Turf War thought for a moment. “Umm……Hoof….Hoofto- no…….uh, Hoofington, I think.” He replied.

Shadow Shroud was looking at her map to find the answer. She then showed it to the colts. “Yes, it is Hoofington.” She confirmed. “And you were indeed right about the trail it would seem.”

Fire Fight nodded. “Ok, I think we should head into that forest, and enter the town from there. That way, we won’t be seen so easily.” He suggested.

Turf War cocked his head. “We can’t just waltz in there like we visitin’ o’ somthein’?”

Shadow Shroud shook her head. “That’s the thing, Turf War. We’re not visiting for leisure, so it’s best that we make the fact that we’re new to this place as subtle as possible. Otherwise, ponies are going to ask why we’re here, and likely where our parents are. So unless you’ve already prepared a clever lie, I suggest we maintain our low profile.” She explained.

“Plus, they’re gonna wonder why a colt is carrying a Stop sign and trashcan lid on his back.” Fire Fight added.

Turf War let that sink for second, and agreed. “Yeah, good point. But what about when we actually do gotta go in? Where I’m a put my gear?” he asked.

“Wherever we decide to set up camp, I suppose. Unfortunately, I know about as much as we can gather about this town as we stand now, so hiding in the forest might be a little risky, but it’s far less risky than any other opportunity right now.” Shadow Shroud answered.

All the colts could do was agree as they headed out for the forest. The flower field wasn’t nearly as high as the grass they had just came from, so Shadow Shroud suggested to duck a little to stay out of sight as they got closer, to which the colts also agreed. They ended up straying further away from the town as they finalized their approach to the forest. The edge of this forest wasn’t at all foreboding like the Everfree forest was, but rather neutral as though it was indiscriminate of what entered and exited its woods. They entered without hesitation.

The forest here reminded Fire Fight of the woods he ventured through in Ponyville. They were quiet, patient, neutral as if the flow of time was parallel to the flow of its rivers. Within the calmness of the woods, Turf War spotted a cave next to a rocky riverbank. It was within the wall of a 12-foot tall cliff, so it wasn’t readily noticeable by unobserving eyes. They decided to check it out, and refill their water bottles in the flowing river while they were at it.

The cave wasn’t very deep at all. It only went in about seven yards, and had a ceiling about as high as a regular store; it was perfect! Fire Fight briefly went out to gather firewood while Shadow Shroud and Turf War set down their bedrolls and made a fire pit. Fire Fight returned after a couple minutes with his bounty, and put it in the pit. He didn’t want to start the fire until nightfall when it got cold. After setting down his own bedroll, Fire Fight led his friends out of the cave, and towards the direction of Hoofington. Turf War left his ‘weapons’ behind as suggested prior.

It took some almost an hour of hiking and trekking, but they eventually began to smell freshly baked pies, doughnuts, and the sort, meaning that they were definitely nearing their mark. They followed the scent, and eventually reached its source- a bakery surrounded by multiple other buildings. Its entrance faced towards their left as they faced the buildings side.

“Looks like we’re here!” Fire Fight said.

“Indeed. Now let us be discreet about entering. Let’s see…” Shadow Shroud said as she began scanning the immediate vicinity.

“Hold up one second, y’all.” Turf War interjected. “Dis ain’t school time, is it?” he asked. He was answered by seeing a small group of fillies walking towards the bakery. “I guess not.” He said.

“Yes, now that that’s out of the way…..Hmm…if we’re quick, we might be able to slip under that wagon unnoticed.” Shadow Shroud said pointing to said wagon leaning against the wall of the bakery. It was filled with supply crates.

“We’ll have to wait until there’s nopony watching us, but yeah.” Fire Fight said.

They watched patiently until they saw their opening. With Shadow Shroud’s signal and leadership, they silently rushed towards the wagon, and slid under. They peered around to see that nopony had taken notice. Once they confirmed the coast was clear once more, Shadow Shroud flipped into her disguise dress as they casually, but quickly crawled out from under the wagon, and walked into the street.

Hoofington wasn’t much different from Ponyville. A colorful array of all three tribes coated this town of simple houses, and various Mom n’ Pop shops. The only difference was that not one face was familiar to any of the foals, making it equally easier and harder to explore as they might draw unwanted interest.

So far…nothing. Everything seemed normal. Then again, they were outside, and most problems reveal their worst sides behind closed doors despite Fire Fight and Turf War being able to attest to the opposite. Sure, there were unhappy faces here and there, but it was all from generic problems. Gardening issues, horseplay….make of that what you will, quarrelling neighbors, etc. They had contemplated splitting up for a moment, but quickly decided to stay together in case something went wrong. They stumbled upon a little park area right next to the flower meadow on the outskirts, and decided to sit down for a quick bite.

As they munched on some roasted tufts of wheat, the foals kept looking around attentively. “You guys see anything worthy of note?” Fire Fight asked.

The other two shook their heads. “Ain’t nuttin’, mah boy.” Turf War replied.

“And yet…I can’t help but to feel a sense of unrest around here…”Shadow Shroud muttered.

“What do you mean?” Fire Fight asked. His answer came in the form of Shadow Shroud glancing past him. He looked in that direction to see a couple embracing one another. The mare was visibly sobbing while her apparent husband tried to calm her.

“Dis could be important, y’all. We better get closer.” Turf War suggested. The other foals nodded. They casually moved closer, and sat down within hearing range of the distressed couple.

*****

“*sob*…….*sob….Was….*sob* was it something we did? Did we drive her away?” the mare sobbed.
Her husband lightly shushed her. “No, no of course not. Rather it was something we didn’t do. We should have been there for her when she needed us, but…..but we cowered away from her just like everypony else! We began fearing our own daughter!” he said. His frustration began to overtake him, but he managed to regain his composure. “We’ve all searched high and low for 2 days now…where could she be…?”

The mare continued to sob profusely. “*sob**sob…*sob* Why…*sob* Why did everypony start shunning her!? What did our little girl ever do to them? *soooooob*”

The couple continued to lament as the nature of their conversation caught the foals’ interest.

“Their daughter’s missing?” Fire Fight asked.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “So it would seem, and judging by the fact she was apparently ‘feared’, I’d venture a guess that she disappeared of her own accord.” She said.

“Word. She said dat she might’ve ‘drove her away’ too.” Turf War added. “Should we go ask ‘em ‘bout it” he asked.

Fire Fight shook his head. “No, Turf War. 1. Bringing up their daughter while they’re in that state would probably upset them further. 2. We can’t risk drawing a lot of attention from them; if their daughter is a lost foal we need to rescue, then we can’t make her parents think we’re associated with her in any way.” He explained.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “I suggest we head back to that bakery. I saw a lot of foals there who likely knew her, and why she might have disappeared. It’d be information at the risk of being found out, but we need a lead.” She said. The colts agreed, and they made their way there. “I only hope we’re not jumping to conclusions here.” She expressed.

“Shroud, in our situation, it’s one worth considering; it’s clear this filly needs help, and if our help she needs, then by Celestia we’ll give it to her!” Fire Fight declared.

Shadow Shroud smiled, pleased to see Fire Fight’s resolve continuing to burn so brightly. She just hoped that didn’t burn so brightly, that their cover would be blown. The again, that’s what she was there for…

They at last reached the bakery; it was starting to get dark. They walked in and were greeted by the fresh scent of a vast assortment of baked treats, and a crowd of ponies who liked having an evening bite; some of them were foals. Shadow Shroud spotted the group of fillies from earlier. There were four of them sitting across from each other at a booth. “Wait here.” She whispered to the colts. They nodded as she approached the fillies.

Shadow Shroud trotted towards them casually, and she began to hear their conversation. They were giggling in a rather…off-putting manner.

“So just as Petal Dance finally managed to climb out of the trash can, it tipped over and spilled all over the ground along with her. As she was getting up, I walked up to her and said ‘Wow! Looks like you finally took yourself out along with the rest of parents’ trash!’ one of them sneered. They began giggling ferociously. “You should have seen the look on her poor little face!”

Shadow Shroud rolled her eyes. “Oh, fantastic…” she thought to herself. She reached their booth. “Hello there!” she politely greeted.

The fillies looked at her, and giggled maliciously. “Umm, hi?” one of them answered.

Shadow Shroud could tell that this wasn’t going to go smoothly. “What kind of smoothies are those? They look yummy. I might have to order one.” She asked in a joyous tone.

“Well if you’re so curious, then why don’t go look for it on the menu, dork?”

“Yeah, or are you afraid that Mr. Frosting will run away from you too before you can order anything?”

Shadow Shroud briefly ignored the fact that one of them called her a ‘dork’, and pressed the matter that interested her. “Wh…Why would he do that?” she asked innocently.

The mean fillies giggled maliciously again. “You seriously don’t know!? Wow! Talk living under a rock.”

“Yeah. You’d have to be a real cavepony around here if you don’t know about Spiral Galaxy!”

“I heard she almost called down a meteor shower just because she got mad over somepony tripping her.”

“*giggle* Now I wonder who that could’ve been? It’s a good thing she finally got away from us so we don’t go up in smoke when she finally blows herself up or something.”

They giggled once more as Shadow Shroud let that sink. So the filly-in-question’s name is ‘Spiral Galaxy’, and she’s apparently magically unstable to the point that she’d summon down meteors, likely meaning that she was a unicorn. This was indeed something to feared, and probably be shunned. Shadow Shroud decided to make a bold move. “Do you think you might know where she went?” she inquired.

“Pfft! Why should we know? Everypony in town is afraid of her, even her own parents! How pathetic is that! Or are you as big a dork as she is? Is that why you want to find her so bad.”

“Seems likely with that shoddy dress she’s wearing. Dorks beget dorks after all.”

Shadow Shroud’s killer instinct slammed on the walls of its cage at that. She’d once again been insulted about her dress by strangers. Granted, unlike Rarity, these fillies had ill intent. It was a shame that these were not the type of threats that her clan would kill, because there were so many delightful ways Shadow Shroud could picture them dead. She walked off before things could get worse.

The colts looked concerned having seen the severity of the scene themselves as Shadow Shroud regrouped with them. Fire Fight could tell she was hiding anguish. Whatever they said had gotten to her.

“What happened over there, Shroud.” Fire Fight asked?

Shadow Shroud just looked at the ground at her forehooves. “Nothing. Let’s get going.” She muttered.

Turf War could see the fillies staring at them with devilish grins. He looked back at Shadow Shroud to see that it was indeed pretty bad. He built his composure, and marched to the fillies. Once he got there, he stomped his hoof. “Yo!” he said.

The fillies looked at him, and just giggled more. “And what do we have here, hm?”

“I know I ain’t just see y’all hate on mah girl just now!” he growled.

“Oh. So you’re that dork’s boyfriend, huh? How sweet! But you could do sooo much better than-”

Turf War slammed his hoof on their table. “Y’all better shut up, right now! I don’t know what the heck makin’ y’all think y’all own da place here, but lemme tell ya somethin’! Sooner or later, you gonna realize dat actin’ like li’l brats ain’t gonna do nuttin’ fo’ y’all. Yo’ teacher ain’t gonna help you find a good career or even a simple job; you prolly won’t find one anyway if you start treatin’ yo’ boss like you da boss. Yo’ parents ain’t gonna help you through life, ‘cause they gonna be talkin’ ‘bout ‘My daughter not supposed to be rude as hay! I ain’t messin’ wit her no more!’, and stuff. Look, I don’t give a dang and a half what you have dat others don’t, but it don’t make you no more a pony than a newborn baby, y’all got dat!?” he reprimanded.

The fillies looked at him completely stunned at how bold he was, and Shadow Shroud looked on in awe at her new friend’s compassion; she was left speechless to see Turf War so readily stand up for her. Even if he was drawing lots of attention like an idiot, she still appreciated the gesture. All the other ponies began glaring at the fillies as though they had longed for a moment like this, and began reprimanding them as well, and congratulating Turf War at his courage.

Fire Fight tapped Shadow Shroud’s shoulder. “Wait here a moment.” He whispered. He walked over to the counter, and ordered a strawberry pastry saying it was for ‘that filly in the orange dress’. The clerk kindly said it was on the house since he was apparently friends with Turf War.

He walked back to Shroud, and led her out of the bakery just as Turf War caught up with them. All the other ponies were too busy getting on the mean fillies’ case, presenting an opportunity. “Quick! Back into the woods!” he whispered. They all rushed back into the forest unnoticed.

Once they were far enough in, Fire Fight handed Shroud the pastry. “Here.” He said softly.

She accepted it, and began chowing down. The colts could tell she felt a little better even if she might have been trying to hide it. “I…..I don’t need you guys to baby me you know. I can handle myself.” She muttered.

“I don’t doubt that for a second, Shroud. But Turf War and I could tell that whatever they said really hurt you, so we just did what we do best.” Fire Fight said.

‘Fo’ real! Don’t gotta give us da cold shoulder.” Turf War added.

Fire Fight looked into her eyes. He could see vast amounts of gratitude masked by a brave face. He was impressed that Shadow Shroud could hold her emotion like that, but then again, she was a Shadewalker; he’d expect no less.

She looked away from them with an expression that was both frustrated, and embarrassed. “Thanks, guys...” she said. She looked back up at them. “I’m shocked Turf War managed to completely avoid cussing that whole time.” She said.

Turf War blushed. “Yeah, I kinda prepared my conscious fo’ dat.” He said.

Shadow Shroud finished her pastry, and regained her composure. “Now then. I might have a lead. I’ll tell you about it as we get back to camp. We’ll have to start tomorrow. Come on.” She said.

With that, they made their way back to base, ready for what was to come.