//------------------------------// // The River Flows, Trees Grow and Time Marches On // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// Morning broke in the dense forest. Its lights snaked through the thick brush to alight the dark woods. It did what it could to beckon the foals awake from within the cave. Thankfully, they had succeeded in their mission as the foals began to stir. As they fully awoke, a new day in their mission began. Fire Fight lit a campfire as Turf War washed off the dirt he had accumulated overnight. He cooked some wheat tufts and mushrooms that Shadow Shroud had picked in the forest- she knew which ones weren’t poisonous. Shadow Shroud herself took the time last night to retrieve Spiral Galaxy’s saddlebags from her room- she had asked her prior where her house was, and swiped a water bottle from their fridge for her. Seeing as their presence was made prominent yesterday due to Turf War standing up for her, Shadow Shroud decided that there was no other choice. That was okay though; she managed to stumble upon one of the fillies from yesterday looking out her window. The filly looked away from her window for split second and looked again to see a black figure with amethyst eyes viciously eyeing her- she screamed in terror as the mysterious shadow vanished completely in an instant. What a conversation that must have been with her parents………..What? A filly can’t have a little fun? Spiral thanked her and the four sat down for a fresh, hearty meal. Meanwhile, On a Train to Detrot… Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Ms. Fight and Applejack sat patiently as they awaited their arrival to Detrot where they hoped to find Fire Fight. Applejack’s presence was a last minute decision. Convincing Ms. Fight to let her come wasn’t easy, but Applejack expressed deep guilt for being so overprotective of her little sister and consequently aiding in Fire Fight’s breakdown. While Ms. Fight was still a little bitter, she ultimately decided to let Applejack prove herself. Applejack sat on one side of the car with Twilight and Spike while Rarity and Ms. Fight conversed on the opposite. Twilight knew she’d need some consolation. “Ah just can’t believe mahself…… Never in a million years would I have ever wanted somethin’ like this to happen! It’s just……when it comes to mah family, I just….after our parents……” Applejack lowered her hat. “Ah haven’t been able to look Applebloom in the eye lately. She….hasn’t spoken much to me none either. Can’t say ah blame her. She’s got an overbearing big sister who’s to dang stubborn to realize that foals grow just as much as our orchard does! Granny and Big Mac are willin’ to forgive me, but I did nuttin’ to ‘em. I set an awful example for Applebloom and now she’s gonna resent me for the rest of her life.” She said. She was starting to sob. Twilight hugged her. While she was unable to comprehend family quite like Applejack did, the fact remained that her country friend had good intentions that turned things sour. “She’s not gonna hate you, Applejack. You just need to remember to give her room to grow on her own. I think it’s clear to you that she's sick of you trying to be a part of every second she lives. So just give her lots of room for a while, and she’ll start forgiving you. As soon as we find Fire Fight, things should start to blow over more quickly.” She consoled. “Yeah. Twilight didn’t become a princess by Princess Celestia babying her all the time.” Spike added. Applejack just sighed. “Ah don’t know, y’all. If there’s one thing Applebloom’s learned from me, it’s mah stubbornness. Ah know she loves me deep down, but ah sure make it hard for her to show it.” she muttered. “She also learned how to forgive and learn from her mistakes! All you have to do is set that example too! And like you said, she loves her big sister, so chances are she wants to forgive you even if it takes a long time. If she really hated you, then she would’ve expressed that by now, so there’s still a chance.” Spiked encouraged. “Spike’s right, Applejack. All will be well in due time. It always is.” Twilight added. Applejack looked up and smiled at her two friends and smiled a little. “Thanks, y’all.” They hugged. Back in the Forest… “Take a deep breath….. Focus on the gentle flow of the river……Clear your mind of all emotion…” Fire Fight said. He and Spiral Galaxy were sitting in the middle of the river on rocks just opposite of each other as he tried to help her with controlling her magic. As a fellow unicorn who had attained desirable command over his own magic, he was the one for the job. Spiral had her eyes closed and focused on what Fire Fight had instructed. She let the river trickling by her overtake her senses as its constant flow tried to soothe her mind. The river flowed as neutrally as time itself. No matter the amount of rippling, splashing or rocks cutting its flow, it remained stable, yet open to the changes it would bring about. However, within it controlled chaos loomed uncertainty, and that’s what frightened her. She was afraid of what might happen if she couldn’t control herself. She was afraid of having to go back to Hoofington and face humiliation by just showing her face. She was afraid that she’d botch this opportunity to have such kind and understanding friends if she summoned another storm. She was afraid…. Fire Fight opened his own eyes as he heard the water around him begin to churn. Droplets both big and small began rising from the river around Spiral Galaxy as she started to breathe harder. Her horn was dimly lit. He immediately took action and put his hooves on her shoulders. “Spiral! It’s okay. Calm down.” He said shushing her. She opened her eyes to see into his. Her breathing eased and the water fell back into the river. “It’s no good…” she mumbled. “I’m just gonna be some kind of cosmic destroyer forever…” “You will with that attitude. Now let’s try again, ok?” Fire Fight said as he removed himself from her shoulders and reassumed his meditative posture. Spiral Galaxy just sat there looking dejected. She was in no mood to try again. “It’s no use, Fire Fight. I really appreciate you trying to help me like this, but…maybe I’m too lost of a cause even for you. I’ll gladly go with you and the others, but I’d only cause trouble with my out-of-control magic…” she said. Fire Fight bit his lip trying to figure out a way to encourage her. It seemed to him that he wasn’t tackling the root of the problem, so he decided to take a different approach. “Would you mind telling me how you were able to learn that magic?” he softly asked. Spiral lifted her head somewhat as she heard his question. She shed a couple tears. “Sorry…You don’t have to tell me.” Fire Fight said. Spiral shook her head. “N-No, it’s fine. It’s just….kinda stupid.” She said. “I won’t laugh.” She sighed. “I…..I wanted to be able to move the stars…” she answered. Fire Fight was a little taken aback by that answer. “Wh-What do you mean?” he asked. She sighed once more. “I wanted to be able to move the stars just like the princesses move the Sun and Moon. My stupid younger self thought that the stars were lonely without a princess to move them too, so I started studying high-level cosmo magic that….looking back I’m shocked were even in the library of our little nowhere town. I managed to get the gist of it pretty quickly; it almost became a habit!.....But….I wasn’t able to control it, and so when I got angry, or scared, or really happy or whatever,……well…you’ve seen what’d happen. Some times were worse than others.” She explained. “So you probably could cause a meteor shower, huh?” Fire Fight asked. Spiral sighed heavily. “A couple times I almost did. My teacher started punishing me more often, my friends started leaving me, the school bullies picked on me more and more which made things worse, and my parents……*sob*…….my parents just started avoiding me because of the monster I’d turned myself into…*sob*” Fire Fight leaned in and hugged her. He rocked her in his arms as gently as could be. “It’s ok, Spiral…..You’re not a monster.” He let go of her as she calmed down. “I know what it’s like to feel like the bad guy, but I also know what it’s like to want to be a big help.” He said. Spiral looked up at him. “H-Huh?” “Even if it was a naïve kids dream, that’s still really admirable that you’d want to help the stars like that. And the fact that you actually tried to carry out that dream is proof of your care. No monster I’ve ever seen could even begin to have that kind of compassion and resolve.” He said. Spiral let his comment sink for a moment and managed to crease a smile. “I…I-I guess…..Thanks, Fire Fight.” “Yeah.” “Hey, where are Turf War and Shadow Shroud anyway?” she asked. “Shadow Shroud went back to that grassland to grab some more grass so we can weave you a bedroll. Turf War went foraging for food. I think Shadow Shroud gave him directions towards more of those mushrooms and maybe some natural apple trees too. I guess they’re not back yet. Hope their ok.” He explained. “Right as rain.” Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy heard that from right above them. They looked up to see Shadow Shroud hanging right above them from a tree limb that grew right over the part of the river where they sat! Fire Fight jumped and nearly fell off of his rock. “Shroud, don’t do that! If you scare Spiral, she might have another episode!” he reprimanded. “Hi, Shadow Shroud!” Spiral Galaxy happily greeted much to Fire Fight’s surprise. Shadow Shroud jumped down onto her rock next to her. It was just big enough to make room for the both of them. “Hey, girl! What up?” she casually asked. They giggled. Fire Fight stared at them confused. He was happy to see the two get along so quickly, but it was almost too quickly… He was pretty sure Shadow Shroud didn’t have some kind of mind control trick, and if she did, he’d eat his mane, but he had to keep reminding himself that this was Shadow Shroud he was dealing with- anything seemed possible. The fillies smirked at him as he looked on and giggled. “*sigh* colts…they just don’t get it, do they?” Spiral Galaxy asked. “You said it.” Shadow Shroud sneered. Fire Fight just about immediately replaced his confusion with annoyance as he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Real funny. Look, if we’re feeling friendly today, then why don’t go looking for Turf War? He’s been gone for a while and-” “OOOOOHHHHH S******************!!!!!!!” The three looked over as Turf War burst out of the brush wielding his gear. He quickly turned around and poised his shield as he readied his Stop sign for a swing with a look of panic about him. Fire Fight was about to ask him what was wrong when an ominous rumbling and growling just about answered that...