//------------------------------// // Change of Pace // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// Morning light broke through what little distance the foals went into the natural tunnel. Spiral Galaxy had gotten more than sufficient rest after her episode the following night, so she was the first to rise. Having been unconscious for the entirety of the hike, she was a little startled to see that she was in a completely unfamiliar location, but was relieved to see that her friends were with her and ok. She noticed that she was sleeping on a pillow made of leaves instead of snug in her bedroll, but quickly saw them all hung beside a fire pit along with their saddlebags and put two and two together having the river being the last thing she remembered before conking out. No sooner than she awoke did the other three. They were a little groggy from hiking last night; the stress of having to deal with the wet bags and their contents didn’t help either. They yawned with exhaustion as they arose. “Morning, Spiral. Sleep ok?” Fire Fight asked. Spiral couldn’t help but to feel guilty at this sight. She had lost control of her emotions once more and nearly compromised the whole journey. She sighed sorrowfully. “Y….Yeah…” she muttered. “How about you guys?” Shadow Shroud was rubbing her neck from the slightly uncomfortable sleep. “It was….satisfactory. It’s a good thing Turf War thought to make that pillow for you when he did. I wasn’t in the mood to think a whole lot.” She yawned. Spiral looked over at Turf War, who was stretching. “You made this, Turf War? Thank you.” She said. “Yeah, yeah. It’s all good!” he groggily answered. Spiral’s guilt overtook her again as she once again realized the state they were in because of her. “I’m….I’m sorry, guys…..This is all my fault. If I hadn’t gotten so scared, I….” she muttered. Shadow Shroud walked up and put her hoof on Spiral’s shoulder. “It’s ok.” She reassured. Spiral looked up into her eyes. “We were bound to be caught sooner or later; I was honestly worried we would. We did prepare for it after all. Plus, you saved us from some nasty fall damage. I couldn’t tell how deep that river was from all that was going on.” “Yeah. And d’ose stallions were ok too! I seen ‘em climb out all dat mess just fine. You ain’t done nuttin’, homegirl.” Turf War added. “If you really think about, this kinda works out! I plan to take all of the foals we rescue- including you guys to a safe haven where we can’t bother anypony. We just might find a place out here! If we do, then we’ll come back here from Dodge City once we’re done there and start building our new home. And even if we don’t, that’s ok too! All the more reason to explore the hidden corners of the world while we keep rescuing lost foals!” Fire Fight stated. All of their words brought Spiral Galaxy a lot of comfort. She smiled as she hugged her friends. “Thanks guys.” She said. “Alright. I'll whip us up some breakfast…..without…wheat….That’s ok; I’ll think of something.” Fire Fight said. With some difficulty in deciding, Fire Fight eventually decided to just cook some mushrooms and let Shadow Shroud slice a couple apples they had. It wasn’t the most desirable breakfast, but it was probably the best they could do. They decided to look for more food as they explored the area around; the other end of the tunnel was the center of their attention, so they headed straight for that. When they came out the other side, they were standing on a plateau high above another valley area, but it wasn’t entirely wild! Within the vast brush and trees lining the vale was an impressive-looking stronghold. It was right at the bottom of the valley and covered with tress, so any signs of habitation weren’t apparent. “Whoa!” Spiral Galaxy said. “What is that?” Fire Fight asked. “Wait……Is that the Shadewalkers home, Shadow Shroud!?” “Hmph! As if we’d be so careless as to hide our stronghold out in the open like this.” She said. “Well, let’s go see what’s poppin’ over there, y’all! Maybe it some kinda ruin we could live?” Turf War suggested. “Well, if it is, hopefully it’s not one full of death traps!” Spiral Galaxy commented. “Yeah! Let’s go!” Fire Fight declared. There was a natural path along the plateau leading down into the valley that Shadow Shroud found surprisingly convenient as though whoever was or is at the stronghold actually uses it. “I suggest we be discreet.” She said. The others then agreed and kept a low profile. Just as they neared the foot of the path, they saw a group of strange-looking people hauling what looked to be a small crate covered by a blanket. They were the size of ponies, but looked like bulldogs wearing tattered vests and spiked collars. They were coming out of the forest away from the stronghold towards another group of them with a big one that appeared to be their leader approaching. The foals eavesdropped of their conversation. “We got him, boss!” one of them said addressing the bigger one. The boss smiled deviously. “Good. And what of his little toys, eh?” he asked. Another smaller dog walked up to him gripping two katana swords in his paw along with an X-shaped object that seemed to be their scabbard. He presented them to the boss. “Right here!” he said. The boss took the swords. “Excellent! Now we can finally cut out the rest that precious ore all for ourselves, mates! And those stupid li’l butter knife ponies won’t be able to touch us-” he approached the blanketed object and lifted the cover. “-so long as we have ourselves a li’l hostage!” It was a cage containing a colt. He was tied into ropes, so his Cutie Mark couldn’t be seen, nor his wings assuming he had any and his mouth was gagged. He was a light-silver with a sharply cut mane that was colored like a dark storm cloud. His eyes were a emerald. If Shadow Shroud had a twin brother, this guy could pass for him, because he was showing no fear towards his captors whatsoever. Rather he squirmed violently in his restraints and shot murderous glares at his captors as his gagged mouth tried to utter coherent shouts. “Heh heh heh! Dontcha worry, lad. We’ll take good care o’ your li’l letter openers!” the boss taunted. The restrained colt grew more furious at that statement; it was clear that he cared about those swords for one reason or another. They then quickly dug holes that would most moles nervous and disappeared with their cargo. The foals ran out to the series of holes. “We’ve gotta help him!” Fire Fight whispered. The other immediately agreed, though Shadow Shroud got an odd feeling as they jumped into a random hole together…. Shadow Shroud had already donned her mask by the time they slid into a series of lit tunnels. She then led them into a dark corner so they might safely observe their surroundings. It was as if they had dropped into labyrinth!......probably because they were. There were tunnels going in all direction with little to no indication of direction, mapping, etc. These dogs must have known this place by heart. “What the hell!?” Turf War whispered. “How we s’posed to know where d’hey took homie!?” “We’ll just have to listen around while we sneak.” Shadow Shroud said. “My cosmomancy isn’t as powerful when I have a roof over my head like this. There’s a small chance I could cause a cave-in, but I should be able to focus. I’ll still be careful though!” Spiral Galaxy explained. “Alright then. Let’s be careful; these guys obviously aren’t friendly.” Fire Fight said. There weren’t too many of these dogs around, but a confrontation was best avoided in case they really did decide to harm their captive colt upon learning that help had arrived. They stuck to the shadows as they went down random tunnels for what seemed like an eternity. Their previous experience with the sewers in Detrot somewhat prepared them for this, so Spiral was simply guided as she helped listen for the colt and these dogs’ boss. After a long while, they finally began to make some progress as they heard a cage being violent slammed against, likely the captive foal throwing a fit. They followed the sound to a prison-esque room with two holding cells. The dog boss opened of them and ordered the dog carrying the cage to remove the colt from it and toss him in, so he did. The colt hit the dirt floor with a thud. He then managed to shake of his gag. “YOU DAMNABLE, SLIMY MUTTS!!! RETURN MY BLADES TO ME AT ONCE, OR SO HELP ME I’LL RETRIVE THEM MYSELF AND LACERATE YOU INTO FINE SLICES!!!!!” he bellowed. The boss just smirked at him. “Hahahaha! Wouldn’t that be somethin’!” he said as he slammed the cell door. He locked it and pranced merrily away. “Now to get at that ore!” he disappeared into the cavernous maze. “Those swords are his!?” Spiral Galaxy asked shocked. “And it look like d’ese mutts messed wit da wrong one. We better ask homie what’s going down wit ‘em before we let things turn whack.” Turf War said. “Agreed. Shadow Shroud, pick the door open and wait for us outside in case we get company while Turf War, Spiral and I free him.” Fire Fight commanded. She nodded and snuck herself and the others towards the iron door; she got to work and almost immediately got it open with some apparent difficulty. She let her three compatriots in and jumped into the ceiling to ready an emergency ambush. “Here!” she said as she tossed them one of her kunai. They thanked her. In the prison cell, Fire Fight and co. ran up to the bound colt. He went behind him and began using Shroud’s dagger to cut the ropes. “Huh? Wha-….Who are you!?” the colt asked in surprise. “Relax. We’re gonna get you out of here. I’m Fire Fight. This is Turf War and Spiral Galaxy.” Fire Fight said as he was cutting. “What am, son?” Turf War said. He got drew his arms and faced the door. “Hello!” Spiral Galaxy said. Fire Fight managed to cut his ropes off completely. The colt stood proudly out of them as his pegasus wings were revealed along with his Cutie Mark, two katana crossing their blades. “I’m Air Slash. Thank you, friends.” He introduced. He kicked the ropes away. “Please! Help me get my swords back! It’s bad enough that those mutts have deigned to use them as pickaxes in our mine!” he said. Fire Fight cocked his head as Turf War led them out of the cell. “’Your mine’?” he asked. “Forgive me. It seems I failed to mention that I’m of the clan-” Air Slash started, but was cut off when Shadow Shroud suddenly jumped down in front of them with her kunai pointed. “Bladerunner!” she growled. Air Slash was surprised, but quickly returned the glare. “Shadewalker!” he growled back. The two stared each other down calmly but viciously. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut by a butterfly wings flap. Meanwhile, the other three were surprised to see that they seemed to know of each other. “You know about the Shadewalkers!?” Fire Fight asked. Air Slash continued to stare down Shadow Shroud. “Yes. We’re very old enemies. Forgive me, friend, but you were a fool to associate yourself with one of their kind.” He said. “I never thought I’d have the inconvenience of encountering one of your kind.” Shadow Shroud retorted. “Fire Fight, he’s where he belongs. This mine of theirs can be reclaimed easily from these mangy hounds. After that, we need not bother with him.” “Shadow Shroud, that’s callous even for you!” Spiral Galaxy argued. Air Slash perked up. “So your name is ‘Shadow Shroud’? Hmph… No matter. You coveters of darkness are all the same anyway. Whereas my family chooses to raise our swords between innocents and evil, yours sees fit to side with death and lower his jaws onto anyone that looks at Her Highness funny!” he accused. Shadow Shroud intensified her glare. “They’re hardly innocent when they actually threaten the crown and all of the land, so you can kindly thank us for cleaning house while you cowards spend all day brandishing your little toys around like toddlers throwing tantrums begging enemies of Equestria to go quietly!” she retorted The two bore their teeth at each other like two manticores fighting over territory. Turf War got between them. “A’ight, a’ight! A-HAhaaaa! It’s totally cool y’all get along so well, I mean fo’ real. Y’all lookin’ like brova an’ sistuh right now; it’s like a big ol’ reunion! Aw, man. I might shed a tear or two, damn! *sniffle* Uhh….but look, maybe it’s best we have our little discussion when WE NOT WAY UN’ERGROUND WIT A BUNCH O’ CRAZY-A** DOGS!?!” he exclaimed. The four other foals grimaced with anxiety at his outburst as it echoed throughout the caverns. Sounds of paws pounding against the dirt gave a resounding reply. It was in that moment that Turf War realized… “I f***** up…”