//------------------------------// // A Grand Feast // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// With the plethora of freshly harvested ingredients he had at his disposal, Fire Fight managed to cook a nice little feast for him and his friends. He wanted to wait until Spiral Galaxy woke from her nap so she could have it fresh and hot with everypony else, so in the meantime, he helped the others build their raft. When Spiral began to stir, Fire Fight got to work and called the gang over for a much needed lunch break. “How’d you sleep, Spiral? Does your head still hurt?” Shadow Shroud asked her. Spiral shook her head. “Nah. I got a good nap. I didn’t focus that beam as much as the other one, so it wasn’t as much of a strain.” She said. She then looked over at the trail of scattered dirt and fried flora left in the wake of her cosmic beam. “Umm…..I didn’t almost hit you and Fire Fight, did I?” she asked. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud looked at her a little nervously, then at each other. “OH! Uh…No, Spiral you didn’t. It was like…..ten feet away from us, right Shroud?” Fire Fight said nervously. Shadow Shroud cleared her throat. “Y-Yes, indeed.” She said with a nervous smile. Spiral shook her head and sighed. “I did, didn’t I?” she asked gloomily. The two tried to maintain their guise, but she saw right through them. She looked down at her food. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better…” she sighed. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud relaxed they’re faces as they along with Turf War grimaced. Air Slash simply shook his head with disapproval. Even if she had attained even slightly more control over her magic, Spiral Galaxy was still sensitive about the fact that she was basically a walking apocalypse with little ability to contain her sheer power. She still had to keep to emotions in check if she didn’t want to have an episode. “Man! You fo’ real gonna get all gloomy when Fire Fight made all dis damn fine food? Ya know, homie was waiting fo’ you to wake up so you’d have it fresh, so I don’t think he care y’all almost wasted ‘em, huh?” Turf War said. Fire Fight nodded proudly. “Yeah, Spiral. It’s ok, really. Eat up; it’ll make you feel better.” He said. Spiral looked up at them at slowly creased a smile. She shed a little tear. “You’ve all been so nice to me…” she muttered. Shadow Shroud leaned over to hug her and she returned the gesture. Spiral could feel a couple of Shroud’s concealed kunai pointing her a little as she and her embraced, but only cared that she was with her friend. They broke off and began chowing down with all the rest. They all gingerly ate their hearty feast. The combination of finely picked wheat, mushrooms, and various herbs and fruits with some hibiscus at the side made them feel like they were actually having a freshly home-cooked meal. Turf War and Fire Fight exchanged stories about some of their misadventures back in Manehatten and Detrot respectively. Air Slash exchanged some of his own experiences as a younger colt when he first remembers training with his father; he glared at Shadow Shroud every time he caught her snickering at the part where he’d mess up horribly and be scolded. Shadow Shroud herself told a couple wild tales about the year she’d spent in the Everfree forest. One of them involved becoming infected with the infamous Poison Joke weed, causing her illusory clones to randomly appear at any given moment while she searched desperately for the ingredients necessary for an antidote, which they all got a good laugh out of, namely Air Slash. It was all around a fun afternoon. “Fire Fight, where’d you learn to cook? This is delicious!” Spiral Galaxy asked him. Fire Fight swallowed what food he had in his mouth. “I picked it up from my mom. I can’t really do a whole lot, but my fire magic makes it pretty easy.” He answered. “Oh, really? My dad taught me how to navigate using the stars at night.” She replied. “As did my masters.” Shadow Shroud commented. “You too!?” Spiral asked her. “Yes. How else would we navigate unaided in the dead of night?” she said. “You just leave that to me; I’ll let you continue to weaponize them, ok?” Spiral nodded. “Sure.” “My dad used to play soccer when he was in school. When I was li’l, he try to teach me how to play, but I was pretty whack, y’all. I one time managed to kick da damn ball into a tree and it bounced back right into my face! It hurt like a b****- uh, my bad. It hurt a lot, but it was kinda fun. Dat’s kinda how I started getting all buff. I’m pretty sure y’all can figure out the rest.” Turf War commented. They all chuckled at his little tale. “I hardly think the origins of my skills demand explanation.” Air Slash said. Fire Fight chuckled. “Yeah. Those swords pretty much do all the talking.” He said. “And perhaps all the thinking.” Shadow Shroud sneered. Air Slash rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you know as well as I do that thinking with your weapon is important for any warrior, Shadewalker.” he said. Shadow Shroud snickered and took another bite of her meal. She then looked at Fire Fight. “You know, come to think of it, I don’t believe you’ve ever once mention your father, Fire Fight. Care to elaborate?” she asked. Fire Fight suddenly stopped eating. He slowly put his food down and as he hung his head down. Seeing that she struck a raw nerve, Shadow Shroud grimaced. “Perhaps……not?” Fire Fight sighed and looked at her. “I….I-I should really get it off my chest.” He muttered. He took a deep breath. “My dad left me and my mom about half a year ago.” He explained. The other foals looked at him surprised. “Why?” Turf War asked. “Remember……how I told you guys that I’m….self-taught? Well…..I wasn't being completely honest. You see…..my dad was a fitness trainer at a local gym. You can guess where I got my love for working out. Anyway, one of his favorite things to put his clients through was a hanging bag. He always said how training your body to move quickly under stress improved coordination, and I think he was right. Every day he got home from work, he’d bring his bag home and let me use it ever since I was around seven. I was a big fan of kung-fu movies, so I loved trying the crazy moves I’d see in them. *hehe* He thought that was so funny!” Fire Fight explained. “So….what caused him to leave?” Spiral asked. “Well….It was around three months before he left that I got really serious about finding my magic; my teacher said that a unicorn my age back then should be focusing on that so its not so hard as an adult. Well, it just so happened that I was a fire mage! My mom thought maybe I’d be a cook or something…..but……one day, I was visiting the gym where my dad worked when this huge stallion busted through the doors shouting something about wanting his money back or something to my dad. I was pretty scared, but my dad just stood his ground and argued with him. Everypony was too scared of the big guy to try and break them up. Then……*sigh*…..then he knocked my dad down. And…he picked up one of the bigger lifting weights and was about to smash it on my dad’s head! That’s when I panicked and suddenly threw a fireball without thinking at him; I-I wanted to save my dad! It hit the guy in his chest and made him drop the weight next to him, and then I just ran over and….started punching and kicking away just like I would on the hanging bag…. He was so shocked that he just ran out of the gym. Not even a second later, my Cutie Mark appeared….” He explained gloomily as he glanced down at the flaming drake upon his flank. The other foals were left stunned. Even Shadow Shroud exhibited a shocked expression at the almost unbelievable tale. “Then what?” Air Slash inquired “M-…..M-My dad just stared at me. So did everypony else…..I-I couldn’t tell what they were thinking, but……when we got home, he just…..didn’t talk to me for the rest of the day; he didn’t set up the hanging bag for me. My mom was thrilled to see me with my Mark, but when dad told her what happened, she just….lost all her color in an instant….*sigh*……I never even had a cute senora.” Fire Fight explained. “I couldn’t understand why they were so upset with me. I was so proud of myself for protecting my dad that…..I just felt like such a hero. That’s when I started going after more criminals, angry ponies and stuff. I just wanted to show them that I could be helpful……It always felt so good when I’d rescue somepony, or stop a robbery or something, but……..*sob*……….One night after I’d gotten home from beating down a gang of street thugs that were trying to rob a church, my dad said he’d had enough and just….packed up and left! He said he didn’t want to be the one raise….*sob*…raise a delinquent!” Fire Fight held back tears as he recalled the traumatic time. Shadow Shroud leaned in and embraced him as Turf War put his hoof around his buddy’s neck. Shroud’s concealed kunai pricking him was a sign to him that she meant her gesture. He took a moment to regain his composure and then took a deep breath as they broke away from him. “Thanks, guys.” He muttered. They nodded. “I don’t why, but…..I felt encouraged to fight rather than stop…..I-I guess I was trying desperately to show him that I was doing good. I just wanted him back! I really did want to help, but….I guess I wanted my dad back more….” Fire Fight said. The other foals sighed heavily as they looked on in sympathy at their fiery leader. They’d all endured a lot, but seeing Fire Fight come clean made them lose their appetites a little. Fire Fight raised his head again. “But that’s ok! That was then, this is now! We have to save all the other lost foals in Equestria before they suffer like that! Am I right?” he declared proudly. Seeing their leader pick himself back up rekindled their spirits….and appetites! “You damn right, mah boy!” Turf War said. “You said it” Spiral Galaxy said. Air Slash drew his sword and held it over his heart. “I’d follow you through the gates of Tarturus if you told us to break them down!” he declared. Fire Fight nodded proudly and looked at Shadow Shroud. She simple let out a devilish giggle as she flipped her mane and looked back at him. That was all he needed from her. Fire Fight held out his hoof towards everypony. “Put ‘em in, guys!” he said. They all fist-bumped proudly and finished their meal. Working through the rest of the evening, the foals used the giant leaves produced from the plant monster along with the tough strips that Air Slash and Shadow Shroud had peeled from its tendrils and some wood that Turf War had finely chopped to make a sufficient raft large enough to fit them and their supplies. They used the tendril straps to securely tie the wood together and put two of the four huge leaves underneath for a little extra floatation. The other two leaves were made into a shelter that arched over the raft. They made sure not to leave a lot of blind spots so that they could see potential danger coming. Once they were finished they brought it out to the river. “I suggest we embark now while it’s getting dark. If travel at night, there’s far less potential for us to be seen by any random passerby.” Shadow Shroud said. The others agreed. “Yeah, good idea. I’ll take first watch since I already took a nap today.” Spiral Galaxy said. “I’ll stay up with you so we can meditate together while you’re under the stars.” Shadow Shroud said to her. “Ok!” Spiral sang. “Alright. Why don’t gather a little more food for the trip first? We feasted a great deal after our victory.” Air Slash said. “Word up, son! How ‘bout it?” Turf War added. Fire Fight nodded. “Let’s do that. Shroud, mind helping us?” Shadow Shroud nodded. “Of course.” She said. After about fifteen minutes of gathering another sufficient harvest from the meadow, the foals packed their things onto the raft and set sail to their destinies, eager as to what it had in store for them.