//------------------------------// // A Little Problem // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// With some guidance from Shadow Shroud pertaining to sneaking towards their cover, the Battle Foals reached the White Tails Woods, aptly named to due to its high population of white tailed deer, plenty for Shrapnel to snack on. It wasn’t much different from the forest beyond Hoofington other then it was darker due to having lusher and thicker trees and as a result, thicker canopy. Shadow Shroud’s ninja perception and Zebota’s attunement with nature were saving graces when it came to navigating the forest. The sheer feeling of tranquility combined with no signs of monsters so far gave the foals a comforting feeling, but Zebota said that where there’s prey, there’s always a predator… About half an hour into their hike, they across a small clearing about twice the size of Ponyville’s classroom. It was nice and hidden away, so the foals decided to use it as their base of operations for now. “I’ll sneak into town and assess the situation. We’ll work out a plan from there.” Shadow Shroud said. "Okay, Shroud. Be careful.” Fire Fight said. Shroud giggled deviously as she donned her mask. “Yes, dear.” She teased as she donned her mask. She disappeared into the woods beyond towards Trifectown. Fire Fight rolled his eyes. “Tch. Never learns her lesson, does she?” ***** After about ten or so minutes of scoping her surroundings and leaping between trees, Shadow Shroud managed to reach the edge of the forest where Trifectown was mere yards away. The shadows of the forest completely blanketed her cloaked form. Just in front of her was the side of a house with some large, unkempt bushes leaning against it- perfect to use as cover. Sneaking around like this in broad daylight was not ideal, but seeing as nearly any town anywhere would likely be less active at night, this had to do. After seeing that the coast was clear, the clever little ninja leapt like lightning from the forest and into the bush. It was a little pricklier than she would have liked, but she could move silently through it without making virtually any noise. She carefully crept to the other side of the bush and peered into the street. As Meadow suggested before, Trifectown was a small village not unlike Ponyville or Hoofington, and many of its residents had Cutie Marks that pertained to sports in some way. She saw quite a few ponies carrying various kinds of bags meant for carrying sporting equipment. “How did I not see any of these ponies at the last Pony Games?” Shroud wondered. “Meh. Maybe they all just suck.” Just before she could plot another course, a newspaper caught astray by the wind flew into her face. “Argh! Shoot!” She clawed it off of her face. “Or maybe their apparent litter problem is taking up all of their time to prac- huh?....” Shroud happened to look into the main headline of the newspaper and was met with an alarming sight. ***** Mambo yote maua na wilt moja kwa siku, na mto wa muda unapita juu. nguvu kuwaondoa na hifadhi dhaifu, na mto wa muda unapita juu. Kama mimi kuteka pumzi yangu na kuishi maisha kwamba dunia hii amenibariki kwa, Mimi kuchukua muda huu kushiriki zawadi hii pamoja na yote kuogelea katika muda. Zebota softly sang in his strange language as he sat in the middle of the clearing in a meditative position. Shrapnel sat behind him and softly howled to his master’s tune. Nature around them seemed to flourish as the duet continued their little performance, and the other foals were no less enchanted. As the zebra and his monster chanted, Quantum Tech was doing a little maintenance on her mech, Spiral meditated, Turf War and Fire Fight were spotting each other for sit-ups, Kickback was keeping an eye on Crazylocks and Air Slash was helping Greensprout gather some herbs. They all happily listened as they went about their business. Their peaceful solace was interrupted when Shadow Shroud suddenly emerged from the shrubbery carrying a newspaper. “That was fast.” Spiral said as she got up from her meditation. “Guys, we might have a little problem.” She said. To see a considerable amount of worry on her face was worrying itself. She showed them the newspaper, and a hint of panic swept over the foals as they read the headline: ‘Mass of Missing Foals Sweeps The Realm’. Included were bold instructions to contact authorities if they knew anything about the missing foals below the picture. There were seven pictures in all, and six of them were taken from family photos. Fire Fight, Turf War, Spiral Galaxy, Air Slash, Kickback and Quantum Tech’s faces were shown in each picture and labeled by name. The seventh one however was a crude sketch of a grey earth pony filly wearing an orange dress that was labeled as ‘unknown’. “What the-!? Man, who da f*** snitched on us!?” Turf War said. “Turf War, please watch your language!” Greensprout said firmly. “Sorry, sorry. Just….” “This ain’t good?” Kickback asked. “Yeah. Dat’s what I’m tryna say.” Turf War said. “O-O-Oh dear. This was bound to happen at some point.” Quantum stammered. “It’s a good thing you caught it, Shroud. Otherwise we might have gone into town and….” Thinking about being forced back to Hoofington and leaving her friends made Spiral’s heart race with fear. The foals could feel the ground around them slowly begin to rumble and immediately acted. “It’s ok, Spiral.” Fire Fight said in a comforting tone. “Sister, at ease.” Greensprout said. It took her a moment, but with some deep breathes, Spiral managed to calm herself. The rumbling had stopped, and the foals could breathe easier. “Goodness me.” Shroud gritted her teeth. “Nrgh! Looks like I might have slipped up somewhere.” “Or perhaps those who saw us before grew weary of our presence, yours notwithstanding.” Air Slash said. “Either way, this will be quite the hindrance. I’m not sure if we can proceed. I can’t go into town disguised or not without running the risk of being discovered.” Shroud said. A concern suddenly crossed Fire Fight’s mind. “Umm…..the Shadewalkers…..aren’t gonna start coming after you to……punish you or anything…..are they?” he nervously asked Shroud. Shroud shook her head. “Doubtful. Stuff like this has happened in the past, and after some amount of time, suspicions of our existence fade into memory.” She explained. “Though….I wouldn’t be too shocked if I got at least a small scolding. No matter though. Our concern right now is coming up with a Plan B.” “I could go into town and explore. The ponyfolk know nothing of me, so it would be safe.” Zebota said. “Shrapnel would have to stay behind, of course.” “That’s a bad idea, Zebota.” Fire Fight said. “I’m pretty sure a zebra colt that suddenly appears in town would be the center of attention. Zecora’s practically her own celebrity in Ponyville.” “Hmm….Yes, that is a good point.” Zebota said. “But Greensprout is not known either! She could explore the town!” Greensprout looked up in surprise upon hearing that. “Wh-What? Me? B-But what would I have to do? What would I look for?” she stammered. “I should go with her if that’s the case.” Air Slash said. “Are you some kind of idiot? Your face is in this paper! You’ll be noticed in no time!” Shroud reprimanded. “Thank you though, Air Slash.” Greensprout said. Air Slash nodded and blushed. “Although…..Crazylocks isn’t in this paper either. She could accompany me.” The other foals just looked at her as if she had been afflicted with the same level of insanity exhibited by said pony chimera, who was currently banging her head against a tree while counting in German…..somehow. “Homegirl……you ain’t fo’ real?” Turf War said. “I know it may sound ludicrous, but immersing her into a pony society might be good therapy for her.” Greensprout said. “Hmm……not entirely out the realm of possibility.” Quantum thought aloud. “But imagine if she randomly started morphing in front of everypony! They’d chase her to the ends of the earth!” Spiral said. “Plus, how are you going to explain her…..behaviors?” Crazylocks was now using her unicorn magic to make sticks dance around like puppets while boisterously conducting as though she were a maestro. Greensprout looked at her comrades with pleading eyes. Crazylocks’ insanity may have objectively been her greatest weapon, but it was also her most profound struggle, and Greensprout couldn’t bear to let her suffer like this; she wanted to heal and restore all that she could, Crazylocks notwithstanding, even if it took ages. “B-But….” “I’m sorry, Greensprout, but it’s just not the best idea. We really do can’t much for her right now. Once we get our utopia going, then we’ll be able to start properly treating her. Quantum said that she can cured…..probably.” Fire Fight said. Greensprout’s look of sorrow turned into frustration. “You’re not even doing anything for her!” she reprimanded. “You keep talking about helping foals in need, but what have you done for Crazylocks? Clearly nothing! Have you even tried to purge her affliction? Is she nothing more than some multi-purpose tool to you!?” “Greensprout.” Spiral put her arm around the vexed monk, and Greensprout calmed down after a brief moment and a deep breath. “Forgive me…” Greensprout muttered. Fire Fight couldn’t help but feel a hint of guilt. He too wanted to do all he could for the frenzied filly, but….“Greensprout, believe me. If I could do more for Crazylocks, I would, but……I can’t. I don’t know how to fix stuff like this. The only thing I can do is make sure she doesn’t become a danger to others around her or herself. Quantum said that she might be able to treat her, but it’d take a while and a lot of patience.” “Mental wounds are not so easily closed, darling. The best thing we can do for her right now is let them heal themselves until I can begin proper sessions with her.” Quantum said with a hint of sorrow in her tone. Seeing the reason behind their words, Greensprout sighed in defeat. “I see….” She muttered. She stood up staright once more and looked at Shadow Shroud. “I guess I’ll have to go alone, huh?” Shroud nodded. “I’ll sneak you into town and see if I can’t stay hidden so that I can give you some direction. Though, you should do alright; you’re not exactly inept at locating somepony in need.” Greensprout giggled. “Thank you, Shadow Shroud.” She then felt Air Slash tap her shoulder, and she looked at him. “Be careful, ok?” he said. His expression was somewhat worried, as if he was trying put on a brave face. “I will, Air Slash. Thank you.” Greensprout said. She then handed him her staff. “Could I ask you to hold onto the Gaia Root for me? I imagine that it would catch some attention.” Air Slash took the staff from her. “Of course.” “Ah reckon y’all shouldn’t wear yer robes either. Ponies are gonna wonder why yer wearing such out-of-place attire. Just a little precaution.” Kickback added. “That would be prudent.” Shroud said. Greensprout was a little surprised to suddenly hear that, but it made sense. “Oh, alright.” She took of her robes and folded them. “I’ll keep them safe in my mech suit, darling.” Quantum Tech said as she magically lifted them. “Thank you, Quantum Tech.” Greensprout said. With that, the young ninja and monk made their way towards what would certainly be a difficult undertaking.