//------------------------------// // The Tide Comes In // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// The forest the foals entered wasn’t vastly different from the White Tail Woods. In fact, it reminded Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War, Spiral Galaxy and Air Slash much of their hike through Foal Mountain on their way to Dodge City. It was a nostalgic feeling indeed, but they hoped that they wouldn’t have to deal with any more plant monsters, which Quantum Tech explained was called a Florastrad. They kept themselves rather deep in the woods away from the train tracks, but the tracks eventually started turning east, so they could breathe a little easier. The only real resistance they encountered along their hike were occasional small monsters that they fought off with ease if Zebota couldn’t ward them off with his mysticism. They truly had become a powerful force. Bullseye even commented that she was getting bored and much preferred another windigo to tango with. Despite minor annoyances, they managed to gather a good amount of food from the bounties nature offered to them. As they began to near the foot of the Great Horn Summit, they came across a huge clearing with a large lake taking up much of the space. A river running down from the mountain ran through it, and then drained back into a river that flowed towards the Smokey Mountains. “Looks like a good place to camp out. It’s starting to get late anyway.” Fire Fight said. The sun was indeed about to finalize its sink into the horizon. “Good. I can finally give my hooves a rest.” Shadow Shroud said. “Although, we should probably find a more enclosed space to sleep so as not to tempt any nocturnal predators.” “Pfft! Are you kidding? Every b**** we ran into in this forest dropped like a damn fly! We’ll be fine.” Bullseye said. Crazylocks suddenly popped up next to her. “TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE CARRYING FLYTRAP SWATTERS SWATTING WONDER GUARDS AND YELLOW SHARDS AND JOKER CARDS AND CHICKEN AND LARD AND-” Bullseye forcefully shoved her away. “Get bent!” “That, and Shrapnel’s presence should deter them.” Zebota said. “We have made our presence in these woods well-known to its dwellers, so they must know by now that we are not to be trifled with.” Shrapnel let out a little howl. “Bold words, my friend. Though, I wouldn’t say they’re unwarranted.” Air Slash said. “Speakin’ o’ food, think you can whip somethin’ up, homie? I bet we all damn hungry right now.” Turf War said. “We did get a awful nice harvest from the forest.” Kickback said. “No problem!” Fire Fight said. He had Zebota help him gather sufficient firewood before lighting the campfire. The smell of fresh ingredients simmering in the beautiful blaze was a welcome aroma. Spiral Galaxy then noticed that there was a small patch of land a little larger than a stepping stone peeking up from the water about 20-30 yards from shore, not really big enough to warrant one calling it a proper island. “Hey guys, I’m think I’m gonna go meditate over there for a while.” “Ok. Be safe, sister!” Greensprout said. Spiral nodded. She slipped out of her armor and swam over to the mini island. It felt really good to finally take that weight of off her for a while and just relax. The cool water washing through her coat was nothing short of refreshing. Even if the open sky threatened to overcharge her cosmomancy, the confidence she’d gained over the course of the trip had helped her immensely. Once she made it to the patch of land, she calmed her mind and went into meditative state. As evening slowly crossed over into night, Fire Fight had a moment to reflect on their journey thus far. Quite a few unexpected turns had happened here and there. A mystic zebra and his pet monster joining them, the whole ordeal with the Fallen and Greensprout, Bullseye’s….issues, their ‘confrontation’ with Rocky Mountain, and to top it all off, meeting with Princess Luna and her warning them of an alleged threat to Equestria. He wasn’t expecting this mission to be easy, but he might’ve underestimated just how much he and his friends could expect to face out in places where ponies normally feared to tread. Despite the uncertainty, he was excited! What other adventures awaited them. For now, all they could do was heed Princess Luna’s warning and access the portal to Griffonstone. “Watcha making this time around?” Fire Fight glanced over to see Shadow Shroud suddenly next to him. Her presence was no longer menacing, so her sudden appearance didn’t jar him whatsoever. “Hey, Shroud! I’m gonna make some scrambled eggs and wheat salad. Hope you’re hungry.” Fire Fight said. “I think Turf War’s stomach spoke for all of ours.” Shroud said. They both shared a chuckle. “Seems our situation has become somewhat dire, wouldn’t you say?” “You seem pretty relaxed about it.” Fire Fight said. Shroud giggled. “If not me, then who? You? Our fearless leader?” she teased. Fire Fight pretended to pout. “Aww! Have some confidence in me for once.” He joked. “Hmm…..Ok, I guess will.” Shroud joked. “Hehe. Yeah.” Fire Fight said as he continued to tend to the eggs. “Hey…” “Hmm?” “Thanks for sticking with me. I really couldn’t have made it this far without you, Shroud.” Fire Fight said. Shroud giggled. “Thanks for keeping me from getting bored.” As unlikely as their friendship might have been, Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud slowly but surely came to realize that they enjoyed every second they spent together, and with their growing number of friends. Even their more horrific moments, such the fight with the crystal golem or Gene Splice’s execution somehow had hints of pleasantness simply knowing that their companionship was there to save them. Fire Fight hadn’t realized that he and Shadow Shroud had been gazing into each other’s eyes for a while until the ninja herself spoke some very simple words. “I think those are burning.” Fire Fight snapped himself back to his senses and looked at his eggs. Sure enough, they were starting the char a little! “Oh, crap!!” He hurriedly stirred them and put them on a plate. They were still nicely scrambled, but the tints of black made the fiery colt hang his down in shame. “….fantastic…” “Oh, worry not, friend. They still look edible.” Air Slash said. Fire Fight barely lifted his to glance up at him. “Thanks for the consolation, Air Slash...” he muttered. As that was happening, Bullseye was peacefully sitting by the edge of the water……or it would have been peaceful had Crazylocks not been pestering her. “I once heard a story about a seaweed hero who fought for his people against the oppression of the crabfishweed empire! They say his sword was forged with the very will to help and kelp others itself! Even the algae blooms un-bloomed when he bloomed from his blooming town and – Oh! That reminds me of my cousin who could talk to algae! He says they love eating ‘see-oh-too’! Pfft! Whatever that is, am I right? Right!...Right bite!...Bite the might of a slight height plight of the trite named Dwight!” Bullseye’s good eye was twitching with growing frustration as she listened to Crazylocks’ nonsensical banter. How the other foals even tolerated her was truly amazing to her. Finally, she decided to speak up. “Do you know how to shut the f*** up?” “Aww! Come now, sister.” Greensprout said. “I think Crazylocks is just trying to get you to lighten up.” Bullseye made a pinching gesture with her hoof. “I’m about this close to lightening my entire load of arrows into her throat.” she growled. “Well, please don’t. She’s as much of a broken soul as you are.” Greensprout said. Bullseye huffed at her. “Not much harm in putting a few more holes in her if that’s the case.” “Holes are fun!” Crazylocks blurted. Bullseye snarled at her. “You’re one annoying little b****, ya know that?” “No I’m not. I’m an orange!” Crazylocks said. Bullseye just facehooved in sheer frustration and just decided to try and ignore her. “Hoo-wee! Ain’t that just a beautiful sight up yonder!” Kickback called out. Everypony save for the meditating Spiral Galaxy looked up to where Kickback was. High in the dimming light of dusk in the Equestrian skyline was none other than its very own sky-high city. “Cloudsdale….” Greensprout said. The floating metropolis was adorned with a breathtaking array of rainbows that shimmered in the golden sunset. Zebota, not being as familiar with Equestria’s wonders as its actual people, was especially entranced at the sight that was likely very rare for his race; he relished in every second that he beheld its glory. Fire Fight began to make the salad as he too gazed up at the majestic sight. “Wow….” A rather important thought then crossed his mind. “How do you guys suppose we’ll get up there?” “Well, Bullseye, Crazylocks and myself could simply fly up there…..but then there’s the issue of concealing our identities…..” Air Slash said. “Cloudsdale isn’t important right now. We need to heed Princess Luna’s warning. If we take any detours, there’s a very good chance that we’ll be discovered.” Shroud said. Fire Fight sighed. “Yeah, you got a point. It just sucks that we can’t help more foals sooner. I guess we really do need to worry about finding a place to plant our roots.” Largely ignoring the ‘festivities’ on the shore, Spiral Galaxy concentrated on the water around her. The passage of time itself seemed to flow in perfect harmony with the current in this lake, and she let her consciousness play in rhythm with it. Her older self would have trembled under the overwhelming feeling she got when she let her mind slip adrift like this, but that was then. For the first time, she thought she could feel just what seemed to be calling her…..the universe itself. All those time that the stars grabbed at her mind whenever she concentrated her power….they were only heeding her own call to them, but the sheer amount of power they held always overwhelmed her, and sent her into a frenzy. This must have been what being a cosmomancer meant. She’d have to connect with the cosmos in order to attain her true potential, but with extreme caution. For now, her focus was on easing her mind in the presence of the universe, and nothing was going to distract her….. Spiral was jolted awake by the sudden, loud splash that just resounded somewhere out into the lake. She glanced around for a second or two until she saw the area where the splash occurred. There were still some droplets cascading back into the lake by the time she caught sight of it. “Spiral, darling, what was that just then?” Quantum Tech called out. Spiral looked back at her and shrugged. “I dunno!” she called back. She took one last glance at the splash sight before deciding that it was probably nothing and went back to her meditation. However, a minute was about to pass when she felt that something was nearing her, and she looked up once more. Nothing immediately noticeable was approaching. “Am I going crazy?” Her question was answered when something suddenly jumped out of the water and onto the mini island with her! “….…..…..Wow…..I actually survived….” It was none other than a pegasus colt her age! His coat was a sapphire blue, and his mane, which was styled somewhat like a dorsal fin, was a navy blue along with his tail. His eyes were a bright amber color, and his Cutie Mark depicted a splash of water that was formed like a spear. Speaking of spears, he for some reason had one strapped to his back along with a bag, and it looked like it belonged to a member of the Royal Guard. He glanced up and happened to meet Spiral Galaxy’s eyes, who was more than shocked to so suddenly encounter him. The two stared at each other for a brief moment in befuddled confusion…. “EEEEEEK!!!!!” “AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!” They both screamed simultaneously once the tension gave in. Spiral’s magic seemed to move on its own as it picked up the mysterious colt and flung him to the shore of the lake where the others watched in surprise. The colt flew into a tree trunk and crumbled to the ground. “Da f***!?” Turf War exclaimed. “Turf War! Language!” Quantum said. “My bad, my bad.” Spiral quickly swam back to join the others, who were already at the colt’s aid. Kickback held out his hoof and helped him up. “Y’all alright there, partner?” The colt was shocked and a little dazed at everything that was happening right now, and glanced back and forth between the Battle Foals. “Uh….Y-Yeah…..Thanks….” He then looked up and noticed Shrapnel. “WHOA!! LOOKOUT!!” He spread his wings and lunged forward with his spear pointed poised towards the wooden beast. With surprising agility, he managed to land the head of his spear right into Shrapnel’s snout, causing him to loudly whimper and recoil back, holding his snout. The arborous animal then retaliated by swinging his paw at him, but the colt skillfully rolled under it and followed up with a jab right under the eye. “TAKE THAT!!” He then used his spear to pole-vault upwards. Once airborne, he thrust his spear towards Shrapnel in an attempt to strike his eye, but he was stopped in mid-air by Fire Fight’s magic. “Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop!” Fire Fight held the colt back while Zebota calmed down Shrapnel. “It’s ok! That’s just Shrapnel, Zebota’s pet- I mean friend…..timberwolf.” The looked up in shock at the wooden titan as he was indeed being tended by Zebota as well as Greensprout. “Wait…..what!?” Spiral caught up to them and ran up to the colt, throwing her hooves onto his shoulders. “I am so sorry! I just….I-I panicked when I suddenly had this spear-wielding colt right in front of me, and-” The colt gently brushed her away. “I-It’s fine. I’m ok.” Turf War then noticed something about the colt’s wings. They were….finned and webbed like a fish rather than feathered like a bird. “Yo, homie! What’s good wit yo’ wings d’ho?” The colt quickly turned and glared at him, and suddenly pointed his spear at him. “THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH MY WINGS, YOU GOT THAT!?” he exclaimed. Turf War raised his shield by total reflex. “Damn, dog! A’ight! Chill! Don’t gotta point dat s*** at yo’ boy!” The colt lowered his head in frustrated shame as he sheathed his spear. “S-Sorry.” It was then that he recognized most of them. “Hey….Aren’t you those runaway’s that have been in the news lately?” “You’re not about to go rat us out, are you!?” Bullseye hissed. Her aggression intimidated the colt a little. “N-No! Of course not! I…..I’m kinda….running away too…..” “Sorry about Bullseye, she…..well, that’s not really important right now.” Fire Fight said. “What are you running away from? We might be able to help you!” The colt shyly looked away from Fire Fight. His expression still harbored some frustration, likely from the mention of his wings. “I-It’s……really none of your business. I-I just don’t want to go back to Cloudsdale….” The foals were shocked when it suddenly hit them. “YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT YOU JUMPED ALL THE WAY UP FROM CLOUDSDALE!? ARE YOU QUITE MAD!?!?” Quantum exclaimed. “He is a pegasus, you know.” Shadow Shroud said. Quantum composed herself upon hearing that. “Erm….Y-Yes, of course. Heehee. How silly of me.” Fire Fight put his hoof on the colt’s shoulder. “I’m Fire Fight. What’s your name?” The colt barely glanced over at Fire Fight, as if to hesitate trusting him with so much as his name. Finally, he sighed before getting up and walking towards the lake. “Tidal Wave.” Fire Fight was a little taken aback by how independent this ‘Tidal Wave’ was trying to be. Even though he knew he couldn’t force his help onto others, he could at least console them with words alone. “Hey! Where’re you going?” Tidal Wave just kept slowly trudging towards the water. “Somewhere where I won’t be a bother to anypony!” he said. Suddenly, a little tremor resounded from the lake. Quantum scanned it with her glasses, and her eyes widened in horror. “Um…T-Tidal Wave, was it? I-I think you may have disturbed something in the water….” They all looked out into the lake…..and immediately braced for battle when something huge erupted out of the water…..