//------------------------------// // Following a Trail // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// Tidal Wave could feel all eyes on him, and for a moment, he could have sworn he felt the universe just shine one big spotlight on him. “Uhh….You mean….me?” Shadow Shroud flipped her mane. “Who else?” “Shroud, are you crazy? He just ran away! They’ve probably reported him missing by now!” Fire Fight said. “Hol’ up, my boy.” Turf War interjected. “I think homegirl might be onto somethin’ he’e. Yeah, he just ditched his crib, but dat’s the point. He just bounced. Word ain’t gonna spread around Equestria in one day, so he might be a’ight to go see what’s poppin’ fo’ a li’l while.” “I…..guess that’s true….” Spiral Galaxy said hesitantly. “Let me think fo’ a second……..OH! I got it!” Turf War said. He walked up to Tidal Wave. “A’ight, son, here’s what you gonna do: You gonna hit up dat spot and be like ‘What’s good?’, a’ight? Once d’hey be like, ‘what up, homie?’, you tell ‘em dat you came out da cut for a research project at school you doin’ on Griffon culture in……whatever da hell dat Smokey Mountain village joint called. Dat way, you meet at least one griffon and get ‘em to help us wit dis. Sound straight?” Shroud chuckled. “Now there’s the street-smart gangbanger I know and……would love if not for that relentless potty mouth.” She teased. Turf War rolled his eyes. “Pfft. Dat’s f***ed up…” Shadow Shroud just raised one eyebrow at him, and his only response was a conceited sigh, inciting a little snicker from Bullseye. "Oh, and for reference, the town is called Yodelneigh." Shroud said. “I guess I could do that, but….How am I supposed to get up there? I can’t fly remember?” Tidal Wave said. He looked back at his fin-wings and fluttered them, and sighed in shame of his limitation. “Furthermore, how is he going to convince anypony at all to scale this frigid mountain for the sake of research? Princess Luna said that this location was largely forgotten, and we learned along the way that it’s not exactly a safe trek anyhow.” Quantum Tech said. “That also begs the question of how he’d even return to and from our position with minimal issue; he is and should go in unarmed so as not to draw suspicion after all. There’s just too many factors to be wary of. I’m sorry, but I must oppose this.” “Think y’all can figure out a way to make the portal activate without a griffon, Ms. Quantum Tech?” Kickback asked. Quantum sighed. “It’ll take some serious research into the nature of this portal’s locking magic, but….perhaps.” “You do that. In the meantime, I say Tidal Wave’s escapade is a risk worth taking.” Fire Fight said. “At this point, we can’t afford to be negative.” “Dude! Did you already forget? Am I supposed to magically grow feathered wings and just flutter up there?” Tidal Wave said. Fire Fight grimaced. “That’s…..a good point.” “I COULD HELP HIM WITH THAT!!” Crazylocks blurted as she sprouted her own wings. Bullseye gritted her teeth and yanked Crazylocks towards her so that they were face to face. “Crazylocks, any more stupid s*** outta your mouth, and I’m gonna f****** dunk your head into that frozen well outside until you finally regain-” Bullseye was suddenly cut off by her own train of thought. “The well….” She had a little epiphany. “Hey, Quantum! Kickback and I found a frozen water well outside that felt kinda warm underneath.” Kickback suddenly remembered it when Bullseye mentioned it. “Aw yeah! Ah meant to tell ya about that, but then y’all started hollerin’ about the dang portal.” Quantum cocked her head. “Warm…..how?” Bullseye walked towards the back door and motioned for them to follow. “C’mon. We’ll show ya.” Fire Fight used his heat bubble to shield his comrades from the cold once again as they trotted towards this well. As they approached it, Zebota seemed to get anxious for some reason, as if he was realizing something about the well. He occasionally looked down at his brooch, and Shrapnel seemed to be attuned with whatever his master was picking up; he began sniffing the ground. “Here it is, y’all.” Kickback said as they reached the well. While it certainly appeared to be a mere frozen pond of water, Quantum laid her hoof on it, and sure enough, she could feel the warmth that Bullseye and Kickback spoke of. “Huh…..Interesting….” She decided to see if she could get a reading from her glasses, but it was taking a while to for them to register. “Zebota, do you sense anything?” Zebota clutched his brooch and closed his eyes for a brief second before returning. “Yes. The spirits here…..They oppose one another. Their conflict extends above and below this mountain, and Nature’s balance is their only harmony. The flames of the earth that burn with ferocious life……and the chilling winds foretelling death’s presence…..” “The f*** is that mumbo jumbo supposed to mean?” Bullseye asked. Zebota shot her and annoyed glare. “It means that the earth is more alive here than we realized.” He said. Shrapnel let out a howl, as if to pay respect to the ‘conflict’ that his master described. Quantum’s glasses then got a solid reading. “ It’s just as he says! There’s volcanic activity within this mountain! This…..This is unprecedented! No such activity was ever thought to be churning within the Great Horn Summit!! Oh, I simply must catalog this discovery!” “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What!? This mountain isn’t going to blow up on us, is it!?” Spiral asked frantically. “Oh, no, no, no, darling. It’s far too weak to warrant an eruption.” Quantum said. “However, it’s just enough that it’s warming the water buried within its walls.” She scanned the area around the well more closely with her x-ray scope. “And it seems that the pockets that hold the water form a sort of tunnel system. I suspect that it spills out into that lake where we combatted that hydra.” “Oh! So that means Tidal Wave could swim through there into the mountain village, correct? Or at least until her reaches the feet of each mountain.” Greensprout said. “Could you, Tidal Wave?” Fire Fight asked the aquatic colt. Tidal Wave looked at him with a frazzled expression. “Do you guys think I’m Aqua Colt or something!? I can’t hold my breath for that long, let alone swim up waterfalls!” He said. “I-I mean…..I guess it’d be worth a shot, but…” Everypony seemed to give up somewhat upon realizing that, but Shrapnel seemed to have something on his mind. He lightly nudged Quantum Tech, who looked up at him. “Oh! Wh-What is it, honey?” she asked. The wooden titan let out a couple of grunts as he seemed to take interest in her bag. “He says ‘Show my master a remaining piece of the crystal beast, child’.” Crazylocks blurted. “Whatever for, my friend?” Zebota asked his monster. Shrapnel let out a small roar as he glanced over at Tidal Wave, who grew unnerved when he received such attention from one of the most feared beasts in Equestria, even if he was tame. “Wh-Wh-Why is he looking at me like that?” he stammered. Being able to understand his beast, Zebota realized what he was saying and seemed to hesitate. “Are you sure, my friend? He is not of my people. Would he be accepted?” Shrapnel grunted as he nodded his massive canine head. Zebota let out a sigh. “I see…” “Wh-What’s going on? Accepted for what?” Tidal Wave stammered. Zebota turned to Quantum Tech. His expression told her that he was hesitant, but serious about whatever was on his mind. “Quantum Tech, may I see one of the crystals you hold?” Slightly confused and a little nervous, Quantum reached into her saddlebag and pulled out one of the few remaining crystal shards that had been harvested from the golem beneath Canterlot. “Er....Of course, darling.” She handed it to him. “Thank you.” Zebota said as he took it. He examined it closely for a moment before seeming satisfied. “Yes….This one will do.” “What’re you up to, Mr. Nature?” Shroud asked. Zebota chuckled as he glanced over at Tidal Wave, who was still nervous. “Tidal Wave…..would you be interested in entering a world foreign to you?” Tidal Wave cocked his eyebrow at the odd question. “Uh….what?” “You will have to give me a moment or so to properly prepare this jewel, but I believe I know how we will circumvent this issue.” Zebota said. He and Shrapnel went back into the temple, leaving the foals to wonder what the little mystic had up his stripes…. ***** In the White Tail Woods... The search party had returned to Trifectown and ventured into the White Tail Woods as planned. The absence of Twilight, Spike and Rarity made things a little awkward, but Cheerilee felt confident that she could lead the entourage. After all, she more or less owed it to Fire Fight’s parents still even if they managed to forgive her. Accompanying her were said parents, Knight Soul and a few of his Bladerunner trainees, her class and the CMC, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. With such a large and capable entourage, they were optimistic of their odds in finally locating the lost foals. Rainbow Dash had made a quick aerial sweep of the immediate area prior, and she returned to the party after a few moments. “See anything, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. Dash shook her head. “Nope. The trees are a little too thick for me to see through, so if they’re here, they’re well-covered.” She said. “Although, it felt strangely cold somewhere over there.” She pointed slightly westward. “Have any of the other foals that were reported missing been known to use ice magic?” Knight Soul asked. “Not really, sir, but I think one of them is a cosmomancer, and since it’s so cold up in space, then……well, that might be a bit of a stretch.” Button Mash said. “Hmm! So you were paying attention in class after all!” Cheerilee said, warranting an eye roll from the gamer colt. “Are you sure you weren’t just cold because you were high in the air?” Fist asked Dash. Dash firmly shook her head. “No way, dude! I’ve been flying for so long, cold air due to altitude means nothing to me!” she boasted. “Who cares if there’s a little cold front? We need to figure out which way they went!” Cat said. “Sir! Over here!” One of the Bladerunners called out. They trotted over to him. “What is it, Red Badge?” Knight Soul asked. The trainee pointed down at the ground below them. “Don’t these tracks look rather…..odd?” When they examined said tracks, they noticed immediately that they didn’t seem to come from anything natural. They were shaped something like a bird’s foot, but were so perfectly shaped that they pretty much looked artificial. “Wasn’t one of them supposed to be really good with machines? Maybe they built some kind of….transport vehicle?” “And remain hidden for this long? Nonsense!” Knight Soul said. “Sir, after how times he’s managed to get away from us up until this point, even from under our noses, I’m not willing to doubt him being clever enough…….or all of us just being plain stupid.” Scootaloo said. “I….I can’t say I can argue with either notion.” Knight Soul muttered. “Guess we’ll just have to follow them, huh?” Sweetie Belle said. “Any lead is a good one if it means finding Fire Fight.” Cat said. The ground party did as suggested and followed the tracks while Rainbow Dash made another aerial sweep just in case. They made sure to carefully search areas around the tracks in case they found any more clues, but to no avail. All they could so was eventually come to a river and stop and a big tree whose hollow trunk was surprisingly spacious. That’s where the tracks seemed to stop. “Golly! We could fit our clubhouse in here if we really tried.” Applebloom commented as she ventured into the hollow. Upon closer examination, she found the remains of a campfire. “ Applejack!” She ran out of the hollow upon her discovery. “They were here! They camped out in this big ol’ tree!” “WHAT!? REALLY!?” Cat shoved Applebloom out of the way as she ran into the hollow, but was disappointed when all she found was the dead fire. “Jeez, honey.” Fist said as he followed her. He examined the pit and knew at a mere glance that his son handled the fire. “Yep. This was definitely him. It’s set up just like I showed him on that camping trip we took together.” Rainbow Dash suddenly swooped back down to them. “No luck on my end. How ‘bout you guys?” “We just found a little place where they camped out.” Cheerilee said. “It seems these odd tracks belonged to them somehow.” “Umm….” Diamond Tiara started shivering. “I-Is it just me, or is it kinda cold all of a sudden?” “Ooh. Yeah, it kinda is.” Silver Spoon said. That’s when she happened to look over at the river to notice something bizarre. “Huh?” She trotted over to the riverbank to happen upon a strange pile of icy dust that had an eerie, ethereal glow to it. “What’s this?” Everypony crowded around the anomalous pile. Just standing near it made them feel as though winter had fallen. It was likely the source of the unusual chill, but its identity was a chilling mystery. Not to mention…..it just felt…..like there was more to it. “Class, get away from that.” Cheerilee said. Applejack sighed. “If only Twilight were here. She’d be able to figure out exactly what this is! She better have a dang good reason fer trottin’ over to that hippy town r’ whatever it is.” “Perhaps that foal with mechanical talents was experimenting?” Knight Soul suggested. “Either way, we know now that they were here. All that’s left is to figure out where they went from here.” Button Mash said. “Kid’s got a point. Let’s look for more of those tracks.” Another Bladerunner suggested as she shined her horn. “I’m getting some strong residual magic readings here. Let’s see if we can follow that.” They all agreed and walked away from the icy pile. However, once they started combing the area, the surrounding chill suddenly intensified, and everypony began shivering from the sheer cold. “Wh-Wh-Whoa! When did it g-g-get so c-cold?” Cat stammered. The icy pile suddenly began floating in the air and started to swirl around, as if it was starting to form into something. The Bladerunners immediately drew their swords while everypony else backed off from the anomaly. After a short, frigid moment, the dust began to take a more discernable form, that of a hazy equine shape. A core of light could be seen within its ethereal form. Everypony who wasn’t a Bladerunner hid behind the tree while the swordsponies poised their blades at the strange entity. Fist put himself in between the anomaly and his wife. “Declare yourself, demon!” Knight Soul commanded. A sort of head started began to take a more stable shape as a pair of piercing yellow eyes suddenly seemed to open and glare at them. As it did, a low, otherworldly howl emanated from the icy apparition even though it didn’t quite have a mouth, causing the foals to start cowering in terror. “Wh-Wh-What is that!?” Silver Spoon said. Out of nowhere, an inexplicable black shadow leapt from the bushes and slashed it at the core, causing the entity to screech in agony before dissolving into thin air. “Wh-What!? Who was that!? Who goes there!?” Knight Soul demanded. He scanned the vicinity with the gaze of an eagle watching for prey, but whatever that shadow was had disappeared along with the ice anomaly. As the chill died down, the search party came out from behind the trees and caught their breathes. “What the hay was that!? Was that a windigo!?” Rainbow Dash said. “Couldn’t have been! There’s no disharmony between us, so why would one appear?” Applejack said. “We should probably go back and tell Twilight about this before going any-” Cheerilee was cut off. “NO! I’m not letting any chance of finding my son get away from me anymore!” Cat declared. “If there’s dangerous stuff like that coming after him, then I’ve had it! I won’t spend one more moment of my life knowing that he could be in this much danger!” “Cat’s right, guys!” Fist declared. “If we have to sacrifice our safety just to find these foals and my son, then I say it’s worth it! We’ve spent too much time worrying about ourselves and not thinking about how much danger they must be in! We’re pressing on even if we encounter Chrysalis!” Seeing their resolve rekindled their own as the search party unanimously agreed, namely Knight Soul, who was now much more determined to find his son. They had to be close, so why should they give up now? Still….that shadow just then….. “Tidal Wave!? TIDAL WAVE!?” They suddenly heard somepony shouting from behind the brush, and a pegasus stallion wearing guard armor apart from his helmet and wielding a spear emerged. “TIDAL WAVE, WHERE ARE YOU!?” He was too frantic to readily notice the large group of ponies now in front of him. “Huh? Whoa!” “Is something wrong, sir?” Cheerilee asked. The stallion had to take deep breathes to calm himself from his fit before answering. “M-My son, Tidal Wave, he…..he ran away from home, and…..I-I think he might be down here somewhere!! I need to find him!!”