Tales of the Battle Foals

by Sirdubya


Legendary Hero

Yodelneigh felt almost like Cloudsdale, but on the ground, very high ground. Griffons and pegasi alike shared the skies as well as streets as neighbors, though it was clear that some of the griffons preferred the company of their own kind; the ponies seemed to follow suit. Regardless, Aesir maintained his cheery personality as he toured Tidal Wave around the city. The aquatic colt himself found the place growing on him quickly all things considered. If anyone other Aesir was his guide, he probably wouldn’t have the best of times because despite his loud, somewhat obnoxious long-winded talking, he was just fun to talk to with his good and sometimes hilariously bad jokes, and his energy despite his age made Tidal Wave feel like he was spending time with a grandfather he never had. It ached his heart that he was lying to him about his name and purpose in Yodelneigh.

Tidal Wave got to see some griffon-style houses that were not uncommon in their homeland, saw a few pony/griffon cafes, witnessed griffon workers that picked up feathers that had been shed, and was shown stone murals sculpted by local griffon artists; most of them depicted seemingly the same warrior fighting strange, bipedal goat-like monsters. Much of the townsfolk seemed to know Aesir and happily greeted him, and those bullies from earlier were thankfully nowhere in sight.

“How ‘bout them hay bales, lad?” Aesir asked.

“Wow……This is place is cool!” Tidal Wave said.

Aesir playfully nudged him. “See? What’d I tell ya? Everyone here’s a flippin’ airhead, but that alright! We’re all live high up, so it all works out! BAHAHAHA!” He had to calm himself for a moment. “So, ya ready fer the grand finale?”

“Grand finale?” Tidal Wave inquired.

“Aye! We’re headin’ to the Yodelneigh Archives, pretty much the library. Lot’s o’ copies o’ old griffon tales are stored there. Tales of love, valor, hardships, foundation, and a couple about a few stooges who got drunk off o’ bettin’ how many feathers they could keep on their wings in flight without sheddin’. Pssst! I wrote those! Hehehehehehe!” Aesir said. “You said ya wanted to write about griffon, well by thunder, laddie, yer gonna have so much research material in there, it’ll end up being a mile long paper!”

Tidal Wave laughed with his feathered friend. “Sound’s perfect, Aesir.” He said. After about ten more minutes of walking, Aesir led Tidal Wave to an old building that was somewhat separated from the housing and was definitely big enough to warrant being called a library. It was decorated with griffon crests from various eras and stone sculptures surrounding the entrance. Speaking fo the entrance, when they got to it, there was a slight problem. “Huh? Looks like they’re closed.”

“Aye. I normally open her up sooner, but those little blights slowed me down.” Aesir said as he pulled out a key and unlocked the door, letting himself and Tidal Wave in.

“You work here, Aesir?”

“I don’t just work here, lad. I live here!” Aesir explained as he turned on the lights. Shelves stacked with old tomes, books, even scrolls lined the large area. However, the floors were slightly littered with fallen materials and paper that had yet to be picked up. “Ya want an authority on griffon lore, history and literature with dealin’ with the hassle of being hassled in Griffonstone? I’m yer guy! Sometimes the local school brings their wee tykes over here so I can enlighten ‘em with a li’l tale passed down through the ages of my people.”

Tidal Wave wasn’t at all expecting someone as boisterous and energetic as Aesir to be a librarian. “Oh! So….you’re like a storyteller?”

Aesir shrugged. “Storyteller, librarian, professor, crazy old oracle, whatever strikes yer fancy! Fact is, you wanna learn somethin’ about us featherfaces? I got somethin’ fer ya here.” He then looked around with his smile fading into a guilty frown. “Please excuse the mess. That flippin’ descendant of Siegfried is a rambunctious li’l dab.”

“Descendant of Siegfried?” Tidal Wave asked, curious.

“Aye….She’s about yet age, I reckon, and she just had stroke her go and stroke her flippin’ greatsword around in my library just ‘cause she’s got a hero’s blood! <sigh> What a day n’ age….”

Tidal Wave cocked his eyebrow. “Who’s Siegfried?”

Aesir whipped his head back to face Tidal Wave with a shocked expression. “What’s that!? Yer writin’ about me people, an’ ya don’t know a lick about the greatest hero in our history!? Did ya throw yer mind in the rubbish can!?”

Tidal Wave backed up a little with his guard up. “Umm…..I guess ponies don’t know him too well…”

Aesir seemed to calm down upon hearing Tidal Wave’s excuse. “Meh. Fair point.” He walked to a shelf right next to what was likely his work desk during business hours and pulled out a jeweled tome depicted the same warrior seen in the stone murals from before. He then put it on a table as he took a seat. “Pull up a chair an’ let me tell ya ‘bout the greatest griffon that ever lived, lad.”

Tidal Wave gulped, anticipating an earful with how pressed for time he was, but he couldn’t risk blowing his cover, so he decided to humor the old griffon. With Aesir’s permission, he grabbed a pencil and some paper to ‘take notes’ before taking a seat.

“Alrighty then!” Aesir opened the book to the early middle pages. “I’ll skip his life story and get the good part first.” The first pages showed old pictures of this ‘Siegfried’ crafting a sword and shield for himself along with a talisman in the shape of griffon’s head that looked as though it was bellowing a war cry. “Siegfried was a man of action in every sense o’ the phrase, I tell ya. When he felt that even the military of his day and age couldn’t crack open an egg with a warhammer, he went and made his tools o’ war and listened to nuttin’ but his own flippin’ instincts on the battlefield.” Aesir was becoming a little more extravagant than usual as he turned the page. There were now pictures of the same two-legged goat monsters, but Tidal Wave noticed that they had one eye. “Aye! The Arimaspi! Our sworn enemy since we could use a stone hammer, one-eyed bastards! They’d seize every chance their single eyes could see to raid our home and try to rob us of our gold, our crops, sometimes even our families and force ‘em into slavery! They’re demons, I tell ya! DEMONS!! Those who couldn’t fight ran, and anyone who could barely fight got their wings handed to ‘em on a tarnished silver platter. Oooooh! But then!” He turned to the next page, which showed Siegfried valiantly and effortlessly pushing back the Arimaspi. “HAHAAAAA!! SIEGFRIED LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF ANY HELLSPAWN! FEAR WANTS TO PUT ON IT’S SUNDAY BEST!? SIEGFRIED SHREDS IT INTO FRIDAY NIGHT HANGOVER TATTERS!! OPPRESSION WANTS TO SELL CHOCOLATES FOR SCHOOL!? SIEGFRIED SLAMS HIS DOOR SO HARD THAT HE SPILLS ALL THE CHOCOLATES IN THE DIRT OF HIS LAWN!! DEATH WANTS TO CALL COLLECT!? SIEGFRIED BORROWS MORE MONEY AND LETS HIM GO BROKE!! SADNESS-”

“OK, OK!!....I think I get it.” Tidal Wave interjected. “He was a superhero.”

Aesir stopped himself when Tidal Wave cut him off, but he regained his smile. “Pfft! HAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!! Sorry there, lad. Got a wee carried away, ain’t I?” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, the greatest of his tales is how he led the charge to strike down the Arismaspi’s empire. The king of old gave the whole military to him, and Siegfried whipped into earth-crackin’ shape! He trained them to craft their own weapons and how to use them by channelin’ their inner beasts! Aye, Siegfried’s secret to his glorious might was his willingness to drop his sense of civility and let his ferality call the shots, but he never lost sight of his care for his people. He led them like a PACK, that he did! And with their combined might, they tore the Arimaspi and their stinkin’ empire into enough pieces to scatter across Equestria!”

He continued to show Tidal Wave pages depicted Siegfried valiantly facing his adversaries with many a griffon following him into battle. Each set of pictures telling the epic tale of this legendary warrior blew his mind more and more. He didn’t think he’d be so engrossed in the tale of a warrior in ancient history, but it was somehow as fun, perhaps even more fun than reading a comic book series. To think that such heroic feats were actually performed so long ago…. “Wow…..”

“Aye….” Aesir had calmed down considerably as he turned to what would be the last few pages he’d show the aquatic colt. They depicted a grand ceremony that….looked like a funeral. “Siegfried never let even his old age weigh down his strength, but time eventually had to win their duel, and he passed away…..<sigh>…..It was a day to be remembered by just how depressing it was. Griffons wept enough tears to flood the streets as their hero’s casket was paraded through ‘em and to the Asgard forest where he rest now. It’s the biggest flippin’ grave in the whole cemetery, and by the wind’s warm breath, he earned it! But….before the hero of the griffons fell into his final slumber, he gave the talisman he forged to his son, who eventually handed it down to his daughter, and so on from generation to generation. Now, the current heir to his legacy received her ancestor’s honor not too long ago, and she went on her first mission.” Aesir explained. He then frowned. “If only one straggler from their empire hadn’t dampened everyone’s morale when it stole the golden idol….<sigh>….what a day n’ age…..”

“Oh…..wow….Well, it’s still an amazing story, Aesir. Thanks for telling me! I seriously enjoyed it!” Tidal Wave said.

Aesir’s spirits were lifted. “Aye. It’s one o’ me favorites.” He went to put the book back. “It’s good to see some youth that’ll lend their ears to the voices o’ the past…..and the voices of those who’ll eventually be part o’ the past! BAHAHAHAHAHAAA!”

Tidal Wave chuckled, and then a thought crossed his mind. “Say….about this descendant of Siegfried, do you know where she might be? She was just here, right?”

“Oooooh! What’s this then, laddie? Goin’ fer the descendent of a legendary hero, are ya? Well, she’s yer age, but yer a heck of a maverick fer tryin'! I’ll give ya that! HAAAHAHAHAHA!”

“Wh-Wh-What!? No! She’s a griffon, and I’m a pony! That’d be weird! I thought maybe I could interview her about what it’s like to be his descendent for my paper.” Tidal Wave said.

“Oho! Now there’s an idea worthy of a scholar! Yer teacher’ll give an A++++++, I betcha!” Aesir said. “Funny thing, she came an’ stayed the night yesterday before settin’ out fer Gallopin’ Gorge. It’s been about a day now, and she’s gonna be camping out on the way, so ya might be able to catch her. But I warn ya, she’s one rude loose cannon. And she thinks she can dishonor her heritage with that attitude….<sigh>…..What a day n’ age….” Aesir explained.

Tidal Wave nodded. “Thanks so much, Aesir! I learned a lot!”

“Oh, sure thing, lad! Been a while since I had someone who was another bag o’ dusty feathers to talk to. Hehehehe! Well, hope that paper turns out well!”

“M-Me too! Bye, Aesir!” Tidal Wave said as he exited the library, but he then stopped himself when something crossed his mind. “Oh! What’s her name, just for reference?”

“Oh! It’s…..It’s uh…..Vicky?....No…..Er, Valerie?.....No, no, no, Aesir….Gah! You foggy old coot, what her- <GASP> VALKYRIE!....Right?.....Aye! Her name’s Valkyrie.”

“Valkyire….Gotcha. Ok, take care!” Tidal Wave went out the door.

“Go wash ‘em away with a tide worthy of Siegfried’s might, laddie!”

*****

Tidal Wave decided to take the easy way down as Aesir ‘suggested’ and jumped into the lake below from one of the bridges up high. The sun was beginning to set, so he had to get back quickly. As he fell towards the mass of blue below him, he couldn’t help but to smile at the thought of how much he enjoyed this newfound freedom he had attained with the Battle Foals. He felt bad for lying to Aesir, but judging from his words, he was happy to be able to spend time with him at all. Celestia knows he probably needed a little company anyway. Tidal Wave was drawing ever closer to the lake below…

<POW!!!>

Tidal Wave was suddenly blindsided by something in the air that caused him to careen towards the ground, and he hit the riverbank with a nasty thud. “OOF!!” He had some trouble staggering to his hooves, but he wasn’t dazed or in a lot of pain. However, he could hear some malicious laughter around him, and when he looked up, he saw who it was that assaulted him.

“Hey, dweeb! Have a nice day with that old fart, Aesir?” It was three of the four pegasus foals that were harassing the elderly avian earlier, and they didn’t look happy.

“Figured we’d find you, and teach you a lesson not to screw with us!” one of them said.

It quickly occurred to Tidal Wave that one of them was not within his field of vision, and he quickly looked around. Right behind him was the other colt, and before he could react, the colt kicked one of his back knees, forcing him to the ground. “Tch. Stupid little-” The colt then noticed Tidal Wave’s unique trait. “Huh? What the-?....Pfft! Hahahahaha! Hey, guys! Come look at his wings!”

Tidal Wave began to panic as the foals crowded around him to observe his fin-wings. “HA! Wow! What are you, some kinda fish pony?” one of the fillies taunted.

“N-No! I’m from Cloudsdale!” Tidal Wave retaliated.

“Seriously?” One of the colts said. “Hey! They were experimenting with new ways to make it rain, and he was some freak that came out of it!” They all started laughing, causing Tidal Wave to become irritated. This was no different than what he endured back home.

The other filly suddenly got in his face and grabbed his amulet. “And what’s this? It’s actually kinda pretty.” She sneered. The other bullies started ramming into him.

“OW! Hey!” He looked the filly in the eye. “A friend made that for me!” he said as he pulled it back from her.

“Pfft! What!? Out of pity or something?” she retorted before shoving him.

“C’mon! I bet even his mom thinks he’s a freaky loser.” The other filly sneered.

Tidal Wave’s primal instinct was evoked upon hearing that, and he faced the filly, undaunted by the abuse he was receiving. “What’d you just say?” he silently demanded.

The filly snickered. “I said, I bet even your mom thinks you’re a freaky loser!”

Suddenly, Tidal Wave could feel his whole body surge with power as his amulet started glowing. Whether it was warmth from the thought of his mother, or heat from anger towards his attackers, he wasn’t sure. Regardless, he could feel himself connecting to the lake itself beside him as his anger built. The water began to ripple, and the bullies started growing a bit concerned. Finally, it got to the point where his eyes began to glow, and the water on the shore….started to rise!

“RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

What could only be described a small waterspout suddenly erupted from the lake and shot right at the bullies, forcing them back into the wall of the mountain and swishing them around in its vortex. It lasted for a good five seconds before petering out into a cascade over the riverbank.

The bullies choked and sputtered from having swallowed a good amount of the lake water as they staggered to their hooves. They looked over at Tidal Wave, who had the look of a dancer who took a bad misstep in their performance out of sync with his partners. Likewise, they looked back at him in fear. “Wh-Wh-What…..What are you?” one of the colts asked.

Tidal Wave could only shake his head and back away, unable to utter any cohesive words before jumping back into the lake and zipping away back to his friends, trying to process what he had just done…