//------------------------------// // Rising Issues // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// A moment or so after he announced his presence, Shrapnel emerged from the wooded hills of the Great Horn Summit. He shook his wooden body to clear himself of ice and snow that had accumulated over him, cascading off of him like a mist sprayer. He greeted the foals with an excited bark. “There you are, big guy!” Fire Fight said as he scratched the titan’s chin. Shrapnel lightly nuzzled him in response. “ That’s a daddy timberwolf right there!” Valkyrie commented as she laid her eyes on the beast. Shrapnel then eyed her for a moment before sniffing the new face, but Valkyrie wasn’t bothered. If anything, she relished attention from even a ferocious monster that she’d normally be hunting if not for the fact that he was tame. She stroked her feathers as if to present herself. “Hehe! Even this bucko can tell how awesome I am.” “Or maybe he tryna decide if he want chicken legs fo’ dinner.” Turf War said. Valkyrie shot him a glare. “Hey! Who saved your flanks from becoming Lechuza’s voodoo dolls?” Valkyrie retorted. “Uh…me?” Tidal Wave said. “I was kinda the one who…” “Eh, details, details.” Valkyrie interjected. The foals just decided to shrug her off and climb onto Shrapnel’s back. Fire Fight did what he did before and casted a heat shield around them to stave of the cold winds blowing down the mountain. Traveling back up the mountain slope was an uphill battle in more ways than one. Shrapnel was a strong creature indeed, but having to carry a little extra weight while braving through a mini blizzard and passing by occasionally hostile monster proved to be taxing on his wooden frame. Spiral Galaxy and Kickback did what they could to hold back any threats by firing their respective forms of projectiles from within the heat bubble. “How are you doing on bullets, Kickback?” Shadow Shroud asked. Kickback checked his supply and saw that he wasn’t in immediate danger of exhausting his supply, but he could stand for a restock. “Ah reckon Ah’m not doin’ too bad, but Ah would not be opposed to askin’ Ms. Quantum Tech to make me some more.” Shroud chuckled. “Of course you wouldn’t.” After a while, Shrapnel finally managed to surmount the mountainous terrain and return to the temple courtyard. The foals and Valkyrie wasted no time lightening his load seeing as how tired he’d grown. The arborous animal panted before stretching his limbs. They hadn’t occupied this ancient abode for very long, but something about it felt very homey, so the foals felt very warmth of sweet relief when they at long last returned from their harrowing venture. However, they got a strange feeling that something was slightly amiss. “Is it just me, or…..is it a little colder here than it was before?” Spiral Galaxy asked. “It must be pretty cold if you think there’s any real difference.” Valkyrie said as she brushed snow off of her feathers. “The others must be inside. Shall we?” Shadow Shroud said as she motioned for them to follow her to the courtyard door. “Brrr! Surely.” Kickback said as he shivered off the cold. As they entered, Valkyrie took the time to look around the aged structure. She almost immediately recognized the architectural and artistic influence of her people, and the nostalgic feeling from earlier became stronger. Having the souls of her mightiest ancestors right at her chest was warm enough as is, but she felt as though she was exploring a part her people that had long been obscured, and it was an enlightening privilege. Just as they’d surmised, the foals that had stayed behind heard them come in and entered the portal chamber. Quantum Tech tried to prance up to Kickback, but he started pushing her away the second she got close enough, much to her disappointment. “I see you have returned safely, ponyfolk, and with our guest.” Zebota said. “Sho’ did, dog!” Turf War said. Quantum Tech walked up to the armed griffonlet. “Valkyrie, I presume?” Valkyrie flipped her head feathers similar to how a pony would flip their mane. “Right here, little pony. In the flesh! Heard you had a little predicament involving a portal to Griffonstone. That right?” The remaining foals were off put by her ego as the others were, but they decided to ignore it and get to the point. “That is correct. We hope this of no inconvenience to you.” Air Slash said. “I wouldn’t be here if it was, would I?” Valkyrie said. She then noticed the swords on his back. “Dude, you that samurai or whatever these guys were telling me about?” Air Slash smiled proudly and drew one of his swords. “I am indeed. My name is Air Slash. I see you carry a blade of your own.” Valkyrie drew and showed off her greatsword. “You know it, little pony! Been passed down in my family since Siegfried himself forged it. We might have to duke it out sometime just for the heck of it.” Air Slash sheathed his sword. “Well, I do enjoy having a worthy opponent.” “You sure sound as though you’re over you illness.” Shroud said. Greensprout stood beside him. “He is, but how are all of you?” “We good, but check dis out.” Turf War said as he showed her the gash he’d sustained from the harpy attack. “Could y’all patch dis up?” “Oh my goodness! Absolutely, Turf War.” Greensprout quickly went to work with her Gaia Root and mended Turf War’s wound within seconds, and Valkyrie found herself mesmerized at the spectacle. “Whoa….trippy.” Valkyrie said. Greensprout smiled at her as she finished. “Are you wounded, sister? No warrior should be without their strength.” Valkyrie wiped her nose. “No thanks, kid. What Turf War just had would be just a scratch for me!” “Wanna bet?” Bullseye hissed as she hovered above the group and eyed the egotistical griffonlet. Valkyrie glared back at her. “You talking to me, fruitcake?” she said. The two eyed each other before Quantum Tech intervened. “Bullseye, you already had your fix of violence earlier.” The returning foals looked at her with concern. “Wait. What?” Fire Fight asked. Crazylocks suddenly appeared beside Valkyrie. “DON’T EAT THE ICE CREAM! IT’S INFECTED WITH FAIRY TALES THAT WENT UNWRITTEN AND NOW SEEK REVENGE FOR THEIR PAGES NEVER RECEIVING THEIR ALLIMONIES!!!” Valkyrie was understandably irked by the manic filly’s behavior. “Uhh……you know you’re supposed to be lying down with your eyes closed while dreaming, right?” Crazylocks sat down on her hind legs and panted like a dog for a couple seconds before barking in ‘meow’s and using her hind leg to scratch the back of her head. “I thought Shrapnel was the pet here.” Bullseye landed between her and Crazylocks. “Hey! You got a problem with her, you talk to me. We clear!?” she said. The returning foals were shocked to see her stick up for Crazylocks, or anypony for that matter. Valkyrie drew her sword. “Man, you really do want trouble don’t you?” she hissed. Greensprout tapped her root on the temple floor. “That’s quite enough, you two!” she calmly ordered. Reluctantly, the two would-be combatants lowered their guards. “Thank you.” She said before facing the others. “Something happened while you were gone, and I think it’s worth sitting down for discussion.” “Y-Yeah, but we’ll have to make it quick. We…..ran into a problem out there that might prompt us to have to get a move on.” Fire Fight said. His light anxiety was replaced with surprise and minor annoyance when his stomach grumbled. “Of course…” “Some dinner would be prudent, it seems. Our respective ordeals have no doubt strained us.” Zebota said. “Alright. Sit tight, guys. I’ll whip something up.” Fire Fight said. Valkyrie glanced over at him. “Dude, you cook?” she asked. “Yeah. Why?” Fire Fight asked. “Want some help?” Valkyrie offered. “I’ve got some extra stuff in my pouch here.” Fire Fight looked at her with surprise. “You cook too?” “Yeah, dude! How do ya think I keep myself fed on long quests?” Valkyrie replied. “Plus, I’ve got some stuff exclusively from Griffonstone that you guys might like.” Quantum Tech perked up. “Oh! Some Griffon cuisine! How exciting!” “Yeah, I think we definitely need to wind down for a bit.” Tidal Wave said. Fire Fight got started on dinner with freshly picked vegetables and some eggs from Quantum’s mech to make an egg-veggie stew. Valkyrie through her ingredients into the mix as well, which consisted of Griffonstone wheat, Eastern Sour blackberries native to the region, and snake eggs. The wheat was noticeably tougher and crunchier than Equestrian wheat and had a slightly stronger taste from what Fire Fight could tell when sampling it; it was a nice new perspective. The blackberries proved to taste pretty strong for the colt’s liking, so he asked Valkyrie not to throw a whole lot in, which she wasn’t too disappointed to adhere to seeing as there would more for her. Cooking snake eggs wasn’t too much different than bird eggs, but tearing the egg open to get at the whites proved to a jarring surprise for Fire Fight when Valkyrie had to remove the underdeveloped embryo. She just told him to suck it up and continue cooking, which he was able to after a very deep breath. With the griffon ingredients properly prepared by their avian guest, Fire Fight finished the job and was ready to serve his new dish in record time. He thanked Valkyrie for the help and got ready to call the others. “Oh! You know what? Totally forgot one other thing.” Valkyrie said as she reached into one of her packs. “What’s that?” Fire Fight asked excitedly. His hype was quickly killed when Valkyrie pulled out the head of Lechuza whilst expressing a devious smile. “Whoops! Not that!” Valkyrie joked as she put the head back in her bag, snickering. Fire Fight just looked at her with a disapproving expression and shook his head. “Funny, funny….” He said. “Come and get it, guys!” he called out. Without hesitation, the Battle Foals all joined up and eagerly received their food from Fire Fight. It wasn’t a strange ritual at this point, but a lot had happened, and a nice dinner was a great medium for a meeting between their squad. Plus, everypony was eager to sample some of Valkyrie’s culture. Zebota had already helped Shrapnel hunt a couple of mountain goats, so he took a nap in the foyer. Any dish touched by Fire Fight was bound to be a delight, and the stew was no exception. The only thing that was strange was the more…..gamey taste of the snake eggs compared to what they were used to. The sour blackberries were certainly a surprise, for better or for worse, but there wasn’t very many of them in the stew as a whole, so they could enjoy them. Nopony noticed a very big difference when tasting the Griffonstone wheat, which perplexed Fire Fight since he’d been able to detect a very distinct difference, which got him a few stares. All in all, it was a nice dish. Quantum Tech spoke up. “I think we should mention first and foremost that we were attacked here in your absence.” “Seriously!? By what!?” Spiral Galaxy asked. Quantum swallowed some of her stew. “It was an anomalous entity that exhibited the exact same supernatural properties as the windigo we encountered in the White Tail Woods, but took the form of a monstrous ape.” The returning foals apart from Tidal Wave looked at her with worry, remembering the frightening ordeal. “What do y’all mean ‘the same’?” Kickback asked. “It had a vital core and was plated in regenerative ice armor. We barely managed to destroy it.” Quantum explained. “The core dissolved into ethereal dust that Zebota and I gathered so that I may study it.” “That’s….quite worrying.” Shroud commented. “The same enemy, but in a different form…..hmm….” “Y’all sure it wasn’t some guardian spirit o’ dis mountain tryna kick us off his lawn?” Turf War inquired. Zebota shook his head. “If such were the case, it would have appeared as soon as we arrived at this temple, and I did not sense it until it made itself known.” He said. “Could you sense its intentions, Zebota?” Tidal Wave asked. “I’m afraid not, ponyfolk. I do not know why, but it’s very nature was foreign to me, as was the windigo.” Zebota replied. “Golly…..” Kickback muttered. “Have you figured anythin’ out, Ms. Quantum Tech?” “Analyses have been inconclusive thus far, darling. I don’t have any reliable references regarding this phenomenon. It’s a mystery to me as well.” Quantum replied. An air of worry filled the room as the foals began to wonder the meaning behind this chilling coincidence, or was it even a coincidence? Were they being targeted by an invisible, unknown foe? At this point, they only knew that time would tell the rest. “However, on a much brighter note, the beast’s defeat resulted with quite a happy ending.” “I’ll say. Bullseye looks like she’s starting to get along with Crazylocks.” Fire Fight said as he looked over at said archer, who was sitting next to her frenzied friend that chowed on her stew like an animal. Bullseye looked down on the ground and seemed to blush a little. “Y-Yeah, well….somepony’s gotta make sure this hopeless freak doesn’t get into trouble, r-right?” she said as she looked over at Crazylocks. Her expression noticeably lightened. “Pfft! Harsh!” Valkyrie commented. “At least you’re able to care about something.” Tidal Wave said, which earned him a furious glare from the Blood Cupid, which shut him up pretty quickly. “Well, yes, but apart from that….” Quantum said as she eyed towards Air Slash and Greensprout. The two blushed as they looked at each other, and Air Slash sheepishly scratched the back of his head and smiled while Greensprout gently ran her hoof across the ground and smiled. “Ehh….y-yes….err….….” Air Slash started. “Greensprout and I….” He was cut off when the kindly monk held his hoof and gave him a light peck on the cheek. She then rested her head on his shoulder. None of the foals were shocked since Air Slash’s crush on Greensprout was fairly telegraphed ever since they met her, but they were happy enough to exhibit some pleasant surprise. “What! No fair! I want every detail!” Spiral demanded. Air Slash and Greensprout recounted the heart-stopping moment just after they’d slain the ice golem, which nearly caused the returning foals to drop their plates out of shock. “Dog! You good!?” Turf War asked. Air Slash nodded. “Yes, Turf War. There’s still a hint of pain in my chest that is thinning out, but it’s nothing I cannot endure.” He turned to Greensprout. “And I owe it all to you.” He said before giving her a peck on her cheek, to which she let out a little giggle. “I hope this won’t be any problem, Fire Fight. I….I stumbled across something else I wish to explore.” Greensprout said as her eyes turned back to the samurai. Fire Fight shook his head. “Not at all. I’m happy for you guys.” The two lovers shared a quick kiss before returning to their meals. “Enough about us though. What sort of hardships did you endure?” Air Slash inquired. Fire Fight went into detail about their encounter with the harpies and running into Valkyrie, prompting them to directly confront the harpies and take out their queen. Valkyrie was about to pull out the severed head, but Spiral Galaxy used her magic to force it back into her bag, much to the griffonlet’s annoyance. Finally, they warned the others about the sudden appearance of Film Noir and her significance. “H-Harpies!?” Quantum stammered. “Yeah. Do you know anything Valkyrie didn’t already tell us?” Tidal Wave asked. “I’m afraid not. Harpies are about obscure of a subject as the Changelings. I would be surprised if anypony other than the griffons knew the most about them given their history.” Quantum replied. “You know it.” Valkyrie said before taking a slurp of her stew. “Whatever.” Bullseye said. “And let that movie b**** march on up here and try to catch us! I’ll even send her an invitation if you know what I mean. Hehehe….” “Bullseye…..I wouldn’t feel right attacking her again.” Fire Fight said. “She’s by no means our enemy, and just….” “Tch! Pony up, will ya? I thought Equestria didn’t matter anymore. Anypony who tries to stop us is enemy now, and I’ll break as many necks as I need to for us to stay out here.” Bullseye hissed. “Not if you still want to keep your bow, remember?” Fire Fight warned, shutting the violent filly up almost instantly. “A couple of other things happened out there though.” Fire Fight said. “For starters…. Spiral’s hornband isn’t helping as well we hoped it was.” He explained the incident before they met Valkyrie that involved her magic going out of control the second the band was removed. Spiral sighed. “So….we’re pretty much back to square one.” “Or maybe you’re just not even trying.” Bullseye said. “All you did was just put a cap over a shaken bottle of soda. It was gonna burst, like it or not.” “Hey! I meditated every once in a while!” Spiral retorted. “She might have a point thought, darling.” Quantum said. “I….probably should have foreseen this. You’ll just have to work harder with training your psychic endurance. I’m so sorry, Spiral.” “I-It’s ok….” Spiral muttered. Tidal Wave gently patted her back. “You’ll get better.” He said. Spiral gave him a small smile. It was then that he realized that he’d have to reveal his secret to Zebota, and he gulped as he turned his gaze towards the mellow mystic. “U-Umm….” Zebota seemed to notice that he was being addressed and faced the anxious colt. “Yes, Tidal Wave?” Spiral lightly patted Tidal Wave’s trembling hoof. “Come on, bro.” Tidal Wave returned the smile from earlier as he took a deep breath. “About my water jewel, Zebota…” Tidal Wave went into detail about what happened in Yodelneigh and the harpies’ cave regarding his unexpected control over water and his reason for keeping it a secret. “It freaked me out at first, but….it somehow feels natural. I-I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before.” The foals who didn’t go find Valkyrie were certainly stunned to hear his explanation, namely Zebota and Quantum Tech. “I understand, my friend, but…..that should not be happening. I observed the pact ritual to its fullest, and this should not have been an outcome.” “Why not? Would them spirit fellers not let him do that?” Kickback asked. Zebota shook his head. “No. They are only supposed to offer him protection and guidance in the water. The fact that Tidal Wave does this with no complication perplexes me….” “Would you mind if I analyzed your DNA once more, darling? I’d need a fresh sample, of course.” Quantum asked Tidal Wave. Tidal Wave nodded. “Sure. I want to get to the bottom of this too, but let’s eat first. I’m starving.” They all happily agreed and continued to dig into their griffon-styled stew, all the while entertaining their guest by exchanging campfire stories regarding their adventures across Equestria.