The foals found themselves caught spiraling in a magic vortex as they were carried through the portal like a boat being dragged down by a whirlpool. Even the sturdiest of them weren’t quite ready for the roller coaster ride through a swirl of light they’d created, but even as their bodies were pulled through the vortex, their thoughts were caught in a spiral of their own considering their narrow escape.
After what felt like an eternity, the foals suddenly felt themselves get flung out into open air and hit what felt like paved stone. “OOF! ACK! Ugh…..” Quantum Tech’s mech violently tumbled and rolled along the ground and landed on its back with its pilot tossed around in the cockpit like a ragdoll. Only Zebota, Shrapnel and Shadow Shroud managed to land square on their hooves and/or claws upon being thrown out of the portal before it closed behind them, but just barely.
“Ugh…..my head….” Fire Fight said as he staggered to his hooves.
Shadow Shroud helped him up. “You okay, Fire Fight?” she asked softly.
Fire Fight shook his head to regain his senses. “Y-Yeah. Thanks, Shroud…..except….” He thought back to the image of his parents running towards him, only to be stopped by Shadow Shroud’s knack for rendering people temporarily impotent, as she did with Film Noir.
Shroud sighed. “I’m just you’re worst enemy today, aren’t I?”
Fire Fight managed to crease a little smile. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?” he joked.
Shroud giggled. “They might as well be the same thing if that’s the case.”
Air Slash got up and brushed himself off. “Ugh…That was rather embarrassing.” He said as he started looking around. “Greensprout?”
“Nrgh….I’m right here, Air Slash.” The motherly monk was having trouble getting up, but Air Slash courteously helped her up. “Oh! Thank you.”
“Are you alright, my dear?” Air Slash asked her.
“I am, but what of you?” Greensprout replied.
Air Slash sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. “Ehh….y-yes. That wasn’t my most profound landing, but I assure you-”
“No, I meant…..You saw your father, Air Slash.”
Air Slash was suddenly hit with that reality as he recalled the shock he felt upon seeing his father. He took a deep breath. “I….” He couldn’t understand what his father would be doing so far from their clan’s stronghold, especially if it involved looking for the useless son that he constantly condemned. The very thought disheartened him, but Greensprout gently laid her muzzle on his neck.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Greensprout said.
Air Slash smiled and lightly nuzzled her. “It’s fine. I just…..need to get it all off my mind.” He let his new fillyfriend embrace him for a moment to help things calm down.
Tidal Wave and Spiral Galaxy woke up at the same time…..only to discover that he had very awkwardly landed atop her. “EEK!”
“WHOA! UM….UH!....” Tidal Wave stammered for words. “S-S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to-”
“No, no! I-It’s fine!” Spiral said as she fanned her herself with her hoof. “Whew! Umm….you okay?”
Tidal Wave managed to catch his breath. “Y-Yeah. Except…..my dad….”
Spiral suddenly remembered what had happened. “Oh…yeah….Yeah, that was a shock. I’m just glad you stopped me obliterating the mountain.”
Tidal Wave chuckled. “If not me, then who?”
“Yeah.” Spiral said as she walked up to him. She then suddenly slapped him across his face. “Just don’t land on me like that again, ok?” she said sternly
Tidal Wave rubbed his cheek. “Jeez! I said I was sorry!”
Turf War quickly managed to get up, and he popped his neck and shoulders. “G******! Dat was whack.” He then noticed Kickback beside him, so he helped him up. “You good, son?”
Kickback tipped his hat. “Rightly so.” He said. “Ah just….wonder what Princess Twilight was gonna say….”
“Prolly dat we was goin’ home whether we like it o’ not, and I ain’t doin’ dat sh- uh…ya know.” Turf War said.
“Well, that’s not unreasonable, but….Ah guess Ah wasn’t expectin’ her of all ponies…..N-Nevermind. Ah’m thinkin’ too much.” Kickback said.
Zebota rushed over to Quantum’s mech where he helped the young scientist climb out of her mechanical armor. “Quantum Tech! Are you alright, my friend?”
“Ugh….Owww…..” Being the physically frail filly that she was, Quantum Tech took a bit of a beating in the chaos that brewed in her cockpit. “I....have seen better days…..but far worse….Thank you, Zebota.” She said. “It’s a miracle my glasses weren’t damaged. How about you and Shrapnel?”
The mentioned titan propped the mech back on its feet. “We are well. Although, that surprise encounter still has me catching my breath.”
“Oh, yes! That was far too close!” Quantum said. But then a thought crossed her mind. “<GASP!> What if they find a way to reactivate the portal and follow us through it!?!?”
Zebota calmed her down. “At ease, my friend. I ensured that would not be possible.”
Quantum cocked her eyebrow. “Erm…..how?” she asked nervously.
“With the power granted to me by the spirits, I managed to set off an explosion right after I jumped through. It should be in piec-”
“YOU DID WHAT!?!?!?” Quantum Tech shouted. “A piece of insurmountable historical and archaeological value, and you just DESTROYED IT!?!?! ZEBOTA, ARE YOU MAD!?!?!?”
“What other choice did I have?” Zebota said. “Now this means that they must travel across the entire realm of Equestria to reach us.”
“Yeah, egghead. Get a grip.” Bullseye growled as she got up.
“Well….I-I suppose, but even so, that could have had horrific repercussions for us while we were still going through the portal!” Quantum explained.
Zebota cocked his eyebrow. “Such as?” he asked nervously.
Quantum grimaced. “I-I’d…<gulp>….rather you slept well tonight……ok?”
Zebota’s eye widened in horror as he let those words put into perspective what Quantum might’ve told them. “I-I……I am sorry, ponyfolk. My thoughts were only with our escape.”
“It’s cool, stripes. We got away.” Bullseye said, but then she started looking around. “Err…..where the hell is Crazylocks?”
“I thought she was wit you.” Turf War said.
“She was, but-” Bullseye interrupted herself when she finally spotted the manic filly…..with her tail lodged in the trunk of a tree as though it was thrown into it like a harpoon, and the filly herself as stiff a statue as though she were an arrow fired from Bullseye’s bow. “How the f***…..n-nevermind.” She fluttered up to her and started pulling her out. “Alright, freaky pie, enough playing statue.” She said as she started to force her out of the tree. Try as she might have, she just couldn’t force her comrade out. “Nrgh….Nrgh!....Little help!”
They were too high for anyone who couldn’t fly to reach, so Valkyrie flew up there to aid her. “I gotcha.” She said as she wrapped her arms around Bullseye and started pulling.
“Watch the merch, feather-brain.” Bullseye said, noting that Valkyrie was pulling back with her in such a way that her bow and quiver were sandwiched between them.
Valkyrie shot her a little glare. “Screw your ‘merch’. Just….Nrgh!....Pull!” Even with their combined strength, the two just couldn’t make the stiffened loon even budge…..and yet she managed to act as a leverage point so that the tree she was lodged in was uprooted. “WHOA!” Valkyrie and Bullseye let go of Crazylocks out of shock and fell to the ground as everypony else just moved out the way of the falling timber, which thankfully hit none of them. When they looked up, Crazylocks remained miraculously unchanged. “What is life right now?”
Turf War sighed. “I got dis, y’all…” he said as he drew his hammer-axe. He walked over to where the mutant’s tail was lodged in the trunk at started carefully chopping away at it with the axe side of his weapon. When he managed to expose a good chunk of her tail, she suddenly sobered up and ripped herself out of the trunk and pounced onto him. “WAH!!”
Crazylocks stared him down like lion pinning its prey. “ALL TAIL CHOPPERS WILL BE PUNISHED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE CRAZYLOCKSTITUTION!!!” she shouted.
“WHOA! WHOA! SLOW DOWN, MAH GIRL!!” Turf War plead, but it was for naught. Crazylocks started repeatedly smacking the sides of Turf War’s head with her pigtails, which thankfully weren’t hardened thanks to the fact that her wings were out, but the mace heads on the ends of them were giving the little gangbanger a bit more than a headache. “OH!-OH!-OW!-EEK!-OOF!-OW!-OW!-RGH!-ACH!-OOF!”
“CRAZYLOCKS!” Bullseye exclaimed.
Crazylocks suddenly calmed down and looked innocently at Bullseye. “Yes?” Turf War was noticeably dazed. “Get. Your a**. Off of him!.....okay?” Bullseye calmly growled.
“Ok!” Crazylocks got right off of the dazed fighter and innocently trotted up to her half-blind friend, retracting her wings as she did. Greensprout decided to treat him just in case he suffered any major damage despite his otherwise sturdy frame.
Bullseye chuckled. “Shoulda figured you’d survive by some miracle.”
Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “Get a room already…” she muttered, earning her a glare from the Blood Cupid.
“How is everypony else?” Greensprout asked.
“I think we’re all ok, Greensprout.” Fire Fight said. “Shaken…..but okay.” They all took one more deep breath as their minds went back to the harrowing ordeal they just faced. It was thanks to Zebota’s quick thinking that they were pretty much safe, but having nearly been taken back made them have to take a few deep breaths. “Wait……Shroud, was there another Shadewalker in there?”
Shroud giggled. “So it seemed. Aren’t we just a beautiful, loving little family?”
“If you wish to skew those words’ definitions, then yes.” Air Slash said. “But enough about that. If they know where that portal leads, then it’s only a matter of time before they travel over here and find us. We need to find a place to hide posthaste.”
“Relax, little ponies!” Valkyrie said. “There’s tons of place around here for you to crash, and I’ll be silent about everything, alright? Besides, they’re on the other side of Equestria. It’s gonna be forever and a day before they even get here. That, and I figured you guys would wanna have a look around this neat little place once we arrived."
Looking around, the foals realized that they were surrounded by gravestones and small tombs of grand design, each one marking the resting place of heroes, noblemen and the like of the griffon’s past. The red sunset gently blazing through the trees of the Asgard Forest caressed the landscape, easing any restless spirits within the grand cemetery. The forest itself wasn’t much different than any other forest they’d trekked through other than the Everfree, but the big, strong trees stood mightily around the cemetery as if they were standing guard over the resting souls. “Pretty neat, huh?”
The foals found themselves captivated being in the presence of such timeless grandeur, even feeling as though they didn’t deserve to be standing in such a place. “This place is marvelous….” Quantum Tech said. “Oh! Where might Siegfreid’s grave be?”
“We just came through it.” Valkyrie said as she nodded her head towards the portal. Looking back at it, the foals noticed that the paved stone they were standing on held the other portal in the center, but at the base, they was a slab of granite big enough to cover an adult griffon with a plaque built into that read:
“Here lays that great hero and eternal champion of the griffons, Siegfried. His war cries echo through the northern winds, his deeds shaped the foundation of our future, his virtues write proverbs for all to follow, his courage burns in the suns warm light, and his soul is immortalized in the sacred Valhalla. On the day of his passing, the tears of the people filled the oceans, the streets became a garden of funeral flowers, and even the trees of Asgard wept their leaves off of their branches as our greatest guardian was laid to rest in their forest. But from the ashes of his life shall rise a future of rich prosperity, as per his final and only wish, and his descendants, heirs to the Valhalla shall uphold his grand legacy.”
The foals gawked at the gilded obituary in utter awe. Standing in the presence of the griffon’s legendary hero furthered their feeling that they didn’t deserve to walk on such holy ground. Tidal Wave could suddenly hear Aesir passionately reciting the stories he’d told him in Yodelneigh; it was almost like living every little foals’ dream of meeting their hero, fictional or otherwise.
Valkyrie’s Valhalla then let out a small pulse of golden light, and the boisterous knight just chuckled as she gently held the talisman. “Hehe. Easy in there, big guy.”
“W-W-Wait! A-Aren’t we disturbin’ his grave!?” Kickback asked.
Valkyrie maintained her proud smile and shook her head. “Nah. On his deathbed, he said something about wanting to ‘share his courage’ and whatever with you guys and ‘give his people hope, even in death’ and all that, so this side of the portal was made into his gravestone, and his body is buried right under that slab.” She explained.
“Bruh….” Turf War said.
“Wow….What a guy!” Spiral said.
“Yeah! Aesir wasn’t whistling Dixie about this guy.” Tidal Wave said.
Zebota drew his boomerang and held it over his heart, and Air Slash followed suit with his sword. Their silent salutes earned them a nod of approval from the hero’s descendant. “Well, it’s getting late. If you guys want a place to crash, there’s a little inn on the southern edge of Griffonstone that’s pretty cheap. Just don’t let them serve you their seaweed bread…..you’ll thank me later."
“Are you sure they won’t mind runaway foals?” Fire Fight asked.
Valkyrie shook her head. “Nah. They won’t care. Any business is good business as far as us griffons are concerned. Plus….Ugh, I can’t believe I’m saying this…..We’ve kinda….warmed up more to you guys….” She finished her statement with an annoyed expression.
“Ooooh! Sayin’ dat had to hurt.” Turf War mocked.
“More than you can imagine.” Valkyrie said. “But, whatever! I’ll take you guys there. Better to lay in a cozy bed than in the dirt, right?”
“Let us not forget our duel as well, Valkyrie. If Siegfried’s valor truly guides your sword, then I am eager to grace it with my own.” Air Slash said.
Valkyrie wiped her nose. “Keep your head high while you can, little pony. Thousands of years worth of valor went into forging this thing, but I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.” She said. With that, the boisterous griffon led the Battle Foals through the Asgard Forest. The golden red sunset glistened across the field of the honored dead, as if the souls themselves bid them a silent farewell.