//------------------------------// // Fowl Play // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// The mecha lions lowly growled as the foals stood their ground, but nothing could prepare them for who they saw hovering just above them and seemed to be the one in control. “COUNCILOR SKADI!?” Valkyrie exclaimed. Sure enough, it was the councilor they had met prior. She was still clad in her red robe, but she was riding atop of a floating platform that a control console and railing for her to hold onto. She deviously smiled down on the foals. “Why hello, Valkyrie. And I presume these to be the rest of the ‘Battle Foals’? So nice that you could join us. Although, I can’t say that I appreciate you destroying the welcoming committee I so graciously organized for you. Your parents really ought to teach you better manners.” “You’ve been controlling these things!?” Fire Fight demanded. Skadi chuckled. “Spoiler alert!” Valkyrie couldn’t have been more confused if she tried. “But….when were you even making these things? I would have known at least something about you building a bunch of weird robots!” “Hmph! Stupid chickling. These mechanical marvels are not my creations. Although, it’d be nice if they were. Then, I’d actually have something to be proud of.” Skadi said. “Then…..who did make them?” Quantum Tech asked. Skadi impatiently sighed. “If you MUST know, I happened to be quite the adventurous little griffon when I was Valkyrie’s age. I even ventured all the way out here without anyone’s knowledge and made quite an exquisite discovery.” “That weird city!” Frostbite said. “You buffoon! It’s not a city, it’s…..well, to be honest, I’m not so sure myself what its purpose as whole was, but one of its most obvious functions was as a factory that produced these combat machines. I studied it closely and discovered that it had been programmed to construct them in the likeness of whoever originally gave rise to them as well as any surrounding wildlife. They can be mechanical mimics of anything. It stands to reason that my babies here eventually wiped their weaker organic counterparts.” Skadi explained. “What do you mean ‘yours’? You just said you didn’t create them!” Spiral Galaxy said. “No, but I managed to take control of them. They now heed my commands and revere me as their alpha.” Skadi said. “But….why? What are you trying to pull?” Valkyrie demanded. “I’m guessing you didn’t invite us out here for a measly Show And Tell.” Shadow Shroud said. Skadi chuckled. “Of course not. I invited you out here so that I might offer you a place at my side.” Air Slash clutched his sword angrily, but he managed to remain calm. “And by that, you mean…?” “Well, not so much these foals or this vandal of a dragon who’s been keeping me from those gems I’ve been needing to power my factory.” Skadi leered at Frostbite, who gritted his teeth. “Rather, it’s for Valkyrie.” Valkyrie eyed Skadi in utter confusion. What was she supposed to make of her actions? Was she lying to them for some reason. She had trusted the middle-aged hen since she could walk, but now…..she wasn’t sure. “What are talking about?” Skadi shook her head in disapproval and sighed. “Really, Valkyrie. One should expect an heir to the Valhalla to be more aware of the situation presented. You’ve seen the state that Griffonstone is in! We can barely get by without plucking our own feathers and selling them to a cheap hat maker! And even you- our supposed champion have been reduced to nothing more than an errand girl! Thinking that will solve anything… Really! As if that wasn’t enough, our own softy, pathetic excuse for a king cannot seem to grasp just how much everyone is hanging on for dear life! I’ve had enough. I’m going to build my army and oust that senile, old rooster from his throne so I can actually make a difference! Of course, being who you are, I’m sure you can guess that you would still hold a great deal of value. What say you, Valkyrie?” The foals were certainly stunned at the revelation of Skadi going mad, but Valkyrie’s world was turned upside down. She felt completely betrayed as she furiously drew her sword and ancestral began flaring from her body. “Are you insane!?” she hissed. “You think conquest is gonna solve our problems!? You’d rise against your own people on the pretense of saving them!?” “That’s quite hypocritical of you!” Greensprout said. “Yeah! You take the throne, but then what? You’ve got an entire city that’s probably gonna be destroyed in the wake of your invasion, meaning that everypo- uh….griffon is just be in a deeper hole than before! That’s like……counterproductive terrorism!” Tidal Wave said. “SILENCE!!” Skadi shouted, shutting the foals up. “Tsk tsk tsk, Valkyrie. I guess the descendants of Siegfried fail to inherit his wisdom. Perhaps that little golden trinket is the only thing of any real value in your bloodline.” “YOU WANNA COME DOWN HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE!?!?!?” Valkyrie bellowed. She launched a sword beam at the defector advisor, but she didn’t even flinch. In fact, she creased a devious smile as the blade of light was completely blocked by an invisible shield around her hovering platform that rippled into view as it nullified the attack. “WHAT!?” Skadi laughed. “What’s the matter? Is time perhaps starting to catch up with the old talisman?” she taunted. “But still, if you’re to oppose me, then I’m afraid I’ll have to do away with you and these little pony brats.” Her mecha lions reared back, ready to pounce. “And perhaps once I’ve finished establishing my hold on Griffonstone, I’ll set my sights on Equestria!” she sneered. The foals gasped upon hearing her threat. “B****, YOU AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE NEAR THE HOOD IF WE GOT ANYTHIN’ TO SAY ‘BOUT IT!!” Turf War shouted. All of the foals readied themselves. “DROP DEAD!!” Bullseye exclaimed as she fired one of her golden storm arrows towards Skadi. Shaking her head in disappointment, Skadi just stood there expecting nothing to happen, and was surprised when a rain of golden light arrows violently cascaded onto her mecha lions. “Hmm!?” Skadi watched as the beasts were helpless to resist the assault. Their armor barely managed to protect them from being completely impaled by the crushing rain of arrows, but when the storm subsided, they were badly sparking, and their heads and limbs were twitching like fibrillating hearts. Bullseye snickered. “What’re you gonna do, arrest me for animal cruelty?” “Now if only you did that earlier…” Frostbite said. “I’m trying not to overuse these!” Bullseye retaliated. “Hmm…. That might not be a bad idea actually.” Skadi said. She kept her looming gaze onto the foals as she pressed a few buttons on her control panel. “Seize them!” The mecha lions did what they could to move, but were pitifully barely able to keep their balance as they limped towards the foals, who were confused as to how these malfunctioning robots were supposed to pose any threat. However, Shadow Shroud felt the ground below them suddenly quake, and she was afraid she knew why. “JUMP OUT OF THE WAY!!” Following her order, the foals all jumped away from the area of the ground they stood on just as the sand above began to shift as if a sandstorm was about to brew. Suddenly, something enormous erupted out of the ground. They had to cover their eyes from the blast of sand, and when they could look again, they were met with the sight of a gigantic robotic python staring them down. It looked big enough to wrap its body around the entirety of Ponyville without coiling. It’s piercing red eyes stared them down liked a bloody sun, and it let out a horrible hiss. “Awesome….m-more snakes…” Fire Fight muttered. Quantum Tech barely had time to scan it as it emitted some kind of energy from an antenna at the top of its head that caused her mech suit to begin acting up. “” It began sparking so violently that she had to abandon ship. She turned off her glasses when she realized what was going on. “Electromagnetic waves!!” she exclaimed. “How DARE you!!” she growled. The mecha python let out an intimidating roar. “Eep!” Just then, the python opened its mouth all the way and out came a series of flying rings slightly bigger than hula hoops. They flew towards the foals in a crooked, yet guided path. The foals didn’t need Quantum Tech’s insight to know that these rings were a threat. “GUYS, BLAST ‘EM!!” Fire Fight ordered. Without hesitation, he shot torrents of fire from his horn to deter the rings along with Frostbite exhaling blasts of frigid air, Spiral blasting cosmic bolts and gravity wells, Kickback shooting them, Air Slash and Valkyrie launching sword beams, the latter doing so far more furiously, and Crazylocks blasting magic waves at them. If any got close, the rest of them save for Quantum beat them away- she took the opportunity to be everyone else’s eyes and ears directing them. Bullseye didn’t want to waste arrows with how many there were, so she let her anger take the reins and smacked them away. Skadi just smiled evilly and let them entertain themselves for a short minute before issuing another command from her console. The mecha python then let out a screech that emitted a bio-negative sound pulse that disrupted the foals’ senses, allowing two to three rings to envelope around each of them, ensnaring them in an electrical field in which they could bare move around in, but where trapped in the center. “WHAT THE F***!?” Bullseye exclaimed. “Nrgh!.....Release us this instant!!” Zebota shouted. He was horrified when a larger array of rings was used to entrap Shrapnel. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! Nice and cozy? Good, because I’m taking to my humble abode just across this wasteland. As weak as you are, the whole of the world’s population pales in comparison to your skills in battle as I’ve observed. I’m sure they’ll be fantastic blueprints for my army to copy given their abilities. I can finally grow a substantial force that not even the legendary Siegfried could best, and then my grip will be made firm and absolute!!” Skadi gazed on her prizes like an obsessive bug catcher who found a rare insect. The foals tried to use what powers they could to break free, but they were electrocuted when they moved around too much. “YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS, YA VARMINT!!!” Kickback declared. Skadi put her talon to her beak. “Hush, children. It’s time to head home.” Valkyrie’s wrath nearly match Bullseye’s from the feeling of utter betrayal as the Councilor’s treachery, and as the conniving hen flew them off into the sunset and called off her mechs, she voiced her anger with a useless shout. “SKADIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!” Just like that, the foals had been captured and were at the mercy of a crazed griffon with access to advanced weaponry……all except for one. Shadow Shroud came out from behind a sandstone rock when she determined that the coast was clear. She knew that she’d be no match for the mecha python, so however reluctantly, she decided to hide herself amidst the chaos until it all blew over and she could make a plan, but looking out into the sunset…..she felt the heavy burden of failure weighing on her heart. “Guys…” She didn’t know what to do. Never could she have imagined that a foe like Skadi would appear, and she could barely hold her own against one of those mecha lions. A tear rolled down her face as she began to fear what might happen to them…..but her pride as a Shadewalker shocked her back to reality. “No…. I can find a way…. I have to! I don’t dare abandon them! I have to keep my promise to…..Fire Fight….” The thought of her fiery red friend who had been so valiant and so kind to her for so long being in any kind of danger only fueled her will. “Hang on, guys! I’m coming!” “No you’re not!” A voice from behind her called out. “Huh?” Shroud turned around to see that it was a familiar face. “Dark Veil? What’re you doing here?” The shadowy stallion gazed upon her authoritatively as he approached her from the shadow of a mesa. “Taking you back to stronghold to face judgment for your treason.” “Treason?” Shroud demanded. “Don’t play dumb with me, ‘prodigy’! You’ve defied our tenets and associated with outsiders far too closely, even a Bladerunner for crying out loud! Perhaps our masters were wrong. Maybe you’re not mature enough to grasp your place in the world.” Dark Veil said. Shroud’s heart knotted in anger. “Tch! Says the stallion who couldn’t even hide his fleas under his coat! Besides, those foals have become important to me, and I’m going to save them.” Dark Veil drew a kunai. “Forget about them, kid. Being a sap isn’t in our job description.” Shroud drew her own kunai. “But being righteous is.” She and Dark Veil glared at one another with the sunset being their only witness and the blow of the desert’s dry winds abrading against the tension between them. The two opposing forces locked eyes with one another, not letting even the rustles of scorpions striding along the sand interrupt their silent duel of the mind. Neither backed down, never flinching or even blinking. A dust devil blew between them away from the sunset. Much to Shroud’s surprise, Dark Veil slowly sheathed his kunai while maintaining his gaze onto her. “Why are you so interested in them? What’d they ever do for you?” Shroud, sensing that his hostility had mellowed down, sheathed her kunai as well. “I don’t think somepony like you’d be able understand no matter how I explained it.” She said with a slight hint of sorrow in her tone. “And yet you’d face death just to save them?” Dark Veil asked. Shroud chuckled. “Fifth tenet: ‘Do not scorn the company of death, and know when it is your best ally’”. Dark Veil sighed and shook his head. “You better know what you’re doing, Shadow Shroud. I won’t be held accountable if the best amongst us succumbs to sentimentality and recklessness.” “You’re one to talk considering your decision to come out here.” Shroud said. “Your error, not mine. I just came out here to save you from that, but it looks like I’ll be supervising you on your little rescue mission.” Dark Veil said. Despite feeling a little insulted, Shroud managed to keep herself from lashing out at her clan-brother. “I suppose a helping hoof is nothing to complain about. Shall we?” she said as she put on her mask over her head. Dark Veil did the same. “After you.” They both kept to the shadows as best they could as they gave chase to Skadi. At Canterlot Castle…. Luna joined Celestia at her balcony as they watched over their realm. The only thing that dampened the serenity of the sun light’s caressing the land below was the looming worry for the runaway foals. For the first time in a long time, Celestia felt as though she had failed as a princess. Because of the ponies’ general distaste for violent conflict as a result of their peaceful state and relative fear of what they didn’t understand, foals that had been blessed in such ways were made into monsters and effectively shunned. Even if their circumstances differed somewhat significantly, that didn’t change the fact that their decisions to run were tragic. She knew that life wasn’t perfect, but to make it unfair was the error of the living, and she swore that she’d do the exact opposite for everything in Equestria, the ponies notwithstanding. “Sister, have you heard news of the foals lately?” Luna asked. “I have not, sadly. I’ve been expecting to hear from Twilight soon, but I’m afraid I cannot predict what kind of progress she and her search party will make. I can only hope that all goes well.” Celestia answered. Luna sighed heavily. She sensed the dire situation the Battle Foals had fallen victim to, and she could do naught but keep her faith in them strong. She knew that they would come out victorious in the end, but she wondered how much she should keep the charade going. She was beginning to feel irresponsible. Suddenly, a messenger pegasus flew towards them. “Your Highnesses, a letter from the Crystal Empire.” He said as he handed the rolled piece of paper to them. “Thank you, Early Bird.” Celestia said. The messenger bowed to them before taking his leave. “Let’s see here….” As her sister read through the letter, Luna took the time to utter a silent prayer for the Battle Foals. “My dearest Battle Foals….hold your friendships close to your hearts. Continue to combine your strength as you have from the beginning, and you will overcome even this darkness. You must…. Let Shadow Shroud’s resolve remind you of the invincibility you create when your hearts are one.” “Sister, you need to read this.” Celestia said as she handed the letter to her sister. Luna took the letter, and it read as follows: “Dear Royal Sisters of Canterlot, I write you and Princess Twilight this message on behalf of Prince Shining Armor. Recently, an exploration team returned from deep in the Frozen North with troubling news of a possible looming threat over Equestria. It was a magical anomaly of unknown origin, but seemed to harbor aggressive sentience. We are looking further into this matter as we speak, but we knew that this information warranted your attention. If you ever find the time, please come to our empire and help however you are able. -Private First Class, Steel Sheen” “Oh dear…” Luna said. “Perhaps we should make a quick trip over there just to help ascertain the situation.” “Perhaps, although I couldn’t in good conscience leave the matter of the runaway foals unattended.” Celestia seemed oddly nervous for some reason. “C-Could I put that responsibility in your hooves while I see to the Crystal Empire?” Luna was more than happy to not have Celestia potentially figure her out, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t saying something. “Tia, is something the matter?” Celestia shook her head. “Just….nervous is all.” “If you say so…. In any case, I will gladly take this off of your hooves for a while. Make haste to the empire.” Luna said. Celestia nodded. “Right.” As she left to make arrangements for a train ride there, the solar sovereign had to hold back feeling of anxiety at the situation presented….