//------------------------------// // Favor // Story: Tales of the Battle Foals // by Sirdubya //------------------------------// The Battle Foals excitedly entered Griffonstone Castle and watched Skadi be escorted away. Bullseye couldn’t help but to blow a light raspberry at her, which earned a rough nudge from Turf War. Grover allowed Quantum Tech to park her mech in the foyer, and she promptly advised them not to mess with it. Valkyrie seemed pretty proud to be able to show her new allies the only thing in Griffonstone that wasn’t rundown or otherwise pathetic, and the foals were just as ecstatic that they had the opportunity to be there. Tidal Wave suddenly had flashbacks to his visit to Yodelneigh and his meeting with Aesir. Shrapnel handed Spiral Galaxy off to the physician, who carefully wheeled her away to her office. Everyone else was led to the banquet hall where they were all seated close to King Grover, who of course sat at the head of the table. “I sent word to our chefs ahead, so…” The servers came out of the kitchen just as King Grover was about finish his sentence and served them their dinner. Much to the foals’ pleasant surprise, their feast held a considerable amount of influence from pony culture, and they were served all fruits and vegetables while Valkyrie, Frostbite and Shrapnel got succulent cuts of meat. “This looks delicious, Your Highness!” Fire Fight said. Grover chuckled. “Appearance alone only goes so far, young colt.” He said. “Well? Dig in!” “And remember to save some for Spiral!” Tidal Wave blurted. They all nodded before eating. Just then, a group of griffons wearing the same red robes as Skadi walked through the main door. “There you guys are!” Valkyrie said to them. Grover stood from his seat. “Forgive me for starting so soon, noble Councilors. I wanted to see that these heroic children were fed right away.” They bowed to him. “All is understood, Your Highness.” One of them said before they all took their seats. “Are these the rest of the Council of Norn?” Air Slash asked. “Bingo!” Valkyrie said. As expected, the food was worthy of a king, and the foals were elated to have such a big dinner after the terrible ordeal they’d endured, not to mention their adventure as a whole. Zebota had Shrapnel dine behind his seat, and his titan made sure not to make a mess. Frostbite took a gem from his sack and crushed it, sprinkling the shards on his meal like he did before. The only thing on their minds that kept them merrier was Spiral Galaxy. Despite Greensprout’s diagnosis, they felt guilty that she couldn’t partake in their feast, but they knew she’d want them to enjoy whatever respite they could. Air Slash noticed that their monk medic was eating rather quickly, likely wanting to tend to Spiral as soon as she could. “You’ve come far from home.” Grover said. “What brought all the way to the opposite side of the Celestial Sea?” The foals suddenly stopped eating and looked a little nervous. Fire Fight wanted to dodge the question, but he was speaking to the ruler of the land they were in. “We….kinda owe him an explanation, guys…” The foals nervously nodded, but Valkyrie gave a ‘go ahead’ wink. After hearing Fire Fight’s tale, the griffon king stroked his beard. “Hmm….I see.” He mumbled. “For all intents and purposes, I should have you all sent back home.” The foals looked like they were about to faint. “But after your stupendous victory against fatal odds that spared out kingdom, I’d feel remiss to betray you so.” They all took a deep sigh of relief. One of the Councilors spoke up. “Yes. Let us thank you for rooting out that foul egg in our nest.” He said. “Indeed.” Grover said. “However, your situation seems to be the result of some disagreements within your society.” He said to the foals. “As griffons, we have little place to intervene, but I cannot force you to face your problems.” “Thank you for understanding, Your Highness.” Quantum Tech said. “Do y’all of any place we might be able to settle down in?” Kickback inquired. “The surrounding woodlands would make for a fine place to build a refuge with the many resources within its confines, however all of which is within Griffonstone borders, and given our infrastructural predicament, we need all the resources we can assimilate into our economy.” Grover said. “So…you’re gonna give us some land and have us work for you?” Bullseye guessed. “No, no, no. It wouldn’t be as simple as that.” Grover said. “Under our immigration laws, you’d have to be naturalized citizens of Griffonstone, which takes up to at least six months depending on the magnitude of the work you’d be expected to do.” “That….may prove inconvenient.” Shadow Shroud said. “Your Highness…” one of the Councilors said. “I think there may be a better agreement we could make with these foals.” “Ah, yes! Thank you, Mimir.” Grover said. “There is an alternative option, but it would come at a price.” The foals looked at each other. “And what is it you mean by this, O royal one?” Zebota asked. “Well, ‘price’ might be a little stingy. Let us call it a favor.” Grover cleared his throat. “Far beyond the shores of this kingdom in the Celestial Sea lays Heimr Island. In days of yore, it was used as a penal colony to imprison the most dangerous and despicable criminals.” “Penal colony?” Turf War asked. “Basically a faraway prison.” Valkyrie explained. “But what about that place, my king? It’s been long since abandoned.” “That is true, Valkyrie. Long ago, the island and its inmates were simply abandoned when its facilitation could no longer be afforded, leaving the prisoners to fend for themselves.” Grover said. “Sir! Pardon me, but that’s just terrible negligence.” Greensprout said. “We were a very bitter people in those days, young filly, namely towards those we’d harbor grudges against.” Grover said. “It was a factor in driving our species’ apart socially.” One of the councilors added. “That aside, I’ve heard tell of merchant ships passing by that forsaken place and swearing they could hear the shrieks of demons resonated from behind the mist that shrouds it. A fisherman even came into my castle and told me quite frantically that he could swear some unseen force tried to sabotage his ship when he and his crew neared Heimr’s shores, and he’d been a seafarer for a few decades never experiencing such odd phenomenon.” Grover said. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hol’ up! I ain’t trying to get munched by no damn ghosts!” Turf War blurted. “Ghosts were not explicitly mentioned, you buffoon.” Shroud said. “Still though, what is it you’d have us do about this….island?” “If some form of evil has plagued it, I would request that you identify and rout it.” Grover said. “You didn’t already send Valkyrie or some of your guards to do that?” Bullseye asked. Grover shook his head. “Up until now, we have not taken the rumors seriously, thinking they were nothing more than old sailors’ tales meant to excite young folk, but the same claims have been made on an almost regular basis, and the terrified look in that fisherman’s eyes…” Valkyrie confidently wiped her nose. “Not that I wouldn’t be ok by myself out there anyway…” she boasted. “Might I also add that we’re having difficulty properly preparing an investigation team to dispatch to the island?” Another councilor said. “Yes, that as well.” Grover said. “Succeed and I vow to hand the island to you. I’m sure even its ancient walls could be finely converted into a sustainable community.” “What you describe sounds evil in nature if these ‘demons’ exist, royal one. I would be satisfied simply to cull such impure life lest it becomes strong enough to spread, whatever it may be.” Zebota said. Shrapnel strongly grunted. “Yeah! They sound like all my estranged siblings!” Crazylocks blurted. “Contending with potential demons, are we?....Well, paranormal activity has always been a very loose area of study for anyone, so I suppose it’d be an interesting trip if nothing else.” Quantum Tech commented “Seems like a mighty fine deal to me.” Kickback said. “Whaddya think, sheriff?” Fire Fight pondered. “Hmm….a seemingly cursed island, rumors of demons, maybe haunted waters, death potentially around every corner….. Yeah, we’ll totally be fine!” he said confidently. Shroud giggled. “We have been so far.” Most of the other foals agreed, but Tidal Wave quivered a little. “How can you guys remain so calm when something like this is thrown at you?” “Experience, friend. Fret not; I have the utmost faith that we will all fare quite well so long as we stand as one, am I quite right?” Air Slash said. Tidal Wave’s nerves calmed down a little. “Y-Yeah, maybe I’m getting worked up over nothing, huh Turf War?” “F-F-Fo sho’!” he stammered. He was noticeably shaking. Bullseye snickered. “Something wrong, tough guy?” “You’re not seriously scared of ghosts, are you hammerhead?” Valkyrie teased. “Wh-Wha- Hol’ up! Nah, not yo’ boy! I just uh….see when I was li’l, I-I sometimes snuck scary movies from my parents’ room n’ watched ‘em. I-I don’t why I kept doin’ it, but-” “Boo.” Shadow Shroud had snuck up to the left side of him. “OOOHHH!!” Turf War took his shield and practically drove it into her, knocking her back quite a ways. “Oh s***…” Shadow Shroud staggered to her hooves and stared daggers at Turf War. “Ghosts will be the last thing you’ll need to be afraid of if you pull something like that again!” she hissed. “M-My bad…” Turf War stammered. Shroud returned to her seat after letting Greensprout give her a quick heal pulse. Despite their antics, Grover gave the Battle Foals a satisfied smile. “I thank you.” He said. “We will embark at dawn’s first light, so please rest well. You’ve quite deserved it.” The foals nodded. Greensprout finished her meal. “Thank you very much for the meal, Your Majesty, but I should be tending to Spiral Galaxy. Please excuse me.” Grover had one of the guards escort her to the physician. “Pardon me, Milord, but may I use your forge? My blades are starting to blunt.” Air Slash asked. “I see no harm in it. Just don’t pester the blacksmith; he’s an ill-tempered old rooster.” Grover said. “Thank you.” Air Slash said. “What of the rest of you? That bout with Skadi’s forces was brutally strenuous on all of our weapons, I must imagine.” “That’d be a good idea.” Fire Fight said. “I’ll handle my gear, but thanks, dude.” Valkyrie said. “Do you have a sufficient amount of bullets, Kickback?” Quantum Tech asked. Kickback checked his ammunition inventory and grimaced. “Ooh…. Ah’m afraid Ah’m gonna hafta trouble you to make me some more, Ms. Quantum Tech.” “No trouble at all, darling.” She cooed, though lighter than usual which surprised the gunslinger. “Hey. Make me some more blast and light arrows while you’re at it….ok?” Bullseye said. “A few more would not much trouble, I suppose.” Zebota said. Air Slash cleaned his plate. “Then if you’ll all kindly excuse me, I should be getting to work. A thousand thanks for the glorious feast, Your Highness.” Air Slash took everyone’s arsenal, and Quantum Tech used her magic to help carry it as they were escorted by a guard. Once all of the other foals finished, they happily thanked the king for his hospitality and were escorted to guest quarters to spend the night, anxious about the new adventure set up for them….in more ways than one.