Tales of the Battle Foals

by Sirdubya

Stow Aways

It was in the middle of the afternoon just at the foot of the hills dividing Hoofington and Detrot. The dirt trail that served as the cargo road between the two towns was as quiet as the quartet of runaway foals hiding in the tall grass just at its edges. They were waiting patiently for the opportunity to execute a rather unorthodox plan.

“Homie, y’all seriously think dis gonna work? ‘Cause if it do, I’m a eat one o’ Shadow Shroud’s li’l throwin’ stars.” Turf War whispered to Fire Fight.

Fire Fight sighed. “You got a better idea? ‘Cause even Shadow Shroud thought this was a good plan.” He replied.

“On the contrary, I only said that this was the best we could probably do. In reality, if you were training under my Shadewalker masters, this plan would probably urge them to put you in the Sharp Room.” She said.

Fire Fight cocked his head. “’Sharp Room’?” he asked.

“I don’t want to give you nightmares.” Shadow Shroud sighed.

Fire Fight just brushed it off as he looked at Spiral Galaxy. “You ready?” he asked her.

Spiral nodded. “Yeah. If it’s just a short burst, I think I can control it.” She answered.

Shadow Shroud shushed them as she noticed that the supply cart from Detrot was coming through. The foals backed up a little to try and stay out of sight as it passed by them. They watched the large stallion carrying it intently as he was to absentminded to feel the eyes on him until he passed over the hill out of sight.

“Alright. Now that he’s gone, all we do now is wait for our ride.” Fire Fight said.

The foals heard another cart coming their way. “Speakin’ o’ which…” Turf War whispered.

Out from the hill came a bigger cart with bigger boxes. One of which was just big enough to allow Turf War to slip his Stop sign in. “That’s definitely it. I recognize that stallion.” Spiral Galaxy whispered.

“Ok then. Here I go!” Shadow Shroud replied.

She quickly snuck to the back of the cart towards the big box that they could stow away in. The equally absentminded stallion didn’t notice as she carefully picked the lock to open the lid to see that it was filled with bundles of freshly picked cotton that were packaged in bundles; it was almost too perfect! She then snuck around the cart, and shot a signal to the others.

“Ok, now!” Fire Fight whispered.

Spiral Galaxy focused her magic briefly. It was all she needed to create a controlled gravity well that caused some rocks and boulders hidden in the brush to suddenly be tossed around randomly in the air and create a cloud of dust around the cart.

“Wha- WHAT!? AAAHHHH!!” the stallion screamed as he ducked for cover under his hooves.

“Alright! Go! Go! Go!” Fire Fight commanded. The three other foals rushed to the back of the cart and quickly climbed in with Shadow Shroud helping them. She led them into the unlocked box as Turf War quickly stashed his arsenal in. She closed box and to the amazement of the other three, managed to lock it from the inside.

The stallion peeked out of his hooves after the sudden flurry of rocks and soil subsided. He looked around in shock. “Wh-Wh-Wha….What just happened!?” he asked. Thankfully, none of the debris was blocking the trail, so he could continue his delivery. He slipped out of his yolk and went to make sure none of the cargo boxes were damaged. The foals were as quiet as a mouse as he did. “Well….everything’s still intact, so……that’s good…..I guess….” He muttered. He slipped back into his yolk and resumed his delivery. “I must be going crazy…” he said.

The foals quietly sat shocked that such an unlikely plan actually managed to work! They silently agreed to not make a sound until they were successfully on the train.

As they quietly lay in the bags of puff. The foals could faintly make out the sound of a party of ponies approaching. It was then that they could hear them speaking.

*****

“Just what was that crazy beam of light we saw? Was it magic?”

“Looked like it, Spike. Who or whatever it was really ought to be careful with whatever spell they were trying to cast. If it’s a problem I can contain quickly while we’re there, then I’ll do so. Magic that powerful should not be treated like it’s a toy.”

*****

Fire Fight couldn’t see them, but he definitely recognized Twilight’s voice. What was she doing here? Surely she hadn’t deduced where he was and sought out to look for him….right? It was clear that she witnessed Spiral Galaxy’s little fireworks show, so maybe she just happened to be in town for some reason and decided to investigate!

It was then that he looked over at Spiral herself. Her face had lost some color at the comment of her magic needing to be contained. The other three saw this and silently crawled over to comfort her. She smiled in delight as she regained her mood.

The cart finally came to a stop around an industrial smell. They knew they had to have reached their destination. The driver of the cart said his ‘hello’s’ to the train workers as the cargo was lifted into one of the cars. The foals held on so as not move around and make noise; Turf War held onto his gear. Once they had been set down, they patiently waited…..and waited……and waited some more in silence until they finally felt movement. The train had begun moving. They waited a few moments before Fire Fight gave Shadow Shroud the signal to unlock the box and let them out.

After listening around for a brief second to make sure the coast was clear, Shadow Shroud did her dirty work and opened the box. The foals took big breaths, glad to out of that crammed space and climbed out into the car. Looking out the back door told them that they were once again in a caboose.

“I cannot believe that actually worked!” Turf War said as he recovered his armaments.

Shadow Shroud handed him one of her shuriken. “Well? You promised.” She sneered with a devious smirk.

Turf War just gave her an annoyed look. “Fo’ real?” he said.

Shadow Shroud devilishly giggled as she sheathed her weapon.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes. “Well….I suppose we should try to figure where this train is headed….We didn’t plan ahead very well, did we?” he said.

“Not like we really could.” Spiral Galaxy said.

They heard the intercom suddenly ring in. “Fillies and gentlecolts, thank for traveling with us as we make our trip to Dodge City. We sincerely hope you enjoy the ride!”

“Dodge City!?” Fire Fight exclaimed. “Wow….We really are going places, huh?” he chuckled.

“That was the intent, was it not?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Fire Fight just smiled. Slowly but surely, it was becoming more and more clear that he had set a clear, genuine path for himself and the foals he’d rescue. Nothing made him happier than seeing his vision become more and more real. He wanted nothing more than to make sure they were where they belonged and living a happy, healthy life.

They shifted some boxes around to make room for the four of them in the back by the door so they’d be ready to jump out at a moment’s notice if need be. Shadow Shroud made a point of picking the lock right away. They set up the best ‘camp’ they could muster in a train car, and had some leftover lunch.

Shadow Shroud went and peered out into the next car to see that it was occupied. “Shoot…” she muttered as she returned to her comrades. “Doesn’t look like I’ll be able to make a trip to the dining cart this time.” She informed them.

“Next car’s occupied? Crap…..Well…..what if you waited until nighttime when everypony’s sleeping and got some late night snacks? That could still work, right?” Fire Fight suggested.

Shadow Shroud pondered for a moment. “That’s a risky move, but at least sensible. Very well. In the meantime, You three stay back in this spot until we reach a desirable jumping point.” She stated.

Turf War and Spiral Galaxy perked up at that. “Hol’ up. Jump!?” Turf War said.

“Seriously!?” Spiral added.

Shadow Shroud rolled her eyes. “Yes, we’ll jump just before we reach the train station so that we won’t have to deal with the hassle of sneaking off the train in plain sight.” She explained begrudgingly.

“She and I did that last time when we were coming to Detrot. We’ll be fine.” Fire Fight reassured. "Dodge City’s in a desert, right? There’ll be plenty of soft sand to land in, so as long we still roll into our falls, we’ll be alright.”

Turf War and Spiral Galaxy looked at one another. They shrugged as they decided to take their words with a grain of salt.

The four foals decided to take turns napping and keeping watch periodically as they patiently awaited nightfall so Shadow Shroud could make her move.

Comments

[Sirdubya]

7719916 I already have fairly similar foals planned for this story, so I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! I won't spoil anything, of course. And I DO plan to cover Fire Fight's background.

You don't want Trump!? Well shoot, that changes my plans...lol!!

[StarzGecko]

7719966 Would It be ok for me to ask Yea to add in my own OC foals to your story?

Do you take other ideas to add more into your story? It would be neat.