The Search Begins
Within Foal Mountain…
Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Ms. Fight, Rarity, Cheerilee and her class had arrived on a series of specially requested carriages courtesy of the good princess herself. Along with them were the security guard, and the barista that encountered the foals that night on the train; they had led them to the exact location that they saw the foals jump off the train.
“It was right as we passed over this river here flowing out of the mountain. I was looking for that odd filly, and we suddenly found four different ones. I tell ya, it was a night!” the barista said.
“And she was wearing an orange dress, had a dark-grey coat, bluish grey mane, and amethyst eyes?” Rarity asked.
The security guard nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Although…..we never did see her again, did we, House Blend?”
“No, I guess we didn’t, Night Watch.” The barista replied.
“But one of the foals you saw in the caboose was completely clad in a black cloth, right?” Spike asked.
The barista nodded. “Yeah. Let me tell ya, if it wasn’t for the moonlight coming in, I don’t think I would been able to see…..him?....her?.....I honestly couldn’t tell.” He said.
“Well…..despite how well the dots connect, that still doesn’t outright prove that the filly Rarity encountered, and the ‘ninja’ foal we heard about in Detrot are the same pony. But it sure seems like they are considering the almost identical circumstances.” Twilight thought aloud.
Ms. Fight showed them a picture of Fire Fight. “Did one of happen to be my son here?” she asked.
The two stallions didn’t have to look at the photo for very long to confirm it. “Yeah! He was with the foal in black, an Earth Pony colt carrying a Stop sign for some reason, and a unicorn filly with some serious emotional problems.” The barista answered.
Twilight cocked her head. “Emotional problems?” she asked.
“She screamed at the top of her lungs as soon we saw them, and magically forced most of the cargo boxes on top of us. I had no idea a unicorn filly could have that kind of magical power at that age.” The security guard answered.
“That sounds like that Spiral Galaxy filly who ran away from Hoofington!” Spike said.
“You’re right, Spike! And that colt sounded like Turf War. I remember his parents, and some of the other ponies who knew him in that pizza diner say that he likes to use road signs as weapons.” Twilight affirmed. “And then they just jumped off, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am. We rushed out of the backdoor as soon as climbed out of the mountain of cargo on top of us, and looked around to see them falling into the river! We were just about to run ahead to tell the conductor to stop the train, but a huge light suddenly shined around them. It was like…..kind of like something you see in a space book, or movie, or something.” The security guard explained.
Spike nodded. “Yep. Definitely Spiral Galaxy.”
“So he is takin’ other foals with him!” Applejack said.
“I wouldn’t be so sure, Applejack. It could have been a complete coincidence that they met, and just decided to join each other.” Twilight said.
“Plus, in the note he left me, he said he’d try to find a place to live somewhere else in Equestria, so I’d imagine he’d travel a lot, and subsequently meet other foals that ran away. Though…..I suppose it’d be the same general thing either way….” Ms. Fight said.
“I’ve already got the class helping us look around. If we don’t find him here, then we’ll wait for another case of runaway foal. And if it seems Fire Fight was even remotely involved, or at least in the town where and when it occurred, then we’ll pretty know for sure if he’s involved or not.” Cheerilee said. The class, and the good amount of parents that has come along were combing the area around the river with the guards that Twilight had enlisted the help of- she knew it’d be a big area to search, so she brought plenty of help. “I haven’t told them about this ‘ninja foal’ you spoke of so as not to scare them.”
“Good. Really, we should worry about that second. Fire Fight comes first. He can tell us about that once we find him, assuming they really were associated at all.” Twilight said. “Are you okay with that, Rarity?”
“Yes, darling. If it truly turns out to be nothing, then I’ll eventually forget the whole charade.” Rarity answered. Despite her response, Rarity was still fairly disturbed by the filly. She was so sure she was real that it had been occupying her thoughts even when she sewed her dresses. She didn’t let this on so as not to worry her friends.
Twilight thought back to the strange dagger that Zecora had brought her. She kept it as a secret between the two of them so as not to cause any unneeded panic, especially amongst those most involved. She’d never seen any sort of weapon like that be used by anyone, or anything, and it was too new to simply be a relic of the castle. It served as powerful evidence to back up the claim of a ninja, and the burn marks throughout the rummaged foyer were a telltale sign that Fire Fight was there, but……was he really fighting a ninja? And if so, why did they suddenly decide that they were friends? What was their intent? There were so many sensitive questions that sadly had to just….wait.
Meanwhile, Ms. Fight was eyeing Cheerilee. While she recognized her desire to make up for her actions, she was still quite bitter. She had suspected that this whole charade was nothing more than a desperate attempt to regain her lost reputation. Cheerilee had deeply apologized to her to which she accepted, but she couldn’t help but to feel weary of her. Perhaps it was her emotions, but either way, the sight of the teacher that had a hoof in driving her son away wasn’t a happy one for her. Ms. Fight’s begrudging gaze told Cheerilee that she had quite a ways to go.
The search party covered a lot of area around each side of the river, and periodically called out for Fire Fight. Cheerilee had instructed everypony to not go very far so as not to potentially get lost knowing from reading a number of books on the mountain’s ecology how dangerous it was. Over the course of the search, they gradually moved more and more downstream in case Fire Fight was washed up on the bank, and searched the inner woods alongside. Thankfully, the beasts of the woods seemed intimidated from the sheer number of ponies even if most of them were foals, and Twilight and guards displayed their readiness to fight in case they decided to pounce. When they got near where the edge of the forest curved away from the river, what they happened upon stunned even the good princess.
“WHOA!! WHAT’S THIS!?” Button Mash shouted. Everypony ran to where he was, and were equally surprised to see a massive cluster of severed tendrils surrounding a large flower that had clearly been ravaged, and a massive trail of scattered dirt leading all the way to the river as though something had been forcefully pushed and left the ground as it was.
“Is…Is this a FLORASTRAD!?” Twilight exclaimed.
“Kids, get back! It might still be active!” Cheerilee ordered. They complied without a second thought.
“Twilight, what in the hootin’ hay is a ‘florastrad’?” Applejack asked.
“It’s a monstrous species of flytrap that, of course, eats bigger animals. They’re not very common, but they’re usually found by large sources of fresh water like this river, and don’t live very long, but if you cut one of its arms or even its head, it’ll regrow before you get the chance to run away!” Twilight explained.
Applejack eyed the floral corpse curiously. “But….it ain’t growing back as far as Ah can tell.”
“Well, as I said, they don’t live very long- about 5-6 years at most. They’re diet of prey animals that could still get away from them kinda leave them to rot some of the time even if they’re able to absorb water and sunlight for even a little extra sustenance. It might’ve recently withered away.” Twilight replied.
“Yeah, but….look at all the arms! It must have been fighting something if that many arms were cut off!” Scootaloo said.
“Scootaloo, those arms could have fallen any time. Besides-” Twilight started, but was cut off.
“And look at its head. It’s charred down to ash!” Sweetie Belle said. “You think maybe….”
Upon hearing that, Ms. Fight perked up. “What!? You mean my son fought this monstrosity!?” she exclaimed.
“Maybe, but that wouldn’t explain why all the arms are so cleanly cut. Fire Fight certainly seems to prefer fighting with his fists.” Cheerilee said.
Before anypony could speak, they heard a booming voice coming from the forest. “Air Slash! AIR SLASH!! Where are you, boy!? If you can hear me, return to the stronghold THIS INSTANT!!” They looked over to see a unicorn stallion carrying a large katana at his side emerge from the brush with a few other ponies also carrying one or two swords each. The stallion then noticed the search party, and walked over to them. “What are you doing here?” he inquired. It was then that he saw Twilight. His expression turned surprised, and he along with the other swordponies bowed. “Princess Twilight Sparkle. To what do we owe this honor?” he humbly asked.
Twilight was confused at first, but upon closer inspection realized who she was dealing with. “Sir, are you all Bladerunners?” she asked.
“Yes, Highness. Our clan makes our home in this mountain.” The stallion answered.
“Master!” one the guards shouted. He came running to the armed stallion with a big smile on his face. “Sir! I didn’t think I’d actually run into you here! How’ve you been?” he asked.
The stallion smiled. “Block Stance. So good to see you too, my boy. I see you’re faring well amongst Her Highness’s guard.” He said.
Block Stance nodded happily. The two drew their swords, and crossed them in greeting.
“Block Stance! I didn’t know you were a Bladerunner!” Twilight said.
Applejack tapped her shoulder. “Uh…Twilight? What’s a Bladerunner?” she asked.
“They’re a clan family of legendary swordsponies that train their whole lives in the techniques passed down from their ancestors. Some of the best swordsponies in the royal guard have come from them!” Twilight explained. Her last comment made Block Stance blush.
The stallion bowed his head. “You honor us with your words highness. Now if I may ask, what brings you here? And…..how in the name of the Sun and the Moon did we never notice this florastrad?”
Twilight explained the situation with Fire Fight, and how a headline about unknown foals jumping off a train into the nearby a river led them to search here. She was sure to mention the possibility of him taking those other foals. The mention of a possible ‘ninja foal’ seemed to rattle him a little “You didn’t happen to see any foals come through here around that time, did you?”
The stallion shook his head in shame. “Alas, Highness. We never saw anything of the sort. Even if they did pass through this mountain, it is vast, and could very easily hide from us.” He said.
One of the other Bladerunners spoke up. “Although, we did find a Stop sign that had been sliced cleanly along with a trash can lid in that little cave that connects the valley just beyond where our stronghold is when we went looking for him that night. Perhaps they are connected to this ‘Turf War’ you mentioned?” She said.
They all gasped. “So they did come through here!” Diamond Tiara said.
The stallion walked over to Ms. Fight. “You have my deepest sympathies, madam. I’m sure this whole ordeal will pass over soon.” He consoled.
Ms. Fight nodded. “Thank you.” She said solemnly. “You sounded like you were looking for somepony yourself.”
The stallion rolled his eyes. “Yes. My useless son seems to have disappeared for some reason. He hasn’t returned home in a few days.” He explained. Hearing this caused everypony to gasp. When they inquired, he explained how Air Slash seldom if ever used his swords to the standards set by his clans tenets, and had a style that was more aggressive than his father would take kindly to. “If he has ran away on that notion alone, then I’m truly disappointed in him. From what you have told me, I certainly cannot deny the possibility that this ‘Fire Fight’ of yours has taken him. If he cannot simply do as he has told, then he will never become a true Bladerunner.”
Cheerilee looked at him in disapproving surprise. “Your son is missing, and that’s what your worried about!? You should be ashamed of yourself!” she reprimanded.
Everypony gawked at how bold she was to a respected warrior. “What? H-How dare you!” the stallion said.
“Your son is somewhere out there by himself because he doesn’t think he can talk to you about anything as a father! I may not know how structure or hierarchy works within your clan, but however rigorous it all may be doesn’t exempt you from being a parent! At least show your son that you love him!” Cheerilee said. Ms. Fight watched her, and was impressed.
The stallion looked at her in frustration. Indeed, how would this mere schoolteacher know anything about how the Bladerunners function. What right did she have to question how he raised his battle-born son? His pride prevented him from confronting her about it in front of the princess, so he just bowed his head solemnly.
Twilight intervened. She gently pushed the two away from each other. “Er…right. Well, now sir? Would you tell us more about the day that Air Slash disappeared?” she asked the stallion.
He nodded. “Gladly, Highness. My pupils here will help you search in the meantime if they are still here in the mountain.” He said. She nodded, and the stallion gave the word to start looking around. Once they all did he whispered for Twilight. “Highness, a moment?” he said.
Twilight walked to him. “Yes?”
He leaned in a little closer. “About this ‘ninja’ you mentioned, there is something I must tell you, something incredibly sensitive that I would ask- no, strongly caution to keep to yourself. Do you understand?” he firmly said.
Twilight looked at him concerned for a brief moment before nodding. “Ok.” She said, wondering just what he had to say about their little ‘theory’.
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Air Slash's father just got owned!!! Go Cheerilee!!!
Though I am a little disappointed that he didn't yell back at her. His personality seems like one that would instantly bark back at her, even with royalty there.
Say...did we ever find out Air Slash's father's name or are all parents in this story don't have names?
7808666 I thought that if all the parents had names, then things would just get way too crowded. Do you think it would make a good difference?
7808696 No. Its cool. It just...sometimes makes things a little hard to read at times. I think it works though. I was just asking why you did it that way.
7808706 Yeah. Figured that'd be the lesser of two evils.
7808719 Works for me my friend. Though...are Twilight and the others always gonna be one step behind Fire Fight's group? It's been that way for a while.
7808725 Not for much longer. I won't spoil
7808744 Ah...if that's the case, I'm guessing that's when Luna gets involved...that or you introduce a foal that uses sleep magic. That or Spiral messes with the moon...AUGH! Too many possibilities!!!
7808752 Just wait and see, good sir
7808758 I refuse to wait! I want to see it now!!!
Nice.
That is all.
7809155 Really? What's it called?
You know a story is good when it's immersive.
7809382 It's called Girlfriend Rescue aka Streets of Rage meets Dragon Quest. Also the weirdest game in my library.
7809905 I'm happy you like it so far! Any criticisms, or just something you think I could do better?
7809950 None so far. Typos are noticeable and easy to fix, though.
even its head, it’ll regrow