Tales of the Battle Foals

by Sirdubya

First published 28th of October, 2016

Equestria hates fighting, so what happens when a foal is born with a special talent for it? For Fire Fight, a grand adventure across the lands will ensue. One that will open everypony's eyes, and show him the true meaning of who he is.

Fire Fight, a young colt with a knack for combat, and a strong sense of justice, has lived a life riddled with belittlement from others for being who is, or at least wants to be: a hero. Fed up with feeling like a prisoner of his own special talent, he runs away from the land that disapproves of it, and embarks on a quest to help other foals like him. Together, Fire Fight and the friends he makes travel the lands endlessly searching for peace.
They begin to discover themselves along the way, as well as hidden places and secrets that will serve to strengthen them, and their friendship.

Prologue

Author's Notes:

Hi, there!
Before I get on with it, I'd just like to say thank you all so much for opening my story to read it, and I hope you like it!
Please feel free to give me feedback, and constructive criticisms. Note that I said 'constructive', and not just 'this sucks', or whatnot.
This'll be long, so please be patient with me as I finish it. I know just about every writer on this site, hell, every writer ever will say that, but it's worth saying.
Some of my characters here were influenced by videogame characters, some more than others, so just a fair warning in case you think I'm trying to rip them off. I'm not!

The rising sun shimmered a light of awakening over the Equestrian horizon. It gleamed fervently across the lands as a new day dawned. This new day would bring about new beginnings for all the ponies of Equestria however big or small, but for one brave colt under the morning light, his new beginning would take all of Equestria by storm, whether he knew it or not…

It was a typical, boring train ride from Manehatten to Ponyville. Businessmen, tourists, and whatever else have you equally occupied the locomotive. Amongst the passengers was a young unicorn colt named Fire Fight, and his mother. His coat was a typical red, his eyes a shallow blue, and his mane and tail a fiery orange, and in a fiery style; his Cutie Mark depicted a raging flame in the shape of a dragon’s head. The two were on the train away from Manehatten to where they now call home.

No move is ever easy, especially for kids, and Fire Fight was no exception, but the reason for their move only served to weigh him down more. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of gradual emptiness being refilled with guilt and anger, the train reached its destination. The two got what luggage they brought with them, and exited the train into the afternoon sun.

Fire Fight’s mother had clear directions to their new home, so he let her lead so he could look around. Seeing everypony smiling did little to ease his anguish, and only showed him his new opportunity at life, which he thought he’d probably botch anyway. His new neighbors waved hello, and he reciprocated with feigned joy, and a plastic smile.

At last, the two found their new home, and settled in. It was a cozy little space. A typical humble abode anypony could be satisfied with. Movers contacted prior already set up their rooms and furniture to their desires. Fire Fight had just finished setting up his favorite hanging bag when his mother walked in.

“Fire Fight.” She said. Her tone was stern, commanding. He knew what she was going to say, and it only shamed him. With a light sigh of guilt, he responded.

“Yeah, mom?” She softened her expression a little.

“Honey, I don’t think I need to tell you to stay completely out of trouble here. Do you understand me? If I let you go out and explore town today, will you behave yourself?” She asked.

The ashamed little colt looked away from her slightly. With an unconfident tone, he whispered a reply. “I… I always behave, mom.” He knew she, and others in Manehatten would strongly disagree with him, but it was all he could say.

“Honey! Why do you think we were forced to move here in the first place? You beat up that poor stallion horribly! Nearly knocked out his teeth, and left him with an awful burn to his face!” she shouted.

Fire Fight raised his voice to retort. “He was threatening all those other foals, mom! My classmates! I was just trying to help.” He sounded desperate.

“The only thing you helped do was get yourself expelled from school, and make us outcasts! We’re practically running away from them instead of saying goodbye.” His mother was trying hard to contain her frustration, but barely managing. At that last statement, Fire Fight conceded to feelings of dejection, and yielded. He knew it was useless. Even if his intentions were well, Fire Fight knew that no matter what he did, he would ultimately lose to the judgmental words of an adult, perhaps even if he ended up saving the world with his own four hooves by some miracle.

Tears began to well up in the young colt’s eyes. His bravery, and sense of justice had punished him with an unfamiliar place, and a wedge between him and his only family left. As he began to break down, his mother gently leaned in to hug him. She knew her son meant well, and was very proud of his courage, but his habit of rushing in to save the day has come back to bite him more times than she can count, and this time, it cost them dearly. She wanted nothing more than for her son to live a happy, healthy life as any mother would, but that seemed impossible when he continuously brought trouble upon himself. “There, there, sweetie.”

After a moment or so, Fire Fight calmed down, and his mother let go. “You know I love you more than Equestria could possibly understand. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself by helping others the way you do.” Her tone was considerably softer, comforting even.

The red colt looked up, still wiping some tears. “I know, but… It… It’s just so stupid! Why am I always the bad guy!? What about that guy who was mugging that old lady, or that burglar who was about to kill that guard!? Why do I always get in trouble when nothing is even my fault!?” he exclaimed. His frustration was readily apparent. “I always get yelled at or punished when I help…” He felt so defeated by life, and she knew it. All she could do was encourage him.

“You just need to think before you leap. If you leap blindly, you’ll fall, and it won’t be a soft landing.” She said. Fire Fight sighed, and simply nodded.

“I think I’ll go out, and explore.” He said. His mother nodded, and kissed his forehead.

“Okay, Sweetie. Just be back before dinner. You don’t want to go to sleep hungry, and be sleepy from starvation on your first day of school here!”

*****

As Fire Fight trekked through his new hometown, he almost immediately got a much better vibe than he ever did back in Manehatten. This place felt as though it was immune to the trouble he was used to seeing, so maybe… just maybe, he wouldn’t have to worry about his instincts kicking in since nothing would happen to elicit them. He felt… happy, at ease, peaceful. The air was calm, the surrounding ponies seemed incredibly friendly, and there was just an all-around good feeling. His solace was suddenly shattered by a shrill, squealing voice.

“Hi there, little colt!”. A pink mare suddenly appeared in front of him, startling Fire Fight, and causing his horn to ignite; his magic was mostly fire-based. He quickly smothered it out with some magic, and looked back at her.

“Uhh… hey there.” He stuttered, bracing for a potential fight. She didn’t seem threatening, but something felt a little off about her, as if she was a… living paradox, if you will.

“I’m Pinkie Pie, and I’ve never seen you in my life before, and I know everypony in Ponyville, so if I don’t know you, that must mean you’re new here! And that means I have to throw you a par-“ she was suddenly cut off when Fire Fight reignited his horn, this time violently. He looked more ready to defend himself than he did a second ago, snarling viciously and rearing back like a lion about to pounce. Pinkie was a little startled by this gesture, but quickly realized her mistake. “Aww… Sorry, little colt. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She pleaded.

Fire Fight eased up somewhat, then completely when he realized there was a little crowd watching the scene. “Uhh… me too. You just kinda freaked me out, so I… I don’t really run from fights, okay.” He replied.

“Fights!?” the concept of fighting was something virtually foreign to ponies, namely happy ones like Pinkie.

“Oh! I-I-I don’t pick fights! I just… fight back when I need too, that’s all.” He hastily replied.

Pinkie regained her composure upon hearing his explanation. “Oh! Like when my friends and I beat back mean meanie villains who want to take over Equestria! Cooooool!” she cooed.

Fire Fight could tell she wasn’t by any means his enemy, but she still made him feel uncomfortable, and wanted to just get out of the situation. “Pinkie Pie, right? I’m Fire Fight. It was nice meeting you, but I-I’ve gotta go. I, uh… wanted to check out the schoolhouse before I started going tomorrow!”

Pinkie frowned a bit. “Aww, okay… Wait, you do know where it is, right?”

Thankfully, Fire Fight did manage to catch a glimpse of it on his way to their new house, so he had a good idea where to go. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.”

“Sure, Fire Fight! Have fun! I can’t wait for your party, even I’ll though I’ll be planning it, which means I won’t be surprised, but I’ll happy because I LOOOOoooovve parties, and –“ Fire Fight was long gone before she could begin her rant.

*****

Fire Fight was panting when he finally ran his way to school. He was no stranger to long sprints if it meant catching up to trouble; he was in great shape for a colt his age, but that party-crazed mare freaked him out, and he just wanted out of there.

After catching his breath, he got a good, close look at his new school. It was much more traditional than what he was used to in Manehatten, but that didn’t bother him. Its bright red outer walls were a warm welcome to the red colt. He could only hope that its teacher and students were just as such. He was so engrossed at studying the building as he approached, he failed to notice the foals using the playground after school. As soon as he did, he observed them as well. The picture they painted in this one spot was as colorful as all the residents of the entire town. Most of them were roughly a year or so younger than him, so they probably weren’t his classmates, and thus he decided not to bother. As soon as he started walking away, he could hear a young voice trying to get his attention. He turned around to see three fillies about the same age trotting towards him. One was a yellow Earth Pony with a very subtle tint of green, a cherry mane, and a bow tied in it. The second was an orange pegasus with a purple mane styled very tomboyishly, and the third was a white unicorn with a lavender mane. Fire Fight decided that it was probably best to start sooner than later to let everypony know that he wasn’t a bully despite what his past actions might imply.

“Are y’all new here? Ah don’t think Ah’ve seen you before.” The yellow one said. Her southern accent was prominent.

Fire Fight nodded his head. “Yep! Just moved here from Manehatten as a matter of fact.” He replied.

“Wow! Really!? That’s awesome! I wish we could go there sometime.” The pegasus said.

“Yeah, Rarity loves it there. Especially so since she now owns a boutique there.” The unicorn added.

Fire Fight tilted his head. “’Rarity’?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s my older sister; she’s a fashion designer. I’m Sweetie Belle, by the way. This is Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom.”

“Howdy!”

“Hey, dude!”

They seemed pretty friendly. “Hi. I’m Fire Fight.” He replied. “I just came by to make sure I know where I’m going tomorrow. Figured I oughta check out the rest of the town while I’m at it.”

The girls perked up at that statement. “How ‘bout we show you around? You’ll have a much easier time with ponies who live here.” Scootaloo suggested. Fire Fight graciously accepted the offer. He just hoped he wouldn’t run into that pink psycho again.

As they walked down the path away from the school, Fire Fight finally noticed their Cutie Marks, and it slightly confused him. The all were a purple and red shield with varying symbols for each of them. Apple Bloom’s had an apple, Scootaloo’s had a lightning bolt, and Sweetie Belle’s had a music note. “Umm… Sorry, I couldn’t but to notice you’re marks… Why are they so similar?” he inquired.

The girls giggled. “See, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom replied. Now Fire Fight was even more confused. His head once again tilted, and the girls giggled even more.

“We help other ponies understand their Cutie Marks when they’re not sure what they should make of it, and even help other foals earn theirs.” Scootaloo explained.

“We originally formed the group so we could help each other find ours before we earned them, but then we did when we realized that that was our special talent.” Sweetie Belle added.

Fire Fight was impressed. “You don’t say! That’s really cool!” But then a familiar worry cross his mind. “Did… you guys ever get in trouble for any that?” he asked nervously.

The fillies’ expression turned sheepish, and a tid shameful at that question. “Yeah, we’d be so caught up in trying to earn our Cutie Marks, that we’d end up humiliatin’ ourselves, wrecking something, and… well, shucks, it’s just too embarrassin’ to even think about. Why’d ya ask?” Apple Bloom answered.

Fire Fight hid his turmoil over his own ‘failures’ well, and made it look like nothing was a bother. “Oh… just curious. Foals can get into trouble for the stupidest things, huh?” he said.

“You bet, man! … You know, speaking of which…” Scootaloo suddenly stopped to inspect Fire Fight's flank. Her face beamed at what she saw.

“Duuude! This is the sickest Cutie Mark I’ve ever seen! Check it out, Crusaders!” The other two took a look, and saw what Scootaloo meant. It had a little more than a cool flare to it!

But its vagueness begged the question: “You’ve gotta tell us what you’re special talent is, Fire Fight!” Sweetie Belle said.

Fire Fight’s stomach suddenly did a somersault. If he told them he was good at beating ponies up and that it got him expelled, their impression of him might drop like a rock. His mind raced as he frantically searched for an explanation. “Oh! Uh, umm… Fi…. FIRE MAGIC! Yeah, I’m skilled with fire based magic!” he exclaimed. The girls were a little startled at his outburst, but decided not to inquire. They asked for a demonstration, and he complied.

He ignited his horn, and began to expertly twirl flames around himself, sometimes forming them into vague shapes like clouds sometimes would. He made hoops of fire that he athletically jumped through, then lit random things suddenly ablaze, causing the Crusaders to panic, but were quickly alleviated when Fire Fight magically smothered the flames with ease. All the while, he was completely unbothered by the all the heat he formed around himself.

The girls were left speechless by his display. His command over fire was second only to Rainbow Dash’s flying prowess. Their silence was broken when Fire Fight asked what they thought. “Dude…… THAT WAS AMAZING!!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“That was darn hootenanny, Fire Fight!”

“Yeah, I bet all your friends in Manehatten thought you just the coolest… er, hottest..? foal on the block!”

Fire Fight was suddenly reminded of his former classmates. While they did indeed respect and admire him as the hero he hoped he was, their disapproving parents, teachers, and other surrounding adults pressured them otherwise. Rarely, if ever, did he receive any form of gratitude for his valiance. All he did receive were scoldings from even strangers telling him he was just a foal, and needed to behave accordingly, and in the worst case scenarios, community service for things he accidently burned in the ensuing scrap. “Y-Yeah!... they did. They were… pretty sad too… see me leave…” On the contrary, much of the surrounding community were relieved to get rid of a colt considered to be a trouble child; Fire Fight heard their whispers not long before they left. The thoughts gnawed at his heart like a beaver to wood.

“Well, why’d y’all leave then?”

Again, Fire Fight had to quickly come up with a clever lie. Thankfully, he managed one quickly. “There was a lot of crime in my area. We would’ve just moved to a safer district, but my mom wanted to get away from it completely; it was getting pretty bad, so here we are.” He answered.

The girls seemed sad to hear this. They gave him a sympathetic look. “Oh… I’m so sorry to hear that, Fire Fight.” Sweetie Belle tried to console him a little, but Scootaloo, likely trying to encourage him, unwittingly said something that just shattered him like glass.

“I wouldn’t have been too worried if I were you, dude! With those crazy fire moves of yours, I bet you could’ve been a hero there! You’d burn all those bad ponies to a crisp if they tried to hurt you or somepony you cared about!”

Fire Fight had spent a few years practicing his game face so as to not show fear to his opponents, so even in a situation like this, his turmoil was completely masked by a plastic smile. “I… I-I’m not really a fighting-type.” He replied, trying desperately to keep his cool. “So, uhh… you were gonna show me around?”

The fillies perked up upon hearing that. “Oh, yeah! Come on, Fire Fight! We’ve got a new hometown for you to tour!” They pranced happily while Fire Fight followed with a subtle mope in his step. He may have moved miles away from his past, but it was mere inches behind him… breathing its hot breath down the back of his neck.

A New Place

The tour was an utter blast! The girls took Fire Fight to every little shop, park, landmark, even town hall where he got to meet the mayor. They also introduced him to their sisters. Applejack let him buck one of her trees, and was impressed to see him bring the apples down about as easily as she did, no small feat for a foal, even for Apple Bloom, whom had been doing this her whole life. Rainbow Dash got to see one of his little fire displays, though she seemed more ticked than impressed; Scootaloo told him that she probably considered him a rival of some sort, which was a huge compliment coming from her. Rarity teased them saying that shouldn’t fight over Fire Fight’s attention too much since he was so handsome despite his mane apparently being ‘not well-kept’, flustering the fillies, and causing the embarrassed colt’s horn to alight, which got him kicked out for fear of setting her boutique ablaze. Sweetie Belle consoled him saying she was always this prissy, which worked on the ashamed colt.

They saved the best for last, of course, which was Princess Twilight Sparkle herself! She was as friendly, and majestic as everypony said she was, and the Crusaders were personal friends of hers; Fire Fight felt like the luckiest colt alive! He eagerly showed her his mastery over fire magic, which she was thoroughly impressed with. She encouraged Sweetie Belle to take an example from Fire Fight for when she worked on her magic, to which she happily agreed. Before they left, she graciously gave them some bits to spend at Sugarcube Corner for a milkshake. There was some purple… lizard… thing jotting down notes for her, or something; probably nopony important.

“Thanks so much, you guys!” Fire Fight cheered. “You made today so much easier for me! I wasn’t sure if I’d okay here, but now I feel right at home.”

“Our pleasure, dude!”

“Anything for a new friend.” They talked and laughed on their way to the bakery. When they finally got there, one heck of a surprise awaited Fire Fight.

As the CMC led him in, Fire Fight noticed the place was somewhat… deserted. Only the apparent owners were present along with their children at the counter, and only the strong scent of birthday cake to accompany them. He would have dismissed it as them not being busy at the hour, but that strong scent made it seem like they were prepared for a big event or something. His fighting instincts were just about on close standby, telling him that there was more to be seen than what his eyes beheld, like he was being watched. Then ponies jumped out of every corner of the room.

“SURPRISE!” Nearly the entire town seemed to occupy the entire dining area as they suddenly appeared. Fire Fight’s horn erupted like a volcano out of shock as he reared his body for battle, hiding his panic. Some of the ponies jumped back themselves.

Quickly realizing the situation, he smothered his horn out. “Uh… Sorry! I… kinda panicked there.”

A familiar shrill squeal answered him. “Aww, that’s ok, Fire Fight. I was honestly expecting you to do that, so I told the Cakes to have some fire extinguishers ready just in case!” It was Pinkie Pie alright, and she was still as psycho as ever, and yet she didn’t seem nearly as ‘threatening’ as she was before. Fire Fight rolled his eyes at her last little comment.

“Honey, don’t pretend like that couldn’t happen.”

He turned around to see his mother standing beside the CMC. “Mom? What’s going here?”

His mother giggled a little. “Isn’t it obvious? This… er, exceedingly friendly mare here wanted to throw us a welcoming party, but you weren’t home when the original thing happened at our house, so I was the only one surprised.”

Apple Bloom then spoke up. “So Pinkie asked us to make friends with y’all, and eventually bring ya here for the redo!”

The elaborate setup impressed Fire Fight, but he couldn’t help but to feel a little annoyed. “So that whole thing was just a ruse to get me surprised?”

“Huh? Oh! No, no, no! That was all real, dude! We really did want to show you around town, make friends, and all that! This was just the grand finale.” Scootaloo interjected.

“Really, honey. Don’t be so distrusting!” Fire Fight blushed a little, and thanked Pinkie and the CMC for their kind gesture, and the party began.

Pinkie really outdid herself. The refreshments, namely the cupcakes were amazing, the games she’d set up were really fun, and she was… unfortunately a master in the art of pulling a good, fun practical joke. Don’t ask what happened; Fire Fight’s too embarrassed about it. He got to meet some more foals, including the CMC’s reformed former bullies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon; He wasn’t sure if his magic was acting up or something, but Silver Spoon’s cheeks had reddened as she approached him. He also got to meet Apple Bloom’s friend, Tender Taps, whom left Fire Fight stunned at his two left feet, and Sweetie Belle’s coltfriend, Button Mash, who let him play Mareio Bros on his Joyboy for a little. All of them were a little younger than him, so he wondered if he would be in the same class as them.

About halfway into the soiree, Fire Fight’s mother approached him along with a dark lavender mare, with a curly, pink mane, and sunflowers for a Cutie Mark. She seemed about as friendly as everypony else here, so he wasn’t unnerved.

“Fire Fight, this is Ms. Cheerilee, your new teacher here in Ponyville.” his mother said.

Cheerilee smiled brightly. “Hello there, Fire Fight!” Fire Fight wasn’t ready for this. His old teacher in Manehatten had lost her patience with him several times with his ‘heroics’, and would often ban him from school events, and even encourage her other students not to associate with a ‘bad example’ like him. If his mother said anything to Cheerilee about his past, surely she would bear the same ill feelings. She put her hoof on his shoulder. “Your mother told me about the problems you had in Manehatten…” Well, that was it. His one day of sunshine and rainbows had come to a screeching halt, crashing and burning. He braced himself, waiting for the familiar scolding, about how he was just a little troublemaker, and needed to be punished for everything he did, and that he was no hero, just some attention-whoring brat. “…And I think you were just horribly misunderstood. It’s so nice that you want to be helpful at your age! But you need to restrain yourself; trying to solve problems… er, too quickly can lead to just more trouble, you see.”

Fire Fight was pleasantly surprised to hear that. He could tell she had concerns about him in her tone, but seemed very much willing to be patient with him. He opted not to complain so as not to ruin this chance at her trust from the start. Plus, arguing with an adult always proved fruitless anyway. “Okay.” He replied.

“Okay, then! See you tomorrow! Enjoy the rest of the party!” She was about to walk off when Fire Fight suddenly thought of something he needed to know.

“Wait a second.” Cheerilee turned back around. “All the other foals here seem about a year younger than me. Am I gonna go to school with them, or… what?” he asked.

Cheerilee smiled. “Oh yes, dear. They’re your classmates. I keep my classes within a slightly broader age range to encourage respect amongst younger and older foals, so you’ll practically be their big brother! So help me take care of them as you learn too, okay?” she explained.

Fire Fight liked the idea of protecting, and helping others, especially other foals, but it hasn’t rewarded him well before, though maybe it would here if he didn’t have to fight anypony. “Will do!” he answered. And with that, the two mares left the red colt to his own devices, and he enjoyed the rest of the evening.

*****

After the party ended, Fire Fight found his mother, said their goodbyes to their new friends, and headed home. The night was eventful, but Fire Fight wasn’t that tired. They had a good meal at the party, and he was still just a kid anyway, full of energy. When he got to his room, he decided to tire himself completely with his favorite exercise: using his hanging bag.

Fire Fight began with a series of punches followed by side, and roundhouse kicks, then moved on to more advanced techniques such as spinning kicks, jump kicks, spinning jump kicks, chops, hoof strikes, uppercuts followed by kicks, and overall went with the flow. Despite his age, Fire Fight had a great understanding of his technique, and had virtually flawless form. It helped that he was in terrific shape, and could endure a great deal of stress.

He continued until his mother told him to get ready for bed so he’d be up early for school tomorrow. He had tired himself a good amount at that point, so he did. As Fire Fight lay there in bed, he thought about his eventful day. It was fun, happy, a little embarrassing, but overall pleasant. The new friends he had made, the friendly ponies of the town in general, all eased some of his anxieties. And yet… Something felt… empty, as though he had something important taken from him. It was the only thing keeping him slightly awake before he was too tired to think more about it, and drifted off to sleep.

The Trees Have Eyes

The first slivers of the morning sun found their way into Fire Fight’s room. They expanded their reach to his face, gracing his sleepy eyes so they would open. The fiery colt rose from his slumber, and begun his day.

After a nice hearty breakfast of a mushroom omelette, oatmeal, and wheat toast, Fire Fight exited his home with his saddle bags in tow, and begun his walk to school. It would have been a walk had he not decided to make it a refreshing jog. Some nice exercise to compliment his breakfast was always how Fire Fight started his day. It turned into more of a run due to his fitness, but that made little difference to him.

When he finally reached the trail that lead to school, he stopped briefly to stretch, and catch his breath. He then began a slow, easy trot down the path. As he did however, he found himself slowing down to a walk; he didn’t know why, but… It felt like he was being watched. He could feel eyes on him, but there was nopony within a good enough distance to really see him clearly. He closely looked into the trees for whoever might be there. Suddenly, he heard the tree canopy rustle lightly. He looked up, and saw a small shadow leap between trees over the trail quick as lightning, and vanish into the brush beyond. Fire Fight scanned the area that the shadow disappeared in quickly, but carefully for any sign of its presence. “Hey! Who’s there!?” he called, but no answer, no rustles, or anything, as if who or whatever it was just poofed out of existence. Confused, and somewhat unnerved, Fire Fight slowly resumed his trot when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

“Howdy, Fire Fight!” he looked back to see that it was Apple Bloom and the other CMC.

“Oh! Hey guys!” he greeted.

“Who were you talking to just now?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Huh? Oh, nopony. I just… I think I just saw an animal or something.” The fillies must have thought he was a little crazy, and maybe he was, but they seemed to brush it off. They joined each other for the rest of the walk to school. The fillies talked fervently while Fire Fight looked back every now and then for any sign of that mysterious entity.

All the foals got settled in, and Cheerilee got the day started. Fire Fight stood in front of the class with her. “Class, I’m sure you all remember Fire Fight from yesterday’s party?”

“Hi, guys!” The class greeted him back happily. He found a seat next to Button Mash; they brohooved in greeting as Cheerilee began her lecture.

Lunch and recess finally came, and all the foals were outside either playing, or munching on whatever their mothers packed for them. Fire Fight decided to sit with his four new friends under a nearby tree to have lunch. They all had typical lunches of a school pony, a sandwich, a drink, a little snack, and what not. Fire Fight contrarily had something a little more for him; he had a bigger sandwich than the others did, a protein bar, some water, and yogurt. When asked, he simply explained that he loved to exercise, and ate accordingly. Looking at the playground, Fire Fight didn’t see anything that would really challenge him. All the other foals were content to using the slides, monkey bars, and what not, but Fire Fight was much more hardcore. He figured he’d do some pushups, run some laps around the school, and practice his fire magic… well… maybe not so much that for obvious safety concerns. And he definitely wasn’t going to use anything as a hanging bag substitute!

He’d been running laps for a good three minutes when he got that same feeling from before. He came to a stop to the right side of the school, and looked into the nearby woods. He let his fighting instincts kick in a little to help him scan the immediate area. He wasn’t sure right away, but he could faintly make out something that seemed out of place. Squinting his eyes, he could just barely make out what looked to be a pair of eyes looking right at him behind the brush, and then realized that they belonged to something that closely resembled the shadow he saw earlier. Maybe it was! They stared at each other for only a few seconds before who or whatever it was vanished once again.

Fire Fight scanned the area once more, but the entity had indeed disappeared yet again. Now he was certain he was being watched.

“Fire Fight?” he nearly jumped, but managed to keep his cool. It was only Cheerilee. “Is everything okay? You seem startled.”

Fire Fight was still catching his breath a little from the running, and the encounter. “Yeah, just… running some laps is all.” Cheerilee wasn’t convinced that that was it, and Fire Fight could tell, so he decided to inquire. “Ms. Cheerilee, does anypony live in those woods besides that ‘Zecora’ lady I met?” he asked.

Cheerilee was a little surprised at his question. “No, not to my knowledge. Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s just… it feels like I’m being watched by the forest……. Must be my imagination; I’m not used to seeing so many trees.” He answered. Cheerilee looked out into the woods in thought. She smiled when she agreed that Fire Fight’s probably right. She’d seen this kind of anxiety in new students before, especially big city foals like him. The bell ending recess rung, and everypony returned inside. As he did, Fire Fight looked back at the forest once more, and thought to himself, "There's definitely somepony watching me... and I want to know who, and why!"

Lights, Camera...

School had at last ended for the day, and the foals all happily ran out to enjoy the rest of the sunshine. Fire Fight however, had other plans. That shadow, those eyes watching him, vanishing the second he catches wind of its presence… He had to know. Who was it out there, and why had he caught their eye? Fire Fight, not fearing the potential dangers, ventured into the woods, and began his search.

The woods were quiet with the sounds of nature occasionally breaking the silence. The absence of animals signaled the presence of a predator; whether said predator was Fire Fight, or his stalker, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t get a sense of eyes on him like before. It must have been him, because he was scanning and sensing the forest like a timberwolf hunting its prey. His horn was at the ready, liable to ignite at the first sign of trouble, namely that shadow. He searched tirelessly for at least four hours. Navigating the forest was easy since he knew what direction the town was in when he had to leave, but he was too determined to find that shadow to go back so soon. “I know you’re out here! Come out, and show yourself!” he demanded. He was only answered with silence. It was in that moment that the fiery colt decided enough was enough, and made his way back towards town. Not long into his hike, he heard what sounded like shouting off in the distance.

“AAAAHHHHH!! SOMEPONY HELP MEEEEE!”

Without thinking, Fire Fight immediately began rushing towards the sound of the scream. Parkouring over rocky terrains and rivers and the like wasn’t much different than the city, so Fire Fight could go quickly. Thoughts started racing in his mind. “Has that shadow given up on me? Are they targeting somepony else!?” he wondered. For now, he focused on that cry for help.

“LET GO OF ME!!”

Whoever it was still okay by the sounds of it, but their panic was clear, and Fire Fight needed to help them. Finally, he found the scene. A white Earth Pony stallion with a black mane had his grip on another Earth Pony, this one a dark grey mare with a mane of black and white stripes, and he looked pissed.

“I said LET GO OF ME, you stupid brute!!” she exclaimed.

“Shut up, and come with me like a good girl, now!” he shouted back.

Fire Fight was about to spring into action, but his conscious stopped him. What if this was another mistake? What if he would get punished again? He wanted nothing more than for that vicious cycle in Manehatten to finally end here for good in Ponyville.

But that mare… she was clearly fearing for her life, desperately struggling to break free from the stallion’s clutches……. He couldn’t just do nothing to save himself some grief; he HAD to help her. Her safety was his priority at that moment, so with all hesitation put aside, Fire Fight ignited his horn, and charged into battle.

Fire Fight ran through the brush towards his foe fueled by his fury. His focus was on that white stallion when he finally emerged to attack.

“Hey!” he exclaimed. The stallion’s attention drifted towards the red colt jumping towards him in a flying kick. The impact knocked him away from the mare, and the stallion to his hind legs; Fire Fight back flipped off of him, and ran in for an uppercut. It hit just as the stallion came down, knocking him back up as he was struck on the jaw. Fire Fight then executed an aerial roundhouse to his stomach, then spun around for a side kick that knocked the stallion back a good six feet. He once again flipped away from his foe on that last impact, then drew a flame around him. He did a front flip kick that launched the flame as a fiery disc towards the stallion, who dodged it just as he was regaining his balance. The fire disc exploded fiercely onto a rock, thankfully preventing a potential forest fire.

Fire Fight locked eyes with the glare of an apex predator with the stallion, who was stunned and confused at the sudden assault. “LEAVE HER ALONE!!” he shouted. The next second, he felt a gentle hoof touch his shoulder.

“Sweetie!” he looked up to see the mare he had just saved. She seemed more concerned than relieved. It was then that he saw a bunch of other ponies rush out of the woods. All of them seemed to be carrying show equipment of various kinds.

“We’re shooting a movie, kid!” one of them said. Shocked at that statement, he looked around. Sure enough, it was indeed filming equipment, and he could smell stage makeup on the would-be damsel in distress. Fire Fight felt crushed. He had messed up again! But now, it was in his new home town. He couldn’t do it; he couldn’t fight his instincts… no matter where he went. He was doomed to be the troublemaker he had been deemed the rest of his life.

“I…I-I…I-I-I’m really sorry! I…” he just couldn’t. It was pointless. He felt their shocked eyes on him as he awaited his judgment.

He felt the mare’s gentle hoof lift his chin up. “Did you really think I was in trouble?” she asked softly.

Fire Fight looked away from her in utter shame. All he could do was answer. “Y-Yeah… I-I saw him attacking you, and I… my instincts just sort of… kicked in and-” he was cut off when he suddenly felt her lips peck his cheek. He looked back at her surprised, and saw a sweet smile across her face.

“Sweet little colt.” She cooed. Fire Fight was shocked. He… actually got some kind of reward for his efforts! He wasn’t scolded, or anything! He relished in that short moment, basking in her sweet smile as, for the first time, he actually felt appreciated.

One of the crewmen then suddenly broke the moment. “Is Action Shot okay?”

Everypony looked at the white stallion, who was struggling to his feet against his injuries; Fire Fight had hit him pretty hard. They walked over to him to check on him. A medic was the first to his side, helping him up. “Rrrrghh… Kid hits hard!” he muttered.

“Are you alright, Shot?” the actress asked.

Fire Fight’s shame crept its way back into his heart, but the mare’s compassion had boosted his confidence. “Hey, mister… I-I’m really sorry. I honestly had no idea this was-”

“SHUT IT, YA BRAT!” Fire Fight jumped back. Action Shot was understandably not happy about having just been beat up by a colt, and he made it known. “Ya really think you can ‘sorry, mister’ yer way out of knocking me to the ground, nearly burning my mane off, or heck even killing me!? I don’t think ya know just how badly ya goofed up here, son!”

Fire Fight’s sudden confidence had just shattered. It was Manehatten all over again. He was right to think he couldn’t escape from his past.

“Action Shot, calm down!” the actress said. Fire Fight looked back up at her. She was clearly not happy with Action Shot’s attitude towards him.

“Yeah, really. Go easy on him, he’s just a foal.” One of the crew added. This only seemed to anger him more.

“The hay ya mean ‘he’s just a foal’!? If I didn’t know any better, I’d have mistaken him a pro kung fu movie star, and he nearly flame kung fu’d me into the ground! The heck did I do to deserve that, huh!?” he was looking at Fire Fight furiously. All Fire Fight could do was look away in shame.

Then the mare spoke once more. “I think you’ve had a long day. Go take a nap or something so you’re not so cranky anymore!”

Action Shot just glared at her for a second, then looked back at Fire Fight. “I’ll remember this, brat!” he growled.

The mare tapped his shoulder once more. “Come on, sweetie. I’ll take you back to town.” He graciously accepted her offer, and the two set off.

“I’m sorry Action Shot was so rotten about the whole thing, honey.” The mare said. “I had no idea he could be such a grouch.”

Fire Fight was too dejected to respond right away. Action Shot’s words echoed in his mind, making his ears ring at the very thought. After a short moment he replied. “It’s okay… I-I deserved it…”

The mare nuzzled his neck. “Oh, sweetie, of course you didn’t. Nopony deserves to be yelled at like that.”

“But… but I could’ve really hurt him! He looked like he was about to kill you, so I… *sob* I…” She started stroking the back of his neck, doing what she could to comfort him.

“But you didn’t. You came to my rescue… in a sense, and held yourself back before you could do anymore.” She pecked his cheek again. “That was very brave of you.”

Fire Fight stopped himself from crying any further at that, but he still felt dejected. “This time was no different from all the rest…” he muttered to her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, curious.

Fire Fight told her about his history in Manehatten, about how he tried to be a hero, but always got scolded for ‘being a brat’, or whatever. Even his own mother had difficulty being patient with her brazen son. “I thought that would all end here, but…” he sighed heavily. “I guess I can’t help but to be a bother to everypony wherever I go.”

The mare shook her head. “I think that’s just silly!” Fire Fight looked back at her surprised. “I don’t see why you should be punished for being so bold, and selfless like that. Nopony’s perfect, never will be!” They had finally reached the end of the trail that led into town. The sunset shimmered across the horizon like golden honey spread across a finely sliced piece of bread “I don’t think you’re a brat at all! I think you’re a brave little hero.” She kissed him once more on his forehead just below his horn.

He stopped. His heart stopped. His mind stopped. Everything stopped. He had just been called a ‘hero’ by a complete stranger. “R…R-R-Really!?” the mare maintained her sweet smile, and nodded. His heart was jumping for joy as he broke out into tears, this time, of joy. He hugged her hoof and sobbed heavily. He had at last received kindness, understanding, and love after what seemed like an eternity for his mistakes. All his guilt and worry seemed to wash right out of him along with his tears. “Thank you! *sob* Thank you so much!! *sob* *sob* No- *sob* Nopony’s ever said anything like that to me before! *sob*”

She embraced him, gently rocking him in her arms as calmed him down. “It’s okay, honey…” she whispered. After a couple moments, he calmed down. The two looked into one another’s eyes. Fire Fight’s still had some leftover tears, and hers were brimming with compassion. “I’m Film Noir, by the way. What’s your name?” she asked.

He wept away the last of his tears, and stood up, more confident than ever. “Fire Fight.” He answered.

Film Noir giggled at his newfound spunk. “Well, it was so nice meeting you, Fire Fight. I’ve got to get back to the set. Can you get home from here?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for everything, Film Noir!” Just before he ran off, he suddenly got the urge to ask. “Oh, hey! What’s the name of the movie you’re shooting?”

She perked at the question. “Oh! It’s called ‘Moonlight Rendezvous’. It’s… a complicated romance story. I don’t know if it’d be your thing.” She answered.

“Well, I’ll still see it when it comes out. I bet you’ll be great!” She giggled again.

“Well, thanks! Here’s hoping it comes out okay. Alright, bye Fire Fight!”

“Bye!”

Fire Fight ran off into the sunset. His heart full of joy, his conscious clear, and his energy to the max, he tirelessly ran and parkoured through town with a smile on his face, and without a care in the world. He was so caught in the moment, that he was completely oblivious to a familiar set of eyes watching him from the dark alleyways hidden from the remaining sunlight…

Despite his joy, he decided not to share what happened with his mother for fear that she’d freak out again. He walked in to find her making dinner. “Hey, honey! You were out for a while. Have a little too much fun?”

He laughed a little. “More or less. I went hiking in the woods, and lost track of time. It was some great exercise!” he proclaimed.

His mom seemed a little confused. “You didn’t play with your new friends?” she asked.

Fire Fight hadn’t thought of this, and quickly came up with a lie, not wanting her to know he had tracking a shadowy figure. “No… I hadn’t seen that part of town yet, so I decided to explore some more.” He answered. This seemed to satisfy her. The two had their dinner, and later went to bed.

Fire Fight lay in his bed with a much clearer conscious than before. The best day of his life so far had come to an end. He had been given love and forgiveness in place of contempt and punishment. That emptiness he felt last night had been filled, but… he didn’t quite know what with. It was something more than just Film Noir's acts of kindness... Something he knew well, but somehow couldn't identify.

Action!

The next day began the same as the last. A hearty breakfast, a refreshing jog to school, and meeting with friends. Except there was no sign of the mysterious figure that had followed him before. This was a relief for Fire Fight, but at the same time, he still wanted to know who it was. Class eventually got started, and he could put all that behind him for now.

Lunch and recess finally came, and Fire Fight went to his usual gathering under the tree. His lunch from yesterday apparently had an effect on his friends, because they had the same kind of lunch packed as he did. They explained that seeing him in such a healthy state really motivated them to start making healthier choices like him, bringing a smile to his face. Once he finished his lunch, he got up to exercise. Before he could leave Apple Bloom got his attention. “Hey, Fire Fight!” he turned back towards them. “We were wonderin’ if y’all would like to join the CMC. Would ya?”

Fire Fight was surprised at the offer. “But, I thought it was just you three since you’re the ones with the marks?”

Button Mash shook his head. “No, not just them. They let me join after they learned to accept my unique gamer ways.” He stated.

“And because you’re the love of my life!” Sweetie Belle added with a peck to his cheek.

Button blushed, and nuzzled her neck. “You too, Sweetie!” The other CMC giggled at their displayed as Fire Fight thought for a moment.

It’d be a great way to help others without punching something all willy-nilly. Plus, he already cherished his friends here. “I think I will!” he proclaimed.

They cheered at his response. “Awesome! Meet us at our clubhouse after school so we can officially swear you in, ok?” Scootaloo said. Fire Fight nodded, and went to do his routine.

He did his pushups and laps, but not as much as yesterday. Feeling less ashamed of his knack for fighting, Fire Fight decided to shadowbox. He found a quiet open space by the side of the school to train. He started with some basic punches and kicks, then got more complex with his techniques, and then combo strikes. He didn’t throw any fireballs or discs, but he executed the necessary techniques that normally would; he didn’t want to frighten his classmates! As he continued, the other foals began to crowd in one area to watch him. They were stunned at his skill, and technique. They started talking amongst themselves about how cool Fire Fight looked out there. Other colts tried to copy him, but couldn’t without the skill, and discipline Fire Fight had, while the fillies looked on in awe, namely Silver Spoon, who was trying to hide her tomato face. The CMC were equally impressed with him, and couldn’t wait to have him as one of theirs. All the while, Fire Fight was completely oblivious, too engrossed in his training to notice his little ‘fan club’.

It wasn’t until Cheerilee came out that things calmed down a little. "Fire Fight, what are you doing?” she asked.

He looked up, startled out of his training. Catching his breath, he replied. “Oh, *pant* just exercising.” She didn’t seem impressed with that answer.

“Looked to me like you were fighting something.” she said

He shook his head. “Just the air.” he replied.

“Well I certainly hope you’re not planning on starting any fights here. Fights are NOT tolerated, and the offenders are duly punished. Am I clear?” she stated.

Fire Fight sighed a little. Suddenly he was worried again. If she found out about yesterday’s events, she’d have him roasted for sure. “Don’t worry. I don’t plan on doing that. It’s really just exercise.” he said.

Cheerilee decided to accept that. “Good. Now let’s all get back inside. The bell’s about to ring anyway.” They all complied. Just as Fire was finished catching the last of his breath and was about to walk up to the door, he heard a familiar, gruff voice call out.

“Hey, brat!” All eyes turned to the trail where an angry white stallion stood.

“Action Shot!? Wha… What are you doing here?” Fire Fight panicked on the inside a little. Surely now Cheerilee would know what went down between them, but somehow, the look on Action Shot’s face told him that that was the least of his worries.

“Whaddya think? I said I’d remember yesterday, so here we are!” The other foals cowered behind bushes, each other, and in the schoolhouse as the angry stallion shouted viciously.

Cheerilee was a little afraid, but didn’t show it in front of her students. “Sir, what do you want with Fire Fight? And what do you mean ‘we’?”

Action Shot maliciously smiled at that last question. “So glad you asked.” He snarled. “Come on out, boys!” From behind him came a group of six other Earth Pony stallions who looked anything but friendly. Some had scars across their faces, one had an eye patch, and all of them had thuggish expressions and some kind of weapon that ranged from bats, pipes, sticks, etc.

“Wh-who are they?” Fire Fight asked.

“Just some buddies o’ mine, that’s all.” Shot growled.

“Yeah! Boss tolds us youse gave him a nasty walloping.”

“So he asked us to pay ya back in kind. Sorry for the inconvenience!”

Fire Fight was doing his damnedest to suppress his fighting instincts, but this was just the type of situation that would evoke them, and he brought it upon himself.

“Y-Y-You all get away from here, and leave my students alone this instant!” Cheerilee shouted. Her panic grew as the situation only got worse, and the other foals could tell.

“Heh heh heh! Make us, ya hag!” Action Shot laughed.

Fire Fight could no longer hold it in. Not only was he in danger, but so was Cheerilee and his classmates. He mustered his courage, and stepped up to the plate. “Guys, stand back! This is my problem! I don’t want you getting hurt!” he commanded. The foals were stunned to see him so brave, while Cheerilee was too panicked to stop him. “Bring. IT. ON!” He violently ignited his horn, and braced himself for a big fight.

“HAHAHAHAHA! That’s what I was hopin’ for! Alright boys, teach this brat the hardest lesson he’ll ever learn!”

“You got it, boss!”

Fire Fight opened with a flame-charged horizontal spin kick that sent a disc of fire hurling towards the thugs. It hit the middle two in their chests, and exploded on contact. They screamed in agony as they were scorched, and blown back by the searing blaze. The other four were startled by this for a moment. A moment was all Fire Fight needed to charge the one on the far left; he slid under his legs, and forced himself up into a jump kick to the thug’s abdomen. He jumped out from under him to the right, and socked him square in his temple as he staggered from the previous blow, knocking him out cold. Fire Fight leapt over his limp body towards the other three, who were now on high alert seeing that they had clearly underestimated this so-called ‘brat’. “The hell!? This kid’s crazy!” was all the other left guy could shout before Fire Fight shot a short burst of fire at him, which he successfully dodged.

“What are you standing around for!? Beat this twerp to a pulp, now!” Action Shot bellowed.

“R-R-Right, boss!” They regained their cool as they charged Fire Fight.

One of them swung his bat at Fire Fight, which he blocked away with his bare hoof. He then followed with a jump front kick to the chin that followed into a backflip. As the thugs head came down from that blow, Fire Fight then jumped once more into a front flip followed by an axe kick straight to his noggin charged with some fire magic. The small explosion rocketed him a good ten feet into the air straight above his singed target. He fell into a downward into a punch to the burn he left, but just before he could hit his mark, one the other thugs knocked him away with the broken pipe he wielded, sending the colt flying back towards the schoolhouse. His friends gasped in horror as they saw him take that nasty blow. Fire Fight managed to land on his feet. He could feel the blow he took to his side, but that didn’t stop him one bit.

“IS THAT ALL YOU’VE GOT!?” he shouted at them.

Mister burnt mane had had enough of this, and retreated behind Action Shot. “Sorry, boss. I’m NOT messing with this kid anymore. He’s insane!”

Action Shot was fed up with this display. “Rrrrrrgggghhhh!! IF YOU IDIOTS WON’T POUND HIM, THEN I WILL!” he bellowed. He shoved his remaining two thugs to the ground as he charged the fiery colt.

Fire Fight smiled fiercely as his brash opponent made his last mistake for the day. He charged as well, but used his magic to launch himself into the air with another explosion. Action Shot waited for the opportunity to grab him out of the air, and strangle the life out of him, but it would never come. Fire Fight kicked another fire disc towards his feet, forcing the large stallion to cover his face from the blaze. When he opened his eyes, he found himself looking into Fire Fight’s, which were the eyes of a predator that had caught its prey, and then noticed him in a fighting stance. It was in that instant that he knew he was screwed, and had only that instant to panic before Fire Fight began his final assault. He lashed out at his face with a flurry of well-timed punches, each one pushing him back away from the school. His final punch was an uppercut, opening his abdomen that Fire Fight assaulted with a short burst of aerial roundhouse kicks, then turned around to buck him into the air, then finished it with a leaping side kick engulfed in flames. The explosion sent Action Shot tumbling towards the trail, and Fire Fight back flipping back in front of the school square on his hooves.

As the white stallion lay there limp, burnt, and exhausted from the brutal beat down, Fire Fight scratched his nose, and smiled victoriously. “Tch! Never learned not to play with fire, huh?” he taunted.

All the foals came out cheering for him, while Cheerilee was left stunned and utterly speechless at what her newest student had just done. Silver Spoon had barely managed to avoid fainting. “Fire Fight, that was amazing!” Sweetie Belle squealed.

“T-Thanks! Are you all okay?” he asked.

“We sure as apple seeds are!”

“Yeah, man! The CMC will be lucky to have a hero like you!” His heart skipped a beat. ‘Hero’… he had been called that again in the span of a day! Maybe he was wrong; maybe things would be better here. It was clear from the start that this place had much friendlier ponies than Manehatten did, so maybe things would turn around for him. The thought made Fire Fight scream joyfully on the inside.

“Where’d you even learn to fight like that, man?” Button Mash asked. “I gotta know so I can protect Sweetie Belle.”

She blushed at that. “Oh, Button…” she cooed.

“Well… I’m actually kinda self-taught.” Fire Fight explained. It was then they all noticed a lot of older ponies approaching. It was their parents, causing Cheerilee to snap out of her shocked state.

All the parents were running to their foals, asking them what had happened. Each one was told about how Fire Fight had saved them from the ‘mean stallions’. Understandably so, the adults were both astonished, and a little terrified at the ‘carnage’ he had wrought. Cheerilee finally found the composure to speak again. “Fire Fight, just what in Equestria was that even all about!? Why were these stallions coming for you? What could you possibly have done to them to warrant them to come here to beat you up, effectively endangering your classmates!?” she exclaimed.

His stomach dropped. He’d have to explain how a brash decision caused this mess. Before he could begin to utter a word, he heard his mother call for him.

“Fire Fight!” she came running with a terrified look on her face.

“Mom!” he answered.

She reached her son’s side, and looked at the scene in complete horror. Her breathes were so quick and heavy, you’d think she was having an asthma attack. She leaned towards him. “Honey! Please don’t me what I think happened happened!” All he could do was give her an ashamed expression as an answer. “Honey… please… not here! Not now! We just moved here, Fire Fight!” she desperately pleaded.

Suddenly, he felt himself plummet back down to the level of ‘brat’ again. All the other foals were confused as to why she seemed so upset.

“So this is what would happen. It’s worse than I’d imagined. Just goes to show that you really need to see a problem to understand just how bad it is.” Cheerilee hissed. The other foals were shocked by those words as Fire Fight hung his head in utter shame, and began to tear up along with his mother.

“He’s not a bad colt…” his mother sobbed. It was then that Fire Fight heard a familiar, sweet sound.

"I can explain."

Why?

They all looked over to see a dark grey Earth Pony mare with a black and white striped mane, sapphire eyes, and two drama masks for a Cutie Mark. Fire Fight’s eyes lit up at the sight of his ‘damsel’. “Film Noir!” he cheered.

She trotted over to him, and lift his head by his chin. “Hi, Sweetie.” She whispered with a smile.

His mother was confused, and somewhat off put by the gesture. “And you are…?” she asked.

She let go of Fire Fight’s chin. “Oh, sorry. I’m an actress he helped yesterday. My name’s Film Noir.” She replied.

“And just how did he ‘help’ you” Cheerilee asked.

Film Noir explained the whole thing from beginning to end, minus, of course, the part where Fire Fight heard them from a distance and came running. The scene run-through and how he had mistaken it for the real thing, and so courageously came to her rescue, Action Shot’s bad reaction, all of it. All the while, Fire Fight felt so much better knowing that the whole story was being told so fairly by the one pony who ever gave him love for his valiance. He let her speak with a huge smile on his face. His mother seemed to lighten up a lot too; she seemed… impressed.

“So you see, it was all just a big misunderstanding. Fire Fight didn’t do anything wrong.” She then looked over at Action Shot, and his thugs, who were staggering to their hooves. “This could have been avoided had my ‘friend’ here had a much better attitude about the whole thing instead of attack an innocent colt!” she stormed over to him. “Honestly! I had no idea you were this much of a jerk! I should report this to our director, and request to have you replaced for the role. I am NOT acting with you again!” her voice was firm with him. He tried to act tough, but cowered away in shame as he felt her glare sear his soul.

Fire Fight’s face was beaming! This was it! This was the turning point he had yearned for so long. No longer a misbehaving brat. Now… a hero. He basked in Action Shot’s pathetic form, his goons abandoning him, and Film Noir standing up for him. Maybe now everypony would understand him. Maybe his mother would stop being so ashamed of him, and they could live a normal life instead being outcasts. He could see a small glimmer of hope is his mother’s eyes.

“Now, you wait just a moment!” everypony looked to see that it was Spoiled Rich, Diamond Tiara’s mother who spoke. “So you mean to tell me that the only reason that our little darlings were even in any danger to begin with…” she walked over to Fire Fight and glared at him. “…was because of YOU!?” she exclaimed. Her acidic expression burned into Fire Fight’s soul. She looked at his mother. “And you! How can you call yourself a mother when your own son is nothing more than a thrill-seeking, troublemaking, uncivilized little delinquent? What sort of uncouth morals did you raise him on?” his mother was on the verge of tears again. Rich looked back at Cheerilee and the other parents. “What could this mean for how our children will learn to act with him as their friend? Ms. Cheerilee, surely you agree that this… wretched, little BRAT should be given the most severe punishment for endangering our precious little babies?” Fire Fight watched in horror as this lone, stuck-up snob of a mare tore his hopes into shreds, stomping them into the dirt with her words.

All the other parents started agreeing with her as their kids desperately tried to convince them otherwise, that he was a great friend and a hero, but they were all shushed and told to stay out of adult matters. “I certainly do, Ms. Rich. Fire Fight, I hope you know that you’re in a great deal of trouble, young man. I’ll think about what to do with you during the rest of class. Have you anything to say for yourself?” Cheerilee’s words dealt the final blow, and Fire Fight was utterly crushed… Film Noir looked on in horror as her efforts had just been rendered in vain.

Fire Fight sank into despair as his mother embraced him, and broke down. All the other parents were shouting possible punishments for him. A full weekend of detention, a month of suspension, written apologies to all of them, their foals, Cheerilee and Action Shot, hard labor at Sweet Apple Acres, the rest of the week without being aloud lunch at school, the list went on, and seemed to only get worse and worse and worse…

All they were were words, but to Fire Fight, they were knives, slashing, stabbing, and piercing what remained of his broken spirit. Why? Why did it always have to end like this? Why was he always the bad guy? Why was everything his fault? Why was he always punished for being a hero? Why was he always a brat? Why……. Why……. Why………………….

He couldn’t take it anymore.

“STOOOPPP IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

He burst out of his mother’s arms in a blaze of glory, miraculously not burning her, and shouted at the top of his lungs, causing everypony to jump back in shock.

“I’M NOT THE BAD GUY! I’M NOT A BRAT! I’M NOT CAUSING ANY TROUBLE! I’M NOT A DELINQUENT! I’M JUST AN ORDINIARY COLT WHO JUST WANTS TO HELP, *sob* AND TO PROTECT EVERYPONY, *sob* AND YOU ALL HATE ME FOR NO REASOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!”

He sprinted away from school covering his tear-drenched face from view. Cheerilee tried to go after him. “FIRE FIGHT, YOU COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!” But she was stopped, and pushed aside by Film Noir, who had a furious look about her. “Wha-? H-How dare you!” Cheerilee stammered.

Film Noir expanded her furious glare to all the other hecklers. “You. Are ALL. DESPICABLE!” she shouted. She ran to catch up with Fire Fight with his mother not far behind.

Fire Fight ran tirelessly through town, barely able to see through his flood of tears. He didn’t care who, or what he bumped into, or nearly knocked over in his daze; his only thoughts were the safety of his bed, and he would break through, even incinerate anything that tried to obstruct him. He finally reached his door, and burst through it, slamming it behind him. The rest of the house was dead to him as he jumped into his soft, comforting bed.

Fire Fight’s mother, and Film Noir reached the house moments after Fire Fight did. She opened the door; Film Noir tried to follow, but his mother stopped him. “No!”

Film Noir looked at her in confusion. “What? Why? I’m just as worried about Fire Fight as you are!” she declared.

His mom put her hoof down, and glared at her. “He’s my son! MINE!! NOT YOURS!!” she shouted. The other parents had followed them, angering her more.

Film Noir tried to reason with her. “Ma’am, listen-”

“NO! YOU LISTEN! ALL OF YOU, LISTEN!!! HE’S NONE OF YOUR CONCERN, HE’S DONE NOTHING WRONG, SO STAY OUT OF OUR AFFAIRS, AND LEAVE ME SON ALONE!!!!!!” She slammed the door.

For the rest of the day, Fire Fight was inconsolable. His face was buried in his pillow, and he wouldn’t respond to anyone, anything. Not even the princess of friendship could clean up the pieces of his shattered spirit. There were just too many. Twilight herself was understandably very upset with all those parents and Cheerilee, namely her close friend, Applejack, and especially Spoiled Rich. She somehow managed to stop Fire Fight’s mother from just about ripping her head off for publicly shaming her son so spectacularly. Twilight called them all to her castle in the evening to hold a seminar with the help of Film Noir, whom she thanked for her efforts to help him, highlighting the vast difference between discipline and punishment, and how foals are affected for the rest of their lives depending on how each is used on them, for better or for worse. Fire Fight’s mother told him that she would be attending this, but was of course answered with deafening silence from her distressed son.

When he heard this, he didn’t care. He knew it would make no difference. The second they left that castle, they would throw everything into the trash, and send it to a landfill to rot. All they cared about was keeping their foals down until they deemed them mature themselves, no matter how mature their foals’ own actions were on their own. It was completely unfair. Would he live the rest of his life like this? Would he always be the brat everypony made him out to be?

…No……..He couldn’t bear the thought. He couldn’t take it any longer. He didn’t want to risk living that life, constantly shaming himself, and his mother with his talent for combat, and sense of justice……..Maybe…… he didn’t have too!

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The seminar had finally ended after what seemed like an eternity. It was close to midnight, way past their foals’ bedtimes. Twilight had ordered Cheerilee to cancel school for tomorrow so the foals could get some well-needed rest, recover from the horrors they witnessed today at the hooves of irresponsible adults, and let their parents, whom most of felt very guilty for their actions, and learned a lot, talk to them. She agreed, feeling utterly ashamed that she would allow one of her students to endure what Fire Fight did.

Fire Fight’s mother got home after a thoughtful walk. She apologized for her outburst, most heartily to Film Noir, and even gave her heartfelt thanks for showing her son such kindness. She asked if she could see Fire Fight one more time before hitting the hay, to which his mom agreed. They walked into the house, and smelled cooked leftovers. “Oh, good. He ate.” She said. But upon observing the kitchen more, something felt terribly wrong.

She looked into the fridge to see that there were various foods and snack missing, and water bottles. “He must’ve been really hungry.” Film Noir commented.

His mom shook her head. “He’s never been this hungry before, not even for his exercise diet.” She explained. The two decided to ask him about it in the morning, and go see him to make sure he was asleep. They looked into his room, and something felt even worse. She noticed that his saddlebags were missing. They weren’t by his bed where she had put them after retrieving them from school. Upon closer inspection, Fire Fight didn’t seem to be in his bed! Film Noir frantically turned on the light, to reveal a small note on his empty bed. His mom picked it up, the two read it, and their hearts sank at what it said:

Hi, Mom. Sorry I couldn’t say goodbye before I left. I left in a hurry to make sure I wouldn’t be caught. I thought about how in Equestria I would live the way things are, then I realized… I couldn’t. Equestria as a whole hates fighting, violence, war, all of that, and my special talent is the spitting image of it all. I decided I would go find someplace else to live, somewhere where I could fight, fight, and fight in peace until the day I died, and so that you didn’t have a delinquent son to be ashamed of. Please understand that I’m doing this for the both of us, and that I love you so much! But… It’s because I love you… that I have to leave you… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Tell Film Noir I’m sorry too. I promised her I’d see Moonlight Rendezvous when it came out, but depending on where I go, that might not ever happen. Tell her thanks, too… for everything.

Well… no going back now….. This is goodbye, and I love you.

-Fire Fight

A Shadow is Unveiled

With a new, strong resolve in his heart, Fire Fight raced through town, and into the forest beyond. The CMC had told him of a ruined castle that their sisters had taken them to on a couple occasions, and that sounded like a good place to start. He didn’t look back, he couldn’t. He wasn’t running away from home, but escaping an eternal prison. A prison holding the talent he was born with back. Using only his gut and instincts, he navigated the thick forest, fighting off its monstrous horrors with relative ease. His fire spells scared them away if he didn’t already beat them to a bloody pulp.

All that fighting… it was such a rush, a rush he coveted oh so much. The rush of adrenaline charging his body as he moved in furious poetry….. this was it. This is what he was missing! This was what failed to fill his void. He needed this; this is what made him happy…… fighting…… and he knew Equestria wouldn’t have it.

By some act of Celestia, he managed to reach his destination. Despite its age, it was in surprisingly good shape. Sure, there were condemned walls and stuff here and there, but it definitely wasn’t about to collapse. He entered the aged doors into the foyer.

Fallen columns, tattered rugs, and various debris decorated the dark room. Stairs leading to the second floor, and its overlooking balconies on either side seemed to welcome him, but Fire Fight stood there quietly observing the first bits of a place he’d call home… maybe. In his observations, he once again got that feeling of being watched.

He didn’t have to scan the room for very long before… it appeared again, the shadow! Fire Fight suddenly saw it at the top of the steps halfway to the second floor. Its black form hid all but its eyes that glistened in the luminous moonlight, squinting at him like a predator stalking its prey. Fire Fight couldn’t make out any finer details from the distance between, and he was too shocked anyway. The shadow suddenly jumped straight up, and vanished into the castle’s shadows.

Despite it being out of sight, Fire Fight could still feel its presence, its gaze looming onto him. The shadow then started appearing and disappearing in random locations around the foyer, as if it couldn’t decide where to observe him from. Confused, and somewhat frightened, Fire Fight mustered the courage to speak to it. “Who are you!? Why are you following me!? What do you want from me!?” There was no response for a couple long seconds. Then, finally, he received an answer.

“I… am the whisper…… in your ear……” It was feminine voice whispering loudly from the darkness. Each word, or couple of words echoed in a different area after the next, as if she was in multiple places at once. “and the blade…..” Fire Fight began looking around frantically, desperate to see her hiding place. “at…… your back!” those last two words came from right behind him. A chill ran down his spine. Quivering in fright, he slowly turned his head. His heart almost stopped.

Mere inches behind him was the shadow. She was his height, maybe his age too, and completely cloaked in cloth that seemed to made of midnight itself. Even her face was completely covered with only eyes of deep amethyst barely shining through, and staring him down. Either by reflex, or instinct, he wasn’t sure, he bucked his hind legs towards her, but she disappeared in a puff of smoke just before she could sustain the blow.

Fire Fight had begun to panic. Who was this seemingly omnipresent shadow? He turned around quickly to see her running towards him with a kunai dagger in her hoof! He jumped to the side just before they could connect. She jumped way higher than anypony should be able to, and threw several shuriken at him. They barely missed him, encircling around him. Fire Fight shot a fireball at her while she was still airborne as he jumped out the ring of stars. It seemed to hit her, but he was utterly flustered to see three copies of her flip out of the smoke cloud it created. They jumped in opposite directions, leaving Fire Fight confused as to which to target. They ran in circles around him as they drew nearer and nearer. Fire Fight found himself panicking again, but then thought back to his self-discipline: when the enemy has you confused, surprise them back with an effective counter; don’t let them lead your focus. Remembering this, he gathered his focus, and ignited his horn. With all his might, he unleashed an explosion that dispelled the clones, and sent the real one flying towards the stairs. She barely managed to land on her feet as Fire Fight charged her. She drew her kunai as he was about to punch her, which she blocked with the broadside of her kunai’s blade. The two exchanged blows almost like somepony fighting their reflection in a mirror. He would punch, she would block. She would slash, he would block her hoof before the blade could connect. They both exchanged a jump front kick that caused them to push each other away by their hooves, and land about fifteen feet apart. Now free from panic, Fire Fight and his opponent exchanged determined glares as they jumped towards one another. He went in with a flaming punch, she went in with her kunai. The two forces collided in a resounding thunder. Each landed on their feet, and all was still for a moment, until the shadow dropped to her knees; she had been hit hard, while Fire Fight completely avoided her. He charged her once more to seize his victory when she stopped him. “Enough!”

Fire Fight stopped dead in his tracks. She was panting heavily from the fight. “You win. *pant* *pant* I yield. *pant* You’ve shown me where I’m flawed.” She sputtered.

Fire Fight begun panting too as she surrendered, and the fight came to an end. He walked over to her, and helped her to her feet. “Tell me who are, now!” he demanded.

She seemed reluctant, and hesitated for a moment, but gave in. “Hmm…. I suppose you’ve earned that right…” she unveiled her head to reveal her dark grey coat, and bluish-grey mane. Her amethyst eyes glistened more brilliantly in the moonlight. She then lifted the cloth covering her flank to reveal her Cutie Mark, a flying shuriken. She let it back down, and finally introduced herself.

"My name is Shadow Shroud of the Shadewalkers."

Fire Fight's Mission

‘Shadow Shroud’… that name ran down his spine like a chill, a strangely gentle chill, as if under her cloak and dagger, she never harbored any ill will. Still, Fire Fight was weary of her. ‘Shadewalkers’? Who were they? He had so many questions, but started with the obvious.

“Why were you watching me?” he asked.

Shadow Shroud walked around retrieving her thrown weapons as she replied. “Oh, no particular reason. If I’m to be blunt, you simply… caught my interest.” She said.

Fire Fight was confused. ‘Caught her interest.’? Coming from her, he wasn’t sure if this was a good, or bad thing. “What do you mean?” he asked.

She returned to his side. “Things have been so boring since I left on my little excursion. Hardly any action whatsoever apart from my training. Then you suddenly appeared with your Flame-Fu, and made things in that dull town interesting.”

“Excursion? Training? Training for what? How were you even doing all that anyway? That was crazy!”

She drew her kunai, and pointed it at him. “My techniques are strict secrets of my order that I will NEVER share with you!”

Fire Fight back up a little. ‘Secrets of her order’? Did she mean… “These ‘Shadewalkers', I take it?” he inquired.

Shadow Shroud sheathed her kunai. “So you’ve never heard of us? No surprise there. We do exist in the shadows after all.”

“Why?”

“For the very same reason you ran away, Fire Fight.” He was a little startled to see that she had observed him that closely.

“Many years ago, the founder of our clan wasn’t content with the eternal sunshine that Equestria had decided to live in, but rather finding comfort in the shadows where he practiced arts and techniques that would become the very cornerstone of our order. And as you may surmise, those arts were not of peace…” she explained.

Fire Fight was astonished to hear such a huge secret of Equestrian history, even more so that one of its ‘keepers’ was speaking to him in the flesh! But he decided to stay serious so he’d get his answers. “And you’re on some kind of training trip?” he asked.

“More like a pilgrimage, really. Our training begins at birth, and when our parents and masters deem us fit, we are sent into the shadows of Equestria to hone our skills on our own, culling potential threats to Equestria in the process.” she answered.

That last sentence caught him off guard. ‘Culling’? She’s killed before!?

“It’s only been about a year since I made this dank little ruin my makeshift home until I decide to go somewhere else. Then when I’m through travelling, wherever the wind takes me throughout my years, I’ll return to the home of our order, and start training new fledglings. That’s it.” She finished her explanation.

Fire Fight was stunned. Though he had experienced her skill firsthand, to see that she was the same age as him, and already out on her own impressed the fiery colt. Granted, he didn’t know if this was a common occurrence, or not. “So… H-Have you really killed somepony before?” he asked nervously.

“No, not yet. I might have too one day though. Family tradition, you see.”

His heart skipped a beat. She’d said that they kill threats to Equestria, but… “S-S-So it’s all a big secret, huh?”

“Indeed. My order rarely, if ever makes any form of contact with anypony outside of us. You should feel honored I’ve even deigned to speak to you, let alone show you my face! Really… I should just kill you where you stand for knowing.” She hissed. Fire Fight braced for another fight upon hearing that. “But I won’t.” she said.

Relieved, yet still shocked, Fire Fight lowered his guard. “Why?”

“Like I said, you caught my interest. Plus, you’ve renounced Equestria as my ancestor before me did in days of old. We’re practically allies in a strange sense. I’ve no reason to believe you’ll just go and tattle on me.” She answered.

Fire Fight felt satisfied with that. It was indeed true that he had no intention of returning to where he didn’t belong, and he finally knew that this shadow watching him, this 'Shadow Shroud' wasn’t his enemy. But… something about this tugged at his heartstrings. “Aren’t… you lonely?” he asked.

“Hmph! As if that’s of any consequence.” She answered.

Fire Fight could hear it in her voice. She’d been away from any sort of friend, or relative for a year. “You are, aren’t you?”

She rolled her eyes. “And why would you care?” she asked.

That question made Fire Fight think. Why would he care so much about a strange Earth Pony filly who may or may not have actually tried to kill him? Why did he suddenly feel another spark of resolve in his heart? He found his answer in that spark.

“Because, I know I’d be lonely out here if I didn’t see anypony for the rest of my life, but I wouldn’t go back home if you gave me a million bits. I can’t! And… now that I think about… there must lots of other foals like me. Foals who have special talents that makes Equestria hate them!” he stated.

Shadow Shroud found herself beginning to listen more intently.

“And I’m going to go around Equestria, and save them! I have too! I have to free them from being outcasts because of who they are. They must be suffering so much… And I know exactly how they feel! I don’t want them to suffer like that anymore! I’ll take them with me, away from their prison, and give them a place where they can be happy, and live like they were meant to… no matter who they are!” he declared.

Shadow Shroud’s stern expression hid her interest, not to mention she was somewhat impressed. “Fascinating… Where do you suppose we should start?” she asked.

Fire Fight looked at her confused. “’We’?”

“Yes. As you said before, I… do get pretty bored often. The only action I ever see out here is the occasional monster from the forest trying to gobble me until I put it down. But now, I think I can truly start honing myself. We both want to go around Equestria, yes? I think you can agree that we’d benefit one another.”

Fire Fight was right. She was lonely, and considering they were even away from home for the same reason, as she said, they were indeed something like friends. “Yeah… I do. But you have to promise me that you won’t kill any of the foals that come to know you since you’re practically a runaway like they’d be.” He stated.

“Of course, Fire Fight. Like I said, they'd renounce Equestria like we do, so they wouldn’t be my enemies.” She promised.

With his mission, and his… somewhat uneasy friendship with Shadow Shroud made official, Fire Fight put down his saddlebags, and offered to share some of the food he’d packed. She briefly refused, showing him a small garden she had planted in the ruined castle’s courtyard. It wasn’t quite as inconspicuous as she had hoped, but it more than sustained her. She went to a nearby storeroom cleverly hidden beneath a nearby fountain where she kept freshly harvested food. She got a couple big cobs of corn, and cooked them, one for each of them. Fire Fight had started the necessary fire, provided the both of them bottles of fresh water, and some tufts of wheat to go on the side. They discussed their plan over their nice meal.

“Why don’t we use this place as our headquarters for now since we already have food, and such?” Fire Fight suggested.

“Agreed. Until we find a more suitable location, this will do nicely.” Shadow Shroud said. “So, if we’re to find foals with problems like ours, might I suggest we start in Detrot?” Shadow Shroud said. “It’s a dangerous location in Equestria that might have a little hero or two like somepony I know.” It was true that Detrot was plagued by high crime, gang violence, and corrupt officials, and it was indeed quite possible that there’d be another foal who has a fighting talent that gets them in trouble.

Fire Fight was a little hesitant at first having directly combatted some of Manehatten’s dirtiest criminals knowing they were just children throwing tantrums compared to the thugs in Detrot, but nevertheless agreed. “Sounds good. It’s late though; we should get some sleep. I think we’ve both had a long day.” He said.

“Indeed. I have a map of Equestria, and happen to know the train schedule for Ponyville; one leaves for Detrot tomorrow at 5:00pm. I’ll sneak us on. Just follow my lead, and we should be golden.” Shadow Shroud said. She showed another hidden room that she used as a bedroom. She prepared him a bedroll a few feet away from hers. They crawled into their makeshift beds.

“Shadow Shroud?” Fire Fight said.

“Hm?”

“…Thanks... and goodnight” he said as he drifted off to sleep.

".....You too.....Fire Fight."

The Quest Begins

It was 4:30 in the afternoon the next day. The two had packed accordingly, and prepared to embark on their quest. The two had gotten up early to sneak under the docking platform at the station under Shadow Shroud’s instruction. They waited quietly as their train finally arrived. When it stopped, Shadow Shroud began crawling under the train, and motioned Fire Fight to follow. She led him to under the caboose. She climbed onto the piping behind the cabooses wheels where she wouldn’t be seen, hung there, and whispered Fire Fight to do the same, and he did. It was a tight grip, be he could manage.

“Once the train gets far enough away, I’ll start climbing onto the balcony in the back; I’ll set up a path for you to climb so you can follow me, got it?” Shadow Shroud explained.

“Got it.” Fire Fight affirmed.

“Good. I’ll let you know when I’m done.” she said

Just then, Fire Fight could hear somepony crying in the distance. Listening more carefully, he recognized it as his mother! He could also hear the voice of one of Princess Twilight’s guards that he met when he toured her castle.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’ve searched high and low, but there’s no sign of your son anywhere. It’s as if he just up and vanished.” The guard said to her. She continued to sob.

He then heard Twilight’s voice. “We’ll find him. I promise. And once we do, we’ll make it all right again.” She said.

“P-P-Please *sob**sob* I can’t lose him too! *sob*” his mother pleaded. “Fire Fight! *sooooob* Please come home!!”

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Fire Fight suddenly felt a knot in his stomach. Was this just some pointless pipe dream he had conjured up out of emotion, or was their really meaning to his goal? He would leave everything behind for something that might turn out to be pointless. He wouldn’t be sure until he committed himself to it, and his heart began to sink at the idea.

“Having second thoughts?” he looked over to see Shadow Shroud, calm and collected as ever with an authoritative expression. She agreed to follow Fire Fight on his mission; she knew it could be done, and that it was important, even if she secretly had her own agenda to fulfill on this trip. Seeing his new friend with resolve in her eyes, Fire Fight’s was suddenly rekindled.

“Not a chance! Whoever those foals are out there, they need our help, and they need it now. We can’t go back. We have a mission!” he declared.

“Good. I was worried I’d have to leave you hanging.” she sneered with a wink. His eyes widened in horror at the implication.

The train began to move as the foals held on for dear life. As the train began its trip, Ponyville faded away over the horizon. He could easily distinguish his crying mother from the rest of the ponies, who were smiling and waving goodbye to their departing friends and family.

“I’m sorry, Mom…” he thought to himself.

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When the train was finally at a desirable distance, Shadow Shroud began her climb. Be some act of her secret arts, she managed to seemingly traverse the flat underside of the balcony like a spider. Along the way, she stuck some kunai daggers into a trail fashion, and seamed a thin, but climbable rope through the holes in their handles. She motioned for him to follow. His climb was slow and steady, but made a little easier since he was going with the wind. When he got to the end, Shadow Shroud grabbed him by the hoof, and pulled him up. She then retrieved her trail of daggers.

Just beyond the back door was the interior of the caboose where some luggage was being stored. They were surprised to see that it wasn’t locked, so after peering through the window to see that nopony was there, they carefully crept their way in, and closed the door. They crouched behind a mountain of suitcases by the back door of the caboose, and moved some of it around to make a space for them to hide in for the trip.

“When we start getting there, we’ll have to quickly go out that door again before the train fully reaches the station. That way, we’re less likely to be seen, and we won’t get caught when the bellboys come to get the luggage.” Shadow Shroud whispered.

“What!? You expect to jump off a moving train!?” Fire Fight interjected.

Shroud rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a baby; if you can take a direct hit from a metal pipe, and beat up a stallion four times your size, you can survive a little fall like that.”

“But what if we have to jump onto rocky terrain, or into a deep river, or something? We have no idea what to expect!” he argued.

“Sure we do.” She pulled out her map, and pointed to Detrot. It was located in an open plain of grass in northern central Equestria east of Neighagra Falls. “See all that open field? There’s a high chance we’ll be landing in that. Even if there is a river, it likely won’t be very deep; rivers in grasslands like this seldom are, if ever.” She explained.

Fire Fight felt a little better, and more confident. “Okay… I trust you.” He nodded.

Shadow Shroud put away her map. “Good. We have a good amount of supplies, but in case we need a quick snack, but don’t want to waste resources, I’ll use a little bit of the bits we got from the ruins to buy something from the café car.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Under cloak and dagger like that? You’d draw way too much attention” Fire Fight argued.

“And you’d be immediately recognized by anypony from Ponyville that may or not be on this train. That’d be far more risky.” She retorted. “Besides… I came prepared.” He watched her pull out a bright orange dress in her size from one of her saddlebags . It had sleeves that went down to her wrists, and went down to her ankles, covering her flank so that her ominous Cutie Mark wouldn’t attract unneeded attention. She swiftly spun around, and by another miracle changed out of her ninja clothes, and into the dress. Her mane was even styled a little casually! What other kinds of surprises was this filly hiding?

She flipped her mane, and looked at him. “Well? How do I look?” she asked. Her tone had change completely from the whispering killer to a cute, kind as can be typical filly you’d see on the street every day.

Fire Fight found himself staring in amazement at her magic trick. Not only that… but she really did look nice in that dress. He blushed a little. “Y-You look… great! ….wow…” he stuttered.

She giggled. “Don’t stare to long!” she then flicked her wrist, detracting a hidden blade underneath. “Or you might see my sharper end!” she said with her ninja tone. She withdrew it, and giggled innocently once more. “Surely they won’t mind little ol’ me going to the snack bar to get a couple things for me and momma!” she squeaked. “I’ll go there later when we decide that we’re hungry, ok?” Fire Fight just nodded his head, staring blankly at the femme fatale before him. “Alrighty then!” she casually laid down on the carpeted floor.

Fire just sat there, quivering a little at her little trick quite literally up her sleeve. “That is one scary filly.” he thought to himself.

A Fashionable Errand, and Encounter

Morning had broken, and the train was still on its way, not quite to Detrot, so Shadow Shroud decided to get her and Fire Fight some fresh breakfast from the food car, so she crept out of the caboose, and into the next cart. Nopony noticed, of course; invisibility was sort of her thing. She dashed quietly towards an empty seat, and walked away from it as if she had taken it prior. She casually trotted from car to car, her innocent guise not drawing any attention. She finally reached her destination.

The café car was a quaint little place relative from the other cars. It was decorated like an actual café instead of looking like a copy-and-paste passenger car. Small tables never holding more than four chairs at a time were set up along the walls, and center, and a counter stretched from one corner, to near the center. Menus were displayed at either end of the counter on standup chalkboards, and on the wall above the clerk. Simple snacks such as cookies, granola bars, fruit, cheese and crackers, bagels and the like were their food options, and were thankfully very reasonably priced, as were the bottled drinks. Her options there were fine too, ranging from water, iced coffee and tea, various fruit juices, soda, and some foreign drinks that were a bit pricy, but wouldn’t bothered with anyway. She purchased two continental breakfasts, both 3 bits apiece, and began her trip back to the caboose.

“Good heavens, darling!” She heard from behind her. The squeal was severe enough to get her attention. She turned around to see a snow white mare with a velvety indigo mane approach her. She looked like she was trying to hold back disgust in her expression. “Just what in Equestria are doing wearing that of all things!? That color simply does NOT go with your coat, or your eyes in the least! I just so happen to be a renowned designer; Rarity is my name, by the way, and once this train passes through Detrot, and into Canterlot, I’d be more than happy to take you and your mother to my boutique there so we can find you something much better.” She said in her very posh accent.

Shadow Shroud just stared at her blankly for a moment before she mustered a response. “Oh, that’s very kind of you, ma’am, but I’m actually getting off in Detrot, so I won’t be able to come.” She maintained her sweet little filly persona well, but deep down, Shadow Shroud wanted to paint the whole car with her blood. She had handpicked this dress herself, and her mother very much approved. Only now does somepony dare to insult her like this, and at a horrible time.

“Oh…That’s just too bad, darling. Tell you what. Wait here and I’ll get you one of my catalogs. My dresses can be ordered from them. You may look at it whenever you like.” Rarity said.

Shadow Shroud just wanted to ditch this mare before she did something she…. Well, she wouldn’t regret it in the slightest, but she would certainly blow her cover. “Oh, really, it’s fine, miss. I’ve gotta go now, nice meeting you!” she said as she walked off. But Rarity was persistent in her quest for the perfect look for every mare and filly, and followed.

“Now, darling. Don’t be so stingy. Really, you MUST get rid of that dress! It’s simply a TRAVESTY on you!” her rant continued from car to car, and Shadow Shroud was losing both her temper, and her patience. They got to the door leading to the last car before the caboose, which was miraculously unoccupied. Shadow Shroud dashed through the door, quickly closing it behind her. Rarity was startled by this, and rushed in.

Rarity was shocked to see the car completely desolate. She looked under all the seats, but to no avail. Confused, and somewhat frightened, she made one last attempt to get the filly’s attention. “D-Darling..? Wh…. Where’d you go?” she looked around,… but not up.

Shadow Shroud hung herself on the ceiling above Rarity, waiting for the right time to strike. Rarity noticed a crooked picture above one of the bed-like seats. She climbed onto said seat to fix it, and Shadow Shroud pounced, striking the back of her neck, non-lethally knocking her unconscious. She then grabbed a guest pillow and blanket from under the seat, and set the scene. “Sweet dreams.” She hissed.

She crept back into the caboose, and found her way back to Fire Fight. He thanked her for getting the breakfasts, and they dug in.

“So… any trouble?” he asked. She started to eat slower at his question.

“Hmph. A little pest trouble, really.” She answered.

Fire Fight stopped eating out of concern. He wasn’t totally convinced that it was as simple as that with somepony like Shadow Shroud. “What happened?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Some prissy mare tried to get me ‘and my mother’ to come to her boutique in Canterlot because she didn’t like my dress. I… had some trouble getting her off my back. That’s all.” She replied.

A little worried, he felt compelled to ask. “You didn’t-”

“No, I didn’t kill her…..this time.” She quietly growled.

Fire Fight wasn’t sure, but it seemed like this bothered her somewhat. No filly likes being told that she doesn’t look good. That was all he really had to go on. “I like it.” He said.

She looked up at him. “Like what?”

“Your dress. I think you look nice in it.” He tried to cheer her up, and it seemed to work, but only a little.

Her face seemed to lift somewhat as she started eating again. “I don’t need you to tell me that.” She said. Her tone seemed to soften.

Really, he wasn’t too sure about anything with this shady filly, but he was fairly certain he'd done something right. After all, she didn't put a dagger to his face!

Foalz in the Hood

“Fillies, and gentlecolts, we are due to arrive at Detrot Station in just a few short moments. All arrivals for Detrot are asked to begin moving towards their luggage, and prepare to depart. Thank you for traveling with us!”

Only a few short minutes after they had finished their breakfast did Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud receive their cue. Fire Fight stuffed their trash into the paper bags their breakfasts came in, and into his saddlebag. They then quickly, but carefully exited the back door. It was a bit difficult to close against the wind.

The two could begin to faintly make out Detrot off in the distance. They decided to wait until they were closer to the station before they jumped. “We have to jump off the left side so ponies won’t notice us from station since it’s on the right.” Shadow Shroud explained.

“Figured you’d say that” Fire Fight affirmed.

Shadow Shroud devilishly giggled as she flipped back into her ninja cloak, but with her mask on. “Already getting the hang of this, huh?” she asked.

“I’ve always been a fast learner.” Fire Fight boasted.

They were only a couple minutes away from a desirable jumping distance. They crept under the door to the left side of the caboose balcony, positioned themselves, and braced for the jump. “Remember to roll into your landing. Less impact that way.” Fire Fight said.

“I’m not quite as new to this as you are.” Shadow Shroud retorted.

“I know, but it bears repeating.” He replied.

She rolled her eyes as they prepared to jump. Shadow Shroud began the countdown. “Ready?”

“3…..2……1!!”

They jumped straight forward into the grassy plain beneath them, and rolled into the air so they’d roll into the landing, which worked almost splendidly, save for the fact that they got tangled in some loose grass. Fire Fight burned his way out while Shadow Shroud cut herself free. As she sheathed her kunai, she noticed a huge spider on her muzzle.

“AIIEE” she screamed. She drew her kunai again, and slashed it off her face. It’s gooey corpse lay limp in two pieces off to the side now. She took a deep breath as she sheathed her kunai once more, and then noticed Fire Fight staring at her blankly. “What!?” she demanded.

“Nothing!.... nothing at all….. Shall we get going?” he hastily answered.

She softened her expression. “Hmph. I suppose we ought to.” She began walking towards the rails to cross. Fire Fight immediately followed.

They looked both ways to ensure that another train wasn’t coming, and there was nopony to see them as they crossed the rails quickly, and traversed the rest of the grassland to Detrot. Through the thick brush, they reached a warehouse district. They stepped onto the gravel terrain, and began their search. “Well, we’re finally here.” Fire Fight proclaimed. “I doubt we’d find foals in an active working area like this.”

“Agreed… at least for the time being. A treacherous city as this is, it stands to reason that shady activity could occur here at night.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Which… may or may not involve foals, but… yeah. We’ll find a place to lay low, go out and search the city, and come back here once it’s dark.” Fire Fight suggested. She agreed, and they embarked.

Detrot was as slummy as it was infamous. Everywhere the two went, there was at least one shady character, fist fight, condemned house, and what have you around every corner. Fire Fight’s instincts were liable to go into overdrive here, but he had Shadow Shroud to keep him down. Every time he’d see trouble where there wasn’t a foal, her kunai wasn’t far from his neck. Though a little terrified, Fire Fight knew that she was only preventing him for doing something he’d regret. He wished he had her restraint. Despite their surroundings however, nothing too big was going on. No fighting foals anywhere to be seen. Shadow Shroud used her honed sixth ninja sense to more or less ‘feel’ where their potential target might be, while Fire Fight had fighting instincts perpetually on standby mode to carefully scan the immediate vicinity.

It was starting to get dark, so they decided to take a quick lunch break, and found an empty park bench. They pulled out some of the food they packed, and dug in. “Pretty surprising that a place like this exists in Equestria, huh?” Shadow Shroud commented.

Fire Fight sighed. “I don’t think anypony here wants things to be the way they are, but with the stuff that goes on here, it kinda can’t be helped. It’s pretty shameful.” He said sorrowfully. “But I wonder how that’ll affect our search?” he wondered.

All the foals they saw along the way seemed as content as they could be in a place like this. They had special talents that were pretty typical, nothing too groundbreaking. Fire Fight, and Shadow Shroud could see some colts some yards away playing basketball on an open court as if nothing was wrong.

It was then that they saw an earth pony colt about their age, but a little bigger than Fire Fight trot up to them looking like he was about to give a speech. His coat was brunette, and his mane and tail were brown with eyes to match; his Cutie Mark was a red ‘V’ with a red circle around it that looked as if it had been spray-painted onto his flank.

“Yo, homies!” he said. The other colts stopped playing to turn their attention to him.

They seemed rather annoyed to see him. “Dude, what’s poppin’ now?” one of them asked.

“Fo’ real! Dis better not be one o’ d’em ‘I’m a’ makes things right, d’ho’ missions, or nuttin’!” another one added.

‘Makes things right missions’? What were they talking about?

“Man, I don’t get why y’all don’t wanna do somethin’ ‘bout the hood. Y’all know it’s whack as hell out here!” the brown colt said. “Anyway, check dis out! Some b****es chillin’ at the dump sayin’ they gonna rob dat new pizza joint. It’s true; I hear ‘em say it! We gotta go stop ‘em, y’all! Come on!”

Hearing him speak reminded Fire Fight much of himself. This colt was about to throw himself into danger all for the sake of the well-being of a restaurant, and by the sound of it, this was a common occurrence. The only difference between the two of them was that he tried to get everypony he could to act to; Fire Fight just bore the burden alone on a whim. That… and he was a little off put by his foul language.

“Man! Y’all trippin’, Turf War!”

“You always was, too!”

“We ain’t ‘bout to go bring war to some thugs ‘bout to rob no joint! S***! We ain’t ‘bout to get in trouble wit Officer Curfew neither!” They all unanimously turned him down.

‘Turf War’, as his name apparently was, seemed frustrated at the mention of said officer. “Man, F*** that h**! He can keep stuffin’ his face fulla doughnuts while all dis s*** goin’ down ‘round here for I all care! I’m actually gon’ do somethin’. Detrot only gonna be dirtier if we don’t start cleanin’ house, y’all! Ya feel me?” he said passionately, and then ran off.

Shadow Shroud got up from the bench after putting away her food. “Should we go help him?” She asked.

Fire Fight nodded, and put his food away. “Yeah, if he’s really anything like me, he’ll be running headlong into trouble. He might even be our first rescue too!” he said. “Plus… I’ve kinda been itching for a fight since we got here. How about you?”

Shadow Shroud grinned devilishly, which answered his question quite clearly. They ran to catch up with the brown colt. When they got close enough, they called for his attention.

“Hey!” Fire Fight called. Turf war turned around to see the two. “We’ll help you!”

Turf War looked at them like they were crazy. “Da f***? Who the hell are y’all?”

“My name’s Fire Fight, and this is Shadow Shroud.”

“Greetings.”

“And I think those other colts said you’re name was… ‘Turf War’?”

Turf War raised his eyebrow. “Yeah? Wha’ ‘bout it? I ain’t never seen y’all ‘round he’e before!

“Yeah, well… we kinda just got here and-” Fire Fight started.

“Man, I ain’t got time to give y’all no damn tour right now! I got b****es to bash!” Turf War shouted. He ran off once more.

Fire Fight tried to go after him, but was stopped by Shadow Shroud. “Wait!” she said. He turned to look at her. “I think it’s best we observe him instead. We’ll learn more about him without getting caught up in his troubles, and… agitating him. So let’s follow closely.” She didn’t give him time to argue as she ran in Turf War’s direction. He followed.

“Wait! But what if he really needs help? We don’t know how tough he is, or anything!” he said as he ran alongside her.

“So we see for ourselves.” She retorted. He decided not to question her right now since they were in a rush… and he didn’t potentially want a kunai at his throat.

They continued to follow Turf War throughout the city, and into the residential area. Houses were mostly run down, the roads were littered, it was basically a textbook ghetto. It was not much better than the city itself.

At the edge of the neighborhood where Turf War came to a stop was the aforementioned dump. It was a fenced in city block with a somewhat large entrance at its corner. Turf War dug into a pile of trash at the entrance, and picked up a thrown away Stop sign in his left hoof, and a trashcan lid in his right, wielding it like a shield. He charged into the dump.

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud followed just close enough behind that Turf War wouldn’t notice them. They reached a central area of the dump where there were a group of thuggish looking Earth Ponies and Pegasi surrounding a small bonfire. They were putting on black coats and ski masks as if they were indeed about to rob someplace. Turf War hid behind a mountain of junk just behind them; Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud did the same, but a little further back. They listened in on the thugs' conversation.

Scrap Talk

“So once we get da money, d’en what?”

“Do I gotta remind you what color the sky is? I told you! We break out the back door, cut through the alleyways ‘til we find dat manhole da boss told us ‘bout. Then we sneak underground back to HQ. Want a pop quiz on dat?”

“Nah, we’re good.”

As soon as they finished that, Turf War jumped out from his hiding place, and pointed his weapon. “I knew it!" he shouted.

The thugs turned to look at him, and were clearly frustrated. “Are you serious right now? You again!? Dis is some bull****, kid! The hell yo’ a** want now?” The apparent leader said.

“Man, shut yo’ dumb a** up talkin’ ‘bout ‘What you want now, d’ho?’! Y’all can’t hide nuttin’ from me! I heard yo’ li’l plan! I ain’t ‘bout to let y’all m************ rip off dat new pizza joint! And while I’m at it, where dis ‘HQ’ you mentioned at, huh? Better start talkin’, mah boy!” he shouted. If he had any fear in him right now, he was doing a good job of hiding it. He kept his arsenal at the ready, and his game face on despite being outnumbered by potentially worse brutes than Action Shot’s lackeys.

“Like we gonna tell you a damn thing, b****. Bruiser, put this kid to bed.” The leader said. A bigger stallion came out from the left, and stormed towards Turf War.

Turf War readied his weapon as the big stallion began to charge him. He charged him as well, and braced his trashcan lid as he jumped towards him. He crashed himself ‘shield’-first into the stallion’s face, causing him to bounce off a little, and the stallion to stagger a little. Before the stallion could react, Turf War swung his Stop sign towards his opponent’s knee so that it’s edge hit it like an axe. The impact didn’t do much to damage the knee, but the sharp edge cut into his skin, and that caused him to stagger. Turf War then swung his sign at his head, this time broadsided, and it slammed into his cheek with a resounding clang. He then pointed it like a spear, and shanked it into the stallion’s shoulder, which really seemed to hurt as he went staggered pretty severely. His final blow was a hook punch with his trashcan shield to the eye that, while not significantly crippling the large stallion, was enough to make him cry uncle.

“Yo, mah boy! ‘Stop’! AH-HAH!!” Turf War taunted as he waved his Stop sign in such a manner. Just then, he noticed one of the Pegasi swooping down on him with her own weapon: a makeshift spear made of metal scrap twisted together into a long, thin form.

The pegasus had her ‘spear’ poised for a downward skewer as she descended. Just as she about to hit him, Turf War, he moved out of the way just enough for the spear to miss him, and him to swing his sign at her face pole-side this time. She took the hit, and tumbled to the ground like a ragdoll, accidently cutting herself pretty badly with her own spear.

“Come on, y’all! Did I leave the difficulty on ‘easy’ or somethin’? I’m f***** y’all up right now!” he taunted once more. The gang leader was not pleased.

“It’s never ‘bout to be easy wit you, is it, punk? Come on, y’all! Let’s dog pile this puppy into the ground!” he commanded.

With his forces beginning to rally upon him, things were beginning to look grim for Turf War. Sure, he didn’t seem scared, and definitely had the talent for holding his own, but he was outnumbered, and didn’t have Fire Fight’s magic, or Shadow Shroud’s agility; it was a battle of pure brute force, and Turf War was by himself. Knowing this, the two spectators readied themselves.

“We’ve gotta help him!” Fire Fight said.

“Right!” Shadow Shroud affirmed.

Fire Fight went straight to Turf War’s side while Shadow Shroud went to sneak up behind the group of thugs to ambush them from behind, putting her mask on as she did.

Turf War looked to his side when he noticed Fire Fight approach, giving him a surprised look. “The hell!? What are you doing here!?” he demanded.

Fire Fight looked at him with a determined smile. “I said I’d help, didn’t I?” he replied.

Turf War was surprised to see this stranger so ready to aid him in battle, but accepted, however begrudgingly. “I hope you know what yo’ doin’, son.” He said as he faced their foes once more.

“I do. I was born for it!” Fire Fight answered as he ignited his horn

“Ah, great! He’s got himself a homie! That’s ok though; we’ll just stomp him too.” The thug boss said.

The two colts braced for battle as Shadow Shroud waited quietly in the shadows for a prime opportunity to strike. Fire Fight gave her that opportunity when he used his magic to smother the bonfire, allowing her to jump into the air, and begin her assault; her ominous silhouette against the full moon painted a picture of doom for the startled thugs. She threw a series of shuriken at them, striking and crippling three of them at the front of their form as they were hit in their knees, creating an opening for Fire Fight and Turf War.

“Now’s our chance!” Fire Fight said as he rushed in with a flaming side kick, but Turf War was too stunned at Shadow Shroud’s attack to respond right away.

“Huh? Oh! S***!” he stammered. He charged in with another shield bash as Fire Fight hit his mark square in the forehead, then hit his mark in the side of his turned face.

Fire Fight’s target was knocked down in a daze while Turf War followed up with a downward to the back of the thug’s neck, dazing him as well. Shadow Shroud landed on the third one’s back, and smacked her in the back of her neck, again, dazing her; she retrieved her shuriken from all three of them in a flash as she leapt between them hurriedly, but gracefully, and returned to Fire Fight’s side.

“How da f*** she do dat!?” Turf War asked, amazed.

“Best not to ask, trust me.” Fire Fight answered.

The thug leader was left stunned at the surprise attack, and then went into a rage. “Damn it! We’re killing these kids now!!” he shouted. With that, he and his thugs charged the foals, and the rumble began.

Fire Fight kicked a horizontal fire disc at the ground, but the burst of flames stopped all but the leader, and two other guys, though they had to watch where they landed. This gave Turf War an opening to jab one of them in the shoulder, staggering him, and allowing Turf War to follow up with shield hook punch to his eye, causing him to curl up out of the fight. He turned to face the leader, and raised his shield as the big guy went to punch his face. Turf War blocked the blow, but it sent him skidding backward. Fire Fight tried to hit him in the back with an axe kick, but the leader bucked him away, sending into a pile of scrap. While the leader was distracted by Fire Fight, Turf War seized the opportunity to jab his stiffened fore knee, then swung his sign edgewise into his mouth, knocking a few of his teeth out, then followed up by jumping towards him into a shield punch to the eye. The leader fell to the ground trying to recover his strength.

Fire Fight emerged from the pile, fumbling to his hooves as he noticed a few of the remaining thugs rushing towards him. He quickly shot a fireball at the one in front, striking his chest, and causing minor splash damage to his nearby companions. He went down easily, but the others weren’t so rattled; they resumed their rush towards Fire Fight when Shadow Shroud suddenly jumped in front of him. She readied herself for a second before throwing what looked like a series of darts at the quartet of thugs. They burst into puffs of smoke that seemed to disorient the thugs, and she leapt like lighting into their formation. She randomly appeared and disappeared beside them in combative poses, suggesting that she was striking them. The assault lasted for a few seconds before she leapt back into the full moon, and landed in front of Fire Fight; the thugs fell dazed to the ground like a ton of bricks. Fire Fight was left stunned at her deadly parlor trick that reaffirmed to him that she was full of surprises….dangerous surprises.

“You okay?” she asked him.

Fire Fight nodded. “Yeah. Just a few cuts and bruises. Nothing major.” He answered. He could still feel the blow he took from that buck, but it barely bothered him. With only the thug boss remaining, they rushed to Turf War’s aid.

The leader took his eye blow better than the others. He staggered to his hooves still feeling the pain with his eye held closed, and a very angry expression. He bucked an adjacent mountain of scrap, causing an avalanche to begin raining towards Turf War, which he managed to run out of the way of. But while he was distracted from that, the leader managed to whack him on the side with a metal pipe he had just picked up. Turf War was taken aback by the surprise attack, but took it like a champ. He looked up to see his foe about to take another swing when his pipe was knocked out of his hoof by a flying kunai. The leader looked over to see Shadow Shroud leaping towards him; she flipped over his neck just as she was about to strike him, slicing it with another kunai as she did. A sharp pain ran down the leaders neck as he staggered. Turf War ran towards Fire Fight, and braced his shield at an angle.

“Yo, mah boy!” he shouted to him. Fire Fight caught on to exactly what he was trying to do. He ran towards Turf War, jumped onto his shield, and Turf War thrust his shield upward, launching Fire Fight high into air. After he threw Fire Fight, Turf War swung his Stop sign into an uppercut onto the thug boss’s chin, knocking his head up. Already starting to fall towards him, Fire Fight thrust his flaming fist downward into the boss’s face. He shrieked in pain as he sustained the last of the pain he could take.

“Alright, alright, alright!!! You win!! We’re gettin’ outta here, y’all!” the boss declared as he staggered to his hooves. He, and his downed thugs began to regain their senses and balance as they ran out of the dump, and into the dark ghetto beyond.

Turf War threw down his sign victoriously. “Dat’s right, b****!” he taunted. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud nodded approvingly at one another.

Sympathy

Turf War turned to them. “Yo! I can’t even front! I don’t know how y’all was doing all dat crazy stuff, but y’all some bad m************!” he cheered. The two looked at him as if he had just insulted them. “Dat’s a good thing! Nah, fo’ real! That was dope.” They just kept giving him that look.

Shadow Shroud sighed. “We’ll… take that with a grain of salt, Turf War.” She said.

“Yeah… uh……. You were awesome too!” Fire Fight added.

Turf War rolled his eyes in frustration. “Man, I try to compliment y’all and everything, and what y’all do? Y’all just ‘take it with a grain o’ salt’, or whatever!” he complained.

“Sorry. Like I said before, we just got here for the first time, so we’re not really used to the uh… culture around here.” Fire Fight said.

“Oh, damn! That’s right! I ‘member you said that. Why’d y’all even come here anyway? Ain’t y’all know dis place is all kinds o’ messed up?” Turf War asked.

Fire Fight explained how this mission of his all began. His past in Manehatten, and how it came back to bite him in Ponyville which drove him to meet Shadow Shroud, and she explained who she was, and her vague intentions. They finished by saying that they’re mission to rescue ‘fighting foals’ like them had brought them here.

“Are you serious right now? Y’all know how crazy dat sound!? I mean dat whole ‘Shadewalkers’ business explain how you was pullin’ off all d’em dope moves and all, but do y’all seriously believe what ya sayin’?” Turf War asked, shocked.

Fire Fight nodded firmly. “We do. Shadow Shroud has lived her whole life without Equestria even knowing she existed, and I realized that I belonged outside of it too where my talent and passion for fighting wouldn’t get in anypony’s way. But I knew she and I couldn’t be the only ones in Equestria who suffer under the same stress, so we set out to rescue them.” He said.

“And we have a haven for them waiting beyond Ponyville in a ruined castle where I’ve made a sustainable place of living.” Shadow Shroud added.

Turf War was in complete shock. While he kind of understood their intentions, the idea of it all was a lot for him to take in at once. They thought they could travel all of Equestria without being noticed helping foals runaway with them just because their talents were ‘bad’? It was insane!

“Are you somepony we need to rescue, Turf War? It seems to me that you like to fight about as much as I do!” Fire Fight asked.

“HELL NO!” Turf War interjected, causing Fire Fight to jump back. “Do you not see what I gotta do ‘round here just to make sure don’t nuttin’ get worse? I can’t just leave here! Besides, the hell I’m a do when I actually get to that castle, huh? What my special talent gonna do for me there?” he asked.

Fire Fight hadn’t given this too much thought. Sure, there were monsters for them to fight in the Everfree Forest, but nopony to really protect for Turf War. He could feel Shadow Shroud’s gaze on him.

“Well?” she asked.

He mustered an answer. “You could help us rescue other foals with us! If you’re so keen on helping others, then that’s where your talent would come in. Sure, Shroud and I are already doing that, but our special talents aren’t quite as geared towards helping others as yours is. You’d be right at home!”

Turf War shook his head. “Mah boy, did you not hear me? I said I can’t leave this city. It’s too f***** up for me to leave alone, and the cops don’t give a damn, so I gotta pick up they slack!” he said.

Fire Fight felt a little defeated. Turf War wouldn’t be their first rescue. He didn’t think it’d be easy, but he had gotten his hopes up. He noticed it was getting darker.

“*sigh* I understand, Turf War… Do you know a place Shroud and I can stay the night? We gotta be up bright, and early tomorrow to continue our search. Do you happen to know any foals who might need rescuing while you’re at it?” Fire Fight asked.

“I don’t know no ‘rescue foals’, but if y’all need a place to crash, I gotcha covered. If you keep goin’ up dis road, there’s an abandoned plant nursery on the right just a mile down. My homies and I used to go there to play hide and seek and stuff when we was younger, and we got a secret lid that leads an underground lair we dug up in the greenhouse. It’s gotta a red ‘V’ just like on my flank, and it’s right by the front door. Can’t miss it. A’ight?” Turf War explained.

Shadow Shroud and Fire Fight took those directions to heart, and thanked him. Just before they could leave, they heard a police siren approaching from the distance.

Turf War’s expression turned frantic. “Oh, s***! Y’all gotta bounce now! Go! Go!” he stammered.

Before he could utter a word, Shadow Shroud pulled Fire Fight behind another scrap heap. She tried to lead him around to the other entrance, but he resisted.

“Wait!” he whispered.

“What!? Why!?” she asked.

Fire Fight peered through some trash at Turf War as a police officer approached him. He was a light brown, had a blue mane, and a police badge for a Cutie Mark. “I want to see this.” He said. Shadow Shroud joined him.

“Shoulda figured it’d be you, brat!” the officer exclaimed.

“Oh, Curfew! What’s good, mah boy? I heard the doughnut shop just dropped a new flavor, or somethin’. How it taste though?” Turf War sarcastically asked.

So this was Officer Curfew. He didn’t seem to like Turf War very much, as his question towards him set him off more than he already was.

“Oh, it was delicious, let me tell ya!! And I was so rudely interrupted while having it when I got a complaint dat a brat was at the dump bashin’ ponies with a Stop sign, and s***! Wanna tell me what dat’s all ‘bout!?” he angrily replied.

“Yeah, I just did yo’ job fo’ you again! Wanna start sending me cuts o’ yo’ paycheck!? Them b****es was ‘bout to hit that new pizza joint fo’ its money, and where you at? The damn doughnut shop, so once again, I gotta put them thugs in they place by myself!” Turf War answered.

Curfew was becoming more and more agitated as he leaned in, and got into Turf War’s face. “Listen, War, You’re parents and I are about up to he’e wit you and your damn vigilante act. Dis s*** gone on long enough! If I catch you doin’ this again, you goin’ to jail, son! No questions asked!” he threatened.

Turf War seemed only angered rather than frightened by the prospect. “Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. You gonna miss me when I’m not out there though. Y’all gonna beg me to protect this city. I actually care about it!” he retorted.

Curfew lost his cool, and slapped Turf War across his face. The impact echoed across the mounds of trash, and scrap. Turf War’s expression didn’t change as he took the blow like a champ. The sight of this horrified Fire Fight; even Shadow Shroud seemed to exhibit a little shock. Fire Fight never had to deal with police of any kind; they never gave him the time, and he was only ever scolded by every other adult around him. Watching this scene made him realize just how much easier he had it…which served to horrify him even more.

“I’m not even gonna take you home, brat! Ya think yer so tough, you just go home alone. I don’t give a damn!” Curfew said.

Turf War was holding his slapped cheek as he nearly foamed at the mouth. “…Fine…” he angrily whispered. And with that, Officer Curfew stormed off without another word.

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud walked up to Turf War’s side, and he noticed them. He was too overcome with grief and frustration to express his surprise to see them still there. They could tell he was a little embarrassed.

“Sorry y’all had to see that.” Turf War said. His cheek was visibly red, but it barely seemed to bother him. It was clear that the real damage was dealt to his pride.

“Are you ok?” Shadow Shroud asked. Fire Fight was a little surprised to hear her be openly concerned about Turf War.

Turf War looked down, and heavily sighed. “Yeah….. Dis….. ain’t nuttin’ new. My mom’s always tellin’ me I should enjoy being a kid, and not worry ‘bout nuttin’, and my dad’s always sayin’ how gonna get rid o’ me if I don’t stop ‘playin’ hero’, or whatever.” He said.

Fire Fight put his hoof on Turf War’s shoulder. “I know exactly how you feel, man….. It’s just so stupid!”

“Fo’ real, may boy. All I wanna do is help. I ain’t hurtin’ nopony! Except the ones I do gotta hurt, ya feel me?”

Fire Fight nodded. This was the exact same position he was in, and it broke his heart to see Turf War suffering in it all the same. He wanted nothing more than to help him, to break him free from this self-imposed burden that was doing nothing but hurt him. But… he could see it in Turf War’s eyes- he didn’t want to leave. He wanted nothing more than to protect the city he was born and raised in, and all this pain he was enduring was worth it to him. He’d be this city’s guardian to his last breath.

“Can… I ask y’all fo’ some help?” Turf War asked.

Intrigued, the two gave him their attention. “Cool. Ok, check dis out. Y’all happen to pass by d’em big warehouses just the other side o’ town?” he asked.

“Yes, they were the first thing we actually came to when we reached Detrot.” Shadow Shroud answered. “What of them?”

“Ok, sweet! A’ight, here’s the deal: dat place been lookin’ real strange to me fo’ a while now, and I wanna investigate, right? But I can’t find a way in, o’ nuttin’ so I’m stuck out here.” Turf War explained.

Fire Fight filled in the blanks. “And you want us to help you get in somehow?” he said.

Turf War nodded. “I know Shadow Shroud here got mad skills wit sneakin’, and s***, so I figure, ya know…” he said.

Fire Fight nodded back. “Oh, absolutely! She snuck us both onto a train in broad daylight without anypony seeing us!” he explained. Turf War looked at her stunned.

Shadow Shroud rolled her eyes. “I really have to do everything around here, don’t I?” she complained. “I noticed that one of the thugs said they would cut through the sewers back their ‘HQ’ after robbing that pizza shop. If we go to that pizza place, and deduce which manhole they meant to enter, then perhaps we can trace ourselves to… their humble abode.” She explained.

Turf War looked at her a little confused. “But we ain’t got no idea if they HQ is those warehouses, d’ho.”

“So we see for ourselves.” Fire Fight said. Shadow Shroud smiled.

Turf War thought for a moment, and eventually agreed. “A’ight, ya know what? Dat sounds hot. We’ll do dat. Stay in the crib I told y’all about, and I come get y’all after school tomorrow. We’ll get some lunch at the joint before we go in- my treat for helping me. I think I know what manhole they was gonna use, so just follow me from there, a’ight?” he said.

The two nodded in agreement, and they set off. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud walked for a while until they found the nursery Turf War told them to go to. It was in pretty bad shape, but like the castle, it definitely wasn’t about to come crashing down at a given moment. The secret hideout Turf War mentioned was indeed easy to find; Shadow Shroud found it quickly behind a movable rack of plant pots. They decided to use some unopened soil bags as beds. It was kind of tight fit, but they managed.

As Fire Fight laid down got cozy on his makeshift bed, Shadow Shroud started talking to him. “So?” she asked.

“……So…..What?” he asked.

“You meet a foal in the exact same situation you were once in, and he refuses our help. And yet, you know better than anypony that he needs it, yet you let him escape with Fate being kind enough to grant you one more chance to free him, yet you seem unsure of yourself.” She said.

“Shroud, you heard what he said. He can’t leave this city. He’s so convinced that he’s supposed to protect this city that I don’t think he’d ever want to be freed. Besides, we can’t force him.” He said.

Shadow Shroud walked up Fire Fight. “Then we convince him otherwise!” she said firmly. “He needs our help whether he wants to accept it, or not. You know this better than I, as I said before.” She went back to her bed, and got cozy. “Tomorrow’s adventure will be the perfect opportunity for that- don’t let it slip through your hooves!”

Fire Fight let that sink in as he began to relax. Turf War was adamant about his refusal, but he saw for himself just the amount of pain he’d been enduring. He knew from the bottom of his heart that there was another way. All he had to do was show him.

To Ware And Back

Tomorrow had come, and as advised, Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud stayed in the makeshift hideout until Turf War came to get them. They took out some breakfast from their saddlebags, and ate it. Fire Fight did some pushups to prep for today, while Shadow Shroud quietly meditated.

Finally, they heard a knock on the door above them. “Y’all in there? It’s Turf War.” They heard him say. Fire Fight opened the hidden lid, and emerged from the space.

“Hey, man! Ready?” Fire Fight said. He could see that Turf War was armed with another Stop sign, and trash can. Both of which looked in much better condition than the ones from yesterday.

“Man! You fo’ real think I’d come to tell y’all I wasn’t? Come on, man!” Turf War cheered. He was clearly pumped.

Fire Fight looked into the hole to call for Shadow Shroud. “You ready, Shroud?” he asked. But… she wasn’t there! He peered more closely into the dark space to find her. “Shroud?”

Turf War suddenly heard a voice directly behind him. “Yes, I am.” He turned around to see her standing mere inches behind him.

“WHOA!” he shouted as he jumped back a little, causing him to fall into the hideout hole. He reemerged next to Fire Fight, shaking off his shock. He looked back at Shadow Shroud. “That was f***** up!” he exclaimed.

Shadow Shroud flipped her mane. “Hmph. I highly doubt it’ll be the worst thing you experience today. I just thought I’d give you a little warm up, that’s all.” She sneered.

Turf War’s eyes widened as he stared at her in shallow horror. He leaned in to whisper to Fire Fight. “Yo, she kinda scarin’ me right now.” He said.

Fire Fight was as equally freaked out. “You’ll get used to it….eventually.” he stammered.

After their belated rude awakening, the trio made their way to the pizza place with only some funny looks directed at Turf War. When they got there, Turf War hid his arsenal in an alley behind a dumpster before walking in with his two companions. True to his word, Turf War ordered a medium supreme pizza, and even paid for the drinks. The three had their hearty lunch, all the while with Turf War’s guests being impressed by their food. They could see why those thugs would target this place for robbery. After finishing, they set out. Turf War retrieved his gear, and lead his guests into the alleyway.

They located the backdoor to the restaurant, and Turf War let his instincts guide him as they came across a lone manhole hidden deep within the city block. “I bet dis is it, y’all.” he said.

“Then let us embark.” Shadow Shroud said as she removed the cover. She motioned for them to enter, and they complied. She inspected her surroundings as she followed, and put the cover back on.

They found themselves in a dark sewer with a horrid stench assailing their nostrils. Fire Fight lit his horn to give them some light in this almost pitch black. Thankfully, all the sewage was contained in a deep channel between the walkways of each tunnel, so they wouldn’t get any on them so long as they were careful.

“So, why aren’t we going into a manhole closer to the warehouses?” Fire Fight asked.

“Did you not see the looks some ponies were giving Turf War with his…weapons? If we were to be seen going into a manhole in plain sight……well, I’m fairly certain I don’t have to spell it out for you there.” Shadow Shroud explained.

“Fo’ real. And wit all the cops like Curfew, we’d be in serious s***….not that we ain’t already, Ehehe!” Turf War added.

“Eh…good point.” Fire Fight said. “Think you can figure out where to go from here, Turf War?”

Turf War nodded. “Yeah, son. I only been down here a few times, but based on how know the whole damn city, I think I can get us there. You just gonna have to keep dat fire going so I can see, a’ight?” he said. Fire Fight nodded.

With some minor difficulty with the smell, navigating the tunnels based on the roadways, and Fire Fight occasionally looking back to make sure Shadow Shroud wasn’t up to anything, they eventually heard the sounds of factory machinery associated with warehouse work. Shadow Shroud peered through a hole in the manhole to confirm that were indeed directly below the warehouse district. “We’re here. Let’s wait until dark when everypony’s gone to make our move.” She said.

The colts nodded. “Don’t think it’ll be too much longer. I think I can hear some of the machines shutting down.” Fire Fight said.

“And it look like the sun’s ‘bout to go down. We been down here a while anyway.” Turf War added.

Indeed, it only took about two hours for things to finally settle down. They listened carefully until they could hear no more activity around them. Shadow Shroud ordered the colts to wait a moment as she briefly ascended to scout the immediate vicinity. After a couple minutes, she returned into the sewer, and motioned for the two to follow her. When they got up there, Shadow Shroud led them into one of the darkened warehouses. She told Fire Fight not to light his horn so as to not draw any unwanted attention, and to let her lead them through the dark. Even without light, they could still see okay with the moonlight shining through the high windows.

“I picked this one since its contents consist of shampoo- we’ll need some after that disgusting shortcut.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Shroud, no! That’s stealing!” Fire Fight said.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. It’s hardly the worst thing this city will experience. Besides, haven’t you and I both renounced Equestria? This is merely us surviving.” She argued.

Fire Fight shook his head. “Yeah, but Turf War hasn’t, and he won’t take kindly to you stealing from his home.” He argued.

“Yeah, Shroud. I’m a hafta stop you from doin’ dat, and I Will. Use. Force.” Turf War added.

“Besides, if we’re caught stealing, ponies will come after us, and we won’t be able to live quietly away from everypony.” Fire Fight added.

“Isn’t the fact that you ran away from home reason enough for ponies to search for you?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“…Yeah, you have a point there, but they have no idea where I am, or that I’m with you, or that you even exist for that matter, and I highly doubt they’ll think to look outside of Ponyville after only a couple of days, least of all in a city like Detrot. Having police search for a thief, and a runaway foal who happens to be the same foal would make things really difficult for not only our mission, but our ability to stay hidden from Equestria.” Fire Fight argued.

Shadow Shroud narrowed her eyes at him as she listened to his last rebuttal. Her answer was a deafening silence, and a glare of frustration that masked defeat. “Fine, then. I concede. I’ll be a good little filly, and not get us in trouble.” She hissed.

Fire Fight sighed. “Look, I don’t want to live in Equestrian society any more than you do, but I don’t want to be a criminal either. It’d go against everything I’ve ever stood for, and I doubt the Shadewalkers have so little honor that they’d steal from the very ponies they want to protect.” He said.

“Fo’ real.” Turf War added.

Shadow Shroud’s expression softened considerably. Her glare lost its severity, and an almost unnoticeable smile creased her face, as if she was satisfied that she had lost the argument. “Yes…you’re right.” She said.

Just a few moments after they finished their discussion, they heard one of the outer employee entrances begin to creak open. They quickly found cover underneath one of the huge storage shelves where they could see what was happening. A surprise awaited them as the thugs from yesterday walked one by one with their inflicted injuries still apparent.

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“Man, I still cannot believe them brats beat us like dat!” one of them said.

“You peep out that one wearing all dat black? Was she some kinda magician or somethin!? I couldn’t tell where she was, o’ nuttin’!” another one commented.

“And dat colt wit all the fire sure as hell pack a punch! Golly! My head still hurts!” another commented.

Their boss was getting fed up. “Shut up! I ain’t ‘bout to hear no more ‘bout those three li’l brats! Especially Turf War! I am so sick o’ his a** comin’ and f***** our stuff up. It’s bad enough he had friends this time to really ruin our day!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, why ain’t we done somethin’ ‘bout him yet, boss?” one of the thugs asked.

The boss sighed angrily. “’Cause that no good cop ain’t doin’ his job! He need to at least give that brat detention, or somethin’!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turf War’s eyes narrowed at the mention of his nemesis. He noticed that the thugs were beginning to snack on various foods and drinks. “So dis where they crash after all. Shoulda figured.” He whispered. “All I gotta do is show Curfew what they was doin’ here, and he just might stop bein’ a b****!”

“So we would do well not to alert them to our presence here.” Shadow Shroud warned.

The colts nodded, and resumed their quiet observation.

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“So when’s he gettin’ here anyway?” one of the thugs asked.

“Hmph. Hell if I know. He comin’ tonight though, believe that.” The boss answered.

Wondering what they meant, the foals waited patiently for somepony to appear. They didn’t have to wait long before the mystery guest appeared, and Turf War was left utterly speechless.

Shady Business

A familiar light-brown coat, and brown mane and tail appeared in the dimly lit area of the warehouse. His flank came into view, and lo and behold, it was a police badge. The boss, and their guest stallion smiled deviously at each other as they shook hooves. “Good evening, officer.” The thug boss sneered.

*****

“Curfew!? What’s he doing here!?” Fire Fight silently exclaimed. He looked over at Shadow Shroud who was just as shocked as he was, and could only shake her head in response. He then looked over at Turf War, whose blank stare was building an eruption of rage and fury. “Turf War, take it easy…” he whispered.
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Curfew wiped his uniform of some dust. “Hope I didn’t keep y’all waitin’ long. I had to get a li’l sneaky again.” He said.

“Nah, dat’s cool, bruh. I wasn’t feelin’ too excited ‘bout seein’ you he’e anyway.” The boss said.

Curfew chuckled. “’Cause I’m a cop?” he asked.

The boss rolled his eyes. “Well that, and you ain’t doin’ what we payin’ you to do!” he exclaimed.

Curfew was taken aback. His expression turned serious. “Whaddya mean?” he sternly asked.

“’Whaddya mean’, he says. Man, you know just the hell I’m talkin’ ‘bout! Y’all see what dat damn junk warrior did to us dis time? Bruiser’s been laying on da couch with a cast on the whole rest o’ the day ‘cause o’ that li’l s***! And you ‘member last week when he f***** up Jay and Yeezy when they was tryna rob dat shoe stand? O’ how about last month when he cornered us after we broke out dat bank, we dropped all our money, and even got arrested; Yo’ ass had to bail us out! Now we gotta go to court he’e in a couple days ‘cause you ain’t doin’ what I pay you to do!” the thug boss ranted.

Fire Fight looked over at Turf War, impressed at his apparent track record, but also saw that his fury was doing anything but calming down.

Curfew snarled. “I told y’all! I can’t just go ‘round sayin’ ‘Hey, d’ese b****es payin’ me to not arrest ‘em an’ s***, so don’t mind me!’ Hell no. I gotta do my actual job too! But I gave dat brat a legit warnin’ that if he do y’all like this again, it’s da last straw, and dat’s real. So y’all can look forward to the next time he f*** y’all up, ‘cause it’ll be the last time. My buddies at da station don’t like him either, so they’ll back me up!” he sneered.

The thug boss seemed a bit more pleased as he softened his expression some. He handed Curfew a bag of bits. “A’ight I’m a hold you to dat. If you snitch, or go back on yo’ word, it ain't gonna be pretty, believe dat.” He said.

“Same to you.” Curfew retorted.

One of the pegasus thugs floated down from her makeshift perch. “And how ‘bout his new friends too? They gave us one helluva hard time along wit Turf War.” She said.

Curfew cocked his head. “Friends?”

The thug boss looked him confused. “Uhh, yeah, his friends. The fire-spittin’ unicorn, and dat li’l ninja? You roasted them too, right?” he asked.

“I didn’t even see nopony like dat wit him…. They musta hid behind some o’ dat scrap, or somethin’, ‘cause I was only talkin’ wit da brat.” Curfew explained.

The boss narrowed his eyes. “Well he got homies who are just as much trouble as he is, an’ they introduced themselves today pretty spectacularly.” He said with angry sarcasm.

“And not for us.” The pegasus commented.

Curfew wiped his nose. “A fire unicorn, and a ninja ya say? A’ight, I’ll look out fo’ d’em too. I might be able to get them arrested ‘long wit Turf War if I associate-” he was cut off.

“YOU M***********!” was all Curfew heard before he turned his head to see a shielded brown colt flying at him, and swing his Stop sign pole-side across his face, recoiled back with its broad side into his muzzle, and flew into a backfist strike with his trash lid shield hitting his temple.

Curfew fell to the floor in a daze, but could barely make out the image of Turf War foaming at the mouth, and brandishing his sign in a rage.

“YO’ A** WAS LYING TO ME DIS WHOLE TIME!? YOU ACTUALLY A B**** TO THESE B****ES!? HELL NO!! I SHOULDA FIGURED SOMETHIN’ SMELLED ‘BOUT YOU, AND AIN’T TALKIN’ YO’ BREAFF, SON! MAN, JUST WAIT ‘TIL I TELL THE COPS ‘BOUT THIS!” Turf War ranted.

The thugs were prepping themselves for a beatdown as Shadow Shroud was holding Fire Fight back from jumping out “What’re you doing!? We have to help him!” he said.

She shushed him. “This idiot got that cop’s attention. If he sees you, he’ll report that you were here, and likely state that you helped Turf War beat him up. In other words… you’ll be a criminal!” she explained.

Fire Fight took that realization with a little shock, and hung head low until Shadow Shroud lifted his chin. “I’ll knock him out first, then you jump in.” she said in her own reassuring tone.

“Huh!? B-But he’s and officer and-”

“Do I really have a choice here?”

Fire Fight sighed. He nodded. “Okay…” he said. With that, Shadow Shroud donned her mask, and leapt into the shadows.

Curfew stumbled to his hooves as he glared at Turf War. “Son, you just earned yourself a one way ticket to-” he was cut off once more as a shadowy filly swooped down onto his neck with a considerable impact and knocked him out cold. He collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll. Shadow Shroud jumped into his limp body, and signaled Fire Fight to come out, and he did, rushing out with his horn ignited.

“You brats again!? Oh for the love of- … Ya know what? I’m happy, ‘cause we get to beat you down ourselves. Screw this pig!” the boss exclaimed.

Fire Fight glared at him. “I’d be a lot more concerned about myself if I were you, you scumbag!” he warned.

The boss chuckled devilishly. “Well hell, if you insist! Ok, guys. Ya know what to do.” He sneered as he drew a metal pipe. All the other thugs came in from all directions with weapons drawn. The two colts stood side by side facing opposite directions rearing themselves for battle, while Shadow Shroud vanished once more, preparing for a stealth strike. Fire Fight and Turf War glanced at each other briefly, and nodded, showing that they were ready.

Turf War held his Stop sign out like a frying pan. “It’s on, son!” he cheered.

Fire Fight jumped onto the sign, and Turf War launched him straight into the air. Fire Fight launched three consecutive fire discs in a triangular pattern around Turf War. The approaching thugs stumbled trying to avoid the blazes, save for the boss, who swung his pipe downward at Turf War. Turf War parried it with a horizontal swing pole-side, then followed with an edgewise swing to the mouth, busting the thug boss’ lip, and striking his gums, but that barely seemed to bother him as he recovered fairly quickly. Another thug was just about to land a sneak attack from behind Turf War when Fire Fight fell back down, and plummeted right into the thug’s back, driving him to the floor. Fire Fight then manipulated a short flare into the thug boss’ face, causing him to recoil, and allowing Turf War to shield charge him upwards, sending upward onto his hind legs. Fire Fight then flipped in the air, creating a ring of fire around himself, causing two thugs coming up on either side of him to briefly stop, giving Fire Fight an opening; he spun around upon landing, and used the momentum to flame sidekick into the thug on his left, striking him in the chest, sending him flying into a wall. Fire Fight back flipped off of him, and hurled a fire disc at the other one, whom managed to get out of the way of the flame by jumping backwards, and was then joined by some other thugs.

Before either thug could attack, multiple copies of Shadow Shroud jumped down from the ceiling, and ambushed them with flurries of kunai, and shuriken. All of the thugs were either badly cut and retreated, beaten up in the confusion of trying to follow a constantly reappearing and disappearing foe, or just out knocked out…save for one. This one thug, a rather diminutive Earth Pony wielded a legitimate military knife, and confronted Shadow Shroud openly. He charged her quickly, nearly slashing her had she not parried his slice perfectly, but even that wouldn’t stop him. The two began a slash and dodge fest with some parries here and there. Shadow Shroud tried her cloning technique, but the thug seemed to have very keen senses as he was able to dispatch them quickly, and keep his eyes on the real one. The two resumed their mirror-like duel. When there was enough space between them, Shadow Shroud noticed that there was a heavy crate hanging by a rope pulley directly behind her opponent. Just as he was about to charge, she threw several shuriken his way, meaning for only one to hit, of course, and the other just distracted him as he ducked under all of them. The shuriken hit their mark, and the crate fell to the ground with a resounding thud, crushing the military thug while Shadow Shroud leapt out of the way just at the last instant. She quickly retrieved her thrown weapons, and went to help the colts.

Just as the thug boss was at the peak of his recoil, Turf War went in to jab him in the abdomen, but was forcefully shoved to the side by another lackey. He tumbled to the ground, but quickly got up. “Oh, hell no!” he shouted.

The thug that struck him smirked. “Hell yes!” he taunted. He just happened to look to his side to see Fire Fight driving himself into his knee. The thug staggered to the ground as Fire Fight knocked him upside the head with a back flip front kick, allowing him to quickly land, and shoot a fireball at the thug boss, who took it square to the chest as he tried to jump up to dodge it. He shrieked in pain as he fell on his back from the burst of flames. He was about to get up when a flurry of shuriken suddenly encircled his body, startling him into laying still. The last thing he saw was Turf War shield charging him square in the temple, knocking him out…

With all their foes temporarily impotent, Shadow Shroud ordered the two colts to follow her. “Quickly! Follow me!” she said. The two nodded, and followed. She led them out into the same sea of grass that she and Fire Fight had previously entered the city from, and they finally stopped to catch their breath. The radiant moonlight served as their shining shroud in the night.

I Know The Feeling

Shadow Shroud unveiled her face as she and the colts regained their composure. Fire Fight looked at her, and thanked her for the help. She didn’t reply as her gaze was affixed on a dejected looking Turf War. Fire Fight looked him too to see him hanging his head down, looking like he was about to cry. Fire Fight walked over to him, and put his hoof on his shoulder. “Hey…Turf War…”

Turf War brushed his hoof away. “Not now…” he muttered. Fire Fight knew what was wrong. Turf War felt like the center of this huge lie told by an officer he knew, somepony he thought would one day help him cleanse Detrot of the filth that had infected it… only to realize that he was just as filthy.

Fire Fight decided to give Turf War a moment until Shadow Shroud nudged him on the side. He looked over to her, and she gave him a commanding look and nod. He knew what this meant, and took his chance.

“Turf War, look… I know how you feel right now. You-”

“YOU DON’T KNOW S***!” Turf War shouted. Fire Fight jumped back. “Ever since I could see how whack this city was, all I ever wanted to do was save it! I wanted to help anyway I could ‘til I grew up, and became a cop! And ya know what? I could too! I was bashing thugs ‘round keepin’ ‘em down so they’d learn somethin’; I was already kinda bein’ a cop! Now how’m I supposed to feel knowin’ dat somepony I hoped to be turned out to be a damn snake, HUH!? WELL!?” he was beginning to tear up from sheer frustration.

Fire Fight let him vent for that moment as he let Turf War’s words sit. “You’re right. I don’t know exactly how you feel, but I’ve been in the same kind of place as you. I know the feeling of wanting to right every wrong you see. I know the feeling of seeing everything you do be for nothing. I know the feeling of having your hopes be crushed right in front of you. And I know the feeling of essentially being betrayed by your own special talent. It’s because of all those feelings that I ran away from it all. Why? Because I saw that it was all a lost cause…It was beyond my help. It’s the same reason why I set out to help foals like you and me, other lost causes….I think you can see as clearly as I can, maybe more clearly that Detrot…is a lost cause. It’s beyond your help because your special talent won’t help you save it. I’m sure there’s a miracle waiting to happen, but it's not happening anytime soon. The same went for me and Manehatten; I had to leave it behind because I couldn’t do anything for it, and ended up making trouble for myself, and my mom. When it started to come back in Ponyville, I knew that I didn’t belong in Equestria, so I left it all behind to live peacefully where my special talent won’t be a problem for anypony, and I want to save every other foal like me that I could from this kind of despair that we both feel now.” He said.

Turf War seemed to calm down as he listened to Fire Fight’s speech. He may not have been able to see what Fire Fight endured where he came from, but he could clearly see the empathy in his eyes. He had seen his struggles, and in a way, shared them with him. To Turf War, Fire Fight was no longer just some random stranger, but…a comrade…a friend. The same went for Shadow Shroud despite her…interesting disposition. “Yeah……I guess so….. So ya know what? F*** this place man! I’m comin’ wit you!” he declared.

Fire Fight’s eyes twinkled as Shadow Shroud simply smiled at Turf War’s decision. Their first rescue! Maybe this wasn’t some pipe dream after all. Maybe he could make a difference for the foals that needed it. What was better, Fire Fight could see Turf War’s resolve; it was the very same kind that fueled his own escape, and lit the torch for his mission.

“R-Really?” Fire Fight asked excitedly.

Turf War rose his head higher. “You damn right! Maybe I can’t save Detrot, but if there are otha lost foals out there who need savin’, then I’m down to give ‘em dat. You showed me that they exist- I’m one of ‘em, man!” he answered. He held his hoof, and Fire Fight immediately returned the gesture as a brohoof.

“Welcome aboard, Turf War! It’s good to have you!” Fire Fight cheered.

Shadow Shroud walked up to Turf War. “Indeed. You’ll certainly be a major help in our little crusade, not to mention add to our firepower.” She said.

“Yeah, really. I’m tough, but I couldn’t have taken that full body shove like you did! And you’ve got some amazing skill with…making trash into effective weapons.” Fire Fight commented.

Turf War blushed. “Man, y’all a trip. I only ever use this exact set up. Just my preference, ya know wut I’m sayin’?” he said.

Before any of them could speak, they could see multiple lights frantically moving in random direction way off in the direction of the warehouses, and what looked to be adults entering the grass field. They decided to book it further away from the city. They ran a few good miles before stumbling upon an ankle deep river. They decided to set up camp here once they knew they weren’t being searched for, as well as wash the sewer stench off of themselves. As they did, Fire Fight noticed Turf War looking out towards Detrot occasionally with a look of guilt on his face. He walked up to him, and put his hoof on his shoulder. “Hey… I know it’s hard…but I had to endure this alone before I bumped into Shadow Shroud. You have the two of us to support you! Just keep that resolve strong in your heart, and nothing else will matter.” He consoled.

Turf War took a deep breath, and creased a smiled. “Thanks, Fire Fight.” He said.

A thought then happened to cross Fire Fight’s mind. “You know, I was pretty surprised when Shadow Shroud told you who she was. She told me that she ought to kill me for knowing if it wasn’t for me running away.” He said.

Turf War widened his eyes. “Fo’ real?” he asked nervously.

Shadow Shroud snuck behind him. “Indeed.” she whispered, causing Turf War jump around to look at her. “Perhaps I was so sure you’d be our first rescue that I got a little liberal with the introductions. I really should practice more prudent discretion….for…obvious safety reasons.” She sneered.

Turf War quivered in fright as she returned to setting up a grass knit bed for him. He leaned in to whisper to Fire Fight. “Yo, she scarin’ da f*** outta me!” he said.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes. “Somehow, I’m starting to think that this is her idea of friendly humor.” He muttered, and returned to setting his and Shadow Shroud’s bedrolls.

Once they finished, they washed up in the river thoroughly. The water was running, so they could safely drink from it so as not to waste the water they were carrying already. It was crisp, pure, clear, and ran strong along its set path. After that was done, Fire Fight lit a small campfire, and they gathered around it.

“A confession.” Shadow Shroud said. The colts looked at her. “I know you asserted not stealing before tonight’s…event, however I took upon myself to nab some bits that the thugs had in their pockets to line our own. Seeing as it was likely stolen anyway, I decided ‘What’s the harm?’, and claimed our loot.” She expressed.

Fire Fight gave an annoyed expression. “*sigh* I guess… just as long as it’s actually used for resources.” He asserted.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “Of course.”

“There’s a li’l convenience store just down the street from the warehouses. If y’all wanna head there in the mornin’ to load up, that’d be straight.” Turf War suggested.

“Then so I will. You two lay low here until I return. I know how to stay hidden, so rest assured, I will…safely.” She said.

“That’s wassup, Shadow Shroud. Good deal.” Turf War said. “A’ight. Night, y’all.”

“Goodnight.”

“Sweet dreams…”

As Fire Fight lay there wrapped in the luminous ribbons woven by Luna’s moon, he reveled in his first success. Not only had he made his first rescue in Turf War, but gained an ally…no…a friend to aid him alongside Shadow Shroud in his quest. He was beginning to see his own ribbons start to weave, and he wouldn’t stop until they were complete.

A Possible Lead?

Morning broke over the ocean of grass as the sunlight called the foals awake. The campfire had died down over the course of the night. They stretched out in the sunlight before grabbing some breakfast from their bags. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud shared some of theirs with Turf War, which he was thankful for. As promised, Shadow Shroud then set off to Detrot to grab some supplies, her wallet and disguise in tow. Turf War had asked her to search around the dump for some straps so he could make a holder for his Stop sign so he could sling it over his back along with his shield, to which she agreed, but stated the obvious that she’d be a little bit longer. The two colts waited patiently for her return.

“Man… I kinda wished I’d left a note or somethin’ lettin’ my parents know I was gonna bounce…….Dat’s alright though. I kinda doubt they’d miss my a**.” Turf War said.

Fire Fight put his hoof on Turf War’s shoulder. “Even if they do, I think they’d feel that it was for the better…..I certainly know my mom would agree…eventually.” He said.

Fire Fight thought back to hearing his mother from under the train just before they departed. She was flustered indeed, but she would no longer have to say she was the mother of a ‘delinquent’, and Fire Fight could live peacefully as he fulfilled his mission. Surely she’d be proud in the end…right?

"I wonder how she is?"

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville...

“And you say she just disappeared?” Twilight asked. She was talking with a confused Rarity, who had just returned from Canterlot. They were walking through Ponyville towards her boutique.

“Quite so, darling. It was just the strangest thing! She practically leapt like a squirrel into the next coach, and I entered not even a second later after her, but…it was completely desolate! I looked around quite prudently, but she had just vanished. Poof! It was then that I noticed a crooked painting above one of the seats, and you know me; I just could not leave it like that, so I climbed onto the seat to fix it, and then everything went completely black. When I woke up, I just had the worst pain in the back of my neck, and I was covered as though I was napping there. It wasn’t until I actually arrived at the boutique that I even remembered that odd filly.” Rarity explained.

Twilight pondered over her friend’s story for a moment. It all sounded a bit farfetched, and knowing Rarity, she probably exaggerated some of the story without realizing it. “Are you sure it wasn’t some dream?” she asked.

Rarity firmly shook her head. “Without question, Twilight! I knew which seat I had initially taken, and I would have slept there. After all, my saddlebags were at that seat. It was only because a baggage boy had to find me to warn me of my unattended luggage that I was discovered where I was. And I don’t recall ever hitting my head on anything.” She said.

Spike, who had been riding on Twilight’s back, had a crazy little idea. “Maybe she was some kind of secret agent, or something, and she knocked you out so you wouldn’t find her out?” he suggested.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Spike, what are the odds of something so ridiculous? Slim to none, that’s what. And at her age?” she retorted.

“Hey! You just said it yourself that the possibility is there.” He said.

Twilight shook her head. She then noticed that Rarity had stopped to look at something. When she stopped to look where she was. It was clear what had caught her eye.

Sitting solemnly by herself under a tree was Fire Fight’s mother. The mares and dragon didn’t need to study her expression very closely to see her anguish. No mother wants to receive anything remotely similar to what she did that fateful night. Fire Fight had finally cracked under all the pressure piled onto him, and it cost his mother her sense of security. They looked at her with the same melancholy that had taken over her heart, as they were reflected back onto her.

“Oh, the poor dear…” Rarity mumbled.

“Yeah, really… I knew that feeling of not feeling like I belonged. Maybe if I’d caught up to him, I could have helped him through it.” Spike commented.

“I still can’t believe the nerve of all those parents. And Cheerilee, Cheerilee of all ponies, whose job it is to make sure foals feel safe and valued in this world! And I thought Applejack would’ve known better as well. If we had all just calmed down, and talked about this like adults, this would never have happened!” Twilight reprimanded.

“At least that Film Noir lady tried to help. She was really nice.” Spike commented.

“Indeed, darling. She was kind enough to let Sweetie Belle try acting with her for the rest of the time she could be here. It’s just a wonder we could never find a trace of where Fire Fight might have-” Rarity was suddenly cut off by a simple, small detail she happened to recall just then. “Hold on a moment!”

Twilight and Spike looked at her. “What!?” Twilight asked.

“That filly on the train. I remember something I found rather odd about her- she was carrying two continental breakfasts instead of just one!” she explained.

Twilight raised her eyebrow. “Umm…Didn’t you say that she said that she was on the train with her mom?” she asked.

“Yes, but I think that might have been a lie! The whole time I was following her, not once did we encounter her so-called ‘mother’. And the deserted coach she disappeared in was the one just before the caboose, which was used solely for storing luggage! So if she really was with her mother, than why didn’t I see her? And if she wasn’t, then who was that second breakfast for?” she asked aloud.

Twilight and Spike could immediately see where she was going. Twilight looked over at Fire Fight’s mother. “You don’t think…” she muttered

“I mean, the possibility’s there…” Spike added.

They silently agreed to their theory, and ran over to Fire Fight’s mother. “Where did she say she was going?” Twilight asked.

“Detrot, darling, but that too could have been a fib!” Rarity answered.

“Well it’s the only lead we have, so that’s where we’ll start!”

They finally reached her. “Ms. Fight!” Twilight called out.

She looked over gloomily at the Princess of Friendship as they finalized their approach. “Oh…hello, Twilight…..Rarity…..Spike………..Fire Fight….*sob*….”

“Yeah, we might know where he is!” Spike exclaimed.

Her mood did a complete 180 upon hearing that. “WHAT!? YOU DO!? WHERE!? IS HE OKAY!? IS HE HUNGRY!? IS HE HURT!? WHEN IS HE COMING BACK!?” she started firing questions away like cannon balls until Twilight becalmed her.

“Look, we don’t know for sure, but we think we might have a lead on where he’s gone. It could be a complete misunderstanding, and/or coincidence, so I’m very sorry to get your hopes up if that turns out to be the case.” Twilight explained.

“NO, DON’T BE! GET MY HOPES UP! ANY LEAD IS A GOOD LEAD! I JUST WANT MY SON BACK!!” his mother exclaimed.

Twilight had to calm her once again. “Okay, are you ready?” she asked. Ms. Fight nodded. “We think he might be in Detrot.”

His mother just stared blankly at her as if she just given her an impossible equation to solve. “D-Detrot? B-But… why there?” she asked.

Rarity explained her story with the mysterious filly, and how her clear lies might have been a front to hide Fire Fight. The strange nature of the filly confused her, but what confused her even more was that nopony ever saw Fire Fight board the train, and if the filly had been with him, she would have been noticed too, and so would her so-called ‘mother’. All of these questions seemed to share the same answer, and she was willing to bank on that.

“Ok, Detrot it is then! Let’s go find Fire Fight!” she declared.

They nodded, and suddenly heard a small voice. “Let us come too!”

They looked over to see the CMC running towards them with excited expressions. They came to a stop in front of Spike and the mares.

“Fire Fight’s our friend too, so we gotta go with you!” Scootaloo said.

Rarity firmly shook her head. “No no no no no no! Absolutely not! You three have school, and Detrot is not a place for you to be at all!” she said.

Sweetie Belle pouted. “But-”

“No ‘buts’, young lady! Now move along and-”

“Rarity.” Twilight stopped her, and looked at the CMC. “Crusaders, I think it’s best you stay here. Like I said, this could be a total coincidence, and Fire Fight was never even headed there in the first place. Why don’t you stay here, and welcome him back in case he returns on his own?” she said.

The crusaders looked dejected, but understood Twilight’s words. “Well, alright then…” Applebloom muttered. They trotted away, and the mares along with Spike went to make preparations for the trip ahead.

Back in the Grassland...

Shadow Shroud had at last returned from her errand that went without incident this time. She brought with her the straps that Turf War had requested along with a saddlebag for him, quick snacks, some ingredients, and a water bottle for Turf War- Fire Fight told her not to bother with him and her since they could refill at the river, and she agreed. With Shroud’s help, Turf War managed to make his holder for his arms as he desired.

“Awesome! Looks like we’re ready to set out again. Turf War, do you happen to know the train schedule for Detrot station?” Fire Fight said.

Turf War thought for a moment, but then shook his head. “Nah, son. I never kept up wit dat. I tell ya what, d’ho. There’s a carriage dat rides straight out the warehouses carrying supplies for a village way back behind those hills.” He explained, pointing out in the distance the hills just on the horizon. “Maybe he could try hitching a ride? I think they leave ‘bout the time we’d get there if we hurry. Betcha d’ere’s at least one lost foal chillin’ in the cut, and it’s right there too!”

Shadow Shroud shook her head. “I doubt the carriages will be in service on time since they’re likely…cleaning up after our little exchange with the good officer, and his friends. Plus, Curfew likely has his colleagues searching Detrot high and low for Turf War, whom they’ve by now no doubt noticed has disappeared by now, and perhaps us if his relationship with those thugs is as trusting as it appeared.” She explained, and then smiled. “But if this village of yours is indeed just over the horizon as you claim, then we need only hike there.” She said.

Fire Fight nodded. “We might stumble upon the carriage’s path anyway, and I doubt we’ll get lost since we know what direction to go in. I say we do that. How about you, Turf War?” he said.

Turf War shrugged. “Eh. I guess that’s cool too. I’m down.” He answered. And with that, they set out.

Fire Fight took the first few moments of the hike to reflect on recent events. Detrot was about as much of a hoofful as he expected, and then some. It was worse than what he dealt with in Manehatten. It’s a wonder Turf War hadn’t cracked sooner. Then again, his will was about sturdy as his body, and he demonstrated that thoroughly. In hindsight though, especially after the big cover-up had been discovered, Fire Fight was glad to have gotten him out of there when he did; he might have been at the center of an even bigger and more damaging lie! Not only that, but he progressed his mission……his mission.

Shadow Shroud was definitely a catalyst in setting out for his quest, and was more than happy to have her along despite her ominous presence. Had she not fought him that fateful night, and opened up to him, he may never have seen that he wasn’t alone, and lived out his years believing he was meant to be in total exile.

He then thought back to last night. Despite the drama that spawned from…circumstances, it was still an exhilarating match. Fire Fight began to laugh at the memory of that adrenaline rush he loved so much. His companions looked at him.

“Yo, I’m tryna laugh too. What’s good?” Turf War asked.

Fire Fight calmed himself. “Last night was pretty fun, huh? I mean…all things considered. I really like that combo we’ve got going, Turf War. Attacking from the air is always fun.” He said.

“And holds a plethora of possibilities.” Shadow Shroud commented.

Turf War lightly nodded. “Yeah, I mean… I already knew Curfew was kinda whack, but ya know what? I know the truth now, and d’ere power in knowledge, ya know what I’m sayin’?” he expressed. “But, yo! Word up, on dat; Man, dat m*********** comin’ up behind me was all like ‘peekaboo, b****!’, but man, bruh! Y’all got his a** just in time, and was all like ‘b****, please! Dat’s da homie!’ and got his back. But hey, I’m saying d’ho…you had my back too, a-Ha-haaa. And dat li’l dude Shadow Shroud was fightin’, man he ain’t even seent what was comin’ down on him. She slam down that crate him just *BAM*, and that was that! He went splat! Now he flat! And he said ‘drat’! Least he won’t get fat! Now he… gonna be a mat! And…..not…. a hat…..Damn! I was rollin’ wit it! Ah, lord.”

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud just stared at him as he ranted. There was an awkward moment of silence before the two began laughing at their goofy new comrade. Turf War took it in good stride as he enjoyed seeing smiles appear on the faces of his new friends.

“That was awesome, dude! Hey, one thing though…” Fire Fight started.

“What’s good?” Turf War asked.

“Could you keep the cussing to a minimal? I know you’re used to it, but we might get at least one or two more rescues that’d really be bothered by it, so just be courteous like that, if you would.” He stated.

Turf War grimaced. “Ooooohh. Yeah, you got a point. Yeah, I don’t really like dat I curse so much either. It’s kinda f***** up…….Oh! I just did it again. Damn! My ba-………Gnnnrrrrrghhh!”

Shadow Shroud giggled. “Don’t worry, Turf War. I’ve found that even the simplest of skills take time to hone.” She said.

Turf War just rolled his eyes, and started laughing with the other two foals as they trotted into the simmering horizon.

Over The Hills, and Through The Woods

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys! Sorry it's been a little while. Stuff at school has been on my mind as of late, so I had to prioritize that. I hope this long chapter will quench your thirst for Battle Foals goodness!

Some number of grass knots, water breaks, bad jokes, and spiders being frantically slashed in two later, the trio finally traversed the grassy plain as they reached the hills in the mid-afternoon light. Fire Fight was half tempted to just burn their way through to make things quicker, but knew he’d practically be signaling where they were. It was a refreshing hike nonetheless as it served for an effective afternoon workout for the foals.

At last, they emerged from the grass field at the foot a tall hill. Mother Nature had elegantly decorated it with a colorful array of flowers as if to encourage the foals to ascend it. The aromatic scents of each flower they passed strengthened their determination. As they reached the summit, they looked out into the distance. Before them was a humble village about Ponyville’s size a good five miles away; it was surrounded by a vast meadow of flowers on one side while a forest hugged the other. Turf War managed to spot the delivery trail he had mentioned, so he was sure this was the place.

“Do you know what this town is called, Turf War?” Fire Fight asked him.

Turf War thought for a moment. “Umm……Hoof….Hoofto- no…….uh, Hoofington, I think.” He replied.

Shadow Shroud was looking at her map to find the answer. She then showed it to the colts. “Yes, it is Hoofington.” She confirmed. “And you were indeed right about the trail it would seem.”

Fire Fight nodded. “Ok, I think we should head into that forest, and enter the town from there. That way, we won’t be seen so easily.” He suggested.

Turf War cocked his head. “We can’t just waltz in there like we visitin’ o’ somthein’?”

Shadow Shroud shook her head. “That’s the thing, Turf War. We’re not visiting for leisure, so it’s best that we make the fact that we’re new to this place as subtle as possible. Otherwise, ponies are going to ask why we’re here, and likely where our parents are. So unless you’ve already prepared a clever lie, I suggest we maintain our low profile.” She explained.

“Plus, they’re gonna wonder why a colt is carrying a Stop sign and trashcan lid on his back.” Fire Fight added.

Turf War let that sink for second, and agreed. “Yeah, good point. But what about when we actually do gotta go in? Where I’m a put my gear?” he asked.

“Wherever we decide to set up camp, I suppose. Unfortunately, I know about as much as we can gather about this town as we stand now, so hiding in the forest might be a little risky, but it’s far less risky than any other opportunity right now.” Shadow Shroud answered.

All the colts could do was agree as they headed out for the forest. The flower field wasn’t nearly as high as the grass they had just came from, so Shadow Shroud suggested to duck a little to stay out of sight as they got closer, to which the colts also agreed. They ended up straying further away from the town as they finalized their approach to the forest. The edge of this forest wasn’t at all foreboding like the Everfree forest was, but rather neutral as though it was indiscriminate of what entered and exited its woods. They entered without hesitation.

The forest here reminded Fire Fight of the woods he ventured through in Ponyville. They were quiet, patient, neutral as if the flow of time was parallel to the flow of its rivers. Within the calmness of the woods, Turf War spotted a cave next to a rocky riverbank. It was within the wall of a 12-foot tall cliff, so it wasn’t readily noticeable by unobserving eyes. They decided to check it out, and refill their water bottles in the flowing river while they were at it.

The cave wasn’t very deep at all. It only went in about seven yards, and had a ceiling about as high as a regular store; it was perfect! Fire Fight briefly went out to gather firewood while Shadow Shroud and Turf War set down their bedrolls and made a fire pit. Fire Fight returned after a couple minutes with his bounty, and put it in the pit. He didn’t want to start the fire until nightfall when it got cold. After setting down his own bedroll, Fire Fight led his friends out of the cave, and towards the direction of Hoofington. Turf War left his ‘weapons’ behind as suggested prior.

It took some almost an hour of hiking and trekking, but they eventually began to smell freshly baked pies, doughnuts, and the sort, meaning that they were definitely nearing their mark. They followed the scent, and eventually reached its source- a bakery surrounded by multiple other buildings. Its entrance faced towards their left as they faced the buildings side.

“Looks like we’re here!” Fire Fight said.

“Indeed. Now let us be discreet about entering. Let’s see…” Shadow Shroud said as she began scanning the immediate vicinity.

“Hold up one second, y’all.” Turf War interjected. “Dis ain’t school time, is it?” he asked. He was answered by seeing a small group of fillies walking towards the bakery. “I guess not.” He said.

“Yes, now that that’s out of the way…..Hmm…if we’re quick, we might be able to slip under that wagon unnoticed.” Shadow Shroud said pointing to said wagon leaning against the wall of the bakery. It was filled with supply crates.

“We’ll have to wait until there’s nopony watching us, but yeah.” Fire Fight said.

They watched patiently until they saw their opening. With Shadow Shroud’s signal and leadership, they silently rushed towards the wagon, and slid under. They peered around to see that nopony had taken notice. Once they confirmed the coast was clear once more, Shadow Shroud flipped into her disguise dress as they casually, but quickly crawled out from under the wagon, and walked into the street.

Hoofington wasn’t much different from Ponyville. A colorful array of all three tribes coated this town of simple houses, and various Mom n’ Pop shops. The only difference was that not one face was familiar to any of the foals, making it equally easier and harder to explore as they might draw unwanted interest.

So far…nothing. Everything seemed normal. Then again, they were outside, and most problems reveal their worst sides behind closed doors despite Fire Fight and Turf War being able to attest to the opposite. Sure, there were unhappy faces here and there, but it was all from generic problems. Gardening issues, horseplay….make of that what you will, quarrelling neighbors, etc. They had contemplated splitting up for a moment, but quickly decided to stay together in case something went wrong. They stumbled upon a little park area right next to the flower meadow on the outskirts, and decided to sit down for a quick bite.

As they munched on some roasted tufts of wheat, the foals kept looking around attentively. “You guys see anything worthy of note?” Fire Fight asked.

The other two shook their heads. “Ain’t nuttin’, mah boy.” Turf War replied.

“And yet…I can’t help but to feel a sense of unrest around here…”Shadow Shroud muttered.

“What do you mean?” Fire Fight asked. His answer came in the form of Shadow Shroud glancing past him. He looked in that direction to see a couple embracing one another. The mare was visibly sobbing while her apparent husband tried to calm her.

“Dis could be important, y’all. We better get closer.” Turf War suggested. The other foals nodded. They casually moved closer, and sat down within hearing range of the distressed couple.

*****

“*sob*…….*sob….Was….*sob* was it something we did? Did we drive her away?” the mare sobbed.

Her husband lightly shushed her. “No, no of course not. Rather it was something we didn’t do. We should have been there for her when she needed us, but…..but we cowered away from her just like everypony else! We began fearing our own daughter!” he said. His frustration began to overtake him, but he managed to regain his composure. “We’ve all searched high and low for 2 days now…where could she be…?”

The mare continued to sob profusely. “*sob**sob…*sob* Why…*sob* Why did everypony start shunning her!? What did our little girl ever do to them? *soooooob*”

The couple continued to lament as the nature of their conversation caught the foals’ interest.

“Their daughter’s missing?” Fire Fight asked.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “So it would seem, and judging by the fact she was apparently ‘feared’, I’d venture a guess that she disappeared of her own accord.” She said.

“Word. She said dat she might’ve ‘drove her away’ too.” Turf War added. “Should we go ask ‘em ‘bout it” he asked.

Fire Fight shook his head. “No, Turf War. 1. Bringing up their daughter while they’re in that state would probably upset them further. 2. We can’t risk drawing a lot of attention from them; if their daughter is a lost foal we need to rescue, then we can’t make her parents think we’re associated with her in any way.” He explained.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “I suggest we head back to that bakery. I saw a lot of foals there who likely knew her, and why she might have disappeared. It’d be information at the risk of being found out, but we need a lead.” She said. The colts agreed, and they made their way there. “I only hope we’re not jumping to conclusions here.” She expressed.

“Shroud, in our situation, it’s one worth considering; it’s clear this filly needs help, and if our help she needs, then by Celestia we’ll give it to her!” Fire Fight declared.

Shadow Shroud smiled, pleased to see Fire Fight’s resolve continuing to burn so brightly. She just hoped that didn’t burn so brightly, that their cover would be blown. The again, that’s what she was there for…

They at last reached the bakery; it was starting to get dark. They walked in and were greeted by the fresh scent of a vast assortment of baked treats, and a crowd of ponies who liked having an evening bite; some of them were foals. Shadow Shroud spotted the group of fillies from earlier. There were four of them sitting across from each other at a booth. “Wait here.” She whispered to the colts. They nodded as she approached the fillies.

Shadow Shroud trotted towards them casually, and she began to hear their conversation. They were giggling in a rather…off-putting manner.

“So just as Petal Dance finally managed to climb out of the trash can, it tipped over and spilled all over the ground along with her. As she was getting up, I walked up to her and said ‘Wow! Looks like you finally took yourself out along with the rest of parents’ trash!’ one of them sneered. They began giggling ferociously. “You should have seen the look on her poor little face!”

Shadow Shroud rolled her eyes. “Oh, fantastic…” she thought to herself. She reached their booth. “Hello there!” she politely greeted.

The fillies looked at her, and giggled maliciously. “Umm, hi?” one of them answered.

Shadow Shroud could tell that this wasn’t going to go smoothly. “What kind of smoothies are those? They look yummy. I might have to order one.” She asked in a joyous tone.

“Well if you’re so curious, then why don’t go look for it on the menu, dork?”

“Yeah, or are you afraid that Mr. Frosting will run away from you too before you can order anything?”

Shadow Shroud briefly ignored the fact that one of them called her a ‘dork’, and pressed the matter that interested her. “Wh…Why would he do that?” she asked innocently.

The mean fillies giggled maliciously again. “You seriously don’t know!? Wow! Talk living under a rock.”

“Yeah. You’d have to be a real cavepony around here if you don’t know about Spiral Galaxy!”

“I heard she almost called down a meteor shower just because she got mad over somepony tripping her.”

“*giggle* Now I wonder who that could’ve been? It’s a good thing she finally got away from us so we don’t go up in smoke when she finally blows herself up or something.”

They giggled once more as Shadow Shroud let that sink. So the filly-in-question’s name is ‘Spiral Galaxy’, and she’s apparently magically unstable to the point that she’d summon down meteors, likely meaning that she was a unicorn. This was indeed something to feared, and probably be shunned. Shadow Shroud decided to make a bold move. “Do you think you might know where she went?” she inquired.

“Pfft! Why should we know? Everypony in town is afraid of her, even her own parents! How pathetic is that! Or are you as big a dork as she is? Is that why you want to find her so bad.”

“Seems likely with that shoddy dress she’s wearing. Dorks beget dorks after all.”

Shadow Shroud’s killer instinct slammed on the walls of its cage at that. She’d once again been insulted about her dress by strangers. Granted, unlike Rarity, these fillies had ill intent. It was a shame that these were not the type of threats that her clan would kill, because there were so many delightful ways Shadow Shroud could picture them dead. She walked off before things could get worse.

The colts looked concerned having seen the severity of the scene themselves as Shadow Shroud regrouped with them. Fire Fight could tell she was hiding anguish. Whatever they said had gotten to her.

“What happened over there, Shroud.” Fire Fight asked?

Shadow Shroud just looked at the ground at her forehooves. “Nothing. Let’s get going.” She muttered.

Turf War could see the fillies staring at them with devilish grins. He looked back at Shadow Shroud to see that it was indeed pretty bad. He built his composure, and marched to the fillies. Once he got there, he stomped his hoof. “Yo!” he said.

The fillies looked at him, and just giggled more. “And what do we have here, hm?”

“I know I ain’t just see y’all hate on mah girl just now!” he growled.

“Oh. So you’re that dork’s boyfriend, huh? How sweet! But you could do sooo much better than-”

Turf War slammed his hoof on their table. “Y’all better shut up, right now! I don’t know what the heck makin’ y’all think y’all own da place here, but lemme tell ya somethin’! Sooner or later, you gonna realize dat actin’ like li’l brats ain’t gonna do nuttin’ fo’ y’all. Yo’ teacher ain’t gonna help you find a good career or even a simple job; you prolly won’t find one anyway if you start treatin’ yo’ boss like you da boss. Yo’ parents ain’t gonna help you through life, ‘cause they gonna be talkin’ ‘bout ‘My daughter not supposed to be rude as hay! I ain’t messin’ wit her no more!’, and stuff. Look, I don’t give a dang and a half what you have dat others don’t, but it don’t make you no more a pony than a newborn baby, y’all got dat!?” he reprimanded.

The fillies looked at him completely stunned at how bold he was, and Shadow Shroud looked on in awe at her new friend’s compassion; she was left speechless to see Turf War so readily stand up for her. Even if he was drawing lots of attention like an idiot, she still appreciated the gesture. All the other ponies began glaring at the fillies as though they had longed for a moment like this, and began reprimanding them as well, and congratulating Turf War at his courage.

Fire Fight tapped Shadow Shroud’s shoulder. “Wait here a moment.” He whispered. He walked over to the counter, and ordered a strawberry pastry saying it was for ‘that filly in the orange dress’. The clerk kindly said it was on the house since he was apparently friends with Turf War.

He walked back to Shroud, and led her out of the bakery just as Turf War caught up with them. All the other ponies were too busy getting on the mean fillies’ case, presenting an opportunity. “Quick! Back into the woods!” he whispered. They all rushed back into the forest unnoticed.

Once they were far enough in, Fire Fight handed Shroud the pastry. “Here.” He said softly.

She accepted it, and began chowing down. The colts could tell she felt a little better even if she might have been trying to hide it. “I…..I don’t need you guys to baby me you know. I can handle myself.” She muttered.

“I don’t doubt that for a second, Shroud. But Turf War and I could tell that whatever they said really hurt you, so we just did what we do best.” Fire Fight said.

‘Fo’ real! Don’t gotta give us da cold shoulder.” Turf War added.

Fire Fight looked into her eyes. He could see vast amounts of gratitude masked by a brave face. He was impressed that Shadow Shroud could hold her emotion like that, but then again, she was a Shadewalker; he’d expect no less.

She looked away from them with an expression that was both frustrated, and embarrassed. “Thanks, guys...” she said. She looked back up at them. “I’m shocked Turf War managed to completely avoid cussing that whole time.” She said.

Turf War blushed. “Yeah, I kinda prepared my conscious fo’ dat.” He said.

Shadow Shroud finished her pastry, and regained her composure. “Now then. I might have a lead. I’ll tell you about it as we get back to camp. We’ll have to start tomorrow. Come on.” She said.

With that, they made their way back to base, ready for what was to come.

Spiraling Emotions

“’Spiral Galaxy?’ And she’s supposed to be really dangerous?” Fire Fight asked.

Shadow Shroud flipped back into her ninja cloak. “At least that’s what I gathered. Though, I’d say the dots connect quite nicely. We know she’s been missing for at least two days, meaning she did indeed run away of her accord. Whether or not she’s gotten far in that amount of time is unfortunately something we cannot discern, but if she’s so troubled that she’d abandon her home, then I believe it’s safe to assume we won’t find her near there.” Shadow Shroud hypothesized.

“And what the f- uh…heck you mean she might make meteors fall? It soundin’ like d’ose bullies just makin’ stuff up just to be whack. I know my homie Fire Fight got mad skills wit his fire spells, but I be damned if he could make a volcano erupt o’ somethin’......No, fo' real. I would; it'd hot as hell out here, Ehehehehe!” Turf War commented.

“I don’t know, Turf War. Even her parents made it clear that they were nervous being around their own daughter. That must mean that her magic is at least some kind of dangerous…..then again, how’s even a magic prodigy going to do something as extreme as localized cosmic anomalies? I doubt even the princesses could do something that crazy without at least a bunch of concentration; that’s gotta be some high-level magic.” Fire Fight said.

“We won’t know until we see for ourselves.” Shadow Shroud stated. “All we have to do is look for her.”

“And how we gonna do dat when we don’t got no idea where she went? For all we know, she coulda snuck into Detrot on dat carriage, and hitched a ride on the train to the Crystal Empire! Two days is enough time to do dat.” Turf War said.

Shadow Shroud slowed down at his comment. “Yes…..I…suppose that will be an issue….It’s getting late anyway. We need to rest. We’ll discuss a plan over a late-night campfire before bed.” She said.

Fire Fight nodded as they came up to the mouth of their cave. “Yeah. Although it’s looking like we might have to run into her by complete chan- huh?” he said. He looked into the cave. The fire wasn’t lit, but he could faintly make out the silhouette of somepony laying on one their bedrolls!

The other two noticed and stopped with him. They couldn’t tell if the figure was awake or not, but it was about their size, so it was safe to assume it was a foal their age. Fire Fight had already set up the fire pit prior, so he used his magic to light it from afar to see if they could get a better view of their ‘guest’.

The sudden blaze shocked the foal to their hooves. They could now see that it was a unicorn filly. Her coat was a shaded sky blue, her mane and tail were a monochromatic series of dark blue that was lighter at the base of her neck and flank where they started and gradually got darker as it went outward, and her Cutie Mark was a spinning galaxy. She then looked around frantically and eventually at the other foals. Her eyes were a brilliant turquoise; they widened at the sight of the current occupants of the cave.

Fire Fight spoke up. “Hey! Who are y-”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!!” the filly shouted. She sounded more afraid than angry.

They backed up at her outburst. Fire Fight tried talking to her again. “Hey, we’re not going to hurt-”

“I SAID GET AWAY!!!” she shouted as her horn seemed to alight on its own. Her expression turned to terrified as it did. “Oh no…No! Not again!!” she plead.

The foals at the cave’s mouth could feel the ground and air beginning to rumble violently as the filly’s horn began to fiercely glow. Little twinkles of light began forming and orbiting around her horn as it produced its own bigger light. The twinkles orbited faster and faster as she panicked, and the rumbling got worse; pieces of the cave wall started breaking off and fell into the filly's magical field. A cave-in seemed imminent.

Shadow Shroud tried to leap in to get her out, but the sheer force of the filly’s magic threw her away. Turf War’s Stop sign and shield flew out with her; Fire Fight caught them with his own magic and set them down. Turf War picked up his gear as Shadow Shroud thanked Fire Fight.

The filly was becoming more and more panicked. “MAKE IT STOP!! MAKE IT STOOOOOOOP!!!!” her distress only served to add severity to the storm.

Fire Fight called out to her. “You have to stop panicking! If your emotions are out of control, so will your magic be! Just calm down! We’re not here to hurt you! My name’s Fire Fight!”

The filly’s pleading eyes stared him down in terror as she crouched to the ground, clearly fearing her own power. She could see Fire Fight’s outstretched hoof and calmness in the face of the mini calamity she was creating. It was then that a big rock found its orbital path going right for him. Turf War reacted immediately.

“Yo, mah boy!!” he shouted as he knocked the boulder away with a shield charge. However, it caused him to fall into the apparent gravity field around the filly. He began flailing desperately for help. “Whoooa-ooooaa-oooooooaaaaaaaa!!!! Get…..me…..down…..from…..here!” he shouted as he flew by Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud with each orbit.

The filly was only more panicked at this new situation. Fire Fight knew that he and Shadow Shroud had to do something quickly! With fierce determination, he wrapped his hoof tightly around Shadow Shroud. “Stay close to me! I think if I focus hard enough I can brave us through this mess!” he said.

Shadow Shroud was caught off-guard by the sudden gesture, but ultimately decided to trust him. She nodded. “I’ll help too! I can use my trail-of-kunai trick like I did on the train! It should grant us some leverage!” she said. She quickly drew several kunai and threaded a thin, but tough string through the holes on their handles. She planted the first one firmly into the ground just before the gravity field’s edge.

Fire Fight focused his magic and made a magic field around him and Shroud that would weigh them down. He didn’t have a considerable amount of experience with this kind of magic, so it wasn’t much. It was just though to allow him to guide Shadow Shroud through the malignant gravity as she continually planted more of her kunai. They kept their heads down to avoid any potential debris.

They were only one kunai away from her. “Y’all……mind……hurryin’…….da……f***……..up!?..................Sorry!.....I…….cursed……again!”

Finally they had reached her. The two looked right into the filly’s turquoise eyes; they were consumed with fear and hints of anguish. She was indeed out of control in more ways than one, and Fire Fight knew he and Shadow Shroud had to calm her.

They raised their heads and put their hooves on her shoulders. “You have to calm down! It’ll only get worse if you don’t!” Fire Fight said.

“Just close your eyes and let everything die down inside! Stop thinking altogether! You’re emotions are doing this, so regain control of them!” Shadow Shroud said.

The filly slowly shook her head, still consumed with terror. “I……I can’t!” she squeaked. “I don’t want to hurt you!!”

Fire Fight shook his head. “Don’t worry about us! Worry about yourself right now! The one who’s being hurt most right now is you!”

“We’re here for you! We’ll take every ounce of pain necessary!” Shadow Shroud said. Fire Fight looked over at her. He was stunned at how open she suddenly was to a complete stranger without at least making a joke about killing her. Then again, she probably knew that such a thing was inappropriate given the circumstances.

The filly saw into their eyes. She saw their strength…their resolve….she was almost brought to tears at their compassion. Doing as suggested, she closed her eyes, took deep continuous breathes and the storm subsided.

Turf War hurled out of the weakened orbit into the river. It was better than being slammed into the stone walls, but his face that emerged from the water expressed blatant frustration. Nevertheless, he rushed over to the scene, having to climb over some boulders that had fallen in front of the entrance.

The filly was still trembling as she opened her eyes and raised her head to look at her ‘rescuers’. She looked at the one who’d introduced him-Fire Fight. “You..*shiver*..Y-You said your name was ‘Fire Fight, right?” she asked.

Fire Fight nodded his head. Based recent events, he was able to make an educated guess. “Yep. Are you Spiral Galaxy?” he asked.

The filly gasped. Her eyes widened in horror. She tried to remain calm so as not to brew another storm. “I can’t go back to Hoofington! I won’t!! And you can’t make me!!!” she exclaimed slightly sobbing.

Fire Fight softly shushed her. “We’re not here to do that. We did come to look for you, but Shadow Shroud, Turf War and I are runaways too. Probably for similar reasons that you did.” He explained.

Spiral Galaxy seemed to calm down a bit. “H-H-Huh?”

Fire Fight explained everything that he did to Turf War. His history, his mission, his alliance with Shadow Shroud, everything. Shadow Shroud simply explained that she stumbled upon Fire Fight, never mentioning her nature as a Shadewalker this time. Turf War explained how he ended up joining Fire Fight on his quest out of Detrot.

“So you see? We came to find you and take you away somewhere safe where you wouldn’t be feared and shunned for your talent. I did the same thing for Turf War and Shadow Shroud, so why don’t you come too? I promise to make things right for all the lost foals like us out there!” Fire Fight said.

Spiral Galaxy was shocked to hear that he’d gone on such an insane crusade and was actually succeeding! Of course he only had two rescues under her belt, but she was nonetheless impressed. But the prospect of being around others made her shake her head firmly. “No! I can’t! I’d……I’d only hurt you! You saw what I just did…I’m just some kind of monster…” she said as she lowered her head.

Shadow Shroud lifted her head by the chin. “You just need to learn how to control your emotions and therefore, your magic. Living by yourself will only be more detrimental to your current state. It can only get worse from there, and if it does….Imagine what else you might be a threat to…and on a bigger scale no less.” She consoled.

“Word up. Look, I’m a li’l butt hurt ‘bout gettin' wet like dat, but ya know what? I ain’t dead and dat’s wassup. So f*- uh…my bad. Screw all dat ‘I’m a monster’ stuff. I don’t see you ‘bout to eat us. We ain’t gonna eat you neither! We ain’t ‘bout to force ya now, but I suggest you hitch a ride wit us. I know; it sounded insane to me da first time I heard it, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so sure of somethin’ in my life and dat’s real!” Turf War added.

Spiral Galaxy was still unsure, but she could see the genuine concern and determination in all of their eyes. Never once had anypony been so willing to approach her in a long time. Despite her own worries, she decided to seize the opportunity. “O…Ok! You’ve….You’ve convinced me! If you really think you can help me, then I’ll gladly run away with you. There’s no way I’m going back to Hoofington, so I guess you’re the only friends I’ll ever hope to have…” she said sorrowfully.

Fire Fight put his hoof on her shoulder as Shadow Shroud released her chin. “Everything’s going to be ok, Spiral Galaxy. It might take a while, but I’ll bring you and foals like us to a place where we can live in peace if I draw my last breath in the process.” He reassured.

Spiral Galaxy sighed heavily, but managed a little smile. “Thank you all…” She began crying tears of joy at the realization of her possible salvation. They comforted her as they looked around the cave.

Their bedrolls had been scattered in the earlier chaos, but the first three managed to reset them. Turf War kindly lent his to Spiral Galaxy since they couldn’t really make her one and dug himself a dirt pit to sleep in. She thanked him. They decided not to bother with a fire; they were tired after tonight and just wanted to sleep, so they did. Shadow Shroud then explained her nature as a Shadewalker to Spiral Galaxy and how it tied into how she met Fire Fight; she was surprisingly calm about the whole thing. Shadow Shroud must have earned her trust after seeing her genuine desire to help her. Nopony was complaining since there wouldn’t be another calamity to deal with!

Spiral Galaxy silently cried herself to sleep beside her new friends. While she had her doubts, she decided to give this new opportunity a chance. It was better than returning to the endless social torment that awaited her back in Hoofington.

The River Flows, Trees Grow and Time Marches On

Morning broke in the dense forest. Its lights snaked through the thick brush to alight the dark woods. It did what it could to beckon the foals awake from within the cave. Thankfully, they had succeeded in their mission as the foals began to stir. As they fully awoke, a new day in their mission began.

Fire Fight lit a campfire as Turf War washed off the dirt he had accumulated overnight. He cooked some wheat tufts and mushrooms that Shadow Shroud had picked in the forest- she knew which ones weren’t poisonous.

Shadow Shroud herself took the time last night to retrieve Spiral Galaxy’s saddlebags from her room- she had asked her prior where her house was, and swiped a water bottle from their fridge for her. Seeing as their presence was made prominent yesterday due to Turf War standing up for her, Shadow Shroud decided that there was no other choice. That was okay though; she managed to stumble upon one of the fillies from yesterday looking out her window. The filly looked away from her window for split second and looked again to see a black figure with amethyst eyes viciously eyeing her- she screamed in terror as the mysterious shadow vanished completely in an instant. What a conversation that must have been with her parents………..What? A filly can’t have a little fun?

Spiral thanked her and the four sat down for a fresh, hearty meal.

Meanwhile, On a Train to Detrot…

Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Ms. Fight and Applejack sat patiently as they awaited their arrival to Detrot where they hoped to find Fire Fight. Applejack’s presence was a last minute decision. Convincing Ms. Fight to let her come wasn’t easy, but Applejack expressed deep guilt for being so overprotective of her little sister and consequently aiding in Fire Fight’s breakdown. While Ms. Fight was still a little bitter, she ultimately decided to let Applejack prove herself.

Applejack sat on one side of the car with Twilight and Spike while Rarity and Ms. Fight conversed on the opposite. Twilight knew she’d need some consolation.

“Ah just can’t believe mahself…… Never in a million years would I have ever wanted somethin’ like this to happen! It’s just……when it comes to mah family, I just….after our parents……” Applejack lowered her hat. “Ah haven’t been able to look Applebloom in the eye lately. She….hasn’t spoken much to me none either. Can’t say ah blame her. She’s got an overbearing big sister who’s to dang stubborn to realize that foals grow just as much as our orchard does! Granny and Big Mac are willin’ to forgive me, but I did nuttin’ to ‘em. I set an awful example for Applebloom and now she’s gonna resent me for the rest of her life.” She said. She was starting to sob.

Twilight hugged her. While she was unable to comprehend family quite like Applejack did, the fact remained that her country friend had good intentions that turned things sour. “She’s not gonna hate you, Applejack. You just need to remember to give her room to grow on her own. I think it’s clear to you that she's sick of you trying to be a part of every second she lives. So just give her lots of room for a while, and she’ll start forgiving you. As soon as we find Fire Fight, things should start to blow over more quickly.” She consoled.

“Yeah. Twilight didn’t become a princess by Princess Celestia babying her all the time.” Spike added.

Applejack just sighed. “Ah don’t know, y’all. If there’s one thing Applebloom’s learned from me, it’s mah stubbornness. Ah know she loves me deep down, but ah sure make it hard for her to show it.” she muttered.

“She also learned how to forgive and learn from her mistakes! All you have to do is set that example too! And like you said, she loves her big sister, so chances are she wants to forgive you even if it takes a long time. If she really hated you, then she would’ve expressed that by now, so there’s still a chance.” Spiked encouraged.

“Spike’s right, Applejack. All will be well in due time. It always is.” Twilight added.

Applejack looked up and smiled at her two friends and smiled a little. “Thanks, y’all.” They hugged.

Back in the Forest…

“Take a deep breath….. Focus on the gentle flow of the river……Clear your mind of all emotion…” Fire Fight said. He and Spiral Galaxy were sitting in the middle of the river on rocks just opposite of each other as he tried to help her with controlling her magic. As a fellow unicorn who had attained desirable command over his own magic, he was the one for the job.

Spiral had her eyes closed and focused on what Fire Fight had instructed. She let the river trickling by her overtake her senses as its constant flow tried to soothe her mind. The river flowed as neutrally as time itself. No matter the amount of rippling, splashing or rocks cutting its flow, it remained stable, yet open to the changes it would bring about. However, within it controlled chaos loomed uncertainty, and that’s what frightened her. She was afraid of what might happen if she couldn’t control herself. She was afraid of having to go back to Hoofington and face humiliation by just showing her face. She was afraid that she’d botch this opportunity to have such kind and understanding friends if she summoned another storm. She was afraid….

Fire Fight opened his own eyes as he heard the water around him begin to churn. Droplets both big and small began rising from the river around Spiral Galaxy as she started to breathe harder. Her horn was dimly lit. He immediately took action and put his hooves on her shoulders.

“Spiral! It’s okay. Calm down.” He said shushing her.

She opened her eyes to see into his. Her breathing eased and the water fell back into the river. “It’s no good…” she mumbled. “I’m just gonna be some kind of cosmic destroyer forever…”

“You will with that attitude. Now let’s try again, ok?” Fire Fight said as he removed himself from her shoulders and reassumed his meditative posture.

Spiral Galaxy just sat there looking dejected. She was in no mood to try again. “It’s no use, Fire Fight. I really appreciate you trying to help me like this, but…maybe I’m too lost of a cause even for you. I’ll gladly go with you and the others, but I’d only cause trouble with my out-of-control magic…” she said.

Fire Fight bit his lip trying to figure out a way to encourage her. It seemed to him that he wasn’t tackling the root of the problem, so he decided to take a different approach. “Would you mind telling me how you were able to learn that magic?” he softly asked.

Spiral lifted her head somewhat as she heard his question. She shed a couple tears.

“Sorry…You don’t have to tell me.” Fire Fight said.

Spiral shook her head. “N-No, it’s fine. It’s just….kinda stupid.” She said.

“I won’t laugh.”

She sighed. “I…..I wanted to be able to move the stars…” she answered.

Fire Fight was a little taken aback by that answer. “Wh-What do you mean?” he asked.

She sighed once more. “I wanted to be able to move the stars just like the princesses move the Sun and Moon. My stupid younger self thought that the stars were lonely without a princess to move them too, so I started studying high-level cosmo magic that….looking back I’m shocked were even in the library of our little nowhere town. I managed to get the gist of it pretty quickly; it almost became a habit!.....But….I wasn’t able to control it, and so when I got angry, or scared, or really happy or whatever,……well…you’ve seen what’d happen. Some times were worse than others.” She explained.

“So you probably could cause a meteor shower, huh?” Fire Fight asked.

Spiral sighed heavily. “A couple times I almost did. My teacher started punishing me more often, my friends started leaving me, the school bullies picked on me more and more which made things worse, and my parents……*sob*…….my parents just started avoiding me because of the monster I’d turned myself into…*sob*”

Fire Fight leaned in and hugged her. He rocked her in his arms as gently as could be. “It’s ok, Spiral…..You’re not a monster.” He let go of her as she calmed down. “I know what it’s like to feel like the bad guy, but I also know what it’s like to want to be a big help.” He said.

Spiral looked up at him. “H-Huh?”

“Even if it was a naïve kids dream, that’s still really admirable that you’d want to help the stars like that. And the fact that you actually tried to carry out that dream is proof of your care. No monster I’ve ever seen could even begin to have that kind of compassion and resolve.” He said.

Spiral let his comment sink for a moment and managed to crease a smile. “I…I-I guess…..Thanks, Fire Fight.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, where are Turf War and Shadow Shroud anyway?” she asked.

“Shadow Shroud went back to that grassland to grab some more grass so we can weave you a bedroll. Turf War went foraging for food. I think Shadow Shroud gave him directions towards more of those mushrooms and maybe some natural apple trees too. I guess they’re not back yet. Hope their ok.” He explained.

“Right as rain.” Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy heard that from right above them. They looked up to see Shadow Shroud hanging right above them from a tree limb that grew right over the part of the river where they sat!

Fire Fight jumped and nearly fell off of his rock. “Shroud, don’t do that! If you scare Spiral, she might have another episode!” he reprimanded.

“Hi, Shadow Shroud!” Spiral Galaxy happily greeted much to Fire Fight’s surprise.

Shadow Shroud jumped down onto her rock next to her. It was just big enough to make room for the both of them. “Hey, girl! What up?” she casually asked. They giggled.

Fire Fight stared at them confused. He was happy to see the two get along so quickly, but it was almost too quickly… He was pretty sure Shadow Shroud didn’t have some kind of mind control trick, and if she did, he’d eat his mane, but he had to keep reminding himself that this was Shadow Shroud he was dealing with- anything seemed possible.

The fillies smirked at him as he looked on and giggled. “*sigh* colts…they just don’t get it, do they?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“You said it.” Shadow Shroud sneered.

Fire Fight just about immediately replaced his confusion with annoyance as he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Real funny. Look, if we’re feeling friendly today, then why don’t go looking for Turf War? He’s been gone for a while and-”

“OOOOOHHHHH S******************!!!!!!!”

The three looked over as Turf War burst out of the brush wielding his gear. He quickly turned around and poised his shield as he readied his Stop sign for a swing with a look of panic about him. Fire Fight was about to ask him what was wrong when an ominous rumbling and growling just about answered that...

The Snakes Head

No sooner than Turf War readied himself did a nightmare tear through the delicate wall of flora. A gigantic python big enough to coil around Ponyville’s school slithered out of the brush with its predatory eyes locked onto him! It reared its head back just high enough to nearly tower the cliff where their cave was as it readied itself to strike, hissing ferociously.

“WHAT IN CELESTIA’S NAME IS THAT!?” Fire Fight exclaimed.

Shadow Shroud threw a kunai into its open mouth just before it was about to strike Turf War. It flinched, but quickly spit it out. “Something we need to kill before it kills us, that’s what!” she exclaimed. “Spiral, stay back! We’ve got this!”

Spiral Galaxy crouched down and buried her face in her hooves trying to stay calm so as not to spark another episode. She took deep breathes that were frantic indeed, but it seemed to just be barely holding back her magic. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud jumped into the fray.

Turf War jabbed its scaly abdomen with his sign, but its protective outer layer took the blow like a flea bite just as Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud joined him at his sides.

“I f***** wit da wrong one, y’all!!” he exclaimed.

The python shot its head down to bite him, but Fire Fight blasted a quick flame into its face causing it to recoil a little. Its head was just low enough so that Turf War could strike its mouth with his sign edgewise. He managed to graze its gums right where its fangs were, but all it did was cause the scaly scourge to recoil back only slightly further for a split second before it roared in the foals’ faces once more. Shadow Shroud ran behind it as it was recoiling and quickly snuck up the tree.

The python swung its tail around. Turf War got between it and Fire Fight as he poised his shield. But it did little to block the blow as the mighty tail knocked the colts back clear across the river.

Shadow Shroud gasped in horror at the sight her friends being tossed around. Her expression turned even more serious as she crept onto a branch just above the beasts head. She drew her kunai and pounced. She impacted atop its scaly scalp, jamming her kunai into its skull. The serpent flailed around in pain as she held on for dear life; it slithered around the riverbank trying to shake her off, even going as far as to slam itself into the sheer rock wall.

Fire Fight and Turf War got back on their hooves after they took their nasty blow. The two were hardy colts, but that hit was gonna hurt tomorrow morning! Turf War lifted his trashcan shield to see that it had been practically folded in two by the slithering mass! It wasn’t something meant for combat.

“Aw, man! Seriously!?” he shouted.

“Don’t worry about it right now, dude! We’ve gotta help-”

Shadow Shroud started to slip as the massive serpent flailed about more violently. The beast was moving too much for her to make a calculated decision. She finally lost her grip when the python suddenly threw its head straight up and sent her in the air right above it. It then jumped up quick as lightning and caught her in its mouth, swallowing her whole!

“SHADOW SHROOOOUUUUUDDDD!!!!!”

Turf War looked on in horror as Fire Fight screamed her name, and Spiral Galaxy just barely managed to avoid fainting as she caught a glimpse of the grisly moment.

Fire Fight stood there stunned with all kinds of spiraling emotions, namely rage and fury. It was those emotions that caused his horn…..no….his entire body to erupt into a raging inferno. He bellowed a war cry as his flaming body rocketed towards the serpent. He flew into its mid-abdomen with a ferociously punch, forcing the beast to bend its head down. Fire Fight then flame jumped from the abdomen towards its lowered head and hit it with a flip kick that knocked it back straight up. Its jaw could be heard cracking. Fire Fight bellowed again as he summoned a column of fire around the serpent as it was still knocked upwards. It proved to be of little avail as its thick scales served as effective protection from the infernal blaze.

Turf War tossed his damaged shield aside and joined Fire Fight. “Y’ALL KNOW YA SCREWED UP NOW!!” he shouted.

He and Fire Fight, even in his berserk state had trouble doing significant damage to the beast as all they could do was counter it when it lashed its head out at them and stagger it with blows to anywhere else on its body. It was eventually hit in the head just right enough to knock Shadow Shrouds kunai out of its skull and right at Spiral Galaxy’ feet.

Spiral Galaxy peeked out of her hooves at what had fallen to her. She looked at it with surprise, and then back and forth between it and the serpent. She was doing her best not to unleash a storm.

“Spiral! Y’all gotta do somethin’! We ain’t making a scratch on dis thing!” Turf War shouted.

Spiral clutched the kunai as she shook her head in fear. “N-N-No… I….I’ll just destroy everything!” she shouted. But looking at the enraged Fire Fight and holding the kunai made her think back to their words.

“…’ You have to stop panicking! If your emotions are out of control, so will your magic be!’….….‘Just close your eyes and let everything die down inside! Stop thinking altogether!’............. ‘We’re here for you! We’ll take every ounce of pain necessary!’………….. ‘Close your eyes’……… ‘Take a deep breath’……….. ‘Focus on the calmness of the river……….. ‘Clear your mind of all emotion’………”

Each word resonated within Spiral Galaxy’s heart, and it was her heart she followed as she acted on those words. She took a deep breath. The flow of the river finally managed to soothe her thoughts as she gathered her magic…..

The water around began to ripple violently, even splashing as she lit her horn. The ground, the air, the entire immediate vicinity began rumbling as her horn began to shine as bright as a star. More little twinkles began forming and rapidly orbiting around her into a little mini galaxy of her own. She levitated off the ground and the galaxy began shifting its orbital path from horizontal to vertical like Uranus’ rings. Her horns light glowed fiercely and she opened her eyes; they gleamed bright enough to where you could only see the magical light emanating from them. She locked her gaze onto the giant serpent in fury.

“RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Spiral Galaxy bellowed with a god-like echo as her horn supercharged with cosmic magic. She concentrated it all and fired it as a Star Beam with overwhelming power, her galactic wrath poured into every ounce of its destructive power. The giant pythons reptilian eyes looked on in terror at the last light they would ever see….

The devastating beam lasted for three seconds before dissipating and Spiral Galaxy fell back to her rock with a minor thud. She stirred back to her hooves in a daze from focusing such immense power, but she was quickly able to see the extent of the damage; the pythons head never even recoiled ………..because it had been obliterated clean off its shoulders!

The headless corpse of the massive serpent flopped into the river with a ‘thud’ as things finally calmed down. Its blood gushed out of its neck and into the river flow. Turf War looked on in awe at Spiral Galaxy’s sudden swell of power and what it had accomplished.

Fire Fight, having been freed from his berserker mode ran to its neck and dove right in. “Shadow Shroud! SHADOW SHROUD!” he exclaimed as he climbed into what was left of its throat. He didn’t have to go in very far as Shadow Shroud managed to wriggle her way out towards him. He sighed a deep sigh of sweet relief to see her alive. He helped her out as she coughed and sputtered from exhaustion and adrenaline rush.

Fire Fight threw his arms around her. “Shadow Shroud, are you okay!?’ he asked.

Shadow Shroud finished what was left of her coughing. “Yes…*pant**pant*…Fire Fight…*pant*…Thank you…” she wheezed as she returned the hug.

She let go, but Fire Fight continued to embrace her for a moment still panting from his own adrenaline calming down. “Are you going to let go of me yet, you big baby?” she asked in annoyance.

“Huh? Oh!” Fire Fight let up. “S-Sorry….I-I was just really worried about you….” He said.

Shadow Shroud lightly glared at him for a quick moment. He began to worry that he might have pushed a boundary enough to where one of those daggers would go into his throat. That worry was quickly alleviated when Shadow Shroud turned her glare into a gentle smile. She lightly giggled. “I know.” She said.

Spiral Galaxy walked to her with the kunai held aloft by her magic. “Here, Shadow Shroud. You dropped this.” She said.

“Oh, good! I was worried this didn’t survive the end of the world.” she sneered as she took it and put it back into her ninja cloak. She had clearly perceived the ray of devastation that Spiral had unleashed.

Spiral pouted at that comment. “Not funny…” she muttered.

Shadow Shroud giggled. “I’m sorry, Spiral. I shouldn’t joke about that. But thanks for the save. It…wasn’t very cozy there.” She said.

Spiral smiled and rolled her eyes. “You’re…*pant*…You’re wel-….*pant*…..come…..” she slurred. She was getting dizzy, so Shadow Shroud and Fire Fight led her to the cave so she could rest on a bedroll.

“She could barely handle that, couldn’t she?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“Yeah. Cosmomancy is not basic magic, especially for a foal. She’s gonna be out for a while.” He whispered. The two looked at the slumbering Spiral Galaxy, and then went to go check on Turf War.

Turf War had retrieved his shield and was trying to bend it back into shape with some success. He managed to flatten it out considerably, but its rims were bent in and had some dents that wouldn’t be easy to fix. “Man…” he muttered.

“Turf War, what happened? What’d you do to piss that thing off?” Fire Fight asked.

Turf War just guiltily sighed. “Man, lemme tell ya somethin’. I ain’t even saw where dis m***********- eh, my bad…dis dude come from. I was just doin’ mah thing pickin’ some mushrooms when all a sudden, he come out like ‘Surprise, m*********!’ and I just bounced, y’all. I’m real sorry. I ain’t mean hit you up wit dis.” He explained.

“So it simply viewed you as a prey animal to feast on and subsequently attacked. Hmm… I suppose that’s to be expected. You’re not at fault, Turf War. Though, I urge you to exercise more caution next time.” Shadow Shroud said. “We’re lucky Spiral Galaxy was able to take it out when she could.

Turf War chuckled. “I know, right. We was havin’ trouble makin’ a dang dent, but Spiral just unleashed her own kinda hell on ‘em. I was just like ‘Well, damn! Dat was easy!’ Mah girl over there OP, y’all!” he commented.

“Pfft. Yeah. Although, She’s still gotta get used to how much of a strain it’ll put on her. Plus it takes her a while to focus and execute her spells. I wouldn’t quite call her overpowered.” Fire Fight said.

Fire Fight decided to use what Turf War was able to gather to make some lunch. Spiral Galaxy was just conscious enough to have some when it was done saying she’d probably need a good meal after that. Once they were finished, Spiral resumed her nap and the other three foals began discussing their next move.

Marez in the Hood......And Dragon, I Guess

It had only been a couple hours before Spiral Galaxy began to stir. The healthy lunch Fire Fight whipped up must’ve really helped. She joined in on the conversation the other three were having and gave some interesting information.

“A…. ‘safety wagon’…?” Fire Fight asked.

Spiral Galaxy nodded. “Yep. Hoofington doesn’t have its own train station, so if one its residents wants to take a train, they have to use the station in Detrot. But as you probably saw, Detrot is a dangerous city, so there’s a guarded wagon that carries people and trading goods around the city areas of Detrot to its train station so those who don’t want to take risks with all the crime there can go safely.” She explained.

Turf War looked surprised. “Fo’ real? I ain’t never see dat before. I knew d’ere was supply carts going to Hoofington from Detrot, but dat’s news to me.” He said.

Spiral nodded. “Yeah. I think they both take the that same dirt path through the hills and grasslands, but the safety wagon diverts somewhere at the edge of the city…..at least I’d imagine it does.” She said.

“What kind of supplies does it carry?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Spiral shrugged. “Meh, whatever needs to go there, I guess. They probably have a schedule that complements Detrot’s train schedule,

so it could leave at any time with anything. Why?” she replied.

“You want to try and sneak us on, don’t you?” Fire Fight guessed.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “Yes. If we can remain undetected while nice and snug in some form of storage, it’d be far easier than having to sneak under the train and climb from there like we did back in Ponyville, especially since Turf War’s armaments would draw too much attention and make for clutter anyway.” She answered.

“Do you happen to know their schedule for today, Spiral?” Fire Fight asked.

Spiral shook her head. “Nope. They pretty much leave whenever. But like I said, they leave on time for their passengers and cargo to catch their train, so if Turf War knows the train schedule for Detrot-”

“Which I don’t…” Turf War interjected.

“Well, shoot…” Spiral muttered.

“Hmmmmm…….” Fire Fight pondered for a couples minutes. “Ok…..I might have an idea.”

Earlier……In Detrot

Twilight and co. had at last arrived in Detrot and immediately began asking around if anypony had seen Fire Fight and possibly a dark-grey filly wearing an orange dress. They initially had no success and decided to take a quick lunch break before going to the local police station to report Fire Fight missing.

They sat down at a table after ordering a large hay and mushroom pizza. Ms. Fight felt a little dejected seeing that the possibility of her son being here might have sent them on a wild goose chase. She couldn’t give up though. She wanted nothing more than to make things right for her son and live happily once more.

The waiter brought out their pizza. “It’s an honor to have you here, Princess Twilight.” He said as he served the pizza. “What brings ya to dis ol’ slum of a city? Here to finally start fixing things up?”

Twilight giggled sorrowfully. She knew full well the state that Detrot was in and that it wasn’t something that could be fixed overnight. Celestia makes occasional visits that do help some, but she tells Twilight to let her handle it until she becomes more experienced as a princess and Twilight could see why.

“Actually, no. We’re here looking for a foal that ran away from Ponyville. I-I know that sounds strange, but circumstantial events have led my friends and I to believe that he might be here. He’s a red unicorn with an orange mane and a flame that looks like a dragon for Cutie Mark. Did you see any colts like that?” she asked.

The waiter pondered for a split second before realizing that he did indeed have some recollection of such a foal. “Ya know what? I might have.” He answered.

Ms. Fight perked up. “You did!? Was it really my son!? What was he doing!? H-H-He didn’t get caught up in any gangs here, did he!?” she asked frantically.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, ma’am. I only said I think I did.” The waiter replied.

Another stallion got up from his seat and walked up to them. “Hol’ up. Do he have like real light-blue eyes?” he asked.

Ms. Fight gasped. “Yes, he does!”

“Yeah! I ‘member. He was he’e a couple days ago wit Turf War, wasn’t he?” the stallion said to the waiter.

The waiter had an epiphany. “Dat’s right. He was! Them and dat filly was havin’ a supreme if I ‘member right.” He said.

The mention of a filly caught Rarity’s attention. “A filly you say? And what did she look like?” she inquired.

“She was wearin’ some kind o’ black cloth wrapped all ‘round her body ‘cept her head.” The waiter answered.

Rarity was confused. The filly she encountered on the train was clearly wearing a dress. She decided to press further. “Did she happen to have amethyst-colored eyes? Perhaps a dark-grey coat with a mane that was a mix of blue and light grey?” she asked.

“Yeah! She did! Why? You know her?” the waiter asked.

It seemed that Rarity was right. That strange filly was with Fire Fight! But what was their relation? Who was she? Where did she come from? How did they meet? And what was the meaning of such a drastic change of clothes?

A couple from another table suddenly burst in onto the scene. “Hol’ on one second! Y’all just said d’hey was wit Turf War!?” the stallion asked. His wife had a hopeful expression.

The mares and dragon just stared blankly at them. “Uhh….and just who is this ‘Turf War’?” Applejack asked.

“Our son! He ran away just like yours did!” the mare said. She was on the verge of tears. “T…..*sob*…..Turf War!”

Ms. Fight walked over and embraced her. “I know what you’re going through right now……It’s gonna be okay…” she consoled. She let go as the mare calmed down.

“And those three were together? You’re sure?” Twilight asked the waiter.

“Yeah. They were whispering ‘bout somethin’, but I don’t think nopony heard what d’hey was talkin’ ‘bout. And dat filly…..I don’t know, y’all. Somethin’ just wasn’t right about her.” he said.

“Yeah, she didn’t look like somepony you screw ‘round wit. I-I-I mean it looked like d’hey was friends and all, but…” the other stallion commented.

Twilight found their comments a little disturbing, but decided to press the other issue. “When did Turf War disappear?” she asked.

“The night Officer Curfew got caught wit dat gang….Come to think of it. It was earlier that day they was here! Turf War musta bounced wit ‘em dat night!” the other stallion said.

“’Officer Curfew’?” Spike asked.

The natives of Detrot sighed. “Man…and to think Turf War actually kinda respected dat dude… Ya see, He’s a cop here dat got caught dealing wit a gang o’ notorious thugs the night Turf War musta ran away. They investigated further to find dat d’hey been bribin’ him to not arrest ‘em o’ nuttin’ fo’ a while now and keep Turf War from bashin’ ‘em. He was in some deep s***, y’all.” Mr. War explained.

“And d’hose thugs? D’hey trying to tell us how him, a fire unicorn colt and some ‘ninja foal’ lay the smack down on ‘em in dat warehouse d’hey was caught in! Apparently Curfew was out cold before he could ever see ‘em.” His wife explained.

“Yeah. I think they still cleanin’ up dat joint. It’s mess after whatever went down between ‘em.” The waiter commented

“Fire unicorn colt!?” Ms. Fight exclaimed.

“Ninja foal?” Rarity and Spike interjected.

“Turf War would fight these thugs, you say?” Twilight inquired.

The Detrot ponies explained how Turf War was a young vigilante who was fed up with the relative inactivity of the local police, subsequently taking matters into his own hooves. He’d gained quite the reputation as he bravely faced his foes and more often than not managed to stop them. Listening to their explanation caused Ms. Fight to think of Fire Fight and start explaining that he had basically the same issue. She then explained how it caused him to run away.

“So…they ran away for the same reason?” Spike asked.

“So it would seem, Spike. Maybe Fire Fight saw a lot of himself in Turf War and encouraged him to follow him. But that still leaves the filly…” Twilight said.

They decided to think more about it as they dug into their pizza, which was more than delectable. Afterwards, they had made the executive decision to question the arrested thugs and former officer at the police station.

As they walked out, a stallion bumped into Ms. Fight and tried to snatch her wallet. Applejack managed to catch this and grabbed the thief quickly. She wrestled him to the ground. “Now you better let go of that, or Ah’ll show ya what my apple trees back home feel durin’ the harvest season!” she ordered. Intimidated, the thief just dropped the wallet and vanished into the alleyway.

Applejack picked up the wallet and handed it back to Ms. Fight. “You alright, Sugarcube?” she asked.

Ms. Fight looked at Applejack both gratefully and coldly. This was but one of the many adults that drove her son away, but she was given the chance to prove that she felt guilty and just earned some points. “Umm…..yes, Applejack…Th-Thank you.” She muttered as she took back her wallet.

Twilight sighed. “Yes….Now that that’s all said and done…” she looked towards the warehouse district. “I think it’s high time we-”

Everypony’s focus was cut off when they witnessed a beam of light suddenly shoot from the north at a slightly upward angle, and then dissipate after three seconds.

“What the heck was that!?” Spike exclaimed.

A passerby who saw the beam as well spoke up. “Look like it came from Hoofington!” she said.

“Hoofington?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah. It’s a li’l town just over the hills up north. D’hey get supplies and stuff through us sometimes.” She explained.

“Hmm… Once we’re done here, we’ll go to Hoofington and investigate that anomaly. If by some crazy miracle Fire Fight did indeed team up with some kind of ‘ninja’, then maybe he had something to do with that.” Twilight stated.

The others agreed and they pressed on.

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.

Don't Drink The Water!

Back in Hoofington…

Twilight and co. at last reached the humble little hamlet. It was so much like Ponyville that they’d almost swear they somehow made it home if not for the fact that Twilight’s castle was clearly absent. All of Hoofington’s denizens happily welcomed the Princess of Friendship and her compatriots. It was then that a distressed-looking couple ran up to her.

“Princess Twilight! Oh, thank you so much for coming!” the stallion exclaimed.

“Please! Help us find our precious daughter! Help us find our Spiral Galaxy!!!” the mare followed as she began to sob. Her husband embraced her.

Twilight calmed her down as well. “It’s okay, ma’am.” She consoled. The mare calmed down completely and Twilight began her inquisition. “’Spiral Galaxy’?”

“Yes….. It’s our fault…… We shouldn’t have pushed her away! We knew she had a problem, but we just cowered away from her!......*sob*….And now she’s gone….” The stallion said.

Ms. Fight trotted up to them. “You mean she ran away!?” she asked.

The couple sorrowfully nodded. Ms. Fight and all the others were shocked. They had once again ran into another runaway case while looking for their own. Twilight explained that they themselves had been searching for Fire Fight and their search brought them here. Spiral’s parents were shocked to hear this, especially after they had given a description of Fire Fight and realized that they remember seeing him here recently!

“HE WAS HERE TOO!? WHERE!? WHAT WAS HE DOING!?” Ms. Fight exclaimed.

The local baker joined the conversation. “Yeah! He and his friends were at my bakery earlier. Some troublemaking fillies were giving his friend wearing that dress a hard time and his other buddy from Detrot went to stand up to them while he got her a strawberry pastry.” He explained.

“Filly with a dress? Did it happen to be a bright orange?” Rarity interjected.

“Uh…yeah. You know her?” the baker responded.

“Could you please describe her in more detail, darling?” she asked.

The baker complied. It was just as Rarity thought! Amethyst eyes, dark-grey coat, bluish-grey mane, it was definitely her! The only thing nopony could say they ever saw was her Cutie Mark.

“And you mentioned a ‘friend from Detrot’? What did he look like?” Twilight inquired.

The description everypony gave was the strikingly similar, just about the exact same as the description she had gotten of Turf War. “But Spiral Galaxy wasn’t with them?” she further inquired.

The baker shook his head. “Nope. She had already ran away by then. Why? What even brought you here if Fire Fight’s from Ponyville?” he asked.

“Well….for…..reasons, we suspected that he somehow made it to Detrot, so we arrived there to look for him. And it seemed that we were on the right track as we learned that a colt that matches my son’s description was seen there with that Detrot colt before he disappeared.” Ms. Fight explained.

“But then we saw that crazy light show comin’ from here over yonder, so we decided to see just what in the hootin’ hay happened here.” Applejack added.

“Yes, really. What kind of magic were you trying to use and why? If we could see that beam all the way in another town, then you must have been trying to tinker with some form of high-level craft.” Twilight commented.

The denizens of Hoofington just stared blankly at her, having no idea whatsoever what she was talking about. “Uh…….what ‘light show’? We weren’t doing any crazy magic experiments or whatnot.” A random passerby stated.

Twilight looked confused. “Huh? B-But….we clearly saw that beam of light coming from the direction of this town!” she argued.

Again, blanks stares from all around the townsponies were her only response. Twilight and co. could tell that they weren’t lying, but what they saw was very real. Another passerby suddenly ran up to the crowd. “Hey! Something’s funny about the river!” she shouted.

Everypony’s attention was caught. Curious, they all went to the river. What they saw befuddled them.

“What’s all this weird red stuff?” Spike asked as he approached it.

Twilight pulled him away. “Careful, Spike.” She turned to Applejack. “What do you think, Applejack?” she asked her.

Applejack carefully inspected the peculiar substance. The local cotton farmer came up beside her to help. “Can’t say its anything Ah use to help grow mah cotton. Yer a apple farmer, right? Look anything you’d use fer one o’ yer trees?” he asked

Applejack shook her head. “Nuh-uh, Sugarcube. Don’t look nuttin’ like any disease neither. Are they any plants ‘round these parts that might produce somethin’ like this?” she responded.

“None Ah’ve ever seen, darlin’. And mah family has been here since this town was just a few houses full o’ settlers.” He replied.

“Better head upstream. Maybe somethin’s spillin’ into it?” Applejack asked.

“Bet yer right.” The cotton farmer replied. “C’mon now, y’all!” he called out as he and Applejack led the pack.

The hike through the woods was grueling at best……for Rarity at least. She complained about every ten or so steps, so everypony started ignoring her until they found their little source……and it was nothing short of shocking!

“HOLY SMOKES!” Spike exclaimed. He and all the surrounding ponies stood where they were, mouths hung wide open at the sight of a headless corpse of a giant serpent letting its blood into the river.

Applejack and the cotton farmer went right over to inspect it. It was clear that its head had been blown off, but by what? And where was its head? “Twilight……Ah’ve never seen anything like this! Ya think it was magic related?” Applejack asked.

Twilight walked over to the gushing neck and magically scanned it for any traces of a spell. Sure enough, there were traces of cosmomancy all over it. “So somepony did cast a high-level spell, a cosmic spell no less! It would explain that beam of magic we saw in Detrot.” She concluded.

Spiral Galaxy’s parents suddenly rushed over to her. “COSMO SPELL!?” her mother exclaimed.

“That’s sounds like our daughter!” her dad stated.

Twilight gave him a look like he was crazy. “Sir, do you honestly expect me to believe that a filly could even begin to comprehend something as powerful as cosmomancy? Even the princesses have some difficulty moving the Sun and Moon.” She asked.

Her mother began to sob. “…*sob*…I bet…..Spiral could...could barely control her own magic! *sob*” she wept.

“That filly is a menace!” a random onlooker shouted.

“She tried to learn that crazy space magic and has nearly destroyed our town…..I don’t how many times!”

“Do you all remember the day she briefly opened a black hole in the town park? A BLACK. HOLE!?”

Most of the other townsponies began expressing their fear of Spiral Galaxy. A select few with unthinkable nerve even said that they were relieved to have ‘that angel of death’ washed from their hooves. All the while, Spiral’s parents helpless looked on as the bantering continued.

Ms. Fight had experienced this herself with her own child. She knew what those parents were going through and that it was nothing but unfair. She put her hoof down. “THAT’S ENOUGH!!” she shouted.

Everypony looked her way. “Shame on all of you! You’d dare belittle a sweet little filly behind her back with her parents within an earshot? Despicable!! Maybe she had some sort of issue she needed to work out, but that does not, I repeat, DOES NOT excuse ANY OF YOU to treat her as though she’ll always be some kind of menace! My own son and I endured this firsthoof, and you know what happened afterwards!? Everypony else became the menace, that’s what! So I’ll kindly thank all of you not to stoop to the level of a petty bully!” she reprimanded.

Everypony stared at her in shock. Spiral’s parents had expression as though they’d been salvaged by some god. Twilight couldn’t have been prouder. Those who spoke ill of Spiral Galaxy just walked off in shame. Spiral’s mother went over to hug her for standing up for them. “Oh, thank you…*sooooob*….Thank you!” she wept.

Ms. Fight softly shushed her. “It’s gonna be ok.” She consoled.

After things calmed down. Twilight inquired about Spiral Galaxy’s apparent talent. “Indeed…..when she was about five, we asked her what any parent would: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And how did she respond? ‘I wanna be the Princess of the Stars, daddy!’ We….*sob*….We laughed it off as some childish dream she’d quickly grow out of…….but no……..she was serious. She managed to find some books on that cosmomancy you mentioned and began rigorously teaching it to herself. Much to our surprise, she began to get the hang of it! We were feeling so proud!....but….” her father explained.

“It was beginning to be too much for her, wasn’t it?” Twilight guessed.

“Yes…..She became a danger to herself and everypony around her. One day she’d open a black hole, the next a little meteor, then an intense gravity field……and…*sooooob*….and we just pushed her away!” her mother said. Ms. Fight embraced them once more.

Twilight was utterly stunned. A little filly just a shade older than the CMC was almost successfully practicing cosmomancy!? Sure, she was touched by the story her parents told, but the very notion left her speechless! Even she wasn’t that adept with magic at that age!

“Ya think maybe Fire Fight and those other foals found her and took her with them?” Spike asked.

Twilight snapped out of her astonishment. “Oh! Umm…..That’s possible. But…we don’t have any leads past this. They could have left anytime and went anywhere.” She stated gloomily.

The mares and Spike began to see the realization that they might have to give up their search for now. Ms. Fight didn’t want to accept this fact so readily, but the likely notion that her son was okay brought her some comfort.

“Ah….Ah’m so sorry, ma’am…”Applejack said as she removed her hat.

Ms. Fight sighed and mustered the best smile she could. “Thank you….Applejack.” she said as the two embraced.

“Alright….well….better get back to Ponyville and….wait for another lead, I guess.” Twilight muttered.

Ms. Fight might have been a little crushed at not finding her son, but Rarity still wanted answers about their little mystery filly. It would haunt her dreams until she knew the truth.

Solid Shroud

Back on the Train…

Time seemed to pass slowly as the caboose full of cargo went quiet for the remainder of the day. Nopony dared make any significant noise for the risk of somepony hearing them from the adjacent car. Even the ever full-of-life Turf War forced himself to sit still for a while and get a much needed nap when the opportunity arised. Spiral Galaxy quietly meditated with Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud as the two of them could both respectively help the cosmic filly with controlling her magic and gathering her focus. She dared not apply what she learned here for the risk of causing another episode on the train!

At last did night fall unto the moving locomotive. Shadow Shroud told the others to relax until she returned. She flipped in her disguise dress.

Spiral Galaxy grimaced at the choice of wear that her friend had clad herself in, but Fire Fight quietly warned her not to say anything about it. Despite this, Shadow Shroud could sense their thoughts. “*sigh* That’s it. When this is over, I’m getting a new dress.” She muttered to herself.

She peered out the window to see that all the car’s occupants were sound asleep. She smirked in delight as she quickly but quietly slipped through the doors, closing them carefully. She snuck quickly across the train car, careful not to disturb anypony. She successfully reached the opposite end of the car, and slipped through just as slyly. A few ponies were awake, but they failed to see the dressed little filly slip undetected into their car. She casually trotted passed them and other passengers between cars; they paid the normal-looking filly no mind.

She finally reached the dining car. Same as the other one, same prices, but without the exotic drinks on the menu. Continental breakfasts were not available since it was, of course, nighttime, so she decided to order some hot sandwiches with basic ingredients plus another water bottle for whatever foal they may or may not rescue in Dodge City. Her total added up to 12 bits; the clerk gave the bottle as complementary since they had a surplus. She found a seat at the window and patiently waited for the food. She couldn’t help but to overhear two mares a few tables down.

“So what’s going on with the Dodge City Rodeo Show this time? I heard there was going to be some kind of new….thing….or whatever.”

“Apparently there’s going to be a new act involving guns!”

“Oh, wow!.......what are guns again?”

“They’re……uh, well……supposedly this…little thing that like……explodes, but…doesn’t? I fires little metal bits called ‘bullets’, I think. I’ve never actually seen one. They were invented a few years back, but aren’t very common. And get this: the pony that’s going to use them in the show is supposed to be a colt who is really good with them!”

That last statement caught Shadow Shroud’s interest. “…Huh….really…” she whispered to herself.

“Oh, really? Cool!.....Wait…aren’t guns supposed to be pretty dangerous? Why give them to a foal?”

“I just told you. He’s really good with them!.....though, it does leave me to wonder how he was allowed to get good with them to begin with.”

Shadow Shroud let that sink for a moment. She had indeed heard of a ‘gun’ before and was trained to counter somepony who might know how to use one despite their sheer rarity amongst all of Equestria’s denizens. But the fact that a foal allegedly knew how to use such a dangerous weapon was something she felt that Fire Fight and the others should know. They’d have something to look out for upon their arrival. She was called to the counter to receive her order.

“Here ya go, little lady! Say….what’s with the four sandwiches anyway? Yer parents didn’t just send ya here to grab them a late night snack, did they?” the clerk asked her.

Shadow Shroud quickly mustered a lie. “Oh, no. I had the bits leftover, so I just came to get myself something and save the others for my parents later.” She explained in a cheery persona.

The clerk looked at her concerned. He wasn’t entirely convinced that she was telling the truth, so he decided to let her pass for now. “…Ok then. Well…enjoy!” he said.

“Thank you, sir!” she said as she casually trotted out the door towards the caboose.

Once she was out of sight, the clerk picked up a small radio and turned it on. “Hey Watch, come here a second, will ya?”

*****

Shadow Shroud successfully snuck her way back to the caboose with the sandwiches in tow. She laid them down and flipped back into her cloak. The three thanked her as they all began chowing down.

“Any trouble this time?” Fire Fight asked.

“None whatsoever, I’m happy to say. Although the clerk at the dining car seemed to grow weary of me. A sharp one, that. So it might be best that I don’t go back there.” She explained.

“Damn…’cause d’ese sandwiches are hot, y’all! Toasted just right.” Turf War commented. “Dat’s alright, though. We still got plenty o’ stuff from dat forest, so I think we good.”

“Yeah…it’s a just a matter of how much we’re gonna need out in a desert. And furthermore, how much we’d be able to find out there.” Spiral Galaxy added.

Shadow Shroud suddenly remembered what she wanted to say. “Oh! Speaking of which, I overheard some mares talking about a Rodeo Show that’s apparently scheduled to happen in Dodge City; it would explain the many passengers aboard this train headed there. From what they’ve heard, a colt performing in one of the acts is set to use guns!” she explained.

The three just looked at her blankly, not quite remembering the word ‘gun’.

“You know, those….explosive shooter things that were introduced some years ago?” she asked.

“Ooooooohhh.” They all said in unison.

“Hol’ up! Yeah, I actually seent one before too back in da hood! Some b*- uh………jerk tried to rob an art museum widit…..or….was it a museum?.......Anyway, look. Dat thing was no joke, y’all. He fired one o’ its shots and it freakin’ shattered a window from across the room! I had go real sneaky sneak on his a** just so he couldn’t think to shoot me. I was just dat da…..ng nervous ‘bout it!” Turf War explained

“Really!? Did you manage to take him down?” Fire Fight asked.

“I did, and thank Celestia I did! If it could do what it did to dat window, imagine what it’d do to a pony.” he answered.

“Or don’t. I don’t surmise it’d be at all pleasant.” Shadow Shroud sneered.

“But…..they’re letting a colt use one for a show? Isn’t that asking for trouble?” Spiral Galaxy inquired.

“He’s allegedly quite talented, so there’s minimal concern….at least that’s what I gathered.” Shadow Shroud answered.

“But if he’s talented with them, then he’s not lost. Plus, if he makes a mistake with them, that’s just something he has to pay for. He could just put them down for good if he was so inclined.” Fire Fight stated.

Shadow Shroud leered at him. “You fool. If he’s talented with them, then that means that their not something he can just ‘put down’. Could you put away your Flame Fu if you wanted simply because it was a bother and move on to something else entirely?” she argued.

Fire Fight let that realization sink as he looked into her expectant eyes and at his Cutie Mark. That dragon beckoned him just as he would call upon it. They were bound together by Fate, and Fate was not a mistress to be so easily denied. He took the last bite of his sandwich. “Yeah….I guess you’re right. But then again, we don’t know if whoever this colt is is a lost foal….so we’ll just have to see for ourselves!” he declared.

“Word up, son!”

“Agreed!”

“Now that’s the Fire Fight who started this little mission!”

Their affirmations brought a smile to the red colts face. They eagerly awaited their arrival into Dodge City having a possible goal. They finished their sandwiches and Shadow Shroud snuck out once more to throw away the trash. She returned to the other foals getting ready to set up their bedrolls. Just as they were going to pull them out however, they suddenly heard the caboose door open!

Quickly crouching behind a big crate next to a wall, the foals listened carefully to what was going on.

“You sure she went out this way, bud? ‘Cause we didn’t see her at all.” One of the voices, a stallion said.

“Positive! You expect me to believe she just jumped on top of the train and pranced through the wind to the other side? And in an ugly dress no less?” the other stallions voice said.

Fire Fight looked over at Shadow Shroud. She was normally one to not express herself, but her face was steaming and her teeth bore like a mad dog. She looked like she could just up and stab everypony at a given moment.

“Well, we’ve searched every car from the dining car from this end of the train and now I have to look around this stuffy mess of cargo hold! Seriously, why the caboose? Isn’t it normally a passenger car?” the first stallion voice complained.

The foals were as still and quiet as a mouse as they awaited the stallions to pass. Shadow Shroud had herself at the ready in case of emergency, but Spiral Galaxy began to panic. Fire Fight and Turf War tried to calm her as she tried to calm herself with deep breathes, but the notion of being caught and sent back to Hoofington was too great a thought for Spiral to bear. Crates suddenly started shaking violently as light poured from her horn……

“Oh s***…” Turf War muttered

“Huh!? What the hell is going on!?” the security guard screamed. An immense light suddenly overtook his vision along with the counter clerk. They briefly covered their faces until the light quickly dimmed a little, but the sight of levitating crates shocked them.

“What in Celestia’s name…….huh? Hey! What are you doing there!?” he shouted. He could see the foals as the crate they were hiding behind floated upward to reveal them.

Shadow Shroud quickly covered her face before the stallions couldn't see it. Fire Fight and Turf War quickly armed themselves for a potential fight. But Spiral Galaxy looked up at the authoritative stallions in a panic. Her greatest fear right now was directly in front of her…..and she wanted nothing more than to be rid of it.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

She bellowed in terror as her outburst caused all of the crates to slam into the stallions. She gasped at the damage she had done. She was too stunned at wreaking more carnage to hear the others calling for her.

Turf War grabbed her and pulled her out the opened back door. They were on a bridge just narrow enough for the train high above a river flowing just out of Mt. Foal. If the river wasn’t deep enough, there was plenty of brush to break their fall.

“ALRIGHT, WE JUMP ON THREE!” Fire Fight commanded.

Shadow Shroud nodded holding tightly onto a flustered Spiral Galaxy. Turf War noticed the stallions climbing out of the clutter as Fire Fight and the others turned to the jumping point towards the riverside. He slammed the door.

“One-” Fire Fight started. But he was cut off when Turf War shoved all of them off the platform.

“THREEEEE!!” he screamed.

Spiral Galaxy suddenly snapped out of her panicked trance as she realized what was happening. Unfortunately, Turf War made them jump a little too soon as they weren’t headed for a whole lot of brush. They all held on for dear life, hoping to Celestia and whatever other high powers that the river was deep enough to safely fall into. That’s when Spiral suddenly focused her magic.

Light poured from her horn once more as the foals began to feel lighter. Mini stars formed around them in a galaxy shape as they orbited around Spiral Galaxy’s horn. The river water below them rippled and splashed violently and rocks began to levitate as they gently floated to the ground. Spiral peeked down to see that they were mere inches above the water, so she took deep breathes and released her magic. They fell into the river.

All of them save for an exhausted Spiral Galaxy were able to swim for shore easily; Turf War carried her back along with his gear. They climbed onto the rocky riverbank and coughed and sputtered from exhaustion and adrenaline. Turf War laid the nearly unconscious Spiral Galaxy onto soft soil to catch his own breath for a moment. Once the three caught their breathes, they climbed further into the brush with Turf War carrying Spiral again.

“Come on! We’ve gotta go further into the woods! They might come looking for us!” Fire Fight said.

“Indeed! They’ll likely think we got swept up in the river and drifted off, but we should make shelter deeper within just to be sure!” Shadow Shroud affirmed.

Trudging through the thick mountainside brush proved grueling in their current conditions. The fact that it was dark outside only made things worse as their only sources of light were Luna’s moon and Fire Fight’s horn. It was a miracle that no predator of the night tried to make them a late night snack.

Within a small valley area of the mountain was a small cave entrance that foals entered without hesitation. The cave wasn’t very long as they could see an opening to the outside just on the other end of the tunnel. They didn’t bother going to see where it went until they got sufficient sleep….

“Aw, man! Are you kidding me!?” Fire Fight complained. Their saddlebags had gotten wet when they took their plunge and were unfortunately not watertight. Their bedrolls were soaked, the wheat they’d collected was too soggy to cook so it was thrown away, and they didn’t have any towels to dry them with. “*sigh* Hang on, guys. I’ll start a fire and hopefully get this water out.” Fire Fight said as he exited the cave briefly to collect firewood.

A pit was made and fire was started with their bedrolls and bags that were strained of as much water as they could get hung next to it to dry.

“At least the rest of our produce was nicely washed.” Shadow Shroud begrudgingly commented.

They all sighed. Turf War went out briefly to collect a pile of leaves to make Spiral Galaxy a pillow to rest her head on. “I gotcha covered, homegirl.” He whispered to her sleeping form as he laid her onto the pile.

The others didn’t care that they’d have to sleep on hard stone, so they made themselves some leaf-pillows and drifted off to sleep.

Change of Pace

Morning light broke through what little distance the foals went into the natural tunnel. Spiral Galaxy had gotten more than sufficient rest after her episode the following night, so she was the first to rise. Having been unconscious for the entirety of the hike, she was a little startled to see that she was in a completely unfamiliar location, but was relieved to see that her friends were with her and ok. She noticed that she was sleeping on a pillow made of leaves instead of snug in her bedroll, but quickly saw them all hung beside a fire pit along with their saddlebags and put two and two together having the river being the last thing she remembered before conking out.

No sooner than she awoke did the other three. They were a little groggy from hiking last night; the stress of having to deal with the wet bags and their contents didn’t help either. They yawned with exhaustion as they arose.

“Morning, Spiral. Sleep ok?” Fire Fight asked.

Spiral couldn’t help but to feel guilty at this sight. She had lost control of her emotions once more and nearly compromised the whole journey. She sighed sorrowfully. “Y….Yeah…” she muttered. “How about you guys?”

Shadow Shroud was rubbing her neck from the slightly uncomfortable sleep. “It was….satisfactory. It’s a good thing Turf War thought to make that pillow for you when he did. I wasn’t in the mood to think a whole lot.” She yawned.

Spiral looked over at Turf War, who was stretching. “You made this, Turf War? Thank you.” She said.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s all good!” he groggily answered.

Spiral’s guilt overtook her again as she once again realized the state they were in because of her. “I’m….I’m sorry, guys…..This is all my fault. If I hadn’t gotten so scared, I….” she muttered.

Shadow Shroud walked up and put her hoof on Spiral’s shoulder. “It’s ok.” She reassured. Spiral looked up into her eyes. “We were bound to be caught sooner or later; I was honestly worried we would. We did prepare for it after all. Plus, you saved us from some nasty fall damage. I couldn’t tell how deep that river was from all that was going on.”

“Yeah. And d’ose stallions were ok too! I seen ‘em climb out all dat mess just fine. You ain’t done nuttin’, homegirl.” Turf War added.

“If you really think about, this kinda works out! I plan to take all of the foals we rescue- including you guys to a safe haven where we can’t bother anypony. We just might find a place out here! If we do, then we’ll come back here from Dodge City once we’re done there and start building our new home. And even if we don’t, that’s ok too! All the more reason to explore the hidden corners of the world while we keep rescuing lost foals!” Fire Fight stated.

All of their words brought Spiral Galaxy a lot of comfort. She smiled as she hugged her friends. “Thanks guys.” She said.

“Alright. I'll whip us up some breakfast…..without…wheat….That’s ok; I’ll think of something.” Fire Fight said.

With some difficulty in deciding, Fire Fight eventually decided to just cook some mushrooms and let Shadow Shroud slice a couple apples they had. It wasn’t the most desirable breakfast, but it was probably the best they could do. They decided to look for more food as they explored the area around; the other end of the tunnel was the center of their attention, so they headed straight for that.

When they came out the other side, they were standing on a plateau high above another valley area, but it wasn’t entirely wild!

Within the vast brush and trees lining the vale was an impressive-looking stronghold. It was right at the bottom of the valley and covered with tress, so any signs of habitation weren’t apparent.

“Whoa!” Spiral Galaxy said.

“What is that?” Fire Fight asked. “Wait……Is that the Shadewalkers home, Shadow Shroud!?”

“Hmph! As if we’d be so careless as to hide our stronghold out in the open like this.” She said.

“Well, let’s go see what’s poppin’ over there, y’all! Maybe it some kinda ruin we could live?” Turf War suggested.

“Well, if it is, hopefully it’s not one full of death traps!” Spiral Galaxy commented.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Fire Fight declared.

There was a natural path along the plateau leading down into the valley that Shadow Shroud found surprisingly convenient as though whoever was or is at the stronghold actually uses it. “I suggest we be discreet.” She said. The others then agreed and kept a low profile.

Just as they neared the foot of the path, they saw a group of strange-looking people hauling what looked to be a small crate covered by a blanket. They were the size of ponies, but looked like bulldogs wearing tattered vests and spiked collars. They were coming out of the forest away from the stronghold towards another group of them with a big one that appeared to be their leader approaching. The foals eavesdropped of their conversation.

“We got him, boss!” one of them said addressing the bigger one.

The boss smiled deviously. “Good. And what of his little toys, eh?” he asked.

Another smaller dog walked up to him gripping two katana swords in his paw along with an X-shaped object that seemed to be their scabbard. He presented them to the boss. “Right here!” he said.

The boss took the swords. “Excellent! Now we can finally cut out the rest that precious ore all for ourselves, mates! And those stupid li’l butter knife ponies won’t be able to touch us-” he approached the blanketed object and lifted the cover. “-so long as we have ourselves a li’l hostage!”

It was a cage containing a colt. He was tied into ropes, so his Cutie Mark couldn’t be seen, nor his wings assuming he had any and his mouth was gagged. He was a light-silver with a sharply cut mane that was colored like a dark storm cloud. His eyes were a emerald. If Shadow Shroud had a twin brother, this guy could pass for him, because he was showing no fear towards his captors whatsoever. Rather he squirmed violently in his restraints and shot murderous glares at his captors as his gagged mouth tried to utter coherent shouts.

“Heh heh heh! Dontcha worry, lad. We’ll take good care o’ your li’l letter openers!” the boss taunted.

The restrained colt grew more furious at that statement; it was clear that he cared about those swords for one reason or another.

They then quickly dug holes that would most moles nervous and disappeared with their cargo.

The foals ran out to the series of holes. “We’ve gotta help him!” Fire Fight whispered. The other immediately agreed, though Shadow Shroud got an odd feeling as they jumped into a random hole together….

Shadow Shroud had already donned her mask by the time they slid into a series of lit tunnels. She then led them into a dark corner so they might safely observe their surroundings. It was as if they had dropped into labyrinth!......probably because they were. There were tunnels going in all direction with little to no indication of direction, mapping, etc. These dogs must have known this place by heart.

“What the hell!?” Turf War whispered. “How we s’posed to know where d’hey took homie!?”

“We’ll just have to listen around while we sneak.” Shadow Shroud said.

“My cosmomancy isn’t as powerful when I have a roof over my head like this. There’s a small chance I could cause a cave-in, but I should be able to focus. I’ll still be careful though!” Spiral Galaxy explained.

“Alright then. Let’s be careful; these guys obviously aren’t friendly.” Fire Fight said.

There weren’t too many of these dogs around, but a confrontation was best avoided in case they really did decide to harm their captive colt upon learning that help had arrived. They stuck to the shadows as they went down random tunnels for what seemed like an eternity. Their previous experience with the sewers in Detrot somewhat prepared them for this, so Spiral was simply guided as she helped listen for the colt and these dogs’ boss. After a long while, they finally began to make some progress as they heard a cage being violent slammed against, likely the captive foal throwing a fit.

They followed the sound to a prison-esque room with two holding cells. The dog boss opened of them and ordered the dog carrying the cage to remove the colt from it and toss him in, so he did. The colt hit the dirt floor with a thud. He then managed to shake of his gag.

“YOU DAMNABLE, SLIMY MUTTS!!! RETURN MY BLADES TO ME AT ONCE, OR SO HELP ME I’LL RETRIVE THEM MYSELF AND LACERATE YOU INTO FINE SLICES!!!!!” he bellowed.

The boss just smirked at him. “Hahahaha! Wouldn’t that be somethin’!” he said as he slammed the cell door. He locked it and pranced merrily away. “Now to get at that ore!” he disappeared into the cavernous maze.

“Those swords are his!?” Spiral Galaxy asked shocked.

“And it look like d’ese mutts messed wit da wrong one. We better ask homie what’s going down wit ‘em before we let things turn whack.” Turf War said.

“Agreed. Shadow Shroud, pick the door open and wait for us outside in case we get company while Turf War, Spiral and I free him.” Fire Fight commanded.

She nodded and snuck herself and the others towards the iron door; she got to work and almost immediately got it open with some apparent difficulty. She let her three compatriots in and jumped into the ceiling to ready an emergency ambush. “Here!” she said as she tossed them one of her kunai. They thanked her.

In the prison cell, Fire Fight and co. ran up to the bound colt. He went behind him and began using Shroud’s dagger to cut the ropes. “Huh? Wha-….Who are you!?” the colt asked in surprise.

“Relax. We’re gonna get you out of here. I’m Fire Fight. This is Turf War and Spiral Galaxy.” Fire Fight said as he was cutting.

“What am, son?” Turf War said. He got drew his arms and faced the door.

“Hello!” Spiral Galaxy said.

Fire Fight managed to cut his ropes off completely. The colt stood proudly out of them as his pegasus wings were revealed along with his Cutie Mark, two katana crossing their blades. “I’m Air Slash. Thank you, friends.” He introduced. He kicked the ropes away. “Please! Help me get my swords back! It’s bad enough that those mutts have deigned to use them as pickaxes in our mine!” he said.

Fire Fight cocked his head as Turf War led them out of the cell. “’Your mine’?” he asked.

“Forgive me. It seems I failed to mention that I’m of the clan-” Air Slash started, but was cut off when Shadow Shroud suddenly jumped down in front of them with her kunai pointed.

“Bladerunner!” she growled.

Air Slash was surprised, but quickly returned the glare. “Shadewalker!” he growled back.

The two stared each other down calmly but viciously. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut by a butterfly wings flap. Meanwhile, the other three were surprised to see that they seemed to know of each other.

“You know about the Shadewalkers!?” Fire Fight asked.

Air Slash continued to stare down Shadow Shroud. “Yes. We’re very old enemies. Forgive me, friend, but you were a fool to associate yourself with one of their kind.” He said.

“I never thought I’d have the inconvenience of encountering one of your kind.” Shadow Shroud retorted. “Fire Fight, he’s where he belongs. This mine of theirs can be reclaimed easily from these mangy hounds. After that, we need not bother with him.”

“Shadow Shroud, that’s callous even for you!” Spiral Galaxy argued.

Air Slash perked up. “So your name is ‘Shadow Shroud’? Hmph… No matter. You coveters of darkness are all the same anyway. Whereas my family chooses to raise our swords between innocents and evil, yours sees fit to side with death and lower his jaws onto anyone that looks at Her Highness funny!” he accused.

Shadow Shroud intensified her glare. “They’re hardly innocent when they actually threaten the crown and all of the land, so you can kindly thank us for cleaning house while you cowards spend all day brandishing your little toys around like toddlers throwing tantrums begging enemies of Equestria to go quietly!” she retorted

The two bore their teeth at each other like two manticores fighting over territory. Turf War got between them. “A’ight, a’ight! A-HAhaaaa! It’s totally cool y’all get along so well, I mean fo’ real. Y’all lookin’ like brova an’ sistuh right now; it’s like a big ol’ reunion! Aw, man. I might shed a tear or two, damn! *sniffle* Uhh….but look, maybe it’s best we have our little discussion when WE NOT WAY UN’ERGROUND WIT A BUNCH O’ CRAZY-A** DOGS!?!” he exclaimed.

The four other foals grimaced with anxiety at his outburst as it echoed throughout the caverns. Sounds of paws pounding against the dirt gave a resounding reply. It was in that moment that Turf War realized… “I f***** up…”

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter and the whole story so far.

Just a fair warning, I might be AFK for a couple days. School-related responsibilities are in need of my attention, so I gotta prioritize that.

Again, hope you still enjoy the story! Peace!

Duel

Author's Notes:

Hey, everyone!
Yeah...I was gone WAY longer than expected. I had some schoolwork as well as time for my family for Thanksgiving who live in a rural area with lousy Internet, so.....
Ok, enough excuses. Sorry I was gone so long. Hope this new chapter rekindles your spark for Battle Foals action. Fire Fight's certainly is!

Fire Fight immediately tossed Shadow Shroud’s kunai back to her as they all prepared for a fight. “Air Slash, get back!” he commanded. Air Slash ascended and flew behind the group just as a small mob of the dogs burst into the isolated chamber.

“Say! What gives!? Where did you lot come from?” one of them shouted.

Fire Fight raised his head. “We’re here to help Air Slash! Why were you holding him captive?” he demanded.

“Oh, it ain’t necessarily him we care about. We just wanted his swords, see? We just knew that the rest o’ those bloody Bladerunners would come lookin’ for one o’ their tykes, so we kept him as leverage. Now would ya kindly put him back in his cell? The Diamond Dogs demand it!” the dog answered.

Spiral Galaxy lit her horn. “Come and get him!” she taunted.

“Or let us sing y’all one helluva lullaby! I got just the instruments right!” Turf War taunted as he banged his sign against his shield.

“HEHEHEHEHE! Either way’s fine with me!” one of the other dogs shouted. They charged the foals.

Spiral Galaxy, having her magic diminished by not having direct access to the stars, used her controlled magic to create a small gravity field around the dogs that severely slowed them down. Fire Fight jumped up and kicked a short series of fire discs at them in response. Staggered by the bursting blaze; the dogs were left vulnerable enough for Spiral to release her grip and let the other three beat them down one by one with brute force and technique.

“Somepony put a damn leash or a bell or somethin’ on d’ese dogs!” Turf War taunted.

They all rushed out of the prison room and into the tunnels. Fire Fight looked up at Air Slash. “Air Slash, do you know where they’re keeping your swords?” he asked him.

“I’m afraid I don’t know for sure, but I suspect they’re using them in the main chamber. I remember passing through there when I was restrained. These stupid mutts didn’t even think to obscure my vision! Anyway, there was a lot of tightly packed iron ore and even some diamonds that even these experienced burrowers couldn’t dig out. What makes them think my swords will be able to remove is beyond me, but regardless, I intend to retrieve them!” Air Slash explained. “I remember the path from here. Follow me!”

“Let me take the front with you. I fight unarmed, so I can protect if need be. Turf War and Shadow Shroud, cover Spiral in case she needs to cast another cosmo spell!” Fire Fight ordered. They all agreed.

Despite choosing to trust her friend’s words, Shadow Shroud couldn’t help but to shoot a couple nasty glares towards Air Slash. Nevertheless, she and Turf War maintained their position with Spiral Galaxy as she managed to create more little gravity fields and even fire short bolts of star magic!........Granted, they were still dangerously destructive. Fire Fight continued to follow Air Slash at his side despite not being airborne and held nothing back as he punched, kicked, combo’d and burned through the pack of Diamond Dogs that turned out to be bigger than anticipated; all the while, Air Slash found himself impressed at their prowess as warriors, but he still shot glares every now and then at Shadow Shroud.

At last they reached the main chamber. Just as Air Slash said, it was packed full of ore that had yet to be dug out. The remaining dogs were struggling to claw them out even if some of them had proper digging tools. Perhaps they really were stupid and just weren’t using them correctly? Either way, they spotted the boss wielding Air Slash’s swords. He began cutting away at the ore and much to their surprise, it was actually slightly giving way!

Air Slash wanted to retrieve his swords before these dogs could defile his clans mine anymore. He flew into main chamber. “RELINGQUISH MY BLADES THIS INSTANT!!” he shouted.

The dog boss looked up in shock. “What the- How’d you get out!?”

Fire Fight, Turf War and Spiral Galaxy stepped out while Shadow Shroud leapt into the dark. “We helped him out!” Fire Fight declared.

“You’re trespassing here! This place belongs to the Bladerunners! You need to leave now and give back Air Slash’s swords!” Spiral said.

Just then, a massive horde of dogs came out of nearly every tunnel leading into the chamber and formed around their boss. “Heh heh heh. Or what?” the boss taunted.

Turf War poised his armaments and smirked. “I’s kinda hopin’ you’d ask dat!” he said. “IT’S WAR, Y’ALL!”

Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy lit their horns as the former jumped with Turf War into the fray while the latter began charging her cosmo magic. Dogs in the back lines further away from the boss began dropping unconscious spontaneously thanks to a certain ninja filly.

Spiral Galaxy levitated into the air and formed another vertical mini galaxy around herself. Several of the stars shined brighter than the others and formed a pyramid of light in front of her. The tip shook furiously as it shined, charging with cosmic destruction. She fired it as a continuous laser that wasn’t as powerful as the last one, but was much more controlled. She blew the front lines of the dogs rushing towards the colts away and caused the dogs behind them to step back and cower.

Turf War held out his Stop sign flat on the ground and looked at Fire Fight. “Yo, mah boy!” he shouted.

Fire Fight smirked and jumped onto the sign. Turf War launched him high into the air and Fire Fight kicked a flurry of fire discs downward into the pack of dogs. Some of the dogs weren’t wavered by the blaze and managed to dodge or take the heat. Fire Fight continuously somersaulted as he fell to help generate heat. He hit the ground with a little flare, but released his built-up heat and caused an explosion that sent all the dogs trying to….well dogpile him flying in all direction.

Turf War shield-rammed into a dog that was charging him, causing the mutt to stagger and leave Turf War an opening to easily knock him out with a quick slam to the temple with the blunt side of his sign. Not even a second later did a few more dogs pounce over their fallen comrade and rush the ghetto colt. Turf War used the edge of his side to slice across their faces and leave nasty gashes across their noses and upper lips that hurt like the dickens! The dogs curled up and held their injured faces. A much bigger dog tried to belly flop on top of Turf War, but he quickly jabbed the large canine in his collar and jumped back to avoid his crushing body. The crippled dog struggled to breathe having his windpipes stressed. One by one, few by few, Turf War just kept beating back every dog that tried to charge him with brute force and tactful use of his unorthodox weaponry. All but one of the pack that had charged him had fallen. The last remaining dog wielded a shovel and swung at him. Turf War parried with a hard swing of his sign. The two continued to parry back and forth for a solid minute, their metal scraps clanging violently. Turf War then managed to block a hard downward swing, but the massive dog pressed his shovel hard against the trash lid. The two locked fierce eyes in their game of reverse tug-of-war; the dog was advancing to hard for Turf War to safely take any short opportunities. A burst of magic suddenly hit the massive mutt and sent him flying. He hit the wall hard enough to be knocked out.

Turf War looked back to see Spiral Galaxy give him a reassuring wink. He smiled proudly. “Yo! Peace on dat, homegirl!” he said.

Spiral giggled. “This is fun!” she cheered. She intensified her cosmic field and began firing off more nova blasts with discretion to the cave structure so as not to cause a cave-in. She took short breaks in between every few burst of shots so as to not shatter her psyche. Charging dogs couldn’t touch her as they’d be pushed away by the orbital field around her, and even if they did manage to get close, Shadow Shroud would finish them off. All the while, Spiral was having a blast…..or about twenty per second.

Within the smoldering crater he’d created, Fire Fight fought back whatever dogs had given up on the other three foals and decided to go for him. He drove back wider crowds by using his horn like a flamethrower. He could only focus enough to spray quick wakes of fire, but it did the trick. One big guy however managed to brave through the blaze and swing his pickaxe toward Fire Fight’s temple. Fire Fight managed to backflip right over the swinging mining tool and kick the dogs teeth in the process. The shock of losing some teeth caused the big mutt to throw his pickaxe right into another dog that about to charge him. Fire Fight then uppercut the big guy and sent him upward and then finished him off by rocketing himself into the dogs abdomen, skewering him with his horn and letting loose a built up blast of fire that sent him to kingdom come. Fire Fight fell right back to his feet.

All the while, Air Slash looked on in awe of the sheer skill that these complete strangers who rescued him possessed. Of course, he thought little of Shadow Shroud, but seeing Fire Fight, Turf War and Spiral Galaxy fight their foes with such prowess despite not being official ‘warriors’ impressed the little samurai. It was then that he noticed the dog boss charging towards Fire Fight with the katanas in paw. “Look out!” he shouted.

Fire Fight turned around just in time to see the sky-cleaving steel blades slicing towards him. He would have been deli meat had a sudden flurry of kunai not struck the big dogs wrists and shoulders, staggering him, but managing to hang on the blades. Shadow Shroud then immediately appeared at his side.

“Try to be a little more careful, won’t you? I doubt your ore would be very precious” she sneered as she deviously smiled.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes. “I’ll just take that as a weird compliment and say ‘thanks’.” He said.

Spiral Galaxy had to rest her mind from firing off so much cosmic destruction, so Turf War charged towards the big dog just as he shook the kunai out of his body and shield-rammed him in the face. This did little to faze the dog as Turf War just bounced off of him. Shadow Shroud suddenly noticed that Spiral Galaxy was about to be overrun by dogs and went to her aid. Air Slash flew past her eager to retrieve his swords; the two shot quick glares at one another as they did.

“Don’t recall orderin’ a face lift, brat!” the dog boss shouted. He slashed one sword towards Turf War. Turf War put up his shield. The sword quickly sliced and it was a second later that Turf War saw half of his trash can shield slide right off.

He looked down at in horror. “Ah, S***!” he exclaimed. He then swung his sign at the dog, but the dog just sliced the pole clean in half and the sign went flying. “ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?” he shouted. He was beginning to panic.

The dog boss laughed hysterically. “That’s what happens when you fight with little kids toys!” he taunted.

Turf War glared at him viciously as he tried to figure how to approach the situation. Fire Fight had to make a careful decision after seeing just how sharp those blades were; one wrong move too slow or too careless and he’d suffer the same fate as Turf War’s armaments.

“You vile, rabid mutt! I’ll make you choke for this!” Air Slash proclaimed as he arrived to the other colts side.

The dog boss just smiled maliciously as he poised his captive swords. “Well? Do it already!” he taunted.

The colts braced themselves for a potential blood bath when Spiral Galaxy, who’d just regained her full senses, charged a nova blast and fired it right into the big dogs chest. He was blown back and the swords were knocked out of his paws. Air Slash quickly flew up and caught them.

As Air Slash caught his precious blades, he wielded and twirled them viciously in his hooves like an expert samurai. The dog boss, who’d been knocked into a wall, got up to notice Air Slash with his swords and panicked as did his underlings.

Air Slash pointed one of his swords at the boss. “You’ve brewed a mighty storm, my friend…” he growled. “One that will BE YOUR UNDOING!” he shot down towards the dog boss “HYAAAAAAAAA!”

The dog boss quickly reached for two nearby shovels and swung one just as Air Slash was upon him. Air Slash flew right over it and slashed at the shovel countless times within seconds, slicing it into bits. The boss swung one downward quickly and Air Slash blocked it without even turning his body. He then parried it downward as he turned around and swung his other sword into the dogs face, slicing his forehead and turning once more to stab it into his shoulder. He fell back in agony.

Just then, a horde of dogs rushed toward their boss’s aid and Air Slash charged them. “I’M ENDING THIS!” he bellowed.

Some had weapons that Air Slash easily blocked and parried before chopping into bits. One by one, each dog was slashed furiously be it with well-coordinated series of slices forehand and backhand alike. All the while, the other foals save for Shadow Shroud looked on in awe as Air Slash wielded his swords like scalpels, vicious scalpels that seemed to shred even the air around his foes into pieces. His skill and ferocity equated with Fire Fights but with swords.

Finally, only a small handful of dogs hadn’t ran for the hills and charged the young swordspony. Air Slash charged them and spun around continuously through the small pack with his swords held out at each side. He came out the other side and stopped just as each dog fell down gravely injured from the tornado of slashes they’d just braved. Air Slash turned around and glared at them as he pointed his swords at them. “Go back to your kennels!” he said. The remaining dogs and their boss ran out of the mine without hesitation.

Air Slash floated back down to the ground. He was about to sheathe his swords when he sensed a flurry of shuriken flying towards him and swatted them away with his swords. Startled, Fire Fight, Turf War and Spiral Galaxy suddenly noticed Shadow Shroud charging Air Slash wielding a kunai. She jumped towards him and the two struck each other’s weapons furiously. Shadow Shroud suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.

“Shroud, what are you doing!?” Fire Fight exclaimed.

Air Slash quickly sensed that she was above him and swung his sword and managed to parry her kunai as it slid along the blade of his sword downward with her. She jumped back and used her cloning technique. “Taking down my enemy!” she hissed.

The multitude of illusory copies along with the real Shadow Shroud assaulted Air Slash as he soared around the cavern dispatching each one. “Show yourself, you devil!” he shouted. He landed in the center of the chamber as Shadow Shroud ran up from behind and lunged with her kunai at him. He blocked as she locked both blades and eyes with him.

“Peekaboo!” she whispered.

A hack and slash fest ensued between the ninja and samurai. Their precision and technique surpassed anything the other three foals had seen in any kung fu movie. He’d slash, she vanish and suddenly strike from behind him not a second later, he’d parry and assault her with a combo of slashes that she managed to completely dodge just at the right instant.

Finally, Spiral Galaxy mustered the mind power to force a gravity field on the two combatants that forced them downward hard enough that their duel was halted. “Stop, you two!” she said.

Air Slash and Shadow Shroud were too weighed down by the gravity to even stand. “Nnnrgh….Rrrrrrggghh! Release…u-us!” Air Slash stuttered.

“Spiral!.....Nnnrrrgh….Let….me go!” Shadow Shroud plead.

“Only if you two promise to stop.” Spiral said.

“Our….showdown….ngh!...does not concern you!” Shadow Shroud said.

“No, Shroud. It does. You’re a part of us. You’re my friend. You’re our friend! I don’t know what the apparent bad blood between your families is, but if we’re going to complete our mission, even this can’t be a problem.” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud glared at her fiery friend. How dare he try to tell her who her enemies are!? Still….she had indeed made a sort of pact with Fire Fight. Even if a pony she considered to be her mortal nemesis was right there, her priority was helping her friend. Why? Fire Fight wasn’t quite sure, but she had made it clear that she was his friend. “….Very well….” She muttered.

“I…submit as well….” Air Slash said.

Spiral released her grip on the combatants and Fire Fight walked between them. He helped up Shadow Shroud, but she quickly drew her hoof back angrily and glared at him as she removed her mask. Meanwhile, Spiral Galaxy helped up Air Slash, who sheathed his swords in the X-shaped scabbard he’d recovered in the fight against the dogs.

“I don’t understand, Fire Fight. What ‘mission’ could you possibly be on with this Shadewalker?” Air Slash inquired.

Fire Fight started from the top about his history in Manehatten and what happened in Ponyville. He then explained how he encountered Shadow Shroud and started their mission together. Turf War and Spiral Galaxy explained how the two rescued them and why they ran away and how they eventually ended up here.

“I….see……” Air Slash said. “So you truly believe that you don’t belong in the very land that was established for our people? Do you know how mad that sounds? Perhaps this creature of the night poisoned your mind in your distressed state!” He glared at Shadow Shroud. “And what is this business about him ‘catching your interest’, hmm? Why do you find this innocent colt so fascinating?” he growled.

“I have nothing to answer to you, Bladerunner! You could never hope to understand the will of my clan and how we go about protecting and preserving the land” Shadow Shroud hissed.

“Enough! Both of you!” Fire Fight commanded. The two complied. “Air Slash, look, I know it all sounds crazy, but yes. I firmly believe that Equestria just won’t accommodate foals who are growing with talents that Equestria as a whole looks down on. When was the last time we needed fighting skills? The Elements of Harmony have only ever talked their opponents down or just blasted them with non-lethal magic that just….I don’t know, rainbow and sunshined them into submission or…something. Anyway, what’ll happen when we fight a foe that won’t listen to reason, or won’t be affected by the Elements? What then? With nopony skilled enough to fight those foes, we’re done for! And Equestria just refuses to realize that! So when they see a foal that likes to beat things up, they label him or her as a problem that needs to be fixed. See what I’m saying?”

Air Slash drew one of his swords. “What do you think my clan is preparing for? The ultimate hardcore cooking contest? We forge our weapons for a reason, you know, and that’s the very scenario you just described. My family practices the art of war so that we may be prepared for it. When the time comes, ponies like you and I will be able to shine and defend the land as needed.” He argued.

Fire Fight shook his head. “But that time is far from here! And foals like us still live in fear of our peers, even our own parents sometimes! I want to create a place where they can nurture their skills and live happily no matter who they are! And I don’t want to make it into some clan family that follows some strict code or something; I want to create a place where they can feel safe, wanted, at peace! Because right now, they need it!” he argued.

Air Slash sheathed his sword. “You’re even more of a fool than I’d realized. First you befriend a Shadewalker, then go on some big kidnapping spree labeled as a crusade to save ‘lost foals’. What bologna! You talk about making Equestria better even though you’re running away from it. You seem to have your goals confused, friend.” He argued.

“Fire Fight didn’t kidnap us, Air Slash. We left on our own terms. We decided to go with Fire Fight. He never forced us!” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Fo’ real, homie. An’ b’fore you start talkin’ ‘bout all dat ‘poisonin’ our minds’ stuff, let me ask you somethin’: If you was in one o’ our shoes and said ‘hell no!’, why’d you say it? You either do or you don’t for one reason or another.” Turf War inquired.

“Hmph! Simple. Because I’d put it on good faith that my talent would one day serve me well enough to make everypony realize just how valuable I was as a fighter.” Air Slash answered.

“Well, I wish I could have your optimism, Air Slash, but I’ve endured too much to know that that’ll just never happen. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. I am making Equestria better by running away from it, because they won’t nurture my talents that we indeed just might use to save it. What good is having skill if you can never use it?” Fire Fight said.

Those last words seemed to affect Air Slash in some way. Fire Fight wasn’t sure how, but Air Slash seemed visibly shaken by the notion he’d brought up. Just before he could answer though, they heard somepony calling from within the caverns.

“Air Slash!? Where are you, boy?”

Forging A New Path

“Quickly! Hide yourselves!” Air Slash whispered.

Shadow Shroud quickly led her companions into a nearby tunnel entrance and hid behind the rocky mouth. Just as they peered out into the chamber where Air Slash still stood, a unicorn stallion with a single katana holstered at his side walked out of another tunnel towards him with two other ponies with swords that seemed to act as something like bodyguards. He leered down at Air Slash with an authoritative expression.

“Father.” Air Slash muttered. The hiding foals were surprised to hear that.

Air Slash’s father shook his head disapprovingly. “Care to explain to me how you managed to let our mine be defiled by those mange-ridden simpletons? Are you truly worthy of those swords you’ve forged with your own hooves?” he asked.

Air Slash looked dejected. “They…..They overran me, father. I fought at the zenith of my skill, but-”

“But you still managed to get captured, and do you know why?” his father said.

“B-……B-Because they-”

“Because they caught you off guard, that’s why. You denied your blades an opportunity to protect you for even an instant, and failed them! You failed our clan! You failed me! Again!” He put his hoof down, startling Air Slash. “How many times have I retrained you over and over again until you got our technique right again only to throw it into the trash again in favor of those series of childish techniques you even dare to call skill!? What kind of Bladerunner do you hope to become!?”

Air Slash peered up at his father in shame. Why was he so mad? Air Slash’s technique was absolutely marvelous as far as the other foals bar Shadow Shroud were concerned. An entire horde of dogs that they altogether struggled with, he took them down with his own two swords with minimal effort, so why should his father, likely a veteran amongst his kin be even remotely disappointed. They wondered.

Air Slash closed his eyes and gulped as he thought back to what Fire Fight had said to him. “I…I-I….Forgive me father, but….I do not believe that you value my skill.” He said hesitantly.

His father narrowed his eyes and drew his sword with his magic. He levitated the sword behind Air Slash and held the back of the blade against him. “What do you mean?” he growled. His bodyguards narrowed their eyes as well.

Air Slash panicked a little with cold diamond enforced steel at his back. He gulped again. “I have skill apart from what you teach me, which I do take to heart. You just never let me use it. I believe that if we further explore what our swords can do, our clan would benef-”

His father pulled his sword closer towards Air Slash. “There’s no benefit to acting like an animal! You have no right to decide how you want to use your blades. We live and use them to serve Equestria, not to use it as a massive dojo!” He scolded. He sheathed his sword. “Even your mother doesn’t approve of your technique, so don’t be fooled if she even sees fit to bid you goodnight. You’ll be working in the forge tonight away for this disgraceful display, so start gathering ore and report there at once!” he commanded.

Air Slash sighed. “Yes, Father…” he muttered.

With that, his father and his bodyguards stormed out the mine. Air Slash just stood there with his head down as he stared at the dirt covered by his shadow. When the adults were out of ranges of perception, the foals emerged from their hiding spots, and walked up to their samurai friend.

“Air Slash…..” Fire Fight said as tried to put his hoof on his shoulder.

“Step away from me, fool.” He growled. He got up and went to the open veins of ore.

“Homie, you ain’t gotta-” Turf War started, but was cut off when Air Slash pointed one of his swords at them.

“Step away, I said!” he growled.

Despite his glare, Fire Fight could see the very same anguish that they’d all suffered. He so desperately wanted to use his unique approach to sword fighting, however unique it was to what he was apparently supposed to be using, but his father, maybe all of his masters wouldn’t have it. He masked all of that with a brave face.

They all backed off. “Maybe we should wait until he’s in a better mood.” Spiral Galaxy whispered.

Fire Fight nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” He faced Air Slash. “Th-Thanks for not letting them know we were here, Air Slash. Look….If…If you need us, we’ll….We’re camping in that cave that goes through the mountain and leads to another valley, ok? Just don’t tell any of the other Bladerunners, ok?”

Air Slash slowly sheathed his sword as he maintained his gaze at the group. He turned around and began carefully cutting the exceptionally tight ore out of the wall.

Shadow Shroud shook her head. “Hmph. Pride has always been a weakness of his family.”

Turf War picked up the other halves of his armaments and sighed. “I cannot believe dis, y’all… How da hell I’m s’posed to fight now?”

Fire Fight grimaced. “I…..could probably try welding them back together? Even if that doesn’t work….maybe there’s….a really tough branch you could use instead? Maybe carve a shield out of a rock?”

“That’d be pretty hard. We might just have to wait until we make to Dodge City and find him some replacements.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Turf War shook his head. “I mean, I bet I could still hit hard, but….damn, man…”

As they walked out of the mine, Air Slash listened intently to their little conversation as he carved away some more ore.

*****

It was late in the afternoon, just about time for an early dinner, so the foals gathered some edible plants and snuck back to their cave. Spiral could feel her horn tingle as her full power returned to her as she stepped out under the sky. The stars seemed to beckon for her to use their power. The walk was a long one after what the foals had just been through.

Shadow Shroud was still fairly disgusted after having to deal with a member of a rival family. She didn’t like the notion of helping a Bladerunner, but she was still Fire Fight’s ally, and however begrudgingly deemed the family of samurais unworthy of her time….not that they really were to begin with.

Even though they had rescued Air Slash, he still managed to not only reject them out of pride, but even bring their mission into question. Fire Fight began to wonder if this whole goal of his was worth it, even feasible. Air Slash seemed to grow up in the very kind of place he’d hoped to create, and was still suffering. He wanted nothing to do with making his utopia anything like what Air Slash’s father might make it look like. He’d seen Turf War and Spiral Galaxy smile ever since he’d brought them aboard, so he must have been doing something right, or were they misguided too? He didn’t even know where to begin with the mysterious Shadow Shroud.

They got back to cave and put their bounty together in pile in which Fire Fight could work with. He got a fire going and put a small pot of water to boil the food in. The ingredients consisted of mushrooms, wild berries that Shadow Shroud knew weren’t poisonous, some edible pine needles native to Mt. Foal, and some leftover apples from their breakfast. Night had fallen and the moon was as luminous as ever, and the stars danced in their shared light. It was going to be a nice stew had Fire Fight not been so occupied with his thoughts and let it boil into a mush. He quickly strained the water and got some makeshift plates made from bark and served what he could.

“Ehh…..sorry, guys…” Fire Fight said. “Today was just…..”

“It’s Air Slash, isn’t it. What a jerk! I know his dad doesn’t seem much better, but….he could’ve shown a little gratitude.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Turf War took a little slurp of the burnt stew. “He did thank us fo’ freein’ his a** at least.” He looked at his sliced armaments. “And it wasn’t his fault my stuff get messed up. Hell, it’s pretty impressive dat he made those damn things!”

“As I understand it, Bladerunners are trained from birth in not only their swordsmanship, but also as artisans with metal. They are expected to forge their own weapons that they would carry throughout their lives. Why else would they have such a huge mine?” Shadow Shroud explained.

“Just like with you and your ninja arts, huh?” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “Yes. However, as I said before, the Bladerunners are very proud of their esteem and status as who those are presumed to be Equestria’s only real warriors despite almost never having to go into battle. The only times anypony could ever recall their service was the incident at the royal wedding and the assault from Tirek. Even then, there was little they could do with their priorities set more for their appearance than their actual prowess. I can understand if they were overwhelmed….admittedly so were we, but as you saw with Air Slash’s father, they still try to adhere to Equestria’s eternal sunshine- that simply does not belong in a war environment. It’s the reason why the Shadewalkers even exist.” She ranted.

“Well damn, homegirl. Just let ‘em all know!” Turf War said.

“Hmph. If only it were as simple as that. All of ponykind would never recognize the value of a tried and true warrior, only perfect harmony- something that is simply impossible. Why do you think we’ve remained hidden for as long as we have?” Shadow Shroud retorted

“But you haven’t seen a whole lot of action, right? That’s because Equestria’s at peace. Of course we’re not going to think to highly of fighting. Why do you think we’re running away?” Spiral Galaxy inquired.

“Because we seem to be the only sensible beings in the entire realm that sees the possibility of war and actually prepare for it! Plus, the fact that we’ve seen any action at all means that Equestria isn’t as peaceful as we’d like to believe. I can understand if the good princesses merely want to keep their subjects from worry, but if we truly value our existence, then shouldn’t we actually be ready to defend it?” Shadow Shroud answered.

“That’s exactly what I wonder each time I’m scolded”. They heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance to the valley containing the Bladerunner stronghold.

They looked over to see Air Slash approaching them with his twin katanas at his back along with a pair of saddlebags and a large sack. He gently put the sack down as he descended. “Fire Fight, forgive me. I was childish earlier even though you showed me a great deal of kindness.” He said as he bowed his head.

Still shocked to suddenly see him appear, Fire Fight quickly mustered a response. “Umm….Yeah…..No hard feelings, Air Slash……..What are you even doing here? And what’s in that bag?” he asked.

Air Slash quickly drew his sword and sliced the bag wide open as he sheathed his sword again and pulled out its contents. It was a warhammer about as big as a traffic sign that was mostly chocolate colored, but had had a few black stripes and rings about it. It had an axe head for a pommel so it could be wielded as such. He then pulled out a dark brown colored round shield that was shined to the point of being able to see your reflection. He handed these items to Turf War.

“Turf War, I believe these will replace you destroyed weapons quite nicely, yes?” Air Slash asked.

Turf War just stood there in shock for a second and picked up the arms. They were a little heavier than his previous tools, but it was a negligible difference for a colt of his strength. “F-……Fo’ real, dog!?” he asked with excitement.

Air Slash nodded. “Yes. I mustered those this evening after seeing you fight so valiantly with such….forgive me once more, lackluster armaments. A true warrior such as yourself deserves a weapon worthy of him or herself.” He said.

A huge smile creased the brown Earth Pony’s face as his eyes sparkled brightly. He eager inspected his new weapon. He swung it around carefully to test it and get a feel for how he’d use it and realized that he loved it. “Yooooo! Dis a bad m********* right here!” each swing echoed with power throughout the cave. “I mean, it’s kinda whack that I gotta flip it if I wanna use one side, but it’s all good! Man, I appreciate you fo’ dis. I appreciate you!” He roughly patted Air Slash’s shoulder.

Air Slash chuckled. “You’re quite welcome, friend.” He looked at Fire Fight. “And for you…” He pulled out a pair of dark silver-colored forehoof battle gauntlets with red linings and handed them to Fire Fight.

Fire Fight curiously took them. They surprisingly easy to strap into and fit just right! Pretty secure too. They completely covered the fronts and soles of his hooves while they open in the back allowing for fluid movement. He inspected them closer to see that three tiny little teeth made a triangle around each of their rims. He then punched the wall next to him and was stunned to see his gauntlet shatter through it and leave a heck of a crater.

“Air Slash….You made these for us!? But I thought you said we were just being idiots running around Equestria?” Fire Fight asked.

Air Slash nodded. “I did. That is until you made me realize that I….agreed with you. You asked me… ‘What good is having skill if you can never use it?’, and that’s when I knew I wasn’t alone. For too long have I been held back from attaining the true height of what I can do by the very creeds and doctrines I was born into that I would willingly serve. Now I have an opportunity to become the warrior this land needs…” he bowed to Fire Fight. “If you would have me.”

Fire Fight was caught off guard by the sudden change of heart, but was more than happy to have a capable swordsman like Air Slash along for the ride. He was about to answer when he was cut off.

“No!” Shadow Shroud growled.

Everypony looked back at her to see her leering at the samurai colt. He leered back. “I wasn’t asking you!” he growled back.

This was an obvious concern for the other three. “Are you sure you’d be willing to work with a Shadewalker, Air Slash?” Spiral Galaxy asked him.

Air Slash stood back up. “As much as it pains me, yes. Admittedly, I envy the sense of freedom the Shadewalkers have despite their immoral approach to justice. And….I can attest to our clan being prideful, so I hope to break that trend and earn my pride through hard training. Anything is better than being stuck here.” He answered.

“I refuse!” Shadow Shroud growled.

Fire Fight walked over to her. “Who’s proud now, huh? Shroud, if he’s willing to work with his ‘enemy’, then shouldn’t you? And if you really think about you two aren’t even enemies at all! What is the goal of the Shadewalkers? Why do they exist?” he asked.

“To cull potential and sure threats to Equestria, but they-” Shadow Shroud said, but was cut off.

“Air Slash, why do the Bladerunners exist?” Fire Fight asked him.

“To serve the land with our swords and technique to defend her from-” Air Slash was also cut off.

“Boom! There! You see? You two have the same goal. You were never enemies to begin with. You just can’t agree on how to see it through. This is just another reason why we left Equestria. This is why our parents and peers saw us as so much trouble. We got away from that because we want to be better than that. I know we’ll disagree over certain things at times, but as long as we all share the same vision, I hardly think we have cause to resent one another.” Fire Fight said.

“He’s right, you two. Do you really want to grow into anything like Air Slash’s dad? We have to be willing to learn from each other if we’re gonna grow into better ponies. Shroud, I’ve only managed to start being able to control my magic because you and Fire Fight were so willing to accept me and help me. Not once did you ever think to run away from me, right? And Turf War has just been our number one source of morale even though he swears like a sailor.” Spiral Galaxy said. She put her hoof on Shroud’s shoulder. “Won’t you become a better Shadewalker if you can learn from a rival Bladerunner?”

Shadow Shroud looked at her friend and sighed. “Fine…” she muttered. She looked over at Fire Fight and leered. “But this had better be worth it.” She growled as she drew a kunai.

Fire Fight had gotten used to this, so he didn’t flinch. “It will be, Shroud. I was worth it, wasn’t I? And I’m a nopony.” He said.

Shadow Shroud sighed once more as she sheathed her kunai.

“Oh! Wait a second.” Air Slash said as he reached into the bag once more. He pulled out an azure blue-colored piece of torso armor with hexagonal pads of hard leather reinforced with steel at the edges.. “Spiral Galaxy, I forged this for you.”

Spiral gasped. “Really!?” She levitated the armor to herself and slipped into it. It was a perfect fit! The armor covered her entire torso, even her flank and ran down to just above her elbows. “Thank you, Air Slash!.....But, I don’t really fight like the rest of you do.”

“Indeed, but should you be overrun and unable to defend yourself or without immediate backup, that should come in handy.” Air Slash said. Spiral smiled sweetly at him. “I….unfortunately didn’t have enough material to make armor for the rest of you.” He said. He then looked at Shadow Shroud. “And I highly doubt you’d need anything from my hooves.” He said.

Shadow Shroud flipped her mane. “How intuitive.” She growled.

“If it is of no inconvenience, might we find another location to shelter ourselves that’s further from the stronghold? My father no doubt has noticed my absence and likely has everypony hunting me down.” Air Slash said.

“Good idea. You can have a quick snack from one our bags if you need as we go. We kinda already had dinner. And…” Fire Fight said.

“Yes?” Air Slash asked.

Fire Fight held out his hoof. “Welcome aboard.”

Air Slash shook his hoof. “Thank you. I solemnly swear by these blades I’ve forged to serve you with my life!” he declared.

They quickly packed up and headed out, leaving the sack and Turf War’s old weapons hidden away in a dark corner of the cave to rot. As they did, Air Slash and Shadow Shroud glared at each other with uncertainty. They had now committed themselves to the same cause for the same beliefs….for better or for worse…

Fire Safety

Back in Ponyville…

The mares and Spike had a long, sorrowful return home. While they had indeed been able to track Fire Fight for a while, they had lost any sure way of being able to follow him now. All they could do now was hope for another lead soon. Rarity was amongst the most dissatisfied. While she got some potential answer about the mystery filly, she still got more questions than answers. A ninja filly? That sounded more farfetched than a dragon that breathed ice! Nevertheless, she encountered her and wanted to know more.

It was around breakfast time when they arrived. They got off the train and entered town. “Ah’m just so sorry, ma’am. At least we know that he’s alright though…..sounds like.” Apple jack said to Ms. Fight.

Ms. Fight sighed. “Thank you, Applejack…..I deeply appreciate your effort, but…..”

Applejack pulled her in and patted her shoulder. “It’s gonna be ok.” She whispered.

“I just find it a little disturbing that he’s apparently taking other foals with him. I know it’s only an assumption at this point, but the dots connect a little too perfectly, wouldn’t you say?” Twilight said.

“Yeah. But why he would be, I don’t know…….Hey……You know, if we look out for any more cases of runaway foals across Equestria, then if Fire Fight really is taking them, we just might find him and get those foals back home too!” Spike suggested.

Twilight giggled. “Yes, Spike. That’s probably the best we can do for now. What do you think, Rarity?”

Rarity was too lost in thought to heed Twilight. That filly….she had to be real. She basically got confirmation that she was! Still….who was she? What is she hiding? Too many questiones swam in her head. And….now that she thought about it……something else felt…off about her when they first encountered.

“Rarity?” Twilight said.

Rarity snapped out her train of thought. “What? Oh! Yes, darling?” she said.

Twilight cocked her head. “Are you okay?”

“It’s this whole funny business with that li’l ‘ninja’ filly, huh?” Applejack asked.

Rarity nodded. “Yes…I just can’t help but to wonder about her. I’ll probably just lose so much sleep trying to wrap my head around the whole ordeal.”

“Don’t worry so much about it, Rarity. I want to find out about her two, but I think we prioritize Fire Fight right now, wouldn’t you say? Why don’t we go relax at the spa a little later on, ok?” Twilight said.

Rarity smiled. “That would be delightful, dear.”

“Anyway, we were saying that we should look out for future cases of foals running away since Fire Fight might have something to do with them. Sound like a plan?” Spike said.

“It does indeed, my little Spikey-Wikey!” she cooed she nuzzled the little dragon’s neck, causing him to blush furiously. She then turned to Ms. Fight and put her hoof on her shoulder. “I hope you know that I’m not just doing this simply to find that filly, darling. I truly do want to find Fire Fight. He was so kind when he visited my boutique that day. Sweetie Belle and I have just been under a rain cloud ever since we got the news. We haven’t been too terribly pleased with our parents either.”

Ms. Fight smiled. “I know. Thank you, Rarity. I’m curious about her myself, admittedly. But yeah, we need to focus on Fire Fight……*sigh*…..”

“Would y’all like to come and have breakfast with mah family? Apple Bloom will probably be at school by the time we get there, but at least let me do ya one more kindness.” Applejack said to Ms. Fight.

“Well…..oh…..sure, why not? I’m not exactly in the mood to cook right now anyway.” Ms. Fight said.

“Well alright then! I guess we’ll be off. Bye, everypony!” Twilight said as she waved goodbye. Spike and Rarity went with her.”

“Bye, y’all!” Applejack said. And with that, she and Ms. Fight made their way to Sweet Apple Acres.

They trotted in the morning sun through town with smiling ponies all around them. Everything was as happy and normal as could be. Somehow, Ms. Fight was starting to feel a little better being in such a brighter atmosphere. It helped that Applejack would treat her to a nice meal. Even though Applejack wasn’t a mother herself, her care for he little sister put them on somewhat even ground, so they might have a good conversation despite recent events.

They had reached the gate of the orchard where they bumped into Apple Bloom. Her bags were in tow, meaning she had obviously just left for school. “Oh!.....Hey, Applejack.” She said quietly, looking away a little from her. She then noticed Ms. Fight with her. “Did….y’all find Fire Fight?” she asked.

The mares sighed. Ms. Fight hung her head as she lost a little of her light. “No, Sugarcube. We didn’t…….but, we came close!........we think….” Applejack answered.

“Oh….well……I’m gonna go on to school then. Bye.” Apple Bloom said as she walked off.

Applejack hung her own head down as she watched her little sister so coldly walk off. She was understandably still upset with her sister. She’d become so distant that it almost felt as though she herself had run away. “Ms. Fight…..is this what it feels like?” she asked.

Ms. Fight embraced her. “Don’t try to think about it. It’s an awful feeling I don’t ever want you to feel” she said. She let of her and looked ahead in Apple Bloom’s direction. “That damn teacher on the other hand…”

*****

Apple Bloom had made it to the trail when she saw the other CMC. They waved to each other as they trotted toward one another. “Howdy, y’all!” she greeted.

“Hi, Apple Bloom.”

“Hey!”

“Morning!”

They began their walk through the wooded area of the trail. Silence fell amongst the group as the entirety of their trek brought back memories. They remembered the day that they’d seen Fire Fight talking to somepony apparently only he saw. They thought he was being a little weird, especially since he seemed so convinced that who or whatever it seemed to really be there, but they would never judge a friend. The thought of him of coming and going so quickly under such awful circumstances gave the entire area a depressing atmosphere. Button Mash wasn’t even in the mood to pull out his Joy boy.

They finally reach the school yard. The other foals weren’t as active as they usually were. Nopony really was. They’d just think to themselves and talk amongst each other about Fire Fight. It had been like this since that horrific day. None of them could believe what happened. They had no idea that adults could be capable of such terrible things, even Cheerilee of all ponies! Sure, most of the parents genuinely felt very guilty for what they did save for Spoiled Rich, but that wasn’t going to bring back their friend. Diamond Tiara had apologized to all of her classmates for her mother’s behavior; she swore she’d find a way to make her answer for what she did, to which her classmates forgave her.

The CMC came across Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who were as dejected as they had been ever since the….event. They approached them and greeted.

“Oh…..H-Hi guys.” Diamond Tiara sighed. Silver Spoon just gave a nod, barely turning her head to face them.

One look at them spoke for the entire class. “We’re all worried about Fire Fight, huh?” Scootaloo said.

Silver Spoon sighed. “Yeah…” her pigtails hung in front of her eyes as they began to produce a few tears. Diamond Tiara embraced her. “I still can’t believe Ms. Cheerilee! Or our parents! It wasn’t Fire Fight’s fault that those scary stallions were so mean! And he was protecting us! Why should he have been punished for that!? That Film Noir was the only sensible adult in the whole place!” she ranted.

“I know. Really makes me wish she was my mother…” Diamond Tiara commented. “I’m still just so sorry for her, everypony. I’d figured my dad would finally put his hoof down, but….she just has him wrapped around her stupid, over-manicured hoof! It’s so disgusting!”

“We still forgive ya, Diamond. Ah’m still pretty mad mahself at mah sister. She keeps on sayin’ how she’ll stop treatin’ me like a baby, but she just keeps lettin’ those apple rot! I bumped into her this morning. She was with his mom probably tryin’ to make up somehow. I guess they’d just gotten back from Detrot, but they said he wasn’t there.” Apple Bloom said.

“Then why’d they even go there?” Scootaloo asked.

“Because of something crazy theory my sister had about a weird filly she met a train bound to Canterlot through Detrot that she suspected might have helped him sneak on the train.” Sweetie Belle explained. “She never told me the details, so we’d have to ask.”

Button Mash had a thought. “Ya know….we did tell Fire Fight about the Sister’s Castle in the Everfree Forest. Maybe he went there? I don’t think anypony searched there.”

“I don’t know, Mashie. It seems like a bit of stretch. Plus, do you really think he’d be able to barrel through all the monsters that live in there?” Sweetie Belle asked him.

“Honestly, yes. Lots of animals are afraid of fire, and Fire Fight is a better fire mage than most wizard classes in any RPG, retro or new. Plus, he’s just tough altogether.” Button Mash answered.

Sweetie Belle giggled. “Sounds like somepony’s a little jealous” she teased.

Button blushed a little. “N-No! I’m just saying he’s tough…that’s all.”

“And you’re not?” Scootaloo teased.

“Scoots!” Apple Bloom said.

“I seem to recall you saying how you wanted Fire Fight to teach you how to fight so you could protect me.” Sweetie Belle said.

Button blushed more visibly. “Well….yeah, but….” He was cut off when Sweetie pecked his cheek.

“I don’t need you be some fire superhero or whatever for me to love you!” she said.

Button Smiled and kissed her back. “Thanks…” he said. The other fillies giggled at their display.

“I’m honestly with Button here. If I was Fire Fight, I’d probably want to go to somewhere I’d never be found, and he’s definitely tough enough to make it through the forest to that castle. It’s just a matter of if he was actually able to find it. I don’t think we gave him directions.” Scootaloo said.

“It’d be a chance worth taking, I think.” Diamond Tiara said.

“Well….I guess so. But If Rarity really thought that he was somehow in Detrot then….Well, I guess we’re no more sure than she was, so why not?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Alrighty then. Once Ah finish up the last o’ mah chores, we’ll all meet up at the path that leads to Zecora’s hut. She can guide us there safely.” Apple Bloom stated.

Silver Spoon perked up. “Sounds like a plan!” They all high fived.

Just then, they heard the bell ring and a high-pitched voice call out to them. “Alright, kids! Come on in so we can get today started!” Cheerilee put on her teacher as she called out to her foals, but she was only answered with disapproving looks from them all. They reluctantly trotted into the schoolhouse, not even batting an eye at their teacher. After the last one entered and passed her, Cheerilee could feel the tense atmosphere that had built up inside; she almost didn’t want to enter, but she had a job to do. She walked to the chalkboard and faced her students.

Their disapproving gazes maintained themselves as she tried to keep her brave face on. They hadn’t even bothered to say ‘good morning’ to her, not that she was surprised. It had been like since the incident. They were normally so happy to be here with her and each other to enjoy another day of learning, but now it was as if they completely hated her. Cheerilee knew deep down that she had nopony but herself to blame for what happened, and her students had every right to be angry with her. Certainly some of them worried that she’d ostracize them the way she did Fire Fight. Their parents had forgiven her, but the foals were truly the ones who suffered. It was a thought that was very difficult for her to bear as a teacher.

She turned over the chalkboard. “Today, I’ve scheduled us to learn about fire safety.” She said. The chalkboard was riddled with various pictures and instructions relating to the matter. She saw a few of them roll their eyes. “Can anypony tell me the first thing about how to handle an open flame?”

Diamond Tiara whispered to herself. “Yeah, ‘cause you sure messed that up!”

Rumble raised his hoof. “Yes, Rumble?”

“I bet Fire Fight would know.” He said coldly.

Cheerilee was doing her best to keep smiling despite the circumstances. “Ehh…Yes! I’m sure he would! He’s….certainly a smart young colt, huh?”

Silver Spoon whispered to herself. “And brave, and handsome, and actually cool. And you were awful to him because of it!”

Cheerilee felt her heart sink as she knew that this would be a long day…

Class as at least ended for the day and only Cheerilee remained. All the foals got through the material with flying colors, but when working together, she heard them talk about one subject: Fire Fight. She had never felt more like a failure in her career as a teacher…..no…..her whole life. How could she treat a foal like that!? She saw only a problem that needed to be fixed, not a foal who needed help. And because of that, she had lost so much respect from the foals she cherished so dearly. She wanted to make up for it, but didn’t know how. Fire Fight had vanished completely. She had no idea where he was or where to contact him. It didn’t help that his mother despised her with every fiber of her being. She had even spat at her when nopony was around them! But that was alright with her. She deserved it. Until Fire Fight returned safely, she’d suffer the way he did, like a brat who needed to behave properly.

Tension

The following morning after the foals found another cave to dwell in that was very well-hidden, they had their breakfast and trekked south through the mountains towards Dodge City. They encountered some resistance along the way in the form of some wild creatures that didn’t take too kindly to their presence. Packs of Timberwolves would ambush them, a couple Bugbears, but thankfully no more giant pythons. None of these threats proved too great a challenge with the foals’ new weapons courtesy of their newest comrade as well as the little samurai himself, whose flawless techniques with his swords made the others feel like real warriors.

Turf War’s new hammer-axe bashed and chopped right through the Timberwolves as though they were firewood. His new shield would block them as effectively as a magic force field. Not to mention his shield bashes and punches were pretty concussive apart from the hammer itself. He was having a blast with his new toys. “Yo, Air Slash! D’ese are my sh- uh…. Freakin’ awesome, bruh!” he exclaimed.

“Glad you like them, friend.” Air Slash replied. “I made them with only the finest steel I could muster and reinforced them with only a thin layer of diamond. The shield even has an inner layer of python scales.” He drew one of his swords. “So the best part…” he slashed across the shield and the pole of the hammer, but nary a scratch was left. “Not even my blades will so easily cut through their defense.”

Turf War pulled him in for a bro hug. “Word up!” he said. Air Slash chuckled lightly.

Fire Fight was equally thrilled with his new gauntlets. His hooves were starting to callus from so much punching, so these were already pretty convenient. Apart from that, being able to hit way harder so even a Bugbears hide at least bruised made Fire Fight feel more like he could take on the world, especially after not being able to effectively combat the big python back the Hoofington forest. He was okay with the fact that they didn’t help his fire magic.

Another Bugbear suddenly flew out of a big tree and rocketed towards them with its stinger at the ready. All Fire Fight had to do was flame-jump towards it and sock it right in the face to knock it out. “Man….I kinda miss the challenge.” He said.

Air Slash chuckled. “Oh don’t worry, friend. I’m sure we’ll encounter plenty a worthy foe on our quest!” he declared. He turned to Spiral Galaxy. “Is that armor still to you’re liking, Spiral?” he asked her.

Spiral smiled proudly. “Oh yeah! It’s a little heavy, but pretty comfy.” She answered.

“Good. I’m sorry couldn’t muster anything that would contain you’re cosmo magic. Our clan doesn’t particularly deal with that.” Air Slash said.

“That’s ok. I meditate with Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud when we have time, so I’ll be able to control it on my own eventually.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Hmph.” They looked over to see Shadow Shroud as she walked forward facing front barely leering at them, namely Air Slash, who returned the dirty look.

Spiral Galaxy grimaced. “…Amongst other things” she whispered to the other colts.

Fire Fight and Turf War grimaced at one another. Air Slash and Shadow Shroud would likely be constantly on the verge of killing each other this whole trip, but Air Slash made the choice to leave the home he felt he didn’t belong, and Fire Fight adhered to his self-imposed obligation to help him.

“You sure dis was a good idea, Fire Fight?” Turf War whispered.

Fire Fight sighed. “It is our mission to help foals like Air Slash…” he muttered. He then looked at Shadow Shroud. “Even if we won’t totally get along…”

Turf War patted his back roughly. “Ya know somethin’, dog? Back in da hood, I seent a lot o’ gangs be built around ponies who got beef wit one another. The more d’hey try to smoke each other, the less d’hey wanted to. D’hey was makin’ dat connection d’ho, ya know what I’m sayin’?” he said.

“Yeah! And if you think about, Equestria was founded the exact same way! The three tribes hated one another, but learned the value of friendship and the rest is history. The same thing just might happen with these two.” Spiral Galaxy added.

“Word!” Turf War affirmed.

While encouraged, one more look at the two rivals told Fire Fight that that’d be a long way away. He knew that Shadow Shroud wasn’t very happy with him right now, but the fact that she hasn’t left nor killed him meant that she was as willing as Air Slash to give this whole ordeal a chance, even if she didn’t express it. “Yeah….I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“And we will, son!” Turf War said.

Fire Fight chuckled. “I wish I had your optimism sometimes, Turf War.”

Turf War shook his head. “Nah, son. If ya did, you’d prolly still be in Ponyville tryna be Super Stallion or whatever.” He said.

The two colts bumped each other’s shoulders and laughed. Spiral Galaxy giggled with them. Finally they’d reached the foot of the mountain. It was still lush with grass and flowers, so the desert wasn’t too close.

Shadow Shroud looked at her map. “There’s a river just to the east from here. If we manage to build a raft or something buoyant, we should be able to more effectively reach the desert leading into Dodge City.” She explained.

“I know which one you speak of; my family collects water from it. It flows out from Neighagra Falls quite rapidly, so it would certainly cut our travel time considerably.” Air Slash explained.

“I was just getting to that.” Shadow Shroud hissed.

Air Slash eyed her. “Well, be quicker on the draw then.” He said.

“That’s enough, you two.” Fire Fight lightly commanded. The two scowled downward. “Let’s start gathering materials for the raft. Turf War, Air Slash, find a really big log to chop if you can. If you have to settle for chopping down a tree, that’s ok too. Spiral, help him carry it, but try to not lose control, ok?”

Spiral nodded. “I’ll try!”

“We do dat!” Turf War said.

“So we will.” Air Slash said.

“Cool. Shadow Shroud and I will gather more food so I can whip up some lunch. Sound good?” Fire Fight said. He looked at Shadow Shroud to see that she wasn’t too thrilled.

“I suppose so…” she said unenthusiastically. She walked towards a field of herbs and motioned for Fire Fight to follow. “Come on.”

Turf War and Spiral Galaxy grimaced as they looked at Fire Fight, who was starting to feel bad about forcing her to work with a Bladerunner. He gulped and followed her.

Air Slash just shook his head as he watched them walk off. “Hmph. Typical Shadewalker.” He said.

Turf War nudged him. “You ain’t bein’ much better, bruh. I know y’all might think dis whack, but Shadow Shroud’s really carried us so far. Y’all better start showin’ her some respect.” He said.

“Yeah, Air Slash. We’re happy to have you along, but not if you and Shadow Shroud are just going to keep fighting. Our new home won’t be very fun for anypony no matter where we decide to make it if you two are constantly on the verge of killing each other.” Spiral Galaxy added.

Air Slash rolled his eyes. “I stated before that I’m willing to associate with her if it means bettering myself. And I truly wish to help Fire Fight, so worry not.” He said.

“Then show that.” Spiral said firmly.

Air Slash. “Very well.” He conceded. They got to looking around the edge of the forest for suitable wood for a raft.

*****

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud spent their hour gathering some natural wheat, edible flowers and a couple natural melons they found. It was a bountiful enough harvest, but not a word was said in the tense atmosphere for a while. Fire Fight knew that Shadow Shroud was upset with him, but wasn’t sure how to approach the issue. He was pretty sure that they were past the point of her expressing her feelings through her weapons, but he wanted to tread lightly just to be safe.

“So, uhh…..What all have you got?” he asked her casually.

She didn’t face him as she continued to scan the area for food. “The melon I picked up, two plates worth of wheat, some hibiscus and some strong grass to tie the raft together with.” She answered dutifully.

“Oh!.....Uh,…..Cool! Yeah, that’s…pretty much what I got too!” he replied. “Think we should head back?”

She turned to her head halfway to scowl at him. “You can. I’ll gather some more. I’m getting hungry anyway, so the sooner the better.” She said.

Fire Fight lightly sighed in frustration. Sure, he was slightly afraid she might change her mind about him and go for his throat, but his biggest concern was their friendship. Despite being a living enigma in the form of a filly with the nerve to take a life, it was Shadow Shroud who sparked his passion to begin his quest and became a trusted ally in the process, and eventually a friend.

“Shroud, look, I know you’re mad at me, but you promised to help me in return for letting you explore Equestria. I don’t know what was confining you to that old castle, but look, this whole thing with the Bladerunners and the Shadewalkers, that’s strictly between you and Air Slash, so-”

He was cut off when Shadow Shroud suddenly threw a kunai right between his front feet, causing him to jump. “And you didn’t show an ounce of respect to that!” she scolded. She scowled fiercely as she marched towards him. “I remember well the pact we’d formed that night, don’t get me wrong, so why was I not given a say in the matter, huh!? Why did you let that knife-brandishing whelp into our party without consulting the one somepony who’d have an issue with it!? How is handling a situation like that going to be helpful in the future!?”

Fire Fight regained his composure as he put his game face on. “Because it was Air Slash’s choice to join us even after considering that he’d be working with his so-called enemy! He was abandoning Equestria, so essentially, he abandoned his rivalry with you!” he argued.

“Oh! If only it were that simple! Perhaps you thought he was going to protect you from me in case I went rogue- which I never will; I gave you my word! And you still didn’t answer my other question: Why was I not given a choice?” Shadow Shroud rebutted.

“I just told you! It wasn’t your decision to make! It was Air Slash’s! I don’t care if your old enemies or something! Every foal we rescue has a fair choice on whether or not they want to come or not!” Fire Fight answered.

“So by your logic, we should allow even a pup from those Diamond Dogs to come with us even though we’re enemies. Or perhaps a NightMare spirit? Oh! How about a dragon!? They still resent us even if their new ruler holds us in high regard! How do you think Turf War and Spiral Galaxy would feel about that!?” Shadow Shroud argued.

“Now you’re just being unrealistic!” Fire Fight said.

“Am I?” Shadow Shroud growled. She then noticed something out of the corner of her eye and gasped. “GET DOWN!” she shouted. She jumped onto Fire Fight and held him down as firmly as she could.

Fire Fight was surprised. He almost thought that she was trying to kill him if not for the sudden surprise from her. “Huh!? Shroud, what are you-” his question was answered before he could finish it by a huge, brilliant beam of magic that suddenly thundered right beside them! Fire Fight immediately laid perfectly flat for the couple seconds that the beam lasted.

When the beam diminished, Shadow Shroud lifted her head and looked down at Fire Fight. “You okay, Fire Fight?” she frantically asked.

Fire Fight found himself blushing at the awkward position they were forced into, but kept his composure. “Yeah, thanks!” he said. The two smiled at each other for a brief moment before getting up. “That must’ve been Spiral Galaxy! We better go make sure she and the others are okay!” he declared.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “Right!” With that, they dashed off to the aid of their friends, worrying what might have sparked Spiral to go full blast…

Getting Along

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud reached the edge of the forest as they rushed straight along the wake of destruction left by Spiral Galaxy’s star beam. The trail of seared ground and scarred trees lead to a frightening scene.

The two looked on to see Turf War and Air Slash battling a monstrous Fly Trap monster. In one of its many tendrils was an unconscious Spiral Galaxy. She must have missed her shot and left herself vulnerable. The infernal plant itself was about as tall as the Python from the previous forest, but was rooted to its spot. Its mouth opened….er, bloomed?... wide enough to hold a door in it, portrait perspective, of course. Rows of teeth along its jaws glistened viciously in what sunlight penetrated the forest canopy. Four enormous leaves stemmed from the base of its neck where it was rooted. Despite having no eyes, the foals could feel its predatory glare as its growled loudly.

“TURF WAR, WHAT HAPPENED?” Fire Fight asked.

“Wasn’t me dis time, I promise! Dis b**** just pop out o’ the ground and Spiral blasted it, but-” Turf War tried to respond, but the plant monster grabbed his hammer-axe and tried to pull it away. “HELL NO!” he yelled as an intense match of tug-of-war ensued between him and the floral ferocity.

Turf War slammed his shield against the tendril in an attempt to force it off, but it hardly seemed to bother the beast. It wasn’t until Air Slash, who’d been holding back the other tendrils and distracting it from swallowing Spiral Galaxy, swooped down and quickly sliced the grabbing tendril, letting the fallen limb fall limp onto the ground, Turf War shook it off quickly. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud watched in horror as the severed tendril regrew itself in mere seconds.

“It’s just as he says! Even when Spiral blasted its head off, it reconstituted before we could get away!” Air Slash said as he fought off more tendrils, trying to get to Spiral’s limp body. One lashed out at him from his lower left, but he rolled through air right over it and quickly severed the limb. “All we can do is attack it!”

“Don’t forget about Spiral! She needs our help!” Shadow Shroud shouted as she drew her kunai while Fire Fight ignited his horn. “Careful! Don’t want to start a forest fire!” she warned him.

“If Spiral’s in trouble, I’m beyond caring!” Fire Fight said. He leapt into the mass of tendrils and blasted its face with a fireball, causing it to recoil. He then fell into a downward kick into its neck, causing its head to recoil forward again. He went in for a flame charged uppercut, but its soft, fleshy underside sustained little damage from even his new battle gauntlets.

The plant looked down at him and hissed. Fire Fight looked up at it in fear as he realized just what he was dealing with. The plant lunged its jaws at him, but he jumped out of the way just at the right moment. While he was still airborne however, the plant caught him while he was vulnerable with another of its tendrils. “Huh!?” Fire Fight shouted. He tried to break free, but the beasts grip was firm and it absorbed any punches from his gauntlets like simple bee stings. All he could do now was blast it with fire to distract it from eating him and Spiral.

“FIRE FIGHT!!” Shadow Shroud shouted in worry. She gritted her teeth. “Hrrrngh! That idiot!” She hurriedly threw a series of shuriken at its neck, trying to sever it without getting too close.

“I already told you! That won’t work! Even its entire head grows back in seconds!” Air Slash shouted at her.

“Quiet, you!” Shadow Shroud shouted back at him.

Turf War was busy beating back and blocking other tendrils trying to grab him. He managed to back away far enough to reach a large rock about as big a dining room chair. With some strain, he managed to flip it up into the air with his hammer and whack towards the plant monster. “HOME RUN, B****!” he shouted. The rock flew into its gaping maw and seemed to choke it somewhat and weigh down its head. Turf War then rushed in to try and knock it unconscious. He leapt into a shield bash towards its forehead, but the beast head-butted him away and quickly wrapped another of its tendrils around him and his shield. It flailed him around and caused him to drop his hammer. “OH S**********!!”

Air Slash swooped down next to Shadow Shroud to catch his breath. The two looked on in horror as they were the only ones left. The plant beast continued to choke on the boulder that Turf War had hurled into its throat will Fire Fight kept blasting it with bursts of fire but with little avail as he was being flailed around and had difficulty aiming. Spiral Galaxy was still out like a light. With its body able to reform itself so quickly and easily, the situation was grim indeed.

The rival warrior foals looked at one another and glared. Even if they hated each other, this was no longer about their family feud. Right now, they’re friends were in grave danger and they needed to save them!

“Continue to distract it. I might have a trick or three up my sleeve.” Shadow Shroud said.

Air Slash finished catching his breath. He humbly sighed and poised his swords towards the monster. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Shadewalker.” He said to her.

Shadow Shroud donned her mask. “I never run into anything blindly, Bladerunner, so rest assured, you can trust me here.” She said. She then sighed. “Those are words I never thought I’d say.”

“They are words I never thought I’d neither hear nor heed from you.” Air Slash said. The two nodded at one another. Air Slash soared towards the beast while Shadow Shroud ran up a tall tree nearby.

Flurries of tendrils ambushed Air Slash from all directions. With incredible finesse, he flew out the way of each them as they came and slashed them one by one. He flew around the beast in a circle dodging and slashing what tendrils tried to seize him. He avoided Fire Fights blasts and even used them to his advantage as the beast recoiled and left its tough stem vulnerable for a precious second, an opportunity Air Slash seized instantly to left a considerable gash though not enough to totally sever it. He had to retreat to avoid being cornered by tendrils.

Shadow Shroud reached the top of the tree and leapt off of it, activating her clone technique as she did. She and her army of copies leapt back and forth between surrounding trees, leaving the plant beast confused and a little dazed. When she got the perfect angle, she expertly flung three of her kunai in the direction of the three trapped foals. Each one shredded through their respective tendrils they were caught in, causing the severed limbs to fall and free them. With her clones still swarming the canopy, Shadow Shroud immediately jumped down to the still unconscious Spiral Galaxy. She grabbed her body and quickly hid it behind a tree safely away from the monster.

“Ugh…….Wha…*pant*……Ugh…..”Spiral was beginning to stir.

“Spiral, it’s Shadow Shroud! Stay right here! Understand me? We’re going to be fine!” Shadow Shroud ordered her.

“Sh…..Sha…dow……..Shroud?” Spiral’s eyes began opening.

Shadow Shroud left her where she was and leapt back into the fray. She retrieved Turf War’s hammer and brought it to him. “I believe this belongs to you.” She said.

“Good lookin’ out, homegirl!” He said as he took it from her.

She then went over to Fire Fight, who was having some difficulty wriggling out of the mass of severed tendrils Air Slash had left in his wake. She pulled out her kunai and quickly chopped through them, making it easier for him to get up.

“I really do have to babysit you, don’t I?” She sneered with a smile.

Fire Fight shook off the bits of plant on him. “That’s twice in one day you’ve saved me.” He chuckled.

Shadow Shroud flipped her mane. “I suppose I still kind of owed you one for that garden snake.” She said.

The two smiled at once another for a brief moment before hearing Air Slash call out to them. “Fire Fight! Shadow Shroud!” he said. The two looked up to see him slashing away at more tendrils as he swooped down next to them. “If you’re ready, I say we smite this foe!” he declared with his sword pointed at the beast.

Turf War rushed to their side. “I got an idea, y’all. Air Slash, clear a way fo’ me, son!” he said. Air Slash nodded and began another assault.

Shadow Shroud caught onto what Turf War was trying to do and smiled viciously. “I’ll take this dance as well!” she sneered. She pulled a couple black egg-like objects and threw them at the tendrils below Air Slash. They exploded into two big clouds of smoke that Shadow Shroud leapt into at lightning speed with her kunai drawn. While obscured, the colts could hear her slashing away quickly in the smoke.

When the smoke dissipated after about five seconds, Shadow Shroud quickly reappeared by the colts side. “All yours!” she whispered to Turf War.

Turf War nodded and charged. Shroud and Air Slash had cut a clear path for Turf War that he charged through to the beasts head. “HEADS UP, M*********!” he shouted as he swung his hammer upward into its jaw. Being a much heavier hitter than Fire Fight’s gauntlets, the hammer knocked the plants head straight up. Turf War ran back quickly. “NOW!” he shouted.

Air Slash swooped down to Shadow Shrouds side. The two gave each other determined leers as they smiled deviously. “Shall we?” Shadow Shroud said with her kunai at the ready.

Air Slash poised his swords. “Fillies first!” he said. Shadow Shroud locked her eyes onto the beasts neck. She rushed towards it like a cheetah and audibly sliced her target.

“Now, Air Slash!” she called from behind. Air Slash flew towards his target and readied his swords. When he got close enough, he began spinning around in another slash tornado that let him hack right through the plant beasts stem.

The monsters head toppled over with a crashing thud. “Fire Fight, burn its neck before it has a chance to regrow!” Air Slash called out.

Quickly complying, Fire Fight flicked his horn back on and shot a furious fireball at the severed neck of the monster. It burst violently just as a new head had begun to emerge. Fire Fight focused his magic harder to intensify the blaze. The smaller, much more vulnerable head let out a pitiful cry as it was incinerated. Eventually, it withered completely and burned into char. Fire Fight smothered out the blaze afterwards.

Spiral Galaxy trotted from behind her tree where Shadow Shroud had placed her to see the scene at hand. She wasn’t surprised to see the creature destroyed by her capable comrades.

Shadow Shroud unveiled her mask and ran over to her. “Spiral! Are you okay?” she asked.

Spiral held her head. “Unnggh. Yeah. My head still kinda hurts. I’m fine though. How about you guys?” she asked.

“Yeah, we good! Dis thing though…” Turf War shook his head. “I think we be getting’ a li’l cocky, dontcha think?” he said.

Fire Fight nodded. “Yeah. Even if we got new weapons, we’re still not invincible. Case and point…” he said. He then looked at Shadow Shroud and Air Slash. “You two were awesome together!” he cheered.

The ninja and samurai got surprised expression on their faces as they looked at one another briefly. They leered at one another for a second and quickly looked clear away from each other.

Spiral giggled. “You know, I’m pretty sure I heard you two call each other by your actual names.” She said.

The two looked at her surprised. “I…..I-I don’t recall ever doing that. Her name and ‘Shadewalker’ sound quite similar, s-so perhaps that’s where my tongue slipped.” Air Slash explained. They once again found each other eyeing one another, but not viciously. The worst it looked was…annoyed more than anything.

Fire Fight chuckled. “One step at a time, you two. One step at a time.” He said. Shadow Shroud and Air Slash looked at each other for a moment before nodding at one another.

Turf War broke what little tension there was. “Y’all know, we could use d’em huge leaves homie got here for our raft!” he said.

The other turned to him. “Hmm….Indeed. If you’re willing to pluck those, I’ll peel thin strips from its tendrils. I imagine those would prove a much tougher material to tie with than simply grass.” Air Slash said.

Turf War nodded. “A’ight. I do dat.” He said.

“I’ll make us some lunch. I bet we’re hungry after that, huh?” Fire Fight said.

“Damn straight!”

“Indeed.”

“As a horse.”

“And I’m….gonna take a nap.” Spiral Galaxy said as she groggily walked towards a pile of leaves to sleep on.

Fire Fight started to walk towards some firewood when he felt a hoof on his shoulder. “Wait.” He turned to see that it was Shadow Shroud. She had a look of guilt about her.

Fire Fight turned to her. “What’s up, Shroud?”

She looked down at the ground and sighed. “I’m……I’m sorry……I was a child earlier. You were right…..Air Sla- er….the Bladerunner had a fair choice in the matter and was far more mature about it than I was.” She said.

Fire Fight was surprised to hear her say that. He had no complaints about her and Air Slash getting along. But….He could feel what she meant earlier in the meadow. He put his hoof on her shoulder. “I-I’m sorry too, Shroud. I really did kinda force it onto you, didn’t I?” he said.

She looked up and smiled. “Yeah…you did…..but, I won’t let the lesser clan show their better side so easily. If he can put our rivalry aside, so can I......however begrudgingly.” she said.

Fire Fight chuckled and rolled his eyes. He knew she didn’t actually mean anything foul by that statement. He still wasn’t quite sure what exactly urged her to join him, let alone spare his life the night she revealed herself to him, but he had no complaints. Shadow Shroud had proved a valuable ally and an actually good friend. The two looked into each other’s eyes and smiled as they relieved themselves of their guilt and settled their earlier dispute. She seemed somehow…..harmless. Even knowing that she was a dangerous creature of the night, Fire Fight felt strangely comforted in her presence. Perhaps he felt safe knowing that she was his ally rather than his foe?

The moment was interrupted when Shadow Shrouds stomach suddenly growled loudly. She gasped as she glanced down at it, and then back at Fire Fight, who started snickering. She glared at him and brushed his hoof away as she looked down at the ground blushing. Fire Fight was still snickering. “Guess I better get started, huh?” he chuckled.

Shadow Shroud glared at him while still blushing. “Yes! You’d better, whelp!” she growled. Fire Fight could tell that the glare and snarling were only a threatening mask hiding her embarrassment, so he went over to grab to firewood and whip up some well-deserved food for his comrades.

A Grand Feast

With the plethora of freshly harvested ingredients he had at his disposal, Fire Fight managed to cook a nice little feast for him and his friends. He wanted to wait until Spiral Galaxy woke from her nap so she could have it fresh and hot with everypony else, so in the meantime, he helped the others build their raft. When Spiral began to stir, Fire Fight got to work and called the gang over for a much needed lunch break.

“How’d you sleep, Spiral? Does your head still hurt?” Shadow Shroud asked her.

Spiral shook her head. “Nah. I got a good nap. I didn’t focus that beam as much as the other one, so it wasn’t as much of a strain.” She said. She then looked over at the trail of scattered dirt and fried flora left in the wake of her cosmic beam. “Umm…..I didn’t almost hit you and Fire Fight, did I?” she asked.

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud looked at her a little nervously, then at each other. “OH! Uh…No, Spiral you didn’t. It was like…..ten feet away from us, right Shroud?” Fire Fight said nervously.

Shadow Shroud cleared her throat. “Y-Yes, indeed.” She said with a nervous smile.

Spiral shook her head and sighed. “I did, didn’t I?” she asked gloomily. The two tried to maintain their guise, but she saw right through them. She looked down at her food. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better…” she sighed.

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud relaxed they’re faces as they along with Turf War grimaced. Air Slash simply shook his head with disapproval. Even if she had attained even slightly more control over her magic, Spiral Galaxy was still sensitive about the fact that she was basically a walking apocalypse with little ability to contain her sheer power. She still had to keep to emotions in check if she didn’t want to have an episode.

“Man! You fo’ real gonna get all gloomy when Fire Fight made all dis damn fine food? Ya know, homie was waiting fo’ you to wake up so you’d have it fresh, so I don’t think he care y’all almost wasted ‘em, huh?” Turf War said.

Fire Fight nodded proudly. “Yeah, Spiral. It’s ok, really. Eat up; it’ll make you feel better.” He said.

Spiral looked up at them at slowly creased a smile. She shed a little tear. “You’ve all been so nice to me…” she muttered. Shadow Shroud leaned over to hug her and she returned the gesture. Spiral could feel a couple of Shroud’s concealed kunai pointing her a little as she and her embraced, but only cared that she was with her friend. They broke off and began chowing down with all the rest.

They all gingerly ate their hearty feast. The combination of finely picked wheat, mushrooms, and various herbs and fruits with some hibiscus at the side made them feel like they were actually having a freshly home-cooked meal. Turf War and Fire Fight exchanged stories about some of their misadventures back in Manehatten and Detrot respectively. Air Slash exchanged some of his own experiences as a younger colt when he first remembers training with his father; he glared at Shadow Shroud every time he caught her snickering at the part where he’d mess up horribly and be scolded. Shadow Shroud herself told a couple wild tales about the year she’d spent in the Everfree forest. One of them involved becoming infected with the infamous Poison Joke weed, causing her illusory clones to randomly appear at any given moment while she searched desperately for the ingredients necessary for an antidote, which they all got a good laugh out of, namely Air Slash. It was all around a fun afternoon.

“Fire Fight, where’d you learn to cook? This is delicious!” Spiral Galaxy asked him.

Fire Fight swallowed what food he had in his mouth. “I picked it up from my mom. I can’t really do a whole lot, but my fire magic makes it pretty easy.” He answered.

“Oh, really? My dad taught me how to navigate using the stars at night.” She replied.

“As did my masters.” Shadow Shroud commented.

“You too!?” Spiral asked her.

“Yes. How else would we navigate unaided in the dead of night?” she said. “You just leave that to me; I’ll let you continue to weaponize them, ok?”

Spiral nodded. “Sure.”

“My dad used to play soccer when he was in school. When I was li’l, he try to teach me how to play, but I was pretty whack, y’all. I one time managed to kick da damn ball into a tree and it bounced back right into my face! It hurt like a b****- uh, my bad. It hurt a lot, but it was kinda fun. Dat’s kinda how I started getting all buff. I’m pretty sure y’all can figure out the rest.” Turf War commented. They all chuckled at his little tale.

“I hardly think the origins of my skills demand explanation.” Air Slash said.

Fire Fight chuckled. “Yeah. Those swords pretty much do all the talking.” He said.

“And perhaps all the thinking.” Shadow Shroud sneered.

Air Slash rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you know as well as I do that thinking with your weapon is important for any warrior, Shadewalker.” he said.

Shadow Shroud snickered and took another bite of her meal. She then looked at Fire Fight. “You know, come to think of it, I don’t believe you’ve ever once mention your father, Fire Fight. Care to elaborate?” she asked. Fire Fight suddenly stopped eating. He slowly put his food down and as he hung his head down. Seeing that she struck a raw nerve, Shadow Shroud grimaced. “Perhaps……not?”

Fire Fight sighed and looked at her. “I….I-I should really get it off my chest.” He muttered. He took a deep breath. “My dad left me and my mom about half a year ago.” He explained.

The other foals looked at him surprised. “Why?” Turf War asked.

“Remember……how I told you guys that I’m….self-taught? Well…..I wasn't being completely honest. You see…..my dad was a fitness trainer at a local gym. You can guess where I got my love for working out. Anyway, one of his favorite things to put his clients through was a hanging bag. He always said how training your body to move quickly under stress improved coordination, and I think he was right. Every day he got home from work, he’d bring his bag home and let me use it ever since I was around seven. I was a big fan of kung-fu movies, so I loved trying the crazy moves I’d see in them. *hehe* He thought that was so funny!” Fire Fight explained.

“So….what caused him to leave?” Spiral asked.

“Well….It was around three months before he left that I got really serious about finding my magic; my teacher said that a unicorn my age back then should be focusing on that so its not so hard as an adult. Well, it just so happened that I was a fire mage! My mom thought maybe I’d be a cook or something…..but……one day, I was visiting the gym where my dad worked when this huge stallion busted through the doors shouting something about wanting his money back or something to my dad. I was pretty scared, but my dad just stood his ground and argued with him. Everypony was too scared of the big guy to try and break them up. Then……*sigh*…..then he knocked my dad down. And…he picked up one of the bigger lifting weights and was about to smash it on my dad’s head! That’s when I panicked and suddenly threw a fireball without thinking at him; I-I wanted to save my dad! It hit the guy in his chest and made him drop the weight next to him, and then I just ran over and….started punching and kicking away just like I would on the hanging bag…. He was so shocked that he just ran out of the gym. Not even a second later, my Cutie Mark appeared….” He explained gloomily as he glanced down at the flaming drake upon his flank.

The other foals were left stunned. Even Shadow Shroud exhibited a shocked expression at the almost unbelievable tale. “Then what?” Air Slash inquired

“M-…..M-My dad just stared at me. So did everypony else…..I-I couldn’t tell what they were thinking, but……when we got home, he just…..didn’t talk to me for the rest of the day; he didn’t set up the hanging bag for me. My mom was thrilled to see me with my Mark, but when dad told her what happened, she just….lost all her color in an instant….*sigh*……I never even had a cute senora.” Fire Fight explained. “I couldn’t understand why they were so upset with me. I was so proud of myself for protecting my dad that…..I just felt like such a hero. That’s when I started going after more criminals, angry ponies and stuff. I just wanted to show them that I could be helpful……It always felt so good when I’d rescue somepony, or stop a robbery or something, but……..*sob*……….One night after I’d gotten home from beating down a gang of street thugs that were trying to rob a church, my dad said he’d had enough and just….packed up and left! He said he didn’t want to be the one raise….*sob*…raise a delinquent!”

Fire Fight held back tears as he recalled the traumatic time. Shadow Shroud leaned in and embraced him as Turf War put his hoof around his buddy’s neck. Shroud’s concealed kunai pricking him was a sign to him that she meant her gesture. He took a moment to regain his composure and then took a deep breath as they broke away from him. “Thanks, guys.” He muttered. They nodded.

“I don’t why, but…..I felt encouraged to fight rather than stop…..I-I guess I was trying desperately to show him that I was doing good. I just wanted him back! I really did want to help, but….I guess I wanted my dad back more….” Fire Fight said. The other foals sighed heavily as they looked on in sympathy at their fiery leader. They’d all endured a lot, but seeing Fire Fight come clean made them lose their appetites a little. Fire Fight raised his head again. “But that’s ok! That was then, this is now! We have to save all the other lost foals in Equestria before they suffer like that! Am I right?” he declared proudly.

Seeing their leader pick himself back up rekindled their spirits….and appetites! “You damn right, mah boy!” Turf War said.

“You said it” Spiral Galaxy said.

Air Slash drew his sword and held it over his heart. “I’d follow you through the gates of Tarturus if you told us to break them down!” he declared.

Fire Fight nodded proudly and looked at Shadow Shroud. She simple let out a devilish giggle as she flipped her mane and looked back at him. That was all he needed from her. Fire Fight held out his hoof towards everypony. “Put ‘em in, guys!” he said. They all fist-bumped proudly and finished their meal.

Working through the rest of the evening, the foals used the giant leaves produced from the plant monster along with the tough strips that Air Slash and Shadow Shroud had peeled from its tendrils and some wood that Turf War had finely chopped to make a sufficient raft large enough to fit them and their supplies. They used the tendril straps to securely tie the wood together and put two of the four huge leaves underneath for a little extra floatation. The other two leaves were made into a shelter that arched over the raft. They made sure not to leave a lot of blind spots so that they could see potential danger coming. Once they were finished they brought it out to the river.

“I suggest we embark now while it’s getting dark. If travel at night, there’s far less potential for us to be seen by any random passerby.” Shadow Shroud said.

The others agreed. “Yeah, good idea. I’ll take first watch since I already took a nap today.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“I’ll stay up with you so we can meditate together while you’re under the stars.” Shadow Shroud said to her.

“Ok!” Spiral sang.

“Alright. Why don’t gather a little more food for the trip first? We feasted a great deal after our victory.” Air Slash said.

“Word up, son! How ‘bout it?” Turf War added.

Fire Fight nodded. “Let’s do that. Shroud, mind helping us?”

Shadow Shroud nodded. “Of course.” She said.

After about fifteen minutes of gathering another sufficient harvest from the meadow, the foals packed their things onto the raft and set sail to their destinies, eager as to what it had in store for them.

A Mysterious Relic

In the Everfree Forest…

School had ended for the day, and the CMC along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had met with Zecora as planned. While pleasantly surprised to see her young friends, she knew why they had come, and that it meant a great deal to them. She too had searched high and low for Fire Fight that fateful night throughout the forest, but the old Sisters Castle was barren when she searched it, unbeknownst to everypony else. And yet……she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t alone in there….

Trudging through the thick brush of the forest, Zecora lead the foals to the castle. Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and Button Mash, having never entered this forest prior were on edge the whole trek. The fillies looked around nervously while Button Mash was trying to keep his cool in front of Sweetie Belle…..and was failing.

Button Mash held his head high and mighty, but he was shivering as though he had a cold. His eyes were wide enough for someone to mistake him for a squid. He occasionally glanced at Sweetie Belle, who was a little more annoyed than concerned for her coltfriend. “Button?” she asked.

Button jumped, startled at the sudden break in the tense silence. He quickly regained his composure, trying to play it off as though he wasn’t scared. “Wha!? Oh! Uhh…*ahem*Yes, Sweetie Belle?” he asked.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “You okay?” she asked.

Button took a couple deep breathes. “Y-Yeah! Of course! Ehehe… I just uhh….am really excited to be undertaking this….th-th-this dangerous trek in the fabled forest! I-I-It’s like my own adventure game! Y-Yeah! So d-d-don’t worry! I’ll prote-”

He was cut off when Sweetie Belle pecked his cheek quickly. He looked at her surprised to her giggled heartily. “Don’t worry, Button. We’ll be fine!” she said.

“Yeah. This place really isn’t so bad once you get used to it.” Scootaloo added.

“I-I-If you say so.” Silver Spoon said.

Zecora chuckled heartily. “Scootaloo speaks the truth, my dear foals. When I first arrived, this place unnerved even my soul. But as I befriended the forest as time flowed by, my apprehension began to dry. After such a long, tiring roam, I had finally found my one and only home.” She stated.

Those words brought comfort to the scared foals. Though, the mention of roaming made them wonder… “I wonder if Fire Fight really did get far from here? If my sister was actually right about him being in Detrot…” Sweetie Belle thought aloud.

“Yeah. Remind us to ask her what her little ‘theory’ was when we get back.” Diamond Tiara said.

“Well, it sure won’t matter much if we find Fire Fight there, huh y’all?” Apple Bloom cheered.

“Indeed, child.” Zecora said. She then thought back to that eventful night, and about how she had heard of the events that had transpired. It brought an ache to her heart to see such discord be allowed to ensure. She sighed. “I wish I could have been there to intervene. All of those pony folk should have been more serene. If we had only heeded his plight, we would not have to search for Fire Fight.” She said.

“Yeah….let’s hope we don’t have to search for much longer.” Silver Spoon sighed.

With a few trips and falls here and there, Zecora had at last led the foals to their destination. The castle was as ruined, yet majestic in its ancient grandeur as ever. It was the only welcoming structure in a forest of a foreboding atmosphere. They entered, and began their search.

Before they could even call out for Fire Fight, they had entered the main foyer and quickly noticed something out of place-burns marks in random spots on the floor. They were scattered in such a way that it looked like some sort of altercation took place here. Zecora inspected them carefully.

“Hmm….These are fresh….” She muttered. “At least a week old, I surmise. But this place is centuries old! When did they arise?” she asked.

Silver Spoon gasped. “Maybe Fire Fight was fighting something here!? He’d use his fire magic to power his punches, so maybe…”

“Yeah, but what would he fight in here? I know this place is falling apart, but it doesn’t look like any animals come in here, right?” Diamond Tiara said.

“Maybe it was that Pony of Shadows thing that I’ve heard about in urban legends! Wow….he held his own against an evil spirit? Now I know he’s tough.” Button theorized.

“Oh, Button. Don’t you believe none of that hooey! There’s no Pony of Shadows.” Apple Bloom said.

“I would not be so sure, child.” Zecora said. The foals looked at her in shock. “I have felt the flow of this place, and there is no ghost. But….Every time I came here, I could not shake the feeling that…I had a host…” she said. The foals began to quiver as they looked around nervously. “And yet, I do not feel now. It seems to have disappeared…..but how?”

“Let’s worry about that as we look around.” Scootaloo said. The others agreed, and began calling out as they searched everywhere.

“Fire Fight!? Are you here?”

“Y’all please come out! Everything’s ok now!”

“Bro! Where are you?”

“Fire Fight, my swee-uh! B-Buddy! Nopony’s mad at you anymore! Please come back!......for me?”

“Fire Fight, do not have shame! The events that took place, you are not to blame!”

No matter where they looked, the only possible traces of his presence were the burn marks in the foyer. The last place they had yet to search was the courtyard. When they all met up there, Apple Bloom immediately noticed something about the garden.

“Huh!? What the-!?” she stammered.

“What is it, Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom walked over to one of the plants. “Look! What are all these crops doing here? They look like they’ve been freshly grown!” she explained as she pointed out the various fruits and vegetables being grown amongst the decorative flowers. They were slightly wilted from negligence; Apple Bloom determined that it had been about a week since they last watered-about the same amount of time ago Zecora determined the burns were made!

“So somepony's living here?” Button Mash asked.

Zecora shook her head. “No, child. I know my forest well. No possible neighbors here ring any bells.” She said.

“Yeah, and if these plants are any sign, whoever was here isn’t anymore. Maybe….Fire Fight really did make it to Detrot somehow. He must have gathered what he could here, and left. I can tell some of these were harvested.” Diamond Tiara said.

They all sighed. “Yer probably right. Well….looks like we missed ‘em, y’all. Shoot….” Apple Bloom muttered. They all decided that it was time to leave seeing as they’d find no further trace of their friend, so however begrudgingly, they gloomily walked towards the door leading out of the courtyard.

Before they did, something shiny concealed beneath the flora caught Zecora’s eye. When she inspected it, she found a curious little relic. It looked to be a double-edged triangular dagger. What was funny though was that it looked to be just small enough for a foal to handle, yet still held deadly potential. Further examination of the blade showed signs of plant debris, residue from the castle walls as though it had been slashed through them, and….what looked to be……blood!? A small wave of worry washed over Zecora at the sight of small stains of dried blood that looked like somepony had tried to clean them off. Perhaps Fire Fight simply used it to harvest his food and cut himself by accident? It would explain why it was left in the garden, but the wall residue was puzzling at best, and those burn marks…

She decided to keep this a secret from the foals, not wanting to frighten them. She took the mysterious dagger, and put it in her cloak out of the foals’ sight. She decided to take this issue with Twilight later today.

As they walked out the door, a sound of the forest caught their ears. It was long, ominous, low sound that Zecora and Apple Bloom knew well. “Timberwolves!?” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “But it’s nowhere near time for more Zap Apples to start bloomin’!”

“Indeed, child. And……I only heard one……..Why is there not a pack?” Zecora wondered aloud.

“Let’s get out of here before it wonders which one of us it wants to eat first!” Scootaloo said. They all agreed.

The foals were safely led out of the forest, and they all went home. They all had been swept by the same wave of disappointment. Fire Fight had moved on from the last possible safe place he could be in Ponyville, meaning he was indeed likely in parts unknown. How he’d left unnoticed was beyond them, but the situation was looking even more hopeless than before. They couldn’t search outside of their boundary without worrying their own parents, so their search was basically over.

*****

After the foals were far enough away, Zecora made the walk to Twilight’s castle. The strange dagger she’d found had to be some sort of clue as to what happened to Fire Fight. Whatever ominous secrets loomed its shimmering blade were best left unveiled with the utmost ability of logic and reason. Just as she neared the path leading to Twilight’s front door, she saw Cheerilee standing halfway towards the doors looking up at the castle with noticeable apprehension. Wondering what she was there for, she walked up to the troubled teacher.

“Ms. Cheerilee.” She said.

Cheerilee looked back. “Oh! Hello, Zecora. I…..don’t suppose you’re here to see Twilight as well?” she asked. She put on a weak plastic smile that Zecora saw right through, and she knew why.

“Ms. Cheerilee, remove that brave face you wear. Bottling your true feelings is a heavy burden to bear.” She said to her.

Slowly, Cheerilee’s smile deteriorated into a pitiful frown of a guilty pony. Zecora was right. She knew she had to express her sheer guilt, but didn’t know how considering the magnitude of her actions. She wanted nothing more than to right her wrongs and make it all up to her foals. She began to sob. Zecora embraced her. “There, there, my child.” She whispered.

“Z-…Zecora, I…..” Cheerilee’s aching heart made it difficult for her to get her words out. “What do I do!? How can I tell my students how sorry I am for something I may never be able to undo!?” she sobbed.

“Nothing that has happened can ever be undone, but you know you must solve this problem. It is worse to run.” Cheerilee stopped sobbing, and Zecora released her. “I too seek counsel from Princess Twilight. To see you with a desire to make things right…would bring her heart delight.” She said.

Cheerilee wiped away the rest of her tears, and nodded. She took a deep breath. Suddenly, she was ready to swallow her pride. Zecora smiled at the determination she had mustered. “Ok! I’m ready.” She said proudly.

With that, the mares of different cultures walked as one through Twilight’s doors, eager to make the sun truly rise once more over Ponyville.

The Announcement

“Just as you did with Fire Fight, Spiral. Take a deep breath. Drown out all distractions. Ease your emotions. Let the running river guide your focus.” Shadow Shroud sat across from Spiral Galaxy as she did some meditation training with her under the shimmering night sky. The colts slept soundly under the cover of the roof they had folded over their raft.

Spiral herself followed Shadow Shroud’s words as she calmed her mind. The stars hanging countlessly about the darkened horizon wore a veil of beauty that concealed a threat to send her into another cosmic frenzy. Their twinkles teased her conscious as their light abraded it like an old comb trying to stroke through tangled hair. She could feel their luminescent tickling on her mind, but the rippling of the river fought against it. Their silent clash did little to break her concentration. She felt nothing as her horn lit with the same stellar luminescence as the many little miscreants in the sky.

The water around their side of the raft began rippling considerably, but not quite as much as before. Shadow Shroud could feel the wood under her begin to shake a little. It was much more controlled than before, but not wanting to wake the colts, nor sink the raft, she snapped Spiral out of her meditation. “Spiral, stop.”

Spiral shot her eyes open. The rippling seized. She looked into Shadow Shroud’s eyes. They looked back at her with silent approval. “You’re improving little by little. Keep this up, and the stars will bow before you.” Shadow Shroud said.

Spiral smiled, but sighed. “Yeah…..but at this rate, I might grow old by the time I fully master it.” She said.

Shadow Shroud shook her head. “That matters little, I’d think. No form of magic, cosmomancy notwithstanding is meant to be mastered overnight, you know. The fact that you’ve been able to attain any handle on it at all, especially at this age is quite promising.” She said.

Spiral regained a little of her lost color. She giggled. “Thanks, Shroud.” She said.

The shady filly just nodded. “Let’s keep watch for a little while, and try again later. I’ll take front. You stay here in the back, ok?” she said.

“Yeah. Ok.” Spiral said. The fillies nearly broke off when they failed to realize that one of the stars was getting bigger……

BAM!

The fillies jumped back, and the colts were shocked awake. They quickly armed themselves, and looked around frantically. The sudden blast came from about ten yards inland from the riverbank.

“W-W-WHAT’S HAPPENING!?!?” Fire Fight shouted, still half-asleep.

“DA F*** WAS DAT!?!?” Turf War shouted.

Air Slash was too busy fumbling with his swords to say anything. When everything quieted after a short moment, they could see that a little meteor had fallen just over there. Spiral Galaxy quite audibly gasped.

“Uhhh……….Make a wish, y’all!” Turf War said, trying to lighten the mood. Sadly, nopony was in the mood to wish upon a fallen star.

Everypony grimaced at the slightly dejected Spiral Galaxy. “Whoops…” Fire Fight mumbled.

Spiral sighed as she gazed at the little piece of destruction she had unwittingly summoned. Just when she thought she was doing so well, it all had to come crashing down……literally. “Well….that’s better than a whole storm…..I guess.” She mumbled.

Air Slash put his hoof on her shoulder. “It is. That is why you should be encouraged, friend. I can’t tell you how many times I accidently cut myself when I first picked up a blade.” He said.

“And I could be spotted a mile away in a pitch black room that wasn’t even that wide as a fledgling.” Shadow Shroud added.

“Yeah, Spiral. Don’t be so worried about how your magic might go wrong, but how you could use it. Take it from another unicorn.” Fire Fight said.

Spiral’s spirits were immediately lifted at all the consolation. She smiled sweetly. “Thanks, guys.” She said.

“Alright. Why don’t you sleep off any leftover magic influxes, and let one of us take over for a while?” Air Slash said.

“I’ll stay up, homie. I ain’t able to sleep no wink right now. I’m just excited, ya know how I mean? Headin' fo' Dodge an' all?” Turf War said.

Spiral giggled. “Ok, Turf War. Wake us up if we get there sooner than expected!” she said.

“It shouldn’t much longer before we do if my map here is to be believed. There will be a big forested area on the right side of the river where this one meets another from the west of here. We’ll dock the raft there, and hike straight to Dodge City.” Shadow Shroud explained. “We could simply find this raft again once we’re done there, and head downstream again towards Baltimare.”

“Sounds like a plan! Ok. Night, guys!” Fire Fight said. They bid their goodnights as Turf War took Spiral’s post, and Shadow Shroud resumed hers.

*****

Back in Ponyville...

The next day had come already, and with their unsuccessful search of the castle yesterday, the CMC and rich fillies were even less thrilled about going to school. It would be another pointless day of lecturing from the mare they’d once thought so highly of until roughly a week and a half ago. Whatever Cheerilee had planned today would be anything but a lesson on how to show remorse for past actions.

The students either rolled their eyes, or groaned when Cheerilee entered the classroom. She looked as happy and remorseless as ever. And yet…..something seemed a little different about her smile this time.

Cheerilee took a deep breath. “Class……..I……..I know you probably think I don’t care, but…….believe me when I say that I wholeheartedly regret what happened with Fire Fight!” she declared. The entire class suddenly caught interest, and looked at her with surprised expressions. “I can tell you’re all very upset with me, and……and I don’t fault you for that at all! I failed him…all of you as your teacher.” The foals were pleasantly shocked to hear her come so clean with them. Cheerilee turned to Diamond Tiara. “Diamond Tiara….I allowed myself to fall prey to your mother’s foul sense of pride, and Fire Fight suffered horribly for it. I’m…..I’m sure you detest her as much I do!”

Diamond Tiara was speechless for a moment. She actually heard somepony, her own teacher no less, openly express an honest opinion about her acidic mother. She snapped herself out of her shock, and answered. “I do!” she said with a proud nod.

“I thought so. Now…..I know I may never fully redeem myself for my unforgivable sin against Fire Fight and his mother…….but I don’t care! Once I know Fire Fight is home safe and sound, I’ll worry about my own punishment…….That’s why……..That’s why I have a huge announcement to make!” She declared. More and more, a paradigm shift concerning their opinion of their teacher swept over the class like an autumn breeze marking the end of a hot summer. They eagerly asked what her announcement. “We’re going on a field trip! A field trip across Equestria to find Fire Fight!!”

The foals just gawked at their teacher. It was as though she had morphed into a completely different pony. She no longer seemed so…..proud, but in a good way. Looking into her determined, confident, humble eyes told them that she was serious.

“R-Really!?” Silver Spoon asked. The notion of being able to freely search for Fire Fight excited her to no end. She nearly lost her mind when Cheerilee proudly nodded.

“Yes. I’ve already consulted Princess Twilight about this. She’s more than willing to help us make it happen. She went on her own little search for him recently. While unsuccessful, she noticed that wherever Fire Fight seemed to go, another foal from that town seemed to disappeared with him if they had problems similar to him. As such, she and Spike plan to investigate any places where a foal is reported to have ran away, so when she catches wind of that, we’ll accompany her as her search party.” Cheerilee explained.

“Really? Well….where are we going first?” Scootaloo asked.

“We’re not goin’ to Detrot, are we? Ah think that’s where Twilight went to look for him.” Apple Bloom said.

“She did, and came up empty, so we have no reason to go there. Plus, Detrot is the last place I’d ever want to take any of you! As for our first destination, it’s…..well, hear me out. A recent newspaper article reported that a train headed to Dodge City from Detrot had to come to a screeching halt at night right by Foal Mountain. Apparently, a security guard and dining car clerk witnessed ‘four mysterious foals’ jump off the train, and into the large river flowing out from the mountain below. A big search was conducted, but came up empty. Twilight contacted those train employees, and they’ve agreed to show her the exact location of where they were last seen. So that’s where we’ll go first!” Cheerilee explained.

The foals spoke excitedly amongst each other. Not only had Cheerilee shown a complete change of heart, but she had granted them a huge opportunity! Though, one question rang in Sweetie Belle’s mind.

“Ms. Cheerilee, what are we supposed to tell our parents?” she asked. The question suddenly snapped the class back into reality.

Cheerilee just chuckled. “I thought somepony would bring that up. After I met with Twilight yesterday to tell her my plan, she had Spike send letter to all of your parents. Despite some apprehension here and there, they’ve wholeheartedly agreed to this! They even said they’d come with us at your discretion since…..well….they’re about as guilty as I am. But Fire Fight's mother will be coming, of course!” She explained.

The class was flabbergasted! Sure, it might have been a good idea for them to come anyway, but to hear that they’d swallowed their pride as well shattered just about any doubt they had about them. “Really!? All of them!?” Rumble asked.

“Yes! Well…..all except for Spoiled Rich, of course. We don’t care about her, right?” Cheerilee asked.

“Right!” Diamond Tiara confidently replied.

Cheerilee looked on happily as the class cheered on with sheer excitement. It was moments like these that she coveted so much as a teacher. This was truly the happiness that she wanted to bring foals. This is why she became a teacher. This is what those smiling sunflowers decorating her flank represented. And seeing it in place of the anguish she had brought on herself caused her to begin releasing all of that in the form of tears. She didn’t even try to put on a brave face. She let herself break down in front of her class.

“W-What’s wrong?” Button Mash asked.

Sobbing profusely, Cheerilee had some difficulty getting her words out. It was a wonder to the foals that she was able to smile with a flood of tears. “I’m just so happy to see all of you so happy! Even if this whole thing turns out to be fruitless…..I hope you can at least find it your hearts to forgive me! I truly value your well-being above all else!” she sobbed.

Sweetie Belle walked over to Cheerilee, and hugged her. “It won’t be fruitless, Ms. Cheerilee. We’ll find Fire Fight! Everything will be okay!” she said. Seeing their classmate’s compassion, the rest of the foals went in to hug their teacher.

Cheerilee was equal parts astonished, and proud to see her students exhibit the confidence that she would want them to possess, even when she couldn’t. She knew she wouldn’t be a fool to heed Sweetie Belle’s words. “Thank you! Thank you all!!” she said.

“One more thing.” Sweetie Belle said. She looked around at her classmates. They nodded to her, as if to affirm a shared thought.

They all looked at her, and the words that they unanimously spoke reminded Cheerilee why life was so wonderful…

“We forgive you!”

You And I

Just as Dawn made its morning rise, the aforementioned forest came into view. Air Slash and Fire Fight, who were awake for their turn to watch at the time woke the others up. Spiral Galaxy had slept the rest of the night after the meteor fell. The other three groggily awoke, and gathered their things as Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy used their magic to dock the raft at the riverbank. Once they hit shore, the unicorns packed their things, and helped the others pull the raft onto land.

“We need to hide this in a place where we’ll remember to find it. Just at the tip of forest should suffice.” Air Slash said.

“Yeah, good idea. I’ll make us some breakfast after we do.” Fire Fight said. So he did.

They levitated and dragged the raft into a little clearing just big enough for it within the little branch of forest right by the river. Once that was done, Fire Fight got a fire going, and used some of their bounty they gathered before the voyage to start making a little breakfast stew for everyone. Just as he did, Air Slash ascended into the trees, and managed to nab a few bird eggs. He handed them to Fire Fight. “Finally, some good protein!” Fire Fight said with delight. While he didn’t have enough to make omelettes, he instead just scrambled them, and just plated them with everything else, much to everypony’s delight.

Once breakfast was finished, the foals refilled their water bottles in the river, and set off in the sunrise towards their destination. Dodge City could just barely be seen over the horizon even from where they were. It was indeed as close as Shadow Shroud’s map would have you believe. It certainly helped that there was a dirt path leading towards it; it was probably used to go to the river for the desert-dwellers to gather water at the river. With that in mind, the foals decided to keep to the shadows of the nearby forest in case any passerby happened to……well, pass by.

The city was finally just a hop, skip and jump from the line of trees hiding the foals. Cowponies could be seen going about their business on the outskirts. Other than that, it seemed like a western version of Ponyville. “So what exactly are we to look for?” Air Slash asked.

“Just look for foals who seem like they’re not very popular for their special talent, Air Slash. If they look like they don’t have very many friends, if at all, maybe even their parents don’t seem to like them, you know. Stuff like that.” Spiral Galaxy explained. “At least….That’s what the others told me, right?”

Fire Fight nodded. “Yeah. Basically look for a foal that you see much of yourself in. Their skills are unappreciated, maybe even seen as dangerous.” He explained.

“Might I suggest we leave our weapons here? We’d get plenty of funny looks, and consequently, unneeded attention. Air Slash should also conceal his nature as a Bladerunner. Wouldn’t want his pride to be an inconvenience, now would we?” Shadow Shroud said.

Air Slash leered at her in annoyance. “Are we quite certain it’s my pride we should concern ourselves with?” He asked.

“Can y’all two save da brova and sistuh arguin’ fo’ some otha damn time? We got lost foals to pick up, d’ho.” Turf War said.

Shadow Shroud pointed her kunai at Turf War. “Any further insinuation that he and I are siblings will result in a cut throat!” she threatened.

Turf War just put his hooves up playfully. “Damn, homegirl. My bad.” He said.

“Enough of that, guys!” Fire Fight ordered. “Shroud has a point. It might have been better to leave them with the raft- well……actually no. Let’s look around for a bit first, and find a spot to lay low. The city’s already too busy to safely find a hiding place with so many of us.”

“Yeah. They might think we’re on a field trip or something. Plus, we’d be pretty out of place since none of us have cowpony clothes or anything.” Spiral Galaxy added.

“There’s that too.” Fire Fight affirmed. “So let’s go see if we can’t find another cave or something.” He turned to looked at Shadow Shroud and Air Slash, whom were glaring at one another. “Right, you two?” he firmly asked.

The two rivals broke out of their staring contest, and looked at Fire Fight with the expression of a student who’d been caught napping in class. “Uh…Yes, of course.” Shadow Shroud stammered.

“Mmhm.” Air Slash said.

They ventured into the forest beyond the city. There were many more trees to traverse this trip seeing as they had hiked further inland from the river along the trail. It was a forest like any other- quiet, yet an eternal theater where Nature’s many choirs sang fervently. There was a clearing, or little ditch here and there, but nothing to really serve as a hiding spot. Eventually, the foals came across a space between two trees about ten feet apart that was occupied by a massive bush. Surprisingly enough, they could crawl into it like a small fort, so they did. It was a bit of a tight fit, but the foals managed. They set up their bedrolls, and the colts stored their much more conspicuous gear by their respective ones; Air Slash had sewn one from a surplus of tendril strips he had peeled. Spiral Galaxy stored her armor by hers. Shadow Shroud, of course, kept her concealed arsenal at hoof in case of an emergency. The foals marked there little hideout with an ‘X’ drawn into the dirt by the entrance with of Shroud’s kunai.

Once they’d finished settling in, the foals made the trek back to the outskirts of Dodge City. “I wonder how that Rodeo Show went? We probably missed it.” Spiral Galaxy asked aloud.

Air Slash cocked his head. “Rodeo Show?” he asked.

“Oh! I guess we didn’t a chance to tell you, did we?” Fire Fight said. He let Shadow Shroud explain what she had overheard on the train bound for Dodge City before they had to…..make their sudden detour. Air Slash didn’t seem very surprised to here anything about such an event being held in such a place, but the mention of guns certainly caught his interest.

“Is that so? And you presume this colt that apparently wields these….er, ‘guns’ might be a lost foal?” Air Slash inquired.

They nodded. “I seent what a gun can do, Air Slash. And lemme tell ya somethin’: d’em li’l b- things don’t play!” Turf War said. He explained the incident he’d described once to the others, and a look of worry overtook Air Slash’s face.

“Then who would be so foolish as to allow a foal to wield such a dangerous weapon!? This all seems rather farfetched.” He said.

“The same kind of fool who would allow foals to wield swords, I’d presume.” Shadow Shroud sneered.

“Hmph! Or whatever all you’re carrying!” Air Slash retorted.

“Exactly.” Shroud said.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes at their banter, but acknowledged that it brought up a good point. “All we know is what Shroud was able to gather from the mares she heard talking, and she gathered that this colt, if he’s even real, has a special talent with guns just like we do with our own stuff. I think you can agree that’s asking for trouble- trouble we might need to see for ourselves.” He said.

Air Slash thought for a moment, then conceded. “Hmm…I suppose you’re right.” He said. “But tell me, Fire Fight. This ‘utopia’ you hope to create, why is it that you believe that this is the answer to everypony’s problem?”

Turf War, and Spiral Galaxy were surprised to hear him ask that. Shadow Shroud sighed to herself as though she had expected to come up sooner or later. Fire Fight was surprised, but he kept his composure. “If you’re still wondering about that, I’m a little surprised you decided to come with us.” Fire Fight replied.

“Indeed, so tell me why I should continue to take this journey with you.” Air Slash retorted.

Fire Fight took a deep breath as he thought of an answer. More than anything, he wanted to get away from the hate he’d constantly receive from his peers for what made him who he was, and he had the compassion to take others with him, which is what sparked this whole journey to begin with. Though admittedly, he’d thought little of what its ultimate outcome would be. He thought he’d just let things happen, and plan out from there, but Air Slash quickly reminded him that it wasn’t as simple as that. Thinking long and hard about his experiences, he mustered a reply.

“Because you and I can both see that Equestria is a broken item that refuses to be fixed, and we’re what’s breaking it. You and I have felt what it’s like to feel trapped at your own home. You and I find comfort outside of what we’re taught from birth, but others refuse to acknowledge that. And You and I both remember how Equestria was founded. Ponies who escaped the prison they had unknowingly built around themselves found comfort far away from it. They knew they wouldn’t last much longer the way things were, so what did they do? They ran away from it all, and through cooperation, built the paradise we know now. Their first paradise had become broken because what they believed, and now over a thousand years later, history is repeating itself little by little. But I’m not going to wait until everything freezes over like our ancestors did! I’m going to act now, and save what I can- save what I have to before history totally repeats.” He said.

Turf War, and Spiral Galaxy listened in awe at their friend’s speech. Even their own decision seemed a little rash in the long run, they were glad to have joined such a strong, determined colt. Shadow Shroud silently smiled as she listened to the whole thing; she knew she wasn’t a fool for joining him either.

Fire Fight gazed at Air Slash with determination, wondering…hoping that this was a good enough answer for his newest companion. Nervousness overtook his conscious when for a moment, the young samurai just stared at him. He couldn’t tell if he was still contemplating the speech he’d received, or just disapproved of it altogether. He relaxed when Air Slash smiled proudly at him.

“I was hoping you would say that!” Air Slash said.

Fire Fight smiled seeing that he’d satisfied his friend. He held his head high once more, and led his entourage through the forest with a clear conscious.

Air Slash suddenly noticed Shadow Shroud sneakily eyeing him with approval. She walked up next to him, and whispered. “Seems I couldn’t find the right time to put that pressure on him. Not bad, Bladerunner.”

Air Slash eyed her pompously. “Well, somepony has to pick up your slack, Shadewalker.” He whispered back to her.

“I suppose only you’d be nitpicky enough, so I thank you. It’ll be nice to have….a little butler in that sense.” She devilishly giggled. “I jest.”

Air Slash’s pompous eyeing quickly turned into an annoyed glare. “You’d better be.” He growled.

Once the foals reached the edge of the forest once more, they looked out into the city, observing what had changed so that they might plan their next move.

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Just a quick heads-up: I've got some family visiting shortly, and they'll be here a couple days. My attention will have to be with them while their here, so don't be surprised if you don't see an update during that time. I know I was gone longer than I said I'd be the last time, but some things I really should have foreseen that I didn't consider happened, and that hindered me. This time is different, I assure you.
The next Battle Foal will be appearing soon, so you have that to look forward to until then!

Bonanza!

It was roughly midday when the foals reached the Dodge City outskirts for the second time. Much to their surprise, a large crowd seemed to be gathering in the middle of town, and it looked organized. “Wait here. I’ll see what’s going on.” Shadow Shroud whispered. The others nodded, and she snuck towards the town.

As she neared the back of a building, the foals could see her flip into her disguise dress. It wasn’t quite as western-esque as all the other fillies and mares were wearing, but it had to do. She innocently trotted towards whatever was making a spectacle.

Spiral Galaxy grimaced. “Ugh…That dress looks awful on her!” she commented. “Maybe she and I can find a store in Baltimare to replace it when we go there.”

Fire Fight shrugged. “I think it looks just fine.”

Spiral looked at him as though he’d just said that 2+2=5. “Fire Fight…” she sighed. “Look, I love the both of you. You’re my friends and all, but…….you have no taste.”

“Pfft! Well, excuse me, princess! I don’t wear dresses!” He retorted.

Spiral rolled her eyes, and shook her head. “Colts…” she whispered to herself.

*****

Shadow Shroud slithered though the crowd to reach the front, and see what all the hype was about. Nopony seemed to pay her any mind as she finally conquered the maze of bodies surrounding whatever the point of interest was. Oddly enough, much of the crowd also comprised of ponies who were clearly not native to the town amongst all those that were. Those that weren’t seemed like normal ponies they’d see in Ponyville, or Hoofington; she even thought she saw the two mares she overheard on the train. She was met with the sight of a stallion in the middle of the clearing that the crowd surrounded behind a fence that looked as though it had been built into the town square. Various show equipment were scattered around him. The crowd eagerly waited for him to speak.

“Good afternoon, Dodge City! Boy, oh boy, oh boy! It was cryin’ shame we had postpone the show this year, but it’s a shame no longer! Startin’ shortly will be our annual Rodeo Show!” the stallion exclaimed. The crowd cheered vibrantly, ‘yee-haw’ing and everything.

Shadow Shroud was frazzled. “It was postponed!?” she thought to herself. Surely it didn’t take the train they’d stowed away on that long to reach the city from where they bailed, did it? Plus, it had been a couple days since then before they actually arrived. What could have possibly caused them to have to postpone a simple show for that amount of time? She decided not to inquire for the risk of blowing her cover if the answer was as obvious as ‘Oh, there was a massive sand twister that tore through the whole town’, or something. It was incredibly fortunate for the foals since they’d get to see for themselves if this ‘gun colt’ existed, and if so, what all the fuss was about him.

The announcer stallion began speaking again. “I can’t tell ya how mighty thankful Ah am for Sheriff North Fork, and his deputies for quietin’ down them varmints. We’ll be doin’ nice n’ special for ‘em later on, but that’s all Ah’m gonna say until then! Have a hootin’ hayseed happy time, y’all! Yee-Haw!”

So whatever held them from holding the show on schedule so severe enough to warrant the Sheriff’s attention. Who, or whatever these ‘varmints’ were became a secondary concern for Shadow Shroud. She took what she heard, and snuck back to her comrades.

“You serious!? What went down?” Turf War asked, shocked to hear what Shadow Shroud had relayed to them as was everypony.

“I wish I could tell you. Though it sounds as those the city had….at the very least a pest problem. As to the identity of the…*ahem* varmints, I haven’t the slightest idea. Though, they were troublesome enough to warrant the intervention of their Sheriff.” Shadow Shroud explained.

“Did you happen to catch a glimpse of our pony of interest?” Air Slash asked.

“No. I did not see him. I would imagine they’d save an act like his near, or possibly at the end, so I’d suggest we get a move on if we don’t want to potentially miss him. Plus, the show itself might be fun to watch altogether.” Shadow Shroud said.

Fire Fight chuckled. “You really want to watch the whole show, don’t you?” he asked.

Shadow Shroud blushed slightly, and looked down at the ground. “O-Of course. After all, that colt might be partaking in it, correct? It’s…a necessity for us to watch it.” She said.

Spiral Galaxy giggled. “Shroud, it’s ok to have a little fun every now and again. I think we’ve earned a little R&R anyway, don’t you think?” she said.

“I think you all know by now her idea of fun.” Air Slash said.

Shadow Shroud glared up at him, and drew her kunai. “I’d be happy to give them a demonstration in case they forgot! Care to assist?” she hissed at him.

Fire Fight held down her hoof that was holding the dagger. “We haven’t. Now knock it off, you two!” he reprimanded. He released her hoof as she sheathed her kunai. “Shroud, are you sure we’d be able to blend in well even though we’re not armed?” he asked her.

Shroud nodded. “The crowd is big enough to make even us look like we belong. Plus, tourists from out of town came to witness the event, correct? They’d pass us off as mere spectators, a group of foals who wanted to spend the day together to partake in the fun.” She explained.

“Dat sounds tight! Even if da show turn out to be whack, we’ll finally see what the deal is ‘bout dis colt.” Turf War said.

Fire Fight chuckled. “Turf War, if the shows goes cold, we’ll leave to you to lighten it up, ok?” he joked.

“You know damn well I will, son. I put on a cowpony hat and e’rything, and start bumpin’ to some o’ dat ‘bluegrass’ music, or whatever d’hey call it…..Nah, maybe I’ll rap instead. I come rollin’ in on a ball, and be like, ‘Yo! Howdy, y’all! Nah, I ain’t gonna fall! I got paid too much to stay on, LOL! Where some water at, ‘cause it hot as hell! If I don’t find some soon, I’m a jump down a well! Yeah, I might get buried, but yo, it’s all good! Dirt don’t feel like nuttin’ when you get out the hood!’.” He rapped.

Fire Fight, and Spiral Galaxy laughed happily at their friend’s little performance, and even clapped. Air Slash just smiled and shook his head as he chuckled. Shadow Shroud did the same, but rolled her eyes. Turf War bowed as if he was a professional showpony.

Still laughing a little, Spiral mustered a little suggestion. “You should juggle random stuff while you do that!” she said.

“Ooooohhhh. Yo, Air Slash, lemme borrow yo’ swords for a minute.” Turf War joked.

“I think water would be the least of your concerns if such a thing took place, Turf War.” He chuckled.

Fire Fight finished laughing. “Ok, ok. We’d better get going before we miss anything.” He said. They agreed, and let Shadow Shroud take the lead on sneaking over there.

When they got to the building that Shadow Shroud had previously reached, she flipped back into her dress, and led the others to the crowd that was still gathered around the fenced in show area. In the time that it took for them to get there, four sets of bleachers had been placed around the stage that many of the spectators had occupied; the foals just decided to stick to the ground, and head up front to the fence for their own front row seats. When they did, a rodeo clown was performing.

His humorous antics were a nice introduction for what all the foals would see next. The ever stoic Shadow Shroud was holding back fits of laughter whenever the clown would intentionally fall over and miraculously land on his head and smile as though he meant to do that…..which he kinda did. After that came a dance troupe, a strong arm that lifted weights twice his size, a cowpony who bucked a stack of hay bales one by one perfectly out from under the other like Jenga pieces, hoop performers, and various other spectacular acts. Looking over at her, Fire Fight could clearly see that Shadow Shroud was enjoying herself; she was actually smiling, and not devilishly like she normally does under given circumstances, but rather as happily as a filly being entertained at her cute senora. Seeing her like this made Fire Fight smile. Despite knowing next to nothing about his enigmatic friend, he had made a fair assumption that she’s had a grueling childhood what with the hellish training she must have endured if Air Slash’s father was any indication. He was glad to be able to give her this opportunity to just….be a foal.

“Having fun?” he asked her.

Shroud looked over at him upon hearing his question. She was a little surprised at first, but smiled. She eyed the ground as she let out a little chuckle, then looked back up at her fiery friend. “If you’d like to put it that way, I suppose so.” She replied.

Spiral Galaxy nudged her lightly. “Come on, Shroud! Don’t be so gloom and doom all the time! Fire Fight and I can both tell you’re really having a good time.” She said.

Shroud sighed happily as she rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright. You’ve caught me.” She said.

The announcer came back out after the last act finished. “Alright, y’all It’s time for the main event, the big act you all came to see! Even if they haven’t been Equestria for very long, this ‘ere young colt knows how to use ‘em like he knows how to breath!” he said as he pointed to the stage entrance in the fence.

Entering through it was an Earth Pony colt about their age wearing a navy blue cowpony shirt, a leather vest, a red bandana around his neck, and a brown cowpony hat. Holstered at his sides were what looked to be the fabled ‘guns’. They were exactly as Turf War remembered from his past experience, and how Shadow Shroud remembered her masters describing them to her. The colt’s coat was a bumblebee yellow, his eyes a deep blue, and his cowpony-styled mane and tail a burnt orange. His Cutie Mark depicted the two guns crossing by their barrels, and firing.

“So he does exist!” Air Slash said in awe.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, please give a mighty big Dodge City applause for Kickback and his twin colt revolver guns of which he has named Sound, and Fury!” the announcer said.

‘Kickback’ tipped his hat, and smiled politely. A group of fillies obviously native to Dodge City were screaming his name manically, desperate to get his attention. He simply glanced over at them, and shot them a gentlemanly wink as he tipped his hat at them. They went crazy, and nearly fainted.

“Damn. Forget ‘colt’ revolver. Homie out d’here a filly revolver. HEhe!” Turf War commented.

Shadow Shroud suddenly noticed that there was a stallion in the bleachers eyeing the colt with clear disapproval. He didn’t seem hostile, but she easily got the impression that this stallion wasn’t at all excited about the upcoming performance.

“Now, for all of ya sittin’ there in the bleachers, Ah’m awful sorry to have to ask y’all to step down from there. This here’s a dangerous act he’ll be performin’, and there’ll be less room for error if y’all aren’t up in the air.” The announcer said.

Gasps and looks of worry overtook the crowd. Those on the bleachers complied with the safety precaution including the unhappy stallion that Shroud noticed. Some stagehand unicorns moved some tall, but thin boxes to hug the inside of the show fence. Everypony up front whose vision was obscured by the boxes was given a small crate to stand on including the foals. The stage unicorns seemed to set a timer on each of the boxes, and ran out of the stage area.

Kickback stood in the center of the stage with his hat held just over his eyes. He patiently waited like a statue watching time flow. The tension in the air had the foals on edge as they anxiously waited to see what this fabled colt would do.

Bullets in the Gun

Tumbleweeds bullied by the desert winds were shoved and rolled through town as Kickback stood there still as could be for whatever was supposed to happen occur. The entire town looked on in the tense atmosphere around the young gunman. The boxes around him could be heard ticking in the deafening silence.

That silence was broken when one of the boxes directly in front of him launched a soda can high into the air. Just as it reached the peak of its air time, Kickback drew his left revolver about as quick as Shadow Shroud could drew and throw her kunai, and fired it at the can. The sudden bang startled the crowd, and echoed throughout the town. The can had been hit square in the side. No sooner after that did a soda can directly behind him launch into the air. He drew the gun holstered at his right side as quick at the other, turned around in the blink of an eye, and shot it as expertly as the other.

No sooner after that did varying series of can from all around start popping up. All of which were expertly shot by Kickback’s guns. Some of the cans formed shapes such as diamonds, squares, what have you; Kickback shot them in such lightning fast succession that the unobservant eye would swear he’d shot them all at once. In between series of cans, which were barely any seconds apart, Kickback would flip his guns to reload with peerless precision and dexterity when needed. This continued for roughly a minute before the grand finale. Cans were launched into the air in quick succession starting the six o’clock boxes, and continuing both clockwise and counterclockwise simultaneously. Kickback shot both of his guns in either direction simultaneously as they reached the peak of their jumps. Finally the box right in front of him belched out a cluster of cans. After reloading at lightning speed, Kickback fired one shot at each of the cans, hitting them each in their proverbial bullseyes. Kickback calmly blew the leftover smoke out of his guns, put them on safety, and holstered them. He tipped his hat to the crowd as they went wild.

“G******! I forgot how loud those things were!” Turf War commented.

Shadow Shroud looked at him with her ear held up. “WHAT!? I CAN’T HEAR YOU! MY EARS ARE RINGING!” she said. Fire Fight relished this moment as this likely was the only time she’d ever raise her voice.

While the crowd seemed excited for the most part, there were a noticeable number of spectators clearly concerned at the very existence of such a dangerous item, and that a foal had possession of them. The stallion that Shroud had noticed earlier could be seen hanging his head down as he shook it in disappointment. Kickback seemed to pay him no heed as he calmly walked out of the show area with the crowd still cheering for spectacular display.

The announcer took his place in the middle of the stage as the launcher boxes were removed by the stagehands. He was visibly rattled by the sheer potential that Kickback’s guns displayed, but was trying to keep his cool for the crowd. “Ehehehe…..Ain’t he just one of a kind? Talk about lettin’ the show go out with a bang, huh? Hehe….” He took a deep breath, and totally regained his composure. “Well folks, Ah sincerely thank ya from the bottom o’ mah heart fer joinin’ us ‘ere. Ah sure had a hootin’ hay of a time puttin’ all this together with our mayor, todays acts, and of course, the sheriff. Now we’ve all got food stalls and games lined up from street to street for everypony. Many thanks to those who are runnin’ ‘em. Ah ask that ya don’t bother the show ponies as they’re puttin’ away their equipment an’ all. Other than that, enjoy the rest o’ the day! YEE-HAW!”

Fire Fight immediately turned to his comrades. Shadow Shroud was still cleaning out her ears a little. “Let’s go find Kickback!” he said.

“We really should get out of this crowd first.” Spiral Galaxy said. “Why don’t we go back behind that building and wait for it to break up?”

“You do that. I’ll ascend above the city, and see if I can’t see our target from above.” Air Slash said.

Fire Fight nodded. “Alright. Meet us back there when you catch sight of him.” He said.

Air Slash nodded, and flew up to get a bird’s eye view of his surroundings while the other foals retreated to their designated spot. With other touring pegasi airborne, he raised no suspicion. Viewing the ground below and around him, Air Slash had difficulty spotting the gun-wielding colt in the large crowd that was still dispersing to the listed attractions throughout town. He carefully scanned every inch of the streets he could immediately see. Within a moment or so, he spotted Kickback slowly trudging through the same crowd of fillies who had been lauding over him earlier just before his performance. He very politely excused himself through them, and walked towards a rather unhappy looking stallion who was facing him. Upon seeing that, Air Slash immediately flew back down to his waiting compatriots.

“Quickly! Follow me!” he whispered. He lead them through the now well-dispersed crowd to where he last saw Kickback. When he explained the stallion he witnessed, Shadow Shroud perked up.

“I saw that very same stallion eyeing him in such a way during the show. Perhaps…they’re connected?” she stated.

“Looks like we’re about to find out.” Fire Fight said. Just ahead of them was Kickback walking alongside the aforementioned stallion. It sounded like they were talking.

“Let’s listen in, you guys.” Spiral said.

Air Slash firmly shook his head. “I will not stoop to the level of a-”

“Air Slash, we have to be discreet. I know you’re used to having a big presence, but while we’re searching, we can’t draw too much attention to ourselves. Otherwise, you might have to go back to your stronghold to your father again!” Fire Fight said.

The mention of his father immediately silenced the samurai. He reluctantly conceded to acting on the level of somepony he considered his enemy. Shadow Shroud silently smirked.

Casually walking behind them, the foals eavesdropped on what Kickback and this stallion were talking about. “Kickback, Ah don’t even know why Ah bother. You saw some o’ them spectators. They knew just as well as Ah do that as sure the sun is bright and hot, them guns o’ yers are as cold as the steel they’re made of!” the stallion said.

“Well shucks, Pa. Ah don’t reckon Sound and Fury have done any harm to ‘em. Besides, a lot o’ the other ponies seemed to take quite kindly to ‘em. If the sheriff, and even the mayor were okay with ‘em-” Kickback said to his apparent father, but he cut him off.

“Those two can kiss me where the sun don’t shine. Ah haven’t forgotten what those two little metal blasters have done to us, and you of all ponies shouldn’t neither!” he scolded.

Kickback held his hat over his face. “Ah reckon Ah managed to help fight off them pesky Sand Vipers so we could have our show.” He muttered.

His father shook his head. “It wasn’t a show Ah was rightly looking forward to, so you shoulda just kept those two in bed! Safer that way anyhow! Get on home an’ put them varmints wherever the hay ya keep ‘em, an’….ugh, Ah don’t know. The rest o’ the show’s going today, so…have fun, Ah guess. Just get away for a while.”

While his hat was still over his face, Kickback had noticeably gotten a little more dejected. It was clear that for whatever reason, Kickback’s father wasn’t too fond of his son. Furthermore, it sounded as though a group called the ‘Sand Vipers’, who or whatever they were the so-called ‘varmints’ that prevented the show from running on schedule, and Kickback had helped fight them off.

The foals were forced to fall back as Kickback and his disgruntled father began trotting out of town and into the outskirts. A small, humble little house could be seen out in the distance. Presumably, it was there home. They didn’t want to look suspicious, so they casually walked off into another street to discuss what they had just witnessed.

“Interesting…” Shadow Shroud said.

“Saddening…” Spiral Galaxy replied sorrowfully.

“It’s no surprise that those guns would make that stallion weary.” Air Slash said.

“Who d’hese ‘Sand Vipers’, d’ho? Dat’s what I wanna know.” Turf War said.

“Let’s hope they’re nothing we need to worry about. Right now, our focus is Kickback. Though, it looks like we’ll have to wait for him to get back out here from his house before we can talk to him.” Fire Fight said.

“Indeed, but I’d be concerned about these ‘Sand Vipers’ of theirs just in case they come up once more. If they were big enough a problem to warrant having to cancel this whole event in the time that it took for us to finally get here, I think we can agree that they’re not just a mere inconvenience.” Shadow Shroud said.

“I’m inclined to agree with the Shadewalker….for once. But we mustn’t just sit here and wait for Kickback. We’ll likely be seen as stalkers, or the sort otherwise.” Air Slash said.

“Slash has a point. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the festival until we happen to bump into him!” Spiral suggested.

“I’m down fo’ dat. Y’all smell dat hay and wheat barbeque d’hey got poppin’ off! WHEW, LORD! I’m a get like ten plates o’ dat stuff! I’ll be thick as hell and prolly kill myself, but it’s all good!” Turf War commented.

Fire Fight nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably the best thing we can do right now. What do you think, Shroud?”

Shroud tried to hide her embarrassment by rolling her eyes. She had a blast watching the performing acts even if Kickback’s guns made her nearly go deaf. It was the first time she’d ever really….had fun apart from fights to the death, and found herself wanting to enjoy it while it lasted. “Hmph! If that’s truly the best course of action, then I suppose we have no choice.”

The colts chuckled while Spiral giggled. Then a sudden thought crossed Fire Fight’s mind. “Wait, we’ve still got our bits, right?”

Shroud nodded, and pulled out the small wallet she’d been using to store what little finances they had….or for that matter really needed. It contained 25 bits total. There was still a good sum from when she looted the thugs in Detrot.

“I snuck some wealth of my own out from the stronghold. 30 bits to be exact.” Air Slash said.

Spiral gasped. “Awesome! I doubt we’ll really need 55 bits since everything here is like…what, one to three at most? But let’s just enjoy the day!”

They all hoof bumped, and said ‘Yeah!’

Turf War left a crowd stunned when he got a chance at the High Striker when he struck the bell with considerable force on his first attempt. His comrades weren’t that surprised, but they were certainly reminded of just how strong he was. He won a free voucher for a barbeque dinner that he used immediately! Despite being kinda hungry, he shared his strips of honey and hickory glazed hay with hid friends, much to their appreciation- It was delicious! Even Shadow Shroud happily gobbled it down with almost no regard to her dress, which she miraculously left unstained……but then again, this was Shadow Shroud.

Air Slash participated in an aerial race in which participants flew through hoops and around various obstacles. His remarkable fitness from being born a Bladerunner made some of the spectators wonder if he was the son of one of the Wonderbolts. Much of the maneuvers he had to make were reminiscent of his style of sword fighting, so he’d swing his arms as though he was actually wielding his blades out of pure habit, which Shadow Shroud got a snicker or two out of. His grace and strength in the air earned him a solid second place mere milliseconds behind first, which frustrated him at first, but was satisfied when he earned his prize- a free ticket to one of any of the other games, which he used at the Dunk Ball. Much to their surprise, the apparent sheriff was in the dunk seat. Turf War suggested that he probably wanted to get wet with how hot it is out here. Air Slash sadly didn’t have very good throwing dexterity, so he missed every shot, leaving poor Sheriff North Fork to fry…

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud participated in a dart-throwing game that involved having a limited amount of darts to throw at a series of moving targets. Some foals had thrown them one by one at the targets with some doing better than others. Fire Fight went first, and hit all the targets, but nowhere near to the center. Shadow Shroud then tried her hoof. When she was given her darts, she folded all of them into her hoof as she would with her kunai. Other fillies giggled at her thinking she was just being silly, but quickly shut them up when she athletically jumped into the air and threw the darts simultaneously into every bullseye. She quickly glanced at the fillies whose mouths were hitting the ground, and smirked deviously. The stallion running the game was no less shocked, but snapped out of his trance to give her what she had won- a huge teddy bear, which she generously gave to a filly watching that had performed abhorrently earlier. The filly was ecstatic, and profusely thanked her.

Walking alongside her with the rest of the gang, Fire Fight was more than content to see Shadow Shroud open up to such a new world to her. It was then that she looked at him. “Fire Fight?” she said.

“Yeah?” he replied.

Shadow Shroud sighed in a way that made sound as though she was pleasantly annoyed with what she was about to say. “I’m having fun.” She said with a genuine smile.

Fire Fight smiled back, and blushed a little. “Me too.” He said. They chuckled as they looked into each other’s eyes for that moment.

It was then that they overheard two mares loudly talking. “Did ya see that shootin’ star last night?”

“That was just amazin’! Did y’all make a wish?”

“Ah sure did! Ah wished that this ‘ere show would be able to continue, and looked what happened!” What about you?”

“Oh, you know. Ah wished Ah could actually find mahself a nice stallion. Maybe with all the tourists comin’ in for the show, Ah actually will.”

“Ooohh. Well, I just might helped that come true! Mind sharin’ ‘em with me?” The other mare rolled her eyes as her friend giggled.

Turf War nudged Spiral Galaxy lightly. “Hey! Y’all see dat?” he said to her. Spiral couldn’t help but to blush happily at the sight of her little accident last night having such a positive effect.

The foals’ fun was quickly replaced with their unwavering diligence as they spotted their target standing with his back against the support beam of a building just ahead…

Coming Up Short?

Author's Notes:

Hey guys!
Really quick, I want to address something. When I first introduced Kickback in the chapter 'Bonanza!', I never specified his tribe. I just rectified this, but in case you don't care to go read it again, Kickback is an Earth Pony. Sorry about that!

Kickback seemed as calm and collected as ever with his hat over his face, but Shadow Shroud could tell that something was bothering him. This didn’t come as a surprise after the argument he had earlier with his father. “Hmm….how to approach this….” Shadow Shroud wondered aloud.

The other foals wondered with her as they tried to decide how to approach the cowpony. He didn’t seem very quick to anger and wasn’t with his guns, but it was still a delicate subject, or at least they had to assume it was. Just as they were getting closer to him, a relatively old mare walked up to him.

“Howdy, Kickback.” She said to him.

Kickback looked up, smiled, and politely removed his hat before speaking to her. “Good afternoon, miss Sunrise. Enjoy the show much?” he replied. Shadow Shroud and Spiral Galaxy could tell from the somewhat short distance they were why those fillies were going so crazy. Not only was he gentlemanly, but…..he was handsome!

“Oh! That was just a hootenanny! Although, Ah reckon ya really shoulda warned us just how loud them guns o’ yers were. Golly! Ah could barely hear mah husband cheering right next to me!” Sunrise said.

“Well Ah’m awful for Sound and Fury, ma’am. They don’t mean any harm none. They just don’t get a chance to talk much, so they relish every second that they do, Ah reckon.” Kickback said.

Sunrise laughed at his comment. “Surely they do, honey. I could hear ‘em out the distance when you were helpin’ the sheriff fend off the Vipers, but Ah didn’t think they’d so hootin’ loud up close. Anyway, Ah just wanted to let ya know that we’re gonna be goin’ over more o’ Dodge City’s history in class tomorrow, so Ah’m gonna let ya keep that book Ah lent ya for just a li’l longer, alright?” she said.

Kickback nodded. “Why, thank ya kindly, ma’am! It’s been a mighty fine read.”

Sunrise giggled, and patted him on the head. Kickback put his hat back on as she let up. “Yer welcome! Alright, well y’all enjoy the rest o’ the day, sweetheart.” She said as she walked off.

Kickback waved as she did. “Y’all too!” he said. As she got far enough away, Kickback’s smile quickly faded into a frown. He sighed heavily as he held his hat over his face. “At least Ah won’t have to bring Sound and Fury…” he muttered sorrowfully.

Taking in what they heard, the foals could tell that for one reason or another, Kickback wasn’t any more proud of his talent than his father did despite having a good conversation about them with his apparent teacher. At least it could be seen that Kickback was easy to talk to, so a conversation with him might be easier than they thought. It was still just a matter of how to approach the subject.

Deciding not to waste any time thinking about it, they decided to just strike a conversation with, and see where it goes. They walked up to him.

“Hi there. Kickback, right?” Fire Fight said.

Kickback looked up his new company, smiled, and tipped his hat. “Howdy, strangers.” He greeted. He looked over at Shadow Shroud and Spiral Galaxy, and took off his hat. “Fillies.” He greeted, then put his hat back on. Spiral found herself blushing, and smiling nervously as she waved hello back. Shadow Shroud simply nodded while holding back her emotions. “What can Ah do ya for?”

Fire Fight tried to think of something to say, but came up short. Thankfully, Air Slash swooped in to the rescue. “You’re performance was quite the spectacle.” He said.

“Why thank ya, partner! Ah was rather pleased with it mahself.” Kickback replied. “Ah reckon y’all ain’t from around these parts?”

Fire Fight shook his head. “No, we’re not. So we were wondering just who or what these ‘Sand Vipers’ we’ve hearing about are. Mind telling us?” he asked.

Kickback looked at him curiously. “Huh…Figured if y’all came to see the show, you’d know about ‘em. Anyhow, the Sand Vipers are bunch o’ rotten, no good bandits livin’ out in the middle o’ the desert between here and Appleoosa. Them varmints make a livin’ stealin’ from others, and trying to raid the town from time to time. They raided us not long before we we’re supposed to hold this ‘ere Rodeo Show, and caused a good bit o’ damage. We had to make some repairs so we could still have our show.” He explained.

“And from what we’ve heard, you fought them off?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“Yes, ma’am. The sheriff and his deputies managed to chase ‘em outta town before they could cause any more trouble, and Ah had the help o’ my two compadres to chase them rascals all the way back into the desert.” Kickback said.

“Yo’ dad ain’t seem too happy ‘bout it d’ho.” Turf War said. Shadow Shroud shot him a quick glare silently reprimanding him for his brazen inquiry.

Kickback suddenly lost his luster a little, and sighed. “Well…..he just……He don’t take too kindly to Sound and Fury none. Ah…..Ah can understand if he’s worried about me usin’ those two. They ain’t toys, let me tell ya. Ah was a li’l bit worried the rest o’ town might not like ‘em, but…..looks like they’re ok…..Ah……Ah guess” He said.

The foals could tell that this was about as far as their conversation would go, so they decided to seize a more opportune moment to really see what was going on. “O-Ok, Kickback. Well….See ya later. Great show!” Fire Fight said as he led the other foals away.

Kickback nodded. “Y’all take good care now!” he said as he waved goodbye. As Fire Fight and his friends disappeared into the sunset, Kickback reassumed his solemn position on the wooden beam. He heavily sighed to himself as he held his hat over his face. “Pa……Ah’m…..Ah’m so sorry.........It…..was an accident!” he whispered to himself.

*****

Shadow Shroud lightly but firmly elbowed Turf War. “You idiot!” she hissed. “Why did you press that issue so soon!?”

“The hell I was supposed to say? We had to bring dat up sometime! Damn!” Turf War argued.

“Yeah, I could tell that wasn’t gonna go anywhere otherwise, but you kinda brought that up out of the blue, Turf War. I think you might have hurt his feelings.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Turf War thought for a moment, and conceded. “Yeah…Maybe I did. I should prolly go back real quick, and-”

“No. He’ll be fine. Besides, it’s starting to get late. We need to get back to our little hideout to discuss what to do. I’ll make us some dinner when we get back.” Fire Fight said. They agreed, and let Shadow Shroud sneak them back into the forest after she flipped back into her cloak.

The sun had just about finished setting by the time they got back. Air Slash managed to acquire more eggs, and gave them to Fire Fight so he could get to work making another nice stew with them along with the other stuff they had. Working through the rise of Luna’s moon, Fire Fight whipped up a decent amount of stew; everypony was still pretty stuffed from that delicious barbeque. It was a wonder they’d only spent 10 bits altogether. He served them their food, and they dug in.

“How are we supposed to approach Kickback now? We really can’t get much out him anyway.” Spiral Galaxy wondered aloud.

“Indeed. We’ve little cause to convince him to leave this place as it stands. Hmm….This will be difficult.” Air Slash said.

“I mean….Is it even worth it?” Turf War asked.

“What do you mean by that?” Air Slash asked him.

“Well, ya know. It just…..look like d’here ain’t really much we can do for him. Dis might o’ just been a false alarm for us, y’all.” Turf War answered.

“Yeah…..you might be right. This looks like nothing more than just something between him and his dad that they just need to work out.” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud sighed. “Perhaps……you’re correct this time. I knew a time like this might come…….but,……” she started.

“But what?” Fire Fight asked.

“I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something way more to it than that. Such turned out to be the case with Curfew back in Detrot…..Perhaps I’m too eager?” Shadow Shroud said.

“Well……thinking about it now, where was Kickback’s mom? If even his dad cared enough to see his performance, than surely his mom would too, right?” Spiral asked.

Fire Fight sighed. “Maybe she just left them like my dad did. Wouldn’t be too surprising considering he’s got those guns…” he said.

They all sighed. It looked like this was their first unsuccessful search. While Kickback certainly had an issue with his dad pertaining to his guns, the rest of the town seemed at least ok with them despite showing some fear of them during his earlier performance, meaning that this wasn’t a problem of great enough magnitude to warrant their intervention.

As the foals finished their dinner, they decided to get a little bit of sleep before going to retrieve their raft. Sure, Appleoosa was just a hike across the desert, but the foals ultimately decided that they wanted to cover the rest of Eastern Equestria before setting out for newer destinations. As they were about to crawl into their bedrolls, they heard several continuous echoing ‘bangs’ coming from the direction of Dodge City!

“That sounds like Kickback’s guns! You think maybe it’s the Sand Vipers!?” Spiral asked.

Shadow Shroud donned her mask. “Only one way to find out!” she said. The others nodded, and quickly armed themselves before rushing out into the nighttime desert. They steered clear from the city to avoid being discovered. When they were a good distance into the sandy landscape, they were met with the distant sight of a group of stallions with black bandanas covering their mouths rushing off into the desert with a carriage containing a relatively big box with Kickback hot on their tail firing at them like a mad pony!

Gunsmoke

“AH SUGGEST YOU GET BACK ‘ERE BEFORE SOUND AND FURY REALLY LOSE THEIR TEMPERS, YA DIRTY SNAKES!!!” Kickback was clearly enraged as he shouted at who the foals presumed to be the Sand Vipers with unbridled fury as he shot his twin colt revolvers at them as though the guns themselves were some kind of overdrive.

One of the masked stallions looked back at him with a taunting smirk on his face. “Well come on then, runt! Let ‘em rip!” he sneered.

Kickback was indeed firing, but it looked as if he was missing every shot contrary to what his act earlier today would have you believe about his marksmanship. With the big box they were carrying, you’d think he’d at least try to hit a shot.

“He’s not gonna last much longer by himself if he keeps this up. We gotta help him!” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Word up!” Turf War affirmed.

Just as they were about to rush into the fray, Shadow Shroud stopped them. “Wait!” she said. The others looked back to see her pointed towards town. The sheriff and who were presumed to be his two deputies pursued the Sand Vipers and Kickback. “You guys go after Kickback. I’ll distract them.”

Fire Fight eyed her with concern. “How?” he asked.

Shroud rolled her eyes. “If you’re worried that I’ll kill them, you need not. They’re nothing more than an inconvenience, and my family does not treat such things as enemies.” She said.

“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Air Slash asserted.

Fire Fight shook his head. “No, Air Slash. You need to help us protect Kickback. So put your pride away, and just trust Shroud, ok?” he asserted.

Air Slash bore his teeth in frustration as Shadow Shroud glared at him. “Fine…” he muttered. They all nodded, and set off.

“Kickback! Get back here, son! We can’t just rush in like a maniac expectin’ them to just give up, or whatever yer hopin’ for!” the sheriff shouted. He and his deputies ran wildly towards the enraged gun-colt and the bandits he was pursuing with either one to each of his sides.

“Why does he get so riled up whenever they come by? He’s normally so calm!” one of the deputies said.
“Reckon so, partner! Mah son accidently ate most of Kickback’s lunch one time, an’ he didn’t raise his voice! Whaddya reckon, Sheriff?” the other said.

“Ah reckon y’all need to not wonder about that right now, and focus on-” the good sheriff was cut off when a sudden flash of black mass swiped across their hooves from the front, and sent them tumbling. The two deputies rolled headfirst into rocks that were just ahead of either of them, knocking them out. Sheriff North Fork managed to avoid such a fate, and halted a little ways ahead of his unfortunate deputies. With his eyes closed, he staggered to his hooves in a little daze. “Rrrrnnggh! What in the Sam Hill was tha-” He was cut off once more when the last thing he saw as he opened his eyes was a pair of bright amethyst eyes staring him down before everything suddenly went black…

*****

The pursuing foals had trouble keeping up with Kickback and the Sand Vipers. They opted not to call out for the risk of Kickback firing at them in his rage. Eventually, they reached the side of a cliff where a small cavernous opening could be seen. The Sand Vipers rushed in with whatever loot was being stored in that box, and Kickback charged in after them. “GET BACK HERE!!” Kickback bellowed as he fired his guns once more.

The foals quickly inspected the vicinity around the opening. On either side were two cow skulls hung on wooden pikes sticking out of the ground with torches lit right behind where their horns protruded. Engraved on the foreheads of each of the skulls was a picture of a snake lashing out with its fangs. This was definitely the place. Just as they were about to enter, Shadow Shroud caught up to them.

“Damn! That was fast.” Turf War commented.

“Hmph. It’s a wonder why that town keeps getting attacked. Now let’s move!” Shadow Shroud said. They immediately entered the lair of the beasts.

Just as they cleared the first hallway which was completely unguarded, they came across two branching paths with no indication of where either one went. They could hear Kickback’s gunshots, but they echoed so much that it was difficult to discern which path they were coming from.

“Shadow Shroud, you and I will take the right path! The rest of you, take left!” Fire Fight commanded. They all nodded, and took their designated paths.

Fire Fight had his horn lit despite there being some torches to light the cave with Shadow Shroud not far behind him lurking in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to ambush any Sand Vipers that might try to halt them. What they eventually ran into was a huge storeroom housing a labyrinth of boxes stacked next to, and on top of one another. It pretty simulated how city blocks were laid out. Kickback’s shots could be heard from the other side. “Let’s go get the others. I think this is the right way!” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud shook her head. “Knowing for sure is better than thinking you do. We need to go confirm this for ourselves. Besides, even if this is the correct path, the others will realize this, and catch up. They can hold their own.” She said. Conceding that she was right, Fire Fight nodded before dashing into the maze with her.

Guards that had been posted snuck around corners trying to ambush them, but the foals could easily track them with their honed fighting instincts. One guy tried to jump on top of them from atop one the higher box stacks, but Fire Fight rocketed himself upward and thrust his searing hot horn into the guard’s abdomen just below his ribcage. Using the remainder of his momentum, Fire Fight flipped forward still ascending, and fell back onto the guard with an a flame-charged axe kick to the back that drove him into the ground. Fire Fight flame jumped once more on the impact, and kicked a fire disc at another guard who was running toward him. The guard just managed to dodge the disc, but the subsequent burst of flames burned his muzzle pretty badly; he held his burnt muzzle tightly as Fire Fight landed in front of the other, and charged towards the guard holding his muzzle. Fire Fight leapt with his back legs charged, and grinded like a skateboarder across the guards body, who couldn’t react fast enough to avoid his entire back being seared. As the guard screeched in agony, Fire Fight jumped off of his rump, and readied a punch as he flew towards another rushing guard. The guard smirked as he just managed to completely duck under Fire Fight, and grab him right out of the air by the neck!

“Think you can burn mah brothers like that and get away with it, runt!?” he shouted in his ear.

Fire Fight couldn’t do anything with his horn due to his head being held forward with his neck against the stallion’s other grabbing arm. He gasped for air and struggled to move as he tried to figure out how to escape this situation. He didn’t have to wonder for long when he heard a piercing *SHING* quickly slice across the stallion’s back. The stallion screamed like a little girl upon the hit in sheer pain, compelling him to release Fire Fight, who had a minute to catch his breath when the guard looked up to see a pair of foreboding amethyst eyes owned by a black mass fall to him, and knock him out cold. “Think can strangle mah friend like that and get away with it, runt?” Shadow Shroud taunted, mocking his southern drawl.

Shadow Shroud checked on Fire Fight. “You ok?”

Fire Fight sputtered a little more before taking one last deep breath. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Shroud devilishly giggled. “I’m having fun!” she hissed.

Fire Fight smiled at her with determination. “Me too!” he said. With that, they rushed into the next room. It was a huge chamber just like back in the Bladerunner’s mine, but the roof was completely open to the night sky like a stadium. There was an unlit campfire in the center. Kickback was on one side to the left of the two hidden onlookers, while the other side hosted a group of Sand Vipers along with their apparent boss, and a familiar mare hanging in a net while gagged and hogtied a couple yards above their boss. Kickback had his gun pointed at them.

“Y’ALL LET MS. SUNRISE OUTTA THAT THERE NET RIGHT THIS MINUTE, YA FILTHY VARMINTS!!!” Kickback bellowed. He was as pissed as anypony could be, but he be seen just barely trembling. Ms. Sunrise was struggling in her state.

The boss smirked devilishly, and wiped his nose. “Hehehehehe! C’mon, Kickback! Make us! Fire them guns o’ yers! Be a big ol’ hero again! But be careful. Wouldn’t want a repeat of a year ago with yer teacher here, now would we?” he taunted. The foals were quite surprised to hear that he seemed to know Kickback. And what happened a year ago?

Kickback’s eye’s widened in fury upon hearing that. His trembling worsened. Ms. Sunrise seemed as confused as the foals as to ‘a year ago’. “Y….Y-Y’all…” Kickback’s words were even trembling as he glanced back and forth between the Viper boss, and his captive teacher. “Y-Y-Y’all leave that outta this!” he stammered.

Meanwhile…

Spiral Galaxy had her horn lit despite the lit torches about the walls as she, Air Slash and Turf War raced through the hallway. Before they could hit the brakes in time, they found themselves running into a makeshift saloon filled with Sand Vipers that were just relaxing until they found themselves in a staring contest with their unexpected guests. “Awkward…” Spiral whispered.

“Well what have we here now?” one of them sneered as he trudged towards them. “A rescue party ‘long with that little rascal, Kickback? Hahaha! Ain’t that rich, y’all?” They all got ready to beat the foals down when Air Slash quickly drew his swords. They all gasped. “Yer…..YER A BLADERUNNER!?”

Air Slash smiled with a face of ‘you’re screwed’ at the now panicking Vipers. “Hehehehehehe! A PITY NOPONY WARNED YOU!!” he bellowed as he poised his swords.

“What’s da matter, mah boys? You was hopin’ fo’ a pillow fight!? F*** DAT! I got a order fo’ gooda** a** whoopin’ wit all o’ y’alls’ names on it!” Turf War shouted as he brandished his hammer-axe. He slammed his hammer against his shield tauntingly. “IT’S ON!”

Before either of the colts could jump in, Spiral Galaxy shot a burst of magic past the Vipers that imploded violently, creating a quick black hole that yanked most of the thugs into one another before dissipating. Much of the furniture, bottles and such that got caught in the….reverse blast pelted them as well. The pile of dazed and limp stallions served as a shock to the lucky survivors. “What in tarnation!?” one them shouted.

Spiral giggled innocently. “Oh, I’m just sorry, sir! Whenever I get all flustered, I just get the nastiest little urge to UNLEASH AN APOCALYPSE!!!” she shrieked as she charged her horn, and shot a nova bolt at the stallion, sending him crashing into the wall. The initial impact caused the remaining six stallions to stagger, leaving the colts an opening.

Air Slash charged in one trio with his spinning slash attack that easily rendered them helpless, while Turf War rammed into one with his shield square in the forehead, knocking the stallion out. The one on Turf War’s right tried to hit him upside the head with a bottle, but Turf War forcefully jabbed his hammer-axe into the stallion’s exposed chest, knocking the wind out of him. He then swung his hammer into the one on the left’s feet, causing the stallion to trip into the bar. Just as the stallion’s head was about to hit the bar, Turf War swung his hammer down onto it. “BYE, B****!” The impact knocked him out colder than ice.

They regrouped in the center of the dining area. Spiral rested her conscious a little while the colts attacked despite having a roof over her head. “I heard Kickback fire his guns while you too went at those guys! We have to find him!” she said. They nodded as they rushed into an opposing hallway from where they came from, and into the same scene that Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud happened upon.

*****

The Sand Viper boss maintained his devilish grin. “What’s the matter, son? Nuttin’ to be ashamed of, Ah reckon. Ah mean ya only drove a wedge between you and yer Pa!” he sneered. Kickback was trembling from fury more and more. “You were gonna be a hero and save ‘em from the big, bad Sand Vipers, huh? Drive us off o’ yer property fer good, live happily with yer folks, maybe protect this whole dang desert from us, huh? Maybe you’d become Sheriff! HA! Wouldn’t that be rich!”

Kickback’s distress was becoming more prominent. “S-S-Stop!”

“Y’all see how much they love this kid in Dodge? They think he’s so polite, so gentle, so gentlemanly. All the fillies in town gush all over ‘em every chance they get, ‘cause they think he’s such a doll! Yeah, Ah can see why they’d feel okay with you havin’ those two pea shooters……but little do they know……” the boss hissed.

“S-STOP! N-N-NO MORE O’ THAT!” Kickback seemed to be holding back tears.

The boss wouldn’t let up. “That fateful night when mah boys and Ah raided that little house on the prairie ya got, Ah just had to drop mah stupid guns, didn’t Ah? Ah was the only one who even had any! Pretty embarrassin’ fer the boss of the Sand Vipers, huh? But ya know what’s even more embarrassin’?” Kickback was about to lose it. “A little colt who picks up the bad guys weapon, and tries to save his folks with ‘em! Well….WHAT KIND O’ HERO ACCIDENTLY SHOOTS AND KILLS HIS OWN MAMA, HUH!?” the boss sneered with a smirk so malicious, you’d swear he was the devil himself.

A wave of complete shock waved over the foals. Their mouths hung all the way to the floor at what they just learned about the foal they were about to deem unworthy of their attention. Clearly the opposite was true as all the pieces fell together into a horrific puzzle depicting a dark secret. Ms. Sunrise experienced her own shock as her eyes widened at her student.

Kickback could feel her eyes on him as he stood there still as a statue in complete distress. He looked as if he could drop his guns at any moment- it’s a wonder he never did. His eyes became wider than the foals knew possible, and he didn’t seem to be even breathing!

The Viper boss began slowly approaching him. “Heard ya named mah old guns ‘Sound’, and ‘Fury’. That right? Tch. How adorable. Ya gave yer new toys names so you could blame ‘em for what you did, huh? Ah also heard yer mama died right there in yer Pa’s arm-” he was cut off.

“SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!”

The Vipers Pit

Kickback fired his guns furiously at the Sand Vipers and their leader with almost no regard for anypony’s safety. Gun smoke filled the room as he shots bullets in just about every direction as the Vipers tried to flank him from either side. The foals ducked for cover behind the walls so as not to get shot in the wake of Kickback’s rage. They were startled when a few bullets actually did whiz by them into the hallways they had come from, and hit the stone walls they were using for cover. Shadow Shroud didn’t dare risk using the smoke as cover to attack for the risk of the storm of bullets claiming her; plus, her ears were ringing again.

When the storm subsided after a couple minutes, the smoke dissipated to reveal a grisly scene. All of the Sand Vipers had been shot, but thankfully none were killed or mortally wounded. But they were pretty staggered from eating so much lead. A good few of the Vipers managed to brave through their wounds to go after Kickback, but that wasn’t what had his attention right away. What turned his fury into shock was the sight of Ms. Sunrise lying unconscious in her net!

“Oh no…….No!......Please don’t tell me!!” Kickback stammered.

The hiding foals looked on in horror as they feared what Kickback did. This entire evening had just been one shock after another. With the storm of bullets no longer an issue, Shadow Shroud leapt into the dark of the chamber, and snuck towards the hanging net holding Ms. Sunrise.

The Sand Viper boss staggered to his hooves, holding his shot shoulder. He looked back at their hanging captive, and smirked. “Wha-oh! Looks like it happened again, champ. Yer own teacher this time.” He sneered. Kickback finally dropped his guns as he looked on in horror at the notion of what might have just happened. The very same shock he felt that fateful day a year ago….it had happened upon him again. “What’s the matter, Sheriff? Cat got yer gun?”

Holding back their own shock, and having seen enough of Kickback getting bullied by the bandit leader, the remaining foals charged into battle to save him. They rushed to his side just as Shadow Shroud successfully reached Ms. Sunrise. She cut the net just enough that she could slither through. Carefully inspecting her, Shadow Shroud didn’t see any blood coming from the unconscious teacher. Feeling and listening carefully, she could detect very light breathing, and a pulse!

“LEAVE HIM ALONE, AND LET HER GO NOW!” Fire Fight shouted as he and the others bar Shadow Shroud reached Kickback.

The Viper boss was surprised to see to the sudden guests. “Huh? What the-? Who let y’all in?” he demanded.

Air Slash poised one of his swords at him. “Oh, pay us no heed. We let ourselves for but a moment to retrieve our friend, and reclaim whom you have taken hostage!”

The boss just laughed. “Are y’all stupid!? Li’l sheriff right there just did her in! Take a good look!” he said as he pointed towards the net…..which was completely cut open and empty! “Huh!?”

“Not quite so…” he heard a dark whisper right beside him. He turned quickly to see a cloaked Shadow Shroud staring him down. Not even a second before he noticed her did she leap towards him, and knock him out. The other Sand Vipers were shocked and confused. Kickback was still too distressed to even perceive what was happening around him. Shroud faced her comrades. “She merely fainted from all that was happening. She’ll be fine.” She explained.

Relieved of their initial shock, they looked at Kickback who was still sleeping with his eyes open whilst having a horrific nightmare, and tried to get his attention. “Ya here dat, son? You good!” Turf War said, but to no avail as Kickback didn’t even seem to hear him. Turf War waved his hoof in front of his face. “Homie?” still no response.

The Sand Viper boss recovered frighteningly quick as he got up. He chuckled devilishly. It was then that they noticed that all of the other Sand Vipers got up from the beatings they’d received earlier, and began to circle around the foals. The fallen Vipers from the saloon and storeroom, even those who’d suffered nasty injuries at the hooves of the foal entered the chamber to join their comrades. Many of them were pissed, and more than ready to beat down on the foals who had humiliated them like this. Unshaken by even the seemingly impossible odds, the foals stood their ground ready to defend themselves, and Kickback.

“Careful, Spiral. I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but the sky is open here!” Shadow Shroud warned.

Spiral looked up to see that the stars were indeed out and ready to send her into a frenzy if she wasn’t careful. “O-O-Ok! Thanks, Shroud!” she said, trying to keep her cool.

“Don’t rightly know what no roof has to do with ya, but Ah reckon you’ll get to heaven a lot quicker that way!” one of the Vipers hissed.

Air Slash pointed one of his swords at them. “As will you!” he said. A group of pegasi Sand Vipers soared towards him with weapons ranging from broken bottles and chairs to stone clubs drawn.

“Careful, y’all! They’re tougher than they might look!” one of them called out. He swung his stone club down at Air Slash, which he parried with ease…..well, more like sliced right through it and followed through with a slash across the Viper’s body, sending him careening into the dirt in agony.

“Case and point!” Air Slash sneered. He soared into the sky towards the stars, and tauntingly waved his sword at the pegasi, and they flew up after him. Air Slash’s swords glistened with furious beauty as they danced in the night sky slicing his swarm of opponents. There were far more of them then he’d mentally prepared himself for, so all he could do was keep moving and go with the flow.

Back on the ground, Spiral used her magic to move Kickback and his guns to a location in the dark that Shadow Shroud specified. It turned out to be the location where she hid Ms. Sunrise’s limp body. After that, Spiral carefully ignited her magic as she created a mini galaxy around herself, and stood beside Ms. Sunrise to protect her oncoming Vipers. She blasted with carefully charged nova shots, and gravity waves so as not to accidently call down another shooting star.

Meanwhile, Fire Fight and Turf War were at odds with the Viper boss, and some of his goons, who were keener on standing their ground. “Huh…Shame y’all couldn’t join our li’l family here. You’d be MVP’s!” he said with detectable nervousness.

Turf War shook his head. “I ain’t ‘bout to be no damn snake, b****! Dealt wit enough o’ d’ose back in Detrot, and y’all ain’t s*** compared to them!” he said. He banged his shield with his hammer tauntingly.

“We won’t let you bully Kickback and cause trouble for Dodge City! Either stand down now…”Fire Fight said, then ignited his horn. “…or you’ll be playing with fire!” he growled.

The boss gritted his teeth furiously. He was done playing games. “Sounds like fun! Come show us a good time, varmints!” he shouted. He charged towards the two colts, but Turf War shield-rammed him. It didn’t do much as the boss just got pushed back a few inches. Before Turf War could smack him with his hammer, one of the boss’s goons flanked him and bucked him from his right side, sending him a good few feet away.

“Turf War!” Fire Fight shouted. He then looked at his opponents, who were smirking deviously. It was in that moment that Fire Fight knew he couldn’t hold anything back. He bellowed a war cry, and let his body erupt into an inferno, startling the bandits. He kicked a fire disc at them, which the goon that kicked Turf War took with his whole body. He ran around screaming in agony as he tried desperately to put out the blaze. Fire Fight then rocketed himself towards the boss to try for an uppercut, but too was flanked by another goon guarding the boss. He took the blow from Fire Fight and was sent to kingdom come, but he left himself vulnerable to the boss as he grabbed Fire Fight by the tail, and flailed him around violently, slamming him into the ground a few times.

Turf War staggered to his hooves after sustaining the blow to his side. “M*********!” he growled. It was then that he saw the punishment that Fire Fight was sustaining, and got really mad. “Oh, HELL NO!” he shouted. He tried to run towards him, but he was grabbed by the tail. He turned around to see a Sand Viper trying to pull him by the tail, but Turf War pulled back with all his might, and then swung his hammer-axe backhanded by its axe side into the Vipers temple, knocking him out. He then noticed another Viper charging him from the right, and swung hard. He hit the Vipers body with such an impact, that it knocked him into a couple more Vipers that sent them tumbling into each other, and into the dirt. Another guy came from his right, and received a shield jab to the muzzle. The Viper braved through the blow, and swung a chair he was carrying horizontally and hit Turf War, shattering into splinters on impact. Turf War took that blow like a champ, and followed up with a power swing to the temple that seemed to almost take the Vipers head off as he fell to the floor unconscious.

Despite being tossed around like a ragdoll, Fire Fight was still in his berserk mode ignoring any pain he might’ve been sustaining. He blasted fire in random directions trying to sear the Viper boss. It wasn’t until a black egg flew into the boss’s face that he was forced to release the fiery colt as a thick cloud of smoke and dirt covered his face. “AH! What in tarnation!?” he said. He quickly ran out of the cloud, and wiped off his face. He felt something whiz right by him as he did. He looked into the direction of whatever that was went to see a cloaked mass with a pair of amethyst eyes flying towards him with a kunai in hand. He quickly grabbed Shadow Shroud out of the air just before she could land a hit, and slammed her into the ground, pinning her by the neck with his hoof. “Why you little…!” he growled.

Shroud struggled to breathe as she continuously stabbed the boss’s hoof, which he miraculously braved through! The boss gritted his teeth viciously as he tried to asphyxiate the little ninja, but when the already enraged Fire Fight got up and saw what was happening……..

“RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

Fire Fight’s body was alit as though a thousand volcanoes were erupting continuously off of it. He rocketed towards the boss, who looked on in terror as the flaming inferno of a colt blasted into him with untold fury. He was knocked clean from Shadow Shroud with a furious punch to the face. Sent into the air and vulnerable, Fire Fight began lashing out at him with a flurry of punches and kicks, keeping the boss’s body in the air with each searing strike. For the finale, he uppercut and front flip kicked him into the air, shot a supercharged fireball at him, jumped into him and kneed him as he ascended, and finally axed kicked him with meteoritic force into the ground. The subsequent explosion sent surrounding Sand Vipers flying and char-grilled away from him. The Viper Boss was out like a light.

Fire Fight’s berserk mode petered out after the brutal combo, and he calmed down. Not caring that he was pretty winded, he immediately went to check on his ninja friend. “Shroud! Are you alright!?” he asked. He began panting from exhaustion after his rage.

Shroud was still catching her breath. She leaned into Fire Fight, and he let her use him for support. She was coughing and sputtering from the assault. “So….the tables <cough><cough> have turned, have they? You’re rescuing me now? Hmph! How sweet.” She sneered. They were both out of breath and about ready to collapse when they noticed an enraged Viper charging towards them. They braced themselves for a nasty blow when they heard a loud ‘bang!’.

They looked up to see the viper curled on the ground clutching his chest. They then looked over to see Kickback pointing his smoking gun in that direction with his hat over his eyes, looking calm and collected as ever. “Kickback!” Fire Fight shouted.

Kickback slightly lifted his hat to let his determined eyes peek out. He smiled, and tipped his hat at them before marching out into the middle of the arena. “Ah reckon Sound, Fury and Ah have had just about enough o’ you varmints!” he said. He put his hoof on the brim of his hat. “Now y’all listen close, ‘cause Sound and Fury got a few things they’d like to say to you!” he said as he braced himself.

“YEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAW!!!!!”

Kickback threw his hat straight up into the air and let it spin like a frisbee as he drew his guns. With rage and anger replaced with courage and determination, Kickback aimed and fired his trusty revolvers with peerless precision and accuracy, even more so than when he performed. The fire in his eyes could be seen as smoke belched from his guns in every direction along with a hail of bullets that all hit their marks. He’d reload when needed within milliseconds. Vipers charging him would fall to the ground whether they came from the ground, or from the sky away from Air Slash. The injuries they’d already sustained from fighting the other foals prevented them from recovering so easily this time. The very last Viper who hadn’t been shot leapt like a cat towards Kickback he was within a couple feet of the guncolt when he quickly turned around, and shot him, letting his limp body fly and tumble right past him.

Kickback blew out, and holstered his guns. His hat fell back to him. He caught it, and whipped it around as he turned his body around just put it back on his head. This caused all the gun smoke around him to be fanned out quickly. Kickback simply stood there with his hoof holding his hat down just over his eyes looking calm and collected as before. His bandana flicked and waved it the little breeze he’d created as the foals looked on in awe that he’d managed to subdue them without killing them in such a spectacular manner.

As the smoked cleared, Kickback approached Shadow Shroud and Fire Fight. “Y’all alright?” he asked.

“WHAT!? I CAN’T HEAR YOU! MY EARS ARE RINGING AGAIN!” Shadow Shroud shouted.

Spiral magically carried Ms. Sunrise, who was still conked out as Air Slash descended back to them; he was pretty winded from the exhausting amount of aerial sword fighting he had to do. Turf War was equally tired from sustaining as much forceful punishment as he did, but still tanked through. All of them were pretty beaten up save for Spiral, who had a nasty headache from trying to keep her magic in check, which she miraculously did, but it still meant she had a ways to go. Kickback’s emotions were still shaken despite his act of heroism tonight. Spiral braved through her headache as she and Fire Fight magically carried Ms. Sunrise back through the now tame hallways. Air Slash lifted her upward as he flew while Turf War supported her on his back. Shadow Shroud kept her mask on.

“Ah suppose y’all heard about mah mama…..” Kickback muttered.

“We did. Our condolences, Kickback.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Yeah, bruh….Dat’s…….damn……” Turf War commented.

“That’s why your dad doesn’t seem to like you very much, huh?” Fire Fight said.

Kickback solemnly nodded. “He hasn’t looked me in the eye since that night. The only reason he let me keep Sound and Fury was because mah dang Cutie Mark appeared shortly after.” He explained. “But…..every time Ah draw mah guns, Ah have a quick flashback……of me runnin’ to mah pa holdin’ her and…..” he began to sob. The calm cowpony tried to hold back tears, but his face was just about drenched at the thought of watching his mother pass away right before his eyes. “Mama!” he wept. Shadow Shroud nuzzled him as the other looked on in deep sorrow. Kickback managed to wipe away his tears, and calm down as he got the urge to ask. “Who are y’all anyway?”

Fire Fight explained his history, his mission and his association with his friends bar Shadow Shroud’s nature as a Shadewalker. He then explained how their search had brought them here to Dodge City. “That’s about the gist of it.” He said.

As Kickback listened to him more and more, he felt strangely…..inspired. “Say it ain’t so.” He said.

“It is so, Kickback. Looks like you could use our help, huh?” Fire Fight said.

Air Slash looked curiously. “But I thought we determined that this was just a problem between him and his father? Everypony else seems to quite respect Kickback.” He inquired.

Kickback looked down. “Ah’m not so sure about that, partner. Not even Ms. Sunrise knew about me shootin’ mah mama. And just like ya said, she passed out from all the shock right after she did. What’s everypony gonna say now? Are they gonna be afraid Ah’ll shoot ‘em too!? Ah just……Ah just can’t bear the thought of havin’ to put Sound and Fury away fer good just to save some grief. Y’all can see mah flank! Ah need these two! Don’t know what Ah’d do otherwise!” he said

“So does that mean….” Fire Fight started.

Kickback swallowed, and looked Fire Fight in the eye. He smiled, and tipped his hat. “If ya really think you can make a place just fer me and other ‘lost foals’ as ya put ‘em, then Ah’d be much obliged to come to join ya, Fire Fight! Mah pa would be happy to see me gone anyhow.” He proudly declared.

The foals cheered upon hearing that. It was then that Shadow Shroud revealed herself to be a Shadewalker. Kickback was pretty shocked to hear her tale, but he was assured that they were now allies, to which he nervously accepted. Air Slash said that he’d protect him should the ‘creature of the night’ try to harm him, to which he got glares from both her, and Fire Fight, shooting down his pride.

Before they could come up with a plan, they heard Ms. Sunrise begin to stir as they nearly made it to the mouth of the cave. They put her down, hid in the shadows, and let Kickback talk to her once she got up.

Riding Off Into The Moonlight

As Ms. Sunrise began to stir, Kickback’s heart suddenly became heavy once more. He strangely hoped that his teacher would remember what she had heard; perhaps it just felt good to allow the ugly truth he’d been holding back for so long finally let out despite its foreseeable aftershock? But simultaneously, the notion of what might indeed come with this newfound knowledge only made Kickback surer that he’d made the right choice to join Fire Fight and co.

“Ungh…..Ugh………..Wha……….Kick…………Kickback?” Ms. Sunrise struggled to her hooves as Kickback kindly helped her up. The aging mare slowly but surely regained her conscious as her gentlemanly student looked on in equal parts of worry, and shame.

Kickback removed his hat before speaking to her. “Are you alright, ma’am?” he softly asked.

Ms. Sunrise regained the last of her conscious as she heard him speak. She could now see him clearly under the night sky. It was then she regained the memories of the revelation that beheld her in her captivity……as well as Kickback’s tantrum. “Kickback…….you came to rescue me, didn’t ya, honey?” she said.

Kickback solemnly nodded knowing what else she’d say. “Ah did, and Ah’m sure glad you didn’t get hurt. Ah…….Ah sure am sorry fer actin’ up like that…….” He said.

“Oh, honey. Ah thank ya, but……..is it true? Did y’all really….” Sunrise said. Kickback nodded once again with a small tear in his eye. Sunrise backed away slightly in fear. Kickback was about as gentle as teddy bear with, or without his guns. But seeing the sheer potential for tragedy that his flank represented made her worry about the rest of the town as well as Kickback himself. “Kickback…….Wh……..Why didn’t you say nothin’!? Ah know it’s somethin’ of a private matter, but those guns can shoot somepony! You almost shot me tonight, darlin’!” she said with worry.

Fire Fight, who was hiding in the dark of the cave with his comrades couldn’t help but shake his head. “This looks familiar…” he muttered.

Kickback slowly sighed as he looked down to the ground in shame. Ms. Sunrise could see that she had hurt him, and tried to correct herself. “Ah’m sorry, dear. Ah didn’t mean to upset you. Ah just hope you know now just how dangerous those things are. Ah’m sure the rest o’ Dodge will understand.” She consoled.

“Oh, he does! And yet, he didn’t give a care in the world, did ya, boy!?” The hidden foals, and Kickback and Sunrise looked over to see Kickback’s father along with the sheriff and his deputies.

“Pa!?” Kickback exclaimed as he put his hat on.

“Sheriff? What took ya so long?” Ms. Sunrise said to Sheriff North Fork.

North Fork tipped his hat. “Awful sorry, ma’am. We had ourselves a run-in with……well Ah’m quite frankly not sure what it was. Just some shadow that jumped outta no here, an’ made us tumble into some rocks, and knock us out cold. Might’ve been a mighty clever Sand Viper tryin’ to stop us, Ah reckon.”

Air Slash glared at Shadow Shroud. “Oh, it was a viper alright…” he whispered. Shadow Shroud just rolled her eyes.

“Well whoever it was surely didn’t stop mah stupid boy here from rushin’ in there like a mad pony, and firin’ those dang guns like they don’t mean nothin’!” Kickback’s dad said.

Kickback only looked down once more in shame. Seeing this, Ms. Sunrise tried to intervene. “Sir, please calm down. Look, Ah heard about what happen to his mama, and-”

“YOU WHAT!?” Kickback’s dad was flustered. “Well ain’t that just dandy! Now basically everypony knows why Kickback even has those li’l varmints in the first place!”

“Mah deepest condolences, sir. Ah know it was an accident, but-”

“But nothin’! This boy’s gone too far tonight. First his mama, now he nearly kills his teacher!? What am I supposed to do now!? Ah’ve been through enough grief this past year because of those guns, but they're branded on his flank, so Ah couldn’t just make him throw the varmints away!” his father interjected.

Kickback looked up slightly. “Pa, Ah-”

His father put his hoof down. “Not another word outta you, boy! You and yer cotton-pickin’ ‘Sound and Fury’ are headed straight to bed! Now, come on!” He stormed off into the night, and commandingly motioned for him to follow.

Ms. Sunrise looked at Kickback sorrowfully. Kickback just gave her an ashamed glance. With his father in the state he was in, she’d have to wait until tomorrow to try and console him……whether or not she knew that would never happen. North Fork walked up to her. “Ma’am, Ah reckon yer both mighty tired. You all go on, and get some rest. We’ll deal with the Sand Vipers. Ah’ll have mah deputy here escort ya back safely.” He said sorrowfully. He too could see that now wasn’t a good time to deal with Kickback’s father.

Ms. Sunrise sighed. “Thank y’all.” She said.

Kickback just tipped his hat. He then glanced back into the cave to see Shadow Shroud peering at him. She suddenly smiled and winked deviously, telling him that she had a plan of some sort to set him free. The whole time he trudged through the desert back home with his hat over his face, he wondered what the devious little ninja had in mind…

*****

After they had gotten to a considerable distance, the foals emerged from the cave, and began walking back towards their hideout. “So Shroud, You’ll go get Kickback, Spiral, Turf War and I will bring the raft up to where our bush is, and Air Slash will wait for you two to get to the part of the forest right where the outskirts are. Sound about right?” Fire Fight asked.

Shadow Shroud nodded. “Yes. It may take some time seeing as his father may not fall asleep right away, but rest assured, I’ll be back with him.”

“Just don’t silence him if he suddenly changes his mind. We’ll leave you behind if that happens." Air Slash said.

Shroud glared at him. “And I’d find my way back to you. Bugs leave trails after all.” She growled at him.

“Air Slash, she won’t do anything like that. Besides, even if Kickback makes a last minute decision, he seemed to respect our cause, so he probably won’t tell anypony.” Fire Fight said.

Air Slash rolled his eyes. “If you insist…” he muttered. With that, Shadow Shroud donned her mask, and disappeared into the night. Air Slash looked at Fire Fight. “Fire Fight, look, I know you trust her, but you mustn’t forget that she’s a Shadewalker. If you go back on your word with her she will kill you, and the other foals you’ve dragged along with you!” he warned.

“I know……I’m honestly still a little afraid of her, Air Slash, but…… I just somehow know that she doesn’t really want to hurt us. I don’t know anything about how the Shadewalkers are really structured, but with how open she’s been with others since we started this journey together despite how secretive she told me they are, I’m honestly surprised she’s been even remotely kind to any of us, even you! Besides, I’m pretty positive none of us have any desire to go back at all.” Fire Fight said.

“Fo’ real. I ain’t ‘bout to bounce back to the hood. I couldn’t do s- uh, nuttin’ fo’ it, so I’ll do somethin’ fo’ every other foal dat need help.” Turf War affirmed.

“Yeah. She’s been so nice to me even though she knows I could crash the whole universe down on Equestria if I wasn’t careful. If the Shadewalkers kill threats to Equestria, it’s a wonder she never considered killing me. It’s so hard to pinpoint what she’s thinking sometimes.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“That’s exactly what has me so worried. Her intentions are quite unclear.” Air Slash said.

“Worry about them when she reveals them, Slash. If push comes to shove, you and I can match her in a fight……..even if we have end up……having to kill her ourselves………” Fire Fight said. His heart ached a little at that thought. With all she’s done for him, Fire Fight felt like he couldn’t bring himself to hurt his shadowy friend. Even if she had a very….interesting idea of friendship herself, she was a friend nonetheless, and Fire Fight was ok with that. “Thanks though, Air Slash. It’s nice to know you care. Just don’t get carried away. I’ve already warned you two before about your rivalry.”

Air Slash nodded. “Tis my honor. Please know that I meant to disrespect.” He said. Fire Fight nodded, and they went to their assigned positions.

*****

When Kickback entered the house, his father slammed the door behind him. He didn’t say a word as he stormed into the living room. Kickback knew that even a whisper would get him horribly yelled at for no reason, so decided to just go on to bed. He solemnly walked upstairs towards his room. When he reached the top, he looked back at his father one last time. He had his hat held over his heart whilst gazing sorrowfully at an obituary-styled portrait of his late wife. Kickback looked away, and resumed his trip to his room with Sound and Fury in tow.

It had been a good half hour before Kickback’s dad finally hit the hay. Kickback was already well in bed by that point, but he was having trouble falling asleep. Really, he was waiting for whatever Shadow Shroud was trying to pull, and save him. The thought of having to face the coming morning was too much to bear, especially after he’d been promised salvation. He’d prayed that this wasn’t some cruel prank set up for him.

Suddenly, he heard he father gasp quickly before complete silence. “Pa!?” he said. He jumped out of bed, and ran into the hallway towards his father’s room. Just before he got to the door, a black shadow his size jumped down in front of him. It’s amethyst eyes stopped him in his tracks. The two stared at one another for a second before the shadow unveiled her mask. Her dark-grey coat, and bluish grey mane were unmistakable. “M-Ms. Shadow Shroud!?” he said.

“Good evening…..partner. My sincerest apologies for the unannounced entry. I trust you still wish to escape with us?” she asked.

Kickback looked behind her at the slightly ajar door with worry. “Uh…. Mah pa….”

“Don’t worry. I only hit him with a non-lethal tranquilizing agent. He’ll only be sound asleep for well over enough time for us to take our leave…..assuming you still wish to, of course.” Shadow Shroud said.

Kickback was taken aback by her somewhat extreme methods. Although he definitely wanted to escape his life that would no doubt start crashing down by morning, he got a firsthand taste of what one of his new acquaintances was capable of. On the other hoof, she could very easily have just killed his father altogether, and been done with it, but she showed some discretion that convinced him that she had no ill intent.

He regained his composure, and nodded. “Surely. Just give me a moment or so to get dressed, and packed.” He replied. She nodded. Kickback quickly garbed himself back into his cowpony outfit, and put on the holsters containing his precious guns. “Now y’all two better behave yerselves while we’re out and about.” He said to them. He grabbed his saddlebags, and stored in them a fresh water bottle, some food and extra packs of bullets. “Ah think Ah’ll pack this just in case Ah might need it.” He said as he reached into his closet, and pulled out a whip. It was rolled up, and stored onto his vest along with his guns.

“So now you’re a whip artist, I see? And here I thought you were a one trick pony.” Shadow Shroud sneered. She was a little impressed.

“Reckon it’s somethin’ else Ah’ve been tryin’. Can’t say Ah’m quite as good with it as Sound and Fury here, but Ah know how to use it.” Kickback told her.

“Good. Now, shall we?” Shadow Shroud asked. Kickback tipped his hat in affirmation. She snuck him through the shadows of the moonlit city, and then through the desert. Kickback showed her how to harvest prickly pear cacti, and took some for the road. Shroud was grateful to have learned a skill even her masters hadn’t taught her; she’d honestly been curious to try prickly pear anyway.

As planned, Air Slash was in position. He motioned for them to follow, and they trudged through the forest to the river where Fire Fight, Spiral Galaxy and Turf War were holding the raft in place, and ready to board. Everything else had been packed, so they set sail. Fire Fight held out his hoof to Kickback. “Welcome aboard, Kickback!” he said.

Kickback shook his hoof, and tipped his hat. “Much obliged to be here, sheriff.” He said.

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

Kickback chuckled. “Seems only right to call ya that. Y’all don’t mind, do ya?”

Fire Fight rolled his eyes, and chuckled. “We’ll talk about that once we reach Baltimare. Slash and I will keep watch until then, or whenever we decide to swap. You go ahead and get some rest.” He said.

“Well alright then.” Kickback said. He got under the leafy roof, and went on to sleep. At the end of the day….literally, he was glad he made this choice. Sure, the Sand Vipers were wearing thick leather vests that protected them from being too lethally damaged by his shots, so he wouldn’t have any murders to stain his conscious, but his guns would bring him way more trouble in a city of weary ponies than with a group of runaway foals who had a place for him. With Luna’s moon dancing a silver lullaby, the cowpony closed his eyes, and let his tired body rest as it awaited whatever adventures Fate had in store for him.

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’.

Author's Notes:

Hi, Guys!
Just real quick in you were curious, 'Florastrad' is a combination of obviously 'flora', and 'riastrad', a monstrous berserk transformation used by the mythological Irish hero, Cu Chulainn. (Correct me if that isn't the best way to put it if you know). I thought I'd tell you in case you thought 'Florastrad' was a kind of a bad, or just silly sounding name. It sounded so in my head without context, but hey.
Hope you enjoyed it anyhow!

Into The Depths

Morning had just about broke over the river when the foals’ raft neared Horseshoe Bay. Turf War and Spiral Galaxy, who were on watch at the time, woke the others up. Spiral and Fire Fight magically docked the raft, and the others pulled it ashore before hiding it in the woods around them. They were right at the tip of the woods where a set or railroad tracks could be seen out in the open leading to Baltimare, which was only a short hike away. Before they did, Fire Fight cooked up some breakfast that involved the prickly pear that Kickback had picked; Air Slash and Shadow Shroud carefully peeled away the needles. It turned out to be pretty delicious stuff…..had the two warriors foals not miraculously missed a needle, and left a very disgruntled Turf War with a pricked tongue.

They crossed over the railroad after looking both ways into the more forested area around the city. As they snuck through the forest towards their destination, the salty scent of the sea became more and more prominent, telling the foals that they were close.

At last they had stumbled upon the small port city of Baltimare. The ocean breeze drifted even into the forest beyond as various kinds of marine workers trotted happily across the streets carrying their natural cologne. They were behind two buildings that formed an alleyway leading into a street.

Shadow Shroud flipped into her disguise dress. “Looks like I should scout the area.”

Turf War stopped her. “Hol’ up, homegirl. You ain’t all dat street smart. I better come wit ya.” He said.

Shadow Shroud rolled her eyes. “Turf War, this is hardly as big a city as Detrot, and I’m perfectly capable of handling myself in the event of an emergency.”

“Well, yeah. But I’m sayin’ d’ho. Dis still a big place. And besides, if you gotta blow yo’ cover, you blow all our cover too if ya think about it. If dat happens it’ll be a damn cold night the rest o’ the way, ya feel me?” Turf War argued.

“I’m not so careless that I’d just throw a kunai at the first pony who looks at me suspiciously!” Shadow Shroud said.

“C’mon! Y’all needed my help back in da hood. You gonna need my help he’e. Now I ain’t sayin’ you won’t be ok, but I’m just sayin’ two heads better than one in a big city, believe dat. And one of ‘em might as well be mine.” Turf War said.

Shroud thought it over for a moment, and then conceded. “Very well, I suppose it’s always wise to err on the side of caution anyhow.

Turf War nodded. “Cool!” he said. He turned to the others. “Can I leave my stuff wit y’all?”

They all nodded. “Surely, partner.” Kickback said as he tipped his hat.

“Are you sure you want me to come too? I could….er……..help you pick out…….another dress? I mean it’s kinda…….ehehe……not the best.” Spiral Galaxy hesitantly offered. She hoped that she didn’t earn herself a dagger to the throat.

Shadow Shroud rolled her eyes in frustration. She knew her friend meant well, but this whole thing was getting old. “Spiral, I appreciate your concern, but there’s a reason why it’s ‘not the best’. If I don’t look super pretty or whatever, then I won’t draw unneeded attention.” She explained.

“But why wear a dress at all? Most mares and fillies usually don’t unless they’re going to a really big party like the Grand Galloping Gala or something.” Spiral inquired.

Shroud lifted her dress to show her ominous Cutie Mark. “Do you not see this? Many will wonder what a sweet little filly like me is doing with such an…..undesirable special talent. Even if they do decide to blow it off, I could still be remembered, and that alone could not only compromise the existence of my clan, but also our mission across Equestria. It’s a risk I simply cannot take!”

“Ah reckon we oughta let her do what she does, Ms. Spiral.” Kickback added.

Spiral sighed, and conceded. “Ok….I trust you.”

Shroud walked up and gave her a hug. “Thanks though.” She whispered. She let go, and the fillies smiled at one another. “Alright. Wait here.” She said. Shadow Shroud and Turf War then snuck through the alleyway, and into the city street out of sight from the foals.

“I just hope she doesn’t have a repeat of the bakery in Hoofington…” Fire Fight commented.

Spiral cocked her head. “What happened there?”

*****

Shadow Shroud and Turf War looked around the street corners before them, acting naturally as they seemed to be just normal foals exploring the city. Had Fire Fight been in the mix, he would have almost recognized his former home city had it not been for the plethora of seafood restaurants, marinas and the sort. Sure, Manehatten had its fair share of those as well, but the sea isn’t nearly as culturally embedded there as it is here in Baltimare. The scent of freshly boiled seaweed pasta emanated from a couple nearby little cafes.

As they ventured around the nearby blocks, the two couldn’t find a single place where they might effectively use as a hideout until they found another lost foal. Every building was way too active to be even remotely suitable. Not only that, but every foal they saw was about as normal as could be. There might have been one or two foals looking out into the Celestial Sea as if to wait for their sailor for a father to come home, but nothing that really warranted their attention. The only thing that really stuck out was a marine biology office that looked as though it had been long abandoned, but was too close to active civilization to suit a hideout.

While exploring, Turf War suddenly thought of something. “Ya know, dis joint, Fillydelphia and Manehatten used to be a megalopolis back in the day, ya knew dat, right?” he said.

Shadow Shroud looked at him as though he’d just poured ketchup and mustard onto a plate of spaghetti. “Turf War, I’d prefer you refrained from inventing your own words.” She said.

“Nah, it’s true! Dat’s when you got two or more big cities like dis being together, like ‘right next door’ together, and basically just makin’ one big a** city. Dat’s all! Damn, don’t gotta do yo’ boy like dat. Anyway, d’hey to break apart da joint when the un’ergroun’ subways d’hey was usin’ were becomin’ kinda pointless when bus trips were becomin’ less expensive, and they were really expensive to manage anyway. Peeps were selling d’hey houses, businesses, apartments, ya know. The whole megalopolis ran on the same giant sewer system that was right next to the subways, which nopony even bothered to demolish.” Turf War explained.

Shroud cocked her eyebrow. “And this is relevant….why?”

“Homegirl! Un’ergroun’ subways dat still connect from dis city to the next! Think about dat fo’ a second.” Turf War said. Shadow Shroud, in a little frustration decided to humor him, and give it some thought. It was within a moment that what he was trying to say caught on to her. “We could use it…” Turf War started.

“As an effective hideout, and quick, hidden route to Fillydelphia when we’re done here!” she finished. “Well, well, Turf War. I’m impressed. Seems you did pay attention in school after all.” She sneered.

Turf War shrugged. “Nah. I was readin’ some like gang history kinda books when I was li’l so I could get an idea of how I might fight ‘em before I met y’all. Dat just so happen to be one o’ things I read when I was lookin’ up ol’ mafia and gang activity from way back when.” he said.

“Useful nevertheless.” Shroud said.

*****

They found their way back to the alleyway where they had initially emerged, and snuck back through to the other to inform them of their idea. “Eww! Sorry, but there is NO WAY I’m going into a sewer! Can’t we find an abandoned warehouse or something?” Spiral protested.

“If such a place existed, I’d make that the first choice. But alas, it doesn’t. Sorry, Spiral. Don’t worry though. Turf War led Fire Fight and I through a sewer back in Detrot with exemplary results, so I’ve no reason to doubt his abilities now other than the fact that he’s never been down in this system.” Shadow Shroud said.

“In addition, you’d have a roof completely over your head, so your magic would be under control.” Air Slash added.

“Yeah. Do you really think it’s any worse than what you’ve endured so far?” Fire Fight said.

Spiral sighed in defeat. “Ok fine…” she muttered. Shadow Shroud hugged her once more in apology.

Unfortunately, the alleyway they were just behind didn’t contain a manhole cover, but Turf War recalled seeing one in the next alleyway over. He led them over to said alleyway after retrieving his gear, and the cover was sure enough there. The alleyway itself was just dark enough to allow Shadow Shroud to flip back into her cloak, and creep through to scout the street for any passerby that might spot them seeing as they’d have to move their somewhat clunky inventory down there. One by one, she gave each foal the signal when the coast was clear to safely rush towards the cover, and drop into the manhole. Air Slash went with Spiral Galaxy to help encourage her to make the necessary move, which she reluctantly accepted. Once everypony was below the cover, Shroud seized the opportunity to join them.

It was nearly pitch-black down in the setting familiar to Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud and Turf War. Air Slash seemed only more motivated to keep his senses active in this potentially dangerous place, Spiral Galaxy was trying not gag whilst keeping her horn alit, and Kickback was as calm and collected as ever. With his horn lit along with Spiral’s, Fire Fight and his cosmic companion were led by Turf War as he navigated. Based on what learned from exploring Detrot’s sewer system, he was able to easily conclude what was what, and what led to where. They passed below many other manholes as they explored the putrid artificial cave. Finally, they came across an unmarked door that was slightly ajar, and looked as though it hadn’t been touched in decades. “Dis gotta be it.” Turf War said.

They entered the door, and passed through a long downward staircase that seemed to lead down into hell- it was black enough to blind the sun. The unicorns intensified their horns’ light to eventually reveal an age old series of railroad tracks with some coaches still down in this forlorn cemetery, where they would endlessly wait to one day be moved again….a day that would never come. The foals climbed into the coach nearest to the staircase, and decided that it was a suitable little crib to settle into for now save for the pitch darkness that was only purged away from Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy’s horns. This was quickly rectified when Fire Fight realized that these were old oil lanterns that still had some fuel in them; using his magic he was able to light them.

“Ah reckon this’ll do just fine ‘til we gotta settle on other lands.” Kickback said.

“Yeah. That….wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it’d be. I mean it still stank, but……Baltimare sure is clean, huh?” Spiral commented.

Turf War nodded. “Dat was like walkin’ through any damn hallway compared the s*** I walked around back in da hood…..nah, fo’ real. AHA-haaa!” he said. Spiral grimaced at the thought of what Detrot’s sewers must have been like.

“I suggest we go one at a time whilst looking for any lost foals. I would volunteer to go first seeing as I’d be able to cover more ground more quickly if I just casually fly around the city amongst other pegasi.” Air Slash said. “If I spot something of interest that is out of my reach, the Shadow Shroud could sneak over there and…..do whatever she pleases, I suppose.”

Fire Fight nodded. “That makes sense. Just try not to get asked about your Cutie Mark; Shroud already has to worry about hers.” He said. The other nodded in agreement.

Spiral gasped as she suddenly noticed something. “Air Slash! You called Shadow Shroud by her name!” she happily said.

Air Slash and Shadow Shroud looked at one another in surprise. They gazed at each other for a brief moment before exchanging glares. “How disrespectful of you, Bladerunner.” Shroud lightly growled.

“Hmph. As if respecting you is my highest priority…” Air Slash whispered as he looked away from her. The two could feel Fire Fight’s authoritative gaze on them as they lowered their guard, and stopped the charade. Air Slash cleared his throat. “Now then, I’ll just leave my blades here, and…..when do you suppose I should return should nothing catch my interest?” he asked.

“Ah reckon ya oughta get back before dark. That’s usually when foals are headin’ home. Can’t do much by then.” Kickback said.

“Just make sure you know where you’re going when you decide to come back. It’ll be pretty easy to get lost down here.” Spiral warned.

“Yeah. Matter o’ fact, lemme come wit y’all. I’ll wait downside under the manhole you pop out of so I can get y’all back to the crib. Sound tight?” Turf War said.

Air Slash nodded. “Agreed, friend. It would be foolhardy to go blindly, and I imagine that getting my bearings in the city will be marginally easier than down here since I'd have access to actual landmarks.” He said.

“Cool. A’ight, let’s do dis.” Turf War declared.

The other foals wished them good luck as they saw their companions off. They could only hope that Air Slash would return safely with or without good news. Remaining hidden was becoming more challenging with how big their group has already gotten, and it would only get more difficult until circumstances somehow changed that.

As the four foals on the dark coach relaxed after a long trip, Shadow Shroud thought she very faintly heard ominous, unknown sounds coming from somewhere far into the black void. Was it simply everypony breathing, the ambience of their location…….or were they truly alone down there?

The Abyss

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys!
Yep, the holidays kept me from writing for a while. It didn't help that had more family visiting either, as nice of a visit as it was. Either way, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and wish you all a Happy New Year. The Battle Foals want to give you their best wishes too, so here's a late Christmas present from us to you- a new chapter!

Using a spare lantern they’d found in the train coach, Air Slash and Turf War lit their way through the darkness to the stairs that led them down here. With Turf War being the only one with his gear, Air Slash would have to rely on him in case of an emergency, something he wasn’t eager to acknowledge even if he’d be using the weapons that he’d made for him.

They reached the top of the stairs, and slipped out through the rustic door. At the end of the channel was a manhole cover with tiny rays of light creeping into the dark tunnel. Air Slash peered through it to see that it was just below what appeared to be bushes. The distant sound of a running fountain and chirping birds led him to conclude that he was below a city park. He carefully lifted the cover, and peered out to see that he was correct. “This is where you shall wait for me, friend. Do well not to get bored in case I take a while.” He said.

Turf War nodded. “Stay frosty, mah boy.”

With that, the swordless samurai carefully crept his way out of the sewer, careful not let the cover make any significant noise as he slid it open and then back closed. He peered out of the bushes, and waited until no passerby was looking in his direction before slipping out. He casually strolled across the paved walkway before ascended into the Baltimare skyline amongst many other pegasi. He briefly stopped to smell himself to find that navigated through the sewer had left a little stink lingering, so he flew towards Horseshoe Bay, and found a small public ‘beach’ area if you could call it that since it felt more like a riverbank due to the lack of sand, and a….beach-y feeling. Either way, he didn’t look suspicious other than he got here in such a rush. He left his saddlebags in a designated area, and dove in for a few moments.

When he reemerged, he decided to have a look around for any potential foals of interest. So far,….nothing. Every foal in sight was as content as could be playing happily with their friends and parents, so he grabbed his bags and left. Exploring the city more and more, Air Slash could only see normal foals. No matter where he went, be it the park, around a school, within residential districts, in stores and restaurants, the docks, there was nothing. Perhaps he was looking in the wrong place? Where hadn’t he looked? Such thoughts were interrupted when his stomach suddenly rumbled.

Observing his current surroundings, he noticed a small, inexpensive-looking bakery. “Perhaps a loaf of bread to share amongst my comrades would be ideal.” He thought to himself. He descended to the front door, and was about to step through when a dark-grey mare with a black and white stripped mane and sapphire eyes stepped out right in front of him.

“Oh! ‘Scuse me, sweetie.” She said.

Air Slash cleared his throat. “Beg pardon, madam.” He replied. He flew up to the door, and held it open for her. She thanked him, and entered the bakery.

There wasn’t a line, and nary a soul within the whole establishment. Air Slash simply dismissed this as not being busy, but the distressed look on the baker’s face seemed to mean more than just a failing restaurant. Looking at the menu, a loaf of regular bread was surprisingly expensive at 5 bits! He had decided to carry 12 bits on his person just in case, so he could afford this, but it still raised his eyebrow.

“Pretty ridiculous, huh?” the baker suddenly said in a depressed tone. Looking at him, Air Slash could tell that he wasn’t content with it any more than he was.

“If you are so discontent, than why not lower the price, sir?” Air Slash asked him.

The baker shook his head solemnly. “If only it were that easy, kid. The wheat farms in Fillydelphia have been having pretty rough harvests as of late, and we’ve had to raise our prices as a result.” He explained. “I can’t imagine why they’re doing so rotten. The soil over there is supposed to be some of the most fertile in Equestria!”

Air Slash could tell that he wasn’t lying. Thinking more about it, when he looked into restaurants for lost foals, he remembered them not being very occupied, especially if their menus revolved around bread and wheat, so this was merely another example. “I see. Well…. I’d like a loaf anyway. I can afford it.” He said as he pulled out 5 bits, and laid them on the counter.

The baker smiled. “Thanks, kid.” He said with some color returning to him. He handed Air Slash a fresh loaf packed in a bag for it, and Air Slash left.

As he exited the establishment, Air Slash could tell that it was getting late, so he decided to make his way back the manhole in the park with his bread in tow. When he reached the park, he landed and casually strolled through it once more towards the patch of bushes that hid the manhole. He looked around to see that he wasn’t being watched, and quickly slipped into the bushes. He carefully slid the manhole open, and slipped through. As promised, Turf War was waiting for him.

“Damn, son! Where da hell you been? Dis f*-freakin’ sewer startin’ to actually smell kinda nice I been down he’e so long!” he said.

“Only every possible place I could look without drawing suspicion , and…..sadly came up short.” He said. “However, I did get us a little amenity.” He held up the bagged loaf of bread he’d bought.

“Well, least we won’t go hungry.” Turf War said. The two made their way back to the old door, and made their way down the stairs to the dark abyss.

Meanwhile

Within the abyssal subway, the other foals just waited for their friends to return. The dark, silent ambience was so deafening, that everything else seemed to almost imperceptible; Shadow Shroud was the most alert to this. Having been born and raised in the dark, she knew it like the back of her hoof, so she could tell if something was amiss within them, and in a place like this, those senses had to be on constant standby. She would occasionally pace around the coach, and….listen. The shadowy ambience was like a second language to her, and she interpreted every little word and phrase carefully as she deciphered her surroundings.

“Shadow Shroud?” The ninja filly jumped, and drew her kunai when she suddenly heard her name. She looked to see an equally startled Spiral Galaxy looking at her wide-eyed, and her horn lit a little too brightly for her liking. Fire Fight looked on with some apprehension while Kickback just looked at them with calm concern.

“Everything ok over yonder, fillies?” Kickback calmly asked.

The two fillies looked at him, and lowered their guard. Shroud sheathed her kunai while Spiral put her horn out. “Y-Yes. Thank you, Kickback!” Spiral said with an embarrassed smile. The cowpony just casually smiled, and tipped his hat. Fire Fight calmed down, but was surprised that Kickback could keep his cool so easily……so long as his mother wasn’t mentioned.

Spiral turned back to Shroud. “Sorry, Shroud. I didn’t mean to startle you. Is everything ok? You seem kinda tense.” She said.

“I’m fine, Spiral. Sorry I caused you to nearly blind us.” Shadow Shroud sneered. Spiral rolled her eyes in friendly annoyance. Shroud giggled. “Nothing in particular has me on edge…..I’m just patiently waiting for something that might.” She said. She didn’t mention the strange feeling she’d gotten earlier so as not to frighten them, but she thought it’d be a good idea to keep them on edge in the unpredictable environment. “Could I trouble you to look around this place with me for a bit? I want to know if there’s….anything down here that we should know about.” She said.

“Umm……sure. I’ll…..just keep my horn lit, I guess.” Spiral replied.

Kickback stood up. “Ya sure ya don’t need me an’ Fire Fight to join y’all? Ah’d feel mighty bad if Ah let somethin’ happen to ya.” He said.

Fire Fight shook his head. “They’ll be ok, Kickback. This whole place is practically Shadow Shroud’s domain. If anypony is gonna be even remotely safe down here, it’s her.” he said.

“Indeed. Really, you two should stay here, and…ahem…watch the homestead.” Shadow Shroud sneered. Spiral giggled at that statement, to which Fire Fight just rolled his eyes.

Kickback just politely tipped his hat, and sat back down. “Well alright, then. Reckon Sound and Fury might get a little jumpy anyhow.” He said.

The fillies walked out on that statement. As Spiral’s light faded into the dark of the tunnel, Fire Fight faced his gun-wielding friend. “You meant you, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Pardon?” Kickback asked.

“You meant that you’d get jumpy, not your guns, right?” Fire Fight reiterated. Kickback stared at him for a brief moment before slightly lowering his hat. Fire Fight put his hoof on his shoulder. “Kickback, don’t be ashamed to be afraid every now and then. I was utterly terrified when I first met Shroud- I thought she was trying to kill me for Celestia’s sake! But I was still able to hold my own until we came to understand one another. You managed to break out of your panic back in the Sand Vipers lair, didn’t you?”

Kickback slowly glanced back up at Fire Fight, and sighed. “Reckon that was nothin’ but a fit of anger on mah part, sheriff. Ah just wanted them varmints to be quiet.” He confessed. “Besides, the circumstances weren’t quite the same as with you an’ Ms. Shadow Shroud.”

Fire Fight took his hoof back. “Even so, it’s not good to bottle up your emotions like that. You did yourself a favor that night…..even if our ears were ringing afterwards.” He said.

Kickback sat solemnly for moment before a smile slowly creased his face. He tipped his hat. “Much obliged.” He said.

“Yeah, dude…….But seriously, how do you not go deaf every time you fire those things!?” Fire Fight asked.

“Pretty simple, really. Whenever Sound and Fury got somethin’ to say and they ain’t talkin’ to me, Ah just don’t listen.” Kickback explained.

Fire Fight looked at him dumbfounded. “You mean you just…..ignore the shots!?”

Kickback nodded. “Reckon so. It’s only courteous not to eavesdrop on a conversation, right you two?” he said as he looked at his guns.

Fire Fight was left with his brain cells tangled in a bunch. Kickback was almost as perplexing as Shadow Shroud, but without a mysterious or somewhat threatening air about him. Rather, it was his demeanor even with his guns. Was he still bottling his anguish over the loss of his mother, or was he really just that calm when he could be? Either way, Fire Fight wouldn’t complain about having a new friend.

*****

Spiral Galaxy shined her horn forward like a flashlight as she carefully scanned her surroundings. It was what one would expect from a subway save for the fact that it was lost to the ages, and in shambles. A couple coaches had tipped over off of the tracks, a few big lights had fallen from the ceiling, some pipes were dripping, and echoes from the distant past could be heard within the dark ambience. The unsettling atmosphere caused the cosmo filly to panic a little, but she hung in there.

Shadow Shroud, by contrast, was right at home. Walking through sensing exercises set up like this subway were some of her favorites when she was still training with her masters, and she just liked the dark to begin with. She could tell that her friend was not at ease, but wanted to careful not to startle her for the risk of sparking another episode. “So…” she calmly said.

Thankfully, Spiral only glanced in surprise at Shroud, but her horn’s light shined right into her face, causing her to recoil. “Oh! Sorry.” Spiral said as she dimmed her horn. Shroud rubbed her eyes from the sudden influx of light, and looked at her. “W-What’s up?”

Having been around Fire Fight and co. had allowed Shadow Shroud to observe what would be called ‘friendly interactions’, so she tried what she could to try and ease Spiral’s anxiety. “You ok?” she simply asked.

Spiral took a deep breath. “Y-Yeah….sort of…” she mumbled. While she felt safe with Shadow Shroud with her, Spiral was still a little skittish within her ominous presence as well as the dark ruins.

“Just relax as you look around. We don’t want a black hole in an already black hole.” Shroud said.

Spiral sighed gloomily. “Will you please stop mentioning my powers so much?” she said.

“My regrets. It’s the most readily mentionable thing about you, and indeed something we need to keep watching.” Shroud said.

Spiral rolled her eyes. “I’m a whole lot more than just an unstable cosmomage, Shadow Shroud. It’s because ponies only knew me as that that I……kinda…..lost the ability to be anything else…… Every time I’d do as little as go outside, everypony would either slowly move away from me, or just freak out altogether. They forgot who I used to be- just a normal little filly…..”

Shadow Shroud softened her expression as she listened to her friend. “Then…..tell me, Spiral. Who was this ‘normal little filly’ whom you once were?” she asked with a lighter tone.

A tiny tear fell from Spiral’s eyes as she thought back to her life before she became Little Miss Black Hole. “Well…really, just like any filly you’d imagine. I liked to try on new dresses, I always loved to try the new treats Mr. Frosting would come up with at his bakery, my friends and I had sleepovers and go see cute movies together and stuff, but my mom would never take me to the jewelry store though; I guess she didn’t want me to start begging for a 50 bit diamond ring that I’d grow out of in the blink of an eye. My friends and I loved to scribble on our desks in school just to pass the time; we’d get in so much trouble for it, but it was funny, and……yeah. Really, everything was about as normal as could be.”

“But you said that you’d started practicing your cosmomancy early on, correct?” Shadow Shroud inquired.

“Yeah….that was really more of side thing that I’d do at the end of the day than anything else. I had no idea it’d……get as bad as it did. After that, well…….I already told you. But even when I was in my room at night trying to sleep off my magic, I still thought about all those others things, and what else I wanted to do.” Spiral explained.

“I don’t suppose an adventure across Equestria was on your bucket list.” Shroud commented.

Spiral lightly giggled. “Yeah. This came out of nowhere. When I ran away, I thought I’d just live in the forest in case I somehow decided I actually wanted to go home. But of course, I met you guys, and now I’m having a blast.”

“You’ve no regrets?”

“Not really. It just kinda sucks that I won’t be able to live as normally as I wanted. There were a couple movies I kinda wanted to see, Mr. Frosty is constantly coming out with new stuff, and I was even thinking about looking into a special magic school to help me understand my cosmomancy better.” Spiral said. She giggled. “Maybe even go out with a cute colt too…”

Shroud chuckled at that last comment. “Well, you have three eligible bachelors to choose from.” She sneered.

Spiral playfully cocked her eyebrow. “Three? Oh! So that means you’ve already picked out Fire Fight then?” she playfully asked.

Shadow Shroud looked at her with light surprise. “Don’t be stupid. I meant Air Slash. His clan and ours aren’t allowed to marry outside of our respective ones. You either join by being sworn into one, or you’re born into it by two clan members who happen to fall for one another. Besides, he’s far too arrogant to even be able to perceive those kinds of feelings” She retorted. Spiral’s playful gasp clued Shadow Shroud into something that took her a second to realize. “I-I-I mean that stupid Bladerunner!”

“How disrespectful of you, Shadewalker.” Spiral mocked in a deep, imitating tone.

Shadow Shroud glared at her friend’s insolence, but Spiral could see past her brave face, and continued to giggle. Eventually, Shroud could no longer maintain her feigned frustration, and began giggling with her until they broke out into full on laughter. Once they were done, the two fillies looked at one another with happy smiles on their faces. Even if they were in a void of darkness, where one of them was comfortable mind you, just being in each other’s company proved to be a pleasure for the two fillies.

Things suddenly got serious again when Shadow Shroud picked up on something. She held her hoof out in front of Spiral. “Wait!” she whispered. She thoroughly scanned her environment with every sense at her disposal.

“What?” Spiral inquired. The two looked around in their spot. Shroud continued to scan while Spiral looked around in a little panic; her horn noticeably flickered. They suddenly heard what sounded like hissing coupled with scampering across the ruined stone and metal structures; little shimmers of light from Spiral’s horn reflected for a split second on something that was moving about in the dark. Shadow Shroud donned her mask and drew her kunai, prepared for a fight, but what not quite so much for what suddenly appeared before them…

*****

Air Slash and Turf War had at last returned to the lit train car. Air Slash retrieved his swords as the two colts walked in. Fire Fight and Kickback could see that the only thing new was a big packaged baguette-styled loaf of bread. “Anything?” Fire Fight asked.

Air Slash shook his head. “Forgive me, Fire Fight. I searched high and low where I could without arousing suspicion, but nothing was amiss. No foal I observed fit our criteria. Perhaps we could have Shadow- er, the Shadewalker investigate in the dark….however immoral that would of course be….” He said.

“Speakin’ o’ which, where homegirls went?” Turf War asked.

“Reckon Ms. Shadow Shroud might o’ heard somethin’ over yonder, so she an’ Ms. Spiral Galaxy went with her to see what it was. Fire Fight an’ mahself are just guardin’ the homestead.” Kickback explained.

This caught Air Slash’s attention, and drew his swords. “Is that so?” he asked as he looked around as though he was searching for an opponent. “Even I won’t question the Shadewalkers instincts so long as she remains trustworthy.”

“If they don’t come back after say…..five minutes? They’ve been gone for a while, then we’ll go and-” Fire Fight was cut off when an intense light suddenly flooded the tunnel as everything started to shake. The colts quickly jumped out of the coach in case it toppled over with them inside. The light faded a little as a swell of power could be felt coming from its direction. “WE’RE GOING TO FIND THEM NOW!”

Pest Control

Author's Notes:

Well everypony, we're mere hours away from 2017 at the time I'm posting this! Let's make the next year count! My resolution is to continue to give you all quality writing, and improve upon through your feedback, so here's a new chapter to close 2016 out with a bang- no...two bangs! Both of which are courtesy of Sound and Fury each! Aren't they just generous little guns?

The colts rushed towards the source of the light, which to nopony’s shock was Spiral Galaxy. The torrent of cosmic energy pouring from her horn produced so much light that it was difficult to see what she and Shadow Shroud were fighting, and it didn’t help that whatever it was moved very quickly in the dark.

Shadow Shroud suddenly appeared in front of them. “About time you got here!” she said just as something jumped out of the dark from behind her. She would have been hit had Kickback not quickly shot it. Multiple roars and hisses of the same nature could be heard, indicating there was more than one of whatever was attacking them.

The colts looked down to see the corpse of a bizarre creature the size of an alligator. It had the head and paws of either a mole or a gopher, but the rest of its body was scaly and green like some kind of lizard or gecko with some patches of fur, and thin membranes spanning from their back legs to their fore legs. It had a forked tongue, cat-like eyes, and buck teeth that were shaped like snake fangs with what appeared to be dirt caked on them. “What in tarnation!?” Kickback exclaimed.

Suddenly, another one of the creatures pounced towards Kickback from the dark. “Yo, mah boy!” Turf War shouted as he shield-charged the creature. It staggered, but managed to grip the rim of his shield, and pulled its head over it. “WHOA!” Turf War exclaimed. His head would have been bitten off had Air Slash not thrust his sword into the creature’s skull. Turf War shook its corpse off of his shield.

“What are these things!?” Fire Fight said. He had his horn ignited, but aside from Spiral’s, it was the only source of light any of them had, so tracking their fast attackers was anything but easy. Spiral and Fire Fight stood a good distance from one another to provide adequate light in a broad area for their comrades to combat in. Fire Fight raised a wall of flames around himself to deter the creatures away from him while Spiral just caught them in her orbit and threw them into walls and coaches; some of them would be able to jump in quick enough to almost bite her before they were sent into orbit.

Air Slash floated in between the two light sources as he fought off an ambush. Two of the creatures pounced from either side of him, so Air Slash quickly spun around once, and managed to slice their noses which caused them to stagger and fall. But another snuck up behind him, and pinned him to the ground. Air Slash headbutted its fangs in an attempt to agitate it off of him, but it barely did a thing. It wasn’t until a series of lightning-quick slashes to its head and neck finished it off. Air Slash got up to see a pair of gleaming amethyst eyes staring him down for a brief moment before vanishing into the darkness. He brushed it all off as he grabbed his swords, and ascended once more.

Turf War was confronted by one of the creatures as it eyed him viciously. His hammer-axe and shield were poised, and ready to smack it silly. “Where yo’ boys at, b****?” he taunted. He was answered with a bunch on eyes opening in the dark behind his opponent accompanied by hissing coming from each. Turf War was suddenly sweating bullets, and he creased a very nervous smile as his eyes widened in horror. “…..How y’all doin’?” he asked aloud trying to hide his fear. The mass of eyes stared him down for a brief moment before they all jumped towards him at once. Turf War quickly put his shield, and suddenly heard a short series of loud bangs. When he looked back up, all but one of the creatures were dead on the floor.

Turf War looked over to see Kickback holstering his guns, and drawing his whip. “Now let’s see if Ah was payin’ attention.” Kickback hissed. He cracked his whip right onto the creature’s forehead, causing it to recoil back a good distance. Kickback continued to whip its face and paws whenever they raised them with about as much precision as his marksmanship. He then managed to coil his whip around its neck, and reload his gun in the opposite hoof. He forcefully pulled it towards him until their faces were barely a foot apart, and shot it point blank with the barrel of his gun pressed against its forehead. Just as he was uncoiling his whip from the creature’s neck, another jumped out from behind him, but Turf War slammed his axe down hard onto its neck. Kickback tipped his hat just as he finished fully retrieving his whip. “Much obliged, partner.

“Yeah, bruh.” Turf War said. Another one of the creatures then suddenly bit down onto the head of his hammer-axe. Turf War wrestled it with it for a moment, but managed to pull it towards him, and beat it off with his shield. He bashed its head in with his hammer. “D’ese things don’t play!”

“They’re everywhere!!” Spiral shouted. She created four bigger congregations of light into star-like masses within her orbital galaxy shield. The mini stars then fired a series of laser blasts towards a horde of the creatures. The ones that didn’t get seared by the nova lasers scampered away to avoid them.

Fire Fight finally had enough room to bring down his flame shield, and launch it as a huge fire disc at the cornered horde. “HRRAAAAGHHH!” The mass of blazing light made the dark tunnel light up as though it had finally once again seen the light of day. When the disc hit the front row of the horde, it dispersed as a wave of fire that all the other creatures ducked under, but the ones that got seared fell to ground smoking. Some of the area around where the blaze had burst was still flaming

Another huge mass of eyes suddenly appeared behind the remainder of the horde, and the now huge crowd of creatures hissed and roared as the foals back away. “Seems we crashed quite the party!” Shadow Shroud said. As the hissing horde crept towards the foals, Kickback suddenly noticed that there was fire burning around what looked like an oil drum just off to their right that the horde was just beside. Without thinking any further, he fired one of his guns at it, and the drum violently exploded onto the horde. They recoiled greatly, and retreated into the dark, disappearing.

“Kickback, a fair warning would have been prudent before pulling a stunt like that.” Air Slash reprimanded.

“Well Ah’m awful sorry, Air Slash. Sound, Fury and mahself just had a quick idea, and we acted on it. Didn’t mean any harm none.”

Fire Fight used his magic to smother all the residual flames to prevent any further catastrophes. “It was still a good idea nonetheless, but…” Fire Fight looked down at a corpse of one of the creatures that happened to be at his feet. “What are these things?”

Shadow Shroud examined it with him. “It has the attributes of a burrowing mammal and some kind of reptile. These wing-like membranes make me think of bats, which use echolocation; perhaps that's how they were able to perceive us even in this pitch-darkness.” She hypothesized.

“Are you sure it wasn’t just because we were being kinda loud to begin with?” Spiral inquired.

“Do it even matter d’ho? We can’t stay down here. D’ese m************ just gonna keep comin’ fo’ our booties if we don’t bounce.” Turf War said.

“And just where do you propose we relocate?” Air Slash asked sternly.

“Man! I ain’t said we gotta bounce right freakin’ now! I know dis joint kinda the only damn place we can hide right now.” Turf War retorted.

“Ok, ok. Calm down, guys.” Fire Fight said. He and Shadow Shroud examined the corpse further, and some others around it. All of them had one more common trait that they found rather odd. “What’s with all the dirt in their mouths? Are they….eating it?”

“I would think that they’re merely chewing through the dirt to burrow through it, but I’d presume that’s what their claws are for, so…..perhaps?” Shadow Shroud said.

“Maybe their clawing and eating through the dirt at the same time to dig faster, and smaller burrowers just get eaten if they’re in the way?” Spiral thought aloud.

“A fair assumption, but really, we ought to-” Air Slash started to speak, but was cut off by something he suddenly remembered. “Hold on! The clerk at the bakery said that Fillydelphia’s farming soil has not been fertile as of late, so they’ve had a negative influx of wheat supplies! Could perhaps……these creatures be responsible!?”

They all looked at him with shock. “Are you serious right now? How much you pay fo’ dat?” Turf War inquired.

“Five bits.” Air Slash answered.

“Fer one loaf o’ bread!? Well butter mah buns and call me a biscuit!” Kickback exclaimed.

“You bought some bread?” Spiral asked.

Air Slash nodded. “I did. It was nothing more than an act of survival for our group.” He answered.

“Well it certainly served more of a purpose than even you could realize, now didn’t it?” Shadow Shroud sneered. Air Slash rolled his eyes in annoyance. “No matter which we look at it, these creatures are indeed eating through dirt for one reason or another to survive. That kind of damage to the soil is sure to affect its fertility- I’m no expert, so don’t quote me.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Yer not too far off, Ms. Shadow Shroud. Mah pa told me a couple stories from when he was a foal, and how he and his pa had rooted up so many weeds one time that the wind just started blowing soil everywhere, and their crops just wouldn’t grow since there was barely anymore good soil to grow out of.” Kickback explained. “Varmints like these’d loosen the soil too so it’d still be easier to blow around.”

“But what are they doing here? We’re still pretty far from Fillydelphia, so either they’ve exhausted their food supply there, or there really is just that many.” Spiral thought aloud.

“Well, we’d better figure out where their nest is, and clean house. Imagine what would happen if they decided to surface!” Fire Fight declared.

“Y-You sure we really should?” Turf War asked nervously.

Fire Fight looked at him with a determined expression. “Take a good look at our flanks and tell me we’re not the ones for the job!” he said.

“Indeed. Unless you want to return from whence you came?” Shadow Shroud affirmed.

Turf War shook his head, and any hesitation he had left out of it. “Hell nah! I’m down!” he said. They all put their hooves in, and set out to follow the creatures.

Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy lit their way through the dark as they carefully searched for wherever the strange creatures’ nest might be. Shadow Shroud listened around carefully for any further sign of their presence while Turf War, Kickback and Air Slash had their weapons at the ready in case of an emergency. Trails of dirt that were likely left by the creatures were the only physical clues of where they had disappeared to; everything else was just instinct. Shadow Shroud was suddenly able to feel their presence from far away in the direction of the dirt trails, and it grew more prominent to her as the foals carefully neared wherever they were going. After what seemed like an eternity, the foals came across a huge hole in the wall of the subway that looked as though it had been dug out. When the unicorns shined their light down into it, it seemed to go on forever. The dirt trails ended at its entrance.

“Ah reckon we found their little hideaway. Sound and Fury are just about to jump outta their holsters.” Kickback said.

“Well keep those two in check before they do anything rash…..and make my ears ring again.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Ok….let’s be really careful.” Fire Fight whispered. He and Spiral dimmed their horns so nopony was blinded in the somewhat narrow tunnel. The creatures could be heard hissing and digging from every direction as they crept through the darkness. As they trekked further into the dark tunnel, a strange smell could be detected in the air. The smell was something akin to some kind of smokey or spoiled pickle juice. Whatever it was, it certainly didn’t belong in an underground environment. The smell became more and more prominent. After a series of little twists and turns through the dark tunnel, a strange light could be seen emanating from around a corner the foals were approaching. They stopped for a brief moment to confirm that they weren’t seeing things.

“What’s that?” Spiral whispered.

“We’re about to find out. Stay quiet.” Shadow Shroud whispered.

They all carefully crept over to the edge of the corner, and peered around it. What they saw was nothing short of shocking. A massive laboratory containing a great assortment of machines and measuring tools filled the large pocket in the ground. It was then that the foals figured out what that strange smell was: it was formaldehyde! Amongst the equipment were artificial embryos containing fetuses of the mole-lizard things that they had followed within huge glass containers.

“These creatures are not of nature!?” Air Slash whispered. He got his answer when he looked further into the large room.

At a series of computer monitors and a keyboard was a unicorn stallion that was typing as furiously as his expression looked. He looked as though he hadn’t slept in weeks, and was foaming at the mouth and panting like a madman. “They’ll see! They’ll ALL see! My research is anything but laughable! I’ll show them just what science is capable of! My science! Once my precious beasts render Fillydelphia’s soil infertile, they’ll be begging me to fix it! Who’ll be laughing then, huh? Me! THIS GUY!” he declared. He laughed maniacally for a moment before sputtering and coughing from so much of it. He took deep breathes, and calmed down. “Maybe I’ll finally get around to locating and recapturing Subject CL afterwards…”

The foals looked on in shock at what they had just heard. “The hell dis b**** smokin’?” Turf War whispered.

“I’d rather not know. But I would like to stop him if that’s cool with you guys.” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud drew her kunai. “Oh no. Not at all.” She sarcastically sneered.

As the foals readied themselves, they suddenly heard hissing coming from right behind them! They looked to see a horde of the artificial monsters crawling towards them. “What is it, my darlings?” they heard the scientist call out.

“Uh oh…” Spiral muttered. The foals knew that they’d already crashed a party, but ‘party’ was just the beginning…

The Cure For Madness

Author's Notes:

Happy 2017 from me and the Battle Foals, guys!

Fire Fight took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. “Ok….On three, we’re gonna jump out. When we do, Kickback, shoot out those big tubes containing those embryos.” He whispered.

Kickback, who was still as calm as could be despite being stared in the face by a bunch of ravenous chimeras, tipped his hat in affirmation. “Sound and Fury are just about ready to start talkin’, sheriff.” He replied.

“O-Ok…” Fire Fight was about to start the countdown, but he suddenly noticed that Shadow Shroud had vanished. He rolled his eyes. “Of course…” he muttered. “Ok….One, two…..”

“THREE!” Kickback finished the countdown suddenly, and quickly jumped in front of everypony. Before anypony could say anything, Kickback drew his precious guns, and fired them with pinpoint accuracy into the containers cradling the chimera embryos. He shot them out within seconds; the bullets even struck the embryos themselves!

Meanwhile, the horde of chimeras pounced on the other foals, but Spiral Galaxy pushed them back forcefully with a gravity field down the tunnel. They then rushed into the lit laboratory to Kickback’s side.

Kickback eyed the scientist with calm aggression as he held his hat just low enough that his eyes peered past the brim. “Pardon the intrusion, sir, but Ah’m not too sure Ah approve of you and yer little varmints here none!” he aggressively sneered.

The scientist was certainly shocked to see that he had very unexpected guests. “What!? Who are you!? How did you find this place!?” he demanded.

Just then, the horde of chimeras emerged from the entrance, but were suddenly struck with some kind of concussive burst that made them dizzy. A black form could be seen flashing between them and audibly attacking them. The form was of course Shadow Shroud, who concluded her ambush, and jumped up and away from the small mass of corpses she left, and landed next to her comrades. She had donned her mask. “We simply….oh, how would a scientist put it?......Ah! Had a eureka moment.” She said.

The scientist was both dumbfounded, and devastated. He certainly wasn’t expecting such an assault from a foal, but…”M-My….MY BABIES!!! YOU…..YOU KILLED THEM!!!!” he shouted in fury. “H-HOW COULD YOU!? FURTHEMORE, HOW DID YOU PERFORM SUCH AN IMPOSSIBLE STUNT!? YOU MUST TELL ME!!” he said. His tone was suddenly less threatening.

Shadow Shroud drew a dark wooden stick from her cloak. “Over my dead body!” she exclaimed. The stick she was holding suddenly flipped a curved, scythe-like blade from out its body, revealing that it was a foldable kama. “Or perhaps yours!” she hissed.

Fire Fight was the only foal who wasn’t surprised at Shadow Shroud’s latest trick up her sleeve, and looked at the scientist. “Who are you? Why are you doing this!? If you starve Fillydelphia’s wheat supply, you’ll eventually affect all of Equestria!” he demanded.

The scientist chuckled, and eventually let it blow out into a fit of maniacal laughter. “Why? ‘WHY’, you ask? Isn’t it obvious!? They rejected me! ME!! Their friendly neighborhood Dr. Gene Splice!! All I wanted to do was show Equestria the extent of what biology could bring us! I studied any and every form of organic life. I had all kinds of labs everywhere! My botany lab in Fillydelphia, my marine biology lab in Baltimare, my ornithology lab in Griffonstone, ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING I STUDIED!! EVERYTHIIIIIIIINNNGG!!!” he ranted. He coughed and sputtered from throwing such a fit for a moment, and eventually calmed it into mere panting. “I’ll…..I’ll show them!.......I’LL MAKE THEM PAY FOR THEIR INSOLENCE!! I’LL MAKE THEM BOW BEFORE MY GENIOUS!! THEY’LL SEE MY CREATIONS, WHAT I’M CAPABLE OF, AND THEY’LL WORSHIP MEEEE!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!”

Shadow Shroud looked at her comrades. “He’s insane.” She stated.

“No s***.” Turf War affirmed.

Air Slash pointed his sword at Gene Splice. “Listen here, madman. I’m willing to give but one chance at redemption. Call off these abominations and surrender yourself peacefully, or my blades shall cut the strings of their fate without mercy!” he warned.

Spiral Galaxy created a galaxy field around herself. The ground around her rumbled in fear of her power. “And I’ll give you something to bow before!” she threatened.

Gene Splice just continued to chuckle like a maniac. “GO ON!! TRY TO OUTMATCH PERFECT BIOLOGY!! MY CREATURES WILL MAKE A MEAL OF YOU ALL!! AND THEN I’LL HAVE LOADS OF PRECIOUS MATERIAL TO STUDY THEN. AHAHAHAHAHA! COME, MY DARLINGS!! DINNER TIME!!!” he shouted as he pressed a switch next to him. It activated a beacon that seemed to draw the chimeras to it. Many more of them came out from the dark tunnel, or just dug through the dirt walls and into the lab. They hissed and roared as they surrounded the foals, who prepared themselves for another riot. Gene Splice then retreated into a machine next to him through a door, and closed it. Whatever he meant to do in there would have to be revealed later since the foals had a pest problem that needed their immediate attention.

“At least we can see this time.” Fire Fight said as he ignited his horn.

Shadow Shroud drew a second kama. “Indeed. I quite enjoy being able to see my prey fall.” She said.

Spiral intensified her horn. “And fall they will!” she exclaimed. She shot a bolt of magic past a large group of the chimeras clustered around a wall they’d dug out of, and it explo-…er, imploded into a black hole that yanked them into one another before dissipating. They were much more resilient that the Sand Vipers, so the worst it did was break their formation. After that, she gathered her focus, and formed an anomalous cluster of waves that began forming something inside of it. Within a couple second, it turned out to be a tiny meteor that was already ablaze. Without thinking, she launched it at the cluster of chimeras that had begun to crawl away from one another, and it struck the center of their form with a devastating impact. The subsequent explosion caused many a charred and ruptured chimera to scatter about. Spiral Galaxy gasped, surprised at what she had executed.

“Spiral, that was awesome! Keep it up!” Fire Fight shouted. He immediately rethought his statement when a large cluster of soil and sediment that had been shaken by the shockwave fell from the ceiling, and nearly crushed them.

Spiral grimaced from within her galaxy shield. “Or not…” she said. She relaxed her magic a little, and returned to using star lasers.

Fire Fight, Turf War and Air Slash found themselves surrounded by the chimeras. One of pounced towards Turf War, but he smacked it away with his hammer. He hit another one that pounced right after with the axe end of his hammer, and blocked another one with his shield. However, this one managed to crawl over his shield just like before, and roared in his face. Turf War recoiled his head back, and wafted his nose. “G******! Yo’ breaf is hot!!” he shouted.

Fire Fight suddenly leapt over his head, and kicked the chimera by its head off of Turf War’s shield, and jumped off straight up into the air, and launched a couple fireballs downward at it, and a few others beside it. The chimeras were suddenly distracted by the rain of fire, and Fire Fight falling towards them. This gave Turf War a prime opportunity to wail on them, and he did. A few smacks with his hammer and shield sent them flying, and he then managed to catch Fire Fight on his hammer. The two nodded, giving Turf War the signal to launch him, so he did. When he was once again airborne, a few more chimeras clung onto some equipment hanging on the ceiling leapt towards him, but Air Slash soared towards them, and sliced away, causing them to drop right out of the air like zapped flies. Air Slash soared back towards Turf War to aid him while Fire Fight rocketed himself towards where Shadow Shroud was fighting a group of them, slamming into one, and then uppercut another one that tried to pounce onto him before spin-kicking it away from him.

Shadow Shroud was making good use of her kamas. Having more claw-like blades than her kunai, they more easily cut through the chimeras’ repto-mammalian hides. She swung one of them upwards into a chimera’s throat from below its jaw, and quickly retracted it before following into a flip where she swung the other downward into the skull of another chimera coming from right on top of the other. Another one suddenly pooped up from her right, and bit down on one her kamas. It pulled her towards it, but she swung her other kama into its eye. The chimera screeched in agony. Shadow Shroud was about to follow up with a killing blow, but another chimera snuck up from her left, and pounced on her. Just before it could clamp its jaws onto her, two gunshot rang out that left her two opponents to rot. She looked over to see Kickback pointing his guns with calm fury.

“Let me show y’all just what a desert storm looks like.” Kickback said. He began firing his guns in all directions towards random chimera. Not all them dropped dead immediately, but the ones he managed to stagger were quickly finished off by the other foals. A veil of gunsmoke formed around him as he continued to fire away, so he holstered one of his guns and used the free hoof to fan it away with his hat. As the smoke cleared, a chimera suddenly jumped from a previous blind spot, and Kickback quickly shot the roof of its open mouth. It fell past him and collapsed.

As the foals continued to fight the beasts, the unexpected happened. From within the machine he entered, Gene Splice had activated some mechanism that caused a bunch of large surgical tools controlled by robot arms to emerge from the metallic wall around the door he’d entered. A loudspeaker suddenly came on, and some metal panels opened to reveal Gene Splice staring them down with his maniacal smile behind a thick plate of glass. “MWAAAAAAAHAHAHAHhahahaaaaaa!! Sorry for the wait, kiddies. Your operations are still scheduled to take place, so be good little foals and HOLD STIIIIIIIILLLLLLLL!!!!!” Gene Splice bellowed.

The surgical tools suddenly thrust towards them while the chimeras were still attacking them. A drill made its way towards Turf War, and he caught it onto his shield just in time. He held it back until its smoked and shut down from overheating. Meanwhile, Air Slash parried a large scalpel headed towards him, and got behind Turf War to protect him from oncoming chimeras that would take the opportunity to catch him off guard. He slashed horizontally, slicing across three chimeras that recoiled back from agony. He then executed his spinning slash into them and quickly retreated behind Turf War once he knew they were dead. Turf War smacked the smoking drill clean off of its robotic arm.

“DIS B**** IS CRAZY!!!” Turf War exclaimed.

Air Slash hacked away at another chimera that attacked him, and eventually parried and slashed off the scalpel that had assaulted him earlier. “Indeed! This will be tougher than expected!” he shouted. He slit the throat of the chimera he’d just attacked.

Spiral blasted a bolt of magic towards Gene Splice that imploded into another black hole, but she concentrated on holding it for a few seconds. The surgical tools all gravitated towards it, but didn’t quite break off- Spiral didn’t want the field to be so intense that it caused a cave-in. “Nrgh…..Rrrrggghhh” she was having difficulty balancing the intensity of the black hole, which maintaining one was hard enough on its own, and it was causing her a headache. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud had to come keep the chimeras off of her as she focused her magic.

“You can do it, Spiral!” Shadow Shroud called out. She bucked the head of a chimera that was on her upward, and slit its throat with his kama. Fire Fight had one on him that tried swipe its paw at him, but he ducked under it and followed up with a flame-charged punch to its temple, knocking it back a good few feet. Fire Fight then shot a fireball right at its face, and then ran up to it to finish it with a back-flip kick into its throat, rupturing it. While still flipping, he shot a fire disc at one that tried to catch Spiral from behind. It curled in pain from the blaze, and Shadow Shroud finished it with a kama to the skull.

Spiral eased her magic a little as the black hole dissipated. She refocused it as nova energy as everything around her rumbled. Her horn lit like the rising sun as she focused all the power she was exerting into. It concentrated into luminous ball of cosmic destruction.

“TAAAAAAAKE THIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!!”

Spiral Galaxy bellowed with a god-like echo just before she shot the nova she’d concentrated right below Gene Splice’s protective bulletproof glass wall. He looked on in terror as the cluster of light blasted away his weaponized tools and glass wall. The force of the blast blew him out of his chair, and out of the backdoor where he had entered his control room. He tumbled down the stairs he’d walked up, and fell right out the door he’d entered initially. When he looked back up as he tried to stand up from his pain, he caught the sight of his destroyed lab, and Kickback shooting the last of his chimeras in the head.

Spiral collapsed to the ground with a nasty headache, and clutched her head tightly in pain. Kickback went to help her as the other foals confronted Gene Splice. “Are y’all alright, Ms. Spiral?” he politely asked.

Spiral was too busy rubbing her head to respond right away. “Nrgh…….rgh……N-not….rgh!......N-Not really.” She muttered. “But…..I-I-I will be……..Th-Thanks,…….Kickback.” Kickback tipped his hat, and continued to monitor her.

Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War and Air Slash stared down the defeated mad scientist as he tried to stagger to his hooves, but couldn’t fight back the agony he was in. “You….nrgh…….You little…..BRATS!!! You’ve……destroyed my research!...Argh!.....You’re just like the rest! You….can’t see……the value of it!” he said.

“There’s no value in causing a famine, Gene Splice. Give yourself up! You have a lot to answer for!” Fire Fight declared.

“Y’all done f***** up!” Turf War added.

“I gave you a chance, and threw it in the trash. Now you’ve suffered the consequences! You’re no scientist, but a terrorist!” Air Slash said.

Gene Splice just chuckled maniacally under all his pain. The foals were stunned to see him still unwilling to give up. “Go ahead! Lock me up for eternity! You’ll miss me and my expertise! Or just let me continue to work! You’ll see! I’ll create even more terrifying creatures to ravage this pathetic realm of Equestria! I’LL BECOME A GOD!! MWAHAHAHAHAhahahahaaaaaaaaa!” he ranted.

The foals were left at a loss as for what to do with this psychotic stallion. Even if he was imprisoned, he might find a way to break out with his smarts, and act on the threats he’d just made. Those mole-lizards were a hoofful enough, so anything worse would be a nightmare. The only one of them that wasn’t at a complete loss was the cloaked filly who had sheathed her kamas, and drew a kunai…

“Guys…..look away if you have a weak stomach.” Shadow Shroud muttered.

“Huh?.....Wha- Shroud?” Fire Fight stammered.

Shadow Shroud sighed. “There is only one cure for madness as dangerous as this……and I must be the one to administer it.” She said solemnly.

Before anypony could say anything, Air Slash quickly swooped in front of her with his swords drawn. “Stop! I will not allow this!!” he shouted.

He eyed her furiously, but Shroud just glared back at him. “Out of my way, Bladerunner!” she hissed.

“H……Homegirl……..You not serious, right?” Turf War stammered.

Shadow Shroud looked back at him. “Take a good look at him and tell me there’s another way. Trust me, Turf War. I don’t do this lightly. My clan tries to avoid it if possible……but knows when it’s a necessity…”

“NO! I will not allow you to take an innocent-” Air Slash started, but was cut off.

“Air Slash!......just…….let her…..” Fire Fight said solemnly.

Air Slash eyed him with shock. “Surely you jest!?” he said.

Fire Fight looked down in sorrow at the prospect of having to let Shadow Shroud carry out what she intended. “I don’t like this anymore than you do, but……look, before you say anything else about her poisoning my mind and manipulating me, let me ask you this: what would you do if it were up to you?”

Air Slash flinched. Even through his blinding rage spawned from his clan’s pride, he could see that there was sadly no other way. He very reluctantly sheathed his swords, and got out of Shadow Shroud’s way. He fixed his glare back onto her. “Know that his blood is on your hooves, Shadewalker!” he growled.

“I know……It’s a burden I bear with pride as well as regret.” Shroud muttered. As she approached the staggering scientist, Air Slash looked angrily at the scene. Fire Fight and Turf War looked on in shallow horror and sorrow. Kickback hid his face behind his hat- this reminded him of a year ago, and Spiral just covered her face with her hooves.

Shroud removed her mask as she finalized her approach. Gene Splice continued to chuckle as though he was unaware of her intention. “Well! So this is what you look like under that cloak! How fascinating…” he hissed.

Shroud quietly took a deep breath. “I am Shadow Shroud of the Shadewalkers. I hope you remember my face well, Gene Splice, for it is the last mercy you will ever be graced with.” She said in an almost dutiful manner. Gene Splice panted heavily as he maintained his manic smile. Shadow Shroud poised her kunai, and took one more deep breath. “If only mother were here for this moment…” she whispered to herself. With a swift lunge, she pierced the scientist’s mad heart. He gagged from the fatal wound as she slowly removed it from his chest, and collapsed to ground.

As the mad stallion drew his last breathe, Shadow Shroud muttered one last message to him. “May your weary soul find peaceful rest…”

Duty of a Shadewalker

The whole room just fell into a deafening silence as Shadow Shroud sheathed her kunai. The mass of chimera corpses seemed invisible to the elephant in the room. Air Slash lowered his head in sheer disapproval, Fire Fight and Turf War just looked at one another, Spiral Galaxy slowly peeked out through her hooves, and Kickback finally broke the silence when ran into a corner and gagged; the sight of a dead pony reminded him too greatly of his mother.

Fire Fight looked away from Turf War, and just….stared at Shadow Shroud. He couldn’t believe what he had just allowed to happen. While it was most likely for the best, he was a little more shocked than he probably should have been at how calm she seemed to be about carrying it out. It was then that he thought back to the night that he met her, and recalled her words: ‘Our training begins at birth, and when our parents and masters deem us fit, we are sent into the shadows of Equestria to hone our skills on our own, culling potential threats to Equestria in the process’. Shadow Shroud had prepared herself for a moment like this, because to her, this was nothing more than a duty for her to fulfill, and tonight was a firm reminder of that. Granted, she was not at all without honor as she gave the mad stallion her own kind of last rights before executing him, and that brought the fiery colt some comfort……but still…

Shadow Shroud turned to the other foals. Kickback had just finished gagging, and he eyed her nervously as he tried to remain completely calm. She made a long, sorrowful sigh. “I’m sorry, everypony. I should’ve just asked you all to leave the room altogether. I was a fool to think you’d be able to take this as easily as I could.” She said.

“Y-Y-You don’t….really look like you took it too well yourself…” Fire Fight said.

“Admittedly, you are correct, Fire Fight. This was my first…..act of judgment, and it very well may not be my last. Even if I’m helping you all run away, remember that a life like this is normal for me, and I still have the role of a Shadewalker to fulfill. But know that I will never turn my blade to any of you.” Shadow Shroud said.

“That doesn’t make this anymore excusable, Shroud! I know he was pretty much beyond help, but……” Spiral said.

“I won’t ask for your forgiveness. It’s my burden alone to bear. I wouldn’t thrust this on any of you if my life depended on it. Now…….I must ask that you help me do something that may further damn my soul.” Shroud said.

“What?” Turf War asked.

Shroud sighed heavily once more. “I feel I should make it look as though he was simply mauled by his creations should anypony happen upon this, and otherwise believe he was murdered. I don’t want a potential manhunt to impede our progress.” She said.

“He was murdered!” Air Slash growled.

Fire Fight continued to stare at his shadowy friend. Her eyes……they were flooded with guilt. She didn’t like any of this. Perhaps she wasn’t as mentally prepared for this as she thought. While he wanted nothing to do with defiling a body, he also didn’t want to leave her to deal with this by herself. He thought of a better solution. “Why don’t we bury him instead? You wouldn’t have to feel bad about……well……I-It’d just be more respectful, you know?” he suggested.

Shadow Shroud’s eyes widened a little as if to silently express gratitude. “So you’ll help me? I did say it was my burden alone to bear.” She asked.

Air Slash cut Fire Fight off before he could answer. “And it shall be!!” he exclaimed as he swooped in between them. He pointed his sword at Shadow Shroud. “This is exactly why you should never have trusted her to begin with! She’s nothing more than a killer! While I do not condemn your intentions, Shadewalker, I certainly condemn your actions! How can you end a pony’s life and see it as nothing more than business!?”

“Homie, hol’ on one second!” Turf War said.

Air Slash glared back at him. “What for!? Do mean to say that you approve of this act of murder!? For shame, Turf War! If I recall correctly, this was the sort of thing you’d mean to prevent back in Detrot!” he shouted.

“W-Well….yeah, but….” Turf War stammered.

Kickback took a deep breath. “Now let’s just all calm down fer a moment and talk about this, y’all.” He said calmly.

“Talk about what, Kickback!? I’m shocked you’re even able to calm down after watching another pony die. I’m shocked that any of you are even a little okay with this!!” Spiral Galaxy shouted. “Who were we to judge whether or not he could’ve been helped!? Shadow Shroud, you didn’t have to just kill him! I can’t believe you!”

“Man! It ain’t her fault dat dis what her clan do! It’s f***** up, but what the hell else we supposed to do? Dis b**** was on some serious lean! Prolly made it himself too.” Turf War said.

“Don’t even begin to presume that I would EVER act with the intention of furthering their agenda!” Air Slash said.

“B****! Dis ain’t ‘bout you right now!” Turf War said.

“What did you say?” Air Slash asked angrily.

“Man! You heard damn well what said!”

“It doesn’t matter what you said, Turf War! The only thing that matters right now is that Shroud just killed somepony!” Spiral said.

“And she said it was her burden to bear alone.” Kickback said.

“Oh, what’s the matter!? Are you too afraid to bear that kind of weight on your shoulders again!? We basically had a hoof in this whether we like it or not, you know!” Spiral shouted.

“Well Ah don’t reckon screamin’ an hollerin’ is gonna help much, Ms. Spiral.” Kickback replied.

“Don’t you ‘Ms. Spiral’ me, mister!” Spiral’s horn was beginning to flicker. Fate had the kindness of having them be deep underground, and away from the stars.

The four foals continued to argue loudly, but with Kickback trying but failing to ease them. Fire Fight could only look on as his comrades’ ugly exchange. He looked back at Shadow Shroud, whose head faced directly towards the floor. He couldn’t see her eyes. The sheer magnitude of the action she had taken shook her as much as anypony in the room, but true to her nature, she tried not to show it. While he respected the ninja as his friend, he still found himself questioning her decision. He was completely split between defending her, and reprimanding her. It certainly didn’t help that the other foals were in chaos. His doubt was suddenly shattered when he caught the sight of a tear falling from Shadow Shroud’s hanging face.

Fire Fight took a deep breath, put his game face on, and forcefully put his hoof down. “GUYS! ENOUGH!” He shouted. He shot a quick flare from his horn for extra effect. The arguing foals immediately shut up and looked at him, and Shadow Shroud lifted her face to look at him. Her eyes slowly produced tears. “Look….I’m not okay with any of this…at all! But…….it was all gonna be hard to avoid no matter which way you look at it. We all jumped into this blindly, and had to make some tough choices as a result. Stopping Gene Splice was a good thing to do, but nopony said we’d come out completely clean. And nopony ever said that this whole journey would be easy, or what we would encounter. I know you’re all upset, but…..I should have been a better leader here. We were facing a mad scientist that threatened all of Equestria, and all I did was punch, kick and burn like I always do! This was a much graver situation than anything else we’ve faced up to this point, and I didn’t take it as seriously as I should have; and look what happened! If you guys want to blame somepony, put it all on me! I wasn’t strong enough as a leader, and I let you all fall into chaos.”

Shadow Shroud eyed him with silent gratitude behind her tears while the other foals had mixed reactions. Turf War felt a little relieved that the chaos subsided, but could still feel the tension in the air. Spiral wasn’t sure whether to be angry at Fire Fight, or to feel guilty. Kickback just lowered his hat, ashamed that his own efforts were for naught. Air Slash just eyed him angrily, frustrated that he’d continue to side at all with the ninja filly; he slowly and reluctantly sheathed his swords.

“I’ll just be removing myself from this place now that it has been tainted by spilled blood.” Air Slash growled.

“Y-Y-Yeah…..I….don’t really want to be in here anymore….” Spiral muttered.

“Man…why don’t…..why don’t we all just bounce?” Turf War said.

“Ah reckon we oughta….”Kickback said.

With that, the four distressed foals went for the tunnel exiting back into the ruined subway, but Fire Fight didn’t follow them; he was too concerned about Shadow Shroud to warrant following them immediately. He looked back at her and into her eyes just as she’d wiped them. This was the first time Fire Fight had seen any kind of emotion out of her apart from anger, and it was as strange to see as it was…..disheartening. He walked over to her. “So….I guess we should get started?” he softly asked. Shroud just answered with a solemn nod.

Using a couple of the giant tools knocked from their robot arms as shovels, the two slowly dug a sufficient grave for the dead stallion. They were silent for a while with the only sounds audible were their digging, their breathing, and the tense ambience born of tonight’s unsettling events. Fire Fight occasionally glanced at Shadow Shroud to make sure she wasn’t about to break down or anything, but was a little caught off guard when he suddenly saw her stop digging.

”Fire Fight…….why do you trust me so much?” she asked sorrowfully.

Fire Fight was taken aback. “Wh-Why shouldn’t I? We’re friends, right?” he said.

“In the beginning, we were nothing more than uneasy allies. You only allowed me to accompany you on strict conditions, and then seemed to forget about them. Even after what I just did, you still manage to show me compassion….why?” she asked.

Fire Fight took a deep breath. He took off one of his gauntlets, and put his now bare hoof on her shoulder. “Shroud…..I may not be a Shadewalker, but that doesn’t make me any less able to be friends with you. Even if I was terrified of you at first, we spent time together and….things just happened. I never asked you to not do your duty as a Shadewalker, because I think we both know well that the reality we live in is harsher than we’d like to think, so harsh that foals like us would be rejected by our own society. It’s…..pretty much why we’re out here. I’d much rather be in a harsh place where I can be myself than an easy place where I can’t. You’ve lived in that place your whole life, and you’ve helped to remind me how it can still be enjoyable…..even if its ugliest parts are….well, you know. Either way, I’m glad I met you, Shadow Shroud. You’ve made this journey way easier beyond your skills coming in handy, and…….I don’t want you to leave.”

Shadow Shroud looked into his eyes to see his sincerity. Air Slash might have been right, he was a fool, but…..a good one. “And…..you’d go so far as to help me bury my sins?”

Fire Fight nodded. “Yeah. It’s clear I need to be a better leader here. If there’s ever a burden that’s too much for one of you guys, I’m kind of supposed to bear it with you, even if it’s something as heavy as this.” He said. Shadow Shroud choked a little, but tried to hide it. Fire Fight caught it however, and chuckled a little. “C’mon, Shroud. Let it out. Nopony’s looking.” He whispered.

After a second of hesitation, Shroud buried her now tear-flooded face into Fire Fight's chest. He embraced her as he let her sob away her distress. “I’m sorry!.....<sob>….I….I never wanted to drag you into my affairs like this!” she sobbed.

Fire Fight gently stroked her back and mane. “It’s ok. I honestly probably should have expected something like this to happen.” He said.

After a moment or so, Shroud finished crying, and let up. She wiped away the last of her tears, and took deep breathes. “Well……I….honestly don’t feel too bad. I mean…..I performed my sworn duty so…….I just hope I made the right call. As I said before, this is something the Shadewalkers do not decide lightly. My masters stressed that to me a great deal when I was still a fledgling.” She said.

“Yeah…..But if you think about it like that, it’s not much of sin now, is it? I mean, let’s be honest, this nut was probably going to be executed anyway…..or at least exiled……which wouldn’t have really helped mind you.” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud giggled lightly as she began digging again. “You try to make even death positive. Now you’re starting to sound worse than me.” She joked.

“Well, we’ve gotta keep the morale up as much as we can with how hard this journey is definitely gonna be.” Fire Fight said as he also went back to digging.

Shroud giggled again. “That is true.”

*****

Little did they know, other ponies were looking, being the other foals. They peeked in on the duo out of worry, and saw Shadow Shroud’s breakdown after listening to Fire Fight. The whole spectacle had eased their emotions somewhat, and decided to actually start heading back when the two went back to digging.

“Kickback…..I’m sorry I yelled at you like that….I guess a lot really did happen.” Spiral said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Ah understand, Ms. Spiral. Maybe it was the wrong time fer me to be as calm as Ah was.” He said.

“Yeah….you’re the only one here with a really level head.” Spiral commented, to which Kickback chuckled.

“Hey, homie? I’m sorry I called y’all a b**** and all dat s***…..er….my bad. All dat stupid yellin’ and all.” Turf War said to Air Slash.

“I too must apologize for my behavior.” Air Slash said. “But…..you know she wouldn’t have been so remorseful had she been acting alone without eyes to judge her.”

“An’ the fact that she was is mighty fine proof that she has a soul, partner. It’s a cryin’ shame that you fail to see that. Mah mama once told me a story about an older mare she knew as a filly. This mare lived just on the outskirts of the city, and almost never came into it unless she needed groceries or whatnot. Apparently, the whole thought she might o’ been some kind o’…..Whaddya call ‘em?.....psychopath, that’s right. Anyway, they thought that because of just how reclusive she was. Nopony in town that was her age ever remembered much about her in her younger days at all. So one day, her class starts sellin’ cookies fer their school. Bullies that liked to tease mah mama dared her to try an’ sell some to the old mare, or they’d……well shucks, Ah can’t seem to remember that part. Anyway, she went and knocked on the door and all that, and just stood there in fear. Well the door was answered, and she sold the cookies about as easily as all the other houses. She said that the mare was mighty happy to have company. When mah mama asked her why she wasn’t in town very much, the mare told her that all of her relatives had either moved on or passed on, and she was just….lonely. Being the kind filly that she was, mah mama made a point o’ visitin’ her from time to time, and eventually introduced her to the town. She said that the mare was about as happy as a cactus in a rainstorm from then on. Well…..the day finally came that the old mare’s time had come…..and in her will, she’d left mah mama her house sayin’ just how thankful she was for making her last days so full of joy, and guaranteed her ownership o’ the house when she was old enough, an’ she’d lived there ever since.” Kickback explained.

“Ooooohhh! That’s such a sweet story!” Spiral squeaked.

“Y’all mean it da same house y’all grew up in!?” Turf War asked. Kickback nodded. “Yo! Dat’s fire!”

“Yeah. So Air Slash, you really need to check your ego.” Spiral said.

Air Slash looked down in frustration. He didn’t hate Shadow Shroud, but he didn’t totally trust her either. He’d been taught that the safety of others comes first, and he knew and seen for himself the potential that Shroud had to become a very real threat. That thought that kept him from being completely satisfied with working alongside her despite the others being open to her. He decided not to argue so as not to spark another heated debate. They finally reached the ruined subway, and decided to wait for the other two.

When Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud reemerged, they found themselves looking at right at the others that had stormed off, and were suddenly worried to confront them. All of that worry was washed away when Spiral walked up to and hugged Shadow Shroud. Pleasantly surprised at the gesture, Shroud returned it. Turf War shoulder-bumped Fire Fight in a friendly manner, and Kickback just tipped his hat. Air Slash wasn’t in the mood for making up right about now, and just looked away in frustrated guilt.

“You okay, Air Slash?” Fire Fight asked.

Air Slash looked up at him. “Yes….I’m alright. It seems you’re not the only one who has thinking to do…” he answered. He then looked over at Shadow Shroud, who eyed him with both resent, and…..strangely enough, concern and pity. She seemed willing to forgive him, but not by much.

“Well…..alright. Just….let me know if anything’s really bothering you. We’re all in this together, you know.” Fire Fight said.

“Yeah, homie. You got da weight o’ yo’ swords on yo’ shoulders, not da weight of the damn world!” Turf War said.

Air Slash raised his head, and sighed. “Very well…..I suggest we return to that train car we settled into. The bread I purchased is still there, and I’ve no doubt that we could all use some sleep.” He said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Ah reckon Sound and Fury did a lot o’ talkin’ today, so they could surely use some shuteye.”

“Yeah. You’re right. There was nothing in Baltimare, so we’ll head out for Fillydelphia when we’re rested. These signs down here still point to where the trains would go, so we can use them to navigate there.” Fire Fight said.

“Good idea.” Spiral said. “I still have a bit of a headache.”

With that, the foals made their way back to their coach. As the tension loosened in the air, Air Slash found himself thinking solemnly to himself. Fate had set a cruel trial for the young samurai, and he was beginning to feel it. All he could do for now was wait and see what happened next.

These Blades

The foals had safely returned to their lit train car, and decided to have some much needed dinner before bed. Fire Fight still had some ingredients to work with, but he decided to cook outside of the coach for the risk of setting its carpet floor ablaze. Air Slash took out the loaf of bread he’d bought, and finely sliced it with his swords. The stew that Fire Fight had whipped up turned out to be a good main dish for the bread to compliment; he was thanked for thinking to buy it, but he was too lost in thought to give a heartfelt ‘you’re welcome’, and he simply nodded.

Dinner was pretty quiet considering what the foals had just endured. They were still a little shaken at the actual event despite having managed to becalm themselves. Shadow Shroud could tell that all of them had been caught completely off guard, and still felt a little guilty. Feeling their forgiveness however, she was able to eat happily…..even if Air Slash didn’t quite give off the same vibe.

She was caught a little off guard when Air Slash suddenly handed her a second slice of the bread. He didn’t face her, but instead looked down and away from her. She eyed him curiously. He shifted his eyes towards her for a second before looking away again. “Is this some form of peace offering?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Air Slash shifted his eyes back towards her. “If……you wish to call it that…” he grumbled.

“Well…” Shadow Shroud gently accepted the slice. “I accept.” She said softly, but with a slightly detectable hint of firmness. The other foals were pleasantly surprised to see them be even remotely friendly to one another, especially considering the circumstances.

Turf War lightly nudged Air Slash, and Air Slash looked at him. “See? You getting’ d’ere.” Turf War whispered. Air Slash rolled his eyes.

Kickback turned to Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud. “Say, did the burial go alright?” he asked.

“Yeah. We used those huge tools he tried to cut us open with, and covered the mound of dirt with some of those dead…..things he was making.” Fire Fight explained.

“Did ya give him a proper sendin’ off?” Kickback asked.

“We….did say a little prayer for him after we were done, I guess.” Fire Fight said.

“And I gave him his last rights just before I ended his life.” Shadow Shroud added.

Kickback shook his head. “Now that just won’t do. Even if he was one heckuva kook, he still deserves a right n’ proper funeral.” He said.

“Yeah, I guess, but…..I really wanna sleep. I think we’re all still pretty exhausted.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Well…..Ah suppose we could stop by his grave in the mornin’ and then hold it. Whaddya think?” Kickback suggested.

“Yeah….I guess it was kinda f*- messed up dat we just bounced like dat.” Turf War commented. “I’m down.”

“I think that’s a fair compromise.” Fire Fight said. Shadow Shroud nodded in affirmation.

“Ok, sure!” Spiral said.

“Very well…” Air Slash muttered.

Fire Fight looked at him with concern. “You sure you’re okay, Slash?” he asked.

“Yes, Fire Fight. Thank you.” Air Slash replied.

Shadow Shroud leaned towards Fire Fight. “I think he’s just dealing with his pride. It’s best you give him some space about it for now. He’ll come around….maybe.” she whispered.

“Maybe you’re right…” he replied. With that, he magically smothered out the lanterns in the train car, and let himself and his comrades fall asleep.

For a short while, Air Slash found himself unable to fall completely asleep. Tonight’s events and their outcomes left him weary. Spiral’s words to him earlier gnawed at him. How could she, or any of them have any trust in a pony who had the nerve to take a life? Or was it that he had something to overcome? Had his father influenced him more than even he realized? All these questions manifested as one thought in his head. “Am I truly worthy of these blades?”

In Baltimare...

“So once we get down to those old subways, we’ll just set up our equipment and get started. We’ve already set up a dressing room for you down there, and your costume. Sorry if it’s a little hard to wear. You’re playing the role of a homeless mare, and your character just took some leftover cloth, and just….tied it together- adds some realism, ya know? Be careful though. It’s really dark down there, and…” a movie director was speaking to a dark gray mare with a black and white striped mane, sapphire eyes, and comedy masks for a Cutie Mark, but she had a solemn, inattentive look on her face, one that worried the producer. “Ms. Film Noir?”

Film Noir snapped out of her trance. “Huh!? I-I’m sorry. What were you saying?” she asked.

The producer grimaced. “You’re still worried about that ‘Fire Fight’ kid, huh?”

Film Noir sighed. “Yes….I’m sorry. I won’t let it affect me while I’m acting. It’s just…..”

“Pretty sad, huh? I wonder how Action Shot’s doing in jail with the rest of his mafia buddies?” the producer asked aloud. “I hear they had to go to a hospital first to get treated for their burns and stuff.”

“I couldn’t care less about them. Right now, as far I know, Fire Fight is out there somewhere probably cold and hungry, but too scared to show his face again because all of those stupid parents, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it! I hope they took that seminar seriously. I don’t ever want to see anything like that happen again.” Film Noir said.

The producer lightly chuckled. “You really like kids, don’t ya?” he asked.

Film Noir creased a little smile. “Oh, I love kids! I think I already told you this, but I used to be a tutor when I was still in acting school. Some of the foals I worked with had overbearing parents or teachers, or were otherwise just in an environment that wasn’t good for them, and they had no control over it, so I read some books on child psychology and I think one about parenting so I could at least give them a homely place to study in. It always made me so happy to see them actually be comfortable.” She explained.

“Yeah, I think you did. Ya know, Fire Fight said in that little note you told me about that he’d ‘find someplace else in Equestria to live’ or whatever, right?” the producer asked. Film Noir nodded. “Well as long as we’re traveling to shoot our movies, we might just bump into him! I mean we go to pretty unconventional places anyway, right? If I were still a colt and wanted to run away, I’d go to a forgettable place like where we’re heading down to now.” He said.

The notion brought a sudden boost in Film Noir’s mood. While the odds were one in a million, it certainly wasn’t impossible, and any possibility was good in her book. “That’s true!......I just wonder how his mother is faring?” she wondered. Another little thought suddenly crossed her mind. “Say, didn’t we kinda spend a lot on food this time around?”

The producer grimaced. “Yeah, well……apparently Fillydelphia has been having a harvesting issue lately, and they don’t know why. They’ve to raise prices as a result so…..yeah, I hope it gets fixed soon; I don’t want to pay five bits for a loaf of bread again. Jeez, that was ridiculous!”

In Dodge City...

With the report of a colt disappearing, the search entourage from Ponyville arrived without any delay. The desert heat was a little much for some of them to bear, but their thoughts were with finding Fire Fight.

Twilight found herself speaking with the town’s sheriff. “YOU MEAN HE TOOK ON A WHOLE GANG OF VICIOUS BANDITS BY HIMSELF!?!?” she exclaimed.

“AND ACTUALLY WON!?” Spike added.

“That’s what Ah’d like to think, Princess, but those varmints told us that five other foals that they’d never seen before came outta nowhere to help him just before we hauled them to jail. The fact that they got knife wounds, burns and stuff along with bullet wounds matches up with their story, Ah’d say.” Sheriff North Fork explained.

“But sadly, we found no trace of these five other foals themselves.” One of his deputies added.

“And yet they swear by Celestia that they were there. Ah know they’re dirty bandit an’ all, but that doesn’t seem like something they’d lie about.” The other deputy added.

“May I see these Sand Vipers? Are they safely locked up?” Twilight asked. “I’d like to hear it from them.”

North Fork tipped his hat. “They surely are, milady, though not all o’ them are here; there were a lot of ‘em, so the rest are doin’ time in Appleoosa. Right this way, if y’all would.” He lead her into the cell room where the some of the Vipers were being held.

Meanwhile...

Cheerilee spoke as one teacher to another with Ms. Sunrise. “Oh dear….the poor thing. How could he have bottled that up for so long?” she said. She’d never heard such a tragic story about a foal in her life.

Ms. Sunrise solemnly nodded. “Ah’m afraid so, sweetheart. Kickback had started comin’ to school just after that and made lots o’ friends, but…..Oh, why did Ah never wonder where his mama was!? I’m so stupid!” she said.

“Oh, no you’re not. I don’t think any teacher could’ve done worse than me. At least I actually knew that Fire Fight had a problem to begin with.” Cheerilee said.

“And it’s a good thing yer tryin’ to make up for it. There wasn’t much Ah could do mahself fer Kickback. When I told everypony about his mama, they just felt so bad for him, and gave his papa their deepest condolences. Oh, you should have seen how happy he was, but…..he felt really bad about how treated son right then.” Ms. Sunrise said.

“Did he? I bet it didn’t make things too much better for him.” Cheerilee said.

“Surely didn’t, and he certainly didn’t expect Kickback to run off like he did. That just tore the poor stallion up.” Ms. Sunrise affirmed.

“And you have no idea where he might have gone?” Cheerilee asked. All she got for an answer was Sunrise shaking her head.

Meanwhile...

The foals along with Applejack and Rarity spoke with the local foals to see if they could get some answers. What they got surprised them. “So you might’ve seen Fire Fight during that rodeo show you were having!?” Scootaloo asked.

“Ah think we did! He was with a bunch o’ other foals we didn’t know; a bunch o’ tourists came here to enjoy the show, so we didn’t think much of it.” One colt answered.

“Yeah, Ah saw him with that filly wearin’ that dress.” One filly added.

“Who!?” Silver Spoon aggressively asked. Diamond Tiara had to calm her a little.

“Ah don’t know, but her dress wasn’t too pretty.”

“But she gave me the prize she won at the dart throwin’ game! She seemed real nice!”

“Could you please describe the dress she was wearing?” Rarity asked excitedly. When she got the confirmation she was looking for, any doubt she had left had been expelled from her mind. It had to be the same filly! There was just no way it could be a coincidence anymore. It didn’t answer the question of just who she was, but she was surer than ever now.

Applejack turned to her little sister. “Ah’m sorry, Sugarcube. Ah meant to take ya here for the show, but…..”

“Fire Fight happened, huh?” Applebloom said. Applejack tipped her hat down in shame, but quickly looked back up when she felt her sister hugging her hoof. “We’ll find him. Everything’ll be alright, sis.” She said.

Applejack’s spirits were suddenly lifted sky high when she saw her sister willing to forgive her. She returned the hug. “It surely will.” She said. “Mah baby sister’s growin’ on up.” She thought to herself.

Meanwhile...

Meanwhile, Ms. Fight conversed with Kickback’s father. “Sir, let me just give you my utmost condolences for your wife, and…..your son running away.” She said.

Kickback’s dad had his hat over his heart. “Thank ya, ma’am. Ah had no idea that the town would take our story so well. Ah was so afraid o’ somepony findin’ out an drivin’ us away outta fear that……ugh…..Ah treated mah son rotten to the core because Ah was a big ol’ good-fer-nuttin’ pansy! <sigh> Maybe it’s good that he got away from me. Ah don’t deserve to be his pa…”

Ms. Fight put her hoof on his shoulder. “Now don’t you talk like that! You did more than enough giving up for a whole year when your son needed you, and now that you have a chance at redemption, you’d be an idiot to throw it away! What would your wife say if she could see you now?” she said.

Kickback’s dad flinched a little at that question. Even if his wife was no longer here to set him straight, he could almost feel her looking down on him from somewhere. It was a look that yearned for her son’s safety. He confidently put his hat back on. “Yer right. What kinda father would Ah be if Ah just gave up all the darn time? Ah’m gonna find Kickback, an’ tell him just how sorry Ah am, and make things right!” he declared.

Ms. Fight nodded approvingly. “Much better.” She said.

The split party met up in the town square to discuss what they could gather. While they got confirmation that Fire Fight and the other runaway foals had come here and presumably took Kickback, they sadly had absolutely no trace of where they might have gone next. Twilight had Spike send a quick request to Canterlot to take some the Sand Vipers off of Dodge City and Appleoosa’s hooves.

“Well, even if we’re one step behind them, we’re definitely on their trail. There’s still hope.” Twilight said.

“Indeed. I just wonder who this other filly is?” Rarity said.

“I looked into other cases of fillies running away, but came up short. She literally could’ve come from anywhere!” Spike said.

“We might have to start posting ‘missing’ papers across Equestria to warn everypony to look out for them. We should start with this town, and then the ones closest to it. If they’re still relatively close, then we might just catch them that way. Of course, we’ll expand if need be.” Twilight said.

Ms. Fight walked to her, and hugged her. “Twilight, thank you so much!” she said. She turned to the rest of the search party. “Thank all of you!” She then faced Cheerilee. “Especially you.” She said with a soft smile.

Cheerilee’s heart fluttered at that. She was thrilled to have gotten at least some form of forgiveness from the mare who hated her the most. “Of course, ma’am. Anything to get him back!” she said.

As everypony cheered them on, the mystery filly was on Twilight’s mind. The whole ‘ninja’ prospect had her worried, especially when she recalled what Air Slash’s father had said to her: “There exists a clan of ninjas that rivals ours called the Shadewalkers. They prefer to remain hidden from everypony so as to hide their evil practices. They will resort to taking lives if they believe it means protecting Equestria, and are very serious about their methods and remaining in the shadows. If this filly you spoke of is a Shadewalker, then this ‘Fire Fight’ of yours could be in incredible danger.”

Washing Away The Stains of Sin

As per their plan, the foals returned to the chimera nest once they woke up after having a little breakfast. The heavy atmosphere coupled with the awful smell of multiple corpses and formaldehyde made for a miserable experience, but Kickback insisted on giving Gene Splice his due respect, which the other foals agreed with. Just being in the room brought back the sheer tension of what occurred here not too long ago. Dead chimeras and debris from Gene Splice’s machines littered the depressing room. Fire Fight pointed out the mass of corpses that covered the grave that he and Shadow Shroud had dug. Without any further interruption, Kickback stood in front of the grave, took off his hat and held it over his heart. Shadow Shroud stood right beside him, feeling as though she owed more respect to the deceased than the others. Fire Fight lit his horn as his own little form of a funeral pyre. Air Slash then suddenly stood on Kickback’s other side with one his swords held vertically along his muzzle in very swordsman-like praying manner.

Kickback cleared his throat. “Mr. Gene Splice…….we knew just about nuttin’ about ya, and ya barely knew us, but……we’ve gathered here to pay our respect to you. Ah don’t know exactly what drove ya as….crazy as y’all were, but know that you were still a pony just like me an’ mah partners here, an’ you have our utmost sympathies fer whatever happened. It’s awful that things had to turn out the way they did, but Ah’m sure that y’all coulda made a mighty fine difference fer Equestria had you put yer science to better use, an’ we’ll cherish your memory with that thought. We’d like ya to know that you deserve a peaceful rest, and….we’re sorry…..especially Ms. Shadow Shroud……”

“A fate such as yours is never a happy one……and it pained me to have to carry it out…..I said this before, but it bears repeating: May your weary soul find peaceful rest.” Shadow Shroud said.

Air Slash lowered his sword a little. “I……I couldn’t do anything to save you….from anything……I feel as ashamed as Shadow Shroud. My blades are tools of justice……but I often forget that justice is blind. While I do not bear this burden as heavily as she does, I failed to protect you nonetheless, and I carry this burden on behalf of all of my clan. May I be forgiven…..May we all be forgiven…..Please, rest peacefully, madman. Your shrieks devoid of sanity were calls for help that none of could heed, and consequently……<sigh>…One more thing…..We forgive you of your sins.”

“Yes! Please rest without guilt! It was bad enough that you felt like a failure….” Spiral Galaxy added.

“Amen…” Turf War said.

“Amen.” Fire Fight repeated.

“Ah’d like to conclude with one more little thing, sir. Ya died pursuin’ a cause you believed in, so props to y’all fer that…..just like when mah mama was protectin’ me……..Er! Sorry, Ah got off topic. Anyhow, You did what you loved the most, and Ah sincerely hope that helps you rest peacefully. Goodbye…..” Kickback put his hat back on as he closed. Fire Fight put his horn out, and Air Slash sheathed his sword.

Air Slash faced towards Shadow Shroud, and their eyes met. Both were reluctant to look into them. “I willingly spoke your name……out of respect…….Shadewalker…..” Air Slash muttered.

For a moment, Shadow Shroud just eyed him. It was difficult to tell if her expression was passive or hostile. The tension was alleviated with Shadow Shroud’s next statement. “Thank you, Air Slash.” She said. Her tone was both willing, and reluctant. Both still had some difficulty accepting one another, but it seemed as though that neither viewed the other as an enemy.

Fire Fight chuckled. “You guys are getting way better.” He said.

The two warrior foals both glanced at him with annoyance. “Oh quiet, you.” They both said at once. They quickly looked at each other in surprise, and glared in frustration. “Who permitted you to speak!?”, “Silence!”, “…Grrrrrrrgghhh!” the two exchanged the exact same phrases simultaneously, much to their annoyance and….slight embarrassment.

The other foals laughed heartily at their exchange. “Ah was…..honestly kinda hopin’ that this’d happen.” Kickback whispered.

Fire Fight looked at him with some surprise. “Was this your plan all along?”

“Not necessarily. Ah really did want to give the feller his due sendin’ off, but Ah also figured it’d be a perfect time fer these two to lessen the distance.” Kickback answered.

“You clever son of a gun!” Fire Fight whispered.

Kickback glanced at either his guns, and then back at Fire Fight. “Now just what’s that supposed to mean, sheriff?” he joked. The two lightly nudged each other and chuckled like bros. Turf War joined them.

Spiral giggled. “You guys are such goofballs.” She said. Her expression suddenly turned grim again when she returned to the realization of where they were. “Umm……Can we leave now? This isn’t a very fun place.”

The colts suddenly dropped their act, and felt the heaviness of the room weigh down on them again. “Uhh….Y-Yeah….We did what we had to.” Fire Fight said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Reckon so.”

“Y’all ready?” Turf War called out to Air Slash and Shadow Shroud.

The two warrior foals were still exchanging frustrated glares and gritted teeth when they heard Turf War. They snapped out of their little contest, and glanced at him. “Huh? Oh! Umm, yes.” Air Slash stammered.

“O-Of course.” Shadow Shroud stammered.

“Alright. To Fillydelphia we go.” Fire Fight declared. The foals felt relieved to finally get out of that place for good. Following Fire Fight’s suggestion, they used the ancient directory signs to map their route to Fillydelphia, which already wasn’t too far away, but this was a much better way to sneak into the city without having to risk walking in like tourists. Plus, it was interesting to explore a place of lost history.

As she did before, Shadow Shroud kept her sense open in case of another unexpected issue. Far off into the distance behind them, she thought she had just heard what almost sounded like somepony screaming. She glanced back to try and sense it better, but couldn’t make out much more- it must have way far away.

“You okay, Shroud?” Fire Fight asked.

Shadow Shroud snapped back around. “Hmm? Oh, yes. I merely thought I heard something in the dark. I don’t think it was anything to worry about.” She replied.

“You sure ‘bout dat? Last you heard something it was nearly the bells o’ death.” Turf War said.

“If only because I sensed actual danger. I did not here.” Shroud replied.

“Well…..okay then. Let’s go.” Fire Fight said. They continued onward towards their destination. Eventually, they happened upon a sign that said ‘Welcome to Fillydelphia’ on an ancient boarding dock. Looking around, they found another set of stairs like the one in Baltimare. They ascended them, and eventually found yet another rusty door, but this one had pretty much rusted itself shut. Pulling it open proved difficult. Eventually, Turf War resorted to breaking off its hinges with his hammer-axe, which was easy considering they’d rusted to the point of being as brittle as a brick. The door began to fall away from them, but Fire Fight and Spiral caught it with their magic, and gently floated it down so it didn’t crash and make any huge noises.

As expected, they emerged in a sewer that wasn’t nearly as clean as the one in Baltimare, but all of the….important stuff was safely in the channel below. “Eeewww!” Spiral shrieked.

“You should’ve seen Detrot.” Fire Fight said.

“Nah, she shouldn’t have.” Turf War commented.

The foals peered through various manholes until they could find a suitable place to emerge. Eventually, Air Slash found one that seemed to be close to the outskirts; he could smell some grass close by. “Let us sneak out here. We can reach the sea to wash out this stench. Would you do us the honors, Shadewal- er…Shadow Shroud?” he asked.

The ninja filly smiled deviously. “Of course, Air Slash.” She said. She donned her mask. Evening had already fallen in the time that it took them to conduct Gene Splice’s funeral, and walk their way to Fillydelphia, but it wasn’t too dark, so she still had to be discreet. She listened carefully to hear no activity in the immediate vicinity, and then she slightly lifted the cover to see that it was in an alleyway right beside an open field leading out into the sea. She jumped out carefully, and hid behind a trash dumpster. Once she determined that the coast was clear, she lifted the cover once more, and led her comrades out. “Come on!” she whispered. They followed her into the open field.

The damage dealt by the chimeras had extended into this field, because many patches of grass were visibly malnourished compared to others around them. It was truly a shame to see that this is what Gene Splice was ultimately working towards, and the foals were suddenly a little more grateful that they stopped him. Eventually, they reached the sea, and immediately jumped in to clean off all of the odors and grime they’d accumulated underground. It was the most refreshing thing that had happened to them thus far. Air Slash managed to harvest some seaweed as he cleaned off, and gave it to Fire Fight to make for dinner. Spiral swam around like a mermaid in sheer joy to be in such a refreshing state after a rough couple of days; she immediately calmed down when she noticed the water around her rumbling and splashing violently.

Once they finished, they reconvened on shore. “Let’s camp out here for the night. I’ll cook up that seaweed that Air Slash got.” Fire Fight said.

“How are we doing on water?” Shadow Shroud asked. Each of the foals checked there bottles. Kickback, being a born desert survivor had adapted to not having to consume a lot of water, so he was fine. The others however were just about empty. They obviously couldn’t refill at the sea, there was no way for them to distill it, and there was no close by source of fresh water for them to refill at. “I see. Give me some bits, and I’ll head into town to grab some more. I doubt the wheat famine has affected water at all.”

“Ain’t no way.” Turf War commented.

“I think there’s a law saying that bottles of water can only cost 1 bit in case of emergencies like that.” Spiral stated.

“They always were last Ah checked.” Kickback commented.

“You sure you don’t want dinner first? It shouldn’t take me too long.” Fire Fight said.

“No. As a matter of fact, I’d like to search the city for lost foals while I’m out there. As with Air Slash, I’ll return when enough is enough.” Shroud said. Spiral grimaced at her a little, and Shroud rolled her eyes as she knew what she was grimacing about. “Spiral…..enough about my dress, if you will.”

“Oh, alright. Sheesh!” Spiral said. Shroud was handed 5 bits, and she donned her mask once more before heading for the Fillydelphia.

Moving Forward

Shadow Shroud would have simply donned her disguise dress, but it was getting dark enough to where she was comfortable sneaking around in her cloak. As she jumped and snuck between patches of darkness, Shroud observed the activities of the city. She occasionally peered through windows and listened through walls of houses for any possible disputes between foals and their parents that would warrant the attention of her and her comrades. Foals that still had yet to go home were also observed from afar. During that time, Shadow Shroud searched for a suitable store to purchase the water bottles she’d promised. So far, nothing. As with any place they’d been, the worst that she observed was generic stuff such as cleaning their rooms, missing absent parents, discipline, and so on. Nothing she saw or heard particularly grabbed her attention…..except one little thing.

While atop a building, Shadow Shroud observed two mares standing in front of a house on a street that looked as though it had been memorialized. They stood there as though they were offering a prayer to it. Interested, Shadow Shroud jumped down into an adjacent alleyway, flipped into her dress, and trotted towards the house. Bouquets were arranged very elegantly around two pictures. One was a picture of a mare, and the other depicted a stallion. In between the pictures was a little doll just big enough for a toddler sitting there as if to wait for a little foal to play with it. It’s beady eyes yearned for the innocent love of a child.

“Excuse me? What is this place?” Shadow Shroud asked the mares, putting on her sweet filly persona.

The mares glanced over at her in surprise. They didn’t expect to see her there. “You don’t know, darling? Well…..this did happen quite a few years ago; you probably wouldn’t remember.” One of them said.

“There was a little family that lived here about 7 or 8 years ago. They never left their house much or really talked to anypony, but one day, they just seemed to vanish. They didn’t come out of their house at all. The next day, the same thing happened. We all got kind of worried, so we had the police go into their house after they couldn’t get them to answer the door, and they just found murdered!” the other explained.

This caught Shadow Shroud off guard. “Murdered!?” she said.

“I’m afraid so. What’s worse was that they found a room that belonged to an apparent daughter that they had that we never knew about, but there was no trace of the filly herself. No trace of the killer was found either! He or she could still be out there!”

“That doll was sitting on the filly’s bed all tattered and not completely sewn, so we assumed that it was her favorite toy. Based on the other kinds of toys she had and the children’s books, she must have been no older than…..oh 3 or 4, I’d imagine.”

“And she was just…..gone? No trace whatsoever?” Shroud asked. The mares shook their heads. “Oh dear…..Well, I should be getting home. Thanks for the….story.”

One of the mares creased a little smile. “Goodnight, sweetie.” She said. The two went back to paying their respects as Shadow Shroud walked off.

Just down the street, she spotted a little convenience store. She trotted over, and went in to purchase the water bottles. She found a little six-pack of bottles that was at a discounted price of 4 bits, so she bought that instead. She used the last bit that she had leftover to buy a small pack of wheat jerky- a good little snack for a long trip for the team to share. The clerk thought nothing of her as she went about her business, and left. Once she determined that the coast was clear, she quietly leapt into a dark to reassume her cloak. Before she could however, she was suddenly grabbed from behind with somepony’s arm covering her mouth!

“Ya picked a bad night to go on a stroll, little girl!” a stallion growled. She looked behind her to see that it was indeed a stallion trying to mug her. Thinking quickly, Shadow Shroud bit into his arm that covered her mouth quite forcefully. “Nrgh! Why you little…..you just made worse for yourself!” He pulled knife with his free hoof! Shroud continued to bite down as she detracted one of her wristblades, lowered her arm, and thrust it up into the stallion’s grabbing arm. The blade pierced all the way through his arm as it came out the other side. “AAH!” the stallion tried not to scream too loudly so as to not draw attention to himself despite his agony. He let go of Shadow Shroud and dropped his knife from the sudden spike of pain.

Shroud managed to avoid getting his blood on her dress as she slipped away from him, quickly retracting her blade so that he didn’t see it. She turned around, and glared at him as he clutched his gushing hoof. “You picked a bad time to cross me!” she growled. She leapt with cat-like agility, and struck the back of his neck, knocking him out cold. She flipped back into her cloak, and donned her mask. Just before she made her exit with her groceries, she did the stallion one last little favor. “HEEELLLP!! POLICE!!” she screamed. She quickly jumped to the rooftops just before a passerby that heard her rushed into the alleyway, and discovered the unconscious mugger. He quickly got help as Shadow Shroud calmly observed the scene for a few moments before deciding to return to her friends. “Congratulations, sir. You’ll live to see another day.” She hissed.

*****

As Shadow Shroud made her way through the grass, she took the time to wipe off the blood that her blade accumulated. Night had fallen, and she had only Luna’s moon to guide her back to her friends. She was disappointed that she couldn’t find anything, but felt a little better when the smell of freshly cooked seaweed massaged her nose.

“Hey, you’re back! Just in time too! Find anything? Any trouble?” Fire Fight said as he handed her some seaweed.

“I’m afraid I had about as much luck as Air Slash did in Baltimare. I searched all over, even in the farmlands, but it seems this place is blessed to have no considerable conflicts with their foals.” Shroud answered. “But thankfully I didn’t encounter any other real issues.”

“Aww….Well, I guess that’s still a good thing though. I mean…. No lost foals means no uncertain futures right?” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Word. Yo, ain’t Manehatten just up dis beach too? Y’all ‘member any lost foals when you was d’here, homie?” Turf War asked Fire Fight.

“Nope. I was the only one of our kind there. No point in going there.” Fire Fight answered. “Why don’t we go back to the ruined castle? We haven’t been back since we left for Detrot.”

“Agreed. I’ve….been concerned about my garden anyway.” Shroud replied. She turned to the other foals. “We can settle all of you there, and plan our next move.”

“Sounds good to me. It’ll be nice to finally have an actual home than just camping in random places.” Spiral said.

“Ah sure am curious to see this place where y’all settled.” Kickback commented.

“If this castle’s forge is still usable, I could make the rest of us some armor should there be ready materials.” Air Slash said.

“I’m sure Fire Fight could reignite it for you. It didn’t seem so crumbled that it was unusable.” Shroud said. “As for materials….you might have to melt down some of the old weapons and armor for metal. Hunting the local beasts for leather and such would be easy.”

“I’m pretty sure I could muster that much heat. I’ll just have to be careful not to start a big fire.” Fire Fight said.

Air Slash nodded approvingly. “Good. So….we’ll just hike there?”

“Actually, when I passed by the train station, which is on the opposite side of the outskirts from us, I noticed that one of the mid-morning trains is leaving for Ponyville tomorrow. Let’s finish our food, and go camp closer to there so we can ready ourselves.” Shroud explained.

“Now hol’ up, homegirl. Y’all ‘member the last time we was on a train? We almost got caught, and had to bounce. No reason why we can’t just hoof it from he’e.” Turf War said.

Spiral looked down in guilt at the memory of her nearly getting them caught. “Sorry about that, guys.” She muttered.

“It wasn’t your fault, Spiral. That barista simply wised up to a suspicious figure like myself. If we all stay in the caboose this time, we won’t risk drawing any attention.” Shroud said.

“Even if we got weapons and all that funny stuff?” Kickback asked.

Shroud thought for a moment after hearing that. “Well….it was a problem enough when Turf War still had his junk weapons the last time…..hmm……”

“Why don’t we wait until there’s a night train for Ponyville? Did you see anything like that on the schedule?” Spiral suggested.

“I’d have to check again, but that would be preferable.” Shroud replied.

“A’ight. Wed do dat.” Turf War said.

“Yeah. Let’s eat first. Maybe on the way, we’ll gather more stuff. If we have to resort to just seaweed for a while, then that’s fine. At least we’ll have something to eat.” Fire Fight said.

“Indeed.” Air Slash said. He slurped on some of his cooked seaweed. “It’s quite delectable.”

They all sat down around their little fire, and finished their dinner. Once they did, Fire Fight put it out, and they grabbed their things before setting off. Air Slash dived back into the ocean, and harvested much more seaweed to take for the trip. Shadow Shroud handed them their new water bottles; Kickback thanked her anyway despite him having fairly sufficient water. They managed to find some edible herbs along the way, but not a whole lot given the damage done to the soil’s fertility.

Fire Fight glanced over at Kickback. “Sorry your first couple of searches with us had to come up short, Kickback…” he said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Nuttin’ to feel sorry for, sheriff. Ah reckon it’s a mighty fine thing we stumbled upon that Gene Splice varmint when we did. It wasn’t all bad.” He said.

“Man….Dis been one crazy trip, y’all. What next, d’ho? Are we gonna run into his brova who……I don’t know, maybe he put his brain in like a panther, or somethin’? Dat be whack!” Turf War commented.

“Yes. I probably should have harvested some skin….scales?....from his creatures to reinforce the armor I’ll forge whence we arrive…..home, I suppose.” Air Slash said.

“Those little pests pale in comparison to some of the beasts in the Everfree forest in terms of both ferocity and quality of the materials to be collected from them, Air Slash. Besides, it’s a much more available resource anyway.” Shadow Shroud said.

Air Slash chuckled. “I suppose I can only take your word for it, huh, Shadow Shroud?”

“That is correct.” Shroud replied sassily. It was nice to see these two actually hold a conversation.

All was not too positive however. Just off on the horizon was Fire Fight’s old home of Manehatten. All of his recent memories there were anything but happy. He didn’t express this as he wanted to put it all out of his mind. Not only that, but the fact that two searches in a row had resulted in failure disheartened the fiery colt. His mission to rescue foals that suffered had slowed considerably, and that meant more time for whoever they were destined to rescue suffer. All he could do was keep going with his team.

Fire Fight suddenly broke out of thought when he felt somepony tap his shoulder. He glanced over to see Shadow Shroud smiling at him. “If it makes feel any better, I’d be happy to make a second sweep tomorrow depending on the circumstances with the train. Evening really wasn’t the best time to search.” She said.

“Indeed. You really should have waited until daytime. Perhaps I can aid you by making an aerial sweep?” Air Slash said.

“That would be very helpful. We could cover more ground that way anyway. What say you, leader?” Shroud asked Fire Fight.

Fire Fight was caught off guard by Shroud suddenly calling him ‘leader’, yet it felt…..good! The way she said it sounded like she was trying to boost his confidence, which worked. Fire Fight held his head high again, and smiled back. “Yeah. You sure you don’t want me to come too?” he said.

“It would remain best that you didn’t. You don’t have the aerial mobility that Air Slash has to move quickly in case of emergency.” Shroud replied.

“True, true. Actually, you know what? Let Air Slash search by himself again. We kinda need you to prepare us to….<ahem>….board.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud deviously giggled. “Oh, but of course. I'll still at least check the train schedule. I'd have to ask Air Slash to wait for that information before embarking.”

“You’ll hear no complaints from me.” Air Slash said.

Fire Fight nodded. “Ok, guys. Let’s get going.” He said. With some doubt cleared from his mind, the fiery colt led his comrades further and further towards their destinies.

Split Pony-nality Disorder

As soon as the foals found a suitable hiding place in a small forest near the train station, Shadow Shroud made her move. She crept and slithered through the moonlit corners of the train station to view the schedule. She couldn’t disguise herself and risk looking like a little lost filly that needed help. She needed to stick to the dark. Eventually, she found a good view of the schedule from just beside the stairs that led up to the platform containing the building itself. She would have to peek from below the platform to avoid being in the light, but the coast was clear, and the ticket office mare was too half-asleep to even be able to perceive her. She read the schedule carefully, and learned that a Ponyville-bound train was set to depart at 8:45pm the next day. It was almost too perfect. With this new information, she returned to her comrades.

“8:45? Ok, that gives Air Slash plenty of time to scour around. Are we going to sneak onto this train like we did in Ponyville?” Fire Fight asked.

“It won’t be nearly as simple seeing as we’re now a party of six, but it’ll be dark well by the time we’re to board, so we should be fine. Just stay quiet and follow my lead.” Shadow Shroud explained.

“And if I were to find a foal that I can’t convince to come with by the time our train is to leave?” Air Slash inquired.

“Then we’ll simply wait for another opportunity……or, you know what? I wouldn’t be opposed to walking at that point.” Shroud answered.

“Really would just be easier, just sayin’.” Turf War said.

“Look, if something goes awry again, it’ll be our last train ride. Sound good?” Shroud said.

“Well, after we get back to the castle, we’d really just need to let a few of us go while the rest of settle on the homestead. Reckon that’d make things a little bit easier.” Kickback said.

“Yeah. We really are kinda taking a risk here. It’s not like we’re in any rush.” Spiral galaxy said.

“Maybe not, but we need to rescue every other foal that we can as soon as possible. And for them, that couldn’t come sooner, so….this is kinda necessary.” Fire Fight said.

Spiral sighed. “Well….alright. But like Kickback just said, we really shouldn’t ride altogether like this if we can help it.”

“I know……I’m a little nervous myself, but we should be okay.” Fire Fight said. They all bid each other goodnight, and went to bed.

Earlier in Baltimare…

News crews and police swarmed around a mass of corpses of strange animals that had been salvaged from the old subways beneath their city. The police tried to keep everypony back, but a few sneaky journalists managed to photograph the ‘reptilian gophers’, as they were called. More and more other ponies who wanted to see what all the commotion was about caught little glimpses of the monstrosities that had surfaced from the depths were understandably spooked, but none were nearly as shaken as the mare that happened upon them.

Film Noir was still in shock at her unexpected, and quite frankly terrifying discovery. She had just been acting out her role for a movie when she tripped over one of the grotesque corpses in the dark tunnel. As she was getting up, she found herself looking another one right in the eye. She screamed loud enough for her voice to echo across the entire abyss. When the rest of the filming crew came to see what was wrong, they were in no small part as rattled as she was at the sight of the massacred monsters. They immediately stopped filming, and reported their find to the authorities.

“Script……Wha…..What are those things!?” Film noir asked her producer.

“Really wish I could tell ya, Noir. There’re lots of things we’ve never seen before or studied before. Scientists are gonna have a field day and a half with these fellers.” Script answered. “And……so will my sanity…..probably.”

“What’s going on here!?” Trotting over quickly to the scene was Mary Land, Baltimare’s mayor. The crowd of authorities clearly alarmed her.

An officer walked up to here. “Mrs. Mayor, I’ll have to ask you stand clear from here. These…..things might not be totally dead.” He said.

“What ‘things’?” the mayor asked. The officer explained what Film Noir and her colleagues had discovered and reported to them. When he let her get a peek of one the creatures, she had to hold back a scream. “OH MY GOODNESS!! WHAT WERE THESE ABOMINATIONS DOING BELOW OUR CITY!?” she exclaimed.

Some local veterinarians, and scientists from the local biology museum passed by her. “That’s what we hope to find out, and furthermore, just what they are.” One of them said.

“Nothing like this in Equestria has been documented. I suggest we move them to the lab immediately.”

“Just some of them. There’s too many corpses to monitor at once, and some of them are pretty mangled.” One of them had pointed out that all of the creatures had sustained various kinds of wounds.

“What could have killed them off like this, and so quickly? There’s burn marks, lacerations, blunt trauma in multiple places, and……a bunch of really tiny puncture wounds that are pretty deep; they’ve got this….residue in them.” one of the veterinarian examiners observed.

“They were apparently living in the old subways underneath the sewers. There’s all kinds debris and stuff in there that could damage them like this if they weren’t careful. Maybe there’s even still some flammable oil? That would explain the burns.” A detective hypothesized.

Another examiner shook her head. “Not likely. They all sustained this damage recently, and at about the same time. Plus, the trauma is too severe to have been inflicted by merely tripping and falling. Something was clearly fighting them.”

“Even stranger is the fact that some of the blunt trauma is centered in burn marks…..as if whatever hit them burned them on impact.” The other examiner said.

“We’ll have to explore the subways. Burrowers like this typically have underground nests. Perhaps they have something to do with the recent wheat famine.” One of the biologists said.

“If only Professor Gene Splice in Fillydelphia hadn’t disappeared all those years ago. He was a brilliant stallion!” another biologist said.

“I don’t know….. I heard rumors that he was kinda nutty.” Another biologist commented.

Film Noir overheard that last comment about the burns, and perked up a little. It almost immediately made her think of Fire Fight. Surely it wasn’t him that fell all of those odd creatures…..right? Not all of them had burns marks, so……unless he wasn’t alone……….something told her that she should visit Ponyville sometime soon….

Back in Fillydelphia…..

Morning had broken over Fillydelphia. The salty breeze of the sea and the sounds of nature gently awoke the foals. Fire Fight made everypony some breakfast before they decided to move further back into the woods before sending Air Slash into the city; he removed his swords before departing. Shadow Shroud remained ready to sneak them onto the train should they find nothing.

“Stay frosty, mah boy!” Turf War said to Air Slash.

“As always, my comrade.” Air Slash replied before departing. The others bid him good luck as he disappeared into the forest beyond towards the city.

“I hope he has better luck than I did.” Shroud said.

“Yeah, if it turns out we missed a foal after we left, I’d be pretty sad.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Well, no reason why we couldn’t make another round when we got a chance.” Kickback said.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Spiral said.

“Let’s go harvest some more stuff for the trip. I know we got a lot, but you never know when we’ll into another situation where we can’t get any in a good amount of time.” Fire Fight said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Ah reckon that’s a mighty fine idea, but Ah think somepony should stay here and wait fer Air Slash in case he gets back soon.”

“Yeah, dat’s a good idea. I’ll do dat.” Turf War said.

“Ok, cool. Now we’ll have to make sure we don’t accidently take anything from the farm-” before Fire Fight could finish his sentence, they heard a bunch of rustling coming from the bushes nearby. They all looked in the direction of where it was coming from, and saw that something was moving in the bushes towards them! They braced themselves for a potential fight. What suddenly appeared was something none of them expected….

“BASKETBAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!”

A mass of pink that turned out to be a filly pounced into Fire Fight, knocking them to the ground. The pink filly got up almost immediately, and began jumping around like a maniac while loudly cackling as though she was high. Fire Fight got up not too much later than she did, but the crazed filly kept jumping all around him.

“WHAT THE!?” Fire Fight exclaimed just before the filly began jumping on him again.

“TOUCHDOOOWWWN!!” the crazy filly screamed as she knocked Fire Fight over again. She cackled again.

“H-Hey! What are you-” Spiral tried to speak, but the filly just popped up in front fast enough to make you think she might have just teleported. The filly was right in Spiral’s face, and eyed her with a manic smile on her face with her eyes wider than anypony knew possible. Spiral curled down in fear as the filly fixed her manic gaze onto her.

The filly began slowly inhaling, which made Spiral pretty nervous. What the filly eventually said confused her. “Sign my yearbook!” she whispered. Any fear the Spiral had was replaced with utter confusion.

With the filly standing still, the foals could finally get a good look at her. She was a rouge-pink Earth Pony with a blonde mane that was braided into long pigtails hanging to either of her knees. Her eyes were a butterscotch-yellow, and her Cutie Mark was…..a strand of DNA? Her behavior alone was odd enough already.

Kickback kept his cool as he tried to speak to her. “Somethin’ the matter, ma’am?” he asked.

She jumped up to him, and glared at him. “HEY! DON’T INTERRUPT ME WHILE I’M INTERRUPTING MYSELF! IT’S BAD ENOUGH THAT THOSE SQUIRRELS SAID I WASN’T GOOD AT CHECKERS!!” she angrily shouted.

Kickback just stared blankly at her while stammering for something to say. “Well, uh….Ah s-sure am sorry-” the filly went back to jumping all over Fire Fight before he could say anything.

Shadow Shroud tried to keep up with her, but even she couldn’t catch the erratic filly. The filly cackled with no trace of sanity as she jumped around and on the fiery colt as he tried to push her away. Eventually, he panicked and ended up punching her in the face, sending her tumbling away. The filly held her face and quietly sobbed on the ground, and Fire Fight began to very much regret his rash action as he felt the disapproving looks from his friends.

“Wow! Way to go, Fire Fight. You freaking hurt her!” Spiral said.

“That just ain’t how ya treat a filly, sheriff.” Kickback reprimanded.

“S-Sorry! I-I was freaking out.” Fire Fight said.

“Tell that to her!” Spiral said as she pointed to the filly.

Fire Fight walked up to her as she continued to cry on the ground. He must’ve hit her pretty hard. “H-Hey…. I’m really sorry….. I-I didn’t mean to hurt you. Are you okay?” he softly said to her.

The filly seemed to lighten her sobbing a little bit, but shot up and grabbed Fire Fight’s hoof…..as if she was thankful. “My first punch in the face! Oh, you shouldn’t have!!” she sobbed. Her tone was….legitimately grateful! Needless to say, the foals were caught way off guard. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for somepony to just…..to just show me such painful, brutal love, and…<sob>….and you made my wish come true! Oh, thank you! THANK YOU!!” she declared. The foals just didn’t know what to think. Even the ever calm and cool Kickback was at a loss. His mouth hung open in utter confusion. “Here! This is for you! And this, AND THIS, AND THIS TOO!!” The filly grabbed various objects from the forest such as a pile of leaves, sticks, and even a portion of a big log, much to their amazement, and slammed them onto Fire Fight. He managed to dodge the log however. “THEY’RE FOR YOU!! TAKE THEM AS TOKENS OF our friendship!” she sobbed in a joyful tone. Fire Fight was shaking in his gauntlets at just what a loose cannon this filly was. She made Pinkie Pie look sane! Where did she come from, and more importantly, what was she doing running loose without any supervision!?

“Dis b**** is crazy!” Turf War said.

The filly quickly glanced at Turf War with a furious glare, and popped up in front of him. “HEY! IT’S NOT JUST ‘CRAZY’! IT’S CRAZYLOCKS!! L-O-C-K-S, LOCKS!!! Jeez, get it right.” She exclaimed. Her last statement turned from angry, to just sassy. So her name was apparently ‘Crazylocks’.

Turf War quivered in fear. “Uhh….my bad.” He muttered.

Shadow Shroud cleared her throat. “Crazylocks, is it?” she asked.

Crazylocks whipped around, and looked at her with her manic smile, crossed eyes, and her head cocked. “Yes?” she replied.

“I…..see……..Well then. Umm……What are you doing out here?” Shroud asked.

Crazylocks maintained her stare onto Shadow Shroud for a couple moments before answering. “Well, I was going to dive to the bottom of the ocean again today to have coffee with the sea wolves, but the trees wanted me to help them find their missing ties, so I came out here, ‘cause this is where they lose them most often, and I suddenly ran into you guys!” she answered.

This filly was clearly completely delusional, and somewhat dangerous. “Ehh…….Y-Yes…….That sounds…….lovely. Do your parents know this?” Shroud asked.

Crazylocks suddenly pondered as though she actually had to think about that. “Hmm……What are parents again?” she asked.

All the foals just facehooved. She was clearly beyond any kind of help. “We…….should probably help her get home.” Fire Fight said.

“We prolly should!? Homie, she crazier than dat damn scientist we just busted! She need to be anywhere but out in the open!” Turf War said. They looked at her as she could be seen pivoting her body around one point in the ground where she stuck her nose, and made small, animal-like noises.

“Yeah. Let’s put our stuff up, and take her back into the city. Turf War, stay here and wait for Air Slash in case he comes back.” Fire Fight said. Turf War nodded.

Before they could, Crazylocks moved the log she had nearly slammed into Fire Fight back behind the bushes. Her horn was about as normal as any……..wait, when did she have a horn!? She suddenly had a unicorn horn protruding from her head! And she was using it as though she’d had it her whole life to magically move a big log behind a bush. “There! Much cleaner!” she sang. Her horn suddenly sank back into her forehead, and……presumably, she was an Earth Pony again.

“What in tarnation!?” Kickback exclaimed.

Air Slash suddenly appeared, and flew back towards them. “Forgive me, friends, but today seems to be a school day, so I can’t make a search without-” He suddenly noticed Crazylocks. “Who might this be?”

Crazylocks, much to their shock, sprouted wings this time! She ascended as expertly as though she’d had them her whole life, and came face to face with Air Slash. “Hi, pegasus! I’m also a pegasus! I’m Crazylocks!” she introduced.

Air Slash fumbled over his words out of shock at what he had just witnessed. That…..and he could feel her manic disposition. “But…….B-B-But you were an Earth Pony mere seconds ago!” he said.

“You mean like this?” Crazylocks asked. She descended, and landed softly on the ground. Her wings disappeared about quickly as her horn did, and sunk back into her shoulders.

“W-W-Wha…..What are you!?” Air Slash exclaimed. It was a question that all of the foals collectively shared about this paradoxical pony.

The Locks Unleashed

Crazylocks continued to exhibit the most random behaviors. She would sniff around as though she were a dog, bang her head on the various surfaces around her, have completely senseless conversations with inanimate objects, etc. She’d occasionally switch between pony tribes for almost no reason other than to either fly around, or…….make a hamster wheel out of nearby sticks and stones for her to walk in…..

All the while, the foals remained totally flabbergasted that such a freak of nature could exist. “Umm…..how are we supposed to get her home?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“I’m honestly concerned on whether or not she knows that she has one……assuming she does, of course.” Air Slash said.

“Well, she surely is conscious of her name, so she’s not completely cuckoo.” Kickback said.

“Yeah, but everything else is pretty much up in the air.” Fire Fight said.

“SO AM I!” Crazylocks sang as she floated above them. They eyed her as she went by.

“O…..kay…..Right! Well, umm….. Air Slash said that today was a school day, so we can’t go into town right now. Maybe we’ll wait roughly half an hour after school gets out, and then find her home.” Fire Fight suggested.

“That just might have to do, sheriff. Maybe if we all stay calm, she will too?” Kickback said.

“Yes, let’s not try to comprehend her. It…..wouldn’t exactly sit well with our own psyches. I don’t want to risk falling into the same kind of insanity that she has.” Shadow Shroud said.

“We’ll just have to get her home before our train leaves if we still want to take it.” Spiral said.

“Yeah. Prolly shouldn’t stay in the city too long anyway. Homegirl right d’here already a big center of attention. We’d kinda be riskin’ blowin’ our cover.” Turf War said.

“In that case, I’ll go alone. I excel at disappearing when needed.” Shroud said.

“No, Shroud. Crazylocks is pretty dangerous just to be around. I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving any of you guys alone with her.” Fire Fight said.

“She’s one tough bull to wrangle anyhow.” Kickback commented.

Shroud sighed as she conceded to the notion. “Yes…..She managed to outmaneuver me when I tried to get her off of Fire Fight. Quite the slippery little snake.”

Crazylocks suddenly appeared at her side. “Snake bake! Bake make! Make a Rake! Rake snakes! Bake snakes! Snakes rake for SNAKE BAKES!!” she ranted.

Shadow Shroud gently pushed her away in frustration. “Y-Yes, lovely, very poetic. I suppose we could simply lead her into the city. Somepony is sure to notice her, and get her home from there. Much less risk of us being discovered that way.”

“Y-Yeah…..that might be better. It’s kinda heartless of us, but getting caught is the one thing we can’t have.” Fire Fight said. “It’s school time, so she’s sure to be noticed-” he was cut off when they all could hear something digging right below them!

A mound of dirt suddenly swelled from the ground a few yards away from them. A hissing sound could be heard coming from it. What emerged was completely unexpected: it was one of the huge mole-lizard chimeras! It had a nasty burn all over one side of its face, and was very noticeably limping. Nevertheless it had locked its gaze onto Crazylocks!

“The f***!? I though we smoked all d’hese b******!!” Turf War exclaimed as he drew his hammer-axe.

Air Slash drew his swords as everypony else braced for a fight. “Looks like this one hadn’t properly received our message to stay down!” he said.

“Heh. Sorry about that, little guy! Let me be a little clearer with you!” Fire Fight sneered.

Before any of them could make a single move, Crazylocks leapt towards it with predatory force. “YOOOOOOUUUUUU!!!!!” she shrieked. She slammed into it with enough force to knock back into a rock that was behind it. It fell to ground as Crazylocks landed in front of it. Her expression was jarringly furious. “I ALREADY TOLD GRANDPA THAT I DIDN’T WANT ANY OF HIS CHOCOLATE PICKLE COOKIES!! THEY MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A RAGDOLL!! NOW BEAT IT, OR I’LL PUNISH YOU!!” she screamed. The foals were too befuddled by what just suddenly happened to do anything right away. The chimera got up, and hissed viciously at Crazylocks. She creased a wicked smile that would make Chrysalis look like a filly that simply dressed as her for Nightmare Night in a poorly made costume. “You asked for it.” She maniacally hissed. The chimera lunged at her, but she quickly leapt underneath it, and grabbed its tail. Much to the surprise of the foals, she managed to hold on to it with minimal effort, and violently flailed it around like a toy, cackling whilst doing so. She slammed it into the ground, on trees and rocks and stuff with surprising ease. The log she had lifted earlier could have been a fluke, but she was certainly stronger than she looked! The chimera grabbed a tree just as Crazylocks flailed him past it, and managed to hang on to it as she tried to pull him away. “Nrgh! NRGH!! IT’S TIME TO GET OUT OF THE POOL!!” With enough strength, the chimera managed to pull its tail out of Crazylocks grip. It crawled around the tree down to its roots, and hissed. Crazylocks leapt towards, and…….swung one of her pigtails at it….. The chimera managed to move its head out of the way of being brushed by a pigtail, but……much to the foals’ complete shock, her pigtail shattered right through the bark!

“Da f***!? Dat some strong-a** hair!” Turf War exclaimed.

“Wonder what kind of conditioner she uses?” Spiral commented.

“Ah reckon it ain’t a kind that makes her any less loopy!” Kickback said.

The tree hadn’t been broken through enough to make it unstable, so it didn’t start falling. The chimera lunged its head at her, and tried to clamp its gopher fangs onto her, but she jumped back just in time. The chimera then limply crawled up the tree. Crazylocks sprouted her horn. Just as she did, Shadow Shroud noticed that her hair seemed to relax; perhaps it only took on its wrecking ball-like property when she was an Earth Pony? Crazylocks levitated some nearby rocks, and hurled them at the chimera. “FINISH YOUR DINNER, YOUNG MAN!!” The rocks struck both the chimera and the tree. It fell to the ground behind the tree. The tree had been struck hard enough to completely break off this time, and fell onto the limp chimera, crushing it to death.

Crazylocks jumped up and down as happily as a filly who just earned her Cutie Mark. “Yippee! I win! I win!” she sang, and then went back to cackling and erratic behaviors.

The foals were completely stunned at this point. She just faced a biological horror, and dispatched of it like it was nothing! Shadow Shroud shared her observation of Crazylocks’ hair. “Seriously!? It’s specific to her being an Earth Pony? How does that make any sense?” Fire Fight asked.

“Son…..don’t nuttin’ ‘bout her make no damn sense.” Turf War said.

“I wonder if Gene Splice had anything to do with her. I remember him saying that he wanted to recapture some…..subject, or whatever. And she acted like she knew what that creature was…..even if she can’t comprehend a whole lot to begin with.” Spiral thought aloud.

“Ah reckon ya might be right, Ms. Spiral! He said ‘Subject CL’, if Ah recall. Crazy…Locks? CL? Ah know it’s a needle in a haystack but…” Kickback said.

“Hmm……” Shadow Shroud pondered for a brief moment before calling out to their crazy new acquaintance. “Crazylocks?”

Crazylocks immediately looked at her with the same crazy smile. “Yes?”

“Does the name, ‘Gene Splice’ mean anything to you?” Shroud calmly asked her.

For a moment, Crazylocks just stood there completely still, locked in her manic gaze. The, she began to twitch her head. Her eyes seemed to widen slowly as though she was either scared, or angry. “G-…..Gene…….Splice?” she muttered.

Shadow Shroud was suddenly beginning to regret her decision. “Uhh…..yes. I assume…….that I am correct?”

Crazylocks slowly became more erratic. “Gene…….Splice?...........Gene….Splice!?.......G-G-Gene S-S-Splice!?.................................................................”

“GEEEEEEEEEEEEENE SPLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Crazylocks flew into a berserk fury. To say that she was pissed off was like calling the Frozen North a snow globe. The foals never thought that such boundless rage and hatred could ever be possible. She pounced onto the half of the crushed chimera that was still sticking out from the fallen trunk, and began ravenously mauling it like an enraged grizzly bear. The foals nervously readied themselves in case she spontaneously decided to turn on them.

“Well……looks like we were right…..” Fire Fight muttered.

“Yo, homegirl! Calm yo’ a** down!” Turf War called out to her. The other glanced at him in frustrated fear. Crazylocks suddenly stopped mauling the chimera corpse, and eyed him with the same unbridled fury she had exerted onto it as she bore her teeth, and growled like a mad dog. “Uhh…….sorry I cursed?” he nervously said.

Crazylocks pounced towards him, and landed right in front of him. She swung one of her pigtails at him, and he blocked it. Turf War was stunned to have actually felt significant recoil from his shield; her hair really was as tough as demonstrated. Before she could swing her other pigtail, Turf War rammed her with his shield, knocking her away a goof few feet. She quickly got up, but Kickback managed to coil his whip around her fore legs.

“Simmer down now, Ms. Crazylocks.” He calmly said.

“NO!! I DISAGREE!!” Crazylocks shouted. She sprouted her wings, and shot into the air, taking Kickback with her as he held on for dear life.

“WHOOAAAA NELLY!” Kickback screamed. Crazylocks flew around wildly, taking Kickback for quite the ride. He didn’t want to fire his guns for the risk of hitting her, and drawing attention from the city itself.

“Hang on, Kickback!” Spiral called out. She focused her magic, and created a gravity field within Crazylocks’ erratic flight pattern. Crazylocks couldn’t resist the downward force exerted onto her, and fell to the ground. She and Kickback hit the dirt with a thud. Spiral minimized the area of her gravity field so that it was only around Crazylocks. She walked over to her. “Calm down.” She said.

Crazylocks struggled against the intense gravity. “Nrgh! No! HE WON’T TAKE ME BACK!” she shouted.

Spiral gently laid her hoof on her. “He won’t. He’s gone now. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.” She consoled. She gently stroked the frenzied filly as she kept reassuring her that Gene Splice was no longer a threat.

It took a little while, but Crazylocks’ fury finally subsided. She broke down in a mix of frustration, fear, and sadness. She occasionally laughed as if something was funny, but it was clear that she did indeed have a history with the late mad scientist……and it wasn’t a happy one. “Let us make a point of never mentioning that name again.” Air Slash said.

Shadow Shroud glared at Turf War. “Or so brashly provoke her further.” She growled.

“M-My bad…” Turf War mumbled.

Spiral walked up to Kickback, who was still dusting himself off. “You okay, Kickback?”

Kickback just calmly smiled, and tipped his hat. “Surely, Ms. Spiral. Ah thank ya. Can’t say Ah’ve ever had to wrangle a bull that could fly though!” he said. Spiral giggled.

Fire Fight gazed at Crazylocks in pity. What kind of relationship did she have with Gene Splice? How long had she been with him? What all did he do to her, or try to do to her? Where were her parents? Did she even have any? Was she just another chimera born of Gene Splice’s insanity? Nevertheless, she was a pony capable of feelings and emotions like they were, even if they were entirely random. This whole notion made Fire Fight draw to one conclusion. “She’s coming with us.”

The other foals just gawked at him as though he were as crazy as the epitome of insanity that was right beside them. “You…….You’re kidding!?” Turf War stammered.

“Look at her! If other ponies find out what she is, imagine what they might try and do to her! If it wasn’t for us, she’d be way better off living in the forest where she’s not a danger to them. But now that we’re here, we can help her not be such a danger to herself.” Fire Fight stated.

“But we have no idea if she’s actually been missing for a certain amount of time! What if she has parents that love her, and are worried sick about her?” Spiral argued.

“Hmm….somehow, I don’t see that being possible.” Shadow Shroud said. “When I made my rounds the previous night, I saw no such indication that anypony was actively looking for a lost filly. It’s totally possible that Crazylocks has no affiliation with Fillydelphia whatsoever.”

“Well, neither do we, and we’re here.” Air Slash argued.

“Yes, but for a purpose. Crazylocks is just wandering aimlessly. The fact that Gene Splice’s lab is so close to Fillydelphia would make you wonder if he kidnapped her, which he very easily could have, but again, I saw no such sign.” Shadow Shroud rebutted.

“Ah reckon we really oughta just let her into our herd, y’all. Ah can’t imagine what kinda torture G- uh…. ‘You know who’ put her through. Ah’d feel more at ease if she was with us, where she’d be sure to have friends.” Kickback said.

“That’s very gentlemanly of you, Kickback, but…..What’re we supposed to do with her? She’s so unpredictable.” Spiral inquired.

“Treat her with absolute care, that’s what. She’s a foal who’s more lost than any of us have ever been, and we have to help her. It certainly won’t be an overnight recovery, but it’d be way better than forcing a recovery.” Fire Fight said.

“Indeed. Plus…..I really don’t want to have to…..repeat prior events considering just how dangerous she is.” Shadow Shroud said with considerable sorrow in her voice.

The others gasped upon hearing that. They could tell that Shadow Shroud wanted nothing to do with ending another foals life should it ever come to that, but her sworn duty as a Shadewalker knew no such sympathy, and they all, especially Shadow Shroud herself didn’t want any more unwarranted heartache.

“W-Well…..O-O-Okay, Shroud. But still, what does ‘treat her with absolute care’ mean?” Spiral asked.

“It means that we treat her delicately, be patient with her, and most importantly, show her that we’re her friends who want to help her, not some scientists who want to fix her. She’s had enough of that already.” Fire Fight answered. While still hesitant, the foals eventually agreed to his words. Crazylocks was a lost cause, and therefore, their responsibility. She was just a little more lost than they might’ve bargained for.

Shadow Shroud walked up to Crazylocks. “Crazylocks?”

Crazylocks sobered up as though she was never crying to begin with, and looked at Shroud. “Yes?”

“Would you like to come with us?” Shroud asked. Her tone was soft, and her speech was slow.

Crazylocks began slowly inhaling. She did this for a moment before answering. “OK!!!!!” she shouted. With the deal sealed, and Shadow Shroud wishing she had earplugs, the foals welcomed their newest friend into their entourage.

Center of Gravity

The foals waited patiently……very patiently for night to fall. Watching Crazylocks made things difficult with her virtually unhinged nature. A little anxiety rose as they wondered how they’d quietly sneak her onto the train. Shadow Shroud said that she might have an idea, but it remained to be seen. 8:30 could not have come sooner, because Crazylocks gave them a pretty long day. They even had to stop her from eating an empty turtle shell….whole, and it somehow ended with Air Slash being given a life lesson about the dangers of drinking overcooked flamingo eggs…….

Anyways, they had to gag Crazylocks so that she made minimal amounts of noise. Their train arrived at the station right on schedule. With the crowd of ponies waiting to board it at the dock at a minimal size, it was definitely going to leave on time as well. “Alright, Shroud, what’s your idea to get Crazylocks to go quietly?” Fire Fight whispered.

Shadow Shroud sighed. “You’ll have to forgive me…” she muttered. She crept over to their new friend, who seemed surprisingly ok with being gagged; she chewed on her gag as though it were gum. Shroud raised her hoof, and chopped the back of her neck, conking her out.

The others were a little shocked. “Fo’ real!?” Turf War whispered.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine. She’s far more controllable like this anyway, and since this will likely be our last ride on a train, I don’t see myself having to do this again. Plus, I’m fairly certain that her brain can’t be damaged any further than it already has…” Shroud said.

“So much for absolute care, huh?” Spiral Galaxy sassed.

“Can’t say Ah could think of another idea.” Kickback muttered.

They were on the other side of the train where they couldn’t be seen. Sneaking through the back of the caboose was possible, but there was too great a possibility of them being noticed this time for it to be the first option. Spiral Galaxy then noticed that there was a ladder leading up to the top of the caboose that was presumably for maintenance workers, and got an idea.

“You know what…… If we wait on top of the caboose, I should be able to keep us from flying off with my gravity magic. That way, we can safely climb down to caboose’s balcony when we get far enough away to where we won’t be seen.” Spiral said.

Shadow Shroud looked at her with some worry. “Are you sure you’d be able to control it? We won’t have a roof over our heads.”

Spiral held her head high. “Yeah. I think I’ve gotten my fair share of practice ever since I joined you guys. I think all that meditation I’ve done with you has really helped! Besides, little gravity fields are actually pretty easy……well, at least relative to everything else.” She answered.

“O-Ok…..Air Slash, you’ll have to carry Crazylocks up there while the rest of us climb that ladder.” Shroud said.

“Understood.” Air Slash affirmed.

“Ok, guys. Follow my lead.” Shroud said. She led them quietly through the moonlit grass towards their target. Turf War hauled Crazylocks on his back so that Air Slash could easily lift her up from there. Ponies were too busy exiting and boarding to notice the foals. Once they reached the ladder, they ascended it one by one. Fire Fight magically levitated his gauntlets so that they wouldn’t clang against the metal ladder, and Air Slash quietly hovered upwards with Crazylocks in his arms. Once they were safely atop the caboose, they laid flat on its roof just behind its ventilation ducts; the ducts themselves were unfortunately too small for the foals to fit through, so they had to settle for Spiral’s plan. There was no light other than the light of the moon shining on their location, so they were in minimal danger of being spotted. Air Slash handed Crazylocks off to the much stronger Turf War, who could keep her held down against the wind much more easily. Not even a moment sooner, the train whistled, and embarked. The whistle briefly woke up Crazylocks, but before she could make any noise, Shroud knocked her out again.

As soon as the wind picked up, Spiral summoned her power, and generated a gravity field. It pressed down hard on the foals, but it was just enough that they didn’t have to try very hard to hang on; even Kickback’s hat stayed put even though he held it down anyway. As soon as they were at a desirable distance, Shadow Shroud crawled her way to the balcony of the caboose. She managed to safely crawl down to the balcony. After peering through the door window to see that it was once again a storage car, she used her kunai to create footings for the others to use to safely climb down. She ascended briefly to inform them of this, and they followed suit. Turf War lowered Crazylocks halfway down to Shadow Shroud where she retrieved her, and laid her onto the balcony. Spiral was the last to climb down since she was casting the gravity field; she lowered it so that she could focus on stepping down, but before she could begin her descent, she noticed that the gravity she created was intense enough to put dents in the caboose’s metallic roof. “W-Whoopsy Daisy….” She muttered.

With her gravity no longer there to hold her, Spiral had to carefully climb down Shroud’s kunai. Turf War raised his hammer-axe for her to grab onto so that he could simply lower her himself, but just as she reached for it, a gust of wind suddenly caught her, and made her slip off of the ladder, and she fell back away from the balcony with the wind!

“MS. SPIRAL!!” Kickback shouted. He quickly lashed his whip out, and it thankfully coiled tightly around her torso, but the wind was too strong to just pull her in by himself.

“GUUUUUUUUUYYYYYSSS!!!!” Spiral screamed. She was understandably terrified as she was dragged through the air at high speeds, and her horn subsequently began lighting! “OH NO! OH NO, NOT NOW!!” The swell of power was effective almost immediately as it began pulling dirt and gravel into her frenzied orbit.

“DON’T WORRY! WE GOT YOU!!” Fire Fight shouted. He grabbed onto Kickback’s whip, and began pulling. Shadow Shroud followed suit mere milliseconds later. Turf War grabbed Kickback from behind, and began pulling him back so that they wouldn’t go flying. Air Slash flew out towards Spiral, but stopped midway so that could start pulling the whip from further away. At this point, parts of the track were now being torn from the ground, and into Spiral’s orbit! She was doing a good job of slowing the progression of its intensity.

Air Slash managed to grab Spiral as She got close enough. “Gotcha!” he said. He pulled her back all the way as they all successfully rescued her, and lowered her back to the balcony. She managed to calm herself down, and make her storm subside with plenty of deep breathes.

Shadow Shroud immediately hugged her as she laid down on the balcony, and comforted her. “You okay?” she asked.

Spiral was still pretty shaken. Her power could still be felt radiating off of her as she took deep breathes. Kickback stepped in. “Ms. Spiral, it’s alright now. Yer safe an’ sound, and all’s well.” He very calmly consoled. Upon hearing him, Spiral calmed down considerably, and eventually powered down completely. Kickback could tell she was out of breath from the terrifying situation she was just in. “Ah suggest we get her inside.”

“Agreed.” Shroud said. Just before she could open the door, Crazylocks suddenly woke up.

“THAT LOOKED FUN! MY TURN!!” she said. She tried to leap out, but Shroud knocked her out once more.

Turf War sighed. “I ain’t mad at you no mo’ fo’ doin’ dat.” He commented.

“And I no longer feel quite so guilty. Now, shall we?” Shroud said. She picked the lock to the door, and let herself and her comrades in. Once inside, they quietly shifted the luggage around to make a suitable little spot to rest. After a few moments, Spiral calmed down completely.

“<pant><pant>……Oh my gosh, guys…..Thank you so much!” Spiral said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Yer surely welcome, Ms. Spiral. Ah hope mah whip didn’t bite ya.”

“No…..No, Kickback, it didn’t…….<sigh>……..I thought I had it.” Spiral mumbled.

“What do you mean?” Air Slash inquired.

“I was stupid enough to think that I could control my magic so easily under all that pressure…...<sigh>…..Guess I still have a long ways to go.” Spiral said.

“But you did, Spiral. That gravity field made a huge difference, and you controlled it really well. That’s progress if I’ve ever seen it.” Fire Fight said.

Spiral sighed. “Yeah, but I freaked out when I fell off, and….”

“It’s ok, Spiral. Even that storm was under better control than the last. You may have a ways to go, but you’re very much making an effort to get there, so don’t lose sight.” Shroud consoled.

“Yeah, and Shroud and I will still meditate with you. All you’ve ever wanted were friends, right? Well, that’s us, and we’ll support you ‘til the end.” Fire Fight added.

Hearing their reassurance brought Spiral much comfort. She slowly regained a smile as she lifted her head again. “Thanks, guys.” She said. “No more train rides though, ok? I think they’re gonna be more hassle than they’re worth.” They all agreed with her.

They were all ready to take a little rest when the PA suddenly came on. “Attention passengers, just a quick reminder that the dining car will have to close an hour early due to minor maintenance issues. We thank you for understanding as we continue our approach to Canterlot. Goodnight!”

The foals were flustered as they heard the…..somewhat alarming news. “Canterlot!? I thought this train was supposed to go to Ponyville!” Air Slash said.

“Ah reckon it might go through Canterlot with Ponyville being its next stop?” Kickback theorized.

“No. Ponyville is closer to Fillydelphia than Canterlot. Plus, it’s on a mountain while Ponyville is on a flat plain! There’d be no reason for that! But……I-I-I don’t understand! I read the schedule, and-……wait…..no! Was I so foolish as to misread it!?” Shroud said. She couldn’t believe herself!

“Yo! Look at it like dis, a’ight? Canterlot’s prolly the toughest place we gonna look since it got all d’em guards and rich ponies an’ s***- er, stuff. If we find lost foals chillin’ d’here, dat mean we don’t gotta go back d’here no mo’. So really, dis kinda work out d’ho! Ya know what I’m sayin’?” Turf War said.

“Yeah…..good point, Turf War. I was honestly thinking about heading there next anyway. We’ll just have to be really careful to keep a low profile there. The Royal Sisters live there, and if they catch us, this whole mission is done.” Fire Fight said. They all agreed. Fire Fight held out his hoof. “Put ‘em in, guys.” They all fist bumped, and ‘Yeah’ed. Crazylocks then suddenly woke up, and put her muzzle in the bump instead.

The other foals looked over at her in surprise. She just kept her head the quietly for a moment as her eyes moved around individually, and then pulled back. “I will make nose bumps a thing if it’s the last thing I do!” she aggressively whispered.

Seeing as she might not be a big problem, and Shroud could confirm that the car in front of them was unoccupied, the foals decided to take turns keeping watch for the night as they awaited arrival at their unexpected destination.

Memories

A train arrived in the midafternoon at Ponyville Station out of Baltimare. Amongst its many arrivals was Film Noir; she had come alone on short leave to see the Princess of Friendship. Being back in Ponyville brought back some tough memories for the rising actress. These memories masked the happy atmosphere of the town. She remembered the day that she and the rest of the crew had arrived here. Twilight herself personally greeted them at the……kindly gesture of a welcome party that was forced onto them by a very eccentric party pony. Action Shot was holding back frustration from how ‘overdone’ everything was, and left as early as the pink mare would let him with the excuse of wanting to get his stage makeup done early. They were a little behind schedule with filming so, they all had to leave early anyway. The next few days were pretty much nothing but tough filming. It was about a week after they’d arrived that they had their little encounter with Fire Fight.

Once Film Noir returned from escorting him out of the forest, she and Action Shot had a major argument. Script had to calm things down before giving Action Shot a very strict warning, which Action Shot didn’t take to well. It was anypony’s guess of when and how he contacted his thugs; he apparently never revealed that when questioned by police. The following morning, everypony grew concerned when Action Shot was suddenly nowhere to be found. They looked all around the part of the forest that they were shooting in, but there seemed to be no trace of him. Growing worried, they decided to enlist Twilight’s help to look for him. On the way to her castle however, they noticed that a lot of adult ponies were trotting towards the school. A commotion could be heard in that direction, and that caused Film Noir to remember Action Shot’s words to Fire Fight yesterday. She rushed over there in worry.

Her fears were pretty much sitting right in front of her when she finally arrived. Seeing her colleague in a singed heap along with six other stallions that she didn’t recognize at all, and the center of attention being a distressed Fire Fight certainly didn’t help. The rest of the day barely warrants repetition; it was awful. His mother was flustered beyond words, and Spoiled Rich couldn’t have cared less about the heartache that she’d wrought; she didn’t even attend the seminar that Twilight had held the following night. The straw that broke the camel’s back was certainly the letter left on Fire Fight’s bed. Ms. Fight broke down into a flood of tears, and a cacophony of sobbing, and Film Noir did her best to comfort her while holding back her own tears. It was the following morning when the news rang out that the dividing wedge between Ponyville’s foals and adults had been driven. Script commented that he could produce a pretty good drama based off of these events. Action Shot and his lackeys were arrested for endangering the foals, but that did little to ease the tension.

As Film Noir trotted through the streets, she could tell that a little bit of the tension was still there, but it had seemed to loosen up quite a bit. It was strange. Perhaps they’d come to terms with what they’d done? Perhaps……did they find Fire Fight? It was a little much to ask, but she would get her answer when she went to see the good princess. She also decided to pay a quick visit to Ms. Fight afterwards just to check on her.

She had at last arrived at the castle. Its grandeur seemed immune to any tension that might have surrounded Ponyville’s atmosphere. Without hesitation, she approached the guards at the front door. “Good day, sirs. I’ve come to see Princess Twilight.” She said.

“What for?” one of them asked.

“Wait……aren’t you that actress from before? The one who tried to help that colt who ran away?” the other inquired.

She nodded. “Yes. My name’s Film Noir. I wanted to talk to her about something that may or may not pertain to said colt. By the way, his name’s Fire Fight.” She explained.

“Oh yeah! Now I remember!” The guard held the door open. “Head on in. She should be in her throne room.”

“Thank you!” Film Noir said as she walked in. Now to find the throne room……..which was…….down…….one of these labyrinths of hallways. Just before she could call out to somepony, she heard a small voice from the upper floor.

“Hey, can I help you?” she looked up. It was Twilight’s assistant. What was his name again? Spi-…….Spiney…….Spyro……..whatever his name was, he was on an upper balcony to the right. His eyes widen as he recognized her. “Hey! You’re that ‘Film Noir’ lady! What brings you back here to Ponyville?” he asked.

“Oh, hello! Could you please take me to Princess Twilight? I have something to discuss with her that might involve Fire Fight…..I’m not sure though. I would’ve just written, but I kinda wanted to explain it to her in person.” Film Noir explained.

The little dragon perked up. “Sure! Let me get down to you, and I’ll take you to her.”

He led Film Noir to the throne room where much to her surprise, Princess Twilight was accompanied by none other than Ms. Fight! They noticed her come in, and were equally surprised. “Ms. Film Noir!” Ms. Fight said.

“Hey! What a surprise! I was planning on seeing you after I was done here. Am I interrupting anything? Did……you find Fire Fight per chance?” Film Noir said.

“No….not yet.” Twilight sighed. “But we’ve been following him wherever he seems to go.” Twilight explained the whole series that started with Rarity encountering a strange filly that they might’ve been hiding Fire Fight aboard a train to Detrot, how they’re looking out for runaway foals since he was apparently taking them with him for some reason, and Cheerilee’s resolve to look for him along with the rest of the class.

Film Noir was thoroughly impressed. “You don’t say! No wonder it felt so less tense around here.”

“Oh, I know. It’s been just wonderful for all of them to come together like this for me. I just hope that…….he’s ok…..” Ms. Fight muttered.

Twilight put her hoof on her shoulder. “I’m sure he is. From the looks of it, he’s fought off a lot of things that were bigger than him. He is a tough little colt.” She said. She turned to Film Noir. “So what did you want to see me about?”

“It’s actually about Fire Fight. It’s nothing more than a near baseless hunch, but I think he might have been in Baltimare recently.” Film Noir explained.

“HE WAS!? DID ANYPONY SEE HIM!? WHAT WAS HE DOING!? WAS HE OKAY!? WAS-” Ms. Fight could barely contain herself upon hearing that, and Twilight had to calm her down.

“Settle down, settle down.” Twilight said to Ms. Fight. “What made you think this?” she asked Film Noir. Film Noir explained the incident in which she happened upon a series of dead monsters that had never been seen before, and the strange nature of how they had been killed- namely the ones that’d been killed with traumatic force followed with burns. Twilight could see where she was going with this, but the mention of monsters alone alarmed her, especially if even seasoned scientists were unable to identify them. “Oh dear! That must’ve been awful!”

“I thought it was my producer trying to prank me at first, but he freaked out as much as I did. There I was acting for an urban drama that quickly turned into a horror flick.” Film Noir said.

“Maybe we shouldn’t take the class out there. If any of those odd monsters are still lurking about, I wouldn’t want to put them in any danger.” Ms. Fight stated.

“I agree, Ms. Fight. I’ll go out there with my friend, Fluttershy. Nopony in Equestria knows animals quite like her. She might be able to shed some light. If you get a lead on Fire Fight while I’m gone, go on without me, ok?” Twilight said.

Ms. Fight nodded. “Ok.”

Somepony knocked on the door just then. “Twilight?” Cheerilee’s voice was immediately recognized.

“Ms. Cheerilee? Come in.” Twilight said.

Cheerilee entered as soon as she was allowed. “Hi, Twilight. I just let school out, so if we have another lead, we’re all ready-” Cheerilee stopped speaking as soon as she noticed the unexpected guest. Her expression almost immediately deteriorated. “Oh!......Ms…….Ms. Film Noir……Um…..H-Hello! What…..are you doing here?” she stammered.

Film Noir smiled, and walked up to her. “Ms. Cheerilee, Princess Twilight just told me about the huge effort your making to make up for your actions. I’m very happy to hear that.” She said softly.

Cheerilee perked up a little upon hearing that. “Did she? Oh…….I still haven’t told you just how sorry I am….” She said.

“I’ve already forgiven you.” Film Noir said.

Cheerilee regained her mood upon hearing that. “Thank you…” she said. “What are doing here anyway?” Film Noir explained what she had already explained to Twilight. Cheerilee was equal parts confused and jarred at the whole ordeal. “Goodness me! Well we definitely won’t be taking our foals out there. Please be safe, Twilight!” Cheerilee said.

Twilight nodded. “I will. I should probably go get Fluttershy, and book us a train ride to Baltimare.”

“Don’t bother. I’m heading back there to shoot more of our movie. I’ll just buy the two of you extra tickets.” Film Noir said. Twilight graciously accepted the offer.

“What about me?” Spike asked.

“Oh! I’d almost forgotten about you, sweetie. I’ll buy you one too.” Film Noir said.

All but Spike cheerfully walked out the door. He sulked for a moment. “Nopony loves me…”

When they exited the castle, a good number of Cheerilee’s class were waiting for them. “Oh, sorry. I guess they must’ve been excited.” Cheerilee said.

The foals suddenly noticed Film Noir. “Hey, it’s that nice actress!” Button Mash said. They all went up to her. “What are you doing here?” Button asked.

Silver Spoon suddenly gasped. “Did you find Fire Fight!?”

Film Noir giggled. “No, sweetie. I’m sorry. I just……wanted to come and see how everypony was doing.” She said. She didn’t want to let on the notion of Baltimare so as not to invoke a desire to go there in them.

“Oh…” Silver sighed.

“Well everything’s been a whole lot better! We’ve been going around Equestria looking for Fire Fight! I mean….we still haven’t found him yet but…” Scootaloo said.

“I know! Your teacher told me all about it! You’ll have to let me know when you find him so I can come see him! But you know what, I’ll be traveling a lot for my acting, so maybe I’ll find him! I’ll bring him right back here if I do, ok?” Film Noir said.

The foals cheered at that prospect. Though they were a bit disappointed that they weren’t going anywhere right now, they were thrilled to have an ally in the hunt for their friend. “Ms. Film Noir? As long you’re still here, do you think we could practice acting together again? I had a lot of fun the last time!” Sweetie Belle said.

Film Noir giggled. “I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, but I’ve got a train to catch here. I had fun too though! Just remember what I told you, and I know you’ll be a star someday!” she encouraged. Sweetie Belle happily hugged her hoof. Film Noir leaned down, and gently kissed her forehead just under her horn. The foals all dispersed to enjoy the rest of the day. Film Noir smiled as she watched them run along. “Aren’t foals just wonderful?”

Cheerilee nodded. “They truly are…”

Meanwhile…At Fluttershy’s cottage…

Fluttershy was making her usual rounds as she fed and cared for her animals. Chirping birds, squeaking chipmunks, leaves swaying in the light breeze, and any other sound of nature imaginable within the forest she lived in sang a chorus around the docile mare. All of her animals happily gathered around to receive her loving care. She laid out their food, and gave them an adequate amount of water as per usual. “Okay, everyone! Lunch is ready. Eat good now, okay?” she said.

Once she was done, she noticed that she had lots of leftover wheat-feed. “Oh dear. I hope I didn’t buy too much.” She said. She noticed that there was a bucket right beside the chicken coops that were close to the edge of the Everfree forest, and decided to store it in there.

Just as she put the wheat-feed in the bucket, she quickly noticed that a couple of her chickens were quarreling over something. “Ugh! What is now, you two?” she said as she flew over there, leaving the bucket where it was.

A few moments passed with her settling the feather-ruffling disagreement when a loud, low growl suddenly resounded from the forest. When she quickly turned around to see what it was, a huge timberwolf came walking out of the forest! All of the animals quickly took shelter at first sight of the beast, but Fluttershy was paralyzed with fear. Timberwolves never came around her cottage! They always stayed in the forest beyond. Not only that, but…….it was alone? Timberwolves hunt in packs, so…..where were the others? Fluttershy calmed herself down, and readied her fabled Stare should the situation take a turn for the worst, but the timberwolf seemed to pay her no mind as it approached the bucket of wheat. It inspected the bucket for moment, eyeing and sniffing it before deciding that it wanted it. Now it wanted to eat wheat? What was going on here? Just as it was about to reach down and pick up the bucket, it finally noticed Fluttershy.

The two locked eyes. Its ominous green eyes stared at her with…..an odd expression that was anything but predatory. It was almost as if the beast was…………she didn’t know. It was so odd. She normally could understand the feelings of animals perfectly, but this one timberwolf confused her. Before she could wonder anymore, it broke its gaze onto her, picked the bucket up into its jaws, and leapt back into the forest as though nothing had happened, leaving Fluttershy to ponder deeply over this odd encounter.

Echoes in the Dark

All was quiet in the caboose. The foals had barely moved at all since they boarded. Storing their gear around the small space they’d made proved to be a little difficult; Spiral Galaxy didn’t even bother taking off her armor. Shadow Shroud hadn’t gone to the dining car to purchase food for the risk of the barista being as paranoid as the last, and she didn’t plan to; the foals had to snack on the wheat jerky that she’d purchased prior along with other little things. What did concern her was where they would jump off. She carefully studied her map, trying to determine a suitable location. However, the map was of all of Equestria, so it wasn’t very detailed when it came to the finer points of a locations geography. She’d remembered her mother telling her of a forgotten cavern of crystals hidden deep beneath the city where their order took its first steps, but she never told her how to access it. Even if they did, could they still access the surface from it?

“Everything alright?” Shroud looked up to see Air Slash. “I assume that you don’t quite have a plan seeing as this detour was unintended, yes?” he asked.

“I actually may…..but much of it is more or less impromptu. Do you know of the hidden crystal catacombs beneath Canterlot?” Shroud replied.

“Is that not where Princess Cadence was held prisoner by the Changelings on the day of her wedding?” Air Slash inquired.

Shroud nodded. “It is. It’d be a more than suitable base of operations for our search of the city, but I unfortunately have no way of knowing how to enter it, its layout, or if it even connects to the surface in any way. It might be our only shot, but I’m a bit weary.”

“You’re far too clever not to figure out a way to infiltrate even such a place as that. Even if we have to rely on Crazylocks spontaneously sniffing it out, we’ll find it eventually. You need not worry too much.” Air Slash said. He then chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be a twist if we encountered Crazylocks’ family by some prank of Fate?”

Shroud giggled. “That would be quite the inconvenience.” She sneered. “Though still…..her exact origins are still a mystery, and she’s not totally capable of telling us directly.”

“Yes. Perhaps if we study her behaviors carefully, we’ll begin to see a pattern, a pattern that would tell us something about her.” Air Slash suggested.

“That wouldn’t be impossible, but certainly difficult considering just how random she is by nature.” Shroud said.

“Indeed.” Air Slash muttered. It was a long rest of the way, but the foals finally began approaching the mountain that cradled Equestria’s capital city. With some difficulty pulling Crazylocks away from a suitcase that she thought was a painting of a cat and a dog having a tea party, they exited through the back door, and onto the balcony. The afternoon sun bathed them in golden light that briefly threatened to blind them, but quickly dissipated as their eyes adjusted. It then disappeared just as quickly when they entered a tunnel that had been dug into the mountain. The series of tunnel lights proved to be a little disorienting, so the foals decided to wait until they exited the tunnel to look for a place to jump, which kinda took a while; they were beginning to fear that they’d come out right at the station. That fear was alleviated when they came out to a relatively lush plateau.

“Ok, let’s jump here before we go into another tunnel!” Fire Fight said.

They all agreed, but just as they grabbed their gear and readied themselves, Crazylocks intervened. “DIVE, DIVE, DIVE!!” She shouted as she forcefully shoved herself and everypony off of the balcony, and into the grassy plateau below. The foals hit the ground with a considerable thud, and tumbled through the grass. The train had just then entered a tunnel.

The foals all staggered to their hooves, and brushed any dirt that might have gotten onto them. They all glared at Crazylocks. “Really, b****!? Really!?” Turf War said angrily.

Crazylocks just innocently smiled with her eyes spread apart. “One plus one equals one on a bun!” she sang.

Her senseless words just left the ghetto colt stuttering for words, but he just facehooved. “Dis gonna be dat b*******…” he mumbled to himself.

“Ugh….Well, Crazylocks nearly killing us aside, we need to find a way into the crystal caves that I mentioned.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Ah reckon if we were gonna do that, then we shoulda started at the bottom of the mountain.” Kickback said. He began walking towards the others. “We’ll certainly look around here some, but we really should search down the-” His fore legs suddenly fell into hole hidden beneath the grass. “WHOA NELLY!” The others had to pull him out. They peered down the whole to see a vast assortment of crystals of red and purple hues. “Well, shucks……that uh……that was awful easy….” Kickback said.

“Down we go, I guess.” Spiral said.

With that, Air Slash hovered downwards into the hole to find a place for the others to safely step onto. The dazzling array of glistening crystals was his only source of light as he carefully scanned his cavernous surroundings. The best thing he could find was a walkway-like plateau about thirty feet away. He’d have to carry each of his comrades one by one over there, though perhaps he could convince Crazylocks to help him. He reemerged, and relayed this information to them. When he asked Crazylocks for her help, she sprouted her wings, and gave him a heartfelt response. “I’ll be your guardian angel in a dark pit of hell!” she innocently sang.

The others widened their eyes in shallow horror. “I don’t feel very blessed.” Fire Fight muttered.

Nevertheless, the pegasi……er….pegasus and trimorphic pony who had a form that allowed her fly carried the other foals one by one to the little plateau. Turf War went last since he’d be the heaviest, and would require both flying ponies to lift him. As they did, Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy used their magic to lift Turf War as he and his heavy gear were carried, making Air Slash and Crazylocks’ job a little easier. Once they were all safely underground and on stable footing, they could finally begin spelunking towards their destination.

Fire Fight just so happened to look down into the endless abyss below them. He quivered a little, but regained his composure for his team. “Be really careful, guys. I don’t about you, but I’m not the biggest fan of falling to my death.” He said.

“Me neither. Let us tread lightly. I’d suggest we have Air Slash and Crazylocks scout around. We obviously need to explore upwards towards the city, so we need look for any ascending routes.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Let Crazylocks and I guide you to better ground. This little walkway is narrow, and I worry that you’ll slip.” Air Slash said.

“Don’t worry though! When you’re screaming and flailing, I’ll swoop down and scream and flail with you! It’ll be a falling party! I’ll be sure to bring popcorn.” Crazylocks said.

The others just eyed her with both annoyance, and worry. “Note to self: don’t fall.” Spiral commented.

With some minor difficulty, the non-flyers shimmied carefully along the walkway that they’d been brought to with the flyers making sure that they didn’t slip. Eventually, they came to a much larger plateau that was more than big enough to hold all seven of them. They all convened onto it to look around. The plateau itself stretched out towards a huge open void in the cave. Some crystals could be seen sparkling in the darkness beyond, but it was gaping maw of pitch-black otherwise.

“This…..could take a while….” Shadow Shroud said.

“You said that the Shadewalkers used to live here, right? Maybe they left markers, or…..something that helped them navigate around here.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud shook her head. “No. Once we leave a place, we leave no trace of our presence. In a sense, we completely vanish…..as if we were never there.” She explained.

“D’hen how da hell we s’posed to figure out where we gotta go?” Turf War said.

Crazylocks cackled a little bit. The others looked at her. “Oh, don’t you guys worry at all! I got this.” She said casually. She walked up to the tip of the plateau. She began slowly inhaling. After a moment, she let loose.

“ECHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The others covered their ears as she bellowed her lungs out. Her echo rang out for a good few minutes before slowing petering out. During that time, Crazylocks seemed to listen intently to it. When it quieted, she turned to her comrades, and pointed out to the right of the plateau. “This way!” she said. She hovered out towards the direction that she pointed while the others just either facehooved, or gave frazzled expressions.

“Crazylocks, get back here!” Fire Fight called out, but she paid him no heed. “Ugh…..Air Slash, go get her, would you?”

The young samurai rolled his eyes as he begrudgingly had to fly out there. When he finally reached her, he was surprised to see her waving at him while hovering next to an uphill pathway with a series of platforms that were close enough to one another to jump to. “Well I’ll be….” He thought to himself.

“C’mon, Hair Flash! Let’s get the others over here!” Crazylocks called out.

Air Slash scowled at her. “I am called ‘Air Slash’, you mutant maniac!.......and…..yes…..let us.” He said. They returned to the rest of the foals where Air Slash relayed the surprising turn of events.

“You serious, son? How da hell…..Dang! Homegirl over here know wassup d’ho!” Turf War commented.

“Did she……Did she do that echo-whatsit thingamabob that Ms. Shadow Shroud mentioned?” Kickback asked.

“So it would seem……Perhaps she learned it from her…er……brethren? They seemed to be using echolocation to track us in the dark.” Shroud theorized.

“Uhh……very impressive, Crazylocks…..” Fire Fight awkwardly praised.

Crazylocks lowered herself to the ground, and saluted to him in a very militant manner. “SIR, YES SIR!!!” she shouted. She immediately eased up, and ascended again.

Fire Fight just gave her an annoyed stare. “Kill me, please…” he mumbled to himself. He suddenly heard a small sound of a knife being drawn. He moved his eyes towards Shadow Shroud, who had her kunai in her hoof, and was smiling deviously. Fire Fight’s expression didn’t change. “You’re not funny…” he muttered. Shroud giggled nonetheless.

Crazylocks and Air Slash prepared to carry the others towards the pathway that she had discovered. They decided to both carry each foal one by one so that there was a safe grip either way. They started with Spiral Galaxy. “Are you ready? This’ll be quite a ways.” Air Slash asked her.

Spiral nodded. “I sure am…..Hair Flash!” she sneered. She giggled as the others snickered.

Air Slash was both surprised, and frustrated that they’d heard that prior, and leered at them. “I reserve the right to drop you.” He growled.

After their little banter, they got a move on with navigating the caverns. Crazylocks’……unique form of echolocation was helpful indeed despite the foals having to cover their ears every time. Even Kickback was beginning to lose his patience. The foals were in good enough shape to ascend the caverns whenever an upward path was found; Kickback’s whip came in handy as a nice substitute for a climbing rope just to make things even a little bit easier. Along the way, they harvested some mushrooms that could found fairly commonly throughout the caves. Shadow Shroud knew that weren’t poisonous, and theorized that perhaps the Shadewalkers of old that were once here lived off of them. Apart from roughing the rocky terrain, the environment itself was a sight to behold. The many shapes that time had carved the stones into were strangely beautiful, and the vast array of crystals protruding from the walls, floors and ceilings were breath-taking. Nevertheless, the foals didn’t allow sightseeing to distract them from their mission.

After a good few hours of Crazylocks shouting like an overexcited cheerleader for the sake of navigation later, the foals saw a little sliver of light snaking through a hole in a nearby wall next to another huge plateau. They peered through it, and lo and behold, there was the grand capital city itself just a couple hundred yards away bathed in golden sunset. Turf War, Fire Fight and Crazylocks smashed through the wall to make the hole just big enough for them to slip through. The foals settled into their new hiding spot as they looked on towards their next big search that would take place tomorrow afternoon.

Technicalities

After having a breakfast of carefully cooked cave mushrooms while trying to convince Crazylocks that they weren’t her long lost marble collection, the foals patiently awaited the afternoon to come. They’d gotten quite the workout from traversing the caves yesterday, and still felt a little sore, so they took the time to recuperate the small amounts of pain they had left that their sleep couldn’t finish off. Once they were nicely rested and could see that the sun was high enough, Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud exited through the hole that they’d made yesterday, and snuck through the rocky hills between them and their ultimate goal.

Fire Fight wanted to come with Shadow Shroud this time, because he didn’t want to make her do all the work in such a big place. Air Slash stayed back since the many royal guards might recognize him as a Bladerunner, Spiral Galaxy stayed behind for the risk of her getting flustered and drawing every wrong kind of attention possible, Turf War stayed behind since a smack-talking ghetto pony in a high society place like Canterlot would make him a huge elephant in the room, Kickback stayed behind for pretty much the same reason along with him being handsome enough to draw a little too much unneeded attention……which Shadow Shroud told him with the straightest face she could make while still slightly blushing, and Crazylocks…….I hope I don’t have to explain why she didn’t go.

As the dynamic duo approached the edge of the city, Shadow Shroud flipped into her dress. The large crowd of ponies that were more or less paying attention to themselves made for pretty much perfect cover for them to just waltz right in, so they did. They were a considerable distance from the castle, so there were very few guards to stop and question them. Many foals played in the streets, meaning that it was thankfully past school, so they could search freely. Canterlot itself was as grand as the foals imagined and then some. Fancy stores and restaurants from all kinds of cultures decorated the streets of the commercial district with a beautiful array that made Manehatten look like a series of museum exhibits. Much the passerby paid them no mind, but Shadow Shroud could tell she was getting a few slightly disgusted stares from snobbish ponies for her dress, much to her annoyance. Fire Fight told her to just ignore them, and said that he still liked it.

When they got to the residential district, it felt like they were in a whole other place. The houses looked so strange in their unique architecture that it felt like they were in some strange paradoxical place where the past and future merged as one. It was a good place nevertheless however, as many of the city’s foals could be seen spending time. This would be a prime place to start looking.

“Did you happen to notice anything in the commercial district?” Fire Fight asked Shadow Shroud.

“Nothing too noteworthy. This place is quite exotic to me, so discerning a…..problem might not be so easy. The only things that I saw that I could label as strange were that one stallion wearing zebra-stripe clothing and make-up doing all those odd undulations, a mere filly exiting a scrap shop, a bunch of colts dressed as comic book heroes for some reason, and…..well I sighted a Bladerunner amongst the few guards that we passed. I…..may have eyed him a little….” Shroud answered.

Fire Fight chuckled. “Shroud, I think culture itself is exotic to you.” He said.

Shroud rolled her eyes. “Well excuse me! I was born and raised outside of stuff like that!” she retorted.

“I know, I know. Sorry, I didn’t mean anything. It just kinda reminded me of the rodeo show in Dodge City. You said it yourself that you were having fun. It was…..pretty cool to actually see that.” Fire Fight said.

“Yes, well……there’s a lot of ‘culture’ for me to get used to if I was so inclined compared to that little old place.” Shroud said.

“Yeah. Just remember to lighten up every once in a while. We might be on a mission, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun while doing it.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud lightly giggled. “Yes. Crazylocks’ presence more or less restricts us from the seriousness we once held.” She said. The two found themselves looking into each other’s eyes once more for a moment before returning to their search.

They slowed their pace while still in the residential district so that they might scan more carefully. Just then, they heard a voice come from behind them. “Excuse me!” They looked back to see a unicorn filly that was about the CMC’s age approaching them. Her coat was a slightly dark marigold with a penny brown tail and bobbed mane. Her eyes were a sky blue, and she wore circular black reading glasses. Her Cutie Mark was an atom. At her side was a little satchel. “Could I trouble the two of you to help with something? It’ll take but a moment.” She asked. She had a posh accent much like Rarity did.

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud just stared blankly at her. They figured that Canterlot was the last place where one would ask the help of random strangers on the streets, but she seemed nice enough, so they decided to humor her. “Ehh…..with what?” Fire Fight asked.

The filly reached into her satchel, and pulled out a small black band with three blue lines circling around it. They’d yet to notice right away, but she was wearing one of her own on her horn. “This is really something only you can do for me. These are designed only for unicorns, I’m afraid.” She said to Fire Fight.

“Umm, no. I’m not modeling for a little accessory.” Fire Fight said.

“Oh, no no no! It’s nothing of the sort, darling. You wear this about your horn, and it’s supposed to help you focus your magic. I’ve tested it on myself with promising success, but I want to see if it would work with other unicorns. The only brainwaves that I could use as a control group whilst producing prototypes were my own, so I simply want to make sure that it is not just me.” She explained.

They looked at her with impressed expression. “You mean to say that you made these?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“I most certainly did! But I won’t be satisfied with them until I know I’ve perfected them, so if you would be so kind……everypony else is afraid that their brains would melt, which I wholehearted assure you won’t happen.” She said coyly.

“That’s……pretty impressive. You know what? What’s the worst that could happen? You just need me to wear it, right?” Fire Fight asked.

The filly perked up upon hearing that. “Yes! Please go right ahead!” She levitated the band to Fire Fight, and he put it on his horn.

It took a second, but it suddenly felt as though his brain was getting a hard massage, like…..a reverse headache if you will. “Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa-oa!” It jacked his senses for a few seconds, but then dissipated. He could still feel the effects of the band as he wore it. He shook his head for a quick second. “Wow! Umm…..that feels kinda weird…..but cool!”

The filly joyfully clapped. “Wonderful! Now, let’s see…er…….Ah! Levitate that empty flower pot over there, would you?” she said as she pointed to said flower pot.

It was on somepony’s lawn, but it didn’t look like it was being used, so Fire Fight saw no harm. “Uh, okay.” He focused his horn. Even he noticed a difference with the hornband. His magic focused on that little pot immediately, and with minimal strain even for something as simply to pick up as that. He held it for about ten seconds before the filly told him to let go.

“Well, did you notice a difference?” she asked excitedly.

“Yeah! It felt like I was picking up a tiny little feather!” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud looked at him surprised. “Really?” she asked.

“Yeah! This thing is pretty cool! Can I keep it?” Fire Fight asked the filly.

“I’m sorry, darling, but I’m afraid that these are the only two copies of the band that I’ve finished producing. I have a few more in their final stages, but I’ll need those two simply for reference. I hope you understand.” She replied.

“Aww, man….” Fire Fight took off the band, and handed it back to her. “That’s cool.” He said.

“Thank you! I only calculated a roughly 18% increase in activity in your magic cortex anyway, not quite what I was hoping for, but promising results nevertheless.” The filly stated.

The two stared at her blankly once more. “Uhh……how could you tell?” Shadow Shroud asked.

The filly fixed her glasses. “You see, I simply used some magnetic resonance imagery scanners I’ve augmented into my glasses to measure your brain activity prior to you donning the hornband. I then simply measured the increase of neuromagical activity when you did, and studied its stability when you focused your magic. From there, I did the math in my head.” She explained.

They stared at her once more. “Mag……netic……….what?” Fire Fight said.

The filly pondered. “Hmm….how to put this simply…………You are familiar with echolocation, are you not?” she asked. They nodded. “Think of MRI as that, but with electromagnetic waves sent out by my glasses that pass through your body, and send any signals of structure or wave activity as a visual display that I can observe, essentially allowing me to see inside of you albeit without the most desirable clarity.” She explained. “I also have a Geiger meter, a calculator, a vast database of information compiled into a manageable encyclopedia that even Canterlot’s library would yearn for, thermal imaging to measure heat during chemical-related experiments, and x-ray scanners…..just for fun, I suppose. Heehee!”

The two were equal parts confused, and astonished. “You mean…….that you have one of those……..computer thingies that Princess Twilight has been known to use……..in your glasses!?” Shadow Shroud said.

The filly held her head high. “Quite so! I took me forever to determine just the right amount of required silicon, and perfecting the art of programming was taxing alone, especially with coding just the right algorithm. But nevertheless, I managed. But the lenses were the real challenge. I spent day and night figuring out just how much lighting would be required within the rims of my glasses, and configuring them to the databases within the silicon inner layer proved to be more than just an annual science fair project. My goodness! Why I had to-”

“QUANTUM TECH!!!” They heard a posh voice ring out, and they looked over to see a couple strutting towards them. The filly seemed to recognize them, and cowered a little.

“Mother! Father! Er…..What might you be doing here? I-I-I thought you were attending a dinner party at Goldenglow’s estate! I-I remember you telling me just how delicious her honey roasted haystacks were.” She stammered.

Her parents just authoritatively leered down at her. “Yes, and perhaps we would be inclined to take you if you’d learn to behave like a social elite!” Her father said.

Her mother then looked at Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud. “I’m sorry, darlings. Was our daughter bothering you?” she asked. Some condescendence could be detected in her tone.

“N-No, ma’am. Not at all! We were just helping test those cool hornbands that she made.” Fire Fight answered.

Her mother gasped somewhat angrily as the filly’s eyes widened in horror. “Quantum Tech! You’re once again subjecting others to your science-crazed madness? How many times have I told you that such balderdash and tomfoolery are not becoming of a lady!?” she reprimanded. She swiped the satchel off of her shoulder, and band off of her horn.

“B-But mother!….” ‘Quantum Tech’ as her name apparently was whined.

“No buts, young lady! Now go home this instant! Canterlot’s society does not need a filly whose only talent is reading books and conducting meaningless experiments.” Her father said.

“Such experiments are what built-”

“NOW!”

Quantum Tech recoiled back, and conceded. She hung her head low as she turned around to walk to wherever her house was. She looked back at Shadow Shroud and Fire Fight. “Thank you….” She mumbled. Before they could, she moped along once more. Her parents followed suit as they turned around paying the foals no mind as they strutted towards wherever they meant to go.

“Pfft! Stuck-up snobs.” Fire Fight growled.

“Interesting….” Shadow Shroud muttered.

“It’s gonna start getting late soon. Wanna start heading back? We can make another sweep on the way. We might have to make a second one tomorrow.” Fire Fight said.

“I suppose so.” Shadow Shroud said. They began making their way back to the cave. “So did that band really feel as potent as suggested?” she asked.

“Oh yeah! It felt like I could suddenly pick up a building with my magic! Jeez, can you imagine giving one of those Spiral!?” Fire Fight said.

“I’d rather not!” Shroud said. She pondered for a moment. “Wonder how they’re doing?”

Meanwhile...

“HI, CRAZYLOCKS! I’M ALSO CRAZYLOCKS! HI, CRAZYLOCKS! HOW ARE YA, CRAZYLOCKS!? I’M GREAT, CRAZYLOCKS!” Crazylocks was having a senseless conversation with her reflection in a nearby crystal while the others just sat with each other nearby as they listened to her.

“Ugh! Why did Fire Fight have to take her with us?” Spiral Galaxy complained.

“She been helpful, but…….” Turf War said.

“Just…….have patience, friends. She’ll……..calm down……maybe….” Air Slash muttered with annoyance as he listened to Crazylocks shout her nonsense.

“MY FAVORITE MOVIE WAS ALSO THE ONE WITH THE CANTALOUPE STOCK BROKER!! AWESOME! SAY, WHAT’S A CANTLOUPE ANYWAY!? IT’S A WOODEN FRUIT MADE OF GRASS FED CERAMIC BEETLE BONES THAT TASTES LIKE LEMON EGGS! THAT SOUND DELICIOUS! IT REALLY IS, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU BAKE IT IN FISH BLOOD!” She went on and on and on. They were starting to become a little irate.

Kickback got up, and walked over to her. He politely removed his hat. “Now Ms. Crazylocks-”

Crazylocks whipped around to face him. “NO!! YOU MAY NOT BORROW MY WEDDING DRESS!!” she shouted.

Kickback’s expression suddenly turned both surprised, and embarrassed. Spiral burst out snickering at the thought of seeing Kickback in such attire. “Err…..That’s all well an’ good, but if you’d let me finish, Ah’ll gladly tell ya what Ah was gonna say.” He calmly said. With some effort, he managed to gently coax her away from the crystal. By some miracle, she quietly sat down with the other albeit with her manic smile.

“Kickback, you’re a real saint.” Spiral said.

Kickback held his hat slightly over his face. “Aw shucks! Ah reckon we just gotta have a little patience, right Air Slash?” The samurai rolled his eyes with slightly less annoyance than before. “Hows about a little tune to lighten the mood, hmm?” Kickback asked. They all gave him a slightly confused look. He removed his hat as he sat back down, and cleared his throat. “Mah grandpa taught me this one.”

When the sunshiiiiiiine rises high,

And there’re dustclooouuuds to mock yer home,

They might scratch against the wood, whine and mope and pout you could,

But it ain’t gonna wave goodbyyyyyee.

You’ve gotta brave iiiiiiiit until it’ll pass,

Don’t be as fragiiiiiillllle as the glass,

‘Cause before the storm the gone, you can still sing this song,

And be blessed with the sunset. YEE-HAW!!

The others were left pretty stunned. Kickback was a surprisingly good singer. Crazylocks was clapping like a maniac seemingly out of her own crazed obligation, but it was kind of warranted. Turf War and Spiral clapped for him too while Air Slash just gave him an approving nod. Kickback himself just casually smiled, and put his hat back on.

All Kinds of Wonders

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud successfully snuck back to their cave hideout where the others greeted them. Shroud had already flipped back into her cloak. It was a bit disappointing to see them without a new friend, but they knew that they shouldn’t expect immediate results. “Was everything ok while we were gone?” Fire Fight asked.

“Aside from Crazylocks’ antics, all was well. What of you?” Air Slash replied.

“Canterlot is so focused on itself that it was laughably easy to scour without raising suspicion. It’s quite big and crowded however, so we’ll need to make another sweep tomorrow.” Shadow Shroud answered.

“Figured you might say that. Let’s just hope that the Royals Sisters haven’t gotten word of what we’re doing.” Spiral Galaxy said. “Hey, Kickback sang while you guys were gone!”

“Did he now?” Shroud asked.

Kickback lowered his hat, and blushed. “Aww shucks. Ah reckon it was gettin’ a little borin’ ‘round here, so Ah just decided to brighten things up some.”

“It was still a bumpin’ beat, son.” Turf War commented.

“Yes. Did anything of note happen in Canterlot?” Air Slash asked.

“I guess. We met this filly named Quantum Tech, and she was something else!” Fire Fight said. He explained the whole deal with the hornband, her glasses, and her disapproving parents. “But other than that, we didn’t really notice anything too interesting.”

“Are you kidding!? That’s amazing!!” Spiral exclaimed. “She’s gonna be really famous someday!”

“Why her parents gotta do her like dat d’ho? Dat’s f***** up.” Turf War commented.

“Is it only her parents that look down upon her skills, or did others seem to follow suit?” Air Slash asked.

“She said something about other unicorns being afraid that they might get hurt by the hornband, so…..maybe?” Fire Fight answered.

“I personally found it rather interesting. She’s certainly a candidate in my book.” Shroud said.

“Now what makes ya say that, Ms. Shadow Shroud? Equestria needs brainy ponies like her.” Kickback said.

“Now if only her parents would realize that, huh?” Shroud retorted

“Shroud, don’t you think you’re being a little too quick to judge? I mean it’s only her parents that we know for sure disapprove of her. For all we know, the best universities in Equestria could already have their eyes on her. We can’t take stuff like that away from her.” Spiral said.

“Yeah, but what if her parents be so whack dat d’hey actually do? What then?” Turf War argued.

“Look, I’d be cool with observing her a little more, but I’m still not too sure about her.” Fire Fight said.

“Good, because she caught my interest. We’ll head out in the afternoon tomorrow once more and-……..What’s she doing?” Shroud said.

They all looked at Crazylocks. Somehow, for some reason, she was doing pushups……..on her tongue while balancing a stalagmite that she likely ripped from the ground by its tip on her tail end. It was easily six times her size…….

Turf War sighed heavily, and facehooved. “Dis b**** need help….”

On a Train to Baltimare…..

“And it just casually took the bucket of wheat before disappearing into the woods again?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy had told her, Spike and Film Noir about her odd encounter with the timberwolf before leaving.

“Yes. And when it looked at me, it didn’t feel like it saw me as prey, but rather……well……I actually couldn’t tell. It was as if I was just something it happened to notice. I don’t understand why’d it’d want wheat.” Fluttershy explained.

“Did you get a chance to tell Zecora?” Spike asked.

“No, I didn’t. I’ll have to make a point of that when we get back.” Fluttershy answered.

“Thanks for coming by the way, Fluttershy. I bet those biologists will need an opinion from a real animal expert like you.” Film Noir said.

“Oh, of course! I’m kinda curious to see them for myself anyway. Although, they sound like that they’re pretty scary.” Fluttershy said.

Film Noir nodded. “Yeah. They gave me one heck of a spook. The authorities were scratching their heads too.”

“Do you have any idea of what they might be from what Film Noir told you?” Twilight asked.

“Not really…..There is such a thing as reptiles that like to live underground along with gophers and moles and the like, but I’ve never seen or heard of them breeding, and none of those species get as big as you said they were. I’ll really just have to see for myself.” Fluttershy said.

“If there was some kind of magical accident, or an otherwise magic-related event that caused that to happen to them, I’ll be able to spot it.” Twilight said.

“Good idea.” Fluttershy said. She then looked at Film Noir. “Say….didn’t you play as that bank teller in ‘My Last Hope’?” she asked.

Film Noir perked up. “I did! That was my film debut performance as a matter of fact.” She answered.

“That was your debut!? That movie came out only about eight months ago! You did a great job!” Twilight said.

Film Noir blushed sheepishly. “Oh…..thanks. I was glad they gave me a minor role. I’d have been a nervous wreck if they just up and gave me a lead role.”

“Well, all it took was that debut and that other movie you appeared for ponies to recognize your talent! I can’t wait to see what else you star in.” Spike commented.

“What? My role in ‘Aging Tradition’? I hated how that turned out. I was all over the place, and I constantly fumbled over a few simple lines. My director got pretty frustrated a couple of times.” Film Noir said.

“Maybe it was because you had to put on a persona that was much different to what you’re used to being. You still did a great job.” Twilight said.

“Oh, gosh……<giggle>…..thanks…..Expressing your talent can be really difficult when you have no idea what ponies will think of you, huh?” Film Noir said.

“Don’t I know.” Fluttershy said.

Within The Everfree Forest….

“Where did I drop that blasted thing!?” Zecora was deep in her home forest. Unfortunately, while she was collecting various herbs and plants for potions, she had somehow lost her small satchel containing the harvest flora. She retraced her steps across the many overgrowths that she had traversed. It wasn’t near the Poison Joke, Dragon Pen Moss, or Thrashweed. It was finally when she came to the patches of Wonder Mushrooms that she found her satchel hanging on a low branch of a nearby tree. Apparently, when she passed by the tree as she made her way back, the satchel’s strap had slipped onto the branch, and it slowly slid off as she blissfully walked by.

Zecora facehooved. “I am a fool…” she muttered. She looked inside to make sure that all of her collected items were still there, and they were. However, when she looked at the mushrooms again, she noticed something…..rather strange. She collected a pretty good number of them, but……it looked as if more of the mushrooms had been picked than she remembered. She would have concluded that they were simply consumed by other creatures, but they hand been very clearly cut off or picked. There weren’t any teeth marks.

Zecora suddenly felt eyes looming onto her. She went into serious mode. “Who goes there!? Show me your face! You cannot hide from me in this place!” she called out. She carefully scanned around as she looked for any signs of life that didn’t belong. The forest itself was calm, but she could feel a small wave of disturbance within its flow. She just couldn’t quite discern what it was, or where it came from.

Eventually, she suddenly noticed something from far away. Far across the clusters of trees and patches of mushrooms was a large pond with a pretty dense fog clouding its surrounding bank. On the other side shrouded in the mist was…..a figure? Zecora could just barely make out the shape of some kind of creature that seemed to be relatively small, and had green eyes that just barely shined through the obscuring fog. Zecora lightly gasped in surprise.

The two just stared at one another for a moment. Zecora was at a loss as for what to do. On one hand, she wanted to call to….whatever it was to hopefully get an answer, but contrarily, she didn’t want to risk scaring it off. So she just decided to wait and see what happens. The next moment, the figure presumably decided that it was no longer interested in her, and vanished. A perplexed Zecora was left to wonder what this phantom she just encountered was, and what it was doing.

Conviction

The next morning had broken. As per usual, Fire Fight whipped some breakfast. The foals had taken a liking to the cave mushrooms; they had a….strangely unique flavor from any other mushrooms that they’ve consumed. It was almost as if they came already seasoned in this rocky-tasting spice that was almost like mild pepper. They made a note to themselves to harvest more of them when they left.

Just like yesterday, Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud waited until relatively early in the afternoon to make their way towards the city. They’d made the right call yet again as foals could be seen in the streets. Shroud flipped into her disguise dress before she and her friend slipped back into the magical city. “So…are we gonna go look for Quantum Tech right away?” Fire Fight asked.

“I’d like to if it’s of no inconvenience. She’s the only foal that made any sort of impression yesterday.” Shroud answered.

“Yeah……I guess. We should still look around for other potential candidates just in case.” Fire Fight said.

“Agreed. I seem to remember seeing her exiting a store that sold metal-based merchandise of some sort. It wasn’t until soon after our encounter with her that I realized that I’d recognized her. Perhaps we’ll find her there.” Shroud said.

“Oh, you mean that scrap shop? Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. But…..what do we say to her?” Fire Fight asked.

“Hmm……indeed…..” Shroud muttered.

“Maybe….we’ll offer to help her with anymore of her little gizmos?” Fire Fight suggested.

“That….would start a steady conversation with her. We’ll do that so long as it doesn’t involve one of us getting blasted by a laser or something.” Shroud said.

Fire Fight chuckled. “I don’t think she’d put the lives of others in danger for the sake of a little experiment if she knew it wasn’t safe.”

“Sure, but the goal of an experiment generally is to test whether or not something is safe.” Shroud argued.

“Furthermore, how safe or dangerous something is. Quantum Tech clearly knows way more about this stuff than we do, so I’d trust her.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled. “You’re either very brave, or very stupid.” She sneered.

Fire Fight shrugged. “Either way, it’s gotten me this far, right?”

“Yes, I suppose it has. I just hope that it hasn't bled onto me without me realizing it.” Shroud sneered. Fire Fight just rolled his eyes.

The two made their way through the commercial district. They more or less retraced their steps from yesterday using visual landmarks to locate the scrap shop. After a tiny bit of bickering over whose memory was right, they eventually did. The shop seemed a little out of place from all the other fancy clothing stores and restaurants and what have you. The only pony that seemed to be in there was an old unicorn stallion whom they presumed was the proprietor, but when they decided to enter, they could hear somepony foraging through the aisles. When they looked to see who it was, it was sure enough their brainy acquaintance.

“Hey, Quantum Tech.” Fire Fight said. Quantum Tech was too absorbed in examining a series of small metal plates to hear him, and continued to do so. “Quantum Tech?” Again, his voice fell on deaf ears. She was so dedicated to her examination that all else seemed dead to her.

Shadow Shroud walked up right next to her, and tapped her shoulder. “Quantum Tech!”

Quantum Tech gasped as her face darted towards them. “Oh! Oh my goodness. H-Hello again.” She stammered.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Shroud said.

Quantum waved her hoof. “Not at all, darling. Is there perhaps something I can assist you with?” she asked.

“Kinda. We were wondering if maybe you had another little invention that needed to be tested. If so, we’d be happy to help you again.” Fire Fight replied.

Quantum cocked her head. “You’d go out of your way to do so once more despite us being strangers? Why so?”

Fire Fight couldn’t quite answer that question. “Uh….well…..”

“We saw how your parents treated you yesterday, and thought that it might cheer you up.” Shroud said.

“Y-Yeah! What she said.” Fire Fight affirmed.

Quantum Tech seemed to lose a little color. “Oh….That’s…..quite kind of you…..” she sighed. She looked down gloomily.

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud grimaced at one another seeing as they might’ve struck a raw nerve. “Has….it always been like this?” Shroud inquired.

Quantum sighed. “Yes…..shamefully. I’ve been a straight A student throughout school, especially when it came to science. I thought that my parents would be just elated to see their daughter grow into a brilliant mind that would innovate Equestria, but……they told me that my grades only mattered to further my social status so that I may become an elite, which I want no part of. I paid them little heed, and began conducting my own experiments from sciences of almost all branches. Science had just become my absolute passion. I want to learn! I want to discover! I want to use my ingenuity to create a better Equestria! When my Cutie Mark finally appeared, I was sure that my parents would have a change of heart……I couldn’t have been more wrong…. They bribed my school principle to ban me from any of their science programs, took away my science books, and repeatedly dragged me to a number of loathsome social events until I could ‘learn to be a proper lady’ as it were; any time that I brought up the subject of science in any way, shape or form, I’d be horribly punished for it….” She sorrowfully explained.

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud listened sympathetically to Quantum Tech’s tale. It was certainly heartrending. Shroud looked at Fire Fight with the eyes of somepony saying ‘We found our target’. Even so, Fire Fight was still a little hesitant about taking such valuable talent away from Equestria. “That’s…..That sucks, Quantum……Sorry to hear that…..” Fire Fight said.

“Would you like us to walk you home?” Shroud offered.

Quantum Tech was caught a little off guard by the offer as was Fire Fight, but it still felt nice nonetheless. “That would be very kind of you. It seems nothing in stock really piques my interest this time around, such a pity.” As they walked out of the door, she remembered something that the other two couldn’t believe that they didn’t. “What are your names by the by?”

“Oh! Wow, we didn’t introduce ourselves, did we? I’m Fire Fight, and this is…….er, Pretty Dress!” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud’s expression turned utterly befuddled. “What?” she whispered.

Fire Fight discreetly turned to her. “Do you want her to know you’re name in case she doesn’t come!?” he whispered.

Upon hearing that Shadow Shroud immediately played along. “Oh! Ugh….idiot. He always calls me that by accident whenever I wear this. Sorry, my name’s….Precious Gem.” She said.

Quantum Tech seemed to buy into it, and snickered at their display. “I see! Are the two of you dating per chance? You’re quite the charming couple.” She inquired.

The two immediately blushed furiously upon hearing that as they looked at Quantum Tech, and back at each other with flustered expressions. “N-No! We’re not! W-We’re…umm….” Shroud stammered.

“We’re cousins!” Fire Fight blurted.

“Y-Yes!” Shroud affirmed.

Quantum Tech cocked her eyebrow as she playfully smiled at them. “Mmhm. Whatever you say.” She said.

Fire Fight could practically feel Shadow Shroud’s bloodlust just barely being held back by her moral conscious. Quantum was completely oblivious to just what thin ice she was treading. He decided to change the subject quickly. “So, uh…..How did you manage to make those hornbands even though your parents have cut you off from science and all?” he asked. Shadow Shroud seemed to calm down.

Quantum Tech fixed her glasses, and chuckled proudly. “Not to worry, our home has a secret room beneath it that even our butlers have yet to stumble upon before I did. I’ve been discreetly using it as a makeshift laboratory right under their noses! I’ve only enough room for a relatively small assortment of chemicals, biology testing subjects, measuring instruments and what have you. I keep all of my findings in a personal journal that I always keep on my person.” She explained. She reached into her satchel, and pulled out said journal. “Would you like to see some of it?” she offered.

“Uh…sure!” Fire Fight said. He took the journal with his magic, and opened it; Shadow Shroud looked into it with him. As they turned the pages, they became more and more astonished at just what Quantum Tech had been up to. There were notes on cell activity of all kinds, a periodic table with the next few pages detailing the unique properties of each individual element, blueprints for her glasses, meticulous sketched of plants with their parts labeled with a brief description of their functions, something called a ‘gravitational constant’, complex notes on pony anatomy, you name it! Her notes on her hornbands were found within notes describing neuromagical brain activity in unicorns, and how the band functioned with them by essentially bounces a unicorn horns natural magical output, and reflecting it back to the users brain as a bio-friendly pulse that enhanced focus and concentration.

They handed her back the journal, and she put it back into her satchel. “Quantum Tech……you’re amazing!!” Shadow Shroud said. She was suddenly questioning her interest in taking her.

Quantum giggled, and waved her hoof. “Oh, boo! I’m only listening to what the universe has to say about itself. Someday, I’ll change the way Equestria views the world, life itself! I’ll uncover all sorts of mysteries, invent all kinds of useful technology, solve even the most impossible of problems! Oh! How I so yearn for all of the knowledge I could possibly gather, all of the feats I could accomplish with science!” She was having a grand old time thinking about complex concepts that most if not all other ponies could barely begin to grasp. It was clear that she was indeed in her happy place. All of that joy suddenly shattered at what they saw next. “WHAT IN CELESTIA’S NAME!?”

They had arrived at Quantum Tech’s house, and from the looks of it, you’d think that they were moving at first glance, but only a few hired stallions were moving a certain set of items few by few out of the house with the help of a couple of butlers. Those items consisted of testing tubes, various chemicals and measuring instruments, science-related charts such as a periodic table and light spectrum chart, lab coats and the sort. Quantum Tech’s face looked like one who was watching a murder take place right in front of her- she was horrified. “H…..How!? W-W-WHAT!?” she stammered.

“Young lady…” They turned to see Quantum’s parents strutting up to them. “Care to explain this?” her mother inquired. Quantum Tech just stammered in her horrified state. “No? Very well. Allow me. Your father and I were wondering where all of those strange smells have been coming from lately, so we had an inspector look into it.” She explained.

“And lo and behold, it seems a certain somepony has been conducting quite a variety of science experiments in a room that was unknown to us. What was most fascinating was how the scientists had taken notes in your handwriting” her father growled.

“F-F-Father…..I-I” Quantum was still somewhat at a loss for words at what was happening.

“I don’t know what else we need to do, Quantum Tech. This is becoming quite the issue. We gave you leniency, but now it seems that we need to drain this madness from you completely.” Her father said.

“WHAT!? Madness!? Mother, father, did you not read any of the notes that I took? All of the experiments that I’ve conducted? All of the theories that I’ve been so eager to test? Think about what we could learn, what we could apply to our society! Perhaps one day we’ll be able to build cities at the floors of the oceans, or give magic to earth ponies and pegasi, or perhaps even travel to the moon and beyond without magic!!” Quantum Tech ranted.

Her mother put her hoof down. “THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH OUT OF YOU!!” she shouted. Quantum Tech flinched back. “From now on, you’ll be attending every little party, gala and otherwise social gathering that we will until you’ve completely rid yourself of this science-crazed nonsense!”

“Equestria does not need its own little Dr. Frankenstallion!” her father added. They strutted towards their house as the workers continued to move her equipment into a series of wagons that read ‘Canterlot City Dump’.

Quantum Tech was utterly crushed. Her dream, her life’s work…..gone…..taken from her. Sure, she had her journal, but it mattered little if she had no way to fill it. She fell into despair as she began to sob. It’s a miracle that her parents didn’t figure anything out about her glasses, but it was a good thing that they were waterproof, because her eyes became flooded with tears filled with anger and frustration. Why? What was so important about being a ‘proper lady’ that it overrides learning about the world they lived in!? Why did they reject the idea of experience and discovery so much!?

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud looked at her and at each other in deep sorrow. It was worse than they thought, but still…. “Now you see? She’s not wanted here. Who she is as a pony is unwanted here. We have to take her.” Shroud said.

Fire Fight sighed. “Shroud, look, you read that journal. She has real skills that could better Equestria. This is something between her and her parents that they just need to work out. I feel as bad for her as you, but she’s just not the kind of foal that we’re looking for.”

Shroud began to glare at him. “Then what is? Look at her!” Quantum Tech continued to lay on the ground sobbing profusely into the soft soil beneath her hooves.

“Yeah…..I know…..but what’s she gonna do for us? We don’t have lab materials for her, she’s clearly not cut out for combat, and….she just wouldn’t enjoy the trip altogether.” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud narrowed her glare onto him. “So this is the extent of your conviction? I’m quite disappointed in you, Fire Fight.” She hissed. “As I recall, you said these exact words: ‘I’m going to go around Equestria, and save them! I have too! I have to free them from being outcasts because of who they are. They must be suffering so much… And I know exactly how they feel! I don’t want them to suffer like that anymore! I’ll take them with me, away from their prison, and give them a place where they can be happy, and live like they were meant to… no matter who they are!’. Hmm…. ‘no matter who they are’ you say. Clearly, you were exaggerating. All you seem to care about are foals with skills in fighting like you! That’s really all you’re concerned about! A filly suffering under any other circumstances is chopped liver. You’ll leave them to drown in their own tears until they’ve sunk so deep that they can never again reach the surface. Perhaps I was a fool to think that you were as noble as I made you out to be.” She growled.

Fire Fight’s eyes widened at her little rant. He thought to himself for a moment……she was right. How could he be so biased? All of the other foals that they’ve rescued have in one way, shape or form have had talents that revolved around fighting. Perhaps his vision was narrower than he’d realized. He said back in the ancient subways that he wanted to be a better leader……now was a good time to show that.

“You know what……you’re right. I’m sorry….Her suffering has been made perfectly clear, and I denounced for no good reason! She’s coming with us, but we’ll have to make a point of protecting her……and figuring out how we’ll let her do science experiments and all.” Fire Fight declared.

Shadow Shroud’s glare turned into a genuine smile. “There’s the Fire Fight I know….” She whispered. With that, they approached the sobbing Quantum Tech. “Hey….Quantum?” Shroud asked.

Quantum Tech peeked up. “What…<sob>….What is it you want?” she asked. Her frustration was clear. The two explained what they were doing along with their own history apart from Shadow Shroud’s real name and her nature as a Shadewalker.

“Look….I know it sounds crazy, and…..you don’t have to come, but you’re suffering pretty bad, and-” Fire Fight said, but was cut off when Quantum Tech shot up, and grabbed his shoulders.

“YES! PLEASE! TAKE ME FROM THIS WRETCHED PLACE! I DON’T CARE HOW MAD THIS ALL MAY SOUND! EQUESSTRIA CAN ROT WITHOUT ME FOR ALL I CARE! JUST GET ME AWAY FROM HERE!!” she screamed.

Shadow Shroud had to calm her down. “Ok, ok. Look, wait until nightfall, and I’ll come to get you. Try to pack whatever you can, ok? Leave the rest to me.” She whispered. Quantum Tech nodded. With the deal sealed, all that was left was to allow Shadow Shroud to work her magic this coming night. While Fire Fight might have been able to swallow his pride, uncertainty about what to do with Quantum Tech continued to loom in his mind.

Continue Your Mission

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud returned to their comrades, and broke the news to them. While they were overall a little surprised that Quantum Tech would be joining them on a journey that they already knew was perilous, they were even more appalled at the circumstances as to why. “That’s horrible! Her parents ought to be punished!” Spiral Galaxy said.

“I’m a hafta drop by d’here, and make all ’em say ‘hi’ to my hammer d’ho! See how social d’hey is d’hen!” Turf War commented.

“Yeah, they suck, but they don’t matter anymore. Quantum’s coming with us, so the only thing she’ll have to worry about is not letting any more monsters we bump into make her into a snack…..which will be kinda tough for her.” Fire Fight said.

“Ah reckon that’s what she’ll have us for. We’ll just have to make a point of makin’ her feel welcome.” Kickback said.

“We’ll bake her an earthworm cake, and sing her old folksongs about the little people that live in your carpets!” Crazylocks blurted.

“Er…..Maybe not quite something like that, but I’d presume to show her respect at the very least.” Air Slash said.

“Indeed.” Shadow Shroud said. When she looked out through the hole in the wall, she could see that night had fallen. She donned her mask. “I’ll be right back.” She then set out into the night.

*****

Quantum Tech lay solemnly in her bed. Today couldn’t have been worse for her. Everything she had ever hoped to do, all of the opportunities that she had earned for herself were just taken from her, thrown away like yesterday’s trash. Were her father’s words true? Would Equestria really so readily reject her studies for the sake of keeping old traditions? Was she blind in her own grand vision?.......No……She had a passion that she wanted to pursue, one that would make her feel fulfilled. Her parents may take science from her hooves, but never from her heart! All she had to do was wait for her salvation to come.

“OOF!” Quantum Tech quickly rose out of her bed when she heard the sound of one of her butlers being hit. Her door then opened, and said butler fell through the door in an unconscious heap. Quantum gasped. She jumped out of bed, and ran over to him. As she was about to examine him, she heard somepony jump down from behind her.

“Sleep well?” they whispered.

Quantum Tech whipped around to see a foal her age completely covered in a pitch-black cloth with their amethyst eyes shining through. “W-What!? Who….Who are you!? E-Explain yourself!” she demanded.

The figure removing their mask to reveal the filly she knew as ‘Precious Gem’. Quantum Tech gasped. “You! You….You actually came! B-But…..what…..how?”

“Worry not, sister. Everypony in this household of yours has been either knocked out cold, or tranquilized. They won’t be getting up for quite a long while. Did you do as I asked and pack what you could take?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Quantum Tech was a little unnerved at her words. While she now detested her parents, for this stranger to go to such extremes for her was……strangely comforting as it was unsettling, but Fire Fight seemed to trust her, so she stuck to her resolve. “Not….quite everything. I managed to save my journal as well as three complete hornbands. I also made a point of packing a water bottle, some food and a sizable sum of my parents’ wealth, 150 bits to be exact.” She answered.

Shadow Shroud was caught off guard. “150 bits!? That’s…..quite generous of you!....and sneaky. I like that.” She said. “Although it sounds to me as though you’re ready. What else could you possibly want to bring?”

“Well……if it’s of no inconvenience……could we go to the dump to retrieve what we can of my experimenting tools?” Quantum asked.

“Let’s get you to where we’re hiding out first. I’ll handle that myself, but I’ll only be able to grab a hooffull.” Shroud replied.

“Hmm….well, alright then. Off we go?” Quantum asked.

Shadow Shroud donned her mask once more. “Just follow my lead, and stick to the shadows.”

Quantum Tech nodded. “Thank you, Precious Gem.” She said.

“Oh! <devilish giggle> I’m sorry, Quantum Tech, but I wasn’t being totally honest with you before. That’s not my actual name.” Shroud said. “I am Shadow Shroud of the Shadewalkers.”

Quantum gasped again. “Shadewalkers!? You….You’re real!?” she exclaimed.

Shroud was once again caught off guard. She removed her mask to reveal her surprised expression. “You……know of us?”

“Know of you!? You’re only one of the most ancient myths spoken of in Equestrian folklore. I’ve even seen mention of you in some history books, but……never did I expect you to actually exist, let alone actually be granted the opportunity to speak to one! Oh, what an honor this is! You simply must tell me the secrets behind the arts that make you so mysterious!” Quantum said.

Shadow Shroud gave her annoyed glare before putting her mask back on. “Not happening. Stick with talking to plants.” She said. Though a little disappointed, Quantum Tech followed her new friend’s lead. Sneaking through the moonlit Canterlot was a tid bit difficult since patrolling guards comprised most of tonight’s activity. Everypony probably had to work in the morning, and hit the hay. Nevertheless, the two fillies made it into the rocky slopes that ascended towards their hideout, and Quantum Tech’s new life.

Meanwhile….

Within the castle of Equestria’s capital high atop one of its towers stood a mare who was in small conflict. From her perch rising high above much of the city, she had observed the activities of a small group of foals on a crusade born of anguish. She hadn’t expected for said crusade to come here to Canterlot so soon, but it brought her a strange mix of happiness…..and regret. He navy-blue mane that resembled the night sky itself waved in the mellow breeze underneath the luminous moon that she had risen. Even within its glorious light, the dark of night still loomed.

“My dear foals…..It is not right of me to allow you to feel such horrible emotions towards this realm of Equestria, but……It would be far worse if I forced you back into the toxic lives that you have abandoned. Even one such as I cannot force change no matter how little, but only present it. I have seen into your dreams, your pasts, your hearts…..and I am truly saddened at what you have been forced to experience. May your broken spirits be healed on your journey, and know that I will watch over you even in the blackest of nights. I know that this is not what my sister would want, but the need for change that you represent is not something that can happen so easily even with our words alone; may she forgive me. Fire Fight……continue your mission. Never allow that fire burning so brightly in your young heart to be dwindled. Become the change that Equestria needs to see. Take the foals that you rescue, the friends you make along the way, and nurture them where everypony else has failed. Bring them into the light that they so desperately need, and shine that light all across this land. This journey you take will indeed be wrought with great peril, but I have utmost faith in you…..all of you. Accomplish the impossible, because it is possible for you.”

Earlier in Baltimare….

“OH MY GOODNESS!” Fluttershy exclaimed. She was expecting a horrific creature to be unveiled from beneath the lab cover, but what she saw could only be described as unnatural. Twilight and Spike were equally as shocked, and Film Noir still quivered from just looking at it.

The biologist joining them kept his cool as he looked at them. “Well? What do make of this?” he asked.

“I-I think I’m having a bad dream!” Spike commented.

“Wha……What are these things!?” Twilight exclaimed. She had never seen such a freak of nature in her life, nor had she ever read about anything like it. Whatever this thing was seemed completely foreign to anything she had studied on. It scared her.

“I’m not sure if you already knew, but Fillydelphia has been experiencing a wheat famine recently. We figured out that the soil was somehow losing its fertility, but never discerned how. These creatures had soil in their stomachs, so we theorize that they might be the cause.” The biologist explained.

“Really? Well…..I-I don’t know of any animals that eat soil. There are predators that eat little things like worms and bugs that are in soil, but they just spit the soil back out.” Fluttershy explained.

“Exactly what we thought. We also think that judging by its similarity to known animals that have nests, it might also have one.” The biologist said.

“I think so too. Lots of burrowers do. They were down in some abandoned subways, right? Maybe their nest is somewhere down there.” Fluttershy said.

“That’s only logical, but indeed. We’ve yet to start a search until we have guards to protect in case there are more of them and they’re hostile.” The biologist said.

“Might I take a closer look?” Twilight asked. She was granted her permission. Looking at the corpses more closely, Twilight could see what Film Noir was talking about. Burn marks with external trauma that was clearly reminiscent of a pony punching or kicking them just screamed ‘Fire Fight’ in her face, but an even bigger deal breaker for her was when she inspected another, and found a small metal pellet deeply embedded into its head as though it has forcefully pushed into it.

“Twilight, isn’t this a bullet? Like those little things that guns are supposed to fire?” Spike asked.

“Yes, Spike. It is! Maybe….Kickback was with them too!? Have we been right all along!?” Twilight said.

“We need to ask around town to see if anypony saw him!” Spike said.

“I’m afraid I didn’t….” Film Noir said. “Although….I do remember running into this pegasus colt just outside of a bakery. I was wondering why he had swords for a Cutie Mark.

Spike gasped. “That sounds like Air Slash!” He and Twilight explained to Film Noir about each of the runaway foals that they think that Fire Fight might have taken along with him, Air Slash being one of them.

Film Noir gasped. “That was him! That was the colt that I encountered! He was with Fire Fight!?”

“We think so. The possibility is high, but we think so.” Twilight said.

“Oh, dear. I hope that these monsters didn’t……” Fluttershy said. Fearing the worst, the all decided to venture into the ruinous abyss below to investigate.

Introductions

Shadow Shroud had at last returned to the crystal caverns with their new friend in tow. Quantum Tech had a somewhat difficult time traversing the rocky terrains due to not being in physical condition on the level of the other foals, but Shroud was able to help her through it. When they passed through the hole in the wall, Fire Fight immediately greeted her once more.

“Hey, Quantum.” Fire Fight said.

Quantum Tech fixed her glasses. “Good evening, Fire Fight.”

Fire Fight turned to the others. “Guys, here she is. Meet Quantum Tech.” he said. He was still a little hesitant about bringing her.

Air Slash fluttered towards her, and held his sword over his heart in a greeting pose. “Welcome, friend. I am Air Slash of the clan Bladerunner.”

Quantum Tech gasped. “A Bladerunner!? Oh, how exciting! I don’t believe I’ve ever actually met one before. Tis a pleasure.” Something crossed her mind just then. “Wait…..aren’t the two you supposed to be rival clans?” she asked as she pointed back and forth between Air Slash and Shadow Shroud.

“I’m surprised you know even that much about the Shadewalkers.” Air Slash said as he sheathed his sword.

“Well, the Shadewalkers are spoken of in Equestrian folklore. Many believe the idea of their existence to be utterly ridiculous, but the proof is right here!” Quantum Tech said.

Air Slash couldn’t help but to snicker at the idea of his rival family being nothing more than a myth, causing Shadow Shroud to glare. “I’d be happy to remind you of just what makes us so ‘mythical’, whelp.” Shroud hissed.

Air Slash chuckled. “Forgive me, forgive me. Worry not, Quantum Tech. Shadow Shroud and myself are on….reasonable terms….by some miracle.”

“Oh, come on, Air Slash. I think you two get along better than you realize.” Spiral Galaxy commented.

Quantum Tech looked her. “And you are?”

Spiral walked up to her. “Hi! I’m Spiral Galaxy, and I swear I won’t accidently bring forth the end of the world!” she innocently introduced.

Quantum Tech cocked her eyebrow at the strange statement. “Er…Why do you- huh?.....Oh my word!” she suddenly got a reading from her glasses.

“What?” Spiral asked.

“Your magical output is approximately…..let’s see……42.587% higher than a normal filly! It’s practically on level with the princesses!......Don’t ask how I know that.” Quantum explained.

“Yeah, Spiral Galaxy here is our cosmomancer. She can summon space anomalies like gravity, little stars, black holes, even a meteor this one time!” Fire Fight explained. “But don’t worry. When she has a roof over her head like this, her magic diminishes and becomes easier to control. Besides, she’s a nice filly anyway. You too will be good friends.”

“Is that so? Well! Cosmomancy has always been a particular interest of mine anyway. I’ll have to make a point of monitoring the behavior of your magic.” Quantum said. She reached into her satchel, and pulled out one of her hornbands. “In the meantime, take this.”

Spiral was understandably hesitant. “Umm….I don’t really think that’s such a good idea. Fire Fight told me what that does, and…..”

“Nonsense, darling! So long as you are wearing this, your neuromagical activity will have a much easier time stabilizing itself. If anything, consider this a form of treatment.” Quantum Tech said.

“O….O-Okay….” Spiral muttered. She took the band, and slipped onto her horn. She experienced the same sensation that Fire Fight, and……she liked it! “Wow! I actually feel like I can control my magic now! Thanks, Quantum Tech!”

“You’re quite welcome, Spiral Galaxy!” Quantum said. The two giggled. “I suppose I should go ahead and put mine on” she said as she donned her own hornband. “And I managed to finish a third one, so here you go, Fire Fight.” She handed him her final band, and Fire Fight joyfully took it.

“Thanks!” Fire Fight said as he slipped it on.

Turf War then walked up to Quantum. “What am, homegirl? Name’s Turf War d’ho. I be bashin’ monsters an’ all d’em wit d’hese m- uh, big guys right he’e.” he said as drew his hammer-axe, and showed off his shield. “So if somethin’ comin’ through talkin’ ‘bout ‘I’m a crush you d’ho!’, I come though and be like ‘Really now? How ‘bout y’all watch me crush yo’ damn day!’. Ha! See what I did there?”

Quantum Tech was…..a little more than slightly off put by his…..unique mannerisms. “Er….y-yes, uh……Hello, uh……Turf War.”

Turf War suddenly felt a little awkward. “Ehh….my bad. I kinda f***** dat up, huh?”

“Excuse me!?” Quantum Tech exclaimed.

Turf War’s eyes widened as he realized what he just said. “Yo! My bad, fo’ real! I been workin’ on not cursing, and I stay be doin’ dat, trust!” he frantically said.

“Ehh, sorry about him, Quantum. Turf War really is a good guy at heart. He can just be a little……impulsive.” Fire Fight said.

“And vulgar by the looks of it.” Quantum said. “I…..suppose I’ll learn to tolerate you however. It’s better than staying in Canterlot.”

Turf War rolled his eyes, and just looked away. Crazylocks then suddenly appeared in front of her. “THEY SAY THAT THE FIRST STEP TO FREINDSHIP IS A BIIIIIIIG HUUUUUUUG!” she exclaimed. She thrust her arms around Quantum Tech, and began nuzzling her neck while making animal-like noises.

Quantum Tech was understandably freaked out. “AAHH! UNHAND ME, YOU CRETIN!!” she screamed. She forcefully shoved Crazylocks off of her, and Crazylocks assumed a normal standing position as she……rolled away from her without her body position changing at all. Not even her hair moved an inch as her completely stiff form just tumbled away a good few yards.

Crazylocks came to a stop lying on her back, and held still for a moment before quickly correcting her form. She stood right back on her hooves. “A tumble a day makes the spiders pay their rent!” she said. She then sprouted her wings, and began fluttering around randomly.

Quantum was completely frazzled by the whole charade. “Umm…..where to begin?”

“Sorry, Quantum. She……” Fire Fight said.

“She’s a victim of some horrific…..such and such that bestowed upon her the ability to morph between the three pony tribes. However, it may or may not have been the cause of her insanity. Not only that, but when she’s an earth pony, her hair becomes hard enough to be used like a bludgeoning flail.” Shadow Shroud explained.

Quantum immediately caught interest at that. “Is that so? My word! Well, I’ll certainly have to study her….somehow.”

“Y’all think maybe you could help her too? She a li’l too crazy d’ho, I’m just sayin’.” Turf War said.

“I suppose I could try. Psychology is well within my realm of understanding, but if what Shadow Shroud said is true, then understanding the exact nature of her polymorphic physiology is crucial in understanding the nature of her current psychological state.” Quantum Tech said.

“Uhh…….cool.” Turf War said. He barely understood any of what she said.

Kickback finally walked up to her. He politely removed his hat before introducing himself to a filly. “Pleasure makin’ yer acquaintance, Ms. Quantum Tech. Why, Ah’m Kickback. An’ these here are mah two compadres, Sound and Fury.” He looked at his guns as he introduced them.

Quantum Tech’s gaze was not on the pieces of rare technology that he possessed, but on Kickback himself. She held her hoof to her face as she blushed, and smiled. “Oh…..Oh my!” She pranced up to him. “Well aren’t you just a doll!” she cooed.

Kickback was caught way off guard. His mannerly smile was quickly replaced with the face of foal who forgot to bring their homework to school when it was due. He put his hat back on, and slowly backed away from her. “Uhh, m-ma’am?” He stammered. Spiral was snickering while Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud and Air Slash just looked at one another in mellow surprise. Turf War was just nodding at Kickback while giving him an ‘Atta boy!’ expression. Crazylocks was too busy discussing sandwich politics with a stalactite to care.

Quantum Tech flirtatiously flipped her mane. “Aww, don’t be so shy! I swear I haven’t accidently irradiated myself in any experiments…..thankfully.”

“Uhh….That’s…..That’s all well an’ good, but…” Kickback was becoming flustered. He’d been quite popular back in Dodge City, but he’d never met a filly that was so….bold.

“You’ll protect me in case some big, ugly monster tries to come and devour me, won’t you?” Quantum Tech said.

“W-W-Well, Ah….Ah-Ah reckon we all rightly oughta, s-so…” Kickback was beginning to lose his cool.

“And just how did you get your mane to be so-”

“That’s enough outta you!!” Kickback exclaimed at her. He’d finally lost his patience. Quantum Tech recoiled back as the others exhibited a little shock at seeing Kickback without such a level head, and express that to a filly no less. Quantum lost a little color, and pouted. It was then that Kickback regretted his outburst. “A-Ah’m awful sorry, ma’am. Ah didn’t mean to holler at ya.”

Quantum Tech almost immediately regained her luster. “Oh, I forgive you, Kickback!”

Before she could say anything else, Shadow Shroud got between them. “Ehh, yes….well…why don’t you just wait here for me while I grab what I can of your lost materials…..assuming any of them are still intact.”

Quantum Tech sobered up from her little flustered state. “Oh! Why, yes. Of course…Thank you, Shadow Shroud.”

Shroud donned her mask before setting out into the night once more. “Try not to get bored while I’m gone.”

Quantum Tech walked over to Kickback, and sat right next to him. “Oh, not to worry. Kickback will keep me company, won’t you, darling?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

Kickback just lowered his hat over his face in frustration and embarrassment. “Lord, have mercy….” He muttered to himself.

What Lies Beneath...

Beneath Baltimare….

Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Film Noir and a small team of biologists ventured into the underground subways that had been lost in time. They sought out the location of where the pile of corpses were discovered. Just being back down here made Film Noir quiver. She recalled the horrific face she’d stumbled upon almost too vividly. Her new friends were there to keep her calm, but her nerves weren’t completely agreeing with her.

Film Noir managed to find the place where she made her discovery. It was there that they all got a better look at the scene. An oil drum had clearly exploded hence the smell in air that Film Noir and her colleagues had originally dismissed as a normal odor given the nature of this place. Closer examination presented them with more evidence. A lone bullet that looked as though it may have ignited the oil drum lay amongst the debris. Twilight decided to use her magic to trace the activity of the scene by detecting recent heat signatures- there were a ton! It was clear by the pattern of the signatures that a large brawl had taken place. Thankfully, there was no sign of little pony bits, or otherwise signs that the foals were killed if it was really them who fought these monstrosities.

Twilight then stumbled upon what could be described as footprints leading towards somewhere. They followed the trail, and found that they led to a strange tunnel that had been dug into the wall of the subway. Upon closer examination, Fluttershy and the biologists determined that it was manually dug by a pony rather than burrowed through by any sort of animal. The fading trail of footsteps led all the way into the tunnel. When they got to the end, ‘shocked’ didn’t even begin to describe what they felt upon seeing what awaited them.

“WHOA! WHAT IS THIS PLACE!?” Spike exclaimed. Before them was a series of testing tubes, shattered jars of formaldehyde, a mass of unnecessarily large surgical tools and other various machines, what appeared to be embryos of the unidentified creatures, and a mass amount of corpses of said monsters littering the room.

Fluttershy and the biologists examined the embryos, and came to a startling conclusion. “Twilight! Some……Somepony made these animals! They’re not natural at all!” Fluttershy said.

“W-W-What!?” Twilight stammered. She was completely at a loss for words. How psychotic would somepony have to be to actually create monsters? She immediately began scanning around as the biologists began examining the many other corpses. Sure enough, there was even bigger, more intense all-out brawl here than in the subway.

“These specimens suffered the exact same kind of trauma that the other ones did! Whoever terminated the ones in the subway tunnel attacked them at their source!” One of the biologists said.

“And it sure looks like they succeeded.” Another one commented.

“We need to get the police down here, maybe even the royal guard! If there’s a mad scientist on the loose creating bioengineered monsters, then the Royal Sisters need to know!” Film Noir said.

Twilight snapped out of her shocked state upon hearing that. “Y-Yes! You’re right! Spike, send a note to Princess Celestia about this immediately!” she said.

“On it!” Spike said. He took out his quill pen and a sheet of paper, and jotted down everything that they had observed up until now. He left out the details about Fire Fight since despite the strong evidence, they weren’t totally sure that he had anything to do with this. Twilight probably wouldn’t be too happy with him, but he thought that such a thing would be best explained in person, and that this was a more pressing matter at the moment. With a little green flare exhaled from his mouth, he sent the letter to the solar sovereign. Afterwards, everypony left the unsettling room to notify the immediate authorities.

Meanwhile in Canterlot….

Princess Celestia peacefully sat in her throne bathed in the blessed daylight that she brought about everyday doing one her most sacred duties…..reviewing tax laws! “Let’s see…… Should the loan debtor pay excess interest to the loan giver, …..etcetera…….something……….Ugh! Please let this be the last one for today…..” After a titanic battle with her arch nemesis, boredom, the good princess finally slew the foul tax review, and earned herself a nice break…..until a sudden green flare appeared before her, and manifested into a letter.

A little frustrated, Celestia opened the note. “Oh! It’s from Spike!” Her mood immediately lightened upon realizing that, but it took another turn for the worst when she read its contents. “Oh….Oh my!”

“What is it, sister?” Princess Luna had just returned to their throne room as she heard her sister exclaim in horror.

“I’m sorry, but I must go to Baltimare at once. Their recent wheat famine was a much graver situation than we had originally realized. Can you take over while I’m gone?” She asked.

Luna nodded. “Of course. What pray tell is going on there?”

“See for yourself.” Celestia said. She showed Luna the note that Spike had sent her, and it subsequently sent a chill up her spine.

“By the stars!” Luna said. She looked back up at Celestia. “Be safe, sister.”

Celestia nodded. She addressed her surrounding guards. “Prepare a carriage to Baltimare at once! I’ll need four of you to accompany me. This could turn out to be dangerous.” Her guards acted without hesitation seeing how serious she was. Celestia bid her sister one last goodbye before setting off.

Luna sat in the throne adjacent to the empty one where her sister sat when she wasn’t busy. She couldn’t let it on, but she knew deep down what had happened. It was a night that was truly a great trial for the lost foals that she had been watching over. She silently said a prayer for their prosperity. “Oh my dear foals……may your strength and determination remain everlasting.”

In the Crystal Caverns…..

All the foals had to do was await Shadow Shroud’s return with whatever she could salvage of Quantum Tech’s materials. In the meantime, said scientist got to know her new friends a little better, and cleared up the fact that Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud weren’t cousins. Fire Fight and Turf War told her stories about some of their misadventures in their respective hometowns; she was having difficulty completely understanding Turf War’s ghetto vernacular and was still a little off put by his personality, but she could see that he meant well. Quantum also had Spiral Galaxy demonstrate her cosmomancy with and without her new hornband; the magical fluctuations that her glasses were picking up from her were startling, and she was utterly stunned that Spiral could maintain any control over it whatsoever. She assured her that the hornband would provide ideal neuromagical regulation to help her attain full control over her powerful magic. Air Slash managed to keep Crazylocks calm so that Quantum Tech could more safely observe her. Crazylocks sprouted her horn, and began making some nearby rocks dance while she ‘conducted’ them; she was surprisingly talented with such an activity. Quantum said that she’d need a much better place to observe her in order to start making any real hypotheses. Kickback unloaded his gun, and showed them to Quantum. She was fascinated to learn about how they actually worked; she had been curious ever since guns were first introduced, but she knew that her parents would completely flip at the idea of her getting close to one. Kickback had to back away from her when she tried to pet his mane.

“I’m back!” Shadow Shroud said as she jumped through the hole in the wall. “I was only able to grab a few things, namely a microscope, some charts, and a small tool kit. That’s really it.”

“That’s quite alright. I’m….sure that there’s a way that we can procure replacements….” Quantum Tech said hesitantly.

“On the contrary, I suddenly remembered that the old castle that we’re headed for had a room for what I can only imagine was for a court wizard. It was complete with a great assortment of scientific tool that I’m sure you’ll be able to take advantage of. What I managed to salvage is up to date compared to the sheer amount of testing tubes and all that’s there.” Shadow Shroud explained.

Quantum happily gasped upon hearing. “Oh, fantastic! I simply cannot wait! I’ll be responsible for those, darling.” She said. Shroud handed her the tools, and she put them in her bags. “Now then, shall we?”

“We shall!” Fire Fight said.

“YOU SHALL NOT PASS BY ORDER OF MR. POKEYLOPE!!” Crazylocks randomly exclaimed. Facehooves were abundant that fateful moment.

The foals decided to retrace their steps to that hole in the cavern ceiling where they first entered, and head down further until they got to about the base of the mountain where they could dig through to the outside. Escorting the physically challenged Quantum Tech through the rugged terrain proved to be a little difficult. She panted a lot, and would frequently trip. Air Slash had to hold her up whenever she had to shimmy along a wall or something of that nature. Fire Fight was beginning to think that he was right to be hesitant about bringing her, but nevertheless knew that they had to. He was just worried that this journey would be a lot for her to handle.

Eventually, they descended to what was presumed to be the foot of the mountain if Quantum Tech’s careful estimations were to be banked on. Thankfully, they were in a very large and open room with no pitfalls nearby. There was a massive void of darkness beyond them, but the entirety of the room save for the rocky wall next to them was crystalline.

Turf War slammed his hammer into the wall, and they all listened. “Yep. Dis wall ‘bout to come down.” Turf War said.

“My X-Ray scanner shows that this wall is considerably thicker than the one you made that hole in when you first arrived at Canterlot, but I estimate that our combined strength will allow us to tunnel through it in about…..twenty minutes, or perhaps less if we make sufficient use of our tools at hand.” Quantum Tech explained.

“Well shucks! We’ll be outta here in no time! Darn shame Ah don’t have any good tools to dig with, an’ Sound and Fury wouldn’t want me to waste any of our bullets.” Kickback said.

“It’s cool, Kickback.” Fire Fight said.

“Oh yes! I’d be happy to pass the time with you, Kickback!” Quantum Tech cooed. She flipped her mane at him and smiled. Kickback just rolled his eyes.

“Hang on. Let me get you guys started.” Spiral said. She lit her horn, and fired a focused cosmo beam that blasted much of the tougher material away from the wall. “There you go! I’d blast through the whole thing, but I don’t want to potentially start a scene out there.”

“A fair precaution. Thank you, Spiral.” Air Slash said. Spiral smiled at him.

Just before they could start digging, the foals heard a loud, long groaning sound coming from the void across the room. They looked over there, and were startled when a pair of large eyes shining from within the dark were staring right back at them!

Between A Rock and A Hard Place

“Ms. Quantum Tech, get behind me!” Kickback whispered as he drew his guns. Quantum Tech complied without question. She hid behind him as she observed the pair of eyes. The foals readied themselves for whatever it was.

What finally emerged was a giant floating crystalline golem. It had a large cluster of crystals forming its body, and didn’t have legs. It had thin arms with crystalline ‘gauntlets’ about its forearms and five fingers on each hand. Its head had much more of a shape to it; the edge of the crystal forming its head almost acting like a nose despite not actually having one with either of the adjacent faces holding either of its two eyes. The eyes were multicolored, and were in the likes of the light spectrum. It had a few large crystals growing out of its spinal area. It let out a roar that sounded as though it was emitted from a speaker rather than actually screamed.

The foals stood still locked in a staring contest with the prismatic being. “Is….Is it dangerous?” Fire Fight asked. His question was quickly answered when the creature slammed its fists onto the ground, causing a wave of crystals to travel towards them. They jumped out of the way just in time before an even bigger crystal erupted from the ground, nearly impaling them. “Guess so!!”

“YOU’RE LATE FOR THE MEETING, SIR!! YOU’RE FIIIIIIIIIRRRREEED!!!” Crazylocks bellowed. She flew towards the monster, and reassumed her earth pony form as she landed on its shoulder. She wailed on it with her locks. She managed to make some cracks, but it barely did a thing to stagger the beast. It picked her off of its shoulder, and flung her into rocky wall where the foals were.

“CRAZYLOCKS!” Spiral Galaxy exclaimed. She seemed okay, but she was definitely gonna feel that in the morning. “Oh, you’ve done it now!” Spiral began charging her magic. Her new hornband amplified her magic considerably. She was sure to obliterate a monster made of stone with a well-placed star beam.

The other hung back. Turf War got in front of Crazylocks to defend her as she staggered to her hooves. “Nrgh….I…..I didn’t order that!!” she said.

Quantum Tech was eager to see Spiral’s magic at its finest as the others awaited her cosmic wrath to be inflicted upon this being. However, when she thought more about the circumstances, a startling revelation had hit her. “WAIT!! DON’T!!” She ran over to Spiral to try and stop her, but it was too late. Spiral fired her nova beam, and the beast took it full on. However, instead of being shattered into countless pieces…..it seemed to absorb the beam of light!

The golem glowed bright as the ground around it seemed to rumble, and it let out another roar. The foals’ eyes all widened in horror. “Uh oh….” Spiral muttered. Her head started hurting from focusing the blast.

“I should have expected this….” Quantum muttered. The golem was now glowing bright enough to pretty light the entire huge cavern. It aimed its hands at the foals as energy began collecting in its palms…

“RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!!!!!”

Fire Fight screamed his lungs out as he called out to his comrades. Turf War grabbed Crazylocks as he booked it. The golem fired the light energy that it had absorbed as its own concentrated beams at the foals. The foals ran in opposite directions trying to avoid certain death. The destructive beams violently shook the ground that they didn’t obliterate, and the foals struggled to keep their balance as they ran from them. The golem stopped firing its beams, and charged the foals.

“I AM AN IDIOT!!” Spiral screamed.

“N-N-Now, now. E-E-Everything will be fine. We just need to…..um, um, umm!!!” Quantum Tech was thinking frantically. The situation had unexpectedly become direr, and she had to come up with a solution pronto. “O-Ok! I think can agree that attacking it with magic is a bad idea! Just attack with brute force until I can think of something” she shouted.

“Thought you’d never ask, homegirl!” Turf War shouted.

Crazylocks suddenly sprang up, and was sobbing in anger. “I..<sob>….I WILL AVENGE CRAZYLOCKS! SHE WAS SO PRETTY, AND YOU KILLED HER!!” she shouted.

Turf War rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Dis b**** is stupid….” He muttered to himself. The golem flew towards, and threw a punch. He blocked it with his shield, and then smacked its fist with his hammer. It did little to stagger the beast, but it left some cracks. He then pushed it away with his shield. The golem floated back, and pointed its finger towards him and Crazylocks. It must have had some leftover magic from absorbing Spiral’s nova beam, because its finger lit up, and fired a series of light blasts at them. “OH S***!!!” Turf War put up his shield in an attempt to block it, but a few of the light blasts that hit him blew him back into the wall behind him.

The other shots flew towards Crazylocks, but instead of striking her, she….managed to catch them in her mouth and swallow them. She held her mouth as though she was trying to hold back vomiting for a few seconds, but then let loose.

“BEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLCH!!!!!”

Crazylocks loudly burped the magic blasts back at the golem as waves of energy. While the crystalline beast didn’t seem to take any damage, it was greatly staggered by the…..counterattack, and struggled to stay afloat in the air. It roared in some kind of agony. Crazylocks stopped after a few seconds. “THAT WASN’T MY FAVORITE FLAVOR!! I DEMAND A REFUND!!” she shouted.

The other foals just looked at her in….somewhat appalled astonishment. “Er…Undignified…..but effective.” Quantum Tech said.

“Attack it while it’s down!” Fire Fight shouted.

“Fire Fight, don’t attack it with any surges of heat if you can help it! Crystals are formed when carbon is superheated deep underground! You’ll only harden it!” Quantum Tech said to him.

“Shoot. Ok! Thanks the heads up!” Fire Fight replied. He charged the creature along with Air Slash, Shadow Shroud and Crazylocks. Kickback and Spiral stayed in the back while Quantum went to check on Turf War.

Kickback drew his guns. “Time to make some noise, you two.” He fired them a few times at the golem, but as expected, the little pellets of metal did little to a huge mass of crystal. “Shucks!”

“You’d have to get closer, darling! Projectiles such as bullets lose momentum in the air as they travel, and thus wouldn’t as much damage from a greater distance!” Quantum shouted to him.

Kickback tipped his hat at her. “Ah understand!” he said. He rushed over to the others to aid in their all-out assault.

“If I can’t hit it with magic directly, then I’ll try to keep it down!” Spiral exclaimed. She formed a small but powerful gravity field over the golem that wasn’t big enough to disrupt the other attacking foals.

Quantum reached Turf War as he staggered to his hooves. “<pant><pant> Damn! Dat was whack….” he mumbled.

“Are you quite alright?” Quantum asked him.

Turf War wiped his nose. “Yeah. Dat wasn’t s***. I’m good. Thanks d’ho.” He said.

“Just…be careful. And stop swearing for goodness sakes!” Quantum said.

“Er…my bad.” Turf War rushed into the fray. Upon looking more closely at him, Quantum noticed that he seemed to by limping a little.

Spiral’s gravity field held the golem down fairly well, but its floating ability seemed to push away gravity, and it rose with relative ease. Meanwhile, the assaulting foals wailed heavily on the staggered crystal creature. Kickback fired at its thin arms nearly point blank in an attempt to sever them, but it still did little; the other were amazed that he could even hit such small targets. Air Slash sliced away at it, but even his swords left only little gashes in its crystalline flesh. Shadow Shroud wasn’t having much better luck; she was chopping away with her kamas, but they of course did little. It was then that she pulled out a thick little string that was roughly 4-5 inches long, folded the blades of her kamas, and connected them with the string into nunchucks. She expertly spun them before wailing on the golem, but she could only leave little cracks. Fire Fight punched and kicked away, but he left only bigger cracks than the other could leave; having to restrict himself access to his fire magic made things all the more difficult. Turf War was having about the same luck with his hammer-axe; the axe end seemed to do more damaged as it chopped into the golem’s body. Crazylocks was the only one who could deal significant damage to the golem due to her earth pony mane being so ridiculously strong; she chipped off whole pieces of its body little by little, but the golem seemed to be taking even those blows like flea bites.

Finally, the golem braved through Spiral’s gravity field completely. It spun around flailing its fists, and knocked the foals away in all directions. Air Slash and Shadow Shroud managed to keep their balance and get back to their hooves quickly, but they had taken a nasty blow. The others weren’t so lucky. Fire Fight and Crazylocks flew into the rocky wall, and fell to the floor with a thud. “Nrgh! ARGH!!” Fire Fight really felt that.

Turf War was knocked towards the dark void where the golem appeared from, but there was thankfully no wall; however, the damage he’d sustained earlier was only added to greatly, and he could barely stand. “Argh….H-Hell!”

Kickback was knocked into the wall right where Quantum Tech was. She watched in horror as he crumbled to the ground like a ragdoll. “KICKBACK!!” she screamed.

The gunslinger greatly struggled to his hooves. “T-T-Tarnation!”

The golem locked eyes with Spiral, who was trying to intensify her gravity field to hold it down, but to no avail. It fired one last little shot of prismatic light at her. She could do nothing to dodge it as she was concentrating on her magic, and took the blast of light to the chest. “AIIEE!!” Thankfully, her armor blocked all of the damage from the light blast, but she was thrust into the wall behind her with incredible force, and flopped to the ground “Unnnnngghhhh……” She struggled to her hooves.

Quantum Tech frantically looked around in horror. She was the only one left standing, and she was helpless to do anything. She helped up Kickback and Spiral as the other from afar got up themselves. The situation was grim. She scanned it with her glasses for any sign of a weak point, but to no avail. The places where it had been previously damaged were as vulnerable as they were before. “Oh my! Oh my, oh my, oh my!!” she was panicking.

The golem let out another roar as it raised its arms, and summoned a wave of crystal from outwards. It pulled the crystal towards itself as the wave itself scooped the foals up towards it. They could do little to resist in their injured states. They all looked up at the golem in despair. Its eyes expressed great hostility as it rose upward, and curled into ball. The spikes protruding from its back gleamed viciously as it began rolling forward quickly. The shocked that the foals exhibited essentially forced them to recover quickly. Being trapped within walls of crystal, they had nowhere to run. Just as the golem rocketed downward towards them, Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy combined their magic to create a huge force field above them and the others. The golem abraded against the force field as it tried to shred through it, but the two unicorns mustered their mental strength well since they were compromised physically.

It was relatively close enough for Kickback to fire his guns, so he fired them in hopes of pushing it back. It did naught but cut some hoof-sized splinters to fall to them. “Sorry, y’all! Ah’m almost outta bullets! Ah can’t afford to waste anymore!” he said as he stopped shooting.

The situation now seemed hopeless. The unicorns surely didn’t have the strength to hold their force field forever. “Is this……Is this it?” Air Slash muttered.

“How fitting that I would perish in the place where my order began….” Shadow Shroud muttered.

“Don’t y’all start sayin’ s*** like dat now! We can get through dis! We just gotta……..gotta…….” Even Turf War was beginning to lose hope.

Spiral and Fire Fight were battling with all of their psychic endurance against the golem. “Quantum Tech!......Nrgh!......NRRRGHHH!.......Please!..........Think of something!....Anything!!” Spiral shouted. It was astonishing that she and Fire Fight were holding out as much as they were. Quantum’s hornbands must have been making a huge difference.

Quantum heard her, but she was consumed with terror upon gazing at the crystalline reaper above them eager to maul them. Had her passion for science brought her to an untimely demise? Were her parents right to condemn her for it? She had to push such thoughts away as she looked around frantically. There was nothing but the pieces of its body that Kickback managed to shoot off, but that was but a reminder of how helpless they were against the golem……..”Wait a minute.”

Quantum curiously levitated one the pieces towards her, and forced some of her magic into it. As expected, it glowed like it did before, meaning that it was charged with the power she had fed to it. She thought back to when it turned Spiral’s nova laser against them…… “Air Slash, come here a moment.” She said.

Air Slash crawled towards her. “What is it?”

“Would you kindly hand me one of your swords? I might have an idea….” Quantum said.

Air Slash looked at her with hesitation, but gave in. “Very well….Please be careful with it.”

“Certainly.” Quantum Tech held her charged crystal against the blade of Air Slash’s sword. She then used a spell that let her transfer charged magic to another object, being the blade; the blade itself couldn’t already conduct magic. The sword began shimmering brightly with the same kind of glow that she got from the crystal. She charged more magic into, and it was becoming blinding. “Hand me your other sword.” Air Slash, amazed at she was doing did so without hesitation. She charged the other sword with equal power, and handed them back to him. “Now try that.”

Pushing some hesitation aside, Air Slash poised his glistening swords, and sliced them at the golem. What he didn’t expect to see was that it launched a massive sword beam at it that definitely hit home. The golem screeched in agony when it was hit, and stopped spinning. The crystal walls around the foals suddenly lowered, and they fell back. “Well! I’d say that worked!” Air Slash declared victoriously. The golem was clutching itself as though it had sustained massive damage, probably because it did. It glared viciously back at the foals as it let out a furious growl.

Air Slash could see that he still had some energy left in his swords, so he poised them towards the crystalline titan. “Our time together is over, monster! Fall to my blades!” he shouted. Just before he was about to charge at it, He suddenly felt his swords vibrate. He looked back to see Quantum charging them once more.

“Perhaps a little recharge would do nicely?” she said.

Air Slash nodded. “Thank you, friend.” He soared towards his foe. The others were too roughed up to put up a sufficient fight, so they hung back. Spiral and Fire Fight had splitting headaches from forcing their magic like that. Just as Air Slash reached the golem, it thrust its fist toward him. He actually managed to parry it away with his charged sword as the golem screeched again. Seizing the opportunity, Air Slash went for its head, but it strafed away before he could hit it. He did however manage to reach one of its thin arms as it moved to the side. Without thinking, he slashed at it, and sure enough, he sliced it clean off! “Yes!!” he shouted. The golem shrieked in utter agony.

“It’s working!! We’ve managed to turn its own strength against it! It’s sure to fall!” Quantum said jubilantly.

“You’re amazing, Quantum Tech!” Spiral said. Quantum blushed at her new friend’s comment. It was in that moment that Spiral’s headache had subsided enough to where she’d feel comfortable using her magic. This hornband was really a blessing. “Time for you to settle down, you overgrown engagement ring!” She conjured a gravity field that managed to slow it down just in time for Air Slash to fly over, and sever its other arm.

The golem shrieked once more as Air Slash held his swords skyward. They seemed to charge each other as they began to glow more brilliantly. “THIS IS THE END FOR YOU!!!” Air Slash shouted. He crossed his swords into an ‘X’ shape, and sliced them forward. An ‘X’ shaped sword beam flew towards the golem as it could only watch its demise unfold. It hit the beast, and sliced its body into quarters. The four large pieces of its head and torso fell to the ground completely lifeless.

Crystal Clear

Air Slash regrouped with the other foals He’d used up all of the energy in his swords in that finishing blow. Everypony was exhausted and injured from taking such harsh punishment. They were nevertheless proud that they’re newest comrade came through for them. “Great job, Quantum Tech! You really saved our bacon back there.” Fire Fight said. He was beginning to lose his hesitation about her greatly.

“Indeed. We owe you our lives.” Shadow Shroud said. Her tone was very sincere.

“You’re way awesome, and everypony’s favorite!” Crazylocks blurted.

Quantum Tech blushed as everypony praised her. “Oh….Twas nothing, dears. I’m certainly amazed that you even managed to combat this behemoth at all.” She said.

Kickback walked up to her. “Well, Ah’d say it was you who came through in the end. We’d have been feed fer the vultures if y’all didn’t figure out its weakness.” He said.

Quantum Tech pranced up to him, and gently pressed her muzzle into the side of his neck. “I’m so flattered to hear that from you, you handsome doll!” she cooed.

Kickback backed away from her, trying to conceal his frustration. “Uh….Y-Yer….surely welcome….” He mumbled. The only response her got from her was her making flirty eyes and fluttering her lashes. He lowered his hat once more to conceal his expression. “Curse mah manners….” He grumbled to himself.

Spiral Galaxy giggled. “What’s the matter, Kickback? I thought you were used to taking some heat?” she teased. Kickback peeked from under hit hat. He eyed her while trying to hold back a glare.

Shadow Shroud got in between Kickback and Quantum. “Okay, okay. That’s enough- Nrgh!” She staggered to her knees in pain.

“Shadow Shroud!” Fire Fight ran up to her, but he suddenly felt some sharp pain all around his body. “Ugh!”

“Oof! Damn, we….really got f***** up- I mean messed up, huh?” Turf War asked as he winced in pain.

Air Slash lowered himself to the ground and lay down. “Indeed….<pant>…This golem was quite a formidable adversary. I can barely lift my head.”

“It never even told me its favorite color of jawbreaker….” Crazylocks muttered.

Quantum Tech inspected each of her new comrades. They had some considerable cuts, scrapes and bruises. It came as no shock seeing how greatly they struggled against the golem. “Oh dear. You’re all hurt! Do we have a first aid kit?”

“There should be a couple in my bag there.” Shroud said.

Quantum immediately went over to said bag, and retrieved one of the kits. One by one, she patched up her friends. She applied disinfectant to their cuts and scrapes and wrapped some bandages around them if need be, and some special powder designed to heal bruises and bumps; apparently, it eased swelling. “Look at this! Is this what you all have been doing to yourselves this whole time!? Such recklessness! You really ought to be more considerate of your well-being before rushing into a fight all willy-nilly. I care not if your flanks basically grant you permission to do so. Even somepony as simple as a construction worker takes necessary precautions whilst on the job.” She nagged.

“Yeah, yeah. Tell dat to da m*********** who cornered us just now.” Turf War said.

“Swear once more, and I’ll rip those bandages right off of your wounds without the slightest hint of sympathy!” Quantum Tech warned him.

Turf War gulped. “My bad…”

“Speaking of which, what was that thing? Shadow Shroud, was that maybe some kind of sentinel that the Shadewalkers made to protect this place?” Fire Fight asked.

“Not that I know of. I feel like my mother would have mentioned such a thing. She’s always been a stickler for details.” Shroud replied.

“I was detecting a strange form of vital signs from the creature. It’s obviously not a form of organic life, but it somehow managed to gain life-like attributes. It’s magic absorbing property is rather fascinating. I suspect that that’s what might have given rise to its sentience.” Quantum Tech explained.

“You mean…..it just absorbed magic from somewhere, and it just….came to life?” Spiral inquired.

Quantum nodded. “Its habitat is located directly beneath the magical capital of Equestria, so it stands to reason the any excess magic that we put off might have leaked down here where it was somehow concentrated into essentially a brain for a random cluster of crystals that became this monster. Though I’d imagine that would have taken a great amount of time, perhaps decades or even centuries. It’s most likely that it began forming long before the Shadewalkers were formed. It’s possible that it was born just now as a matter of fact.”

“And….we just killed it? Now Ah…..Ah feel rather ashamed.” Kickback muttered.

“You’d rather be dead?” Turf War asked. Kickback shook his head.

“These fragments of its body came in handy nevertheless. I say we harvest them, and use them as a resource.” Shroud said.

“Yeah! They’d make a fantastic energy source for our utopia!” Fire Fight said.

“Not to mention that they can empower my swords to dramatic levels. Their potency as weapons has been thoroughly demonstrated.” Air Slash commented.

“I could definitely power them for you guys in no time!” Spiral said.

“That is indeed true, however the vast majority of the crystals that we broke off are far too small to hold a sufficient charge of magical energy. The few that are just big enough to equal the height of our hooves should fine. The remaining four pieces of the creatures are obviously too big to haul.” Quantum Tech explained.

“So let’s just break off some more! We could use all we can get.” Fire Fight said.

“Yes, but let us be quick. I’m detecting that the golem’s vitals haven’t completely diminished, and given the nature of its….biology, I would not be surprised if it…<gulp>…regenerated.” Quantum explained.

The foals looked at her with nervousness. “You mean….I-I-It could come back to life!?” Spiral stammered.

Quantum nodded. “Yes. While it might very well take days, even years to fully reconstitute, we have no way of knowing for certain, and that is not a risk we can afford to take. There’s also the possibility that there are more down here….”

“Say no more. Let’s break off a few mo’ o’ d’ese, and bounce!” Turf War said.

“Agreed. Quantum Tech, can you see out of the wall we’ve gotta dig out? Is there anypony out there?” Fire Fight asked.

Quantum used her X-ray scanners to see that there were no such vital signs within range beyond the thinned out rocky wall. “Not a thing, Fire Fight.”

“Good. Spiral, it should okay for you to blast it away, but try to be gentle about it. We’ll get moving as soon as you’re done.” Fire Fight said.

Spiral nodded. “Okay.” She carefully gathered a relatively small amount of magic, and began chipping away at the wall with a concentrated nova beam. The hornband that Quantum Tech gave her made things way easier, especially considering that she was hurt.

Meanwhile, Turf War, Crazylocks and Fire Fight went to work chipping off more pieces of the golem’s body. Any pieces that were a little too big were cut accordingly by Air Slash and Shadow Shroud at Quantum Tech’s direction. Kickback brushed away shards that were smaller and thus unusable; when his back was turned, Quantum blew him a quick kiss.

It didn’t take Spiral too much longer to blast away a small enough hole for them to crawl through. “Okay, guys. This ought to do it.” She said. She rubbed her forehead a little; her headache was still present. She was tough filly.

They had managed to gather a total of 20 sufficient crystals, and Quantum Tech put them all in her bags. Air Slash gave her the other two that he already possessed as well. “Not to worry, I’ll keep our treasures safe until I can get them to a proper lab so that I may examine them more closely.” Quantum said.

Fire Fight nodded. “Fine by me. Alright, let’s finally head home!”

“TO INFINTY AND BEYOND!!” Crazylocks exclaimed as she dashed towards the hole. Spiral had to catch her with her magic so that she wouldn’t cause a potential scene outside. “<sob><sob>…Why do you hate me, Infinity!?” she sobbed as she reached out towards the tunnel.

Quantum Tech held her hoof to her face. “Ugh….I have so much work to do….”

In Baltimare….

Only a few hours after receiving the letter from Spike did Princess Celestia arrive in Baltimare. Twilight and co. were there waiting for her in the street that had been blocked off by authorities. She was bowed to by everypony that saw her as she approached her former student, whom she bowed to in return being fellow royalty. “Hello, Twilight. I received your letter, and came as quickly as I could. What is this about a mad scientist creating monsters?”

“We’re about to show you said monsters, Princess. But we also stumbled upon an underground laboratory hidden deep within an abandoned subway system where the creatures were discovered. It’s a good thing that you brought some guards; there might be more of them.” Twilight explained.

“I see…And how were these creatures of yours found?” Celestia asked.

Film Noir stepped up. “Your Highness, my film crew and I were shooting down there for a movie when we just stumbled upon them. They were already dead, so we weren’t hurt, but…..”

Celestia put her hoof on Film Noir’s shoulder. “All is well now, dear. I’m sorry that you had such a horrific experience.” She softly consoled. Film Noir smiled at her. She returned her hoof.

Just then, one of the biologists approached them while rolling an examination table with something on it covered. “Milady, this is one of the specimens.” He said as he removed the cover to reveal one of the creatures.

Celestia was immediately overcome with shock, and gasped. “My word! And they were directly below the city!?”

The biologist nodded as he recovered the specimen. “None were found alive, but there were a lot of them. It’s a good thing that who or whatever did them in did so. There’s a high probability that these creatures were the cause of the recent wheat famine, not to mention that they look like they would have been hostile.”

Celestia’s interest had been caught. “They…..were killed?”

“Yeah….about that….We might have an idea of who it was.” Spike said.

Twilight and Spike explained the situation with Fire Fight, but Twilight continued to remain completely silent about the possibility of a ‘Shadewalker’. They also made mention of the other runaway foals that he might have taken with him, and their situations. Film Noir explained how the nature of the burns and trauma left on some of the chimeras almost immediately made her think of the fiery colt, and brought Twilight here to investigate.

Celestia was understandably saddened by all of this. “Oh dear…..bless the hearts of all their parents. We’ll have to start searching for them immediately. I feel as though I should make a point of visiting those parents personally, and giving them my deepest sympathies.”

“Ponyville’s schoolteacher is handling that. I’d normally be helping her, but then this happened, so I came.” Twilight explained.

“Good. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to return to Ponyville with you, and speak with this teacher so that we can discuss how we can help one another find Fire Fight and all of those foals.” Celestia said.

“That’d be a good idea. You should probably inform Princess Luna in the meantime.” Twilight said.

Celestia nodded. “Indeed.” She turned to a messenger that had accompanied her. “Send word of this to my sister.” She ordered.

“Yes, milady.” The messenger said. She got to work right away.

“Now then, show us to this underground laboratory of yours. If the situation is as grave as you say, then we should uncover all that we can as soon as possible.” Celestia said. They all agreed, and ventured back into the darkness below.

Heading Home

When the foals emerged from the cave, they found that morning had just about broken. Ponyville could be seen far out into the distance. Even more promising was that the waterfall that cascaded down from Canterlot was just to their right. They hurriedly limped over there, and each got a nice gulp of water from it. They made a point of refilling their bottles as well.

Shadow Shroud looked at her map. “Hmm…..Okay, looks like there’s a railroad track to the east of here. We’ll cross over it, and then head south to this wooded area here. From there, we’ll build another raft like we did at Foal Mountain, and then just ride downstream the rest of the way back to the forest. Fire Fight and I should be able to guide you guys back to the castle from there.” She explained as she pointed to her map.

“I doubt the raft would be a very good idea, Shroud. We’d be right next to civilization, and be very easily noticed even at night. But taking that route along the riverbank would still be good since we’d still be in the woods.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Hmm….good point. Then I vote we do that. Sound good?” Shroud asked.

Turf War’s stomach suddenly growled. “We got one ‘no’ down he’e. He say he want some breakfast first. Dat straight?” he said.

Fire Fight chuckled. “I’m on it, guys.”

“And you all had better eat well and rest up first. You all took quite the beating to say the absolute least.” Quantum Tech said.

“Ugh… ‘Beating’ is only the beginning.” Air Slash said as he rubbed his shoulder. Fire Fight cooked up a nice medley of some herbs, veggies and the cave mushrooms for everypony. Quantum was impressed at his skill, even going as far as to say that he surpassed her family’s personal chef.

Quantum Tech then suddenly realized something. “Wait! Kickback, didn’t you say that you were almost out of bullets?”

“Shucks! Ah just about forget! Any idea how Ah could get a restock?” Kickback asked.

“I…..suppose I could try to manufacture more for you…..assuming I could acquire the necessary materials….” Quantum said.

“I’m that there are plenty of such resources within the Everfree forest. All we have to do is look around.” Shadow Shroud said.

“I’m an experienced smith, so leave any handling of metals to me.” Air Slash said.

“I absolutely will, Air Slash. Your craftsmanship of these weapons and armor is nothing short of impressive.” Quantum Tech said.

“Thank you.” Air Slash said.

“Could I ask you to sharpen my knives when we return? They’ve become rather dull with how much I’ve put them through.” Shadow Shroud asked.

Air Slash nodded. “Certainly. Fire Fight, Turf War, if you two want me to tend your own armaments, I’d happily oblige.”

“I appreciate you fo’ dat, son.” Turf War. Fire Fight nodded as he was chewing his food.

“Can you patch up my armor too, Slash?” Spiral asked.

“Yes. It seems I have my own work cut out for me.” Air Slash said.

“Indeed, but let’s wait until we reach our destination before worrying about such things.” Quantum said. Air Slash nodded.

Fire Fight held out his hoof. “Put ‘em in, guys.” He said. They all fist bumped except for Quantum Tech, who just gently placed her hoof into the circle.

“Erm……Like this?” she asked.

“Nah, homegirl! You gotta bump it d’ho! See? Like dis!” Turf War demonstrated firmly putting his hoof into the circle.

“Er….very well….” Quantum Tech did as Turf War showed her, and he approved. They all shared an excited ‘Yeah!’. Quantum Tech just gave a nervous smile. “That felt rather undignified…” she mumbled to herself.

*****

After their breakfast, the foals set out. The railroad that Shadow Shroud mentioned was indeed where she said it would be. They looked both ways before quickly crossing it. There were thankfully no trains well within sight, but they still hurried towards the forest just to be sure. Their injuries had healed considerable from resting and having a good meal, so they could use most of their strength.

When they made it to the forested area, they made a point of gathering more food. Air Slash managed to nab a bunch of eggs once more while the others harvested some basic fruits, herbs, natural wheat, edible flowers and……fish carcasses?

“No, Crazylocks!” Shadow Shroud swatted them out of the manic filly’s hoof.

Crazylocks pouted. “Aww, but they’re my favorite midday snack after some nice acupuncture with piranha teeth!” she whined. They all just shook their heads in annoyance, and told her to follow. “Hmph! At least I could have fun at the Fish Bones Bonanza back in the earthworm caves…”

*****

At last they had reached the edge of the Everfree forest. It was as foreboding as its two returning occupants had remembered. Nevertheless, they were fearless to brave its horrors. “Careful, guys. This place has a bad rap all over Equestria for a reason.” Fire Fight warned.

“Man, if we can fight off a crystal monster, we can get through here, right?” Turf War asked.

“Never let your guard down, Turf War, especially in a place such as this. I’ve heard many a tale of ponies venturing into this dreaded place only to never return.” Air Slash said.

“Well, Fire Fight and I made it through just fine, didn’t we? Besides, there’s a zebra that lives out here, so we’ll have to make sure we don’t accidently bump into her as well.” Shadow Shroud said.

“A zebra? Really?” Spiral asked.

“Yeah. Her name is Zecora. She makes potions and….does other weird zebra stuff that I don’t really understand. Anyway, she’s a citizen of Ponyville, so yeah, we’ve gotta avoid her.” Fire Fight said.

“Understood. Shall we?” Air Slash asked. When he looked back, he could see that Quantum Tech was shivering heavily. She was understandably scared of having to trudge through a location spoken of in ghost stories. “Quantum Tech?”

“Huh!? Oh! U-U-Umm….Y-Y-Yes! Just, uh…Just let me make a few observations first….” She stammered.

Kickback gulped, and walked over to her. “Ah hope Ah don’t regret this.” He whispered to himself. He held out his hoof to her. “Come on now, Ms. Quantum. We’ll be fine.” He said softly.

Quantum Tech saw this, and eased up. She smiled at him, and took his arm. “Thank you, darling!” she said.

Kickback suddenly wasn’t feeling so proud. While he was a gentleman at heart, he was gonna have a difficult time with Quantum. As they finally began their hike through the fabled forest, Spiral couldn’t help but to start snickering while the others just smiled amusingly at them. Kickback felt pretty annoyed as Quantum clung to his arm. He couldn’t bring to himself to force her off of him seeing as she likely wouldn’t make it through the forest otherwise.

While she was still laughing, Spiral picked up some leaves and fallen flower petals, and began playfully tossing them at the two. “Dun…Duh, Duh-Duh! <snicker> Dun…Duh, Duh-<snicker>Duh! Dun…D- Ha! Hahaha!” She couldn’t help herself.

Kickback was becoming agitated. “Ms. Spiral, Ah don’t reckon yer helpin’ none.” He said.

Spiral eased her laughter. “Sorry, Kickback!” she said.

Kickback directed his eyes towards the genius filly who was clinging to him like a fangirl, and sighed. “Ah regret this…”

*****

After a few run-ins with some monsters here and there that were easily put down, the foals had finally reached their destination. “Ah! Home sweet home.” Shadow Shroud said. The castle hadn’t changed a bit since it was last seen. They entered the doors without hesitation Quantum finally let go of Kickback.

Standing in the ruined foyer brought Fire Fight back to that fateful night. He vividly recalled the moonlight gleaming viciously from Shadow Shroud’s kunai and his flames lighting the dark room as they clashed. He looked over at her to see that she was smiling at him too. He could see it in her eyes; she remembered too. This was where everything began. Despite some uneasy feelings in the beginning, this would turn out to be a happy place for the two of them, and for their new friends.

Everything was still there. The fallen columns, tattered rugs, stairs, and suits of armor that wielded either swords or axes were all left untouched. Crazylocks began slowly inhaling in a gasping manner; she was probably taking in the scenery of her new home.

“Damn! Dis a fine crib!” Turf War said.

“It’s a little dilapidated, but if Shadow Shroud saw fit to settle here, then I see no reason to complain.” Air Slash said.

“I wonder if there’s like a….meditation chamber or something where I can practice controlling my magic?” Spiral asked.

“Not really, but there is a nice and quiet room just below the fountain in the courtyard where I would meditate. I’ll show you.” Shroud said.

“Okay!” Spiral said.

Shroud then faced Quantum and Air Slash. “I’ll also show the metal forge and the wizards chamber that I mentioned-”

“DESTROY THE AXEEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!”

Crazylocks screamed at the top of her lungs just before she pounced like a predatory cat at one of the suits of armor holding an axe, ripped the axe from the suit, and furiously slammed it on the ground. She repeatedly did this until the blade of the axe shattered, and moved onto another one.

“CRAZYLOCKS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?” Fire Fight shouted. He, Spiral and Quantum used their magic to restrain before any more damage could be done.

Crazylocks slammed and scratched against the magic bubble like a wild animal. The same fury that she had exhibited upon hearing Gene Splice’s name had been evoked, and it was still a terrifying display. “You’d better calm down this instant, missy!” Quantum demanded.

Something about Quantum’s tone must have had an effect on Crazylocks, because she calmed her rage considerably. She was still snarling and growling, but overall calm…..for her standards. “The axes…..The axes are dangerous! Don’t ever trust them! They’ll look you in the eye and say ‘Hey, kiddo! Want a cookie?’ and then stab you right in the back as soon as your turn around! They’re evil! EVIL!!” she declared.

Turf War was confused upon hearing that. “Uh, homegirl? Y’all I got a-” He was cut off when Kickback elbowed, and shook his head as if to warn him not to provoke her any further. Turf War realized just what kind of danger he nearly put himself into. “Dude! I owe you my life!”

“So….What? Do we just get rid of all those axes?” Spiral asked.

“I’ll repurpose them somehow. We won’t have to worry about our friend here having another episode.” Air Slash said.

“I’ll melt them down for you if you need me to.” Fire Fight said. Air Slash nodded. They quickly moved any remaining axes away from Crazylocks, and Shadow Shroud hid them under the fountain until her temper blew over. It was a long road coming back, but the foals could finally begin relaxing and rebuilding their lives.

Settling In

Not even a few hours after they finally arrived were the foals already loving their new home. Quantum Tech nearly had a heart attack at the sheer amount of research material and scientific tools that were still intact and at her disposal. Fire Fight and Air Slash managed to rekindle the forge, and got to work right away with it. Fire Fight really had to strain his focus to muster enough heat to melt down the armor and weapons, but Quantum’s hornband made it significantly easier; he then used his magic to shape the melted metal into ingots for Air Slash to work with. Once that was done, Air Slash went to work fixing up their arsenal. However, he mentioned that Quantum Tech had asked him to show them to her when he was done for some reason.

Everypony else looked around the makeshift garden that Shadow Shroud had started in the courtyard. As she had expected, some of her crops had begun to wilt from neglect due to her absence. It was a miracle that only a good hoofful of them were just ripe enough to be harvested. The others said they’d help her manage it, which she was thankful for. But when she looked around in one particular patch, she noticed something. “Huh…That’s odd.”

“What?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“Well, I could’ve sworn that I left a spare kunai here.” Shroud explained.

“I thought you said that you guys leave no trace of yourselves whenever you leave someplace?” Spiral inquired.

“Yes, but I had the intention of returning soon after, so……meh, it’s of negligible consequence. I have plenty more.” Shroud said.

“Don’t you mean that you have planty more? <giggle> Get it?” Spiral joked.

Shroud smiled and shook her head. “Tch…Let me guess, you heard that one from Turf War?”

Spiral giggled. “No, but how much wanna bet he’ll make jokes like that the whole time we’re here?”

Speaking of Turf War, he suddenly called out from the other side of the room to Shadow Shroud. “Yo, homegirl! Is d’here a can ‘round dis b****? I gotta do somethin’.”

*****

A little while later, Quantum Tech approached Shadow Shroud. “Darling, have you perchance been to this Ponyville just beyond the forest?”

“I’ve snuck around a few times. Why do you ask?” Shroud replied.

“Is there a dump or any sort scrapyard present there? If so, could I ask you to salvage some materials should you be able to find them?” Quantum asked.

“There is. What do you need?” Shroud inquired.

“Oh, nothing too in particular. I was just hoping that you’d be able to acquire some more metal and glass. However, I will specify that I need metals that are magnetic, and conduct electricity, preferably iron and copper. And do look for a welding tool if you would; if you can’t find one, that’s fine. I’ll just have Fire Fight help me.” Quantum explained.

Shroud cocked her head. “What are you planning? Nothing sinister, I hope.” She joked.

“Not at all! I simply might have an idea or two as to improving the quality of our lives, and my ability to study. I’d like to examine Crazylocks more closely as soon as possible, but my glasses aren’t meant for more intense observations.” Quantum answered.

“I see…..I’ll have to wait until nightfall, but I’ll see what I can do.” Shroud said.

“Splendid! Oh, one more thing! Would you happen to know anything about this? I found it amongst some books in the wizards chamber.” Quantum handed her a folded piece of paper.

When she unfolded it, she saw that it was a map of the area around the castle pointing to various locations that appeared to label where to find various kinds of resources. There were trails leading to plants and herbs that were only labeled by small pictures of what they looked like rather than their names, an easy path to the nearby river, and a trail leading to what appeared to be a mine. What was in said mine couldn’t be determined as it simply labeled with a stone and pickaxe. “N-No. I…I’ve never found this before.” Shroud said. She was surprised to see it.

Quantum Tech put it away. “I didn’t you think you would, just checking. I’ll have to search for references as to what this is all pointing towards. The mine in particular interests me, but really, having this map will be most valuable if we decided to remain here.”

“Indeed, but keep in mind that we might not.” Shroud warned.

“I know that, but regardless. Thank you, Shadow Shroud!” Quantum said. Shroud nodded as they walked off.

*****

Kickback and Turf War were cleaning up some guest chambers on the second floor so that they might be used as living quarters. The castle was fairly intact by ruins standards, but if it was any dustier, Kickback might have sworn that he’d somehow returned to Dodge City. “Whoa, Nelly! Ah’m almost positive that this place is bigger than mah hometown!” he commented.

“Fo’ real! Just big enough fo’ all us d’ho, right? Heh!” Turf War said.

Kickback chuckled. “And there’s more to come, Ah’m sure.”

“Which crib you crashin’ in? I already called dibs on da room just across the hall from dis one.” Turf War asked.

“Ah reckon this one’ll be might fine. They’re all pretty much the same anyhow.” Kickback replied.

“I bet Quantum Tech gonna be stayin’ in dat wizard room o’ whatever. What y’all think?” Turf War said.

“Well if that’s the case, Ah suggest we oughta go give it a good cleanin’ once we’re done here if she hasn’t done it already.” Kickback said.

“You can, homie. She like you, but she don’t like my a** too much.” Turf War said.

“Just give it time, partner. If Air Slash and Ms. Shadow could start gettin’ along, Ah’m sure you two could just as fine.” Kickback said.

“Yeah, you right.” Turf War said.

A few minutes passed as the two swept the room, keeping largely to themselves. The dust and visiting birds in the windowsill were their only company. Just as the two converged on the last little patched of dust, Kickback spoke up. “Turf War?”

“What up?”

“Do you…..sometimes think about……what mighta happened if……you’d said ‘no’ to Fire Fight?” Kickback asked.

Turf War was a caught a little off guard. “What y’all mean?”

Kickback slightly lowered his hat. “Ah don’t know……It’s just…….It didn’t exactly feel right just leaving like Ah did, but at the same time…….Ah honestly wasn’t sure which path Ah was really s’posed to take when y’all offered to let me tag along. Ah want to live an easier life, but…..what if Ah really did make things worse fer mah pa and the city? Ah’d feel mighty ashamed of mahself."

“Man, you ain’t ‘bout to bail on us, are ya?”

“Course not. Ah just wonder what Ah’m really accomplishin’ the way things are goin’ now.”

“Well, we stopped a mad scientist from makin’ Equestria’s most whack pets ever fo’ starters!”

“Ah s’pose we did, but…..was it really fer our own gain? Ah know that sounds rather selfish o’ me, but…..”

Turf War put his hoof on Kickback’s shoulder. “Homie, When I was still chillin’ in da hood, I did a lot o’ s*** dat did get me nuttin’, but I still did it ‘cause I wanted to help. I saw a problem, an’ I wanted to fix it. When Fire Fight came through, he showed me an even bigger problem dat I wanted to solve even more. You know what dat problem was? It was dat Equestria was a broken-a** place dat don’t nopony tryna fix, but he wanna fix it, and dis he we gotta do it. D’here ain’t no other way as far as I can see, so even stupid li’l s*** like dat….even d’ho it wasn’t li’l….just helps even if don’t nopony else notice. We gonna go through a lot o’ s***, but I’m pretty confident dat it’ll be worth it in da long wrong, ya feel me?”

Kickback let his friend’s words sink for a moment, and realized the truth behind it. Maybe they were a little misguided, but then again, so was the rest of Equestria as far as they saw, so maybe he did make the right choice in the end after all. Any hesitation he had was alleviated. “Much obliged, partner.”

Turf War let go of him. “Yeah dog. Sorry I cursed so much.”

“Pfft. Don’t bother me much. In fact, Ah’d ask ya to do it more often so Ms. Quantum Tech ain’t jumping all over me so much.”

“Tch. Damn, son! You just gonna throw yo’ boy un’er da bus like dat? Dat’s f***** up.”

“TURF WAR, DO I HEAR YOU SWEARING AGAIN!?” They heard Quantum Tech call out from afar.

Turf War gulped and shivered. “Uhh….N-No!.....Yo! Uh…Kickback wanna say somethin’ to ya! Yeah…He right here wit me too!” he called out.

“HUH!?” Kickback suddenly became frantic.

Quantum could be heard gasping excitedly. “Does he!? Well! Don’t me keep me waiting, my darling!” They could hear her footsteps approaching.

Kickback eyed Turf War with a frustrated glare. “Ah despise you!” he whispered.

Turf War just playfully shrugged. “You fired shots first, mah boy.”

*****

Nightfall had arrived, and the foals had comfortably settled into their new abode. Spiral and Shroud had just finished up tending to the garden when everypony gathered around for dinner. Since there was more food for them to harvest all around them, Fire Fight could cook up another feast, and what a feast it was! He used the last of the cave mushrooms that they had left along with some of the eggs that Air Slash nabbed and some veggies to make rich scrambled eggs with some wheat on the side. To top it all off, Quantum Tech and Shadow Shroud found some herbs that could be brewed into a fine tea. They didn’t have any sweeteners, but it all proved to be a more than enjoyable meal. They dug into their first meal in their new home.

“So Quantum, did you find out anything about that map you found?” Fire Fight asked.

“Yes. I found a legend for it that labels what can be found in each marked locale. Most of them are plants that I’ve only read about, but never actually seen before; I simply must go and gather samples! They could prove to be useful. However, the mine that is marked is only listed as having ‘various deposits of ore and minerals’ as the legend describes. We’d have to go see for ourselves.” Quantum explained.

“Not a problem, I’m curious myself.” Air Slash said.

“Do ya think that it’d have any metals in it that y’all could use to make me more bullets?” Kickback asked.

Quantum Tech thought for a moment. “Well….what I’m particularly concerned about is not necessarily metal, but making the necessary ‘gunpowder’ that would facilitate the necessary explosion that expels the bullet from the gun. Its ingredients consist of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. We could obviously make charcoal very easily with all the wood surrounding this castle, but it’s the rest of the formula that has me slightly worried. If we dug deep enough, I’m sure we could find some, but I can’t guarantee that we will. You may have to resort to only using your whip for now.”

“Hmm….I see. Well, Ah reckon we might just find some in this mine o’ yours.” Kickback said.

“Hopefully, yes. I’d hate to have to resort to petty theft just to restock your supply.” Quantum said.

“Ah reckon bullets aren’t too widely sold none anyhow.” Kickback said.

Quantum nodded. “Indeed. That….and you just looked so heroic when you were firing them back in the crystal caverns! I’d love to see that flare in your eyes again!” she cooed. Kickback rolled his eyes.

“That aside, I’ll head over to the junkyard tonight like you asked once I’m done eating. I’ll find what I can.” Shroud said.

Quantum nodded. “Thank you, darling.”

Shadow Shroud flipped her mane. “Sure. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good night-run through a town anyway. Good exercise.” She finished dinner quickly so that she could make run her errand at the night’s apex. She thanked Fire Fight, and donned her mask before heading out.

They all bid each other goodnight after they finished eating, and went to bed. Fire Fight lay in his ancient bed as he looked up at the brilliance of Luna’s night. They twinkled fervently at him as if to encourage him and wish him good luck. His excitement was keeping him from falling asleep as he realized that his vision was coming true! It was a reality that could actually happen, and nothing made him happier. He knew that somepony was watching over him…..

Little did he know, they were all being watched by an ominous set of green eyes hidden deep in the brush beyond….

The Christening

In Ponyville…..

The CMC along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were having a sleepover at Rarity’s boutique. It was a rather somber setting compared to normally joy-filled atmosphere that they were used to on such occasions. With their searches for Fire Fight all coming up short, they were all starting to lose hope. “What’re we s’posed to do, y’all? If we keep being one step behind Fire Fight, we’ll never find him.” Applebloom said.

“Yeah, we keep looking for a possible lead, but….it looks like he’s pretty good at covering his tracks.” Diamond said.

“If only we could figure out how….then we’d be able to uncover them.” Scootaloo said.

Silver Spoon looked over at Sweetie Belle, who was solemnly looking out her window. “Hey Sweetie Belle, did Rarity ever tell you more about that weird filly that she mentioned?” she asked. Sweetie Belle didn’t respond. She was too busy looking out her window into the darkened town below. The light of Luna’s moon was only so bright, and it did little to ease their heartache. “Sweetie Belle?”

“Huh!? Oh….no, I keep forgetting to ask her. Sorry….” Sweetie Belle said.

“Oh…That’s ok……Just…remember to ask her, ok?” Silver Spoon said.

“Yeah….” Sweetie Belle looked back out her window. The shadows of the town casted over the desolate streets like blankets of looming despair. What else could they do? They could only do so much as foals, but at least everypony else was helping, namely Twilight and Cheerilee. Within the casted darkness beyond……Sweetie suddenly noticed a small shadow jump from one shadow to another in a split second. “Huh?”

“What’s up, Sweetie?” Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle looked back at her, and then back out to where she saw the shadow. She looked around carefully, but it seemed to have vanished. Did she imagine it? “Uhh….N-Nothing…I must be falling asleep.”

Back at the Ruined Castle….

“GOOD MORNIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!” Crazylocks screamed at the top of her lungs as the morning sun made its climb. All of the other foals groggily and angrily stepped out of their rooms, and into the hallway where Crazylocks was standing, smiling with that same manic innocence.

“Mornin’, b****!” Turf War said. He could then feel Quantum Tech’s authoritative gaze looming onto him, and he immediately eased up.

Fire Fight sighed. “At least we won’t need to make some kind of alarm clock…..” he muttered.

As Fire Fight was getting started on breakfast, Shadow Shroud approached Quantum Tech. “Hey. I got lots of the stuff you were hoping for. I couldn’t find any sort of welding tools, but there was plenty of iron and copper for me to…..relieve them of. You were asleep when I got back, so I left them in your new lab.”

“Oh, splendid! I can probably get to work right away! Thank you, Shadow Shroud!” Quantum said.

“Sure. Just don’t forget to eat first.” Shroud said.

Quantum giggled. “Of course not!”

After a breakfast as hearty as their dinner last night, the foals got back to work. Fire Fight, Turf War, Crazylocks, Shadow Shroud, Spiral Galaxy and Kickback ventured into the forest to check out each of the spots marked on the map that Quantum Tech found. Meanwhile, Quantum Tech and Air Slash got to work using the materials that Shadow Shroud had collected the previous night to create some equipment that Quantum wanted to test out; Fire Fight had stoked the forge for them, and showed Quantum how to use a little of his fire magic so that she could weld herself if need be. She was a fast learner indeed.

*****

The venturing foals took Quantum’s map with them so that they wouldn’t get lost, and decided to go explore the mine first. They had plenty of food, so any materials that they could get from that mine were their first priority, especially considering that Kickback was low on ammunition. He left his guns with Quantum Tech and Air Slash; she said that she had an idea of how to improve them, but wanted it to be a surprise. Kickback was initially hesitant to leave his precious firearms in other hooves, but being as technologically inclined as she was, he decided that they were good hooves to leave in. Quantum assured him that she wouldn’t have to take them apart anyway, and stated that she’d hate to leave her ‘valiant prince without his trusty weapons’….much to his annoyance.

“You sure you gonna be ok wit dat li’l a** whip, homie?” Turf War asked Kickback.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Ah’ll be just fine, thanks.” He replied.

“Thanks for letting me use your meditation room, Shadow Shroud. I know I’ve gotten better, but at least now I’ll have a proper place to practice.” Spiral said.

“Of course, Spiral. We should continue to meditate together. Somepony needs to be there just in case we’re about to wish upon another shooting star.” Shroud sneered.

Spiral pouted. “Meanie! But, yeah. You’re right. At least this hornband can really help me focus. I might have to start meditating outside soon enough.” She giggled. “You and I can have sleepovers with Quantum and Crazylocks too!”

Shroud cocked her head. “’Sleep….over’?”

“Yeah, you know! When you go to your friend’s house to gossip, do each other’s manes and stuff. My friends back in Hoofington did it all the time before…..well, you know.” Spiral explained.

Shroud cocked her eyebrow. “You do realize that we now live under the same roof, right?”

“Yeah, but not the same room. We could still visit......You….never really got to do something like that, huh?” Spiral said.

“It……probably wouldn’t have been my idea of fun anyway.” Shroud muttered.

“Well, you never know until you try!” Spiral said.

“GUYS! GUYS! GUYS!” Everypony looked over to see Crazylocks standing near…..a pile of what appeared to be animal droppings. “Would you be grossed out if I ate this?” The pile suddenly burst into flames, startling the manic filly. She then looked over at a very annoyed Fire Fight, who was giving her a look that just said ‘no!’”

Spiral grimaced. "O....kaaaayyyy....Maybe not Crazylocks......"

*****

A few trips and falls, monster attacks and more of Crazylocks’ antics later, the foal finally reached the mine. It was pretty much right where the map said that it was. The entrance was littered with mining equipment that failed to withstand the test of time, including some mining carts with ore stored in them. The foals examined them to only find iron, and…..a single piece of ore of a metal that none of them recognized. It was a scarlet red that was a little darker than Fire Fight’s coat, and felt….somewhat hot to the touch. “Huh….wonder what this stuff is?” Fire Fight said.

“Quantum Tech and Air Slash would surely know. Let’s take it back to them when we’re done here.” Shroud said.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Fire Fight said. He picked up the red ore, and placed it in his bag. They then ventured into the mine.

A good ten yard or so into the entrance were two branching paths. One was marked with a sign that said ‘iron’, and the other one was marked with a sign that was too faded to completely make out. Only a ‘y’ followed by an ‘n’ were legible. “Maybe it’s that red stuff that we just found?” Spiral said.

“Only one way to find out.” Kickback said. The unicorns and Crazylocks lit their horns, and ventured into the tunnel.

A good ways in, they stumbled upon a deep crevasse that separated the mine cart tracks. There was a drawbridge that been raised. “Hmm…..Perhaps this was a means to prevent intruders from stealing these miners’ claim.” Shroud theorized.

“Guess whatever dis stuff is is real valuable.” Turf War commented.

Kickback looked down into the crevasse, and could faintly make out something in the swallowing darkness. “Could Ah ask y’all to shine yer light down yonder?” he asked.

“Sure!” Fire Fight said. He and Spiral did as he asked while Crazylocks just…..did her thing. They noticed that there was a cleverly hidden lever on the wall on their side. It must have been how the miners bypassed their security. “Jeez. We might have to get Crazylocks to fly down there, and flip it. That’s kinda deep.”

“Not to worry, sheriff.” Kickback said. He pulled out his whip, and lashed it down into the crevasse towards the lever. His whip caught onto the lever, and he pulled it up, flipping the switch and lowering the drawbridge. He tipped his hat. “There ya go!”

Shroud giggled. “I hope Sound and Fury don’t start getting jealous.” She sneered.

“I don’t reckon so. Those two know how to behave themselves.” Kickback said.

“Let us hope so” Shroud said. The foals continued their trek through the mine tunnel, and finally reached the proper work area. Sure enough, the walls were littered with the odd red metal that they had found outside in the mine cart. There were loose ores scattered about as well, and Fire Fight took some of them.

“So there’s iron, and…..whatever this stuff is.” Spiral said.

“Why don’t we bounce back to the crib, and ask Quantum what she thinks?” Turf War said.

“Hmm…..well, we did plan to investigate each site one at a time anyway. I suppose it wouldn’t a huge waste.” Shroud said.

“Yeah, why not?” Fire Fight said. With his bags full of the red metal, the foals made their way back to the castle, but not before having to stop Crazylocks from lecturing a spider about why it shouldn’t date another manticore…….

*****

The foals successfully returned home, and announced their presence. Quantum Tech and Air Slash came down to greet them. “Howdy, y’all!” Kickback said.

Quantum giggled and snuggled up to him. “Hello, my handsome!” she squeaked. Kickback had to gently push her away. “Oh! I have good news regarding your guns! I found another little resource map in the wizards chamber, and one of the things it points to is an underground geyser surrounded by some sulfur deposits! Not only that, but I also found some jars of potassium nitrate that I suspect they had been using to make fertilizer for their gardens! I had no idea that they had figured that out so long ago! If Fire Fight would burn me some charcoal, I can produce some gunpowder for your bullets."

“Surely!?” Kickback asked.

Quantum nodded. She then handed him back his guns, but there was something different about them. Their barrels had been wrapped in tubes made of cloth and foam with a layer or rubber underneath. “And this should solve the problem of your guns being a little…noisy. Give it a try, and see if it works.”

“Well, alright.” Kickback took one of his bullets, and loaded it into his gun. He fired it at a random column a few yards away, but the gun sounded more like party popper being heard from across a large field of grass.

“Well, my ears aren’t ringing, so it must be working.” Shroud said.

“Shucks! I’m awful grateful, Ms. Quantum Tech.” Kickback said.

Quantum fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Anything for you, my sweet!” she cooed. She then looked over at Fire Fight. “I trust you’d be able to gather sufficient wood for some charcoal?”

“Say no more!” Fire Fight said. “Oh, hey! We went to that mine, and found this weird-looking metal. Would you happen to know what it is?” He pulled out a sample of the red ore that they had found.

Air Slash almost immediately gasped. “Is that…!?”

Quantum Tech examined more closely. “It is! It’s pyranium!! This was in the mine!?”

Fire Fight cocked his head. “Uhh…..what’s pyranium?”

“It’s an incredibly rare magical metal that burns indefinitely if you ignite it with fire magic! Oh, what a find!!” Quantum exclaimed.

“I’ve heard only stories about this metal from my father! To think it actually exists….Fire Fight, I could make you new gauntlets and armor out of this material! You’d be able to much more effectively make use of your pyromancy with armaments like that! It’d be perfect!” Air Slash said.

Fire Fight’s eyes widened in astonishment. “R-Really?” Air Slash nodded.

“Dang, son! If you wasn’t hot already, oh s- uh….oh boy!” Turf War commented. He could feel Quantum’s eyes on him.

“One more thing.” Air Slash said. From his bag he pulled out seven identical objects that he handed to each of his comrades. They were small silver medallions depicting a small unicorn, earth pony and pegasus aggressively charging in a Yin Yang style pattern towards each other. In the center was an alicorn foal calmly sitting down giving an aggressive glare with its wings spread.

“What are these?” Spiral asked.

“These are little symbols I made to signify our unity.” Air Slash explained. He turned around to show the others that he had sewn an eighth one for him into the center of his X-shaped scabbard. “What do you think?”

Shroud giggled. “If it’s not the Bladerunners, it’s something else, huh?”

Air Slash nodded. “Yes. I figured that if we’re truly committed to our cause, we should make it official. What say you?”

The others stared at their medallions. Air Slash had of course crafted them very well. There was something about the alicorn foal in the center that just shouted ‘I mean business!’. It very much resonated with Fire Fight, and the others were certainly reminded of the fiery spirit of their fiery leader. It was pretty much perfect.

“D’hese are pretty sweet, son! I’ll rock dis any day o’ da week!” Turf War said.

“Reckon this’d look mighty fine on mah hat, partner.” Kickback said.

“My goodness! Perhaps I’ll simply display this as a trophy of sorts.” Quantum said.

“Do you think could put mine in my armor, Air Slash?” Spiral asked.

Air Slash nodded. “Yes. I had actually planned to do that for the ones who wanted or needed armor; I just wanted to show these to you before I did so.”

Turf War patted Air Slash’s shoulder. “Cool, man! But ya know what? We gotta call ourselves somethin’ now dat we got dis symbol, y’all. How ‘bout…..”

Quantum interjected before he could complete his thought. “If it’s anything gang-related, then no.”

Turf War pouted a little. “Dang…”

“How about….‘The Runaway Heroes’?” Spiral suggested.

“Or maybe…..‘The Mighty Herd’?” Kickback suggested.

“NO! WE SHALL CALL OURSELVES…..‘The Biscuit Buccaneers’!” Crazylocks shouted. Everypony just facehooved.

“Actually, I’ve think I’ve got it, guys.” Fire Fight said. “We’ll call ourselves….‘The Battle Foals’!” he declared proudly. ‘Battle Foals’…..It had a really nice ring to it. They had truly been through many of what could be called battles, and were pretty much born for it. It was the perfect name for their band of brothers and sisters. They all agreed.

With the rest of the day ahead of them, the newly christened Battle Foals resumed the lives that they had begun to rebuild with one another.

Mysteries Unlocked

“Rainy days made with brainy hays by Zany May on a waning pay makes greetings cards eat their sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes with allergies to pepper wash their dirty socks in pickle juice! The pickle juice people of MeemaJeema have outlawed making crochets out of cucumber bones! Bones of bones with bones without bones know no bones with bones who’s their bone’s boney cousin! WHY ARE THESE LIGHTS BLINKING!? IT’S NOT TIME FOR ME TO DYE MY EYES OGRE!!”

Crazylocks was sitting in the center of Quantum Tech’s lab with a brain analyzer that said little scientist had crafted strapped to her head. Quantum herself was at a small computer that fed the analyzers reading to her. Fire Fight was there with her to hear what she had to say, and to just to be there in case their crazy companion suddenly decided to go on a manic rampage. “Hmm…..She certainly has quite the……innovative idea of poetry….” Quantum commented.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes. “Yeah…She’s been a hoofful ever since we found her, but thinking about what G- Uh!....‘You know who’ must have done to her…..I just couldn’t let her be alone like that. If she’s gonna be insane for the rest of her life, then she might as well still have friends. She deserves that much at least.”

“You have a good heart, Fire Fight.” Quantum said. She sighed. “It’s difficult for me to believe that somepony I viewed as an idol would be capable of something so……abhorrent.”

Fire Fight looked at Quantum. “You looked up to him?”

Quantum nodded. “Yes. Just from reading his books I could tell that the professor was the ultimate authority in the world of biology. Almost everything I know on the subject I learned from his work. I’d longed for the day that I could shake his hoof.”

“Yeah…..sorry that Shroud had to…..” Fire Fight looked down in sorrow at the uneasy events surrounding their encounter with Gene Splice.

Quantum shook her head. “No, no. It was for the better. Shadow Shroud is a smart and mature filly; I’d trust her to make the right choice.” She cleared her throat. “Anyways, regarding our friend here, I’ve come to two….shaky theories.”

Fire Fight cocked his head. “Shaky?”

“Yes, meaning that I don’t have quite as much answers as I hoped for.” Quantum stated. “I took a sample of her blood, and analyzed it under my microscope. Careful observations of her….unique genetic code has yielded much more insight into her polymorphic physiology. Apparently, the ‘good’ professor tried to artificially engineer her into an alicorn…at least that’s what it would seem. Her pegasus and unicorn traits were seemingly forcibly spliced into her genetic code with some sort of…..how should I put this…..nucleic emulsifier, meaning that there was a clearly artificial substance connecting said traits to the nucleic acids already present in her natural genetic makeup. It had even fooled her cells into allowing their ribosomes into manufacturing them into the proteins that they already produce. This of course means that she was an earth pony by origin.” She explained.

“So….she’s not artificial like those mole-lizard things were?” Fire Fight asked.

“No, she definitely has inherited genes from a mother and father, meaning that she has or had parents, and that the professor likely either kidnapped or coerced her into becoming a captive test subject.” Quantum explained.

“What about her hair? How does it become so hard when she’s an earth pony?” Fire Fight asked.

“Well….I can’t really say….It might have very well been a side effect of her genetics being tampered with. If I had to guess, I’d have to say that it manifested from her natural earth pony traits trying to fight off the bioengineered traits, but….why it resulted with her hair attaining such a property is a complete mystery.” Quantum answered. “The chaotic nature of her genetics also likely bled into her psyche, and drove her….partially to the insanity that we’ve come to know her for.”

“What do you mean ‘partially’?” Fire Fight asked.

“Closer analysis of her neural activity has shown me a discernable pattern, a pattern that reveals that she may have witnessed or perhaps experienced some sort of traumatic event that scarred her mentally to the point of madness. Thus, her erratic behavior is likely an unconscious defense mechanism to cope with whatever must have happened; no doubt that it had something to do with her time with the professor. That coupled with her tampered genetics produced the epitome of insanity that we see now.” Quantum explained.

Crazylocks was happily chewing on one of her pigtails as Quantum stated her theory. Fire Fight looked in her eyes as he let Quantum’s lecture sink in. For some reason……he could see….something close to…fear? Sadness? Anger? Maybe all of it at once? Whatever it was, it told him that Crazylocks was conscious of Quantum’s words, and was reacting to them……somehow. “So….you mean she’s not totally crazy? Can she be fixed?”

Quantum sighed. “As it stands now, I’m not sure, but…..I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high. Rest assured however, I will do what I can. I just need to study her more.”

Fire Fight nodded. “I have faith in you, Quantum Tech.” he said. Quantum gave him a light smile. “Hey, do you think maybe that whatever the traumatic event was involved an axe? Crazylocks went berserk when-”

“DESTROOOY THE AXEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!”

Crazylocks ripped herself out of the brain analyzer, and darted out of the room screaming like a…well, the maniac that she was. Fire Fight facehooved at his blunder. “Crap….”

“Watch your words around her!!” Quantum reprimanded. “Now go after her before she ruins this place any further!” she ordered. Something about Quantum Tech’s tone reminded him of his mother scolding him, so he complied without question, and dashed out of the room after her. Quantum then looked around frantically through her shelves. “Oh, please tell me that there’s a potent sedative somewhere in here.”

Crazylocks could be heard shouting off in the distance accompanied by the sound of metal and stone crashing to the ground. “THE GRASSHOPPERS WILL NEVER HAVE THEIR ROOT BEAR STEEEEAAAAAKS!!!!”

In Canterlot.....

The search team received word of yet another runaway in Equestria’s grand capital, and wasted no time travelling there to get what info that they could. Unfortunately, many of the snobbish citizens weren’t eager to make the time for outsiders, so Rarity had to use her affinity for the local culture to act as a diplomat. It also helped that the presence of the Princess of Friendship made them a bit softer as well.

Eventually, they were all led to the house of the filly in question. As expected, the parents were flustered. “Please, Your Highness! Help us find our dear Quantum Tech!” The mother plead.

Her husband had to calm her down. “We have no idea what could have possibly urged her to leave us. Furthermore, nopony saw her leave, so….Oh, heavens…”

“It’s going to be ok, you two. We’ll find her.” Twilight consoled.

“You both have my utmost sympathies. My own son ran away from me, and…..I can’t imagine the sheer pain you must be feeling right now….” Ms. Fight consoled.

“Our sympathies to you as well, madam. May both of our children return safely.” Quantum’s father replied.

“I have my class asking around town if they saw her with anypony suspicious, or doing something out of the ordinary. Did you happen to notice anything of the sort?” Cheerilee inquired.

Quantum’s mother calmed herself. “Not particularly….She never went outside very often, so….”

“When did she usually go outside?” Spike asked.

“Usually to spend time with her friends, but even that wasn’t all that often. She’d always been rather….shy.” Quantum’s mother answered.

“But she did speak to those two same foals two days in a row. I suppose that was a rare occurrence however inconsequential….” Her dad said.

This caught their attention. “What did these two foals look like?” Ms. Fight asked. She was then stunned to hear one of them perfectly matched her son! And it would seem that their mystery filly in the dress was his company too! “WHAT!? MY SON WAS HERE!? WAS HE OKAY!? WHO WAS THIS FILLY!?”

Twilight and Cheerilee had to calm her down. “Just as we thought.” Cheerilee said.

Quantum’s parents were understandably flustered. “My word! Had we had any idea that he was your son, we would have done something immediately!” her dad said.

Ms. Fight calmed down. “It’s fine. You didn’t know. Did you happen to know this filly, or see where they went?” she asked.

Quantum’s parent’s solemnly shook their heads. “Nothing of the sort, I’m afraid….” Her mom answered. They shared a heavy sigh.

“Excuse us!” They all looked over to see the CMC and several other classmates approach them.

Silver Spoon was boiling for some reason. “Who is this stupid filly who thinks that she can look so good with him!?” she whispered angrily.

“We….couldn’t get any answers about Fire Fight, but there were some fillies who wanted to know if y’all had any of those…er…‘hornbands’ that she made….whatever those are supposed to be.” Applebloom said.

Quantum’s parents’ expression turned a little frantic. “H-Hornbands?” her dad stammered.

“Yeah! I think they said that they’re supposed to like….make pulses that…..makes your neuro……magic…..something be better?” Scootaloo tried to explain.

“Neuromagical activity?” Twilight said.

“Yeah, that!” Scootaloo affirmed.

Twilight looked Quantum's parents curiously. “When did she start making something like that? Furthermore, how?”

“Umm…..We…..have no idea, Your Highness.” Her mom stammered.

A passerby who overheard the conversation suddenly butted in. “Oh, yes! I heard that she’d been working on such a thing! I wasn’t quite sure if they’d be safe or not, so I opted not to help her test them for fear of my own health….I hope she understands. But any aspiring scientist learns to accept failure head on, and Quantum Tech was the spitting image of that!” he commented.

His apparent wife then spoke up. “Quite so, dear. Why just a few weeks ago, our printer was horribly malfunctioning. We got a servicepony to look at it, but he could barely diagnose the issue. But when little Quantum Tech came to our aid, she fixed it in record time with virtually no issue whatsoever. She’d even managed to enhance its rate of ink consumption, so we save money! Oh, she’s just a little genius! The science community must yearn for the day that she could join their ranks!”

Twilight’s eyed lit up like lucky stars. “She’s a scientist!? At her age!? Oh, now we really have to find her! I can’t imagine what kinds of theories she must have if she’s able to make something that enhances a unicorn’s magic! You two must be so proud of her!”

Quantum’s parents were nearly on the verge of freaking out as the passerby suddenly spoke up once more. “Say, didn’t we see a mass number of City Dump carts coming from your home with a vast collection of scientific material in them? Did your daughter use them all up? She didn’t hurt herself in any experiments, did she?” she asked.

“Come to think of it, you seemed to quite disapprove of her scientific drive…..<gasp> You didn’t just throw all of that away out of spite, did you!?” the husband exclaimed.

“Umm! Uhh!! W-W-Well…..” her mother was stammering for words….any words.

“W-W-We can explain! Umm……” her dad wasn’t faring any better.

Twilight, Ms. Fight and Cheerilee were understandably shocked and appalled at this revelation. Ms. Fight stormed up to them, and got in their faces. “You mean that you took your daughters passion away from her, and threw it in the trash!? HOW COULD YOU!?!?!”

“IT’S NO WONDER SHE RAN AWAY FROM YOU! YOU’RE JUST…..I DON’T THINK I’VE EVER MET SUCH HORRID, INCONSIDERATE, MONSTROUS PARENTS IN MY ENTIRE TEACHING CAREER!!” Cheerilee exclaimed.

Twilight pushed the two away gently, and confronted Quantum’s parents. “I’ll see to it that the Princesses know of how horribly you must have treated your daughter! We’ll decide what to do with you from there!” she growled. Quantum’s parents were on the verge of passing out.

*****

Soon after their confrontation, and Twilight reporting Quantum’s parents, Princess Celestia suddenly approached her as she and the others were waiting for their train. “Twilight!”

“Princess? What is it? Did you already receive word of those two?” Twilight asked.

Celestia sighed. “Yes….It’s sickening that such parents could possibly exist, but that’s not what I’ve come to you to talk about. It’s about what we found in Baltimare.”

“What? You mean that underground laboratory?” Spike inquired.

Celestia nodded. “Yes. Investigators discovered that it was being operated by a stallion named Professor Gene Splice. I trust you know of him?”

“Yes! I’ve read all of his biology books. He’s absolutely brilliant! Was he there?” Twilight said.

“As far as I know, his whereabouts are still being investigated. As for his actions…..I’m afraid I have disturbing news. As we feared, the monsters that he had created were born for the purpose of causing the wheat famine out of a sense of spite. He had felt rejected and unwanted for his more….extreme studies, and wanted revenge. We found a journal of his that said as much.” Celestia explained.

Twilight was dumbfounded. Gene Splice had been one of her idols from fillyhood. She’d hoped to understand the world of biology through his eyes…..but to see that he could turn so mad made her heart sink. “You….You’re not serious!” she whimpered.

“I’m afraid so, but that’s not even the worst of it. In his journal, he confessed to a double murder in Fillydelphia that went unsolved for almost 8 years. He brutally butchered a couple with an axe, his own daughter and son-in-law no less, and kidnapped their 4-year-old daughter- his granddaughter! Not long after that, he began performing heartless experiments on her in an attempt to ‘make her ascend’ as he put it. No trace of the poor filly was found either, I’m afraid.” Celestia explained.

Twilight and Spike were now just utterly horrified. This was definitely much deeper and darker than the abyss that this whole ordeal was discovered in. Twilight couldn’t imagine how the poor filly must have felt if….heaven forbid that she actually witnessed her parents being murdered! She found herself speechless.

“Wha…..Wh-Wh-What was…. The filly’s name?” Spike asked.

Celestia cleared her throat. “Her name is Crazylocks.”

Upgrading

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys!
At the time of me posting this chapter, this story has broken 500 views today! Words can't express my gratitude for all of you who have stayed with this adventure from day/chapter one, or at least took the time to check this story out at all! I can't wait to bring the rest of it out to you!

It had been a couple of days since the Battle Foals settled into the ruined castle, and they had made some good progress. With the bounty of sulfur that she had sent the others to gather, Quantum Tech managed to manufacture a large amount of gunpowder, and thus much more bullets for Kickback, who was very thankful. He was then a little less thankful when Quantum tried to nuzzle his neck.

Furthermore, Air Slash had finally finished making Fire Fight his pyranium gauntlets and armor. His old gauntlets were melted down for extra metal that Air Slash would use as an inner layer of reinforcement. As promised, the medallion given to him was built in the chest area of his armor. The armor was a little heavy, but Fire Fight was nevertheless thankful and very eager to try it all out.

Air Slash of course made some armor for Crazylocks and Turf War, and added some reinforcement to Spiral Galaxy’s armor, all of which matched their coats, and had their medallions in the chest areas as well. Kickback and Shadow Shroud said that they didn’t want any since their fighting styles don’t particularly compliment the need for armor, which Air Slash agreed to. Kickback had his medallion strapped to the crown of his hat by a tight and sturdy string that Shroud used to connect her kamas into nunchucks; she had a few spares, so it was no big deal. Shroud herself simply hid her medallion under her cloak for the risk of it shining light, and thus giving her away in the dark; she assured her comrades that she proudly bore their insignia.

Quantum suddenly called for everypony to join her and Air Slash in what was presumed to be an outdoor training field for the royal guards. “Everypony! If none of you are quite busy, I’d like for you to come here!”

They all complied, and came out. “What’s up, homegirl? Yo, where my hammer and shield went anyway? Y’all done wit ‘em?” Turf War asked.

“Hopefully, my friend. That remains to be seen.” Air Slash answered.

“HAMMER JAMMER WAS THE HERO THAT SAVED THE PORKY HAMPIRE!!!!” Crazylocks blurted.

Everypony either rolled their eyes, or facehooved. “Yes, darling….I’ve read many a tale of his heroics…” Quantum mumbled. She cleared her throat. “That aside, I’ve called you all here so that we might run a few…tests. I’m sure that you all remember our recent encounter with the crystal golem?”

“I try not to.” Spiral Galaxy answered. She was still a little embarrassed about her blunder that nearly got them all killed.

Quantum fixed her glasses. “Y-Yes...well anyway, I’m sure that you all recall the crystals we used to defeat it?”

Kickback tipped his hat. “Ah fondly remember Air Slash makin’ quick work o’ that varmint as soon as he got them things on his swords.”

“Exactly!” Quantum said. “Air Slash, if you would kindly draw your swords…”

Air Slash drew his blades, and the other foals could immediately see that there was something different about them. Carefully embedded in either of the blades’ hilts was one of the crystals that he had used to fell the titan. “Quantum Tech and I have been busy as you can see.”

“Indeed. Careful tests have allowed me to slightly alter the magically conductive nature of these particular specimens so that they can absorb magic through the blades as well as receive a charge directly. That, and I’ve managed to greatly reduce the rate at which they consume magic. Thus, they’ll be able to more efficiently hold a charge.” Quantum explained. “Observe”.

Air Slash held up one of his swords in a guarding stance, and Quantum Tech shot a quick burst of magic at it. The observing foals were astonished to witness the blade completely swallow the magic, and store it into the crystal. Air Slash then swung his sword towards a set target, and a sword beam fired from it, slicing the target into two. “In essence, my blades can now cut through and absorb magic.” Air Slash explained.

“M-M-Most impressive!!” Shadow Shroud said. She was thoroughly amazed at what Quantum was truly capable of.

“Thank you, darling. I guess you wouldn’t care for me to augment your weaponry in such a way?” Quantum inquired.

Shroud shook her head. “No thank you. I rely heavily on the arts taught to me.” She said.

“I didn’t think you would.” Quantum said. “Perhaps you’d reconsider showing me how-”

“No!” Shadow Shroud knew what she was going to ask, and answered immediately.

Quantum sighed. “Well, I tried…”

“Can I try out my gauntlets!?” Fire Fight asked.

Air Slash sheathed his sword, and nodded. “Of course, friend. That’s also why we’re out here.” He said. Quantum set up a couple more of the targets.

“Ok…” Fire Fight raised his hoof, and looked at his bright red pyranium gauntlet. Remembering Quantum’s explanation, he lit his horn, and ignited the gauntlet. He was startled when the gauntlet immediately burst into flames. “WHOA!” Heat didn’t bother him much at all, so he wasn’t hurt. Much to his astonishment, the metal was indeed remaining pristine despite being engulfed in flames. “Whoa….” He looked back and forth for a second between the target in front of him and his burning gauntlet, and smiled deviously. He leapt towards they target with a punch ready, and struck. The target was demolished as well as sent up in a burst of flames on impact. When Fire Fight looked at his gauntlet, it was still burning. He then used his magic to smother the fire out, and then tried igniting his armor. As expected, it lit up and continued to burn until Fire Fight put out the blaze. “Whoa!”

“Mah boy, you lookin’ hot!....Nah, fo’ real! Hehe!” Turf War commented.

Spiral rolled her eyes. “Pfft! Nice one, dude!” she sneered. “But, seriously! Talk about an upgrade!”

Fire Fight ran back to his friends with a big smile on his face thanks to his new toys. “Yeah, really! I’m gonna enjoy this! What else have you guys got?”

Air Slash flew towards a nearby column, and from behind it retrieved a large sack similar to the one that he carried the equipment that he had forged for them on the night that he joined them. He set it down, reached into it, and pulled out two small spiked balls. “Crazylocks, come here a moment.” He said.

“One a pancake, two a pancake, three a pancake, FOOOUURRRR…… Melons have feelings too, ya know!” Crazylocks chanted as she innocently pranced up to Air Slash.

Air Slash shook his head. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?” He mumbled to himself. He then opened the spiked balls that he had, and closed them onto the ends of both of Crazylocks’ pigtails. “A little extra offensive power for your mane for when you’re not an earth pony, or even when you still are.” He explained.

Crazylocks eyed both of her new armaments simultaneously by focusing one eye on each of them. After a second or so, she fixed her gaze onto Air Slash. “BEEEELLLLCH!......That’s manganese for ‘thank you’.” She said.

Quantum Tech facehooved. “Crazylocks, manganese is a metal, not a language!”

“EXACTLY! METAL IS TRULY THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE!!” Crazylocks shouted.

“Ugh….well apparently, metal has no sense of dignity.” Quantum muttered.

Looks of concern came from the other foals. “Now are y’all sure ya wanna be givin’ her somethin’ like that?” Kickback inquired.

“I hardly think that she’s significantly more dangerous than she already has been thus far, Kickback.” Air Slash said.

“Well….I mean….I-I guess we just gotta keep an eye on her like always, huh?” Spiral said.

“Word.” Turf War affirmed. “Yo, what about my s***?”

Quantum glared at him. “You won’t be getting any of it back if you insist on using that foul language any further!” she scolded.

Turf War gulped. “Yo, my bad! My bad…”

“Yes, well that aside…” Air Slash reached into the sack, and pulled out Turf War’s armaments. “Quantum was really the one who made the improvements here.”

Turf War was handed his gear. “Fo’ real?” He inspected them carefully. “Uhh…..what y’all did? They look exactly the same.”

Quantum Tech walked up to him, and motioned for Fire Fight to come over. “Fire Fight, if you would?” He did so. “Turf War, put up your shield.”

“Uh…a’ight.” Turf War did as he was asked.

“Now Fire Fight, punch his shield.” Quantum said.

“Okay.” Fire Fight said. He reared back, and threw a good punch at Turf War’s shield. When he struck it, it almost immediately felt as though he had been blown back by his own punch, and he was knocked back while Turf War was completely unfazed. “Argh!” Fire Fight hit the ground with a slight thud. “Wh-What the!?”

“Homie, you good!?” Turf War called out. He then looked at his shield, and realized that something felt…..weird. “What just happen d’ho?”

Quantum fixed her glasses. “I had Air Slash embed another of the crystals we harvested into your shield. But before that, I enchanted this particular specimen to absorb shock, and reflect back into the direction that it came from. I gave it the same kind of absorption property with Air Slash’s sword, but with shock and otherwise physical trauma rather than magic, so you won’t necessarily have to recharge it. However, it can only reflect about 60-70% of the shock absorbed. The rest is up to you to sustain.”

Turf War looked his shield in awe. Quantum had more than outdone herself with this. He couldn’t wait to see what she must have done with his hammer. “Yo! Dat’s dope! Y’all do somethin’ wit dis dude?” he asked as he held out his hammer-axe.

Quantum Tech devilishly giggled. “Slam it onto the ground, and see for yourself!” As soon as Turf War eagerly reared his hammer up, she suddenly realized that….that might not have been a good idea. “WAIT! NO, DON’T!”

But it was too late. Turf War’s hammer hit the ground with a resounding thunder….literally. The foals freaked out as they felt a little earthquake shake the entire castle. “WH-WHOA! WH-WHOOOAAAA, S******!!!” Turf War screamed. Some loose pieces of the castle walls and columns broke off, and crumbled to the ground. The small tremor lasted for a few seconds before dissipating as quickly as it started.

The foals regained their composure. “WHAT DA F***, QUANTUM!?....Uh, sorry I cursed again!” Turf War exclaimed.

“No, no. I’ll excuse that one. I should have been more discreet.” Quantum said. She cleared her throat. “As you’ve no doubt guessed, I’ve augmented your hammer to generate relatively small bursts of seismic activity. There’s yet another one of the crystals within its bell with the same properties as the one in your shield, but the difference of course is that it absorbs shock from being slammed into physical matter, and projects it as a wave throughout whatever it strikes. However, I added a layer of material just underneath the face of the hammer that has the same properties as my hornbands, so it’ll amplify the output of your hammer’s shock reflection. It did not do so with your shield simply because its larger surface area would leave much more potential for an….unnecessarily large wave to be projected outward, and…..cause unnecessary damage.” She explained.

“Dat’s prolly a good idea.” Turf War said. He sheathed his armaments. “But, yo! I’m a wreck junk wit all dis! Somethin’ gonna come up to yo’ boy talkin’ ‘bout ‘You ‘bout to be flatter than a pancake, son’, and I be like ‘Hehe. Sir PLEASE! Earthquake out here! POW!’, and d’hey be like ‘Oh, S***!’, and then-”

“TURF WAR!” Quantum Tech interjected.

Turf War suddenly calmed himself, and gulped. “Sorry…”

Quantum sighed. “At least you’re trying….”

“I’m guessing that I won’t be getting any of those crystals…” Spiral inquired.

“Neither you nor Fire Fight. I hope I don’t have to explain why….” Quantum said.

Spiral shrugged. “Yeah. These hornbands are pretty much good enough” she said. “Hey, did you make anything for yourself?”

Quantum was caught a little off guard by that question. “Umm….like what?”

Spiral shrugged. “I-I don’t know…..something. I’d hate for you to be left out.”

“There’s not a whole lot she can do in terms of combat, but her intellect has saved our lives before. That much is enough, I’d think.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Yeah, but she’s completely vulnerable! If we can’t get to her in time before something else does….” Spiral retorted.

“I-I’m not completely vulnerable!” Quantum said. However, she knew that Spiral was right. Being cooped up in her lab doing experiments or reading a book, she seldom if ever took the time to worry about her physical fitness. She’d be dead meat in an emergency…..in more ways than one worst case scenario.

“Now don’t y’all start talkin’ like that!” Kickback said. They all looked at him. “Ms. Quantum Tech might not be a born fighter, but she’s proven herself b’fore like Ms. Shadow Shroud said. Ah’m sure she could find a way to help somehow in any situation. We’ve put this much faith in her already with our gear, haven’t we?”

“Y-Yeah…..Yeah, you’re right, Kickback. I think we’re all just worried that she’d hold us back. I mean….I-I’m not saying that she totally will, but…..” Fire Fight said. He indeed had faith in his brainy companion, but he wondered how much faith he could or even should realistically put into her.

Quantum chuckled victoriously, and fixed her glasses. “Worry not, my friends! I might have an idea or two of how I might be of more assistance….”

“Don’t feel like we’re trying to pressure you into anything, Quantum. P-Perhaps we shouldn’t have said anything altogether.” Shroud said.

Quantum shook her head. “No, no, no. It’s quite fine. It might take me a while, but….I’ll see what I can do.” She pranced up to Kickback, who immediately backed up, knowing what he was about to receive. “Don’t you run away from me, you handsome doll of a gentlecolt!” she squealed.

Kickback was trying to keep his cool. “M-Ms. Quantum Tech, Ah know what yer gonna say, and yer welcome! Bye!” He ran off.

Quantum started giggling as she gave chase. “Kickbaaaack! Come heeeeere!”

“Curse mah manners!” Kickback shouted.

Under The Moonlight

As the rest of the day went on, the Battle Foals got back to work making a habitable pad for themselves and whoever else might join their ranks. Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud worked on preparing the castle’s kitchen; they thoroughly swept it up and scrubbed it down after throwing away all of the old ingredients that had been left to rot. Said ingredients were thrown into a compost bin to use as fertilizer for the gardens. Afterwards, they restocked the storage cabinets with the fresh herbs and plants they harvested from the gardens, and gathered in the forest; it turned out that much of the plants marked on Quantum’s map were edible, though Quantum wanted to study their biochemistry and any notes left by the wizard and chef to determine how to properly prepare them in case they were otherwise dangerous to consume before letting Fire Fight serve them. Seeing her face light up with so much new research to conduct made Fire Fight happy.

Air Slash forged a couple more of the Battle Foals medallions in case any new foals joined them soon. Afterwards, he prepared a series of reinforced pieces of steel as per the request of Quantum Tech. When asked why she needed them, she simply said that it would be a surprise. Air Slash somewhat hesitantly complied despite such a vague response, but he trusted the brainy filly, so he found himself slightly eager to see what she would construct if her recent projects have been of any note.

Turf War, Kickback and Crazylocks worked on the iron mine. Kickback asked Quantum Tech if it was possible to make another kind of gunpowder out of the pyranium since they didn’t have a source of potassium nitrate apart from the limited supply in the wizards chamber. She said that she’d have to further study the pyranium to determine that since little else was known about its reactive properties due to its sheer rarity. Crazylocks told her an epic tale of how she escaped the maw of a greedy timberwolf that tried to eat her new ‘earrings’, but Turf War corrected her saying that she simply jumped out of the way of a tree that he’d chopped down for firewood as it fell towards her.

Spiral Galaxy used her cosmomancy to carry large quantities of water from the nearby river to be purified, or used to water the gardens. She told Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud that it felt strangely relaxing, and said that she’d like to continue to do so as a form of productive meditation. The two said that they’d monitor her when they could, but said that they should probably use that river as a meditation spot like they did in the forest near Hoofington, to which she happily agreed.

As all of this was happening, Quantum Tech went back and forth moving the steel pieces that Air Slash had prepared for her in clusters as well as some wires into a basement chamber. “What’re you doing, Quantum Tech?” Spiral asked.

Quantum chucked and fixed her glasses. “It’s a surprise, darling!” she said. She continued moving her things.

The other Battle Foals looked at her curiously as she descended into the subterranean parts of the castle. “Did she tell you, Air Slash? She asked you to make those metal pieces, right?” Fire Fight inquired.

“Yes, but she said as much to me when I asked.” Air Slash answered. “Perhaps….she’s building some sort of power generator for our colony?”

“Blech! You guys don’t wanna eat that stuff! Trust me, it tastes like chocolate butterscotch dipped in manticore venom!” Crazylocks blurted.

“I’m…..fairly certain that’s not what Air Slash meant by ‘power’, Crazylocks.” Shadow Shroud said. “In any case, let us respect her privacy. If she wants whatever she’s creating down there to be a surprise, that’s fine. No harm done there.”

“Fo’ real! If it anything like what she did wit our gear, HOOOO BOY!” Turf War commented.

Suddenly, a commotion was heard from outside. When the Battle Foals save for the working Quantum Tech went out to investigate, they found a trio of manticores waiting for them. “Seriously? Well, tarnation! Ah almost feel sorry fer these fellers.” Kickback said as he drew his guns.

Fire Fight ignited his new armaments as the others drew their upgraded weaponry. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling pretty fired up!”

Air Slash furiously twirled his swords, and then pointed one at the manticores. “Prepare yourselves beasts, for my blades reserve no mercy for the wicked!”

Shadow Shroud drew her kamas. “Nor my own!”

Turf War poised his shield and hammer-axe. “I be lion if I said I was scared! HA!”

Crazylocks began devilishly cackling as she creased another horrific smile. “Come and snuggle with D’HESE LOCKS!!!"

Spiral lit her horn, and the ground began to rumble slightly. “Behold the power of the cosmos!” She tried to sound majestic, but sounded a little silly. The others put that aside as they charged into battle with their bestial opponents.

*****

Night had fallen, and Quantum had yet to emerge from her room in the basement. The fight with the manticores had of course gone without incident as the beasts ran for the hills within minutes of their confrontation; they quickly found that the might of the Battle Foals was truly something to be feared. To say that they were outmatched was akin to pitting a log against a beaver.

All the foals had gone to sleep….except for one. Fire Fight sat on the outdoor balcony outside of his room, and gazed up into the night sky. He couldn’t believe how far he had come in his mission, the very mission that began right in the place where he was now. It had been quite the series of events before getting back here, but it was all worth it in the end. The shining stars looking back at him were cheering him on in their twinkles, and the radiant moon set high by Princess Luna shone its gentle, fervent light upon the fiery colt. He could almost hear it telling him to continue his mission.

He thought about all the friends he had made throughout this heartfelt journey. Turf War…..Fire Fight almost immediately saw a lot of himself in the foul-mouthed gang buster. He almost felt bad taking him from Detrot, a place that Turf War proved that he was able to protect, but when he was brought into the light, Turf War proudly lent his impressive strength and stubborn endurance to the team. He may have a big, dirty mouth and might have let his impulses get the better of him at times, but his even bigger heart and indomitable will to live life to fullest had become the source of morale for the Battle Foals.

Spiral Galaxy…..To think that a foal would be capable of such destructive potential or much less even be able to harness such powerful magic at all was a wish upon a star in of itself- a wish that went horribly wrong. Fire Fight and co. clearly saw her anguish, and solemnly vowed to help her regain the normalcy that she thought she had totally lost. Shadow Shroud had basically become her best friend and something of a mentor despite being an earth pony and thus, knowing nothing about magic. Even if Spiral herself needed some support in the beginning, it was all she needed to start carrying the team with her cosmic might, and to begin repairing her broken soul on her own.

Air Slash…..Things were definitely a little more than shaky in the beginning. It wouldn’t have taken one of his swords to cut the tension between him and Shadow Shroud, but both his swords and his words have cut down numerous obstacles with equal effectiveness. His unwavering warrior’s spirit born of him being a Bladerunner has been his greatest strength, but a weakness as well. But even when confronting his own pride, he never let the flame of battle burning in his heart be quelled, and it’s a shame that his fellow brethren failed to see his true potential, even his own father. It would be a crime not to mention how his skills as a smith have armed the foals to be true warriors indeed.

Kickback…..Even with a tragedy staining his foalhood, the gun-wielding cowpony manages to keep a straight face and calm demeanor for his friends. Fire Fight just hoped that he wasn’t bottling up his emotions, but then again, he thoroughly ripped the sugarcoating off of his normally level head to attack the Sand Vipers, showing that he genuinely acknowledges his feelings. His quiet nature and level head can keep everypony calm, but when he’s not talking loud enough, that’s when he whips out his trusty Sound and Fury to speak the rest. Fire Fight sometimes worried about how long he’d be able to keep this up, because when the going gets really tough, nopony knows to keep calm better than Kickback.

Crazylocks…..Once a filly shrouded in mystery, now revealed to be a filly plagued by tragedy. The only cover she had from what nightmares she must have endured under the care of Professor Gene Splice was her borderline insanity. Even worse, the foals had no idea who her parents were, or where they might be. They were her only salvation from a foalhood of….oh, Celestia! What torture she must have experienced….And yet, in her craziness, genuine emotion and livelihood still managed to thrive. Even if said emotions were the cause of……several ‘what the hell?’ moments, they had to remember that Crazylocks was in agony deep down, and this was the only way she could express anything. Fire Fight prayed that she could be helped through her trauma.

Quantum Tech…..How could such genius, such potential, such brilliance be condemned by strict societal standards!? It was criminal! That aside, Fire Fight was hesitant to rescue her simply for the worry of her welfare throughout a journey that had long before proven to be perilous, but Shadow Shroud firmly reminded him of his solid conviction to save every lost foal that they found from their prison, even those not cut out for fighting. But as soon as she began upgrading their quality of life, namely their gear, Fire Fight regretted ever hesitating at all! She had become a more than valuable member of the team, and something of a big sister to them despite being the youngest. The way she reprimanded Turf War whenever he swore, ordered Fire Fight to go after Crazylocks after he accidently set her off, nagged at them about their injuries after their tussle with the crystal golem, and overall showed a willingness to provide for them with a distinct amount of maturity was akin to a loving parent. While her survivability was still something to be concerned about, her drive to do anything else will truly be the engine that drives the Battle Foals to their goal as well as it drives Kickback mad.

And of course…..How could he possibly forget….. “Can’t sleep?” Fire Fight turned around to see Shadow Shroud standing in the doorway of his balcony wearing a friendly smile. This was the filly that made everything possible. She was mysterious, dangerous, and surely still hiding something from him, but she was nevertheless his friend. The kind of world that Fire Fight wanted to make for the Battle Foals was a world that Shadow Shroud had lived in her whole life, and the two bonded over braving its many obstacles whilst pursuing their goal.

“How did you…?” Fire Fight asked.

“You left your door open, and I grew concerned.” She answered.

Fire Fight chuckled. “Whoops.”

Shroud giggled, and walked up to him. She sat down at his side. “So, what’s up?”

“I’ve just been thinking about how far we’ve come already….I just can’t believe it! Our mission….it’s actually becoming a reality!” Fire Fight said.

“You were still worried? Not the most becoming trait of a leader, now is it?” Shroud sassed.

Fire Fight chuckled. “You’d rather I didn’t worry about you guys?”

“Hmm…Fair point.” Shroud said. The two looked on into the dazzling array of celestial lights above them. The glistening light danced across the forest beyond as it gently shone down. Fate had certainly blessed them with a beautiful reward for all their efforts thus far. “To think it all started right here…..”

“Yeah…..with you and I almost killing each other.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled. “Fun times, right?”

“Pfft! Sure!” Fire Fight said. “Say….why did you attack me that night? If you didn’t want to hurt me, then why did you fight me?”

Shadow Shroud was caught a tiny bit off guard by his question, but answered nonetheless. “I….suppose I thought that it would be polite.”

Fire Fight was befuddled by that answer. “Huh? ‘Polite’? What’s so polite about throwing shurikens at somepony?”

“That’s not what I meant. Seeing as you enjoy fighting like I do, I thought that it would be a good way for us to greet since we’d immediately find common ground.” Shroud said. “In a strange way, you’d ideally be more comfortable around me.”

Fire Fight was still a little befuddled, but began to understand. “Oh….well…..I guess that’s not too crazy……” He chuckled. “The Shadewalkers don’t teach you a lot about social skills, huh?”

Shroud rolled eyes. “Well, excuse me! We’re not exactly meant to be friendly with others.” She said.

The two shared a little laugh. A thought then crossed Fire Fight’s mind, one that made his heart ache a little. “Shroud……when we finally do build our utopia, are……you gonna leave?”

Shroud’s smile slowly disappeared upon hearing that. She sighed. “I wouldn’t have to. The Shadewalkers are free to live as rogues so long as they adhere to their duties and make discreet contact with others if none at all. Why do you ask?”

“I just……You’ve really become a huge part of this whole thing. Not only that, but…..you’re my friend, and….I’d hate to have to say goodbye to you so soon….If you have to leave for some Shadewalker-related business, that’s cool, but still….” Fire Fight answered.

Shroud’s smile returned to her, and she giggled. “Well, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” She said. Fire Fight returned the smile, and the two looked into each other’s eyes for a short moment. She then got up. “Well, I’m going to Spiral’s room. She wanted to introduce this ‘sleepover’ ritual that she mentioned to me before. Would you happen to know anything about it?”

Fire Fight shrugged. “It’s pretty much just a filly thing. I wouldn’t know a thing.” He said. “Quantum’s not joining you guys?”

Shroud shook her head. “No. I think she finished whatever it was she was working on down there, but she tired herself considerably, and just wanted to go to bed. Her eyes looked like they were about to bag.”

Fire Fight grimaced. “Jeez…I hope she doesn’t start overworking herself.”

“Indeed…..Well, goodnight.” Shroud said.

“Night. Have fun.” Fire Fight said.

“Y-Yes….” Shroud said. She didn’t quite know what to expect, but opted to humor Spiral nonetheless. She left Fire Fight’s room as the fiery colt himself crawled into bed, letting the celestial radiance lull him to sleep.

Double Trouble

Quantum Tech awoke to suddenly find herself standing in a void of pitch darkness. Not even a shred of light seemed to exist within the blackness, nor did any sound not even ambience resonate from anywhere. All there was…..was a deafening silence. “Huh?” Quantum scanned around with her glasses, but couldn’t get any readings whatsoever. Wherever she was, she was completely alone. “Where…..Where am I? Guys!?” She tried calling out to her friends, but to no avail as her echoes were swallowed whole by the ravenous void.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed her friends fighting…..nothing. Their augmented weapons were drawn and they attacking with untold ferocity, but…..there was nothing there. It was as if they were fighting something that only Quantum herself couldn’t see. Not even her glasses picked up anything. If that wasn’t strange enough, their battle with the void was completely silent! She could see them, but heard nothing! “Wh-What!? Guys? What’s going on!? Wh-What’s wrong!?” As expected, her calls fell on deaf ears. She was as silent to them as they were to her.

Suddenly, her friends started running away in terror from whatever they were fighting and towards her. It looked like they calling out to her, but they still made no audible sounds. “Wh-What!? What are you trying to say!?” Quantum could only stand there in confusion as her friends shouted desperately for….something.

Just as they were getting close, a guttural roar suddenly resounded from behind them, startling Quantum and causing her friends to become more frantic. “HUH!?” Quantum became terrified when an enormous green outline of a canine head suddenly materialized into the dark. Its eyes pierced through the endless void like a nail through soft wood. It opened its horrific maw to reveal what could only be described as the jaws of death themselves and lunged towards them. They all tried to run away, but Quantum’s companions were quickly chomped by the bestial effigy. “NOOOOO!” Quantum screamed in horror as she witnessed this occur, and became even more terrified as she saw the beast lock eyes with her! She ran away in a panic, but when she looked back, she found herself staring right down its throat with its teeth clamping down….

*****

“AAHH! <gasp>!....<pant><pant><pant>…….” Quantum was shocked awake and looked frantically. Much to her comfort, she was still in the castle basement. “Oh….Oh my word…..That was a nightmare for the books….<yawn>…..Goodness……Perhaps I worked a little too late last night…..ugh…..” Quantum could feel her eyes bagging as she groggily stood up and headed upstairs. “I hope I’m not late for breakfast.”

When Quantum emerged from the basement, all was silent. Maybe the others had yet to get up? It was still fairly early in the morning, so she went to go see if they were still asleep. Maybe she’d take the opportunity to catch a few more ‘Z’s if they were. She had completed her surprise project and yearned for the opportunity to show her comrades despite it being untested. However, when she got to the hallway that housed their rooms, she found that all of them were wide open! “Ugh…How careless of them!”

Quantum looked into each of their rooms, but found they were unoccupied. Now she was confused. “Fire Fight?....Shadow Shroud?.....Turf War?....Spiral?.....Air Slash?.....Crazylocks?.....Kickback, my sweet?.....” She called out for them, but received no response. Now she was growing concerned. “Where are they?” She began searching the castle for them, calling out for them on occasion. They weren’t in the kitchen cooking, practicing in the training field, tending the gardens or anywhere! She was all by herself! Now she was worried and becoming scared.

“G-G-Guys!?......If…..If this is supposed be a joke, it’s not very funny!” Quantum was beginning to panic, and had to take a deep breath. It was…okay. Maybe they were just out in the forest gathering food and whatnot and simply couldn’t tell her since she was snoozing. Yeah….maybe that was it! She decided to head towards the backdoor of the castle where she’d wait for to return. They entered and exited the forest from this location.

When she got to the door, she was shocked to see that it had been broken down along with much of the wall around it. She gasped. “What the!?” She ran over to investigate. It was clear that some kind of altercation had taken place here, but any trace of the combatants weren’t readily apparent…..except for one little thing…..

Amongst the ravaged scene was a series of holes and gashes left in an almost pattern like fashion in the floor with one of Shroud’s kunai just above them. It read ‘…. . .-.. .--.’ Quantum almost immediately recognized this as Morse code, and deciphered it. “H…..E…..L……P……..<gasp>” Quantum quickly put two and two together when she realized that Shadow Shroud had left her a cry for help. Her friends were in trouble, and she needed to help them! But how could she? She was a physically weak foal with her only weapon being her high intellect, which couldn’t be forged into any sort of weapon or armor……however…..

Quantum Tech calmed herself down after a moment and ran back downstairs into the basement. Her creation stood there under a large blanket so that it wouldn’t gather dust overnight. She ripped the cover off and beheld it. She got her game face on as she fixed her glasses. “Now is a good time as any to test this out!”

*****

Fire Fight’s head was throbbing as his senses slowly began returning to him. Something happened last night, but….everything was a blur. “Ugh…..what…..what happened?......Guys?” As he began to stir, he could suddenly begin to make out what looked to be a black and white striped mane right in front of him. “Fi…..Film…Noir?” He suddenly recalled the kindly mare who was so compassionate to him before, but felt anything but that from whatever was actually in front of him.

“I know nothing of this ‘Film Noir’ ponyfolk, but I do know that I am only concerned with you right now!” Fire Fight heard a voice that reminded him of Zecora but younger, and whoever it was clearly wasn’t happy. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see a zebra colt his age glaring at him with his basil-colored eyes! His mane was styled like Zecora’s, and he was wearing an amulet around his neck that was a smooth jewel that matched his eye color with gold reinforcing its edges. His…..what could be called a Cutie Mark by the standards of zebras was an outline of some canine creature opening its jaws as if it was ready to chomp down on its prey.

“Wh-Wh-Wha!?.....Who are you!?” Fire Fight asked. He suddenly noticed that he was tied up by his hooves to a wooden post where he hung. He then looked around frantically and saw that all of his comrades were restrained in the same manner next to each other in a line as they too began to stir. “What’s going on!?” He was beginning to panic.

The zebra colt narrowed his eyes further. “I am Zebota, a dweller of these woods! You ponyfolk have come and ravaged my home! You have disrespected nature and the tranquility she has blessed this place with and now I must punish you!”

The others had stirred by that point and were frazzled. “What are you talking about!? You’re probably doing as much as we are if you live out here!” Spiral Galaxy exclaimed. They all looked around to see a small hut that Zebota had no doubt built for himself as well as a large open shed-like structure with tribal masks laid around each of them as well as a garden of various strange herbs that were no doubt native to the forest. A large river could be seen a good few yards away, and within the shed was all of their gear in a pile!....as well as a seemingly out of place bucket that had tipped over and spilled out a little bit of wheat feed. “See! How much wood did you have to chop down to make all this!?”

“Hmph! I only accept what nature chooses to provide for me! You fools see fit to take what you please from her! I will not allow this exploitation any further!” Zebota declared. Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy tried to use their magic to break free, but they noticed that their horns had been covered in some sort of cloth that inhibited their magic. “HA! Do you take me for a fool!?”

“Oh boy…” Shadow Shroud muttered. She looked over at Crazylocks hoping that she could sprout her own horn, but it seemed that Zebota was wise enough to thoroughly sedate her, because she was out like a light……and chopping some serious wood…..

Kickback took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Mr. Zebota? Now Ah think that this all just a huge misunderstandin’. We certainly didn’t mean any harm none, an’ we’re awful sorry if we offended you in some way. Now Ah think you know as well as Ah do that this is not a civil way to settle a dispute, so if y’all would just kindly let us down, we can talk this over.” He said calmly.

Zebota glared at him. “No! I see no reason to negotiate with those who would threaten my home! You will all be cast into the river along with your equipment and be carried away from this place!”

They all looked at him in horror. Surely he didn’t have the nerve? “You gonna do us like dat, son!? Well guess what! We gonna swim outta dat river and come right back over he’e and kick you damn a**!” Turf War shouted.

Zebota chuckled viciously. “Will you now? It seems that you have forgotten….” Zebota’s brooch suddenly glowed along with his eyes. “COME, SHRAPNEL! COME, MY BEAST!” For a moment, there was silence. Only the sounds of nature could be heard resounding calmly around the dire situation that the foals were in. The next moment, something big could be heard running towards them. As whatever it was got closer, its big steps got louder and louder. What finally emerged was nothing short of terrifying. A huge timberwolf suddenly leapt out of the brush and let its momentum slide it just above Zebota after it landed. It howled with dominating ferocity and then looked down at the zebra colt that it dwarfed. It reared down its head to gently nuzzle him while Zebota scratched its chin. “Good boy!”

The foals looked on in a panic. This timberwolf…..WAS HIS PET!? “What devilry is this!? How did you tame such a ferocious creature!?” Air Slash demanded.

Zebota glared at him. “I will never pass such secrets to you!” he hissed. “But it would seem that you have all forgotten that it was truly Shrapnel that overpowered you when we attacked. You would be fools to challenge our might again!”

“N-N-No! Zebota, please!! Let us go! Let’s do what Kickback suggested and talk this out! We don’t need to fight over this!” Fire Fight plead.

Zebota and Shrapnel bore their teeth as they fixed their glare onto them. “I already told you! Your fates have been sealed! May nature find the mercy in her heart to spare your lives, ponyfolk.”

“Oh crap…..I hope Quantum found my message!” Shadow Shroud muttered to herself. Her question seemed to be answered when the sound of a huge machine could be heard approaching their location.

Nature's Fury

Trees could be seen falling one by one as whatever behemoth was shredding through the forest approached. A strangely metallic noise that sounded like a sword slashing through the overgrowth could be heard as well as heavy footsteps. What finally emerged was about as shocking as when Shrapnel made his appearance. A dark violet colored battle mech that was about 5’-5” tore through the brush and walked into the clearing that was Zebota’s lawn. It had two legs with bird-like feet that had two ‘talons’ out front with one in the back. It's arms had large cannons in place of hands that each had a series of three lights side by side. The main torso was shaped almost like one of the taxi carriages that Fire Fight had seen in Manehatten just without the wheels and all that. The seat of its cockpit could be seen behind some reinforced glass, and in the cockpit…..was Quantum Tech!!

“Quantum Tech!? Wha…..WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT!?!?” Fire Fight shouted.

Quantum fixed her glasses and giggled. “Is it not quite obvious? This is the surprise! This is how I’ll be more effective in combat! Quite a beautiful array of science, am I right?”

The other foals just gawked in shock and awe at the mechanical monstrosity that Quantum had built for herself. Zebota was equally shocked, but also angered even further. “So it seems we missed one! No matter, Shrapnel and I will defeat you just as easily!” he declared. Shrapnel roared at her.

Quantum glared at the little zebra and his pet. “Nature vs. technology….an age old conflict indeed. Very well, may the weakest titan fall!” she declared. She pressed a series of buttons in her cockpit and some reticles and messages appeared on the glass cover of her mech. “All systems: online and ready for combat!”

Zebota clutched his brooch as it glowed. “Roho ya misitu, ruzuku mtumishi huyo mnyenyekevu baraka yako! Unipe nguvu kuzima uovu huu!” he chanted. Shrapnel’s eyes gleamed with Zebota’s brooch as he roared a mighty howl. As he did, a large and bright green glyph appeared in the ground around them. It must have been some weird zebra symbol, because nopony could decipher it. That was the least of their problems as the glyph’s light seemed to rise up into the dynamic duo. Quantum tried to discern the nature of the energy, but her readings came up as ‘unknown’. Shrapnel finished his howl and locked his predatory glare onto Quantum’s mech. Zebota pulled out a small sling from the bag he was carrying and loaded a rock into. He then pointed at the mech. “GO, SHRAPNEL!” he ordered.

Shrapnel leapt with graceful ferocity towards Quantum Tech ready to wreck her mech suit, but Quantum was ready as well. She raised one of her arm cannons and fired three consecutive blasts of some kind of energy. The foals noticed that each of the three lights on the cannon flicked off as a blast fired, so it must have been an indicator of each shot being charged and ready to fire. Said shots hit Shrapnel’s head and claws, causing the wooden beast to stagger mid-jump and tumble to the ground just in front of Quantum Tech. While it was struggling to its feet, Quantum used her other cannon to shoot out Fire Fight’s, Shadow Shroud’s and Spiral Galaxy’s restraints. “GUYS!” she shouted.

They were startled at such quick blasts of energy bursting right above them, but it worked and they fell to the ground free of their restraints. Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy ripped the magic inhibitors off of their horns and used their magic to free the others while Shadow Shroud went to fetch everypony’s gear. “NO!” Zebota shouted. He fired the rock from his sling at them and it exploded into a burst of the green energy that the glyph from before had emitted, staggering the foals. He then pulled out a bladed boomerang coated in the same light and threw it at them. “Miti ya msituni, tafadhali niazime mizizi yako!” he shouted. The boomerang passed over them quickly. It gleamed its light onto the ground around the foals and summoned a frenzy of trees roots from the ground and grabbed them!

“WHOOOAAA NELLY!!” Kickback screamed as he and the other foals were restrained yet again by aggressive flora.

Quantum gasped. “Nature magic….Zebras are not to be underestimated!” she said. Shrapnel quickly got back to his feet and pounced. “Engaging melee mode!” Quantum Tech pressed a series of buttons that caused her cannons to contact a little. “<pant><pant> I can do this…<pant><pant> I can do this!!” Quantum Tech was beginning to panic. Having no experience as an actual combatant made this situation a little terrifying. Her contracted cannons recharged their power and instead of firing blasts of energy, they formed beam swords. “Have at me, mutt!”

Shrapnel lunged at her with a swipe of his claw that she parried outward. She used her free blade to try and stab the beast, but Shrapnel moved his out of the way just in time. He clamped his jaws down onto said arm and jerked his head in such a way that it tossed Quantum’s mech a good few yards away, sending her off balance. “AIIIEEE!” Quantum screamed as her heavy tank was tossed like a toy. She managed to land it on its feet, but Shrapnel came back for more. “Activating head turrets!” From around the rim of the glass that protected her cockpit emerged four turrets that pointed forward at Shrapnel. They fired short but powerful magical blasts at the monster, forcing him to dodge left and right as Quantum reverted her beam swords back into cannons. “Fall to the might of electromagnetic energy!” Her mech’s targeting systems were going crazy with how big of a target Shrapnel was.

Zebota suddenly pounced and landed on top of one of the arm cannons. “I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO HARM MY FRIEND!” he shouted. He had a small tomahawk imbued with the green light. He slammed it down into the cannon, breaking through the armored plating.

Alarms went off inside the cockpit. “WARNING: RIGHT RAILGUN HAS SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE.” Her alert system said.

“Why you little…!” Quantum began thrashing the arm that Zebota was on in an attempt to shake him off as her turrets continued to hold back Shrapnel, but Zebota was a stubborn little fella and used his lodged tomahawk to hang on for dear life.

Meanwhile, Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy used their magic to carefully free themselves and their comrades from the confines of the summoned roots. Fire Fight didn’t want to risk starting a forest fire, nor did Spiral want to overexert her power and potentially summon a star storm. Once they were all free, they caught their breaths. “We’ve gotta help Quantum!” Spiral said.

“I tell ya what we gotta do: we gotta get our damn gear first!” Turf War said.

“Then let’s get it already!” Shroud said. They all rushed to the shed that they presumed Zebota used as a shelter for Shrapnel and retrieved their gear. They had to quickly put on their armor before things got hairy, but Shadow Shroud had difficulty reassuming her cloak and storing all of her weapons properly in a given few seconds.

Shrapnel suddenly began charging towards them roaring viciously. “NUH UH, SON!!” Turf War shouted. Shrapnel swiped his claw at Turf War, but he blocked it with his shield. True to its new nature, it reflected the shock of the blow back at the wooden beast. Shrapnel yelped in pain as he recoiled back. He then looked at Turf War and snarled before leaping over him. “MAH BOY!” He tried to hit him with his hammer, but the timberwolf was just too high for him to reach.

“SNUGGLE WITH THE PUPPYYYYYY!!!” Crazylocks screamed as she leapt towards Shrapnel while he was still airborne. She struck him in the chest, knocking him out of the air and onto the ground where she beat down on him with her reinforced mane. “BAD DOGGIE! BAAAAAAAAD!!!” Shrapnel suddenly clamped his jaws onto her and violently thrashed her around before chucking her into the brush.

“CRAZYLOCKS!!” Fire Fight shouted. He shot a quick fireball at the beast before rushing into the brush to check on her.

The small blast of heat barely made Shrapnel flinch as he just brushed it off and charged the foals once more. He was then suddenly overcome by an overwhelming heaviness all around him and dropped to his belly. “I’ve got your leash for ya, Fido!” Spiral said. She focused her gravity on the ravenous wooden sentinel, but because he was so big, she had to focus more than usual. “Nrgh!....Go take care of Zebota! I’ll keep his pet here in time out!” They all nodded and ran towards Zebota and Quantum Tech.

Meanwhile, Fire Fight located Crazylocks, who was panting heavily. “Crazylocks!” He ran over to her. “You okay?”

“<pant><pant>….Fire Fight……there’s…….there’s something I need to tell you…..before I pass….” Crazylocks muttered.

Fire Fight’s eyes widened in horror upon hearing that. “What!? No!! Crazylocks, stay with me!!” He could feel tears begin to well up. Was this the untimely end for the manic filly that he had befriended? Would she be freed from all of her suffering?

She leaned in to whisper. “I….<cough>….I……I’ve always wanted splinters in my back…..now I feel whole…..” Despite her insanity sticking with her to the end, Fire Fight’s tears only paid heed to his helpless friend. This would be goodbye……until he heard her let out a long fart….She got up as if nothing happened and brushed her legs off. “Phew! Finally passed that one! Okay, I’m ready. WAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!” She leapt viciously out of the brush and back into the fray.

Fire Fight just stood there completely dumbfounded. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or furious. He just….facehooved and sighed heavily. “Damn you, Gene Splice….” he whispered to himself.

Back in the clearing, Zebota was furiously duking it out with the metal monster that Quantum Tech controlled. He continued to use his nature-powered rocks flung by his sling after Quantum finally managed to shake him off of her railgun. Quantum herself fired back with her turrets. “Had enough you striped cretin?” she taunted.

Zebota pulled out his boomerang. “Never! I will not fall to the likes of you!” He tossed his boomerang upward and it continued to spin as it hovered over Quantum’s mech. “kutolewa dhoruba yako makuu!” he shouted. His boomerang suddenly began sparking and released a barrage of small lightning bolts that lasted for only about three seconds before returning to him.

“WAAAAHHHH!!” Quantum’s alert system went crazy over the unexpected assault and she was freaking out, but she managed to calm everything down after initiating system reboots.

Zebota smirked. “Hehe…fools!” he sneered. He suddenly sensed something coming up from behind him and reacted. He pulled out his tomahawk just in time for Shadow Shroud to attack him with her kunai.

The two locked each other in both their weapons and their glares. “Hmph! Impressive reflexes! Now I see how you might have managed to best us!” Shroud said.

“I must admit that your perseverance too is praiseworthy! But it will not be enough!” Zebota said. The two forced each other back and Zebota once again pulled out his boomerang. He was shocked when a small bang went off and seemed to knock his boomerang out of his hoof. He looked over to see Kickback pointing one of his guns at him.

“Sorry, partner, but ya wanted to play dirty.” Kickback said.

Air Slash and Shadow Shroud had their blades pointed towards him. “We wish you no harm, zebra. So let us lay down our arms and be civil.” Air Slash said.

“We’ll keep fighting you if you want, but know that it will only create more conflict.” Shroud added.

Zebota clenched his teeth in frustration. He had only so much blessing left and Shrapnel was compromised. Against his better judgment, he put his weapons away and conceited. “Very well….” He muttered. “I vow to becalm my friend if you release him.”

“Hear that, Spiral?” Fire Fight called.

Spiral nodded. “Yeah!” She released her gravity field over Shrapnel and the wooden titan rose back to his feet. He just….stared at her, lowly growling as if to admit defeat. Spiral suddenly felt a little guilty about putting such a strain on a wild animal.

Shrapnel walked back to his master and gently nuzzled him. “Are you alright, my friend?” Zebota asked him as he stroked the beast’s jaw. Shrapnel only answered him with a few low whimpers. “I see….good.” He then glanced back at the Battle Foals and sighed. “Forgive me, ponyfolk….”

Fair Warning

“I’LL SAVE YOOOOUUUUU!!!!!” Crazylocks bellowed as she leapt towards Zebota with her wings spread. Zebota was caught way off guard and tried to react, but the mutant maniac was mere inches from him just as a magic light enveloped her.

“Crazylocks!” Spiral Galaxy shouted in annoyance. She had a firm magical grip on her.

Crazylocks thrashed around in the magic bubble. “THE AXES HAVE SENT ONE OF THEIR CHILDREN SPIES AFTER HIM! I MUST DESTROY IT!!” she shouted.

Quickly realizing what she meant, Fire Fight quickly glanced at Zebota. “Dude! Put that tomahawk away!” he frantically said.

Zebota just cocked his head. “Why….”

“Just do it! It’s making her go insane!” Fire Fight ordered.

Zebota rolled his eyes. “Very well…..” He put his tomahawk back in his bag, which seemed to calm Crazylocks.

Seeing as she was no longer a problem, Spiral released her. “Ugh….Crazylocks, what is your deal?”

“The axes are evil! THE AXES MUST DIE! THEY TOOK MY PARENTS!! JUSTICE FOR LOST PARENTS!!!” Crazylocks shouted.

Everypony was caught off guard by that statement, namely Zebota for some reason. “They….took your parents?” Shadow Shroud said. “Well…..I’d say we’ve discerned our little….‘traumatic event’…”

Quantum Tech’s cockpit opened up from the bottom and lowered her seat down to ground level where she jumped out, and ran to her comrades. She embraced Spiral Galaxy and Shadow Shroud. “Oh goodness! Oh, I was so worried about you all! When I woke up, I was all alone! And then I found what happened at the back door, and…..”

Shadow Shroud put her hoof on Quantum’s shoulder. “It was good guess of mine that you’re versed in Morse code, huh?”

Quantum calmed down. “Yes….very clever of you, darling!” The two shared a light giggle.

“Man, f- uh….skip Morse code! How y’all……I mean……DIS THING IS CRAZY!” Turf War said as he pointed to Quantum’s mech.

“We’ll talk about that later. For now, our first priority is these two.” Quantum said as she glanced at Zebota and Shrapnel. Zebota lowered his head in light shame. “Why did you capture my friends, Zebota?”

Zebota glanced up at her. “I…..I have no excuse for my overreaction. I settled into this forest with my friend roughly a week ago, and…..we were startled to see you all settle in so quickly. When I saw you taking so much of the food that I harvest, I……” Shrapnel gently nuzzled him as if to console him. “Thank you, friend….” He said. He looked back at the Battle Foals. “It angers me when nature is not respected as much as it should be…..I am sorry…..”

“Hmm….So he came here while we were gone on our trip. That would explain why I’ve never seen him before.” Shroud said.

“Why didn’t you come and discuss this matter with us? We would have lent you our ears.” Air Slash said.

“Hmph. You only say that now that you know my plight. You would have attacked Shrapnel and I on sight.” Zebota said.

“Shrapnel perhaps, but we ‘ponyfolk’ recognize zebras as people more than I think you realize.” Shroud said.

“Where are your parents anyway?” Quantum Tech inquired.

Zebota slowly turned his head away from her. “That is…..none of your concern.”

His response made the foals concerned. “What about Zecora? She’s a zebra who lives in this forest too. Do you know her?” Fire Fight inquired.

Zebota looked back at them. “No. I have never met her personally, but I have seen her. I was surprised to see another of my people here.”

“Well, why didn’t you talk to her?” Spiral asked.

Zebota didn’t answer her. He just looked away from her and up at his wooden titan, who gently licked his master. Zebota stroked Shrapnel’s jaw in response. He then looked back at the foals. “Why are you all out here anyway? What has compelled you to live in a place like this? I thought that the ponyfolk feared this forest.”

Fire Fight explained what he usually did to foals who he’d try to take with him. Seeing as Zebota was a loner, he saw no harm in revealing his activities. Shadow Shroud even explained her nature as a Shadewalker to him. “I…..I see…..” Zebota muttered. “And you truly believe in your conviction?”

Fire Fight firmly nodded. “Yeah. We all do. Equestria won’t make a place for us, so we’re abandoning it and saving other foals who are suffering like we were!” he declared.

“Seems we’ll just have to be a little more neighborly to one another from now on.” Kickback commented.

“Word, son! We both gonna live out here, right? Maybe we can start tradin’ stuff or something. Hell, y’all wanna see our crib sometime? It’s pretty hot!” Turf War said.

Zebota sighed. “Actually….” He turned to Fire Fight. “Fire Fight, if you truly mean to remain hidden with the foals that you have rescued, then I must advise you to leave this place.”

“What? Why?” Fire Fight asked.

“When I first arrived here and stumbled upon the ruins where you now dwell, I witnessed the zebra mare along with a small group of pony foals from the nearby village go there to search for you. They called out to you by name. I wondered who you were and why a ponyfolk would be out here, but now I know. If they came here once, what is stopping them from returning once more?” Zebota explained.

The foals’ eyes widened in horror at the thought. “Are you sure!?” Spiral asked.

Zebota nodded. “Stay if you want. I cannot force you to leave, but it would be risky to stay here under your circumstances.”

“What about you, darling?” Quantum asked.

“Do not worry about me, ponyfolk. Shrapnel and I thrive in wild places such as this. He and I know how to remain hidden.” Zebota said as he scratched the timberwolf’s chin. Shrapnel purred.

The foals felt a little dejected. They had found a place to make their home, but if what Zebota said was true, then staying here would prove risky. Despite their power together, the Battle Foals were still few in numbers, and couldn’t yet pass as a legitimate civilization. “Well, shucks….Guess it’s time to pick up our roots, y’all.” Kickback said.

“I wouldn’t be so quick to give in, friend. If these foals and zebra come around one more time, then I think that should be our cue to search for another place to inhabit.” Air Slash said.

“I don’t know, Air Slash. I-I-I don’t want to risk being sent back to Hoofington! I-I know I’ve gotten better, but…” Spiral muttered.

“We’ll fight back if need be. We’re well-equipped thanks to Quantum Tech.” Air Slash said.

“Bruh, I ain’t about to smack nopony I don’t need to. Dat’s f***ed up.” Turf War said.

“What was that, Turf War!?” Quantum reprimanded.

Turf War flinched. “Uh! I meant messed up! Yeah….”

Quantum fixed her glasses. “I thought so.” She cleared her throat. “But you’re not without sense. We have no desire to become a group of barbarians. Fighting them would almost be an act of war. I vote to take Zebota up on his advice.”

“We’ll talk about this at the castle, guys. Come on. Thanks, Zebota!” Fire Fight said. They all agreed, and began making their way back. Quantum remembered the route she had taken and led them that way.

Before they left, Shadow Shroud turned to Zebota. “Zebota, may I ask you one more question?”

“What is it?” Zebota said.

“If you had intended to cast my friends and I into the river, why did you not do so while we were incapacitated?” Shroud inquired.

“I wanted to grant you the mercy of knowing your fate before I carried it out.” Zebota answered.

Shroud was impressed by his response. “Is that so?.....You have a nice sense of honor, Zebota. I like that.”

Zebota’s expression seemed to lighten upon hearing that. He smiled and nodded at her. “Good luck, ponyfolk.” With that, Shadow Shroud caught up with her friends. As they left, Zebota couldn’t help but to feel empty inside. He never expected to have a conversation with the foals. Shrapnel let out a few whimpers as he nuzzled his master. “I know…..I know, my friend…..”

*****

The trip back home was….made a little awkward with Quantum’s mech dwarfing the foals, not to mention that it made a lot of noise as it walked. “So uh, Quantum….how did you find us anyway?” Spiral inquired.

“I used some sensors built into my machine to detect residual traces of neuromagical activity- namely yours, darling. Once I acquired a signal, I simply followed the trail. Since you always put out so much more magic than a typical unicorn, it was easy to find a trail.” Quantum explained.

“Oh!.....Well, uh…..I’m….for once glad that I’m OP!” Spiral said.

“Yes, but I care not for that, darling. I was worried sick about all of you, so I came for my friends as soon as I could activate my mech!” Quantum said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “We really do owe ya one, Ms. Quantum Tech.”

Quantum giggled. “Oh, Kickback! You sweetie pie! I bet I could make some room if you want come up here and keep me company!” she cooed as she fluttered her eyelashes.

Kickback’s expression suddenly turned frustrated. “Ah don’t reckon Ah owe ya that much!” he said.

Quantum Tech flirtatiously pouted. “Oh, you meanie!” she said sarcastically.

Crazylocks then floated around Quantum’s mech. “Hi, new best friend! I’m Crazylocks! Why do you have Quantum Tech inside of you!? Was she tasty!?” She began pecking at it like a bird. “Hello!......HELLO!!!”

“Ugh…..Crazylocks, this mech suit is not sentient! I built it.” Quantum begrudgingly explained.

Air Slash nodded. “And what an impressive build it is, Quantum.”

“Thank you, darling. Although, it’s not quite complete yet. I was going to augment additional weaponry onto it later, but then Zebota and Shrapnel intervened.” Quantum said.

“More!?” Spiral exclaimed.

“Homegirl, y’all sure dat ain’t a li’l overkill?” Turf War asked.

“And your seismic hammer alone is not?” Quantum argued.

“Well…..Nah, I guess not. It be kinda whack if he to bash somethin’ tougher that dat crystal monster from before.” Turf War said.

“Yeah, I think we’ve through more than enough to know what a tough world this is.” Fire Fight said. “Do you have anything else on there, Quantum?”

“I do have some storage compartments in case we find ourselves needing to travel a great distance. There’s even a refrigerator! Apart from that, not really. It’s powered by three of the golem crystals that I personally charge via the conduit you see above me here.” She pointed to a small magic receptor node sticking out of the ceiling of her cockpit. “I also have my medallion built into the back of my seat here.” She leaned out of her seat to show that her Battle Foals medallion was indeed at about where the back of her head would be in her seat.

“That’s awesome, Quantum!” Fire Fight said. Quantum giggled.

Crazylocks then suddenly got in her face. “MAKE A WEAPON THAT SHOOTS ICE CREAM!!”

“Crazylocks….there are countless reasons why I shouldn’t do that, you notwithstanding.” Quantum said. Her sudden outburst reminded the foals about ‘the axes taking her parents’, and Quantum could tell that everypony was thinking about it. “I’ll…..have to be careful about pressing the issue….”

“It seems that we’ll have to be more discreet with our foraging. Zebota may have some honor, but I’d rather not risk angering him again.” Shroud said.

“Yeah…..but I kinda feel bad for him too. If that timberwolf is his only company……I just wonder what happened to him?” Spiral said.

“Maybe he’ll open up to us more and more as we talk with him. It’ll be kinda nice having a neighbor.” Fire Fight said.

“Yes, but zebra culture is rather…..strange. It’s by no means harmful, but he seems to embrace his customs more than Zecora. I can only assume that Zecora has become more acclimated to pony culture due to being exposed to them for so long.” Shroud said.

“That’s a fair assumption. Ah just wonder what happened to his folks.” Kickback said.

“You ain’t wonderin’ how he got a damn timberwolf on a leash? Dat’s what I wanna know!” Turf War said.

“AND I WANNA KNOW HIS SECRET RECIPE FOR A DIRT DRINK!!” Crazylocks blurted.

“Let’s let him tell us that. For now, we have some discussing to do.” Fire Fight said. Their humble abode finally came back into view, but thinking back to Zebota’s warning, the Battle Foals wondered how much longer it would be their home.....

Myths and Mysteries

Back in Ponyville.....

“Twilight, have those ‘missing’ posters been sent throughout Equestria yet? We’re getting nowhere!” Spike said.

Twilight sighed as she paced around her throne room. “Yeah. They started posting them in Canterlot as we were leaving, and I heard that there are posters in pretty much every town right now. I just hope that they help. Fire Fight may be a tough little colt, but he surely can’t be lasting this long without getting homesick, nor those other foals that he took with him…….Maybe it’s just best for us to wait for them to come back on their own. I mean, forcing them back home without a choice would be just as heartless as what they went through already.”

“No way!” Spike exclaimed. Twilight looked at him in surprise. “If we did that, we’d be betraying the hope of all those parents whose hearts are aching for their foals right now, including Ms. Fight! Not only that, but what about the CMC and the rest of Cheerilee’s class? They want to find Fire Fight as much as anypony! We can’t let them down either!”

Her assistant’s words reignited her hope a little, and Twilight smiled. “You’re right, Spike.” She said. “But we’d still have to convince them to come back. Forcing them back wouldn’t help very much.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that at least.” Spike said. “Ya know….I’ve been thinking about that ‘Crazylocks’ filly that Princess Celestia told us about. You think maybe Fire Fight freed her and took her with him? I mean it’s pretty obvious that he was down there.”

“Hmm…..that would explain why no trace of her was found…..I just hope that she’s okay…..” Twilight said.

“Yeah….I can’t imagine what she must have gone through. That ‘Gene Splice’ guy-” Spike suddenly began choking lightly as though to hold back a burp. He and Twilight knew that a letter from the good princess was about to emerge. After a second, Spike belched out a green flame that materialized into a letter with the royal stamp on it. “Gee, that was kinda sudden.” Spike commented as he opened the letter.

“What’s it say?” Twilight asked. Spikes eyes suddenly widened in horror as he read the letter and began trembling. Twilight grew quite concerned. “S-Spike?”

Spike nervously handed her the letter. “I-I-I think you should just read it yourself.” He stammered.

Now worried, Twilight carefully read the letter. It was another report about the Gene Splice incident, but the news that came with it left her horrified. “WHAT!?” She dropped the letter out of complete shock. Spike jumped back despite expecting this. “G-G-Gene Splice…..WAS FOUND DEAD!?!?” She read through the letter once more to make sure that they weren’t crazy, but sure enough, he had been found buried in a hole that had clearly been dug and covered in a pile of his dead chimeras. What was even more shocking was his autopsy report: ‘Single stab wound piercing the heart, causing fatal bleeding. Weapon not yet determined, but thought to be a small triangular dagger or otherwise sharp object of some nature’.

Wait…..‘triangular dagger’?...... “No…” Twilight rushed to her bedroom with Spike following suit. She rummaged through one of her drawers until she found the odd dagger that Zecora had found in the ruined castle. “It couldn’t be!” Twilight thought back to her encounter with Air Slash’s father. He had warned her of the existence of the Shadewalkers…..She had read about their mythos, but their very mention in all of Equestria’s surviving literature and historia is practically nonexistent. They couldn’t actually be real……could they!?

“Where’d you get that, Twilight?” Spike asked.

Twilight looked back at her little assistant and mustered some determination. She wrapped the dagger in some packaging paper and tied it up. “Spike, take a note!” she ordered.

“Umm…o-okay.” Spike did as she said and took out a sheet of paper and his quill pen.

“Okay….‘Dear Princess Celestia, I received the disturbing news concerning the late Professor Gene Splice. Despite his transgressions, we will grieve for him. Not only for the life he has lost, but also for the life he could have led in place of his malefic actions. However, that is not mainly why I write to you. This strange dagger that I’ve sent to you is not the weapon that took the professor’s life, but I believe that it is the same kind as the one that did. Prior circumstances have led me to believe that this is somehow connected to the runaway colt, Fire Fight. I ask that you deliver this to the autopsy technicians that operated on Gene Splice’s body to see if my theory is correct. I will gladly meet with you to discuss the finer details whenever you are free, but there is one thing that concerns me most right now that I must ask you about during our meeting: Please tell me everything you know about the Shadewalkers. Your truly, Princess Twilight Sparkle’….” Twilight said aloud.

Twilight handed Spike the wrapped dagger just as he finished tying the letter, but looked at her curiously. “What are the Shadewalkers, Twilight?” he asked.

Twilight sighed in worry. “I should let the Princess be the one to explain that…” she said.

“O-Ok…” Spike decided to trust in Twilight’s words, and with an exhale of his green flame sent the letter and package to Canterlot.

“Maybe I should go talk to Zecora. She’s the one that found that dagger.” Twilight thought aloud. “Spike, hold down the fort for me here, ok? I need to go somewhere.”

Spike gave a confident nod. “Aye-aye!” With that, Twilight exited her castle, and she made her way towards the Everfree forest.

At Zecora's hut.....

“Hmm…..So much searching, but still nowhere to be found. Perhaps I am not covering enough ground?” Zecora was pondering to herself. That green-eyed figure shrouded in the mist gnawed at her thoughts…..what was it? Did it actively seek her out? If so, then why? Furthermore……why did it feel somehow…..familiar?

She heard a knock at her door. “Zecora? It’s Twilight. We need to talk.”

Zecora snapped out of her train of thought upon hearing that. “Please come in.”

Twilight opened the door and entered the hut. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all, my child. Come when need be. Now what is it that you wish to discuss with me?” Zecora asked.

Twilight explained the events of Baltimare that ultimately led to her learning of Gene Splice’s ultimate demise. She also mentioned that the odd dagger that she had found in the ruined castle sounded strikingly similar to the description of the possible murder weapon in the autopsy report given to her. “Fire Fight has to be connected to all of this. I just know it! So, if that dagger matches the stab wound….”

Zecora was understandably flustered at Twilight’s explanation. She could never have imagined that one strange little relic could hold so much significance. “Oh my stars……” Zecora snapped out of her shock. “Well, if you have come hoping that I have more of those knives, I am afraid I have found only the one. Finding more will not be so easy. I do not imagine that they are just lying under the sun.”

Twilight sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that….”

“However….I too have small problem that might not concern Fire Fight. Would you kindly hear my plight?” Zecora asked.

“Oh, sure! What’s up?” Twilight replied.

Zecora explained the incident involving her losing her supply bag that ultimately led to her encountering the mysterious figure blanketed by the mist. “Never have I seen such a being in these woods. It’s glowing green eyes stared into my soul so deep. I have searched tirelessly for this entity as it continues to haunt my sleep. It’s strange….I sensed no malevolence….no ill will, yet it conceals itself still.”

Twilight found Zecora’s story to be somewhat unnerving. If a Shadewalker was out here and Zecora found his/her dagger, then did they try to contact her? It would make sense, but wouldn’t they try to contact Twilight too since she was given the dagger? “Zecora….do….you know anything about the Shadewalkers?”

“No….I have never had that name. Why is it you ask?” Zecora replied. Twilight explained what little mythos has ever been told about the mysterious clan of ponies. They hide in the shadows, apparently use an indiscernible form of magic and fighting arts, use strange weapons that have never been seen, and even have the nerve to kill. Everything else is a complete and utter mystery. Even their potential origin is anypony’s guess. “Oh my….” Zecora was rattled by the explanation. She was rich with worldly knowledge, but never had she heard of such a clan existing. “And you believe that Fire Fight is with one?”

Twilight sighed in worry. “Zecora…..I’m scared…..What could happen to him? What am I supposed to tell his mother!?”

Zecora shushed her. “You must remain calm even in a situation as grave as this. Even so, we do not truly know what is amiss. I can see that Fire Fight may be in danger, but I doubt that he would so readily trust a stranger.”

“I know, but….everything just adds up….Unless there’s something we’re missing, then that’s the only conclusion I can draw.” Twilight said.

“Then let us if there is something we do not understand. The being that I witnessed, it is somewhere within this land. If we find that it is somepony we may speak to, perhaps they would have information for you.” Zecora suggested.

It was a shot in the dark, but Twilight decided to trust the wise zebra. If this being was a Shadewalker, then she’d have a lot of questions for them. “Ok, Zecora. Let me go get Spike and Fluttershy. They’ll be able to help us.” She said.

Zecora nodded. “Thank you, my child.”

In Canterlot....

Princess Celestia had just received Twilight’s reply and was nothing short of shocked. The odd dagger found in her old castle coupled with the mention of the Shadewalkers made the solar sovereign have to take a deep breath to calm herself down. “Windrider, see that this item safely reaches the medical examiners in Baltimare with this report from Princess Twilight at once!” she ordered.

“Yes, milady.” The steadfast pegasus mare took what she was to deliver and soared into the Equestrian sky.

Celestia had to take another deep breath to soak in what she had just received from her former student. Beside her sat her lunar sister, who seemed about as worried as she was. Having a notorious name in Equestrian mythos suddenly appear brought both of them unrest. “Luna….Tell me, do you know if the Shadewalkers truly really exist? Do they stalk the night with blades at hoof hidden in the darkness?” Celestia asked.

Luna sighed. “If they do, then they are clever enough to conceal themselves even from the light of my moon. Never once have I sensed any sort of presence, even during my imprisonment.”

“I see…..Would you accompany me to Twilight’s castle when we make plans? I feel that we should both divulge what we know…..or at least…..what we think we know.” Celestia said.

“I agree.” Luna responded. The lunar sovereign then returned to her thoughts. Worry for the Battle Foals began to build as they were becoming closer to being uncovered, and they had yet to fulfill their mission. “My dearest Battle Foals…..know that my moon serves as a beacon to guide you. May it’s light continue to clear your path…..” she whispered to herself.

Forces of Nature

It had been a couple of hours since the Battle Foals returned from their encounter with Zebota and Shrapnel. Quantum Tech had gotten back to work finishing what she wanted to of her new mech suit while the others discussed the gravity of Zebota’s warning. Quantum said that she’d be satisfied with whatever decision they come to seeing as they had more experience with running away than she did.

“Really, what’s the harm in leaving? We could always find another place in Equestria to settle that nopony even remembers.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Yeah, but we did so much in dis joint already. It’d feel like a waste if we just up and bounced.” Turf War said.

“Ah reckon it’d be an even bigger waste if our royal neighbor over yonder found us here all of a sudden.” Kickback argued.

“Even if she did, we must demonstrate our conviction to them all. We refuse to return to Equestrian society, so we’ll take a stand if need be.” Air Slash said.

“Air Slash, if that were to happen, then they’d undoubtedly make it incredibly difficult for us to search for more lost foals.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Yeah, but check dis out. Word’s gonna get out ‘bout us, right? So lost foals might just come he’e on d’hey own to hit us up.” Turf War said.

“I don’t know, Turf War. All of you needed convincing that you needed to leave. Even if voicing our cause convinces other foals to want to join us, would they have the strength to? We can’t completely rely on that. Realistically, we should leave.” Fire Fight said.

Air Slash sighed. “You call yourself a warrior, and yet you cannot muster the courage to face your greatest foe.”

Fire Fight looked at him. “Air Slash, I know you think we should fight back, but….how far is too far for you? When we fought those manticores yesterday, you said that your blades ‘reserve no mercy for the wicked’, right? Well, how wicked are the Princesses or Equestria in general compared to everything we’ve faced up until now? We’re not on this journey because we think they’re evil; we’re out here because we simply disagree with them. Would it feel right to raise your sword against somepony who truly believes that she’s helping you? I’ve met Princess Twilight before, and I can assure you that she’s not forceful. She’ll talk things out with you if you’re not planning on conquering or destroying Equestria, and she’s has enough humility to know when she’s been defeated. I know we’ve basically abandoned Equestria, but I don’t think we’ve abandoned our sense of morality.”

Air Slash let Fire Fight’s speech soak in. He was right….His swords were meant to combat the dark and corrupt, not settle an argument. He sighed. “Once again, you’ve humbled me, Fire Fight. Forgive me….”

“It’s ok, Air Slash. I know you’re just trying to do the right thing. We all are.” Fire Fight said.

“So….does this mean we’re leaving?” Spiral asked.

“I have conceded to such a decision if that is what we’ve come to.” Air Slash said.

“Make dat double, son. Guess I got used to dis place a li’l too quick widit.” Turf War said.

Spiral giggled. “I think we all were excited to not have to camp out anymore, Turf War.”

“Can we go to MeemaJeema!? The cucumber people have an annual tomato ceremony where they make the most tomatastic ketchup sculptures of their JeemaMeema forefathers!!” Crazylocks blurted.

The others just stared at her in complete and utter confusion. Turf War facehooved. “No, dis b**** did not just say ‘tomatastic’….”

“Umm….I thought you said that they were pickles.” Fire Fight said.

Crazylocks glared at him. “THEIR CIVIL WAR ENDED LONG AGO! You must be PUNISHED FOR YOUR DISCRIMINATION!!!” She lunged at him.

“Huh!? AAAAHHH!!” Fire Fight was knocked to the ground. Crazylocks was unfortunately too quick for either of the unicorns to catch her with their magic before Fire Fight went tumbling with her roughly nuzzling him. “CRAZYLOCKS, STOP! GET OFF OF ME!!”

Crazylocks suddenly calmed down completely and looked at him. “Ok.” She got off of him and sat down as if nothing happened and began scratching the back of her head with her hind leg like a dog.

Fire Fight brushed off some dust as he and the others looked at her. Despite how annoying she could be, they knew that Crazylocks was probably the biggest victim of anything they’d ever encountered. They wondered if she even knew how much she had suffered. It was a wonder that she even remembered that she had parents, let alone her own name. Her very being was a firm reminder of how important their mission was. Who knows when they’d encounter somepony else like her?

“We should start packin’ up, y’all.” Kickback said.

“Yeah. Shroud, why don’t we help Quantum pack her stuff once we’re done?” Spiral said.

“I have no objections to that.” Shroud said.

“I wonder if she’s done with her robot suit.” Fire Fight said.

“Just in time!” They all looked over to see Quantum Tech approaching them. She had a few little grease smudges on her indicating that she had been working rather hard on her mech. “Have we come to a consensus yet?”

“Yeah. We’ve decided to leave.” Fire Fight said.

“Hmm….I figured as much. Where to then?” Quantum inquired.

“I’d suggest heading to the southwest of here. I’d say we covered eastern Equestria quite nicely, so let us experience new horizons.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Word. Appleoosa ain’t too far from he’e. Why don’t start there?” Turf War suggested.

“Ah don’t reckon we’ll find much else besides mahself out in that desert, but Ah don’t see why not.” Kickback said.

“Let’s just hope that the Sand Vipers have finally learned their place since our brawl with them.” Air Slash said.

“I wouldn’t mind dropping a shooting star for them to wish on if you know what I mean!” Spiral sneered.

“Whoa! Easy there, cosmo queen!” Fire Fight chuckled. He then looked at Quantum Tech. “So, what all have you done with your mech, Quantum?”

“Not a great deal, really. I slightly increased the magic efficiency of the crystals, amplified the electromagnetic generation modules in my railguns, recalibrated my targeting systems, added a force field generator, and an emergency overdrive laser beam projection system.” Quantum explained.

The foals looked at her stunned. ‘Not a great deal’, huh? They could barely understand a word she had said, but judging by the sheer amount of big words, they guessed that she had gone to town on the mechanical beast. One thing particularly caught their attention however. “Overdrive….laser?” Turf War asked.

Quantum fixed her glasses. “In Laymen’s terms, a death ray.”

The foals’ eyes all widened in horror. Now they were a little nervous. Quantum was definitely the epitome of ‘you can do it if you put your mind to it’, but how far was she willing to go? “Quantum…..I’ve already had to deal with one mad scientist. I don’t want to have to deal with another.” Shroud warned.

Quantum waved her hood. “Oh, not to worry. I did say that it was for emergencies, so I may never even have to activate it…..I say that knowing what you all have encountered before and after my arrival.”

The foals’ minds were eased somewhat upon hearing that. Quantum Tech had a drive and desire to help others that Gene Splice didn’t, so they felt that they could trust their friend, but it was still a slight concern. “Well….okay then. Let’s pack up, guys! We’ll head out ASAP. We don’t want to have to camp out in the forest at night.” Fire Fight said.

“Maybe Zebota would kindly let us stay with him fer the night.” Kickback said.

“He does kinda owe us.” Spiral said.

“Well…..he’s proven his sense of honor, but it’s up to him either way. What say you, Fire Fight?” Shroud said.

“Why not? He seems kinda lonely anyway even if he has a pet timberwolf.” Fire Fight said. The others agreed and began packing.

*****

As the foals were in the middle of arming themselves up and packing supplies for the trip into their bags and Quantum’s mech, one question lingered in their minds….

“So…Where y’all think we gonna end up in? Are we gonna hafta just find anotha ol’ castle o’ somethin?” Turf War asked.

Shadow Shroud sighed. “I can’t really say, Turf War. Equestria has many mysteries that have yet to be uncovered, things such as Gene Splice’s underground lab notwithstanding. At the rate we’re going, we’ll probably stumble on a great deal of hidden places lost in time that we can settle in…..or perhaps little if any…”

“Only time will tell, darling.” Quantum Tech said.

“It’s all any settler can do if he wants to find a good chunk of land to plant his roots. Mah great-grandpa traveled east all the way from the middle of the San Palomino desert b’fore he found the land that he eventually built his life on, the same land where mah life began. It took him months of blood, sweat an’ tears to get there, but mah grandpa told me that he never once saw his pa’s smile leave his face, even on his deathbed. He said that he knew he’d done the work he needed to build the joyful life he’d envisioned.” Kickback said.

The other foals shared a warm smile upon hearing Kickback’s tale. It gave them even more determination than ever to move forward with their mission. “Kickback, you always tell the best stories.” Spiral said.

“Aww, shucks. Ah reckon Ah’m just ramblin’ on like a fool. Happens when ya live in the desert as long as Ah have. <chuckle> Y’all shoulda listened to mah pa.” Kickback said.

Quantum sighed dreamily. “I’d settle anywhere just to listen to you ramble, you sugar pie!” she cooed before she blew him a kiss.

Kickback lowered his hat trying to conceal his sheer frustration. He wasn’t sure how much more of her he could take. “Ah hope this ain’t how ma an’ pa met….” He whispered with his teeth clenched.

Everything was finally packed and ready for departure. Their biggest and only real concern was the size of Quantum’s mech potentially giving them away, but that was something to worry about if they were near civilization and out in the open. Once they confirmed that they were all ready, they started to set out…..but as they were about to exit, they heard voices from outside!

*****

“What makes you think that this creature is by the castle, Zecora?”

“I do not actually know for sure. It is simply a place I have yet to look. Rest assured, we will find this entity if we must search every cranny and nook.”

“I can’t imagine why anything bigger than a bird or a squirrel would want to live in ruins like this though.”

“Yeah, but it might’ve been a pony, so they could be hiding out here. Might as well be quiet in case they hear us.”

“Well….I’m good at that.”

*****

The foals all stopped dead in their tracks. Shadow Shroud immediately sedated Crazylocks to prevent her from making any noise. “Oh, s***!” Turf War whispered.

Spiral began panting. “Ok….Ok…..Just stay calm…….Deep breaths, Spiral. Deep breaths!”

“Shoot! Quantum’s mech is too big to sneak around. We’ll have to distract them somehow!” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud began thinking frantically. “Umm….Uhh!....I suppose we could hide and wait for them to come in so I can-”

<HOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWL!!!!!!!!>

*****

Twilight, Spike, Zecora and Fluttershy quivered in panic at the ferocious howl that suddenly erupted from the woods beyond. They became terrified when a huge timberwolf came charging towards them from out of the overgrowth!

“AIIIIIEEEEE!!!” Twilight screamed in untold terror as the wooden titan lunged towards them.

“LOOK OUT!!” Spike shouted. They all jumped away from the monsters path, and the timberwolf slammed into the castle wall, leaving a deep crater in its ancient structure. It quickly recovered and turned to face the group.

“Twilight! That……That’s it! That’s the same strange timberwolf that took my bucket!” Fluttershy shouted.

“What!?” Twilight exclaimed.

“Use your stare, Fluttershy!” Spike shouted.

“Oh, I guess I have no choice…..” Fluttershy readied herself as she locked eyes with the timberwolf. Just as it was about to charge them again, she unleashed her power. She dared not let her eyes close as she fixed her dominating gaze upon the beast, but oddly enough…..it wasn’t working at all! The timberwolf’s eyes seemed to gleam back as it didn’t even flinch from Fluttershy’s fabled Stare! “Uh oh!”

The timberwolf leapt into the air ready to pounce on them. “RUUUUUUUN!” Zecora ordered. Without a moment’s hesitation, the group booked it back to Ponyville. The wooden titan let another roaring howl as they disappeared into the overgrowth.

*****

The Battle Foals witnessed the whole event transpire through a window that they peeked out from. Crazylocks had woken up just in time to see the end of it. “Is that…..Shrapnel?” Air Slash said.

“When was the last time a timberwolf hunted on its own?” Shroud said.

Shrapnel looked back at the window that the foals were peeking out of and seemed to notice them. He calmly walked towards them, letting out a soft growl as if to say that he meant no harm. Zebota then suddenly emerged from the brush. “Good boy, Shrapnel!” he said as he trotted over to his monster and petted him. “Are you hurt, my beast?” Shrapnel gave couple calm whimpers as he gently nuzzled his master. “Good. I still underestimate your strength sometimes.” He then looked over at the window. “Ponyfolk! Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Zebota!” Fire Fight called out. They all went outside with their pack supplies to meet with him. “How’d you know we were in trouble?”

“It was not I, but Shrapnel that sensed the intruders. We thought quickly and came to frighten them away.” Zebota explained. “Are you leaving this place?”

“Yes. It seems that you were right if what just happened was any indication. We plan to travel to the southwest of here, so…..this is goodbye.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Well….we were wondering if perhaps you would let stay at your home for the night in the forest in case it gets dark. I’m sure you know how dangerous this place can get.” Air Slash said.

“I….could guide through the forest instead. We have a fair amount of time before evening comes, so we should fine.” Zebota said. Shrapnel then lightly nudged him. Zebota looked back at him. “N-No!” He gently pushed his head away.

“That would be great! Sorry we didn’t get to know one another very much….” Spiral said.

“That is…fine. Fate can be a fickle mistress, no?” Zebota said. For some reason, he sounded rather nervous. Shrapnel nudged him again, but a little more roughly as he grunted. “No, Shrapnel!” Shrapnel seemed to give him an authoritative look….something like a father showing the zebra colt tough love. Zebota sighed as he looked back at the Battle Foals in…..some kind of shame.

The Battle Foals looked at them curiously. “Is….everything ok?” Spiral asked.

“What homie tryna say, dog?” Turf War asked.

“He’s saying, ‘Go on, master! Say it!’.” Crazylocks blurted.

Zebota looked at her in complete shock. “Wha-!? You can understand him!?”

“Of course, silly! My second cousin was a timberwolf!” Crazylocks said.

The other foals just ignored her randomness, but acknowledged that she seemed to indeed translate for the wooden beast. “Say what, Zebota?” Fire Fight asked.

Zebota looked nervous for some reason. They could tell that he wanted to say something, but seemed to ashamed to let it out. “Well….”

“Darling…..Do you want to come with us? Don’t you live out here?” Quantum Tech asked.

Shrapnel let out a grunt upon hearing that and then lightly nudged Zebota forward. “Um!....uhh…..” Zebota was still nervous.

“It’s totally cool if you do! You can bring Shrapnel too! It’d be great to have you guys.” Fire Fight said cheerfully.

“So long as you properly feed him of course.” Shroud said.

Zebota looked back up them seemingly relived. “Truly? You…..would have us both? Even after our transgressions?”

“That li’l dispute’s all behind us as far as Ah’m concerned. Right, y’all?” Kickback said.

They all nodded. “Indeed.” Air Slash said. He then pulled out one of the medallions that he forged and went to hand it to Zebota. “Keep this close with you, friend. It is a symbol of our unity.”

Zebota held the medallion in his hoof and beheld it. Its silver surface glistened radiantly in the sunlight. The depicted foals alone filled his heart with determination. He smiled as he put it in his bag. “Thank you, ponyfolk!”

Fire Fight held out his hoof. “Welcome aboard, Zebota.” He shook hooves with the zebra. Shrapnel then leaned his head down towards the fiery colt, and Fire Fight lightly stroked his chin. “You too, Shrapnel.”

The Battle Foals weren’t quite sure why a zebra so capable of surviving on his own with no readily apparent reason to join them would want to do so; he seemed pretty reserved, so they probably had to let him open up to them. Nevertheless, they openly welcomed their newest friend and his fury of nature.

The Colt and His Monster

The Battle Foals entered the Everfree forest with their new companions in tow. Zebota said that he wanted to pack a few things from his camp before setting off, to which the foals agreed. He got to witness the capabilities of his new friends when monsters got in their way as they made good use of their upgraded arsenal coupled with the combat experience that they already had. Zebota was surprised to see that he and his pet could have so easily bested such capable warriors……Then again, he did ambush them in the dead of night.

“I am impressed, Battle Foals. Your strength serves to prove your conviction. That is most admirable.” Zebota said. Shrapnel then grunted.

“He says, ‘Meh, they could be better’.” Crazylocks said.

Air Slash chuckled as he sheathed his swords. “Even the beast has a warrior’s spirit. I like that.”

“All things that live have the will to survive, Air Slash. Even a simple leaf fights for its life despite that it is sessile. You must never forget that.” Zebota said.

Shadow Shroud giggled. “You’re beginning to sound like one of my masters.”

Zebota looked at her. “Then your masters have learned to respect life itself. I would get along with them.”

“Don’t be so sure about that. My entire order is very reserved and rarely if ever makes contact with outsiders.” Shroud said.

“Your association with all of these other ponyfolk says otherwise.” Zebota said.

“Yes, well….They have found comfort in the type of world you and I live in. I’m simply here to guide them.” Shroud said.

“And you’ve been doing a great job from day one too. We can’t thank you enough, Shroud.” Fire Fight said. She replied with a simple smile.

“Then we shall do no less, won’t we, Shrapnel?” Zebota said as he looked up at his monster. Shrapnel grunted again.

“He said ‘I serve as your guardian’.” Crazylocks said.

Zebota looked at her curiously. “It….still surprises me that…..”

“Zebota, just expect anything and everything from her. It’s easier that way, trust me.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Ehh…..very well….” Zebota said.

Crazylocks then snorted some dirt from the ground beneath her, and then blew it out into a nearby bush. “I CAN SMELL THE UNIVERSE!!”

*****

The Battle Foals reached Zebota’s hut. It was pretty much as they had left it except for the restraints that he used to tie them. They were torn down for scrap. “I simply wish to pack some of my herbs and rocks for my sling. I will only be a moment.” Zebota said.

Quantum Tech couldn’t help but to notice the out-of-place plastic bucket still in Shrapnel’s shed. “A moment, Zebota. Where did you attain that bucket from?” she asked.

Zebota looked at it. “Oh…..yes….I think Shrapnel took that from the village you call Ponyville. It had some food in it. I’m sure he meant no harm.” He turned to his beast and his brooch glowed. “Shrapnel, return this to where you found it.” He said as he pointed to the bucket. Shrapnel’s eyes seemed to glow in response and he walked over to the bucket. He picked it up in his jaws and ran into the brush beyond.

“He should not take long.” Zebota said. He pulled out his bladed boomerang and began harvesting some of his strange herbs.

Zebota called Shrapnel his ‘friend’, but it was clear that he had some kind of control over him, probably for the best just for the risk of Shrapnel suddenly going on a ravenous rampage. “Zebota, how did you meet Shrapnel?” Fire Fight asked.

“Furthermore, how did you tame him?” Air Slash added. Zebota stopped his harvesting and looked gloomily at them.

“If…..you cool talkin’ ‘bout it.” Turf War said.

Zebota sighed. “It is…..complicated. I do not know if…..I could explain it well enough for you to understand.”

“Humor us.” Air Slash said.

“Honestly, Air Slash!” Spiral reprimanded. “Zebota, you don’t have to tell us if you’re not comfortable with it.”

“Y-Yes….Forgive me, friend. I meant not to intrude.” Air Slash said.

Zebota sighed. “For all intents and purposes, I should. After all, you told me your stories. It is only fair that you know mine.” He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “I am an orphan.”

The foals all gasped in shock. No wonder he was so reluctant to talk about it earlier! Crazylocks ran up to him. “Me too! Let’s be orphans together!” She was then surrounded by a magic field that actually came from Quantum’s railgun and pulled back.

“Honestly…..” Quantum sighed. She looked back at Zebota. “Darling….”

“I used to live peacefully in the homeland of my people far to the west of here with my parents. It is not uncommon knowledge that we practice arts and rituals that many others find strange or even frightening; my family was no exception.” Zebota explained. “Many of the arts our ancestors once practiced are becoming lost to the ages, one of them being Beastcraft. Beastcraft is…..an art that even my own people shun as taboo or unholy, but it is a practice that once thrived in ancient times. Through Beastcraft, one could bind animals as small and docile as squirrels or as big and powerful as an Ursa Major to their will, and befriend them. But they first must fell the beast in battle. It had become viewed as unholy because……well, it would be very easy for one to build an army to try and conquer entire lands. My parents and I are descendants of the one who created and perfected the art, and each generation has since preserved its teachings…..I had begun my training at a very young age…..My parents were very proud of how easily I began to master our art….” Zebota had to hold back tears as he remembered his dearly departed parents before continuing. “Forgive me…..Anyway, There came a day when a great beast was discovered to be dominating the jungles around our village, one stronger than any of its kind. As such, my parents took the opportunity to put our craft to the test. We hunted it for many days before we finally managed to track it down…..You should have seen how brightly they smiled when we laid eyes on it, but…..I was very nervous and could not contribute to the fight……The beast proved too powerful for my parents, and…..”

The foals could feel Zebota’s anguish as he finished his tale. While he wasn’t as tragic as Crazylocks, Zebota definitely wasn’t just joining them because he was lonely; he was suffering. Spiral Galaxy walked over and hugged him. “Oh, Zebota….you poor thing…” she whispered. Kickback held his hat over his heart in respect knowing the agony of losing a parent.

Zebota let a few tears roll down from his eyes as he received her comfort. “Thank you…..” he muttered. Spiral let go of him after a moment.

“So did……did y’all ever smoke dat thing?” Turf War asked.

Zebota sniffled a little. “When I saw my parents on the ground motionless, I……My fear turned into horrible rage. Whatever power that came over me gave me the strength to defeat the monster…..”

“Did ya finish it off?” Kickback asked.

Zebota shook his head. “No. I spared it so that I may successfully bind it to me.”

The foals exhibited some shock. “Hol’ up! Y’all sayin’ you ain’t murdered dat b**** fo’ killin’-”

“TURF WAR!” Quantum interjected.

“Sorry, sorry. It just…..What up, bruh?” Turf War said.

“My parents taught me better than to be vengeful , you see. The ways of my people not only respect nature, but the right to life itself, and we view revenge as an infringement on that right to other things that live.” Zebota explained. “Instead, I granted this beast the mercy of its life in exchange for its service to me. I would honor the memory of my parents by taming the beast that they sought to tame themselves.” Zebota explained.

“Wow…..Zebota, you have way more honor than I gave you credit for. I very much respect you.” Shroud said.

Air Slash drew his sword and held it over his heart. “As do I. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to cross blades with such a worthy opponent.”

Something then crossed Shroud’s mind. “Wait….This beast….”

“It’s not…..” Fire Fight caught on to what she was thinking.

Zebota nodded. “Yes, ponyfolk. That beast was Shrapnel.” Jaws dropped hard enough to thud on the ground with considerable force. The monster that orphaned him….BECAME HIS PET!?

“Zebota…..are you quite serious!?” Quantum asked.

“I am. In the beginning, I was resentful of him. I wished that I could end his life without regrets, but….I could not.” Zebota said.

“Did….any of the other zebras offer to take you in?” Spiral asked.

Zebota sighed. “No….they feared my family, always have. So when I became an orphan with a monster at my command, I was shunned and forced to live in the woodlands beyond with my only company. As time went on, I….strangely began to find comfort in Shrapnel’s presence. He had become my only friend, and…..I ended up befriending the monster that destroyed my life.”

Spiral hugged him again. “Zebota, that’s just awful….” She let go of him. “I’m guessing you eventually decided to come here?”

Zebota nodded. “Yes. I would sometimes be confronted by hecklers who would seek my banishment for practicing a ‘dark art’, so I took Shrapnel and left. When I had heard of this forest that ponyfolk feared, I sought this place out and have lived here in seclusion so that I may not be a bother.”

“And it wasn’t until much later that you met us, huh?” Fire Fight said. Zebota nodded once more. “Wow…..you’ve had it rough, dude…” Fire Fight might have been a little too quick to trust the zebra that sought to harm them, but now he couldn’t regret taking Zebota aboard if he wanted to. This was another foal that needed his help, and he was going to do so. Though he certainly wasn’t expecting circumstances like this. “Are you gonna be ok being the only zebra with us? I honestly never thought we’d get one.”

“Yeah, this totally came out of left field.” Spiral said.

“I can understand if you think that I am strange. Sometimes I wonder if our kinds were ever meant to exchange words, but I am willing to give it a try. Please pardon any actions I take that you would find odd, and know that I value my upbringing as well as your lives.” Zebota said. They suddenly heard a consisting thudding noise approaching them. As it did, Zebota’s brooch began to glow. “Ah! There he is.” Sure enough, Shrapnel jumped out from the overgrowth and went to join his master. He gently nuzzled the zebra colt in greeting. “Good boy, Shrapnel!” Shrapnel loudly purred as Zebota scratched his chin.

The other foals looked on at their display. It was unbelievable to think that an act of rage born of a deep transgression could lead to a…..strangely beautiful friendship. Fire Fight wondered just what Zebota and his wooden sentinel would bring to the table.

“Zebota, I’m quite curious about the jewel adoring your neck. Am I to presume that’s where your magic comes from?” Quantum Tech asked.

“In a way, it does, but in another way, it does not. You see, my culture is greatly centered around communing with and respecting nature. These jewels are carefully forged in a ritual that asks for the spirits of the land to bless us with their favor. The catch is that a jewel can only be allowed to do so many things, and the blessings that it may grant you are finite and vary depending on where you are.” Zebota explained.

Quantum pondered over his explanation, but…. “I’m…not quite sure I follow.”

“Remember when I said earlier that I only take from nature what she offers me? That same principle applies to this jewel. Depending on the kinds of spirits around, I can only use some of whatever power they choose to bestow unto me.” Zebota said.

“So….if we were in say….a desert, you wouldn’t be able to use any magic that makes trees grow since there likely wouldn’t be any?” Spiral inquired.

“That is a fine example, yes. Tree spirits do not reside in such places, so I would not be able to receive such blessings.” Zebota said.

“And they’ll only give you so much?” Fire Fight said.

“That is correct. Spirits of nature will only grant you what they feel you should have, and asking for more would greatly offend them, and believe when I say that offending nature in such a way is that last thing you want to do. As such, when I have used all that has been given to me, I must rely on the survival skills taught to me.” Zebota said.

“And that’s where Shrapnel comes in in case it’s not enough.” Fire Fight guessed.

Zebota looked up at his beast. “Yes. Because of my upbringing in the realm of beasts, Shrapnel is nature’s eternal gift to me, a gift I am forever grateful for…..despite what it has cost me….” Shrapnel whimpered as he brushed his muzzle against Zebota’s neck.

“He says ‘You are a strong and worthy master’.” Crazylocks said.

Zebota stroked his jaw. “Thank you, friend.” He said. He looked back at the Battle Foals. “In the end, it was a fair contest that he won over my parents, and another where I bested him. It is as nature flows.”

They nodded at him. “I have a feeling we’ll learn a lot from each other, Zebota. I can’t imagine what the future will hold for us now.” Fire Fight said.

“The feeling is mutual, Fire Fight. Now let us waste no more time. The dark of night draws closer, and nature spares no expense for any of her children.” Zebota said. He gathered the rest of his herbs and some more rocks for his sling. When asked what Shrapnel ate, he said that he prefers meat, but is content with whatever is available, which was good enough for the foals. As such, Zebota gathered some meat he had hunted prior and stored in the refrigerated storage compartment of Quantum’s mech. Once all was said and done, Zebota and Shrapnel joined their new friends on their journey.

Opposing Forces

At Fluttershy's Cottage.....

The group had reached Fluttershy’s doorstep after fleeing from the titanic timberwolf that nearly mauled them. They avoided hiding in Zecora’s hut for the risk of it following them there since it was still in the forest.

As they finally caught their breaths, the winded ponies, zebra and dragon collected their thoughts as to what just occurred. “Fluttershy, what happened!? Why didn’t your stare work?” Spike asked.

Fluttershy was at a loss. “I….I-I-I don’t know, Spike! Maybe I….didn’t focus it enough!? I-I could’ve sworn….”

Twilight put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “It’s ok, Fluttershy. You probably didn’t have a lot of time to react anyway. It came right for us.”

“Yeah, but…..it should have taken effect right away. I-It’s just like before! I couldn’t make any sort of connection with it all!” Fluttershy said. “Zecora, do you think it had some kind of….immunity or something?”

“I….I am unsure. I do not know the true nature of your fabled stare, so my guesses are completely bare. Not only that…..Why was it all by itself? There was no reason for it not to call for help.” Zecora replied.

“I’d venture a guess that we simply wandered into its territory, so it chased us away.” Twilight said.

“That still wouldn’t explain why Fluttershy’s stare didn’t work on it……Maybe timberwolves aren’t really ‘animals’. After all, they’re made of wood.” Spike said.

“No, child. The timberwolves are animals indeed. They and manticores and the like share the same need. They stalk, hunt, kill and feast, as is the way of any living beast.” Zecora said. She then suddenly had a thought as she finished her sentence. “Hmm….beasts….”

“What is it, Zecora?” Twilight said.

“I may have a theory, but I must consult my tomes. In the meantime, stay well-guarded in your homes.” Zecora said before walking away. “Farewell.”

“Take care, Zecora.” Twilight said. Zecora nodded at them and disappeared into the shadows of the fabled forest. “Well, Spike and I should be going, Fluttershy. Sorry to have put you through all of that.”

“It’s fine, Twilight. Maybe we’ll get another chance.” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah…maybe….” Spike said. He and Twilight walked away back to their royal abode as Fluttershy went to tend her animals.

*****

As the hour passed by, Fluttershy solemnly fed her animals and watered her plants. She just couldn’t get that odd timberwolf out of her mind. Why did it want a bucket of wheat? Why was it without a pack? Was it trying to say something? Why couldn’t she understand it? And most of all…..how in Celestia’s name did it resist her stare!? If Zecora was confused about it, then it must have been unusual! Still…..there was something about it that felt….oddly warm as if it never meant any harm, but if that was the case, why did it suddenly lash out at them? There were just too many questions that she couldn’t answer. All she could do was wait.

As she was finishing up her watering, she heard a very familiar loud but low growl emitting from the woods. She quickly looked over to see the same timberwolf slowly approaching! “<gasp!>” Fluttershy dropped her watering can out of shock. Knowing that it was immune to her zoopathy, she could only stand there in panic. Was it here to eat her? It didn’t come roaring its lungs out like last time, so….maybe it was docile?

The timberwolf came to a stop at the small bridge she had over the little creek beyond her front yard and just stared at her for a brief moment. Just like their last meeting, Fluttershy couldn’t tell what it thinking. It was as if its thoughts were locked away from her. A closer look at revealed that it was holding something in its mouth. The timberwolf suddenly tossed what it was holding to her hooves; it was her wheat bucket! She picked it up and looked back at the beast. “Did….you come to give this back to me?” she asked it. Much to her shock, the timberwolf actually nodded and made a grunting noise as if to reply! It did understand her……so why couldn’t she understand it?

Fluttershy put the bucket down again and slowly floated over to the wooden canine. The beast itself didn’t seem to mind her presence. Once she was right at its muzzle, she slowly motioned her hoof to it and gently stroked it. The timberwolf didn’t seem to react apart from a low purr. She continued to slowly stroke its muzzle as she looked into its eyes. “You sure are an odd timberwolf. Where’s the rest of your pack?” The beast didn’t respond for a brief moment, but then just lightly puffed through it's nose, prompting Fluttershy to lay off.

There was something about this timberwolf. The look in its eyes…..it was almost as if she were talking to another pony rather than a wild animal. Little is known about timberwolves to begin with, but this particular specimen was an enigma in of itself, and Fluttershy had no idea why. Before any further interactions could be made, the timberwolf turned around and leapt back into the Everfree forest, leaving Fluttershy to further wonder about it.

*****

“Roho ya msitu, muda wangu na wewe umefika mwisho. Safari yangu sasa huanza na vita Foals, na ni lazima sasa kumuaga. Asante kwa baraka yangu kwa ukarimu japo maisha short wewe akanitunukia katika nafasi hii takatifu. Naomba kwa moyo wangu kwa mafanikio yake ya milele.” Zebota muttered.

The Battle Foals found a river on their way out of the forest and decided to take a quick water break. Shadow Shroud said that this river should lead out to Ghastly Gorge according to her map and advised her comrades that heading to a known landmark would make navigating from there easy. As they did, Zebota sat in a praying position at the riverbank and began mumbling something as Shrapnel sat beside him.

Quantum Tech walked up to him. “What are you doing, Zebota?”

Zebota looked up at her. “Ah, Quantum Tech. I am communing with the spirits in this forest, praying for their prosperity and thanking them for all they provided for Shrapnel and I during our time here.”

Quantum giggled. “That’s….thoughtful of you. Do you think we could trouble them to grant us some good luck for the road ahead?”

“They cannot bless us if we aren't in their domain, now can they?” Zebota replied.

“Ehh….I suppose. You’ll have to excuse me, darling. You and I live in completely different worlds.” Quantum said.

Zebota nodded. “Yes, but more so than us than the others.”

Quantum cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“During our duel, you said something about an age old conflict, yes?” Zebota inquired.

“You mean between nature and technology?” Quantum replied.

“Yes, and you were quite right. Since the dawn of civilization, people of all kinds have struggled to find true balance between what they need and what they want. More and more have we strayed further and further from the realm from whence we all once came. We have allowed our curiosity to override our restraint, and the world suffers because of it. There have been times when I heard spirits weep, yearning for us to sacrifice our curiosity just so that we may truly remember them and what they have always given us. So when I first saw your war machine, I must admit that felt a great deal of resent towards you. To me, it was a blatant disrespect to the primordial forces, but now that we are allies, I am not so sure….” Zebota said.

Quantum sat next to him. “Zebota, you might be right. It is quite easy for us to live life a tid fuller than nature might have intended, but it’s because of nature that things such as technology can exist. We create technology from nature. We use science to further understand the universe and its laws so that we may live in it more prosperously. Think about it: what you’re using right now is technology. Your tomahawk, your boomerang, your sling, even your Beastcraft could loosely be classified as a sort of science, and you attained all of it from nature, correct?”

“That is indeed true, but nature chose to provide these tools to me. My Beastcraft is a form of communion with the spirits, and Shrapnel is a symbol of our pact.” Zebota said as he looked up at his beast. Shrapnel grunted. “By contrast, your machine is made from materials that you took yourself. While that is well within your right, being overcome with a desire to seek more can have destructive consequences. Just look at your friend over there.” He said as he pointed to Crazylocks.

Crazylocks was paddling through the river like a duck and even making quacking noises. She was magically revolving random rocks and algae she ripped from the river around her as she exhibited her randomness. “Ducks need a daily dose of headache!” She dropped one the smaller rocks onto her head, which bounced off of her and back into the river below. She cackled.

“I understand what you mean, Zebota, but Professor Gene Splice was driven to madness. I somehow doubt he could comprehend anything around him, even his own research.” Quantum said.

“And do you know why? It is because he allowed his curiosity to turn into greed. He grew a horrible lust for knowledge far above all else, even the life of a foal.” Zebota said.

Quantum sighed. “I know….it’s saddening that he would lose any sense of responsibility as a scientist, but I learned everything I know about biology from reading about his research. As such, I can succeed where he failed.”

“And where is that?” Zebota asked.

“I will use my understanding of living things not to satisfy my own curiosity, but to enlighten the world. And I won’t even stop at biology! Science will always run in my veins in all forms. As such, I seek to use it to better the world around me as best as I can while maintaining a respect for it. I will unlock its secrets and solve its mysteries to grant everypony their right to knowledge…..knowledge that we can all use to enrich life itself.” Quantum said.

Zebota creased a small smile. “That is…..admirable of you, Quantum Tech. Perhaps I was blind.”

“Perhaps…..but you reminded me of why I chose to walk a path of science and how fraught with delicate steps it is. I thank you, Zebota.” Quantum said.

Zebota nodded. “Of course. However, you must remember that nature is its own entity, and she too holds secrets that she may wish to remain as such. You must respect that.”

Quantum giggled. “As do we all, darling, but even the deepest secrets are bound to be revealed within due time, our own notwithstanding. It’s simply a matter of when they decide to reveal themselves, wouldn’t you say?”

Zebota chuckled. “Indeed.”

Shrapnel lowered his head to nuzzle Quantum Tech. His wooden muzzle tickled against her neck as he lowly purred. She giggled. “Shrapnel, you’re as terrifying as you are just a sweetheart.” She stroked his jaw.

Fire Fight then called out to everypony. “You guys all ready? We’re almost at the edge of the forest where the gorge is!”

Quantum Tech got up and walked over to her mech. “Yes, yes! Let us be off.”

Zebota and Shrapnel got up right after. “As are we, aren’t we?” he said he looked up at his titan. Shrapnel let out a little howl. Shrapnel then stood right over his master and opened his chest as a green light emitted down from it onto Zebota. Zebota’s brooch glowed as he slowly levitated into Shrapnel’s opened chest. The light faded when he grabbed onto two parts of Shrapnel’s chest and held onto them like handle bars. Zebota looked down from his perch. “Shall we?”

The other Battle Foals looked on in awe at them. If it wasn’t obvious already, Zebota and Shrapnel were truly at one with each other. “Well, hot diggity!” Kickback said.

Quantum looked on from her cockpit and smiled. She held out one of her railguns in a hoofshake fashion towards the duo. “May nature and technology find balance.”

Zebota made his brooch glow, causing Shrapnel to law his claw gently on the railgun. “We second that.” He said. Shrapnel grunted in affirmation.

“He says ‘In due time, young ones’.” Crazylocks said. Shrapnel and Quantum broke off.

“Alright, all we have to do is follow this river and-” Fire Fight was about to lead his entourage, but he was interrupted when an ominous noise came from within the overgrowth nearby…..

Drastic Measures

Author's Notes:

I sincerely apologize for my absence. School is kinda happening, and....I sadly came down with the flu and have been feeling like s***. Let me make it up to you the only way I know how: BATTLE FOALS, UNITE!........Crazylocks, get out of my dishwasher.

The Battle Foals all glanced towards the plethora of flora blanketing what horror must have been waiting to plague them. Within the shadows of the overgrowth shined a set of horrific eyes accompanied by a predatory growl.

Kickback drew his guns. “Well heavens to Betsy! We can barely make a trip to the saloon without runnin’ into some kind o’ varmint, now can’t we?”

Fire Fight ignited his gauntlets and smiled viciously. “No complaints there!”

“Are you quite sure?” Quantum Tech asked nervously. “My scanners are umm….oh, how do I put this?” From the overgrowth emerged an enormous scorpion that seemed to standing on its lower body with its upper body reared up. It had claws that seemed too big for it to balance, but it managed wield them effectively. The only that made it worse was when six more of them followed suit. “Y-Yes….Yes, that.”

Fire Fight gulped. “Oh boy…here comes fun….”

Zebota drew his boomerang. “Arthrolids! Be careful!” Shrapnel roared at them as Zebota lowered himself from Shrapnel’s chest.

“Zebota! Can’t you ask them to leave with your Beastcraft or whatever?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“I can try….” Zebota clutched his brooch as it glowed along with his eyes. He then stared down the arthrolids. “Wanyama wa porini, hapa sauti yangu na kufuata maelekezo yangu. Sisi si mawindo yako. Kuondoka katika eneo hili na kupata chakula mahali pengine!”

The arthrolids’ eyes seemed to glow a little, as if to receive Zebota’s message. However, a mere moment passed before they returned to normal and hissed ferociously at the foals. “Doesn’t look like they’re in the mood to see reason.” Shadow Shroud said as she drew her kamas.

Air Slash drew his swords. “Then neither are we!” He crossed his swords and launched a cross beam at the one in front. It hit its chest dead center, but only seemed to damage a large portion of its chitin. While the insectoid beast staggered, it barely managed to regain its composure and charged the foals along with its buddies.

“HERE D’HEY COME, Y’ALL!!” Turf War slammed his hammer down, causing a tremor that made the arthrolids lose their balance, leaving an opening on the one that Air Slash damaged. He ran up to it and smacked its leg, shattering its carapace. The insect shrieked in agony as its exoskeletal armor was busted of it.

Quantum Tech then took aim with her railgun and shot at the exposed flesh, blasting it into pieces. “TURF WAR, GET BACK!!”

The crippled Arthrolid swung its claw down towards Turf War just as he raised his shield to block it. “DAMN!!” While the beast was undoubtedly shaken by its own strength, Turf War himself could feel from just one blow how formidable these guys were. He immediately fell back as per Quantum’s order.

“SHRAPNEL, ATTACK!!” Zebota ordered. Shrapnel lunged forward at another arthrolid coming up from the left, bellowing an aggressive roar. The two titans collided before lashing out at one another. Shrapnel clamped his jaws onto the arthrolids head and tried to wrestle it to the ground, but the insect beast managed to hold its own using its enormous claws and multiple legs to maintain its balance.

“DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE OTHER ONE!!” Spiral Galaxy focused a small meteorite and fired it at the one it front that had already been badly crippled. The controlled cataclysmic object finished off the armored beast, but it left Spiral having to regain her focus. “Ugh…..too early for that….”

“EVERYPONY!! ATTACK THE LEGS!” Fire Fight shouted. Another arthrolid came charging at him full throttle and swung its claw down. He had to parry it away with a blast kick before making any attempt at the legs, but the other claw managed to strike him. “ARGH!”

Thankfully, he avoided being grabbed, and his armor was just sturdy enough to prevent his bones from breaking. Before Fire Fight could retaliate, a flurry of wet rocks suddenly flew out of nowhere and slammed into the beast.

“THE DUCKS!!.....They have taught me well…..” Crazylocks was at the river levitating more river rocks whilst in a meditative pose. She cackled manically as she continuously hurled every stone she could pick up at the small horde of horrors.

“Well, that’s one way to participate in a shootout. Lemme help y’all with that, Ms. Crazylocks.” Kickback said. “YEEEE-HAAAAW!” He fired his trusty guns at the bugs trying to hit their eyes. While he seemed to be hitting them, it was clear that even the eyes had some coverage of their own that he’d have to break through. “Sound, Fury, we’re gonna hafta make these ‘ere pests turn a blind eye ‘r two!”

Another one coming in from the back tried to charge at Kickback, but a sudden black shadow jumped down onto its head and exploded into a black cloud, distracting it. Air Slash swooped towards it and a series of violent slashes could be heard from within the cloud. After a few seconds, Air Slash and Shadow Shroud leapt from the scrap and landed near Zebota. “A finishing touch, sir?” Shroud said.

The disoriented arthrolid could barely do anything to put up defenses as Zebota loaded his sling. He clutched his brooch as it glowed. “KNOW MY POWER, INSECTS!” he shouted before firing his rock. It glowed with the same mystic hue as his brooch as it flew towards the insect and exploded in a burst of the mystic energy once it impacted its face, exposing the flesh underneath. Kickback finished it off by shooting it out.

Kickback blew out the smoke from his guns as the arthrolid crumbled to the ground. “Music to mah ears, boys.” He said to his guns.

A couple more of the arthrolids hissed as the skittered towards them. Zebota drew his boomerang. “It will take more than music to soothe these monsters, my friend.” He threw his boomerang at the arthrolids. “FETCH, SHRAPNEL!” Shrapnel roared as he released the other arthrolid he was mauling and pounced towards the other two. He slammed into them and the beats went tumbling. Zebota looked at Shroud and Air Slash. “These two will fall to us. Help the others.”

Kickback tipped his hat. “We got ‘em covered, y’all.”

Air Slash nodded. “Fight well.” He soared off while Shadow Shroud disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Zebota and Kickback turned to the staggering scorpions and Shrapnel. The beasts all looked ready to maul each other, and pretty got to business as Shrapnel swiped his claw at one of them. It blocked him with its own claw and tried to grab Shrapnel with its other one, but Shrapnel’s agility spared him some agony as he jumped back out of the way. He rammed his head into its abdomen and nearly knocked it over had it not been for the arthrolid’s natural balance. He had to jump out of the way of the other one before it got him and managed to leap over it as the big bug thrust itself down to try and pin him. Shrapnel then seized its arms from behind and held it up in a grapple as he clamped his jaws onto its head with its eyes just peeking out of his teeth.

“Now there’s a good doggie!” Kickback said. He fired his guns at the arthrolids eyes and legs to distract them. The arthrolid that Shrapnel didn’t have in a chokehold was too distracted by metal pellets pelting him fast enough to damage its eyes and make its legs stings to attack the wooden titan.

Zebota’s boomerang returned to him. “Your firearms serve you well, Kickback.” He said. His brooch glowed once more. “But it is time to end this charade!” Another glyph formed under him, but it was yellow this time, and his brooch glowed the same color. He held out his boomerang in an aggressive prayer-like stance. “Dhoruba za msitu huu, mimi kuita nawe uko hii moja wakati wa mwisho. Naomba kwa neema yako katika mashindano hayo ya kuishi. Kuhifadhia mnyama wangu, Shrapnel wangu wenye nguvu kwa hasira ambayo imekuwa adhabu ya hata miti yenye nguvu!” Bolts of lightning began flashing and flickering from within the glyph, and Zebota raised his boomerang into the air. Shrapnel’s eyes suddenly began glowing yellow and subsequently flashing with electricity. It wasn’t until lighting began building up in his mouth that Kickback knew that these arthrolids were about to have a real bad day. Shrapnel opened his mouth as the lightning congregation got bigger and let loose with it. He exhaled a stream of lightning at his two opponents with the ferocity of a storm god. It shred right through their armored shells and lit them up like fireworks. After about three seconds, the lightning petered out, and Shrapnel fell to his paws panting.

Kickback looked on in absolute awe as Zebota ran over to check on his pet. “Well, that just happened….”

Zebota stroked his tired beast. “I am sorry, my friend. I did not mean to push you so hard so quickly.” Shrapnel lightly nuzzled his master as though to forgive him. “Thank you. Try to conserve your strength. We have more of these scourges to vanquish.” Zebota said. Shrapnel growled fiercely with determination.

On the other side, the other foals were holding back the other oncoming arthrolids that had attack from every direction. Turf War’s tremors did little to really distract them anymore, and he didn’t want to potentially topple Quantum’s mech either. “Man, where some damn bug spray when ya need it!?” he shouted as he parried an arthrolid claw with his shield.

Quantum Tech fired her railguns and magic turrets at them furiously. It was a good thing that she recalibrated her targeting systems, because they were getting a workout. Her powerful shots made some dents and cracks into their carapaces, but it was doing little to hold them back. “We forgot to purchase any, so we’ll have to make due with our current arsenal!” An arthrolid charged toward her head on. “Engaging force field!” A series of hexagonal lights forming rotating walls around Quantum’s mech suddenly appeared. When the bug beast tried to smack her, its claw bounced off like a golf ball. “How about you and me have a little chat!?” Quantum switched her railguns into her beam swords and began dueling with the bug behemoth. They crossed swords and claws with ferocity in their eyes. Neither one backed down as they swung and parried for dominance. “BACK! BACK!! BACK, YOU CUR!!!" Finally, the two opposing forces found each other in a lock between their arms. The staring contest that ensued was the only calm before whatever storm would brew when they would eventually break off. That storm suddenly came in the form of the world’s most amazing locks….

“COME TO ME, MY LOOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!!” Crazylocks tackled the insectoid scourge off of Quantum and began flailing it around violently, slamming it into the ground repeatedly. “TOUGH LOVE! TOUGH LOVE!! TOUGH LOVE!!! TOUGH LOVE!!!! TOUGH LOVE!!!!! TOUGH LOVE!!!!!! TOOOOOOOUUUUUUGH LOOOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!” The poor arthrolid was helpless as the tiny terror tossed and smacked him around like the ragdoll of a sane child throwing a tantrum. Crazylocks then tossed it straight up above her and sprouted her wings to soar towards it. She caught it and morphed back into an earth pony, and flailed her mighty locks ferociously as she prepared to strike the beast with a finisher. That finisher came in the form of her mane maces striking its faces with meteoritic force, sending flying like a baseball into the overgrowth beyond. She then landed back on the ground. “AND DON’T EVER CALL ME AGAIN!!!!!......Eehee!” She suddenly showed some cute curtsy upon concluding her rampage.

Quantum stared at her in fright. She had yet to witness Crazylocks’ full strength, and like Fire Fight said, it was nothing short of terrifying. “Well…I’m having nightmares tonight.” She said as she watched Crazylocks cackle maniacally as she assaulted another arthrolid.

No matter the amount of magic slashes, fire blasts and punches, star lasers, seismic strikes or smoke bombs above all else, the arthrolids kept surrounding the Battle Foals. “GUYS, IT’S NO GOOD! NO MATTER HOW MANY WE DEFEAT, THEY JUST KEEP COMING!!” Spiral shouted just before causing a couple arthrolids to fall up with her gravity manipulation and blast them with a small supernova.

“WE’VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!!” Fire Fight shouted. The Battle Foals were surrounded by beasts and running out of stamina. While they were making relatively quick work of the arthrolids with their new arsenal and awesome new friend and timberwolf, they were liable to drop dead at any moment from exhaustion.

“WE NEED TO DISORIENT THEM SOMEHOW, OR PERHAPS….DARE I SAY SCARE THEM AWAY!?!” Shroud said. She used her cloning technique to make one arthrolid dizzy to the point of nearly toppling and let Air Slash finish it off with a power slash to the neck.

Upon hearing this, Quantum Tech mustered some determination and began pressing some buttons. “EVERYPONY, GET DOWN! I’M TAKING DRASTIC MEASURES!! OVERDRIVE LASER: INITIALIZING!” Her turrets stopped firing and began to fold into themselves to become antennae that glowed with intense magical energy. Her railgun then protruded their own antennae with the same magic radiating from them and held them beside her turrets so that they formed a hexagonal pattern. “10%.....20%.....” The magic between the antennae began conducting between each other and point into the center of the pattern where Quantum could see it from her cockpit. “40%....50%.....” The arthrolids were beginning to congregate towards her as she charged her weapon. The ground around her mech began to rumble as the magic from her antennae began to intensify. “80%.....90%.....almost there!...” The arthrolids began to cower away in fear of the impending magic storm awaiting them while Quantum Tech creased a nasty smile. “98%…99%……CHARGE COMPLETE!! FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRREEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!” She slammed her hoof down on the fateful button that would unleash hell. The magic in her antennae suddenly reached critical levels as it congregated into a big ball of light that then erupted into a huge beam of destruction that rivaled Spiral’s star beams. She could only turn her mech around as she fired it into the oncoming arthrolids.

“OOOOHHHH S*************!!!!!!!” Turf War got everypony to hit the deck as Quantum fired her death ray.

Shrapnel picked them all up and jumped over the river to a safe spot away from Quantum’s reign of destruction. Her death ray completely obliterated the arthrolids as they ran for the hills. “LEAVE NO QUARTER, MY MACHINE!!” she shouted. After about ten seconds, alarms from inside her cockpit started going off as her death ray deactivated to cool down. It was alright though, because those monsters definitely weren’t coming back. Quantum victoriously fixed her glasses and giggled as she kicked her feet up. “Pfft! ‘Bug spray’! Who ever heard of such a silly little novelty?”

Balance

The other Battle Foals looked on in both awe and horror at the carnage that their little genius had wrought. Seared and blasted corpses of the arthrolids littered the riverbank now decorated with streams of burns from Quantum Tech’s laser. Shrapnel jumped everypony back over there so that they could check on her. “Quantum, are you okay?” Fire Fight asked.

Quantum’s mech was still rebooting from activating its panic mode, so she had to manually open her cockpit and jump out. “Oof!” She hit the ground with a little thud and brushed herself off a little. “Goodness…” She fixed her glasses. “Yes, Fire Fight. I’m quite alright. What of all of you, hmm?”

“Ugh….You all know how I feel….” Spiral Galaxy said as she held her forehead.

“Dat was dope-a** laser d’ho, homegirl! You straight fried-”

“Ahem!” Quantum glared at Turf War authoritatively.

“Oh, dang! My bad. But fo’ real, you came through fo’ us again, fam!” Turf War said.

Despite his….uniqueness, Turf War managed to make the little scientist smile and blush a little. “Oh, you! I merely participated in the ensuing conflict like the rest of you did.”

“Just don’t get carried away with it. It’s enough that we have a space goddess-in-training to worry about as it is.” Shadow Shroud said.

“And please, PLEASE never let that thing point astray towards us!” Air Slash said.

“Oh, but of course. Everything little thing born from my mind and my hooves is created to aid our cause.” Quantum said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Ah don’t doubt that fer a gosh darn second, Ms. Quantum Tech.”

Quantum giddily smiled at him. “Oh, I know, my sweet, handsome Kickback! Care to come over here so I can-”

“Ah reckon Ah’ll pass.” Kickback said bluntly, causing Quantum to pout.

Air Slash chuckled. “You’re quite the glutton for punishment, my friend.” He said. Kickback rolled his eyes.

Zebota and Shrapnel didn’t seem so happy. They marched up to Quantum with Zebota glaring and Shrapnel growling ferociously. “’How could you be so foolish, child!?’….is what Shrapnel says!” Crazylocks said.

Everypony glanced over at the mystic duo in surprise. Quantum was especially taken aback. “Huh? Whatever do you mean?”

“Take a better look around you and see for yourself!” Zebota exclaimed angrily.

Doing as he said, Quantum inspected her surroundings to find that the damage she dealt was….worse than she had intended. The dirt had been razed in many places, rocks were destroyed, delicate flora had been incinerated, trees had been blasted down and much of the immediate landscape was still smoldering from being caught within the wake of Quantum’s overdrive laser. It was all just….destroyed. “Er…..goodness……perhaps I….might have overdone it just a tad.”

“JUST A TAD!? You and accursed machine have wounded this place! You speak of nature allowing for technology to be built, and this is how you express your gratitude!?” Zebota exclaimed. “I can hear the spirits weeping in anger. Their homes are destroyed. They look at you with venom in their eyes! How could you, Quantum Tech!? How could you betray our trust, our balance!?”

Fire Fight tried to get in between them. “Guy, guys! Let’s all just calm down and take it easy, ok?” he said. Shrapnel then suddenly got in his face and growled. Fire Fight gently pushed him away. “Hey, hey, hey. Bad dog.”

Zebota sighed. “Forgive me, Fire Fight. I mentioned before that the disrespect of nature angers me, and this time is no different.” He looked back at Quantum. “I am simply appalled by your disregard. Was our conversation meaningless? How about our agreement? Is technology all that occupies your mind? Is all else without meaning to you?”

Quantum was beginning to feel really guilty. “Z-Z-Zebota, I….I’m so sorry….”

“I know….but you have much to think over.” Zebota said.

Fire Fight sighed. “Zebota, I’m sorry too. I’m sure Quantum Tech didn’t mean any harm. We were all fighting those arthrolids.”

“Yes….it was but another contest of survival. All is as it should be…..aside from…..the aftermath.” Zebota said. Shrapnel whimpered as he lightly nuzzled his master. “Thank you, friend.”

“Look, y’all. Why don’t we just get movin’. It’s almost dark, and we ain’t outta da woods yet…..HA! See what I did there? ‘Cause we really is in da woods?” Turf War said.

Shadow Shroud smiled and rolled her eyes. “Turf War’s bland humor aside, he’s right. We better get a move on. Down the river we go, guys.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Shroud. Alright, guys!” Fire Fight said.

“Let’s do da damn thing!” Turf War said. He was about to correct himself when he noticed that Quantum Tech looked too dejected to reprimand him. She solemnly returned to her mech, which had finished cooling and lowered her seat down so that she may enter her cockpit. Once she was seated, she looked on at the war zone she had created and sighed before being raised back into her mech. Likewise, Zebota solemnly had himself levitated back into Shrapnel’s chest as he gazed with mellow resentment towards Quantum. With a wave of light tension looming about them, the Battle Foals set out once more.

The rest of the trip down the river felt a little tense. All could tell that neither Zebota nor Quantum in were much in the mood for talking. While it felt like they could speak safely without causing tempers to flare, the foals felt that now wasn’t the time for consolation whilst escaping a hostile forest. As the time passed by and sounds of nature resounded throughout the forest, the Battle Foals’ minds began to wonder. Where would they go now? What would they find next? How much more of this journey of theirs was left? Where would it all ultimately take them? When was Crazylocks going to stop licking arthrolid blood off of her mane maces?

Turf War thought he should try to lighten the mood. “So, uh…..Now dat we got a zebra…..maybe we’ll get a….a changeling next time? Dat be kinda dope.”

“We really should leave them alone, Turf War. They’ve only begun to rebuild their kingdom after their mass awakening, so any turmoil within their ranks is more than likely the result of the stress coming with building from the ground up, especially considering they have a new ruler.” Shadow Shroud explained.

“Yeah, and who knows how long it’ll take them. But it’s a good thing that they’re not a threat anymore. They freaked me out.” Spiral said.

“It’s almost a shame. I had trained long and hard for the day that I might face them again only for their recent transformation to happen, but make no mistake. I openly welcome their companionship with us.” Air Slash said.

“Well, their former evil queen is still out n’ about, so y’all might just get yer chance.” Kickback said.

Air Slash chuckled. “Let that demon come. The light of my swords shall be the last light her wicked eyes are ever blessed with.”

Fire Fight was happy to see everypony else in a light mood, but he could tell that Quantum and Zebota were still in not much of a mood to have a good laugh. They seldom did as little as glance at one another. One look up at the sky however gave him something direr to worry about. “Guys, we gotta pick up the pace. Night is starting to fall. Shroud, how much longer until we reach the gorge?”

“Not too much longer, I’d imagine. We’ve been walking for a while, and this forest isn’t quite as big when you’re not disoriented.” Shroud answered.

Quantum then spoke up. “I’m inclined to believe her. I think I can see the river water starting to move more rapidly. That must mean that we’re nearing a waterfall.”

Zebota then spoke up. “Yes, you are right. The river spirits sing more fervently as we near. They are bidding the water a safe journey away from this place.” He said. Shrapnel howled. “Yes, my friend…..Hmm? What’s that?”

“He says, ‘careful, children. I sense unrest amongst the elements.’….whatever that means.” Crazylocks said.

“Unrest!? Oh dear….Battle Foals, we must move faster! I believe that a storm is brewing!” Zebota warned.

The foals all looked wide-eyed at him. “Whu-oh….” Spiral muttered. A sound of thunder suddenly boomed in the sky above them as dark clouds began to form. Sparks of lightning flashed in every direction as it painted a dark and ominous picture. “RUN, GUYS!!” No sooner than the thunder and lightning begin brewing did it start raining. It was a good thing that Quantum’s mech suit was waterproof, because it was coming down pretty hard. The foals ran through the onslaught of falling water droplets as thought their lives depended on it, probably because they did.

“Zebota, can’t you stop this!?” Shroud shouted.

“No! If anything, I may have caused it when I empowered Shrapnel with the power of a storm! It must have angered the storm spirits! I am a fool….” Zebota answered.

“Even compared to me?” Quantum asked.

“We can discuss that later!” Zebota said.

Bolts of lightning began striking down near the foes and seemed to get closer and closer. Whether it was just bad luck or Quantum’s mech being a lightning rod, it didn’t matter much to the foals as they had to dodge a few just to avoid being fried. After a few more minutes of dodging nature, they finally came across the summit of the waterfall cascading down into Ghastly Gorge. It would have been a sight to behold had the ensuing storm not made the Battle Foals hasty. They scanned quickly for a place to safely descend.

“Ok….well….We could definitely all climb down, but then that leaves Quantum’s mech and Shrapnel.” Fire Fight said.

“I could use my cosmomancy to lower them down safely like I did with you guys back at Foal Mountain.” Spiral said.

“Is that okay with you guys?” Fire Fight asked Quantum and Zebota.

“Whatever is necessary, Fire Fight.” Zebota said. Quantum just nodded.

“Alright then. Everypony else, be careful climbing-” He was suddenly cut off when a huge bolt of lightning suddenly slammed into the ground between them with cataclysmic force, sending him, Shadow Shroud, Air Slash, Spiral Galaxy, Turf War and Crazylocks off the cliff and into the path of the waterfall…..

“AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

“GUYS!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!” Quantum tried to grab them with her railgun, but just missed. All she, Kickback and Zebota could do now was watch their friends fall into the canyon below.

Zebota raised his tomahawk and clutched his brooch. “Kuanguka cascades ya maji makuu, kusikia ombi langu! Kuchukua marafiki zangu ndani ya kukumbatia yako. Vipuri maisha yao kutokana na dhoruba hii ya kutisha!” As his brooch glowed, the waterfall seemed to reach out and grab the falling foals, effectively saving them from plummeting to their deaths.

“What the!? What just happened, partner!? Are they gonna be okay!?” Kickback exclaimed.

Zebota nodded. “Yes, friend. The river will now protect them until we find them, or they already get help. It would seem that we’d have to wait out the storm for now.”

“Over there!” Quantum pointed over to a small natural trail leading down the canyon. On the wall was a little alcove that the three could rest in until the storm subsided. “Let’s get going before the lightning decides to bid us more greeting!”

The two colts and timberwolf complied without question as they followed Quantum into the small cave. It was just big enough for the four of them, especially considering Quantum’s mech and Shrapnel. Now all they could do was ride out the storm and pray that their friends were safe…

Ghastly Search

Air Slash’s head was pounding. All was completely black and his senses were inactive. Yet for some reason, he could feel…..comfort. Whatever this comfort was, it was coaxing his senses into stirring. “…ka…?” His consciousness was slowly coming back as his senses reactivated. “A….ou…….?” He could feel his body lying on something soft, there seemed to be sunlight, and he could detect a soothing aroma in the air around him. But….was there somepony calling out to him? “Are you okay? Please, open your eyes.”

“Wha…..huh?.....Where……..Where am I?” Air Slash’s vision finally regained focus, and he was met with a slightly startling sight.

“Oh, good. You’ve awoken! You had us all so worried.” The soft voice of an earth pony filly his age who sat before his aching body spoke to him. She had a beige coat, a wavy, chocolate-colored mane and tail, and soft violet eyes that bore no ill will. She seemed to be wearing some kind of robe that was turquoise colored and had silver-colored lining along its edges. Her Cutie Mark depicted a vitablossom, a pink and white tree hibiscus known in Equestria for its excellent potency as an herbal medicine for many ailments and first aid. The filly gently grabbed Air Slash’s hoof. “Can you stand? You and your friends seemed quite hurt when we found you floating down the river.” She spoke very softly and with motherly care in her tone.

Air Slash was certainly a little startled by his sudden surroundings, but he could immediately sense that this filly meant him no harm. He let her hold his hoof as he staggered to his hooves. His body ached a little from being assaulted by nature, but his lifelong training had granted him a sturdy spirit; he wasn’t so easily broken. He looked into the filly’s gentle violet eyes and warm smile. “Er….y-yes….um……who are you? What is this place?”

“I am sister Greensprout, and you’re in a place of peace and harmony, brother.” She answered.

‘Sister’ Greensprout? Was she some kind of monk? It would explain her rather odd apparel. “H-Hello, er….Greensprout. I….I-I am Air Slash of the clan Bladerunner.”

Greensprout gasped. “A Bladerunner? My goodness! I don’t think we’ve ever had such a visitor before.” She said. Her smile then disappeared. “But it seems that you’re still hurt. I would implore you to rest some more, Air Slash.”

“Huh? Oh, no no no. I’m…..I’m quite fine. Th-Thank you though, Greensprout.” Air Slash stammered. He was conflicted. On one hoof, he wanted to figure out just where he was and find his comrades, but…..he hadn’t realized yet, but…..he had never seen a more beautiful filly in all his life! He could feel his cheeks burning red hot as though Fire Fight had punched both of them with his gauntlets ignited, and his breathing became slightly heavy. It wasn’t until he looked down a little ways that he realized that he was still holding her hoof. Despite the code of honor that he was born into, he couldn’t find himself wanting to let go. “Where have you been?” he whispered.

Greensprout leaned her head in a little closer. “I’m sorry?” she asked.

“Where ha….uh-uh-uh-uh!....are my swords!? Yes….uh…..where are my swords? They were not lost to the river, were they?”

Greensprout smiled. “Oh! <giggle> No, Air Slash.” She let go of his hoof, much to his dismay and walked over to the other end of the room. “They’re right here. You were wearing them on your back, so they must be yours, yes?”

Air Slash trotted towards them happily. “Yes. Thank you.” He said as he put his scabbard back on with swords in tow. This gave him an opportunity to observe the room he was in more closely. It was a very….traditional room. He could see that he had been lying of an old style of futon with wooden and screened walls surrounding him. There were sliding doors leading into a closet and probably outside too. The windows also slid open and let lots of sunlight in. In the corner of the room was a burning incense that gave off that soothing aroma. Wherever he was, he knew he was safe, but it begged the question…. “Where are my friends?”

Greensprout went over to the rooms entrance and opened the sliding door. “I think they might still be resting, but maybe they’ve awoken by now. Come with me.” She motioned for him to follow as she exited the room.

Air Slash happily followed Greensprout and walked right at her side through the hallway, occasionally glancing over at her nervously. He could feel his cheeks blushing again. Despite his captivation with her, he knew he had to look for his friends. “So….what is this place?”

Greensprout giggled as she approached a bigger sliding door. She opened it. “This is our humble abbey, Air Slash. Welcome to Gardenia.” The sunlight faded out to reveal a peaceful village surrounded by lush plant life with crystal clear rivers running through it into the river where the presumably were found unconscious. Foals played blissfully in the gardens and streets, farmers sold the freshest-looking produce Air Slash had ever seen, and more ponies wearing the same kind of robe that Greensprout was could be seen peacefully meditating and praying in various locations.

Air Slash was awestruck by what beheld him. If he didn’t know any better, he’d almost swear that Fire Fight had succeeded in building his utopia without him! “Air Slash!” Speaking of which….Air Slash looked to see the red colt running towards. “Dude, you’re awake! You were out like a light. I guess Greensprout here took care of you?” he asked.

Fire Fight was thankfully still with his armor and gauntlets, much to the proud smith’s delight. It was even more delighting to see his friend alive and well. “Yes, friend. I am relieved to see that you’re alright. What of the others?” he asked.

“They just got up too! We’re all okay, but…..I guess Kickback, Quantum Tech, Zebota and Shrapnel didn’t get hit by that bolt, huh? We need to go look for them.” Fire Fight said.

“Oh dear. You got separated from your friends?” Greensprout asked.

“Yeah. Thanks for helping us, but we need to go gather the others.” Fire Fight said.

Air Slash’s eyes widened. “W-W-W-Wait!! Wh-What’s the rush!?” he hurriedly asked.

Fire Fight exhibited some surprise. “What do you mean ‘what’s the rush’? Our friends could be in danger, Air Slash! Come on! I know you have more honor than that!”

Air Slash glanced back and forth nervously between Fire Fight and Greensprout. “Well, yes, but….Do we know where this place is in relation to where we last saw them?”

Fire Fight cocked his eyebrow. “Dude, Ghastly Gorge is just up the river. We floated down here after we got hit by that lightning bolt.” He said bluntly.

“Oh my word!” Greensprout exclaimed. “You’ve all been through so much!”

“Yes, we have. We cannot thank you enough, Greensprout.” Air Slash said. He smiled nervously at her while blushing.

“There you are!!” They looked over to see the remaining foals running up to them. All of them were also with all of their armaments and being followed by an elderly stallion wearing the same monk robe that Greensprout was. “You guys okay?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

Before any of them could answer, Crazylocks pounced onto Fire Fight. “FIRE FIGHT! YOU GOTTA HELP ME!! THEY TOOK THEM!! THEY TOOK MY WOUNDS!! THOSE WERE MY WOUNDS!!” she screamed frantically.

Fire Fight had to shove her off of him. “Crazylocks, they were helping you.”

“JUSTICE FOR LOST WOUNDS!!” Crazylocks declared.

The old stallion chuckled. “My! Aren’t you an eccentric one?” Crazylocks glared at him and hissed loudly as she backed herself into a wall. The old stallion was suddenly a little off put. “What might be the problem, young madam?”

Shadow Shroud went over to her to comfort her. “It’s ok, Crazylocks. You’ll get new ones…..trust me…” Something about her tone made it sound like she was pretty sincere. “You’ll have to excuse her, sir. She’s…..impaired…..severely.”

“I don’t know ‘bout ‘impaired’, but homegirl just a li’l wild.” Turf War said.

“A little, Turf War?” Spiral said.

“Greetings, abbot Meadow.” Greensprout said.

They all looked up at the old stallion. His gentle smile radiated calmness amongst the whole group. “Hello, young Greensprout. I trust all is well with this last one?”

Greensprout nodded. “Yes. He tends to stammer, but I believe that his senses are simply still reconstituting.” She said.

Air Slash found himself gazing at her once more. He was able to contain his blushing better, but little tints of red were visible. “Damn, son. You good?” Turf War asked.

Air Slash was broken out of his trance. “Huh!? Oh! Um…<ahem>….y-yes, of course.” He tried to keep his cool while Greensprout stood there confused. Spiral seemed to catch onto what was going on and started snickering a little. Shadow Shroud then caught on and gave him a devious smirk. Air Slash was doing his best not to lose his temper in such a peaceful place and in front of Greensprout.

*****

As the morning dawned, the three foals and timberwolf began to stir. Kickback had managed to use some gunpowder from one of his bullets to start a fire, and Quantum spared some ingredients stored in her mech to cook. Zebota and Shrapnel monitored the storm as it passed before passing to bed themselves. Much was on their mind right now, namely where their friends were and the state of the relationship between two forces. “Y’all ready to head out?” Kickback said.

Quantum Tech and Zebota were facing away from each other as he said that. Zebota was facing out towards the canyon while sitting under Shrapnel while Quantum inspected her mech. They both looked at him. “Oh! Yes, darling.” Quantum said.

“We shall go.” Zebota said. Shrapnel lowly grunted. The mystic duo eyed the mechanical-minded filly with disapproval as she climbed into the cockpit of her deadly machine.

Quantum could feel their eyes as she activated the rest of her mech from inside. The sounds of engines starting up filled the small cave that they occupied. She sighed. “All systems: operational….” She said sorrowfully. She gazed for a moment at the interior of her cockpit. She never meant to create a WMD, but yesterday served as hard proof at the sheer destructive potential she held with all the knowledge she had filled her head with over the years. How far was she willing to go? How far could she go? She didn’t want to become another Gene Splice and be at the wrong end of Shroud’s kunai…..even though she’d deserve it in the end. Shroud was right to warn her. Moving forward was all she could do now, but she had a wall between her and Zebota to break down.

Quantum walked her mech outside and scanned the downward trail ahead. She found that it was stable and nowhere near close to collapsing anywhere. “Okay, we should be good to travel down from here.” She said.

Zebota sighed with annoyance. “The spirits just told me that….” He said as he retrieved his thrown boomerang.

“Oh…..good! Then….we are on the same page….” Quantum said nervously. Zebota didn’t seem amused.

Kickback grimaced. “Here we go….” He whispered to himself. “Tell ya what, Ah’ll take point while y’all two cover the back. That way, nuttin’ can surprise us from behind. Zebota n’ Shrapnel should be in the back since they’re more agile and junk. Sound good?”

Quantum giggled. “Sure thing, handsome!” She cooed.

Kickback rolled his eyes. “This is fer the greater good….” He whispered to himself.

“That is sensible, my friend. Very well.” Zebota said. He levitated himself up into Shrapnel’s chest and followed suit.

“’Least Ah got ‘em to agree on somethin’.” Kickback whispered to himself. He knew that he’d have to take Fire Fight’s place. Carefully, the small group treaded down the mountain trail and into the pit of the gorge. The scenic view of the waterfall and the natural design of the gorge itself was breathtaking. Mists created from the water hitting the bottom made for quite the spectacle. As they neared the bottom, it became more and more wet from all the deposition. But even nature’s beauty couldn’t quell the tension between Quantum and Zebota. Kickback could tell that they still weren’t too keen on eyeing each other. “Hmm….this ain’t gonna be easy.”

They finally reach the bottom of the ravine and had access to much wider ground so that they didn’t have to stand in a straight line. They began scanning around and calling out to their friends. So far, nothing. The gorge was desolate with only local birds to answer them. Their echoes rang out into oblivion across the rocky ravine. Quantum then happened to turn around to face the waterfall.

“Hmm?” Her infrared scanners suddenly picked up something beyond the wall of mist at the foot of the waterfall that resembled a pony. Whatever it was just stood where it was and just stared at them. Quantum Tech observed it for a moment before it suddenly disappeared behind the waterfall. “Huh!?”

“What is it, you fool?” Zebota asked.

“B-Behind the falls! Th-There was….something….”

“There was nothing. Now, let us continue.” Zebota said. Shrapnel huffed at her.

“Take it easy, you two. Ah don’t reckon Fire Fight would too happy none to see y’all yappin’ like bad neighbors on Neighbor Appreciation Day.” Kickback said. The other two eyed him curiously. “It’s a li’l somethin’ that we do in Dodge City to cherish one another. Really helps to settle disputes an’ all.”

“Well, holidays will not heal the forest that Quantum Tech wounded.” Zebota said.

Quantum was becoming a little frustrated with Zebota. “Perhaps, though had it not been for your little storm, we would not be in this predicament.” She hissed. “Our friends could be safe and sound with us, and we could continue our journey without pause. I’d say that’s more pressing.”

Shrapnel leered and growled at her and Zebota leered with him. “What a shame it is that your ‘technology’ could not save them. I had to call upon the spirits to save them!”

“Well, bless the water spirits’ hearts that they were kind enough to help! The other one saw fit to try and fry us into a gala feast!” Quantum argued as she pointed one of her railguns at Shrapnel.

Zebota raised his boomerang as Shrapnel reared back. “Yes, and not the forest around them like a mad scientist!”

“Who are you calling a mad scientist!? Oh, right! The same zebra that enslaved a poor creature of nature in a fit of rage from said creature slaying his parents! And in a ‘fair contest of survival’ might I add!” Quantum shouted.

“Shrapnel is my friend! That is far more than what can be said of you and your artificial abomination!” Zebota shouted. Shrapnel roared.

The two were pretty much at each other’s throats as they argued up and down. Things were getting intense as Quantum’s mech seemed to power up and Zebota’s brooch glowed as Shrapnel growled and roared more fiercely. Kickback had seen enough; he drew one of his guns and removed the silencer.

<BANG!!!>

The startling noise shut the arguing forces up as they looked over at Kickback, who was pointing his gun in the air. “Now y’all two listen here, an’ you listen good!” he said as he placed the silencer back onto his gun. “Ah’m gonna tell ya more about the night Ah lost mah mama…” he took a deep breath to calm himself and to remember his late mother. “Ah fired that shot that night. Ah took mah mama’s life. Ah couldn’t look in mah pa’s eyes for a long time. Seems like that’s all that really mattered, but lemme tell ya somethin’. There was certainly more to it. Ah ran up to mah mama while pa was cradlin’ her. Ah’d never been so ashamed of mahself in mah whole dang life. What was she gonna say? Was she gonna die spurnin’ her son fer endin’ it all so soon?.....No….mah mama was a kind mare. She knew how to forgive. She knew how to smile even if the desert got a bit too hot, an’ ya know what? She never let go of that, even at her last breath. Ah’ll never forget her dyin’ words to me….‘Ah promised that Ah’d always love you….that Ah’d love everypony. It’s ok if they never loved back, but those that do are truly the ones that the world was meant for’. Ah know that mah pa didn’t exactly adhere to that so well, but he simply forgot about the mare he married, and only remembered the son that took her from him. If y’all too are gonna spend the rest o’ yer lives rememberin’ each other like mah pa remembers me, that’s fine, but Ah hardly reckon either nature nor technology would be too happy havin’ to share the same bad apple.”

Kickback’s speech sank into the techno-filly and mystic zebra. Zebota never had the luxury of hearing his parents’ dying words since Shrapnel was busy mauling them, so to hear such a tale was….somewhat heartwarming. Quantum hadn’t felt such love from her own parents since she attained her Cutie Mark, hence why she abandoned them. The two looked at one another in guilt. Even Shrapnel had eased up and let out a couple whimpers. While they might have still been a little mad at one another, they couldn’t deny the truth behind Kickback’s words.

Quantum lowered herself from her cockpit and walked over to Zebota and Shrapnel. “It seems….that we’re both childish…..yes?”

Zebota sighed. “Yes….Even if nature is in balance, it falls to all that is in it to maintain that peace….however difficult it may be. You cannot deny that we both went to the extreme.”

“I’d say ‘extreme’ might be putting it lightly.” Quantum said. Shrapnel whimpered and lightly nuzzled her. She reached up to stroke his jaw and sighed. “Is he perhaps saying that he agrees with me?”

Zebota smiled and shrugged. “Meh. Close enough.” The two shared a little chuckle. Shrapnel then licked them both.

Kickback smiled and tipped his hat seeing that his work was done. He took a deep breath as his thoughts drifted towards the sky. He removed his hat and held it over his heart. “Thank you, mama….” He whispered. He put his back on and continued the search with Quantum Tech, Zebota and Shrapnel along the ravine of Ghastly Gorge…..unaware that they were being watched…..

The Roots We've Planted

The lush flora adorning Gardenia painted it as the paradise it was clearly meant to be. Abbot Meadow himself projected the sort of aura that one would expect from the leader of a village of monks; his mellow disposition encouraged unity via serenity in place of a boisterous and proud persona that a warrior figure like Fire Fight possessed. Everywhere the foals looked they saw monks peacefully praying in small flower gardens, rocks in the middle of small creeks or by the river itself. Other monks that weren’t praying could be seen tending to the gardens or building and maintaining their housing. Foals younger than Greensprout practiced their meditation with adult monks if they weren’t happily playing together.

“Thanks so much for helping us out, Abbot Meadow, but we really need to go find our friends. They’re probably worried sick about us.” Fire Fight said.

“I’m more worried about their well-being after that lightning bolt hit. I don’t think they were nearly as rattled as we were, but it’s safe to assume that they didn’t fare a whole lot better than we did.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Yeah, that too.” Fire Fight said.

Abbot Meadow bowed his head. “You’re quite welcome, little ones. But tell me. What are you all doing out here? Where are your parents?”

“Furthermore, why do you have all these weapons? I can understand Air Slash having his swords since he’s a Bladerunner, but what of the rest of you?” Greensprout added.

It was in that moment that one inconvenient reality hit the foals: they had been caught! Shadow Shroud was ready to put the whole abbey to sleep so that they could escape, but assaulting such kindly ponies in such a tranquil place felt wrong, and even if she did, they’d surely remember them all anyway. “We’re…..” she tried to muster some kind of clever lie.

“We’re travellers!” Spiral Galaxy blurted.

“Uh, word! We just explorin’ unseen corners of Equestria, ya feel me?” Turf War said.

Meadow cocked his head. “At such a young age and without any adults? Do you not attend some kind of school?”

“N-No, we don’t. All of our parents are….well, home.” Air Slash said.

Greensprout then put her hoof on his shoulder, causing him to blush furiously. “You’re not lying to us, are you?” she asked softly.

The others looked at Fire Fight frantically hoping for him to come through somehow, but he was just as frazzled as they were. He could see Shroud reluctantly reaching into her cloak, no doubt for her kunai and stopped her. “Shroud, no.” She sighed in some kind of nervous relief as she stopped herself. “We’re sorry, abbot. We…..can’t really tell you. It’s…..personal.”

Meadow exhibited a look of worry on his face. “You all haven’t….run away from home, have you?”

Fire Fight sighed. “Sorry, guys…..looks like we gotta come clean, but I swear we’ll get through this!” he said. The others gulped as they nodded at him. Fire Fight then explained who they all were aside from Shadow Shroud being a Shadewalker, and told Greensprout and Meadow the whole scenario with them running away because they felt that they didn’t belong in Equestria since their special talents were considered ‘dangerous’. He then let his friends tell them a little about their own history and how they came to join the Battle Foals; they had to tell Crazylocks’ story for her since she was….impaired….and busy inching around on her stomach like a worm, and they had to explain what they could of Kickback, Quantum Tech and Zebota since they weren’t here. Fire Fight finished by telling them his plan to create a place for them all and other lost foals that they could find to live away from Equestrian society and live peacefully. The only thing he left out was Shroud killing Gene Splice. “That’s….That’s about it….”

Meadow and Greensprout just stared at them in disbelief, and then pity. They had never heard such a disheartening series of tales before. “My word….Surely you don’t believe that you deserve to cast into such exile?” Meadow asked.

“Man, if y’all could see da whack kinda stuff we been through, you’d know exactly why we bounced. And lemme tell ya, I ain’t never been happier ‘bout somethin’ in my life. Yeah, we been nearly got killed a few times, but it’s all been fun. We where we was meant to be.” Turf War said.

“Yeah. I don’t think I’d have ever been able to start being able to control my powerful magic had I never met these guys. Crazylocks would never have found salvation, Quantum Tech might never have been able to freely experiment, and…..well life just would have been awful for all of us.” Spiral Galaxy added.

Greensprout shook her head. “Still….I’m not sure that I entirely approve of the path you’ve chosen. Fighting and violence have no place in a peaceful world. I can see that you all have suffered, but perhaps you should reconsider your choices. Reconciling with your families is not out of the question.”

“Tell that to our marks, Greensprout.” Fire Fight said as he showed her the fateful, draconic mark upon his flank that spoke loudly about who he was.

“Indeed. Also consider the plethora of monsters and corrupt ponies that we had to squabble with. Perhaps you should take your sermon to them as well. I’m sure they’d gladly lend you their ears.” Shadow Shroud sneered.

“Forgive me. I did not mean to attack you. I only mean to say that-”

“Greensprout.” Meadow said. Greensprout glanced up at him. “It is not our place to judge their paths. We only serve to guide those who feel lost.” He said. “I can’t say that I rightly agree or understand them either, but we cannot force them to change their beliefs through mere words.”

Greensprout lowered her head. “Y-Yes, Abbot.” She muttered.

Meadow chuckled. “Have no shame, child. You’re still in training.” He then looked at the Battle Foals. “Fire Fight, why is it that you believe in your conviction? Why take foals from their families simply on the belief that they don’t belong with them?”

Fire Fight took a deep breath. “Because I’ve known the darker side of Equestria for most of my life. I’ve known and seen what it’s like to be shamed for just living. I am a part of something that most ponies refuse to acknowledge- all of my friends are. The whole time we’ve been on this journey, we’ve seen darkness everywhere we went, darkness born from the same kind of suffering we’ve endured if it wasn’t a force of nature that fought for its existence. Every moment we’ve spent, every obstacle we’ve had to endure, every darkness we’ve had to purge….We all did one and one thing only: fight. Even before we each set out for the road ahead, we were fighting. Turf War and I fought against ponies that were anything but peaceful, Spiral Galaxy fought her own sheer power as she tried to maintain a normal life, Kickback fought with his grieving father over the past, Quantum Tech fought her parents to keep her passion alive, and I can’t imagine what Crazylocks had to do to get away from….her captor. Regardless of where we came from or why we came at all, we all have felt the pain of being shamed for living as we were meant to. Equestria says that out Cutie Marks symbolize who we are, so who is anypony to try to tell us how to live for the sake of maintaining a society where not everypony is equal?”

As Fire Fight gave his speech, he caught the attention of other surrounding monks, and they stopped what they were doing to listen to him. His words clearly struck a chord with even the abbot and doubtful Greensprout. When he finished, the look on Meadow’s face seemed to harbor doubt as well as….regret? Conceit? Relief? It was difficult to tell. The audience of monks whispered amongst each other while Greensprout exhibited the same kind of confusion that Meadow felt and silently thought to herself. Air Slash couldn’t help but to notice that she was rather cute when she was lost in thought.

Meadow cleared his throat, silencing the surrounding monks. They and the Battle Foals anxiously awaited his response. “Fire Fight…….you said that you got separated from your friends at the summit of the gorge, correct?” he asked.

Everypony just looked at him in surprise. This wasn’t quite the response that they were expecting. “Umm…..yes, sir?” Fire Fight replied.

Meadow chuckled. “Then I would implore to seek them out. No doubt they are frantically searching for you as we speak.”

“Hol’ up! Y’all….ain’t gonna try to stop o’ nuttin’?” Turf War asked.

Meadow shook his head. “No. You have all…….given us something to discuss.”

“What is it that we must discuss, abbot?” one of the monks said.

Meadow looked over at him. “I….can’t say that I’m quite certain of that myself….Fire Fight’s words have compelled me to review how ponies see true harmony.”

“I-I’m sorry, Abbot Meadow. I didn’t mean to say anything rude.” Fire Fight muttered.

“You did not. Grass seedlings may grow from the same soil, but each sprout is different. Ponies follow this same principle. You simply reminded me of that.” Meadow said. Fire Fight nodded, feeling relieved of his guilt.

“We can’t thank you enough for your kindness. We wish you all safety and prosperity.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Then this is goodbye?” Greensprout asked.

The thought of leaving Greensprout so soon made Air Slash feel a little frantic. “N-N-No! We’ll come back!....maybe…..just……to see what you have to say……perhaps…..right?”

Shadow Shroud sighed sympathetically. “Air Slash, once we find the others, what reason do we have to return here? It’s a miracle that they’re even letting us go free. We….how does Kickback put it?....Ah! Dodged a bullet. Perhaps you could visit this place sometime in the future of your own accord.”

“But…..who knows when such an opportunity will arise?” Air Slash whined.

“Sorry, dude….” Spiral said to him.

Air Slash sighed as he glanced over at Greensprout. “I suppose you’re right…..Greensprout, thank you….I……I will remember you…..” he muttered.

Greensprout was a little confused at Air Slash’s behavior, but nonetheless disheartened. “And I will remember you too, Air Slash, all of you……Good luck.” She muttered. With that, Air Slash sorrowfully turned around to join his comrades. Greensprout could only watch as they walked upstream and out of Gardenia, but seeing them leave after Fire Fight’s powerful words made her feel strangely…..incomplete. What was it that made abbot Meadow feel compelled to call a meeting with the other monks? How did a foal driven by a desire to fight manage to stand on the same level as the wisest pony she’s ever known? She had to find to out. “Wait!” She called out.

The Battle Foals quickly looked back at her, namely Air Slash while her fellow monks and the abbot followed suit. “Is something the matter, sister Greensprout?” another monk asked.

Greensprout looked at Meadow. “Abbot, would you allow me to aid them in the search for their friends?”

Meadow looked at her with surprise. “What’s this all of a sudden, my child? We have much to discuss after hearing Fire Fight speak.”

“Yes, but….I want to know his resolve firsthoof. I want to see for myself what it is that drives him and his friends. Surely it’s not something that can be determined by mere discussion.” Greensprout replied.

“What foolishness!” another monk reprimanded. “You would allow yourself to be so easily convinced by the words of a foal who-” Meadow cleared his throat, silencing the monk. She looked at him in shame, and bowed her head. “Forgive my insolence, Abbot….”

“There now.” Meadow muttered. He then turned his soft, aging gaze to Greensprout. “It would seem that Fire Fight has compelled us more than we had realized. If you truly believe that you can observe his resolve, then I only ask that you be careful.” He said. Hearing these words made Air Slash perk up. Meadow then looked at the Battle Foals. “I trust that this is of no inconvenience to you?”

“Not at all, sir!” Air Slash blurted. He tried to contain his excitement, causing Spiral to snicker.

“I mean….yeah, it’s cool, but…..are you sure, Greensprout? It might be dangerous out there. If only you could have seen the horrors that we’ve had to face.” Fire Fight said.

“WE’LL MAKE THEM EAT FRIED PUPPY BISCUITS DRIZZLED IN SEAWEED PASTE ON A STICK!!” Crazylocks blurted.

Shadow Shroud pushed her away. “Ehh….yes…What she means to say is that we’ll protect her.”

“Well, yeah of course.” Fire Fight said.

Air Slash drew one of his swords and held it over his heart proudly. “My swords were forged to protect! They shall do no less!” he declared.

Greensprout giggled. “Yes. I’m quite sure, and thank you! However, I might be able to provide some assistance should a situation arise….if the abbot would so permit me.”

They looked at her confused. “I thought you said dat fightin’ was whack d’ho.” Turf War said.

“Yes. While I do repulse the idea of engaging in violence, that’s not to say that I could still help.” Greensprout said.

Meadow chuckled. “You speak of the Gaia Root no doubt?” he inquired. Greensprout nodded.

“And what is this ‘Gaia Root’ of yours?” Shroud asked.

Meadow walked towards a building that had a distinguishably more elaborate architecture than the other housings. The foals could only assume that it was his home. He motioned for them to follow. “Come and I will show you.” He said. Greensprout and the Battle Foals followed the abbot into his abode. On the inside, it wasn’t much different from the other housings that they woke up in aside from a few religious banners with symbols that depicted various flora and rivers and such. Within the innermost chamber was a small, shallow pool. In the center was a pedestal standing a wooden staff that seemed just a bit short than Turf War’s hammer-axe. Curiously, one end of it was wrapped tightly around a finely cut emerald that was just big enough to fit in the hoof of an adult. There was a short series of stepping stones that led up to the pedestal that Meadow used to retrieve the staff and handed it to Greensprout. “This is the Gaia Root.”

Greensprout bowed her head. “Thank you, abbot.”

“So…..what it do?” Turf War asked.

“Air Slash, may I see one of your swords for a moment?” Meadow asked.

Air Slash looked at him curiously, but decided to comply. “Erm….yes, sir.” He handed the abbot one of his swords.

“Thank you.” Meadow raised one of his sleeves. “Now watch.” Much to the foals’ shock, he used the sword the cut his own hoof! Blood immediately began oozing from the open wound.

“What are you doing!?” Spiral asked frantically.

“Worry not, child. Greensprout?”

Greensprout nodded. She pointed the staff towards the abbot and a light of a calming green hue then flowed from the emerald to the abbot’s wound. The foals’ looked on in awe as the wound was completely closed within seconds! Meadow used a handkerchief to wipe off any stray blood before rolling his sleeve back down. “This is a holy item that contains the very essence of life itself. Legends say that is was crafted from the first tree that ever grew in Equestria. If used correctly, it can repair broken life and heal any wound.” Greensprout explained.

The Battle Foals had to break themselves out of a trance before saying anything. “And…..you can make use of it?” Shroud inquired.

Meadow chuckled heartily. “Oh, yes! We have all tried to connect with the Root’s mysterious powers, but….it seems to favor young Greensprout. Not even I have been able to master it as quickly as she has been able to. Her ability to tap into its power makes you think that it was simply meant for her.”

“Then why not let her keep it?” Air Slash asked as Meadow gave back his sword.

“Because I am still trying to understand it, Air Slash. Why it favors me is unclear, or even how it works at all.” Greensprout said.

“Indeed. That, and life is a delicate balance that nopony must ever attempt to rise above. Greensprout continues to use it with utmost responsibility, but the flow of life remains ever indiscriminate.” Meadow added.

“I see…” Air Slash said.

“Man, Quantum Tech is gonna have a field day with this thing!” Fire Fight commented.

“Yes, so let’s go find her and the others so that she can!” Shroud said. With that, the Battle Foals welcomed their temporary partner into their entourage before setting out to look for their friends.

Chasing A Waterfall

After the monks of Gardenia bid their well-wishes, the Battle Foals and Greensprout ventured upstream back toward the summit of Ghastly Gorge. As the lush array of flora slowly turned into rocky cliffs walling around the river, the foals began scanning around for their friends and calling out for them. Quantum Tech’s mech and Shrapnel weren’t exactly easy to miss, so they didn’t expect too much trouble in locating them. The calm flow of the river heightened their concentration.

The only one who really had any trouble concentrating was Air Slash. He occasionally glanced over at Greensprout, who was too busy scanning around for Kickback, Quantum and Zebota to notice. Air Slash suddenly felt a light nudge on his shoulder. He looked over to see Spiral Galaxy smiling and pointing her eyes toward Greensprout. “Go talk to her!” she whispered.

Air Slash blushed furiously. “Huh!? Wh-Wh-Whatever d-do you mean?” he whispered.

“Come on, Air Slash. This might be your only chance! Make some small talk. Leave an impression!” Spiral whispered.

Air Slash nervously glanced back and forth between her and Greensprout. “Err….about….what?”

“Just act natural, and don’t say anything that might upset her. You’re a gentlecolt, Air Slash. You’ll be fine. Just try to keep your cool and be yourself.”

Air Slash sighed. “Easier said than done….” Despite his nerves firing off like Kickback’s guns, he took a deep breath and approached Greensprout. He took a quick gulp before speaking. “Greensprout?”

Greensprout looked over at him. “Yes, Air Slash?”

Air Slash blushed as he found himself looking into her gentle violet eyes once more. The first thing he could think of was her Gaia Root which she walked on as though it were a walking cane. “Your staff! Umm…..It….restores vitals…..c-correct?” he stammered.

“It does. I have used it to treat my fellow monks of work injuries and illnesses, and to help grow our gardens. Life itself seems to flow from it.” Greensprout said.

“I-I s-see…..” Air Slash stammered. “So…..it only responds to you?”

“Well, no. It seems that anypony can use to some extent, but for whatever reason, it favors me.”

“Perhaps…..it senses a…..uh….<gulp>…..a purity within you that none of the other monks have?” Air Slash said. He worried that he might have inadvertently insulted her order, but was relieved when he heard her let out a small giggle.

“That’s kind of you to think, but I doubt that it’s as simple as that. I lived within the order of Gardenia for as long as I can remember. I’m surprised that anypony other than Abbot Meadow could make better use of this holy item.”

Air Slash began to feel his nerves loosening a little. “Well, us Bladerunners train under strict tenets when we learn our arts. I just so happened to awaken to a new way of exploring our swordplay. All that required was for me to be alive. It is not unreasonable to believe that the same principle applies with you and your Gaia Root.”

“Certainly, but you forged your swords. The Gaia Root has existed since times immemorial.”

“Well….that is true….but assuming it actually has some level of sentience, perhaps you….remind it of the smith who forged it, or the pony who first wielded it, its old master?”

“Perhaps we’ll never know, but I do not lament such a possibility. My only desire is to mend what is broken.”

Air Slash chuckled. “Then you and I might not be so different.”

Greensprout cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that we both strive to fix something that we see as broken despite taking different approaches. I fight alongside Fire Fight and the others while you heal living things.” Air Slash said.

Greensprout giggled. “Fighting is certainly an….interesting approach to fixing problems. I hope that I can understand his words better.”

“You will in time. Hey….where are your parents anyway? I didn’t notice anypony in the abbey that seemed to claim to be your mother or father.” Air Slash asked.

Shadow Shroud perked up. “Yes. I’m curious about that myself.”

Greensprout smile disappeared as she looked down in sorrow. “I…..I never knew my parents….” The Battle Foals looked at her in surprise. “Many years ago, Abbot Meadow found me floating down this river in a tattered basket wrapped in a blanket with a small metal tag that had my name engraved in it. I was barely a couple months old. He took me in and has cared for me ever since….”

“Did….he ever find out where you might have come from?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“No….He searched far up the river in and around the gorge, but….he says that he could never find any trace of anypony who might have been my parents….” Greensprout muttered.

“Damn…..Dat’s…..Dat’s whack.” Turf War said.

Air Slash sighed in guilt. “I-I’m sorry, Greensprout. I-I didn’t mean to upset you. I should not have pried…”

Greensprout regained a little of her smile. “Think nothing of it, Air Slash. You had no way of knowing.”

A bush beside them suddenly began rustling. Without even thinking, Air Slash swiftly drew his swords. He pointed one aggressively at the bush while putting the other between the bush and Greensprout in a defensive manner. “Who goes there!?” he demanded. He was answered when a little squirrel scampered out of the bush and rushed towards another bush completely ignorant of the foals. Air Slash was too shocked to think to sheathe his swords.

“Umm……Air Slash?” He looked over to see Greensprout cowering behind he Gaia Root as a shimmering blade was held before her.

“Oh! Uh!.....sorry.” Air Slash quickly sheathed his swords and blushed from sheer embarrassment. He then became worried when Greensprout began lightly laughing. “Wh-What?”

“You’re quite the oddball, Air Slash.” Greensprout laughed. Air Slash’s embarrassment turned….positive upon seeing that she wasn’t upset or frightened by his brash action. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. Spiral Galaxy snickered a little while Shadow Shroud just rolled her eyes in amusement.

“HEY! NO FAIR! I’M AS EVERY BIT AS A BALL AS THE NEXT PONY!!” Crazylocks blurted. She curled up into a ball and began rolling around like a pill bug that was on caffeine. As she accelerated, she began bouncing off rocks and mounds of dirt like a pinball, smashing them in the process. She was finally stopped when Fire Fight caught her with her magic. “HEY! HEY!....I was on a roll. WAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

“Alright, no more imitating Turf War before bed.” Fire Fight said as he relaxed his magic.

“Hol’ up! She been doin’ what!?”

Fire Fight sighed. “Greensprout, do you think that staff of yours might be able to help our friend here?”

Greensprout grimaced. “I can try. Hold still, sister.” She held her staff towards Crazylocks and a light stream emitted and connected to her.

Crazylocks fell to pieces laughing on the ground. “WAAAHAHAHAHAH!! HAHA!! THAT TICKLES!! HEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEHEHEEHEHEHEH!! HEHEHEHEHEhehe….hehehe…..wa……NOOOOOO!! GRANDPA STOP!!!” She suddenly began bawling like a baby for a quick moment before cackling manically again. “Haha! HAHA! AHA! AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!”

Greensprout released her grip on Crazylocks when nothing else would work and Crazylocks just sprang back up as if nothing happened, wearing her manic smile. “Oh dear….” She said.

“Well….that could be progress, but…..maybe it was just nonsense altogether. You never really can tell with her.” Spiral said.

“Let’s wait until Quantum Tech gives her professional opinion. Somehow, I doubt that treating Crazylocks will be as simple as using a magic tree root.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Word, homegirl. We better get back to peepin’ out fo’ ‘em.” Turf War said.

“Guys! Over there!” Fire Fight blurted. On the other side of the rocky canyon across the river was what looked to be Kickback lying down in the dirt!

“Kickback!” Spiral shouted. She and Fire Fight used their magic to levitate everypony who couldn’t fly over there. Air Slash and Crazylocks helped carry them.

The foals all ran up to their comrade who was breathing heavily from exhaustion. It was then that they noticed that he had nasty cuts and bruises in many places. He slowly peeked his head up at them. “Y-Y’all?”

“Greensprout, help him!” Fire Fight ordered.

Greensprout nodded. “Right.” She held her staff towards Kickback. “Breathe deeply, brother. All will be well.” Her staff went to work as it closed his wounds and made his bruises disappear. Kickback began to breathe more easily as he slowly regained his strength and stood up. She stopped when he was able to stand completely.

“Huh? Wh-Wh-Wha?....What in tarnation?”

“Bruh!” Turf War threw his arm around Kickback in a bro hug.

Kickback glanced over at him. “Huh!? Wha!? Well, throw me in the river and call me a duck! Yer all ok!” He then noticed Greensprout. “And….who’s this? An’ what’s with that there shiny stick she’s got?”

“My name is sister Greensprout, Kickback. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My staff here is the Gaia Root. I used it just now to heal your broken body.” She said. Fire Fight explained the whole scenario with how they woke up in an abbey called Gardenia where they met Greensprout as well as the abbot who found them floating down the river. He then told him about how Greensprout came to decide to temporarily join them to search for him and the others, and went into detail about the Gaia Root.

“Well heavens to Betsy!” Kickback said. As per his manners, he removed his hat before introducing himself to a filly. “Ms. Greensprout, Ah cannot thank y’all enough fer helpin’ me n’ mah friends out like this. It’s certainly a pleasure makin’ yer acquaintance.”

Being the handsome colt that he was, Greensprout couldn’t help but to blush a little, causing Air Slash to glare at his comrade. “Oh! The pleasure is all mine, Kickback. Whatever happened to you?”

“And where are Quantum Tech and Zebota?” Air Slash asked. His tone was noticeably hostile.

Kickback put his hat back on. “Well shucks, Air Slash! No need to get yer swords in a bunch- well…..actually.... We were searchin’ fer y’all when…..somethin’ awful fast just jumped out o’ the mist comin’ from the waterfall an’…..Well, there was a scuffle alright, but mah memories kinda hazy. Ah don’t rightly recall what all happened.”

Looks of worry were expressed from all of the foals. “Can you take us to where this happened?” Shroud said.

“Ah reckon so, but we better hurry! Quantum, Zebota n’ Shrapnel might be in one heckuva of a pickle!”

“PICKLE JUICE AND A RED MONGOOSE ONCE CAME TOGETHER AND PLANTED A CUPCAKE TREE!!” Crazylocks blurted before smashing a random rock with her pigtails.

Kickback rolled his eyes. “At least yer still yerself…” He quickly led the other foals to the waterfall where he last saw Quantum and Zebota. As expected, traces of a large-scale brawl were present. Traces of gunpowder could be smelled everywhere, rocks that were no doubt blasted apart by Quantum’s railguns littered the rocky riverbank, and huge claw marks that had to have come from Shrapnel viciously decorated the terrain. It was clear that there was some kind of struggle.

“Anything come to mind, Kickback?” Fire Fight asked.

“Nuttin’ but Sound and Fury makin’ a ruckus, sheriff.” Kickback replied.

“It sure looks like they did.” Shroud commented. She inspected the small battlefield carefully. Being littered with the fragments of war, discerning what exactly happened was difficult. Whatever attacked them left nothing behind that would certainly identify them. It was then that she noticed that the chaos extended towards the waterfall. “Hmm?” She made her way over there.

“What’s up, Shroud?” Fire Fight asked.

Shroud motioned for them to follow. “That’s what I’d like to find out.”

“Let us be careful. This terrain is not ideal for ponies.” Greensprout said as they followed Shroud.

“Believe me, homegirl. We been through plenty o’ dis.” Turf War said. The foals hiked through the clouds of mist along the rocky riverbank. With their visibility somewhat limited, they had to tread carefully, and it didn’t help that the ground became a little slippery as they went in further. Eventually, they reached an alcove hidden behind the waterfall……that extended into a large cave! “Damn!” Turf War said. His echo resounded in the void before them.

Spiral Galaxy and Fire Fight lit their horns. “You think they might be in here?” Fire Fight said.

“Now that Ah think about it, Ah seem to recall Shrapnel jumping back here, an’ Zebota had to go after the rascal.” Kickback said.

“I think I can smell something….machine-y. Maybe it’s Quantum’s mech.” Spiral said.

“Well, let’s not waste any time.” Fire Fight said. They ventured into the cave.

As they began their trek into the dark, the metallic smell that was believed to be residual of Quantum Tech’s mech became a little stronger. Little could be seen in the pitch darkness with only two mobile light sources illuminating their path. Moss and drops of water were the only things of any note. This place seemed about as desolate as the abandoned subways.

Before the foals could begin calling out for Quantum Tech and Zebota, they suddenly heard a growling noise coming towards them. “<gasp!>” Spiral dimmed her horn a little. Looking further into the darkness, a large pair of green eyes could be seen shining in the dark! The foals readied themselves, but what finally emerged was a familiar face. “Shrapnel!” Spiral said.

The wooden titan trudged over quickly to the foals upon realizing that it was them and began whimpering. “What is it, boy? Where’s Zebota and Quantum?” Fire Fight asked.

“He says, ‘They’re gone! They’re gone! We must help them!’” Crazylocks blurted.

Having never actually seen him before, Greensprout was freaked out and shivering at the sight of the huge timberwolf. “Th-Th-This….is Shrapnel!?”

“Worry not, Greensprout. He is tame.” Air Slash said. His tone was much softer than usual.

Greensprout calmed down some. “If you say so…”

Shrapnel continued to whimper as he pointed his head in the direction that he came from. He was clearly distressed about something, and it wasn’t just being separated from his master. “What do you mean, Shrapnel? Show us!” Fire Fight said. Shrapnel lead them further into the cave. As they went further, something strange began to appear. Little series of lights began appearing on random spots on the walls and ceiling. They were too high to closely observe, and Shrapnel was their main priority, so they had to be ignored for now. Finally, Shrapnel had led them to a large room that was illuminated by the inexplicable lights. It was still difficult to discern what it was, but its abundance made the room feel like a dimmed movie theater just before the show started. “Whoa…”

“What is this place?” Shroud said.

Spiral gasped. “Guys, look!” She pointed to the opposite end of the room where Quantum’s mech could be seen! Shrapnel jumped over there before they could rush over there and started whimpering again.

“Quantum Tech? Are you there? What happened?” Fire Fight asked, but upon closer inspection, Quantum wasn’t present with her precious mech! “Huh!?”

“HOLY S***!!” Turf War exclaimed.

“Turf War, please don’t use language like that.” Greensprout said.

“Sorry ‘bout dat, but look at dis, y’all!” Turf War was standing next to a large, deep hole that was only a few yards from Quantum’s mech. Shrapnel started clawing at the hole.

“’They fell down here!’ is what Shrapnel says!” Crazylocks blurted.

“WHAT!?” Fire Fight exclaimed as he frantically looked down the hole along with the other foals. “We have to get down there and help them now! Air Slash, fly down there and see what you can find!”

Air Slash nodded “With haste!”

“Please be careful, Air Slash. It’s incredibly dark down there, and I don’t imagine that it’s very safe..” Greensprout said.

Air Slash’s expression softened and he blushed. He cleared his throat. “O-Of course. Thank you, Greensprout.” He said. He then carefully hovered down into the hole and into the unknown.

Forsaken Darkness

Zebota’s head was pounding. His senses were going everywhere as everything seemed dark. “Z….a!” He could hear something calling out to him, but his consciousness was too rattled to clearly perceive it. Slowly but surely however, his senses were stabilizing. “Ze..ta!”…….“Zebota!” Zebota’s eyes shot awake as he heard his name be called out by a familiar voice. It was, of course, Quantum Tech. “Oh, thank goodness!” she whispered.

“Huh?.....Quantum Tech?....Ugh…..What has happened?” Zebota asked as he staggered to his hooves.

“Shhhh! Keep your voice down! They might hear us!” Quantum warned. It was too pitch-black to see, but Zebota could tell that

Quantum was right next to him. “The floor collapsed beneath us, and we fell down! I’m without my mech suit, and the hole is far too small for Shrapnel to fit!”

Zebota’s eyes widened in horror. Although he was capable of surviving with Shrapnel at his side, he had grown used to having his bestial companion. “Then….Then we must climb this hole back to him!”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. The hole caved in above us, and even it hadn’t, I’m far too physically frail to be able to endure such a grueling ascent.” Quantum said.

“Curses!.....Where are we anyway?” Zebota asked.

“Deep underground, obviously, but as for our exact location, I’m afraid I’m at a loss. However, my scanners show that we’re in a vast series of caverns. Surely there’s a discernable path we can take that would ascend back to that chamber.” Quantum answered. “Unless….perhaps there are nature spirits here that can guide us?”

“Hmm….” Zebota concentrated his thoughts onto his brooch, and it dimly glowed. After a short moment, he stopped. “I am sorry, but wherever this place is, it is forsaken. What few spirits dwell here are in pain, but I do not know why. I will have to rely on my tools to fight back should we encounter those creatures again.”

Quantum gasped. “And it looks like we might! Get down!” She and Zebota hit the deck as her glasses picked up a reading. Approaching them was one of the horrors they had encountered prior…..a pony. However, something was very wrong with her. She only made feral grunting and gurgling noises instead of speaking, her eyes were as blank as a sheet of paper, and she drooled what looked to be glowing saliva.

The two foals sat completely still and silent as the twisted mare trudged in their direction. She sniffed around as she began walking around the two. How she couldn’t see them was unclear, but she was eventually right above them! She seemed to start to detect them as she started growling. Without any second thoughts, Zebota drew his bladed boomerang and shoved it right into her throat, killing her instantly with only muffled gurgles as her last words, and she crumbled to the ground.

Quantum breathed a sigh of relief. “That was worthy of a nightmare…” She scanned around with her glasses, but could see that they were once again alone. She dimly lit her horn to inspect the corpse. “You poor dear….Whatever happened to you?” Looking closely, she could see that the mare was wearing some kind of tattered clothing. It was too ripped and dirty to discern the fashion, but it was clear that it was considerably old. Her eyes also caught Quantum’s interest. Upon closer inspection, they were completely clouded by….what could only be described as the worst cataracts in history, which could only mean….“She’s completely blind!”

“What!?” Zebota whispered.

“Her eyes have become totally opaque. It’s no wonder she didn’t see us right away….apart from the pitch-darkness, I suppose.” Quantum said.

“Hmm….That does not surprise me. Creatures that survive in caves such as this lose their vision in exchange for heightening their other senses since there is no light for eyes to use.” Zebota said.

“Yes, but it can take centuries, even millennium for sight to devolve! It’s ludicrous to think that these ponies have been down here for that long.” Quantum argued.

“The proof is the ice cream, as they say.” Zebota said.

“Ehh, that’s ‘pudding’, darling. But, I indeed see that. What befuddles me is….why did they come down here? How long ago did this happen? And more importantly, why is her saliva luminous?” Quantum said.

“Perhaps they were running away from something much like we are.” Zebota said.

“Well, we won’t attain any answers by standing here and speculating, nor will we find our friends.” Quantum said.

Zebota nodded. “Then let us tread carefully. I’d rather avoid any further confrontations. We must remain silent so as not alert their hearing.”

“Yes, but….surely their sense of smell is heightened as well. How to bypass that….” Quantum said.

“I may have a solution.” Zebota said. He used his boomerang to carefully slice off a scrap of the mare’s tattered clothing and rubbed it all over himself. “If we mask ourselves with their scent, perhaps they will mistake us as one of them…at least upon first glance.”

Quantum grimaced. “Blech! That may work, but….getting out that repulsive smell will take forever.”

“Do you want to increase your chances of becoming these creatures’ prey?” Zebota said.

Knowing that he was right, Quantum sighed and gave in. “Alright….hand it here.” Zebota handed her the torn rag, and she began rubbing it all over herself. “This is so undignified….”

Once she was done, Zebota took the scrap back from her, and put it in his bag. “I will keep this in case we need to renew our masked scents. I can do little to see in this darkness, so you must navigate.”

Quantum was still shivering a little from having to run that cloth around herself, but calmed down. “Agreed. Stay right behind me, and tread slowly. We’re in a whole other domain down here.”

With that, Zebota held onto Quantum’s shoulder as she switched her glasses to infrared mode. Seeing that coast was still clear, the two began their careful tread through the forsaken darkness. Through her thermal imaging, Quantum Tech could see the path before them and the caves that connected. She occasionally switched to x-ray imaging to see if she could detect possible movement behind any walls, and was successful in detecting another twisted pony a moment before it calm walking from around a corner towards them! The two immediately halted upon the encounter as they came face to face with the ‘creature’. This one was a stallion and didn’t seem to mind them as he passed by. He glanced at them for a brief moment, but it looked like Zebota made the right call as the twisted stallion waltzed right by them.

“Phew…” Quantum whispered.

“Do not lower your guard just yet. We are no near out of the woods….or cave in this case.” Zebota whispered.

Quantum nodded, and they resumed their trek. Higher thermal readings began to appear on Quantum’s glasses as they went deeper. Much of it was residual from footsteps no doubt taken by the odd cave ponies, but there were also readings coming from the walls and ceiling. Moss was indeed growing, but Zebota could see more of the strange glowing. They eventually found themselves on a glowing spot on a wall right at their level and inspected it. It was…..some kind of bioluminescent secretion surrounded by the moss. Quantum used her glasses to examine it. “Hmm….interesting….”

“What is it?” Zebota whispered.

“I….I am unsure. Quite the peculiar substance….” Quantum replied. “I’m without any proper testing materials, so I’ll have to leave it alone for now. Let us continue.”

“Agreed. At least these caves are beginning to become more lit.” Zebota said.

Quantum switched her glasses to normal view to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, the series of little lights decorating the walls and ceiling of the cavern had lit just enough to the point where they could begin to make out their surroundings with the naked eye. “How convenient.” Quantum commented. Nevertheless, she used her x-ray and thermal scanners to detect anything that they might need to avoid or approach. A few more of the twisted cave ponies passed them by, further setting them on edge. It took a few moments for them to realize that they were happening upon them more frequently, causing the two to grow concerned.

“Zebota, can you perhaps sense if Shrapnel is nearby? I can tell that you two are psychically connected to some degree.” Quantum asked.

“He is far, but within these caverns. I should not try to call to him for the risk of drawing unwanted attention to ourselves.” Zebota whispered.

Quantum sighed. “I was afraid you might say something to that effect. I suppose all we can do is just keep- <gasp!>” Quantum was cut off when she and Zebota stumbled into a massive cavern big enough to house an entire city…..which it did! A vast ruin of an ancient-looking city spanned the enormous subterranean chamber with more of the bioluminescent substance lining the ceiling in abundance, lighting the room if only so much. “By the stars! What is this place!?”

“A nest to these creatures, I would presume. Look.” Zebota pointed towards a road leading into the city to show that a group of the cave ponies were randomly limping and trudging about. Their ferality was made clear as they showed no sign of a civilized existence. Any sort of ancient technology present such as a wheelbarrow or farming tools were either tossed aside or used as a crude form of storage, housing, weapons, etc.

“Wha…..What? What does this all mean? Surely these aren’t the actual residents of this city! It looks thousands of years old!” Quantum said.

“This does not matter. We must find a way back to the others before we are discovered.” Zebota said.

“Are you quite mad!? This is HUGE discovery! I would not dare let an opportunity like this pass!” Quantum said.

“I think it is you who is mad, Quantum Tech. The longer we stay here, the more we are in danger of these creatures.” Zebota said.

“Ehh….y-yes….Of course….” Quantum used her x-ray and MRI scanners to see if she could observe the layout of the ancient city. There unfortunately weren’t any other caves nearby for them to travel through, so it looked like traversing the treacherous ruins was their only option if they wanted to find an exit. “Let us continue as we have. I’ll keep a sharp eye out for any other caves.”

“Agreed, but let me renew our disguised scent first, just in case. The higher population of these twisted ponyfolk will be our most challenging obstacle.” Zebota whispered.

Quantum sighed. “Oh, if we must….” She reluctantly ran the torn cloth around herself once more after Zebota before the two snuck towards the ancient city. Zebota had his tomahawk drawn.

As they snuck through the ruins past the cave ponies, Quantum took the time to observe the city itself as she scanned around for a possible exit. The stone architecture seemed to date as far back as just about any temple one would read about in a Daring Do book, but unlike said temples, it was clear just from the layout of the streets and buildings that this was a once a bustling city. A commercial district was discernable just by the presence of crates filled with rotted produce and pottery laid around as though they were being displayed for the eyes of potential buyers. Much to Quantum’s interest, there were even what could be described as street lamps. Though most of them were unlit, tall poles with torch-like structures at their tops lined the sidewalks; the few that were still burning had an odd azure hue to their flames reminiscent of the glowing secretion they observed earlier. It took her a short while afterward to notice, but it seemed that this civilization had a surprisingly high level of technology. Metal constructs that closely resembled modern day cranes could be seen around an incomplete building. Small carriages with wing-like features littered the street, which upon closer inspection showed to have series of mechanisms that Quantum believed were designed to give it thrust, allowing the craft to hover off of the ground. Unfortunately, it needed a power source to function and magic strangely wasn’t it. “Fascinating….”

“We do not have time to tinker with these devices, Quantum Tech!” Zebota said.

“I know, I know. Sorry.” Quantum said. Their activity with the hover carriage attracted the attention of a couple cave ponies. The two foals held totally still as the feral ponies trudged over and inspected them, even getting right in their faces! After a few pulse-pounding moments that felt like an eternity, the twisted forms were fooled by Zebota’s clever scent mask and left them alone. The two breathed a sigh of relief before resuming their treacherous stroll through the forsaken city.

Upon closer observation, the city streets were also littered with rotting corpses of ponies wearing the same clothing as the feral ponies they were avoiding, meaning that they were indeed of the same culture….or what was now left of it. “I don’t understand. Have these ponies truly been preserved for the countless centuries that these ruins have existed? And if so, how? But why not all of them? What happened here?” Quantum wondered.

“We can worry about that when we find our friends. Now stop getting distracted!” Zebota said.

“Zebota, don’t be so hasty. By observing this place, we might be able to find a way to escape it effectively.”

“Yes, but do not let your curiosity get the better of you. We are in mortal danger here and must focus on not falling prey to this dark place.”

“Yes…Yes you’re right. Forgive me if feel like I must immerse myself completely in this environment.”

“And forgive my impatience. I am….worried about Shrapnel….”

“I’m sure he’s worried for you too, Zebota. He and the others are probably hiking down here for us as we speak.”

A few close encounters with the feral kind later, the two suddenly came across a huge chasm in the middle of the city. There was a drawbridge system in place, but when Quantum inspected it, she discovered that it was devoid of power and couldn’t be activated by mere unicorn magic much like the hover carriages. “Oh bother…” she muttered.

“What is wrong?” Zebota asked.

“Well, it looks like if we want to cross this chasm, we’ll need to figure out what these ponies used to power their technology.” Quantum answered. “I think my scanners are detecting a cave on the other side.”

Zebota sighed. “We are, as they say, in a cucumber, yes?”

“Close enough...”

Descent Into Danger

Air Slash ascended from the hole with a disappointed frown on his face. “What misfortune! It has caved in at the bottom!”

“WHAT!?” Fire Fight exclaimed.

“D’hey ain’t got crushed, did they!?” Turf War asked.

Shrapnel grunted as he shook his head. “He says ‘No, I sense my master further from here. He is unharmed.’” Crazylocks said.

“Ok, great, but what about Quantum Tech? Why did she even get out of her mech?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“Ah think she was tryin’ to look closer at somethin’ that was here when the floor fell in like it did.” Kickback said.

“Try to remember what you can, Kickback.” Fire Fight said.

Greensprout held her staff above the hole and let it glow as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. After a moment, she relaxed. “I don’t sense anything down there that might have dropping vitals, so this ‘Quantum Tech’ must also be safe. I’d presume she’s with this ‘Zebota’.”

“You can perceive vitality with that thing?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Greensprout nodded. “Yes. It truly is a peculiar relic, but a wonderful one nonetheless.”

“My, my. And here I thought that Shrapnel’s level of sentience was the only amazing thing I’d see today.” Shroud sneered.

Shrapnel huffed in annoyance at her. “’Do not presume me to be a mere pet, child.’ is what he says.” Crazylocks said.

Shroud chuckled. “I jest, I jest. Hmm…..Ah! Lo and behold.” She pointed to a large crack in a nearby wall. Peering through it, she could see that the wall was thin enough to be broken down. “Seems we’ll have to make our presence known if we want to proceed.”

“Fine by me! Just let me shoot a meteor at it.” Spiral said. But before she could even charge her horn, Shrapnel leapt towards the wall and smashed a huge hole into it where the crack was, creating a big entrance for the foals. “Or….you know……Shrapnel can just do that….”

“Dat’s cool an’ all, but what we gonna do wit Quantum’s big ol’ robot? Y’all know how to work dat thing? I sure as hell don’t.” Turf War said.

“Even if one of us did, I’m sure that Quantum Tech installed some form of security system preventing anypony other than herself from activating it.” Air Slash said.

“Spiral and I will just carry it with our magic, and if something comes up, we’ll just put it down, but we’d have to make sure to protect it. I’d hate to have to tell Quantum that she’s gonna have to repair this thing with how much work she must have put into it.” Fire Fight said.

“Works for me!” Spiral said. She and Fire Fight lit their horns and focused on Quantum’s mech. With their combined strength, they managed to lift the dormant machine, but it….felt a little lighter than expected.

The two unicorns looked over to see Crazylocks with her horn sprouted and lit. “A robo shooty suit in need is a robo shooty suit indeed!” she blurted.

Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy glanced at one another. Though concerned, it seemed that Crazylocks had a sense of being able to help others, so they decided to humor her. Spiral shrugged. “Every little bit helps, right?”

“Yeah, it does. Alright, let’s get moving!” Fire Fight said.

“Be mighty careful, y’all. Ah think Ah’m startin’ to remember what attacked us, an’ it ain’t pretty.” Kickback said as they all made their way through the smashed wall.

“Tch. D’hey ain’t gonna be too much prettier when my hammer say ‘wassup’ to d’hey faces!” Turf War said.

“Regardless, it would be best to err on the side of caution. We know nothing of this place.” Greensprout warned.

“Just keep that staff of yours handy in case we forget to heed that warning….or reprimand us by not using it at all. Your call.” Shroud said.

Ignoring Shadow Shroud’s sarcasm, Greensprout followed the Battle Foals into the void of darkness before them. The unicorns and Crazylocks were already putting off a desirable amount of light since they had to carry Quantum’s mech, and Shrapnel seemed to be able to sniff out a desirable path through the caverns. No doubt this was the result of his mystical connection to Zebota. Everypony kept their senses as sharp as Air Slash’s swords, whom even he didn’t even bother to gaze at Greensprout at a time like this. As they delved deeper, more and more of the little glowing lights began to appear on the walls and ceilings. They eventually found a light on a wall that was low enough for them to reach out and touch, and saw that it was a strange, luminous gooey substance secreting from around a patch of moss.

“Hmm….how curious.” Greensprout said. She held her Gaia Root over it and let it glow.

“What do you make of it?” Air Slash asked.

Greensprout continued to focus herself and her staff on the glowing secretion. “It is….strange. It feels as though it’s reaching out to grab me. I don’t like it.” She said. She then suddenly sensed something approaching them. “<gasp> Something’s coming!”

The Battle Foals readied themselves upon hearing that and looked in the direction that Greensprout did. Much to their shock, a pony came trudging in their direction! “Huh? Hey! Who are you? Can you help us? We lost our friends down here and-” Fire Fight was cut off when the pony suddenly lunged towards them while shrieking like a mad pony. He brandished some kind of metallic object at them. “WHAT THE!?”

Before the feral pony could strike them, Shrapnel smacked him with his claw, sending him flying into the wall. Despite the traumatic impact, the feral pony got up as if nothing happened and gurgled ferociously at them. Mere seconds later, a horde of more of these corrupted ponies came rushing out of the dark. “Well, this is an interesting form of a formal greeting!” Shroud said as she drew her kamas.

“Ah reckon mah memory just about came to me now, but it looks like we’ll have to quiet these fellers first.” Kickback said as he drew his guns.

The unicorns and Crazylocks set Quantum’s mech down and readied themselves. Spiral began levitating and charging her cosmomancy as Fire Fight ignited his gauntlets. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but keep your guard up, guys!” he said.

Shrapnel aggressively slammed his claws down onto the ground and bellowed a ferocious roaring howl. “’COWER BEFORE ME, MORTALS!!’….is what he said, but COWER BEFORE ME TOO AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Crazylocks shouted.

“Y’all get behind me if ya need to! D’ese m*****- uh jerks don’t look like d’hey play!” Turf War shouted.

Air Slash immediately got in front of Greensprout and held his swords out to defend her. “Greensprout! Stay back!” He poised his other swords towards the cave ponies. “I won’t allow these mongrels to do so much as breathe on you!”

Greensprout found herself a little surprised to hear that. Then again, he was a Bladerunner and had been trained from birth to put the lives of others before his own. But she nevertheless felt a little flattered. “A-Air Slash…” She then got her game face on and lit her staff. “Then allow my strength to become your own!” She raised her Gaia Root and it let out a pulse of energy that affected the Battle Foals. They could feel their vitals being empowered. Their senses were sharpened, their breathing was easier, even their physical strength felt a little boosted.

“Whoa! Thanks, Greensprout!” Fire Fight said. Greensprout nodded, and the Battle Foals went to work.

A duo of the cave ponies charged Turf War brandishing sword-like weapons. Turf War didn’t dare strike the ground with his hammer-axe for the risk of causing a cave-in, so he had to stick with old school. He blocked their blows with his shield, causing them to flinch back. “Y’ALL WANT A BEAT DOWN!? I GOTCH YOU!!” He forcefully swung his axe at one of them, driving the blade into the pony’s skull and knocking her into the other one. Turf War knee jabbed him, causing him to stagger, and Turf War beat him down with a few well-placed shield punches. His heightened senses then let him spot another one lunging at him with a crude shank, and he whipped his shield around just in time to bash him. “B****! GET DA F*** OFF ME!!” Once the cave pony was staggered, Turf War slammed his hammer into him. The tremor-inducing impact sent the twisted stallion flying into a wall, but this one didn’t get up. Before Turf War could react, another cave pony managed to stab him in the left shoulder with her own broken dagger. “AH, HELL!!!” He could only turn for a shield punch to fend her off, but his crippled strength allowed for only so great a blow.

“Turf War!” Greensprout shouted. She acted quickly and latched her healing beam onto him, closing his wound and restoring his strength. Turf War quickly finished off his attacker with a staggering knee jab and his axe to her head.

“Good lookin’ out, homegirl!” Turf War shouted. Greensprout nodded. She glanced around to monitor the others and saw Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy being overrun.

“WISH ON THIS!!” Spiral managed to fire a barrage of small generated meteors at a small horde of the cave ponies that was charging her and Fire Fight. A few of them were hit directly, but those that weren’t were blown off balance by the subsequent impacts and left as sitting ducks for one hot beatdown.

“HYAAAAAA!” Fire Fight let himself be engulfed in an inferno as he ran up to the one in front and flipped kicked it upward, following up with a blast of fire that seared the cave pony into submission. He then flame-jumped forward into a punch right into the muzzle of a staggering cave pony, knocking the pony back a good few feet. Fire Fight lashed out with a few spinning jump kicks followed by a downward axe kick that finished off his foe. Another cave pony lunged towards him with a downward swing of her chipped sword, but Fire Fight swatted the blade away and followed through with a searing hot uppercut, and managed to follow through by wrapping his hoof around her neck. He flipped her over him and slammed her into the ground hard. Before she recover and react, Fire Fight flipped away from her and finished her off with a powerful side kick to the temple. As quickly as the other one appeared, the rest of the horde focused their attention on Fire Fight and dog piled him. They began viciously wailing on him and Fire Fight charged his magic. It was a good thing his armor was both hot and sturdy. Once he was charged, he released an explosion that blew his attackers off of him.

Spiral Galaxy used her gravity powers to lift the vulnerable horde upward and crushed them by causing gravitic implosions around their bodies. Such intense focus caused her a headache. “Nrgh!” Fire Fight wasn’t faring much better as he had sustained quite a few nasty cuts and bruises from the ambush he endured.

Greensprout immediately went to work on Fire Fight. “Let your strength return, brother!” It took mere seconds for Fire Fight’s body to be mended and not a moment too soon. Another cave was about to pounce onto him, but he blasted him with fire and knocked him up into the air with a flip kick. Greensprout then waved her staff at Spiral Galaxy. “Do not falter either, sister!” All it took was a small pulse of pure vital energy for Spiral’s headache to completely subside. She quickly followed through with a bolt of star energy to the airborne stallion that finished him off.

“You’re amazing, Greensprout!” Spiral cheered.

“Yeah, really!” Fire Fight affirmed. Greensprout simply nodded and went back to monitoring the battlefield.

Shadow Shroud and Kickback were at odds with a horde of their own, but weren’t having too much trouble. “YEEEE-HAAAAAW!!!” Kickback quickly landed a number of fatal headshots if he didn’t land staggering knee shots.

What cave ponies he managed to cripple Shadow Shroud quickly finished off by lacerating them with her kamas. She’d vanish in a puff of smoke just before being struck and pop up from behind her target and finish them from there. “Pathetic…” She quickly ate her words when a cave pony managed to throw a sharp rock into her eye with deadly accuracy. “AAAAIIIIEEEEE!!!” She clutched her eye as she furiously glared at her attacker who was now charging her.

“MS. SHADOW SHROUD!!” Kickback quickly drew his guns and shot out the twisted stallion’s knees, knocking him to the ground. He then drew his whip and coiled it around the stallions neck and pulled him towards him, following with a headshot.

“Do not let this hinder you!” Greensprout shouted as she latched her healing beam onto Shadow Shroud. Even a damaged eye could be fully restored by the Gaia Root, and Shadow Shroud was able to see clearly once more.

“You have my thanks!” Shroud said. Greensprout nodded.

A cave pony made a gurgling scream at Crazylocks as she approached her. “GRAAARARARAAAHHH, yourself! But that’s not really how you should hello to somepony.” Crazylocks said. She quickly bid her own greeting by lashing out at the feral mare with her pigtails, cackling manically. She spun around once, allowing both of her pigtails to bludgeon the feral mare’s face and then grabbed by the hooves and started repeatedly slamming her into the ground. “MAKING NEW FRIENDS IS FUUUUUN” She finished her beatdown and her foe by body slamming onto her head and hugging it with crushing force. “THIS IS MY FAVORITE BEDTIME STORY!!!” She then quickly noticed that a horde of the cave ponies had her surrounded and ready to dog pile her. Just as they pounced, Crazylocks sprouted her horn and caught them with her magic. She spun them around in the air violently. “ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND YOU GO!!! WHEN YOU WILL DIE, SOON YOU WILL KNOW!!!” She flung them towards Shrapnel. “Here, boy!”

Shrapnel wasted no time going wild on the helpless horde. He caught one in his mouth and clamped down so hard that her body was split in two. Another larger horde came to aid the one that was staggering to their hooves, but they were no match for the wooden titan. He tossed and flailed them around like chew toys as they tried to rattle him, but even gashes made in his hide barely made him flinch. He let out a guttural roar that made the cave ponies take a hint and scurry away before they were mauled.

Even if his wounds didn’t bother him, Greensprout’s kind heart extended to the wooden sentinel. “Be healed, beast of the wild.” Her staff mended the gashes left in his wooden hide. He grunted softly.

“’Remain ever merciful, child.’…is what he says.” Crazylocks said.

Greensprout nodded. Just as she looked away, she noticed the last remaining horde headed right for her. “<gasp!>” She braced herself.

“GREENSPROUT!!” Air Slash launched two sword beams at the ones in front as he soared towards them. They hit just before they could reach Greensprout, and the two targets fell to the ground in a heap. “BACK, YOU WRETCHES!” Air Slash wildly but expertly swung his swords at the feral ponies. Though he was nimble enough to parry and counter, he couldn’t block every blow and sustained many nasty wounds before only one was left. He collapsed to the ground exhausted.

“Air Slash!” Greensprout shouted. The last cave pony was about to finish him when he very stubbornly raised his sword to block his opponent’s.

“Nrgh!....RGH! rrrrrrrRRRRRAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” Air Slash struggled with all of his might against his foe and looked like he could pass out at any moment.

“Don’t lose your strength!” Greensprout said as she quickly latched her healing beam onto Air Slash.

With his stamina returning and his wounds closing, Air Slash mustered the power to push back his struggling foe. “HHHRRRRAAHHHH!!!” He completed his parry and slit his opponent’s throat. He sheathed his swords as the feral pony gurgled its last breath. “Attack the innocent, and you shall know my wrath.”

Ancient Cityscape

After the conflict subsided, the Battle Foals regrouped around Quantum’s mech, which was thankfully undamaged. Air Slash wasted no time rushing over to Greensprout. “Are you hurt, Greensprout?” he asked.

“No, Air Slash. Thank you, but please don’t be so reckless. You nearly perished.” Greensprout replied.

Air Slash put his hoof on her shoulder. “I would have if not for you, and besides, I swore to Abbot Meadow that I along with my comrades would guard you. I am not one to go back on my word.” He managed to keep a straight face, but his cheeks were burning.

Greensprout smiled as her soft violet eyes met Air Slash’s. “Thank you, Air Slash. You do your clan proud.” She said. Air Slash let go of her and smiled back sheepishly. “Now then, you all must be so weary after all that. Let me fix that.” She raised her staff and let out a little pulse of energy that eased everypony.

They all took a much needed deep breath. “You’re a saint amongst us sinners, Greensprout.” Shadow Shroud said. She then glanced at a nearby corpse of what just attacked them and immediately noticed their odd form, namely their clouded eyes. “Hmm….not exactly the most civil type, are they?”

“Ah remember now! We were searchin’ fer y’all when these things came out o’ that cave behind the waterfall and attacked us. We fended them off, but we got worried that maybe they took y’all while you were unconscious and went in after ‘em. We got to that there room with the hole in it, and Ms. Quantum Tech noticed somethin’ mighty odd on a rock nearby an’ got outta her mech to look at it; Zebota went with her, and that’s when the floor fell in like it did. Not even a moment later, them varmints came outta the dark an’ attacked me. Ah fought ‘em, but they were too much an’ Ah had to get outta there. That’s when Ah remember seein’ y’all again.” Kickback explained. He held his hat down shamefully and sighed. “Ah feel like a dang coward….”

“Damn that, son! D’hey woulda done somethin’ strange to ya if ya’d just tried to mess ‘em by yourself. Tryna take down a whole gang on yo’ own is just plain stupid.” Turf War said.

“Oh? Is that so?” Shadow Shroud sneered.

Turf War rolled his eyes. “I learned my lesson since then….”

Shroud giggled. “Regardless, Turf War’s right. Only a true coward or fool would believe themselves to be above death itself. There’s never shame in wanting to survive. You’re not at fault. Besides, we know that they’re alive if Shrapnel’s connection to Zebota is to be counted on.” Kickback smiled and tipped his hat at them.

“Speaking of which, what happened to Shrapnel? He wiped the floor with these scary ponies just. How come he couldn’t protect you?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

Shrapnel whimpered shamefully as he looked down. “He says ‘I was buried underneath a mountain of rubble when the cave-in occurred. I could do naught but desperately dig myself out’.” Crazylocks said.

“Aww…You poor thing.” Spiral said as she petted Shrapnel’s face. Shrapnel gently licked her, and she giggled in delight. “Still though…..What are these things? I mean, I know they’re ponies, but….”

“D’hey look like d’hey was hella high on some kinda lean. Peep out d’hey eyes d’ho.” Turf War said.

“Yeah, and….what’s with their drool? It’s glowing.” Fire Fight said.

“Yes….much like that luminous goo that we observed. Curious….” Air Slash said.

“These poor souls….They must be so restless.” Greensprout muttered.

“Ah reckon we oughta focus on findin’ the others. Ms. Quantum Tech will definitely have answers fer us eventually.” Kickback said.

“Kickback’s right, guys. We gotta keep moving.” Fire Fight said.

Shrapnel ran over to a tunnel and barked. “He says ‘I sense my master through here!’.” Crazylocks said.

“Good boy! Let’s not waste any time! Come on, guys!” Fire Fight declared.

As the Battle Foals followed Shrapnel into the tunnel, Greensprout looked back at the deceased corruptions in deep sorrow. “What ever higher power that may hear me, please heed my prayer. Grant these tortured souls a peaceful slumber….”

*****

Zebota and Quantum Tech snuck carefully around the ruined city in search of a possible lead as to the power source for the drawbridge. The swarm of the ‘Fallen’ as Quantum had taken to calling them patrolling ever corner forced their progress to a constant crawl, so their patience as well as their courage was being tested. Quantum carefully searched through the remains of the hover carriages in search of a possible sample, but no luck. They must have been depleted during the event of the civilizations fall.

“Rats! We’ll have to locate a library, a university, someplace where we can learn about this city.” Quantum said.

“These buildings look very similar. We may have to search them one by one.” Zebota said.

“I don’t imagine that a place designed to hold records of this city’s knowledge would be constructed like a commoner’s housing. It would be a large and grand establishment, perhaps even in a district of its own and-” She was suddenly cut off when a drop of glowing saliva splatted right between them! They looked up and were face-to-face with a Fallen mare staring down at them!! Quantum was paralyzed with fear while Zebota carefully drew his tomahawk, not even blinking as his terrified eyes looked into her soulless eyes. She slowly bent down further to more closely inspect them; her gurgling right in their ears made their hearts beat faster than known possible. After an intense moment of this deadly staring contest, the mare slowly rose back up and walked away.

Quantum and Zebota quietly scurried away into a nearby alleyway where they were alone. Zebota wasted no time renewing his masked scent as Quantum panted from terror. She immediately snatched the cloth away from Zebota and followed suit without even a word. “I fear they are growing weary of us. We must tread more lightly.” Zebota said.

“<pant><pant> Yes…..Yes, we must. <pant>” Quantum took a deep breath. “We need to get to a higher vantage point and discern the nearest knowledge center.”

“And how are we supposed to do that? We know nothing of this place and do not know where to start!” Zebota said.

Quantum fixed her glasses. “My dear Zebota, the first step to solving any scientific problem is to observe the subject at hoof. In this case, that’s the city. Now look around. What do you see?”

“Naught but a forest of stone and forsaken prosperity.” Zebota answered.

“Yes but what kind of buildings do we see?” Quantum asked.

Zebota looked around more closely. He had a revelation when he realized that he could see something akin to a watch tower a few blocks away. “Ah! I see. Well done, Quantum Tech. But let us remain ever cautious.”

Quantum nodded. “As per usual.” She said. The two began silently making their way to the watch tower. As they did, they began to notice something rather….odd. Roots and vines could be seen wrapped and growing around the aging streets and buildings with more of the glowing substance secreting from them. It helped to light their path, but the Fallen seemed to congregate around it for some reason, so Quantum couldn’t get close to observe it.

After a few more close encounters with the Fallen, Quantum and Zebota reached the watch tower. However, the opened doorway was covered in an overgrowth of the glowing vines and being guarded by a few Fallen. “Confound it! How are we supposed to get past these monsters?” Quantum asked.

Zebota smirked. “Quantum Tech, when dealing with any beast of the wild, you must know to exploit their weaknesses in order to best them.” He drew his sling and loaded. “For example…” He swung his sling around a few times before launching the loaded rock far away towards a building on the neighboring city block, and the rock miraculously hit a window, shattering it loudly. The Fallen in front of the door immediately looked in that direction and rush over there, leaving the door unguarded.

Quantum Tech nodded approvingly. “Well played.” She said. They then snuck over to their designated doorway and climbed through the vines. Once inside, they began ascending the high flight of stairs to the top. The ancient staircase crumbled in a few places, but the two watched their pace carefully as the climbed. Once they reached the nest on top, they could finally get a bird’s eye view of the city.

“Now then, what do suppose we should look for?........Quantum Tech?” Zebota looked over to see Quantum panting rather heavily. “Are you alright?”

Quantum eased her panting. “Yes…..<pant>….Goodness me. How do you all endure such grueling exercise?” She caught her breath and looked out into the subterranean skyline with Zebota. “Now then, where to go?” The two scanned around from their perch, giving them an opportunity to really take in the city. It was a wonder that the buildings hadn’t crumbled more than they have. Whoever these ponies were before definitely had a considerable understanding of science and architecture if their ancient constructions could remain as pristine as they could be for so long. The architecture itself seemed almost….alien. It had a similar flare to Quantum Tech was used to seeing in Canterlot, but it was a strange hybrid of sci-fi and stone age. Just the very sight of it all fascinated the young scientist. Even the ever serious Zebota found himself impressed at the hidden world he was beholding. “What could have happened here?”

“Look over there!” Zebota said. He pointed to a large dome-shaped building that was unique to every other building in sight off in the distance. It looked to be about the size of a stadium and had considerably wider streets around it than other places. “Perhaps this is the ‘university’ you suggested.”

“Either that or a political office. I’d say it’s worth the time.” Quantum said.

“Then let us go with as much haste as possible. That place is far from here.” Zebota said. He then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. “Hmm?” Extending from the corner of the roof of the perch was a thin but sturdy-looking line. Looking out further, he saw that it stretched out to a faraway building in the direction of their destination. “What is the purpose of this?”

“I’ve read books describing some ancient civilizations using failsafe systems of transferring messages across long distances during emergencies should a courier not be readily available. Perhaps this is one such example.” Quantum explained. “Why do you ask?”

Zebota chuckled as he drew his tomahawk. “Because now I know that we can take a little shortcut.” He climbed onto the ledge just below the sturdy string. “Hang on to me tightly.”

Quantum’s eyes widened in horror as she immediately caught on to what Zebota was suggesting. “Absolutely not! I am a scientist, not a daredevil!”

“You would be seeking thrills either way since we would have to get past those Fallen again.” Zebota argued.

Quantum Tech saw his reasoning and conceded. She gulped. “O-O-Ok…” She nervously climbed onto Zebota and wrapped her hooves around his neck just tight enough that she wouldn’t choke him.

Zebota held his tomahawk atop the emergency line and took one last deep breath. “Ready?” Quantum nodded with some worry in her eyes. Zebota chuckled. “So long as you do not let go, you will be alright. I promise.”

Quantum took a deep breath. Her eyes were alleviated of worry. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“Then let us ride on the air itself!” Zebota jumped off the ledge with Quantum hanging on and zip lined down the emergency line on his tomahawk. Quantum Tech had to keep her mouth sealed shut as she screamed internally so as not to attract any Fallen pegasi that still had their wings. The sheer exhilaration of riding down a thin line with the air blowing through her mane was something she wasn’t quite ready for, but Zebota was no doubt used to being a wild child. Seeing him smile throughout the whole ordeal brought the brainy filly some comfort in this heart-stopping thrill. She eased up and actually took in the scenery as they whizzed by the cityscape. Being able to observe such an ominous yet fascinating location from such a vantage point made the frightening experience somewhat….fun. In no time, Quantum actually found herself enjoying the ride almost as much as Zebota was. While it wasn’t the kind of new experience she particularly had in mind, it was a refreshing new experience nonetheless.

Quantum peered over Zebota’s shoulder and gasped. “We’re nearing the end!” she said. They were coming up on the roof of a two story building with the end of the rope tied to the top of an eight-foot pole……with a Fallen stallion just beyond it!

“Uh oh…” Zebota muttered. He then mustered some courage. “Hang on!” he said. He swung to the side a little and let go of the rope while still holding his tomahawk and let himself fly towards the Fallen stallion. His predatory gaze was affixed on the corrupted creature as he raised his tomahawk and fell towards it. With a vicious swing, he ended the Fallen with his tomahawk deeply lodged in its head. The corpse of the twisted stallion made for an effective landing pad, and the two foals managed to tumble off of him safely.

Quantum had to catch her breath as she staggered to her hooves from exasperation. “<pant><pant>…We are NEVER doing that again!” She whispered with her teeth clenched.

Zebota chuckled. “Forgive me, Quantum Tech. I forget that you are not used to living so freely.”

Quantum rolled her eyes. “And you have nary a sense of restraint when nature is not concerned.” She said. She then had a thought. “Hmm….You know….It would stand to reason that one of these lines could exist across the chasm where the drawbridge is. If I’m correct in my assumption of their purpose, then surely they would have a means of sending emergency messages across the biggest natural obstacle in their city.”

“Perhaps, but there is the possibility that those lines have succumbed to their old age and collapsed. Besides, we have come this far. Finding the power source is most logical anyway.” Zebota said.

“Hmm….yes, I suppose you’re right. Plus, the university is but a block over. Getting there will be easy so long as we continue to avoid the Fallen.” Quantum said.

Zebota nodded. “Then I suggest we, as they say, make like a tree leaf and flee.”

Quantum deadpanned and sighed. “Turf War is going have fun with this….” With that said, the two snuck their through the building they landed on, the street past the Fallen and made to the presumed university, but when they got closer, they saw a sight that completely caught them off guard….

Poison

Trekking through the tunnels proved to be more dangerous than the foals expected. Every once in a while, they’d encounter another swarm of the odd cave ponies, but the cave ponies themselves seemed to become more conscious of the fact that they were outmatched each time and retreated sooner each time. “Pfft! Man, d’hese dudes ain’t nuttin’!” Turf War declared.

“Yeah…..but who are they, and why are they down here?” Spiral Galaxy pondered.

“I’m more concerned about what drove them to acting like feral beasts.” Fire Fight said.

“I just hope this isn’t another ‘breakthrough experiment’ courtesy of our….late acquaintance. We have enough of that to deal with as is” Shadow Shroud said as she glanced over at Crazylocks, who was fluttering about randomly as she made bird noises

“If that turns out to be the case, then I bear no regrets about cutting them down.” Air Slash said.

“Air Slash….that’s so callous.” Greensprout said. “These ponies must have once innocently lived happy lives before their….corruption, I suppose, and you would slay them with no regard to such?”

“N-N-No, Greensprout. That’s….not what I meant.” Air Slash stammered.

“I think what our valiant swordspony here means to say is that we don’t regret having to put these poor souls out of their misery.” Shadow Shroud said. “Seeing as they’re….shadows of their former selves, there’s little else we can do for them other than let them be taken by death’s sweet embrace. It’s the only mercy that they can truly be granted.”

“Y-Y-Yes. That’s a good way to put it. I-I do regret that this is all we can do.” Air Slash said.

Greensprout sighed. “That’s....honorable of you, but…..the idea of having to take a life is just…..”

Air Slash landed and walked beside Greensprout. “I know. It’s difficult, but if it means easing their suffering, then I’ve no qualms. Besides, we’re not asking you to follow suit. Let the rest of us handle it. You just concentrate on healing everypony. I…..I-I would hate to see you lose your compassionate nature.” He blushed at his last statement.

Greensprout looked into his eyes, causing him to blush a little more and slowly creased a smile. “Life can be cruel, can’t it?”

Air Slash chuckled. “I’m sure you know that seeing as you practically wield it in your hooves.”

Greensprout giggled. “Well….I wouldn’t go that far.” She said. Just then, the foals suddenly found themselves face to face with a cave pony mare. She was completely alone, so the foals didn’t feel threatened. Interestingly enough, she didn’t outright charge at them like all the other they’d encountered. She just…..eyed them….as if to assess the situation. Furthermore, she had on more clothing than the others they had encountered. Her attire was the same kind of tattered robe-like tunics that the others wore, but hers was decorated with gold lacings stitched into lovely patterns, and she wore a medallion around her neck that depicted some sort of shining tree.

Kickback casually tipped his hat. “Howdy, ma’am.” The twisted mare turned glanced over at him. She eyed him for a moment before reaching into her tunic and pulling out a device that closely resembled his guns. “Huh!?” She pointed it at the foals, and it started making a violent humming sound as the inside of the barrel started glowing a bright blue. Kickback gasped. “GET DOWN, Y’ALL!” He and the other foals wasted no time hitting the deck. The twisted mare fired a bolt of blue energy at the foals that just missed them as they ducked.

Shrapnel wasted no time leaping towards her and slamming her into the wall with her claw. Her gun-like device was knocked away from her in the process. Before the mare could get back up on her hooves, Shrapnel clamped his jaws onto her and tossed her into the ground in front of the foals. “Shrapnel, pin her down!” Greensprout shouted.

Shrapnel gave a confused glance for a split second, but complied. With his overwhelming strength, he held the feral mare down to ground. He then grunted at Greensprout. “He says ‘Why not finish her?’” Crazylocks said.

“Let me try something.” Greensprout said. Much to everypony’s surprise, she channeled her healing beam onto the mare. She violently flailed around tossed around as she tried to free herself from Shrapnel’s grasp. As Greensprout continued to channel the vital energy into her, the mare gradually became less and less feral, and her growls and gurgles were soon replaced with coughs and sputters. Her cloudy eyes cleared up completely. Seeing as her little experiment worked, Greensprout stopped and walked over to the now panting and coughing normalized mare. “Thank you, Shrapnel. Please let go of her.

Shrapnel complied and released his grip on the mare. “What the!? You…..healed her!?” Spiral said. Everypony was amazed.

“’Healed’ might be stretching it. She looks ready to disintegrate.” Shadow Shroud commented. She noticed that the mare looked beyond elderly, almost mummified.

Kickback was more concerned with the strange ‘gun’ that she possessed and walked over to it. “Huh….looks like we found yer crazy uncle, you two.” He said as he glanced at his guns.

“NOOOOO!” The elderly mare suddenly shouted. Her voice was so raspy and aged that it was enough to muffle her shout.

Greensprout put her hoof on the mare’s shoulder as she still laid there on the rocky ground. “What is it? What happened to you?”

The mare looked into Greensprout’s. Her eyes had sunken into their sockets and were filled with terror. “Don’t…<cough><sputter>……

take it!....<cough><cough><sputter><sputter><wheeze>…..It’s…..It’s POISON!!!”

“What? What’s poison? What turned you into a monster?” Greensprout asked. However, it was not meant to be. The mare’s eyes sunk in, and she plopped to the ground not moving.

Shadow Shroud walked over to her and felt her neck. She sighed and drew her kunai, taking a deep breath as she looked at the ancient mare. “May your weary soul find peaceful rest.” She plunged her kunai into the mare’s neck, and the echo of her last breath could be heard resounding throughout the tunnels.

“Shadow Shroud!” Greensprout said.

Shroud looked at her. “She still had a pulse. Your Gaia Root did what it could, but looked like time had caught up with her somehow. I only granted her one final mercy.”

Greensprout sighed. “You’re a lion among lambs, Shadow Shroud.

Shroud wiped her kunai off with the mare’s clothing before sheathing it. “I know.” She said. “Hmm…..‘poison’……”

*****

Quantum Tech and Zebota had their jaws to the floor at a completely unexpected sight. At the top of a flight of stairs leading up to what was likely many entrances to this building was……a series of foldable tables and lamps that one would see in a photography studio! They were turned off, but the fact that something so out of place would appear before them so suddenly was shocking.

“It would seem that we were not the first ones here.” Zebota said.

“Yes…..That’s….quite concerning….but I suppose we don’t have much choice. Shall we?” Quantum said. Zebota nodded. They quietly snuck up the stairs and examined the sight. Whoever was here before had obviously abandoned their post, but Quantum immediately recognized a series of archaeological tools laid about the tables. The lamps were connected to portable generators that looked like they still worked, but they didn’t dare try to turn them on for the risk of attracting the Fallen. “So, somepony uncovered this place before we stumbled upon it, but why have I never heard of any expeditions here? These materials look like they’ve been here for at least a few years, and I kept up to date with any and all new discoveries within the past decade or so.”

“Perhaps they did not want anypony to know about this place so that they do not fall victim to the Fallen, so they kept it a secret, even leaving behind their expedition.” Zebota said.

“Well…..that’s not unreasonable.” Quantum said. “Perhaps their main base was stationed inside. They may have left research notes amongst their materials. Let’s go.” The two crept through the slightly ajar doors into the ruined university, peering through for any Fallen that might be lurking in the dark. When it was determined that the coast was clear, they carefully walked inside. They didn’t have to worry too much about being in the dark, because was more of the glowing fluid secreting from root and vine overgrowths and being kept in ancient glass containers no doubt used by the Fallen back in their heyday. “Interesting! So this substance existed when their civilization still thrived.”

“Hmm….could it be the power source that we seek?” Zebota asked.

“I have no way of being able to discern that for certain, but perhaps our ‘predecessors’ had notes on it. It’s clear that whatever this substance is, it bore some significance to these ponies.” Quantum said. “Searching for any sort of library would be prudent.”

“Or perhaps this main base that you speak of.” Zebota said. The interior design of the building definitely marked it as a university of some sort. Banners depicting a shining tree were prevalent within the main lobby, most likely a symbolic crest. Sculptures and paintings of various qualities were displayed throughout, and Quantum tech could recognize the smell of some spilled chemicals; she had plenty of experience….. There were many hallways with rooms that were marked only with symbols ranging from mathematical symbols to leaves, building tools, art tools, and….books!

“Aha! Found it!” Quantum said.

“How do you know that it is not a classroom for Literature?” Zebota asked.

Quantum opened the door. “Well, why don’t we simply enter and- OH MY WORD!!” Before the two was a gruesome scene. They had definitely found the main base for the archaeologists, but what they didn’t expect was to also find the archaeologists themselves……mauled by the Fallen. They had modern clothing on that had been horribly torn and tattered from the attack, and their bodies had considerably decayed. They’d clearly been here for a few years at least.

“This…..is a bad sign.” Zebota said.

“W-Well…..a-a-at least their research seems to be intact.” Quantum stammered. She noticed that a series of journals were scattered amongst the remains of the ravaged scientist. Unfortunately, most of them had been so torn or stained with blood that they were rendered illegible, except for one. “Hmm…” Quantum opened to the first page. “Zebota, guard the door while I read this, won’t you?”

“Yes. I suppose I should close it.” Zebota said, and he closed the door.

“Thank you. Now, let’s see….” Quantum began reading. Apparently, this journal belonged to the leader of the expedition, a rising professor in archaeology named Stone Century. “Hmm….Can’t say I recognize that name.” Stone Century had come down here with his wife, a nurse named Healing Touch who served as the expedition’s doctor. Everypony else was either a random geologist, demolition expert, engineer and the like that had come from community colleges from across Equestria. It turns out that this cave was randomly discovered by some hikers who reported their find to Stone Century; they were apparently friends with the good professor. With some funding, Stone Century and Healing Touch managed to gather a small team to explore the cave with them. Their discovery of the lost city was a complete accident. Strangely however, there was no immediate mention of the Fallen whatsoever. “How odd…”

“What?” Zebota asked.

“Well, it seems that those ponies didn’t encounter the Fallen when they stumbled upon this place. Perhaps their presence…..disturbed them somehow?” Quantum said.

“Beasts of the wild can be fickle things. They may see prey, but they may not always have the opportunity to strike.” Zebota said.

“Hmm….nevertheless…” Quantum resumed her reading. According to Stone Century, this ancient city existed roughly 3,400 years before Princess Celestia, meaning that ponies had existed in Equestria before it came to be known as such! Quantum Tech’s jaw hit the floor. “How marvelous!” She continued reading. While they couldn’t discern the name of the civilization itself, they came to the difficult conclusion that this city was simply called ‘The Meadow’, because the ponies here worshipped some giant tree as a divine being, which was supposedly at the heart of the city, but….“We didn’t happen to see any giant trees when we scouted around in the watch tower, did we?”

“I do not recall such a thing. Why?” Zebota inquired.

“There’s supposed to be one in the center of the city that they once revered as a god.” Quantum said.

“Perhaps it succumbed to ruin like its city did.”

“Well…..that’s not unreasonable.” She continued reading and gasped when she read further about the tree.

“What is it?” Zebota asked.

“You were right, Zebota! The giant tree that they worshipped was the source of the glowing fluid- it’s the tree’s resin! And it was the source of power for their technology!” Quantum said.

Zebota exhibited a shocked expression. “What!? But…..how is that possible? How does a tree…..what is in this resin!?”

Quantum went back to reading. “I’m still looking into that.” She carefully read through a few more pages, but nothing pertaining to the properties of the resin came up. “Hmm…..I guess they didn’t anticipate needing a botanist.”

“Couldn’t they have just returned to the surface to hire one?” Zebota asked.

“Precisely my concern…” Quantum said as she perused through the journal. As she did, she got a few answers she was waiting for. “Oh dear. Well, it seems the drawbridge was mysteriously raised, thus trapping them here, and then that’s when the Fallen started appearing.”

Zebota sighed. “Cursed monsters….” He angrily mumbled.

“Indeed. The rest of the journal pays no more regard to studying this place, but rather diary entries regarding their survival.” Quantum explained. She then found a passage that dumbfounded her- the final entry, no less. “M-My….My word!”

“What?” Zebota asked.

“They were down here for a number of months, and sometime during that, Stone Century’s wife became with foal. It was born right in this very room!” Quantum explained.

Zebota was shocked. “Surely you jest!”

Quantum shook her head. “I’ll read the final passage to you.” She cleared her throat. “’To whoever may find this, know that this will likely be my last entry. My dearest Healing Touch and I can’t possibly take care of our foal in this hostile place. These monsters have us cornered, and we can do naught but hide and wait for our death. We’ve sent Steam Valve, our only pegasus and cowardly engineer to fly our daughter across the chasm and send her to safety. We gave him a basket that would safely carry her down the river at the entrance to this dreaded place. He’ll face a great peril and perhaps die of whatever injuries he may sustain, but his compassion towards foals will drive him to overcome his fear. Whoever finds her, our beautiful Greensprout, may she be given a loving family and a safe home.’”

An Abridged Reunion

Armed with the knowledge they needed, Quantum Tech and Zebota grabbed a couple jars of the glowing resin and began making their way back to the drawbridge. Quantum kept Stone Century’s journal in case she missed something about the resin that would help them properly use to fuel the drawbridge. They had to ascend atop another watch tower to get their bearings, and Zebota zip lined Quantum in the direction of the bridge, much to her nerves’ dismay. Just the other one, it led them to the roof of a small building, but there were thankfully no Fallen waiting for them this time.

“<pant>….<pant>….Zebota, if I have to go through that one more time…” Quantum said.

“Would you rather take more time by slowly walking the whole way? The Fallen seemed to take slightly more interest in us.” Zebota said.

“Yes….I hope it’s not because of our possession of the resin. They seem to be attracted to it.” Quantum said.

“Perhaps their memories of their worship of the tree that produced it still linger in their corrupted minds.” Zebota said.

“Perhaps….” Quantum said. “Say….didn’t you say that the nature spirits that are here are in pain?”

“Yes, but I do not know why.”

“Could you try to commune with them and ask them about this tree? Perhaps its destruction is what’s causing their pain.”

Zebota thought for a moment. “That is not illogical, but I fear that any communion with them will attract the Fallen, so let us get return to the drawbridge control room.”

Quantum nodded. “I agree……say, why don’t we….ugh…..renew our masked scent.”

Zebota reached into his bag. “Good idea. It has been a while since we last……huh?”

Quantum cocked her eyebrow. “Something the matter?”

Zebota looked at her with his eyes widened in horror and gulped. “The cloth is……gone.”

Quantum’s eyes widened with his. “Wh-Wh-What!?”

“I-It must have flown out of my back when were zip lining. How could I not foresee this happening!?” Zebota said.

Quantum found herself starting to hyperventilate. Without her mech suit, she was completely helpless. Zebota was her only defense against the Fallen besides running, but without sufficient nature spirits to grant him power nor Shrapnel to protect him, he was almost as naked as she was. “I-I-It’s ok! We’ll just….u-uh…..W-W-We’ll just be a little more careful! Th-That’s all! Hehe…..yes…..n-nothing to it.”

Zebota took a deep breath. “Let us try to remain calm and tread very lightly. The moment that a predator senses that its prey is afraid is the moment that its prey falls to it.”

Quantum eased her breaths after a brief moment and nodded nervously. “Ok…” Just like before, Quantum went in front using her glasses to navigate with Zebota right behind here ready to strike if necessary. They carefully treaded downstairs from the roof and into the street. Visits from the Fallen were becoming a little more frequent than before. Whether it was because of their fading scent or their resin, they didn’t know, but they were constantly on high alert. They made damn sure not to trip over or kick anything over, anything that would make the slightest bit of noise. Quantum resisted the urge to try and fuel one of the hover carriages with their resin supply.

They turned the corner to see the drawbridge only a few blocks away. Only a few Fallen were between them and freedom. Now all they had to do was make it there. “Alright….the last stretch.” Quantum whispered. The two started their way towards the drawbridge, but we stopped when another Fallen came to inspect them. They stopped dead in their tracks as the twisted mare stopped mere inches in front of them. Zebota didn’t draw his tomahawk for the risk of making too much noise; he and Quantum were as still as a statue. The mare’s blinded eyes burned into their souls as she bent her head down to stare the two down. Her glowing saliva drooled down her face and onto the floor like a rabid dog as she growled and gurgled. She held this position for what felt like an eternity, but was really about three minutes before slowly raising her head back up. For another few moments that felt like an eternity, she just…..eyed them. The two eyed her back, hoping that she would go away soon. They could practically hear each other’s racing heartbeats…..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. “GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The mare bellowed a guttural scream that evoked the surrounding Fallen to their location. “RUUUUUUUN!” Zebota wasted no time taking Quantum’s hoof and leading through the gauntlet as they dodged through oncoming obstacles.

“ZEBOTA, LOOK OUT!” Quantum screamed. She pointed to a Fallen pegasus swooping down from right in front of them.

Zebota quickly drew his boomerang and flung it at the flying fury. It clipped one of his wings, and he plummeted to the ground. Zebota caught his boomerang as it returned to him. “GO! GO! GO!” With the small horde of Fallen right on their tails, Zebota and Quantum ran like no tomorrow towards the control room for the drawbridge. Quantum Tech managed to slow down their pursuers by magically destabilizing a tower of rubble, causing it to fall between them and the Fallen. “Good thinking!”

“I do what I can!” Quantum said. They at last made it back to the control room and bolted through the door, slamming it shut as they entered. They wasted no time moving some furniture and the like in front of the door to barricade it. “Ok….Ok! Now let’s see.” Quantum took out her jars of resin and looked for instructions on what to do. Much to her relief, there were pictorial instructions painted onto the wall that were still legible! Below them was a machine that resembled a jukebox and was connected to a circuit-like pattern on the wall. Within it was a glass vial that still had a little bit of the resin in it. “Seems simple enough….”

“Quickly, Quantum Tech! I do not know how long this will hold!” Zebota shouted as he stood against the barricaded door.

“Right, right!” Quantum quickly filled the vial with the resin that they had recovered. It was full! “Yes! Now to activate it!” Thankfully, the machine was still operable with the resin. It made a humming noise as the circuit patterns on the wall began glowing the same blue hue as the resin. Looking outside the back window, she noticed that the same patterns were on the drawbridge, and they began glowing as well. She eagerly flipped the switch, and the drawbridge began lowering…..there was just one problem…..“OH, BLAST!!”

“What is wrong!?” Zebota asked. The Fallen were becoming more aggressive.

Quantum began to panic. “I should have foreseen this! This side of the bridge only controls this half of it! The other side has its own control console! It’s not coming down with the one on our side!”

“WHAT!?” Zebota rushed over to the window and looked out. Sure enough, only their half of the drawbridge was lowering. The other remained as still as ever. “DAMNATION! What do we do now!?”

Quantum looked around frantically. “Um…Um! Well, let me think! N-No need to panic! Um!.....Aha! Perhaps there’s an emergency switch on this side that lowers the other half!”

“But we do not know if that half has power or not! Even if such a thing existed, it would potentially be useless!” Zebota said.

“As if we have any other options! Now where might it be?” Quantum began searching around for a possible emergency override of some sort. There didn’t seem to be any sort of switch or the like inside, but another pictorial tutorial depicted next to the one showing how to power the controls showed a button on the outside in front of the bridge being pushed by a pony followed the opposing half of the bridge coming down. She looked outside to see said button. “What!? Why would they put it-….Gnrrrgghhh! <sigh> It would be logical to think that it runs on its own power supply….”

Zebota looked out the window with her. “It is glowing! That must mean that it will work!” A piece of furniture fell off of the barricade as the Fallen slammed on the door harder and harder. The two were starting to panic.

“A-Although, we have the Fallen to worry about!” Quantum stammered.

Zebota took a deep breath and looked Quantum in her eyes. “Quantum Tech, you got hit that button. I will distract the Fallen!”

Quantum looked at him like he was crazy. “Zebota, are you mad!? There’re FAR too many of them for you to handle! That would be suicide!!”

“I am no fool, Quantum Tech. I need only lure them away from here so that you may press that button. I will find my way back safely.” Zebota said.

“Zebota, this isn’t some jungle that you can leap around in! These are lifeless, crumbling ruins!” Quantum said.

“That may be so, but it follows the same laws of the wild. Please, Quantum. You must trust me. I know no other solution!” Zebota said.

Quantum looked at him with worry in her eyes. Zebota was clever indeed, but the thought of letting him throw himself to these monsters made her heart ache. Nevertheless, she knew that it most likely their last option. She sighed and hugged the brave zebra. “Don’t you dare die on my account.”

Zebota returned the hug. “Nor you, my friend.” They broke off, and Zebota took out a window on the opposite end of the small building with his sling. The shattering crash seemed to divert the attention of the Fallen as they stopped banging on the door. Zebota leapt out of it and whistled loudly. “COME AND GET ME, YOU CORRUPTED BEASTS!”

Quantum could hear him galloping away with the Fallen hot on his tail. Once she could hear that the coast was clear, she quietly crept out the door after removing the barricades and made for the emergency button. She wasted no time hitting it. When she did, a visible pulse of blue energy rang out of the pole containing the button as if to send a signal. Whatever kind of signal it was seemed to be received by the other half of the bridge as it’s edges began to glow as well. Much to Quantum’s joy and relief, it started coming down and eventually connected with the other lowered half. “YES!” she exclaimed. “Now I suppose I should go back inside and wait for-<GASP!>”

When she turned around, she found herself face to face with a trio of Fallen standing next to the door to the control room! They were trudging towards her as if to decide if she was prey or not. Before she could stick around to see their decision, she bolted for the bridge, praying that Zebota would eventually follow her. She didn’t care if she wasn’t in great physical condition; her adrenaline propelled her down the ruinous construct as she tried to get away from the feral fiends, desperate to lose them. Her glasses were getting readings, but she was too frantic to care. Suddenly, she tripped and fell! “Oof!” She looked up to see the pursuing Fallen charging towards her with no intention of slowing down! By the time she’d get on her hooves it’d be too late…..“AIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!" Quantum could only scream and cover her eyes as her untimely demise approached….

<BANG!!><BANG!!><BANG!!>

The suddenly loud noises prompted her to open her eyes to see the three Fallen….well, fallen and dead on the floor. “Ah reckon that ain’t no way to approach a filly.” Quantum’s eyes lit up as she looked up to see a very welcome sight. The trademark hat and vest coupled with two smoking guns were unmistakable. “Howdy, Ms. Quantum Tech. Hope Sound n’ Fury didn’t startle ya none.” he said as he tipped his hat.

“KICKBACK!!” Quantum threw her arms around the young gunslinger. Kickback would normally try to push her off of him, but thinking about what she must have been through, he let her have this one moment.

“QUANTUM TEEEEEEEEEECH!!!!” Quantum was forcefully knocked off of Kickback by a very eccentric…..eh, you probably figured it out. Crazylocks looked down at Quantum as she laid over her. “QUANTUM! QUANTUM! QUANTUM! QUANTUM! YOU MISSED IT! WE FILLETED AN APPLE GORILLA AND MADE A ROCKY HELMET OUT OF ROCKS AND SANG SLUG FOLKSONGS TO ALBINO MAPLE LEAVES AND LEARNED HOW LICK OUR TAILS WITH OUR EYEBALLS FROM AN EGGPLANT WIZARD AND RESCUED A SISTER THAT FIRE FIGHT DIDN’T KNOW HE HAD AND-”

Quantum quickly got up and put her hoof over Crazylocks’ mouth. “Good to see you too, Crazylocks.” She said with overt frustration. She could then feel Crazylocks starting to drool and immediately retracted her hoof. Crazylocks started cackling. “Ugh! On second thought….”

“Hey, Quantum! Drop something?” Spiral Galaxy said as she and Fire Fight put her precious mech suit down in front of her.

“<Gasp> My mech!” Quantum ran up to it excitedly. “And it’s still in one piece!” But before she could get in, Fire Fight stopped her.

“Quantum, where’s Zebota?” Fire Fight asked her.

“He’s being chased on the other side by the Fallen! We have to save him!” Quantum said.

“The ‘Fallen’?” Greensprout asked.

Quantum turned to face her, but was thrown off guard by the unfamiliar face. “Erm….I’m sorry. Who are you?”

“I am sister Greensprout, and I-”

“<GASP!> YOU’RE GREENSPROUT!?” Quantum blurted.

Everypony was understandably shocked that Quantum somehow knew their newest friend. “Da hell? How y’all know her, Quantum?” Turf War asked.

“I’m sorry. I’ll have to explain later. We have to go and help Zebota!” Quantum said. Just then, she noticed a huge shadow being cast over her and the others. When they looked up, they saw that Shrapnel had leapt clean over them and Quantum’s mech and wasted no time rushing to his master’s aid, roaring loudly as he crashed through debris and rubble. “If…..his actions are of any indication.”

“He says, ‘I’M COMING, MASTER’!” Crazylocks said.

“And so are we. Let’s grab the zebra and get out of here!” Shadow Shroud said.

Air Slash drew his swords and twirled them fiercely. “They will fall to my blades!”

As Quantum lowered the seat of her cockpit down to her, Spiral tapped her shoulder and leaned in to whisper. “Air Slash likes her!” she whispered as she eyed towards Greensprout.

Quantum raised her eyebrows and smirked upon hearing that. “Does he? Well then!” They giggled before following their companions.

*****

Zebota could only bob and weave through ruined obstacles fire rocks with his sling to defend himself from the Fallen. Navigating through the stone jungle was more difficult than he anticipated, and it caused him to become lost. All he could do was run in random directions away from his pursuers as he tried to make it back to the drawbridge. He tripped occasionally, but quickly regained his balance. Some Fallen would hit him with thrown debris, causing him to stagger a bit and sustain some minor wounds. “Spirits, guide me….”

Eventually he found himself in a town plaza where he found himself to be surrounded by Fallen! “Uh oh…” He had to stop himself in the middle of the plaza and looked around into clouded eyes everywhere. Suddenly, a bolt of blue energy flew towards him and exploded on the ground beneath his hooves, send him flying. “AAAAHHHHH!” Zebota hit the ground in agony. He could feel a few of his bones broken from the blast and fall, and he was badly wounded. As the Fallen began to draw near him, he suddenly recalled his parents. They had raised him to be a survivor worthy of the beasts he’d tame, but now it looked like this was it….

He clutched his brooch as he took a deep breath and let a tear roll down his bloodied cheek. “Mother…..Father…..It…..looks like I will join you soon. I do not fear death, but I have done as a survivor would and avoided them as best I could…..Know that my life, ever since yours ended has been lived for you…..Now……it is time for me to accept my fate………Shrapnel, Quantum Tech, Fire Fight, all of you……forgive me……..but, all is as it should be…….”

Just before the Fallen could get with ten feet of him, one of the nearby buildings was suddenly toppled over by an overwhelming force. Clouds of dust plumed in the wake of its destruction, obscuring whatever destroyed it. Suddenly, a large mass leapt out of the clouds and landed atop Zebota. He looked up to see a familiar pair of green eyes looking back down at him. “SHRAPNEL!!” he cheered. The wooden titan excitedly nuzzled his wounded master before lifting him up into his chest. Seeing as he was too weak to fight by himself, Shrapnel roared a ferocious howl before going to town on the Fallen. Needless to say, they dropped like flies to the unbridled fury of the arborous monster……

A Thousand Words

The Battle Foals fought valiantly through swarm after swarm of the Fallen as they followed the sounds of a pissed off timberwolf that would surely lead them to Zebota. Quantum Tech was more than excited to be back in the hot seat of her walking death machine; she blasted her magic turrets and railguns at her foes with a big smile on her face. It did a lot to clear the front lines of the Fallen along with Kickback’s sharpshooting. “UNCOUTH MONSTROSITIES!!” she shouted.

Air Slash stayed close to Greensprout as he ferociously slashed any Fallen that got within five feet of her. Greensprout herself released another vital pulse that empowered everypony’s parameters save for Quantum’s mech; Quantum was too busy shooting dudes to notice right away. One last line of a few brave Fallen charged them, and Air Slash bravely returned the favor. He charged his swords with magic and executed his spinning blade finisher. “FALL TO ME, YOU VERMIN!!” His swords created quite the light show as each slash released concentrated magic that more or less extended the reach of his swords and sharpened their blades. Once he stopped spinning and the line of Fallen dropped dead, he caught sight of a blue energy bolt flying towards him. He blocked it with his sword and flung the energy back as a sword beam at the source, a Fallen stallion wielding another one of the strange ‘guns’ that the mare had. The stallion jumped out of the way of the sword beam, but was suddenly ambushed when a building next to him was knocked over, and he was caught in the deadly jaws of Shrapnel.

“There you are!” Fire Fight said as they all ran over to Shrapnel. The Fallen had decided to retreat seeing as they were outmatched. Shrapnel whimpered as he gently lowered his gravely injured master to the ground.

“<GASP!> ZEBOTA!” Quantum exclaimed. She quickly got out her mech suit and ran over to him with a first aid kit in tow. “Zebota!”

Zebota weakly looked up at Quantum. “Ugh……Quantum Tech…….”

Quantum Tech was about to open her kit when Greensprout touched her shoulder. “Worry not, sister. I will heal him.” She said.

Without hesitation, she latched her healing beam onto Zebota. Quantum Tech looked on in sheer awe as Zebota’s wounds closed, his skin healed and his strength seemed to return within a moment or so as he stood back up with incident. Zebota himself was stunned that he was healed so quickly.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Spiral Galaxy said. “Greensprout’s Gaia Root is pretty much a magic cure-all.”

Quantum gazed at the mystical wooden staff and the shimmering emerald adorning it. “How remarkable!” Her glasses were picking up odd readings from it. “I do hope that you’d be willing to let me study it further.” She said to Greensprout.

Greensprout giggled. “Your friends tell me that you’re quite brainy. I’d love to hear your insight on this holy item. The other monks and I know little to nothing about it.”

“You’re a monk?” Quantum asked. Fire Fight explained how she and Abbot Meadow rescued them from the river and let them rest in Gardenia before setting out the search for her, Kickback and Zebota and Shrapnel. “So, you all got to relax in an abbey while we had the grand opportunity to escape from a hostile ruin infested with feral ponies that would maul us given the chance…..charming.”

“Well, at least we’re all okay, right?” Kickback said.

Quantum looked over at him and wasted no time pouncing onto him. “My hero!” She said as she threw her arms around him once more, catching the cowpony off guard. She began repeatedly pecking his cheek.

“AAH!! NOW MS. QUANTUM TECH, YOU BETTER CUT THAT OUT!” Kickback shouted as he desperately tried to push her off of him.

She got off of him of her own accord and pouted. “Aww….I only wanted to thank you for saving my life.” She squeaked.

Kickback rolled his eyes. “Ah think Ah get the message. Yer welcome.” He said. “Say….How do y’all know Ms. Greensprout here?”

Zebota looked at them surprised. “Do we?”

“Yes, Zebota! Rememeber? From the journal?”

“What journal?” Greensprout asked.

Quantum looked at her with pity and sighed, worried that she may not be able to handle the truth. “This might be a complete coincidence, but….” She pulled out Stone Century’s journal. “I think it’s best that you see for yourself.” She handed it to her.

Greensprout took the journal and opened it as Quantum told them about the expedition led by Stone Century and his wife, Healing Touch. Greensprout skimmed through the archaeology notes and got to the final pages. When she read the last entry, her heart stopped. “Wha……Wh-What!?”

Quantum sighed. “I’m sorry, Greensprout…..I’m sure they loved you very much.”

“Who did?” Air Slash asked.

Quantum levitated the journal to him. “See for yourself.”

Air Slash let himself and the others read the last few entries of the journal. Needless to say, they were nothing short of shocked. “This….This can’t be!” Air Slash said. He looked up at Greensprout, who had a mortified expression about her face. “Greensprout….I….”

Before Air Slash could speak any more, Greensprout rushed over to Quantum Tech and grabbed her shoulders. “Where are they!?” she hurriedly asked. “Please! Take me to them!” Tears began to well up from her eyes.

Quantum gently pushed her off of her. “Ok…..Ok, darling. We will.”

“Umm…..look, I know dis……kinda…..damn, y’all. I mean……dis joint ain’t exactly safe. Shouldn’t we bounce?” Turf War asked.

“No, Turf War. She deserves this much.” Fire Fight said.

Turf War nodded. “A’ight. Yeah, dat’s fair.” With the air around them heavier than it was before, Quantum Tech and Zebota led them to the university where they discovered the remains of the expedition along with Greensprout’s parents. Zebota had to leave Shrapnel outside since he was too big to fit, but he said that Shrapnel gave his condolences regardless.

They stood in front of the fateful door. Behind was the truth that Greensprout had longed, but…..“Darling, I have to warn you: It’s not pleasant in there. Are you absolutely sure that you’re ready?” Quantum asked her. Greensprout sniffled and nodded as Spiral hugged her. Quantum sighed. “Very well…” She opened the door to reveal the gruesome scene that she happened upon before. Everypony else save for Zebota gasped as they laid their eyes upon the atrocious sight; he only lowered his head.

Quantum and Zebota walked over to a deceased couple holding hooves as they laid frozen in their deceased posture. “Well…..here they are.” Zebota said.

Greensprout slowly walked over to them, still in disbelief. Were these really her parents? Is this how she truly came to be adopted so young by a kindly monk? She stood over the dead couple and gazed at them with tear-filled eyes as she began to lightly sob. “Mother?...<sob>....Father……?” She laid her hoof on her deceased father’s tattered jack, and something fell out of its pocket. Greensprout noticed it and picked it up to see that it was a small photo. When she looked at it, her delicate heart dropped like a rock. It showed the late married archaeologist and nurse lying down at each other’s side. They looked exhausted and slightly wounded from no doubt having to run away from the Fallen. Between them was something they both held wrapped in a cloth- it was a newborn foal with a beige coat, chocolate mane, and soft violet eyes. It was unmistakable….

The whole room fell into a deeper silence than it had ever been in. The answer to every mystery about Greensprout’s origins were all in this dreadful place, all captured on one fateful photo that the emotionally shaken little monk held in her hoof. Greensprout lowered her head down to the point where her face couldn’t be seen behind her fallen mane and slowly put the photo in her robe. The Battle Foals could clearly see her anguish. Spiral went over and gently hugged her. “I’m so sorry, Greensprout….”

“…<sob>…” Greensprout looked up at her with her flooded eyes and leaned into her. She sobbed a little more loudly for a few minutes in Spiral’s embrace. All of the other foals looked on in deep sorrow. Even Crazylocks seemed to express some form of sympathy having been separated from her own parents somehow. Zebota couldn’t help but be reminded of watching his own parents die; he knew the kind of agony that Greensprout was enduring right now, and it was something that he'd never wish on anyone. In a strange way, it almost made him wish that Shrapnel hadn’t come for him when he did….

Air Slash’s heart ached at seeing Greensprout in such pain. Despite not often seeing eye to eye with his father, he couldn’t imagine not having him there to help him grow into the mighty Bladerunner that he had become. He gently put his hoof on Greensprout’s shoulder, and she peeked up at him. “Greensprout…..stay strong…….okay?.......I’m……sure that’s what they would have hoped for…..”

Greensprout seemed to ease up a little at Air Slash’s words. Spiral silently smiled at him and gave a light approving nod. Greensprout broke off from Spiral and wiped her eyes. “…..Thank you….” She muttered. She took one last look at her rotting parents. “Rest in peace……..please…..” All of them held a quick moment of silence for the deceased couple; Shadow Shroud said a silent prayer of her own wishing for their peaceful slumber.

“Alright, well…..we should get going. It’s probably getting late outside, and I don’t want to keep Meadow waiting.” Fire Fight said.

“Yes, especially after all the kindness he’s shown us. Though, if any more of these…..<ahem> ‘Fallen’ are still lurking about, we should take care not to become fallen ourselves.” Shroud said. Greensprout seemed to narrow her eyes at the mention of them.

As they left the heavy room, Greensprout took one last glance at the parents she never knew. Thinking about the pain they must have endured made her want nothing more than to heal them…..but she couldn’t. The only time she’d ever be able to see their faces was one little photo she now had in her robe. The Battle Foals kept an eye on her as they exited the condemned university.

When they came out of the entrance, they found Shrapnel in a predatory stance growling viciously, and it was immediately clear why. Beyond them in the courtyard was a swarm of Fallen waiting for them. They kept their distance having learned just what a mighty force they were, especially Shrapnel. Despite such, they didn’t seem intent on letting them go quietly. “Ok, guys. It looks like we’ve got one last dance with these devils. Be careful, and fall back if things start to get hairy.” Fire Fight said as he ignited his gauntlets.

Air Slash drew his swords. “Understood. Greensprout, stay behind me and continue to heal us, okay?” When he looked at her, she had her head down and seemed to be breathing rather heavily. He grew concerned. “Greensprout?”

The other Battle Foals took notice. Greensprout clutched her Gaia Root more tightly as her breathing became heavier. The emerald adorning the root began glowing a darker, uglier shade of green as it charged with power. As it did, Greensprout raised her head and pointed her staff aggressively at the Fallen. The look on her face consisted of only two things: unbridled fury and pure hatred.

“DIE, YOU LOATHESOME MONSTERS!!!!!!”

Desecration

Greensprout’s sudden spell of aggression more than shocked the Battle Foals. The normally gentle and motherly filly blasted a bolt of the dark green energy from her Gaia Root at the horde of Fallen with the fury of a bloodthirsty demon. “RAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” It violently exploded on contact with a Fallen that it hit, sending it and surrounding comrades flying in all directions and crumbling to the ground in heaps.

Air Slash was especially stunned to see her so brutal. “GREENSPROUT!?!?”

A Fallen pegasus suddenly soared towards them. Kickback was about to shoot him, but Greensprout suddenly latched her healing beam onto the corrupted pegasus! Except, it seemed to be flowing from the pegasus to Greensprout. The pegasus fell to the ground as it suddenly experienced breathing troubles. Greensprout seemed to pull back as if she was fishing as she continued to channel the reverse healing beam. Much to the Battle Foals’ shock, the pegasus started to decay! Greensprout was draining the life out of him! “What in tarnation!?” Kickback exclaimed.

With the Fallen pegasus drained of his life energy and rotting on the ground, Greensprout used the drained vitality to power another attack, but this time, she launched it as a large wave of energy that was akin to Fire Fight’s fire discs. “BE CONDEMNED!!!!!” The wave of energy swept all over the horde of Fallen, blowing them back and knocking some of their own vitality from their bodies, which was then absorbed into the Gaia Root. It glowed brightly with its now ominous dark green, and Greensprout released it as a vital pulse that swept over the Battle Foals. They could feel themselves being considerably energized by the swell of power. She looked back at them. “WELL!? YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!! SLAUGHTER THESE PIGS!!”

Greensprout’s complete shift in personalities frightened the Battle Foals. They understood why she was so angry, but to see a filly like her suddenly turn into a vicious killer was a rattling prospect. “O-O-Ok….” Fire Fight said. He had to take a deep breath. “Get them while they’re down, guys!” he ordered.

With some hesitation looming over them, the Battle Foals joined the fight. Quantum Tech, Kickback, and Spiral Galaxy fired onto the front lines of the Fallen, allowing Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War, Air Slash, Crazylocks, and Zebota and Shrapnel to charge in and beat them down. Greensprout held her position in between the two groups to maintain their health and simultaneously assault the Fallen. Air Slash took one last worried glance back at her. “Greensprout….”

Turf War held his hammer out towards Fire Fight, and Fire Fight jumped right onto it. Turf War launched him into the air just before a small group of Fallen charged him. He bashed one back with his shield and followed through with a quick spin attack with the axe side of his hammer splitting into the rest of the Fallen in front of him. Before the one he shield-bashed could get up, he bashed its head in with his hammer. “WHAT HAPPENED? I BLINKED!” he taunted.

Fire Fight fell down from the air into a flaming axe kick that struck a Fallen right in the noggin. He used the subsequent explosion to launch himself into the air and launch a few fire discs down at them, searing the Fallen caught in their blazing wake. He repeated this process so as not to get surrounded by them. Beating them down in their weakened state almost made Fire Fight feel sorry for them, but knew that their defeat meant his survival.

Shadow Shroud and Air Slash found themselves about to be swarmed by a swarm of limping Fallen, and were quickly able to dispatch them. Shroud threw her concussive exploding darts to daze them and then leapt like lightning into their group, appearing and disappearing randomly as she struck them one by one, and returned to Air Slash, who finished the job by slicing the throats of the dazed Fallen with slashes and sword beams alike. “Almost too easy, huh?” Shadow Shroud said.

Air Slash sighed as he looked at the enraged Greensprout, who was beginning to more quickly drain the vitality of the Fallen and weaponize it. She launched vital bombs and waves anywhere she even saw the whites of their blinded eyes. “For the wrong reasons….” Air Slash muttered. Shadow Shroud put her hoof in his shoulder and as if to silently console him.

Zebota and Shrapnel coordinated with one another to dispatch a massive horde of the Fallen approaching. Having no spiritual power at his disposal, Zebota had to rely on brute force, which wasn’t a huge problem since Shrapnel could overpower them with relative ease. “SHRAPNEL, ATTACK THEM HEADLONG!! DISTRACT THEIR ATTENTION!!” he ordered. Shrapnel let out a howling roar as if to acknowledge his master; he leapt into the crowd of Fallen and landed with a resounding thud that sent some of them tumbling away. He immediately chomped down onto the first Fallen he could grab and thrashed it around in his mouth, killing it. From there, the swarm of Fallen tried to overrun the wooden titan, but Shrapnel was very much able to hold his own against his weakened foes. Zebota hung back and slung rocks and hurled his boomerang to disrupt the Fallen attacking Shrapnel. One Fallen mare tried to charge him, but was quickly met with his tomahawk to her forehead. “Foolish creatures!”

“NO! SHRAPNEL DOESN’T GIVE ANY AUTOGRAPHS!!” Crazylocks shouted. She flung herself into the fray of Fallen that Shrapnel was fighting off and began whacking away at them with her reinforced pigtails. She would sometimes use her horn to flail them around magically and fly into the air to push them into Zebota’s ammunition.

With some effort, the horde was eventually dispatched. Shrapnel grunted and nodded at Crazylocks. “YOU’RE WELCOME, UNCLE!” she said, which made the large canine tilt his head in confusion.

Zebota cocked his eyebrow. “Crazylocks, you are what my people might call: pumbavu.”

Meanwhile in the back lines, Kickback fired on every Fallen that tried to sneak up on him and the rest of the foals. Spiral Galaxy used her gravity magic to disrupt the Fallens’ formations and blasted them with nova bolts and meteors. Quantum Tech’s targeting systems were getting a lot of exercise as they guided the shots of her magic turrets and railguns; she cast up a force field in case of any more of the energy bolts. The weakened state of the Fallen made her not have to try very hard, and decided to relax. “<sigh> Engaging auto pilot….” She said as she kicked her hind legs up and began filing her fore hooves. Her targeting systems pretty much did the rest.

In the aftermath of the riot, only one Fallen remained, a filly that was slightly younger than they were. Fire Fight was slightly reminded of the CMC upon seeing her. Nevertheless, the infuriated Greensprout ran up to her. “YOU’RE MINE!!!” she bellowed. She ruthlessly channeled her draining beam onto the poor Fallen filly and sapped her of her life without mercy. The Battle Foals watched in horror as the corrupted filly screech in her kind of agony as Greensprout did this. Once the deed was done, the now rotted filly crumbled to the ground, and Greensprout fired the excess into a random direction just to vent it off. The emerald on her Gaia Root returned to its normal, beautiful green, but Greensprout held her head low in blatant shame and started crying.

Quantum got out of her mech so that she could join the other Battle Foals to comfort her. The carnage she left in the wake of her rampage surrounded her like personal demons taunting her in a nightmare. Spiral and Quantum wasted no time hugging her. “Are you alright now, Greensprout?” Spiral asked.

Air Slash could only look on as the apple of his eye was breaking down in tears. “<sob!>…..I can’t…<sob!>……”

“Can’t what, darling?” Quantum asked as they broke off of her.

Greensprout threw her Gaia Root away about ten feet away from her. “I can’t use it anymore!! <sob!!>”

Air Slash went and picked up the holy artifact and looked at Greensprout. “What do you mean? This practically belongs to you.” He said as he went over to her.

Greensprout firmly shook her head. “N-No! <sob> I’ve desecrated it with my rage….<sob>….I can’t look the abbot in the eye anymore!!”

“The hell you talkin’ ‘bout, homegirl? Dat yo’ s*** right d’here. Y’all can’t just-”

“Turf War!.....Please…..let us handle this.” Air Slash said.

Turf War sighed. “A’ight. Sorry I cursed.”

Air Slash looked back at Greensprout, who glanced up at him. “Air Slash…..is……this what it feels like?” she sobbed.

“What do you mean?” Air Slash asked.

“Is this…..what warriors feel like when they fight?” She wiped her tears and took a slightly aggressive deep breath. “Because if so, then I hate it!” she shouted. “Do you enjoy making your enemies suffer under the force of your rage!? Is it a pleasing feeling to watch them die in agony!? DO YOU BECOME A MONSTER WHEN YOU DRAW YOUR ARMS!?!?” Air Slash wanted to back away from surprise, but her emotions were out of control, and he needed to help her. “I can’t believe I ever saw anything good in how you all view life! You made me defile Abbot Meadow’s teachings and turn the most sacred item in Gardenia into a weapon!! <sob!> YOU TRULY ARE ALL JUST BARBARIANS!!!!”

Air Slash thrust his hooves onto her shoulders. “Greensprout, calm down!” Greensprout just broke down and let herself fall to her hooves with Air Slash still holding her. He lay down with her and pulled her into a hug, letting her cry the rest of her stress out. Once she calmed down for a moment, he let up a little bit. “Greensprout……no…..this isn’t what it’s like. You’re wrong.” Greensprout slowly looked up at him and into his strong emerald eyes. “I will concede that open conflict is something that ponies like Fire Fight and I find joyful, but that does not mean that we are not discreet about it. Every time we raise our weapons at a foe, every time they fall to our might…..there is a hint of sorrow in our cheers of victory, and…..sometimes even outright regret altogether.” He looked around and saw the other Battle Foals solemnly nod or lower their heads; they certainly remembered the rougher parts of their journey. “Yes, it’s a shame that this world can’t be as forgiving as we’d like to think, and I commend your efforts to spread joy to those around you, but……my comrades and I can attest to there being a very real darkness that we can never expel, only accept.” Greensprout seemed to listen more intently and wiped away the last of her tears. “However, that’s not to say that we simply allow that darkness to simply overcome us, but rather we raise our weapons to face it. A warrior without honor or dignity is truly what becomes a monster, because they allow that darkness to seep into their vulnerable souls, but experiencing it for the first time is what allows us to learn how to find that balance.”

“Take me for example.” Spiral said. “I used to be so afraid of my powers that I’d let them go out of control and wreck everything, but now that I’m starting to control them better, I feel stronger than I’ve ever felt. I want to use that to help all of the lost foals we rescue.”

“Also consider Zebota and Shrapnel.” Quantum Tech said. “The two could not be more different creatures, and yet there they are- at one with one another.”

Zebota and Shrapnel walked up to her. “It is true that nothing is ever inherently good or evil. As living creatures, it is our role to uphold this balance if we are to uphold the lives we are blessed with. All things that live within nature follow by this one and only law that she has set.” He said. Shrapnel grunted in agreement.

Fire Fight followed suit. “Greensprout…..Every single foal standing here right now has felt or seen some kind of agony, myself included, but it’s because of that agony that I was driven to travel Equestria and bring all of them together. Why? Because we want to see a change that we likely won’t see back home. We’re not just letting our grievances dictate our lives; we’re acting on our feelings and doing something about.” Greensprout began to raise her head back up as she listened to them all. “So don’t be ashamed to feel angry because of how much pain you must be in. It’s only natural, and I’m sure Abbot Meadow knows that too. So be like us. Don’t let your pain control you.”

“But rather….let it teach you.” Air Slash said with a soft smile as he handed her back her precious Gaia Root.

Greensprout briefly hesitated, but let their words sink in. She creased a little smile and took back her treasured artifact. “Thank you…..all of you….”

“Of course, Greensprout. I-…..I wouldn’t…..want you to lose that kind and sweet nature of yours.” He could barely keep a straight face upon saying that.

Greensprout lightly giggled. “Thank you, Air Slash. Likewise, I would not want you to lose your will as a warrior lest your blades begin to dull.” She said. She then gently pulled him in for a hug, and the normally emotionally stiff samurai blushed brighter than he thought possible.

“U-U-Uh….U-Umm….” Air Slash tried to find words, but just smiled and ultimately decided to just return the gesture. Spiral and Quantum shared a giggle as they watched the two while the others just nodded at each other, silently congratulating themselves on another successful mission.

The two broke off, and then Turf War suddenly threw each of his hooves around them. “HOO, LORD! Man! D’here ain’t no way I’m a fo’get dis one. Homegirl out here be like ‘Y’all smoked my parents!? Heh! Y’all know y’all messed up!’ and just let loose wit hers! Them Fallen was all like ‘Oh, snap! We messed wit da wrong one, y’all!’ and we just laid into ‘em like we was a train runnin’ ‘em down! Hey, I’m sayin’ d’ho. We didn’t stop ‘til d’hey was…..fallen. HEH! WHAT!?” He jumped off of the two.

Greensprout laughed heartily as Air Slash just smiled and shook his head. “Tch. Nice, Turf War.” Fire Fight said. “Hey Quantum, do you think you can figure anything out about this weird resin?”

“Oh! Yes, of course! Thank you for reminding me. I suppose I should gather a sample or two…” Once Quantum gathered sufficient samples of the glowing resin, the foals wasted no more time exiting the hidden world they’d uncovered. Despite having sustained her own scars, Greensprout’s new friends were there to return the favor and heal her.

Original Shadow

Back in Ponyville…

“And still nothing?” Twilight asked Rainbow Dash, who was hovering in front of her. The two were outside of Twilight’s castle.

“Sorry, Twi. If Fire Fight really was around there, he left pretty quickly. No sign of that weird timberwolf either.” Rainbow said. “I’m starting to think that Zecora was just imagining that ‘figure’ she saw, ‘cause we haven’t any trace of something weird there.”

“Rainbow Dash, Zecora is very attuned with the Everfree forest. I’m confident that she didn’t just see things.” Twilight said.

“Well, maybe it was nothing! Might’ve just been some kind of animal in the forest that even she’s never seen before. What does it even have to do with Fire Fight?” Rainbow argued.

Twilight sighed. “I guess you’re right about that, if something is happening here in our home, then we need to address that as well.”

“Let Zecora handle it. She knows that forest better than any of us anyway, and if she needs help, we’ll give her a minute or two. We’ll focus on finding Fire Fight.” Rainbow said.

“Hmm….Yeah, we really should. The Royal Sisters will be here shortly to discuss things with me about that anyway. Did Zecora happen to say anything of note?” Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Not really, but I guess she mentioned something about controlling monsters or whatever. Bunch of Zebra mumbo jumbo.” Rainbow started her way towards the forest. “Well, I promised her I’d help her search the old castle. Have fun with the Princesses!” she said as she flew off.

Twilight waved back. “Bye, Rainbow Dash!” As the cyan pegasus disappeared into the horizon, Twilight thought back to the topic that she and the Princesses were really going to discuss: the Shadewalkers. She had Spike help Fluttershy care for her animals so as to protect him from any sensitive information that might come up….which was likely inevitable. Could they actually be real? If so, then could Fire Fight really be with one? Why would they take interest in him? And most importantly, were he and those other foals in danger? It wouldn’t be long before she had an answer, for the Royal Sisters’ carriage descended onto her front yard mere moments after Rainbow Dash left.

The two regal mares stepped off of their golden chariot and greeted Twilight with a bow, to which Twilight reciprocated. “Good afternoon, Twilight. I trust you are well?” Luna said.

“Apart from the whole Fire Fight problem, I’m as well as I’ll ever be.” Twilight said. “Oh! Did Princess Celestia tell you about that?”

Luna solemnly nodded. “She has. It’s…..truly a pity.” Her thoughts went to the foals she swore to watch over.

Celestia nodded. “Indeed. Wherever they are, we pray that they are safe and sound. To think that they are in so much pain that they’d run away from home…..” She sighed. “Well, we have much to discuss. Let us go inside. It’s getting rather chilly out here.” They nodded in agreement and entered Ponyville’s castle.

*****

The Princesses joined one another in Twilight’s meeting room. The air quickly became slightly heavy knowing what the topic at hoof was. Twilight hoped that the answers she’d receive would put her at some ease, but she was prepared for the worst should it come. “So….did you get results back from the lab in Baltimare about that dagger?” she asked.

“We did, and as expected, it was a near perfect match.” Celestia answered.

“Obviously, it was not the exact same dagger used to slay Professor Gene Splice, but one identical to it was determined to have done the deed.” Luna said. Knowing deep down what all really happened made this difficult for her.

“A-And it was a Shadewalker dagger?” Twilight asked.

Luna sighed. “It resembles no known style of weaponry across any age or land, so….perhaps.”

“The Bladerunners use no such arsenal, and some of them claim to have directly battled with Shadewalkers over the ages.” Celestia said.

“You formed the Bladerunners shortly after Nightmare Moon was banished, right?” Twilight inquired.

Celestia nodded. “I did. I wanted to create a force of fierce warriors that would surpass even the highest ranking members of our military, and thus I selected a good few of said soldiers to rigorously train and begin teaching themselves and each other as they explored swordplay further. Many more were taken under their wings, and a clan family of swordponies was born. They were meant to be a final resort should even the Elements of Harmony fail.”

“So who are the Shadewalkers, and why do they and the Bladerunners hate each other so much?” Twilight asked.

A glint of sorrow twinkled in the eyes of the solar sovereign. “It was not long after the Bladerunners had truly begun to forge their own identity. Many of them humbly relished their new positions and swore undying fealty to their code. Day in and day out, they would practice and forge their techniques with great joy in their hearts, remaining ready for any other evils that may threaten our realm. However…..there was one amongst them that was….unsatisfied.” she explained.

“Unsatisfied?” Twilight inquired.

“The way of the blade that the Bladerunners formed and adhered to was formatted so that its warriors would prioritize protecting the innocent over felling their foe, which was widely accepted amongst the clan and citizens alike, myself included, but then there was New Moon.” Celestia said.

“New Moon?” Twilight inquired.

“New Moon was a rather….troubled stallion amongst the Bladerunners and particularly vicious with his sword. Not only that, but he would sometimes resort to questionable tactics and strategies to fell his foes.” Celestia explained.

“Such as?”

“I remember one instance where a group of about four or five rogue marauding griffons tried to raid upon an old crystal mine just outside of the castle town. New Moon was the only one who could to their aid quickly, but he pulled no punches when combatting the attackers. Reports said that he used a small series of strange tools that he had apparently crafted himself apart from his blade, such as a grappling chain to pull the griffons down from the air, smoke bombs that blinded his foes so that he may attack them while helpless, and a series of daggers that he threw from a distance.” Celestia explained. That last tool made Twilight gasp. “The miners witnessed him break the griffons’ wings and knock their weapons from their talons and use them against them; one of the miners even said that he grabbed a spear of them had dropped, hurled it towards another griffon that airborne and it pierced through their shoulder. He then pulled him down with his hook and slashed his eye out. As the griffons retreated, he cried out to them, ordering them to ‘go back to their coops’.”

Twilight just sat there trying to process what she was just told. A pony exhibiting such horrific brutality was unbelievable! It was difficult to imagine that this ‘New Moon’ was ever allowed to be a swordspony dedicated to serving the crown. “Is….that really true!?”

Celestia solemnly nodded. “I’m afraid it is, but that was just one such example. Listing all of his grievances would take all day. Whenever he was confronted about his actions, he expressed a strong desire to protect Equestria and disdained the ‘passivism’ that was put forth by his clan members, saying that it held them back from truly protecting anything. As to where he crafted his tools, I can’t say. Much about him was a mystery.”

“I was not there when it happened, but the day finally came that New Moon had finally gone too far.” Luna said.

Celestia glanced at her sister and sighed. “It’s a day that haunts my memories even to this day…”

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

Celestia took a moment to remember and closed her eyes, picturing the dark day in history that has never been spoken of again….until now. “Canterlot and much more of Central Equestria had become plagued by dark, shadowy creatures marauding the lands and creating chaos where they went. I, the Bladerunners and a good chunk of the royal guards fought them with all of our strength, New Moon notwithstanding. It was finally discovered that a mad wizard hidden deep beneath Canterlot within the crystal caves where you once found Princess Cadence was summoning these abominations directly from Tarturus, seeking nothing more than panic and chaos for him to enjoy. Fighting him was no easy task for us, but we eventually weakened him to the point of victory, but even in his vulnerable state, his madness kept him from surrendering. New Moon was amongst us and….he called us all fools for even presenting the prospect of simply imprisoning him….”

Twilight gasped. “You don’t mean…”

Celestia nodded. “Yes…..New Moon executed him right then and there.” Twilight put her hoof over her mouth upon her teacher uttering those words. “We sought to catch him on the spot and make him answer for his crimes, but he seemed to have an affinity for the shadows and escaped. Not only that, but there were other Bladerunners who came to his defense, saying that they saw new light in what New Moon could teach them and disappeared with him, never to be seen or heard from again….”

Twilight sat there in complete disbelief. Hearing such a dark secret in Equestria’s history made the new princess quiver somewhat, but everything was pretty much made clear. “So….the Shadewalkers used to be Bladerunners…..that just defected? They’re actually real!?”

“They were indeed very real back in that age, but they remained in complete silence, so we never knew whether they truly survived or not. Although, current events suggest that they still lurk about. Who knows what their intentions are….” Luna said.

Twilight felt her heart starting to race. “I-I-Is Fire Fight in danger!?”

“I’m unsure, but if the current Shadewalkers are anything like their original master, then it’s safe to assume that they will go to great lengths to achieve their goals. Whatever goals they may have that involves Fire Fight and all of those foals is beyond what I can speculate about.” Celestia said.

“Indeed.” Luna added. She suddenly thought about Fire Fight and the Battle Foals. Despite Shadow Shroud aiding them greatly, seeing into her heart proved difficult. The hardened will of the shadowy filly blocked even the lunar princess’s insight, but what she was able to feel was something soft and gentle hidden under her sharp cloak and dagger. Luna knew that the Battle Foals had an important mission to complete, and it pained her that she had to completely reserve herself regarding them from even her own sister. The only comfort she could receive was knowing that they were alright.

“Is something the matter, sister?” Celestia asked.

“N-No….Tia. I simply worry for those foals. It’s a wonder that they’ve travelled so far despite facing so many perils….” Luna said. Her words had more weight than the other princesses could feel.

“So is everypony, Princess Luna. It looks like we’ll have to intensify our search. I’ll talk with our local schoolteacher about it.” Twilight said.

Celestia nodded. “Good. My sister and I shall do our part as well.

“One more thing.” Luna said. “This may sound ludicrous, but….try not to worry too much. Despite his rather dark disposition, New Moon only ever had good intentions, and I don’t doubt that he would pass that onto his students, so perhaps Fire Fight and the others aren’t in quite as much danger as we fear. A closed mind is the first step to any unintended conflict.”

Celestia and Twilight were slightly taken aback by her comment, but they couldn’t deny the truth behind it. “I…suppose so, but our conversation must never leave this room, understood?”

Twilight firmly nodded. “Understood. Thank you both.” With that, the Royal Sisters bid their farewells to Twilight, and boarded their carriage to head home. As they disappeared into the horizon, Twilight began to feel sick with worry. Was that filly that Rarity encountered really a Shadewalker? Could her friend have been killed that day? What would Fire Fight be doing with such a dangerous pony? What would she have to tell his mother? What all was going to happen?

Change of Plans

“I don’t get it! What’re we missing!?” Scootaloo said. She along with the rest of the CMC were meeting at their clubhouse with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in company. “Every time we go somewhere where a foal ran away, all we get are ponies saying that they saw Fire Fight or that mystery filly that he’s with.”

“Probably because we’re trying to catch him just as he’s leaving.” Diamond Tiara said. “We need some way to figure out where he’s going next and catch him there.”

“Well then, let’s think. What have all the places we’ve gone to had in common?” Button Mash said. “One thing I noticed was that Dodge City was just down the river from where we found that burned down florastrad, and if you remember, that’s where that Bladerunner colt disappeared from followed by that Kickback guy, meaning that he’s taking a discernable path.”

“Yeah, but then he made it to Canterlot next. Why didn’t he go to Appleoosa from there? It was just across the desert, and Ah doubt that he’d have an awfully hard time considering how hardy he is. Not to mention that this Kickback feller has lived in the desert his whole life.” Applebloom said.

“But what about the other foals that we think are with him? They’re probably not as heat-tolerant.” Sweetie Belle said.

“I think we should think more about how he got to Canterlot from Dodge City first.” Silver Spoon said. “They’ve snuck onto at least one train before, so maybe they got onto one and got to Canterlot from there?”

“There ain’t a direct train from Dodge City to Canterlot though.” Applebloom said.

“Hmm…..but there is one in Fillydelphia, maybe Baltimare too. Those towns are just down the river from Dodge City, so maybe he went there, couldn’t find any foals that wanted to run away in either city and left for Canterlot.” Button Mash said.

“That’s not too crazy to think, Mash.” Scootaloo said. “But then that’s where the trail goes cold….”

“Yeah. He could’ve gone anywhere in Equestria from Canterlot…” Silver Spoon said. “And just who is this filly that nopony seems to know?” her tone turned a little sharp.

“Rarity still hasn’t told me anything about her other than what happened on the train. I’ve tried asking her, but it’s the same thing all over again. I think she’s keeping something from me….” Sweetie Belle said.

“That just makes me more worried. Fire Fight could be in a lot of trouble, and nopony’s telling us about it!” Silver Spoon said.

“We better talk to Twilight and Ms. Cheerilee. I think it’s time we came up with a new plan. Just trying to track him down like this obviously isn’t working.” Diamond Tiara said.

“Well, what are we supposed to do? Go to a random town and hope that he shows up? Because, if he sees the whole class in one town looking for him, he’ll just sneak away.” Sweetie Belle argued.

“Who said it had to be all of us?” Diamond said. “If we spread out in subtler numbers, we’ll be able to cover a wider area all at once.”

“Yeah! Plus, we might be able to map out his route based on where we know he’s been.” Button Mash said. “Since we’ve determined that he’s been to a lot of places to the east, I say we focus on the western parts of Equestria.”

“Great idea! Let’s go talk to Ms. Cheerilee right now! She’s probably still at the schoolhouse.” Scootaloo said. She got and ran to the door. “Come on, crusaders!”

*****

As the crusaders and company trotted through Ponyville towards their school, thoughts of finally finding their fiery friends frolicked around in their minds. His mother would no doubt shove them out of the way before they could even reach him, but they’d definitely have a huge welcome home party thrown for home, especially considering what all he must have been through. Button thought about having him over for a game night and playing co-op in Mareio Bros. The CMC thought about seeing his full initiation into their club through. Silver Spoon thought giddily about going on a date with her blazing red crush, and Diamond said that she’d help her decide what to wear and everything.

But of course, there was the issue of him possibly not wanting to come home; he didn’t feel like he belonged because of his talent. That would certainly be a job for the CMC, but that made them think… “Guys, do you think that maybe we should help all of those other foals he’s taken too? I mean….if he thought they needed help to the point that he’d encourage them to run away, then….” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah….Yeah, you’re right. We heard about the problems they all had, and it really sounds like they don’t understand themselves very well.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Ah just hope Fire Fight’s been able to do what he could for ‘em. If their still with him, then Ah reckon he must be.” Applebloom said.

“Yeah, but let’s worry about that when we finally find them.” Button said. They all nodded in affirmation while Sweetie Belle gave Button a quick peck on the cheek.

*****

The foals finally reached their schoolhouse, eager to chat with their teacher about possibly changing their course of action. When they reached the door, they opened it to find Ms. Cheerilee chatting with Twilight and Fire Fight’s mother. The two parties looked at one another surprised. “Oh, hello!” Cheerilee said.

“Oh! Uh….sorry. Are we interrupting something?” Scootaloo asked.

“Not really. We were just discussing how we should be looking for Fire Fight.” Ms. Fight explained.

“Funny you should say that!” Diamond Tiara said. They explained the idea they had concocted in the clubhouse to the adults, and it turned out that they had the same plan minus Button’s insight on predicting Fire Fight’s path based on where he’s been.

“I suppose it’s true that looking to the east would be a little misguided, so we’ll head out west, but we’ll have to decide who will go with who and where first.” Twilight said. “Though, I think it would be silly not to have you six as a group.”

“Woohoo!” Button exclaimed.

“But it would have to mean involving more of your parents since we can’t just send you foals out into strange lands alone.” Cheerilee said.

Button lost some of his spirit upon hearing that. “Oh….right….”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve pretty much forgiven all of them save for you-know-who up to this point, and they really want to help find Fire Fight too. I think it’s time you all put your trust back into them. Think so?” Ms. Fight said.

“Meh. I guess you’re right.” Scootaloo said.

“It might take a day or two to plan everything out, but once all is said and done, I’ll make the necessary arrangements, ok?” Twilight said.

The foals nodded. “Ok, great!” Sweetie Belle said. “Say, Twilight? Has Rarity told you anything about this whole ‘mystery filly’ that seems to keep going around, ‘cause she won’t tell me anything?”

Twilight felt her heart skip a beat upon Sweetie asking that. How was she supposed to explain around a hidden clan of dangerous ponies that might want something to do with Fire Fight and not for the better? Having his mother in the room made it even tougher. Any hint of her son being in mortal danger would undoubtedly send her into shock from sheer panic and worry, and she had a promise to keep to the Royal Sisters anyway. “U-Uh….No, actually now that you mention it. I wonder why?”

Ms. Fight could tell that something felt a little off. Maybe it was Sweetie Belle suddenly bringing up the topic that surprised Twilight, but something about her seemed a little weary. “Is everything ok, Twilight?”

Twilight glanced at her and quickly mustered a response. “Y-Yes. I’ve just been wondering about who this filly could be. We’ve haven't heard about any grey fillies in an orange dress running away, so it’s kind of a side mystery.”

“We’ll ask Fire Fight once we find him, ok?” Cheerilee said. Ms. Fight nodded. “Ok, foals. We should have your group assignments by tomorrow or the next day. Be ready!”

“With pleasure!” Silver Spoon cheered. Diamond giggled.

Just as everypony was about to leave, they heard a knock on the door. “Princess Twilight Sparkle?” It was a familiar voice.

Twilight was a little surprised. “Come in!” Upon her saying that, the door open, and none other than Air Slash’s father walked in! Everypony was a little shocked. “Master Knight Soul!? What are you doing here?”

Knight Soul bowed to Twilight. “Forgive me for not sending you word of my arrival, milady. I wanted……to see you all right away.” He sighed. “I see that you’ve made little progress in locating my son and this 'Fire Fight' of yours.”

“No progress at all, really.” Applebloom said.

Ms. Fight’s face was stern. “Why do you ask? I thought you didn’t want your son back.” She said coldly.

Knight Soul took a deep breath. “There….may be more truth to those words than even I realize. Perhaps I did not seek my son, but rather my status as his father. His…..unique approach to how we wield our blades was always off-putting to those that knew him, myself and my wife included. But our confrontation….humbled me, and I thought long and hard about how I tried to raise him with the way he is.”

“And what have you come to?” Twilight asked.

Knight Soul drew his sword and held it over his heart. “You’ve helped me realize that I never tried to understand him, and as such, I’ve decided that I want to find my son, and…..have a talk with him. I want to know just what it is that drives him and why. Why does he choose to wield his blades with such aggression? What is his philosophy? What is he trying to bring to our great clan?”

Ms. Fight lost all of her tension upon hearing his genuine guilt and desire to help his son in his tone. “You mean that?” she asked softly.

Knight Soul nodded. “I do, if you would have me.” He said as he bowed his head.

“Of course, Master Knight Soul. No real parent would want to abandon their foals.” Twilight said.

“You sure said it!” Ms. Fight commented.

“This’ll be awesome!” Button said. “Hey, once we find Fire Fight and your son, ya think you could teach me how to use a sword like that?”

Knight Soul gave him a stern, but amused look. “Do you enjoy risking slicing your own head off, boy?” he jokingly inquired.

Button turned completely pale upon hearing that, and his face was one of somepony being held at gunpoint. “Umm….N-No!”

“Then might I suggest you not be so brazen.” Knight Soul said. He chuckled heartily. With a new ally willing to accept his loss to his own pride and a thoroughly traumatized Button Mash, the search party of Ponyville eagerly awaited to set out to find their friend.

Respite in Gardenia

Within Ghastly Gorge…

The Battle Foals and Greensprout had finally emerged from the cave from behind the waterfall. The walk out was a little difficult given the earlier events, especially for Greensprout. Despite the consolation she received, the thought of finally discovering her origins under such dark circumstances weighed on her heart, and the foals could tell. Air Slash walked beside her, checking on her from time to time as they made their way out of the cave. Quantum kept the journal for them along with the resin samples.

“Wow. It’s getting late.” Fire Fight said, noticing that the sun was just about ready to set.

“We were down there for quite a long time, Fire Fight.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Yeah, but I just hope Meadow and all those monks aren’t too worried.” Fire Fight said.

“D’hen why da hell we just chattin’ he’e? Let’s go, y’all!” Turf War said. Shrapnel let the foals climb onto his back and jumped them to the other side of the river while Spiral Galaxy and Fire Fight helped Quantum Tech magically levitate her mech over there before continuing.

Quantum suddenly thought of something. “Kickback, I little surprised that you didn’t try to use one of those energy blasters in place of your guns.”

“Ah actually did try, Ms. Quantum Tech, but Ah couldn’t get the cotton-pickin’ thing to work. Try as Ah might’ve, the li’l varmint just wouldn’t say anything. Shy feller, that one.” Kickback said.

“Hmm….interesting.” Quantum said. “The Fallen that were carrying them were few and far between and garbed more glamorously than the rest. I wonder if…..perhaps they were some form of soldier or otherwise official that the blasters were each assigned to? Probably locked to their users somehow if that’s case.”

“Ah’m not too worried about that. Sound n’ Fury are the only guns Ah’ll ever need.” Kickback said.

Quantum giggled. “Of course they are, you brave, handsome knight.” She cooed. Kickback sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. When he looked away, Quantum quietly blew him a kiss.

“Greensprout, I hope you wouldn’t mind allowing me to examine your Gaia Root once we reach Gardenia.” Quantum said.

Greensprout slowly turned her head to Quantum. She smiled, but today’s events had taken their toll on her. “Of course not…” Quantum frowned at her with worry.

“You had a rough day today, Greensprout. Rest when we return.” Air Slash said.

Greensprout looked at him with a slightly stronger smile. “Thank you…” Air Slash could only give her an encouraging smile as he remained at her side. He knew that she was no warrior like he was, so he had to keep his pride on a leash when speaking to her, especially now.

Air Slash felt a little nudge on his shoulder. He looked over to see Spiral Galaxy nod and wink at him. “You’re doing good!” she quietly mouthed. Air Slash blushed a little upon reading her lips.

*****

The foals at last returned to Gardenia, and the sun had just about set. The golden rays of dying light coated the humble abbey in a dull shimmer. Kickback, Quantum Tech and Zebota found themselves pleased at what a peaceful-looking place this was. “Abbot Meadow?” Greensprout called out. “We’re home!” Strangely enough, nopony seemed to be outside. Sure it was evening, but it not quite that late. “Huh…The builders don’t normally stop this early.”

Shrapnel briefly sat down to scratch an itch, and Zebota immediately saw what was wrong. “Do not worry, my fair ponyfolk! Shrapnel is a tame beast!” he called out. A couple minutes passed accompanied by silence, but was broken when the good abbot slowly walked out of his abode and began carefully approaching the foals, keeping his eyes in the wooden titan.

“Don’t worry, abbot. Shrapnel is a gentle creature. Zebota is his master.”

Shrapnel loudly grunted as if to greet the elderly stallion. “He says ‘I come in peace, little horse’.” Crazylocks blurted. Shrapnel then yawned.

Seeing that he was not an immediate threat, the abbot eased up. “I-I see. Forgive me. I don’t believe you mentioned anything about a timberwolf.”

“Yeah….our bad, mah boy.” Turf War said.

The abbot cleared his throat. “Come out from your hiding spots, my friends. We are in no danger.” He called out. A brief moment after he did, the rest of the monks walked out of their house, calmly eyeing Shrapnel. Some were still shaking a bit, but decided to trust their abbot. Shrapnel lowered his head down to Meadow and gently nuzzled him. Meadow chuckled. “What a fine specimen you are.” He said as he stroked Shrapnel’s jaw. This put the rest of the abbey at ease, and they went to greet the foals. “Goodness! Where have you all been? We were getting worried!”

Greensprout held her head down. “We’re sorry, abbot. We went through a lot more than we’d anticipated…”

“Yes….especially her.” Air Slash said.

“What do you mean?” Meadow asked. Fire Fight explained the whole ordeal that occurred with the Fallen and the lost underground city, and finished by telling him about how they found her parents, leaving out the detail of her little rampage. Needless to say, Meadow was nothing short of shocked. “YOU FOUND YOUR PARENTS!?” he exclaimed. He then cleared his throat. “Forgive my outburst, Greensprout, but…..truly!?”

Greensprout sighed heavily as Quantum exited her mech suit and walked up to Meadow. She handed him the journal. “I believe this will explain just about everything.”

Meadow took the journal from Quantum and skimmed through it. When he got to the last few pages, he felt his aging heart sink. “Greensprout…..I’m so sorry, child.” He pulled her in to hug her. Greensprout lightly sobbed as her adopted grandfather embraced her. The surrounding monks gave their condolences as well.

“<sob>…Abbot……I…..I’m sorry too….” Greensprout said. She broke off and looked into his eyes with guilty sorrow in hers. “I…..weaponized the Gaia Root…..”

Upon hearing this, Air Slash immediately stepped in. “She did nothing wrong!” he declared. Greensprout looked up at him surprised.

“Now, now.” Meadow said as he waved his hoof at Air Slash. He then looked at Greensprout. “What do you mean you ‘weaponized’ it?” he asked her calmly.

Before Greensprout could say anything, Air Slash firmly but gently touched her shoulder. “I’ll explain.” He said. Greensprout eyed him for a brief moment in surprise, but nodded. Air Slash explained to Meadow how they found Greensprout’s deceased parents and let her see them. He then got to the part where they encountered the last horde of Fallen, but spoke highly of her on her rampage despite how dark things got. “Her emotions ran high, and she acted on them. It is not unreasonable why they would given the circumstances. If anypony is truly at fault, it’s us. We subjected her to something that we probably shouldn’t have, but she deserved to know the truth. She should not feel any guilt.”

Greensprout held her hoof over her heart as she gazed at her sword-wielding friend. “Air Slash….” She muttered.

Abbot Meadow’s calm, elderly eyes gazed upon the young samurai and Greensprout. Much to their surprise, he creased a gentle smile. “None of you are truly at fault.” He said. “It could not have been helped. Emotions are merely a natural part of us all.” He gently put his hoof on Greensprout’s shoulder. “But you mustn’t let them overtake your common sense.”

Greensprout sighed. “Yes, abbot…” she muttered. “Though, I have learned to let this pain be an experience rather than a scar.” Her tone became a little more confident.

Meadow chuckled. “Indeed. Experience is how we truly grow as living things.” He then looked at her mystical staff curiously. “Though, it surprises me that the Gaia Root could be manipulated in such a manner.”

“I plan to discern whatever secrets it holds from us. Greensprout has given me her permission, but would you kindly allow me to observe this artifact more closely for the sake of research?” Quantum Tech asked.

“So long as you promise not to take it apart, I see no harm. Your friends have told me that you’re quite the intelligent one if your machine there is of any indication.” Meadow replied.

“Oh, pfft! You’re all too kind. But worry not. I need only examine it with a few instruments. I wouldn’t dare damage such an incredible item.” Quantum said.

“I will help you.” Zebota said. “I sense that this Gaia Root is rich with natural energy, but it seems that I must commune with it in order to understand it.”

“I’d very much appreciate that, Zebota. I’m quite curious to hear what you’d have to say.” Quantum said.

“What ‘bout dat resin, homegirl?” Turf War asked.

“Not to worry. I have some analytical tests being ran on the samples I’ve gathered as we speak. I should have some desirably accurate result by morning.” Quantum said. “Oh! This will give me a chance to more closely observe how Zebota connects with these ‘spirits’ of his!”

“Pfft! Quantum Tech, you just want to study everything, don’t you?” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Well, I don’t see the problem with that, darling.” Quantum sassed.

“Just don’t y’all be startin’ to study us too closely. Hehe!” Turf War sneered.

Quantum quickly turned to and glared at him. “TURF WAR!” she exclaimed.

Turf War threw his hooves up. “Dang, my bad! Just sayin’!”

“<Ahem!> Anyway….Speaking of morning, would you let us stay the night before we set out in the morning?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Meadow chuckled. “Of course we will. You all have been through a great deal and should get some rest. We’re about to prepare dinner, and I’m sure you’re all starving after your unexpected adventure.”

“Absolutely! Do you need help in the kitchen? I’m a pretty good cook.” Fire Fight said.

“Fire Fight, you heard what he said. Let’s take a breather for once in our lives.” Shroud said.

“BREATHER FEVER! BREATHER FEVER! BREATHER FEVER! BREA-” Crazylocks was knocked out by Shadow Shroud before she woke everypony up before they even fell asleep.

“You especially…” Shroud growled.

Spiral sighed. “We better share a room with her.” she said. Shroud nodded.

“Yes. I suppose you could use the rooms we kept you in when you found you floating down the river.” Meadow said.

“Thank you, Abbot Meadow.” Fire Fight said. They all thanked him before retiring to their rooms. Shroud and Spiral shared a room with Crazylocks to make sure she didn’t randomly go berserk or anything, Kickback shared a room with Turf War, Fire Fight roomed with Air Slash and Zebota stayed outside with Shrapnel since he wouldn’t fit in any of the small abodes; the two went hunting so that Shrapnel could have a some fresh meat and managed to catch a couple deer for him to chow on before returning. Greensprout let Quantum stay in her room so that she could get to work on studying the Gaia Root before hitting the hay. Zebota came by when he got back from hunting.

The bell for dinner rang, and the foals gathered with the other monks to feast. Their meal was a stew consisting of fresh fruit, grilled mushrooms and wheat noodle, nothing too different than what they were used to Fire Fight cooking for them. However, they each were served what appeared to be some kind of tea. “What’s this ‘ere now?” Kickback inquired.

“Oh, that’s just some medicinal water I brewed from some of the vitablossoms and a little echinacea.” Greensprout explained. “I think you’ll like it. It’s very good for your immune system.”

“I imagine so with what a miracle worker a vitablossom can be.” Shroud said before taking a sip. “Hmm! A little bitter, but definitely satisfying.”

“Greensprout likes to experiment with the surrounding flora and make all kinds of herbal medicines for us. It has been a saving grace for us on a few occasions.” Meadow said.

“You’re an herbalist?” Quantum asked.

Greensprout nodded. “I suppose you could say that. I’d be happy to show you some notes I’ve taken later on if you’d like.”

“Absolutely! Although, I’d like to focus on the Gaia Root for now.” Quantum said. “And those resin tests should be done by the time we wake up tomorrow.”

“It is good to see another who is so respectful of nature.” Zebota said. Shrapnel grunted in agreement.

“Oh, yes. It must be fascinating being able to commune with Mother Nature herself.” Greensprout said.

“Aren’t you glad he’s not going crazy with it? I mean, he has a pet timberwolf for crying out loud.” Fire Fight said.

“He is not my pet, Fire Fight. He is my friend.” Zebota said. Shrapnel suddenly sniffing at the leftover stew curiously, and Zebota clutched his brooch as it began to glow. “Shrapnel, no! Get away from that!” Shrapnel’s eyes glowed as he lifted his head away from the food and yawned.

Turf War smirked. “Sure, dog.”

As they finished their meal and went back to their rooms, Greensprout pulled out the photo from her father’s journal and looked at it. Thinking about what they must have endured just for the sake of research and ultimately allowing her to live made her heart ache with both sorrow and gratitude alike, and seeing what the Battle Foals did for her down in those caverns made her realize just how much could be accomplished when you knew you had a purpose…

A Desire For Perfection

Morning dawned upon the humble abbey of Gardenia, waking the beauty of its lush flora as well as its residents. The Battle Foals got up a little later than the monks and Greensprout since they didn’t adhere to whatever schedule they must have set for themselves, but nopony seemed to mind. Fire Fight and Air Slash yawned and stretched as they awoke well-rested from their much-needed slumber. Their nasty spelunking from yesterday had taken its toll.

“Morning, Air Slash!” Fire Fight said. When he looked at him, the young samurai was just gazing solemnly at one of his swords. “I think I smell breakfast. We better hurry before it’s all gone.”

“Good morning…” he muttered.

“Something wrong?” Fire Fight asked.

“Oh….my blades are becoming dull. That’s all.” Air Slash answered. He barely glanced at Fire Fight when he said that.

Fire Fight creased a sympathetic smile when he realized what was really bothering him. “You’re gonna miss Greensprout, aren’t you?”

Air Slash sheathed his sword and sighed. “Shadow Shroud’s sharp senses have bled onto you, it seems.” He stood up and looked at Fire Fight. “I’ve sworn my allegiance to you, and I won’t go back on that…..but…..”

Fire Fight put his hoof on Air Slash’s shoulder. “You’ll see her again, dude. Once we find a place to call home, you can write to her or even visit her as much as you want! Just don’t forget about her.”

Air Slash’s spirits were raised a little from hearing his friend’s words. “Perish the thought.” He said with a smile. After gathering their bags and armaments, the two colts joined everypony else for breakfast, which consisted of toasted hay, fruit and Fire Fight’s favorite: mushroom omelettes! Shroud was happy to finally see him smile so happily in what felt like a near eternity. Shrapnel took a gulp of water from the river while Zebota hunted another deer for him before getting breakfast himself.

Zebota cut the deer up into bits that he put into a makeshift food bowl for his beast. Crazylocks had her plate next to Shrapnel, so that two ate side by side. Next to them was a table where the other Battle Foals shared their breakfast along with Greensprout and Meadow. “I trust you all slept well?” Meadow asked.

“Yes, sir. Ah was out like a light.” Kickback said.

“We all was, I bet.” Turf War said.

“I had to take Quantum Tech away from the Gaia Root, but we slept well after that.” Greensprout said. Quantum blushed.

Fire Fight smiled and rolled his eyes. “Quantum…” he said. “Oh! Did you get results back about that resin?”

Quantum nodded. “I did, and it’s rather…..disturbing. The resin has strange parasitic properties, and if it's consumed, it overtakes the host’s entire nervous system, even their very consciousness. However, the host’s aging is halted completely, and any nourishment they normally receive is replaced with more resin as more is consumed and self-reproduces within the host.” She explained.

Everypony was shocked. “You mean to say that…..those ponyfolk became the Fallen by…...eating that resin!?” Zebota asked.

“Gotta be why d’hey spit was glowin’.” Turf War said.

“Yeah, but why eat it? I thought they used it as a power source.” Spiral inquired.

“Well, if you remember, those ponies worshipped some mystical tree as a divine entity. It’s quite safe to assume that this would the tree that the resin was produced from. The resin itself also is highly conductive of a strange magical energy that gave a similar reading to the mystical bond between Zebota and Shrapnel, but it seemed to flow only in the resin itself, which makes me wonder if it was unique to the resin or perhaps the whole tree itself.” Quantum explained. “Seeing the many wonders of this substance definitely sparked the religion around the tree, perhaps even to the point that they’d eventually yearn to receive more direct blessings if you catch my drift.”

The foals and Meadow certainly did catch her drift, and it was a cold, unnerving drift indeed. “They began eating the resin as a form of rite!?” Meadow said.

“I can’t say anything conclusively, but based on what I’ve been able to gather, that is the theory I’ve come to.” Quantum Tech said. She then looked at Meadow. “Abbot, I must ask that you warn anypony that passes through to stay far away from that cave. We don’t know if any more of the Fallen are still around, and we certainly don’t need any more tragedies…” she said as she looked at Greensprout, who lightly sighed.

Meadow nodded. “I certainly will. Do you wish to keep the journal that Stone Century wrote?”

Quantum shook her head. “No, we’re quite done with it, but make sure that it does not tempt anypony to ignore your warnings.”

“Agreed. I will keep it safely guarded.” Meadow said. He then looked over at Greensprout. “I…trust that this will not bother you?”

Greensprout shook her head. “No, abbot. I have all the memento I need of them right here.” She pulled out the little photo from her robe.

Meadow smiled. “Ah, yes. That one picture hold far more words than many others do.”

“Hol’ up! I just thought o’ somethin’. You said dat resin is all like bondin’ an’ stuff, right? What if maybe dat tree controls things that eats its resin and was…..I don’t know, protectin’ itself o’ somethin’?” Turf War said.

“Like a colony of ants commanded by their queen?” Zebota asked.

Turf War shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I mean I know dat gotta sound crazy as-”

“That’s actually very insightful of you, Turf War.” Quantum blurted. “It would explain why they seemed to congregate around mass collections of the resin.”

“Hehe. See? Yo’ boy smart sometimes!” Turf War said.

Quantum smirked. “That in of itself is a scientific discovery.”

Everypony started laughing save for Turf War, who had a shocked expression about his face. “Man! Dat’s….” Turf War couldn’t say anything for the risk of cussing in a place like this, and it caused his face to distort with frustration.

“Yes, Turf War? Please go on.” Quantum teased. With his face still scrunched, Turf War just released a deep breath and eased up. Quantum giggled. “I’m kidding, Turf War. If brains were all that mattered, you’d be completely useless, and you’re anything but.”

Turf War just rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Mmhm.” Fire Fight gave him a pat on the back, and he regained his mood. “How ‘bout Greensprout’s li’l Gaia Root thing?”

“Such a fascinating item, that one.” Quantum said. “It seems to share some properties with the glowing resin, but with…..reversed polarities, if you will. Abbot Meadow, when and where was it found?”

“As far as I know, it’s always been in Gardenia, though I don’t how long. How it truly came to us is a mystery.” Meadow replied.

“Hmm…..We’ll get back to that. Anyway, the root itself generates a bio-friendly nature-based magic akin to what we’ve seen Zebota use, but the emerald adorning it seems to act as a sort of buffer that reverses the effects of this magic, preventing the root from growing any further.” Quantum explained.

“So it was built onto the root for a purpose?” Air Slash asked.

“It would seem so; the magic in the emerald was most definitely cast into it. However, it is also able to conduct the very energy it was designed to hold back, which…..unless its purpose to begin with was for the use of healing, I have no idea what it could have been meant for……unless…..” Quantum said.

“Unless what?” Spiral asked, but then she gasped when she realized something. “The Gaia Root could have come from the same tree that made that glowing resin!”

“And when the ancient ponies realized that it was dangerous, they tried to hold back its poison!” Air Slash said.

“If this tree was as grand as the Fallen believed it to be, then it’s not unreasonable to think that its roots extended even out here.” Shadow Shroud said. “Thus, what became known as the Gaia Root was originally designed to arrest the growth and vitality of a massive parasite.”

Quantum Tech nodded to them. “Exactly!”

Greensprout gasped. “Could…..Could that explain why it responds to me better than anypony else? I was born in what was once the heart of it all.”

“While that’s only speculation, it’s the only conclusion I can draw.” Quantum said.

“I believe it is as you say, Greensprout.” Zebota said. “I sense that your exposure to that place from birth has allowed you to become attuned to the natural flow within it and objects that come from there. The spirits that dance inside that jewel welcome you as their sister.”

“You truly think so, Zebota?” Greensprout asked. Shrapnel lowly grunted at her.

“He says ‘it is the same as my master and I’.” Crazylocks blurted. Her breakfast covered her muzzle like a pig that had been playing in mud. They all laughed.

“Oh! Speaking of using it, I should mention one more thing.” Quantum said. “As you all know, earth ponies transmit earth-receptive magic through their hooves, allowing them to grow crops and otherwise tend to flora and much of nature. The Gaia Root is receptive to this magic seeing as it is….well, a root, so only an earth pony may utilize its powers.”

“Hmm….That explains why Gentle Gust couldn’t get a spark from it. She’s one of our pegasi.” Meadow commented. As they finished their conversation, they also finished their meal. “Will you all be leaving soon?”

Fire Fight nodded. “Yeah, we should. There’re foals out there that can’t wait any longer.”

“You are strong in your conviction, Fire Fight. Never lose that.” Meadow said.

“We really can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for us, Abbot Meadow. I hope our paths cross again soon.” Shadow Shroud said.

Meadow chuckled. “Your well-being is our reward, child. It is what we all here strive for, but perhaps you won’t have to wait as long as you may believe.”

“What do you mean?” Spiral asked.

Greensprout got up and proudly held her Gaia Root. “I’ve decided that I want to come with you!” she declared. The Battle Foals nearly choked on their food from shock and gawked at her. “I spoke with the abbot last night after Quantum Tech finally fell asleep. My experience with you all yesterday cast a new light onto me that I had never seen before that I wish to explore further, and I feel that aiding you in your quest will take me on that path.”

“Wh-What!? Greensprout….are you sure? This isn’t going to be some stroll in the park, you know.” Fire Fight said.

“I’m shocked you’re even ok with this, abbot.” Shroud said.

Meadow sighed. “It was not an easy conversation, but there is much truth in what she says. Fire Fight, the actions that you and your friends took yesterday served as a mighty structure upholding the words you spoke to us. There is a side of the light of this world that you understand, but we do not. I wish I could explore with you, but my place is here in Gardenia.” He then looked at Greensprout. “While our methods do not agree, we share the same goal: to forge an age of peace for all of Equestria, and I hope that whatever Greensprout will learn from you will help build a bridge between our sides of this coin.”

While the offer was sudden, Greensprout’s presence was definitely welcome. Her ability to restore and buff their vitals was helpful enough already, but her expertise with herbs and plants coupled with skills as a gardener would be a blessing and a half for the utopia that they would eventually build. Not only that, but Air Slash’s heart was fluttering. “I have no objections whatsoever!” he declared with a big smile on his face. Greensprout giggled along with the other fillies.

“Good to know, Air Slash!” Spiral teased.

Air Slash cleared his throat. “Y-Yes, well…..A-As such, this is but a formality, but I must give you this.” He reached into his bag and pulled out another one of the Battle Foals medallion that he made and handed it to Greensprout.

Greensprout looked at it curiously. “What’s this?”

“Your new badge of honor, Greensprout. Welcome aboard.” Fire Fight said.

Greensprout took another glance at the silver medallion. Its fierce design wasn’t something she wasn’t all that fond of on the surface, but knowing its deeper meaning made her proud to possess it. Plus, she was impressed at Air Slash’s craftsmanship. She put it in her own bag. “Thank you all.”

“Ah reckon you’ll stay in the back while we do all the rumblin’?” Kickback asked.

Greensprout nodded. “Yes. When battle has made you weary, I will heal your wounds and mend your broken spirits. My herbal remedies will no doubt also serve us well.”

“Just don’t be afraid to fight back yourself as an absolute last resort. I know that you’re not usually one to partake in an open fight, but our opponents will pay that no heed.” Air Slash said.

“I know, Air Slash, and I have the utmost faith that you will guard me as you have been. All of you.” Greensprout replied. Air Slash blushed a little. Just then, a bush some yards away from them began rustling. Without a moment’s thought or hesitation, Air Slash drew his swords as quick as lightning and put himself between the bush and Greensprout. When yet another squirrel emerged from the brush, he nearly dropped his swords from embarrassment as he felt everypony’s eyes on him.

“Tsk tsk, Air Slash. Threatening innocent, little animals like that? I expected more from an honorable Bladerunner.” Shadow Shroud teased.

Air Slash glared at her as he sheathed his swords, but he then felt Greensprout gently pat him on the back while giggling. He couldn’t lose his temper in front of her, and her very touch just about calmed him. “Ehh….sorry.” he muttered.

“It’s alright. Just don’t allow your fighting spirit to override all of your other emotions. I’d hate to see you become the monster that I nearly became down in that ruin.” Greensprout said.

“Indeed.” Air Slash said.

“I trust that you’re packed sufficiently, darling?” Quantum Tech asked.

“I am. I have some herbs and remedies packed into this bag, but I need to go get the bag I packed my food and water in. Please excuse me.” Greensprout said. She trotted back to Meadow’s house.

Meadow then looked at the Battle Foals. “Take some supplies from us if you need to. We wouldn’t want you to starve from not having fresh food.”

“Thanks, abbot.” Fire Fight said. They restocked on food and water as Greensprout returned from retrieving her supply bag, and the other monks gave them their good wishes.

“So, where do y’all reckon we should go from ‘ere?” Kickback asked.

“If I may?” Meadow said. The Battle Foals gave him their attention. “To the north of here is another river that flows from the Everfree forest. Just across the other side from here is a relatively big hamlet called Trifectown that lays to the east of the White Tail Woods. I hear that the locals pride themselves on competitive sports.”

Shroud looked at her map for this place. “Yep. It’s just where he says. How about it, guys?”

“FINALLY! I GET TO RETURN TO MY TRUE PEOPLE, THE CROQUET MALLETS!!” Crazylocks blurted.

“Uh….right. That aside, sounds good.” Spiral said.

“I’m widit.” Turf War said. Everypony agreed.

“Alright. Well, thanks again to all of you! You won’t tell anypony we were here, right?” Fire Fight said.

Meadow shook his head. “No, Fire Fight. You have a journey to take, and we shall not hinder it. Go with peace.” He then looked at Greensprout. “And you be safe, my child.”

Greensprout hugged her adopted parents to which he returned. The two embraced lovingly before they gave a heartfelt farewell. “Goodbye…….grandpa.”

Meadow was surprised to hear her call him that, but the warm look in her eyes told him that he was truly family to her. He smiled and gently kissed her forehead. “Goodbye.”

As the Battle Foals disappeared into the thick brush beyond, the monks of Gardenia gathered around their elderly leader. Some were a little weary of his choice. “Abbot, are you sure this is such a good idea? Their families…..I can’t imagine what pain this must be bringing them.”

“Indeed. Wouldn’t it be better to just mull things over with them?” another monk asked.

The aging abbot took a deep breath. “We could, but Fire Fight has taught me something that I think we can all learn from.”

“What’s that?”

“Sometimes, it takes one error to correct another. These foals seem to know this, and through their own error, they seek to correct the one great error that Equestria has committed since its founding.” Meadow answered.

“And what error is that?”

Meadow looked off into the brush that the Battle Foals disappeared into and smiled as he thought about them and what they’d accomplish. “A desire for perfection.”

The Path to Trifectown

Author's Notes:

Hi, everyone! Just wanted give another heartfelt thanks to all of you, because at the time I am publishing this chapter, this story has broken 50 likes and 700 views, and has been featured three times! Shrapnel howls for all of you! I can't wait to keep bringing more to y'all!

The Battle Foals had left Gardenia and embarked on their trek to Trifectown. According to Meadow’s directions and Shadow Shroud’s map, it wasn’t too far away. Much of the terrain they had to hike through was wide open, so the warm rays of Celestia’s sun gently shone down and encouraged the entourage of fighting foals.

Greensprout was already loving her new friends even more now that they weren’t having to worry about surviving an underground ruin inhabited by ponies that had been zombified by mystical, parasitic resin. Her lively chats with the other fillies was pretty much a clear sign that she was going to get along with them pretty well even if she wasn’t aware that Shroud had taken a life yet. Crazylocks’ antics never seemed to annoy her, but rather serve as encouragement for to try and find a way to heal her if she wasn’t laughing her flank off. She was no longer weary of Shrapnel, and Zebota even let her play fetch with the beast about halfway through the trip……even if he ended up bringing back logs rather than the sticks thrown for him, much to their amusement. Zebota himself combined some of the herbs he’d gathered in the Everfree forest with Greensprout to create various concoctions they thought might help along the way such as sedatives, healing elixirs and the like; they agreed to experiment more when they had the opportunity to cultivate more of their herbs.

Air Slash was undoubtedly the happiest to have the gentle monk at their side. Despite encountering little resistance along their trek in the form of weaker monsters, he was always the first to draw his weapon in her defense. The other foals were used to him going on the offensive with the sheer ferocity that his swords let him exhibit, but seeing him think more of his comrades was welcome indeed. The other fillies smirked whenever they caught him stealing a glance at her.

“Um, excuse me?” Greensprout said.

“What’s up, Greensprout?” Fire Fight asked.

“When I looked at Shadow Shroud’s map, I noticed that Las Pegasus is just over these mountains to the west. Perhaps we should go there first since it’s closer and then travel to Trifectown?” Greensprout said.

“I think it’s best if we stay out of big cities for a while, Greensprout.” Shroud said. “We’re really beginning to grow in number, and between Quantum’s big mech suit and Shrapnel, we wouldn’t exactly be easy to miss.”

“The mass of our group is independent of the size of the towns and cities we visit, Shadow Shroud. I don’t really see why that would matter.” Air Slash said.

“Man, y’all shoulda been d’here when it just me, homegirl and Fire Fight. Just the three of us li’l foals! Don’t nopony care ‘bout three normal foals in da hood. Some ponies see us now, d’hey gonna be curious. A whole lot of ponies see us, an’ the whole damn city gonna be curious!” Turf War said.

“Turf War’s right. A bigger population and us gaining in numbers like this means less room for error. We really should wait until we’ve set our roots somewhere before going big since we’d actually have a home to come back to.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Hmm….I suppose that’s true.” Greensprout said.

“We need to find a homestead to settle ‘ere pretty soon then, now don’t we?” Kickback commented.

“Yes, but if even the forest called Everfree has proven to not be an ideal location, then finding a well-hidden location for us to safely construct our home will be most difficult.” Zebota said. Shrapnel grunted in agreement.

“All we can do is continue our journey until we do.” Quantum Tech said.

“Let’s not wait too long! We won’t be able to take our manes for a walk if we don’t have a nice dog fur garden planted for them!” Crazylocks blurted.

Everypony just looked at her with annoyed stares save for Greensprout, who only wore her saintly smile. “We’re counting on you to help us with that, Crazylocks.” She said.

“IN THE NAME OF THE EMPRESS, I SHALL LEAVE NO SHED HAIR UNSHAVED!!” Crazylocks shouted.

“Ugh….Darling, it’s best not to encourage her.” Quantum said.

“I know, but unless you’ve determined a way to fix her genetics, then there’s little else we can do for her.” Greensprout said.

“Have you, by the way?” Fire Fight asked.

Quantum shook her head. “Sadly, no. However, I may have deduced how her hair hardens and her physical strength increases when she assumes the form of an earth pony.”

“Go on.” Shroud said.

Quantum fixed her glasses. “As I explained before, you-know-who injected a form of nucleic emulsifier that that contained pegasus and unicorn traits into her that bound to her already existing DNA that made her an earth pony. As this is foreign matter, her body will naturally attempt to fight it off, but it can’t seeing as the foreign DNA has been forced to assimilate itself into her genetic makeup, even going as far as being repeated in the proteins manufactured in her cells. Thus, when she assumes her natural form as an earth pony, her immune system overcompensates for its inability to purge the foreign DNA as a result of overproducing proteins. Hair strands are protein growths, so more protein giving her hair structure means……well, I highly doubt I don’t have to explain myself from there.”

While they didn’t totally understand everything she said, it all seemed so simple when they thought about it. “Is that so?” Air Slash asked.

“Well, at least I think that’s what’s happening.” Quantum said.

“Now how would y’all explain her changin’ forms like that? Ya kinda made it soun’ like she ain’t supposed to.” Kickback said.

“How so, Kickback?” Quantum asked.

“Well, ya said that her body’s tryin’ to fight off the unicorn an’ pegasus stuff, so….how is she able to be whichever whenever she wants?” Kickback asked.

“Ah! Well, I trust you are all familiar with alleles?” Quantum asked.

“Umm……maybe?” Turf War said.

Quantum sighed. “Thought so. <ahem> If I’m to summarize, an allele is a possibility for traits that can appear in one’s genetic structure depending its ability to dominate and thus essentially nullify other alleles of the same trait. For example, the trait for hair length in our coats is determined by two alleles that are either dominant or recessive, as is the case with all traits in organic life as we know it. The allele for longer hair is dominant while the allele for shorter hair is recessive, meaning that if somepony has the allele for long coat anywhere in their genetic structure at all, it doesn’t matter if the recessive trait exists as well, because that dominant trait will override it.”

“But what does that have to do with determining your pony tribe?” Spiral asked.

“I’m getting to that.” Quantum answered. “There exists the possibility of something called ‘codominance’, and what that basically means is that two dominant alleles are expressed equally in a subject’s genetic structure and thus are seen as traits. An example would be some flowers of the same species having red and white petals rather than either or. Both traits would be dominant in that species for it to work. Anyway, since Crazylocks has the genes for three different species of pony, that essentially is codominance, but her earth pony traits are natural to her, and thus more dominant than the other two, preventing all three from being expressed at once. However, since all three traits are dominant, that means that they can indeed be expressed in some way, but how exactly she is able to change her allelic expression at will is what I cannot discern.” As she finished her explanation, Crazylocks could be seen flying upside-down with a squirrel on her belly. They chirped at one another as if to have a conversation. Oddly enough, her mane and tail weren’t obeying gravity.

This explanation was more confusing than the last, but again strangely made sense. It was times like this that Fire Fight was glad to have a more advanced intellect on the team. “And that’s just a theory too?” he asked.

Quantum fixed her glasses and smiled confidently. “A rather solid theory if I do say so myself, but a theory nonetheless.”

“Probably about as solid as anything about her.” Kickback said. As they neared the river, they came across a dirt trail that led into the mountains beyond. It extended to a bridge off in the distance that was adjacent to the bridge meant for a train. Thankfully, there was nopony around to see them, but a good number of yards away in the direction of the mountains was an overturned freight wagon that was both empty and desolate. “Whu-oh. Looks like somepony lost their luggage.”

“Think we should check it out?” Spiral asked.

“Nah. We getting’ close to Trifectown already. Ain’t no reason to take a detour.” Turf War said.

“An’ Ah reckon that the Sand Vipers never came out this far anyhow.” Kickback commented.

Spiral shrugged. “Yeah. Guess it’s not really our problem anyway.” They had at last reached the river, and Trifectown was just over the horizon. There was just one problem: the river was far wider than they had anticipated, too wide for Shrapnel to jump over. “Well, guess I better gather my focus! Good thing there’s lots of water here.”

Zebota then walked up to the riverbank. “There will be time for meditation later, Spiral Galaxy. Please allow me.” He took out his boomerang and held it to his brooch, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “Kama mto huu unapita na wakati wenyewe, sauti yangu wito nje kwa njia ya hewa. Kusikia na kutii ombi langu. Sehemu maji hayo ili kujenga njia ya hatima yetu.” His brooch began glowing as he finished his incantation. The light from his brooch seem to flow to his boomerang, and it began to shimmer. Zebota then threw his boomerang across the river. As it passed over the river, a line of the same light stretched from each side of the river. When his boomerang returned to him, Zebota quickly raised it above him, causing the stream of light in the river to separate into two and part the river!

The other foals looked on in complete awe of what Zebota had just accomplished. They shouldn’t have been too surprised considering he was able to tame a freaking timberwolf, but it had been a while since they witnessed his ability to command nature itself. The path he’d made in the river was wide enough for Shrapnel to walk through. “Whoa….” Fire Fight was quickly reminded of the powerful force he’d allowed into the Battle Foals.

Zebota turned to them. “I cannot hold this for long, so please do not dawdle.” The other foals snapped out of their amazement and crossed the parted river with their mystic friend and his wooden titan. Spiral Galaxy and Fire Fight had to help Quantum Tech magically lift her mech suit across for fear that it might sink into the mud; Turf War helped some with his brute strength.

Once they were all safely across the river, Zebota released his spell on the river. As the parted river became whole once more, Zebota nearly fell to his knees and started panting. Greensprout trotted up to him. “Are you alright, Zebota?”

“<pant>…Yes…<pant>…Greensprout. Thank you. That just took a toll on me.” Zebota took a deep breath. “It seems that I am not as attuned with nature as I thought.” Shrapnel lightly nuzzled his master.

“Here.” Greensprout emitted a little pulse from her Gaia Root at Zebota. The zebra immediately felt his strength return and managed to get up.

“Ah. Thank you.” Zebota said. Greensprout nodded.

“Zebota, has anypony ever told you how awesome you are?” Spiral said.

Zebota chuckled. “That could very easily have not worked, my friend. The spirits of that river seem like fickle beings and could have refused my call without a second thought.”

“And then we could’ve just taken that bridge over there.” Shadow Shroud said with a smirk.

The other foals looked off at the bridge and nearly facehooved when they realized this. “Umm…..y-yes….I…..suppose we could have done that….” Zebota mumbled. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Shroud giggled. “Don’t worry, Zebota. At least you got some exercise.” She teased.

Zebota rolled his eyes. “If only you knew….” He muttered.

Trifectown was a mere hike away, but the open field around it provided little cover for the Battle Foals. “Hmm….Looks like we’ll have to hide out in the White Tail Woods. Otherwise, we’ll stick out like a sore hoof even from this distance.” Shroud said.

They all nodded. “Yeah. We’ll find a place to hang out and plan things out from there. Let’s hope that we don’t bump into any more giant pythons or plant monsters this time.” Fire Fight said. With some not so fond memories brought up, Fire Fight led his entourage into the forest and kept his head held high as his mission continued.

A Little Problem

With some guidance from Shadow Shroud pertaining to sneaking towards their cover, the Battle Foals reached the White Tails Woods, aptly named to due to its high population of white tailed deer, plenty for Shrapnel to snack on. It wasn’t much different from the forest beyond Hoofington other then it was darker due to having lusher and thicker trees and as a result, thicker canopy. Shadow Shroud’s ninja perception and Zebota’s attunement with nature were saving graces when it came to navigating the forest. The sheer feeling of tranquility combined with no signs of monsters so far gave the foals a comforting feeling, but Zebota said that where there’s prey, there’s always a predator…

About half an hour into their hike, they across a small clearing about twice the size of Ponyville’s classroom. It was nice and hidden away, so the foals decided to use it as their base of operations for now. “I’ll sneak into town and assess the situation. We’ll work out a plan from there.” Shadow Shroud said.

"Okay, Shroud. Be careful.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled deviously as she donned her mask. “Yes, dear.” She teased as she donned her mask. She disappeared into the woods beyond towards Trifectown.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes. “Tch. Never learns her lesson, does she?”

*****

After about ten or so minutes of scoping her surroundings and leaping between trees, Shadow Shroud managed to reach the edge of the forest where Trifectown was mere yards away. The shadows of the forest completely blanketed her cloaked form. Just in front of her was the side of a house with some large, unkempt bushes leaning against it- perfect to use as cover.

Sneaking around like this in broad daylight was not ideal, but seeing as nearly any town anywhere would likely be less active at night, this had to do. After seeing that the coast was clear, the clever little ninja leapt like lightning from the forest and into the bush. It was a little pricklier than she would have liked, but she could move silently through it without making virtually any noise. She carefully crept to the other side of the bush and peered into the street.

As Meadow suggested before, Trifectown was a small village not unlike Ponyville or Hoofington, and many of its residents had Cutie Marks that pertained to sports in some way. She saw quite a few ponies carrying various kinds of bags meant for carrying sporting equipment. “How did I not see any of these ponies at the last Pony Games?” Shroud wondered. “Meh. Maybe they all just suck.”

Just before she could plot another course, a newspaper caught astray by the wind flew into her face. “Argh! Shoot!” She clawed it off of her face. “Or maybe their apparent litter problem is taking up all of their time to prac- huh?....<Gasp!>” Shroud happened to look into the main headline of the newspaper and was met with an alarming sight.

*****

Mambo yote maua na wilt moja kwa siku,

na mto wa muda unapita juu.

nguvu kuwaondoa na hifadhi dhaifu,

na mto wa muda unapita juu.

Kama mimi kuteka pumzi yangu na kuishi maisha

kwamba dunia hii amenibariki kwa,

Mimi kuchukua muda huu kushiriki zawadi hii

pamoja na yote kuogelea katika muda.

Zebota softly sang in his strange language as he sat in the middle of the clearing in a meditative position. Shrapnel sat behind him and softly howled to his master’s tune. Nature around them seemed to flourish as the duet continued their little performance, and the other foals were no less enchanted.

As the zebra and his monster chanted, Quantum Tech was doing a little maintenance on her mech, Spiral meditated, Turf War and Fire Fight were spotting each other for sit-ups, Kickback was keeping an eye on Crazylocks and Air Slash was helping Greensprout gather some herbs. They all happily listened as they went about their business.

Their peaceful solace was interrupted when Shadow Shroud suddenly emerged from the shrubbery carrying a newspaper. “That was fast.” Spiral said as she got up from her meditation.

“Guys, we might have a little problem.” She said. To see a considerable amount of worry on her face was worrying itself. She showed them the newspaper, and a hint of panic swept over the foals as they read the headline: ‘Mass of Missing Foals Sweeps The Realm’. Included were bold instructions to contact authorities if they knew anything about the missing foals below the picture. There were seven pictures in all, and six of them were taken from family photos. Fire Fight, Turf War, Spiral Galaxy, Air Slash, Kickback and Quantum Tech’s faces were shown in each picture and labeled by name. The seventh one however was a crude sketch of a grey earth pony filly wearing an orange dress that was labeled as ‘unknown’.

“What the-!? Man, who da f*** snitched on us!?” Turf War said.

“Turf War, please watch your language!” Greensprout said firmly.

“Sorry, sorry. Just….”

“This ain’t good?” Kickback asked.

“Yeah. Dat’s what I’m tryna say.” Turf War said.

“O-O-Oh dear. This was bound to happen at some point.” Quantum stammered.

“It’s a good thing you caught it, Shroud. Otherwise we might have gone into town and….” Thinking about being forced back to Hoofington and leaving her friends made Spiral’s heart race with fear.

The foals could feel the ground around them slowly begin to rumble and immediately acted. “It’s ok, Spiral.” Fire Fight said in a comforting tone.

“Sister, at ease.” Greensprout said. It took her a moment, but with some deep breathes, Spiral managed to calm herself. The rumbling had stopped, and the foals could breathe easier. “Goodness me.”

Shroud gritted her teeth. “Nrgh! Looks like I might have slipped up somewhere.”

“Or perhaps those who saw us before grew weary of our presence, yours notwithstanding.” Air Slash said.

“Either way, this will be quite the hindrance. I’m not sure if we can proceed. I can’t go into town disguised or not without running the risk of being discovered.” Shroud said.

A concern suddenly crossed Fire Fight’s mind. “Umm…..the Shadewalkers…..aren’t gonna start coming after you to……punish you or anything…..are they?” he nervously asked Shroud.

Shroud shook her head. “Doubtful. Stuff like this has happened in the past, and after some amount of time, suspicions of our existence fade into memory.” She explained. “Though….I wouldn’t be too shocked if I got at least a small scolding. No matter though. Our concern right now is coming up with a Plan B.”

“I could go into town and explore. The ponyfolk know nothing of me, so it would be safe.” Zebota said. “Shrapnel would have to stay behind, of course.”

“That’s a bad idea, Zebota.” Fire Fight said. “I’m pretty sure a zebra colt that suddenly appears in town would be the center of attention. Zecora’s practically her own celebrity in Ponyville.”

“Hmm….Yes, that is a good point.” Zebota said. “But Greensprout is not known either! She could explore the town!”

Greensprout looked up in surprise upon hearing that. “Wh-What? Me? B-But what would I have to do? What would I look for?” she stammered.

“I should go with her if that’s the case.” Air Slash said.

“Are you some kind of idiot? Your face is in this paper! You’ll be noticed in no time!” Shroud reprimanded.

“Thank you though, Air Slash.” Greensprout said. Air Slash nodded and blushed. “Although…..Crazylocks isn’t in this paper either. She could accompany me.”

The other foals just looked at her as if she had been afflicted with the same level of insanity exhibited by said pony chimera, who was currently banging her head against a tree while counting in German…..somehow. “Homegirl……you ain’t fo’ real?” Turf War said.

“I know it may sound ludicrous, but immersing her into a pony society might be good therapy for her.” Greensprout said.

“Hmm……not entirely out the realm of possibility.” Quantum thought aloud.

“But imagine if she randomly started morphing in front of everypony! They’d chase her to the ends of the earth!” Spiral said. “Plus, how are you going to explain her…..behaviors?” Crazylocks was now using her unicorn magic to make sticks dance around like puppets while boisterously conducting as though she were a maestro.

Greensprout looked at her comrades with pleading eyes. Crazylocks’ insanity may have objectively been her greatest weapon, but it was also her most profound struggle, and Greensprout couldn’t bear to let her suffer like this; she wanted to heal and restore all that she could, Crazylocks notwithstanding, even if it took ages. “B-But….”

“I’m sorry, Greensprout, but it’s just not the best idea. We really do can’t much for her right now. Once we get our utopia going, then we’ll be able to start properly treating her. Quantum said that she can cured…..probably.” Fire Fight said.

Greensprout’s look of sorrow turned into frustration. “You’re not even doing anything for her!” she reprimanded. “You keep talking about helping foals in need, but what have you done for Crazylocks? Clearly nothing! Have you even tried to purge her affliction? Is she nothing more than some multi-purpose tool to you!?”

“Greensprout.” Spiral put her arm around the vexed monk, and Greensprout calmed down after a brief moment and a deep breath.

“Forgive me…” Greensprout muttered.

Fire Fight couldn’t help but feel a hint of guilt. He too wanted to do all he could for the frenzied filly, but….“Greensprout, believe me. If I could do more for Crazylocks, I would, but…<sigh>…I can’t. I don’t know how to fix stuff like this. The only thing I can do is make sure she doesn’t become a danger to others around her or herself. Quantum said that she might be able to treat her, but it’d take a while and a lot of patience.”

“Mental wounds are not so easily closed, darling. The best thing we can do for her right now is let them heal themselves until I can begin proper sessions with her.” Quantum said with a hint of sorrow in her tone.

Seeing the reason behind their words, Greensprout sighed in defeat. “I see….” She muttered. She stood up staright once more and looked at Shadow Shroud. “I guess I’ll have to go alone, huh?”

Shroud nodded. “I’ll sneak you into town and see if I can’t stay hidden so that I can give you some direction. Though, you should do alright; you’re not exactly inept at locating somepony in need.”

Greensprout giggled. “Thank you, Shadow Shroud.” She then felt Air Slash tap her shoulder, and she looked at him.

“Be careful, ok?” he said. His expression was somewhat worried, as if he was trying put on a brave face.

“I will, Air Slash. Thank you.” Greensprout said. She then handed him her staff. “Could I ask you to hold onto the Gaia Root for me? I imagine that it would catch some attention.”

Air Slash took the staff from her. “Of course.”

“Ah reckon y’all shouldn’t wear yer robes either. Ponies are gonna wonder why yer wearing such out-of-place attire. Just a little precaution.” Kickback added.

“That would be prudent.” Shroud said.

Greensprout was a little surprised to suddenly hear that, but it made sense. “Oh, alright.” She took of her robes and folded them.

“I’ll keep them safe in my mech suit, darling.” Quantum Tech said as she magically lifted them.

“Thank you, Quantum Tech.” Greensprout said. With that, the young ninja and monk made their way towards what would certainly be a difficult undertaking.

Eyes Open

With a couple trips and falls along the way, Shadow Shroud managed to sneak Greensprout into the same bush that she had occupied earlier. Looking out into the street, Greensprout could see that it was indeed a lively little town. Nopony seemed to pay any heed to their position, so Shroud was easily able to find a chance to send her out.

“I’ll be in the shadows in case something happens. Act natural, and don’t be afraid to lie out of a situation if you need to.” Shroud whispered.

Greensprout nodded nervously. “Ok.”

Shroud put her hoof on Greensprout’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Just come back here when you’re done. I’ll know.”

Greensprout creased a relieved smile. “Thank you, Shadow Shroud.” With that, Greensprout silently crept out of the bush as per Shroud’s direction and into the street. She looked around to see that nopony was looking at her funny, so she definitely succeeded. She looked back at the bush one more time to give one last subtle nod to Shadow Shroud, but it looked she already disappeared. “My goodness, she’s a clever one.”

Putting her trust into her enigmatic friend, Greensprout began exploring Trifectown. Not everypony had an apparent special talent for sports, but ponies such as that were indeed prevalent. Most of the stores and businesses were sports-related; she saw a soccer field surrounded by a running track, a couple baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, a few gyms, a swimming pool with a schedule of various water sporting events being held, a couple buckball fields, etc. Seeing everypony have fun despite how grueling their activities must have been made Greensprout smile everywhere she looked. How any foal could possibly feel unhappy in a place where every day was as exciting as this made her think that she and the others were wasting their time here, but then again, hearing some of their stories and recent events had taught her to keep an open mind.

While she wasn’t looking, Greensprout suddenly bumped into somepony. Both parties nearly fell, but quickly regained their balance. “Oh! Please excuse me.” Greensprout said.

When she looked at who she bumped into, she saw that it was another filly. Her coat was a burnt orange, and her mane was purple and styled in a more masculine manner. Her Cutie Mark depicted a pink and white shield-like crest with a lightning bolt on it. She looked at Greensprout as she got up. “My bad.” She was joined with two other fillies with almost identical Cutie Marks, but one was a yellow earth pony with an apple in her shield rather than a bolt, and the other was a white unicorn with a music note on her shield. “You live around here?” she asked.

Greensprout was caught a little off guard, but remembered Shroud’s advice to her. “Erm…W-Well, I haven’t been here for very long, but…yes. Why do you ask?”

“Well, we’re kinda looking for somepony that might come around here. We came from a town called Ponyville.” The unicorn said. “I’m Sweetie Belle, and this is Scootaloo and Applebloom.”

“Howdy!”

“S’up?”

“Hello! My name is Greensprout.” A thought crossed her mind. “Umm…..if you’re from another town, then why are you looking for your friend here?”

The three fillies expressions turned to shallow sorrow. “He…..well…..due to some…..stuff that happened, he….” Scootaloo started.

“He ran away from home.” Applebloom finished.

Hearing this put a knot in Greensprout’s stomach. It all sounded too much like a certain fiery unicorn she knew. “A-And who exactly is this friend of yours?” she nervously asked.

Applebloom pulled out a newspaper and showed Greensprout the headline news. “See here? That’s him. His name’s Fire Fight.” She said as she pointed to Fire Fight’s photo.

Greensprout was at a loss as to what to think. Of all the things she had to encounter, friends of Fire Fight’s from his hometown!? It was bad enough that their faces were plastered in the news, but now this!? Greensprout had trained herself to ease her nerves quickly with all the meditation she’d done over the years, so she was able to keep a straight face, but she was as frantic as a deer running away from a pack of wolves on the inside. “Oh! R-Right! I heard about this. But sadly, I haven’t seen any of these foals. I’m sorry.” She felt bad about having to lie for the first time in her life.

“Aw, man. Well, we just got here, so we might as well stick around in case we see him come through.” Scootaloo said. The other fillies nodded in agreement. She then looked at Greensprout. “We were thinking about checking out that archery competition that’s going on. Wanna come with us?”

These fillies were just full of left field comments. While she probably shouldn’t be interacting with other ponies very much, most of all those who were actively looking for Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud did advise her to act natural, and this apparent competition might prove to be a good opportunity to observe a good chunk of the town’s population. “Oh! Well….I was going there anyway, but I’m new here, so…..if you could maybe help me find the place….”

“Sure, Greensprout! We got directions from one of them brochures that were handed out. Come on!” Applebloom said. With that, the CMC led Greensprout through the lively town. She did her best to avoid small talk so as to avoid potentially spilling the beans, but these fillies were anything but shy. She had to lie about recently moving from Hoofington, which prompted the CMC to ask if she personally knew Spiral Galaxy, to which she of course answered ‘no’, but was well aware of how dangerous she was. Greensprout could only imagine how tense Shadow Shroud must have been from watching all of this.

Finally, they came to a fence with one side crowded by spectators. When they looked over to the other side, it was occupied by a line of seven archers with a 250-yard range in front of them with a wall of targets at the opposite end. Each set of nine targets were set specifically for each contestant and arranged in a 3x3 shape. Judging by how the score board was nearly full and how all but one target on each set had an arrow in it, the fillies guessed that it was about to be decided. “Aw, man! Looks like we missed it!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Not really. They’ve all got one shot left.” Applebloom said.

Taking a closer look, Greensprout noticed that amongst the group of adult contestants, one of them was a pegasus filly about her age. Her coat was a hunter-green, and her mane and tail were jet-black. Applebloom noticed that she had a tie at the end of her mane much like her sister, and it draped down in such a way that it completely covered her left eye. The eye that was visible was a ruby-red, and her Cutie Mark depicted a bow with an arrow drawn onto its string and ready to fire. She held her bow in such a way that her uncovered right eye was lined up with her bow, so she could easily find her aim.

“My! She must be talented if she’s competing against adults.” Greensprout commented.

“For sure!” she heard from beside her. She looked over to see a random colt looking at her with fanboying eyes. “That’s Bullseye, and she’s the best archer in Trifectown!” he declared.

Another colt beside suddenly popped up. “No way! She’s the best archer in all of Equestria!” he then looked at Bullseye and creased a sheepish smile. “K-Kind of a shame she never talks much…” he stammered as he scratched the back of his head while blushing.

Greensprout took another look at her, and then she glanced at her array of targets. All of them had been hit dead center! “Oh my goodness!” she muttered.

A loudspeaker then suddenly came on. “Archers, draw your last arrow when you’re ready.” It ordered. As per instructed, each of the seven contestants drew their bows and aimed. Before she did however, Bullseye held the arrow up to her face, and gave it a quick good luck kiss. The crowd seemed to like that. Once her bow was drawn with the rest of them, the announcer gave the order. “Fire!” They let loose their arrows all at once, and watched as their arrows soared towards their final target. A couple of them somehow managed to miss the target blocks entirely while a few others hit the 7-8 point mark. The one arrow that got everypony excited was Bullseye’s, which hit the target right in the center!

The crowd cheered wildly and chanted Bullseye’s name as her eight opponents gracefully accepted their defeat. “Fillies and gentlecolts, Bullseye has claimed her eleventh consecutive victory! Can anypony even hope to topple this titan of the bow!?” a commenter announced. Oddly enough, Bullseye simply gave an approving nod to her opponents, not even addressing the crowd or even smiling. The one colt said that she wasn’t much for conversation, but was she so reserved that she’d not get excited over a victory like this? Something about this felt off to Greensprout, and she decided to talk to her when she got the chance.

“Whoa……she really is good!” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah! I bet she’s gonna be a real star someday!” Sweetie Belle added.

“That was fun n’ all, but come on, Crusaders! We better keep our eyes open fer Fire Fight!” Applebloom said. She then looked at Greensprout. “Nice meetin’ ya, Greensprout!” she said as she and the other CMC trotted away, who also said they’re goodbyes.

“Farewell!” Greensprout said. She then looked over to see Bullseye handing her bow to an official; it was probably lent to her for the competition. She was then bestowed with a first place medal. Her expression didn’t change, and she seemed to humbly accept the award. Her and the official parted ways without incident, and Bullseye exited the range.

Despite being a pegasus, Bullseye seemed content to just walk to wherever she was headed. As she entered the street and got closer to Greensprout, Greensprout could see that the young archer had a rather disgruntled expression about her, which was odd given her clear victory. Perhaps she wasn’t satisfied with her overall performance? She’d gotten…..well, bullseyes across the board, so what was wrong? Greensprout walked to the left of her. “Hello! Are you Bullseye?”

For a brief second, Bullseye seemed to ignore her, but she then barely turned her to face her with her unexposed eye. “Yeah? What about it?” she said. Her tone was unfriendly.

Greensprout was caught a little off guard at the response she got. Bullseye had an ominous air about her like Shadow Shroud did, but unlike said ninja filly, hers was overtly menacing. “Erm…I just wanted to give you my congratulations. You have amazing talent with a bow and arrow.”

Bullseyes faced front again. “Tch. Tell me something I haven’t heard a million f****** times already.” She lowly growled.

Greensprout was shocked and appalled at not only her language, but her clear feelings of anger towards something, something that was clearly bothering her. “Hey! There’s no need for-” She was cut off when a sudden gust of wind blew Bullseye’s mane upward, revealing her left eye. To Greensprout’s shock, it was black and swollen to the point where it was forced shut. Bullseye quickly put her mane back down over her eye. “O-Oh my goodness! What happened to your eye!?” she asked as she tried to lift her mane back up.

Bullseye forcefully shoved her away. “It was just a stupid accident! Now piss off!” she hissed. She spread her wings and flew away, leaving Greensprout to wonder what darkness could be consuming her heart.

Bad News

Back in the White Tail Woods…

“Commencing therapeutic experiment #1. Subject: Basic Knowledge. Patient: Crazylocks.” Quantum Tech began making a log entry in her glasses as Crazylocks sat across from her scratching the back of her head with her hind leg like a dog. Quantum then laid out a series of cards that each had a number on it ranging from one to ten in a random order. “Ok, Crazylocks. Arrange these numbers from lowest to highest.”

Crazylocks repeatedly looked up and down between Quantum Tech and the cards for a few seconds, and then gazed at the cards with her manic smile. She then sprouted her horn and magically stacked the cards into a small house of cards. “I CALL IT PITTSBURGH!!”

Quantum lightly facehooved and then used her own magic to reset the cards. “Equestria’s next masterpiece indeed….” She muttered. She could hear Turf War snickering a few feet away. “Turf War, when considering what she must have endured, surely you can agree that it’s not appropriate to laugh?” she reprimanded.

Turf War calmed himself down. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll stop. My bad. It just……da f*** is a ‘Pittsburgh’?” Quantum gave him an authoritative glare that shut him right up.

“It’s where my earliest ancestor was born and raised!” Crazylocks blurted.

“Somehow…..I can believe that.” Spiral Galaxy commented.

Kickback walked up to them. “Lemme try somethin’ ‘ere.” He sat in front of the house of cards. “Now Ms. Crazylocks, if Ah were to take this apart, would you be able to rebuild-”

“YOU CANNOT HOPE TO GRASP THE CREED OF THE CARDS, YOU TREASONOUS JELLYFISH SANDWICH BLOSSOM!!” Crazylocks angrily shouted.

Kickback got up and backed away a little. “Uhh…..well alright then.” He walked over to Fire Fight. “Why does she holler at me every time Ah try to talk to her?”

Fire Fight shrugged. “Maybe she just….doesn’t like you for some reason?”

“If she can maintain at least one constant behavior, then there is hope for her.” Zebota said.

“Well…..If Ah have to be martyr for it all to work out, then Ah have no quarrels.” Kickback said.

“Darling, if that’s the case, then you shouldn’t try to interact with her right now.” Quantum said. “Let me try again.” She magically took the house apart and laid them out in a random order again, and then a thought crossed her mind. “Actually, Zebota, do you think you and Greensprout could brew a concoction that might be able to aid in her treatment?”

“I am unsure. Greensprout has a greater affinity for healing than I, and as you once stated, wounds we sustain in our minds are not so easily mended.” Zebota said.

“Hmm…..true that. Oh! Did Greensprout happen to try using her Gaia Root on Crazylocks to any effect?” Quantum asked.

“She did, but….” Spiral said.

“We’re not really sure if what we got was progress or just her being her.” Fire Fight said.

“Well, what was it then?” Kickback asked.

“At first, she laughed maniacally like she’s known to do, but then began bawling profusely, begging her ‘grandpa’ not to do something. That went on for a brief moment, and then she resumed her infernal cackling.” Air Slash answered.

Hearing this explanation caused a dim light bulb to turn on in Quantum’s head. “Is that so?....Hmm….” She faced Crazylocks and set her glasses to read any fluctuations in her brainwaves…..which were already constantly fluctuating. “Crazylocks, who is your grandpa?”

Crazylocks sat as still as a statue for a few tense moments. Her manic smile slowly began to exert an uneasy feeling from it, and her eyes became bloodshot from being forced open. After a while, she began twitch more and more violently.

“Uh oh….” Fire Fight muttered. Quantum had a sedative at the ready………………..

“MISTER PINES, YOUR AIR DUCTS SMELL VERY NICE!!! BE A SHAME IF THE BLEU CHEESE TAXI DRIVER SPAT IN IT!!! HOOOOO-EE! THIS ‘ERE BAR-BE-Z IS SURE FINE N’- YO HOMIE, HOW YOU GONNA SIP JAXLE-LAXLE JUICE WHEN- NILIPOKUWA MDOGO, MIMI NDOA MTI JUU YA VOLKANO- TOADEO! TOADEO! WHERE FORT ART THOU, TOADEO!?!? NO!! YOU CAN’T SLICE WHAT I CAN’T SEE!!!” Crazylocks violently spazzed out as she ranted complete nonsense. Without a moment’s hesitation, Shrapnel held her down so that Quantum could quickly inject the sedative, and the frenzied filly fell into a deep slumber. “Yes……mommy……”

Quantum fixed her glasses. “Well then! If that’s not progress, I don’t know what is.”

Everypony else had to calm themselves a little after witnessing Crazylocks’ sudden episode. “How is that progress, Quantum? That’s normal for her…….well, about normal as ‘normal’ will get for her.” Fire Fight asked.

“Think about it. Greensprout’s Gaia Root is supposed to have regenerative effects on organic life, correct? Well, what if for a moment when Greensprout tried to heal Crazylocks’ mind, for a brief moment, she triggered a repressed memory that Crazylocks had been protecting herself from via her insanity? A coincidence that it involved something to do with her grandfather when my question to her triggered this reaction? I’m not inclined to think so.” Quantum explained.

“So she was trying to protect herself from a memory that which she did not want to recall?” Air Slash asked.

“Exactly. Believe it or not, everypony does that on occasion. Haven’t you all ever had a moment where you felt like you were about to recall an unpleasant memory and then started thinking random thought just to cast it away?” Quantum inquired.

“Hehe. I think we all been d’here, homegirl.” Turf War said.

Quantum slightly blushed and cleared her throat. “Erm….yes, I suppose that was a silly question.” She fixed her glasses. “Anyway, it’s also worth mentioning that right after I asked her the question, I could see through my glasses that her neural activity had come to sudden, grinding halt as if her entire consciousness had sensed a threat and subsequently began bracing its defense. But why her grandfather?”

Thinking more about it, the foals couldn’t quite get an idea of what her grandfather would have to do with any of what she experienced when it was Gene Splice that tortured her……unless…..“You don’t suppose that…..her ‘caretaker’ was her grandfather?” Air Slash inquired.

Spiral gasped. “You mean Gene Splice!? I mean….he was kinda old, and it would explain how he might have easily gotten to her.”

“Yo….If dat’s real….” Turf War commented. “Man, I shoulda lodged my axe right into his damn neck o’ somethin’!”

“Well, Shroud beat you to the punch, but it was definitely for the better.” Fire Fight said. “Speaking of which, I wonder what she’s up to.”

“And I pray for Greensprout’s well-being.” Air Slash said.

He and the others perked up when the two aforementioned fillies appeared out of a bush. “Consider your prayers answered, Air Slash.” Shroud teased. Air Slash rolled his eyes while blushing. “Guys, we might have a little problem.”

“You said that the last time.” Fire Fight said.

“And I mean it once more this time.” Shroud retorted. “Greensprout?”

Greensprout nodded. “Fire Fight, do you know three fillies by the name of Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle per chance?”

Fire Fight’s heart suddenly kicked into overdrive upon hearing those names. His eyes widened in horror of what might be being implied here. “U-U-Umm….Y-Yes, why?”

“Well…..I encountered them in town. They said they had come to Trifectown on hopes of looking for you.” Greensprout said with considerable worry in her tone.

“Pfft! Looks like Kickback ain’t the only popular one he’e!” Turf War joked.

Fire Fight gave him an annoyed glare. “We were just friends, Turf War!” He then looked back at Greensprout and Shadow Shroud. “O-Ok, uh…..” He had to take a deep breath and process the fact that the worst thing that could have happened was now taking place. “Ok, did you talk to them?”

Greensprout nodded. “I’m afraid so. I…..even told them my name.” she said solemnly.

Shroud patted her on the back. “Rookie mistake.”

“Ah reckon we oughta move on for a li’l while ‘til they do and decide to give up. It’s mighty risky to go back in there now.” Kickback said.

“Yeah, but…..Did you find any potential candidates, Greensprout?” Spiral asked.

“I may have, a pegasus filly named Bullseye.” Greensprout said. She explained her experience at the archery competition and her ‘conversation’ with Bullseye that took place afterward. “She just…..I could tell that something inside of her was just screaming for help even if she herself is….not the most agreeable pony.”

Quantum sighed. “Wonderful. Another potty mouth.” She said as she looked at Turf War, who just rolled his eyes.

“Quantum, now’s not the time to be complaining! We might have a foal we need to rescue!” Fire Fight said. “Ok, so going back into town right now is off-limits. Shroud, you think you could sneak around at night and try to find her house?”

Shroud nodded. “Always the field foal, aren’t I?” She said with a smirk.

Fire Fight smiled and shrugged. “You’ve never once complained about it.”

“And I never will.” Shroud said. She then looked back into the bushes. “Wait here. I should probably make sure that nopony was following us.” The others nodded, and Shroud donned her mask before reentering the woods beyond.

Air Slash then fluttered up to Greensprout and handed her the Gaia Root. “I believe this is yours, Greensprout.” He said while trying to maintain a proud posture.

Greensprout giggled. “Thank you, Air Slash.” She said as she took her magic staff. Air Slash couldn’t help but to gaze into her eyes as she took the staff from him. His heart fluttered along with his wings seeing her gentle smile and soft violet eyes. Her chocolate mane flowed beautifully in the little breeze that swept through the forest.

His little moment was interrupted when Quantum Tech cut in and handed Greensprout her robes. “And these too, darling.”

“Oh, good. It’s starting to get a little chilly out here.” Greensprout said as she put on her attire. Air Slash privately pouted as Greensprout’s attention was taken from him and could see Spiral snickering out of the corner of his eye. But…..thinking more about it, it really was getting chilly.

Fourth Tenet

“Why is Crazylocks sedated?” Greensprout asked.

“I started an experimental treatment that would test her cognition, but arising circumstances offered us tad more insight via her having a psychotic episode.” Quantum Tech explained.

“And just what were these ‘circumstances’?” Greensprout asked firmly. She wasn’t too happy about them so readily resorting to forcing Crazylocks to sleep.

“Remember when you tried to heal her with your Gaia Root, and she started crying for her grandpa not to do something?” Spiral Galaxy asked. Greensprout nodded. “Well, we asked her who her grandpa was, and that’s when she started freaking out.”

“Oh dear…” Greensprout said. “What all did she do?”

“She was shouting nonsense. I think she even said something in Zebota’s language.” Fire Fight said.

Zebota nodded. “She did. She said something about marrying a tree on top of a volcano.”

“Ya know, come to think of, she kinda started talkin’ hood like I do and talkin’ southern like Kickback.” Turf War said.

“Well, Ah reckon that’s cuz she’s gotten used to us by now.” Kickback said.

It was at that statement that Quantum gasped from having an epiphany. “Could that mean…..Was the nature of her episode not as random as we might have imagined?”

“What do you mean?” Fire Fight asked.

“What I mean is that she’d rather remember us than her grandfather, hence the content of her babbling. She wants only fond memories with her friends rather than memories of the torment she suffered.” Quantum conjectured.

Everypony glanced down at the slumbering loon. Was Quantum Tech right? Was Crazylocks expressing her true feelings the only way she could? Was she really as insane as they all thought? “So in a manner of speaking, she’s not even insane at all?” Air Slash inquired.

“Oh no, darling. Even without her extreme method of memory repression, her tampered genetics has flung her body into chaos, and her brain is having difficulty adjusting. But that alone shouldn’t cause any major side effects given the fact that she has attained a degree of control over it, so mental therapy would be her best treatment.” Quantum explained.

Fire Fight’s own sorrow turned into determination as he came to a conclusion of his own. “She’s afraid.” He muttered. “Greensprout, you were right. When we first let Crazylocks come with us, I said that we’d treat her with absolute care, but we failed, and only now do we know just how much she knows she’s suffering. Even if she can’t always take priority, I think we can all agree that we need to give her the attention she needs when we have a moment.”

“Word, homie. I think we just never really knew how to treat her, know how I mean?” Turf War said.

“Now don’t feel too bad, sheriff. Not like we really knew what we could do fer her in the beginnin’. Besides, if she wants to remember us, then doesn’t rightly say somethin’ ‘bout how much she cherishes her time spent ‘ere already?” Kickback said.

Letting those words sink in lifted the foals’ spirits. Even if they hadn’t been as kind as they could probably have been to Crazylocks, it was now clear that she was content to actually have the closest thing to a loving family she’s had in years. “There is much truth in your words, Kickback. Let us continue to nurture her.” Greensprout said. They all nodded in confident agreement.

*****

Shadow Shroud silently leapt between trees and bushes as she scouted the immediate vicinity. The prospect of having former acquaintances of Fire Fight’s looming about may have made the young Shadewalker feel a bit too cautious, but one of her masters once told her that caution heightens focus, which she needed a lot of right now.

So far, nothing. Using her honed senses, the only thing that seemed unusual was the little nip in the air she suddenly felt. No tracks had been made that shouldn’t have been there, no sets of watching eyes, nothing that put her on edge. So after a short while of scanning the area, she decided to start making her way back……..except that she had one more little thing to do.

Shadow Shroud leapt down to a small space between a few trees and patiently sat herself down. So ominous was her presence in that one space that even the birds stopped chirping out of a sheer feeling of tension. The only sound that echoed a few moments later was the sound of a few sticks being quietly stepped on! Despite the danger she could have been in, Shadow Shroud didn’t even flinch. In fact, she creased a devious smile and let out a small giggle. “So you finally get sent out into the wild with the rest of us beasts, and this is how you try to introduce yourself. A little sad, really.”

The footsteps became more obvious, and bush beside her began rustling. From it emerged a stallion completely clothed in a black cloth that seemed to be made of midnight itself. “What’s wrong with terrorizing your prey before the fatal strike?” he asked. The two stared each other down for a moment before removing their masks. The stallion’s coat was the color of burnt charcoal, his mane was navy-blue and his eyes were a dark magenta. He looked to be about in his early twenties.

“Dark Veil, if I recall?” Shroud said.

Dark Veil creased a slightly amused smile. “So here she is. The Masters’ prodigy herself- The ‘legendary’ Shadow Shroud. Didn’t think I’d ever have the fortune of actually meeting you.”

“As I recall, you seldom were the apple of fortune’s eye when it came to training. Don’t be discouraged though. Most fledglings don’t leave the nest until their roughly nineteen. You’re just a few years behind.” Shroud said.

Dark Veil chuckled. “And then there’s you.” He then handed her a kunai that had a coded message written meticulously in its handle. “I believe this is yours.”

Shroud took back her dagger. “Nice to be close to home in a long time. How are things there?”

“Same as it’s always been and probably ever will be.” Dark Veil said dutifully. “Though it looks somepony might have gotten a little overconfident somewhere along the way if the recent headlines are to be believed.”

Shroud rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Give it at least a week, and I promise you that Equestria will have forgotten my face like they never saw it. Besides, it’s nowhere near the first that even an elite member of our clan has raised suspicion. Ponies aren’t completely stupid, you know. And I certainly haven’t broken any of our tenets.”

Dark Veil narrowed his eyes. “Maybe so, but don’t forget that any carelessness from any us could spell doom for those tenets. You of all Shadewalkers should know that! Who are those other foals anyway, and why does one of them look like a damn Bladerunner?”

“My business is my own just yours is yours unless an agreed collaboration is arranged- fourth tenet, rookie. Now regarding why I’ve called you here, I trust you’ve been observing this… ‘quaint’ little town for some time?” Shroud said.

Dark Veil rolled his eyes. “Arrogant little….” He muttered to himself. “Yeah. I’ve been here for roughly three months now, but nothing’s really happened. What about it?”

“Do you know anything about a filly named ‘Bullseye’?” Shroud asked.

“You mean that archer prodigy? Not in particular. Why?” Dark Veil inquired.

“A little bird told me that there’s something about her that may warrant some attention.” Shroud answered.

Dark Veil sighed. “Well…..I can’t deny your ability if the stories passed around the stronghold are to believed.”

“Depends on who tells ‘em.” Shroud said.

“Whatever. So, what about this ‘Bullseye’?” Dark Veil asked.

“Do you happen to know where she lives?”

Dark Veil nodded. “Yeah. Little house just on the edge of these woods. Whoever else lives doesn’t take very could care of their shrubbery. Really kinda stands out from the rest of the houses around it.”

Putting two and two together, Shadow Shroud realized that it was the house that the house described to her was the same one that she used as a sneaking point between the White Tail Woods and Trifectown. “Hmm….Understood. Do you happen to know anything else about her that may not be readily obvious?”

“Nothing for sure, but if you’re really so fascinated by her…” Dark Veil reached into his cloak and pulled out a small, black diamond and handed it to her. “This might prove to be of some use.”

Shroud took the diamond. It’s dark form made the shadows of the forest shimmer off of its mysterious luster. “A Shadow Eye? Really? The Masters don’t just hand these out like candy, you know.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a couple spares. I guess they mean for me to be more of a scout than anything else right now.” Dark Veil said.

“And you’re just handing this one to me?” Shroud asked.

Dark Veil chuckled. “Fourth tenet, rookie.”

Shroud creased a devious smile and stored the diamond in her cloak. “If you ever happen to get homesick, give everypony my regards. I miss them oh so dearly.” She said.

Dark Veil nodded. “If I care too.” He joked. “Walk with the shadows, sister.” He said as he put his mask back on.

Shroud put her own mask back. “Walk with the shadows, brother.” Dark Veil disappeared back into the dark of the forest beyond as quickly as Shadow Shroud could, but wasn’t quite so silent as a great numbers of leaves could be heard crinkling behind the trees, giving Shroud a good chuckle.

With that, she began making her way back to her comrades. About halfway, she stopped and pulled out the Shadow Eye. Her amused smile slowly disappeared as the glint of her amethyst eyes looked back at her. “Tch. ‘Prodigy’…..”

*****

Shadow Shroud emerged from a bush and back into the clearing that she and the others occupied. She could see Fire Fight and Turf War putting a campfire together, Spiral Galaxy calmly watching Crazylocks as she shook her pigtails around like maracas, Air Slash talking to Greensprout and Kickback trying to stop Quantum Tech from jumping on him. Zebota and Shrapnel must have been out hunting.

“Hey, Shroud! You took a while.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud trotted up to the two of them. “Forgive me. Perhaps I was being a little too cautious.”

“It’s all good! Not like we ain’t in a li’l s*** right now.” Turf War said. “Homie ‘bout to whip up some lunch, so I hope y’all whipped up an appetite, and I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout Kickback’s whip. Heh!”

Fire Fight chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Nice, dude.” When he looked back at Shroud, she was staring back out into the forest seemingly lost in thought. Something about the way her eyes gazed into woods seemed rather….solemn. “You okay, Shroud?”

“Hmm? Oh! Yes. Sorry. I think everypony’s a little on edge given the circumstances."

“You ain’t lyin’.” Turf War commented.

“Right. Well anyway, once night falls, I'll set out. I think I know where to go.” Shroud said.

Fire Fight and Turf War were a little surprised to see her suddenly know something that she probably shouldn’t have, but then again, this was Shadow Shroud. Anything was possible. “Ok, great! I’ll make your favorite fruit stew. How about that?” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled. “Finally, a little reward for all my hard work.” She teased.

“Not like you haven’t earned it.” Fire Fight said.

As Fire Fight went to work cooking up a hearty meal for his friends, Shadow Shroud looked around at all of them. They were quirky, silly and sometimes a little ridiculous, but seeing them happy and alive brought a smile to the little ninja’s face.

An Eye For An Eye

The blanket of night draped over the White Tail Woods as the Battle Foals finished their much needed dinner. Greensprout found herself impressed with Fire Fight’s culinary ability and was delighted to know that she’d still have wonderful meals despite being away from home, which the fiery colt was happy to hear. Zebota was able to help Shrapnel grab a nice and lean deer to snack on before helping himself to some stew.

“A delicious meal as always, Fire Fight. Now then, if you’ll excuse me…” Shroud said as she donned her mask.

Fire Fight nodded. “Stay safe, Shroud.”

Shroud giggled as she made her way towards the bushes. “I’m always safe in the cradle of night.” She disappeared into the darkness beyond.

Zebota shook his head. “Nothing nature gifts us with is meant to cradle us.” Shrapnel grunted in agreement.

*****

Shadow Shroud had minimal issue sneaking through the forest and reaching Bullseye’s house. She wasted no time taking cover in the bush on the house’s side. Looking out into the street, she could see that the town was pretty much asleep. A few businesses were just now closing, but other than that, it was quiet. It didn’t surprise her that Trifectown wouldn’t be too lively at night unless there was a big match being held, which there clearly wasn’t.

When she decided that the coast was clear, Shroud peered into a window just above the bush she was in. Through it was a living room next to a small dining area occupied by who she presumed to be Bullseye’s parents, both of whom had Cutie Marks in archery. The stallion, a unicorn was on the couch reading a newspaper while the mare sat at the table completing a complex puzzle. With how late it was, Bullseye must have already been asleep, so Shroud decided to search through other windows.

She carefully crept over to another window a few yard over towards the back of the house and peered through it. It was a dark, unlit room that was only illuminated by what little moonlight shone into it. From what Shroud could see, there was little else than a bed that had only a loose sheet for a blanket. Other than that, it seemed to be empty. However, when Shroud looked more closely, she could see what looked to be broken trophies and plaques and the like scattered throughout the room. “Talk about a junk drawer.” She muttered.

Suddenly, she could here somepony approaching! She silently leapt back into the bush and looked out. Much to her surprise, it was Bullseye looking as disgruntled as ever even with the medal that she had received earlier. Shroud could hear her mumbling to herself. “F****** c**** from Ponyville trying to make me their friend…Tch. We’ll see who’s friendly when I volley about five arrows down their throats!” If it wasn’t made clear by her interaction with Greensprout, it was clear now that Bullseye was not a happy filly, and Shroud was afraid she was about to find out why. She took out the Shadow Eye that Dark Veil had given her and held it up to the living room window. She could hear Bullseye heavily sighing before entering her house.

“Well, isn’t she a ray of sunshine?” Shroud commented.

An ominous silence seemed to slam down on the room along with the front door as Bullseye entered, paying no heed to her parents. Her father put his newspaper down and looked at her. “Where’ve you been?” he asked in an angry tone. It was understandable that he wouldn’t be happy about his daughter being out so late.

Bullseye stopped and just barely glanced over at him. “Where I always am…” she muttered. Her tone wasn’t quite so menacing this time. She started walking into the hallway across the living room presumably towards her room when her father used his unicorn magic to grab her by the tail.

“I’m not done with you!” he growled. He forcefully pulled her back towards him as he got up from the couch. Bullseye’s mother approached them with the same angry glare that her dad had as he held her suspended above the floor. “How’d that little competition today go, huh!?”

Bullseye desperately struggled to fly her way out of her father’s grasp, but to no avail. Her mother then grabbed her medal. “First place again, huh? Of course…” she hissed. She ripped the medal right off of Bullseye’s neck and threw it across the room. “And then you just spent the whole rest of the day at the damn archery range, huh!?”

Bullseye mustered a glare at her parents, but the terror in her eyes held back any ability for it to take effect on them. “Wh-Where else!? Here!?” she stammered angrily. She glanced over at the thrown medal, silently lamenting its broken lanyard.

“What? You want that back?” Her mother taunted. “Mind letting us have it for once!?” she said as she forcefully smacked Bullseye across the left side of her face.

“We were gonna be the biggest stars in archery this century, but we just had to have you, didn’t we!? The second you picked up a bow for the first time, you stole every spotlight, trophy, interview, everything from us!” he dad exclaimed. “Everypony lauded over you while we became chopped liver!” He hit her left eye with such force that Shadow Shroud could feel the shock from her position.

Bullseye let out a scream upon being hit and clutched her eye. A mass congregation of frustration, fear, anger and hate swelled up with her eye. “That’s just your favorite spot, huh!?” she growled.

“We’re open to exploration!” her dad growled. He flung her into the wall with such force that it left a hole where she impacted.

Bullseye crumbled to the floor clutching herself in a heap. “Rnnnngh…..” She gritted her teeth and glared up at her abusive parents. “I’ll just be going to bed now…” she growled as she staggered to her hooves before limply walking into the hallway.

“Fine. Just don’t bother getting up in the morning.” Her mother hissed.

Shadow Shroud was on the verge of drawing her kunai out of sheer anger of what she just witnessed. The snooty fillies in Hoofington pissed her off, but Bullseye’s parents inspired within her the fury of a thousand dragons. Oh how she wished that she could get the rest of the Shadewalkers to help her torture them to a slow, unimaginably painful demise. She had to take a few deep breaths in order to calm down.

It was then that she remembered the Shadow Eye. She smiled as she took it away from the window as she crouched beneath it and giggled deviously. “Well, Dark Veil, it seems as though you have more untapped potential than I gave you credit for.” She whispered. She put the pitch-black gem into her cloak. “I should rescue her ASAP, but I’d have to wait for them to fall asleep. Hmm…..Maybe I should go tell the others first.”

*****

“Kickback, might I see one of your guns for a moment?” Quantum Tech asked.

“Now why’s that?” Kickback asked.

“Well, I’d like to augment them to be more effective if I can, at your discretion, of course. Despite the current lethality of your bullets, they pale in comparison to everypony else’s arsenal......sorry.” Quantum said.

“Aw, shucks. Yer not wrong, but do ya think y’all can do something that wouldn’t make ‘em bulky r’ nuttin’?”

“I should be able to, but I’d need to examine it a little more closely.” Quantum said.

“Well, alright. Hang on a second.” Kickback pulled out one of his guns and carefully unloaded it. Once he was sure it was empty, he handed it to Quantum. “Now you mind yer manners with Ms. Quantum Tech, Sound.”

Quantum giggled. “I’m sure he’ll be a delight if you’re the one <giggle> calling his shots.” She squeaked. Kickback just rolled his eyes in annoyance, which made Quantum even giddier as she began examining his gun. “You have just the most adorable face, Kickback.”

Kickback sighed heavily and held his hat over his face. “Mama, if yer there…..please tell me this ain’t how you met Pa.” he muttered to himself.

Just before Quantum could begin to think, Shadow Shroud emerged from the nearby bushes. “Guys, we have something of an emergency.” She said.

A wave of concern blew over everypony. “What do you mean?” Fire Fight asked.

“Greensprout, you said that Bullseye’s left eye was injured as a result of a training accident, right?” Shroud asked.

“That’s what she told me anyway.” Greensprout answered.

“Well, she was lying to you….horribly.” Shroud said. She explained in thorough detail what she saw of her parents and how she wanted to get Bullseye out of there immediately. Her anger towards them was made very clear by the tone she constantly spoke with throughout her report.

All of the foals looked at her in complete disbelief. “Shroud…..are you serious?” Spiral asked. Her own anger swelled as Shroud nodded.

Air Slash drew his swords with his teeth gritted. “I wouldn’t mind exploring the creed of the Shadewalkers for one night.”

Kickback held his hat slightly over his glaring face. “Well they sound like the type o’ folk that Sound n’ Fury would just love to have a little chat with!” he hissed.

Turf War turned to Shrapnel. “Yo, Shrapnel, feelin’ like a li’l midnight snack?” he asked angrily. Shrapnel huffed calmly.

“He says ‘Hush, children. This is no time to vent our frustrations’.” Crazylocks said.

“He speaks the truth, ponyfolk. We can express our anger once this ‘Bullseye’ is safely with us.” Zebota said. “Besides, vengeance only begets further pain.”

“Zebota and Shrapnel are right, guys. Once we get Bullseye out of there, she won’t have to worry about them anymore.” Fire Fight said. “Though, I do feel like we should figure out a way to get them found out.”

“Leave that to me.” Shadow Shroud said as she smirked. It was the familiar smirk that Fire Fight knew said ‘they’re screwed’.

*****

With some discreet infiltration through the window above the bush, Shadow Shroud managed to silently enter Bullseye’s house. The negative energy of the earlier spectacle weighed heavily within the living room, but she wasn’t about to let that hinder her. It didn’t take long for her to locate her sleeping parents in their bedroom. She pulled out the powerful sedative that Quantum prepared for her without a hint of hesitation. “I’m gonna enjoy this.” She hissed with a devilish smile on her face.

She wasted no time creeping towards the slumbering stallion and spiking him with a nice and healthy dose of sleepy time. “Gruh!.....ugh…..” His body tried to react out of shock, but the sedative took effect immediately.

No less immediately did Shroud ready to strike Bullseye’s mother, but she realized that what she thought was her mother was only a mass of blankets covering a long pillow. “Hmm?” It was then that she heard the sound of a toilet flushing. “Nrgh! This is what I get for being impatient.” She whispered to herself. She quickly leapt onto the ceiling and held her position until Bullseye’s mother entered.

Being an experienced archer must have been a good way to heighten once awareness, because as soon as Bullseye’s mother entered the room, she could apparently sense that something was amiss. She curiously scanned around the room as she slowly made her way to her bed. “Why do I….” Her train of thought was suddenly derailed when she felt something strike the back of her neck with such force that it thoroughly disrupted her senses. She could feel herself being forced to sleep as she collapsed to the floor. When she looked up to see what had hit her, she was met with two amethyst eyes viciously glistening down at her. “Who…….are…….you?......” she asked as the sedative finally overtook her.

Shadow Shroud began making her way to Bullseye’s room as she glared back at the mother’s drugged form. “A prodigy.” She hissed.

Just as she suspected, the nigh empty room full of broken trophies was Bullseye’s. Shadow Shroud found her laying in her bed with no pillow and only a thin sheet to shield her from the nightly chill. To her surprise, Shroud could see that Bullseye was clinging to a high-grade hunting-style bow as though it were a teddy bear. Her parents surely would’ve taken it from her if they knew about it, so maybe they didn’t. Shroud decided to keep her guard in case she had any arrows hidden, especially with what an aggressive attitude she’s demonstrated. She lightly tapped the sleeping archer. “Hey.”

Bullseye didn’t respond immediately, and it took Shroud a few attempts to coax her awake. When she did, she was still holding onto her bow and saw a black figure her size with shining amethyst eyes. “Huh?.....Wh-What the!? Who the f*** are you!?” she whispered.

“Oh, just your new fairy godmother…in a sense.” Shroud answered. “Look, I’ve seen what you go through here. I can get you out of here and take you to a place where you’ll be safe.”

“F*** you! I don’t even know what you look like!” Bullseye hissed. “Now get out of my house before my parents wake up, or they’ll tear you to shreds before I do!”

“Oh! Where are my manners?” Shroud removed her mask, and Bullseye immediately got the feeling that she had seen her before somewhere.

Bullseye scanned her face for a moment. “Wait…..You’re not that ‘unknown’ filly that’s been in the news lately, are you?”

Shroud giggled. “Sorry. I don’t give autographs.” She teased. “And don’t worry about your…<ahem> ‘parents’. I sang them a little lullaby that put them to sleep for at least a few hours. If you’re so inclined, we have plenty of time for you to pack up and leave; I’d advise you bring that impressive bow of yours. I swear to you that my friends and I will give you a safe home.” Shrouds tone became both serious and comforting.

“You mean those other foals that are in the paper too?” Bullseye inquired.

“My, my. Aren’t we perceptive?” Shroud said. “Of course, you are something of a celebrity in this town, so I don’t blame you if-”

“I don’t give TWO S**** about this g******, m************ town or all the stupid c**** that live here!!” Bullseye interjected. “All they want to see is the prodigy archer. Well, you know what being a prodigy did for me!?” She lifted her mane up to reveal her swollen eye. “THIS!!” she let her mane back down. “So, yeah. I’ll go with you, but let me take care of something first.” She hissed as she jumped out of bed.

Shroud was off put by how viciously she cussed, but decided that it wasn’t her first priority. “And what’s that?”

Bullseye glanced back at her. The glare in her eye was bloodshot with boundless hatred, and her gritted teeth made her words hiss with lethal venom. “I’m gonna kill my parents!”

Pain

The normally calm and collected creature of the night suddenly had a tight knot in her stomach upon hearing that declaration as Bullseye flew out of room. Shroud quickly followed her to see that she was in the kitchen reaching for a large breadknife. She quickly threw a kunai and knocked the knife out of Bullseye’s hoof. “What the hell!?” Bullseye exclaimed.

“What are you doing!?” Shadow Shroud asked frantically. She leapt onto Bullseye before she could grab either knife on the floor.

Bullseye struggled against Shadow Shroud holding her down. “Hey! Get off of me, f***face!”

Shroud rolled her eyes in frustration. “Ugh…If this doesn’t set an example for Turf War…” she muttered to herself. “Ok, first of all, enough with the cussing. Second, listen to me for a moment!”

Bullseye head-butted her in the nose, causing Shroud to recoil back a little. She was anything but gentle. “Listen to what?”

Shroud held her nose as she glared at the berserk filly. “Let me talk, and you’ll hear.” She growled. “Do you think that this is something that won’t have consequences? Because let me tell you something: it will! And you’re gonna be the one who’ll have to live with them for the rest of your life!”

Bullseye creased a smile that was both demonic and amused as she giggled. “And what would you know? Have you ever killed somepony you hated before?”

“And you have prior? Well, please forgive my ignorance! Tell me all about it! What’s it like?” Shroud said. Bullseye went back to gritting her teeth in frustration once more. It was all the answer Shroud needed. “Thought so.” She took a small deep breath to calm herself. “You’re right about one thing though. I have indeed taken a life before.”

Bullseye seemed to calm down out of surprise upon Shroud telling her this. “Really now?”

Shroud nodded. “Yes, but it wasn’t without reason and a great deal of thought. If there was any way I could have been able to spare him, I would have taken that path, but there wasn’t…” She recalled the weight of the world burdening down on her heart when she made that fateful decision. “The pony I killed was doomed before I even encountered them as was Equestria, so I merely acted as the reaper. Had the circumstances been any different, I likely would’ve been able to be merciful, but the only mercy they could be granted was their final slumber.”

Bullseye giggled with that same smile returning to her face. “Huh…..You know what? I like you. You get things done.” She hissed. “But how are my parents not deserving of being gutted!? Do you know how much agony they’ve put me through ever since I shot my first arrow!?”

“And kudos to you for maintaining a strong will even if it’s displaced.” Shroud said. “But spilling their blood as mere punishment would be selfish despite their unforgivable transgressions. The only pony they’ve ever hurt was you, nopony else. The pony I slew threatened the entire realm, and they were mentally insane. Death was the only mercy they could be granted. If you’re not around for them to abuse, they’re powerless; think about it. Wouldn’t feeling helpless to do anything be a worse fate than death? Besides, I have a method of exposing them for who they are. They’ll be thoroughly dealt with, I assure you.”

Bullseye’s glare intensified as Shroud finished her speech. “Selfish?.....SELFISH!?” She lifted up mane again to reveal her injured eye. “How is THIS not selfish of them!?” she let her mane back down. “Ever heard the saying ‘fight fire with fire’? I’M GONNA MAUL THEM INTO PILES OF FLESH WITH THEIR OWN SELFISHNESS THROWN RIGHT BACK INTO THEIR F****** DIPS*** FACES!!”

“Adding heat to heat only makes things hotter, Bullseye. Oftentimes, too hot. Do you really want to become just like if not worse than your parents?” Shroud asked.

That seemed to hit home. Bullseye face held an expression that was distorted with both anger and guilt. Shroud couldn’t tell which was more prominent, but either way, she could tell that she’d convinced Bullseye to stay her hoof however reluctantly. She fully understood how strong feelings of anger and hate could cloud one’s judgment, but it looked Bullseye needed to learn to resist its effects. “Fine…” Bullseye growled. She got up as Shroud eased up. “Let me get my saddlebags, and I’ll pack some water and stuff.”

Shroud nodded. “Do you have arrows to go with that bow of yours?”

“Not personally, but I bet my parents have some stashed away from me from back when they were the talk of the town.” Bullseye said.

“Fair enough. I’ve got a couple of friends who’d be able to make some more for you if needed, I’m keeping my eye on you while you’re in there.” Shroud warned.

Bullseye rolled her eye. “Yeah, yeah. I know.” Bullseye packed a water bottle, some protein bars and fruit from the kitchen before making her way to her parents’ room where they were still fast asleep. True to her word, she left them untouched, and she rummaged through their closet. Sure enough, there was a quiver just big enough for her full of high-grade arrows. Shroud had to stop her from getting tempted when she noticed Bullseye giving her helpless parents a predatory glare, but there were no hiccups beyond that.

“All set?” Shroud asked.

Bullseye huffed. “Yeah. I shoulda ditched this hellhole years ago.”

With that, Shadow Shroud led Bullseye safely out through the window and into the White Tail Woods. It wasn’t the easiest trip Shroud had ever made considering Bullseye wasn’t one for very friendly conversation, but one little question lingered in her mind. “Where did you get that bow anyway? I’m surprised that your parents didn’t try to take it from you.”

“I kept it hidden under my mattress. It’s…..my most prized possession.” Bullseye said. Her tone was suddenly a little solemn. “When I was little and my parents actually loved me, they bought me this bow to practice and compete with. I’d always love to see them compete myself. Archery had forever been engraved into my being, but….”

“You won your first competition with unexpected talent, and that’s when they started becoming envious?” Shroud inquired.

Bullseye nodded. “Yeah…”

“Color me surprised that you didn’t dispose of it out of resent.” Shroud said.

“Pfft. Of course not. Archery is my life! Besides, I keep this bow to remind myself of what they can never be- me.” Bullseye hissed.

Shroud sighed. “Bless your soul….” She muttered to herself.

*****

“So Greensprout, what did you do for fun back in Gardenia?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“Nothing particularly unique. Whenever I was not in meditation class, I’d run around the fields and chase butterflies, and if I ever saw an ailing plant, I’d tend to it with utmost care. Oh, the flower fields are just so beautiful and joyful that I’d often lose track of time and be late for other stuff!” Greensprout giggled. “Abbot Meadow would scold me every time. <sigh> It was wonderful.”

Spiral giggled. “It sure sounds like it.”

“It was quite brave of you to leave the nest as you did, darling. Your assistance will indeed be incredibly valuable.” Quantum Tech said.

“I’m more than happy to help. You’ve all been through so much, and I can’t stand to see a broken soul.” Greensprout said. “I just hope that Shadow Shroud will be able to safely rescue Bullseye.”

“Don’t worry, Greensprout. She always comes through.” Spiral said. It was then that everypony heard bushes rustling besides them. “See?”

To nopony’s surprise, it was indeed Shadow Shroud accompanied by Bullseye. They all welcomed her back before turning their attention to the young archer. “Hi! You’re Bullseye, right? I’m Fire Fight. Are you alright? Shroud told us that you’ve…..been through a lot.” Fire Fight said.

As everypony’s eyes were on Bullseye, Shadow Shroud looked into the shadows of the trees. A pair of eyes owned by a dark silhouette holding a black diamond gazed back at her. She and the figure nodded at one another before it disappeared into the night.

“Tch. Yeah…” Bullseye muttered.

The foals were slightly off put by her coldness, but it was to be expected if Greensprout’s explanation of her was any indication. Crazylocks suddenly popped up in front of her. “NEW FRIEND! NEW FUN! NEW HAPPY! HUUUUUUUG TIIIIIIIME!!” She wrapped her hooves around Bullseye and started moving her body in such a way that it looked like she was trying to dance with her while cackling.

“Huh!? HEY, B****!!” Bullseye shoved Crazylocks off her with such force that she essentially punched her away.

Crazylocks landed on her tail and started bouncing on it as though it were a spring. She then sprouted her wings and started fluttering about. “I’m a happy missile! WHEEEEE!!!”

Bullseye was understandably befuddled by the whole spectacle and eyed Crazylocks with both confusion and anger. “What the f*** is the deal with that freak?”

“Yo! Easy wit dat language d’ho, homegirl. We don’t gotta be spitting whack stuff ‘round he’e.” Turf War said.

Bullseye raised her eyebrow at him. “Umm…..English?”

“What Turf War means to ask is for you to please watch your language. It’s bad enough that he has a swearing problem.” Quantum Tech said.

Turf War sighed. “You ain’t lyin’…”

Kickback removed his hat as per his manners. “Ah’m awful sorry for her, Ms. Bullseye. Ms. Crazylocks is bit of a…..special case.” He said. “Mah name is Kickback by the way, an’ these are mah two partners, Sound n’ Fury.”

Bullseye took a look at his guns, and then looked at him with a smug face. “Are those supposed to be some kind of pea shooters or something?” she sneered.

Kickback lost his smile and put his hat back on. “Now Ah don’t reckon that these two are ‘pea shooters’, Ms. Bullseye. Once you see ‘em in action, Ah think you’ll know what Ah mean.”

“Tch. Whatever. They’re pea shooters until then.” Bullseye hissed. Kickback found himself giving her the stink eye.

Zebota and Shrapnel then appeared out of the brush. They had gone to gather some herbs while Shroud was gone. “Forgive us, ponyfolk. There were not as many herbs as we-”

“HOLY S***!” Bullseye exclaimed. She quickly drew her bow and fired an arrow at Shrapnel. It would have hit him right in the eye had Spiral not caught it with her magic.

“Hey! Stop! It’s ok. That’s just Shrapnel. He’s Zebota’s pet timberwolf.” Spiral said.

Bullseye looked back and forth between the zebra and his ‘pet’ in shock. “Wh-What!? Are you s******* me?”

“I’m sorry, Bullseye. Totally forgot to warn you. I guess I’ve gotten used to the big guy already.” Shroud said. Shrapnel grunted.

“But know that he is not my pet, but my friend. It is a pleasure to meet you, Bullseye.” Zebota said.

Bullseye looked like she was on the verge of laughing her head off. “A timberwolf…..for a friend? You’re seriously that lonely? Wow! That is pathetic beyond belief!”

Shrapnel growled ferociously upon hearing that, but Zebota held him back with his brooch. “No, my friend.” Shrapnel eased up, but continued to glare at Bullseye. Zebota looked at Bullseye. “You think it is pathetic? Why?”

“Why? Seriously? You don’t any other zebra friends to turn to? Not even your parents?” Bullseye asked.

“No…..My parents have left this world….” Zebota muttered.

Bullseye lost her amusement upon hearing that. “Oh….Well, lucky you.”

“What was that!?” Zebota exclaimed, but Shrapnel held him back with his claw.

“You get to roam free with your mutt while I was stuck back home with those a**holes who called themselves my f****** parents, and I didn’t get to tear them to shreds like they deserved !!” Bullseye exclaimed.

“Hey! Easy, Bullseye. I know you’ve had it rough, but there’s no reason to vent it on us.” Fire Fight said firmly.

Bullseye eyed him. “Hmph! And what do you know about me!? Why did all of you f***nuts even run away, huh!?” Fire Fight explained pretty much everything he did to every new foal up to this point. He was used to it by now. The other foals explained their histories as well. Once they were finished, Bullseye wasn’t any more amused. “Tch! So you’re all just f****** pathetic little wimps!”

“Da f*** you just say, b****?” Turf War said as he drew his hammer.

“Turf War.” Greensprout said. Turf War sheathed his hammer in response.

“What do you mean we’re wimps?” Fire Fight calmly asked.

“You all felt pain like me, but didn’t do jack s*** about it except run away like little b****** with your tails between your legs! You all have the ability to make them suffer, make them scream for dear mercy under your hooves, but you just had to a bunch of goodie-four shoes and let them go unpunished! Why didn’t you stay and fight them!? If I were you guys, I would’ve slit every throat, gouged every eye, and ripped out every f****** heart of every last one of those f******! They deserve all the pain they put you through and then some!!” Bullseye ranted. She punched the ground as she finished.

The Battle Foals were appalled by just what a violent filly Bullseye was. Years of abuse had done this to her, and it was nothing short of heartbreaking. Greensprout found herself wanting to cry. “Bullseye…..how could you say that?” she said. “How could you be so hateful?”

Bullseye glared at her, prompting Air Slash to get in front of Greensprout in case Bullseye got violent with her. “Tell me……have any of you ever felt so much pain that….it started to feel good?” Bullseye asked. They were all already shocked. “Didn’t you once ever relish in your agony? Did it feel so good, that the sight of somepony else being hurt was pleasant? Especially if it was the ones who hurt you? And at your own hooves no less!?” Bullseye was smiling more and more devilishly as she ranted. “Come on! Don’t tell me that there wasn’t at least one instance where you wanted to make somepony beg for their life for hurting you!”

The Battle Foals were at a loss as to how to respond to her. Fire Fight promised that he would help every lost cause that he came across, but Bullseye might have been an even greater challenge than Crazylocks. “…You’ve lost your mind…” Zebota mumbled.

Greensprout then stepped up. “Actually Bullseye, I have…..and it was a horrible feeling that I never want to feel again.” She declared.

Bullseye looked at her. “Huh?” Greensprout explained her rampage when she discovered that the Fallen had slain her parents and how the Battle Foals had taught her what it truly meant to fight.

“We have all felt pain, Bullseye. That much is true, but we must not let it consume us.” Greensprout said.

“Indeed.” Air Slash said. “Pain may be cruel, but it can be an effective teacher if you pay close enough attention.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve learned plenty!” Bullseye growled as she showed her left eye. Everypony gasped to see the sheer extent of what she’d endured.

It was then that Greensprout creased a little smile. “Well, why don’t I make some of it go away? My Gaia Root here can-”

“I know. Shroud told me.” Bullseye cut her off. “And I refuse.”

Greensprout looked at her like she was crazy. “Wh-What!?”

“I need a reason to feel hate, to relish in pain, and what better way to do that than to bear a scar left by those you hate the most?” Bullseye growled.

Greensprout held up her Gaia Root and began charging it. “Sister, you must-”

Bullseye swatted the sacred root out of her hoof. “You touch me with that thing, and I’ll f****** kill you!”

Air Slash drew his swords and pointed them at Bullseye. “How dare you!!”

Greensprout gently tapped his shoulder. “Air Slash…” The look in her eyes softly told him to let, so he did while keeping an eye on Bullseye. She sighed. “Bullseye…..your spirit has been broken into so many pieces…..but…..know that I have the power and will to mend you. Please don’t hesitate to talk to me.”

“Pfft. Whatever.” Bullseye growled. It was gonna be a long and bumpy ride, but The Battle Foal’s newest recruit was gonna be their newest obstacle…

Cold Was The Night

Back in Ponyville…

“<yawn> Is their train here yet?” Spike asked groggily. He and Twilight were at the train station late at night waiting for the CMC and Rarity to arrive from Trifectown. It had been a few days since the groups were dispatched, and they were the last to come home, hopefully to some avail unlike everypony else.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer, Spike. I’ve heard that all of the trains stations have been taking extra time to search their cargo before departing in case those foals stowed themselves away, so it’s expected that there’s gonna be a little delay here and there.” Twilight said. “Though it’s started to get kinda cold out here. Brrr!” She shivered a little bit.

“Yeah. It’s a good thing that we got all those newspapers to put all the runaway foals in their headlines. Sure beats the heck outta printing a million and a half ‘missing’ posters, huh?” Spike said.

Twilight giggled. “You sure said it, Spike.” Just then, she saw a light from down the tracks approaching them. “Here they are!” she cheered.

“Ugh, finally…” Spike muttered. The train came to a slow, screeching halt at the dock of the station, and the doors opened to release its only passengers bound for their home here. Twilight and Spike were about to happily greet Rarity and the fillies when they noticed that Scootaloo was holding an ice pack to her left eye. She looked like she was in pain. “Whoa! What happened, Scoots?”

Scootaloo narrowed her other eye in the type of frustration that held back tears. “It was that stupid Bullseye!” she exclaimed.

“Scoots…” Applebloom muttered. She and Sweetie Belle hugged and comforted their friend.

“Rarity, what happened? Who’s this ‘Bullseye’?” Twilight asked.

Rarity sighed and shook her head. “Oh, Twilight, if only you could have been there. The girls were asking around town as we planned, and they decided to talk to one of the fillies that was a talented archer.” She said. “But Twilight, she….Ugh! She was just the most uncouth little demon I think I’ve ever seen! The girls said nothing unkind to her, but she had just the filthiest mouth in all of Equestria! She used the ‘f’ word, Twilight! The ‘f’ word! Her parents ought to give a proper punishment!” Rarity had to compose herself. “Anyway, it ended with Bullseye punching poor Scootaloo in her eye. Oh, it was just awful!”

Twilight found herself appalled by Rarity’s story and looked at the pained fillies. “Is that true, Crusaders?”

“Yeah…..She told us she would hang us on targets with our throats at the center if we talked to her again….” Sweetie Belle said. “I kinda don’t wanna go back there…”

“Me neither.” Applebloom mumbled. Scootaloo’s frustrated anguish spoke for her.

“Whoa….” Spike muttered. “Wonder what her deal is?”

“Maybe I should go to Trifectown myself and try to talk to her. I’ll bet there’s something that’s really bothering her.” Twilight said.

“Tch! Yeah! She must have a lot of problems if she’s gonna freaking punch me in my eye and threaten us like that!!” Scootaloo shouted angrily.

“Darling.” Rarity lightly touched Scootaloo as her friends embraced her.

Scootaloo took a deep breath. “S-Sorry…..Can we just go home already?”

“Good idea. I can definitely see that you all had a hard time.” Twilight said. They all nodded and made their way back home.

*****

Twilight and Spike had retired to their beds for the night. The thought of the CMC encountering such a violent filly made the already looming chill in the air even more bitter. Twilight planned to head out there to see what could possibly be troubling the little archer. “Man, oh man. Poor Scoots…Wonder what’s up with that ‘Bullseye’ filly?” Spike said as he covered his scaly body with his blanket.

Twilight laid in her bed without feeling much less disturbed. “I hope to find that out for myself, Spike. You’ll come with me, won’t you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Spike asked.

“Well, it’s just….I’d hate it if Bullseye lashed out at you too.” Twilight said.

“Meh. If I can swim in lava, I can take a beating from an angry filly. No need to worry.” Spike said.

Twilight giggled. “You’re a real trooper, Spike.”

“Heh. Yeah, I know.” Spike said. The two closed their eyes and let their minds drift off to sleep. The air might have had a nip, but Luna’s radiant moonlight bathed and caressed the two like a soothing lullaby. Even the heartache they had shared with Scootaloo seemed to fade away in its gentle luminescence.

Twilight suddenly felt a sudden shift in the cold air that startled her awake. She looked around her room, but saw nothing strange…..except…. “Huh?” Beside the jewelry box where she stored her tiara was a small paper wrapping that wasn’t there before. She levitated it over to herself. “What’s this?” She opened the wrapping to find a small black diamond accompanied by a note.

“If this package has been opened, then let it be known that its intended recipient is important and should know what to do with it.”

Twilight found herself unnerved to the point of her breaths becoming shaky at the unaddressed note. Who was this unknown sender, and what was this black diamond that they wanted her to have? Was it for her? If the message in the letter is to be believed, then she should know exactly what to do with it, but she didn’t, so she decided to examine it more closely. “Hmm? It…..has a recording spell enchanted into it. And it looks like there’s a playback.”

Just then out of the corner of her eye, she could’ve sworn she saw a dark silhouette out her window, but when she looked, whatever might’ve been there vanished. Twilight was nervous to play the recording and view its contents. This strange gem just appeared to her. Was it going to show some kind of threat? Was it a trap placed by somepony? Was it…..some inappropriately timed prank by Pinkie Pie? She gulped before using her magic to watch the playback. When she watched what it had recorded, she knew that whoever this pony was had definitely meant it for her…

*****

The Battle Foals decided to move further away from town before calling it a night since Bullseye’s disappearance would be noticed right away, and they’d no doubt look into the woods. They couldn’t help but wonder how much Bullseye’s parents would try to put on a façade just to save face. Speaking of Bullseye herself, she fluttered a short distance away from the other foals, largely keeping to herself. The air around her was incredibly tense, and the foals kept an uneasy eye on her as they all hiked through the dark forest in a tense silence.

Turf War leaned in to whisper to Fire Fight. “You sure dis a good idea, dog? She…..”

“I know…” Fire Fight said. “We’ve only just met her. Give her time to get used to us. She’ll come around.”

“Yeah….Maybe….” Turf War said.

“Her scars run deeper than most.” Zebota said. “And she only remembers hatred rather than love.”

“So we have to show her love if there’s any hope of healing her.” Greensprout said.

“Let us be cautious about it though. We don’t want to set her off. Dodging arrows was something I was admittedly a little rusty at.” Shadow Shroud said. Looking at the black-hearted archer, Shroud knew that she and her weren’t so different. Both were ponies who embraced their inner darkness, but Bullseye never learned how to sublimate it. Even if Greensprout was her opposite that would try to make her whole, Shroud was the one to speak to her on their shared level. Though, she wondered how she saw the world through her blackened eye.

“Hey, Air Slash? Have you given her a medallion yet?” Fire Fight asked.

Air Slash was eyeing Bullseye with contempt. “Hmph. I don’t think she quite considers herself to be one of us, and I don’t feel so inclined to hand her one seeing how she threatened Greensprout.”

“Yeah….She’s gonna take some getting used to, but we have to be there for her now. Who else is she supposed to turn to?” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Indeed. Perhaps not initiating her into our group right away is the best course of action.” Quantum Tech said. “For now, I’d strongly suggest letting her have her space and let her come to us.”

Greensprout sighed. “Very well…” She wanted to help Bullseye any way she could, but the archer’s spiked heart repelled her away without a hint of mercy, and nothing made heart ache more.

Air Slash put his hoof on her shoulder. “We’ll salvage her…..I promise. Just let me know if she lashes out at you or anything, ok?”

Greensprout smiled warmly at the young samurai. She was incredibly thankful to have such a strong heart at her side. “Thank you, Air Slash.” Air Slash nodded and blushed. For a second, he thought he could see a tint of red on her face as well.

“Hang on, y’all.” Kickback said. He pointed out a large tree a few good yards from the river that looked hollow from their distance. “Ah reckon we could crawl into there fer the night.”

“Alright. Let’s go check it out.” Fire Fight said. “You coming, Bullseye?”

Bullseye turned to look at him. Her exposed eye burned through his soul with that same hateful glare. “Yeah…” she hissed.

Fire Fight grimaced as she followed them to the tree. Sure enough the roots of the tree were sprawled out in such a way that it made a room inside about the size of three schoolhouses even though the entrance was too small for Quantum’s mech or Shrapnel to fit through. Of course, Shrapnel didn’t mind staying outside if it meant guarding the foals.

“Well, dis a nice crib to crash.” Turf War said.

“And it’s right by the river too! Why don’t we restock our water while we can?” Spiral said.

“Good idea. We’ll start setting up camp in the tree while we’re at it.” Fire Fight said. It didn’t take the foals too terribly long to refill their water bottles and pick a spot to lay their sewn bedrolls in the space within the tree. Quantum left her mech just outside the entrance where Shrapnel laid down and guarded them. She and the other unicorns helped the others by providing some light in the dark space.

Spiral walked up to Bullseye and handed her a bedroll. “Here, Bullseye. We had one made for you. It should be nice and snug!”

Bullseye eyed her for a moment and then shifted her gaze to the folded grass sack. For a split second, Spiral thought she saw a sparkle of something that wasn’t bloodthirsty hate. Bullseye then forcefully swiped it from her. “Thanks.”

Spiral maintained a smile despite Bullseye’s cold rudeness. “S-Sure!” She had to compose herself for a second. “Look…We know you’ve been through a lot, so…...we’re here for you, ok? We all care about each other, and now you’re with us.”

Bullseye just set up her bedroll, largely not heeding Spiral’s words. “Great. Go care about me somewhere else.”

Spiral lost her smile. It was probably the wrong time. “O-Okay.” She went back to her own bedroll. “Hey, does anypony know where Turf War is?”

“I believe he only decided now that he wanted to refill his bottle, the buffoon...” Air Slash said.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes. “Hang on, guys. I’ll go get him.” He got up and exited the tree, shivering a little in the process. “Brrr…When did it get so cold?” As Air Slash suggested, there was Turf War at the river alone at the riverbank holding his bottle in the river. Fire Fight trudged up to him. “Turf War, you’re filling that thing up now?”

Turf War looked back as he continued to hold his bottle in the water. “My bad, bruh. I ain’t thought I was gonna need to, but I chugged the rest o’ di s*** down ‘fore I knew we was crashing here-” He was cut off when he suddenly felt his hoof in the river begin to chill. “Damn.” He retracted his hoof with his bottle full, but was befuddled to see it clouded with frost. “Da f***?”

Zebota suddenly rushed over to them with Shrapnel, who was growling at the river. “Zebota, what’s going on?” Fire Fight asked.

Shrapnel’s growling suddenly became more guttural. “Shrapnel feels it too. This cold…..It is not natural!” He drew his boomerang and faced the river. “Show your true nature, demon!”

“Hol’ up, dog! What demon?” Turf War asked. His question was quickly answered when the river water began to freeze over as a cloud of frigid mist suddenly formed and began congregating, seeming to condense into something. Turf War drew his hammer-axe and shield as Fire Fight ignited his gauntlets, ready for what might appear…

Breaking The Ice

The other Battle Foals came out running as soon as they heard the commotion outside. What they didn’t expect was the icy spectacle before them. “What’s going on!?” Shadow Shroud exclaimed.

“I was kinda hoping you’d know!” Fire Fight answered. He was struggling to keep his gauntlets ignited under the frigid, cold air.

Quantum Tech began scanning the anomaly with her glasses, and she did not like what she was seeing. “Could…..C-Could it possibly be……” The ethereal mist began congregating into a discernable shape, and it was the shape that Quantum feared it to be- a pony. It was a pony of a more….majestic appearance than what Equestria was used to seeing of its denizens, but in the form of a transparent spirit standing on a cloud of freezing mist. Everything around it seemed to freeze more quickly as its form became more stable. It let out a neigh that was accompanied by an otherworldly howl. “WINDIGO!” Quantum immediately ran to her mech suit.

“But I thought they only appeared when there were strong feelings of hate or disharmony!” Spiral Galaxy said. It was then that she had a revelation. “Bullseye!” she looked at the angry archer who had her bow drawn with a nasty smile on her face.

“Hehehehe! At least I’ve got something to slaughter now!” Bullseye exclaimed. Her mane blew in the chilling wind, revealing her swollen eye. She fired her arrow, but much to the foals’ surprise, the windigo quickly erected a barrier of ice in front of itself. Bullseye’s arrow cracked the ice considerably, but the ice wall broke and sent it right back to her. Bullseye caught the arrow and snarled at the icy wraith. “Gonna put up a fight, huh!? Good! It’s a lot more fun if you’re struggling!” She hissed.

The windigo took the floating shards of its ice shield and enlarged them into large icicles that it aimed at the foals. “DRAW!” Kickback whipped his guns quicker than he spoke and managed to shoot out about half of the icicles before the windigo fired the rest like missiles.

“DEPLOYING SHIELD!” Quantum Tech tried to project a force field that would block the rest of the icicle spears, but for some reason, nothing seemed to be responding. “Huh!?”

“INCOMING!!” Fire Fight shouted. They all had to dive out of the way of the icy onslaught lest they be skewered into a frozen hell. “Quantum, what happened!?”

Quantum Tech panicked as she realized what was wrong. “Th-Th-The air! It’s become far too cold! All of my systems are starting to freeze!” she exclaimed. “I have to abandon ship!” She activated an emergency mechanism that opened the mech’s windshield, allowing her to escape. She lamented having to let her precious creation succumb to the elements.

“Hmph! Two can play at that game!” Spiral declared. Gathering her focus, she managed to generate a cosmic field around her that formed a cluster of meteors. “Today’s forecast calls for a chance of TOTAL ANNIHILATION!” She launched the meteors in rapid succession at the windigo, but the frigid phantom dispersed itself into a cloud of mist, allowing the meteors to pass right through it. The intense heat from the flaming rocks made it difficult for the wraith to reconstitute, but it was otherwise unharmed. “Well…..I did say ‘chance’…” Spiral muttered. “Nrgh!” Using her powers under the stars quickly started taking its toll, and Spiral Galaxy had to fall back.

“Keep the heat on it, everypony! I’ll continue to scan it for weak point!” Quantum shouted.

Fire Fight’s horn flared up like a dragon breathing fire. “Not a problem!” He used his magic to intensify the flames on the crashed meteors around the mist, but the sublimated windigo simply moved its way behind him and reformed itself. “HUH!?” Even more surprising was that it formed a solid claw of ice around its hoof and quickly took a swipe at him, roaring as it did. Fire Fight managed to parry it away, but even through his ignited gauntlet, he could feel the phantom’s cold touch chill down to his bones. It seemed to shriek in pain having been struck by intense heat.

Air Slash lunged at it with his swords, but it dispersed into mist once again. “Rgh! Fight me, coward!” The cold air made it difficult for him to stay aloft, so he had to land. He seemed to get his wish when the cloud of mist once again reconstituted into the windigo, but this time, it reinforced its entire form in a suit of icy armor. Its appearance turned from eerily majestic to monstrous and grotesque, and its haunting roar matched it perfectly.

Zebota, seeing the situation become dire, raised his boomerang and clutched his brooch. “Machukizo! Sikia sauti yangu! Kuwa wametengwa na ulimwengu huu, na kurudi kuzimu ambayo ungekuwa imetoa!” His message seemed to reach the phantasmal fiend, but it only glared and growled at him in response. “So you will not leave? So be it! SHRAPNEL, ATTACK!” Shrapnel wasted no time heeding his master’s command and lashed out at the windigo at full throttle. He swung his huge claw at the frozen phantom, but its armor held up much better than expected even from a blow from the wooden titan.

“YO, B****!” Turf War took the opportunity to shield-ram it in the side. Just as the windigo turned it head to face him, Turf War smacked its head with his seismic hammer, shattering the ice encasing it. Just before Turf War could even crease a devious smile, the windigo used the momentum of being smacked sideways to spin-kick him faster than he could react. “OOF!” Turf War went flying into a tree and sustained some nasty bruises.

“Turf War!” Greensprout acted quickly and began channeling her healing beam onto him, but the emerald adoring the Gaia Root began freezing over. “<Gasp!>” The healing beam dwindled down within seconds as the emerald was encased in ice, and Greensprout was starting to panic. “O-Oh no!” The windigo appeared in front of her with its gnashing teeth lunging towards her.

“GREENSPROUT!!” Air Slash immediately launched a sword beam at the windigo’s head, slicing its armor off and distracting it from Greensprout. With all of his strength, he locked eyes with the wraith and threw himself at it, readying his swords to strike. This time, the windigo fought back. The two exchanged a few blows before Crazylocks suddenly pounced on it.

“GIDDYUP, HORSIE!!” She began wailing her reinforced hair onto the icy wraith’s body armor, cackling with maniacal glee as she did. Shadow Shroud joined in on the fun as she began striking it with her kamas. Kickback shot at its armor where it was starting to crack, knocking large chunk to expose its ethereal body. Bullseye took aim with two arrows and fired them simultaneously into its front knees. Shrapnel wailed on it as Zebota readied an incantation that he hoped would banish it. Fire Fight concentrated on thawing out Greensprout’s staff. Spiral Galaxy managed to regain her focus a little and went to check on Turf War, who was struggling to his hooves.

“Keep the pressure on! I’m still scanning!” Quantum shouted.

“Well, scan faster! This f***** won’t listen to reason!” Bullseye shouted as she took aim at its head. She fired her arrow right into its open mouth as it roared from struggling against the foals. For a moment, it seemed as if the solidified wraith actually choked on the arrow, but reacted as though it was having a heart attack. It quickly regurgitated the arrow right back at Bullseye, and she caught it. “Huh…”

Seeing the odd reaction, Quantum Tech focused her glasses on its mouth. When she got a reading, she gasped. “Everypony! Listen carefully! It-”

“<ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!>”

The windigo unleashed a blast of icy wind from around its body that blew the foals away. Shrapnel managed to endure the shockwave, but the localized winter caused his wooden limbs to locks into place, rendering him almost immobile. Everypony was chilled to the point of being frozen alive and could barely stand……except for Bullseye.

Brimming with unhinged anger, the violent archer shook off her frosting shackles and drew an arrow to her bow. “SAWED-OFF M***********!!! I’M GONNA GOUGE YOUR G****** EYES OUT WITH YOUR OWN TEETH!!!” She fired her arrow, but the windigo managed to freeze it right out of the air before it could even touch it. “Gnnrrggh! Not gonna make this easy, huh?”

Quantum Tech struggled against the frigid cold and called out to Bullseye. Her chilling body impeded her speech. “B-B-B-Bullse-e-e-eye…..” Her words stammered over her shivering body. “I-I-It has a c-c-c-core…..wh-when it’s s-s-solid! Y-Y-You nearly hit it earlier!”

Bullseye’s exposed eye lit up upon hearing that. “Where!?”

“I-I-In its th-th-throat!” Quantum stammered.

Bullseye locked eyes with the angered apparition as it encased itself in a more intimidating icy armor. It’s demonic growls shook the freezing air it emitted; even the night sky itself seemed to tremble, but Bullseye just drew an arrow like it was nothing and kissed its head before readying it onto her bow. “It’ll be a cold day in hell…….once I send you there!” she declared.

As if to retaliate her threat, the armored windigo howled to the moon before lunging at her with its gnashing fangs. Time seemed to slow down as Bullseye’s archer senses kicked in. Her one good eye was all she needed to peer down its throat and catch a small glimpse of a an ethereal orb-like light construct that seemed to flow from all directions throughout the windigo’s body. As quickly as she aimed her bow to fire, a sadistic smile creased the filly’s face. A gust of wind suddenly blew over and flipped her mane up, revealing her swollen eye. She let go as soon as she got her chance. “Bye…” she whispered.

The arrow flew down the wraith’s throat, and it fell to the ground, writhing in agony. It screamed and howled as its entire form began to crack. Light poured out from the cracks as if it was bleeding. One last excruciating howl marked the end, and the windigo exploded into a cloud of mist that dissipated into the air, releasing its frigid grip on the area around. Bullseye walked over to where the windigo drew its last breath and found her arrow in the last fumes of mist as it vanished. She picked it up and put back into her quiver without remorse. “Don’t bite the hoof that feeds you.”

Fire Fight managed to fumble to his hooves quickly and used his magic to help heat everypony up, and Greensprout wasted no time regulating their vitals; she was careful not to heal Bullseye’s left eye. Quantum’s mech was thankfully still fully operable, but she had to start it to let everything heat up again. “Great job, Bullseye!” Fire Fight said. “But….how did you manage to brave the cold like that?”

“Tch. I’m surprised you didn’t, wimp.” Bullseye sneered.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes in annoyance. “I didn’t want to risk starting a forest fire.” He scoffed.

“That aside, I’m still impressed that you managed to ignore the freezing temperatures.” Shadow Shroud.

Bullseye seemed to lower her head a little as she just eyed them with that same distant, passive glare. “I’m always cold…” she muttered.

For a moment, the foals could see a small glint of sorrow in her normally hostile eye. It wasn’t easy to forget the abuse she endured, but it was easy to forget that despite the darkness it planted in her, she still had a soul. It was in that moment that Air Slash approached her. “I suppose you’re deserving of this now.” He pulled out a Battle Foals medallions and handed it to her.

Bullseye looked at for a moment before taking it. “Hell’s this?”

“It’s the symbol of the Battle Foals, Bullseye. For your valiance against the windigo, we now officially welcome you as one of our own.” Fire Fight said. He turned to the rest of the foals. “Any objections?” None were spoken, and the foals happily shook their heads. “Awesome.”

Bullseye creased a little smile before putting the medallion in her bag. “Even though I probably drew that son of a b**** here?”

“Actually, darling, I’m not so sure that it really was you that summoned that monster.” Quantum said.

“She speaks the truth.” Zebota said. “I have read about these creatures, and…..despite what little has been documented about them, this one felt somehow…..different…”

Gone With The Wind

Back in Canterlot…

“Windrider, what’s the progress of spreading the word about the missing foals as of now?” Celestia asked her messenger.

“Milady, I’m happy to report that every newspaper in the realm has put them in their headlines. Everypony in Equestria should be informed by now. I’ve even got a few reports of active search parties led by a town’s acting authorities.” Windrider answered.

“Excellent! Surely those foals will finally be found in the near future. Have there been any more reports of runaways?” Celestia asked.

Windrider shook her head. “No, milady. As of the last report we’ve received, there have been no further cases of foals running away. However, nopony has sighted those that already have either.”

“I see. That’s good news at least.” Luna said.

“Whatever do you mean, sister?” Celestia was a little concerned over her statement.

“I meant that no more foals running away is good news.” Luna replied. Her thoughts were with the Battle Foals, namely their newest recruit.

“Oh, of course.” Celestia said. “Thank you, Windrider. Let us know right away if anything else arises.” Windrider bowed to her princesses and left the throne room. “Let us hope that this is enough. Fire Fight has been very clever to avoid us thus far. If a Shadewalker truly is involved…”

“I know.” Luna said. “Sister…..tell me. Why do you think New Moon believed what he did?”

Celestia looked at her sister in surprise, not expecting a question such as that. “What’s this all of a sudden?”

“I’m only curious. Unlike me, you knew him personally. Perhaps your experience with him could offer some insight on what urged him to break away from Equestria.” Luna said.

Celestia let her sister’s words sink in as she thought back to the renegade warrior. “Well….I remember that he took his training very seriously, more seriously than his comrades despite their shared conviction. It seemed that his thoughts were with everypony’s lives save for his own, but he very much valued his personal freedoms; he was quite the free spirit. He’d scorn any who tried to tell him that he should adhere to norms even if his actions meant saving lives, even me.” Luna’s eyes became surprised upon that last statement. “Many began to call him a renegade, even a traitor, but he would retaliate by saying that they were the true traitors, accusing them of not making lives rather than norms their top priority.” Luna lowered her head sympathetically as she thought about how things must have been for New Moon. “What exactly motivated his actions is unknown to me, but it harbored a part of him that looking back now, I believe we were afraid to understand, and I regret ever scolding him for his….shall I say ‘misplaced’ valiance.”

“If you could speak to him now, what would you tell him?” Luna inquired.

“I would implore to freely speak his mind on every matter that wedged us and his comrades apart. If there was something even I was ignorant to that he was enlightened to, I’d want to know…” Celestia said. She sighed as she thought about what must have gone through New Moon’s mind the night he made his disappearing act. “I remember receiving a report that he’d been sighted in Foal Mountain, so we dispatched our best Bladerunners to apprehend him, but….there was nothing.”

“And that’s how the Bladerunner’s stronghold came to be stationed there?” Luna asked.

Celestia nodded. “Oh, New Moon…..If I ever did anything to hurt you……please forgive me….”

Windrider suddenly burst through the throne room doors. “Your Highnesses! We’ve just received a report of another runaway foal!” she exclaimed.

The princesses perked up immediately. “What!? Where!?”

“In Trifectown! A filly named Bullseye!” Windrider explained. “We’ve already sent word to Princess Twilight!”

“Very good, Windrider. Send a few of our own guards to aid her in her investigation.” Celestia ordered.

“With haste, milady!” Windrider left the room without a second to spare.

“Oh?” A sudden cloud of smoke appeared in front of Celestia and manifested into a letter. “What a coincidence! It’s from Twilight.”

She opened the letter and let Luna read it with her.

Dear Princess Celestia, You’ll probably soon receive word of another runaway foal- a filly from Trifectown named Bullseye. If you have the time, I’d like for you and Princess Luna to join me as I travel there to question her parents and peers. I received a mysterious item that showed me a truth behind her that I firmly believe you should see as well. I’ll explain more once we meet. I think that once you see it, you’ll realize its importance.

-Yours truly, Twilight Sparkle

The odd nature of the letter left the royal sisters a little befuddled. ‘Mysterious item’? What could she mean? Was it the work of the Shadewalkers? It would seem that they’d have to find out for themselves. “Interesting…..I trust you’ll come, sister?” Celestia asked.

“Of course. If it’s something Princess Twilight truly believes warrants our attention, then I’m willing to trust her judgment.” Luna said. Unbeknownst to her sister, Luna felt relieved deep down for Fire Fight saving the archer from her hellish home, but she still remained ever watchful over the Battle Foals as they continued their journey.

*****

After their encounter with the windigo, the Battle Foals decided to save any conversation over the matter for morning; they were all bushed and just wanted to sleep. The residual chill in the air from the fight didn’t even hinder them from wanting their much needed rest. Waking up the next morning wasn’t too easy. The hectic night had caused them to lose some sleep, and they woke up groggy and tired. It wasn’t until the middle of the morning that Fire Fight mustered the strength to cook some breakfast; Air Slash was prudent enough to find some bird eggs first so that Fire Fight could whip up some scrambled eggs and mushrooms. It was just the right pick-me-up.

“<yawn> Not too shabby, hot shot.” Bullseye said.

Even if she didn’t smile, Fire Fight could tell that Bullseye enjoyed her first meal with her new friends. “Glad you approve. You definitely earned it after taking out that windigo last night.”

“Tch. Woulda been nice if it bled. Oh well…” Bullseye said.

“I think that if it bled, we’d freeze even more. Those abominations are winter itself.” Quantum Tech said.

“Never really know 'til ya see fer yerself, but Ah wouldn’t be rightly keen on findin’ out.” Kickback said.

Bullseye chuckled. “Wouldn’t be too big a problem for you and those non-pea shooters.”

“Glad ya see the cactus in the desert, Ms. Bullseye. Ah can’t say much less ‘bout that there bow an’ arrows.” Kickback said. “How’d ya even manage to get yer aim on its core anywho? Ah sure couldn’t see it.”

Bullseye shrugged. “When you’re an archer, your sense tend to….you know, heighten. It just comes naturally to me.” She took another bite of her eggs. “Plus, I keep my mane long so that when wind blows, I have a little reference point to help adjust my aim accordingly.” She explained.

“Hmm! Clever, clever!” Shadow Shroud said.

“Tch. Not getting jealous, are we, little miss ninja?” Bullseye sneered.

Shroud giggled. “Not at all. In fact, I’ll enjoy having a little competition.”

“Hey! I beat you in a fight before, ya know!” Fire Fight said.

Shroud flipped her mane and looked at him with a devious smile. “I wasn’t at the peak of my skill that night, and even if I was, I had intentions of speaking to you. Killing you would have only caused an inconvenience.” She teased.

Fire Fight narrowed his eyes a little. “Hmph. Well, I’m a lot tougher now, so I could probably take you for real.”

“Yes. You’ve grown up so fast since we first met. It almost brings a tear to my eye. <giggle>” Shroud teased. The other fillies followed suit, save for Crazylocks, who was trying to play rock-paper-scissors with a chipmunk.

Fire Fight rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He mumbled. “Anyway, back to the windigo. Quantum, why do think Bullseye didn’t draw it here?”

“Well, for starters, windigos have only appeared a few times in recorded history apart from pre-Equestrian ponies, and the times that they appeared have been in situations where a mass congregation of people have exhibited negative emotions that would draw them. Bullseye, while harboring a heart more tainted than King Sombra’s magic, is still just one pony.” She explained. Bullseye looked away from upon her comment about her heart. “Plus, Bullseye has harbored such feelings since long before we met her, so why didn’t the windigo appear then if she’s truly the one who attracted it?”

“Hmm….Good point.” Spiral Galaxy said. She felt guilty having accused Bullseye of attracting the windigo, but didn’t apologize seeing as Bullseye probably wouldn’t care anyway.

“And Zebota, I believe you said it felt ‘different’. Different how?” Air Slash inquired.

“According to the texts I read on the creatures, they only appear in groups of three. Never has a single windigo attacking been recorded, and they are not supposed to attack people directly like the one last night did. Furthermore, their cryomancy, while reasonable to think is a skill they possess has also never been recorded.” Zebota explained.

“Fo’ real? Maybe dat wasn’t even a windigo! Mighta been some ice ghost o’whatever that lives in these and comes out at night.” Turf War suggested.

“While insightful, I’m afraid that it had to have been a windigo. It’s ethereal form before it encased itself in that ice armor was unmistakable.” Quantum said.

“Why do think it decided to attack us directly and alone?” Greensprout asked.

“I do not know.” Zebota asked. “But….I could feel that it had a connection to…..something. A bond akin to the one I share with Shrapnel.”

“Maybe wit it’s otha homies it s’posed to roll wit?” Turf War suggested.

“Perhaps, but why it decided to change its method of hunting is unknown to me.” Zebota said.

“Much about windigos is unknown, darling. It’s probably best that we don’t dwell too much on the matter unless it were to happen again.” Quantum said.

Crazylocks suddenly popped up in front of Quantum Tech. “THAT’S RACIST!! WINDIGOS ARE BLABARIANITES TOO, YOU KNOW!!” she exclaimed. Quantum didn’t know where to begin and just stammered in frustrated confusion for a second before Greensprout intervened.

Greensprout put her hoof on Crazylocks’ shoulder. “Y-Yes, Crazylocks. They are, but they’re very misunderstood. Quantum Tech is only saying that we need to learn more about them.” She said calmly.

Crazylocks went back and forth between eyeing her and Quantum for a moment before creasing a satisfied smile. “Ok!” she said. She merrily pranced back to her breakfast.

“Ugh…You’re truly a saint, Greensprout.” Quantum said.

“I’m doing what I can, sister.” Greensprout said. Air Slash couldn’t help but to gaze at her for a moment and smile.

Once the foals finished their breakfast, they packed up and exited the tree. “So, where do you think we should go next?” Spiral asked.

Shadow Shroud pulled out her map. “Well….The only places of real note this far to the west are the Smokey Mountains, Vanhoover and Tall Tale. Neither place is too heavily populated, so I don’t expect a great deal of difficulty.”

“I didn’t know the Smokey Mountains were populated.” Fire Fight said.

“Yes, apparently there’s a village on its cliffs and summits called…er…let’s see….Ah! Yodelneigh.” Shroud explained.

“I….guess we’ll just check each spot as we go along?” Spiral inquired sounding unsure.

“Don’t got nuttin’ else we can really do. I’m widit.” Turf War said.

Seeing as they had no way to go but forward, the Battle Foals agreed to begin their trek north. A gust of wind suddenly blew from the north that seemed to catch the attention of Bullseye and Shadow Shroud. The two fillies looked out into the direction of the wind, and then at each other. “You felt it too?” Shroud said.

“Of course I did. It’s what the mane’s for.” Bullseye said.

“Is something amiss, you two?” Air Slash inquired.

“We’re about to find out. Come on!” Shroud said as she motioned for them to follow. Bullseye went ahead of her. Deciding to trust their instincts, the Battle Foals followed their comrades towards wherever the wind would take them.

*****

???

They……took from me……

…….Everything.......

……………They’ll…….pay!............

Trainwreck

The other foals had some difficulty keeping up with the more agile fillies. If Shadow Shroud were a pegasus like Bullseye, they’d match each other in aerial grace assuming she’d even decide to fly; it would’ve seemed that Shroud had met her match if Bullseye was dexterous with more than just a bow and managed to keep her bloodlust hinged. With only the northern wind to guide them, the Battle Foals raced through the White Tail Woods towards whatever awaited them ahead. What they found shocked even the most composed of them.

“WHAT DA F***!?” Turf War exclaimed.

“Turf War! Watch your language!” Quantum Tech warned.

“My language, homegirl!? How ‘bout dis train d’ho!?” Turf War retorted. Before them was a cargo train that had been derailed. Its cars were spilled over either side of the tracks in heap of debris. There wasn’t any smoke or soot in the air, so it must’ve occurred fairly recently. Nopony was immediately in sight.

“What the heck happened here!?” Fire Fight asked.

“What do we care? Aren’t we supposed to looking for other foals?” Bullseye coldly asked.

“Sister….ponies could have been hurt.” Greensprout said.

Bullseye glared at her. “I repeat: what do we care?” she hissed. Greensprout sighed in defeat.

“But I thought you liked it when ponies got hurt. Aren’t you a little curious to behold the carnage?” Shroud asked. She was trying to butter Bullseye up.

“Tch. It’s not as satisfying if I’m not the one dishing it out.” Bullseye hissed.

“Fine then. You can just wait here while we have a look around.” Fire Fight scoffed.

Bullseye turned from them. “Whatever…” she said.

Greensprout was about to say something, but Air Slash tapped her on the shoulder and got her attention. “Let her be. You can’t force her to change. It’d be no better than what her parents inflicted on her.” he said. Greensprout’s pleading eyes looked into his. She couldn’t bear to see Bullseye succumb to the years of agony that her heart had endured, but she knew that Air Slash was right. A small tear fell from her eye as she looked down. Air Slash gently hugged her, which brought some comfort.

One of the train cars suddenly rose from the ground by its corner. The foals looked over there to see Crazylocks effortlessly lifting it up with one hoof and looking at them with a normal-as-can-be expression. “It’s dirty under here, guys!” she said.

“Whoa!” Having not beheld her strength until now, Bullseye gazed at her in awe. “Uh…..damn….”

“Ehehehe….Did we forget to mention that about her?” Spiral Galaxy said.

Crazylocks just continued to stand there with the derailed car propped up on her hoof with the expression of somepony waiting for something to be said. Bullseye snapped out of her amazement and just glared back at her. “Well, throw it away or something!” she sneered.

“Ok!” Crazylocks blurted. With some effort, she lifted the rest of the train car above her and chucked it into the forest. The fact that it managed to go behind the tree lines frightened the other foals; they’d forgotten the legend of the Locks. Crazylocks frantically waved goodbye to the train car as the sound of clanging metal could be heard loudly resounding from behind the brush. “BYE, FRIEND! BYE! BYE-BYE!! DON’T FORGET TO WRITE, AND BE CAREFUL OF THE PEANUT BUTTER SQUID WITCHES!!”

Fire Fight found himself at a loss for what to say, so he just decided to decide that it happened, and that was that. “Uhh…..U-Umm…..L-Let’s…..just back to investigating this.” He stammered. Everypony just nodded their heads and tried to forget what they witnessed.

Bullseye just stammered, and then facehooved. “F****** mutant freak…” she mumbled. She looked up to see Crazylocks standing in front of her with an innocent smile on her face. “The hell you want?”

“TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE-DOWN!” Crazylocks sang.

“Tch. How about I turn your smile inside-out?” Bullseye threatened.

“No way! Don’t you know that brings bad luck!? Think of the rainbow cornstalk children!” Crazylocks pled.

Bullseye just found herself stammering for the right words again, but just couldn’t find herself on Crazylocks’ level of comprehension…..if she had any. “Ugh! Just…..go sniff out…..something. I don’t know! Don’t really care either.”

“Ok!” As Bullseye suggested, Crazylocks just started sniffing the ground around the wreck like a hound, giving the angry archer a little chuckle.

The wreckage scene was anything but pretty. Debris from the derailed cars littered the area around the tracks and spilled into the forest. It wasn’t a passenger train, so the only dead body they could possibly find was the conductor of the train if they didn’t survive the wreck and run for help….which sadly…..

Zebota noticed that there was a peculiar shape peeking from underneath the overturned head car of the train. He didn’t sense any threat, but he had Shrapnel lift it up slightly so that he could inspect what it was. What he saw brought him some shock. “Ponyfolk…..there is something here you should see…” he muttered.

The other foals save for Bullseye trotted over to him. “What is it, Zebota?” Quantum asked. Shrapnel sorrowfully whimpered as he pointed his head at what he and his master had stumbled upon. Quantum gasped. “Oh my word!” Sprawled underneath the wreckage was the crushed corpse of the train’s conductor. The foals were pretty used to death at this point, so while seeing another body didn’t particularly rattle them, they all said a silent prayer for the fallen stallion. Kickback had to hold back gagging at the sight of the corpse reminding him once more of his mother.

“Shouldn’t we…..bury him at least?” Spiral asked.

“Though it pains me…..we shouldn’t. It’s only a matter of time before somepony wonders why their cargo train hasn’t arrived and sends a search to party to discover this.” Shroud said. “All we can do is pray for his weary soul to find peaceful rest.”

“Shroud’s right, guys. Maybe we really shouldn’t worry about this.” Fire Fight said. Bullseye gave him a ‘I told you so’ look, which he shrugged off. It was then that something bugged him about the whole scene. “Speaking of the cargo…..where is it?”

Looking around the wreckage, the Battle Foals realized that much of the resources that the cars must have been carrying were mysteriously depleted. There was some left, but not nearly enough to sustain an entire order warranting it to be transported via locomotive. What was left consisted of various kinds of metal ore, some basic medical supplies, coal and lumber that no doubt came from the healthy forests around Vanhoover. “Maybe it just got spilled outta da cars an’ into the woods?” Turf War suggested.

“It’d all be much closer to the tracks if such were the case, darling.” Quantum said. She got out of her mech to more closely examine the tracks to discern the cause of the derailing and search for any clues regarding the missing cargo with her glasses. “Hmm…”

“Wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute!” Kickback interjected.

“What is it, Kickback?” Zebota asked.

“That smell…..Ah know it all too well!” Kickback said.

Quantum Tech suddenly got a reading from her glasses that pretty much confirmed Kickback’s suspicions and gasped. “Gunpowder!” she exclaimed. Residue from the explosive chemical littered the vicinity of the wreckage. Further examination revealed metal debris that didn’t look like it belonged to the locomotive structures. “Did…..somepony plant bombs…”

“And blow the train off the tracks!?” Air Slash interjected. While not totally conclusive, the pieces seemed to fit together perfectly. The unknown debris had especially prominent amounts of gunpowder residue on them, and there were little craters reminiscent of an explosion occurring where parts of the tracks had been apparently blown off.

“Oh my Celestia…..” Spiral muttered.

Kickback got his serious face on. “Reckon it musta been another pack o’ varmints like the Sand Vipers.” Saying the very name of the bandits that plagued his life put a venomous hiss in his tone, which Bullseye seemed to take notice of.

“Ya gonna go shoot ‘em up, cowboy? I’d be happy to help.” Bullseye sneered with a malicious smile.

“Now let’s not get our tails in a bunch, Ms. Bullseye. We don’t even know where they are.” Kickback said.

“<BARK><BARK>! <BARK>!” Crazylocks suddenly started barking like a dog towards the side of the forest opposite of where they emerged. “THE TRAIL FOLLOWS THIS WAY!! TO ARMS, MY FRIENDS! WE SHALL RAID THE CASTLE AND LIBERATE WORMVILLE!!” she declared. She motioned for them to follow just before running into the forest beyond.

“Crazylocks, what’re you-!? Argh!! C’mon, guys. We better make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.” Fire Fight said.

Everypony immediately agreed and gave chase to the manic filly. Bullseye couldn’t help but to chuckle and shake her head. “Pfft. Freak….”

*****

After a good ten minutes or so of running, the foals finally caught up to Crazylocks, who was stopped at a series of big, thick bushes. “Crazylocks, don’t go-” Fire Fight was about to reprimand her, but she cut him off.

“Shhh! They’ll hear us!” she whispered. As if to mimic Shadow Shroud, she crouched down and motioned for them to inch closer to her, and they did. When they peered through the shrubbery, their suspicions were pretty much confirmed. Hidden within the woods was a large rock formation that seemed to lead into a cave. Surrounding it was a group of ponies, who looked anything but friendly, shifting around and carrying what could only have been the derailed train’s cargo supplies into what was likely their hideout. The foals could hear them talking.

“Jeez! Screw doing pushups! This is a workout all on its own!” one stallion commented as he carried a couple boxes.

“Eh, quite yer grippin’. It’s worth the huge haul, right?” a mare next to him said.

The same stallion shrugged as he entered the cave. “Yeah, guess so. Still can’t believe those explosives worked. Kind of a shame the conductor quacked though….Ah well.”

“We should probably relocate soon. That wreck is pretty close to home, and it might lead the cops here.” Another stallion said.

“Yer right. Boss prolly gonna give the word here pretty soon after we’re able to move all of this s***.” Another mare said. She sighed. “Kinda got used to this place already.”

The foals were in shock of what they just heard. It looked like they had another mess to clean up. “They don’t even care that they killed somepony!?” Spiral muttered. Her horn was liable to call down the thunder at any moment.

Turf War drew his hammer-axe in frustrated anger. “Man! I’m ‘bout to bust through d’here an’ open a can o’ whoop-a** on-”

Air Slash drew his sword and held it in front on Turf War. “Don’t be a fool! We don’t know what we’re dealing with.” He said. Turf War reluctantly sheathed his hammer-axe. Greensprout gently patted him on the back to comfort him.

“Well then. It seems we have some more pillagers to punish.” Shadow Shroud said. “I suggest we wait for them to lower their guard before we make any attempt to strike.”

“Ah reckon that’s a mighty fine idea, Ms. Shadow Shroud. Varmints like these are always a li’l jumpy, ‘specially when their doin’ their dirty work.” Kickback said.

“I guess you’d know that having dealt with thugs like this prior.” Shroud said. “In which case, I’d honestly feel a little more comfortable if you were….<ahem>….calling the shots.”

“I agree. The Sand Vipers didn’t pull any punches, and even if we’re higher in numbers this time, they might still have a trump card or two that we won’t expect. Agreed?” Fire Fight said. The Battle Foals agreed and decided to wait patiently yet eagerly waited for the right opportunity to strike down these marauders……especially a certain archer.

Locking Horns

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys!
If I'm not mistaken, tomorrow is the big day, the Season 7 premiere! As such, there's one little thing I'd like to clear up is case you're wondering. I've told some of you this already, but I have this story planned out from beginning to end, so I'm going to continue to write it as though Season 7 has yet to happen.

Now that that's out of the way, here's another addition the Battle Foals epic adven-
"THE FIBBISH ARE COMING!!! THE FIBBISH ARE COMING!!! THE FIBBISH ARE COMING!!! THE FIBBISH ARE COMING!!! THE FI-" <smack>

<sigh> Thank you, Shadow Shroud.

"My pleasure......no, really."

Back in Ponyville

Roughly a day after she sent the letter regarding Bullseye to the Royal Sisters, Twilight decided to pay Ms. Fight a little visit just to check up on her. She had kept her head held high throughout the whole ordeal ever since the search began, but Twilight worried that she may be pushing herself too hard. “Thanks for having me over, Ms. Fight. I hope it’s not too much trouble.”

Ms. Fight was in the kitchen cooking mushrooms omelettes for either of them. “Not at all, Twilight. It’s nice to have some company for once.” She said.

Twilight could detect a hint distress in her tone, but she decided not to push the issue right away. “The princesses and I decided to meet here and travel to Trifectown from there with everypony else. Are you still gonna come too?”

Ms. Fight plated the omelettes and served them. “Of course. Any lead I can get on my son is a good one. Besides, some of the parents we’ve met so far haven’t been….very likable. If Bullseye had any issues with hers, I’d like to talk to them too.” She said.

Twilight internally cringed at just how right she was, but wanted to wait and reveal her find in front of everypony when the time was right. She took a bite of her omelette and could taste the sheer amount of love that only a mother could pour into any dish. There was just the right amount of cheese blended together with meticulously cooked mushrooms. Twilight normally wasn’t a fan of mushrooms, but Ms. Fight’s omelettes were a special exception. “Mmm! This is delicious!”

“You like it? Good!” Ms. Fight said. She then stopped eating and gazed solemnly at her omelette. A silent but heavy sigh left her sorrowful expression. “These are his favorite….”

Twilight stopped eating upon hearing that and looked up at her. A small tear rolled down the mother’s face and dripped down onto her omelette. Twilight wasted no time walking over there and giving her a much needed hug. As soon as she did, Ms. Fight began to sob a little more heavily. “There, there. We’ll find him. I promised, didn’t I?” Twilight whispered.

Ms. Fight took a few deep breaths and wiped her eyes to calm herself down. “Thank you….” She whispered. “I wonder if…..he’ll come back on his own.”

Twilight wasn’t sure how to respond to that. The notion of him being in league with a Shadewalker was looking all too possible, and if it were indeed the case, even mentioning it could be incredibly dangerous, not to mention that it’d give the poor mare the mother of all heart attacks; she herself was already a little shaken that the strange black diamond she got probably came from a Shadewalker that snuck into her room at night while she slept. Fire Fight would probably also have the good sense to discreetly avoid large amounts of attention from other ponies simply to protect them. “M-Maybe….All we can really do is keep searching and hope for results.” She said.

Ms. Fight sighed. “Yeah…..hope…..”

Twilight sat back and finished her omelette before looking at the clock. “Hmm…I should probably go and get ready. The princesses might already be at my castle.” She got up. “We’ll let you know when we’re ready, ok? Thanks for the omelette!”

Ms. Fight managed to crease a smile. “Sure thing, dear! Take care!” With that, Twilight let herself out and made her way back to her castle.

As Twilight’s presence left the house, Ms. Fight could begin to take a more acutely smell the aroma of the mushroom omelette. That very same aroma had brought so many smiles in only a few happy years. She smiled when she cooked them, Fire Fight smiled when he smelled them, and he smiled even wider when he tore through them like a dog eating its favorite treat. She couldn’t be happier whenever he did. Just when she turned around to go finish her own omelette, she caught sight of a photo propped up on the mantle. She walked up to it and levitated it towards her. Depicted in the small frame was herself, Fire Fight when he was eight years old, and a very fit-looking unicorn stallion letting the young colt climb onto his back. Every single word painted into this picture read ‘happy’, but simply looking at this photo tore at her heartstrings like a manticore mauling its prey. She sighed heavily. “Why?....”

Suddenly, she heard somepony knocking at her door, snapping her out of her train of thought. “Coming!” She put the picture back on the mantle and went to answer the door. When she opened the door, somepony she was shocked to see was at her doorstep- a physically fit unicorn stallion who had a very guilty expression about his face. “F….Fist!?”

The stallion tried to crease a smile, but his face was weighed down by his own emotions. “H-Hey, Cat….H-How are ya?” he said nervously.

She couldn’t believe that her former husband, Fire Fight’s father was at her door. Simply remembering back to when he so heartlessly abandoned them after Fire Fight had discovered his talent made her blood boil at the very sight of him. “Wh-What the hell are you doing here!? How did you even find me!?” she demanded.

Fist winced back a little bit. He wasn’t about to make excuses for himself nor his past actions, but nevertheless, he had to talk to his former love. “I….I saw the recent newspapers….I-Is it true? Where’s Fire Fight?”

“I’m shocked you care!” Cat hissed. “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with that ‘delinquent’! Now tell me how you found me, or I’ll call the guards!”

“Ok, ok! Look, the papers said that his mom was living in Ponyville, so…so I just came here and started asking around. Sorry…” Fist replied.

“‘Sorry’?” Cat muttered. “Sorry for what!? Sorry for leaving us when we needed you!? Sorry for finding me now of all times!? HUH!?”

Fist shushed her. “You want everypony to start looking at you?”

Cat eased up a little upon hearing and looked around. A few curious onlookers seemed to have their attention on them, so she looked him in the eye and sighed with deep frustration. “Get in here.” She growled.

Fist gulped before doing as instructed and entering her house. Cat slammed the door when as soon as he made his way in. “N-Nice place.” He muttered.

“Yeah, it is, and it’d be a much nicer place if you weren’t stinking it up, so spit out whatever is you wanna say so you can hit the road!” Cat shouted.

Fist sighed. He thought back to that day, the day he resigned his position as Fire Fight’s father. “Cat, look…..If we wanna blame somepony for everything…..I won’t deny that I deserve it….Before that incident with the unhappy customer, you two were the light of every day I lived, and I just threw you away like a damn coward….”

“YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT YOU DID! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HORRIBLE EVERYTHING HAS BEEN FOR ME AND HIM AFTER YOU LEFT!?!? HOW MUCH HE AND I HAVE BEEN HECKLED BY HIS TEACHERS AND OUR NEIGHBORS!?!? WE HAD TO MOVE, FIST!! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO RUN AWAY WHEN WE NEEDED YOU MOST!?” Cat shouted. She was starting to cry.

“I know…..and….I’m sorry, Cat……I wasn’t the stallion I should’ve been. I won’t make any excuses.” Fist said.

“Is that all you’re here for!? To remind me of the awful things you put me and Fire Fight through now that he’s gone and MIGHT NEVER COME BACK!?!?” Cat exclaimed.

“No! And don’t say things like that! He will come back! We’ll find him and make everything right again!” Fist declared.

“Oh, that’s RICH coming from you! Every bad thing that’s happened started when you took your flank and scurried off to Celestia-knows-where with your tail between your legs!!” Cat exclaimed.

“No, Cat! It didn’t! You wanna know why?”

“WHY!?”

Fist huffed, trying to hold back his own tears. “After that incident with the unhappy customer, ponies started spreading rumors about me and the gym I worked at. About how I was abusing my son and that’s how he got so violent, or we were secretly part of the mafia, or that I was raising him to be a bully! I couldn’t believe how ridiculous it all became!” he explained.

Cat was caught off guard. She didn’t know anything about such rumors. “Wh-What!? Fist, why didn’t you tell me!?” she was still upset.

“I didn’t want Fire Fight to know, ok!?” Fist had to take a deep breath. “I didn’t want him to hear us talking about it and…..and think everything was his fault. I-I couldn’t stand the thought of him blaming himself for something that was beyond his control. You know he probably would.”

Cat couldn’t deny that Fire Fight had a tendency to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was probably part of what drove him to run away in the first place. Regardless, she was still upset with Fist. “Maybe, but…..you didn’t think that we could tell him it wasn’t? You’re his father, and I’m his mother! It’s our job to talk him through stuff like that, Fist! I endured so much by myself because you kept quiet! You wanna imagine what Fire Fight was going through!?”

Fist sighed once more. Cat was clearly too emotionally high to want to listen to much more, so he decided to cut to the chase. “Cat, I want to help find Fire Fight. I want to make everything up to him if he’s willing to forgive me. I was a coward when I should’ve stood up for you guys, and look what happened! Maybe you’re right……Maybe this is my fault.”

By some miracle, Cat seemed to calm down a little. She knew her husband, and one look in his eyes showed her only pure sincerity. Suddenly, she was brought back to so many happy memories. The day they met on the first day of their junior year, their prom, their wedding, and more importantly, Fire Fight’s birth. The kind of sincerity she felt from him in all of those memories was the very same she saw in his eyes as he stood now. There were indeed times when they made their mistakes and reconciled; it wouldn’t be a marriage if that weren’t the case, but this was truly going to be a trial for the troubled couple. “Fist…”

“Hate me all you want, Cat. I know I deserve it, but…..when I saw those headlines, I was reminded of how much I cherished every waking moment with you two, and……I just want that all back….Don’t you?”

Cat gazed into his eyes while hers welled up with tears. She wasn’t sure if she was frustrated at him, or happy to have the stallion she loved back. Either way, she just let herself go and throw her arms around him, and he reciprocated. The unicorn couple embraced each other firmly as they sobbed their past away. Cat no longer cared that her husband had betrayed her prior. She just wanted her family back, and finding Fire Fight was the final step.

They broke off as they wiped away the last of their tears. “Fist…..I’m sorry too.” Cat said.

“Huh? What for?” Fist asked.

“I….was afraid too. I ran away as much as you did when I took Fire Fight out of Manehatten. I should’ve been braver for him.” Cat said.

“Well…..me leaving didn’t do much to help, and you had a lot of odds against you. I’d say you did the best you could.” Fist said. Cat smiled and pressed her lips to her husband’s. It had been so long since she shared such a tender moment with, and they relished every second of it before breaking off. “Hey….did he make friends here?”

Cat nodded. “Yep. Most of ‘em are fillies. <giggle> Guess he’s really got your charm.”

“And your fighting spirit.” Fist said. “Say….We never did file divorce papers, did we?”

“I didn’t. Did you?”

“Nope. I guess I knew deep down that this day would come. One less thing to worry about, huh?” Fist then detected a familiar and very welcome aroma in the air. “Do I smell mushroom omelettes?” He happily asked. He had the look of a dog wagging its tail when it knew it was about to be fed.

Cat giggled. “You sure do! I’ll make you one before I have to go.”

“Huh? Go where?” Fist asked.

“Have yourself a seat, and I’ll explain. You might want to get involved too….honey.”

Hidden in The Forest

The Battle Foals waited patiently for the bandits to retire into their hideout. It had been about half an hour since the foals happened upon them when they finally did. Moving all of that heavy stolen cargo really took some time. During the time that they worked, a few more of them came in and out of the cave, but according to Kickback, none of them appeared to be their leader.

“You think their head honcho might be nestled down in their lair, Kickback?” Fire Fight asked.

Kickback nodded. “Reckon so. Prolly got their li’l deputies doin’ all the dirty work while he or she is planning their next move an’ managin’ their hauls.”

“Seems reasonable, if our encounter with the Sand Vipers taught us anything.” Shadow Shroud said. “Bullseye, do you per chance know of any recent reports of bandits raids that our ‘friends’ here might be responsible for?”

Bullseye shrugged. “Can’t say I have, not that I’d care anyway.” She said.

“It didn’t seem like the locals of Trifectown were in unrest for any reason, so maybe they’ve never been bothered by these bandits.” Greensprout said.

“I bet it cuz d’hey started rollin’ not too long ago. Prolly ain’t made a name for d’hemselves yet.” Turf War said.

“Hmm….that could be. I bet that means they’ll be easy to deal with since they’re probably not too organized yet.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Even a parasite and its host have a relationship, Spiral Galaxy. Do not anticipate such an easy confrontation on that notion alone.” Zebota said.

“But….what are we even going to do once we confront them? Surely they won’t repent by us simply beating them into submission.” Quantum Tech asked.

“We didn’t expect to do that with the Sand Vipers, but we had to fight them anyway….if only because we had more of an incentive to.” Air Slash said.

“And we have one here too. These guys got somepony killed trying to steal from them, and we’re gonna remind them what happens when they run away from their crimes!” Fire Fight declared.

“MAKE ‘EM EAT FRIED HAY BURGERS SMOTHERED IN PINEAPPLE YOGURT ON A STICK!!” Crazylocks blurted.

“Ehh…..exactly!” Fire Fight said.

“I hope you mean to say that we won’t use violence right away. That would solve nothing.” Greensprout said.

“I do, Greensprout. They probably won’t listen, but we’ll talk things out with them first.” Fire Fight said. “That aside, I think we should have a few of us wait outside at the entrance in case they try to retreat.”

“Agreed. If we all go in guns and hooves blazing, we’ll only have control of the area where we can be cornered if they manage to slip from our grasp.” Shroud said. “I think our mystic duo should at least stay guard. That entrance looks a little too small for Shrapnel anyway.”

“We would not be opposed to that.” Zebota said. Shrapnel grunted in agreement.

“If that’s the case, then perhaps I should stay behind as well.” Quantum said. “I doubt anything down there would really warrant my insight seeing as our opponents this time are a mere group of ruffians.”

“Everypony ok with that?” Fire Fight asked. They all nodded, and there were no further volunteers. “Alright then.” He ignited his gauntlets. “Let’s go derail these train robbers!”

Without any hesitation, the participating foals charged headlong into the lion’s den with Quantum and Zebota wishing them luck.

Within the Everfree Forest...

Zecora continued to search her densely forested home for any sign of the figure. She might have been being more stubborn than usual, but something told her that whatever it was held some sort of significance, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she somehow knew what it was.

“Hmm….There must be someplace I have not searched…” she said. She went deeper into the forest than usual in a last-ditch effort to finally discover her culprit. Her hike took her to an area a good ways beyond the ruined castle; passing by the condemned structure reminded her of their encounter with the lone, aggressive timberwolf. While terrifying, the very nature of the encounter was befuddling. Why was it alone? Not only that, but it seemed to be holding back for some reason, as though it simply meant to scare them away, but from what? Timberwolves held territories, but as far as she knew, none had marked the area around the ruins as their own.

As she came across a clearing, her train of thought was derailed at an completely unexpected sight. “<GASP!>” Before her was an unmistakable Zebra-style hut complete with a garden of cultivating plants native to the forest and even some herbs she recognized as native to her homeland. “Wh-What!? Who lives here?” she called out. “Forgive my intrusion, but please make yourself known! I did not realize that I was not alone!” No response. Concerned, she decided to investigate the hut itself, and that’s when she then noticed the large shed next to it. It didn’t seem to house any sort of tools or anything, but it had a floor of grass and hay big enough to cradle a beast to sleep. “Hmm….”

When she looked more closely at the hut, she noticed that it wasn’t very big, as if a foal lived there; she could barely fit herself through the front door. The interior wasn’t much different than her own hut, but looking around told her that whoever was here packed up and left for some reason. Something on a table nearby caught her eye though, an open book. When she perused its contents, she discovered that it was a diary of a zebra named ‘Zebota’. “Hmm….Have I heard that name before?” There were quite a few entries, and some of them described a friend he called ‘Shrapnel’. A few of the entries stuck out to her.

“As I take my first steps onto foreign soil, I know that I will never take any more on my home soil. My dearly departed parents have blessed me with the gift of forbidden knowledge that has cast me out of the approval of my neighbors, and my only company is Shrapnel. He likes to remind me that I am now as a beast like he is and free to roam where I please. It vexes me to know end that he would care for my welfare considering what he has cost me, but his wisdom brings me some comfort. But this begs the question: where am I truly meant to go now?”

“Oh, child….” Zecora muttered. Reading about Zebota’s parents tugged at her heartstrings. Whoever this ‘Shrapnel’ was seemed to have something to do with his misfortune given how angrily he spoke of him. But what was this ‘forbidden knowledge’ that he had, and what did mean by Shrapnel being a beast? She had her suspicions, but she decided to keep reading.

“I have found this place the ponyfolk call the Everfree Forest. They say that it is fraught with unimaginable horrors, but for Shrapnel and I, these woods are a paradise- I have heard that ponyfolk can be hopelessly ignorant, but I certainly believe that I have found proof of such a claim. That aside, I wasted no time searching for the perfect spot to build a hut for myself and a shelter for Shrapnel- he lent me his strength as he always has. Surely we can live in peace here. The many spirits here have welcomed us with open arms.”

“The ponyfolk are not ignorant!....just…….very quick to judge.” Zecora said. While she wasn’t exactly happy about the ponies fearing her very presence, she quickly forgave them when they learned to open up to her, and the residents of Ponyville became something like extended family to her. “But tell me, child. What drove you and your friend to live in the wild?”

“Today, Shrapnel brought me something odd. He was carrying a plastic bucket filled with wheat that looked like it came from the nearby ponyfolk village. I scolded him for stealing from them, but he had already started devouring some of the wheat, so we could give it back now. I scooped out some for myself that he did not drool on.”

“A plastic bucket?” Zecora wondered aloud. It was then she remembered Fluttershy telling her about the encounter with the abnormal timberwolf that stole a bucket filled with wheat-feed for her animals. Could that timberwolf really have been ‘Shrapnel’? She kept reading.

“I was not expecting what I saw today. Within a foggy marsh rich with this forest’s mushrooms, I caught sight of another of my kind.”

Zecora nearly jumped upon reading that first statement. Zebota saw her at that very same place where she saw……no…… “Could it be!?” She knew now. Those eyes, that small stature, those expertly harvested mushrooms that she didn’t pick up……it really was another zebra, and a foal no less! “Then……who is this ‘Shrapnel’!?” She continued the entry she just started reading.

“I was certain that I was the only zebra here in this forest, but it would seem that I was sorely mistaken. Shrapnel has watched her from afar for me, and based on his observations, she has been here for much longer than I have; the nearby ponyfolk seem to view her as a friend and know her as ‘Zecora’- a fine name. We will have to make sure that we do not cause trouble for her. She must not discover me and chase me away for what I am. Shrapnel and I do not wish to leave our paradise.”

Zecora’s stomach flopped. She had been stalked by this ‘Shrapnel’? She never noticed anything out of the ordinary aside from the lone, large timberwolf……could that really have been Shrapnel? Everything was beginning to add up. The last entry was the smoking gun.

“As I pack my things to leave this place, I write one last entry in this diary. Ever since I was shunned by my people and forced away from my homeland, I truly believed that Shrapnel and I were meant to live out the rest of our years in exile, but a chance encounter with these ponyfolk foals has changed me. They too have exiled themselves from their own homes for reasons similar to mine, and thus, we have formed something of a bond. It is a bond that I only ever shared with Shrapnel and my parents before he slew them. We have now sworn our allegiance to Fire Fight and the Battle Foals. I have no doubt that my communion with nature and the might of an alpha timberwolf will prove quite useful aside from nurturing our camaraderie.”

So many emotions spiraled within Zecora. Shrapnel was a timberwolf that killed Zebota’s parents, and yet they were still friends!? But more importantly, THEY WERE WITH FIRE FIGHT NOW!? And apparently, Fire Fight really did have a troupe of other runaway foals that now called themselves the Battle Foals. It then occurred to her that Shrapnel must have been the timberwolf that attacked her, Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy at the castle ruins! Could he have been protecting Fire Fight and the other foals!?

Zecora took the diary without hesitation and marched out of the hut once she managed to squeeze her way out the door. “I must inform Twilight with haste! We cannot let this information go to waste!” But just as she was about to exit the clearing, she took one more look at the shed that Shrapnel apparently used as shelter. Something still felt off…..Forbidden knowledge? Shunned for it? What sort of secrets did Zebota know that allowed him to tame such a powerful creature?...............And then, it hit her. “Beastcraft!”

The Raid

Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War, Spiral Galaxy, Air Slash, Kickback, Crazylocks, Greensprout and Bullseye charged headlong into the den of marauders. Kickback seemed a lot more serious than usual, probably due to how bandits affected his life in the past. Despite being ready to start and all-out brawl with these ponies, Shadow Shroud scouted ahead to make sure that no traps were waiting for them. They hoped that Quantum Tech and Zebota would be able to hold down the fort out front.

Much like the Sand Vipers’ hideout, these bandits had dug out branching tunnels that were lit by makeshift torches. Although, one or two of the caves looked like they were already there. Regardless, they stopped at a fork in the road that branched into three more paths. “Ok, let’s see…Actually, Greensprout, would mind giving us a boost first?” Fire Fight asked.

Greensprout nodded firmly. “With pleasure, brother!” She raised her Gaia Root and emitted a small pulse of bio-friendly energy that heightened the Battle Foals’ parameters. They could instantly feel the effects and were even more fired up for battle.

“Awesome! Thanks.” Fire Fight said. “Now then, Turf War and Bullseye, you two-”

“What the hell!?” The foals looked over into the right tunnel and saw a stallion galloping towards them. “What’re you runts doin’ here?” Bullseye wasted no time firing an arrow that hit him square in the knee. “OOF!! AH, HELL!!” He fumbled to the ground.

“Hey! Mah boy took a arrow to the-”

“Turf War, don’t even say it!” Spiral Galaxy scoffed. She yanked the stallion towards them with gravity magic, and Shadow Shroud knocked him out cold.

“You were saying, Fire Fight?” Shroud said.

“R-Right. Anyway, Turf War, Bullseye and Spiral Galaxy will take that right tunnel. Air Slash, Crazylocks and Greensprout, go down the left one. Shroud, Kickback, with me; we’ll take the middle. Sound good?” Fire Fight ordered.

“No objections. I just hope that Quantum and Zebota will not get bored.” Air Slash said.

“We’ll bring them the bandits’ love letters to aliens as souvenirs!” Crazylocks blurted.

“H-How thoughtful of you, Crazylocks!” Greensprout stammered. “Regardless, let us purge this darkness!” They all high-fived save for Bullseye, who just nodded with a wicked smile on her face before retrieving her arrow and went down their assigned tunnels.

*****

Greensprout and Air Slash kept an eye on Crazylocks as the trio raced down the tunnel. Air Slash already had his swords drawn before they even encountered trouble, and Greensprout had her staff on standby in case something suddenly happened. Crazylocks was just ready to make some new friends the best way she knew how. It didn’t take the three very long to come across a large storage filled with much of the cargo stolen from the train amongst other commodities they likely pillaged. Unsurprisingly, it was being guarded and managed by a group of ten bandits.

Crazylocks sprouted her horn and magically lifted and flung a storage crate next to her at the bandits. “HOUSE KEEPIIIIIING!!” She shouted.

The bandits all glanced up in surprise and panicked upon seeing the flying crate. “WHAT THE HELL!?” Those that were in the path of the crate jumped out of the way just in time, and it impacted on a mountain of other crates that nearly caused an avalanche. “And just what do you brats think yer doin’ here? You on a field trip or something?”

Air Slash sighed. “I suppose subtlety wasn’t much of an option anyway…” he muttered to himself. He poised his swords aggressively at the bandits. “We were indeed, but then noticed the horrific mess you made of that train and decided to clean house!”

“You killed somepony! Have you any remorse in your hearts whatsoever!?” Greensprout pled.

The bandits just laughed at her. “That old codger? Please. His time was almost out anyway. What’s the harm?” one of them sneered.

Greensprout was in disbelief of just how compassionless these bandits. “You-…..You’re awful!” She poised her staff. “I will not see this darkness spread!”

“Pfft! Whaddya gonna do, girly? Cast a spell with your little wand and make us repent? How cute!” another one taunted. It was then that she noticed Air Slash’s swords. “Hang on…..those swords……….Ah, crap! Are you a Bladerunner?”

“So what? He’s just a runt! Bet he can barely cut butter with those knives.” Another taunted.

Any insult to his swords made Air Slash’s blood boil, and this was no exception. He was now even more fired up to fell his foes. “Nnrgh! Come closer and see for yourself! I shall rend those words!!”

“YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE FOURTEENTH LAW OF THE EGG-LAYING TISSUE BOXES!! YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED!!!” Crazylocks blurted. The bandits looked at her with blank and confused stares for a moment.

“Er….Y-Yes…” Air Slash stammered. “As I was saying, EN GARDE!” He launched a sword beam towards them, catching the bandits off guard.

“WHOA!” Not expecting the unusual form of attack, the bandits barely had any time to react and just ducked. The beam hit and sliced the hat off of one of them. “OH, YOU’RE DEAD, PUNK!”

Before they could react again, Crazylocks intervened. She charged the maces on her pigtails with magic and slammed them in front of herself, creating a shock wave that blew back the bandits. She cackled. “In Soviet Crazyland, my hair conditions YOU!!”

“Huh…..that’s a new one.” Air Slash said. He charged towards the bandits with his swords sheening against the light of the torches ready to ambush them, and Crazylocks morphed back into an earth pony so her hair to do more conditioning. Greensprout lent some support by emitting a vital pulse that further sharpened their parameters.

Four of the bandits tried to dogpile onto Air Slash, but he swooped right above them and caused them to crash into each other. “CRAZYLOCKS, THEY’RE YOURS!” He called out.

“FRIENDSHIP SNUGGLE!!” Crazylocks lunged towards the four bandits and flailed her hair wildly, yet dexterously. The bandits were utterly flabbergasted that her hair hit so hard, and fell to the ground aching badly from the assault.

“HEY, RUNT!” a bandit pegasus shouted as she soared towards Air Slash wielding a part of a rail as a weapon. She swung it at him, but Air Slash easily sliced it in two, throwing the pegasus off balance and granting him an opening. He clipped her wing, and she crashed to the ground in a heap.

“Air Slash!!” Greensprout called out. When Air Slash looked back, he saw that she was surrounded by the rest of the bandits. He soared towards her without a moment’s hesitation.

Greensprout nervously glanced back and forth at her surrounding assailants, who were smirking viciously and ready to pound away at her. “What’s the matter, sweetheart? Yer fairy godmother not here?” one of them taunted.

This situation brought her back to the ruins where her parents rested. She recalled the darkness that she’d allowed to overtake her when she exterminated the Fallen. Even if Air Slash and Crazylocks were there to defend her, she knew that she still had to rely on her own abilities….even if it meant purposefully breaking her vow of non-violence. “Forgive me…” She muttered. Even as she could hear Air Slash’s war cries, Greensprout focused the vital energy in her Gaia Root and released it. “HYAH!” A wave of energy surge from around her, and the bandits felt it seemingly attack their very life essence, causing them their whole bodies to feel like they’d been stung by some kind of nasty new species of bee.

“AAAAHHHHH!!!” The bandits collapsed to the ground in some kind of pain that left an opening for Air Slash and Crazylocks.

“YOU NEVER LEFT YOUR TIP!!” Crazylocks bellowed as she and Air Slash ambushed the downed bandits in an all-out attack. Air Slash sliced any weapons they might have been carrying and whacked the bandits with the butts of his swords so as not to potentially land a fatal slash.

“UNCLE! UNCLLLEEE!!” one of the bandits shouted. The foals let up in response and stood above their fallen opponents.

Air Slash pointed one of his swords at the defeated adversaries. “Then you submit?”

“L-L-Listen! What is it ya want!? Toys!? Money!? There’s not a hell lot we can get ya from any of those cargo crates!” one of them pled.

“No. All we ask is that you abandon this lifestyle and stop hurting others. This is not a path any of us should walk.” Greensprout said.

The bandits were a little surprised to hear her speak in such a gentle tone considering their conflict, but decided that it wasn’t wise to further oppose foes that could clearly overpower them, even if they were just foals. “B-But…..what’re we gonna tell the boss? What’re we even supposed to do?”

“Your boss no longer matters. You know that this not the ideal life. It would be best if you just repented for your sins.” Air Slash said. “Where is your boss anyway?”

The bandit were both frustrated and guilty, but were wise enough to concede defeat. “In the innermost chamber down the middle path, but I tell ya, Rocky Mountain has been leading the Rockslide for quite some time now. She’s one tough b****.”

“Then we’ll give her a mudslide, and we’ll all be dirty friends forever!” Crazylocks blurted.

The bandits just started at her blankly while Greensprout smiled sheepishly and Air Slash facehooved. “Ignore her.” he said. “Anyway, just go. You might not receive such mercy next time.” Reluctantly, the members of Rockslide left the tunnel. It seemed that Greensprout’s kindness had gotten to them.

“The middle tunnel…..That’s where Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud and Kickback went. We should go to their aid.” Air Slash said.

“I’m worried about Bullseye, Turf War and Spiral Galaxy. Shouldn’t we check on them too?” Greensprout asked. They suddenly felt the tunnels shake violently for a few seconds before it petered out.

“I’d say Turf War has them well-defended.” Air Slash said. “But if you want to assist them, I suppose splitting up would be ideal.” He put his hoof on her shoulder. “Just…..be careful, ok?”

Greensprout smiled that gentle smile that soothed Air Slash’s inner beast, and the young samurai suddenly felt much less tense. She put her hoof on his. “I will. You too, Air Slash. Please look after Crazylocks.” Air Slash firmly nodded, and the split trio went their separate ways.

*****

Turf War, Bullseye and Spiral Galaxy experienced a little difficulty navigating the surprisingly rugged terrain of the tunnel they ran down. They could hear the sound of tools clanging against the dirt as they approached, so they assumed that this tunnel was still being dug out. It was good thing Bullseye could fly; she remained ahead of the pack to scout ahead while they continued to charge down the tunnel.

“Damn! Where d’hey at?” Turf War asked.

“Oh don’t worry…..they're close. I can smell ‘em!” Bullseye hissed.

Spiral leaned to whisper to Turf War. “Should we be worried?”

“I mean…..she gotta blow off some steam, so…..we might gotta let her bust loose.” Turf War said.

Spiral grimaced. “I just hope she doesn’t bust too loose…”

A few moments later, the trio reached what they suspect was waiting for them- a large digging sight. However, it was a huge room lined with bedrolls as well as digging tools with only a small few of the bandits. It must have been the barracks, and it was being expanded. Some of them were even laying down in bedrolls and resting. Turf War smacked his hammer onto his shield to get their attention. “HOW Y’ALL DOIN’!?”

The bandits stopped what they were doing and glanced at the foals. “Huh!? Since when did Rocky Mountain make us start wet-nursin’?”

“That’s your concern when somepony’s dead because of you!?” Spiral said. She had her horn lit and ready to rain destruction.

“Ha! Ain’t that cute! These foals think they’re gonna punish the grown-ups!” one of the bandits taunted. “Whaddya gonna do? Send us to our rooms?”

Bullseye nocked an arrow onto her bow. “How about hell, you dips***s!?” she shouted.

“Hol’ on one second!” Turf War said. “Let me drop a beat fo’ y’all!” He raised his hammer-axe and slammed into the ground. A little tremor erupted and started shaking the area around.

“WHOA-OA-OA-OA-OA!” The bandits were thrown off balance while Bullseye just floated unbothered by the small quake, and Spiral Galaxy manipulated her center of gravity in such a way that she wouldn’t lose her balance due to the tremor. Turf War seized the opportunity to shield-ram one of the nearby bandits. “OOF!!” The bandit he hit went flying and collided with another, knocking them down in a heap.

As the tremor subsided, Spiral Galaxy began charging a star bolt when she was suddenly struck by a bolt of magic herself. “AIIEE!” She brushed off her pain a little and looked up. A unicorn bandit in the back was smirking as his horn glowed as fiercely as hers did. This only encouraged Spiral to get her game face back, and she quickly got up to fire her star bolt at him, but he used his own magic to quickly erect a wall of stone in front of him that was destroyed by the bolt, but it protected him quite nicely.

“Heh! Amateur!” he taunted. He levitated the shards of his stone wall and formed them into a rocky javelin that he fired at her. “BACK TO THE EARTH!”

Spiral gasped and quickly formed a gravitic field around herself that managed to just barely stop the stone lance from piercing her forehead. She let it drop to the ground and formed a series of small meteors. “MAKE A WISH!” She fired them one by one at the unicorn, but he managed to erect a series of pillars that blocked them effectively, but the shock from each impact seemed to damage him a little. The two continued to have a back-and-forth volley of earth and star magic that kept her busy as Turf War and Bullseye had to deal with the others.

Turf War raised his shield that blocked that incoming headbutt of a rather burly earth pony stallion that caused him to fall unconscious from essentially headbutting himself. Just as another one was about to strike Turf War from his blind spot, Bullseye fired an arrow that pierced the attacking bandit’s shoulder. “ACK!” She clutched her shoulder just as Turf War managed to shield-punch her into submission.

“Good-lookin’ out, homegirl!” Turf War shouted as he charged further into the fray. What he didn’t notice was that Bullseye fluttered up to the downed bandit.

The pierced bandit glared up at Bullseye as she clutched her shoulder. “Nrgh! Damn brat!” It was then that she realized that Bullseye had a pretty malicious smile on her face, enough to kind of unnerve her. “Uh….you ok?”

Bullseye devilishly chuckled. “You have no idea!” She grabbed the arrow in the bandit’s shoulder and mercilessly ripped it out and jammed it right into her eye and ripped out again.

“AIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!” The bandit writhed in untold agony as Bullseye just watched with an evil grin on her face.

“<Gasp!> BULLSEYE!” Spiral exclaimed. Everypony stopped what they were doing to witness Bullseye’s brutality, but she just devilishly giggled in response.

She began angrily panting as though she were a predator driven mad by hunger and nocked the arrow back. “WHO’S NEXT!?” she shouted. Another bandit tried to pounce on her from behind wielding a broken metal pipe, but she effortlessly moved out of the way and whacked the pipe from his hoof with her bow. She then quickly fired her arrow into his side, and then picked up his pipe and slammed it hard into his genital area, rendering him helpless.

The bandit looked up in horror as Bullseye swooped down to him and reached for the arrow in his side. “N-No!! P-PLEASE!!” But it was too late. Bullseye ripped the arrow right out of him with no regard for his well-being and used the pipe the whack him across the head so hard that his neck nearly broke.

“Hehehehehe……Hehehehehahahaha!......AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!! YOU'RE ALL SO PATHETIC, THAT THIS MIGHT ACTUALLY BORE ME!!” Bullseye shouted.

“Homegirl, chill!!” Turf War shouted.

The geomancer that Spiral was dueling tried to trap Bullseye in a cage of stone, but she quickly slipped out and fired an arrow at him that pierced his abdomen. “AAAHHHH!” He fell to the ground in agony.

“Bullseye, stop!! You’re hurting them!!” Spiral pled.

Bullseye turned to her so that Spiral could quiver at her expression. If the heart of a devil could be expression on somepony’s face, Bullseye was showing it right now. Her malefic, bloodthirsty smile was completely devoid of any trace of compassion, remorse, etc. She and Turf War’s fears had come to fruition. “SO WHAT!? YOU ARE TOO, YA KNOW!! MIGHT AS WELL HAVE FUN WITH IT!!” Bullseye shouted.

Greensprout suddenly appeared from the entrance to the room. “Friends! We’ve cleared out our tunnel. I’ve come to your- <GASP!>” Before her was exactly what she didn’t want to see. Bullseye’s malice was made clear through the horrors she witnessed.

Suddenly, a bandit with a bow of his own fired an arrow that hit Bullseye’s shoulder…..but she was completely unfazed. Instead, she continued to sadistically laugh. She turned toward that archer bandit and ripped the arrow right out of her shoulder and licked her blood off of it before nocking it back. “WHO’S READY TO BLEED FOR MAMA!?!?”

Ire's Echo

Author's Notes:

Hi, Guys!
Just wanted to apologize for not being as active as you're probably used to as of late. The last couple of weeks of the semester are upon me, and I think we all know how hectic things can get during that time......well, maybe for me, but regardless. I know you guys can wait, but I always feel bad when I don't give you guys something sooner. That aside, here's more Battle Foals goodness!

<grunt><grunt!>

Well said, Shrapnel!

Back outside of the cave, Quantum Tech, Zebota and Shrapnel continued to wait for any bandits that might try to set up an ambush for their comrades. Nopony was coming out, and they were starting to get bored.

“<sigh> They must be having quite an easy time in there…” Quantum said.

“I’d say you and I earned this respite after being trapped beneath the earth in those dangerous ruins.” Zebota said. Shrapnel nudged his master and grunted. “I did not mean such a thing, my friend.”

“What did he say?” Quantum asked.

“He warns us to not forget to think of the others apart from our own welfare.” Zebota answered.

Quantum giggled. “Good boy, Shrapnel.” Shrapnel huffed.

“He says not to patronize him.” Zebota said. His annoyed tone and expression seemed to mirror his statement.

“Er….You do realize that you say things like that to him as well, correct?” Quantum asked.

Zebota rolled his eyes. “It is…..a force of habit…..yes.”

Quantum giggled. “Whatever you say, Zebota.” Suddenly, a trio of the bandits came running out of the cave, and the two foals and timberwolf reacted. “I think not, you scoundrels!”

What Quantum failed to notice was that they gruesomely bleeding and looked like they had just woken up from a horrific nightmare. “P-P-Please!! DON’T KILL US!!” One of them pled. They collapsed to the ground trying to control their bleeding.

Quantum noticed their state and gasped. She got out of her mech and rushed to them with a first aid kit in tow. “Quantum Tech, are you a fool!? This must be a trick!” Zebota warned. He kept his guard up.

Quantum turned to him and pointed to the bandits’ terrible wounds. “Do they look like they’re in any condition whatsoever to pull any stunts!? Surely they didn’t do this to themselves for that sake!”

One of the bandits looked up at Zebota with pleading eyes. “Yeah! We didn’t! It was that filly!” she said. She then noticed Shrapnel and silently panicked. “U-U-Umm….”

Zebota looked up at his monster, and then back at her and smiled. “Do not worry, ponyfolk. He is tame.” Shrapnel grunted as if to greet them.

The bandits just looked at them and each other with confused expressions. “Man, zebras are weird…” one of them said.

Zebota glared at them and shook his head. “Ponyfolk…” he muttered to himself. “I will just pretend I did not hear that and decide to heed your claim.”

Quantum wasted no time patching up their wounds. “<sigh> If only Greensprout were here…” she muttered. Zebota eventually decided to help after assessing that they were indeed not a threat. “What happened down there? Who is this filly?”

“That bat-s*** insane pegasus filly with the bow! You with here!?” one of the bandits answered.

Quantum and Zebota looked at each other in shock when they immediately realized who they meant. “Bullseye!” They said simultaneously.

“Quantum Tech, stay here and tend to them. I must go to the others. They surely must be trying to stop her.” Zebota said.

Quantum nodded. “Ok. Be careful down there.”

“Yer gonna find yourself at a fork that branched into three paths. She’s down the one on the right.” One of the bandits explained.

“Thank you.” Zebota said. “Do not think to try anything of malicious intent, or I will not hesitate to antagonize you again.” He warned. He drew his tomahawk and charged into the tunnel.

The bandits then looked at Quantum tech, who had a guilty expression on her face as she patched the last of their wounds. “I’m so sorry, all of you. We never meant for this to happen. We only wanted to confront you about the train you pillaged that resulted in its conductor’s death.”

“Oh….that……Yeah…I think I know how the geezer felt just before he kicked the bucket.” One of them said.

*****

Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud and Kickback ran down the middle tunnel ready for what they might encounter. It was a pretty long trip, so they presumed that it must’ve led to the middle of their lair where their boss probably waited. Along the way, they felt a little tremor rush through the earth around them that nearly caused them to trip.

“Well, Turf War didn’t waste any time, huh?” Shroud said.

“He never does, and neither will we!” Fire Fight said.

“Sound n’ Fury are ready to start talkin’!” Kickback said. About a moment or so after the tremor, they finally found the end of the tunnel, and just as they suspected, before them was the inner sanctum. Much of it was a little messy, likely due to the sudden quake. It was littered with not only trash and debris, but also bandits.

“The hell was that shaker just now? Is this an earthquake zone or somethin’?” one of them said.

“It shouldn’t be. We aren’t close to any fault lines.”

“Quit worryin’ about some damn quake, and clean this up!” A mare commanded. She was a rather big and burly mare that looked to be in her mid-thirties and had a very serious, yet devious look on her face.

“Y-Yes, Rocky Mountain, ma’am!” another of them stammered.

She was clearly a mare to be feared, but the Battle Foals feared nopony. The foals hid behind some rocks at the entrance to observe them. “Shroud?” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud smirked and donned her mask. “You needn’t ask.” She silently leapt into the shadows of the chamber and awaited the perfect time to strike.

It was then that Air Slash and Crazylocks suddenly appeared. “Oh! Hey, guys! I guess you’re done on your end?” Fire Fight asked.

“That is correct.” Air Slash said. “Greensprout went to aid the others. Perhaps we should wait for them before engaging the enemy?”

“That ain’t a bad move, partner.” Kickback said. “Matter of fact, why don’t go help ‘em? We can tackle one place at a time now.”

“Hmm…Yeah, that might not be a bad plan. Better to save to the big boss for last.” Fire Fight said. He looked up at a specific point in the shadows across the room from where they were and motioned for something to come over. A familiar pair of amethyst eyes then shined from darkness and noticeably nodded at him before vanishing. Seconds later, Shadow Shroud reappeared before them. “Hey.”

“What is it?” Shroud asked.

“Air Slash and Crazylocks cleared their end, and Greensprout went to help the others. We’re gonna go too so we’ll have more horsepower for big girl over there.” Fire Fight explained.

“Oh? Hmm…Fair enough.” Shroud said.

“I’m surprised you were able to detect her presence so easily.” Air Slash said.

Fire Fight shrugged. “I guess I’m used to her by now.” He said. Shroud gave him a devious smile. “Alright. Let’s hope they’re not having too much-”

“BOSS!! BOSS!!!!! HEEEEEELLLLLP!!!!!!”

The foals suddenly heard somepony scream from within the tunnel they just came through and looked into it. Galloping their way was a little group of the bandits who seemed rather terrified of something. They readied themselves to fight the thugs, but they ran right past them without giving them any attention. “Hey! You’re supposed to say ‘bonjour’ whenever you run screaming past somepony!” Crazylocks blurted.

“GET BACK HERE SO I CAN MAKE ARROWHEADS FROM YOUR BONES!!!!” Bullseye suddenly soared right past them with an arrow nocked back to her bow and the devil’s wrath on her face. It was then that the foals noticed that there was a trail of blood drops where the bandits ran, and that’s when they assumed the worst.

“Oh, crap…” Fire Fight said. Not even a second later, Turf War, Spiral Galaxy, Greensprout and Zebota appeared by them.

“BULLSEYE, PLEASE STOP!!!” Greensprout pled.

“Huh!? WHAT THE HELL!?!?” Rocky Mountain exclaimed. The bandits that ran in collapsed to the ground in front of her, and everypony was shocked and appalled when they saw horrible wounds lining their bodies. Their bleeding was like a series of red waterfalls that drenched their coats, and their expressions were that of little foals trapped in an unending nightmare, especially when they looked back at Bullseye. “WHAT’S GOING ON!? WHO’S THE KID!?”

“RRRRRRAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!” Bullseye just fired her arrow at a torch hanging on the wall, and it caused the torch to fall into a small cluster of barrels marked ‘flammable’.

“OH, F***!!!” Rocky Mountain exclaimed.

“NOOOOO!!!!” Fire Fight shouted. He ran out from their cover to try and suppress the inevitable inferno, but all anypony could do was brace themselves until mere seconds later….

<BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!>

The first barrel that exploded sent others surrounding it flying in all directions, and they exploded afterwards on impact from hitting a wall, or in mid-air when their contents were agitated enough. Everypony found themselves in a daze in what was now a near blazing-hot room due to the blasts. A lone bandit who had a particularly strong psyche managed to regain his senses much quicker than the rest. While he was still a little woozy, he was able to look around albeit with his vision fading in and out. There were some flames burning in piles of debris and destroyed wooden furniture, and smoke filled the room. His biggest concern was the mad filly with the bow……….

………………………………………………………………………………………………“GIMME YOUR NECK!!!!!!!!!” Bullseye suddenly appeared by the bandit when his vision randomly stabilized and slammed herself into him while jamming an arrow into his mouth. Her left eye seemed to shine its devilish crimson from underneath her mane. She then ripped it right out, tearing the bandit’s gums to shreds in the process; he screamed in horrible agony.

She then nocked an arrow onto her bow and took aim at him, but she was suddenly struck by somepony ramming into her, and she was knocked off-balance. “BULLSEYE, THAT’S ENOUGH!!!” When Bullseye looked up, she saw that it was Fire Fight, and he was holding her down with quite the unhappy expression on his face.

Bullseye glared and snarled at him like a wild dog clashing with an animal trapper. “OUTTA THE WAY, F***FACE!!!” She firmly swung her bow at him, hitting him right in the eye, and causing him to loosen his grip.

“AH, S- uh…CRAP!” Fire Fight exclaimed. “Man, Turf War’s starting to rub off on me.” He thought to himself. He tried to regain his grip on Bullseye, but she slipped right out of his hooves. He could hear her laughing sadistically as she flew away.

“Hehehehehe……HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!! PAAAAIIIIIIINNNNN!!! WONDERFUL PAAAAIIIINNNNN!!!!!!” Bullseye managed to flap her wings so hard, that she managed to clear the much of the smoke filling the room away, revealing all but the bandit’s leader cowering in fear if they weren’t already badly wounded from Bullseye’s rampage. She nocked an arrow back and readied it to fire, but she was suddenly struck unexpectedly by a bolt of magic. “AIIEE!!! M***********!!!” She dropped to the ground like a ton of bricks.

When she looked up, she saw Spiral Galaxy’s horn flickering as she glared down at her. “How’s that for pain, huh?” she scoffed. Greensprout went around healing the wounded bandits and her comrades, giving her sincerest apologies as she did. Shadow Shroud and Zebota went and apprehended Bullseye.

“What the hell’s going on!? Who’re all o’ you foals, and what’s the deal with this little Blood Cupid!?” Rocky Mountain demanded. Fire Fight took a deep breath and mustered his courage. He’d been planning to fight these marauders, but it things took a turn for the worst, and it looked like any fighting was going to have to wait until they dealt with their mutual problem first….

Consequences

Quantum Tech and the bandits she bandaged ran into the inner room in a panicked state. “BOSS!? BOSS!?!? YOU OKAY!?”

“WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE!? WE HEARD THE EXPLOSION!!” Quantum said.

“Oh dear!” Greensprout noticed the wounded bandits and went to work right away. The bandits thanked her.

Rocky Mountain shot a glare at Quantum Tech, who cowered a little, seeing just what a big mare she was. “Yer little friend there happened, that’s what!” She motioned her head towards Bullseye, who was struggling against Shadow Shroud and Zebota’s grip.

Air Slash drew one of his swords and held the blade at Bullseye’s neck. “I think you’ve done enough for one day.” He growled.

Bullseye angrily panted and fiercely glared at him. “Whaddya gonna do? Kill me?” she taunted.

Fire Fight gently pushed Air Slash’s sword away from Bullseye. “Ease up, dude. We don’t want to provoke her.” he said. While reluctant, Air Slash withdrew his blade from Bullseye’s neck and sheathed it. Fire Fight then turned to the bandit leader. “Rocky Mountain, right?”

Rocky Mountain huffed from frustration. “Yeah, that’s me. Mind telling me who you are and why you unleashed this little arrow devil on us!?”

Fire Fight sighed. “Sorry…..we didn’t mean for her to do all of this…We found that train you derailed and robbed and it’s dead conductor, so we came to confront you about it. We just wanted you to pay for it…”

Rocky Mountain’s frustrated expression turned to being somewhat amused upon hearing that, and she chuckled a little. “You serious? Tch, ha! What are ya, the kiddie cops or somethin’!?”

“Boss, they’re way tougher than they look! That one with the hammer right there is the one who caused that little earthquake.”

“The zebra’s got a pet timberwolf, and the one with the glasses has a big robot suit outside.”

“Yeah! And the blue unicorn there held her own against Rough Soil’s earth magic with cosmomancy!”

Rocky Mountain suddenly wasn’t so amused upon hearing her underlings speak of them. She could tell if and when they were exaggerating, and they definitely weren’t. “Yer s******* me…”

“I don’t imagine that they’d be stupid enough to lie to you.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Tch. Yeah, you got a point.” Rocky Mountain said. “Say, what’s with all the black by the way?”

“That’s none of your concern.” Shroud said.

“Pfft. ‘kay.” Rocky Mountain said. She looked at Fire Fight. “So, you know my name. I think it’s only fair you tell me yours.”

“I’m Fire Fight.” He said.

“Fire Fight?.....Hang on! Yer not the same foal from the newspapers, are ya!?” one of the bandits blurted.

“Y’all know ‘bout dat?” Turf War asked.

“Yeah. We sneak into towns to hear the word on the wind when we can.” Rocky Mountain said. “You better have a damn good reason for jetting from yer parents.”

“Speak for yourselves! You’re not exactly upstanding citizens either.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Rocky Mountain glared at her. “So you just wanna fight again, huh, punk?”

“N-No! Sorry, Rocky. I’ll explain myself if you’re willing to listen.” Fire Fight said.

“Spit.” Rocky said. Fire Fight explained just about everything that has happened up until this point bar Shadow Shroud being a Shadewalker, and the fact the she killed Gene Splice. He was sure not to leave out his own history before running away so as explain his motive. Hearing about the trials and tribulations he and his friends had endured seemed to soften the rock solid bandit leader’s expression. “Damn….You guys have had it kinda rough, huh?”

“Surely, but we braved through that desert heat no matter how dry.” Kickback said.

Rocky Mountain chuckled. “Well, good fer you.” She said. “The ‘Battle Foals’, huh? Heh….I kinda like it.”

The foals were rather surprised to hear praise from somepony who was their enemy. Shadow Shroud and Air Slash took it as a euphemized threat and kept their guard up. “What….are you getting at?” Air Slash asked.

“Hehe. Sorry. It’s just…..we’re not so different, huh?” Rocky Mountain said. “I mean….we just go wherever the hell the wind takes us, never looking back or really thinking about the consequences, ya know? We’re just…..living without a care in the world.”

Fire Fight felt somewhat offended that a bandit leader would compare herself and her lackeys with the Battle Foals, but it took him a few seconds to realize that….she was right. From the moment he first ran away from home, the only time he ever dwelled on what might happen was shortly before he and Shadow Shroud departed for Detrot. After that, his thoughts were with his mission and the adventures that awaited them, even if one or two of them were messes they got themselves dragged into. “Yeah….I guess….” He said. “But that still doesn’t change the fact that you all killed that conductor and robbed his train. He might’ve had a lot of friends and a loving family that’ll be torn apart inside once the news hits them!”

“Well, they’ll just have to suck it up, huh!?” Bullseye shouted.

Zebota and Shroud tightened their hold on her. “Enough is enough, Bullseye.” Zebota said.

“About that, boss…” one of the bandits that came with Quantum said. “I….really don’t want to do this anymore if it means taking more lives so haphazardly. I stared death right in the face today, and……I-I can’t imagine how that conductor must’ve felt.”

“Yeah, me too. We were the ones on the receiving end this time, and it sucked a**. It just…..doesn’t seem fair.” Another one said.

Looking around, Rocky Mountain could tell that all of her followers unanimously agreed. While the worst she herself experienced was the explosion, she realized deep down that she cared enough about them to not want to see them feel lost. “Well, s***.” She muttered. She then creased a little smile. “Looks like we better hit the road. We got a lot of makin’ up to do….<sigh>…..Maybe I should start with my brother….”

The foals were shocked at what they’d just heard. “Hol’ up! Y’all ain’t ‘bout to rumble wit us?” Turf War said.

Rocky Mountain shook her head. “Nah, no point. If just one of you is a major hooffull, I can’t imagine how high we’d have to roll to even stand a chance against all of you.” She said. She then looked at Fire Fight. “Hey…”

“Y-Yeah?” Fire Fight asked. He was still a little flustered at this turn of events.

“Do me a solid and never become something like me, got it?” Rocky said with a wry smirk.

“Uuhh…..Yeah…‘course not.” Fire Fight said.

“Pfft! Wow, kid! Way to be tactful.” Rocky joked.

“S-Sorry.” Fire Fight said.

Rocky waved her hoof. “Ehh, whatever. You can feel bad any time you want.” She then glared at the violent filly who nearly made all of them say ‘hi’ to the dead conductor. “About this little Blood Cupid….” She said. Bullseye seemed to take interest when she called her that.

“We’ll deal with her. She’s our problem.” Fire Fight said. “Just don’t go causing more trouble, especially in the places we told you about. If we catch wind of anything like that, we will find you, and we won’t be settling it with words.”

“YEAH! WE’LL SETTLE IT WITH A YAK FUR-FLAVORED SNOW CONE FIGHT!!” Crazylocks blurted.

Fire Fight just facehooved for a second before regaining his composure. “And don’t tell anypony where we are, okay?”

Rocky Mountain just ignored the manic filly and gave Fire Fight a playful salute. “Scouts honor.” She nodded to all of her bandits, who reciprocated, signaling that they agreed. “Alright, we’ll pack up and jet. Later, twerps!” The Battle Foal had a partly heartfelt and awkward goodbye with the Rockslide. Rocky Mountain’s words may have given Fire Fight some food for thought, but his concern right now was the restrained pegasus filly who was foaming at the mouth…

On a Train to Trifectown…

“Mr. Fight, thank you for choosing to help us. It took a lot of courage for you to face your wife again after what happened before.” Twilight said. She along with Fire Fight’s parents and Cheerilee shared a seating booth across from Spike, Rarity and the CMC. The Royal Sisters were in the car just behind theirs.

Fist sighed. “You have no idea….It wasn’t just courage. I had to be able to face myself right in the eye before anypony else. I couldn’t let the old me torment Cat again.” He said. “And please, just call me ‘Fist’.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all about him beforehand. I just….wanted to forget that day, but I could tell that Fire Fight wanted him back more than anything, so….I-I guess it kept my hopes up.” Cat said.

Fist held his wife’s hoof. “I wanted him back too, but…..I didn’t realize that he was becoming such a special case.”

“Neither did I.” Cheerilee said. “I’m so sorry, sir. I swear I never meant your son any harm.”

“I know.” Fist said. “You couldn’t have done much worse than me though.”

“I just hope that you’re willing to face him once we find him. I know I am.” Cheerilee said firmly.

Fist nodded. “I am….<sigh>….I just hope he’s willing to look me in the eye again……”

“I hope so too, honey…” Cat said. “And I hope you know that this is your last chance. Leave us one more time, and that’s that.”

“I do.” Fist said. “So, what’s this about him taking other foals anyway?”

“Well, from what we’ve been able to gather, he’s been visiting other locations across Equestria and encouraging foals with problems similar to him to run away with him.” Twilight explained.

“We think he might be trying to help them by what he might see as him freeing them from persecution.” Cheerilee added.

“Hmm….Yeah, that sounds something he’d do. When he was about eight, one of his classmates got kicked out of an ice cream shop because she’d apparently always beg the owner to let her try the ice cream that was supposedly meant for adults- he was a pretty unreasonable guy. Her parents were gonna talk to him, but Fire Fight rallied the whole class and practically took over the shop until the owner had a change of heart.” Fist explained.

“Oh! I remember that! We were a little mad at him for being so brazen, but we were so proud in the end. We knew he could become a strong leader.” Cat said.

“Well, did your wife tell you that he protected his classmates in Ponyville from a big, grouchy actor and some thugs he hired?” Cheerilee asked.

“Yep. That’s my boy alright!” Fist said cheerfully. “I don’t know how he’s able to keep such a level head even in a situation like that.”

“I think it’s because he had a caring father that always encouraged him to do his best.” Twilight said. Fist chuckled a little….and a tear seemed to well from his eye. He thought back to the days when he’d look forward to see his son’s bright smile whenever he hung up his favorite hanging bag. Seeing him tire himself out was tiring in of itself, but worth being able to share a moment between him, his wife and her delicious mushroom omelettes.

“Speaking of which, do you still have that same hanging bag that you’d always let him play with?” Cat asked.

Fist solemnly shook his head. “Sadly, no. I used it at the gym in Fillydelphia I started working at, and one day, somepony accidently pulled the fire alarm and activated the sprinkler system. The thing got all soggy and started coming apart, so I had to junk it.” He explained. “I’ll get him a new, better one though. The one you got for him in his room is looking pretty worn away, and he’s always loved having a challenge.”

Cat lightly pecked his cheek. She then looked at Twilight. “What’s this about bringing the Royal Sisters along with us, and why’re we making the CMC come back? Wasn’t there a really nasty filly that gave them trouble?”

Twilight glanced into her bag pocket where the mysterious diamond was. Knowing its contents, she was eager to bring light to a darkness that everypony had to see. “You’ll know once we get there. Trust me.”

Darkness Revealed

In Trifectown...

When Twilight and co. arrived, the town was understandably in an uproar as a result of one of its stars going missing. Many who claimed to be Bullseye’s friends clamored around the regal mares and their companions, hoping that they’d be able to do something about their predicament. The apparent mayor of the town came up to speak with them. “Your Highnesses! Oh, thank goodness you’re here! Please! Do you know anything at all about where Bullseye might be!?” he said.

“We came to here to discern just that, so we must ask for your cooperation, sir.” Celestia said.

“Of course.” The mayor responded.

Twilight stepped up to him with a rather serious expression on her face. “Where might her parents be?”

Everypony was surprised and a little concerned when they heard her rather stern tone. During every other investigation trip, she had been a little calmer. “Is everything ok, Twilight?” Cat asked.

Twilight eased up a little. “Yeah. Sorry.” She said. She looked back at the mayor. “Now, about her parents…”

“Ah, yes! They’re at their house. Surely, they’re lamenting deeply. I-I have no idea what could’ve happened!” the mayor said. Twilight couldn’t believe how ignorant everypony must’ve been. She couldn’t wait to reveal the truth to them.

“The class and I are going to go ask around for a bit.” Cheerilee said.

“Ok, but I want all of us meeting up at some point.” Twilight said.

“A-Alright then.” Scootaloo said. She of all ponies didn’t care to return here due to her unfavorable encounter with Bullseye despite the fact that she wasn’t there. Nevertheless, she and the rest of the class went their separate ways from the adults apart Cheerilee.

*****

Much of the foals that the CMC talked to remembered them from their last visit, but they sadly couldn’t say any more than what they already had regarding Bullseye. Not surprisingly, they were all heartbroken that a classmate they saw as an idol had ran away. What Cheerilee and her class as a whole found a little odd was that none of the foals seemed to know anything about what Bullseye’s parents might be like.

“So y’all never even really made friends with her ‘r nuttin’?” Applebloom asked.

“Nope. She was never very talkative for some reason. W-We just kinda assumed that she was the lone wolf type, so we cheered her on from a distance.” A local filly said.

“Did she ever like….threaten you or anything?” Sweetie Belle asked.

The filly and her friends gave the CMC confused expressions. “Uhh….no? What are you even talking about?”

“The last time we were here, we tried to talk to her, but she threatened to like…shoot arrows at our throats or something and punched me in the eye.” Scootaloo explained.

“Whoa! What!?” a colt exclaimed. “Bullseye did that!?”

“Did you say something that made her mad?” another filly inquired.

“No! We literally just went up to talk to her and ask her if she’d seen our friend, Fire Fight, and she just….Rrgh!” Sweetie Belle scoffed.

“I….Wow….I never knew she could behave like that.” The filly said. All of the Trifectown foals were shocked to hear that Bullseye had a dark side.

A thought then crossed Applebloom’s mind. “Hey! How’s Greensprout doin’, by the way? Where is she anywho?”

The local foals were confused once more. “Greensprout? Who’s that?”

“The new filly that moved here. We met her the last time we were here.” Sweetie Belle said.

“She’s like all beige and has sorta…pink flower colored eyes, and even has a flower for a Cutie Mark.” Scootaloo said.

“Uh……We don’t know anypony like that.” Another colt said. Now it was the CMC who were confused. They were sure that they met a ‘Greensprout’ that fit that description. “Wait a minute! Are you talking about that other filly that was with you guys when we were watching Bullseye compete?”

“Yeah! Her!” Applebloom said.

“Oh! I thought she was with you guys.” The colt said.

“Yeah, I was wondering who she was. I think I saw her talking to Bullseye shortly after the competition. After that, she just….vanished.” a filly said.

The CMC were now just completely unsure of what to think. If Greensprout wasn’t some filly that just moved to Trifectown, then who was she? Furthermore, how did she just up and vanish?......unless…..“You guys think we should tell Twilight about this?” Scootaloo said.

“Absolutely. I have a strange feeling...” Sweetie Belle said. With that, the fillies agreed to return to Twilight with their newfound intel.

*****

Cheerilee and the foals regrouped with everypony else as per Twilight’s instruction. The princess of friendship herself along with the other adults were already outside Bullseye’s house, conversing with her parents. Although, Twilight had a more confrontational expression on her face than anypony else. She then noticed the rest of the gang arrive. “Oh, good! You’re here.”

“Howdy, Twilight! Hey, can we talk to you ‘bout somethin’ really quick? It might be important.” Applebloom said.

“Not right now, my little foals. We have Bullseye’s parents to tend to right now.” Luna said. She didn’t want to let on that she knew about Bullseye’s pain for the risk of exposing the Battle Foals, much to her regret.

“Th-Thank you for coming, Your Highnesses. It’s…..truly been a shock.” Her father stammered. Her mother just stared down at the ground, largely keeping to herself.

“You have our utmost sympathies. Our own son has run off, so…I know what you must be going through…” Cat said.

“Did you have a falling out with her or anything before she ran away?” Fist asked calmly.

“N-N-No! N-Nothing….I-I don’t understand why she would leave!” her father stammered.

“Maybe we did do something, honey.” Her mother muttered.

“We’re truly sorry to impose when times are this tough for you, but we must ask that you answer our questions. We want to find your daughter as much as you do.” Celestia said. Bullseye’s parents nodded. “Thank you. Now then, do you have any idea where she may have gone?”

“We searched every inch of the town and came up empty.” A passerby stallion said. “We even started scouring the White Tail Woods, but it was as if she just disappeared from Equestria!”

“It was ominously cold that night too…” a mare commented.

“I’m afraid it’s as they say, Princess. Every place we’d imagine she’d be, she wasn’t there.” Bullseye’s mother said.

“Seriously? Not even a trace?” Spike asked. They shook their heads. He then turned to the CMC. “Did you guys find anything odd when you were here a couple days ago?”

The CMC were about to answer when Twilight spoke up. “I’m sorry, Crusaders, but before we get to that, there’s something very important I should ask.” Again, her tone was stern and serious as she looked Bullseye’s parents in the eye. “What exactly was your relationship with your daughter like?”

Everypony was a little concerned at Twilight’s sudden lack of empathy, and Bullseye’s parents started panicking inside. “W-Well…A-About as normal as any parent-child relationship, I’d think.” He father said.

“And by that, you mean?” Twilight pressed.

“Twilight, what has overcome you? Is there something you’d like to say?” Celestia demanded.

“As a matter of fact, there is.” Twilight said. She turned to the crowd. “Everypony, may I please have your attention?” she called out. The crowd around her decided to give the good princess their attention, seeing as it might be important. “How long have you all known Bullseye and her parents?”

The crowd looked at each other, as if to decide on an answer. “Well, shucks! We’ve known ‘em fer years! They’re not the most talkative ponies around, but they’re great with a bow and arrow!” somepony said.

“Oh, but Bullseye is just a natural! It’s as if she was born with a bow in her hooves!” a random mare said.

“What do they say when they do talk?” Twilight asked. The crowd fumbled around for an answer, but nopony could seem to agree on anything in particular. The most interesting thing any of them said was that they’d occasionally discuss the weather or the produce on sale or whatnot. “I see….So they never mentioned their daughter at all?” The crowd shook their heads. “Well! That should come as no surprise.” She hissed. “After all, I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to know the truth!” She glared back at Bullseye’s parents, and she could tell that she was somehow onto them.

“Wh-What truth, darling? You’re being rather aggressive.” Rarity said.

“Sorry, Rarity.” Twilight said. It was then that she pulled out the black diamond that she mysteriously found in her room. “I don’t know where this came from or who sent it to me, but it’s clear that whoever did had the intention of showing something that needed to be made known.” She handed it to Celestia. “Princess Celestia, for the sake of proving that it’s not tampered with, could I ask you to tell me what this is? I know you’ve never seen it before.”

Celestia closely examined the pitch-black diamond. “Well…..It seems to have some sort of photographic recording spell, and it’s been used. But….Twilight, where did you attain this?”

“Ooh! That would look ravishing on a Miss Midnight dress I’ve been working on!” Rarity said.

“I think your opinion will change drastically once we view its contents, Rarity.” Twilight said. “Could I ask that somepony bring a screen out here?” It took a moment, but the mayor and an assistant of his brought out a rolling presentation screen used in meetings. “Thank you. Now I ask that you all please watch.” Twilight took the diamond back from Celestia and projected its magic onto the screen, allowing the recorded scene to unfold…

An ominous silence seemed to slam down on the room along with the front door as Bullseye entered, paying no heed to her parents. Her father put his newspaper down and looked at her. “Where’ve you been?” he asked in an angry tone. It was understandable that he wouldn’t be happy about his daughter being out so late.

Bullseye stopped and just barely glanced over at him. “Where I always am…” she muttered. Her tone wasn’t quite so menacing this time. She started walking into the hallway across the living room presumably towards her room when her father used his unicorn magic to grab her by the tail.

“I’m not done with you!” he growled. He forcefully pulled her back towards him as he got up from the couch. Bullseye’s mother approached them with the same angry glare that her dad had as he held her suspended above the floor. “How’d that little competition today go, huh!?”

Bullseye desperately struggled to fly her way out of her father’s grasp, but to no avail. Her mother then grabbed her medal. “First place again, huh? Of course…” she hissed. She ripped the medal right off of Bullseye’s neck and threw it across the room. “And then you just spent the whole rest of the day at the damn archery range, huh!?”

Bullseye mustered a glare at her parents, but the terror in her eyes held back any ability for it to take effect on them. “Wh-Where else!? Here!?” she stammered angrily. She glanced over at the thrown medal, silently lamenting its broken lanyard.

“What? You want that back?” Her mother taunted. “Mind letting us have it for once!?” she said as she forcefully smacked Bullseye across the left side of her face.

“We were gonna be the biggest stars in archery this century, but we just had to have you, didn’t we!? The second you picked up a bow for the first time, you stole every spotlight, trophy, interview, everything from us!” he dad exclaimed. “Everypony lauded over you while we became chopped liver!”

Bullseye let out a scream upon being hit and clutched her eye. A mass congregation of frustration, fear, anger and hate swelled up with her eye. “That’s just your favorite spot, huh!?” she growled.

“We’re open to exploration!” her dad growled. He flung her into the wall with such force that it left a hole where she impacted.

Bullseye crumbled to the floor, clutching herself in a heap. “Rnnnngh…..” She gritted her teeth and glared up at her abusive parents. “I’ll just be going to bed now…” she growled as she staggered to her hooves before limply walking into the hallway.

“Fine. Just don’t bother getting up in the morning.” Her mother hissed.

Jaws everywhere had hit the floor. Some even looked away at the graphic content of the recording, but nonetheless absorbed it, however horrific it might’ve been. Even the ever composed Royal Sisters couldn’t believe the absolute atrocity that they had just beheld. Twilight found herself still horrified despite having watched it already.

All eyes turned to Bullseye’s parents, who were paralyzed in both panic and confusion. While not even Twilight knew who managed to catch them in the act or how, their priceless expressions betrayed their ability to lie their way out. “Wh-Wh-What the!? Who was at our window!?” her father said.

His wife forcefully nudged him. “You idiot!” he hissed. She then turned to the crowd. “Th-There must be some sort of misunderstanding-” She was cut off by her own train of thought as she recalled the night Bullseye disappeared. Something about…..a ‘prodigy’……..and a mysterious set of amethyst eyes. “Wait a minute….”

“I-I-If you just listen, I’m sure I can explain-” Bullseye’s father tried to speak, but he was cut off when Fist forcefully socked him in the face, knocking him to the ground and leaving a shiner on his left eye. “OOF!”

He found himself gazing up at Fist with the look of a rival opponent ready to finish him on his face, who then grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up to his face. “Mind explaining THAT!? HUH!?!?” Fist exclaimed. “WHAT KIND OF PARENTS DO YOU THINK YOU EVEN ARE!?!?” He threw him back to the ground. Bullseye’s mother went to her fallen husband.

The entire crowd shared in Fist’s opinion as they glared down at them. “THEY DON’T EVEN DESERVE TO BE CALLED PARENTS!!” a random mare shouted.

“AND I THOUGHT THOSE PARENTS IN CANTERLOT WERE BAD! YOU TWO ARE JUST…..JUST…..YOU’RE NOT EVEN WORTHY OF ANY WORDS!!!” Cat shouted.

“I don’t know how you managed to hide this for so long, but I can’t begin to imagine how much your daughter must’ve been suffering inside!! This is just inexcusable!!” Cheerilee said.

Bullseye’s mother nervously returned everypony’s glare. “Y-Y-You got proof that diamond wasn’t just set up!? How do we know you didn’t just forge that!?”

Scootaloo trudged up to them. “Don’t be stupid! It’s written all over your faces!!” she exclaimed.

Bullseye’s mother turned her glare to the orange filly, and her abusive instincts kicked in. “I WASN’T ASKING YOU, YOU LITTLE S***!!!” She raised her arm and readied herself to strike Scootaloo, who ducked under her hooves, but her arm was suddenly held back by unicorn magic. “Huh!?”

When she looked up, she could see Princess Celestia’s horn glowing. The solar sovereign had a judgmental gaze affixed on the couple as she held the mare’s hoof back, allowing Scootaloo to retreat. Celestia walked up to them and lowered her head so that she was face to face with them. Her form eclipsed the sun behind her, leaving only her shadow to be cast over the now terrified couple. “To think that such an atrocity existed within my kingdom…I’m truly sickened by the two of you!” she hissed. “You had the responsibility as parents to nurture and guide your daughter with love and compassion, yet you decided to terrorize her and teach her to fear the world.” She raised her head back up, still glaring at Bullseye’s parents. “Guards, arrest them immediately and have them imprisoned in Canterlot. I’ll deal with them personally…”

“Absolutely, Your Highness!” The guards were as gung ho as anypony was at the notion of punishing these two, and they took Bullseye’s parents away without a second thought.

*****

“Are you alright, Scoots?” Applebloom asked.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just….wow….I almost feel like letting Bullseye punch me again if it makes her feel better.” Scootaloo said.

“You sure? She hit you pretty hard…” Sweetie Belle said.

“I can’t imagine her parents were any better though. Ugh! The poor dear…” Rarity said.

“Just unforgivable.” Fist said. “Ehh….Sorry I lost my cool back there…”

“You have nothing to feel sorry for, honey. I’d say they had it coming.” Cat said. She lightly pecked his cheek. “You were actually pretty cool.”

“Whoa, now. Let’s not risk turning into them!” Fist warned.

“That aside…” Luna said. “Twilight, just how exactly did you attain that jewel?”

“I’ll have to explain to you and your sister on the train.” Twilight answered. “But first, I want to listen to what the Crusaders have to say. Our train’s leaving soon, so we should get going.”

“Very well. Let us board then.” Celestia said.

As they made their way for the train station, Luna found herself fighting with her feelings over hiding what she already knew about the Battle Foals. She knew that the current circumstances might impede or even end their journey, so it was then that she thought to herself. “Perhaps it’s time I intervened…”

The Blood Cupid

It took a little while, but the Rockslide finally packed up what they deemed necessary and moved on. They were courteous enough to leave some food and other amenities for the Battle Foals; even though all of it was probably stolen, the foals were grateful nonetheless and said they’d make good use of it. All the while, the foals kept a close eye on Bullseye, who just angrily stared at the ground with Shadow Shroud and Zebota on either side of her.

Once all was said and done, Quantum Tech went back outside to check her mech suit and Shrapnel to make sure that the Rockslide didn’t try to pillage them….not that they’d be stupid enough to try and wrangle a timberwolf, as she saw. Everypony else stayed in the inner sanctum to deal with their berserk archer. “Bullseye, what was all of that about?” Fire Fight asked firmly.

Bullseye barely lifted her head to glare at him. “You said to kick their a****, so that’s what I f****** did.” She muttered.

“Bullseye, don’t even try to dodge the question here! You went on blood-driven rampage and literally almost killed them.” Spiral Galaxy said. “Mind showing at least some remorse?”

“Tch. Whaddya want me to do? Send them all apology cards?” Bullseye hissed. Despite her words, her aggression seemed to lighten and be replaced by a slightly more solemn tone.

“Assuming you truly regret your actions.” Zebota said.

“I warned you about not becoming like your parents. Now do you see the consequences of spreading that infection?” Shroud said.

“Leave those dips**** outta this.” Bullseye said.

“She’s right, sister.” Greensprout said. “Why would you want to spread the horrible pain that was inflicted on you?”

“Well aren’t you Equestria’s biggest hypocrite?” Bullseye sneered. “You’re passive, but you decided to hook up with ponies who do nothing but fight? I bet you just wanted some thrills with how boring a monk’s life must be.” Quantum Tech had reentered the inner room as she finished.

“Don’t mistake us for devils like you!” Air Slash said.

“Air Slash, please.” Greensprout looked up at him with pleading eyes, asking him to calm down, which he did. “Bullseye, I may not enjoy combat the way the others do, but I’m allowing this journey to be a learning experience. I want to let the unknown teach me, and I hope you’re willing to do the same. There’s far more to this world than simply pain.”

“Hmph! Well, sorry for not knowing that sooner!” Bullseye scoffed. Her dominant stance didn’t last for much longer, and her solemn tone seemed to overtake her. The foals could tell that part of her was trying to feel guilty, but her displaced pride just wouldn’t allow it.

“Man, y’all need to calm down a li’l.” Turf War said. “I told y’all dat- well, I only Spiral, but look. She musta holding all dat in for years. Where she s’posed to let it out? It had to go somewhere. I’m just sayin’.”

“Yeah….you did say that.” Spiral said.

“It’s a shinin’ miracle she didn’t explode sooner.” Kickback said.

“I’m such a horrible friend…<sob><sob>…I should’ve exploded with her so we’d be explosion buddies!!” Crazylocks sobbed.

Everypony bar Greensprout rolled their eyes, and Bullseye just eyed her. “Shut your face, you freak…” Bullseye mumbled.

“R-Regardless, I can’t just let this slide, Bullseye. Give Quantum Tech your bow.” Fire Fight said. Bullseye glanced up in surprise. “Actually…no. Give it to Air Slash. Quantum can take your arrows.”

“I’ll gladly take them.” Quantum said.

Bullseye threw away any snark she might’ve have had left and clutched her bow. “N-No! You keep your hooves off of it!” she demanded.

“Worry not, Bullseye. We’re not going to break it or anything. You told me how much you treasure it. But with it, we both know that you’re dangerous, and it looks like you’ve still got some steam to blow off, so just hand it to the colt with the swords.” Shroud said.

“N-NO!!” Bullseye was glaring angrily, but she looked like she was about to curl up into a ball.

“More fightin’ ain’t gonna make the bulls calm down, Ms. Bullseye.” Kickback said.

“You no longer have to live in fear, sister. We’re your friends, and we’re the exact opposite of your parents. So, please put your trust in us.” Greensprout said.

Bullseye angrily, yet shyly glared up at Air Slash, who looked about as reluctant as she was despite having far more composure. It was true that they gave her a chance to escape her parents, and the fact that none of them had hit her yet gave her some reason to listen. “Wh-What are you gonna do with it?”

“Hmph. I personally see no reason to aid in arming a beast.” Air Slash said.

“Air Slash!” Greensprout said. “How can you call her that when this state of mind was imposed onto her? Do as you preach and allow her to become a better pony by learning from her pain!”

Having Greensprout reprimand him completely shattered his prideful composure, and Air Slash seemed to comply out of some kind of panic. “Y-You’re right. That was…..heartless of me. I apologize.” He said. He cleared his throat. “That said, I’m afraid bows are not my area of expertise, so I don’t think I can do too much to boost its parameters, by I might have a little idea.”

Bullseye was suddenly very curious when she heard Air Slash’s words and eased up. “You mean….Yer gonna make it tougher? I thought I was in hot water.”

“You are, Bullseye. I’m gonna have you clean up the debris from that explosion you caused, and I’m not gonna hear any complaining about it. Got it? I’m not gonna try and sugarcoat your actions today, but we’re not going to abandon you either.” Fire Fight said. “But if you go on another bloodlust, you’re not getting that bow back.”

Bullseye lowered her head and replaced her glare with pouting eyes. “Yeah, yeah….I got it…” she muttered.

Seeing that she was willing to accept responsibility, however reluctantly, Fire Fight loosened his firm expression. “Ok.” He then looked at Greensprout. “Can I ask you to keep an eye on her?”

Greensprout nodded. “Yes.”

“Are you certain? I….I apologize once more, but I’m not sure I could feel comfortable leaving you alone with her in case she got violent again.” Air Slash said. Bullseye just looked away from him.

Greensprout smiled. “Thank you, Air Slash, but I have faith in Bullseye. I don’t feel that she will suddenly lash out at me.” She said. Bullseye couldn’t help but to glance up at her a little upon hearing that.

“Well….if you insist.” Air Slash said. He fluttered over to Bullseye to take her bow, and the half-blind berserker stared at him for a short moment before reluctantly handing him her bow.

A pleading aura barely peeked out of her glare as she gave the samurai her most prized possession. “Be careful with this!.....G-Got it?”

Air Slash nodded. “Of course.” He said. He made his way back to the barracks area where he remembered seeing a series of smithing tools likely meant for the bandits’ digging equipment.

Before she could even ask, Bullseye took off her quiver and handed it to Quantum Tech. “I don’t know what the hell you think you’re gonna do with these, but hey. Doctor’s orders.” She growled. Quantum Tech would’ve replied, but Bullseye just walked away and began looking around for something she could use to sweep up the place.

As they watched her, the foals couldn’t help but to feel a little sorrowful. They probably should’ve expected her to act more aggressively than they would’ve liked in combat, but not on this level. Deep down, they knew that they couldn’t really blame her. She more of a victim than anything else and until now, never had a chance to relieve any of her stress. “Quantum…..what’s your take?” Fire Fight asked.

Quantum sighed. “I have no way of knowing if she’s truly released the rest of her bottled anger, but she’s not insane. Just…..disturbed.”

“Understatement of the year…” Shroud muttered.

“As with Crazylocks, her time spent with us will heal her overtime, so we must give her our patience as well as our guidance.” Zebota said.

“Word…” Turf War muttered. Thinking more about it, he could somewhat understand Bullseye’s anger. He and Officer Curfew were bitter rivals when it came to upholding justice…..at least that’s what he thought until he discovered his true nature. He’d felt betrayed, and in a fit of anger, he cracked the bad egg without a hint of remorse. If Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud weren’t there to console him, he might not have been able to deal with his feelings then.

They all decided to walk out of the room so that they could leave Greensprout and Bullseye alone. Zebota wanted to check on Shrapnel anyway. The tension seemed to loosen more and more as they traveled down the tunnel away from the inner sanctum. “What are you gonna do with those arrows, Quantum?” Spiral asked.

“I’m not exactly sure just yet, but I might have an idea or two. However, Zebota, may I ask for your assistance?” Quantum said.

“Let me see to Shrapnel first, and then I shall accompany you.” Zebota said.

“Fair enough.” Quantum said. She then looked at Kickback. “And also, would you give me your guns, darling? I think I know what I want to do with them at last.”

“Surely.” Kickback unloaded his dual revolvers and handed them to Quantum. “Alright, you two behave yourselves fer Ms. Quantum tech now.”

Quantum giggled. “Thank you, sugar pie!” she cooed. Kickback just looked away from her and sighed heavily. Quantum Tech made her way to the storage room to start her experimenting while the other went outside for some fresh air.

*****

Bullseye managed to find a broom and started sweeping up the splinters and soot that spilled all over the floor in the explosion she caused. The only thing that kept her from coughing from it getting in her throat was her ability to blow it away with her wings. She could feel Greensprout’s eyes on her, and it annoyed her to no end that she of all ponies was supervising her.

Even if Greensprout knew that Bullseye wasn’t fond of her, she knew that Fire Fight trusted her selfless caring for others. Not only that, but seeing the extent of the damage dealt to Bullseye’s spirit only further motivated her to help her fix it. It was going to be a long and bumpy road, but she endured discovering her deceased parents; she was ready. “Sister, would you like some help?”

Bullseye looked back at her whilst sweeping. “1. Quit calling me that. 2. No. I can do this s*** myself.” She sighed. “I kinda have to anyway.”

Greensprout let her coldness blow over and giggled. “Turf War was right, wasn’t he?”

“About what?”

“You really did just need to let that all out, didn’t you? Do you feel better?” Greensprout asked.

“Tch. Yes, ‘mommy’.” Bullseye scoffed.

That was all the answer Greensprout needed. “Well, I’m glad.” Bullseye just blew her off and put her focus back into sweeping.

“Not like you’re much better. Sounded like you were about as sick as I was with those…What did you call ‘em? Fallen?” Bullseye said.

Greensprout thought back to what was likely the lowest point in her life. Having never experienced feelings of rage on that level before, she didn’t really know how to respond, so she just let her instincts take charge. Needless to say, she immediately regretted that choice, but her new friends did much to help her pick herself back up and give her a new view on life. “Anger is indeed a natural thing, Bullseye, and I really shouldn’t hark on you for feeling angry towards your parents. You may view being too happy as naïve and foolish, but what would that say about too much anger?”

Bullseye was much like Shadow Shroud in the respect that she tended not the show much emotion….when she wasn’t pissed about something, but Greensprout could notice a hint of epiphany in Bullseye’s expression. “Alright, alright. You’re right, I’m wrong. Happy now?” Bullseye said.

Greensprout giggled. “I’m just happy that you're willing to be reasonable.”

“Eh, shut up.” Bullseye muttered as she continued to sweep. She was meticulous enough to put everything in one pile back in a corner so that it could be more easily managed later if need be. Any conversation she’d have with Greensprout along with the sound of her broom’s bristles abrading against the floor were the only sounds keeping her mind focused.

Apart from that, Bullseye thought back to what Rocky Mountain had said earlier, and creased a little smile. “Huh…‘Blood Cupid’…..A little harsh, but….I kinda like it.”

Upgrading 2- The Sequel!

Back in Ponyville...

Twilight and co. had just arrived back in Ponyville with the Royal Sisters already back in Canterlot. A few of them were still in sheer disbelief of what they had uncovered right before their eyes; they were content that Bullseye’s ‘parents’ were where they belonged.

However, their unrest wasn’t quite quelled as the CMC brought up some interesting information that they told Twilight about on the trip home. “So, Crusaders, you say this ‘Greensprout’ was some filly that mysteriously appeared in Trifectown?” she asked.

“At least that’s what everypony was saying.” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah. We met her, and she said that she had just moved there, but not even the mayor had even heard of her.” Sweetie Belle said. “But why would she lie about something like that?”

“Y’all think she mighta been with Fire Fight!?” Applebloom suddenly thought.

Everypony glanced at her as though they had all internally gasped. It made sense! Bullseye ran away when an unknown filly appeared in town, and it just so happened that an unknown filly was supposedly with Fire Fight. “Could she be…..” Twilight thought to herself.

Scootaloo facehooved. “I swear! If Fire Fight was right there under our noses….” She ranted.

“Yeesh! Maybe we taught him a little too well.” Fist commented.

Cat rolled her eyes. “That aside, maybe we should try to figure out who this filly is. Twilight, do you think you can find her name somewhere?”

“We have plenty of census records that I could check through. They’re all organized by name in alphabetical order, so it shouldn’t take too long if her name pops up.” Spike said.

“Alright then, Spike! And if her name doesn’t come up, then I’ll send a letter to Princess Celestia and ask her to check the records she has.” Twilight said.

“But….we both have equal copies of every census. So does Cadance and Shining Armor….” Spike said.

“Oh….right…” Twilight muttered. “Anyways, if the Crusaders theory is correct, then that must mean that Fire Fight is somewhere in Western Equestria. He couldn’t have gotten far by now.”

“Then shouldn’t we go look for him?” Rarity asked.

“We really should, Twilight. I’m starting to lose my patience with waiting for a surefire lead.” Cheerilee said.

Twilight sighed. “You’re probably right.” She muttered. “Maybe I should dispatch a search team with you guys and start in the White Tail Woods. In the meantime, Spike and I will search those records, ok?”

“I’m sure we could discern a trail from there.” Rarity said. They all agreed on that plan and went their separate ways for now.

*****

Just as Spike and Twilight were about to reach their castle, Spike broke the silence between them. “Twilight, you never did tell me where you got that recording diamond.”

Twilight was hoping he wouldn’t ask that, but with the introduction of the mysterious jewel, she knew that it was inevitable. “Spike, I….” She had no idea how to answer that with how sensitive the information behind it was. Considering that the Shadewalkers must have had the nerve to infiltrate her castle just to deliver that black diamond to her, it stood to reason that they’d have no issue silencing anypony who they deemed knew too much, and she didn’t want to put her assistant in potential danger. “I-I’m not sure I should-”

“Twilight! There you are!” Twilight and Spike looked up to see Zecora trotting over to them.

“Oh! Hey, Zecora. What’s up?” Spike said.

“The wraith in the woods, I have discerned its form! But what I discovered caused….some alarm.”

*****

Working throughout the remainder of the day, the Battle Foals made themselves a temporary home until they had to move on. Bullseye thoroughly swept the inner sanctum, and everypony who wasn’t working on something immediately after the Rockslide left got to work making the conditions a little more livable. The barracks area was cleaned up and replaced with bedrolls of their own, and Fire Fight got to work on some dinner- wheat pancakes stuffed with fruits and vegetables. They had a good sum of leftovers from the provisions that Abbot Meadow gave them, so tonight was going to be another feast, and they were gonna need it after such a long day.

“Sure is nice to actually have a roof to sleep under again, huh?” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Word. I’m kinda startin’ to think we better look for a crib to crash ‘fore we start peepin’ out other foals. We ain’t a small family, heh!” Turf War said.

“You might be right. With how much we stand out, It’d be dangerous to get close to towns. I know we could split up, but….Lady Luck just seems to toy with us every now and then, so I’d rather not tempt her.” Shadow Shroud said.

“But Lady Luck is my Fairy Godmother! How dare you insult her fortunateness!?” Crazylocks blurted.

Shroud cleared her throat. “Th-That aside, I’m worried that Bullseye’s presence may deter others from joining our cozy little family. I hope we can ease her emotional issues soon.”

“Man, you gotta be patient wit her. We let her come through even d’ho we seent dat she a real problem, a problem we ‘bout to solve, ya feel me? Don’t nopony else gonna do it.” Turf War said.

Kickback chuckled. “Ah reckon it’d be worse if it was anypony else. We’re a smaller herd she can get used to easy. Wouldn’t be too awfully surprised if they decided to send her to a protective service r’ sumthin’ right away. That would be an awful much.”

Spiral smiled wryly. “Any stories come to mind?”

“Ah’m afraid not, Ms. Spiral.” Kickback said. “Well….other than today, but Ah think we all know what happened.” They all shared a little chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m the f****** bad guy, and that’s such a laugh.” They looked over to see Bullseye accompanied by Greensprout entering the room with them.

“Hi, Bullseye! The floor looks great in there.” Spiral said. “I got your bedroll set up for you in that…bedroom, I guess.”

“Eh….thanks.” Bullseye said as she looked away.

Greensprout giggled. “There’s no shame in having caring friends, sister.”

“Oh my Celestia! Will you stop calling me that!?” Bullseye complained.

Crazylocks suddenly popped up in front of her. “She didn’t call you ‘that’. She called you ‘sister’! Sister, sister bo bister mister fister my blister!”

Bullseye gave her a blank glare for a moment, and then put her hoof right between her eyes before pushing her away. Crazylocks maintained her stance, and she dug into the ground a little from being pushed. “Blisters, later. Now, food. I’m hungry. When’s hot shot gonna be done?”

“How about right now?” They looked over to see Fire Fight trotting towards them. “We’re all eating outside. C’mon, guys!”

Shroud chuckled. “What better way to end a day such as this?” Greensprout went to get Air Slash before joining them.

*****

The foals gathered outside around a campfire that Fire Fight had started where he served his feast. The luscious aroma of wheat mixed with fruit and veggies made everypony’s mouths water. Even Bullseye’s disgruntled expression lightened considerably upon taking a whiff. Even though they weren’t having eggs this time around, it was bound to be a good dinner regardless. Shrapnel was off to the side a little savoring a deer that Zebota had helped him hunt.

“Damn, son! Why you ain’t done dis sooner!?” Turf War said.

Fire Fight shrugged. “Didn’t really cross my mind until now. It’s not like I was studying to become a professional chef.”

“<giggle> You might as well be!” Spiral commented.

Fire Fight then looked over at Bullseye, who was eating about as normally as anypony else. “Hey Bullseye, thanks for sweeping up that inner room. That was really helpful.”

Bullseye just turned her eye to him and nodded. “Sure.” She took another bite of her pancakes. “Thanks for the food. It’s…..good.” She then noticed that a bedroll was right beside the entrance to the cave. “Hey, who slacked off out here?” she asked as she pointed to it.

“Oh! That is actually mine.” Zebota said. “I will sleep outside with Shrapnel since he cannot fit into the cave.” Shrapnel nuzzled his master.

“Tch. How romantic.” Bullseye said. She then looked over at Air Slash, who had something covered in a blanket behind him. “Hey butter knives, you done with my bow?”

Air Slash lightly glared at her. “I am not called ‘butter knives’, and my swords-”

“Air Slash.” Greensprout said. One look from her told him to just have patience and answer her.

Air Slash sighed. “I am, and I think you’ll be impressed.” He put his plate down and removed the cover to reveal her bow, but it had been noticeabley changed. Running along its limb portions were guard-like blades. Each one started from each outer end of the limbs and eventually curved over the grip. The way the blades curved there reminded the foals of a beetle’s pincers in a way. At each tip were roughly 5-6 inches blades protruding outward parallel to the string. Finally, just above the grip was a guard with little spikes protruding outwards that covered her hoof. “I realize the improvements are few, but its structural integrity is already quite impressive. I simply gave you a means to defend yourself at close range effectively without having to use your arrows.”

Bullseye inspected her new and improved bow in awe. If she didn’t know any better, she’d have sworn that this was how it was made to begin with. The craftsmanship was top notch, and the added features were balanced in such a way that they fit her like a glove. “Whoa…” She looked at Air Slash. “Ok, I gotta be blunt. This is damn good!”

Air Slash decided to take the compliment in good stride. “Good to see you approve, but don’t forget that your marksmanship is where you excel, so I’d advise against rushing in blindly ready to make use of these features. Even as it is now, it’s not the most optimal melee weapon.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Bullseye said. “Still though, thanks. I can’t wait to tear s*** up with this.” Fire Fight cleared his throat, prompting Bullseye to look at him. He had a rather authoritative expression, reminding Bullseye of the consequences of another rampage, killing her excitement. “Eh….right. I was….just exaggerating.” She said. Fire Fight warmly smiled and nodded. Bullseye then looked at Quantum Tech. “What about my arrows?”

Quantum put her plate down before speaking. “Before we get to that, I’d like to get Kickback’s guns out of the way first.” She pulled up her saddlebags and took out Kickback’s precious twin revolvers, but they were slightly different than before. Both of them had a metal ring wrapped and welded around their barrels slightly in front of where the triggers were. Built into each ring was another one of the crystals harvested from the golem beneath Canterlot. She hand them to Kickback.

“Huh….Looks like y’all too got yerselves a li’l makeover.” Kickback said. “What’re they gonna be doin’ now, Ms. Quantum Tech?”

Quantum giggled. “I’m glad you asked, my handsome!” she squeaked. Kickback just internally blew her off and waited for her explanation. She cleared her throat. “As a native of the desert, I’m sure you’re well aware that when sand abrades against metal, it creates static electricity?”

Kickback chuckled. “Mah grandpa once made a wire sculpture of a dog and named it Sparky just ‘cause o’ that! So whenever a sandstorm blew over, he’d live up to his name.” Everypony got a nice little laugh out of that.

“Oh, how delightful!” Quantum said. “Anyway, I’ve repurposed the magical properties of these two particular specimens of the golem’s crystals to create a sand-like magical field within the barrels of your guns, so when you fire a bullet, it will become charged with electricity, greatly boosting their damage potential. Not only that, but the electricity will form around the bullet as a sharp field that will give it more piercing ability.”

Kickback looked at his guns in mellow awe. He was worried that his rather simple weapons would do little to serve as effective support in battle, but now, he was far more confident in his trusty shooters. “Well, shucks! I hope y’all two thanked Ms. Quantum Tech!”

“Go ahead! Fire a shot.” Quantum said. Kickback looked around for a brief moment before deciding to take a shot at a narrow tree branch. He quickly drew on of his guns and fired at his target. Accompanied by the muffled gunshot was a sudden burst of electricity at the end of the barrel. When the bullet hit the branch, an slightly bigger burst of electricity lit up the forest for a brief moment before dissipating. The area around where it hit had been fried with electrical burns; Fire Fight used his magic to calm the heat before a forest fire could start. The branch he hit was charred on the ground.

“HOO-WEE!! That there’s a hootenanny!” Kickback cheered.

Quantum giggled. “I’m so happy you like it, darling.” She then reached around her bag for Bullseye’s quiver. “Now then, for your arrows.” She said. “I’ve left some of them as they are, but you’ll find that others have interesting properties.” She pulled out and arrow that had a red ring at the base of its head that glowed a little. “I’ve magically charged arrows such as these to explode shortly after impacting into a target. When it strikes something, the red ring around its head will glow more brightly for…roughly three seconds before detonating.” She explained.

“No, s***? Can I try it!?” Bullseye asked.

Quantum sighed. “That swearing…” she mumbled to herself. “Go ahead, darling. Though, I’d ask that you find a target that is rather far…” Just as with Kickback, Bullseye took aim at another tree branch, but a slightly further one as per Quantum’s request. She shot her arrow and hit her target, and the red glowing began immediately. Sure enough, it exploded violently after about three seconds. Had the arrow been any closer, the shrapnel from the explosion might have struck them.

“Damn! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Bullseye cheered. “What else ya got?”

Quantum reach into the quiver and pulled out an arrow with a blue head. “This is an ice arrow. I learned the enchantment that the officials at the Pony Games use to make them, so I thought ‘why not?’.” She said, and then put the arrow back in the quiver. “And now…” She pulled out an arrow that had its head glowing a golden gleam. “These….are not to be wasted.” She handed it to Bullseye, who looked like she might start drooling with excitement just looking at the gilded arrow. “I had Zebota help me with this particular enchantment. Fire it into the arrow at at least a 45 degree angle and see what it does.”

“Uh…okay.” Bullseye was slightly befuddled at the somewhat unorthodox way of firing an arrow, but decided to trust Quantum and Zebota. She fired it into the forest at a high angle. After it reached a height a good ways above the tree canopy, the arrow suddenly burst in a gilded light. A seemingly endless rain of arrows of light violently showered down from the point that the initial arrow burst; it subsided after about ten seconds.

Everypony was in awe of the spectacle they had just beheld. “Jeez, you two! You really know how to make something more awesome than it is!” Spiral Galaxy commented.

Zebota chuckled. “Think nothing of it.” He said.

“Think nothing of it?” Bullseye said. “Dude! That was the sickest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” She was starting to smile.

“I’m happy to see that you're so full of joy for once, Bullseye.” Quantum teased.

Bullseye then caught herself and blushed as she put her angry face back on. “I-I-I wasn’t sappy-happy or any of that s***.” She stammered.

“You so were, explosion friend!” Crazylocks blurted in a sassy manner.

Bullseye glared at her. “Shut. Up.” She shyly hissed.

“Anyway, I should warn you that this consumes the arrow just as the explosion enchantment does, and it’s not an easy enchantment to cast, so use these arrows wisely.” Quantum said. “Air Slash is capable of replicating these arrows, so having the resources won’t be too big of a problem, but still.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll stick with the regular ones unless we’re in some deep s***.” Bullseye said. She then noticed her Battle Foals medallion laced into her quiver where it would be displayed when she wore it. “Heh. Cute.”

“Now do you feel like a member of our little band of misfits?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“Damn right!” Bullseye growled. “The Blood Cupid is ready to roll!” The foals were caught a little off-guard by her suddenly calling herself such an ominous name. “It’s my new nickname. Ya dig it?”

“Eh….sure….” Fire Fight said. The other foals seemed about as hesitant as he was, but saw no harm in it so long as she didn’t take it to a more literal sense. After they finished their meal, they put the campfire out and hit the hay for the night.

Full Moon

Just outside the mouth of the cave, Zebota laid atop his bedroll whilst cradled in Shrapnel’s arms. The slumbering wood titan’s snores were light, but almost tangible underneath his throat where his master slept. But rather than keep the mystic zebra awake, his monster’s snores were somewhat soothing, lulling him to sleep. So why was it that Zebota felt that something was….off?

Zebota could suddenly feel Shrapnel lightly nudging him, trying to wake him up. It took a moment or so, but the little zebra finally stirred. He rubbed his tired eyes as he looked up at his beast. “What is it, my friend?” Shrapnel whimpered in response as he looked around the forest. It was then that Zebota could feel what Shrapnel must have. The spirits of the forest seemed….still, almost too still even for nighttime. In fact, it felt as though they weren’t even there at all! “What is…..hmm….Perhaps I should wake the others.”

However, he didn’t have to. For whatever reason, the rest of the Battle Foals came walking out of the cave looking about as confused as Zebota was. “Zebota! You’re awake too?” Fire Fight said.

“Yes, but why have all of you awoken?” Zebota asked.

“We don’t know.” Spiral Galaxy said. “It’s just….It felt like we had to wake up for something.”

Quantum Tech scanned around with her glasses. “How strange…”

“What’s good?” Turf War asked.

“Everything around us…the trees, the rocks, even the soil…...They’re giving off the exact same signature.” Quantum answered.

“I feel it too. Something’s not right…” Shadow Shroud said as she drew a kunai.

Quantum Tech inspected her mech suit, but it seemed that nothing was wrong with it apart from the reading anomaly she was picking up from it. She couldn’t help but to notice how beautifully its metallic frame glistened in the light of the full moon……except. “One moment! Wasn’t the moon its third quarter stage when we went to bed?”

“Ah….don’t reckon Ah was payin’ much attention to that, Ms. Quantum Tech.” Kickback said.

A mellow gust of wind suddenly blew over, and Bullseye drew her bow in response to her mane catching it. “Something’s coming!” she warned.

Suddenly, the full moon exploded into a brilliant light, and the wind grew stronger. The moon was so bright that the craters lining its surface could no longer be seen. Instead, a winged shadow appeared within its light and flew down towards the foals, who had readied themselves for a fight. As the shadow got closer, the foals could tell that it had the form of a pony, but they sure as hell didn’t expect to see what it actually was….

What landed in front of them was a tall alicorn mare with a navy-blue coat and a mane that looked like it had been weaved from the night sky itself. Her appearance was unmistakable. “Good evening, mighty Battle Foals.” She said in a calm, regal tone.

The foals were certifiably shocked to see who had just come to visit them. “P-P-PRINCESS LUNA!?!?!?” Fire Fight exclaimed. He found himself scared to death for his team now that they’d been discovered by one of Equestria’s highest authorities. None of the other foals fared much better.

Luna creased a warm, almost motherly smile. “It pleases me to see all of you safe and sound. I was truly worried for your welfare, but I should’ve known better than to doubt your strength.”

“W-W-WE’RE NOT GOING BACK!!! EVER!!!” Spiral exclaimed. She was struggling to keep her horn from overcharging from how flustered she was. “Nrgh!!”

“Easy, homegirl!” Turf War said.

“Y-Your Highness, with all due respect, WE SIMPLY CAN’T RETURN TO OUR HORRID LIVES!!” Quantum exclaimed. Tears began to well from her eyes at the thought of being handed back to her disapproving parents. “Surely you’ve seen the toxicity of-”

“I know, Quantum Tech.” Luna said. “All of you….I have seen the pain you endured that drove you to flee from the lives you’ve lived in Equestria or elsewhere…” she said as she glanced over at Zebota and Shrapnel.

“Then surely you must understand why we’re not going anywhere!” Fire Fight said. “How’d you even find us anyway?”

“You are all fast asleep in reality. I simply wove your dreams together into one so that we all may speak at once.” Luna said.

“Huh! I was wondering why Mr. Tree Trunk Top Hat suddenly spilled his beetle tea….” Crazylocks blurted.

“Nopony cares, Crazylocks!” Bullseye said. She then looked up at Luna. “So…Wh-What is it you wanna say, huh!? S-Spill it!” she stammered angrily.

“Bullseye! Mind your words when speaking to royalty!” Quantum said.

Luna giggled. “Worry not, dear. If you’re worried about being sent back to your abusive parents, I’m pleased to be able to tell you that will not be possible. They were discovered and arrested, and are currently awaiting trial in Canterlot.”

Bullseye’s face lit up like the stars upon hearing that. “R-Really?” she said. “A-Are they gonna be executed? Can I do it!?” she asked rather happily.

“Bullseye!” Fire Fight said.

Luna looked at Bullseye with sorrowful sympathy. “While their crime is no doubt unforgivable, I’m afraid it won’t warrant a death sentence. They’ll likely face a life of imprisonment, so you’ll never again have to worry about them.” She said. “Oh…I’m so sorry that you endured such wretched treatment, Bullseye. I hope that your new friends are able to introduce to you the meaning of love.”

“We will, milady.” Greensprout said. “But, really…..why are you here?”

“Contrary to what you must be thinking right now, I have not come to retrieve you and send you back to your lives. Rather, I am here for quite the opposite.” Luna said.

The foals were both shocked and relieved to hear the Princess of the Moon say that she was apparently encouraging their trip. “You…..gotta be trippin’!” Turf War said.

“I am indeed not tripping…homie.” Luna said with a playful wink, pleasantly surprising the ghetto colt. “As we speak, Princess Twilight has begun organizing another search party that will comb this area of the White Tail Woods and outward. If you stay here for much longer, you will certainly be discovered. But, I know of a path you may follow that would allow you to avoid such ruin.”

Everypony was utterly frazzled at why Luna would even think about helping them run away, but the mention of the search party stimulated their sense of caution. “A-And where might we be goin’ ma’am?” Kickback asked nervously. He then realized that he never took off his hat from being so shocked, so he rectified that.

Luna lightly giggled at his polite gesture. “To the north of here, at the summit of the highest mountain in the Unicorn Range is an ancient portal to the other side of the Celestial Sea. In days of old when ponies and griffons had better relations, it was a means for the griffons to quickly travel home if they were far away from their homeland, or for each race to quickly rush to the other’s aid.” Luna explained. “It is old and long-forgotten, so not even my sister will readily think to consider it. I doubt she even knows that it is still functional.”

Something about such a portal sounded familiar to Quantum Tech, so she checked her digital encyclopedia in her glasses for references and got a hit. “Ah! The twin portals connecting that point and the Asgard Forest near Griffonstone! There’s very little record of them still in existence, but I know what you speak of, Your Highness.”

“Good. I would advise that you leave tomorrow at first light. If you make haste, then you will surely prevent your quest from being abruptly ended.” Luna said.

“Thanks, Princess.” Fire Fight said. “But…..why are you helping us? I don’t understand.” He then suddenly thought about Shadow Shroud. “A-And just so you know, Shad- I-I mean….my friend hasn’t done anything wrong, so please don’t take her from us.”

Shroud glanced over at Fire Fight in mellow surprise. “Fire Fight….”

Luna smiled as she looked over at the shadowy filly. “Worry not, young Shadewalker. I can sense your pure intentions. Despite how heavy any of your earlier actions might have been, you have acted with honor and dignity. The ultimate consequences are surely for the better.”

Fire Fight audibly sighed deep relief upon hearing that, and Shadow Shroud devilishly giggled. “I humbly thank you for your understanding, Your Radiance.” Luna could detect a hint of playful sarcasm in her tone, and lightly chuckled.

“But to answer your question, Fire Fight….As I said before, I am well aware of the sullied lives you were forced to live, the scorn you feel towards those who made you feel unwanted.” Luna said. She took a solemn breath as she seemed to ponder over something. “I know how it feels to have your talents go unappreciated or even be shunned, but I wholeheartedly implore you not to fall to the darkness that I did. It is my firm belief that the meaning of your journey will alert everypony of the changes that must be brought about, so I must encourage you to remain ever strong-hearted.”

Luna’s words made the foals sympathize with her. It was indeed very true that many years ago, she was in the same situation as they were, and as a result of allowing her resentment to cloud her heart, she rejected the very livelihood of Equestria itself and became a malevolent being that was scorned by history. That was something the Battle Foals didn’t want to happen for them.

“Princess Luna….” Spiral Galaxy slowly walked up to her and hugged her leg. “Thank you…” Luna laid down on her stomach to return the hug. “Guys, you too.”

Seeing as they had something of a bond with the lunar sovereign, the foals decided to go hug her as well, even Bullseye. Luna opened her fore hooves and gently embraced them as they returned the gesture; she even covered them with her wings. “You’ve all been through so much….” Luna said. “Never let your strength falter…..Equestria may need it.” Shrapnel lowly purred as he nuzzled the alicorn’s neck. He then graced her with a lick. “Ah! <giggle> What a dear of a timberwolf you are, Shrapnel.” Luna said. Shrapnel barked.

Luna let go of the foals, and they broke off from her. “What do you mean ‘Equestria may need our strength’?” Fire Fight asked.

Luna’s expression grew slightly worried. “I cannot say for sure, but it feels as though a catastrophe is on the horizon, and….that is when I feel that the Battle Foals must rise.”

The foals were now worried as well. A catastrophe that they’d need to defeat? Even if they were a powerful force together, what could their ragtag group do compared to the Elements of Harmony? “What….kind of catastrophe?” Quantum Tech asked nervously.

“As I said, it is but a feeling I have. Regardless, you must halt your search for other foals here and make your way to that portal.” Luna said as she rose back up towards the moon. “Shadow Shroud, will you continue to guide your new friends as you have from the beginning?”

Shroud chuckled. “I suppose I could babysit these little troublemakers for a little longer.” She teased.

Luna nodded. “Then I wish you all safe travels, and know that the light of my moon shall serve to protect you and light your path.” She bathed herself the in the silver gleam of the moon and disappeared, erasing the collective dream world she created to converse with the foals…

*****

???

They took…..her…..

And…….shunned me…….us……

…………This won’t stand!........

Resolve

Back in Ponyville...

Twilight and Spike had returned to their castle and were having a conversation with Zecora, who had requested Fluttershy’s presence, so she had come as well. The nature of their conversation was…..interesting, to say the least. “So let me get this straight: Your people have a type of magic that can tame and control monsters!?” Twilight asked.

Zecora nodded. “You may think it unthinkable, Twilight, but I assure you I am not daft. I speak of the forbidden art known as Beastcraft.”

Twilight and co. knew that zebras engaged in strange, even frightening practices, and they probably should’ve expected such an art to have some place in their culture. “Why is it forbidden?” Fluttershy asked.

“They say that those who tame beasts may become beasts themselves. The mind of a monster is a dangerous abyss to delve. This child, Zebota walks a treacherous path. He is constantly in danger of his companion’s feral wrath.” Zecora said. Her solemn expression told the ponies and dragon that she was worried for the zebra foal.

“That must be why I couldn’t use my Stare on it or understand its feelings. It was under a spell that already had it under some kind of control.” Fluttershy said.

“H-How much do you know about Beastcraft, Zecora?” Spike asked.

“If I’m to be honest, very little. My understandings of its properties are rather vague. I know it foolish of me, but I have avoided its forbidden wisdom like the plague.” Zecora said.

“I’m sure that this ‘Zebota’ gets along very well with his timberwolf friend.” Fluttershy said. “If they’ve been together for as long as you say, then surely they’re best friends by now.”

“L-Let’s not get too optimistic Fluttershy. Even if he’s able to control that timberwolf, who’s to say that it won’t try to attack Fire Fight and the other foals?” Twilight said.

“Yeah. If that timberwolf that attacked us near the castle was the one Zebota’s controlling, then we’d better start being careful.” Spike said. “Ya know…..Kinda makes me wonder if you’ve got zebras somewhere in your family tree, Fluttershy. It might explain your Stare.”

“Huh…..I never thought of that……I’ll have to ask my parents the next time I go visit them.” Fluttershy said.

“That aside, we should let the princesses and the press know about him too, but after we look into this ‘Greensprout’ first.” Twilight said.

“Yeah, you’re right. We still gotta do that.” Spike said. “Thanks for telling us about this, Zecora.”

“Anytime, my child.” Zecora said. She and Fluttershy saw themselves out.

Twilight and Spike made their way to the records room with Greensprout in mind. However, the thought of a zebra colt controlling such a powerful creature as an alpha timberwolf loomed over. “Man, oh man. There sure is a lot we don’t know about this world, huh, Twi?” Spike said.

“Yes, Spike, and right now, that’s the scariest part. We need to find Fire Fight as soon as possible. Have you finished organizing that search party?” Twilight said.

Spike nodded. “Yep! The only thing they need now is your order to leave, and we’ll head back out there.”

“Good.” Twilight said. The two reached their destination, and they began looking through the ‘G’ section of census records with utmost prudence. It took some meticulous diligence, but they eventually found records of somepony under that name, and just as the CMC suggested, Greensprout was indeed a filly. “Here we go!”

“Found her? What do we got?” Spike asked.

Twilight scanned through what little information the folder held on the little filly. “Wow. There’s not a whole lot here. Hmm…..Well, it says that she lives in an abbey in Southwestern Equestria called ‘Gardenia’.”

“What’s an abbey?” Spike asked.

“It’s a town typically run and governed by monks or some kind of religious practitioners. Their leader in known as an ‘abbot’, and in the case of Gardenia, his name is Abbot Meadow.” Twilight answered. “Huh!?”

“What is it?”

“It…seems that this abbot is her legal guardian, but……I can’t find any record of her birth parents. It doesn’t look like she even has a birth certificate!” Twilight said. That’s when it hit her. No known parents other than an abbot in rural Equestria, no birth certificate, which could very well mean that ‘Greensprout’ wasn’t even her real name…….could she have been right? Is this the Shadewalker that she’d been searching for!?

“Everything ok, Twilight?” Spike asked.

Twilight looked over at her assistant with a determined expression. “Spike, tell Ms. Cheerilee that she’ll have to lead the search party in my place. You, me and Rarity are going to Gardenia!” she declared.

Spike was understandably befuddled by the sudden change of plans, but decided to trust Twilight’s command given that he too was interested in this ‘Greensprout’ and Gardenia. “Uh….okay.” They got started packing up for their trip.

*****

Morning had broken in the former bandit den, and the Battle Foals didn’t need to say anything seeing as they all knew from last night that they had to make haste. Fire Fight didn’t even bother cooking breakfast; the foals all just had fresh fruit stored away in Quantum’s mech as they made their way north as instructed by Princess Luna. All the while, nary a word was spoken as they couldn’t stop thinking about her warning of a catastrophe….

Turf War finally broke the silence. “Damn, ya’ll! Uh….We got to meet Princess Luna d’ho, what? It’s like a….a dream come true, a-am I right? Naw, fo’ real! We really was dreamin’, but it was actually happenin’! AHAheh! Y’all see what I did there? A-A-Ain’t dat kinda a trip d’ho? I mean, it’s like….it was real, but it wasn’t, ya feel me? But still….Princess Luna!? Are you serious right now!? I’m sayin d’ho. Dat mare hung the moon! HAH! Y-Y’all see what I did? ‘Cause…….she do dat…….e’ery night?.......No?.....”

Despite his attempt to lighten the tension, nopony was in the mood for laughs. While they were beyond thankful for Princess Luna’s aid, the thought of them having to fight back something that could only be described as a catastrophe was jarring. Their only goal was to build a place somewhere in the world just for them and others like them, not become saviors. Even if they had acted heroically in the past, that was all nothing more than a sense of justice they all shared. “Sh-Shut up.” Bullseye stammered. It was clear that even she was a little rattled.

“L-Let’s get off the subject.” Fire Fight said. “Shroud, do you know which mountain in the Unicorn Range is the highest?”

Shadow Shroud looked at her map to confirm. “Right here.” She pointed to mountain right on the southern side of some marked train tracks that led towards Vanhoover. “Great Horn Summit is our destination. We need only hike through these woods past these other, smaller mountains. It’s not that far.”

“O-Ok then. Let’s not waste any time!” Fire Fight said.

Shroud folded her map and stored back into her cloak as she eyed her fiery friend with slight disapproval. “Come on. What happened?” she asked firmly. Fire Fight glanced over at her in surprise. “What happened to that endless determination that kept that fire going, huh? Did it just fizzle out the second you heard the princess’s warning? Surely you’re not afraid of what might come? Was I wrong to guide from the beginning?”

Her harsh words whipped Fire Fight’s resolve back into shape. She was right; he couldn’t start chickening out just because some prophecy that may or may not even come true. He had to be strong for his team. “Of course not! If something does happen, we’ll punch whatever it is right in the face!” he declared.

Shroud giggled. “That’s what I thought.”

The other foals seemed to catch onto their leader’s strength and cheered up somewhat. “I agree! We’ve come much too far to simply give up now!” Air Slash said. He drew his sword and held it skyward. “Whatever darkness may befall us, my blades shall rend it!”

“Tch! Not before I pump it full o’ arrows!” Bullseye growled.

“Apologies in advance if it’s me!” Spiral Galaxy joked.

“We forgive you in advance, darling.” Quantum Tech teased.

“Ugh! That was supposed to be a joke, you meanie!” Spiral said. The two shared a giggle.

“If it happens, can we sing it a lullaby in 100% organic Gaelic?” Crazylocks blurted.

“Y-Yes, Crazylocks. Why don’t we?” Greensprout said.

“Regardless, it would be prudent for us to make haste to this mountain.” Zebota said. “If what Princess Luna said is true, then this search party may not be too far behind us.”

“Ah reckon we oughta.” Kickback said. “But…..Y’all think this might be trap? Ah mean, she could very easily have set up a whole hayfield’s worth of guard up there where we wouldn’t be able to scram.”

“I thought that too, but if she already knew where we were based on our sleep, wouldn’t she have sent guards our way long ago?” Shroud said. “Besides….I could feel her sincerity when we hugged her.”

“Wow, Shroud. It’s not like you to empathize like that.” Spiral said.

Shroud shrugged. “What can I say? I let you guys soften me a little.”

“I’d rather you be too soft than so hard that you become unlikable, Shroud.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled. “That’s nice, but Greensprout is all the little sweetheart we need.”

“Oh, sister!” Greensprout said.

“Hehe. You all need to get a room already!” Bullseye said. They all shared a little laugh, and their worries seemed to fade away. They still had a goal in sight, and there was no point in turning back now. They had the Princess of the Moon on their side, and they had no intention of letting her efforts to support them go to waste. If anything, the new pressure they found themselves under served to further encourage them to keep moving forward.

As the afternoon sun started moving into midday, the foal came across another set of railroad tracks that snaked between the Smokey Mountains and Unicorn range and into a forest. They had no choice but to follow it since having to climb around and over the mountains just to avoid being seen by any passing trains would be both pointless and needlessly difficult. “It’s the mountain just to the north of here.” Shroud said. She took another look at her map. “Looks like it’s pretty far though. Be on the lookout for a place we can camp for the night. I doubt we’ll make it there in one day on foot.”

Fire Fight nodded. “Understood.” He then looked at Quantum Tech. “So, what all do you know about this portal, Quantum?”

“Well, according to what little record that exists on the subject, we really only have Princess Luna’s word to go on.” Quantum said. “Even the nature of its activation had been lost to time, though I do not expect any difficulty discerning that once we reach the summit.”

“Ah just hope we don’t keep too many fillies r’ colts waitin’ while we scurry off to the other side of the realm. That’d be a cryin’ shame if there was somepony fer us to rustle up while we just jumped through the portal all willy-nilly.” Kickback said.

“We could just come back afterwards. We might even be able to finally set up a home somewhere over there. I mean, the griffons don’t really care much for us anyway, so I doubt they’d mind a bunch of runaway foals much at all.” Spiral said.

Bullseye chuckled. “Then we’ll just have to be good neighbors, huh?”

“I just hope dat don’t none o’ ‘em snitch on us.” Turf War.

“We’ll be able to concentrate on what to do once we’re able to see those surroundings for ourselves, guys, so let’s get going.” Fire Fight said. It was then that a little thought crossed his mind. “You know…..that windigo we fought…..maybe it was some kind of warning of this catastrophe?”

“Hmm…..I wonder….” Zebota muttered. Shrapnel lightly whimpered as his master pondered over the meaning of that strange encounter, but the time for that would have to come later, because for now, the foals had a forest to hike through.

The Tide Comes In

The forest the foals entered wasn’t vastly different from the White Tail Woods. In fact, it reminded Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War, Spiral Galaxy and Air Slash much of their hike through Foal Mountain on their way to Dodge City. It was a nostalgic feeling indeed, but they hoped that they wouldn’t have to deal with any more plant monsters, which Quantum Tech explained was called a Florastrad. They kept themselves rather deep in the woods away from the train tracks, but the tracks eventually started turning east, so they could breathe a little easier.

The only real resistance they encountered along their hike were occasional small monsters that they fought off with ease if Zebota couldn’t ward them off with his mysticism. They truly had become a powerful force. Bullseye even commented that she was getting bored and much preferred another windigo to tango with. Despite minor annoyances, they managed to gather a good amount of food from the bounties nature offered to them. As they began to near the foot of the Great Horn Summit, they came across a huge clearing with a large lake taking up much of the space. A river running down from the mountain ran through it, and then drained back into a river that flowed towards the Smokey Mountains.

“Looks like a good place to camp out. It’s starting to get late anyway.” Fire Fight said. The sun was indeed about to finalize its sink into the horizon.

“Good. I can finally give my hooves a rest.” Shadow Shroud said. “Although, we should probably find a more enclosed space to sleep so as not to tempt any nocturnal predators.”

“Pfft! Are you kidding? Every b**** we ran into in this forest dropped like a damn fly! We’ll be fine.” Bullseye said.

Crazylocks suddenly popped up next to her. “TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE CARRYING FLYTRAP SWATTERS SWATTING WONDER GUARDS AND YELLOW SHARDS AND JOKER CARDS AND CHICKEN AND LARD AND-”

Bullseye forcefully shoved her away. “Get bent!”

“That, and Shrapnel’s presence should deter them.” Zebota said. “We have made our presence in these woods well-known to its dwellers, so they must know by now that we are not to be trifled with.” Shrapnel let out a little howl.

“Bold words, my friend. Though, I wouldn’t say they’re unwarranted.” Air Slash said.

“Speakin’ o’ food, think you can whip somethin’ up, homie? I bet we all damn hungry right now.” Turf War said.

“We did get a awful nice harvest from the forest.” Kickback said.

“No problem!” Fire Fight said. He had Zebota help him gather sufficient firewood before lighting the campfire. The smell of fresh ingredients simmering in the beautiful blaze was a welcome aroma.

Spiral Galaxy then noticed that there was a small patch of land a little larger than a stepping stone peeking up from the water about 20-30 yards from shore, not really big enough to warrant one calling it a proper island. “Hey guys, I’m think I’m gonna go meditate over there for a while.”

“Ok. Be safe, sister!” Greensprout said.

Spiral nodded. She slipped out of her armor and swam over to the mini island. It felt really good to finally take that weight of off her for a while and just relax. The cool water washing through her coat was nothing short of refreshing. Even if the open sky threatened to overcharge her cosmomancy, the confidence she’d gained over the course of the trip had helped her immensely. Once she made it to the patch of land, she calmed her mind and went into meditative state.

As evening slowly crossed over into night, Fire Fight had a moment to reflect on their journey thus far. Quite a few unexpected turns had happened here and there. A mystic zebra and his pet monster joining them, the whole ordeal with the Fallen and Greensprout, Bullseye’s….issues, their ‘confrontation’ with Rocky Mountain, and to top it all off, meeting with Princess Luna and her warning them of an alleged threat to Equestria. He wasn’t expecting this mission to be easy, but he might’ve underestimated just how much he and his friends could expect to face out in places where ponies normally feared to tread. Despite the uncertainty, he was excited! What other adventures awaited them. For now, all they could do was heed Princess Luna’s warning and access the portal to Griffonstone.

“Watcha making this time around?” Fire Fight glanced over to see Shadow Shroud suddenly next to him. Her presence was no longer menacing, so her sudden appearance didn’t jar him whatsoever.

“Hey, Shroud! I’m gonna make some scrambled eggs and wheat salad. Hope you’re hungry.” Fire Fight said.

“I think Turf War’s stomach spoke for all of ours.” Shroud said. They both shared a chuckle. “Seems our situation has become somewhat dire, wouldn’t you say?”

“You seem pretty relaxed about it.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled. “If not me, then who? You? Our fearless leader?” she teased.

Fire Fight pretended to pout. “Aww! Have some confidence in me for once.” He joked.

“Hmm…..Ok, I guess will.” Shroud joked.

“Hehe. Yeah.” Fire Fight said as he continued to tend to the eggs. “Hey…”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks for sticking with me. I really couldn’t have made it this far without you, Shroud.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled. “Thanks for keeping me from getting bored.” As unlikely as their friendship might have been, Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud slowly but surely came to realize that they enjoyed every second they spent together, and with their growing number of friends. Even their more horrific moments, such the fight with the crystal golem or Gene Splice’s execution somehow had hints of pleasantness simply knowing that their companionship was there to save them. Fire Fight hadn’t realized that he and Shadow Shroud had been gazing into each other’s eyes for a while until the ninja herself spoke some very simple words. “I think those are burning.”

Fire Fight snapped himself back to his senses and looked at his eggs. Sure enough, they were starting the char a little! “Oh, crap!!” He hurriedly stirred them and put them on a plate. They were still nicely scrambled, but the tints of black made the fiery colt hang his down in shame. “<sigh>….fantastic…”

“Oh, worry not, friend. They still look edible.” Air Slash said.

Fire Fight barely lifted his to glance up at him. “Thanks for the consolation, Air Slash...” he muttered.

As that was happening, Bullseye was peacefully sitting by the edge of the water……or it would have been peaceful had Crazylocks not been pestering her. “I once heard a story about a seaweed hero who fought for his people against the oppression of the crabfishweed empire! They say his sword was forged with the very will to help and kelp others itself! Even the algae blooms un-bloomed when he bloomed from his blooming town and – Oh! That reminds me of my cousin who could talk to algae! He says they love eating ‘see-oh-too’! Pfft! Whatever that is, am I right? Right!...Right bite!...Bite the might of a slight height plight of the trite named Dwight!”

Bullseye’s good eye was twitching with growing frustration as she listened to Crazylocks’ nonsensical banter. How the other foals even tolerated her was truly amazing to her. Finally, she decided to speak up. “Do you know how to shut the f*** up?”

“Aww! Come now, sister.” Greensprout said. “I think Crazylocks is just trying to get you to lighten up.”

Bullseye made a pinching gesture with her hoof. “I’m about this close to lightening my entire load of arrows into her throat.” she growled.

“Well, please don’t. She’s as much of a broken soul as you are.” Greensprout said.

Bullseye huffed at her. “Not much harm in putting a few more holes in her if that’s the case.”

“Holes are fun!” Crazylocks blurted.

Bullseye snarled at her. “You’re one annoying little b****, ya know that?”

“No I’m not. I’m an orange!” Crazylocks said. Bullseye just facehooved in sheer frustration and just decided to try and ignore her.

“Hoo-wee! Ain’t that just a beautiful sight up yonder!” Kickback called out. Everypony save for the meditating Spiral Galaxy looked up to where Kickback was. High in the dimming light of dusk in the Equestrian skyline was none other than its very own sky-high city.

“Cloudsdale….” Greensprout said. The floating metropolis was adorned with a breathtaking array of rainbows that shimmered in the golden sunset. Zebota, not being as familiar with Equestria’s wonders as its actual people, was especially entranced at the sight that was likely very rare for his race; he relished in every second that he beheld its glory.

Fire Fight began to make the salad as he too gazed up at the majestic sight. “Wow….” A rather important thought then crossed his mind. “How do you guys suppose we’ll get up there?”

“Well, Bullseye, Crazylocks and myself could simply fly up there…..but then there’s the issue of concealing our identities…..” Air Slash said.

“Cloudsdale isn’t important right now. We need to heed Princess Luna’s warning. If we take any detours, there’s a very good chance that we’ll be discovered.” Shroud said.

Fire Fight sighed. “Yeah, you got a point. It just sucks that we can’t help more foals sooner. I guess we really do need to worry about finding a place to plant our roots.”

Largely ignoring the ‘festivities’ on the shore, Spiral Galaxy concentrated on the water around her. The passage of time itself seemed to flow in perfect harmony with the current in this lake, and she let her consciousness play in rhythm with it. Her older self would have trembled under the overwhelming feeling she got when she let her mind slip adrift like this, but that was then. For the first time, she thought she could feel just what seemed to be calling her…..the universe itself. All those time that the stars grabbed at her mind whenever she concentrated her power….they were only heeding her own call to them, but the sheer amount of power they held always overwhelmed her, and sent her into a frenzy. This must have been what being a cosmomancer meant. She’d have to connect with the cosmos in order to attain her true potential, but with extreme caution. For now, her focus was on easing her mind in the presence of the universe, and nothing was going to distract her…..

<SPLASH!!!>

Spiral was jolted awake by the sudden, loud splash that just resounded somewhere out into the lake. She glanced around for a second or two until she saw the area where the splash occurred. There were still some droplets cascading back into the lake by the time she caught sight of it. “Spiral, darling, what was that just then?” Quantum Tech called out.

Spiral looked back at her and shrugged. “I dunno!” she called back. She took one last glance at the splash sight before deciding that it was probably nothing and went back to her meditation. However, a minute was about to pass when she felt that something was nearing her, and she looked up once more. Nothing immediately noticeable was approaching. “Am I going crazy?” Her question was answered when something suddenly jumped out of the water and onto the mini island with her!

“<cough><cough><sputter><sputter>….<pant>…..<pant>…..Wow…..I actually survived….” It was none other than a pegasus colt her age! His coat was a sapphire blue, and his mane, which was styled somewhat like a dorsal fin, was a navy blue along with his tail. His eyes were a bright amber color, and his Cutie Mark depicted a splash of water that was formed like a spear. Speaking of spears, he for some reason had one strapped to his back along with a bag, and it looked like it belonged to a member of the Royal Guard.

He glanced up and happened to meet Spiral Galaxy’s eyes, who was more than shocked to so suddenly encounter him. The two stared at each other for a brief moment in befuddled confusion….

“EEEEEEK!!!!!”

“AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!”

They both screamed simultaneously once the tension gave in. Spiral’s magic seemed to move on its own as it picked up the mysterious colt and flung him to the shore of the lake where the others watched in surprise. The colt flew into a tree trunk and crumbled to the ground. “Da f***!?” Turf War exclaimed.

“Turf War! Language!” Quantum said.

“My bad, my bad.”

Spiral quickly swam back to join the others, who were already at the colt’s aid. Kickback held out his hoof and helped him up. “Y’all alright there, partner?”

The colt was shocked and a little dazed at everything that was happening right now, and glanced back and forth between the Battle Foals. “Uh….Y-Yeah…..Thanks….” He then looked up and noticed Shrapnel. “WHOA!! LOOKOUT!!” He spread his wings and lunged forward with his spear pointed poised towards the wooden beast. With surprising agility, he managed to land the head of his spear right into Shrapnel’s snout, causing him to loudly whimper and recoil back, holding his snout. The arborous animal then retaliated by swinging his paw at him, but the colt skillfully rolled under it and followed up with a jab right under the eye. “TAKE THAT!!” He then used his spear to pole-vault upwards. Once airborne, he thrust his spear towards Shrapnel in an attempt to strike his eye, but he was stopped in mid-air by Fire Fight’s magic.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop!” Fire Fight held the colt back while Zebota calmed down Shrapnel. “It’s ok! That’s just Shrapnel, Zebota’s pet- I mean friend…..timberwolf.”

The looked up in shock at the wooden titan as he was indeed being tended by Zebota as well as Greensprout. “Wait…..what!?”

Spiral caught up to them and ran up to the colt, throwing her hooves onto his shoulders. “I am so sorry! I just….I-I panicked when I suddenly had this spear-wielding colt right in front of me, and-”

The colt gently brushed her away. “I-It’s fine. I’m ok.”

Turf War then noticed something about the colt’s wings. They were….finned and webbed like a fish rather than feathered like a bird. “Yo, homie! What’s good wit yo’ wings d’ho?”

The colt quickly turned and glared at him, and suddenly pointed his spear at him. “THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH MY WINGS, YOU GOT THAT!?” he exclaimed.

Turf War raised his shield by total reflex. “Damn, dog! A’ight! Chill! Don’t gotta point dat s*** at yo’ boy!”

The colt lowered his head in frustrated shame as he sheathed his spear. “S-Sorry.” It was then that he recognized most of them. “Hey….Aren’t you those runaway’s that have been in the news lately?”

“You’re not about to go rat us out, are you!?” Bullseye hissed.

Her aggression intimidated the colt a little. “N-No! Of course not! I…..I’m kinda….running away too…..”

“Sorry about Bullseye, she…..well, that’s not really important right now.” Fire Fight said. “What are you running away from? We might be able to help you!”

The colt shyly looked away from Fire Fight. His expression still harbored some frustration, likely from the mention of his wings. “I-It’s……really none of your business. I-I just don’t want to go back to Cloudsdale….”

The foals were shocked when it suddenly hit them. “YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT YOU JUMPED ALL THE WAY UP FROM CLOUDSDALE!? ARE YOU QUITE MAD!?!?” Quantum exclaimed.

“He is a pegasus, you know.” Shadow Shroud said.

Quantum composed herself upon hearing that. “Erm….Y-Yes, of course. Heehee. How silly of me.”

Fire Fight put his hoof on the colt’s shoulder. “I’m Fire Fight. What’s your name?”

The colt barely glanced over at Fire Fight, as if to hesitate trusting him with so much as his name. Finally, he sighed before getting up and walking towards the lake. “Tidal Wave.”

Fire Fight was a little taken aback by how independent this ‘Tidal Wave’ was trying to be. Even though he knew he couldn’t force his help onto others, he could at least console them with words alone. “Hey! Where’re you going?”

Tidal Wave just kept slowly trudging towards the water. “Somewhere where I won’t be a bother to anypony!” he said.

Suddenly, a little tremor resounded from the lake. Quantum scanned it with her glasses, and her eyes widened in horror. “Um…T-Tidal Wave, was it? I-I think you may have disturbed something in the water….” They all looked out into the lake…..and immediately braced for battle when something huge erupted out of the water…..

Hydraulic Pressure

A mass of cascades showered the lakeside and the foals. When they were able to look back up, a pair….no…..four pairs of piecing eyes glared down at them. Towering above them was a reptilian monstrosity that few have lived to see and tell the tale. It’s four heads bellowed a predatorial war cry at the Battle Foals.

“HYDRAAAAAA!!!!!” Quantum screamed as she quickly climbed into her mech suit.

One of the hydra’s heads suddenly lunged downward toward them, ready to try and chomp them, but Turf War managed to smack it away with his hammer. “UH-UH, SON!!” The tremor-inducing impact was enough to smack the mass of scales away and make it recoil back, but its sturdy frame seem to take minimal damage from the blow. It shook off its pain and glared down at Turf War. It’s expression seemed to acknowledge that he was gonna be a problem.

Spiral Galaxy quickly slipped back into her armor, but was careful with how much she charged her magic. She might have attained better control over her cosmomancy, but Cloudsdale was still relatively close, and she didn’t want to accidentally send them an unintended distress signal. So, she simply created a gravity field around its lower body to prevent it from walking out of the water. “I GOT IT PINNED, GUYS!!! LET LOOSE!!!”

Tidal Wave found himself in awe of what power one filly could wield. “Whoa…”

“QUIT GAWKING AND HELP US MAIM THIS M***********!!!” Bullseye exclaimed. She shot an ice arrow at the water around its body, which caused much of the lake to freeze over. “Tch. Little b****.” Bullseye’s moment of celebration was short lived as the hydra thrashed around violently, trying to break free of Spiral gravity bind, resulting in it shattering all the ice around it. “Well, f***!”

The foals couldn’t do much since it was in the water, but they’d rather it was trapped in the water where it was much less of a threat. “Reckon now’s a good time as any to see just how effective y’all two are now!” Kickback drew his guns and started firing at its heads. The sparks on his bullets lit up the dimming night as they rocketed towards the beast. Sure enough, the hydra’s heads were visibly bothered, even writhing from being hit by Kickback’s enhanced bullets. “YEEEE-HAAAAW!!!”

“PROVIDING ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FIRE!!” Quantum said. She used her targeting systems to lock onto the hydra’s head and fired her railguns. Though her shots fired in slower succession than Kickback’s, the bursts of electromagnetic energy not only were more damaging, but also seemed to intensify the electrical damage dealt by Kickback’s bullets. “EAT PHYSICS, YOU ABOMINATION!!”

The hydra struggled for a while before deciding that enough was enough. Through what must have been sheer force of will, two of its heads braved through the torment it was enduring and lunged towards Kickback and Quantum Tech each. “WHOOOOAAAAAA, NELLY!” Kickback jumped out of the just in time before the hydra head slammed into the ground where he was standing, almost pulverizing him.

Quantum Tech hurriedly activated her force field and used her thrusters to jump back as best she could. Had she not had that field up, her mech would have taken the full force of the hydra head knocking her clean back into the woods. “AIIIEEE!!” Her mech was knocked on its back, which Quantum would have a difficult time correcting. “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!!!”

The head that struck Quantum Tech retracted somewhat and locked eyes with Crazylocks. It hissed as it eyed her before lunging at her. “I NEED AN ADULT!!!” Crazylocks bellowed as she jumped back, just barely avoiding it. She then uprooted a tree that was right next to her and started beating the hydra over the…..well, head. “BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD!” She repeatedly shouted as she struck the head each time. She finished her assault by tossing the tree like a javelin right between its eyes, knocking back into its shared abdomen. “PAY YOUR LATE FEES NEXT TIME!!!”

Tidal Wave now found himself trembling upon seeing what a force Crazylocks was. “U-U-Umm….”

“I-I’ll explain her later, Tidal Wave! We need to figure out how to deal with this thing! It doesn’t look like it’s a pushover!” Fire Fight said. He launched a fire disc at the heads, but being soaked in water and having thick scales, the hydra barely even felt it. “Yep! Not a pushover!”

“They seldom are!!” Air Slash said as he drew his swords. He launched two sword beams in a cross-style at one of the heads, but it snaked right under the projection just before it could connect. Just like its ‘siblings’, it lunged its head forward toward him. But instead of jumping back, Air Slash soared above the beast’s head just before it could strike him, and he began running swords down its neck. “HYARRRGGGHH!!!!” The other three heads didn’t try to snap him for the risk of striking their own, so they merely mock charged him, which the brave samurai was undaunted by. However, when he tried to fly behind the hydra it raised its tail and slammed into him. “GUH!!” He was knocked back into the shrubbery behind the foals.

“AIR SLASH!!” Greensprout exclaimed. She rushed over to him and found him clutching himself in agony, trying to brave through what must have been horrible pain. “Reclaim your strength!” She wasted no time latching her healing beam into him, and within a short moment, the soaring samurai had been completely mended.

“Nrgh…Thank you, Greensprout.” Air Slash said. She nodded.

Kickback started firing at it again, but the hydra seemed to have wised up from before and bobbed and weaved its heads around so as to avoid being hit. A few of his bullets did manage to hit their marks, but the hydra’s heads had braced themselves both physically and mentally for them.

“SHRAPNEL! STAY BACK!” Zebota pulled out his sling and loaded it with a rock before flinging it around, readying it to fire. He clutched his brooch as it began glowing. “Mei jiwe hili kuwa zenye ghadhabu za dunia yenyewe! Basi ni kupiga adui yangu kwa uwezo anastahili dunia nzima!” When he completed his incantation, the rock loaded in his sling began glowing the same green hue as his brooch. Zebota then flung it towards its belly, and whatever magic Zebota imbued into it must have made the rock gain mass or something, because it hit the hydra with meteoritic force and seemed to almost tear through its thick scales. Its heads simultaneously jolted up and outward from the shock and roared in agony.

“PERFECT!” Bullseye took the opportunity to soar up and nock back two of her explosive arrows. She carefully aimed them before firing each of them into the open mouths of the middle two heads. “Tch! ENJOY THE HEARTBURN, F***NUTS!” As the hydra heads managed to reel back, the two that Bullseye shot her arrows in knew that something was about happen, and could only wait anxiously. After a few seconds, the two middle heads violently belched as clouds of smoke forcefully blew out of their mouths and noses. Bullseye sadistically smirked and wiped her nose, but her celebration was short-lived as the two heads quickly shook off their pain and glared at her. “Nrgh! DAMN IT!WHY WON’T YOU JUST KEEL OVER LIKE A GOOD BOY!?!?.....Boys?”

“We’re not gonna make a dent if we can’t hit it from up close! It’s too big to effectively attack from a distance, and Spiral has to hold it down!” Shadow Shroud shouted. She then looked over at their unexpected guest. “Tidal Wave, how good of a swimmer are you with those fin-wings?”

Tidal Wave’s eyes suddenly widened in horror at the thought of having to get close to the mass of scales and heads. “U-U-Uh….” He frantically looked back and forth between Shroud and the hydra.

“Come on! You tried to take on a timberwolf without so much as shivering! Surely you can take this guy on too! Find your strength, Tidal Wave! We need you!” Fire Fight said.

His last statement seemed to irritate the aquatic colt, and he looked down with frustration. “Nopony will ever need me! I mean, who’s ever heard of a pegasus that swims rather than flies!?”

“We have, as of today!” Fire Fight said with an encouraging smile. Suddenly, he noticed one of the hydra heads lunging toward him! “OH, CRAP!!” He jumped back just before the hydra could chomp him.

Whether it was instinct, or a hidden will to protect Fire Fight, he’ll never, but Tidal Wave suddenly lunged at the head, thrusting his spear at it. He managed to hit it right in the eye.

<RAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!>

The hydra head reeled back while screaming in agony. It didn’t even glare back down at Tidal Wave, and was more busy writhing in pain than anything else. Tidal Wave looked up in shock of the realization of what he just did. “Whoa….”

“Good job, Tidal Wave! Keep that up! We’ll distract it!” Fire Fight said. He jumped up and launched two fire discs at the heads simply to spite them. “Go!”

“U-Uh…Ok!” Tidal Wave hesitantly looked out at the lake, and it was then that he realized that the water was dark enough that if he swam deep enough, the hydra might not be able to see him. He took a deep breath and got his game face on before diving into the lake. The water was churning a lot from how much the hydra was thrashing combined with Spiral’s gravity field, but his unique wings allowed him to easily correct himself underwater. He had his spear drawn as he bolted through the water around the hydra to look for a good place to strike. The only place he could really think to strike was its toes, so he swam down to them and jabbed one.

The hydra shrieked at the sudden pain in its toe, and one of the heads that still had both of its eyes went down to investigate. Tidal Wave quickly hid behind its leg to observe it, and that’s when it hit him. It was just low enough that he could jump out of the water and jab its eye! While risky, he knew that it was probably the only way to significantly damage this thing, so putting his hesitation aside, Tidal Wave flapped his fin-wings and swam to his target. When he got himself at a good angle, he jetted himself upward out of the water and thrust his spear into the hydra head’s eye. Just as with the other one, it recoiled back and curled up. Tidal Wave repeated this process as he got the attention of the remaining two heads. There were a few times where one head was two close to the other to safely land a hit before falling back into the water, but he eventually managed to get them each. All the while, the foals found themselves astounded by Tidal Wave’s grace in the water. If there was an aquatic Wonderbolt team, Tidal Wave would easily be their captain.

Once each of the heads stopped thrashing around from curling up in pain, Tidal Wave returned to the lakeside with the other foals. Seeing as it was basically admitting defeat, Spiral loosened her gravitic grip on the beast. “I don’t think I can do much else now.” Tidal Wave said.

“That’s quite alright, darling!” Quantum declared. The foals looked over to see that she had propped back up and recalibrated her mech. “I was waiting for when it might cease to flail around like a madpony.” She looked over at Zebota. “Zebota…..I trust you won’t be upset?”

It took Zebota a moment to realize what she was saying, and despite their previous disagreement, he trusted Quantum to make responsible decision with her technology, so he gave her a simple smile and nod. “Do it.”

Quantum fixed her glasses and smirked. “So I shall!” After a few button presses, she began charging her overdrive laser. “I’d strongly suggest that everypony stand very clear!” They all ran clear from her mech as instructed as the antennae necessary for the laser protruded out and began charging. The foals that had yet to see the laser trembled in awe as the webs of light formed and started lighting up. The final countdown had at last finished, and Quantum Tech hit the switch. “FIRE!” The foals all watched as Quantum’s death ray blasted the crippled hydra into pieces. It didn’t last for quite as long as it did last time, but the mega laser of doom made quick work of the aquatic abomination.

Once her mech deactivated the overdrive laser and went into cooldown mode, Quantum exited it and joined the others. “Well! That was quite the ordeal.” She said.

“Phew-wee! I never woulda thought a big ol’ varmint like that would give us trouble.” Kickback said. “Pretty neat that my electric bullets went so well with yer magneto-whatsits, Ms. Quantum Tech.”

Quantum giggled and leaned her head into his shoulder. “See, Kickback? We are just a match made in heaven!” she cooed. Kickback huffed in frustration as he tried to shove her away.

“That aside, I have to say, Tidal Wave, we only met your mere moments ago, and you’ve proved yourself quite nicely.” Shroud said.

“Indeed. I must commend your tide-turning efforts.” Air Slash said.

“You were so awesome, I could just smack you with that tree too!” Crazylocks blurted.

Tidal Wave’s eyes widened in horror. “P-Please don’t!” He then noticed Spiral Galaxy holding her head as if she was in pain. “You ok?”

Spiral glanced up at him. “Huh? Oh….yeah. I still kinda get headaches whenever I use my magic outside like this. Thanks.”

“I guess I’ve really got some explaining to do, huh? You wanna tag along, Tidal Wave? You’d be a huge help.” Fire Fight said.

Tidal Wave looked over at him in surprise. Would these strangers really accept him despite his….traits?....Surely not. “You…..You’re not gonna make fun of my wings?”

“Man, why the hell would we!? Y’all was da only one who could touch dis dude….dudes?........which one do I say? The m*********** got four heads.” Turf War said.

“Yes. Why would we ever show any scorn towards one whom we owe our lives to?” Greensprout said in a motherly tone, which softened Tidal Wave up a little.

Looking around at all the foals who too were runaways, Tidal Wave felt a little overwhelmed. And yet…..he somehow felt that they were…..dependable. After all, he just helped take down something that could’ve very easily killed them, and they earnestly showed gratitude, never saying anything insulting about his wings. He felt himself relieved of most of his hesitation as he came to a decision. “Sure. I’ll come. I….guess being alone would kinda suck anyway.”

“Then accept this, friend.” Air Slash said. He handed him another of the Battle Foals medallions.

Tidal Wave took it and just stared at it. The alicorn foal in the center seemed to look back at him with a sense of ferocity and unity. “What’s this?”

“The symbol of the Battle Foals, Tidal Wave. Welcome aboard.” Fire Fight said.

“Battle Foals?” Tidal Wave said. “Huh….I kinda like that!” As he put his new token in his bag, night finally fell completely. With their strength spent, the Battle Foals were eager to treat their newest friend to a nice dinner before heading to bed……..except……

“OH, COME ON!” Fire Fight exclaimed.

“What’s the matter?” Shroud asked.

“Ugh! The eggs got splashed on, and now they’re all soggy!” Fire Fight just sighed and got started on a new batch. “Hang on, guys….”

Stagnant Air

Having been exhausted from their fight against the hydra, the Battle Foals had their delayed dinner and called it a night. Cloudsdale had passed over them, and it was already a considerable distance away, so nopony was too worried about anypony up there witnessing the chaos that had ensued earlier, even Quantum Tech’s death ray. Learning more about Tidal Wave, and the start of their ascent up the Great Horn Summit would have to wait until tomorrow.

When tomorrow came, the foals wasted no time packing up aside from some food to cook, but they’d first have to explain the situation to Tidal Wave before anything else. Air Slash took a little bit longer to get up this time, but it was of no hindrance. They all bid each other good morning as Fire Fight got started on their breakfast. “So…..what’s up with all of you?” Tidal Wave asked shyly.

Spiral Galaxy giggled. “What’s with you, buddy? I know we kinda just met, but no need to be so reserved.”

“Well, I-I mean…..You kinda threw me clean into a tree yesterday….” Tidal Wave said.

“Ugh. I said I was sorry.” Spiral said. “Anyway, to answer your question….” Spiral let Fire Fight focus on breakfast while she instead explained everyone’s situation save for Shadow Shroud being a Shadewalker- he seemed a little skittish, so she didn’t want to potentially scare him off. She then told him about their visit from Princess Luna and the warning she gave to ascend the mountain to the portal to Griffonstone. “Did you get all of that?”

There were a lot of details for sure, but Tidal Wave managed to let it all sink in. Although, he found himself dumbfounded at everything they’ve been through. “Yeah, but…..Jeez! You guys don’t screw around!”

“What gave you the impression that we did?” Shadow Shroud teased. Tidal Wave just rolled his eyes.

Fire Fight then came over and served them their breakfast- mushroom omelettes to welcome their new arrival. “Here you go, guys!” They all thanked him, and he sat down to join them. “So, what about you, Tidal Wave? If…you’re comfortable talking about it, why’d you run away?”

“I’m still frazzled that you’d simply jump! Quite the rash decision, I must say.” Quantum Tech said.

“Quantum Tech, you forget once more that he is a pegasus. He could simply fly all the way down.” Zebota said.

“A-Actually…” Tidal Wave stammered. The others looked at him as he stared down at his untouched omelette. “I-I can’t.” he said solemnly. “The wings I’ve got can’t get me aloft. I can barely hover off the ground. They’re not suited for aerial mobility at all, so…..I can’t fly….Aside from gliding, I guess. I can at least do that.”

Suddenly, Zebota and Quantum felt like jerks for bringing that up and probably should have expected that. “O-Oh….I’m sorry, darling.” Quantum said.

“It’s cool….” Tidal Wave said. “Anyways, everypony at school just made fun of me because of it. I didn’t belong anywhere, because I was the only one with fin-wings.” He explained. “They’d call me things like ‘fish out of water’ and stuff.”

Spiral especially felt bad for him since she had been the subject of such torment due to having a lack of control over her cosmomancy. “Oh, Tidal Wave….”

“How y’all even got wings like dat anyway?” Turf War asked.

Tidal Wave shrugged. “No idea. I was just…..born with them.”

This piqued Quantum’s interest. “Is that right?” She suddenly got up from her seat and trotted over to Tidal Wave. She then lifted up one of his wings and examined it. “Hmm….Could it be….”

Tidal Wave pulled his wing back and pushed her away. “Hey! I’m not a lab rat, ya know!”

“I-I’m sorry, Tidal Wave. That….was quite rude of me.” Quantum said. “I might have a theory, but it would require you to take a small sample or two of your blood for a few simple DNA tests.”

Tidal Wave was a little freaked out at the thought of his blood being taken, but Quantum didn’t seem like any sort of mad scientist despite what her death machine may imply, so he decided to let her eventually. “Uh…ok.” He said rather hesitantly.

“That doesn’t quite explain your impressive dexterity with a spear, friend. Care to elaborate?” Air Slash said.

“Yeah! You kick flank with that thing.” Fire Fight said.

Tidal Wave let out a solemn chuckle, as if to express sorrowful gratitude. “Well…..my dad’s a city guard in Cloudsdale, and his weapon of choice is always a spear. I-I’d sometimes sneak into their training area to watch him practice.....He was kinda the only friend I ever had….”

“Then…..why did you leave him?” Greensprout asked.

“Well….” Tidal Wave’s voice seemed to trail off into noticeable despair. “He never told me, but….sometimes when I snuck into their barracks to watch my dad, I could hear some of the other guards giving him a hard time about me too. He’d sometimes come home and act like everything was fine, but….I knew it was really gnawing at him.” Tidal Wave couldn’t help but to shed a tear as he remembered nights like that. “A-About me and spears, well….I kinda learned from him just by watching. Whenever he wasn’t home with me, I’d sneak a spare he had in his closet and practice somewhere private. I always wanted to be like him. Sometimes whenever I was getting picked on really badly, I’d lose my temper and grab the nearest spear-like object like a broom or something and just start fending them off; I couldn’t fly up to reach them, so that was the only way I could even touch them.”

“Damn, son! You wild!” Turf War said.

“Yeah. At least you tried to show them how pathetic they are.” Bullseye commented.

“Although, you ought to know better than to feed such fires.” Shroud said.

“I-I know, but…..It’s not my fault that I was born with these wings, and it’s not fair that even my dad had to suffer too because of it.” Tidal Wave said. “He’s always had to put on a brave face for me…..so I……I just lightened his load. I had to snag one of his spare spears just in case something like that hydra happened, but….yeah….”

“What about your mother?” Spiral asked.

Tidal Wave slowly glanced up at her with the eyes of solemn dejection. “She……She died giving birth to me…….I never knew her…….It’s just been me and my dad the whole time…..”

Everypony stopped eating when they heard Tidal Wave’s last woe. They were no strangers to tragedies befalling them by now, but it seemed that the array of tragedies that Fate would curse them with was vast and full of dreadful colors. Kickback, having lost his own mother, walked over to Tidal Wave and put his arm around him. “Partner…..” he said. “She’s up there watchin’ ya…..Ah can assure you that….”

Tidal Wave managed to crease an appreciative smile and hugged the young gunslinger. “Thanks, man.” They broke off, and Kickback returned to his seat. “What’s worse is that some of the foals at school somehow knew, and they’d say things like my mom ‘must have died of shock after seeing what a freak she gave birth to….”

Everypony’s expression turned angry after hearing that. Spiral’s bullies may have been nasty little witches, but Tidal Wave endured way more than he deserved, as his father must have as well. “Yo….Dat’s just f***ed up. Man, let ‘em come on down he’e so I can give d’hey faces a hive-five wit my hammer!” Turf War said.

Crazylocks suddenly popped up in front him, holding up her head in the air. “ME FIRST! ME FIRST!”

Greensprout gently pulled her away. “No, no, no, Crazylocks. We don’t want you to get seriously hurt.”

“Tch. I say let him. Might knock some sense back into her.” Bullseye said.

“Sister.” Greensprout reprimanded. Just hearing her call her that was enough to shut Bullseye up from frustration.

“Well, all of that aside, I promise that you have a place here now with us, Tidal Wave. We’re not gonna make fun of your wings, and I’m sure your dad will understand. You’re one of us now, and we never turn our backs on each other.” Fire Fight said.

Tidal Wave couldn’t help but to sense the aura of hope that Fire Fight seemed to emit. Despite having met him only a day ago, Tidal Wave felt more confident in himself after hearing Fire Fight and co. accept him when nopony has. “Thanks, guys.” He said. He had just finished his omelette as they finished their discussion. “That was delicious, Fire Fight!”

“Glad you enjoyed it!” Fire Fight said.

Tidal Wave then looked at Shadow Shroud. “Say….Spiral didn’t say a whole lot about you…”

Shroud devilishly giggled. “Quite courteous of her, really. She must have been so worried that your poor, little heart couldn’t take the awful truth about me.” She teased. Tidal Wave cocked his head in confusion, and Shroud explained herself. Even though the whole ‘Shadewalker’ deal was a little frightening, Tidal Wave found himself somewhat fascinated.

“Whoa…..that’s…actually really cool!” Tidal Wave said.

Shroud giggled. “I’m flattered.” she said. “Now that we’ve been formally introduced, I see no reason to delay our ascent up the mountain any longer. Agreed?”

“Yeah. We’re all packed up, so let’s head out!” Fire Fight said. “Hey, Air Slash? Think you can make some armor for Tidal Wave sometime soon?” When he looked over at the young samurai, he seemed to struggle to lift his head a little, and his breaths seemed heavier. “Dude, you okay?”

“Y-Yes…<cough>…I’m fine.” Air Slash said. “<ACHOOO!> Ugh…blast…”

Greensprout trotted up to him and put her hoof to his forehead, which was feeling kinda hot. “Oh, Air Slash! You must have caught a cold from that huge splash from the hydra yesterday.”

Air Slash felt a little hotter from having Greensprout so close to him, but regardless, his body did feel pretty heavy, and judging by how his nose and throat were feeling, it seemed she was right on the money. “Ugh….So it seems….”

Shrapnel trudged over and lightly nudged him while whimpering. “He will allow you to rest on his back as we hike.” Zebota said.

“And I’ll make you some medicine in the meantime, ok?” Greensprout said.

Air Slash sniffled. “Th-That’s kind of you, but….<pant>….I think I’ll be alright.”

“Air Slash, don’t being so stubborn!” Greensprout said. “You’re no more pony than anypony else here, so don’t feel like you have to shirk your responsibility to take of yourself just because you look out for us, ok?”

Air Slash felt like his mother was scolding him, and his body felt like it was screaming at him too, so he conceded. “Very well…”

“Can’t y’all just heal him with yer Gaia Root thingamajig?” Kickback asked.

“I’m afraid not, Kickback. My Gaia Root can only heal life that it broken, but not ailing. I’d run the risk of encouraging the growth of whatever pathogens are afflicting him, and trying to sap them of life would not only be tedious and wrong, but I also risk draining Air Slash of his own life.” Greensprout explained.

“Well, shucks…” Kickback said.

“Let’s get his bedroll and sling it over Shrapnel so he’s not sleeping in splinters.” Spiral said.

Shrapnel growled at her, as if to feel offended by her comment about his back. “He says ‘I will have you know that I keep my backside as clean as a flowing river, mortal!’” Crazylocks blurted.

Spiral rolled her eyes. “Good boy….” As suggested, they took Air Slash’s bedroll and laid it onto Shrapnel’s back and secured it in such a way that he wouldn’t fall off while asleep. While still a tid reluctant, Air Slash hovered into his bedroll and went to sleep. Quantum Tech stored his swords in her mech for the time being.

“Oh! Quantum Tech? It’s probably gonna get cold up there. Is your mech gonna be okay?” Fire Fight asked.

Quantum smiled and fixed her glasses. “Not to worry, Fire Fight! After our altercation with that windigo, I augmented a thermal regulation system into my mech suit that heats and cools its internal temperature accordingly in response to the immediate environment. I should have no such complications in the future!”

Fire Fight nodded. “Good. Alright, let’s not waste any more time. Shrapnel, try to be gentle with Air Slash, and let’s all keep our eyes open in case of trouble- he’s vulnerable right now.” They all agreed and finally began their ascent towards their goal.

The Truth

In Gardenia...

Twilight, Spike and Rarity had made it to the outskirts of the humble abbey beyond Ghastly Gorge. It was a little hike away from Trifectown where they parted ways with Cheerilee and the search party, and Rarity’s constant complaining was the only thing keeping the trip lively. “Twilight, why did you need me to come along, darling? I really should be out there with my little sister.” Rarity said.

“I know Rarity, and I’m sorry to take you from her at a time like this, but….I have a feeling that Gardenia might hold a secret about this ‘ninja filly’ we’re still hunting, and I figured you of all ponies would want answers the most.” Twilight said.

“Here!?” Spike said. “But I thought you said that abbeys were run by monks!”

Twilight sighed. “I know, but…..you never know if something could be a front for something else unless it’s uncovered.” As they neared and eventually entered Gardenia, its welcoming atmosphere accompanied by its lush flora granting it unmated beauty greeted the trio along with its residents. They surely didn’t expect to see the Princess of Friendship come for a visit.

“Ooooh! What a lovely little place this is! Their attire is a bit ‘bleh’, but Fluttershy would be flabbergasted at their natural setting here. Hmm…..I might have to think of a fashion line with this place as a theme.” Rarity commented.

“<chuckle> I just hope it does not give others the wrong idea about our abbey.” The three looked to see the good abbot of Gardenia walking towards them. His elderly appearance caused Rarity’s enthusiasm to lighten, as she didn’t want to potentially bug him. He bowed his head. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, to what do we owe this honor?”

“You must be Abbot Meadow. It’s nice to meet you, sir. I hope you all weren’t in the middle of anything important. And please just call me ’Twilight’” Twilight said.

Meadow chuckled. “Very well, Twilight. You’ve not come at a bad time. Although, I can’t say we were expecting you. What business do you have in our humble hamlet?”

“I’m sorry I came unannounced, Abbot, but I have a few things I need to ask you about.” Twilight said.

“And what might that be?” Meadow said.

“I don’t know if you guys know or not, but lately, a good number of foals ran away from home, and we think that they’re traveling Equestria together.” Twilight explained.

Spike walked to him and showed him a newspaper detailing the foals. “Have you seen any of them? Did they maybe come through here?” he asked.

Meadow was slightly caught off guard as he perused the paper presented to him. He should have expected this, but he had to keep his promise to Fire Fight and keep a straight face. “O-Oh dear! What a terrible shame! No….I-I’m sorry. To my knowledge, these foals have not visited Gardenia.” It pained him deeply to lie, and to a Princess no less, but he’d feel worse for betraying the Battle Foals. The surrounding monks knew his anguish since they were in the same boat.

“I-I see…It’s fine.” Twilight said. “Erm….I understand that you’re caring for a filly named Greensprout?”

“Er…Y-Yes? What of her, Twilight?” Meadow stammered.

“Well, I was wondering if I might speak with her as well.” Twilight said.

Meadow sighed. “Regrettably, she is not here, Your Highness. She and a few other monks are….on a pilgrimage as per our customs. I’m afraid I have no way of truly knowing where she is now.”

Twilight felt confused. Something obviously didn’t add up based on what she was told by the CMC, but she decided to let him keep going to see if she could catch him lying. “Oh? How long ago did she leave?”

“Not too long ago, as a matter of fact. Roughly a week, I’d say.” Meadow said.

“And where did she go first?” Twilight asked.

“She went north towards Trifectown.” Meadow said.

While it wasn’t quite what she was looking for, Twilight knew she had hit something. “Is that so? Well, I’ll have you know that three friends of mine happened to encounter her there whilst visiting.”

“Oh, did they?” Meadow said.

“Yes, and according to them, she claimed that she had just moved there with her mother, whom was nowhere to be found.” Twilight said.

“Whoa! Uh…Yeah, that’s pretty weird, sir.” Spike said.

“You’re not lying to us, are you, darling?” Rarity asked.

Meadow was having a difficult time keeping his composure. A monk with a poker face was certainly not something you’d think readily possible, and he wasn’t doing that notion any favors. He cocked he head as he tried to fake confusion. “Uh….N-No. I….I don’t understand why she would say something so silly.”

“Speaking of which, if you’re just her guardian, then where even are her birth parents?” Spike asked. Twilight couldn’t believe she hadn’t asked that sooner.

Meadow’s nerves calmed down some as he could finally tell the truth about something. He let out a solemn sigh. “They are……deceased…..They died shortly after she was born, and I found her cradled in a basket. She’d been my child ever since.”

The three felt their hearts ache a little at his explanation. “Oh….I’m so sorry.” Twilight said. She noticed how his tension had loosened when he explained that, so she didn’t think he was lying. “C-Can I asked what happened?”

Meadow shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’d rather you did not.”

“Fair enough.” Spike said.

“Though, I must ask: Why are you so interested in Greensprout? She did not run away like the foals in this newspaper.” Meadow inquired.

“Well…..Greensprout was encountered by those friends I mentioned shortly before a filly from that town ran away, and when we learned that she had disappeared shortly after and was lying about why she was there, we became a little suspicious and looked up her name. That’s what brought us here.” Twilight said. She wanted to keep her other ulterior motive a secret in case her worst fear was true.

“We mean no disrespect, of course.” Rarity said.

“Hmm….I see.” Meadow said. “And you’re certain that it’s not another filly by that name that you seek?”

Twilight shook her head. “As far as the latest records are concerned, there’s only one ‘Greensprout’ in Equestria.” She pulled out the black diamond and showed it to the abbot. “Have you ever seen this before?”

Meadow examined the item, but having never seen it before, he could only draw a blank. “I’m afraid not. What is it?” he asked.

“I’m not exactly sure, but…..” Twilight wasn’t quite sure how to explain it without potentially blowing her cover.

“Hey! You never did tell me how you got that thing, Twilight.” Spike said.

“Now that you mention it, it is rather odd, darling. Care to tell?” Rarity said.

“I will later, you guys.” Twilight said. She looked back at Meadow. “I still don’t understand something, though. If you knew that Greensprout was on a pilgrimage, she’d have no reason to lie about living somewhere she wasn’t. Why in Equestria would she say something like that under your supervision? I want to believe you, Abbot, but I get the feeling that there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Meadow’s nerves once again began to get agitated as he tried to keep his cool and find an answer. He’d managed to dodge that question once, but there was nothing else he could say without sounding suspicious, or even threatening. Twilight’s expectant eyes burned through his soul. “Just cut the act, old man.” Everypony looked over to see a rough-looking brown mare with an oak-colored mane walking up to them. “She’s pretty much caught us red-hoofed.”

“I’m sorry. Who are you?” Twilight asked.

“And whatever happened to your hair!? It looks like you just got out of a tornado, darling!” Rarity said.

The mare suddenly faced Rarity with a surprised glare. “What the-!? You wanna come over here and say that my face!?”

“Now, now, sister.” Meadow said. “Forgive her. This is Rocky Mountain, a former bandit leader who came here recently with her followers seeking spiritual cleansing. As you can see, she’s still a little temperamental.”

The vulgar mare looked down in shallow embarrassment. “Er….yeah….sorry.”

“Me too, dear. I didn’t mean to insult you.” Rarity said.

“Bandits?” Twilight asked.

Rocky Mountain sighed. “Yep. You wanna call yer guards to come cuff us? Wouldn’t be a huge deal.”

Meadow chuckled. “What would be the point of your arrival here if you simply allowed that? You chose to redeem yourself. You don’t want to give up now, do you?”

Rocky Mountain couldn’t help but to crease a little smile of gratitude. Meadow had been kind to her ever since she explained her encounter with the Battle Foals, and she did kind of owe him a chance to help her. “Nah. I wanna stick here.” She looked at Twilight. “I mean….if that’s cool with an actual authority of Equestria, ya know?”

Twilight wasn’t sure she liked the idea of letting criminals go unpunished by the law, but it was clear that Rocky Mountain had no ill intent, so she gently smiled. “I’ll let Gardenia be your place of incarceration so long as you don’t cause trouble here. I’m sure Abbot Meadow will do well to rehabilitate you.”

“Heh! Jeez. Don’t gotta make it sound like I’m a damn animal or something.” Rocky Mountain joked.

Twilight giggled before getting back to the topic at hoof. “What do you mean? Do you know something about the runaway foals? Is Greensprout involved?”

Rocky Mountain walked up next to Meadow, who felt conceited as he was indeed forced to accept defeat. They looked at each other and solemnly nodded. “Forgive me, Fire Fight….” Meadow muttered. He cleared his throat. “Your hunch is correct, Twilight. Fire Fight and his companions were indeed here.”

The three visitors gasped. “They were!? Altogether!? What were they doing here!?” Twilight asked.

Meadow explained how Fire Fight and some of his friends had gotten separated, how they were discovered and brought to Gardenia, and how Greensprout went to help them find their missing friends. He then told them about the dangerous adventure they had to undertake within the underground ruins and how it lead to Greensprout discovering the truth about her parents. The last thing he told her was about Greensprout’s real ‘pilgrimage’ with the other foals. “It was not an easy time, but….an eye-opening one for sure.”

Twilight, Spike and Rarity just stood there in shock of everything they just heard. There was so much to be said, but….where to begin? “I…..” Twilight was too flustered to even get a thought out of her mouth. What was she going to tell their parents?

Meadow sighed. “I know my decision may have been foolish, perhaps irresponsible, but there’s something about life that Fire Fight seems to understand, and he is a noble young colt. I have faith that he can make a difference for us all, and I did not want to hinder his quest.”

“What quest?” Rarity asked.

Meadow explained Fire Fight’s ideals of a place where those who have unappreciated, even scorned skills or talents like his can live in peace, and Greensprout wanted to learn from those ideals, prompting her to accompany him on his journey. “It was heart-rending to see my precious filly leave, but if I cannot spite her for wanting to expand her horizons, and I have faith that Fire Fight and his friends will protect her as she cares for their well-being.”

“So, we were right….” Twilight muttered. “Did you know that they were headed for Trifectown?”

Meadow nodded. “Yes. In fact, it was I who advised them to go there to begin with. Beyond that, I’m afraid I can’t say anything of their whereabouts.”

Twilight couldn’t help but to feel slightly betrayed by somepony who, for all intents and purposes, should have helped her get those foals back home, but she was comforted knowing his good intentions. “I understand, Abbot. In fact….I should strangely thank you.” Meadow cocked his head in confusion. “You telling them to go to Trifectown potentially saved a filly’s life.”

Now Meadow was a little concerned. “Whatever do you mean?” Twilight explained the situation with Bullseye and her parents, and she theorized that Fire Fight must have helped her escape from them.

“Abusive parents!? How abhorrent! Oh, I hope this ‘Bullseye’ feels safer with her new friends. Greensprout is no doubt tending to her broke spirit.”

“Yes. I’m sure she’s just the sweetest little filly on the inside.” Another monk commented.

“Tch. Yeah. She totally is.” Rocky Mountain scoffed. She explained her encounter with the Battle Foals and how it lead her to bringing her and her lackeys here. She was sure to mention the bloodbath that Bullseye started. Some of her former followers came over to testify to her brutality. “So, yeah. Hoofful o’ sunshine right there.” She sighed. “Fire Fight’s a helluva saint for putting up with her. Hope she gets better.”

“W-W-Well! I-I’m gonna have nightmares…” Spike stammered.

“Goodness….” Rarity said. She had witnessed along with the CMC how cruel Bullseye could be, but she had no idea that it could go that far.

Twilight was now even more heartbroken about Bullseye’s situation. Her heart must have given in to all of the pain she endured every night for Celestia-knows-how long, and as a result, she became a little more than bitter towards the world around her. “Oh, Bullseye….”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to vent about the little harpy so much. Fire Fight’s a good kid. Let him do his thing.” Rocky Mountain said.

“Ms. Mountain, you know why we can’t do that. If there’s a problem to be worked out, we need to find those foals.” Twilight said. “Besides, I don’t think they understand that we think we were wrong too.”

Rocky Mountain shrugged. “Hmm. Yeah….” She sighed. “Sorry, kid….” She muttered. “Hey, if you ever do find the little scamps, tell ‘em I said ‘hi’, okay?”

Twilight nodded. “We will.”

“Cool.” Rocky said. “And, uh….You live in Ponyville, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, uh….I got a brother there, who……..look, just…..tell him where I am and……that I’m sorry……ok?” Rocky asked.

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

“That’s my business, ok?” Rocky said. “His name’s ‘Rock Solid’. Ya know him?”

Spike had to think for a moment, but he remembered the name. “Oh yeah! Isn’t he that really goofy iron miner?”

“Oh! <giggle> He’s the one who pranked Pinkie Pie at her last birthday party when he detonated fake dynamite that turned out to by big confetti poppers!” Twilight said.

“Ugh! My heart almost stopped when I saw those dastardly little red sticks!” Rarity said.

Rocky Mountain slapped the ground and chuckled heartily. “Damn it, Solid! Yer still doin’ that?” she scoffed happily.

They all shared a little laugh before Twilight realized that she should probably ask something. “So, it was all the foals listed in this missing poster?”

Meadow nodded. “Apart from Bullseye since they hadn’t met her yet, yes. However, they were also accompanied by a young zebra colt with a timberwolf for a pet. Zebota and Shrapnel, if I recall.”

They gasped. They knew that Zecora had hard evidence, but actually having testimony about their existence was a revelation for them. “R-Really? Who else?”

“Well, there was one filly….Pfft. Don’t know what the hell her deal was. She was bouncing all over the place and spoutin’ more nonsense than every comic strip out there!” Rocky said.

“Oh! You must mean Crazylocks! Hehe. Yes, she was quite eccentric.” Meadow said.

“CRAZYLOCKS!?” Twilight exclaimed. She couldn’t believe that by some miracle, the victimized granddaughter of Professor Gene Splice was with them. “Er….sorry. Anypony else? Maybe….a filly who was….ninja-like?”

Rocky Mountain and Meadow looked at each other for a moment, and then back at Twilight. “Erm….I guess?” Rocky Said.

“The one wearing all that black….What was her name? Umm……Oh! Shadow Shroud! That’s the one.” Meadow said.

‘Shadow Shroud’….They at last had a name. Greensprout turned out to not be their culprit, but Twilight could now leave more than satisfied. “I see. Thank you, Abbot Meadow. Rocky Mountain, too. I’m sorry to have put you on the spot like that.”

“We understand, and I’m sorry to have lied to you.” Meadow said.

“Just make sure the kids don’t get screwed in the end…..I can tell they’ve had it rough.” Rocky said. Twilight gave them a reassuring nod before they all bid their farewells.

*****

As the trio made their way out of Gardenia armed with more knowledge than they bargained for, a slight tension could be felt in the air, and Twilight knew why. Rarity finally had some closure as to the ninja filly on the train, this ‘Shadow Shroud’, but….

“Twilight, darling…..Did this have anything to do with that black gem you attained?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, Twi. What’s the deal? You really shouldn’t keep us in the dark.” Spike said.

Twilight sighed heavily. It was now she on the spotlight, and there was no way she was going to get out of it without coming clean. She faced her companions with a light sternness in her expression, knowing the gravity of what she’d have to tell them. “Ok, listen. I never, ever said any of what I’m about to tell you, got it? I can’t stress enough just what sensitive information this is, so this doesn’t leave the three of us, and don’t even tell the Royal Sisters, got it?” Rarity and Spike nervously glanced at each other before nodding. Twilight gulped. “Ok then….”

Great Horn Temple

With their stomachs full and Air Slash safely and warmly loaded onto Shrapnel’s back, the Battle Foals began what would certainly be a treacherous ascent up the Great Horn Summit. It was no secret that it was a rugged and snowy mountain, but if Princess Luna’s warning was to be believed, then they had no choice but to press on. The icy, high winds carrying snow that would blow against them were but an obstacle they had to endure, and it got worse the higher they got. Being a pyromancer of considerable merit, Fire Fight put himself in the middle of everypony and used his ability to produce a heat bubble around his comrades, much to their gratitude. Every now and then, Greensprout would climb onto Air Slash’s back to monitor his condition. The cold weather certainly wasn’t doing him any favors, and Greensprout was almost done mixing his medicine, so she ultimately decided to stay by his side as they got higher, and the air got more frigid. It limited Shrapnel from being able to fight, but they weren’t expecting to encounter any real issues. Apart from an occasional territorial snow cat, the worst thing they had to fight off was a snow troll that Tidal Wave made quick work of with the long reach of his spear; he managed to injure its knees and parry back its claw swipes long before he could even be struck, and then used the leverage he could gain with his spear and throw it off the mountain. The foals were happy to have such an excellent spear wielder with them.

The foals could tell that they were nearing the end of their hike when they began to notice an ancient stone trail along the path they were already walking accompanied by abstract stone sculptures that Quantum Tech theorized were used as markers in the event of especially bad weather. Carefully following them and the stone path, they finally reached a large temple of griffon architecture with some notable Equestria influence such as ponies joining hooves and talons with griffons in murals on the outer walls. “Well….Guess this is it.” Fire Fight said.

“I hope so. We’ve been hiking up for a while, and we need to get Air Slash out of this cold.” Greensprout said. Without further hesitation, Crazylocks and Turf War pushed open the heavy, ancient doors, and they all walked in, making sure to shut the doors behind them.

The interior revealed stained glass windows depicting either pony or griffon warriors that just barely any light shone through. What little light was available revealed a series of big torches that Fire Fight lit. When that happened, the darkness shrouding the ancient room was dispelled, and the foals could take a better look at where they were. The design and overall feel of this place felt like an old monastery. The atmosphere was very serene and calm amidst the frozen chaos outside its walls. Stone murals carved into the walls depicting old pony and griffon symbols further signifying their friendship. On either side of the foyer were two sets of branching hallways. The ones closest to the front door each led to rooms with bedrolls in them. The other two further in the back seemed to be storerooms for food, armaments and the like; there was even a forge that could still be used if Fire Fight stoked its pit.

“Hmm….Perhaps this was a sort of barracks for soldiers.” Quantum speculated.

“All the way up here? Well….perhaps, but I feel that it would make more sense if it was merely a military checkpoint.” Shadow Shroud said. “Though…..I suppose there’s little difference between the two.”

“I don’t care what dis joint was, y’all! We could crash here! It feelin’ like dat ol’ castle in the Everfree forest.” Turf War said.

“That….honestly wouldn’t be a bad idea, Turf War. Although, it’s pretty cold up here, and coming to and from it would be pretty tough, especially if we bring new foals that for one reason or another can’t stand the cold.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Turf War grimaced as he realized that she was right. “Damn…Dat’s a good point.”

“Yeah. Besides, Princess Luna told us that we need to take that portal. Otherwise, we might get found out here. I wouldn’t mind putting my arrows in a few heads to get away, but the less trouble, the better.” Bullseye said.

“Where is this portal? I see nothing so far.” Zebota said.

“FOUND IT!!” Crazylocks called out. The foals followed her voice to a room in the very back. When they caught up to her, they could see that she wasn’t whistling Dixie like she usually did. It was an octagonal stone arch with magic gems at each corner and was propped up on a stone platform of its own with stairs leading up to it. Greensprout had Shrapnel lower Air Slash, and she led him to one of the bedrolls in a branch room before joining them.

“Good find, Crazylocks!” Fire Fight said.

Crazylocks saluted to him with the kind of animated manner that only she could muster. “I LIVE TO SERVE, PRIVATE!!”

Bullseye rolled her eye. “Tch. Stupid mutant freak….” She mumbled under her breath.

“Wow….This thing kind of reminds of a Sci-Fi comic series I used to read.” Tidal Wave said. “What was it called? Uhh..... ‘Space Door’, or something like that.”

Spiral gasped. “You mean ‘Star Portal’!?”

“Yeah! That’s the one! You read that too?” Tidal Wave said.

“Oh my gosh! That was my guilty pleasure when I wasn’t having sleepovers with my friends! I had to keep them hidden under my carpet underneath my bed. <giggle>” Spiral said.

“How professional.” Shroud teased. Spiral playfully pouted at her in retaliation.

“Where’s this portal supposed to lead to anyway, Quantum?” Tidal Wave asked.

Quantum exited her mech suit and approached the portal. “As I recall, the receiving portal from this end is located in the Asgard forest near Griffonstone. Deep within said forest is a grand cemetery where their most honored dead are laid to rest.” She explained. “I’ll get to work figuring out how to activate it. You all rest. It’s been quite a day already.”

“Boy, has it ever!” Fire Fight said. “How’s Air Slash doing, Greensprout?”

“He’s not gotten worse, thankfully, but I’d ask you all to keep your activities silent so that he may rest.” Greensprout said. Fire Fight nodded. “Got it. I’ll go ahead and start making some lunch. You guys take it easy.”

Zebota walked up to the portal. “I shall assist Quantum Tech in the meantime. The magical nature of this device…..intrigues me.”

“Oh! Thank you, Zebota. It does look like it’ll be tough to crack anyway.” Quantum said. With that, the foals retired to someplace in the temple to do what they had to.

*****

Air Slash was just barely awake as he felt the warmth of his bedroll and the surrounding torches caressing his ailing body with their heat. It was the only comfort he could really have since he ached all over and didn’t feel like moving around too much. He felt horrible for stooping to the level of a weight for his teammates to bear, but he’d feel worse for making them worry more about him, not that he’d ever admit to enjoying receiving such love. As he laid there in the calm atmosphere of the barracks-like chamber, all he could seek was comfort in his solace……with one exception.

“Air Slash?” The sickly samurai managed to lift his head enough to follow the sound of the most beautiful voice that ever graced his ears. Greensprout stood above him with her gentle, motherly smile adorning her face. There could not have been a more welcome sight for Air Slash, especially at a time like this. “How are you feeling?” She put her hoof on his forehead.

Air Slash sniffled whilst managing a delighted smile at the kindly monk filly. “Oh, I’m fine.” He said.

Greensprout giggled. “Even an illness won’t shake your pride, will it?”

“I…<cough>…I wouldn’t be much of a warrior otherwise, would I? <cough><cough>” Air Slash said. “Is my medicine ready?”

Greensprout nodded. “Yes. I need only heat it up a little first though.” She pulled out a flask containing a viscous, pinkish-green fluid and held it up to one of the torches that Fire Fight lit for a few seconds. When she returned, the substance had noticeably loosened and liquefied a little. “There. Now you should be able to take it more easily.” She handed it to him as he sat up. “It’s mixture of vitablossoms, echinacea and some ferns that grew at the foot of this mountain; they’re known for being rich in nutrients from growing close to a harsh climate.” She explained.

Air Slash opened the flask and took a whiff of the concoction- it had a light, flowery scent that was a bit grassy from the many plants it consisted of. He didn’t expect it to taste that good, but he wanted to be able to swing his swords for his friends again. That……and he was eager to try something made by the apple of his eye. “Thank you…” he croaked. As he gulped down the medicine, he could feel it gently running down his scratchy throat, as if to give a hug. It was like taking a big sip of a nice, refreshing lemonade-tea.

“Mmm….Just what I needed.” He croaked. “How is Tidal Wave faring?”

“He’s doing well for himself. He managed to fell a snow troll by himself along our hike.” Greensprout said.

Air Slash chuckled. “So that’s what all that commotion was about.” He took another sip of his medicine. “I’m eager to craft him some armor and fortify his spear. Is there a forge present in this temple?”

Greensprout nodded. “Mm-hm. Fire Fight would have to rekindle it, be it should be usable.”

“<cough><sniffle> Good.”

“Now that I think about it, why have you not made armor for yourself or Bullseye?” Greensprout asked.

Air Slash let out a little cough before answering. “Because she and I rely on our agility rather than actual brute force. Wearing armor that’d weigh us down would hinder such an attribute. <ACHOO!> Ugh….Tidal Wave is a bit of an exception since he’s something of frontline troop, though I’d I have to make lighter armor for him to compliment is aquatic affinity.”

“Oh, I see….” Greensprout muttered. “Well….just continue to be careful, ok? It’d be awful if you sustained a mortal wound because you were unprotected. I-I know I could mend it, but still…”

“<cough><cough> Worry not, Greensprout. It is my duty to put the lives of others before my own, and I have faith in you and your Gaia Root.” Air Slash said. “Though, perhaps I should craft some armor for you. I…..w-worry for your own well-being.”

Greensprout giggled. “I know, Air Slash, but I’m not a physically fit as you are, so your worry about armor being a hindrance might very well apply to me.”

“ Hmm….I suppose that’s true.” After he swallowed the last drop of the medicine, Air Slash bottled the flask back up and handed it to Greensprout. Despite the refreshing feeling he got from it, he couldn’t help but to lament the position he was in. “I feel pitiable…”

“What do you mean?” Greensprout asked.

“<ACHOO!><sniffle> Ugh….I so carelessly let myself succumb to an illness despite the rather grave situation we’re in….<cough><cough>….I’m sorry to burden you all so….” Air Slash said. He solemnly laid his head down on his pillow.

“Air Slash…” Greensprout said. She hugged him such a way that his head was cradled in her forehooves, causing him to blush furiously. She gently stroked his neck. “Don’t be ashamed. If anything, you’ve earned some rest from all the hard work you’ve done, even if you’re sick. None of us are any more perfect than even the princesses, but that’s why we act as one. If you were truly so invincible, then what would be the point of having friends? If the only joy you felt was the rush of battle, you’d…..become something worse than Bullseye….all due respect to her broken soul.”

Air Slash could only let her words sink in as her hoof caressed across his aching neck. She was right…..if strength was really all that mattered, his father would truly have been an ideal master. The bonds he’d forged with the other Battle Foals would be meaningless, the efforts he put in to aid their cause would be fruitless, and……he might never have met Greensprout. Her coat gently tickled against his own as he could feel himself being lulled to sleep. “Yes….you’re right, Greensprout. You truly are a warrior in your own right.”

Greensprout giggled. “Think nothing of it, Air Slash. You took care of me in the underground ruins. Now, it’s my turn to take care of you.” She let go of his head and let him fall into a much needed sleep.

*****

Kickback and Bullseye noticed that there was a back door behind the portal and decided to explore what was on the other side. When they discovered that it lead to an outdoor area, they decided to take a lit torch for warmth. When they walked outside, they were presented with a sort of courtyard that reminded Kickback of the outdoor training field back at the ruined castle. It was about as big as said field, and there was a cliff off to the right that dropped right off the little plateau they were on. Much of the smaller structures such as arches and stone markers hadn’t withstood the test of time very well and were crumbling, but archery targets and practice dummies were still present. What looked to be a garden that must have cultivated a cold-resistant plant laid in the ground just outside the door.

“Huh….Reckon this just mighta been a soldier camp o’ sorts….” Kickback said.

“Duh! Who the hell else would live up here in this refrigerator? Why’d they even put the damn portal up here anyway?” Bullseye said.

“Maybe it reached the other portal easier if it was higher up?” Kickback suggested.

“What kind of difference would that even make? <sigh> Quantum probably knows this s***. At least there’s targets out here for us to use.” Bullseye said.

“Out in this ‘ere cold weather? Ah’d hate fer you to wind up sneezin’ n’ stuffy like Air Slash is right now, Ms. Bullseye.” Kickback said.

Bullseye barely turned her head to eye him. “Tch. You worry about yourself, pea-shooters. Besides, I like the cold.” She stopped for a moment to take in the frigid atmosphere, letting its chilling winds nip at her skin underneath her coat.

“Now just a moment ago, you were sayin’ how nopony would wanna live up in this cold.” Kickback said rather inquisitively.

Bullseye gave him a little glare. “Y-Yeah, well…..I’ve never met anypony who did too, ok!” she stammered.

Kickback chuckled. “Can’t say Ah’ve met a lotta other folks who took kindly to the desert’s heat, but our friends here are alright too, wouldn’t ya say?”

Bullseye looked down at the ground a little and flipped her mane over much of her face. “Y-Yeah, sure. I guess.” She mumbled. Kickback was more convinced by her tone than her words. Bullseye then noticed something off in the distance. “Hmm? What’s that?”

Kickback looked at the direction she was and saw a large rosary of stones that didn’t have an apparent purpose within an alcove on the side of the mountain. They walked over there and discovered that within the circle was a pool of water that had only frozen over at the surface. The water beneath the ice was visibly still fluid. “Hmm….Mighta been their souce o’ water here. Kinda funny findin’ a spring this high in a mountain though.”

Bullseye happened to put her hoof on the ice, and she felt….something kind of odd. “Is it just me, or does this feel kinda warm?”

Curious, Kickback touched the ice, and it sure enough felt strangely warm underneath. It explained why the water hadn’t frozen deeper than it had, but…. “Huh….Now that’s funny. We oughta go tell Ms. Quantum Tech about this.”

Bullseye snickered. “Yeah! Go tell you fillyfriend about a nice, romantic spot where two can mack all over each other.” She teased.

Kickback lowered his hat over his head in embarrassment and frustration. “Ah’ll pass! You say somethin’ to her over lunch r’ whenever!”

Bullseye stopped snickering. “Whatever. Let’s just get back inside. There’s barely s*** out here anyway.” With that, they returned through the back entrance and to a warm and cozy old temple.

*****

“OH, OF ALL THE POSSIBLE MISFORTUNES!!!” Quantum tech exclaimed. Everypony save for Air Slash ran into the portal chamber.

“What’s wrong!?” Shadow Shroud asked. She had her kunai drawn almost by instinct.

Quantum had facehooved prior to everypony rushing in, and she put her hoof back down. “<sigh> I’m sorry, all of you, but I’m afraid we’ve hit a dreadful snag with this portal.”

“What kinda snag?” Kickback asked.

Quantum let out a frustrated huff. “Princess Luna, in all of her worldly wisdom failed to mention something absolutely crucial about this portal: IT REQUIRES THE PRESENCE OF BOTH A PONY AND A GRIFFON IN ORDER TO ACTIVATE!”

Greensprout shushed her. “Quantum Tech! Air Slash is asleep!”

“Sorry, sorry….” Quantum said.

“You…..can’t be serious?” Fire Fight stammered in disbelief.

“I’m afraid it is so, Fire Fight. Each side of this device has a gem that activates one of two seals that keep it from running indefinitely. One gem responds only when Quantum Tech touched it, but the other does not warrant a reaction when either of us do. Upon closer examination of its magical nature and the murals depicted in these walls, we came to this difficult conclusion.” Zebota explained.

Spiral Galaxy deadpanned. “Wow! Thanks, Princess Luna!”

“Y’all see? This’d be the perfect opportunity for somepony to set up an dern ambush fer us! The only way out is down this cotton-pickin’ mountain, and fer all we know, there could be a whole herd o’ guards waitin’ fer us down yonder! Maybe right out the front door!” Kickback said. “Nrgh! Ah knew we shouln’t o’ came ‘ere.”

“Don’t get your bullets in a bunch just yet, cowboy.” Shroud said.

“What y’all mean!? We kinda screwed, d’ho! How we s’posed to find a damn griffon and get ‘em to help wit dis? What we gonna say, huh?” Turf War said.

“You’re the street smart one, Turf War. You think of something!” Spiral said.

“But what about actually finding a griffon to begin with? Griffonstone is clean on the other side of the map from here!” Tidal Wave said.

“Yes, however there are a few examples of our feathered friends that live amongst ponies, most notably in this region.” Shroud said. She pulled out her map and pointed to a location just west of their location. “Smokey Mountains is known for having the highest concentration of griffons in Equestria, largely due to them having some ancestry over there if this very temple is of any evidence. One of us will have to infiltrate the town high in its peaks and find a griffon willing to help us.”

“Seriously, Shroud? Sneaking into towns again? You know we can’t do that right now!” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled. “Well, that may not apply to all of us…” she slowly looked over at the one pony amongst them who might be able to get away with at least one more errand in a town….

Following a Trail

Tidal Wave could feel all eyes on him, and for a moment, he could have sworn he felt the universe just shine one big spotlight on him. “Uhh….You mean….me?”

Shadow Shroud flipped her mane. “Who else?”

“Shroud, are you crazy? He just ran away! They’ve probably reported him missing by now!” Fire Fight said.

“Hol’ up, my boy.” Turf War interjected. “I think homegirl might be onto somethin’ he’e. Yeah, he just ditched his crib, but dat’s the point. He just bounced. Word ain’t gonna spread around Equestria in one day, so he might be a’ight to go see what’s poppin’ fo’ a li’l while.”

“I…..guess that’s true….” Spiral Galaxy said hesitantly.

“Let me think fo’ a second……..OH! I got it!” Turf War said. He walked up to Tidal Wave. “A’ight, son, here’s what you gonna do: You gonna hit up dat spot and be like ‘What’s good?’, a’ight? Once d’hey be like, ‘what up, homie?’, you tell ‘em dat you came out da cut for a research project at school you doin’ on Griffon culture in……whatever da hell dat Smokey Mountain village joint called. Dat way, you meet at least one griffon and get ‘em to help us wit dis. Sound straight?”

Shroud chuckled. “Now there’s the street-smart gangbanger I know and……would love if not for that relentless potty mouth.” She teased.

Turf War rolled his eyes. “Pfft. Dat’s f***ed up…” Shadow Shroud just raised one eyebrow at him, and his only response was a conceited sigh, inciting a little snicker from Bullseye.

"Oh, and for reference, the town is called Yodelneigh." Shroud said.

“I guess I could do that, but….How am I supposed to get up there? I can’t fly remember?” Tidal Wave said. He looked back at his fin-wings and fluttered them, and sighed in shame of his limitation.

“Furthermore, how is he going to convince anypony at all to scale this frigid mountain for the sake of research? Princess Luna said that this location was largely forgotten, and we learned along the way that it’s not exactly a safe trek anyhow.” Quantum Tech said. “That also begs the question of how he’d even return to and from our position with minimal issue; he is and should go in unarmed so as not to draw suspicion after all. There’s just too many factors to be wary of. I’m sorry, but I must oppose this.”

“Think y’all can figure out a way to make the portal activate without a griffon, Ms. Quantum Tech?” Kickback asked.

Quantum sighed. “It’ll take some serious research into the nature of this portal’s locking magic, but….perhaps.”

“You do that. In the meantime, I say Tidal Wave’s escapade is a risk worth taking.” Fire Fight said. “At this point, we can’t afford to be negative.”

“Dude! Did you already forget? Am I supposed to magically grow feathered wings and just flutter up there?” Tidal Wave said.

Fire Fight grimaced. “That’s…..a good point.”

“I COULD HELP HIM WITH THAT!!” Crazylocks blurted as she sprouted her own wings.

Bullseye gritted her teeth and yanked Crazylocks towards her so that they were face to face. “Crazylocks, any more stupid s*** outta your mouth, and I’m gonna f****** dunk your head into that frozen well outside until you finally regain-” Bullseye was suddenly cut off by her own train of thought. “The well….” She had a little epiphany. “Hey, Quantum! Kickback and I found a frozen water well outside that felt kinda warm underneath.”

Kickback suddenly remembered it when Bullseye mentioned it. “Aw yeah! Ah meant to tell ya about that, but then y’all started hollerin’ about the dang portal.”

Quantum cocked her head. “Warm…..how?”

Bullseye walked towards the back door and motioned for them to follow. “C’mon. We’ll show ya.”

Fire Fight used his heat bubble to shield his comrades from the cold once again as they trotted towards this well. As they approached it, Zebota seemed to get anxious for some reason, as if he was realizing something about the well. He occasionally looked down at his brooch, and Shrapnel seemed to be attuned with whatever his master was picking up; he began sniffing the ground.

“Here it is, y’all.” Kickback said as they reached the well.

While it certainly appeared to be a mere frozen pond of water, Quantum laid her hoof on it, and sure enough, she could feel the warmth that Bullseye and Kickback spoke of. “Huh…..Interesting….” She decided to see if she could get a reading from her glasses, but it was taking a while to for them to register. “Zebota, do you sense anything?”

Zebota clutched his brooch and closed his eyes for a brief second before returning. “Yes. The spirits here…..They oppose one another. Their conflict extends above and below this mountain, and Nature’s balance is their only harmony. The flames of the earth that burn with ferocious life……and the chilling winds foretelling death’s presence…..”

“The f*** is that mumbo jumbo supposed to mean?” Bullseye asked.

Zebota shot her and annoyed glare. “It means that the earth is more alive here than we realized.” He said. Shrapnel let out a howl, as if to pay respect to the ‘conflict’ that his master described.

Quantum’s glasses then got a solid reading. “<GASP> It’s just as he says! There’s volcanic activity within this mountain! This…..This is unprecedented! No such activity was ever thought to be churning within the Great Horn Summit!! Oh, I simply must catalog this discovery!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What!? This mountain isn’t going to blow up on us, is it!?” Spiral asked frantically.

“Oh, no, no, no, darling. It’s far too weak to warrant an eruption.” Quantum said. “However, it’s just enough that it’s warming the water buried within its walls.” She scanned the area around the well more closely with her x-ray scope. “And it seems that the pockets that hold the water form a sort of tunnel system. I suspect that it spills out into that lake where we combatted that hydra.”

“Oh! So that means Tidal Wave could swim through there into the mountain village, correct? Or at least until her reaches the feet of each mountain.” Greensprout said.

“Could you, Tidal Wave?” Fire Fight asked the aquatic colt.

Tidal Wave looked at him with a frazzled expression. “Do you guys think I’m Aqua Colt or something!? I can’t hold my breath for that long, let alone swim up waterfalls!” He said. “I-I mean…..I guess it’d be worth a shot, but…”

Everypony seemed to give up somewhat upon realizing that, but Shrapnel seemed to have something on his mind. He lightly nudged Quantum Tech, who looked up at him. “Oh! Wh-What is it, honey?” she asked. The wooden titan let out a couple of grunts as he seemed to take interest in her bag.

“He says ‘Show my master a remaining piece of the crystal beast, child’.” Crazylocks blurted.

“Whatever for, my friend?” Zebota asked his monster.

Shrapnel let out a small roar as he glanced over at Tidal Wave, who grew unnerved when he received such attention from one of the most feared beasts in Equestria, even if he was tame. “Wh-Wh-Why is he looking at me like that?” he stammered.

Being able to understand his beast, Zebota realized what he was saying and seemed to hesitate. “Are you sure, my friend? He is not of my people. Would he be accepted?” Shrapnel grunted as he nodded his massive canine head. Zebota let out a sigh. “I see…”

“Wh-What’s going on? Accepted for what?” Tidal Wave stammered.

Zebota turned to Quantum Tech. His expression told her that he was hesitant, but serious about whatever was on his mind. “Quantum Tech, may I see one of the crystals you hold?”

Slightly confused and a little nervous, Quantum reached into her saddlebag and pulled out one of the few remaining crystal shards that had been harvested from the golem beneath Canterlot. “Er....Of course, darling.” She handed it to him.

“Thank you.” Zebota said as he took it. He examined it closely for a moment before seeming satisfied. “Yes….This one will do.”

“What’re you up to, Mr. Nature?” Shroud asked.

Zebota chuckled as he glanced over at Tidal Wave, who was still nervous. “Tidal Wave…..would you be interested in entering a world foreign to you?”

Tidal Wave cocked his eyebrow at the odd question. “Uh….what?”

“You will have to give me a moment or so to properly prepare this jewel, but I believe I know how we will circumvent this issue.” Zebota said. He and Shrapnel went back into the temple, leaving the foals to wonder what the little mystic had up his stripes….

*****

In the White Tail Woods...

The search party had returned to Trifectown and ventured into the White Tail Woods as planned. The absence of Twilight, Spike and Rarity made things a little awkward, but Cheerilee felt confident that she could lead the entourage. After all, she more or less owed it to Fire Fight’s parents still even if they managed to forgive her. Accompanying her were said parents, Knight Soul and a few of his Bladerunner trainees, her class and the CMC, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. With such a large and capable entourage, they were optimistic of their odds in finally locating the lost foals.

Rainbow Dash had made a quick aerial sweep of the immediate area prior, and she returned to the party after a few moments. “See anything, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

Dash shook her head. “Nope. The trees are a little too thick for me to see through, so if they’re here, they’re well-covered.” She said. “Although, it felt strangely cold somewhere over there.” She pointed slightly westward.

“Have any of the other foals that were reported missing been known to use ice magic?” Knight Soul asked.

“Not really, sir, but I think one of them is a cosmomancer, and since it’s so cold up in space, then……well, that might be a bit of a stretch.” Button Mash said.

“Hmm! So you were paying attention in class after all!” Cheerilee said, warranting an eye roll from the gamer colt.

“Are you sure you weren’t just cold because you were high in the air?” Fist asked Dash.

Dash firmly shook her head. “No way, dude! I’ve been flying for so long, cold air due to altitude means nothing to me!” she boasted.

“Who cares if there’s a little cold front? We need to figure out which way they went!” Cat said.

“Sir! Over here!” One of the Bladerunners called out.

They trotted over to him. “What is it, Red Badge?” Knight Soul asked.

The trainee pointed down at the ground below them. “Don’t these tracks look rather…..odd?” When they examined said tracks, they noticed immediately that they didn’t seem to come from anything natural. They were shaped something like a bird’s foot, but were so perfectly shaped that they pretty much looked artificial. “Wasn’t one of them supposed to be really good with machines? Maybe they built some kind of….transport vehicle?”

“And remain hidden for this long? Nonsense!” Knight Soul said.

“Sir, after how times he’s managed to get away from us up until this point, even from under our noses, I’m not willing to doubt him being clever enough…….or all of us just being plain stupid.” Scootaloo said.

“I….I can’t say I can argue with either notion.” Knight Soul muttered.

“Guess we’ll just have to follow them, huh?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Any lead is a good one if it means finding Fire Fight.” Cat said.

The ground party did as suggested and followed the tracks while Rainbow Dash made another aerial sweep just in case. They made sure to carefully search areas around the tracks in case they found any more clues, but to no avail. All they could so was eventually come to a river and stop and a big tree whose hollow trunk was surprisingly spacious. That’s where the tracks seemed to stop.

“Golly! We could fit our clubhouse in here if we really tried.” Applebloom commented as she ventured into the hollow. Upon closer examination, she found the remains of a campfire. “<Gasp!> Applejack!” She ran out of the hollow upon her discovery. “They were here! They camped out in this big ol’ tree!”

“WHAT!? REALLY!?” Cat shoved Applebloom out of the way as she ran into the hollow, but was disappointed when all she found was the dead fire.

“Jeez, honey.” Fist said as he followed her. He examined the pit and knew at a mere glance that his son handled the fire. “Yep. This was definitely him. It’s set up just like I showed him on that camping trip we took together.”

Rainbow Dash suddenly swooped back down to them. “No luck on my end. How ‘bout you guys?”

“We just found a little place where they camped out.” Cheerilee said. “It seems these odd tracks belonged to them somehow.”

“Umm….” Diamond Tiara started shivering. “I-Is it just me, or is it kinda cold all of a sudden?”

“Ooh. Yeah, it kinda is.” Silver Spoon said. That’s when she happened to look over at the river to notice something bizarre. “Huh?” She trotted over to the riverbank to happen upon a strange pile of icy dust that had an eerie, ethereal glow to it. “What’s this?”

Everypony crowded around the anomalous pile. Just standing near it made them feel as though winter had fallen. It was likely the source of the unusual chill, but its identity was a chilling mystery. Not to mention…..it just felt…..like there was more to it. “Class, get away from that.” Cheerilee said.

Applejack sighed. “If only Twilight were here. She’d be able to figure out exactly what this is! She better have a dang good reason fer trottin’ over to that hippy town r’ whatever it is.”

“Perhaps that foal with mechanical talents was experimenting?” Knight Soul suggested.

“Either way, we know now that they were here. All that’s left is to figure out where they went from here.” Button Mash said.

“Kid’s got a point. Let’s look for more of those tracks.” Another Bladerunner suggested as she shined her horn. “I’m getting some strong residual magic readings here. Let’s see if we can follow that.”

They all agreed and walked away from the icy pile. However, once they started combing the area, the surrounding chill suddenly intensified, and everypony began shivering from the sheer cold. “Wh-Wh-Whoa! When did it g-g-get so c-cold?” Cat stammered.

The icy pile suddenly began floating in the air and started to swirl around, as if it was starting to form into something. The Bladerunners immediately drew their swords while everypony else backed off from the anomaly. After a short, frigid moment, the dust began to take a more discernable form, that of a hazy equine shape. A core of light could be seen within its ethereal form. Everypony who wasn’t a Bladerunner hid behind the tree while the swordsponies poised their blades at the strange entity. Fist put himself in between the anomaly and his wife. “Declare yourself, demon!” Knight Soul commanded.

A sort of head started began to take a more stable shape as a pair of piercing yellow eyes suddenly seemed to open and glare at them. As it did, a low, otherworldly howl emanated from the icy apparition even though it didn’t quite have a mouth, causing the foals to start cowering in terror. “Wh-Wh-What is that!?” Silver Spoon said.

Out of nowhere, an inexplicable black shadow leapt from the bushes and slashed it at the core, causing the entity to screech in agony before dissolving into thin air. “Wh-What!? Who was that!? Who goes there!?” Knight Soul demanded. He scanned the vicinity with the gaze of an eagle watching for prey, but whatever that shadow was had disappeared along with the ice anomaly.

As the chill died down, the search party came out from behind the trees and caught their breathes. “What the hay was that!? Was that a windigo!?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Couldn’t have been! There’s no disharmony between us, so why would one appear?” Applejack said.

“We should probably go back and tell Twilight about this before going any-” Cheerilee was cut off.

“NO! I’m not letting any chance of finding my son get away from me anymore!” Cat declared. “If there’s dangerous stuff like that coming after him, then I’ve had it! I won’t spend one more moment of my life knowing that he could be in this much danger!”

“Cat’s right, guys!” Fist declared. “If we have to sacrifice our safety just to find these foals and my son, then I say it’s worth it! We’ve spent too much time worrying about ourselves and not thinking about how much danger they must be in! We’re pressing on even if we encounter Chrysalis!” Seeing their resolve rekindled their own as the search party unanimously agreed, namely Knight Soul, who was now much more determined to find his son. They had to be close, so why should they give up now? Still….that shadow just then…..

“Tidal Wave!? TIDAL WAVE!?” They suddenly heard somepony shouting from behind the brush, and a pegasus stallion wearing guard armor apart from his helmet and wielding a spear emerged. “TIDAL WAVE, WHERE ARE YOU!?” He was too frantic to readily notice the large group of ponies now in front of him. “Huh? Whoa!”

“Is something wrong, sir?” Cheerilee asked.

The stallion had to take deep breathes to calm himself from his fit before answering. “M-My son, Tidal Wave, he…..he ran away from home, and…..I-I think he might be down here somewhere!! I need to find him!!”

The Pact

Author's Notes:

Hi guys! At the time I am posting this new chapter, the story had reached 1,000 views!!

This has been one heck of a journey for me, and it'll continue to be right to the very end of this story. Words can't express my gratitude for your support here, and I hope you all continue to enjoy and critique this story so long as its tale is being told! The Battle Foals themselves also thank you from the bottom of their hearts!
Fire Fight: I know I can accomplish my mission with you guys to cheer me on!

Shadow Shroud: It's ironic, isn't it? My very existence is, in a sense, nonexistent, and yet here you all are forcing me to be indiscreet solely for you entertainment.<giggle> It sure is nice having a fan club. <wink>

Turf War: Y'all are WHAT'S UP right now! I don't got no flame spell like my homie, but y'all are on fire!

Spiral Galaxy: I promise to keep you all happy and excited for the journey ahead, so don't give up on me, ok?

Air Slash: <hold his sword over his heart> You are all truly great warriors in your own right. You have my utmost respect.

Kickback:<tips his hat> Thank ya kindly, partners.

Crazylocks: WHEN THIS STORY FINALLY ENDS, I'LL JUMP OUT YOUR COMPUTERS AND.....and.....WAAAAAAHHHHH!! I'll cry my humble tears on your keyboards in eternal gratituuuude! UWAAAAH!

Quantum Tech: It seems that my hypothesis was correct! You are all amazing people! Hmm....I do wonder what the extent of amazement is for humans? Further observation is required.

Zebota: All things that live are gifted with ability to love. I am glad to see that you did not allow this gift to go to waste.

Shrapnel: <HOOOOOWWWWWLLLL!!!>

Greensprout: Brothers, sisters, I am not worthy of the love you've shown me, but know that I always return such loving care, especially those that need it the most!

Bullseye: Tch......Well......You.....<turns her head> You guys are great, and I like you too. <Snaps her head back around, slightly blushing> There! I said it! You f****** happy now!?

Tidal Wave: I know I'm new kid on the block, but I know I'm gonna have fun if you all are any sign!

???: Pfft! Wow! I haven't even appeared yet, and this is what I'm gonna be spoiled with. <sigh> It's so easy, I feel almost insulted! But hey, I'll take it. Ready or not, 'cause here I come!

???: Wh-Wh-Whaddya looking at!? I'm not here yet, so.....so just be patient, got it!? I'm excited for when I get here, so- wait! I didn't say that! N-NO ONE HEARD ME SAY THAT!!"

The foals were back inside the temple, and could hear Zebota chanting in his native language in another room. Clearly, he was performing some kind of ritual with the crystal given to him, and Tidal Wave was the most unnerved since Zebota didn’t at all hide the fact that it somehow involved him. Shrapnel occasionally let out a mellow howl as if to participate. He’d been an amazing asset to the team with his ability to command nature itself, but they forgot that he was a foreigner in many senses of the word, and the haunting incantations he uttered were a firm reminder of the unknown world where he heralded from.

“Damn….Uhh…..Mah boy ‘bout to release his mix tape d’ho? I-I bet it’d be bumpin’!” Turf War stammered.

“You’re not helping, dude!” Tidal Wave said. His nerves couldn’t decide whether to stiffen, or to jump all over the place. A timberwolf for a pet was odd enough, but hearing his ‘voodoo verses’, as Bullseye called them made Tidal Wave worry that Zebota was planning to sacrifice him to some tree god or something.

“Damn, dog. Chill! Shrapnel might bite, mah boy, Zebota don’t. He cool.” Turf War said.

“What do you suppose he’s even doing? I must admit I’m rather curious.” Quantum Tech inquired.

“Probably something we shouldn’t intrude on, sister.” Greensprout said.

Spiral Galaxy gently patted Tidal Wave on the back. “Don’t worry, buddy. Zebota might be a bit hard to understand sometimes, but he’s our friend.”

“I-If you insist.” Tidal Wave stammered.

As the foals waited patiently for Zebota to complete his ritual, they heard a yawn suddenly resound from the opposing hallway followed by a sniffle. “Ugh…<ahem>….What’s going on?” It was none other than Air Slash. His raspy voice and sluggish movements were telltale signs that his cold still ailed him.

Greensprout trotted up to him and put her hoof on his shoulder. “Air Slash, what are you doing up? We didn’t wake you, did we?”

Air Slash took a deep breath under the weight of his ailment. “No…<sniffle> No, Greensprout. You didn’t. I simply felt the urge to stretch my legs is all. I think that medicine you gave me is working wonders already.”

“Really?” Greensprout put her hoof on his forehead, and was delighted to feel that his fever had dropped a little. “Oh, that’s wonderful!” she pulled her hoof back. “But you should remember to rest, Air Slash.”

Air Slash smiled at the young monk. “I know, but I’m not so ill that I cannot move. I can’t just let my body go stagnant over a mere cold, now can I?”

“Well…..I suppose so, but go right to bed as soon as you feel weary, alright?” Greensprout said.

“Yes, please, Air Slash. You’ve been such a good boy as of late, so don’t let that pride of yours get the better of you now.” Shroud teased.

“Ugh! Sister!” Greensprout reprimanded.

Air Slash breathed an annoyed sigh. “Worry not, Greensprout. I’m dangerously used to her sense of sarcasm…” The shadowy filly let out a devious giggle. It was then that the sickly samurai noticed Zebota’s chanting in the background. “What is our friend up to in there?”

“Something scary.” Tidal Wave blurted.

“Dude…” Fire Fight just shook his head. “Zebota’s doing something with one of those golem crystals that’s supposed to help Tidal Wave.” He then explained the whole scenario with the well in the courtyard and how they thought they could send Tidal Wave into Yodelneigh via the water system that connected from the well to the river leading into the Smokey Mountains.

“AND THEN HE’LL USE THE DEAD HYDRA HEADS AS PUPPETS FOR A ROAD SHOW THAT WILL MAKE THE GRIFFONS OF YODELNEIGH FALL IN LOVE WITH NOFFIRGS OF AN OLD SWAMP THAT SUCCUMBED TO AN OIL SPILL!” Crazylocks blurted.

Everypony who wasn’t Bullseye or Greensprout just facehooved. Bullseye angrily scrapped her hood against the old floor of the temple while Greensprout maintained her patience and chuckled. “N-Not quite, Crazylocks, but….good guess.”

“Argh! Why aren’t you beating her over the head with your staff or something!? That’d at least knock some sense into her!” Bullseye exclaimed.

Greensprout glanced at her with a slightly stern expression. “Because I heal what is broken rather than break it further.” She said. Bullseye just huffed and snapped her head away.

Zebota then reappeared from the room he occupied along with Shrapnel. In his hoof, he held the crystal given to him, but it was glowing a watery blue. He then looked at Tidal Wave. “Come…” He motioned for them to follow as he and his wooden titan exited out into the courtyard. With some hesitation mixed with curiosity, the foals followed the mystic duo. Fire Fight was sure to cast his heat shield around them.

The striped shaman stood beside the frozen well, holding the ritually charged gem in his hoof. The crystal itself seemed to glow more fervently as it neared the water, and its gleam felt….strangely warm. “Fire Fight, may I ask that you melt this ice?” Zebota asked.

“S-Sure, Zebota.” Fire Fight said. He still didn’t quite know what he was up to, but nevertheless, he lit his horn and projected a stream of fire that completely dissolved the ice covering the well. “There ya go!”

Zebota nodded. “Thank you.” He took the crystal and held it up to his brooch. The foals were expecting him to recite another incantation, but the two gems just seemed to do all the mysticism for him as his hooves were suddenly adorned with shoes of blue light with glyphs and tribal markings decorating their mystical form. It was his next action that mystified them. With his charged hooves, Zebota stepped onto the water and walked atop its surface as though it were solid! His steps left a path of glowing blue glyphs that extended from where he first stepped onto the water to the center of the pool where he stopped. A slightly larger glyph formed when he sat down and looked back at his stunned comrades. “Join me, Tidal Wave.”

Everypony was too awestruck to speak for a short moment before Bullseye broke the silence. “Wicked….”

Tidal Wave gulped before slowly walking up to the edge of the pool. He reached down to touch the glyph path laid out for him to make sure he actually could touch it, and he could, so with a little less hesitation gripping at his nerves, he walked along the glyphs to where Zebota awaited him. He sat down right across from the zebra and waited for what was to come.

Zebota handed him the blue crystal. “Hold this firmly and do not let go.” Tidal Wave took the crystal, and he could almost instantly feel its essence coursing through him. It felt strangely…..welcoming despite his apprehension. “Now then…” Zebota said. Tidal Wave then looked up at him. “I have imbued this jewel with the favor of the spirits of the water, and it seems that they would accept you as their msaidizi.”

Tidal Wave cocked his head. “Their…what?”

“In my language, it means…..well, what word would it most closely translate to?......Vessel?.....Wielder?.....Perhaps ‘scion’?” Zebota thought aloud. “You get the idea. With this jewel, you would commune with them as I commune with other guardians of nature with this brooch I wear. Ask for their blessings, and perhaps they will give their good graces.” Shrapnel nodded and grunted in an ‘I told you so’ manner.

Tidal Wave found himself awestruck, confused and worried simultaneously. “Wh-What? Commune? And….it won’t always work?” he stammered.

Zebota calmly nodded. “Yes. Water spirits are fickle, but your body grants you great affinity within their domain. They should be quite willing to heed your calls.” He then started looking around the well. “Can you see them?”

Curious, Tidal Wave began looking around, and he was shocked to see that…..something was indeed around them! They didn’t have the most discernable form, but visible congregations of blue magic that looked as though they had cascaded from the aether. They look somewhat equine, but their hind bodies were more hazy and aquatic-looking. Tidal Wave found himself entranced as these beings seemed to dance around them, and he got the odd feeling that it was mostly for him. “Whoa….” He turned to the other Battle Foals. “Are you guys seeing this!?”

The foals looked up, down and all around for what he must have been talking about, but it appeared that they couldn’t see them. “See what, partner?” Kickback said.

“Is my great-uncle, Captain Food Fighter XXIX there? OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!!” Crazylocks blurted.

“Can it, freak.” Bullseye hissed.

Zebota chuckled before glancing back at Tidal Wave. “Should you accept this pact, your bond with these spirits shall be sealed so long as you hold this jewel. But bear in mind that they have souls as well as you do, so you must not command them as though you have enslaved them lest they inflict their wrath upon you.” He warned. “However, I am not too concerned about you, Tidal Wave. Water is where you are most at home, and so long as home is where the heart is, those who we welcome into them are our honored guests. So maintain a good heart, my friend.” He then held out his hoof. “If you agree, then join your jewel and your hoof with mine.”

So much was happening for the aquatic colt. For so long, he resented his wings that tied him to the water away from the freedom other pegasi experienced in the vast, open sky. He wanted nothing more than to trade them for real wings, wings that would relieve him of his debilitation. He could join others of his kind including his father in their true state, rulers of the sky…….even the ones that spited him regardless……But Zebota wasn’t wrong about one thing: he loved the ability that his wings already granted him. He was the sole member of his kind that occupied the world of the deep, where…..he already felt truly free. Nopony other than himself could set boundaries in his own world. Nopony could judge him. While he may still have yearned for the vastness of the open sky, he grew to appreciate the mystery and gentle embrace of the world of water. He could tell that the water spirits dancing around him could read his heart; they were drawing closer to him and started what he could only describe as singing to him, and he’d never felt more welcomed in his whole life.

Tidal Wave took the hoof that was holding the water crystal and joined with Zebota’s so that they were both holding it. His confidence was boosted by the serene atmosphere that was seemingly made just for him. “I’ll do it.”

Zebota creased a satisfied smile. He must have been able to sense Tidal Wave’s resolve. “Very well.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then his brooch began to glow. “O watoto wa mito mbio, wachezaji wa bahari kubwa, walezi wa bahari ya kina, mimi wamekusanyika nyote hapa katikati hapa kwamba imedaiwa na fangs makubwa ya majira ya baridi ili dhamana zinaweza kughushi. Mtoto huyu mbele yangu inataka ujamaa wako na baraka yako. Jewel tunayoshiriki mikononi mwetu itakuwa chombo kwa njia ambayo mikutano yako utafanyika, na ambapo nyoyo zenu watakuwa ngoma pamoja kwa amani. Mimi ni daraja kwa njia ambayo mkataba huu iwe wazi, hivyo basi mimi kuthibitisha kwamba roho yake ni kuziunga na yako. Yeye hisa nyumbani na wewe katika dunia ya maji, hivyo inaweza kuishi kwa amani kama moja.” His incantation seemed to excite the water spirits around as their dancing became more upbeat, and their singing became more fervent. He then opened his eyes and looked at Tidal Wave. They glowed dimly with the same grass-green hue as his brooch. “Tidal Wave, do you accept this pact? Does your heart dance with the voices of the waves, the rivers, the deepest depths?” he asked in a very priest-like manner.

Tidal Wave took a deep breath to reassure himself that he was ready. He could feel the water spirits calling to him like a long-lost friend, and he had no reason to ignore them. “I do!” he declared.

“Then….let this new bond be forged.” Zebota said. The water spirits then synchronized their song into a single long note as they poured what must have been water mana into the jewel. It all cascaded into the magically charged crystal like a breathtaking waterfall that captivated the aquatic colt. After it finished, all that was left was the crystal, which now gleamed with a blue light that Tidal Wave could actually feel life from.

Zebota then pulled out a small golden frame that was very similar to the one containing his brooch and fit the water crystal into it. He then pulled out a necklace that he adorned the jewel with that Tidal Wave could easily wear without it falling off. “This is yours now, Tidal Wave. Take very good care of it.” He said as he handed it to Tidal Wave, who then put it on. Shrapnel howled as if to celebrate the completed ritual.

Tidal Wave nodded. “I will. Thanks, Zebota. Sorry I doubted you….”

Zebota led him off of the glyph path and back onto the edge of the pool. “I understand, my friend. One is always nervous when experiencing something new.” All of the other foals just stood there waiting for them with their mouths agape in awe. They certainly couldn’t wait to see what their newest comrade was now capable of.

“Heavens to betsy…..” Kickback muttered.

“Tidal Wave…..” Spiral Galaxy couldn’t even find the right words to express her amazement even though nothing had been demonstrated, but based on Zebota’s words, she could only infer…

“Go on, my friend. Test your new limits.” Zebota said to Tidal Wave. He stepped back so as to give him room to jump into the well.

“A-Alright!” Tidal Wave still felt a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect, but he’d feel awful letting his new gift go to waste, so he jumped in.

He was only a couple feet under when he could feel a surge of warmth from his crystal. While it startled him, he found himself breathing a little easier when he felt it envelope his body………wait…..HE REALLY WAS BREATHING! UNDERWATER!! He quickly surfaced to tell his friends. “Guys! GUYS! I was breathing down there!”

“UNDERWATER!? TRULY!?” Quantum exclaimed.

Tidal Wave excitedly nodded. “Yeah! It might be tough navigating these tunnels, but I could totally get to the Smokey Mountains!”

“Awesome!” Fire Fight exclaimed. “You still hungry? If you wanna eat something first, I’ll whip something up.”

“Nah, I’m good. I can go right now, actually! I…..just hope that I’ll be able to use this thing okay….” Tidal Wave said.

“So long as you put your trust in the spirits that now aid you, the waters themselves become your shared domain.” Zebota said.

“O-Ok. I’ll come right back if there’s any trouble.” Tidal Wave said.

“Good luck, dude!” Spiral said.

“Thanks!” Tidal Wave said. He and Spiral fist-bumped.

“And remember Turf War’s plan. I’d strongly caution you not to use your real name.” Shroud warned.

“Yeah. I think I’ve got this. I’ll be back!” With that, Tidal Wave dove right back into the depths bellow and began his journey. He could feel his new friends, both pony and spirit alike cheering him on….

Making a Splash

As Tidal Wave swam further into the depths of the tunnel system, he could feel himself becoming more and more attuned with the water itself. Every second that passed, every breath he breathed beneath the surface seemed to make him forget that he was even submerged to begin with. In fact, it almost felt like the open sky he once coveted. He barely even realized at first that it was getting darker……and darker…….and darker without even having an idea of where he was going.

“Wh-Whoa…” The aquatic colt found himself slightly panicked when he realized that he was surrounded by a void. He couldn’t see anything or even tell which way was up. Without any apparent provocation, his water crystal began shining, and his vision suddenly became…..enhanced. He could suddenly see around him, but it felt as though he was….dreaming his surroundings. “Huh?” He swam down to touch the bottom of a tunnel to make sure he wasn’t going crazy, and sure enough, his new trinket seemed to be helping him in more ways than he’d realized was possible. He could even tell which tunnels he needed to take specifically to get to his destination, as if a mental path had been laid out for him to follow. “Man! This is cool!”

The tunnels themselves were a sight to behold. Small signs of the weak volcanic activity within the Great Horn Summit popped up on occasion in the form of vents spewing heat that warmed the swimming colt as he passed by, and around them were strange plants that seemed to have no issue being around these natural heaters. Tidal Wave had no idea such life could even exist. The planet itself truly was alive.

At last, Tidal Wave could feel currents running in the tunnels, and that’s when he knew he was on the right track. Sure enough, the tunnel he was in spilled out into a mouth-like cave where vast more gallons of water joined him. At the end of the flow was the visual majesty accompanied by the roar of a waterfall. There were no edges for him to jump onto so that he might scope his surroundings, so all he could do was take a leap of faith and hope that nopony was down there waiting to see him and think that he was some suicidal maniac or something. Thankfully, this was not the case; the land below him held only Mother Nature’s embrace, and unsurprisingly, it was the very same spot where he and the other foals had fought the hydra; its corpse still laid on the riverbank in a heap. Tidal Wave jumped from the height of the falls and glided down gently into the lake below. He glanced over at the fallen hydra as he made his way into the river. “Heh. Maybe I coulda made that thing my pet…….Although, 1. How would I take of it, and 2. Is it even technically a water creature?”

Swimming with the flow of the river made the trip pretty easy, and Tidal Wave made it to another lake that was centered within a circular valley between each mountain. Looking up, he could see a series of bridges obviously constructed as roads between the mountains for non-flyers, which made him wonder how anypony who couldn’t fly even got up there in the first place. Eventually, he noticed a tall mechanism that extended along one mountain all the way up to a plateau. Upon closer observation, it seemed to be an elevator, so he swam towards it. As he got closer, however, he began hearing some commotion on the shore he was approaching.

“Argh! Now you li’l bastards better quit it right- Oof! Did ya mums forget to teach ya to respect ol’ geezers like me!?- ACK!” It turned out to be an elderly male griffon being harassed by four pegasus foals, two colts and fillies. They were repeated ramming into him or poking him with wooden poles that looked like they were supposed to have broom or net heads on them.

The bullies snickered and laughed maliciously as they taunted and tormented the old man. “Haha! Why? What’s an old featherface like you gonna do?” one of the fillies sneered.

“Tch! Yeah! You can barely lift your wings to fly! What are you doing besides just being a weight, huh?” one of the colts sneered.

The old griffon held his own as all he could do was endure and wait for them to get bored. “Ugh! It’s nasty tykes like you that make me wish I wasn’t a dern pacifist!”

Having experienced more than his fair share of bullying in his lifetime, Tidal Wave immediately felt for the old griffon and charged through the water to his aid. When he got close enough, he leapt out of the lake fast enough to actually tackle one of the colts off of him, who was holding a wooden pole. The pole flew from his hooves when Tidal Wave shoved him away, and the young lancer caught it. He poised it aggressively towards the bully. “Lay off of him!” he commanded.

Both the colt and the elderly griffon were caught way off guard by Tidal Wave’s sudden appearance, and the other bullies went to their friend’s aid. “Ow! What the heck!?” the colt said as he got up.

He and his companions glared at Tidal Wave. “What’s your problem, dweeb?” the other filly demanded.

Tidal Wave wasn’t having any of it and just mock-jabbed his ‘spear’ at them as he glared back. “I said GET BACK!”

The bullies flinched back in fear that they tried to hide beneath angry glares. “Eh, screw this! We were getting bored of this old fart anyway.” The other colt said before they all flew off.

Tidal Wave put the wooden pole down and looked at the old griffon, whom he could now get a better look at. His fur and feathers had dulled in color significantly from the weight of the many years he must have lived, and had quite the sagely beard. Tidal Wave helped him stand back up. “Are you ok, sir?”

The old griffon stretched out and let out a caw of relief. “Hoo-wee! Cheers a bunch, laddie! I was worried the little flippin’ buggers wouldn’t let up this time!” he cheered.

His thick accent through Tidal Wave for a little loop, but he certainly seemed nice enough. “S-Sure! Wait…They do that all the time?”

The old griffon sighed. “‘Fraid so, lad. Don’t know what kinda leprechaun-lickin’-loads o’ lard manners they were raised on, but they can’t just let an ol’ griffon like meself harvest some lake lettuce in peace, now can they!?” he ranted. He picked up a bag he had dropped that Tidal Wave could see a little chunk of the mentioned vegetable peeking out of.

“Dang…..sorry, dude….” Tidal Wave said.

“Ah, time marches on, right lad? Well…..except for me. Then time just limps like it’s dehydrated in a flippin’ desert! BAAAHAHAHAHAHA! Haha…<cough><cough>….Whoo….” The griffon cheered. Tidal Wave wasn’t sure whether his enthusiasm was infectious in a good way or bad way, but it was clear that this was somepony…er….griffon to talk to. The old man then noticed Tidal Wave’s fins. “Huh….Can’t say I’ve ever heard o’ wings like that. New trend with you pegasi r’ somethin’?”

Being a little sensitive about his fin-wings, Tidal Wave couldn’t help but to feel slightly upset. “Eh….N-No….I…..was just born with them…..somehow…..” he mumbled. “A-All I can do is swim…..a-and glide too, I guess….”

The griffon’s cheery smile disappeared when he saw Tidal Wave’s mood slump down. “Aww. Sorry there, lad. Didn’t mean to touch a nerve. Just curious is all.” He lightly nudged the aquatic colt. “If it makes ya feel better, me own wings r’ too flippin’ wrinkled like me late wife’s face to send me soarin’.” He said as he spread his frail, aged wings.

Tidal Wave’s mood was restored a little upon seeing this. “R-Really?” he asked, but then a thought crossed his mind. “Wait. Then how do get back up to town?”

The old griffon let out a hearty chuckle. “Ya see that beauty there, lad?” he said as he pointed to the mega structure that drew Tidal Wave over here to begin with. “It’s a two way elevator meant fer the folks here that can’t safely fly up r' down here. Well….I mean unless they wanna make a death-defyin’ leap from the bridges up top! THAT’D MAKE THINGS A WEE BIT EASIER! BAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!” Tidal Wave was starting to let the old griffon’s cheery personality grow on him, and he cracked a little smile as the crazy coot just guffawed his breath away. “Say, what’re a doin’ here? Don’t think I’ve seen you ‘round b’fore, and I’ve lived in Yodelneigh fer most o’ me life.”

“Oh! Umm…I-I came here for a school project actually! I wanted to write a paper…..on griffons, and I-I thought it’d be interesting if I talked about the cohabitation between ponies and griffons here.” Tidal Wave said hesitantly.

The old griffon seemed to perk up upon hearing this. “That so, lad? Well, that’s awful tenacious o’ ya! Props.” He said. “Let me give ya the grand tour! Me treat fer swattin’ those flippin’ flies off me feathers.”

“O-Oh! Uh…really? Ok, sure.” Tidal Wave stammered.

The old griffon chuckled. “No need to be shy, laddie! C’mon then.” He motioned for Tidal Wave to follow, and the two hopped onto the mountain elevator, and the elderly avian hit the button to go up. There was a bit of a thunder that startled Tidal Wave, but the view he eventually got of the lake below as they ascended was breathtaking. “<chuckle> I know, lad. If this ain’t a more beautiful sight then a red sunset over the waves, I’m a monkey’s uncle.”

“Yeah, really….” Tidal Wave muttered. It almost made him wish that he could share the views that could be beheld below the surface with his new friend.

“Flippin’ hay! Did I drop me manners down the toilet along with me breakfast this mornin’!? Name’s Aesir. What’s yer name, lad?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah! My name’s…umm…” Tidal Wave realized that he had neglected to come up with a pseudonym to use for his covert operation. He fumbled over the stormy seas of his racing thoughts to salvage something. “Er…Aquabolt!”

“Pfft! Loud n’ clear, laddie!” Aesir joked. “Still a relief though.” He leaned in to whisper. “I was worried yer name would be Pegasushi!” he fell to pieces, laughing his feathers off. “BAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! OOOOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHA! Aha! Aaahhh<cough><cough><wheeze>” After his laughing and eventually coughing fit ended, Aesir looked down at Tidal Wave to see that he wasn’t so amused with that comment. “Aww, don’t be so salty there, seadog. I’m just funnin’ with ya!” He ruffled Tidal Wave’s mane, who couldn’t help but to crack a little laugh.

Thinking more about it, Tidal Wave was pretty surprised to see a griffon that wasn’t grumpy or anything like that. Granted, he didn’t know the old bag of feathers, but so far, he liked him. They finally reached the top and stepped out of the elevator. The lower air pressure reminded Tidal Wave of Cloudsdale, so he was right at home. Looking around to observe the town before him, it was a very traditional-styled place. Buildings were constructed of wood native the summits of the mountains, and most of the non-griffon population was pegasi. A few unicorns and earth ponies could be seen, but this place was clearly meant to accommodate those that could embrace the sky. Regardless, everyone seemed to be getting along fine, but those bullies from before still lingered in his mind. Could there be more ruffians like them in town? Did they take after the griffons that were jerks here? It didn’t seem to matter much as Aesir began leading him through town.

Back At The Temple....

“Hmm…..perhaps………No, no. That wouldn’t work….Oh! I could probably-……No, not that either. Let’s see…..If these crystals respond to certain genetic codes, then we simply need to…..well, that would risk altering one of for life should somepony volunteer as a guinea pig….” Quantum Tech was mulling over any way to circumvent the pony/griffon lock placed on the portal, but she wasn’t having any luck. However, her high intellect made her too stubborn to admit defeat to any problem, and she continued to push the limits of her powerful mind to its limits

“Quantum Tech?” a voice called out. She snapped her head up to see that it was Fire Fight. “Oh, uh….Are you busy right now?”

“If by ‘busy’ you mean busy fumbling over every trivial little solution one could come to when getting past this accursed magical lock, then yes.” She said with some spite in her tone. Fire Fight’s expression warned her of the unhappy air she projected. “I’m sorry, Fire Fight. I didn’t mean to sound angry. Is there something you need, darling?”

“Yeah, uh….Did you ever figure anything out about why Tidal Wave’s wings are the way they are?” he asked.

“Oh! Yes! Thank you for reminding me. I was going to share the details with you, but then this nuisance just had to occupy my attention.” She said as she glanced back at the portal. “That said, I must remind you that any conclusion I can come to at this point is not absolute. There may be a variable that I’m unaware of or the like that prevents me from attaining the full truth.”

Fire Fight nodded. “I know, but I trust your brain!”

Quantum giggled. “Well then, there’s a strong theory amongst the scientific community that in primordial times, ponies were once an aquatic species of currently unknown form, and we eventually evolved into the land equine forms we see today. Some of the strongest evidence outside of fossil of this theory include observed fetuses having noticeable gill ducts within the first month of development that disappear with time, and dormant within our collective gene pool exists highly recessive codes associated with the development of icthyological organs such as air bladders and fins.” She explained.

“So….those traits just so happened to pop up for Tidal Wave?” Fire Fight asked.

“Not….necessarily. What makes those traits highly recessive is a sort of….how should I put this?.....anti-gene that prevents the fish genes from being expressed. I suspect that early in Tidal Wave’s development, those gene either failed to fire off correctly, or even fire of at all for one reason or another, causing his wings to take on a more primitive form.” Quantum explained. “If that’s the case, then not only is he living solid evidence of the theory of us evolving from an aquatic species, but he would also be the first recorded case of primordial traits being expressed. If we weren’t on the run, I’d present my findings to Canterlot University posthaste!”

“Even though that might get him a lot of unwanted attention?” Fire Fight said.

“Eh…….a point well made…..” Quantum said.

“So, his mom wasn’t a…..merpony of something?”

“Pfft! If she was, then it would’ve been reported and recorded for coming generations without hesitation.” Quantum said. “With how many books my mind has devoured in the short time that I’ve lived, I surely would have read something at all about a case as big as that would be.”

Fire Fight shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I think he’ll sleep better knowing more about his wings.”

Quantum nodded. “I agree. Though it does leave me to wonder what could have caused the anti-gene to misfire…”

“I think we should worry about that once we’re safely through the portal, so let’s hope Tidal Wave comes back with at least something.” Fire Fight said.

Quantum Tech nodded impatiently. “Ugh! Anything at all would be better than dealing with this blasted thing!” She went back to fiddling with the seemingly impossible challenge before her….

Legendary Hero

Yodelneigh felt almost like Cloudsdale, but on the ground, very high ground. Griffons and pegasi alike shared the skies as well as streets as neighbors, though it was clear that some of the griffons preferred the company of their own kind; the ponies seemed to follow suit. Regardless, Aesir maintained his cheery personality as he toured Tidal Wave around the city. The aquatic colt himself found the place growing on him quickly all things considered. If anyone other Aesir was his guide, he probably wouldn’t have the best of times because despite his loud, somewhat obnoxious long-winded talking, he was just fun to talk to with his good and sometimes hilariously bad jokes, and his energy despite his age made Tidal Wave feel like he was spending time with a grandfather he never had. It ached his heart that he was lying to him about his name and purpose in Yodelneigh.

Tidal Wave got to see some griffon-style houses that were not uncommon in their homeland, saw a few pony/griffon cafes, witnessed griffon workers that picked up feathers that had been shed, and was shown stone murals sculpted by local griffon artists; most of them depicted seemingly the same warrior fighting strange, bipedal goat-like monsters. Much of the townsfolk seemed to know Aesir and happily greeted him, and those bullies from earlier were thankfully nowhere in sight.

“How ‘bout them hay bales, lad?” Aesir asked.

“Wow……This is place is cool!” Tidal Wave said.

Aesir playfully nudged him. “See? What’d I tell ya? Everyone here’s a flippin’ airhead, but that alright! We’re all live high up, so it all works out! BAHAHAHA!” He had to calm himself for a moment. “So, ya ready fer the grand finale?”

“Grand finale?” Tidal Wave inquired.

“Aye! We’re headin’ to the Yodelneigh Archives, pretty much the library. Lot’s o’ copies o’ old griffon tales are stored there. Tales of love, valor, hardships, foundation, and a couple about a few stooges who got drunk off o’ bettin’ how many feathers they could keep on their wings in flight without sheddin’. Pssst! I wrote those! Hehehehehehe!” Aesir said. “You said ya wanted to write about griffon, well by thunder, laddie, yer gonna have so much research material in there, it’ll end up being a mile long paper!”

Tidal Wave laughed with his feathered friend. “Sound’s perfect, Aesir.” He said. After about ten more minutes of walking, Aesir led Tidal Wave to an old building that was somewhat separated from the housing and was definitely big enough to warrant being called a library. It was decorated with griffon crests from various eras and stone sculptures surrounding the entrance. Speaking fo the entrance, when they got to it, there was a slight problem. “Huh? Looks like they’re closed.”

“Aye. I normally open her up sooner, but those little blights slowed me down.” Aesir said as he pulled out a key and unlocked the door, letting himself and Tidal Wave in.

“You work here, Aesir?”

“I don’t just work here, lad. I live here!” Aesir explained as he turned on the lights. Shelves stacked with old tomes, books, even scrolls lined the large area. However, the floors were slightly littered with fallen materials and paper that had yet to be picked up. “Ya want an authority on griffon lore, history and literature with dealin’ with the hassle of being hassled in Griffonstone? I’m yer guy! Sometimes the local school brings their wee tykes over here so I can enlighten ‘em with a li’l tale passed down through the ages of my people.”

Tidal Wave wasn’t at all expecting someone as boisterous and energetic as Aesir to be a librarian. “Oh! So….you’re like a storyteller?”

Aesir shrugged. “Storyteller, librarian, professor, crazy old oracle, whatever strikes yer fancy! Fact is, you wanna learn somethin’ about us featherfaces? I got somethin’ fer ya here.” He then looked around with his smile fading into a guilty frown. “Please excuse the mess. That flippin’ descendant of Siegfried is a rambunctious li’l dab.”

“Descendant of Siegfried?” Tidal Wave asked, curious.

“Aye….She’s about yet age, I reckon, and she just had stroke her go and stroke her flippin’ greatsword around in my library just ‘cause she’s got a hero’s blood! <sigh> What a day n’ age….”

Tidal Wave cocked his eyebrow. “Who’s Siegfried?”

Aesir whipped his head back to face Tidal Wave with a shocked expression. “What’s that!? Yer writin’ about me people, an’ ya don’t know a lick about the greatest hero in our history!? Did ya throw yer mind in the rubbish can!?”

Tidal Wave backed up a little with his guard up. “Umm…..I guess ponies don’t know him too well…”

Aesir seemed to calm down upon hearing Tidal Wave’s excuse. “Meh. Fair point.” He walked to a shelf right next to what was likely his work desk during business hours and pulled out a jeweled tome depicted the same warrior seen in the stone murals from before. He then put it on a table as he took a seat. “Pull up a chair an’ let me tell ya ‘bout the greatest griffon that ever lived, lad.”

Tidal Wave gulped, anticipating an earful with how pressed for time he was, but he couldn’t risk blowing his cover, so he decided to humor the old griffon. With Aesir’s permission, he grabbed a pencil and some paper to ‘take notes’ before taking a seat.

“Alrighty then!” Aesir opened the book to the early middle pages. “I’ll skip his life story and get the good part first.” The first pages showed old pictures of this ‘Siegfried’ crafting a sword and shield for himself along with a talisman in the shape of griffon’s head that looked as though it was bellowing a war cry. “Siegfried was a man of action in every sense o’ the phrase, I tell ya. When he felt that even the military of his day and age couldn’t crack open an egg with a warhammer, he went and made his tools o’ war and listened to nuttin’ but his own flippin’ instincts on the battlefield.” Aesir was becoming a little more extravagant than usual as he turned the page. There were now pictures of the same two-legged goat monsters, but Tidal Wave noticed that they had one eye. “Aye! The Arimaspi! Our sworn enemy since we could use a stone hammer, one-eyed bastards! They’d seize every chance their single eyes could see to raid our home and try to rob us of our gold, our crops, sometimes even our families and force ‘em into slavery! They’re demons, I tell ya! DEMONS!! Those who couldn’t fight ran, and anyone who could barely fight got their wings handed to ‘em on a tarnished silver platter. Oooooh! But then!” He turned to the next page, which showed Siegfried valiantly and effortlessly pushing back the Arimaspi. “HAHAAAAA!! SIEGFRIED LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF ANY HELLSPAWN! FEAR WANTS TO PUT ON IT’S SUNDAY BEST!? SIEGFRIED SHREDS IT INTO FRIDAY NIGHT HANGOVER TATTERS!! OPPRESSION WANTS TO SELL CHOCOLATES FOR SCHOOL!? SIEGFRIED SLAMS HIS DOOR SO HARD THAT HE SPILLS ALL THE CHOCOLATES IN THE DIRT OF HIS LAWN!! DEATH WANTS TO CALL COLLECT!? SIEGFRIED BORROWS MORE MONEY AND LETS HIM GO BROKE!! SADNESS-”

“OK, OK!!....I think I get it.” Tidal Wave interjected. “He was a superhero.”

Aesir stopped himself when Tidal Wave cut him off, but he regained his smile. “Pfft! HAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!! Sorry there, lad. Got a wee carried away, ain’t I?” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, the greatest of his tales is how he led the charge to strike down the Arismaspi’s empire. The king of old gave the whole military to him, and Siegfried whipped into earth-crackin’ shape! He trained them to craft their own weapons and how to use them by channelin’ their inner beasts! Aye, Siegfried’s secret to his glorious might was his willingness to drop his sense of civility and let his ferality call the shots, but he never lost sight of his care for his people. He led them like a PACK, that he did! And with their combined might, they tore the Arimaspi and their stinkin’ empire into enough pieces to scatter across Equestria!”

He continued to show Tidal Wave pages depicted Siegfried valiantly facing his adversaries with many a griffon following him into battle. Each set of pictures telling the epic tale of this legendary warrior blew his mind more and more. He didn’t think he’d be so engrossed in the tale of a warrior in ancient history, but it was somehow as fun, perhaps even more fun than reading a comic book series. To think that such heroic feats were actually performed so long ago…. “Wow…..”

“Aye….” Aesir had calmed down considerably as he turned to what would be the last few pages he’d show the aquatic colt. They depicted a grand ceremony that….looked like a funeral. “Siegfried never let even his old age weigh down his strength, but time eventually had to win their duel, and he passed away…..<sigh>…..It was a day to be remembered by just how depressing it was. Griffons wept enough tears to flood the streets as their hero’s casket was paraded through ‘em and to the Asgard forest where he rest now. It’s the biggest flippin’ grave in the whole cemetery, and by the wind’s warm breath, he earned it! But….before the hero of the griffons fell into his final slumber, he gave the talisman he forged to his son, who eventually handed it down to his daughter, and so on from generation to generation. Now, the current heir to his legacy received her ancestor’s honor not too long ago, and she went on her first mission.” Aesir explained. He then frowned. “If only one straggler from their empire hadn’t dampened everyone’s morale when it stole the golden idol….<sigh>….what a day n’ age…..”

“Oh…..wow….Well, it’s still an amazing story, Aesir. Thanks for telling me! I seriously enjoyed it!” Tidal Wave said.

Aesir’s spirits were lifted. “Aye. It’s one o’ me favorites.” He went to put the book back. “It’s good to see some youth that’ll lend their ears to the voices o’ the past…..and the voices of those who’ll eventually be part o’ the past! BAHAHAHAHAHAAA!”

Tidal Wave chuckled, and then a thought crossed his mind. “Say….about this descendant of Siegfried, do you know where she might be? She was just here, right?”

“Oooooh! What’s this then, laddie? Goin’ fer the descendent of a legendary hero, are ya? Well, she’s yer age, but yer a heck of a maverick fer tryin'! I’ll give ya that! HAAAHAHAHAHA!”

“Wh-Wh-What!? No! She’s a griffon, and I’m a pony! That’d be weird! I thought maybe I could interview her about what it’s like to be his descendent for my paper.” Tidal Wave said.

“Oho! Now there’s an idea worthy of a scholar! Yer teacher’ll give an A++++++, I betcha!” Aesir said. “Funny thing, she came an’ stayed the night yesterday before settin’ out fer Gallopin’ Gorge. It’s been about a day now, and she’s gonna be camping out on the way, so ya might be able to catch her. But I warn ya, she’s one rude loose cannon. And she thinks she can dishonor her heritage with that attitude….<sigh>…..What a day n’ age….” Aesir explained.

Tidal Wave nodded. “Thanks so much, Aesir! I learned a lot!”

“Oh, sure thing, lad! Been a while since I had someone who was another bag o’ dusty feathers to talk to. Hehehehe! Well, hope that paper turns out well!”

“M-Me too! Bye, Aesir!” Tidal Wave said as he exited the library, but he then stopped himself when something crossed his mind. “Oh! What’s her name, just for reference?”

“Oh! It’s…..It’s uh…..Vicky?....No…..Er, Valerie?.....No, no, no, Aesir….Gah! You foggy old coot, what her- <GASP> VALKYRIE!....Right?.....Aye! Her name’s Valkyrie.”

“Valkyire….Gotcha. Ok, take care!” Tidal Wave went out the door.

“Go wash ‘em away with a tide worthy of Siegfried’s might, laddie!”

*****

Tidal Wave decided to take the easy way down as Aesir ‘suggested’ and jumped into the lake below from one of the bridges up high. The sun was beginning to set, so he had to get back quickly. As he fell towards the mass of blue below him, he couldn’t help but to smile at the thought of how much he enjoyed this newfound freedom he had attained with the Battle Foals. He felt bad for lying to Aesir, but judging from his words, he was happy to be able to spend time with him at all. Celestia knows he probably needed a little company anyway. Tidal Wave was drawing ever closer to the lake below…

<POW!!!>

Tidal Wave was suddenly blindsided by something in the air that caused him to careen towards the ground, and he hit the riverbank with a nasty thud. “OOF!!” He had some trouble staggering to his hooves, but he wasn’t dazed or in a lot of pain. However, he could hear some malicious laughter around him, and when he looked up, he saw who it was that assaulted him.

“Hey, dweeb! Have a nice day with that old fart, Aesir?” It was three of the four pegasus foals that were harassing the elderly avian earlier, and they didn’t look happy.

“Figured we’d find you, and teach you a lesson not to screw with us!” one of them said.

It quickly occurred to Tidal Wave that one of them was not within his field of vision, and he quickly looked around. Right behind him was the other colt, and before he could react, the colt kicked one of his back knees, forcing him to the ground. “Tch. Stupid little-” The colt then noticed Tidal Wave’s unique trait. “Huh? What the-?....Pfft! Hahahahaha! Hey, guys! Come look at his wings!”

Tidal Wave began to panic as the foals crowded around him to observe his fin-wings. “HA! Wow! What are you, some kinda fish pony?” one of the fillies taunted.

“N-No! I’m from Cloudsdale!” Tidal Wave retaliated.

“Seriously?” One of the colts said. “Hey! They were experimenting with new ways to make it rain, and he was some freak that came out of it!” They all started laughing, causing Tidal Wave to become irritated. This was no different than what he endured back home.

The other filly suddenly got in his face and grabbed his amulet. “And what’s this? It’s actually kinda pretty.” She sneered. The other bullies started ramming into him.

“OW! Hey!” He looked the filly in the eye. “A friend made that for me!” he said as he pulled it back from her.

“Pfft! What!? Out of pity or something?” she retorted before shoving him.

“C’mon! I bet even his mom thinks he’s a freaky loser.” The other filly sneered.

Tidal Wave’s primal instinct was evoked upon hearing that, and he faced the filly, undaunted by the abuse he was receiving. “What’d you just say?” he silently demanded.

The filly snickered. “I said, I bet even your mom thinks you’re a freaky loser!”

Suddenly, Tidal Wave could feel his whole body surge with power as his amulet started glowing. Whether it was warmth from the thought of his mother, or heat from anger towards his attackers, he wasn’t sure. Regardless, he could feel himself connecting to the lake itself beside him as his anger built. The water began to ripple, and the bullies started growing a bit concerned. Finally, it got to the point where his eyes began to glow, and the water on the shore….started to rise!

“RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

What could only be described a small waterspout suddenly erupted from the lake and shot right at the bullies, forcing them back into the wall of the mountain and swishing them around in its vortex. It lasted for a good five seconds before petering out into a cascade over the riverbank.

The bullies choked and sputtered from having swallowed a good amount of the lake water as they staggered to their hooves. They looked over at Tidal Wave, who had the look of a dancer who took a bad misstep in their performance out of sync with his partners. Likewise, they looked back at him in fear. “Wh-Wh-What…..What are you?” one of the colts asked.

Tidal Wave could only shake his head and back away, unable to utter any cohesive words before jumping back into the lake and zipping away back to his friends, trying to process what he had just done…

To Find a Griffon...

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys! Just wanted to let you know that the summer semester started for me, and it looks like I’ll be kinda busy, so forgive me if I’m ever off grid for a good while between chapters.

Tidal Wave just swam…..swam away from the unforeseen havoc he’d just wrought. He had just been granted an awesome power, and it took him barely a day to abuse it. But…..he was just protecting himself, right? Those bullies were threatening him, and he simply reacted in self-defense. But even so…..did he really have to go so far as to nearly drown them? Furthermore…..was his amulet truly capable of such a feat despite its affinity with water? Did Zebota really entrust him with that kind of control over a whole branch of Mother Nature? He didn’t have time to stop and think about it. It was getting late, and the others were probably worried about him, so he just swam on.

When he reached the waterfall, he realized that it was time to see if Zebota was really so trusting. He took a deep breath and focused on the downward force of the cascading water that would push him back like an explosion. The same warm feeling surged through his body, namely his wings. It felt as if he simply melted into the water around him, and then he suddenly rocketed up the waterfall as a mysterious blue glow rising up the thundering shower. He returned to normal when he reached the top and began navigating the underground tunnels, and then he at last returned to the well.

Unsurprisingly enough, nopony was waiting for him when he emerged from the once frozen pool; it was still pretty cold out, and waiting for him when they had no idea when he’d return, if he’d return would be…..cumbersome. So he raced through the chilling winds before they froze his drenched body and went through the back door. Once he was safely out of the elements, he shook his coat to dry it, causing sprinkle of heavy mist to cascade from his form that left a small puddle around him.

“H-Hey, guys!” he called out.

Quantum Tech and Zebota were the first to notice him back, since they were still working on the portal. “Goodness, darling! We were growing rather concerned.” Quantum said.

“I trust that your new boon has served you well?” Zebota asked.

Tidal Wave felt a slight lump in his throat. He didn’t want to tell Zebota about the destructive feat he had achieved earlier for the risk of upsetting him, so he decided to be discreet. “Yeah! This thing is amazing! I can breathe underwater, swim up waterfalls, see what’s around me even in pitch-blackness underwater, it’s just fantastic! Ya know….could I possibly control water like Fire Fight can with fire?”

“To a degree.” Zebota answered. “The spirits that dwell within your jewel will guide and aid you as you traverse that world below the surface, but actually commanding the very waters themselves would require communion with the spirits themselves.”

Tidal Wave was utterly confused by that answer. He didn’t have any sort of communion with the water spirits when he attacked the bullies in Yodelneigh; it just sort of….happened. Unless they simply came to his defense beyond his control, he could find no other explanation. “O-Oh! Yeah, I probably shoulda figured. Just curious.”

The other foals save for Air Slash and Shadow Shroud walked in. “Hey, Tidal Wave! Have a nice trip?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

Tidal Wave shrugged. “Meh. It was alright, but I got something for you guys!”

He suddenly felt a presence behind him. “Then please waste no time.” He turned around, and Shadow Shroud was suddenly mere inches behind him.

“GAH!!” Tidal Wave jumped back, and tried to draw his spear out of habit, but he was of course without it at the moment.

Shroud playfully sighed. “’Gah’? That’s it? How you disappoint me Tidal Wave.” She teased.

Tidal Wave just shrewdly glared at her and shook his head. “Funny, funny.”

“Eh, you’ll get used to her, dude.” Fire Fight said. “So, what’s up?”

Tidal Wave explained his meeting with Aesir and how that led to him learning about a griffon named Valkyrie that’s supposedly in Galloping Gorge. “I figure that if we go there, we’ll find her and convince her to help us get through this portal. I think Aesir said that she lives in Griffonstone, so we’d kinda be helping her anyway.”

“She’s following a gorge that gallops!? What kind of smooth moves does she think she can pull!? THE PENALTY FOR SMOOTH MOVES IS A LIFE SUPPLY OF MUD SANDWICHES!!” Crazylocks blurted.

Bullseye facehooved. “No, you retard! It’s just called that for whatever stupid reason!”

“Now, now, sister.” Greensprout said. “Now, you said that she was supposedly on a mission of sorts, correct? Do you know what?”

Tidal Wave shrugged. “I dunno, but my guess is that it has something to do with the whole….being a hero’s descendent thing.”

“I can’t say I’ve heard much of this ‘Siegfried’ that your friend in Yodelneigh spoke of, but his name has definitely popped up in some tomes I’ve read, so clearly, he’s of considerable significance.” Quantum said.

“Only one way to find out, y’all. We better make like a herd o’ bison and stampede right on over yonder b’fore we miss her.” Kickback said.

“But, would she really be willing to help total strangers like us? Ponies no less?” Spiral asked.

“I bet I could talk homegirl into it. Back in da hood dis one time, I tol’ some teenage dude dat was tryna start robbin’ joints dat he could start at some convenience store, so he started makin’ plan n’ all d’em while I tipped off da cops and da store dat he was gonna do it behind his back. Y’all do da math.” Turf War said.

“Snitching? I thought that was against the rules of the street, Turf War.” Shroud said.

“Nah. Dat’s only when ya do it to yo’ homies dat it f***ed up.” Turf War said.

“When it’s what?” Quantum asked authoritatively.

“Whoa! U-Uh….Dat it messed up! Yeah…”

Quantum fixed her glasses. “I thought so.” She said sternly. “Regardless however, if there’s a chance that we can negotiate with her if need be, then I have no objections.”

“Yeah, but there’s only one path down the mountain, and Galloping Gorge is on the other side to the northeast of here. We’d have to go around the mountain just to get to her, and that could take almost a day.” Fire Fight said.

Zebota started pondering when Shrapnel lightly nudged him. “What is it, Shrapnel?” the wooden beast lowly grunted and howled at his master. “You would do this for us?” Shrapnel nodded, and Zebota smiled. “I see. Thank you, my friend.”

“What’d he say?” Bullseye asked.

“He will carry us down the northern side of the mountain on his back through the rugged terrain.” Zebota answered.

“Oh, how gracious of you, Shrapnel!” Greensprout said. The wooden titan lightly nuzzled her and whimpered.

“He says ‘It is my pleasure, child’.” Crazylocks said.

“I’ll keep a heat bubble up so we don’t freeze.” Fire Fight said, but then a thought crossed his mind. “Wait. How’s he gonna carry Quantum’s mech?”

“Whoa! Uh, yeah. Homie gonna need about 15 chiropractors af’er dat.” Turf War said.

“Unless yer mech can trudge down the mountain, Ms. Quantum Tech?” Kickback said.

Quantum shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Its feet are not designed to traverse more mountainous terrain.”

“That, and Air Slash is still ill, and I must take care of him. Hmm….Could I trouble a few of you to stay here with me? I’ve little capability to defend myself, and I don’t want Air Slash to have to get out of bed in case something happens.” Greensprout said.

“Well….I guess if it’s gonna be anypony, it might as well at least be Quantum since her mech would be an issue.” Fire Fight said. “Alright, tell ya what. Quantum, Bullseye, Crazylocks, and Air Slash can stay here.”

“Huh? Why me?” Bullseye demanded.

“Because we don’t want Valkyrie to get a bad impression of us and risk her not wanting to help.” Fire Fight said bluntly.

Bullseye narrowed her eye and looked down. Even she herself couldn’t deny that her cold personality wouldn’t sit well with a griffon, especially they were known for being self-centered and arrogant. “Tch. Fine.”

Crazylocks suddenly popped up in front of her. “We’ll braid each other’s eyelashes!”

“After I braid your mouth shut.” Bullseye hissed.

“Ah reckon Shrapnel oughta stay behind so he can scare off anypony who try to come up ‘ere.” Kickback said.

“In that case, I shall remain here as well. Perhaps I should mix herbs of my own to try and cure Air Slash’s ailment.” Zebota said.

“Thank you, Zebota.” Greensprout said.

“Alright, that sounds good. It’s getting late, and from Tidal Wave told us, Valkyrie’s probably not even there yet. So, we have time to sleep tonight.” Fire Fight said. “Oh! Actually, I forgot something.”

“Oh, yeah! I got it, Fire Fight.” Spiral said. She trotted out of the room for a moment, and then came back magically carrying a set of aqua-blue armor and Tidal Wave’s spear. However, his spear had very noticeably changed. It shared that aquatic color of the armor, and was tri-pronged at the head. The two outer prongs were bladed at the edge. “Air Slash made these for you while you were gone. Try it out!”

Tidal Wave took the equipment. “Really?” He slipped into the armor, and it fit him like a glove. It felt pretty light, so swimming underwater with it wouldn’t be a huge hassle. He then noticed that in the center of its chest area was a little depression that matched the shape of his water crystal. “Hmm…” He placed the jewel into the armor, and as expected, it pressure fitted perfectly. “Aw, sweet! I’ll have to thank him later!”

“Looks good on you dude.” Fire Fight said. “Alright, let’s call it a day and head out tomorrow! I’ll go ahead and get some dinner started.” With that, the Battle Foal took a much needed break before setting out tomorrow, hopeful that the griffon known as Valkyrie would lend them her claw.

Earlier in The White Tail Woods...

Twilight, Rarity and Spike had at last caught up with the search party and were filled in on what happened. The sudden of appearance of Tidal Wave’s father, Sky Strike was certainly unplanned for, but seeing as their goals more or less coincided, they saw fit to work together.

“And you think Tidal Wave might’ve ended up somewhere down here?” Twilight asked him.

Sky Strike nodded. “Y-Yes. Cloudsdale was above this area around the time that he must’ve disappeared!” he stammered.

“But, couldn’t he have just flown away somewhere else? A foal in the sky would be kinda easy to miss.” Spike asked.

“NO! HE CAN’T FLY, SO DON’T ASK!!” Sky Strike suddenly shouted. Everypony jumped back, startled, and Sky Strike had to take a moment to calm down. “S-Sorry….”

“Uh….right…..Fin-wings….” Spike muttered.

“Ever since he was born and….we had to continue without his mother…..<sigh>…..I’ve done everything I could to make things work, but his stupid classmates and my stupid coworkers just have to hinder us at every step!! And he leaves a note saying it’s his fault before leaving me….<sob>….Tidal Wave….”

Fist leaned in and gave him a bro hug. “You’re a damn good father…..You know that?”

Sky Strike eased up some and hugged him back. “Yeah….Thanks….” They broke off.

“Well….Tidal Wave ran away of his own accord, so there’s no guarantee that he met Fire Fight…..Guess we’ll just have to keep going.” Cat said.

“Yes, but let’s find a place to camp for the night. The sun is starting to set, and I think we’re all pretty exhausted.” Cheerilee said.

“I agree.” Twilight said. “And Sky Strike, at some point, I’ll have to make a point of paying a visit to Cloudsdale and addressing all of the bullying issues there. It’s absolutely horrible what you and your son have had to endure.”

Sky Strike nodded. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Can Silver Spoon and I come too, Twilight?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“Yeah. We of all ponies should know just how unsatisfying being a bully is in the long run.” Silver Spoon said.

Twilight happily nodded. “You sure do, and I think you’ll be quite the tide-turner.”

As everypony was getting camp set up, Rarity and Spike couldn’t help but to share worried looks. Despite their silence, they both knew what was on their minds- the Shadewalkers. Rarity nearly passed out at the notion that she could have very have been killed by one, and Spike was just as freaked out knowing that one snuck into Twilight’s castle without so much as subtly alerting her guards to their presence. The mention of a mysterious shadow suddenly taking out appearing and vanishing the second it took out what they believed was a windigo was going to have them keep one eye open tonight- they were surely in the company of the shadowy ponies, and Rarity was terrified for the safety of her little sister…..

Especially with a pair of dark magenta eyes dimly gleaming down from the treetops watching them, completely unseen and their very existence veiled by the growing dark of the coming night…..

Training Wheels

The next day had at last dawned upon the Great Horn Temple, and the appointed expedition team was raring to go after they had a nice, hearty breakfast courtesy of their excited leader. Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War, Spiral Galaxy, Kickback, and Tidal Wave gathered their equipment and needed supplies as their comrades bid them safe travels.

“Wait a minute.” Greensprout said. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a string of bottles that contained green substances that were no doubt herbal elixirs mixed by the medicinal monk. “I won’t be there to tend to your bodies, so I brewed these just in case. I trust you’ll be taking a first aid kit as well?”

Fire Fight gladly took the bottles. “Yeah. Thanks, Greensprout. Hey, is Air Slash doing any better? He seemed….a little less than okay at breakfast.”

Greensprout nodded. “Oh, yes. His strength hasn’t quite returned yet, but his body is slowly recovering. He should be readily healed by the time you return.”

Kickback tipped his hat. “Well, that’s a sweet a relief to hear, Ms. Greensprout.”

Quantum Tech giggled as she pranced up to Kickback and gently leaned into him. “I’m going to miss you, my doll! Try not to get too lonely without me, ok?” she cooed.

Kickback brushed her off to the side. “Oh, don’t you worry, Ms. Quantum Tech…” he angrily mumbled.

“I’m terribly sorry that I won’t be able to join you all. Do well to have safe travels now, alright?” Quantum Tech said.

“Don’t worry, Quantum Tech. We’ll be right back with Valkyrie! Just hold down the fort ‘til we do get back, ok?” Spiral Galaxy said.

Zebota nodded. “We shall. May nature’s plans favor your success.” He turned to Tidal Wave. “I trust that you’ve grown attuned to your new power, my friend?”

Tidal Wave nodded. “Yeah! Hey……about it…..” Tidal Wave knew that he probably should’ve told Zebota about the sudden swell of power that apparently wasn’t supposed to happen, but he didn’t want to make him upset and have his new power taken away. All the pain in his spirit inflicted on it by a lifetime of bullying seemed to fade away as he felt the seas themselves roll and churn throughout his soul. It was a comfort that he absolutely did not want to part with. “Th-Thanks again.”

“Of course, Tidal Wave.” Zebota said. He looked up at Shrapnel, who had some leather straps tied around his back for his passengers to hang on to. “Travel safely down this mountain, my beast, and take care of our friends. The coming storms will not be easy to brave.” Shrapnel whimpered lowly as he nuzzled his master, who gently petted his chin.

Shrapnel then turned to the expedition team and lowly grunted, motioning for them to hop on his back as he crouched down. “He says ‘let us waste no more time, little ones’.” Crazylocks said.

“Yeah, we better bounce! Valkyrie ain’t comin’ to us, know what I’m sayin’?” Turf War said.

“<giggle> Finally, a little field trip.” Shadow Shroud said. They said their goodbyes as they hopped onto Shrapnel’s back.

Fire Fight cast his heat bubble around them before Shrapnel began his descent down the mountain. They could here Crazylocks shouting her nonsense to them out in the distance, only to presumably be conked out courtesy of Bullseye’s temper. Shrapnel could do little to shield the foals from the driving snow that rolled down the mountain like countless toys being tossed around by a class of preschoolers, so Spiral Galaxy combined her magic with Fire Fight’s to generate a force field around them. The rising sun off in the distance was their only beacon guiding them towards their goal through the snowy haze. Many a ferocious beast of the mountain merely watched as an unfamiliar monster leapt and sprinted down their territory, but Shrapnel sensed their weakness and dismissed them entirely.

It seemed like an eternity through the winter storm, but they eventually reached the foot of the mountain safely and soundly, and the foals hopped off of Shrapnel. “Thanks, big guy. Get home safely now, ok?” Shroud said. Shrapnel grunted and nodded before laying down, the taxing trip down surely having sapped his stamina. He earned the rest. Shroud gently patted him on the head. “You really are a big help, in more ways than one.” The wooden titan’s only response was a loud yawn that echoed into the frozen aether up high.

“Rest easy, Shrapnel.” Fire Fight said. “Alright, where to from here?”

Shroud pulled out her map. “Hmm! It’s closer than I thought. There’s a railroad track a short hike from here, but it’s a hop, skip and a jump after that. Valkyrie’s definitely gonna have some company soon…”

“Well, let’s make sure we’re good guests an’ not be late fer our rendezvous.” Kickback said as he tipped his hat.

“Han’le dat! Let’s hit the road, y’all!” Turf War said, and the entourage set off without further ado.

True to her map, a single train track dividing a vast meadow of flowers was the lone barrier between them and Galloping Gorge. Just like the fields outside of Hoofington, the grass was just tall enough so that they could crouch down and be obscured by the thick flora. They did so when they saw a train coming from way of in the distance, and then reemerged when it was nearly out of sight after passing by them.

“Yeesh. Close one.” Tidal Wave said as he got up. He then noticed that Spiral Galaxy was struggling a little to stand up, so he helped her. “You ok?”

Spiral was rubbing her head. “Yeah. I think my magic is just acting up a little. I didn’t have to put a lot into that force field, but I sure held it for a while.” She said. “It’s a good thing I’ve still got this hornband that Quantum gave me. I probably would’ve summoned about a hundred star storms by now if it wasn’t for this handy little thing. Kinda nice that it’s even a little cute!”

The foals crossed the railroad track. “Yeah, really. These things have been a real help. Quantum’s a genius!” Fire Fight said.

“If a little obnoxious…” Kickback muttered as he lowered his hat.

“Have you taken it off since?” Tidal Wave asked.

“Why would I? It’s been a huge help for me and controlling my magic.” Spiral said.

“Yeah, but if you really think about it, it’s pretty much just a set of training wheels. You’re gonna have to be able to use your magic without it eventually.” Tidal Wave said.

Spiral’s mellow enthusiasm suddenly sank at that revelation. “Oh! Um…..Well…..N-No, I haven’t. But….Yeah, I guess you’re right…..” With some hesitation mixed with reluctant curiosity, Spiral took off her hornband. As soon as it was completely off of her horn, a sharp pain suddenly sank its fangs into her head that shot throughout her entire body. “ARGH-<GASP>!!!” Spiral could feel the weight of the cosmos crashing down onto her psyche, as if to punish her for her prolonged absence. She clutched her head and fell the ground in agony. “AAAAARRRRGHHHHH!!! AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!” It felt as though the universe was ruthlessly threading its immense power through her horn like a sewing needle, and it manifested as a small, space-tearing gravity well burst from it. “MAKE IT STOP!!! AAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!” She could feel it rending the fabric of reality around her, and all she could do was cry for help.

“SPIRAL!!” Tidal Wave quickly grabbed the hornband and slid it back onto Spiral’s horn, quelling the storm.

“Ugh…..” Even with the storm gone, Spiral’s body ached as though she’d been struck by a train and was sent flying into a brick wall, namely her head. She barely managed to sit up.

Turf War sighed. “Damn….I thought we was done wit dis….”

“What fools we were….” Shroud said.

Kickback lowered his hat. “Tarnation…”

“You okay, Spiral?” Fire Fight asked.

Spiral seemed a little too dejected to want to speak at that moment, not that anypony could blame her. How stupid could she get!? One little horn accessory was going to solve her quite literally cosmic-scale problem? As if! Her aching eased, but her sorrow grew as she heavily sighed. “I guess…..”

“Hey…” Tidal Wave put his hoof on her shoulder, and she solemnly looked up at him. “You’ll get better with time. Ya think it was easy for me being the only pegasus in Cloudsdale that couldn’t fly?”

Even if Tidal Wave couldn’t begin to grasp the scale of her situation compared to his, Spiral saw his encouragement and took it to heart. He helped her up as she slowly began to smile. “Thanks….” She mumbled. All they could do was press on towards their current goal.

In the White Tail Woods...

“YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!” Spike exclaimed. The search party got up early to resume their combing of the woods, only to find something….that they honestly should’ve expected at this point, but not quite on this level. Before them in a big lake just at the foot of a mountain was the ravaged carcass of a hydra.

“Holy crow! This is what my son’s been up to!?” Fist exclaimed. “Wow……I almost feel proud.”

“Honey.” Cat said.

“<whistle> These kids don’t screw around!” one of the Bladerunners commented. She used her horn to search for more magical signatures, and she sure enough got some. “Don’t think I need to tell you that they fought this thing.”

“Thank you, Silver Gleam.” Knight Soul said. “It’s…..truly astonishing the sheer power that these foals possess.”

“Isn’t it?” Silver Spoon cooed to herself. She pictured Fire Fight valiantly facing the scaly scourge by himself and felling it easily with his blazing fury and awesome bare-hooved fighting.

“But it doesn’t make it any less okay for them to feel unwanted. We have to find them!” Twilight said.

“Who’s there?” Somepony called out from the bushes down the river. They all looked over to see a pegasus and a griffon emerge from the woods. “Huh? Who’re- WHOA! HOLY CRAP!” They saw the dead hydra and nearly flipped.

“It wasn’t us!” Scootaloo declared.

“Tch. We figured.” The griffon huffed. Scootaloo pouted at him.

“So this is where all of that red stuff was coming from! But what offed it?” the pegasus said. He then noticed Twilight. “Princess Twilight!? What’re you doing here?”

“My friends and I are searching for a large party of runaway foals, and we think they were here. This slain hydra is pretty much proof that they were.” Twilight explained.

The griffon cocked her eyebrow. “Ehh….Foals? Killing a hydra? You gettin’ senile already there, queenie?”

Twilight just pretended as though she didn’t hear that and explained to their company about the situation with the foals, and their apparent talent for fighting and surviving. “Have you read the newspapers recently?”

“Oh yeah! Those foals! Yeah, can’t say we’ve seen ‘em ‘round here, Your Highness. Sorry…” the pegasus said.

Sky Strike walked up to them. “What about my son, Tidal Wave? He jumped from Cloudsdale, and I think he landed around here. Is there a town nearby that he might have gone to?”

“Well, we live in Yodelneigh up in the mountains, but I don’t think we’ve seen any strangers….have we?” the pegasus said.

“What do we care?” the griffon sassed.

“Please! He can’t fly because his wings are…..different, and he thinks it’s his fault!” Sky Strike said.

“Different how?” the pegasus asked. “Wait! Wasn’t Aesir walking around the other day with some blue colt?”

“Yeah, I think so. What about it?” the griffon said.

“A BLUE COLT!? WAS IT TIDAL WAVE!? WHO’S AESIR!? TAKE ME TO HIM NOW!!” Sky Strike shouted.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down!” the pegasus said. “We’ll talk on the way back, okay?”

“Let me come too. I feel like I should hear more about this.” Twilight said.

“Ah guess we’ll just keep lookin’ ‘round here. Try not to take too long, Twi!” Applebloom said.

Twilight giggled. “We won’t, Crusaders.” With that, she and Sky Strike took an unexpected detour to Yodelneigh, eager to speak to this ‘Aesir’.

Fiends and Feathers

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys!
I don't know how many of you noticed or not, but I posted a random one-shot a few days ago at the time I am posting this chapter. Here's a link to go check it out!

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/376369/the-chaos-witch

It didn’t take very long for the expedition team to finish their hike through the meadows and into the forest atop the plateau overlooking the gorge, and even less long for them to actively scout out any sign of Valkyrie. The only thing really holding anypony back was Spiral Galaxy’s sorrow; having learned that what she believed was helping her was merely acting as a seal for her immense power. She felt like she’d been forced back to square one….But she didn’t have time to worry about that. Right now, they had a griffon to track.

“Did that guy in Yodelneigh tell you what she looked like, Tidal Wave?” Fire Fight asked.

Tidal Wave grimaced when he realized that he neglected to get that one important detail. “Umm…no.”

“Well, heck n’ darn.” Kickback said. “Ah reckon we’ll just hafta look out for a griffon that looks like a hero somehow.”

“She prolly gonna be rockin’ some kinda armor o’ some s***.” Turf War said.

“My concern is this ‘mission’ she was assigned to. Depending on its nature, it may or may not hinder our ability to negotiate with her.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Guess we’ll just have to hope for the best….” Spiral muttered.

The woods weren’t much different from any other forest apart from Everfree, but whereas they eventually sensed a threat, the forest was immediately silent. Shadow Shroud instinctively drew her kunai in response to the sudden shift in atmosphere, and the other foals followed suit. They were used to encountering unexpected beasts at this point, but they were fewer in number despite their upgrades. Suddenly, the treetops began rustling, but there was no immediately detectable movement. They would’ve passed it off as a bunch of squirrels, but the rustling was far too violent for it to anything smaller than an adult pegasus. While no pegasi apart from Tidal Wave turned out to be the source, what did was far worse.

“FOOOOOAAAAAALS!!!” A feathery mass leapt out of the canopy and lunged at them, but Kickback quickly fired his gun just before the entity could get within five feet of them. “<CAAAAAAW!!!>” It fell to the ground in a heap, and the foals could get a good look at it. It was a hideous cross between a monkey and a hawk. It’s hands had talons for fingernails, much of its body was feathered, and its head was that of a twisted avian that looked like it had spawned from Tartarus itself. She staggered to her two legs as she struggled against the electricity inflicted by the bullet.

“Damn! You are one ugly m***********!” Turf War said.

The twisted avian growled loudly. “Insolent children!! We’ll make a stew of your souls!!” She cawed loudly, summoning a whole other flock of her friends.

“WELL HERE! AT LEAST LET ME STOKE THE FIRE FOR YA!!” Fire Fight shouted. He kicked a fire disc at the already downed creature, searing her and setting her feathers on fire. He then finished her off with a flame-charged uppercut that knocked her head back so much that it broke her neck. Another one just then lunged at him with a spear, but he manipulated the flames on the downed one into her, sending her careening to the ground in pain. Fire Fight flip kicked her just before she could fall past him, knocking her out.

“YEE-HAW!!” Kickback was going to town, shooting the feathered demons out of the sky. Their stamina against the shock was impressive, but barely enough to keep them grounded. One of them swiped her claw at him, but he pulled out his whip and wrapped it around her wrist. “Now, that just ain’t very polite none!” He used her momentum to fling her into another one of her kind, and as they tumbled back, he swiftly drew both of his guns and finished with two lightning-fast headshots.

“I DON’T KNOW NUTTIN’ ‘BOUT NO STEW, BUT HOW ‘BOUT SOME MASHED POTATOES!?” Turf War shouted as he swung his hammer clean into the abdomen of one of the creatures, sending it flying into the trunk of a tree. Another one tried to ambush him from the left, but he chopped her side with the axe side of his hammer, sending her right into the ground in agony, and he followed up with a downward slam. He wiped his nose. “AND SOME GRAVY!!”

“<CAAAAAWWW!!!>” One of the creatures swooped down from just above him and swiped her claw at him.

He managed to put his shield up just at the last second, but the feathered fiend simply slid off of it and plopped to the ground beside, clawing down on his cheek as she did. “ARRGGH!!! OH, HELL NO!!!” Turf War exclaimed.

Just before he could shield-bash her, a small meteor crashed into her, sending her flying into the brush beyond. Turf War looked over to see Spiral Galaxy, and her horn was alit with power. She gave him a quick wink before redirecting her power onto a small group of the creatures. “HYAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGHHHHH!!!!!!” Her war cry echoed throughout the forest as she charged and fired a barrage of cosmic bolts at them. Not all of them hit, but it was enough to incite some into crouching down for cover, which Tidal Wave and Shadow Shroud took advantage of.

The lancer and ninja respectively used their spear and kunai to assault the pinned creatures. Tidal Wave jabbed and slashed at them wildly while Shroud cast illusory copies of herself to completely ambush them. Those that weren’t taken down retreated into the bushes. “You’ll regret this, little ponies!!” one of them declared.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep talking yourselves up, you freaks!” Tidal Wave said. He then noticed Spiral crouching down on the ground, clutching her head. He walked up to her. “You ok? That didn’t look easy.”

“<pant> Nrgh! <pant> Y-Yeah….Thanks.” Spiral said as Tidal Wave helped her up. They all then went to check on Turf War. His cheek was bleeding pretty badly from the wound he sustained.

Shadow Shroud pulled out a first aid kit and started wiping off his wound. “Seems your recklessness finally got the better of you.” Once it was clean, she applied some antibiotic serum.

The sting from the antibiotic made Turf War wince a little bit. “Ain’t dat kinda my job, d’ho?”

“It’s technically all of our jobs, dude. Don’t get careless.” Tidal Wave said.

“What were those things anyway? They sure didn’t seem like griffons.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud finished treating Turf War. “I honestly don’t know, but at least they can be dealt with easily.”

“Well, let’s not count r’ chicken b’fore they hatch. Besides, we still gotta find Valkyrie.” Kickback said. Just then, the horde of the hideous avian creatures came flying back through the bushes, and the foals prepared themselves, but the creatures didn’t seem to be regarding them for some reason…

“<CAAAAAAAAWWWWWW!!!!!>” Soaring after them was a female griffonlet their age clad in what could only be described as gilded steel, and wielding a knight’s shield complimented with a one-handed greatsword. Her top, eagle half was a silver-grey with darker spots in some places, and her lower, feline half was a light ebony black. Her eyes were both dark orange, and burning with a warrior’s wrath. “WHO’S UP FIRST!?” She thrust her greatsword forward, speeding her up a little and piecing through the heart of one of the creatures. Before it could fall off her sword, she flung its corpse at another one, staggering it in the air. At this point, they all had their horrific eyes on the griffonlet, but she just responded with a ‘come-get-me’ smile. “Step right up!!”

A trio of them foolishly tried charging them from the front of her, and the griffonlet just swung her greatsword across and hit each of them. She followed up with a series of big slashes and a shield bash to finish. When a bigger horde flew at her, she revealed that her shield was attached to a chain in such a way that she could use it as a flail, which she did. She bobbed and weaved through the air, expertly dodging the creatures’ attacks as she flung her shield into them, and then retracted back to her wrist for bashes followed by graceful slashes and thrusts. One more tried to catch her from below, but she just pulled out a small hammer and smacked it right in the head, sending down in a daze.

“Damn! My girl smoove wit hers, boi!” Turf War said.

The griffonlet looked at him with smug expression. “Oh, you like that, huh?” she said. She swung her sword in a circle above her head, striking another one of the creatures that tried to fall onto her and knocking it hard into a tree. “What can you do?” she asked shrewdly.

Undaunted by the griffonlet’s big attitude, Turf War raised his hammer-axe and swung it into an oncoming fiend. The seismic strike propelled the feathered fury into another, knocking them both out. He then turned around and axed one down, and as a small horde of four of them tried to assault him from behind, he quickly turned around rammed his shield into them and followed up with some shield punches. “How dat!?”

The griffonlet shrugged. “Meh. I guess it’ll do.”

One last horde of the avian abominations suddenly appeared from the treetops and rained down on the foals and griffonlet. Kickback initiated the fight with some well-placed gunfire. He didn’t particularly aim at their heads or wings, but he took each hit he could take; there were too many for him to focus him aim at. “ACCURSED PEA SHOOTERS!!” one of the tried to ambush him from behind, but he just pointed his gun behind at shot her point-blank in the forehead.

Kickback blew the smoke from his guns. “This whole ‘pea-shooters’ nonsense is startin’ to get a mite old.” he said.

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud found themselves surrounded by the creatures, whose claws were ready to slice them into scraps. “YOU’RE JUST WHAT WE NEED FOR OUR CURSE!” one of them said.

“Oh, there’s gonna be a curse alright.” Shroud said as she drew her kamas. “And it’s your blood that’ll be the sacrifice!” She looked to her fiery companion. “I trust you’ll provide the pyre?”

Fire Fight ignited his horn and gauntlets. “Watch me!” Either foal lunged into opposite directions to strike the wall of creatures. Fire Fight flew into a sidekick that hit one of the creatures square in the abdomen. The subsequent burst of flames allowed him to backflip off of it and hurl down three fire discs down at the ground toward others. The creatures managed to avoid the flames, but Fire Fight redirected them at some of the horde, roasting them. However, his concentration was interrupted when he was suddenly lifted from the ground! “WHA-!?” He looked up to see that he was being held in the feet of one of the creatures. Thinking quickly, he blasted fire into its face, causing it to stagger in the air, but it managed to hang on to him. Fire Fight then head-butted its ankle, causing it to let go, and he used what leverage he could gain to throw himself up at its face, which he blasted with fire once more. He grabbed it by the waist and brought it down; its body cushioned his fall. One last creature tried to swipe at him, which he blocked and followed up with an uppercut and multiple aerial roundhouse kicks that sent it tumbling in a heap. “Fire in the sky, anypony?”

Meanwhile, Shadow Shroud blocked and dodged a flurry of strikes from all around her with her kamas. She followed up each block with a counter swipe; this continued for a moment before she had enough room to throw a smoke bomb down onto the ground, blinding and choking the creatures, leaving them easy prey for Shadow Shroud to decapitate. When the smoke cleared, all that was left were corpses of the creatures, some with their heads severed, and Shadow Shroud folded and sheathed her kamas. “Not quite chickens, but their heads are cut off.” She sneered.

Spiral Galaxy and Tidal Wave were faced with swarm coming from in front of them, but the cosmic filly had a little ace up her sleeve. “Tidal Wave, hold your spear up!”

“U-Umm, okay.” Tidal Wave did as asked, and Spiral used her magic to charge Tidal Wave’s spear with cosmic energy, giving it a ferocious sheen that caused the creatures to cover their eyes. “Whoa! Thanks, Spiral!” he said. He poised his spear as he gave the creatures a snarl. “BETTER BRACE YOURSELVES!!”

“OH, THEY WILL!” Spiral shouted. She conjured up a gravity field around the creatures, holding them down in place so that Tidal Wave could go to town with his spear. He slashed and thrust his charged spear at them, which had enough power to pierce and slice through them like butter, and they dropped like flies.

“Nice trick!” Tidal Wave said.

Spiral lifted her gravity field. “Thanks! I can’t believe that actually worked!”

One last creature was left, and it was doing a good job of holding its own against the griffonlet. It was surprisingly much stronger than the rest of its brethren, and it was able to parry away the greatsword with its bare claw. But the griffonlet just maintained her devious smile as she swung strong and dexterously. “FINALLY! A CHALLENGE!” she said. The creature took a swipe with its claw, but the griffonlet blocked it with her shield, and then let her shield hang by its chain before flailing it at her opponent. It ducked under the shield, leaving the griffonlet the opening she needed to power swing it upward with her greatsword. The creature cawed out in pain as it fumbled backward, and just as it about to fall on its butt, Turf War finished the job by swinging his axe down onto its head.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I thought we coulda buried da hatchet! HAHA!! WHAT!?” Turf War shouted.

The griffonlet victoriously wiped her beak after she sheathed her armaments. “HAHA! What a bunch of losers!” she said as she shoved a corpse out of the way.

Based on the description that Aesir gave him, Tidal Wave knew that this had to be the one. She even had the golden talisman that was shown in Aesir’s book. “Are you Valkyrie?”

The griffonlet brushed her feathers back as if to present herself. “The one and only, dude! In the flesh.” She then waved her talon. “Now, now. Save the applause. I haven’t finished my little clean-up job yet.”

“Clean-up job? You mean these….things? What are they anyway?” Fire Fight asked.

Valkyrie suddenly dropped the cool act and narrowed her eyes. “Harpies. They’re an evil offshoot race of us griffons. I guess you can say they're like what the Changelings used to be before that whole charade with…..Star Gleam, or whatever her name was, but they want to take over the realm by spreading plagues and curses that they haven’t perfected yet, and they’ll do some pretty nasty stuff to try and do so. They’ll abduct animals and even people to make stew out of if it means practicing their dark ways.” She explained. “I guess these were all just grunts, because most Harpies I’ve heard about actually use evil magic.”

The foals found themselves quite surprised at the explanation. Changelings had been feared since their existence was made known, but they had never once heard of these ‘Harpies’. The fact that they haven’t probably meant that they’ve been operating more discreetly then their new insectoid friends. “Ms. Quantum Tech probably knows about ‘em.” Kickback said.

“Well….I hate to impose, but if you’re gonna be done soon, my friends and I actually need your help.” Fire Fight said.

“Pfft! And what could I possibly do for a bunch of ponies?” Valkyire asked.

Fire Fight just shrugged off her rude comment and got to the point. “Well, there’s this portal on top of the Great Horn Summit just over there that leads somewhere close to Griffonstone, but it needs both a pony and a griffon in order to activate it. We heard that you were out here, so we thought you could spare us a moment.”

Valkyrie chuckled heartily. “You seriously want me to waste my time- wait, hold on! You mean the one that connects to the Asgard Forest?”

“Uhh…yeah, why?” Fire Fight asked.

“That thing seriously still works?” Valkyrie asked.

“According to….an acquaintance of ours, yeah.” Fire Fight said.

“Wow….Color me surprised….” Valkyrie said. “But still, I gotta clean out an entire lair of Harpies. I have no time to waste on you guys. Sorry.” She said sarcastically.

“Well, then…..why don’t we help you? You’d be going back to Griffonstone anyway, right?” Spiral said.

“Pfft! What!?” Valkyrie had to laugh a little before calming herself down. “Sorry, sorry. Look, you guys are good and all, but my ancestor is freakin’ Siegfried. Siegfried! You seriously think I can’t handle some stupid pansies like these guys?”

Shadow Shroud rolled her eye. “Modest, aren’t we?” she sassed.

“Ugh. Valkyrie, we-” Fire Fight was going to speak, but Turf War stopped him.

“I got this, playuh.” He said. “Yo, I gotch you. You gotta be somethin’ big, I’m talkin’ ‘bout BIG back yo’ crib. A descendent o’ Siegfried!? What!? Man, I can’t blame d’ese Harpies fo’ being like ‘oh s***!’ when d’hey see yo’ big a** sword swingin’. Let me jus’ say dat my homies an’ I kinda a big deal right now too, a’ight. Trust dat. I mean, damn! If we told y’all ‘bout some o’ the b****es we bashed, I think you’d believe me. You said we was good already, right?”

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. “Uh…..seriously?”

“Fo’ real, homegirl! Y’all want us to prove it? 10 bits says we can bust more harpies outta da sky than you! If Siegfried really yo’ great-great-great-great granddaddy, than you’d show us up b’fore we even got started, right?”

Valkyrie was visibly affected by Turf War’s taunt and walked up to him. “Oh! You’re on, punk!”

The two forcefully shook hooves….and talons…..as they sealed the deal. “BAM!” Turf War interjected.

“And once you lose, I’ll just let you keep those 10 bits out of pity. Sound good?” Valkyrie taunted.

Turf War nodded. “Uh-huh. But I’ll be willing to slide you a handicap in case yo’ worried.” Valkyrie just bore her teeth at him in response. “No? Okay. But we still need you fo’ dat portal joint. I mean like Spiral said, you’d be goin’ home anyway, so it’s a win-win.”

Valkyrie shrugged. “Mm. Yeah, you got a point. I kinda wanna try it out anyway!” Valkyrie then walked away and motioned for them to follow. “This way!”

Turf War’s comrades looked at him in both worry and awe. “Ehh…..Nice going?” Spiral said hesitantly.

“When you dealing with somepony who got a head bigger than d’hey head, you gotta inflate it a li’l more ‘til it pops, y’all know how I mean?” Turf War said.

Shroud giggled deviously. “I’m impressed. Although, I hope she actually focuses on her mission and not worry so much about this bet.”

“Either way, she said she’d help us with the portal, so we’ll just have to roll with it. C’mon, guys.” Fire Fight said. While Valkyrie wasn’t exactly the easiest person to talk to, the foals couldn’t complain about their agreement with her, especially if it meant another little adventure….

Cold Winds

“Hmm…..I see…. So if these two emit this form of magical waves, then……yes, then their resonance signature could be identified as……Mmhm, thought so. Therefore…..<sigh> Whoever crafted this security system was far from a novice.” Quantum Tech was fiddling around with the magic lock crystals on the portal.

“You are still trying to surpass this mechanism?” Quantum looked over to see Zebota walking into the room with her. “You would be wise to learn a little patience, Quantum Tech. I have faith that Valkyrie will be with us in due time.”

“Perhaps, but a failsafe is never a burden to have, Zebota.” Quantum said. “I have no doubt that our friends will succeed, but I doubt that nature will be so willing to continuously grant us her favor.”

“Nature does not grant one her favor, but opportunities that one must work for. Whatever or whoever seizes those opportunities first are those that survive in her care.” Zebota said. He then pulled out a small bottle containing a dark-purple liquid and handed it to Quantum. “Here. Take this. You have been working very hard, and it is not healthy to replenish yourself after so much labor. I have concocted this brew from herbs of my homeland; it will awaken any vitals that have grown weary.”

Quantum took the bottle and curiously examined it. “Hmm! Well, thank you, Zebota.” She took a sip of the brew. It tasted….something like grassy dark chocolate that hadn’t been sweetened. The bitter taste made her cringe a little, but she could almost instantly feel it take effect. She suddenly felt like she’d just woken up from a long, relaxing nap. “My word!”

“It will not actually wake you up per se, but it only balances your internal clock. So do not substitute it for real sleep.” Zebota explained.

Quantum giggled. “Doctor’s order, I suppose.” She took another sip of her drink. “Where’s Shrapnel anyway?”

“He is napping just outside the courtyard doors. Once our friends return, he will travel down the mountain again to retrieve them and hopefully, Valkyrie.” Zebota said.

“But…how will he know that they’ll be there?” Quantum asked.

“He should be able to sense the presence of Tidal Wave’s water crystal just as he perceives my brooch.” Zebota explained.

“Talk about a sixth sense! <giggle>” Quantum joked. “I just hope they succeed. I cannot wait to visit the Asgard Forest!”

Zebota frowned a little. “About that, Quantum Tech….You said that this forest is where the griffons bury their ‘honored’ dead, yes?”

Quantum nodded. “That is so. Griffons that held a high place in their history or even just their culture altogether are laid to rest there.”

Zebota shook his head. “That makes no sense. All things that are born live and die all the same. To presume that one life holds priority over another is an insult to the natural order.”

Quantum was a little taken aback by his statement. “Zebota, wouldn’t you want to be remembered when your time comes?”

“My only wish is that my remains nourish the recycling earth as they are meant to. To want something out of death would be mad.” Zebota said. “I will never scorn those who wish to mourn their dearly departed, but once a life is lost, it is lost forever. There is no reason to treat them as though they are still alive.”

“Zebota! That’s just awful! What about your parents? They taught you everything you know and protected you from Shrapnel before…..the rest happened. Surely you miss them dearly!” Quantum said.

Zebota frowned further and lowered his head in sorrow. “I-I do, but…..I cannot allow my grief to hold me back. They are no longer here for me. It is only Shrapnel and I along with all of you. All we can ever do is move forward.”

“Well….. Yes, I suppose you're right, but….what about what we leave behind when we depart? Why do you think we leave wills for our families? What would you want for Shrapnel if you were to die right this moment?” Quantum said.

Zebota sighed. “I have nothing to give to him, save for his freedom, and I can only pray that he would prosper wherever he goes.”

“I’m sure he could, given what a mighty creature he is, but he’ll spend the rest of his life with the memory of a master with whom he shared a beautiful friendship, memories that will encourage him to move forward with a clear mind and strong heart, because he knows that you would want that.” Quantum said. “Zebota….it’s true that death truly is the end, but as I’m sure you’re aware, death makes room for new life, and that can come in a plethora of forms. Those honored dead buried in Asgard, they impacted their people so much that they influenced the very future that they would build together. Their deaths are honored, because their lives were honored.” She put her hoof on his shoulder. “Wouldn’t you want us to go on with the memories you’ve given us? Wouldn’t….you miss me if I were gone?”

Zebota just stared at her. Letting her words sink in, he knew she was right. Was he just running away from his own grief? Had he forgotten what it meant to love in favor of embracing the cruelty of nature? Either way, Quantum Tech’s innocent yet wise eyes nearly brought his to tears as he began to regret his cold attitude. That, and….he would miss her. They were polar opposites, yet they’re ordeal in the ruins of the Fallen proved that they were far from enemies. The mystic zebra couldn’t help but to crease a smile. “Yes…..Quantum Tech….Thank you.”

She took her hoof back. “Of course, darling.”

Zebota felt the need to ask her something. “Would…you miss me if I were gone?”

“Darling! Without question! I don’t think I’ve met a more fascinating character in my life.” Quantum said. She too was suddenly reminded of their adventure underground, and couldn’t help but to chuckle a little despite the horrors they had to endure together. “Well, I’m going to take a little nap. I’m quite tired.”

“Ok. I suppose I should check on Shrapnel.” Zebota said. As he walked towards the door and Quantum walked over to her mech to fetch her bedroll, they couldn’t help but to feel an unknown warmth build up as they parted ways.

*****

Air Slash had just woken up from another nap. His throat still felt scratchy, but his head felt much cooler and not as heavy. He had to sneeze a couple times, but he felt like he could walk around. That’s when Greensprout entered the room. “Oh! I didn’t think you’d get up so soon.”

Air Slash took a deep breath. “Yes. I think you’re elixirs have proven more effective than expected, Greensprout.” He had to sniffle. “I feel quite refreshed.”

“Good! I was expecting you to make a recovery by the end of the day. How are you feeling?” Greensprout said.

Air Slash had to let out a little cough. “My throat burns a tid, but I feel as though I’m fighting it all off.”

“Then, I’ll brew you some herbal tea with honey, ok?” Greensprout said. Air Slash happily nodded as he laid down on his bed roll. As Greensprout went over to a little brewing pot she set up and started making his tea, he couldn’t help but to steal glances at her. Even under the dim light of the temple’s torches, he could clearly see that one thing didn’t change about her: she was shiningly beautiful, and her benevolent spirit almost tangibly emanated from her. Just being within her presence was a comfort to the normally alert and prideful samurai, and to think that she would take the time to care for him in his state was the icing on the cake. He had been used to the many hardships that came with living as a warrior, but Greensprout’s peaceful lifestyle and respect for existence itself gave the feeling of being cradled by a loving mother. Air Slash found himself blushing furiously as he thought about the more notable moments he’d spent with her, such as when he first laid eyes on her, the chat they had on the way to Ghastly Gorge, and especially when he comforted her in the ruins of the Fallen after her temper tantrum. He knew he should express his feelings sooner or later, but how would she react? She was a monk, and thus of a more pure heart. For all he knew, she probably wasn’t even allowed to have such relationships! Would she resent him for trying to get her to overstep such boundaries? The last thing he wanted was a wedge between them.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Greensprout walked up to him with the tea in hoof. “Here you go, Air Slash.”

“Oh! Uh…Th-Thank you, Greensprout.” He stammered as she set it down in front of him.

“Hmm?” She suddenly had a concerned expression and put her hoof on his forehead. “Are you sure you’re feeling ok? You looked a little red for a second.”

“D-Did I? Well, I…..I do feel better. Perhaps it was just the light?” Air Slash said.

Greensprout giggled. “Of course. You must be fine if you’re able to act as funny as you do.” Air Slash perked up a little upon hearing that, and smiled. “Well, I think I should go check on the others outside. Enjoy your tea!”

“Y-Yeah….Thanks.” Air Slash said. As she walked out of the room, he took a sip of his tea. It was calming, peaceful, sweet, and gentle on his throat, much like she was. If only holding her was as easy as holding the cup of tea she had brewed. He sighed heavily and mumbled to himself. “Greensprout….”

*****

Out in the cold, bitter winds of the courtyard where a cacophony of dead silence resounded, Shrapnel slept just outside the doors where there was warmth from the torches. Zebota had just come out to check on him. However, the only sound that could pierce the silence was the fierce whistle of arrows flying through the air as they struck set up targets.

Bullseye endured the frigid winds to blow off some steam on targets and practice dummies. When she wasn’t cussing out the first pony that set her off or on a murderous rampage, her inherent anger was sublimated into pure focus, focus that she used to perfect critical shots with her bow. Each arrow she shot at the targets carried leaves of the ugly plant that was her hatred for her parents. If she couldn’t inflict unimaginable pain on them as they died a gory death, then she’d just have let it go on whatever she could fire her arrows into. Though, it wasn’t as satisfying if the target wasn’t alive, and therefore capable of feeling pain, pain she yearned to bring to those that have or would hurt her.

She was down to her last normal arrow before she’d have to go retrieve them, and she focused her aim on the dummy’s head, where all of her other arrows had hit. Her good eye squinted as she adjusted her aim accordingly to the wind speed and direction. With her arrow totally nocked back and aimed properly, she was ready to fire…

<GOOOOOONNNGGGG!!!>

“<GASP!> F***!!” Bullseye jumped at the sudden blast of noise, causing her to lose her focus and fire her arrow way to the left into an ice wall. Shrapnel too was shocked awake by the noise as he and a very pissed off Bullseye scanned around for the source. “What the hell!?”

When she looked to a little ways to the right of her targets, she saw Crazylocks standing in front of a gong. “MY CRAVINGS FOR GRASS BONES CAN CURED WITH SALT ROCKS!!” She banged her head into the gong, causing it to resound again. “IF YOU CAN’T EAT PIE IN THE RAIN, DON’T SPEAK ANY SPANISH AT ALL!!” <GONG!!> “WOULD YOU LIKE FRIES WITH YOUR KIDNEYS, SIR!?” <GONG!!> “I ONCE HEARD THAT BIRDS COULD FLY!! WHO KNEW?!” <GONG!!> “DON’T WORRY!! I HAVE BASIC TRAINING IN VENOM TASTING!!” <GONG!!> “AND THEN I SAID ‘MY BOYFRIEND IS FROM PLANET FLURPLE, SO HE KNOWS WHEN TO THROW BOTTLES OF BRICK JUICE AT YOUR NEIGHBOR’S POOL GUY!!” She began cackling maniacally as she started repeatedly smashing her head into the gong.

Shrapnel began calmly walked over to her, but Bullseye’s blood was boiling. Why couldn’t this demented filly just learn to shut up? Bullseye threw her bow down into the snow in frustration and marched over to Crazylocks, paying Shrapnel no heed. She pulled Crazylocks back from the gong by her pigtails. “CRAZYLOCKS!!!”

The manic filly faced her, her expression completely oblivious to the wrath she’d incurred. “Hi, Bullseye! Are you here for centennial Gong Gala too!?”

Bullseye let go of her mane. “YEAH! BECAUSE I DON’T THINK YOU GOT THE MESSAGE THAT IT GOT CANCELLED! FOR GOOD!”

“Oh, right! I was supposed to go to the-”

“NO! NO STUPID, MADE-UP PARTIES OF WHAT-THE-HELL-EVER ARE HAPPENING! SO JUST SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!” Bullseye shouted.

“<Gasp!> Bullseye! For shame! You know that would be against the Crazylocks Code of Conduct! How would you like it if I forced you break your-”

“SHUT. YOUR DAMN. MOUTH!!!” Bullseye just wasn’t having it. She had to catch her breath from all of her shouting. “Don’t b******* us either. We know you’re more aware than you let on, so quit acting like you were born yesterday.”

Shrapnel huffed at Bullseye. “He says ‘Do not presume her to be any better or worse than you, Blood Cupid’.” Crazylocks said.

Bullseye eyed him. “F*** off, twig face. We’re nothing alike!”

“But didn’t you have gophers for cousins too?” Crazylocks blurted. “There’s lots we could talk about! My grandpa used to put stuff in pickle juice just before he played with me; I was always screaming with joy when that happened! What would your parents do? What are parents anyway? Are they as fun as burpenheimars say they are?”

“The wha- Huh?....UGH! You know what, why am I even having this conversation with you!? Your just a stupid, mutant freak who can’t tell the difference between a blade of grass and a f****** dinner roll!!” Bullseye shouted.

Crazylocks suddenly made an angry face. “AND YOU’RE A PURPLE SYRUP BEAR THAT NEVER EARNED HER UNICYCLE! HMPH!” she walked off with her head held high as though she were posh. “And I thought we were explosion buddies!” She found a mound of snow and started hitting it as if she was playing a piano.

As Bullseye gritted her teeth, eyeing Crazylocks angrily, Shrapnel nudged her. “What?” she demanded. Shrapnel gently raised his claw and lightly tapped her left temple. “Ack! Why you- What about my damn eye? I already told Ms. Hippie not to touch it.” Shrapnel growled as his eyes seemed to narrow. He turned his head to look at Crazylocks, and he let out a small whimper. His expression softened a little as he did. Bullseye looked back and forth between the manic filly and the wooden titan, but whatever he was trying to convey that Crazylocks wasn’t translating was flying right over her head. “Eh, like I care anyway.” She hissed.

Shrapnel shook his head like a disapproving master unhappy with his apprentice, and went back to his napping spot.

As he did, Bullseye noticed a rock that was a little smaller than a baseball beside her and picked it up. A malicious smile spread across her face as she happened to look at Crazylocks. “Hey, Crazylocks!” The manic filly looked back at her just as she threw the rock at her. “Play with this!” Her throwing arm was as deadly accurate as her marksmanship, because it hit Crazylocks square in the face, knocking her to the ground. “Tch.” Bullseye wiped her nose.

“BULLSEYE!!” The angsty archer turned towards the backdoors to see Greensprout standing there, and much to Bullseye’s shock, she actually had an angry expression. The motherly monk ran over to Crazylocks, who looked like she was actually sobbing. She helped her to her hooves, and sure enough, the normally insane girl was genuinely crying from pain. Her forehead was bleeding a little from the rock, but Greensprout took care of that easily with her Gaia Root.

Greensprout walked Crazylocks over to Bullseye, and she didn’t look any happier with her. Crazylocks was still crying a little, and she seemed rather fearful to approach Bullseye. “Does your cruelty know no bounds, Bullseye!? Crazylocks has done NOTHING to you, and yet you’d have the gall to harm her just to satisfy your frustration!?”

Bullseye was nervous enough have the normally soft-spoken Greensprout yell at her, but…..something about Crazylocks’s expression….made her nerves rattle. The tears rolling down her eyes, those cowering eyes that begged for forgiveness of whatever horrible sin she might have committed….. For some reason, it almost looked natural on her, as if the façade she’d been putting on had just unveiled itself, and Bullseye found it….eerily familiar, to a point that she…..actually felt bad. “I-I……didn’t…..think it would……actually hurt her….” she muttered.

“Well, it did.” Greensprout softened her tone somewhat. “And I hope you-”

<HOOOOOOWWWWWWWL!!!!!>

"What is it now, ya mutt?” Bullseye said as she turned to Shrapnel. However, the arborous beast simply tilted it’s head in confusion.

“B-Bullseye…..I-I don’t think that was Shrapnel….” Greensprout stammered.

Crazylocks happened to look up, and she spotted something standing on a cliff high above them! “Look! Up there!” They all looked up to see an ambiguous silhouette with two gleaming yellow eyes piecing into their souls. It let out the very same haunting, otherworldly howl before leaping off the cliff and falling towards them!

What Jewel?

In Yodelneigh...

Twilight and Sky Strike were led by the two natives of Yodelneigh to their sky-high home atop the Smokey Mountains. While the sights were as breathtaking as ever, neither of the tourists were in any mindset for sightseeing; they wanted to see Aesir. Their guides led them to a building marked as the Yodelneigh Archives.

“Well, here’s the place.” The stallion.

“And….sorry in advance about Aesir. The old coot’s a little….eccentric.” the griffon said.

“Thank you, sirs!” Twilight said. With that, their guides went their separate ways while she and Sky Strike entered the old building. The interior gave Twilight a very nostalgic feeling as it very much reminded her of Golden Oaks before it was destroyed by Tirek. Painful as the memories of her former home being obliterated might have been, the sight of shelves lined with books and even scrolls waiting to be read was always welcome.

Sky Strike couldn’t help but to notice that there were four pegasus foals doing various tasks around the library, such as sweeping the floors, organizing the shelves, dusting, etc… He couldn’t help but to think of Tidal Wave helping him with housework when they were both home. However, he managed to swallow his sorrow for a moment and speak to them. “Hey, there! Is Aesir here?”

The foals looked up at them, as though they had just noticed them come in. “Huh? Oh, yeah. He’s in the bathroom right now. He should be right out.” One of the two colts said.

It was then that one of the fillies noticed that one of their guests was particularly special and gasped. “Princess Twilight!?” She ran up to her with her face beaming. “Is that really you!?”

Twilight smiled as the filly and her three friends approached them. “I sure am! You four look like you’re working really hard for Mr. Aesir.”

“Yeah… We kinda owe it to him.” The other cold said. “So, who’s this guy, your bodyguard?”

“Or your prince-to-be?” the other filly teased.

“No, no, no. I’m just a guard from Cloudsdale.” Sky Strike said. “I came looking for my son, and-”

“What’s all the ruckus over there? Yer not slackin’ off on me now, are ya!?” They heard a voice call from the back, and they all looked over. From behind a bookshelf came an elderly male griffon. “Ye better not be makin’ any mess- huh?” He the noticed Twilight and excitedly walked up to her. “Siegfried’s feathers! Am I as drunk as sailor on salty lantern oil, r’ is the Princess o’ Friendship standin’ in me library!?”

“Probably both….” One of the fillies snarked.

“Ehh! Who asked ya!?” the griffon huffed. He grabbed Twilight’s hoof and hurriedly shook it, reminding the alicorn of when she first met Applejack. “Name’s Aesir, Yer Highness! SO honored to have ya come by!” He let go, leaving the surprised princess shaking her own hoof until Sky Strike stopped it. “Had an itch to learn some griffon history and legends, have ya? Well, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve got records of everything from the dawn of griffon civilization to the first kings, the formation of the Council of Norn, the legends of the mighty Siegfried, and the last time me wife told me she loved me!! BAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!”

Not even a minute into their introduction, and Twilight almost swore she had just met Pinkie’s distant great-uncle. Those guys weren’t kidding when they said he was eccentric, but at least he seemed friendly. “Ehh….Y-Yes! Hehe….Thank you, Aesir.” Twilight stammered before she regained her composure. “Actually, we’re here to ask you about a colt you recently met.”

Aesir tilted his head. “Ehh?”

“It’s my son, Tidal Wave. We were told that you met with a blue pegasus colt yesterday. Was it him?” Sky Strike asked.

“Yer son, eh? Well, sorry there, lad. Never met any ‘Tidal Wave’ b’fore. But yer not wrong that I bumped into a foal like ya mentioned, but his name was Aquabolt.” Aesir said. “Yer not from around here, are ya? What makes ya think yer wee lad’s runnin’ ‘round here?”

Sky Strike sighed as he looked like he was about to cry. “He…..well…..”

Twilight put her hoof on his shoulder. “He ran away from home, sir.” She said.

“Ran away, you say!?” Aesir exclaimed. Twilight explained the whole ordeal with Fire Fight and the many other runaway foals that had recently occurred. She even showed him a newspaper detailing their disappearances. “Oh, knickers…..what a day n’ age…..” he muttered. “I’m so sorry, lad.” He said to Sky Strike.

“Thank you….” Sky Strike muttered. “You’re sure it wasn’t my son?” He showed the elderly avian a picture of Tidal Wave, and Aesir’s eyes bulged out in shock.

“WAIT JUST A SEA DOG’S MINUTES! THIS IS HIM!” Aesir exclaimed.

“WHAT!? YOU’RE POSITIVE!?” Sky Strike exclaimed.

Aesir nodded. “Aye! Positive as the ocean’s breeze brings her salty taste to the land! He musta told me a phony name to hide his identity, clever li’l tyke.”

“Could…..you show us, please?” one of the colts said.

“Oh, sure.” Sky Strike said. He showed the four pegasus foals the picture of Tidal Wave, and sure enough, they recognized him. “Yeah, I remember seeing him with the old griffon.”

Aesir eyed them authoritatively. “Just seein’ him, is it?” he said interrogatively. All four foals bore expressions of guilt, and Aesir relieved his stern face. “These four’ve been li’l trouble faeries ‘round town fer some time now. Any sort o’ raccoon in yer trash bags, rats in yer garden, graffiti on yer walls, all o’ that la-di-doo, probably them.” He explained. “But not too long ago, they came here sayin’ they wanted to turn over a new feather, so they offered to help tidy up me library here.”

“Yeah….. We were especially bad to you….” One of the fillies said.

“Bullies, huh? Well, you better be glad that Aesir was willing to be merciful.” Sky Strike said sternly, causing the foals to quiver a little.

“Now, now, Sky Strike.” Twilight said. She faced the foals with a calm expression. “That’s so good of you four. I’m sure everypony….and griffon in Yodelneigh will appreciate your new honesty. What made you decide to change?”

The foals lightened up after hearing Twilight console them. “It was when we ran into this guy’s son again, and…..well……okay, I won’t pull any punches. We jumped him and started giving him a hard time.” One of the colts said.

“Because of course you did!! I bet it was his wings, huh!? WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT-”

“Sky Strike!” Twilight said.

“Easy, lad.” Aesir said. He then looked at the former bullies. “Keep ‘er goin’.”

“W-Well….he suddenly used that…jewel he was wearing to make a bunch of water from the lake blast out and blow us into the cliff wall.” One of the filly explained.

“I think we almost drowned.” The filly commented.

Sky Strike cocked his eyebrow in confusion. “Uh…..he doesn’t wear any jewelry.”

The foals looked back at him in surprise. “Huh? But….he did! He wore that….weird blue necklace that glowed when he made that water tornado.” One of the colts said.

“You saw it too, right, Aesir?” the other colt asked.

Aesir nodded. “Aye! He had it on when he visited me library.” He said. “Wonder why I never asked him ‘bout it….”

“But….you didn’t know?” one of the fillies asked Sky Strike.

Sky Strike shook his head. “No! I’ve never seen him where anything like that! And he’s certainly never been able to control water before. I mean, he can swim in it, sure, but he’s not a unicorn.” He said. His expression suddenly turned frustrated again. “Are you four just lying so you can look like you were as much as victims as he was? Huh!?”

“N-No! It’s the truth! Ask our parents! We were drenched!” the other filly plead.

“Sky Strike, calm down.” Twilight said. “I know you’ve dealt with your son being bullied before, but now’s not the time.”

Sky Strike sighed. “Yeah….sorry….”

Twilight then faced the foals. “What happened then?”

“He looked about as shocked as we were, and then he just jumped into the lake and swam away.” One of the colts explained.

“I guess that power was new to him.” One of the fillies theorized. She then looked at Sky Strike. “How’d he get wings like that anyway? I mean…..if I can ask.”

“W-Well….” Sky Strike was stammering for words. “His mom……..Look, I don’t know, alright! It just sort of….happened. I don’t how, but it did.”

Twilight gently patted him on the shoulder before turning to Aesir. “Now then, what was he doing with you, Aesir?”

“Well, he came ‘round sayin’ that he was doin’ a school report about griffons n’ ponies livin’ together, so I brought the lad here n’ give him an earful o’ legends about the mighty Siegfried.” Aesir explained.

“Oh! I think I’ve read about him! He’s the one that ultimately defeated the Arimapsi, right?” Twilight said.

“Aye, lass! The world told Siegfried to sit still, BUT HE GOT OFF HIS FEATHERY ARSE N’ WHACKED THE WORLD RIGHT OVER THE HEAD WITH HIS MAMA’S SKILLET!! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!” Aesir coughed and sputtered profusely from his laughing fit, but quickly regained his composure. “Whoo! Sorry, there.” He said. “Anyway, it looks like Tidal Wave played this ol’ sea dog like a fair maiden’s fiddle.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt you.” Twilight said.

Aesir shook he head and smiled. “Not at all, lass. If ya find him, tell him he’s welcome to pay his ol’ buddy, Aesir a visit. No hard feelin’s."

“Did he say he was going anywhere?” Sky Strike asked.

“Well, I said he could find a griffonlet named Valkyrie at Gallopin’ Gorge. She’s a descendent o’ Siegfried, so I figured he could get strike a gold mine o’ material fer his fake research project and directed him to her.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Aesir. Sorry this caused you some trouble.”

“Oh, don’t be, lass. If anything, those foals r’ the ones that r’ troubled.” Aesir said. “The second ya stop showin’ someone love is the second they stop lovin’, and if they’re away from love fer too long….”

“You end up like us…” one of the fillies finished.

“Yeah. Our families never really got to or sometimes even didn’t want to spend time with us, so…” the other filly started.

“All that stupid stuff we did was purely for attention. I guess we got pretty desperate, huh?” One of the colts said.

The other colt nodded. “We liked to pick on Aesir, because everypony likes him, us too. He’s the life of the whole town even if he’s an old griffon who can’t fly.”

“Hey now!” Aesir said. He leaned in towards them. “That’s just the angels tellin’ me they’re not quite ready for me yet. Heheheheheheeeee!!!”

Sky Strike laughed. “Let’s hope that’s not for a while!”

Aesir caught his breath and cleared his throat. “Alright, then. I better not keep ya any longer. Best o’ luck out there.” He turned to Sky Strike. “And son, the best thing you can do right now is have faith in yer lad. All wasting yer time worryin’ is gonna do is waste time findin' n' gettin’ him back safe.”

Sky Strike nodded. “Right. Thanks for being so nice to him, Aesir.”

“Sure thing, lad.” He said.

Twilight turned to the foals. “And you four remember that even if you ever feel alone, it’s easy to see that you have each other.”

The foals looked at each other for a moment, and then smiled before sharing a group hug. “Yeah, you’re right.” One of the fillies said.

With that, Twilight and Sky Strike bid the reformed bullies and the kooky old avian farewell. As Celestia’s sun began its decent into evening, Sky Strike’s tension began to alleviate as he was more confident about finding his son.

Deep in the Heart of the Gorge

Valkyrie led Fire Fight’s group through the forest just before the gorge itself. It seemed that the harpies from earlier had learned their lesson, because no more had come to attack them. However, that didn’t stop Valkyrie from continuing to boast about her strength and heritage much to the foals’ annoyance. Her bet with Turf War seemed to cause her to target him especially, which he took rather well, having dealt with big egos before.

A few more stories about eating contests and earning medals later, the foals and griffonlet finally happened upon Galloping Gorge. It was….more a of crater-like dip in the landscape surrounded by cliffs rather than a canyon like Ghastly Gorge, but there was a clear, albeit steep stone path down. At the bottom were very few trees surrounded by some patches of grass, but there was mostly dirt and gravel making up its floor. “So, uh….where are the harpies? This place looks pretty barren.” Fire Fight asked.

“There should be a cave entrance hidden behind some rocks somewhere around the walls. If I recall, it should be….somewhere on the northern side.” Valkyrie said. “But don’t lower your guard. This place is a little more active than it looks, and I’m not just talking about the harpies.”

“If the flora at the base of this gorge is any indication, than there must be water running underground here. I can see why your estranged cousins chose to inhabit this place.” Shadow Shroud said.

Tidal Wave suddenly felt an urge from his water jewel pulse throughout his body. “Huh?” Just like back in the submerged tunnels within the Great Horn Summit, he could suddenly perceive the locations and flow of moving and still bodies of water below the surface. “Yeah, you’re right. It looks like most of it is in the northern part of the gorge, so I’d say Valkyrie’s recalling right.”

“How y’all know dat?” Turf War asked.

“My amulet is showing me. This thing’s handier than I thought!” Tidal Wave said. But he then thought back to the bullies in Yodelneigh that he nearly drowned upon discovering just how ‘handy’ his new trinket really was….

“Just be careful with it, ok? Don’t wanna overflow with power and cause more problems, right?” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Hehe. ‘Overflow’. I see what you did there…” Tidal Wave said, hiding his shallow anxiety.

Spiral let out a little giggle. “I’m serious, Tidal Wave.” She said as she pointed to her horn.

“Ah reckon we can worry about stuff like that when we’re cleanin’ out the chicken coop. C’mon, y’all.” Kickback said. Valkyrie spread her wings and flew down into the gorge, circumventing the path before them. Tidal Wave followed suit, but simply glided down. The others carefully trotted down and met up with them momentarily. When they got down there, Tidal Wave was holding out his spear like a dowsing rod as he began more closely scanning the area where he detected the higher concentration of groundwater.

“Have you been here before, Valkyrie?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Valkyrie shook her head. “No. I’ve only been shown a few maps. One of them detailed the reported entrance to the harpies’ lair.”

“Least we ain’t gotta worry ‘bout d’hem bein’ hella tough, right?” Turf War said.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh yourself while you can, hammer-boy.” Valkyrie scoffed. “I’ll chop up so many more than you, you couldn’t even count how high!”

“Alright, alright!” Fire Fight said. “Let’s just head over to that wall and see if we’re right, so save the friendly rivalry for later.” Turf War and Valkyrie exchanged determined glares as Fire Fight turned around towards the northern section of the gorge.

Kickback grimaced a little as they all followed him. “This is gonna get a li’l ugly…” he said. The gorge itself was about as silent as the forest above it, except the evil presence of the harpies felt more prevalent, especially since they actually knew that they were here. Looking up at the sheer rock walls preventing them from making any quick escapes, it almost felt as if they were slowly being swallowed, and they hadn’t even entered, much less uncovered the entrance to the lair. Shadow Shroud noticed that there were apples growing on the few trees that grew in the gorge, and had some edible mushrooms surrounding them, so she took the liberty of harvesting them as they continued.

When they reached the northernmost part of the gorge’s base, there was a large ovular boulder leaning against the wall that was about as big as a door entrance to a throne room one might see in a castle, such as the ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. Knowing that she was the one for the job, Spiral took a deep breath. “Ok. Stand back, guys.” She said as she shined her horn. Fire Fight lit his horn as well, and the two unicorns easily managed to move the large rock quite a ways away. What was revealed to be behind was….a little surprising.

“Da f***?” Turf War said. Exposed to Celestia’s sun was indeed a cave entrance, but it had a stone-carved gate sculpted around it, meaning that they were likely headed into more ruins. “Aw, lord. I know we ain’t ‘bout to bump into no more zombie ponies down dis b****!”

Valkyrie raised her eyebrow. “Ehh….Come again?”

“Y’all don’t even wanna know!” Turf War said. He drew his hammer-axe and took to the front. “A’ight. Y’all stay behind yo’ boy.”

Valkyrie swooped down right next to him with her sword drawn. “Me too! You guys are gonna need me once you see that these guys aren’t a joke like their grunts were!” The two snarled and glared at one another as they walked into the cave, leaving the others to follow suit with worried and annoyed expressions.

“I feel safer already…” Shroud sassed.

“<sigh> This better not turn into another you vs. Air Slash situation.” Fire Fight said. As they delved deeper and deeper into the cave, it became increasingly clear that the ruins they were entering were far less preserved than what they encountered in Ghastly Gorge. Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy had to keep their horns lit simply to light their way forward since anything that could’ve been described as a torch was as dead as the ominous silence that echoed throughout the enveloping darkness.

“They must be way far in. It’s too quiet in here. They’re usually pretty noisy when they’re not out hunting.” Valkyrie said.

“You’ve dealt with them before?” Shroud asked.

“Yep. I’d just retired from a sword training session with my mentor and was going to visit my uncle when I saw them swarming his house. I managed to chop up a good chunk of ‘em, but they stole all of his firewood, so I had to track ‘em down and finish the job.” Valkyrie explained. “They looked like they were trying to light some sort of ritual fire, and boy let me tell ya, they were cawing and yelling like it was their last day.”

“Yer uncle wasn't hurt none, was he?” Kickback asked.

“Meh. A little, but he’s sturdy.” Valkyrie said. “Besides, he’s got me to watch his back! What more could he ask for?”

Everypony rolled their eyes, save for Turf War. “How ‘bout you to watch his back right now?” he snarked.

Valkyrie shot him a glare. “You know what I mean.”

“Regardless, we’re not even that sure this is the place. For all we know, there could’ve been some hidden entrance in the forest that we passed by.” Fire Fight said.

Valkyrie shook her head. “Believe or not, they like caves, so if their lair is around here, then it’s probably gonna be in here.”

“Well, if they were going for a good hiding place, than they sure hit the nail on the head. I can barely see anything.” Spiral said. Despite the light she and Fire Fight were creating, the pitch darkness could barely be pierced, only revealing cave walls and fallen stone structures that had no apparent origin. The only real thing of note was that they were walking along a path that was surrounded on both sides by water, little else. However, their light eventually illuminated a set of large stone doors at the end of the path with archaic paintings of two harpies on either door mirroring each other.

Fire Fight noticed that there were torches beside each door, so he lit them. What nopony expected was that it activated a complex lighting system in which the fire from the lit torches traveled up sections of the wall and one by one, lit other torches throughout what was revealed to be a big chamber with a large lake in that was divided in half by the path leading up to the doors. “Whoa….”

“Golly…. How many hidden wonders r’ we gonna uncover?” Kickback mumbled.

“Fo’ real.” Turf War said. He then looked back at the door and walked up to it. “A’ight, y’all. Let’s bust loose!” He forcefully pressed himself against the door, but despite his strength, it wouldn’t even budge. “Nrgh! Soon as I…Nrgh!...get dis m*********** open…..Nrgh!....Sorry I cursed again.”

Valkyrie creased a deviously amused smile. “What’s the matter, tough guy? Having some trouble with a door?” she taunted.

Turf War continued to struggle against the behemoth of a door. “Rrrgghhh!..... I got dis, y’all.”

Shroud rolled her eyes. “Turf War, that’s obviously not how to open it. Just let up.” Reluctantly, Turf War listened to her advice and let himself off of the door. He could feel Valkyrie’s sneering gaze looming onto him, but he paid her no heed. Shroud then inspected their obstacle. “Hmm….It’s obviously locked, but….”

“Where’s the keyhole, if there even is one?” Fire Fight asked.

“Ms. Quantum Tech’s presence would sure be helpful right about now.” Kickback commented. “Unless you could tell us somethin’, Ms. Valkyrie.”

Valkyrie flamboyantly brushed her feathers back. “I sure can.” She declared. “Harpies have a security measure where they never make a lock that can be opened from either side, only the inner side so any potential intruders couldn’t just pick it from the outside, so we’ve gotta find a way to sneak to the other side and unlock it.”

Oh! Well, that’s easy. Right, Shroud?” Fire Fight said.

Shroud inspected the immediate vicinity, but her sixth sense wasn’t picking up any sort of crack in the walls or otherwise hidden passages she could crawl through. “Hmm….. Maybe not so much this time.”

“Man, why can’t we just bust through? We gonna bash d’hese punks anyway, so what’s the harm in wreckin’ s***?” Turf War asked.

“Now Turf War, Ah don’t reckon runnin’ headlong into a swarm o’ these ‘ere varmints is a rightly smart thing to do. You remember that crystal monster underneath Canterlot?” Kickback said.

“Damn. Yeah, y’all got a point.” Turf War said.

“Pfft! Sounds like you guys really have seen a lot!” Valkyrie commented.

“If only you knew, Valkyrie.” Fire Fight said.

Tidal Wave used his jewel to more closely examine the water. The waterways he’d sensed earlier were now pretty much right before him underneath the lake. While complex, they indeed seemed to ultimately lead to the other side of the door. “It looks like I can swim my way up to there. It might be a while, but the path’s there.”

“If you say so, dude. Just make sure to stay stealthy. We don’t wanna wake these guys up in case they’re deciding to be calm.” Fire Fight said.

Tidal Wave nodded. “Right.” He said before looking over at Shroud. “You can take a break from being the sneaky one this time, Shadow Shroud.” He said.

Shroud giggled. “Go ahead and impress me. I might give you a cookie if you do a good job.” She joked.

“Be careful, Tidal Wave.” Spiral said.

“Yeah! I will.” Tidal Wave said. He jumped into the water and began his dive into certain danger.

*****

Just as with the Great Horn Summit, Tidal Wave found himself traversing through tubular caverns with only the gleam of his jewel to light his way apart from the ‘water senses’, as he called them that it granted him. They weren’t as impressive as the ones in the mountain, but they were much bigger, and he could more easily maneuver through them. The only thing that really stood out was the much denser population of marine life. Fish, crustaceans, plants, and other forms of life that came in many sizes and strange shapes filled the tunnels like a vast underwater neighborhood, and he must have travelling down its Main Street.

“Wow….” Tidal Wave was beginning to take it the sights more and more as he swam deeper into the submerged cavern, and its ecosystem became more and more abundant. Every now and again, a fish would swim next to him for a moment or so, no doubt curious about a creature that’s normally foreign to an aquatic community. Much of the creatures that Tidal Wave saw dazzled him with bioluminescent glows radiating from their bodies. “Man, Quantum Tech would have a fit down here!”

After a while of following some tunnels, Tidal Wave found himself exiting out into a vast, open void in the caverns. He had to look around more diligently to get his bearings, but his water senses made mapping the area around in his head much less of a chore. Funnily enough, he could sense a whole lot of life immediately around him, but he dismissed that to the fact that he was in much more open area…….and not something else…..

As he causally swam towards the next tunnel to traverse, Tidal Wave felt a huge amount of movement coming from below him. He stopped for a moment to look down, and his water senses picked up something big….swimming right for him! “OH, CRAP!!” He darted backward as he felt the unseen mass almost graze him. He looked back to try and sense what it was, but he didn’t have to. It held still and lit its entire body, revealing that he was looking a gigantic eel right in the eye! “U-Umm….M-Morning?” he stammered.

<RAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!!!!>

"AIIIIIEEEEE!!!!" The eel made another dash towards him, its gnashing jaws glistening from its bioluminescent glow, but Tidal Wave managed to swim fast enough to the right and just barely avoided being its lunch. Thinking quickly, he used his jewel and his spear to churn the water around him in such a way that he could fire a high-pressure bolt at the glowing goliath. It hit, but all it seemed to do was irritate the beast, and he could feel its angered gaze pierce through his soul as it turned its massive head towards him. “Uh-oh!” The eel made another mad dash, but this time, it got a little creative. It snaked it body up, down and all around so as to confuse Tidal Wave, which almost worked. He had trouble keeping track of its movements, and opted to just dart backwards to avoid it, but it was smart enough to straighten its path so as to tail him. “Oh, shoot! Shoot! SHOOT!!!” Tidal Wave could feel himself being pulled towards it as the eel opened its mouth, which alone created a relatively weak vortex that drained into its maw. That’s when Tidal Wave had an idea. Using his gear once again, he manipulated the water swirling into the beast’s mouth in such a way that it intensified into an outright whirlpool, one that was strong enough to pull in loose rocks from the walls of the cavern and other detritus into the mouth of the monster. Once it started to get a little close for comfort, Tidal Wave forced the vortex down its throat like a javelin. The serpentine scourge began violently choking, leaving an opening for the aquatic lancer. “MY TURN!!” Tidal Wave gathered his stamina and thrust his way towards the monster with his spear ready to pierce it; his form cleaved through the water like a hot knife through butter. He managed to strike the eel just above its gill, causing the beast to roar in agony. Tidal Wave then went the extra mile and started traveling down its mile-long body with his spear still lodged beneath its skin.

However, he could only go for a good ten yards before it thrashed around hard enough to smack him away. “ARGH!!!” Being body slammed by a giant eel isn’t exactly healthy, as Tidal Wave could now tell you. Even underwater, the aquatic pegasus went flying and almost slammed into a wall, but he managed to correct himself just before he could impact. “Ugh…” His body horribly ached, but he couldn’t let that hold him back now. Clouds of the eel’s blood obscured the water around it, but it simply continued to assault Tidal Wave with unbridled fury. It’s war howl echoed throughout their shared arena. It was either desperate, stupid, pissed off beyond clear consciousness, or all three, because despite its injury, the titan of the deep whipped its body around and slammed its tail into a section of the rock walls surrounding them, causing the water to shake violently. “WHOA-OA-OA-OA-OA!!! CRA-A-A-A-A-A-AP!!!” Tidal Wave couldn’t barely keep himself balanced as he had to avoid rocks that had been shaken loose by the tremor, and realized that the eel was charging him again. “NOOO!!” Tidal Wave manipulated the water around him to rocket him to the side just quick enough for his gargantuan opponent to miss and ram head-first into the rock wall. The shock of the impact wad enough to knock Tidal Wave back even further and throw him further off balance. “WAAAAHH!!” He managed to correct himself again, but when he looked back up, the eel just faced him again as if getting a concussion was nothing! “HAVEN’T YOU HAD ENOUGH!?” Tidal Wave plead. His only answer was another guttural roar, which showed that even knocking a few of its teeth out wasn’t going to stop it.

It took the eel a moment to ready itself, meaning that it was getting at least a little fatigued, and it was then that Tidal Wave thought of something. One of his favorite comic book heroes from his childhood, Hydro Horse, had a magic sword that could elongate by making water around congregate to the point that it was basically solid. “Hmm!” Tidal Wave got his game face on as he realized that he could basically so the same. He focused the power in his jewel around his spear, and sure enough, water began forming around it into a long blade of aquatic light. It finished just as the eel found the strength to charge him. “HYAAH!!” Tidal Wave swung his charged weapon, and he managed to parry the leviathan away with one swipe, a swipe that sliced across its face, which was anything but pleasant for it as it winced back in pain. “NOW WERE TALKING!!” Tidal Wave’s will seemed to enlarge his blade of water even more, and that’s when he knew he could finish this. “And now I finally get the chance to say for myself: <ahem> ‘TIME TO TURN THE TIDES IN JUSTICE’S FAVOR!!” He took but one swipe of his spear, but the eel seemed to know that it was doomed and bravely took his deadly punishment. Tidal Wave kept swinging his spear every which way but where, leaving no room for the monster to counter or recover. Once he knew he was done, he released water around his spear and watched the diced pieces of his adversary sink into the darkness below.

“Phew! That was scary…” He sheathed his spear and took a moment for his stamina to regenerate before pressing on.

Sword and Shield

Back at the Temple…

Bullseye, Crazylocks, Greensprout and Shrapnel could only look on as their unexpected guest leapt down to their level of the plateau. Was it just another snow troll? A yeti? A dire wolf? The driving snowy winds obscured its form…..until it finally hit the ground. With a resounding thud that sent a wave of ice and snow scattering around it, the unknown entity was revealed to be something completely unexpected. Before them stood…..what could possibly be described as an organic ice golem. It stood about 15 feet high and had the form of an ape, but with a glacial body that had inexplicable tatters across its arms and chest that imitated fur. It bellowed an otherworldly war cry as it stared down the foals below it.

“FINALLY! SOMETHING TO KILL!!” Bullseye exclaimed. She soared off and grabbed her bow and quiver before rising into the air. She nocked an explosive arrow back onto her bowstring and aimed for its neck before firing. “Hehehe…” Bullseye trademark sadistic smile instantly creased her face as soon as the arrow lodged itself into the beast’s throat area. After a couple short seconds, it detonated, leaving nothing but shard of ice to scatter from its shoulders. “Tch! One more for the Blood Cupid!” she sneered.

However, her victory was short lived as the ice golem didn’t even collapse. In fact, the ice from its neck began regenerating and within seconds, it formed a new head. It roared once more. “WHAT!?” Greensprout exclaimed.

Quantum Tech and Zebota came rushing out of the courtyard doors. “What’s going on!?” Quantum asked. Her question was quickly answered when she and Zebota laid eyes on the behemoth before them. “Oh…..Th-That’s what….” She rushed back inside to grab her mech suit.

Zebota quickly ran up Shrapnel to join him. “It is impure life! We must fell it!” he said. Shrapnel let out a ferocious howl in agreement. The golem then slammed its fists down, sending out a shockwave worthy of Turf War’s hammer, causing everypony to brace themselves. However, it had lowered its body to the ground in such a way that its head was low enough to the ground to easily attack. “SHRAPNEL, NOW!” Shrapnel wasted no time heeding his master’s command and lunged at the golem’s head. He furiously swiped his arborous claw just before the golem could raise back up, nearly shattering the monster’s jaw. Shrapnel retreated back to Zebota before his giant opponent could seize the opportunity to counter him.

“YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT’S GONNA SCRATCH HIM!?” Bullseye exclaimed.

The temple doors suddenly burst open, and familiar bursts of electromagnetic energy fired out, striking each of the golem’s knees and causing it to nearly topple. As expected, Quantum’s mech came marching out with the young scientist in the pilot’s seat. “Perhaps scratching it is not the most desirable strategy!!” she exclaimed. She took aim with her mini magic turrets and began firing after initiating her mech’s force shield. The blasts of energy were only pebbles pelting the giant pest, and it responded by forming a big ice ball in its hand and flung it at Quantum’s mech. Her force field blocked it easily, but the sheer force of it knocked her over. “OH!!” Her mech would have hit the ground with a thud had Shrapnel not caught it and propped her back up. “Good boy!”

“I WANT ICE CREAM!!!” Crazylocks sprouted her wings and soared toward it, and then began somersaulting in the air whilst morphing back into an earth pony, using her flight momentum to slam into the golem’s chest. However, the ice titan seemed to smarten up pretty quickly, and it swatted Crazylocks like a fly buzzing around it. “OOF!” She went flying into the rock wall beside them.

“CRAZYLOCKS!!” Greensprout exclaimed. She tried to rush over to her, but the glacial giant suddenly caused a wall of ice spikes to erupt that would’ve impaled her from below had something not swooped down and pulled her out of the way. When she looked up to see what it was, she was startled when the ice spikes were suddenly sundered at their base. “Air Slash!?”

Sure enough, their resident samurai had found the strength to soar to their aid. “Greensprout! Are you okay!?”

“Y-Yes, thank you, but…You should be in bed!” Greensprout said. The ice giant bellowed again as it began forming an ice hammer in its hand.

Air Slash quickly launched a sword beam that severed the frozen weapon by its pole, but it was for naught as the broken half seemed to disintegrate itself as the weapon reconstituted. “NOT WHILE THIS MONSTER THREATENS US!” he said. He soared high into the air and launched a cross-blade beam at the giant’s head, but it jumped out of the way just before it could connect and swung its hammer towards Air Slash. The soaring samurai nearly made a perfect aerial dodge, but the edge of the hammer just barely clipped his lower back, and he had to roll into a landing. However, the menacing mass of ice landed and slammed the ground, causing a mass wave of ice shards to blow towards them.

Shrapnel took what were flea bites to him to protect his master while Quantum was thoroughly protected by her force field, but the other’s had to dodge out of the way. The titan bellowed once more to assert its animosity. “YOU PISSED OFF THE WRONG FOALS, M***********!!!” Bullseye exclaimed. She fired another explosive arrow at its chest and actually hit, and the subsequent explosion caused the titan to wince and quickly grab its chest.

It was then that Quantum Tech got a sudden reading from her glasses. “<GASP!> It has a vital core just like the windigo in the White Tail Woods!!” she explained just as the beast repaired itself.

“It does!?” Air Slash asked as Greensprout healed him.

Quantum fixed her glasses. “Seems I should make use of my ultimate form of arsenal!” Confident with her new heating system, Quantum input the command to initiate her death ray. “Everypony, stand clear!” The prongs used to conduct the energy necessary for the devastating laser appeared and began charging, but the icy monstrosity seemed to sense what was happening and reacted. It blew frigid air out of its nose toward the mech, and the prongs began to freeze over.

“Warning! System Malfunction! Aborting Overdrive! Warning! System Malfunction! Aborting Overdrive!”

“WH-WHAT!? N-NO!!” Quantum’s alert systems began shutting down her death ray, and were indicating that the frigid breath of the golem was freezing the prongs faster than her heating systems could keep up with. As such, she was forced to withdraw her death ray altogether. “WRETCHED FIEND! NOPONY HARMS MY TECHNOLOGY AND GOES UNPUNISHED!!” Thankfully, it was only the death ray prongs that were vulnerable to the generated elements, so she could still use all of her other weapons, but seeing her newest augment backfire was pretty disappointing, especially at a time like this. The best she could do now was fire from the back with her magic turrets and railguns.

“READ ME A STORY, UNCLE BOB!!” Crazylocks inexplicably reappeared seemingly unharmed from her crash and used her sprouted horn to magically lift a huge pile of jagged rocks that had broken off the cliff from her impact. She hurled them at the golem’s head, but they simply bounced off of it like a rubber ball off a smooth floor.

“It seems we can only keep the pressure on it until we can crack open a path to its core!!” Zebota said. He drew his sling and recited a familiar incantation that caused his ammunition to glow an earthly green before slinging it at their foe. It impacted with traumatic force that managed to crack the golem’s forearm, which it mended within seconds. Shrapnel locked eyes with it and roared ferociously. “GRANT IT NO QUARTER, MY MONSTER!!”

“NOPONY GO EASY!!” Bullseye exclaimed. Just then, the golem raised its hands in such a way that you’d think it was worshipping some god whilst roaring. Much to the foals’ horror, a smarm of scorpion-like ice mites each about a foot higher than them arose from the piles of snow surrounding the titan. They hissed and poised their claws and tails before marching towards their equine enemies. “Well, s***…”

“COWARD!!” Air Slash exclaimed before letting out a sneeze. He and Greensprout were suddenly being swarmed by the ice mites. “Stay behind me, Greensprout!”

Greensprout took a deep breath before nodding, putting her confidence in the young Bladerunner. “Ok.” She held up her staff. “All of you! Fight at your peak!” she said as she released a vitality pulse that gave everypony a boost.

Bullseye’s surge of wicked anger was further fueled by her vital boost, and she was ready to tear things up. “Hehehehehe! WHO WANTS THEIR NECK BROKEN FIRST!?” The half-blind berserker decided to make use of her bow’s new blades and started hacking away at the ice mites as they started to swarm her. One jumped at her, and all she needed to do was swing her bow upward and slice it into shattered halves. She then followed up by jabbing on of the bayonet-like blades at the tip of the bow’s arm into another icy assailant. One by one, few by few, they tried to overrun Bullseye, but with her avian agility and archer’s accuracy, she managed to easily tear through their assault. “KEEP ‘EM COMING!! I GOT ENOUGH THRASHING FOR EVERYPONY!!” Her taunt was taken in good stride by the golem, because it decided that she was a threat and threw a punch her way. “OH, F***!!”

Out of nowhere, Crazylocks through herself into the beast’s wrist, causing the entire hand to shatter just before it could connect. “THERE WILL BE NO UNSOLICITED HIGH-FIVING WITHOUT A WARRANT!!” the manic filly shouted as she landed next to Bullseye.

“Crazylocks…” Bullseye looked over in surprise. Mere moments ago, she’d brought the filly she dismissed as a freak to genuine tears simply out of frustration, and actually felt bad for it. Why would she so readily protect her?

Crazylocks looked over at the archer with that same innocent, manic smile and extended her hoof. “Explosion buddies?”

For one reason or another, Bullseye didn’t feel the urge to gut her or anything, far from it, in fact. Did she feel indebted to her? Could she somehow sense a genuine hint of sane kindness from an otherwise loose cannon? Whatever the case may be, Bullseye grabbed her hoof with her own softly wicked smile creased onto her face. “Explosion buddies.” She said.

Heeding their agreement, the aggressive archer nocked back an explosive arrow and took aim while Crazylocks went to town on the ice mites.

Meanwhile, Quantum Tech and Zebota did what they could to keep the ice golem at bay. It was the source of their problems, and they needed to destroy it quickly as it started spawning more mites. Quantum kept the pressure on with her railgun and turret shots while Zebota had Shrapnel decimate the ice mites. All the while, the mystic zebra continued to sling his nature-powered ammunition at the icy titan to help Quantum Tech. “Quantum Tech! Is there a way for us to stop it from regenerating!?” Zebota asked as he had to draw his tomahawk and fend off a couple of mites.

“I’m scanning!” Quantum said. As her mech unleashed a hail of destruction upon the beast, she scanned for any sign of a weak point or physical weakness other than the core they had to target. However, it was to no avail. Any weaker sections of its body didn’t need a scan to discern since they weren’t as protected as some areas. “Nrgh! It appears that what you see is what you get! Stick with your advice and don’t let up on it!”

“You hear that, Shrapnel!?” Zebota called out. His wooden titan let out a roaring howl in response before slamming his claws down onto a small horde of the ice mites, crushing them into dust. He then let out another howl that echoed with such force that it caused another wave of the mites to just crumble. “Hmph! Feeble fodder!” Zebota nearly forgot about the golem, which hurled a huge chunk of spiked ice at him. “<GASP!>” The striped shaman braced himself, but just as quick as it came flying, the ice chunk was blown out of existence by one of Quantum Tech’s railgun blasts. Zebota glanced over at her and smiled. “You have my thanks!”

Quantum giggled. “It was my turn to protect you anyway!” she said. When her focus shifted back to the golem, she could see that its armor was starting to fall apart faster than it could regenerate itself. “WE’RE ALMOST THERE!! JUST KEEP AT IT!!”

“Right!!” Zebota ceased his fire for a moment and clutched his brooch as it glowed with his eyes, and a glyph form in the ground beneath him. “Kupanda nyingi dhidi ya maadui hili. Kuzuia harakati zake na kuwafunga kwa ajili ya uchafu wake!” A storm of grass and roots erupted from the ground and entangled around the icy giant, snaring it and preventing it from dishing out heavier attacks.

Meanwhile, Air Slash and Greensprout found themselves busy handling hordes upon hordes of the ice mites. The mighty Bladerunner easily sliced and diced through each of the frozen scourges while the motherly monk saw fit to launch life bombs that dispatched them just as easily. Air Slash’s reckless courage got him quite a few bites and cut wounds, but Greensprout patched him up with ease. “Be careful, Air Slash!” she said.

“Only if you will!” Air Slash stayed close to Greensprout, slicing any scourges that dared to go near her without a hint of mercy. Despite his body recovering from a cold, his thoughts were only with protecting her and ridding them of these abominations. “BACK TO THE PIT FROM WHICH YOU CAME, YOU DEMONS!!” He sent out sword beam after sword beam, but to the mites, it didn’t seem to matter how easily they were falling. More and more of them kept replacing their brethren.

Greensprout was starting to get worried when she saw that the swarms were becoming thicker, and Air Slash was to stay practically within conversation distance of her just make sure she didn’t get overrun. “A-A-Air Slash! We should fall back! This is getting dangerous!” But when she turned around, there was a wave of mites waiting to get her. “<GASP!>” She quickly responded with a vital bomb, but all it did was put space between her and another swarm, a swarm that Air Slash dispatched within seconds.

“I WON’T LET THEM DO SO MUCH AS BREATHE ON YOU, GREENSPROUT!!” Air Slash declared as he swung his swords so furiously, that he seemed to cut the very wind that blew across the mountain.

Greensprout found herself surprised by that and looked up at him. What was driving him? How reckless did he have to be to brave through a cold and cold weather simply for everypony’s sake? He’d always been a funny one, but strangely enough, that didn’t seem to disappear as she looked into his eyes that burned with the passion of a true warrior. He was holding nothing back, and despite his fury, Greensprout couldn’t help but to feel an odd warmth inside at the sight of him in such a violent state. “Air Slash….”

When he had room for it, Air Slash launched another cross-blade beam at the ice golem. “YOU’LL FALL THIS DAY, MONSTER!” The beam managed to piece and knock off a good chunk of his chest armor.

However, the mites started swarming him from the front faster than expected, and he readied himself, but they were quickly dispatched by a sudden shower of arrows of light that rained from one point on the sky. He looked over to see that it was indeed Bullseye. “Tch! Stupid roaches!”

Quantum Tech fired both of her railguns simultaneously at full charge and hit the golem’s chest, knocking off more armor and just barely revealing the core. “JUST A LITTLE MORE!” she exclaimed.

“A LITTLE MORE FUN WITH UNCLE SUSIE!!!” Crazylocks finished the job by hurling herself into the cracked chest, knocking the rest of the armor and revealing the core.

“BULLSEYE! NOW!” Zebota shouted as he hurled one last charged rock at the core.

Bullseye creased a sadistic smile just before firing her explosive arrow at the core. Zebota’s rock managed to prevent some ice from reforming around it just long enough for it to hit! “HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! SEE YOU IN HELL!!!!!!” she shouted. The arrow detonated, and the golem began howling out in agony as it thrashed violently against its restraints. Cracks began forming all around its body with light pouring out of them. As that happened, the ice mites just stopped moving as though they’d been turned off, and disintegrated back into the snow.

“Rest in peace.” Air Slash said as he sheathed his swords, eyeing the monster as it began to crumble. However, the icy titan wouldn’t fall without one last effort to take them out, and just before it exploded into ice shards, it hurled one staright at Air Slash! “What the!?” Before he could even react, the frozen spike pieced right through his chest.

“AIR SLASH!!!!!” Greensprout exclaimed. Air Slash could only gurgle in shocked pain as he fell to ground along with their crumbling adversary. Everypony rushed over to him worried sick. “AIR SLASH!!” Greensprout examined him quickly, but in a panic. He was barely breathing and didn’t even try to speak.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HIPPIE!? HEAL HIM ALREADY!!” Bullseye exclaimed.

“Th-This is too grave of an injury for me to heal so easily! We have to careful!” Greensprout explained.

“Don’t pull the shard out all the way! You’ll just make him bleed out!” Quantum said.

“Then you’ll have to heal him as we pull it out slowly.” Zebota said.

Realizing that that’d work, Greensprout gulped and nodded. “O-Ok. Just….go as fast as I say!” she stammered. Without a moment’s hesitation, Zebota and Bullseye started slowly pulling the spike out of Air Slash’s chest as Greensprout quickly latched her healing onto him. It was much brighter and seemed to flow faster this time. “Oh, please be okay!” she mumbled under her breath. Despite seeing him on what should’ve been his death bed, Greensprout found the composure the concentrate, and after a painstaking half-hour or so, they finished.

“Ugh….” Almost immediately after his ordeal, Air Slash began to stir.

“Air Slash!?” Greensprout said.

The young Bladerunner slowly but surely found the strength to lift his head and look at the monk. “Gr…..Greensprout?”

Tears suddenly began flooding her eyes as she felt nothing but relief that he was okay. “Air Slash!” She threw her arms around him and began sobbing, and Air Slash wasted no time embracing her back. “Air Slash, I’m so sorry! <sob> I….I didn’t mean to…<sob>….You were protecting me, and-”

“It’s okay.” Air Slash interjected. “If I fall with my blades shielding the innocent, then I’ve served my family well.” He said. He then looked into her eyes and blushed. “E-Especially if….I-If it’s…you.” He sheepishly stammered those last words.

The very same surprised warmth suddenly ignited within Greensprout again as she stopped crying so much. “Wha?.... I-I….” It was strange, but….she found herself gazing into his emerald eyes, remembering the heroic ferocity they exhibited earlier. Somehow, their calm softness now felt no different…..and the two found themselves with their lips gently pressed up onto each other. A few seconds felt like a blissful eternity for the monk and samurai before they broke off, their faces as red beets. “U-Umm….” Greensprout found herself giggling her words.

Air Slash gently stroked her mane. “Greensprout, I….I lo-” He was cut off when the motherly monk gently pressed her hoof against his mouth with a dreamy smile on her face. Air Slash didn’t object, and he smiled back. They both understood, and not even the frigid winds of the Great Horn Summit could smother the warmth between them.

“OOOOH! I knew this would happen eventually!” Quantum Tech squealed.

“Yes. We are happy for you, ponyfolk.” Zebota said. Shrapnel whimpered in affirmation. Bullseye just creased a small smile and nodded at them.

“Th-Thank you….” Greensprout said as she and Air Slash helped each other up.

Bullseye then looked over at Crazylocks, who looked as out there as usual. “Hey…” she said. “Uhh…..thanks…”

Crazylocks suddenly started throwing snow above Bullseye as if it was confetti. “We, the ponies of the explosion buddies exposition have endured another trial of the blubber bloopers!”

Once again, Bullseye wasn’t even mad. In fact…..she was strangely happy for once. It was then that she realized it. “We’ve both been through some pretty f***** up s***, huh? That’s what you were trying to say?” She took the manic filly’s eyes bobbing up and down as a ‘yes’. “Tch. Wow. I uh…… Ok, I’m sorry I’ve been such a b****. I guess I didn’t really have anypony that really understood what I’ve been through….except for a freak show like you.”

“Silly Bullseye! Freak shows build character for all the branch sculptures you could make!” Crazylocks said.

Bullseye couldn’t help but to let out a little chuckle. “Explosion buddies…..Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Quantum Tech then looked over at the pile of ectoplasmic ice left by the golem. It glowed with an ethereal, ominous sheen that piqued her curiosity. Why did it share the same signature as the windigo they encountered before? “Zebota, would you kindly help me gather a sample?”

Zebota nodded. “Absolutely.” He said. The two couldn’t help but to share a warm smile of their own as they approached the site of their research.

???

My world…….feels cold…..

My heart……..is cold……..

This land……..has grown cold!........

It……..WILL FREEZE!.....

Dark Curses

After a good number of more twists and turns through the submerged caves, Tidal Wave found his way through to a lake beneath a pathway on the opposite of the giant stone door. He slowly ascended so as to carefully scan around what areas above the surface he could make out. His water senses unfortunately didn’t extend beyond the confines of the depths, and creating a tower of water to use as a lookout point would draw the attention of any harpies that might be around, so all he could do was slowly creep out of the water and hope that he was alone. When his head breached the surface, he couldn’t see nor hear anything immediately around him, but he could hear crazed shouting and laughter coming from far in the distance. He slowly crept out of the water and onto the stone path as he looked out to see what was going on, and what he saw was equal parts breathtaking and terrifying. Far away was a big citadel surrounded by a bottomless pit into the caverns below. There was no bridge leading out to it from where the original stone path ended, so it could be easily assumed that one had to fly over to it in order to reach, perfect for the harpies that allegedly lived here.

Their theory was proven when Tidal Wave noticed that the citadel was lined with grotesque decorations made from various animal bones, skins, even some organs, and a massive flock of harpies turned out to be the source of the shouting and laughter. Centered in the citadel was a big bonfire that a few of the harpies were tossing items into that Tidal Wave couldn’t identify from his distance, but he figured that he was better off knowing once they were no longer a threat. “First a giant eel…..now this……. What have I gotten myself into?” he muttered.

Nevertheless, he slowly approached the stone door and immediately identified the lock centered between the two opening parts. It was just big enough for his spear to fit through, but it was now a matter of being able to pick it open. “Hmm…..” Tidal Wave felt around a little bit. “Okay! This shouldn’t be too much trouble.” He got to work carefully fiddling with the lock. “Kinda makes ya wonder how big and heavy the key must be though.”

*****

On the other side of the door, the awaiting foals and griffonlet patiently stayed their ground as they anticipated Tidal Wave rolling out the red carpet for them at any second. The only thing trying their patience was the incessant bantering between two very confident warriors.

“I guarantee there’s at least 300 hundred in there, and I’m gonna smash up more than half of ‘em before that hammer or axe or whatever you’re trying to pass it off as can even touch one of their talons!” Valkyrie boasted to Turf War.

“Mhm! Dat’s real cute! Lemme bust through dat door ‘fore yo’ feathered a** even ‘member to take off o’ draw dat sword. In the meantime, I’ma do my thing an’ drop my hammer while droppin’ a beat! Peep dis!” Turf War said, and then started dancing as though he was at a disco. “YO! It’s yo’ boy, Turf War! F*** wit me, you gon’ un’er da floor! Harpies, please! I don’t wanna see ya! The hammer goes bashin’, I don’t wanna be ya! Trust! Yeah, I just said it! Land you tails down ‘ere an’ lemme make ya go BUST! Ooh! Yes, b**** I’m fo’ real. Better say yo’ prayers an’ eat yo’ last meal!” he rapped, striking a pose at the end.

Valkyrie shook her head. “Pfft! Whatever THAT pathetic little display was supposed to be!” she taunted. She drew her sword and twirled it all around her body while looking around as though nothing were happening. Her dexterity was effortless and just about perfect as she seamlessly swung her greatsword nonchalantly; she even spun it around on her talon by its pommel like a basketball. When she concluded and sheathed her sword, she shot Turf War a taunting smirk. “How many ponies do ya know who can do that?”

“One, and he do it wit TWO of d’hem things!” Turf War said.

“What!? I call your bluff!” Valkyire said.

“Guys, be quiet! The harpies could right on the other side of this door. If we wanna ambush them, then quit making so much noise.” Fire Fight said.

“You’re acting childish anyway.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Whatever, dude.” Valkyrie said.

“I just hope Tidal Wave doesn’t have much trouble.” Spiral Galaxy said. “We gave him a pretty big job even though he kinda just joined us.”

“He n’ that spear o’ his had a rightly fine negotiation with that hydra, all things considered. Ah’d put a li’l more faith in ‘em.” Kickback said.

“We’re all gonna need a lot more than faith if these harpies are as nasty as Valkyrie says they are.” Spiral said.

Valkyrie nodded. “Believe me! Those small fry back in the forest barely did the rest any justice, but we should be pretty kosher. After all…” She drew her sword once more and struck a heroic pose. “You got me!”

The foals just blankly stared at her for a moment, trying to decide how to react. Kickback started by just tipping his hat. “Well, we’re rightly grateful fer yer help, Ms. Valkyrie.”

Turf War began sarcastically clapping. “Uh-huh. Clap dat up. Good show. All hail the mighty descendant o’ whatever dat m*********** name is.”

Valkyrie sheathed her sword and lightly leered at him. “Yeah, yeah. You’ll be coughing up those ten bits soon enough after Finneous McCan’t-fly gets this door open for us.”

“Hey! He sensitive about his wings!” Spiral reprimanded.

“Fo’ real! An’ the only way you gonna get me to cough up bits is knockin’ ‘em outta me, b****!” Turf War said.

“Not unless I knock both of you into a coma first.” Shroud warned.

“Enough!” Fire Fight said as he put his hoof down. “Save the energy for the raid.” He then looked at Valkyrie and Turf War. “And you two better focus on actually helping us rather than your bet. Turf War, I’ve known long enough to know that you’re way too righteous to let something as small as that hold back your sense of justice. And Valkyrie, you of everypony in here should know to be mature at a time like this, especially since you have the weight of legend on your shoulders.”

Turf War noticeably calmed down having listened to his friend, but Valkyrie wasn’t too keen on being ordered around by a pony. “Tch! You’ll see that legend soon enough, candle-head!” she said. Fire Fight just brushed it off with an eye-roll.

“Still though, Tidal Wave sure is taking his dear, sweet time. I hope he hasn’t run into any…..complications.” Shroud said.

“Yeah…. I’m starting to get kinda worried. He’s all by himself down there.” Spiral said. Seconds later, they could here clinking sounds coming from the door, namely where the lock would be. Shadow Shroud instantly recognized the sound of tumblers being fiddled with.

“Hmm… I see our worry was relatively unwarranted.” Shroud said.

“Huh? Guys?” The foals heard a voice from behind the door. It was muffled, but they could tell that it was Tidal Wave. “Is that you?”

“Tidal Wave!?” Spiral said.

“Hey! Don’t worry. I should be able to crack this pretty easily.” Tidal Wave said.

“Well, hurry it up already! My greatsword is itching to pluck some limbs off of those harpies!” Valkyrie said.

“Are they close to you, Tidal Wave?” Fire Fight asked.

“No. They’re pretty far from where I am. Their inner sanctum is way off in the distance, but I don’t think they’ll see me.” Tidal Wave said. It was after their little conversation that he realized that he was having some difficulty with the lock. As he fiddled with it, he got a feel for how complex it actually was. “Oh boy….. These harpies are smarter than they look.” He slowed his pace so he could be more careful, but it seemed like every step forward was a step back somewhere else. “Argh! Come on! I can do this!”

“You’re persistence….is quite admirable, little foal.” Tidal Wave heard a voice behind him.

“Aw, thanks! I-” Tidal Wave suddenly felt a knot as tight as a noose in his stomach and looked back. Standing right over him was a harpy staring him down with its piercing, horrible eyes. He noticed that it was wearing s crude garb with evil-looking markings and insignia’s decorating it. “U-Uh…… Am I late for the party?” he stammered.

“<CAAAAAAAAAWWWWW!!!!!!>”

“CRAP!!” Tidal Wave quickly removed his spear from the lock and thrust it into the harpy’s chest, causing it to gurgle before collapsing like a ragdoll as it drew its last breath. However, it’s call was not unheard, and Tidal Wave could see nearly the entire horde of the feathered fiends soaring towards him! “UH, GUYS!?!?”

“Something wrong, partner?” Kickback asked.

“Oh, no! Not at all! I’VE ONLY GOT ABOUT A HUNDRED AND COUNTING OF THESE HARPIES READY TO TEAR ME TO SHREDS AT SIX O’CLOCK!!” Tidal Wave exclaimed.

Turf War looked confused. “Huh? But it’s only like half passed two.”

“That means they’re right behind him, hammer-head!” Valkyrie said. “Pick as fast as you can, dude!!”

“Tidal Wave!” Spiral exclaimed.

“R-Right!” Tidal Wave hurriedly jammed his spear back into the lock and stated picking for dear life. “Come on, come on, come on, come on!!” The harpies were closing in faster than he thought, and his heart was racing at about double their pace, especially since he was having the same trouble as before. “Please, please, please!!!”

“Just try to get all of the tumblers lifted quickly! At this point, being careful is not a priority!” Shroud said.

“O-Okay!” Tidal Wave said. He tried just jamming his spear and hoping that something would happen, but he was having little luck, and the harpies were closing in. “GUYS! HELP!!!”

That’s when Spiral Galaxy threw down the gauntlet…..and her hornband off of her horn. “OH, SCREW THIS!!!” Being underground, her magic was dumbed down to a point where she could more easily handle the massive influx of power pouring from her horn. “HYYYYYAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!”

“TAKE COVER!!!” Fire Fight exclaimed. Nopony dared to question him as they all hit the floor, including Tidal Wave, who could feel her rush of power from behind the door as the ground around him rumbled violently, and he wasted no time going prone. Not even a second later, Spiral Galaxy unleashed her cosmic fury and fired a huge nova beam that just about disintegrated the door, and good few unfortunate harpies that were just about strike Tidal Wave met a bright and spectacular end indeed. Every other harpy flew clear away from the cosmic blast.

When she concluded, Spiral felt a dizzying headache erupt through her psyche. “Ugh…..Oooooh…..” She collapsed the ground in a daze.

“Ms. Spiral!” Kickback exclaimed. He ran over to her and put her hornband back onto her horn, hoping that it might help, which it seemed to as Spiral took a light gasp for air, but she was still too dazed to raise her head right away, so he decided to stay and guard her until she came to.

“HEEEEEEERE’S VALKYRIE!!!” Valkyrie shouted as she drew her sword and soared towards the horde.

Turf War followed suit in a heartbeat with his hammer-axe at the ready. “OH, IT’S ON NOW!!!” He leapt through the doorway, but he took the time to check on Tidal Wave. “You good, son?”

Tidal Wave’s face was about as white as a sheep’s wool as he staggered to his shaking hooves. “<shiver> I….I-I saw my life flash before my eyes.”

Turf War sighed while trying to maintain a smile. “Uh-huh! Dat sounds tight….yeah…. Well, you do yo’ thing, homie!” He rushed back into the ensuing fray.

Tidal Wave managed to snap out of his trauma and ready himself, and Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud soon joined him. “Let’s get this over with. All these feathers are going to make me sneezey.” Shroud said as she drew her kamas.

Fire Fight ignited his gauntlets. “WHO’S READY FOR SOME FIREWORKS!?” He flame-jumped high into the air and launched a short barrage of fire discs at a small group of the harpies, which some of them dodged, but those who didn’t plummeted trying to put out the flames that had erupted on their feathers. Fire Fight then saw a harpy that had landed a few feet from where he stood and rocketed himself into a downward kick towards it. However, just as he was about to make contact, he was caught into the talons of another harpy that swooped down from above. “GYAH!” He looked up and saw the harpy staring daggers into him, and within her hand was….some kind of reddish-black magic that he’d never be able to guess the identity of.

“Her Radiance will savor your fiery soul!” the harpy hissed. Fire Fight tried blasting her with fire, but she expanded her black magic into an orb that devoured his flames like somepony drinking them through a straw. “Hehehehehehehe….. Such raw power!”

“Wh-What the!?” Fire Fight was pretty freaked out at the sudden display of power that the harpy demonstrated, but was quickly relieved when Valkyrie’s greatsword burst through its chest from behind, causing her to let, but Valkyrie quickly caught him and let him down.

“Told ya they’d be packing some heat!” Valkyrie said. She flung the corpse off of her sword. “No pun intended.”

“Yeah! Thanks.” Fire Fight said.

Valkyrie nodded before soaring back into the air. “Alright, you overgrown bats, say any wicked prayers you want, ‘cause you won’t get any mercy from me!” she declared.

One harpy noticed her talisman and screeched in shock. “She bears the Valhalla!”

Another hissed angrily. “Siegfried!” she lengthily growled.

Valkyrie creased a devious smile. “Ya want it? Come and get it!” she taunted. As per her dare, the harpies ambushed her from all directions, but the armor-clad griffonlet sliced and shield-bashed them with the dexterity she’d boasted earlier. One of them tried to swipe her from the side, but she quickly parried it away and smacked it upside the head with her small sledgehammer. She batted away the decapitated corpse away with her sword, and it smacked into another harpy, sending them both careening into the water, where Tidal Wave was waiting to spear them. “Nice, kid!”

“Thanks! You too!” Tidal Wave nodded and dove back under. He heavily debated using his newfound hydrokinesis, but the notion of his water jewel being deemed too dangerous held him back. For now, all he could do was control the one piece of turf the harpies couldn’t.

Speaking of turf, Turf War found himself surrounded by harpies hovering over him with some on the ground. “Give us your flesh, feeble foal!” one of them demanded.

Turf War just laughed it off. “Damn, baby girl! You just gonna come straight out wit it right away!? A’ight! Come on over he’e an’ lemme show y’all a good time!” he taunted. One of the hovering harpies behind him swooped down and tried to grab him, but he quickly took her down with a blow from his axe, and followed up with him hammer smacking another one that tried to get him from behind. They all then tried to pile onto him, but he jumped back and let them fly into each other. “OOOOH! What happened!?” However, one of the harpies volleyed more of that strange magic at him, which he quickly blocked with his shield, causing it to dissipate, but he could feel its evil aura as it did. “Whoa! Dat’s some bad mojo!” While they were all still tightly packed together, he quickly shield-rammed them. He only managed to get the ones in the middle, but the outer ones managed to fly off before the impact and surround the hammering gangbanger. He raised his hammer-axe ready to smack them into next week, but the avian witches focused their evil magic and fired bolts of it at him. “OH, S***!” He managed to evade a few of them, but a couple managed to hit. As they did, Turf War could feel the magic worm into his body like parasites. “<GASP!>” Suddenly, he felt his stamina completely fail him, and it felt as though his very soul was being gnawed at by whatever the harpies had just infected him with. “<cough><sputter> I’ma…..<pant> I’ma bash yo’ heads….<cough><pant><wheeze>….fo’ dat…..”

His vision was becoming cloudy as he could hear the harpies cackling maliciously. “One more for the ritual!” one of them hissed.

Suddenly, they were overcome with inexplicable slashes ambushing them from all directions and a mysterious black figure. When it ended, the curse on Turf War quickly lifted, and he stood back up to see the harpies on the floor with the necks bleeding out, and Shadow Shroud was standing next to him with her kamas still drawn. “Today’s just not your day, huh?”

“Damn right.” Turf War said.

They suddenly heard Kickback’s guns firing from the door, which the young sharpshooter stepped right out from with a conscious Spiral Galaxy following him, her horn lit and ready to rain destruction. “Sorry fer the wait, y’all. Sound, Fury n’ Ah had to keep an eye on Ms. Spiral” he said as he drew his other gun. “Ah reckon we’re ready to have a little howdown.”

“WHO WANTS TO DANCE WITH THE STARS!?” Spiral exclaimed as she charged her horn. She generated a galaxy shield around her that generated small novae within its clouds. Each one fired a barrage of nova blasts that disrupted the harpies’ formation, forcing them to disperse if they didn’t want to be pelted by the universe. Some of them had the good sense to use their curse magic to absorb the shots, which charged them up so that the avian abominations could turn the cosmic filly’s own power against them. Similar to Fire Fight’s fire discs, some of them launched blades of their cursed energy towards them. “Uh oh!” Spiral had to telekinetically strafe around to avoid them while the others could only rely on their agility to evade the shots.

“Don’t hit them with magic! They’ll just eat it right up!” Valkyrie shouted. A harpy tried to swipe her from above with cursed claws, but she loosened her grip on her shield and flailed it around on its chain at the fiend, parrying its claw and smacking it right in the temple, sending it down. Valkyrie then quickly retracted her shield and bash another harpy that tried to ambush her from behind, and followed up with brutal slashes from her greatsword.

“Now you tell us!!” Tidal Wave shouted from within the water. A swarm of the harpies fluttered above him with curses and claws at the ready. He poised his spear, but he knew he couldn’t do much without his hidden power, so reluctantly, he began focusing on the water around him, and it started to churn. “<sigh> I hope I don’t scare them….”

Just before he could construct any water structures, gunshots rang out, and the harpies were suddenly electrified and dropped to the water below. “Best look out there, partner!” Kickback called out.

Thankfully, Tidal Wave’s pendant protected him from being shocked from being in the water with the zapped corpses, but it gave him an idea. “<Gasp!> And suddenly….” He used his spear and with some discretion, his hydro powers to splash the hovering harpies with electrified water, clearing them out quite nicely. “A SHOCKING TWIST!” he declared. “Thanks, Kickback!”

Kickback tipped his hat, but seconds later, his peripheral vision caught the eye of a harpy swooping down with her talons ready to snatch him, but he rolled out of the way. “Pardon me, ma’am!” Thinking quickly, he lashed out his whip and wrapped it around the fiend’s talon, sending him on an aerial tour of the battlefield. “YEEEEE-HAAAW!!” He fired his gun while holding on to his whip, providing ideal air support.

“Insolent pest!” The harpy he was holding onto hissed. She grabbed the whip and yanked it towards her, but Kickback used this momentum to buck her in the face. “<CAW!>” Kickback then managed to land on her back and finish her off with a headshot.

“Whoa, nelly!!” Kickback used the featherweight corpse to ease his fall and hit the ground safely. As he stepped onto solid ground, corpses that he’d shot rained down around him. “Ah reckon that’s some mighty fine pest control.”

“<clap><clap><clap> Jussssst what I would exxxxxpect from the bearer of the Valhalla!” The foals and griffonlet heard a horrible, raspy, hissing voice resound from the direction of the citadel. When they looked over, they saw a more regal-looking harpy. She had much more of the crude garbs that the others wore and a headdress made of bones and withered feathers. All of the other harpies retreated towards her and seemed to revere her. “Brassshhhh…..yet so powerful….. Ssssssuch a wassssste, really.”

Valkyrie got her game face on and pointed her greatsword at her. “Lechuza!”

Ancestor's Light

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys!
Sorry it's been so long. Stuff just keeps happening for me. In case you missed my blog post, I went to visit some family where I would have VERY limited access to the Internet.
Now that that's out of the way, enjoy!

Lechuza’s very presence made the atmosphere heavier than before, and her menacing appearance didn’t help either. Nevertheless, Valkyrie maintained her stance and bravely faced the wicked avian. “So, the terrible queen of the harpies herself finally decided to show her ugly mug before the blood of Siegfried . Hehe! I’ve been dreamin’ about this day coming.” She said.

Lechuza let out a horrible hiss. “Sssssoooooo…… You know of my radiancccce, and yet you’d dare to facccce me? Foolissshhhh child! Even the mighty hero himssself treaded lightly in my presssence!”

“Wh-What!? You’ve lived for that long!?” Fire Fight asked.

Valkyrie turned to him and nodded. “Yeah. Long ago, Lechuza cast a nasty curse of herself that made her immortal. Heard it needed a good number of sacrifices of griffons, ponies, even other harpies.” She explained.

Upon hearing that explanation, the foals gazed upon the harpy queen with horror and disgust. “You…..monster!” Spiral Galaxy exclaimed.

One of the harpies surrounding Lechuza hissed. “Her Radiance, Lechuza is worthy, WORTHY of such holy might!” she declared.

“Bearer of the Valhalla….” Lechuza said. “Declare yourssssself! And tell me….. What are thesssse pony foalsssss doing here? Come to bargain with their livessss?”

“As if!” Valkyire scoffed. “My name is Valkyrie, and today, I’ll succeed where all my other ancestors failed: Your head is mine, Lechuza!” she declared. “And don’t worry about the ponies; they’re….collateral damage….I guess? They just kinda appeared outta nowhere.”

“Pfft! Gee, thanks!” Tidal Wave scoffed.

“Your Radiance, the unicorn filly….her magic reaches into the stars themselves!” one of the harpies said. “Her power is without equal!”

Lechuza turned to her subordinate. “Issss that ssso? Then it wasss ssshhhe who desssstroyed our door…..<hiss>….How interesssssting.”

“Yeah! Now imagine if that door was you! Think you can absorb that, you old hag!?” Spiral taunted as she charged her horn.

“I wouldn’t test that theory if I were you, Spiral!” Shadow Shroud warned.

Spiral suddenly remembered their ability to devour magic and ebbed her magic. However, Lechuza creased an old, malicious smile. “Oh no…..pleasssse do!” she hissed. She held her wrinkly talon out and conjured a dark orb of her own. “I feel hungry!”

The orb suddenly expanded quickly, and Lechuza motioned her talon back as though she were swiping something. It was then that Spiral felt as though her horn had been grabbed. “<GASP!>” Curse magic suddenly formed around her horn and ripped the cosmic energy right out of it. Spiral felt as if somepony was trying to rip her mind right out of her. “ARGH! AAAAARGGGGHHHH!!!” She dropped to her hooves with an arresting headache.

“SPIRAL!” Tidal Wave exclaimed.

The cosmic magic was quickly absorbed into Lechuza’s talon, and she licked her beak as though she was about to savor a delicious meal. “Delightful….” She hissed. She then enveloped herself in the supercharged curse spell, letting out a demonic caw as she did. Seconds later, her entire form was cloaked in a sort of black and red fire that burned with an evil aura. “Hehehehehe…..Hahahahahah! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! EVEN THE COSMOSSSS BENDSSS TO MY DARK WILL!!!” All the harpies around began cheering on their queen as her power seemed to intensify, and the regal wretch turned her malevolent gaze onto the winded Spiral Galaxy. “However….. my immortality is growing thin. <hiss> Your ssssacrifice would sssssate it’s hunger for ages to come!” she declared as she used used her curse magic to reach out to Spiral’s horn once again.

Spiral staggered to her hooves as she psychically fought back Lechuza’s grasp. “J-Just….Nrgh!.....t-try!” It was no use. Lechuza had managed to suppress her magic and cause her conscious to become brittle to the point where any more resistance would cause it to shatter like glass, so she had no choice but to let up. “<Gasp!>” She could feel an ethereal talon grab her mind and choke it to the point where she was losing consciousness, but even in this state, she could still begin feeling terror. Magic was virtually useless against the harpies since they could throw it back at them, and with Lechuza powered up with Spiral’s cosmomancy, who knew what she was no capable of? Could even Valkyrie face her?.....Was this her end?......

“NOOOOO!!!!!” All of a sudden, columns of water erupted from the surrounding lake and surged towards Lechuza like a soldier bee going in to sting a target. The empowered witch was caught off-guard by the suddenly turn of events and couldn’t defend herself from a face full of fathom. The columns hit her from all sides with incredible force, causing her to lose her grip on Spiral Galaxy, who gasped for air as her consciousness quickly reconstituted. One more waterspout then surged towards the harpy queen and struck her in the chest. She let out an agonized caw as the water columns exploded and receded back into the lake. Much to everypony’s surprise Tidal Wave fell out of the last column with his spear poised at Lechuza. He landed right next to Spiral. “YOU WANNA HURT MY FRIENDS, YOU GOTTA GO THROUGH ME FIRST! HOPE YOU’RE THIRSTY!!” he exclaimed as his water brooch shined and the lake water began churning in response. He raised many orbs of water up from the lake and from them fired high-pressured jet streams at the harpies. The feathered fiends tried to absorb the shots, but because it was water and not actual magic, they took the shots right where it hurt them and were shot down like flies.

Needless to say, everypony was shocked at Tidal Wave’s sudden display of power. “Damn, homie! Who were you havin’ splash fight wit!?” Turf War said.

“You didn’t tell me he could do that!” Valkyrie said.

“We would’ve had we known!” Kickback said.

Lechuza managed to rebalance herself in the air and glared at the foals. “<HISS!!!> HOW DARE YOU!!!” The flaming aura around her became more intense. “I’LL GRIND YOUR BONESSS INTO PUDDING AND TOP IT WITH YOUR SOULSSSSS!!!!”

Valkyrie wiped her nose and smiled deviously. “Tch! Sure, Lechuza! Sounds nice!” She then got her game face on. “But two can play at that game!” She gently clutched her ‘Valhalla’ talisman and took a deep breath. “O warriors of old whose might and ferocity live on in the Valhalla, O heroes of legend whose valiant shouts echo in the winds, Ye whose blood I share and passed down to me your strength of will and heart, I, Valkyrie who bears the symbol of our lineage that houses your resting souls, call unto you! Lend my thy strength, and let us rend our foe!!” As she recited her verse, the Valhalla began to glow with a golden light that more and more enveloped Valkyrie. A swarm of harpies suddenly tried to ambush her from all directions……but as they were about to strike her, the light around exploded, sending them flying.

“<CAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!>”

Valkyrie was bathed in a ferocious golden flame that raged from her body like a meteorite, including her weapons. Her feathers glistened like the blades of cleaned swords from the gilded inferno, and her eyes shined with even more ferocity. “FACE ME, LECHUZA!!!” she shouted. Her voice echoed in such a way that it sounded as though multiple people with varying vocal ranges were speaking alongside her own.

The foals looked on in awe of Valkyrie’s little trump card. She might’ve been brash and arrogant, but it was now easy to see why. “This….is becoming a lot to keep track of.” Shadow Shroud muttered.

Lechuza let out a roaring hiss as she faced the descendent of Siegfried. “SQUASSSSH THESE INCESSSSANT BUGSSSSS THISSSS INSSSTANT! The griffonlet is miiiiiiine!!!!”

“Hail Queen Lechuza!” the harpies all shouted in unison.

Tidal Wave chuckled. “Didn’t anypony teach not to fight against the current!?” He exclaimed as he summoned more water columns, including a carpet of floating water that he stood on. “We can slow roast these chickens, right guys!?”

“U-Uh…Y-Yeah!” Fire Fight stammered. He was pumped for battle like everypony else, but Tidal Wave and Valkyrie suddenly showing their true power threw him for a small loop.

Valkyrie charged her sword with the golden light engulfing her and launched a huge blade of light at Lechuza, who quickly erected a wall of darkness to block it, which it mostly did. The sheer force of the blade knocked back a good distance, giving Valkyrie an opening to charge in, and in her supercharged state, she charged at breakneck speed, leaving behind a trail of light as she rammed into the witch with her shield. However, Lechuza managed to catch her mid-flight and absorb the shock with relative ease and throw the airborne knight off of her. Valkyrie quickly regained her balance in the air and soared high into the air with Lechuza gaining on her. When she caught up, the two empowered combatants engaged in a fierce duel that lit up the rest of the cave. Their auras of light and dark created a chaotic effect of day versus night.

Back on the ground, Tidal Wave held nothing back as he quite literally rained destruction down onto the harpies. The other foals could barely even get their heads around his ‘newfound’ capabilities, and he wasn’t afraid to show them off. They could barely even get in close enough to strike themselves as the water warlock summoned huge blasts, blades and stuff of water to relentlessly wail on the feathered fiends. All the while, the harpies were virtually helpless to defend themselves from the oceanic onslaught. “TAKE THIS!! AND THAT!! AND THIS!! TAKE ALL OF IT, YOU FREAKS!!!”

The others backed off and looked out for any stragglers that might have managed to survive Tidal Wave’s torrent, but any potential targets they would have charged were caught and swept away by the aquatic colt. Fire Fight couldn’t even light his horn with all the water getting thrown everywhere. “Damn! Where da lifeguards at?” Turf War said. “I ain’t gonna smoke Valkyrie if he keeps sinkin’ all d’hem.”

“I clearly recall Zebota explaining that Tidal Wave shouldn’t be able to do this, so how is he, and why didn’t he tell us?” Shroud asked.

“Should we really be concerned about that right this instant?” Kickback said.

“I mean….we’re not doing much else so, yeah.” Fire Fight said.

“Ugh….Lechuza really knows how to get inside your head.” Spiral complained. “Sorry, guys. My power caused us some trouble again.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Spiral. Our ‘friend’ seems to have her pretty well covered.” Shroud said.

Valkyrie and Lechuza were at each other’s throats. Blasts of light and curse magic lit up the cave like a fireworks show as they clashed. Lechuza managed to coat her talons with enough magic to effectively parry Valkyrie’s sword unarmed, but the valiant viking remained ever steadfast and tenacious as she continued to duel her corrupted adversary. Lechuza fired a beam of curse magic at Valkyrie, but she managed to shield herself from it while moving in for a strike. She constructed light around her sword in such a way that it extended the blade, and she gave a hard downward swing. However, Lechuza managed to catch it in her talons just before it could make contact. She let out a horrible hiss before exhaling dark fire from her mouth like a dragon at Valkyrie. The griffonlet could only endure the cold, black blaze with just the light of her ancestors to protect her, but the shadowy fire seemed to eat through her barrier like acid. Valkyrie quickly retaliated by releasing her shield and flailing it at the witch. The impact created a flash of light that left a crack in the blackened bird’s aura, staggering her. “RRAAAAAARRRGGHH!!! WHY MUSSSST YOU CONTINUE TO BE MY BANE, SSSSSIEGFRIED!?!?!?”
“TCH! LIKE I HAVE TO ANSWER YOU ANYTHING, YOU CHAIN SMOKER!!” Valkyrie said. She repeatedly swung her sword around, launching blades of light that Lechuza could only block and endure with her curse magic. With her immortality curse dwindling and her old age straining her stamina, the haggard was beginning to feel the effects of time catching up to her. Her curse aura started flickering on and off like a dying light bulb, and Valkyrie used this opportunity.

“<CAAAAAAAAAWWWWWW!!!!!!!>”

Valkyrie’s war cry projected as powerful sound waves lined with the golden light of the Valhalla. The sheer force of the amplified sound was punishing for Lechuza’s weakening body, and after some resistance, her defenses finally gave way. Her cursed aura quickly died down like a candle being blown out, and her exhausted body gave little resistance. Valkyrie wasted no time charging towards her adversary, rocketing towards the witch like a golden comet. With all her strength, she rammed Lechuza into a wall and ran her limp body along a good distance before tossing her to her side and using her gilded blade to behead the witch. “Uggggghhhhh……..Curse………you……….Val…..hallaaaaaaaa!........” Lechuza could only gurgle her last words as her head took its last breath.

Valkyrie grabbed the head and landed next to the foals where the swarm of harpies was trying to find a way around Tidal Wave’s defenses, but their jaws dropped in horror when Valkyrie held before them the head of their late queen. “Sorry, losers, but your ‘radiant queen’ just couldn’t get her head in the game!”

The harpies gawked at Valkyrie and the head of the fallen Lechuza. The deafening silence was only rivaled by the sound of Tidal Wave moving the water back to the lake. After a moment of horrified tension, they finally snapped. “LADY LECHUZA!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!”

“YOU’LL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE, YOU HAPLESS HATCHLING!!!”

Valkyrie just flipped her feathers as she went out of fury mode. “Yeah, yeah.” She sassed. The surviving harpies all hurriedly flew away in the wake of their shock. Seeing their queen slain was enough to send them screaming in chaos. Valkyrie walked over to the foals and showed off her prize. “I know. I know. I’m awesome. Don’t need to waste your breath.” Kickback saw the head and immediately ran over to the lakeshore and started vomiting, and Shadow Shroud went to go help him. “What’s his deal?” Valkyrie asked as she stored the head in a small satchel.

“He’s…..not so good with dead bodies.” Spiral said. “But, wow, Valkyrie! That was insane! How’d you do that?”
Valkyrie chuckled arrogantly. “This talisman I’ve got, the Valhalla, I think water boy here told you, but my ancestor, Siegfried made it.”

“Yeah! I remember Aesir telling me that.” Tidal Wave said.

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Of course it was that old coot.” She muttered. “Anyway, all of his descendants that train to and eventually become warriors heir this, and get this: everyone who has rightfully worn it passes their strength into it when they die, and it gets more powerful each time. Even Siegfried himself lives on through the Light of the Valhalla.” She explained.

“Whoa…..seriously!?” Fire Fight asked.

“Yep! So when I kick the bucket, my soul and all of its might that I’ll build up over the years will join all the other heroes that held it. Fenrir the Hunter, Thor the Stormblade, Astrid the Slayer, and eventually me, Valkyrie!” she said. She then turned her smug gaze to Turf War. “Pretty sweet, huh, hammer-head?”

Turf War looked away a little. He felt embarrassed from clearly losing their bet, but he couldn’t hark on her for accomplishing what she did. “Yeah….” He muttered. “We ain’t gonna go af’er d’hem d’ho?”

Valkyrie shook her head. “Nah. Give ‘em a chance to live a more peaceful life. We don’t wanna become terrorists, right?” She walked up to him and put her talon on his shoulder. “And forget about the bet. I gotta admit….you were all pretty cool out there. I can’t take anything from you after seeing you tear it up with the harpies like that.”

Turf War looked at her and creased a little smile. “A’ight. Cool.”

“<cough><sputter> Phew! Sorry ‘bout that, y’all.” Kickback said as Shadow Shroud led him back to the group.
“Quite alright, Kickback.” Shroud said before looking at Valkyrie. “Harnessing the power of your ancestors…..how interesting.” She said before turning her gaze to Tidal Wave. “Though, not as interesting as Tidal Wave’s little trump card.”

Tidal Wave became anxious as he was now put on the spot about his powers. “Yeah, dude. What was that all about? You clearly knew you could do that.” Fire Fight said. Tidal Wave had to gulp before finding the strength to speak.

With Great Power...

Tidal Wave could feel every eyes on him shine like spotlights waiting for him to perform a solo dance he hadn’t rehearsed. Despite his powers coming in handy during a dire situation, it wasn’t unreasonable that the other foals would be concerned why he didn’t inform them about such….quite literally tide-turning abilities. All the aquatic colt could think about was how they would respond to his explanation.

“Come on, Tidal Wave. Just tell us.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“No reason to hold it back, partner.” Kickback said.

Tidal Wave sighed. “You promise you won’t hate me?”

“Dude, why would we?” Fire Fight said. “We’ve all been there. We’re just concerned why you never said anything about it.”

“Y-Yeah….True that….” Tidal Wave said. He took a deep breath. “It happened just before I left Yodelneigh.” Tidal Wave explained his encounter with the bullies that harassed Aesir and how they came after him at the lake Justas he was leaving. “I-I don’t how it happened, but…..I just got really mad, and the lake water just sort of…..surged out and protected me. But….I could tell that I did it. I was as shocked as they were, and I just swam away.” He explained. “I didn’t tell you guys or Zebota, because I didn’t want him to take it from me. I…..promised him I’d be responsible with it, but that just had to happen.”

The foals weren’t sure whether to be confused, or surprised, or perhaps both. Having no clear explanation of how Tidal Wave’s jewel suddenly granted him hydrokinesis was puzzling, but they remembered Zebota clearly explaining that it shouldn’t grant him anything beyond simple water-breathing and aqua-empathy. Fire Fight wondered if Quantum Tech might have missed something in her analysis. “You trippin’.” Turf War said.

“Dude, you saw it for yourself. It’s real.” Tidal Wave said.

“Is…..it possible that Zebota knew this would happen, but he wanted to let you discover it? Somehow, I can imagine him doing that.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Yeah, but to what end?” Spiral asked.

“Ah reckon…..maybe Zebota would wanna let him grow like a plant. He’s minds nature like a gentlecolt minds his neighbors, so maybe he planted that seed in Tidal Wave just so they could both grow into stronger plants?” Kickback hesitantly suggested.

“How poetically accurate.” Shroud commented.

“We’d have to ask him once we get back.” Turf War said.

“N-NO!!” Tidal Wave plead. “What if he takes it away?”

“Tidal Wave, why’s that so bad? Maybe there’s just something wrong with it, and he’d have to look at it for a minute?” Spiral inquired.

Tidal Wave looked like he was holding back tears. “I…..I don’t want to feel helpless anymore.”

“Helpless? You can wield a spear like that, and you think you’re helpless?” Valkyrie asked.

“It’s more than that!” Tidal Wave said. He was on the verge of tears. “Ever since I was born, I’ve been nothing but exactly that! I couldn’t fly, everypony picked on me, my mom had died, and my dad could only do so much just to make things easier for me! Even so, he was given a hard time just for being my dad! Every time I read comics and watched the heroes just be so cool and save the day and all that, I always yearned for even the smallest chance to just….be like them. I wouldn’t be helpless anymore. I’d actually matter and be able to stick for myself.” He said as he glanced down at his jewel. “Now that I have this, that dream has pretty much come true. I’m not the flightless weakling anymore! I know it might be selfish of me, but…..please…..I don’t want to lose it……”

The foals couldn’t help but to feel for their friend, but Valkyrie just solemnly shook her head. “Dude, really?” Everypony looked at her. “You seriously think some water mojo necklace makes you a freakin’ hero?”

“Tch. Says the griffon who just empowered herself with her ancestor’s or something.” Tidal Wave retaliated.

“Okay, 1. No hating on the Valhalla; it’s worth more than every house in whatever little nowhere town you come from. 2. You think that was easy? I’ve got the essence of my ancestor’s surging through my body, and they only just got rudely awoken from their long nap without even a chance to hit the snooze button- not so convenient for them. You think that doesn’t put a ton of strain on me?” Valkyrie asked.

“It ain’t look like it did.” Turf War said.

“Well, that’s only because I’ve practiced it over and over until I could just barely shrug it off.” Valkyrie said. “Point is that you can’t take something like for granted. If you slip up with those water powers, there might be more than just a bad rain shower coming your way.”

Spiral put her hoof on his shoulder. “I kinda know how you feel, Tidal Wave. But in my case, I was a prisoner of my own sheer power….well…..I guess I still kinda am…..so don’t make the same mistake I did and become too curious. It won’t end well. Fire Fight and everypony else helped learn how to control it better, but if I didn’t let it get out of proportions to begin with, it wouldn’t have been an issue.”

“Ah’m rightly sure that Zebota will understand, partner. He’ll be surely surprised, but he ain’t as stern a feller as he might seem.” Kickback said.

“Even though he almost had us killed.” Shroud commented.

Tidal Wave perked up upon hearing that. “Wait. What?”

“Uh! Long story…” Fire Fight said. “Look, Tidal Wave, most of here are here because the power we hold even alone was feared, especially because of how we were using it. You’re lucky that the worst of it came from your wings being….what they are. I guarantee that if you had those powers beforehand, ponies would think you were like….possessed or something. It’s as if they don’t even let you at least try to show that you’re responsible with your talents, but I digress. What’s important is that you chose to use your powers responsibly, and I don’t see how Zebota could ever have a problem with that. Besides, if you were really so powerless before, you wouldn’t have mustered that courage to escape it all.”

“Fo’ real, dog. When I was back in da hood, I wasn’t s***.” Turf War said. “I was just some random-a** colt wit a sign an’ a trash can tryna bust gangs n’ all d’hem. I ain’t had no damn magic o’ none o’ that, but I still be out d’here bashin’ b- uh….jerks n’ all. If there was problems in Cloudsdale n’ d’hey see da skills wit dat spear, hehe! D’hey ain’t even gonna try, my boy.”

“You only mistake was allowing yourself to be vulnerable. Don’t let what you desire define who are, but rather, what you have.” Shroud said.

Tidal Wave listened to his friends and let their words sink in. Being lectured by all of them was a bit embarrassing, but hearing their kind words made him feel loads better. “Thanks, guys.” He muttered.

“Sure, buddy!” Spiral said. “Thanks for saving me too.”

Tidal Wave looked at her. “Yeah, no problem. That looked painful.” He said.

“I’d rather spare you the details.” Spiral said.

“Please do.” Tidal Wave said.

“Alright, alright. Save the hugs and kisses for later. You guys scratched my back, now it’s my turn. To the portal?” Valkyrie said. Spiral and Tidal Wave blushed a little from her first comment.

“Yep. Glad we could help, Valkyrie! You are pretty cool.” Fire Fight said.

Valkyrie chuckled and stroked her feathers. “Tell me something I don’t know.” She said as she started marching towards the destroyed door, and the foals followed.

“Okay. 2+2=4.” Shroud teased, earning her an annoyed snarl from the bombastic bird.

“Just eh…..keep that there head in yer bag if y’all’d be so kind.” Kickback said.

“What? This?” Valkyrie said as she only partially pulled the head out of her satchel, but put it back when Kickback held his mouth. “Hehe! Just kidding.”

Kickback rolled his eyes. “At least ya have a sense o’ humor.”

“And at least you know how to keep your cool, or at least put it back together.” Valkyrie said.

“Hey, Tidal Wave? Did anything happen while you were down in those submerged tunnels? We felt the ground shake a couple times.” Fire Fight asked.

“Yeah, and I wasn’t swingin’ my hammer ‘round.” Turf War said.

“Except when you were trying to show off.” Shroud said, to which the ghetto colt just turned away from her.

“Oh! Umm…..not really. Just a little…..obstacle is all.” Tidal Wave said.

A wave of concern brushed over them. “What happened?” Spiral asked.

“Ehehe….I was……kinda, sorta attacked by a giant glowing eel. It rammed itself into the cavern walls a couple times. That’s probably what you felt.” Tidal Wave said. “I took care of it though. Not too much trouble.”

“<whistle!> Bet that was a rush! I might give you a gold star or something later.” Valkyrie said.

“Pfft. Yeah, thanks.” Tidal Wave retorted.

“Still though…..there’s clearly more to you than even you yourself realize, Tidal Wave. We’ll have to ask Quantum Tech to make another analysis of your DNA when we get back.” Shroud said.

“Yeah. She’s gonna really interested in your Valhalla too, Valkyrie.” Fire Fight said.

Valkyrie shook her head. “Really rather she didn’t, dude. This thing’s a little more fragile than it looks. Plus, it’s my family’s heirloom; I can’t just let some random stranger look at it.”

“Well, Ah’m sure she’ll understand.” Kickback said.

“What y’all gonna do wit dat head d’ho?” Turf War asked.

“Duh! Present it to King Grover and show him that one of the Griffon’s oldest enemies is kaput! He’s gonna happy with me.” Valkyrie answered proudly.

“Mmhm. ‘Cause dat’s gonna be the end o’ yo’ problems just like dat. Bam!” Turf War said.

“Hey! She might’ve been one problem, but she was a big one.” Valkyrie rebutted.

“Don’t start, you two!” Fire Fight warned. Something about his tone made Valkyrie decide to reluctantly comply rather than scoff at him for being a pony trying to order her, and Turf War just listened to his friend. The rest of the trek out of the cave was mostly silent, as there wasn’t much left to say. Spiral was a little hesitant to go back outside, but she knew she had to find the strength to fight back against the power that made her feel so helpless. Valkyrie strutted all proud of herself with Turf War giving her annoyed glances on occasion.

Once the entrance of the cave was in sight, they all breathed a sweet sigh of relief. “Well, that’s one more near-death experience out of the way.” Fire Fight commented.

Valkyrie chuckled. “What do you mean ‘one more’? What have you guys even been up to?” she asked.

“Oh, uh…..just exploring the world is all.” Spiral said. “We’ve…..been in more than a few ordeals that uh…..”

“It’s been one heckuva rodeo. Let’s just leave it at that.” Kickback said.

“Uhh….sure, whatever.” Valkyrie decided not to bother, seeing as her only responsibility towards the foals was helping them get through the portal.

“Y-Yeah. I don’t think you’d believe us even if we told- ACK!” As he was stepping out into the sunlight, Fire Fight accidently bumped into something and nearly fell on his flank. “What the?” When he looked up, his heart just about stopped.

“Oh! Excuse me, sweet- <GASP!> FIRE FIGHT!?!?!” Standing above him was a familiar grey earth pony mare with a black and white striped mane and tail, and comedy masks for a Cutie Mark.

“F-F-F-FILM NOIR!?!?” Fire Fight stammered.

“Hey! It’s that colt from Ponyville!” Fire Fight looked over to see a film crew a few yards away from them. It explained Film Noir’s presence there in the first place. All of the other foals shared in Fire Fight’s shock while Valkyrie just looked confused.

“Huh? Who’s this?” Valkyrie asked.

Film Noir thrust her arms around Fire Fight. “Oh, Fire Fight! We’ve been worried sick about you, honey!!” she said. Fire Fight struggled to escape her grasp. “Don’t you worry! Action Shot is in jail, and your teacher felt so bad about what happened. She and your mother have been looking-”

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”

Everypony looked at the entrance to the cave to see Spiral Galaxy hurriedly charging her horn. The only thing that was in her expression was panic, and the sheer force of the universe congregating within her caused the entire area to rumble violently, causing Film Noir to lose her grip on Fire Fight and much of the filming equipment to topple over.

“SPIRAL, DON’T!!!!” Tidal Wave shouted as he tackled her to the ground in an attempt to stop her. This caused Spiral to aim her horn up at the cliff walls, and she released her built-up magic into a nova laser that fired at it, blasting it away like leaf blower scattering leaves and grass. Thankfully, everypony was well out of its line of fire, but a storm of rocks and debris started raining down, prompting everypony to book it out of the way. Tidal Wave had to carry Spiral in her dazed state.

“WHAT THE HELL GIVES!?!?” Valkyrie shouted as she flew out of the way of the raining detritus.

As the rocks fell onto the gorge floor, the film crewmen were mysteriously conked out one by one. All of them were safe from the rock fall, but Film Noir was frazzled at everything that was happening, and she looked at Fire Fight. “Wh-Wh-What!? Fire Fight, what’s…..” She was at a loss for words.

Fire Fight could only give her sorrowful expression, knowing what was coming despite what she’d done for him in the past. “I’m sorry, Film Noir….” He muttered. Before she could even answer, Film Noir was quickly struck in the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious.

Beside the actress was Shadow Shroud with her mask on, but she took it off to reveal her own guilty expression as she faced Fire Fight. “I’m sorry too, Fire Fight…”

“It’s ok, Shroud! Let’s just go! Now! Before they wake up!” Fire Fight ordered. They all complied without hesitation, save for Valkyrie, who just flew after them completely frazzled.

“HEY! WHAT IN TARTARUS IS GOING ON HERE!?”

Tough Choices

Author's Notes:

Guys! At the time I'm posting this, this story has broken 100 LIKES!! I was beyond thrilled to see that, and it sucks that I couldn't get this chapter out sooner just to thank you all for staying with me and our favorite foals(and griffonlet and timberwolf)!! I think I'll let them speak for themselves again.

Fire Fight: "Now I know I'm ready to take on the rest of my mission! I won't let you all down!

Shadow Shroud: "The first tenet of my order states as follows: 'For every shadow, there is a light. Heed both with equal reverence'. It delights me that you all see me for more than my kunai. <giggle> How eager I am to show more."

Turf War: "WOOOOOO!!! Y'all some dope-a** m**********!!!.......Dat's a good thing! I promise!"

Spiral Galaxy: "Wow! You all have just been great! I thought my friends were awesome, but you guys encourage me a lot too! I'll make sure to keep going with my head high!"

Air Slash: "<holds his sword over his heart> You have my utmost respect and gratitude."

Kickback: "<tips his hat> Ah'm awful grateful to y'all wonderful people."

Crazylocks: "WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! YOU'VE ALL FORCED SO MUCH LOVE ON ME THAT IT WEIGHS ON MY HEART AND ALL THE MARSHMELLOW MINIONS KEEP IT BEATING!!"

Quantum Tech: "Well! I'd my previous hypothesis has more basis for credibility. Humans are quite the amazing folk indeed. At this point, not much observation seems terribly warranted.

Zebota: "We share food, water, the very air we breathe, and our compassion for all things around us. It delights me to see that you have not forgotten this."
Shrapnel: "<HOOOOWWWWLLLLL>

Greensprout: "Words truly cannot express how happy I am for all of your support! <sniffle> This has such a ride for me, and you've all been so wonderful! Thank you."

Bullseye: "Nrgh.....Okay, fine! I'll say it! I LOVE YOU ALL TOO!.....And I mean that.....even if I'm just some shameless b****."

Tidal Wave: : "Man! What was I worried about? You guys are all just fantastic!"

Valkyrie: "Hehe! Of course this happens when I appear! Whatever though. I shouldn't have to waste my breath saying that you guys are in for a treat the rest of the way."

???: "HUH!? 100 likes already, and I'm not even in the picture yet? Tch! Fine! Savor the moment! See if I care!.......and......get to me already......b-b-because I'm totally getting impatient here!

Fire Fight and the Battle Foals along with Valkyrie quickly ascended the cliff path they took to get down into the gorge. All that could go through the red colt’s head was the sudden risk of his quest coming to an abrupt end with the appearance of Film Noir. Taking a quick glance back, seeing her and her film crew knocked unconscious tugged at his heart. He was forever grateful to her for defending him when he was at his lowest in Ponyville, even if her efforts were in vain, so to have Shadow Shroud have to knock her unconscious was hard for him, but the last thing he wanted to do was to let his team down, especially now that they’ve come this far. What he didn’t consider right away was how in the hay he was going to explain this to Valkyrie.

The foals bolted into the woods near where they fended off the flock of harpies, making sure that nopony else was miraculously around to discover them. They stopped to take a quick breather as they looked around frantically. “D-Did we lose them?” Tidal Wave stammered. He had to let go of Spiral, who had just regained her senses after her little panic attack.

Kickback looked around and listened intently. “Ah reckon we did.”

“I made sure of it.” Shadow Shroud said. Her normally stern expression drooped down into shallow guilt as her eyes glanced toward Fire Fight.

Turf War looked around some more. “Hol’ up. Where Valkyrie went?”

Said griffonlet suddenly burst out from the bushes, and her expression told the foals that she was in no mood for taking a breather as she hovered above the foals. “Ok! I’m not moving another inch until you explain just what in Siegfried’s name I just witnessed!”

Being a griffon, the foals weren’t really sure how much Valkyrie would care about their current situation, but it was clear that they wanted their help, they’d have to come clean once more with somepony they couldn’t avoid. Fire Fight sighed. “Alright, Valkyrie. Pull up a chair and listen.”

“Incoming long story….” Spiral commented.

Fire Fight, as usual, started from the top. However, with the sudden appearance of Film Noir, he felt the need to mention her role in his ordeal back in Ponyville. He was also sure not mention Shadow Shroud’s nature as a Shadewalker, nor her killing Gene Splice. The last thing he mentioned was their visit from Princess Luna, which is what prompted them to find the portal to the Asgard Forest to begin with, hence why they sought out Valkyrie. “So…..yeah. That’s, uh….that’s pretty much it.” All of the other foals bar Shadow Shroud were stunned to hear about Film Noir for the first time, and the very notion that who they just encountered knew Fire Fight further jarred them. Would she now be even more determined to find him now that she knows where he is generally?

Valkyrie found herself pretty stunned at Fire Fight’s tale alone. The foals had demonstrated their skill and dedication on the battlefield already, and even through her inflated ego, she was able to see the true nature of their prowess. “Dude…..for real?”

“Y’all think we lyin’? I ain’t got dis hammer just ‘cause I wanna look like a bad m*********, ya know.” Turf War said.

“Valkyrie, please don’t rat us out! I absolutely do not want to go back home!” Spiral plead.

“None of us do…” Tidal Wave said.

Valkyrie gently fluttered back to the ground and sighed as she looked at the foals. “Nah. Don’t worry.”

The foals were equal parts shocked and relieved to hear Valkyrie’s response. “R-Really?”

“Yeah….I mean, I probably should, but…. 1. I promised I’d help you guys, and 2. Griffons don’t really care much for pony’s problems anyway. Besides, I’ve seen you guys in action. You’ll be fine.” Valkyrie said.

Despite her somewhat callous response, the foals were just relieved that Valkyrie decided not to be their enemy. Fire Fight wiped his brow. “Phew! That’s a relief. Thanks, Valkyrie.”

Valkyrie chuckled. “Sure, kid. But enough chit-chat. We’ve got a portal to catch!” she declared as she twirled her sword proudly before sheathing it. The foals all agreed, and they made their way back to the Great Horn Summit.

They decided to hurry, but pace themselves carefully so as to not attract possible attention, and in case Film Noir and her crew woke up sooner than expected, though Shadow Shroud assured them they’d be out like lights for long enough for them to escape if they didn’t dawdle. As they crossed out of the forest and into the open plain, the little ninja appeared next to Fire Fight. “Hey…”

Fire Fight looked over at her. He could tell that she too was thinking of Film Noir. “<sigh> You saw all of that happen back in Ponyville, didn’t you?”

Shroud solemnly nodded. “I did. It was….a very…..tender scene.” She muttered. “I’m sorry, Fire Fight. My actions back there might have been a little….harsh.”

Fire Fight shook his head. “No, Shroud. They weren’t. How else were we gonna get away without being followed?”

Shroud seemed to narrow her eyes a little as she glanced down at the ground. “You’re not concerned about her at all?” she asked. “She was your only ray of hope in your darkest hour, and you’re okay with me subduing her as though she were some animal?”

Fire Fight was caught off guard. “N-No! I didn’t like it any more than you did.” He said. But then he thought back to when the kindly actress held him in her arms before his adventure, and just a few moments ago. His mother was the only thing keeping him sane with all the support she could give him, but having a stranger stick for him purely out the kindness of her heart meant a lot to the headstrong colt. Admittedly, he felt a little spoiled, but it was better than being demonized by everypony else. Thinking about, her embrace moments felt no different from way back when, and he suddenly felt like an ungrateful jerk. “I just hope she….she’s gonna be okay.”

Shroud put her hoof on his shoulders. “Tough choices, huh?”

Fire Fight lightly chuckled. “You’re saying that now?”

“Better late than never, I’d say.” Shroud teased. “But still….ever since Gene Splice, I sometimes wonder if we’re going a little too far.”

The light mood suddenly dropped for the two of them, and Fire Fight was glanced down at his hooves. “Well…..Okay, it’s kinda weird hearing that from you, but…..”

Shroud suddenly giggled. “You’re right. Maybe I’m thinking too much. Before I met you, I wasn’t used to caring about others.”

Fire Fight regained his smile. “Well, don’t let me change you too much. If you become as soft I can be, we’re kinda screwed.”

“<giggle> Duly noted.” Shroud said. From then on, the two had idle conversations about their adventure thus far.

Meanwhile, Tidal Wave stayed with Spiral to make sure she wasn’t still dizzy. He didn’t let it on, but he was still a little rattled by her outburst of star power. “You still okay, Spiral? That seemed like a real doozy back there.”

“Yeah, I’m fine Tidal Wave. Thanks.” Spiral said. “Sorry I nearly blasted you into oblivion…..twice.”

“Eh. It’s okay. Sorry I tackled you so hard. Guess I was more panicked than I realized.” Tidal Wave said.

“Can’t say I blame you. That was WAY too close for comfort.” Spiral said.

“What? The rockslide?” Tidal Wave joked.

Spiral sighed. “I’m serious, dude. I don’t even want to imagine being sent back to Hoofington. Everything was just awful there after I…..got kinda power hungry.”

Tidal Wave frowned. “S-Sorry….I didn’t mean-”

“No, it’s okay.” Spiral interjected. “I doubt you want to go back to Cloudsdale.”

Tidal Wave shook his head. “Not in a million years.” He said, but then a thought crossed his mind and heart. “I just hope things will get better for my dad. I caused him a lot of grief.”

“No you didn’t, Tidal Wave. Ponies just didn’t like the way you were born, and they decided to attack the messenger along with you.” Spiral said. “I made a decision that endangered the whole town, let alone my parents. I’m the one who actually screwed up.”

“Maybe, but they opted not to help you. More than anything, you put yourself in danger, and everypony in that town was too scared and selfish to even approach you. You made the right choice getting out of there.” Tidal Wave said.

Spiral creased a little smile. “Yeah. We both did. It was a leap of faith, but it worked out in the end when we met Fire Fight, huh?”

“Ha! You sure wanna you talk to me about leaping?” Tidal Wave said. The two shared a little laugh.

“So….what all happened down there? With the eel, I mean?” Spiral asked.

“Oh! Well, when I got down into the nitty-gritty of the ecosystem down there, there was a lot of glowing fish and stuff. A lot of it was about normal sized, so I wasn’t too freaked out. Then I swam out into this….like shaft, I guess, and I could sense something big in there with me. I couldn’t make it out very clearly at first, but it stopped in front of me and lit up its body while looking me right in the eye!” Tidal Wave explained.

Spiral’s eyes widened in horror as she imagined herself in Tidal Wave’s place. “Holy hayseed!”

“Yeah. Needless to say, it didn’t like having visitors, so it tried to crush me. And it moved around that limited space easier than you’d think……Although, I guess it was an eel. Anyway, I finally thought to make a huge blade of water on my spear, and I just diced from there!” Tidal Wave said.

“Yikes! Suddenly, Hydro Horse!” Spiral said.

Tidal Wave looked surprised. “Jeez! How many comic series have you read?”

“Enough to keep my mind occupied from the stars, thankfully.” Spiral said. “So was it the original series version, the version from that crappy spin-off from two years ago?”

“What? Come on! It wasn’t that bad!” Tidal Wave argued.

“Dude….his sword was changed to a freaking harpoon that he just made out of wrecked boat parts! What was that supposed to do?” Spiral said.

Tidal Wave shrugged. “At least he took the time to make it himself rather than just have it pretty much handed to him.”

“Well….sure, but all the villains were either just stupid or plain boring. I mean, come on! A mutated sea urchin, and all he could do was roll around? The original series had a jellyfish that could melt its body and basically had electricity powers. They could have at least a little creative with the spin-off!” Spiral said.

Tidal Wave sighed. “Ok, ok. That was definitely one of the worst parts, but…” The two continued their conversation as they trekked on.

At the same time, Turf War was watching Valkyrie strut across the grass when he noticed Kickback somewhat keeping his distance from the rest of the gang. Concerned, the ghetto colt walked over to his desert-dwelling friend. “What’s good, dog?”

Kickback glanced over at his friend and creased his gentlemanly smile. “Nuttin’ much, Ah reckon.” He said.

Despite his normally calm demeanor, Turf War could tell there was more to it than that. “Nah, son. You trippin’. Come on.”

Kickback glanced down at the ground as his expression started to fade. “Ah just…..When Sheriff told us about that actin’ mare n’ all, Ah….well, Ah just couldn’t help but to think o’ mah mama.” He said.

“Bruh! You still hung up on dat? I mean, no disrespect, but…….” Turf War said.

Kickback lowly chuckled. “Ah know, Ah know. Ah’ve moved on n’ all, but that don’t mean Ah don’t miss her anymore. Ah remember one day when Ah came home from a….pretty rotten day at school. Sumthin’ Ah don’t care much to mention happened, and Ah just went home with a heavy heart. When Ah told mama what happened, she just held me in her arms n’ let me cry my emotions out. It was a mite embarrassin’, but she didn’t judge me one bit.” He sighed. “When she passed, Ah couldn’t much do that anymore. Ah always had to be the second man o’ the house along with pa. That ‘Film Noir’ pretty did the same thing fer Fire Fight. Darn shame that Ms. Shadow Shroud had to send her sleepin’.”

Turf War couldn’t help but sigh upon letting his words sink. “Yeah…..Yeah, dat was kinda f***** up.”

Kickback nodded. “Ah know we’re tryin’ to stay hidden n’ all, but Ah’m not rightly sure Ah approve o’ what happened just then. She was completely innocent, n’ the sheriff had no reason to hold any grudges, but we just up n’ stomped her in the dirt without much else than a little apology. It just….felt a mite harsh.”

“I mean……What we was s’posed to do? She didn’t look like she was ‘bout to let homie go.” Turf War said.
Kickback fixed his hat. “Well….true. Maybe Ah’m just thinking a li’l too much.”

“Man! It ain’t wrong to think. I know I ain’t do dat too much, but when I do, it’s fo’ a damn good reason. Don’t trip.” Turf War said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Yer right, partner.”

After some conversations and Valkyrie showing off a little more, the foals retraced their steps and returned to the foot of the Great Horn Summit. The cold winds rolled down the mountain as if the land itself was welcoming them back from their adventure. Despite never having been here, Valkyrie felt somewhat nostalgic in the presence of this revered place; perhaps it was the echoes of the griffons that lived here in ages past? Either way, the very sight of their finish was a major relief for the foals.

“Think you can call Shrapnel with your water brooch, Tidal Wave?” Fire Fight asked.

Tidal Wave nodded. “I should be able to.” He gently clutched his jewel and closed his eyes. He sensed the wooden titan’s presence on the summit and used the nature-empathic power it had to call him.

“We did tell you that Shrapnel’s a timberwolf, right?” Shroud asked Valkyrie.

“Yeah. Pretty sure you mentioned that. Not like it matters though. If he decided to go AWOL, I’d chop him into firewood before you could cry wolf.” She boasted.

Turf War mockingly nodded. “Mmhm. D’hen you’d hafta deal wit Zebota, and he ain’t no b****.”

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” It took a moment or so, but the foals were delighted when they heard a very familiar, powerful howl echo from up the rugged terrain.

Rising Issues

Author's Notes:

If you thought that today's eclipse foretold the coming of a new chapter, you were right!

A moment or so after he announced his presence, Shrapnel emerged from the wooded hills of the Great Horn Summit. He shook his wooden body to clear himself of ice and snow that had accumulated over him, cascading off of him like a mist sprayer. He greeted the foals with an excited bark.

“There you are, big guy!” Fire Fight said as he scratched the titan’s chin. Shrapnel lightly nuzzled him in response.

“<whistle!> That’s a daddy timberwolf right there!” Valkyrie commented as she laid her eyes on the beast. Shrapnel then eyed her for a moment before sniffing the new face, but Valkyrie wasn’t bothered. If anything, she relished attention from even a ferocious monster that she’d normally be hunting if not for the fact that he was tame. She stroked her feathers as if to present herself. “Hehe! Even this bucko can tell how awesome I am.”

“Or maybe he tryna decide if he want chicken legs fo’ dinner.” Turf War said.

Valkyrie shot him a glare. “Hey! Who saved your flanks from becoming Lechuza’s voodoo dolls?” Valkyrie retorted.

“Uh…me?” Tidal Wave said. “I was kinda the one who…”

“Eh, details, details.” Valkyrie interjected. The foals just decided to shrug her off and climb onto Shrapnel’s back. Fire Fight did what he did before and casted a heat shield around them to stave of the cold winds blowing down the mountain. Traveling back up the mountain slope was an uphill battle in more ways than one. Shrapnel was a strong creature indeed, but having to carry a little extra weight while braving through a mini blizzard and passing by occasionally hostile monster proved to be taxing on his wooden frame. Spiral Galaxy and Kickback did what they could to hold back any threats by firing their respective forms of projectiles from within the heat bubble.

“How are you doing on bullets, Kickback?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Kickback checked his supply and saw that he wasn’t in immediate danger of exhausting his supply, but he could stand for a restock. “Ah reckon Ah’m not doin’ too bad, but Ah would not be opposed to askin’ Ms. Quantum Tech to make me some more.”

Shroud chuckled. “Of course you wouldn’t.”

After a while, Shrapnel finally managed to surmount the mountainous terrain and return to the temple courtyard. The foals and Valkyrie wasted no time lightening his load seeing as how tired he’d grown. The arborous animal panted before stretching his limbs. They hadn’t occupied this ancient abode for very long, but something about it felt very homey, so the foals felt very warmth of sweet relief when they at long last returned from their harrowing venture. However, they got a strange feeling that something was slightly amiss.

“Is it just me, or…..is it a little colder here than it was before?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“It must be pretty cold if you think there’s any real difference.” Valkyrie said as she brushed snow off of her feathers.

“The others must be inside. Shall we?” Shadow Shroud said as she motioned for them to follow her to the courtyard door.

“Brrr! Surely.” Kickback said as he shivered off the cold.

As they entered, Valkyrie took the time to look around the aged structure. She almost immediately recognized the architectural and artistic influence of her people, and the nostalgic feeling from earlier became stronger. Having the souls of her mightiest ancestors right at her chest was warm enough as is, but she felt as though she was exploring a part her people that had long been obscured, and it was an enlightening privilege.

Just as they’d surmised, the foals that had stayed behind heard them come in and entered the portal chamber. Quantum Tech tried to prance up to Kickback, but he started pushing her away the second she got close enough, much to her disappointment. “I see you have returned safely, ponyfolk, and with our guest.” Zebota said.

“Sho’ did, dog!” Turf War said.

Quantum Tech walked up to the armed griffonlet. “Valkyrie, I presume?”

Valkyrie flipped her head feathers similar to how a pony would flip their mane. “Right here, little pony. In the flesh! Heard you had a little predicament involving a portal to Griffonstone. That right?”

The remaining foals were off put by her ego as the others were, but they decided to ignore it and get to the point. “That is correct. We hope this of no inconvenience to you.” Air Slash said.

“I wouldn’t be here if it was, would I?” Valkyrie said. She then noticed the swords on his back. “Dude, you that samurai or whatever these guys were telling me about?”

Air Slash smiled proudly and drew one of his swords. “I am indeed. My name is Air Slash. I see you carry a blade of your own.”

Valkyrie drew and showed off her greatsword. “You know it, little pony! Been passed down in my family since Siegfried himself forged it. We might have to duke it out sometime just for the heck of it.”

Air Slash sheathed his sword. “Well, I do enjoy having a worthy opponent.”

“You sure sound as though you’re over you illness.” Shroud said.

Greensprout stood beside him. “He is, but how are all of you?”

“We good, but check dis out.” Turf War said as he showed her the gash he’d sustained from the harpy attack. “Could y’all patch dis up?”

“Oh my goodness! Absolutely, Turf War.” Greensprout quickly went to work with her Gaia Root and mended Turf War’s wound within seconds, and Valkyrie found herself mesmerized at the spectacle.

“Whoa….trippy.” Valkyrie said.

Greensprout smiled at her as she finished. “Are you wounded, sister? No warrior should be without their strength.”

Valkyrie wiped her nose. “No thanks, kid. What Turf War just had would be just a scratch for me!”

“Wanna bet?” Bullseye hissed as she hovered above the group and eyed the egotistical griffonlet.

Valkyrie glared back at her. “You talking to me, fruitcake?” she said.

The two eyed each other before Quantum Tech intervened. “Bullseye, you already had your fix of violence earlier.”

The returning foals looked at her with concern. “Wait. What?” Fire Fight asked.

Crazylocks suddenly appeared beside Valkyrie. “DON’T EAT THE ICE CREAM! IT’S INFECTED WITH FAIRY TALES THAT WENT UNWRITTEN AND NOW SEEK REVENGE FOR THEIR PAGES NEVER RECEIVING THEIR ALLIMONIES!!!”

Valkyrie was understandably irked by the manic filly’s behavior. “Uhh……you know you’re supposed to be lying down with your eyes closed while dreaming, right?” Crazylocks sat down on her hind legs and panted like a dog for a couple seconds before barking in ‘meow’s and using her hind leg to scratch the back of her head. “I thought Shrapnel was the pet here.”

Bullseye landed between her and Crazylocks. “Hey! You got a problem with her, you talk to me. We clear!?” she said. The returning foals were shocked to see her stick up for Crazylocks, or anypony for that matter.

Valkyrie drew her sword. “Man, you really do want trouble don’t you?” she hissed.

Greensprout tapped her root on the temple floor. “That’s quite enough, you two!” she calmly ordered. Reluctantly, the two would-be combatants lowered their guards. “Thank you.” She said before facing the others. “Something happened while you were gone, and I think it’s worth sitting down for discussion.”

“Y-Yeah, but we’ll have to make it quick. We…..ran into a problem out there that might prompt us to have to get a move on.” Fire Fight said. His light anxiety was replaced with surprise and minor annoyance when his stomach grumbled. “Of course…”

“Some dinner would be prudent, it seems. Our respective ordeals have no doubt strained us.” Zebota said.

“Alright. Sit tight, guys. I’ll whip something up.” Fire Fight said.

Valkyrie glanced over at him. “Dude, you cook?” she asked.

“Yeah. Why?” Fire Fight asked.

“Want some help?” Valkyrie offered. “I’ve got some extra stuff in my pouch here.”

Fire Fight looked at her with surprise. “You cook too?”

“Yeah, dude! How do ya think I keep myself fed on long quests?” Valkyrie replied. “Plus, I’ve got some stuff exclusively from Griffonstone that you guys might like.”

Quantum Tech perked up. “Oh! Some Griffon cuisine! How exciting!”

“Yeah, I think we definitely need to wind down for a bit.” Tidal Wave said.

Fire Fight got started on dinner with freshly picked vegetables and some eggs from Quantum’s mech to make an egg-veggie stew. Valkyrie through her ingredients into the mix as well, which consisted of Griffonstone wheat, Eastern Sour blackberries native to the region, and snake eggs. The wheat was noticeably tougher and crunchier than Equestrian wheat and had a slightly stronger taste from what Fire Fight could tell when sampling it; it was a nice new perspective. The blackberries proved to taste pretty strong for the colt’s liking, so he asked Valkyrie not to throw a whole lot in, which she wasn’t too disappointed to adhere to seeing as there would more for her. Cooking snake eggs wasn’t too much different than bird eggs, but tearing the egg open to get at the whites proved to a jarring surprise for Fire Fight when Valkyrie had to remove the underdeveloped embryo. She just told him to suck it up and continue cooking, which he was able to after a very deep breath. With the griffon ingredients properly prepared by their avian guest, Fire Fight finished the job and was ready to serve his new dish in record time. He thanked Valkyrie for the help and got ready to call the others.

“Oh! You know what? Totally forgot one other thing.” Valkyrie said as she reached into one of her packs.

“What’s that?” Fire Fight asked excitedly. His hype was quickly killed when Valkyrie pulled out the head of Lechuza whilst expressing a devious smile.

“Whoops! Not that!” Valkyrie joked as she put the head back in her bag, snickering.

Fire Fight just looked at her with a disapproving expression and shook his head. “Funny, funny….” He said. “Come and get it, guys!” he called out.

Without hesitation, the Battle Foals all joined up and eagerly received their food from Fire Fight. It wasn’t a strange ritual at this point, but a lot had happened, and a nice dinner was a great medium for a meeting between their squad. Plus, everypony was eager to sample some of Valkyrie’s culture. Zebota had already helped Shrapnel hunt a couple of mountain goats, so he took a nap in the foyer.

Any dish touched by Fire Fight was bound to be a delight, and the stew was no exception. The only thing that was strange was the more…..gamey taste of the snake eggs compared to what they were used to. The sour blackberries were certainly a surprise, for better or for worse, but there wasn’t very many of them in the stew as a whole, so they could enjoy them. Nopony noticed a very big difference when tasting the Griffonstone wheat, which perplexed Fire Fight since he’d been able to detect a very distinct difference, which got him a few stares. All in all, it was a nice dish.

Quantum Tech spoke up. “I think we should mention first and foremost that we were attacked here in your absence.”

“Seriously!? By what!?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

Quantum swallowed some of her stew. “It was an anomalous entity that exhibited the exact same supernatural properties as the windigo we encountered in the White Tail Woods, but took the form of a monstrous ape.”

The returning foals apart from Tidal Wave looked at her with worry, remembering the frightening ordeal. “What do y’all mean ‘the same’?” Kickback asked.

“It had a vital core and was plated in regenerative ice armor. We barely managed to destroy it.” Quantum explained. “The core dissolved into ethereal dust that Zebota and I gathered so that I may study it.”

“That’s….quite worrying.” Shroud commented. “The same enemy, but in a different form…..hmm….”

“Y’all sure it wasn’t some guardian spirit o’ dis mountain tryna kick us off his lawn?” Turf War inquired.

Zebota shook his head. “If such were the case, it would have appeared as soon as we arrived at this temple, and I did not sense it until it made itself known.” He said.

“Could you sense its intentions, Zebota?” Tidal Wave asked.

“I’m afraid not, ponyfolk. I do not know why, but it’s very nature was foreign to me, as was the windigo.” Zebota replied.

“Golly…..” Kickback muttered. “Have you figured anythin’ out, Ms. Quantum Tech?”

“Analyses have been inconclusive thus far, darling. I don’t have any reliable references regarding this phenomenon. It’s a mystery to me as well.” Quantum replied. An air of worry filled the room as the foals began to wonder the meaning behind this chilling coincidence, or was it even a coincidence? Were they being targeted by an invisible, unknown foe? At this point, they only knew that time would tell the rest. “However, on a much brighter note, the beast’s defeat resulted with quite a happy ending.”

“I’ll say. Bullseye looks like she’s starting to get along with Crazylocks.” Fire Fight said as he looked over at said archer, who was sitting next to her frenzied friend that chowed on her stew like an animal.

Bullseye looked down on the ground and seemed to blush a little. “Y-Yeah, well….somepony’s gotta make sure this hopeless freak doesn’t get into trouble, r-right?” she said as she looked over at Crazylocks. Her expression noticeably lightened.

“Pfft! Harsh!” Valkyrie commented.

“At least you’re able to care about something.” Tidal Wave said, which earned him a furious glare from the Blood Cupid, which shut him up pretty quickly.

“Well, yes, but apart from that….” Quantum said as she eyed towards Air Slash and Greensprout.

The two blushed as they looked at each other, and Air Slash sheepishly scratched the back of his head and smiled while Greensprout gently ran her hoof across the ground and smiled. “Ehh….y-yes….err….<ahem>….” Air Slash started. “Greensprout and I….” He was cut off when the kindly monk held his hoof and gave him a light peck on the cheek. She then rested her head on his shoulder.

None of the foals were shocked since Air Slash’s crush on Greensprout was fairly telegraphed ever since they met her, but they were happy enough to exhibit some pleasant surprise. “What! No fair! I want every detail!” Spiral demanded.

Air Slash and Greensprout recounted the heart-stopping moment just after they’d slain the ice golem, which nearly caused the returning foals to drop their plates out of shock. “Dog! You good!?” Turf War asked.

Air Slash nodded. “Yes, Turf War. There’s still a hint of pain in my chest that is thinning out, but it’s nothing I cannot endure.” He turned to Greensprout. “And I owe it all to you.” He said before giving her a peck on her cheek, to which she let out a little giggle.

“I hope this won’t be any problem, Fire Fight. I….I stumbled across something else I wish to explore.” Greensprout said as her eyes turned back to the samurai.

Fire Fight shook his head. “Not at all. I’m happy for you guys.” The two lovers shared a quick kiss before returning to their meals.

“Enough about us though. What sort of hardships did you endure?” Air Slash inquired.

Fire Fight went into detail about their encounter with the harpies and running into Valkyrie, prompting them to directly confront the harpies and take out their queen. Valkyrie was about to pull out the severed head, but Spiral Galaxy used her magic to force it back into her bag, much to the griffonlet’s annoyance. Finally, they warned the others about the sudden appearance of Film Noir and her significance. “H-Harpies!?” Quantum stammered.

“Yeah. Do you know anything Valkyrie didn’t already tell us?” Tidal Wave asked.

“I’m afraid not. Harpies are about obscure of a subject as the Changelings. I would be surprised if anypony other than the griffons knew the most about them given their history.” Quantum replied.

“You know it.” Valkyrie said before taking a slurp of her stew.

“Whatever.” Bullseye said. “And let that movie b**** march on up here and try to catch us! I’ll even send her an invitation if you know what I mean. Hehehe….”

“Bullseye…..I wouldn’t feel right attacking her again.” Fire Fight said. “She’s by no means our enemy, and just….”

“Tch! Pony up, will ya? I thought Equestria didn’t matter anymore. Anypony who tries to stop us is enemy now, and I’ll break as many necks as I need to for us to stay out here.” Bullseye hissed.

“Not if you still want to keep your bow, remember?” Fire Fight warned, shutting the violent filly up almost instantly. “A couple of other things happened out there though.” Fire Fight said. “For starters…. Spiral’s hornband isn’t helping as well we hoped it was.” He explained the incident before they met Valkyrie that involved her magic going out of control the second the band was removed.

Spiral sighed. “So….we’re pretty much back to square one.”

“Or maybe you’re just not even trying.” Bullseye said. “All you did was just put a cap over a shaken bottle of soda. It was gonna burst, like it or not.”

“Hey! I meditated every once in a while!” Spiral retorted.

“She might have a point thought, darling.” Quantum said. “I….probably should have foreseen this. You’ll just have to work harder with training your psychic endurance. I’m so sorry, Spiral.”

“I-It’s ok….” Spiral muttered.

Tidal Wave gently patted her back. “You’ll get better.” He said. Spiral gave him a small smile. It was then that he realized that he’d have to reveal his secret to Zebota, and he gulped as he turned his gaze towards the mellow mystic. “U-Umm….” Zebota seemed to notice that he was being addressed and faced the anxious colt. “Yes, Tidal Wave?”

Spiral lightly patted Tidal Wave’s trembling hoof. “Come on, bro.”

Tidal Wave returned the smile from earlier as he took a deep breath. “About my water jewel, Zebota…” Tidal Wave went into detail about what happened in Yodelneigh and the harpies’ cave regarding his unexpected control over water and his reason for keeping it a secret. “It freaked me out at first, but….it somehow feels natural. I-I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before.”

The foals who didn’t go find Valkyrie were certainly stunned to hear his explanation, namely Zebota and Quantum Tech. “I understand, my friend, but…..that should not be happening. I observed the pact ritual to its fullest, and this should not have been an outcome.”

“Why not? Would them spirit fellers not let him do that?” Kickback asked.

Zebota shook his head. “No. They are only supposed to offer him protection and guidance in the water. The fact that Tidal Wave does this with no complication perplexes me….”

“Would you mind if I analyzed your DNA once more, darling? I’d need a fresh sample, of course.” Quantum asked Tidal Wave.

Tidal Wave nodded. “Sure. I want to get to the bottom of this too, but let’s eat first. I’m starving.” They all happily agreed and continued to dig into their griffon-styled stew, all the while entertaining their guest by exchanging campfire stories regarding their adventures across Equestria.

Portal Pandemonium

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys!
The fall semester will be starting for me tomorrow, so.....yeah. This story will still be a priority, but you know. I'll do my best to make sure I can still keep this story good and going. If you're going to school around this time too, me and the Battle Foals wish you luck!

Dinner proved to be a little more eventful than anticipated with Valkyrie boasting about adventures of her own apart the Battle Foals telling their own tales. One in particular involved her protecting a crew of freight sailors traveling to Trottingham from a band of pirates, whom she beat into submission with minimal effort. She said that she was a little insulted that she was acting as nothing more than a mere mercenary, but the treasure haul they seized from the apprehended pirates was worthy payoff in the end; it did a lot to improve the overall infrastructure of Griffonstone, which she was also thankful for. The foals were beginning to see the source of her ego, and despite how overbearing it could be, saying that it wasn’t totally unwarranted was a fairly safe statement.

Valkyrie pretty much slurped up the rest of her stew and threw her bowl down before gulping the stew down in one fell swoop. “Ahhh! Whew! Thanks for the grub, Fire Fight.”

Fire Fight was a bit annoyed at her relative lack of manners, but he figured that trying to antagonize her about it might change her mind about the portal. “Sure! Thanks for the help. Griffon food is….interesting.” The Griffonstone wheat ended up having a sort of leathery aftertaste.

Valkyrie brushed her feathers off. “Yeah, yeah, little dude. So uh….we ready to do the portal, or what?”

Fire Fight turned to the Battle Foals. “Any last-minute preparations, guys?”

“I tended some of the snowberries out in the courtyard while you were gone. They should be ready for harvest by now.”
Greensprout said.

“Would you like some help, my dear?” Air Slash asked her.

Greensprout smiled at him. “If you would.”

“Could Ah ask ya to whip up some more bullets for me real quick, Ms. Quantum Tech?” Kickback asked.

“Sure, Kickback!” Quantum squeaked as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. Kickback audibly sighed as he just looked away from the swooned scientist.

“That won’t take you too long, will it?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Quantum shook her head. “No, darling. Assembling them isn’t quite as tedious as I thought, especially when you have the components ready and safely stored away.”

“Ok, great!” Fire Fight said. “Anything else?”

“Nah, man. I’m straight.”

“Same here.”

“Shrapnel and I are ready when you all are.”

“Yeah, I’m ready to blow this popsicle stand.”

“I YEARN TO REUNITE WITH MY LONG-LOST BADMINTON RELATIVES!!!”

Everypony just rolled their eyes, but Bullseye let out a small chuckle. “To be fair, they are birds.”

“Ahem! Only half birds, thank you very much!” Valkyrie said.

“You have feathers, and you can fly. What’d I miss?” Bullseye retorted.

Valkyrie turned her body around in such a way that she could she off her feline lower half. “Um, this!”

Bullseye rolled her eye. “Still a f****** bird…” she said. Valkyrie glared at her and was ready to draw her sword out of frustration.

“Bullseye, they are what they are. Don’t be rude.” Fire Fight said.

Bullseye sighed. “Alright, alright. Sorry.” She sassed.

Crazylocks suddenly grabbed Bullseye’s hoof. “COME ON, BULLSEYE!! LET’S BRAID EACH OTHER’S EYELASHES!!!” she shouted before taking off like a rocket with her ‘friend’ in tow.

“AAAaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAHHHH!!! SLOW DOWN FOR A G****** SECOND!!!” Bullseye plead before they disappeared into another room of the temple, leaving everypony else to deadpan.

“Well, we ain’t seein’ her no more…” Turf War said.

With Fire Fight’s assistance by casting a heat bubble, Air Slash and Greensprout carefully harvested the snow-surviving fruit growing just outside of the courtyard doors. Greensprout held the plants up in such a way that Air Slash could carefully cut them at the base of the stem so that they might pick the berries off within the warmth of the temple. Fire Fight noticed a couple of instances where the two stole loving glances at one another, albeit with nervous smiles. Even if their relationship was just starting to bud, Fire Fight was more than happy for them. Their mutual respect meant that their utopia would be more than just a refugee camp. It’d be a place of harmony.

Using her magic, Quantum Tech quickly whipped up a batch of bullets for their resident gunslinger. Curious, Zebota observed the manufacture of the little metal pellets while Quantum Tech explained how they work in relation to Kickback’s guns. The forest dweller could barely make heads or tails of what anything she explained meant, but he remained interested so as not to upset her. At one point, she let him hold a small cup containing a little gunpowder. While the compound was repugnant in odor, Zebota did find himself fascinated by the black explosive. He let Shrapnel take a whiff of it, but when Quantum Tech tried to take it back, her magic accidently got a little excited, and it caused the gunpowder to burst right in the mystic duos’ faces, earning her a glare from Zebota and an irritated growl from his wooden titan.

When all was said and done, Fire Fight gathered the Battle Foals in the portal room along with Valkyrie. The griffonlet herself got the chance to marvel at the simple, yet impressive piece of architecture. Knowing full well its purpose and function fed her pride as a griffon, even if it was influenced by the ponies. She couldn’t wait to return home in style and with her precious cargo. “So the time’s finally come, huh?” she said.

Fire Fight proudly nodded. “Yep! Time to travel to the far east! Quantum, is there anything we should know about going through the portal?”

“Nothing of great magnitude, darling. Portals generated by magic have to remain stable via some sort of conduit, be it the caster or some sort of foci. In the case of this portal, that would be the twin keystones needed to activate it. I’ve examined them thoroughly, and rest assured, they’ll function properly during our departure. We should have nothing to worry about.” Quantum explained as she hopped into her mech.

“Then Ah reckon we ain’t got any reason to wait any longer, y’all! Let’s settle east.” Kickback declared.

Valkyrie walked up to the keystone marked with a griffon’s talon, which was no doubt specified for the use of her kind apart from the other keystone, which depicted a horseshoe. She gently laid her talon on it, and it began to glow a gentle, golden light. “Looks like my end is kicking!” she said. “So who’s gonna be the lucky pony who gets to open the gateway to Griffonstone with its mightiest warrior?”

“I don’t know! When d’hey gettin’ here?” Turf War sassed.

Valkyrie shot him an annoyed glare. “Are we gonna have to bet again, numbskull?”

“Guys, don’t start.” Fire Fight said. “Turf War, you do it.”

Turf War shrugged. “A’ight.” The ghetto colt followed suit and approached the pony-activated keystone.

When he laid his hoof on it, it shined a rainbow-colored light rather than a gold one. About a second later, light suddenly erupted from the keystones simultaneously, and their respectively lights shot out at one another where they met in a kiss in front of the portal. The cross of light then beamed into eight corners of the portal where they powered conduits built into them before petering out. The conduits then projected their own beams that touched in the center of the portal where it finally erupted into a swirling mosaic of golden and rainbow light.

Valkyrie and Turf War let go of their respective keystones and found themselves in awe of the spectacle they had worked together to create, as did the other Battle Foals. They had surely seen some amazing, albeit oftentimes terrifying things along their adventure, but for once, Fate had graced them with serene beauty. Like the light at the end of a long, treacherous tunnel, the foals gazed in awe and sweet relief, knowing that freedom was just on the other side. Their adventure was nowhere near over, but just beyond this portal were new trials and tribulations in a whole new land, and the very thought brought the foals loads of excitement…..

…..so much so that they failed to hear the door behind them creak open…..

*****

“Ms…..!” The world was spinning around Film Noir as her conscious slowly started to reactivate. “M…..ir!” As her senses regained their balance, her memories before her blackout were uncovered. She had at last found Fire Fight and the other runaway foals! But one of them panicked and started a rockslide that caused everypony to scatter. “M..No..!” Her last memory was of Fire Fight saying ‘I’m sorry’ before everything went black. Everything else happened so fast. “Ms. Noir!”

“<Gasp!>” Film Noir was shocked awake by the voice of one the cameramen calling out her name. “Oooh….Backlight?” The cameraman helped her up. “Ugh….Thank you.” She said dizzily. She looked around the scene to find that the rockslide had damaged some of the filming equipment, but not beyond repair, thankfully. “Oh my word! Is everypony ok?” It was then that her memories finally caught up with her conscious. “<GASP!> Where’s Fire Fight!?” She started looking around frantically, praying that he didn’t get crushed under the fallen boulders.

Backlight calmed her down. “We checked, Film. He’s not here…..sorry…..”

“Yeah. I dunno how the kid did it, but he slipped away. No idea where he went.” Another cameraman said. “Nrgh! Am I the only one with a nasty ache in the back of my neck?”

Film Noir grabbed her neck when a sharp pain suddenly erupt in the back. “Oof! Nope, nope. Me too.”

Backlight felt it as well. “Yikes! Surely we all didn’t happen to have rocks land square on our heads?”

“We’re not that unlucky.” Film Noir said, but then she thought back to the moment before the blackout where her last memory was the sight of the colt whose life she’d witness be crushed. If only she were quicker on her hooves…. “<sigh> Well…..maybe we are…..” she muttered. “But we can’t just mope around! We need to tell Princess Twilight that he was here!”

“You’re absolutely right, Film!” the director said. “We need to get all this equipment fixed before we can shoot again anyway. No reason why we can’t make a pit stop in Ponyville.” However begrudgingly, the crew packed up their things and hiked out of Galloping Gorge, but Film Noir could care less about broken cameras if it meant finding Fire Fight.

*****

“FIRE FIGHT!!!!”

“Ugh! What is it now?” Fire Fight said as he and everypony else happened to look back at the open door, and their hearts all just about stopped. “M-M-MOM!?!?!?!?” Right at the threshold of the door was his mother accompanied by Twilight, Cheerilee, the CMC and some of their class, Rarity, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and much to his surprise…. “D-D-DAD!?!?!?”

Fist was equal parts thrilled and nervous to face his son again after so long and what had happened. “H-Hey, champ!”

“DUDE! WE FOUND YOU!!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“FIRE FIGHT!!” Silver Spoon shouted with noticeable excitement in her tone.

“Fire Fight….” Cheerilee muttered. “I hope you can forgive me….”

Sky Strike suddenly burst out from the crowd. “TIDAL WAVE!! IS THAT YOU!?”

Tidal Wave’s heart started racing even faster. “WHAT THE!?!?....DAD!?” Just beside him, he noticed that Spiral’s horn was about to go crazy from panic. He grabbed her horn in an attempt to hold back the impending destruction. “Spiral, don’t you dare!”

Before anypony could say anything else, Shrapnel slammed his claws and assumed a predatory pose. “<HOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!>”

“OH MY WORD!!” Rarity said before scurrying away, but as she did, she looked back at caught a glimpse of a familiar set of amethyst eyes, who promptly masked her face and vanish without a trace. However, it was all that instant that Rarity needed to recognize the filly from the train. It was her, the one that must’ve been called ‘Shadow Shroud’, the ninja filly that attacked her. Cheerilee ushered all of the frightened class out of the room to protect them from Shrapnel.

Twilight shined her horn and readied a spell. “Fire Fight, stop! None of you have to run away anymore! We were wrong, so please just let us talk about this.” She launched magic that was intended to deactivate the portal, but Air Slash swooped in just in time and blocked the spell with one of his swords, letting it absorb into the blade. “HUH!?” Twilight was perplexed.

“I THINK NOT!” Air Slash declared. He swung his charged sword and launched a sword beam above the search party, which strike the wall above the door and caused some rocks to fall from it and distract them. “GO!! GO!! GO!!” Air Slash ordered. The foals broke out of their shocked trances and started hurriedly jumping through the portal one by one, starting with Tidal Wave and Spiral Galaxy.

“AIR SLASH!!” Knight Soul shouted, who was elated to find his son again, but was just as perplexed as Twilight was as to how he pulled off the magic counter that he did.

Air Slash himself was both stunned and terrified to see him there. “F-F-FATHER!?!?” He wasted no time escorting Greensprout through the portal along with him.

Twilight regained her focus after she dodged the rocks and moved out of the way. “FIRE FIGHT, YOU NEED TO LISTEN- ACK!!” Something suddenly struck her in the back of the head and knocked her out.

“SHROUD, NOT THE PRINCESS!” Fire Fight exclaimed, but when he looked over, he saw that Shadow Shroud was helping the other foals get through the portal, and she was just as surprised. “What the?...”

“What in tarnati- GIUH!!” Applejack suddenly fell victim to the unseen force.

“SIS!!” Applebloom shouted.

“Now, now, Applebloom! I’m sure- UGH!!” Cheerilee said before she too fell in heap.

Rarity started looking around in a panic. She knew what was coming to her, but she couldn't stop it, and the past was repeated. "<GASP!>

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

Knight Soul drew his sword, sensing his enemy. “SHOW YOURSELF, DEMON!!” Feeling a presence rushing him from behind him, he turned around to block, and sure enough, a cloaked stallion with magenta eyes shining through his mask had attacked him with kamas. “SHADEWALKER!!” he shouted. The fihure jumped back and disappeared in a puff of smoke and suddenly fell from the ceiling, but Knight Soul managed to parry him away. The other Bladerunner’s surrounded the cloaked rogue, but the Shadewalker did like Shadow Shroud and summoned illusory copies of himself and began jumping around them, disorienting all of them save for Knight Soul, who led his troops to combat the phantom menace as best they could.

“WHAT THE HELL IS EVEN GOING- WHOA, HEY!” Valkyrie said as Turf War dragged her through the portal with him.

“FIRE FIGHT!!! FIRE FIGHT!!!!!!” Cat exclaimed as she and Fist made a mad dash for their son.

Fire Fight was too panicked to be able to move in that instant, but he last saving grace was none other than his cloaked friend. Shadow Shroud wasted no time taking down his parents, much to his dismay and relief simultaneously. “What are you doing!? Just go!” Shroud said, snapping Fire Fight out and prompting him to take her with him.

“OH NO, YOU DON’T!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she swooped down towards them, but when she was about to get close, she felt something strike her shoulder with enough force to throw her off balance. “OW!!!” When she looked at her shoulder, she saw that an arrow had been fired into it! “HUH!?”

“HEY, S***FACE!!” Rainbow Dash looked over to see Bullseye soaring towards her, and she could have sworn she saw hell itself burning in her one good eye. “GET BENT!!” Bullseye used her bow and her momentum to punch the Wonderbolt in the gut and ram her into the wall. The pain was so great that Rainbow Dash could only curl up into a fetal position. However, Bullseye somehow found the mercy keep her arrow lodged in Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and left.

"RAINBOW DASH!!" Scootaloo shouted as she rushed towards her idol.

Zebota was the last one left, and he pulled out one of the rocks for his sling and quickly enchanted it. As it glowed a fierce green hue, he threw it up into the air before rushing through the portal with the rest of his comrades. When the rock hit the ground, the magic put into it caused it to detonate right at the base of the portal, leaving the ancient gateway, and the only way for any of the search party to follow them destroyed…..and the shadow that had aided them suddenly vanished…..

Narrow Escape

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.

Before The Storm...

At the Great Horn Temple…

Everypony who wasn’t knocked out cold helped those who were waking up, and one of the Bladerunners applied much needed first aid to Rainbow Dash after carefully removing Bullseye’s arrow from her shoulder; a movement-restrictive series of bandages had to be wrapped around it, much to her dismay. What made things worse was that her belly still ached horribly after the punishment it received from the Blood Cupid. Cheerilee managed to calm her class down pretty quickly, especially after Rarity, Applejack and Twilight woke up. Fire Fight’s parents woke up with them, but they looked frantically around the room for their son…..only to discover that they had pretty much covered their tracks…..permanently.

Cat ran up to the destroyed portal and gawked at it in horrified disbelief. The one gateway between her and retrieving her son had been forever locked, and all she could do was fall to her knees in sheer grief. “NO!!!” she screamed as she punched the ground in frustration. She couldn’t help but start crying. “HE WAS RIGHT HERE!!!”

Fist ran up to her and immediately embraced, trying to hold back his own tears. "Honey! Honey….” He tried to calm her down, but he too was frustrated with letting his son and the other runaway foals slip right out from their hooves. “He’s okay….He’s alive…..We can still find him. We can still bring him back home!”

Cat forcefully shoved him off of her. “THEN TELL ME WHY WE DIDN’T STOP HIM JUST NOW!!!” she shouted. “HE WAS RIGHT HERE, FIST!! RIGHT HERE!!!! AND WE LET HIM GET AWAY!!! HE’S STILL TRYING TO RUN AWAY FROM US!!!!”

“C-Cat!” Fist tried to find the right words to calm his enraged wife.

“WHY DID YOU JUST STAND THERE LIKE AN IDIOT!?!? YOU HAVEN’T SEEN HIM FOR HOW LONG? AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS ‘HEY CHAMP’!?!?!” Cat scolded.

Fist was starting to let his own frustration get the better of him. “Well, what was I supposed to say!? ‘Please come home so we can talk about this’!? He wouldn’t have listened to me right away, Cat!”

“AND DO YOU KNOW WHY!?” Cat shouted. “IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT THAT HE’D EVEN WANT TO RUN AWAY!! YOU CALLED HIM A DELINGQUENT AND WALKED OUT THE DOOR, AND HE SPENT THE REST OF HIS FOALHOOD SHAMING HIMSELF BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE COULD EARN YOU BACK SOMEHOW!! YOU MADE HIM THINK HE DIDN’T BELONG!!” Cat then just started bawling as she fell into her husband’s arms, who embraced her.

Fist couldn’t refute his mistake, and thinking back to that dreadful day was the straw that broke the camel’s back in that moment, breaking the seals over his eyes and releasing his tears. Ever since he’d lived on his own in Fillydelphia, his thoughts were only with his son, worrying about how he was faring without him, but he knew that he’d be anything but welcome back right away. He stroked his flustered wife’s back and calmly shushed her. “Honey…..I know I screwed up…..but I wouldn’t be here if I was genuinely worried about him. I want our son back as much as you do; I want to atone any way I can for what I did so we can just be happy again. You want that too, don’t you?” He gently lifted her by the chin so that they were face to face.

Her face was soaked in tears, and her angered expression had turned to that of near hopelessness. It was only her determination as a mother that kept her from going over the edge. “I-I….<sob>….I do, but….<sob>…..Now I don’t know what Fire Fight wants….”

“Then let’s find him and ask him.” Fist said as he wiped away his wife’s tears. She calmed down and nodded.

Cheerilee walked up to the two of them. “Mr. Fight….” She said. “I’m as much to blame. Fire Fight wouldn’t have cracked had I been more understanding.” She said.

“I know….Thank you, Ms. Cheerilee.” Fist said.

Scootaloo rushed up to Rainbow Dash, worried sick about her idol seeing as she too succumbed to Bullseye’s wrath. “Rainbow Dash! Are you alright?”

The athletic pegasus struggled to stand with her shoulder and stomach pain holding her back, but she showed no weakness in front of her biggest fan. “Y-Yeah, kid. Don’t worry. How about you?”

“I-I’m ok, but….” Scootaloo found herself frustrated with Bullseye again. She wondered how far the berserk filly would really go seeing as she harmed a Wonderbolt.

“You weren’t kidding about that Bullseye. She’s pretty nasty.” Rainbow Dash was trying to play it cool, but deep down, she could feel the pain the little archer must have endured from her parents all in that one gut punch if the arrow to the shoulder wasn’t enough, and she wouldn’t wish it on her worst enemy. She put her hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “All the more reason to find her and fix her up, right?”

Scootaloo looked up at her idol and smiled. “Y-Yeah…”

Cheerilee’s class came together back into the portal chamber now that Shrapnel was no longer there, but the thought of such a terrifying beast being so close to them was almost traumatizing. “I stared death right in its jaws….” Button Mash muttered in a horrified daze.

“Yeah….but what was it doing with Fire Fight? And who was that zebra it was with?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“Yeah. Ah reckon Ah saw a mighty big robo machine r’ whatever ya wanna call it.” Applebloom said.

“I think I saw a filly inside of it. <gasp!> You think maybe it was Quantum Tech?” Sweetie Belle inquired.

“I swear! If she seriously built something like that considering those hornbands we learned about in Canterlot….” Silver Spoon commented.

Button Mash managed to regain his composure. “What even was that…..ninja pony that came and nearly knocked us all out? What all was even happening at once!? That was just insane!”

“Ah know! Ah was half-expectin’ some kind o’ snow monster to suddenly bust through the walls with all that was goin’ on. That was a bigger hootenanny than mah family reunions!” Applebloom said.

Sweetie Belle sighed. “Why are they still running away? We came face to face with them, but….they still got away from us like we were going to arrest them. Fire Fight knows we’re his friends.”

“I don’t think they realize how much we want them back.” Diamond said.

Scootaloo joined them after checking on Rainbow Dash. “Crusaders, I think we’ve got another Cutie Mark mission ahead of us.”

They all looked at her. “What do you mean, Scoots?” Silver Spoon asked.

Scootaloo cleared her throat. “Fire Fight ran away because he felt that he had no place in Equestria because of his Cutie Mark, and all of those other foals came with him because they felt the same way. We’ve got to show them that they do mean something! That they can be happy!”

“Well, yeah, but…..what about ponies like my mother?” Diamond asked. “She was the one-”

“They’re the real problem.” Scootaloo interjected. “Everypony else here admitted that they were wrong even if Fire Fight doesn’t know that. We have to show him somehow that we’re willing to listen so we can remind him that he earned that mark, not cursed with it. We’ll deal with Spoiled Rich afterwards.”

Their friend’s confident tone and powerful words reignited their wills. She was right. Fire Fight was going to be the biggest they’d ever face, but the outcome would be of significant magnitude. They did their cheer, sealing their vow to help Fire Fight and his runaway friends.

Knight Soul approached Twilight, who was being tended by Spike. While still shaken himself, the little dragon did what he could to keep his cool, but Knight Soul was in no mood for feeling good about himself. “Princess…..forgive me. I failed to protect you and apprehend the foals…..” he bowed his head in shame.

“It’s ok, Knight Soul. I don’t think we were expecting any of what happened just now.” Twilight said. “Namely your son countering my magic with his sword…..”

Knight Soul bolted his head back up when he suddenly remembered that. “Oh! Y-Yes. That frazzled me as well. I was not aware that his blades held such an attribute…….nor would I even begin to imagine how he did that.”

“Well, if they’re equipped to deal with even alicorn magic, I’d say they’re gonna be pretty ok until we find them again.” Spike said. “Where does this portal even go to anyway?”

“Didn’t Aesir say that they were looking for a griffon named Valkyrie?” Sky Strike asked. “I think I saw a griffonlet with them, so that might have been her.”

“Yeah, but was it really necessary? Seems like they could’ve popped it open and walked through.” Spike said.

“Unless….” Twilight said as she inspected the keystones. “They needed a griffon to activate it.”

“Huh? But why would a griffon-activated portal be here in Equestria?” Sky Strike asked.

“There’s only one logical conclusion: It goes to the other side of the realm, to Griffonstone!” Twilight declared.

“Umm…..are you sure, Twilight?” Maybe you should go talk to that ‘Aesir’ guy again. He’d know for sure” Spike asked.

Twilight sighed. “We probably should….” She muttered, not that she was entirely unamused. Aesir was a fun fellow to talk to anyway.

“Well, let’s get that info as fast as we can! I want to find my son and makes things right with him!” Sky Strike declared. He then sighed as he recalled his face before leaping through the portal. “He must feel so guilty for everything that’s happened….”

“Yes….My own son and I need a heart-to-heart…..So let us make haste!” Knight soul declared.

Twilight nodded. “Alright. Ms. Cheerilee, take everypony back to Ponyville. Spike, Sky Strike and myself have further business in Yodelneigh. Until then, I’m afraid the search will have to be off.”

Cheerilee sighed heavily. “Understood, Twilight…” she muttered. She knew that everypony around her felt her anguish as they had no choice but to uncover whatever trail Fire Fight might have possibly left.

......Mere moments after they all exited the temple, a black shadow dropped down onto the ancient floor in front of the destroyed portal before removing his mask. His magenta eyes gazed upon the portal as if he were interrogating somepony suspected of murder. "What are you up to, little miss prodigy?"

In the Crystal Empire…

Gleams and glistens of the crystalline nation spoke volumes of its seemingly eternal serenity. Within the their small patch of paradise surrounded by a landscape of tundra, the crystal ponies carried out their lives and traditions that were still relatively foreign to their Equestrian neighbors, including the married rulers that lived high in their tower in the center of their land.

Cadance found herself able to relax for the day with so little going on, so she decided to spend what time she could with her infant daughter. Her attendants usually kept the child alicorn entertained, but the princess of love decided to take her responsibility of a mother as much as she could. Shining had told her a couple of times that she needed to anyway. Flurry Heart played joyfully with her favorite toy while her mother laid down next to her. The plush snail had already suffered a negligible tear from the abuse it endured from the miniscule matriarch.

Cadance lowered her head when her daughter presented it to her. “<giggle> Is that one your favorite, sweetie?” she asked. Flurry Heart nodded. “Is it a snail?” Flurry looked at it for a moment as of to think, and then nodded back at her mother. “Good! Can you bring me a bear?”

Flurry put down her snail and looked at her toy chest. She opened it using her magic and effortlessly lifted out all of the stuffed animals in its inventory and searched for the type Cadance requested. When she found a bear, she presented to her mother, who smiled. “Very good, honey!” She kissed her baby, inciting a giggle from the little princess. “Now how about an alligator?” With her toys still afloat via her magic, Flurry Heart traded the stuffed bear for an alligator and presented it to her mother, earning her another kiss. “Good job, Flurry! What about a fish?”

Flurry seemed a little unsure of herself this time, and she searched through her toys diligently before deciding that she had found a fish, two fish as a matter of fact. She confidently presented them to her mother. “That’s good, honey!” She said before kissing her daughter once more, but then she looked at one of the toys she’d brought. “But whales aren’t actually fish.” Flurry looked up at the stuffed whale she’d brought in confusion, and then back at her mother. “Whales live in water, but they’re not fish. Isn’t that funny?” Flurry, feeling as though she’d failed her mother, looked at the ground dejected, but Cadance picked her up and repeatedly kissed her. “It’s okay, sweetie. Everypony learns.” Smiles quickly returned to Flurry’s face as she giggled, causing her to lose her focus on her toys and drop them. “Whoops!”

The door to their room suddenly opened, and in walked Shining Armor. “Hey, you two!” he said before he saw the minefield of toys before him. “Whoa! Having a safari in here?”

Cadance giggled. “Hi, honey.” She said as she stood up. Flurry held her arms out, excited to see her father.

Shining walked to them and wasted no time greeting his daughter. “Hey, little pumpkin.” He gently nuzzled his daughter before kissing her, and she hugged his muzzle. “Aww! Thank you, honey.”

“Why don’t you pick up all of your toys for daddy, Flurry?” Cadance suggested. Without hesitation, Flurry Heart shined her horn and effortlessly lifted all of her toys back into their chest.

“Thank you, Flurry.” Shining said before giving her another kiss. Flurry then yawned and relaxed herself in her mother’s arm as she drifted off to sleep.

“Aww….Looks like it’s naptime.” Cadance said. She then looked up at her husband. “Can you believe how talented she is already, Shining?”

“I know.” Shining said, gazing proudly down at his daughter. “I mean, her being an alicorn might have something to do with it, but still. She’s gonna be a great princess in the future.”

The door then suddenly slowly creaked open, miraculously not waking the baby, and a guard peeked her head in. “Umm, sir?” she whispered. “I-Is this a bad time? I have something I think you’ll need to hear.”

Shining nodded to her. “Ok.” He said before kissing his wife. “I’ll be right back.”

Cadance nodded. “Okay.” She shivered a little. “Goodness. It’s getting a little cold in here.”

*****

Shining walked through the doors and gently closed them before joining his subordinate. “What is it, Steel Sheen?”

Steel Sheen stood in firm attention. “Sir, our most recent exploration team of the Frozen North’s tundra reported upon their return that they detected a strange anomaly somewhere in the ice fields. Unfortunately, the surrounding terrain was dangerously frigid and lined with all sorts of nasty hazards, making it impossible for them to get anywhere near whatever they picked up.”

Shining cocked his eyebrow. “What kind of anomaly?”

“A magical anomaly, sir.” Steel Sheen said. “They couldn’t discern much, but it seemed to be generating the dangerous terrain around itself, as it was protecting itself.”

“Do we believe that it’s dangerous?” Shining asked.

Steel Sheen gulped. “There…..is a possibility of this being a threat, sir.” She said nervously.

Shining couldn’t blame her for being worried. With whatever this was being so close to home and his family, he had to make this ‘anomaly’ his priority. Furthermore, whatever evils that might befall his empire might set their sights on Equestria, so he’d have to inform his sister so that everypony was ready. “Send word to the Royal Sisters and Princess Twilight. Bring me to this exploration team as well. I want them to take me to the sight where they found this anomaly.”

Steel Sheen saluted. “Yes, sir!”

???

“The time…….is nigh…….

My wrath…..My power…..is almost peaked…..

I will rise……..I will quench my thirst……for revenge……

……..AND ALL WILL CEASE TO BE!!!!!”

A Hero's Welcome

“Did….that all really just happen? My mom? Princess Twilight? Ms. Cheerilee? The Cutie Mark Crusaders? And…..even my dad!? What was he doing there? Air Slash’s dad too! And…..was that another Shadewalker helping us? Why are they coming after us? We don’t belong…... They have no business…”

“Fire Fight!” Shadow Shroud said. Fire Fight was snapped out his train of thought as they ninja filly got his attention.

“Huh!? Wh-What’s up?” he said.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Shroud said. “Although….I’m fairly certain I know what you’d answer.”

“Fo’ real. Real talk, I’s ‘bout to smack my hammer onto dat damn floor, y’all. I almost messed up fo’ us ‘cause I’s so freaked out.” Turf War commented.

“And we sincerely thank you, darling for not killing everypony.” Quantum Tech said. “Still….forgive me if I find myself still catching my breath.”

“As are we all, I’d imagine…” Air Slash muttered as he thought back to the sight of his father with Princess Twilight. “Why could he have possibly been searching for me with the assistance of one of Equestria’s royalty? Was I to be taken back to the stronghold only to be banished from my clan, stripped of my honor as a Bladerunner and perhaps even my swords?”

“Air Slash…” Greensprout said as she gently grabbed his hoof, and he looked at her. “Even if such a thing were to happen, you know that you wouldn’t be alone. I’m sure any one of us would welcome you into our lives apart from as it is now.” She pecked his cheek. “I certainly would…”

Air Slash chuckled. “Having friends is quite the boon.” He said just before returning the kiss.

“Elch. Get a room already, you two.” Bullseye growled.

“We will once we hit that inn.” Fire Fight said. “What’s it called anyway, Valkyrie?”

“The Hatching Egg.” Valkyrie answered. “It’s only about 15, maybe 20 bits for a night there.”

“Uh….b****, only dat much?” Turf War inquired.

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “We have some economic problems! Sue us!” she said. “It used to be worse, ya know.”

“How much worse?” Shroud asked.

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Valkyrie answered. The foals could detect a hint of sorrow when she gave her reply. “But whatever! We’re doing better, and that’s what matters. I’ve been making sure of it.” She said as she started to pull out Lechuza’s head, but quickly put it back when Kickback covered his mouth. “Whoa! Sorry…”

“All’s forgiven…” Kickback said. “Y’all know what? Ah reckon none o’ the land to the east from here has been charted. Reckon we can settle over yonder?”

“You probably could, but I’ve explored the eastern mountains once or twice.” Valkyrie said. “The terrain around there is pretty nasty, even if you can fly since there’s almost nowhere to land safely. Certainly doesn’t help that there’s monsters straight out of the hellish nightmares imaginable every four inches you walk. If you’re gonna do the same, I’d suggest building your little refugee camp right beside them on our side so you have a safe enough home to retreat to in case you run into trouble out there.”

“We should have a look at the map when we get a room at the Hatching Egg. This is really foreign territory for us, guys.” Tidal Wave said.

“We have lots to discuss there anyway….” Shroud said. Her voice trailed into a sorrowful tone, and her comrades were all well aware of why. One of the biggest obstacle between them and their freedom was built in mere seconds, and they only barely circumvented it. However, the pieces of that obstacle were broken in such a way that it could easily be rebuilt, and the Battle Foals might not be so capable to break it down again.

“So….who’s got 20 bits on them?” Bullseye asked.

“We shall pay like our ancestors!” Crazylocks blurted as she used her pigtails to pick up a bunch of sticks and stones.

“Crazylocks, even my people do not exercise such a primitive form of currency.” Zebota said as Shrapnel pick them out of her hair.

“YOUR WORDS MAY NEVER HURT ME!!!” Crazylocks retorted.

“Who said anything about words?” Bullseye growled. “Tch. I could probably make a bet with one of ‘em with an archery contest.”

“Not to worry, darling. I attained a small sum of my parents’ wealth before I made my own escape in case we ran into financial difficulties. I’d be happy to.” Quantum Tech said.

“Thanks, Quantum Tech!” Spiral Galaxy said. “It’ll be nice to have a cozy bed to lay in after so long.”

“Word. D’hem beds back at dat ol’ castle was better than sleeping in grass bags.” Turf War commented.

“Ah! But I worked so hard on them!” Shadow Shroud said in feigned disappointed.

“Ah reckon we all worked mighty hard to get where we are now.” Kickback said. “We might not be settlers, but our li’l escapade has been chartin’ more new territory than there is sand in a desert.”

“Well, let’s not wait too much longer to find that one perfect spot.” Fire Fight said. “<Yawn!> But first, some much needed R&R.”

“And it looks like you’re gonna get it here pretty soon. Check it.” Valkyrie said as they came through some bushes, and they were met with the sight of Griffonstone on the red horizon. The architecture reminded some of the foals of the underground ruins where Greensprout’s parents were found, but without the strange, futuristic vibe. Instead, Valkyrie’s claims of them having problems became apparent as rundown huts and houses with only a few complete ones lined the immediate cityscape, but it was clear that enough funds existed to keep them maintained and repaired.

“Whoa…” Tidal Wave said.

Valkyrie sighed. “Yeah…..Sucks…..” she said. “Ah well. The inn’s that way. I’m gonna pay the king a visit if he’s not catching Z’s already and hit the sack.”

“Ok. Thanks for all of your help, Valkyrie!” Fire Fight said.

“You’ve been such a gracious guide.” Shroud said.

Air Slash drew one of his swords. “And let us remember to cross swords at some point. If you are not busy, what say at high noon tomorrow? We can meet outside of this inn you speak of.”

Valkyrie wiped her nose as she deviously chuckled. “Sounds like we’ve got a date.” She teased. She spread her wings and lifted off. “Later, twerps!” She said as she flew towards her king’s castle.

Air Slash sheathed his sword as he and the others watched her disappear into the sunset. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m about ready to hit the hay too.” Tidal Wave said.

“Yes. I must be well-rested if I’m to fight at my peak tomorrow.” Air Slash said.

“Just don’t get too crazy. I don’t want to have a repeat of what happened at the temple.” Greensprout said.

“I just hope that the locals will not be too disturbed by Shrapnel, or Quantum Tech’s machine for that matter.” Zebota said.

“Meh. We can explain, right?” Spiral said.

“And hope that they’re understanding.” Quantum said. With only their hope of little to no issue involving their more controversial possessions, the foals casually but carefully approached the inn. No one seemed to be around given that the sun was about to completely set, so there would thankfully be no screams of terror anytime soon. Quantum parked her mech beside a wall with no windows with Shrapnel laying down beside it, and the foals entered the front door.

The interior of the Hatching Egg was about as simple as the exterior. Everything was either made of would or stone, and there were only torches for any sort of light. The lobby featured a small area by the reception desk that seemed to be a dining area where a few tables were occupied by some adult griffons enjoying minor snacks such as a cup of coffee, or some muffins. All the griffons there gave the foals some odd looks, certainly not expecting their presence. Even the receptionist at the desk didn’t seem too ready to greet them. “What can I do for ya?” he asked while staring them down.

Fire Fight took a deep breath before replying. “We were hoping we could get a room here for the night.”

The receptionist slowly cocked his eyebrow, likely unsure of what a group of foals would be doing here on their own, much less wanting to rent a room. “Ya got 18 bits, kid? Who told ya about dis place anyway?”

“A griffon named Valkyrie did, sir.” Quantum Tech answered as she pulled out her bits.

“Valkyrie!?” the receptionist exclaimed. The diners in the other room seemed just as surprised. “The descendant o’
Siegfried!? That Valkyrie!?” His tone made a complete one-eighty.

“Uhh…..Yeah, why?” Fire Fight said.

“HAHAAAA!! Never thought I’d see the day when she’d make nice with ponies, but hey! Friends o’ Valkyrie’s are friends o’ ours, am I right?” He addressed his dining guests.

“Damn right!” one of them said back.

The receptionist looked back at the foals. “How about half off just for tonight, eh?”

The foals were shocked at the griffons’ sudden hospitality. “Wow. She is popular.” Spiral commented.

“That’s kind fo you, sir, but she told us of your……difficulties, and we’d feel quite remiss if we did not pay full price.” Quantum tech said as she levitated her bits up to him.

The receptionist took her money. “Ain’t that somethin’! They’re even as charitable as the tough, little hatchling.”

“Well, their kind did sort of start the whole ‘friendship’ ideal, so it’d be a tad odd if they weren’t.” another guest commented. “Although, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of them having wacky striped coats like that one”. Zebota just rolled his eyes and paid the griffon largely no heed.

“Th-Thanks!” Fire Fight wasn’t sure how to respond to their comment about his race. “So, I guess this means there’s a vacancy?”

“Oh! Right!” The receptionist gave him a room key and pointed down the hallway behind him. “Yours is gonna be No. 14 on yer right. Should be big fer all o’ ya. Let me know if ya need a sleeping bag or two, ok?”

“Thank you ever so much for your hospitality, sir.” Greensprout said. The receptionist bid them goodnight, and the Battle Foals made for their room.

*****

Valkyrie landed in front of the castle’s front doors with two guards on either side. Normally, guests would be stopped and questioned by the watchful birds, but they bowed to her and opened the door for her without so much as hesitation. As she passed by them, one of them spoke to her. “Welcome home, Valkyrie.” She said.

Valkyrie stopped and turned to her. “Thanks! Good to be back.” She said before resuming her entry. As she casually strutted through the castle halls, she was greeted by every attendant who happened to bump into her, whom she returned them too. After a moment or so of navigating the royal labyrinth, she finally came across the throne room, and the guards happily let her in. Before her was a grand room that was only undermined by the relative disrepair as a result of bad infrastructure, but upheld by its master, who sat in his throne on the opposite side of the room. He slowly creased a small smile when he saw who his guest was as she finalized her approach.

“The bearer of the sacred Valhalla graces us with her presence once more.” He said. “Welcome back to us, honorable Valkyrie.”

Valkyrie bowed to her king. “Good evening, Your Majesty. I hope you weren’t about to go count sheep.”

King Grover chuckled. “It is late, but my ears are always open to your words, my dear. What news of your investigation in western Equestria?”

“You’re either gonna have lovely dreams or horrific nightmares once you see this. Apologies in advance.” Valkyrie said as she reached into her satchel. Grover was concerned by her warning indeed, but his worry turned to excitement when she showed him her prize. “How’s this for a report?”

Everyone in the room gasped. “Could that be!?” one of the servants exclaimed.

Grover got up from his throne and quickly approached Valkyrie. “The malevolent Lechuza…..t-truly!?”

“Yep! Well, her head anyway.” Valkyrie said.

“Praise be to you, mighty Valkyrie!” the servant said.

“Oh, stop. She was a cinch” Valkyrie said.

“Pardon me. What’s all the ruckus?” A female griffon entered the room from a side door. She wore a red robe with Griffonstone’s crest sewn on either side.

“Counselor Skadi! Valkyrie was successful! Lechuza is slain!” another servant exclaimed.

Skadi gasped when she looked over at the armed griffonlet and the prize she held. “Souvenir?” Valkyrie joked.

Skadi had to rub her eyes as she approached, but finally managed to take what was in front of her as reality. She laughed heartily. “As if she wouldn’t!” she said. She then clapped her talons, summoning another servant to her side with a plate and a transparent cover. “I’ll see that this is properly stored away.”

“Thank you, counselor.” Grover said.

“Yes, my lord.” Skadi said as she bowed before escorting the stored head and her servant back to her chambers.

“Valkyrie, this is perhaps the mightiest deed any of Siegfried’s descendants have accomplished. Lechuza has proved both too powerful and dangerous of an adversary for the best of us, and you finally lifted this curse.” Grover said. A servant brought out a large bag containing a large sum of bits. “I will see that you are well rewarded.”

But Valkyrie gently pushed the giant wallet away. “I can’t, Your Highness.” She said. “Those funds should go to all the people of Griffonstone who need it. So long as I bear this talisman of my ancestor, everything I do is for them. Their prosperity is my reward.”

While surprised at first, the griffon king smiled once more, seemingly trying to hold back tears of joy at Valkyrie’s charity, which his servant seemed to share, but then he heavily sighed. “If only your father could see you. He’d be so proud….”
Valkyrie lost a little color and sighed herself, but she smiled once more when she looked down at the Valhalla. “Nah. I keep him close right here.” She said as she gently clutched her talisman. “Never heard any complaints, so I must be doing something right.” She tried to sound snarky, but she couldn’t help but to shed a little tear.

The servant gently lifted her chin up. “You put on such a brave for us every day, especially for one your age.” She let go as Valkyrie got her smile back. “It must be so difficult.”

Valkyrie chuckled. “If not me, then who?”

“Indeed.” Grover said, but then a puzzling thought crossed his mind. “Say, how’d you get back here so quickly? You left merely a couple of days ago.”

“Huh? Oh! While I was out there, I ran into some ponies who wanted to get to Griffonstone through the portal that connects to Siegfried’s grave, but it needed a griffon in order to activate, so I obliged.” Valkyrie explained.

“Oh?” Grover said. “And what is their purpose?”

“They’re just explorers. They don’t mean any trouble.” Valkyrie said. “One of them is supposed to be pretty skilled with his swords, and he wanted me to duel him tomorrow at noon.”

“I see!” Grover said. “Well, so long as they don’t cause trouble, I see no reason to take any real note of them. If I have time, perhaps I’ll come watch your duel with this swordpony.”

“Do what you need to, Your Majesty. Goodnight!” Valkyrie said. Grover and the castle staff bid her a heartfelt farewell as she saw herself out of the royal establishment……..blissfully unaware that someone was listening in….

Unrest

Despite the rather primitive décor, the foals’ room was nicely laid out with a toasty fireplace that had been lit, two beds on either side with a nightstand in between decorated with a lamp, a bear rug, and a closet containing a few extra blankets and pillows; there were also a couple of nests of hay, likely meant for younger griffonlets, but they were just big enough that two or three of them could fit. With so many of them in one room, they decided to make use of whatever they could sleep in; they decided to delegate each side of the room to each gender so as to not make things awkward. With the warmth of the fire keeping them calm after their narrow escape, they gathered in front of it on the rug.

“Well…..what we gonna do now? D’hey know where we are, don’t they?” Turf War said.

“It would be wise for us to make our presence unknown as quickly as possible. It is only a matter of time before they reach this place.” Zebota said.

“Yeah, but it won’t be for a good while- they probably don’t even know that the portal took us here. Princess Luna said that barely anyone even remembers them.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“I don’t know. If they manage to meet Aesir in Yodelneigh, I’m sure he’d probably know about the portals. Heck, one of them is Siegfried’s grave for crying out loud!” Tidal Wave said.

“Yeah, and Princess Twilight is one heck of a bookworm. She herself would probably know.” Fire Fight said.

“Even so, we traveled an enormous distance in mere seconds while cutting off the portals’ connection. From where they are, I’d estimate they would be able to reach within at least a full day’s time assuming they started their journey right as they saw us depart.” Quantum Tech explained.

“Then I suggest we take this moment to plan our next move for when morning rises.” Shadow Shroud said as she pulled out her map. “If we decide quickly, we might just hatch a good enough plan to execute right after Air Slash and Valkyrie finish their little contest.”

“Can’t you guys have your play date after we find a place to live?” Bullseye asked.

Air Slash chuckled. “We should not take long. If we’re both as mighty as we claim, then one of us will no doubt fall within minutes. Besides, it’ll be at high noon; we’ll have plenty of time afterwards to make any last minute preparations.”

“Could you perhaps convince her to help us find someplace afterwards?” Greensprout asked.

“I doubt it.” Air Slash answered. “Valkyrie is concerned with her people, as she should be. We interfered in her affairs enough as it is. It is not likely that our paths will cross again, unless we settle close to Griffonstone.”

“She did seem pretty bothered about having to help us.” Tidal Wave said.

“And it certainly doesn’t help that she kinda got roped into our own problems. If our parents come here and recognize her, they might harass her for an answer until she decides to just chop ‘em up.” Fire Fight said. “You’re right, Air Slash. We’ve given her enough trouble.”

“Yes. Ok, now that that’s all settled…” Shadow Shroud examined her map for a moment. “Kickback, what’s your take?” she asked as she handed the gunslinger her map.

“Well, let’s see now…” Kickback carefully examined the area around Griffonstone, which was sadly limited. “Well, the first thing Ah’d tell ya is that we shouldn’t go north if we can help it. The train station is just over yonder, and we might get cornered if we’re caught again.” He said, and then something caught his eye. “Now where do y’all s’pose this goes?” He showed them a road that led out of Griffonstone and headed southeast towards the mountains where there appeared to be a valley they could pass through according to the map.

“I bet y’all Valkyrie would know. Homie oughta ask her tomorrow af’er d’hey rumble.” Turf War said.

“It’s looking like our best candidate right now.” Quantum Tech said. “Although, if we travel a road that is already paved, it would make us easier to track.”

“Ah reckon so, but that also means that there’s something over yonder fer us to explore an’ maybe find some land where we build our homestead.” Kickback said.

“My only regret is that we may not be able to talk our differences over with the princess and those adults.” Greensprout said. “Surely they will be anticipating us to resist them again, so I please ask that we all actually take the time to have a conversation with them should we happen upon each other again.”

“And not lodge arrows in their shoulders….” Fire Fight said sternly as he looked as Bullseye.

Bullseye narrowed her eye and looked down slightly as she gritted her teeth. “You’re welcome.” She growled.

“Ms. Greensprout’s right though.” Kickback said. “We’re not gonna fend off them varmints by just runnin’ away like groundhogs when they see their shadows. We gotta have civil talk with our neighbors if were gonna come to a consensus.”

“We’ll worry about that once we properly establish our home.” Quantum said. She then sighed. “Hopefully by then they’ll have it in the right mind to recognize our sovereignty.”

“Yeah…that was scary…” Spiral muttered.

“C’mon, y’all! I know we ain’t ‘bout to let dat distract us right now!” Turf War said. “We gotta be focusin’ on our mission n’ all d’hem. We don’t got time to be wonderin’ why d’here be peeps on our flanks.”

“We won’t have much time to worry about it once they catch up though.” Shadow Shroud reminded.

“The best thing we can do at this point in time is be weary of what surrounds us. Our very survival will depend on how well we can maintain our morale.” Zebota said.

“Yeah, we got to stay strong, guys.” Fire Fight said. “Hey Quantum, did you finish that analysis of those ice golem remains yet?”

“Oh! Yes, I did! Although…..I’m not exactly sure what to conclude….” Quantum answered.

“What do you mean?” Greensprout asked.

Quantum Tech cleared her throat. “Well, it’s as if it didn’t come from the golem at all. Either that, or the golem, and by proxy the windigo we encountered were merely……how should describe this?......antibodies, as is they were acting to defend something, or perhaps eradicate us altogether. What’s even stranger is that it didn’t appear to have any form of consciousness whatsoever.”

The foals felt chills running down their spines upon hearing Quantum’s ominous explanation. “So…..they were just……drones?” Tidal Wave asked.

“And there’s a queen bee controlling them?” Spiral asked.

Quantum gulped and nervously nodded. “It would appear so, but as to the identity of whatever the entity might even be, I’m afraid I have absolutely no idea. I don’t even have any methods of tracking where this hive brain might operating. However, I did notice something rather…..peculiar.”

“Being what?” Air Slash asked.

“When I studied its magical activity, I noticed that it was emitting waves that were strikingly akin to brainwaves, particularly those associated with thoughts and feelings of anger.” Quantum explained.

“Anger?” Kickback inquired.

Quantum nodded. “Yes. It is likely they were what were influencing these anomalous creatures. Studying them more closely, I was beginning to make out a pattern of sorts. Consistently, I observed anger, resentment, deep sorrow, feelings of betrayal even. Clearly, it was somepony’s will programming those drones.”

“Tch. So somepony’s just hella pissed off at something, huh? Talk about a hissy fit.” Bullseye commented.

“But why did they come after us? What did we do to who or whatever it is?” Tidal Wave asked.

“Well, we don’t know if our cases were the only ones. They could be popping up all over Equestria for all we know.” Fire Fight said.

“Although, I’m pretty sure we would have at least heard ponies talking about such drastic events plaguing the realm.” Shroud said.

“Yeah. When I was in Yodelneigh, nopony seemed freaked out about any news of ice monsters attacking Equestria.” Tidal Wave said.

“I still think dat d’hey mighta been just some spirits guadin’ dat mountain. Bet d’hey was sizin’ us up first ‘fo d’hey decided to rumble.” Turf War said.

“But the first time, we were not anywhere close to Great Horn Summit.” Zebota said. “And I sensed the evil within them that Quantum Tech described. Those creatures are not natural; they are abominations, insults to the balance of this world. I know not where they are spawned, but I can have no doubt that it is dark, terrible place void of any respect for order. We would do well to be weary of their existence.”

With a scientific genius and an attuned mystic giving the same warning, the foals couldn’t help but to be even more chilled. Was something after them? Something they couldn’t sense? Or was it just a coincidence that they were seeing whatever this presence was start to make itself known? Either way, it seemed that Princess Luna might have been right about a coming disaster.

“O-Ok. Moving on. How about Tidal Wave’s DNA?” Spiral asked.

Quantum Tech had to take a deep breath before answering. “Ah yes, that. Well…..I’m afraid that wasn’t quite so conclusive either. I of course came across the odd ‘anti-gene’ that I mentioned before. However, I may have found the cause for it.”

Tidal Wave perked up. “Really? What?”

“For some odd reason, it seems to originate from your mother’s side of your inherited genes.” Quantum said. “From a genealogical perspective, there’s nothing wrong with you at all. What’s strange is that your mother was indeed a pony, but it begs the question of why she would carry such peculiar traits. Did you ever inquire your father on their relationship?”

Eyebrows and heads were cocked at the strange news that nopony was expecting to hear, even the colt in question himself. “W-Well….I have, but he never wanted to talk about it for some reason, so I stopped pestering him about it.” He said.

“What!? Why? She was your mother! You have every right to know.” Spiral said.

Tidal Wave looked at her and sighed. “Yeah, but she was also his wife. Who would want to be constantly asked about somepony they deeply loved that died? Besides, I….I probably remind him too much of her already.”

Spiral gently put her hoof on his. “Looks like it’ll be something to figure out together, huh?”

Tidal Wave lightly blushed at her gesture. “Yeah….I really do want to know. Maybe someday….” He managed a smile. Spiral let go of his hoof, but the two found themselves gazing into each other’s eyes for a moment. The night sky and the deep ocean seemed only inches apart with their young scions connecting them. That is until they caught themselves and broke off.

“So, uh….” Spiral stammered. “Quantum, aren’t you kinda worried that some griffon might try to steal your mech or something from it? We have most of our supplies packed in there.

“Oh, sure! As if twig face out there won’t just make a f****** snack out of anyone who’d try to touch that thing.” Bullseye said.

Quantum giggled. “Not to worry, darling! I have equipped my most prized creation with a highly effective anti-theft system.”

“GYAAAAA-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AAAAHHHH!!!!!” They all heard someone outside get badly electrocuted.

“As you can see.” Quantum Tech nonchalantly finished.

The other foals looked at her in slightly amused horror. Quantum Tech wasn’t one for a lot of restraint, but they sometimes wondered if she was completely aware of that. “Damn. Glad we ain’t tried to drive dat thing when we was un’erground.” Turf War said.

Another thought then crossed Fire Fight’s mind. “Hey Shroud, who was that other Shadewalker that was in the temple with us? If I can ask, of course.”

Shroud looked at him. “I shouldn’t say. Even if I’ve opened myself up to you, the rest of my order has not. It’s not that significant anyway.”

Fire Fight knew better than to expect a straight answer, but he got the feeling she wasn’t telling him something. “Well, I’d say it’s pretty significant if he or she came to help us.”

Shroud narrowed her eyes a little bit. “If I truly knew, I’d tell you, but I don’t. We largely do our own thing. Although, I’m not sure why he’d suddenly come to our rescue.”

“So you know him?” Fire Fight inquired.

Shroud became noticeably more irate. “Look, I said it doesn’t matter, alright? We got here like we planned, and now we can go forward like we want to. What’s the problem?”

Fire Fight was started to get frustrated himself. “I think you’re keeping something from us, Shroud. Are they starting to come after us now? Are you in trouble? What’s this gonna mean for the Battle Foals? Are you gonna have to go back soon?”

“Just shut up, Fire Fight!” Shadow Shroud interjected, somewhat startling everypony. The look on her face was one of irritation, but looking into her eyes, Fire Fight could tell that something was gnawing at her, and she wouldn’t say what. After a few seconds, her expression completely softened into a sorrowful one. “S-Sorry…..I-I……didn’t mean to get angry.” Before anypony could say anything, she got up and jumped onto the girl’s bed and laid down. “A lot happened today, and I think we’re all just really tired, so……let’s just go to bed, ok?” she said sorrowfully.

“U-Umm….ok.” Fire Fight wanted to help his friend, but it didn’t seem like she was in the mood for talking, and everypony could see that. That, and she was indeed right about them being bushed, so with some unease, they set their belongings aside and climbed into bed.

Fire Fight let the other colts decide on who all would share their bed and who would sleep on the floor while he nestled himself in the hay nest. As he laid down, his eyes went to Shadow Shroud, who was practically against the wall as she laid in the bed and faced it, clearly unwilling to interact with the others. It was the only thing that dared to keep him awake as he slowly drifted off to sleep………with the warm, fuzzy embrace of the hay suddenly reminding him of being held by his mother.

Brainfreeze

Fire Fight found himself surrounded by darkness, a pitch-black void where not even existence itself seemed to be present. Try as he might have to look for any sort of company, he could barely even hear the sound of his own breathing; there was nothing. Even when he ignited his horn, the light seemed to be swallowed whole by the surrounding darkness. Nopony…..no one was there with him. On top of that, it was cold……so cold.

Suddenly, he heard a very faint noise from far behind him. When he turned around, he could barely make out the image of his mother frantically running towards him from far away. “M-Mom!?” he called out. Despite the distance between them, he could clearly see the expression of terror on her face, and yet she somehow wasn’t getting any closer.

“Mom, what’s….. No….. No! I can’t come back! I won’t!” Fire Fight declared. His mother suddenly stopped in place and just…..stared at him. As if she was having a staring contest with something terrifying and couldn’t keep her cool. Feeling a little unnerved, Fire Fight anxiously observed her for a moment. “Umm….” After a tense moment with the oppressive atmosphere chilling his spine, his mother suddenly flash froze, turning into an ice sculpture. “WHOA! WHAT!?” Just as quickly as she transmuted, Ms. Fight crumbled into a pile of icy dust. “MOM!!” Fire Fight managed to run up to the pile of ice that was his mother, only to find that it bore the same eerie glow as the remains of the windigo he and the Battle Foals faced before. “Wha…!?”

The frigid detritus suddenly scattered as if it was blown by a wind that Fire Fight couldn’t feel, and it dissipated into the darkness. “Huh!?” He suddenly felt a chill behind him. When he turned, there was another mare turned into ice! This time, it was Film Noir. “F-Film Noir?” The only response he got was the same thing- disintegration. “<Gasp!>” Fire Fight could only look on as she too evaporated into mist. Now he was starting to panic. There were suddenly icy effigies of the CMC, his father, Cheerilee, Abbot Meadow, Rocky Mountain, and even Princess Twilight. All of which violently burst simultaneously into millions of ice shards, startling the fiery the colt. “Wh-Wh-What’s going on!?!?”

The chill was intensifying, and he began to feel that the void he was in seemed to harbor some twisted form of sentience. Suddenly there was ice statues of the many villains he’d faced on his journey. Action Shot, Officer Curfew, the giant snake, the Diamond Dogs, the florastrad, the Sand Vipers, Gene Splice and his mutated monsters, the crystal golem, the Fallen, the hydra, Lechuza and her swarm of harpies all in glacial form surrounded him. All Fire Fight could do was watch and wait; he had no idea what the consequences would be if he tried to attack them. He tried to light his horn once again, but he could only get a small flicker out and didn’t know why, and he was becoming more paranoid. “G-G-Guys!? Are you here!?” he called out, but to no avail. His only company was the creepy ice sculptures that seemed to suddenly close in on him. “HUH!?”

Without warning, the heads of every effigy quickly turned to face him bearing angry expressions at him! “AH!!” Fire Fight felt helpless. He couldn’t ignite his horn to summon his fire spells, let alone warm himself in the now frigid temperature, and it reached down to his bones when the ice bodies started moving towards him! “WHUH!? HUH!? U-U-U-UHH!!!” Fire Fight’s blood must’ve been breaking the sound barrier by now. He was completely frazzled and panicked at everything that was going on. Where was he, why was this happening? Were these ice sculptures…….going to kill him. “N-NO!! S-STOP!!!!” As they drew near, all he could do was cower beneath his hooves. He could feel the icy air emanating off of them get closer along with their footsteps. Was this it? Would he fall to an inexplicable attack from his past?.....No…..he had to muster some courage. Sending his fiery will into his spirit rather than his horn, Fire Fight mustered the strength to throw a punch at whatever he might hit. “HYARGH!!!”

However, when he opened his eyes, nothing was there. The effigies had all but vanished as though they never existed. “Wh-What!?” He looked around in confusion, but nothing. He was once again alone, and even the cold front had all but dissipated.

He then heard a filly crying behind him, and when he turned around, it was Shadow Shroud facing away from him. “Sh-Shadow Shroud?” He decided to exercise caution for the risk of this just being a ruse, but he very much hoped that it was his friend. As he drew near her, he could feel the menacing chill returning, and he kept his nerves on high alert. “Shroud? Wh-What’s wrong?”

Shadow Shroud suddenly stopped crying just as Fire Fight came right behind her, urging him to stop. For a tense moment, he anxiously anticipated for her to strike, but she didn’t. Instead, she got up and slowly turned to face him. It was her alright, but something felt wrong…. “Sh-Shroud?” Her expression was as blank as sheet of paper, and the chill seemed to be coming off of her. She slowly reached into her cloak and drew a kunai. However, when she drew it, Fire Fight was shocked to see that the blade was made of ice! “Sh-Sh-Shroud!?” He started back away, but she started approaching him at the same pace. “Wh-Wh-What are you doing!?”

The air was becoming more and more frigid as their mobile staring contest continued, and it was then that Fire Fight began hearing whispers in the dark. Listening more closely, he could hear ponies he’d heard talking or conversations he’d held on his journey: his mother pleading for him to come home, Spiral Galaxy’s parents lamenting her disappearance, the Sand Viper boss taunting Kickback, their confrontation with Gene Splice and their argument over his execution, he and Shroud during their burial of the mad scientist, Quantum Tech’s parents reprimanding her, their encounter with the monks of Gardenia, Greensprout’s tantrum, Bullseye’s rampage during their raid on the Rockslide bandits, their conversation with Rocky Mountain afterwards, and the commotion that ensued when they were discovered just before entering the portal to Asgard Forest.

As he was too distracted by the voices of the past, Fire Fight didn’t notice right away that he and the ominous copy of Shadow Shroud were moving faster. “Shroud, stop! What’s going on!?”

“Just shut up, Fire Fight!” She had said exactly the way she did just before they went to bed, but her expressionless face made her seem as though it had been forced out of her as though she were a puppet, and then he realized what was wrong- her eyes. There were....pale, almost colorless, a far cry from the deep amethyst he was used to seeing shining in the dark. Whatever this was, it wasn’t her. It wasn’t his friend. This was an unknown force that for one reason or another meant him harm.

Try as he might have, he again couldn’t light his horn. “Oh, come on! Please!”

“Don’t be such a baby.” The fake Shroud said in her copied tone. The fact that this being took the form of his close friend suppressed his will to directly attack it……until it turned into another ice effigy and continued to pursue him.

“Oh, shoot…” he squeaked. He found himself wanting to turn tail and make a run for it, but before he could, the ice form created grotesque armor akin to the windigo they fought in the White Tail Woods! “Oh, shoot!” He was practically galloping backward now. Then….the final nail in the coffin.

“<RRRRRRHHHHH!!!!!>” It let loose an otherworldly growl before intensifying the frigid air that was blowing off of it like a fireplace. “Freeeeeeeeze tooooooo deeeeeaaaaaattttthhhh!!” it said in a demonic drawl. The swell of cold air around it violently swirled around it as it grew to gargantuan proportions, bigger than even Tirek at full power and took on the form of an equine dragon that was even more ferocious than the windigo.

“<RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!>”

“OH, SHOOT!!!” Fire Fight finally broke and made a break for it, but his path was barred when a huge wall of ice suddenly erected in his path. “HUH!?” He looked back in horror to see the glacial giant rearing its fangs and ready to finish him. With one last demonic howl, it lashed at him. “AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!”

“Cease at once, abomination!” An inexplicable beam of silver light suddenly blasted from above them as a divine voice resounded from the darkness. The ice titan was struck by the bright blast and let out an agonized roar as it was obliterated in the radiant assault, and it exploded in a burst of shards shaped like petals. After it was destroyed, the silver light continued to shine down, and from its source emerged Princess Luna. She floated down to greet Fire Fight.

“Princess Luna!” Fire Fight could feel the tense atmosphere lift along with the frigid air.

“Good evening, Fire Fight.” Luna said. “I see you and the Battle Foals succeeded in reaching Griffonstone, and yet tonight you find yourself surrounded by doubt and uncertainty.”

“Y-Yeah….. A lot’s happened.” Fire Fight muttered. “And I think you might’ve been right about some coming catastrophe.”

“So it would seem.” Luna said. “Your recent encounters with these anomalous ice monsters is most disturbing, and something tells me that it is no coincidence. Something is looming on the horizon, and we may have to take action soon.” She softened her expression as she looked into the fiery colt’s eyes. “But enough about that. Your travels are starting to make you grow weary, especially given the current circumstances.”

Fire Fight solemnly nodded. “I didn’t think this mission would be easy, but…..I had no idea just how much of a toll it would take.” He sighed. “But I’ll still brave through it if I have to. For my friends! The Battle Foals! And all of the other foals that might come eventually.”

Luna could hear his exhaustion despite his powerful words. “The fire in your soul burns as brightly as ever, but even the strongest of flames can be extinguished, Fire Fight.” She gently lifted his head by his chin. “Even if your friends have great strength of will on their own, they still look to you as their guide, and they need you.”

“I-I know….” Fire Fight muttered. “I just don’t get why I’m thinking about everything so much. My mind’s been made up from the beginning. I swore to help other foals……so why do I feel so…..weak?”

“Because you’re pushing away your doubt rather than facing it, and the more you do so, the more it hungers for your willpower.” Luna said. “You’re now starting to realize the sheer magnitude of the trials the world can truly throw at you.” She let go of him.

Fire Fight sighed. “I guess so…. I can’t imagine how everypony else must be doing.” It was then that he was reminded of something that was likely a central theme in this nightmare. “Shadow Shroud…” he muttered. “Princess Luna, what’s going on with Shadow Shroud? What is she hiding from me? I think something’s hurting her, but she won’t say what.”

“That is an issue between the two of you, Fire Fight.” Luna said. “You know better than to force her.”

“I-I know, but….. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her seem unsure of herself.” Fire Fight said. “I know she had a moment after what happened with Gene Splice, but-”

“But she openly spoke with you, didn’t she?” Luna said. “You are her friend, Fire Fight. She will come to you if she feels the need, but of course don’t hesitate to offer your hoof if all else fails. All you can do is keep moving forward.”

Fire Fight managed to crease a little smile. “You’re right…” he said. “Hey…. You should really warn your sister about this whole catastrophe. My friends and I might be tough, but we might need all of Equestria to take out whatever’s coming.”

“I will tell my sister what she needs to know when the time comes. For now, my priority is watching over you.” Luna said. “H-However…..tell me something. When you faced these ice creatures, did you sense anything…..peculiar about them?”

Fire Fight cocked his eyebrow, unsure of how to take the odd question. “Umm….I didn’t get to fight the ice ape that almost killed Air Slash, but I guess the windigo was weird since it was alone. Why do you ask?”

“I…. I can’t shake the feeling that whatever is to come, there’s more to it than is readily apparent.” Luna said.

“Yeah. Quantum Tech said as much when she told us about that ice dust they left behind. It sounds like something’s waking up.” Fire Fight said.

“Waking up?” Luna asked.

Fire Fight explained Quantum’s analysis and how the ice monsters seemed to be proxies of an unseen force. “Have any other ice monsters appeared around Equestria and attacked ponies?”

Luna shook her head. “Nothing of the sort has happened, thankfully.”

“Then why’s it coming after me and my friends? What did we do?” Fire Fight wondered.

“Perhaps whatever this force is sees your strength and is simply testing its own, gauging your power and trying to match it. It may very well see you as its biggest threat.” Luna said. “If nothing else, let that fuel your courage as you continue down your path. I have utmost faith in you and the Battle Foals.” She leaned and gently pecked the fiery colt, getting a blush out of him. “But for now, the light of day beckons you. My work here is done.” She and the dream void began fading away in a gentle glow of silver light. “May your strength endure, mighty Battle Foals!”

Eye in the Sky

No sooner than the lunar princess foretell, the light of her sister’s sun coaxed Fire Fight awake. The same stony room that had been a place of heavy subject matter felt strangely lighter, as though he knew that all would be well, especially considering that his friends were rising about the same he was. “<yawn!> Morning, guys.”

“Mornin’ sheriff.” Kickback said. Everypony else bid their good mornings as well, save for Crazylocks, who was still slumbering on the side of her bed.

“Hey. Crazylocks.” Bullseye roughly nudged her to try and wake her. “<sigh> I f****** swear, if she shouts….”

Thankfully, while the frenzied filly jolted awake, she didn’t go ballistic. However, she did fall on her head onto the floor. “Yipe!”

“Naptime’s over. It’s morning.” Bullseye said.

“Aww!” Crazylocks crossed her legs and arms as though she were sitting down and pouting. “Just when I was about to uncover the secrets of the tree masons!” Her pigtails suddenly stiffened, supporting her upside-down body like legs, and then they moved to and fro like legs carrying her towards the door. Even the understanding Greensprout couldn’t help but give a baffled expression at one of the mutant’s more befuddling acts of insanity as everypony else did.

“Umm….okay. I guess we oughta get some breakfast?” Fire Fight said.

Air Slash nodded. “Yes. I will need a hearty meal to be at my peak today. It would be a grave insult to Valkyrie if I battled her unfit and unprepared.”

Greensprout gently grabbed his hoof. “Just make sure you two don’t overdo it. I trust that you’ll practice restraint, but that day on the Great Horn Summit is still fresh in our minds.”

Air Slash raised up her hoof and kissed it. “Even our contest does become heated, it nothing more than that: a contest. But, I will surely exercise caution. That…..incident made me more aware of how reckless I can be.”

“Good.” Greensprout said.

“Wonder what d’hey servin’? I kinda digged dat griffon food Valkyrie let us have.” Turf War said.

“Unless you planned on cooking something, Fire Fight.” Quantum Tech said.

Fire Fight shook his head. “Nah. I think I need a break from cooking to help clear my mind.”

“Understandable”. Quantum said. “Come to think of it, I should probably see to my mech.”

“Yes. Shrapnel has no doubt woken by now. I should hunt the woods with him so he can find a nice meal.” Zebota said.

“Alrighty. Ah reckon we could save some food fer ya if yer still hungry.” Kickback said.

“That would be kind of you, friend.” Zebota said. He and Quantum Tech were the first out the door.

Before Fire Fight could start going towards the door, Shadow Shroud suddenly appeared beside him. “Hey…” she muttered.

“Oh….H-Hey.” Fire Fight replied. “You sleep alright?”

“Yeah….” She said. “Look, sorry about how I acted last night. I…”

Fire Fight put his hoof on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I-I’m sorry to. I got a little pushy because I was worried.”

Shadow Shroud creased a little smile and lightly giggled. “Sometimes I wonder about you, you know? A raging inferno one minute, and a gentle flame the next.”

Fire Fight chuckled. “Would you have it any other way?”

“No. No, I wouldn’t.” Shroud said.

“Whaddya say we relax for a little while and watch Air Slash’s duel?” Fire Fight offered.

Shroud playfully cocked her eyebrow. “Relaxing by watching a swordfight? Whatever you say, fearless leader.” She teased.

With that, the two followed the others out into the hallway where they returned to the lobby. The receptionist was quick to fare them a good morning, which they returned. The breakfast being served was an open buffet that included the tufts of wheat that Valkyrie had introduced, but they had clearly been baked. Some wheat pancakes and muffins were also present along with some scrambled eggs. Amongst the fruit was something that caught the foals’ eyes.

“Golden apples?” Tidal Wave said as he picked one up.

“Tidal Wave, I highly doubt they’re actually gold. Just sayin’” Spiral Galaxy said.

Tidal Wave rolled his eyes. “No duh, Spiral. I’ve just never seen any apples like this before.”

“I bet it’s native to Griffonstone. Wonder what they taste like?” Spiral said as she magically lifted one for herself and for Tidal Wave onto each of their plates. She then noticed one last plate on the end that held slices of bread with some broiled vegetable baked into it. Taking a whiff of it, she identified it as seaweed.

“Umm… Didn’t Valkyrie to stay away from that stuff?” Tidal Wave asked.

Spiral put a slice of her plate. “I’m a brave filly.” She said confidently.

“If you say so…” Tidal Wave muttered as they and the other foals apart from Zebota and Quantum Tech sat down with their food.

Curious, Spiral decided to take a bite of her seaweed bread right away, and almost immediately, she regretted not heeding Valkyrie’s warning. “HRR!” She spat out the little chunk she bit off onto her plate. “Gluh!”

Tidal Wave took a bite of his gold apple. “And…. I’m a smart colt.”

Spiral gave him an annoyed glare, and then she noticed Crazylocks had popped up next to her eyeing the slice of seaweed bread like a dog eagerly awaiting its master to give a treat. Spiral slid the blasphemous bread over to her, and she chomped it down in one bite. “<BUUURRRP!!!> Aaahhh! Reminds me of home.” She sang. Spiral just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

After their breakfast, the foals paid for their meal and headed outside to meet Quantum Tech and Zebota. As promised they brought them some food as well, but it looked like Zebota and Shrapnel were still out, so Quantum was alone inspecting her mech to make sure that the would-be thieves didn’t manage to make off with anything or otherwise damage her prize. “Oh! There you are.”

“Howdy, Ms. Quantum Tech.” Kickback said as he handed her some fruit and wheat muffins.

Quantum giggled as she graciously accepted the offering. “Why thank you, my sugar pie! It looks simply delicious.” She cooed. Kickback, being somewhat desensitized to this treatment just lowered his hat in front of his face.

“Zebota’s not back yet, huh?” Fire Fight asked.

Quantum shook her head. “No. As it happens, a tame timberwolf is a rare sight in this part of the world, so the locals were rather quick to…..usher them out of town. I’m sure if Valkyrie spoke with them, then they would not be so judgmental.”

“Tch. More like cautious of not getting chomped.” Bullseye said. “Speaking of which, where is feather-face? She was supposed to meet Air Slash out here, right?”

“At noon, Bullseye.” Air Slash said. “It will be a good half-hour before she arrives. We did sleep in a little.”

“No s*** we slept.” Bullseye said. She then noticed Crazylocks on the other side of the street balancing a mass amount of building stones on her pigtails, much to the chagrin of the nearby builders. “Ugh! This stupid…. I got her guys.” She said. “Hey! Crazylocks!!” She flew towards her.

Greensprout giggled. “Bless their souls.”

“At least we’ve got somepony to babysit her.” Spiral said. “Hey Air Slash, do you mind if I…..not watch your duel? I kinda…..wanna work on meditating. Ever since what happened on the way to find Valkyrie….”

“I understand, Spiral Galaxy.” Air Slash graciously replied. “If any of you want to be left to your own devices, I am in no place to stop you. I do not seek glory anyway; it’s merely a contest. However, let us all be prudent as to enacting our decision to explore that route we discovered on the map.”

Turf War gave him a bro nudge. “Word, son. Let us know how yo’ spicy chicken nuggets was, with o’ widout barbeque sauce. Whaaaat!?”

Air Slash chuckled heartily. “I presume you’ll be spectating then?”

“Damn straight!” Turf War said. “Yo! We gotta ask her what’s poppin’ over on dat south road after y’all rumble too.”

Tidal Wave turned to Spiral Galaxy. “You want some help? I heard water flow calms you down.”

“Hey! Good idea! Although, we’d have to find a river or something….” Spiral said.

Using his water sense, Tidal Wave looked around until he spotted a suitable candidate. “There’s a really big pond at the base of the stone incline leading up here. It’s a bit of a walk, but hey.”

“I should accompany the two of you just to monitor Spiral Galaxy’s magic influxes.” Quantum Tech said.

“Thanks, Quantum Tech.” Spiral said.

“When do y’all reckon Zebota n’ Shrapnel will return?” Kickback asked.

“Hard to tell. I imagine these wilds would be particularly foreign to them, so it’s not crazy to think that they’d take some time gauging their new surroundings.” Shroud said.

“Well in that case, Ah reckon Ah oughta go wait by the woods n’ make sure they get back safe n’ sound. If not, Ah’ll let y’all know so we can look for ‘em.” Kickback said.

Fire Fight nodded. “Sounds like we have a plan. Alright, let’s agree to meet at about….two in the afternoon where Spiral, Quantum and Tidal Wave are gonna be. That way, we’ll have a bit of a head start towards our goal. Sound good?”

“No objections.” Shroud said. Everypony else agreed. “Oh! And Fire Fight and I are coming to watch your duel.” She said to Air Slash.

They all then heard a mighty, familiar <caw!> resound from the Griffonstone skies. “Good, because the show might be starting sooner than expected.”

In the Woods Surrounding Griffonstone…

The grand serenity of the forest stood as firm as the city its wilderness hugged, and the only thing that caused it to ripple was the presence of the mighty alpha timberwolf and his mystic master stalking its lush fortress of mighty flora. The hunters that they were, the silence of the woods evoked by the presence of a predator was anything but foreign. If anything, it was the closest thing to a symbol of his high pedestal in the world of the wild, however immaterial. With his sling loaded and ready to fire, and Shrapnel ready to pounce, no potential prey was safe.

Even in this foreign land, the rules of nature applied all the same, and with the distant sight of a large buck grazing in a small clearing, the duo were ready to make their claim. All it took was a mere moment of eye contact with his beast to give the desired command. With a simple glow of his brooch, the wooden titan silently crept away from his master while Zebota crept his towards the buck. “Mei kifo wako kuwa mwepesi na bila mateso, kiumbe wa misitu.” He whispered.

After taking a second to gather his focus, Zebota took aim and swung his sling with precision that would make Bullseye proud. The sonic boom that followed the rock being flung spooked that deer so that it raised its head to look up, causing the rock to fly right into its neck. Its cries of agony were Shrapnel’s cue to crash through the bushes and deliver the final blow to his meal, which the buck could do naught to resist.

Zebota trotted over to his monster and their claim. Before Shrapnel took a bite of his breakfast, he let his master carry out one last prayer for the animal. “Je, si dharau sisi kwa hili, ndugu, kwa Nature ni mama kikatili. Hebu roho yako kurudi kukumbatia wake, na kuruhusu mwili wako kurudi duniani.” Satisfied with the last rites, he let his pet eat away at his well-earned meal. “Eat well, my friend.”

Shrapnel wasted no time chowing down, and Zebota watched in delight. It was then that he realized that he was feeling a little hungry as well. Looking around, he noticed a tree bearing apples of a golden hue. “Hmm….interesting.” he thought to himself as he approached the tree. Shrapnel then walked up behind him and lowered his head, no doubt sensing his master’s desire to harvest an apple and sparing a moment from his breakfast to do so. “Thank you, Shrapnel.” He said as he jumped on his titan’s head. With Shrapnel boosting him, Zebota was easily able to procure one of the apples, and Shrapnel promptly went back to his meal. Sensing that the apple wasn’t poisonous, Zebota took a bite to find that the fruit’s glamorous coat matched its rich taste. “Mmm! Perhaps I should harvest more of these for the others. Although…..they probably have plenty of food, and I should not take more than I welcomed to.”

He then suddenly heard Shrapnel lowly growling, and he looked back, his beast was looking up at something. “What is it, Shrapnel?” he asked as he walked up to him. Looking more closely, at the sky above him, Zebota could make out something slowly descending upon them. He readied his boomerang in case it was something dangerous. However, what revealed itself was something….odd. It was a metallic orb the size of a baseball that seemed to be glowing red from the inside and was inexplicably floating in place with no clear source of thrust. A small part of it opened up to reveal a lens that protruded out of it and eyed them.

The mystic duo remained cautious, but they weren’t sure what to make of their visitor. The encounter lasted for a short moment or so before the orb flew back into the sky, and the two eased up. “Was…..that Quantum Tech’s creation?” he thought. “Perhaps they are calling us back for some reason. Finish your meal quickly, my friend.” Shrapnel took a moment to check the sky again before resuming his meal, clearly sensing something sinister.

Bladestorm

After the foals went their respective ways, Valkyrie majestically swooped down in front of her opponent and their spectators. She puffed out her chest, displaying her well-established confidence while Air Slash stood tall but humble. “Good day, Valkyrie. I trust you slept well?”

Valkyrie brushed her feathers off. “I might have been kept a little awake from excitement, but all and all, sure. You ready?”

Air Slash nodded. “Of course! I trust you would know a suitable location around your home?”

“Yeah, man. There’s a little field just outside of town, but…..I’m willing to give one last chance to chicken out. I don’t go easy even when it’s a friendly duel.” Valkyrie said.

Air Slash drew one of his swords. “I never back down from a challenge.”

“Yeah! Homie gonna send you back to yo’ coop, homegirl.” Turf War boasted.

Valkyrie gave him a smug grin. “But not you, hammerhead!” she taunted. Turf War’s enthusiasm was suddenly drained. “Hehehe! Anyway, let’s go.” Valkyrie led them through town where she happily greeted by the townsfolk along the way, who of course were kind to the foals seeing as they were acquainted with a griffon who was hailed as a hero. While the foals didn’t quite understand how someone as egotistical as Valkyrie could command respect, they remembered that these were griffons, and it was likely seen as a positive quality. But it raised the question of how respect was thus not publicly shamed. Was there a side to the arrogant avian that they’d yet to see?

After a few moments of walking, the foals and Valkyrie stopped at the base of a field of grass sandwiched by the town and the cliffs that dropped down into the forest below. The gentle breeze swayed the grass, as if to encourage a greeting towards their guests. Its fortified serenity made for a great location for a small battlefield, and the two contenders occupied opposite ends of it. Even with their swords sheathed, the tension between them could be cut easily. Both hovered slightly above the ground as they drew their blades, the sunlight sheening off of them and the wind whistling as it blew against the sharp ends as they did. In that instant, they dropped their proud grins and put their game faces on- they were ready.

“Play nice, you two!” Shadow Shroud called out.

“And be careful!” Greensprout added.

The two combatants nodded to their spectators, and the duel ensued. “HERE COMES THE VALKYRIE!!!”

Both opponents soared towards each other like hornets ready to sting something. They’re collision was followed by an explosive <SHING!!> from their blades striking, and the foals watching could feel the shockwave. Air Slash swiftly soared upward and flew in a loop before diving towards Valkyrie with his sword ready to strike. Valkyrie blocked him easily with her shield, but he used his momentum to gracefully slide across her shield and jump off just before she could counter him. Valkyrie then let her shield drop and swung it by its chain and aimed for the soaring samurai, but Air Slash flipped over it as it came within mere inches of her feathers. He retaliated with a sword beam, and Valkyrie quickly generated a surge of ancestral light from her Valhalla into her sword and blocked it.

“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh!?” Valkyrie said.

“I certainly hope you intended to fight to the best of your potential!” Air Slash said before soaring towards her low to the ground, his blades charging with magic. When he executed an upward slash, Valkyrie practically slammed her greatsword onto his katana, but Air Slash took the blow completely, and the two found themselves locked in a stalemate shimmering with the ferocity of their magic sparking off of their swords as though they were being welded together. Neither combatant was backing down.

Their staring contest lasted a few seconds before the build-up of energy forced them apart. “EN GARDE!!!” Air Slash exclaimed as he dashed towards her.

Little by little, the townsfolk began to crowd around Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud and Greensprout as Air Slash and their local hero engaged in a titanic hack and slash fest. Air Slash’s grace and dual wielding allowed him to execute fast and complex combos whereas Valkyrie’s strength and matching dexterity let her tank his blows like a brick wall, and counter with such force. Their aerial clashes created ferocious light shows everywhere they flew, yet they were careful not to put their audience into harm’s way.

“Damn! I shoulda brought some popcorn! Dis is lit!!” Turf War commented.

“They look like they’re having fun too!” Greensprout said.

“Classic adrenaline rush for ya! Nothing like it.” Fire Fight said.

Greensprout giggled. “I can see that!”

As she was watching, Shadow Shroud noticed something out of the corner of her eye. “Hmm?” Far in the distance, she could make out a little black speck that seemed to just be floating in place. Squinting her eyes, she could see it in slightly more detail. It was a small orb with a dim red light emanating from it. Nothing immediately obvious was suspending it in place, and it seemed to be quietly observing Valkyrie and Air Slash. Suddenly, it seemed to turn and notice Shadow Shroud looking at it, and it quickly made itself scarce and flew away. It accelerated far quicker than anything Shroud had seen from something that wasn't an athletic pegasus. “Hmm…..peculiar.”

“What’s up, Shroud?” Fire Fight asked.

“Hmm?” Shroud turned to face him. “Oh, nothing. Just thought I saw something.”

At the Pond

Tidal Wave and Spiral Galaxy sat across from each other right at the bank of the pond they’d found with Quantum Tech a few yards away from them stowed away in her mech. The little scientist had activated some measuring applications to scan her two friends during their session, namely Spiral Galaxy, who still had her hornband on. Feeling both excited to gather data and nervous that something might go awry on her behalf, she calibrated her instruments for the umpteenth and gave them the word. “Ready when you two are. Here’s hoping nothing undesirable occurs.”

“Ehehe….. L-Like what?” Spiral nervously, trying to mask her anxiety.

“Like lots of things, Spiral. Just stay calm.” Tidal Wave said. “Ok then. Here we go.” Tidal Wave lit his water brooch and gently lifted a stream of water and let it flow in the air around him and Spiral. He made sure to let it ripple as though it were actually flowing in a river.

Having never actually seen Tidal Wave’s powers in action before, Quantum Tech couldn’t help but to gaze in awe. She’d expect no less from something Zebota created, but the sheer spectacle and the magical readings she was picking up from him left her dumbfounded. “Simply remarkable….”

Spiral took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she entered a meditative state. She gently eased her horn active and just let the water relax her. Quantum Tech could tell from her readings that her hornband was allowing her to vent out safe amounts of magic, but the clogging effect she was afraid of was almost readily apparent. It was pressure valve waiting to pop, but as Spiral relaxed, the intensity of her overflow subsided. If she ever condemned the idea of meditation, she owed Zebota an apology.

Tidal Wave’s mystic stream reminded Spiral of the first time she tried meditating with Fire Fight in the Hoofington woods and with Shadow Shroud on their raft while on the way to Dodge City. The first time was baby steps, the second was a step in the right direction, but this time, she had the aid of somepony who knew whole textbooks worth about magic and somepony who was budding a close friendship with her. With those happy thoughts and the ripple of the water easing her mind, Spiral could feel her churning cosmic wrath stilling into a beautiful sea of stars and celestial bodies one would see in a masterpiece painting. Her horn let off a gentle but brilliant glow, and her cosmo magic flowed along with Tidal Wave’s water to create a truly spectacular effect. Quantum tried to fight off how flustered she was as she monitored Spiral’s magic influxes, and to her further amazement, they were stabilizing quite nicely. It was slow, but the ‘stream of consciousness’, as she internally called it, the two created seemed to be making a safe place to sublimate Spiral’s excess, and it was then that she noticed an unforeseen effect. The intensity of the cosmo magic slowly mitigated as it travel through the floating streams of water, meaning that it could safely vent out given some patience- it was happening at a slow pace.

While he was more a part of the therapy than anything, Tidal Wave himself found the whole thing to be quite enjoyable. Even if he hadn’t had his hydromancy for very long, he found himself becoming more comfortable with it. Being able to use it so calmly when he’s used it for torrential combat was soothing for him. For some reason, it made him wonder if his mother liked water as much as he did, and being able to share it with friends in such a spectacular way made it all the more special.

An alert suddenly resounded in Quantum’s mech. “Unknown airborne entity detected.”

“Hmm?” Quantum looked at the area above them where her scanners were showing, and she zoomed in to see a starnge floating orb that looked like it was flying away as though it were trying to escape detection. It got away too fast for her instruments to make a detailed analysis of it. “Oh dear… I hope that wasn’t anything to worry about.” Once her scanners were able to tell her that it was metallic, her anxiety quickly turned into intrigue. “Ooh! I do hope to encounter it again soon!”

At the Edge of the Forest…

Kickback waited patiently for Zebota and Shrapnel to return for a good half-hour before the mystic duo finally emerged from the brush. They happily approached one another. “Well howdy, you two!”

“Greetings, Kickback.” Zebota said. Shrapnel greeted him with a bark. “Am I correct to gather that you came to search for me?”

“Well ain’t you the sharpest needle on the cactus. How’d ya figure?” Kickback inquired.

“Shrapnel and I noticed that flying sphere while we were hunting. Did Quantum Tech make it?” Zebota asked.
Kickback looked at him confused. “Umm….what ‘flyin’ sphere’?”

Zebota returned the confused expression. “That answers that.” He explained the bizarre encounter he and Shrapnel had when they had just claimed a buck.

“Huh…. Now ain’t that funny. Ah reckon Ms. Quantum Tech woulda said somethin’ if she’d made a little doohickey like that” Kickback said.

“I suppose that’s true. She would not be so absentminded in regards to her technology.” Zebota said. “Speaking of her, I am surprised that she is not with you. Where might she be?”

“She’s lookin’ after Tidal Wave n’ Ms. Spiral Galaxy while they do their li’l sit n’ focus r’ whatever it is down by a pond at the foot of the climb to the city.” Kickback said.

“Ah. I should go there as well. Tidal Wave’s unexpected powers have me intrigued….and concerned.” Zebota said. “Do we have plans for later this day?”

“We surely do. We’re gonna herd back up were Ms. Quantum Tech is once Air Slash n’ Ms. Valkyrie r’ done with their duel n’ all. Ah’m gonna go ahead and see if Ah can’t at least get there late fer the show.” Kickback explained.

“Good. Thank you.” Zebota said. “Perhaps your presence would distract Quantum Tech anyhow.”
Kickback sighed heavily. “It sure is a pain in mah flank…”

“You would scorn such attention?” Zebota asked.

“Well…. I-It’s not so much her as it is…..me.” Kickback said. “Ever since mah mama passed away, Ah’ve been…rather skittish about being close to somepony. Bein’ popular with the fillies back home made things all the worse.”

“And yet you choose to devote yourself to the Battle Foals?” Zebota inquired.

Kickback lowered his hat a little. “It’s selfish, but….Ah thought I could escape it all. Not just mah pa, but all that pressure….” He said. “Ah sure a sunshine care about y’all. Don’t think any different.”

Shrapnel lightly nuzzled Kickback’s neck. “My friend, if this truly distresses you so, then you should discuss it with her. You should not be ashamed to voice your problems.”

“Ah know, but….if anypony here is gonna be the calm one, it might as well be me.” Kickback said.

“Volcanoes exhibit a calmness before they erupt, and the consequences are often devastating.” Zebota said.

“Well….Ah reckon ya might be right. Maybe when we’re settlin’ down that trail to the south, I’ll chat with her. Ah just hope Ah don’t hurt her feelin’s too bad.” Kickback said.

“There are some scars that must be inflicted in order for one to grow. It is difficult, but it would far worse in the long run if such immunities are never built. We have both lost our mothers, and yet our scars have healed, have they not?” Zebota said.

Kickback creased a smile and raised his hat back up. “Even if we still miss ‘em, Ah reckon so.”

Zebota nodded. “Good. Now then, let us be off.” The two went their separate ways towards their destinations.

Back in Griffonstone…

The crowd had grown around the dueling sword wielders, and their excitement was as intense as the fierce bout between them. Furious blows parried and blocked and clashes of magic and light from their swords put on a fantastic show that Griffonstone hadn’t seen since any of its residents could remember. Furthermore, Air Slash’s comrades looked on in awe as their friend was at even odds with the descendant of a legendary warrior. If there hadn’t been proof of his right to wield those dual katanas until now, there was now. Even though some of them had seen her in action before, Valkyrie was certainly not a griffonlet to whistle Dixie. Her arms and armor coupled with the Valhalla spoke where no ego truly could: a battlefield. Whatever odd form of magic the Valhalla possessed to house the spirits of her ancestors, she didn’t let go to waste. Every ounce of their strength combined with her own pretty much did the boasting for her. For a moment, Shadow Shroud could swear she saw another griffon fighting in Valkyrie’s place, one who was bigger and looked more experienced and decorated.

“Yee-Haw! Now this is a rodeo!” The spectating foals looked over to see Kickback trotting up to them.

“Just in time, mah boy! It’s really startin’ to go down!” Turf War said.

At one point in the fight, Air Slash unleashed a flurry of blows that Valkyrie blocked with her shield while charging ancestral light in her sword. When she had built up a sufficient charge, she lunged her greatsword forward and became a gilded comet. Air Slash managed to cross his magic-charged swords to block it just in time, but Valkyrie’s momentum pushed him back with her a good number of yards. He then parried her away, and the subsequent wave of magic caused the avian knight to break her guard, leaving her open for a direct attack. Taking the opportunity, he slashed at her armor where her right shoulder was and tackled her to the ground; he ascended as soon as he slammed her into the dirt, and the spectating griffons all gasped in unison, stunned that Valkyrie could be taken down like that by a pony warrior they’d just seen for the first time.

“Why you little-!” Pain coursed through Valkyrie’s right arm, partially disabling her ability to swing her greatsword, but something so petty as a paper cut never kept her valiance at bay, and she flew back up with ease. She managed to catch him on the return of his ascent and swung shield at him by its chain. It managed to clock him in the jaw just before he could block it. He recovered as quickly as she did, but Valkyrie managed to swing her greatsword at him with such force that it knocked him to the ground even though he blocked that blow.

“Air Slash!!” Greensprout exclaimed.

“He’s fine.” Shadow Shroud said to her. Looking into her shadow-clad friend’s eyes, she could tell that she just knew, being a warrior herself. Even if it brought her comfort, she couldn’t help but to worry a little.

Air Slash struggled a little to get back to his hooves while Valkyrie surged more ancestral light into her greatsword. She then dove straight down and slammed her sword into the ground towards her opponent, sending a shockwave of light his way that tore through the earth it traveled across. Air Slash managed to put his swords up just in time for them to block and absorb the ferocious magic. “Wha-!?” Valkyrie gawked in shock.

With his swords now blazing with golden fury worthy of eternal sunlight, Air Slash raised his swords and with all his strength and let loose a cross-blade beam worthy of an angel. “HYYYYYAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH”

The enormous X-shaped blaze cleaved through the sky as it shot towards Valkyrie, who desperately clutched her Valhalla just before it collided with her. All fell silent as an explosion of light engulfed the armed griffonlet. An exhausted Air Slash took a moment to catch his breath as the mass of light slowly faded away, waiting to reveal Valkyrie’s fate. Had the griffons of Griffonstone witnessed their hero fall in a duel to a pony? The foals were also on the edges of their seats as they could only watch and wait.

After a tense moment of everyone holding their breath, the light faded out to reveal Valkyrie with her shield up and completely engulfed in her Valhalla light. It appeared as though she’d summoned the last of her strength to endure what would have been a decisive blow. “Impossible!” Air Slash exclaimed, dumbfounded.

“Think again, kid!” Valkyrie retorted. Even in her supercharged state, Air Slash could tell that she too was growing weary from their contest. That didn’t stop either of them from making one last charge through the air towards each other with their blades fully charged and poised, ready to strike. Their final dash reminded Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud of their duel back in the Sister’s Castle. With everyone on the edges of their seats once more, the anticipation of the outcome was as heavy as the tension between the two combatants.

<SHING!!!!>

Their crossing slices severed the wind between them as they landed behind one another, neither of them moved a muscle for a few tense moments with everyone watching and waiting in deafening silence that screamed for the outcome. Both of them were exhausted, but who had claimed victory? Valkyrie, the descendant of Siegfried, or Air Slash, the mighty Bladerunner?....... That question was answered when Air Slash collapsed to his knees.

The griffons cheered on their hero as the foals humbly smiled for their friend; Greensprout let out a sigh of relief seeing as none of them were terribly hurt.

Valkyrie ebbed her ancestral light and twirled her greatsword around a couple times before sheathing. “Game, set and match.” She said as she looked back at Air Slash, who shot her a congratulatory grin to which she returned. Both were satisfied with the final result.

Skadi

Author's Notes:

For those of you that have been following Tales of the Battle Foals, last Friday, Oct. 27th marked the one-year-anniversary that the story was published on Fimfiction!
As celebration and to thank you all, I'll drop one more little teaser about the last foal:

???: "Tch! Look, I don't know how it happened, but it did, okay? Yeah, I might be a little different from the others, but like I care! It's not like they....made fun of me for not being able to do one simple thing or anything.... ARGH! Why am I even bothering with you guys!?"

Valkyrie graciously strutted up to her fallen opponent and offered her talon. “You okay, dude?”

Air Slash accepted her talon, and she helped him up. “Yes…<pant>… Thank you. Well played, Valkyrie.”

“Yeah, man. You too. Haven’t had exercise like that since I was little hatchling. I thought for a minute you might actually manage to get the KO.” Valkyrie said.

Air Slash chuckled. “I expected no less from you. You do your ancestry proud.”

Valkyrie brushed her feathers. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.”

Air Slash suddenly felt a familiar energy being channeled into him, and when he looked over he saw Greensprout accompanied by the other foals approaching him as she cast her Gaia Root magic onto him, and he could feel his stamina return along with his jaw realigning. When she finished healing him, she nuzzled him under his chin. “Great job, Air Slash.”

Air Slash looked into her eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Thank you, Greensprout.”

The two shared a quick kiss before Greensprout turned to Valkyrie. “You too, sister.” She said as she channeled her Gaia Root onto her.

Valkyrie was surprised by the unfamiliar magic. “Whoa!....Huh?” She was quickly calmed when she felt her stamina also returning and the pain in her shoulder alleviating. “Whoa… Nifty!”

“I really wish the others could have been here to see that.” Fire Fight said.

“Fo’ real! I was ‘bout to just drop everything an’ drag all the rest of o’ them over here.” Turf War said.

“Ah’m gonna be kickin’ mahself to mah grave fer gettin’ her late.” Kickback said.

“Yes, yes. It was a clash for the ages.” Shadow Shroud said. “But I don’t want to waste any time. Valkyrie, do you know where this road leads to per chance?” She showed the griffonlet her map and pointed to the southern road.

Valkyrie examined it. “Umm…. I don’t actually know. Like I said, the lands beyond those mountains are dangerous, and the king actually declared them off limits to the public. You don’t go there unless you have damn good reason, and even then King Grover has to give you permission personally. If you guys still wanna check out, it’s your funeral, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Then why that road even there?” Turf War asked.

Valkyrie pondered an explanation for a moment. “Hmm…. It might have been a route to a gem mine. Decades, even centuries ago, we griffons had a lot of those along the sides of those mountains before we started running into problems with monsters trying to get in from the other side, and we had to seal them all off. I’d have to ask the king for specifics, but I guess you’ll see for yourselves.”

“I wouldn’t advise it.” They heard a voice approaching them, and they all turned to see an adult female griffon that looked to be in her late 40’s coming towards them wearing a grand red robe that was adorned with what the foals presumed to be Griffonstone’s cote of arms. “Even you do make it far into those badlands, you wouldn’t last much longer without encountering the jaws of death on numerous occasions, and realize that they can get quite creative with their appearance when they try.”

“Hi, Councilor Skadi!” Valkyrie said.

“Greetings, heir to the Valhalla. I see these are the ‘travelers’ you mentioned. I don’t seem to recall you mentioning that they were Equestrian foals.” Skadi said.

Kickback removed his hat before speaking to her. “We mean y’all no harm whatsoever, ma’am.”

“You’re a….councilor?” Fire Fight inquired.

“Yeah! Skadi here is one of the Council of Norn, the king’s royal advisors.” Valkyrie explained.

“I myself mostly deal with the sciences and studies of magic, and I advise His Majesty according to any discoveries I may make. Although, I do sometimes consult the rest of my colleagues fo second opinions beforehand.” Skadi commented.

“She’s got whole encyclopedia’s worth of all kinds of sciences locked in that noggin of hers. I’d wager she’s even brainier than your Quantum Tech friend.” Valkyrie boasted.

“Oh! Challenge accepted.” Fire Fight said.

“I believe that was more so directed towards me than you, young colt.” Skadi said. “Nevertheless, I had the pleasure of witnessing your bout with this swordspony from the castle along with the king.” She said to Valkyrie. “I never would have imagined that one of their kind could contend with the Valhalla, all due respect. You always came across as such a passive bunch.”

“We are merely a rare breed amongst out kin, noble Councilor.” Air Slash said.

“Hmm…. Well, I suppose that Gabby isn’t like the rest of us.” Skadi said. “If I may be so bold, what pray tell brought you ponies to our humble perch? You’re quite far from home.”

Fire Fight was hesitant to say anything given that she was an authority in Griffonstone, but Valkyrie reminded him that he had nothing to worry about. “Don’t sweat it, dude. She won’t care.”

“If you say so.” Fire Fight gave a summarization of his cause to Skadi seeing as any fluff might bore her.

Even without more specific details, Skadi found herself interested by his explanation. “I see…. And here I thought Equestria had mastered the art of a perfect society.”

“If that were the case, we wouldn’t have needs of things such as the Elements of Harmony.” Shroud said.

Skadi chuckled. “I suppose that’s true. Nevertheless, you’re secret is indeed safe with me and Valkyrie. You have our word.”

The foals nodded gratefully. “Now if I may be so bold, I notice that you all hold our mutual friend in considerably high regard. Has she really accomplished so much at her age?” Shroud asked.

“Watch it, Puff n’ smoke.” Valkyrie growled.

“Now, now.” Skadi said calmly before addressing Shadow Shroud. “You’d be surprised, little filly. Valkyrie may not have had many opportunities to prove her mettle, but every one she’s taken thus far, she’s made the most of. Siegfried’s blood surely flows through her like raging rapids. Not only that, but she never accepts rewards from the king. She solemnly vowed that everything she did, she did for Griffonstone, and she’d kept her word thus far. The only reason we’ve been able to rebuild our prosperity without incident is because her unbridled valiance.”

“Is that right?” Kickback asked.

“You bet, Run n’ Gun!” Valkyrie said. “Each time I cleared out some harpies or protected merchant ship or whatnot, it was one less hassle for us griffons to worry about. Everyone else can just focus on business and economy and all that nonsense.”

“How kind of you!” Greensprout squeaked.

“I’d say we might have misjudged you.” Shroud said.

“Yeah! I’d woulda thought y’all pride don’t never fly the coop! Heh! What!?” Turf War said. Skadi eyed him as though he just spoken some weirdly creative racial slur….which he might actually have. “Ehh…. Get it? ‘Cause like….” Shadow Shroud couldn’t help but to facehoof.

“Sorry, Councilor. He’s the dumb one of their group.” Valkyrie retorted.

“YO!” Turf War exclaimed, inciting a snicker from Valkyrie.

“Regardless, I think I speak for everypony when I say that I valued the time we shared with you, Valkyrie, however little it was.” Air Slash.

“Yeah, really. Thanks for all your help.” Fire Fight said.

“No prob! You guys aren’t that bad yourselves.” Valkyrie said. “Take it easy, alright? I won’t always be there to save your flanks.”

“It was a pleasure, Ms. Valkyrie!”

“Stay healthy, sister!”

“And come through sometime if we settle down over them mountains, a’ight?”

“You know it!” Valkyrie said. The foals bid their goodbyes and made way to look for the others before embarking on potentially the final phase of their quest. “Well then! Time to check in with His Highness, huh?”

“Actually, my child…” Skadi looked around for a brief moment before leaning in to whisper to Valkyrie. “What I’m about to tell you is sensitive information, so I strongly urge you to keep this between us, alright?”

“Why? Is it that important?” Valkyrie inquired.

“It is. Now then…” Skadi cleared her throat. “This could be nothing, but when I was in my observatory last night, I just so happened to look over the mountain range and spot….well, I don’t quite know what it was, but it was an odd, red glow that seemed highly unnatural. I’d never observed such a phenomena over there before.”

Valkyrie wasn’t sure whether to be concerned, or confused. “O….kaaaayyyy?.... And you want me to go investigate it, I take it? Shouldn’t we tell the king first?”

Skadi shook her head. “I don’t wish to risk putting him or the people into a panic until we know exactly what we’re dealing with. Perhaps those foals would be willing to help you seeing as you have basically the same destination?”

Valkyrie hesitated. “I mean….. You got a point, but….we really should at least let His Highness know.”

Skadi expression was serious. “Valkyrie, please! If we act too late, it could spell doom for our people! What kind of heir to the Valhalla would you be if you let that happen?”

Valkyrie sighed in conceit. “I guess you’re right, but I’m gonna need to get ready first. It’s gonna be a hike.” Skadi nodded. “Yes, of course. Come with me, and I’ll have some provisions ready for you.” Without further hesitation, Skadi and Valkyrie made their way to the castle…...with the former eyeing the Battle Foals out in the distance as they made their way through the city.

Meanwhile….

“FOR F*** SAKES, CRAZYLOCKS! GET YOUR A** BACK HERE!!!” Bullseye found herself soaring around the city in hot pursuit of a certain mentally unstable filly. It was a miracle of Fate that she had the restraint to not fire a single arrow.

Crazylocks herself was jumping and bouncing every which way but where, just being herself. “WAha! HAAAAhahahahahaha! I’m a pretty pea sprod, port and lout~!” One minute, she was smashing through hay bales and barrels and the like, and the next, she was fluttering through the air like a crazed hummingbird singing nonsensical lyrics.

Needless to say, the denizens weren’t exactly pleased with their unruly guest, and one of them tried to confront Bullseye. “Hey! Could ya maybe do somethin’ about your pet!?”

Bullseye faced him with her full ire. “FLOCK OFF, FEATHER-FACE!!!” she exclaimed. The griffon backed off and curled up a little when he saw the hellfire burning in her eye. She then turned her attention back to her friend and continued to chase her. “CRAZYLOCKS!!!”

“I’M A FLYING GREENBEAN NOW, BULLSEYE!!” The manic filly did a series of figure-eight’s in the air at such a rapid speed that her tailwind was visible, and she was suddenly skywriting.

Bullseye’s archer focus let her keep track of the ballistic bundle, and she aimed herself, ready to tackle her. However, her focus was interrupted when something fly right past her from behind. “Huh?” When she looked, it was a strange, metallic sphere that was inexplicably floating in the air towards Crazylocks.

When it reached her, Crazylocks suddenly stopped where she was and immediately took interest in the foreign object. “Oooh! Are you the fortune cookie I was promised in my previous life?” The orb suddenly flew away from her, likely sensing danger from Crazylocks, and she gave chase. “Wait! I haven’t confessed my sins!”

“Crazylocks, that’s not a- Rrrrrggghhh!!” Bullseye gave chase once again.

The orb flew low enough to the ground that Crazylocks withdrew her wings and chased it on hoof. As she did, it flew through open windows, and Crazylocks just crashed through the walls below them without a care in the world. “C’est la vie!” she shouted each time she smashed through one.

“OH, F*** THIS!!” Bullseye had just about enough, and she finally drew her bow. She nocked an arrow onto the string and took aim at the orb, careful not to ready a shot that would fire in such a way that it might hit Crazylocks. When she found a desirable shot, she let her arrow fly. Her aim was as true as ever, and it hit its mark. The arrow pierced the orb and knocked it to the ground, and it sparked violently before it fizzled out.

“Aww! You made it cry, Bullseye.” Crazylocks was about to reach out and touch it when Bullseye fired another arrow between her and the orb, causing her to reflex back.

Bullseye landed next to her and the orb, and she took a moment to calm herself down. “Deep breaths, Bullseye. Deep breaths….” As much as she wanted to strangle Crazylocks, her unexpected bond with her prevented that from happening. Once she was satisfied, she looked up at the manic mutant. “Don’t go doing that again, got it?” she growled.

Crazylocks inhaled as though she were about to shout at the top of her lungs before replying. “Ok.”

Bullseye breathed a sigh of relief. “Cool.” She then looked at the strange object she’d just shot down. “The hell is this thing? Did Quantum make it?” It was just big enough that she could carry it by the arrow that was still lodged into it. “I’m gonna have to ask her.”

“Let me carry it! Pweeeeaaase?” Crazylocks pled with puppy dog eyes that Bullseye did not want to trust, but she feared the consequences if she didn’t let her.

“<sigh> Whatever lets you sleep at night. Just don’t go running around with it, or you’re not getting it back.” Bullseye warned. Crazylocks agreed, and she held the orb in her mouth so that it was practically wide open, inciting a facehoof from Bullseye, who retrieved her arrows before they went to go look for the others.

Beyond Griffonstone

It took a moment or so for them to navigate through the stone huts and angered griffons that Bullseye glared into submission, but she and Crazylocks managed to find the main road leading in and out of Griffonstone where they met up with Fire Fight, Air Slash, Shadow Shroud, Turf War, Kickback and Greensprout. “There you guys are.” She said.

“Hey, Bullseye. Have fun with Crazylocks?” Fire Fight asked.

Bullseye angrily sighed. “You could say that…”

Crazylocks spit the orb out in front of her where it landed at her hooves. “This cookie is a lie.” She complained

The other foals eyed the foreign object curiously. “Now what’s that there?” Kickback asked.

“As far as I’m concerned, Crazylocks’ new fetch toy.” Bullseye said. The manic mutant was bouncing the orb back and forth between her pigtails while chirping like a squirrel until Fire Fight grabbed it with his magic and pulled it towards him.

“Huh….” He examined it, but apart from the fatal arrow wound that obviously destroyed it, he saw no features that really stuck out, other than the fact that it was very obviously mechanical. “Guess who we’re showing this too.” Everypony nodded, knowing that Quantum Tech’s insight was needed.

“So, who won?” Bullseye asked.

“It was a close match, but ultimately, Valkyrie emerged victorious.” Air Slash said.

“Seriously? You lost to a f****** birdbrain?” Bullseye said.

“A very capable birdbrain, sister. She did help us after all.” Greensprout said

“Rrgh…. Whatever.” Bullseye growled.

“Yes, well, I think we should be on our way. I suppose you managed to locate Zebota and Shrapnel, Kickback?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Kickback nodded. “Ah did. They went to see Ms. Quantum Tech n’ the others.”

“Well then, it looks like we’ll be seeing Spiral’s progress as well.” Shroud said. The foals made their way down the natural stone path towards the rest of their friends.

*****

It wasn’t a very long hike downward, so the foals caught up pretty quick. What they weren’t quite expecting to see was the gorgeous display created when the ocean meets the cosmos. “Yo…” Turf War muttered in awe. The streams of water floating through the air containing Spiral’s cosmic power was a sight worthy of a wonder of the world. Zebota spotted them approaching and put his hoof to his mouth, signaling for them to be quiet.

Both Tidal Wave and Spiral Galaxy seemed to be pretty relaxed in their meditative states, and their respective parts of the steam on consciousness moved together like synchronized swimmers through the air around them. Tidal Wave never showed any real signs of being unable to grasp his new power, but Spiral looked as though she’d taken a huge step forward despite the fact that she still had her hornband on.

Quantum Tech then stepped out of her mech suit and approached the two while still obviously utilizing the analytical function of her glasses. “Ok, Spiral. Time for the next step. I’m going to remove your hornband, alright?”

Spiral noticeably twitched upon hearing that, but she managed to keep her eyes closed. “O-Ok…”

Quantum then looked over at Tidal Wave. “Ok, Tidal Wave?”

Tidal Wave nodded. “Yeah. Just keep it together, ok Spiral?”

Spiral took a deep breath. “Go ahead.” She muttered. Very carefully, Quantum Tech focused her magic and slowly removed Spiral’s hornband. All the while, Spiral seemed calm as can be. Being surrounded by so much flowing water must have really helped. However, as Quantum slowly slid it off of her horn, she could detect growing instability in her neuromagical activity, but not enough to warrant stopping her. The cosmic flow within Tidal Wave’s floating streams began flowing faster, and the ground around her started to vibrate, not quite shake though. When Quantum completely removed the hornband, the trembling got worse, and the cosmic energy flowed almost uncontrollably, and yet Spiral seemed to be keeping calm….until they realized she was trying to.

She was noticeably squinting as she tried to maintain control over her magic, and much to everypony’s pleasure, she seemed to be doing pretty well all things considered. However, the rumbling got to a point where Quantum’s mech looked like it was about to topple over and the rocks on the walls above the pond would crumble off, so Quantum opted to put the hornband back on, and all was calm once more. “Ok, I think that’s quite enough, you two.” She said.

“<Gasp!>” Spiral shocked herself back to senses from the sharp pain in her brain.

“You okay, Spiral?” Tidal Wave asked.

Spiral rubbed her forehead a little before her lighter than usual headache subsided. “Ugh…. Yeah… How’d I do?”

“A considerable improvement overall, darling. Well done!” Quantum said.

“Come to think of it, it didn’t feel like the universe was forcefully tugging at my mind that time.” Spiral said.

“Then your communion with it was healthier this time. It seems you are finally beginning to truly grasp your power, Spiral Galaxy.” Zebota said. He then turned to Tidal Wave. “And you, my friend had me worried when you spoke of your level of command over water, but it seems my initial judgment was correct. The water spirits are greatly fond of you.”

Tidal Wave and Spiral got up and walked over to their friends. “I still don’t get why it happened, but I’m glad everything seems ok.” Tidal Wave said. “And I’m even more glad that you’re getting better.” He said to Spiral.

“Thanks for your help, dude.” Spiral said as she lightly nuzzled his neck, causing him to blush a little. “So how did your duel go, Air Slash?”

“Valkyrie and I were at even odds, but it was she who bested me in the end. It was an honorable bout.” He said.

“Aww! Well, sorry we couldn’t root for you! I’m sure it would have helped.” Spiral said.

Kickback chuckled. “Funny thing is that might be true. Ms. Valkyrie had a whole herd o’ griffons hootin’ n’ hollerin’ for her.”

“Don’t y’all mean ‘flock’?” Turf War asked. Kickback rolled his eyes.

“Yes well, great job anyway, Air Slash. Did you remember to ask her about that road to the south?” Quantum asked.

“Yeah, we did. She thinks it might lead to an old gem mine that’ll take us to the other side of the mountain range.” Fire Fight said.

“A tunnel carved into the mountain…. However I may disapprove of that, I must be thankful that it will no doubt ease our travels.” Zebota said. Shrapnel let out an affirming bark.

“Hey. Before we get going, is this yours, Quantum?” Bullseye asked as she presented the brainy filly with the strange orb that she and Crazylocks procured.

“Oh?” Quantum Tech examined the odd technology curiously. She immediately noticed that fatal arrow wound and peered inside of it. “Well, it’s not my creation, but…” Her eyes were glued tight to the mechanical relic.

“But what?” Fire Fight asked.

“This is…..quite peculiar…. My glasses are finding instances of substances they can’t identify, as if they’ve never been discovered, much less recorded! Where did you find this, Bullseye!?” she asked excitedly.

“It suddenly popped up while I was chasing Crazylocks around town, and I shot it down ‘cause it made Crazylocks go bats***.” Bullseye explained. Shrapnel saw the orb and started growling at it. “What do you want, twig face?”

“He and I witnessed this orb while we were hunting. It came close to us and watched us as though we were intruding on its territory.” Zebota explained.

“Well what in tarnation do ya reckon it was doin’ here. Them griffonfolk don’t seem like they’re big on technology, ‘cept that councilor Ms. Valkyrie introduced us to.” Kickback said.

“Councilor?” Spiral asked.

“Yes. After Air Slash and Valkyrie concluded their play date, a royal advisor for the griffon’s king came and congratulated the two of them. According to our feathered friend, her field lays in science.” Shadow Shroud explained.

Quantum’s interest was piqued. “Really? Well then, I’ll have to make a note of meeting her sometime after we establish our little nation. However, we really should be on our way.”

“Yeah. Princess Twilight could get here any minute. Better not give them any leeway .” Fire Fight said. They all agreed without contest and started their way towards the southern road.

They were about halfway between the city and the point marked on the map that the southern road led to when they heard a powerful <caw> resound from above them. When they looked up, who else but Valkyrie was seen descending towards them. She landed beside them with a thud. “Sup, dudes?”

“Fancy seeing you again” Fire Fight said.

“Growing fond of us, are you?” Shadow Shroud teased.

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “Pfft. I never said that.” She said. “Anyway, Councilor Skadi sent me on a last-minute mission where you guys happened to be headed, so I figured I could tag along if you’re cool with it.”

“What sort of mission is it this time?” Greensprout asked.

“She couldn’t give a lot of details. Something about weird lights and readings coming from over the mountains that might turn out to be super dangerous.” Valkyrie answered. The foals all gave worried expression upon the ominous explanation. “Yeah, sounds like you might have some messes to clean up in your new home before you settle in.”

“Well, we’re gonna need all the help we can get then, huh?” Fire Fight said.

Valkyrie brushed her feathers. “And with me at your side, you’ve pretty much got all the help you for.”

“Cool! Least we’ll have steady supply o’ eggs to fry up.” Turf War joked.

“WHAT THE-!? That’s not even funny, you sick bastard!” Valkyrie scoffed. She then caught Bullseye snickering. “Screw you too, Cyclops!”

Earlier in Yodelneigh…

Twilight, Spike and Sky Strike once again found themselves in the Yodelneigh Archives high stop the Smokey Mountains. However, the pegasus foals from before seemed to be absent, not that it really mattered since they were here to see one griffon in particular.

“Well paint me feathers call me Peacock-So! Look who’s back to visit this old turkey!” Aesir came out from the maze of shelves lining his workplace. “Any luck with the wee ones?”

“It came and went in a flash.” Sky Strike muttered.

“Hi, Aesir. About the foals….” Twilight explained their wild ordeal trying to apprehend the foals just before they managed to slip through their grasp. “And when we came to, the portal was destroyed, and we don’t know where it even goes!”

“Even though we theorized it might go to Griffonstone.” Spike clarified.

“Siegfried’s feathers!!” Aesir exclaimed. “The Asgard portals!! They still work!?”

“Well….worked. Those foals blew it up just after the jumped through.” Spike said.

“What a day n’ age! To think they endured fer so many centuries….” Aesir was flustered, and then a light bulb went off in his head. “That’s gotta be why Tidal Wave asked about Valkyrie! The portals needed both a pony and a griffon to activate. They must o’ been one griffon short.”

“And are we correct to assume it goes where we think?” Sky Strike asked.

“Not quite, lad. The other side is located in the Asgard Forest where honored griffons are laid to rest.” Aesir explained. “The portal there itself is actually Siegfried’s grave if ya can believe that nonsense.”

“Oh, wow!” Twilight said. Spike nudged her shin, signaling for her to stay on track. “Err… I mean, and that’s still near Griffonstone, right?”

Aesir nodded. “Right you are, lass. Pretty easy path to the ol’ home nest from there, but it looks like ya won’t be goin’ by portal.” He said. “BECAUSE ONE O’ THOSE BLASTED LI’L TYKES HAD THE NERVE TO BLOW UP A PIECE O’ GRIFFON HISTORY WITHOUT SO MUCH AS AN INKLIN’ TO RESPECT THE-”

“Aesir!” Twilight exclaimed. The elderly griffon was thrown off his rant. “Thank you for your help.”

Aesir blushed after calming down. “Ehe… Sure thing, lass. Get them back safe, alright?”

“Yes sir!” Sky Strike said as they made for the door.

As Aesir’s company closed the door behind them, he welcomed the peace and quiet back to his library while lamenting the loss of company. It was then that something crossed his mind. “Feels like I forgot to warn ‘em about somethin’…… Meh. Me mind’s probably as foggy as the sea at first light. IT'S HOW I WRECKED ME FIRST SHIP AFTER ALL. BAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Hidden Gems

The hike to the southern road wasn’t much different from any other hike through a wooded area, except for the fact that there was a surprising absence of monsters trying to have a foal snack. Valkyrie explained that the local predators hunt seasonally, and the last hunting season ended roughly two months ago and wouldn’t start again for some time. Upon hearing that, Zebota urged everyone to respect their dormancy and not pick a fight just for the sake of fighting.

Meanwhile, Quantum Tech had her mech suit on autopilot while she ran some analyses on the strange orb that Bullseye had shot down. Despite her encyclopedic intellect, even she couldn’t make heads of tails of what all it was comprised of, much less how it functioned the way that it did. If this was some strange form of griffon technology, than she truly fell short of the avian race’s due credit. There were unidentifiable metals within its composition, some with slightly inexplicable properties, and she couldn’t discern how its ‘thrusters’ kept it aloft. She got out of her mech and showed it to Valkyrie. “Darling, do you per chance know what this is?”

“Huh?” Valkyrie got a good look at the orb, but unsurprisingly, she too was befuddled. “Err….no. Why?”

“It was flying around town and even in the woods. I had to shoot it out of the sky.” Bullseye said.

“I don’t suppose this is a griffon’s creation?” Quantum asked.

“If it was, I’d be one of the first to know. A griffon making something like this would be pretty impressive, unless it was Councilor Skadi, but she’d tell us if she was working on something.” Valkyrie said.

“Well then…. That gives me no answers.” Quantum muttered as she climbed back into her mech. “Oh well. Back to my instruments it goes, I suppose. Oh! That rhymed!”

“Perhaps it is related to this ominous light that you were sent to investigate. When it was observing Shrapnel and I, it emitted a red glow from within its shell. Could it have come from over the mountains?” Zebota wondered.

“That’s about the only conclusion we can draw at this point.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Pssh!! I can draw lots of conclusions. Just watch!” Crazylocks sprouted her wings and rapidly flew around the dirt path in front of them, dragging her wings and pigtails through the ground on occasion. This lasted for a few moments until she landed back in front of them. “TA-DA!!”

She had drawn a series of random sketches one might see from a kindergartener. Some were of common plants and animals, others were random drawings of unrecognizable shapes, but she also seemed to draw parts of their adventure. There were crude depictions of the crystal golem, the ruined castle, what looked to be Shrapnel holding her in his mouth, which made Zebota smile sheepishly like somepony who’d just been caught in a lie, the Fallen, the windigo, and the ice golem that attacked the Great Horn Temple. However, what looked like it was supposed to be Bullseye’s rampage on the Rockslide bandits depicted Crazylocks giving the half-blind berserker a big hug that calmed her down and smile wider than was probably possible for her.

“Aww! How sweet!” Greensprout cooed. She looked over at Bullseye to see that she was gritting her teeth while blushing. “See, sister? This is what it’s like to love others.”

Bullseye ever so slightly turned her eye to the motherly monk. “Well, she turned out to be more of a saint than you, huh?” she growled.

Greensprout giggled. “I think she just managed to touch your heart before I could.”

“Rgh! No she didn’t!” Bullseye protested. “She just-”

Crazylocks popped up in front of her. “I touched your heart!? <GASP!> I’m so sorry, Bullseye! It was NOT my place to violate on your private property! I MUST ATONE FOR MY SINS!!!” She rammed herself onto a nearby tree with enough force to cause it to topple over away from her. She looked back at her friends with teary eyes. “<sob><sob> It was a worthy sacrifice!” she cried.

Bullseye facehooved while Valkyrie snickered at her. “That’s a lot of love she’s showing you there.” She teased.

“Go to hell, Valkyrie.” Bullseye growled.

“What happened to her anyway? Was she always like this?” Valkyrie asked.

“Honestly… I’m curious myself.” Bullseye said.

“Aww. How sweet of you.” Spiral teased, earning her a glare from the angry archer.

“Erm…. I don’t know how we’d explain that without setting her off.” Fire Fight said.

“She’s far more conscious than one might give her credit for.” Quantum said.

“Maybe when we go to sleep for the night, we could tell you. I’d hate to upset her.” Greensprout said.

Bullseye and Valkyrie looked at each other and shrugged. “Cool by me.” Valkyrie said. Bullseye nodded in affirmation.

Kickback happened to look down and notice that there were faint wheel tracks lining some parts of the dirt path apart from Crazylocks’ drawing. “Well, Ah reckon we’re gettin’ mighty close to one o’ them gem mines. Looks like Ms. Valkyrie was right about that.”

“Unless your people mined other precious materials from these mountains as well?” Air Slash inquired.

“I mean….metal ore should kinda go without saying, right?” Valkyrie said.

“Oh! Yes, of course.” Air Slash said.

“Here somethin’ I don’t understand.” Turf War said. “Why would there be a exit to the other side o’ the mountains if all they doin’ was minin’? That don’t make no sense.”

“Dude, because we just happened to hit the other side, duh!” Valkyrie said.

“Well, yeah, but ya figure that they was diggin’ down, not straight ahead of ‘em.” Turf War argued.

“Down and forward, my friend. Wherever the ore is, you dig, whichever direction it may be.” Air Slash said.

“In any case, we’re getting close to the mountain. I guess the only thing we need to hope is that we really can find a way through.” Fire Fight said. “Tidal Wave, what does the groundwater look like under them?”

Tidal Wave used his water sense to scan the area below the mountain range, but found very little to go by. There were only a few little oases of groundwater, but they were relatively sparse. “There’s not very much. Why?”

“Well, just in case we needed you to find us another way around or something.” Fire Fight said.

“Oh. No, there’s like….ponds, I guess.” Tidal Wave said before something crossed his mind. “Say…. Didn’t you guys tell me that Princess Luna warned you of some kind of ‘catastrophe’ or something?”

Valkyrie looked at him with concern. “Whoa! What now?”

“Oh! Y-Yeah…..” Fire Fight explained to Valkyrie their encounter with Princess Luna and her warning of something coming that she couldn’t quite foresee, but he then told her about their encounters with strange ice monsters that they believed might be connected to whatever was about to happen.

“Dude! One of those isn’t gonna pop up in Griffonstone, is it?” Valkyrie asked frantically.

“We can’t say. They’ve each appeared without warning or any apparent provocation. You’d do well to be ready to defend your people in case that happens.” Shadow Shroud said. “But why do you bring it up, Tidal Wave?”

“Well….those things that Councilor or whatever said she saw over the mountains…..you think maybe it’s part of the catastrophe?” Tidal Wave wondered.

“If it is, then I’ve got more than enough incentive to hop over there and ram it into the ground.” Valkyrie declared.

“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, guys. We’ll know once we see whatever’s happening over there.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Point taken.” Tidal Wave said.

With some apprehension in their minds, the foals continued their trek with a clear path to the mountain. Something about its very presence was foreboding, as if to warn them of impending doom behind its high walls. The wind blowing across the mountain created an ominous whistle from all across the range, and the sunlight seemed to be being swallowed by whatever darkness was trying to peek over the peaks. Valkyrie’s warnings were coming to light before they even reached their destination, but the Battle Foals had faced too many horrors to be intimidated by a mere mountain range, and they pressed on.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain as marked on the map, there was indeed an entrance to a mine that was littered with abandoned equipment that looked centuries old. The contents of a couple of toppled mines carts confirmed that this was a gem mine, and the bounties of them came in a variety of colors and shapes. The messy state of the site made it clear that the workers left this place in a hurry.

“Jeez. You weren’t kidding, Valkyrie.” Spiral said.

“What made you think I was?” Valkyrie retorted.

Quantum Tech scanned around and found nothing of real note, but she was thankful that the mine entrance was big enough for her mech and Shrapnel. “Well, if there’s nothing else, then I see no reason to delay- huh?” She then happened to look back into her analytical table and notice that the orb was pulsing a faint red light despite the fatal damage it had sustained. The pulsing was very glitchy and jumpy because of the damage, but it was there. She checked the data flowing in, and it appeared that the orb was drawn to a signal coming from within the mine, which caused her a little anxiety. “O-Oh my…”

“Something wrong, sister?” Greensprout asked.

“Err…I’m not sure. L-Let us proceed, shall we?” Quantum stammered.

“Right. Into another totally-not-cave-of-death-and-despair-beyond-our-worst-nightmares! <sigh> Fun times…” Fire Fight said as he led his pack.

Fire Fight and Spiral didn’t have to make their horns very luminous since the gems on the walls of the abandoned mine glistened in what light they gave off. The sight of it all was simultaneously breathtaking and ugly just for the sheer fact that many of the gems had been broken from mining and presumably falling off the walls they were embedded in. They shouldn’t have expected a mine of all places to feel welcoming, but the foreboding feeling they got from the mountains down bled into its bowels. Something just didn’t feel quite right….

“Valkyrie…..how long ago would y’all think this joint was poppin’?” Turf War asked.

“No idea, dude. I’m no expert in the more hazy parts of our history. These mines were everywhere and operated over quite a few eras.” Valkyrie said.

“Surely the miners left a map of their claim somewhere. Perhaps we should check back outside?” Greensprout suggested.

“If this mine has been condemned as it appears, then a map would be of little use. Tunnels may have collapsed and thus are no longer usable. The best we can do is carefully explore.” Air Slash said.

Zebota looked up at his monster. “Shrapnel, mark any intersections we come across with your claws so that we may not become disoriented.” Shrapnel grunted in affirmation.

It was mere moments later that their descent brought them to a three way fork in the road. The middle path went straight ahead, but from the foals perspective just went into a dark void. Its neighboring paths, however, seemed like they might be winding as they had turns well within one’s line of sight. Shrapnel took the time to leave a large, deep claw mark in the ground below them to indicate their presence should they somehow come full circle.

“Should we….split up?” Spiral asked.

“No. We can’t risk getting lost in here. We’ll just have to go one way at a time. I vote we down the middle path just so we know what’s down there. It looks like it’ll be an easier walk anyway.” Fire Fight said.

“I suppose it’d be a quick errand if nothing else. No objections here.” Quantum said. Everypony else was in agreement. “However….I seem to be detecting residual traces of….some form of radiation, it seems.”

“Hol’ up! Radiation!? Don’t that give you cancer, ‘cause I ain’t ‘bout to go down there if there is.” Turf War said.

Quantum rolled her eyes. “I said ‘residual’, Turf War, meaning that it was once here, but is no longer. It just left….hoofprints, if you will. We should be fine.”

Shadow Shroud happened to catch something out of the corner of her eye just before she could follow her friends. From within the tunnel to the right, she could’ve sworn she saw a large shadow silently fly around the corner just before she could see it. “Hmm?”

“Something wrong, Shroud?” Fire Fight asked.

Shadow Shroud went faced him, and then faced the corner down the other tunnel again with her nerves of high alert. “I know this should go without saying, but keep on your toes. We might not be alone.”

“Well, s***.” Bullseye mumbled. The foals then continued on.

As the foals hiked deeper into the tunnel, the oppressive feeling became gradually stronger, as if they were being told over and over by something that they didn’t belong there, and they found themselves on constant alert. Apart from that, the pulsing from the orb seemed to gradually get stronger, as if whatever was inciting it was drawing nearer, making Quantum Tech more nervous. The tense silence was broken when Fire Fight accidently kicked something.

“WHOA!” Everypony including him was startled when his metal gauntlet suddenly collided with another metal, but when they looked down, rather than a pickaxe or other mining tool, there was something even more bizarre. “What the-?”

It looked to be a piece of a strange skeleton, specifically a limb. It had the attributes of an arm, as there were joints that one could compare to an elbow and a shoulder. However, there was something odd about where the hoof would be. Quantum Tech lowered herself out of her mech suit to examine it. “Goodness me.”

“What is it, Ms. Quantum Tech?” Kickback asked.

“What indeed….” Quantum answered. She noticed that the ‘hoof bone’ was much smaller than anatomically normal, assuming this was even supposed to be a pony. When she inspected the hoof’s sole, there was a red lens that made it seem like some kind of flashlight. In her curiosity, Quantum Tech tried to use her magic to power this ‘flashlight’ just to see what it would do. It worked, but when her glasses suddenly detected a dangerous influx of plasma emanating from it, she quickly pointed it away from herself. “OH DEAR!!”

Rather than emit a controlled beam of soft light, the arm violently fired a blast of the plasma she detected as a bolt of red light and blew a chunk out of the tunnel wall, the recoil knocking her back, but Shrapnel managed to catch her in his mouth. He released her. “Quantum Tech!” Zebota said.

Everypony had braced themselves and gotten in front of some others when the blast occurred, and when it subsided, they calmed down. They were all ok. “Oh, h-heavens…” Quantum was shaken as Zebota helped her to hooves. “Thank you, both.” She brushed herself off. “Well! I certainly won’t handling that without the utmost care in the future.”

“Who could have created such a dangerous item, and why?” Zebota asked.

“Umm…. Guys?” Spiral stammered. She had horn shining light further into the tunnel to reveal heaps of other mechanical parts and scraps that looked as though they had been torn apart. One that was mostly intact revealed what they all must have looked like. It was a bipedal-looking entity with black and red armor plating over their skeletal frames, and only one hand had opposable digits while the other had the plasma blaster. Its head was shaped something like a beetle without antennae and had no apparent eyes.

“Damn… We back in the hood?” Turf War asked.

Quantum quickly thought of the orb and fetched it from her mech. Sure enough, it was reacting strongly to the very presence of the foreign machinery. “This is simply marvelous! Where could this all have originated from!?”

“I’d like to know what destroyed them all. This all looks fairly recent.” Air Slash said.

“You know…. Is it just me, or does it look like some of these gems have been kinda…blown up?” Tidal Wave asked.

“Of course there were explosions, dumba**. This is a mine.” Bullseye hissed.

“Ok, don’t call me that. Second, it would have been a lot bigger and made more than just a crack in the gems. They must have been blasted by these robots.” Tidal Wave argued.

“Let’s just hope something from the other isn’t responsible. It’s possible that something managed to crawl it’s way in here unnoticed.” Valkyrie said as she drew her sword.

With that, the foals pressed on through the scrap heap of strange robots. Their thrashed forms and mangled shrapnel lining the tunnel made them feel more uneasy. They were especially careful not to set any of them off and avoid more plasma blasts. Eventually, they came into a huge chamber where the gem deposits were surprisingly few a far between. Even when Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy put off more light, it was just swallowed whole by the darkness surrounding them. What wasn’t hidden was more scrap heaps of the strange robots.

“This looks promising…” Valkyrie muttered.

“Don’t be afraid, everypony. Our strength hasn’t faltered yet, and it won’t today.” Greensprout said.

Fire Fight then shivered a little. “Is it just me, or did it suddenly get a little cold in here?” His very statement made his blood go cold. “Oh, crap! It’s cold!”

“Why’s that so bad- Oh wait!” Valkyrie and the others quickly caught onto what he was getting at.

Suddenly, from within the darkness, the foals heard a low but powerful growl. “<GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!>” When they looked up, a pair of piercing red eyes stared them down, and whatever it leapt towards them from the darkness. “<RAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRR!!!>”

Fire Fight lit his horn like a volcano and everypony drew their weapons. “HERE IT COMES!!”

Cold Blooded

The monstrous form soared towards them ready to strike, but Spiral Galaxy managed to knock it back with a gravity wave, throwing it off balance and knocking it back, but it quickly got back upon its feet as though nothing happened.

“Alright, let’s get this over- huh!?” Fire Fight, expecting another ice specter, was shocked to see that there attacker wasn’t anything of the sort. In actuality…

“DRAGON!!” Quantum Tech exclaimed.

The dragon was about as tall as Dragon Lord Ember and had her sharp body type minus the tusks on the cheeks, but it had white scales surrounding a grey underbelly, claws, horns and spines. Its eyes were a bright red, and they were glaring the foals down. “Grrr! GET OUT OF MY CAVE!!” The foals could discern from the dragon’s voice that it was male, and he was probably about their age, maybe a tad older. He leapt into the air and inhaled.

Fire Fight stepped out with his horn ready to block the dragon’s fire breath. “W-Wait! We’re not here to fight-” He couldn’t complete his sentence before the dragon exhaled. Fire Fight focused his magic on the dragon’s breath, as he exhaled a blue flame. However, it didn’t seem to budge when Fire Fight tried to stop it, and it hit him with a sapphire burst.

The foals were expecting a blast that would knock him back and a cry of pain from their fiery leader, knowing that he could survive a blast of heat, but neither of those happened. Plus, there was a complete absence of heat, but rather it had suddenly gotten freezing cold. Instead, they uncovered their eyes to see Fire Fight frozen solid in a block of ice! “FIRE FIGHT!!” Shadow Shroud exclaimed. Everypony was both shocked that he was suddenly in the state that he was, and that a dragon just breathed ice.

“How in Celestia’s name!?” Quantum Tech exclaimed.

“Hol’ up! I know that dragon ain’t spit ice just now!” Turf War said.

“Aww! What’s the matter, little pony!? Don’t like the cold!?” the dragon taunted. He puffed frigid air out of his nostrils. “Looks like ol’ Frostbite needs to teach you dweebs what happens when you set foot on a dragons turf!” He suddenly vomited a blast of the ice energy that hit the threshold between the tunnel they’d just come from and the chamber. It burst and created a huge wall of ice that completely froze their exit shut.

Air Slash and Valkyrie poised their swords viciously at their draconic adversary. “It is YOU in need of a lesson, foul lizard!” Air Slash shouted.

“Yeah! You wanna fight? All you had to do was ask!!” Valkyrie roared.

They both soared towards the dragon calling himself ‘Frostbite’, ready to strike him down, but the icy reptile just smirked at their feeble attempt. He exhaled a blast of cold air onto both of his claws, and in them formed big bastard swords made of ice. Both warriors were surprised to see him pull this off, but they were confident that they would be able to easily smash through them- their confidence was misplaced. When they tried to double team Frostbite, his ice swords easily blocked and parried them without so much as cracking. “What!?” Air Slash muttered in shock.

Acting quickly, Frostbite then raised his tail and effectively tripled its length by breathing ice onto it, creating a glacial blade extension of it. He spun around and managed to strike his attackers. Valkyrie managed to block the blow, but she was knocked back a good distance. Air Slash wasn’t so lucky; he took the full force of the tail swipe and was knocked to the ground with a violent thud. “Air Slash!!” Greensprout quickly rushed to his aid.

Meanwhile, Shadow Shroud was desperately hacking away at the ice block encasing Fire Fight with her kamas. She had the help of Turf War who was using his axe to chop through the ice; he didn’t want to risk any seismic waves hurting his friend. The ice was harder than either thought possible at near room temperature, and they were making very slow progress. “Come on. Come on!”

“He better still be breathin’!” Turf War said.

In his frozen state, Fire Fight’s horn suddenly started glowing, and the ice around started to emanate heat. Shadow Shroud and Turf War backed away from him, and seconds later, the ice block began cracking slowly. “Fire Fight?” Shroud muttered.

While that was happening, Valkyrie found herself locked in a duel with Frostbite. She never would have expected a dragon to be as dexterous with a sword as he was, and he was at even odds with her. At one point, she went in for a thrust, but Frostbite caught her sword in his mouth just before the blade could start going down his throat. “Oh, crap!”

Frostbite deviously smirked with the sword in his mouth and threw her to his left, throwing her off balance and leaving her open for a cross slash from his ice swords, knocking her to ground. Before she could get up, a barrage of icicles suddenly came down raining on her, nearly impaling her. “Hehehe! What’s the matter? Cold Turkey!?” he taunted. Shards of ice drooled from his jaws.

Valkyrie rose back into the air and went after him again. “Guys! A little help here!!”

“Oh! Y-Yes, of course!” Quantum Tech and company were still baffled to have encountered an ice-breathing dragon. “Fire at will!”

She locked onto to Frostbite and readied her shot, careful that she wouldn’t accidently hit Valkyrie. Kickback and Bullseye took aim as well, but Kickback fire two shots right away, each one hitting either of Frostbite’s ice swords. The impact of the bullet and the electricity that surged in them caused the thin blades to crack significantly enough so that Valkyrie could shatter them after a few parries. “What the!?” Frostbite stammered.

Valkyrie swung her sword down just in time for Frostbite to catch it in his claws, and the griffonlet knight smirked back. “What’s the matter? COLD CLAWS!?” she taunted.

Quantum Tech seized the opportunity to fire her railguns at Frostbite, and Spiral Galaxy used her gravikinesis to hold him in place, allowing for both direct hits. “OOF!” Having a resilient hide, Frostbite took the electromagnetic shots better than most other creatures would, but they still knocked him back, nearly forcing him to fall, but he managed to correct himself. “Why you little!!”

He vomited an ice-fire ball at Spiral Galaxy, but Tidal Wave tackled her out of the way just before it could connect. They both managed to dodge it right before it blasted on the ground and created a spiky bush of icicles. Frostbite was about to follow up when Bullseye fired an arrow that hit his joint connecting his wing and shoulder, but the reptilian renegade just pulled out completely unfazed. “Tee hee! That tickled!” he taunted. He threw the arrow behind him.

“OH, YOU THINK THAT’S FUNNY, B****!? WELL, I THINK YOU’LL HAVE A BLAST WITH THIS ONE!!!” Bullseye nocked back an explosive arrow and fired it. It struck Frostbite’s thick underbelly and detonated without incident. Bullseye wickedly smiled as the smoke plumed from her dirty work. “Hehehe… So much for a flying gecko.” But as the smoke cleared, she realized that Frostbite had all but vanished. “The f***?”

Unbeknownst to her, Frostbite had used the smoke to conceal himself and sneak up behind her. “Gotcha!”

“Wha!?” Bullseye was too late to turn around and react as Frostbite took a swipe at her with his claws, slashing her back. “AIIIEEE!!” Frostbite added insult to injury by smacking her with his tail, sending her tumbling a good ways.

Crazylocks charged at Frostbite. “IT’S THE ATTACK OF THE LIVID POPSICLES!!!”

Zebota threw his boomerang at the dragon and clutched his brooch. “Pin him down, Shrapnel!”

The wooden titan heeded his master’s command without protest and lunged at Frostbite along with Crazylocks, but Frostbite used his wings to soar out of the way quickly. As he did, he exhaled an immense blast of cold air that further served to thrust him upward as well as freeze the ground below him, creating a sheet of ice that Crazylocks and Shrapnel slipped on. Their momentum sent them careening across the iced ground, but Zebota uttered a quick incantation that caused his boomerang, which was hovering above the ice to electrify and send lightning bolts that shattered the ice, allowing them to regain their balance.

Frostbite snarled. “Tch. Nice trick. Can’t say the same about your pet though.” He taunted. Shrapnel viciously growled and Crazylocks spread her wings, ready to fly up to him, but he took off like a rocket.

Bullseye got up, ignoring the seething sharp pain in her back and glaring sadistically up at Frostbite. “Oh, you’re dead now- <GASP!> GLUH!” She suddenly felt an agonizing chill run through her body, and when she looked at her back, she was terrified to see that her body had begun freezing over from her wound! “GREENSPROUT!!!!” She tried to take aim at the icy dragon as he flew around, but her chilling body prevented her from even focusing. She could faintly hear the motherly monk call out to her as she then could feel the Gaia Root’s healing energy being poured into her, and she felt the freezing slowly start to mitigate.

Quantum Tech, Kickback and Spiral Galaxy tried to hit Frostbite, but he was moving too quickly. On top of that, a healed Air Slash and Valkyrie tried to stay out of the way while also trying to fight their opponent. At one point, Shrapnel tried to lunge at him again, but the draconic hoodlum uppercutted him and caught him by the paw. With his dragon strength, Frostbite hurled the wooden titan into a wall, and her vomited another ice-fire ball that struck Shrapnel in the abdomen and froze most of his body over and snared him onto the wall, his paws and head sticking out, leaving him to struggle. “SHRAPNEL!!” Zebota called out. He rushed to his monster’s aid.

As all of that was happening, Fire Fight’s ice block began heating more intensely to complement the shining of his horn. Shadow Shroud and Turf War continued to work frantically until suddenly, the iceberg exploded, revealing its collapsed former captive. “MY BOY!!” Turf War exclaimed. When the examined him, his entire body was freezing cold, and he looked pale and was barely breathing.

“Greensprout! Get over here NOW!!” Shadow Shroud ordered. She then looked up at Frostbite with enough fury to scorch a field of hay in seconds as she drew her kamas. “I’m going to enjoy this!” she hissed.

Greensprout got to Fire Fight posthaste and went to work immediately. “Go on, Turf War! I should be able to help him.”

Turf War nodded. “Handle that, homegirl.” He drew his hammer-axe and followed Shadow Shroud.

“Stay strong, brother!” Greensprout pushed her Gaia Root to its limits as Fire Fight began to warm back up, and his body got its glow back. His breathing became heavier, but it regulated very quickly as he managed to stagger to his hooves.

“Ugh….my head….” Fire Fight croaked.

“Are you okay, Fire Fight?” Greensprout asked.

Fire Fight took a big, deep breath as his powerful presence returned along with his strength. “Yeah. Just had my near-death experience quota filled for the day, that’s all.”

“Oh dear…” Greensprout muttered in minor annoyance.

Meanwhile, the struggle against Frostbite continued to rage. He had formed more ice swords and was fighting back against Valkyrie and Air Slash while dodging incoming projectiles. Bullseye decided to stay her arrows and go full on Blood Cupid, joining her avian comrades as she tried to strike him with her bow. Needless to say, she wasn’t very happy about nearly freezing. “HOLD STILL SO I CAN SKIN YOU ALIVE, YOU F***!!!” She managed to clock him in the jaw, but Frostbite froze his tail over again and smacked her out of the sky.

“HAHAHAHAHA! You guys suck!!” Frostbite shouted. Suddenly, a puff of smoke burst on his back as he was flying. “Whoa! <cough>….huh?” When the smoke cleared, Shadow Shroud was there standing on his back. “What the!?” He thought quickly to thrust his frozen tail toward her, but he did so in such a way that when she jumped out of the way, he struck his own back by accident. “ACK!!” Shadow Shroud fell back towards him and used her momentum to smack him in the head with her nunchucks. “GRARGH!” His pain forced caused him to fall out of the sky, but Shadow Shroud managed to steer him towards where Fire Fight’s ice block was, and he landed in the puddle of water the fiery colt had left behind when he burst out. “OOF! Ooooh…” Just before he could get up, The water around him sudden rose up and wrapped around his wrists and ankles like chains. “WH-WHAT THE HELL!?”

“You better stop if you know what’s good for you!” Tidal Wave said. His shining brooch coupled with his lance pointed towards Frostbite said everything.

“Tch! Make me!” Frostbite scoffed. He breathed on his watery chains and froze them, allowing him to easily shatter his way free. He rose back into the air with a blizzard drooling from his jaws.

“Please stop! We didn’t come here to fight you!” Spiral pled.

“Too bad! I’m having fun!” Frostbite retorted. He exhaled a storm of ice-fire from his mouth towards the foals, but a blast of radiant fire collided with it and canceled it out. “HUH!?”

“I think you’ve had enough fun.” Standing between him and the other foals was a determined Fire Fight, whom everypony was relieved to see.

Frostbite bore his fangs. “Rrrrr! Don’t tell me what to do, stupid pony!” he growled.

“Now Ah didn’t want to do this, partner, but ya left me no choice!” Kickback picked up another one of the laser-armed robot limbs and put his gun at its shoulder. “YEEE-HAAAW!” He fired an electrified bullet into it, causing the laser to fire a bolt of plasma. His shot went a little high and hit a stalactite above their foe, knocking it loose.

Frostbite managed to crack the rock with both his ice swords at the cost of shattering them, but he caught a piece of it that was about the size of three bowling balls and threw it. “Catch!!”

“A’ight!!” Turf War stepped up to the plate and smack the boulder with his hammer, sending it back to Frostbite with seismic force. “HOME RUN!!”

The boulder flew too fast for Frostbite to react, and it crashed into his abdomen. “OOF!!” Suddenly, a flurry of Shadow Shroud copies assaulted him while he was dazed. He could take the slashing, but it was happening in such great magnitude that he couldn’t decide how to react. “H-H-Huh!? Whoa-oa-oa!!” When the shadow assault concluded, he finally saw Fire Fight flying towards him in a fire-charged kick that hit him square in the jaw, slamming him into the ground. “Ooooh….” He was dazed to the point that had trouble getting up.

Zebota managed to break Shrapnel free just in time for everypony else to calmly approach Frostbite. “Are you done?” Fire Fight asked.

Frostbite glared up at his unwelcomed guests, knowing that they were more a nuisance than he thought, so he decided to give in, however reluctantly. He gritted his teeth. “Yeah. Happy?” he hissed.

Fire Fight nodded. “We are. Now let’s just calmly talk this over.”

Cold as Ice

With the cold chills shaken off and everything once again calm in the cavernous chamber, the Battle Foals mentally prepared themselves for something they never thought they’d have to do- converse with a dragon. Frostbite didn’t exactly look ready to talk seeing as his pride must have taken a blow, and he had no real obligation to talk to the foals, but he wanted them out of his cave above all else, and it looked like conversation was his only option.

“So….you live here?” Fire Fight asked, trying to break the ice in more ways than one.

Frostbite glared down at him. “I did say this was my cave, didn’t I?” he growled. “What are you even doing here?”

“W-We’re terribly sorry, Frostbite. We had no idea that anyone had taken up residence in this cave. We were under the impression that it had all been abandoned.” Quantum Tech said.

“It used to belong to us Griffons in the past.” Valkyrie added.

“Well, it’s mine now. So there! Now answer my question, or get out!” Frostbite demanded.

“We can just kick your a** again, you know!” Bullseye growled.

“Bullseye!” Fire Fight said sternly as he leered authoritatively at her, causing her to reluctantly calm down. He then looked back at Frostbite. “We’re trying to get to the other side of this mountain range from Griffonstone, and we thought we could use one of these old mines to get through more easily.”

Frostbite cocked his eyebrow. “Umm….why?” Fire Fight explained what he did to Valkyrie, knowing that a dragon wouldn’t care about the finer details of a pony’s plight. “Okay, cool. Spare me your sob story. I get it.” He said. “But why over there? There’s like….nothing.”

“Huh?” Spiral Galaxy and the others were confused. “But Valkyrie said there were all kinds of dangerous monsters living there.”

“Pfft! Well, I don’t know what mountains she was talking about, because over there, it’s about as dry as a bone.” Frostbite said.

Valkyrie was befuddled. “You sure, dude? I’ve heard all kinds of weird roaring coming from over there from Griffonstone.”

Frostbite cocked his head. “Well, it definitely wasn’t me.” He said.

“What about these…robots?” Tidal Wave asked, pointing to the heap of mechanical debris.

“Are we to presume it was you who destroyed them?” Greensprout asked.

“Of course I trashed ‘em! They keep trying to take my gems!” Frostbite scoffed.

“They ‘keep’ trying?” Shadow Shroud inquired.

“Yeah! A dragon’s gotta eat, you know. I don’t know what they want my gems with, but I don’t care. They’re taking my food!” Frostbite said.

“And….this had been going recently?” Air Slash inquired further.

Frostbite huffed, clearly frustrated that questions were being fired at him. “Yeah. I’d say for about two weeks now, and I’ve lived here for about two months, so I don’t think this is a regular occurrence.”

“Do you know where they have been coming from?” Zebota asked.

Frostbite turned his head in such a way that he meant to present something. “There’s a big hole down another few tunnels that they must have dug up to get in here. I finally got the idea to block it up with a boulder so they’d stop. I guess they’re coming from where you guys are trying to get to.”

“You ain’t just froze it shut?” Turf War asked, pointing to the wall of ice barring their first exit to this chamber.

“Ice melts dude.” Frostbite growled.

“Speaking o’ which, Ah don’t rightly recall ever hearin’ about a dragon that breathed ice b’fore.” Kickback said.

“Oh, yes! I’ve had my theories as to how your kind breathes fire, but ice? Now that’s going to be quite the brainteaser.” Quantum commented.

Frostbite suddenly looked very frustrated, even anxious. “Tch! Look, I don’t know how it happened, but it did, okay? Yeah, I might be a bit different from the others, but like I care! It’s not like they….made fun of me for not being able to do one simple thing or anything…. ARGH! Why am I even bothering with you guys!?” He turned around in a fuss and started walking away. “Just go plant your little pony farm or whatever and….a-and just leave me alone!!”

The foals realized that they’d struck a raw nerve. They weren’t sure whether to leave the issue be so to not risk angering him, or to lightly press the issue, seeing as he might be important to their progression. Based on the notion of their latter choice, they decided to take the risk. “Umm…. Frostbite?” Fire Fight stammered.

“WHAT!?!?” Frostbite’s voice echoed blown speakers throughout his chamber, and the foals suddenly felt everything get cold again.

Fire Fight gulped, not wanting to be frozen alive again. “Could you maybe take us to that boulder so we can….get over there…..please?”

Frostbite glared at them for a tense moment as the air around only seemed get colder, and Shadow Shroud was even readying herself to draw her kunai. However, the icy drake seemed to calm down some as his facial expression got slightly less tense, and he sighed. “This way.” He began walking towards the tunnel he’d just pointed to and motioned for them to follow.

Just before Fire Fight could lead his pack, Shadow Shroud stopped him for a moment. “Keep your distance. He’s cranky, and…..I don’t want you to get frozen again.” Her tone was legitimately sincere and concerned this time.

Fire Fight nodded. “Right.”

The moment the foals began following Frostbite down the long, rocky tunnel, they felt a tension that made the compressed space only feel more claustrophobic. At any given moment, their new acquaintance might decide that he was done with them and just freeze them on the spot. They eyed him simply to monitor his behavior, which was made all the more difficult as he would occasionally rip a random gem out of the wall and gobble it down, which was a bit awkward. Bullseye resisted the urge to lash out at him again for nearly freezing her to death.

Quantum Tech couldn’t help but to take the opportunity to run some scans on the oddball dragon. While little was known among ponies about the dragons, one that could breathe ice was definitely news to them, and based on Frostbite’s reaction to their inquisition about his unique ability, it was probably news to his own kind as well. She had suspected for a long time that fire-breathing was a biological function of dragons rather than anything magic based, though any scenario she could have theorized about how they did it was structured around some of her own conjecture about their anatomy and physiology.

Oddly, Frostbite’s body seemed to be blocking the signals emitted by Quantum’s mech and she couldn’t get her scanners to get a read on him. Dragons were certainly known for having thick scales that protected them from any manner of extreme environments, but it seemed that they were so well-fortified that even x-ray scanners couldn’t pierce through them. She’d need to run a blood test or two at best, but she wasn’t expecting much, if any cooperation.

The foals silently agreed to not speak a word for the risk of provoking Frostbite again. They just followed him through the winding tunnels that once belonged to the griffons of old. Valkyrie took this opportunity to wonder what all her people must have endured in this dreadful environment. Eventually, they were led to the end of a tunnel that had been sealed shut by a huge boulder that had obviously been placed there by their host.

Frostbite stood before his handy work and let out a frustrated sigh. “Prepare to be disappointed.” With the amazing strength known to dragon, Frostbite easily lifted the rocky obstacle into his arms and carried it over to the side where he set it down. “Well, there it is. Hope you’re happy.” He said insincerely.

Fire Fight and the other foals gave him an annoyed glare as they passed by him to see what he was talking about. Much to everyone, namely Valkyrie’s shock, the land beyond the mountains was virtually a barren desert. A small handful of trees that were few and far between made it look like a dried and withered savanna where red sand blew in the hot winds across its thirsty ground. Skeletal corpses of ferocious-looking beasts sometimes peeked out of the ground and rock walls around areas of higher elevation, and the foals could swear that the world was ending, starting with this location.

“Wh-What the?.... But I could swear this place was filled to the brim with all kinds of huge plants and monsters and stuff!” Valkyrie exclaimed. “What gives!?”

“Perhaps your information was out of date?” Air Slash suggested.

“At least it’s better than a forest of gnashing teeth and claws. <shiver!>” Tidal Wave said.

Shrapnel started whimpering as his master looked out into the desolate landscape in complete horror. His expression looked as though he were watching his parents be mauled again, and he looked like he was about to cry. “This place….” He muttered. “It was……ravaged…..destroyed! The spirits here are so weak that……they have lost their dominion over these lands…..” He lowered his head in solemn despair.

“What you mean, dog?” Turf War asked.

“He’s right!” Quantum interjected. “I’m detecting exceedingly high levels of residual radiation that has the same signature as the plasma fired by those strange robots. They must have razed this entire ecosystem trying to search for something.”

Zebota’s sorrow quickly turned to anger that was telegraphed when Shrapnel started viciously growling as his master lifted his head. “Then…..they will pay for this desecration!!” he growled. Shrapnel let out a powerful howl that echoed throughout the dusty wind as Zebota’s brooch gleamed fiercely in the setting sunlight.

The foals couldn’t help but to quiver at the sight of Zebota and Shrapnel so infuriated. While he had firmly established his reverence for Nature when they first met, he always seemed so calm, even he threatened to throw them into a river. “T-Take it easy, Zebota. We’ll do something about them.”

Quantum Tech stepped out her mech and trotted up to her mystic friend. “Calm down, darling. It’s clear that these machines pose some sort of threat. I certainly despise the misuse of technology like this, and it seems we’ll having a run-in or two with them anyhow. Conserve your fury for when you need it. My own mech will stand ready to punish them.”

Zebota noticeably calmed down at his friend’s words, and he looked far less like he was about to go on a rampage worthy of the Blood Cupid, as did Shrapnel. He glanced up at her. “Yes….you are right. I am sorry Quantum Tech. That was not proper of me.”

“We all have our moments, darling.” Quantum said.

Frostbite killed the mood upon speaking up. “You dweebs satisfied?”

“Well, have y’all actually been out yonder before, partner?” Kickback asked.

Frostbite impatiently rolled his eyes. “Only once or twice just to see where those stupid robots were coming from.”

“And?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“And there was some kind of…..city or something that was glowing red for some reason. I don’t freakin’ know.” Frostbite scoffed.

This obviously caught the foals attention. “CITY!?” They all said in unison.

“Ok, ok. It looked like one. It was a bunch of like…..towering black rocks that sometimes glowed red like these things sometimes do.” Frostbite said as he picked a stray robot part and tossed it to the side. “I didn’t get very close, because….” He started to angrily pout.

“Because…..you were scared?” Fire Fight asked.

“What!? NO WAY!” Frostbite exclaimed. “I could totally trash that whole place with my claws plugged up and…..a-and blindfolded! Yeah.”

“Then why haven’t you done so yet, O mighty dragon of the ice?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“And why does it matter if your claws are ‘plugged’ up?” Greensprout asked.

Frostbite gritted his teeth. “Because…..b-because I haven’t prepared yet. I-I’ve been trying to come up with a…a…a strategy! You think I’m stupid enough to just waltz in there thinking I could blow on them and be done with it!?”

“That’s exactly what y’all just implied a second ago.” Kickback said.

“SHUT UP!” Frostbite interjected.

“Now Frostbite, if you think they’re a mite tough fer ya, just say so. No need to go hootin’ and hollerin’ at us. Nopony’s judgin’ ya.” Kickback said.

“Yeah! In fact, why don’t we help each other out?” Fire Fight suggested.

“WHAT!?” Everyone exclaimed.

“We want basically the same thing, right? Why not work together with Frostbite to investigate these weird robots and that red light that Valkyrie mentioned?” Fire Fight said.

“Tch! I don’t need any help, least of all from some stupid little ponies.” Frostbite scoffed.

“Ponies that kicked your a**, in case you forgot.” Bullseye hissed.

“Yeah. Barely.” Frostbite growled.

“Well, alright then. I suppose my friends and I will be cheering you on as you face that ‘city’ all by yourself. What’s the worst that could possibly happen to such a mighty, invincible creature such as yourself?” Shadow Shroud teased.

Her words caused Frostbite to glance nervously out at the barren landscape, and he recalled the foreboding sight of the anomaly when he first happened upon it. He had never been so intimidated in his life. However reluctantly, he gave in to logic. “Fine…” he muttered.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear you.” Shroud teased.

“WE CAN WORK TOGETHER, OK!?!?” Frostbite exclaimed. “But….b-but only because I know you little dweebs are gonna need a powerhouse like me to protect- I-I mean….help…..you guys….” He stammered.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, dude.” Valkyrie said.

“Speakin’ o’ which, we should probably hit the hay about now y’all. Ah reckon if we set off at first dawn, we can get a mighty fine head start in scoutin’ that settlement out.” Kickback said.

“You read my mind, Kickback!” Fire Fight said.

“Of course he did, because he’s just a dream!” Quantum cooed, prompting Kickback to angrily lower his hat over his face.

Frostbite suddenly remembered something as they made their back to the tunnel. “Oh! You asked about my claws. Well, you see, they can ooze this like…..venom that causes anything I claw with them to freeze on the inside a little.”

Bullseye glared at him. “So that’s what happened!” she growled, remembering her ordeal from earlier.

“Really!?” Quantum said in curiosity. “Would you mind if I took a sample?”

“Hooves off the claws, pony.” Frostbite said.

Quantum sighed. “Thought so…”

Suddenly, they heard a powerful roar akin to that of a manticore, but bigger echo from the desolate land before them. Something about it sounded….wrong. It reminded the foals that fought it of the crystal golem beneath Canterlot. “Cave. Inside. Now.” Fire Fight ordered. They all hurried inside, and Frostbite barred the opening with an exhaled wall of ice followed by the boulder.

“I thought y’all said that ice wasn’t gonna do nuttin’, bruh.” Turf War said.

“Insurance.” Frostbite replied.

???

“Hmm….. So the only reason the scouts haven’t been able to mine as much gems as I’d like is because of a dragon living there. How inconvenient. Although, the fact that it breathes ice is quite peculiar. Definitely warrants further observation. But these foals….. They’re the real specimens, namely the one that can change her physiology at will, or that vitality staff that the robed one carries, this zebra that has somehow bent the will of an alpha timberwolf. Ooh! I’d feel far more threatened if not for my little servants. I’m sure they’ll appreciate more than just these simple beasts. <sigh> You’ve always had a keen eye for the extraordinary, haven’t you…..Valkyrie?”

A Warm Welcome

However reluctantly, Frostbite found himself making some space in his cavernous chamber for his new ‘friends’. He decided to leave the initial entrance they took frozen over just for more insurance, as he put it. Quantum Tech thought that he may not have known his own strength as a dragon, because despite him being correct to assume that ice did indeed melt over time, in the time that had passed between their initial encounter and now, it was as rigid as ever with structural integrity she never could have imagined even in the Frozen North’s most frigid glaciers. It made her worry how he’d quickly break it down for them. Dragons were certainly known for their seemingly impossible feats of strength, but the brainy filly often wondered what made them possible. Frostbite’s ability to breathe ice rather than fire made the very nature of the dragons’ existence seem deeper than ponies gave them credit for.

Fire Fight was at work cooking up a stew for everypony. The cold air made it a bit more difficult to keep the fire lit, but it was a minor inconvenience. He was accompanied by Shadow Shroud who was sharpening her kunai as they were finally starting to become dull. “It’s been a little while since we’ve had you’re stew, hasn’t it?” she said.

“At least it feels like it has. It wasn’t that long ago that we bailed from the Great Horn Temple. A lot has happened since then, even within a couple of days.” Fire Fight said.

“An ice breathing dragon notwithstanding.” Shroud said.

Fire Fight chuckled. “Yeah. Can’t wait to see how Quantum explains that one!” Stirring his stew, his weariness from the nightmare he’d had crept back into his thoughts as did the startling symbolisms he’d been subjected to. What was he foreseeing, or was it just stress? The fake Shadow Shroud was what frightened him the most. Why her? It was one thing to see his mother turn into an ice sculpture, but for something to assume the guise of his now closest friend and attack made him wonder what he was truly up against. Would he and the Battle Foals have to return to Equestria simply to deal with this unknown evil? And if so, would he be able to establish their independence? It made him wonder the purpose of his journey overall. “Shroud….”

“Hmm?”

“Look, I…..I’m sorry this is all taking so long. I just wanted to save other shunned foals. I wasn’t expecting half the things that have happened to us up until now, least of all this whole ice monster business.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud put her kunai away and put her hoof on his. “Don’t be. Sometimes the journey itself is more important than the actual goal. We’ve accomplished far more than I think we could have anticipated that few else probably could have. Who can complain?”

Fire Fight managed to crease a little smile. Mulling over the unexpected adventures he and his friends had made him realize just how much their actions would make a difference in the long run, and even if none of their those great exploits were planned for, he was content knowing that he’d found a higher purpose in his quest. “Yeah. You’re right. And it looks like we’re about to clean up another mess far out in that wasteland.”

“Where we’ll hopefully <ahem> build our homestead, as our resident gunslinger would so eloquently put it.” Shroud said. “Speaking of whom, where’d he gallop off to?”

“Probably somewhere where he can hide from Quantum Tech.” Fire Fight said.

“Quite the contrary.” Quantum Tech calmly approached them. “He seems to trying to make conversation our reptilian
acquaintance, so I thought I’d let him be. He has a way of passing his mellow disposition onto his peers, so perhaps Frostbite will less inclined to lash out at us.”

“Yeah, being frozen solid is kind of a drag. Trust me.” Fire Fight joked, inciting a giggle from the two fillies. “Speaking of him, what’s your take on his ice-breathing?”

Quantum Tech cleared her throat. “Well, as you may know, there is sadly little known about dragons, much less their biological functions and affinities. I somehow doubt they even know much about themselves, but I could be ignorant. One theory about how they breathe fire that I’ve had for some time is that they perhaps have an organ similar to an air bladder in a fish that contains flammable gases that are produced as a result of digestion. Afterwards, something would spark those gases and cause them to ignite, resulting in their fire breath. Obviously, they would have to have some form of inner layering to protect their innards from incinerating.”

“But what would cause the needed spark?” Shroud asked.

“That’s what troubles me. Perhaps it has something to do with their diet of gems and ores.” Quantum said. “But I cannot even begin to imagine how any living organism could generate ice in the manner that Frostbite does. Nitrogen is prevalent within living things, and incredibly low temperatures will cause it to freeze into a liquid, but that is the only theory I can concoct, and even so I cannot discern how that would happen without…”

“Without…..magic?” Fire Fight inquired.

“I know full well that’s conjecture on my part, but unless I can get Frostbite to cooperate and allow me to gather sufficient data, I can only do so much. Not to mention this ‘frost venom’ that he claims to possess.” Quantum said. All the three could do was mull over the possibilities as another conversations took place, the scent of the simmering stew soothing their sinuses.

Frostbite had been keeping to himself on the other side of his chamber, largely ignoring the activities of his unwanted guests. It was one thing being a black sheep amongst dragons, but having to house ponies simply because he agreed to ally with them was nothing short of frustrating. He was used to being alone, but Kickback saw fit to try and keep him company, and approached the icy drake. “Howdy, partner.”

Frostbite leered down at him. “What do you want?”

“Well, yer all by yer lonesome over here. Just thought Ah’d see how y’all were.” Kickback said.

“Tch. That’s rich. You seem like a lone wolf yourself.” Frostbite growled.

“Well, Ah might be the silent type, but that don’t mean Ah don’t care about others.” Kickback said.

Frostbite felt a little vexed at Kickback’s attempt to make conversation, but he had more dignity than to threaten someone he’d formed an alliance with, so he decided to humor him for now. “Yeah, yeah. Spare me the sappy talk and get to the point.”

“Well, there ain’t really a point to get to. Just wanna have a li’l chat is all.” Kickback said.

“There’s nothing to chat about.” Frostbite said.

“Nothin’? There’s plenty to chat about, partner.”

“Stop calling me that!” Frostbite demanded. “And like what?”

“Well fer starters, what’s it like bein’ a dragon?”

Frostbite rolled his eyes. “As if a pony could know. We’re so different, it’s not even funny. Not like it could be funny.”

“Ah beg to differ, partner.” Kickback said, earning him another leer from Frostbite upon calling him ‘partner’. “We eat, sleep, and make friends with one another, don’t we?”

“So does everything else on the planet, genius.” Frostbite said. “And us dragons don’t make ‘friends’. We just make…..groups….I guess.”

“Ain’t that the same thing as friends though?” Kickback asked.

Frostbite mildly gritted his teeth. “You’re just trying to tick me off, aren’t you?”

Kickback shook his head. “Not at all, partner. Ah just figure since we’re gonna be ridin’ together fer a li’l while, we oughta get to know each other a li’l more. Just what friends do.”

Frostbite huffed. “Well, you know plenty about me as it is. I’m a dragon who was somehow born with ice breath rather than fire breath. Got it?”

“Well, there’s gotta more than that, but maybe now’s not the time. Sorry if Ah bothered ya, Frostbite.” Kickback said before walking away.

“Tch. Whatever, dude.” As Frostbite watch kickback calmly walk towards the other foals, he strangely found himself unable to be mad at the desert dweller. Was it his mellow disposition that tamed him, or….what was this unfamiliar warmth he felt churning it his chest?

Somewhere else in this chilled cavern, an even colder-blooded predator found herself quietly observing her friend while organizing her arrows. Bullseye was still pretty bitter about her claw-induced hypothermia, but she opted not to beat up Frostbite for the risk of Fire Fight getting on her case. Apart from that, she seemed to be silently appointed as Crazylocks’ babysitter, which she had no qualms with. Said mutant filly was busy using her unicorn horn to play some weird mix of solitaire checkers with a bunch of loose rocks that broke off the walls and ceiling during their scuffle with Frostbite.

“Mistress Kleeze and the Duchess of Cheese hereby declare their rule over the land Macaletamytha. Never! They have been unfit to bear mold since they’re microphone tribe overtook their bathrooms!” She went back and forth between her normal voice and a goofy voice to distinguish between the two ‘sides’ as she continued her nonsensical political banter.

Watching her play made Bullseye crack a little smile, one void of wicked thoughts or malicious intent. “Hehe. Freak.” she said softly. Two of Crazylocks’ rocks struck together, and a chip from the collision fell to Bullseye’s hooves. She picked it up and realized that she could sharpen her arrows with it, so she did just that. “Best kind of freak.”

In a somewhat isolated corner of the cavern were Tidal Wave and Spiral Galaxy. The latter had found herself a quiet spot to rest her head with all that had just happened, and the former saw fit to check on her. “Hey, Spiral. You doing ok.”

Spiral smiled upon seeing her friend approach her. “Yeah. I didn’t exert my mind as much as I have in the past, and I was underground, so I’m gonna recuperate pretty quickly. Thanks. How about you?”

“Yeah, I’m good. We’re about to trek through a wasteland with some kind of monster hiding in it, but I’m good.” Tidal Wave’s voice was a little shaky.

Spiral giggled. “A little scared, are we?”

“What? I can’t be nervous? You think after what happened at the harpy lair, I’m suddenly fearless? If anything, I learned to be more aware of my surroundings.” Tidal Wave said.

“It’s cool, Tidal Wave. I think we all are. But we’re one step closer to sealing our freedom! Isn’t that exciting?” Spiral said.

Tidal Wave happily chuckled. “I guess all the effort really will be worth it in the end.”

Spiral nodded. “It sure will!” she said. “Hey….Thanks….”

“Huh? For what?”

“For…..being here and all. The others have been great friends and all, and they’ve helped me control my power, but you’ve been a huge help. It feels nice to be able to talk to somepony. Things couldn’t have been easy for you either.” Spiral said.

Tidal Wave found himself slightly blushing as he creased a smile. “Oh! Yeah. No problem.” He was surprised when Spiral pulled him in for a gentle hug, which he happily returned.

Turf War, Air Slash and Valkyrie found some room to spar with one another with Greensprout monitoring them. They decided not to unleash their power for the risk of potentially causing a cave-in and kept their bouts to one versus one. Turf War was especially careful to not smack the ground with his hammer as he and Valkyrie exchanged blows. Being both shield-wielders, their duels were a little less awkward than what they had with Air Slash, not that they didn’t have fun sparring with their dual wielding comrade, who was thoroughly enjoying the exercise.

After a good forty-five minutes of clanging metal, the three sheathed their weapons and went to Greensprout for treatment. They had sustained some bruises and a few cuts from being just barely hit the blades of their swords, but despite being flea bites to them, Greensprout made quick work of their scars. “You three sure like to play rough.”

“What kind of warriors would we be if we did not?” Air Slash said.

“Pretty sure that’s called masochism, dude.” Valkyrie said.

“I don’t know ‘bout that, but everything been tryna kill us so far ain’t played nice, so I’d say we got a fair trade off.” Turf War said.

“If only things could be easier in the long run.” Greensprout said. “But I must admit that this ‘city’ that Frostbite described has me curious. Who or whatever is creating these machines must have some purpose for doing so.”

“Likely not a good one, I’d imagine.” Air Slash said.

“Them things ever pop up b’fore in Griffonstone, Val?” Turf War asked Valkyrie.

Valkyrie shook her head. “First I’ve seen of ‘em, and if their coming from somewhere next door just beyond the natural border, then they must’ve started popping up just recently.”

“Frostbite did say that they have been incurring his cavern for the past week or so, so that must be the case.” Air Slash said.

“But what could have provoked them to awaken now? They’re inorganic, so I doubt Zebota and I could provide good input.” Greensprout said.

“Guess egghead’s gonna have some time to shine.” Valkyrie said.

“Word.” Turf War said. “Yo, on some real s*** though, thanks for helpin’ us out, Val.”

Valkyrie smirked. “Well, I’m not necessarily helping you guys out per se. If Griffonstone’s in danger, I’m always ready to answer the call; we just happen to be going in the same direction, but I won’t complain about getting roped into you guys’ playtime. You’re alright.”

Greensprout giggled. “Well, it’s still nice to know that we have you as an ally.”

Solemnly sitting by the frozen entrance to the chamber was Zebota accompanied by Shrapnel. He was calmly meditating while his beast quietly watched. Being sensitive to his master’s powers, he could tell that they were weak, and they both knew why. Zebota exited and meditation and faced his friend. “Shrapnel, I will be without strong connection to Nature whilst we are exploring that forsaken land. I hope that you will fight with your utmost strength as the rest of us would. Even with our friends to help us, we will be at our most vulnerable.”

Shrapnel lowly purred and nuzzled his master’s head. “<We are servants of this planet, master. If she can endure a scar on her body, it shall heal. As long as the land endures, so can we>.”

Zebota gently smiled. “And whatever has infected this wound, we shall cleanse it.” He calmly declared.

After a little while, Fire Fight summoned everyone over for their stew. His cooking skills continued to please as they dug in as blissfully as they have before. Unsurprisingly, Frostbite had left himself out of their banquet and was content to feast on the many gems that lined the halls of the mine tunnels. Fire Fight noticed that he glanced over at them a couple of times and got curious. “Hey Frostbite, you want some stew?”

Frostbite leered at him while chewing a gem. “No thanks. I don’t eat that stuff.” He said as he talked with his mouth full.

Shadow Shroud noticed for a split second that Frostbite’s nose seemed to scrunch open a little. “Well, okay.” She teasingly wafted the stew’s aroma towards her. “<sniff> Aaahh. More for us.”

Frostbite could sense her intent to taunt him and frustratingly glared at her. The stew did smell good, but his pride hindered to his desire to sample their cuisine. How he overcame, he’ll never know, but in that instant, he found himself walking over there. “Ok, fine!”

Fire Fight plated some for him. “Cool! Hope you like it!”

Frostbite just about swiped the plate from his hoof. “Thanks…” he mumbled as he found a seat next to Kickback, who politely tipped his hat to the drake. As everyone else gingerly dined on the stew, Frostbite stared down at his plate. It was nothing like he’d ever eaten amongst his own kind; dragons normally just forage or hunt for food and eat it as is. They’ve never thought to cook it, much less get creative with it. But even though it was foreign to him, that delicious aroma was very welcoming, and the other chowed down on it contently. He took a deep breath and dumped it all into his mouth.

Everyone else was more surprised than they should have been that he did so, but the way he happily chewed on his grub was enough to let them excuse him, even Quantum Tech. “Good stuff?” Spiral asked.

Frostbite looked up at them and quickly swallowed and tried to act calm. “Uh… Y-Yeah. It’s….pretty good, I guess.”

“There’s plenty for seconds if you want some.” Fire Fight said.

“Yeah? Well, hang on a second.” Frostbite excused himself briefly and came back with a few gems in his hand, and Fire Fight had already plated some more for him. Frostbite took his gems and crushed them, sprinkling the shards onto his stew before consuming it. Even he didn’t want to admit it, they could tell that he was enjoying his exotic meal with a touch of his own home. Their relationship with Frostbite might have been a little rocky, but they were confident that they could eventually call him a true ally.

Desolate Land

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys....
I'm so sorry to have been so inactive lately. Finals week was hectic, and I was just burnt out. But now I'm back, and so are the Battle Foals!

When tomorrow finally came, the Battle Foals and their new allies arose and Fire Fight cooked them all a hearty breakfast of mushroom omelettes and toasted wheat. Frostbite, of course, had some of his gems along with. Without much discussion, they wasted no time making their way towards the exit, ready for the perilous trek ahead. Frostbite moved the boulder out of the way, revealing the ice wall he’d created, which was surprisingly unscratched and unthawed even from all the time that had passed. Quantum Tech seemed to have made a valid point about dragon’s not being completely unrelated to magic. Frostbite then used his draconic strength to effortlessly punch out the ice wall, shattering it into thousands of pieces.

“Don’t slip.” Frostbite said as he led his friends out into the desolate landscape. The sandstorm from yesterday had subsided, but the way the sunlight reflected off of the red sand and off the forest of mesas made it seem as though it was still blowing. The eerie howls of the dry winds could be heard echoing throughout the lifeless geography.

“You remember exactly where this ‘city’ is, Frostbite?” Fire Fight asked.

Frostbite nodded. “It’s pretty much straight ahead to the east of here. We’d have to be idiots to get lost.”

“Just follow the rising sun.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Or my built-in compass.” Quantum said.

“Let’s just be ready for whatever made that huge roar. I don’t want some sand monster to catch us off guard.” Tidal Wave said.

“Shroud and I will feel it coming before it can even plan an ambush, then we’ll f*** it up six ways from Sunday.” Bullseye growled.

“My thoughts exactly.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Regardless, we should remain as cautious as we have been thus far.” Air Slash said.

With everyone agreeing and without further delay, the Battle Foals ventured out into territory that was foreign to everyone alive, uncharted territory. They kept their senses on high alert for whatever made that guttural roar yesterday, and Quantum Tech had her scanners set into high gear, tuning them to detect anything that was of similar nature to the flying orb or the destroyed mechs. She was indeed getting a strong signal coming from straight out east as Frostbite said, but the readings she got made little sense. It all made her really wonder about the origin of these bizarre creations.

As they hiked through the vast desert and through the towers of sandstone, the only thing breaking their silence was the howling wind….and Crazylocks buzzing around like a honey bee. The mesas had a somewhat imposing presence, as if they were silently observing who was probably the first company they received in Celestia-knows-how long. Every sand dune they had to climb made them apprehensive about what they’d discover over it, and they even had to shoo off a few bugs for the risk that they were venomous. Frostbite seemed to exude a cold aura that kept them all relatively cool in the heat, which wasn’t quite as intense as the one surrounding Dodge City, but it was still hot. Greensprout diligently watched everyone’s health.

Midway into their hike, Turf War broke the silence. “Yo homegirl, you find anything else out ‘bout these weird-a** robots?”

“First of all, mind your language!” Quantum scolded. “Second, I’m afraid that whatever these technological entities are, they were created by some means that I cannot comprehend. Whoever made them had higher level of understanding of science and access to materials I’ve never seen before. It’s difficult to discern what we might be up against.”

“Doesn’t mean they can’t be destroyed. I mean, did you see Frostbite’s mess back in the mine? He sure made quick work of them. Who says we can’t?” Valkyrie said.

“I highly doubt they’re all quite so fragile, Valkyrie. Where there are grunts, there are always higher ranked troops.” Shroud said.

“How much of a fight did they put up with you, Frostbite?” Air Slash inquired.

“Admittedly….pretty big. They were more coordinated than you guys, that’s for sure.” Frostbite said.

“You had tough time with them on your own?” Kickback asked calmly.

“Pfft! No! All I did was blow on them, and they dropped like flies!” Frostbite scoffed.

“Ah thought when ya blew on somethin’, it just froze.” Kickback said.

Frostbite rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Real funny, smart aleck.” He said. “Point is that I trashed them easily, but I had to get a little creative, ok?”

“Message received…” Spiral muttered.

“I mean Valkyrie still got a good point. These things ain’t invulnerable.” Turf War said.

“It will simply be a matter of studying their weaknesses.” Greensprout said.

“I ONCE HAD A WEAKNESS!! IT WAS JUNGLE HIP-HOP!!” Crazylocks blurted.

“Err….. Me too…” Valkyrie mumbled. Crazylocks went about buzzing around again, largely ignoring her friends, which gave Valkyrie the opportunity to lean in and whisper. “Ok seriously, what happened to her?”

“Tell me too.” Bullseye said.

Fire Fight took a deep breath. “Prepare for some nightmare fuel.” He went into detail about their encounter Gene Splice minus the part where Shroud executed him, and how they were able to discern that Crazylocks was somehow a victim of his. He let Quantum Tech go into detail about how he must have tried to genetically engineer Crazylocks into an alicorn, resulting in her trimorphism and enhanced physical strength apart from her insanity. Frostbite listened in on their explanation, pretending to ignore them, but even he found himself a bit queasy at the thought of what she must have endured.

“Holy s***….” Bullseye mumbled while Valkyrie shook her head in disbelief and her jaw hanging.

“That’s…..wow. Poor filly.” Tidal Wave said.

Bullseye looked up at Crazylocks as she fluttered about without a care in the world. How great would her trauma have had to have been if she so actively repressed her memories? There were times when she secretly wished that she could block out her memories of her parents abuse despite claiming that her anger was the source of her strength. In a strange way, she both envied Crazylocks and felt sorry for her. She gritted her teeth as a burning question loomed in her mind. “What happened to the douchebag scientist?”

“W-Well….” Fire Fight was worried about what might happen if he told those who didn’t know yet.

“It’s ok, Fire Fight. I shouldn’t be so ashamed anymore.” Shadow Shroud said. She took a deep breath. “As per my duty as a Shadewalker…..I ended his life.”

“WHAT!?!” Greensprout exclaimed. “Air Slash, is that true!?”

Air Slash sighed as he recalled that heavy moment. “I’m afraid so. I wanted to stop her, but…..we would have been fools to let him live. If only you could have seen him, then you might not be so flustered.”

“I say serves him right! He better count whatever blessings he has left in hell that I wasn’t there!” Bullseye hissed.

“I’m….just gonna stay outta pony affairs like this.” Valkyrie said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, Greensprout. I didn’t want you to think I was just some cold-blooded killer, or any of us for that matter.” Shroud said.

“Yeah….We kinda wanted to forget about it anyway.” Fire Fight said.

“Ugh! That day was the worst!” Spiral said.

“Sure sounds like it was…” Tidal Wave commented.

“Sister, I….” Greensprout felt confused. She trusted her friends to make the right decision, but she knew how delicate of a topic death was. Her experiences so far had hardened however, and she wasn’t quite as judgmental as she would have been. “As long as you felt that it was the absolute right choice….I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.” Hearing this from her made Air Slash smile.

“Thank you, Greensprout. And you need not worry; my clan takes those kinds of matters very seriously.” Shroud said.

“How much you wanna bet he had a second cousin twice removed, and that’s who’s making these robots?” Valkyrie joked.

“Mm, Mm, Mm. That’d mean we’d have to come through and be like ‘how you doin’?’ right b’fore my hammer come out to say wassup and nail that b**** into the ground!” Turf War said.

“AHEM!” Quantum said, glaring authoritatively at Turf War.

Turf War winced. “Whoa!”

“Regardless of who we face, they shall receive our fullest might nevertheless. They are clearly a threat that must be checked, and we shall be the ones to pass judgment.” Zebota said.

Shrapnel suddenly perked up as he gazed at the top of a mesa towering right above them and started growling very aggressively, concerning everyone.

“What’s his problem?” Frostbite asked.

Zebota drew his boomerang as he followed his monster’s glare. “Up there!”

Everyone else’s attention was turned upwards, and they were met with the sight of a large silhouette falling towards them! “OUTTA THE WAY, Y’ALL!” Kickback shouted. They all jumped out the path of the black mass that nearly crushed them. When they stood back up, they were met with the sight of something as enigmatic as it was terrifying.

“<ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!!!!!!>”

Before them was a gigantic lion-like beast that barely towered Shrapnel…..but it was mechanical! Its black and red armor made it clear that it came from the same assembly line as the foot soldiers that laid in heaps in Frostbite’s cave, and its artificial roar was recognized by all to be the very same they heard last night before retreating into the cave. Despite being an artificial intelligence, its piercing glare stared at them like a predator ready to strike its prey.

Bullseye drew her bow and smiled wickedly. “Finally came out to play, huh? Good. ‘Cause we got a great game for ya. IT’S CALLED SENDING YOU CRYING INTO HELL!!!!!!” She fired an explosive arrow, but the beast swiped it out of the air, barely taking any damage. Bullseye’s rage only grew fiercer. “Ok, m***********!!”

The beast narrowed its eyes just before electrifying its claws and slamming them down on the ground. “<ROOOOOOOOORRRR!!!!!!>” The electric waves surged across the ground towards the foals, violently zapping them.

Air Slash, however, managed to absorb some of the lighting with his swords, and he managed to gather enough strength to counter the mecha’s attack. The electric sword beams stunned the beast for a moment as it malfunctioned. Greensprout released a large heal pulse that jumpstarted everyone’s parameters. “EVERYPONY, STAY STRONG!!” she shouted.

Shrapnel’s wooden body protected him from the electrical assault, and he charged the mechanical monster without needing word from his master. While it was stunned, Shrapnel crashed into it with all of his strength, throwing it to the ground. He clamped his jaws onto its right paw and managed to crush it, causing it to spark; he then ripped off some of the armor on its paw, but the beast quickly got up and body slammed Shrapnel right over the foals’ heads. “SHRAPNEL!!” Zebota exclaimed. He saw Greensprout running to his aid, so he turned his rage towards their opponent. “You will pay dearly for that!”

“Don’t be so hasty, darling!” Quantum Tech called out. She ran some scans on the beast, but every indiscernible reading she got on the foot soldiers and the floating orb were present here. All she could discern was that its armor had been worn down a little, apparently by the local sandstorms as indications of abrasion suggested, hence why it was so easily ripped off by Shrapnel. All she could do was charge her railguns and blast it with her magic turrets. “Nrgh! Just attack it!”
Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Air Slash, Crazylocks, Zebota, Bullseye, Tidal Wave and Frostbite came at it from all directions from the front. Turf War and Valkyrie hung in the back in case it jumped over the others so they could defend the backline, who was comprised of Quantum, Kickback, Spiral, and Greensprout who was still tending to Shrapnel. Kickback aimed for the small gaps between its armor in hopes that he could cripple it while Quantum put pressure on the machine as the attackers made their assault. Spiral had difficulty focusing her gravity bind onto it because it was moving so fast, so she opted to keep her eyes on it until she could charge a cosmic blast to obliterate it, which she did slowly due to being under the open sky.

Tidal Wave couldn’t find any aquifers below them for him to gather any water, so he had to rely on his reflexes and dexterity alone. He thrust his trident in the beast’s left shin, piercing its armor, but he panicked when he couldn’t pull it out. The mecha glared down at him. “Oh, crap!” It shook him off while he still clutched his spear, and he went flying towards its rear. The beast then smacked him away with its tail. “ARGH!” he skidded across the ground in an agonized heap.

“TIDAL WAVE!!” Spiral exclaimed. She gradually increased the charge speed of her nova beam while Greensprout went to his aid posthaste.

Zebota decided to sheathe his boomerang and load his sling, frustrated that he couldn’t call upon Nature to empower him. He went for the weakness Shrapnel had created and flung his ammo at the exposed paw, which hit, but it just ricocheted off of it without the beast so much as flinching. As it was distracted, Fire Fight jump kicked it in the left shoulder and followed up with a blast of fire when he landed. Shadow Shroud then slipped under its belly and slashed at what could be described as a tendon on the back of its left foot with her kama. It started blowing smoke, but the beast just jumped up without looking down.

As it was ready to strike down onto her, Quantum tech blasted her rails guns at it and threw it off balance. It wasn’t noticeably damaged, but it certainly felt some pain if machines could feel some sort of pain. Even though it barely managed to land on its feet, Crazylocks suddenly appeared beside it and grabbed its steaming paw and started shaking it up and down violently. “PLEASED TO MEET YOU! PLEASED TO MEET YOU! PLEASED TO MEET YOU! PLEASED TO MEET YOU!” She threw it over her head and slammed it into the ground, and then she sprouted her horn and blasted a magic wave at it that blew it across the sand towards Turf War and Valkyrie, who smirked when they were about to get their chance.

“DOGPILE!!” Valkyrie shouted. She and Turf War charged towards it and were ready to strike when it suddenly rolled over and swiped its electrified claw at them. Turf War smacked into with his shield, bouncing the shock back at the mecha and leaving an opening for the two of them to uppercut it with their weapons, knocking it onto its back.

Just before it had the chance to get up, Shrapnel suddenly jumped over the shield warriors and pounced onto his bestial opponent. He clamped his jaws into its armored chest and ripped off its protective metal plating, tossing it to the side. The beast struggled against the wooden titan as they savagely tried to bite at one another’s heads, and it was then that Kickback got an idea.

“FROSTBITE, FREEZE ITS PAWS TO THE GROUND!!!” Kickback shouted.

“Huh!? Why should I listen to-” Frostbite was about to protest when he suddenly caught onto Kickback’s plan. “Oh, you clever little…” He smirked deviously as he soared around the pinned mecha and blasted its four paws with powerful vomits of ice, cementing them to the ground. He froze its tail down for good measure.

“SHRAPNEL, COME!” Zebota ordered, and his monster followed suit.

Kickback tipped his hat at the restrained machine. “Nice knowin’ ya, partner.” He said. “OK, Y’ALL! SEND IT PACKIN’! YEEEEE-HAAAAAW!!!” He fired his electrified bullets into the exposed mechanical innards while Quantum fired her railguns, causing it to malfunction and let out continuous roars. It began to spark quite violently, so Frostbite covered it up with more ice.

That’s when Spiral knew it was her chance. “EVERYPONY, STAND CLEAR!!” Her horn shone like a miniature sun around them, and she fired her cosmic blasted. It raged beyond the beast as it quickly tore the machine apart little by little and blasted away the ice trapping it. When her storm subsided, little was left of the beast, and a mesa out in the distance suddenly toppled over from its base. Spiral needed to take only a few deep breaths before her headache began to mitigate. “Phew…”

“Everypony ok?” Fire Fight asked. They all nodded confidently, feeling pretty good about themselves. “Good call, Kickback.”

“Aww, shucks. It was nothin’, sheriff.” Kickback said. “Frostbite sure made everything easier. We oughta thank him too.”

Frostbite grinned at them smugly. “See? Told you guys you’d need me to protect you.”

Spiral walked up to Tidal Wave as he staggered to his hooves. “You okay, dude? That was a nasty hit.”

“Ugh…. Yeah, but I doubt it was the worst thing that could’ve happened. How about you?” Tidal Wave replied.

Spiral rubbed her head. “I’m ok. Thanks.” The two shared a little laugh.

Zebota held out his hoof and let Shrapnel lower his chin into it so he could scratch it. “Very well done, my friend. It seems I was wrong to doubt our strength. But nevertheless, We should still keep our guard up in this place.” Shrapnel howled in affirmation.

However, his howls seemed to be answered by three others, howls that sounded mechanical and pretty close. Suddenly, three more mecha lions jumped down in front of them, and the foals were ready to put up another fight, but then they noticed that they were accompanied by another entity floating above them……one that Valkyrie was flabbergasted to even see.

Fowl Play

Author's Notes:

Merry Christmas from me and the Battle Foals, everyone! Here's a new chapter to get the holidays going!

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. “<GASP!>” 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….

Captivity

Author's Notes:

Happy New Year, guys! I thought I'd kick 2018 off right with a new chapter for you!

The captive foals struggled dearly, but Skadi’s hi-tech snares were beyond their comprehension, and they thus couldn’t escape. The more aggressive members stubbornly tried to brute force their way to freedom, but the others decided to conserve their strength. Valkyrie was especially infuriated given the circumstances of who their captor was and nearly tired herself trying to break free, no doubt with the intent to snap the councilor’s neck. Skadi herself shook her head and rolled her eyes at the charade, as if it was nothing more than obnoxious background noise, which it likely was. Above all the foals collectively felt one thing: defeat.

“THERE’S A WORLD OF HURT WAITING FOR YOU ONCE I GET MY TALONS ON YOU, SKADI!!!” Valkyrie shouted.

Skadi sighed. “You’ve done a poor job telegraphing those feelings, my dear.” She said smarmily. When something came into sight, she smiled. “Ahh…. Home, sweet home.”

On the immediate horizon was a series of black spires and towers surrounded by blood-red light. As they drew closer, its shape became much clearer. The foals couldn’t mistake the images that Frostbite had described, who himself knew that he was in the right place. It was a titanic fortress of a city-like structure with buildings straight out of a sci-fi film. They were obviously comprised of the black metal that the robots were made of and had red lines running up them that seemed glow as if to indicate a flow of some kind of energy. Everything about it seemed so….otherworldly robotic that it felt strangely dead despite the activity.

As was suggested earlier by Skadi, the number of mechs around the metropolis was relatively few and far between, but still enough that she could put up a strong resistance if invaded. As they floated by in their aerial cages, the foals tried to map out and recognize what they could of the area, but everything looked too similar to even begin to plan an effective escape route. All they could do was quietly observe their surroundings until they were finally ushered into what they could only assume was a prison complex, or what Skadi was using as one at least; the giant mecha python slithered away to wherever. Their cages then stopped and hovered just above the floor when they came into a large hallway with cell blocks on either side, and Skadi stepped off of her platform.

“Now then, about those weapons of yours…” Skadi said. Two of the bipedal robots they had seen before marched from behind her and forcefully confiscated the foals’ weapons and armor despite how much they might have struggled against them. They all glared at her in their own way. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not going to destroy them. If anything their worth studying just for how well they must have served you thus far apart from your natural abilities.” She then eyed Zebota, whose brooch she didn’t take. “You’re lucky you’ll be useful for controlling that pet of yours.”

“Shrapnel and I will serve no purpose of yours, witch!” Zebota declared.

Skadi shook her head. “Tut, tut. And here I was thinking you were truly wise beyond your years, little zebra.” She reached into her coat and pulled out a small remote control and pressed a button on it. Shrapnel’s cage suddenly began shocking him violently, causing him to cry out in agony.

“SHRAPNEL!!” Zebota shouted. The shock lasted for a short moment before subsiding, leaving the wooden titan weak from the torture. He whimpered pitifully to his master. “You…” he hissed.

“Z-Zebota….just….go along with it for now.” Quantum Tech said.

Skadi smiled at her. “Ah! So you are the smart one. Not much surprise given the admittedly impressive little toy you’ve managed to construct for yourself.”

“Hmph! I’ll thank you not to refer to my work in such a demeaning manner.” Quantum said.

“Oh, yes! Pardon me, please.” Skadi said sarcastically. “Regardless, you’ll make a fine assistant. Having a mind second to my own will make studying and managing these astounding creations so much less of a chore.”

“Grrr….” Quantum Tech was reluctant, but she knew she’d have to cooperate with Skadi until they could all find a way to outsmart her. “If you insist….but only if it will not mean harming my friends”

Skadi chuckled. “So long as you all behave yourselves, I don’t think that will be an issue at all.” She pressed a button on her remote that released Quantum from her cage, dropping her to the floor. One of the robot guards then slipped an anti-magic cloth over her horn while the other must have used a security access it possessed to open some of the cell doors. The other foals save for Zebota and Shrapnel were floated into the cells, two each while Crazylocks was isolated before their cages were released and the doors behind them shut. Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy had magic inhibitors placed on their horns as well.

As she was being roomed with Valkyrie, Bullseye became frantically hostile as she watched Crazylocks be sent into a cell alone. “HEY!! SHE DOESN’T GO ALONE!! I’M WITH HER, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT!?!?” Skadi ignored her pleas and let their fates be sealed. The doors closed with a resounding thud, and Bullseye could only recall seeing Crazylocks’ manic eyes looking back at her, somehow able to sense her fear.

Skadi kept Zebota and Shrapnel in their cages as she ushered them and Quantum out of the hallway. “Troublesome friends you’ve made, little one.”

“They’re worth it.” Quantum said, heartbroken as she could only watch her friends be caged like animals.

In the cells, the cellmates consisted of Fire Fight and Turf War, Spiral Galaxy and Tidal Wave, Bullseye and Valkyrie, Air Slash and Greensprout, and Kickback and Frostbite. Valkyrie and Bullseye just about tired themselves from banging on their cell door in a fit of rage, as did Frostbite, who even tried blasting his way out with ice, but to no avail as the door barely even dented; Kickback just let him vent his anger as he solemnly but calmly sat in the corner. Turf War had wised up and didn’t even try, knowing that he couldn’t make a dent himself even with Fire Fight there to help him.

“Guys!? Can you all hear me?” Fire Fight called out. No answer. It stood to reason that Skadi must have soundproofed the rooms to prevent communication between them.

“Just me, bruh…” Turf War muttered. Fire Fight could tell that he felt more frustrated than anything else. He was suddenly reminded of when they first met and the blow to his pride he’d sustained during the whole incident with Officer Curfew. He slammed his hoof into the floor. “What the f*** we s’posed to do now!?”

“I…..I-I….don’t know….” Fire Fight felt more like a failure than ever. “Turf War, I’m….I’m so sorry.”

“Fo’ what?”

“I…..failed you guys…. We got captured by Skadi, and….” Fire Fight could feel a tear rolling down his face.

“Bruh, it’s cool.” Turf War said. “We been through worse, right? We just gotta-”

“But each time, we came out on top! Now we could be in more serious danger than we’ve ever been! All because we weren’t prepared for anything like this….” Fire Fight said. “You think maybe we just got in over our heads?”

“Uh-uh!” Turf War said. “C’mon! Where dat fearless leader I left Detrot behind fo’? Where that homie who picked me up when I was my lowest? Where he at? I know you ain’t ‘bout to start trippin’ just ‘cause we let ourselves get caged by a bird! It’s only her against fourteen o’ us! I know she got those whack-a** robots, but they ain’t doin’ nuttin’ but followin’ her orders. She ain’t s*** without ‘em. All we gotta do is bust ‘em up, n’ what she gonna do, peck us? I hope her breath is fresh.” His joke at the end made Fire Fight crack a little smile. “Point is that we just gotta keep our heads high, son. I don’t how we gonna beat her, but that Gene Splice m*********** ain’t had no weaknesses we exploited; we just beat his a** up ‘til Shroud made him rest in peace”

Turf War’s pep talk brought Fire Fight’s spirits back up, and he was reminded of the faith that even the princess of the night put in him. “Thanks, man…” he said, but then something immediately crossed his mind at the mention of Shadow Shroud’s name. “Wait….she was here with us……right?”

*****

Spiral Galaxy and Tidal Wave weren’t faring a whole lot better in their captive space. Spiral tried to remove the band from her horn, but Skadi must have laced it with some kind of adhesive that locked onto her horn, and it hurt. Tidal Wave tried to hide his anxiety by frantically examining the door for any weaknesses in its systems, but to no avail.

“O-Ok… Umm… Maybe this? N-No….crap. Alright. W-Well…” Tidal Wave felt especially naked now that he had been separated from his water gem.

“Tidal Wave….just stop.” Spiral muttered. “We can’t do anything right now.”

Tidal Wave turned to her, trying to keep a straight face. “Wh-Wh-What? What’re you talking about? Of course we can! We just….gotta figure out what it is we can do, you know?” he stammered.

“Don’t waste your energy, dude. We’ve just….gotta be patient and see what happens.” Spiral said.

“Spiral, don’t tell me you’re giving up! We can’t just let ourselves be held hostage like this!” Tidal Wave argued.

“I’m not giving up!” Spiral retorted. “But we barely have any idea of what to do, let alone what other kinds of nasty surprises might await us in here.”

“I-I know, but….” Tidal Wave began tearing up and fell to his hooves sobbing. Spiral went over and embraced him.
Spiral gently caressed his back as she let him cry out his fear. “I’m scared too…..” she whispered.

Tidal Wave sobbed on her shoulder for a moment before being able to speak. “I’m sorry….<sob>…. I just don’t know what else to do.” He sniffled a little bit, making his voice a little less muffled. “Maybe…..maybe I shouldn’t have left Cloudsdale. Maybe I just got excited about going on an adventure, and…..and this happened.”

Spiral lifted his head away so that she could face him. “Don’t talk like that, Tidal Wave. I know you’re braver than that.” She said. “You’ve been braver than I think you realize. You jumped all the way up from Cloudsdale, got information about Valkyrie, and saved us from those harpies all by yourself, not to mention that giant eel you said you fought. Plus, I don’t think Zebota would have given you a water-controlling brooch if he knew you had a fearful heart.” Tidal Wave seemed to calm down from Spiral encouraging him, and his sobbing became far less profuse. “And….I want you here, dude. You’ve…..been just a great friend and teammate. You more than have a place in the Battle Foals. I’ve been able to talk to you, meditate with you, laugh with you, all of that.”

Tidal Wave could notice her blushing a little bit, and he suddenly stopped crying altogether, especially when thinking about the few but memorable moments he’d shared with her and everypony else. “Yeah. You’re right…. Thanks….” He said.

“Yeah, man…” Spiral said. Tidal Wave was caught off guard when she suddenly kissed his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. “Any time.”

Tidal Wave found himself blushing as he processed what just happened, and he happily embraced Spiral back and started gently nuzzling her neck, which tickled her a little. Just then, something crossed his mind. “Wait….. Is it just me, or…. Was somepony not here?”

*****

Air Slash laid down on the cold metal floor, largely keeping to himself. Feeling powerless without his swords, he could only be occupied with his thoughts, contemplating any sort of plan of attack.

“Air Slash?” Greensprout said. “Are you okay?”

Air Slash simply eyed up to her. “Nevermind me. Are you?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Greensprout said. She laid down next to the sullen samurai and put her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Don’t despair. We’ll find a way out of this mess.”

“If I had been stronger…. We may not even in it to begin with.” Air Slash said. “I’m sorry, Greensprout.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. We couldn’t have seen this coming.” Greensprout said.

Air Slash sighed. “Forgive me, I….I suppose I’m not very used to failure.”

“We haven’t failed yet, Air Slash. I’m sure we’ll find a way to best her with time.” Greensprout said.

“Yes…” Air Slash said. He managed to crease a little smile. “I’m just glad you’re okay, Greensprout.” He lightly pecked her.

“You too.” Greensprout said. They warmly embraced for a moment before a thought popped into Air Slash’s head.

“Wait! Where was Shadow Shroud?”

*****

Bullseye and Valkyrie had put more dents in their fists than they did in their cell door, and they laid on the floor in pain and pure frustration. The atmosphere of their shared space was tainted with anger, betrayal, and despair. Bullseye managed to peek out of the little window in their door to see Crazylocks’ cell just across from theirs, but nopony was peeking back at her. Apart from that, Valkyrie was banging her fist on the ground, furious at Skadi for her treachery, and without her armaments or the Valhalla, she felt as though she had failed her bloodline.

“Skadi….” Valkyrie hissed. “Just wait ‘til I get my talons on you!”

“Save some room for me, feather face. I want to f*** her up too.” Bullseye said.

“I’m sure you all do.” Valkyrie said. “But I’ve got more of a bone to pick with her than the rest of you.”

Bullseye chuckled. “Not so much about your ancestry now, huh? Just want revenge? I like that.”

Valkyrie snarled at her. “Don’t think for a second that I’d stoop to your level. Skadi owes more to me and Griffonstone than you could imagine!”

“Yeah, yeah. I get the picture, but I’ve got rights to her bones too. She took my bow and locked Crazylocks up by herself.” Bullseye said.

“It’s more than that…” Valkyrie said. “When I was little, my dad had the Valhalla, and one day, we got attacked by a swarm of harpies. We managed to push them back, but….he got mortally wounded in the process. I inherited that thing with the burden of carrying his regrets. And now…” Valkyrie let a tear roll down her face as she thought of that tragic day. “I couldn’t even protect his honor from being spat on by some stupid traitor, nevermind Siegfried.”

Bullseye softened up a little on the inside, but not so much that she expressed any sympathy. “So wipe away that spit and throw back in her face. I’m sure your dad and Siegfried got s*** on by all sorts of stuff before they beat them right back. I know I sure would.”

“Yeah, but you just care beating up everything you don’t like.” Valkyrie said.

“Example A: Skadi, and I’ve got a damn good reason for not liking her. Same went for my parents and those robots. So yeah, I’m just an angry little b****; sue me, but even I don’t get pissed without reason, unless it’s just Monday, but whatever.” Bullseye said. “It doesn’t change the fact that you and have both want Skadi’s throat.”

Valkyrie thought for a moment and smiled. “Yeah….true. Tell you what, first one to catch her has her way with the old hag.”

Bullseye wickedly snickered. “Sounds fun, but just warning you, I play real dirty.”

“I figured.” Valkyrie said. “Just try to leave her alive if you win. She needs to face trial before the kind for her
transgressions.”

Bullseye smiled sadistically. “I’ll try…”

*****

Frostbite kept blasting a bashing at his cell door with all of his draconic strength and ice powers, but he could only scratch the paint. As he was becoming tired, his frustration only grew. “Rrgh! You gotta be kidding me!”

Kickback calmly sat in the corner watching him. “Simmer down, partner.”

“Why!? I’m making progress!” Frostbite exclaimed. “He clawed away at the door with the same results as before. “It’s not much, but….”

“Yer just gonna wear yerself out. Just be patient, n’ somethin’ will come to us.” Kickback said.

Frostbite leered at him. “How can you be so calm? How are you not angry or worried?” he demanded.

“Would it help?” Kickback asked.

“Oh, wise guy, huh?” Frostbite said.

“So yer scared?” Kickback inquired.

“Wh-What!? No! Don’t be ridiculous! I-I’m just trying to get us out of here!” Frostbite stammered.

“Don’t need to hide it, partner. It’s better than actin’ like a dang fool.” Kickback said.

“Pfft! You’re one to talk, mister calm and collected. I bet you’re shaking like a leaf on the inside!” Frostbite accused.

Kickback lowered his hat. “Ah’d be lyin’ if I said I wasn’t a little bit worried, but Ah’d rather still be thinking with mah mind n’ not my muscles. They don’t matter right this minute.”

Frostbite growled as he realized that Kickback was right. He wanted to be able to do something, but right now, he was about as helpless as a dragon hatchling. “I really can’t do anything, can I?”

“Well now what makes ya say that?” Kickback said.

Frostbite heavily sighed. “Ok, I’ll come clean. Yeah, my ice breath pretty much put me at the bottom of the food chain. Every dragon would find some kind of pathetic excuse to humiliate me, tease me, or even steal food from me, all because I wasn’t ‘cool’ or anything. I finally got the guts to pack up and leave, far away where no one could find me. I heard that they’ve become a little more reasonable since Ember came into power, but….”

Kickback raised his hat and looked the drake in his eyes. “Well, Ah’m awful sorry that happened to ya, Frostbite.”

“Tch. I don’t need your pity. I know I’m tough and capable and…..cool.” Frostbite said. He held back tears recalling the torment he’d endured.

“Well, that’s good! It means yer spirit’s strong too. That’s always a plus in mah book.” Kickback said.

Frostbite chuckled. “Yeah, you just watch me! I’ll tear this whole to the ground and freeze it over so it can’t rise again!” he declared. Kickback simply smiled and tipped his hat in response, but then something crossed the icy drake’s mind. “Hey….was that ‘Shadow Shroud’ filly with us?”

Meanwhile….

Just outside of Skadi’s fortress high atop a mesa, Shadow Shroud and Dark Veil quietly observed their surroundings. Both were terrified that such a place could exist, but their common goal kept their nerves steady, as did their discipline.

Shadow Shroud noticed the robotic python that was responsible for her friends’ capture. “That little pest is going to be our biggest problem. We have to do away with it somehow first and foremost.”

“Leave it to me. I may not be as light on hooves as you are, but I was a ruling tyrant in combat training.” Dark Veil said.

Shroud chuckled. “Suddenly I remember struggling against you.” She said. “I gathered that Skadi is short on resources for how big of a force she controls, so I don’t think we’ll have to worry about very heavy reinforcements.”

“But an alert to an intruder’s presence would certainly prompt her to tighten security, making those foals far less accessible.” Dark Veil added. “So Robo Snake is gonna have to be dealt with quietly.”

“That, and I need to locate my friends first and see what their situation is.” Shroud said.

“And if we encounter Skadi, we kill her.” Dark Veil said.

“Not so fast, rookie. She’s a citizen of Griffonstone, and her offenses are more immediately directed towards them. They should decide her fate.” Shroud said. “Though that’s not to say that she shouldn’t be impaired to any degree. We may have to improvise…..a lot.”

“Hmm…..true.” Dark Veil said. “Alright, once the guards on this side start to become more sparse, we’ll get closer and see if we can’t find a way in.”

Shroud nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Walk with the shadows, brother.” She said as she and Dark Veil donned their masks and quietly made their way down to the desert floor.

Infiltration

Dark Veil and Shadow Shroud carefully descended down the mesa, jumping to every foothold they could see before they reached the ground. Once at the foot of the mesa, they quickly hid behind a pile of sandstone boulders that were just in front it and facing the fortress. The long stretch of sand between them and the fortress walls was occupied by more than a few robots patrolling the area, but the sun was passing over the sky in such a way that the mesa’s shadow began casting over it all. The two ninjas used that opportunity to quietly hurry over to the fortress wall. As they did, they caught the sight of a sewage pipe that looked just low enough for them to climb into and stopped right under it; there was thankfully nothing draining out, and their midnight cloaks made them practically invisible to the robots.

Reaching into his cloak, Dark Veil pulled out a kusarigama and threw the hooked blade into the pipe. When it latched onto something, he pulled himself up by the chain, letting Shadow Shroud follow him. He pulled the rest of his tool up and removed the blade from the catwalk it had hooked onto.

“Hmm… If there’s a walkway here, that probably means that someone comes down here.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Probably a maintenance drone, if I had to guess. We should keep our senses sharp.” Dark Veil said as he sheathed his kusarigama.

“Don’t need to tell me twice.” Shroud said.

“Right then. Fillies first.” Dark Veil said.

Shadow Shroud kept a good ways ahead of her partner, scouting every turn before motioning for him to follow. From the looks of it, this particular tunnel didn’t seem to be functioning at all right now, likely due to the lack of resources and activity on Skadi’s part. The only noise to be heard was the light footsteps of the cloaked duo as they navigated through the darkness. However, that didn’t stop a couple security drones from passing through here. They were strikingly similar to the orb that Bullseye had seized, and Shadow Shroud and Dark Veil quickly hid themselves as soon as they heard one and didn’t move until it had vanished from their range of perception. Eventually, they felt a breeze blow through, and when they turned the corner, there was a vent covered by grate that led to the outside. They peered through it find that they were just below one of the ‘streets’ of this enigmatic place. Scanning around, they determined that it pretty empty, but they couldn’t find a way to get the grate off as it was bolted tighter than they thought possible.

“Damn… Heck of an engineer this place had.” Dark Veil commented.

“There has to be a way to the surface from down here.” Shroud said. Just before she could turn away to scout ahead again, she caught the glimpse of something moving in the distance. She gasped when she could make out what it was. “Skadi!” Sure enough, it was the malicious hen being followed by Quantum Tech and a captive Zebota and Shrapnel along with her seized mech suit. “Oh no…” She observed her for a moment and watched as she was scanned by a fan of red light that emitted from a door to a large facility before it opened, and they disappeared into the darkness it revealed.

“Guess we have a place of interest already.” Dark Veil said.

“Now it’s just a matter of getting there.” Shroud said.

Just as they continued making their way down the tunnel, they heard metal footsteps clanging on the catwalk, and they hid under it without a moment’s hesitation. Moments later, a foot soldier approached until it was just above them and stopped. It started looking around as though it suspected their presence, and just as it started to look down, Dark Veil took action; he leapt onto the catwalk, threw the robot to the floor judo-style and jammed two kunai into its head all in one swift motion, rendering it impotent before it could take any action.

Shadow Shroud joined him up there. “You’re promoted.” She teased.

Dark Veil rolled his eyes. “What a thing for you to say.” The two worked quickly to hide the ‘body’ under the catwalk before resuming their venture.

There were thankfully no more sentries to speak of until they reached what looked like a small blast door that said something in an indecipherable language neither of them had seen before. In…teresting…” Shroud said.

Dark Veil examined the door. “This probably our ticket out, but….how to open it.” Suddenly a fan of red light emitted from a red bulb in the door that panned downward from the ceiling, and they jumped out of the way before it could pass over them. It then disappeared as quickly as it appeared. “Hmm… Just like with Mother Goose.”

“So perhaps…” Shadow Shroud listened in the darkness as she could hear the distinct humming of one of the floating security orbs approaching. She nodded to Dark Veil before going under the catwalk, and Dark Veil jumped up and hung from the ceiling with his kusarigama drawn. As the security drone passed over, Shadow Shroud struck the catwalk with her kunai, causing the bot to stop where it was and look below it. That’s when Dark Veil swung the blade end of his kusarigama down at it, hooking it onto the blade as it short circuited. Shadow Shroud then quickly ran in front of the door, which prompted its scanning light to activate just after she was able to hide under the cat walk again. It passed over the hanging drone, and the door began opening. The two ninjas seized their opportunity. Dark Veil fell back down to the ground and threw the destroyed drone below the catwalk where Shroud emerged from, and they both jumped through the door before it could begin to close.

It closed behind them, and they took a sigh of relief. “Good thinking.” Dark Veil said.

“I have my moments.” Shroud said. She looked around and saw that they had entered a short hallway. They snuck along opposite walls and peered out to see that they had stumbled across a room filled with foot soldiers, mecha lions and a few other varieties of mechs lined across the floor in packs according to their model. Some resembled more insectoid beings while others were bigger foot soldiers and avians. “Are they…awake?”

“I don’t think so.” Dark Veil whispered. “Still, we should move quietly.”

They shuffled around the dark room, watching the robots closely for any signs of life as they searched for a vantage point to look outside. Beyond them was an enormous door that no doubt led outside, but they knew they’d blow their cover if they made such a grand entrance, so they searched for anything akin to a personnel door. However, the massive door suddenly began opening, and the two ducked for cover behind some supply crates. They peeked around to see that it was the giant mecha python that had captured the Battle Foals. Shroud gritted her teeth at the very sight of it. It slithered into the hangar, careful not to knock over its smaller siblings as it eventually reached a bizarre looking structure that resembled a weird hybrid of a pipe organ and a furnace. It opened its mouth as it bent down to the machine, and it began absorbing red energy from it.

“So that’s how it feeds, huh?” Shroud whispered.

“So it’s how we’re gonna weaken it.” Dark Veil said. He tried to crawl to another box of crates to get a closer look, but one of his kunai accidently dropped out of his cloak and hit the floor, the clang loudly echoing throughout the hangar. He quickly picked it up and leapt behind a crate just before the python could look his way, only to look intently in that direction for nothing for a tense moment. Shadow Shroud nearly had a heart attack until the python decided that it was nothing and slithered out of the hangar, the door closing behind it.

Shroud shuffled over to her partner. “You’re demoted.” She scoffed.

Dark Veil rolled his eyes. “Enough of that. I want to see if we can do anything with that feeding bowl.”

Shroud nodded. “Without further delay….or mistakes preferably.” She said. Dark Veil just blew off her joked as they snuck towards the futuristic feeder. Upon reaching it, they examined it only to find more messages in the odd language written around it, and they couldn’t discern how exactly it functioned or even what exactly it did apart from generate food energy for the robots.

“Tch. Figures…” Dark Veil muttered.

“We really should find my friend, Quantum Tech. She’d at least have an idea of what to do.” Shroud said. She then noticed that within the ‘furnace’ part that the python fed out of, there was a large crystal floating that was being held aloft by whatever ‘magic’ was used by the machine. “And I might have an idea of what to ask her about.”

“I bet she’d know where your other friends are being held too.” Dark Veil said.

“I suppose I’d better find her then, shouldn’t I?” Shroud said.

“What? You can’t really be thinking about going solo.” Dark Veil said.

“Bigger numbers means we can be detected more easily. Plus, we’ve already located a key area for Skadi’s forces to fall back to. One of us needs to stay here and maintain the strategic position.” Shroud said.

Dark Veil shook his head. “No. It’s too dangerous. Plus, I can’t let you out of my sight and get away.”

“Ugh… Can you swallow your pride and forget about my so called ‘treason’ for even a moment? We’re fairly occupied at the moment.” Shroud said.

Dark Veil gritted his teeth, frustrated that she had a point that he’d have to concede to given the situation. “Rrgh… Alright, fine. I’ll keep a low profile, but don’t come crying back to me if there’s a horde of those sentries blasting at your flank.”

“Because you’d come to my aid anyway, correct?” Shroud asked.

Dark Veil sighed. “Whether I like or not, prodigy.”

Shroud rolled her eyes. “There’s that word again. Whatever. Be careful.”

Dark Veil nodded. “You too.” With that, Shadow Shroud found a maintenance door that looked like it had been weathered open and was ever so slightly ajar, allowing to sneak out undetected when she was satisfied that the coast was clear. When she disappeared, Dark Veil sighed and shook his head in disappointment. “Mistress Demosia must’ve had such high hopes for you, kid.”

*****

With a spiral of fear and frustration churning in her heart, Quantum Tech reluctantly followed Skadi as she strutted down the hallway of whatever facility this was with the captive Zebota and Shrapnel and her mech suit in tow. She had discreetly turned her glasses back on, and she was able to analyze her surroundings even better with data retrieved from the orb they’d captured before when she analyzed it prior. They were being supplied with some kind of artificially produced radiation that could be contained with crystals for storage and were connected to some network that Skadi no doubt controlled. However, much of the codes and data were written in a bizarre language that even she couldn’t even begin to decipher, much less recognize. She noticed that messages written in the language were written over doors and windows to dark offices.

“If I may be so bold, Skadi…” she started.

“Yes?” Skadi lengthily asked, as if to show impatience with a slave.

“What is this odd language I’m observing? Are you able to read it?” Quantum asked.

“The language spoken by whoever first constructed this fortress, obviously.” Skadi answered. “Though I’m not actually able to read it, I did gain something of an affinity for it over time as I studied this place and became more attuned to its technology.”

“I-I see…” Quantum stammered.

Skadi chuckled. “Pardon me if I’m a tad….disappointed, Quantum Tech.”

Quantum’s eyes widened. “Wh-Why’s that?”

Skadi deviously eyed her. “As a fellow enthusiast of science in all of its forms, I was expecting that you’d be far more excited at the prospect of a place such as this existing. It’s practically a gold mine for you and I.”

“W-Well…it is, but…” Quantum stammered. She looked over at Zebota and Shrapnel. Both of them just floated in their cages in defeat. She knew they were a humble duo, so she had faith that they were merely biding their time.

“But what?” Skadi growled.

Quantum flinched. “W-Well, it’s just…. I-I suppose it’s so unfamiliar that it…..it honestly frightens me.”

Skadi stared at her for a brief, tense moment before creasing a smile. “I suppose it’s only natural to fear what we don’t understand.” She chuckled. “Not to worry, child. You’ll have plenty of time to assimilate yourself to this unique environment.” She said as they walk through double doors leading to a large room. It appeared to be a command center filled with monitors and control tables. On the monitors, there were images of an outdoor field that reminded Quantum Tech of a stadium. She suspected it was something else long before until sandstorms filled it with sand.

“My word…” Quantum muttered to herself, trembling at just what kind of a place this could’ve been.

Skadi turned to one of her guards. “Take these two out into the arena.” The robot soldiers bowed to her and took custody of the mystic duo. As they were escorted out of a doorway on the other side of the room, Zebota looked back at Quantum, eyeing her with that same mellow determination he’s always exuded. Feelings a little more hopeful, she nodded at him before the doors closed.

Skadi chuckled. “How sweet.” She tauntingly cooed. “Though I fail to see how you’d find it in yourself to have any sort of care for savages.” Quantum glared at her for saying that. “I’m going to have collect data as it presents itself during some…‘experiments’ while I oversee their procedures.” She directed her towards one of the control consoles.

Quantum reluctantly took a seat at the computer presented to her. “Very well…” she lowly growled.

Skadi lowly cackled, feeling victorious. “I suppose I should instruct on how to operate this device. It’s actually quite simple, for ones such as you an eye anyway.”

Quantum listened intently as she was taught what keys meant what and when and why to press them, all child’s play to her despite the foreign nature of the technology and language. Skadi briefly excused herself to check on a computer that seemed to be experiencing an error, and that’s when Quantum felt a familiar presence looming around her. She looked around and caught a glimpse of a pair of amethyst eyes gleaming in a dark corner staring right at her. She gasped when she realized who it could only be. The eyes disappeared when Skadi started making her way back.

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys! Real quick, I don't know if you saw or not, but I wrote a little Pokémon crossover just for fun. Here's a link:

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/395633/flurry-heart-and-the-original-one

Experiment

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys. Really sorry this one took so long. A new semester started for me, and it's gonna be pretty busy. I really hate that I've been doing this in the latter half of the story, but do know I keep this story in mind as a responsibility. Hope you still enjoy!

Quantum Tech waited with silent impatience as Skadi typed away on a keyboard, presumably readying one of the ‘experiments’ she alluded to. Knowing that it must have been Shadow Shroud hiding in the dark corners, she glanced back and forth between the heinous hen and the shadow where she saw her friend’s eyes for a moment before she saw them gleaming again. A quick thermal scan as well as a prompt from her glasses’ facial recognition confirmed that it was indeed Shroud.

Quantum raised her eyebrows and mouthed ‘hey!’ at her, acknowledging that she noticed her. She noticed that the night-clad filly seemed to be motioning some kind of gesture, but she wasn’t sure what. Looking back at Skadi to make sure she wasn’t looking, Quantum squinted to see that Shroud was pointing to one of the energy crystals being held in a container beside the massive main computers. She wasn’t quite sure what her friend was trying to say.

“Something the matter, little one?” Quantum whipped around when she heard Skadi’s voice right behind, and sure enough, there she was standing right over her.

“Huh!?” With her mind moving faster due to being startled, Quantum realized what Shroud must have been trying to telegraph to her. “Oh! N-Not at all. I just don’t recall you explaining anything about those crystals. Are they the energy source of this facility?”

Skadi looked over at the crystal. “In…a manner of speaking. Their function is more akin to a battery than a generator, although a very…. How to put this….. The simplest I could put it is that they act as regulators that prevent overflows of energy while storing it at the same time for later consumption. The mechs absorb it like nectar to sustain themselves.”

“I see…” Quantum said. “And just what is the energy source it regulates?”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis until I can trust that you won’t mutiny against me.” Skadi said.

“Y-Yes, of course…” Quantum said. She looked at the crystal and scanned it for data unbeknownst to Skadi as she went back to another computer. Her captor seemed to be telling the truth as to the nature of the crystals, but she couldn’t quite discern the energy it was storing. Her glasses couldn’t decide whether it was geothermal or solar energy, which baffled her. Just what was this place?

However, she was able to analyze its structural integrity, and she made an important discovery. “Shadow Shroud, it’s brittle.” She silently mouthed. Her shadow-clad friend nodded. Quantum found that the sheer flow of energy made the crystals rather fragile, and she could only guess that she also overheard Skadi’s explanation of what they were and their functions. Even if she couldn’t see her, Quantum could feel Shroud’s presence disappear from the vicinity.

“It seems we’re ready.” Skadi said.

Quantum gulped. “F-For what?”

“For the first experiment, of course. Take a look.” Skadi eyed towards the monitor overlooking the arena.

Quantum Tech looked at the monitor and gasped when she saw Zebota and Shrapnel being ushered into the arena by guards. They released them from their cages and gave Zebota his equipment back, but the two wisely didn’t fight back, knowing that trying to get away without a plan and with so much security around them would be suicide. “What’s going on?”

Skadi just chuckled. A moment later, a mech strutted into the arena opposite of Zebota and Shrapnel’s position. However, it was not the familiar lion model they’d encountered before; it more ursine, resembling a bear and it was only a little bigger than Shrapnel. Zebota looked at it with confusion while Shrapnel viciously snarled at it. “Tell me, dear. How does a beast made of wood so easily tear into a being comprised of superior metal?” Skadi asked.

“Erm…” Quantum pondered for an answer. It seemed like such a simple question, but her friendship with Zebota often overrode her curiosity about his powers. Not to mention that Shrapnel seemed a little tougher than he probably should be, even for a timberwolf like him. “N-Nature power?” she stammered.

Skadi sighed disapprovingly. “That’s all? Such a simple answer from such a sophisticated mind? Beyond disappointing.” She said. “I concede that I know nothing about the nature of his…well, nature magic, but you have surely seen it firsthand on numerous occasions. Don’t tell me you’ve denied your own curiosity.”

“I-I haven’t. It’s just…. It’s such a remote form of magic that I’m not sure how I would go about studying it.” Quantum said.

“Holy Siegfried…” Skadi muttered. “Well, needless to say, I think you’ll get sufficient data from this experiment. Hehehehe…” Quantum Tech couldn’t help but worry about her friend considering the situation he and Shrapnel had been put in. Given what was being shown on the monitor, she could only guess what was about to happen…

In The Arena…

Zebota and Shrapnel faced their ursine adversary, knowing the ensuing scrap that would ensue. Shrapnel ferociously growled at it while Zebota stared it down in subdued rage. Unlike most creatures which he would fight with honor, he had no issue unleashing his wrath on an abomination such as this. Despite not having access to his elemental magic, he didn’t fear his foe as he readied his boomerang.

“Those who believe themselves to be invincible are the most vulnerable. This should take little effort.” Zebota said.

“<HOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!>”

“<RAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRR!!!!!!!!!>”

Shrapnel and the mecha bear roared and howled over each other before charging at one another. They collided into one another with almost cataclysmic force, biting into each other’s jaws as they violently wrestled. Zebota threw his boomerang when he saw an opportunity just as Shrapnel and the mecha bear jumped away from each other, and his boomerang managed to strike one of its eyes and crack the lens. It still functioned, but the bear was obviously going to have some vision troubles. It flinched when it realized the damage it had sustained, giving Shrapnel an opening to attack. The wooden titan launched himself at the mech in such a way that he was right under its chin, and he clamped his jaws onto its neck as he thrust himself upward, forcing the bear off of its forelegs. He tried to tear the bear’s head off, but ended up throwing it to the side and staggering from his opponent’s weight.

Against his better judgment, Zebota charged into the fray wielding his tomahawk, but not before he threw his boomerang once more. It cut a cord under the bear’s arm as it was lifted it to strike Shrapnel. The mech managed to get a clean hit on Shrapnel as it was unbothered by one of its components being destroyed. Steam spewed out like a constant geyser, and yet it still managed to keep its strength. “What!?” Zebota thought to himself as he leapt forward to strike into its armor, but it jumped back and blasted him with a concentrated sound wave, blowing him back. “AAH!!”

Shrapnel had recovered from his blow when he saw his master be blown back and pounced when the bear was distracted and rammed into it, knocking it onto its side and exposing its underbelly. Shrapnel wasted no time tearing into it with his jaws, and Zebota, who got back on his hooves very quickly joined him and chopped into the softer wires and cords with his tomahawk. The bear started to feel the effects of the first cut cord set in; it lost movement in its right arm as it tried to get up, and that section of its body started overheating. It started roaring in pain as it desperately tried to pick itself up with Zebota and Shrapnel tearing into it.

But it couldn’t. Its programming told it to take drastic measures, and it initiated a self-destruct sequence. Its eyes rhythmically flashed a few times before alarms starting sounding from around its body, prompting the mystic duo to fall back. Shrapnel stood between the mech and his master just as it exploded, shielding Zebota from the blast. Very little debris actually struck him, but what did hit him he endured easily.

After the explosion subsided, Shrapnel collapsed from exhaustion. “Shrapnel!!” Zebota exclaimed. He checked on his beast; there were some nasty gashes and bruises here and there, but he knew such injuries meant little to Shrapnel’s durable body, even if it was wooden. “My friend…. I am sorry. I did so little, and you paid dearly.”

Shrapnel let out a whimper. “<Regret nothing, master. My strength surpasses yours, so I must be the one to protect you. I only regret that it wasn’t what it should have been.>”

“Do not say such things, my friend.” Zebota said. “We are caught in a trap, and I can do little to protect you or our friends at this time. You rely on me to make important decisions, but….I do not have the power to carry out any decisions I may make.”

“<Then we can only search for a weakness until then.>” Shrapnel grunted.

Zebota sighed. “Even if we do….these unliving, soulless beasts are…..I loathe to say this, but they are formidable beings, and Nature is not here for us.”

Shrapnel growled. “<Then perhaps…..we should call Nature here to us.>”

Back in Skadi’s Control Room…

Quantum Tech was in complete shock as to what she just witnessed. She had faith that Zebota and Shrapnel could fell their foe, but to see them be forced to fight as mere guinea pigs made her feel sick.

“Well?” Skadi said. Quantum looked at her to see her smug grin awaiting a response. “How’s that for data gathering?”

Quantum Tech looked at the computer she was assigned to. The data she received was ambiguous, but it seemed to be recording of the combatants’ battle parameters. There wasn’t a whole lot since it didn’t last very long, but what she did get were readings of how Zebota’s focus moved in such a way that it allowed him to make the precise throws of his boomerang that he did, Shrapnel’s stamina, the trauma they’d received when they were attacked by the bear, and even what appeared to be the magic within Shrapnel that gave him sentience. It was bare bones stuff compared to what it all could have been, but it was still amazing nonetheless.

However….. Quantum Tech, in all the excitement she felt from the scientific knowledge before her, felt a little….uneasy. “D-Don’t you think this a tad extreme, Skadi?”

Skadi’s grin dropped into an angry frown. She marched over to Quantum and stood right over her threateningly. “Extreme actions yield extreme results, little filly. How are we going to learn anything, if we don’t put aside the morals holding us back for even but a moment? Would your Princess Luna still be in her sister’s shadow if she never became the Nightmare Moon? I’d imagine Princess Celestia had a lot to think about after being forced to exile her own flesh and blood. If you ask me, Nightmare Moon was a grand personal accomplishment of the good princess of the moon.”

Quantum mustered all the courage she could to not curl up into a ball despite how scared she was. “I-I suppose so, but what do they have to do with any of this?”

“It was just an example, dear, but a relevant one if I do say so myself, After all, King Grover will have a lot to think about once my army and I invade Griffonstone, now won’t he?” Skadi hissed.

Internally, Quantum had never been so furious in all her life. If she was willing to endanger lives just to get her point across, what would she do to get what she wanted? She wanted nothing more than to take control of Skadi’s mechs and throw them all her way, but she couldn’t bring herself to let that hate let loose. She had to remain strong for her friends and not give in to her emotions, even if it meant putting their lives at risk. “If you insist…” she muttered.

Skadi eased up and lightly chuckled. “I knew you’d see reason eventually.” She sneered. “Now then, on to the next.”

Back in the Armory

Shadow Shroud quietly snuck back through the broken door that she had exited through before, and she found Dark Veil calmly waiting for her by the furnace-like construct where the python had fed from. Armed with the knowledge she had ‘stolen’ from Skadi, she quietly approached him.

“Have a nice tour?” Dark Veil asked.

“It was lovely.” Shadow Shroud said. “I acquired some intel that might serve useful. Sorry I didn’t send a postcard, hehe. Did you behave while I was gone?”

Dark Veil sighed and rolled his eyes. “Nothing happened except for a couple more of those robo lions coming in for a snack.”

“Speaking of snacks, that’s where my intel comes in.” Shroud said. She explained to Dark Veil how she learned about the battery like nature of the crystals and how they were structurally unstable from the vast energy flow passing through them. “If we crack this one, we might be able to trick the python into overeating, thus giving us an opportunity to exterminate the pest.”

“I wouldn’t be shocked if this thing was rigged to an alarm, so doing now would be stupid. And even if it wasn’t,the python will just see that something is wrong with its feeding trough and call for security.” Dark Veil said.

“Then we’ll have to surprise it while it’s feeding.” Shroud said.

Dark Veil looked around the feeding machine and pondered how they would go about doing that. “Hmm….” He looked around the hangar as well and all the optimal places he and Shroud could hide and prepare some kind of strike. “How fragile is this thing supposed to be exactly?” he asked.

“Quantum Tech said it was brittle, so I can only imagine that means it’ll break easily. Why?” Shroud answered. She then looked around as he colleague did and got wind of his though process. “Oh… You clever son of a gun.”

Sparks of Hope

Fire Fight and Turf War sat in silence in there prison cell with the latter fidgeting anxiously and tapping his hoof on the floor, waiting for any action as he had given up on breaking down the door while the former just calmly leaned against the wall, internally lamenting the first obvious defeat he and his team had suffered while lost in thought as to what to do about the current situation. Time seemed to slow to a snail’s pace as even their softest breaths could be heard from across the room.

Suddenly, they heard metal footsteps clanging towards their door. Turf War perked up aggressively while Fire Fight just lifted his head towards the door. “Things ‘bout to go down, homie…” Turf War said.

“Looks like it.” Fire Fight said.

Just then, the door opened, and before them stood two of the robot guards, one of them motioning for the foals to exit their cell, which they did cautiously. The guards ushered them down the hall as another duo of the robots opened the door to Crazylocks’ cell, but instead of the manic filly walking out, one of them, carried her out in an unconscious state. The two colts decided to be quiet about the scenario and just go with the flow. Bullseye apparently didn’t agree with their line of thinking as she banged on her cell door with extreme animosity.

“YOU PUT HER THE F*** DOWN YOU BUCKET OF BOLTS!!!” Bullseye shouted. One of the robot guards reacted by smacking her door with a stun baton it detracted from its arm, causing a burst of sparks to flash violently for a moment.
The colts were shocked when they didn’t hear any sort of retaliation from the half-blind berserker.

The colts and Crazylocks were escorted out of the hall by the guards and separated them from the rest of the foals when the closed the hallway door behind them.

Back in Bullseye and Valkyrie’s cell, the angry archer wasn’t exactly happy about being told off by electricity and foamed at the mouth, furious as how powerless she had been rendered.

“You done yet, Cyclops?” Valkyrie said.

“Rrrgghh….. Can it, feather-face. We’ve gotta figure out a way to break out of here and rip Skadi a new one.” Bullseye growled.

“What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?” Valkyrie asked.

“Picturing ways that b**** could be maimed?” Bullseye guessed.

“Besides that.” Valkyrie said.

“Tch! Well, if ya got anything spit it out.” Bullseye said.

“Wish I could, Bullseye. Don’t suppose you’ve been thinking much?”

“Nrgh!” Bullseye gritted her teeth as she impatiently looked around the cell. In her frustration, she almost didn’t notice that the electronic lock to their cell door was sparking a little, causing it to rapidly unlock and relock before the static dissipated and the system corrected itself. Bullseye slowly creased a wicked smile as she realized what was possible. “Heheheheeee… You thinking what I’m thinking, bird-brain?”

Valkyrie, having noticed the opportunity that her cellmate did wiped her nose and smiled deviously. “I’d say it’s worth a shot.”

Somewhere in the Fortress…

Fire Fight and Turf War had been led outside, still unarmed and inhibited as they were ushered by the guards. They got a better look at their current playing field from somewhere that wasn’t locked in a cage, flying or otherwise. It looked like what they could imagine Canterlot looking like in a very distant, very dystopian future with effigies of bizarre bipedal beings that they could only presume were the people that originally built this place towering into the red sky. It looked to be a much different area of the city than the section they observed as they were whisked away in their cages, which compared to this scenery seemed more industrial. Their current surroundings had an atmosphere akin to a shopping district or some kind of social plaza. The statues were too worn down to ascertain any other defining features of these apparent precursors, but what was even more unclear was how they could have possibly disappeared with how prosperous their society must have been. Could the cause have been something they could turn against Skadi and her forces?

Eventually, they came to a big stadium-like structure and were ushered onto a platform connected to a large metal cable that extended further into the long, dark tunnel before them. The guards stepped off of the platform and pressed a button on the control panel that caused the platform to start moving along the cable, and from the corners erected tall nodes that served no apparent purpose.

Just as the colts were able to seize the opportunity to see if Crazylocks was alright, she suddenly awoke. “Huh!?”

“Whoa! Hol’ up!” Turf War and Fire Fight jumped back from shock, and it was then that they noticed that she had a black collar around her with a small red light right in the area of her adam’s apple. “The f***?”

Crazylocks took a moment to observe her surroundings, her head moving very unnaturally and cartoony, not that it was unnatural for her. “Did we finally build our mud soup factory?”

Fire Fight sighed, relieved that Crazylocks was still herself….for better or for worse. “N-No, Crazylocks. Skadi is holding captive, remember?”

“Oh, right! I should so tell Bullseye. She’s gonna flip!” Crazylocks said.

“I hope she don’t flip nothin’ but her bow.” Turf War said. Before they could say anything else, the platform stopped in front of a gigantic blast door. A few robot arms reached down from the ceiling with the foals’ respective armaments and removed Fire Fight’s magic suppressor. “Yo! Sweet!” Turf War reached for his hammer-axe, shield and armor without hesitation.

Fire Fight was certainly happy to have his gear back, but he was a little confused as to why this was happening given the situation. Skadi must have been able to discern that he was very much able to fight back bare-hooved, but she just gave him back his big upgrade why he was a prisoner. Why? “Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit sketchy?”

“Ok, maybe she’s bein’ a li’l sneaky, but maybe she gettin’ overconfident!” Turf War said. “We could blow this joint and bust out the others! Let’s go!” He tried leaping off of the platform towards the direction they came from, but the nodes in the corner lit up and activated their revealed defense, an electric force field in a dome shape around the platform. “GYAH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH!!!!” Turf War was blown back by the force of getting zapped and crumbled to the ground in a smoking heap. “H-Hell no…”

“HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, TURF WAR!!!” Crazylocks blurted. Turf War gritted his teeth at her.

“You okay, dude?” Fire Fight asked, using his magic to dwindle down the heat.

Turf War fumbled to his hooves. “Nrgh. Yeah, I’m straight.”

They suddenly heard the ear piercing sound of a microphone ring from within the tunnel, and a voice could be heard through speakers. “Tut tut, little colt. I knew you weren’t the brightest star in the night sky, but you ought to grateful your endurance prevented you from lighting up like a supernova completely.”

They recognized the voice immediately. “Skadi!!” Fire Fight shouted.

“It’d be quite the shame if your short lives were cut even shorter by your own folly, but then again, you’re likely quite used to cheating death by now, so I can understand if you’ve lost touch with your mortality.” Skadi said.

Turf War drew his hammer. “B****, WHY DON’T YOU GET YOUR FEATHERED A** DOWN HERE AND I’LL SHOW YOU A THING OR TWO ‘BOUT MORTALITY!!!”

“My! Such a lack of manners. That’s alright though. Now I won’t feel quite so guilty about what’s about to take place.” Skadi said.

Fire Fight gulped. “A-And what’s that?” His question was answered when the blast door suddenly began opening. Masses of sunlight faded out to reveal the fighting arena. “Sorry I asked.”

Skadi chuckled. “Not to worry, little ones. This should take but a moment of your time.”

“Can I get fries with that?” Crazylocks blurted.

Suddenly, another voice came onto the intercom. “Be careful, you guys!”

The frantic posh accent was unmistakable. “Quantum Tech!?” Fire Fight said.

“Rrgh! Get back to your post, you!” Skadi ordered, the sound of her pushing away Quantum Tech being overlapped by her voice. “So sorry about that little interruption. Now then, if you’d kindly…”

Fire Fight looked out into the arena and instantly felt a knot in his stomach, but he knew that all he could do for now was cooperate with Skadi’s demands until they could find a way out of their predicament, so he and the other two cautiously walked onto the battlefield. All the while, one question still loomed in his mind. “Where’s Shadow Shroud?”

Back in the Armory…

Shadow Shroud and Dark Veil waited patiently in the blankets of darkness covering them as they patiently waited for their prey to come to them. The former hid atop a tower of supply crates out of view from anything below while the latter hid amongst the many pipes that constructed the feeding trough. Their training taught them that patience could require great amount of endurance on its own, so they felt more than ready to execute their plan of attack, and judging by the sounds of large machinery approaching them gradually, it seemed that their patience was about to pay off.

The blast door opened and in slithered the mecha python. The Shadewalkers were a little surprised to see it back to soon, but they considered the possibility that its large size and functionality likely made it consume fuel as fast as Bullseye lost her temper, which would explain why Skadi didn’t have any more of them to speak of if she wanted to conserve energy. They held as still as statues until the python reached the trough and opened its big mouth and started feeding- that’s when they nodded at one another and took action.

Shadow Shroud hurled a kunai at the crystal while Dark Veil swung the sickle of his kusarigama at it. Both struck true and caused the crystal to spark violently. In that same swift motion, they both leapt towards each other with Dark Veil quickly pulling his chain up and Shroud catching it as it swung to the other side, making it so that it flew into and got caught in the python’s mouth. The mechanical menace struggled to dislodge the unstable energy crystal from its mouth, but the overflow blasted into its inner workings as if it was drowning from the excess energy. Glowing cracks began to form on its armor, and then its entire body short-circuited and violently burst from the cracks, silencing it permanently.

The ninjas moved out of the way as the beast collapsed to the ground in a smoking heap. Shards of the energy crystal lay scattered around the shards of its armor, but they had lost their luster from the mass energy loss. They waited a moment for something to happen, but it seemed that all was calm, so they took a sigh of relief.

“Talk about heartburn.” Dark Veil said.

“It’s only a matter of time before something realizes that Slithers here is K.I.A. We need to get over to the prison on the double.” Shroud said.

Dark Veil nodded. “Let’s do it.”

“Although, I have to say that you really outdid yourself coming up with such a risky plan and executing it so seamlessly, Dark Veil. You’ve really grown up.” Shroud teased.

“R-Really?” Dark Veil stammered. “Err… I mean of course I did. What sort of Shadewalker would I be if I couldn’t?”

Shroud couldn’t help but to detect his shift in tone, but decided it wasn’t important and simply led her colleague out through the same exit she took before.

Back in the Arena…

Fire Fight, Turf War and Crazylocks were surrounded by nothing but tension and oppressive atmosphere as they stood in the high tech ruins awaiting whatever Skadi had ready for them. If Quantum Tech’s frantic warning was to be heeded, then they had to keep their guards up and then some. This entire fortress was both her domain and her weapon.

The intercom suddenly came on again. “I bet it was easy for you to guess that this place was a form of sports stadium when it was still in its heyday. Granted, I’m only drawing conclusions from what I was able to find myself, but based on the architecture, you’d have to be a fool to not follow the same logic, unless these people had very different ideas of how facilities were built and functioned of course.” It was Skadi.

“Why’s that important?” Fire Fight asked.

“Oh, it’s really not- just a little thought I had. You foals seem to have an unquenchable thirst for combat and adventure. I have to wonder if your adrenal glands are still intact.” Skadi said.

“I’d be more worried ‘bout your skull, Skadi. Now what the hell goin’ on?” Turf War demanded.

Skadi sighed. “Well, since you asked oh so nicely…” Suddenly, blast doors from across the arena started opening, and they could already see pairs of eyes shining from the darkness, and they readied themselves for a riot. “Have fun with your new toys, kiddies! I’ll be watching…”

The Escape

From the shadows behind the iron curtains before the foals emerged a small legion of machines. Some of them were the foot soldiers they’d seen plenty of, and the rest were taller versions of them but looked far more combat-oriented. They were equipped with gauntlets the foals could only guess housed a multitude of deadly arsenal ready to tear them to shreds.

Turf War confidently popped his neck and shoulders before raising his hammer and shield. “This joint ‘bout to look like a scrapyard back in the hood!”

Fire Fight ignited his horn and gauntlets. “Careful, dude. We haven’t fought these guys yet.” He said as he raised his guard. “We should probably keep an eye on Crazylocks too.”

“Uh, homie? You coulda been said that a second ago…” Turf War said.

“Huh?” Fire Fight looked at him for a second and then back at the battlefield. “AAHH!!”

Crazylocks had somehow charged into the fray without them noticing and was violently thrashing around one of the foot soldiers. “I. PAID. MY. LATE FEEEEEESSSSS!!!!” Crazylocks spun it around for a moment and flung it into another of its robotic brothers, shattering them both. Suddenly, a small group of them from her left started firing their lasers at her, but she spread her wings and soared skyward to dodge them.

The robots took aim upward, but one of them noticed a brown disc flying towards it. It got struck in the head, and the disc ricocheted off of them one by one before it flew in the direction it initially came from where Turf War caught it, revealing it to be his shield. “Cook ‘em, son!” he shouted as he held out his hammer towards Fire Fight, who jumped onto it and was launched it the air.

The fiery colt reached out to the flying frenzy. “Crazylocks!” Upon seeing him, she flew towards him and joined hooves. They spun each other around using their aerial momentum and flung each other in opposite directions. Fire Fight was hurled towards another small group of the foot soldiers, and he dove into a flaming a kick that impacted on one of them, destroying it and leaping off of it so he could launch a fire blast at the rest of them. The engulfing flames distracted the mechs just long enough for Fire Fight to punch them into pieces one by one.

Crazylocks withdrew her wings and somersaulted into one of the bigger mechs, impacting into its chest and causing it to topple over while violently sparking. She flew away just before it could start exploding in multiple places. Another battle giant beside it opened a compartment on its gauntlets and began firing energy bolts similar to the electromagnetic blasts from Quantum Tech’s railguns. Crazylocks barely evaded each shot as she soared towards the mechanical titan. Just before she could get close to it, it swung its other gauntlet at her with an electro saber drawn, knocking her into the ground hard.

“Hol’ up!” Turf War exclaimed, noticing the pattern. “Tell me this b**** ain’t…”

The speakers came on. “Hehehehe. I must apologize for not warning you in advance. I figured you’d be a tid more comfortable if you fought something you’re relatively familiar with, so I let my elite guards assimilate the weaponry found in your friend’s battle mech.” Skadi sneered.

Turf War gritted his teeth. “Ooooh! That’s one more time my hammer gonna smack the s*** outta you!”

In Skadi’s control room…

“HOW DARE YOU!!” Quantum Tech exclaimed.

“Oh, get a grip, little one. If I didn’t view your little science fair project as a masterpiece of engineering, I would have scrapped it as soon as I captured you all. I have the dignity to respect another intelligent mind’s accomplishments, and I’ll certainly cite my work when I ravage Griffonstone.” Skadi said.

Quantum couldn’t contain her anger and stood up in her seat. “My technology will NOT be used for the purpose of terrorism! Is that clear!?”

Skadi chuckled. “Yes. Not yours, but rather mine. I simply took inspiration from you. No need to fret.” She said. “No I suggest you put that rebellious tone away lest you terrible harm to come to your friends.” She threatened.
Quantum reluctantly did what she asked while staring daggers at the heinous hen, knowing that she was still in no position to fight back….at least directly.

“This is your last warning, child.” Skadi hissed.

“Understood, madam….” Quantum said, hiding a devious smirk as she felt her way around the foreign files under the guise of gathering battle data. While she was still not sure how to interpret the seemingly alien dialect, but she was able to discern a file that was labeled with letters that looked similar to the word that according to Skadi spelled out ‘war’ or ‘warrior’. When she opened it, she discovered the location where their weapons were being kept, including two more holding cells where Zebota and Shrapnel were being held; Skadi probably knew that keeping the two apart could be dangerous given that Shrapnel was such a powerful beast, and his connection with Zebota couldn’t be under the risk of being severed. A little frustrated that she couldn’t arm herself with more knowledge against her captor, she went back to monitoring the battle at hand.

In the Arena…

Fire Fight had just finished trashing the rest of the small foot soldiers as Turf War found himself face to face with the other super mech, unable to aid the downed Crazylocks. “Ok, m***********. You gonna do homegirl dirty like that, I’m a show how do things back in Detrot! COME WITH IT!!” He aggressively smacked his shield to taunt it.

The robot must not have seen him as a big threat, because it saw fit to only try and step on him. It quickly learned the error of its ways when Turf War struck its foot with his hammer, causing the mech to terribly tremble. He then jumped and shield-rammed its other leg and followed with another swing, but he was sudden struck by a laser blast that seemed to come out of nowhere. “UGH!!” He crumbled to the ground but quickly got up to see what was wrong. “The hell!?” When he looked up, another wave of foot soldiers came marching out of the shadows guns blazing.

Just before he could react, they managed to shoot his hammer and shield clean out of his hooves. “AAH!! S***!!” His hooves seethed from the blasts, and he could only watch as the super mech made another attempt to crush him under its gigantic foot. “IT’S A WRAAAAAP!!!!”

He closed his eyes just before his untimely demise…..only to open them again to find Crazylocks struggling against it for him. She shifted her body around and finally gained enough leverage to lift it off the ground and swing it around, the giant mech shielding her from the smaller ones’ laser blasts. With enough momentum built up, she tossed straight up into the air above her and then sprouted her horn. She used her magic to catch laser blasts from the little ones and congregate them into a huge ball of energy that she then launched above her, obliterating the super mech. “THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONOATIONS TO CRAZYLOCKS’ VEGGIE BURGER BOAT ACCESSORIES!!”

Turf War watched the whole spectacle in awe. “When the f*** she learn how to do that?”

“Don’t question it! Just fight!!” Fire Fight called out. He engulfed himself in flames and kamikaze charged into the foot soldiers’ formation. The intense heat created a force field of fire that let him crash through the robots until he got near the center and let it off like a volcano, frying them all to a crisp. “Or…just leave the rest to me.” A robot beside him tried to get up, but he punched back into the ground. “Get down, you!”

“Yo Crazylocks, real thanks fo’ comin’ fo’ ya boy like that.” Turf War said.

“Anything for my favorite grasshopper farmer!” Crazylocks said.

Turf War’s smile quickly fell into a frown as Fire Fight had to hold back chuckling. “Uhh…b****….”

Skadi’s speakers suddenly came on again. “Well, well, well. Who would have thought the mentally challenged shifter get be the most creative of your lot? Predictable perhaps, but still entertaining.”

“Let us go, Skadi! We haven’t done you any harm!” Fire Fight demanded.

“I’m afraid you’re in no position to make such demands, little colt.” Skadi said. “And besides, you may not have harmed me initially, but someone has to throw the first punch in order for a conflict to erupt, and this conflict is worthwhile with all of the battle data I’ll be able to program into all my precious babies. After all, doing harm is the first step to progress.”

“I’M ‘BOUT PROGRESS MY AXE INTO YO’ DAMN HE-“

“Yes, yes. You like making idle threats. Adorable.” Skadi said. “However, your shifter here does catch my interest. Her ability to change body types at will is something I ought to prioritize. So if you don’t mind… Hehehehehehe-Hahahahahaha!!”

The collar around her neck seemed to turn back on as its red light turned blue, and the crazy filly was out like a light. A section of the floor then opened, and a robot arm emerged from it that grabbed Crazylocks and dragged her into the abyss below.

“Crazylocks!!” Fire Fight shouted. He and Turf War tried to catch her, but the arm drew her in too fast. “What have you done with her!?”

“Taken her to a private chamber where she’ll be thoroughly studied and examined. Keeping a dangerous pony like her away from the sane folk would be doing you a favor anyway, wouldn’t it?” Skadi answered.

“GIVE US BACK OUR FRIEND!!” Fire Fight shouted.

“I’m sorry. It seems I wasn’t clear enough. You’re in no position to makes demands!” Skadi hissed. “Now if I were you, I’d calmly return to the transport platform so you can be taken back to your rooms for your bad behavior.” However reluctantly, the two colts knew that they’d just tire themselves trying to fight back all the forces Skadi could throw their way, so they opted to obey her and let their weapons be confiscated again, and Fire Fight’s magic suppressed.

In Skadi’s control room…

“Quantum Tech, I trust you gathered sufficient results?” Skadi said as she walked up to captive assistant.

“I think you’ll be pleased.” Quantum said.

Skadi looked through Quantum’s feedback and found herself delighted. “Hmm…. Not exactly what I hoping for, but I suppose we’re merely scratching the surface. Good work.” Skadi exited the room for some reason, giving Quantum the opportunity she needed to complete her dirty work.

She scoured through more of the files she’d stumbled upon and began formulating a discreet plan of attack. She let out a devious little chuckle. “You’ll soon witness the true extent of my genius, 'Councilor'.”

In the holding cells…

Bullseye and Valkyrie waited patiently for the right opportunity to execute their escape plan. They couldn’t risk trying to tell the others for the risk of Skadi finding out about it, so they could only hope that they’d wise up and follow through.

“This better work, Cyclops. Otherwise, Skadi may not give us an edge next time.” Valkyrie whispered.

“There won’t be a next time for that old b****. Just keep that in mind.” Bullseye said.

Valkyrie chuckled. “Good point.” After another tense moment or so, they heard the hallway doors finally open up and be accompanied by the familiar metallic clangs for footsteps. They wasted no time executing their ‘genius plan’. “OPEN UP, YOU BUCKET OF BOLTS!!”

The two started wildly shouting and slamming on their cell door, and it didn’t take long for one of the guards to smack it with its stun baton, sending the electric shock through the ancient door. Monitoring it, Bullseye could see that the electric lock wasn’t quite ready to spring. “COME ON, LOSERS! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!!” she shouted.

Eventually, the other guard felt the need to take action and started hitting the door with its own stun baton, more than what the archer and warrior could ask for. It didn’t take much longer for the electric lock to finally lose its hold due to the overload, and it was ajar just enough for Valkyrie to grab the door and force it open. “NOW!!” Bullseye commanded, and Valkyrie wasted no time.

Bullseye and Valkyrie soared out of their cell to see Fire Fight and Turf War with them. The colts helped them tackle the robots to the ground, and Fire Fight carefully welded one of the batons off of the robot holding it. Much to his delight, it still worked as if it had its own battery stored inside, and he tossed it to Valkyrie. “Get working on the others’ cells while I get the other one!”

Valkyrie caught the baton. “Got it!” She started smacking away at Frostbite and Kickback’s cells first, knowing that the icy drake would immediately be the most help. It wasn’t long before Turf War was wielding the other baton and smacking at the door with her, and mere seconds later for their draconic friend to force his door open and let Kickback out.

“Much obliged, y’all!” Kickback said. Frostbite wasted no time making the doors force open more easily with his immense strength, and everypony was free one by one.

“Nice thinking, you two!” Fire Fight said standing over the destroyed guards.

Valkyrie wiped her nose. “Hehe. No sweat, boss.”

“I guess even these hi-tech doors can succumb to the passage of time.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“It seems Zebota’s wisdom is making itself known.” Greensprout said.

“Where’s Crazylocks!?” Bullseye demanded.

Fire Fight gulped, fearing how Bullseye might react to the news. “Skadi took her somewhere else. I don’t know where, but something tells me she won’t be having fun.”

Bullseye’s pupil dilated to the point that it was almost swallowed by her iris as intense anger built up inside her. “If that feathered hag does so much as breathe on her…”

“I promise we’ll get her back, Bullseye. We need to find Quantum Tech, Zebota, Shrapnel and Shadow Shroud too.” Fire Fight said.

“But how are we gonna fight back when we don’t have our weapons? Even Greensprout’s staff is gone.” Tidal Wave said.

“Yeah! And me and Fire Fight can’t use our magic as long as they stupid horn locks are suppressing us.” Spiral said.

“We’ll just have to make do without them. I don’t believe we’re so weak that we can’t fight back when not at our peak.” Air Slash said.

“We’ll just have to very careful.” Greensprout said.

“Actually…” Frostbite said. “Let me try something.” He suddenly exhaled a cloud of ice at both Spiral Galaxy and Fire Fight, freezing both of their suppressors solid, which seemed to short-circuit them, and he ripped them right off. “Awesome.” He tossed them aside.

Spiral rubbed her head. “Ugh. Little warning next time, maybe?”

Frostbite narrowed his eyes. “You’re welcome.” Suddenly, they could hear a multitude of metal footsteps rushing both of their exits.

“Homie and I might know where to go, so follow us this way.” Turf War said as he motioned them to follow towards one of the exits. Frostbite froze the other one solid, preventing any of the guards from getting in.

Just before they could open the door to their exit, guards burst in with their lasers pointed, but that didn’t stop Frostbite from soaring above the foals and diving into the crowd of robots, which he proceeded to tear to shreds. The foals followed him outside where they witnessed him use his ice powers to completely bulldoze the mechanical fodder. Whether he shot piercing icicles at them, froze his fists to give them more blunt force, or just shot blasts of ice at them, he decimated to wave of guards within minutes. He landed in front of the foals and let out a powerful roar.

"Yeeee-Haaaw!!” Kickback cheered.

Frostbite smirked proudly. “Hehe. You leave the toy soldiers to me. Just lead the way. I’ll cover you.”

“Thanks, Frostbite!” Fire Fight said. “Are you gonna help us take down Skadi too?”

“Hell yeah!” Frostbite declared. “After all….” He cracked his knuckles and puffed frigid air from his sinuses. “Revenge is a dish best served cold!”

My Move

Deep within a dark section of the ancient arena was a cell specifically designed to hold large animals just like a real gladiator coliseum. Within its confines was a chained down Shrapnel whose restraints emitted electromagnetic pulses throughout his body. While wood would normally be largely unfazed, Shrapnel was a conscious entity, and was therefore being disrupted as anything would. The wooden titan’s cellmate was his disarmed master, who could only watch his beast suffer, but they both knew that they had to muster the strength to overcome their ordeal.

Even in his hindered position, Shrapnel was able to sense the presence of his master and the brooch that held their pact, and the two silently meditated, waiting for Fate to cue their next move.

Alarms suddenly began loudly ringing, and Zebota could feel a shift in the flow of fate that told him that the cue he and his beast were waiting for had arrived. He cracked a confident smile. “It is time, my friend.” He said. Shrapnel responded with a growl. With all of his mental and spiritual strength, Zebota focused on his brooch and evoked the pained, withering spirits that were barely surviving in this wretched environment.

“Kama mimi kukaa hapa katika nchi hii scarred ilitawaliwa na mabaya, huenda ni upepo ukiwa kubeba mwito huu katika ni imeachwa mchanga. Mei sauti yangu kusikilizwa na pepo bado kung'ang'ania maisha. Mei nguvu yangu kupita kwenu hivyo huenda kupanda dhidi ya ugonjwa taints kwamba udongo huu. roho yangu hai itakuwa wewe ni kuongoza nguzo kama uwiano hii kudaiwa tena. mngurumo wa mnyama wangu utakuwa wetu kilio vita, rally yetu ya silaha dhidi ya Skadi!”

With intensity that would make the sun look like a light bulb, Zebota’s brooch blasted its emerald essence in all directions, shaking the very earth beneath them as he felt the world around him be rekindled. Along with it all, Shrapnel’s strength returned to him, and he let out the most powerful roar Zebota had ever heard him bellow.

“<HOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWLLLLLL!!!!!!!!>”

The sheer power of his voice was enough to shatter the shackles binding him, and he crashed through his cage as though it were paper. As he stretched his body, he noticed his master on the ground exhausted from the feat he had to pull. He lightly nudged the little zebra, and Zebota looked up and smiled.

“I am fine, Shrapnel. Thank you.” He said. He managed to gather his stamina and stand back up. “No doubt our friends await us. We should hurry before these mechanical demons overwhelm us again.”

Shrapnel barked in response. “<I yearn to rend and tear their metal flesh!>”

Zebota flared his brooch. “Then let us waste no more time.”

Out in the Fortress City…

The escaped foals bobbed and weaved through hails of laser blasts as Fire Fight and Turf War led them through the active ruins to the stadium, remembering the way there from when they led there previously. All the while, Frostbite continued to devastate the squadrons of robot guards trying to apprehend them and clearing the way with his own hails of ice and frigid air. His natural draconic aggression was all he needed to fuel his rampage.

With her horn suppressor removed, Spiral Galaxy carefully helped when she could with the use of her cosmomancy. She used her powers in smaller magnitude such as gravity waves, small nova blasts and an orbital shield around her and her friends in case Frostbite let a straggler or two slip through his claws. If such was the case, Fire Fight simply burned them apart with fire blasts. He knew he’d probably risk breaking his hooves if he tried to punch them without his gauntlets, so he didn’t.

Air Slash managed to grab ahold of two stun batons that had been broken off of some fallen soldiers and substituted them for his swords. While he was unable cut his foes down, he was satisfied with being able to electrocute them and fry their circuits. One robot came close to smacking Greensprout with its baton, but Air Slash parried it away and gave it a taste of its own medicine.

Kickback managed to roll behind another one and jump onto its back, gaining control of where it pointed its laser and blasted some snipers he spotted like tins cans in a rodeo show. “YEEEE-HAAAWW!!!” When his shootout was complete he leapt off the robot and let Frostbite take care of the rest.

“Nice shooting, kid!” Frostbite said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Much obliged, partner.”

With Fire Fight occupied with last resort defending, Turf War took it upon himself to lead the charge to the stadium. “Keep rollin’, y’all! Sooner we cop our weapons, the sooner we f*** s*** up!”

“Are you sure they’re even there!?” Tidal Wave asked.

“They gotta be!” Turf War answered. “OH, S***!!” He had to jump straight up to avoid a laser blast. His ghetto instincts kicked in, and he was able to quickly map a safe route as he went along through the assault, leading his teammates to the stadium with minimal issue.

When they reached the stadium, they had to stop when they realized that they had a little conundrum. “How’re we supposed to get in!?” Valkyrie said. As she examined the door, she noticed a melee drone charge towards her. Despite not being armed, she readied herself to combat the drone when a plethora of slashing sounds resounded within milliseconds, which resulted in the drone falling down in a few pieces.

A familiar shadow jumped in front of the remains and unveiled her face. “Mind if I have a look?” she said with a devious smile.

“SHADOW SHROUD!” Fire Fight ran up to her and embraced her. “You’re ok!”

Shroud hugged him back. “You’re a sight for sore eyes yourself!” They broke off, letting everypony else bid their quick greetings amidst the chaos.

“Where have you been? You just seemed to vanish!” Spiral asked.

“I manage to slip away from Skadi’s garden snake undetected, and we came after you guys as soon as we could.” Shroud said.

“Umm… ‘We’?” Air Slash asked.

Two other melee drones charged at them just then, but another, larger shadow landed in front of them and hooked one of them with the blade of his kusarigama, yanking it towards him before forcefully shoving it into the other, destroying them. He looked at the foals, but didn’t unveil himself or speak a word.

“This is my… colleague, as you can see. I won’t speak his name so as to protect his honor.” Shroud said.

The foals were a little shaken to meet another Shadewalker. Given how shaky things have proven to be with Shadow Shroud in the past, they weren’t exactly eager to break the ice with another of their clan, namely a stranger. Air Slash could feel the shrouded stallion’s glare upon him, and he couldn’t help but to return the gesture, but with less magnitude.

“W-Well, uhh…. N-Nice to meet you…?” Fire Fight stammered.

Dark Veil turn his gaze towards Fire Fight, and he could tell that he didn’t like him any more than Air Slash, likely knowing of his relation to Shadow Shroud. “I’ll cover you…” he whispered.

“Huh!?” Before Fire Fight could say anything else, Dark Veil leapt back into the fray and began fending off the guards.

“Don’t worry about him. He can handle himself. I, however, will have to handle this lock.” Shroud said. She drew her kunai to try and pick the big lock, but she was startled when the lock seemed to open on its own, opening the door along with. “Hmm?”

“No complaints here! Let’s f***ing go!” Bullseye declared.

They all started to go in apart from Kickback, who called out to Frostbite. “Ya comin’, partner!?”

Frostbite crashed through a small group of guards before replying. “Go on without me! I’ll keep ‘em busy from out here!”

Kickback tipped his hat. “Good luck!” he followed his comrades.

Once inside, Fire Fight and Turf War recognized the platform they had rode before, but they discovered a catwalk likely used by maintenance crews that led to the other side, so they decided to make haste across that since the platform might not move as quickly as they’d like. The only resistance they encountered was a flock of orb drones that were obviously meant for combat rather than spying, as they were equipped with the same kinds of lasers that the grunts were.

“Oh, please!” Spiral shouted. She blasted them all away with concentrated gravity waves.

“Sister, did you happen to find out where Crazylocks, Zebota, Shrapnel and Quantum Tech are?” Greensprout asked Shroud.

“Quantum’s being held in a control room somewhere in this building, but I don’t know about Crazylocks or our tree huggers.” Shroud said.

“Then maybe she’d know! We should find her if don’t already run into the others!” Fire Fight said.

When they reached the end of the catwalk and were met with the blast door, they frantically looked around for any sort of sign that may point to a weapon storage area, or wherever their armaments might be. However, the very same mechanical arms that dispensed their weapons before appeared again, this time carrying all of their arms and armor, which they reclaimed jubilantly.

Fire Fight hopped into his gauntlets and armor, and he flared his horn excitedly. “Back in business, baby!”

Turf War twirled his hammer-axe victoriously. “BAM!!”

Spiral happily slipped into her armor. “Can’t believe I’m actually happy to lug this around again!”

Air Slash twirled his swords before sheathing them, smiling with a humble sense of victory. “Skadi’s decline is at hoof.”

Kickback calmly smiled as he retrieved his whip and fabled guns. “Good to see you fellers again.”

Bullseye creased a wicked smile when she did so much as touch her bow. “Hehehehe!” She picked it up and slung on her quiver. “I’m coming, Crazylocks…”

Tidal Wave eagerly donned his armor and water gem and wielded his trident. He could feel the water essence flourish through him again, as if the spirits within welcomed him home. “Tidal Wave, ready for action!”

Valkyrie wasted no time whatsoever slipping into her armor, wielding her weapons, and taking a moment to gaze upon her family’s treasure, which seemed to gaze back at her with all the ferocity the spirits of deceased heroes could muster together. “I’ll never lose you again…” she whispered. The Valhalla shined its golden light as Valkyrie noticeably gathered her valor. “READY WHEN YOU ARE!”

Greensprout joyously reclaimed her abbey’s treasured Gaia Root. “Is anypony hurt?” she asked.
They all shook their heads. “I’d say we’re all in peak condition, Greensprout.” Air Slash said.

“Good, but before anything else…” Greensprout cast a vital pulse that gave them all a little extra boost.

“That’s what’s up!” Turf War said. “But on some real talk, why they just gave us back our stuff?”

The intercom suddenly came on, and a familiar voice sounded through the speakers. “A simple ‘thank you’ would be much appreciated.”

“Quantum Tech!” Greensprout said.

“What the hell!? You’re controlling this place?” Bullseye asked.

“Partially. Skadi has excused herself for the moment, which gave me the opportunity to hack into this fortress’s network. It’s quite complex, so I’ve only managed to scratch the surface, but it should suffice for the time being.” Quantum said.

“Where are the others?” Shroud asked.

“Zebota and Shrapnel are being held in a holding cell within this facility just opposite of your location, although I’m picking up an alarming energy spike from their location. They could be in danger.” Quantum said.

“What about Crazylocks!?” Bullseye asked.

“It’s not completely clear, howeve-” The intercom suddenly fell into static.

“Huh? Hey! What the f*** gives!?” Bullseye shouted.

In Skadi’s Control Room…

Quantum Tech lay on the floor with a bruise on her cheek and a shadow looming over her. When she looked up, her heart skipped a beat upon seeing eagle eyes glaring down at her.

“How foolish I was to think you would have any value…” Skadi growled.

Quantum could do naught but gulp and gaze back at her captor. She barely managed to muster the courage to stand. “And… A-And what would you do about me, hmm?”

Her question was answered when a wave of guards marched in and pointed their lasers at her. “How’s that for a prelude?”

Quantum was paralyzed with fear save for her eyes, which darted back and forth between the droids. “E-E-Exemplary. W-W-Well played.”

Skadi slowly creased a malicious smile. “This, darling, is what we’d might call ‘checkmate’. Don’t worry though. I promise to take care of your battle tank.” She hissed as her guards’ lasers began charging.

Quantum started hyperventilating as she could feel her life flash before her eyes. Her experiments, her adventures with her friends, the places they’d seen and the ponies they’d met… only inspired her to drop her frightened act and crease a devious smile of her own. She looked up at Skadi, confident as could be. “My move.”

She tapped a button on her glasses, and seconds later, the door behind Skadi was suddenly blown apart with hails of magic blasts raining on her guards. Through the smoke, her prized mech suit marched in guns blazing and shield erected.

“WHAT!?” Skadi screeched. She then noticed that Quantum Tech had ran towards her mech, and watched in horror as the little filly got into her cockpit.

Quantum fixed her glasses. “I really must thank you for the learning experience, Skadi, but I believe our time together has concluded. I suggest you surrender.”

Skadi gritted her teeth. “You insufferable little brat! I’ll-”

<BAM!!>

The front of the control room was suddenly destroyed by an unforeseen force. As the dust cleared, a pair of fierce green eyes came into view accompanied by ferocious growling. Sure enough, it was the Battle Foals’ wooden titan and his mystic master.

<HOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!>

Shrapnel’s roar beckoned the summoning of invasive vines that pushed through the metallic room and tangled a good chunk of the guards to the point of crushing them. Zebota himself threw his boomerang above the rest of the guards where it unleashed a powerful thunderstorm that finished them off. When the smoke cleared, they saw that Skadi had taken the opportunity to vanish.

Quantum quickly exited her mech and ran over to her friend. “Zebota!” She happily embraced him. “Are you both alright?”

“We are.” Zebota said. “And we stand ready to cleanse this disease. What of you?”

Quantum chuckled as she fixed her glasses. “I say it’s high time we end Skadi’s foul play.” She boarded her mech once more, and Shrapnel let out another powerful roar, both he and his master ready to rain destruction.

Mechanical Mayhem

One would think that the inside of a stadium would be where the exciting events took place, not just outside of them, but as far as Frostbite and Dark Veil were concerned, chaos could ensue on the outer end whether you expect it or not.

Frostbite easily smashed and obliterated the mass of grunts, but they were in such great numbers that he was starting to get dizzy from everything that was happening. While his ice powers proved highly effective against his adversaries, his offense was starting to become uncoordinated and sloppy from becoming tired. Ice blasts and icicle spears were flung and dropped every which way but where.

Dark Veil was far more coordinated despite being slightly less capable than his draconic ally. His agility and reflexes were his saving grace when dodging enemy fire. There were several occasions when he was able to trick them into shooting each other, and he managed to use the hook of his kusarigama to grapple and fling them into each other if he wasn’t wailing on them with its counterweight or his own set of kamas.

“<pant><pant>… C’mon, guys! Where are you?” Frostbite stammered. He could tell that Dark Veil was starting to grow weary. He took a moment to land to catch his breath, but when he did, a melee droid caught him off guard, and he was just barely able to catch its blades in his hands and struggle against it in his fatigued state.

<BOOM!!>

A massive explosion from the stadium wall rocked the battlefield, startling Frostbite to the point where he a spike in adrenaline allowing him to accidently rip his attacker apart, not that he found it problematic, but as he was able to look at the source of the blast, he was equally surprised when he witnessed Quantum Tech’s mech and Shrapnel strutting out from the smoke, each dwarfing Zebota, who was flaring an emerald aura.

Seconds later, the rest of the foals emerged from the door they previously entered, armed and dangerous. Kickback suddenly fired one of his guns right in Frostbite’s direction, startling the dragon until he saw an aerial drone plummet to the ground next to him, sparking from a small, singular wound from which it smoked.

“Sorry to keep ya waitin’, partner.” Kickback said.

Frostbite creased a snarling smile. “Meh, I lasted.” He flew over to them and faced Greensprout. “Give me a boost. These grunts are really trying my patience.”

Greensprout could sense his fatigue and went to work without complaint. “Take a deep breath, brother.” She emitted a pulse from the Gaia Root that rejuvenated Frostbite’s stamina.

When Frostbite felt his strength replenish, he uttered a guttural roar that caused the air around them to chill for a moment. He then wiped his nose and smirked. “Thanks. Now then, where were we?” He popped his neck and shoulders as he readied himself for a riot.

“If it is of no inconvenience, I shall initiate.” Quantum Tech said. She locked onto multiple targets and fired her railguns and magic turrets, the shots easily destroying the first wave of foot soldiers.

With their foes left open, Fire Fight called his team to arms. “BATTLE FOALS, ATTACK!!” Without so much as a second of hesitation, each and every one of the foals charged towards their robotic rivals just as the second wave followed suit. A titanic battle was imminent.

Fire Fight crashed like a comet through a group of infantries and skid to a halt, forcing a fierce wave of fire to sear everything else in front of him. Four more of them blasted their lasers as they approached him, but he dodged with ferocious grace, but he was having to move too much to focus his magic so he could fire back. However, he kept them distracted just enough so that Shadow Shroud could sneak up behind them and throw them off balance with her kamas. She slashed two of them into halves before they hit the floor, and Fire Fight dashed to the third one and flip-kicked into the air, following up by leaping towards it and punching it towards the last one in a blaze of glory. When the droids fell, the two winked at one another.

Turf War and Valkyrie found themselves surrounded by grunts with their lasers ready to fry them both. With their shields up, they had to think on their feet. Valkyrie unleashed her ancestral light and soared into the air, distracting a good chunk of the grunts, and Turf War smirked when he knew his chance had come.

“WOOOOOO!!!!” With no restraint whatsoever, Turf War smacked his hammer into the ground, causing a mighty tremor to resound across the battlefield, throwing the grunts off balance so much so that they accidently fired their lasers whilst they staggered. Valkyrie took that opportunity to swoop down and slash and burn every one that she could in her golden light before they regained their balance, but even when they did, Turf War quickly went around and chopped and smashed them to bits before they could even retaliate.

“Tch! Bunch o’ losers!” Valkyrie said as she and Turf War bumped each other’s shields.

Spiral Galaxy hung in the back and provided support fire with cosmic blasts and gravity fields. The sheer amount of enemies made it a little difficult to concentrate, especially since she had to be careful not to hit her friends. At one point when she was charging for a massive cosmo blast, she noticed that what must have been an assassin droid speeding towards her at speed she’d expect from Tidal Wave underwater. She was about to have to release her built-up energy on it just to defend herself when said aqua-pegasus appeared from behind her and thrust his lance, impaling and killing the mecha. He flung the robotic corpse off of his lance, which it then hindered the approach of a large wave of grunts that Spiral unleashed her cosmic death ray on, annihilating them.

“Thanks for the support, Tidal Wave.” She said.

“Yeah! Too bad there’s no water for me to-” Tidal Wave was interrupted when he suddenly felt his brooch react to something. “Huh?” He looked around and noticed a nearby tower whose top was much bulgier than the pillar supporting it, and stored within it was a massive amount of water. “Oh, baby…”

“Umm… Dude?” Spiral became a little worried when she saw a stupid smile crease the colt’s face.

Tidal Wave shined his brooch. “OH, BABY!” A section of the tower’s bulge began to show signs of breaching. After a moment, it burst, causing the water stored inside to gush out like a broken fire hydrant. As the water began to flood the ground below it, Tidal Wave drew it all around him and his lance. He formed a blade of water around his lance just as another wave of melee droids came rushing towards them, and used the rest of the water to summon a huge wave that swamped the area around them, in which he was able to swim and slash them all to pieces.

He jumped from the flood back to Spiral and shook the excess water off of him like a dog. “How’s that for a flash flood?”

Spiral giggled. “I’m totally swamped!” She shared a laugh with Tidal Wave.

Air Slash soared across the reddened sky, slicing down every aerial drone in his wake. His swords absorbed their laser shots which he fired back as sword beams. However, he maintained a certain proximity to Greensprout, who emitted vital pulses to everyone when things looked toughed; she made sure to keep her Gaia Root’s energy balanced.

At one point, Air Slash rapidly spun around when he was surrounded by enemies, unleashing a torrent of magic slashes that decimated his assailants. He used his momentum to bank down towards Greensprout and unleash a massive wave of slash magic towards a wave of melee drones charging her, cutting them up like paper.

“How are you faring, my dear?” he asked.

“Let me do the worrying, Air Slash.” Greensprout as she cast a vital pulse on him, rejuvenating his stamina.

Air Slash nodded. “Stay safe nevertheless.” He soared back into the air, ready to wreak further havoc.

Zebota used his overflow of Nature power to beckon the wild. The flood that Tidal Wave had created served as a sufficient source of hydration for the plethora of hostile plants he’d summoned to decimate the robots, even the bigger ones if Shrapnel wasn’t mauling entire waves of them. The trouble came from the fact that his power allowed him to stimulate the growth of life native to this land, which came in forms that would be more bizarre to him if he more discriminate about the beauty of life. One form in particular were bulbous plants about the size of birdbath that were emitting spores.
Quantum Tech just so happened to fire a laser blast into a cloud of the spores as a group of mechs were approaching Zebota, and the cloud spontaneously combusted, incinerating the droids. Zebota ducked out of shock when it happened. “What the…?” he stammered as Shrapnel rushed to see if he was alright.

“Zebota!” Quantum called out. “What happened!? Are you alright!?”

“I am unharmed, Quantum Tech, but it seems the life that once thrived here was far more dangerous than I was willing to give it credit. Shall we use it to our advantage?” Zebota replied as he shined his brooch.

Quantum fixed her glasses and smiled. “After you, good sir!”

Zebota eagerly beckoned forth more of the volatile bulbs within enemy lines, and Quantum locked on. She more than happily let loose her fury when she detected the produced spores, and the mystic duo quickly joined her to watch the fireworks. Shrapnel happened to be casually chewing on the ripped torso of a foot soldier as it happened.

“All is as it should be.” Zebota said.

Kickback took it upon himself to move forward from the back lines and make an assault run. His pin-point accuracy allowed him to make clean headshots taking down the guards. But even if his aiming reflexes were top notch, he couldn’t match Shadow Shroud’s agility and had trouble bobbing and weaving out of the way of the laser fire, and he was beginning to regret his reckless decision. He was able to keep his cool and shoot in all directions as he was being surrounded, but he was suddenly rescued by a torrent of ice raining from above.

Frostbite swooped down just low enough for Kickback to catch his foot with his whip, and the icy drake pulled him up and gave him a ride on his back. “Let me know when you wanna jump, dweeb!” he said.

“Ah’ll certainly try not to overstay mah welcome.” Kickback said.

As Frostbite surged and swooped through the sky, he blast any ground drones that fired up at him and smashed through what few aerial drones could get to him if Kickback didn’t shoot them down first. It was then that the gunslinger hatched a crazy idea. “Let one o’ them varmints get near, partner.”

Frostbite flinched a little at his request, but decided to trust him. “O-Ok!” He was cautious about nearing one of the drones, but Kickback was quick to act, and he caught the drone with his whip, swinging towards it and landing on top of it.

“YEEEE-HAAAW!!! GIDDY-UP!” Kickback bellowed. The drone tried to shake him off, but he managed to hang on for dear life as he fired his guns at every drone that tried to help their friend even though they couldn’t fire for the risk of destroying it.

“Hey! Not a bad move for a pony!” Frostbite side as he crushed a drone in his claws. “YOU DIDN’T HEAR THAT, BY THE WAY!” He vomited a blast of cold air that froze the mechs below to the point that they just cracked and broke apart.

Kickback could sense that the drone he hitched a ride on was about to self-destruct, so he leapt off of it and caught his whip onto another one and climbed onto it. The subsequent explosion rocked the new drone, but Kickback managed to hang on. He resumed his shootout. His electrified bullets caused a good chunk of them to short-circuit, but an unforeseen effect was that it seemed to cause the drones to gravitate towards one another if they weren’t already destroyed; it made him wonder if the metal they were comprised of had a strange magnetic property that was affected by electricity. Nevertheless, he knew he could use this to his advantage.

“FROSTBITE!!” Kickback called out.

The icy drake noticed the cluster of malfunctioning drones and knew just what to do. “Say no more!” He exhaled a massive gust of cold air and froze the cluster of drones and formed a huge ice ball that he spiked at the ground. It hit a large formation of robots and exploded, causing a violent burst of electricity to destroy them.

Frostbite pumped his fist in the air. “SLAM!!”

“What a finale!” Kickback called out. He shot out the drone he was on and jumped. Seconds later, Frostbite swooped down and caught him, letting them him ride on his back. They fist-bumped.

Back on the ground, Bullseye spared no expense going into rage mode and sublimating every ounce of her hellish fury into the accuracy of every shot she took if she wasn’t smashing up her foes with her bladed bow. Her aerial mobility and drive for destruction made for a deadly combination, her explosive and light burst arrows notwithstanding. Due to the environment and circumstances, she felt much freer to do as she pleased, but in her fit of wicked anger, she barely noticed just how reckless she was being.

“DIE!! <gasp> DIE!!! <gasp> DIIIIIEEEE!!!!!!” She hadn’t realized that she was expending so much energy, and she was
starting to tire out. She landed to take a breather when a group of infantry had her surrounded and at gunpoint. “S***!”

Suddenly, a black mass began swiftly leaping back and forth between the mechs at lightning speeds and smashing the droids. In a few split seconds, the droids were in pieces, and Dark Veil landed besides Bullseye. She smiled and nodded at him before taking off.

Dark Veil readied his kusarigama again as he the last wave was thinning out. “Good to see you’re getting better…” he muttered to himself.

After a maelstrom of mayhem within the forbidden cityscape, the remaining robots, whatever their form began retreating, and the Battle Foals along with Dark Veil reconvened. They were too exhausted to celebrate, and they didn’t want to let their guards, but they nevertheless felt incredibly accomplished.

“Great job, guys. Let’s keep this up until we can take down Skadi.” Fire Fight said.

“Don’t forget about Crazylocks. We’ve still gotta rescue her too.” Bullseye said. “Not that shoving an arrow or two up that bird-brained b****’s a** won’t be a high priority.”

“Quantum Tech, did you happen to determine our sister’s location?” Greensprout asked.

“I’m afraid that’s still unclear. We should remain together until we find her so we can be fully prepared to take down our rather nasty hostess.” Quantum said.

Fire Fight looked at Dark Veil. “Are you still gonna help us?” He could feel an intimidating glare from beneath the shrouded stallion’s mask, but he was satisfied when he received a silent nod.

Shadow Shroud giggled. “How thoughtful of you.”

Suddenly, a hologram of Skadi emitted from a building just beyond them, and the crazed councilor started down at them with a psychotic grin. “Hrrngh…! You little nothings ought to know you’re place! I was chosen by this place! I rekindled its glory, and I’ll spread around the world! EVERY UNWORTHY WILL BE SNUFFED OUT LIKE MATCHSTICKS, STARTING WITH THAT SLUM OF A GRIFFON’S NEST!!”

“She’s breaking down.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Where Crazylocks at!?” Turf War demanded.

Skadi let out a maniacal laugh. “YOU WANT THAT SCHIZOPHRENIC CHIMERA BACK SO BAD!? WELL COME AND GET HER!!” Screen around the vicinity turned on to reveal the loony filly trapped and sedated in a stasis tube behind Skadi. “I’ve kept her safe under my wing….for now.”

“And she’s gonna be safe with us here soon enough.” Kickback said.

“HAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! Go on. Try! I’m in the highest point of this fortress waiting for you, AS IF YOU’LL EVER MAKE IT!!” The holograph shut off, and the foals were left with only one option.

They looked around the skyline and noticed a particularly tall tower that had some actual royal aesthetic to it not dissimilar to what one might see in Canterlot, and it was blinking a yellow light. “Target: sighted.” Tidal Wave said.

“Let’s go, guys! No holds barred!” Fire Fight said. He lead the charge forward, and his comrades followed without hesitation. Within the charge, Shadow Shroud turned to Dark Veil and looked him the eye. The message her gaze sent was easily read by her fellow Shadewalker, and however reluctantly, he took his leave and let the Battle Foals do their work.

A Bout Before the Gods

With their arsenal ready, their strength at its peak and their morale burning like Celestia’s sun, the Battle Foals smashed and blasted through wave after wave of enemies to reach the tower where Skadi hid and Crazylocks was imprisoned. Somehow, every fallen enemy seemed to gain them strength rather than expend it, and the foals were more than keen to use this momentum to their advantage. It got to the point where the droids’ survival instincts must have kicked in and told them that it was hopeless to even engage their intruders.

Just before they reached the base of the tower, Fire Fight noticed that they were one short. “Hey! Where’s that other Shadewalker?”

“Don’t worry. I sent him on a little mission of his own while we handle the hard part.” Shadow Shroud said.

“At least it’s the fun part!” Frostbite said as he popped his knuckles. He soared fairly high above the foals and blasted any interception points that could be used by the robots with ice, erecting walls of ice barring their routes so that the foals could safely reach their destination.

Once they did, they were met with a door that was extravagantly designed in such a way that one would know right away that it was important. Standing on either side of it were more statue of the bizarre beings that must have built it, and branded onto it was an odd series of three symbols next to each other. The first was shaped like a right side-up horseshoe, the next looked like a paperclip if it’s two halves were bent apart, and the last was a triangular arch with no bottom and a line running through the middle.

Frostbite jammed his claws in between them and tried to force them apart, but they were locked tight.

“Allow me, darling.” Quantum Tech said. She used her railgun to create a magical cord between her and the door. Using her magic and her glasses, she hacked the lock within seconds, allowing the icy drake to slam them open.

“<ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!>”

Frostbite’s roar powerfully echoed throughout the interior, signaling the Battle Foals’ siege and rallying them to attack. They charged into the tower with determination that Valkyrie’s hero ancestor would have been proud of. Immediately before them was a flight of stairs that they began ascending.

“KNOCK KNOCK, SKADI!!” Valkyrie shouted.

“Hope you don’t mind us letting ourselves in.” Shadow Shroud said.

A loudspeaker came on. “Oh, not at all! MAKE YOURSELVES AT HOME!!” she bellowed.

The foals were expecting a full on assault wave of drones or some kind of security system, but….nothing. All the foals passed by were metal sculptures and seemingly painted pictures of the extinct civilization along with convoluted maps of the ancient era that they lived in. The eerie silence put the foals on edge.

“Not gonna throw away any more of your toys, huh!?” Turf War taunted.

“Oh, don’t worry about that right this minute. When it comes to entertaining my guests, I love throwing them a little surprise.” Skadi said.

“We’ll be ready for it!” Air Slash said.

“AND YOU BETTER BE READY TO HAND OVER CRAZYLOCKS AND HAVE A S*** TON OF ARROWS PUMPED DOWN YOUR THROAT!!” Bullseye shouted.

“A lovely fantasy, but I’m afraid I’ll emerge victorious in this bout! I’ll have you ground into fuel for my minions!!”

“For someone who says she’s a good hostess, ya sure do like throwin’ around threats.” Kickback said.

“She wants us to reach the top… Keep your wits about you.” Zebota said.

Heeding the words of their resident mystic, the Battle Foals continued their ascent up the seemingly endless flight of stairs, knowing that Skadi was toying with them somehow. Even the somewhat omniscient Shadow Shroud couldn’t pick up on anything ready to ambush them from the shadows, but she kept her senses sharp.

After what felt like an eternity of climbing, the foals ran into another door. Quantum was ready to hack this one as well, but it just opened for them, putting them a little more on edge. Outside was a large courtyard-like area that was completely empty apart from four statues in each corner of the square-shaped area. The sky above was colored by the eerie red lights of the city.

“This totally isn’t a boss room…” Spiral Galaxy said.

“I….probably should have carried all of that water up here….. Crap…” Tidal Wave said.

“Be careful, everyone…” Fire Fight said as he slowly walked into the apparent arena and motioned for his comrades to follow when he determined that the coast was clear. When they did, the door behind them suddenly slammed shut, startling them.

The loudspeaker came on again. “Welcome…to your last stand.” Skadi hissed.

“Just give up already, Skadi. We’ve proven we can beat you and your army of robot butlers, so just hand over Crazylocks and turn yourself in!” Fire Fight ordered.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!! You seriously believe I’ve shown you all of my tricks!? I haven’t even used my trump card!!.....until now….”

A flash of lightning boomed in the sky, and in it silhouette was an ominous shape that then leapt down into the arena, hitting the ground with a resounding thud. When all was calm and the foals could get a good look at it, it was a huge mech that was shaped like a weird yet strangely believable cross between a spider and a frog, but only it front pair of legs had hands. It simply stared at the foals tensely, as if to size up prey.

“Impressive science fair project, darling.” Quantum taunted.

“Why thank you.” Skadi said. “I can hardly to demonstrate its capabilities, especially on a stage just in view of the gods.” Another flash of lightning crashed as she said that. “OBLITERATE THESE HAPLESS BRATS, SURT!!”

The robot, apparently named ‘Surt’ lifted its hands, and they suddenly burst into flames. It let out a metallic roar not unlike the mecha lions before leaping towards the foals.

“SCRAMBLE!!” Turf War shouted.

They all dispersed just in time for Surt to strike the ground, creating a shockwave of fire that Fire Fight had to catch with his magic in order to prevent everyone from getting incinerated. He tried to crash the inferno on top of Surt, but its abdomen inexplicably produced a torrent of water that fizzled out the blaze in seconds.

“What the!?” Fire Fight exclaimed.

“Hehehehehehehehe…. I told you it was impressive, didn’t I?” Skadi hissed. “The data I managed to gather combined with your friend’s ability to seamlessly shift between physical form allowed me to bestow Surt with the capability of making even the most extreme changes to his battle tactics and arsenal. You can thank her when you’re all in Tarturus!!”

Her statement was further evidenced when Surt’s hands stopped blazing and morphed into cannons that resembled Quantum’s railguns, and magic turrets emerged from its hind legs and abdomen. It strafed around as it rapidly fired at the foals, who bobbed and weaved furiously around the incoming barrage.

“Works for me!” Tidal Wave said. He used the water dispersed by Surt and caused it to spike up from the ground in an attempt to impale its armor, but to no avail. He then decided to draw all of the water to him and form it around his lance into a blade that he used to parry the magic blasts away as he charged towards Surt. “SPIRAL, BOOST ME!”

“UP YOU GO!” Spiral called out.

She used her magic to create an upward gravitic thrust underneath Tidal Wave that launched him above Surt. All of the magic turret focused on him, but he dove down and wove the water around himself and manipulated it in such a way that he jetted through the air and sliced the turrets off one by one. “That’ll teach you!” Tidal Wave was about to jet back to his friends when Surt suddenly constructed a metal hammer and swatted him away like a fly. “ARGH!!” He slammed into and tumbled on the ground like a ragdoll.

“TIDAL WAVE!!” Spiral shouted.

“I’m on it!” Greensprout said. She rushed towards him with almost no regard for the railgun blasts. Air Slash wasted no time getting between her and them and absorbing them in his swords.

“FALL TO ME, MACHINE!!” Air Slash shouted as he launched two magic blades at Surt. The mechanical menace quickly reconstructed its railguns into swords of its own, each absorbing the electromagnetic magic blades. “What!?”

Surt raised its swords and discharged the electricity into its severed turrets, which then morphed into mini versions of Shrapnel that charged the foals. “Hmph! Repulsive imitations!” Zebota said as he charged nature power into his tomahawk. “Shrapnel, keep his attention!” His wooden titan roared to the sky above them before leaping towards their foe. He dodged Surt’s sword slashes as he slammed into its bigger hind legs on occasion to try and knock it off balance.

“BATTLE FOALS, ATTACK!!!” Fire Fight’s order beckoned another fierce crash of lightning from the sky as the young warriors launched a full on assault on their adversary.

From the sky came a hail of golden arrows and ice blasts courtesy of Bullseye and Frostbite while Kickback, Quantum Tech and Spiral Galaxy hung in the back and blasted the beast while fending off the mechanical mini Shrapnels, whom Zebota focused on with his empowered tomahawk chopping through them like soft wood once he used magic glyphs to hinder their movement.

Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War, Air Slash, a healed Tidal Wave, Valkyrie and Frostbite surrounded Surt and attacked it directly with all of their strength and determination, but their enemy seemed to inherit their agility, and it made an effort to perform a deadly dance with its many combatants.

“<CAAAAWWWW!!!!!!>” Valkyrie unleashed her ancestral light, ready to eradicate her foe with the golden light of the Valhalla.

At one point, Surt slammed his hammer down, sending out a forward shockwave that the foals dodged at the last second. While it was still down, Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud took the opportunity to strike. Fire Fight used his blazing magic to flame slide to one side of the titan while Shroud used her natural agility to rush over there. Fire Fight rocketed into the air and meteor kicked into Surt’s head, causing it to lift its hammer up and giving Shroud the opportunity to multi-slash the hammer’s handle at lightning speeds, slicing it in two like a tree and causing the broken hammer to crash to the ground. The two attackers made their retreat.

Surt tossed the hammer piece out of the arena seemingly out of frustration before launching a barrage of guided missiles at the foals. When they were within close enough proximity to one another, Frostbite froze clusters of them together and spiked them at it, causing them to detonate and damage Surt’s armor. He then exhaled a vast amount of ice that froze its legs down, and he crashed himself into its abdomen, creating a huge hole that started sparking. However, before the icy drake could retreat, Surt managed to smack him into the ground with one of his swords. “OOF!!”

Frostbite hit the ground violently, and Surt was about land a lethal blow when Kickback shot into a little crack in its wrist. The electrified bullet got caught in an important circuitry, causing a malfunction and the hand to explode, the sword along with. Surt glanced over at Kickback, who just calmly pointed his smoking gun at the robotic titan, ready to take another shot if need be.

Surt then tried slamming his other sword into Turf War, but he blocked it with his shield. The reflective force of his hammer allowed him to struggle against the crushing force of the enormous construct until he was able to muster enough strength to smack it with his hammer, parrying it away and weakening its structural integrity enough that Air Slash could swoop in and dice it like sushi.

Valkyrie went in for the kill and surged forward with her sword ready to impale Surt…..when it suddenly activated some kind of Valhalla light of its own. It exploded into a burst of orange light that made it look like it was ablaze and even conjured a new set of swords that Valkyrie had to parry away. Surt then suddenly jumped on top of a wall. It stared down the foals before blasting a torrent of fire throughout the entire arena.

Despite taking its most extreme eradication protocol, Surt’s sensors still detected the foals, and it soon became clear why. Fire Fight focused all of his mental might on the engulfing inferno, protecting his friends from being incinerated.

“HRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

The rest of the foals watched in awe as their leader form the raging inferno into a massive serpentine dragon in the likeness of his Cutie Mark.

“ROOOOAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!”

Fire Fight flame jumped straight into the air and did a flip kick that caused his draconic flame to crash into the wall perching Surt just as the mech jumped clear of the blaze onto an adjacent one, the former being destroyed as though it were caught in a volcanic eruption.

Surt seemed to be losing stamina despite still being in its berserk mode, but all seemed to be at a stalemate.

*****

Skadi watched the clash unfold on her screen and seethed with fury against the group of young warriors, children who were complete strangers bar Valkyrie that shouldn’t have been a threat, but were sent by some cruel prank of Fate to thwart her. Even her most powerful creation was at a standstill against them.

“Nrgh!!! WHAT RIGHT DO THEY HAVE TO RISE TO SUCH HEIGHTS!? WHY DO THEY DARE UNDO ALL OF THE BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS I’VE PUT INTO MY DESTINY!?!?!?”she exclaimed. She took a deep breath and calmed down. “It matters not.” She leered over at the stasis tube where Crazylocks lay dormant, unable to combat the psychotic hag. “So long as I have their little pet hostage, they’ll waste away at their stamina and give out eventually. After that, I’ll have all the scientific potential I could ever ask for. Hehehehe…. If only those foals could realize they’ve actually expedited my agenda…”

As Skadi resumed her viewing of the fight, the stasis tube began cracking. When she looked over, she was horrified to see that Crazylocks’ horn had sprouted! Slowly but surely, the tube began experiencing serious malfunctions. In sudden fell swoop, the tube exploded, and Crazylocks landed on her hooves. She looked up at Skadi, who could see a hellish hatred burning in the filly’s eyes. Her words, however, struck terror in the hen’s heart.

“I’m….done….being…..a LAB RAT!!!”

Checkmate

Fire Fight heavily panted from his feat of strength. His muscles ached and his mind pulsed with fatigue; it amazed even him that he was able to stand and face Surt at all. All of the Battle Foals stood strong against their crippled yet enraged foe, Shadow Shroud going to check on her friend.

“You okay, Fire Fight?” she asked.

Fire Fight managed a small smile. “Yeah…<pant>… Thanks.”

Surt leapt high into the air and landed in the center of the arena, prompting the foals to surround it as they readied themselves for another assault. Some of them came later than others, but their combined strength that had been nurtured and grown up until this point readied them for another round with what felt like a penultimate enemy, a test crafted by Fate herself. They’d faced many powerful foes over the course of their odyssey, all of whom fell, thus hardening the foals’ resolve.

Fire Fight had his heat turned up to the max and was ready to pummel the metal fiend, Shadow Shroud braced herself and honed her ninja focus, Turf War taunted Surt by smacking his shield with his hammer, Spiral Galaxy began beckoning the cosmos unto her horn, Air Slash poised his swords, Kickback and Quantum Tech took aim, the latter ready to hit the switch on her death ray, Zebota began chanting an incantation while Shrapnel was ready to pounce, Bullseye took aim with an explosive arrow, staring at her foe with all the rage her darkened heart could muster, Tidal Wave beckoned the water on the field around him, Valkyrie flared her ancestral light, and Frostbite viciously growled as her cracked his knuckles and popped his neck, exhaling puffs of frigid air through his nostrils, and Greensprout stood ready to maintain their good health until this terrible battle finally came to a close.

<CRASH!!!>

The foals heard the sound from high above them and looked up to see that something had smashed through a window high above them. Glass shards fell amongst a mass that appeared to be someone or something screaming.

When it hit the ground, it rolled for a moment before stopping to reveal that it was Skadi struggling to defend herself from a feral Crazylocks. “H-H-HELP!! GET THIS PSYCHO OFF OF ME!!! HEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!!!”

Crazylocks was mercilessly pounding at the hen while she pled for mercy, and Surt took aim at the lunatic. She noticed this and growled like a mad dog before pouncing onto its head. She then ripped its scalp wide open to find two disc-like structures that one could presumed acted as a mini power generator to sustain its AI.

Before anything could be said, Crazylocks pulled out and donned an inexplicable pair of sunglasses and began fiddling with the discs like a DJ. Suddenly, disco music began playing, and Surt just stood on its hind legs and began dancing extravagantly, executing impressive disco moves for what he was. Everyone watching just looked on with expressions that’d make you think their brains had been broken, save for Turf War, who was grooving to the music just as much as Surt was.

When the ending beat of the song hit and Surt executing a pose along with, he just exploded just as Crazylocks jumped down to her friends, her sunglasses now gone as inexplicably as they appeared. It took Turf War a second to realize that the rave party was over and stopped dancing. “Oh…”

“……What just happened?” Spiral asked.

“WAAAHAHAHAA!! He couldn’t take my sick beats!!” Crazylocks exclaimed.

“Crazylocks!!” Bullseye shouted as she flew into her friend for a hug, which was reciprocated. “I was so worried about you…” she said in an uncharacteristically caring tone.

“Me too, Bullseye!” Crazylocks said in her familiar maniacal pitch. “I thought I’d never…..ever…..” The loony filly began sobbing as her words stammered, and much to the foals shock, there was hint of sanity in her soaked eyes. “SEE YOU AGAIN!!!!” She cried profusely as everyone went to check on her.

When they managed to calm her down, Greensprout went to work with her Gaia Root. “Are you hurt, sister? Did Skadi torture you at all?”

“Nope! All’s peachy keen, Greensprout.” Crazylocks replied.

“Good.” Bullseye said. She turned her hellish gaze to the bruised and beaten Griffon spent of her energy. “‘Cause she would’ve been on the menu for a meat fest otherwise!” she hissed.

Skadi was barely able to stagger to her feet when she realized that she was suddenly surrounded by the Battle Foals, who all had looks of ‘we gotcha now’. Her heart started racing as she slowly realized that she’d been bested by these children.

“This, my dear Skadi, is what we might call ‘checkmate’” Quantum Tech said.

Skadi nervously reached into her sleeve and pulled out a remote. “D-D-Did you forget about all the pawns I still have on the field?”

Kickback shot the device out of her talon, destroying it just as she was about to press a button. “Ah reckon it only matters if the king’s been rustled up.”

“Your wicked treachery ends here, Skadi. I’m sorry it’s come to this.” Greensprout said.

Air Slash shook his head disapprovingly. “You stain your title with your evils acts here. I hope you’re ready to face your fate.”

“I’ll make damn sure she does!” Valkyrie declared.

Frostbite grabbed Skadi by the neck of her robes and brutally punched her in the face, putting a small crack in her beak. “That’s for trying to loot MY cave of MY food!” he berated, and then backed away a little and froze her hands together, detaining her. “I leave the rest to you.”

“Thank you, Frostbite. She will be carried on Shrapnel’s back.” Zebota said. Shrapnel lowered his body so that Skadi could be lifted onto his back, which she didn’t resist as she didn’t have the energy.

“Well, that’s one more ordeal out of the way.” Tidal Wave said as they took their leave.

“Let’s hope it’s the last, at least for a while.” Fire Fight said.

“Feeling a little…burnt out, are we?” Shroud teased. Fire Fight just brushed off her comment.

As they trekked through the fortress one last time towards a marked exit, the ominous red clouds had noticeably thinned, allowing some starlight to peek through the broken overcast. All of the previously hostile robots now just stood where they were and eyed the foals and Skadi, as though they had forgotten who friend and foe were. They figured Crazylocks must’ve smashed whatever console controlled them when she beat up Skadi.

After a moment or so, Skadi found the strength to lift her head and face her troops. She raised her talon and made a series of gestures that the robots didn’t seem to acknowledge, but Turf War took notice of.

“B****, I know you ain’t tryin’ something right now!” he said.

Skadi creased a weak but wicked smile and lowly chuckled. “Tried and succeeded.” She croaked. “In case of emergency, this entire fortress is rigged to self-destruct upon a given signal! <pant><pant> If I can’t realize my grand vision… I’LL ANNIHILATE YOU LIKE I SHOULD HAVE WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!!”

The foals just stared at her blankly, but they did panic a tiny bit. “I’m shocked you have the energy to try and bluff your way out.” Valkyrie said.

Suddenly, loud alarms started resounding from everywhere around the fortress. An AI voice spoke a message in what was presumably the language spoken by the civilization of before. Quantum Tech ran the message through a loose translator she’d programmed into her glasses during her captivity, and her heart stopped when she read the result.

“<GASP!> SHE WASN’T BLUFFING!! WE ONLY HAVE FIVE MINUTES!!!!”

“WHAT!?!?!?” Everyone screamed.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!! NICE KNOWING YOU, BATTLE FOALS!!!!!” Skadi shouted.

The foals made a break for it in hysteria, and they could barely tell the difference between their racing hearts and the blaring alarms. Every second seemed to pass slower than the other as they raced across the metallic jungle and eventually back into the desert, where the countdown could be heard as though they were still trapped in that forsaken fortress.

“KEEP RUNNING, GUYS!!” Fire Fight shouted.

“It’s hopeless!!” Skadi declared. “I’ve calculated what the magnitude of the blast would be, and it’ll be big enough to swallow this entire desert!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU’LL BE BUT MERE ADDITIONS TO THIS WASTELAND’S COLLECTION OF DECEASED SAVAGES!!!”

“Quantum, please tell me she’s joking!” Tidal Wave pled.

“I-I’m afraid I can’t give an accurate answer, Tidal Wave! W-We’ll just have to take her word for it!”

“Then what the hell do we do!?” Bullseye exclaimed.

“Shall we take shelter behind one of the mesas!?” Air Slash asked suggested.

“NO! It may topple over from the blast and crush us!!” Quantum said.

“Then what about on top of one!?” Greensprout suggested.

“I’ve been through enough volcanoes to tell you that’s not gonna work! We’ll be caught in the blast, and the rock’s gonna keel over anyway!! And you can forget about a big enough ice wall!” Frostbite said.

“Yo my boy, you think can like raise a rock wall or somethin’!?” Turf War asked Zebota.

“I…I could try…” Zebota said. He stopped and turned to the fortress. “Go on without me! If it is my fate to perish here, my only wish is that I do not take you as well!” He focused on his brooch and began chanting.

“ZEBOTA, DON’T YOU DARE!!” Quantum shouted. She practically leapt out of her mech and ran up to him. “You keep running with us THIS INSTANT!! We’ll just have to put it on good faith that we’ll survive! This is a fool’s errand!” Zebota kept his incantation going, and Shrapnel started barking, ordering them to keep running.

“Quantum, we’re out of options! There’s nothing here to shield us!” Shroud said.

“Precisely my point! What’s a wall of sandstone to an explosion of this magnitude!?” Quantum argued.

“I know my homie better than that! He gonna call up a wall take that blast like a thug!” Turf War said.

“How I wish I had your optimism, Turf War.” Quantum said.

“Quantum, please! We just need to have faith…” Fire Fight said. Quantum could tell by his sorrowful tone that he didn’t like this any more than she did, and Zebota did willingly offer himself to death’s jaws. She wanted to heed her leader’s words, but she couldn’t get her body to cooperate. Tears began welling up as she knew she was being forced to say goodbye to one of her closest friends.

“OH, SCREW THIS!!” Spiral suddenly blurted. She ran up beside Zebota and focused her gaze onto the fortress, which seemed to pulsate with light from its sirens.

Much to everyone’s shock, she removed her hornband and chucked it to the side. She turned her gaze to the stars above and began focusing her cosmic magic. The remaining clouds dispersed, revealing the night sky in all its glory. Suddenly, the ground around them began violently shaking, as though an earthquake had happened, and Spiral’s horn shined a swallowing light that was enough to break Zebota out of his incantation. The familiar galaxy formation expanded around Spiral, and it spun around with intense velocity. She gradually rose about ten feet into the air, taking clumps of sand and gravel with her. Her booming voice called upon the cosmos.

“RAAAAIIIIINNN UPON THIS EAAARRTHHHH!!!!!!”

A group of stars that were close enough together suddenly shined far brighter than one should be able to perceive from Equestria, and they formed streaks of light that connected them in a spider web-like shape. An intense light from the center began flaring violently……and a gargantuan pillar of starlight crashed into the earth where the fortress was, no doubt obliterating everything caught in in its wake.

The foals had to cover their eyes from the intense light until it finally faded out. When the smoke cleared, the fortress was no longer visible. All that was left was a massive crater where the earth had been severely wounded, and Spiral fell to the ground with a nasty thud. Everyone just stared for moment, terrified at the cataclysm she had just unleashed.

“My babies...” Skadi whimpered.

“Spiral!!” Tidal Wave shouted. He sprinted over to her and cradled her to examine her, when he made a startling discovery. “She…She’s not breathing!”

“Move aside!” Greensprout ordered. She wasted no time channeling her Gaia Root’s restorative energy into her friend, but virtually nothing. The best she could do was restart her pulse, which was still weak. “Put her hornband back on!”

Air Slash was quick to retrieve the accessory and slip it onto her horn. He sighed. “It seems she saved us, however…”

“Don’t worry. This isn’t quite as bad as what happened with you, Air Slash.” Greensprout said. “She’ll survive; she just needs to rest.”

“For how long?” Valkyrie asked.

Greensprout sighed. “A day or so, I’d say. We’ll have to keep her body hydrated and as undisturbed as possible until then.”

Tidal Wave lifted his unconscious friend onto his back, her body limply hanging off, but he could feel her weak breaths. “I’ll carry her until we get rid of Skadi.”

“I don’t think her blood will flow very easily if she’s laying on top of your spear, big guy.” Shroud said.

Frostbite approached him and lifted her off. “I got her, twerp.” He gently cradled her in his arms like a baby, which earned him a surprised look from the other foals. “Wh-What? We owe her for saving us from getting cooked, so…..s-so you better appreciate me doing this!”

“We surely do, partner.” Kickback said. “Hey sheriff, whaddya think about lettin’ Frostbite tag along? He sure looks like he could use a friend r’ thirteen.”

“Not to mention he’s a breath of cold air in this scorching desert we call life!” Crazylocks blurted.

Bullseye chuckled. “Nice. You should write greeting cards.”

“Erm… I don’t know.” Fire Fight said. “He was a huge help and all, but don’t dragons prefer going their own way?”

“W-We do, but…” Frostbite took a deep breath. “I’d be happy to…join up.” He said, surprising the foals profoundly. “B-B-Because you guys need me! I proved that today, remember!?” He nervously shouted.

“Yeah! You guys wouldn’t have lasted if I….uhh…didn’t help you break out, or….hold off those hordes of robots, and….”

“We thoroughly remember your heroics today, Frostbite, and we are deeply grateful.” Zebota said.

“Yeah! If you really want in, I don’t think any of us would object.” Fire Fight said. Looking around, it was clear they shared
the same feelings about their draconic friend. “Just keep Spiral safe, okay?”

Frostbite nodded and smiled. “You can count on me, twerp- I-I mean…dude.” They all shared a little laugh before embarking on their hike back to Griffonstone.

“Quantum Tech… I am sorry I acted so carelessly and worried you.” Zebota said.

“Oh, all’s forgiven, darling. Though, I should apologize for my childish actions. We may have been incinerated had I not held us back out of worry.” Quantum said. “Although, I would have missed you dearly...”

Zebota chuckled. “I will spare of my speeches this time. Now, we resume our adventure.”

Quantum nodded. “Yes.”

“Oh! Perhaps you could recreate that technology with the information you gathered about it. Imagine what you could do for us with it.” Zebota suggested.

Quantum shook her head. “No. Technology that dangerous deserves to be left destroyed so that it may no longer fall into evil hands.” She took one last look at the remains of the accursed fortress, thankful that she and the Battle Foals saved the world from the horrors it could very well have wrought.

Beacon

The Battle Foals’ hike through the forsaken land was heavy if only for the fact that everyone was worried about Spiral’s condition. Frostbite kept assuring them she was barely breathing, but Greensprout made a point of giving her a small vital pulse every now and again. Skadi was of no threat, and she knew she had lost, so she simply let her exasperated body be carried off to her fate.

Once they got to Frostbite’s cave, the drake took the time to hoard some gems together for the trip. There was an empty provisions sack likely once used by the former miners that he used to store them. As he exited the chamber with his new friends, he took one last glance back at the quiet, peaceful home he’d leave behind in favor of being in good company, even if they were mostly ponies. He ripped a couple more gems off the walls and chowed them down.

When the silver light of Luna’s finally graced them once more, the Battle Foals were more than happy to be able to breathe fresh air once again. The serene presence of life itself was more than welcome after the harsh trial they had endured.

Speaking of life, they quickly noticed that a group of people were approaching them, and were surprised at who it was. “King Grover!?” Valkyrie said.

The ruffled royalty accompanied by a few guards warmly smiled at the sight of the bearer of the Valhalla. “I see you’ve safely returned once more, dear Valkyrie.” He said. He then glared towards Skadi. “And I see you’ve even brought the traitor along with.”

“You know already?” Fire Fight asked.

Grover nodded. “I received a mysterious letter detailing Skadi’s treachery.”

“And…you seriously just believed it?” Bullseye inquired.

“While outrageous as it may have seemed, no one had Seen Skadi anywhere in Griffonstone since the early afternoon. It’s unlike her to miss important meeting with the Council of Norn, especially when it concerns our economic crisis.” Grover explained.

“Surely you didn’t decide to go out there yourself simply for investigation?” Greensprout asked.

Grover shook his head. “Of course not. Upon receiving the letter, I had Skadi’s room searched, and we found a diary detailing the discoveries she’d made regarding these…alien machines that corroborated the claims made by the letter as well as the location of the…ruins, I suppose. It was all the evidence I needed to prosecute her at the very least, but I see that you’ve bested and arrested her. Am I to take that proof of her transgressions?”

“Yes, Your Highness. She is indeed guilty.” Air Slash said. “Although, surely you were not planning on hunting her down with so few guards considering what you knew you’d be up against?”

“Whoever wrote this letter assured me that you all would overthrow her, and it seems I was not led astray. On behalf of all of Griffonstone, you have my thanks.” Grover said.

“Oh, it was our pleasure!” Frostbite declared.

Grover looked curiously at Frostbite. “Hmm. Never would I have imagined ponies and dragons working together.” He then noticed the unconscious Spiral Galaxy. “Is that one wounded?”

“Not wounded, just…has a mighty nasty headache.” Kickback said.

“She didn’t get caught in that space laser or whatever it was that just shot down from the sky, did she?” one of the guards asked.

“Oh! Uh… Y’all saw that?” Turf War asked.

Skadi deviously smiled. “It was indeed she who summoned that star storm. It was enough to obliterate my entire fortress. Far too dangerous to be left unchecked, wouldn’t you say?”

Tidal Wave glared back at her. “What do you think we’ve been doing this whole time?” he said firmly.

“I assure you that this is the only time it’s ever happened, Milord.” Quantum Tech said.

“Please see to it that it is the last. The entire city was in panic, fearing a coming apocalypse.” Grover said. The foals were glad that Spiral wasn’t awake at that moment. “But if she is in need of medical attention, I would be glad to have my court physician treat her.”

“That’s very kind of you, sir, but I must be by her side as well. This group’s well-being is my responsibility.” Greensprout said.

“Understandable, and please allow me to reward you for saving Griffonstone. A feast at my castle, perhaps?”

“WOOOO!! Y’all read my mind! Or maybe my stomach, I don’t know. But look, we gotta be hungry as hell after all dat!” Turf War said to his comrades.

“I guess I could go a night without cooking.” Fire Fight said. The Battle Foals all happily agreed to the king’s offer, and the guardsmen took custody of Skadi, allowing Frostbite to gently load Spiral onto Shrapnel’s back.

As he did, Tidal Wave approached him. “How is she?”

“Cool it, shrimp. She’s fine.” Frostbite said.

“Put me up there with her.” Tidal Wave said. Frostbite sighed before doing so, which the aqua colt was thankful for. He laid next her and made sure she didn’t fall off as Shrapnel trudged along the dirt path. Her breathing was light, but he could tell that she was going to make it, and he could breathe easy knowing she’d be in good hands. He blushed upon remembering the light pecked she’d given him during their captivity and put his hoof on hers. “Wake up soon, Spiral…”

As they all followed the king, Shadow Shroud hung in the back a little ways. She picked up the sound of something creeping behind the bushes and smiled, as she knew what the entity was. A familiar black shadow jumped out the bushes next to her, and he unveiled his head. “A job well done.” She said.

Dark Veil chuckled. “Just doing my sworn duty.”

“And I’m proud of you.” Shroud said. Dark Veil narrowed his eyes and looked away from. “Oh, come now. Don’t act as if you weren’t waiting for me to say that.”

Dark Veil sighed. “It was obvious, huh? Ok, ok. You got me. I just wanted somepony to tell me something that wasn’t ‘get good’ or anything. And….rgh….it’d hold more weight if it came from you…” he grumbled. “So….thanks….”

“And thank you for providing aid. Perhaps we can be a little more cordial from now on?” Shroud said.

Dark Veil eyed back at the Battle Foals with frustration and then back at his smaller senior. He donned his mask once more. “Just this once. Next time, I might not be so lenient.” He disappeared back into the shadows of the forest.

Shadow Shroud trotted back to meet with her comrades, and as she did, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, only to be replaced by something else. Slowly, her earlier frustration seemed to creep back into her mind, and she did her best to tame it. “If only they knew…”

Earlier in Ponyville…

The Ponyville residents of the search party had arrived by train back home earlier in the evening, still dejected at their failure at the Great Horn Temple. They all knew that they’d be heading for Griffonstone tomorrow, so they decided to rest their tired bodies for the night. Sky Strike had been given leave from his captain until he could find his son, and Twilight had graciously allowed him sanction in her castle, where he slept from exhaustion even if his worried mind would otherwise keep him awake.

Twilight herself along with Spike found themselves standing outside on her bedroom balcony with only the twinkling stars to comfort their sorrow. They had the runaway foals within hoof’s reach, and they still slipped away. She had never felt more like a failure as a princess. The most jarring thought was that they were still out there, vulnerable to Celestia knows what because of a misguided conviction that they weren’t completely at fault for thinking.

“Twilight….I’m starting to lose hope.” Spike said.

“It’ll be alright, Spike. We now know where they are, and there’s not many places to go out there, so I think we can corner them.” Twilight said.

“You make it sound like their wanted criminals.” Spike joked.

Twilight sighed. “Maybe because they feel like criminals…”

“I just hope that ‘Shadow Shroud’ doesn’t turn out to be one. She sounds scary.” Spike said.

“You’re right, Spike. We need to confront her about her intentions. Somepony that dangerous needs to be handled carefully.” Twilight said.

Suddenly, a section of the sky noticeably shone with unusual luminosity. They looked up and were both awestruck and horrified as a web of light formed from the stars and shot down a pillar of light that struck the earth from very far away. It dissipated after a few long seconds, and all was calm once more.

“Wh-Wh-What was that!?” Spike stammered.

“I-I-I don’t know, Spike, but it was the direction of Griffonstone!” Twilight said. That’s when she had an epiphany. “<gasp> Spiral Galaxy…. They must be in serious danger! We have to wake everypony up and go there now!!”

“Huh!? B-But Twilight, we don’t know if that was actually-”

“No buts, mister! Now get moving!” Twilight rushed out of her room with a somewhat reluctant Spike following.

Meanwhile in Canterlot…

The Royal Sisters dined together in Luna’s room. It was nearly time for Celestia to hit the hay, but she never passed up the opportunity to spend time with her little sister. They snacked on some waffles made for them at their request as they discussed currently mostly pressing issue.

“Sister, have you heard from Twilight at all regarding her search of the runaway foals?” Luna asked.

“For better or for worse. In her most recent letter, she mentioned that they had managed to find the foals, but they escaped via a portal leading to Griffonstone, destroying it in the process so that they wouldn’t be followed.” Celestia said. “After that, it seems they’re exact whereabouts are unknown.”

Luna breathed an internal sigh of relief. “That’s….troubling. Wait, you don’t perhaps mean the Asgard Forest portal, do you?”

Celestia nodded. “I do. It shocked me that was even still operational.” She took a sip of her tea. “I have no doubt that she plans to travel there when tomorrow rises. Perhaps we should accompany her.”

“I would not be opposed to the idea. The foals’ sudden presence in Griffonstone may shock it’s residents, and we as leaders may need to intervene.” Luna said.

“Oh! I didn’t think about that. However, the foals should be our priority.”

“Of course, sist-” Luna was cut off when a guard stormed into their room.

“Your Highnesses!” he exclaimed.

“What is it, Iron Defense?” Celestia asked.

“Something is amiss with the sky!” Iron said.

Despite the lack of detail, royal sisters went outside onto Luna’s balcony and quickly noticed the anomaly Iron Defense spoke of. A small group of stars connected their light like a connect-the-dots puzzle and formed a sort of web. From the middle of the ‘web’ shot down a huge congregation of light that touched the earth from very far away. The sisters could hear some of the residents panicking, likely fearing a doomsday event. The celestial beam petered out, but the unrest remained.

Celestia ascended off the balcony, motioning for her sister to follow. “We need to calm everypony down and figure out what that was!”

Luna followed her without a moment’s hesitation. “Right.” As she did, her thoughts went back to the Battle Foals, worrying how they might have been involved in whatever this anomaly was…

In the Frozen North…

Shining Armor, accompanied by Steel Sheen, a small battalion of other guards and the exploration team was led through the frigid landscape to the magical phenomenon he was warned of. He was no stranger to the eternal blizzard that raged throughout the frozen wilds, but he could tell that it was raging in a way that it almost felt…aggressive, as if something was trying to keep them away. Piles of snow being blown around in the storm would pound them, making it difficult to keep their balance.

Eventually, the actual anomaly itself came into view, and it wasn’t quite what the Prince of Love was expecting. Before them was a massive dome of ice that was surrounded by debris violently swirling around it, and the blizzard became more intense as they neared it. Surrounding its base were clusters of ice spikes jutting outward. Shining had never seen a more ominous sight.

“What….is that?” the prince asked.

“We don’t know, Your Highness.” One of the explorers said. “But whatever it is, we’re worried it could get out of control.”

“No kidding. We shouldn’t get any closer until we’re better equipped to deal with its…defenses.” Shining said. “We should head back to the Empire. I’ll need to inform the Sisters.”

“Yes, sir!” Steel Sheen said. Just as they were marching back home, a surge of power radiated from the ice dome, causing the ground around the violently rumble. They all turned around to see what was happening only to find the dome eerily shining.

“Shiiiiniiiiing Aaarrrrmooorrr…..”

A ghastly voice boomed from the dome, startling the entire entourage, but just as they thought it couldn’t get any scarier, a small horde of ice monsters suddenly spawned from the snow. They were seven feet tall and took the form of bipedal lizards whose icy armor and claws almost made look like armored aliens. They roared and hissed. The dome shined as though it were some kind of beacon commanding them

“GET BACK!!” Shining Armor cast a shield spell that blew the monsters back. He left the force field erected in its place to hold them back so that they could make a clean escape….

Favor

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.

Set Sail

On a Train to Griffonstone…

Twilight was too anxious to sleep even in the late night, as were Sky Strike, Cat and Fist, all of whom were too excited at the prospect of once again catching up to the foals. Everypony else slept, a little annoyed at the sudden nighttime field trip but nonetheless eager to finally complete their mission.

“What could have happened to make that little filly cast that kind of spell? I hope she and the other foals are alright…” Cat said.

“I really hate to be a downer, but we don’t know for a fact that it was this ‘Spiral Galaxy’ filly. This might be a mistake.” Fist said.

“Any lead’s a good one, buddy.” Sky Strike said.

Fist smiled. “I know. I just don’t want us getting our hopes up only to be disappointed, but I want us to find our kids too.”

“Let’s approach them calmly this time. We freaked them out the last time and they didn’t give us a chance to talk.” Twilight said. They all agreed.

Suddenly, they could feel the train begin to slow down for some reason, and it didn’t feel like the conductor hit the brakes, until they felt the telltale jerk of brakes being activated. When it came to a complete stop, a train worker entered their car. “Princess Twilight?” She said.

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Our train will have to be delayed until we can….fix the tracks.” She said.

“Fix them? Well what’s wrong with them? I could help.” Fist asked.

“I…I think you should see for yourself. W-We might need your help.” The worker stammered.

The four of them followed her outside to the front of the train where they were met with a puzzling sight. The train tracks were frozen over! “What in the world?” Cat said.

“But we’re roughly ten miles from the Frozen North! It can’t that cold over here.” Sky Strike said.

The worker shivered. “Brrr! Now that you mention it…” It was indeed unusually cold outside….ominously cold.

In Griffonstone…

The light of dawn rose and graced the land, and King Grover kept his word from last night. He had apparently sent some servants to wake the foals up a little before eight in the morning, which was a bit aggravating, but they’d made him a promise.

He had them all gathered in his throne room, and they came in one by one. Fire Fight was first, and most of his comrades shortly joined him. The only ones absent were Greensprout, Air Slash and Spiral Galaxy.

“Good morning, Battle Foals. I trust you slept well?” Grover asked.

Turf War loudly yawned. “Slept like a damn baby, yo!”

“No nightmares?” Shadow Shroud teased. Turf War just rolled his eyes.

Grover then noticed that the servant escorting Bullseye and Crazylocks was holding his eye and looked rather annoyed. “Is all well, young man?”

The servant simply eyed down at Bullseye, who had a guilty look on her face. “Y-Yes, sire… I’m fine.”

Bullseye looked gloomily at Grover. “S-Sorry… I…kinda panicked…” she muttered.

Fire Fight sighed. “I’ll deal with her, Your Highness. She’s a bit of special case.”

“I understand.” Grover said. “Hmm… It would seem not all of you are present.”

“Sire, the remaining three of them are a bit occupied. They will be here momentarily.” A guard said.

Just as she said that, Air Slash walked through the main door with another servant who pushed a wheeled weapon rack that had the foals’ armaments while he had had his swords on his back. “A thousand apologies for my tardiness. I can only carry so much weight on my own.” He said with a hint of pride.

The foals happily gathered their tempered equipment and geared up. The only thing left on the rack was Spiral Galaxy’s armor along another set they hadn’t seen before, which made them feel a little empty.

The main hall door opened again, and the foals were more than elated to see that it was Greensprout leading a slightly dazed but very conscious Spiral Galaxy but the hoof. The foals happily approached her while Frostbite just looked on a creased a little smile.

“Spiral!” Tidal Wave hugged her.

“Be gentle, brother. She’s still stirring.” Greensprout said.

“Oh. Sorry…” Tidal Wave let up.

Spiral weakly giggled. “Hey, bro…” She nuzzled his neck, making him blush. “Greensprout filled me in on everything that’s happened until now. I’m sorry I worried you all…”

“Hey, at least Skadi’s taken care of, right?” Tidal Wave said.

“Just do make a point of warning us before you go doing something like that again. You scared us half to death.” Quantum Tech said.

“Have you been fed?” Zebota asked.

“Greensprout gave me some leftovers from last night.” Spiral said. “Fire Fight’s got some competition!”

“Whoa! Let’s not be too hasty now!” Fire Fight said.

Grover chuckled. “I’m delighted to see that you’ve recovered, little one. Some breakfast is being prepared as we speak, but I’ve called you all here for a small briefing about your objective.”

“If I may, Milord?” Air Slash said. Grover nodded. “It is but a small token, but…” He grabbed to other piece of armor and handed it to Frostbite. It’s shade of grey matched his underbelly and horns, and embroidered in the center of the chest was a Battle Foals emblem. “You earned this, friend.”

Frostbite was surprised that a pony could accurately craft dragon armor, and when he strapped into it, it fit like a glove! “Not bad, kid. Not shabby at all.”

“I realize your body is fortified enough as is, but it makes your union with us more formal.” Air Slash said.

“Ya wear it well, partner.” Kickback said.

“Ehh…th-thanks…” Frostbite stammered. The foals could tell he wasn’t one for sappy emotions.

“Frostbite had it n’ his heart to carry ya when you were unconscious, Ms. Spiral.” Kickback said.

“I know! Greensprout told me.” Spiral went over and nuzzled his leg. “Thanks, big guy! It’s gonna fun having you coming with us.”

Frostbite eyed her for a moment before reaching down to ruffle her mane. “Eh, least I could do, twerp.”

Air Slash then grabbed another Battle Foals medallions on the rack that they had yet to notice and presented to Valkyrie. “And for you. I know you’ll likely never formally join our ranks, but I think we’d all be remiss if you were not at least considered a close ally.”

Valkyrie took the medallion and inspected it, then smiled proudly. “I guess it wouldn’t too big of a hassle.” She tucked it away in her armor.

Grover chuckled. “Now then, onto the briefing. Heimr Island is not a terribly large landmass, but its dense jungles both of flora and the prison’s crumbling ruins can make it a difficult place to navigate. As such, you will be accompanied by not only trained guards to aid you in battle, but also a scholar of history who possesses maps of the island, both from the days of its operation and its current state today.”

“How big is the prison itself?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“Half the size of my castle if I had to estimate, but that’s only the portions of it above ground.” Grover answered. “There are catacombs underground which leads to submerged caverns where inmates harvested their own water and mushrooms to bring to the cooks.”

“More caves…hell yeah…” Turf War muttered.

“Are there any sort of specific dangers that we should expect to encounter whilst there?” Zebota asked.

“Other than the obvious crumbling ruins, nothing in particular. There is no presence of venomous fauna or flora. Although, it warrants mentioning once more that the island is quite misty, namely on the coast.” Grover answered. “The so-called ‘demons’ are what is unknown to all of us, so do proceed with caution.”

“There aren’t a whole lot edible plants on that island, so we’ll have to pack a lot of rations in case we take forever.” Valkyrie said.

“Ah! Thank you, Valkyrie.” Grover said. “You will all be escorted to the docks where you will you meet the captain of my royal guard. She will be leading the expedition and is preparing your ship as we speak.”

“Oh wonderful…” Valkyrie mumbled. “You guys are gonna love her…” Her sarcasm was obvious.

Grover rolled his eyes a little. “At any rate, I wish you luck.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. We won’t let you down.” Fire Fight said. They all took a bow before being escorted to the dining hall before their departure.

*****

As the foals were led through Griffonstone, the townsfolk seemed to mind them a little more if they didn’t already despite what little mischief they may have made earlier. Not only that, but the atmosphere around town seemed noticeably less tense than before. Perhaps the news of Skadi’s defeat and arrest had lifted a weight from everyone’s shoulders, or was it the mere presence of the bearer of the Valhalla?

Far in the distance and clearly visible was a massive ship big enough to carry a sizable battalion of soldiers. What wasn’t obvious until they got much closer was that dock accompanied by some guards were loading the galleon, and the one giving order was an elderly female griffon wearing armor that was decorated in such a way that she was obviously of higher position than the grunts.

“I’ve seen pregnant snails move bloody faster than you lot! Ya think the king’s sendin’ us on a luxury cruise r’ somethin’!? Put yer spineless backs into it n’ move, ya wee guppies! The sooner we see what the bloody hell is up with that hunk o’ rock, the sooner we can finally sleep at night without these bloody rumors creepin’ around the streets like spiders in our pillows! Have us Griffons ever been nothin’ more than wee chicklin’s!?”

“No, ma’am!!” The workers shouted in unison.

The foals could feel the armored Griffon’s fearsome presence before they even set foot on the dock. That coupled with her stern expression made it easy to tell that she was a fierce old hen. Her thick accent instantly reminded Tidal Wave of Aesir.

“Sh-She sounds…friendly.” Spiral stammered.

“That’s about as far as it goes…” Valkyrie grumbled. They calmly approached the obvious captain while noticed them, prompting the captain to look behind her. “Hello, Captain Frigg…”

“Well, well, well!” Frigg boomed. “If it ain’t the wee urchins who swabbed up Skadi!” she said rather aggressively. “Can’t say I’m terribly shocked. She always seemed like a milk drinker hidin’ behind her science n’ whatnot.”

“Yer not too far off the mark there, Ms….Frigg, was it?” Kickback said.

“That’s Captain Frigg to you, horsie!” she asserted. “Ya better count yer blessin’s that the king decided to be impressed with yer li’l arses. Otherwise, I’d sooner swallow a pound o’ seagull droppin’s whole than let even step onto the dock to board the might Jotun!”

“Tch! You’re welcome by the way!” Bullseye growled.

Frigg glared at the little archer, and Bullseye could suddenly feel her very soul being crushed under the intense weight of the old hen’s gaze alone. She quivered a little and lowered her head. “Yeah.” Frigg growled. “You wanna hit me with words, you better be ready to hit me with a sword, girly.”

Air Slash cleared his throat. “It seems we’re off on the wrong foot, honorable captain. If you asked our dear Valkyrie, I believe she could attest quite nicely to our strength. She barely managed to best me in duel.”

“It’s true.” Valkyrie muttered blankly.

Surprisngly, Frigg seemed to eye Valkyrie more disapprovingly than anything else. “Hmph. Just one li’l play fight was all it took fer you to take a shine to these swabs, eh? Typical…” she said. “Yer given the weight o’ yer ancestors, n’ lets ya think you can judge a book by the first chapter. Ain’t I at least taught ya how to use a sword and shield, chicklin’!?”

“Yes….you did….” Valkyrie muttered.

“You’re the one that trained her? That’s cool!” Fire Fight said.

Frigg just waved her hand. “Eh, what’s it to you?” she said. “Listen good now. If the king thinks you can help us again, I’ll humor him, but ye li’l swabs better show me why Skadi was sunk by a few tykes on a field trip. Otherwise, I’m shippin’ ya back to Griffonstone in a dingy. Is that clear?” She looked up at Shrapnel. “That goes fer yer li’l pup here as well.”

Shrapnel growled at her, obviously not taking kindly to being called a pup.

Frigg spread her wings and flew up to him, getting right in his face. “Ya sure ya wanna take that tone with me fido?”

Zebota patted his titan on the paw. “At ease, Shrapnel.” At his master’s command, Shrapnel calmed down, and Frigg landed back on the dock.

“You’ll have to give us a minute to finish loadin’ supplies onto the ship b’fore ya board her. We’ve always made sure a ship’s crew n’ passengers actually have survival needs b’fore settin’ sail.” Frigg explained.

“Fair enough.” Shroud said.

Quantum Tech couldn’t help but to marvel at the Jotun itself. It was a massive beauty of a ship that looked like it had withstood the test of time. Whoever was responsible for its maintenance was obviously very diligent. “Quite a breathtaking galleon I must say.”

“Like it, do ya?” Frigg replied. “She’s a hardy ol’ girl. Been around ever since the times of Siegfried himself. Some legends claim that the bastard even helped build her in his youth. I guarantee ya won’t find a boat better fit fer the sea anywhere else.”

“Captain!” a crewman called out. “All the supplies check out! We’re ready as soon as everyone else in aboard!”

“’Bout bloody time, ya sea slugs!” Frigg shouted. She then faced the foals. “Alright, onto the ship with ye, swabs! We got a dangerous voyage ahead of us.” She flew onboard ahead of them.

Turf War shook his head. “Boy, don’t f*** with her!”

“Yeah… Get used to it. Nothing ever impresses her…” Valkyrie muttered.

“A warrior’s spirit must keep her aged body so strong.” Greensprout said.

“Maybe I should show her my mental scars collection!” Crazylocks blurted.

“R-Right…” Fire Fight said.

He and the foals began boarding the Jotun. Quantum had to have Spiral and Fire Fight help her magically lift her mech onto the deck, but the real task was figuring out how to get Shrapnel aboard. The boarding plane was only wide enough to make for two lanes of traffic, and he wasn’t a small creature. Seemingly without easy options, the wooden titan saw fit to leap aboard the ship, and his sheer weight caused to rock violently for a moment, startling most of the crew.

“OI THAR!! YA TRYIN’ TO SINK HER B’FORE WE EVEN WEIGH ANCHOR YA BLOODY BAG O’ SPLINTERS!?!?” Frigg exclaimed.

The foals could tell that this was going to be a long ship ride…

Seafaring Foals

In spite of the impending danger their destination had in store for them, the Battle Foals were eager to enjoy their first boat trip. The Jotun proved to be a mighty beast of a ship, easily taking hits from rogue waves when the Celestial Sea decided to show its rougher side. Valkyrie was able to prove her ability as a sailor when she helped the deckhands perform various tasks around the main deck. Captain Frigg ‘tactfully’ advised the other foals to stay out of the way and ‘mind their own bloody business’. Heeding her warning, the foals decided to simply explore the gargantuan galleon before they hit land.

Quantum had to stop herself from frothing over the rich history no doubt carried within this one vessel. She giddily pranced around the Jotun, careful not to bump into anything or the sailors. Readings from her glasses indicated that the wood comprising the ship was indeed as old as Frigg suggested, but its structural integrity was shockingly superb, suggesting that it was maintained as carefully as a mother cares for her newborn.

Worrying that the salty sea breeze might start damaging her glasses, she decided to head below deck and explore further. The many clean hallways within the ancient ship made it look like she was on a luxury cruise with a Griffon theme. Many of the doors were closed which she didn’t enter, but one door was curiously halfway open. Intrigued, she went to take a peek.

Inside was a male Griffon that looked only a few years younger than Skadi. Amongst him were shelves stacked with scrolls and books, one of which he was fervently focused into. The vast array of knowledge left Quantum mesmerized, and after a moment, the griffon happened to look up and notice her. “Oh! Pardon me. Were you standing there long?”

“N-No, sir! I didn’t mean to intrude. This room merely caught my eye is all.” Quantum answered. “Are…you perhaps the history scholar that your king mentioned?”

He nodded. “Sharp one. My name is Ymir, and you must be one of the foal warriors His Highness spoke so highly of.”

“Well, I’m hardly a ‘warrior’ in the strictest definition of the word unlike the vast majority of my compatriots, but I like to think that I make a significant contribution.” Quantum said. “May I come in?”

“Of course.” Ymir said.

“Thank you, Ymir. A pleasure by the way. My name is Quantum Tech.”

“Quantum Tech… Am I to presume you are the one who brought that mecha on board?” Ymir inquired.

“Oh, you saw that?”

“Yes. Quite a feat, I must say. Sadly, my talents lay more so with history and literature than science and technology.” Ymir said.

“Then you and I are opposites.” Quantum said. “Speaking of which, we were told that you’d be able to tell us a great deal about this Heimr Island? You seem to have an impressive collection.”

“Indeed I do. As a matter of fact, I was just refreshing my memory on the island’s general operation and maintenance, as well as a few urban legends.” Ymir marked his book and closed, and he got up to fetch a large scroll from a shelf which put onto a table beside before unraveling it, revealing a map of the island. “Albeit loosely connected to my documentary sources, this map is the latest iteration of anything charting the island’s geography known to exist.”

One look at the map told Quantum Tech that it was quite ancient, and thus likely not as reliable as anyone would like. “A bit limited in resources, are we?”

“Not terribly as far as Heimr Island is concerned. It hasn’t been visited for ages, so information regarding it is quite outdated. I’ve been entrusted with all of the best sources we have.” Ymir said. “I’ve discerned a few possible landing locations, but as there’s very little way to tell how these areas might have changed over time from mere historical records. I’m having difficulty deciding which one would be the most suited for our arrival. Even a beast like the Jotun can be left vulnerable in a potentially hostile environment.”

Quantum fixed her glasses and smiled. “Then it appears you’d need an expert opinion, good sir.”

Ymir chuckled. “Then please, allow me to inquire.” He stood beside her and pointed to a stretch of land sloping downward into the ocean, a peninsula jutting out into the ocean, a bay area, and an elevated area of the island marked by an arrow as ‘cave entrance’. “I should note that this bay was rumored to be riddled with tree stumps rising out of the water according to old sketches of the island.”

“Trees growing out of saltwater? No, no, no. That sounds more to me like an estuary. As such, if the island has been unvisited for as long as it has, then I would imagine the trees growing to sizeable enough proportions that we would have to drop anchor in front of this natural barrier if we want to preserve the local ecosystem, and it would make travel between the land itself and the ship quite difficult.” Quantum said.

“I had the same thought.” Ymir said. “The cave entrance would be quite risky though, unless you had a safe method of entry in mind.”

“We could have our friend, Tidal Wave scout the premises, but I think that should come as a last resort.” Quantum said. “This peninsula would be a good choice since it essentially acts as a natural dock, but the amount of land in this fourth location would be suited for unloading more of us at once and boarding quickly in case of the need for a quick escape should something go awry.”

“Given the grotesque rumors surrounding this forsaken place, I’d say it’s best to err on the side of caution.” Ymir said.

“Agreed.” Quantum said. “You…seemed rather sure of yourself for someone wanting a second opinion.”

Ymir chuckled. “You’ll have to forgive me. Whenever I meet another intelligent mind, I like to gauge their wits, and you seem fairly informed.”

Quantum looked at him and lowered her glasses. “You’ve caught a glimpse of my magnum opus and you think I’m ‘fairly informed’?”

“I’ve never seen it in action.” Ymir rebutted.

Quantum giggled. “The you’re in for quite the show, my friend. Might I read a few of these tomes?”

Ymir nodded. “By all means. Knowledge should be shared amongst all.”

*****

On the deck of the ship, Shrapnel quietly sat in the center of the deck so that his sheer weight wouldn’t cause it to capsize, staying out of the way of the crew members. Beside him peacefully meditating was his master. Zebota’s brooch faintly shimmered an aquatic aura as he silently chanted, which caused some superstitious crewmen to quiver as they maintained the ship as if Shrapnel’s presence wasn’t frightening enough. Frigg had to order them to focus from time to time while letting the mystic duo do their thing, but silently she was mildly impressed that a little colt could tame a ferocious beast, if only because she understood next to nothing about zebra culture.

What no one else noticed right away was that the sea was pretty calm. The seasoned sailors were pleasantly surprised when they did take notice, but couldn’t place why it was happening. They decided to keep carrying out their duties and not question good fortune…..even if the eagle-eyed old eagle of a captain noticed the little shaman’s glowing brooch and laughed off the looming possibility swimming in her aged head.

*****

Elsewhere near the stern of the ship, Tidal Wave saw the rest of his friends calmly chilling near the edge of the deck watching the waves left behind by the Jotun and looking relatively bored. Air Slash and Greensprout were snuggled up, Bullseye was sitting with Crazylocks while the latter chewed on a rope like a dog bone, Turf War was noticeable fidgeting a little, and everyone else was just sitting or laying there with nothing to do. Valkyrie wasn’t present as she continued to aid the ship’s crew.

Spiral Galaxy noticed their lancer join them and smiled. “I’m a little surprised you’re not going for a swim, buddy.”

“Not in the middle of sea, I’m not!” Tidal Wave said.

“At least you wouldn’t be bored to death…” Bullseye said.

Crazylocks briefly stopped chewing on her rope. “A boring boar who tore a sore for more money couldn’t bake a long cake like this!” she said before resuming.

“The only thing that’s been even remotely exciting is being on the sea.” Fire Fight said.

“I could’ve flown us all there, and we’d be there by now.” Frostbite said.

“You’d to make several trips across this vast sea carrying a few of us at a time, Frostbite.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Ah reckon the real adventure will start once we arrive at that island, so it might be a good thing that we’re savin’ our energy ‘til then.” Kickback said.

“I really must wonder what sort of evil we’ll encounter there. I’d feel horrible if these griffon soldiers suffer because of us.” Greensprout said.

“If there is somethin’. I mean, it might be nothin’.” Turf War said.

Air Slash could detect a hint of anxiety in his tone. “Sublimate your fear into sharpening your wits, my friend. You’re one of our first lines of defense.”

Turf War was comforted a little, and he smiled. “Yeah, man. Them swords better be ready to say ‘wassup’ though.”

“And your hammer, hammerhead.” They could hear wing flap above them, and they looked to see Valkyrie descending upon them. “Shields weren’t made to be cowered behind with your tail between your legs, you know.” She gently landed beside them.

Turf War rolled his eyes. “Just tryin’ to be careful with it! We don’t know whose territory we ‘bout to step on.”

Before anything else could be said, the foals heard a loud croon resound from behind the ship. They looked and saw a whale partially surface, and were treated to a minor wonder of nature when its blowhole erupted.

“Whoa…” Fire Fight mumbled.

The whale crooned again before diving, waving goodbye to the foals with its massive tail as it slammed down into the water before vanishing into the deep blue.

“I think it was curious about us.” Tidal Wave.

“You think?” Spiral asked.

Tidal Wave looked down at his faintly gleaming brooch. “Call it a hunch.” He said. “Man, Quantum Tech would’ve gotten a kick out of that.”

“Speaking of which, where is she?” Spiral wondered.

“I think I saw her go below deck. Probably didn’t want her glasses falling overboard; at least her heavy-a** mech is tied down.” Bullseye said.

“What’s the racket over here?” The voice turned to see Captain Frigg approaching them.

“Oh, joy…” Valkyrie thought to herself.

“Hi, captain. We just saw a whale!” Fire Fight said.

The cantankerous captain’s unimpressed expression didn’t change a bit even when she looked out to sea. “You’er seriously getting’ riled up because o’ one them bags of blubber?”

“Most of us haven’t been at sea before, captain. It was quite a special occasion.” Greensprout politely replied.

Frigg scoffed. “Save the ‘special occasion’ tomfoolery for when we hit land. If you swabs are half the warriors ye claim to be, you wouldn’t get so distracted by a bloody sea cow.”

“R-Right…” Fire Fight muttered. “Do you perchance know where Quantum is?”

Frigg shook her head. “Coulda sworn it was you’er job keepin’ track o’ yer troops, bucko. I’m only here to help you squash whatever bugs r’ crawlin’ all over the island.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am.” Fire Fight muttered.

“Aye. And we’ll be keepin’ track of each other as a result, so don’t let us down.” Frigg said. Before anything else could be said, she turned around and was about to walk away when she overheard a comment from one of them.

“I wonder if Aesir knows anything about Heimr Island? I don’t remember him mentioning it.” Tidal Wave said.

Frigg quickly turned back to him and looked quite surprised. “Aesir?”

“Huh? Oh, he’s an old griffon I met in a town called ‘Yodelneigh’. He’s a hardcore griffon historian. Come to think of, you talk almost exactly like he does.” Tidal Wave said.

Frigg’s stern face seemed a bit softer as he described his acquaintance. “You’ve…met me older brother, have ya?”

“What!?” Tidal Wave was especially shocked amongst everyone else bar Frostbite.

“Oh, yeah! Forgot about that…” Valkyrie said.

Turf War facehooved. “B****, what else you forgot?”

Valkyrie glared at him. “Why I don’t just bash your empty skull in.”

“Aye… It’s been a day n’ age since last I saw him.” Frigg said.

“Ok, no offense, but you two are like…polar opposites in terms of your personalities.” Tidal Wave said, quivering a little at how she might respond.

Frigg paused for a moment. “Always have been. He was always buried in his books if our Dad wasn’t taking us out to sea. Never seem to take anything seriously with that stupid smile he always had on his face; always got on me nerves, it did.” She explained. “When were old enough, we….well, we went our separate ways. I joined the royal guard n’ he went to go live with you’er lot…”

“Did…something happen between you two?” Greensprout inquired.

Frigg turned to her and gave a light glare. “None o’ yer business, swab.” She turned around again and was about to leave when she paused one last time. “How is he?”

Tidal Wave wasn’t sure how to answer given the shift in mood, but he knew he had to. “He’s doing fine. His wings are too weak to let him fly, but he seems ok otherwise.”

“Never mentioned any family?” Frigg asked.

“Other than a late wife, no.”

Frigg sighed. “Figures…” she muttered before finally walking away.

The foals all watched her solemnly march across the wooden deck before turning to Valkyrie, who just shrugged. “Don’t look at me.”

“Well…that happened.” Frostbite commented.

“I have a feeling a lot more’s gonna happen pretty soon…” Shroud said. Her gaze became centered on an ominous cloud of mist far off in the distance that the mighty Jotun was fast approaching.

A Ways to Go

The mist was apparently leagues away from where the foals first sighted it, because it took them a couple more long hours for the Jotun to reach it to a point that everyone on board could truly assess its status as a physical entity. When they at last came close enough to discern its true scale, it measured to be enormous, enough to cover a large village. Quantum Tech and Ymir came out from below deck.

“We’re here…” Frigg mumbled.

“Are you sure?” Fire Fight asked.

“It can only be so, young man.” Ymir said. “Heimr Island was chosen as a prison colony partially due to the mass amounts of dew that accumulates around it year-round. Apparently, the king at the time thought it would be effective in discouraging would-be escapees.”

“This is Ymir, everypony. He’s the scholar that the king mentioned.” Quantum explained. They all bid greetings.

“And I hope one with a bright idea about our approach.” Shadow Shroud said. “Being discreet with such a large vessel is….tricky in many senses of the word.”

“Not to mention the fog being quite so thick. We should take care sailing through it.” Ymir said.

“Please do not fret, ponyfolk and griffonfolk.” Zebota said. He walked up to the very tip of the ship’s bow, bringing Shrapnel with him. His brooch shined as held out his boomerang and a magical glyph generated underneath him and his titan.

“Nisikieni, yanayosababisha upofu ukungu. Kuinua pazia ambao unazunguka kisiwa kulaaniwa na maovu. Kama mnyama wangu aseme, inaweza sauti yake nguvu kuondoa uongo wote na kutoa ufafanuzi ili tuweze kusafisha pigo kutisha ndani ya.”

“<HOOOOOWWWWWL!!!>”

Everyone on deck bar Captain Frigg watched in awe as Shrapnel’s majestic howl caused the mist veiling the island to just thin out, revealing the island and unleashing its ominous presence.

“How remarkable…” Ymir muttered.

“Yeah, it still amazes us.” Kickback said.

“Hmph.” Frigg scoffed. “So he can do a wee magic trick r’ two here n’ there. This is a military ship, not a talent show.”

Turf War started twirling his hammer-axe. “Man, you gonna throwin’ a hell lot of roses our way once we done showing you what we really got!”

“<RAAAAAWWWWRRR!!!!>”

A sudden guttural roar resounding from the island startled him and caused him to drop his hammer. “Ah, hell nah!” He noticeably shivered.

Frigg disapprovingly glared down at him and shook her head. “Useless milk drinker…” she mumbled. She then turned her attention to Quantum and Ymir. “Alright, the mist’s gone. What’s your move, you two?”

Ymir showed the captain his map of the island and pointed to the wide beach and grass area that he and Quantum had agreed on. “This would be the most suitable location for a landing, my captain.”

Frigg examined the map as Quantum started talking. “I would advise-”

“Hush.” Frigg interjected, leaving Quantum annoyed. Once she was satisfied, she returned the map to Ymir. “Alright, ye swabs! Make fer the southeastern shoreline n’ ready yourselves to drop anchor! Our expedition is about to begin, and yer blades better be sharp enough to slice through a dragon’s scales like a hot loaf o’ bread!”

“Wow, racist…” Frostbite muttered.

“Anyone too chicken to set foot on the blasted ol’ rock can kindly swim all the way back to Griffonstone like the wee shrimp they are! Otherwise, arms yourselves to the teeth!”

“Uhh…captain? We’re griffons…we don’t have teeth.” A crewman clarified.

Frigg drew her one-handed bastard sword that looked almost as big, perhaps even a tad bigger and roughly bonked it onto the crewman’s head, which was thankfully was protected by a helmet. “YA KNOW WHAT THE HELL I MEAN, SWAB!”

The crew asked no more questions and sailed the ship around the island until they located the shoreline in question and landed on its sandy ground, dropping anchor in the process. Boarding planes were lowered down, allowing for the crew and the Battle Foals to venture down into territory that already exuded a hostile vibe, as if it were trying to tell them that they had only one warning to turn back.

Before anyone could utter a word, the obvious marvel before was the gargantuan prison surrounded by the crushing grip of Mother Earth inflicted by dense flora, causing it to seem almost as though it were built out of them rather than stone and steel.

“This place is gigantic…” Tidal Wave muttered.

“I wonder how many prisoners were really held here…” Spiral Galaxy muttered.

“According to our most reliable sources, close to a thousand.” Ymir said. “I suppose the king of that day and age anticipated needing far more space than what was needed.”

Frigg looked down at Fire Fight expectantly. “Well hotshot, what’s you’er move?”

“Oh!” Fire Fight realized that he hadn’t even mulled over a sound strategy, and he had to think quickly. “Greensprout and your medics should stay here with the Jotun. If anyone gets hurt, they can rush back here for treatment. That said, we should advance slowly and cautiously until we have a better grasp on the situation. We should divide our forces into teams too so we can cover more ground.”

“Divide us how?” Frigg asked, her stern tone unchanged.

“Mr. Ymir, may I see your map?” Fire Fight asked the scholar.

“Certainly, young man.” Ymir handed him the map, and he carefully studied it.

“Hmm…” The prison complex itself was comprised of four huge cellblocks set up in such a way that there was a courtyard at the center of them likely used as an exercise yard. Around the outer perimeter were guard towers, one of which could be seen from their current position, but was crumbling.

“Zebota, do you sense any like…negative mojo or anything.” Fire Fight asked.

“The entire island is blanketed in such a presence, Fire Fight, as if there is a malicious consciousness about.” The mystic answered. Shrapnel grunted in affirmation.

“He says ‘the scent is thick enough to clog my nose’.” Crazylocks blurted.

“Then you two will have to go in separate groups so we can predict this ‘consciousness’ in more than one place.” Fire Fight said. “Quantum, what do your scanners say?”

Quantum Tech ran her scanners to determine the nature of the island’s negative force. “Oh…Oh my…”

“What is it?” Bullseye asked.

“It’s an energy with similar magical properties to Greensprout’s Gaia Root, but seemingly…with a reversed polarity. That’s…truly the best way I can describe it.” Quantum answered.

“Th-That’s disturbing. Perhaps I should accompany you anyway if that’s the case.” Greensprout said.

Air Slash held her hoof. “I think it’s best that we assess the situation first before commencing a full offensive, my dear. You’d be quite vulnerable in this foreboding place even with us protecting you.”

Greensprout sighed, knowing he was right but fraught with worry. She pecked his cheek. “Please be safe, and come back to me if you’re at all seriously hurt….all of you.”

“We will.” Air Slash said.

“Should I go investigate that underwater cave you all mentioned?” Tidal Wave asked.

Fire Fight shook his head. “Not yet. It’s too risky right now.” He said. “As far as who will go with who… My group will be Shadow Shroud, Zebota, Kickback, Frostbite, Turf War, and Air Slash. Quantum Tech will take the other group consisting of Valkyrie, Bullseye, Shrapnel, Crazylocks, Tidal Wave and Spiral Galaxy.”

“Huh?” Valkyrie interjected. “Dude, let me take point! I’m the trained warrior here!”

“Yeah, but Quantum can assess situations fast enough to know what you should do.” Fire Fight argued.

“Swallow your pride for once, ya play-fightin’ braggart.” Frigg said, shutting Valkyrie up. “As for you…” she turned her judgmental gaze to Turf War. “You’er staying back here and keeping harm away from the Jotun n’ her crew along with our resources.”

“Hol’ up!” Turf War exclaimed. “What the hell you singlin’ me out for? Man, watch bust through this joint and-”

“<RRRRRRRRR!!!!>”

Turf War started shivering as if he were standing unprotected in the Frozen North, as did a few of Frigg’s guards as the ghostly growl erupted from inland. The other foals were mildly startled. “H-Heaven bless my mother…” he stammered.

Frigg glared at him more sternly. “What was that, milk drinker? Didn’t quite hear ya.”

Turf War reluctantly conceded and just solemnly sat down. “I gotcha…” he mumbled.

Frigg nodded. “I’ll personally drag you back to Griffonstone on the wrong end o’ me sword if I learn you cowered away from your duty as a warrior. Is that clear?”

“Damn! Don’t gotta do me like-”

“Is that clear!?”

Turf War gulped. “Y-Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” Frigg said before turning her attention back to Fire Fight. “We’re sending in an aerial reconnaissance squad first b’fore we go bargin’ into this bloody rock farm ready for the dart traps to turn us into lunch cheese.”

“O-Oh! Ok.” Fire Fight said. “In that case, take Air Slash, Bullseye and Frostbite with you. They’ve got good eyes.”

“I’d hope so.” Frigg said. “You too, Valkyrie!” She motioned for the assigned foal and selected recon troops from her guards to follow her, and then she looked down at Fire Fight. “You’ve got a ways to go, swab.” She said before ascending with the squad.

Fire Fight lightly sighed, feeling mildly displeased with himself. Shadow Shroud then appeared beside him with that smile that boasted mellow confidence. “She’ll swallow those word whole and choke on them….eventually.”

Fire Fight lightly chuckled. “A little gruesome, don’t you think?”

“Ah get a sneaky feeling she’s seen worse, sheriff.” Kickback said.

They then noticed that Turf War was still pretty dejected after his pitiful display. “Don’t let it get to you, brother.” Greensprout said. “Having any fear at all shows that you have a heart.”

“Not to mention that being ‘fearless’ is the same as being reckless, which is just plain stupid.” Quantum said.
Turf War sighed. “Thanks, y’all. It’s just… How that hell I’m s’posed to whoop somethin’s a** if I can’t see it?”

“You have more senses than just vision, you know.” Shroud said.

*****

The recon squad soared around the perimeter of the dilapidated prison, looking out for any and all signs of immediate danger. So far…nothing. The negative vibe was still as crushingly present as ever, but if it was truly a ‘consciousness’ as Zebota suggested, then it was smart enough to conceal its hand until all players were at the table. But as the fierce old captain could tell you, all’s fair in love and war, so gaining intel on their opponent was a legitimate play.

Murders of crows occasionally scattered throughout the skyline above the prison, emitting their ominous caws as they casually flew by. The group made a point of staying close together in the event of an emergency; all of them kept their eyes peeled.

Suddenly, Bullseye felt a shift in the wind, her hair fluttering towards the prison, prompting her to turn her gaze that way. “Hm?” She noticed movement at the top of one of the prison wall. “Hey! Over there!”

All eyes turned to where she pointed, and a dark silhouette could be seen slowly walking atop the wall, partially shrouded by leftover mist when it suddenly stopped and inexplicably vanished.

“Should we check it out?” a griffon soldier asked.

“No. Keeping looking out. At least one round trip.” Frigg ordered.

“<GRRRRRR!>”

The monstrous sound resounded again, but was more mellow this time, making some of them wonder if whatever was making those sounds knew of its guests’ presence.

“Sound like a friend of yers, scales?” Frigg asked Frostbite.

“Hard to say…” Frostbite said. He knew the roar of a dominant being when he heard one…but something about this one felt….unnatural.

Honor

Back in Griffonstone…

After a long delay finally rectified by arduously defrosting the train tracks, Twilight and the search party finally arrived in the capital city of the Griffons, the Royal Sisters in company. The locals weren’t terribly excited to see a large group of ponies suddenly in their city, but they at least had the dignity to bow to the princesses. Cheerilee had instructed her class to stay with her at all times while in this foreign city.

Looking around the shambled city, the princesses couldn’t help but to feel a little heartbroken at the state their neighbors were in. They knew it wasn’t their place to intervene in the well-being and infrastructure of a foreign nation, but their natural instinct to support others was always present.

Eventually, the group reach the entrance to Griffonstone Castle where they were stopped by the two guards stationed at the door. “Halt!” One of them commanded. “Princess Celestia, I don’t believe we ever received word of you arriving in our land.

“I know.” Celestia said. “And we apologize for our unannounced visit, but we must speak with your king regarding an urgent matter.”

“What matter is that?” the guard asked.

“We believe there may be a group of foals runaway from our kingdom that is now here. We’ve been searching for them for some time now.” Celestia answered.

“Foals?” The other guard asked. “You’re not talking about the Battle Foals, are you?”

“Battle Foals!?” Everyone said simultaneously.

“Yeah! Those mercenaries that helped Valkyrie defeat Councilor Skadi!” the guard said.

“You idiot!” the first guard said. “They’re not mercenaries; they’re just…travelers, I guess, who just happened to be in the area…or something. Ok, I don’t know the full story either.”

“Then please let us speak to somep-…uh, someone who does!” Cat said. “One of those foals is my son.”

“Your son?” the first guard said. “Can you prove that?”

“You may take my word as a Princess of Equestria that she speaks the truth.” Celestia said.

“Well, if you say so, Your Highness.” The guard said. “But I’m afraid that anyone else unaffiliated will not be permitted inside.

“What!? But we’re all affiliated!” Scootaloo blurted. The guard glared down at her, pretty much shutting her up.

“It’s their castle, dear.” Luna said. “But perhaps you can speak with the local populace instead. I’m sure they’ve at least seen Fire Fight and his new friends.”

Scootaloo sighed. “I guess you’re right. Sorry…”she said. Cheerilee led her class back into town while the princesses, Spike, Sky Strike, Cat and Fist were allowed into the castle.

*****

A few guards directed them to a meeting hall where they were told to wait for the king, so they did. The silence during their wait was a bit crushing for the parents, whom had never thought that they’d have to go as far as travel to a foreign nation to find their children. They felt blessed to have the princesses there to help them communicate and not potentially start a war.

Moments later, the Griffon’s king entered the hall escorted by two guards. He sat at the meeting table on the opposite side of his guests. His smile was a warm, but he was understandably surprised to have visitors, especially given who they were. “Greetings, Princesses of Equestria.” He said. “I cannot recall the last time we actually met in person.”

“It’s good to see you too, King Grover. We’re terribly sorry to visit unannounced, but there’s an important matter that we must speak with you about.” Celestia said.

“And I have an inkling that I know what it will be.” Grover said.

The ponies were slightly shocked at his statement. “So…you’ve met Fire Fight, Your Highness?” Fist asked.

Grover nodded. “I have, and the Battle Foals as a whole. They did my kingdom, and possibly the whole world a great service.”

“‘Battle Foals’ again…” Twilight muttered. “And what were they doing here? One of your guards seemed to think they were mercenaries.”

Grover chuckled. “They’re certainly qualified.” He commented. “I know not their exact purpose for coming here other than to travel, but whilst here, they uncovered a plot by a now former councilor to strike a coup against me and claim the throne for herself.” He went into more detail about the bizarre technology Skadi had discovered and managed to hijack, and Cat found herself trying not to faint.

“Our kids…..went up against THAT!?” Sky Strike exclaimed.

Twilight lightly nudged him. “Shh.”

“Sorry…”

“You’re their parents?” Grover inquired. “Well, you must quite proud of them. I must admit that I never saw your people, as great as they are, to be ones for practicing the art of war, but the talent those foals have is unparalleled.”

“We…are proud of them…” Cat muttered.

“We just never told them…..or for that matter ever knew…” Fist mumbled gloomily.

“But that’s why we need to find them.” Sky Strike said.

“I see…” Grover muttered, remembering what the foals had explained to him during their feast together. “Pardon me for straying from the topic, but how did come to conclude that the Battle Foals were here recently?”

“Last night, we witnessed a cosmic anomaly that we believe that one of the foals caused, a filly named ‘Spiral Galaxy’.” Luna answered.

“Ah, yes. That was quite frightening.” Grover said. “Apparently, the filly unleashed that cataclysm to destroy the fortress used by Skadi. It left her unconscious until the following morning, but she is otherwise in good health, I assure you.”

“Oh, good.” Cat said.

“Yes. The dragon that accompanied them was kind enough to carry her in his arms until they safely returned from beyond the mountains.” Grover said.

“Dragon!?” Everypony bar Luna exclaimed.

“You are not aware?” Grover inquired. “Amongst their ranks is a young dragon whom oddly breathes ice rather than fire. I believe his name is ‘Frostbite’.”

Twilight turned to her teacher. “Princess Celestia, I had no idea dragons could breathe anything other than fire!”

“Nor I! In all my years, I’ve never heard of anything of the sort! I’m just a surprised as you are.” Celestia replied, and they all looked down at Spike.

Spike just shrugged. “Don’t look at me!” he said. “Huh….Wonder if I could do that someday?...”

Twilight now had to account for yet another new member of the ‘Battle Foals’, an ice-breathing dragon, as crazy as it sounded. “I see. And who again is this ‘Valkyrie’? I feel like I heard that name”

“She is a griffonlet not much older than the Battle Foals, whom she encountered whilst on a mission far away. She wields our greatest treasure, the Valhalla as she is a descendent of Siegfried, the greatest warrior in our history. As such, she is destined to ascend to great heights as a warrior of Griffonkind.”

Twilight then remembered that it was the griffonlet that Aesir had mentioned. She had read a little about Siegfried, but she’d never heard of this apparent treasure. “The Valhalla?”

“Essentially, it is the Griffon’s equivalent to the Elements of Harmony.” Celestia explained. “Though it’s magical properties are no doubt drastically different, it was forged long ago as a means of defense and source of prestige for these people.”
Grover nodded. “Yes, and only those who are of Siegfried’s bloodline are capable of wielding it.”

“So…she’s with our kids, sir?” Fist asked.

“She is.” Grover said. “Last I saw them, they set out to the west of here, perhaps wanting to return to their homeland. Valkyrie is merely escorting them back to the border. I don’t know how long she’ll be.” He felt terrible for having lied to another royal, but he had knew that if he really told them where the foals were, they’d make every effort to try and stop them, and he had a deal with them, not to mention a great deal of respect.

“Really?” Cat said. “I think we would have seen them from our train. I mean, don’t the tracks go over a narrow strait that just barely separates our nations?”

“Well, perhaps you were simply unfortunate and missed them, if you’ll pardon my presumptuousness” Grover said.

“Sir, with all due respect, why didn’t you have them sent back to Equestria!?” Cat demanded. “They’re still our kids!”

Grover sighed. “I realize I might have been irresponsible in many ways, and for that I apologize, but these foals prevented what could potentially have been a great catastrophe not even at our behest by intention. To banish them so would be to essentially punish them for their valiance.”

Hearing him say the word ‘catastrophe’ got Luna’s attention. Perhaps the forewarning gnawing at her had already been solved, and the ice monsters Fire Fight had described to her were a separate issue after all? …No. She still wasn’t sure for some reason, so she decided to keep her guard up until she knew all had been resolved.

“We understand that you only meant to respect them, King Grover, and we thank you for sharing what information you have.” Luna said.

“Y-Yes…certainly.” Twilight stammered, still a little dumbfounded at Grover’s actions or lack thereof.

“You’re welcome.” Grover replied. “Rest assured, if I had no reason to regard the Battle Foals, I would have had them returned to you. I’m truly sorry that events had to transpire like this, and I hope you resolve your conflict with them soon.”

“Us too…” Cat said.

They all got up from their seats and bowed to Grover, who followed suit. “Thank you for your time, King Grover, even if our visit was abrupt.”

“Nonsense. Our kingdoms may not always see eye to eye, but you are far from our enemy, and us royals should be cordial with one another anyway.” Grover said.

They bid their farewells, and Grover’s guests left his castle, leaving the avian royalty stricken with guilt. Surely this would drive a wedge between him and Equestria’s rulers, but the Ponies were known for being forgiving to a fault, so perhaps he wasn’t…..royally screwed. He only hoped that they’d decide to be understanding when the time came.

“I do wonder how those foals are faring?”

Back on Heimr Island…

With their aerial recon complete, the foals and their griffon hosts could now begin their venture into the island, having a good feeling that at least the densely vegetated areas were safe enough to survey, so they got into their assigned teams and went into opposite directions. A few guards prepared to fight accompanied them, including Captain Frigg, who went with Fire Fight’s group.

Air Slash, Frostbite and one of the griffons helped hack away the excess flora help clear a path. The three of them together helped make a wide path. Shadow Shroud and Kickback kept a watchful vigil while Zebota listened for any increases in activity from the island’s ‘consciousness’.

All was quiet for a while, but the haunting atmosphere was crushing. It felt like at any moment, someone or something could appear out of nowhere and ambush them, and the prison itself towering over them only added to the island’s intimidating presence. Ghostly whispers could just barely be heard on the looming breezes

“It is…observing us.” Zebota muttered. He drew his tomahawk. “Be ready.”

Opposite of the first group was the second, whom were also accompanied by guards, and they came an area of the island that was far rockier than it was vegetated. Quantum Tech was immediately able to conclude that it was mostly a mass of rubble from a collapsed part of the prison, which did nothing to mitigate how creepy the vicinity was. Shrapnel took point so he could sniff out any trouble, and Quantum hung in the back and let her scanners go to work.

She could tell that Shrapnel was on edge about the whole situation, and she was picking up consistent readings of a magical anomaly originating from within the prison. The collapsed structure opened a massive hole in its wall for them to pass through and investigate, but when she zoomed in, she caught a glimpse of two silhouetted figures peeking from behind one side of the hole, their eyes glowing an unsettling shade of purple. The anomaly seemed to be…feeding them somehow.

Shrapnel turned his head towards the eyes and started growling ferociously.

“Is…he okay?” one of the guards asked.

“He says ‘the darkness just beyond hides evil’.” Crazylocks explained. “Pfft! Happens on a regular basis!”

“And just what is this evil?” Valkyrie asked as she drew her sword.

“Well, scanners show that- <GASP!>” Quantum Tech was cut off when a massive spike in energy caused alarms to go off in her cockpit, and a symphony of demonic howls and cries resounded as the silhouettes charged from their hiding place….and a mysterious purple energy cracked the ground around them…

Unholy Welcoming

“TO ARMS!” the commanding officer of the griffon guards shouted. They all drew their weapons and faced the foes before them.

The silhouette’s true forms were nothing short of ghastly. Before them were presumably griffon prisoners who were once incarcerated on the island, but their bodies were horribly deformed, perhaps even mutated by the dark purple magic. Their beaks had grown rows of razor-sharp teeth, their wings were more bat-like and were shadows of their true nature, their tails had growths on the ends, one of them resembling a mace while the other was blade-like, and their overall build made it seem as though they had taken some kind of hellish steroid. Their torsos and arms even glowed in some areas as though the purple magic animating them had been tattooed onto them.

“Jeez! What did they feed these guys!?” Tidal Wave exclaimed.

Just then, the light cracks in the ground faded out, and more of the demented griffons burst out of the ground!

“Oh, crap…” Spiral muttered.

“They’re gonna eat the dirt they just crawled out of once I maim them!” Bullseye shouted. She fired an explosive arrow at the two monsters they’d initially seen, but one of them of them purposefully swallowed it and managed to exhale the explosion back at them, knocking them all off their feet.

“Argh! The f***!?” Bullseye exclaimed.

Valkyrie immediately activated her Valhalla. The golden light flaring from her artifact surged into her sword, and she flung a huge sword beam at the demonized griffons. Shockingly, they managed to brave the attack, but they were distracted enough that Quantum Tech and Spiral Galaxy could start blasting them and everyone could start charging towards them.

Learning from her prior mistake, Bullseye opted to just use her bows melee capabilities. She was no swordsman like Valkyrie or Air Slash, but her bow had enough bladed ends built into it that she could get fairly creative with her offensive.

One of the demon griffons tried to swoop down from above, but she rammed her bow by one of its limb-end blades into its upper throat and then sucker punched it by her spiked hoof guard. The deformed demon then tried swinging its bladed tail at her, but she parried it; it then tried swiping her with its claw, but she flipped over it and used her momentum to fly behind it and jam her bow into the back of its neck and try and drive down into the ground, but the mutation apparently granted it enhanced physical strength, and it took the normally fatal stab wound like a flea bite. It grabbed her started violently dragging her across the ground.

Bullseye was helpless to break from the beasts grasp until Crazylocks body slammed into it, causing it to let go of
Bullseye and crash into the dirt. She then slammed her spiked pigtails into its head, easily bludgeoning a nasty crater into it. “IT WASN’T HER TURN TO EAT DIRT, YOU FLUFFY PUPPY PARAKEET!”

Just as she staggered to her hooves, Bullseye noticed another demon griffon rushing Crazylocks from behind her. By pure instinct, she nocked an arrow back and fired, striking it right in the eye and causing to horrifically shriek in agony as it fell writhing to the ground. She soared over to it and put it out of its misery by jamming her bow’s blade into the softer front of its neck.

“Thanks, Crazylocks.” Bullseye said.

“Don’t thank me yet! We’ve still got deadly hugs to give!” Crazylocks said before flying back into the fray.

The griffon guards were doing well to hold their own against the fiends. Having a fierce captain like Frigg certainly did wonders for their capabilities in the art of war, but they found themselves at even odds with the demons. One of the guards wielding mace found himself in a strange duel with one of them since its tail had been mutated to have a mace at the tip, so they rallied continuously until the guard ducked under a tail swipe which allowed him to thrust his mace into the beast’s buttocks. As the beast staggered, a fellow guard seized the opportunity and swiftly severed its head with her sword.

Tidal Wave managed to lure a few of them towards the shoreline, and he hailed bolts of water down onto them enough that was able to safely form a huge blade of water onto his lance and swipe at them. They were certainly fazed by the aquatic onslaught, but not enough that they halted their advance towards him; their resilience had certainly been established. He decided to go all out and envelop himself in a waterspout and jet around the small horde, trapping them in the vortex. He jumped out of the little storm and formed multiple water javelins that he then launched into the vortex all at once at high velocity.

Just before the javelins could pierce the raging waterspout, a massive surge of purple lightning blasted the vortex apart and dispelled the javelins, and the sheer force of the blasted blew Tidal Wave off his feet. “GYAAHH!!!”

Tidal Wave looked up and saw the demons sparking violently as they ferociously growled at him, and then one of them vomited a beam of the dark magic right at him. The energy itself sounded it was screaming as it surged through the air. He used his water powers to jet away from the beam as it left a wake of destruction in its path. The accompanying demons soon followed suit, and Tidal Wave was practically skipping across hot coal. He quickly leapt into the ocean and surrounded himself in a huge cocoon of water, and he pressurized the water as much as he could before the beams of dark magic could hit him. When the time was right, he fired his high-pressure water fast enough that it blasted the demons out of the sky and nearly shred right through them. Griffon guards on the ground finished them off.

Not far from him was Valkyrie. The Valhalla had cast an inferno of holy light all around that gave her the boost she needed to match the might of these monsters. Her shield blocked the blasts of dark lightning, and she used this to her advantage and protected her fellow comrades as she did what she could to beat back the beasts. She found herself locked in a fierce duel with two of the demonized griffon, but they had used the evil purple magic to form huge claws around their fore talons. Even in her empowered state, Valkyrie struggled to parry their fierce swipes, and their bloodcurdling shriek-like howls were difficult to tune out.

“Don’t know your savior when you see her, huh?” Valkyrie shouted. The two demons soared and spiraled around each other with great coordination as they charged towards her. She tried to thrust her sword into them, but they broke off at the last second and flew behind her. They then breathed their dark magic which struck her just before she could turn to block it. “AAAHHH!!!” Her ancestral light offered a good deal of protection against the dark blaze, but it almost felt as though it was eating away at her very being; she brushed it off quickly. “Alright! You asked for it!!”

Valkyrie focused her willpower into her Valhalla, and the sacred talisman began to erupt with more of its holy light. As she did, her two assailants as well as a few more of them soared towards her to attack. When they were close enough, Valkyrie unleashed her fury.

“<CAAAAAWWWW!!!!>”

An explosion of light hit them like a ton of bricks and blew them into the ground so hard that they were knocked unconscious. A few were even unlucky enough to be impaled by sharp, thick branches or large, pointy rocks from the fallen wall debris. One more straggler tried to charge her, but she quickly bashed it in the head with her tiny hammer and followed up with an upward thrust through its neck; its corpse limply fell back to the dirt. Valkyrie lightly sighed as she watched it crumble upon impact. “Sorry, guys. Best thing I could do for you…”

Elsewhere was Shrapnel backing up a couple of the guards, one carrying a sword and the other carrying a warhammer. His sheer bulk allowed him to match the enhanced strength of the demonized griffons, but consequently caused them to have a great mobility advantage over him. Thankfully, the guards accompanying him helped him compensate for this weakness by staying airborne and letting him go on the offensive while they shielded him.

Shrapnel caught one of the demons in his mouth and thrashed it around before chucking it into another. The targeted demon flew out of the way and used its momentum to try and swipe at the wooden titan with an enlarged claw. The guard with the warhammer struck it just right under the chin and sent it flying. On the other side of him was the sword-wielding guard dueling with another beast before Shrapnel smacked the demon to the ground with his paw, allowing the sword guard to plunge his blade into his opponent’s neck. The cycle repeated for another moment or so.

In the confusion of Shrapnel ravaging the demons and his new guard buddies picking up his slack, they failed to noticed that one of them from off in the distance had chucked a massive rock right at them. Shrapnel was about to grab his comrades and drag them out of them way when a familiar blast of electromagnetic energy obliterated the rock.

“Not a very safe choice for a fetch toy, wouldn’t you say?” Quantum Tech sassed as she fixed her glasses. Shrapnel let out a thankful bark and his company gave her a salute.

The small scientist herself made a point of keeping her distance while she blasted away at the demon horde. Beside her providing cover fire was Spiral Galaxy; her gravity blasts kept the horde off their balance while everyone went about their business, and when she had the chance, she fired nova blasts and magically generated meteors at their foes.

Quantum Tech had set her mech’s combat system to autopilot while she ran some scans on their unexpected company. Not entirely to her surprise, the dark energy they possessed was indeed magic, but she couldn’t immediately identify what kind it was. However, she did notice that the unknown magic’s influence seemed to extend from much further within the island. If what Zebota said was true about the island having a ‘consciousness’, then these monsters could called its antibodies, at least that the best conclusion she could draw at this point.

Just as she reassumed manual control of her weapons, she noticed a demon griffon charging towards her ready to swipe her with enlarged claws. She quickly erected her force field, but the demon hit it with enough force to nearly deplete its integrity and knock Quantum’s mech back, causing alarms to go off inside her cockpit. “Oh, Celestia!!” She activated her beam sabers and parried the next claw swipe, staggering the demon for just long enough for her turrets to lock onto it and hail magic blasts into its face.

Spiral Galaxy followed up with a nova beam that blew it back into the rest of the horde, and she took the opportunity to seal the deal for all of them. She launched a cosmic bolt that travel into the center of the demon horde and exploded into a black hole. The beasts struggled against the intense gravity, but most of them were swallowed by its vortex before Spiral had to close it so that none of the wildlife or any of her teammates went with them.

The few remaining demon griffons retreated back into the darkness of the ruined prison, and the group managed to catch their breath after a moment. “Ok. Step one- confirm that something bad is here: check…” Valkyrie muttered as she powered down.

“Is anyone hurt?” one of the griffons asked aloud.

“I don’t think any of us are seriously injured, but some of us sustained minor gashes and bruises from getting hit by that weird magic.” One of them answered.

“Maybe we should check with Greensprout just to make sure it’s not gonna curse us our something.” Tidal Wave suggested. “I don’t wanna end up….having whatever happened to them happen to us.”

“As much as I hate to wimp out and let some prey escape me, I think water-boy’s right.” Bullseye admitted.

“Yeah! Can’t those slimy weasels see a girl trying to cut down on psychotic episodes here!? Ugh! The nerve of some monsters…” Crazylocks blurted.

“Is that a good idea, Quantum Tech?” Spiral asked.

“In all honesty, yes.” Quantum answered. “My readings of the energy are lacking, but what I did manage to gather is a tad…disturbing. Risking prolonged exposure to this substance without properly understanding it would be foolhardy.”

Valkyrie sighed. “If it helps…” she grumbled.

Though reluctant to have to retreat so early into their venture, the group made their way back to base camp quickly but carefully. Fortunately, no one was showing any symptoms of negative effects from the dark magic. What did linger was the horrific encounter. The foals were pretty used to horrors of virtually all kinds at this point, but it was still profoundly jarring to see something so evil at play in such a foreboding or otherwise unassuming place.

The closer they got to their ship, the more sounds of fighting could be heard. When they were sure that something was amiss, they hastened their approach until they happened upon a terrifying scene.

The other group had not retreated to the Jotun, but it was under attack by not a demon griffon, but a humongous spider as big as Ponyville’s schoolhouse that had flame in the same hue as the demon magic burning from its joint and abdomen, and it looked anything but natural.

The spider spewed purple flames from its mouth as Turf War did his damnedest to hold it back with Greensprout backing him up with healing. However, they noticed that a good chunk of the griffon guards had been trapped in purple web sacs obviously courtesy of their pest. The rest tried to hit it while it was distracted, but its high mobility let it evade most hits, and each hit hat did connect was parried away by on its exaggeratedly clawed limbs. Needless to say, the situation looked dire.

Bullseye drew her bow with a vicious smile on her face. “Ask and you shall receive, it looks like.”

As Quantum’s group approached the fray, Turf War kept whatever pressure he could apply going. “C’mon, b****! I got a big enough boot to squash you right here!” He smacked away its limb down the ground and chopped into it with the axe side of his hammer, nearly severing it and causing the arachnid atrocity to shriek in agony. He kept his shield up to block the hellfire.

“Please don’t get reckless, Turf War!” Greensprout called out. She buffed him with a vitality pulse and any griffon guards who came to her before flying back to their foe.

“Yeah, yeah. I gotch you!” Turf War replied. Suddenly, the spider shot a strand of web silk that caught onto his shield and the hoof that held it. “OH, S***!” His terror maximized when he realized that he couldn’t break free, and the spider started pulling him towards its mouth. “OH, F*** NO!!”

“TURF WAR!!!” Greensprout shouted.

Turf War pulled against it with all his might, but it was a match of tug-of-war he was slowly losing. Just as he thought he was spider chow, something whizzed through the air and severed the silk strand, causing him and the spider to tumble back, the former more so than the latter.

When he looked up, Turf War was delighted to see Bullseye and co. ready to help them. “Good lookin’ out, homegirl!”

Bullseye flicked her nose. “I’m just getting warmed up!” she declared. She then faced the demon spider. “Hey, ugly!” The distraught demon looked her way with its mouth opened, angrily bearing its silk-drenched maw. “GET WRECKED!!” She fired an ice arrow into its gaping maw.

For a second, the beast chocked on the ammo before it took effect. The sheer amount of hellfire around its body certainly slowed the freezing effect, but its movements noticeably more sluggish.

“Hey! That’s my job!” From above them called out a voice, and when they looked up, Frostbite could be seen diving towards the beast. When he was close enough, he exhaled a barrage of ice shards that disturbed it enough to cause it to cover its body, giving the icy drake a chance to swipe it with his tail, which had an ice blade frozen onto it.

It didn’t do a lot of damage, so Frostbite retreated….and regrouped with the rest of his comrades who now too stood ready to finish off the fiend.

Buried History

“IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME, YOU LOT!” Frigg exclaimed. The fierce old hen soared straight to the hellish arachnid, sword drawn and ready to strike.

The demon spider swung an arm at her, but she struck it with such force that it shattered the arm in half. It shrieked in agony and backed away like a cornered rat.

“WELL!? WHAT’RE YE SWABS GAWKIN’ AT FOR? TEAR THE BASTARD APART!!!” Frigg ordered.

Just as everyone else charged into battle, Shadow Shroud stood paralyzed, anxiously staring at the beast, clutching a kunai in her shaking hoof. “It’s a just spider; it’s just a spider. I-It’s just…one… itsy-bitsy spider, Shadow Shroud. N-N-No need to panic!” Her stammering worsened as her shaking did, and she started hyperventilating. The sheer amount of web silk it had already produced, its horrific jaws, the purple fire spewing from orifices on its outer joints, its demonic roaring….. She could swear she was living a nightmare from her earlier years.

But no matter how much the very sight of the monstrous spider made her skin crawl, she had her integrity as a warrior to uphold and her friends to protect; so she took a deep breath and turned her fear into primal aggression, something she could easily control to help her go into assassin mode, and she vanished into the nearby brush.

The demon spider leapt high into the air, and its flaming joints suddenly started blasting the purple fire like a busted hydrant. It somersaulted before slamming into the earth, unleashing a wave of the dark fire. Those who could either ascended above or jumped over the blaze while those with shields got in front of others who had no other way of evading damage.

With the beast having staggered itself, Kickback seized the opportunity and opened fire on its joints. The beast roared in agony as its joints looked as though they were bleeding fire, but it was still dangerously mobile.

The spider vomited purple fire which Frostbite quickly countered by forcefully exhaling his ice-fire. The two opposing streams collided until a glyph of light appeared underneath the spider and caused the ground below it to erupt and toss it onto its hind legs.

“ATTACK, MY FRIEND!” Zebota ordered. Shrapnel quickly slashed and gnashed at the spider’s exposed underbelly before it fell on top of him and tried to pin him down.

However, Turf War hurled his shield like a Frisbee at one of its bleeding joints. The impact caused a massive fracture that didn’t even seem to faze the beast as it was only focused on wrestling with Shrapnel, whose brute strength allowed him just enough power to resist.

Turf War caught his shield as it bounced back to him, and those who had ranged attacks opened fire on the joints and face of the atrocious arachnid. When it was finally forced to focus on defending itself, Shrapnel threw his foe off of him and clamped his jaws onto its own jawline; he then forcefully chucked the beast into a prison wall some yards away, causing some rocks to fall down, but none hit the beast. Just as it was barely able to regain its balance, a dark blur suddenly appeared from the fallen debris and swiftly slashed at the joints and abdomen before vanishing, leaving it further vulnerable.

“Good boy, Shrapnel!” Fire Fight said.

“Time I played a part in this!” Frigg declared. “LET’S FINISH THE BASTARD!” She charged toward the beast with everyone following suit.

Air Slash launched some sword beam at it to distract it while they all went in for the kill. Frigg tried to swoop down and jam her sword into it, but it caught her with a barely functioning arm and slammed her into the prison wall; the impact was so great that it caused a large chunk to chip off and fall onto her.

“CAPTAIN!!” Valkyrie shouted.

Shockingly, the old hen easily lifted the huge rock crushing her with one talon and smashed it into the demon spider’s abdomen, causing an inferno of dark fiery blood to burst as it shrieked in dying agony, and its bleeding joints finally burst off. Interestingly, as it died, the dark fire consumed it from existence as it slowly disappeared, and the flames burnt out.

“Well, that ended rather quickly.” Quantum Tech commented.

“Probably because we outnumbered it like crazy.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Fire Fight rushed over to Frigg. “Are you okay, Captain!?”

Frigg casually brushed herself off and looked at him as seriously as ever. “Aye, lad. How’re you? Shaken? Scared?” she asked assertively

Fire Fight shook his head. “Nope. But I’m pretty concerned about what could have spawned that!”

“Yeah. Ah reckon we’ve done enough scoutin’ ahead now that we know the desert has snakes.” Kickback said. “Now we just trudge onward n’ be prepared to ward ‘em off.”

“So you can talk a little sense, eh?” Frigg said.

“What the hell did you think we are, a bunch of barbarians?” Bullseye asked.

“Maybe you.” Tidal Wave said, earning him a nasty stink eye from her.

“If I may?” Quantum Tech said. “If we are to now boldly cross into enemy territory, may I suggest we simply blow a hole into the structure of the prison wall?”

“Man! F*** that! Lemme-”

“Excuse me!?” Quantum said to Turf War.

“My bad!” Turf War corrected. “Lemme just smack it open.”

“I oughta smack you over the head, thinkin’ a wee gavel can bust open a mountain of a stone wall!” Frigg said.

“Mmhm.” Turf War said as he casually walked towards the wall and drew his hammer. “Everybody, stand back!”

Turf War took a deep breath and readied himself to strike like a baseball player. When he was satisfied, he took a swing, and the shockwave could be felt as it caused the section of the wall to crumble, leaving a big, gaping hole that would allow them to pass inside.

Proud of himself, Turf War twirled his hammer before sheathing it. “I saved just saved us a….whole lot o’ trouble! What!?”

Frigg’s troops were dumbfounded while the captain herself seemed little more than mildly surprised. “Huh… Maybe those walls are older than they look.”

“Actually…” Quantum Tech said. “His hammer is magically enhanced thanks to yours truly.”

Frigg’s surprise dissolved into an unamused frown. “Hmph. Li’l cheat…”

“Hang on.” Spiral said. “We need to make sure this creepy purple demon fire won’t like… possess us or anything.”

“I sense that it is trying to grip our beings.” Zebota said. “Greensprout, can you purge this corruption?”

“I should be able to…” Greensprout projected her healing beam onto everyone, and much to her relief, she could see the evil magic dissolve away. “Oh, good!”

“Then it looks like we’ll really need you going forward.” Fire Fight said.

“Just be careful, alright?” Air Slash said.

Greensprout nodded. “Right. You all too.”

“TURN…… BACK!......”

The echoing voice that had previously emitted horrific growls had just spoken to them in a threatening, booming voice. Everyone drew their weapons out of pure reflex upon hearing the threat.

“Wh-Whoa!” Tidal Wave stammered.

“G-G-Goodness! Not… the most hospitable host, is he?” Quantum stammered.

“Oh, suck it up.” Frostbite said bluntly. “Whatever it is, it now knows that we can fight it, and it doesn’t want us to know its scared.”

“I see it all the time.” Valkyrie said.

“Captain, should we make any more preparations?” one of the guards asked.

“No! We have the manpower to march onward.” Frigg answered. She then leered down at Fire Fight “Unless the scrub has a second opinion?”

Her expectant gaze felt almost oppressive, but any chance to impress was a good one at this point, Fire Fight thought he had a sound answer for her. “Ymir has read lore on this place, right? I think it’d be a good idea to get his insight. Maybe what just happened has something to do with one of these ‘urban legends’ he mentioned. Any potential info on the enemy is helpful.”

The griffon guards all looked at each other, pondering Fire Fight’s suggestion. After a moment or so, they seemed to come to a consensus.

“Captain, with all due respect, the kid’s idea sounds logical.” One of them said.

Frigg looked back and forth between her troops and Fire Fight a few times before lightly sighing. “Alright, you swabs. Back to the ship then.” She ordered. She then looked down at Fire Fight again, whom she noticed seemed a little anxious. “What? Ya waitin’ fer a cookie r’ somethin’?”

“N-No, ma’am. I… I’m just happy we could agree on something.” Fire Fight said.

Frigg’s expectant leer softened a little, and then she leaned her down towards him. “Decisions like that will only slow us down, swab. You’ll never get anything done if only walk one step at a time the whole way.”

Fire Fight dreaded having to argue with such a strong authority, but he took a deep breath before making his stance. “In a situation like this, I’d rather we be too cautious than not very. We’re dealing with something we don’t understand.”

Frigg’s assertive expression didn’t waver as she raised her head again, and she softened more noticeably before following everyone else back to the Jotun.

Just as Fire Fight was about to follow suit, he suddenly got a gnawing sensation that he was forgetting something. Looking around, he realized that Shadow Shroud had yet to reappear. “Shroud?”

“<pant>…<pant>…” Listening closely, he could here somepony gasping for air from behind a large fallen rock. When he turned the corner, there she was. “It’s gone…. It’s gone, Shroud….” She was shaking as though she’d just seen a ghost.

“Shroud?” Fire Fight said.

“Huh!?” Shadow Shroud snapped out of her terrified trance. “O-Oh! There you are.”

It still shocked him that she could conceal her feelings so easily, and he couldn’t help but to hold back laughter. “I forgot you were scared of spiders.”

Shroud rolled her eyes and blushed. “I-It’s of no consequence. We were heading back to the ship, right?”

“Yeah. Come on.” Fire Fight led her, and they started following everyone else.

As they neared the rest of the group, Shadow Shroud leaned in close to Fire Fight. “If you say anything to anyone, I will cease speaking to you from then on.” She growled in a whisper.

“Lips are sealed, Shroud.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud leaned away from him and gave him a warm smile. “Good.”

When they finally reached their ship, a couple of the guards took the time to provide everyone with some beef and wheat jerky, and Frostbite gobbled down some of his gems. Ymir joined them.

“Well! That was quite the kerfuffle. Is everyone still well?” he asked.

“Sure! It’s overcoming your demons! Give them a big, deadly hug, and everything will sort itself out!” Crazylocks blurted.

Ymir chuckled. “Something tells me that you’re quite the authority on such a matter, young filly.” He said gently.

“Ymir, did those bastards ring any bells in that page-filled noggin o’ yers?” Frigg asked.

“Actually, yes.” Ymir cleared his throat. “I may have explained this earlier, but the prisoners of Heimr were forced to get their own water from a well, and they cleaned it regularly, which some prisoners detested, saying that they could here ominous noises coming from below them as they dug the well deeper. Some believe that they had to stop digging the well, because they feared uncovering some sort of monster. Surviving patrol reports claim that many of the prisoners who were tasked the most with cleaning the well slowly began to exhibit unusually aggressive, even feral behavior.”

“No s***?” Bullseye asked.

Ymir shook his head. “It may just be testimony, but the implications are rather worrying. Not only that, but a few of the reports are…. A tad nonsensical, shall we say, as though they were hallucinating.”

“What….kind of hallucinations?” Spiral asked.

“Feelings of oppressive dread, evident paranoia, a large ‘shadow’ lurking about, and an otherworldly voice growling something apparently indiscernible.” Ymir answered.

“Well, I’d say we heard it rather clearly a moment ago.” Air Slash said. “And it sounded incredibly dangerous.”

“And those poor prisoners were just left here….at its mercy.” Greensprout muttered.

“Well, whatever it is, it looks like it was waitin’ for someone to dig it up, and it’s startin’ to pick up where they left off.” Kickback said.

“So getting to that well should be our priority.” Fire Fight said.

“Agreed. I’ve already taken a photograph of Ymir’s map, so I’ll guide us through the ruins.” Quantum said.

“Good. Then we can go keep the bastard in the dirt.” Frigg said. “Who’s ready!?”

“Aye, captain!” the griffon guards shouted unanimously. The Battle Foals all nodded.

“Then finish yer snacks n’ get movin’!” Frigg ordered. They all complied with Quantum and Fire Fight taking point.

As they marched forward, Frostbite anxiously pondered to himself; he had a nagging feeling about the situation as a whole. “Could it really be…”

Quarantine

The atmosphere of the island had gone from menacing to downright oppressive. Whatever unseen force that had its grasp on the island must have realized that it was time to up the ante, and the foals knew that they couldn’t let their guards down for even a split second. However, knowing that Greensprout could counter the ominous negative energy with her Gaia Root gave them a much needed boost of confidence.

With that confidence driving them, the foals and Frigg’s brigade marched towards the hole that Turf War had cracked open. No matter how crushing the air got, they persevered until they were right at that fateful threshold. They were readier than before knowing they had an advantage.

“Last chance fer any o’ you lot to chicken out!” Frigg said as she drew her sword. “So whoever cares to run away like a chicken their head cut off, cluck now!” No response was given. “Good.”

“We still need to be careful. I must suggest that we all move as one unit. I need to be able to monitor all of your conditions, especially with this corruptive magic being a hazard.” Greensprout said.

“I second that.” Fire Fight said.

Frigg eyed the two of them before looking at her soldiers; they seemed to be hopeful that their captain would agree. She sighed. “The swabs have a point, but me and their two li’l sages are leading.”

“By ‘sages’, Are you perhaps referring to Zebota and myself?” Quantum Tech asked.

“What do you think?” Frigg growled. Quantum just fixed her glasses and took a position in front beside the Captain.

Zebota faced his titan. “Shrapnel, remain in the back.” Shrapnel grunted in affirmation before getting behind everyone, and his master took his assigned position.

“See anything on yer doohickey, glasses?” Frigg asked Quantum.

Quantum Tech examined her instruments and scanned the area behind the hole. “Hmm… Well, nothing out of the ordinary, at least for this accursed island’s standards.”

“I too sense little immediate danger. We will just have to move carefully.” Zebota said.

“Then let us waste no time.” Shadow Shroud said, prompting everyone to start moving forward.

Air Slash and Bullseye hovered above everyone and had their weapons drawn and ready to strike at any ambush as the entourage marched head-on into the darkness. They found themselves in a crumbling but large hallway with only snippets of light snaking through tiny cracks and holes from one side, which was consistent with Ymir’s map detailing the existence of a courtyard. Frostbite peered through the breaches and saw nothing but overgrowths crushing the ruins.
As they treaded deeper into the ruined halls, they realized that they had broken into a cellblock and were now bearing witness to the iron and stone dungeons where so many inmates were incarcerated. The presence of the demonizing magic was already an oppressing thought, but the most sensitive members could swear that they could hear the screams of anger and pain echoing throughout the haunting hallways.

All eyes were peeled for trouble, but Quantum left her mech on autopilot while she studied the map that Ymir had provided. Having concluded that the well mentioned in the mysterious patrol records was a likely candidate for being the source of their problems, she ascertained their location based on where they entered the collapsed complex and planned a route to the desired location.

Quantum’s mech didn’t step very lightly, but everyone else made a point of moving as quietly as possible. Any doors that could be picked open were done so be Shadow Shroud rather than someone smashing them open, and every fork in the road was calculated carefully before a decision was made. There was a point where they were met with a huge hole in the floor that formed a chasm between one end of a hallway to the other, and Frostbite had to quietly exhale an ice bridge for them to cross over, which was an ordeal in of itself given that some of them were fairly big and heavy.

“It’s way too quiet in here…” Bullseye whispered.

“All the more reason to keep yer senses sharp.” Kickback said.

Spiral Galaxy looked back at Shrapnel. “Smell anything, big guy?”

The wooden titan lowly growled as he slowly scanned around.

“He says, ‘The silence watches us, little ones’.” Crazylocks blurted.

“What does that mean in English?” Frostbite asked.

“It appears to mean that our ‘opponent’ is fully aware of our presence.” Quantum said. “My scanners are detecting a constant presence of the dark magic, but it’s being controlled by something akin to brainwaves.”

“Hmph! So the bastard think he can eye us like a platter o’ meat, does he?” Frigg said.

“Save the gusto for when he picks up his knife and fork.” Shroud said.

Tidal Wave gulped. “Are we getting any closer to that well? This place is giving me the creeps…”

“Assuming the blasted thing still exists, it should only roughly a couple hundred meters to go, based on this ancient map anyway.” Quantum said.

“We are drawing nearer to this consciousness; I can feel it.” Zebota said.

“Then let’s be ready to greet our host.” Fire Fight said.

The final obstacle between them and their ultimate destination was a steel gate. Crazylocks and Frostbite lifted it open and allowed everyone to pass under before rejoining them; Frostbite froze it in place so it would stay open.

After passing what was clearly a security checkpoint, they turned the corner of the hallway, expecting to find their well…

“Umm… Quantum Tech, I know dat map old, but I’m pretty damn sure this ain’t s’posed to be no well.” Turf War said.

Before them was a large, circular chamber with only a steel gate for a roof. The greater amounts of sunlight that breached in illuminated a huge block of steel and cobblestone that was clearly welded, nailed, and cemented to the ground where the well should have been according to Quantum’s map. Curiously, there was a rope tied around its base.

“I-I don’t understand! The map legend indicates that the well should be in this room.” Quantum said.

A few of the guards circled around the rock, examining the rope. “Hey! Come check this out!” one of them called out.
Everyone followed them around the rock and found a wooden sign suspended by the rope. It was written in an old griffon font, but it was legible enough that the natives could read it.

“It says, ‘quarantine’.” Valkyrie said.

“‘Quarantine’? Was there an outbreak here or something?” Fire Fight asked.

“Pretty sure Ymir wouldn’t have been stupid enough to forget to mention something like that.” Bullseye said.

“I guarantee you that would’ve been purposefully forgotten about.” Frigg said.

Shrapnel began aggressively clawing the ground and growling as he fiercely glared at the stone.

“Are we to presume our suspicions to be true?” Air Slash asked.

“Yes… Something is underneath this stone.” Zebota said.

“And the negative magic is clearly originating from this point.”

“Then before anyone makes another move, I’d better fortify your defenses.” Greensprout said. She released a pulse of energy from her Gaia Root. It gently floated down onto everyone like an aurora and formed outlines of gently glowing light, which felt like an angel holding their hooves and talons.

“Cheers.” Frigg said.

“How much protection will this give us?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“I’m honestly not sure, but I’m confident in its integrity.” Greensprout answered.

“So… should we move the rock, or…” Tidal Wave muttered.

“<RAAAAWWWWRRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!>”

All of a sudden, a cacophony of violent roars rocked the chamber, and a horde of lizards the size of a picnic table came scurrying through the steel grate at the top along with more demonized griffons flying through.

“Maybe not yet!” Turf War shouted as he drew his hammer.

The slew of monsters overshadowed the sunlight as they swarmed the brigade. The lizards had scales patterned like a tiger’s stripes, but with blood red instead of orange beside the black; their clawed feet and gnashing teeth reminded the first few Battle Foals of the mole lizards created by Gene Splice, and it didn’t help that they had bladed tails and drooled purple fire like venom.

“YEEEE-HAAAW!!” Kickback quickly drew his guns and opened fire on the descending adversaries, namely the demon griffons. His electric bullets did little to stagger the abominations, but kept them distracted enough that everyone else could attack them.

Spiral Galaxy blasted an upward gravity wave that caused most of the lizards to lose their grip and fall. Everyone with a weapon and a fighting spirit unleashed the fire in their eyes, some more literally than others.

Fire Fight flame jumped into one of the demon griffons and did a front-flip kick to the head that launched him high up. He repeated this process until he was halfway between the ground and the grate, and he unleashed a blast of fire from all around him, scorching the befouled fowls. Shadow Shroud followed up by shadow cloning and swarming the air, slashing the staggered victims.

Valkyrie swooped in and caught him on her shield and activated her Valhalla before letting him ride back down. She thrust her sword downward and left a trail of golden fire in her wake that deterred the monsters from attacking, and the two went on the offensive along with everyone else.

Turf War was careful not to accidently smack the ground, walls, or his teammates as he went to town on the beasts. His earlier fear was channeled into raw aggression, and he went on more of an offensive with his shield. He felt no remorse finishing them off with the axe end of his hammer.

Frostbite exhaled on the walls and created spiky sheets of ice. He body slammed one of the lizards and dragged it across the ice wall before chucking it to the ground and blasting it with an ice shard. He then noticed two more lizards scuttling along unfrozen walls that brandished their tails at him, so he exhaled ice swords in either hand and dueled with them. They occasionally tried to scorch him with dark fire, but he either forced it back with his ice fire or flew out of the way entirely; he followed up by freezing his tail and plunging it into the neck of one of the lizards, killing it instantly. He then grabbed the corpse as it fell from the ground and smacked into the other, which was enough to distract it so that he could use the bladed tail to slice the other in half. Both corpses disintegrated in dark embers.

The ice melted fairly quickly from the residual heat from Fire Fight’s earlier eruption, and Tidal Wave seized the opportunity to take control of the dripping water and drew it around the blade of his lance. He’d relax the construct and use it as a whip as well as form it into a shield if necessary, which he followed up with a blast of pressurized water. There wasn’t enough water for him to fly, but it was enough for him to get creative.

Quantum Tech activated her railguns’ energy blade system, seeing as the chamber was a bit small for her large electromagnetic blasts to safely exterminate the hellish vermin. Beside her was Zebota and Shrapnel. The little mystic stuck to his tomahawk that he’d energized with raw nature power as his titan mauled every lizard he managed to wrestle, and Quantum managed to catch a demon griffon trying to ram her on her beam sword and blasted it point-blank with her magic turrets.

Valkyrie joined her brethren and together with Frigg rallied the guards into the air waged a skyward war against their demented cousins.

“<SCREEEEEE!!!!>”

The bearer of the Valhalla blazed her golden light as she fiercely swung her sword and raised her shield. The only thing fiercer was the old captain’s wrath; every swing of her bastard sword was packed with enough raw fury to ignite a forest fire whether she was going solo or working with small groups of her troops. At one point, she swung her sword hard enough to cleanly behead five demons in one slice. She then batted their bodies towards another small flock of them, knocking them around in the air and letting some spearmen impale their hearts.

“AYE, SWABS!! SKEWER THESE CUTS O’ ROTTED MEAT!!”

Crazylocks made used of her hardened pigtails to beat back a few of the giant lizards. One of them latched its tongue onto her hair, but she was strong enough to fling it around her and slam it into its friends. She then sprouted her horn and absorbed some of the dark fire drooling from the lizards and drew it around her body, interestingly causing it to sort of magnetize to the light shield that Greensprout had cast and giving the form of a dark fireball. She sprouted her wings and surged through the air, blasting into the lizards and any other foe unlucky enough to be in her path. “This is the craziest pillow fight ever!!”

Spiral Galaxy was careful not to tear the chamber apart with her gravity magic, but she was able to amplify Greensprout’s holy shield with her nova magic, and she fired blasts of it around, which horribly signed the creatures. Meanwhile, Bullseye forced any lizards on the wall to fall hard on the backs by shooting arrows into their paws; she’d swoop down and finish them off by jamming her bow into their necks.

Air Slash remained with Greensprout and guarded her as she went around tending to everyone’s health. Any demon griffons that got close to her were cleaved either by blades of magic flung from Air Slash’s swords, or the cold steel altogether.

At one point, a lizard nearly latched its tongue onto her, but Air Slash severed before it could make contact. “I THINK NOT!” Seemingly unfazed, the ravenous reptilian quickly scuttled towards them, and Air Slash steeled himself.

Greensprout stood ready to heal him should the need arise, but then she remembered something Quantum had said before, something about the dark energy empowering them being opposite of her Gaia Root. “Oh, dear. I hope this works.” She muttered. She rushed up to Air Slash’s side and channeled her staff’s energy into the beast.

“<HREEEEEEEAAAAAA!!!!>”

As she’d hoped, the beast writhed in terrible agony and even caught afire- holy white fire. She continued to channel her energy until it was naught but ashes.

Air Slash was awestruck at what he’d just witnessed, nearly forgetting that they were in the middle of a mass hysteria. “B…Brilliantly done, Greensprout!”

Greensprout giggled. “Thank you.” She then sighed. “Despite its agony, it had to be done.”

The onslaught of enemies was causing everyone to run low on stamina. Waves of monsters just kept coming and coming with no end in sight. “<pant>…<pant>…” Fire Fight was feeling the effects. “They just keep coming!”

Shroud let go of her illusory copies and took a deep breath. “We may have walked into a trap! Just keep fighting!”

Zebota examined his surroundings after retrieving his tomahawk from a dead lizard demon. The grate in the ceiling, the wet walls, and the taste of salt in the air suddenly gave him an idea. “Tidal Wave, spray the grate with your water!”

“Umm… O-Okay!” Tidal Wave hesitantly did as he was asked and fired his relatively small amount of water all the way up to the grate.

A rainbow faintly appeared for a quick second before dissipating, and Zebota smiled. “I see all is in our favor.” He muttered. He drew his boomerang, and his brooch gleamed. “All of you, retreat into the hallway when I toss my boomerang!”

“Huh!? What’re you up to down there, stripes!?” Frigg demanded.

“Just trust me!” Zebota answered. A glyph appeared underneath him, and he began chanting. No one could hear what he was saying this time in the midst of the chaos, but they could slowly feel a mass of magic swell from him. Shrapnel protected his master as he performed his ritual.

“NOW!” Zebota hurled his boomerang into the air, and it began violently sparking as it hovered halfway between the floor and the grate. Large arcs of electricity started jolting between in at the grate, prompting everyone to follow his order of retreating into the hallway, him along with.

Frostbite froze the threshold shut before any monsters could follow them, and they watched through the transparent ice, as the little storm became more and more profound. The grate was now sparking as well, and they could hear the distinct sound of storm cloud brewing right above them

<BANG-BANG!!!!!>

A humungous crash of lightning alit the entire chamber like a fireworks show, shattering the ice wall protecting them, and when all was calm, everyone looked out in amazement as every single demon that befell them had been charred and fried like wheat that had been left too long on the grill.

“Wow! Good thinking, Zebota.” Tidal Wave said.

Zebota nodded. “I am sorry that I gave so little warning. The situation was growing dire, and something had to have been done.”

“Aye. A bold move, that was, stripes.” Frigg said. Everyone looked at her, shocked that she’d give a compliment so easily, but she pointed out into the chamber. “Too bold, perhaps.”

The lightning had shattered not only the ice wall, but the ominous ‘quarantine’ rock, revealing a hole on the floor near as big as it and fuming with horrific dark purple smoke. Suddenly, all of the charred-grilled monsters disintegrated, and the ashes were swallowed by the hole.

“<HHHRRRRRRRGGGHHHH…..>”

A mild tremor shook the chamber, and Quantum Tech just about panicked when she read her scanners. “O-O-Oh my!”

“W-W-Would ‘What’s wrong’ be a s-stupid question?” Spiral stammered.

“I’d say so.” Valkyrie said.

All was crushingly tense for what felt like an eternity as they watched the horrible pit, anxious as to what might emerge…..and all became chaos once more when a terrifying mass of shadow erupted from the hole like a geyser of pure fear.

Nidhogg

The shadowy mass slithered and snaked through the air above the terrified brigade. Whatever this force that they’d unleashed was, it took its dear sweet time constituting itself, and when it did, all terror was set in stone.

Hanging above them was an enormous, serpentine dragon whose three black horns jutted out in such a way that it almost looked like it was wearing an evil crown, which would perfectly complement its dark purple eyes that gleamed with hatred. Along its scaly body of dark, death-like grey ran dorsal fins that sparked with evil lightning. Pounds of smoke puffed out of its nostrils with each breath it took. “Free at last…” it hissed.

“Oh, bullocks…” Frigg muttered.

The abominable serpent loudly inhaled and vomited a horrible stream of dark fire.

“RETREAT!!” Valkyrie shouted.

The accursed inferno would have engulfed them had she given the order a second later; they all sprinted back into the hallway and rushed towards the hole in the wall from where they’d initially entered. All the while, the dark fire trailed behind them, and it was because of Frostbite’s ice fire and Greensprout launching holy blasts from her Gaia Root that no one was scorched.

When they all practically leapt out of the hole and dodged the blaze, they allowed themselves no time to breathe and retreated all the way to the Jotun. As they did, a horrific dark cloud began forming above the ruins.

“Dear me!” Ymir exclaimed. “Dare I even ask?”

“<pant><pant> It’s… <pant> It’s Nidhogg!” Frostbite exclaimed.

“Nidhogg?” Ymir inquired.

“Long ago, Nidhogg was a dragon who tried to become the Lord of Tarturus” Frostbite explained. “Legends tell of him breaking into Tarturus and eating the gems that grew there. Supposedly, it caused him to turn into an undead monster that could control the dead!”

“A n-necromancer d-d-dragon!?” Quantum Tech stammered.

“I thought it was all just a myth to scare hatchlings…” Frostbite muttered. “But it looks like he really was sealed away all those centuries ago after a gruesome battle with his army of undead.”

“And you’re tellin’ me that our ancestors just so happened to build a prison right on top o’ the bastard’s seal!?” Frigg demanded.

“Pretty rotten luck.” Frostbite answered.

“But it all makes sense if you put two and two together.” Shadow Shroud said. “Those voices heard by the prisoners, the described ‘shadowy figure’ tormenting their thoughts…”

“And… I was foolish enough to release him back into the world…” Zebota mumbled, lamenting his brash actions that freed the sealed dark lord.

“Fret not, my friend. At least he is now vulnerable to being slain.” Air Slash as he drew his swords.

“You say that like it’s gonna be easy!” Tidal Wave said, trembling as he observed the swirling dark mass.

“ROOOOOAAAARRRR!!!!” Nidhogg’s war cry caused the very fabric of reality to shake like glass during near a sound amplifier.

“Nothing worthwhile ever is.” Fire Fight said.

“Don’t we know…” Spiral Galaxy muttered.

“Shouldn’t be too much harder since we’ve got a certain somepony…” Bullseye said as she eyed towards their resident monk.

Greensprout could feel many eyes on her, and she nervously looked back and forth between her friends and the dark cloud. “S-Sister… S-Surely you’re not suggesting…”

Air Slash immediately got between her and them. “I REFUSE!” he fervently shouted. “Greensprout WILL NOT be throwing herself to that wolf!!”

“Dude, she’s the one with the holy stick of fiery death to this guy. She’s gonna have to!” Bullseye argued.

“Whoa, guys!” Fire Fight intervened. “Let’s think about this for a minute. Yeah, Greensprout’s Gaia Root is gonna be this guy’s weakness, but we’re gonna need to build an actual strategy on how she’s gonna effectively attack- she’s not a fighter.”

“Homie, we ain’t got no time to build no damn strategy. That dude smokin’ like a chimney up there, n’ I don’t think anypony gonna like gettin’ a nasty case o’ second-hoof smoke!” Turf War stated as he pointed to the swirling cloud that was increasing in size at an alarming rate.

“Well, at least it doesn’t seem like he’s got any o’ them undead varmints out n’ about.” Kickback said.

Just as he said that, a terrible symphony of roars and howls resounded from within the prison, and they all witnesses hordes of the undead griffons and giant demon lizards swarm around the ruins like soldier bees.

“Ah just had to shoot mah mouth off…” Kickback muttered.

“Well, hot head?” Frigg said to Fire Fight. “What’s yer plan, eh?”

“You know… this has become your problem too, Captain Frigg. I’m not the only leader here, so we both need to pitch in. King Grover would expect us to.” Fire Fight said.

The old hen eyed him fiercely, and he kept his composure somehow, knowing how he’d just spoken to a legitimate authority. But to everyone’s amazement, the cranky captain lightly softened her expression. “I was hopin’ ya’d say that.”

“A-Awesome…” Fire Fight mumbled, silently amazed that his head was still attached to his neck.

“I-If I may start…” Greensprout muttered. “I don’t think I could combat very many more monsters without the Gaia Root becoming overstrained. I must allow it to recuperate for now so that I may focus its full power onto Nidhogg.”

“Greensprout! You… You would do this?” Air Slash stammered.

Greensprout gulped and hesitantly nodded. “It’s as Bullseye says. I’m the only one able to wield the Gaia Root.”

Air Slash looked as if he wanted to die inside. His instinct as a warrior told him it was the only option, but the thought of throwing Greensprout in harm’s way made him sick. Nevertheless, he knew that he’d only have to work especially hard to protect her.

He gently grabbed her hoof and kissed it. “All I ask is that you take the utmost care.”

Greensprout giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I will.” She said. “And I’ll make sure you all take care as well.”

Frigg huffed. “If you’re finished with yer love fest, I suggest we start hatchin’ a plan and fast. That bastard’s got to be eager to turn Equestria into a contemporary horror flick.” Everyone looked at her funny upon hearing he unexpected metaphor. “What? I had a life when I was you're age.”

“Ooh! Ooh! I know! I know!” Crazylocks blurted. “Let’s starve him to re-death!”

Everyone except for Greensprout, who just patiently smiled, either facehooved or rolled their eyes. “Crazylocks…. That’s not how undead work.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Actually…” Zebota started. “She may raise a good point. If you recall, Nidhogg absorbed the remains of his horde before he unleashed himself. Perhaps doing so sustains him?”

“Come to think of it, I remember picking up a humongous spike in energy from within the well when that happened.” Quantum Tech said. “Although, that begs the question of whether or not Nidhogg’s monsters are a part of him or not.”

“The more dead he controls, the more powerful he is- plain as that.” Frostbite stated.

“Sounds to me like we’ll just have to experiment.” Valkyrie said. “We’re not gonna let this loser leave the island anyway, so
I suggest we pummel some undead!” she declared as she drew her sword, the griffon guards cheering.

“Aye. The lass with the robot will have to stay behind and keep her eyes on the situation until we better know how to hit the bastard where it hurts.” Frigg said.

Quantum nodded. “Gladly, but I will jump into the fray if you all begin to struggle. Know that.”

“Tch! We’ll be fine!” Bullseye said. “Just all of those zombies get into my line of sight, and I’ll- …Hold on. Those monsters aren’t undead, are they?”

“I’d presume that they are merely conjured residents of Tarturus.” Ymir said.

A cacophony of all of those blood-curdling screeches and roars could suddenly be heard rapidly approaching them, and when they looked, a multitude of conjured undead griffons and the demon monsters were laying siege unto the brigade.

“TO ARMS, SWABS!! EITHER WE DRIVE THESE EARTHWORMS BACK FROM WHERE THEY CAME, OR WE JOIN THEIR RANKS!! CHAAAARRGE!!!” Captain Frigg rallied her guards, now fearlessly facing their foes.

“Battle Foals, let’s toast ‘em!” Fire Fight shouted as his horn erupted like a volcano. All but Quantum Tech, who kept her scanners focused on Nidhogg, charged into battle.

Just then, Frigg came to Fire Fight’s side. “Put some more oomph into it next time! I could ‘o sworn you had a frog in yer throat!” Fire Fight just rolled his eyes and resumed charging headlong into danger.

Meanwhile, Quantum gazed nervously, but diligently at the pair of dark purple eyes piercing through the dark cloud swirling above all the chaos below.

Earlier on the Outskirts of Griffonstone…

Twilight and her search party did as directed by King Grover and traveled along the northern coast of the Celestial Sea. Hopes were strong and they were all anxious to at long last end their search and bring the Battle Foals home.

Cheerilee and her class couldn’t gather much else from the townsfolk other than they saw the Battle Foals with Valkyrie and told them of the duel between her and Air Slash, but they were otherwise pretty unfriendly overall and spoke to the foals and their teacher very little.

“I still can’t believe that griffon king!” Rainbow Dash said. “He could’ve been, I don’t know, reasonable and made Fire Fight go home or something!”

“Yeah, but faulting them for their culture would be admittedly kinda mean though.” Scootaloo said.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “True, true…”

“Had we known they’d be approaching the border, I would have ordered some guards to set up a checkpoint up there to catch them.” Celestia said.

“With all due respect, milady, I would have thought it best to have myself and some of my best swordsponies act in that stead.” Knight Soul said. “Knowing how the ‘Battle Foals’ have managed to fell many a dangerous foe, it would certainly follow that heavily trained warriors would be the best bet in the likely event that they resist.”

“That is…rather true, actually.” Celestia said, silently lamenting the inexorable inadequacy of Equestria’s current military.

“Well, let’s hurry! If they’re really that close, we shouldn’t waste this opportunity!” Cat said.

As far and quickly as they trotted, the foals seemed to be nowhere in sight, which made them worry about just how far they’d gotten. However, off in the distance was another group of ponies heading towards them. The two parties noticed and approached each other.

“Oh! Princess Twilight!” It was Film Noir and her crew. “A-And the Royal Sisters too!” She bowed in their presence, and they reciprocated, Celestia being delighted to see the actress again.

“Well! Fancy seeing you here.” Twilight said. “Out on location?”

“Not necessarily. Believe it or not, I ran into Fire Fight in Galloping Gorge a few days earlier.” Film Noir said.

“Seriously!?” Fist asked.

“Yeah, and they were with a griffon for some reason, so I thought maybe we could find answers in Griffonstone.” Film Noir answered.

“Boy, do we have some news for you.” Sky Strike said.

They all explained to Film Noir how King Grover had allowed the ‘Battle Foals’ to leave his kingdom without issue because of their ordeal with stopping Skadi and saving them more than a lot of grief.

“Oh my goodness!” Film Noir exclaimed. “First those mole-lizards beneath Baltimare, now that?”

“Gotta admit those foals are some tough customers.” A cameraman said.

“Wait a minute.” Cheerilee said. “You didn’t just swim across the sea to get here, did you?”

“No, we took a train, but just as we crossed over the sea and onto Griffonstone soils, the train’s wheels just froze inexplicably, and we had to walk from there. It was the strangest thing.” Film Noir explained.

“F-Froze you say?” Luna muttered.

“Yes, milady. Is… something wrong?” Film Noir said.

“We encountered a similar phenomenon during our own ride here.” Celestia explained.

“So… you didn’t see Fire Fight and his friends anywhere near those tracks or just in that vicinity in general?” Cheerilee inquired.

Film Noir shook her head. “Had I known, I would’ve taken the opportunity to look around myself. I think my crew and I have time to help you if you’re still gonna do that.” Her crew gave her a nod.

“We’d greatly appreciate that, Film Noir. Thank you.” Twilight said.

As the party continued their march towards the northern coast, Spike suddenly got a nasty chill up his spine, and he got the urge to look out into the Celestial sea. Maybe it was his imagination, but he could’ve sworn that some kind of evil had just been unleashed…

The Sounds of Battle

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys! Sorry if this one came REALLY late. I'm taking a couple intermediate literature classes right now, and the amount of reading will really be demanding my attention. I know you've probably gotten used to fewer uploads by now, but I apologize regardless.

Faced with unholy horrors abound across that dreaded island, the Battle Foals and Captain Frigg and her forces could only hope to whatever high powers watching over them that their strength was enough to nullify the overwhelming menace that they had accidently unleashed. Greensprout casted holy auras around everyone to offer some protection and a boost of damage against the undead forces.

Before any punches could be thrown or swords be swung, Bullseye opened their act with a golden arrow volleyed skyward above the conjured curs; gilded destruction rained from the heavens and impaled many unfortunate undead, leaving them open for attack. However, the undead that managed to avoid the heavenly onslaught were unfazed, likely only concerned with the will of the dark master whose will they were bound to like a hive of abominations bent on spreading their plague.

“HYAARRGGHH!!” Fire Fight led the charge and thrust himself into a flying side kick, his body coated in a raging inferno. The first zombie he struck nearly had its neck snapped upon a little meteor crashing into its face. He back-flipped off of it and land an uppercut on another that swooped towards him; he then axe kicked it to the ground where Turf War smacked it into its comrades, scattering them like bowling pins. Fire Fight used the axe kick to launch himself further into the air where he then rocketed himself down into the middle of the enemy squadron, building immense amounts of heat before crashing back to earth and releasing it all as a spectacular explosion.

Many of the griffon guards found themselves locked in ferocious duels with their undead brethren, some of whom were armed with weapons from the past while most others were content to utilize the corrupting demon fire that engulfed their once peacefully resting bodies from the inside out. Though some were unlucky enough to find themselves on the wrong end of Captain Frigg’s short fuse, and were crushed and mangled in one fell swoop of her greatsword like pebbles and ragdolls.

As always, Quantum Tech and Spiral Galaxy hung in the back and blasted away, but Tidal Wave summoned a vast amount of water from the sea and used it to jet around the battlefield slashing and impaling whatever tried to attack the back line, sometimes creating walls of water that caught thrown rocks and volleyed arrows that he flung back; he handed the loose arrows over to Bullseye. At one point, a small mass of zombies flew towards him, and he caught them in a huge bubble of water. He started violently swirling the water so that it sucked the beasts into the center, and Spiral Galaxy summoned a big meteor that crashed into the bubble, obliterating the trapped undead. Tidal Wave then quickly used the dispersed water to swamp away more undead. They both shot each other a wink.

Shadow Shroud quickly joined Fire Fight, her ability to go unseen easily granting her passage to her friend without incident apart from the smell. Her kamas were drawn and ready to hack her foes apart while Fire Fight’s gauntlets burned with volcanic fury. They needn’t words; they’re unsheathed battle spirits and a shared nod were all they needed to let each other know that they were ready to bring the pain.

Any flares of demon fire hurled at the two were countered by fireballs courtesy of Fire Fight. Shadow Shroud used the fireworks as cover to assassinate her enemies, using her ninja arts to vanish and reappear between where she needed to strike. The flaming scrapper himself punched and kicked with ferocious grace, his flames incinerating all evil in his wake.

Instead of being in the background like so many times before, Kickback decided to get up close and personal, presuming that the zombies were sturdier than they would be if they were alive, thus rendering longer ranged shots virtually ineffective. Plus, he was ready to have fun with his whip. He twirled his whip around himself so it could collect some energy from the holy aura cast onto him, and the sonic booms from every crack of his whip to burst a little with the cleansing light. It was enough to distract and damage his foes and allowed him to take point-blank shots to their joints, crippling them and knocking those aloft out of the sky; he knew that creatures like these wouldn’t go down from a mere headshot, so he left their vanquishing to his peers. He kept his cool as always as he fed lead to the swarming undead.

Turf War and Valkyrie had their shields raised to defend their surrounding comrades, the latter having ignited her ancestral light. Any enemies willing to duel with them were brutally bashed and beaten; Turf War used both ends of his hammer-axe to either chop or pummel his foes while Valkyrie unleashed the wrath of her ancestors. From high above, Frostbite rained storms of ice and freeze-fire and occasionally swooped in to swipe at them with frozen claws dripping with his frost venom, slowing them down.

Eventually the two shield warriors were at each other’s backs and being stared down by another wave of undead, but neither of them were fazed. They had their weapons drawn, ready to further obliterate their foes.

“Yo, my girl, how the weather lookin’ like right now?” Turf War asked.

“Cloudy with a chance of a serious beatdown!” Valkyrie replied.

“Damn! Hope these m***********s brought they umbrellas!” Turf War said.

Frostbite landed beside them with a nasty thud and stood up, cracking his knuckles as ice drooled from his toothy grin. “Hehehe. I don’t.”

The sheer plethora of monsters did nothing to daunt the mystic duo. Zebota rode on the back of his titan as said beast mauled and maimed the undead; the little mystic slung rocks imbued with the power of the earth and threw his boomerang which summoned thorny vines from the ground wherever it flew over that thrashed the zombies around like toys, making them easy targets for his beast and every ranger fighting alongside them.

“SHOW ME YA MOVES!!!” Crazylocks, with Bullseye backing her up from afar went ham on the unholy legion. She made full use of her mutant body, spreading her wings to buzz around them like a wasp and tricking them into smacking into each other. She’d then land and sprout her horn to crunch them together before reverting to an earth pony to pulverize them. Just striking them with her hardened hair was enough to stagger them, but she was starting to get swarmed.

Just as an undead was about to grab her from behind, Bullseye landed a blast arrow in the back of its head, and it detonated, blowing that chunk of it to smithereens. The one-eyed archer smile and wiped her nose. “Stay down this time…”

Suddenly, one tried to jump Bullseye from behind, but she felt its presence right then and there and jammed her bladed bow into its stomach and slashed it across its neck, finishing it by impaling it into the ground. “Piece of s***!”

Air Slash stayed beside Greensprout and didn’t dare leave her. He swung his swords furiously at any undead that came within ten feet of her and was careful not to accidently strike her. The little monk herself, calm as could be while surrounded by chaos, channeled the tranquility of the earth into the undead one at a time, quelling their conjured rage permanently and burning away their corrupted effigies in holy fire.

Every ember of light, every distorted final cry from the undead, every violent *shing* she heard from Air Slash’s swords rending their foes’ flesh…… She had long put aside her detest of her new friends’ eagerness to use violence, knowing that they were restrained by their own morality. But unlike them, she more so relished in the calm after the storm. They all knew that such a thing would be attained once the enemy was quelled, but she knew that these unfortunate souls would find no such peace. Their souls cursed, she could only imagine what sort of horrific fate awaited them in the afterlife. She knew that the rest of her friends, namely Shadow Shroud and Air Slash would tell her that there was little point in worrying about something that was beyond their control if it meant preventing a catastrophe, but she wondered what would really grow from the ashes of such bouts. For these conjured prisoners and guards of old, that would be nothing, for they crumbled into ashes as her holy fire burned them. The only comfort she could find was that their ashes would serve as the foundation for whatever new life she would help cultivate on this dreaded island.

As the pandemonium played out, Quantum Tech kept a close eye on her scanners, trusting that her friends would be able to pick up her battle slack. Unfortunately, it seemed that their earlier concern was indeed valid. Each time an undead lost its strength to point of dying ‘again’, it dissolved into the necro fire and was absorbed back into the swirling cloud where Nidhogg gathered his strength. However, each one that Greensprout cleansed was beyond his reach. Whether or not the ones he absorbed empowered him was still unclear, as her analysis of the infernal serpent himself yielded readings that she could barely comprehend.

“Everypony, listen up!” she called out. “It appears to be as we suspected Greensprout and her Gaia Root are the only truly potent chance we have against this fiend!”

“So that’s how it’s gonna be, eh, bastard!?” Frigg shouted to the dark cloud. “Well, bullocks…” she muttered. “Alright, horses, you’er gonna have to skin the lizard while me swabs n’ I break all o’ his toys!

Fire Fight had to blast a fireball into an undead before giving Frigg his attention. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

Frigg creased the cockiest smile he’d ever seen. “You can never get enough exercise when ya get to be my age, bucko.”

Fire Fight nodded. “We won’t let you down.”

“Damn right, ya won’t.” Frigg replied.

“All right, Battle Foals!” Fire Fight shouted. “We’re gonna siege this castle and bring down Nidhogg! Let’s use that hole Turf War smacked in again and finally cut that serpent’s head off!!” He ordered.

“YEEEAAAHHH!!!!” All of the Battle Foals rallied to their leader’s side upon his command.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Shadow Shroud said.

Valkyrie, however, stood beside the fierce captain of the royal guard. “Go on without me. I’m staying here and fighting with my people.”

“Sure you don’t want the glory of smiting the beast?” Air Slash asked.

Valkyrie shook her head. “Even a bearer of the Valhalla can hold so much glory in their lifetime. Besides, its gonna be your island, so the honor oughta be yours.”

“Then… fight well. May Nature’s favor be with your success.” Zebota said.

Tidal Wave gazed nervously up at the dark vortex of doom looming above him. He could feel Nidhogg’s eyes staring them all down, ready to open his horrible maw and plague the world with every foulness imaginable…

Knowing the odds and having his friends beside him, the skittish colt took a big gulp and mustered his courage.

“Ready?” Spiral Galaxy asked him, a warm smile decorating her face.

Tidal Wave nodded. “Always.”

“YEEE-HAAAW!! Let’s get this varmint, y’all!” Kickback rallied. With Fire Fight leading the charge, the Battle Foals bravely went to confront what were surely the jaws of death.

Valkyrie proudly watched them incur the prison ruins and turned to her captain. “That fire of his is more than just on the outside, huh?”

Frigg maintained her stern expression. “He better hope n’ pray that he’s got enough fire to even face that bastard.” She said, and then creased another cocky smile. “Wouldja do this old hen the honor o’ fightin’ blade by blade with her, descendent?”

Valkyrie flared her golden light and poised her sword fiercely. “It’d be my pleasure, Captain Frigg.” She said. The raw willpower of a withered, old warrior and the immeasurable courage of a young hero joined as one, two mighty blades wielded by these two hearts beating to the sounds of battle were ready to rend even the sky.

“<SCREEEEE!!!!>”

“<CAAAAWWWW!!!!>”

Just as the foals got to the entrance they’d created, a small pack of demonic wolves slightly smaller than Shrapnel pounced from the brush, fangs gnashing and distorted growls oppressing their ears.

Undaunted, Fire Fight intensified the flame crowning his horn and stared the beast down, his comrades doing the same. “A little roadblock, huh? No problem.”

Shadow Shroud drew her kamas. “A pity; I’m normally against animal cruelty.”

Before the foals could make a move, the wolves bellowed a coordinated howl of dark, blazing sound waves. Greensprout immediately ran to the front of the party and casted a shield of light around them. It held strong, but it started to crack as the howl became more intense; but her will to protect her friends kept the barrier fortified.

Kickback shot into each of their open mouths, stunning them briefly, but long enough that the foals could go in for an assault. He hung in the back with Bullseye and Spiral Galaxy. Quantum Tech, however, decided to go on an offensive; she activated her mech’s force field and electromagnetic beam swords from her railguns for a heavy assault on the heavy enemies.

Frostbite managed to quickly put one down before it could get up by impaling its skull with his frozen tail. He froze its head to ground to ensure that it wouldn’t get back up again.

Turf War coordinated with Crazylocks…somehow. The hood-blooded bastion held his hammer back and blocked the blows of one of the wolves with his shield as Crazylocks crawled onto his hammer.

“NORTH TO YAKYAKISTAN!” Crazylocks exclaimed.

“WOOOO!!!” Turf War gleefully swung his hammer downward, smacking the beast atop the head with Crazylocks pile-driving herself into it with all that momentum. She then used her enhanced strength and center of gravity to flip the corrupted canine over her body, and she started violently shaking its head.

“GOOD PUPPY! GOOD PUPPY! GOOD PUPPY!” The wolf’s head then suddenly was ripped from its shoulders, and Crazylocks just looked at it puzzled and then back at Turf War. “The puppy’s gone bad.” She complained. Turf War just shrugged, knowing that he had no right to complain about a job well done.

Another wolf pounced from above the prison wall and nearly crushed them until a meteor surged down from the sky and blew it to smithereens; a certain blue unicorn filly giggled from pride. A certain blue pegasus felt a surge of pride himself when he rained javelins of water down onto the wolves.

Zebota, knowing that his Beastcraft couldn’t tame creatures of the underworld, imbued his tomahawk with the essence of the earth, hoping that the wolves’ nature of constant decay would be more or less expedited by his magic simulating soil breaking down their rotting flesh, effectively making them poisonous to themselves. Once Shrapnel managed to wrestle one to the ground, he confirmed his theory when he lodged his tomahawk into its stomach, and it started violently bubbly, the wolf yelping in horrible agony. He decided to have Shrapnel cripple as many as he could so that he could inhibit their movement by chopping into their legs. This was made much easier with everyone inadvertently helping him.

Once all was said and done, Greensprout purified them, but somehow was able to channel her Gaia Root beam into a stream of holy fire, quickly burning away their corrupted forms. Even she was stunned by her new display of technique.

“Yeesh! That was some damage control.” Spiral commented.

Kickback fixed his hat. “Enough chit-chat, y’all. Let’s keep rollin’.”

Suddenly, the darkened sky rumbled violently, and when the foals looked up, Nidhogg’s terrible, serpentine body slithered from within its ominous veil.

“You….have proven to be a nuisance!”

“Hey, Nidhogg!” Frostbite exclaimed. “You wanna come down here and tango with us? ‘Cause we’ll show you a good time before you’re dust!”

“Or are you afraid of a few foals!?” Fire Fight taunted.”

Nidhogg deviously chuckled. “Bold words for mere insects! If you truly think you can challenge one who has spat in the eyes of the circle of life, then please…. I’d be happy to entertain a few guests.” His voice boomed as he taunted them. “But first….something to whet your appetite.”

Nidhogg opened his maw, his throat seeming to be a portal to hell itself, and vomited a burst of dark fire that quickly struck Air Slash before anyone could react, knocking him to the ground.

“AIR SLASH!” Fire Fight exclaimed.

He struggled to get up, but he was noticeably writhing as though he were fighting off some kind of parasite, screaming in pain….which eventually sounded distorted and demonic. Once his eyes started blazing the dark fire, Greensprout hurriedly used her Gaia Root to purge the corruption from his body.

“Air Slash!” Greensprout ran up to him and helped him to his hooves. She then glared up at the dark wyrm. “You monster!”

Nidhogg just chuckled again. “Look at you. You wield life itself, and yet you waste it away with such an utter lack of strength! I look forward to snacking on you and your little walking stick…”

“I’ve never defined myself by my strength, Nidhogg, but I will fell you regardless with the aid of my friends!” Greensprout declared.

Air Slash, recuperated, furiously raised his swords towards the draconic devil. “THE ONLY SNACK YOU WILL SAVOR IS YOUR ULTIMATE FATE AT THE HOOVES OF THE BATTLE FOALS!!!”

Nidhogg just huffed and retreated back into his cloud, and the foals knew that the only way to go now was forward….into the lair of the beast….

Darkness Takes Flight

Author's Notes:

FINALLY!!
It's been forever since I gave you guys another chapter, huh? Sorry. Things have died down considerably on my end, so maybe I can actually work on giving you the story I promised you.

Even if they were down a member, the Battle Foals had never felt stronger than they did now, going to face a would-be god of death. Some of them were more experienced than the others, and perhaps a little braver, but they knew enough that every move they made had to have a purpose from now on. Right now, their purpose was to show Nidhogg that he wasn’t invincible right before they gave him a hooves-on demonstration.

They came across the hallway wall separating them from the prison’s courtyard, and Turf War brazenly smashed a hole through it, allowing him and his comrades entry. Grass and small trees burning black flames offered miniscule obstacles for the foals to circumvent, but the entire area was very open and spacious enough to give them room to fight the beast inside the dark cloud swirling directly above them.

“STOP COWERING AWAY IN YOUR CLOUD, NIDHOGG, AND COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT US!!” Fire Fight bellowed, his horn burning like his dragon’s will.

For a brief moment, nothing happened; but they could almost feel Nidhogg mustering the will to come of his evil shell and face them, as if the cloud itself took a deep breath before a pair of demonic purple eyes pierced through the black veil of horrible mist. “Hmph. Even in the very eye of my storm you still persist… Very well.”

Suddenly, a stream of mist floated down to and touched the ground like a tornado. It congregated into a smaller but thicker cloud that slowly morphed into a serpentine image. Its body arced up and down like a wave, forming from tail to head and growing horrific claws. Any dorsal fins along his back, tail and the membranes of his wings appeared as bright, hellish purple flames that violently spewed like fireworks; and his head was more defined in its features, making Nidhogg appear as a truly organic entity. He was big enough to snake halfway across one of the prison walls.

“I suppose if you want all the bugs squashed right, one must do it themselves.” Nidhogg’s eyes viciously gleamed as he glared down as his unwelcomed guests.

The Battle Foals remained undaunted. They’d come too far to give up now, and the threat of Nidhogg was all too real. With their weapons drawn and their wills ignited, they began their clash against the dark lord.

Spiral Galaxy made the first move by conjuring a proton star just at the tip of her horn and fired a blast of light at Nidhogg’s head. The draconic devil slithered his serpentine body in such a way that Spiral’s blast thread the needle like an arrow through multiple rings, dodging it like a pro; he then used his momentum to fling a flurry of dark flames across the courtyard. Frostbite exhaled blizzards to put them out, and Tidal Wave summoned a powerful gush of groundwater from below their feet and went to work.

Nidhogg moved to quickly for any of them to land a calculated attack, but Kickback had other ideas; he noticed that there was a considerable of loose and unstable debris along the walls, such as rocks hanging by overgrown vines, metal bars partially ripped off, etc. When the sinister serpent was about to pass under a particularly large rock, he shot out the vine, and the rock crashed atop Nidhogg like a ton of bricks. He proudly fixed his hat, but the boulder suddenly glowed a black aura and shattered apart like glass as the beast effortlessly snaked out.

As he emerged, Turf War sprinted up to him and viciously smacked the drake’s knee with his hammer, causing Nidhogg to stagger which left him vulnerable. Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Air Slash, Crazylocks, Zebota and Shrapnel, Bullseye, Tidal Wave, Frostbite and Greensprout all joined their badmouthing bastion to begin their assault.

Quantum Tech had her force field erected while remaining far away so she could pop the dark dragon with her railguns and magic turrets while Spiral Galaxy and Kickback got about midway towards their foe and unleashed their fire.

Bullseye volleyed a golden arrow above Nidhogg which unleashed a nasty cascade of golden arrows down upon him, which did little to faze him. Nidhogg retaliated by exhaling a torrent of dark fire towards his attacker, but Frostbite managed to at least keep it at bay with his ice fire, but his sheer power was overwhelming. Fire Fight then unleashed his own inferno by engulfing himself in a mighty blaze and using his momentum to fling it at the beast like a solar flare.

Shockingly, Nidhogg absorbed the massive blaze into his wings and blackened it all! He then blasted it across the ground, forcing everyone who wasn’t airborne to jump, allowing the dark beast to whip around and smack them away with his huge tail.

“GUYS!” Spiral shouted. She quickly used her gravity magic to catch everyone and gently let them down.
Meanwhile, Frostbite, Air Slash, Bullseye and Crazylocks, who all managed to dodge the nasty blow took their chance. “THAT WAS A BAD MOVE, F***NUT!!” Bullseye shouted.

The berserk bowpony impaled the serpent’s body with her bladed bow and ran in it across his body without a hint of mercy. Despite what was brutally lethal damage, Nidhogg barely flinched at all. In fact, he softly chuckled. “What a waste of such valiant effort.” He taunted. He flicked his wings and sent a surge of fire down his body towards Bullseye.

Just as she was about to crisp, Frostbite blasted the blaze back with a smothering cloud of frigid wind and started running his claws along the beast’s body against Bullseye’s path. When the two met they swooped away from their foe just before he forcefully whipped his slithery body in a failed attempt to smack them away.

Air Slash and Crazylocks took their turn next. They both soared just above Nidhogg’s head, and Air Slash took Crazylocks by the hoof. “CANNONBALL!!!!” She retracted her wings as the samurai swung her around and powerfully tossed her downward, causing her to strike his head with meteoritic force. He let out an agonized screech. Crazylocks then quickly sprouted her horn and enveloped herself in a coat of magic that Quantum Tech noticed had similar properties to her electromagnetic blasts. Suddenly, a mass of fallen rocks and boulders with iron bars sticking out magnetized around and formed a cocoon around her, and Air Slash was yanked to the top of it from holding onto his swords.

“WHAA!!” Though surprised at first, he quickly realized what his crazed comrade was up to and poised his swords accordingly.

Crazylocks released her magnetic, causing the cocoon to violently burst into two halves that each barrowed into Nidhogg’s wings, causing him great agony and his reflexes to raise his tail, which Air Slash was sent flying towards; he swiftly spun around with his swords held out, turning him into an airborne blender that pureed the tip of Nidhogg’s tail. All three impacts caused the purple hellfire to disperse to the point where they were nearly smothered.

“HE’S OPEN! ATTACK!!” Fire Fight ordered as he and everyone else got up.

Zebota stayed back and clutched his glowing brooch, fervently reciting an aggressive incantation. “Roho ya mama mkubwa, binti zake, watumishi wake, hapa sauti yangu na kujibu simu yangu! Kuzuia pigo hii juu ya mwili wako haki hivyo huenda zisafishwe!”

A huge and complex glyph of light erupted from beneath him and Shrapnel, and the earth beneath everyone suddenly began trembling as if the whole island were about to explode. Areas of the ground around Nidhogg burst with great magnitude as gigantic roots snaked out from below and entangled the demonic drake, holding him down as he struggled to break free in his weakened state.

“I must maintain this hold on him!” Zebota called out as he focused on his spell. Everyone wordlessly understood, including his wooden titan charging their foe, his ferality unleashed.

“<HOOOOOWWWWLLLL!!!!!>”

Even when overwhelmed by fire punches, flurries of slashes, cosmo blasts, electro blasts, electrified bullets, blasts of ice, and being a mauled by a huge timberwolf, Nidhogg proved to be resilient even by the standards of dragons. However, Greensprout took a deep breath before bravely facing the head of the beast and channeled the full force of her Gaia Root. Just as with his conjured pawns, a normally restorative, warm energy proved malignant to a lord of the undead, and said lord began wailing in excruciation. It was unclear whether or not it weakened him overall, but the damage had to be real.

In the midst of the brutal assault, some of Nidhogg’s strength must have returned to him, and his hellish maw opened wide.

“<RAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!>”

A blood-curdling, guttural roar that sounded as though it had resounded from hell itself rocked the battlefield, and a mighty explosion suddenly rocked the ramparts outside the prison walls where the griffons struggled against their cursed opponents. A massive cloud of dark fire spiraling in a terrifying inferno surged from the outside and prompted the foals to scatter as smothered Nidhogg, who began absorbing it along with his dark cloud.

“You….. insipid….. PARASITES!!!!!”

The accursed inferno blasted from Nidhogg, forcing the roots off of him, but the dark blaze consumed the roots….and infected them. Enveloped in unholy flames, the roots released their grip on the dark dragon and assumed a more horrific appearance; they blackened and glowing a piercing yellow from cracks that formed along them, and they threateningly snaked in place like giant serpents waiting to strike the foals.

“Oh, s***…” Turf War muttered.

As if that wasn’t enough, Nidhogg’s flame wings had rekindled and were even more intense than before, some of his scales had spiked up like nightmarish porcupine quills, and his body overall became far more corporeal than ethereal, making him appear as if he had been completed in a way.

Zebota, still within his earth glyph, struggled against the dark magic that had taken ahold of his roots. “Nrgh!... I…. won’t…. let you… corrupt… the earth!!!” Despite his efforts appearing to be fruitless, he endured anyway, driven by willpower alone.

“Hah! You seriously think we’re scared just because you got a little upgrade!?” Frostbite taunted.

Nidhogg’s only reply was allowing the rogue roots to lash down at them, slamming into the ground and causing dark shockwaves to resound across the battlefield before snaking high into the air, each flap of his wings flaring his hellfire.

“RRRGGGGHHH!!!! You may have forced me to gather my strength prematurely, but this should be plenty…” Nidhogg hissed. “I could simply corrupt the lot of you… BUT I THINK I’LL INSTEAD SEE YOU BURN TO DEATH!!!!!”

The Battle Foals could swear that the sky itself imploded as Nidhogg inhaled, and they prepared to put up every defense possible against an assuredly explosive exhalation. When the demonic drake blasted a megaton of fire from his mouth, they were ready to take action….until a mass of golden light spiraled above them, shielding them from the hellish inferno.

“WHAT!?!?”

When the light dispersed, the foals were more than delighted to see Valkyrie, engulfed in the light of the Valhalla. The heroic griffonlet looked down to her elated comrades. “Having trouble? Tch. Figures…”

“Valkyrie!?” Fire Fight said, surprised to see her. “But what about-”

“Mr. Serpent-of-Eden here sucked them all up just like we thought. He’s about to finish his meal with huge course of
hero’s might shoved down his throat!” Valkyrie declared.

Bullseye flew up next to her, smirking deviously with her bow drawn. “I like the way you think, bird-brain.” She fired a light arrow above the corrupted root, which did little to faze them, but definitely got their attention, because one of them shot into the air towards them.

Before it could strike, it was viciously severed seemingly out of nowhere until their eyes were taken from the falling limb to Captain Frigg, who faced up at Nidhogg with dauntless fury. “PLAYIN’ YER TRUMP CARD A SMIDGE EARLY, AREN’T WE, YA OVERGROWN STRING O’ LICORICE!?” Her entire battalion of griffon soldiers soon horded the skies around the arena, their weapons drawn and their wills ignited.

Air Slash, Frostbite and Crazylocks soon joined them; the former had his swords pointed towards the beast. “YOUR END DRAWS NEAR, WICKED BEAST!”

“I believe those are my words.” Nidhogg smugly replied. He suddenly fired his numerous spiked quill scales from his body like missiles and started vomiting hellfire in torrents as he flew around, prompting the griffon soldiers to maneuver through the in desperate attempts to dodge.

Meanwhile on the ground, the foals helpless to get aloft on their own could only dodge out the way of the hail of projectiles while those capable fired towards Nidhogg. Tidal Wave created cushions of water above them all to block the unholy flares while Spiral Galaxy used her gravity manipulation to redirect the scales away from everyone.

Zebota continued to struggle against the thrashing roots, trying desperately to purge the corruption that Nidhogg had infected them with….until he felt a soothing warmth radiate throughout his body. “Huh?” When he looked, there was Greensprout channeling her Gaia Root into him, and he could feel its power resonating with his own. He gave smile of grateful confidence. “Thank you, friend.”

“You’re welcome, brother. Now do what you must!” Greensprout said.

Zebota took a deep breath and gathered all of his focus. His attunement with the natural world combined with Greensprout’s spiritual healing mana mixed like peanut butter and jelly, and he was able to burn away the corrupted spawns before any more hell broke loose. The little emissary of nature felt very proud of himself for having cleansed such a plague, and the little monk helping him could sense his gratitude.

Greensprout then walked up to Fire Fight. “I… I must be the one. I’m the only one who can hurt him.” She said. A hint of fear could be detected under humble gusto.

“We know, Greensprout, but it’s one thing after another with this guy.” Fire Fight said.

“I have to admit that he’s quite proficient at compensating for his weaknesses!” Shroud said as she observed the chaos above them. The griffons and aerial Battle Foals fought valiantly as Nidhogg spewed his flames and whipped around his gigantic body, just barely managing to hold him back with their combined might and abilities.

Suddenly, a small group of the griffons swooped down to them and lowered themselves. “Hop on! We’ll get you into the air so you can fight him.” One of them said.

“We’ll catch you if you fall, so don’t worry!” Another said.

While the others were pretty nervous, namely Tidal Wave, Turf War immediately complied, ready for action. “ HELL YEAH, Yo’ boy goin’ for a fly! I’ll open a can o’ whoop-a** on this dude even if he ten-thousand miles high!”

Inspired by their friend’s courage, some of them complied. Quantum Tech, Spiral, and Zebota and Shrapnel opted to provide support from below. “Shrapnel, defend us if this reviling serpent rears its head upon this ground!” Zebota ordered. His titan fiercely roared, assuring his compliance. He then focused his brooch again and caused glyphs to appear underneath his other two comrades, who felt surges of energy empower them.

“Whoooaaa! Thanks, Zebota!” Spiral said.

“Energy levels at maximum charge. Energy levels at maximum charge.” Quantum’s mech indicated, and the little brainiac confidently fixed her glasses as she looked towards her striped ally, who nodded back.

“Taking aim…. Firing!!” Quantum carefully aimed her shots before blasting her railguns and magic turrets at their foe.
Spiral took a deep breath and concentrated all of her stress into her horn, an overflow of cosmo magic ready to obliterate if need be. “You’ve got this, Spiral. You’re in control…” she mumbled to herself.

High above, the struggling air force were shocked that none of them had sustained serious injuries, and they held their own. The carried foals held on tight as they soared just below the clouds, ready to fight Nidhogg. Their carriers promised to act as vehicles so that they could focus on their offensive.

Their flying comrades joined them. “Finally decided to haul a** up here, huh?” Bullseye huffed before firing an arrow towards Nidhogg.

“It’s about time! This life-sized taffy puppy plushie really needs a diaper change!” Crazylocks blurted.

“I need to get to his head! If I channel the Gaia Root enough, I can fell him!” Greensprout said.

Air Slash flew next to her, and she could see the obvious worry in his eyes behind that warrior’s fire. He took a deep breath. “We will do what we must.” He said calmly. Greensprout smiled and reached over to peck his cheek.

Frostbite cracked his knuckles. “I think I smell a frozen barbecue!”

“We’ll try to open up Nidhogg for attack. Greensprout, jump on him the second you get the chance! We’ll do everything we can to keep you safe.” Fire Fight said.

Greensprout nodded. “Thank you. I stand ready.” Before they all took off, she casted a vitality pulse that gave everyone a little boost.

“IF YOU WEE SWABS R’ DONE WITH YER PEP RALLY, I SUGGEST YA FOCUS ON SMITIN’ THE BASTARD!!” Frigg called out. With no further delay, the foals continued their air raid against the vile Nidhogg and his hellfire.

Purity

The skies above Heimr Island were palpably blackened by Nidhogg’s overwhelming presence, and the horde of airborne soldiers surrounding him created a spectacle of a clash between hope and despair. On the ground, Zebota harnessed the land itself to provide what support he could whilst empowering Quantum Tech and Spiral Galaxy; everyone else was held aloft in the sky by nothing but their courage, ready to quell the great evil before them.

“<ROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!!>"

The draconic devil shattered the sky with his booming voice as flares of hellfire launched from his body like fireworks and scattered across the aerial warzone.

“SCATTER!!” Valkyrie shouted. Everyone quickly swooped and banked out of the way of the incoming blazes, careful not to bump into each other.

Just as he was charging up for another barrage, a ferocious beam of light blasted from below, striking Nidhogg with enough force to interrupt his concentration and stagger him in the air. When they looked down, it was clearly Quantum Tech firing her death ray. “He’s vulnerable! Attack!!” she shouted. Zebota’s nature glyph could only serve as an energy buffer to allow Qauntum’s laser to fire more continuously.

Once Nidhogg recovered from the surprise attack, his infuriated gaze turned downward. “You DARE to think you have any significance when you’re all the way down there!?!?” He concentrated what charge he managed to hold on too and vomited a stream of fire.

Quantum frantically went to activate her force field, but Spiral casted a black hole that absorbed the inferno completely, immediately closing it afterward. She then compressed the energy leftover and projected it above her and her friends. “There’s a little extra protection for ya!” she called out.

“Much appreciated!” Quantum replied. Her laser had petered out just in time, and her mech went into recharge mode.

“Hmph! No matter…” Nidhogg scoffed. “I will strip you of your souls one way or another!” He ignited his fins once more.

For some reason, the griffon soldier carrying Tidal Wave could be seen flying away from the action. “Where the hell’s he going!?” Valkyrie shouted.

“We don’t got no time to find out! Just bust loose!!” Turf War said.

“Just be careful not to overexert yourselves! I have to be the one to get close to him!” Greensprout reminded.

Just as she said that, Nidhogg glared at her and fired a barrage of dark flames and vomited yet another torrent of fire. She gasped, but raised her Gaia Root, ready to defend herself from the darkness. A squad of the griffons extinguished the smaller flames by swatting them with their swords, but Frostbite suddenly flew in front of and exhaled his own torrent of ice fire back at the dark lord.

“Frostbite!” Greensprout blurted, but she composed herself and forcefully channeled her holy energy into him, giving him the boost he needed. A vast amount of stress built between the opposing streams of draconic fire, but Frostbite held on despite the sheer amount of effort on his part compared to Nidhogg.

Just when it looked like Frostbite was at his limit, a gigantic waterspout fell from the sky and drenched Nidhogg in a violent cyclone. “WHOA!!” a griffon shrieked as everyone scattered. A bright blue glimmer could be seen swimming furiously within the storm. With his flames smothered, Nidhogg could only take a rather violent beating from huge blades of water forming inside and slicing him. The salty smell of the ocean was overwhelming

Regaining his composure, Nidhogg brushed of the blows and curled up charging power. After a split second, he released a powerful shockwave that the waterspout manage to absorb most of, but it knocked the blue gleam out of it.

“WHOOOOAAA-OA-OA!!” It was none other than Tidal Wave.

“TIDAL WAVE!!” Spiral shouted. But just as she was about to catch him in a gravity field, the aquatic colt swiftly waved his lance around and brought a great volume of the seawater he’d collected right below himself and landed safely in the cushion, splashing into it and swimming safely to the ground.

Once he caught his breath, Tidal Wave nervously looked back up at their adversary. He gulped before surrounding himself in a veil of what water her could retrieve and jettisoned himself back into the air to rejoin the fray.

Frostbite, however, wasn’t as okay. Feeling winded from nearly exhaling his lungs out, he used Tidal Wave’s assault as an opportunity to retreat to the ground to take a much needed breather.

Nidhogg unfurled his wings and flapped them, each flap summoning a small but powerful cyclone that threatened to tear them all apart, prompting everyone to scatter. The draconic devil used the opportunity to slither through the blackened sky and swipe his dreadful claws and swing his tail at the horde, some of whom were unlucky enough to get hit and smacked out of the air like volleyballs.

“RAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” A random swipe of his claw was forcefully parried by Captain Frigg’s greatsword, sending a sharp pain throughout his hand. “TRY THAT AGAIN, YA GIANT BAKED WORM! I DARE YE!!” she taunted.

“Rrgh! How dare you!” Nidhogg growled, his eyes viciously gleaming. He reared his other, ready to violently swipe it when suddenly… “AAHH!!!!”

Valkyrie, empowered by the Valhalla, rammed her sword into his palm, causing great agony. “Hah! Score one for me!” she said. However, when she tried to pull her sword out… “Oh, crap…”

Nidhogg made a toothy grin upon realizing this golden opportunity. He swiftly went to clap his hands together when a meteor suddenly struck him in the head, and he roared in great agony. The shockwave that rippled throughout his body was enough to shake Valkyrie’s sword free.

Valkyrie looked down at the obvious source of the meteor, who had lowered her shield so that she could summon the anomaly. “Nice shot, kiddo!” she called out. Spiral’s only reply was a wink before erecting her shield once more.
Now frustrated, Nidhogg ignited his body, and a flaming aura surrounded him. “I WILL BURN YOU INTO OBLIVION IF IT’S THE LAST THING I DO!!!!!” He unleashed a massive barrage of ignited scales.

Everyone either dodged out of the way, parried the shots, or were shot down. But before the last of the scales could connect, Kickback drew his guns and fired rapidly at them, nullifying a big chunk of the barrage. Shadow Shroud summoned a great multitude of illusory copies that slashed the flaming scales out of the sky. Bullseye unleashed her second to last golden arrow, and it managed to take out the rest of the shots, and Tidal Wave used the water available to quell the blazes. “YEEE-HAW!!” Kickback shouted.

Summoning all the willpower he could muster, Fire Fight used his magic to stop and fizzle out all of the residual fire. “Feeling tired yet, Nidhogg!?”

The demonic drake did seem to be feeling a little exhausted. “Tired of you…yes…. I think I’m done wasting mere words on your bugs!!”

With all of his strength, Nidhogg swung his serpentine body around, smacking a few more griffons out of the sky, but just before it could hit Greensprout, something jumped in front of her and her griffon escort.

“HRRAAAHH!!!” A shockwave so fierce that was practically tangible rocked the entire island as Turf War, with all of strength and flying momentum built from his griffon escort, smacked Nidhogg’s tail with his hammer. The damage reflection effect caused the drake’s body to visibly ripple to the point where it was blatantly agonizing, and a tremendous shriek of pain nearly cracked the clouds apart. Turf War’s griffon ride caught him as he fell. “HIT ‘EM, GREENSPROUT!!”

“Right!” Greensprout replied. Her griffon soared forward, but Nidhogg’s fire reignited on its own.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, Frostbite had taken the last of his deep breaths and was ready to rejoin the fray when Quantum Tech called out to him. “Frostbite, wait!”

“Ugh! What!?” he impatiently asked.

“I just had an idea!” Quantum open a hatch on her mech suited and used her magic to pull out a single item: a shard from the crystal golem in the caves below Canterlot. “Spiral, could I trouble you to charge this?”

“Say no more!” Spiral replied. She had to lower her shield, but she focused all of her magical might into the small shard.
Within minutes, it was glowing brilliantly.

“That should suffice.” Quantum said before handing it to Frostbite. “I think you’ll know what to do with it, darling.” She confidently fixed her glasses.

Frostbite stared blankly at the jewel for a moment, but smiled deviously when he got the picture. “Hoho… say no mo- LOOK OUT!!”

A small cluster of Nidhogg’s flaming scales were careening down towards them, and Spiral had lowered her shield; But Shrapnel stood before the storm and channeled the nature energy produced by his master.

“<HOOOOWWWWLLLL!!!!>”

As if to call out to the heavens themselves, the wooden titan howled at the top of lungs, and the sheer force of his empowered voice shattered the scales like glass. He sat down and calmly scratched behind his ear.

Frostbite shoulder-bumped the beast as he ascended. “Slick move, Sparky.” Shrapnel only grunted as he watched the ice dragon soar into battle.

Just as Frostbite regrouped with his comrades, Nidhogg tried for another tail swipe, obviously losing his patience. However, Crazylocks had hopped aboard a griffon soldier who flew close to the ground so that she could gather a huge amount of boulders with her magic; once high enough, she used a spell to lock the massive cluster together and fired it at Nidhogg’s tail. The ensuing impact parried his tail, and shards from the cluster broke off and struck his face and claws.

Crazylocks turned to her escort as she spread her wings. “Your service has earned you VIP seat in my ‘box-of-cool-people’ list!” she blurted.

The griffon was obviously befuddled. “Umm…. Thanks?”

“I MAKE NO SEEEENSE!!!” Crazylocks exclaimed as she flew off, leaving the griffon to scratch his head on confusion.

Nidhogg was losing energy, but his body still burned, and there was only one thing left to do. “Greensprout, get ready. I’m about to open the floodgates for ya!” Frostbite said as he tossed and caught the charged shard in his claw.

“Ready when you are, brother!” she declared.

“Alright!” Frostbite clutched the shard, glaring determinedly at his dark adversary. “Down the hatch!” He tossed the gem into his mouth and quickly chewed before swallowing it…. Only to realize it wasn’t exactly tasty. “Blech! Stale!” he complained. Regardless of the taste, Frostbite could feel his body charging with vast amounts of energy. While overwhelming, he knew he had to do it. The fate of the world rested on Nidhogg’s defeat….and he unleashed icy hell.

“RAAAAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!!!”

From Frostbite’s mouth erupted a blizzard of cataclysmic magnitude, all concentrated towards Nidhogg.

“What!?” A very startled Nidhogg mustered the last of his strength, and an eruption of hellfire erupted from his mouth, directed at Greensprout.

Even through the crushing snowpocalypse, much of the dark flames managed to remain to the point where they were about to strike the little monk.

“NO!” Air Slash wasted no time raising his swords and blocking the fire from hitting Greensprout.

“AIR SLASH!!” Greensprout called out in worry.

The soaring samurai greatly strained to look back at her. “Nrgh! G-Greensprout!.... G…. GO!” He was holding on for dear life.

“It’s now or never, swab!” Frigg called out.

Realizing what this moment meant, Greensprout regained her composure and readied her Gaia Root. “Ok… To his head!”

“You got it, darlin’!” her griffon escort said as he flew her to the snake’s head.

Frostbite’s blizzard smothered the dark flames lining his body and pushed her towards her goal, but the inclement weather made it hard to fly. Thankfully, it lasted until mere seconds after Greensprout gave the order to charge, and Nidhogg had just about collapsed from exhaustion and started heavily panting. The chance was too perfect for words.
When she was just above him, Greensprout leapt from the griffon’s back. As she fell, time seemed to slow to a crawl. In spite of her fear, her lack of physical prowess, and her dream of a more peaceful world, Greensprout let nothing hold her back from doing what she knew was ultimately for the better…..and she channeled every last ounce of courage, hope, love, and light that her pure heart could muster into her mystical root as she jammed its gleaming emerald into Nidhogg’s skull.

“HRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

“RAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!”

An explosion of holy light nearly swallowed the sky as Nidhogg screamed in unbridled agony. He could feel his very form falling apart, and portions of his body suddenly started exploding one by one in flames of light. His limp body plummeted to the ground along with Greensprout, who continued to purge him.

Suddenly, the G-force was too great for Greensprout to withstand, and she flew off of his head. “AIIEE!!”

She thought she would meet an untimely demise until she felt someone catch her. “Are you alright, my dear?” Air Slash asked. Greensprout joyfully hugged him and giggled as they descended.

Once safely on the ground, everyone nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Some of the griffons went to go check on the other that were hit by Nidhogg, but it was clear that their strength had been spent. Air Slash too collapsed to his knees upon landing, nearly dropping Greensprout, but hopped off and gently stroked his back.

“Thank you, Air Slash.”

“<pant>…<pant>…<pant> Of course….” Air Slash barely had the strength to speak as Greensprout gently pecked his cheek.

“Hmm?” Greensprout suddenly noticed that she was standing right next to Nidhogg’s face, his body no longer aflame and his eyes distant. Yet Greensprout could tell that she was being addressed.

Suddenly, the draconic devil began disintegrating like his minions, but one last ounce of strength let him speak his last words to Greensprout. “Thank…..you…..” His final whisper echoed gently as his head finally faded away.

A knot tied in the young monk’s heart. Was it sorrow? Guilt? Relief? Either way, the weight of Nidhogg’s darkness had been lifted from Heimr Island, and she basked in the serenity that followed….that she had ushered. A single tear shed from her eye. “Rest in peace….Nidhogg.”

Author's Notes:

Happy New Year, guys! Things are really going out with a bang, huh?

Well-being

Author's Notes:

Wow! I only noticed now that this story has broken 2,500 views! It's unbelievable that you guys have been so patient with me despite my inconsistent updates, and I can't say thank you enough!

Crazylocks: "THANK TIMES INFINITY!!!"

.....one-upped by my own OC....

Even the most eloquent wordsmith couldn’t produce a description poetic enough to do justice for the feeling of tranquility, even salvation that caressed Heimr Island as the last of Nidhogg’s evil dissipated. The once misty and gloomy penal colony caged in by the ocean was now being kissed by Celestia’s sun, and the once dreadful ruins now invited rebirth. All of the warriors who won the day, their strength returning to them at a snail’s pace, merely remained where they were, relishing in the serene aftermath of a terrible battle.

“Splendid performance! Absolutely spectacular!” Everyone followed what turned out to be the voice of Ymir emerging onto the scene. “I confess, I was overcome with despair when I witnessed that worm fully materialize. But I see that His Majesty’s eye for hardy warriors is not failing even in his aging years. You’ve put on an exemplary performance, Battle Foals.”

Fire Fight had to muster the stamina to lift his head as his tired body lay on the ground, and he humbly smiled at Ymir. “Thanks…” he muttered.

“Tch! And what’re we? Chopped liver!?” Captain Frigg blurted, somehow managing to stand, and her face as stern as it’s always been.

“Oh, take no offense, captain. I expected no less from you and your troops.” Ymir replied.

“Ehh, like you’ve ever seen a real skirmish anywhere other than yer damn books.” Frigg scoffed. She then turned to the little red colt, eyeing him expectantly. “Well? Ya just gonna lay there like a wee swab? Not gonna bask in yer glory, lad?”

“I will when I’m not totally spent.” Fire Fight replied. “Besides, it’s not just my victory. We really couldn’t have done it without your help, Captain Frigg; you and your troops. I’m sorry they took such a beating.”

“Ehh, cut the crap, lad. We’re just doin’ our jobs.” Frigg said. “Well, Heimr’s yours now. I’ll let His Majesty know.”

“Thanks, captain; but let Greensprout tend to your troops first. I think they deserve some healing.” Fire Fight said.

Much to his shock, the cantankerous captain actually creased a delighted smile. “Damn it, swab. Didn’t I just tell ya to cut the crap?”

True to her nature, Greensprout was hard at work diligently healing everyone, the more gravely injured taking priority. Once back his own hooves, Turf War carried all of the griffons who got flung to kingdom come over to where everyone else had congregated so that Greensprout could access them more quickly. She managed to finish up much faster as a result.

“HOOOO, LORD!!!” Turf War bellowed. “Ain’t this been a helluva day!? Man, I feel like I just looked death in the eye and was all like, ‘BAM! Bite somepony who cares, b****’!”

Quantum Tech just sighed in frustration. “I’m beginning to worry that it’s chronic…” she mumbled.

“Glugh! Ulaagh!!” Frostbite, for some reason, had his mouth wide open and looked as if he was trying to sandwich his jaws between his hands. “I cun cofe fy houf!” he said.

“What’s that? Your honeycomb flies south?” Crazylocks asked.

Frostbite shook his head.

“There’s a soap pie in your house?”

Frostbite shook his head more violently.

“You wore a cloak on your date with Miley Coyote-Mouse the Third!?”

“NAAH!!” Frostbite glared at Crazylocks like an auto-turret locked onto a target and ready to fire.

“Crazylocks… I think he’s trying to say that he can’t close his mouth.” Bullseye said.

“Really?” Crazylocks said. “<gasp!> Oh! Now it all makes perfect sense!”

By some miracle, the icy drake managed to wiggle his jaws out of their locked position and slammed his mouth closed… but he didn’t think to retract his tongue. “MMMPPHHH!!!!” Frostbite writhed on the ground for a minute, clutching his mouth until Greensprout rectified the problem.

“Goodness, Frostbite.” Greensprout said.

Frostbite massaged his aching jaws. “Ugh… I’m gonna have a hard time chewing for a while.”

“Well… there’s one more little thing to add to our resume.” Shadow Shroud commented as she wiped off her kunai.

“I can’t be the only one who’s starting to get sick of this.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Yes… A warrior’s blade can dull as easily as his patience, but both can be sharpened with time.” Air Slash said.

“Then hopefully we can do a lot of sharpening if you catch my drift.” Tidal Wave said as he rubbed an achy shoulder.

“C’mon! What’s with all the down-in-the-dumps attitude all of a sudden? You guys just scored a private island!” Valkyrie said.

“We know, Miss Valkyrie, and we’re mighty thankful fer all yer help.” Kickback said. “We’re all just plum tuckered out.”

“It’s still the middle of the afternoon, so we have some to figure out where we’re gonna settle in. Let’s do that, and then I’ll make us some dinner. Sound good?” Fire Fight said.

“That would be for the best.” Zebota said. “But please allow to take the time to becalm the spirits of the island. Our clash with Nidhogg put a great strain on the order of this isolated place.”

“You do that, Zebota.” Fire Fight said.

“Well, our work here is done. Let’s head home, boys!” Frigg commanded. As her troops marched towards the Jotun, she looked back at the young warriors and creased a smile; a humble, satisfied smile. “You swabs aren’t too shabby.”

“Hell yeah, we ain’t shabby! How you think Nidhogg got smoked, we sang him a lullaby?” Turf War said.

Frigg just rolled her eyes. “Ya still got a lot to learn, so learn it.” She walked off, following her troops.

“I suppose I’ll be taking my leave as well. It was a pleasure.” Ymir said.

“The feeling is mutual Ymir. Safe travels.” Quantum said, seeing off the scholarly avian.

Valkyrie walked up to Fire Fight and held up a clenched fist, and he instantly fist bumped her. “Take it easy, dude.” She said. “And I’ve got your back in case another ‘fun time’ comes up. Just give me a shout, and maybe I’ll find the time to lend you a talon.”

“You’re always one of us, Valkyrie: a Battle Foal.” Fire Fight said.

“Totally!” Spiral said.

“Another blade whose bearer I’d gladly stand with.” Air Slash said.

“You’re a bird-brain, but an alright one.” Bullseye said.

“I know you ain’t gonna let up ‘less I’ma need to smack you, homegirl.” Turf War said.

“You’d have my full permission too.” Valkyrie said. The foals all bid Valkyrie a heartfelt farewell before she went to join her people on their return home.

Not long after, the mighty Jotun sailed away into the clear horizon, and the Battle Foals could finally settle into what would surely be a wonderful new home.

“Alright, I’m gonna get a fire going and cook up some stew.” Fire Fight said.

“Don’t you want to lay down for a moment first? We’re all pretty tired.” Shroud said.

“Nah. It’ll be easy for me.” Fire Fight said. “How are we on ingredients, Quantum Tech?”

Quantum searched the refrigerator in her mech suit. “We could stand to gather more, but we’re not desperate.”

“Okay. You guys relax if you want, but let’s make gathering food a priority if we can.” Fire Fight said. “We might have to get a farm going.”

“Leave that to me and Zebota, brother.” Greensprout said. Shrapnel let out an affirming bark.

“Cool.” Fire Fight said.

Frostbite was kind enough to help him dig out a little pit and gather some wood. Using a reasonable amount of ingredients provided to him, Fire Fight began to carefully concoct another hearty meal for his comrades. No one could tell them that they hadn’t earned it after felling a potentially catastrophic threat to the world. As he watched his stew simmer, the realization of how tired he was struck him like a ton of bricks; his entire body felt sore, his horn felt a little fizzy from how much magic he’d cast, and he felt like he’d lost hours, even days of sleep.

“You’re a trooper, you know that?” said a voice behind him. It was Shadow Shroud.

“What happened to relaxing?” Fire Fight asked.

“You did say we could do so if we wanted, right?” Shroud teased. “Besides, I can’t leave you alone for a second.”

“What do you mean?” Fire Fight asked as he started stirring his dish.

“I’ll be blunt; I’m worried that you might be pushing yourself too hard. It seems like the universe is really starting to test us as of late, huh?” Shroud said.

“Yeah, really. First the craziness at the portal, then Skadi, and now we just dealt with Nidhogg all in the same week… I think.” Fire Fight said. “But at least we finally got the sanctuary we’ve been wanting.”

“Indeed. I can’t say we could’ve asked for a better base of operations.” Shroud said.

“You make it sound like we’re bunch of criminals.” Fire Fight said.

“I think ‘outlaws’ would be more apt.” Shroud said.

“Yeah.” Fire Fight said. “Hey… does this mean that… you have to leave now?”

Shroud maintained her smile and sat right next to Fire Fight. “I could and probably should… but I won’t”

“R-Really?” Fire Fight asked.

“Of course. Somepony’s gotta make sure that you don’t go mad with power.” Shroud said.

Fire Fight nearly dropped his stirring spoon out of panic, and Shadow Shroud heartily giggled. “Don’t worry! I don’t think you actually will.” She then gently rested her head on his shoulder, causing him to blush brighter than his coat’s normal shade of red. “I just… feel the need to babysit you.”

“O-Oh… Umm… That’s uh… thoughtful.” Fire Fight stammered. Her soft mane cushioned against him like a baby blanket, and he couldn’t help but to give her a light nuzzle, which she giggled to. “Shroud… I’m glad I met you.”

Shroud looked up at him. “Me too…” She lifted her head and gently pecked his cheek, causing his horn to alight like a candle. She licked her hoof and put out the little flame. “Don’t burn dinner, or I’ll hold it against you, ok?”

Fire Fight had to take a deep breath before being able to reply. “Like I’d let that happen.” he said with a confident wink.

Shroud giggled before just simply walking away instead of just vanishing like she always did- she must have been exhausted like everyone. Thankfully, Fire Fight had managed to refocus he efforts on his stew.

*****

“Guys! Dinner!” Fire Fight called out. Feeling rested, everyone was eager to put some much need food in their stomachs, so they all rushed to him where some hot plates of fruit and veggie stew were waiting. Frostbite garnished his with a crushed gemstone.

As per usual, everyone enjoyed the scrumptious food that Fire Fight had concocted. It was a celebration well-deserved under a setting sun.

“Nothin’ like a plate o’ home cookin’ after a hard day, huh y’all?” Kickack said.

“Seriosuly.” Frostbite said. He then noticed that Tidal Wave was trembling a little. “What’s up with you?”

“O-Oh, uhh… nothing.” Tidal Wave stammered before taking another bite.

“Umm, yeah, no. Definitely not ‘nothing’”. Frostbite said.

“I-I just… swam into the wrong neighborhood while I was out gathering some seaweed; that’s all.” Tidal Wave explained. “Just a couple hungry sharks with big, gnashing jaws looking for a little snack, nothing special!”

Spiral gently patted him on the back. “Easy, Tidal Wave. It’s all over. You brought back a lot anyway.”

The aquatic colt was able to take a deep breath and calm down. “Thanks…”

“Yes, today could have been far more catastrophic.” Air Slash commented.

“Catastrophic…” Quantum muttered. “<gasp!> You don’t suppose that Nidhogg was the catastrophe that Princess Luna foretold?”

“Wait, what?” Frostbite inquired. They had to explain to him their encounter with the lunar lady and her warning. “Oh… that sounds fun…”

“It better have been. I’m not sure I can take another week of nearly getting killed without just dropping dead on my own.” Bullseye said.

“Word. I’ma be honest- I kinda wanna sleep in tomorrow.” Turf War said.

“Yeah… A slow day might be a good idea. It’ll slow down our mission, but making this place more livable would help; this place is gonna be its own little town soon enough.” Fire Fight said.

“Any ecosystem relies on the well-bring of all of its members. Any new foals that enter ours would not fare well if we are too weak to sustain it.” Zebota said.

“I’ll take care to keep you all healthy as always.” Greensprout said. “Shall we plant our first crops come first light, Zebota?”
Zebota nodded. “That would be ideal.”

“But the catastrophe!” Quantum said. “If Nidhogg wasn’t it, than what is? Her Highness said that we were the only ones capable of neutralizing it! We’ll be faced with it in due time, but haven’t the slightest idea when.”

“That is indeed an unfortunate truth, but with no clues, all we can do is wait for it to rear its ugly head.” Air Slash said. “But my blades will be sharpened so that its head shall be severed.”

“Not until I land ten headshots first!” Bullseye said.

“I don’t know, guys.” Fire fight said. “Those random ice monsters might be a clue.” He explained to them the nightmare he had back at the inn in Griffonstone. “Something clearly thinks we’re a threat.”

“Don’t look at me. I didn’t make ‘em.” Frostbite said.

“Nopony said you did.” Shroud said.

“Air Slash is right though.” Kickback said. “Unless Princess Luna pays us another visit in our dreams tonight, we got nothin’ to go on. Sometimes, ya just gotta wait for the sandstorm to blow over.”

“It’s frustrating, but yeah.” Fire Fight said. “But we’ll be strong until then, won’t we, Battle Foals?”

“I-I sure hope so.” Spiral said.

“It better not wake us up tomorrow morning; I want a freaking nap for once!” Bullseye said.

“I’ll do one better and practice the ancient, long-lost art of narcolepsy!” Crazylocks blurted.

“For real. I just wanna chill, y’all.” Turf War said. “We got our new crib, so we oughta.

“Just one day without having to look over my shoulder every five seconds would be nice.” Tidal Wave said.

“Alright, alright.” Fire Fight said, earning him surprised glances from everyone. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound impatient. You guys are right; let’s take this chance to take things slow.”

“Good choice, firecracker.” Frostbite said.

Once the Battle Foals finished their dinner, they found a comfortable place to sleep- Frostbite exhaled some ice into the shape of a little nest for him to curl up in. Even as they all were eager to get a good night’s sleep, Fire Fight couldn’t help but to worry about everyone’s well-being.

The Future

“Yo, dog!”

Fire Fight could feel someone shaking him as he laid asleep in his grass-sewn sleeping bag. He suddenly became conscious of the sun’s warm rays shining onto his lazed body and groggily woke up. “Huh?”

“You good?” Turf War was standing over him and fully awake. “Everypony already up and hustlin’, my dude.”

“Huh? Really?” Fire Fight sat up and looked around. Sure enough, everyone else was already up and stretching, likely awaiting breakfast. “Jeez! Looks like I slept in a little. Sorry, you gotta be hungry.”

“Tops.” Turf War said. “Think we should do something while we waitin’?”

“Not on an empty stomach.” Fire Fight said as he started a fire and threw some ingredients together. “Unless stuff’s already being done.”

“Zebota n’ Greensprout be getting’ that farmland poppin’ off like they said. They had to cop some seeds from a few o’ the fruits n’ greens we had, but it’s all good.” Turf War explained.

“Good!” Fire Fight said. As he simmered his stew, he noticed that Quantum Tech had Frostbite’s mouth propped open while magically holding some kind of instrument resembling a thermometer with a small fan inside of it. The icy drake looked pretty annoyed at having to be the guinea pig of whatever experiment she was conducting. “What’s going on with those two?”

“Quantum figured that since we finally got some downtime, she can finally figure out why homie’s hot breath ain’t so hot, if ya know how I mean.” Turf War answered.

“I’m shocked she even convinced him into it.” Fire Fight said.

“A small bribe of gems is the fastest way to a dragon’s heart.”

“Whoa!” Fire Fight turned to see Shadow Shroud right next to him and nearly dropped his stirring spoon. He quickly corrected himself. “Umm… doesn’t he already have a stash of his own?”

“Apparently, one or a few of the former guards had a hidden collection of their own that Quantum happened upon. Frostbite was… more than eager to learn of its location.” Shroud explained.

“Oh…” Fire Fight said. “What else have I missed?”

“Nothing much. Air Slash is thinking of repurposing the courtyard into a training ground, but has only started planning.” Shroud said. “And when she’s done with our friendly neighborhood snow dragon, Quantum wants to build… oh, how did she put it? A machine capable of desalinating the surrounding seawater.”

“That should really be her first priority.” Fire Fight said.

“My boy, I been tried to tell her that, but y’all know how she do when she got science on her mind.” Turf War said. “But that’s besides that point. We all gonna have to pitch in n’ help her make that; I want me some fresh-a** water if I’ma cop this spot with y’all.”

“Beat me to the punch.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud giggled. “That’s saying something.” she teased.

“Yeah… You guys got a head start on me.” Fire Fight said.

“Trouble sleeping?” Shroud asked.

“A little bit.” Fire Fight said. “Maybe I’m just anxious.”

“We all anxious, homie.” Turf War said.

“Trying being the one running this ragtag group of renegades.” Fire Fight said. “Man, having the three of us together like this sure takes me back…”

“Fo’ real though…” Turf War said. “Kinda feelin’ like yesterday I was bashin’ b****es in a junkyard ‘til I somehow ended up turnin’ into a damn wanderin’ warrior r’ somethin’.”

Shroud giggled. “Indeed; Detrot, I feel, is where our adventure truly began.”

The three of them shared a laugh, but Turf War’s momentary happiness suddenly drowned. “Makin’ me wonder how everypony is over there.”

“Yeah… I sure hope that Officer Curfew was caught.” Fire Fight said.

“We did cause quite a commotion in that warehouse. It surely didn’t go unnoticed.” Shroud said.

“That don’t mean that m*********** ain’t lied his way outta trouble somehow.” Turf War said.

“C’mon, Turf War; have some faith. I’m sure everything’s fine.” Fire Fight said.

Turf War shrugged. “Yeah, maybe I’m trippin’. I already followed you this much anyway, ain’t I?”

“Yep.” Fire Fight said. “And…. Viola! Guys! Breakfast!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around, eager for food; Quantum managed to finalize her experiment, much to Frostbite’s relief.

“Mm-mm! Ya never fail to whip up some tasty grub, sheriff.” Kickback said.

“Thanks, dude.” Fire Fight said. “Is it too early to ask about results, Quantum Tech?”

“Oh, yes. I have samples of Frostbite’s breath processing as we speak; plus, I have some data to analyze.” Quantum answered. She then noticed that the icy drake was still pretty sullen. “Oh, don’t give me that look. You got your gems.”

“Blah, blah, blah. You give me a better reason to do that next time.” Frostbite said as he crushed a gem and sprinkled it into his stew.

Fire Fight decided to not press the issue any further. “So… Zebota, how’s that garden coming along? Think it’ll yield a good harvest?”

The young mystic gracefully swallowed a spoonful of his stew. “Yes. The spirits of this island are forever grateful to us for freeing their home from Nidhogg’s evil. They have promised us fertile soils and bountiful harvests.”

“It’ll still be our responsibility to care for it, however.” Greensprout said.

“You saw these spirits too?” Fire Fight asked.

Greensprout giggled. “No. I just choose to trust that Zebota knows what he’s talking about.”

“I can tell you that he is.” Tidal Wave said. His mystical water gem shined a little as he smiled.

“Speaking of water, Quantum’s been thinking of making a de-saltifier, or whatever, haven’t you?” Fire Fight asked the brainy filly.

“I have.” she answered.

“I think that absolutely should be our number one priority. We’ve got enough water to last us maybe a couple of weeks if we’re conservative.” Fire Fight said.

“You can’t just abracadabra it all fresh?” Bullseye asked.

“I could, but that’d take a ludicrous amount of time and effort; having an apparatus that does so automatically will be immensely convenient.” Quantum said. “The magic itself isn’t difficult, and the machine itself shouldn’t be terribly taxing to construct.”

“Then it should be only right that we all assist. Anything vital to our survival should come first.” Air Slash said.

“Do we even have the right materials? I bet we’ll have to recycle some stuff in the prison.” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“I saw a couple small shipwrecks when I went out for seaweed last night. Should I salvage anything from them?” Tidal Wave asked.

“OOH! Absolutely!” Quantum squealed. “I’d simply LOVE to read any intact diaries and maps that aren’t waterlogged. Oh, and you’ll have to bring me some artifacts that would allow me to study how they operated on the high seas-”

“Water filter, numbskull!” Bullseye said.

Quantum composed herself. “<Ahem> Pardon me… No, Tidal Wave. We’d likely have to clean them off a great deal considering how much time they’ve had to accumulate barnacles and the like.”

“We’ll have to sanitize any raw materials anyway. I don’t plan on living on this island with constant exposure to tetanus.” Shroud said.

“Hey! Infections are people too, you know!” Crazylocks blurted.

“I-I know that, Crazylocks. They… just aren’t welcome here.” Shroud said.

Crazylocks strongly inhaled as if she was about to shout, and Shroud immediately regretted her choice of words. “Ok.” she said, thankfully calmly.

“I happened upon a room containing a workshop fit for a blacksmith whilst exploring, a forge and everything.” Air Slash said. “I’ll need Fire Fight to stoke the pit, but prolonged exposure to intense heat whilst reshaping metal should thoroughly sanitize it.”

“Say no more.” Fire Fight said.

“Let’s put it down in that underwater cavern we found on Ymir’s map once we’re done. It’ll be safe from the weather that way.” Spiral said.

“Well, we’re gonna have to dig to it first.” Kickback. “If Ah had me a dowsin’ rod, Ah could probably find it for y’all.”

“Those don’t actually work, dude.” Bullseye said.

“Really? Always worked like a charm back in Dodge City when mah Pa n’ I had to look for a new well.” Kickback said.

“Dude… I think we both know what it’s like being crackshots.” Bullseye said. In one swift motion, she drew her bow, nocked an arrowed, and then fired it behind her where it threaded through some metal bars and struck a wooden post dead center. “Or just plain lucky, take your pick.”

“Don’t worry, darling. I have an instrument or two that would help us detect groundwater, but I’ll let your expertise take the lead.” Quantum said.

Kickback tipped his hat at her. “Much obliged, Ms. Quantum.”

“Of course, Kickback!” Quantum said, fluttering her eyelids.

Kickback just sighed while Bullseye snickered at him. “Ya know… Ah kinda wonder how everypony’s doin’ back home.”

“Who gives a damn? We left ‘em all behind, didn’t we?” Bullseye said.

“Reckon so, but how’s the rest of Equestria gonna think of us? Just ‘cause we left ‘em behind doesn’t mean we don’t care about ‘em none.” Kickback said.

“Yeah… I have to admit: I’ve kinda been thinking about my parents lately. They might still be getting harassed because of the trouble I’d caused.” Spiral said.

“If only they could see how far you’ve come.” Air Slash said.

“Yeah…” Spiral said. “Maybe… if they understood, we could let them live here with us? Not all of our parents were that bad anyway.”

“Whoa! What!?” Tidal Wave blurted.

“Ok, ok! Maybe that’s wishful thinking.” Spiral said. “But… Kickback’s right. Even if we ran away from Equestria, that doesn’t mean we hate it, right?”

“Darling, that really is wishful thinking. Our parents would just put such a damper on the existence that we’ve chosen.” Quantum said.

“Yeah. I thought the whole point of your ‘quest’ was to find somewhere better to live.” Frostbite said. “Look, no offense, but you ponies always try way too hard to be ‘structured’ and ‘civilized’ or whatever. I know us dragons are kind of a dysfunctional family, but at least we can do pretty much whatever we want with like, no consequence.”

“That’s… an interesting to put it.” Fire Fight said. “But I don’t think anypony’s gonna be too mad at us. I mean, we kinda saved Equestria, maybe the world a couple times up until this point.”

“They likely just are unaware of it all yet.” Air Slash said.

“I feel y’all, but now that we about to finally settle down, I… kinda wanna at least tell my folks that I’m sorry.” Turf War said. “I done bounced without sayin’ a word.”

“Let ‘em all know we’re doin’ alright at the very least. Can’t really say Ah’m mad at mah Pa.” Kickback said.

“I suppose I should write to the Abbey every now and again as well. They must be worried about me.” Greensprout said.

“Do whatever you guys want. I’m gonna enjoy being free from all the crap back in Trifectown.” Bullseye said. “You guys have really become my family… even if that sounds sappy as hell.”

Crazylocks suddenly wrapped her hooves around the archer in a Crazylocks hug. “SAPPY SISTERS SEW SILKY SALAMANDER STRINGS OF SILLINESS TOGETHER!”

Bullseye managed to lighten her friend’s tight squeeze by sheer aggression, but she couldn’t help but to smile. As embarrassed as she was to it, she hugged back. “That kinda made sense.”

“<sob> I have pleased the sanity gods on high!” Crazylocks said.

As Fire Fight listened to his friends, the taste of his stew reminded him of when his mother had first started teaching him how to cook. He was then reminded of the portal incident at the Great Horn Temple; all he was concerned about then was escaping with his friends, but he remembered the anguish he heard in his mother’s voice. Not only that, but his father was inexplicably there, waiting to reunite with the son he’d left behind; he had quite a few questions for him, but he couldn’t be concerned about that right now. Right now, he had to think about finalizing his goal. The last phases were at last falling into place.

“Whatever happens happens, guys.” Fire Fight said. “I don’t want to completely forget everything either, but we have a future to look forward to. If the king of another country can be proud of us, who’s to say that our own families, even Equestria as a whole won’t be?”

“Assuming we care a great deal about our families…” Quantum muttered.

“The griffons live in a different world from the ponyfolk, Fire Fight, a world where we are more readily accepted.” Zebota said. “Two worlds can either clash or coexist depending on many circumstances. That is not to say that such a thing is impossible.” Shrapnel licked the back of his master’s neck.

“Right. All I’m saying is that we should think about the future and not worry so much about the past. We all still want to be here, right?” Fire Fight asked.

“Of course!” Spiral said. “Sorry I made things awkward.”

“You did no harm sister. This conversation was likely to happen soon anyway, and for the better.” Greensprout said as she and everyone else took the last bite of their breakfast.

“Well Quantum, tell us what we need to do so we can have fresh water.” Fire Fight said.

“Absolutely, Fire Fight!” Quantum said.

???

And what a future it will be…..

Battle Foals!….

The Storm Begins

It had been two days since the Battle Foals began finally settled into their new home. Combined efforts concentrated solely into the water purifier allowed them to complete within half a day. They had opted to put it in the isthmus area and had Tidal Wave install pipes that jutted out into the ocean so that it wouldn’t collect mud. The surrounding trees provided it some decent cover from the elements.

After that, they divided tasks amongst each other working on various projects. Amongst them were a training arena, a proper kitchen and dining room, a few bathrooms, and their bedrooms. Quantum Tech even considered trying to construct a small observatory in one of the prison’s higher towers just above where she began installing her lab.

They decided that the prison cells that were either the cleanest or easiest to clean would be suited to their personal bedrooms. The walls were between each were concrete making them decently private, but the small open windows proved unsightly. Quantum Tech used a precision laser to cut out bigger holes and had Frostbite gently freeze them over until they could figure out how to make glass- the icy drake insisted that it wouldn’t melt.

Air Slash went into the work-in-progress lab of Quantum Tech. Their resident scientist was accompanied by Fire Fight. “Good afternoon.”

“Hey, man.” Fire Fight said.

“Oh! Hello, Air Slash.” Quantum Tech said. “What brings you here?”

“Apologies for any interruptions, but Turf War, Spiral Galaxy and I have been working on the training area, and we could use your help refining some of the mechanisms, particularly those that move the dummies.” Air Slash said.

“I suppose I have moment to give a quick inspection.” Quantum said.

“Yeah, I’m kind of helping her make sure her burner thingies don’t explode or anything while she’s running this experiment.” Fire Fight said. There was a small series of glass containing various chemicals being boiled under small open flames. Running between them was a plastic tube carrying the fumes into another container where they mixed.

“Could I trouble you to look after this in my stead, Fire Fight? I shouldn’t be long.” Quantum asked.

Fire Fight nodded. “Who needs a fire blanket when you’ve got me?”

“Err… Y-Yes, quite…” Quantum said. “Now then. Shall we?”

Air Slash led her out of the room and down the hall towards the courtyard. “Have you per chance produced any results as to the reason for Frostbite’s ice breath?”

“Nothing conclusive, but the implications are fascinating.” Quantum said. “As you may know, animals exhale water vapor, which would explain how Frostbite is able to access moisture needed to produce ice without having to be in any sort of humid climate.”

“But we met him in such a dry region. Wouldn’t he have to consume mass amounts of water?” Air Slash said.

“Precisely where everything gets tricky.” Quantum said. “You’d wonder the same thing about regular dragons not having their bodies completely combust with how much fire they can produce. However, when I analyzed his breath sample, I noticed something… odd.”

“Being what?”

“There were microscopic hints of pure carbon that were strangely charged similar to a unicorn’s horn when we use magic.” Quantum said.

“Pure carbon? As in the gems he consumes?” Air Slash asked.

“Yes! Gems are excellent conductors and containers of magical energy, but it begs the question as to where this magic in particular is coming from. It has its own set of properties that causes it to behave in a predictable way, which has allowed Frostbite to gain a feel on how to control it, but I have to wonder if this is common among dragons.” Quantum said.

“You mean their fire breathing might actually be magical!?” Air Slash asked.

“Thinking more about it, I don’t think it’s as ridiculous as it sounds.” Quantum said. “Unicorns have an organ that produces magic in the form of our horns. Who’s to say any other creatures in Equestria are without such a characteristic? I must imagine that for dragons, it would be a gland located somewhere within or around their respiratory systems.”

“And it just so happen that Frostbite is the only known dragon that breathes something that is not fire?” Air Slash asked.

Quantum giggled. “Evolution can be fun to watch.”

When they reached the door to the courtyard, they could hear a cacophony of crashes and bangs from outside. They hurried to see what the ruckus was. “WHAT IN CELESTIA’S NAME!?!?” Air Slash exclaimed.

Spiral Galaxy struggled to keep a hail of nuts and bolts from raining down as they popped out their mechanisms while Turf War frantically smacked away dummies being fired at him like bullets. “M*********!!!” he shouted.

When the storm cleared, the two caught their breaths until they noticed their company, who looked pretty dumbfounded at the pitiful display. Spiral just sheepishly smiled.

Turf War, however, had the face of a foal caught with their hoof in a cookie jar. “Umm… Err… S-See what had happened was…”

Back in Ponyville…

Spike watched as Twilight impatiently paced around her library. It had been a day since her and the search party returned from Griffonstone, but having returned empty-hoofed made it feel like forever ago. “What’d we miss? We combed that shoreline from top to bottom with no sign of the Battle Foals!”

“Maybe they just left before we could catch ‘em… again…” Spike said.

“Spike, they would have left some kind of trace!” Twilight said. “You don’t suppose King Grover lied to us, do you?”

“Why would he? He’s a king. Lying to another royalty would get in deep doo-doo.” Spike said. “We didn’t go all the way north into that icy forest. They might have gone all that way.”

“Spike, I know they’re tough little sluggers, but do you really think even they would be able to withstand living in such a cold climate for prolonged periods of time?” Twilight asked.

“Fire Fight has fire magic. He could keep them warm until they found a way to stave of the cold like the Crystal Empire.” Spike said. “Heck, friendship alone can be pretty warm, and the Battle Foals probably have that in strides!”

Twilight sighed. “I guess it’s worth investigating. I’ll let Cheerilee know so we can try and head out tomorrow.”

“Cool.” Spike said. He suddenly started shivering. “Brrr! Did you turn down the A/C? It’s really cold in here all of a sudden.”

Twilight shivered. “I didn’t even touch it. Was there supposed to be a cold front today?”

Spike suddenly started choking before belching out a flame that materialized into a letter. He grabbed and started reading it. “It’s from Cadence… and… it looks like serious trouble!”

In the Crystal Empire…

Border guards on the edge of the empire stood vigilantly just within the magic rim protecting them from the wrath of the Frozen North. Ever since they discovered the magic anomaly, Shining Armor had ordered their best watchmen to keep their eyes on the outside.

They were used to witnessing the intense blizzard and even have had to venture out into it one a few occasions, but for some reason, everything felt more tense than usual. There was an uncomfortable pressure looming in the air that they couldn’t place.

“D-Does anypony else feel cold? Like… colder than usual around here?” one of the guards asked.

“I think you’re just tense.” his colleague replied.

Suddenly, a powerful chill overwhelmed them, and a cluster of snow and icy dust appeared and began swirling violently. “Hey! Over here!” another guard called out.

The icy swirl slowly congregated into a physical form, the form of a large python made of ice. It had fangs like icicles dripping with no doubt chilling venom and hissed at them.

“Wh-Wh-What’s that!?” a guard exclaimed.

The ice python spat cold venom at her, which froze her solid in an instant.

“STAUNCH VALOR!” another guard cried.

They all drew their weapons as the ice python lunged at them, save for one pegasus who flew as fast as he could towards the castle to warn his lieges…

Within the Castle…

Cadence and Shining were in their bedroom resting. Today wasn’t terribly taxing, but their royal duties often kept them from having long moments of family time, such as having some freshly made sandwiches together. Flurry was in her room asleep.

“Honey, are you sure we didn’t send too many guards to the edge?” Cadence asked.

“Maybe we did, but we can’t be too careful with everything that’s been going on.” Shining said.

“We really should have sent an investigation team over to that ice anomaly.” Cadence said.

“Some ponies have ventured out there themselves, and its apparently unapproachable.” Shining said. “The best thing we could hope to do it set up a camp out there to observe it from a safe distance.”

“Once we know the empire is as safe as it could be, right?” Cadence said.

“Yep.”

“Well, I don’t think it could get any safer if we tried.” Cadence said. “I think it’s high time we contacted those scientists and-”

A pegasus guard suddenly burst through their balcony doors sweating bullets and hyperventilating. “You… You… YOUR HIGHNESSES!!” he shouted.

“Shh! Our baby’s asleep!” Cadence said.

“Calm down, Eagle Wing. What’s wrong?”

The guard took a deep breath. “Sorry. The empire’s under attack!”

“What!? By who?” Shining demanded.

“By… By the blizzard!” Eagle Wing replied.

“The… blizzard?” Cadence asked.

The screams of ponies suddenly echoed from the city, prompting the royals to rush out onto their balcony to investigate. Too their terror, half of the empire had frozen over, and the ice storm was quickly growing. On top of that, the empire was overrun with ice monsters ravaging their surroundings. Python, spiders, apes, horses, and other kinds of monstrous effigies formed from bitter cold ice freezing and smashing everyone and everything in sight, and the ill-prepared guards were helpless to defend themselves or anyone from the onslaught.

“I’m getting Flurry Heart now!” Cadence said.

“Send word to the Princesses while you’re at it! I’ve got to rally my troops and help the townsfolk!” Shining said.

“Right! I’ll come help as soon as I can!” Cadence said.

Shining rushed to the aid of his soldiers. When he got outside, he could barely tell that the crystal heart was doing anything to shield the empire from the blizzard. The air was frigid and dry, driving snow asphyxiated the ground, and spires of ice dominated the landscape and pierced through destroyed houses and smashed buildings.

From afar, the ice monster looked like they’d be formidable, but not their ferocity was unheard of. Even with their steel weapons, they couldn’t do so much as break through their foes’ icy armor. The guards had been trained more vigorously over time, but the beasts weren’t at all tame, and their overwhelming strength in both numbers and general physique allowed them to tear through the empire’s defenses like paper, freezing whomever wasn’t already laying down drained of stamina. Shining fought with all he had.

“<HRAAAWWWRRR!!!!>”

From high above echoed a frightening roar, and Shining looked up and was horrified to see a serpentine dragon made of ice just like its apparent underlings slithering through the sky. It was wingless, but had clawed frills pluming from around its neck like a vampire’s cloak.

“HERE ME, EQUESTRIA!!” a young, feminine voice boomed from its gaping maw. “THE COLD OF WINTER SHALL REIGN ETERNAL!!” The claws on its frills glowed like unicorn horns and summoned more and more ice monsters, and its roaring made the blizzards more violent. It fired beams of ice that around town that formed entire glaciers that made the once lush and lustrous empire into an unrecognizable frozen hellscape.

Observing the beast more closely, Shining could make out a small silhouette from within its mouth…

Heimr Hijinx

It’d been a day since they completed installing their water purifier, and Kickback and Bullseye were in the finally completed training area. Everyone, some more begrudgingly than others, decided to pitch in the help fix and complete it after the debacle that Spiral Galaxy and Turf War accidently caused. Dummies popped in and out of the ground, which Kickback fired at. Bullseye volleyed arrows at the targets moving on conveyors mounted on a wall so that she’d be able to retrieve them.

“You sure you can afford to waste bullets, cowboy?” Bullseye said.

Kickback blew out his guns. “Actually, Ms. Quantum Tech made me some sorta fake magic bullet that doesn’t run out, but it don’t hurt nothin’ neither.” He explained. “Ah can use it fer practice.”

“Didn’t understand any of the science crap, huh? Don’t blame you.” Bullseye said as she volleyed two arrows, each hitting two separate targets dead center.

“Never really did. Ah just trusted that she knew what she what she was ramblin’ on about.” Kickback said.

“I would call you a moron for that if she hasn’t been right all the freaking time.” Bullseye said.

“You oughta learn to trust others a little more, Ms. Bullseye.” Kickback said.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m the spawn of Tarturus. Tell me something I don’t know.” Bullseye said.

She turned her attention to a standalone dummy with punching and jabbing mechanisms. She blocked some of the blows with her bow, but also practiced dodging. The dummy was designed to gradually speed up to a certain point, and as it did, the angsty archer did so in kind; and her aggression flared. The Blood Cupid was certainly present, but Kickback could see hints of restraint in her movements.

Bullseye somersaulted away from the dummy and volleyed a single arrow into its neck, which was just barely exposed. A protected sensor triggered by direct impact caused the dummy to stop. The predatory stare in Bullseye’s eye affixed onto the dummy, but that’s where her aggression stayed. She took a deep breath, and then it subsided. Her demons were caged once again, and a calm eye looked at Kickback. “What? Impressed?”

Kickback tipped his hat. “But not surprised.” He then swiftly drew his gun and fired it behind his head. The shot hit the switch that controlled the popping dummy mechanism and made it stop.

“Pfft! Just had to one-up me, did ya? And here I thought you were a gentlecolt.” Bullseye said.

“Ah reckon us rangers need to keep each other on our hooves is all.” Kickback said.

“Excuses, excuses…” Bullseye joked. “But whatevs.” She turned her back to the wall targets and fired a bow behind her. She heard the arrow hit, but didn’t turn around; she was waiting for Kickback to compliment her.

“Uh… Ms. Bullseye?” Kickback said.

“Talk to me, cowboy.” Bullseye said smugly.

“Ah reckon you’d best take a gander fer yerself.” Kickback said.

“Huh?” Bullseye, mildly concerned, did as the sharpshooter suggested. “Wha- What the hell!?”

Crazylocks had inexplicably appeared in front of the targets, and Bullseye’s arrow had lodged in her hair. Both rangers were dumbfounded, Bullseye more so than Kickback, while Crazylocks just stood there with her manic smile like nothing was wrong. “The legends are true! I AM a pin cushion!”

*****

Spiral Galaxy calmly layed on the end of a dock jutting far out into the Celestial Sea. She had taken off her armor to let the salty breeze caress her coat. The sky was open with minimal overcast, and yet the shining sun did little to evoke her volatile magic; she paid it no heed. Instead she happily observed the churning sea, calm but hiding a fearsome rage.

The flapping of seagull wings was disrupted when more powerful flaps broke the tranquility. Spiral looked up to see a certain icy drake land and perch atop the wooden support beam just across from her. “S’up, twerp?”

Spiral smiled. “Hey, Frostbite. Did you get a craving for pearls?”

“Nah, they make me sick to my stomach. I just needed a break from Quantum Tech’s stupid experiments.” Frostbite said.

Spiral giggled. “She’s still giving you gems though, right?”

“At least…” Frostbite mumbled.

“I bet she really appreciates you letting yourself be the guinea pig.” Spiral said.

“She’d better. I can still taste those metal things she makes me hold in my mouth.” Frostbite said. “So, whatcha up to?”

“Just watching Tidal Wave.” Spiral said.

Frostbite scanned the surrounding seawater, but saw only miles of blue. “Zebota give you water x-ray vision or something? I don’t see him.”

“Oh he’s there. I told him not to go out to far.” Spiral said.

“Since when are you his mom?” Frostbite asked.

A small tint of red appeared on her face. “No, no! I just… wanna make sure he doesn’t freak out over another pack of sharks or anything. Y-You know how squeamish he can get.”

“Yeah, really. He told me about that giant eel he tangoed with. Sounds like he’s able to put the ‘attack’ in ‘panic attack’.” Frostbite said.

“Have a little more faith him. At least he’s never afraid to try.” Spiral said.

Suddenly, they heard something jump out of the water. “Wahoo!” Tidal Wave happily put on an acrobatic display, swimming through the water and air like a flying fish as he made his way to the dock. He made his entrance with a splash and gracefully landed right in front of Spiral. “Phew! What a workout.” He then noticed the ice dragon present. “Oh! Hey, Frostbite.”

For some reason, Frostbite seemed to be holding back laughter. “How’s the water, twerp?”

“Nice and cool! You gonna take a dip? I bet those dragon wings would be good for swimming.” Tidal Wave said.

Frostbite shrugged. “Just hope I don’t sneeze…”

“Oh!” Tidal Wave turned to Spiral. “I err….found this while I was swimming. Th-Thought you might want it.” He reached into his armor and pulled out a decently sized pearl.

“Aww, thanks!” Spiral took the pearl with her hoof and leaned in to peck him, causing to blush furiously. However, Spiral noticed something behind him. “You’ve got a passenger.”

“Huh!?” Tidal Wave looked behind him to find an octopus clinging to his back. “GYAAAAHHHH!!! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!” He frantically tried to buck it off, prompting Spiral to step back so as to avoid his thrashing.

Frostbite finally stopped the debacle by skewering the squishy mass with his tail having frozen it over first. He then pulled it right off of the frantic foal and engulfed it in his jaws, chomping away before swallowing it all at once. “Mm! Might have to take a dip just to find a little snack.” He said. “Err… You ok, squirt?”

Tidal Wave was hyperventilating whilst Spiral held his hoof, trying to calm him down. “My life flashed before my eyes…” he muttered.

Spiral sighed. “It was just an octopus, dude…” she said.

“Some are venomous, you know!” Tidal Wave blurted.

Spiral just rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile a little. “He’s so cute when he’s flustered…”

*****

Greensprout and Zebota were hard at work tending to their garden. Shrapnel’s massive claws were just the thing to till the land so the two farmers could plant seeds, who used their combined nature magic to expedite the growing process. They knew better than to force it, so they made sure to coax their crops into eventual blossom; they already had some healthy sprouts.

“It won’t be long before we can really begin sustaining ourselves.” Greensprout said.

“Yes. You did remember to plant medicinal herbs, did you not?” Zebota said.

Greensprout nodded. “Of course! But I must grow them separate of our crops. That’s why I had Shrapnel dig that little field over there.”

“I figured that was your reason.” Zebota said. “It is a shame that we cannot grow any herbs of my people. How I would love to share more of my culture apart from my Beastcraft and phrases of my native tongue.”

“And I’d love to learn more, but you will always be our brother regardless of your upbringing.” Greensprout said. “Though perhaps you could think of Zebra recipes with what we’re growing?”

“I…would have to get most creative, but perhaps.” Zebota said.

“Air Slash has told me stories about cave mushrooms that Fire Fight cooked into a luscious stew. Maybe we should consider nurturing our own.” Greensprout said.

“Let us take care not to ask too much of the spirits. We may have earned their favor, but only take what you need.” Zebota said.

“Yeah, I suppose there is such a thing as too much healing.” Greensprout said.

Zebota then heard Shrapnel bark, and looked over at him. The wooden titan gently clawed at the ground as if to ask permission. “Yes, my friend. Right there would be good.” Shrapnel rend the ground around him with his claws into another little field ready to be planted.

“It still baffles me that one would be able to tame such a mighty beast with the right magic.” Greensprout said.

“I still remember when you healed me from near death in those ruins.” Zebota said.

Greensprout giggled. “Now who’s taking the other’s powers for granted?”

Shrapnel could then be seen carrying a decently large log in his mouth. He brought it to his master and dropped it at his feet.

Greensprout was startled, but Zebota just smiled at his beast. “A fetch break, my friend?” Shrapnel started panting excitedly and wagging his tail. “Very well!” Zebota summoned a huge root from the ground that picked up the log and threw high over the tree line. “GO LONG!”

Shrapnel sprinted and briefly disappeared into the forest until he jumped high above the floral crowns and caught the log in his jaws. He landed with a powerful thud that made the immediate area shake. Moments later, he burst through the flora, happily returning the log to his master.

“Good boy!” Zebota said.

Frightened at the brazen display of strength, Greensprout nervously shuffled away towards the ruins. “Erm… I-I think I’ll just…l-leave you two your p-playtime!”

*****

The sounds of blades cleaving the air and colliding fiercely filled the air as Air Slash and Shadow Shroud used one of the ruin’s high guard walls as a sparring arena. Shadow-cloaked strikes clashed with swings of swords forged in courage and valiance set the stage for what would surely be a legacy for the ages crafted by the mighty Battle Foals.

However, it was reduced to a mere distraction inside Quantum Tech’s lab where its mindful mistress had pit Fire Fight and Turf War against an old foe: math tests.

“Quantum, why are we doing this?” Fire Fight mumbled.

“Yeah! We ain’t goin’ to school no more!” Turf War said.

Quantum impatiently fixed her glasses. “That’s no excuse for any of us to fall behind on our education!” she said. “A test of the mind is just as important as strength training to keep you on your hooves. There are going to be situations where, for one reason or another, you won’t have me to do all the thinking for you.”

Fire Fight sighed. “She’s got a point, dude…”

“Word…” Turf War mumbled.

It was another painful ten or so minutes later when both colts, bored out of their minds, managed to finish together. Quantum took their papers and looked at them one at a time, starting with Fire Fight’s.
“Hmm… Very decent, Fire Fight. B+” Quantum said.

“Well this brings back the fondest of memories…” Fire Fight muttered.

“I know, dog. Ain’t math borin’ as a…” Turf War said, stopping himself before swearing within Quantum’s presence.

“And…ugh…now for you, Turf War.” Quantum said. She carefully examined the paper, not expecting much. “Hmm?” Her expression suddenly became pretty surprised. “HUH!?!?” She was completely dumbfounded.

“E-Everything Ok, Quantum?” Fire Fight said.

Quantum just stood there trembling as she looked over at them. “He… He… HE SOLVED THEM ALL PERFECTLY!!”

“Seriously!? Even those calculus problems near the end!?” Fire Fight asked.

“Y-Y-YES!!!” Quantum flipped the sheet over to reveal that Turf War had indeed expertly worked out every problem like a pro mathematician.

“You just said math was boring a second ago!!” Fire Fight exclaimed.

“It’s borin’ ‘cause it’s easy as s***.” Turf War said. Quantum was too shocked to correct his language.

“What’s with all the shouting?”

“Huh? GYAGH!!!” Fire Fight fell out of his seat when he found Shadow Shroud right behind him.

“Oops. Sorry…” Shroud said.

Air Slash fluttered into the room. “You really need to break the habit of startling everyone.” He said before noticing Quantum Tech in a bowing position. “Now…what seems to be the trouble?”

“Turf War is apparently a math honors student.” Fire Fight said, showing them his math test.

“Is that so?” Air Slash said.

“Three years in a row, matter o’ fact.” Turf War said.

Air Slash and Shadow Shroud were as stunned as Quantum upon examining their gangster friends handiwork. “…You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Shroud said.

Quantum was still bowing. “WE ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF A MASTER!!!” She sobbed tears of joy and admiration.

Sanctuary

<CRASH> The doors to the Sisters’ throne room burst open, and in flew a frantic messenger pegasus. “YOUR HIGHNESSES!!!”

“Goodness, Air Stream! Whatever is the matter?” Celestia asked.

“The Crystal Empire! It’s… It’s…” He tightly clutched a scroll signed with Cadence and Shining Armor’s stamp. “Oh, I can’t say! Please just read this!”

Celestia took the scroll and immediately began perusing its contents.

“Celestia, Luna, I’m afraid my husband and I have no time to mince words. Our fair empire has fallen under heavy assault by an unknown fiend with overwhelming power. It has frozen over our land and infested it with monstrous ice constructs, and has threatened to spread its terror to Equestria and possibly beyond. We’ve been forced to evacuate as quickly as possible and are headed for Canterlot. Please have forces ready- ours have already been frozen, and declare a national state of emergency.

-Cadence”

“This is terrible!” Luna said.

“Yes, especially while we’re still looking for the Battle Foals.” Celestia said.

“The foals…” Luna mumbled. “Sister, I will rally the troops. You must warn Twilight and spread this message!”

“A-Always the one ready to take action, aren’t you?” Celestia said.

“Is all well, Tia?” Luna asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. This is just very sudden.” Celestia said. “Do what you must, Luna.”

“Right.” Luna soared out of their throne room with the utmost confidence.

However, something in Cadence’s warning made the Princess of the Sun shudder as if it were the dead of winter. “An ice-powered fiend… No…”

Meanwhile, Luna’s thought were with the little heroes whom she had watched over. “My Battle Foals, I fear it has begun… I am forced to make a difficult decision. Whatever I ultimately elect to do… I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Back in Ponyville…

Twilight and Spike were accompanied by the CMC in her library. She had gotten out a few books and was showing them to her small guests. “Ok, Crusaders, very little is known about what lies north of Griffonstone, so pay close attention.”

“We know, we know.” Scootaloo said.

Twilight rolled her eyes at Scoot’s impatience. “Obviously, it’s frigid cold up there, so packing plenty of things to keep us warm; but we still have to assume that that’ll be the least of our worries. The trees there drip sap that’s cold enough to cause hypothermia, Bugbears are thought to travel there to hunt from time to time, and I’ve even heard tales from griffons that undead are said to rise-”

“Twilight!” Spike blurted. “I think it’s best if we just brace for the cold and see what happens when we get there rather than preparing for superstitions.”

“Yeah. None of that sounds like anything Fire Fight and the Battle Foals couldn’t handle anyway.” Scootaloo said.

“Not that we aren’t worried about them anyway.” Sweetie Belle said.

“We’d seriously better find them this time. Ah’m getting’ sick o’ seein’ everypony so glum n’ all. Kinda startin’ to make me mad at him…” Applebloom said.

“Mad or not, he and those other Battle Foals are probably gonna need us.” Scootaloo said.

Suddenly, the CMC’s marks began pulsing light, prompting them all to rush to the throne room. As expected, their marks were hovering above a location in Equestria, but not anywhere anyone would’ve expected to see: somewhere out in the middle of the Celestial Sea.

“Where’s that, Twilight?” Spike asked.

“I have no idea, Spike.” Twilight said.

“Sure is close to Griffonstone.” Scootaloo said. “Wait! You don’t think…”

They could feel heavenly rays of inspiration shining onto them as they gazed at that one fixed point on the map. “They need us more than we realized…” Sweetie Belle said.

Suddenly, Spike felt a tightness in his chest, one he associated with receiving a letter from Celestia, but this one was coming on faster than normal. “Urp! Letter alert! Urrmm… <BELCH>!” A burped flare materialized into a letter, but something was different about it.

Twilight gasped. “Oh no!”

“What is it?” Applebloom asked.

“This royal crest…” Twilight stammered. “C-Celestia only sends letters with this special crest if she’s… declaring a NATIONAL EMERGENCY!”

Spike and the fillies gasped. “You’d better read that!” the little drake said.

“R-Right!” Twilight opened the letter and read it aloud.

“Twilight, as you can no doubt tell by the crest stamped onto this letter, Equestria is in peril. An unknown fiend with immense power has single-hoofedly overthrown the Crystal Empire. I received a letter from your sister-in-law detailing the incursion and that mean to evacuate, so it is my belief that they are alright. However, I must order you to seek shelter for the citizens of Ponyville and arrive at my side in Canterlot with the other Elements to dispatch this foe posthaste. I realize we’re still searching for the Battle Foals, but I’m afraid we will just have to hope that they are able to come to our aid. If there are those still able to search for them, then by all means do so; but we need every able-bodied pony, nay, creature who help us fight this foe. I’m sure you know what all you must do.

-Princess Celestia”

Twilight saw naught but terror in the eyes of her assistant and young guests, and she herself never had much of a poker face- her fear was legible to a blind pony. “Th-This is bad!...”

“Twilight… what’re we gonna do!?” Applebloom asked.

“Pull it together, guys!” Spike said. “We’ve gotten ourselves out of worse messes, haven’t we? All we need is a plan.”

“You’re right, Spike.” Twilight said. “So I hope that means you have an idea of where to start.”

Spike looked at her sheepishly. “Erm… It’ll come to me!”

“Us Crusaders need to get to that island. It’s gotta be where Fire Fight is!” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah, but we’d probably need to go back to Griffonstone in order to get there. Are the trains even gonna be running during a state of emergency?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Not the ones up north at the very least.” Twilight said. “I’ll ask Princess Celestia to send us a carriage down here that’ll take you over there along with Cheerilee and the rest of the search party.”

“Actually Twilight, Ah reckon it oughta just be the three of us.” Applebloom said. “The map did call just us, and… remember when we ran into ‘em in that portal temple, that huge group of us?”

“Yeah, I get the feeling that they felt pretty overwhelmed.” Sweetie Belle said.

“I… see where you’re going.” Twilight said. “But Rarity, Spike and I need to come to.”

“Huh!? Why!? You heard Princess Celestia; they need the elements!” Scootaloo said.

Twilight sighed. She could tell by the look in Spike’s eyes that he wanted to tell them about the filly named ‘Shadow Shroud’, but couldn’t. “N-Nevermind. You’re right. Just tell them that we’re legitimately worried about them and that… everypony’s sorry. We really are.”

“Totes!” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah. We can attest to everything.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Thank you.” Twilight said. “Spike, take a note.” And her little companion did so, ready to write even in what was sure to be a dire time.

Back on Heimr Island…

The Battle Foals had made significant progress in building their community. Quantum Tech got the bright idea to have Fire Fight burn clumps of sand retrieved from the beach and ocean to make glass for their windows, which were installed smoothly with Shadow Shroud cutting the glass and Air Slash making nails for Frostbite to gently, even by a dragon’s standards, hammer into the walls until Quantum was able to concoct a potent adhesive.

Tidal Wave brought entire tanks worth of seawater to power wash the ruins from head to toe while Spiral Galaxy and Crazylocks used their magic to clean up rubble that had either been there for ages or was smashed out by Turf War and Kickback when it was deemed loose enough to eventually fall anyway. They put it all in the gravelly area of the beach until they decided that they needed it for some reason.

Zebota and Greensprout’s garden had already begun growing healthy sprouts, but the mystic zebra also made a point of checking on the quality of their water after passing through the desalination apparatus- it was also a good excuse to be by himself after embarrassing himself in front of Quantum from not being able to do her math test as a result of never having seen Equestrian mathematical symbols.

When he got his nerve back, the two of them, with some help from Air Slash crafted some more explosive light storm arrows for Bullseye. The one-eyed archer herself did what she could to help around, but she mostly ended up picking up firewood and acting as a lookout along the shoreline and from above. She didn’t expect a monster to just magically appear out of thin air, but she figured somepony had to keep a vigil whilst everyone else was focused in something else.

As always, Greensprout watched everyone’s health while she maintained their garden; a visit from Air Slash when they all had some downtime was certainly a nice distraction.

“Man! It’s really coming along, isn’t it?” Fire Fight said.

“Understatement of the year!” Spiral Galaxy said.

Frostbite swooped down next to them. “Gotta hand to you, twerps, we got a pretty sweet pad going here. Glad I decided to crash with you.”

“In no small part thanks to you, big guy!” Spiral said.

Frostbite just glared away from her, blushing mildly. “O-Of course! I mean… I’m the dragon here, so no duh you need a friend- I-I mean… helper guy…. like me.”

Shadow Shroud leapt down from wherever she was perched. “Is ‘helper guy’ your kind’s way of saying ‘super bestie’?” she teased.

Frostbite snarled at her. “I’ll end you.”

“C’mon, partner. No need to act all embarrassed.” Kickback said.

“Not you too, Kickback…” Frostbite mumbled. “Well, whatever. Least I’ve actually got cool people to chill with- pun intended.” he said with a wry smile, earning him an eye roll from Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud, and a light giggle from Spiral Galaxy.

“And Ah reckon it ain’t gonna be too much longer ‘til our little family starts growin’ some more.” Kickback said.

“Yeah, man! Once we get some more of these rooms padded out, we can finally go searching again! Heck, maybe foals will come to us!” Fire Fight said. “Ok, maybe that last part’s a bit of a stretch…”

“Ooh! I can’t wait!” Spiral said. “We’ll go on all kinds of cool and dangerous adventures together and have a private island to come back to! We can have our own parties and sleepovers, write our stories, maybe even end up building an entire new town here! One just for anyone with a fighting spirit!”

“Ambitious, but not impossible.” Shroud said.

“Reckon it’ll be hard sneakin’ around with that bounty on our heads n’ all.” Kickback said.

“If anyone gives you crap out there, let me deal with ‘em.” Frostbite said. “Any friend of the dragons should be recognized as strong enough to stand on their own feet…. or hooves.”

“Just don’t threaten them or anything. We don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.” Fire Fight said. “Alright, I think it’s high time for a lunch break. Who’s hungry?” All of his posse instantly came out, joyously answering him and eager for food. Fire Fight happily went to his new kitchen and got started.

*****

During the renovation process, Turf War had knocked down a few old banners that he asked Tidal Wave to wash in the ocean. After finishing lunch, Fire Fight used his magic to quickly dry them out so they could be used as picnic blankets as per Turf War’s idea. They set up in the open grassy area where the Jotun had landed when they first arrived.

The weather was perfect for such an occasion, and the breathtaking scenery of the Celestial Sea churning at the edge of a lush island was the icing on the cake. For their meal, Fire Fight had gotten pretty creative and used some seaweed harvested by Tidal Wave to wrap up some simmered fruit and veggies.

“You’re not going to have any gems, darling?” Quantum Tech asked Frostbite, noticing that he didn’t have his favorite snack with him.

“Nah.” Frostbite said. He then showed her that had three fish skewered onto his tail, which he had frozen over; He chomped them all off of his tail in one bite, chewing vigorously before swallowing. “Gems are great n’ all, but I’ve gotten a taste for seafood lately.”

“Well that’s good! A tad off-putting, but who am I to complain?” Quantum said.

The Battle Foals made merry and had a grand old time whilst munching on their delicious meal. Air Slash and Greensprout decided to snuggle up to and just enjoy each other’s company. Quantum took the time to teach Zebota about the math symbols he was unfamiliar with, which in turn prompted him to share with the math symbols of his people, which she eagerly paid attention to. When everyone started complaining that the sun was getting a little hot, Frostbite exhaled small ice clumps for all of them to sit next to so they could cool off. Fire Fight, Shadow Shroud, Turf War and Kickback gathered a small handful of pebbles and used them to play marbles, which Frostbite eventually joined in after he left his ice clumps. Crazylocks was off to the side having what was certainly a very intelligent conversation with Shrapnel, but she was close to Bullseye who was keeping an eye on her. With the archer were Spiral Galaxy and Tidal Wave, the three of them casually chatting.

Suddenly, Bullseye felt… a shift in the wind, causing to stare out into space anticipating something terrible to happen.

“Bullseye?” Spiral said.

“Huh?” The anxious archer snapped out of her trance.

“You ok?” Tidal Wave asked.

“Yeah, it’s just… I felt a sudden chill in the air, and I don’t like it…” Bullseye said. “And I’m not talking about popsicle-breath over there.” she said, eyeing towards Frostbite.

In the Crystal Empire…

The lucky few ponies that managed to evacuate left no trace of them ever leaving, making the already desolate, frozen ghost town all the more haunting aside from the legion of ice monsters harvesting the vast majority of the populace, whom they managed to encase in deep blocks of ice. The glacial golems brought their captives to the town square, piling them up for whatever gruesome reason.

Their draconic queen descended towards the pile of prisoners, making one last aerial scan to double-check that nopony that didn’t escape was unaccounted for.

“Some grand empire this turned out to be. Oh what am I saying? It’s my empire, my sanctuary of nothing! NOTHING!!! Now just to expand it ALL THE WAY!!!” she said in a distorted, hollow voice. “Hahahahahaha!!! And I sense that the Battle Foals won’t even be a threat now that they’ve finally found their own little sanctuary! Imagine that!!” Her laughter echoed throughout the icy hellscape. “Still… I ought to ensure their impotency. I’ll be freezing everything eternally after all!!! AHAHAHAHAAA!!! I think I’ll send them one last gift: a battle they’ll surely find to be to DIE FOR!!!!!"

She expanded her humongous frills and charged ice energy into their clawed ends, firing it all at once into the air and creating a huge cloud of mist that drifted east…

An Awkward Reunion

Kickback was accompanied by Quantum Tech in the training dojo. The calm and collected cowboy, though not too thrilled to be in the presence of an annoying admirer, had some eagerness jumping around in his mind. He was wielding his whip while the young scientist had set up a small line of targets.

Quantum turned her glasses’ scanners on. “Whenever you’re ready, darling!” she said.

“Alrighty then!” Kickback said. He twirled his whip around like a lasso, causing four smile wires that had been threaded into it to gradually glow a sky blue until they were fully alit.

“That should be a full charge.” Quantum said.

“Alright then…” Kickback focused on the dummy and cracked his whip at them. The sonic boom created by the whip crack was amplified to the point that it shredded through the dummies like a shockwave from a small but powerful contained explosion. The wires lost their luster when all was said and done.

“Hoo-wee! That there’s an upgrade if Ah ever saw one. Thanks bunches, Ms. Quantum Tech.” Kickback said.

“Oh, of course, Kickback!” Quantum cooed. “I simply can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner. Though to be fair, you mostly have ever used your whip as a utility rather than for direct offense.”

“Don’t mean Ah couldn’t have been doin’ more attackin’ in the past.” Kickback said. “Besides, Ah…” He suddenly acted embarrassed and lowered his hat.

“You…what?” Quantum asked.

“Oh, uh…nothin’. Don’t mind me.” Kickback said.

Quantum gently snuggled up to him. “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

Kickback’s embarrassment turned to frustration, but he withheld well. “Maybe Ah’d be inclined to tell ya if ya got off o’ me… please.”

“Oh, alright.” Quantum exaggerated a pout and did as he asked.

Kickback sighed. “Ah just… feel like Ah haven’t been doin’ much compared to everypony else. All Ah’ve got r’ Sound n’ Fury while all o’ y’all have crazy magic n’ martial arts n’ hoo-ha. Even Ms. Bullseye could do more than mahself with her bow havin’ blades on ‘em, not to mention those special arrows she’s got. Me? All Ah had before were electrical bullets. Sure they’re mighty helpful, and mah whip has come in handy, but it was hardly gonna do diddly squat to somethin’ like that crystal monster we fought underneath Canterlot.” He looked happily at his newly modified armament. “So… thanks fer makin’ me more… significant, Ah suppose.”

“Kickback! Such pish-posh!” Quantum said. “Even if you’re not our premiere slayer, your sharpshooting skills have been simply critical to severely weaken or at least distract an opponent if you didn’t just bring them done with one bullet to their sweet spot before any of us could land a hit.” She too took a glance at her handiwork. “But I’m more than happy to expand your potential beyond your guns.”

“Ah, shucks…” Kickback said. “Eh, mind keepin’ this between the two of us?”

Quantum giggled. “Perhaps if you danced with me or took me on a date, you handsome henry.”

“Oh for the love of…” Kickback grumbled.

“Too late, shrimps!” Frostbite suddenly swooped down next to them.

“F-Frostbite!?” Kickback said, flustered.

“I heard a huge crashing sound and came here hoping Turf War and Spiral didn’t wreck it again, and then I hear that little speech.” Frostbite said. He could tell that Kickback was too embarrassed for words even if his only expression came from his tomato-red face. He roughly nudged him. “Relax, dude. I’m not gonna blab. Besides…”

“Besides…what?” Quantum asked.

“Sh-Shut up! I wasn’t gonna say anything.” Frostbite stammered.

“Ugh… You’re two peas in a pod, for better or for worse.” Quantum said. “That said, I’ve taken the liberty making you some more bullets, Kickback. Come back with me to my lab so I can give them to you.”

Kickback tipped his hat. “Much obliged.”

Quantum flirtatiously fluttered her eyes at him, causing to cover his face with his hat. She then looked at Frostbite. “You’re coming too. I’d like to gather a sample of that hypothermic venom you secrete from your claws.”

“Ugh… more tests. Joy…” Frostbite grumbled.

Quantum confidently fixed her glasses. “I have a plate of freshly caught sea bass sprinkled with crushed gems waiting for you!”

The icy drake’s mood did a complete 180, and he slathered his tongue across his mouth. “Sign me up!”

“Splendid! This way, please.” Quantum said, and they both followed her.

“Now how does this sonic boom amplifyin’ doohickey work?” Kickback asked.

“Well, it… Hmm, how to simplify it… It stores kinetic energy, basically movement energy, as you move your whip in the conductive wires I threaded into it, and is programmed to release all at once upon the stringy end cracking and releasing the sonic boom.”

“Ah… think Ah can get the picture.” Kickback said. “Wait ‘til the others see it!”

“See what now?” Frostbite asked.

*****

Another day had passed, and in its place came another busy day blessed by calm weather, even if it was considerably cloudy. After yesterday’s picnic break, the Battle Foals had finalized furnishing their new HQ as best they could with their limited resources. Each one of them had their own room in one of the former prison cells complete with thoroughly washed beds and glass windows in place of the metal bars; they didn’t have any unique features due to lack of outside contact, but they were eager to get posters, rugs, dressers and the like, though Air Slash made them each some stands and wall hooks to hang their armor and weapons respectively.

Quantum Tech’s lab had been decked out as much as she could possibly wish for at the time with her finally have organized her measuring instruments, created a small but effective chemistry lab, and she even started planning a computer to store all her data apart from just her glasses.

Today however, they finished up their essentials. Quantum managed to build a functional refrigeration unit so they could store food- the rations stored in her mech had gone bad, prompting Tidal Wave to clean it out. Fire Fight and Air Slash planned to melt down the metal bars so that Air Slash could forge them into sturdy walls necessary for a walk-in fridge. Their crops were still growing, but they expected to have a big harvest very soon. Heimr Island was certainly proving to be the best home they could’ve asked for.

However, a certain archer anxiously looked out into the clouded sky, not sure what she was looking for.
“Bullseye?” Fire Fight said.

“Huh?”

“You okay?” Fire Fight asked.

“Not really.” Bullseye replied. “I felt a weird shift in the wind yesterday. I can’t explain it.”

“A ‘shift’?” Fire Fight inquired.

“Like something big happened, or…something.” Bullseye said. “Maybe I’m just not used to this place yet.”

“Maybe, but you should’ve said something sooner. You’re pretty sensitive to stuff like that.” Fire Fight said. “Wonder if Zebota felt anything like that?”

Bullseye shrugged. “Haven’t asked him. Doesn’t look like he’s spooked about anything. I mean he’s not going on about how, ‘Oh, the spirits are disturbed’ or whatever.”

Fire Fight brushed off her objectively rude comment. “Well, if he says anything, let me know.”

“Yeah.” Bullseye said. “By the way, have you seen Crazylocks today? We found a sweet outer wall to play racquetball on, and I’m not letting her cream me this time.”

Fire Fight cocked his eyebrow. “Where’d you find racquets and a ball?”

“I found some random exercise equipment room, and some of the crap was still good. Meant to tell you sooner, but Locks and I have been having too much fun. She’s a damn beast at racquetball…” Bullseye said.

“Yeah, I’d have to see it to believe it.” Fire Fight said.

“I wouldn’t have believed Turf War was a math nerd.” Bullseye said.

“Right? Well, I’ve got lunch on the stove, so I hope you’re getting hungry.” Fire Fight said.

“Damn right I am.” Bullseye said. “Hmm?” Looking out into the clouded sky, something faint in the distance caught her eye, prompting her to draw her bow. “Hey, something’s coming!”

Fire Fight looked out and caught sight of the object. “Guys! Over here!”

The Battle Foals rallied to their leader. “Is something amiss, friend?” Air Slash asked.

“Look! Up there! It’s a bird! It’s a plane!” Crazylocks blurted, pointed up to the approaching object.

“A what?” Spiral whispered to Tidal Wave, who just shrugged.

As the object got closer, flapping wings could be discerned, and then golden shimmers lit its silhouette. Then one silhouette slowly split into two, and then a third object seemed to be trailing very close behind them.

Shadow Shroud squinted, and then gasped upon realizing what it was. “Gotta hide!” she said before disappearing into the ruins.

“Huh? Shroud?” Fire Fight said.

“Is that a carriage!?” Spiral said.

Sure enough, it was a carriage pulled by two pegasi clad in royal armor, one mare and one stallion, but any passengers being carried couldn’t be seen. They landed not far from the entrance to the ruins where the Battle Foals stood anxiously.

“Wh-What do we do now!?” Tidal Wave stammered.

Fire Fight took a deep breath. “Don’t worry, guys. Whoever they are, they’re on our turf now. We don’t have to run anymore. Just keep it cool and let me do the talking.”

“Just do not succumb to aggression.” Zebota said.

“Right.” Fire Fight said. He then noticed Bullseye still had her bow drawn and had a predatory look in her eye. “Put it away, Bullseye.” He said, and she did, albeit slowly.

The guards themselves merely glanced at the foals, but all were surprised to find that their visitors were even more foals, three fillies at that. They hopped off the carriage and thanked their chauffeurs.

“Fire Fight!” said a high-pitched southern drawl.

The fire brawler in question was dumbfounded. He recognized that voice and its source. “A… Applebloom!?” The other two Crusaders were with her.

They all excitedly galloped up to him. “DUDE!! We finally caught up to you!!” Scootaloo squealed.

“Do you have any idea how worried everypony’s been!?” Sweetie Belle said. Fire Fight was too dumbstruck to immediately reply.

“You guys… know him?” Tidal Wave asked.

“Hey! Maybe they here to join up! We been in the news after all” Turf War said. “I mean, they ain’t look like they pack a punch o’ nothin’, but I been surprised before. What’s good with y’all? Lightning powers? Teleportin’? Super duper mambo tango foxtrot combat trainin’? How it do?”

“Umm… What?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“They’re not fighters, Turf War. Trust me.” Bullseye said, prompting the CMC to notice her.

“Oh… B-Bullseye…” Scootaloo grumbled.

“Yeeeaaahh… Look, I’m really sorry about before. I was… in a crappy mood.” Bullseye said.

“We know, Bullseye. Yer parents got exposed not long after that. We’re awful ya had to go through that.” Applebloom said.

“I’m sorry, but do we know these fillies?” Air Slash asked.

“We do, brother.” Greensprout asked. “They’re the fillies I ran into in Trifectown- the ones from the same town as Fire Fight, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.”

“Greensprout!” Scootaloo said. “If… that is your real name.”

“It is, sister, and I’m very sorry to have lied to you. I meant no harm.” Greensprout said.

“It’s okay.” Sweetie Belle said. “Now-”

“NO!” Spiral blurted. “You CANNOT convince a single one of us to get on that carriage with you! We’re all here to stay, and that’s that!” Her magic was thankfully not acting up.

“Spiral!” Fire Fight said, having snapped out of his confusion, prompting her to calm down. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “How did you guys find us?” He hoped that Shadow Shroud wasn’t about to kill them.

“Princess Twilight’s Cutie Map lead ya to us!” Applebloom said.

“Her…what?” Fire Fight asked.

“Ya remember that big crystal table in her throne room when we introduced you to her?” Scootaloo asked.

“Uhh… Yeah, now that I think about it.” Fire Fight replied.

“Well whenever there’s a friendship problem in Equestria, the map calls certain ponies, usually Twilight and her friends, to that area and fix it.” Sweetie Belle explained. “It called the three of us here to help you.”

“A magic map… found us?” Quantum inquired with a doubtful tone.

“Yeah! Wonder it didn’t do that sooner? Like at-the-beginning sooner!” Scootaloo said. “Oh! You must be Quantum Tech!”

Quantum fixed her glasses. “That is correct.”

“You’re parents got caught, so-” Applebloom said, but was cut off.

“Hmph! I couldn’t care less whether those cretins lived or died!” Quantum declared.

“Quantum!” Fire Fight said. “Look guys, you saw what happened back in Ponyville. I don’t belong there, and neither do any of us here. I gave them a place where they’d be appreciated.”

Crazylocks suddenly popped up behind them. “Yeah! Can’t a filly recover from her un-unseeable trauma in peace anymore? Yeesh!” she says as she starts fluttering around and examining them like a hummingbird.

“H-Hey! Personal space!” Scootaloo said.

“Crazylocks, get back over here…” Fire Fight said.

Crazylocks exaggerated a salute. “THERE’S A JUGGLER GOOSED EVERY MINUTE, CAPTAIN!!” She calmly landed next to Bullseye and retracted her wings.

“Sorry, that’s… Crazylocks.” Fire Fight said. The manic filly scratched the back of her head with her hind leg like a dog.

“‘Crazylocks’?” Applebloom asked. “Ya mean that filly that ‘Gene Splice’ feller-”

Crazylocks ran right up to her, enraged. “I TOLD YOU THAT NAME IS NOT TO BE MENTIONED IN THIS HOUSEHOLD, SUBJECT CL!!!” she shouted. Applebloom curled up like a scared puppy.

Spiral quickly used her magic to gravitate Crazylocks back over to Bullseye, who started calming her down. “Don’t say that name! It makes her go ballistic!”

“N-N-Note taken…” Applebloom stammered.

“Wait… how do you guys know about that!?” Fire Fight asked.

“We know about everything you’ve done, Fire Fight. Our classmates, some of our parents, Ms. Cheerilee and Twilight have searching for you ever since you ran away. We’ve at least heard of just about every monster or villain you guys have taken down.” Sweetie Belle said.

“We know you have followed us- we briefly encountered in the ancient temple atop the Great Horn Summit.” Zebota said.

“Oh yeah. The portal fiasco.” Scootaloo said. “Really cool to get to meet another zebra though!”

“Please, do not waste such flattery on me, ponyfolk.” Zebota said. He then realized that his best friend was absent. He lit his brooch. “Shrapnel? Where are you, my friend?”

“Shrapnel?” Sweetie Belle asked. Loud footsteps suddenly overwhelmed their ears.

“Don’t be scared, guys!” Fire Fight blurted.

The footsteps came up from behind them, and when they looked, they were terrified to see a gigantic timberwolf curiously looking at them, tilting his head and all.

“AIIIIEEEE!!!!!” The CMC all cowered behind Fire Fight.

The fiery colt sighed. “Didn’t I say not to be scared?” He happened to look over and see the two carriage guard cowering in their carriage. “Wow…”

Shrapnel calmly trudged up to his master, who noticed that his jaws were dripping with water. “Oh! I see you were just thirsty.” Shrapnel nuzzled his master, who laughed whilst scratching the titan’s chin.

Though still thoroughly nervous, the CMC could see that Shrapnel was no threat, and they slowly came out from behind Fire Fight. “S-S-Suddenly I remember that thing!” Scootaloo stammered.

“Now, fillies.” Kickback said. The CMC glanced over at him to see that he had taken off his hat. “Ah know Shrapnel might be mighty frightenin’, but he don’t mean any harm none, just like Sound n’ Fury here.” He said as he glanced down at his prized guns. The CMC just gazed at him, eyes widened and jaws to the floor for an awkward moment. “Err… y’all?” Kickback said.

“O-Oh! Hehe… S-Sorry. I was just…” Sweetie Belle stammered, blushing furiously.

“Trying to remember your name, handso- I-I mean dude!” Scootaloo stammered, her face also a tomato.

“Heavens to betsy…” Kickback muttered to himself. “Mah name’s Kickback, y’all. Pleased to meetcha.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, Kickback!” Applebloom cooed, fixing her ribbon.

“No, mine!!” Scootaloo blurted.

“MINE!!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. The three of them got into a vigorous scuffle.

Kickback impatiently huffed and just put his hat back on. “How did Ah tolerate this back in Dodge?” he muttered to himself.

The CMC’s scuffle was quickly quelled when Frostbite blasted them with ice-fire, freezing them solid. He then immediately smashed the ice encasing them. The freeze-shocked Crusaders were too busy shivered to care about their feud.

“Wh-Wh-What was th-that all ab-b-b-bout?” Sweetie Belle asked as they looked up at the icy drake.

“That was rather extreme, Frostbite.” Air Slash said.

“It shut them up without hurting them, so I don’t really care.” Frostbite said.

The CMC shook of the cold. “So you’re Frostbite? King Grover told us about you. Didn’t know dragons could breathe ice.” Scootaloo said.

“Well now you do.” Frostbite scoffed.

“You even met with King Grover?” Fire Fight asked.

“Yeah! But he said y’all went north o’ Griffonstone. Did he lie to us?” Applebloom said.

“Don’t hold anything against him. He owed us a favor.” Fire Fight said. “Look, I’m making lunch for everyone. We can talk over that, so… hungry?”

“Ah guess so, but we’re gonna have to make it quick! Princess Celestia’s declared a national state of emergency!” Applebloom said.

The Battle Foals all gasped, and Air Slash drew his swords. “What plagues our blessed land!?”

“We’ll tell you everything over lunch; there’s a lot to explain.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Cool.” Turf War said. He then looked over at the guards, who were no longer cowering. “Y’all gotta be hungry as f**- er… my bad. Y’all gotta real hungry after flying all this way. C’mon!” he said. The two guards looked at each other and shrugged before accepting his invitation.

When Fire Fight got into the kitchen, a certain ninja was waiting on him, and she looked understandably anxious. “This is… awkward.”

“Just stay hidden, Shroud. Listen in if you need to, but don’t worry.” Fire Fight said. “I’ll finish your serving first.”

“Thanks.” Shroud said. She walked to him and gently leaned her head into the crook of his neck. “Don’t screw this up, okay?”

Fire Fight smiled and nuzzled her neck. “Have I ever let you down?” he said.

Shroud got off of him. “No, and I’m just telling you to keep that up.” She said with a wink.

Seeing her able to hold some confidence helped ease his own anxiety, but Fire Fight knew that his conviction would be put to the ultimate test now that he was faced with ponies who would surely oppose it…

A Difficult Decision

The Crusaders were escorted to the Battle Foals’ new dining area, a large hallway between the two wings of the ruined prison. A large hole in the wall had been made so that Shrapnel could access it. The CMC were silently amazed that they were able to make such a forsaken place seem livable, but suspicious gazes from their hosts told them that they and the carriage guards weren’t entirely welcome. The guards noticed that Bullseye seemed to eye them the most intently.

They had cushions laying in a circle that had been taken from the offices of what must’ve been former wardens- they hazarded a guess that they were snobs and relished in having luxuries where their inmates didn’t, and had been salvaged from shipwrecks and thoroughly cleaned by Tidal Wave. Within the circle was a cozy fire; the crackles of which were the only thing audible in the uneasy atmosphere.

“So, uhh… Nice place, guys.” Scootaloo said as they all seated.

“Why thank you. We’ve worked very hard on it.” Quantum Tech said passive-aggressively.

The Crusaders just politely smiled back at their weary hosts. The only ones that seemed even remotely welcoming were Zebota and Greensprout, who just gazed at them with the slightest hint of diplomacy. For some reason, Sweetie Belle couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched from the shadows.

Fire Fight then came out with some plates. “Food’s ready, guys!” On the plates were more of the simmered fruit wrapped in seaweed. “I know we just had this, but our garden hasn’t quite yielded yet.”

“Don’t worry, Fire Fight. These are great.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Thanks.” Fire Fight said. “And for you, Shrapnel…” He brought out a large plate of fish.

The wooden titan took one sniff and barked. “He says, ‘what fine prey!’” Crazylocks blurted, leaving the CMC confused.

“Thank Frostbite. He’s the one who fished ‘em up along with own.” Fire Fight said. The icy drake in question, who indeed had some fish along with his wrapped fruit, just shot them a wink.

The Crusaders looked down at their unusual meal. “Thanks, Fire Fight.” Sweetie Belle said wearily, a feeling Scootaloo seemed to share.

However, Applebloom dug right in and blatantly enjoyed it. “Mmm! Ish good!” She said with her mouth full. Her two compatriots looked at each other before deciding to follow suit, and they weren’t disappointed.

“Hey! This is rad!” Scootaloo said.

“You didn’t tell us you could cook!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Got it from my mom.” Fire Fight said. “Now about why you’re here…”

The Crusaders stopped gingerly eating their delicious meal. “Oh, wight.” Applebloom said with her mouth full once more. She swallowed so that her speech could be intelligible. “We just want y’all to come home, that’s all.”

“We already told you ‘no’!” Tidal Wave said.

“Yeah! Plus, a few of us don’t even have a home to go back to.” Bullseye said. She and Zebota noticeably gave each other a meaningful glance.

“W-Well… true, but… Greensprout does.” Scootaloo said.

“I was allowed to leave with Fire Fight. It’s a spiritual journey for me, sister, one that has proven quite fruitful.” Greensprout said. “Though I do wonder how Gardenia is faring.”

“Everypony- err…body, believe me when I say that all… most of your parents are really sorry about all that’s happened to you.” Sweetie Belle said.

“We’re not interested in them.” Air Slash scoffed. “Why has an emergency been declared?”

“Oh, right!” Scootaloo said. “We don’t know all the details, but some ‘fiend with immense power’ took over the Crystal Empire and is headed south!”

“Whoa! Y’all for real?” Turf War said.

“Those are some mighty vague details.” Kickback said.

“How do we know you’re not fabricating this whole claim in an attempt to trick us into returning to Equestria?” Quantum Tech asked.

“Are you kiddin’ me!?” Applebloom exclaimed. “Why would we even do that?”

“Yeah. Pretty sure that’d be a criminal offense if we did.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Hmm… It actually would be.” Quantum said.

“Well assuming you’re being honest, what kind of ‘fiend’ is it?” Fire Fight calmly asked.

“We don’t know. We were with Twilight when she got a letter from Princess Celestia that said exactly that. Probably wrote it in a hurry.” Scootaloo said.

Fire Fight then looked at the carriage guards. “You guys know anything?” They just shrugged as they ate. “Kay, thanks.”

Sweetie Belle then looked over at their samurai. “You’re Air Slash, right? Aren’t you at least like… duty-bound to protect Equestria or something?”

Air Slash slowed down his eating. “Indeed I am…” he muttered. “But… I know that my father would not see me eye-to-eye. There’d be no point in staying.”

“But he does, Air Slash! He really does. We met him, and our teacher gave him a right scoldin’ when she found out about how he was treatin’ you.” Applebloom said.

“Cheerilee did?” Fire Fight asked.

“She sure did!” Scootaloo asked. “You shoulda seen the scolding Twilight gave her after the deal with Action Shot… ‘Cause we didn’t… but she did, believe me!”

Fire Fight sighed heavily, thinking back to that horrendous day. “Well… if they really are then… I wanna hear it from them.”

Everyone looked at him surprised, save for Crazylocks who was balancing her wraps on her nose like a seal. “Wait… really?” Frostbite said.

“I think it’s only fair that we at least hear them out.” Fire Fight said.

“F-F-Fire Fight, are you insane!?” Spiral stammered.

“I… I hate to admit it, but we owe them at least that.” Fire Fight said, and then looked at the CMC. “So you guys can bring them here.” He then asked his comrades, “You guys cool with that?”

The Battle Foals all nervously looked at one another, their uncertainty palpable. Fire Fight just so happened to notice Shadow Shroud peering from around the corner, her gaze affixed onto him; her eyes drooped in defeat and she noticeably faced the floor. He wasn’t sure if she begrudgingly agreed or was disappointed in his decision.

“I’m down.” Turf War said with mild confidence, causing everyone to face him. “We was gettin’ worried ‘bout them anyway, right?”

Tidal Wave’s sorrowful gaze fell to the floor. “Y-Yeah. I guess I should at least let my dad know that I’m okay…”

Bullseye slammed her plate on the floor. “And just what the hell are we even supposed to say to them, huh!?” she exclaimed. “I didn’t escape my parents just to wait for some other dumba** adults to come and tell me that everything’s gonna be sunshine and rainbows again!”

“Calm down, Bullseye. We’re not going anywhere.” Fire Fight said.

“But, we really do need y’all!” Applebloom said. “Ah wish we could prove to you that there’s an emergency, but yer just gonna have to believe us.”

“We probably should’ve brought that letter…” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah. Can’t you guys just talk to them once we bring you over there? We promise we’ll let you go!” Scootaloo said.

“Scoots!” Applebloom whispered, roughly nudging her.

“So you say.” Quantum said. “Depending upon whether or not they decide to let us go, the consequences could prove catastro-… wait a moment…”

Spiral gasped. “The catastrophe!!”

“Tarnation!!” Kickback said. “So Princess Luna wasn’t whistlin’ dixie!”

“Wait, what?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Fire Fight explained how Princess Luna visited them all in a dream and warned them of a coming catastrophe she could sense coming. “Wait, Princess Luna actually helped you!?!?” Scootaloo asked.

“What? Jealous?” Bullseye asked.

“I wasn’t here for that…” Tidal Wave lamented. Spiral gently stroked his back.

“A thousand pardons, Fire Fight, but if this is no mere coincidence, then we simply must adhere to our promise to her! She said we were the only ones capable of subduing…apparently a cataclysmic fiend.” Air Slash said.

“I have to agree.” Greensprout said.

“And yet the royal one has not visited us in a dream to tell us such a thing has begun.” Zebota said.

“We got the news not very long ago. Y’all wouldn’t have been asleep.” Applebloom.

“About that…” Bullseye said. “I don’t know why, but I could swear I just…felt something in the wind, like hearing a startling sound that was carried all the way over here when we had that picnic. You didn’t feel anything, stripes?”

Zebota gave her a concerned look. “No. Nothing. Why did you not say this to me?”

“I… I wasn’t sure.” Bullseye said.

“Whoa…” Scootaloo mumbled. “Hey! Speaking of not being sure, where’s that grey filly?”

Fire Fight nearly choked on his food upon hearing that, but he corrected himself. “What grey filly?” He could no longer see Shroud’s silhouette.

“The one in the newspaper. She had to be sketched, ‘cause nopony had a picture of her or her name.” Scootaloo answered.

Fire Fight gulped, hoping that his anxiety was masked by him swallowing his food. He cocked an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Kickback shrugged. “Doesn’t ring any bells fer me.”

“Yeah! She’s a totally off-grid, type of gal!” Crazylocks blurted.

Bullseye forcefully nudged her. “Idiot!” she said under her breath.

The CMC suspiciously eyed her. “O…kay?” Applebloom said. “Well, whatever. Does this you’ll come help us?”

The Battle Foals looked around at each other, especially at their leader, who tried not to look defeated. “I… I think we will” he said. “But we’re coming right back here after we’re done, and… maybe saying ‘hi’ to our parents again.”

“Whatever you say, dude…” Scootaloo muttered.

“S-Scuse me…” The stallion carriage guard actually spoke up. “I, err…don’t think our little chariot’s gonna be able to carry all o’ you, let alone the wolf.”

“Oh, yes… I suppose my mech suit is not exactly light luggage either.” Quantum said. “Perhaps we should contact King Grover and have him send the Jotun again? Surely he wouldn’t mind.”

“Right after he gave us this island though? We gonna look mad ungrateful.” Turf War sad. He then looked at the guards. “Can y’all cop a ship from the Princess o’ somepony?”

“Yeah! That shouldn’t be a problem.” The mare guard said.

After finishing their meal, only the sound of dishes being stacked and footsteps going outward could be heard in the crushing atmosphere. As Fire Fight brought the plates to the sink, he felt defeated, like he’d let his friends down. He promised them safety, but was now forced to force them back into the frying pan because of a prophecy. He put the dishes in the sink, and then felt a familiar presence beside him.

“Fire Fight…” Shadow Shroud just stood there, gazing at him with the same burden of failure weighing down her mood.

“Shroud… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” Fire Fight said as he turned to face her. “But it’s not like we’re giving up. I made them promise we could come back.”

“I-I know. It’s just… I’m worried.” Shroud said.

It felt like ages since he had seen her get emotional. He leaned in and pulled her in for a warm hug. “C’mon, Shroud. You’re tougher than this. I know you are. Everything’s gonna be alright.”

Shroud was still for a moment, but then sniffled before returning his embrace, holding him close and tight. They warmed each other for a whole minute before letting go. “Fire Fight… in case… something happens, I… I’ve been meaning to tell you something.”

“What?” Fire Fight asked.

“I…” Shadow Shroud, the vicious stalker of the night, slayer from the dark, unseen warrior, was having trouble finding her words.

Fire Fight gently held her hoof. “Shroud, what?”

A tear welled up in the ninja’s amethyst eye, and she took a deep breath. “I hate being a Shadewalker.”

Fire Fight’s disbelief was disrupted upon hearing Sweetie Belle scream bloody murder outside. The two rushed out there, Shroud hiding in the shadows once more while Fire Fight caught up to everyone. “What’s wrong!?”

Everyone was freaked out at something in the sky. “WHAT IN TARNATION IS THAT!?!?” Applebloom screamed. Above them was a gigantic swirling mist big enough to match the size of the island, and it slowly descended, bringing its storm down with it.

Incursion

“YOU THREE! GET INSIDE NOW!!” Fire Fight shouted to the CMC, who promptly sprinted into the relative safety of the ruins. He hoped that they wouldn’t accidently happen upon Shadow Shroud.

More important, however, was the hurricane of mist that had enveloped the skies around their island home. As it descended closer to the ground, an unbelievable cold overwhelmed the entire atmosphere. “This phenomenon again!” Quantum Tech said. “And… it’s SUBSTANTIALLY more powerful!!”

“No! Really!?” Spiral Galaxy said as driving snow threatened to smother her, forcing her to gravitate it all away from her.

As the raging storm began to settle at ground level, the mist quickly started congregating at the shoreline. Slowly but surely, the air within that vicinity froze into a discernable construct.

“WH-WH-WHAT’S GOING ON!?!?” Tidal Wave said in a panic.

“It’s not me!!” Frostbite said.

“It’s a persistent foe you two now get to contend with! Summon your courage!” Air Slash said. He practically ripped his swords out of their scabbards as he stared the anomaly down with almost predatory intent, but he then noticed the two carriage guards shaking in their boots as they reached for their weapons, cowering at the site of such a powerful phenomenon. “Either draw your weapons or hide in disgrace! You serve the crown!!”

The guards, startled, fumbled their weapons out. “Y-Yes, sir!” the stallion stammered. He carried a standard sword while the mare had a mace.

The two looked at each other and gulped. “We sure hope you kids are as tough as they say!” the mare said.
Bullseye nocked an arrow onto her bow with a snarl on her face. “Just watch!”

The mist had finally condensed into a solid shape. It was an enormous turtle roughly half the size of the island. It’s shell looked as if it was a mountain range made of ice with frozen flora growing on them, and its head looked as if a war helm had been frozen onto it; it’s eyes gleamed a vicious, hateful yellow. It’s legs were oddly spider-like and had hooves in place of webbed feet. Merely stepping onto the ocean caused the salty water to flash freeze, allowing it to stand. It bellowed a guttural roar that shook the air around them like a snow globe, ice and hail overwhelming them.

Quantum Tech’s mech stomped outside to its master, who promptly boarded it and readied herself. “All systems: go! DEFEND OUR HOME!!!”

Air Slash took off like a rocket towards the behemoth as it took a step. He furiously launched a sword at the leg. It struck and was enough to deter it back, but it did no damage. Suddenly, it inhaled a vast amount of air and blew Air Slash away in a concentrated blizzard. The trained samurai couldn’t correct himself was about to crash when Frostbite swooped in and caught him.

Frostbite rode the violent air current and managed to swoop upward out of it and land safely, though roughly and released his comrade.

“You have my thanks.” Air Slash said.

“Yeah. Now we all know this thing’s a juggernaut.” Frostbite said.

“More like dreadnaught!” Turf War said. “We gotta keep homie from comin’ up here!” While they were distracted, the beast took its step onto the sand. The very impact caused a glacial tower the size of its leg to erupt where it stepped. “Like we REALLY to stop homie!!”

“We need to assault it head on, but… carefully.” Spiral said.

Suddenly, a house-sized hunk of ice came flying their way. Kickback whipped out his whip and ran towards it. “Get back, y’all!”

“Kickback!” Greensprout shouted.

The cowpony weaved his whip around furiously, causing his whip gradually grow a bright blue. When he cracked it, a massive sonic boom shattered the sound barrier, and the ice hunk along with. All the while, Kickback remained wordless and stoic. “And that was just the first act.”

The foals gawked in surprise. “Well that’s a new one.” Fire Fight said.
Quantum Tech fixed her glasses and giggled. “You have me to thank for that!”

“ANOTHER DEMON RISES!!” Zebota shouted. The tower of ice sudden sprouted turtle legs of its own as well as a head where a mouth and yellow eyes formed. It roared before scuttling rather quickly towards them.

Just as everyone was ready to charge it, a burst of golden light suddenly lit from behind the beast. “<SCREEE!!!>” A large slash line ran across it and caused it to explode, and a familiar surge of light fired a golden blade at the main monster’s other leg before it could step forward.

Before Fire Fight knew it, a familiar feathered face was in front of his. “Valkyrie!”

The ornery avian wiped her beak. “S’up?”

“We’re having an ice cream party!!” Crazylocks blurted.

Quantum locked onto the writhing wraith. “High time we’ve crashed this party, I’d say!”

“Right! Our focus needs to be on the legs for now! Quantum, see if you can’t scan for its core! Turf War, Valkyrie, Crazylocks, Frostbite, attack it head on with me! Spiral, summon up a storm to try and pin it down! Everyone else, flank it! This snow day is cancelled!” Fire Fight ordered.

“ROGER!!” Everyone said in unison.

“BATTLE FOALS, CHAAAARGE!!” Fire Fight bellowed, igniting his horn and fists like volcanoes as he made a mad dash for their invader along with his assigned comrades.

The behemoth roared, summoning tornadoes of ice. Fire Fight countered them with blasts of fire, which dispelled them long enough for the foals to get past. Hunks of rock and ice caught in the whirlwinds were flung towards them, but Valkyrie and Turf War shielded their friends while Frostbite punched through the debris. Crazylocks magically lifted the shards and formed her own shield, seemingly using minor freezing magic to keep them in place. However, this was enough to distract them, allowing the titan to step again and create another ice pillar. Frigid spikes were launched their way, but Crazylocks blocked them all; however, the assault was great enough that her ice shield was fractured.

“I WANNA SEE YOUR MANAGER!!!” Crazylocks charged the ice shards with magic and then launched them at the ice pillar. They stuck into the pillar and then glowed brightly before detonating, destroying the tower.

“Somepony’s full of surprises lately!” Fire Fight said. The behemoth’s eyes suddenly glistened furiously, and from them fired a beam of icy lightning. “Whuh-oh!” Fire Fight stopped running and focused all of his effort into concentrating a powerful flamethrower to counter it. “Go on, guys!”

Fire Fight was too late to realize that his candlelight was too small compared to the ice beam, and he was about to be a popsicle when a familiar, powerful beam of energy combined with his fire and held back the beast’s attack. “Nrgh!... Thanks, Quantum!”

Quantum Tech was firing her death ray whilst scanning their foe. “I can’t keep it firing forever, so hold tight!” She looked over to Spiral Galaxy. “Darling, not to rush, but have you quite readied yourself?”

Spiral was glowing with intense light while struggling. “I’m…working…on it!”

*****

Meanwhile, the rest had decided to flank one side seeing as something so big would need to take as much damage as possible in one place to be crippled. The guards were with them. “So… what’s the plan?” the mare guards asked.

“Kill it, that’s what.” Bulllseye said.

“By way of…?” the stallion asked.

“Are you not trained militants? Have you not any ideas?” Zebota asked.

“You think we were trained for this!?” the mare rebutted.

“A shameful truth…” Zebota said.

“Get me close, and I bet I can blow its leg off. That’ll slow it down.” Bullseye said.

“Sister, it’ll just regrow it. The frigid land gives it more power!” Greensprout said.

“Damn. Good point.” Bullseye said. “Wait! Land… power… Zebota, think you can use your zebra voodoo to hold its power back or something?”

“I… can try…” Zebota said. He then looked up at his titan. “Shrapnel, you will have to fight without me.” His monster licked him once across his face, and the little mystic smiled. “Good boy.” They reached the shoreline to the left of the behemoth. “I will do what I can! Hunt well!”

As he watched everyone charge headlong towards the ferocious force, Zebota unfolded his boomerang and held it to his brooch. “mbovu pepo ambayo kuchafua ardhi hii, nyumbani hii, kusikia mimi! I kulinda eneo hili, na roho ambayo kulinda hivyo! Kuachilia uwezo wako uongo na kuanguka kwa nguvu yetu!” A glyph of light, bigger than anything he’d mustered appeared around him and shined fiercer than any sun, and he could feel a spiritual connection forming between him and the beast. He could feel a headache coming on, as if it was already fighting back. “I WILL overpower you, monster!”

Tidal Wave separated from everyone else and head for the frozen ocean. “I’ll see if I can work some magic underwater!” he said as he caused a geyser of seawater to erupt from one point in the ice before diving in.

“He’s gonna freeze!” the mare guard said.

“I assure you he’s well-protected!” Air Slash said. Suddenly, clouds of mists spewed from the brim of the titanic turtle’s shell, and they condensed down into icy constructs of bats with scorpion tails and bobcats with spiky fur. Screeches oppressed the air while hungry roars charged them on land, and Air Slash cleaved the first one with a well-launched sword beam. “TO ARMS!!!”

Kickback fired up at the swarms and knocked many of them out of the sky. However, they began launching the stingers on their tails, which he had to start shooting instead, giving the other bat-scorpions the chance to dive-bomb them. Bullseye put an arrow in one and ripped it out as the slain construct fell towards her, following up with a bow-blade slash across another that was about to hit her. Shrapnel got in front of everyone and began ravaging the ice bobcats; one of them pounced towards him, but he caught in his jaws and crushed it into glitter.

Air Slash wasn’t far behind and easily sliced through the horde of gnashing fangs; however, he got a little careless and let one claw him across his back. “ARGH!” He retreated a short distance and then felt a soothing warmth across him.

“Stay strong, Air Slash!” Greensprout said as she healed his wound. He gave her a confident nod.

The two guards looked at each other, obviously nervous but certainly impressed by how bravely such young ponies faced such a frightening situation and how capable they were of doing so. Looking out at the horde opposing them, the stallion gulped and raised his sword. “Here goes nothin’…” When a scorpion-bat thrust its stinger at him, he closed his eyes and took a swing of faith. “HAAARGHH!!!”

He managed to parry the stinger away and cause the creature to stagger in the air, allowing the mare to crush it to bits with her mace. “HYAH!” The two looked stunned at the shattered remains of the icy abomination. “We… We took it out?” They smiled at each other and started laughing when the reality hit them. “We took it out!”

“Yeah! Guess uhh… Guess these aren’t just ceremonial after all.” The stallion said.

“HEY! CAN YOU IDIOTS HAVE YOUR SPECIAL MOMENT LATER!?” Bullseye shouted at them. She launched a light arrow skyward which proceeded to decimate the rest of the wave, only for the next one to be on the way.

“R-Right! Sorry! On the way!” the mare stammered. With a newfound courage, she and her partner charged more readily into the fray.

*****

Meanwhile, back in the ruins, the CMC hid in a prison cell that the Battle Foals hadn’t renovated under an old blanket. Even under the cover they could feel the bitter, frigid cold wrought about by the storm. “Sh-Should… Should we… g-go see what’s happening?” Scootaloo asked.

“Are you crazy!?” Sweetie Belle said. “Something is shaking this whole island by existing! I’m not going out there!”

“I didn’t say we had to go out! We can just look out a window!” Scootaloo said.

“What window though? That dinky little peep hole?” Applebloom asked, pointing to the small barred window.

“It’s better than nothing.” Scootaloo said. The two of them at her expectantly, obviously too nervous to do so themselves. “Ugh! Fine…” She took a big gulp that struggled to pass through her tightly knotted stomach as she approached the window. When she had her full head in the window, her friends his behind her and peeked out. They were all horrified at the sight of the gigantic ice monster invading them. “Wh-Whoa…”

Suddenly, a bat-scorpion appeared right on front of them on the other side and shrieked, causing the three to fall back screaming. The enraged construct furiously stabbed at the window trying to break through, and the defenseless fillies could only clutch each other and watch as certain death was staring them in the face. However, a loud <shing!> could be heard outside, and the beast was oddly motionless. After a second, it fell in half at the torso and just collapsed out of sight, and the CMC looked at the window and each other in confusion.

“Umm… What just happened?” Applebloom asked. The sound of somepony running just outside in the hallways startled them. They looked out the door to see nothing.

Scootaloo carefully peered out, looking all around to see that not a soul was with them. “Hello?” she called out. “Oh, please don’t tell me this place is haunted…” A cloud of black smoke suddenly erupted out of nowhere, and she fell back terrified. “THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED! THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED!!”

She jumped into her friends’ arms and they sat there terrified as they heard a series of furious slashes from within the cloud. It was short, but done with a passion. When the smoke dissipated, their eyes widened as the message ‘try the cannons’ appeared scratched on the wall just opposite of their doorway. Chills ran down their spines, even in the cold.

“C-C-Cannons?” Sweetie Belle stammered.

Suddenly, a small shadow zipped across the doorway down the hall followed by more scratching. “Y-You girls go check it out! I’ve seen enough!” Scootaloo said.

“Ugh…” Applebloom cautiously peered out into the hall and looked in the direction that the shadow had gone, but no one was there; however, she was perturbed even more when a scratching of an arrow had appeared on the wall pointed in the same direction. “Umm…” Her voice trembled. “Sh-Should we… do as it says?”

<HRAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!!!!!>

The ice titan’s roar shook the whole foundation of the ruins, causing Sweetie Belle to scream. “I DON’T WANNA STAY HERE ANYMORE!!” she cried.

Scootaloo took a deep breath, got her game face on, and ran out into the hall. “Then let’s at least try and take the ghost’s advice!” She whipped out her scooter with a determined look on her face. “Hop on!”

The two stared dumbfounded at her. “Uhh… when did ya bring that?” Applebloom asked.

Scootaloo cocked her eyebrow. “What’re talking about? I always have my scooter!” she said. “I just… forgot my helmet this time. Oh well…”

“Uhh… right…” Sweetie Belle said. They hopped on, and Scootaloo took off like a rocket.

Applebloom leaned in to whisper to Sweetie Belle. “Where do ya suppose she-”

“Don’t think about it.” Sweetie Belle whispered back. They followed a series of scratched arrows in the walls and floor that led eventually led them to a staircase. When they climbed it all the way to the top, they realized that they had been led to a guard tower that had three cannons pointed out of windows that were conveniently pointed out at the monster.

“Well, we’re here, but how are we supposed to use these?” Scootaloo asked as she inspected the old weapons.

“Guys! Look here!” Sweetie Belle said. She was at a desk where a small booklet was opened. In its pages were very detailed images of griffons operating the cannons. “This looks like an old training manual. I can’t read it, but these pictures are pretty clear about what you’re supposed to do!”

“Good eye! Now let’s blast that… that… thing! Yeah…” Applebloom said. With some difficulty and CMC-exclusive hiccups, the three figured how to load the cannons, even how much gunpowder they were supposed to add, which wasn’t in very high stock. “Ok, let’s try just one. Ah… don’t wanna risk blowin’ us outta this high tower.”

“Good idea.” Scootaloo said. “So… who’s gonna light the fuse?” she asked nervously.

They looked at each other anxiously until Sweetie Belle remembered watching Fire Fight cast his fire magic. She thought back to how he did it and focused on the fuse. Sure enough, it lit.

<BOOM!!!!!>

The whole window just blackened with gunpowder as the cannon’s wheeled mount was pushed back by the blast. They looked out inside just in time to see their ammo strike the beast in the face, causing it to roar in agony.

The fillies looked at each other with surprised determination and slowly smiled at each other. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: CANNON FIRERS!!!” They cheered in unison as they high fived. With everyone somehow able to fight, it was now only a contest of strength and willpower…

Driving Back the Snow

Author's Notes:

Hi, everyone! Couple things:
First, I see that this story has attained 3,000 views! That's so awesome I could... "Hug my duck uncle until he lays his first mongoose"? Err... Sorry, I really need to not consult Crazylocks about public comments.

Second, I'm very sorry it's taken so long for me to crank another chapter out. You've all been very supportive, and words alone can't express my gratitude. Thank you all for your continued patience.

Third, I received a message from user Anonyomous Drawer saying that this song reminded them of the story, and I thought it fit too perfectly for me to not share it with you guys. Have a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ5IzGBnWAc

Quantum Tech had to bob and weave her mech a little more than it was designed to handle, especially in frigid weather, to avoid oncoming shards of ice. She had her force field erected as insurance and was letting her magic turrets fire at will whilst she tried to lock her railguns’ aim onto its joints. All the while, she kept an eye in Spiral Galaxy, who was brimming with cosmic light. She looked ready to birth a whole other galaxy right before their eyes.

<BOOM!!!>

“EEK!!” Spiral shrieked, causing her to lose focus.

“What the devil-” Quantum started before seeing an inexplicable explosion rock the head of the icy behemoth, causing to roar in agony. She and Spiral looked back in the direction of the initial blast and saw a plume of gunsmoke fuming from one of the guard towers. “The cannons?”

“Must’ve been Shadow Shroud!” Spiral said. “Sorry. I’ll refocus.” As she did, a swarm of ice bat-scorpions divebombed towards her. Before she could blast them, a dizzying burst of smoke overwhelmed them, followed by a small figure slashing between them at mach speed before leaping high above them and landing in front of the two fillies. The swarm was left in a heap of glittery shards.

“Miss me?” the cloaked figure asked.

“I think our friends on the front lines miss you more, darling!” Quantum said. She fired her railguns simultaneously to blast away a horde of ice bobcats to clear her sneaky friends path, which Shroud did promptly, vanishing into the raging snow. “Now then, maybe I can focus hitting it’s weak-”

<BOOM!!><BOOM!!>

“GOODNESS!” Quantum said. To her surprise, two more cannonballs were fired from the guard tower. One missed the ice titan, but the other grazed its shell, leaving a sizeable wound. She looked up at the tower. “Are those three… Oh, to hell with it! It’s helping!” She took a sudden pause. “Goodness, that was quite out of character…”

*****

Back on the front lines, the assault team continued to face the glacial tortoise head-on. The beast had just shaken off the pain of the cannonballs and was ready to resume its rampage. It emitted an icy aura that made approaching it akin to braving a blizzard. It was only thanks to Fire Fight’s ferocious flame flying along with his fists that they were able to keep at least decently warm in the otherwise lethal environment. The scorching scrapper pummeled through ice cats one after another; he uppercut one and jumped to finish it with an explosive axe kick, through which he rocketed into the air and unleashed an infernal blast that reduced a swarm of bat-scorpions to vapor.

Frostbite, being a dragon, was completely unbothered by the extreme cold, but that didn’t stop him from being watchful of his comrades; he noticed Turf War struggling against a swarm of bat-scorpions harassing him from above, and all the shielded street thug could do was accurately predict when the pests would swoop towards him and smack ‘em out of the air while blocking whatever he couldn’t hit in time. “AIN’T GOT TIME FOR Y’ALL B**** A**!!” he bellowed.

When an entire storm was swooping down at him, Frostbite vomited a blast of ice-fire that froze the icy fiends together. He then rocketed towards the falling iceberg and shattered with a single punch, prompting him to swoop down and shield Turf War from the falling shards with his wings. “You okay, twerp?”

Turf War smiled confidently. “Yeah, man. Good lookin’ out. Don’t worry ‘bout me though. I ain’t got wings to fly me up to that b**** face.”

Frostbite looked up at the titanic tortoise and could feel its predatory gaze right on him. He smirked. “Aww! Does somebody want a knuckle sandwich!?” he taunted, mocking baby talk. He soared up towards it, cracking his knuckles with a toothy grin on his face.

The behemoth roared as a beam of light blasted from its mouth, too fast from the drake to react, and he was frozen solid. Mere seconds later, he burst out of his encasement, shrugging it off like it was nothing. The titan then snapped its maw at him, but he quickly flew up and body slammed into its nose. It yelped, and then it retaliated by summoning a fierce ice tornado.

Frostbite tried to freeze the raging vortex, but to no avail. A sudden flash of golden light sliced the twister, causing it to dissipate. When he looked over, there was Valkyrie cloaked in the light of her talisman, ready to wreak havoc. “<SCREEEEE!!!>”

Crazylocks flew up next to her. “The wheel of fortune shall spin, Valkyrie!”

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “Good conversation. Now go smash-” She then noticed her shield and its chain tether. “Oh! I see watcha did there.” She held out her shield, and Crazylocks clung onto it, morphing back into an earth pony. Valkyrie then launched her shield towards an oncoming ice boulder launched at them, and Crazylocks’s reinforced hair easily smashed it. The shards of the ice ball transformed into a swarm of bat-scorpions. Crazylocks sprouted her horn, and Valkyrie furiously spun her around. The manic mutant’s horn acted as an effective conduit for Valkyrie’s ancestral light, and it created large phasic extensions of Crazylocks’s hair maces, decimating the swarm.

“RING AROUND THE ROSY, PLUCKING UP YOUR POSY, CUTTING OF YOUR TOSY, UP UNTIL YOUR BONY!!” Crazylocks sang.

Once all the bats were glittering dust, Valkyrie kept spinning. “Alright. On ‘three’!” she said. “One…” she moved closer to the ice titan. “Two!...” Crazylocks startled cackling like a monkey high on mushrooms. “THREE!!” Valkyrie flung her crazed comrade at the monster, who tucked her horn in while still charged with Valhalla light. She impacted in its neck area at the edge of its shell. The titan screamed like an infant that had fallen on its head as a chunk of its shell was blown wide open, revealing its core if slightly.

“IT’S OPEN! SOMEONE, HIT IT!” Fire Fight ordered. He got his wish when another cannonball came soaring at it aimed right at its weak spot. However, the beast quickly lifted its leg and blocked it. Much of its leg’s armor was blown to smithereens, but it allowed the behemoth enough seconds to freeze its shell closed again. “Rrgh! At least we know it’s not indestructible!”

The behemoth then slammed its leg down. The shockwave was so great that it threw him off-balance, and a surge of cryo energy overwhelmed the immediate vicinity and caused glacial spires to erupt everywhere, one nearly impaling Fire Fight. “WHOA!!” Knowing what could potentially come of them, he sprayed the column down with fire and punched it into wet dust. He then noticed ice spiders growing from a column behind him

Just before he could destroy it, a sudden flurry of slashes left it in countless shards. In the wreckage appeared a familiar cloaked figure, who unveiled her face and playfully sighed. “One of those days, huh?”

Fire Fight smiled warmly. “I’ll say.” He shot a flame that weaved around her and struck an ice cat pouncing at her. She then finished with a kama to the head. “We just gotta keep the pressure going. We need to take out both legs and its shell fast enough for us to land a finishing blow!”

Suddenly, more of the ice spiders spawned from the columns, and Shroud clutched her kama while quivering. “O-Oh crap…”

Fire Fight stoked his horn and readied for more melee. “Shroud, stay with me!”

Shroud gulped and braced herself, staring them down like prey. “Only for you, Fire Fight.” She said. Before they could do anything, a hail of meteors pummeled the area around them, obliterating the crawling horde within seconds. “Oh… Awesome.”

The unmistakable thuds of Quantum Tech’s mech could be heard quickly approaching, and the two looked over to see Spiral Galaxy accompanying her. “Things are getting too hairy for us to sit in the back!” Spiral said.

Quantum had to use her electro blades to slice away at a couple of stragglers. “We need to coordinate! Any ideas?”
Three more cannonballs whizzed right over them and struck the beast, cracking it’s shell, but it was still able to mend its wounds quickly. “Ok, who’s doing that?” Fire Fight asked.

“Our guests. They’re thankfully quick studies in the art of mischief.” Shroud explained.
“Really!?” Spiral said.

“They… did kinda leave that impression on me back in Ponyville.” Fire Fight said. “Whatever. They’ll keep it distracted. We need to focus on breaking its legs first. Then we can go for a direct attack. Hmm…” Fire Fight quickly scanned their foe. “Shroud, everyone else is flanking it from the side. Go see what they’re up to and let me know.”

Shroud donned her mask. “On it.” She disappeared into the driving snow.

*****

Meanwhile on the sidelines, the strike team had their fair share of difficulty with the many swarms overwhelming them by sheer numbers alone. The carriage guards were doing a decent enough job holding their own, even if they had to combine their strength to match at least one of their hosts. The mare would sometimes smash the cats and bats to stagger them before her male colleague could dice them up, or he would have to spar with one or a few at a time while she was able to smash them apart.

Regardless, the flow of their fight hadn’t changed. Fire Fight may not have been there, but Greensprout was able to produce vital pulses that promoted everyone’s body heat just enough that they kept warm while not running a fever. She could only hope that Zebota’s magic kept him warm where she couldn’t.

Kickback’s new sonic whip proved to be a handy newcomer. When he wasn’t occupied shooting down bat-scorpions, he blasted icebergs apart with his newfound skill before they could crash into him and his friends.

Shrapnel was wreaking havoc, but the sheer cold was beginning to slow him down, even with Greensprout’s pulse. The cats were able to scratch his wooden hide, and the bat-scorpions stung him in a couple places. Air Slash and Bullseye had to protect him while their resident monk did what she could help keep his strength up.

“Hey, what happened to your friend that took a dip?” the stallion guard asked.

Air Slash launched a huge dual sword beam at a horde of oncoming cats that blasted them into shards. “What indeed?” He let himself get distracted by scanning the water out of worry, and he got pounced by a bigger ice cat. “GYAH!!” He barely managed to hold it back from biting his face off with his sword, but a dark figure suddenly appeared on its back and jammed a kama into its neck, forcing it to release its grip and allowing the samurai to slice its head to pieces.

The cloaked figure stood in the heap. “Stay on your toes, Bladerunner.” She stated.

Air Slash brushed off some dust. “You have my thanks.”

Before anything else could be said, the frozen ocean behind the behemoth suddenly erupted into an enormous wave that flooded its body like a tsunami within seconds. The water almost instantly froze, but it had cocooned around the beast, and it struggled to move. Of course, it shattered the ice within seconds.

Tidal Wave splashed right next time the two warriors. “Did that help?” he asked before seeing that the monster was still rampaging. “Guess not…”

“Actually…” Air Slash said. He looked back and forth between the titan and Zebota, who couldn’t have appeared more focused trying to tap into their foe’s energy, prompting Air Slash to explain to Shroud what he was attempting.

“Interesting…” Shroud said before vanishing back into the snow.

“Who were talking to just now?” the mare guard asked out of nowhere.

“Oh! Uhh… N-Nopony!” Tidal Wave said.

*****

Back in the guard tower, the CMC were scrambling to keep their cannon fire rolling. The excessive amount of gunsmoke was proving to be enough of a nuisance to slow their progress apart from the cannonballs being a little heavy. With some willpower, they managed to load all three cannons.

“Light ‘em up, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo said. The white filly did just that, alighting all three cannons simultaneously.

<BOOM!><BOOM!!><BOOM!!!>

They coughed and fanned the smoke away as it cleared. “Golly! Mah ears r’ startin’ to ring somethin’ fierce!” Applebloom said. They could hear their ammo impacting the beast followed by its agonized roars.

“Alright, <cough><cough> let’s load ‘em up again!” Sweetie Belle said. Just as the smoke totally cleared, a swarm of the bat-scorpions stormed through the windows. The three of them screamed and cowered in the corner together, dodging stingers fired at them in the process.

“PLEASE NO!! WE JUST GOT OUR MARKS!!” Scootaloo begged.

One of the bats was suddenly impaled by an icicle launched from the direction of the windows. The others looked back, and a violent gust of icy mist shrouded them, freezing them together. The iceberg was shattered to reveal Frostbite as their savior. “You guys still able to move?”

The CMC just stared blankly at him. “Uhh… Yeah.” Applebloom said as they all got up. “Thanks.”

“Cool.” Frostbite said. “Now listen up! We gotta plan to finally cook this scrub, but we’ll need you to hold your fire until we’re ready. You’re gonna see a huge wave flood under it; that’ll be your cue to blast away. Got it?”

“Err… Got it.” Scootaloo said.

“Cool. In the meantime…” As Frostbite flew out, he exhaled over the windows so that they had a shield of transparent ice that went down just far enough that the cannons could still peak out. “Better get ready, twerps!” And off he flew.

“Rude…” Sweetie Belle commented. “But whatever. Let’s load ‘em up, girls!” And they did exactly that.

*****

“Ok, everyone in position?” Fire Fight asked. His assault time, including Shadow Shroud were back at the front and nodded firmly.

“So are the sideliners… sir.” Shroud said with a wink.

Fire Fight smiled. “Alright then. Follow my lead!”

At that command, Shadow Shroud threw a multitude of smoke bombs in a line which Fire Fight ran through towards the monster, charging his horn as discreetly as possible. When he emerged just under the behemoth’s nose, he unleashed his fury.

“HRAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!”

A serpentine flame erupted from his horn and furiously spiraled in the air before crashing into the ice titan’s face. It staggered to the point that it nearly thrown off balance.

“THROW ME, DOG!” Turf War shouted to Frostbite. The drake quickly formed a long ramp of ice and took his friend by the hoof. He whirled him around like a hurricane and flung him. Turf War then slid up the ramp on his shield and flew towards the beast’s shell. “CANNONBALL!!!!” he called. Valkyrie and Crazylocks pulled the same stunt from earlier, but aimed the right leg.

Meanwhile, a massive glyph appeared underneath the beast and began noticeably sapping energy from the beast. “Go… now… I cannot… maintain this… for long!” Zebota said. The behemoth fired an ice beam in retaliation, but a water spout burst from the ocean and tanked the hit.

It tried to step its left leg onto the team, but Kickback sonic whipped it and shattered the hoof, allowing the fliers to soar up to the thin knee area. Shrapnel cleared away any remaining ice cats. The male guard and Air Slash combined their swordsmanship to swat away the oncoming swarms of bat-scorpions with the mare and Bullseye patiently waiting in the back. Once they were at the knee the mare firmly slammed her mace into it. “HYARGH!!” She continued to smack it in multiple areas.

“Arrows ready!” Bullseye shouted. Everyone moved away, and Bullseye fire three explosive arrows around the knee. “BOOK IT!” They all dove back to the ground just in time for the arrows to blow. The behemoth shrieked in agony as its leg fell off.

At the same time, Crazylocks managed to shattered the other leg off, and Turf War slammed his hammer into the shell on impact, causing it to crack and ripple violently. Frostbite soared in to catch him. Tidal Wave then caused a vicious wave to surge underneath the beast as it fell on its face, causing the water to instantly freeze around and hold it in place.

*****

“THAT’S OUT CUE, CRUSADERS!!” Scootaloo shouted.

Applebloom hurriedly pushed the last cannon into place. “FIRE!!” Applebloom commanded.

Sweetie Belle alit her horn, but for some reason, the fuse wouldn’t light. “Huh?” She frantically tired again and again. “Oh, no! Please! PLEASE!!”

*****

“What’s taking those idiots so long!? I told ‘em when to blast away!” Frostbite said.

Fire Fight gazed at the tower in disappointment. “Just… be patient. We’ve still got Quantum and Spiral!” Said fillies laid their assault. Quantum fired her death ray while Spiral fired her supernova laser, each at one of its legs. However, the cracks on its shell were beginning to mend. “C’MON, CRUSADERS!!” Fire Fight bellowed.

Almost as if on cue, the cannons fired simultaneously and hit the softened shell, blasting it wide open just in time for Quantum’s death ray to power down and Spiral to get fatigued. “They… They didn’t seriously fire all three, did they!?” Spiral asked.

“Oh… crap.” Frostbite said. “I… totally forgot to tell ‘em to not fire at least one… My bad.”

“YOU IDIOT!!” Valkyrie said. “Rgh! Well, we better go hit it!” The shell was already started to slowly freeze closed again. “Like RIGHT NOW!!” And they all charged forward save for Spiral.

Meanwhile, the flanking team was already much closer, but they were just as anxious as they watched the shell closing up again. Thinking of an obvious solution, Bullseye reached into her quiver. “Oh, crap… CRAP! NOT NOW!!”

“What’s wrong?” Greensprout asked.

“I’m outta blast arrows!!” Bullseye answered.

Everyone looked at her startled, hoping they didn’t just hear her utter that sentence. “Well, heck n’ darn…” Kickback said.

The carriage guards looked at the monster, the foals, and each other. Both were scared, ashamed that they couldn’t do more to help the mightiest soldiers they’d ever seen, to perhaps save their homeland. That window was about to close, and even the mightiest of the foals would have difficulty subduing it completely. “Should we…” the stallion asked.

The mare took a big gulp. “We… we should…” she said. The two shared a warm smile. “It’s been an honor… Rising Air.”

“You too, Breezedrift.” The stallion said. He then turned to their young hosts. “Good luck, Battle Foals!” And the two rocketed into the air aiming right for the core.

“What!?” Air Slash said.

Before the assault team could reach the monster’s face, Rising Air and Breezedrift dove into the shell just as it had closed. Seconds later, the behemoth screamed and roared like a giant fuming teapot. Cracks formed all around its body with light pouring out, it’s eyes shined abundantly, and then… it exploding like a cryogenic superbomb, being reduced to shards of ice and snow…

Empty Feelings

The blast had rocked the Battle Foals, and it took them a while to regain their senses; but when they came to, all they saw was devastation. Minutes felt like hours as the aftermath of the ice titan’s death left behind an enormous cloud of icy mist. They’re island paradise had been reduced to a localized ice age. It was freezing cold.

Zebota noticed Shrapnel vigorously digging through the remains of the behemoth. Immediately remembering what had just happened upon seeing him, he rushed over to his beast, calling for his friends to follow. After minutes of digging in the frigid air, the wooden titan finally uncovered the two carriage guards… or what was left of them.

Shrapnel gently carried their corpses away from the wreckage and lay them in front of the shocked foals. They looked as if they had been imprisoned in a freezer for centuries, their hides shriveled and hair crunchier than cereal; and their eyes… it was as if the life in them had been smothered, blackened by the sheer cold. Kickback immediately ran far to the pile of ice and heaved profusely, Quantum Tech having to go help him.

Apart from that, there was a dead silence amongst the young warriors. Greensprout started softly sobbing as she looked upon them, and Air Slash warmly put his arm around her, silently mourning them.

“We didn’t even know their names…” Spiral Galaxy muttered.

“Didn’t they… same them before…” Tidal Wave said.

“I’m sorry.” Air Slash said. “In the heat of the chaos, I… I couldn’t hear them.” He drew on of his swords and jammed it into the ground, solemnly bowing as he supported himself on it. “I’ve dishonored you two. You died a warrior’s death.”

Shadow Shroud heard something behind her and disappeared before anything could be said. Vibrant galloping could be heard seconds later, and there came the CMC joyously running towards the Battle Foals. “We did it!!” Scootaloo cheered upon their arrival, but the three were met without reciprocation.

The silence was awkward for the three fillies. “Why the long faces, y’all? We beat that varmint!” Applebloom said.

“Take a look for yourselves.” Fire Fight growled, sidestepping so that the CMC could witnessed what had been sacrificed, to which they gasped in horror.

“The… The guards!” Sweetie Belle stammered.

Turf War marched up to the them. “What in the F*** was y’all DOIN’!?!?” he bellowed, startling the fillies. “Y’all know DAMN WELL ya had a clean shot, but it only took y’all a hundred years to fire them cannons!!”

Bullseye swooped in right next to him, her eye bulging and bloodshot. “You had your signal, you had your chance, and you F***ING CHOKED!! THEY HAD TO SWOOP IN AND… and…” Her sorrow started to override her rage as tears formed in her eye.

Sweetie Belle started sobbing out of guilt. “I’m sorry… The cannons just wouldn’t light, and I don’t know why.”

“They were working just fine up until then! Honest!” Scootaloo pled.

“Reckon maybe we overworked ‘em…” Applebloom said.

“Yeah, that’s the one flaw our cannons had back then. They clogged up pretty quick if you fired them too much at once. You had to keep ‘em clean as a whistle if you didn’t want to get… awkward during a battle.” Valkyrie explained, grimacing at the deceased guards. “How’d you newbs even figure out how to fire them?”

“There was a really detailed instruction manual that basically showed us everything.” Sweetie Belle said as she wiped her eyes.

Turf War took a deep breath. “Sorry I went off on y’all. It’s just…” He turned towards the fallen guards. “They ain’t had to go out like that.”

“Yeah… That coulda been us.” Bullseye said.
Kickback was led back by Quantum Tech, still catching his breath. He happened to notice Frostbite vigorously clawing at the ground. “Watcha doin’ there, partner?”

Frostbite stopped what he doing and stepped aside to let everyone see for themselves. “What do you think?” Beside him was a shallowly dug hole in the ground. He eyed towards the deceased, hinting his intentions.

“Oh… Yes, I… I suppose we should dawdle no longer.” Quantum Tech said.

With some help from Shrapnel, Turf War, Valkyrie, and Spiral Galaxy, Frostbite was able to dig a big and deep enough hole for the two corpses which Quantum moved by channeling telekinetic magic through her railguns. She gently lowered them into the hole, and the other unicorns refilled the hole with the dirt they’d dug. They all gathered around.

All went silent as Greensprout stood before their grave. She held her hoof to her chest and closed her eyes. “It is said that with victory comes sacrifice, and today was a firm reminder. These two guards… whose names we never learned… Their last bout of courage saved our lives from certain catastrophe at the cost of their own… We thought little of them, but in the end, they were heroes. I regret that I have so little else to say, except rest in peace, brother and sister. You will be missed not only by your loved ones, but also us. We’re forever grateful to you.”

“Mad props, guys.” Valkyrie said.

“No life is without meaning, and no death is without purpose. This is the way of things.” Zebota said. Shrapnel let out a mellow howl while Kickback tipped his hat.

“We’re so sorry… We all are.” Scootaloo said.

“You’ll have hotdog eating contests in a better place…” Crazylocks said.

“Crazylocks, now is seriously not the time.” Bullseye said. A long, solemn of silence followed as they all gazed at the makeshift grave out in the cold. No seagulls were squawking, no sunlight was shining, and the only sound was a desolate wind and a deafening silence left in its wake.

Looking around, the foals saw the extent of the devastation. Their crops had been fatally smothered by the driving snow, trees were infected with icicles hanging from all over their branches and crowns, and the ruins had been further damaged by the raging blizzard as if it had centuries taken off its lifespan.

Kickback wiped some snow out of his bandana. “Well… back to square one, y’all.”

“Looks like it. Easy enough, right?” Fire Fight said.

“I’m more concerned about how we’re supposed to get back to Equestria now that…” Quantum Tech said staring at the grave once more.

“Couldn’t we just… go to sleep?” Valkyrie asked. “I was on a snooze cruise when your moon princess lady or whatever-her-name-is appeared my dream and told me to haul my butt over here. She was pretty chill.”

“You flew all that way?” Air Slash asked.

Valkyrie preened her feathers. “Like a total boss!”

“Would she even come to us when it’s not nighttime?” Tidal Wave asked.

“Didn’t one of you cause a super-mega star laser to fall from the sky? Everypony and their dog saw it.” Scootaloo.

“O-Oh… Seriously?” Spiral asked blushing a little.

“Don’t remind me…” Tidal Wave muttered. “Wait! You’re not about to ask her to do that again, are you!?”

“Actually…” Spiral said. “Let me try something else.” She focused skyward, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and lit her horn. A ring of starlight formed around her, causing the snow surrounding her to orbit in the light. Her horn then brilliantly shone, dispelling some of the overcast and showing a cluster of stars having lines of light connected between them, eventually forming the message, “Come to us, Luna.”

“Wow…” Sweetie Belle said as she and the other Crusaders stared in awe at the power of the Battle Foal’s cosmomancer.

“Pretty amazing, huh?” Tidal Wave asked as he let her stumble into him.

Spiral rubbed her head as she lean on Tidal Wave. She looked up and warmly smiled at him. “Thanks.”

Tidal Wave blushed. “S-Sure. Sorry I don’t have any water to splash around you.”

“Ehh.” Spiral leaned into his chest blushing. “Your heartbeat’s fine too.” Tidal Wave was bright red as he embraced her.

“Aww…” Applebloom cooed.

Bullseye rolled her eye. “Can we just get back inside already? I’m starting to know what frozen meals feel like.”

“Yes. Quantum and myself need to make you more blast arrows anyway.” Air Slash said.

“If enough resources survived…” Quantum said solemnly gazing upon the further ruined ruins. Without further delay, they all went back inside and hopefully into warmth.

Except for Fire Fight, who just sat there and continued to stare at the grave. It took these two guards’ sacrifice to defeat a giant, and he felt like he’d failed them. No matter how hot his fire had burned, it couldn’t do anything to prevent a tragedy.

“Aren’t you cold?” Shadow Shroud reappeared and approached him from behind. She sat down and leaned into him.

“Hey, Shroud…”

Shroud gazed at the grave with him. “Hey… Don’t feel too bad. You would’ve done the same for them, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, but…” Fire Fight couldn’t find the words. This wasn’t their first encounter with death, but it their most substantial.

Shroud wrapped her hoof around his. “I’m sad for them too, but this stuff just happens. You know that by now.”

“I just wish it didn’t have to happen to innocent people, even if they were military.” Fire Fight said.

“My clan and Air Slash’s are prepared to die if push comes to shove.” Shroud said.

Fire Fight turned to her. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Seconds before the frozen world turtle made its grand entrance, you told me you hated being a Shadewalker!”

A wave of sorrow brushed over her. “I… I did, didn’t I? Never thought I’d have to spill that.”

Fire Fight gently tightened his grip on her hoof. “Shroud, I think it’s time you told me the whole truth… assuming you won’t have to kill me afterwards.”

Shroud giggled. “Don’t worry; I won’t. But… I think I’d rather everyone else heard me too.”

“Well that’s gonna be difficult at the moment.” Fire Fight said.

“Yeah… Wait here a sec.” Shroud briefly disappeared into the woods and came back with two long, straight sticks. She wrapped some loose cloth around them each and stuck them in the ground where the guards’ heads would likely be. “Wanna send them off?”

Fire Fight managed a faint smile. “Yeah.” He lit his horn, and the makeshift torches ignited. “May your weary souls find peaceful rest.”

“Hey! That’s my line.” Shroud said.

“Thought I’d do a little bit of your job for you.” Fire Fight said with a wink.

Shroud walked beside him as they approached the ruins, his magic keeping them toasty. “A gentlecolt to the end.”

“You know me so well.” Fire Fight said. He took one more glance back at the grave, thinking about what else he could’ve said to them, how sorry he was for disregarding them, how much he wanted to thank them.

As they neared the entrance, Shroud donned her mask. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

“Is it ever.” Fire Fight said. The two warmly embraced before the cloaked filly once again vanished from any range of perception.

*****

Entire hordes of guards marched across a plane to the north of Canterlot with Celestia and Luna at the head of it all. They were all primed and ready to face their foe, whatever form it may take. They could all feel the air around them being strangled by the inevitability of a grisly fight against a nightmare that spawned out of nowhere.

Celestia looked over and noticed her sister with a worried look about her. “Anxiety before a battle isn’t very becoming of a leader, sister.”

“Hm? Oh! Sorry.” Luna said.

Celestia chuckled. “We’ve faced greater foes in our day. This one will surely be a challenge, but we must keep our heads high. Combined strength has proven to be our ultimate weapon time and again. I have faith.”

“Truly…” Luna said. She then felt a sudden twinkle in her horn that prompted her to look up into the sky. She gasped when she saw the words, “Comes to us, Luna” written in the stars. “Sister!” She pointed to the anomaly.

Celestia looked up and was puzzled upon seeing it. “Is… there something I should know, Luna?”
Luna took a deep, regretful breath. “I know who has sent me this message. I… I must go there immediately.”

“And who is your messenger?” Celestia asked.

“The… The Battle Foals.”

“What!?” Celestia exclaimed. “Sister, how do you know this?”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to save this discussion for later. For now, I must go to them! And… I think I’ll bring Twilight and her search party with me.”

“I’d certainly hope so! Go! Waste no more time!” Celestia commanded, and Luna flew off without a moment’s hesitation.

“Your Highness! Something’s happening up ahead!” A guard shouted.

“Hm?” Celestia looked out to see an odd series of flashes lighting up the horizon. It continuously happened one flash at a time that were within seconds of each other. A moment of observation let her realize that it was rapidly approaching them.

“Weapons at the ready!” Celestia ordered. When the last flash shone right in front of their army, the solar sovereign oddly started hearing what sounded like a crying baby approaching her. Seconds later, a little fluff of pink had soared into her arms. “Flurry Heart!?”

Little Flurry was frantically wailing in her great aunt’s arms. “Oh, honey…” Celestia nuzzled the child until she calmed down some. “Goodness! You’re freezing cold!” She noticed that her little wings were slightly frostbitten. “Where’s mama and daddy?”

Flurry pointed north, and Celestia was met with the sight of an ominous blizzard brewing on the horizon with many shadows marching within it…

Author's Notes:

Happy Halloween!

Words of Encouragement

Author's Notes:

Happy Thanksgiving in advance everyone! And remember not to try cooking your turkey frozen like a certain adventurous duo did...

Fire Fight: "Frostbite's the one who kept saying we'd be fine!"

Frostbite: "Says the idiot who turned up the campfire too high!"

The once toasty makeshift abode within the ruins was now cold and unwelcoming as if their air conditioner went haywire, if they actually had one. The only thing keeping them warm was Fire Fight’s heat spell. They all gathered in the room where they dined together before the incursion. All they could do now was wait and hope.

“So, uhh… Nice to meet you, Valkyrie. Don’t think we’ve said that yet.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Oh! Yeah, you too, kid.” Valkyrie said. “Hey. How’d you find those cannons anyway?”

“The ghost showed us!” Scootaloo answered.

Everyone looked at them like they were crazy. “Ghost? But we didn’t hire any dead butlers!” Crazylocks said.

“Really? ‘Cause it wrote on the wall and told us where to go.” Applebloom said.

“Sure you’re not talkin’ about Shadow Sh-” Valkyrie said but was promptly cut off by Spiral Galaxy practically strangling her with a gravity ring around her neck until the armed fowl started turning blue. Spiral vigorously shook her head while cartoonishly grimacing. “Huh?”

“Shadow who?” Scootaloo asked.

Valkyrie’s eyes widened. “Oh! U-U-Uhh… Sh-Shadow… something or other, full name’s not coming back. Yeah, he’s the ghost of… the warden that ran this joint! W-Well, that was his nickname anyway. Super nasty dude! Yeah…” Even under her blanket of fur and feathers, Valkyrie could be seen sweating more bullets than Kickback has ever fired. She could practically feel a certain ninja staring kunai into her soul. “<Rip…>” she whispered.

An inquisitive stare from all three fillies pulled on the tension in the room like a game of tug-of-war. “Okay…?” Sweetie Belle said. “So why did he bother helping us?”

“Ah, well. You know… Probably didn’t want to see his precious prison get turned into a freezer.” Valkyrie said. “Oh, hey! There he is right there!” She pointed to a random empty space in the courtyard outside. I uhh… can see his spirit with my Valhalla! Heh. Stay feathered my brother!” she flashed a peace sign.

Turf War internally facehooved. “<Did this b**** really just do that?>” he thought.

“A-Alrighty then…” Applebloom said. “Well… Reckon all we can do is wait.” She solemnly sat down.

“So… on a brighter note, you guys were all kinds of awesome!!” Scootaloo said.

“Thanks…” Fire Fight muttered.

“No, really! I know those two guards died, but… I honestly thought we were doomed! You guys really are heroes!” Scootaloo said.

“We’re flattered…” Quantum Tech muttered.

“Jeez! Enough being such debby downers! We just slew a titan, my dudes. Just gotta move on sometimes.” Valkyrie said.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Fire Fight said, suddenly reminiscing the trying events of both Gene Splice and Greensprout discovering her parents.

“The princesses are gonna be really happy to have y’all helpin’ to put down whatever varmint’s popped up.” Applebloom said.

“All of Equestria at that!” Sweetie Belle said, smugly winking at her friends.

“Oh, sure. Everypony will be so happy to reward the violent little delinquents.” Bullseye said.

“Ugh! Didn’t we tell you that they felt sorry?” Sweetie Belle said.

“How much of a difference does it make? It’s not like all of us are gonna be very welcomed back all that much anyway, even after we defeat Mystery Enemy X.” Tidal Wave said.

“Now ain’t that just some o’ the biggest pig butter Ah’ve ever heard!” Applebloom said. “Ponies just didn’t see behind… how admittedly dangerous y’all can be. Who said all you could ever do with yer skills is fight?”

“Fire Fight, do you remember when we first met and you showed off your skills?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, I remember.” Fire Fight said. “I beat up a bunch of thugs and got made into an outcast for it!”

“No, no, no! I meant before that when you put on that little fire show for us. That was freaking rad!” Scootaloo said.

“Even when you protected us from that actor, you were so brave! Much braver than any of us would’ve been. You should be proud. I’ve heard that most of Celestia’s guards can’t even look a manticore cub in the eye… Err… bad time to mention that.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Besides, yer parent’s n’ that Film Noir lady r’ awful worried about ya, amongst everypony else.” Applebloom said.

Fire Fight gazed at the flaming drake upon his flank. Now that he was free from the confines of civilization, he thought he’d be able to look at it proudly. Now that he was… he felt it almost glaring at him, as if disappointed. He’d been having the greatest adventure he could ever have asked for; and yet he couldn’t shake a feeling of emptiness, that same emptiness that has crept into his heart the night before he ran away.

The CMC then turned to Turf War. “And you’re Turf War, right?” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah, it’s yo’ boy.” He answered.

“We haven’t heard a ton, but mah sister said you were real brave too in Detrot, going up against gangs n’ all by yer lonesome.” Applebloom said.

Turf War rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I did. Then one o’ the cops had to turn out to be a li’l bi- er… you know what, I ain’t even gonna tone that down! I ain’t saying it in front o’ y’all, but ya know.” He ranted. “How I’m supposed to care for a city that don’t even care for itself?”

“Got some news for you, dude: that cop was caught and arrested; probably because of you!” Scootaloo said.

Turf War perked up. “For… For real? Curfew got put in the doghouse?”

“He sure did!” Sweetie Belle said. She went on to explain how he was found with the gang members knocked out in the warehouse where they had fought him.

“Damn… How’s the city been after that?” Turf War asked.

“Can’t say we know, but I remember reading a statement from one of the other officers over there that they wished you were still around. Guess they were too embarrassed that they needed your help.” Scootaloo said.

“Ya see? You were a big ray o’ hope in that city even nopony ever said. You always put everypony’s well-bein’ before yer own, and you were never afraid of anything. Ah couldn’t imagine a better hero. Maybe you’ve inspired Detrot more than ya realize now.” Applebloom said, causing the normally boisterous bastion to silently ponder to himself.

“Spiral Galaxy, right?” Sweetie Belle asked, turning to the unicorn.

Spiral sighed. “This oughta be good…”

“You’ll know once you listen.” Scootaloo said. “Not many ponies our age, or even just ponies in general can master magic like kosm… comoso… cosmamon…”

“Cosmomancy, darling.” Quantum Tech said.

“Yeah, that.” Scoots said. “The fact that you were able to take control of it is a freaking miracle! You could help all of Equestria better understand how space works and stuff.”

“You have gotten better control of it, haven’t you?” Applebloom asked.

Spiral shrugged. “Yeah, but… I’m not sure I wanna see everypony in Hoofington again.”

“They wanna see you again though.” Sweetie Belle said. “If you give them another chance, maybe they’ll do the same for you. Your parents and Princess Twilight sure will!” All she got was an unsure smile from the cosmic mage.

“You’re Air Slash?” Scootaloo asked the samurai.

“Correct.” He answered stoically.

“Ain’t you a proud member o’ the Bladerunner clan? You’ve already got plenty o’ respect from all of Equestria.” Applebloom said.

“Sadly my father is not amongst them…” Air Slash said.

“But we told you he was sorry! He wants to have an open talk with you.” Sweetie Belle said. “Besides, you’re already a hero in the making. Even if Equestria is usually peaceful, that doesn’t make warriors like you any less important; I’d be able to sleep a lot easier knowing somepony like you would be ready to protect me. I mean, you like being a Bladerunner, don’t you?”

Air Slash solemnly nodded. “Very much so. I… suppose I should humor him if what you say is true.”

“And you, Kickback…” Sweetie Belle said. The calm cowboy ever so slightly turned his head to them.

“You’re loved by everypony in Dodge City! And not just ‘cause… well…” Scootaloo blushed furiously. “You’re about the handsomest colt in all of Equestria…” she mumbled.

“Yeah! Yer a wonderful showpony that everypony loves to watch. Plus, yer just a right gentlecolt anyhow.” Applebloom said.

Kickback gazed at them for a moment before lowering his hat. “Ah reckon that ain’t so true any longer now that word’s gonna get out about mah mama…”

“Uh-uh! Yer papa never said it, but everypony’s been real supportive of him once they found out. They really want you back and to not feel like a criminal.” Applebloom said.

“As mildly extreme as that sounds.” Sweetie Belle said.

Kickback slowly lifted his hat up. “Well, I’ll be…”

“I don’t think we need to say much about you, Quantum Tech.” Scootaloo. “The only that held you back was your parents. You wanted to use your know-how to make all kinds of crazy gizmos to help ponies if you’re not already fixing stuff, right?”

Quantum impatiently fixed her glasses. “Quite so, but do you actually expect me to return to those toxic swines?”

“We saw them get hauled off by the guards after we figured what they did to you.” Sweetie Belle said.
Quantum perked up. “R-Really now?”

“Yeah! That coupled with your disappearance really got ponies talking about you. I’ll bet you’d get lots of help from Canterlot University or someone. Heck, there’s a scientist in our hometown, Ponyville who’d be interesting in working with you!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Oh, yes; Dr. Hooves! I’ve heard of the chap. Well… thank you for the kind words, I suppose.” Quantum said.

Applebloom turned to Zebota and his beast. “What’s yer story, Zebota?”

Zebota sighed as Shrapnel lightly licked the back of his neck. “Well you see…” He went on to explain his troubled past and how he eventually met the Battle Foals.

“Oh, wow…” Applebloom said. “Real sorry to hear all that. But you’ve already made friends with these ponies. Who says you can’t make friends with any others, even other griffons or dragons r’ whatnot?”

“My native culture is strange to many.” Zebota said. “I am blessed that the Battle Foals are so ready to accept me where others may fear me.”

“Ah don’t think ya give us enough credit, Zebota. We’ve really become less scared o’ outside stuff like that lately. Heck there’s a real nice Zebra lady where we live.” Applebloom said.

“Yes. I believe she is called Zecora? How did she come to live amongst your folk?” Zebota asked.

“Oh, wow!” Scootaloo said, not expecting him to know her. “Ok, admittedly, she’s never told us anything about her, so-”

“So perhaps she left our homeland to escape from it as well for whatever reason. I confess that my people can be overly strict for ridiculous reasons.” Zebota said.

“Then don’t worry about them so much. Besides, Zecora’s really accepting herself. Even your whole Beastcraft shtick is supposed to cursed or whatever, I’m sure she’ll look past that. You’re one of her own, dude. Besides, Shrapnel’s been a really good boy!” Scootaloo said, prompting the wooden titan to reward her with an affectionate lick.

“And how about you?” Scootaloo asked Greensprout.

“I’ve suffered no ill will from anypony, sister. Rather, I chose to follow Fire Fight and his friends on a quest of understanding.” Greensprout said.

“Oh, yeah! You n’ all them folks in Gardenia are real peaceful-like.” Applebloom said. “Did ya learn somethin’?”

Greensprout nodded. “I have. It’s not something I can explain well in summarization, so please bear with me.” She cleared her throat. “In short, hoping for peace isn’t enough. One must work towards it through whatever means you deem necessary so long as you keep the idea of peace in mind and at heart, no matter how tough and painful the journey ahead may be.”

“Ah’m sure that Abbot Meadow feller would love to hear that.” Applebloom said.

“So would Equestria! I bet it’d put a new spin on the idea of friendship.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Perhaps it would, sister…” Greensprout said.

“And Bullseye…” Scootaloo said.

“I already said I was sorry, didn’t I?” Bullseye said.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “And I already said I forgive you.” she said. “But whatever. You were a huge hit back in Trifectown. Lots of ponies loved watching you hit the… the ‘bullseye’ every time.”

“Tch! And they didn’t care if that wasn’t the only ‘Bullseye’ getting hit.” Bullseye said.

“That’s because they didn’t know. If you had said something sooner, you would’ve gotten help. When the princesses exposed them, the whole town just about booed them into oblivion as they were being hauled away.” Sweetie Belle explained. “You love archery, don’t you?”

Bullseye’s good eye glistened while her swollen one twitched. “It’s the only thing I know.”

“Not anymore. Now you’ve seen lots of Equestria with your new friends that’ve helped you heal along the way, haven’t you?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah… Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point.” Bullseye said.

Crazylocks suddenly popped up next to her. “A point to be made is a friendly point indeed!” she said, getting a smile and chuckle out of the angsty archer.

“You’ve even gotten close with her! Imagine other foals like you. No, not ones that you run away with and go on scary adventures. I’m talking about foals that just need a good friend or at least somepony to look up to. You two are more than qualified to stand as reminders that the best medicine is being together.” Scootaloo said.

Bullseye looked at Crazylocks, who just looked back with that same cutely manic smile and proceeded to scratch with her hind leg like a dog. She smiled. “Wouldn’t solve world hunger, but what the hell.”

“I hunger for fresh milk again!” Crazylocks blurted.

“Maybe after she gets some much needed help…” Scootaloo mumbled. She then turned to Tidal Wave. “And you, sir…”

Tidal Wave gulped. “Uh, y-yeah?”

“We know you were bullied a bunch, n’ we’re real sorry about that.” Applebloom said.

“You and your dad both had it pretty hard, but you shouldn’t ever blame yourself for it.” Sweetie Belle said. “I don’t think I need to tell you that you’re pretty special. Not very many ponies like getting in the water anyway, but you’re made for it. You like it don’t you?”

Tidal Wave’s nerves eased as he thought about his aquatic affinity, and he gently smiled. “Yeah, I… I’m actually pretty happy with it.”

“Then you never had anything to be ashamed of to begin with!” Scootaloo said. “Look, I know what it’s like being a flightless pegasus- it sucks. But even if I’ll never be able to take to the skies, I’ve still been able to help lots of ponies with my friends. Who knows? Maybe you’ll grow up to be some foal’s swimming idol one day!”

“You… You think so?” Tidal Wave said. “That’s uh… really nice of you.”

They then finally turned to Frostbite, who was picking at his teeth. “And what’s your story, big feller?” Applebloom asked.

“Got made fun of for breathing ice and not fire, so I dipped. Simple as that.” Frostbite said. “Sorry if you thought I was a romantic.”

Applebloom giggled. “We weren’t. So maybe ya didn’t get along so well with other dragons. Well, now look how many friends you have! They didn’t have to be dragons, now did they?”

“Um, no duh.” Frostbite said.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Ok, bad example. But still, maybe you’d be a happier person if met more nice people. Ponies and dragons have started getting along a little better, so it’s worth a try.”

“There’s even a dragon working for Princess Twilight, and those two are inseparable!” Scootaloo said.

Frostbite noticeably perked up at that statement. “Oh, uh… cool.” He said, trying to play it off.

“Don’t you see? You guys all have so much more to offer to Equestria than you realize! We can’t tell you what your future’s are gonna be like, but if you stop running away from everything, maybe you’ll discover great new things about yourselves.” Scootaloo said.

All the Battle Foals could do was glance back and forth at each other. It felt as if that they no longer knew what they were running from or even accomplishing in spite of the disasters they’ve prevented.

“Just think about it while we’re waiting for Luna.” Sweetie Belle said.

Fire Fight suddenly felt a drop of water fall onto his head. When he looked up, he saw Shadow Shroud hidden on the ceiling, her face uncloaked and looking at him with tearful, lonely eyes…

Reconnecting

Author's Notes:

Happy Holidays, everyone! Here's my late present to you: a new chapter!

I appreciate your continued patience, and hope you're still enjoying this story.

At Fire Fight’s behest, Frostbite went out and procured a sizeable pile of the driest sticks and leaves he could find and laid them in the middle of the stone cold floor. The fiery colt then lit the pile, making the room much warmer. “I’m gonna go make us a snack. You’ve all gotta be hungry after that mess.” Fire Fight said.

The second he entered the kitchen, there she was standing solemnly in the corner not even attempting to hide. “Fire Fight…”

“Shroud…” Fire Fight wasted no time pulling her in for a warm hug. She practically thrust her arms around his neck, and her light sobs rocked his soul. “We’re not leaving you. I promise.”

“I wish I could say I was more hopeful…” Shroud said. “I mean, I know I can’t force you guys to stay, but…”

Fire Fight loosened his grip on her and looked into her eyes. “Shroud…” but he couldn’t find the words. How could he say everything would be ok when he was as uncertain as she was? All he could give her was a little smile before embracing her once more. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Please don’t.” Shroud said “I… I don’t want to be all alone again.”

They broke off. “Alone?” Fire Fight asked.

“S-Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Can you get cooking?” Shroud said.

Fire Fight warmly smiled. “Yeah.”

All Fire Fight could serve them was some leftover seaweed and wheat tufts that he made into a simple stew. It wasn’t much food, but at least everyone was warm, and they decided to camp out in that room for the night seeing as it’d no doubt take a while for their company to arrive.

*****

Much to all the foals’ surprise, Luna didn’t come to visit them in their dreams, not even just to let them know that she was on her way. That morning became a silent waiting game, and they only had more leftovers for breakfast to hold them over. Turf War kept everyone mildly entertained by juggling some fallen stones and balancing his shield on his shoulders.
A little while after noon, Kickback’s sharp eyes caught sight of a ship approaching the bay area of the island. “They’re here, y’all!”

With some apprehension, the foals bar Shadow Shroud ventured to the shoreline and awaited the arrival of their princess. The architecture of the ship was explicitly Equestrian, so there could be no mistake. The vessel docked at the pier where a boarding was lowered and allowed for a small group of guards to form a path for the good princess. The foals awaited her at the threshold of the ground and the pier.

In all her grandeur came Princess Luna off the boat. She warmly smiled upon seeing her young hosts, and they returned her smile along with bowing, except for Frostbite, whom Shrapnel had to force to bend over. Kickback wasted no time taking off his hat. “Rise, mighty Battle Foals.” Luna said.

The foals all did so and looked fondly upon their monarch. “It’s an absolute honor meeting you in person, Your Highness.” Quantum Tech said.

“The feeling is mutual, dear Quantum Tech.” Luna said. “Has all been well since you were attacked? I foresaw a terrible monster…”

“Yeah, we destroyed it.” Fire Fight said. “Well… more like those guards carrying the CMC sacrificed themselves to finish it…”

Luna expressed some shock. “Rising Air and Breezedrift?”

“So those were their names…” Air Slash said. Some of the guards expressed some grief of their own.

“Yeah, they went down in style.” Valkyrie said.

“I see… May they rest in peace.” Luna said. “Cutie Mark Crusaders, I thank you for making this trip. I knew that the Battle Foals could protect you if need be, but I wasn’t expecting such a harrowing encounter.”

“You’re welcome, Princess Luna.” Sweetie Belle said. “They said they’d come help!”

Luna looked at the Battle Foals. “Thank you very much. It would seem my fears of a great catastrophe are being realized.” She said. “But… there is some small business to attend to first.”

“Huh? Now Yer Highness, all due respect, but what could more important than hustlin’ back n’ fencing that ice varmint?” Kickback asked.

“See for yourself.” Luna said. Much to the foals shock, out from the boat then came Princess Twilight and a small group of other adults. Amongst them recognized were Cheerilee, Knight’s Soul, Fire Fight’s parents, Sky Strike, Kickback’s
father, Zecora and Rarity.

“Wh-What the? Princess Luna!” Spiral Galaxy exclaimed.

“Worry not, my dears.” Luna said. “Not everyone was able to come due to having to evacuate, I’m afraid.”

“Fire Fight!” His mother ran up to and squeezed him tightly, his dad not far behind.

“Whoa!” Fire Fight said, too surprised to process a greeting. “Mom?...Dad?”

Fist heavily sighed. “I know… I’m probably the last pony you wanna see…” he said.

The fiery colt slipped out from his mother’s embrace and gazed at his father. “Why are you…”

“Because I had to.” Fist said. “I was some awful coward for leaving you two… But when I heard recent news about you… well, I felt responsible. Even if I wasn’t there for the school fiasco, I still pushed you to that edge all that time ago, and…” He gently pulled his son in for a hug. “Son, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry! I was a horrible stallion back then, and I have no excuse. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?”

Fire Fight had a whole mix of emotions spiraling in his heart. He resented his father for what happened, but part of him yearned for him again, for the idol he once held. He looked at his mother, who had a forgiving smile about her. “I… guess I can.” He hugged him back.

Fire Fight then noticed Cheerilee standing beside his parents. “H-Hello Fire Fight.” She said. The red colt barely glanced up at her. “I-I know. I’m far from innocent too… but…”

“I know.” Fire Fight said. “The CMC told me. But… Look, we’ll talk later.”

Cheerilee heavily sighed. “I understand.”

Knight’s Soul found himself in a staring contest with his son, who seemed none to eager to see his father. “Air Slash…”

Air Slash slowly looked away from hi father, but Greensprout gently held his hoof and looked at him with her comforting serenity. “You can talk it out.”

Air Slash softened his stern expression and sighed as he looked at his dad again. “H-Hello, father.” He mumbled. “I… trust you had a fine voyage?”

“I did.” Knight’s Soul said. “But I’m more concerned about yours.”

“Father, I meant no ill towards our proud clan.” Air Slash said.

“I know.” Knight’s Soul said. “If anything, I’d say you’ve done our family proud if the stories are to be believed.”

“You’ve also heard of our adventures, sir?” Greensprout asked.

Knight’s Soul nodded. “I have. And… Oh, I shan’t make excuses. I did little to try and understand you, son. I was too rigid. I put the Bladerunner pride far before my fatherhood.”

Air Slash’s stern anxiety turned into pleasant surprise. “Well… thank you, father. But… admittedly, your concerns about had some validation. Perhaps I had been too aggressive. During my treks with Fire Fight, I… my pride was challenged on a few occasions, rightfully so. It was namely Greensprout here who humbled me.” He smiled at his lady.

“Well, I thank you, young lady.” Knight’s Soul said.

“It was my pleasure, brother.” She replied.

“Still, I would hope you and I are able to make amends. Besides, your mother has been quite worried about since your abandonment, as have your brothers and sisters.” Knight’s Soul said. “Oh! And myself, of course.”

Air Slash managed to crease a smile. “I… would not be opposed to that.”

Kickback found himself confronting his father, whose normally stern face was one of sorrow, a face he hadn’t seen in a long time. Despite his discontent, he had the decency to take off his hat while facing his dad. They both did. “Pa, Ah-”

“Don’t.” his dad said. “Ah was too overcome by yer mama’s passin’. Ah shouldn’t have been takin’ it all out on you.”

“E-Even though Ah was the one…” Kickback muttered, a mild sob clogging his throat.

“It was a terrible accident, son.” His dad replied. “But Ah wasn’t able to move on as well as you were. Besides… yer mama died peacefully.”

Kickback sighed. “Pa, truth be told, Ah hadn’t taken it as well as ya mighta thought. Ah’ve been holdin’ it in ever since that day. Mah little escapade with Fire Fight helped me blow off some steam, but… Ah just didn’t want memories of mama holdin’ us back none.”

His dad couldn’t help but to chuckle. “Some help Ah was then, huh?” he said. “Ah haven’t heard as much about all the shenanigans y’all have gotten into, so I’d love to hear them from ya. From what Ah have heard, you’ve made yerself a mighty fine posse o’ friends, keepin’ ya nice n’ safe n’ all.”

Quantum Tech suddenly barged in on them. “Oh sir, I can wholeheartedly assure that Kickback did his fair share of protecting us. He’s quite the colt, wielding those firearms with such stupendous precision.”
Kickback’s dad looked at the brainy filly curiously while the colt himself looked ready to give up. “And who’re you, young lady?”

“Why, I am Quantum Tech, scientist and engineer extraordinaire for the Battle Foals.” She declared. She then snuggled right up to Kickback. “And your son is simply the most sublime specimen of a stallion I’ve ever met!” Kickback’s frustration was palpable.

“Ha! Ah see nuttin’s changed in that regard!” his father teased.

“Pa, please!” Kickback pled.

Sky Strike ran up to his son and took a huge sigh of relief. “Tidal Wave!”

Tidal Wave looked nervously at his father. “Dad? You seriously came looking for me?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re my son!” Sky Strike said.

“Yeah, but…” Tidal Wave mumbled. “I’m the reason we get made fun of so much. I thought I’d be doing you a favor.”

Sky Strike knelt down and embraced his son. “Don’t blame yourself, bucko. I certainly don’t. You never did anything wrong, and you know it! So just… just come home, ok?”

“Dad, I can’t just come home. I’ve… sort of got an obligation.” Tidal Wave said.

“Well, yeah. After that, of course.” Sky Strike said. “I managed to convince a few of the other Cloudsdale lancers to help us.”

“W-What!?” Tidal Wave said.

“Wow! You’re dad’s kind of a bampf.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Sky Strike noticed her. “Oh! Who’s your friend?”

Tidal Wave blushed. “Oh, uh… Th-This is Spiral Galaxy.”

Spiral playfully hip check him. “Some introduction!” she teased.

“Ha! Well how about that?” Sky Strike then noticed his son’s magical accessory. “Say… is that the ‘water jewel’ I’ve heard about? Apparently you’re Hydro Horse now?”

Tidal Wave looked down at his precious stone. “How do you know about that?”

“Some foals in Yodelneigh told me you… ‘splashed’ them after they gave you a hard time.” Sky Strike said.

“Oh… right.” Tidal Wave said. “This is kind of a long story.

Zecora and Zebota stared awkwardly at each other, but with some level of intrigue. The older of them was thankfully unafraid of the younger’s beast. “You are… Zebota, yes?”

Zebota took a deep breath. “Yes. And you are the elder who already lived in the ponyfolk’s forest. Zecora, yes?”

“How fluently you speak their tongue. You seem most skilled for one so young.” Zecora said.

“You are kind, Ms. Zecora.” Zebota looked up at his titan, who was as stoic as ever. “I… hope that my friend does not perturb you.”

Zecora shook her head. “No, child. I see that you two are one of heart, but I hope you know that you practice a dangerous art.”

“It is what know best, and Shrapnel is my trusted friend. He will bring no harm, this I assure.” Zebota said.

“Zebota, tell me, child. What urged to live alone far in the wild?” Zecora asked.

“I was shunned by our people, nothing more. I did not figure that the ponyfolk would like me any more than our brothers and sisters.” Zebota said. His wooden beast nuzzled him.

“I am sad to hear that, my child.” Zecora said. “The ponyfolk once treated me with distaste and fear, but over time, they grew to hold me dear. If you introduce yourself and your mighty friend, I feel that to you, their hooves they’ll lend.”

Zebota smiled. “I do not doubt this. Fire Fight and his folk welcomed openly even if… we did not agree in the beginning.” He said. “Though… I must admit that it is a comfort to be able to speak to one of my sisters fondly. However unkind it may have been to me, I miss our homeland.”

“I feel the same. So long have I been away from where we were born, that some nights I think of it, and weep and mourn.” Zecora said. The two smiled more fondly at each other.

“I’m so happy to see that all of you are ok!” Twilight said.

“Princess Twilight…” Fire Fight said.

Twilight looked at him with a warm smile. “Fire Fight, nopony here is mad at you. We’re disappointed that you decided to run away, but we understand why.”

Fire Fight looked at the good princess with some sorrow. “Yeah, the CMC said as much.” He said. “We’ll come help take down that evil ice wizard, or whatever it is, but… I made a promise to all these other foals that I’d make things better for them.”

“And for a while, oddly enough, I’d say you did.” Twilight said. “You were brave to give these other foals that courage to escape, and it was because of that we were able to see how badly things were handled.”

“And you helped your friends to realize their true potential.” Luna said. “Like I always knew you would.”

“Exactly.” Twilight said. “Wait… What did you say!?”

“As irresponsible as I may have been, I watched over Fire Fight and the Battle Foals from the very beginning even helping them on occasion.” Luna confessed.

Everyone’s jaw dropped to the floor. “Princess Luna!!” Scootaloo said.

“How could you!? These are foals! You just let them go on a dangerous adventure like that!?” Cat Fight exclaimed.

“You really gonna downplay us like that even you know we wreck house?” Frostbite said.

“Frostbite.” Luna said. “I would never have allowed them to travel if I didn’t know that they would be alright. The Battle Foals are formidable individually, but together, they’re a forced to be feared. However, they needed each other’s company to help them overcome their pain. This journey, while dangerous, was for their growth. Apart from spiritual healing, I sense that they’re full strength will be needed for the coming storm.”

“We ain’t gonna be able to thank you enough, Yo’ Highness.” Turf War said.

“Well here’s hoping they grew as much you hoped they would!” Sky Strike said.

“I’m eager to meet all your new friends, Fire Fight. Are you all ready to go?” Twilight asked.

Fire Fight saw a familiar cloaked figure silently jump aboard the ship. “Yeah, I think so. Ready, everyone?” His comrades all nodded, some more hesitantly than others.

Twilight looked around. “Are you sure this is everypony, Fire Fight?”

Fire Fight cocked his eyebrow, but he humored the good princess and took a quick head count. “Yeah, that’s everyone. Oh! Quantum, you should probably go get your mech.”

“Oh! Goodness me, you’re right!” Quantum said. She turned around to go fetch it.

“Wait!” Twilight said, and the brainy filly obeyed.

Fire Fight could see a hint of apprehension in Twilight’s eyes as she took a deep breath. “Fire Fight, where is Shadow Shroud?”

Broken Silence

A deafening silence resounded in the wake of Twilight’s sudden inquiry. All of the Battle Foals stood with their mouths agape, eyes swollen from panic. Meanwhile, everypony else bar Rarity was confused.

“Fire Fight?” Twilight asked.

“U-Umm…” Fire Fight stammered. He could feel his horn starting to ignite from adrenaline. “Who?”

“You know who.” Twilight said. She could feel the palpable tension she’d just created.

Fire Fight firmly shook his head. “N-No! I really have no idea who that is! Is she another runaway foal? ‘Cause she’s not with us.”

“How do you know she’s a filly?” Twilight asked.

“<Crap!>” Fire Fight thought. “Oh, it just sounds like filly’s name. Am I wrong?”

“Honey… what are you hiding from us?” his mom asked anxiously.

“Is she that ghost?” Scootaloo asked.

“No! She’s nopony! She doesn’t exist! I don’t know who you’re talking about!” Fire Fight insisted.

Tidal Wave and Spiral Galaxy frantically eyed around while clutching hooves, Air Slash instinctively grabbed his sword ready to draw it, and everyone else nervously glanced at each other, hoping that nothing drastic would happen.

Before anything else could be said, Rarity felt something land on her back. “<Gasp!>” She didn’t look back, for she was afraid she knew what it was. Her eyes widened and breath quivering, she slowly turned her head around.

“Hello.”

Rarity let out a bloodcurdling shrieked as she bucked, but Shadow Shroud leapt off of her with aggressive grace. She landed on her hooves as light as a cat in front of the posh pony and eyed her. Rarity looked at her like a rabbit who just noticed a fox; the amethyst eyes, the blueish gray man, the dark grey coat… it was her! The only thing missing was the orange dress that was instead replaced by a midnight cloak. “Y…You!”

Shroud creased a devious smile. “So nice of you to remember, Ms. Rarity. Enjoy your nap?”

“SHADEWALKER!!” Knight’s Soul exclaimed, rushing at her with his sword drawn. He swung his sword at her, but she disappeared in a flash of smoke when the cold steel was mere inches from her. She reappeared less than a second later behind the senior samurai and whacked him on the neck with the pommel of her kunai. He brushed it off and quickly swung behind him. She flipped over his blade and landed gracefully in front of him.

Just before the swordsman could spin around and strike her, his son hurriedly swooped in and blocked his father’s blade with his own. “Father!”

The shock of his son’s actions caused Knight’s Soul to drop his guard, allowing Air Slash to push his blade away. “Air Slash?” he asked. “What is the meaning of this? Surely you must know who she is!”

Air Slash looked his father in the eye and took a deep breath. “I do, father. At first, we were at odds; but… we were able to find common ground in time.”

“Namely!?” Knight’s Soul demanded.

Before could speak, he was cut off. “We learned not be ignorant idiots.” Shroud said.

Air Slash looked back at her, surprised at her tone. “I beg your pardon?”

Fire Fight was utterly flabbergasted that she would even show herself. “Sh-Shroud! Wha…”

“Oh, don’t worry, Fire Fight.” Shroud said rather passive aggressively. “It’s not as if they ever posed us any threat, right?”

“What? What’re you talking about?” Fire Fight asked.

“Who’re you!?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Shroud eyed at the CMC like a hawk, intimidating the trio. “Why, I’m the friendly ghost, of course.” She said as she twirled her kunai.

“Ghost?” Applebloom asked. “Wait… that was you!?”

“Well, somepony’s sharper than she seems. Then again, you did follow my trail rather proficiently, to say nothing of you figuring out how to fire a cannon.” Shroud said.

“Umm… thanks?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Sweetie Belle, you keep your distance from her! She’s incredibly dangerous!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Nah, she ain’t!” Turf War said.

“Well, objectively speaking, she’s quite hazardous; but that’s hardly the point!” Quantum Tech said. “Shadow Shroud has been the absolute closest friend we’ve had on this excursion apart from each other. Be assured that have no reason to fear-”

“I can speak for myself, Quantum Tech. Thank you.” Shroud said coldly.

“Oh! Err… yes, of course.” Quantum said.

“Shroud, what’s gotten into you?” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Hush.” Shroud hissed, startling the cosmomancer.

“Everypony, stop!” Twilight ordered. She then looked at the shadowy filly. “So you’re Shadow Shroud?”

Shroud flipped her mane. “I am. And how did your highness become aware of my existence?”

“Rarity told me about her encounter with you; ever since then we’ve wondered about you and what you might be doing with Fire Fight. It was only when we inquired around in Gardenia that the abbot finally gave us your name.” Twilight explained.

“Abbot Meadow!?” Greensprout said.

“My boy snitched!?” Turf War said.

“Hmm…” Shadow Shroud looked intently at Rarity, who gazed back at her stiff as a statue. “Seems I was a bit careless with you. As for the good abbot…” She twirled her kunai. “I’m afraid I’ll have to deal with him rather… harshly.”

“Sister! You wouldn’t!” Greensprout pled.

Air Slash pointed his sword at her. “Have you lost all sense of honor?”

Ms. Fight looked at her son. “Honey, who is this?”

Fire Fight, still taken aback by his friend’s sudden shift in mood, took a big gulp. “She’s… somepony who helped me. I-I really shouldn’t risk saying any more than that.”

“‘Risk’?” Fist asked. “She didn’t kidnap you, did she?”

“No! We just ran into each other, and… became friends. It’s really as simple as that. I promise you she’s good. She’s been really helpful.” Fire Fight said.

“Helpful?” Cat asked. “It seems to me like she’s been poisoning your mind!”

“The only poisonous one here is you!” Shroud said to her.

“Excuse me?” Cat demanded.

“You’re the one that let your own son get outcasted to the point of running away. If you ask me, I think he’s far better off without you.” Shroud said.

Cat gawked at her, mouth agape. “How dare you!”

“Shroud!” Fire Fight said. “What’s with the aggression all of a sudden?”

Shroud rolled her eyes. “Well excuse me for coming to your defense. We made a promise, didn’t we?”

“Not like this! Look, I know you’re upset, but-”

“You know nothing about me. I am a Shadewalker after all.” Shroud said.

“‘Shadewalker’? What’s that?” Sky Strike asked.

Knight’s Soul cleared his throat. “They are nothing more than secretive a clan of rogues, assassin’s, and murderers. My family has been at odds with them since their founding, but it now seems that the cowards finally decided to rear their ugly heads.”

“Not her, father!” Air Slash pled.

“You!” Knight’s Soul exclaimed. “You of all ponies ought to know better than to trust her and her kind!”

“I thought the same, but we’ve settled our differences.” Air Slash said.

“That’s enough!” Luna ordered, her voice booming. Once she was satisfied that all was quiet, she used her indoor voice. “Let it be known that Shadow Shroud is not our enemy. She is indeed a crucial member of the Battle Foals. Her help will be as valuable as them all.” She declared. “Now then, we must make haste. The fiend’s evil is spreading further as we speak. We will have to continue our meeting whilst on our voyage back.”

“Uhh… Yeah, sure.” Valkyrie said.

With an incredible amount of tension strangling the atmosphere, everyone boarded the ship. All the while, Fire Fight kept his eye on Shadow Shroud, who simply leapt aboard the vessel without so much as a word. She glared at him as she watched him board, and all he could return was a look of guilt, guilt of not being able to conceal her any longer.

All of the guards, having been warned about him prior, nervously helped to load Shrapnel aboard. The wooden titan curiously sniffed about while his master kept him calm. Meanwhile, everyone had duck and cover as Quantum moved her mech aboard; Twilight gawked at it like a fangirl at a rock concert upon seeing it. Crazylocks suddenly sprouted her wings, startling those around her who weren’t in the know and just fluttered aboard with Bullseye tailing her; the young archer was noticeably anxious being surrounded by so many adults. Once all was said and done, their galleon set sail.

Everyone who wasn’t a crew member went below deck where there were the Battle Foals were surprised to see a number of ponies, foals and adults alike, settled into a large room where blankets were laid down and packages of food and water were carefully stored in one corner.

“Who’re they?” Bullseye asked.

“Evacuees.” Luna explained. “Many living on the coast sought refuge in cargo ships which plan sail south.”

“We had to take one of these ships on short notice to come get you all. Once we’ve landed back in Manehatten, they’ll be on their way.” Twilight said.

“M-Manehatten?” Fire Fight asked.

Cat put her arm around him. “I know, honey. I’m not eager to go back either.” Her husband looked noticeably disheartened as well.

Suddenly, Fire Fight noticed a familiar face near the supplies. “Film Noir!?”

The actress turned upon hearing his voice. She gleefully gasped. “Fire Fight!” She ran up to and embraced the fiery colt. “Oh, there you are, sweetie!”

Fire Fight returned the warm hug. “H-Hi.” He said shyly, fondly remembering his encounter with her in Ponyville.

Film Noir released him. “I’m so relieved we finally found you!” She then noticed the other Battle Foals. “All of you. I can’t wait to meet all of you!”

“Did… you come for me too?” Fire Fight asked.

Film Noir nodded. “Of course I did, but I’ve also been helping with all the other evacuees. Things have been scary as of late.”

“‘Scary’ is one way to put it indeed.” Said a small, aggressive voice from behind. When they looked up, there was Shadow Shroud maintaining her scowl. She jumped down next to the befuddled actress. “How sweet that you’d come all this way to find a colt that isn’t even yours. A little attached, aren’t we?”

Film Noir felt disturbed by the ninja’s mere presence. “I-I’m sorry. Who are… you?”

Shroud drew a kunai and twirled it around. “I’m the guardian angel… or demon… that let you take a relaxing nap back in Galloping Gorge. Surely you remember?”

Film’s eyes widened upon remembering the chaotic encounter she had with Fire Fight back then, namely that she was inexplicably knocked unconscious by something that Fire Fight seemed aware of. “Fire Fight… is she… a friend of yours?”

Fire Fight looked at his friend, or at least the midnight-cloaked filly that wasn’t acting like the kind, somewhat creepily playful friend he’s had since the beginning. She stared daggers into him, expecting an answer from him. He gulped. “She is. In fact… I’d say she’s the whole reason we all lasted as long as we did.”

“Is that so? How thoughtful.” Shroud answered passive aggressively. “But now that your little field trip is at its end, you’re content to toss me aside? I understand.”

“Shroud, no! It’s not like that!”

“Why’re you suddenly actin’ a fool, Ms. Shadow Shroud?” Kickback asked.

“You of all ponies should know, Mr. calm-and-collected-even-though-I-accidently-killed-mother!” Shroud said. “How about you tell us how you really feel for once!?”

A flash of anger could be seen in the gunslinger’s eyes, but he took a deep breath and adjusted is hat. “Ah reckon you oughta be doin’ that.”

“Oh, do you?” Shroud hissed.

Fire Fight, having had enough, marched up to his friend. “Shroud, stop!” he said. “You don’t need to hide anymore! You can come clean. You said you wanted to anyway. Please, Shroud. We’re friends, aren’t we?” He held out his hoof.

However, Shroud aggressively pointed her kunai right at his throat. “You think it’s that easy!?” He expression was distorted by anger, and her voice cracked with anxiety. “You think I, a Shadewalker can just… You think we can just be friends just because…”

Fist marched up to her and swatted the dagger out of her hoof. “You leave my son alone!”

“Dad!” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud’s expression flickered between anger and fear as tears soaked her face, and she began sobbing loudly. Without even picking up her kunai, she ran into the hallway, vanishing into the dark of the ship despite the scene she was causing.

All fell silent as they watched her… until Crazylocks broke the silence. “Does this mean she’ll feed us her kunai for dinner tonight?"

Shadow Shroud's Lament

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys! I never got to address this, but not long after the last chapter was posted, this story broke 200 likes!
I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but I seriously cannot thank you all enough for supporting and even just enjoying this long epic. Writing it whilst juggling life has been an undertaking, but it's been worth it seeing you all love this story as much as you have.

“Shadow Shroud!” Fire Fight ran after his friend, picking up the kunai she’d dropped. He knew that even tracing her would likely be quite the task, but he couldn’t leave her to wallow in her blatant emotional distress. Without even having to command them, his band of Battle Foals fanned out to help search for their comrade.

“Where do you think you are all going!?” Knight’s Soul demanded.

Air Slash turned to face his father, looking him right in the eye. “To find our friend, father.” He then went to catch up with his friends.

The adults in the room and the CMC were too befuddled by the sudden happenings to respond right away and just watched as the Battle Foals left. “We should go too.” Film Noir said.

They all looked at her. “Are you crazy? I saw the devil in that filly’s eyes!” Sky Strike said.

“She is the devil, darling!” Rarity declared.

Film Noir shook her head. “Devil or not, she needs her friends.”

“She’s right.” Twilight said. “Even if she appears like a threat, friends may be the thing she’s needed the most.” With some reluctance, the adults followed the foals.

Turf War, Spiral Galaxy, Crazylocks, and Bullseye futily searched around and above storage crates; the second of whom sniffed around like a bloodhound. Air Slash, Valkyrie, and Frostbite took the skies and searched around the masts and crows nest, but to no avail. Zebota tried to divine her location while Quantum Tech tracked heat signatures with her glasses, but it seemed that Shadow Shroud could evade even eyes like that. Greensprout and Kickback asked around the ship if any of its passengers had seen a shadowy filly, but nopony has seen her. Tidal Wave jumped overboard to search around the hull of the ship on the off-chance that Shroud had decided to hang on to it, but even the smallest divots where she could theoretically hide were empty.

All the adults could do was follow the foals’ example, and all Fire Fight could do was all of the above. He stopped where he was and gathered his thoughts. “Where would she hide?”.

“I think you know where.” Said a voice behind him. It was Luna. “You know your friend well, Fire Fight. You need only think of her plight to know where she would take refuge.”

“I do?” Fire Fight asked. He then remembered what he was holding in his hoof: her kunai, a signature weapon of hers and her clan. It was then that he remembered something she had told him recently. ‘I hate being a Shadewalker’. He looked at the small but deadly blade. She was so proficient with it, and yet so scornful if her confession was to be believed. Two twos that shouldn’t go together went together in his head, and he found his answer. “Guys!” he called out. “I think I know where she is! C’mon!” And everyone followed him, Luna included, who smiled fondly at the fiery colt.

They came to a door with a bold label on it saying, ‘Armory’.

“I could swear I searched around here.” Quantum Tech said.

“This is Shadow Shroud we’re talking about. We can’t just scan around. We have to understand her.” Fire Fight said. Without a moment’s hesitation, he opened the door and entered.

The ship’s armory wasn’t very well lit, but there plenty of visible racks of weapons, worn and new alike. It was the perfect hiding spot for a shadow-cloaked killer. “Shroud, I know you’re in here. Please come out!”

“Shroud, we’re sorry if we upset you. Let’s talk this out like friends. Don’t just abandon us like this.” Spiral said.

All was silent as they group slowly advanced further into the dim room. The air was tense enough for any of the stored blades to cut it at any second. A moment later, they heard loud sniffle in the far, dark corner. “Shadow Shroud?” Twilight said.

“Don’t come any closer…” a familiar voice whimpered from the shadows. “I’m… I’m nopony’s friend!” Her voice struggled between aggressive assertion and deep sobbing.

“The hell you talkin’ about, ‘I’m nopony’s friend’? You’re the reason Fire Fight brought us all together!” Turf War said.

“‘Together’!?” Shroud growled. She slowly walked out of the dark corner and into the dim light of a wall torch. The flame burned in her eyes as she glared at the entourage, particularly Fire Fight, but her tears glistened in the light as they fell down her face. “You’re ones to talk about abandonment! The second it seems everything will be ok without me, you drop everything and leave like nothing ever happened!”

“Sister, you know that’s not true.” Greensprout said.

“Oh, really!? It sure seemed true after our uninvited guests gave their motivational speech!” Shroud hissed, staring daggers at the quivering CMC.

“Ms. Shadow Shroud, now we never said we were gonna heed their advice right then and there.” Kickback said.

“You never said anything besides, ‘oh, that’s true’, ‘interesting’, etc.!” Shroud said.

Ms. Fight took a step towards the angered assassin. “I think you need to leave our kids-”

“Mom, don’t!” Fire Fight interjected, startling his mother. “I need to handle this.” He then turned to his friend. “Shroud… you feel trapped, don’t you?”

The ninja affixed her glare onto her friend. “What do mean ‘trapped’?”

Fire Fight showed her the kunai she’d dropped, and she seemed to look upon with disgust. “You want to let go of this, don’t you?” he said. “Right before we fought the giant ice turtle, you told me… that you hated being a Shadewalker.”

All the other Battle Foals were as stunned as Shadow Shroud was agitated. “You kidding me?” Bullseye asked.

“You… renounce your clan’s honor?” Air Slash asked.

“‘Honor’? Ha! A bunch of savage killers like us?” Shroud exclaimed

“You’re not a killer, Shroud, not even a savage. You’re kind, helpful filly. You helped me get my mission started and brought all of us together.” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud’s glare seemed to lighten, but her eyes were still piercing. “D-Don’t… Don’t be stupid.”

“What’s stupid?” Fire Fight asked.

“You… You!...” Any weak foundation trying to uphold Shroud’s composure came crumbling, and she snapped. “I HAVE TO KILL YOU! ALL OF YOU!!!”

Air Slash, Valkyrie, and Knight’s Soul instinctively drew their swords while the CMC cowered behind a sword rack, and the adults ran the sides of the Battle Foals, who all were ready to fight themselves… except for Fire Fight, who remained calm and stoic in the face of a ninja’s wrath.

“Then do it.” Fire Fight handed Shroud her kunai, practically shoving it into her hoof. “Start with me.” he dared her.

“WHAT!?” Cheerilee exclaimed, defining the overall shock in the atmosphere

Shroud instinctively clutched her small blade, but she was dumbfounded at the hand dealt to her, and her face turned to total confusion. She couldn’t believe what had just came out of his mouth.

Flabbergasted as her son’s bold move, Ms. Fight took a fast step towards him. “FIRE FIGHT! WHAT ARE YOU-”

Fire Fight cut her off by manipulating the flame of a nearby torch into her path, careful not to burn her. “No, mom!” he said confidently.

Stunned at his brashness, she anxiously backed off. “Fist, do something!!” she pled. But her husband was as flustered as she was.

The tension couldn’t have been thinner. Shadow Shroud, blade in her shaking hoof, was forced to stare down the fiery colt that had befriended her so long ago. His expression was stern, stalwart even. He wasn’t backing down. “Well?” he said.
Shroud’s hoof trembled violently as she frantically eyed between him and her knife. Her breaths were short and heavy, and her sobbing was beginning to overpower her speech. “N-No…”

“C’mon, Shroud!” Fire Fight said. He held the blade closer to his neck. “You’re a Shadewalker, right? A heartless killer of the night. I’ve exposed you, so I need to die, don’t I? Well, go on! Slit my throat! Take. My. Life!” A hint of sorrow then caused his face to lighten. “Our mission was a failure anyway, wasn’t it?”

Shadow Shroud’s thoughts were going a mile a minute. Her kunai, Fire Fight, the other Battle Foals who all looked on in horror, anxiously anticipating her next move. She could no longer try to keep up the act. She ripped her hoof away from Fire Fight and went into an aggressive, desperate stabbing motion.

“AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!”

“FIRE FIGHT!!!” Ms. Fight exclaimed.

A wave crashed into the ship as the shadow of Shroud’s kunai flew towards Fire Fight…… But he was safe, for the distressed filly had flung her weapon clear across the room far from anypony.

Shadow Shroud broke down completely, sobbing and wailing loudly on the floor as Fire Fight tightly embraced her. “I DON’T WANNA KILL YOU!”

Fire Fight gently stroked her bluish grey mane as he hugged her. “I didn’t think you did.” He wiped away some of her tears.

Everyone in the room was left speechless, namely the Battle Foals, who were watching one of the fiercest, most level-headed creatures they’d ever known be reduced to a pitiable flood of tears. Every adult in the room and the CMC observed her and felt a great deal of sympathy. Knight’s Soul solemnly sheathed his sword along with his son, and Fire Fight’s parents breathed a huge sigh of relief, as did they all.

The Battle Foals all surrounded their friend. “Sister…” Greensprout warmly hugged her, which the crying ninja quickly reciprocated, all of the fillies did while the colts looked on at her sympathetically

“Please… Please don’t leave me!” Shroud pled.

“Leave you?” Frostbite asked. “We did say we’d come back, right?”

“Doesn’t seem as simple as that, dude.” Tidal Wave said.

Twilight then intervened. “I think it’s time we let Shadow Shroud speak from her heart.” She said. She gazed gently upon the distressed filly before her. “Would you, Shadow Shroud?”

Shroud took a big sniffle and nodded. “I was born and raised a Shadewalker, a silent pony of the night ready to take any action necessary to protect Equestria.” She said. “I was a natural at it, always have been, even at birth. I loved it at first; it was all I knew. I was the envy of the whole clan.” She took a deep breath to further calm her nerves. “It wasn’t until field training that I got to see what Equestria was really like. Joyful, colorful, everypony having so much fun just living and playing together.”

“Sounds like that’s where the trouble started.” Valkyrie said.

Shroud nodded. “I loved the idea of being friends with the ponies I was protecting, but then came the day that I witnessed a clan-sister kill a crazed mare intent on blowing up a mining town after she’d been fired from working there. She was as unstable as… a certain somepony.” Shroud took a pause as the troubling vision reared from her memory. “How could I be friends with ponies who normally baulk at the very idea of violence and death when that’s what my life revolves around? And my superiors were always so strict about not making outside contact lest any friends I try to make might have to be… silenced.”

“Whoa…” Sky Strike said. “What made you take the leap that led you here?”

“I was a prodigy from birth, which… caused most of my family to look upon me enviously, especially the other fledglings. I never felt quite like I belonged.” Shroud answered. “So when all my training was completed early and I was thrust out into the world, I isolated myself even from other Shadewalkers. I eventually found myself in the Sister’s Castle near Ponyville where I decided to stay. I’d heard that a student of Her Highness had recently moved there, so I thought it’d be a good idea to keep an eye on her.” She looked at Twilight, barely managing a smile.

Twilight smiled back. “Well, thank you, Shadow Shroud.” She said. “What next?”

“A year had passed of nothing happening that wasn’t out of anypony’s control, so I just survived and observed.” Shroud answered. She then faced the red colt embracing and smiled. “And then Fire Fight came along.”

“You took a shine to him, didn’t you, darling?” Quantum Tech asked.

Shroud nodded. “A pony who liked to fight, somepony who wasn’t afraid of violence or having to hurt somepony else, even if it meant hurting himself. Truly a rare breed amongst our kind… just like me. I finally had somepony I could connect with, so I tried getting his attention; and when he decided to run away, I seized my chance to make friends with him.”
Fire Fight chuckled. “By challenging me to a fight.” He fondly remembered the startling encounter.

“I honestly thought it was a good ice breaker. We both like to fight, so it’d be common ground. I really didn’t know any better.” Shroud said. “When he had the idea to find other foals that needed our help, I was ecstatic. I was going to have so many friends just like me! And I didn’t have to necessarily expose myself in the process. I was going to have freedom from my isolation.” She deeply sighed. “I know that sounds incredibly selfish of me, but… I always meant the best, I promise.”

Kickback’s dad fixed his hat. “Well, have mercy…”

Shroud’s tears started to overtake her again. “Please… I know I can’t force you to come or go anywhere, but… I don’t want to be alone again.” She rested her head on the crook of Fire Fight’s neck.

“Oh… you poor, poor darling.” Rarity said.

“You don’t have to be alone.” Said a voice from the other side of the room. In came Princess Luna, who no one noticed wasn’t even with them up until now.

“Hey! Don’t you know it’s rude to walk in on somepony’s character development?” Crazylocks said.

Luna giggled. “Apologies. I had to let The Battle Foals help their friend heal her heart.”

“All is understood, O Royal One.” Zebota said. “But is there not a complication of Shadow Shroud’s oath to secrecy? Surely there will be consequences.”

“That’s what I’m most afraid of right now.” Cheerilee said.

Shroud deeply sighed once more. “Honestly… I can’t say.”

The CMC mustered the courage to approach. “Well, whatever happens, we’re your friends too!” Scootaloo declared.

“Yeah. You might be kinda scary, but Ah know a good heart when Ah hear one!” Applebloom said.

“Besides, you had enough faith in us with those cannons, didn’t you? You can be friends with anyone!” Sweetie Belle said.

Shroud smiled as her tears subsided. “Thank you… all of you.” She said. “But I really do have Fire Fight and the Battle Foals to thank for introducing me to what real friendship is.”

“Man! Don’t sweat it! We all homies in the end.” Turf War said.

“I could not have said that better myself!” Quantum said. “Well… maybe.” Turf War rolled his eyes at her.

Shadow Shroud’s tears seemed to dry completely, and she giggled heartily. She then let go of Fire Fight and stood up.

“I hope you’ll forgive my prior hostility… all of it, even before today.”

“All in the past, young filly.” Knight’s Soul said.

“You mean that, father?” Air Slash asked.

Knight’s Soul nodded. “Yes. In turn, I would ask you pardon my own. I was foolish to jump to conclusions.”

“All of us were, darling.” Rarity said.

Looking around, it seemed everypony was content with the dangerous filly that had threatened their lives. “Thank you.” Shroud said. She took a deep breath, and her confidence returned to her. “Then I suppose the next thing to worry about is the snow day fanatic and their unneighborly blizzard.”

“Yeah. The best thing we can do right now is recuperate and think up a strategy.” Tidal Wave said.

“I think that’s a great idea. I can’t wait to formally meet you all anyway!” Twilight said.

“The feeling is mutual, Royal One.” Zebota said, humbly bowing his head.

Fire Fight’s parents then suddenly, and very tightly embraced him. “Oh, honey! Don’t you ever scare us like that again!” his mom pled.

“I couldn’t believe you actually went through with that. I’m… honestly kinda proud of you.” Fist said. “Even though…”

“I know, dad. And… sorry about that. Drastic times call for drastic measures.” Fire Fight said. His mother kissed him before the two of them let go, and everypony walked out of the room.

“Hey…” Before Fire Fight could make his way out with everyone else, Shadow Shroud grabbed him by the shoulder, so he turned to see her smiling face. She threw her arms around his neck before anything else could be said. “Thanks so much.”

Fire Fight hugged her right back. “Of course.” The two ended up sitting down and hugging for a little longer than expected. “You’re more than just some Shadewalker. You’re Shadow Shroud above all else.”

“I just hope nothing happens…” Shroud said.

Fire Fight leaned his head back so he could look at her. “If anything does, well… Promise you won’t stab me for this, okay?”

“For what?” Shroud asked. The next thing she knew, Fire Fight had pressed his lips onto hers. Though initially startled, the little ninja excitedly pulled him closer and enjoyed the blissful moment that felt like it could go on forever…

Meetings and Misadventures

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys. Just wanted to wish you a 'stay safe out there'.

Fire Fight and Shadow Should broke off, still warmly embracing each other as they smiled warmly. Shadow Shroud has her head rested on the crook of Fire Fight’s neck.

“I’m definitely not stabbing you for that.” Shroud whispered.

“I didn’t think you would.” Fire Fight with a wink, inciting a giggle from his lady. The two shared a softer kiss. “We should probably get back with the others.”

“Yeah.” Shroud said as they let go. “Actually, where’s that kunai I threw?”

“Oh! Yeah, I think it was over here somewhere” Fire Fight said, walking in the direction of interest. “Can’t see a freakin’ thing…” He lit the other torches in the room one by one as he and Shroud scoured the dark corner.

“Found it!” Shroud said just as Fire Fight lit the last torch. “AIIEE!”

“WHOA!” Fire Fight reared his fists to fight while Shroud readied her knife. “Huh?” The light of the torch had revealed on the wall a cartoonishly drawn head of Tirek with a goofy smile and cross eyes.

“Well somepony was bored…” Shroud said.

*****

The center of attention seemed to be Crazylocks amidst Twilight, Spike, Cheerilee, Film Noir, Bullseye, and Quantum Tech as she cycled through species.

“Unicorn, Pegasus, Earth Pony! Unicorn, Pegasus, Earth Pony! Unicorn, Pegasus, Earth Pony!” She chanted as she expressed the appropriate phenotypes, making all those new to her slightly uncomfortable.

“Talk about an existential crisis.” Spike said.

“This was done to her by somepony else?” Cheerilee asked.

Quantum Tech nodded. “Unfortunately. While her unique physiology has proven quite useful, it has driven her body into chaos. I’ve been looking into ways we can cure her, but to no avail.”

“Oh dear…” Twilight said.

“And it was this ‘Gene Splice’ fellow who-” Spike started

“IDIOT!!” Bullseye exclaimed.

“What?” Spike asked.

“GENE SPLICE!?!?” Crazylocks exclaimed. The Battle Foals were all anxious, but ready to subdue her ensuing tantrum. Her face was distorted with rage, but she didn’t explode. “Pfft! He can go marry his toilet again for all I care!”

A collective sigh of relief from the foals was mixed with awe. “She has gotten better!” Quantum said.

“Better from what?” Film Noir asked

“She’d go ballistic if you let her grandpa’s name slip.” Bullseye said. “But it looks like the hippy was right. All she needed were some friends”

“Friendship can some of the best medicine out there.” Twilight said.

“Time for my nap!” Crazylocks blurted. She spread her wings and flew towards an opened doorway. However, a rogue wave that crashed into the hull caused the door to slam into her. “The doors are mutinying! Traitorous door… WE’LL DISCUSS THIS LATER!” And she flew into through the doorway like a missile.

The awkwardness in the air was palpable. “And just like that… relapse.” Bullseye said.

*****

“Umm… Your Highness?” Quantum asked Twilight. The good princess was too busy drooling at the very sight of Quantum Tech’s mech suit to pay attention to anything else.

Knight’s Soul and Air Slash were in the room with them. “Highness!” The clan master said.

Spike gave his surrogate sister a rough nudge. “Twilight!”

Twilight snapped out of her entrancement. “Huh? Oh! Sorry, Quantum Tech. I’m just…”

Quantum giggled. “I’ve heard tell that you’ve quite the soft spot for science and technology. Seems ponies weren’t ‘whistling dixie’ as it were.”

Twilight sighed. “Guilty as charged. But seriously, this is SUCH an amazing construction you’ve made! You’ll have to show me you’re blueprints sometime.”

“As you wish.” Quantum said confidently. She clicked a button on her glasses that projected a holographic image of her mech’s blueprints in front of her audience. “Well?”

“My goodness!” Cheerilee said in awe. “You must’ve been the envy of your entire class, Quantum Tech!” Twilight fell back into her entrancement.

Quantum blushed. “Oh, stop! I cannot begin to recount how much trial and error it took to perfect these alone. Besides, it was Air Slash who forged the plating and armor for my mech suit.”

“That does not surprise me.” Knight’s Soul said. “Air Slash paid very close attention to his uncle’s strict instruction when he mastered his skills at our clan’s forge.”

Air Slash blushed. “Please, father. I was only doing as expected of our family.” He said humbly.
Knight’s Soul laughed. “To say nothing of the arms and armor you forged for your fellow Battle Foals. Even mythical pyranium… Now I know I gave you too little credit.”

“May I take a closer look at one of your swords, Air Slash?” Cheerilee asked.

Air Slash carefully drew one of his swords. “Of course, milady.” He presented his sword in both hooves, and the small town teacher marveled at the fine craftsmanship.

“Wow… I’d love to have the two of you to be guests in my class one day whenever I get around to teaching about your family.” Cheerilee said.

“I see no reason not to.” Knight’s Soul said. He then noticed that purple gems in the sword’s hilt. “I see you added to you blade, my boy.”

“Hm? Oh, yes. It’s the remnant of a gem golem that could conduct magic with its body. Both of my swords are now able to absorb and project various forms of magical energies.” Air Slash explained.

“Like you did back in Great Horn Temple!” Twilight said having an epiphany.

“Yes.” Air Slash said. “I… sincerely hope you weren’t harmed during that debacle.”

“We weren’t. Well, Rainbow Dash got jabbed pretty hard by Bullseye, but she’s a tough mare.” Twilight said. She refocused on the mech. “But this is still the star of the show! How does it work? How does it move? What’re its functions?” She fired off questions as she inspected the mech like a foal running around a Hearth’s Warmth tree.

“Well to begin, its main composition is-” She then noticed the good princess trying to pry into the cockpit “STOP! YOU’LL SET OFF THE-”

But it was too late. The mech suit produced a powerful electric jolt that zapped the Princess of Friendship silly. The charge then jumped to Air Slash’s still unsheathed sword, zapping him and his father, causing him to drop it towards Cheerilee, zapping her as well. She fell back from pain and landed on Spike zapping him as well. They all shrieked erratically as they were continuously zapped for a few seconds.

“Oooh…” Spike moaned.

All of them staggered to their feet with their fur and scales smoking. They all glared at am unharmed and very sheepish looking Quantum Tech. “Anti… theft… protocol…”

*****

Kickback and Frostbite were in some lodging quarters where evacuees occupied. They had decided to help his dad, Film Noir, Twilight, and Spike manage their resources. “Thank you very much, you two. You’re such gentlecolts!” the actress said. “Well, one gentlecolt and gentledragon.”

Frostbite rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Potato, po-tah-to.”

Kickback tipped his hat. “Happy to oblige, Ms. Film Noir.”

“Just be careful with you’re guns, Kickback.” Spike said.

“Shoot. Y’all don’t need to worry none about Sound n’ Fury so long Ah’m keepin’ an eye on ‘em.” Kickback said.

“Yeah, seriously. Lay off my bro.” Frostbite said as he started moving some boxes over. He then noticed a fat cylindrical container resting atop a desk table nailed into the floorboard. “What’s that?”

“It’s a water dispenser, Frostbite. We store water in it and pout some out through this nozzle when we want some.” Twilight explained, demonstrating its function with a paper cup.

“Huh…” Frostbite said. He bent down and opened his mouth beneath the nozzle and let the water pour into it. “Pretty nifty.”

“Well Ah reckon that saves on cups.” Kickback said.

A mare evacuee walked up to them with her young son. “It hasn’t been keeping us very cool though.” She said.

“Can you put some ice in it, please?” the colt asked.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. We don’t have any ice.” Film Noir said, disappointing the colt.

Kickback looked at his draconic friend and shot him a wink. “Hold my water.” Frostbite said. He popped open the dispenser’s lid. He then exhaled some ice into his hands and crushed it, sprinkling it into the water and putting the lid back on. “I’ll be here all week.”

“Wow!” the colt said. He ran to the dispenser and got himself a cup of water, and sure enough, it was nicely chilled. “Thanks, Mr. Ice Dragon Guy!”

“It’s ‘Frostbite’, squirt.” The icy drake said. He then smiled and ruffled the colt’s mane. “And you’re welcome.”

“A dragon that breathes ice… That’s amazing! I wonder if I’ll ever start doing that?” Spike said.

Frostbite shrugged. “Probably not. Never breathed a flame my whole life. Always ice. Can’t explain it.”

Kickback contently started organizing some boxes of rations with his father. “Never thought I’d see the day you’d make friends with one of them dragon folk, boy.”

“Me neither. Word is they’re awful fine once ya get to know ‘em better.” Kickback said.

“Reckon that goes for just about any folk.” His dad said.

As Kickback was started moving some toiletries onto some shelves, he noticed that there was a filly about his age standing right next to and looking right at him. “Howdy, ma’am.”

The filly shyly smiled. “H-Hi…”

There was an awkward silence as Kickback tilted his head. “Is there… somethin’ Ah can help ya with?”

“Oh no, no. Just… uh… How’re you?” The filly nervously asked while blushing.

Kickback went back to his task while giving her attention. “Just fine, thanks. Yerself?”

“Ehehe…” The filly was having trouble looking him in the eye and pawing at the ground.

“‘Scuse me?” A small voice from behind him said. It was another filly, but she had a wry smile about her. “You have a nice coat.” She said.

Kickback was slightly startled at her comment. “Aw, shucks. Reckon it’s all dusty from all the places Ah’ve been.”

He then suddenly felt a third filly jump onto him from the side and hug him while giggling. “He’s too cute, girls!” She gave a big kiss on his cheek, and the other two started fawning over him as well.

“N-Now fillies, A-Ah sure appreciate the attention n’ all, b-but…” Kickback was helpless to stop them. His manners kept him from getting confrontational.

His dad saw this debacle and started laughing. “Oh, that brings back memories!”

“Yer not helpin’!” Kickback said just one of the fillies started making out with him.

*****

Clanging and banging overwhelmed a small training room where Sky Strike and an Earth Pony Bladerunner named Obsidian Needle sparred with Turf War and Valkyrie. Sky Strike’s lance thrusts were swift and precise, but the two shield warriors blocked his strikes with all of their hardened strength. Valkyrie’s swordplay was able to match that of the trained Bladerunner, and they parried furiously. Meanwhile, Turf War’s imposing hammer prompted Sky Strike to keep his distance until he was ready to hit. They had an audience of Twilight, Knight’s Soul, and Luna.

“Man! Tidal Wave wasn’t trippin’ when he said you don’t play with your spear!” Turf War said.

Sky Strike swooped under Turf War’s hammer swing and thrust his spear, only for the street talker to block it vigorously. “He got it from somewhere, didn’t he?”

Just as Valkyrie’s and Needle’s swords slid off each other, the griffonlet knight launched her chain-linked shield at him. Needle jumped over the shield ad landed on the chain, pinning Valkyrie. He grabbed the chain and yanked her towards him, ready to swipe his blade. Valkyrie divebombed into it and parried the strike, pushing him off in the process.

“Splendid recovery, amigo!” Obsidian Needle said.

“Thanks! Like what you tried, kid.” Valkyrie replied.

Knight’s Soul stepped in. “Alright, I think that’s enough.” At his command the warriors went at ease. “Your reputation proceeds you, Bearer of the Valhalla. Very few Bladerunners show so much promise so young.”

Valkyrie preened her feathers. “Heh. Tell me something I don’t know.”

The sword master rolled his eyes at her pride and turned his attention to Turf War. “And you, young colt, your form is mildly uncontrolled, but I could feel the sheer strength behind your swings from a distance.”

“Hey, I’ll take it. Ain’t nopony perfect.” Turf War said.

“Well said, O mighty homie.” Luna said with a playful wink, surprising everyone in the room. “Valkyrie, I must dearly thank you for deciding to lend us your strength.”

“Don’t sweat it! Any two-bit winter enthusiast that could crawl it’s way over to Griffonstone has got a hot date with my sword.” Valkyrie said twirling her greatsword.

“Make it a double date! My hammer been talkin’ about ‘popsicles sound real good’ lately!” Turf War said.

Twilight giggled at the two and turned to Sky Strike. “You should really consider giving lancing lessons in Canterlot, Sky Strike. You’re a natural.”

Sky Strike blushed. “Aw, shucks. I didn’t train in Canterlot. What they learn from a Joe Schmoe like me?”

“Your son took after you, and he’s survived, hasn’t he?” Twilight asked.

Sky Strike chuckled. “Yeah, he has… Speaking of whom, where is he?”

“Beats me. How about we hit the grindstone? My sword’s kinda blunt.” Valkyrie said.

“Yes, yes.” Obsidian Needle said, extravagantly swinging his sword in a ‘Z’ motion. “My rose’s thorn must remain sharp.” His master rolled his eyes at him as they made their way.

“Could we search for Spiral Galaxy as well? I’d like to discuss with her possibly attending my sister’s school given her control of cosmic magic.” Luna said.

“I’d put in a good word for her! I’d love to learn how she even managed to do that.” Twilight said as they were coming to the door to the forge room.

“I still can’t over Tidal Wave being able to control water.” Sky Strike said as he opened the door. “Might have to ask his zebra buddy about making me- huh? Tidal Wave!?”

In a dim corner of the room were Tidal Wave and Spiral Galaxy passionately making out until the former’s father interrupted, and they broke off furiously blushing. “WHOA!! DAD!!!”

“AIIEE!!!” Spiral screamed and released a gravity pulse out of panic that rocked the whole room, knocking over everything and even shattering a few wooden racks. She buried her face in her hooves.

Tidal Wave tried to calm her down by weaving a halo of water over her, but he was as flustered as she was. “It’s ok, it’s ok! N-N-No need for a supernova! Ehehe…”

There was an awkward pause before Sky Strike tried to speak, only to be cut off by Turf War grabbing his leg and motioning for everyone to back out the door. “SO! Princess Luna, what you was sayin’ ‘bout that maid who keep gettin’ smashed?”

*****

“Just hold still, sister. All will be well.” Greensprout said as she was treating a deckhand who had deeply cut her hoof on a splintered guardrail she was scraping out.

The wound healed completely within seconds, and the mare was able to stand. “Thanks, little lady!” she said before resuming her task, and said little lady saw her off with a bow and a smile.

“Miraculous magic, my child.” Zecora had approached from behind with Zebota and Shrapnel.

“Oh! I didn’t see you two.” Greensprout said. “Having a nice visit?”

“We are. It is a comfort to speak at ease with another of my people, and the rest of the ponyfolk seem unafraid of Shrapnel in my presence.” Zebota said.

“Well, we knew to expect him ever since he was first seen at the mountain temple.” Approaching them was Rarity, who looked like she had nothing better to do. “That said, we’re still a bit cautious given that he’s still a dangerous predator.”

Zebota sighed. “That is only fair…”

“Do not be disheartened, child that tames. Living things have a heart that beats all the same.” She contently looked up at the wooden titan. “Perhaps it will be you who opens the hearts of those who fear, and open the eyes of those whose sight is near.” She then happened to notice a familiar curly indigo tail sticking out from behind the ships main mast. “Such as Rarity over here.”

Greensprout giggled. “Please come out, sister. Shrapnel means no harm.”

Rarity nervously shuffled from around the mast and approached them. She could see Shrapnel curiously eyeing her, prompting her to avoid eye contact with him. “H-Hello, d-darlings.” Her smile was as fake as they come.

Zebota wasn’t hurt by her fear, but it was becoming a bit annoying by now, but an idea caused him to lighten up. “Shrapnel, lay down, my friend.” His beast obeyed, carefully laying his large body across the small section of the deck he occupied, looking very relaxed. “Does this ease you, dramatic one?” he asked Rarity.

“I-I suppose.” Rarity said. She’d seen Fluttershy interact with them with no problem on occasion, if only because she had the ability to tame beasts much like Zebota. That was enough to make her feel safe enough to approach Shrapnel. “H-Hello… Shrapnel.”

Greensprout stood next to Rarity. “Be at ease.” She said. “Shrapnel, can you say ‘hello’ back? Be gentle.”
Shrapnel slowly bent his head down and lightly nuzzled the nervous Rarity. “Hm?” She quickly felt the genuine kindness from the beast and took a liking to the affection. “Oh! You sweet thing.” She happily started scratching around his nose where she could reach, and Shrapnel started grunting in delight.

“I have never seen him react quite like this.” Zebota said.

Rarity giggled. “No complaints here!” She got more excited as Shrapnel’s breathing became heavier… and heavier. Eventually, the wooden titan reared up and inhaled greatly, and then violently exhaling… into a sneeze.

“EEP!” Greensprout quickly jumped out of the way, but Rarity was covered in mucus filled with splinters. She held completely still and with breathless horror as Shrapnel innocently wiped his nose. “Umm… I’m just… gonna go to the med bay. P-Play nice.” Greensprout said shuffling away.

Zecora awkwardly stared at Rarity while Zebota slowly looked up at his titan. “Gods bless you…” he said.

“AIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

*****

As Film Noir was finishing up organizing sleeping bags for the evacuees, she noticed a lone figure sitting quietly in the corner atop an old supply crate. When she looked more closely, se saw that it was Bullseye. Having heard of her aggression, she cautiously approached the archer. “What’re you doing here, honey?”

Bullseye slowly turned her head halfway so that her good eye was barely facing her. “Just chilling.” She faced away again.

Feeling some tension, Film Noir backed away a little. “You’re not playing with your friends?”

Bullseye took an audibly nervous breath. “Nah. They uh… get you tired after a while.”

Film Noir decided to calmly sit down next to her. “I heard you weren’t treated very well by your parents, honey.”

“Ehh, forget about them.” Bullseye said. “They can’t hurt me anymore.”

“I know. That’s wonderful isn’t it?” Film Noir said, but Bullseye seemed to curl up a bit. “Do you want to talk about it, sweetie? That always helps.”

Bullseye slowly turned to the actress, but she shivered upon making eye contact while making a glare. “J-Just… go f*** yourself!” And she hurriedly flew away.

Film Noir sighed heavily. “I took that too fast didn’t I? She might not be ready to trust.”

The Frozen City

“LAND HO!” the ship’s lookout called out. Just on the horizon was the metropolitan silhouette of Manehatten. As they drew near, the cityscape looked more and more bleak on the horizon. A desolate breeze abraded through the air from the city like pollution from a landfill. Spikes of ice could be seen piercing out of the streets and buildings, and there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Fire Fight solemnly sighed. “Home, sweet home…” he muttered.

His dad walked up and patted him on the back. “I know, son…”

“Certainly looks as though our unseen foe is making themselves known.” Shadow Shroud said.

Zebota’s brooch vibrated as if it was agitated. “There is a great oppressive force quashing the natural flow here. It is the same as the windigos from before.”

Quantum scanned around with her glasses. “He’s right. There’s an energy signature emitting from the ice that’s the exact same as the ice titan we combatted on Heimr Island, except it’s far stronger and more concentrated.”

Frostbite swooped down next to them. “Should I scout ahead?”

“Not until we all get off.” Fire Fight said, and the icy drake stayed put without question.

At last, the ship docked at a cargo bay where there was little ice to impede movement. As the Battle Foals made their way towards the boarding dock, Fire Fight noticed that his parents were trailing close behind. He stopped. “Mom, dad… you shouldn’t come with us.”

His parents stopped after him. “Honey, why not?” His mom asked.

Fire Fight sighed. “It’s not gonna be safe for you out there. My friends and I are the most capable of fighting this thing.”

“C’mon, son. This ol’ Fist’s still got some fight in him!” His dad said. “Besides…” he gently put his hoof on his son’s shoulder. “I’ve left you once before. I’m not doing that again.”

Fire Fight smiled and held his father’s hoof. “I wouldn’t want you to either, dad; but right now, there are ponies on this ship who need you more.”

All Fist could do was crease a regretful smile as he let his leaned to hug his son, which Fire Fight eagerly returned. His mother did the same, but her anxiety made her hug more tightly. “Please be careful, sweetie.”

“I will, mom.” Fire Fight said.

Shadow Shroud walked up to them. “I’ll keep watch over him as I always have. You have my word.”

Cat looked upon the shadowy filly anxiously, but she managed to take a deep breath and ease herself. “Thank you… Shadow Shroud.”

“We’re not actually parting ways yet, you know.” Film Noir said as she rejoined the group. “We’re expecting to meet a carriage in the city with more refugees to bring aboard. We both have guards in case of emergency, but we could always use more protection.”

“Are you saying we got screwed into mercenary work?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“Ugh… I hate escort missions…” Tidal Wave muttered.

“Sorry we didn’t tell you sooner.” Sky Strike said. “We were thinking about getting you home safe, but… Like it or not, we’ll have to ask for your help.”

“Oh, dear…” Cat said.

“Whaddya mean ‘like it or not’? We can totally gank some ice monsters for you.” Bullseye said.

“Well, us being concerned adults, we’ve had your safety in mind this whole time.” Cheerilee said. “But I think we’re able to come to the difficult consensus that you’re skilled enough fighters that we… perhaps against our better judgment, let you lead the charge.”

“Not to mention you have a powerful friendship that holds your strength aloft.” Twilight said

“Well we rightly appreciate that, y’all.” Kickback said.

“Anypony who can’t fight should stay here with the ship docked. All the evacuees need to stay as far away as possible, but you’d be sitting ducks waiting out at sea in case any of them can fly- we’ve seen it happen. That said, be ready to make an escape if everything goes to crap.” Fire Fight said.

“Well spoken, young colt.” Knight’s Soul said. “But at least a few of us should stay behind and guard the ship. Any volunteers?”

“Maybe I should.” Tidal Wave said. “All the water I can use is over here.”

“Aww… but that means we won’t shatter ice mites together.” Spiral said.

“Sorry, Spiral. The ship’s safety’s gotta come first.”

“That’s my boy.” Sky Strike said. “Good thing you’ve got another skilled lancer with you!” he said as he twirled his royal lance.

“Don’t think we’ll expect any less of you just ‘cause you don’t have water powers, dude.” Valkyrie said.

“Hey, I am kinda the one who trained him!” Sky Strike said.

Knight’s Soul chuckled. “I’ll have Obsidian Needle and a few other Bladerunners remain here with you.”

“Princess Twilight and I shall accompany you into the city.” Luna said. “You may be powerful, but having an alicorn or two never hurts, right?” she said with a wink.

“Y’all don’t see me complainin’!” Turf War said.

“Then it looks like we’re ready.” Fire Fight said. “Alright. Let’s go!” And they followed the fiery unicorn.

Before she left, Spiral walked up to Tidal Wave. “Be careful, ok?”

Tidal Wave blushed. “Hey, it’s me. I’ve enough water to wrap this whole ship in a bubble if I have to.” He joked. The two gazed at each other for a second before sharing a quick kiss, and then he watched his lady march out into the frozen wastes. He sighed. “I miss her already.”

*****

“Ok, Frostbite.” Fire Fight said.

Without a word, the icy drake nodded and took flight ahead of them. The cityscape was desolate, frigid, and incredibly eerie. They knew the enemy was around them; they just didn’t know what exactly to prepare for, especially given that they were brazenly wandering into its territory.

“So where exactly were the refugees supposed to meet us?” Greensprout asked.

“In front of the train station, my dear. They planned to arrive by coach, then by carriage if the tracks froze over.” Luna answered.

“Then clearing a way from the docks to there should be our priority.” Air Slash said. “That said, any and all resistance should be quelled without prejudice.”

“Speaking of resistance…” Sky Strike started.

“My boy, don’t jinx it!” Turf War said.

Just then, Frostbite came from around the corner of a building, looking shaken. “Umm, guys…”

Kickback drew his guns as everypony readied themselves. “What is it, partner?” They followed their draconic friend around the street corner.

“Holy s***!” Turf War exclaimed.

“Turf War, language!” Quantum Tech said, but then she saw what startled him. “Oh… Oh my word!”

Scattered across the street were ponies frozen solid. They weren’t encased in ice, however; instead, their bodies somewhat become ice. Their coats had visibly lost color while having an icy sheen and seeming to overtake the ground beneath their hooves as flowing ice would, and icicles hung from the manes. Their postures were that of pain and panic, crouching in fear, reaching for a helping hoof, holding their arms up as if to block something attacking them… all the while with sheer terror in their eyes, which had lost as much color as their coats.

“Are they… dead?” Valkyrie asked.

“I’m… not sure.” Quantum Tech said. “There are signs, but… I wouldn’t call them life.”

Zebota’s brooch glowed again. “It is as if their deaths have been… paused, trapped on the threshold of life and death itself.”

“So they can be saved?” Knight’s Soul asked.

Suddenly, the glaciers protruding from the buildings started glowing aggressively, which was accompanied by an oppressive vibration that reverberated around them like a swarm of bees. Minutes felt like hours before it subsided, but seconds later, the feel of the frozen ponies went from unsettling to threatening.

Their frozen fear on all the ponies’ face simultaneously relaxed into a neutral, blank stare as they slowed turned towards the Battle Foals, the ice around them cracking and their eyes nearly devoid of any color left. And then they broke out of their imprisonment entirely and began slowly marching towards them.

“Oh no! Not registered voters!” Crazylocks blurted.

Luna cleared her throat. “Ponies of Manehatten!” she said in her royal voice. “Do not fear! We are here to cleanse your fair city of-”

“GREAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”

The frozen ponies all let out a soul-rending howl before their bodies flash-froze, cladding them in icy knight armor. Pockets of air around them froze into shields various weapons.

“Well, I tried…” Luna muttered.

Before anything else, Twilight promptly casted a magic force field around them, just in time for the horde of ice knights to furiously, mindlessly beat and slash away at it. “Everypony ready?” she asked.

“Open the roof.” Bullseye said drawing her bow. Twilight did so, and Bullseye fired a golden arrow through the opening. It burst in the sky, and light arrows hailed down onto the horde, stunning them under the barrage. “Now open the floodgates! Time for some action! RAAAAHHHH!!!!”

“I’m gonna keep this up so you all have a place to retreat!” Twilight said.

“Alright then! Stay close to Twilight!!” Fire Fight shouted.

Immediately, Zebota began chanting after sending Shrapnel after them, Kickback furiously fired his guns, Quantum Tech began an scan analysis of the ponies while putting her mech turrets and railguns on autopilot, Valkyrie ignited her Valhalla, and Greensprout gave everyone a vital pulse to boost their parameters.

Air Slash, Sky Strike, Bullseye, Valkyrie, Frostbite, Luna, and the few Pegasus Bladerunners took to the sky for a dogfight. Sky Strike impressively thrust his lance right past an enemy’s shield and skewered their armor, allowing him to fling it into another. Startlingly, a few of the possessed pegasi exhaled cold clouds that condensed into ice spike that they telekinetically launched at him. He twirled his lance, shielding him from the projectiles as they shattered on the spinning metal. However, one managed to sneak up and surprise him with a sword ready to slice him, but Bullseye rammed into him with her bladed bow and put an arrow in their wing, sending them falling.

Luna fired powerful magic beams at the airborne horde while Valkyrie furiously swung her greatsword, launching brilliant blade of golden light. A great number them congregated and simultaneously exhaled a mass amount of cold air. The princess and knight dodged, but saw that it created a tower of ice on the building behind them. They tried again, but Frostbite swooped in front them and took the hit.

“Dude!!” Valkyrie shouted as she watched Frostbite become encased in an iceberg. However, not even seconds after it started falling, Frostbite burst out with a ferocious roar and vomited ice spikes at them.

Noticing that the horde was tired from the big attack, Luna took the opportunity and blasted them out of the sky with huge magic blast.

Air Slash and his flying clan members found themselves in ferocious parry fests with one or two of the flying horde. The little Pegasus himself had to stay close to his brethren as he juggled between an ice sword and an axe. He parried them both effectively, but they were stronger than they appeared and began to wear the colt down; he tried to launch sword beams at them, but they swiftly dodged. Even so, he stayed strong. When his two opponents both rushed him into a combo attack, he took a deep breath and waited for the right moment. When that moment came he launched himself forward and thread himself between the two, furiously spinning as his swords slashed them and sent them careening. He then swiftly launched sword beams that helped his comrades fell their foes.

“Never lost your touch, huh?” a female Bladerunner said to him.

Air Slash shook his head. “No. Not while the wicked are restless.” He said. “But what of my father?”

Down below, Knight’s Soul focused his horn onto his big, singular blade as he slashed away without mercy. Every pony he challenged parried him, but he remained ever steadfast. When he did manage to stagger one, he sliced so hard that it split the ice helm of the pony, and he bucked them right in the temple, knocking them out. However, they got back up like nothing had happened. “Rrgh! They’re resilient!”

A large crash resounded beside him, which turned out to be Fire Fight flame dashing into the horde. The first one he came upon, he uppercut and bucked in the stomach while charged with intense fire. A unicorn launched a light above him that formed big icicles that dropped towards him, but he jumped out of the way and nailed her in the head with a fireball.
Another unicorn tried to crash icicles onto him, but the massive ice spike were shattered when Turf War threw his shield in such a way that it hit the points, knocking them off kilter and letting him smash them with his hammer. The street pony then blocked in an oncoming ice ball headed straight for Knight’s Soul.

“You have my thanks.” Knight’s Soul said.

“It ain’t over, my dude!” Turf War said.

Fire Fight launched a serpentine flame into the horde, but even the intense heat barely fazed the ice-charged zombies. A puff of smoke suddenly erupted, and from it appeared Shadow Shroud with her kamas drawn. Skilled as she was, even she had a hard time landing a good hit on the horde as they parried her most calculated strikes; Fire Fight had the same trouble with punching and kicking away as the two were now back to back.

Shadow Shroud was panting. “These guys are swift!”

“And heatproof!” Fire Fight said.

Shrapnel had an easy time clawing and tossing the horde like ragdolls, but they were completely unfazed from being mauled by the wooden titan. Even so, he fought. Zebota finished his incantation and drew his sling. “Look out, my friend!” He volleyed an earth-charged rock that exploded with great magnitude, scattering those caught in the blast. However, even they got up.

Kickback noticed this as his guns were blazing, each headshot pushing the ice zombies back. “Ms. Quantum Tech, I surely you’ve found a weakness!” When a mob started getting too close to the force field, he pulled out his whip and twirled it furiously before unleashing a mega sonic boom, blowing them back.

“It’s coming! It’s coming!!” Quantum answered. All she could do was watch her mech blast the horde away while she carefully read her readings, which were less than clear. “P-P-Patience is a virtue, they say!”

Meanwhile, Spiral Galaxy used gravity wells to control the crowd and rapidly fired small nova blasts at them. She took care not to overexert her powers so as not to wreck the city, but Crazylocks was there to pick up her slack.

“GIVE ME LIBERTY, OR GIVE ME ICE CREAM!!!” The manic filly used her unicorn magic to fling debris into the horde and followed by using her pigtails to beat them senseless. However, just like with the rest they got back up.

Fire Fight noticed that everyone was getting fatigued while their foe remained seemingly undamaged. “EVERYONE! RETREAT!” And so they did, back into the force field.

“We need a new strategy! Brute force is failing us!” Knight’s Soul said.

“Quantum, I really hate to rush you, but…” Fire Fight said.

“I’m trying, but these readings are complete balderdash!” Quantum said.

Luna gasped. “Look at them!” Everyone noticed that all of the ice zombies they’d knocked out were back up, but they’d sustained visible amounts of trauma. They still deep lacerations, huge bruises, burns, etc. And yet they continued to attack in spite of the agony they surely were in.

“We’re still hurting them!” Greensporut said. “If we’re not careful, we… we may kill them.”

Frostbite shot into the air. “I’d better go warn Tidal Wave about that.” He said. Suddenly, a raging waterspout erupted in the bay area. Ice zombies were visibly being swept into its grasp. “LIKE RIGHT NOW!!” And so, he rocketed that way while everyone else was left to think, think hard about how to fight their fellow pony with minimal lethality.

Frozen Minds

Chaos was abound at the cargo harbor. Swarms of the ice zombies marched towards the ship with their first line of defense being Tidal Wave.

“I DON’T THINK SO!!” Tidal Wave raised his lance high, his brooch glowing brightly, summoning a massive waterspout that he directed towards the horde. Most of them were swept into the raging torrent. He then burst the storm apart and shot down the large drops like sharp comets unto the crowd, severely crippling a few. The Bladerunners and Royal Guards on standby watched in awe at the little lancer’s ability until said lancer got their attention. “YOU GUYS GONNA HELP!?” he shouted

“Oh!” said Obsidian Needle. He drew his sword and posed flamboyantly. “And now!... LA FIESTA COMIENZA, AMIGOS!!!” He led the charge towards the leftover zombies with the other warriors. His sword was a little thinner than most of his kin, so his motions were swift and more precise. He engaged with a much larger stallion wielding an ice hammer. The large stallion swung his hammer down, but Obsidian rolled out of the way and used his momentum to flip over his opponent, swiping the stallion’s ice helm as he did. The helm cracked as Obsidian landed on the stallion’s back, and he bucked it, shattering it and exposing the stallion’s head. Obsidian slashed across his face several times with calculated precision before flipping back off and swiftly jabbing each front knee. The stallion fell to his knees, allowing Obsidian to body slam his skull, knocking him out. He wasted no time moving on to the next.

All of the other Bladerunners displayed varying skills that all got the job done, but the sheer number of enemies and their resilience made the battle a trial by cold fire. A few unicorns summoned ice pillars from the ground that threatened to impale them; they only dodged by mere inches. Tidal Wave blasted them apart with pressurized water blasts.

“KEEP THE PRESSURE GOING!” Another Bladerunner shouted as she slashed across a zombie’s muzzle, drawing blood.

Tidal Wave was suddenly confronted by a large Pegasus who flapped his wings strong enough to create a small blizzard. He put up a water shield to block it, but something suddenly crashed in front of him and took the brunt of the attack. When Tidal Wave looked up he saw that it was Frostbite, frozen solid in a block of ice. “Frostbite!?”

Before he could say anything else, the ice quickly cracked and shattered with Frostbite bursting out, bellowing a commanding roar as if he was unbothered by the ice. The icy drake body slammed the Pegasus and pinned him to the ground with some ice breath. “Hey, squirt!” he said as he landed next to Tidal Wave.

“What’s up, dude?” Tidal Wave asked.

“Listen! Don’t smack around these freaks too hard. They’re still people; they just don’t feel pain. They can still die!” Frostbite said.

“Whoa! Seriously!?” Tidal Wave asked. He noticed that a mare was trying to walk with a clearing broken leg, and there was a young colt with his cheek caved in, both whose faces were completely blank as they continued their onslaught. “Oh, crap…”

Obsidian Needle was still combatting the behemoth stallion, who had generated ice gauntlets around his hooves. He punched away with Obsidian parrying and dodging, knowing his comparatively lesser strength wouldn’t be able to contend with his large foe. AT one point he rolled under the stallion’s punch and deeply jabbed his thigh, causing the stallion to fall in agony. Obsidian then poised his sword towards the chest. “Now we end this!!”

“WAIT! STOP!!” Tidal Wave hurriedly launched a blast of water that threw Obsidian’s sword off-balance and thrust into the stallion’s other thigh.

“‘Ay! What gives!?” Obsidian shouted, but he then removed his sword and saw blood from the open wound ooze out like a sprung leak. “Oh, mierda… EVERYPONY! LIGHTEN UP! They’re still alive!” All the Bladerunners and guards understood once they saw what happened.

“Just hold them back until we can figure out how to stop them!” Frostbite shouted. He vomited a mass of ice fire that created a huge wall of ice between them and the zombies. The frozen unicorns tried to use their magic to move the ice, but it was unaffected. “Yeah, dragon ice is its own beast. Ice magic can’t move it an inch; I know that much.”

“Wow! Thanks, Frostbite!” Tidal Wave said.

Frostbite nodded. “I gotta get back to the others; Quantum might’ve figured something out.” Tidal Wave dismissed him with a nod, and Frostbite soared back to the others, but he was startled upon seeing a flaming meteor plummeting towards the city.

*****

Twilight and Luna mustered all the strength they could put together to maintain a force field to hold back the frightening persistence of the ice zombie horde. They ferociously banged and clawed at the shield despite their expressionless faces. The only fear that held back the Battle Foals and co. was the fear of using lethal force on their possessed kin.

“Quantum, PLEASE tell me you got something!” Fire Fight said.

“Hmm…” The little scientist read the analyses provided by her scanners carefully, but still the same reading. “Nothing appears to have changed, but the anomalous reading has overtaken my sensors! Whatever’s happening must be hiding in plain sight!”

“Plain sight, huh?” Spiral Galaxy said. She noticed that the glacial protrusions from the buildings were still glowing, and focusing on them more closely, she could tell that they were vibrating. “EVERYPONY! WATCH YOUR HEAD!”

“What for!?” Twilight asked. She panicked when she saw cracks forming around their force field, but then noticed the glaciers. “Wait… do you mean-?”

“Sure do!” Spiral gathered her focus and welled up her cosmic power. The air around her quaked violently as her horn and eyes began shining like stars, and she levitated into the air. “RRRAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!” Her cry echoed throughout, and seconds later, a meteor pierced the sky and slammed into a large glacier, shattering it into dust. Spiral landed back on the ground with a minor headache, but she shook it off quickly. “Well?”

Just before a large mare could slam into the cracks in the shield, the entire horde momentarily staggered, as if their muscles suddenly glitched out and caused them to spasm or become sluggish. Surrounding glaciers suddenly started glowing more brightly and humming more loudly, bringing the horde back to their controlled senses. “I think we found our ticket!” Luna said.

“We have!” Quantum said. “The ponies’ vital tried to regulate when that ice column was destroyed! The signature is the same!”

“Then our objective is clear: meet new ponies; break the ice.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Let us take care not to destroy the building however, even if they’ve already been ravaged by ice!” Knight’s Soul said, noticing that the building hit by Spiral Galaxy’s meteor was now smoldering and half-demolished.

“Yeeaahh… Just the leave the crowd control to me!” Spiral said. “I hope that wasn’t an apartment building or something…” she muttered. Twilight and Lune lifted the shield, and Spiral wasted no time sending a gravity wave outward that knocked the hoard up into the air held them in place while everyone else got to work.

“YEEE-HAAW!!!” Kickback fiercely twirled his whip until it was charged to the brim with kinetic energy. He cracked it at a zombie glacier at the foot of an office building and shattered it into dust. He tipped his hat. “There goes one.” He then noticed that a small horde had broken free from Spiral’s gravity hold, and they fired ice shards at him; he shot some of them out of the air, but had to quickly bob and weave around whatever he couldn’t hit. “Whoooaaa, Nelly!”

Suddenly a blast of icy fire rained from above and created an ice wall in front of them, followed by a familiar face swooping down in front of him. “S’up?”

“Hoo-wee! Much obliged, Frostbite.” Kickback said. “Ya see them giant glowin’ ice crystals around?” He pointed around to them. “That’s what’s controllin’ everypony. We gotta destroy ‘em, partner.”

Frostbite heartily laughed. “Is that it?” He soared in the air and full-on body slammed another glacier, shattering it as well. He then noticed the effect it had on the zombie horde. “Huh… Guess I’m playing messenger again.” He said before rocketing off towards the harbor.

Bullseye fired blast arrows one by one at smaller glaciers higher up, hitting each one dead center seconds before each blast obliterated the nuisances. “Gotta watch my stock this time…” She was suddenly ambushed by aerial zombies. One managed to grab and fling her by the mane, slamming her into a nearby wall. The memory of her own parents doing this to her dulled the pain and sparked her rage. “AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!” She bolted towards the assailant and punched him in the chest with her bladed bow while he was spazzing out from the destroyed ice, sending him plummeting. Quickly realizing the gravity if her actions, she took a deep breath and calmed down. “Gentle, Bullseye. Gentle.” And she went back to work, but this time dodging icicle spears and frost breaths.

Air Slash and his father decided to go on the defensive and hold back the horde’s advances. Knight’s Soul stayed on the ground while his son went skyward; the clan master used both his sword and his unicorn magic to block both physical and ranged strikes, while the young samurai made use of his aerial mobility to distract them while scattering them with his sword beams, careful not to do it too hard.

Knight’s Soul casted a magic shield in front of him that blocked ice shots, and he contended with a mare his size who wielded an ice katana. She swung overhead, which Knight’s Soul easily parried away, but he countered with a rough buck to the chest rather than a lethal slash. She was knocked into other approaching zombies, but they just so happened to land right underneath a glacier, which commanded them right back to their hooves with an eerie pulse.

Just as Knight’s Soul braced his sword, a flurry blade beams slammed into the glacier, concussively dicing it into pieces. He looked up and saw his son confidently wink at him, which he returned. However, he then noticed a stray larger piece falling towards the spasming zombies. He galloped towards it and jumped straight up and fiercely twirled around with his sword poised, repeatedly slicing the huge fragment like a rising tornado.

The much smaller fragments then safely fell to the ground, but Knight’s Soul was suddenly overrun by the horde. He tossed and bucked with all his might until Turf War came and suddenly shield-bashed one and causing it to roughly tumble into others, allowing the clan master to shake off the lucky few that didn’t get hit. “You have my thanks.”

“It ain’t over, my boy!” Turf War said. He threw his shield like a frisbee, and it bounced off the heads of multiple zombies before bounced back right into his hoof.

“SCREEEE!!!” Above him was Valkyrie, the golden light of the Valhalla blazing from her like fireworks as she soared like comet smashing the glaciers while dodging the zombies. She then noticed Turf War below her, and a lightbulb went off in her head. “Hey, hammerhead?” She chopped off a big chunk of glacier and wrapped her shield chain around before flinging it at him. “BATTER UP!!”

Turf War put on a cocky smile as he reared his hammer like a baseball bat. “AND HE SWINGS!!” He struck the large chunk with such force that it flew and crashed into another glacier, destroying it. “HOME RUN!!”

Sky Strike did what he could to block the ice shot from the aerial zombies while keeping an eye on Crazylocks, who was fluttering about with him. “Nrgh! You gonna do something, sweetheart!?”

“I’M A LITTLE BUTTERFLY, GENTLE AND FREE! NYAH, NYAH-NYAH, NYAH-NYAH, NYAH! YOU CAN’T HIT ME!” Crazylocks sang as she dodged the horde. She then flew above a glacier and retracted her wings, and she used her downward momentum to break the ice cluster off of its building. She then landed on the roof and quickly sprouted her horn, grabbing the large cluster telekinetically and flinging it into another, shattering the two. “Hooray for vandalism!”

“Uhh… Sure, kid.” Sky Strike said. He then noticed a row of small glaciers lining the edge of a rooftop. “Looks like I can have a little fun!” He rocketed forward while fiercely twirling his lance in a figure-eight, and he shredded the glaciers. “Nice!”

Quantum Tech, now with her sights set and weapons locked onto the glaciers, blasted away at every one in sight. Her mech was slowed down in the sheer cold, even with her heating systems fully functional, but she had Twilight at her side protecting her from the horde with a magic force field cast around them.

“Firing two o’clock at thirty degrees” Quantum said.

“Okay!” Twilight replied. She soared high above the mech, and Quantum fired her railgun at a glacier protruded from a low window to their right, destroying it. From then Quantum called out varying shot angle which Twilight would have to get out of the way of.

“Taking aim…” Quantum said as she was locking onto a target, but a swarm of pegasi swooped in front of her line of fire. “<Gasp!>” Quantum quickly threw her railgun off target just before it could fire, and the blast blew a clipped a streetlight, taking its top off.

“Looks like they’ve wised up!” Twilight said.

“I’d say so.” Quantum said. “Can you scatter them, Your Highness?”

“I’d have to lower our force field to do so.” Twilight said.

“Then do so.” Quantum said.

With some hesitation, Twilight dropped their shield and turned the magic into a force wave, but the Pegasus horde collectively blasted a wave of frigid air that muddled out the force wave. The icy winds were strong enough to rage forth and envelop Twilight and Quantum. Twilight could feel her body numbing at a startling rate while Quantum’s mech blared warning sirens. “OH DEAR, OH DEAR, OH DEAR!!!” Quantum said. She gulped. “This will be risky… Twilight!”

Twilight was struggling against the blizzard with she could, even as her wings were frosting. “Nrgh!! Wh…What!?”

“I need to be ready to collect a vast amount of energy! Can you focus!?” Quantum said.

Twilight took a deep breath and looked at her. “Ok.”

“Very well!” Quantum said. After taking a deep breath of her own, she pressed all the right buttons that activated her death ray. She could see the prongs collecting its energy starting to freeze, so she desperately tried to focus her heaters onto them, even if it meant freezing inside her cockpit. “Oh, please let this work…”

Miraculously, the ray fully charged, erupting from the collection point like a stream of destruction. Twilight then quickly cast an absorption field that safely collected the death ray’s blast in a single point. “TAKE THIS!!” Twilight unleashed the energy skyward where it was fragmented into smaller concentrations that she then guided down into many surrounding glaciers, and one into the center of the horde of pegasi where detonated it, scattering without causing significant harm. She caught them as they fell, but she herself had to land to take a breath, exacerbated and panting. “Good call, Quantum Tech!”

Quantum proudly fixed her glasses. “Thank you, Your Highness.” Her moment of pride was short-lived when she noticed a message on her screen saying, ‘Overdrive Laser Beam System: Offline.’ The energy collection progs were charred and smoking due to the sheer amount of effort it had to endure. “Oh, Mechy… I’m so sorry.”

Zebota and Shrapnel had somehow teamed up with Princess Luna. The lunar sovereign was easily able to hold back the onslaught of ice attacks on her own, but Zebota relied on his beast to protect him. He was centered in an intersection that was overrun by glaciers and swarming with ice zombies, and yet he sat so serenely in a meditative posture amidst the chaos.

While Shrapnel smashed through ground glaciers and ice zombies, Luna tried using her dream magic to influence the collective consciousness of the horde in order to hold them back, but their psychic resistance proved well-fortified. “Young zebra, I hope you plan on acting soon!”

Zebota’s only response was tensing his posture as his brooch glowed brightly. An archaic glyph appeared underneath him that covered that entire intersection. He stood up and held his boomerang out in front of him. “Vimelea! Dhalimu! Mkandamizaji! Ninakuomba! Utawala wako hapa ni uwongo. Wakati wako wa baridi utayeyuka kwa amri yangu! Ondoka, umetengwa kwa nguvu niliyopewa! Mifupa ya dunia, damu ya bahari, pumzi ya angani, jibu mwito wangu!”

The geoglyph burst with fierce green light that was drawn into Zebota’s boomerang. Once it was glowing as bright as the sun, he flung it. It flew around him like a supersonic firefly, crashing into every glacier around him and shattering them as it flew unbothered. It then halted its flight above the building while still spinning rapidly. Ferocious lightning bolts shot from it in all directions, obliterating every glacier it could reach. Zebota, with the glyph still shining beneath him, motioned his hooves, commanding his boomerang to descend and whistled. Shrapnel jumped below the shining weapon and absorbed much of its power. The wooden titan faced a group of oncoming ice zombies surrounded by glaciers and took a deep breath.

“HOOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLL!!!!!”

An earth-shattering howl erupted from his jaws, sending forth a tsunami of energy that blew back the horde and obliterated every glacier running down the street. Zebota’s glyph then dissipated, as did the boomerang’s energy.

The mystic duo regrouped with an awestruck Princess Luna. “What power!”

Zebota humbly smiled. “Please forgiving me for keeping you waiting, O Royal One.” He said. Shrapnel gently grunted.

Luna regained her composure and smiled back. “The wait was worth it.” She then remembered the zombies. They were rendered vulnerable from having so many glaciers destroyed at once, so she seized the opportunity to try and influence their minds again. As Luna’s dream magic delved her into the minds of the horde, she was baffled to find that while they’re minds were indeed collectively influenced by an outside force, the force itself was not what she expected. It felt… sad. Longing. Frustrated. Angry. Hateful.

“Lu…na…?”

“Gasp!” Luna quickly followed the voice, trying to pinpoint its source. “Declare yourself, fiend!” An ominous calm followed right after she spoke. All was still, to still, like the silence of a forest.

“FIEND!?” The voice was more aggressive, and the lingering emotions became more profound, overtaking the entire conscious realm.

Luna couldn’t identify the force behind it all, but she could feel its conscious presence rushing to her like an antibody to a germ. It was so aggressive that she exited the realm of sheer horror; she snapped awake in a cold sweat.

“What is wrong?” Zebota asked.

Luna just looked at him with uncertainty. “It’s been obvious since this began, but… who or whatever this being is… it’s not to be trifled with.”

Fire Fight and Shadow Shroud were at each other’s side against a horde of ice zombies. The little ninja had combined her kama sticks into nunchucks that used to parry away ice shots while the fiery colt got as close as he could to lob fireballs at the surrounding glaciers.

“Is this what’s called a block party?” Shadow Shroud asked as she whacked away a big shot of ice.

Fire Fight spun a flame around him and launched it full force at a glacier, blasting it apart. “Sure. We’ll go with that.” He was suddenly ambushed by a large stallion who tried to slam his hooves into him, but Fire Fight flame jumped out of the way just in time. Just as he reared his fists to strike, he suddenly stopped to get a good look at him. “You…!” He snarled like a timberwolf, and flames burned more fiercely. “HYYYYAH!!!” Fire Fight uppercut the stallion with explosive force and then blew him away with a rocketing side kick. “JUST AS EASY AS LAST TIME!!”

“What’s gotten into you?” Shroud asked.

“That was the same stallion that yelled at my dad, the one I beat up to get my Cutie Mark!” Fire Fight said.

Shroud nearly hit herself wit her nunchucks. “Really?”

Looking out at the horde, Fire Fight saw a number of familiar faces, none of whom he was happy to see. A sweetshop owner who’d banned him after hearing rumors about him, a snooty classmate who always dismissed him as a ‘savage’, and a police officer who’d labeled him a delinquent, just to name a few. He felt a primal rage burning ferociously inside him. “You take care of the ice! These freaks are MINE!!!”

“What? But-” Shadow Shroud’s plea fell on deaf ears as Fire Fight attacked the horde.

His flames seemed out of control as he blasted waves of fire and draconic flares at them and went into ferocious melee combos that no doubt broke some bones, all he while blocking or braving every hit being thrown at him. “YEAH! HOW’S THAT FOR A PROBLEM FOAL, HUH!?!?”

Just before he could launch a huge dragon flame at them, a kunai flung at his feet caught him off guard just before Shadow Shroud grappled him to the ground with her nunchucks. “A perfect example, I’d say.” She asserted.

Fire Fight was startled out of his rage when Shroud put her kunai to his throat. “Whoa!”

“Were they right to shun you? Are you really the Firestarter they feared so much?” Shroud asked.

Fire Fight took a good look at the horde. They were thoroughly singed and staggering, yet still being forced fight to their dying breath by whatever force was controlling them. He let out a frustrated sigh. “You’re right…”

Shroud helped him up. “I know this is hard for you… but you wanted to change perception. I know you’re a better pony than what others made you out to be. Show them that Fire Fight, the one I fell in love with.”

Fire Fight blushed, and then gathered his focus. “With pleasure!” he said. Igniting his armor, Fire Fight ran and jumped off a wall like a rocket. When he was above the horde, he launched all his pent-up heat as a single, huge fireball that blasted a cluster of glaciers behind their foes. He then fell towards the zombies, but a sudden cloud of smoke followed by a flurry of quick strike distracted them enough that he could safely retreat, Shadow Shroud following close behind and leaving no pony seriously injured.

“Thanks.” Fire Fight said.

Shroud shot him a flirtatious wink, but then glanced up at something that startled her. “WHAT THE-”

“TIDAL WAVE!?” Greensprout shouted as she was healing Twilight.

Above them was a humongous wave with a familiar glowing blue light atop it, anchoring it to the sky.

“HAHAHA! I’M A TSUNAMI, BABY!!!” Tidal Wave shouted. Before the massive wave could crash and flood the city, he sucked all the water up and around him before bursting it apart into countless drops.

Frostbite swooped in and caught him on his back. “Let ‘er rip, twerp!” he said.

“YAHOO!!!” Tidal Wave twirled his lance, firing every droplet of seawater like a bolt that pierced every glacier in sight, and soon the whole city as he rode on Frostbite, who walled the hordes of ice zombies in with his own ice.

As all the control glaciers dissipated, the ice zombies all jerked and spasmed like overloaded robots before passing out. Slowly but surely, the oppressive winds chilling the streets of Manehatten died down.

Recompense

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys!
Really sorry for the long wait. A lot has been going on in my life apart from obvious current events, and I've been burnt out as a result. If it seems like the story has dipped in quality recently, all I can say is that's probably why. I hope you're all still liking this story, and I promise to finish it. We're almost, almost there!

As the unconscious city ponies slowly started stirring, Greensprout was in high gear healing every one of them, the most horrifically injured taking priority. Spiral Galaxy made a point of gently lifting groups of them into a more concentrated area, being an intersection, so that the little monk could work more quickly.

Everyone went at ease along with the atmosphere, but dark clouds still hung over their heads, blocking out the sun with not even a ray sneaking through. Gentle breezes ominously creeped throughout the streets

Frostbite landed by his friends and let Tidal Wave down. “Thanks, dude.” Tidal Wave said.

The icy drake winked at him. “No probs.”

“Tidal Wave!” Sky Strike called out. He ran to his son excitedly.

“Dad!” Tidal Wave ran to him, and the two warmly embraced each other. “Are you okay? Was it really tough?”

Sky Strike laughed. “I should be asking you that! I did fine out here with your buddies; ‘Battle Foals’ is a pretty appropriate name, I gotta say.” He ruffled his son’s mane. “Just look at Mr. Super Tsunami here, huh?”

Tidal Wave giggled. “Dad!” he said blushing. He then suddenly felt a peck on his cheek, and he blushed more furiously when he saw Spiral Galaxy standing right beside him with a proud and impressed look on her face.

“Oi! Everything alright?” A voice called from afar. It was a crewman of their ship, with their other friends following him.

“Nice of you to check on us!” Valkyrie said.

“Is anypony hurt?” Greensprout called out.

“No. We’re fine honey.” Cat Fight said, prompting the little monk to get back to work. She and her husband then ran over to their son. “Fire Fight!”

Fire Fight hugged his parents. “Hey, guys. Everything ok on your end?”

“Phewy! It was pretty tense in the boat.” Fist said. “So I thought I’d join in on the fun one we started getting momentum!”

Cat giggled. “Honey, you only punched a few of them.”

Fist shrugged. “What? It helped, didn’t it?” He then noticed all of the formerly frozen ponies start staggering to their hooves, as did everyone else. “Well, uh… this’ll be an awkward conversation.” Cat and Fire Fight could sense the lament in his, and they shared it.

“Oof… What was I doing last night?” One mare asked.

Air Slash helped him up. “Are you alright, madame?”

The middle-aged mare stood up. She wore librarian glasses and a plaid scarf. Her coat was pink, her mane was baby blue, and her Cutie Mark was an open book with an apple beside it. “Yes, dear. Thank you.” She looked around her and saw the staggering crowd along with the devastation. “Goodness! Whatever happened?”

“You were all under an evil spell, miss.” Twilight said to her.

“Goodness me! Princess Twilight!? And Luna too!?” she said. “And… even the noble Clan Bladerunner! Hoho! I must’ve had a fantastic horoscope this time around.”

“I assure you, you did not.” Knight’s Soul said. They explained to her their zombie-like state and the ice phenomenon that’d been plaguing Equestria.

“Oh dear…” The mare said. “Well I thank you all for saving us.”

“It wasn’t just us, my good mare.” Luna said. “These brave Battle Foals led the charge.

“Battle Foals?” the mare asked, and then was stunned when her eyes laid on a certain sulking red colt. “Fire Fight!?”

Fire Fight sighed. “Hi, Ms. Thornhill…”

“One of your old friends?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“She was his teacher before we moved.” Cat said with a mellow sharpness.

“Ah, yeah. You used to live here.” Turf War said.

“He sure did!” a small voice said. Out from the crowd came a filly their age with a curly red and white striped mane, and a chocolate coat. Her Cutie Mark was a heart-shaped chocolate box wrapped in a bow. “So what does he think he’s doing back?” she demanded.

Fire Fight got up and looked at her determinately. “Saving you and the rest of Manehatten, Peppermint Patty.”

“Hmph! Well, it’s about time you did something right.” Peppermint Patty said.

“How about a ‘thank you’, you little brat!?” Fist said.

“And your parents have returned as well?” Thornhill asked. “Well, I’m none too happy to see you, but if it was indeed you who rescued us, then I suppose a thank you is order. So… thank you…”

“You could sound a lot more sincere, you know.” Sky Strike said.

“You kidding?” said a stallion. It was the sweetshop owner who’d ousted him. “Did you never see how intense this kid could get?”

“For all we know, maybe he unleashed whatever evil force is causing this mess.” A police officer said.

“I didn’t!” Fire Fight said.

“AHEM!” Luna silenced everyone. “Let us assure you that Fire Fight is in no way responsible for the disasters befalling us. In fact, he and his team of Battle Foals have been fighting tirelessly against them.”

“There’s that term again- ‘Battle Foals’”. Thornhill said. Luna and Twilight briefly explained to her how Fire Fight had run away and gathered his friends in an initial effort to save them, unknowingly leading to the situation they were in now. Thornhill eyed him. “So you formed an army for the sake of fulfillment?”

“That ‘army’ is what saved you all.” Fire Fight said.

“And taking all these other foals… and uh, timberwolf… away from their parents! I ought to have you put away for foalnapping!” the officer said.

“Oh, screw off!” Bullseye said. “It’s not like we wanted to stay our parents!”

“Who asked you, emo?” Peppermint Patty said. Bullseye managed to hide her fury behind a stern glare.

Thornhill turned to the princesses. “Your Highnesses, with all due respect, I would treat this colt cautiously. He and his new friends may have saved us this time, but problem foals-”

“Stay problems foals as long as you continue to treat them as such.” Twilight said, startling Thornhill.

Fire Fight looked at his former teacher determinately. “You can hate me all you want, Ms. Thornhill. Maybe I’m a problem, maybe I’m not.” He then turned to the crowd. “Look, I know I was reckless and made some bad choices here and there, but if I really wanted to be trouble, I could’ve done so much worse. Every one of the Battle Foals could’ve turned on Equestria. Turf War could’ve formed a street gang. Spiral Galaxy could’ve become a mad cosmo witch. Air Slash could’ve betrayed his clan and became a rogue swordsman. Kickback could’ve become a dangerous bandit. Crazylocks could’ve… gone crazier… Quantum Tech could’ve become a mad scientist. Zebota could’ve rode with Shrapnel as he raided villages. Bullseye could’ve become a full-blown psychopath. And Tidal Wave could’ve decided he wanted sick revenge on his bullies. And yet here we are, deciding to fight for you in the most dangerous storm we’ve ever seen. At first, I didn’t want to, neither of us did. But as we travelled, we grew. We grew as friends, and as ponies. We learned to love ourselves and each other despite our differences. If you all are willing to forgive me, forgive us for being problem foals, then at least I’d be willing to forgive you for being our problems.”

“Yeah, seriously! Aren’t you guys supposed to be the post chicks for friendship? Us griffons are supposed to be the gruff douches. Don’t become like us.” Valkyrie said.

Frostbite just shrugged. “Do I really need to say more?”

“It is as they say. You all allowed your hearts to grow cold towards ponies you did not understand. You can’t be faulted for feeling a bit weary, but no well-meaning folk deserves to be put down just because they seem dangerous!” Luna said. “I know acceptance is difficult, but you only make the process more painful when those to be accepted are treated as criminals.”

All the hecklers hung their heads low as they gazed upon Fire Fight, whose steadfast glare had a hint of mercy. All of the other Battle Foals shared his sentiment, and their present parents showed more sympathetic aggression.

“Well… you did go out of your way to save us here.” The sweetshop owner said. “Maybe we were kinda hard on you.”

The policeman took off his hat and put it over his heart. “I… apologize, son. Being weary is more or less your job when you’re an officer.”

“You know…” Ms. Thornhill said. “I suddenly recall an instance where you fought away an angry dog that had slipped it’s way into the playground. All the other foals cowered away, but you faced it without flinching. I… I really should have thought more of you, dear.”

“Oh, wow. Yeah…” Peppermint Patty said. “You might’ve been violent, but… I guess you were pretty cool.” She then walked right up to Fire Fight and suddenly grabbed him by the hoof. “Maybe you and I can-”

<SHING!!!>

A kunai was thrown at her feet, startling her away. Shadow Shroud suddenly appeared beside a rather disgruntled Fire Fight. “I’m taken.” He said. Shroud smiled, and the two shared a kiss.

“Ugh! Well, FINE!!” Patty said before storming away.

Thornhill then looked at Shadow Shroud. “And… what’s your story, young filly?”

“Errm…” Shroud said. “I’m not sure this is the time or place to say.”

“Well… if you insist.” Thornhill said.

Fire Fight’s parents walked up next him. His mother leaned down and pecked him atop his head. “I’m proud of you, honey.”

His father ruffled his mane. “Don’t think she’s the only one.”

Fire Fight blushed as he fixed his mane. “Thanks, guys.”

A stallion then walked up to them, one Fire Fight recognized immediately- it was the one that argued with his father. He was a particularly built stallion with a light gray mane, beige coat, and a barbell Cutie Mark. “Umm… heya.”

“H-Hey.” Fire Fight said sheepishly. The silence between them was awkward.

“You got something to say, buddy?” Fist asked the stallion.

The stallion heavily sighed. “Look, I… I’m really sorry. I… I got word that you guys went through a bad separation after that spat we had, and I… felt responsible for it.” He explained. “But before I could figure how to set things right, you all moved away, all because I decided to get all hotheaded over… I don’t even remember.”

“Oh…” Cat said. “Well… thank you, umm…”

“Rock Solid.” The stallion said.

“Ah, that’s right.” Fist said. “Well, I myself wasn’t so innocent either, but yeah. Thanks for making up.”

Rock Solid nodded. “Sure.” He then looked at Fire Fight. “Knock ‘em dead for us, kid.”

Fire Fight nodded confidently at him. “I sure will.” He said, thereafter watching Rock Solid mosey away. He then looked at his fellow Battle Foals. “I hope didn’t speak for you guys too much.”

“Don’t sweat it, sheriff.” Kickback said. “They only owed you an apology.”

“Yeah. We’ll get to ours when we get to ours.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Yeah! We got them other refugees to worry about!” Turf War said. “So, uh… where they at?”

“They should be waiting for us at the train station.” Twilight said.

“I pray that they found safety during our battle.” Zebota said.

“Only one way to find out. Shall we?” Quantum Tech said.

“We shall!” Fire Fight said. He then looked back at his parents. “You… You guys should head back to the ship.”

His mother knelt down and warmly embraced him, which he returned. “Go get them, my little fighter.” She said before kissing him.

Fist did the same, but he ruffled his son’s mane again. “Start a fire, son. A big, raging fire.”

Fire Fight fixed his mane. “You know I will. Stay safe.” He said before they solemnly parted ways. The other townsfolk followed them under the princesses direction, thanking the Battle Foals sincerely as they did, namely Tidal Wave.

“NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT!!” Crazylocks blurted.

“You heard the psycho! Let’s move!” Bullseye said. And they all promptly marched towards the Grand Station. All the while, the Battle Foals’ fiery leader strutting down the desolated roads with a newfound confidence.

Getting Back on Track

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys!
Again, SOOO sorry it took me so long. I suddenly had to move on top of getting a job in the span of a couple months, not to mention, ahem, current events making things difficult.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter. The end is near!

Upon reaching the Grand Central Terminal, the Battle Foals and co. were relieved to see the group of refugees safely hidden away within the walls of the now derelict train station, their guards obviously exhausted from fighting onslaughts of foes themselves.

Knight’s Soul greeted the commanding officer. “Words cannot express my relief to see that you are all well, Iron Lung.”

“Aw shucks, master!! It wasn’t nothin’!!” she shouted with great enthusiasm. She then noticed the prepubescent platoon. “Hey! Are these the little ones that’ve been making such a ruckus!? Wowee!! Never thought I’d actually meet’cha buckos, especially still lookin’ spiff and spanky after the crap you’ve musta been through, huh!? HAHAHA!!!”

“Err… y-yes…” Quantum Tech stammered. “Could kindly use your indoor voice? Your shouting is echoing quite loudly… more than it should given the temperature, might a I add.”

“BWAHAHAHAHA!!!! Oh honey, this is my indoor voice!!” Iron Lung said…loudly…very loudly.

Knight’s Soul chuckled. “Ever the loud and proud presence, I see.” He cleared his throat. “Well, I leave the refugees in your care. I’ll dismiss a few of my troops so that they may escort you to the ship.”

Iron lung held her sword over her heart in salute. “Loud and clear, chief!!!” She sheathed her sword and looked at the Battle Foals. “Give ‘em a wallop they won’t they forget!! PWAHAHAHA!!!” She cheerfully ushered the refugees and her troops out the front door, her boisterous voice still audible as they disappeared into the cityscape.

“Damn. Somepony forgot give her, her meds.” Turf War said. “So, uh… what we do now?”

“We return to Canterlot. It’s the best stronghold we’ll have against the invader.” Twilight said.

“Okay… how?” Bullseye asked.

“By following the tracks, of course.” Luna said.

“By following the- are you serious!? It’ll take days to hoof it over there! No pun intended…” Valkyrie said.

“We don’t recall saying anything about ‘hoofing it’.” Luna said. She opened the door to reveal the tracks, but occupying them was a trio of coaches, but its wheels had been modified with spikes and were being heated by unicorn attendants using fire magic. At the helm pulling them outside were two brave pegasi clad in coats that’d obviously been imported from the Yaks. “We scrounged these coaches from wreckage, as they had had taken far less damage than any others. It will have to suffice.”

While all the Battle Foals gawked at it, Zebota just chuckled. “See how far a little scavenging can take you, my friends?”

“Excuse me! I wasn’t scavenging! I was repurposing, thank you very much.” Twilight insisted, holding her head high as she looked upon the rushed yet successful science project.

“Err… yes, of course.” Zebota said. “Shall we?”

“Let me fly outside with your pullers. I can look out for ‘em.” Frostbite said.

“That’d be great! Thanks.” One of the pegasi said.

“And just to make things easier for you…” Fire Fight said. He took a deep breath and ignited his horn, and then released a ribbon of fire that weaved around the coaches and thoroughly heated the spiked wheels.

“Sweet! That should last us at least half the trip!” One of the attendants said.

“Wonderful. Now how to handle the two elephants in the room… quite literally.” Shadow Shroud said as she eyed Shrapnel and Quantum’s mech. The little scientist and the tribescolt eyed each other awkwardly trying to figure out how to fit their respective luggage into decidedly small spaces.

Twilight giggled. “Nothing a little size-changing magic can’t fix.” She casted some light around the mech and Shrapnel, the latter whimpering at the sudden spell, and they were downsized just small enough that they could be fit through the coach doors and be stored inside.

“Shrapnel!” Zebota said.

“Don’t worry, Zebota. It won’t hurt him.” Twilight said before noticing how disgruntled the timberwolf looked.

Zebota sulked at her. “I pray that this has no lasting effects on him…”

“It won’t! It shouldn’t… probably… hopefully…” Twilight sheepishly smiled. Before any more complaints could be filed, Twilight magically moved the shrunken entities into the coach, and the troupe of troops, young and old, boarded.

With the wheels sufficiently heated and the pegasi pullers’ confidence boosted by the watchful presence of a dragon, the makeshift transport took off into the frigid day. As they traveled down the tracks, all the Battle Foals saw was desolation. Icy, frozen desolation. Grasslands were smothered by blankets of driving snow, entire forests had been suffocated by ice as though a forest fire had engulfed them, and there was nary a trace of any sort of life, not even a little squirrel or rat scampering through the snow.

“This is so… horrible!” Greensprout said.

Zebota sighed heavily. “The very land itself is dying. I can barely feel it…” A small tear rolled down his face.

Air Slash angrily huffed as his hoof gripped one of his swords. “Whatever form this evil takes, it will be cut down, even if it must be by my blades alone!!”

“Save that energy for the fight ahead, son.” Knight’s Soul said.

“Right. Now is the time to devise a strategy.” Shadow Shroud said. “We need to consider all we’ve learned about our snow day enthusiast and plan an offensive accordingly.”

“Ok…” Spiral Galaxy said. “Well, they can summon super tough windigos and ice monsters, and a lot of them!”

“That’s gotta mean they’re awful hot n’ bothered about somethin’. It takes a huge amount o’ bad feelin’s to whip up windigos alone.” Kickback said.

“This is normally where’d I say something like, ‘it can’t be as simple as that’, but it’s probably as simple as that.” Tidal Wave said.

“What’s not so simple is figuring what this person or… thing has against the whole of Equestria, to the point that they’d freeze it over.” Twilight.

“Quantum Tech?” Fire Fight said. “When you were scanning those mind control glaciers, did you notice anything in particular about your readings?”

The brainy filly fiddled with her glasses. “I recorded my readings for reference. Let me have a look. Hmm…” Quantum intently skimmed through the multitude of lights flashing from her glasses. “Hmm… this is rather tricky...”

“Yay! Tricky!!” Crazylocks blurted.

Quantum rolled her eyes and continued. “The wavelengths and patterns of emission very much mimic that of brainwaves, as I surmised, and they’re not as sporadic as I thought they were. There’s definitely a discernable nature to them.”

“Could I see?” Twilight asked.

“Oh! Silly me. Of course!” Quantum pressed a button on her glasses, and a holographic image projected from her glasses that was big enough to be a small movie screen, leaving everypony stunned.”

“Ain’t that somethin’ else.” Kickback said. He then noticed Quantum giggled while gazing at him, and then he just lowered his hat.

“Let’s see…” Twilight carefully studied the graph before her. “Psychology is an entire realm of possibilities, but if there’s one thing I can gather from these thought patterns, it’s indignation.”

“Indigo what now?” Turf War asked.

“No, brother. Indignation.” Greensprout said. “It is when somepony feels anger towards someone or something that feel is oppressing them or holding them back.”

“Towards all of Equestria though? Sounds like someone we’d read about in a history book.” Spiral said.

“I recall no such entity capable of ice magic that would harbor such a horrible grudge against our people, at least nothing along the lines of Tirek or Discord.” Luna said.

“Weren’t you like… on vacation or something for a super long time? There’s gotta be at least a few ghost stories your sister never told you.” Valkyrie said.

“Erm… y-yes…” Luna stammered, blushing. “You do make a fair point. I did, in fact, keep from her the whereabouts of the Battle Foals after all.”

“Well, whatever it is, we might have to be more ready than we think we need to be.” Bullseye said. “If they’re anything like me, they’ll want to go beyond what they hate and choke out innocent lives just to blow off steam.”

“Which means that determining that source of their anger will be the key to felling them, which also means that we must take caution not to overpower them.” Greensprout said.

“Indeed. If I have learned anything on this journey, it’s that sometimes, a warrior’s greatest weapon against a darkness is the warmth of mercy.” Air Slash said.

“It is said in my land that a foal not embraced the village will burn it down to feel such warmth.” Zebota said.

At that moment, everyone suddenly looked at Fire Fight. The red-hot colt awkwardly looked around the coach, and then rolled his eyes. “Oh, very funny…”

“So just do what we with them ice zombies n’ not bash ‘em around too hard? C’mon! I know y’all seent how diesel some o’ them ice monsters was, and we ‘bout to throw down with their boss! I ain’t gonna give ‘em no love tap.” Turf War said.

“Obviously not.” Air Slash said. “Our foe will assuredly fight with unbridled fury. It is after quelling that fury that we then pacify whatever beast was nurtured in their heart.”

“Then the next step is deciding how we are going to fulfill such a responsibility strategically and efficiently.” Knight’s Soul said. “I will begin with a proposal: Those eager to fight the most will be on the front lines. That way, once the beast is subdued, those most capable of persuasion can have the subsequent heart-to-heart.”

“Ok, there’s two problems with that idea.” Bullseye said. “1. We’re all eager to fight. If anypony’s gonna be out there raising hell, it’s us. 2. What’s everypony else in the back supposed to do? We need as much weight as we can pull.”

“I’m afraid she’s right, sir. This will be a contest of resolve.” Greensprout said.

“Hmm… indeed.” Knight’s Soul said. “Then the tricky part will be figuring who must fight where. Our foe will likely have their forces divided and ready to conquer.”

“Definitely have me and Turf War out front!” Valkyrie said. “Winter-Wonder-Whatever is totes gonna have grunts out there that we can keep down easy.” The street-born bastion smiled deviously as he looked at his feathered friend.

“Allow Shrapnel and I to lead as well. I will muster all the power the spirits will grant me to combat the darkness wielded y our foe.” Zebota said.

“I’ll be there too, and I’m sure Frostbite will want a slice of that pie.” Fire Fight said.

“IF THERE’S FROZEN FIEND PIE TO EATEN, I’M YOUR GIRL!!” Crazylocks said.”

Greensprout giggled. “Indeed, sister. I’ll work from the back to support everyone like always.”

“I’ll provide the covering fire within my power whilst analyzing our foe. I’ll just need to be covered myself whilst doing so, of course.” Quantum said.

“Give me some room to concentrate, and I’ll summon a starstorm or two here and there.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Tidal Wave pondered. “Hmm… ice and snow are still technically water, so I guess I could go anywhere…”

Sky Strike lightly nudged his son. “Then keep a close eye on the battlefield and go where you’re needed at any given moment. I think I’ll do the same.” He said before winking.

“The same shall apply to my son and I, I think.” Knight’s Soul said.

“I have no objections to that, father.” Air Slash said. “And I presume Shadow Shroud shall do the same whilst hidden in plain sight.”

Shroud giggled. “You know me so well.”

“Guess cowboy and I are hanging in the back then, huh?” Bullseye said.

Kickback tipped his hat. “Surely. So in other words… we’re doin’ pretty much what we’ve been doin’ this whole time, Ah reckon.”

The Battle Foals looked around awkwardly. “Err… yeah! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Y’all know what I’m sayin’!?” Turf War said.

“Right.” Twilight said. “We have our game plan. Now, it’s a matter of meeting our foe face to face.”

As the sound of the train’s wheels rolling over the rails echoed throughout the coach, Luna couldn’t help to recall the voice she’d heard in Manehatten. “Why… Why did that presence feel so… familiar?” she thought to herself. She knew her answer wasn’t much further ahead, whether she liked it or not…

All of a sudden, the coach was assailed by ice bats. Shrieking like banshees with the cold of winter in their voices, they surrounded the vulnerable transport.

Fire Fight ignited his horn as they all prepared for battle. “QUICK! EVERYPONY-” was all he could mutter be they heard a cacophony of smashing and crashing around them followed by watching countless little bits of the bats being scattered to the wind, then silence. They then noticed a certain ice dragon flying just outside their window upside down and posing as though he were relaxing on the beach. He smugly grinned before giving them a thumbs up. “…get totally shown up by Frostbite…”

Tidal Wave sheathed his lance. “OP, please nerf.”

An Old Foe

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys.
Really sorry for another long wait. A lot, and I mean A LOT has been going on in my life as of late, and I just haven't been able to find much time, let alone muster much energy to write.

I WILL finish this story if it kills me, and we all know we're on the last home stretch, so I hope you're all excited for this new chapter!

Frostbite soared above the coaches, keeping a watchful eye in both them and their drivers. The recent, horribly botched attempt to assail the train by the ice monsters must have taught them to keep their distance, because all had been calm since for the past few hours. Looking out into the frozen shadow of the once verdant lands of Equestria, all he had opened his senses to was the shadow growing. Powerful winds drove the ice and snow as though the aether itself was continually erupting it.

The relentless blizzard was beginning to take its toll on the Pegasus towers; they were panting heavily whilst shivering like leaves. Frostbite flew down towards them. “Stay with me, runts! We’re almost there!” he said as he looked up towards their destination. “Oh… crap…”

As they neared the mountain housing the grand capital, he was slowly able to make out through the dense, icy air that a swirling cloud of raw ice magic raged above the summit like a whirlpool; and the blizzard seemed to strengthen as they neared. “Wh-What in C-C-Celestia’s name is g-g-going on?” one of the pegasi stammered.

Just then, Frostbite noticed something approaching them from straight ahead out of the blizzard- something large and fast. “Uh-oh!!” Frostbite surged forward and saw a gigantic ice boulder flying towards them like a foul baseball. With all his strength his thrust his clenched fist into the vast mass and shattered it into dust. “Phew! Crisis averted…” he said. “Wait…” he said squinting his eyes. “OH S***!!!”

Without warning anyone, Frostbite surged back the train and slammed into it, pushing against it with all his might while digging his feet into the ground. The sudden impact blasted the Pegasus towers off balance, and they desperately scrambled to level themselves in the air.

Once the train has grinded to a screeching halt, Frostbite let up and breathed a big sigh of relief. “Two for the price of one…”

“’Ey junior!” One the towers shouted. “Maybe a quick heads up before ya hit the e-brake next time! I don’t plan on startin’ a career as a windsock!! Capisce!?”

The train’s passengers then all marched out, some of whom were a little dizzy, all of whom were glaring at the icy drake. “What the hell, Frostbite!?” Bullseye said.

Crazylocks was beside her with a janitor’s bucket over her head. “I have achieved Nirvana!”

Frostbite grimaced and cleared and throat. “Ehh… sorry.” He then pointed out ahead of the tracks. “But take a good look.”

Following their friend’s direction, the Battle Foals and co. looked out to see a gigantic crevasse that had opened the rolling plain wide open and broken the train tracks far apart. Had Frostbite been a minute too late, they might have plunged into an icy abyss.

“Man. Can never be easy, huh?” Spike said.

“First rodeo, partner?” Kickback asked him.

“Nope.”

Luna strutted up to the obstruction. “Not to worry, my little ponies. We’ll simply make use of our magic…” Luna said as she alit her horn. However, as she tried levitating one of the train cars over the crevasse, a sudden updraft of frigid wind erupted from its glacial maw. Luna’s magic was blasted off of the car like sand in a desert wind, startling the lunar sovereign and causing her to drop the car in the abyss. “What!?”

“Welp! You owe somepony ‘bout a good 10,000 bits.” Turf War said, earning him an annoyed glare form Luna.

“Hmm…” Fire Fight launched a powerful flame into the updraft, but it was dispelled in an instant. Twilight shot a bolt of her own magic, but the same thing happened. “Is this… a force field?”

“Yes. It’s clearly a form of powerful barrier spell with potent nullifying magic mixed into it.” Twilight said.

“I’m afraid she’s right.” Quantum said as she read her scanners. “This spell appears to be weaved in such a way that it repels magic away as it is annulled. That’s a tricky combination to apply correctly. Hmm… It appears to be attached to a sentient force.”

“Probably the big bad causing this mess.” Valkyrie said.

“Not even a huge blast fire will do anything?” Fire Fight asked.

“Well, magical fire anyway, but manipulating a natural flame in such a vast quantity would be rather… cumbersome.” Quantum said.

“Not to mention even sparking one in this frigid weather.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Ooh! I could summon a huge meteor ad crash into the ditch! That might break the barrier.” Spiral Galaxy suggested.

“Spiral, no!” Tidal Wave said. “I don’t want you collapsing out in this blizzard!”

“I think I can manage it this time!” Spiral boasted.

“Spiral, normally we’d let you try, but Tidal Wave’s got a point- we need you at your full strength for the fight ahead.” Shroud said.

“Ok, ok! Timeout!” Frostbite said. “Before we make any attempt at crossing this hole, something threw a huge hunk of ice our way. Something’s gonna try and stop us, and it’s not gonna be friendly about it.”

“Good to know. I shall be on watch for such a foe unless I am needed otherwise.” Air Slash said, drawing his swords.

“As shall I.” Knight’s Soul said. “However… If we can’t simply melt this icy obstacle away…”

“Then maybe we could freeze it further?” Kickback said.

“What!? Why the hell would we wanna do that?” Turf War asked.

“Well, what if we make more ice for ourselves like it wants and bridge that way?” Kickback said.

“It could work.” Zebota said. “If we can command the water carefully enough, we may be able to fool the spell into thinking there is no magic, and we may freeze ourselves a bridge.”

“Well, there’s plenty of water all around us! It’s just… all frozen.” Tidal Wave said.

“Nothing a little fire can’t solve, kiddo.” One of the fire unicorns said as they both ignited their horns, Fire Fight happily following suit. Together, the three slowly but surely melted a sizeable quantity of snow that Tidal Wave then carefully, gradually sculpted into a bridge over the giant chasm.

Frostbite popped his shoulders. “My time to shine.” He hovered over the water bridge and breathed cold flames unto it, freezing the path forward. All the while, he glanced around him every now and again for any sign of hostiles.

Meanwhile, Air Slash and his father did the same with more room for concentration at the cliff’s edge. Bullseye and Kickback soon joined with their own weapons drawn.

“See anything?” Air Slash asked.

Bullseye scanned with her good eye around the crystalline mist vigilantly. “Nope. Pretty quiet.”

“The classic calm before the storm, as it were…” Knight’s Soul said.

“Ah bet y’all got plenty more stories about that we do by now…” Kickback said. The sharpshooting cowpony scanned around with his gun drawn. For a moment, it seemed like a particular area of the mist below rustled a bit. He squinted his eyes at that, and a chill shot up his spine when he realized what was hiding in the darkness. “FROSTBITE!!! GET BACK!!!” he shouted.

“Huh?... HOLY SH-” Was all Frostbite could utter before he was smacked out of the sky by a giant ice mass jetting out from the chasm like a rocket. He fell back to the group, hitting the ground with an agonizing thud. “Ooooh…”

“FROSTBITE!!!” Greensprout shouted. She then looked up at the ice mass and shivered in terror. “What now!?”

“Is that…?” Shadow Shroud muttered.

The ice mass floated above the chasm, but its form bore a menacing presence. It was none other than the crystal golem that they’d encountered so long ago, but in the form of a sentient glacier. It had grown innumerable smaller spikes around its body, but its echoey roar was ever terrifying. There was an X-shaped wound across its torso that seemed to have been mended by the ice.

“Not this guy again!” Fire Fight said.

“Old friend of yours?” Valkyrie asked.

“Unfortunately!” Shadow Shroud said. She suddenly noticed of a barrage of icicles raining towards her, and she hurriedly dodged between them, having to contort her body quite extremely to avoid getting impaled.

“We encountered it beneath the mountain of Canterlot before we met Zebota. It must have reconstituted itself after we left the mountain caverns!” Quantum explained.

“Or it was revived by the ice overlord.” Air Slash said.

“Who cares why it’s back up!? We ‘bout to trounce it again!!” Turf War said with his shield up in front of Frostbite.

“Indeed! To arms, everypony!” Luna shouted as she alit her horn along with every unicorn around.

The frozen golem held out its claws and expelled a thick cloud of the icy mist. Before any spells could be cast, the horns’ magic were all annulled. “OH NO!!” Twilight said.

“And here I thought I was actually gonna get to melt some ice…” Fire Fight said. “Turf War, stay and guard Frostbite until Greensprout can wake him up! Everypony else, attack!”

“Absolutely, Fire Fight!” Greensprout said. She promptly got to work channeling her Gaia Root into the unconscious Frostbite.

Air Slash reared his sword with the blade glowing fiercely. “I fell you once! I’LL DO IT AGAIN!!” He launched his sword blades in an X-shape right at its chest, but the mist quickly fizzled it. “Even that!? Rngh…! Very well!” He surged forward towards the golem with his blades ready to slice.

“AIR SLASH, NO!” Knight’s Soul shouted.

But his father’s plea fell on deaf ears, and Air Slash closed in to swing his sword. He was thrown off-balance when the golem’s new mini spikes suddenly thrust out into long needles. “UWAH!” Air Slash managed to stop himself mere inches from being impaled. His terror distracted him from the golem swinging its arm and knocking him out of the sky. The impact scattered the snow as if a meteor had fallen. The golem then shot a bolt of icy lightning at him, flash freezing the downed samurai.

“MY SON!!” Knight’s Soul screamed. He ferociously glared at the golem as he held his sword with his hoof. “YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR THAT!!”

He charged forward towards the golem, which lowered itself with its spiked arms ready to swing. Knight’s Soul stopped for a moment and held his sword in a defensive stance as the beast swung. He parried the blow, but it took a great deal of effort for him to push back. When he did, he took a slice and the golem’s thin upper arm. A chunk of ice broke off, causing the beast to roar in pain. It formed ice blades around its already enormous claws and began swiping furiously at the knight master, who gracefully bobbed and weaved out of the way and parried what hits he had to with seamless dexterity.

Kickback, having charged his whip, ran up and crack it as the golem’s hand and shattered most of it. It let out a sharp, yet short cry before instantly freezing over its arm, regenerating it. It rose back into the air and held out its frigid claws. “Tarnation!”

“Uh-oh!! Run!!” Spiral shouted. Everypony scrambled as the golem fired bolts of ice lightning that streamed across the frozen plain, leaving thorny glaciers in their wakes.

“Here’s hoping it’s no longer light-absorbent!” Quantum Tech said as she rapidly fired her railguns at the frozen sentinel. Much to her relief, the blasts violently popped against the golem’s armored body, causing it to hold back its beams. “It’s lost that property, has it?”

“But we still can’t use our magic!” Twilight lamented. “The best Princess Luna and I can do it maybe distract it.”

“So it would seem!” Luna said, and the two alicorns ascended around the golem.

Zebota struggled in vain to alight his brooch, the mist clearly choking out its magic. “It’s no use! I cannot connect to the land!”

“Maybe you guys can’t whip out your magic, but I bet I can whip out my ancestors!” Valkyrie said. Though it took greater effort than usual, she ignited her Valhalla. However, the golden light was reduced to mere sparkle around her body. “Even me, huh? Well, you use what you can.” With a mighty caw, she soared towards the golem.

Spike, powerless to contend the beast, ran over to the ice black trapping Air Slash and hurriedly started clawing and flaming away at it. “D-D-Don’t worry, buddy! I’ll get you out!”

Much of the ground crew were helpless to do anything to combat the golem. All Kickback could do was pelt it with electrified bullets while Valkyrie dueled with it as the princesses made near futile attempts to distract its vision. Along with him were Quantum and her railguns, Bullseye taking careful aim with her arrows, and Crazylocks occasionally managed to latched onto it to pummel with her pigtails, only to be flung off. Their ability to damage it couldn’t keep up with its ability to regenerate its frozen body.

The golem suddenly launched a hail of ice spikes every which way but where. Everyone scattered and dodged, save for Turf War, who blocked the shots from hitting him and Greensprout, who was still working on Frostbite.

“Yo, homegirl! You waitin’ on his insurance to come through!? What’s takin’ so damn long!?” Turf War demanded.

Greensprout frantically kept channeling her Root’s energy into Frostbite, but the icy drake showed no signs of stirring. “I-I-I don’t understand, Turf War! He has a pulse, but… the Gaia Root just isn’t reaching him for some reason!”

Twilight descended to her. “Greensprout, dragons are incredibly resistant, even immune to magic. I’m not healing magic like this will work!”

“What!?” Greensprout said. “But the Gaia Root is as old as dragons and ponies alike, perhaps older! This should be working!”

“Well, how the hell we s’posed to- OH, S***!!!” Turf War exclaimed as he noticed a giant ice ball being flung at him. He managed to shatter it with his seismic hammer, but he thrown off-balance and stumbled to the ground. “I’m ‘bout to-” was all he could mutter before the golem froze him with a bolt of ice lightning.

“TURF WAR!!” Greensprout exclaimed. All she saw of him was the look of frozen terror in his eyes as Twilight scooped up both her and Frostbite and ran.

Fire Fight hurried over to his friend and started desperately punching away at it. “Don’t worry, bro! I’ll get you out!! Being frozen’s really not that bad anyway…”

Valkyrie noticed what had happened on the ground and glared fiercely at the golem. “OH, YOU’RE DEAD, PUNK!” She took a big swing at the beast, which it parried with its forearm shaped into a blade. The two went back and forth, the clashing between cold steel and enchanted ice echoing sharply even throughout the frigid air.

“DOGPILE!!!” Crazylocks shouted as she divebombed into the staggering golem. It was knocked to the ground with a thud.

As it tried to get back up, Shrapnel suddenly pounced onto it, grasping its shoulders with his claws and locking his jaws onto its head. “TEAR IT TO BITS, MY BEAST!!” Zebota commanded, and the wooden titan started thrashing it like a chew toy. It was a contest of brute strength between the two titans as the golem struggled to break free from Shrapnel’s grip.

Eventually, the golem managed to grab Shrapnel by the collar and suplex him into the snow. Valkyrie took advantage of the distraction and dove towards the golem, thrusting her sword into its head. It screamed in agony before swatting the avian knight off of it. She hit the snow with and thud, and the golem froze her with bolt of ice lightning.

“THIS ISN’T WORKING! WE NEED A SOLTUTION NOW!!” Tidal Wave shouted.

“We need Frostbite, that’s what!” Spiral said. “But on ice- …Wait a minute…” She looked back and forth between the golem and Frostbite, and then at Quantum’s mech. “Quantum Tech! Do you still have any more of those crystal shards from when we beat it before?”

Quantum blasted the golem with her railguns as she heeded her friend. “I do. Why?”

“Remember when we fought Nidhogg? He ate one of those crystals and got all supercharged. Maybe we can wake him up with one?” Spiral suggested.

“Hmm! Interesting idea indeed.” Quantum said. The golem suddenly roared as it barreled towards her mech. She activated her railguns’ beam saber mode and parried it just before it rend her armor. She quivered in fright as she looked into its soulless yet enraged crystalline eyes. “SHADOW SHROUD, GRAB ONE!!” she screamed as she ejected on of the specimens from the back of her mech.

“On it!” Shadow Shroud said. With shadowy swiftness, the little ninja swiped the crystal from the air and rushed it over to Greensprout, whom Twilight had taken cover with behind an ice cluster left behind by the golem’s ice lightning. “Did you catch our plan?”

Greensprout nodded. “Yes, sister.” She took the crystal and gulped. “I certainly hope this works…” She charged the crystal with her Gaia Root, giving it a gentle green glow. She then stuffed it into Frostbite’s jaws and forced him to chew it. “Please wake up, brother!”

Frostbite had ingested the charged shard, but for moment, it didn’t seem to do anything. They began to worry that their idea had been in vain until… “Unh…”

“Frostbite!?” Twilight said.

Slowly but surely, Frostbite began to resuscitate. His breaths gradually became more powerful… until a sudden swell of power seemed to shock him awake.

“RAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!!!!!!”

An explosion of sheer will power blew away all the ice and snow around the enraged dragon. The golem looked startled at Frostbite, who lunged at it at blinding speeds with a clenched fist. “JUST DIIIEEE!!!!” Frostbite thrust his fist directly into the wound on its chest before the golem could put its arms up, and Frostbite shattered through its body like a baseball through a window. The golem was motionless in the air for a moment until it suddenly dulled out and shattered into countless chunks.

Frostbite heavily panted as he was knelt on the ground, but he caught his breath and stood back up. He brushed some stray ice off his shoulder as he looked back at the golem’s remains. “No one hurts my little twerp friends without me pummeling ‘em.”

Ascent into Hell

Author's Notes:

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here's my present to you: a new chapter!

The vicious luminescence from the golem’s remains dimmed until it had mellowed completely, and the magic-dampening mist dissipated from around them. Working together, Spike and the Battle Foals managed to break Air Slash and Turf War from their icy cages.

“Oooh…” Turf War groaned. “So dat’s what a popsicle feel like…” In spite of his dizziness, he managed to stand up.

Air Slash, however, wasn’t in much better shape. The trauma he felt from being slammed by the golem still resounded throughout his body like a tremor. “Rrnngh… Cursed… f-fiend!…” he whimpered.

“Air Slash!!” Greensprout shouted. She ran right over to him and wasted no time medicating him with her magic.

After a minute or so, he gained the strength to stand back up. He brushed ice off of his coat as he took a deep breath. “Thank you, my dear.”

“Oh, you!” Greensprout threw her arms around Air Slash and warmly embraced him. “Please stop being so reckless! Did you forget about Great Horn Summit already?”

Air Slash sighed. “There’s often little time to reason in the heat of battle.”

Knight’s Soul had marched over to them. “It’s better to act with little reason than none at all! I feared I had lost you!” he scolded.

Air Slash hung his head low. “I’m sorry, father.”

Knight’s Soul took a deep breath. “No apologies needed, my boy; but I know you’re wiser than that.”

Air Slash then noticed Frostbite heavily breathing with his fist to his chest. “Frostbite! What ails you?”

The icy drake panting heavily, but managed to toothy grin. “If only you coulda seen me, dude.” His breathing became calmer, and he regained his composure. “Can we just keep going already? Whatever’s up there needs a bigger punch in the gut than I gave Sorbet just now, and soon.”

“You read my mind, dude. Back to work, guys!” Fire Fight said, and they resumed their construction of the ice bridge.”

As they did, Quantum Tech gazed curiously at Frostbite, noticing that the surge of magic he’d experienced was still fizzling out inside his body. “Hmm… First the super-charged ice breath on Heimr Island, and now a surge of healing- both of which were effects of ingesting a magically charged crystal… Could it be that dragons receive magical capabilities when it is somehow consumed? It would explain their diet of gems…” she pondered. “I wonder if such a property resulted in his ice breath in place of breathing fire…”

“Hey, brainiac!” Bullseye shouted, snapping the brainy filly out of her thought train.

“Oh! Yes?” Much to her shock, the ice bridge had already been completed.

“You comin’?” Turf War asked.

“Our enemy awaits us… Did we remember the crackers!?” Crazylocks said.

“Coming! Coming.” Quantum said as she jogged her mech over to them, keeping an eye on the swirling cloud above them.

Slowly but surely, everyone safely walked across the makeshift bridge to the other side of the chasm, not daring to look down into the misty abyss below. As they made their way there, the Battle Foals who were present at the first encounter with the golem told of it to the princesses.

“I shouldn’t be surprised that such a being existed beneath our city. When magic is high enough concentration, it, on very rare occasions animate otherwise inanimate material, especially when said material is receptive to magic.” Luna explained.

“Crystals and gems are the best known conductors, so that thing being born was more or less inevitable.” Twilight said. “Still pretty jarring.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what Quantum thought. Didn’t doubt her for a second.” Fire Fight said.

Quantum blushed. “Oh, do go on.”

“Might hafta make a point o’ makin’ sure no more o’ them varmints come wakin’ up n’ stirrin’ up trouble.” Kickback said.

Luna giggled. “Well, I think I know certain group of foals who’d might be interested in being a specializd task force for such a purpose.” She winked at them.

“Elch! If you’re talking about the Biscuit Buccaneers, forget about them! I heard they couldn’t survive one Timberwolf attack!” Crazylocks blurted, causing some of the Battle Foals to awkwardly stare at each other, namely Zebota.

When they were all on safe footing, they gazed up at the treacherous ascent before them. A once grand, majestic mountain that stood as a pillar of Equestria’s unity was now a frozen shadow of its former glory, overtaken by glaciers and ice sheets.

“Well, the only way is up.” Valkyrie said as she made an ascent

“Wait!” Spiral Galaxy said. She pulled the griffonlet knight back down with gravity magic. “Look closer, guys!”

Upon closer observation, the mountainside was being guarded by motionless ice sentinels that took the form of the windigo they contended back in the forest near Trifectown. Amongst them were royal guards were obviously under the ice zombification effect.

“Well, this’ll be an uphill battle in more ways than one…” Tidal Wave said.

“Yeah. I hate to say it, but I don’t think we have the energy to take ‘em on after Snowflake back there.” Valkyrie said.

“Maybe we don’t have to.” Kickback said.

“What makes you say that, Kickback?” Twilight asked.

Kickback looked towards his fellow Battle Foals. “Y’all remember how we got up this mountain last time?”

“Oh yeah! We climbed it from the inside!” Fire Fight said.

“You dug under our capital’s mountain and still ascended it?” Greensprout asked.

“There is a network of caverns underneath it that one could theoretically use to infiltrate the mountain from underground.” Twilight said.

“Way to spoil our little magician’s secret, Kickback.” Shadow Shroud said. Kickback’s smile melted a little as he lowered his hat. Shroud giggled. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Still… that hole the Spiral blasted out of the wall when we made our exit must still be open.”

“Probably!” Spiral said. “But there’s so much snow that I don’t recognize this part of the mountain. It could be anywh- oh, there it is…”

Sure enough, the breach in the mountain that Spiral had created was still open. However, it had been frozen over with a thick layer of ice.

“Well, I think we know what I need to do here.” Fire Fight said. With his magic accessible to him again, Fire Fight ignited his horn and sprayed a torrent of fire unto the ice wall. Within seconds, it was cracked and melted severely from the intense heat, and the fiery scrapper finished off with a blazing punch, shattering the barrier like glass. “Alright, in we go!” he ordered.

“Yes, sir!” Shroud said playfully as she pranced beside him.

As they entered, a sharp breeze blew over them, as if they were being warned to turn back lest they face a bitter, frigid end. They persisted undaunted.

“This certainly brings back memories…” Air Slash said with a hint of pride.

“Yeah, but I don’t want no more memories, know what I’m sayin’?” Turf War said. “I just want this to end already, so let’s get rollin’!”

Tidal Wave gazed up at the towering labyrinth above him. Patches of ice and icicles jutting out threateningly lined the walls of the entire formation. He gulped. “This’ll be a climb, huh?”

“It’ll be easier this time since we’ve got more flyers.” Shroud said.

“Yeah, but last time, we didn’t have Shrapnel or Quantum’s mech.” Spiral said.

“That will be of no inconvenience, my foals.” Luna said. She and Twilight winked at each other, and the two royal cast their magic over the entire group.

“Spiral Galaxy, would you help us?” Twilight asked.

“I’d be happy to!” Spiral said. With a twinkle in her eye, she happily cast her own magic alongside the royals.

Together, the two princesses took flight with their friends in tow, a burden that Spiral’s help greatly lessened.

“As resourceful as I would expect from Your Highnesses.” Knight’s Soul said.

“Oh, stow your praise, master of the Bladerunners.” Luna said blushing.

“We still need to remain alert. Our foe has demonstrated great proficiency in hiding in plain sight.” Zebota said.

“You got a point. Anyone that can fly, hover outside the magic field and stand guard.” Fire Fight said.

Air Slash, Crazylocks, Valkyrie, and Frostbite took flight and kept a close in close formation around them. They slowly ascended the vertical cavern, careful not to set off any traps whilst on a steadfast vigil against any resistance.

As they did, the atmosphere within the cavernous freezer became gradually more tense. The large, sharp icicles jutting from the walls seemed to point closer and closer towards them, and the ominous breeze slithering throughout the network of tunnels sounded more and more and if it was being crying out in agony.

“Zebota… do you sense anything?” Fire Fight asked.

The young mystic closed his eyes and reached his mind into his brooch. His consciousness extended outward to his surroundings, allowing him to hear the pulse of the Earth itself. Only now, it felt as if that pulse was being hijacked by worldly rage, the very same rage that Twilight warned of when she read the brainwave charts. He could feel his own heart becoming cold with this rage, and it took all the psychic endurance he had to resist it.

“Can you feel it?”

“Huh!?” A sudden sharp voice nearly startled Zebota enough to break his concentration. “Speak your name, demon!” he said in his mind.

“I wasn’t talking to you, zebra.” The voice said. “LUNA!”

“Wha-!?” The lunar sovereign was suddenly pulled into the astral argument. “Wh-Who are you!? At least state your name!”

“DO YOU NOT FEEL IT!? WHAT SHE’S DONE!? DO YOU BETRAY ME!? BETRAY YOURSELF!?” The voice was becoming more and more distorted as it boomed throughout Luna’s mind.

Luna suddenly saw chains manifest from the tips of the icicles. They hooked onto her soul, and she could feel it being ripped away as she continued to ascend with the group. “ARGH!!”

The magic field supporting the group suddenly weakened as Luna let out a sharp cry. Her concentration compromised, her magic faded away, weakening the field. It was enough for Shrapnel to fall out it.

Zebota was shocked awake. “SHRAPNEL!!!” he cried as his beast howled falling to certain doom.

Without a word, Spiral Galaxy intensified her gravity magic, and she blasted a tractor beam downward to catch the wooden titan mere inches before he’d have hit the ground. With Twilight’s help, she brought him back up.

“Ungh…” Luna rubbed her forehead, having been given a headache from the psychic attack. “Oh my!” she said as she quickly cast her magic again.

“It seems I cannot trust any royal with my friend’s care…” Zebota grumbled.

“I’m deeply sorry, Zebota. But you must’ve heard her too, yes?” Luna said.

Zebota nodded. “I did. We are close.”

“Then let’s keep moving!” Valkyrie said.

As they continued their ascent, the caves, while unsettling, were oddly quiet. Nothing had come to attack them. No ice bats, windigos, nothing. The only threat they really faced was the treacherous terrain of the caves itself.

“Ok, we’re NOT hiding from it. It just tried to scare us a minute ago, but now it suddenly feels like giving us the silent treatment?” Frostbite said.

“Would you rather we were ambushed?” Air Slash asked as he kept his swords drawn and ready to fight. “Though I do agree that all is too quiet.”

“It’s waiting for us…” Shroud said.

“Then let’s be ready.” Fire Fight said. He and his ninja lover nodded at each other.

“I just hope we’re not being let into a trap…” Greensprout said.

“Even if it is, surely it is one we can fight out of if we believe in our strength.” Knight’s Soul said.

“Shoo! That’s what’s kept us hustlin’ so far!” Turf War said.

And hustled they did, towards the light at the top of the tunnel, a piercing light that demanded the entry of its anxious guests…

The Evil Appears

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys!
Hoped you all lived through the recent ice storm alright... because I kinda didn't. I live in a rather ill-equipped area to deal with such frigid weather, so... I'm ok now, but that's pretty much why this chapter was particularly delayed, apart from a couple other things going on in my life.
Kinda fitting that this chapter was uploaded shortly after all that, huh?
Anyway, enjoy!

With an air of trepidation hanging around them, the Battle Foals and co. allowed themselves to be enveloped into the pocket of light, fully expecting a harrowing climax at the summit of the mountain where the city of Canterlot no doubt laid in ruins. They prepared themselves for the absolute worst…

Slowly, the light dissipated, and the Battle Foals readied themselves for a big brawl. However, they were welcomed by the sight of the city, covered by glaciers like Manehatten, but every building was eerily still intact. Even more eerie was the fact that there was not a soul in sight, frozen or none. The only greeting they received was the ominous whistle in the wind surging throughout the city like a horde of frantic ghosts.

“Th’hell? What gives?” Turf War asked.

“Was this place already evacuated?” Shadow Shroud asked.

“We had begun the process, but… to be brutally honest, I didn’t think everypony would make it out.” Luna said.

“Then perhaps those left are in hiding.” Knight’s Soul said.

“More importantly, why aren’t there any monsters attacking us? We’re smack in the middle of the city!” Valkyrie said.

“Musta relegated all their forces down the mountain to keep us from climbin’ it.” Kickbacksaid.

“They couldn’t just magically make more?” Bullseye asked.

“Wouldja rather they did?” Kickback replied. “Ah suggest we keep real quiet-like. If the enemy don’t know we’re here, maybe we can jump ‘em from behind.”

“If there are survivors here though, I think we should ensure their welfare. I can only imagine what might be going through their heads right now.” Greensprout said.

“Y-Yes… L-Let’s…” Quantum stammered as she glanced around the frozen city.

Everyone looked at her with concern. “Is all well, Quantum Tech?” Zebota asked.

“Oh. Yes, I’m fine. Sorry…” she said. “Shall we then?” Everyone nodded and walked in a decided direction. All the while, solemnly looked around of the grand city she once called home. “Had I only stayed, perhaps… No, no. Don’t be mad.”

Moving as silently as they could, the group scoured the city for any signs of life, friend or foe. But the streets were completely desolate. Not even a hoofprint could be seen in spite of what must have been a frantic exodus. It was as if nopony had ever been there.

What buildings they could enter that weren’t completely overtaken by glaciers weren’t any less silent. Every shop, every house, and every possible dwelling was eerily pristine. Everything was in place as though the entire city was a giant set piece with everything placed as normally as could be. All that was missing were residents to reside within them. The city was dead silent.

“Ok, sorry for being Captain Obvious here, but something feels super off.” Spiral Galaxy said.

Zebota concentrated onto his brooch. “Yes. I sense… not undeath, but… something between mortality and immortality.”

Quantum read her scanners. “It’s as if the entire city is encased in a residual consciousness, a powerful one, and that it matches the brainwaves we measured.”

“‘Residual’? You mean it’s not here anymore?” Fire Fight asked.

Greensprout held her Gaia Root and focused on it as it light like a lantern. “Perhaps the body isn’t, but I can see what Quantum Tech meant by a consciousness.”

“It could have been like this…”

“Hmm?” Luna looked around upon hearing a strange voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted, if only for a split second, the silhouette of somepony darting into an alleyway far down the street. “Hm!? Over there!”

“What? Where?” Air Slash said, instinctively drawing his swords.

“Over there! Somepony ran around that corner! Did you not hear them?” Luna said.

“What? But I don’t sense any vital signs anywhere.” Greensprout said. “And… I didn’t hear anypony.” Looking around, nopony seemed to.

“And yet there is where this consciousness is moving.” Zebota said.

“Then it’s likely a trap. Maybe we shouldn’t follow them.” Twilight said.

“Yeah, but… Look, this is probably the stupidest thing we could do, but our only clue might’ve been what just ran around the corner.” Fire Fight said.

“We’ve already willingly walked into the spider’s web anyway. Our best, and maybe only option would be to play its game in order to expose it.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Man, it’s just one mind trick after another with this thing.” Frostbite said.

“Who or what did we make an enemy of...” Tidal Wave muttered.

“Let’s quit beating around the bush and find out.” Bullseye said.

Without further delay, the group followed the silhouette. When they reached the alleyway where Luna had seen it disappear into, they found that it had done just that- disappeared.

“We were both ill-fated.” Luna heard in her mind

“What the- even with the wall?” Tidal Wave said.

Twilight looked at Zebota and Quantum Tech. “Are you two able to track it?”

Zebota concentrated intensely onto his brooch as Shrapnel sniffed the air around him. “It hides it aura from even me. Truly, we are in its space.”

“And I can barely keep a lock on it whatsoever.” Quantum said. “There’s a blip on my radar, but it’s moving far too erratically for me to reliably trace.”

“Then how are supposed to- Huh!?” Luna suddenly felt an aggressive chill up her spine that somehow prompted her to turn around. When she did, she caught sight of the same silhouette running down the street. “There! After it!” She soared down the street without another word, and the Battle Foals could only follow her.

“But I’m now free… and I’ll exact revenge… for us both…”

They came to a stop when they had reached Luna, who was looking around frantically. “But… how?”

“Did you lose sight of it, Highness?” Air Slash asked.

“Yes! It just dissipated in the mist.” Luna said.

“Let’s keep it together. We know this is most likely an illusion, but it’s also most likely leading us to something. Let’s just keep following it.” Twilight said.

“With caution, of course.” Knight’s Soul said with his sword drawn.

Every so often, the silhouette would appear, and the Battle Foals would follow it. Little by little, it would lead them to a different location, almost as if it was indeed leading along some planned path. Each time they followed, it seemed to get closer, and they could more clearly define its appearance. It was small in stature and at least had an equine body. There was a point where it briefly looked directly at them before darting off, and a faint light-blue glimmer from its eyes. It took them a while to notice, but as they kept following it, the air became more and more frigid.

“But first…”

“Huh!?” Luna said, looking around.

“They… must… DIIEE!!!”

A sudden flash of light enveloped the entire city. Once it died down and the Battle Foals could open their eyes, they were shocked beyond words to see the grand city in a severe state of ruin. Buildings were halfway, sometimes completely destroyed and still overtaken by glaciers, the streets were littered with piles of driving snow, and there were more frozen ponies… except some of them were very explicitly dead.

Some ponies where impaled by ice stalagmites, some has sheets of ice digging underneath their skin and freezing them on the inside, and some were crushed beneath fallen ice boulders. They even noticed wounds on some that were a telltale sign that they had been ravaged by the various ice monsters they’d encountered on their travels. Kickback could barely find a place to vomit.

“No… No!” Twilight exclaimed.

Luna was too horrified to speak, and gawked helplessly at the destruction of her city and people. A tear fell from her eye, and it froze instantly before hitting the ground.

Turf War slammed hit shield with his hammer. “ALRIGHT!! THAT’S IT!! NO MORE HIDIN’!! NO MORE MIND F***S!! GET YO’ LI’L B**** A** OUT HERE RIGHT THE F*** NOW SO WE MERC YOU!! C’MON!!”

His challenge was met with silence. Deafening… still… silence. So silent, that the world’s volume itself felt as if it’d been turned down, even as the driving snow churned in the air like freezing butter.

Taking a deep breath and big gulp, Luna looked to the sky. “It’s as he says! Show yourself, you fiend!” she commanded.

Suddenly, the air began to swirl more violently, and the glaciers began glowing fiercely. They knew their fight was finally coming.

“RAAAWWWWRRRR!!!!”

A draconic roar inexplicably resounded across the city as the glaciers shone more intensely. As expected from last time, the intact ponies were risen as expressionless ice zombies. However, something more bizarre, more gruesome happened as well.

Small wisps of hazy light dispersed from the glaciers, falling as gently as snowflakes into the dead corpses. After a few seconds, the hazy light erupted from the corpses, and a soul made of frigid air emerged, each being the respective deceased pony and having pupil-less eyes. A few more seconds later, they churned more air around themselves and froze it into armor, making them recognizable as the aggressive windigos. Each one aggressively howled and wailed at the frightened Battle Foals.

“W-Well, uhh… this is awkward…” Valkyrie said.

From street and airspace, they were hopelessly surrounded. Everywhere they looked, soulless eyes and gnashing fangs were ready to assail them, more than they had faced before.

“PRINCESS CELESTIA!!” Fire Fight exclaimed. Sure enough, the solar sovereign was frozen deep in a block of ice, thankfully still intact, but her face was frozen with an expression of terror, a terror mimicked by Luna at the sight of her.

“HOW COULD THIS WOODSTOCK GET ANY WORSE!?” Crazylocks shouted.

It got worse. From behind Celestia iceberg marched two more ice zombies, two unfortunately familiar ones.

“NO!!!” Twilight exclaimed.

Before her stood the soul-shriven forms of her brother and sister-in-law. Even worse, their infant daughter floated beside in the same state. Unlike the other zombies, small areas of their bodies were occupied by patches of glistening ice, namely the backs of their heads where antenna-like icicles protruded. The icicles lit, and every enemy surrounding them charged them like mad dogs.

“NO TIME TO THINK! JUST ATTACK!!” Fire Fight ordered, igniting his horn like an Olympic torch.

Frostbite and Valkyrie, knowing how to best stop the attack, soared high and started targeting all of the glaciers. Valkyrie summoned her ancestral light as Frostbite simply summoned his innate fury as they started smashing through them.

Whatever aerial resistance they met was answered by Air Slash’s swords, Bullseye’s arrows, and Crazylocks divebombing into them. Spiral Galaxy, Kickback, and Quantum Tech even provided anti-air fire on occasion. They just knew they had to be careful not to harm the zombie to greatly. The windigos on the other hand, they went full force on. They were significantly more vicious than the ice zombies, as was expected. They exhaled micro blizzards and fired icy lightning from their eyes, which Frostbite had to shield his comrades from.

Back on the ground, it was the same story, except they had to rely on Fire Fight’s sheer willpower to conjure enough fire hold back the frigid magic of the windigos, all the while holding off their vicious assault. Spiral Galaxy helped some by gravitating the ice zombies away from the fray so that they could focus on the windigos, but Tidal Wave had a tough time defending her having only melted ice and snow to work with. Turf War smashed through already dilapidated buildings in a desperate attempt to help destroy the glaciers, but often had to shatter windigos in the process.

The princesses took the fight to their captured family. The zombified royalty, even little Flurry Heart casted dangerous ice spells, such as summoning barrages of ice spikes, casting freezing frost swirls, and erecting ice walls to block the princess’ own magic. Twilight’s fear of harming her family held her back, but Luna was determined to free her sister, and fought to her peak. Even so, even with the might of the moon itself backing her raw fury, it was a complete and utter stalemate. Everything was total chaos.

The frigid weather caused the Battle Foals to wear down more quickly, and it felt like no matter what they did, they weren’t making any progress… because they weren’t. Much to their horror, the armor of the windigos and the control glaciers steadily regenerated.

“What’re we supposed to do now!?” Tidal Wave said. Suddenly, they heard the howls and roars of more ice monsters ascending the mountain.

“This is bad…” Quantum Tech said, trying in vain to think of a solution that would save their lives.

“We have no choice.” Twilight said. “Everypony! Get close to me! I’ll get us out of here!”

Choosing to take a chance with the princess of friendship, everyone rushed towards her. On his way over, a rush of adrenaline-fueled Frostbite, and he locked onto the frozen Celestia. “HERE GOES NOTHING!”

With the zombified royals distracted by Luna, Frostbite body slammed into the iceberg, shattering it and scooping the unconscious sovereign in his arms. He quickly banked back around to Twilight.

“Oh, thank you, Frostbite!” Luna said. The icy drake merely winked at her.

“Ok, hang on!!” Twilight said. She quickly focused her magic, enveloping everyone in a pink light.

A dark shadow suddenly appeared in the sky above them. When they looked up, they saw a skeletal serpent covered in icy armor slithering through the sky. It had frills around its neck rather than wings, and it had the same energy produced by the glaciers gleaming from throughout the gaps in its body.

“LEAVING SO SOON?” From it boomed the voice of a young filly. “I PUT THIS WELCOME PARTY TOGETHER JUST FOR YOU, YOU KNOW.”

Twilight’s magic swirled more fiercely around everyone as the dragon’s magic seemed to hold it back.

This was it. They finally met their foe, the being that has taunted them and wrought such terrible havoc across their beloved kingdom. Even in their desperate situation, Fire Fight courageously looked the beast right in its eye. “WHO ARE YOU!?!?” he demanded.

The dragon laughed. “Does it matter? You and all of Equestria will soon be nothing more than icy waste anyway! I will rid this world of this DESPICABLE kingdom and it’s DISGUSTING people, and I WILL FINALLY have peace!!!” she declared. “Besides… those two can tell you all about me anyway.” Her piercing gaze turned towards Luna. “Isn’t that right… old friend?”

“What!?” Luna said. The dragon’s rib cage open up, and within its heart was the silhouette, except it was assuredly the true mastermind’s flesh.

As Twilight’s magic was becoming able to take effect, Luna’s eyes widened in complete horror as she was able to make out the full appearance of their foe. It was a small school-aged filly with a light blue coat, and mint toothpaste-like mane. Her eyes were a noticeably pale blue with barely any pupils visible within them, if at all. “YOU BETRAY ME!!! YOU BOTH BETRAYED ME!!! ALL OF EQUESTRIA BETRAYED ME!!!”

At last, Twilight was able to fully cast her spell, and everyone was swallowed by the light, teleporting them to another location.

As she was caught in the light, Luna could only think one thing. “This can’t be… Snowdrop!!”

The Cold Hard Truth

In an instant that almost felt like an eternity, the group were sucked through a magical wormhole formed by the teleportation spell that spat them out and let them fall on their faces in some random location, one of course covered in snow.

“Ugh… that was rough.” Fire Fight said as he and everyone else staggered to their feet.

“Y-Yeah… not my best moment. Sorry” Twilight said.

As they brushed the snow off of them, they were able to take in their surroundings. “Wait… Did you bring us where I think you did?” Shadow Shroud asked.

After taking in their surroundings more, Fire Fight also recognized where they currently were. “We’re back in Ponyville!”

Sure enough, the Princess of Friendship had teleported them to the humble hamlet she called home… only to find it in about as much shape as the ruined Canterlot. Dilapidated buildings crushed by ice, once lush fields and vegetation asphyxiated under snow, and glacial columns overtaking the townscape was an image only as chilling as the wind blowing throughout the town. Oddly yet fortunately enough, there were no corpses, frozen or otherwise immediately visible anywhere.

“Looks like everypony bounced ‘fore it got real nasty.” Turf War said.

“I’m thankful for that much.” Greensprout said.

“How is Her Highness?” Air Slash asked, looking at Celestia.

“Oh!” Greensprout said, realizing she was next to the solar sovereign. She was still unresponsive, but she was visibly, albeit slowly breathing. “She’ll be fine, but we need to get her inside.”

“Good luck finding something that still has a roof.” Valkyrie said.

Looking off in the distance, Twilight noticed that her lavish abode, while caved in some areas, was still relatively intact. “We can take her to my castle. Let’s go!”

Without another word, everyone rushed in the direction of the castle with the incapacitated Celestia in tow… except for one.

“Princess Luna?” Spiral Galaxy asked.

The mare of the moon was just standing there with the face of somepony who’d just witnessed a murder, completely fixated on her thoughts. “Snowdrop… How… Why…” she mumbled.

“Yer Highness, Ah don’t reckon now’s the time for ruminatin’.” Kickback said.

“Wait… she knows that jerk?” Bullseye asked.

“Let’s finish being shocked and confused when we’re nice and warm.” Tidal Wave said.

“He’s right. Your Highness!” Knight’s Soul called out.

“Huh!?” Luna snapped out of her confused trance. “O-Oh, yes.” Now that they had Luna’s attention, she joined the group in rushing towards Twilight’s castle.

Once they got there, they found the front doors frozen shut. With a hefty mix of magic and brute force, they managed to pry the entrance open. What they found inside made their stomachs turn in several different directions.

“GET ‘EM!!” bellowed a voice from within. A large group of ponies suddenly rushed them armed with a various assortment of weapons, makeshift or real, but immediately stopped upon seeing who had entered the castle. “TWILIGHT!!!”

The princess of friendship was suddenly tackled to the ground by a familiar pink mass of floof, who was now had her in a wrestle pin of a hug. “Pinkie Pie!” Twilight said gleefully. “Would you mind?”

“Huh?... Oh! Ok.” Pinkie said as she released Twilight.

Twilight looked up and saw all of Ponyville’s residents within her castle, and they certainly looked as if they were surviving an apocalypse. Within the enormous lobby alone, emergency workers had small medical tents set up, food rations were carefully managed and stored, and there were makeshift stoves heated with controlled burners that melted snow into drinkable water. “Oh my gosh! Are you all- wait, no! Nurse, I need you to make room for Princess Celestia!” she said, showing the still unconscious royal.

“RIGHT ON IT!” The nurse said, and immediately took Celestia into their care.

“Oh darling, there you are!” a familiar posh accent said. The rest of the Elements appeared and warmly embraced Twilight.

“And you even brought Fire Fight and the other runaways back too!” Fluttershy said. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re all ok!”

“FIRE FIGHT!!!” A cacophony of little voice shouted the colt’s name, and he was suddenly being rushed by all of Ponyville’s school foals. From every direction, he was piledriven by hugs. Button Mash especially was really laying the bro hug on him. Silver Spoon lingered the longest until Fire Fight had to gently push her off.

“Dude!! I can’t believe it! You’re… You’re actually ok!” Button Mash said.

Fire Fight blushed. “Well, yeah. I, uh… Did you forget about Action Shot?” He then turned to his brigade of battle-hardened foals. “Plus, I was hardly alone.” The class gawked in awe as the Battle Foals just stood there, each individually silently greeting their new audience.

“Oh, honey!” Fire Fight was suddenly overwhelmed by the embrace of his mother.

“Whoa! You too, mom?” Fire Fight said.

“Forget someone?” his father said, appearing beside him. He, far more gently than his wife, embrace his son.

Fire Fight could do naught but smile. “Hi, guys.” And they let go.

“Umm…” Hesitantly walking towards them was a familiar purplish red mare. “I… don’t suppose you’re terribly happy to see me…?” Cheerilee said.

The memory of that terrible day weighed heavily on Fire Fight’s mind, and encountering Cheerilee once again with a guilty smile on her face certainly added to the uneasiness. But the fiery colt couldn’t bring himself to be mad anymore, and he warmly smiled at her. “Hi, Ms. Cheerilee. I, uh… didn’t make you worry too much, did I?” he said sheepishly.

Cheerilee’s smile flashed into shocked elation, which created a new smile. “So you… actually forgive me?”

Fire Fight shrugged. “We’ll just say it nopony’s fault. Except maybe Action Shot’s…”

“Oh, THANK YOU, hone- er… Fire Fight!” Cheerilee sheepishly said.

“I’m so happy everything’s settled between you all again, but what’re you all doing here?” Twilight asked. “You ought’ve been close to the southern border by now.”

“We were waiting on you, silly!” Pinkie said. “I mean how else are the Elements of Harmony supposed to serve the big baddie on a rainbow rhubarb pie if we don’t have all six spicy-sweet ingredients?”

“Spicy-sweet!?” Crazylocks blurted. “You liar! My great-great-grand-great father told me they were loony-luscious! He said so on his deathbed… Do you bite your hind hoof at him!?”

Pinkie gasped at her, somehow unfazed at Crazylocks’s outburst. “Oh my gosh! You’re absolutely right! There is a loony lusciousness in every sprinkle of our magic muffin menagerie.”

“And don’t you forget!” Crazylocks said. “Although, you two would’ve certainly had a meaningful discussion of the sweet spiciness that you speak of.”

Pinkie saluted with her mane. “He sounded like a great stallion.”

Bullseye deadpanned. “What’ve we done?”

“Ok, but why are all the other townsfolk here? This is the most danger Equestria has been in since Tirek attacked!” Twilight said.

The Mayor walked up to her. “Being perfectly honest, we just… couldn’t bring ourselves to leave, especially considering you were returning, and we’d see the return of so many runaway foals. I at least wanted to assure their safety before arranging to reunite them with… well, most of them with their parents.”

Zebota chuckled. “With respect, ponyfolk elder, I believe it is us who will assure your safety.” He said as Shrapnel calmly sat behind him. Oddly enough, the townsfolk seemed quite enamored with the large wolf.

“Oh, wow! So that’s Shrapnel?” a random stallion said.

“Fire Fight’s parents told us about one of you guys having a pet timberwolf. He’s so cool!” a filly said. Modest as he was, the mystic zebra colt couldn’t help but blush.

“And I see you’ve been scrounging to survive until help came, yes?” Quantum Tech asked.

“Yeah, we been sneaking out to grab what supplies we can use and decide what to do with it here. It’s a miracle we haven’t been attacked yet.” Fist said.

“Now that ya say it, we didn’t get attacked even though we scurried over here like prairie dogs.” Kickback said.

“Perhaps that… Snowdrop, was it, concentrated all of her resources in Canterlot, hoping to eradicate us.” Shadow Shroud said.

“Oh, yeah! Princess Luna, you seemed to know that filly.” Knight’s Soul said.

“Wait, really!?” Rainbow Dash said. She and everypony seemed quite shocked at the prospect.

For a moment, Luna just stood there, looking as disheartened as a bride who’d been abandoned at the altar. Eventually, she shed a tear, and she had to take a deep breath before speaking. “She was a very, very important friend of mine from long ago, before I became Nightmare Moon.”

“She’s that old!?” Frostbite said. “I thought ponies could only live that long if they were alicorns!”

“That’s just the thing!” Luna said. “My sister told me after I’d returned that she had long since passed away, as I’d feared I’d learn, so why do I see her in the here and now, just as I’d left her a thousand years ago!?”

“Forgive me, sister…” Everyone looked over to see that Celestia had woken up, and she looked as guilty as her sister believed.”

Princess Celestia!” Greensprout said.

While most everyone bowed, Luna marched right up to her sister. “Tia, explain yourself this instant!!” she demanded.

Celestia heavily sighed. “Allow me to provide some history on our foe.” She said. “She was a Pegasus filly who resided in Cloudsdale, just like any other, except that she had a distinct disadvantage: she was blind.”

“Blind? But she seemed to always know exactly where we were!” Valkyrie said.

“When one sense goes unused, it means the brain can supply the extra energy towards all the other senses.” Quantum Tech explained.

“Especially when one is so vastly empowered by magic.” Zebota added.

“Indeed.” Celestia said. “She was much like my sister, misunderstood and often… looked over. There came a time where she and her class were expected to create a symbol celebrating the coming spring one year for my sister and I to accept, and it was hers that stood out.”

“Wait a minute.” Tidal Wave said. “I know who you’re talking about! We had to read about her in our weather class in Cloudsdale! She was the one who created snowflakes!”

“Whoa! Seriously!?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight pulled out a book and flipped to a page with Snowdrop’s unmistakable image. “The very same.”

“No, no, no. I mean, there was a class about her in school?” Rainbow Dash asked. Everyone in the room collective glanced at her, and the prideful Pegasus could feel a great deal of judgment being weighed on her. “Ehehe… They, uh… They really teach them kiddos better than they did back in our day, huh?” she stammered.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Anyway, it’s said that she crafted snowflakes from regular snow by listening to the stars twinkle every night. What she thought stars looked like based on what she heard is what gave rise to snowflakes having the beautiful shapes we know of today.”

“She could… hear the stars?” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Yes. She presented her gift with such passion and heart that it reshaped Equestrian winters from then on.” Celestia said. “Being that Luna was as misunderstood as her at the time, the two struck a powerful chord with each other.”

Luna sniffled. “She would visit the castle, and I would welcome her as though she were a niece. Oh, how we would play and talk together, how she loved to learn more about Equestria and what made it so wonderful, how her new winter made everything more beautiful.”

“And then… it happened…” Kickback said.

Luna heavily sighed, producing a visible breath cloud. “Yes. In spite of her cherished support, my resentment from back then was still too great. As a result of my exile, I had abandoned her, and… I never got to see her again.” A tear rolled down her face, freezing before it hit the castle floor. “But a thousand years have passed between then and my return! She should’ve long passed away by now! Sister, we even released her first snowflake not long after I was cleansed! Have you been lying to me this whole time!?”

All eyes were on the solar sovereign, and she was a defendant who knew she was guilty, so she made no attempt to sugarcoat anything anymore. “It was not long after I’d banished you. As you’d expect, she was devastated at the sudden loss of her closest friend. But where she mourned the separation of her dear friend, she witnessed all of Equestria celebrating the defeat of a malevolent witch, she who was the very mistress of the nighttime that she loved oh so dearly.”

“Yeesh. That’s uh… that’s kinda brutal.” Frostbite said.

Celestia nodded. “She was so consumed with frustration and anger that she accused everypony, even me… especially me of betraying my sister, and the bond we had begun to forge; she asked if she and her beautiful winter were next. I tried to console her, but… she her fury was too great. I… I daresay it outmatched my sister at the time.”

“And that’s when she went berserk?” Bullseye asked.

Celestia nodded. “Even though she is not a unicorn, she had formed a powerful affinity to the winter she’d created for Equestria. She cried countless tears, and those tears froze into weapons poised against her people. And so…”

“You had to seal her away as well.” Shadow Shroud said.

“It was a furious bout; I felt as though I was fighting Nature itself. But in the end, I subdued her. The moon was already fully occupied, so I had to seal her elsewhere. The only place left was far to the north.” Celestia said.

“Um, in the Frozen North, Yo’ Highness?” Turf War asked.

“The Frozen North was not frozen back then… until I sealed her. And even so, her rage seethed. I feared the day she would be able to break free, but… my own hubris prevented me from believing she ever would.” Celestia said. “And now that she’s back, she desires nothing more than to wreak her vengeance upon myself and all of Equestria.”

The whole room went silent. Everypony looked upon their exalted princess with shock while Zebota, Valkyrie, and Frostbite all individually lamented her actions in silence.

“Sister…” Luna sobbed. “Why!? Why did you never tell me!?!”

All Celestia could do was lower her head in utter shame. “I’m so sorry, Luna… just so sorry. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you…”

“IMAGINE WHAT I COULD HAVE DONE FOR HER IF YOU DID!!” Luna bellowed, her royal voice in full effect. “I watched you accept her snowflakes right from her hooves all those years ago, and you have the GALL to imprison like some kind of monster!? What was I truly to you back then!? What was she!? What was ANYTHING you or ponies feared!?!?”

“Princess Luna, please!” Greensprout said.

Luna snapped out of her rage when she saw the entire room cowering away from her. “Oh dear. I… I’m so sorry, everypony.”

“You have every right to be angry with me, sister.” Celestia said, a tear rolling down her face. “Now, I will do all I can to make things right.”

“We will too!” Fire Fight declared, he and the Battle Foals standing with such a powerful aura of courage.

Celestia giggled. “I’m very glad, Fire Fight. I’m also sorry about the hardships you and the Battle Foals have endured. I’ve only now met you, and I can already tell that you’re no ordinary foals.” She said, earning a blush from the fiery colt. “Only this time, I will see that you’re all loved, and your talents are nurtured to their absolute best.”

“Thanks, Your Highness; but we need to focus on Snowdrop right now. She’s even more powerful than we thought, so we’ll have to be absolutely certain we don’t get cocky.” Fire Fight said.

“She’s gotta be on her way over here as we speak.” Spike said, shivering at the thought.

He turned to address his comrades. “Look guys, we can bring her down! We just have to stand together and brave her cold! Up until now, we’ve face huge monsters, mad scientists, ancient evils, and Snowdrop’s monsters! We might not have been ready for her the first time, but next time, she’ll have the fire of hardened warriors ready to melt her rage away!” He ignited his horn. “WHO’S WITH ME!?”

The Battle Foals bellowed respective war cries, never more ready to fight at their leader’s side. They replied in the order he met them.

“I’ve been yo’ wing man since the beginnin’, and ain’t nothin’ changin’, not even at the end, homie!”

“You’ve all done so much for me. If I give up now, I’ll have betrayed all the faith you put in me! I’ll crash the entire universe down onto her if you want!”

Air Slash put one of his swords over his heart. “Were it my choice, I’d make you an honorary friend, even member of our proud clan; but as it stands, my blades serve the pact we forged. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Kickback swiftly reloaded his guns. “Yee-Haw! It’s time for a rodeo, sheriff!”

“My mind feels so clear!!! I truly mean that.”

“All I can say is: All systems are ago!”

“A flaming spirit rages deep inside of you, Fire Fight. I shall not hold mine back, so don’t hold back yours.” Zebota’s words were followed by Shrapnel courageously howling.

“My powers serve to heal. If fighting Snowdrop is the only way to heal her heart, then I will support you with all of my being!”

“I know what kind of rage she’s dealing with, so give it my all to save her from herself.”

“I won’t run… I can’t run! In fact, I’m done running, you guys! My lance will pierce the darkness!”

Valkyrie preened her feathers. “You’ve got a Griffin warrior’s spunk, dude. Careful, I might be force to outdo you!”

Frostbite cracked his knuckles and blew frigid smoke from his nostrils. “I’m just gonna leave it at that. No corniness, just action.”

Everyone just started cheering so vigorously for the Battle Foals, some even chanting their names. Fire Fight struggled to hold back tears of utter joy. For the first time in what must have been forever, he felt appreciated by somepony other than a foal like him.

Shadow Shroud then walked up to him. She had a twinkle in her eye that he never thought possible, almost as if she was a completely different filly, but only for that moment of triumph. She pulled him in for a close, warm embrace. “You’re a real hero, Fire Fight. I won’t let you down.”

Fire Fight hugged back and kissed her. “I know you won’t, so I’ll fight with all my strength and then some.” He said. She giggled at him.

“We’ll be at your side too, darling!” Rarity said, standing beside the five other Elements, and even winking at Shadow Shroud, who winked back.

Everyone who had fought beside them before also swore their bravery, assuring Fire Fight that in spite the sheer impending danger, he would have what felt like the strength of the nation by his side.

Silliness With Celestia

With his head held high, Fire Fight felt like he could take on the frozen world, even if Snowdrop herself still seemed overwhelmingly formidable. He could feel the energy from the crowd pouring into his horn, and he couldn’t wait to light the flame that would burn away the cold filly’s darkness. But first, they had preparations to make.

“Alright everyone, Snowdrop is on her way over here. We have room for a defensive battle strategy. Any ideas?”

Greensprout stepped up. “I think, before all else, we should ensure the safety of all the townsfolk. I’d feel terrible if they were caught in our crossfire. We need to make sure that they’re sufficiently sheltered.”

Fire Fight looked around and was quickly reminded at the sorry state the populace was. Having just enough strength the skirt by in this apocalyptic weather, having to endure so close to the icy endbringer would surely be enough to finish them off. “You’re right.”

“I don’t suppose you have a basement?” Shadow Shroud asked Twilight.

Twilight shook her head. “I’m afraid not. But there are some caves on the edge of the Everfree Forest that should be safe. It’d just be a matter of getting everypony over there safely.”

“We encountered no resistance out in the town when we came over here, so… mad as I may sound, I should think it would be fairly safe to escort everypony.” Quantum Tech said.

“Be that as it may, it’s always best to err on the side of caution.” Air Slash said.

“We’ll need to prepare for travel first. That’d mean getting our supplies organized and ready for departure.” Mayor Mare said.

“Then we’ll help you before we head out.” Fire Fight said.

“A splendid idea, Fire Fight.” Celestia said. “I’d like to use this opportunity to get to know you and the Battle Foals better if you don’t mind.”

“Sure! I don’t see why not.” Fire Fight said.

*****

Fire Fight and his mother worked together to prepare rations, carefully mixing what ingredients could be scrounged before gently baking them in a makeshift oven. “Our old camping snack recipe, huh?” Fire Fight asked his mom.

“Well, as best I could replicate it anyway.” Cat said. Out from the oven came batches of baked oat treats with various bits of fruits and vegetables mixed in.

“Still looking great as it ever was.” Fist said as he carefully packed the finished batches.

“How come you never made these for us? They look tasty” Spiral Galaxy asked.

“I wanted to try new stuff. If all I made were these snacks, it might’ve been a boring trip.” Fire Fight said.

“Oh, sure. Giant snakes, crystal monsters, mad scientists, bandits… totally not a boring trip.” Spiral said.

“Yeah, but having only trail mix bars would’ve made me miss home-cooked meals.” Tidal Wave said.

Shadow Shroud appeared beside them. “They probably would’ve been nice in our more desperate situations, but I suppose we survived just fine.”

Celestia calmly observed them while making sure the packages were fairly distributed. “It’s still impressive that you’re that capable of a cook at your age, Fire Fight.”

“Thanks, Princess.” Fire Fight said. “My mom started teaching me when she found out my magic was fire-based.”

“I thought it’d be a good way to train him to control his fire- I didn’t want him accidently burning down our house after all!” Cat said. “S-Sorry, honey.”

Fire Fight shrugged. “Meh. That’s actually fair.”

“I definitely enjoyed sampling his experiments whenever I got home from work, even the failed ones.” Fist said. “If they were really good, he’d get more time with the hanging bag.”

“Seems like that’s how you bonded as a family.” Celestia said.

“Well, that wasn’t the only way, but…” Fist.

“It was certainly the most prevalent, I’d say.” Cat said.

“There’s no bonding like bonding over food, right?” Fire Fight asked.

Shroud giggled. “Ms. Fight, you taught your son well. His fearsome talent in the ferocious art of cooking managed to tame a whole horde of rogue foals!” she joked.

Cat laughed. “Well, I’m happy his rigorous training came to such good use, sweetie!” she said. “Honey, you’ll have to let your friends try these once we defeat Snowdrop.” She said to her son.

“Oh, yes!” Celestia said. “I’d certainly love to sample the cooking that brought a group of broken foals together. It built a family in of itself, I think.”

Fire Fight blushed as he pulled out another tray. “Aw, man. But, yeah! I’ll totally make some- huh?” He suddenly noticed that the batch he pulled out had a couple missing. “I know I put a full tray in…”

Crunching could suddenly be heard, and when they looed over, they saw Turf War gingerly munching on what they could only assume were the baked treats based on the crumbs flying from his mouth. “Yo. This taste fire!”

“DUDE! SERIOUSLY!?” Spiral exclaimed.

Turf War’s eyes suddenly opened wider than a mile, and he sheepishly looked around as he felt glares from all around. “Ehehe… S-See what happened was…”

*****

Shadow Shroud stood calmly amongst the group of school foals, most of them nervous, but others quite curious. Cheerilee stood amongst them; she too was anxious in the presence of a dangerous myth, but she maintained an air of coolness around her students. Celestia’s calm presence aided to ease any anxieties.

“So… you’re supposed to be a ninja from a clan hidden from history?” Button Mash asked.

“To put it simply.” Shroud said. “We’re actually an off-shoot from the Bladerunner clan, not too long after they were formed.”

“It all started from the actions of a rebellious Bladerunner who harbored a powerful sense of justice.” Celestia explained.

“Grandmaster New Moon…” Shadow Shroud muttered reverently.

“Have you always known they existed, Princess?” Cheerilee asked.

Celestia nodded. “Yes. I thought them a menace at first, but they have worked to protect Equestria’s light by fighting in its shadows, shadows that ought to remain unseen.”

“Yeah, I can guarantee my team and I fought in some of these ‘shadows’ ourselves.” Fire Fight said as he walked up and sat next to his love, who gave him a sweet smile.

“Fire Fight, I think ponies would love it if you wrote a journal chronicling all the adventures you had with your friends.” Cheerilee said. “It might help Equestria cope with the revelation of the Shadewalkers’ existence.”

“Great idea!” Fire Fight said.

“Yeah, but… you guys were supposed to be a secret, right? Is anything gonna… happen to you now?” Diamond Tiara asked.

Shroud’s confident smile faded into mild worry. “I-I… should be fine.” She stammered.

Silver Spoon walked up to them. “Well, if anything does happen…” She suddenly grabbed Fire Fight’s hoof and held it to her cheek, startling the fiery colt. “I’ll be sure to take good care of Fire Fight for you.”

Before Fire Fight could even react, Shadow Shroud quickly drew a kunai and held it to Silver Spoon’s throat, staring burning daggers into her souls. “That won’t be necessary.”

Silver Spoon quickly let go and scuttled back like a scared puppy. “Y-Y-Yes, ma’am!”

As Shroud put her kunai away, Fire Fight leaned in to whisper. “Easy!” He said.

“Sorry. Force of habit…” Shroud said.

*****

Turf War decided to help Big Mac and Applejack move their barrels of what apples they could harvest before the ice storm hit. In spite of his small size, his ability to lift a barrel with a single hoof and transport it with minimal issue made it clear that his strength could potential rival his southern male peer.

“Yer a hard worker, Turf War!” Applejack said.

“Man, I do what I gotta do to help my homies. It was like that back in the hood, it’s like that with the crew I’m rollin’ with now. Ya feel?” Turf War said.

“Eeyup.” Mac said as he helped his middle sister lift two barrels into a wagon.

“Erm…” Diamond Tiara had come to see what they were doing. “Sorry if I’m rude but,… you talk kinda funny.”

Turf War rolled his eyes. “Listen: it’s just how I do. I can help it… Well, I could help it, but f-… skip that. I like who I am.”

“Were you seriously about to cuss?” Diamond asked.

Spoiled Rich suddenly appeared beside her. “This is the kind of filth I’ve warned you to stay especially far away from, my dear.

Turf War tossed a barrel up to Applejack. “Oh! You speaking from experience? ‘Cause I bet a lot o’ homies ghosted yo’ ass.”

Spoiled stared daggers at him. “I’ll thank you not to use such vulgarity against MY pristine character, you nasty little piece of street litter!”

“Mom!” Diamond said.

Turf War just burst out laughing. “That’s yo’ best comeback. Man, lemme know when you got something creative to call me, then I might hit you with my best smack talk- I been had plenty o’ practice.”

Spoiled was seething until she felt Celestia’s presence beside her. “Many ponies come from many different walks of life.” The solar sovereign said. “No matter how imperfect one might seem to the other, we’re people all the same.

Startled, Spoiled Rich just casually cleared her throat. “O-Oh, of course, Your Radiance. This unmannered colt really ought to know better.”

Celestia wryly smiled. “Perhaps he would if you set a better example.” Spoiled stared at her stunned while Diamond snickered beside her.

“Mm-hm.” Turf War said. “That’s what happens when you be mouthin’ off like a li’l b****.” He said.

Everyone Big Mac and Applejack dropped the barrels they were carrying out of shock as everyone dropped dead silent and gawked at Turf War.

“What did you say, young colt!?” Celestia asked.

Turf War sweated bullets. “Oh, s***! Uh, I mean-… M-M-My bad! Hehehe…”

*****

Spiral Galaxy calmly cast a whirl of stars around herself with the three princesses, Tidal Wave, Sky Strike, and Quantum Tech as her audience. The latter of whom was projected readings of her friend’s powerful magic from her glasses, some that the princesses were quite in awe of.

Eventually, Spiral relaxed her magic and stood consciously amongst her friends once more. “Well?”

“Spiral Galaxy, that’s… that’s just incredible!” Twilight said.

“Your command over the stars is quite admirable at your age.” Luna said.

“I’m just curious as to how you even learned such powerful magic.” Celestia said.

“Surprisingly enough, Hoofington’s public library had a tome on how to use cosmomancy.” Spiral explained. “I, ehh… kinda thought I could be the Princess of the Stars when I was little, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

Sky Strike chuckled. “Well, they do say, ‘follow your dreams’.”

“I’m just so sorry that your dreams ended up hurting you, Spiral Galaxy.” Twilight said.

Spiral shook her head. “Don’t worry. My friends helped me get a grip on my magic, especially Quantum and Tidal Wave.”

Quantum proudly fixed her glasses. “My hornband provided an adequate pressure valve, allowing her to cast greater amounts of magic while becoming accustomed to the mental strain that comes with.”

“I wasn’t there for the whole thing, but apparently the flow of water helps to ease her mind.” Tidal Wave said.

“The sounds of Nature can be very soothing, even to the most energetic amongst us.” Luna said.

“Out of curiosity, what was the book you read, Spiral Galaxy?” Celestia asked.

Spiral pondered. “Erm… I think it was called like… ‘Starswirl’s Star Talking Guide’ or something like that?”

Twilight gasped. “Do you mean ‘Starswirl’s Guide to Taming the Stars’?”

“Yeah! That’s it!” Spiral said.

“That tome should be in the Canterlot Royal Library! How did it get into Hoofington?” Celestia said. “Unless I sent it to you, Twilight so you could study it when you left for Ponyville.”

Twilight cocked her head. “Wait here a minute.” And she went into her study. It was moments before she returned with a confused look on her face. “I don’t seem to have it. Did you forget to send it?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, I distinctly remember ordering it be sent to your living space.” She said. “Although… I had originally planned to send you to Hoofington- Ponyville was a last minute change due to the Summer Sun Celebration taking place there…” She pondered for a moment… and then loudly face-hooved upon realizing her blunder. “Oh, manure…”

*****

Air Slash and his father took it upon themselves to sharpen the makeshift weapons some of the townsfolk had made for themselves, as well as their own and those of their comrades.

“How long has it been since you and I have done something as simple as this together, my son?” Knight’s Soul asked.

“I seem to recall us and mother having a nice picnic in the garden together when I was much younger.” Air Slash said.

Knight’s Soul pondered. “Ah, yes. As I recall, the day prior, you’d suffered a sparring injury with one of your older cousins. You were too scared to even pick up a sword again after that, so your mother thought to reignite your courage with some family time.”

“Well, I daresay it worked.” Air Slash said. “Yes… you both gave me reassurance that I’d grow into a strong, proud swordman; that every mistake, every injury heals and becomes armor for the soul.”

Knight’s Soul chuckled. “Assuming you choose to wear that armor. Otherwise, you’re simply rubbing salt into your own wound.”

Air Slash’s smile then began to fade. “I so hope that she and the others are alright.”

“They are.” Knight’s Soul asserted. They’ve found refuge elsewhere, but their hardiness serves them well.”

Air Slash smiled again. “Good. I can’t finally get back at Radiant Dawn if he’s frozen to death.”

Knight’s Soul laughed heartily. “Watch that pride of yours, boy. Don’t want to turn out like me.”

Air Slash shook his head. “Don’t say that, father. I think we’ve both succeeded in swallowing our pride.”

“Indeed.” Knight’s Soul said. “Though perhaps we ought to check each other on occasion. If there’s one thing we’ve both learned, I think it’s that we’re more than just a clan- we’re a family.”

“We are.” Air Slash said. He put down what he was doing and looked at his father. “And I hope we can maintain that from now on.” He said as he hugged his father.

Knight’s Soul happily reciprocated. “I love you, Air Slash.”

“I love you too, father.”

*****

Kickback decided to brighten the mood with good old fashioned rodeo entertainment. He skillfully twirled his whip around like a lasso and performed various basic tricks with it. The townsfolk happily watched along with an amused Celestia.

“Man! He’s pretty cool!” One stallion said.

“Quite the little star.” One mare said.

“That’s looks fun! I wonder if I could learn to do that?” An eager colt said.

“H-He’s handsome too…” A blushing filly cooed.

Twilight happened to walk in on the performance and sat next to her teacher. “He’s a rising star, isn’t he?”

“He certainly is.” Celestia said. She then leaned in to whisper. “He’s the one who wields the new weapons called ‘guns’, correct?”

“He is.” Twilight answered.

“So… he’s the one who accidently…” Celestia said.

Twilight looked upon the cowpony and sighed. “Yes…” she muttered. “Are you… worried in any way?”

“All weapons are equally dangerous on their own. The true threat comes from irresponsible use by irresponsible folk, a notion I’m sure his past self can attest.” Celestia said. “That calm and collected attitude means that he learned his lesson, bless his young soul, and the soul of his dearly departed mother. He sets a profound example for the kind of responsible needed to wield any weapon.”

Twilight looked upon at Kickback again, this time with a little reverence. “I guess he does, doesn’t he?”

“I remember something Starswirl said to me long ago when I was your age: ‘The most dangerous weapon that everypony wields from birth is their heart and soul. It’s essential that that’s the first weapon of yours that you temper’.”

“Wow…” Twilight said. “I must imagine he spent a lot of time doing that.” She couldn’t help but notice just how happy the spectators were watching Kickback calmly perform. “Maybe that’s what draws others to him.” She said, which made her giggle noticing how the fillies watching were all watching him obviously smitten.

When he was done with his performance, Kickback sheathed his whip, took off his hat, and gracefully bowed to his thoroughly pleased audience. He donned his hat with reserved pride… but he then felt his whip ominously vibrating.

“OH, TARNATION!” Kickback exclaimed. His whip was glowing brightly from the kinetic energy it had stored from being twirled. “How’d Ah already forget about that!? Ah better go let this off, y’all!” He rushed out of the castle, and resounding crack in the sound barrier could be heard, even felt beyond the doors.

*****

“UNICORN! PEGASUS! EARTH PONY! UNICORN! PEGASUS! EARTH PONY! UNICORN! PEGASUS! EARTH PONY!” Crazylocks loudly chanted as she repeatedly transitioned between tribes. Fire Fight, Bullseye, Cheerilee, Twilight, and Luna watched sorrowfully as Celestia quivered at the unnatural display. Watching with equal parts sympathy and intrigue was Dr. Hooves.

“What a wretched thing to do to a foal…” Luna said.

“Yeah… She’s been really helpful to us because of it, but we hoped we could find a way to cure her.” Fire Fight said.

“The best we were able to do was give her the gift of friendship.” Bullseye said.

“But to think the perpetrator was- Oh! Is it safe for me to say his name?” Dr. Hooves asked.

Fire Fight and Bullseye looked at each other and shrugged. “I think it should be fine.” Bullseye said.

“Good.” Dr. Hooves cleared his throat. “To think the great Professor Gene Splice would be the one to commit such gruesome acts, right down to murdering his family for the sake of experiments… There are just some lines no scientist should ever cross.” He said. “That said, I would gladly aid to study a way to correct her genetic structure. I suppose we could call it… Gene therapy!”

“I remember meeting Professor Gene Splice some years back.” Celestia said. “His ability to study and understand life and the world around him was truly unmatched. I remember worrying that he would allow his passion to discover to consume him. It seems I should’ve acted on that hunch.”

“Will she even be able to live a normal life after she’s cured? This ordeal began for her when she was only three.” Twilight said.

“I don’t think it’s impossible.” Cheerilee said. “There are programs for challenged foals, but it’d be a matter of time and patience after that, and a lot of it.”

“Though I severely doubt she’ll retain the fighting capabilities she has now after the fact; you’d be down a soldier.” Hooves said.

“Honestly, I’d be ok with that. In fact, I kinda want that for her. She’s been through so much already that I want her to be at peace for once. She… She kinda deserves it.” Fire Fight said.

“Took the words right out of my mouth.” Bullseye said. “Hey… she didn’t flinch when we said Gene’s name!”

“Pfft! I watched him ride into the jelly donut sunset long ago. I don’t care anymore!” Crazylocks said. She then looked curiously as Celestia. “So… who’re you again?”

“Crazylocks, that’d Princess Celestia.” Twilight said. “The one who raises and sets the sun and rules over Equestria.”

Crazylocks then gasped and looked upon the solar sovereign with sparkling eyes. “You’re real!?” she said.

Celestia winced while Luna started snickering violently. “And just what’s so funny, sister?” Celestia asked.

Luna could answer in muffles from holding back a fit of laughter. “Oh, N-Nothing!”

*****

Quantum Tech was diligently on fine-tuning her mech. Her concentration was so intense that she paid no heed to anyone around her, not even Celestia and Twilight, who were standing right beside her as she worked.

Celestia was thoroughly impressed by what the filly had accomplished on her own, and Twilight was still giddy over the sight of the impressive technological piece, but exercised restraint in the presence of her teacher, not to mention the memory of what happened aboard the Jotun.

“Isn’t it always wonderful to see somepony find their talent so early?” Celestia asked.

Twilight nodded. “It sure is. Do you think you’ll let her into your school? She’d be a great fit.”

Celestia pondered. “Hmm… While she would no doubt make a name for herself, she’s already so smart that she might just stand out too much. I daresay she may be ready for an apprenticeship already.”

“Good point. That talent’s already been thoroughly nurtured, but now it just needs to be tempered.” Twilight said. She knew that this’d be a conversation the filly herself ought to have been a part of. “Hey, Quantum Tech?” The little technician kept working at it, not hearing Twilight. “Quantum Tech?” Nothing again. “Quantum Tech!?” Still nothing. “QUANTUM TECH!”

“Huh!?” Quantum looked up, startled as she haphazardly reached around the cockpit area… setting off the anti-theft measure. “GYAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!”

The princesses watched in shock as Quantum was… well, shocked by her own tech, and the brainy filly fell to the ground in a smoking heap. “Goodness!” Celestia cradled the dazed Quantum, who didn’t look very happy with Twilight.

“You were asking for me… princess?” Quantum hissed, causing Twilight to sheepishly blush.

*****

Shrapnel curiously sniffed around Celestia, who was unfazed by the interaction with the wooden titan. His master softly smiled at the display.

“I hope you do not take offense from him, O Royal One. This is how he becomes acquainted with most others.” Zebota said.

“Of course not, Zebota.” Celestia said. “If anything, I’m flattered to have such a friendly exchange with such ferocious beast, not to mention a zebra. It’s so wonderful that you were able to make friends with people outside of your culture.”

Zebota nodded. “It is said by my people that one should revere the tree for how it has grown, not for the soil that it has grown from.” He said. “In other words, who you are as person always comes first. Culture is secondary.”

“Profound wisdom indeed.” Celestia.

Zecora walked up to them. “Even when alone, we learn from the earth. It is a sense we have at our moment of birth. Pony, zebra, it matters not; we all read and act from the same plot.”

Celestia nodded. “And if Fire Fight’s actions are any indication, mindset is the next most important thing. Even if we disagree, we all unconsciously wish to strive towards peace.”

“So it would seem.” Zecora said. “Even once I feared Beastcraft, the forbidden art; but this child, Zebota has done much to ease my heart.”

“That pleases me to hear, Ms. Zecora.” Zebota said.

Shrapnel stopped sniffing Celestia and started nuzzling her, causing her to giggle. “Oh, you big sweetheart!” But then he became more affectionate; he pulled her in with his paws and started licking her energetically. “Ohohoho! Ok! Ok, you need to stop! Ahahaha!”

Zebota was too surprised to see him so playful with a stranger to think to stop him right away.

*****

Greensprout was healing an injured stallion with her Gaia Root, who recovered within a few minutes. “Oh, thank you, little filly!” he said.

Greensprout giggled. “You’re very welcome, brother.” She said, and the stallion went off to help with the preparations.

Celestia walked up to her. “So you’re the one from Gardenia who carries the sacred Gaia Root. Greensprout, was it?”

The little monk nodded. “Yes, Princess. I willfully went on a journey with Fire Fight after he showed me just how cruel reality can truly be.”

“Yes… I’d heard about the circumstance behind your birth and your parents. You have my deepest condolences, sweetie.” Celestia said.

“Thank you, Princess.” Greensprout said. “I just hope all of the other monks are okay…”

“I ordered a nationwide evacuation, so they should have made it out just fine, especially if they have the amount of faith that you have.” Celestia said.

Greensprout giggled. “Boastful as this may be, I learned to never lose heart in the face of adversity from my fellow monks.”

“It’s amazing how anyone, related by blood or not can become your family.” Celestia said.

“Fire Fight created a loving family amongst the Battle Foals, I’d say. They each needed a place to belong.” Greensprout said.

“And you took it upon yourself to help foster that kinship between them, I take it?” Celestia asked.

Greensprout nodded. “In a manner of speaking. When I first met them, they were distressed by life somehow, so I thought there should be one to remind them that life can be wonderful and full of love. Learning to love brings one closer to inner and outer peace, even if it’s just a little.”

“Indeed it does.” Celestia said. “I’ve heard you’re quite the herbalist as well. Was that taught to you in Gardenia as well?”

Greensprout suddenly blushed, looking around sheepishly. “Y-Yes, of course. Creating a connection between ponies… a-and Nature is never a bad thing… right?”

Celestia giggled. “Oh, never.” She said as she walked away.

As she watched Celestia leave, Greensprout couldn’t help but recall her embarrassing first dabble into herbal medicine. “I should never have tried making that love potion…”

*****

Bullseye was sitting solemnly by herself, sharpening the blades on her bow as the world within the castle passed her by.

With slight trepidation, Cheerilee approached her. “H-Hello, Bullseye.”

Bullseye halfway looked at her. She stared at the teacher in silence for an awkward moment before replying. “What do you want?”

Cheerilee sighed. “<Great start.>” she thought. “Oh, I… just wanted to see how you were doing… That’s all.”

Bullseye looked away from her and focused on her bow once more. “Well, I’m fine, so… y-yeah…” Her voice was shaky.

Cheerilee pondered how to handle the situation. “Are you nervous about fighting Snowdrop?”

“I guess. We’ll do what we have to though.” Bullseye said.

“Well, that’s a good attitude to have.” Cheerilee said, slowly and cautiously approaching her. “You must be happy to have such strong and loving friends.”

As if by instinct, Bullseye pointed the blade of her bow at Cheerilee, startling the teacher. After a tense moment, the anxious archer pulled her weapon back. “L-Look, I don’t want to get rough with you, so… I-I mean… just…” She retreated away a good distance while shaking nervously, trying to avoid eye contact. “J-Just don’t come near me, o-okay?”

Before Cheerilee could reply, Bullseye fluttered away entirely. The teacher sighed solemnly. “Poor thing…”

Celestia walked up beside her and put her wing over the sullen teacher. “I don’t think she quite trusts adults yet.”

Cheerilee slowly nodded. “After what she endured, that certainly won’t be for a while, and that’s even if it ever happens. I just wish there was something I or somepony can do for her.”

“In situations like this, its often best to let time do the healing first.” Celestia said.

*****

Tidal Wave, concerned about his viability in the fight ahead, tried focusing his water brooch onto the growths of ice surrounding the castle interior. It was tricky to move, but he could still do it. There was something about the energy within the ice that seemed to taunt him, as if it was bullying him to try harder, so that’s what he did. He was successful each time.

While his father happily watched, Spiral walked to him and gave him a big kiss. “You show that nasty ice who’s boss, mister!” she said, causing him to blush.

Sky Strike ruffled his son’s mane. “You’re a man now, buddy.”

Tidal Wave smiled sheepishly as he redid his mane. “Thanks, guys.”

Celestia walked up to them. “So you’re the one granted zebra magic over water, correct? Tidal Wave?”

Tidal Wave nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.” He said. “I also learned how to fight with a lance from my dad here! He’s a guard in Cloudsdale.”

Celestia looked at said father. “Oh, yes. Sky Strike, was it? A bit haphazard teaching your foal how to use a weapon, don’t you think.”

Sky Strike shrugged. “I mean… he watched me without me knowing… but he never did anything bad with his skills. If it helped him grow, I can’t really complain. It’s kinda my job after all.”

Celestia giggled. “Indeed. Perhaps I ought to recommend your commanding officer to give you a raise considering what all you’ve endured up until now. You and your son have fought bravely against many odds.”

“Thanks so much, Your Highness!” Sky Strike said.

Tidal Wave found himself feeling a little giddy as well. “Yeah! I feel like a real superhe-” In his excitement, he accidently telekineticly flung the small ice chunks he’d practiced with into his father, knocking him away. “DAD!”

Sky Strike, even underneath the shrapnel laughed heartily. “Life would be boring if we were perfect, sport!”

Spiral Galaxy gave him a rough nudge. “Be careful!”

*****

Valkyrie received her armaments from Air Slash after he had repaired them. She thanked him and proudly sheathed her weaponry, exuding confidence. “Yeah, I’m awesome.” She said to herself.

Celestia laughed. “Wielding the Valhalla must make you feel invincible, young Valkyrie.”

Valkyrie smugly looked her way. “Yeah, when your ancestors are some of the greatest warriors in history, you tend to feel like you can take the world ten times over.”

“I only hope your pride speaks to your strength, young griffin.” Celestia said.

Valkyrie discreetly looked around, and then gestured for the solar sovereign to lean in for a whisper, which she did. “Look, I don’t boast just ‘cause I know I’m strong. I have an image to keep up. My people struggle like hell every day. If I can’t be their ray of hope, their pillar of strength, then who will? You represent your people too, don’t you? You’ve gotta understand.”

Celestia leaned up again. “I do.” She said. “But you have to consider what you’re projecting onto the people you care about. Always think about the example you’re setting. I think you’ll find it has a more profound effect on your people’s prosperity than you may realize.”

Valkyrie winced, suddenly remembering how lavish Griffin society was when Siegfried was alive and active, and then it gradually started declining somewhere down the line. “Huh… I wonder which one of us started the ego trend…”

*****

Frostbite worked to clear the ice clusters that overtook much of the castle’s interior. Accompanying him was Spike, who clawed and flamed through whatever ice his cold companion didn’t crush.

“So, what’s it like, Frostbite? Breathing ice, I mean.” Spike asked.

Frostbite shrugged. “I dunno. Wanna tell me what breathing fire’s like?”

Spike eagerly started his answer. “It’s like breathing the essence of the earth itself out your gut, like you’re spitting your entire soul at something, like your-”

“Yeah, cool. Sounds like a blast.” Frostbite said dryly, causing Spike to feel disheartened. “But, uh… ice is pretty cool too.” He said.

“Yeah? How?” Spike asked.

Frostbite pondered as he crushed an iceberg. “It’s like… having to power to stop the world in it’s tracks, like you’ve become a warning of… of what kind of chilling end anything can face.” He said. “A little too appropriate, huh?”

Spike chuckled. “I’ll say. You do seem a lot less hot-headed than most dragons I’ve met.”

Frostbite cocked his eyebrow. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“I would think so.” Celestia said as she approached with Twilight. “You’re more able to restrain your strong will than much of your kin, hence why you were able to befriend the Battle Foals.”

“I wonder if that has anything to do with your ice breathing ability…” Twilight said.

Frostbite shrugged. “Don’t really know, don’t really care. I like who I am, I like my little twerp friends, and that’s good enough for me. End of story.” He approached a closet door that was frozen shut. “Say, what’s in here?” he asked as he haphazardly shattered the ice sealing it.

“Wait! That has-” But it was too late. The contents spilled out onto the floor, which to their horror was…

“Oh, crap! Dragon Sneeze trees!?” Small potted specimens of the accursed trees spilled onto the floor, and the icy drake could feel his nose twitching. “ACHOOOO!!!!!” He sneezed out an ice flame that completely froze Twilight solid, much to Celestia and Spike’s shock. “Whoops… Sorry.”

The Final Countdown

“Is everypony ready?” Celestia asked the crowd of townsfolk, all of whom were packed and prepared for the harrowing road ahead. Some were confident, other expressed more trepidation, but seemed willing otherwise. “Good. Then let us waste no more time.”

“Battle Foals…” Luna said turning to the young squad. “We will escort the civilians to safety. You must be the ones to confront Snowdrop head on.”

“Once the townsfolk are safe, we’ll come right back over to help you.” Twilight said.

Fire Fight nodded. “Sounds like a plan!” He turned to his comrades. “Who’s ready!?”

“YEAH!!!” The Battle Foals all cheered.

Content, Fire Fight turned back to the princesses and their Bladerunner allies. “We’ll hold our own until then.”

“Just don’t be disappointed if you arrive too late for us to steal the show from you.” Valkyrie remarked.

Celestia chuckled. “With confidence like that, I’m positive you’ll be fine.” She said. “That said, let us make haste. Take nothing for granted.”

Without any further delay, the respective groups of warriors headed out, the citizens following them. When they opened the castle doors, they were met with the frigid, consuming cold they’d expected to brave, marching through it with their heads held high. The silence of the ruined town was as deafening as the harsh, whistling wind abrading throughout; they knew this was the calm before the fast-approaching storm.

As the Princesses and Bladerunners led the townsfolk into the forests, Luna looked back at them for a moment. “Good luck, Battle Foals.”

Fire Fight nodded. “You too.” And the disappeared into the frozen woodlands.

Now, all the Battle Foals could do was wait, wait for their final encounter. They could see a massive cloud of icy mist raging towards Ponyville like an avalanche- they knew who was it was. They had to make sure they were ready.

“Alright guys, this is it!” Fire Fight said. “Snowdrop is coming, and we know that we can’t just beat her head on. Being in a town like this gives us an opportunity for a defensive strategy, so I suggest we do that. We’re buying time for the princesses and the Elements to get back here anyway.”

“I concur.” Quantum Tech said. “Though, let us bear in mind that we theoretically have two targets: Snowdrop herself, and her horde of ice monsters. As we’ve observed, the monsters are extensions of her power, so subduing them is sure to diminish her stamina, leaving her more vulnerable to an offensive.”

“But she gonna be throwin’ down too.” Turf War said. “We gonna have to split into two teams: One bashin’ the b****, the other bashin’ her b****es.” He then nervously eyed over at Quantum Tech, expecting reprimand, but he instead received a slightly annoyed nod from her.

“At least let me handle the monsters. I can vaporize them pretty easily if I focus my magic well enough.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Ice magic doesn’t bother me one bit, so I’ll volunteer to have a crack at Snowy.” Frostbite said.

“That’s all well and good, but please don’t forget about the possessed ponies.” Greensprout said. “We have to be careful to cause them as little harm as possible, preferrable none at all.”

“I mean… is she just gonna carry those glaciers though?” Bullseye asked.

“Ain’t no reason why she can’t just grow new ones.” Kickback said.

“Huh… Good point.” Bullseye said. “You know, there kind of are glaciers here already. She might just transfer the signal here unless we wreck ‘em first.”

Frostbite grinned as he looked out at said glaciers. “Say no more.” He said before rocketing off and started smashing the formations into dust.

“Well, I suppose that’s step one.” Shadow Shroud said. “Still, she might try to mix the monsters and the zombies into the same group to try and muddle our focus. We’ll need a way to separate them before using the appropriate level of force.”

“Either that, or she’ll send in the zombies first as meat shields, maybe even a sacrifice play…” Tidal Wave said. “If that happens, I can sweep them away with a wave, but I’d have to have a lot of this snow melted- it’s all technically under Snowdrop’s control.”

“Then I’ll blast fire over a wide area. That ought to help you.” Fire Fight said. “But that’s only Plan B. As for Plan A…”

“Leave this to me!” Zebota said. “I will have to focus with great intensity, but as long as Snowdrop is distracted, I should be able to overpower her control over the frozen ones. I will guide them away to a safe area.”

“Wouldn’t she just smash her own glaciers if you did that though?” Valkyrie asked.

Zebota smiled. “It would free them of their control, would it not?”

“Yeah, I guess it would.” Valkyrie said.

“Ok. Then if we have to do that, then that’s what we do first- civilian safety will be priority one. After that, it’s an all-out fire fight… No pun intended.” Fire Fight said.

“Now as for everyone else…” Shadow Shroud said.

Fire Fight cleared his throat. “Spiral, Kickback, and Quantum, stay in the back and fire on the monster horde unless Snowdrop gets too close; in that case, wail on her. Turf War, attack the horde, but I want you, Bullseye, and Air Slash to focus on bigger monster. Valkyrie, I want you with me and Frostbite going up against Snowdrop directly. Crazylocks, Zebota, Tidal Wave, and Shroud, keep the horde busy. Greensprout, go wherever you’re needed.”

The Battle Foals all answered with a resounding, “Yes, sir!”.

“Awesome! Then let’s go ahead and get into position.” Fire Fight said, and they did.

“Actually, before we do…” Bullseye said.

“What’s up?” Fire Fight asked.

Bullseye turned towards Greensprout. The little monk herself noticed an unfamiliar glint in the archer’s eye. “Do me a solid, would you, hippie? A long overdue solid.” She said as she lifted her mane, revealing her swollen eye, softly smiling.”

Greensprout eyes glistened as she joyously smiled back. “Oh, of course, sister!!” And she happily channeled her Gaia Root into Bullseye’s injured eye.

Having been swollen for so long, it took a little longer for it to fully heal; but when all was said and done, Bullseye, for the first time in what felt like forever, open both of her eyes. “Awesome.”

Greensprout hugged her. “Oh, sister! Do you at last feel healed? Does love once more have a place in your heart!?”

Bullseye shrugged. “Not totally, but… We’re about to save Equestria and hopefully gain its respect. If they’re gonna see us for who we are, I figure it’s time I saw it for what it is… with both my eyes.”

“Speakin’ o’ which…” Kickback said as he picked up a large mirror shard and present to Bullseye.

To her surprise and to everyone who only now noticed, her once swollen eye gleamed a bright blue, a stark contrast to the deep crimson eye they’d always known. “Whoa…!”

“Yo! That’s dope!” Turf War said.

“How come you didn’t tell us about that?” Spiral asked.

“It’s been so long, I… I guess I just forgot.” Bullseye said, marveling at her reborn vision. “Okay, now I’m freaking ready!”

“Alright then. Battle Foals, BATTLE STATIONS!” Fire Fight ordered.

Kickback went over a decent distance and camped inside a dilapidated house while Quantum and Spiral stood not too far from him out in the open, the former having a force field erected. The monster squad stood on the front lines with Shadow Shroud hiding behind mounds of snow. Having smashed all possible glaciers, Frostbite regrouped with Fire Fight and Valkyrie; the fiery captain went ahead and melted a sizable amount of snow for Tidal Wave in case Plan B had to be executed. Afterwards, he joined his two flying comrades behind the front lines… and they all waited.

The driving snow seemed to tick like a clock- a doomsday clock, and all they could do was wait for it to strike at the fated hour. Between their combined might as hardened warriors of Equestria and beyond, and the raw rage and hatred of a troubled filly with the power to crush her foes, this was sure to be a finale for one side… or all.

At long last, time suddenly felt like it had frozen in its tracks, and the Battle Foals could see a pair of blue eyes gleaming ferociously through the icy mist, high above the ground where a vast amount of footsteps could be heard marching towards the hamlet. The foals had their hooves on their weapons, ready to draw.

The shroud of driving mist burst clear, revealing Snowdrop in her draconic, frozen armor. She menacingly hung in the air above an army of ice monsters and ice zombies, as was expected. To their mild surprise, the zombies were all out in the front lines, their abominable allies all behind them.

When they came within a stadium’s distance from the town’s border, Snowdrop and her horde stopped. With her blind, hateful eyes, she stared down the Battle Foals. The tension in the air felt frozen solid, yet brittle enough to be shattered by a thrown pebble. The howling winds blowing in the no-man’s land between screamed with the silenced cries of the zombified civilians.

“How fitting… how fitting that this is where we end this, the place where your hopeless field trip began!” Snowdrop said.

Fire Fight looked his frigid foe right in her faded eyes. “It wasn’t hopeless, Snowdrop!” he shouted. “We traveled across Equestria and saved it from lots of things, and there are plenty of foals here who have newfound strength because of it! We’re not gonna let you take any of it away!”

“TAKE IT AWAY!? HA! DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH! YOU KNOW WHAT EQUESTRIA IS FULL OF? I’LL TELL YOU: EMPTY WORDS AND EVEN EMPTIER PROMISES!!” Snowdrop bellowed. “THEY’LL TELL YOU THEY LOVE YOU, THAT THEY CARE ABOUT YOU, THAT OUR DIFFERENCES WON’T EVER MATTER! WHAT A JOKE!!! Ponies always fall back on fear when they’re faced with something they don’t understand, something they can’t love, and those ‘somethings’ ALWAYS get branded heathens for it!!”

“Then why aren’t you doing anything to help us!?” Fire Fight asked.

Snowdrop laughed maniacally. “What are you talking about? I’m doing PLENTY to help! I’M PUTTING THESE MISERBALE SNOWFLAKES OUT OF THEIR FEARFUL MISERY!!”

“That doesn’t solve anything, Snowdrop! You just want to punish everypony!” Fire Fight said. “Listen, I know why you’re so angry. You feel like all of Equestria just turned its back on you and Princess Luna. You feel like you were branded criminals over nothing.”

Snowdrop snarled. “Weren’t we? Weren’t you?”

Fire Fight sighed. “Maybe so, but… that’s no reason to commit mass genocide!”

“Fear and hate are two different things.” Shadow Shroud said. “Fear comes from simply not understanding something, and hate comes from fully understanding that you find that thing repulsive.”

“And yet one can easily stem from the other! Isn’t that what happened to Luna!? Ponies didn’t understand her night and began to revile it! IT’S THEIR FAULT SHE BECAME NIGHTMARE MOON!” Snowdrop said.

“But who’s fault was it that you decided to react with as much hostility? Who failed to understand why everypony feared their princess suddenly turning into a vengeful witch? Who fully understood that they hated everypony around them but chose not to resolve it?” Fire Fight asked. “Snowdrop, I don’t think you’re a bad filly deep down- you just tried too hard to have your pain heard. If you just stop speaking with your anger and start speaking with your heart, ponies will-”

“SHUT UP!!!!!!”

The air itself felt as if it flash froze. “IF IT WERE AS SIMPLE AS TALKING, THIS CYCLE WOULDN’T KEEP TURNING!! I’M GOING TO END IT!! I’M GOING TO END EVERYTHING!!!”

Fire Fight sighed. “If that’s really how you wanna play it…” He ignited his horn, his gauntlets, and his armor so that he was walking flame burning with courage. “Then you’d better be ready for a fight! I have been since I was born! We all have!” The Battle Foals all drew their weapons, fully ready for their final bout.

Snowdrop smirked evilly as her horde reared themselves to maul the small squad. “THEN YOU’RE READY TO DIE!!!!”

Driving Snow

Like two armies braced for war, the Battle Foals and Snowdrop’s forces charged towards each other, neither of whom holding back. The howling winds driving a storm of ice and snow cheered on the ensuing brawl between the bolstered battalions.

True to his promise, Tidal Wave took control of the wave of melted ice and snow, and swept the ice zombies safely away from the no pony’s land and much further away in the town outskirts. The foals assigned to the hordes of monsters then promptly charged into the real fight.

However, Spiral Galaxy lingered behind. “Alright, guys! Watch your heads! I’m opening this fight with a storm…” Standing tall and proud, she stared down the horde of monsters as she slipped her hornband off, casting it into the snow. She took a deep breath, and focused her mana.

“Spiral, no! You’ll kill yourself!!” Tidal Wave pled.

Spiral winked at him. “No, I won’t, Tidy. Not while you and all of Equestria need me!” Her horn glowed with a fierce light, and the clouds above seemed to disperse as the sky lit like a cosmic chandelier, revealing the stars. Their light shone down like spotlights, as if to bow before their queen. As the array of stellar light intensified, Spiral rose into the air, her eyes gleaming with cosmic fury. The snow around her rumbled violently as she charged vast amounts of energy.

“TAKE THIS, SNOWDROP!!!!!”

The starlight congregated into one point, and it exploded into countless meteors that rained destruction unto Snowdrop and her horde of monsters. The only defense they could muster were swiftly erected ice walls, but even those only did so much before shattering, allowing many of the monsters to be annihilated by the bombardment of cosmic hellfire. Snowdrop herself withstood the attack with incredible endurance, but the sheer force of it all caused her to stagger, leaving her open for a frontal assault.

Spiral floated back to the ground, whereupon she staggered to her hooves and rubbed her head. “SPIRAL!!” Tidal Wave shouted as he ran to her. “Are you okay?” he asked, checking on her.

The cosmic filly panted as she managed to regain her footing and stand up straight. “I’m okay, just need a minute.” She said before giving him a peck on the cheek. “Go get ‘em, tiger shark.” She said with a wink.

With a surge of confidence flowing throughout him, Tidal Wave drew his lance and looked out unto his frigid foes. “Let me at ‘em!” He charged forward, gathering some stray water from earlier and formed it around his spear, solidifying it into a larger, more fearsome weapon. “HYAAH!” With all his strength, he threw his lance like a mystical blue javelin, piercing a line of large ice bats and eagles unlucky enough to be in its path. He psychically recalled his lance while there was still some water around it. “FOR EQUESTRIA!!” he bellowed as he continued charging into the fray.

Turf War, standing staunchly at the front line, raised his hammer and slammed the ground with all his might. “HAMMER TIME, M***********S!” A powerful tremor rocked the battlefield like a ship on stormy seas, knocking many of the land-bound monsters off-balance. “SMASH ‘EM UP, Y’ALL!!!” Turf War bellowed as he shield-rammed into an ice wolf, tumbling it into more of its pack and leaving them vulnerable to be being shattered into a cluster of shards.

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Bullseye said. With her newfound vision, she aimed an explosive arrow down sight. Unfazed by the freezing cold, her focus was entirely on a staggered ice ape, as big as the one that attacked them at the Great Horn Summit. She lined her arrow up with a small crack in its chest that barely exposed its core. Without the slightest of hesitation, Bullseye released her bowstring. The arrow soared through the air like it had a purpose, whizzing past every snowflake being driven by the violent winds, while being carried by said wind and thrust into the ape’s chest. Seconds later, it detonated, causing the beast to explode into a cloud of icy shrapnel that further staggered the other monsters around it.

Greensprout alit her Gaia Root, and the brilliant emerald light spread across the field to her friends like a torrential blessing. “STEEL YOURSELVES, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!” she called out. The Battle Foals all felt their very souls flare to life, sending a surge of raw strength throughout their battle-hardened bodies.

“MY STEEL TO YOUR NECKS!!!” Like a falcon diving towards its prey, Air Slash soared into the staggered horde, and slashed away with all his might. The magic in his swords rend whatever their cold steel couldn’t already cleave like a butcher. Once he’d flown far enough into the horde, he spun around like a tornado, sending flurries of beam blades all around him that shredded the surrounding monsters like a blender.

Airborne monsters that were unaffected by the tremor but stumbled in flight from the meteor shower hovered towards the foals, only to be shot out of the sky by Kickback’s bullets and Quantum Tech’s railgun blasts. The sharpshooting cowboy finished of numerous approaching ice bats and eagles with one or two well-placed shots. Even as the driving snow obscured his vision, all Kickback needed were his instincts to tracks his targets’ movements; and it was those instincts that sensed heavy movement behind him. Thinking quickly, he drew his whip.

From behind a ruined house came an ice cougar that had snuck its way past the front lines. It reared its claw ready to swipe, when Kickback lashed his charged whip, shattering its armor and exposing its core. He shot it, and killed it.

A few more appeared from behind it, too quickly for Kickback to charge his whip back up, but he didn’t need to. Quantum Tech’s magic turrets quickly blasted them as they pounced towards him, giving the cowboy the few precious seconds he needed to charge his whip enough to break them open and shoot their cores. “Much obliged.” He said to her.

“Of course, my love.” Quantum replied. Her systems then alerted her to incoming enemies- an entire swarm of ice bats and eagles circling her mech from above like vultures. “Sneaking up on a filly while she wasn’t looking? My, aren’t you uncouth?” She said as she aimed her turrets towards them and opened fire.

Quantum blasted away at the frigid fiends, but there were too many of them to track and aim at. She prioritized the ones she caught trying to divebomb her, as well as icicles shot her way. Using the stacks of rubble and slain ice monsters, Kickback leapt atop her mech and tightened his focus.

“<YEEEEE-HAAAAAW!!!!!”>

Kickback tossed hit hat above him like a frisbee and swiftly drew his guns. In all directions, he fired wildly, yet with some modicum of calculation. The two’s combined shooting eventually fell nearly the whole flock of frozen foes, the rest scattering away. As the mass of fallen monster plummeted, Kickback caught his hat and spun around as he put it back on, causing a fan of wind that blew the corpses away from them. A lone ice eagle tried divebombing him from the side, but Quantum swiftly blasted it apart with her railgun. The two winked at each other before resuming their combat.

Back on the front lines, Zebota stared the monsters down with his mighty Shrapnel standing above him, howling a war cry to the clouded heavens as his master focused on his brooch. A large glyph appears from under them, surging with mystical light. “Ninakuita, Ee mifupa ya dunia iliyoharibiwa. Nipe nguvu gani unayo, na unitie mafuta msuluhishi wako. Giza lenye kutisha ambalo linatishia maelewano yetu, litapigwa chini ya kwato zetu!”

Numerous orbs of multicolored light surged from the glyph and absorbed themselves into the pair. Zebota’s black and white striped coat began to glow in such a way that his movements created afterimages in his wake, afterimages that fiercely fanned away the ice and snow abusing his body. Shrapnel glowed as well, but his body of wooden armor sheened as though it had been restored from an old and weathered state, and the spiky areas of his body, along with his claws, elongated and looked considerably sharper. The glyph disappeared, and Zebota took one step forward. His hoof shook the earth beneath him. Though the ice monsters showed no fear, they seemed to acknowledge that they were dealing with a truly formidable adversary.

The empowered shaman drew his boomerang with a vengeance, breaking the sound barrier and shattering small ice columns around him. “YOU SHALL PERISH THIS DAY!” Zebota flung his boomerang across the driving snow. The intense magic absorbed it into caused it to launch powerful lightning bolts as it passed over the monsters, obliterating the smaller ones and damaging the armor of the bigger ones. As soon as the boomerang returned, Zebota commanded his monster. “TEAR THEM APART, SHRAPNEL!!!”

Shrapnel roared more ferociously than he ever had, and he leapt towards the horde. Many of his foes were the large ice gorillas, but there were smaller versions of the titanic ice tortoise that assailed Heimr Island. Each one put up a stalwart resistance despite the lightning strikes, but Shrapnel’s sheer power proved to great for them to bear. An ice gorilla threw a punch at him, but Shrapnel caught the fist in his jaws and flailed his foe like a ragdoll into another, shattering them both. A tortoise body slammed him, but Shrapnel clamped it by its shell where it neck is and forced it upwards, ripping much of the shell off an exposing its core; he thrust his claw into it, instantly shattering the tortoise. He then flung the large shell shard in his mouth at another tortoise, piercing its own shell just deep enough that its core was ruptured.

An ice golem suddenly leapt towards the wooden titan, but it was shattered when Zebota launch an empowered rock with his sling. The little mystic then ran and leapt atop his monster. Just as he did, another ice tortoise fired a powerful ice beam towards them. Shrapnel leapt high, dodging the beam and fell onto the tortoise, allowing Zebota to jump off, draw his tomahawk, and shatter the shell wide open and expose the core. He charged even more energy into his tomahawk and thrust it into the core, but it didn’t instantly rupture. Instead, it began glowing a vicious red. “SHRAPNEL, RUN!” he ordered as he climbed back atop his monster, who promptly obeyed him. The two got to safe distance before the tortoise’s core finally burst violently, creating a shockwave that shattered and staggered more ice monsters. Zebota smiled. “All is as it should be.”

In the wake of his destructive ritual, a black shadow zipped and zagged throughout the clouds of dispersed mist and snow. A flurry of blade slashes and rapid blunt strikes could be heard violently resounding from all directions. After a couple minutes of unseen unseaming of limbs, the clouds dispersed, revealing Shadow Shroud standing atop a pile of ice shards and monster corpses. She then disappeared in a puff of black smoke, immediately reappearing next to Zebota. “I never took as the type for winter gardening, Zebota.” She said.

“Times of desperation can bring out unexpected strengths, Shadow Shroud.” Zebota said.

“If we haven’t learned that by now, our entire journey was a fool’s errand.” Shroud said. “Speaking of desperate times…” An entire horde of monsters, freshly replacing the batch they all already fell, marched onto the battlefield, gnashing teeth and sharpened claws and the like ready to maul.

The two readied their weapons while Shrapnel bellowed a ferocious howl that shook the freezing winds like a pile of shriveling leaves.

But with the enemy front lines dispatched, Fire Fight, Valkyrie, and Frostbite could finally begin their assault on the orchestrator of this omnicidal blizzard.

“RAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

Fire Fight ignited his armor, and he erupted into a furious blaze, his body burning like a righteous sun ready to burn away the frigid darkness before him. He concentrated the inferno on his horn and gauntlets, and his blue eyes shined with fiery light.

“SCREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!”

Valkyrie, clutching her Valhalla, burst a ferocious blaze of golden. Enveloped in the light, the gilded manifestation of the raw strength of her bloodline, she poised her sword towards the greatest foe she’d ever imagined she’d face with a beating heart full courage and a cocky smile full of confidence.

“Hehehe…” Frostbite simply cracked a smug grin, cracked his draconic knuckles, and puffed ice clouds from his nostrils. He’d been primed and ready for this beatdown for a long time.

Snowdrop creased a malicious smile as she looked down upon her challengers. “You really think I’m scared of you!? I’ve been building hatred for a millennia now!! I’M READY TO RELEASE IT ALL!!!”

Fire Fight stoked the ferocious flames around him. “THEN I’M READY TO BURN IT ALL AWAY!!! HYARGH!!!”

He shot a fireball shaped like a dragon’s head at Snowdrop. It stuck her, casting a cloud of frosty steam around her. She burst away the cloud and charged vicious ice magic around the frills of her dragon armor’s head. She fired a hail of countless icicle spears that homed in on their targets, and she fired a beam of ice lightning from her tail.

Frostbite swooped in and shattered the icicles with ease, vomiting one of his own right back at her. Meanwhile, Valkyrie, with her sheer willpower alone, blocked the ice lightning with her shield. The energy threatened to freeze her over, but her ancestral light shattered it away as it neared her body. That was when Frostbite’s ice spike hit Snowdrop’s tail, interrupting the lightning beam. Valkyrie seized the opportunity to soar towards the head; she swung her sword, but Snowdrop quickly erected an icy force field around herself that completely blocked the strike.

Snowdrop laughed in the feathered warrior’s face. “You think I’m that frail, Bearer of the dumb Valhalla!?”

Valkyrie snarled. “Gonna make it personal, huh twerp!?” She said as she began wailing hopelessly at the enchanted ice, so much so that she didn’t notice Snowdrop charging a huge amount of magic.

“VALKYRIE, GET BACK!!” Fire Fight shouted. How he did it, he’ll never know, but he managed to envelope her in a field of fire. Just as he did, Snowdrop unleashed an enormous blast of ice magic that blew back even Frostbite, freezing him solid up until he hit the ground, but Valkyrie was unharmed despite being blown away herself, her shield having dispersed.

All the three could do was listen to her laugh maniacally as they seemed to be at a stalemate. They were strong together, but even then, they couldn’t help but feel as if they weren’t prepared. Be that as it may, all they could do was fight, fight, and keep fighting until the cold, bitter end…. except…

“SNOWDROP!!!” A blast of soft blue magic was fired at the ice tyrant, which she blocked, but her evil smile turned to rage as she saw who arbitrated the assault.

“LUNA!!!!”

Sure enough, the Princesses, Spike, and even the other Elements had arrived, ready to help their mighty Battle Foals defend their beloved Equestria.

Fire Fight's Awakening

Author's Notes:

Hi, guys.
I hope this longer-than-usual chapter makes up for me not uploading for so long. Sorry about that. Life's a... you know.

“There you all are!” Fire Fight cheered.

“Honorable Battle Foals…” Princess Celestia said, poised with regal presence. “Thank you. Your strength has been Equestria’s shield in the time of crisis. But now…” She turned to face the Elements. “Now is the time to strike the last nail in our foe’s coffin!”

Twilight nodded. “Girls?” She said, facing her friends, who nodded back.

They congregated and focused their power. Ribbons of rainbow-colored light enveloped each of them, and they attained their empowered states. The light connected between them, and converged into their group. The radiant ball of light beamed into the sky, whereupon it fired a ferocious rainbow beam unto a nervous Snowdrop.

The rainbow smothered all over the cold-hearted filly, and swirled around her like a raging whirlpool. Slowly, it came to a halt, a calm and serene stillness.

For a moment, all seemed well. The intense rage, the bitter coldness, the lust for destruction in the air, all seemed to die down… until…

The Rainbow sphere enveloping Snowdrop suddenly froze solid. It violently shook, cracked, and then shattered like glass, releasing Snowdrop.

“HAHAHAHA!!! Did you really think it’d be that simple!?” Snowdrop bellowed.

“YOU’RE KIDDING ME!!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“How? How!?” Tidal Wave said.

Luna shed a tear as she looked upon her old friend’s wicked smile. “She… She’s just that far-gone. Even friendship cannot thaw her frozen heart.”

Fire Fight sighed. “Then brute force it is.” He said, stoking the flames around his armaments.

“Sad as it may be…” Celestia muttered, glancing over apologetically at her sister. However much it must’ve hurt, Luna nodded back, ready to fight.

“We should at least assure the citizens’ safety.” Rarity said, noticing that the zombified ponies were marching towards from where they were swept.

“Maybe we can’t simmer down li’l Snowdrop there, but Ah’ll bet we can get them folks outta their tizzy.” Applejack said.

“Yeah! Nothing snaps you out of a bad mood like a laughs and smiles!” Pinkie said.

“Then that’s what we’ll focus on.” Twilight said. “I’m guessing the rest of you will be ok?”

Shadow Shroud nodded. “Leave the deicing to us, Your Highness.”

And so, they did. The Elements raced to the zombies and began showering them with their harmony magic. One by one, they were purified, and magically swept into the ruined town for safety.

“Hmph! They were useless anyway…” Snowdrop scoffed. “My first concern ought to be you!” She summoned a violent swirl of frost and snow, which constructed more ice monsters at an alarming speed. “SLAUGHTER THE BATTLE FOALS!!!” She commanded, and her frigid drones immediately charged them.

Without any citizens meat shields to restrain their assault, the Battle Foals, accompanied by the Sisters of the Sun and the Moon, unleashed their unbridled, unfiltered strength.

Kickback whipped his guns right back out and opened fire, with Quantum Tech right beside him with her railguns. Behind them, Spiral Galaxy concentrated, and she summoned another meteor storm. The shower of celestial ordinance quickly dispersed the horde, and destroyed much the smaller ones.

The heat from the smoldering craters created in the wake quickly melted much of the ice and snow around, which Tidal Wave drew around himself. He dashed around like an aquatic sonic boom and did what he could with he lance- he didn’t have enough water the construct larger extensions. He swiftly pierced an ice scorpion and swung it off of his lance, hurling it into the face of a golem, but it only amounted to being pelted by a small, mildly harmless stone.

Though it was merely annoyed, it was enough for Tidal Wave to be able to race up to it, dispel his water guard, form it into a large blade, and slice through the golem like butter, instantly shattering it. “One down!” he said.

However, just as he clad the water back around him, a massive wall of ice erected in front of him, blocking his escape. “Huh!?”

“HAHAHAHA!!!! Where to now, Tidal Wave!?” Snowdrop taunted from above.

Before him was a horde of monsters ready to rend and tear him, but he was able to stow his fear and ready his lance. However, he didn’t have lift a hoof- the ice wall starting cracking with soft blue light, and then shattered. Through the shrapnel flew Princess Luna, who stood over Tidal Wave and cast a force field over them, shielding them from the ice monsters, and allowing her to lift him back to their side.

Luna then looked up at her old friend. “Snowdrop, please stop this! This isn’t the solution to your pain!”

Snowdrop snarled at her. “Then what is!? How many times have the Princess of ‘Friendship’ and her ‘friends’ had to solve ‘friendship problems’ across Equestria, only for more, sometimes worse ones to arise!?”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked.

“It’s a constant cycle. No matter how many times love and friendship have put an end to strife, it always comes back, and we have to learn our lesson all over again! And ponies like you and me are the one caught in the crossfire for no good reason!” Snowdrop replied. “Our own history has proven that the only cure for suffering… is ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION!!!” A violent swirl of icy winds raged around her.

“Princess Luna…” Tidal Wave said. “There’s truly no point in arguing with her…” he said as brandished his lance.

“Indeed…” Luna sobbed. She took her force field magic and focused onto her horn. “Then this is for your own good, Snowdrop!” She fired a bolt of powerful magic at her old friend, knocking her back quite a ways.

“AIIIIEEEEE!!!!” Snowdrop screamed. She glared with untold fury back at the lunar princess. “So there’s truly no going back, huh!?”

“I’m afraid not, my dear Snowdrop.” Luna said with conviction.

“Then maybe it’s time I fully took matters into my hooves!!!” Snowdrop unleashed a wave of icy light that shattered all of her monsters. She drew in the countless shards, and absorbed them into her armor as it all swirled around her. Gradually, her armor became bigger, spikier, and more grotesque. She even sprouted draconic wings, the membranes made of thin ice.

“Pfft! That it?” Turf War scoffed. “I don’t care how many spikes ya got- we gonna merc you real easy. Right, y’all?”

“Turf War… I-I wouldn’t get so cocky!” Quantum Tech stammered. The readings she was getting in her mech were supremely worrying. “She’s… She’s off the charts! Everything just… just…”

“Just attack her!” Valkyrie bellowed. With the light of the Valhalla still blazing around her, she lunged toward Snowdrop, who eerily didn’t seem to put up any resistance. The valiant griffonlet swung her sword, but she was suddenly blown back by a powerful shockwave emitted by Snowdrop by just blinking her eyes. “GAH!!” The force was such that it smothered out the Valhalla’s light. “Whoa, what!?”

Snowdrop snickered. “What’s the matter, descendent of Siegfried? Lost your gusto all of a sudden?”

In a fit of anger, Valkyrie tried summoning her power again, but to no avail. “What the-” She looked down, and saw that her sacred talisman was being restrained by some icy blue magical energy. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” Valkyrie demanded.

Snowdrop guffawed. “Made you powerless! Weak! HELPLESS!!” She then fired a bolt of ice lightning at Valkyrie. The warrior griffonlet quickly raised her shield, but even that wasn’t enough to save her from being frozen solid.

“VALKYRIE!!” Fire Fight cried.

Frostbite soared over to her. “I gotcha!” he said, rearing his fist. But from the spikes surrounding her armor, Snowdrop shot barbed shackles made of icy magic that lashed around Frostbite’s wrists, ankles, and neck, and were all then chained into the ground. “Gyargh! Hey!” he said. He looked up at Snowdrop dead in her eye, her malefic, heartless eyes that left him shaken. “D-Don’t think I can’t break outta this!”

“I know you can…” Snowdrop said. “So I thought I’d get creative!!” Her spikes fiercely glowed, which caused the shackles to start violently sparking, continually shocking Frostbite. He screamed in agony, helpless to free himself from his restraints.

“YOU MONSTER!!” Greensprout shouted. She immediately started channeling her Gaia Root into Frostbite in an attempt to strengthen him enough to break out, but the icy lightning conducted into her healing beam, and started shocking her. She screamed as though she were being burned alive.

“GREENSPROUT!!” Air Slash bellowed. Her glared furiously at Snowdrop, and raised his swords. “I’LL SLICE YOU INTO RIBBONS!!!” he screamed as rocketed towards her.

“AIR SLASH, WAIT!” Shadow Shroud shouted.

But it was too late, Air Slash’s blind rage wouldn’t save him from a lethal magic blast from Snowdrop… but a ray of warm light did.

Following close behind him was Celestia, who casted a shield of warm solar magic in front of him, blocking much of the icy blast, and he was easily able to brave the rest.

“What!?” Snowdrop said.

Celestia then charged Air Slash’s swords with that magic, and the young samurai took two big swings. Snowdrop quickly folded her spiky frills forward, which caused Air Slash’s sun-bathed swords to sear through the spikes, destroying them, and breaching through Snowdrop’s defense. A burning shockwave from the impact struck her from the inside, and she screamed in agony as she was blown back.

Frostbite and Greensprout were released from their torture, and shambled to the ground, severely weakened. Air Slash wanted to go and check on them, but Celestia hovered with great poise as she looked him in the eye, telling him to hold his ground. Following his warrior’s honor, he did; and the two readied themselves as Snowdrop regained her balance.

Meanwhile, Zebota rushed to Greensprout and Frostbite’s aid. Doing what he could, he tapped into the Gaia Root and channeled some of its magic into Greensprout, who was just barely able to stagger to her hooves and heal both her and Frostbite.

“G-Goodness…” Greensprout said, still visibly pained.

“Holy…” Frostbite said, barely managing to stand. “Wait. Valkyrie!”

They looked over to see Fire Fight blasting the ice encasing her with fire, but as big as his flames were, it didn’t seem to even want to melt. He tried resorting to punching it apart- not even a crack. It was as solid as the hardest stones known the ponykind.

“Umm… guys?” Fire Fight said, but the horrified looks on his comrades’ faces told him everything.

Snowdrop fiercely snarled as she stared down the Battle Foals. “Feeling hopeless yet!?”

The Elements had just finished purifying all the citizens, who all ran scared into the woods. Though equally terrified, they rushed over to the others. “Well now what are we supposed to do!?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Just… Just…” Fire Fight anxiously stammered over his words. “JUST ATTACK HER! NO HOLDS BARRED!!”

He barreled forward and launched a gigantic fireball at Snowdrop, but she effortlessly summoned a frigid gale that smothered it out before it could reach her.

Shadow Shroud tried to get close, but it was as if Snowdrop could sense her every move, and summoned columns of ice beneath that she barely managed to dodge before being forced to retreat.

Crazylocks picked up a large ice chunk and tossed it in the air. “HERE’S THE PITCH!” she said. Turf War then struck the chunk with his hammer, sending it flying towards Snowdrop. But as it neared her, she psychically shattered the chunk, and hurled the pieces at blinding speeds at the foals.

Kickback quickly shot down what pieces he could, but one of them managed to strike him right between the eyes, and knock him unconscious.

“KICKBACK!” Quantum cried. With a glare in her eye, she began charging her death ray. “You’ve just made your last mistake, little missy!” she hissed. As her antennae protruded and began charging, Quantum Tech was alarmed by a very sudden, very heavy drop in temperature. “What!?” Her entire system experienced a deep freeze that even her heaters couldn’t stop, and everything crashed. “Oh no! No!! NO!!!” She frantically pressed buttons all over the place, desperately trying to restart any portion of her program, but to no avail. The whole system crashed, and not even her cockpit would open- she was trapped, and all she could do was desperately bang on the glass of her self-made frozen prison, pleading for help.

Greensprout, still weak, shambled towards Kickback. Snowdrop shot the ice shackles at her again, but a black hole suddenly appeared between them, and absorbed the shots before quickly vanishing. Spiral Galaxy, having used up much of her stamina already, struggled to keep her horn lit. With the last of her strength, she summoned another meteor storm.

Even in the face of a cosmic force barreling towards her, Snowdrop remained chillingly unfazed. If anything, she seemed excited. “HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I WANTED TO PLAY WITH YOU FOR A LITTLE WHILE, BUT NOW I’LL JUST END THIS DRAMA!!!!” With a blinding light piercing from within her armor, Snowdrop summoned a cataclysmic blizzard that smothered out the meteors, leaving them to fall around the foals.

Air Slash and Celestia were immediately blown back. Despite the solar sovereign’s best efforts to shield them, even the sun couldn’t shine in absolute zero, and the froze solid together in midair.

“NO!” Fire Fight exclaimed.

“SISTER!” Luna exclaimed.

Quantum could only watch as Kickback’s limp body was buried in driving snow within seconds, and her cockpit window was frozen over so much that it was completely obscured. The last thing anyone saw of her were her tear-filled eyes, crying out in desperate terror.

Shrapnel tried shielding the weakened Greensprout and Frostbite, but a smothered meteor fell onto his head, knocking him out cold.

“SHRAPNEL, NO!!” Zebota exclaimed. His friend’s limp body, though big, was blown away by the sheer force of the raging wind, and the two foals he was protecting were frozen and buried in snow.

Zebota looked towards Snowdrop, but before he could retaliate, her was shot with a bolt of ice lightning, and instantly frozen.

Seeing Spiral out of breath, Tidal Wave ran to her and put up a shield of water, which was instantly frozen in the blizzard. While it offered some protection for a moment, it suddenly shined with fierce light, and shot ice shackles at them fast than he could react, and they were mercilessly shocked until they were unconscious, their screams of agony being smothered out by the freezing cold.

The only thing the Elements could do was try and achieve something, anything with their harmony beam, but the blizzard froze them all solid before it could charge.

“YOU INSANE LITTLE B***H!!” Bullseye exclaimed. She fired a golden arrow above Snowdrop, but the rain of golden arrows were taken by the blizzard’s magic, and they turned an icy blue hue. “Oh, s***!” The arrows of light with redirected towards her, but Crazylocks jumped in front of her before they could hit.

Even with all of her unnatural strength, Crazylocks couldn’t take the ferocious barrage, and she fell unconscious.

“NO!!! CRAZYLOCKS!!!” Bullseye shouted. Seeing her fall distracted her from a bolt ice lightning strike her frozen.

With only enough heat to keep himself up, Fire Fight could only watch.

Turf War desperately tried to block the blizzard with his shield, but eventually succumbed to the freezing cold. He looked back at his friend, his eyes pleading for strength. “Ho….mie….” was all he could mutter as he was frozen.

Luna could only shield herself with her lunar magic, her eyes pleading one last time for her old friend to come to her senses. “S-S-Snowdrop… Please…. R…Remember….” But she too fell to the ice.

And then, there was Shadow Shroud. She was at her knees crawling towards Fire Fight, her eyes filled with tears and oozed despair. “F-Fire Fight…. R…R… Run!.....” And she passed out, leaving Fire Fight to watch helplessly as she was buried in the driving snow.

The only thing besides him now was the maniacal filly hell-bent on freezing the entire world to death, and he only had what last flickers of heat he had to cling to. His friends were gone, the princesses were gone, the Elements were gone, and he could feel the last flames of his life burning out.

“Well!? Do you understand now, Fire Fight!? Do you understand why you’ve lost!?!?” Snowdrop said. Fire Fight didn’t even have the strength to talk back to her. “HAHAHAHAHA!!!! You see? Even the biggest and brightest fires eventually fizzle out. Friendship, love, trust, hope, happiness, acceptance, ALL OF THEM!!! THEY ALL BURN OUT!!! And the cycle of starting them back up begins. It doesn’t matter how many we learn our lesson! We always somehow end up back at square one!!!”

Fire Fight thought back to all the tragedies and evils he had encountered until now. He knew that Equestria wasn’t the perfect paradise many made it out to be. The further he went on his journey, the hotter his flames had to burn. It was arduous, even draining. But he and his friends always managed to pull through somehow… until now…

Snowdrop laughed maniacally. “Where’d that bluster from earlier go? Or is your fire finally going out… like it was going to anyway?”

Slowly but surely, he could feel his breaths becoming weaker, and his vision became hazy. He fell to his knees, and his flames finally went out…

???

“Unh… Ooh… H-Huh!?”

Fire Fight awoke suddenly, but… where he was confused, even terrified him. He was surrounded by a raging inferno, as though he had somehow gone inside the sun, and he was floating in a fixed spot with no ground below him.

“Wh-What the-? Guys!? Princess Luna!? Shadow Shroud!? Anypony!?” But there was no answer. “What…?”

Suddenly, the flames around him starting rustling as though something were within them. He braced himself, and an enormous flame, easily the size of a race track, suddenly ejected from the infernal blaze. But instead of fizzling out, it snaked and spiral around him as though it were alive, eventually assuming a more tangible shape. It was still a flame, but in the form of a serpentine dragon. It came to a stop face to face with Fire Fight.

Terrified at first, Fire Fight calmed down upon studying the being further. “Wait… you’re…” He looked at his flank. “You’re my Cutie Mark?”

The draconic flame huffed, as if to affirm itself. Sure enough, it was in the exact likeness of the mark upon his flank.

“How… Why am I here?” he asked.

The dragon simply huffed once more.

“Oh… right… Snowdrop…” he lamented. “We… We failed, didn’t we?”

The dragon huffed much harder and leered at him, as if to scold the young colt.

“But… what’re we supposed to do? She’s too powerful. The princesses, the Elements, and even the Battle Foals.” He muttered. “And Shroud, she-”

The dragon suddenly roared, startling the colt.

“What!? What do you want me to do!?” he exclaimed. “Just tell me! I… This is the first time I’ve ever actually… met you, isn’t it?”

The dragon huffed.

“I’ve… ignored you. I shut you away for so long, because… you were a problem.”

The dragon lightly huffed.

“Even after I ran away, I still held you back, and-” That’s when a light bulb went off in his head. “Ran…” That’s when he recalled Shadow Shroud’s last words to him. “No… No, I can’t run away. Not anymore!” he declared. Everpony ran from Snowdrop just like with Princess Luna all those years ago, and look what happened!”

The dragon roared.

“You’re right! I’m done running away! From now on, I’m gonna face my problems… Equestria’s problems head on! Me AND the Battle Foal!!”

The dragon remained stoically silent, as though it had nothing else to say. It reached over to him with its claw, which Fire Fight accepted. The fiery entity tapped its claw on the tip of Fire Fight’s horn, and the young colt felt the power of a thousand sun surging through him.

*****

Snowdrop looked upon her handiwork. Equestria’s last hopes were now encased in tombs of ice and snow, and she knew where to find some fresh stragglers in the woods ahead.

“Hahahahahaha!!! As if there was any doubt. Now… where was I?”

Suddenly, the pile of snow covering Fire Fight’s body began to glow with fiery light, and it even started melting away.

“What?”

Snowdrop watched in shock as the glimmering spark erupted into an enormous ball of fire that burned like a second sun. It rose into the air level with her, and then burst, prompting her to shield herself. “GYARGH!”

From the explosion flew a comet of fire that soared above and looped back down into a nose dive. It hit the ground like a meteor, creating a shockwave that left a torrent of fire in its wake. The inferno melted away the ice and snow that entrapped the foals, the princesses, and the Elements; and yet the flames didn’t burn them. They all woke up.

“Oh, my head…” Valkyrie said as she staggered to her feet.

“H-Hol’ up…” Turf War mumbled.

“Goodness… We’re… We’re alive?” Luna said.

“But how?” Twilight asked, she and her friends no loner in their empowered states.

Quantum Tech was able to restart her mech, shocked as any of them at the sudden change in atmosphere. “Wh-Wh-What’s going on!? What’s happened!? Readings!?” Her computers were picking up an energy signature on par with Snowdrop. “Oh dear…” she stammered, but when she looked out her window, her fear turned to amazement.

Snowdrop lowered her defenses to see what was happening, and what she saw left her dumbfounded. “Im…IMPOSSIBLE!!!”

“Homie… did you…?” Turf War said.

“Sheriff?” Kickback said.

“Dude! Check the kid out!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she, the other Elements, and the princesses saw Fire Fight.

Shadow Shroud found her footing, and regained her senses. “Ugh… Fire Fight?” She muttered. When she found her friend, she was stunned. “Fire Fight!?”

The fiery colt stood with dauntless courage against Snowdrop, his flames burning hotter and brighter than ever. However, that wasn’t the most notable thing about him…

He had sprouted wings!

A Roar of Fire and Ice (Part 1)

Author's Notes:

Hi, everyone.
I'm really sorry that it took so particularly long to get this chapter out. Life's been pretty stressful.
I decided to make this one longer (and possibly more badass) than normal as a little courtesy. Enjoy!

Like an exalted phoenix that had risen from its ashes, Fire Fight spread his new wings and soared mightily into the air, leaving a comet trail of glorious flames in his wake.

Affixed in a state of shock and awe, Snowdrop failed to realize that Fire Fight was divebombing right towards her! “WHA!?!?”

Fire Fight threw a punch that struck the ice tyrant with volcanic force as he slammed into her like a meteor, blowing her back clear across the frozen battlefield and crashing her into the ground. “AAAARRGGHH!!!!”

Using his momentum, Fire Fight swooped back down to his friends, who were as stunned as they were elated to see him alive, just as he felt towards them.

“FIRE FIGHT!!!” Shadow Shroud shouted as they all rushed him. She threw her arms around him and yanked him in for a passionate kiss, which he happily accepted. “Am I seeing things!?”

“Homie, you straight wildin’ right now!” Turf War exclaimed.

“You’re an… alicorn now!” Spiral Galaxy said.

“You overcame her…” Air Slash said in awe.

“Ain’t that a story fer the grandfoals!” Kickback said.

“I’M SO AMAZED, I COULD HUG MY DEAD PARENTS!!” Crazylocks blurted.

“What splendor! Bravo, Fire Fight! Bravo!” Quantum Tech cheered.

“So this is the zenith of a ponyfolk’s power… I have no words!” Zebota said. Shrapnel whimpered, as if he were proud of the fiery colt.

“Oh, brother! You’re so magnificent right now, I could cry!” Greensprout said.

“Seriously! What switch did you flip in there?” Bullseye asked.

“I bet it was him seeing us get buried alive in snow.” Tidal Wave said.

“Who cares!? It was wicked!” Valkyrie said. “I think I can even hear Siegfried praising you!”

Frostbite just smiled and shrugged. “Pretty half-decent, twerp. Glad I decided to tag along with you.”

Fire Fight sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. “Aww. C’mon, guys!” he said. “I’m just glad you’re all okay.

“As are we!” Princess Celestia as she, her sister, and the Elements walked up to them. The royal sisters both looked stoically proud, while Twilight was as giddy as a filly at prom seeing another alicorn come into being.

“To see those wings spread at such at a young age… I knew you had it in you, Fire Fight!” Luna said.

Twilight took a deep breath and regained her composure. “Fire Fight, the fact that you’ve sprouted means you’ve reached some truth, a truth about friendship. What is it you’ve learned?”

Fire Fight looked around, around at all his friends, who all regained every ounce of hope they’d lost in the piles of driving snow around them. He imagined what the land looked like before it was buried in ice, how ponies played and worked together regardless of background, some working towards redemption because of their background, with others happily helping them on their journey.

“Equestria is full of different ponies, ponies who have a different place in it for one reason or another. Sometimes, we don’t recognize that some places have a purpose, and by extension, the ponies themselves. As a result, those ponies feel lost. They accept that they’re not wanted, and reject the place they really have; so they might have to learn to accept themselves all over again, just without their home in their hearts. Everypony might feel happier in the end, but nopony’s really happy when we feel like have to separate ourselves from each other. They’ll accept what happiness they have, and run away from the real issue, run away from their friends and family, run away from themselves. But I’m not gonna do that anymore! Running away only makes more space for more problems! I’m face my problems, and punch them right in the face!” Fire Fight declared.

He then looked towards the loyal comrades that had been with him for so long. “My fellow Battle Foals, I encourage you to do the same! If we can’t face our own problems, how can we expect to face bigger problems as a whole?”

They all cheered, and he stood proudly, shedding a tear seeing how far they all had come. He then looked back up at the princesses.

“What a wonderful lesson to learn, Fire Fight!” Celestia said. “Equestria needs more ponies like you.”

Suddenly, they felt the ground shake. They looked out, and saw Snowdrop staggering up from the ground and slowly rising back into the air. Her labored, angered breathing grated throughout the air.

“You think… You think I’m impressed, Fire Fight!?!?”

Fire Fight faced her with an air of utter confidence. “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty happy with myself.” He said. He lit his horn like an Olympic torch and spread his wings like a soaring eagle. His comrades, young and old, stood beside him bearing the confidence blazing from him.

Snowdrop had risen back into the air, and her dragon armor started glowing. “THAT CAN BE FIXED!!!” She released an explosion of ice magic that summoned another legion of monsters, including a few titanic ice turtles. They all roared and howled in the frigid wind, ready to rend and tear at the Battle Foals.

But they were undaunted, as they had risen from snowy ashes ready to push back, weapons ready and courage ignited, in more ways than one.

Fire Fight concentrated, and then released a fierce light that surged around and enveloped his friends. When the light hit them, each one had a fiery aura blazing around them, and they could feel their power surge beyond the sky.

“You guys take care of the critters!” Fire Fight commanded. He then eyed up at their blind foe. “Snowdrop is mine…” His fiery surged around him more violently as Snowdrop’s icy aura became more fierce. “CHARGE!!!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the Battle Foals charged headfirst into the fray, their weapons drawn and their fangs born.

Meanwhile, like a mighty phoenix that had risen from its ashes, Fire Fight soared aloft his new wings in a blaze of glory, readying his fists as he made for Snowdrop, who was ready for him as she froze a sheet of spiked ice over her dragon armor that gleamed with piercing light. When Fire Fight struck her, her ice sheet burst into an explosive parry, sending him back, but not off his balance. The two glared at each other, and began their titanic spar.

Back on the ground, everypony else fearlessly engaged Snowdrop’s monsters. With the auras of fire bestowed unto them by Fire Fight, they knew they could overpower their foes with ease.

Shadow Shroud had drawn her nunchucks. As she twirled them around, her blaze caused them to catch fire, allowing her to fling small but powerful bursts of flame from a distance. They knocked out handfuls of ice bats and scorpions one by one as flames were spread. When they started to close in, Shadow Shroud suddenly summoned and disappeared into a pillar of fire, leaving the confused monsters to search the ashy remains of where she once stood. As they did, Shroud suddenly jumped out of a nearby blaze and ambush them, shattering them with explosive strikes. Before they could counter, she disappeared into another flame, and jumped out of another one and volleyed a flurry of flaming shurikens that burned through their armor and destroyed their cores. Rinse and repeat, she jumped in and out of flames and ambushed the monsters.

Turf War and Kickback teamed up. Without words, they fist bumped and executed a cunning plan. Turf War threw his shield onto the ground like a bodyboard and jumped onto it. Kickback uncoiled his whip and let Turf War grab onto the end of it; he then spun Turf War around and launched him. Just as he did, a large ice gorilla had hurled itself his way. Using the momentum he’d already built up in his whip, he cracked it just as the snowy simian was about to crush him. The fiery shockwave instantly melted through every layer of the ape’s icy armor, and ruptured its core like a zit, destroying it.

“COMIN’ THROUGH, Y’ALL!!” Turf War slid along the snowy ground, and his blaze aura gradually increased in intensity like a meteor. He held his hammer out in front of him for protection as every little monster caught in his path was knocked away like ragdolls.

“YEE-HAW!!!” Kickback took aim and shot flaming bullets at them as they fell to the ground, finishing them off.

Turf War then saw that he was coming upon an ice ape. Thinking quickly, he tilted his shield up so that he could ollie jump. The ape had generated ice gauntlets and was ready to pummel him, but Turf War smirked like a real gangster and flew towards the beast with his shield up. The ape threw a punch, but Turf War just crashed into it and blew it apart on impact. The shockwave from the blast sent him skyward, and as he fell, he readied his hammer.

“WOOO!!!” When he was about to hit the dirt, he swung his hammer down into it, causing an enormous infernal shockwave to blast around him, disintegrating the swarm of smaller monsters around him. “Mic. Drop.” He said as he dropped his hammer like a microphone.

Off in the distance, Kickback just smiled and tipped his hat.

Standing side by side, Spiral Galaxy and Tidal Wave stood fearless of the horde and once more combined their strength. Tidal Wave was able to connect his water jewel with his fire aura, and he used it to melt a vast amount of snow around them. As he did, Spiral Galaxy, without any strain, summoned a gravity field that absorbed the water into a massive whirlpool bordering on a waterspout. She then filled it with star energy that clustered in the center of it.

Tidal Wave launched the giant whirlpool in front of them, which swallowed up smaller ice monsters. When apes and windigos started to whirl around it, Spiral Galaxy ignited the star power inside it, and it burst into a small supernova, evaporating everything around it.

As the dust settled, the two looked at each other and gazed into each other’s eyes.

“I love you.” Tidal Wave said.

“I love you too!” Spiral Galaxy said. And the two took a spontaneous make-out break.

Soaring high into the air, Air Slash readied his swords, now cloaked in raging fire. He faced a swarm of ice bats and swirling windigos, but his grit as a warrior left him undaunted. His fiery aura shielded him from the rising currents of freezing winds. The bats fired a flurry of icicles at him. “Hmph! Not this time!”

Air Slash spun around with his swords held out, creating a twister of flames around him that destroyed the icicles shots. When he dispersed the twister, he launched a flurry of fiery sword beams that melted the bats. Immediately after, many trios of snarling windigos begun swirling around him, threatening to freeze him solid and tear him to pieces. He took a deep breath and patiently waited. As they all closed in on him, he swiftly slashed them apart, his flaming swords melting through them like butter.

When he cleared them out, he then noticed one last trio of them that swirled vertically, charging ice magic in the center of them. They let out horrible neighs and fired it. Peerlessly and effortlessly, Air Slash slashed the massive ice bolt in two; and using his momentum, he lunged forward and diced them to bits. He smirked proudly, and was eager to see more foes approaching, ready to fall to his blades.

Back on the ground Greensprout was holding her own about as well as any of them. The surge of strength granted by Fire Fight affected her more profoundly than the rest of her comrades, as for once, she felt as strong as her more hardened friends. She didn’t feel the need to spread her own blessing to them, and mustered her own courage.

“I… I will cleanse Equestria of this evil!!” she declared. Using her newfound strength, she was able to convert her healing beam into a holy flamethrower. She blasted monsters around her, and they melted quickly; but instead of their cores being ruptured, they seemed to take on the holy properties of Greensrpout’s flames, and they softly dissipated into magical mist that absorbed itself into the soil. “Huh?”

“Interesting.” Zebota had shown up from next to her with a trail of destroyed ice monsters behind him and Shrapnel. “You’ve released the land’s strength from these creatures and let it begin healing itself!”

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Greensprout said.

Zebota nodded. “Indeed. So perhaps, we can make use of it.” Zebota concentrated his magic onto the ground around them, and he could indeed tap into regenerated land mana. He absorbed some it and channeled its energy through his brooch and into Shrapnel, and the two felt their spiritual connection to the land deepen significantly. They used that to channel glyphs they’d never conjured before into the ground beneath them, ones that glowed with holy light.

With what he could muster, Zebota caused the glyphs to erupt. The explosion of light caused the monsters caught in them to dissipate, as though they had been purified rather than slain. “By the spirits…”

“So Snowdrop truly isn’t beyond help!” Greensprout said elated.

“Perhaps.” Zebota said.

Just then, they heard a ferocious roar off in the distance. When they looked, they saw a large ice monster in the image of a timberwolf materialize from icy mist within seconds. Shrapnel could feel a challenging glare from it, and with silent permission from master, he charged forward, his opponent following suit. They violently collided with each other, biting and clawing at each other viciously.

As they tussled, Greensprout charged and fired a powerful burst of vital energy towards Shrapnel, which was quickly absorbed into him. It was all he needed to have a surge of strength great enough to allow him to maul through his icy doppelganger like a house of cards. As he stood over its dissipating remains, he let out a ferocious howl, which emitted a shockwave of holy light that obliterated every monster in front of him.

As all of that dust settled, it too was absorbed into the ground, and little sprouts of grass and even flowers here and there bloomed from under the snow. Their curiosity turned into contentment, taking this as a sign of their assured victory, so they fought on.

Despite being by herself, Quantum Tech was far from overwhelmed in her walking battle tank. The fiery aura that Fire Fight had bestowed unto her boosted her mech’s parameters far beyond what she calculated to be safe levels, yet her systems remained as stable as she could’ve wished. While inexplicable, she sure wasn’t complaining and decided to save any analyses for later.

“ALL SYSTEMS: FULL POWER!!!” She shouted. Her force field was up and blocking everything thrown at her; ice bats that tried to kamikaze into it instantly fried. Her mini turrets fired more rapidly, and the shots were more powerful. Not only that, but her targeting systems had inexplicably been upgraded with a tracking function, causing her turret shots to home in on their targets. When she activated her railguns, she was equally surprised and delighted to see that the shots violently burst on impact, with the molten shockwaves destroying nearby smaller foes.

Off in the distance, she then saw a small group of ice gorillas being followed by some titanic ice turtles, but much smaller than the one from Heimr Island. They were charging her way. Undaunted, she began charging her death ray. Her other weapons continued to fire even with the overcharge happening. When it was complete, at the tip of the energy convergence formed an ethereal dragon head. It opened its mouth and fired the discharge, which had far greater size and magnitude than before. She swept the torrential inferno around and obliterated the entire incursion.

When the dust settled, much of the snow had instantly melted. Quantum fixed her glasses. “An obvious outcome.”

Off in the distance Bullseye and Crazylocks were at it again together. With her newfound vision, Bullseye volleyed an explosive arrow into a cluster of scorpions. The fire aura greatly empowered the blast, and they were easily destroyed, but much larger hordes took their place. “Crazylocks! Go in and wreck house! I’ll cover you!”

Crazylocks saluted with her pigtail. “FOR OUR BLOOD PACT, BULLSEYE!!!” Before frolicking into the frozen fray, Crazylocks took a moment to take in her blazing aura. As she absorbed some of it, she twitched and struggled as if something was happening to her. “Nrgh… Rrgh!” Shockingly, both her wings and her horn sprouted at the same time, but her hair didn’t loosen. “GRAAAAHHHHH!!!” Crazylocks had the face of an enraged killer, and her pink coat had become a vibrant crimson as her fire aura blazed more furiously. She rocketed towards the incoming monsters.

“H-Holy… Gimme a damn nightmare, why don’t ya?” Bullseye muttered. “Oh, shoot! Right!” She aimed towards the sky and fired a light arrow. It burst high above and heralded down a rain of fireballs.

Everything that wasn’t obliterated by the falling brimstone was ferociously mauled by Crazylocks. She soared from monster to monster smashing them to pieces with her hair, all the while being cloaked in raging fire that she intensified with her horn. She even shot fireballs of her own from them and blasted whatever was caught in her crossfire. When the horde was cleared, she reverted back and passed out.

“CRAZYLOCKS!!” Bullseye shouted and soared over to her friend. “You okay?”

She was fine, but stumbled to get up with Bullseye’s help. “Oooh… Wha… Where…” she stammered before locking eyes with Bullseye. “Y-You… You’re… Wh-Who are… you?”

“Crazylocks, it’s me. Bullseye!” she said.

“Bullseye… Bullseye! That’s you name!” Crazylocks said, sounding oddly… sane. She then giggled. “You threw a rock at me because you thought I was being annoying.”

Bullseye just looked at her stunned. “A-Are… you back to… normal?”

“Normal? Did something- Oh… Oh, right! I… They… Grampy!...” Crazylocks started to shake violently, and then she suddenly had her loony smile on. “REMINISCING IS THE FOR THE WALLY WORLDERS! TOO ARMS!” She sprouted her wings and flew off.

Bullseye just smiled. “Baby steps.”

Closer into enemy territory, Valkyrie and Frostbite found themselves facing off with a titan turtle. It roared, and released a swarm of ice bats ready to overwhelm them.

“Pfft! Easy!” Valkyrie said. Focusing onto her Valhalla, she summoned her ancestral light, which now had a bit of a fiery tint to it.

But before she could swoop in to the rescue, she noticed that her Valhalla light produced something else. Floating around her were fiery spirits, spirits of faces she recognized. “Wait… Fenrir the Hunter? Thor the Stormblade? Astrid the Slayer?” And there were more faces she knew, but most importantly, floating right beside her… “S… Siegfried!?” She recognized the face of her exalted ancestor anywhere. The large, proud griffon warrior said nothing and just smiled warmly at his young descendant. He reached down and roughly patted her on the back, as if to show approval of her progress. Valkyrie smiled back, accepting the praise as if it were from her own father.

The fiery ethereal warriors then all drew their massive weapons and cawed the skies, declaring battle with the beast. Valkyrie followed suit, eager to fight alongside her ancestors.

She flung flaming sword beams from her greatsword that cleaved through the bats and struck the turtle’s shell, leaving hotspots on the points of impact. Her summoned ancestors, after crashing through ice bats themselves, jammed their blades into the hotspots in an attempt to penetrate the thick carapace, but not quite. The turtle shook them off with a blast of cold air, prompting them to retreat.

The turtle then began charging a vast amount of ice magic and concentrated it at its mouth. They all braced themselves, but just as the titan was about to fire away, Frostbite swooped in front them. “Here’s goes nothing!”

With a concussive blast, the turtle fired its massive ice beam. In retaliation, Frostbite exhaled his own ice breath. Empowered by his flame aura, it became enormous and blazed with a fiery gleam. The two collided, and battled for dominance with both going back and forth. The turtle showed no relent as Frostbite struggled to maintain his breath. But through sheer draconic willpower, he overwhelmed the titan’s beam and forced the vast collection of energy into its mouth. While it didn’t destroy the walking ice fortress, a massive flash of red from inside gave the impression that it had some bad indigestion.

“Huh. So that’s what breathing fire’s like.” Frostbite. “Meh. Kind of a letdown. Can’t complain about the results though.”

“ANCESTORS, CHARGE!!” Valkyrie cried. She and her summoned ancestors soared into the beast’s mouth while it was vulnerable and demolished its core from the inside, causing to rupture and then explode.

Remarkably, the sheer amount of heat protected them from being frozen inside, and they emerged from the remains unharmed. While he ancestors cawed a victory screech, Valkyrie took a seldom moment to herself. “That was for you two, the ones from Heimr Island. I’m sorry; I don’t remember your names, but I never forgot your sacrifice.” She said. Siegfried floated up next to her, and he patted the proud little griffonlet on her head.

The Princess and Elements were holding their own well enough against what little of the horde now remained, but the one question looming over all of them… was how the true hero of this battle was faring in the clash looming above them all…

A Roar of Fire and Ice (Part 2)

With his faith in his friends keeping him hopeful of their success, Fire Fight could focus his full fiery fury onto Snowdrop. The both of them high above the battlefield below, the ice-bearing filly herself bore her fangs, ready to strike.

“WELL, FIRE FIGHT!? WHAT’S YOUR NEXT MOVE!? I’M DYING TO SEE IT!!” She bellowed, her ice magic causing her draconic armor to alight with vicious magical bursts.

“NO MORE QUIPS, SNOWDROP!! THIS ENDS NOW!!!” Fire Fight declared. He gathered his magic and let it burst out. “HRAAGGHH!!!!” From his horn surged an enormous flame that enveloped him like a controlled, almost tangible cloud of smoke. It then formed into the shape of a serpentine dragon, the same one he’d met in his vision. The dragon roared, causing its fiery body to spew flames all around it.

With only their fighting spirits fueling their hearts, the two combatants surged toward each other, ready for a titanic clash. When they collided, a storm of raging fire and piercing eyes lit the sky like a red and white solar flare. The sky-shattering impact dispersed the clouds around them, allowing the sun to shine through for a precious moment before Snowdrop’s magic summoned them back.

Snowdrop launched a barrage of magically charged icicles at him, but Fire Fight controlled his newly gained fiery dragon armor to tail swipe the icy ordinance, evaporating them all on impact. Using his momentum, he swept the tail again and launched a barrage of fireballs shaped like dragon heads that homed in on Snowdrop. Before they could hit, she summoned a gust of icy wind around her that instantly froze the fireballs, and they burst in midair.

“IS THAT IT!?!? IS THAT THE NEW POWER YOU’VE REALIZED, O MIGHTY FIRE FIGHT OF THE BATTLE FOALS!?” Snowdrop taunted.

Fire Fight just smirked. “No. THIS IS!!!”

With all his fiery might mustered within him, Fire Fight surged forward with his fist raised, which by proxy raised the claw of his dragon. When he got in range, he threw his punch, which caused his dragon to swipe its claw at Snowdrop.

While Snowdrop was able to block the attack by quickly erecting a wall of ice, the sheer force of it all blasted her back clear across the plain. Now feeling fully threatened, Snowdrop doubled down on her aggression. She charged a vast amount of magic and fired a powerful ice lightning beam at him.

Fire Fight bobbed and weaved through the air as he soared over to her, ready to strike again, but as he got close, Snowdrop just manage to clip him, and he careened down into the snow, crashing like a meteor. But he felt no pain, and got right back onto his hooves. Flapping his wings, he rocketed back into the air and concentrated a powerful amount of magic. He released it as his dragon breathing a torrent of fire.

Snowdrop countered the inferno with another ice lightning beam. The two streams of energy pushed back against each other. Just as it seemed like Snowdrop had the upper hand, Fire Fight surged through the flames and pushed back with all his might against the ice beam. Snowdrop didn’t notice until it was too late, and Fire Fight body slammed right into her, the explosive impact blasting some her dragon’s armor away.

Deciding to take a page from his book, Snowdrop let the armor shards fall away, and she conjured huge ice claws that she swiped at Fire Fight. Fire Fight swiped right back with his dragon, the two powers colliding with explosive force that threatened to shatter the sky.

After some titanic back and forth, the two dragons caught each other in their claws, and the two foals stared each other down. Their fangs were bore, and their rage pulsed through them.

Snowdrop managed a wicked smirk. “Enjoying yourself, Fire Fight?” she said.

“You bet I am!!” Fire Fight said.

Snowdrop cackled. “Good! That means you’re right where you belong, right in your element!!”

“What do you mean!?” Fire Fight demanded.

“YOU’RE EXPRESSING YOUR SPECIAL TALENT! YOU’RE FIGHTING!! YOU’RE SETTING EQUESTRIA ON FIRE!!!” Snowdrop taunted. “And that’s how it’ll stay if actually manage to beat me! Even after my blizzard stops raging, you’ll just go back to the Equestria you ran from! Nothing will change!! But as it is now, you can fight, and you can keep fighting, and FIGHTING, and FIGHTING FOREVER!!! It’d just be you and me, locked in eternal combat, and nopony could stop us!” she said. “Besides… I’m having fun too!”

Fire Fight fanned his flames with his wings. “You’re wrong, Snowdrop! This Equestria, the one you buried under your snow, it’s already gone! I’ve already burned it away!” he said. “A new Equestria is gonna rise from its ashes, one where fighting is accepted! Not necessary, but accepted. And it’s gonna start once I BURN AWAY YOUR ICE AND SNOW FOR GOOD!!!”

His dragon began to overpower Snowdrop’s, and it pushed back against the icy wyrm until it was bent over. It inhaled like a voracious vacuum and blasted a stream of fire down onto its opponent. As it did, Fire Fight swooped in and threw at Snowdrop a fully ignited punch.

However, Snowdrop’s dragon thrust its tail upward and struck Fire Fight dead in his abdomen, almost piercing through his armor and sending him flying, causing his dragon to stop breathing fire.

The ice dragon’s tail then reached up and coiled around Fire Fight like the tentacle of a kraken to the point that it nearly suffocated him. His dragon tried to reach for him, but Snowdrop’s suddenly sprouted even bigger, longer claws that caught the fiery serpent like a fly in a web. It sent streams of ice down the claws that caused its flames to start fizzling out, to the point that it almost seemed like a skeletal flame.

“NO!!! IT’S YOU WHO WILL BURN OUT!!!” Snowdrop declared.

Slowly, Fire Fight could feel his very life being frozen away like a wart. But even though his dragon was fizzling away, his fighting spirit wasn’t, and it was fighting back against Snowdrop with a vengeance.

With an explosion of willpower, Fire Fight blasted his way out of Snowdrop’s grip like a ton of dynamite, destroying the tail of her dragon his dragon. His own dragon regained its fiery luster and broke free of the ice dragon’s grip. Truly, nothing was stopping him.

The fire dragon rammed into the ice dragon, and as it did, Fire Fight surged towards Snowdrop and at last landed his volcanic punch.

Feeling the full force of Fire Fight’s fiery wrath, Snowdrop was blown back in a blaze, with her dragon being the only thing to catch the flames and keep her from being burned alive.

In a flash of ice and snow, Snowdrop blew away the flames, and an icy blue light blazed from the now innumerable cracks in her dragon’s armor. “YOU KNOW WHAT, I DON’T CARE ABOUT HOW FEEL ABOUT EQUESTRIA! I JUST WANT TO KILL YOU!!!”

Fire Fight banged his fists together, causing him and his dragon’s flames to burn more furiously. “COME AND TRY!”

The two scions of fire and ice soared towards each other, the sky trembling as it anticipating their impending collision.

When they collided, it was an explosion of fire and ice and ice that lit the sky like a divine light show. From then on, the exchanged blow, both up close and at range. Be it foal or dragon, each blow was explosive, threatening to shatter the sky around them.

At one point, Snowdrop raised a vast amount of snow from off the ground and hurled it towards Fire Fight. He responded by send his dragon out to body slam the blanket of snow, burning through it like a hot knife through butter, and Snowdrop braced herself for impact.

But instead of flare blitzing into her, the dragon spiraled around her, and then clamped its jaws onto the head area that encased Snowdrop. Before her dragon could fight back, the flaming serpent exhaled a powerful stream of fire down across the ice wyrm, the torrent of heat and flames chipping away at its armor.

Snowdrop tried, but with her dragon burning away, she couldn’t muster the magic needed to blow it away. “No… STOP!”

She looked ahead and saw a glint of blazing light approaching her at mach speed- it was Fire Fight, soaring towards her with fire in his eyes and surging around him like an unstoppable meteor. He did a front flip and readied a full-frontal kick.

“NOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

Fire Fight struck her dead on, the impact instantly shattering what remained of her dragon armor, and it sent the two flying off together, with Snowdrop staggered like a ragdoll.

While they were still airborne, Fire Fight launched his final assault. He lashed out with a short combo of well-timed punches that ended with a brutal uppercut that launched her up. He shot up to her and slammed her towards the ground with an explosive axe kick. Snowdrop struck the ground with a thunderous crash. In one last show of blazing glory, Fire Fight swooped in the air and dive towards her like a falcon, readying his fist for the final blow.

“RAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

He struck Snowdrop as he crashed into the ground, the impact creating a fiery explosion that surged across the frozen plain, evaporating every inch of ice and snow that was caught in the blast. When the dust settled, the air had become warm, the blizzard had stopped, and the battlefield had been overcome with a deafening, yet serene silence.

It was finally over…

Author's Notes:

Well guys, here it is! The epic conclusion! Not the very end of the story though- don't worry.

I know it might seem a tad short, but considering it was only one fight between two characters as opposed to multiple fights across many characters in the chapter before this one, I didn't think it'd be reasonable for it to drag on for too long. Plus, the foals were already fighting Snowdrop across multiple chapters anyway, so...

Regardless, I hoped you enjoyed it!

Dust and Ashes

Everyone covered their faces, shielding their eyes from the blinding blast of fiery fury. Despite the eruption of volcanic light, they didn’t feel themselves getting burned. They were warm, but not searing hot. When the blast finally settled, they looked up.

What remained of the marauding ice monsters suddenly stopped moving, coming to a stillness that made them seem like nothing more than lifeless ice sculptures strewn about the snowy plains and ruined town, and the foals, princesses, and Elements all stopped attacking and just stared at them, hoping that this was the end, but ready to fight in case it wasn’t.

Thankfully, it was the end. They watched in both awe and relief as the monsters disintegrated, covering the already snowy ground. But the snow, despite the relatively low heat, melted very quickly and was absorbed into the ground, and the flora on the ground that was crushed by the all the frost over it had suddenly sprung back to life. The clouds dispersed, allowing the land to breathe in the healing rays of the sun once more.

The fiery auras that had surrounded the Battle Foals fizzled out, just as their fighting spirits had calmed in the wake of peace and serenity returning to their cherished domain. They were ready to pass out from exhaustion. However, the sight of their mighty leader, off in the distance and standing over their fallen adversary, gave them the strength to go join him at his side. The princesses and Elements, of course, followed suit, worried for the welfare of both combatants.

“Fire Fight?” Shadow Shroud said.

Standing still as a statue before them was their Fire Fight. His new wings, once blazing with the majesty of a risen phoenix, were now folded across his back. He slowly turned to his friends, his head hung low and his armor smoking like an ashy fire pit.

Suddenly, he started panting heavily, and then fell over on his side.

Shadow Shroud gasped. “Fire Fight!” she ran over and cradled his head in her arms, but his body was blazing hot, and she had recoiled back. “Yowch!”

Tidal Wave summoned some water and doused Fire Fight with it, cooling him while giving him a likely appreciated steam bath.

Shadow Shroud tried again, cradling her love’s head in her arms. “Are you okay?” she whispered, gently stroking his mane

Fire Fight slowly lifted his head to look up at her. “Y-Yeah… I’m just… burnt out.” He mumbled.

Shroud giggled. “Oh, you…” She bent down and planted a long, warm smooch on his cheek.

Greensprout channeled her Gaia Root into him, and his strength returned to him, allowing him to stand back up. “Oh, brother!” she cheered.

“We did the damn thing, y’all!” Turf War cheered.

“We… we totally did, didn’t we!?” Spiral Galaxy said.

Air Slash proudly raised his sword to the sky. “GLORY TO EQUESTRIA! GLORY TO THE BATTLE FOALS!”

Kickback blew out his guns. “And that’s all she wrote.”

“Sweet release!!” Crazylocks blurted.

Quantum shed a tear as she smiled upon her friends, her mech, and the rolling plains cleared of evil. “Never in my life would I have ever thought I’d play a part in such a grand destiny!”

Zebota basked in his surroundings, now feeling the land’s very breath returning to it. “It is done.” He said. Shrapnel let out a soft victory.

Bullseye sheathed her bow and just… gazed, gazed off into the beautiful, wonderful land that she had helped to restore. For a fleeting moment, it was as if the darkness lurking beneath her soul didn’t exist, and after for what felt like an eternity, she felt at utter peace. She softly cried, submitting to her newfound joy.

“I… I feel like such a… a hero!!” Tidal Wave said, holding his lance up high.”

Valkyrie looked down at her worshipped talisman and smiled, remembering the mighty presence of her ancestors fighting with, and how proud she felt gaining their approval as their descendent. “I’ll join you guys one day, but until then…” She cocked a cocky smile and twirled her sword before sheathing it. “This Valkyrie’s gonna soar like a mighty eagle!”

Frostbite, seeing everypony all happy and smiling over their stupendous victory, couldn’t help but crack a smile. He’d helped his new friends destroy a powerful foe, and in doing so, take back their home from her destructive clutches. He felt so powerful; he felt so accomplished; he felt so… loved, not only by his friends, but also by a part of him that he only now discovered. “Huh. Pretty rad.”

As Fire Fight could feel the rays of the sun grace his coat once more, he felt the weight of the world being lifted from his back. All the stress, all the of the anguish, all of the hardships he had endured on this long journey dissolved away, and the smiles on everypony’s faces affirmed to him that all felt the same. “It’s… It’s over. It’s really over!”

“And we have you and the Battle Foals to thank, Fire Fight.” Twilight said, the other Elements joyously congratulating them as well.

“You shall all be remembered in Equestria’s history as some of its mightiest heroes ever!” Celestia said. “I’ll arrange a grand celebration in Canterlot to thank and honor you all on behalf of everypony!”

Everypony cheered… except for one mare in particular, and looking over, Fire Fight knew why.

Luna, her face soaked in tears, cradled her old friend in her arms, who laid beaten and limp like a weathered ragdoll. “Oh, Snowdrop…” she said.

Solemnly, everyone went over to her. “Princess Luna… I’m sorry.” Fire Fight said.

Luna sniffled. “You have nothing to feel guilty for, Fire Fight. I just… I can’t fathom how it could come to this.” Her tears trickled down onto the subdued ice filly.

Snowdrop then began to slowly, weakly shift around. “Lu…na…”

Luna gasped. “Snowdrop!?”

Slowly, the filly opened her eyes. Though her near colorless eyes couldn’t see her old friend holding her, or the people around her, they were filled to the brim with deep, dark, draining guilt. “I’m… the one… who’s… who’s sorry.”

“Oh, Snowdrop!” Luna bent down and embraced her friend more warmly. “If I could’ve done something to help you all those years ago, I would have.”

Snowdrop weakly nuzzled under Luna’s chin. “I know…”

Celestia sighed. “Snowdrop…” she muttered. “If you must direct your anger towards somepony, direct it at me. I had the power to help you back then, to do something to ease your pain, your feeling of being outcasted, both you and my sister… but I was foolish in those days, and… and I did the only thing I knew was an effective last resort. It pained me greatly to do so.”

Snowdrop shook her head. “Please… don’t feel like a criminal. I was… angry and… and I did and thought horrible things…”

“We each did.” Luna lamented. “But those days are gone now, and we can move forward.”

Fire Fight walked up to Snowdrop. “Are… Are you okay, Snowdrop? I, uh… gave you one heck of a thrashing.”

Snowdrop giggled. “Think nothing of it… Fire Fight. Besides, I… did try to kill you all.”

“Okay, okay. Enough with the back-and-forth putting ourselves down. The fight’s over now, right?” Fire Fight said.

Luna smiled. “Yes. We can all move forward!”

“I just hope nopony will be too mad at you.” Shadow Shroud said.

“They gon’ be pissed fo’ a little while.” Turf War said. “But ponies nowadays ain’t as uptight as they was back in the day, so I think you’ll be a’ight.”

“I mean… I’d forgive you, if that’s any comfort.” Spiral said.

Air Slash sheathed his sword. “If anything, your fall represents a failure on our society’s part, one we should take care not to repeat.”

“Reckon so.” Kickback said. “It was kinda magical seein’ snow for the first time in my life anyhow.”

“Your ice cream party will not receive noise complaints.” Crazylocks said.

“It truly pained me to have to combat you knowing your past, darling.” Quantum Tech said.

“Nopony is beyond redemption sister.” Greensprout said.

“Yeah. I could’ve been in your hooves if it weren’t for my friends.” Bullseye said.

“You were just hurting and needed help, so… that’s what we did.” Tidal Wave said.

“My ancestors condemned the offense, not the offender, so that’s what I’ll do too, kiddo.” Valkyrie.

Frostbite shrugged. “Eh. We all have our moments.”

“It’s as they all say, Snowdrop.” Twilight said. “Equestria was, and still is, your land to share as friends with all of your fellow ponies. You’ll just, of course, be expected to repent for your transgressions, but we’ll support you all the way, right everypony?”

“Right” They al said… save for Zebota and Celestia.

“A-Actually, Twilight…” Celestia stammered, a look of awkward guilt about her face.

“Princess?” Twilight asked.

“Sister?” Luna asked.

“I am sorry, ponyfolk…” Zebota said. “But that will come to pass.”

“What!? Why not!?” Rainbow Dash asked angrily.

“Urgh!...” Snowdrop suddenly started writhing, and when they all took a better look at her, they were horrified to see that her coat was starting to wrinkle, her hair began to shrivel, and her muscles shrank to the point that she appeared skeletal.

“Snowdrop!?” Luna exclaimed.

“What’s happening to her!?” Fire Fight asked.

“She’s been frozen for nearly a millennia, but not truly by ice, but by her own magic born of hatred. Only now is her actual age realizing itself.” Celestia explained.

“Yes. I can feel the flow of time finding its grip back onto her. She will soon return to the earth…” Zebota said.

Everyone watch in horror as she started to look more and more like a living mummy, seeming as though she might crumble into dust at any moment, all the while writhing in agony. “L… Luuuu…naaaa…” she croaked.

“Somepony do something! The poor dear’s suffering!” Rarity said.

Greensprout tried to channel her root, but to no avail. “It’s no good! Zebota? Princess? Is there anything we can do!?”

Zebota solemnly shook his head. “I am sorry. There is nothing. Nature is taking its course.” He said. Celestia could only silently agree.

“No… NO! SNOWDROP!!” Luna exclaimed, trying in vain to cast magic onto her.

Snowdrop then looked over at Shadow Shroud. “Shade…walker…”

“Hmm?” Shroud said.

“Please… end my… suffering…” Snowdrop pled.

“H-Huh!?” Shroud said, wincing at the request.

“It… It hurts!... It hurts so much!...” Snowdrop pled.

Shroud could feel all eyes on her. Regardless of how they felt about the situation, they all felt a great deal of anxiety. And then she looked down at a kunai holstered in her cloak. It shimmered in the sunlight, as if calling to her, reassuring her that she had the strength to. With a deep, regretful breath, she walked over to the suffering filly and drew her blade.

“Princess Luna, I…” Shroud said.

Luna sniffled. “I know, Shadow Shroud. Just… make it quick.” She said. She then looked down at her dying friend. “I’m so sorry, Snowdrop.” She sobbed.

Snowdrop weakly creased a smile at her, and then looked over at Shadow Shroud. “Go on…”

Shadow Shroud sighed. “Everypony… look away if you have to.” And a few did, namely Kickback, who already seemed ready to vomit.

Gently, Shadow Shroud lifted Snowdrop up in such a way that she had a clear shot of her heart, to which the shriveling filly offered no resistance, but a smile. She nodded.

With a tear in her eye, Shroud poised her kunai, ready to strike. “May your weary soul find peaceful rest.” Swiftly, she thrust her blade into Snowdrop’s heart.

Snowdrop didn’t even cry out in pain; she just laid there as Shroud held her dagger in her heart. “The sunlight… feels so… warm…” she muttered. “I wonder… what a… a sunflake would… would look like?”

Shadow Shroud pulled out her kunai, and let the rest take care of itself.

“Thank you…” Snowdrop said. “Luna…” she said looking up at her royal friend, whose face was distorted with grief and tears. “Please… don’t be sad… Let me… see your smile… The smile… of a… of a beautiful… moonlit night.”

Luna, taking a deep breath, mustered one last smile for her friend, remembering how she had brought beauty to winter through her snowflakes, and all the smiles ponies had from then on when they coated the ground when the season came. “Goodbye, Snowdrop, my dearest little friend, my beautiful snowflake.”

With a peaceful smile on her face, Snowdrop, on her last breath said, “Goodbye…” Her eyes sank in, and her body went limp, sprawling across Luna’s arms.

Luna reached down and shut her eyelids, and then burst back into tears, burying her face in her old friend’s body. Everyone else expressed their grief in their own way. Kickback managed to hold it in long enough for him to get far enough away to vomit so as not to disturb the moment.

Shadow Shroud wiped off her kunai and sheathed it back into her cloak, and she felt Fire Fight put her arm around her. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah… I just… wish she could’ve gotten a happier ending.” Shadow Shroud said.

“It’s not always that simple, sugarcube. Like it or not, you did the right thing.” Applejack said.

“I’ll have to arrange a funeral for her as well.” Celestia said. “Still, you all must be exhausted after everything you’ve been through. Twilight, I trust you have some space for them in your castle?”

“Of course!” Twilight said. She looked at the Battle Foals. “Once we can get everypony evacuated safely home, we can start rebuilding. Until then, consider yourselves my honored guests.”

“Thank you, Princess Twilight!” Fire Fight said, as did all the Battle Foals.

“Wait. Are umm… Are our parents going to come get us?” Spiral asked?

Twilight took a deep breath, ready to answer the difficult question. “Obviously not all of yours.” She said, looking at Bullseye. “But I think it’s important that at least some of you at least have a heart-to-heart with them. As for the others… I may have a few ideas.” She said with a wink.

“Umm… okay?” Bullseye said.

Twilight giggled. “Just trust me.”

“Uhh… Fo’ sho’. We’ll just see what happens, I guess.” Turf War said.

Though left with a small hint of anxiety, the Battle Foals knew that today was a day of celebration, in spite of what was lost. They decided to take the time to bask in the warm sun and beautiful scenery that they’d restored to their home. For the first time since they all left on their journey, they felt the love their cherished land had always extended towards them, and they were eager to receive it, knowing that it would from now on be without end.

Peace

As per the princess’s hospitality, the Battle Foals followed Twilight into her castle. The cozy air of an indoor sanctuary caressed their coats like a relaxing brush. After such a long and arduous journey, the foals were more than ready to relax.

“I have a large guestroom for when I have… well, a large amount of guests.” Twilight said. “I’ll have some beds set up for you, and the ponies that went to hide in the forest.”

“Thank you, Twilight.” Fire Fight said, him and his friends following the good princess to their designated lodging.

When they got there, there were plenty of beds to accommodate each of them. They all laid right down to get some much needed rest. But then Greensprout got up. “I should make sure you’re all healed.”

“We’d appreciate that, Greensprout.” Shadow Shroud said.

And so Greensprout did. One by one, she went to everyone’s bedside and gave them a nice touch of healing from her Gaia Root, except for Frostbite seeing that him being a dragon meant he was unaffected by the magic directly; so instead, she took a stray gem that had broken off the wall and charged it with her Root’s magic, and then offered it to the drake. He consumed it, and finally felt the effect of her healing, to which he was very thankful for, at least she sensed he was under a sideways smile.

She saved the best for last, at least her best, and went to Air Slash, who was more than happy to see her, as she was him. As she healed him, she stroked his cheek. “You must’ve fought so hard.”

“We all did, my dear.” Air Slash said. “It still feels so… surreal that we won against such a titanic foe.”

“I know. I was right to come on this journey with you. I’ve become so much stronger! And I was able to help so many ponies in need.” Greensprout said. “And… well, I…” she said blushing and eyeing around.

Air Slash reached up and pecked her cheek. “We came together. You… helped soften my prideful heart. You did things for our team that none of us ever could.” He said. “I… hope we can keep seeing each other.”

Greensprout slowly frowned. “Oh, yes. We’ll all be going home, I suppose.” She lamented. “I suppose you and I can write to each other often.”

“Fret not, Greensprout.” Air Slash said. “I might be able to convince my father to station me in your abbey. My clan is all over Equestria after all, no reason why one of us couldn’t be there.”

Greensprout’s smile returned. “I’d love that!” She finished healing him, but remained beside him. “Umm… would you like some company?”

Air Slash chuckled. “Sure.” He scooted aside so that Greensprout could crawl over beside him, and they snuggled.

“Young colt! I believed I taught you modesty when with a lady.” said an older voice.

The two looked up and were surprised to see who had arrived. “Father!” Air Slash said, seeing the smug grin on the adult samurai’s face, prompting the two foals to break away.

Knight’s Soul chuckled. “I jest, I jest.” He said as the Bladerunners under his command followed him in, all of them looking decently tired and beat up.

“Goodness!” Greensprout said, leaping out of the bed to go heal them.

Already surprised to see the Bladerunners, the foals were pleasantly shocked to see all the other civilians follow them in as well.

“Tidal Wave!” Sky Strike said, running to his son’s side. “How are you!? Are you badly hurt!?”

Tidal Wave laughed. “What do you think, dad?”

Sky Strike smiled. “Yeah, I figured, my awesome little superhero!” he said, ruffling his son’s mane.

“Mom! Dad!” Fire Fight said, excited to see his parents run up to him.

Cat and Fist warmly embraced their son. “Oh, sweetie!” Cat said.

“Heya, champ!” Fist said.

They let go. “How’d you guys get back so soon?” Fire Fight asked.

“When all the snow suddenly melted away, we figured it was all over, so back we came!” Cheerilee said.

“Ms. Cheerilee!” Fire Fight said. He then saw all of his classmates rush in and surround him and his friends, namely him being surrounded by the CMC, Button Mash, and Diamind Tiara and Silverspoon.

“Fire Fight, ya did it!” Applebloom said.

“Dude! I can’t believe it!” Scootaloo said.

“I can! He and the Battle Foals are powerhouses!” Sweetie Belle said.

“You’re not too beaten up, are you?” Diamond asked. Silverspoon was behind trying in vain to cover her tomato-red face.

Fire Fight shook his head. “Nah. Greensprout’s good about keeping us patched up. Besides…” He stumbled to his hooves and spread his new wings. “I think this counts as an improvement.”

Everypony fell silent, and gazed awestruck upon the young colt’s attained ascension.

“Honey… you… Am I seeing things!?” Cat said.

“Dude! No way!” Button said.

“My hero!” Silverspoon cooed.

“Yep!” Fire Fight said. He flapped his wings and hovered into the air above them… and then instantly began to fumble around unbalanced. “Whoa. Whuh! WAAAH!”

And he fell out of the sky and into his father’s arm, who put him down. “Yep. That’s a new set of wings alright!” Fist said.

“What gives!?” Fire Fight said. “I was flying like a pro when I was fighting Snowdrop!”

“It’s amazing what an adrenaline rush can do for your physical parameters.” Quantum Tech said.

Fire Fight sighed. “Goodbye, confidence…”

Shadow Shroud popped up next to him. “Aww. Don’t give us that.” She said with a kiss to his cheek. She noticed Silverspoon giving her a nasty glare, but she just grinned at her.

“I’m so glad you guys toughed it out!” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Between that, Fire Fight becoming an alicorn, defeating Snowdrop, and restoring Equestria from an icy hellscape, today’s just been amazing!” Tidal Wave said.

“Our whole journey was amazing!” Bullseye said.

“Real shame I was only around for like 10% of it. Oh well.” Frostbite said.

“Yes. You all went on an amazing journey of self-discovery, even if it was fraught with so much peril and dread.” Cheerliee said. “I… suppose this means you’ll all be going home, doesn’t it.”

The Battle Foals’ joy and bravado suddenly dissolved into sorrow, and they looked around the room at each other. In each other’s eyes, they saw friends, family even. And now, they felt their picture-perfect family drifting apart.

“Father…” Air Slash said. “I’d… like to request that you station me in Gardenia… so I can at least be close to Greensprout.”

“When you’re of age, boy.” Knight’s Soul said. “Plus, even though you contributed to a world-saving feat, you’ve still yet to complete your training. You know the way of our clan.”

Air Slash sighed. “Yes, father.” He said, noticing how dejected Greensprout looked. The other foals shared in her sadness, eyeing towards their particularly closer pals.

“Hey, don’t look so down, guys.” Sky Strike said. “You could always write to each other. No reason why you couldn’t find some days to meet up and just… be friends, you know?”

“I guess, but…” Tidal Wave muttered.

“It just feels like we’re about to be ripped apart…” Quantum Tech said.

“Yeah, I mean… a few of us don’t even have a place to go… yet.” Bullseye said.

“Worry not, Battle Foals.” Celestia said, walking in. “I’m pleased to report that your families were able to evacuate safely. I’ve sent orders to direct them here… most of them, anyway. Not all of them are willing, or even able, to reconcile with you.”

Quantum Tech rolled her eyes. “I can take a wild guess as to one those parties.” She sassed.

“They might’ve evacuated, but… but if they…” Spiral said.

“Ain’t made it out?” Turf War asked.

“Mighty Battle Foals, have some faith.” Celestia said. “You have cleared the storm that threatened all that you loved. Surely, they are safe and sound thanks to your efforts.”

The Battle Foals smiled at the princess’s reassurance. “Much obliged, Yer Highness.” Kickback said.

“But what of those amongst us who do not have loving families to return to?” Zebota asked. “Shrapnel and I can fare well on our own, but I… worry for my friends.” Shrapnel lightly whimpered.

Celestia giggled. “Not to worry. Twilight already helped me make some arrangements for those less fortunate.” She said with a wink.

A glint of hope twinkled in the eyes of the foals in question.

“Even so… I’m gonna miss you guys. It was pretty awesome squadding up with folks as tough as me!” Valkyrie said.

“Yeah… I, uh… kinda don’t wanna leave you guys.” Frostbite. “I-I mean… One of us has gotta keep their guard up in case another Snowdrop pops up, and well… I wanna be ready to protect you all.”

“Well, I want to make it perfectly clear that each and every one of you are welcome to visit our family any time!” Cat said, her husband nodding firmly. “So why don’t I go ahead and make all you hardened warriors some much-needed home cooking?”

All the Battle Foals cheered. “You need some help in the kitchen?” Fire Fight asked.

“Uh-uh, mister! You’re staying right that and getting your rest.” Cat said.

“Don’t wanna sprain your calves from overexertion again, do you?” Fist asked.

Fire Fight looked around nervously. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about.” He could hear Shadow Shroud giggling behind him.

“And Shadow Shroud,” Cat said to her. “thank you again for looking out for my son.”

Shadow Shroud leapt up onto Fire Fight’s bed next to him. “My pleasure!” She snuggled up next to him. “Mm! So warm…”

Fire Fight chuckled. “You pointing out the obvious, or was that a compliment?” he teased.

“Hmm… Yes!” Shroud said.

And with that, Cat went into the kitchen to prep the Battle Foals a well-deserved meal to celebrate their journey’s epic conclusion… with some of them being more weary than others of their futures…

Parents and Reconciliation

Author's Notes:

Just a couple more chapters after this, guys!

I'm a little behind schedule finishing this story, but the end is in sight!

It had been about two days since the Battle Foals fell Snowdrop, giving them plenty of time to relax. During that time, they were spoiled rotten.

They were fed as well the adults could possibly muster in the aftermath of the snowpocalypse, and they played with the other foals- Twilight even got out some boardgames from an old collection of hers. Zebota went outside with some curious ponies that were willing to try and play with Shrapnel, which they and the wooden titan thoroughly enjoyed. Frostbite had a surprising amount of fun with Spike and Big Mac introducing him to Ogres and Oubliettes, amidst resisting the temptation to devour his hostess’s crystalline estate. Air Slash and Valkyrie decided to put on a show by having another duel, which the young samurai won this time, a loss that Valkyrie gracefully took.

It had become easy to forget that these foals were the brave heroes that saved Equestria from a multitude of powerful evils.

But this was now, and they knew who all was coming today. It was shortly after they had a scrumptious breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs with mushrooms and potatoes, blueberry pancakes, fruit, and grits. The foals waited by the front door, patiently, yet apprehensively. Off in the distance, they heard a train whistle blow. They could only assume they knew who was arriving. Celestia had already gone ahead to pick them up.

“Well guys… it was fun.” Fire Fight said.

“Yeah… I’m gonna weirdly miss almost getting killed by big scary stuff.” Spiral Galaxy said.

“Call it Stockholm Syndrome?” Tidal Wave joked.

“Hey, when one journey ends, another can begin. Happens to me all the time!” Valkyrie said.

“Ah reckon most of us have had enough journeyin’ fer a while now. Ah just… wanna see everypony’s smilin’ faces in Didge City again.” Kickback said.

“Word. All my homies in Detrot gonna mad relieved that I’m alright.” Turf War said. “I mean, they prolly gonna whoop my ass fo’ dippin’ on ‘em first, but hey.”

“At least we know they’re not going to be be too mad at you all.” Greensprout said.

Frostbite cracked his knuckles. “If any of them give you hell, I’ll step in for you.”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to resort to hostility, darling.” Quantum Tech said.

“It’ll all be fine, my little foals. I promise.” Cat Fight said.

After a short, somber while, the front doors opened; and in walked the good princess, along with most of the Battle Foals’ parents. The foals themselves, while happy to see that they were okay, felt really awkward trying to even look them in the eye. Their parents, however, were visibly overjoyed to see their children again and ran to them.

“Turf War!” the street colt’s mother cried, throwing her arms around her son.

“Whoa! Mom!” Turf War said.

“There you are, boy!” his dad said, following suit. They let go. “Do have ANY DAMN idea how… how… oh f*** it. Are you okay?”

“F*** you talkin’ ‘bout ‘f*** it’! Turf War, the hell was your dumb a** thinkin’!?” his mom said. “Do you know how many times I screamed your name ‘round the entire city after you disappeared!?”

“Whoa, whoa! Slow down, mom! I’m straight.” Turf War said. “Always had been straight. Hell, I just helped save Equestria, ain’t I? I mean, shoo.”

“Oh, hallelujah! Meanwhile, your dad and I were out here… Ah, s***. I don’t even feel like being mad anymore.” His mom said. “You at least happy to see us?”

“Y-Yeah, uh…” Turf War stammered. Look y’all, I… I…”

“C’mon, boy. Just spill it like milk.” His father said.

Turf War took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “I was just frustrated, y’all. All I ever wanted to do was do the right thing, and I knew I could too. Barely ain’t nopony else was. S***, I found out about Curfew, and that really didn’t help.”

“Baby, your problem back then was tryin’ to carry all that weight by yourself, especially with Detrot bein’ so dangerous.” His mom said.

“It wasn’t wrong of you wantin’ to be a big stallion, but you’re still a foal. I just didn’t want to lose my damn son.” His dad said. “Even you did turn out to be some dam titan slayer! I mean, mother******! How’d you and your crew pull all the s*** that you did?”

Turf War smiled, feeling more at ease. “Sheer force o’ will with a dash of dumb luck. That’s what.” They all laughed. “So… Y’all ain’t too mad?”

“Well, you’ve definitely got some cleanin’ up to do once you ger home, and I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout just your room.” His mom said. “But… we’re proud o’ you, baby.” And they hugged again.

“Oh, Spiral Galaxy!” The cosmomage’s parents embraced with a warmth that could only come from guardian instinct.

“You guys…” Spiral muttered.

They broke off. “Honey… you ran away because of us… didn’t you?” her father said.

Spiral eyed away. “I… don’t want to hurt your feelings…”

“Honey, we hurt you enough that you ran away! Do you know how horrible we’ve been feeling already?” her mother said.

“Mom, we each know just how dangerous I was. I… I didn’t want hurt anypony anymore.” Spiral said.

“We know, honey.” Her dad said. “But we should’ve tried to help you rather than run away from you.”

“Well don’t worry so much about that anymore. I’m more than able to handle myself thanks to my new friends helping me!” Spiral cheered.

“So we heard!” her dad said. “Heh. This little field trip of yours turned out to be a blessing in disguise, didn’t it?”

“It did for all us, daddy.” Spiral said.

“Speaking of your new friends, where’s this ‘Tidal Wave’ we’ve heard about?” her mom asked, leaving her daughter suddenly blushing like a fresh tomato.

Kickback’s father walked up to him, and the two cowponies just smiled and hugged each other.

“Abbot Meadow!” Greensprout rushed over to her to her adoptive father and embraced him.

The good abbot embraced her back. “There, there, my child.” He said.

She let go. “Where’s everypony else?”

“Safely back at Gardenia, I’m pleased to say. At least they should be by now.” Meadow said. “They are all eager for your safe return, but I instructed them to begin restoring our abbey as I went to return you home. Hopefully it’ll be finely livable once we return.”

“Oh, blessed day!” Greensprout said. “Oh… but I’ll dearly miss the friends I’ve made of the Battle Foals.”

Meadow chuckled. “Fret not, my child. They will always be welcome in Gardenia should they want to visit. I certainly can’t wait to hear of your… shall we say, spontaneous pilgrimage.”

Greensprout smiled. “I learned a great deal, Abbot! I’ll let everypony hear about it!”

Fire Fight then noticed another familiar face in the crowd. “Whoa! Hey, Film Noir!”

The actress happily pranced up to him. “Oh, Fire Fight!” She couldn’t help but hug him, letting her notice his new wings. She gasped. “No way!”

Fire Fight proudly spread his wings. “Yes way! I’m a new colt!”

“Oh my Celestia! That’s incredible!” Film Noir said. “Are you still gonna be the big leader of the Battle Foals?”

“Of course!” Fire Fight declared. “It’s just gonna be a while for all of us to adjust to life back home now that we’re on better terms with everypony.”

“Most of us…” Sitting off in the corner was Bullseye, looking somewhat hopeless with her healed eye not even in view. She couldn’t go back with her parents, so where would she go now?

“Think again, Bullseye.” Said an approaching Celestia. “Film Noir?”

The actress nodded and slowly approached the downtrodden filly. “Bullseye… I know you’ve had it rough and… you don’t really know me, but… Princess Celestia approached me with an idea that I really liked, and… would you want to let me adopt you?”

Bullseye looked up at her in shock, revealing her healed eye. “Wh-What?”

“Film Noir, really?” Fire Fight asked.

Flim Noir nodded. “I’ve always wanted foals of my own, but being an actress wouldn’t give me ample time to raise one. Plus… you need a loving home and family.”

“I-I, uhh…” Bullseye stammered. It was unclear whether she felt excited, apprehensive, or both.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’m not gonna let you be forced into something you’re not comfortable with.” Film Noir said.

Bullseye was looking back and forth between Film Noir and the floor, fidgeting almost uncontrollably. Her eyes were fearful, but also… longing.

“Bullseye… I’d do it if I were you.” Fire Fight said. “Film Noir is one the most caring ponies I’ve ever met. You wouldn’t have to worry about getting hit or anything with her.”

Bullseye listened to her friend. She stared at Film Noir, and then down at the floor. Tears welled in her eyes as she began to sniffle. Then out of nowhere, she flew into Film Noir’s chest, wrapping her arms around her like and sobbing like a baby. “Please love me!!” she cried.

Film Noir sat down and embraced her back. “Oh, sweetie. I’ll love you with all my heart and soul. I promise!” She gently kissed her new daughter on her head as she cried tears of joy.

Amidst all the happy reunions, Zebota patiently watched with Shrapnel at his side. The sight of the Battle Foals embracing their parents reminded him of his own. He’d come to terms with their deaths and accepted Shrapnel as his family, but nothing would replace the emptiness in his heart left behind in the wake of his grief.

“Child…” Zebota looked up and saw Zecora walking up to him.

“Ms. Zecora. Were you well in the forest?” Zebota asked.

“We were well. Thank you for your concern.” Zecora said. “It seems your friends will retire to their homes. To where will you return?”

Zebota sighed, and Shrapnel leaned his head down closer to his master. “To the forest again, I suppose. I had survived well enough on my own; there is no reason why I cannot do it again, especially with Shrapnel at my side.” He scratched under his titan’s chin, causing him to softly grunt.

“Ah, yes. You have lost your family some time ago. Are you really you sure a family, you want to forego?” Zecora asked.

“It… It matters not.” Zebota said. “I will know where each of them are, so I could visit whenever I have time… I suppose.” Shrapnel nuzzled his master’s neck.

Zecora sat down right next to him. “Zebota… No creature should survive alone in the woods. Loneliness and longing, it only broods. If a place to call home, you have no other…” She gently lifted his chin up so that he was looking her in her soft, warm eyes. “then please, call me your mother.”

Zebota’s eyed widened and ears perked up like an excited puppy. “You… You mean that?”

“Of course, child. My ponyfolk friends, I may hold dear, but our home and people, my heart still feels near.” Zecora said. “It would bring joy to heart to have a brother zebra at my side. Would you, as they say, hop on for the ride?”

Zebota smiled like a wide, lush valley. “Ms. Zecora, I…” But then he turned to his closest friend. “I could still keep Shrapnel, right?”

“Without question! In our family, he may tag along. I could never think to break such a beautiful bond!” Zecora said.

Zebota’s smile returned to him, and he embraced his new mother. “Thank you, Ms. Zecora! Thank you!” he said. Shrapnel crawled over and started nuzzling Zecora. She knew this was the beginning of something great.

“All the buff tadpoles now return to their ponds!” Crazylocks said.

“Indeed, my beautifully manic friend. Indeed they will.” Quantum Tech, causing her to lament about possibly returning to her own parents.

“Quantum Tech?” Celestia asked.

“Oh! Your Highness?” Quantum replied.

Beside Celestia was a familiar face. “I trust you’ve met Dr. Whooves?”

“I have.” Quantum smiled at the scientist. “Good day, sir!”

“Good day, young filly.” Whooves said.

“Hi, not-bad-lab-coat guy!” Crazylocks blurted.

Whooves chuckled. “I see you’re still in good spirits, little Crazylocks!”

“What brings you here, Doctor?” Quantum asked.

The Doctor cleared his throat. “Well, I’d heard your little… predicament seeing as your parents wouldn’t provide an ideal place for you to nurture your talents, so… at Princess Celestia’s behest, I’d like to make you my apprentice!”

Quantum gasped. “You… You’re adopting me!?” she asked gleefully.

“Oh! Well, I suppose it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say so.” Whooves said, sheepishly scratching the back of he head. “And as promised, I’ll be aiding in the endeavor of curing Crazylocks. I certainly won’t be the only pony seeing to her, but researching how to treat her will become one of my utmost responsibilities.”

Quantum could barely hold back tears as she ran up to hug the scientist without any regard for formality. “Oh, thank you, Doctor- Oh! I suppose I should say ‘father’. Teehee!”

Whooves chuckled. “I don’t mind if you simply continue to call me ‘Dcotor’.”

“YAAAY!!! NEW FAMILY!!!”Crazylocks then jumped into him, knocking him back all the way into the wall.

“OOF!!!” Whooves could see Crazylocks laughing and playfully beating at his chest, which mildly hurt given her unnatural strength. “I should begin research right away…”

Valkyrie and Frostbite stood together off the side not doing anything in particular. They were happy to see their foal friends finding peace once again. Fire Fight walked up to them.

“I guess you guys are heading back across the Celestial Sea, huh?” he said.

Valkyrie wiped feathers off. “Yeah. Gotta make sure my people didn’t go all cold turkey on me. Tough as they are, Griffonstone will always need it’s Numer 1 hero!” she boasted.

Fire Fight just chuckled and rolled his eyes. “What about you, Frostbite?”

“I think I’ll keep Heimr Island warm and toasty for you.” Frostbite said. “Grover said that place was ours after all.”

“Oh yeah! Wow, I already forgot about that place.” Fire Fight said. “We could definitely use it as base of operations when we’re not busy.”

“Weren’t you kinda planning that from the beginning?” Valkyrie asked.

Fire Fight shrugged. “Minor change in circumstances, but still the same deal.” He said. “At the very least, it’s a place where we can see each other again. Heck… maybe even train new recruits if we’re crazy enough to get any.”

“Cool!” Frostbite said. “Just uh… I hope you don’t mind if I… decide to fly in to visit every now and again.”

“Dude, totally!” Fire Fight said.

“If I have time, I might drop by too, but Griffonstone will always be priority one for me.” Valkyrie said. “Still though, glad I could be a part of your little gang. It turned out to be pretty rad.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Valkyrie.” Fire Fight. He fist bumped his two comrades.

Fire Fight went back to his parents, who were quite content to see everyone making their peace. “I’m so happy everything has worked out.” Cat said as all the other Battle Foals gathered around their cherished leader.

Fist addressed them. “If you guys ever wanna just come over to visit, you’re more than welcome in our house!” he said. “A-As long as you don’t any ‘Battle Foal’ training.” They all laughed.

“Why do I get the feeling you’d be a great sparring partner?” Shadow Shroud asked.

Fist sheepishly chuckled. “I’m not sure I’d want to tango with you, darlin’.”

“Wise you are.” Said an unseen voice.

Everypony looked around, but didn’t see anypony… except for Shadow Shroud. “LOOK OUT!” she shouted pulling out her kunai.

"Whuh!?" Fist stammered.

Falling from the ceiling was a black figure that Fire Fight didn’t notice was falling right towards him! Shadow Shroud leapt at them and parried them away, causing them to back flip to land square on their hooves. It was a fully cloaked adult Shadewalker.

Journey's End

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys!
All we have is the Epilogue chapter after this! I hope you've enjoyed this story in spite of how long it took for me to pump it out. It's been a hell of a ride, but I promised I'd finish this story, and I'm a man of my word.
Without further ado, here's the second-to-last chapter!

Tensions suddenly tightened like a deep screw as everypony immediately raised their guard around the intruder. Anyone who had a weapon drew it, and anyone who didn’t either put their fists up or cowered away.

Shadow Shroud, even poised with her kunai ready, had the look of pure terror in her eyes. What she knew was coming for a long while now was finally here.

Shockingly, the Shadewalker sheathed their weapon and unveiled his head, revealing a familiar face.

“Dark Veil!?” Shadow Shroud said.

“Heya, prodigy.” Dark Veil said.

“You… You’re the guy we met back at Skadi’s fortress!” Fire Fight stammered. “N-Nice to see you again?”

Dark Veil eyed towards Fire Fight and chuckled. “Gotta hand it to you, kid. You turned out to be even tougher than I witnessed. We ought to congratulate you.” He turned his attention back to Shadow Shroud, looking more stern. “But there’s still the matter of you!”

“W-W-Wait…” Shroud stammered. “‘We’?”

“Oh? Has our clan’s prodigy already lost her touch?” Dark Veil taunted.

Before anypony could react, a multitude of other cloaked figures jumped out from hidden corners all over and swarmed the room.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

The entire foyer was swarmed by cloaked figured all staring daggers at a terrified Shadow Shroud. More than her, all of the guests who weren’t in the know panicked, not understanding why they were suddenly caught in what felt like an impromptu action flick, while the knowing few were as scared as their little cloaked acquaintance.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Shadewalkers! You are in my castle! I will not have such an aggressive display in this place of friendship!”

The cloaked ponies seemed to hesitate to obey the command, until another commanding voice resounded. “At ease!” It was an older mare’s voice. The Shadewalkers did as were told and calmly sat down.

With light footsteps that echoed amidst the deafening silence, a slightly taller cloaked pony approached Shadow Shroud. Apart from a cloak, they wore a dark gray hood with that bore an elaborate series of lines that had been drawn into a rather beautiful symbol that could’ve been described as a letter. It was clear that they had status over the other Shadewalkers.

“Mistress Demosia.” Dark Veil said.

Upon reaching their smaller sister, they unveiled their face. It was a mare, one with a dark-blue coat, a magenta mane, and amethyst-colored eyes, eyes that stared down the filly in question with authoritarian judgment. “Shadow Shroud…” she growled.

Shroud started hyperventilating, barely able to look her superior in the eye. But even in her terror, she mustered the courage to speak. “H… H… Hello, mother.” She muttered.

“HOL’ UP! WHA!?” Turf War exclaimed.

“No way!” Spiral said.

“You mean she’s…” Air Slash said.

“Enough!” Demosia commanded, and all fell silent. She looked back down at her daughter. “Are you shocked I even unveiled my face to citizens, young lady?”

“Umm… N-No… mother…” Shroud said.

“And why is that?” Demosia asked.

Tears began to well in Shroud’s eyes. “B-Because I… W-Well…”

“She did nothing wrong!” Fire Fight blurted. “She put me on this journey that led me and other foals in need to save Equestria! If anything, you ought to be thanking her!”

“F-Fire Fight…” Shroud said with a twinkle in her eye.

Demosia eyed the fiery colt. “Young colt, we are as grateful as anypony for what you and you’re improvised militia have done for Equestria.” She said. “But it simply does not change the fact that Shadow Shroud, the jewel of our clan, my own daughter broke our most vehemently vow of silence! She must answer to the most dire consequences for this breach.”

“Why!? She’s your own daughter!” Cat pled.

“Family bears little meaning for us, ma’am. You either play your part, or you don’t. It’s a rough life.” Demosia said.

“That’s understandable, but even the Bladerunners have some semblance of family in their code. Why would yours be so different?” Fist asked.

“Because we are not them!” Demosia said. “We do not live under the pretense that the world is a safe and happy place where all creatures are guaranteed harmony. History has shown us time and again that the chaotic nature of the universe can extend its reach well into our little bubble of peace and happiness whenever it wants, however far in it wants. The only reason we don’t see it is because we hide it all in the shadows of our civilization. Our clan has sworn to live and fight in those shadows so that Equestria may maintain its idealized image as much as possible.”

All of the townsfolk looked completely dumbfounded, asking who these ponies even were and what Demosia was talking about.

“We shall explain!” Luna said, and she did, detailing the history or New Moon and how his rebellion sparked the formation of the Shadewalker clan, a facet of history that had been a closely guarded secret until now, especially with Shadow Shroud’s own act of rebellion.

“Thank you, Your Excellency.” Demosia said bowing. “Now then, have you anything to say for yourself, Shadow Shroud? What changed for you so drastically that you so boldly violated our tenets?”

Shroud just sniffled, looking back at the Battle Foals, who all wore worried expressions. “I just wanted friends, mother.”

Demosia shook her head. “Did you ignore me just now? Friendship is not our path. We exist outside of it in order to preserve it.”

“Ok, that’s complete and utter crap and you know it!” Bullseye said.

“Bullseye!” Quantum pled.

Fire Fight took a deep breath. “Mistress Demosia, if you were son concerned about your clan’s secrecy, why did you just reveal yourselves like this?”

Demosia eyed at him again. “Because, boy, our anonymity has been so irreparably compromised by my daughter’s brazen actions that there’s little point in trying to fix it. We’ll have to disappear once more, for a long time, to begin rebuilding our honor.” She said. “After dealing with this clear act of treachery.” She growled eyeing at Shadow Shroud once more.

“Good Mistress of the Shadewalkers…” Celestia said, approaching the clan mother, who softened her stern expression at being within the sovereign’s immediate presence. “I may not know of what all your clan has done to protect Equestria, but it’s clear to me to you’ve followed your original master’s convictions. For that, we are eternally grateful.”

“It is… our pleasure, Your Excellency.” Demosia said, stammering a little.

“I recall a conversation I had with New Moon a long time ago.” Celestia said.

Demosia looked at Celestia more curiously. “Yes? How did it go?”

“He had been brought forth to me after he had brutally put down a small invasion of Griffons.” Celestia said. “I asked him why he’d resorted to the violent tactics that he did, and do you know what he answered?”

Demosia started to crack a little smile. “I think I can guess, but please tell me.”

Celestia giggled. “He told me that no length was too great for him to go to if it meant preserving the smiles of his neighbors.”

Demosia sighed reverently. “I though so.”

“Many years ago, I baulked at that answer, but after so many dastardly evils have ravaged our fair land over the centuries up until now, I understand his motivation much better.” Celestia said. “I still do not endorse violence as an immediate answer, but only because the use of it is a strong expression of conviction, often too strong to the point that it becomes destructive.”

“That said, conviction is what creates a peaceful community, as well as preserves its harmony.” Twilight said.

“I… fail to see what your excellencies are getting at.” Demosia said.

“What they’re getting at is that New Moon was always a friend to Equestria, even if he might’ve had trouble showing it, or ponies had a hard time believing it.” Fire Fight said. “He wanted to preserve the harmony of the ponies he called his friends. Why can’t you and all the Shadewalkers walk amongst your fellow ponies as friends?”

Fire Fight then went to be by Shadow Shroud and put his arm around her, which she happily accepted. “Your daughter became my best friend and taught me lots about the world you live in, and as a result, we were able to defeat probably the biggest threat Equestria had ever seen. Who says the Shadewalkers and the rest of Equestria don’t have anything to offer to each other?”

Demosia’s sterness slowly fell into an expression of unsureness as she turned to face her daughter once more. “Is this… how you felt?”

Shadow Shroud sniffled and started to smile. “Yes, mother. I love my family of course, but… when I was finally out and about in Equestria, the more I watched ponies play and laugh together, the more I wanted them to think of them as my friends, friends I would guard with my life, and not just because I was trained to. We may have been raised in the darkness, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see the light.”

Demosia’s face became completely mellow, seeming unsure of how to respond.

“I-If I may… Mistress?” said a Shadewalker from the side. Demosia turned to face them. “I’ve… shared in Shadow Shroud’s sentiment for a long time now. During the evacuation, I saved a small family from being mauled by a pack of ice wolves, but they of course never saw me. I overheard the mother say she’d thank the brave soul who saved them. I… wished that I may receive that gratitude, what warmth it must bring.” He said.

Demosia looked surprised. “Is that so?”

Another Shadewalker stepped up. “Yeah, I gotta fess up too. I recall having to thin out a gang of raiders who were gonna attack a small village during a food festival they were having. There was a cave of fresh raider corpses only a couple miles into the woods bordering the town, and they weren’t any the wiser. I felt like enjoying festivities myself, so I masqueraded as a tourist and had a grand old time with the blissfully unaware ponies I’d just saved. The whole time I was munching on fruit tarts and hayburgers, I imagined what horrors could’ve taken place if I wasn’t there to protect them. I was so thrilled to be able to be there and enjoy the harmony I’d preserved.” She said.

“See?” Twilight said. “I think we can all learn from each other about what some may refer to as the ‘call of duty’ to one’s friends and family.”

Demosia looked back and forth between the princesses, the Battle Foals, and her clan. She could tell, even under their masked faces, that more of them shared the same sentiment; and even those who didn’t weren’t willing to diminish what they’d felt, including Dark Veil, whom she knew to be combative, even for a Shadewalker. “Perhaps… Perhaps, it is time for some change.” She said.

Shadow Shroud’s eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. “Really!?”

Demosia softly giggled. “Yes. It’ll be a… an awkward process, but… if foals who left Equestria’s harmonious embrace could learn to live and fight in its shadow, perhaps we rogues can accomplish the opposite, and perhaps it’d be for the better.”

“Please be assured that my clan and I would be willing to help you with that.” Knight’s Soul said with a warm smile.

Demosia chuckled. “We’re not quite that helpless, my dear Bladerunner.” She joked.

“Oh, mother!” Shadow Shroud ran up to Demosia and tightly embraced her.

Wearing a new, warm smile, the clan mother leaned down and embraced her daughter back. “I’m proud of you, sweetie.”

Shroud sniffled. “Thank you.”

Demosia stood back up and they let go. “All of you… you may unmask yourselves.” She commanded.

While initially shocked, some of the Shadewalker did indeed unveil themselves, whereas the rest decided to remain anonymous, but didn’t interfere with their brothers and sisters’ wishes. The more open members started mingling with the townsfolk.

Shadow Shroud went back to Fire Fight, as did the other Battle Foals, who were all so relieved that their friend was going to be okay. “Oh my Celestia, Shadow Shroud! I was so scared for a minute!” Spiral said.

“Golly, Ah just about had Sound n’ Fury ready to speak up. Glad Ah showed some restraint.” Kickback said.

“Oh sister, I’m just so happy for you!” Greensprout said.

“How funny that even our clans’ rivalry would be settled beyond just the two of us. Nevertheless, I’m glad for you.” Air Slash said.

“Thank you all.” Shroud said. She then turned to and hugged Fire Fight. “Especially you, mister!” she said giggling.

Fire Fight hugged her back. “I love you, Shroud.”

“I love you too!” Shroud replied, and the two shared a kiss.

They broke off. “Well, I guess this is it for now, huh guys?” Fire Fight said.

“I seriously can’t thank you guys enough! You changed my life in every way I could’ve possibly asked for!” Bullseye said, her heal eye shedding a tear of joy.

“Me too! It was a big journey of self-discovery for me. It was scary, but I wouldn’t trade this for the world.” Tidal Wave said. “Zebota, can I keep my water brooch?”

“Of course, my friend. The spirits will always be with you, as will we in heart and soul.” Zebota said, Shrapnel grunting in agreement.

“Man, this ain’t for real the end, right?” Turf War said. “We can still be the Battle Foals, can’t we?”

“Indeed! Even if we’ll be in at least long-distance contact, I have no doubt in my mind that we may need to come together as the mighty force we are to put down whatever new evils may rear their ugly heads.” Quantum Tech declared.

“I wholeheartedly agree!” The foals looked to see Celestia standing over them. “Ideally, we should rely on the Elements of Harmony first for our land’s defense; but if the need should arise, I will not hesitate to call upon the Battle Foals once more!” she declared.

The Battle Foals all cheered jubilantly, with their parents and Princess Luna watching happily. No matter how far apart they may be from now on, they knew they’d always be a team.

Dark Veil walked up to Fire Fight. “Huh… Guess it all worked out in the end, huh kid?”

“They usually do!” Fire Fight said. “What’s your take, man?”

Dark Veil chuckled. “I don’t think I’d have too much of a life outside my cozy little family, but when you truly somepony, you’ve gotta learn to let ‘em go.”

Those words hit Fire Fight hard as he realized what that meant, and he looked at Shadow Shroud, who shared in his solemn epiphany. “Mistress Demosia?” Fire Fight said. “Will… I be able to see Shadow Shroud again?”

Seeing his and her daughter’s pleading eyes, the clan mother sighed. “I’m afraid… I can’t say for certain.” She said. “A great deal is going to change for the Shadewalkers, but even so, we are an organization bound by strict discipline. Sentiment is not always something we can readily afford.”

“Oh… I… I see…” Fire Fight muttered. He took another look at his love, who was as saddened as he was. The hugged and shared one last kiss.

Demosia chuckled. “I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m just cautioning you not to expect miracles.”

“R-Right.” Fire Fight said with a smile.

With that, the foals all bid each other their heartfelt goodbyes and well wishes. Everypony who was destined outside of Ponyville went on to the train station while those who’d remain in Ponyville were allowed asylum in Twilight’s castle until the town could be rebuilt to habitability.

As Fire Fight jumped in and curled up into a warm, cozy bed, his mother tucked him in and kissed him. “We’re so proud of you, honey.” She said.

His father patted him on the head. “This the start of an exciting new chapter for everypony. You oughta be proud for writing the prologue.”

“Thanks, guys.” Fire Fight said. He then laid his head down, closed his eyes, and drifted off into a long, peaceful nap, sure to have big dreams about the glorious days to come, for him, for Equestria, and for the Battle Foals.

Epilogue

It had been five months since the defeat of Snowdrop. Ponyville, while still in the recovery process, had made fantastic progress being that it’s denizens had little issue working together. Quantum Tech, now a new resident, made the process go by much faster by optimizing the construction crew’s equipment, which they more than appreciated, at least after she explained how the new doohickeys worked. Zebota also had Shrapnel put his brute strength to use in helping to lift materials and equipment. During breaks, some of the workers played with the big guy, which his master was more than pleased with.

The schoolhouse was one the first buildings that got fully rebuilt, and Fire Fight was on his way there, ready another typical day. He’d been brought up to speed on the curriculum he’d missed when class was meeting in Twilight’s castle, as well as Quantum tutoring him.

Being that Quantum Tech was allowed to graduate early due to her smarts, she now lived with Dr. Whooves in town as promised. He went to visit her every now and again, which she was more than happy to entertain, and he was happy to see that her new life had been bringing her so much joy.

Zecora had decided to homeschool Zebota so as to keep him acclimated to her native culture, but also help ease him into pony society. He was able to befriend the other school foals easily, who were more than eager to learn more about zebras, and Shrapnel was happy to let them play with him. Fluttershy certainly enjoyed having a fellow animal lover to talk to.

But as happy as things were, Fire Fight felt solemn. He’d been writing to all of his friends across Equestria, and they’d been doing much better than they were before, but the only one who seemed to fall off the map was the one who’d been raised off the map, Shadow Shroud.

Five months, and he heard nothing. He had no address to write her to, and he hadn’t received any mysterious letters or anything of the sort that even hinted as to her whereabouts, or for that matter her wellbeing. As he walked down the forested trail to school, he came upon the spot where he first witnessed her jump across the treetops above him. Now, the forest was as serene as could be. Birds were chirping, and the surrounding flora was a still as statues. Nopony else was there. He sighed heavily.

“Hey, man!” a voice called from behind him. It was Button Mash accompanied by the CMC as well as Diamond Tiara and a giddily smiling Silver Spoon. He would visit with them from time to time as well.

“Hey, guys…” Fire Fight mumbled.

“Aww. Still missing all your friends?” Sweetie Belle said.

Fire Fight cracked a little smile. “Y-Yeah. It’s okay though… Let’s get moving before we’re late.”

Silver Spoon pranced beside him as they made their way to school. “Oh Fire Fight, quit being so glum! You saved Equestria like the big hero you are, and you and the Battle Foals! You really ought to start loosening up after your big adventure.” She said, giving a light hip check.

Fire Fight drifted a little way away from her. “S-Sure…” he stammered, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

When they got to class, they sat down. Fire Fight had taken back the seat he had beside Button Mash, where he sat solemnly as Ms. Cheerilee wore her bright smile for the whole class.

“Good morning, class!” Cheerilee said, to which she was greeted back, except for a moping Fire Fight. “I’m pleased to announce that we have a new student joining us today!”

“Whoa! Really?” Scootaloo said. The rest of the class shared her excitement, while Fire Fight felt mild intrigue.

“Really!” Cheerilee said. She turned to her left. “She’s from- huh?” But nopony was there for her to introduce. “Umm… She was just here beside me.”

Suddenly, Fire Fight felt something whizz right beside him as fast as lightning. “Huh!?” He looked over, but nothing was; but it seemed like his classmates noticed it too, because they were looking around as though they sensed it too.

It happened again. It dashed right behind Fire Fight, which Button apparently saw. “Whoa!” he said, prompting Fire Fight to turn to face him. “What was that!?”

“What was what?” Fire Fight asked.

Button didn’t answer. For some reason, his mouth suddenly hung agape as seemed to stare right at Fire Fight… or perhaps right next to Fire Fight. “Um, dude?”

“What?” Fire Fight asked. He then felt somepony tap him on the shoulder. He turned to them… and saw somepony calmly sitting atop his desk.

“Miss me?”

“GYAH!!” Fire Fight fell back and out of his chair. When he looked up, his panic turned to elation when he saw a familiar face.

“Seriously, Fire Fight?” she said jumping down from his desk and walking up to him. “After all we went through together, all the killer monsters, all the crazy ponies, all the dangerous territory, and I’m still able to startle you?” She playfully sighed. “I really do have to babysit you, don’t I?”

“SHADOW SHROUD!!!” Fire Fight shot up from the ground and threw his arms around her, whom he was shocked to see wasn’t clad, not even in her midnight garbs. “You… You’re… Is this real!?”

Shroud giggled as she embraced him back. “Sure is, hot shot. No fancy tricks this time.” She said. “I had a longer heart-to-heart with my mother, and she agreed that maybe I ought to be granted a real fillyhood. I’m still a Shadewalker mind you, but one you’ll be able to go to school and spend time with.”

Fire Fight started crying from sheer joy. “This is the best day of my life!” He firmly pressed his lips onto hers, and the two shard a passionate kiss. The whole class clapped for them, save a sobbing Silver Spoon, whom Diamond Tiara was comforting.

With his fire burning at his fullest, Fire Fight was now more sure than ever that he’d lit the why for a bright future.

Author's Notes:

Well guys, here it is! The real Journey's End.
I'm so thankful that you all decided to take this journey with me, and for your feedback. This story was an undertaking and a half, and I'm so happy that it you were all able to enjoy it.

Shortly after this chapter is posted, I'll be writing a Blog post on here talking more about my feelings about the story, but I also encourage you to leave criticisms of this story on there as well if you don't decide to leave them here. Be on the lookout for it!