Living Mark of Courage

by Moowell

Friends In Trouble

"What about rafting?"

"We went rafting last week! No, this time it's gotta be something awesome!"

"Maybe we could go look for the Willow of the Everfree. That would be exciting!"

"That's not exciting. It's crazy. Even if we could sneak past the gate guards again, we could get eaten! Or worse: punished by our parents when we got back."

"Good point... Wait, I've got it! We could..." Silent whispers tittered among the three fillies. "What do you think?"

"I think it's the most insane idea you've ever had!"

"Then we'll do it?"

"I don't know... Obsidian and Canvas told me never to go in there..."

"Are you kidding? What could be more fun than searching for buried treasure?" A glance passed between them.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: TREASURE HUNTERS!!" The three bolted toward the school house.

*****

"It sure is dark in here. Even darker than nighttime." A little horn glowed and illuminated the hall. "Thanks, Ivory."

"No problem. We've got to support each other down here if we want to find the treasure."

"Hey look! There's a crystal switch hanging up there. Twinkle, could you fly up and kick it?" *Ting* The cavern immediately brightened. "Great! Now we can see everything."

Hehehehehehee The fillies stopped and nervously looked around. "Wh-what was that?"

"I don't know, Juniper... Twinkle?"

"Eeeeeeeeeee!" The two fillies still on the ground watched in horror as a set of claws reached out, grabbed Twinkle from her place next to the switch, and abducted her into the ceiling.

"Twinkle!"

"AAAAH--mmph!" Ivory looked back at Juniper. Or rather, the soft patch of dirt where she had been standing just a moment earlier.

The switch went out, and all was dark again.

"J-j-juniper...? T-twinkle...?" The little unicorn glowed her horn. Two pale green flashes lit up in front of her. She tried to scream, but a great paw covered her mouth and silenced her.

Hehehehehehee...

*****

Obsidian chopped the cucumber into tiny pieces and tossed them in with the rest of the salad, then moved on to the carrots. Canvas sat beside her, watching like a hawk.

"Is it done yet?"

"Not yet." Obsidian tossed the carrots into the salad. Then she levitated a pair of large wooden spoons and tossed it expertly into the air, mixing its contents until it was practically impossible to take a bite without getting at least three different vegetables.

"Hey Canvas, would you hoof me the--" She paused with a start, her eyes widening. Canvas also perked up, a look of worry crossing her face. "Did you feel that?"

"It's what I don't feel that worries me." Canvas replied, unusually serious. "Ivory went into the ruins, didn't she?"

"That's the only place I can think of where we wouldn't be able to sense her. What is that filly thinking?!" Obsidian put down the knife and hurried for the door. "We have to find help immediately. She isn't ready to face the beasts below yet." She and Canvas rushed out, nearly slamming the door behind them.

From behind the corner, a sense of dread began to overtake Epona. Canvas had never sounded so serious before. Ivory must be in real trouble for them to be in such a hurry. She had seen them training Ivory, and their magic was really strong. What could be so bad as to make them ask for help?

She trembled. Partly in awe, partly in fear. If Ivory was in a really bad situation, there wasn't any time to find anypony else. She needed help now.

"But Ah'm nothin' like Obsidian an' Canvas. If they can't even help'er, what can Ah do?" she muttered to herself. Strangely, a sense of familiarity crept over her, like this had happened already. She knew that was impossible, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had done this before. That she had to do it again.

Epona knew that going into the ruins would mean she was being disobedient. Being disobedient meant she would be a bad pony, and that Obsidian and Canvas would probably get mad at her. But not going meant Ivory would be in danger even longer...

...

...

Epona chose to be bad.

*****

It didn't take long for her to reach the entrance to the ruins. As she stepped onto the elevator, it started automatically and lowered her down inside. It was dark at the bottom. She imagined that place where her sword was kept and searched. She could've sworn she had seen something in here that would help. Stick... Knife... Boomerang... Leaf... Claws... Ooo, a shirt and hat! Epona closed her eyes and willed them into existence. The clothes gave her a little protection from the cold, damp air. Shield... Aha! She found what she was looking for. In accordance with the laws of searching, it was in the last possible place.

Epona pulled the lantern out into reality and strapped it to her chest, lighting the hall in its warm orange glow. As she walked deeper into the caverns, her imagination wandered to the story Applejack had told about the Elements. How they were surrounded by Diamond Dogs and taken prisoner. She imagined battling the dogs herself, with her sword in one hoof and her shield on the other, fighting her way to rescue the Elements.

Then she thought about what Obsidian and Canvas were saying. If there really were beasts down here, they could be the Diamond Dogs! What if the dogs foalnapped Ivory like they had foalnapped the foals of a hundred years ago? Or taken her to a furnace to be branded?!

"IVORYYYYYY!!!" she called as loudly as she could. IVORYYY!... Ivoryy!... voryy... ry... the caverns echoed. No response from her friend, though.

Epona finally reached a door at the end of the winding hall. A large expanse opened up before her as she passed through. The room was even darker than before because there was so little to reflect the light. Beside her, Epona noticed a pair of torches. She passed her lantern over them, setting them ablaze. In a moment, the entire room lit up as if by magic.

To her left was a set of doors. One was just a short distance away, but there was a hole at its base so she couldn't reach it. The other was higher up and led to an elevator on a pulley. To her right were two other doors, one of which was locked with chains. In the distance, across a large gorge, she saw an enormous gate sealed with a lock as big as she was. Whatever was behind that gate must be very important to have such a thing keeping ponies out.

Epona went to the right and walked through the only accessible door. Her shoulders drooped. There was no sign of Ivory. Instead, there was a furnace, just like the one Applejack talked about. A large fan was attached to the top of it, and a raised bellows aimed its tip at the furnace. It had probably been used recently since the furnace was still glowing red. She walked over to the bellows and pushed it down, sending a large gust of air into the furnace.

The furnace lit up immediately, sending a rush of heat through its chimney. The fan accelerated rapidly, turning a rope coiled around it. Suddenly, the floor rose into the air! After a moment, the elevator stopped next to a stone platform above where she had been standing. Then it began to fall back to the ground. She quickly jumped onto the platform before she descended.

Not far away sat a small treasure chest. Oh, if only Ivory could see her now! Finding treasure buried in the Diamond Dog Ruins! Inside the chest was a small key. Epona tucked the key in a pocket in her tunic and walked back to where the elevator had dropped her off. The fan had stopped moving, so the elevator wouldn't be rising on its own. She was trapped.

Or was she? Epona thought back to her small collection of items and found her leaf. Maybe it was big enough to act as a sort of parachute? She drew it into reality and held it in her hoof. All of it. The tiny leaf was barely as big as her hoof. She threw it down, frustrated that she was stuck.

*WHOOSH!*

The leaf suddenly expanded to a massive size and launched a gust of air forward, knocking Epona backward. She stared at the again tiny leaf in wonder, then picked it up and swung it. Another blast of air shot forward as the leaf grew again. Maybe she could help her get down, if the leaf grew on command like that. Epona looked over the edge again. It wasn't that far of a fall. Even if the leaf didn't help, she shouldn't get hurt too badly, especially if she aimed for the bellows. She closed her eyes, took a few steps backward, then ran forward and leapt off the edge. As she had hoped, Epona's leaf grew and caught the air, allowing her to float gracefully to the ground.

She trotted out the door, feeling accomplished in her discovery and in the key that she had found. Wait, the key! She looked over at the locked door and took the key from her pocket. It looked like it was just the right size, and she was right. The lock clicked open and dropped away from the door, the chains sliding backward. She went inside.

"Epona! What are you doing here?!" Epona's ears and eyes shot up at the sound of Juniper's voice. The blue maned filly was hanging from the ceiling in a cage with Twinkle. "Hey, can you get us down?"

"How?" Epona replied. Juniper pointed toward a lever.

"The dogs used that to raise us up here. Maybe if you switch it back the other way, we'll come back down." Epona walked toward the lever and reached out to grab it. "Look out!" Juniper cried. Epona instinctively rolled to the side just as the great paw of a Diamond Dog swiped past.

"Curses! Stupid loudmouth little pony!" it swore angrily. It turned toward Epona and prepared to lunge, but paused. "Hmm... Pony looks familiar..."

"Let mah friends go!" she commanded. The dog just laughed.

"Pony wants pony's friends? Pony must defeat dogs first!" The dog held his paw to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. Two mounds grew beside him until they erupted into two dogs: one large and bulky, the other small and stout. "Hehehehehehee! Spot! Fido! Attaaack!" The three charged.

Epona's wooden sword and shield materialized at her hooves in an instant. She shielded herself from the leader's swipe and jumped backward to avoid the swing of the large dog. The small dog was upon her in a flash, claws bared. She held up her shield again, protecting herself from the barrage of attacks. The large one threw a punch which struck the shield and sent her sliding backward. The leader suddenly appeared from a hole behind her with a smug grin on his face, his arms ready to catch her. She whirled as she slid and threw her boomerang. The projectile caught him off guard and smacked directly in his face.

"Rover!" the others yelled.

Juniper watched the battle from her perch in the cage. Her eyes were completely glued to Epona. She had heard about Epona's fight with the Scrubs, but she couldn't believe that such a sappy filly could even swing a stick. The weird filly had hugged an ancient mare just because she felt like she needed a hug, for the Empress' sake! There was no way she had it in her to beat up a group of older colts all by herself, or even dream of fighting monsters.

Yet there she was, going hoof to toe with the Diamond Dogs like a whirlwind. The lead dog was leaning against the wall after Epona stunned him with that boomerang she pulled from nowhere. The large one was charging her and swinging his great claws, trying to hit her but never making it past her shield. The little one jumped off the large one's back and leapt toward her. Juniper gaped as she swung a giant leaf, launching the dog backward in a gust of air. The large dog watched as the little one sailed over his head and crashed against the far wall. Without warning, a hole opened up from underneath him. Epona's hooves had somehow turned into claws just like theirs! Her sword reappeared in her suddenly normal hooves as she jumped toward him and brought it down on his head. He slumped and fell to his knees, not having room to fall any further. Now the lead dog was back to his feet. Juniper watched as he parried Epona's attacks with his bare paws.

"Hehehehehehee! Pony can't beat Rover with a wood-- AAAAAGH!" What just happened? How did Epona turn her wooden sword into a sharp metal blade?! "Pony...! Pony cut Rover!"

"An' Ah'll cut ya again! Ya foalnapped mah friends, ya criminal!" She swung her blade at him again, but he dug into the earth to avoid the attack. Soon he reappeared next to his comrades.

"Pony is too strong! Dogs must retreat, for now!" At the sound of his voice, the other two rushed to his side. The three dogs burrowed away and didn't return.

Comments

[Night Frost]

Loool Dungeon 1 complete.

[Quill Plus Ink]

Stay tuned will Applebloom remember who she is? will the adventure advance? will she meet the elements of harmony? find out in the next episode of Living Mark of Courage!

[Night_Moon60606]

2518674 not yet...that was just the opening act...

[GMZ_Casper]

Oh, awesome Zelda-ish battle! Would those Diamond Dogs be classified as a normal battle or a mini-boss battle? Anyhow, great job with this chapter.

C&C:
...it started it automatically and lowered her down inside.
> Replace the second ‘it’ with ‘itself’.

[Moowell]

2518674
Are you implying that little battle was the boss fight? And that I got there after using a small key?

2518852
Hah! I appreciate the effort, but I don't have the budget to hire a hype manager.

2519465
Good question. I'm still finalizing the next chapter, so it could go either way. Also, thanks for the catch.

[Night Frost]

2519625 I meant part one. :P