Living Mark of Courage

by Moowell

Exploring New Things

One Week Earlier

"Canvas? Take Ivory back up to the surface. Oh, and let the townsponies know that we found them and that they are safe."

"Most certainly, venerable sister!" Canvas bowed low, then took Ivory up on her back and trotted out.

"As for you, Epona..." The filly gulped.

"Y-yes, Obsidian?" Obsidian raised a hoof. Epona cringed in preparation for what was surely a form of punishment.

A gentle touch came down on her shoulder. "You are going to tell me the truth."

"Huh?" Epona looked up into the black mare's eyes.

"I know you didn't put her up to it. I saw you in the house when Canvas and I ran out." Epona hung her head sheepishly. "Why did you lie?"

"Ah just didn't wanna see Ivory get into more trouble. She's been through a lot today."

"I see," Obsidian replied. "Very well, but now you will tell me the truth."

Epona nodded. "What do ya wanna know?"

"Everything. Beginning with why you came down here in the first place, and don't even think of lying to me again, or I'll reconsider your punishment."

"Well..." She explained about wanting to rescue Ivory. About finding Juniper and Twinkle trapped in their cage, and about finding Ivory in the back room.

"What about your bruises? You look like you've been beaten to a pulp." Epona explained about her encounters with the Diamond Dogs. "Diamond Dogs?! Those creatures are tough for full grown adults to handle! How in Equestria did you manage to fend off three?"

"With this." Epona drew her sword. Obsidian's eyes widened. She looked around to make sure nopony else was watching.

"Put that away," she ordered quietly. Epona did so. Obsidian's voice became very low. "Epona, listen to me very carefully. There are very few Earth Ponies who can use magic. One of ten-thousand, at most. Of those that can, maybe 1 in 100 can come close to the magic ability of the average Unicorn." She knelt to Epona's eye-level and looked straight into her. "What you just did is far beyond the capabilities of most full grown Unicorns, and you did it effortlessly. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Not really... Ah've never been good with fancy math," Epona replied.

"Hmm... I have an idea." Obsidian picked up a pebble and pressed it into the ground, then picked it out. Then she picked up a rock the size of her hoof and pressed it into the ground next to the pebble hole. Finally, she dug a hole out of the ground large enough for Epona to curl up inside.

"What are these holes for?" Epona asked as she sat in the largest hole.

"These represent magic. Most Earth Ponies can only use enough magic at a time to fill the tiny, pebble sized hole. Things like placing their bucks perfectly, or raising the best crops only require that much magic, and Earth Ponies are exceptionally good at it. A few, however, have enough magic talent to fill the second hole. They can use simple spells, like enhancing magic tricks or sleight of hoof. Do you see the difference?"

She nodded. "Ya can fit a lot o' pebbles into that one."

"Exactly. More pebbles, more magic. Now look at the hole you're sitting in. See how it's much bigger than the others? That's the power of a regular Unicorn adult."

"Wow... Ah never knew Unicorns had so much magic! Ah always thought they just had it, an' regular ponies didn't."

Obsidian nodded. "Most ponies are like that. It was only just recently that Earth Ponies were found to have reserves of latent magic, even if most can't use it. But even with that much magic, there are still ponies with more." Obsidian's horn suddenly flashed, stunning Epona for a moment. When the stars left her eyes, she saw a ten-foot deep crater next to the average Unicorn's hole.

"Whose magic is that? An Alicorn's?" she asked, her eyes wide in wonder

"No, Epona. That is the amount of magic you used when you showed me your sword." Her jaw dropped to the floor.

"Th-th-that's me?" she sputtered as her mind tried to process it.

"That's you without even trying," Obsidian corrected. Epona staggered backward.

"Ah really am a monster..." she mumbled to herself.

Obsidian knelt in front of Epona and looked her straight in the eyes, her face suddenly very serious. "Epona, you must promise me you'll never use this power without my permission."

"But-"

"Never, Epona! Do you understand?" Obsidian shouted as she shook the filly a little. "If anypony were to find out about your magic, the Empress would take you away and we would never see you again. So please, promise me..." Epona looked into Obsidian's fearful eyes.

"A-ah understand..."

"Good." Obsidian stood up, her demeanor restored to one of authority. "Now, about your punishment."

Epona's ears flattened. "But Ah told ya the truth!"

"I know. That's why I'm letting you off the hook. But!" she said before the filly relaxed too much. "If you ever tell anypony I let you go, I'll whip your haunches from one end of Ponyville to the other. After all, I have a reputation to maintain, so if anypony asks, just say 'Don't ask' and they won't bother you. Got it?"

Epona smiled. "Yes ma'am!"

"Alright." Obsidian's horn flashed, and a scroll and ink appeared in front of her. She wrote something down, then her horn flashed again and the parchment was gone. "That will buy us a few days. What else can you do?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Present Day

When school ended everypony went their separate ways. Turntable and Truly had begun spending more time together. The Scrubs went toward the park. Mirror Child left with a light blue mare with a silver mane, possibly her sister. Ivory, Juniper and Twinkle were off crusading, leaving Epona to herself.

She walked down the path that led both to the park and to home. When she reached the crossroads, she looked around, making sure nopony was around, then she leapt into a large bush. Under the bush was a soft patch of dirt, formed by repeated digging. Epona's hooves became claws, and she disappeared into the ground again. She dug down a few feet until she found a small cavern.

When she reached the end of the tunnel, she resurfaced next to the burnt building where she left the crystal on that first day. It was a peaceful place. Nopony ever came out here because it was outside the town walls and so close to the forest. She didn't exactly get permission from Obsidian, but nopony would see her using her magic here so it would be alright.

Out came two swords: one of wood, the other of metal. She set them down on the ground. Then a boomerang appeared, followed by a lantern, two clawed mitts, and a leaf. Those were placed next to the swords. Then Epona summoned one of the items she had discovered during her time with Obsidian.

It was a little box. She opened it and found several small rings inside. She took one that matched her coat's color, and it suddenly grew to the size of her leg. When she slipped it on to test the fit, she found it was perfectly sized, as though it was meant to be worn by her. Fascinated, she pulled out one of the other rings. After taking a closer look, she discovered an inscription on it: Steadfast. She put it back in the box, then pulled the other rings out and read their inscriptions:

Gold Joy, Rang 2, Roc, Snowshoe.

After a moment pondering why they were given such names, she set the ring box down next to her other items. The next thing she pulled out was a shiny blue feather. Merely holding it in her hoof made her feel lighter. She poked it behind her ear so she wouldn't lose it to any stray breezes.

Next, she found a leather bracelet that fit nicely around her upper foreleg. As soon as she put it on, she immediately felt stronger, like she could lift up boulders with her bare hooves. If there had been any boulders around, she would have tried it. But the only thing around was the building, and she didn't feel like knocking it down.

The next few things she pulled out were all bags containing various items, like seeds, masks, and strange blue balls with string coming out of them. Then there was a random fishing rod, a set of earrings that looked a little like flames, a slingshot, a large brown nut with a yellow center, and a shiny bug attached to a socket large enough for a hoof. She slipped her hoof inside the bug's socket. There was a small switch inside, so she pressed it.

She suddenly found herself slowly moving forward against her will, and a slight buzzing sound reached her. She looked around, but she couldn't find the source of the buzz. She turned around completely and saw her body with a hoof extended outward, holding a golden socket. Was she the bug?! A bright red pulsing flash encompassed her vision for a few moments as she panicked, then she suddenly found herself back in her own body, holding out the socket. The bug landed on the switch and clicked down, ready to be used again.

Epona through the item next to the rest in a hurry, afraid she might accidentally do it again.

The last thing she pulled out was a small blue, tear shaped... something. It had a small protrusion with a gold band around the base. There were multiple holes spaced oddly around the top. Maybe it was a type of flute or recorder or something, like what Turntable brought for show and tell once. Epona placed her mouth on the protrusion and blew.

The tone was mellow, yet as pure as crystal. The air itself seemed to shimmer with the magic of its sound. She held the note, unable to make herself put it down until she ran out of breath. The tone wafted across the field and rang in her ears for several long moments, then slowly faded away. She looked at the instrument in her hooves with a mixed sense of elation and fear that somepony else heard the note and would come looking for her.

She looked around, again making sure nopony was nearby, then quickly disappeared her items back into her imaginary satchel. The moon began to set behind the burned down cottage. Its light waned as the stars winked out and faded. Epona knew it was time to go, so her hooves became claws again, and she dug into the hill and vanished from sight.

*****

As the moon disappeared behind the horizon, its light caught two small yet brilliant cyan glows aimed at a small dirt patch on the hill from within the shadows of the forest.

Comments

[Stoneificaunt]

Lets see here we got bombs, check, sling shot, check, ammo for slingshot, feather item that I forgot was called. Now I wonder what masks we have. Obviously the main three or just the first deku mask. Hmm deku Applebloom no one would recognize her unless they have an eye for detail. Has a trumpet. And can stare into your soul. Sadly they are short. I'd also say probably an inch or two smaller than a filly. Now onto other items like maybe does she have the Bremmen mask? She can lead a parade around town. Oh and the Ocarina. USE THE SONG OF STORMS TO FLOOD PONYVILLE MUAHAHAHA.

oh and I think Trixie is here as well. Good for her we need some more canon characters. Though how to explain it. Alicorn amulet made her age slowly me guesses.However will she recognize Applebloom?

Hmm two glowy things, could they be wisps. Or glowing Parasprites. Guess we might find out later.

Overall it was an ok chapter. At least she got more items from it. Now time to go fishing and catch a trout and record it.

[Siras-chi]

2589546
Trixie took over. As seen in previous chapters.

[Stoneificaunt]

2589806 which chapter cause I read back it just says the empress took over. And in the recent chapter a character depicting out Trixie takes mirror coat home. Now that's either coincidence or its Trixie.

[Xenotype]

As to the Oracle game rings, I would have gone with these five, they are more usefull:
1: Red Ring (doubles sword power) or Green Ring (makes sword stronger and enemies weaker) or Blue Ring (double defense)
2:Bombproof Ring (impervious to bomb damage) or Heart Ring L-2 (Restores health at a faster pace then the L-1 Ring)
3: Roc's Ring (no falling through weak floors) one of the only ones I agree with that you chose
4:Rang Ring L-2 ( increase boomerang strength) or Toss Ring (throws Items twice as far)
5: Gold Joy (doubles the amount of items you pick up) the other one I agree with.
Note: I almost chose the Zora's Ring (lets you dive without coming up for air) but she probably has the Zora's Mask (Seapony's Mask?) so that would be a waste of a ring slot, having the Snowshoe and steadfast rings are also a bit of a waste because she will eventually get the Iron Boots which negate slipping and a lot of knock-back. Also I could never actually find that damn gold joy ring

2589949 Trixie is the empress. Also it is the Roc's Feather, which upgrades (sometimes) into the Roc's Cape.

[Moowell]

2589546
Before I start, I have to ask: Why did you post four different times when you could've just edited the first?
Masks: They will come as Applebloom goes through the story. She currently has two, but I'm not going to tell which ones until released in the chapters to come.
Ocarina: Like the masks, she will learn new songs over time. Also, magic like the Song of Storms is extremely potent. Even if she knew the songs, she doesn't have the ability to use their effects yet.
Trixie: She lives. The story will get into more detail later.
Glowy things in the forest: It'll be clear next chapter.
Catching trout: Actually part of a side thing she does to help Canvas in a later chapter.

2590083
Rings: Also like the masks, more will come over time. I chose those few because they are relatively low key compared to some of the other rings you can get.

[Stoneificaunt]

2590256 I had problems with my comp for it lagged horribly. Next thing I know I was typing gibberish. Then on my phone I didn't think on editing so I deleted impulsively.

[Arron_Starchanger]

Great chapter cant wait for the next one.

[Starcat5]

"It was only just recently that Earth Ponies were found to have reserves of latent magic, even if most can't use it."

...and I can finally stop breaking my keyboard with my face.

"Whose magic is that? An Alicorn's?" she asked, her eyes wide in wonder

"No, Epona. That is the amount of magic you used when you showed me your sword."

Meh. Still not nearly as impressive as Pinkie Pie. But then again, we have yet to see Epona wield Power's Fire, Courage's Wind, or Wisdom's Love.

2590083 2590256
Truth be told, I have never played those two games. Well, they are on the Nintendo e-Shop now, so I should probably fix that.

[Moowell]

6069109
Yes. Yes you should. I may be a little biased, as they were my first Zelda games, but I loved every bit of them. Except that one shadow miniboss in the fourth dungeon of Seasons. Fuck that guy.

[Starcat5]

6071315
The first Zelda game I have ever played was the original, but the first one I ever personally owned was Link to the Past, followed by Link's Awakening. (Note to self: Pick up LoZ:LA DX as well.)

...and no reaction to my renames for the three spells? At all?

[Moowell]

6071500
To be honest, I hadn't even noticed... However, if she were to cast spells of that type, she'd probably start with Courage's Wind.

Also, you sparked a new, not entirely related idea. Many thanks!