Living Mark of Courage

by Moowell

Trixie's Call

A jet black unicorn looked outside her cabin window to see a small filly gazing over the harbor where the boats were moored. Every morning for the past month or so, the filly would climb to the top of the hill near the cabin and look down as the piers sprang to life with merchants and fishers, townsponies and the occasional posh. It had become a sort of hobby of hers to count the ponies as they came ashore or set sail that day. It wasn't exactly the most fun thing to do.

But it helped take her mind off her old home.

"Do you ever wonder if we made the right decision?" asked a pale white unicorn from beside the black.

"Every time I see her sitting at the top of the hill," came the slow response. The black mare turned to her sister. "What if we had brought her friend with us? What if we had stayed in Ponyville?" She sighed and looked down, a small tear forming beneath her eye. "What if I had never let that filly come into our home? Did I make a mistake somewhere along the line? I'm supposed to be the leader of the house, but did I lead us down the wrong path?"

The white mare wrapped a hoof around her neck and pulled her into a gentle hug. "Shh... You did what you thought was best. That's all we have ever asked for."

"But what I thought was best may not have been," the black mare quietly sobbed. "I wish I could make things better. She doesn't deserve the life I've given her..."

The white mare picked up her sister's chin and smiled. "Go up and be with her."

"I can't... She hasn't forgiven me yet..."

"You haven't asked." The white mare nuzzled her. "Go on. It will do you both good."

She looked into her sister's eyes, then nodded. She made her way up the hill and lied down next to the filly, unsure how to begin. After a few moments of silence, she finally gathered the courage to speak. "Hello, Ivory."

"What do you want, Obsidian?" Ivory asked without turning her head.

"I... I just wanted to talk with you. You haven't spoken much since we left Ponyville."

"You drove my best friend away and dragged us all out to the middle of nowhere." Ivory said with a subdued tone that made Obsidian flinch. "Epona was just as much of a sister to me as you or Canvas. She saved my life, and you just threw her away like she was nothing."

"I know..." Obsidian looked down at the ground. "I was just trying to protect you."

"Protect me from what?" Ivory looked into her sister's eyes. "Why is Trixie so scary to you?"

Obsidian looked down at the town below and sighed. "A long time ago, Canvas and I fought against the Empress and lost. We went into hiding, but for years we kept fighting whenever we could. That all changed when you were born. Canvas and I swore to protect you from her, so we've been keeping our heads low, avoiding trouble and running whenever the Empress's ponies came close."

"I know that much." Ivory looked away. "It's the same story every time we go to a new town. But that still doesn't explain why we left Epona behind..."

"We talked about this. Epona hasn't lived our life. She doesn't know how to keep her head down when the authorities come near. Bringing her would have been like painting a--" Her train of thought came to a screeching halt as she looked down at the harbor town and spied a bright blotch of yellow and orange among the blues and greens of Hoofington. "Oh no... What's he doing here?"

"Who?" Ivory asked as she peered toward where Obsidian was looking. A light blue hoof lifted and pointed toward them, turning the yellow pony's gaze.

"Ivory, you need to get inside."

"Is it one of the Empress's ponies?"

"Worse. Get inside, now."

Ivory nodded and ran back down the hill and into the cabin, but Obsidian stayed behind for a moment, eyeing the stallion. Then her horn glowed and she disappeared.

*****

Belmont thanked the fishmonger and looked back to the top of the cliff. According to the monger, there was a cabin up there where lived a family of newcomers matching the descriptions Trixie gave him of Canvas, Obsidian, and Ivory. It didn't take long to find the path leading up.

A small pop sounded behind him, causing him to pause. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Why are you here?" He turned around to see a jet black mare with her horn trained on him and glowing.

"You're Miss Obsidian, right?" he asked carefully. "Ivory's sister?"

"And you're Belmont," she replied coldly. "Investigator and bounty hunter."

He bowed, but kept his eyes on her. "It's good to meet you, miss. Ah've been looking for you."

"Am I your target? Because I can assure you you've never faced anypony like me." Her horn crackled.

"No, miss." He rose. "Ah came because Ah need your help. Epona's in trouble."

*****

Trixie closed her eyes and established a link to her student. "Mirror Child."

A snort entered her mind. "You know, I'm supposed to be in hiding, and tracing telepathic links is pretty simple for the Empress's goons."

"I know, but it was the fastest way to get in contact. Epona has been taken by the changelings."

A pause. "...And? What do you expect me to do about it?"

"I expect you to be back in Ponyville in two days. We're going to get her back."

"Have you gone senile? She's probably being used as food right now. By the time we get to her, there won't be anything left to get back!"

"Actually, she was converted."

" Then it's already too late! Why are we even--"

"I will brief you when you get to Ponyville. See you in two days." Trixie closed the link.

*****

Canvas watched as Ivory twirled several bowls and spoons through the air with ease before aligning them and bring the table up to meet them. When she set it back down, everything was set neatly in their proper places. "Very good, Ivory! Your levitation is getting better everyday! I bet you're even strong enough to start practicing teleportation, now."

Ivory beamed under Canvas's praise.

"Alright. While both involve moving an object through space, teleportation is functionally different from levitation. Levitation takes matter and forces it through space. Objects will interact with each other as if you were pushing or throwing them." Canvas wrapped her magic around a bowl and lifted it into the air, then bumped it against the table a few times before setting it down again. "Teleportation converts an object into magic first, meaning it isn't hindered by matter while moving." Her horn glowed, and the bowl disappeared. A moment later, she levitated it out from under the table. "When it's finished moving, the magic is converted back into matter as the original object."

"What if somepony runs out of magic before they finish teleporting and they end up in a wall?" Ivory asked with wide eyes.

"That's impossible. Everything has to be prepared beforehoof, or the spell won't work. That means gathering enough magic for both conversions, tethering the object to the space it's going, and clearing matter out of the way to make room for when you get there. Teleporting magic only has enough pushing power to move air out of the way, meaning you can't end up halfway through a wall or with a table stuck in your leg. However, you can end up cramped in a box or stuck in a hole, if there's room for your body."

Canvas cocked her ear as she heard hoofsteps approach. "Thank you for letting me stay here for the night, Miss Obsidian. Ah appreciate your hospitality."

"Ivory, go to your room. We'll practice later, ok?" The filly nodded and trotted to the back of the cabin, looking over her shoulder before disappearing through her door.

*****

"Have you ever heard of the term 'conversion'?" Belmont asked as he sipped his tea.

Obsidian paused. "In what sense? There many types of conversions."

"The changeling sense."

Canvas grimaced. "I have. It's a process that removes everything which makes the converted pony a pony and turns them into a mindless drone."

"That's the one, and it's the reason Ah'm here. Epona was converted and taken to the Hive." Obsidian and Canvas looked at Belmont in stunned silence. Then they exchanged a worried glance with each other. "Ah need your help to get her back."

"As much as we wish we could help," Obsidian said slowly. "...there's nothing we can do for you. The conversion process is irreversible. Even if we got her away from the Hive, she would never be Epona, or even a pony, again."

Belmont took another sip of his tea before setting his cup down and looking them each in the eye. "What if Ah told you you were wrong?"

*****

Trixie arrived at the train station just as the train pulled in from Canterlot. Only one passenger emerged. "Welcome back, Mirror Child."

"Wanna explain why I came out of hiding for a brain-dead drone?" the filly replied as the train continued on, though her harsh tone was laced with a hint of sorrow.

"You didn't. You came out of hiding to rescue Epona." Trixie walked off, back toward the town.

Mirrors rolled her eyes and followed. "Who went through the conversion process and is now a brain-dead drone."

"You would think so, wouldn't you?"

Mirrors paused, a momentary confusion overtaking her. "I would, except the way you said that makes me think you're hiding something. Are you trying to say she's not brain-dead?"

A bright light flashed behind them with an audible pop. When the two turned, they saw a large yellow stallion standing there.

Trixie looked around and behind him. "Mr. Belmont, is it safe to assume you can't teleport personally?"

He nodded once.

"Then is it also safe to assume you found them, and it was their magic that brought you here?"

He nodded again.

"...Then why aren't they with you?"

Belmont sighed and shook his head. "They refused."

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

How many arcs will there be? What was QWERTY's comment?

[Moowell]

5197788
I plan on at least one Part per Element, plus a finale, with potential for 2-4 arcs per Part. So a lot.

The comment and its context can be found here, but this is the part that hit me with a 2x4 before I continued working on this story. It was really humbling to read...

To Scion, I can see what you mean by publishing to put pressure on yourself, if only more readers thought like that. Most people publish, not for feedback to improve with, or to create that sense of obligation, but instead do it for a quick burst of attention and care little for the lives of those giving it to them. It is because of people like this that this cite and others like it are clogged with thousands of abandoned works that make it difficult to decide what to read.
I've been tempted to read things, but gave up because I was afraid of being left hanging. Hope you don't do that to me and the others who have donated their free time to reading your work.

[scion]

5197863
5197788

QWERTY's comment