Living Mark of Courage

by Moowell

Earthen Battle

Courage awoke pinned to the ground by a weight much greater than Apple Bloom's. He turned his head to find himself under the rump of a purple pony.

"It's a'right, Apple Bloom. Ah'm not gonna let--"

But. Courage's ears perked at the sound of Apple Bloom's voice. She hadn't been among the foals after the teleport. That, and her voice was resolved in a way he was all too familiar with. Ah'm not afraid to die. Ah mean, not if diein' means everypony Ah love stays safe. Ya gotta keep yer Element safe, Applejack. Ya can't let anythin' keep ya from doin' that. Not even me...

"Apple Bloom, I..." Applejack broke into tears, unable to hold her emotions back any longer.

It's a'right, Applejack. Ah love ya, big sis, an'-- A release clicked loudly. AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa.........

"Oh Celestia, NO! APPLEBLOOOOOM!!"

No. Not again. I WON'T lose another! Courage morphed into his Triforce energy state and raced through the caverns, phasing through the rock and dirt to beeline for his charge. He found himself entering a large cavern. Several hundred yards beneath him, a cage was falling toward the bottom. Apple Bloom's scream was still cascading against the walls. The world seemed to move in slow motion as he plunged toward the cage. Within seconds she would hit the ground, and that would be the end of her forever.

Courage was there in a instant.

He reverted to his pony form and drew his sword, slicing through the cage before his body reached it. Then he reached out to grab Apple Bloom and flipped her on top of him. A sickening thud and several crunches shot out from his body as it made contact with the floor.

"In all the centuries I've been doing this, I've never actually jumped myself before... To... to think I had that boy... jumping a hundred feet through spider webs..." he wheezed. "Or that I let him ride a fan-powered cyclone to it's highest ledge, then hop off with his iron boots on..." He picked up his head painfully to make sure Apple Bloom was ok. When he saw that she was, he let his head thump back to the ground. He chuckled a bit to himself. "I remember the first one, up in Skyloft. It was the day he got his sail from the goddess, and she pushed him off the edge of the temple. Made his hand cramp up when he tried to open it, and he hit the center of that target like a sack of gravel. Hehehe... If I ever get back home, that's never... ever... happening again..."

Apple Bloom groaned. "Oooohhh... What a dream. Huh? Courage?"

"Hey there, Apple Bloom," he replied weakly.

"What's wrong? Are ya a'right? An' why the hay was Ah sleepin' on top o' ya?"

"I'll be fine. Just glad I could make sure you stayed alright. What did I tell you about falling without a way to slow down?" he scolded, though the effect was lost in the fit of coughing that followed.

"Ya mean that wasn't a dream?" Apple Bloom looked to her side and saw the severed cage. Then she looked back down at Courage with a sudden spark of understanding. "Ya caught me! Ya took the fall instead! Ya could've died!"

"A little fall isn't going to stop me. I've made jumps like that hundred times or more..." Well, not me personally, he didn't say. "As long as you're alright, it was worth it."

"Yer crazy..." she accused.

"You're alive," he replied.

An instant later, the room was filled with the light of tens of torches, revealing a large arena. Apple Bloom instinctively huddled next to Courage, who merely lay there, immobile. A small crowd of around six Diamond Dogs began chanting "Cer-Ber-Us! Cer-Ber-Us!" from a box above the ring. Apple Bloom felt the ground shake and quake from the footsteps of something enormous. "Cer-Ber-Us! Cer-Ber-Us!" A deep, guttural growl sounded throughout the arena. "Cer-Ber-Us! Cer-Ber-Us!"

A cheer came from the crowd as the earth erupted a few dozen feet from Courage and Apple Bloom. Out came a giant black paw which slammed into the ground. Another eruption just a few feet away from the first, and another paw revealed itself. Then the ground bulged, exploding as three enormous heads burst through, each slavering with drool. The dog dragged the rest of its body through the ground and growled menacingly.

"Well, it may not the biggest creature I've seen," Courage said flatly. "But it's definitely bulky."

The dog reared up onto its hind legs in a show of strength. Then it slammed down, and the earth shook from the force, spreading cracks across the floor.

"So much fer bein' alive," Apple Bloom commented. "Funny how ya can go through a near death experience only to end up in another..." Courage's body glowed and returned to Apple Bloom's hoof. "Courage?! Ain't ya gonna help me?"

My body is crippled, so I won't be able to fight this battle for you, he replied. However, I can give you the tools you need to defeat him yourself.

"Ya mean that stuff ya were usin' earlier?"

And more. Everything I have is at your disposal. Apple Bloom rose into the air as the glow on Apple Bloom's hoof expanded and engulfed her entire body. She flashed, causing the great dog to stagger backward, stunned by the sudden change in light. When the light died down and she returned to the floor...

She discovered she was wearing the green tunic that Courage always wore. She could feel his magic flowing through her and the magic of Equestria flowing around her. A green, pointed cap covered her red mane instead of the red ribbon that Applejack had given her. At her side was a wooden shield. Just underneath the shield was a small blade. Not Courage's sword, but it fit her hoof well. A small pouch was strapped to her chest. Somehow it held the digging claws and the boomerang, though how they managed to fit inside the pouch when she couldn't even fit her hoof in it was beyond her. Then she realized something peculiar.

"Didn't ya say Ah could use everythin' ya had? Where's all the other stuff ya showed me?"

I'm sorry, Apple Bloom. That fall must have damaged me more than I thought. It took all my strength just to transfer that much to you.

The dog growled low, drawing their attention back to the reality of the situation. "Well, it'll have to do!"

Cerberus reared up and slammed the ground then charged at the new Apple Bloom. She leapt to the side, barely avoiding its three sets of teeth as they chomped down. Apple Bloom drew her sword and shield as the dog slid to a halt. It whirled on its hind legs and slammed the ground again, charging her. She held up her wooden shield instinctively as the dog crashed into her. The teeth didn't penetrate it, but the force of the blow sent her flying backward. She hit the ground hard and rolled into the wall.

"Ouch... that didn't work..." she muttered as she climbed back to her hooves. Strangely though, she didn't feel like she had taken that much damage. The dog looked down again and saw her standing there. It growled deeply and slammed the ground again. Then it charged Apple Bloom, threatening to crush her against the wall. She froze up, unsure of what to do against the beast.

DIG! Use the mitts!

"How?! I can't get the mitts out of the pouch!" she cried as she ran to the side. The dog followed her closely, but she leapt to the side just as it snapped at her, narrowly avoiding what would surely have been a painful bite.

Remember how to summon your sword? Summon the mitts the same way!

Apple Bloom concentrated on the digging mitts. She imagined them taking form, giving her claws for grinding away the dirt and rock. Almost immediately, her hooves became a pair of brown paws with sharp tips.

The dog turned back and charged again at her as she stood in the center of the arena. Just as it got close enough to bite, she dug a huge swath of earth out from beneath her and dropped inside the newly formed hole. Cerberus' middle head slammed into the ground as it tried to chomp her. Its nose got caught in the hole, but the the rest of it kept going, sending it flipping along the ground. Apple Bloom climbed out to find it propped up on its chest and heads with its butt high in the air. She charged it with her sword and sliced furiously at its belly.

Her tiny blade didn't even penetrate the fur.

Suddenly Cerberus began to squirm, and its hind end began to fall. Apple Bloom rushed out of the way as its legs crashed against the ground. She ran a distance away and watched as the dog shook its heads.

"Now what? My sword won't even cut the fur..." Apple Bloom groaned at Courage.

There is a way to defeat Cerberus. You just have to find it.

"Can't ya gimme a hint?" she asked.

I already have. You must do the rest on your own.

"Ponyfeathers..." Apple Bloom dug down as the beast neared again, and again its nose was caught in the hole. She jumped out of the hole as the beast rolled to a stop, again ending on its heads with its hind end sticking straight up. Then Apple Bloom saw something else: the beast's front paws were outstretched behind its chest.

And there was no fur on them.

She ran over and stabbed her sword into his left paw. Cerberus howled and writhed in pain. Apple Bloom quickly ran to the other side and stabbed the dog's other paw before it could right itself. Then she moved away and prepared to dig another hole, but instead of charging again, the dog ran off to the other side.

"Pony hurt Cerberus. Dogs can't let pony win! Dogs will stop Pony!" The Diamond Dogs jumped down from their seats and rushed Apple Bloom with spears.

"There's too many of'em! Ah can't fight spears with mah li'l sword. Ah'll never get close enough!"

Fight them just like we practiced! said Courage.

"But when did we practice fighting Dogs?!" Apple Bloom used her shield to block the dog's strikes as they rained down.

Trust me, Apple Bloom! Remember, you have more than just your sword and shield.

"More than just mah sword an' shield?" She thought back to the things Courage had given her. A tunic that let her use magic, a nifty pointed hat, a wooden sword (and now a metal one), a wooden shield, a set of digging mitts, and... "Oh!"

The dogs jumped back at the sudden transformation, unsure what to make of the magic coming from this pony. No glow from a horn. Tartarus, there wasn't even a horn to begin with. How was this possible? Somehow her paws transformed back into hooves. Not only that, but without moving, she was now holding a small yellow curve with metal tips. Suddenly five of them reeled backward as the curve struck them in heads. The sixth just stared at them, hardly believing his eyes. Then a small blade pierced through him, and he fell to the ground.

Apple Bloom made quick work of the other dogs while they stood stunned by the boomerang.

Cerberus roared. The dog had given up on trying to fix its paws and was charging her on its belly, using only his hind legs to move. In its rage though, that dog could move. Apple Bloom barely had time to run out of the way before it was on her. Thankfully, it couldn't slow down and turn as well as it could earlier, so Apple Bloom had time to switch back to the mitts before it could charge again. A few moments later, she dug a hole just as it reached her as she had the past few times.

But the dog just passed over her. With its head sliding on the ground, it didn't have enough mobility to get caught in her trap. Apple Bloom looked out of her hole at the beast. It was still trying to slow down. Cerberus didn't stop until its noses touched the wall.

"Hehehe," chuckled Apple Bloom. "That gives me an idea." Apple Bloom ran across the arena, getting into the exact position she wanted. Then she let off a piercing whistle, the kind that Applejack used when she was called Winona. Cerberus' ears perked up as it turned around to face her. "Come on, ya big dummy! I bet ya can't catch me!" The dog's eyes went red at the taunts. With a fury, he charged her faster than ever. Apple Bloom smirked as she disappeared into her hole and the dog passed over.

A resounding crash reverberated through the ground and echoed throughout the arena. Apple Bloom dug her way out from under the dog. When she resurfaced, she looked back and saw a giant canine body sticking out of the wall, its heads embedded in the rock.

Well done, Apple Bloom. Courage reappeared from the mark on Apple Bloom's hoof, healthy and strong.

"Courage! Yer a'right!" exclaimed Apple Bloom happily.

"Look," Courage said, pointing at Cerberus. A black fog was steaming from its body. The creature seemed to absorb all the light around it, becoming a pitch black shadow against the wall. Suddenly the shadow lifted and dissolved, leaving three Diamond Dogs in its place: one was large and bulky, one was average, and the last was small and stocky. The three woke up groggily, shaking and clutching their heads as though they had been slammed into solid stone.

"Rover, what happened? How we get here?" asked the large one, licking his hands like they'd been stabbed by a thorn.

"Rover doesn't know, Fido," said the average one, clutching his head. "Spot?"

"Spot feels like Spot's nose is broken..." said the small one, holding his stubby nose. The three suddenly stiffened. "Were we--"

"Yes. Rover remembers too."

"Is that pony--"

"Probably." They turned around slowly. The filly was sitting there with a stallion at her side, staring at them. "WAAHH!"

"Fido wasn't dreaming!"

"Neither was Spot!" The three looked at each other. Then at the pair of ponies. The one called Rover looked around, searching for some way out of this.

"Idea!" He ran over to the wall and pulled out a large gem in the shape of a heart. "Here, ponies! We give you this, so you let us leave, ok?"

Apple Bloom started to speak, but Courage silenced her. "Of course. Set it down right there, then get out of here," he said. The dogs gladly obeyed, setting it down carefully before turning tail and fleeing. "Apple Bloom, go get that crystal."

Apple Bloom bucked him in the leg, toppling him.

"Ah can't believe ya! Ya just accepted a bribe from the dogs that foalnapped all mah friends!" she raged. She bucked him again as he stood back up. "Yer the em-bod-i-ment o' Courage fer the princess's sake!" She bucked a third time. This time he caught her hooves and held them mid-air. "Let me go! Let me go, ya weasel!" He picked her up and stared into her upside-down eyes.

"First, those dogs couldn't have had anything to do with your classmates' abduction because they had a dark spell cast over them that turned them into the monster you just fought."

"But--"

"Second," Courage interrupted. "The stone they just handed over to us raises your endurance, meaning it'll take a lot more for you to fall when in a pinch."

"Really?"

"Third, there is no courage in beating down defeated enemies. Is there?"

"No..."

"Finally, I swore never to make anyone jump off a cliff ever again if I ever got back to my dimension. But I'm not in my dimension, and if you kick me again, I'll throw you over the edge of Canterlot Castle Town wearing a pair of iron boots. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Apple Bloom?" Apple Bloom stared at him, frozen. After a few moments, Courage set her down. "Remember to breathe, filly."

Apple Bloom gasped for air.

Calling all Diamond Dogs. The two of them perked at the disembodied voice. We have the Elements of Harmony. Prepare for the assault on Ponyville.

Comments

[Changeling-Drone]

groan they gave them the elements courage applebloom............ do something

[AxtontheMechanist]

Go get 'em Apple Bloom! Good work by the way, you have me hooked!

[Moowell]

2464543 Possibly, though I doubt it. Even if she could get an unlimited supply, I think she'll find dieing once is plenty enough for her. Of course, that's still contingent on whether or not they can be worked into the story.

2466028 Don't worry, they will.

2466099 Many thanks