//------------------------------// // The end of a legacy / What evil lurks // Story: Courage in Equestria // by Drakstice //------------------------------// It wasn’t a perfect match, but Courage’s pink fur was camouflage enough against the voluminous flowing mane Fluttershy had. He was buried deep enough to be hidden, but not so deep that his nervous chattering teeth could not be heard. He was still uneasy about emerging. Twilight had come off as a bit too enthusiastic for the easily frightened dog. “Thanks again for helping me get Courage from the pound, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, “I didn’t know animal shelters had so much paperwork.” “It’s my pleasure, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied gladly, “Adoption agencies of any kind can be particularly bureaucratic. It was a great exercise to test my knowledge of Ponyville business law.” Twilight felt superior whenever she got a chance to display her intellectual prowess, but kept her pride in check. “Plus,” she continued, “we got to take this little guy home.” As a gesture of affection, Twilight reached out to pet Courage beneath Fluttershy's mane. Courage saw it differently. He was still uncomfortable around the tall pony princess and shied away from her. Seeing how uneasy he was, Twilight attempted to comfort Courage. “I’m sorry you were stuck in the pound so long, Courage,” she said, genuinely remorseful, but a good idea came to her. It was sure to make up for the loneliness he had to endure. “but I bet you’ll feel better once you see Barnabas again.” That name got both Fluttershy’s and Courage’s undivided attention. Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks, unable to get a word out in response. She looked like she had just been given the worst news in Equestria. Courage’s ears were perked up and his nervousness had been completely quelled. Both were surprised to hear that name after so long, but they had different reasons for reacting the way they did. “Um… actually-“ Fluttershy began, but she would never get the chance to continue. Courage was suddenly so excited he could hardly contain himself. His barks were as quick as they were numerous. He suddenly found so much energy that he ran circles around the two ponies, kicking up more dust with each lap he made. The mention of the name ‘Barnabas’ was all it took to recharge his emotions. Like a child on Christmas morning, he was ecstatic. His name was mentioned, so he must be close, Courage’s dog logic dictated. “What is it boy?” Twilight asked playfully, “Do you want to go home and see your best friend again?” Courage nodded eagerly without hesitation, his panting tongue flailing with the vigorous nodding of his head. “Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy softly interjected, but neither Twilight nor Courage heard her speak up. “Fluttershy,” Twilight said, turning her attention to Fluttershy, “why don’t you take Courage to see Barnabas? I’ll meet up with you after I’m done with my duties in the castle.” Twilight started trotting off, satisfied that a good plan had been set for the two of them. “I… I don’t know, Twilight.” Fluttershy replied. Confused, Twilight stopped and turned to face Fluttershy who was now looking around at the ground. “What do you mean ‘you don’t know’?” Twilight asked, perplexed by her friend’s response, “You want to take Courage home, right?” “Well, yes, but-“ “Then let’s take him home. It’ll be good for them to reconnect after all this time.” Twilight said in a somewhat begging voice. She knew that this made Fluttershy more suggestible. At this point, even Courage was beginning to learn how to manipulate the timid pegasus. He was tugging at her mane and whining to help speed up the process. “It would, but-“ “Please, Fluttershy?” “But-“ “Pleeeeease?” Twilight realized that she was close, but needed one extra push to make her case final. Courage was a fast learner and he devised an argument of his own that would seal the deal. It was something the academics call ‘Boo-Boo Face and Bambi Eyes’. It was like laying a royal flush against anything Fluttershy could bring to the table. Fluttershy was running out of will to resist. She was nearly sweating. Her eyes darted between Twilight and Courage. In a last ditch effort, she took a deep breath and her mind raced, searching for the words to say in this situation, but it was no use. “OK,” she sighed with a defeated expression. “Great,” Twilight exclaimed, “I have some chores to take care of at the castle, but we can meet up for lunch, OK?” Twilight was already trotting away, so it didn’t really matter what Fluttershy said at this point. She was left with Courage, who was eager to get moving. “OK, Courage,” Fluttershy said, somewhat uneasy, “Let’s go on home now.” Courage gave a cheerful yip, happily following Fluttershy the rest of the way to her cottage. He could smell the scents of many different animals getting stronger. That was how he could tell he was going the right way. Fluttershy spent the rest of the remainder of the trip looking down at the ground, clearly distracted by thoughts in her head. Her frown indicated that she had something heavy weighing on her mind, but Courage was too blissfully unaware to notice. He had absolutely no idea what Fluttershy was keeping from him… *** When Courage laid eyes on Fluttershy’s cottage, he was struck with awe, intrigue, and sheer disbelief. Was he looking at a tree growing around a house, or a house built into a tree? Either way, it was strangely inviting. Courage began to see the myriad of animal residents as they approached. He had never seen such a plethora of creatures in a relatively small space before. Normally, he would be shying away from all the unfamiliar animals, but there was a strange sense of serenity surrounding each and every one. “Hello, everyone,” Fluttershy cheerfully announced to her animal horde, “I want you all to meet Courage.” Many of the animals gathered around their kindly matriarch while many others gathered around Courage. They were investigating this outsider, as any colony of animals would do. Many welcomed the small dog with eager affection. If Fluttershy trusted Courage in her home, he must be good. Each different animal group conversed in their own language. Birds, raccoons, snakes, even fish showed up to greet Courage in their own way. Even other dogs had made their way up to courage and started greeting him in more familiar ways. Inside, he was feeling warm and fuzzy, like he was home, even though it was unlike anything he was used to. He let out a chuckle as small birds perched on his ears and other animals sniffed at his ankles. “Wow,” Fluttershy remarked, “Everyone’s getting along so well.” She was genuinely surprised by how Courage was universally accepted. This was truly remarkable behavior. Usually, a new arrival had at least a few who protested. This put her heart at ease, but in the back of her mind, she still had to break the news to Courage somehow… Behind the crowd, something caught Courage’s eye. It was the lush green grass of a wide open meadow. Deep inside, something was stirring in Courage; a primal feeling that only a dog would ever feel or understand. The borderless landscape beckoned him in. His dormant dog instincts started to awaken. He started walking towards the field, but moments later had seamlessly transitioned to running on all-fours. The exhilaration of the wind blowing past his head stirred him up even more. He had never smiled so hard in his life; so much in fact that his tongue flapped in the wind as he ran. It was good exercise and all Courage could think to do. Other creatures had a mind to join Courage as he ran. He let out a joyous howl followed by a near-delirious cackle from how happy he was to be alive this very moment. Perhaps he should have paid more attention to his surroundings… As Courage ran through the open meadow with no obvious border to stop him, there were fewer and fewer creatures to be seen across the land. Coming back to reality, he took note of how empty the landscape now looked. He was still running as he pondered the reason why no creatures continued to follow where he was headed. His thoughts were cut short when he suddenly dropped through the air like a stone in water. By instinct, he let out a panicked scream as he scrambled to regain his bearings and prepared for the inevitable impact with the ground. He did not have long to prepare, but that also meant the landing would not be so rough. Still, it was no more comfortable than when he crashed through Applejack’s barn last week. He shakily rose to his feet and staggered in place as the stars danced in front of his eyes. Once he recovered, he was in for quite a surprise. Looking around, he was surrounded by tall trees that blocked out most of the sun. The wall behind him was extremely steep and had no footholds to grab onto. There was a single ray of light that managed to penetrate the canopy and reach Courage several meters below. This didn’t stop Courage from trying to go back the way he came. It was difficult, but he made surprising headway with what few footholds he could find. The cliff face only got steeper and smoother the higher he climbed and soon, he was pawing impotently at smooth stone as he slid back down. He tried to use his teeth to slow his descent, but all that netted him was a mouthful of rocks and a few worn-down teeth once he hit the floor again. Dissuaded from climbing again, Courage started looking around the dense forest for a way out or signs of life. Either was equally welcome at this point. It was difficult, but Courage found the nerve to venture deeper into the dark, twisted trees to find a way out. Among the deformed trees and dark background, one shape stood out like a sore thumb. It looked like a stubby thumb, but it was a cold and rough gray that was pitted with age. Whatever it was, it was to provide Courage a vital clue to where he was and how to leave. As he approached the stone, it was as still as the scenery around him. Circling around to the other side, Courage saw that the stone was a flat slab. On its face near the rounded top was inscribed a name: “Bambi-Deer”. Courage looked at the name puzzlingly. It didn’t ring any bells nor did he have anything more to go on. However, it was not the slab that would provide more clues, but the ground where he stood. The slab stood up at the edge of a small mound of dirt. Withered flowers that were once lively and colorful littered the mound. Courage was not exactly ivy-league educated, but even he could correctly identify this as someone’s grave. The thought sent chills up and down his spine as every hair on his body stood on edge. He was staring at the headstone of someone named Bambi-Deer. “I should get out of here,” Courage fretted to himself as he backed up nervously. Only a few paces back, however, he tripped on a something he didn’t see. It was a smaller version of the headstone he found. This one read “Ratatouille Jr”. Worried that he had desecrated another grave, Courage ran off before the ghosts decided to show up and reap their vengeance. He stopped when he realized he was face-to-face with an entire field of graves. They varied in shape and size. Some were as small as tennis balls, others towered more than four times his height. “Bruno”, “Pongo”, “Copper”, “Little Brother”, “Dodger”, the names were too many for Courage to count in his agitated state. What didn’t help was his perception of graveyards. At any moment, Courage feared a mass rising of zombified animals coming to feast on the one living thing that had strayed too close to their final resting place. He treaded lightly, trying not to incur the wrath of the dead. Suddenly, a rustling branch caught his attention. Courage looked straight up where he heard the noise originate, but there was not a soul in sight. There was just the gently swaying branch that was making the noise. Fearing that the ghosts of the dead were all around him, he stood still as a statue, trying not to do anything that might provoke them. In his supremely agitated state, the slightest sensation would send him into a wild panic. Sure enough, that’s just what happened. One small leaf that fell from one of the trees brushed past the back of Courage’s neck. The hypersensitive dog reacted instantly, sending out a panicked wail that could drown out a chorus of blaring sirens. Losing all rational thinking, he ran in any direction that was not blocked by tall trees. His scream now had a mix of crying and senseless babbling. His senses dulled to the point of uselessness as the animalistic instinct once again found purchase in Courage’s heart. If he could still see where he was going, perhaps he could avoid what was to come. Without warning, Courage ran face-first into another headstone. A few teeth got knocked loose from the hit and he would have to peel his now flat face from the stone, but he had survived worse. After he regained his composure and reoriented himself, his vision came into focus. He could make out a name on the grave stone before him. It was one he never thought he would see again. “Barnabas” In that moment, a strange feeling of emptiness washed over Courage as he stood in utter disbelief of what his eyes were telling him. He didn’t feel sadness, terror, loneliness, pain, despair, or any of his usual negative emotions. There was just… nothing, like his very soul had been sucked out and died along with the old preacher dog. Courage wanted to see his old friend one more time, but not like this. Facing grim reality, all Courage could do was sit and stare, unable to process or react to what had happened while he was gone. Courage felt so disconnected from the world around him that he couldn’t even hear Fluttershy touching down behind him. She called out to the dumbstruck dog, but his emotionally dulled hearing coupled with her soft-spoken voice meant that Courage never picked up on it. Even as Fluttershy sat next to him, she had trouble getting his attention. “Courage?” Fluttershy begged once more. This time, Courage slightly gasped as he came back to reality. He saw Fluttershy with a look of supreme concern. “Courage, are you OK?” she asked like a mother reunited with her lost child. She wrapped her hoof around Courage’s shoulder, securing him from the danger he once perceived from the graveyard. The only response Courage could give was a forlorn whine in the direction of Barnabas’ grave. They both knew the unpleasant truth, no matter how much they wished it weren’t so. Flyttershy’s lips quivered as she fought to hold back tears of her own. “I’m sorry, Courage,” Fluttershy cried as tears started to roll down her cheek, “There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t save him.” Courage knew that Barnabas was in rough shape when he last saw him last week, but he had no idea just how fragile he really was. As Fluttershy lamented, the weight of the situation finally sunk in and Courage lost all hope. “But you know what?” Fluttershy interjected, her tone suddenly more optimistic, “Out of all the animals I had the privilege of caring for, none of them were as happy as he was and I owe it all to you,” she explained as she tenderly hugged and caressed Courage. Courage was now very confused. How had he, of all creatures, deserved such praise? Fluttershy was the one caring for Barnabas, not Courage. Surely She and her animal paradise was what made him happy in the last few days of his life. “He had nothing but good things to say about you, Courage,” Fluttershy said, the tears drying from her eyes, “I can provide food and shelter and love for all kinds of animals, but not friendship.” Friendship? What would friendship have to do with caring for animals? Courage was quite lost in Fluttershy’s explanation. “All animals in Equestria form special bonds of friendship with each other and you formed an especially strong bond with Barnabas.” All trace of sorrow and despair seemed to have disappeared and been replaced by hope and elegy. Courage was even starting to feel better despite the loss of Barnabas. A smile started to creep its way back onto his face. “Oh!” Fluttershy gasped as her face lit up with glee, “I just remembered. Before he went, Barnabas had one last wish for you, Courage.” Courage was all ears as Fluttershy prepared to tell him the last words of his lost comrade. “He asked me to find you after he passed,” she said as she gently scratched Courage’s shoulders and back. “He believed that you should take his place here in my home once his time passed.” Every word Fluttershy spoke, they seemed to be directly from Barnabas himself, as if he were still around to give his parting thoughts. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to care for him here. We’ll all miss him dearly and I know he made the right choice to have you fill the void he left behind.” Tears of pure happiness ran down both bereaving creatures’ faces as Fluttershy gave Courage a loving kiss on the forehead. Courage responded with an enthusiastic hug and affectionate licking of Fluttershy’s face and cheeks, as his spirits rose higher than they have ever been before. “OK, Courage,” Fluttershy chuckled as she picked him up and gently took flight, “Let’s go home now. We still have to introduce you to all the other animals.” Courage nodded and climbed onto Fluttershy’s back as she made her way back home. As Fluttershy climbed through higher and higher, Courage gave a look back to Barnabas’ resting place. Normally, Courage would be clinging to Fluttershy for dear life, but She had purged such fear from his heart. He waved goodbye as he left his friend to his well-deserved rest. With that last bit of closure, Courage settled in for the ride back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Of fall the days Courage had lived, he was especially happy to have lived this day in particular, hardships included. *** Compared to the quaint little houses of Ponyville, the Castle of Friendship stood out like a sore paw. It was as if a tree had a mind of its own and grew directly under a castle and lifted it several hundred feet straight up. The entire structure soared over the simple dwellings like shepherd maintaining his flock of sheep. The pointed spires at the top made it seem to be taller than it actually was. Unless it was home to giants, Courage could think of no reason for the immense castle sprouting up in the middle of the town. Its blueish-purple color was not natural for trees and gave Courage an ominous feeling about it. “It’s alright, Courage,” Fluttershy assured Courage as she sensed his uneasiness, “My friend Twilight lives here. We’re just going to return the books I borrowed last week and we’ll be back in time for supper.” Courage was more at ease than he would have otherwise been, but something about the massive tree-castle still gnawed at him… Fluttershy led the way as she pushed through the huge castle front doors. They creaked and groaned like an ancient structure lacking maintenance for the last hundred years. Every small sound echoed through the open foyer, from the steps they took to the sharp iron clack of the door latch closing behind them. Courage’s sharp earing could even detect moth wingbeats near the windows three stories up. All this made Courage and Fluttershy seem like flies buzzing around a massive cavern where they didn’t quite belong. “Hey there, Fluttershy,” a voice called out from on high. “Hi, Spike,” Fluttershy replied as she looked up to a fourth floor balcony. The source of the voice produced a small speck cast over the edge. Courage struggled to make out what the object was. In time, it turned out to be a winged creature. It was purple in color and resembled a bird. When the creature landed in front of Fluttershy, all its details came into focus. Its clawed feet landed on the solid marble with a solid thunk of bone against stone. Its semi-glossy purple and green scales resembled a suit of armor than natural skin. Its inhuman eyes locked onto Fluttershy as it stood back up to his full height. Granted, it was only about Courage’s size, but its sharp teeth made for a somewhat intimidating figure. He gasped at the sight of such a creature before him. “Is Twilight around?” Fluttershy asked the purple winged lizard, “I’m here to return those books I borrowed last week.” Fluttershy was interrupted before she could continue further. She felt her tail being pulled backwards toward the front door. She turned around to find Courage was the one pulling as he whined in protest. “What is it, Courage?” Fluttershy asked, a bit perplexed by the dog’s behavior. Courage replied by nervously babbling, pointing at Spike and doing his best impression of a raging fire-breathing dragon stomping on helpless innocents. Courage groaned and whined with unease as he continued to try to pull away from the scene. “It’s OK, little guy,” Spike said as he approached Courage, “I’m not gonna hurt you.” Spike tried to reassure the timid dog by scratching behind his ears. Courage was still trying to pull Fluttershy out as the drake’s claws started scratching his ears. Courage stopped pulling as he realized Spike was suddenly so close. Instead of the usual panicked retreat, Courage relaxed in bliss as Spike gently massaged and scratched one of Courage’s harder-to-reach itchy spots. He even leaned up against Spike to make it easier for him to reach his ears. “Aww,” Fluttershy remarked, “You two are already fast friends.” It warmed her heart to see that Courage was “Yup,” Spike proudly replied, “Just call me Spike the Befriender.” He puffed out his chest and unfurled his wings with pride at his new self-appointed title. “Hey!” Courage yipped. Both Spike and Fluttershy turned their attention to Courage. “Just keep the scratches coming, ‘Befriender’,” he demanded as he nuzzled Spike’s hand. Spike didn’t speak dog like Fluttershy did, but he got the message and started scratching Courage again. *** Courage and Spike had made themselves comfortable in the comic book corner of the library. It was not a big section for two reasons. One: comic books were not exactly a piece of literature that circulates in Ponyville. Two: Spike had repurposed this section of shelves as his own personal retreat within the castle. It was a sanctuary within a sanctuary. For Courage, it was the best place to get his back scratched while his scratcher occupied himself with the latest issue of Arachno-Pony. Both of them were lost in their own little worlds, but wouldn’t take much to bring them right back to reality. Out of the corner of his eye, Courage noticed something. It was brief, but obvious enough to get his attention. His eyes went from half-open to fully open in an instant. Some objects were known to move while inside a castle, but there was no breeze and not another soul around. Besides, whatever movement caught Courage’s eye was not like any normal motion he ever spotted before. Curiosity took hold as Courage got up from his comfy pillow and pursued the strange sighting. “Courage?” Spike called out after ne finally noticed he had left, “What is it, boy?” Spike was not particularly concerned, but decided to follow to see if anything was wrong anyway. Courage was quite a ways ahead, but a brisk walking pace would see Spike reunited with Courage soon. As Courage rounded the corner of bookshelves, there was certainly somepony several aisles away. He was dressed in a clean black suit completely devoid of any features. The blackness of the suit seemed to suck all the surrounding light right out of the air. The black clothes were nothing unusual, but Courage spied something more unsettling. A pair of long wavy snakes protruded from the creature’s back. They followed as it disappeared behind the towering bookshelf section. Something about their serpentine appearance, how they seemed to move in unnatural ways, something stirred fear in Courage, but he continued to follow regardless. “Courage, wait up,” Spike called out as he picked up his pace, but Courage was too focused to answer. The next turn Courage made, be stopped dead in his tracks. The sight he saw before him widened his eyes in a mix of fear, disbelief and all sorts of indescribable paralyzing emotions. He tried to cry out, but he was utterly frozen with uncertainty and fear. All he could do was gasp and tremble at the end of the aisle. It had the rough shape of a pony, but it was far too thin and tall to be so. The snake-like tentacles from its back were busy retrieving books from the shelves. The jet-black suit almost seemed to be part of its body if the pale white fur didn’t say otherwise. Its head was the most unsettling feature by far. Its featureless face seemed to be scanning the books its tentacles held in front of it. Without eyes, could it see Courage trembling? Without ears, could it hear Courage’s heart beating its way out of his chest? Without a nose, could it smell the fear exuded by the cowardly dog? “Courage,” Spike called out as he jogged up to Courage, “Courage, what is it?” Spike got his answer as soon as he spotted the same unsettling sight as Courage. Perhaps he shouldn’t have made so much noise on his approach. With eerie simultaneity, all four books the creature was reading clapped shut in its tentacles. After the echo of the books retreated down the endless halls of the library, a deafening silence fell over the room. The creature replaced the books on the shelf with slow and steady care. The featureless head slowly turned to face the quivering pair of Courage and Spike. With the eyes it seemed not to have, it stared into both of their souls, seeing things that would never be seen by mortal eyes. It had a physical presence, but it made no sound that even Courage could detect. At first, it seemed to lean forward, but instead of falling, the creature made a frightening move. With its hooves firmly planted on the ground, its legs seemed to elongate even more unnaturally. The body and tentacles lunged toward the petrified duo, like a possessed mannequin with a new victim in sight. From the featureless face emerged a single unsettling feature: a wide lipless mouth lined with sharp fangs and a whip-like tongue. Finally, Spike and Courage’s trance was broken as they both let out a terrified scream at the ghastly being quickly closing in on them. It was a near perfect harmonization of shrieks. In the confusion, Spike involuntarily emitted a small burst of emerald-colored flame, but it did not slow the encroaching monstrosity one iota. Courage’s scream rattled his fillings loose and they rocketed out of his mouth like silver bullets. They simply passed right through the monster as if it wasn’t even there. Both terrified creatures ran as fast as their little legs would propel them. Their cries of terror were so loud they could not be ignored by the deaf and the dead. The only evidence that Courage and spike were even in that particular section of the library was the synchronized shrieks and twin trails of urine left in their wake. Just as the pair could feel icy cold breath licking the back of their necks, they hit an unexpected obstacle: a pair of ponies. The ponies grunted as they were knocked off their hooves, the other two creatures still trying to run despite being buried at the bottom of the dog pile. “Courage,” Fluttershy cried out in relief, glad that Courage was unharmed. “Spike, what was all that screaming? You had us worried,” Twilight said. Spike could barely get more than two coherent words together as he gestured in the direction from which he came. Courage similarly pointed and fretted, imitating the ghoulish figure that had chased him from his comfort zone. Between the two of them, neither Fluttershy nor Twilight could decipher the panicked babblings and jumbled tongues of the two young sidekicks. They shot each other a confused glance before Twilight spoke up. “Calm down, you two,” she urged. Her words had the desired effect, but only for a moment. She approached Spike to comfort him, but Spike rushed in before Twilight could speak any further. “Don’t go back there!” Spike warned in a desperate plea, pushing Twilight backwards. Courage did the same for Fluttershy as he grabbed her wing and pulled, trying to keep her away from what he witnessed. “Spike! What happened?” Twilight spoke up, finally getting Spike’s attention. “Big thing!” Spike replied, adrenalin-fueled panic still dominating his tone, “Tentacles! Long legs! Teeth! Coming!!” “But there’s nopony here,” Fluttershy noted, her voice echoing through the cavernous archive. With this statement, Courage and Spike stopped their desperate attempts to flee and looked back down the aisles of shelves. Sure enough, there was nothing but the recently disturbed dust and thousands of forgotten books sitting on shelves. “B-but,” Spike stammered, “It was right behind us.” Twilight scanned the area where they came from and then she remembered what Spike was most likely doing just minutes ago. “Spike, have you been reading too much of those comic books again?” Twilight asked, a smirk creeping its way across her face. Twilight was aware that Spike had been gravitating toward the darker and more mature comics lately. Perhaps the edgier stories were influencing his young mind a bit too much. “Twilight!” Spike huffed, “I’m telling you, something bad is here and it almost got me and Courage!” “Why don’t we put down the comic books and go get some lunch?” Twilight suggested, changing the subject. Spike moved to respond, but his growling stomach responded before his mouth could. “Well, I guess I could use something to take my mind off reading,” Spike conceded. “Great! Where did you have in mind?” Twilight gleefully asked as she walked down the hall to the front entrance, “I was thinking that new hay burger joint down the street.” “Um,” Fluttershy interjected, “Maybe something a bit lighter? I’ve been trying to watch my figure.” The two ponies continued chatting about food while Spike leaned closer to Courage. “You saw it too, right? That… thing?” Spike whispered to Courage, careful not to get the others’ attention. Courage nodded and nervously grasped his paws together as he glanced back over his shoulder. Thankfully, the coast was clear… for now. In the near future, the lone shadowy figure on the far wall would have plans for the lot of them.