//------------------------------// // On the Run // Story: Living Mark of Courage // by Moowell //------------------------------// "Let Epona go, Ivory, please! It will only be harder for you if you hold onto her!" shouted Obsidian. Ivory kicked and screamed in Canvas's magic, trying to break free. "I understand this is hard, but this is what's best!" "No! She's part of our family too! She saved my life!" Obsidian sighed. "I didn't want to do this, but I have no other choice." Her horn began to glow as she walked toward her younger sister. "Don't you dare! Canvas let me--" Their horns touched, and Ivory slumped unconscious. Canvas floated the little filly onto her back. "I hope you'll forgive me one day," whispered Obsidian. A knock came from the door. Obsidian and Canvas went rigid. "Canvas." "Already gone." The white mare's horn flashed, and in an instant, she and Ivory were gone. Obsidian opened the door. A blue Unicorn stood at the entrance with the filly who had visited the day before. "Hello again, Obsidian," said Trixie. "Or should I say--" Obsidian never let her finish her sentence, choosing instead to blast the pair with a burst of magical energy. Her horn glowed with its deep blue magic as she stepped outside and closed the door. "You are too late. The others are already long gone by now." Trixie and the filly rose to their feet. "Mirror Child, track them down." "On it." The filly transformed into her lupine form, much to the surprise of Obsidian. She stared into the air for a moment, then her head turned. "There's a trail of magic leading from the house toward the train station." Obsidian's eyes grew wide. "Good girl." A thick shield rose up around the house. "I think you deserve a little reward for your effort. How would you like a nice, black chew toy?" The wolf grinned and turned to face Obsidian. Trixie stepped through the shield. "Tata, Obsidian! I'll give your regards to Ivory!" "You will not take her!" Obsidian's horn flashed, and she disappeared. When she reappeared, she discovered herself next to the shield just a few yards from where she started. "You aren't going anywhere," Trixie smirked and tapped her shield. "This shield is directly linked to my little prodigy. Nothing can get in or out. No light. No sound. Not even magic will escape unless I say so. If you want to stop me, you'll have to go through her." Trixie's horn flashed, and the shield became opaque. Obsidian pounded the shield and screamed in anxious fury. Then she turned toward Mirror Child. "I don't have time for this. I'll make this quick." Obsidian charged her horn and fired a large blast of magical energy at the wolf. Suddenly the ridge down its back sprang to life and became a giant orange claw. The claw reached out and caught the magic without hesitation. The force of the magic shoved her back several feet, but the ball remained intact. "Don't underestimate me, Unicorn!" Mirror Child growled and threw the ball back at Obsidian, who teleported off to the side. In an instant, the wolf leapt at the pony. Obsidian ducked her head down and rolled out of the way, only to have the wolf bear down on her again. She turned and bucked, striking it in the chest, sending it stumbling back a short distance. She grimaced. Though the wolf may only have been as large as an average pony, it was far more dense. The wolf got up swiftly, then dug its claw into the ground and picked up a large chunk of solid earth. With a howl of might, the wolf launched the boulder at Obsidian, but she was ready. She charged up her horn and blasted it, causing it to shatter before her. She was not, however, ready for the wolf's following charge. A great, orange fist rammed into her with a force stronger than any she had felt since her skirmish with the buffalo several years ago. The breath was knocked out of her audibly as she crashed into the shield wall. As soon as she raised her head, the wolf grabbed her by the throat and slowly lifted her against the wall. "It's been a long time since I've eaten Pony. I wonder if you'll taste as good as the last one?" Obsidian's vision began to blur. She kicked with her hind legs wildly and managed to strike the wolf in the snoot. It yelped in pain and lost its grip on her, allowing her to break free. Then she teleported up to the top of the house. "I had been going easy on you since you're a filly," Obsidian said as she caught her breath. "It seems I was in error." Her horn glowed, and the ground began to shake. All around the house, pieces of the ground tore away and rose into the air. The wolf ran to the right as her assault began. Stone after stone flew toward the wolf as it darted across the yard. It dodged each one, and the ones it couldn't were swatted away by its ridge. The wolf threw a few back, but Obsidian quickly caught them with her magic and redirected them. Then it threw one at the house itself. The boulder punctured the building and broke through several supporting walls. The house shook violently, then the middle caved in from underneath Obsidian and collapsed around her. Mirror Child waited for a moment before grabbing another boulder. There was no movement from under the rubble, but that didn't mean she was gone. Then she heard a groan. Immediately, she leapt on top of the wreckage and began to smash it to dust. It would have been nice to eat meat again, but this mark was too dangerous not to deal with thoroughly. A few minutes later, what was left of the house was completely pulverized and all was silent. Satisfied with her work, Mirror Child tossed the boulder away and trotted away to find her mentor. But something made her pause. There was a strange wind coming from the house. She turned around to see the dust beginning to move around the center of the wreckage. It moved faster and faster until it became a black swirling column of dust and air. She braced herself on the ground because the force of the wind threatened to sweep her off her paws. Then she saw the silhouette of a pony rising in the middle. The pony's mane whirled and flowed in the wind tunnel, giving her an ominous appearance. "Why won't you just die already?!" she growled angrily. She hurled her boulder at the silhouette. A flash of blue erupted from inside the column and struck the stone, obliterating it. Then the pony's eyes opened. They glowed an intense white, even through the darkness of the dust column. Their light seemed to beam directly at Mirror Child, as though they were looking into her very soul. For the first time this fight, she felt afraid of her opponent. And that made her mad. "Grr... Obsidian!!" Mirror Child charged and reached out for the silhouette with her orange claw. The vortex suddenly exploded outward, blasting her powerfully off the ground. The shield's magic hummed in warning as she crashed hard into it. When she finally managed to clear the daze, she looked up and gasped at the image that was slowly approaching her. In a last desperate ploy, she lunged at the terrifying creature with her claw, but it caught her with its magic and immobilized her. She suddenly felt her body shift and change internally, as though her magic were being forcibly made to act. In a moment, she found herself to be an Earth Pony again. "Wh-wha... Who are you?" she asked, unable to do anything else. "I am the monster from your worst Nightmares," it said as it leaned down with its horn. They touched, and everything went black. ***** "Ah, it looks like we're about to find out." The shield dropped. Obsidian walked out with the little grey filly on her back. Trixie was standing there with Canvas. "Bleeeeh! I told you so! Now give her back!" shouted Canvas. Trixie nodded. A small white bundle floated from Trixie's back to Canvas. "As promised." "What in Tartarus is going on?" Obsidian asked, more than a little confused. "I made a wager with Canvas. If my pupil defeated you, I would take you all back to the palace." "And you agreed to this?!" "I wasn't in much of a position to argue..." Canvas cradled Ivory lovingly. "Besides, I knew you would win. You're the strongest mare I know." Trixie cleared her throat, and Canvas looked at her. "I don't know you anymore, so you don't count." "What's your angle, Trixie? Why are you really here?" Obsidian asked the blue mare. "Do you mean here at- what's left of your house... or here here in Ponyville?" "Both." "I'm here in Ponyville to find a certain pony who attacked the Diamond Dogs recently." Obsidian gaped. She already heard about that? "Politically speaking, the incident has been a nightmare. I'm sure you can understand. As for why I'm here at your house, there are two reasons. First, to find the filly who stopped by my house yesterday. Not only was she a great friend to Mirror Child, but apparently she has high caliber magic as well. If so, she would make an excellent addition to my school." Obsidian grimaced. Epona must have used her magic and gotten caught. She had told her not to do that for this very reason! "Sorry, but even if I knew where she was, I wouldn't tell you," she replied. "Then you don't know where she is?" Obsidian shook her head. "She ran away earlier this morning." Trixie put a hoof to her chin and thought. After a moment, she said, "I see. Well, that is most unfortunate, but I'm sure we'll bump into her eventually." Epona, keep running... Obsidian thought to herself. "Finally, I wanted to test Mirror's strength. When she told me Night & Light were here, I couldn't resist the opportunity to both gauge her ability and potentially take one of you down. To be honest, she lasted a lot longer than I thought she would," Trixie commented. "Are you getting weaker, or is she just that strong?" "I didn't take her seriously from the start. If I had, then she would have lasted only a few seconds." "That's still longer than I expected. You've gotten soft." Trixie took the filly from Obsidian's back, then turned to Canvas. "Looks like you won this round. As promised in our wager, I won't hunt you for a full month. Hide yourselves well, because after it's over, I'm coming for you with everything I have." She turned away from them, then looked over her shoulder. "Oh, and if you see Epona, tell her the same thing. When I capture her, I'd like her strong enough to be at least be presentable to the Dogs, or they'll never believe she was the one who did it." Trixie disappeared with Mirror Child. The two adults exchanged a glance. "Let's go, Canvas. We have a lot of work to do and only a little time."