//------------------------------// // XI - Ordinary Days // Story: The Power of Freedom // by Greatazuredragon //------------------------------// Ordinary Days As he took in the truly odd sight right before his eyes, Wonder Bolt sincerely wondered if maybe he wasn’t having a fever dream caused by the injuries he should be sporting right now. Well, either that or perhaps a concussion. It made sense, after all, being hit by a speeding rock and then falling to the ground from cloud level had to have caused some damage. It would definitely make more sense than what was currently happening, at the very least. But as the slowly lessening headache he kept feeling and the truly unexplainable lack of any other injuries across his body attested, this was indeed happening. Somehow. “I have finished healing the worst of their injuries, but nonetheless they will need at least two days of proper rest before I’m comfortable with any of your subordinates undertaking any kind of strenuous physical activity,” the white coated unicorn mare politely explained to a very, very confused looking Fierce Breeze. The second in command of the squad clearly had no idea how exactly to deal with this whole mess. Not that he could blame her, after all, considering the equally confused looks and angry whispers being traded by the pegasi who had already awoken, nopony did. There were certain expectations that were generally accepted when one went into battle. And being soundly defeated with insulting ease only to be completely healed by your opponents afterwards simply wasn’t one of them! At the very least, the general confusion meant that, for the moment, the squad was choosing to not rock the boat after the crushing defeat they had suffered. The fact that Link was serenely standing a few steps back from the unicorn mare, as he stared at them all with a small pleased smile firm on his muzzle, and that the massive mountain of muscle called Ganondorf was also standing but a few steps to the mare’s other side, casually inspecting a pegasus blade with an appraising eye, probably had something to do with how they were all keeping quiet. Everypony had seen, and experienced firsthoof how swift and skilled the green pegasus was and had no desire for a rematch now that he wasn’t carrying a ground bound filly as a handicap. Add that to how most of the squad had apparently connected Ganondorf’s imposing sight with the form of the lunatic pony who had downed quite a few of them with thrown rocks, and it was very understandable why most were content to simply angrily mutter and glare defiantly at their captors, of sorts. At least for now. The fact that their opponents hadn’t even bothered to take their weapons away before healing them, and how that showed how little of a threat they considered the squad to actually be, was also probably a factor. “You are not to even try and take flight for at least a couple of hours, minimum. A full day would be best,” she continued to explain to the pegasus mare, apparently not even remotely threatened by the fact that she still had her sword holstered at her side despite being unarmed herself. “Is that understood? “Broken bones are extremely finicky to heal completely with any kind of real speed, and as such they must rest in order to allow them to settle properly. Otherwise there is a very real possibility of them re-shattering and ruining all the healing.” Zelda continued her lecture, voice calm and professional even as she froze one of Bolt’s comrades in place with a look as he started to flap his wings experimentally. The way she continued to politely explain to Fierce Breeze how they had to rest in order for the healing magic to settle afterwards, without a single hint of aggression or prejudice, was clearly not helping the pink coated mare to deal with the situation. Not that he blamed her in the slightest. For, even if Wonder Bolt himself tended to try and keep an open mind in regards to the other tribes, the fact remained that most interactions between pegasi and unicorns had the tendency to end up with both sides either hurling insults at each other at best, or actually trading actual spell fire and lightning bolts at worst. Which meant that dealing with a polite and helpful unicorn mare, who had happily healed their injuries without even inquiring about payment, was, point in fact, kind of uncanny really. The fact that she was, somehow, apparently friends with the massive earth pony and the impossibly fast pegasus that had taken them down was another point toward how abnormal this whole situation was. “None of you are to attempt anything above a light exercise until tomorrow’s evening at the very least. And that includes flying. Do I make myself clear?” the unicorn inquired with a gentle smile and kind eyes, which seemed to bear down upon the fidgeting pegasus mare’s very soul for a moment, before she glanced at the rest of the squad. Each and every single one of the pegasi currently awake stood slightly straighter, as they felt a chill that had nothing to do with the sudden cold snap run down their spines, as they agreed with the healer’s edict. The fact that her polite and gentle smile and kind eyes somehow promised terrible retribution should her directions not be followed to the letter by her patients was at least familiar ground. Bolt was quite certain all healers had to learn how to do that before their masters deemed them fit for active duty, in fact. “W-what is the meaning of this?!” a shaky voice shrieked from the side, signaling their flight leader’s return to wakefulness as he shakily rose to his hooves, which meant that now the whole squad was awake. “What’s one of you bucking needle-heads doing here?! Explain yourself at once!” “Ah, I see you have awakened, good. Are you experiencing any kind of pain or dizziness?” the unicorn mare politely inquired in a professional tone of voice as she started to trot towards him, all the while completely ignoring the lieutenant’s questions and insults. “As I have already explained to your subordinates, you are not to-“ “Shut your mouth, needle-head! The Armada does not answer to you or your pathetic excuse for a kingdom!” he yelled as he attempted to take a threatening step forward as he flared his wings wide, only to wince in pain as he did so. “I will have to ask you to cease and desist with your current behavior. For, while you were sporting the lightest injuries from your entire party, even you should not stress you injuries further,” Zelda politely informed him once again even as her smile and eyes grew distinctly colder with each word the lieutenant yelled. “You should rest b-“ “You do not order me, you needle-headed freak!” Wind Shriek angrily yelled as he drew a knife from the side of his armor after he had realized his sword wasn’t in its scabbard. “I am a Lieutenant of the mighty Pegasus Armada! No filthy ground pounder has the right to command me!” The grey coated pegasus attempted to once again move forward with a flap of his wings as he glared at both the unicorn mare and her two companions, only to once again be stopped due to the pain that the action was clearly causing him. And as he watched this, Wonder Bolt wondered what the buck the lieutenant thought he was doing by antagonizing a clearly superior force that had already taken down the whole squad with insulting ease less than an hour ago. And that when said squad had been injury free in the first place. “Oh, this is going to be good,” Ganondorf not so quietly commented with an amused chuckle, gaining a pair of death glares from both Zelda and Wind Shriek in response. As the lieutenant regained his balance after the latest failed attempt at taking wing, brandishing his knife towards all and sundry, Bolt suddenly realized with a shiver of trepidation why he was acting so brazenly. After all, being taken down before the fight truly even started meant that Wind Shriek hadn’t born witness to what had happened afterwards , and as such didn’t have a single clue about what their opponents could do or their absurd capabilities. And the suddenly panicked look Fierce Breeze and a few of the more intelligent members of the squad were now sporting showed that Bolt wasn’t the only one to have reached that conclusion. “With all due respect, sir, but-“ “Silence!” he yelled in fury as he threw the knife straight towards the mare after another failed attempt at taking wing. Bolt cursed under his breath as the knife swiftly barreled through the air towards Zelda’s deeply unimpressed looking form, an action that was imitated by quite a few of his squad mates as they warily eyed Link and Ganondorf as they waited for their reaction. But before him or anypony could react, a blue light shone across the clearing. And where Zelda once stood there was now what looked like a large swiftly spinning blue gemstone. Clearly some kind of magical barrier meant to stop the lieutenant’s attack. Or more accurately, Bolt corrected himself an instant later as the spinning gemstone actually reflected the thrown knife back the way it had come from with twice its initial speed, a magical barrier meant to reflect the lieutenant’s attack. The pegasus scout watched in what felt like a trance as the knife barreled past the now wide eyed lieutenant, right next to his head. The sharp blade drew a thin crimson line upon Wind Shriek’s left cheek. A moment later he openly gaped as, instead of barreling away into the woods or falling to the ground afterwards, the speeding knife was expertly grabbed by a pristine white hoof, twirled around, and gently pressed against the shocked lieutenant’s throat. Wonder Bolt’s eyes darted to the spot where the mare had been a fraction of a second earlier, only to confirm that there was nothing but undisturbed grass there. And with a sinking feeling he realized that she had teleported, in a split second of all things. Which, in addition to the reflection spell she had cast with equal ease, and her clear ability with a knife, could only mean one thing. “Oh, buck, they got a war mage,” he heard Fierce Breeze hiss under her breath as her whole body tensed. Neatly summarizing Bolt’s own thoughts as the whole squad’s wary eyes darted from Ganondorf and Link towards Zelda’s deceptively harmless form. “Lieutenant Wind Shriek, let’s make something perfectly clear between us,” the unicorn mare said in the same polite tone of voice she had been using since the start of the whole debacle, though her kind smile was now absent from her muzzle. “While I do not expect you to like me, as the one who has healed both yourself and your subordinates I do expect some modicum of civilized behavior on your part.” The lieutenant opened his mouth to curse and shout, only for the blade to be firmly pressed against his throat, which promptly made him shut up. A few pegasi started to flap their wings, with intent to help the lieutenant or to fly away Bolt had no idea, only to freeze on the spot as Zelda landed a deeply unimpressed gaze upon them. Bolt was quite sure the collective shiver that spread through the clearing, again, had nothing to do with the cold weather. “So you can either behave and stop aggravating your injuries, or I shall render you incapable of doing such until a time when you are no longer injured,” she politely informed him as she twirled the knife away from the grey coated pegasus’ neck and took a step to the side. “So, do we have an accord?” “You filthy ground pounder! How dare you!?” Wind Shriek spat in fury as he turned around as swiftly as he could, right hoof already swinging towards the nonchalant mare. Only for Zelda to flow around the blow with the grace and ease of a calm river flowing around a boulder as she easily avoided the blow before, with a small unimpressed huff, she brought down the knife she was still holding down upon the back of the lieutenant’s head pommel first. A muted cracking noise echoed through the now silent clearing as Wonder Bolt bore witness to his squad leader being rendered unconscious, for the second time this day. “How uncivilized,” Zelda simply stated even as she grabbed hold of Wind Shriek in her magic before he could hit the ground and aggravate his injuries further. She gently rested his body on the ground before her horn’s aura took a deeper blue hue and the lieutenant’s new injuries faded away under the care of her healing magic. A moment of astounded silence followed her dry statement, before being promptly broken by a loud guffaw from Ganondorf. The large earth pony nonchalantly leaned against the sword he had been examining as he gave the white unicorn a large fanged grin. “I see you haven’t lost your ability with a knife, Princess!” he boisterously proclaimed with another joy filled laugh. “Now that was nicely done!” Instead of answering, or even turning her head towards him for that matter, the unicorn mare simply threw the knife she had been holding in a blur of motion straight at the large earth pony’s head. The blade was nothing but a metallic flash as it swiftly cut through the air far, far faster than any of the previous times it had done so. Only for the massive earth pony to move just as fast, somehow managing to deflect the blade straight upwards with the sword he had been leaning against a fraction of a second earlier. “Yup, sharp as ever!” Ganondorf kept going in the same boisterous manner, not even blinking as the knife fell back downwards less than an inch from his head then punched into the ground. Going by his tone of voice and body language, the stallion apparently wasn’t bothered in the slightest by the fact that Zelda had just thrown a knife at his head. “But then again, she always had a way with knives, right Kid? “Knives, daggers, short-swords, and assorted thrown weaponry, yes,” Link serenely replied, also acting as if nothing odd or noteworthy had just happened, a frame of mind that clearly was not shared by the rest of the openly gaping ponies in the clearing. “She also has more than adequate abilities with whips, wires and other rope-like items.” “Very true, very true,” Ganondorf sagely agreed as he nodded his head. All the while the mare in question simply let out a small annoyed huff before she started to walk towards the elder earth pony to the side, who was sporting an odd mix of confusion and fascination in his eyes. “And talking about weaponry,” Link calmly interjected as he gestured with one wing towards the sword Ganondorf was still holding. “Anything of use?” “Nah, not really,” the Dark Lord immediately replied in a slightly annoyed tone of voice as he showed Link the sword, and the small dent in the metal that had appeared where it had made contact with the thrown knife. “Oh, sure, they are better than the gryphon weapons. But, all in all, still pretty shoddy stuff, really.” “I see,” the green pegasus replied with a hint of disappointment as he examined the blade. “Regrettable.” “That’s military grade steel!” Fierce Breeze angrily stated, the open disparaging of the Armada’s weaponry apparently enough to shake her from her shock induced stupor. Instead of immediately answering, Ganondorf gave the pegasus warrior a long, and lightly incredulous, look. He then returned his gaze to the sword in his hoof, nonchalantly sat back on his haunches, moved his other hoof towards the point of the blade so that he was grabbing it from both ends, and broke it in half with the same ease most would a dry twig. Another extremely long moment of incredulous silence permeated the clearing as the sharp echoing sound of metal being snapped in half filled the clearing and everypony stared at the broken sword with wide eyes. A moment of incredulous silence that was broken soon afterwards as the large stallion looked Fierce Breeze straight in the eyes and bluntly stated. “Your soldiers have my pity.” “Honored elder, with all due respect but, are you out of your bucking mind!?” Sure Shot all but exploded as she paced back and forward inside the main room of Old Oak’s house. “Would you like some tea my dear? It’s chamomile,” said elder stallion calmly said as he served the piping hot tea into two separate cups. The mare sure looked like she needed it. “I find that it does wonders to help with one’s stress. You should try some.” “Forget about the tea! Why are we allowing that bunch of feathery barbarians to camp right outside the village?!” the ranger fiercely stated as she glared at the cottage’s northern wall, almost as if she thought that if she tried hard enough she could see through the wooden obstruction in order to see the camp in question. “They should’ve been driven off, or better yet, clapped in irons!” “Ignoring for a moment the fact that we do not have a prison or any way to keep a military force of that size contained for any period of time,” he calmly replied as he brought his cup towards his muzzle so as to better appreciate the tea’s aroma for a moment. “You forget the fact that the Treaty still exists, and as such we cannot imprison them without clear and irrefutable proof of criminal behavior.” “They attacked a defenseless filly!” she shot back in anger. “And were soundly beaten for their stupidity,” Old Oak simply pointed out before sipping his tea. “A lesson I am sure they will not soon forget.” Pegasi were extremely proud beings after all, and as such the fact that they had been so utterly and completely beaten by unarmed opponents despite having a significant numerical advantage would sting much, much more than any kind of slap on the cannon punishment the Chancellor could ever achieve should they try and make a stink with the Armada about this whole mess ever would. “And besides, I agree with Zelda’s diagnostic. Most of them do need to rest for at least a day before whatever she did with their bones is finished with healing them, and as such they cannot be ‘driven off’ as you put it.” he calmly explained for what felt like the tenth time to the angry ranger. And hadn’t that been a unique experience? As an apothecary, being able to see first hoof a clearly first rate unicorn healer at work had been a truly unexpected treat. The fact the mare also appeared to be extremely knowledgeable about more ordinary salves, poultices and other mundane treating matters, and didn’t seem to mind sharing said knowledge, only added to it. “We will not persecute wounded ponies and throw them into the wilds, no matter how unsavory said ponies turn out to be,” the elder gently but firmly stated as he eyed the sea green mare. “Letting them rest and recover near the border of the village is not only the most sensible thing to do in order to avoid an incident with the Armada, but it’s also the right thing to do.” “But-“ “No buts, my dear, my decision is made and I will not change it,” he forcefully stated as he interrupted the ranger before she could protest further. “I appreciate your diligence in regards to the defense of our homes, but in this matter I ask that you trust in me and abide by my decision.” “Fine!” the mare grudgingly spat out as she all but ground her teeth in frustration. “In that case I’m going to go and place some kind of watch over the feathery menaces in order to make sure they don’t get any ideas!” Old Oak calmly nodded his agreement, knowing that not only would there be no way to change the ranger’s mind in the subject, but also agreeing that some kind of oversight wouldn’t harm anypony in the long run. Even if he thought the pegasi wouldn’t try anything, it didn’t hurt to be prudent. And so he sipped his tea, hoping that that would be all and he could enjoy what was left of the afternoon. But sadly it wasn’t meant to be. “And talking about menaces, what do you plan to do about those three?!” the mare asked as she angrily stomped on the ground for emphasis and made the light brown elder silently sigh into his teacup. “I believe you are talking about our three guests, yes?” he asked as he pretended to be unsure of what the ranger was talking about. “What about them, my dear?” “What about them!?” she hissed as she stomped the ground in growing frustration. “Those three have proven themselves to be credible threats to the village! We can’t let them go around doing whatever they want unsupervised as they have been doing!” “You confuse the possibility of a threat with the existence of one, Sure Shot,” the stallion sternly stated as he placed his tea cup aside and looked her straight in the eyes. “They are not our enemies.” “Elder, they are dangerous!” “Oh, of that I have no doubt,” Old Oak readily agreed in a joyful tone of voice and with a light chuckle. “What?” the ranger confusedly asked, the oddity of the elder agreement of her point of view alongside with the tone of voice used to do so being enough to draw Sure Shot out of her rant. “Zelda not only knows healing magic and teleportation, but her actions against the leader of the pegasus squad clearly show that she may well be a war mage, with everything that entails,” he seriously spoke as he gave the ranger a look before he unhurriedly moved towards the nearest window. “Link was capable of outflying and outmatching fifteen pegasi without receiving a single scratch, despite being both unarmed and burdened with the protection of a filly on his back. “And Ganondorf is easily the strongest earth pony these old eyes have ever seen, to the point that steel and stone break before his hooves as if they were nothing,” he continued as he stopped in front of the window and stared at the small encampment the pegasi were building at the border of the village in order to spend the night. “Each and every one of them is extremely dangerous, my dear. That’s a fact. “But you shouldn’t allow that fact to cloud you to a simple truth,” the elder said as his eyes found a green figure far to the left being followed by a tiny yellow filly. “They are not our enemies, much to the contrary.” Sure Shot stared at the elder with uncomprehending eyes for a moment, before she departed with an angry snort, clearly unhappy with the situation but unwilling to keep pushing it. For now, at least. Letting out a tired sigh, Old Oak kept staring at the scenery as he felt the unnaturally cold wind caressing his old bones. He could understand the ranger’s fear and unease, for he himself was not immune to them. The three strange ponies were indeed an intimidating sight. And yet, after personally speaking with Zelda, he knew that the mare was a gentle soul and a scholar at heart. The fact that the Blossom family had so readily accepted them was another positive sign. For not only was Beautiful Blossom not a fool, but as he well came to know after taking her as an apprentice, her youngest daughter had a way of bringing the best, and worst, in ponies due to her antics. As such the fact that Singing was apparently so friendly with Link was another sign in their favor. Forest also had a good head on her shoulders of course, but she was a mare in love, and that said everything there was to say about how reliable her words would be about the subject. Nonetheless, Old Oak was confident that the three ponies were not at threat, at least, to them, no matter how odd and unconventional they were. Now if only Sure Shot could see that too. Sighing once again, he slowly closed the windows so as to keep out the biting wind. He turned towards the lit stone hearth in the middle of his home and started to stoke the fire, all the while his mind thought about the overall situation. Odd happenings had been occurring more and more often as of late. Which while individually didn’t seem like much, together they formed a sobering picture. The unease between the Three Tribes was at a never before seen high. Food production was at an all time low. The weather was growing wilder and wilder despite both the unicorns’ and the pegasi’s best attempts to fix it. The gryphons were probing at their borders. And the shadow of open warfare loomed over them all. And yet, all attempts to fix those issues through conventional means had failed miserably as the situation deteriorated further and further. As he stared into the flickering flames, a stray thought drifted through the old stallion’s mind: If all conventional options had been of no use, how about trying a slightly odder and more unconventional option? “They don’t have a pantheon?” the King of Thieves asked with a hint of incredulity as the three Triforce Wielders sat outside the Blossom family home as the sun slowly set and they waited for dinner to be ready, being relegated to that position after Beautiful Blossom most emphatically refused their offer of help in making said dinner. Something about it being a secret recipe of the family or the like. “I mean, really?” “None whatsoever,” Zelda tiredly stated as she lightly massaged her brow, as if to alleviate a headache. “There are no known gods, no practices of worship of any kind, no observed rituals, nothing. “By Nayru’s eternal wisdom, they don’t even have a creation myth!” The Wielder of Wisdom grumbled tiredly. While that was hardly hard proof, Ganondorf had to admit that it was pretty damning evidence. Gods, no matter the kind or nature, liked to brag. It was a simple fact of life, really. They liked to be worshiped, they loved to be known, they craved to be noticed. Even the Golden Sisters of the Triforce, for all their nurturing and self-sacrificing nature, weren’t exempt from that. One only had to look at how they had made damn sure that everybody and their grandmother knew about how they were responsible for creating and later safeguarding Hyrule through their sacrifice to see that. So the idea of a whole set of gods not even trying to be noticed was really hard to swallow. Which, alongside the fact the mortals took care of moving the celestial spheres and oversaw the weather in this realm, meant that Zelda’s theory of them being gone was most likely right. “So they either left for some reason or died out, huh?” Ganondorf bluntly asked, since as far as he was concerned those were the only logical explanations left. “Now that is unusual.” “Truly? I hadn’t noticed!” the mare sarcastically replied as she gave him only a very mild glare. She really had to be feeling that headache, her glares were normally way better than that. “Any chance of confirming which it was?” Link calmly asked even as he kept his eyes closed while the wind played with his mane. “Knowing if there is a chance of their return, or the possibility of something roaming around that managed to kill a pantheon, would be quite helpful.” Ganondorf blinked once, before he nodded in agreement and turned an expectant gaze towards the Wielder of Wisdom. That would indeed be useful information to have. “Very unlikely. Whatever happened took place so long ago that the ponies can’t even remember a time when they weren’t handling the forces of nature in order to keep the world turning,” she honestly replied, though the irritated look in her eyes promised that if the information existed anywhere in this world, then she would eventually find it. “But I doubt there is need for undue worry. In case the gods left, had they been planning to return they would have done so a long time ago by now. And I really can’t see a god slayer deciding to simply quietly fade into obscurity should they have lived after doing the deed.” “Agreed,” Link replied as he opened his eyes and nodded his acceptance of Zelda’s words, an action that was soon followed by the Dark Lord. It made sense, and besides, should she be wrong they could always deal with the problem when it surfaced later on. No need for undue worry, after all. “Oh, and speaking of possible global threats! We got confirmation that at least some of our stuff got scattered in this realm!” the large stallion cheerfully interjected as he beamed at the more normal glare Zelda was now sporting. Ganondorf guessed that she was starting to feel better. “That blue pegasus the Kid took a shining to had one of his bottles with him!” “It contained a fairy, I take it?” Zelda curiously inquired as she moved her gaze towards their green companion. “I thought I had felt some of their magical residue on his body when I scanned him for injuries.” “Yup, got him right back on his hooves! Much to his surprise too!” he joyfully told her as he remembered how confused the azure coated pegasus had looked when he realized he wasn’t injured any longer. “So, that’s just a heads up so that you are aware that they may pop up.” “That’s appreciated. And talking about sharing information, here,” the princess added as her horn started to shine with the blue glow of her magic, before with a flash two blue orbs rushed towards both Link and Ganodorf’s heads. Trusting that Zelda wouldn’t simply attack Link just to get him with a cheap blow, Ganondorf didn’t even try to evade the blue orb. A moment later his instincts were proven right, as what felt like a complete dictionary was absorbed into his mind. “That shall hopefully allow you two to read the ponies’ language, since someone apparently forgot to include a written component into their translation matrix,” the Wielder of Wisdom playfully explained as she gave the Wielder of Power a smug smile for his oversight. “Thank you, Zelda,” Link simply stated as he gifted the mare with a smile and a nod of appreciation. “Whatever,” Ganondorf shrugged it off as if the gift was unimportant, even as he gave the white mare a small nod of thanks. All the ideas he currently had to solve the problem were annoyingly complex and time consuming, so Zelda turning it into a non issue was appreciated, even if he would never verbalize said appreciation. “By the way Kid, out of curiosity,” Ganondorf asked as he looked at the green wonder after a few moments of comfortable silence had passed. “How many bottles were you carrying? And what did they contain?” “I had five bottles with me as I entered into your throne room. Three of them had fairies, and one contained some great fairy tears,” Link calmly answered the Dark Lord’s question. Ganondorf in turn calmly nodded with each item that was spoken. That is, until the Hero said what the last bottle contained. “As for the last one, it was a bottle of milk.” “What? A bottle of milk!? Ganondorf enquired with a shout, more than a little insulted that his old time nemesis felt he could waste one of his rare magical all purpose containers carrying such a useless beverage to their final clash. “Why by the Three Goddesses would you bring a bottle of milk to our final battle?!” “It was a bottle of Chateau Romani milk,” Link calmly explained to the now fuming Dark Lord as a small smirk briefly surfaced on his muzzle. Ganondorf openly gaped at that piece of information for a moment, remembering far too well the little fact that said outrageously expensive milk had the interesting side effect of completely halting the drinker’s magic expenditure for a few minutes after being consumed, no matter how much magic they used. “That’s cheating!” He bellowed in outrage as he forcefully pointed a hoof towards the now lightly smirking Hero. The King of Thieves’ utterly betrayed look actually managed to make Zelda dissolve into a fit of giggles. “If it works, it works,” was Link’s unapologetic reply, which caused Ganodorf to scowl even harder and Zelda to giggle even more. That lasted for but a single moment, as the Dark Lord suddenly realized something. “And where, by Din’s fiery wrath, did you even get a bottle of that stuff in the first place!” he incredulously asked as he lowered his hoof back to the ground and gave Link a confused look. “Isn’t that thing only produced on Termina or something?” That particular detail managed to stop Zelda’s giggles short, as the Wielder of Wisdom blinked in surprise as she acknowledged the truth of the Dark Lord’s words. “Yes, that’s where I got it. It wasn’t that hard really. The portal to Termina is still in the Lost Woods, you know,” the Wielder of Courage nonchalantly replied as if that was obvious. Something his two companions clearly didn’t agree with if one was to go by their incredulous expression. “And you never thought about sharing that little bit of information why exactly?” Ganondorf drily asked as he processed that little bit of information and Zelda nodded her agreement with his question. “I never told either of you about it?” Link calmly inquired in slight confusion as he tilted his head slightly to the side. “No, you did not,” the King of Thieves bluntly stated as he gave the Hero a very impressive deadpan, an action that was mirrored by Zelda at his side. “Huh,” was the green wonder’s highly intellectual reply to that as he closed his eyes once again. The unicorn and the earth pony stood there for a moment in silence, as if waiting to see if the pegasus had anything more to say about the subject. After a few more moments of silence, Ganondorf traded a look with Zelda in silent question. And, after her silent nod of agreement, he started to move his right hoof towards the Kid’s shoulder in order to try and shake some more information from him. Literally, if it was needed. “Dinner is ready, come right in my dears!” Only for said plan to be thwarted by the cheerful mare that was calling them from the front porch, as Beautiful Blossom enthusiastically called them in for dinner. A call that the Hero promptly obeyed, as he opened his eyes and calmly moved towards the house, pace untroubled and unhurried, not even glancing at his companions as he passed them by with a serene smile firm on his muzzle. Ganondorf and Zelda traded another long look, before after another moment they both sighed in resignation as they decided it wasn’t worth the headache and followed the green wonder inside and towards dinner. At least Beautiful Blossom’s food had been consistently delicious so far, so there was at least that to look forward to. Ganondorf trotted down one of the village’s outer paths as he enjoyed the light of the dawn. He had a spring in his step as he acknowledged a very rewarding fact, Forge Fire had finished with the gryphon blades and had the steel ready for his use. He turned around the corner of a house as he took in the most direct path towards the forge, only to stop as he noticed the green wonder walking his way from the other side while carrying a very distinctive creature atop his back. “Ganondorf,” Link politely greeted with a nod of his head as he stopped on his tracks. For his part the Dark Lord nodded in kind, even as he discreetly tensed his muscles as he got ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. “What’re you doing, Kid,” he bluntly asked as he kept a discreet wary eye on the little white creature on the Hero’s back. He couldn’t care less that the locals apparently called it a different name, it sure as heck still looked like a cucco to him! And he knew better than to not keep a watchful eye on one of the feathery menaces when they were around. “Helping, Woodcutter to recover his missing chickens,” the green Hero calmly answered. As if gathering feathery menaces for other people was an everyday occurrence. “Why?” Ganondorf asked with a hint of curiosity as he re-started to move towards the forge. “Why not?” Link easily replied as he started to move alongside the watchful Dark Lord. “Fair enough,” he agreed after a moment’s thought. He himself was guilty of doing quite some odd things once in a while simply because he felt like it at the time. So if the Kid wanted to help some random pony to gather his lost feathery menaces, then who was he to say otherwise. They walked in companionable silence for a few moments, before the sight of what looked like the start of a small argument drew their attention. For at the border of the village a group of earth ponies led by Old Oak was apparently talking with a few of the recovering pegasi. And far more importantly in the Dark Lord’s opinion, he saw that Forge Fire was amongst their number. “… can’t you do anything about it? It is your tribe’s duty to tend to the weather after all!” a random earth pony yelled at Old Oak’s side, his comment inflaming a round of angry mutters from the others despite the elder’s best attempts to contain the situation. “If those snow clouds get here the whole harvest could be ruined!” “Look, even if we felt like helping, we are under direct orders from that crazy war mage to not fly!” Fierce Breeze angrily shot back, the pegasi behind her adding their own angry comments to the whole mess. “And considering how lieutenant Wind Shriek still hasn’t woken up from whatever the hay that mare did, I don’t plan to disobey her!” “Zelda put the lieutenant under a healing trance so that he would stop aggravating his injuries,” Link helpfully supplied as they approached the mob, completely unfazed by the dozens of angry glares that were now aimed his way. “He will wake up after his body has finished healing.” Ganondorf couldn’t help but snort at the incredulous looks some of the ponies were making upon hearing that news. Let it never be said that the Princess didn’t know how to hold a grudge. “That’s good to know,” Wonder Bolt hesitantly added after a moment of silence. “But even so, only five of us have even basic weather manipulation training. In order to affect so many clouds, and snow clouds at that, we would need a full weather team.” As the ponies started a new round of arguments and accusations after hearing that, Ganondorf gazed towards the northern horizon in order to see the source of the whole mess. High upon the distant sky there were indeed quite a few dark clouds, and considering the very chilly wind coming from that direction, the pegasus’ claim that they were snow clouds had some merit. Weird, especially considering that according to Forest they were supposedly in the middle of summer. But far more importantly, as far as Ganodorf was concerned, he saw that Forge Fire was taking an active part in the argument and showed no signs of stopping. Meaning that the blacksmith wouldn’t be available to give the Dark Lord the steel he needed to forge a temporary sword for his current use. And while he had no problem with simply grabbing the steel himself, he had no idea if the metal even was at the forge right now to be grabbed in the first place. Meaning he would have to wait in order to make his sword. And that was completely unacceptable. He pondered about how to solve the problem for an instant. Before he simply decided to make use of a tried and tested method of solving annoying issues he constantly saw Zelda using. Throw the Kid at them. “Hey, Kid, don’t you have anything that could deal with this?” he bluntly asked as he gestured to the slowly approaching snow clouds. “Possibly,” the green Hero serenely replied after humming in thought for a few seconds. “If it’s simply a matter of preventing the snow clouds from reaching the crops, a strong enough wind coming from the right angle would probably be enough to redirect them.” “And how the buck would you do that?!” the yellow coated mare spat in anger. The discussion between Ganodorf and Link had apparently gained the mob’s attention. “Like Bolt said, we do not have enough trained hooves to deal with such a large scale task!” “It’s a good thing that I do not plan to use hooves then.” The Wielder of Courage serenely replied with a smile, already sporting a long flute in his hooves he had taken from who knew where. Ganondorf really had to ask the Kid one of those days how he managed to change his equipment so fast. And, in front of a few very confused pegasi and a few now hopefully expectant earth ponies, Link started to play a light echoing melody. And as the song reverberated through the air the wind started to change as the magic of the song gave it direction and purpose. The shift continued until the chilly northern wind had been replaced by a fairly strong breeze blowing towards the northeast, and started to slowly push the clouds away. “Storm Caller,” Ganondorf barely managed to hear Fierce Breeze mutter under her breath in astonishment as she gazed, wide eyed, at the green pegasus. With a shrug of his shoulders the Dark Lord decided that it wasn’t any of his business. And as such, as he ignored the perplexed and astounded pegasi, or the still slightly distrustful looking but now far happier earth ponies, he pushed his way through the mob and towards the red coated blacksmith. That sword wouldn’t make itself, after all. An uncharacteristic somber frown on her muzzle, Singing Blossom sat near a river that crossed the village at its western border. She stared at her sad looking reflection as she idly played with the small saddlebags she had started to wear everywhere after mister Link had taught her how to use it in an attempt to distract herself from the source of her unhappiness, to no avail. She had really been looking forward to showing to the other fillies and colts of the village what she had learned to do with the pegasus’ teachings. Only for that stuck up meany, Shining Quartz, to start to openly mock her for carrying her simple saddlebags everywhere. Making them laugh at Singing before she could even try and show them anything. And all that before Quartz distracted everypony with the really pretty gemstone necklace her merchant father had bought her after his last trip to the Earth Villa. After such a failure she had wanted to be alone, so she had come to this isolated corner for a little bit. “Hello Singing, what is troubling you right now?” the familiar calm voice of mister Link came from right behind, startling the filly as she jumped in place before spinning around. “Mister Link! Don’t do that!” the yellow filly shouted as she gazed at the green pegasus now right in front of her. “Do what?” he curiously asked as he tilted his head to one side, while the chicken atop his back tilted its head to the other. The silly sight was enough to get a small giggle from the filly. “So what’s the problem, little one?” Link once again asked as he lightly ruffled the filly’s mane with his left wing, obtaining a few more giggles from his efforts as she batted away the feathery appendage with her hooves. The filly tried to keep an angry face as she gazed at the serene looking pony politely waiting for her answer. Only for Link to simply incline his head slightly in order to show he was listening, and for the chicken at his back to jump atop his head in order to get a better view of the filly, the sight of which caused her angry glower to falter as she giggled once more and be replaced by a small but sincere smile. “Shining Quartz is a silly meany pants! But everypony likes her because her father keeps giving her awesome stuff from the Earth Villa! And it’s not fair!” the little fluff ball finally replied as she forlornly kicked at the ground. “Just because she gets to have a pretty necklace with a gemstone and I don’t doesn’t mean she has to make fun of me!” “I agree, Singing, that is not right at all,” the Wielder of Courage agreed as he rested his wing atop the filly’s back in a comforting manner as he gave her a small understanding smile. “And she does sound like quite the silly meany pants.” “Yeah! I mean, it’s not like everypony else wouldn’t like to have a pretty necklace too! But only she gets to have it since only her father can get the gemstones at the Earth Villa!” Singing continued as she nested inside Link’s wing. “And she even refuses to share them! Despite having like a lot of gems! If I had so many gemstones I would share them with everypony, not hoard them like some silly tiny dragon!” “Then let’s get you some gemstones,” Link calmly replied as if that was the most logical conclusion possible to the problem at hand. “What?” Singing confusedly asked as she stepped away from the warm wing in order to better look at the pegasus’ face, only to notice that Link was now intently scanning their surroundings. “No tall grass, or pots for that matter, pity.” The Hero spoke out loud as he redirected his gaze towards the small river and the many tiny pebbles at its banks. “Plenty of rocks though. Yes, those will do nicely.” “Come on Singing, let’s get some rocks,” he jovially stated to the now very confused looking filly. “Why?” she asked as she tilted her head to the side in confusion. “You do want some gemstones, yes?” Link asked right back as he started to move towards the river bank. “Well, yeah, but rocks aren’t gems!” the filly stated the obvious even as she started to follow the stallion. Despite nodding his head in placid agreement, the green pegasus still kept calmly moving to the river bank, where many small pebbles littered the ground. He then stopped and picked up one of the, completely ordinary looking, light grey rocks with one hoof and examined it with a critical eye for a brief moment. He then nodded in apparent approval and offered it to a very confused Singing with a small smile. “The size and shape of the rock do help, so do try and choose the more spherical ones with lighter grey colorations at first, at least until you get more experience with how to do it properly,” the Wielder of Courage dutifully explained to the young filly as he gave her the small, slightly spherical, grey pebble before grabbing another identical rock for himself. “But the important part is all in your inner focus and the movement of the throw, you have to do it just right. Remember that.” Singing simply stared at the pebble she was now holding, now even more confused than before. Only for Link to recapture her attention as he continued his explanation. “Here, watch carefully,” the Hero calmly stated while demonstrating the necessary movements by performing a lazy overhead throw, the grey rock flying through the air in a perfect arc for a brief moment before it shattered into so many dirt particles the moment it hit the ground. And with a small tinkling sound, amidst the settling dust cloud now rested a small perfectly cut green gemstone. “What?” Singing asked in undiluted surprised as she let go of the grey pebble Link had given her in order to dart towards the small gemstone that had sprung forth from within the completely ordinary rock the pegasus had thrown as if by magic. “How did you do that?” the tiny filly asked, excitement swiftly overriding her earlier surprise as she turned the green gemstone one way and then another on her hoof as she made it sparkle in the sunlight. The fact said gemstone was about the same size as the original rock, and as such couldn’t have been simply hiding inside the rock, and that it was faceted already despite no one having touched yet, only added to the filly enthusiastic curiosity. “Focus on the rock, feel it with your hooves and picture it in your mind until nothing else remains. And then, throw it overhead in a fluid motion,” the stallion calmly explained once more while demonstrating the actions again, the newly thrown rock shattering once again the moment it hit the ground and with another soft tinkling sound another green gem was revealed amidst the debris. Had Singing Blossom been older, she would have known that what had just happened before her own eyes was supposed to be impossible. An adult pony would have immediately pointed out that, even with magic, there was simply no way an ordinary rock could release a perfectly cut gemstone basically the size of the thrown rock simply due to some concentration and the manner how said rock had been thrown. Years of learning and experience would have made her forcefully state that there had to be something more to it, that such a situation couldn’t possibly be real, that it was simply impossible for that to happen, that it was a blatant violation of all the rules of both logic and magic! All those after having a minor freak out due to seeing said impossibility happen right in front of her very eyes, of course. “Here, now you try it,” Link happily said as he offered back the small pebble the tiny filly had dropped in her hurry to examine the shiny mysterious gemstone, a small encouraging smile on his muzzle. But thankfully for the young filly, Singing Blossom wasn’t an older pony. She was an eager little filly being taught a cool new trick. And so, as the green pony, who had already taught her how to properly pack several dozen far-too-large items into a simple saddlebag so that they would all fit and their weight wouldn’t bother her, offered her the pebble and started to coach her on how to properly throw it, she didn’t question it, she simply accepted it with a happy nod and a look of fierce determination on her muzzle. A few moments later, a small pebble made its way in a lazy arc through the air, and, with a faint tinkling sound, a small perfectly cut blue gemstone was revealed after the dust settled, shining in the sun almost as brightly as Singing’s now huge happy smile. “Like we had agreed, here is your part of the recovered steel,” Forge Fire seriously spoke as she gestured to a pile of about ten good sized metal ingots placed a few steps away from the forge proper. “They turned out quite well, I would say. Despite their origins I was able to remove most of the needless impurities and refine the metal to a proper level of quality.” Ganondorf grunted to show he was still listening as he moved towards the pile of metal and grabbed the first ingot of the pile and tested its weight and texture. He examined it for a moment longer with a critical eye as he searched for flaws, before he hit the ingot against the top of a nearby anvil. He closed his eyes as the metallic sound reverberated through the room, his keen ears dissecting the long echoing note produced with the experience born of long arduous practice. “What are you doing?” the red-coated blacksmith asked in slight befuddlement as the King of Thieves set the metal bar aside and repeated the process with the next one. Only for her question to remain unanswered, as Ganondorf ignored it in favor of searching the ingots for micro fractures, hazardous impurities in the metal and other such problems by hearing the tone of their vibrations. As he finished with the last piece, he asserted that of the ten ingots four were completely unsuitable for proper forge work, with the remainder being of passable quality. A better result than he initially expected, if he was being honest. “Okay then, guess I will just leave you to it,” Forge Fire uncertainly said after watching the brown coated stallion toss nearly half the ingots to the side for no apparent reason after completely ignoring her questions or any attempt to make small talk. “You do know how to use a forge, right?” The contemptuous snort he released was answer enough apparently, for the mare then departed after a half-hearted reminder for him to not break anything. Not that Ganondorf paid it much mind, as he had already dismissed her from his thoughts and was focused at what he had to work with instead. He took in the simple but sturdy forge at the back, the clamps, tongs, chisels and hammers of various sizes neatly arranged at the sides, and finally the small crucible and the anvil in the middle of the room. All in all, very mundane tools that weren’t anything to boast about, but useful nonetheless. He moved the good ingots closer to the forge and started to separate what tools he would need before finally turning to stoke the forge’s flames to a proper level, only to snort once again before moving on with the needed chore. Charcoal as the heat source, of course, how utterly pedestrian. The Dark Lord knew he really couldn’t expect more from a civilian run smithy, especially in a remote village like this one. But, nonetheless, seeing the extremely bare bones equipment he had to work with really made him miss his personal forges. Nothing could beat a direct link to a magma vein to heat a forge properly. Especially with a few well placed runes to focus and direct the heat. But there was no use moaning about that, one made do with what one had to work with, after all. The Dark Lord knew that better than most. Truly, it wasn’t the worst setting for metalwork he had ever been forced to work with, not by a long shot. But then again, considering how that honor belonged to that time he had been forced to repair a magical dagger in a frozen mountain in the middle of nowhere, and ended up using a massive bonfire as a forge and his chest plate as the anvil, that wasn’t saying much. As he shoveled more charcoal into the flames he reviewed what he planned to do. First he would have to further refine what few passable steel ingots he had into proper Wootz steel. That at the very least would guarantee the blade had some level of basic durability and resilience. Afterwards, he would have to really concentrate in order to make sure this pitiable little forge could produce an adequate Damascus steel blade from said refined ingots. Yes, that would be a nice starting point, he decided as he placed the first ingots inside the crucible and placed it into the forge, not even sweating despite the oppressive heat now permeating the entire room. Nowhere near the level of quality of even the lesser bits of his usual equipment, but with a few runes and a bit of enchanting it would definitely do as a temporary measure until he could dedicate the time and effort to either find or, irritatingly more likely due to what he had seen about the quality of this plane’s equipment so far, create the needed tools so he could make proper weaponry. As he waited for the metal to melt, Ganondorf idly wondered when was the last time he had worked with something as mundane as normal steel, before drawing a complete blank. He remembered working with dozens of the more interesting cousins of the metal, from Demon Steel to Moon Steel and everything that lies between, all the way to his personal creation of Void Steel all those centuries ago. But comparing those alloys with their lesser mundane cousin was like comparing iron with Orichalcum. It simply wasn’t done. The truth was that, normally, if he found himself in need an ordinary steel weapon then he simply stole it instead of wasting his time with forging it. The King of Thieves could, and often did, disparage about many facets of the hylians culture, from their tendency towards stupidly flamboyant architecture, to their obsession with annoyingly flimsy furniture, but one thing was undeniable, they did know how to make a decent blade at the very least. But sadly that wasn’t an option this time. With a huff of annoyance he kept watch as the ingots slowly, slowly started to become more malleable as the pitiful forge heated them bit by bit. He mumbled a curse as he took a seat on his haunches right on the ground, unminding of the heat, and settled in for a long wait. Ganondorf would kill for a proper blast furnace right now. Verdant fields filled the horizon as far as the eyes could see. Lush forests and pristine lakes dotted the landscape as dozens upon dozens of ponies lived their lives in farmsteads and villages all around in peace and harmony. But then, three ponies started to quarrel with no apparent reason. A unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony. Their argument grew more and more heated with every moment that passed, until, slowly but surely, all the ponies around them started to argue and bicker as well. Until, where once there were only three ponies quarreling, there were now dozens upon dozens of them. They kept arguing with each other as the realm slowly fell to disharmony, shouting and accusing each other until mere words were no longer enough and blows started to be traded and the three types of pony started to fight each other without rhyme or reason. Amidst the ever growing brawl, a desolate echoing cry resounded through the fields as a fierce blizzard suddenly blanked out the sky. It rushed forth with terrifying speed, covering the land in ice and snow. And yet the ponies kept fighting each other, completely inattentive to the coming danger even as the frozen onslaught covered them all. For a moment the world seemed condemned to be covered in a frozen white mantle, until three figures huddled together, not in anger and hate, but in friendship and harmony. A unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony stood together against the incoming blizzard, and right between them a fierce fiery heart made of pink flames sprung into existence, keeping the cold at bay and slowly thawing the other ponies as it shielded them from the freezing winds, freeing them from their icy prisons. It seemed as if the end had been averted, as the now freed ponies gathered in front of the trio, for once no longer quarreling or fighting. But it was not to be. A roar of unbridled anger reverberated throughout the world, a scream of pure fury that was so loud and all encompassing that seemed to want to swallow the entirety of creation with its wrath. The shield created by the heart-flame flickered and wavered as the blizzard was reborn with renewed fury. Little by little the heart-flame started to fail against the relentless onslaught as the sky was consumed by sickly looking fire and the earth was turned into a frozen wasteland, making it look like all was lost. Only for two shining beacons to add their light to the faltering flame, one a pure pristine silver and the second a warm vibrant gold, their light alongside the heart-flame was enough to hold off the tide of destruction, but not to push it back. But their efforts were not in vain, for their struggle bought them enough time for a very familiar blade to make its appearance, as it fell from the sky point first right in the middle of the defenders, its holy light shining in defiance as the symbol of three golden triangles came to life where the blade now rested . Zelda’s eyes snapped open in a single instant. The Wielder of Wisdom simply stood there for a moment staring at the wooden ceiling of the Blossom’s family home, as her heart hammered against her chest and cold sweat covered her brow, while her mind frantically went through what she had just dreamt. As she let out a long, weary breath, she pushed the blankets away from her body and quietly stood away from the bed and moved towards the open window, all the while doing her level best not to wake any of her hosts from their sleep. She stood there completely still for a few moments, staring at the serene woods but a few meters away from the window and letting the cold breeze caress her fur. She breathed deeply, and started to slowly crush the instinctual waves of panic the vision had caused to her body and forced her brain to analyze every single part of the warning she had just received in a calm and methodical manner. It was a vision, of this she was certain. Now the question was: what was said vision warning her about? Something was coming, something of ice and death, and the ponies would be too engrossed and distracted by their silly infighting to notice the danger until it was too late, that was extremely clear. Only for a group of ponies to try and unite against the threat, a group of ponies composed of members of all Three Tribes. And together they would bring the threat to a halt through some kind of pink fire, though what created said fire was a mystery. Nonetheless, the heart-flame would manage to keep the frozen threat at bay, for a time, at least. Only for something else, something of fire and hate to also enter the struggle, and all but guarantee the ponies perdition. Then two unknown lights, which for all she knew could be either individuals, a spell or even some kind of relic, would offer their aid to the ponies and prevent their ultimate defeat, but even that would not be enough to assure their victory. And finally the end, with the Master Sword appearing to challenge this unknown evil that sought to set the sky aflame and freeze the world over, and no guesses to who would most likely be wielding that sword by then. The golden triangles on the ground around the blade only added to the obvious fact that the Triforce Wielders would be right in the middle of the whole mess. So two unknown threats, who may or not be aligned; possibly three, but perhaps more, defenders of some significance whom, through unknown means, had to summon a pink heart-flame; either two champions, or two objects, or spells, that would aid said defenders in order to prevent their fall; and finally the presence of the Triforce Wielders while carrying a sword the location of which they currently had no idea, but which was heavily hinted to be essential in order to effectively fight back said threats. In other words, the prophecy had been infuriatingly vague and nebulous, and left behind far too many questions with far too little actual answers. How typical. The Wielder of Wisdom carefully considered the vision and its implications, and how little actual usable information it truly contained, for a few moments longer. Before, with a tired sigh, she grumbled underneath her breath. “Ganondorf’s going to be insufferable after this.”