Yes….this pony did look like Ganon.
He had the same wiry, dark frame, vibrant red hair, and elaborate costume of the Demon King. Except….where this pony’s face should have been was nothing but a sharp-boned mask shaped like a skull. He handled a long, razor-tipped spear in it’s hooves, his cape flapping behind him as he rose into the air.
Phantom Ganon swung his spear, slamming it down into the ground. The tip fizzled, sending out organized waves of rippled lightning.
Link leapt over them, then ducked behind a pillar to think as well as pull out his sword.
I have my bow, he thought, trying to readjust his jaw so it was more comfortable.But I have no idea how to operate it with hooves. And for that matter, I barely know how to use my sword.
He glanced out out from behind the pillar, but had to jerk his head back to avoid being skewered by a spear thrust.
No matter. I’ll adapt.
Without warning, the pillar shielding him shattered, spewing bits of stone shrapnel. Link leapt away, tucking and rolling over the uneven ground, then sprang to his hooves as he ended up out in the open.
Ganon extended a hoof above his head, and a crackling, glowing ball of electricity formed above it. He swung his foreleg forwards, hurling it straight towards Link.
Almost instinctively, Link swung his head to the side, and the tip of his sword hit it lopsidedly and sent it hurtling off towards the side. It slammed into the wall, dissolving in a shower of sparks.
Flashbacks to his first fight with this creature reminded him how he was supposed to defeat it, but it would be so much harder wielding his sword in this way….
Almost before he had time to recover from the first one, another sphere came flying in his direction. But this time, he was a bit more prepared, and managed to almost perfectly deflect it.
Phantom Ganon swung his spear around, smacking it back.
Link uttered a curse that was muffled by the sword hilt in his mouth. How come Ganon could use his hooves to hold weapons but he couldn’t?
Link deflected the orb again, and this time Ganon’s swing went wide and missed it. It slammed into his body, exploding in a burst of sparks, and he floated slowly to the ground, completely paralyzed.
Link leapt over the ground to where he now crouched, crackling with small shocks. He swung his head, relapsing into his child-aged mode of attack—randomly, violently hacking away at whatever he could reach.
This is so much harder! He thought, internally cursing. Already he could feel his jaw begin to ache from the strain of trying to cut through the sinewy muscle of Ganon’s Phantom. There was no blood from this creature, as it wasn’t Ganon itself….it was nothing more than an imitation of his power, a ghost of the skill the King of Thieves would really have had.
Ganon revived, kicking Link away from him. Link flew backwards, landing hard on the ground.
“Ow.” He groaned, rolling over. Something in the side he had landed on had snapped, causing him intense pain.
“Watch out!” Epona cried. Link glanced up, seeing another ball of lightning hurtling his way.
With a yelp, he scrambled out of the way, gritting his teeth as his ribs gave screams of protest.
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a vibrant flash of light, and he turned towards it, distracted. Vinyl and Lyra had shattered the barrier between them and the arena, and shimmering shards of rainbow light rained down. It was strange….it was so beautiful, but so sinister.
In the midst of his distraction, Link failed to notice the sphere of electricity currently careening towards him….and he was hit.
He was no stranger to pain, but sometimes he felt as if he’d rather experience anything other than this. It was tingling, persistent, and sharp, like a million acid-coated needles piercing his skin. And if that wasn’t enough, it was accompanied by temporary paralysis. Link collapsed, gasping as the full effect of the attack washed over him.
He wondered why Phantom Ganon didn’t rush forwards and end him now. Perhaps this creature really was nothing more than a percentage of everything the real Ganon was….including intelligence.
From his frozen, crouched position on the ground, Link saw the five who had accompanied him leap forwards, into the battle. Well, except Octavia. But this time, Link did not begrudge her staying behind, as she was comforting Saria.
Somehow, the other four’s hodgepodge of badly aimed, rather weak attacks seemed to work, and Ganon was defeated.
He rose into the air, trembling silently, his body deteriorating….and he vanished in a burst of blue flames.
“Link!” Saria cried as soon as Ganon disappeared, racing over to him.
“I’m okay.” Link answered her unspoken question, coming out of the paralysis, shaking off the last bits of tingling pain.
“Are you sure?” Saria asked anxiously. “I’m so sorry you had to get hurt for me.”
“I promise I’m fine.” Link tried to smile, but his side gave another twinge and it ended up more like a grimace.
“You need a doctor.” Saria cried, turning to Epona. “Can you please help, miss?”
“Don’t worry.” Epona promised. “Everything’s going to be okay. Link, can you walk?”
Link slowly got to his hooves, gritting his teeth and ignoring the screaming pain in his side.
“I’m fine.” He said tersely.
“Like heck you are.” Epona snorted. “Get on my back.”
“What?” Link yelped.
“You do know it’s nothing new, right?” Epona rolled her eyes. “Just do it. I’m sure it’ll be a lot more comfortable for you if you get on, rather than me lifting you on.”
Link let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
“Fine.” He grumbled.
Epona slid underneath him, lifting him up. Link grimaced, trying to keep the weight off his injured side.
“We can cover you in the forest if anything attacks us.” Bon Bon promised.
“What...evil….what was that….” Octavia gasped.
“Come on. Focus, Octi.” Vinyl sighed, dragging her sister along.
Epona set off at a trot. Link inhaled sharply at her jolting gait, and she slowed to a walk.
“Wait.” Link gasped out once they’d exited the castle. “Just wait a second.”
“I must say you’re getting quite good at guessing when I’ll appear.” Sheik said from his perch upon one of the castle’s shattered wreck of a wall right above them.
“I’m noticing a pattern.” Link, a faint smile on his face.
Sheik leapt lightly to the ground, then paused, looking over the castle thoughtfully.
“The cloud of evil surrounding this place…..it has been dispersed.” He eventually said. “That Phantom you fought is but one of the many trials you will face….for Ganon is in Equestria.”
“What?” Link gasped. Epona followed suit, clapping a hoof to her mouth in alarm.
“Um….should we be worried?” Lyra asked, a nervous tremble to her voice.
“Definitely.” Saria said grimly.
“The King of Evil will stop at nothing to fulfill his aims.” Sheik warned. “He has but one objective...to conquer this land and use the power he gains to bring Hyrule further under his grasp.”
“I’m not going to let that happen.” Link promised.
“I know that.” Sheik said, giving him a nod. “But you still have many trials to face….many trials indeed.” He paused, plucking a chord on his harp.
“Though Hyrule has suffered much, it can find healing.” He said. “The sweetness of nature has brought us many things. Life is found within the forest, remedy within the glade. As the ages past, the dark scars that mar the surface of our beautiful land will close and seal themselves forever. Come….perform the song of nature’s melody.”
Link nodded, sliding off Epona’s back. His side gave another sharp-edged twinge, but he ignored it as he picked up the ocarina.
Together, he and Sheik played a duet...the Minuet of Forest, the song of the Forest Temple.
This time, Link reflected on how he held the ocarina. It felt so strange…..earlier, he’d barely been thinking about it, so payed no mind to how he played the instrument. But now, even when he was concentrating on it…..somehow his brain knew exactly how to swivel his hooves around and position them to cover the holes needed…..
If he didn’t know how to sword fight, at least he could play the ocarina.
Once the song was finished, Link felt a strange sensation in his body. It was like every one of his cells gave a lurch, and a tingling rush spread through his body, quite different from the pain he’d felt earlier. The world faded away, replaced with a backdrop of soft green.
As his vision disappeared, Link heard one last murmur from Sheik.
“Till we meet again…..hero.”