Equestrians in Termina

by MagicMissingno

#4 Marsh

AN: I am sooooo sorry for the late chapter! I was just having some nasty writer’s block, but I’m fine now!

---

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked out of the swordsman’s school. As they walked down the alley Rainbow Dash spoke up. “You know, you’re gonna have to get a weapon too.”

Fluttershy stopped and looked at her friend with wide eyes. “B-but, I can’t… hurt some-”

“I’m not opening this up to debate, Fluttershy. We might run into more than I can handle alone and you need something to defend yourself with.” She looked Fluttershy directly into her eyes. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Reluctantly, Fluttershy nodded. She didn’t want to hurt anything, but this land was different from Equestria and she just might have to harm something to survive. She just hoped it would never come to that.

The two continued down the alley when they saw a strange human. Due to the hair and clothing it had neither pegasus could tell what gender it was. It wore a long dark green shirt and matching pants. It had brown shoes and a brown belt. It had red hair that went down to its chin and it had a round hat that hid its eyes. “Hey you two ladies,” it called out in a masculine voice, “Come here please.”

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other and shrugged. They walked up to the strange man. “Sorry if this sounds strange, but are you two called Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash got right into the man’s face. “How do you know our names?!”

The strange man laughed. “Then my dream was correct! You see, last night I had a dream that told me to teach this song to someone named Fluttershy and that they would be close to someone named Rainbow Dash. I assumed that would be your name because of your hair.”

Rainbow Dash backed off while Fluttershy got out the ocarina. The man got out a violin and played six notes. Okay, I play a pitch note, a low note, and a middle note and then repeat. Fluttershy put the ocarina to her mouth and played the song. Both of the pegasi felt something tingly in them after she played it. The man spoke up once more.

“I’ll tell you what the dream told me. That song is called The Song of Binds. It is a mystical song with strange powers. If you play it and think ‘come to me’ then the one you have your strongest bind with will teleport to you. If you play it and think ‘go to you’ then you will teleport to the one whose bond is the strongest with you.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Well that sounds good to have. Oh, can I ask you something?” The man nodded. “Do you know where we can buy a weapon?”

“I’m sorry, but our weapon smith has fled town.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and waved to the man while Fluttershy made a cheer in her mind. They continued down the alley and arrived in south Clock Town. There wasn’t really much to look at besides the clock tower and even that was a bit bland. Other than being tall the only thing worth noting about it was the large disc with a design so outlandish that the only thing Fluttershy could tell was that there was a sun on it. The rest of this part of town looked like it was under construction with lots of wooden structures that lacked walls and paint.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked to the gate to see another human in armor. He got in their way. “Stop right there!” he said loud enough to cause Fluttershy to squeak, “Do you have some errand in the swamp?” Rainbow Dash nodded her head. “It’s dangerous outside the town walls so I cannot allow unarmed civilians like you to-” he stopped and noticed that Rainbow Dash had a sword. “Oh.” He stood up straight and coughed. “My apologies for not noticing your sword earlier. It was wrong for me to treat you like ladies that couldn’t handle themselves. The southern swamp at Woodfall lies in this direction. Be careful.” Rainbow Dash saluted the guard and went out of the town with Fluttershy in tow.

---

Fluttershy stood in awe of Termina Field. The place had lush grass and beautiful oak trees dotted the place. A mountain stood stoic in the background. Rainbow Dash wasn’t really interested in the greenery, although it was understandable as a strange man landed in front of her.

Strange was an understatement for this man. He was only three feet tall and he looked like he was wearing a green jumpsuit. He had what looked like red underwear on top of that. His face was very wrinkly and his nose protruded seven inches from the rest of his face. “What’s this? Green cloths, rainbow hair, madam are you a forest fairy?” He said with a voice that sounded like a male Pinkie Pie.

What the buck is with this guy? He looks and sounds like a complete nutjob. Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

“My name is Tingle! I think I am the same as you, madam. A forest fairy!”

Scratch that, he is the nutjob to end all nutjobs.

“Alas, though I am thirty-five years old, no fairy has come to see me just yet. My father tells me to grow up and act my own age, but why? I tell you, I am the very reincarnation of a fairy!” Rainbow Dash had to use all her control to prevent her hand from greeting her face. “While I wait for my fairy I sell maps to help out my father. Because you are the reincarnation of a fairy as well then we should be friends.”

How about no?

“As a sign of our friendship, I’ll give you one map for free! Where would you like a map of?”

Fluttershy knew that Rainbow Dash would tell this creep to buck off so nervously she spoke up. “Well, we are headed to the swamp…”

Tingle didn’t let her say anything else and practically shoved a map into Rainbow Dash’s hands. “I must be off now.” He spun around and threw some sparkling dust saying “Tingle, Tingle! Kooloo-Limpah!” then he inflated a balloon from his pants and floated away leaving Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with odd looks on their faces. Tatl floated out of Rainbow Dash’s bag and yawned.

“Well that was a good nap. Did I miss anything?”

“Yeah, you missed a freak in tights that was obsessed with fairies. Let’s move on.”

The three continued down the path before they saw something weird. They saw what looked like a living blob of green gel with beady eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth. It made a growling noise and hopped at the group. Rainbow Dash pulled out her sword and shield. “Get behind me, Fluttershy!” Fluttershy ran behind her friend Tatl flew to the monster.

“Rainbow Dash, I can help in battle! If you focus on me, I can help you target the enemy!” Rainbow Dash didn’t question the fairy and focused on her. Instantly she found herself locked onto the monster. She hit it with a powerful downward slash and it dissolved. “Wow, it went down fast!”

Rainbow Dash put away her equipment and turned to Fluttershy. “Are you alright?” Fluttershy nodded slowly. “Are you absolutely sure?” Rainbow Dash wanted to know for certain if Fluttershy was okay. She just witnessed her best friend kill another creature. This was the second time, but this was the first time her eyes were open.

“I-I am sure.” Fluttershy was put off by the death, but she could put it to the back of her mind for now. The group continued down the path until Tatl stopped suddenly and flew to a large dead tree. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed her to find that there was a drawing on the tree. It looked like a small bipedal creature with a boomerang on its head with two little lines. “Tatl, does this picture mean anything to you?”

“Yeah, it does…”

---

It was a dark and stormy night in Termina Field and Tatl and Tael were seeking shelter. They found a large log and flew in it. Tael shivered from the cold so Tatl flew close to him to give him warmth. Then they were startled by a weird gasping sound. They found Skull Kid without his mask. His face was simple with two tiny orange eyes and a beak-like mouth. He was shivering terribly so the fairies flew close to him to give him warmth. They stayed there for the night.

Skull Kid told the fairies about his life. How nobody wanted to be with him because of his looks, how some people would shove him into the mud, and how children would throw rotten food at him. He only just recently made friends with people but those friends had left him and he was alone.

The next day Skull Kid played with the fairies. They chased each other around the fields, engaged in the old game of hide and seek, and one time Skull Kid hid around the bushes to jump out and startle the fairies. They spent every day playing around and they were happy…

But then one day while playing hide and seek Skull Kid met a man. It is unknown what the man did but he made Skull Kid mad and the imp knocked him out and stole a mask. After that, he started to play nasty tricks on the people in Clock Town.

---

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Why do bullies always have to make other people feel like crap!? I guess now we know why Skull Kid did that stuff, but it’s not an excuse! Anyways, we need to continue.”

The three once again set off for the swamp. There wasn’t really much in the way of scenery and thankfully there weren’t any more enemies along the way. As they passed by a huge tree Fluttershy stopped. Rainbow Dash turned to her friend and raised an eyebrow. “Is something wrong, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I smell something pungent.”

“I don’t smell anything.” Tatl said.

Rainbow Dash was well aware of Fluttershy’s heightened senses so she understood why both she and Tatl couldn't smell whatever Fluttershy could. “Well we are getting close to a swamp so maybe that’s it.”

“I guess… but there’s something off about it. Maybe it’s nothing. We should get a move on.” The trio didn’t have far to walk and they soon reached the southern swamp. Fluttershy frowned at the sight. “This isn’t a swamp, this is a marshland.”

The statement was true. In the place was a lot of tall grass that extended up to a foot and a half. The ground beneath the pegasi’s feet was soft and muddy. Scattered around were odd trees. They were similar to palm trees but halfway up the trunk were yellow rings. The smell of the place was similar to rotten eggs and it made Fluttershy gag a little.

“Hey Fluttershy, are you gonna be okay?” Rainbow Dash asked. “The smell is bothering me a little so it’s probably much worse for you.”

Fluttershy gave a small nod. “I’ll be fine, I just need to get used to the smell.” Rainbow Dash decided to rest for a few minutes to let Fluttershy grow accustomed to the odor. She turned her head and saw the water and grew curious.

The water wasn’t clear at all. While water from places like this never was perfectly clear, it never looked like the water here. This water was a dark gray shade of color and you couldn’t see past the surface. Rainbow Dash got closer to the water and noticed that the smell got worse as she got closer to it, nearly making her gag as she stood next to it. She went back to Fluttershy whom had just now gotten used to the smell.

“Hey Fluttershy, there’s something wrong with the water.”

“Really? What do you mean, Rainbow Dash?”

“Well, it’s gray and I think the smell is coming from it.”

Fluttershy ran to the water and gagged again as she got to the edge. The smell was overpowering. She grimaced as she looked at the water. Reluctantly she put her hand to it. When she touched it, she let out a squeak and pulled it back. “Rainbow Dash, I think the water is contaminated. We should avoid touching it as much as possible.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Do you need to rest more to get used to the smell?” Fluttershy nodded. “Alright, take your time.”

Rainbow Dash sat down as Fluttershy accustomed herself to the foul odor. Tatl decided to strike a conversation. “So, um, Rainbow Dash? Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you like Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Of course I do! We’ve been best friends since we were fillies!”

“But do you like, like her?”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Uh, what do you mean?”

Tatl sighed. “Do you have feelings for her?”

Rainbow Dash thought a bit. “You know, I’m not sure. I never really thought that hard about my feelings for anypony to be honest."

“Hey,” Fluttershy called out, “I’m used to the smell now. I think we can continue.”

The trio continued walking around when a building caught their eyes. It was a wooden hut on an elevated platform with two target-like decorations. There was a ladder to get to the building. Rainbow Dash climbed it first with Fluttershy following. They walked into the hut.

The inside of the hut was unremarkable. The floor was wooden and there was white wallpaper. There was a stand with a man that had more bulk than Big Macintosh. He wore a brown vest that failed to reach his stomach. His face was apparently glued to his hand. “Blimey, where is he? That spoiled child is playin’ hooky again! A child his age has no time looking for fairies!” His voice was loud and caused Fluttershy to once again use her hair as a shield.

“Um, hello?” Rainbow Dash wondered if this man was of sound mind.

The man removed his hand from his face and looked at the two ladies in front of him. He was bald with a big black mustache that looked like the handlebars of a bicycle. He also wore flight goggles.

“Oh!” he said noticing he had two customers with him. “Ahem, welcome! Why don’t you show me the pictograph you’ve taken?” Rainbow Dash blinked twice. “By the look on your face I’d say that this would be your first time entering a pictograph contest. We’re holdin’ a contest to see who can get the best pictograph and it’s open to all ages. Would you like to enter our contest?”

“I guess so.”

“Oh, but to enter you’ll need to take the boat cruise. You can get sign up for one at that window over there.” Rainbow Dash walked over to the indicated window to see a sign.

Old Koume’s Boat Cruise: Ticket office closed.
Please inquire at the Magic Hags’ Potion Shop near the edge of the swamp.

The three left the hut and set off to find the potion shop. Rainbow Dash read the map and they found it after only four minutes of walking. The shop was also elevated from the swamp but it was noteworthy, mainly due to it being shaped like a red pot. After getting to the door they walked inside to find it was actually bland on the inside. It had a wooden floor and stone walls. There was a little stand with an old woman with it.

The woman was so far the strangest thing this land had. She was small and was shaped more like a monkey than a human. Her hair was white and her eyes were so big that they looked like they could fall out of her skull. She also had a long skinny nose and a sapphire embedded in her head. Her skin was light brown instead of the usual peach hue.

“Tee-hee-hee! Welcome! My potions work very well, they do. Are you two boat cruse customers?” Fluttershy nodded. “How unfortunate. Koume has gone into the woods out back, looking for mushrooms… Now that I think about it, she’s a bit late coming back! Could you go and find her for me? It’s easy to get lost in the woods there so you’d best ask the monkeys that live there. Oh, and take this incase Koume is injured.” The hag gave Rainbow Dash a bottle of red liquid. “That potion is my special brand of energy potion. Drink it up and you’ll feel completely rejuvenated!”

Rainbow Dash put the bottle in her bag and the group left the hut. The woods were rather close by but a sign got Fluttershy’s attention. “Huh… Woods of Mystery: Beware of ferocious turtles.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Why would we need to beware turtles?” The trio went into the woods and saw a monkey with white fur. It was hopping up and down like it was doing the ‘I have to go to the Bathroom’ dance. “I guess this is one of the monkeys the hag was talking about.”

“You met hag? I find hurt hag! Follow me!” The monkey ran ahead pretty quickly. Normally both of the pegasi would be wondering why a monkey could talk, but they had seen enough weird stuff to make it seem like nothing.

Rainbow Dash jogged at a leisurely pace to keep up with the simian but Fluttershy had to outright sprint just to stay with the group, and even then she started to fall behind. Tatl just flew at a normal pace and hoped that Fluttershy didn’t trip.

The monkey led them along a path veering left first, then darting right and coming face to face with a tortoise. He jumped behind Rainbow Dash whom already drew her sword and shield. “You know, that sign’s inaccurate, but I think I’ll deal with that later.” Fluttershy caught up to Rainbow Dash and gasped for breath. “Hang tight Fluttershy, we got a bad tortoise to deal with.”

The tortoise let out a cry that sounded like a duck's quack and spin charged at Rainbow Dash. She planted her shield into the ground and stiffened her body to brace for impact. Her attacker slammed into the shield and the two were at an impasse as the tortoise continued to spin into Rainbow Dash's shield. Rainbow Dash gave a hard shove to get the tortoise off of her and it was flipped onto its back. After the brief conflict the four restarted their decent into the forest. After some running the three managed to find a clearing with a hag on the ground. She was groaning and looked just like the other hag except she had a ruby in her cranium and not a sapphire.

“I guess this is the hag that runs the boat shop, right Fluttershy?” There was no reply so Rainbow Dash turned around to see that Fluttershy wasn’t there. “Uh oh, I think we might have lost-”

Rainbow Dash was interrupted by a pillar of blue light reviling Fluttershy. As soon as the light dissipated, Fluttershy doubled over and panted heavily. “Good. Thing. That. Song. Works.” she said between the pants. She dropped to the ground and lay on her back.

“You gonna be okay there Fluttershy?” Fluttershy gave a thumbs up so Rainbow Dash turned to the hag. “Are you alright?”

The hag looked up from the ground. “I was just busy minding my own business, picking mushrooms, when BAM! I got hit from behind! That pesky Skull Kid! Did he think that I wouldn’t recognize him if he hid his face? And to think he’s that powerful, and now I can’t even move! Do you have anything that gives you energy?”

Rainbow Dash pulled out the bottle with the potion in it. “Will this do?”

“Ah! That color, that aroma, that’s definitely Kotake’s!” The old hag got right up and snatched the bottle from Rainbow Dash before drinking greedily and burping. “Ooh! Feel the energy flow! Koume is revived!” Her gem shined and she summoned her broom. “Thank you so much. I’m the swamp tour guide. I run the boat cruse so come by if you want a free ride.” She then laughed and darted away on her broomstick.

Rainbow Dash looked at her hand and noticed she now had the bottle again. She put it back in her bag. “You never know, it might be useful.” She then turned to Fluttershy, who was still on the ground panting. “Hey Fluttershy, would you mind if I carried you? I know you're tired so I can probably carry you for a bit while you rest up.” All she got in response was a grunt so Rainbow Dash picked up her friend and slung her over her back. Fluttershy was rather light and laid stomach down on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. Tatl giggled at the sight.

Rainbow Dash exited the forest going in the reverse path the monkey had showed her. When she got out, three monkeys dropped from above and approached her. “You have strange powers, no?” the middle monkey asked. “Me been watching you!”

Great, now I have a monkey stalker.

“Lately this swamp filled with poison water. Temple above waterfall strange… Brother go to temple. Brother no able to find temple entrance. Temple for Deku only. Brother captured by Deku. Now in palace.” The monkeys ran off leaving Rainbow Dash to fix their grammar, which wasn’t that hard. She readjusted Fluttershy on her shoulder and headed to the boat hut.

---

I think that’s enough for now. Hopefully I’ll be able to get the next part out in less than two weeks.

Comments

[Ferote]

not bad I like it

[iFiredone]

Moar ..... your following the storyline quite well

[Souldin]

Today I have nothing humorous or interesting to open this review with so I'm going to keep this short and get on with the review immediately.

This chapter truly shows an effort to improve, and I have noted that while your descriptions are not of the greatest quality, they are numerous in number, and you have gone about describing the people, the actions, and the scenery to a much greater extent than before. Though they could be worded better, the fact they are there, and presented so clearly, allows for the readers to know what goes on all the time. This in turn has made the fanfic feel a lot less rushed, and overall has improved pacing. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash remained in character and some of the things raised in this chapter were interesting to bring up (though sadly not as intriguing as previous chapters but there’s not much you can do about that). I also tip my non-existent hat to the humour which had me smiling when it appeared, and also tip my hat for Tingle interacting with the two protagonists on the basis of Tingle being weirdly awesome (just to note; I am not being sarcastic).

Most, if not all of my criticism has been mentioned in my praise for this chapter. You have plenty of description, but the sentences flow badly making it feel forced and stunted, while the descriptions themselves are very plain and unimaginative in the choice of words. You also keep on giving out the full descriptions to a characters appearance the moment they appear, rather than describing them bit by bit as they interact with the characters, or describing a part of them when they do an action that requires that part of their body.

This appears to be one of my shorter reviews however I hope it aids you with your writing and/or motivation never the less. I enjoyed seeing the improvement in pacing in comparison to your three other chapters and while the descriptions were not great you have done more than quite a few fanfic writers by at least making an effort to incorporate them as often as you can. Great job, keep up the good work!

[MagicMissingno]

203742

Oh, so I'm not supposed to give a full description as soon as a character appears? Well thanks for letting me know! In all honesty I kinda struggle with descriptions the most when it comes to writing these things and I've been tempted more than once to just throw a picture in there.

[MagicMissingno]

245282

Actually the Easter Egg was Rainbow Dash cheering about the snot. It's a reference to ChuggaaConroy's Let's Play of the game.

As for the monster thing, it's a spoiler for later, and by later I mean 2 stories after this. However some guesswork on your own might figure it out.

[Garino]

245343 I'll just wait on the next exciting chapter. As for you:

th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/050/7/2/pinkie_holding_a_check_mark_by_felix_kot-d4qaadr.png

You get Pinkie Pie's check mark of approval. This check mark entitles you to one (1) free thumbs up and one (1) track. Further check marks will also entitle you to one (1) free watch.

Also, very nice Easter Egg. CC's a great Let's Player in my opinion...second only to SIR RON LIONHEART!!!

[MagicMissingno]

245724

Why thank you! Unfortunately have a case of severe writer's block at the moment so a new chapter might take a while, sorry.

[Levimos]

*reads the comment about the CC easter egg* hmm.. was it probly the fact that the big guy in that boat cruise place is austrialian?

anyways.. i'm loving the story so far keep it up! you sir got another like and a track!

[NintendoGal55]

MLP, along with some FlutterDash (OTP! <3), combined with my favourite Zelda game.

:D
I love it! It's pretty good so far. I know it has been quite a while, but I sincerely hope you'll continue with it. It's going to be quite a journey! I'm really looking forward to it! Well done!

[xenobrony]

I have a feeling that flluttershy will panic a lot in Ikana canyon

[StrigidaeFan]

1132491
You THINK??!!!