Epona sighed with relief ; she was still a pony, able to speak and think clearly ; with her now higher thoughts, she recalled her time as a horse as fuzzy, blurry, strange memories distorted and diluted by her then-different perception.
The forgotten village was not found by the monsters ; Bowser had crushed a barn along some crates when jumping out of the pipe : the ruckus had not attracted any attention.
"Dusk ! Dusk ! Ghosts will attack soon !" King Boo exclaimed.
"Teleport us inside the castle please", Zelda told him. "I can only hope there are some troops left. Mighty Boos, apart from stopping the raised, may I ask you to assume the role of messengers between our respective fronts ?"
"She said we're mighty ! She’s so modest !" A Boo exclaimed.
"Okay, we’ll do that ! We’ll keep both sides informed !" Another complied.
"Stay invisible, Hylians may mistake you for the enemy", Bowser specified.
"No problem Boss !" The Boos replied before immediately flying in random directions.
"I must warn everyone about Redeads", Link said. "These... walking mummified corpses are able to shriek and paralyze you. If you are too close, they will strike you down with their swords. Be of the utmost caution with them, and stay at a good distance".
"And be aware of Poes. They are specters, invisible to the naked eye, except for their floating lantern : destroy them with Light or let the Boos take care of them", Zelda advised.
King Boo disappeared along Zelda, Daisy, Mario and Luigi.
"Where do you want to go ?" Bowser asked Link.
"To Ordon Village. How is the situation there ?" Link interrogated Epona.
"The ghosts chased me as soon as I left the Spirit Spring ; they weren’t in the village, and they all went after me ! Only half a day had passed, it was almost dawn when I took the portal, so if they all followed me, they still haven’t found the village ! But they’ll find it sooner or later !" Epona replied.
Bowser wasted no time and teleported everyone to the village.
The very small village comprised of less than ten houses was totally quiet ; the doors were already closed and the windows shut.
Link went towards the largest house and knocked at the door ; after insisting enough, it finally opened on a stocky, bald man with a dent at the back of his head ; his large upper lip sported a large upward grey moustache divided in two by a large gap. His small round grey eyes opened with surprise when he saw Link, then wider when he looked at the ponies, Anita and Bowser.
"Mayor Bo. I am relieved to find you safe", Link greeted him.
"Li… Link !? S-Still with the princess’ speech I see… You’re spendin’ too much time with diplomats, lad", Bo said. "Hope you’re not tradin’ manners for strength !"
Link rubbed the back of his head.
"No need for these here ! I don’t want a stuck-up son-in-law !" Bo added.
"You aren’t always speakin’ like Princess Zelda an’ Princess Peach ?" Applejack asked to Link.
"Of course not !" Bo replied in his place. "Before becomin’ this young knight you see, he was a wrangler ! And a good one at that ! Not a single goat escapin’ when he was here, and all of ‘em milked to the last drop !"
"Hee-haw ! You were just like me ! Now that’s a news !" Applejack exclaimed joyfully.
"Sorry to interrupt, but is Illia here ? And is everything alright ?" Link asked.
"No ghosts yet, a few appear past midnight, but they don’t go inside houses. Illia ! Link’s here with friends !" Bo shouted to someone inside his house.
Link’s girlfriend appeared at the doorstep ; her emerald eyes widened from surprise, then fear when they went from the ponies and Anita to Bowser ; Illia was of petite stature, with short, ash blonde hair.
"Illia ! Thanks the Goddess you’re safe !" Epona exclaimed before jumping on her the same way she had done with Link.
Illia was not successful in trying to support the weight of her former horse, and she collapsed under the overjoyed pony.
"I’m so sorry Illia !" Epona apologized while getting up. "I’m just so happy to see you again ! And I’m sorry I went to the spring by myself !"
"Epona ? Is that you ?" A puzzled Illia asked before shaking her head. "Yes, of course it’s you. I’ll always recognize you whatever your form".
"I think you should come in", Bo said with a disbelieving tone of voice. "You probably have some… things to explain".
They went inside the house, barring Bowser who stayed outside ; he listened to the conversation at the open window.
After telling the whole story and presenting the ponies and Anita to Bo and Illia, the night has fallen, unsettling them.
"You’ll stay as a pony ? Forever ?" Illia asked to Epona who had her head on her lap.
"I’m sorry Illia ! But… but at the same time it feels so good ! Now, I can talk to you, I can tell you how I feel instead of just showing you, I can express how much I love you and Link with words, I can tell you my desires, my fears, everything ! You’re not angry at me, aren’t you, Illia ? Ooh, I hope you’re not angry because I’m so selfish !"
"How could I be angry at you, Epona ? And you’re not selfish ; I think none of us want you to turn back into a horse", Illia replied kindly.
"I love you so much Illia ! You and Link… I… I truly love you !" Epona exclaimed, tears of joy in her golden eyes.
Most of those present, including Illia and Link, manifested signs of embarrassment with that last statement.
"Huh ? What’s wrong ?" Epona asked when she noticed their behavior.
"You love Link and Illia ?" Rarity asked to her.
"Yes, of course !" Epona replied.
"I mean, like… you’re in love with them ?" Rarity clarified.
"Yes I am ! Just like you and mister Spike and just like Princess Twilight and miss Starlight !"
"So… so much honesty…" Applejack pointed out splutteringly.
"As a former animal, Epona’s not restricted by most social norms", Bowser explained. "She’ll always be honest with her desires and feelings. Kinda like you", he added to Applejack.
"I shouldn’t say that I love somebody ? Is it rude ? But… but that’s how I feel ! I want to be with you forever, to hug and kiss you, to…" Epona was cut off by a hawk’s cry.
Bowser looked at the sky, rapidly pinpointing the loud circling bird above Ordon Village.
"It’s an alarm cry ! “Beware !” “Things approaching the village !”" Fluttershy translated. "Something’s happening !"
"They’re here…" Bowser whispered as he glimpsed five blue lights gliding through the forest, approaching the village with a sinister rattling sound.
Not far away, on the hills, the goats bleated in alarm ; thanks to their powerful hearing, Bowser and Anita caught the sound of the earth crackling and the characteristic noise of patches of dirt and damp grass falling on the ground.
"Stay here", Link told Bo and Illia. "Do you have a sword or two ? Or some daggers ?" He asked to Bo.
"Of course. And I’ll fight with you !" Bo exclaimed.
"No, not this time. Please, protect Illia inside the house ; I know she can defend herself, but I don’t want her to fight. Can you lend a sword or a dagger to Anita though ?"
"Those two daggers will be perfect", Anita said when Bo opened the chest containing his weapons ; she took the two long iron knives in her hands.
"I am sorry to make you fight", Link apologized to her.
"I said I wanted to help you. So I’ll help you, regardless of the way", Anita replied.
The lights surrounding the village suddenly disappeared and a dozen of Boos exited the woods in their place.
"Poes neutralized ! Light Spirits okay but exhausted, so useless for now !" One of them reported to Bowser.
"The castle town’s preparing for the siege ! Too much things are rising from the ground ! But the King’s ready to put them back in !" Another said.
"Half of you, return help everyone there", Bowser ordered. "The others, stay here and protect the people ; don’t let anything enter a single house !"
The ponies, Link and Anita stepped out of Bo’s house and stood in circle in front of it ;
"From the ground !" Bowser and Anita yelled.
The nasal-horned skeletons popped from the ground sword and shield in hand, along with dog-like, quadrupedal creatures entirely made of bones and relict patches of decayed fur ; all the undead monsters charged towards the ponies ; most of them were blasted to bits by magic and the remaining were pulverized with brute force or Link’s sword and Anita’s daggers ; others soon took their place however, and another kind of monster emerged from the ground : bat-winged, flying beast skulls began to harass the group, trying to bite them ; Rainbow Dash dispatched the flying heads while her friends dealt with the grounded monsters.
Bowser spotted them just as they were coming down the path leading to the ranch : the Redeads were literal zombies, mummified broken corpses dragging huge bandaged swords behind them with one hand, smelling of a death long since forgotten. He teleported right in front of the six zombies ; the abominable scream they released froze everyone’s blood ; it resonated in their soul even as they were fighting the undead army. Bowser, however, was totally unfazed : he cut the monstrosities in pieces without letting them even raising their swords.
The Boos were bumping into the monsters or passing through them, reducing them to ash ; none of them approached the houses.
Suddenly, the undead creatures stopped rising from the ground ; Bowser came back near his friends.
"I sense… mightier things… Be careful", he warned.
The ground shook when the creatures appeared ; Link tightened his grip on his sword and shield.
"These are Darknuts. Don’t let them approach you and don’t try to cut through their armor or shield, it would be a waste of time, it’s far too sturdy. Aim for the joints and neck, it’ll strip them off their protection. But when it’s naked, a Darknut becomes of tremendous agility, you’ll have to rely on your reflexes alone. Be of the utmost caution, they are, by far, the strongest enemy troops that I faced in my journey years ago"… Link explained.
Darknuts were perfectly humanoid in shape ; however, they were, from head to feet, clad in a heavy, ornate armor, masking their true appearance ; they were wielding huge round shields and enormous, one-edged thick swords of elaborate design.
The ten knights – nearly two heads taller than Anita – cautiously approached the group, their shield and sword raised ; it was useless however, as the nearest one felt victim to Bowser ; the claws teared through the tough shield, armor, chain mail, skin and bones like they were butter ; the first knight collapsed on the ground, cut in four. Another one followed, shield, armor and body pulverized by a punch.
The remaining Darknuts let go of their enormous weapons and their armor instantly fell in pieces at their feet ; they drew a longsword all the while evading Bowser’s attacks ; they were now more human than ever, although still wearing an ornate chain mail, very light armor and with a helmet obscuring their faces ; only two small, pale, lifeless dots could be seen in the obscurity of the helmet’s visor.
They lunged at Link, Anita and the ponies with an unsuspected speed for their size ; the ponies dodged the expertly executed sword cuts, while Link parried them with his shield ; Anita blocked the strikes with her daggers, and before the creature could jump back, inflicted a deep cut on its torso ; the humanoid retreated with a leap.
"Ugh ! Those things got some reflexes ! I was aiming for its throat", she said as she lunged towards her assailant to attack.
While Anita and Link dueled, the ponies tried to battle the raised knights ; each beam of magic was dodged or parried, and each hoof impact was absorbed by the chainmail or deflected by the sword ; the monsters slowly encircled the ponies ; in a burst of magic however, Twilight and Starlight managed to immobilize them and they immediately stepped out of the deadly formation ; Bowser took this opportunity to crush two Darknuts, but the spell wore off as he tried to cut a third, and the monster evaded him.
"The swords and shields they left behind ! Use them with your magic !" Bowser yelled to the ponies as his fire breath failed to incinerate the quick foes.
The Boos came to help the group, putting down a knight, but the others evaded them.
"They’re so fast !" One of the Boos exclaimed as a sword harmlessly passed through him.
Twilight, Starlight and Rarity picked up the abandoned weapons ; however, their friends failed to even lift them.
"They’re too heavy !" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
Bowser appeared in front of them ; inside his palms, slowly forged from a minuscule blizzard, five flat, sharp and pointy knives with a rocky handle materialized ; for him, they could have served as toothpicks, but for the ponies, they were swords at their size.
"That’s all I can do for now ! If I get enough time, I’ll forge something with their swords, but it means I won’t be able to protect you !" Bowser said.
Each pony reluctantly took a blade in their mouth ; Twilight, Starlight and Rarity were having trouble attacking the Darknuts with the heavy swords, but the magically hovering shield was offering an instantaneous protection against them ; Link and Anita, having eliminated their opponent, rapidly came to their aid, as the Boos : the four remaining undead knights finally succumbed to the combined, overwhelming assault.
"More to come", Bowser murmured as picked up the huge swords ; his fire instantly melted them and he quickly modeled the burning metal with his bare hands before cooling it with some ice ; when he finished his work, he presented the result to the ponies : the double-edged, pony-sized swords were forged of one piece and totally devoid of ornaments ; they looked more like oversized daggers ; no one doubted their sharpness however ; the ponies cautiously took them in their mouth just as creatures emerged from the ground on the nearby hills.
Link, Anita and the ponies stood motionless, stunned, and Bowser roared with rage : tumbling down the steep slopes, battalions of undead monsters encircled the village in a grotesque cacophony of broken bones and soft, rotten corpses crashing on the ground.
"They’re too many for you. Tell me, how long can you handle them without me ?" Bowser asked to everyone.
"Less than a minute", Link answered. "If we’re lucky".
"Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Rarity, is forming a shield around you and the house possible ? One that can last two minutes ?" The Koopa King interrogated.
"I can’t guarantee…" Twilight replied.
"I’m gonna teleport some of my armies here, I’ll do as fast as I can. I can’t transform here, I’d destroy the village", Bowser explained. "I must be sure you can survive until they’re here. If you can’t do it, I stay with you".
"We’ll survive !" Starlight exclaimed. "Go and bring them back here !"
"Wait Boss ! What do we do ?" A Boo asked.
"Just as I said before : don’t let them enter the houses, and help our friends here. And bring more Boos !"
Bowser disappeared and Twilight waited until the last moment to erect the shield with Starlight and Rarity ; the undead army blindly crashed on it ; the shield still shook under their disorganized assault. Hundreds of Boos suddenly appeared in the sky and plunged into the horde of monsters, dispatching some of them ; they were effective on the Redeads, but passing through the skeletons had little effect : they had to brutally charge into them to reduce the Stalfosses to broken fragments of bones, although most of them were reconstructing themselves in a matter of seconds.
"Hey buddies ! I think it’s time to show them our true power ! The true power of the Boos !" One of the Boos exclaimed.
Immediately, a hundred of Boos flew towards a single, invisible point, concentrating into a dense cloud of white smoke that took form in seconds : the gigantic Boo with yellow, glowing eyes fell on the floor, crushing numerous brought back creatures ; it was as tall as the mutated Timberwolf everyone have encountered in the Everfree Forest.
"We are Boolossus !" The monstrous Boo bellowed with its many voices.
It began to squish the monsters under its weight ; however the space to do so was lacking, and the undead creatures more or less took refuge not far away to the houses, diverting their attention from the ponies but giving them new potential targets ; the remaining Boos warded them off the homes.
In the middle of the confusion, Bowser’s forces suddenly materialized : hundreds of strange species filled almost all the remaining space available and, above the revived abominations, dozens and dozens of white-masked, bright red creatures appeared, a propeller affixed to their backs.
Bowser appeared inside the ponies’ waning shield.
"Good job ! I’m late, sorry, I wasn’t sure about what troops to bring… Now…"
He addressed to his troops as they attacked the monsters :
"Shy Guys, burn those things to ash ! Mattermouths, eat them into oblivion ! Koopas, Goombas, shatter them ! Reduce them to nothing !"
The little masked creatures immediately discharged a torrent of fire and bullets on their enemies while skeletal grounded half Koopa skulls literally ate through the revived horde, disintegrating its members ; all Bowser’s troops quickly turned the tide of the battle, and everyone joined them to get rid of the isolated monsters. When a Boo put down the last Redead and Applejack bucked the last Stalfos, Illia and Bo poked their head through the door : although all the houses were intact, Ordon Village’s streets were transfigured into a giant, formless and sickening pile up of corpses.
"The magic filling the ground has dried out", Bowser informed. "I think it’s time for some clean up though".
"How do you plan…" Applejack asked before Bowser cut her off.
"Mattermouths ! I want this village cleaner than ever !" He ordered to the incomplete Koopa skulls.
The creatures immediately complied and indistinctly ate through the corpses of enemies and allies alike.
"That’s so gross !" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she turned green from disgust.
"Nauseating indeed", Rarity added while turning away.
"No, not really : Mattermouths, as their name imply, eat matter ; they break it down to subatomic levels, so no traces remain : it’s the best method to clean. As for their dead comrades… if I gave a grave to each of my loyal subjects dying on duty, I’d fill whole planets with tombstones… It may seem harsh, but each one of them knows their live will be short. They’re not pawns and they’re not disposable however : they died bravely while following my orders, while protecting you ; I’m proud of them".
The Mattermouths destroyed all traces of the battle in minutes ; Twilight thought that if she had just arrived here, she would have laughed at the idea of a battle being fought minutes ago where she was standing.
A Boo appeared next to Bowser, panicked.
"Boss, there are too much ghosts at the town ! Battalions of monsters ! The King can’t fight and protect everyone without hurting them, and they’re like, exhausted ! Too exhausted !"
"Let’s go help them !" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"I’ll be back soon", Link told Bo and Illia.
"Do your best Link", Illia wished before kissing him.
Bowser teleported everyone and his army to Hyrule castle town.
The sight was the allegory of despair : the town was in flames, half-destroyed and overran by innumerable dead creatures searching to kill every living thing on sight. Few were still fighting them ; they were all at their limit, except King Boo and his minions who were trying their best to save the remaining citizens. Zelda had had a brief spark of hope when the grotesque ogre-like, green form of King Bulbin on his boar steed and their army had teared through the monstrosities. The dead creatures, however, had kept on rising and had smothered the army of horned, green humanoids ; only a handful of soldiers, mostly archers, mounts and the king and his steed were still standing.
"I hate to say it but… I’m at my limit..." Daisy panted.
They were all standing at the castle’s gates ; King Boo appeared above them.
"Living citizens in safety !" He exclaimed.
"Perfect… Thank you…" Zelda thanked the ghost.
"I can’t release my full power here, can I ?" King Boo asked.
"You’d destroy the town !" Mario replied.
"Huh… It already looks pretty much destroyed to me", King Boo shrugged.
"Use your power… at the outskirts of the city… On the toughest battlefront", Zelda advised.
"You’ll be defenseless if I go… Hey, buddies ! Protect them !" The ghostly king ordered to his troops ; a barrage of Boos materialized in front of them, while others were still dispatching the enemies ; for one fallen however, three were taking its place.
"We can’t die, but if we run out of power, we’ll disappear for some time ! For too much time !" A Boo explained to the group.
King Boo appeared above the unending battalions of undead monsters, his crown glowing with a purple aura.
"Pathetic creatures ! Witness the power of the King of the true dead ! WITNESS THE POWER OF KING BOO !"
King Boo slammed his body on the ground : the shockwave of energy coming from his crown instantly disabled the army just as Bowser, Anita, Link and the ponies were appearing inside the castle town, just behind the barricade of Boos, next to their friends ; Bowser’s troops materialized on the Eastern and Western fronts. More monsters rose up under the corpses and King Boo frowned.
"I’m gonna do something dangerous with King Boo on the principal front. Can you take care of the monsters inside the town or concentrate your efforts on the other fronts with my armies’ help ?" Bowser asked to the ponies, Link and Anita.
Twilight nodded before biting her lips in worry.
"Something dangerous ?" She asked.
"I can’t fight in tight spaces so… I’ll be more useful in the middle of the battlefield".
Bowser jumped all the way next to King Boo as the ponies began to clean the streets with Anita and Link.
"Siphon the power in the ground", he advised to the ghost.
"And you, what are you going to do ?" King Boo replied.
"I’m gonna destroy those things : drain the magic as soon as you can and they won’t rise anymore".
Bowser began to grow bigger ; his shell changed : his green scales became sharp, overlapped and took on a turquoise hue while giant razor-like bone spikes emerged from between them ; his horns increased in high ; his feet enlarged and his whole body changed color ; when he opened his eyes, the demonic red eyes looked at the minuscule ants crawling at his feet.
The wave of intense fire instantly carbonized half of the army ; the other half was frozen solid. Bowser continued to crush, disintegrate and freeze the endlessly rising monsters as his army battled the far less numerous monsters on the West and East.
Since Bowser’s request, King Boo’s crown had been pulsating with a dark halo : as minutes passed on the frozen, burnt and electrified battleflied, it glowed more and more intensely ; once the pulsating rhythm stopped abruptly, King Boo once more slammed his body on the ground : this time, instead of a wave of energy, a myriad of root-like filaments of dark green magic slowly covered the whole region, forming an immense network concentrating on a single point : King Boo’s open mouth. The ghost stayed in the middle of the battlefield, firmly planted in the ground, ignoring the monsters passing through his body.
"There’s no true source of magic ! Just scattered pockets !" He told Bowser despite his open mouth.
"I sense they’re draining, it’s almost done", Bowser replied.
The mycelium-like network finally ran out, and King Boo closed his mouth once the last filament was swallowed.
"Not even full !" He exclaimed before dispatching the monsters ; with him and Bowser, the battlefield was cleared in one minute ; the other battlefronts had managed to finally get the upper hand thanks to the monsters stopping rising.
The dead creatures were however still rampaging through the town despite the combined efforts of everyone ; Darknuts were advantaged in the narrow streets, their armor and shield protecting them from frontal attacks and the houses from the sides.
Twilight and Starlight were facing one, the walking armor slowly approaching them, its shield raised in anticipation of an attack.
"Do you remember Link’s advice ?" Starlight asked to Twilight. "Aiming for the joints, neck…"
"I don’t know how to do that !" Twilight replied. "Our magic’s bouncing off those things !"
"I wanna try something", Starlight said.
She disappeared and reappeared just behind the armored humanoid ; her magic beam hit it just at the base of its helmet ; the Darknut let out a small yelp and automatically lowered his shield, allowing Twilight to fire another beam right in the visor ; the knight let go of his sword which Twilight picked up with magic. Starlight immobilized the monster with a spell and Twilight closed her eyes as she imprinted a vertical cutting motion into the magically lifted sword. Starlight turned away when the blade split open the head of the Darknut through its helmet.
Everyone finally began to get the best of the undead army, its number dwindling away without fresh troops the replace the fallen. The now useless barricade of Boos protecting Zelda, Mario, Luigi and Daisy dissolved and the ghosts went to help destroying the remaining monsters hidden inside the houses. Rainbow Dash and Applejack finally pulverized the last group of Stalhounds rampaging in an alley when Bowser and King Boo rejoined everyone at the central square.
"West all clear !" A Boo reported to them.
"East all clear !" Another said.
"South all clear !" Then another exclaimed.
"Town all clear !" They concluded in unison.
"Thank you for your help", Zelda told King Bulbin.
The ogre-like monster groaned for answer, and he and his remaining troops quickly left the town.
Bowser’s army gathered in the streets : since its arrival, a third had been lost.
"One Mattermouth per street. Shy Guys, burn the corpses outside the city", Bowser ordered.
"As for the rest, clear up the rubble please", Zelda added. "We will bring back the citizens once the city will be ridden of corpses".
"The sewers !" Link suddenly exclaimed.
"Check them out !" King Boo ordered to his minions.
The Boos passed through the ground and reappeared two minutes later.
"Sewers all clear !" One said.
"But not all clean !" Another added.
His companions burst out laughing and they disappeared.
"Hey, you, please !" Epona called out a Boo.
"Yes miss ?"
"Can you go to the East, to Kakariko’s village, and tell us if something has happened there, please ?" Epona asked.
The Boo rocketed in the sky and flew towards the given direction before coming back a minute later.
"All clear ! Citizens sleeping, all lights out, streets empty, graveyard normal. Buddies still patrolling everywhere just in case, they’ll report to you if they find something !" He said.
Epona sighed with relief.
"Can we help ?" Twilight asked Zelda.
"You already helped so much. I think it is time for you to go back to your world. Know that Hyrule is forever indebted to you all", Zelda said to everyone before bowing in gratefulness.
"There’s no debt between friends", Twilight replied with a smile that Zelda shared.
"Once the situation will be normal again, you are welcome to come back anytime", Link declared.
"I’m staying here to supervise the troops", Bowser informed. "It’s up to you to take back our friends to Equestria. Do as you want : stay there or come back here", he told King Boo.
"Are you sure you’ll be alright with all the mess ?" Applejack asked Zelda.
"Do not worry. We will not hesitate to ask for help", Zelda answered. "The castle town will certainly need builders and materials before the city flourish anew", she added with a smile.
"I’m staying here !" Epona exclaimed. "No offense, I love Equestria, but I belong to Hyrule, and I must stay with Link and Illia. I’ll come to see you very often though !"
The ponies, Anita, Mario, Luigi and Daisy said their goodbyes to the Hylians and King Boo teleported them to the portal, still guarded by Boos.
"Everything’s normal on the other side !" One of them reported.
They all jumped inside ; the pipe threw them out brutally, but the clouds of Rainbow Dash’s house cushioned their rough landing. It was the middle of the night in Equestria.
King Boo then teleported them again in Canterlot’s castle : Peach, Celestia and Luna sighed with relief when they all appeared in the dining room.
"Is Hyrule safe ? Is everyone alright ?" Peach asked as she hugged her husband.
"Yes. Those… zombie-things have been destroyed", Twilight replied.
"We wanna help the castle town with the rebuilding though", Starlight added.
"When Bowser’s back, I’ll get some acquaintances in construction, they’ll be happy to help", Applejack said.
"Hey ! Hey ! If you want to talk to Princess Zelda, ask me !" King Boo exclaimed.
"Rulers should help each other", Luna said. "Take us there".
"Wait ! Can you bring us back to Ponyville ?" Pinkie Pie asked.
King Boo complied and teleported the ponies and Anita to Ponyville before coming back and doing the same for Celestia, Luna and Peach.
"Don’t wanna ruin the mood or anythin’, but I’m exhausted", Applejack declared.
"We just... fought zombies, that’s a good excuse for being tired", Twilight replied.
"And it’s the middle of night", Anita observed ; she suddenly realized that the daggers were still in her possession, tucked inside her trousers.
"Err… I think I must give them back…" She spluttered. "I’ll tell King Boo later. I… I kept that Zant’s scimitars to be honest. Just… just in case. They’re… they’re hidden in my house".
"Under normal circumstances, I'd tell you to get rid of them, but… we’re still in danger. I’m not Princess Zelda, but I think it’s better for you to have them under your hoo… hand", Twilight said ; she turned to Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie, I know it sounds… strange, but I wanna check something with Gummy tomorrow, is that okay with you ?"
"Yes, no problem ! But why ? Do... do you think Gummy’s sick ?" Pinkie Pie asked, confused.
"Not at all. Just want to… ask him one or two questions with Fluttershy’s help". Twilight turned to Fluttershy. "You don’t mind, Fluttershy ?"
"No, of course not. But Gummy is… speci… stran… not quite norm… expansive", Fluttershy replied splutteringly.
"It’s okay if it doesn’t work, it’s just something crossing my mind", Twilight smiled.
Wishing each other good night, each pony departed to their respective home.