Link stood in front of the large doorway leading to the court, as the royal announcer said in a loud voice, “Court Day is over, come back tomorrow for your audience! You’ll be heard then!”
Upon hearing that, Link backed away from the door and walked to the side as he didn’t want to be trampled upon when the herd of ponies came through the door to leave.
As the ponies made their way back to the outside of the castle, the silent guard simply prodded Link’s leg with one hoof and pointed it at the open doorway, where Princess Celestia was signing some documentation that her secretary had brought in for her.
Thanking the guard, Link went into the throneroom, and patiently waited for Celestia to speak.
“... I’ll join you in a minute, Link… please, do take a seat, and Miss Inkwell… please ask the maid to bring him some refreshments while he waits for me to be done with this?” Celestia asked her secretary politely, to which the mare nodded once before calmly trotting out of the room.
Link took a seat at one of the chairs awkwardly - though he had to take two of them after trial and error - due to their small size that was meant to be for pony visitors, and took a look around the room in curiosity. His mind soon wandered to the filly that Celestia claimed was her niece, Trinity.
‘And yet she looks nothing like a pony… or an alicorn… maybe she’s an adopted niece?’ Link thought to himself.
Link’s mind started to picture what could produce such a pony… and quickly shook his head to clear his mind from the perverted possibilities involved in her procreation. ‘I’ve been alone in the everfree forest for too long…’ he thought to himself.
Link looked around the room once again, wondering if a maid has arrived yet.
Something liquid should calm him down… assuming Celestia didn’t betray his trust, and something had been snuck into the cup to make him… more compliant.
A soft voice at his other side made him jump, as a sheepish earth pony mare dressed in a frilly maid uniform asked, “Sir? I’ve brought some refreshments… what would you like?” before showing the cart at her side with the wave of one hoof, showing from teapot and cups, to several sweet and salty pastries of vegetarian nature, and a sausage-looking link covered in glass.
Link blinked in surprise that they had sausages here. “Is it actual meat or is it a substitute?” he asked himself quietly.
The maid blinked in surprise, “Oh, sir. It is real meat from approved sources, normally meant for omnivore dignitaries and visitors… and” she blushed a bit as she added, “and since there was talk about you having canines…”
“It doesn’t bother you?” Link asked the maid, before reaching over to take a cup to pour himself some tea to the panic of the mare, before Link said to her “don’t worry too much about me, I can serve myself, but you were saying?”
“Well… it used to, but found that a small bite now and then isn’t nothing to worry about,” she said almost in a whisper, looking at the sides as if hoping that no one overheard her.
‘Guilty pleasures,’ Link mentally said to himself as he was reaching up to pull down his hood. “Would you mind getting some ice cubes? I like my tea cold,” he said.
“Certainly, sir!” the maid said with a smile and a spring, as she reached out to prepare Link his iced tea.
The positive energy the maid generated made Link feel a bit more at ease, especially when she didn’t react to how his face looked - just a man with long elven ears - one of which being damaged by a timberwolf and a scar on his left cheek from the manticore from a week ago.
The noticeable waving of her rear and her tail as she hummed while busy at work, lead Link to think that something was… off about this curious mare.
Redirecting his attention elsewhere, Link tried to focus on his plate that had some pastries and looked again at the sausage link, just so that no one would catch him staring at her flank by accident. He looked again at the sausages under the glass, and picked up three pieces for himself.
‘Heh, only thing missing are toothpicks.’ Link said mentally to himself along with a quiet laugh. Link waits for his iced tea before eating what he gathered.
Humming in a cute tone, the maid handed Link over a taller cup of ice cubes with her teeth on the handle, before stepping a little distance, waiting for if he wanted to ask anything else.
Link takes the cup and nods a thanks to her. “That’ll all, Miss.” he said before using the ice proffered to make himself his iced tea, taking a sip out of the cup. Link’s mind wandered to the topic: why did the maidmare felt off to him?
Link shook the thought off his mind, blaming it to his paranoia just doing the talking.
“Umm… you are welcome, sir,” the maid said shyly… and perhaps a little too hopeful in her tone, for Link’s imagination - right as she took her cart with her, a spring in her step as she shook her tail a little bit too happy.
Link looked away from the scene with a frown on his face, as he doesn’t want to get into that sort of trouble, it’s already been hard on him for those ten years ever since he arrived.
“Oh, Link… sorry for making you wait,” the gentle voice of the Princess distracted Link from his own attempt at distracting himself from the retiring maid, as her voice came in fact from behind his head, him realizing that she had also seen what just transpired, “but I hope that Serving Cup served you well, she is such a shy lil’ pony around new guests.”
Link’s inner alarms triggered, as he realized she said the last part in amusement very well concealed.
“She did alright, nothing wrong there,” Link said as took another sip of tea, starting to sweat from his inner paranoia parading inside his mind.
“Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the sausage, I hear that it is quite… fishy, from a peculiar kind only found in Manehattan,” Celestia teased a little, before adding, “as for our interview… why don’t we move to a more… comfortable setting. You seem to be still stressed out after your spar with Sans.”
Link took another nervous sip of his tea, only to find out he had drunk the whole cup.
‘Oh for the love of Nayru, can this get any worse?’ Link mentally asked himself as he placed the cup down and finished the rest of his sausage. He was really hoping that Celestia wasn’t planning anything of whatever he was thinking.
Following her down the corridors, cup on saucer in hand, she made her way to one particular door, before turning her head to meet his thoughtful frown, and said teasingly, “I imagine that the study would be a good place for our meeting, is it not? Even if the couches at my room are much comfortable.”
“Celestia, please…” Link said with a sigh as he got up to follow her. “I’m just here for whatever you need me for, I mean you no disrespect or offense, though…” he said to her, feeling at this point, he’s had enough teasing from her and the world.
Celestia giggled at his awkwardness, before replying kindly, “Oh, my little displaced, I was just teasing you a little, since you seem to think I’ll be chaining you in the dungeon for a week for a good whipping, when all I want to know more about you, then discuss the terms for my job offer.”
“That’s not the case... I just...” Link said as he rubbed the back of his head. “I’m just not used to being around ponies that’s all.”
“Oh, that is understandable, especially since you’ve even kept yourself outside of other species’ radar, no matter how grateful they were and are… but why?” she asked with genuine concern at the end of her comment.
“I’m a human. I don’t exactly belong here among ponies or the races of Equestria. While I honestly thought I was the only human here, I just learned otherwise when I met Sans, who explained what I had become into. But now? Seeing as there’s no way home, I’ve finally decided to reveal myself,” Link explained to Celestia, who nodded wisely.
After what seemed like a couple of seconds of wisely nodding, though, Celestia said with a grin, “Oh, I think the world revealed you instead, my little hero… nopony is an island, and too much solitude can actually drive one mad, perhaps the reason of your existence is showing up soon enough?”
“Perhaps… perhaps.. “ Link said with uncertainty in his voice. “For now, I’d just like to settle somewhere and start a new life.”
Link felt soft feathers against the back of his neck as a large, swan-like wing draped on his shoulder, while the Princess looked at him warmly, “that, my little hero, is part of what we are going to be talking about.”
The study, to Link’s still fraying nerves, was like an oasis of peace in the middle of the desert - especially after getting used to the silence of the forest. The place was draped in great taste, with dark woods adorning every nook and cranny, while the books contained in several bookcases showed great artistic merit from their covers alone.
“S-so.. uh..” Link began as he looked around the study. His nerves did manage to relax a little to the sounds of a ticking grandfather clock.
“Oh, Link… do take a couch, so we can converse a little.” Celestia offered kindly, while she waved a wing at the seats on one side of the study, a mahogany table close by, where Link placed his cup and saucer before taking a seat.
Lucky for him, Link felt relieved to see that the seats were a lot better than those small ones back in the throne room, and now it doesn’t feel so awkward to sit for him.
“Do feel free to recline, Link… they are made for Alicorns, after all.” Celestia said to him tenderly as she took her place in the other couch, it supporting her barrel as she tucked in her legs. Taking her advice, he lays onto the couch, enjoying the comfort it offered, swinging his legs off, he immediately returned to a sitting position when he realized that his boots haven’t had a proper wash yet.
“Sorry about that.” Link said, before thinking out… he hasn’t even had a decent bath in a long time, other than cleaning himself in the river… making him berate himself inwardly for not coming out of hiding sooner.
“... If you’d want to, you could always ask any of the castle servants to help with your laundry, Link, and the room I’ll be lending you until a better one is arranged for will have the normal pleasantries. There is a bathhouse in the castle’s basement, but I barely have the chance to use it nowadays.” Celestia replied to Link’s unasked question, while clearing up the swirling storm of self-doubt and shame at his state.
“Yea, what with you being royalty and all, you must be really busy most of the time,” Link said, feeling a little bit better, now that Celestia is offering him some things. “Plus, now that I can relax a little, I’ll be able to learn a few things about my powers.” he said.
“You don’t know your full potential?” Celestia asked with curiosity at him.
“Other than what I discovered about my pocket dimension of an inventory, and the items I’ve found in it, no.” Link answered truthfully. Thus far in his Displaced life, he’s used mostly what he remember from his games, not deeming himself worthy yet of wielding the Master Sword.
Celestia clicked her tongue at Link’s confession, before adding with a good dose of cheer, “at least now you’ll have an excuse and the time to do so, perhaps even train with the Guards while at it. And of course, if you’re willing to share with them what knowledge and tools that have helped you through the years, then I’m certain that you’ll be more than welcomed in their midst, Link.”
“If they don’t mind a tall bipedal creature training with them.” Link said jokingly.
“Oh, they need the practice! Even at this time in our history, we still have little in the way of visitors from elsewhere, that with all the monster attacks ravaging the trade routes between towns and cities.” Celestia commented off-hoofedly as she teleported a pot of tea and the respective cup and saucer next to it, serving herself a cup before asking Link, “would you like some jazmin tea? It is quite calming for troubled spirits!”
For some reason that last sentence sounded… familiar to Link. “No, that’s alright,” he replied while waving his hand, mentally waving it off, thinking it probably not important.
After serving herself, and taking a sip of her cup, Celestia sked softly to him, “how was it… to be alone for seven years, not trusting anypony close to you?”
“Actually, it’s ten years...” Link corrected her before getting back on topic. “And it was troublesome, the timberwolves and the monsters didn’t help make it any better. Actually... To be truthful, I only met one pony, a fortune teller to be exact.” Link explained before he raised his hand. “You see, one of my options was to gather the other parts of the Triforce and wish my way back... But, that plan backfired when I couldn’t find the bearers of this world,” he said.
Understanding crossed Celestia’s eyes, as she asked him softly, “what drove you to live, Link? Most would have given up at that point in their lives, their hope crumbling to dust before their very eyes…”
“... The thought of the lives of others being harmed is what drove me to keep living. If I died, my ghost would most likely not find peace...” Link said as he looked toward the ceiling.
‘Much like a certain hero’s shade…’ Link finished the sentence in his head.
Celestia looked at him with sad eyes, before replying to him softly, “You may say that to everypony that asks, Link - and I do admire that determination to see it through - but it feels odd, especially when I look at your eyes, and all I see is absolute sadness, sadness about your situation, being the only one of your kind in this world…”
“In a way, yes. However, I’m looking forward to meeting others who have suffered the same fate as me. All I need to do, is find their token, but I won’t summon them right away until they’ve gained my trust,” Link said cautiously.
“What about others in this world? Have you ever thought about it? Shooting roots to finally have a place to call home, rather than keeping on the move, unable to connect with anyone?” Celestia asked him with her eyes showing the same concern at his state.
“I… uh…” Link went dead silent, his mouth was opening and closing but no words were forming. Link eventually spoke his answer, a little bit too high-strung for his taste, “I suppose I could try, I mean - we’re getting along, right?” he said before thinking for a moment, “and I spent time with the Dancer family when I was in the hospital… Yeah, I... think I could...” Link said.
A soft feeling covered him, only for Link to realize that Celestia had risen from her place quietly and was actually hugging him with her wing. At first, Link was going to protest, but her warmth had a strange affect him as all the negativity melted away from his mind… slowly, he relaxed under her grasp before letting out a sigh of relief.
“I’ve lived in the wilderness and the Everfree for far too long. And I believe Moon Dancer is the one to thank for me being here at all, even if I did almost die trying to get her to safety,” Link said, now relinquishing himself to his slot in life, as if fate was guiding him, saying to him that it was time to let go.
Celestia simply tightened her hug a little moment before letting him go.
“You’ll find out that us ponies are far much more physical when we want to show our feelings to others, Link,” Celestia said as she lowered herself back on her couch, taking another sip from her teacup.
“... That explains a lot.” Link said with a smile, all this time he thought it was something else.
Realization soon dawned on him that perhaps the ponies are kind of like children, main reason they’ve been so accepting of him thus far. Now, with that thought in his mind, he felt really stupid about wasting ten years of his life in the middle of nowhere.
“And now your eyes are a little more alive, my little human,” Celestia noted with a smile on her face.
“Why do you keep calling me your little something? Little displaced, little hero, little human. Why is that?” Link asked in curiosity.
She straightened out, and craned her neck towards Link, who himself approached her with him craning his neck to hear her out.
“You want to know why I call you ‘my little something’, right?” she asked him in a low, conspiratorial tone, while eyeing him seriously.
“Is it some sort of tradition?” Link asked.
“... Not really, but is a term I made on accident when I literally outlived all my relations, over two thousand years ago, Link,” Celestia confided with a little sadness in her voice, before it straightened out, “as time passed, I realized that all my subjects, and even those that are not and come to Equestria… they are like my little relatives, my little ponies, and I welcome them as if they are part of the family - only being stern when my trust is abused by any of them.”
“I like that, Celestia. A family has the most trust then just friendship, or so I’ve always believed,” Link said with another smile, before asking, “so.. uh… how many of your kind is there? I mean I’ve read up on how alicorns are immortal, but I didn’t find anything else on the subject,” he explained.
Celestia’s ears splayed back on her head as she turned her head to a side, looking at the moon outside the window.
“Only three of us… Me, Trinity, and Cadance for now, Link… but I have hope, that someday… I’ll not be as alone as I have been for the last millennia.”
Hearing Celestia say that made Link’s heartache. “I-is there a way to get more of your kind? Was there more in the past? Anything?” Link asked, deeply concerned about the ruler’s feelings on the matter, as well as seeing her as vulnerable as he was looking her now.
“Of my age?... Only one… but a few years ago a filly ascended into demi-godhood after dealing with a possessed pony using emotion magic to steal love for herself.” She smiled wanly before adding, “this last eight years have been good for me, my niece Cadance is adorable, and has kept us both good company. Then there is my niece Trinity, a loving filly, came to me at a later time than Cadance, but the two of them have been my light in these dark years.”
“I hope this doesn’t come off rude but, what can you tell me about Trinity? She doesn’t exactly look like you, an alicorn I mean,” Link asked slowly, hoping not to cause offense with his host.
Celestia went silent, face scrunched in thought, pondering how to answer Link… before she relaxed, and said to him, “She was a divine gift to me, Link… sent to me so I could focus my emotions and raise her like a daughter to me, while I waited for the destined day…”
“What about the mirror on her back?” Link asked.
“To be honest, she came with it on her back, and while it is a part of her, it is not - so I imagine nothing harmful will happen if she were to lose it,” Celestia replied serenely, before adding, “I know, since she let me borrow it once for study - never got too far with it.”
“I can shine some truth on it. That mirror is something called the Twilight Mirror, it is used to transport one to the Twilight Realm, although what it’s doing here is what I’m concerned about. It shouldn’t even be here outside of hyrule...” Link explained.
“That… that is a new name, Link. The one I know about was known as Shadow Realm - and its ruler tried to conquer our world once - we managed to prevent him from doing that, but he took with him an entire kingdom of our kind with him,” Celestia said with sadness in her voice, as if looking at a particularly bad memory.
“The place is… well, it's hard to explain, but you’ll know it if you see floating black particles and the sky in constant twilight. The people in it are bipedal, black and white with green tattoos on its arms or legs. Does the ruler have anything similar on his body?” Link asked.
Celestia splayed her ears as she said forlornly, “Not really, but he took the shape of a black unicorn… and yet could face me and my si-” she caught herself, before rephrasing, “he was much more powerful than us, so all we could do was separate him from his kingdom in the shadows - but he took ours with him instead, in his defeat.”
Link went into silence as he thought about it. ‘Could Trinity be a Displaced like me?’ Link asked himself mentally before turning his head toward the royal white alicorn. “Hmm... that’s all the questions I have for now, Princess Celestia.” he said.
“So tell me, Link… which was the best place you remained in for a while when outside our borders?” Celestia inquired with earnest interest, as she looked at him hopefully.
Link looked thoughtful, before relaxing and saying, “well, there was this town…”
“And that’s about it.” Link finishing explaining what was outside of Equestria.
“It is good to see that some things haven’t changed outside our borders, Link… but I do feel concerned about the monsters you’ve been forced to fight - they aren’t part of our world,” Celestia commented while frowning in thought.
“I had a feeling they weren’t,” Link responded.
“Look at the time!” Celestia pointed out with wide eyes as she looked at the clock, showing that they were past two in the early morning, “I’ll ask the guard outside to take you to the prepared quarters, and tomorrow we’ll talk about my job proposal, does it sound right?” She asked him with a little hint of worry in her voice.
“Oh by Din’s might, sorry about that, Celestia,” Link said then snorted a giggle. “Looks like our job meeting turned into Q & A about my life.”
Celestia giggled at his good-humored answer, before saying to Link, “and yet you do look better after our reunion, my little hero, perhaps talking helped you more than we both realized?”
“And I thank you for that, I haven’t had a good conversation in a long time, you’ve allowed me to get a lot off of my chest.” Link said with a smile.
Celestia smiled warmly at Link before turning to the door, calling out, “Guard! Please escort my guest to the room meant for him, then you have permission to go the barracks and rest.”
The door opened up, and a guard came in, saying, “By your will, my liege. Sir, please come this way…” before waving his hoof to Link, motioning him to follow after him.
Link got up, bowing to Celestia respectfully before following the guard to his new temporary room.
After she was left alone in the now lonely study, Celestia sighed in quietly before looking at the moon outside the window.
“Soon, my little sister… soon my hope and wish will come true… and will welcome you back with open wings.”
With that said, she teleported to her quarters…
And the moon shimmered in the quiet of night.