Twilight Sparkle stretched out by the fire in one of her castle's sitting rooms, contentedly rereading Little Mares while her friends amicably chatted around her. They had all finished their work early that day and had opted to spend the evening together, enjoying a small meal before moving to a more comfortable spot and just relaxing in the warmth of each other's company. Rainbow Dash lay on the couch above her with the latest Daring Do installment, Rarity was trying out different braids in Applejack's mane while the farmpony simply relaxed under the seamstress's gentle massages, Starlight Glimmer was writing her in her own friendship journal she had started, Fluttershy sat next to Twilight, grooming Owlucious and humming a gentle lullaby, and Pinkie Pie was furiously scribbling down ideas for her next party while sitting upside-down in one of the plush chairs.
Overall, the atmosphere was one of quiet contentment; a little slice of perfection.
Rainbow Dash Threw her book down in disgust, startling everypony in the room.
"Rainbow, darling, is something the matter?"
"Yeah. I'm bored."
"Bored?" Twilight was shocked. "But you love Daring Do!"
"I'm not bored with Daring Do!" Rainbow took to the air as she ranted. "I just wish I could go on an adventure like her! We used to save the world like every other day! First with Nightmare Moon, then Discord, Tirek, the Changeling invasion during Shining Armor and Cadence's wedding, all the way up to the time when the Cutie Map sent us to Starlight's vilage! But the last time we had anything remotely close to that was Flurry Heart's Crystalling almost three years ago! I need adventure!"
"What about when Starlight and I went back in time?" Twilight pointed out. "Or when she, Trixie, and Discord stopped another changeling attack, even dethroning Chrysalis? Don't those count?"
"No! Well, yeah, I guess, but I didn't get to go on them!"
"You know," Fluttershy interjected, "It would be nice to get away for a while."
"Indeed," Rarity agreed. "A change of pace right now would be good for us, I think. And I know just the place to go!"
She quickly galloped out of the room and down the hall, everypony else promptly following. The room they all ended up in was just down the hall, but boasted a very different setting. A series of boxes, tubes, wires, and meters sprawled interconnected to each other around the room, creating a very complex-looking machine which was hooked up to a tall mirror standing amidst the chaos.
"The human world?" Applejack questioned, her half-done braid hanging loosely around her face.
"The human world!" Rarity dramatically responded. "I mean, think about it darlings. We've all wanted to go there before, but we couldn't because we were worried about the confusion of having two of each of us all in the same school. But it's summer now, and our human selves will be out of school until Autumn. All we would have to do is send Sunset Shimmer a message through Twilight's journal informing her as to our arrival, pop in for a week, see their world, and then safely return when we are through. It's the perfect plan for a change of pace!"
"Hmmmm. Traveling to another world, getting to see what it's like to be human, pranking the entire town with my other self...count me in!"
"Sounds good to me."
"It would be nice to see Sunset again."
"Yay."
"Double Pinkie Party!"
Twilight sighed and let out a small chuckle. "Alright, alright. I'll write Sunset tonight. Maybe we can study those geodes she's told me about together. Everypony get your things together and we'll leave at dawn."
Everypony cheered in unison before bidding her and Starlight farewell and heading home to get ready for their new adventure. Twilight simply shared a laugh with Starlight while heading to the library to let Sunset Shimmer know about this recent turn of events.
The next day, Applejack was up bright and early. Well, early, but it was still before sunrise, so maybe not bright. She went about her daily routine: taking a shower, brushing out her mane, and tying it in its typical knot before brushing her teeth and heading downstairs, letting her nose lead her straight to a stack of Big Mac's apple flapjacks. She greeted everypony good morning before sitting herself down and slathering a layer of pear butter on her breakfast.
As she ate, she sat back and took in the world around her. The farm was a might bit busier these days than it had been not too long ago. The Sweet Apple Admirers had seen to that. Even this early, she could hear them in the barn, where they were staying until more homesteads could be built, getting ready for the day's work. It hadn't been easy at first. Several of the Admirers had just wanted a free ride as part of the Apple Family, and had quickly been sent away. A sizable group, however, were earnest about their desire to join the family, and after the first blank-flank colt earned an apple cutie mark working in the fields, how could they say no? And thanks to the newly added pear fields, they actually had enough work to keep everypony busy.
Applejack sipped her coffee. She wasn't too worried about taking the week off. She was still the best applebucker on the farm, but they could manage without her. Besides, it wasn't even harvest season yet.
She turned her sights away from the window and surveyed her family around her. Big Mac was taking the last batch of flapjacks off the stove, Granny Smith was rocking quietly in the living room, sipping her coffee and giving her old joints a chance to stop aching, Grandpear was, against her insistence, packing a large basket of foods for her and her friends, and Applebloom....was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey Mac, y'all seen Applebloom this mornin'?"
"Nope."
"Here I am!" Applejack turned to see the young mare coming down the stairs. She had outgrown the pink bow she used to wear in her mane, and instead opted for a hat similar to AJ's, which had been a gift from Grandpear. She looked good in it, and it suit her spunky personality perfectly, but Applejack didn't like it. It made her look too grown up.
Applebloom trotted into the living room with a spring in her step and set her hat and a pair of saddlebags down next to Applejack's before joining her at the breakfast table. Applejack raised an eyebrow at her around her coffee mug.
"And where do ya think yer goin'?"
Applebloom chewed her lip for a second before sheepishly meeting her eyes. "Um, with you?"
AJ shot coffee out her nose. "Excuse me?!"
"Rainbow Dash and Rarity are taking Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, so I thought that I could go with you!"
The farmpony slapped a hoof across her face. Of course Rainbow would want her sister and number one admirer with her on her new great "adventure," and Rarity had been looking for new ways of bonding with Sweetie Belle ever since that disaster of a day when she realized that all their old activities just didn't cut it anymore, but Applejack didn't need an admirer, and the farmwork they did together was their bonding activity. Besides, she was well aware of the chaos the Crusaders were capable of causing just in Ponyville; she didn't want to find out what kind of trouble they could get themselves into in a whole other world. But, if Rainbow and Rarity were taking their sisters...
"Ah just know ah'm gonna regret this. Alright, y'all can come, so long as ya behave yerself."
The young mare let out a very filly-ish squeal of delight before grabbing her hat and bags, hugging her family goodbye, and galloping out the door in the direction of Twilight's castle. Big Mac let out a low chuckle as he watched her go, then hugged Applejack goodbye as she quickly rushed after her sister.
Twilight rushed around the room, checking, re-checking, and triple-checking all the meters and dials on her machine, as she always did whenever she used the mirror. The Dash sisters had finally arrived, which meant that everypony was present and ready to go, though Rarity was unsurprisingly more prepared than the rest. Satisfied with the readings, Twilight levitated the journal into its slot and nodded to Spike, who pulled a series of levers and started the machine, which churned and hissed before the swirling purple gateway appeared across the mirror's surface.
"Everypony ready?" she called.
"READY!"
"Canterlot High, here we come!" With that, they all took off toward the portal. Ten ponies and one dragon later, the room stood empty once again, with only the hum of the portal to disturb the crystalline silence.
Inside the portal, Twilight found herself within the burning rainbow vortex that was the aether. Most of the other ponies were freaking out at the uncomfortable distorting sensation, but she greeted it as an old friend, closing her eyes and just relaxing as their group was guided toward their destination. A second later, however, she felt a different odd sensation that caused her to snap her eyes open once again.
Then came the voices.
Now my moment has finally come.
She looked around at the others and could tell by their expressions that they, too, had heard the voice.
Brace yourself, Ganon, for the sting of my revenge!
There was a strange buzzing sound, followed by a massive BOOM! It reminded Twilight of the sound of a large spell being charged and released. Judging by the tingling in her horn, she guessed that she wasn't too far off. Suddenly, the voice was joined by another, then another, and another!
This will be our final opportunity. We will not fail! bzztBOOM!
Let's go, little guy! Now! Open up wide, Ganon! bzztBOOM!
A hundred years in the making....Hold on, Princess. Our moment has arrived! bzztBOOM!
With each successive boom, Twilight's horn tingled more and more. She could see the exit portal approaching fast, but she also felt the magic releases pulling at her and the others, trying to pull them towards the source. Finally, with a loud whoosh and a final concussive BOOOOM!, her horn fully ignited as the magic forces drew each other in, and Twilight could only watch in horror as she, Rarity, Starlight, and Sweetie Belle were violently wrenched away from the portal to the human world and dragged in another direction through the aether. In a desperate attempt to save their friends, the other ponies (and dragon) latched onto their tails and tried to pull them back on course, but whatever magic that was reeling them in was overwhelming in strength, and all they succeeded in doing was pulling themselves along with them. The ten ponies and one dragon let out a collective scream in pure terror as they found themselves rocketing toward another portal, passing through the bright light and into the unknown world beyond.
The spirit of King Roham Bosphoramus Hyrule hung above the ruins of Hyrule castle, the spirits of the four champions at his sides. In front of them stretched the great fields of the Central Providence, scarred with trenches and scorches from the hero's battle with the Calamity only two weeks past. The castle below them was almost completely collapsed in on itself, and the ruins of Castle Town now had fresh debris littering its grounds, though the Malice that had spread across both locations was finally gone, the crimson fog that had swirled around the area had dissipated, and the Guardians had returned to a dormant state, so the area didn't seem threatening anymore at all. It simply stood there, a reminder of the failures of the past.
Turning his gaze back to the marred fields, he watched as his daughter and the hero mounted their steeds and rode east as the sun began to set, and his heart swelled with pride at the woman she had become and the path she had set out before herself, and he finally felt that it was the right time to leave this world behind. The Calamity was defeated, no new threats loomed on the horizon, and the future of the once-great kingdom rested on two of the most capable individuals there were. At last, their work was done, and he and his Champions could claim their well-deserved rest.
As the forms of the Champions around him faded away and he released his spirit from its worldly anchor, he glimpsed a flash of light in the town ruins before him, and as he watched, a multicolored sphere grew near the old fountain before fading away and leaving several dark shapes in its wake.
As he, too, faded from this world, he uttered one final sentiment.
"My dear Zelda, Champion Link, may the winds of life blow in your favor."