The human stood between the ponies and the two remaining lizard creatures, the girls still in shock from what had just happened. The three groups just stood there, watching each other, until the monsters once again started to circle their prey, this time targeting the more dangerous human. One of them had some sort of forked sword, while the other held a barbed spear in both of its claws. Twilight watched in fascination as the human shifted its gaze back and forth between the two of them, always making sure to know where each was. When her brother was in training in the royal guard, she would sometimes visit him in the barracks or watch him spar with his comrades. This reminded her a lot of that, the way this human was acting. From switching his attention every few moments to the way he shifted his stance as the creatures moved to the tensing and relaxing of muscles waiting to spring into action at a moment’s notice, everything this man did reminded Twilight of a trained soldier, well versed in the art of combat.
Without warning, the one with the spear opened its mouth and lashed toward the human with a brightly colored tongue. The slimy muscle shot forward several feet, nearly hitting their rescuer in the back of the head until, at the very last moment, the human launched his counter. Ducking under the attack, he dropped his shield and grabbed the creature’s tongue, wrapping it around his arm to keep his grip as the other monster charged the man with its forked sword. The human knocked the sword aside with his own and quickly retaliated with a slash of his own, severing the creature’s head from its neck, before turning around and yanking hard on the tongue still in his grip. The remaining lizard, caught completely off guard, dropped its spear as it lurched forward several feet, impaling itself upon the human’s waiting blade.
With a final surprised squawk, the lizard’s eyes closed and its body slumped to the ground, its colorful tongue unraveling itself from the human’s arm as both bodies, plus whatever was left from the two behind them, began to seemingly dissolve in purple smoke. The human sheathed his sword and turned toward them.
“Is everyone alright?”
The ponies stood in shock at the scene they had just witnessed. Rainbow Dash and Spike stood slackjawed at how awesome this human was, while Fluttershy looked like she was about to cry for the dead lizards. Applejack regarded him with what looked like solemn respect in her eyes, Twilight leaning heavily upon her out of exhaustion. Rarity had fainted and was now lying in the dirt, and Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down in excitement. The Cutie Mark Crusaders didn’t seem to know how to feel about what they had just witnessed. Starlight simply stared wide-eyed, studying the human.
He looked to be about twenty, if she remembered the human growth cycle properly. He had alluring blue eyes and a shaggy mop of blonde hair, some of which was held back by a blue hair tie. His clothing consisted of A rugged red tunic, dust-colored pants, and floppy boots with a black hood hanging off his shoulders. Pieces of armor were strapped to his shoulders, gloves, and boots, and he had an impressive looking arsenal slung across his back consisting of a bow, a sturdy-looking shield, and a sword with a leather-wrapped hilt. A quiver of assorted arrows hung from his waist. What really caught Starlight’s eye, however, were the man’s ears. They were long and pointed, a simple earring looping around the left earlobe. As far as she could remember, none of the humans she had met had pointed ears, but rather small, round ears that folded against their head rather then sticking out.
The man seemed a little uncomfortable with the way they were staring at him, clearing his throat and repeating his question.
“Did anybody get hurt?”
Several of them shook their heads, snapping back to reality. Applejack approached him, Twilight still leaning heavily against her. “Thank ya kindly fer rescuin’ us. I’m pretty sure we’d ‘ave been a lot worse off if ya hadn’t shown up when ya did.”
By this point, Twilight was exhausted. The princess had suffered a magical overload from some unknown source, fallen into an unknown world, broken her wing, endured the excruciating process of trying to reset the broken bones, and then walked several miles through hills and trenches in that condition before finally being attacked by monsters she didn’t recognize. She had had no food and only what water she had packed in a single bottle. She could barely even process what was happening anymore. All this was too much for the pony to handle, and she collapsed on the spot.
“Twilight!” ten voices all exclaimed at once. The ponies (and dragon) rushed to her side, Fluttershy, dead lizards now forgotten, pushing her way forward and feeling Twilight’s forehead with a hoof.
“She’s exhausted, poor thing.” She turned her gaze to the man standing over them. “Please sir, our friend is badly hurt. She needs help.”
The man snapped out of his surprise, having not noticed the wounded one until now. “Right, there’s a stable a little to the south. It’s pretty much a straight shot from here. They have food, water, and…do you guys sleep on the ground or in beds?”
“On the ground?” Rainbow sounded offended. “She needs a bed, you numbskull!”
The man just nodded, ignoring Rainbow’s insult and maneuvering around the colorful pegasus now hovering in his face. He crouched down beside the purple one.
“Is it safe to pick her up?”
Fluttershy looked over Twilight for a moment before turning back to the man. “That should be okay, just be careful not to move her wing too much.”
Wordlessly, the man slid his arms beneath the unconscious mare and pulled her against his chest, careful to mind the yellow one’s warning about her wing. He started down the road wordlessly, the other ponies following behind him. The one in his arms was surprisingly light.
The trip to the stable wasn’t a very long one, even walking, but it still allowed him time to get lost in his thoughts as he observed these creatures around him.
They look like regular ponies, well, except that one. He looks like a lizalfos hatchling, almost. Wait, why is he eating rupees? Spike had indeed found some gems on the side of the road and was currently munching on them. He burped, letting out a small tongue of fire. Okay, so he's a dragon. The rest just seem to be ponies of some kind, but why are they so colorful? And what's with the wings and horns? Obviously the ones with wings can fly, but what are the horns for? And what about the ones that don't have either? Are they some kind of inferior breed? He looked down at the pony in his arms. This one has wings and a horn, so does that make her superior to the others? Their leader, perhaps? He wasn't too surprised about them being able to talk. There were animals in Hyrule's past who had been known to be able to speak. One owl had even been mentioned by name in the history records. Even so, he'd never even heard of animals like these.
Before long, the stable had come into view: a large tent with horse stalls off to the side, gated livestock, and lots of open space. Crates of supplies were stacked here and there, and a large bird-man stood outside, serenading passerby with his accordion. A young woman dressed similar to himself, minus the armor, was helping one of the stable hands groom the horses, though she quickly stopped and waved when she saw him approaching.
“Link! You’re back!” She had a beaming smile on her face as she approached him, though her cheerful demeanor quickly faltered when she saw the rest of the company. “What’s going on?”
“Zelda,” He grunted. “I need your help real quick. We need to pay for an extra bed.”
“What? Whatever for?”
“Just trust me on this one.” He turned to another of the young ladies tending the horses. “Excuse me, could you help me treat this pony please?”
The group all headed inside, past the young woman the man had called Zelda, who was now speaking with a counter clerk about bedding arrangements. Upon hearing hooves clopping on the wood floor, the clerk turned their way and his jaw dropped.”
“S-sir!” He stammered. “I-I’m sorry, but you can’t bring your ponies in here! They’ll have to wait outside, like all the other horses!”
“No can do, partner.” Applejack stated matter-of-factly, causing both the clerk and the young woman to jump in surprise. “Our friend is hurt, and we ain’t leavin’ her side.”
“O-oh, um, o-of course, whatever you like.” The man left the tent, muttering something about bad mushrooms.
By this point, the man called Link had set Twilight down on one of the stable’s many beds. Her friends all gathered around as close as they could, but they left a fair amount of space for Link and the stable hand to work. After a few minutes of examining her, the stable girl looked at Link.
“Well, I don’t know anything about broken wings, but I do know that this pony is weak and dehydrated, and I suspect the wing is causing her a great deal of pain. I would recommend getting her plenty to eat and drink, rest would help too.”
Link nodded and the girl stood and left, then he turned to the other ponies. “You heard her, she needs to eat something, but I don’t know what your diet is like. If I supply ingredients, could one of you cook something?”
The pink one started jumping around excitedly. “Ooh, ooh. I can! I can!” Her voice was surprisingly high-pitched, hurting his head a little.
Before long, several of the ponies had gathered around the cooking pot outside. Zelda had given them a fair portion of their supplies to work with, and the hyperactive one had wasted no time in getting to work, along with the white one. The yellow one and the lighter purple one had elected to stay with the darker purple one, the orange one and the colorful one had gone to the river to fill some extra water bottles Link had given them, and the three younger ones, along with the dragon, had fallen asleep in the shade of a nearby tree.
Link himself leaned against a cart off by the horse stalls. He had shed most of his equipment, now sporting a more casual tunic with no armor and a lightweight sword on his back. After a few minutes, Zelda came outside and joined him, placing some empty bottles on the cart. She was dressed similar to him in a simple tunic and vest, basic traveler’s garb. Her hair was a few shades lighter than his own, but her eyes were just as blue. Her most prized possession, a stone slate-looking device, hung from her hip.
The two simply stood in silence for a few minutes, watching as the orange and rainbow ponies returned with full bottles of water in their saddlebags and the pink and white ones continued in their cooking frenzy. Link worried for briefly about the large portion of ingredients they were using, but dismissed it after remembering just how many they were cooking for. He could always replace whatever they took at the market at home, anyway.
“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Zelda spoke up, bringing him out of his thoughts. “They seem to be incredibly intelligent, even as much as our own species. They’re able to cook and communicate, they seem to have some knowledge of medicine, they can craft, if their saddlebags are any indication, and they even style their own manes.”
Link nodded. These ponies were definitely more than they first appeared. “I wonder why they’re so colorful. And what do you think the horns and wings mean?”
“The color variations are probably common among their species. I’m guessing the same goes for the brands they have on their flanks. The wings are obviously for flight.” Link rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. “As for the horns, I actually asked one of them about them—the purple one with the green in her mane. Her name is Starlight Glimmer, by the way. According to her, the horns allow for the conduction of magic. Ooh, look!”
She pointed to the ponies by the cooking pot. The white one was currently levitating several objects and ingredients around them in a blue aura. A matching aura could be seen around her horn.
“Huh. So they can use magic.”
“Yes, and I suspect they can probably do much more than that. According to Starlight Glimmer, she and Twilight Sparkle, the injured one, have been studying magic for most of their lives.”
Link let out a low whistle. “They must be pretty powerful then.” Another thought occurred to him. “That reminds me, the one with the broken wing…what did you say her name was?”
“Twilight Sparkle.”
“Right.” What a weird name. “She has both wings and a horn, while the rest have one or the other, and the orange, pink, and smaller yellow ones don’t have either. Do you think that might indicate some sort of social structure? Maybe the ones with both are a kind of superior race while the ones with neither are inferior, and the others are some kind of middle class?”
Zelda let out a laugh at his musings. “You know, before, you probably wouldn’t have wondered about such things. I suppose some of my habits have rubbed off on you. Still, they’re good questions. They don’t seem to treat each other as if there’s any existing class difference, but it’s possible that they could be an exception to their kinds regular social patterns.” The two of them mulled this over for a few moments, though not for very long, as a shrill voice soon called out to them.
“Food’s ready!”