Before long, the ten ponies, one dragon, and two humans were each served with a bowl of rice topped with eggs and truffles, plus a few seasonings that Link didn’t remember giving them.
No meat, he noticed. Maybe they’re vegetarians. It’d make sense, I guess.
The dish itself was surprisingly flavorful for its simplicity; those two ponies really knew how to cook. Most of the ponies ate under the trees outside while Link, Zelda, and the lighter purple pony, Starlight Glimmer, all sat inside with the darker purple one, Twilight Sparkle, as Starlight was trying to wake her.
“Twilight. Twilight!”
Slowly, the injured pony began to come around, her eyes opening partially, but not seeming to really be looking at anything.
“Whass goin on?” she slurred.
“It’s okay,” Starlight assured her, “We’re safe now. I brought you some food, so you need to eat and get your strength back.”
Twilight nodded, starting to sit up. For a second, she seemed to be doing alright. That is, until she saw Link and Zelda sitting next to her. Her mind wasn’t fully awake yet, and she didn’t remember recent events, so she let out a yelp and tried to scramble away from them, only for a shot of pain to run through her wing when she tried to use it. She immediately stopped trying to get away, her eyes welling with tears from the pain and her memories returning as Starlight tried to calm her down.
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re safe now, they’re not going to hurt you…”
Link watched as Twilight gradually calmed down, taking deep breaths as Starlight instructed. She apologized to the two of them for freaking out, promising that they would have a chance to talk once she had eaten. Throughout the meal, she kept fidgeting, probably a nervous habit if he had to guess, but it kept causing pain in her wing.
“If you want,” he spoke up, “I could help you with your wing.”
Twilight looked at him with hopeful eyes. “You could?”
Link nodded, getting up from his spot on the next bed and moving to stand behind her. He hovered his hands over the area of her wing causing her the most pain and closed his eyes, took a deep breath, before a pale glow began emanating from his palms.
Twilight visibly relaxed as the magic flowed into her wing, easing the aching muscles and the sharp pain in her bones. “What is that?” she asked.
“Healing magic,” Link chuckled, not . “A gift from a friend of mine. I’m just using it to ease the pain, though. If we want to get your wing properly treated, we’ll need to visit the Rito.”
“The Rito?” The pony was now curious.
“They’re a bird-like people to the west of here,” Zelda explained. “However, that can wait. We haven’t had the chance to properly introduce ourselves. My name is Zelda, and the man behind you is my friend and protector, Link.”
Twilight nodded in respect. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and this is my student, Starlight Glimmer.”
“We’ve met already,” Zelda smiled at Starlight, then turned to Twilight and bowed slightly. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess.”
Twilight blushed. “Please, just call me Twilight. I don’t like being called so formally.”
Behind her, Link chuckled as he ceased his healing ministrations. Her wing felt much better now.
“She’s like you, Zelda.”
Starlight gave them a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”
Zelda seemed to shrink and said, “It’s nothing,” though perhaps a little too forcefully. Something of an awkward silence descended upon the four of them, none of them quite knowing what to say. The ponies were curious about the meaning behind Link’s comment, while Zelda wanted to learn more about where these strange beings came from, and Link, who was once again standing next to her, still wondered about their horns and wings. After almost a full minute of studying each other and trying to figure out what to say, Twilight noticed something about their hosts.
“Wait, your ears are pointed? I’ve never seen humans with pointed ears before.”
“Hmm?” Zelda seemed to have been lost in thought. “Oh, right. That’s because we’re actually not humans, though they are our close cousins. Our race is called hylians.”
Now in full scholar mode, Zelda explained to Twilight how the long ears of the hylians were to help them hear the voices of the gods, which then led to an explanation of the hylian deities and religion, the tale of the creation of Hyrule, and then eventually on to Hyrule itself, talking about its history, culture, inhabitants, landmarks, and surrounding countries. Link noticed that she was very vague in her description of the Calamity and the hero who eventually defeated it, even going so far to completely omit their parts in the whole thing. Twilight soaked up every bit of it, frivolously taking down notes with a quill and paper she had conjured at some point. Once Zelda was finished, Twilight returned the favor by explaining about their own world. She started by calling in the rest of her friends and introducing them, using this method to showcase the magics and differences of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, followed by an explanation of alicorns like herself. After that, she used the dragon Spike as an introduction to the other various species of their world. Link and Zelda listened attentively as she talked about Equestria: the value of friendship across the land, the raising and lowering of the sun and moon, the changing of the seasons, and the Tree and Elements of Harmony.
Before long, it was evening. Link noticed that, as Twilight and Zelda had continued in their excited conversations, the sun had begun to set, and most of the ponies had curled up on the floor and drifted off to sleep, though he couldn’t find the colorful one—Rainbow Dash, if he remembered correctly. When he asked about it, the farmer, Applejack, said she had gone outside to stretch her wings. Shrugging, he carefully stepped around the tired forms of the colorful ponies, making his way to the stable master’s desk. After a short conversation, Link paid for several more beds for the ponies who weren’t already asleep, then made his way outside.
The setting sun bathed the sky in a bloody red light. Horrifying memories came unbidden to his mind; memories of the night sky glowing a similar red. The moon dripped blood as malicious creatures rose from the dead in front of his very eyes. His heart thumped in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins as the monsters rushed at him with spears and clubs. In one swift motion, his sword was in his hand, ready to strike anything that came close.
“Hey.”
He whirled towards the sound of the voice, an orange dome forming around his body out of pure instinct. Through the facets of the shield, he could see Rainbow Dash gaping in awe at the spell.
“Awesome…” she breathed.
Seeing her caused Link’s mind to snap back to reality. He took in his surroundings, once again noticing the red light of the setting sun, as well as the Feathered Edge which was now held in a white-knuckle grip in his right hand. It blade was shaking noticeably, the result of his own unsteady hand. The rhythm in his chest was fast and irregular, and he was sure his eyes probably looked like those of a cornered animal. Lowering his sword, he focused on taking deep, steady breaths, letting his barrier dissolve. Rainbow raised an eyebrow at him.
“You good?”
He nodded, replacing his sword on his back. “Yeah, I’m alright now.”
“You sure? You were kinda going crazy there for a sec.”
He just nodded again.
“Alright, if you say so.” She spread her wings and took off, landing on a cloud above the stable and curling up to go to sleep.
Link took another deep breath. It could’ve been worse. Of all his migics, Daruk’s protection wasn’t the worst thing he could have summoned. Still, it made him more than a little nervous. Shaking his head, he decided to get some sleep as well. He pulled a sleeping roll off the cart, removed his sword, and laid down by the fire, drifting off in a restless sleep.