It’d been a few hours since the group had set out at sea.
Currently, Bon Bon was trying to teach Lyra, Vinyl, and Epona how to sail. Epona was really the only one listening—Lyra kept getting distracted by Vinyl, who was more interested in tinkering around with her boombox. Octavia was sitting with Saria, and they—yet again—were playing the ocarina together.
Link, however, sat in the prow of the ship. He was trying to think of something to write in his journal, despite the fact that his handwriting would be quite shaky from the rocking of the ship.
Noon of the Fourth Day, he wrote, late noon.
But after that….he couldn’t think of anything else.
Link heard Bon Bon groan.
“I give up!” She said, tearing at her mane. “You can go do whatever you want. I don’t care anymore.” Epona patted her on the back as she began banging her head repeatedly on the ship’s mast. Lyra and Vinyl slowly backed away from the Earth Pony.
“Hey!” Lyra said, trotting over to Link and sitting down next to him. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.” Link said, slightly surprised, and closed the book. He steeled himself for another barrage of questions about Hyrule.
“What’s it like moving from hands to hooves?” Lyra asked.
It took Link a second to register just what she’d said.
“What????” He eventually managed to say.
“What was it like moving from hands to hooves?” Lyra asked again. Now she was levitating her notebook in front of her. Yep, she was here to take notes again.
“Well….” Link said, trying to figure out what was going on. “It’s…...strange…..? I guess?”
Lyra nodded thoughtfully, scribbling the notes down on her book. “Did you use your hands to fight?” Link blinked, utterly bewildered. What was going on?
“Yeeeess….?” He said slowly.
“Do you use your mouth now?” Lyra asked, scribbling down more notes without looking at the paper. Link squirmed, uncomfortable as her eyes bored into his face.
“Why do you want to know?” He sighed. “….you okay, Lyra?”
“Can you teach me how to fight?” Lyra asked.
Was this what she wanted all along???
“Why?” Link said, a little less confused, but still confused nonetheless. “You have magic, right? Isn’t that what you use to fight?
“No, like with a sword.” Lyra insisted, bouncing up and down with suppressed excitement. “Please?”
“Why do you want to learn it so badly???” Link asked. Lyra was confusing the heck out of him.
Lyra glanced suspiciously from side to side, then motioned for Link to lean closer. Link rolled his eyes, but humored her.
“Because I want to be just as cool as Bon Bon.” Lyra whispered into his ear.
“Bon Bon?” Link asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back.
“Yeah, haven’t you seen just how cool she is?” Lyra demanded in a furious whisper. “She has those ultra cool karate skills, and she always knows what to do! I think she can do anything.” Link eyebrow traveled farther up his forehead.
“I wanna be just like Bon Bon when I grow up.” Lyra sighed.
“When you….grow up.” Link stated in a monotone. He was truly and utterly lost. “Aren’t you the same age as Bon Bon?”
“Well….I’m a year younger.” Lyra admitted. “But Bon Bon is so much cooler and more mature than me! I’m scared to ask her for help….I want her to think I’m cool Please can you teach me?”
“Um….” Link said, blinking. “I don’t really think I’m fit to teach anyon—any...pony. Not right now, at least.”
“Oh.” Lyra sighed. “Okay….I should probably go help Bon Bon then. Let me know when you feel like you can teach!” She got up and skipped off.
Link shook his head. He was sure he’dnever understand what went on in Lyra’s head.
All the talk of sword fighting reminded him that he should probably practice. Especially as he was probably going to face another boss in the Dragonlands.
This time, he wanted to be prepared.
Link stood up, pulling the Kokiri sword from his inventory. He clenched his jaw around it, trying to find a good position.
Ugh….he thought. Still can’t get over how weird this feels.
Lyra saw him and turned to watch, followed by Vinyl. He immediately felt self-conscious, but tried to focus on his sword only.
Okay….basic exercises.
He began running through the basic routines he constantly practiced, twisting and flipping the sword around as he tried to adjust.
Before long, his jaw began to cramp up again. He stopped, massaging it impatiently. If this was going to keep happening every time he held his sword…..well, that would certainly be annoying.
He took hold of the hilt and ran through the series again. Then without warning, his sword slipped. He yelped, leaping away and dropping it.
“Did it scare you?” Epona chuckled as she walked past, carrying a rope over her shoulder.
“It’s not funny.” Link mumbled rather crossly. “I’ve already cut myself once. I don’t want to lose an eye.”
“Well….” Epona said thoughtfully. “Have you even tried using your hooves for a sword?”
“Hah.” Link snorted, tapping the tiny handle of the blade in question. “There’s no way I could hold that with these clunky things.”
“Okay, okay!” Epona said, holding out her hooves. “I’m just trying to help.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Link sighed. “Well, look…...I really appreciate it, but I think I need to figure this out on my own.”
“Well, I think that’s just what you think.” Epona commented, then trotted away.
After a second of trying to piece together that confusing sentence, Link gave up. He rubbed the still-healing scar on his face thoughtfully, considering her words. After a second, he tossed his sword back into his inventory, sitting down with a thump.
Saria noticed and put away her ocarina, trotting over to him. Octavia continued playing, picking up Saria’s melody where she’d left off.
“Hey.” Saria said, sitting down next to him. “Now that I’m no longer an emotional wreck, I think it’s time for me to ask youthe question. So, how are you doing?”
“You really, really,really don’t want an honest answer.” Link mumbled.
“Mmmmm….” Saria said thoughtfully, her tone making it clear that she disagreed with him.She blew a single fluting note. This time, the music was extremely quiet, so only Link and her could hear it. It was the familiar melody of her song, but much slower. Link exhaled deeply. It had a calming effect on him.
“I guess you could say I’m struggling.” He eventually admitted. “In more ways then one.”
“Oh?” Saria said, then continued the gentle music.
“Yeah.” Link sighed. “I’m the only one here still not used to being a pony. Well...I mean….Lyra and Bon Bon and the others were already ponies. And Epona was a horse….hmm. Maybe I’m not using the best comparisons.You were the only one who used to walk on two legs.” He gave an awkward chuckle.
Saria giggled, but then her expression grew serious.
“You know…..I think I might know what your problem is.” She said thoughtfully. “And why it seems hard to you.”
“Really?” Link said, surprised. “What?”
“I think…..you’re still fighting.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I think….you’re trying to reject your new body. Because you think it doesn’t feel right. But….I have a feeling we’re going to be like this for a long time. I….personally, would suggest getting used to it.”
And with that, Saria stood up and left, leaving Link’s thoughts whirling in circles.
He supposed she was right—he was stubborn, and didn’t want to change. But the fact that she said it…. she who knew him better than anyone….didn’t make it any easier to accept.
“LAND HOOOOO!” Vinyl suddenly yelled, startling Link out of his thoughts.
“Sweet Celestia, Vinyl.” Octavia groaned. “You don’t need to yell!”
“Land?” Lyra said, confused. “We can’t be there yet!”
“Oh, not like big dragon-filled land.” Vinyl explained. “Think tiny island. Very tiny.”
“Okay.” Bon Bon said. “Now we have two options—we could stop for a quick break, or could continue. Would anypony like to stop?”
“I don’t know about everybod—everypony else, but I would like a chance to stretch my legs.” Saria offered. “Any...pony else?”
“Sure!” Vinyl agreed.
“Why not?” Octavia sighed, still rubbing her ears.
“I’m game!” Lyra chirped.
Link just shrugged.
“Okay, then. Got it.” Bon Bon begantwisting the wheel sharply from side to side, and the boat slowed down unexpectedly. Once it was at a crawl, Epona rushed over to lower the sail. And she only got tangled up in rope once.
After they’d been brought to a complete stop, Saria revealed that she actually wasn’t entirely sure how to swim. Then they realized that she was so short, the water would definitely cover her head—so Epona carried her to the island.
It was an extremely small piece of land. The crest of it was almost perfectly round, and the sand that covered the ground was coarse and scratchy. The only signs of life to be seen were the stubby, stunted trees dotting the ground, their scraggly roots spread desperately throughout the sand.
“This is a weird island.” Lyra noted, eyeing the perfect roundness and nearly dead trees.
“I’m just glad to be on land that isn’t moving.” Vinyl said, sitting down with a thud.
“You’ll get used to the boat eventually.” Bon Bon promised.
Saria sat down, still holding her ocarina—Link hadn’t even noticed she’d brought it across.
He supposed he could understand her need for it. It was the one thing she still had from Hyrule. It was rather like the ocarina she’d given him—even when he didn’t need it anymore, he’d clung to it because of the memories attached.
He guessed Saria just needed the comfort of those memories all the time.
Saria began tentatively whistling a tune….a new one that Link had never heard before. He marveled at how much better she was at playing than him, even with her hooves. The song began with two notes—if he had to guess, he thought they were E and F in an A major scale. Then the same two notes repeated twice, but staccato, and then trilled into a more intricate melody for a single measure. It was a fun-sounding song.
“You know...” Octavia said thoughtfully. “I don’t think you’ve taught me that one.”
“That’s because I just made it up.” Saria explained. “Would you like me to teach you now?”
“Sure!” Octavia sat down and took the instrument Saria held out to her. Huh….so Saria carried both ocarinas with her everywhere.
“Can I learn it too?”Link asked. Saria beamed, nodding.
She played the song again, but slowly. Link and Octavia followed. Octavia picked it up quicker than Link….but she had spent the last few days doing practically nothing but playing the ocarina. Link played it a lot slower than the other two, his notes wavering uncertainly. The song was a little more difficult than he was used to.
“You forgot to play the E twice before the final note.” Saria pointed out.
“Oh, got it.” Link said, playing the song again, but even slower. “I’m not used to playing sixth notes.”By this point, the others had sat down to watch. Vinyl was humming along to the song as Octavia played, tapping her hooves.
“This sounds great!” Saria said happily. “Octavia, can you slow down a bit so Link can play along with you? I want to try something.”
“Sure.” Octavia nodded.
“Great!” Saria said. “Okay now. One…..two…..one two three four….”
In accordance with the beat Saria counted out, Link and Octavia launched into the song. Saria followed up, bringing in a background that was a lot more complicated—it consisted mostly of chords.
“That was cool!” Vinyl said, once they’d finished.
“Yeah, it sounded really neat.” Lyra agreed.
“It almost sounded like—” Bon Bon started speaking, but her sentence was cut off as the ground began shaking. Trees cracked, toppling over as they island began torise into the air. Sand trickled off the sides, revealing smooth green plates beneath.
“EVERYPONY!!! GET BACK TO THE SHIP QUICK!!!!” Bon Bon yelled. Lyra panicked, making a flying leap into the air….which obviously didn’t work very well. She fell with a loud splash, yelling and spluttering as she floundered in the waves.
“Saria!” Epona said, grabbing the filly. “See those ropes on the deck? I need you to toss one to Lyra and one to us. Hurry!” She placed Saria on her back, bucking her high into the air.
Saria yelped in alarm, flailing her limbs, but actually managed to land on the deck. She stumbled, recovering from the momentum, then leapt for the ropes. She grabbed one of themand looped it quickly around the mast, tying a hasty knot. She then tossed it to the struggling Lyra, who grabbed it and held on for dear life.
Saria’s next move was to grab the second rope and do the same—except this one she threw at the group still stuck on the island. To Link’s surprise, the rope actually made it across the churning waters, and Epona snatched up the end before it could slip down.
She speedily tied a loop in the end—how she did it with hooves Link had no idea—then tossed it over her own neck.
“Quick, go across!” She ordered, bracing her feet on the ground.
“Wait, what?” Link yelped. “What about you? Why?”
“I’ll be fine!” Epona insisted. “I’m just filling in for a tree, okay? Go!”
Link raised an eyebrow. Without question, Octavia grabbed rope quickly, sliding across. Epona took a deep breath, gritting her teeth as the rope cut into her neck.
Vinyl followed quickly, then helped Saria pull up a spluttering Lyra. Bon Bon then gestured for Link to cross, but he shook his head.
“You go first.” He said.
“But...” Bon Bon protested.
“Guys.” Epona groaned.
“SWEET CELESTIA WHAT IS THAT?!?” Lyra suddenly shouted, startled them as she pointed a hoof at something behind them. Link whirled around. Behind him, there was a giant, scaly head hovering, connected a long neck. It blinked it’sempty yellow eyes in a dazed manner, dripping water over the ground and washing away even more of the sand.
“Is that a turtle?”Bon Bon gasped.
“JUST GO!” Link whirled around, yelling at Bon Bon. She jumped, clearly startled, and did so.
“Go ahead now, Link.” Epona said, her face scrunched in pain.
“Nope.” Link shook his head. “I have a plan. Jump off the turtle!”
Epona raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical.
“Just trust me!” Link said.
“...I do.” Epona said. “Fine!” She leapt off the turtle’s back, yelping as she hurtled through the air. Before she hit the water, she managed to pull the rope off her neck, and hooked a foreleg through the loop before splashing down.
Link flipped open his inventory, snatching up a particular item. He aimed carefully, then flipped a trigger. The pointed tip of his hookshot rocketed from the grip (which he now held with his mouth) and slammed into the side of the boat. The chain retracted, pulling him quickly across.
He ran over to help the others pull up Epona from the water, then they all turned around to watch the massive turtle begin to swim away—much faster than Link would have thought possible.
“Wait a second!” Bon Bon gasped, then grabbed Link’s hookshot from where it lay on the ground. She pointed it at the turtle, then fired.
“What are you—” Link started, confused. But then the hookshot caught on the shell, and the ship jerked violently forwards. Everypony fell over, and the ship sped across the waves, being pulled by the giant turtle.
“THIS IS BY FAR THE STRANGEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!” Saria yelled, clutching desperately onto the rope that she had thrown to Lyra earlier.
“NOT FOR ME!” Vinyl whooped. “VISIT MY DISCO AND YOU’LL SEE WEIRDER!”