The six were concerned.
They had taken to having supper together at one of their homes (usually the castle). They called it a "Family dinner" and it usually lasted several hours. They would talk about anything and everything. Link saw how much they cared for each other. Even he and Spike were expected to take part.
Link himself felt mixed about it. He liked the food and the company, but they often wanted to know about him. It meant a lot of awkward silence. They were actively trying to get him to speak more, but he was not having any of it.
It worried them. Hinka's mental health, which had been in question for them since they got to know him some, had seemed to be declining. He didn't seem interested in bringing harm to anypony, but then, he seemed not to be interested in doing much other than the neccessities. The only one who could get him really talking was Fluttershy.
Whatever was bothering him was something he would have to learn to open up about in time.
The others had greeted each other in their usual pleasantries while Link eyed a photo over the fireplace in the dining room. It had given him pause many a time, because in it were the six he was growing very familiar with, Spike, the whole freaking town, the princesses, a pink alicorn, a sheepish looking horse that looked an awful lot like Twilight with different color fur, and a green deer-horse-bug hybrid thing that reminded him of a carpet sample. Twilight had promised to introduce him to them someday, though he wasn't sure exactly who "they" were. If he asked he just got "friends" as a response.
"Hinka."
He let out a short gasp and looked to the voice. It was Fluttershy standing before him with a foreleg outstretched. Behind her, the others were talking. Usually one would say hello to him at a time. It was always Fluttershy first.
He smiled, and wrapped his tiny arms around her barrel as much as he could. She returned the hug in kind with a nuzzle on his head.
"How is your leg today?" she asked. He gave a nod, the smile not leaving his face. She gave him a pleading look.
"Words please?" she asked. The smile faded a bit, but he gave in. Only because it was Fluttershy.
"Leg is good. Not painful."
She smiled brightly at him. He wouldn't really talk much if he wasn't pressed. The ponies had all been working on getting him to talk more. Fluttershy told him it was because they were worried for him. He rubbed an arm sheepishly.
All at once the pink was in his face, grinning like the maniac she well and truly was. Link barely even flinched back this time. He was growing used to it by now.
"I heardja met Princess Luna! Well, in dream land. But not that dream land with the pink puff ball. The one where you go when you go to bed at night and that scary burned man with the stylish hat and claw glove-"
Link put a hand on her mouth, instantly stopping her tangent before it could gain much traction. It was something he'd picked up from Twilight whenever Pinkie behaved this way in front of her. She only grinned through his hand. In his time there, he'd become mostly calloused to her quirks.
Mostly.
"I have dream. I don't remember it so much now."
It was a lie, and he figured Applejack picked up on it- she'd been talking to Dash but her ear swivled in his direction when he spoke. You're not going to slip a lie past her. She was a nightmare to play Liar’s Dice with.
Pinkie's grin was suddenly replaced with a look of contemplation. She leaned closer and shut one eye, as if she were closely scrutinizing something worth being scrutinized as opposed to just him.
"Hmm..."
Hmm?
"HMMMM......"
Link suddenly took note of the pipe she had in her mouth, and the odd hat she now sported.
"Eep," he said.
"You remember your dream well. In fact, you remember exactly what you dreamt about," she accused. A bubble floated from the pipe.
"Pinks, lay off him. Dreams are pretty personal.”
Link eyed Applejack, who was giving him a friendly smile.
"If he wants to keep it to himself, let him keep it to himself. Some things are just too personal.”
He returned her smile with a nod of thank you. She winked at him and went back to mingling.
Pinkie gently turned his head to look at her once more. Her hat and pipe were gone, and instead she wore a gentle smile on her face. When you got through the bubbly exterior, she really was one of the sweetest horses you'd ever meet.
"Yeah, she's right. If you feel up to it, you can tell us. No pressure.”
She pulled him into a hug he returned, albeit at first hesitantly.
"I Pinkie Promise."
The ponies and drake sat at the dinner table in respectful silence.
The food was prepared by Rainbow Dash. It may not strike you that she is a good cook, but she's admitted before that cooking was a hobby of hers and the passion she had for it shone in her meals. She rarely ever messed up a dish. She especially never screwed up on Stir Fry Day1.
They weren't sitting in silent respect of her cooking, however (though she may have liked to believe that). They sat quietly because, every supper for the past few weeks, Hinka had taken to making a prayer before eating in his language. The others never joined in; they felt it was more respectful of him to let him do what he needed to do in silence.
What little he did tell them about his religious beliefs revolved around three "Golden" Goddesses. He called one Din, the Goddess of Power. There was Ferrari2, the Goddess of Courage, and finally there was Nix3, the Goddess of Wisdom. The three were sisters who brought a measure of stability and peace to the land he hailed from, which, before their intervention, was little more than a molten rock regularly punished by fire from the sky.
What Twilight translated it into was, "My home was in the midst of its late heavy bombardment when three Goddesses that may have been made of gold came around and fixed everything."
Hinka appeared to believe that the world was flat, too, and that the heavenly bodies orbited it. He'd drawn for Twilight diagrams of what he believed his world looked like as well as the stars around it. They resolved to teach him otherwise in time but weren't sure how he would handle it4.
By now, his knowledge of Equish had improved. He was able to hold good conversations, though he was by no means ready to make a speech. Some words continued to elude him.
Twilight had eventually requested that he teach her Hylian as well. It wasn't working so well- the vocal cords of the ponies were not suited to the pitches required for Hylian without spellwork, no matter how much she tried. All she was able to say was a standard greeting, an apology, and at one point she mistakenly uttered a grievous racial slur.
"So how have you been feeling lately, Hinka?"
His eyes widened slightly. Usually they went around the table for a simple discussion. Whenever they got to him, his answer was always a nod, shake of the head, or shrug of the shoulders. He looked up. All eyes were on him. Rarity had broached the question.
He gave a shrug, but Twilight, seated next to him, tapped his good leg.
"We've been through this," she said gently. "You need to use your words more. Please speak."
He blushed a bit and looked to the stir fry in his bowl.
"It sure would be nice to hear you speak some."
"Come now, darling. You can talk to us."
"Yeah! Talking's lots of fun! I do it alllllll the time!"
"Think about it. Not only are you an alien, you're a bilingual alien! How awesome is that?"
"I don't think you even said one word when we were doing chores earlier."
The only one who didn't say anything was Fluttershy. He looked to her, and she was smiling warmly at him. She mouthed the words "Go on" to him with a nod.
Was this an intervention? He took a breath to steady himself. All this so he could tell them how he was feeling? There were better ways to spend one's time than to listen to the woes of an unknown hero.
"I feel okay."
That answer was typically enough to those who made a conscious effort to ask how he was, but in this case, it did not seem to be enough. The ponies and drake leaned in a bit more, as if willing him to go on.
"My leg feels okay. My em- emot- feelings are... normal, I guess."
"Sweetie Belle has been asking for you. Would you like to see her and the others again?"
He gave a shrug by habit and cursed to himself in Hylian for it. They didn't give out to him.
"I like them. They are nice. If they don't mind a stick in the mud who am I to refuse?"
Twilight leaned into his ear.
"Please don't put yourself down. You're not a stick in the mud. You're a very good colt."
"I don't think so,” he muttered to himself in Hylian.
"Have you considered playing us any of your songs?" asked Twilight. "We'd love to listen if you would let us."
He felt a pang of sadness in his chest as he thought of his ocarina and, subsequently, home, but it didn't last very long. He'd learned long ago that there were some things just not worth dwelling on.
"I haven't played in a while. I would need to warm up. Maybe another time."
His words died, and the others were silent for a moment.
"What about Tatl?"
He looked up. What about her?
"You've mentioned another fairy in the past," said Fluttershy. "What did she mean to you?"
He blinked. "She..."
He sighed and put a hand to his head. Goddesses, he hated talking.
"She was mean at first. We fought a lot."
The others blinked collectively at him.
"You spoke fondly of her, Hinka. Almost as fondly as Navi."
He smiled despite himself.
"We didn't fight forever. We got off to a rocky start but warmed up to each other over time. She called me a friend for the first time when I saved- “
He clammed up. The others waited for his continuation. He took a sip of milk.
"When I helped her find her brother.”
Fluttershy smiled at him.
"You saved her brother from something?"
He was silent again. Twilight stroked his back gently.
"I, uhh... don't really want to talk about that."
Twilight nodded. "That's okay, Hinka. Tell us what you are comfortable telling us. Just please use your words."
He smiled gently at her.
"Her brother is funny. He likes to play tricks. His name is Tael."
Rainbow Dash snickered. "Tatl and Tael? What kind of names are those?"
Link eyed her. "Your name is Rainbow Dash."
She eyed him in surprise, and the others laughed.
"He's gotcha there, Dash," said Applejack.
Rainbow crossed her arms. "Making fun of a pony's name isn't cool," she grumbled. The others ignored her.
"How long were you with her?" asked Twilight.
There was a question. Because of how often they had to go back in time, Link wasn't sure if he technically knew Tatl for three days or three months. He shrugged.
"It's complicated. I can't really describe how long. Just that we wound up becoming good friends."
He rubbed an arm. "We parted on good terms. I kind of wish I could see her again."
He eyed Twilight shyly. "She saved my life once."
The others eyed him. He rolled down the collar of his tunic to show them a large bite scar at his clavicle. Everypony cringed. Instead of any words however, they listened intently. Hinka very rarely ever spoke of his scars, of which there were many on his young body but few on his face5.
"This was from a wolf beast6 We were searching for a cave because of a snowstorm and it got me."
He frowned a bit when Fluttershy's ears drooped.
"I had reached my limit. I felt that, if I didn't stop, I was going to freeze to death. I told Tatl, and she helped look for a place to rest."
When he said snowstorm, he meant nothing short of a blizzard. It was morning and yet the sun was hidden behind such a thick spread of clouds that it appeared to be night. The moon was not visible overhead.
Hinka frowned. He remembered Tatl had all but ordered him to get some warmer clothes before they even went to Snowhead. He wore a thicker hat made from wool, a scarf, mittens, his trusty green tunic under a brown fur coat, some fur pants and water-resistant boots.
Yet he was still freezing. There was something hidden behind those cold winds. There was dark magic blowing through the mountain and it only served to make things colder. It pierced the layers of fabric Hinka tried to protect himself with and wound up granting him pneumonia for his troubles.
"Watch your footing too, kid. Crevices like to hide under thin layers of snow. You misstep, and they'll never find your body."
"If I misstep, nobody will be alive to look."
"Point."
Tatl flew forward a few meters. It felt as though they'd travelled ages. Link worried he would have to reset the clock before he could even find his way to Snowhead.
"I think I see a small cave up ahead. No snow in it either. The Gods are smiling down on us."
"Angels on our shoulders," he responded.
"We're going to need that support. But I've seen some of what you're capable of."
"I've also seen what the Skull Kid's capable of."
She sighed.
"He's not. He's not capable of much. Skull Kid likes to play tricks, but he wouldn't dare do any of the things he's been doing. It's that mask. It's all got to be that mask."
"All the more--"
He was cut off with a yell and a snarl. Tatl whirled around to him in fright. He was in the claws of a juvenile wolfos7. It was still huge. Wolfos tended to grow large and fast.
It let out a roar in his face and he squirmed in its grip. Was this how he was going to go out? The beast opened its maw and rocketed forward for his throat.
Tatl intervened at the perfect time.
With all her might she threw herself into the side of his maw, knocking the bite towards Link's collarbone instead of his neck. It connected, but not where it wanted to connect.
In addition, Tatl's offensive startled the creature enough to loosen its grip slightly on Link's arms. It was all the opening he needed. While he groaned and bit back his pain, he kicked the wolfos in its privates. The result was the wolfos losing its grip on his arms, but the beast was not letting its grip on his collarbone go. Instead, it was tightening its bite.
It began to roll in a bid to disorient Link, but it was a futile effort. Link reached for the wolfos' face with two thumbs and finger fucked his eyes.
He fell silent. No need to ruin the dinner. He was kicking himself for even starting the story in the first place. Why not tell a story about the dog racetrack that he swore was somehow rigged? What about the cuccoos and the mystical Bremen mask? How about a tale of the dog in Clock Town that he swore was out to get him? He sighed.
"Sorry. Not appropriate story to tell any further."
"No."
He looked up. Rainbow Dash was near halfway across the table and looked to be totally engulfed in his story.
"You can't leave it like that. What happened next?"
The wolfos finally released its hold and Link had a reprieve. Unfortunately for him, a wolfos doesn’t need its eyes to hunt effectively. He drew his blade but could not lift his shield properly with his arm mangled.
"Come on, kid. Don't make me beg. I need to know!"
The wolfos held its nose up and turned to directly face him. The Hero prepared to leap aside and slice with his blade.
What he didn’t anticipate, yet knew he should have, was the wolfos being far more able bodied in the snowy conditions. It turned immediately after its lunge failed and blocked Link’s blade with one of its meaty paws.
Link just shrugged. "No spoil appetites. Not at dinner."
Rainbow crossed her arms and slumped back in her seat.
"Are you pouting?" he asked.
The other was used to open three more gashes along Link’s torso. It went for his throat again, but he managed to duck out of the way and stab it in the gut.
"My stomach can handle any story."
He looked to Spike, who had pushed his bowl away, though it did not seem like he was so upset with the story as he was with supper. Fluttershy was the one who looked to be turning green. Link wilted.
The beast let out a sharp growl and took him to the snow again. Link frantically did what he could to protect his neck and head from what was about to come with his arms; his blade had tumbled from his grip when he was tackled.
"Not everyone have same stomach."
The wolfos began to use its claws to try and hack him apart. The first few attacks did not cause noteworthy injury to Link, but soon Link’s arms were being mangled by the beast. Blindly he kicked upwards with one foot and managed to jostle the monster for a moment. It gave him enough time to free his legs and steal away one of its massive arms.
He looked to Spike and Fluttershy. "I'm sorry."
Fluttershy shook her head. "It's okay. I'm okay."
She took a few breaths, and then a sip of water. She grinned sheepishly at Hinka.
"See? All better."
Link locked the arm near his side and drew both his legs up and around its neck, interlocking his feet behind its head. When he was set, he released the arm and allowed the choke8 to set. All he had to do was survive the next thirty seconds.
The wolfos did not make it easy. It bit at his throat repeatedly but was just out of reach, and it struggled in his grip to free its trapped arm. However, the more it struggled, the tighter the choke became. With its free arm it tried to swipe at Link’s legs but could not find them in its blind rage. It managed to open a few more wounds on Link’s body as its own began to give out. The more time passed, the more confused and disoriented the beast became.
Spike groaned. "Don't we have any gems?"
Twilight cuffed the back of his head with a wing.
"Spike! You're being rude."
She looked to Hinka with worry. Do they let him finish his tale, no matter how graphic? Who would know for sure when he felt ready to tell it again?
The time it took the wolfos to lose consciousness felt like an eternity to Link. He did what he could to tighten the triangle as the wolfos lost its struggles and finally fell still.
"Hinka, maybe after we eat you can finish the story?"
"All done!"
All at the table looked at Pinkie Pie, who now appeared to be sporting a nearly pregnant belly while picking her teeth with a toothpick. She belched. Loudly.
He kept it in the choke for another minute or so, but it was far smoother this time around. When he was sure it wouldn’t quickly regain its consciousness, he cautiously released his triangle choke, rolled over his good shoulder to his blade, and retrieved it. Then, he continued until he found a cave to hide in.
Rarity, who until then had looked as still as a statue, let a look of disgust cross her face.
"Pinkie! That's disgusting!"
Rainbow pushed her bowl away. "I think I'm good."
Fluttershy did so and excused herself weakly for the bathroom.
Spike was too busy laughing at the top quality humor.
Twilight only stared daggers at Pinkie.
Applejack did so as well. "Award for biggest dinner faux pas goes to..."
Rarity stared at Applejack. The farm girl tilted her head. "Why you look so nonplussed?"
"I wasn't sure you knew what faux pas meant until you followed it up with nonplussed."
Applejack rolled her eyes.
"Oh! Excuse me," grinned Ms. Pie.
“...Tatl went to find help. A few rock people came and rescued me the next morning. Fifty-six stitches later, I was right as rain.”
“What happened to the wolf beast?” asked Fluttershy.
Link took a moment to rub a hand over the scar.
“Let him go,” he said softly. He didn’t look at them, though he could feel Applejack’s eyes boring into the top of his head. They didn’t need to know what he really did to the wolfos.
A few hours later, most everyone had said goodnight and gone home. Rainbow had a tight weather schedule she was covering over the weekend, Rarity was back logged on some dresses, Pinkie was to spend the weekend weighing the pros and cons of monetary inflation, Fluttershy promised to teach Scootaloo Krav Marega, and Applejack…
Before she left, she pulled Hinka aside to talk to him personally.
“Hey Sugarcube, I just wanted to thank you for sharing that story with us.”
He rubbed an arm sheepishly.
“You want to tell me what really happened to the wolf beast?”
He was silent and looked down at his feet. She tapped his shoulder gently.
“Hey, I’m not asking so I can give you a hard time for lying. I’m sure you have your reasons, and you don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable. I’m asking because I’ve got a feeling that telling somepony might help you a bit. Just food for thought. If you want to say what happened, I’ll be happy to listen. I don’t judge.”
“You would if you knew,” he accidentally said aloud. Applejack wasn’t moved.
“Kid, you’re talking to the pony whose big brother still cuddles with an old teddy bear he found in the street at night. Trust me, I don’t judge.”
He sighed to himself and squeezed his eyes shut.
“I killed him.”
She was silent. He finally looked up to her, anger in his eyes. However, the anger was not directed at her. It seemed to be directed to himself.
“I made sure he could not defend himself and then I cut his throat. I did sloppy job of it, and he not die immediately. He suffered more hurt than needed. I use his skin to warm myself and I leave his meat in the snow.”
She saw his hands ball tightly into fists. His knuckles were white. She gave him a hug. He did not move.
“He hurt you, Hinka. That wolf creature was surely aiming to kill, else you wouldn’t have killed him back, right? You were hurt and probably shaken up. It’s okay.”
She released him and looked him in the eyes again.
“What I’m concerned about is why you were in such a situation in the first place. How many have you killed, if you don’t mind my asking? You don’t have to answer.”
Hinka didn’t look away, but he shook his head. “I don’t want to answer that.”
Applejack nodded. “That’s alright, Sugarcube. But think about telling us more about your past. It can help to talk, and keeping these things bottled up is not healthy.”
Hinka looked at his feet. Applejack fixed his hat for him. She felt she was doing a good job of keeping a level head, but inwardly she was panicked. Did he kill any ponies? She didn’t think so, but she couldn’t be sure.
“You sure you don’t want to talk more about it?”
He was silent for a moment, and then smiled a fake smile up at her.
“Thanks for coming, AJ.”
End of Chapter