//------------------------------// // The Dragon Lord // Story: The Legend of Zelda: Wielders of Harmony // by My Little Epona //------------------------------// “So….what in Din’s name just happened?” Darunia asked, startling Link. He hadn’t known the Goron was awake. “I’m glad to see you’re okay.” Link sighed, letting himself flop to the ground. His limbs let out a cry of protest at the movement, and he bit his tongue to keep himself from flinching. “Lyra!” Bon Bon cried desperately, running over to her friend. “Are you okay?” Lyra groaned, shifting slightly. “It feels like my body was submerged in molten lava.” She moaned, keeping her eyes squeezed tightly closed. “Just lay still.” Saria ordered. “Guys, we need to get Lyra some help now. Lyra and Link.” “You know, I’m actually fine.” Link said, sitting up to make it more believable. “I’ve had injuries that were much worse than this. It’s Lyra that needs the attention. You know…..I could probably just play the Minuet of Forest—and not only would we be back in Ponyville, but we’d probably healed too. Like it did last time?” “But we can’t do that.” Vinyl reminded him. “Cause that old dude needs his boat back.” “Captain Port Side.” Bon Bon corrected. “And she’s right. I’d hate to betray his trust like that. “Right.” Link sighed. “I forgot about that.” He guessed he’d just have to live with this pain a little longer. Well, it wasn’t really a big deal. He could stand it. “You know, you all did quite admirably in that fight.” Sheik’s voice emanated from behind them. This time, he caught Link by surprise, and Link yelped with the rest of them. “How did he….?” Octavia marveled. “Okay, raise your hoof if you saw him come up. Did anypony see him?” The response was a collective head shake. “You know, most people don’t.” Sheik said with a soft chuckle. Then he cocked his head to the side, looking over Link. “You’re not looking so good.”He commented. “Eh, I’ve been better.” Link agreed. “But hey, it could always be worse.” “Um….everyone?” Darunia said, his voice hesitant. “Am I the only one seeing a group of dragons flying this way?” “Me and my big mouth.” Link groaned, getting to his feet slowly. The colored specks on the horizon drew nearer, eventually alighting on the rocky ground in front of the group. These dragons looked nothing like Volvagia—just like the other two earlier. The first one Link noticed was a pale blue colored one at the head of the flock. She (he assumed it was a she? It certainly looked like a female) was shorter than most of the others, but radiated a sense of authority. Her scales were a pale, slightly cloudy blue, specked here and there with slivers of a dark sapphire. Her wing membranes were lavender-colored, with a gradient from dark to light. She held a long, golden staff topped with a ruby in one talon. “Greetings, Dragon Lord.” Bon Bon said, bowing before her. After a second, she glanced at the others and motioned for them to do the same. The Dragon Lord (Lord? Lady?) fiddled restlessly with the ruby on the tip of her staff, watching them as they lowered themselves into positions of respect. Except for Lyra—she was still lying down, outstretched on the ground. I remember what Princess Twilight said….. Link thought. The Dragon Lord...or lady...or...whatever….. anyway, she’s friendly. So hopefully, we don’t need to worry. “Go ahead and rise. So…..what’s going on?” A voice said. Link glanced up briefly, discovering it belonged to the Dragon Lord. “It’s rather a long story.” Bon Bon admitted, straightening up. “I’ll do my best to explain it to you—if you wish.” “Yeah, sure.” The Dragon Lord said. Bon Bon launched into the story of their journey. The other dragons wandered over, losing interest in the story, and finding the strange ponies more interesting—specifically, Darunia. One poked his rocky shell curiously, and he automatically retreated, giving the offender a glare that made them step back as well. “Anyway.” He said, talking in a low voice and trying to ignore the others. “Are you okay, Link? What’s going on?” “I’m fine.” Link said, keeping his voice quiet as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Saria flinch and hide behind Octavia as one of the dragons eyed her curiously. “And….you know, now’s not really a good time for the whole story. I can tell you in a second.” “Did you defeat Volvagia?” Darunia asked. Link nodded. “That’s my Sworn Brother!” The Goron cried all of the sudden, thwacking Link on the back with a hoof. “Never lets that pesky dragon live!” Link went flying, sprawling face-first on the ground. “Darunia!” He hissed in what he hoped was a discreet voice—but judging by the stony silence of everyone around them, Darunia’s comment hadn’t gone unheard. “We are literally surrounded by dragons.” “Oh.” Darunia gave a sheepish chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. “Right.” “Okay, so……..I get your story and everything.” The Dragon Lord waved a talon at Bon Bon, who looked uncomfortable. “But what in Tartarus is going on with them?” She pointed at Link and Darunia. Octavia gave a shocked gasp, clutching Saria’s ears and glaring at the dragon. Saria froze in the middle of trying to duck away from Octavia, looking confused. “Oh.” The Dragon Lord said, grinning awkwardly. “Sorry for the language.” Link pried his face off the ground, crawling slowly to his hooves. “Not my best day.” He sighed, brushing himself off. Eventually, he turned to Ember. “I must apologize, your majesty.” He said, hoping he was getting the title right. I don’t want to offend her…... “Ugh, just call me Ember or Dragon Lord or something.” She said, shivering and scratching her arm. “Titles like that make me itchy.” “Oh.” Link blinked, surprised. “Okay. Well, anyway, your maj—uh, Dragon Lord….I’m sorry for all the fuss.” “Yeah, so, about that.” Ember said. She pointed a claw at the breaks in the ground, where the lava below was shimmering, occasionally bubbling up between the cracks. “What the—er, I mean, what on earth happened here?” “There was a dra—er, creature here that was attacking us. His form of attack was to break through the ground and breath fire, then dive below again and come up somewhere else.” “Gotcha.” Ember said. “What happened to the creature? Cause if there’s some monster in my kingdom, I want to know.” “He’s….gone, actually.” Link said, trying to keep his words vague. “Dead?” “Er…..yes.” “Okay, so I don’t have to worry about it.” Ember said. “Good.” Link blinked at her in surprise. He wasn’t expecting a reaction like that. Well, at least she doesn’t know it was a dragon…….. “We’re really, really sorry, Dragon Lord.” Bon Bon jumped in. “We’re only here because we were trying to find somepony, and we found him, so we can get out of your mane now! “Eh, there’s really no need to apologize.” Ember said, waving a talon. “I just came because two of my subjects came running into the throne room, screeching about ponies attacking some monster. I was worried that it would be a threat to the rest of my subjects.” “Don’t worry.” Link assured her. He didn’t know what to make of this dragon. She was a ruler, that was for sure……….but she didn’t seem like any ruler he’d ever met. “It’s been dealt with.” Bon Bon continued. “Yeah, I get it now.” Ember said. “I’m glad.” Link said. “Now….we should probably be going soon….” He bit his lip, hoping he hadn’t offended her. “I concur.” Sheik said, stepping forwards. Once again, Link jumped with the others. He’d forgotten Sheik was there. Everyone fell silent as the mysterious pony stepped forwards. Link noted that somehow, Sheik’s mere presence made others look to him for guidance—even the Dragon Lord. There’s more to this guy than meets the eye. It’s really too bad he never gives a straight answer. “This is a land built upon friendship.” Sheik said, strumming a single, thoughtful chord on his harp. “It’s an unbelievable force that, given time, can grow strong enough to bind others so closely they can never bear to be apart. This passion…..it will guide you. Listen to this song…..this song dedicated to the power of the heart…..” Link nodded, reaching for his ocarina at the same time that Sheik lifted his harp. The Bolero of Fire was quick—quicker than Link was used to playing with his hooves. He’d played it plenty of times before, but this time it was a totally new experience. It took him a couple tries, but eventually, he was able to play it correctly. The duet between harp and ocarina was remarkable, and as Link played, he felt a rush of emotions coursing through him, so fast he couldn’t pinpoint one. The world faded into red, and Link felt the sharp tug then weightless, drifting sensation of warping. His cells tingled, and for a second he couldn’t tell if he was floating up or plunging down. His sense of touch brought him to as his rough stone scraped against his hooves, and the red dissipated, the scenery reforming as the sandy beach, next to the moored ship. As soon as they landed, Link rushed for the ocean. He threw himself into it, both sighing with relief and wincing in pain as the icy salt water lapped against his wounds. Back on the shore, Saria pulled a bottle of water out of her inventory, pouring a little over Lyra’s face. Lyra hissed in pain, gritting her teeth. “Hey, look.” Vinyl said. “There’s that same stone platform thing like outside the Everfree forest! Does anypony else think that’s weird? It wasn’t even here when we landed.” “Definitely strange.” Epona agreed. “So….what’s goin’ on?” Darunia asked. Link stood up reluctantly, his tunic completely soaked. “It’s….quite the story.” He said. “But, long story short, we’re trapped in a world that’s far from Hyrule. We still don’t know why we’re here, but we’re surrounded by friendly horses who are willing to help. You know what a horse is, right?” “Yeah, I do.” Darunia said. “Which explains the new getup. But who are all these people?” “Let’s go around.” Link sighed. He addressed the others one at a time, pointing a hoof at each. “This is Epona, Lyra, Bon Bon, Octavia, Vinyl, and Saria.” “Actually, I know who she is.” Darunia said, pointing at Saria. Saria gave him a smile, briefly pausing in her work on Lyra to run over and give the Goron a quick hug. “Really?” Link asked, surprised. “Well, yeah.” Darunia shrugged. “We had plenty of time to talk while in the Light Temple.” “Oh, right.” Link said. “I should have guessed.” Saria pulled a new object from her inventory—something Link hadn’t seen before. It was a small canister with a screw-on top. Saria gripped it in her mouth, struggling to open it. “Here, I can get it.” Lyra offered weakly, her horn sputtering. A flickering golden aura surrounded the container, and the top popped off. “Thanks.” Saria said, dabbing on a green cream that was inside the canister. It was almost the same color as Lyra’s coat. “When did you start learning healing?” Link asked, shaking water from his tunic and trotting over to the shore. He sat next to Saria, sniffing the container curiously. It smelled like mint. “I actually started learning as soon as you left.” Saria said, a small smile flickering over her face. “Because I always knew that someday….you’d come back to me. Whether you were limping, or crawling, or being carried by someone else—I knew you’d come. And, you’d probably be injured.” “Very perceptive.” Link commented. Saria giggled. “But anyway….” She continued. “No matter what state you were in, I wanted to be able to help you. Remember when you used to run to me after you fought with Mido?” “Oh, you just had to bring those up…..” Link gave a chuckle. “Yeah, I remember. All too well. Remember after we almost burnt down Fado’s house, and the Deku Tree made us say five nice things about each other?” “That was hilarious!” Saria laughed. Then her face grew thoughtful “But….what’s totally crystal clear for me is….how you always said that I make everything better. No matter what, I always tried to be there for you. Even when you left…..I knew you’d come back. You always did.” Saria smiled, a faint flush of pink on her face. “Welp, to the collective relief of everyone here, I’m bringing this to a merciful end. Because it’s just….weird.” Epona sat down with a thud between them. Link jumped, yelping, as she almost sat down on him. “I did eventually come back, right?” Link said, talking over and around Epona, who huffed. “But then you were tall!” Saria said mournfully. Link laughed. “Okay….I’m done with Lyra now.” Saria said, standing up. “How do you feel?” “Better.” Lyra sighed. “Thanks.” Bon Bon hooked a foreleg over Lyra’s shoulders, helping her stand. “Okay, Link. Now it’s your turn!” Saria announced. “You know, actually, I’m fine.” Link said. “I really appreciate the offer—but as I said, I’ve suffered far worse than this. It’ll heal quickly….within the week or so, that is. I hope.” “Seriously?” Saria said, raising an eyebrow. “After all that about how I learned healing for you and how you said I always made everything better, you’re still stubborn?” “Well….okay, it’s because I feel like Lyra really should be getting more attention.” Link argued. “I’m fine! I promise!” “Come here and behave!” Saria said, leaping around Epona, who was still sitting between them. “I’m fine!” Link said, scooting away. “I know where you’re ticklish.” Saria threatened. “I’m not anymore.” Link said, smirking. “I grew out of it.” Saria raised an eyebrow. “Hey!” Link protested. “It’s a thing.” Saria gave a frustrated growl, leaping on top of him. He yelped, shaking her off and running to the other side of Epona. She leapt up, chasing Link as he looped around the ponies. “Darunia!” She said, panting and trying to keep up. “Help me please!” Darunia looked at Link, who was nearing him. “You wouldn’t do that to your Sworn Brother, would you?” Link pleaded. “Sorry, little guy.” Darunia said, and tripped Link. He went flying head over heels, crashing to the ground. “Finally!” Saria panted, leaping on top of him. “Darunia!” Link cried in the voice of betrayal. All the Goron had to offer was a shrug.