//------------------------------// // I - A New Start // Story: Golden Crusaders // by Greatazuredragon //------------------------------// A New Start “This is all wrong,” a young voice sounded within the cavernous room as she took in the large metal structure resting before her. The voice belonged to a yellow-coated filly with a red mane and tail, who was carefully examining the twisted front of a large metal plow, the front of which was dented and fractured, as if something had hit the metal tool with a great force. “How did he even manage to bend it this bad without actually breaking the metal?” she questioned with a hint of curiosity as she tilted her head to the side to get a better view, a large crimson ribbon atop her head flopping around with the movement. “Apple Bloom, there you are!” an orange-coated mare shouted from the barn’s entrance as she laid eyes on the young filly now placing several tools around the dented plow. “C’mon sugarcube, we got to go or you’re gonna to be late for your first day of school!” “But Applejack! I haven’t fixed the plow yet!” she protested from next to the makeshift forge she had built herself a few months ago while easily carrying a bag of coal that should’ve weighed far too much for such a young filly. “No buts, missy, while Ah’m sure Big Mac will be ecstatic to have that old thing fixed, he can make do without it for a bit,” Applejack firmly replied as she moved towards the filly and started to herd her towards the door. “School comes first, you can get back to your forge later.” Apple Bloom opened her mouth to protest that she had no need to go to a silly school, only for Applejack to give her a stern look, making her think better about voicing said thought. Even if it would mean postponing fixing the plow for a few hours, she knew a losing battle when she saw one. Chuckling softly, Applejack couldn’t help but smile at her little sister’s antics in regards to her new hobby. “Ah swear, you are going to come back home for dinner with a blacksmith’s cutie mark one of those days,” she joyfully commented while lightly bumping the small filly in a friendly manner. “Celestia knows you’re always messing with some bit of metal or another since you built that makeshift forge of yours.” Making a small noise to show that she was listening, Apple Bloom followed her sister out of the barn and promptly proceeded to go clean herself a little in a large barrel of water left there for just such a reason. But even as she cleaned the bits of coal that had clung to her coat, no matter how excited she felt about the possibility of finally getting her cutie mark, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but feel that her sister’s thought wasn’t right. Yes, she liked fixing and messing around with the metal tools around the farm, and she was really good at it too! But as much as she liked the idea of forging stuff, she couldn’t help but feel that making metal tools and other such things wasn’t really the path she was meant to walk. She couldn’t really say why, it simply was. For a brief moment Apple Bloom could swear she saw a huge furnace before her, larger than the barn itself. Its fires roared higher than any flame she had ever seen before as the stones themselves that made the walls behind it seemed to turn red with the heat. And, amidst the burning inferno, a massive sword was slowly given shape by the mighty blows of a hammer. “Apple Bloom! Stop daydreamin’ already!” Applejack shouted from her side, an impatient look on her features. “We got to go!” Shaking her head, Apple Bloom rushed after her sister. Putting the strange vision out of her mind, she focused on what she had to do to get ready for school instead. But even as she hastily prepared herself and followed Applejack off the farm, she couldn’t completely banish the mighty sound of hammer blows and the roaring of flames from resounding just at the edge of her hearing. “Your technique continues to be masterful as always, dear,” a young white-coated unicorn filly heard her equally white-coated sister say primly as they finished their tea. “Oh, how I wish I had half your skills with etiquette when I was your age!” Normally Sweetie Belle would blush and politely say that it was nothing. She simply absorbed the rules of etiquette and proper behavior Rarity insisted on teaching her when she stayed at her boutique, as their parents departed in their newest voyage, without great difficulty. She only had to be shown a rule or proper attitude once, and she seemed to know how to do it already and only needed practice to get the rust off the motions, almost as if she was remembering almost forgotten skills, much to Rarity’s elation and dramatic playful envy. But today she simply didn’t feel like doing so, the news she had received shortly after their parents had left her at Ponyville making her feel slightly down. Naturally, that was immediately noticed by her older sister as Sweetie went to get ready for school. “What’s wrong, Sweetie?” the fashionista gently asked as Sweetie Belle donned the small saddlebags Rarity had personally made for her that contained her school supplies. “Are you worried about starting the school year?” “No, it’s not that, it’s just… it’s just silly. Nothing important,” Sweetie tried to assure her older sister. It was a silly stupid thing, nothing worth sharing, after all. “Let me be the judge of that, darling,” Rarity warmly said while gently nuzzling Sweetie’s side. “You can tell me everything, you know that. So tell me, what’s wrong?” “It’s just that… it’s just that Codex is moving away,” the young unicorn said after a moment, leaning against Rarity’s warm side. “Shortly after I arrived, when I went to the Golden Oaks library to return the books I had borrowed last time, she told me that she got offered a far better job at Canterlot’s central library and will be moving out soon. And I will miss her.” Codex had been the little town’s librarian for as long as Sweetie could remember. Considering how much time she usually spent inside the building, and all the talks they had had as Sweetie helped the old earth pony mare with the chores around the library, she considered Codex a good friend despite the age difference between them. And one of the few that actually understood her love of reading and learning. “Oh, Sweetie, that’s hardly a silly reason to feel a little down,” Rarity assured her as she pulled the filly close into a hug. “It’s always sad to see a friend go away, but such is life sometimes. That doesn’t mean you have to stop being friends just because she is far away. I’m sure that she would love to exchange letters with you, for instance.” Burying her face into Rarity’s warm side, Sweetie made a small agreeing sound, feeling slightly better due to her sister’s words. “This is not a goodbye, but merely a see you later,” the fashionista continued as she gently raised the young one’s head and gave her a small smile, a smile that took a gentle teasing tone as she continued to speak. “Especially considering how much you love your books and magic. Why, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if your not so distant future took you straight to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, in which case you will already have a friendly face there on Canterlot, waiting for you. Wouldn’t that be nice?” Sweetie had to agree that that did sound nice. Both meeting Codex again, and going to the famed school and getting access to all the tomes, books and scrolls that were stored within its hallowed halls, to be accepted into such a vaunted institution of knowledge and wisdom. For a brief moment, she swore that she was somewhere else. Rows upon rows of spell books and tomes of arcane lore filled her view as far as her eyes could see. It was a massive library, far bigger than anything she had ever heard about, filled to the brim with arcane knowledge. And there, right upon the middle of it all she stood, her attention focused to a razor’s edge as she read books few even knew existed, much less had ever laid eyes upon, as she honed her wisdom even further. Blinking her eyes, Sweetie banished the strange daydream with a small head shake. Sure, she loved reading, loved learning, and loved magic even more. But from there to daydream about libraries was another thing entirely. That was just silly. Chuckling lightly, Sweetie decided that she may be reading a little too much as of late. And so, feeling far better already, she followed her sister out of the boutique and towards school. Even then, the visage of all those tomes and books remained nested deep within her mind. “It’s okay to be nervous, you know,” a beige-coated earth pony fretfully said while all but pacing on the same spot, her eyes constantly moving from the clock on the wall to the young filly methodically packing things inside her saddlebags. “Yes I know, Aunt Holiday,” the orange-coated pegasus filly calmly replied, not even a hint of worry or nerves showing on her small body as she finished packing her supplies for the day. “It’s a new town, and a new school year. Feeling a little nervous is perfectly alright! You know that, right? There is no shame in that!” Holiday tried to assure the filly. Even if it seemed that she herself needed the assurance more. Making an agreeing noise to show that she was still listening, the young pegasus neatly placed a few carefully wrapped fruits into the small saddlebag. It was frankly far more than she would need as a snack, but she always preferred to err on the side of caution and pack too much, instead of risk it and pack too little. “You don’t have to act tough for our sake, dear,” the earth pony assured the filly for what Scootaloo knew was the fourth time this morning alone. “And remember, if you need any help, any help at all, just send word to my workplace and I or Aunt Lofty will rush right away!” “I’ll remember, auntie, do not worry,” the filly replied with a smile, stopping her preparations for a moment to give her aunt a brief nuzzle. The action calmed the mare somewhat as she gave the filly a smile. “Oh, I really wish things at work weren’t so hectic so that we could take you to your first day at school ourselves!” Holiday said while nuzzling Scootaloo back. Moving back towards her saddlebags while making another agreeing sound, the pegasus filly started to make a final check that everything was in order, all the while hoping that her aunt would calm down a little now, everything was fine. She could easily handle going to school by herself. It was not like she was even slightly nervous about it, after all. Scootaloo wasn’t trying to act tough or anything like that. It was just that, well, in truth very little really made her worry. That was all. No matter the situation she was faced with, how spooky something was, how harrowing something was supposed to be, she simply never got nervous. It was that simple, really. She really couldn’t explain it, but every time she was faced with something that would normally make other ponies nervous or fretful, it was as if something deep within her told her that she had faced far worse before and dealt with it. So what was there to be worried about? She knew that it was a little odd. But, quite frankly, that also didn’t really bother her that much. She was who she was, and anything that tried to disagree would be faced head on and eventually overcome. That was all that was to it. For a brief moment she saw a monstrous beast roaring its wrath amidst a raging storm, the gargantuan creature being easily larger than Ponyville’s town hall. It was a gigantic monster covered in spikes large enough to gorge a grown pony with ease. It was a nightmarish visage straight out of a story, a beast capable of razing cities and destroying armies by itself. But, as she stood before the creature, none of that mattered to her. As she calmly drew her blade and started to move towards the great beast with sure steps, all that mattered was that it was blocking her path, and as such had to be overcome so she could keep going. Blinking her eyes, she paid the daydream she just had little mind. It had been interesting, and even kinda cool, but not really pertinent to the situation at hoof or even really useful right now. And besides, those daydreams were just another odd thing that seemed to happen from time to time with no apparent reason. No need to get unduly worried. Giving her aunt, who was still apologizing that she wouldn’t be able to take Scootaloo to the school due to being late for work, a tight hug and reassuring her once again that it was okay, and it really was, she went towards the door. She knew that her family sometimes worried that she may feel neglected due to the fact that most of them were almost always busy with work. But once again, that was not the case. She understood that they were busy but loved her nonetheless. That was made clear by all the gestures of love and affection they showered her with when they had a free moment. And that, alongside the knowledge that they were all alive and well, was more than enough as far as the filly was concerned. With a final farewell to her aunt, Scootaloo climbed atop the small scooter her parents had recently gifted her and started to buzz her small wings in order to get going. It wouldn’t do to be late to the first day of class, especially with her being a newcomer to the town. “Now you be careful in there sugarcube, you hear me?” Applejack said as she nuzzled a very embarrassed looking Apple Bloom right in front of Ponyville’s school building. “Applejack, stop embarrassing me!” the filly complained as she pushed her sister away. The yellow-coated filly gave her big sister a small glare as she fixed the large ribbon on her crimson mane due to the unwanted show of affection right in front of so many ponies. “Now, now, none of that,” her older sister said with a chuckle before gently questioning, “You sure aren’t forgettin’ anythin’? “Yes, I’m sure,” the filly replied with an eye-roll as she endured a final nuzzle from her overly affectionate big sister. “Tell Big Mac I’ll get the plow fixed after school, okay?” “No worries, sugarcube, the big lug’ll be helpin’ me with the western orchard these next few days. So there is no rush with that,” the orange-coated mare chided her good naturedly. “And have a good day at school.” “Yeah, sure,” Apple Bloom grouched as she started towards the school’s entrance with a final wave of goodbye to Applejack. She loved her sister, she really did. But sometimes she was kinda overbearing. Dismissing that line of thought, she instead started to think about how best to fix and reinforce the plow so that Big Mac wouldn’t accidentally bend it out of shape with his strength, again. Really, the ease with which the stallion did so was mind-boggling! She had a few vague ideas for metal mixes that she felt would work wonders, even if she had nothing but a gut feeling to explain said feeling she knew that even her big brother would have a hard time breaking those alloys! But how best to gather the necessary materials she would need to make them? So focused on that little conundrum was she, that Apple Bloom didn’t even notice the white unicorn filly right in front of her until she had barreled her over, bringing both of them to the ground into a heap. Fighting back the urge to curse, Applejack wouldn’t let her hear the end of it if she found out she had done so, she tried to get free from the unicorn now splayed over her, with limited success. “Are you two alright?” an orange-coated pegasus filly calmly asked as she moved closer to the two of them and proceeded to first help the unicorn back to her hooves before offering a hoof towards Apple Bloom too. Apple Bloom for her part was already opening her mouth to reply that she needed no help from anybody and was more than capable of getting back up by herself, thank you very much! Only to stop and stare as her eyes locked with the two pairs of eyes now staring at her. For a long moment none of them moved as the three fillies kept staring at each other. And as earth pony, pegasus and unicorn gazed at each others’ eyes, the rest of the world laid forgotten, the same thought passed by each of their minds. Somehow, they knew those eyes. In a slight daze, Apple Bloom didn’t even notice as the young pegasus helped her back to her hooves as all three of them kept staring at each other as if under a spell. And as she stared into the eyes of those two strangers, Apple Bloom couldn’t help but feel that she knew them from somewhere. That she knew them far better than anyone that she had ever known. Better than even Big Mac, Granny Smith, or even Applejack. That she knew these ponies, completely and fully. The three fillies simply stood there; completely uncaring to the fact they were starting to gather quite a bit of attention from the other colts and fillies as they crowded around the strange trio blocking the hallway. They stood there, staring at each others’ eyes as if in a trance, as the feeling of familiarity grew larger and larger with each moment that passed. So lost was she in the unexplainable feeling that Apple Bloom didn’t even notice as the three of them started to float off the ground, nor did she notice the shocked gasps from the other ponies watching it all happen. All that she could focus upon, her whole world was narrowed down to the two other fillies right before her as she suddenly remembered it all. She remembered impossible battles and worthy foes. She remembered countless adventures and innumerable ordeals. She remembered the sweet taste of victory, and the bitterness of defeat. She remembered the curses of fate and the joy of freedom. And, above all else, she remembered the two beings who had accompanied her every step of the way during her countless journeys. Friend, foe, companion, enemy, confident, rival, family, nemesis, they had been all that and more. For, in the end, for the longest time, they had been all that each other truly had while trapped amidst the rotting eternities of the cycle the gods had cursed and trapped them within. And with a blinding flash of light that provoked shocked gasps and shouts from the crowd all around them, the three fillies returned to the ground. The very familiar symbol of three golden triangles was proudly emblazoned upon each of their three flanks for all to see. And so, Ganondorf, the King of Thieves, Dark Lord, Wielder of the Triforce of Power, and now a small yellow-coated filly born to a loving family of apple farmers, blinked her large eyes, shook her head once, stared at who she knew beyond any shadow of a doubt had to be her fellow Triforce Wielders, and deadpanned, “Well, that just happened.” But before either Link or Zelda could reply, what looked like the whole school surged forward, all shouting questions and trying to talk over each other, crowding around the three of them and creating such a cacophony of noise that any chance of actually talking with the other two was a forlorn hope. Rolling her eyes as the little princess started to try and defuse the situation, while Link simply calmly waited for the crowd to exhaust its enthusiasm, the Wielder of the Triforce of Power instead started to focus once again on the plow she still had to fix. All the while wondering if making Big Mac a Titanite plow would be overkill or not.