//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Legend of Sweetie Belle // Story: Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers // by Lucar //------------------------------// The party was a huge success in helping the Pokémon integrating Ponyville, even Smily despite still scaring the more fearful ponies (like a certain trio of sisters). Sweetie Belle left them out of their Poké Balls all the time, letting them interacting with the ponies and go wherever they wanted as long as they behaved. Tank loved helping at the farm. He wasn't as strong as the Apples, far from it, but his water moves were very appreciated, and thanks to him, Apple Bloom had more free time to spend with her friends or her granny while Applejack and Big Mac still had their chores to do (most of them being too hard for the Squirtle). Ratzo passed most of his time at Fluttershy's cottage, or rather, around it, where it tended to be calm, far from the rambunctious ponies. He mostly remained by himself, but he still regularly helped Fluttershy by keeping an eye on the animals and reporting to her if something happened. Volta remained with Sweetie Belle whenever she was out of school. While she was in school, she simply played around or observed the ponies with all the wonders of a child. She seemingly got Sweetie Belle's sweet tooth because she also went regularly in Sugarcube Corner where the Cakes couldn't stop themselves from giving her a treat. They just couldn't resist her eyes. However, they remained careful whenever she was around the twins, having heard about, and seen, her little electric problems. Lulla spent most of her time inside the Carousel Boutique where she loved admiring the dresses. Seeing this, Rarity made a couple of dresses for her, making the Jigglypuff ecstatic. Her singing, however, quickly became feared in the town. Whenever she was feeling like it, Lulla would burst into a song, making anyone within hearing range fall asleep, even the animals. She just couldn't help herself. However, her songs were very useful in the hospital to make the patients fall asleep. Drako spent all his time in the river traversing Ponyville or in the lake not far. He regularly played (or pranked) with the fillies and colts getting too close of the water, splashing them with his tail or making them falling in it, generally resulting in water battles. Outside of this, he mostly remained underwater, only coming out to look at passing ponies when he felt like it. Finally, Smily, being a Ghost-type, remained in dark places and rarely came out, taking pleasure jumpscaring ponies (in good fun). Although Pinkie always seemed to know when he was nearby. And at least, he left the ponies alone in their homes the night. As for Sweetie Belle, she mostly passed the days normally while waiting for the week-end again, going to school, helping her friends finding their Cutie Marks, helping her sister, and training others into using their inner energy. The Sunday after her return, she did a quick test where she used two stopwatches, left one to Apple Bloom, kept the other on her, and went into the Pokémon Universe. There, she remained ten seconds before returning in her universe. Thanks to this, she was able to determine that ten seconds in the Pokémon Universe were equal to forty-seven seconds in Equestria, more or less a few hundredth. Which meant that she would have been late for school without the help of Arceus and Dialga. If only she could keep Dialga with her, she wouldn't have that problem while exploring other universes. Too bad her control of time wasn't yet that good. But, eventually, the week-end came again, meaning another occasion for Sweetie Belle to explore a new universe. She was thinking about exploring that universe with the giant mecha spider-things, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to enter what seemed to be a war between two alien species yet. And she just didn't have time, unless this universe's time was faster than Equestria's time. She will think about it another time. Right now, she wanted to explore. She asked her Pokémon if they wanted to come with her, and they all agreed. So she called them back in their Poké Balls which she then put in a small pocket dimension with some supplies before she opened a portal and passed it. Sweetie Belle landed on stone, eager to see what this new universe had in store for her, but just as she started to have a look at where she was, there was a sudden blood-curdling screech! "AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" The screech somehow had the effect of totally stunning Sweetie Belle, not letting her move even her eyes. She, however, still was able to use her powers, and materialized one of her beam swords out of her pocket dimension before swinging it randomly at the direction the screech came from. Eventually, she cut something that dropped on the ground. A couple of seconds later, she was able to move again and she turned to look at what screeched. It revealed to be some kind of humanoid zombie that looked starved to the point that it only had its skin on its bones, and the bones could be seen through the skin! It didn't have any clothes, but it was wearing some wooden mask that only showed its teeth. She had managed to cut it by the torso, slicing by the same occasion the arms. Looking around, she spotted more of these things approaching her, and she quickly sent her sword to behead one that was coming too close. She also saw that she had appeared in a totally destroyed town, beside a broken fountain. As she looked around, she saw that all the buildings were in ruin, a dark castle could be seen in the distance, there was a volcano surrounded by a ring of fiery clouds that seemed ready to erupt, and the sky was entirely covered by dark clouds, not letting a single ray of the sun pass. "So... A place conquered by an evil overlord... And of course, I appear right in the middle of a town infested of weird zombies that can stun with a scream. Thank you very much!" she said with an annoyed look before she beheaded another approaching zombie before it could screech. "Well then... Since I'm here, I should as well clean the place and deal with this overlord. Should be fun." A young man wearing a green tunic and a green hat came out of the temple at the edge of the town and looked around in horror at the state of the town and of the world in general. The destroyed buildings, the dead trees, the covered sky, the volcano in the distance... A little ball of blue light with wings then came from behind the man. "Oh... Link... That's horrible! Look at the state of Hyrule!" The named Link grit his teeth. "Don't worry, Navi, we will fix this, and Ganondorf will pay." Navi then remarked a commotion in the main place of the destroyed town. "Hey! What is it?" She flew closer to have a better look. "ReDeads! A lot of them! And they're attacking... Huh... A little white horse levitating a sword of light? What?" Link immediately took his sword and his shield and ran down the path to the place to deal with the undead creatures and help the equine, not asking any question about said equine. There was someone attacked by monsters, that was all he needed to know. Although the little horse seemed to have no problem defeating the ReDeads. Thanks to the levitating sword of light it used, the monsters were killed before they could come close enough to use their stunning screams. They could use their scream from far away, but their minds couldn't register it as, for them, using the scream too far wouldn't give them enough time to reach their victim, and so, they waited until they were close enough. If it wasn't for that, then they could use their screams one after another to keep the victim stunned until they reached it. But they were zombie-like monsters, so you couldn't expect them to be smart. And Link was thankful for this as he approached the nearest ReDead from behind and pierced it. Sweetie Belle hadn't been expecting help, so she was very surprised to see a man in green come and attack the zombies. but she didn't complain, excepted for one thing: the man couldn't levitate his sword, forcing him to get close and personal with the monsters. and of course, what was bound to happen happened. "AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" A zombie that he was approaching screeched at him, stunning not only him but also Sweetie Belle. But thanks to her magic, she still could attack, but as she still was using her sword to slice a zombie approaching her, she had to fire a beam at the zombie that was about to reach the man. The beam disintegrated the head of the zombie, saving the man who nodded at Sweetie Belle in thanks. He then charged at another zombie, this time from behind as the zombie was approaching Sweetie Belle, and attacked it. The filly immediately crushed with her magic the heads of two zombies that were turning toward the man. The few remaining zombies were quickly killed by the two of them. With all the monsters defeated, but remaining on guard, Sweetie Belle approached the man, remarking that, while he looked human, he had the particularity of having pointy ears. He was a blond-haired guy, rather handsome in human standard, barely out of his teens. Beside his green tunic and hat, he was also wearing boots, gauntlets, and what seemed to be a white shirt and pant under the tunic. The tunic had a belt with some pouches, and the man also possessed a scabbard on his back for his sword. Which was weird because, even thought Sweetie wasn't a specialist especially when it came to humans, she could swear that it would be much more practical to have the scabbard at the hip rather than on the back. But if the guy preferred it this way... Speaking of the sword, Sweetie Belle could feel a great power coming from it. A power made to destroy evil. The blade emitted a glow, with something engraved on its base, and the blue crossguard had a design that reminded of wings. As for the shield, it was also blue, and it possessed the same emblem as the one engraved on the blade of the sword, three golden triangles forming together a bigger triangle. The triangles were above what looked like a red bird that had its wings spread at the sides. "Thanks," said the filly once she was close enough. The man stared down at Sweetie Belle, insure. "Huh... You are welcome." Sweetie Belle suddenly threw her sword toward an alley, impaling a zombie that was getting out of it. "I think that we should come out of this place before more of these things come," she proposed. "Hopefully, there won't be more of them outside of the town." The man nodded, and they both ran toward the exit of the town which, apparently, was through a wall surrounding it. There was a destroyed drawbridge that forced the man to swim in the moat surrounding the wall while Sweetie simply flew above it. After that, they moved a little more away from the town before they stopped when they saw that no monster was in sight around them. They were now on a large field from which they could see further away some buildings on top of a small cliff that didn't seem destroyed. At their left was a river that finished into the moat, with a small stone bridge. A small wall in the middle of nowhere for some reason could also be seen further at the left of the buildings. Big, empty, perfect to settle and discuss. The man agreed with this as he put his sword back in its scabbard and put the shield on it. Sweetie Belle did the same, although she put the beam sword back in her pocket dimension. "So... I'm Sweetie Belle. Who are you?" the filly then asked. "I'm Link," answered the man. "And I'm Navi!" then answered a little ball of blue light with wings that Sweetie hadn't remarked until now. Said ball of light then began to fly around Sweetie Belle. "Mmh... I don't think I have heard of a creature like you before. And yet, I know a lot of things! You look like a horse, or rather, some kind of pony, but you possess a horn like the legendary unicorns, and also a pair of wings, and you can talk. What are you?" "I'm an alicorn. And it's normal that you don't know what I am, I'm from another dimension. Sweetie Belle couldn't see her expression, but judging by the little thing's reaction and the tingling, she could tell that she was shocked. "What?!" Link then suddenly knelt in front of Sweetie Belle with a child-like look of wonder. "Really?!" Sweetie Belle hadn't expected such a child-like reaction from a man that had looked so serious until now. "Uh... Yeah. I just arrived and appeared right in the middle of this place full of those weird zombies. Talk about an entrance..." "Those things are called ReDeads," informed Navi. "Be careful to not let them bite you, or they will suck the life out of you." "Noted." "But what is a being from another dimension doing here?" "Just exploring. I opened a portal to a random world, and the portal led me here. That's all," answered Sweetie Belle before she looked back at the town they left. "So, let me guess, an evil overlord is running this place..." She then eyed Link's sword. "And you are on your way to deal with him with this sword?" "You guessed it right," answered Navi. "Well, not right away for the 'deal with him' part. We have to save the sages from the temples all over Hyrule so they can help us defeat Ganondorf." "The guy is that powerful?" "Very, especially now that he is in possession of the Triforce. He is pretty much immortal. Only a few weapons like Link's Master Sword can really defeat him, and even then, the help of the sages will be invaluable." "Mmh... I'm missing a lot of context there, so can you start from the beginning, please?" So both Link and Navi proceeded to explain everything that happened until now. Link apparently grew up in a forest Southwest of here, in a people of eternal children named the Kokiris, under the protection of the Guardian of the forest, the Great Deku Tree. But then, Ganondorf came and began to attempt to steal the keys to open the Sacred Realm where an omnipotent artefact, the Triforce, was kept. The Great Deku Tree was the keeper of one of the keys and refused to let Ganondorf take it, and so, the man sent a curse that slowly killed the tree. By the time Link managed to destroy the cause of the curse, it was too late, and the Great Deku Tree died after revealing to Link everything, that he was actually a Hylian, about Ganondorf, the keys, the Triforce, and so on. The tree also gave the key he was keeping, an emerald. And so, Link left the forest in a quest to stop Ganondorf from taking the Triforce. He managed to find two other keys, a ruby kept by the Gorons in the volcano (named Death Mountain... Nice!), and a sapphire kept by the Zoras at the other end of the river. With the three stones in his possession, Link went to the Temple of Time only to find the town on fire just as Zelda, the princess of Hyrule, escaped, chased by Ganondorf himself. In her escape, Zelda threw at Link the Ocarina of Time, another key to open the Sacred Realm. So Link went in the Temple, placed the three stones at their place, and played with the Ocarina the Song of Time to open the gates to the Sacred Realm, where Link found the Master Sword. However, because Link was destined to be the Hero of Time but was too young, he was put into a sleep of seven years. Ganondorf, who had followed Link into the Temple, took the occasion to enter the now open Sacred Realm and get his hands on the Triforce. With it, Ganondorf conquered Hyrule, and seven years later, here they were. Well, that suck. Also, no wonder Link had acted like a child earlier. He was pretty much a child in an adult body, and for a child, a being from another dimension was SO COOOOL!!! Even if that being was an adorable little filly not even reaching Link's knees. Oh, and Navi was a fairy. She certainly looked very different from the fairies of Ripple Star. As of right now, their first objective was the sage of the forest, who may be a childhood friend of Link. However, they first had to go to Kakariko Village, at the base of Death Mountain, where they will apparently find a way to reach and save the Forest Sage. To put it simply, ADVENTURE TIME! "Can I join you?!" asked Sweetie Belle excitedly. Link shrugged. "I don't see why not." "Yay! Uh, wait a minute, please." Sweetie Belle materialized a paper and a pen and wrote something on it. Rarity was busy sewing a new dress when a paper appeared just in front of her, slowly floating down. Using her magic, she grabbed it and began to read. Dear Rarity Gone on an adventure to save a world from an evil overlord. May be gone several days. Say sorry to Miss Cheerilee from me. Bye! Sweetie Belle Rarity groaned and rubbed her face. Before going to Kakariko Village, Link decided to pass by the Lon Lon Ranch, the buildings that were visible further on the field. Link thought that, since they will be constantly traversing Hyrule Field left and right, it would be better to have a mount than to do it on feet. And the Ranch had some horses that he could use, including one that he befriended seven years ago. He hoped that the horse was still alive and he was very worried about her. Upon entering the Ranch, they quickly discovered that it had also been affected by Ganondorf's conquest despite everything looking okay from outside. When they reached the paddock where the horses were exercising, they encountered Ingo, a man who had been previously a worker. But, somehow, he managed to become the boss, and he forced the previous boss, Talon, out of the Ranch. And now, he was attempting to gain the favor of Ganondorf by attempting to raise a horse that would be perfect for him. That coward opportunist... But, even thought she wanted to punch the guy, Sweetie Belle controlled herself. Ingo proposed to Link to ride one of 'his' horses in exchange of ten rupees, the local money (which were precious gems of various colors), and Link accepted. Link then entered the paddock, ignored the horse proposed by Ingo (probably the one that he intended to give to Ganondorf), and used the Ocarina to play a song, and the next instant, a horse approached him. A horse that looked strangely like Sweetie Belle when Sword Kirby had been on her back. And now that she thought about it, Link's green hat was very similar to Sword Kirby's hat. She facehoofed. Seriously?! Okay, good one, but really, Writer, I so want to hit you right now. As Link was busy riding the horse and having fun, Sweetie Belle then looked around at the Ranch, but there wasn't much to see. A house, a barn, and a tower behind the paddock, and there were some chickens around. Cows could also be heard from the barn, and Sweetie Belle could see a red-haired girl looking from behind the corner of the barn at Link riding the horse with fondness. Ingo, impressed by Link's talent at riding the horse, then proposed to him, in exchange of fifty rupees, to race him, and Link accepted. So they raced around the paddock (Ingo using his best horse), and Link defeated him easily, much to his shock. Wanting to correct this humiliation, Ingo proposed another race, and this time, if Link won then he would be able to keep the horse he was riding. And he won again. "What's up with that horse?! Is that Epona? How did you tame that wild horse right under my nose?!" yelled Ingo from the back of his horse, not believing what happened. "I was going to present that horse to the great Ganondorf... But I bet it on the race and lost! Shooot!" Oh, so it was actually Epona that it wanted to give, not the other horse. Oh well. But then, Ingo calmed down, let out a small laugh, and jumped from his horse before he ran to the portal separating the house and barn to the paddock area. "As I promised, I'll give the horse to you... However..." There, he began to close the portal. "I'll never let you leave this ranch!" And thus, he locked them in the paddock area. Link and Sweetie Belle were unimpressed. "Allow me," said the filly as she approached the portal, behind which Ingo was looking mockingly at Link. Then, she bucked the portal, slamming it open and sending by the same occasion Ingo flying. The man landed heavily on his back and lost consciousness. The red-haired girl then came out from behind the corner of the barn and applauded while laughing. She then pointed at the exit of the ranch. "Quick! Before he wakes up!" Link nodded, and they moved to the exit. As they passed beside the girl, she said, "Take care of Epona, please." Link nodded, and they were out of the ranch. Now, direction Kakariko Village.