//------------------------------// // The Dark Clouds of Despair // Story: The Legend of Zelda: Winds of Equestria // by Ragenule //------------------------------// Image by Daboya Link awoke with a start. It had only been a handful of hours since he went to sleep on Fluttershy's couch, but he found himself feeling restless in the early hours of the morning. Taking a glimpse outside, Link found that the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet, which would give him the chance to experience the cool night air. Quietly testing his right knee, he figured that he would be able to put up with a limp, and so he headed outside, being careful to avoid kicking his shield and creating a ruckus. As he eased the front door shut, Link took a look around as he inhaled deeply. It was only a short time between when the mares found him, and going to sleep after a filling meal, but it felt like much more had occurred. After meeting with Twilight Sparkle and her assistant, Spike, a theory to Link's origin had been put in place. Twilight had mentioned that there were a number of ongoing studies into the possibilities of alternate dimensions, worlds that existed and were similar to her own, but also very different. Based on the fact that Link's biology doesn't match any known species ever recorded in Equestrian history, and that his story indicated that only a visibly short distance was covered, Twilight theorized that Link had ventured to Equestria from one of those alternate dimensions, his home. Shortly after this realization, Twilight seemed to venture off into her own world, frantically writing using her telekinesis, and at one point calling Spike to write a letter to their Princess, which made Link very nervous when she replied that she would arrive at Fluttershy's home shortly after sunrise. Taking another deep breath, Link was surprised to notice that in his thinking, he had lain on the ground and closed his eyes, and quickly opened them to witness that the dark of the night had given way to twilight. 'Wont be long now...' Link thought to himself, as he picked himself up off the ground and ventured back into the cottage. "Hey, another early riser! I didn't know what to expect from you, but that's a start, I guess!" a boy's voice floated out. Link recognized it as Spike's, but he was still surprised to hear the little dragon awake so early. Looking down, he saw the little dragon munching on a handful of little green and red gems, something of which Link still had a hard time understanding was possible. "Hi Spike. Yeah, I couldn't sleep...guess I'm just nervous to meet this 'Princess' of yours. I've always been a bit nervous to meet royalty, as even in my own homeland I find myself fidgety." Link explained. Spike devoured another handful of the color gems, which their appearance began to nag at Link slightly... "Ha ha, if your nervous about Princess Celestia, just wait until you meet Princess Luna!" Spike exclaimed, before shoving his maw full of gems again. Link simply swallowed his building saliva nervously. Twilight had mentioned a Princess Luna, and how she controls the moon's orbit. "Man, these Gems taste pretty different! I have to ask Fluttershy where she got these, they even went through the trouble of cutting them!" Spike exclaimed, pulling one of the red ones out to examine it. Link immediately identified it as a red Rupee, and suddenly discovered why Spike eating them was causing him concern: Spike was eating his Rupees! "AAAH! No, my Rupees!" Link exclaimed, tearing the little satchel away from Spike's grip, only to discover that none of them remained. Spike had cleaned him out. Link slumped to the ground, and began to mope. "Months of allowance...gone...all gone..." "Guys? What's going on out here? Spike, we're you looking for your gems?" Twilight asked as she peeked outside, only to witness Link moping and Spike looking guilty. "Spiiiiike, what did you do to Link?" "I, uhm, sort of...ate his money, I think. I confused them for my gems?" Spike explained, wringing his wrists. "Wha...huh? How? Bits look nothing-- oh." Twilight stopped abruptly when Spike presented the one surviving red Rupee. "So, their money is represented with gems, interesting..." Twilight mumbled to herself as she levitated a journal and quill before her. "He...ATE all my Rupees! HOW IS THIS INTERESTING?" Link shouted in frustration, flipping the satchel inside-out to bring across his point. Twilight looked at Link, her expression showing that she didn't exactly know what to say. "I'm leaving to get something to eat and cool off before your Princess appears." Link said in a huff, tossing the empty Rupee wallet onto the ground. As he disappeared into the nearby batch of trees, Twilight glared over at Spike silently. "What? I'm sorry, okay? I tripped over his shield this morning and must have grabbed his 'Rupees' by mistake! How was I supposed to know any different when the bags look similar?" Spike asked, looking towards his pseudo-sister. "Oh, possibly the whole part where they look like they've been specially cut. You know no one in town sells cheap bulk gems pre-cut!" Twilight admonished Spike, who simply looked towards the ground in guilt. "Oh...come inside now. Fluttershy has probably woken up by now and is making breakfast. Besides, something about Link tells me he won't hold this against you for long." Twilight suggested, earning a nod from a silent Spike. As Twilight turned to head back into the cottage, Spike quickly grabbed Link's wallet and placed the surviving red rupee back within it, and jogged to catch up with her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soon after stomping away, Link felt ashamed of himself for yelling. Spike was only a little baby dragon, regardless of how mature he acted at times. Even though he, Link, was young himself, he was representing not only the Knights of Hyrule but the Kingdom of Hyrule as well, and he went and snapped because someone ate his meager allowance by mistake. Link made himself a mental note to apologize to the dragon as soon as he got the chance. Link had begun idly picking a bush filled with some plump purple berries as he wandered around in thought, and quickly found his hands both quite full. Taking a seat amongst some short grass, he began to listen to the sounds of the forest as he chewed on the berries. Once or twice, you had thought he heard some movement in amongst the taller shrubbery nearby, but after quietly listening, he shrugged it off as small animals moving about. "Well, those berries were pretty filling..." Link said to himself as he picked himself up off the ground and cast aside some uneaten berries. "I may be a bit late to meet Princess Celestia now as she arrived, but I suppose she'll still be there. Time to head back..." Link decided. After making sure he hadn't made himself a mess, he nervously pushed forward towards Fluttershy's cottage. Or he would have, if he hadn't heard some excited 'shhh!'ing coming from an oddly shaped bush nearby. Staring at it for a moment, Link could make out some small, shadowy pony muzzles in the bush, that seemed to scrunch up when he stared. "Ah think he heard us!" a young girls voice could be heard faintly from the bush. Smirking slightly, Link decided to tease them a bit. "Thought I heard something, but I guess not. Time to get back, I guess..." Link spoke aloud in as carefree a tone as he could muster, eliciting a shift from the bush. Moving away, he quickly doubled back and crouched inbehind the bush, getting a good look at the girls inside. "Com'awn, let's turn this bush an' follow it! We'll get our cutie marks in biology fer sure!" The orange filly, who's mane was bright red and sported a cute red bow, whispered excitedly. "Hurry up, Scootaloo, or we'll lose it! I don't want to have to tell Rarity that my hair is dirty for nothing!" the little white filly with a dual-toned and curly mane grumbled, tapping a hoof determinedly on the dirt of the forest floor. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I want a cutie mark in biology anymore. How can that even be a little bit cool?" The orange and purple maned filly asked, who's name Link had just learned. Silently laughing, Link followed them at a slow pace as they moved forward. Eventually the girls became frustrated and stopped. As they deliberated where to look for him next, Link decided to speak up, and did so with as innocent an expression as possible. "Umm...what are we following again?" he asked, the three fillies whipping their heads around in surprise at the unexpected visitor. "Aaaaah!" was all the three girls shouted in fright, before comically bolting from the bush and ran from the forest and away from Link, who was doubled over with laughter. Quickly recovering his senses from the strange, albiet entertaining encounter, Link made his way back to the cottage. Upon his exit from the trees, Link came upon the sight of a white chariot resting before Fluttershy's home, along with a pair of brawny looking ponies wearing Armour. Link and the guards took wary glances of each other for a few moments, before one of the ponies finally said anything. "The Princess waits inside. Please don't keep her waiting." the guard instructed, to which Link silently nodded. He found them intimidating, but he wasn't going to show them anything, and didn't hesitate to walk straight past them and into the cottage. Once the door was closed, Link overhead one of the guards muttering about something to the other. "Fifty bits says he's just some little kid." the guard on the right said to the one leaning on the cottage wall. Link scoffed as he overheard the guards. He WAS a kid. Sure, he could wield a blade well and dispatch many monsters, but that didn't change how old he was. Sometimes he just felt like playing. And as much as he'd like to do so, he never truly got the chance to do so, as even when he saw other kids his age, Ruul and himself were usually on an important errand of some sort. He did enjoy being helpful to the Knight's order, but he'd like to have more friends. As his mind wandered, Link made sure that he was at least half presentable, a habit that Ruul had made sure he had become accustomed to, as Princess Zelda would occasionally visit during Recruit calls and inspect the recruits. If he looked messy, it might reflect badly on Ruul, which Link didn't want. The only thing that always refused to cooperate was his messy blonde hair, which tended to always look exactly like he had slept in well past noon. His hair is why he made himself a matching hat for his tunic, just so most of the mess would be hidden and not be a constant nuisance. When he finally decided he was presentable enough, Link noticed that he was being stared at by three sets of eyes that were hiding around a corner. Glancing over, he saw three little fillies, probably the same ones as before. As Link stared at them in surprise, and they of wary caution, he finally spoke up. "Uhm...Hi." The three fillies kindly replied with shrieks, and promptly bolted back around the corner. The door to outside opened abruptly as the guards looked inside fiercely to see what the commotion was about. Just as Link was about to shrug and explain, an irritated and large midnight blue mare appeared from around the corner, with three little fillies ushering her towards Link as they hid under her. "He was gonna eat us!" the yellow filly with the pink bow in her red mane shouted. "He's that monster from the Everfree, Princess!" the orange filly, Scootaloo, exclaimed. When the tall blue mare, the one whom Twilight had mentioned earlier and name as 'Luna' before he went to bed, turned her gaze back towards Link, he found himself rooted to the spot as her eyes appeared to look into his very soul as she smiled. The way she held herself was quite intimidating, however it was her mane that had garnered his attention. It appeared to shine and twinkle with the very stars of the night themselves, and Twilight's description did it no justice. When he became aware that he was staring, he looked towards the ground, causing Luna to snort and her smile was replaced with a smirk. "Brave, indeed. Fear not, children. This one will do ye no harm. He is naught but a child himself." Luna stated, approaching Link, leaving the fillies confused. "Follow me, child. My Sister wishes to meet you, we both have many questions for you." Luna said, motioning with her head towards the room she came from. As Link followed behind her, he looked towards the fillies who eyed her warily. "Uhm...sorry for scaring you earlier. I was only joking around, so please don't be scared of me." Link apologized, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "Uhm...It's okay, I guess. As long as you don't actually eat us.." Scootaloo said. "I wo-...hey, I never said I was going to eat you, what gives?" Link asked, frowning towards the fillies, the trio nervously giggling. "We...might have, ahhh, exaggerated a bit?" The yellow one admitted. Link groaned. "As long as no one turns around and starts treating me like some common monster." "What are ya, anyways? Ah've never seen anythin' like ya before!" the yellow filly asked, suddenly very curious, as were the other two. Link puffed out his chest with pride. "I am a Hylian! I hail from the land of Hyrule! I also help protect it, because I'm a member of the order of the Knights of Hyrule! Well...I suppose I should explain that I'm only a recruit, but I've been handpicked for exclusive training from Captain Ruul, my teacher!" Link explained, his excitement getting the better of him. "A Knight? Wow, that's so awesome!" Scootaloo exclaimed, before producing a confused expression on her face. "Wait, don't knights have a sword or something...?" she asked, looking at Link in confusion. Link simply stewed for a moment and mumbled about Ruul and being correct or something. "How old are you?" the white one said, breaking the ensuing silence by finally saying something. "I'm twelve, actually. How about yourselves?" Link asked the girls. Just as they were about to reply, Twilight stuck her head out of the room in which Princess Luna entered. "Link, come in please, both the Princesses are waiting." Twilight reminded him, coaxing him towards her with a hoof. Heeding the instructions, Link walked forward and into the room, which turned out to be the kitchen, only to be greeted a great white mare in golden regalia. Once again, Twilight's description of this Princess did her no justice, as one could almost argue that the very light of the sun radiated from her body and flowing, ethereal mane. Link was in awe, and he wasn't exactly certain of what he needed to do, so he simply stood and stared in silence. She was the first to break the ice. "Hello, young one. Do you know who I am?" Princess Celestia asked in a very soft tone. Link nodded silently. "I think so. You're Princess Celestia, right? Twilight described both you and Princess Luna to me." Link replied, obviously nervous. "Yes, I suppose my faithful student will have instructed you about my sister and I. We've come to visit you today, to understand where you've come from. From what I do know, I must say it is very limited. Please, can you tell me your name?" "Link, your majesty." Link replied, fidgeting slightly due to nerves. "Link...a very distinct name, if I do say so myself. Now, please, take a seat. You have no need to be nervous around me, I'm simply curious about you and your people as I've never seen one of your kind ever before in my vast lifetime." Princess Celestia explained, motioning towards an empty seat at the table the ponies all sat at. Just as Princess Celestia found Link beginning to relax around her, she cursed inwardly when a Guard burst into the room and sent Link slamming into the wall behind the door. "Princess, I--!" "My Guard, please calm yourself! You just hurt our visitor!" Princess Celestia instructed, motioning to the door. The guard looked confused for a moment, and then he heard a groan come from behind the door as it slowly began to close again, he finally noticed the Hylian boy he had just crushed. "Uhm...I..." The guard began to say, before another guard burst in, once again slamming the door closed on the still stunned Link. "Princess, the forest is--!" The guard began, before the pair of them found their Princess having raised a hoof and giving each of them a disproving glance as Celestia checked on Link. "I...think I'm...gonna buy the ranch..." was basically the only understandable words coming from Link, as he found everything to be spinning and in a haze. All the ponies in the room stared at him for a moment, while he collected himself. It wasn't long, however, before yet another guardspony entered the room. "Princesses, Twily, I'm sorry for the intrusion, but we've had a development." the stallion explained himself with a bow. "Shining Armor?" Twilight asked, confusion reigning her features. "What seems to be the issue, Captain?" Princess Celestia asked, clearly worried about whatever it was that Shining Armor discovered. "Some ominous, black clouds are billowing out from the Everfree forest. We haven't discovered their source, yet, but it appears to be coming from somewhere within the forest itself." the captain explained. Link started once he heard this. "Wait! The source could be where I came from!" Link exclaimed, garnering the entire room's attention, along with the unsure glare from Shining Armor. "Before I first appeared here, there was a pretty bad storm in the sky above me. The clouds didn't seem to dissipate any when I first encountered Fluttershy in the woods." "Shortly after that, I met Rainbow Dash, who later mentioned that she didn't know why another pony hadn't cleared the skies yet. If those clouds were actually coming from Hyrule and explain why the sky here wasn't clear, it would mean that the clouds are somehow coming in the same way that I did, and that it might be the way back into Hyrule!" Link explained, his expression showing that he was clearly proud of his deduction. It brought a warm smile to Celestia's face for a brief moment before she frowned again as Link's expression quickly became troubled. "Sister, do you sense it again?" Luna suddenly asked, stepping into an offensive stance as she looked around. "This climate of...evil. The clouds outside are not natural." Celestia whispered as she closed her eyes. "But that would mean that...that Hyrule is in trouble. I have to get home somehow!" Link exclaimed. Just as Link was about to ask about getting back to where he found Fluttershy, a pair of strange creatures with the appearances of lanky goblins burst into the room. Before the two guards could react, they both received a violent club to their heads, dropping them immediately. "Bokoblins!" Link shouted, entering a defensive stance. In the ensuing confusion, Link heard Shining Armor shouting. "Princesses, get out of here! Run!" "I'm teleporting everypony further into town, stay still!" Princess Celestia instructed, and everyone, save Shining Armor, stayed absolutely still. Link clenched his eyes shut, as he felt a warm white light envelope him, he heard Princess Celestia gasp, right before a loud 'CRACK!' broke the silence. Link flicked one eye open...and found himself all alone in Fluttershy's kitchen. Even the monsters had seemingly disappeared. "H...hello? Princesses? Twilight...? Miss...Fluttershy?" Link asked in the ominous silence. No reply. And everything was being covered in darkness, as the clouds blotted out the sunlight. Feeling the heat of day quickly disappearing, Link found it prudent to locate his shield and find a suitable weapon. Amongst the gear that was dropped by all three guards as they teleported away was a narrow, short sword that Link picked up and attached the sheath onto his back through the belt he wore over his shoulder. He ended up doing the same with his shield when he located it within Fluttershy's living room, right next to his makeshift bed that was the couch. Fully equipped, Link tested the weight of his blade by pulling it out, and found that it wasn't much lighter than his own, but the awkward shape of the hilt bothered him some. Taking a peak outside through the door, Link found it to be a very gloomy place outside. Looking around, he found the village in the distance towards the west of the cottage, and began to walk along the path towards it at a steady jog in an attempt to rejoin the ponies. Only a short distance outside the cottage, however, he found himself stunned by a strange flash of light that had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. As Link shook his to clear his mind of the strange occurrence, he heard a loud crack, to which he had begun to attribute to teleportation, sound off behind him. "Link! You're okay!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted as Link whipped around to catch a glimpse of her. As he approached the group, he noted that, along with Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy, and the Princesses, some more mares had shown up this time, along with what seemed to be a platoon of guards. The Pink mare seemed very excited to see him, but was pulled aside by another unknown mare, this one orange, as she began to instruct the pink one. A white mare with a very stylized purple mane simply smiled at Link, who nodded in return. "Of course I'm okay. The Bokoblins disappeared when you all teleported. I was worried you grabbed them instead of me by mistake." Link directed this last bit to Princess Celestia, who had been eying him with curiosity since reappearing. "No, those 'Bokoblins', as you call them, didn't come with us. Nor was it my intention to leave you behind. Link, could you tell me, is there something of immense power attached to you, or do you have any sort of artifact in your possession that might be interfering with our magic?" Celestia asked, eyeing Link with continued interest. Before he could answer, however, a bright flash of lightning split the sky before them, followed immediately by the deafening boom of the thunder, serving to remind everyone of the severity of the situation. "I suppose my questions will have to wait. Link! We must travel to your world and find a way to stem this evil! Will you lend us your courage and knowledge and bring us to your leaders?" Celestia asked, staring at Link intensely. Without hesitation, Link nodded, and donned his shield. "Alright, guards! Diamond formation! Protect the Princesses and the Bearers with your lives!" Shining Armour shouted from Celestia's side. All the ponies seemed to organize themselves, with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the other three mares he didn't know being forced to stand between the Princesses Celestia and Luna, while the Guards formed a two pony wide diamond shape around them all, with Shining Armour moving to the front. "Link, was it? Could you come beside me, kid?" he beckoned Link with a hoof, as the group began their march forward. "Yes Sir?" Link heeded, giving Shining a salute as a show of respect. Shining frowned slightly out of concern. "I...hate to drag a child into this, but I think I'm really going to need your help here. Everypony but you is treading into unfamiliar territory here, and with what I expect to be constant adversity from these 'Bokoblins', I'm going to need any edge I can get. I know that Princess Celestia already asked you this, but I'm also aware that her status tends to intimidate a lot of ponies, so...are you on board with this? I know you're a swordsman in training, but actual combat can be quite frightening, especially for one as young as you." Shining asked, explaining himself as he looked ahead into the rapidly approaching Everfree Forest. Turning his head to look at Link directly into the eyes, he asked his question. "Can you muster up the courage to face the challenges ahead?" Link was silent as he looked directly into Shining Armour's eyes. The two maintained this staring contest, until Shining Armour seemed satisfied and the pair came to a silent understanding. "Heh, alright there, little warrior. I'm satisfied with the answer your eyes gave." "My...eyes?" Link asked, as he continued to walk beside Shining Armour, the light around them dimming slightly as they entered the outer trees of the forest. "Yeah, your eyes seem to have this unwavering gold light behind them. Gives you a very fierce stare." Shining Armour explained himself, only serving to confuse Link a little more as the boy rubbed a mark on the back of his hand. "Alright, keep your guard up, we're entering the forest proper, alot of dangerous creatures already live here. I don't want to be ambushed by a hungry Manticore." "Alright..." Link mumbled quietly, bringing his shield closer to himself. As the large group carried further into the forest, many creatures seemed more interested in steering clear of them than anything. The further they went into the forest, the most cold and wet the air seem to come. It wasn't long before they began to hear the pit-pat of rain on the leaves above. "Hey, we're on track! This is the clearing where I found Miss Fluttershy! I came through right from the other side, come on!" Link shouted, jogging across the clearing. "Hey, Kid, wait! Don't run in there, it could be being watched!" Shining Armour shouted, just as he began to run after Link. Before he could stop him, though, Shining Armour found his path to Link blocked. Link was stuck inside a large ring of fire. "Well this was stupid of me..." Link said under his breath as the fire raged. Looking around quickly, he found it was too tall to simply run though without getting thoroughly roasted. Before he could do much more, however, he heard a bunch of strange cries from the air, and he turned to gaze only to be greeted by the sight of a pair of Kargarocs hauling a very unwelcome sight. "Moblins...why didn't I listen to the Captain..." Link admonished himself. Steeling his resolve, he unsheathed the pony blade he had commandeered. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled when he heard the distinct thud from the Moblins landing on the ground. "Princesses, can't you do anything? Please!" Link had heard Twilight pleading from the other side of the fire wall. "No, something is interrupting the magic the moment it touches him! Something is shielding him from it!" Princess Celestia explained. Resting a hoof on Luna's withers to get to stop trying, Celestia shouted towards Link "Link! I'm sorry, but we still can't cast any magic on you! You must defeat these foes on your own!" "I'M TRYING!" Link shouted back, as his shield took a stab from one of the Moblins. Quickly analyzing his situation, he found that his temporary blade was simply too short to get by the reach of the Moblins. Not to mention, the Moblins always seemed to take turns being offensive. Whenever Link would attack one of them, he would always find himself forced back by the other, lest he be impaled or sport a large gash. 'Crap, what can I do...? What would Ruul suggest...'Play against their weakness'?' Link thought to himself frantically. When he noticed one of the Moblins accidentally tripping the other, causing both to drop their guard, his mind clicked. 'They're too obsessed with being the one to end me, so they're not even paying much attention to one another! Maybe if I can get one to strike the other...!' Link concluded. Venturing as close as he dared to one of the Moblins, to exposed his side to the other, and succeed in baiting a swing from the side. Jumping away (and narrowly avoiding the fire ring), Link couldn't help but let out a little laugh when the polearm connected with his target, sending the other Moblin careening right through the fire. The Moblin let out a cry of pain before disappearing into a cloud of black and purple smoke. 'Alright, now for the remain-' Link began to think, before he felt his world explode into a world of pain and stars. Quickly coming to, he found himself sprawled dangerously close to the opposite edge of the ring, having been on the receiving end of a punch from the brute. "Ahh, you'll regret that!" Link shouted back at the laughing Moblin. Grabbing the dirt by his side, he--'Wait...dirt? Ooooohhhh SHOOT!' Link's internal monologue moaned, as he watched the blade he had been using growing red-hot at the fire that surrounded it continually licked it's surface. Glancing back at the advancing Moblin, Link only had one option left. The spear remaining on the ground from the other Moblin. 'Time to be a Hero, I guess...' Link grumbled to himself, as he plucked up the courage to try and get around the Moblin. Keeping a good grip on his shield, he ran up to the Moblin before him and threw the dirt he was still holding into it's face, causing it to try an overhead swing in rage. Rolling around it in an arc and avoiding the strike, Link threw his shield around onto his back and hefted the spear up into both of his hands. Playing on the Moblin's confusion, Link leaned back as far as he could go without falling over, gave the spear a great heave, and threw it as hard as he could at his foe. In a split second, the spear found it's mark, and burst through the other side of theMoblin, allowing a purple smoke to leak out from both ends of the wound. With a soundless gasp, the remaining Moblin exploded into the same purple and black smoke. As he watched the fire ring recede, Link suddenly noticed how exhausted the whole ordeal had made him. Turning back to the stunned faces of the ponies, he began to gasp for breath. "And that...is how...you...anyone...water. Please?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After repeating the agreement that Princess Celestia had made Link agree to for the fifth time, everyone was satisfied that Link would finally be a team player in the trip. He also relented for Fluttershy to keep her happy, and allowed her to bandage his jaw, the area where the Moblin had struck him, along with a few cuts and scrapes. It wasn't that he hated being cared for; in fact, it could be quite nice, and he imagined it was quite a bit like having a mother. But he felt that he was also constantly expected to represent the Knights of Hyrule in this situation, and he doubted being treated like a child really was the best way to go about doing it. Regardless, after he was patched up, he was eager to keep moving, partially because he wanted to find out why Hyrule seemed to be flooded with evil, but also due to the fact that the one seemingly manic pink pony kept inching her way closer to him. Once they got moving again, it was mere minutes of walking until they finally came upon a welcome sight. "The log tunnel! It's still here!" Link shouted, relief evident in his voice. "Is that a hint at the desire to leave Equestria as quickly as possible?" Princess Luna teased. "If I told you that I was a little scared that I wouldn't be able to return, would you think less of me?" Link asked, shield covering that fact that he was rubbing his hands in slight embarrassment. "No, I would think that you are simply a child who would like to go home. And that's something anypony would like, I'm sure." Luna comforted, wing extending and covering Link's back to reassure him. "So...what gave my age away, initially? You and Princess Celestia both called me 'child' before I even mentioned an age." Link asked, as they approached the tunnel. "Well...there was the pitch of your voice, but that isn't always an exact manner of determining a general point in growth. But your mannerisms were very similar to that of a young colt looking to prove himself. Which is also the way in which we both figured you to be male." Luna explained to Link. He didn't understand some of the finer details of what she was saying, but he did pick out the fact that his behavior was similar to a young boy. He wasn't sure if that was something to be troubled by. "Is everypony ready? If any of you wish to back out now, for fear of your own safety, I will not hold it against you." Shining Armour suddenly declared, scanning the large platoon of guards. Seeing none of them move away from the group, a wide smile grew across his face. "Alright then, time to head out. Team Alpha will head in first, to secure the area on the other side, while Team Bravo will remain behind. After the area is secure, the Princesses and the Bearers will enter in behind Alpha, and Bravo will be right behind them. Any Questions?" "Sir! Will the lad be accompanying team Alpha?" a unicorn guard asked suddenly, raising a hoof to the air. Shining Armour turned towards Link, who had just been granted a new, longer blade by the Armorer that was with the Platoon. "That's actually not a bad idea. Link, what do you say?" Shining Armour asked, receiving a nod. "Yeah, if you wouldn't mind. I want to see if there's a knapsack in the tunnel. I left it behind in there when I went through." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon reaching the opposite side, Link was able to rummage though his knapsack and produce the five bottles of milk. After inspecting them, he found the tell-tale curdles that they were mostly spoiled, save one bottle. After frowning as he dumped the bad bottles and rummaging around inside to find a protective spot for the sole remaining milk, Link came across a map of Hyrule, which Ruul had given him a few years back. After Deciding to take a look at the map, Link looked up and found himself looking directly into a pair of aqua blue eyes, framed by a pink face. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie! I wasn't able to introduce myself earlier because Applejack told me to stay quiet because the situation was really bad, but now that we're over here all we can do is walk, and I mean, how boring is walking when you can't talk? See, watch!" Pinkie Pie instructed, pacing back and forth with an exaggerated frown as she held herself up, chest puffed out in a stiff walk. "Isn't it just boring? Wouldn't you just want to play? I mean, you specially, considering you're only 12!" "Do you even breath? And how do you know how old I am? You weren't in the cottage, I'd remember seeing you." "Of course I breath, silly! And I overheard you say it to Applebloom in the hallway. She's 10, by the way." "How...did you overhear? Where were you in there? You must be really good at hiding!" "Oh, no, I was just in Fluttershy's closet looking for Gummy, my pet Alligator." Pinkie Pie replied nonchalantly. Link was astounded by her, and began to wonder if she wasn't slightly manic. "So, where do you live? Can we go there? Is it a mansion or something? All our knights live in mansions as nobles do. I wonder what it's like to live in a mansion. I've only lived in a rock farm shack and the upstairs loft of a confectionery store before, so I wouldn't know. What's it like?" "I....uuuahhh....ummm..." Link was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to behave around Pinkie Pie. He was fortunate, however, when Twilight, Fluttershy, and the rest of the girls he didn't know came over. "Aww, leave tha poor guy alone, Pinkie. Yer makin him think in circles." "Don't worry about her, darling. She's always this excitable." the white mare who sported a purple mane explained to Link, who simply nodded. "But my, are you really only 12? That seems awfully young to be using weapons, doesn't it?" Rarity expressed her concern, mostly to the girls in attendance rather than Link. "Hey, I've been training with the blade since I was 8! I think I know my way around it just fine, thanks." Link snapped back, feeling insulted. "Oh, I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to offend you! It's just...well...I'm not used to seeing such a young colt skilled in combat. Infact, I'm sure not a single one of us ever has. I do hope you'll accept my apologies for any inadvertent missteps." Rarity finished with a courtesy. "Oh, it's alright...that sort of gets mentioned alot here, too, actually..." Link mumbled. "Sort of one of the reasons the Academy refused to train me itself, so Ruul took me in..." "What about yer folks? What're their opinions on it?" The orange mare wearing a Stetson asked in a distinct southern twang. Link was silent for a moment, before offering a small sigh. "I suppose they don't care, they're dead. They died protecting me from some pirates, when they were attacked at sea." Link explained. He looked towards the orange mare, who had placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Ah'm sorry, guess an should have surmised as much... mah folks are gone, too. Went missin' shortly after Ma had little Applebloom. Been so long that ah guess we've just moved on..." The mare trailed off, seemingly lost in though. Snapping back into the present, she looked back towards Link again. "Oh, drat, ah'm sorry, ah of all ponies should know how sensitive a subject that can be. Worst of all, ah haven't even introduced mahself properly. Names' Applejack!" Applejack offered a hoof. Link grabbed it and shook it as if it were a hand. "Yes, how rude of us! My name is Rarity, dear. You've already met Pinkie Pie here." Rarity motioned to the pink pony who was now hopping on the spot and sported a wide smile. "Well, nice to meet you all. My name is Link." Link returned the courtesy, shaking Rarity's hoof. Upon turning to Pinkie Pie to shake her hoof, he found himself moving up and down in the air at a dizzying pace. "Hi Link, did you want to be friends? Everypony needs friends!" "Uhm..." Link moaned, feeling his world spinning, "Okay, j-just don't do that again, p-please." "Okay!" Pinkie Pie agreed, before bouncing off to look at some plants. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." Link moaned, as his vision continued to spin. Applejack eased him to the ground to ensure he wouldn't hurt himself. "Easy there, pard'ner. This is a pretty common thing to happen when ya first meet Pinkie Pie. Jus' give yerself a chance to rest." "Hey! This plant moves!" Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed, prompting Link to glance past Applejack, who had also turned to see the commotion. Pinkie Pie had agitated a visibly hungry Deku Baba, drooling as it looked upon it's clueless prey. "Darlin' ah don't think that thing is very friendly-!" Applejack began to shout at Pinkie Pie, before she found herself shoved to the side by a green blur. Just as the Deku Baba lunged at the pink pony, Link slammed into her, and was quickly snapped up by the cavernous maw of the plant. The sight of Link's legs flailing in the air as the plant shook him a bit would have been quite hilarious if it wasn't for the fact that the plant was attempting to eat him. "Oh my! Somepony, help!" Rarity shouted, garnering the attention of multiple guards, who had mostly stared in shock. Rainbow Dash had quickly taken to the air and began to give Link's legs some good tugs. Only once some Pegasi guards joined her did the Plant finally give up on eating Link, spitting him out and knocking the ponies out of the air in the process. Grumbling, Link picked himself up and faced the Deku Baba, sword drawn. As the plant foolishly lunged again, Link gave it a good bash with his shield, stunning it, and swung his sword horizontally at the bottom of it's stem, ending the menace as it's bloom exploded into the same purple smoke as before. Only the stem and base had been left behind, the former of which had quickly dried into a stick. "Th-thanks..." Pinkie Pie mumbled as he began to clean some goo off of his tunic. "Don't mention it, just try not to bug the local wildlife, okay?" Link offered with a smile. The group was quickly joined up by the Princesses and the rest of the guard, and after a quick debrief on the incident, they all continued on until they reached the edge of the forest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Uhh, wow? This place is drenched. Is it always this wet?" Rainbow Dash asked Link, who simply stared at the once proud fields before him. They looked like a sad, wet dog now, more than anything. "No, normally it's pretty sunny out...now we definitely have to head to the castle. If no one knows what's exactly happening, I'm sure the Princess can give us an idea." Link instructed the group, whom simply nodded. Taking note of his surroundings, Link took a peek at the map he had found earlier and estimated them all to be quite near his home. "Could we make a pit-stop, however? There are a few things I need to collect before we head out." "Oh? Like what? Are they really going to be necessary? I'm worried about Equestria being left alone..." Twilight admitted, a feeling which appeared mutual amongst all the ponies present. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important to have. I need to grab hold of the emergency stash of Rupees, in the case that we need food or shelter and having your Princesses flashing their credentials doesn't work." Link explained. "In fact, I can leave this map with you all, let you get your bearings and plan a route, while I hot-foot it home quickly. It's pretty much just past these few hills to our right, so I won't be long." "Sounds like a good idea, actually. I'd feel safer if somepony went with you, though, considering what happened to you earlier." Shining Armour finished, motioning to an Earth pony guard, Pegasus guard, and Unicorn guard. "Sure, I guess. Like I said, though, it shouldn't be long." Link replied, allowing Shining Armour's magic to grab hold of the map. Nodding to the right at his 'escort', Link took off at a well paced jog across the slick field, the three ponies following behind him. "I fear we may be relying on him too much, Princess. It's not right, with him being such a tender age." Rarity suddenly spoke up, voicing her concerns. "What choice do we have? We're in a foreign land, probably existing in another dimension entirely, while under attack from an evil we've never seen before. That kid has all that knowledge, and we need his help if we're going to get answers." Shining Armour replied, feeling a sense of annoyance building already. He knew this was coming. "But a child, Shining Armour. A CHILD! Honestly, he should be playing with friends, not running around with a sword fighting monsters on our behalf! He's already had a close encounter of being skewered on a spear, and was nearly eaten by a carnivorous plant! Two near death experiences, not even an hour apart, in an effort to help us! Don't you think that's just wrong?" Rarity pleaded with him, attempting to sway the captain. Not receiving a reply, Rarity turned to Applejack. "Surely you agree with me, Applejack? Would you have even considered for half a second in bringing Applebloom along with you on this dangerous journey?" Rarity asked. "Not a single reason in all of Equestria could ah have ever considered bringin' her. Ah can see yer point, Rar'." Applejack agreed, before shifting her saddlebags slightly and mumbling. "These saddlebags certainly seem to want ta' disagree, though. Mite heavier than ah expected...what in Equestria did Granny Smith put in here?" Just as everyone began to get involved in the argument, along with some guards voicing their opinions, Celestia and Luna looked towards each other, Luna with exasperation and Celestia with mild concern. "Everypony, quiet down this instant!" Luna suddenly barked, gaining the field silence, save for the rain. Celestia nodded thanks to her sister, who simply nodded. "While I do agree with you girls that Link, as a child, should remain at home from here on, I'm sure none of you can refute Captain Armour's logic. We are completely blind in this land, one of which probably doesn't even know we're here yet. While this map will help, we may find it difficult to gain audience with the local royalty out of fear of attack." Princess Celestia spoke, pausing only for a moment for the ponies to digest what had been said. "Our sudden appearance may be met with suspicion, assuming these monster attacks have also started recently. So we need a friend on the inside, and I would hazard a guess that Link is more deeply connected to this lands Royalty than he lets on." "So we're bringing him with us...?" Fluttershy had asked, having piqued up the courage to speak. "Yes, my little pony, we are." Princess Celestia answered, looking up and around the field. "I'd be hesitant to leave him alone in this darkened landscape, anyways. It seems to be radiating despair." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "My...my home..." Link mumbled, staring slack-jawed at the collapsed ruins of the cottage before him. Behind him, the three guards had already readied their weapons in-case of surprise attack. Moving forward. Link clambered over the fallen doorway into the home, and began searching for his sword. After a few moments of shoving aside crumbled and slick, wet stone, he came upon a happy sight: his sword and scabbard. Checking it over, the only issues he found was a few dings and scratches on the handle and hilt of the blade, and numerous dents to his scabbard. The blade itself was fine, however. "You almost done, kid? I think I speak for the rest of us when I say we'd like to go." The earth pony guard asked from the front. "Yeah, I uhh...nearly done here." Link finished with a sigh. Thinking back, Link traced the layout of the home in his mind as he moved over more rubble, until he came upon the area right where the kitchen used to be. He only had to move a few timbers away before he came upon the large wallet that held all of Link and Ruul's savings inside. Just as he secured it to his belt, one of the guards called his name. "You're gonna wanna see this..." The female Pegasus said, motioning to a picture on the ground, which sported an arrow right through it. Bending down and grabbing it, Link looked at the picture. It was of him a few summers ago, at Malon and Talon's ranch. Something or someone wanted him, and it wanted him dead.