Scootaloo groaned as Archie continued to try to teach her the most boring of things about his world. Learning about the many hostile creatures was fun, until it got repetitive, and the history of Hyrule was boring from the start. And after about a month of a sort of double life, she just wanted to get started with the adventure.
"Young chick," Archie asked, "are you listening to me?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." the pegasus filly answered. "Hero of Time, Blade of Evil's Bane, Prince of Darkness, holy Triforce, blah, blah, blah."
"Can you name the seven Sages of the era of the Hero of Time?" Archie asked.
Scootaloo thought for a moment. "Um… Zelda, Rauru, Impa, Ruto, Darunia, Saria, and Nabooru." she answered.
"And they are, respectively, the sages of…?"
"Er… Time… Light… Forest… Water… Fire… Spirit and Shadow." Scootaloo replied.
"Wrong." Archie said. "Zelda is the Sage of Time. Rauru is the Sage of Light. Impa is the Sage of Shadow. Ruto is the Sage of Water. Darunia is the Sage of Fire. Saria is the Sage of Forest. Nabooru is the Sage of Spirit. Who is Vaati?"
"Vaati is an evil wind mage who is sealed away by the Four Sword." Scootaloo answered.
"How is a Heart Container formed?"
"The slaying of a powerful monster causes its life force to turn into a Heart container. That, or four Pieces of Heart are assembled."
"And how are Pieces of Heart formed?"
"They are generally created after someone feels grateful to another."
"And how much life force condenses into a Piece of Heart?"
Scootaloo groaned. "A full unit of life force condenses into a single Piece of Heart, just as it takes the entire life force of a slain beast to form a single Heart Container. Sometimes slaying a normal monster will result in the formation of a heart from their life force, which can be absorbed to replenish one's own life force, but, if it is not condensed or contained, it will disappear."
Archie nodded. "Other ways to restore one's life force include…?"
"Consumption of a Poe's soul is a risky way to restore life force, as it may either restore or remove life force. Red and blue potions are guaranteed to replenish life energy, and fairy magic can also restore life energy. Due to the ancient fairies' pact, a bottled fairy must restore the life of the one who possesses the bottle in which she is contained should they fall, in battle or otherwise."
Archie nodded. "You have a firm grasp of the mechanics of life in Hyrule." he said. "History is not your strong suit, though. And Hyrule has a lot of history."
"Why is it so important to know history?" Scootaloo asked.
"The importance is twofold." came the answer. "History often repeats itself. Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it. Furthermore, the instability of the portal on the Hyrulean side means you may find yourself in history. And if you don't know enough about Hyrulean history, you may, yourself, become… History."
Scootaloo swallowed nervously. "Er… Who are the other ponies protected by the Cuccos, again?"
"Besides your friends, you mean?" Archie asked, and the filly nodded her head. "First of all is Fluttershy, she who speaks with chickens, and her closest friends. Then there are the mailmare, and her adopted daughter."
"What's the story behind the mailmare's daughter's adoption?" Scootaloo asked.
Archie sighed. "Poor Dinky Doo's mother was quite a ditz. Explaining the name Ditzy Doo. One time, Ditzy mistook her daughter for a turkey, and put her in the oven to bake for six hours at three-hundred twenty-five degrees. Fahrenheit."
"And little Dinky has been scared of chickens ever since!" Boomer interjected suddenly from behind the filly, startling her. "…No, wait, it was a turkey…"
"That's 'kitchens', bird brain." Lance said, walking up to the group after Boomer. "She's scared of kitchens. She ready yet, Archie?"
"She doesn't have much grasp on history," came the addressed's reply, "but, beyond that, she'd function fairly well."
"I get where she's coming from." Lance said. "One history's tough enough, pile on three more and it's too much. It's much easier to learn by experience, anyway."