As Wind approached the run-down building, he began to hear muffled voices from within. Looking around and seeing no external markings or signs, he approached the door, took a deep breath, and pushed it open. Once his eyes had adjusted to the room's dim lighting, he saw a few wooden tables littered about the room. Clusters of stallions, young and old, conversed noisily and sat around them. Seeing a pony washing glasses behind a counter at the rear of the room, Wind realized that he he stumbled into a bar.
Wind? You want to start moving, buddy?
...huh? Wind glanced about awkwardly and made his way to the counter, painfully aware of several pairs of eyes boring into his head. The room suddenly felt hot.
He slid onto a stool, slouching down to make himself as small as possible. The bartender walked over to him and leaned on the counter. "What'll it be?"
"Um..." Wind stammered. "Cider, please."
"Dash 'a' rum?"
Wind blinked dumbly. "...what?"
The bartender sighed. "Just straight cider, then."
As he walked off to prepare the drink, Wind couldn't help but feel more and more uncomfortable in his current situation. He did not consider himself sheltered, but he still tried to avoid places like...this.
I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea...
Hey, pull yourself together. It's just a few mean looks.
He scoffed. "Easy for you to say..."
"What was that?"
Wind turned to his left confusedly. There, he saw a pony cloaked in a strange, green robe turned towards him expectantly. The deep voice led Wind to believe that he was a stallion.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was talking to myself."
The pony nodded, turning towards the back of the bar. Most of his body, save his dark brown tail, was hidden by his cloak, including his eyes and face. Despite this, it was clear that he had a small frame, for a stallion. He took a slow sip from his drink as Wind awkwardly shifted his hooves across the countertop.
"So..."
The cloaked pony angled his head slightly, acknowledging the statement. Wind gulped.
"Are you...uh...do you live here?"
"No."
"...oh."
Wind's gaze wandered around the room. He rocked back and forth on his stool. "Are you here for family, or...?"
The pony suddenly turned to face Wind dead on. "I take it you aren't from around here."
Wind chuckled nervously. "N-no, not exactly..." Little help, here?
What am I supposed to do?
I-I don't know! What am I supposed to say?!
The pony returned his attention to his drink. "I'm not a talkative stallion. Most ponies leave me to my affairs. Unless you have business with me, I suggest you do the same."
Wind blinked. "Oh...okay." The bartender returned with his drink. Nodding in silent thanks, Wind took a brief sip. The cider burned his throat as it went down, leaving a bitter taste on his tongue. He sat in thoughtful silence for a moment before turning back to the pony.
"Actually...I do have some business with you. I know you don't live here, but do you know the area well?"
"Yes."
"Then I guess you know about those woods just outside of town, right?"
"The Lost Woods."
Wind nodded. "Yes, and I - what?"
The pony took another sip. "They're called the Lost Woods."
Wind gulped. "Um...yes! Well, the Lost Woods, then. You know them?"
"Yes."
"Okay, good. So...you see, there's something that I've been running around looking for lately, and I've heard that it's in the Lost Woods. But I don't know the area well, so I need to find a guide...to..." Wind trailed off, seeing that the pony had turned to stare at him again. Wind gulped, leaning back. He became aware that the bar's chatter had died off around him. "...to...uh...guide me...through it...?"
The bartender leaned into Wind's face, frowning. "You are talking about the Lost Woods?" he asked.
"Y-yes..." Wind replied.
At once, the bar exploded into a fit of uproarious laughter. Confused and ashamed, Wind turned to stare into the bottom of his glass, trying to ignore the mocking tones around him. Ah, man...why in Equestria are they laughing at me?
Doesn't matter. Clearly, we aren't going to get anything from these buffoons. I say we bounce.
Wind sighed. Alright... As he turned to leave, he felt somepony hold him back. It was the cloaked stranger, who thoughtfully took a final sip of drink, finishing it off. He jumped onto the ground and strode confidently in front of Wind. "Follow me."
Wind obliged the stranger and walked with him to the door of the bar. Heads held high, the two strangers waded through the thick mist of mockery and out into the world beyond.
~~~~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~
Wind sat with the cloaked pony on the edge of the plaza, deep in thought. He wasn't sure if he should start the conversation or wait for the other pony instead. He took the first option.
"Um...why'd you call me out here?"
The stranger turned towards him suddenly. Gah! I wish he wouldn't do that so often...
"I want to talk to you about the moon."
Wind's body tensed up.
Rainbow...
I heard, I heard. He knows about the moon.
This isn't good...how does he know about it? Is this guy a threat?
Well...don't assume that yet. It's most likely that he just looked up and saw it last night.
Okay. That's probably what it is.
Wind sighed, feigning dejection. "Yeah, I saw it, too. Frankly, I've got no idea what's going on. But don't worry about it, the Oracle will help us.
"I also want to talk to you about the Dark Child."
Wind blinked, doing his best to hide his growing panic.
Okay, maybe this guy isn't quite that simple...
You think?!
"H-hey," replied Wind, cracking a crooked smile. "You don't actually believe that old mare's tale, do you?"
"You're looking for the Hero's masks."
Dropping the act, Wind leaped to his hooves and backed a few hoofsteps away from the stranger. "Okay, that's it. Who are you?"
The stranger got to his hooves as well. "Ah...that's right. I haven't yet introduced myself." He lifted his hood up and over his face, revealing a smooth, dark brown mane flanked by two, light brown ears that flicked slightly upon contact with the hood. His eyes, a light green that somewhat matched his cloak, were half closed. Despite his bored expression, further accentuated by a deep frown, he held his hoof out towards Wind.
"My apologies," he said. "I am Kieshah the Third. Ponies call me 'Kiesh.'"
Wind cleared his throat and took his hoof gingerly. "...Flowing Wind. It's very nice to meet you...'Kiesh.'"
"I wish that I could say the same," he replied. Slightly miffed, Wind retracted his hoof and scrunched his face up. "Do not misunderstand me," he replied. "My distaste applies to the circumstances of our meeting, not to you specifically."
"Ah, I see," replied Wind. "I suppose that's understandable..."
Kiesh turned his placid face towards the sky, as though searching it for something. "I have reason to believe that The Legend of the Hero of Time is true. Upon witnessing the state of the moon last night and understanding the implications of the situation, I came to this town. Historically, this place was significant in the Hero's tale. It is now said that one of the Hero's masks resides close by." He turned to look at the door of the bar. "Everypony here clearly thinks it to be a false legend. Regardless of them, I waited for the pony who would surely come to collect the masks...and here we are."
He turned back to face Wind. "I will not bore you with my history and motives. Know only that it would benefit me - and many other ponies, I assume - to not perish at the Dark Child's hooves. I will accompany you to the mask."
Wind frowned. "I see..."
Hey, can we trust this guy?
I don't know...but he's like a brick wall. I'm not seeing any emotion in him whatsoever.
What should we do?
Wind smiled at Kiesh. "Thank you very much, Mr. Kiesh. I accept your services."
Kiesh nodded. "Good. Let us be off." He flipped his hood to cover his face once again and turned to walk through a side alleyway. Wind smiled and trotted behind him.
There's definitely something fishy about this guy. It's too convenient that he just showed up when we needed somepony like him. We have no choice but to follow him for now, but we'll need to confront him later and get some answers.
For now, though...we'll just have to trust him.