Let me tell you that I had no idea how to react for a moment when Rauru knelt down in front of me. Deciding to ignore that part for now, I asked him: "How do you know all this?"
"Oh, I've been reading," he said while getting up. "I studied all the books in this library, and tried memorizing every little detail. Knowledge is power, little pony. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, many scholars believe a lot of what I read about Equestria to be nothing but fairy tales, since for the longest time, there had been no real proof that our two kingdoms had connections before. That is, until now."
"You're talking about Epona, aren't you?" Zelda asked the wise man.
Rauru nodded. "Indeed. This might be the very first contact between a resident of Hyrule and a resident of Equestria. I am so excited!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but the first person who made 'contact' with me would be Link," I said, pointing a hoof at my green-clothed companion.
"Hmm, of course. Of course. I didn't mean to take away your moment of glory, my boy." He patted Link's shoulder with a fatherly smile. "Be proud, Link. You can be the first ambassador of Hyrule. You will make our country very proud when we send you to Equestria, I am sure of that."
Link scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's not like I asked for this. Epona's just my friend, even before I found out she's a… wait a minute. What did you just say?"
"To Equestria?" Zelda asked, her voice filled with astonishment. "Are you serious?"
"Of course!" Rauru said with a hearty laugh. "After all, we can't send this little pony back home without a proper escort. That would be impolite, don't you think?"
"Excuse me, but… I don't really know how to get back to Equestria. I'm not even sure how I got here in the first place," I spoke up.
"You don't know?" The sage stroked his beard. "Now that's puzzling indeed. But worry not, my friends. I have the perfect solution. Wait just a moment, and I'll have a spell ready that will summon a guide who can take us to any faraway land, as long as we know about its existance." And he started rummaging through a stack of old books.
I was very puzzled by this turn of events. "What are you talking about? What guide?"
"A fairy, of course. Fairies are the embodiment of magic, flitting on the arcane streams, fluttering back and forth between worlds. Exchanging information through the borders and guiding those who are destined for greatness. That's why they are so great companions for the Kokiri, who never grow old. And the lost woods are rich with ancient magic, an ideal place for them to flourish."
"Hold on… you're saying that fairies can travel between worlds just like that?" Link asked.
"Well, of course not just like that. The procedure is a bit complicated and requires a special amount of magic on the fairy's part. Magic that will only be activated by a certain factor that differs from realm to realm. In Equestria, this factor is a breeze caused by pegasus wings. Here in Hyrule, it is done with an ancient melody. Fortunate for us, I happen to know the exact notes that need to be played. It's here in this book…" Rauru took a heavy and very dusty tome out of the bookpile and started thumbing through. "I'm sure it's here somewhere… aha! There it is! The Ballad of the Breezies!"
Link looked into the book in confusion. "What's a Breezie?"
"Oh, they are a type of fairy. Not that common in Hyrule, I admit. From what I understand, they pass through Equestria on their travels. But this song can be used to summon any kind of fairy. And if she feels generous, she will guide the musician through the corridors between the realms. Now you take a good look at these notes, boy. And princess… if I may?"
"What? Oh, the ocarina. Certainly!" The princess handed Rauru the fabled Ocarina of Time, who passed it on to Link.
Link took it and studied the musical notes carefully. After having learned this many magical tunes for the ocarina, remembering one more was no problem at all. "So let me get this straight," he then said. "This song is supposed to summon a fairy who can bring me and Epona to Equestria, right?"
"That's what I've been telling you this whole time, my boy," Rauru said.
Link knelt down next to me and looked into my eyes. "What do you say?" he smiled. "Ready to show me that world you came from?"
To tell you the truth, I was hesitant. After all this time, I would be allowed to go back home. How much time has passed since I've been there, I wondered. Would they even remember me? What if I couldn't go back to Hyrule after we arrived? What if I didn't want to go back?
Then again, I had Link at my side. And he was willing to through all of this with me, at my side. So that certainly gave me enough courage to gather myself and say: "Let's do it!"
Link's confident smile turned into a cocky grin as he raised the ocarina to his lips and started playing a very solemn-sounding tune. I held my breath… every moment now, a fairy would appear. A fairy who would take me home…
When the last note faded, a shimmering circle appeared in the wall directly next to us. It slowly started to expand and grow, revealing a glowing light behind, a blue-glowing ball with fluttering fairy wings…
Oh heck no…
"You who summoned me, listen! Fairy Navi is here to serve as your guide between worlds!" the little glowworm shouted.
If Link had smiled before, now his face seemed to be split into two halves when he opened his mouth. "NAVI!" he shouted in a voice filled with too much joy for my taste. "It's you. It's really you."
"Link?" Navi seemed to be as surprised as he was. "Is that you? Since when do you know the Ballad of the Breezies?"
"I missed you so much… where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere. Right, Epona?"
"Yeah… sure…" I muttered with no real enthusiasm.
Navi looked down at me. "Epona? Since when is she so small?"
"Epona's a pony now," Link explained. "And she's actually from another world called Equestria. Isn't that neat? But enough of that, where in the world did you disappear to after we beat Ganon?"
"I went home," Navi explained as if that was the most obvious answer. "I mean… no need for you to have a guardian fairy after the job was done, right?" I could tell she was not telling the whole truth, the way she was fidgeting around. But I really couldn't care less about her reasons.
"That's everything?" I shouted. "You thought the job was done and you ditched us. Is that correct? Good. Nice of you to finally share that piece of information with us. Now can you finally take us to Equestria so I don't have to look at your annoying blue face anymore?" I snorted angrily and turned away from her. Of all the fairies we could have as a guide, we had to get her. Just my luck.
"What's the matter with her?" I heard her whispering to Link. Figures she wouldn't know that horses have good ears.
"I don't know what made her so upset," Link whispered back. "I guess we should just get ready to leave. Are you okay with that?"
"Sure. Taking my two best buddies to Equestria should be no problem at all," she said. Again, I snorted.
"Link? Epona?" Together, we looked over to the princess as she addressed the both of us. She smiled. "Excuse me if I haven't said a lot. Rauru is right, all of this is very exciting. It will be the first time in years Hyrule will have contact with a new kingdom. I know father will be very skeptical once I talk to him about this, so… could you two do me a favor? When you go to Equestria, could you ask the regent if she is interesting in forming permanent political ties?"
"Well, I'm sure that's a nice idea and all, but how would that work? We can't use the fairy realm as a transitway every time someone wants to cross the borders," Link said.
"I know Princess Celestia would be delighted, but unless we find another way to cross the borders, I have to agree with Link," I added.
The princess nodded. "I know. But I would still ask you to address her. Wait, let me quickly write an official invitation to form an alliance between our two kingdoms. If she writes back, at least I have something to convince my father that this is more than a fairy tale."
Link shrugged. "Sure, why not."
The princess then quickly wrote her letter, and while Link and Navi used that time to reminisce about old times, I made sure not to look at the fairy too often.
Zelda then walked up to me, an envelope in her hands. "Here. Please give this to Princess Celestia. You, as the only one who lived in both worlds, are most fitted for the position as ambassador."
"You're giving such an important title to me, a creature you believed to be nothing more than a common farm animal?" I asked in bewilderment.
"Don't be silly," she smiled. "Link told me so much about you, and from what I heard I could tell that there was more about you than just a regular horse. If anything, see this as a gift to you, a compensation for being treated as a beast of burden for all these years. Do you accept?"
Since I never met Princess Zeda before, I never really knew what to think of her up to this point. All I could gather from Link's tales was that she was a fair and kind-hearted woman. But now that she offered me such a proposition, I realized just how kind-hearted she truly was. "Thank you, princess," I said as I accepted the letter. "I won't let you down."
"Now, are you ready to go?" Navi asked. I gritted my teeth. Leave it to her to ruin a perfect moment by reminding me of her presence. But since she was my only ticket back to Equestria, I decided to accept my fate. Hooray…
"All right, I wish all of you the best of luck on your journey," Zelda said. "And may the wisdom of Nayru protect you."
"Take care now, youngsters!" Rauru added. "And be sure to bring me some literature from Equestria when you return. I have so much research to do…"
"Goodbye," Link waved. "See you soon. You girls ready?"
I nodded. "Ready."
"I'll open the gateway," Navi said. She faced the wall with the portal and flew a complex pattern in front of it. Once again, the glowing circle started growing, until it was big enough for a grown Hylian and an earth pony to step through. We waved one last time… then we stepped through.
We found ourselves in a dark tunnel. Behind us, the gate between worlds slowly shrunk smaller and smaller. On the other end of the tunnel, there was a bright light.
"Follow me," Navi said as she flew ahead. "This is one of the many tunnels that lead directly into the land of the fae… that is what all fairies, Breezies and others like us call themselves. Not far from here is Breezie Village, from where the Breezies set out for Equestria."
"Will they mind us going through?" I asked. "I mean, if they are as small as fairies… I don't want to trample them."
"They tend to treat strangers with suspicion," Navi admitted. "But I'm sure they will leave us in peace once I tell them we mean them no harm. I have a friend there, I'm sure he will calm the others down."
We soon left the tunnel and found ourselves in a beautiful forest glade. Wafts of mist hung in the air, giving everything a mysterious atmosphere.
"Say… would it help if I looked like a pony, too?" Link suddenly asked and pulled a mask out of his bag. "I still have this from when I cured Epona."
I blinked. Why didn't I think of this sooner? Of course Link would have a mask after playing the Song of Healing. And it would certainly help him blend in once we're in Equestria.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "You've never turned into anything with four legs before."
"Hey, I've been a Deku, a Goron, a Zora and a giant. How much weirder can it be?" he snickered, then raised the mask up to his face.
"Now wait a moment," I shouted. "If that mask is anything like the others, it will probably…"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" he screamed as his face and body were twisted into that of an equine.
"…hurt like hell," I sighed.
"Oh my gosh, Link!" Navi gasped. "Are you all right?"
"Calm your antennae, it's not as bad as it looks," I snorted. "As I said, it just hurts like hell. He has done this before. A lot, actually."
"You two must have had the most interesting adventures while I was gone…" Navi muttered.
"Ow…" Link grunted as he shook his head. "Serves me right for forgetting such a crucial part…" He then took a moment to examine his new form.
I had to admit, he was pretty handsome for a stallion. He had a light brown coat and his mane was just as blonde as his hair. His clothes had adapted to his four-legged body (except for his boots which simply vanished) and his backpack had turned into a saddlebag. I half-expected his cutie mark to be the same as mine, but when I took a look I saw that it showed the Master Sword instead.
"Hey, looking great," I smirked and gently nudged him with my hoof. "If I wasn't already married I certainly would fall for you, fairy-boy… um… forget I said that…" I blushed.
Navi giggled, but then looked at me. "Married? You are married?"
"Wh-why do you care?" I snapped. "You didn't care what became of us either when you left, did you? Why are you suddenly interested?"
"I… I just wanted… I didn't mean to…" she stammered. Sure, try to find an excuse, glowbug. That won't change a thing.
Link coughed. "So, Navi… about that Breezie Village… is it far from here?"
"No, no, it isn't," she said. "Just across that stream, and we're there."
"Okay, then let's get going," I said as I jumped over the water. I couldn't wait to get back home.
"Hey, wait for me!" Link said as he leapt after me… or at least tried to. I heard the loud splash when he fell in the water and turned my head. "Dangit Link, we don't have time for such nonsense."
"Nonsense?" Link grumbled as he shook his wet mane. "You try walking or jumping with more legs than you were born with. How do you do it? I keep getting confused which leg to use next."
"Try not to think about it, it'll come natural in time." I pulled him back onto solid ground and he shook himself dry. Together, we then entered Breezie Village. That is, we took one step and stood right in its middle. I really had to be careful not to step on a house with my hooves.
The Breezies came out of their homes, chattering to each other with excitement and worry. This was the first time I ever saw these tiny, delicate creatures. Even back in Equestria, they were an extremely rare sight. They looked pretty much like pony versions of Hyrule fairies, only that their wings were even bigger and more colorful. On the other hand, the light their bodies emitted wasn't as bright as that of a fairy, so it was easier to see their bodies.
A blue Breezie flew up to Navi and started jabbering in a strange language. Navi replied in that same language. I didn't understand a word. "What's he saying?" I asked. Link just shrugged.
Navi turned to face us. "Sorry, we were talking in the ancient language of the fae. I told Seabreeze that he can speak Equestrian, it's basically the same as Hylian. I also told him that we're only passing through."
"So the lot of you want to go to Equestria?" Seabreeze said as he eyed us. I was able to understand him this time, even if he was talking in a very thick accent. "As long as you just keep walking, I don't really see any reason not to allow it. Just go on, go, go! The portal is over there."
"Wow, you certainly are in a hurry to get rid of us," Link frowned.
"Can you blame me? This is supposed to be our safe haven," Seabreeze said. "Every time we go to Equestria, we are in danger of being blown away by a gust of wind, crushed by acorns, eaten by all the giant animals or sent spinning by a leaf." He muttered something I couldn't quite understand, something about a clumsy dragon? Maybe I misheard that.
"Don't worry, we're going. Thank you for understanding," Navi said and quickly led us out of Breezie Village. Just seconds later, we were standing in front of another tunnel. "Okay, this is the entrance to Equestria. You guys ready?"
I just nodded and followed her. Link stayed at my side the whole time. We followed the tunnel until we found the gate to Equestria on the other end. Navi fluttered another complex pattern in front of it and the glowing circle grew big enough for us to trot through.
I took a deep breath before taking the step. I closed my eyes… then I was through.
"Epona? Is this it? Is this Equestria?" Link asked.
I opened my eyes… and gasped.
I saw the plowed fields, the beautiful apple trees and most importantly, the barn. The oh-so-familiar barn I thought I would never see again. Emotions I thought I had lost years ago started to well up in me and tears started streaming down my face.
The memories came back, with an even greater clarity and intensity than before. Memories of my brave and caring husband, my strong and silent son, my honest and hard-working older daughter and my newborn baby daughter…
This was Sweet Apple Acres. This was Ponyville. This was Equestria.
I was home.