Rarity never felt this hot before in her entire life.
"My boutique!" she gasped as she lay flat on the cage's floor. "My boutique for a glass of water!"
"It's not that bad," Link said. "You get used to it. Are you always this dramatic?"
"Dramatic?" Rarity whined? "Dramatic? I went days without a proper shower, manecut or hooficure. The only meals we are given are dry bread and warm water. And worst of all: I'm surrounded by a bunch of brutes who don't show a simple sign of fashionable sense." She gestured at the stallions who were pulling the cage through the hot desert. "Just look at those rags they're wearing!"
"A thousand pardons if my men insulted your sensitive eyes with their choice of attire, miss," Caballeron said in a mocking voice. "But if you've spent as much time in the heat of the desert as me, searching for ancient relics, you learn that the proper clothing might protect you from a heat stroke."
"Easy for you to say," Rarity grumbled. "You are sitting in a palanquin, carried by your underlings, enjoying a glass of whisky."
Caballeron smirked as he took a sip. "On the rocks, too. Would you care for a gulp? But no, no, no… this is the last bottle. I wouldn't want to waste it on prisoners." He turned to face the twins, who were, once again, sitting on top of the carriage. "It's not really my business, but what do you need these ponies for? This unicorn is a real beauty… it's a shame we have to carry her all the way through the desert."
Rarity was surprised. Did the stallion, despite his rough mannerisms, still have a soft side?
"You are right, it is none of your business," Lotus said. "You want your money, don't you? Then all you have to worry about is bringing us to the meeting place at the ruins. You know the way, right?"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about a thing," the former archeologist smiled. "My men and I know these dunes like the back of our hooves. And I know Ahuizotl isn't one to betray his trade partners. Still, we are in Saddle Arabia. And I have the right connections here…" He looked back at Rarity. "A mare like this could sell for a good price on the local slave market."
Rarity's gasped when hearing that. "You FIEND! Is money everything you think about?"
"Why so shocked, my dear?" Caballeron asked. "I have learned that in this world, everything can be bought with money. Don't get me wrong though, I am deeply saddened to give a beauty like you away. But business is business, and I can't just ignore a sum of bits as big as the one Ahuizotl offered me."
"Don't bother, Rarity," Link grumbled. "People like him can't be reasoned with. Can you at least tell us where you're taking us?"
"The ruins of Lunartopia," Aloe said. "The ancient city of the moon."
"City of the moon?" Rarity asked.
"Did you never wonder how Nightmare Moon managed to get to power, Miss Rarity?" Aloe asked. "Know that 1000 years ago, most of Equestria's denizens praised the sun and Celestia as the supreme goddess. However, Luna did have some loyal followers. Most of them gathered here, in Saddle Arabia, and built a city to honor her. And in the middle of this city, they erected the Moon Temple. They then named this new desert city Lunartopia. After her ascension to Nightmare Moon, they wanted to make this her seat of power, at the time she would reign over Equestria in everlasting night. However, they could not predict that Celestia would banish her sister to the moon. For the longest time, Luna's loyalists waited, hoping that one day she would return. But more and more, doubt started to spread among them. As they left the temple and the city, one after the other, only the loyalest of followers remained. And in the end, Lunartopia became a ghost town. As the sand started to cover the ruins, the ponies started to forget about the city."
Rarity was astonished. "I never heard this before… how do you know all this?"
"Simple," Lotus said as she looked back at them with a sneer. "The first who worshipped Luna were members of our tribe… the Gerudo."
Link and Rarity had no idea how long their journey through the desert had lasted… maybe it was several hours, maybe only one. But just when they thought the unendurable trek through the sweltering heat would never end, they reached the top of a particularly high sand dune… and they were able to look down at a mesmerizing sight: Countless buildings of stone, some of them half-buried in the sand of the desert. The city was big, almost bigger than Canterlot.
"The ancient city of Lunartopia," Aloe said. "We've reached our destination."
"Ahuizotl is waiting for us in the main temple," Caballeron said. "Let's not keep him waiting, men." He pointed ahead, and the little caravan kept on moving.
The two prisoners looked up in awe as their cage was pulled through the streets of a long-forgotten era. The building walls were littered with ancient hieroglyphs and pictures. And Link recognized a couple of them… they were the same symbols he had seen inside the Spirit Temple in the Haunted Wasteland, the giant desert of Hyrule. Among them was the symbol of the Gerudo tribe: The crescent moon.
"So it's true," he said. "The Gerudo have been in Equestria before."
"Our ancestors," Aloe said in a quiet voice. She seemed to be overwhelmed by the sight of the city as well. "Long before the gods decided to separate our worlds from each other, the Gerudo were a tribe of ponies that shared these deserts with the Saddle Arabian horses. Most of Lunartopia's citizens were Gerudo. But when Nightmare Moon was banished, so were we. But instead of sending our ancestors to the moon, Celestia decided to send them to another world instead. And the closing of the borders was supposed to prevent us from ever returning."
"You knew this all along? Even when you helped Ganondorf come to power?" Link asked her.
"Yes… Most of the Gerudo never knew about this secret. Not Nabooru and not even the great Ganondorf himself. But as the Gerudo tribe's elders, we were also its lorekeepers. We alone knew about our past."
"That's enough!" Lotus shouted. "Stop telling our archenemy our deepest secrets, sister."
"It's not like it's going to change anything," Aloe muttered.
"Well, you are right," Lotus nodded. "Very soon, he will die. And then he can't tell these secrets to anyone."
Finally, they reached the middle of the city. In front of their eyes rose the tallest building of the entire city, an ancient temple with huge pillars and dome-shaped rooftops. Even when they approached the building, Rarity was able to see the tall windows and the many eyes that were glowing in the darkness inside. And then she heard the hissing.
"Wh-what is that?" she shuddered. "What are those beasts?"
"I know those sounds," Link said. "These must be Lizalfos… dozens of them. Don't tell me their ancestors are from Equestria as well…"
"Oh no," Lotus said. "Our lord brought them here from Hyrule to support our cause. Even though they are now a bit different, after passing through the portal."
When they reached the temple's enormous main gate, Link saw that the witch was right: The Lizalfos looked almost like they did back in Hyrule, only now, they had turned into four-legged lizard beasts. None of them were armed… but Link had the feeling they didn't need to be, after seeing their sharp claws and fangs.
In the middle of the entrance, flanked by two Lizalfos-beasts, one of the strangest creatures Link had ever witnessed was waiting: A blue creature that looked like a mix between a primate and a canine, with a long snout, golden jewelry and a long tail that was curiously ending in a hand.
"Ahuizotl!" Rarity gasped.
"Well, well, well," the creature said in a deep voice. "If it isn't one of the ponies who helped Daring Do in the Fortress of Talicon. It's a small world, isn't it?"
"You know him?" Link asked.
"I wish I didn't," Rarity said with a snort. "He's a brutish fiend, that's what he is. No manners at all. Unfortunately, I can't tell you much more about him, Rainbow Dash is the expert on Daring Do's adventures," she sighed.
Ahuizotl then turned to Caballeron and the twin witches. "Took you long enough. The ritual is already prepared, everything is ready. The master is getting impatient… are these the sacrifices?"
"Indeed they are," Lotus said. "Were there any complications?"
"Not at all," Ahuizotl grinned. "These minions our master so graciously offered to me were more than enough to chase off anything that might disrupt the ritual. A good replacement for my former minions, who got all thrown into jail… curse that Daring Do!" He growled. "Oh well… just take them inside already."
"Not so fast," Caballeron said. "Or have you forgotten the matter of my payment?"
"You will get what I promised you, Caballeron," Ahuizotl said with a frown. "Even though I would prefer to see you boiled in olive oil after what you pulled the last time we wanted to do business."
Caballeron chuckled nervously. "I… I assure you I had no idea that this merchant was Daring Do in disguise…"
"And yet you tried selling that golden ring I entrusted you with," Ahuizotl snarled. "But… I am a lenient creature. Today, you brought me exactly what I asked for, and so you shall be rewarded. Your money is inside, so come along."
Ahuizotl, Caballeron and the witches went ahead, while the thugs and the Lizalfos followed behind them, still pulling the cage.
"Link… if you know a way to escape this situation, this would be a perfect moment to try it," Rarity whispered.
Link sighed. "I'm sorry, Rarity. At the moment, I have no idea what to do. We are stuck in this cage and they took all my equipment. I don't even know where they put my sword…"
Then they reached the ritual chamber. It was a huge, circular room with multiple doorways leading to it. In the middle, several stair were leading up to a big stone altar. A big, lit brazier was standing nearby. More Lizalfos were crawling around the whole place.
"Hurry now, place the first prisoner on top of the altar," Ahuizotl said with a voice that was dripping with uncontained excitement. "Soon enough, our master will walk this world, and in his gratitude, he will bestow upon me the greatests of gifts…"
"Not so fast!" Lotus spoke up. "We still have to wait for His Lordship."
The creature made a face of disgust. "What, that self-obsessed show-off? We don't need him. The ritual can commence without him."
"I would be careful if I were you," Aloe frowned. "His Lordship does not easily condone insults of his name."
"Please…" Ahuizotl huffed. "What can he do that we cannot?"
"Oh, I could think of several things," a voice behind him said. Surprised, Ahuizotl turned around.
Both Link and Rarity looked at this newcomer. The unicorn stallion was white, tall and thin, and could even be called handsome. But his whole posture seemed to express a disdain for everypony in the room, except for maybe the Twinrova sisters. One of his eyes was covered by his slick, white hair and a crystal earring was dangling from his right ear. "Have you ever seen this stallion before?" Rarity whispered. Link shook his head.
"Forgive me for my late arrival," the stallion said. He moved his head and legs flamboyantly as he spoke. "I had to pick up a surprise visitor for our little get-together. However, I couldn't help but overhear that SOME of you seem to think my presence here is unnessecary…" He focussed his gaze on Ahuizotl.
The creature swallowed. "Oh… you must have misheard, Ghirahim. We are all very thankful for your efforts in our plan."
"That's LORD Ghirahim, you impudent whelp!" the unicorn snapped. Ahuizotl winced under the verbal assault and quickly nodded his head.
"Of course, of course! Lord Ghirahim! Please forgive that slip of my tongue."
"Now, what is this?" Caballeron asked, amusement in his voice. "The great Ahuizotl, cowering before somepony else? And I thought I've seen everything in my life."
Ahuizotl just glared at Caballeron, but didn't say anything. Lord Ghirahim, however, coolly let his gaze sweep across the doctor and his men. "Ahuizotl… who are these vermin that infest our ritual chamber?"
"Hey, you watch yer tone when speaking to the boss!" shouted one of Caballeron's henchmen, a big and burly earth pony. "He's here to collect the money Ahuizotl owes him for his help, not to talk to a wussy fruitcake like you."
Just one look from Ghirahim's eyes, and the thug knew he made a mistake. But it was too late… one glow of the unicorn's horn summoned a floating, red gemstone. A simple gesture with his hoof, and the gem imbedded itself into the henchpony's chest. A chortled gasp, a short flail of his legs, and then his body fell to the ground, devoid of any life.
Caballeron stared at his dead henchman's body with disbelief and Rarity let out a squeak of terror.
"It's really irritating when mice think they should speak to the lion," Ghirahim said. "Ahuizotl, I am now silently counting to ten. Whenever I reach zero, I want these pests gone!"
"W-wait a second here," Caballeron said. "I came all the way out here and brought you the ponies you asked for… I demand to be compensated for this. The contract never said anything about killing my men. You better hand over a larger sum of bits, or else…"
"Caballeron, just take your money and leave at once, you fool!" Ahuizotl hissed as he threw the doctor a small pouch of money.
Caballeron looked at the pouch, then at Ahuizotl, then at Ghirahim, then back at the dead pony in front of him. His business sense told him that he had the right to demand more than this, but his common sense told him that it would be very wise to accept the offer and remove himself from this place as far as he can. "S-s-sure…" he stuttered as he picked up the pouch. "P-pleasure doing b-business with you, s-sir…" He then turned around and ran out of the room as fast as he could, half-expecting the lizard creatures or the creepy unicorn stallion to attack him as he fled. His remaining men quickly ran after him.
"Finally," Ghirahim sighed as he looked down. "Now look at this mess. Do you know how annoying it can be to remove stains from the floor? Why did you go and have me do that?"
"You… you monster!" Rarity shouted. "You just KILLED that stallion and… and now you act like none of this is your fault? In all my life, I have never seen such brutality, such arrogance, such lack of compassion for another pony's life…"
"Would you cease your annoying whining at once, little white horse?" Ghirahim winced. "Listening to you makes me glad that you are our sacrifice… which means I don't have to listen to your insufferable voice for much longer. Goodness, this world is filled to the brim with filthy equines… and now my master forced me to take on the form of such a creature. Disgusting!" He looked down at his body and grimaced.
"Lord Ghirahim," Aloe said as she and her sister gave the unicorn a short bow. "It is an honor to be in the presence of our master's personal servant. If I may ask, did the master give you further instructions as on how we should act after the ritual is complete?"
"My dear little Gerudo witch," Ghirahim chuckled. "I think it would be best if you asked him yourself. After all, he wouldn't want to miss the banishment of the first of the sages for anything in the world."
"He… he will be here?" Ahuizotl asked with both worry and hope. "He… he did remember what he offered me in exchange for my neverending loyalty… right?"
"You should know better than to question the master," Ghirahim said. "But yes, you shall get what you asked for if everything turns out as we planned: One whole country of this world for you to govern over, completely basked in unending heat, for all eternity. That were your precise words, correct?"
"An eternity of neverending, sweltering heat…" Ahuizotl started giggling like a schoolboy at the prospect. "Yeeeeeesss…"
"Also, you might be happy to hear that I actually managed to do something that will probably sweeten the whole deal for you," Ghirahim smirked. And with a flash of his horn, he made something appear out of thin air: A large sack, completely tied up, and for some reason squirming like mad.
Reaching out with his tail-hand, Ahuizotl pulled the ropes loose… and grinned like a Cheshire cat when he saw the bound and gagged form of his archrival in front of him.
"Oh no!" Rarity gasped as she recognized the pony.
"Daring Do?" Ahuizotl laughed. "My, what a pleasant surprise. I should have known you would stuck your annoying little snout in my business again. This time, I will make sure it will be the last time."
Daring Do uttered a curse, which was muffled by the gag in her mouth.
"You know, I should be upset that I had to do your job of dealing with her," Ghirahim huffed. "But I decided to be generous for once and bring you this present. Especially when I found out that she was in contact with her allies in that backwater village… what was it called again? Ponytown?"
"It's Ponyville…" Aloe said with a frown. For some reason, his mispronunciation of her hometown of so many years annoyed her to no end.
"Wait a minute," Lotus said. "Does that mean the other element bearers will come here to save their friend? They know we're here? Why did you not prevent this?"
"Who realized that the white horse is actually the Sage of Generosity?" Ghirahim shouted, pointing at Rarity. "Who should have realized that the rest of her little herdmates had to be sages as well? Who decided to bring her here and leave the others in that town? Was it not the both of you? Well, then I have to ask: How else can we lure them into our grasp if not by letting this pegasus' message reach them?"
Aloe and Lotus sheepishly looked at the ground. "You are right," Aloe quietly said. "Forgive us, Your Lordship."
Ghirahim nodded. "Better. Now, let us start the ritual by summoning the master…"
The witches, Ahuizotl and Ghirahim all stood around the altar and started chanting. "I have a bad feeling about this," Link muttered as he watched them.
Above the altar, a glowing swirl of dark magic appeared. And in its middle, the shadow horse's image appeared.
Ghirahim bowed his head. "Greetings, my master."
Link stared up at the shadow with disbelief. "It can't be… You? How can YOU be here? I defeated Ganondorf…"
The shadow horse laughed in its booming voice. "Oh, did you now, Hero of Time? Yes, maybe you beat him… a puppet that was dancing on my strings the whole time. Did you honestly think this was all Ganondorf's plan? That he managed to do all of this on his own? Conquering Hyrule, invading the Sacred Realm, acquiring the Triforce of Power… he did all of that with my help."
"I don't believe this," Link shouted. "You were just his horse, his mount… just another demon he sat on to ride into battle!"
"Are you really comparing me to that horse you kept riding on on your silly little quest to stop us?" The black stallion that was once Ganondorf's steed chuckled. "How amusing… but you mortals always fail to see the big picture. I always acted like a common creature from the depth under Ganondorf's control, just like the puppet that attacked you in the Forest Temple. Did you never wonder where he got all that dark power from, the magic he used even before he got the Triforce of Power? I gave it to him. Without me, he would be nothing. Ganondorf is nothing but a hull, a means to an end, a way to get back of the bloodlines of the hero and the goddess… after he was gone, I waited patiently, in the darkness. And now, my return is imminent…"
Ghirahim laughed. "Yes, master. Truly, all the worlds will soon see their true Demise… and now, let the ritual commence! Minions! Bring forth the first sacrifice!"
Daring Do suddenly spat out her gag. "Sorry to disappoint you, twinklehooves… but nopony's getting sacrificed on my watch." With a forceful yank of her wings, the ropes fell from her body and she jumped to her hooves.
"Get her!" Ahuizotl yelled. But before anyone could do anything, the nimble adventurer kicked over the brazier and trampled out the flames. All of the sudden, the whole room was pitch black, only lit dimly from the dark magic swirling above the altar.
One single move, and Lotus felt that the key to the cage was missing. Another quick move, and Link and Rarity heard how the cage door was opened.
"Run!" Daring Do shouted, and they gladly obeyed. Only one Lizalfos managed to step in their way with a hiss. One powerful kick of Daring's legs, and the creature was flung aside. Blinded by the sudden darkness, Link and Rarity had no other choice than to run after Daring Do's footsteps.
And then, they were gone. Ghirahim snarled as he illuminated the whole room with a bright flare from his horn. "FIND THEM!" he yelled. "FIND THEM AND BRING THEM BACK!"