We did it. We found our friends. Now all we had to do was go home together. If it only was that easy…
And then there was a small part of me that still wondered which home I was talking about, Hyrule or Equestria.
I pushed that thought away from me as far as possible. That had to wait. We had much bigger problems at hand. Or hoof.
Rarity just finished putting a bandage on Link's injured leg. "There you go," she said. "That should help. Of course, I'm not as good in first aid as Fluttershy, but it will do the job for now."
"Thanks, Rarity," Link said. "I appreciate it."
She smiled. "Anything for the brave stallion who pulled us through all that danger. Even if you really aren't a stallion."
"Hey, and what about me?" Daring complained while Rainbow Dash helped her with her own injuries. One of her wings was bruised pretty bad during her fight with Ahuizotl. She winced as Rainbow Dash pulled a bit too hard on the bandages. "Hey, careful!"
"Well, stop struggling so much," Rainbow said. "Honestly, how often can a pegasus hurt her wings like you do? This is becoming a bad habit of yours."
"Sounds like you've been through some trouble together," I said. "What did those guys want from you?"
"We… wanted to sacrifice the sages and take revenge on the Hero of Time," Lotus said calmly.
I almost forgot those two were in the room as well. I still could not imagine why the kidnappers would bother taking along the two spa owners, alongside Link and Rarity. Wait a minute… what did she just say?
"Excuse me?" Applejack asked with a frown. "What d'ya mean, 'we'? Y'all ain't no kidnappers, Lotus… or are ya?"
"Stop it, Lotus," Aloe said. "We are not like them. We made some mistakes, but we actually gave them the wrong information. We said Rarity was one of the sages to keep her alive."
"Maybe you did that, sis," Lotus muttered. "I did nothing of the sort. Until the point where you convinced me to side with… them," She gestured Link and the rest of us. "I was ready to do everything Ghirahim asked of us, if only it meant we could get our revenge."
"What exactly are you two talking about?" Rainbow asked in confusion. She looked back and forth between the twins and Link. "Did you meet before?"
"That's impossible, this is the first time Link has ever visited Equestria," I said.
"Actually, we do know them, Epona," Link said. "At least the people they were before their reincarnation. They're Twinrova."
Everything was silent for a moment. My family and their friends were just confused, but I stared at the two twins that looked nothing like the ugly hags from Hyrule. At first, I didn't want to believe it. But then I saw the red and blue crystals in their headbands. "No way…" I whispered with disbelief. But then disbelief turned into acceptance. Acceptance turned into anger. And anger turned into rage.
"YOU!" I shouted as jumped in front of them. Aloe nervously scooted backwards, while her sister defiantly stood in place. "After all you two did, you have the nerve to come back? Does Link have to send your sorry hides back to Tartarus again? I'll gladly help him this time around!"
"Please, stop it," Rarity said. "It's not what you think. Aloe and Lotus are my longtime friends."
"Friends? You've got to be kidding if you honestly believe that these two want to be friends with anyone," I shouted.
"Epona, that's enough!" Link said firmly.
"But they are…"
"I said enough," he shouted, pushing himself to his feet, in spite of his injuries. "It doesn't matter who Aloe and Lotus used to be in a former life. They are what they are now, and they decided to help us."
"She has a point…" Lotus sighed. "After all, we were the ones who brought them here."
"Ony to protect them, Demise would have killed them on the spot," Aloe protested.
"Again, you're talking about yourself. I've been blindfolded by my desire for vengeance that I didn't care about what would happen to them. Even to Miss Rarity…" Lotus lowered her head. "I deserve every bit of anger and spite."
"Please, all we ask for is another chance," Aloe pleaded. "I promise, neither she nor I will try anything deceitful ever again."
"Likely story!" I snorted.
Rainbow fluttered closer to the nervous Aloe and carefully looked at her from different angles. She then turned her head. "Applejack… what do you think?"
"Hmmm… doesn't sound to me like she's lying. I think she's being real honest about this."
I gasped as I looked at my daughter. "You can't be serious! You're telling me you actually believe her?"
"Mom, I was chosen as the Element of Honesty," Applejack calmly told me. "Call it intuition, but I have a sense for whether ponies are tellin' the truth. And no, we can't be 100% sure if she's lyin' or not, but right now, we have no choice but to trust her. I'm still having trouble grasping the fact that they are supposed to be some sort of reincarnated bad guys. And you might know their bad guys personas better than I do. But I've known them for a long time since they lived in Ponyville, Mom. And there was no lie about their friendliness and hospitality I saw whenever I paid their spa a visit. And believe me, I was there often, even before Rainbow and Twilight moved to Ponyville."
Rainbow Dash snorted. "You… you actually were a regular at the spa, AJ? Really?"
"And why in tarnation is that a problem, Dash?" Applejack shouted. "After a day of hard work on the field, a mare likes to enjoy some time to relax. And the spa is just the spot to do so."
"But you've never told me about that, Applejack," Rarity said with surprise.
Applejack snorted. "Course not! I know perfectly well what would have happened if I told you I like to go to the spa. You would've dragged me along every time you went there to let them pamper you, with all the unnessecary things I can live without, such as mud masks and stuff. No, thank you."
"Let's get back on topic," Daring Do said. "I still wanna know what this sage business is all about. And can anypony explain to me why my cutie mark changed?" She looked back at the lightning bolt on her flank, which still looked remarkably like the one on Rainbow's behind, except that it looked like a ruby instead of a rainbow. "I've had that compass rose for a pretty long time of my life, and it always showed me that being an explorer and adventurer was part of my destiny. Are you telling me that it was all fake?"
"I'd like to hear more about that, too," Link nodded. He looked at Aloe and Lotus. "And if you really want us to trust you, you can prove your loyalty by telling us more about that."
Lotus sighed. "All right, I guess that's only fair. First of all, there are seven sages in Hyrule. They help protect Hyrule from darkness and the forces of evil, but they rarely have an active role in saving the kingdom. That usually is the hero's job. But the sages are helping him with guidance, advice and by lending him their spiritual power. But you two already know that." She nodded towards Link and me.
"But wait a minute. Are you saying the sages are like us, the six elements?" Rainbow asked.
"Rainbow Dash, did you not listen?" Rarity said. "She just told us that the sages don't take active roles. And what do we do whenever there's danger in Equestria? We jump into action, either on Celestia's orders or on our own."
"Yeah, even if we had to give up the elements to that tree, I'm always willing to fight for the right thing," Applejack nodded.
"All right, so I guess that makes us the heroes," Rainbow shrugged. "I can live with that. But what about the sages?"
"The sages' destinies awaken at some point on their life," Aloe continued. "Mostly at a point when their help is needed. Then their cutie mark transforms and shows them the element they are representing as a sage. And no, it will not be always like this. Your cutie mark will turn back to normal, given some time."
"Now that's a relief," Daring sighed.
"And how do you know that?" I asked with skepticism. "It's not like the sages in Hyrule have cutie marks, right?"
"True, but we've studied the matter intensely, even before we were reborn as ponies," Lotus said. "As we already told Link, the elders of the Gerudo knew all along that our tribe originally came from Equestria. So of course we would, as the masters of lore, know about cutie marks."
"But why the Element of Loyalty?" Daring asked, looking back at her rump. "Don't get this the wrong way, I'm always willing to help friends, but… I can't really remember a point in my life where I've shown an especially big sign of loyalty. In fact, I've always traveled alone on all my adventures. Rainbow Dash's help was the first one I accepted in years."
"Aw yeah, I'm so special," Rainbow grinned.
"You misunderstand," Aloe said. "It's not you who has to embody the true virtue of the element, but the bearer instead. The reason why you were chosen is because you are an important person in her life."
"An important… what?" Daring was taken aback. She glanced back to Rainbow. "Um… I'm honored and all, but… is that true? I mean, there must be certainly more suitable ponies for the job. Your family, your friends…"
"Sorry, but all my friends already have the job of hero," Rainbow smirked. "And that means they can't be sage at the same time, right?" She looked to Aloe, who nodded. "See? And while I love my dad and everything, I don't think he'd make a very good sage. No offense, Dad!" she shouted in the vague direction of Cloudsdale.
"And what about the wonderbolts?" Rarity asked. "They've been your idols for years. You've been striving to join them long before you even read your first Daring Do book."
"Yeah, that's true," Rainbow said. "And I still dream of being as skilled and famous as them some day. But with Daring, it's an entirely different story. I admire her not just because she's super cool and awesome and strong… she's all that too, don't get me wrong. But did you ever read her books? She does what she's doing not because she wants to be rich or famous or better than anypony else… she's doing it because it's the right thing to do. Right?" She smiled at Daring.
Daring chuckled. "I guess that's right. On my travels, I often come across secrets that can't be shared with anypony. But there are also dangers that somepony needs to take care of. And if I can't tell others about it, I just have to do it on my own."
"See?" Rainbow grinned from ear to ear. "That's why admire you! And that's why I believe that nopony is better suited to be the Sage of Loyalty than you." She gave the adventurer a hoofbump.
"I guess that makes sense," Daring smiled. "I suppose that means from now on I have a helper, anytime I need someone to stop Ahuizotl's evil plans. After all, you're the hero and I'm the sage."
She looked down at the bound and gagged form of Ahuizotl, who was being used as a couch by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Don't you agree, old boy?"
An incomprehensible mumble came out of his gagged muzzle, accompanied by a glare of contempt.
"I don't believe it…" Ghirahim mumbled to himself as he ran along the corridor. He could have easily teleported instead of running, but he needed to let off some steam. "Those upstarts… they think they can stand against me. Just like the first hero… those mortals don't know their place… I will crush them all… if I have to bring the whole place down on them…"
Before long, he was back in the ritual chamber. There still was a chance of winning this. Ahuizotl and the witches weren't at his disposal anymore? That didn't matter. It would take the witches a long time until they reached the power level they had during Ganondorf's reign. And Ahuizotl was useless. He was good as a pawn, but not necessary in the end. The biggest problem was that the hero wasn't alone anymore. He had allies who helped him in battle. That was unheard of!
"What I need…" mumbled the demon lord to himself. "Is a monster so big and powerful that it can dispose of them all at once. The hero might survive, but as long as it keeps him busy until I bring the sage back here and finish the ritual…"
He bowed down in front of the altar and started chanting again. Soon enough, the shimmering form of the shadow horse appeared back in front of him.
"Oh great master!" Ghirahim shouted. "I must inform you that the ritual has been interrupted. Infidels have invaded the temple and fought back my minions."
The shadow horse looked down at him. "You mean, you failed."
Ghirahim chuckled nervously. In all these millenia he lived, the only creature that ever managed to instill something like fear or even nervousness within him was his evil master. He could be terrible in his wrath, and while he would never destroy his most faithful servant, he could be… difficult.
But nothing horrible happened. The shadow horse gave Ghirahim a bemused smile, that was all. Quickly, to make use of his master's good mood, Ghirahim said: "I wouldn't say failed, great master. Bestow on me a monster so terrifying, that its mere presence makes mortals tremble. Then the ritual will be finished before sunset."
"That will not be necessary."
Ghirahim looked up at his master with astonishment. "B-but… my great master! We can still salvage this situation. I don't have to flee. Just give me a chance and I promise you I will…"
"You misunderstand, my sword," the shadow horse said calmly. "I don't want you to flee, I want you to… retreat, for now. Everything that should have happened has happened today."
Ghirahim was baffled. That didn't happen often either. "I… am afraid I don't understand, master."
"Yes, that much is clear," the shadow horse said with amusement in his voice. "You are confused, aren't you? You are wondering if I have lost my mind. The first sage is in my grasp and yet I decide to let her go? What in hell and Tartarus might I be thinking?" He chuckled. "But believe me, my sword. All of this is part of a bigger plan. It didn't matter that the unicorn was the wrong sage. It didn't even matter that their friends came to save them. All that matters is that the sage's destiny has awakened to her."
Ghirahim's eyes widened. "The mark on her backside… that was your intention all along, master? But the seal…"
"Cannot be broken by only one sage alone, you know that as much as I do," the shadow horse said. "We found the first sage and revealed to her her destiny. You have done well. But she isn't enough. We will need all of Equestria's sages. Find them, one after another. And when they all are ready for the harvest, we shall strike!"
"Yes, master!" Ghirahim's voice trembled with awe. His master truly was the only one brilliant enough to come up with such an ingenious plan. "I shall do as you command." He then took a quick look around. "But what about the altar? The ritual chamber?"
"It is only an altar," the shadow horse said. "One that we don't need at the moment. You can always return when the intruders have left this place. And in case they decide to come back, even with guards or soldiers, there are more than enough mystic places in this world that can be used."
"So these ruins were just…"
The shadow horse grinned. "A ruse to lure the witches here. I know they could have never resisted having their revenge in the ancestral home of their forefathers. It is very surprising to me that their Equestrian souls are strong enough to resist the destiny of their Hyrulean past, but it is of no matter to us. Go and find the rest of the sages."
"Yes, master!" Ghirahim bowed and disappeared.
Maud Pie was standing at her family's stand on the market place of Canterlot. Her pet rock Boulder was lying next to her. Every now and then, she slightly nudged some of her wares, to make them seem more aesthetically pleasing. Nevertheless, business was running slow. Apparently, not too many ponies around here were interested in buying rocks.
"I don't understand ponies these days, Boulder," Maud said in her most disappointing-sounding voice. A regular citizen of Canterlot wouldn't have been able to tell the difference compared to her normal voice.
Boulder said nothing.
But then, a customer appeared. The gentlefellow looked like a buffalo, but made of rocks. Maud couldn't help but internally swoon at his rugged handsomeness. On the outside, she kept her same stoic expression. And suddenly, her sister Pinkie popped out from behind the rock buffalo.
"Hiya, Maud!" Pinkie shouted cheerfully. "I knew I'd meet you here today. How are Mom and Pops, Inkie and Blinkie?"
"Hello, Pinkie," Maud said in her monotone voice. "I am happy to see you. Mother and Father are fine, as are Marble and Limestone."
"Hey, I brought a friend who's interested in Pie stone wares. Maud, this is my new pal Darunia. Darunia, this is my older sister Maud."
The buffalo smiled. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Charmed," Maud said.
'Oh my gosh, he's so handsome,' her internal excitement cried.
"Well now, I see you have some nice wares here," Darunia said while looking at her rocks. "A fine assortment, really. Reminds me of Goron handcrafting. What is that over there?" He pointed at a dark grey stone the size of a grapefruit.
"It's a paper weight," Maud explained.
"Ah, I see. And that one next to it?"
"That's a doorstop."
"I see, I see. And the big one in the back?"
"It's a rock stool. You can sit on it."
"You don't say! A bit on the small side, though. Do you sell them in bigger sizes?"
"We sell rocks of all sizes," Maud explained.
"How fascinating!" Darunia seemed truly interested. "What about this little one?" He pointed his hoof at Boulder.
"That is my pet. He's not for sale."
"I understand," Darunia nodded. "Well, Miss Pinkie, your family sure seems to be gifted in the process of growing and crafting rocks, that much is clear."
Pinkie beamed proudly at the compliment. "Awww, thanks. It's a family tradition, you know? I know quite a bit about rocks, too, but I've always been better at baking pastries."
"Speaking of which, I'm getting quite hungry," Darunia said. His stomach started grumbling, which almost sounded like an avalanche. "You don't sell, by any chance, rock sirloin here?"
Maud stared at him. "We are ponies. We don't eat meat."
"Of course, of course. I didn't think. But do you have anything else?"
"Well…" Maud pointed at a bowl filled with the most colorful assortment of pebbles. "We have rock candy."
Darunia looked at the bowl. "Do you now? Color me intrigued."
At another stand, Ruto was inspecting several plastic bottles, aligned in a row. The salesmare behind the counter was quite nervous when the seapony started sniffing every single one of them.
"What is this?" Ruto scowled. "Mane shampoo? Coat cleaner? I don't need any of that. Don't you have any scale care products?"
"T-terribly sorry, m-ma'am," the salesmare muttered. "But these are standard p-products… I have n-never met a pony with s-scales before."
"Hmph!" Ruto snorted. "Some range of products you've got… I left my kingdom more than ten hours ago, and as a princess, I want to look presentable. Do you see my scales? They are getting all dusty and dull. I need some polish to brighten them up."
"Um, excuse me," Fluttershy spoke up. "But I have some lotions and ointments at home in my cottage which I sometimes use on my more… scaly patients. My friend Spike likes to use them too, from time to time. Would you like to take a look at them? Um, that is… if you want to…"
"That would be absolutely WONDERFUL!" Ruto gasped. "Dearest Fluttershy, you are the kindest person I have met ever since I've set foot in this strange world of four-legged creatures."
"Thanks… I guess?" Fluttershy muttered.
Twilight smiled as she saw how her friends were getting along with the guests from Hyrule. "It looks like your friends are enjoying themselves," she told Zelda, who was standing next to her. "I'm very glad."
"Me too," Zelda nodded. "Seeing this gives me hope that an alliance between our two worlds will be beneficial to all of us. But I must say, now I'm getting a bit hungry myself."
"Shall we go to Donut Joe's?" Twilight suggested. "He makes the best donuts in all of Equestria, I've visited his shop quite a lot when I still lived in Canterlot."
"A… donut?" Zelda wondered. "I've never heard of a delicacy with that name, but I'm always interested in trying out food from foreign countries."
"Then let's go, I'm starving as well. And don't worry, it's my treat." They walked across the plaza and the ponies respectfully made way as they saw their status as alicorns, as well as their crowns. Twilight noticed that ponies treated her with much more respect when she was wearing her royal regalia. Maybe the fact that she had both a horn and wings was quickly overlooked. Or maybe ponies simply could not imagine that a princess would mingle with the common crowd. Even now, some unicorns that looked like they belonged to the upper class of Canterlot had expressions of shock on their faces when they saw the two princesses entering a donut shop. But Twilight didn't care about that. Right now, she was in the mood for a nice donut filled with grape jelly.
Donut Joe smiled when he saw his favorite customer entering his store. "Twilight Sparkle! It's been some time. What can I bring you and your friend?"
"Hello, Joe," Twilight waved. "One grape jelly donut, please. What would you like, your Highness?"
"Please, call me Zelda," she said. "And I don't know… everything here looks and smells so delicious. I guess I'll have what she's having, for now."
"Two grape jelly donuts, coming right up," Joe grinned.
Zelda sighed as she looked around. "I'm really enjoying this. Spending some time with a fellow princess, not having to worry about royal duties… You know, I was so uncertain if all of this would actually turn out okay… I'm so relieved it did."
"You were nervous?" Twilight asked. "That surprises me. When I first saw you, I had the impression that you were quite confident about everything."
"I learned to mask my true feelings," Zelda said. "But to tell you the truth, I am still quite inexperienced as a leader, a diplomat or even a princess. My father still makes the most decisions back in our kingdom. When I told him about my plans to go to Equestria, I was afraid he'd forbid it. I sometimes feel like I'm living in his shadow."
"I know what you mean," Twilight nodded with a heavy sigh. "I've been crowned a princess not too long ago and I'm still getting used to everything. Ponies seeing my crown and wings, bowing wherever I go… and still, I feel like they only see Celestia's student in me. And to be honest, I can't even compare myself to her. After all, she has hundreds of years of experience. The only princess I can compare myself to is Cadance. And I love her, not just because she's my sister-in-law and my former foalsitter, but also as a good friend. But she is still more experienced than I am."
"It will come in time," Zelda said. "At least you have a friend. Back in Hyrule, my only close confidants are Link and Impa… I've never met a girl of my age I could befriend, much less another princess. There's Ruto, but she and I… don't exacly get along well." She didn't mention the fact that Ruto was jealous of her because of her close relationship with Link. The issue was complicated enough even without romances.
"Well, you have me now," Twilight said. "I've only known you for one day, but I still think you're a very nice pony. Person, I mean… What I mean is, I enjoyed our time together."
"I had fun as well, Twilight," Zelda smiled. "What do you say? Interested in becoming inter-dimensional penpals?"
"I'd love to," Twilight said as she gave the other princess a hug. Zelda was surprised at this sudden show of affection, but she had to admit she rather liked it. In the end, she returned the hug.
"There you go, princesses," Joe then said. "Your donuts, fresh from the oven, befitting a royal tongue." He laughed heartily.
"Thank you," Zelda said as she let go of Twilight to take a careful bite of the offered pastry. Her eyes then widened. "By Din's sacred flame… this is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."
"I knew you'd like it," Twilight giggled.
Suddenly, Saria came running into the shop. The small filly was panting heavily. "Zelda… there you are… I've been searching for you everywhere."
"Calm down, Saria, what's the matter?" Zelda asked.
"It's Link!" Saria said. "I've been sitting at the fountain in the middle of the plaza, playing my fairy ocarina… when all of a sudden, I heard Link's voice. He was playing the Ocarina of Time, contacting me with the song I taught him. And he wanted me to tell you... he's safe. But he and his new friends are now stuck in the middle of the desert, on another continent. And the ship they used to get there was sunk by a monster. Also, they are running out of food and water. They need help!"
"Oh no!" Zelda gasped. "That's terrible news. I mean, it's good to hear he's okay, but something needs to be done."
Twilight jumped off her chair. "I'm such a numbskull," she said. "I totally forgot that I wanted to go after them, to help them. And then all that drama with Nabooru and Princess Luna happened and I completely forgot about it… I need to fly, now! I need to help them."
"I'll go with you," Zelda said. Both Saria and Twilight looked at her with disbelief.
"Really? You want to go out into the wild and search for Link?" Saria blurted out.
Zelda nodded. "Yes! I've been an inactive spectator for too long, always sitting idly in my castle and letting Link do all the work to save our kingdom. It's about time I did something for him, too. And now that I've got wings, I don't see why I shouldn't use them."
"Well, you're welcome to come along," Twilight said. "I'm just not sure if it's a good idea to fly across the ocean. You didn't get a lot of chances to use your new wings yet, after all."
"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine once you show me how it's done," Zelda chuckled. "How difficult can it be?"