After helping out on the farm, Link found that he had a little time for himself on his hooves. Fearing that spending too much time on Sweet Apple Acres would end up with him getting roped back into work, he decided to go into town. And since Epona had already left with one of her old friends, he decided to take another friend along.
He found Navi snoozing peacefully on one of the lower branches of an apple tree. Link gently nudged the branch and shook her awake. "Wakey wakey, little fairy!" he smirked.
Navi yawned cutely as she rose up. "Oh… it's you, Link. I've been so bored ever since you've returned. Fluttershy now hangs around with Ruto and Saria has vanished someplace else. Can we do something fun together?"
He grinned. "That's just what I was about to suggest. Let's go to town and see what we can do. We've never had any chance to try that sweets shop, Sugarcube Corner or whatever it is called. And I'd love to see if there are any shops that offer fun games, like a shooting gallery or anything like that."
"I'm all for it," Navi said as she sat down in-between his ears. "Trot along, horse-boy!"
He frowned as he started walking towards town. "Can you not call me that?"
"Why? That's what you are at the moment. Any reason why you're still walking around as a pony?"
"I'm trying to fit in," he said. "Also, the more time I spend in this form, the more I get used to it. I don't want to end up in a situation like back in the desert, where I barely had any time to learn how to fight while I'm on four hooves."
"Fair enough," Navi shrugged as they reached Ponyville. "Hey look, they have a theater. I wonder how good their performers are…"
"I don't want to sit still and watch others do something," Link said. "I wanna do something on my own." He looked around. "Do you see a Bombchu Bowling Alley or anything like that around here?"
"Hey you!" a chipper voice next to him spoke up.
Link turned around and saw a mint-colored unicorn standing next to him. She had a big grin on her face. "Um, yes? Can I help you?"
"You're that new stallion Bonnie and I bumped into the other day, right? I never got the chance to introduce myself. I'm Lyra… what's your name?"
"Well, pleased to meet you then, Lyra. I'm Link and this is my friend, Navi."
"Hey, that's the parasprite that perched on my horn," Lyra said.
"I'm not a parasprite," Navi said in annoyance. "I'm a fairy. And you hurled me across half of Ponyville with that spell of yours."
"Oops. Yeah, sorry about that," the unicorn giggled. "I really thought you were a parasprite. Nasty little things, ya know? But anyways… Link, right? There was something I wanted to ask you about."
"Sure, what is it?" he asked.
Her grin widened and she came closer, uncomfortably close to be exact. Link inched back a bit when she stared directly at him with those giant eyes of hers.
"Is it true… that you can transform into something… something bigger than a pony? With two legs? And HANDS?"
That took him by surprise. "H-how… how do you know that?"
"Sweetie Belle and her friends told me when they ran into me just a couple of minutes ago. So they're RIGHT? You actually CAN do that?"
"Y… yeah… it's true. But, um, could you please stay quiet about this? I don't want everypony to know about it just yet."
"Yeah, no problem," she grinned. "But I'm so excited… EEEEEEEEEEE! A real, life human here in Ponyville! Ohmygosh! This is the best day ever!"
"Sorry, a what?" Navi asked. "Link is a Hylian, not a human."
"Hylian?" Lyra frowned. "What's that supposed to be?"
"Well, I suppose I can show you… in a back alley or someplace else where there aren't that many ponies…"
"Oh… that would be awesome, but I just remembered I'm actually in a hurry. I'm late for lyre practice, and Bon Bon wanted me to pick up some carrots from the market. Sweet Luna, I'm already late as it is. Listen, can you do me a favor? Take this satchel of bits and buy a bushel of carrots for me, would ya? And bring them to my marefriend, Bon Bon."
"Well, I guess that's no problem. I've got lots of time," Link said.
Lyra grinned and levitated a small little pouch towards his mouth for him to take. "Great! Our house is across the main square, right next to the joke shop. See ya later!" And she ran off.
Navi crossed her arms. "Didn't you tell me you wanted to do something fun today?"
"Yes, but this is not a big deal, right? We take care of this and have more than enough time left to do something else. And she seemed like a nice pony, so let's do her this favor."
He trotted over to the carrot stand on the market. The mare behind it welcomed him with a smile. "Hello there, good sir. Come to buy some carrots, have you? The name's Carrot Top, and I grow the tastiest carrots in all of Ponyville."
"Yeah, I'd like a bushel," Link nodded as he placed the bag of bits on the counter. "Boy, these sure look tasty. No wonder Epona eats them all the time."
"One bushel of juicy, healthy carrots, coming right up," Carrot Top said. "That'll be three bits."
"There you go," Link said as he nudged the pouch over to her. He watched with envy how the earth pony mare effortlessly picked up the small coins with her mouth and dropped them in her cash box. In return, she wrapped up a bunch of carrots in a bushel and handed them over to Link. "Please enjoy and do come again."
"Thank you. Have a nice day," Link smiled and went on his way.
"See, that wasn't so bad?" he said to Navi. "Now all we need to to is bring these carrots to Lyra's friend, and we're done."
"Yeah yeah, just hurry up and do it already," Navi sighed. "I'm getting bored again."
"You're starting to sound a lot like Tatl, you know that?" Link asked.
"You take that back!"
After a bit of searching, they found the joke shop, and next to it, the house Lyra and Bon Bon were living in. Link rang the bell, and not too long after, the cream-colored earth pony opened. "Yes?"
"Hello, you're Lyra's friend, aren't you?" Link asked. "She asked us to buy some carrots and bring them to you."
"Ah, the carrots. Thank you, those will be great in that vegetable dish I'm preparing for the evening," Bon Bon smiled as she accepted them. "But that Lyra… I ask her to do one little thing in the house, and she lets somepony else do it for her. Between her lyre practice and her running around searching for imaginary two-legged creatures, she barely does anything to help me," she frowned. "I have my own business to attend, she has to realize that."
"What kind of business do you run?" Link asked curiously.
"I'm a confectioner," Bon Bon said. "I make sweets. Most of them end up in Sugarcube Corner, but I also sell some on the market. That reminds me, I've just finished a batch of sweets that need to be delivered to Mrs. Cake. I'd go myself, but since Lyra left all the housework to me… Are you maybe on your way to Sugarcube Corner yourself?"
"Well, I was planning on going there at some point today…" Link said.
"Wonderful," Bon Bon smiled. "Can you maybe take these sweets along with you? It won't take any of your time if you're already going there, right?"
Link suppressed the urge to groan. "Sure, no problem. I can do that." He ignored Navi's frown and took the sweets from Bon Bon, in exchange for the carrots.
"Again, Link? Why do you keep helping all those people you've never seen before in your life?" Navi asked. "It's the same as back in Hyrule… you can't ever say no, can you?"
"But they've been so nice, Navi," Link said. "And we were going to go there eventually. So it would be awfully rude to say no."
"But it's not even lunchtime," Navi complained. "I'm not hungry yet… and what about the fun part of the day? Can't we do this later?"
"It sounded like those ponies need the sweets pretty urgently," Link said. "We can pick up something to eat while we're there and eat it later for lunch. Is that okay with you?"
"Fiiine…" Navi muttered as they entered Sugarcube Corner.
A tall, lanky stallion came walking in the same moment they arrived. "Oh hey, you're the new stallion in town everypony keeps talking about," he smiled. "I'm Carrot Cake, my wife Cup Cake and I run Sugarcube Corner. You're her old friend Epona's friend, aren't you?"
"That's right, my name is Link," he nodded. 'Strange,' he thought. 'Those ponies are all so friendly. Back in Hyrule, no one was really interested in my name as long as I helped them with their problems. Must be a really pleasant place to live in.'
"Are those Bon Bon's sweets I'm smelling?" Carrot asked as they entered. "So that means you're delivering them. I was just on a delivery myself… so much to do," he chuckled. He then shouted: "Honeybuns! I'm home!"
"I'm in the back," Cup Cake shouted. "I have some guests, so could you take care of the customers, dear?" In addition to her voice, there were some feminine giggles, accompanied by a grumpy groan that sounded somewhat familiar to Link and Navi's ears.
"She's such a sweetheart," Carrot sighed. "I've been awfully lucky to have married such a wonderful mare. I guess that means a lot more work for me this afternoon… oh well, it can't be helped," he shrugged. "Anyways, thanks for bringing the sweets. Bon Bon sure knows how to make them. Can I interest you in some of our freshly baked pastries to go?"
"They sure look delicious," Link said. "I think I'll have one of these… and one of these… oh, that over there looks good, too."
Carrot chuckled. "I'll pack a mixed bag of everything. You'll like it, I'm sure." He started picking some pastries and cakes and packed them in a bag. "So, how do you like Ponyville so far?"
"It's certainly a nice little town," Link said. "Everypony is so nice… and the food is delicious. But you know, Navi and I have been wondering if there are any exciting activities we can partake in…"
"You're that kind of stallion that enjoys some physical activities, I take it?" Carrot asked. "Well, there's always the bowling alley. And I heard a pegasus from Cloudsdale has opened up an ice archery stand… with all the necessary safety precautions, of course."
Link's eyes lit up. "Archery?" he asked in excitement. "That's just what I was looking for! Thank you, Mr. Cake."
Carrot Cake smiled. "Always happy to help a friend of the family. Or… a friend's friend. Hope you enjoy your pastries." And he handed Link the bag.
Link took it gratefully and turned around to make his exit. "Finally," Navi sighed. "Now we can do something exciting…"
"Oh, before you leave…" Carrot spoke up. "Derpy came by early in the morning and ordered a blueberry muffin and we were all out… she already paid, so can you bring this one to her while you're on your way?"
Navi gritted her teeth.
Link sighed. "Looks like this is going to be a loooong day…"
"Look, just stop right here," Navi urged Link as they continued on. "You can stop right here and no pony will be mad at you. See, there's that bowling alley. And if we keep on walking, I'm sure you'll be able to give off some good shots at the archery stand."
"No!" Link insisted. "I'm not disappointing the husband of Epona's life-long friend, and not that poor pony who's been waiting for her muffin all day long either. Besides, if experience taught me anything, there's a good reward waiting for me at the end of this."
"But is it worth it?" Navi asked.
"I've made my decision," Link said as he reached Derpy's house and knocked at the door.
A young unicorn filly opened and looked up at him with young, innocent eyes.
"Um… hello," Link said. "We're looking for a pony named Derpy Hooves?"
The filly turned her head and shouted: "MOM! There's a weird pony in a gnome outfit with a parasprite who wants to talk to you!"
"For the last time, I'm not a parasprite," Navi grumbled.
When the grey pegasus arrived at the door, Link felt disoriented. Which way was she looking? Was she even seeing him?
"Thanks for opening the door for Mommy, muffin," the mare said in a pleasant voice. "You can go back to your coloring book." The filly went back inside and the mare smiled at Link. "My Dinky is so helpful. I'm Derpy. Who are you, mister? You smell like muffins."
Link took a deep breath. "I'm Link, this is Navi, she's a fairy, not a parasprite, this is not a gnome outfit and we're here to deliver this muffin from Sugarcube Corner."
"My muffin!" Derpy shouted happily as she accepted the gift. "Thanks, mister. You are very nice. Are you new in Ponyville?"
"I have the feeling we have to tell everyone we run into who we are and what we are doing here," Navi muttered.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Derpy smiled. "As for me, I'm Ponyville's mailmare. I always deliver my letters in time!" She gave the two a salute. "Anyways, thank you for bringing me this muffin. Now, can you do me a favor? I have this letter that needs to be delivered right away, and I really, really can't go at the moment."
Link gritted his teeth. "Why is it that no matter which dimension I'm in, there's ALWAYS some sort of trading quest involved?"
"Here you go," Derpy said as she gave him an envelope. "Please bring this to Vinyl Scratch. But she has to go to work soon, so you need to deliver this within the next fifteen minutes."
Link wanted to scream.
"I hate to say I told you so," Navi muttered as she lay on her back, on top of Link's cap, staring up into the sky, once again bored as Tartarus. "But… I told you so!"
"I'm sure… this one is the last," Link panted as he ran the distance between Derpy's and Vinyl's houses as fast as he could. "I kind of predicted this would take longer than we thought. But I never thought it would be this… tiring."
"Look at it this way, Link," Navi snickered. "At least you can run as fast as Epona now."
"Too bad she never told me just how tiring it is," Link grunted as he finally reached the house. "Whew… made it in time."
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Navi asked. "What are those loud noises coming from inside? Sounds like a bunch of Gorons are having a downhill rolling race."
"There are no Gorons in Equestria, it must be something else," Link said. "And this is the right address, so…" He knocked at the door. Nothing. He tried again. No response.
"Come on, open already!" he nearly shouted. "The time has almost run out."
"I'd give up if I were you," Navi said.
"Are you two looking for Vinyl?" a soft voice came from behind.
"Um, yeah," Link said. "But she doesn't seem to open…"
"She always does that in her free time," the elegant-looking grey mare shook her head with a sigh. "And I always tell her to lower the volume, too. But she never listens… is it urgent? I can go inside and tell her if you want."
"You'd do that?" Link asked in surprise. "Sure, go ahead… but if she doesn't hear your knocking…"
"Oh, I don't need to knock," the mare smiled. "I live here, I have a key. I'm Octavia, Vinyl's roommate." She took a small key and opened the door. Almost instantly, the sheer intensity of the noise that welcomed them made them stagger and blew Navi off Link's head.
"What… is that?" Link shouted. "Is that a monster roaring?"
"Sounds like it, but it's only Vinyl's music," Octavia shouted back. "Wait a second, I'll handle this." And she went inside.
"Music?" Navi screamed. "This awful, deafening cacophony of hell is supposed to be music? I don't believe it!" They followed the mare inside.
Meanwhile, Octavia had made it to Vinyl's room. The unicorn DJ was sitting at her homemade DJ console, headphones on, bobbing her head to the rhythm of the music.
"Vinyl?" Octavia shouted. "Vinyl, can you hear me? VINYL!" She grabbed the headphones and yelled into the unicorn's ear. "VINYL SCRATCH, CEASE THIS INFERNAL NOISE AT ONCE!"
Surprised, Vinyl looked at her. She lowered the volume a bit… but it was still awfully loud. "Oh, hey Octy," she grinned. "Didn't notice you come in. How was your day? Enjoy teaching the squirts some of your fancy singing?"
Octavia sighed. "There was no lesson today, Sweetie Belle couldn't make it… but never mind that now. Shut off that music and remove yourself from that seat for once. There's somepony for you at the door."
"For me?" The DJ switched off her music and grinned towards Link. "Heeeyyyy, you must be a fan, right? Sorry, no autographs in my freetime. You can contact my agent about that."
"Vinyl, you don't have an agent," Octavia muttered.
"What did she say?" Navi shouted. "My ears are still ringing."
"Actually… I'm here to deliver this letter to you," Link said. "So I'll give it to you and then we'll be on our way…"
"Sweet, that must be the invite for the party I was waiting for," Vinyl said. "Now all that's missing is the booze. Now if only there was somepony who could go to Berry Punch and ask her to deliver some of her finest drinks…"
This time, Link DID want to scream and already opened his muzzle.
"Buuuut, unfortunately, Pinkie Pie said there'd be no booze at her party this time around. Bummer!" She shrugged. "Oh well, what can you do? But hey, thanks for delivering this letter, dude."
"Don't mention it," Link muttered in a tired voice. "Now if you excuse me, I need to find myself a fainting couch…"
"Yeah, about that… Pinkie's kinda waiting for this list of songs I'm gonna play at her party and she needs it as soon as possible. And since I'm late for my job, well…"
"Let me guess… you want me to deliver it," Link asked.
"How'd you know?" Vinyl smirked. "But don't worry, you don't have to walk to the other edge of town or anything. It's really not that far."
"Oh, thank Farore for small miracles!" Link groaned. "So where do I need to go?"
"To Sugarcube Corner."
Navi covered her ears.
Link opened his mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"Don't you think it's about time we quit?" Navi grumbled. "It's already past lunchtime and we didn't even get to eat those pastries."
"Only this one, Navi… I swear to Din… this is going to be the final favor I'm going to do to anypony on this day," Link muttered as he, once again, dragged his body over to Sugarcube Corner. "And if anyone, anybody or anypony wants something else to be done after that, then I'll reply with: Forget it!"
"The first smart thing I've heard you say today," Navi muttered.
Link sighed and opened the door. "Party list for Pinkie P…"
"SURPRISE!"
Link was knocked down on his haunches in shock as he was blasted with confetti and streamers. Totally dazed, he looked around. He couldn't believe how much Sugarcube Corner had changed in the short time he was gone. Balloons were floating under the ceiling, streamers and all sorts of party decorations were hanging everywhere, a giant cake was standing in the middle of the room and nearly every single pony in Ponyville seemed to be present, wearing party hats and blowing into noisemakers. Even Epona, Zelda, Saria and all the rest of the sages were present.
"Surpriiiise!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she popped out of nowhere, as usual. "Hi there, Linky! You were the only one still missing to Pinkie Pie's super duper awesome spectacular let's-welcome-our-Hyrule-friends-to-Ponyville party!"
"That's right!" another pony, a yellow stallion, looking almost as crazy as the pink mare, shouted. "And as a certified pony party planner, I, Cheese Sandwich, say that this surprise was a success."
"Y… you're right about that one," Link muttered. "I'm very surprised."
"Great!" Pinkie cheered. "Because today, we all of Ponyville are here to thank you for everything you've done for us and for how awesome of a friend you are."
"She's right, Link," Twilight smiled. "Everypony told me what you did for them today. And that, in my opinion, makes you more than qualified to be welcomed not only to this party, but as a friend of all in Ponyville."
"That's right," Mayor Mare nodded. "And in my position as mare, it is my great pleasure to name Link an honorary citizen of Ponyville!"
"Kinda cheesy speech there, don't you think, May?" Epona muttered.
"I like cheese!" Cheese Sandwich said. "But never mind that now, because it's time to get this show on the road!"
Some time later, the party was already in full swing. Everypony was having a blast. And even though I wasn't exactly the social type, I enjoyed hanging out with my friends and their families. Link seemed to be the hero of the day, not because he saved somepony from a horrific monster, but because he managed to make lots of friends. That's Ponyville for you. I sipped down the rest of my drink and trotted over to him. "Enjoying the party so far?"
"Huh? Oh, it's you, Epona," he said. "Yeah, this is a lot of fun. Not what I expected, but fun."
"Glad to hear it," I grinned. "So you're not mad that you didn't get any new, powerful weapon or equipment for finishing this 'trading quest'?"
"I must admit, a shiny new sword would have been nice," Link said. "It's been a while ever since I had to give up the Master Sword. But you know what? That doesn't matter to me right now because I realized something."
"And what is that?" I asked.
He smiled. "Having lots of friends is the best thing I could ask for. And for that, I would gladly walk all those distances I put behind me today, over and over again."