//------------------------------// // Zant's Dilemma *Revised* // Story: The Wolf's War // by Blazing47s //------------------------------// Zant ground his teeth together as he surveyed his enemy’s defenses. The three blasted light beasts had been calmly decimating his armies for almost an entire day, and, though he hated to admit it, they had him completely stuck and there was nothing he could do about it. Zant was standing a few yards back from the edge of the tree line, his view consisted of the small spring of water that the light beasts had made into their fortress. Sunlight shone down through the irritatingly bright sky onto huge wooden barricades, about twenty feet tall, which circled the three exposed sides of the pool of water. Huge logs were set up vertically, thrust into the soil around the pool of water with no space in between them, and Zant almost couldn't believe their simple effectiveness. The four light guardians were deceptively cunning, turning their small fortress into a nearly impenetrable defense by using a surprising amount of strategy. Land attacks from Zant’s larger Twilit beasts could only come from three sides, and the bests simply swatted anything less hardy right out of the air. As Zant was sullenly mulling over his options, there came a noise like a large horn from right behind him, which blared loudly and slightly off key. Zant turned his head, and made out one of his flying beasts through the eye holes in his mask. The huge bird like creature stood on two legs behind him. Its skin was the waxy black that all Twilit beasts shared, with the red veins of energy pulsing under its skin. Two huge bat-like wings were folded over its scrawny body, and its legs were tipped with large black claws. The bird’s face was almost completely flat, but it had a border around the center, about two inches thick. The border seemed to move and pulsate in small cubic sections as the thing blared its horn-like voice. Zant held up a hand in the signal to wait. His long sleeves were black with green patterns woven into them, and they hid his entire arm, only letting the tips of a few of his fingers peek out. The creature bowed its head in respect and backed away, going back to join the ranks of its comrades. Zant turned back to the wall, grinding his teeth. His flying beasts were next to useless, despite their determination and loyalty. Being too small and weak to do anything of sustenance to the powerful light deities, they served as a mere annoyance at best and cannon fodder at worst. Even with the advantage of being able to fly over the large barricades, they were killed too fast to help, even in large numbers. If the beasts he was able to summon with his new power didn’t come in packs (Thirty flying beasts and around forty land ones) he wouldn’t summon the flying creatures at all. Zant sighed, determining that his small pity fest had run its course, and held up the other hand. With roars and screams for bloodshed, his forces exploded from the tree line around him, the flying beasts immediately rushing into the air with their powerful wings. The land bound creatures rushed forward, huge claws pounding into the soil as they ran, their flat heads leaning into the wind. The tall creatures streaked around Zant, parting around him like water around a stone. The flying Twilit beasts made it to the wall first. They condensed into one huge group, about to dive onto something, and Zant sighed in defeat. He knew what was coming. A huge beam of bright light shot from behind the wall, bright even as he turned his head away. Zant could feel the power of the blast even from his vantage point, the pure magic sending tingles down his spine. The beam cut into the mass of creatures like a scythe, burning and charring skin and bone. More than half of the flying beasts were cut down by the initial attack, screaming as they fell toward the earth, their bodies shedding black cubes into the air that dissolved before their body hit the ground. Soon, nothing would be left of the corpses, transformed into the vanishing black cubes completely. Before the rest of Zant’s flying creatures could compose themselves, another beam of light erupted from behind the walls. It did the same as the first, cutting down the rest of the flying beasts, which fell to the ground with screams of pain. The slower land bound beasts sprinted and leapt over the dissolving bodies of their comrades, unheeding or caring, and smashed into the wooden wall claws first. They ripped and tore at the wood, causing splinters to fly off in every direction. When one of the huge vertical logs groaned under the strain and began to topple over, Zant had his first gimmer of hope. The waves after waves of beasts had finally done something. Perhaps now he could finish off these annoyances for good. The beasts that were under the toppling barricade moved to the side, and the log crashed into the soil, throwing up dust and pebbles. The beasts roared in victory, and streamed toward the hole in the defenses, every one of Zant’s army on the battle field condensing into one pack, pushing and shoving to make it through the narrow gap. Zant's hopes were dashed nearly immediatly. The first beast reached its waxy arm into the hole, and was about to push forward, when it disappeared. It was there one moment, and gone the next, yanked into the spring almost instantly. There was the loud scream of a Twilit beast from behind the wall that made the rest pause, wary. There was moment of almost complete silence; the only sound was the near imperceptible gurgling of the water in the spring. Then the owl came. It rose over the wooden walls like a sun, making Zant cover his eyes from the sheer brightness. Its huge wings were at least fifty feet long, and they made the grass press backward, the trees waving and shaking from the force of its wings. The four light beasts of Hyrule were a fierce sight to behold, even when just guarding the orbs of light entrusted to their possession. When they knew an attack was coming, they transformed, absorbing the light into their own bodies, making them as bright as a miniature sun. Their skin danced and spun with energy, swirling in majestic patterns. Their skin became as hard as stone, and their actions almost too fast to see. The guardians, too, were very smart about conserving their power. By each taking turns every attack, the four beasts were able to rest and restore some of their power while another fought. It took Zant about an hour to summon another pack, in which they repaired their wooden wall and rested until the next engagement. Zant knew he would defeat them eventually, but they were brilliant at stalling him for an infuriating amount of time. The owl was still in the air for a moment, before acting faster than lighting. There was an explosion of light bright enough to sting Zant’s eyes even behind his arm, causing his vision to flash painfully. There were screams and crashes for a moment, and then silence. When Zant shook the spots from his eyes and surveyed the field, he was met with the grizzly sight that he had seen a dozen times before. The remains of his small army were everywhere. The large beasts lay in piles around the trees, heaps of dissolving bones and charred flesh, wet with their own blood. One beast twitched lightly in a tree, having been impaled though the chest by a thick branch. Black blood dripped slowly around the puncture, and fell to the forest floor below. The light owl that had devastated his forces was nowhere to be seen, already back behind the wall. The clear spring water was pockmarked black with dissolving Twilit bodies. Zant felt disgusted as his eyes swept over the carnage, before turning away. “Such a waste of power,” He thought bitterly. “Just my luck to be reincarnated by an impatient fool.” But he could not disobey his new mistress. He owed his life to her, after she made him reborn from the ashes of his previous body. He would fight and die for her, just like he did for his master before. He would follow her command to the very letter. But that did not mean that he liked it. Zant paused as he felt a slight tug on his consciousness. He was being summoned. Zant sighed, before holding his arms upward in front of him. He built black power in the palms of his hands, feeling the magic surge through his body. With a loud crack, he clapped his hands together, and disappeared in a flash of black cubes. Zant shook off the temporary disorientation from the teleportation, before surveying the place he had appeared in. He was standing in a blank desert, which stretched out on every side. The sun glared down onto the white sand, but with no heat. There were no cacti, or life of any kind here. The dreamscape his mistress chose to meet him this time reflected her mood, and Zant knew she wouldn't be happy. Without anything else to do, Zant stood silently in the shifting sand, unmoving, letting a small breeze shift his long sleeves around his arms. It took about ten minutes for his mistress to appear. A large mirror flashed into existence before Zant’s eyes, floating a foot above the sand. Its edges were black obsidian, with swirling light blue patterns. The perfectly smooth surface of the glass seemed to shine dull blue for a moment. An image appeared in the glass, swirling a moment before settling. A pair of teal eyes, much larger than Zant’s own, glared out at him from the glass. Not once had Zant seen his mistress' full body, just her pair of cat-like eyes. “Hello, my little pawn,” A feminine voice came from everywhere at once. “I hope things are going well,” She purred, and Zant felt that she knew exactly how well things were going. He decided to be honest. “No mistress,” Zant’s said, shaking his head. “The light beasts are losing power, but at this rate they can repel my forces for days at best.” This was not Zant’s only concern, but he did not voice it. “What is it, my little pawn?” His mistress asked, as if she had read his mind, her voice a sickly sweet blend of fake concern. “Speak freely now.” Zant did a small bow at the mirror. “Of course mistress.” He took a breath before beginning. “This plan . . . your plan, mistress . . . revolves on luck,” Zant said simply. “All it would take to destroy everything is one light dweller from Hyrule discovering my forces in the forest. If the Vessel of Wisdom came down and allied herself with the light beasts, we would have no chance.” Zant shook his head. “My beasts may be powerful, but a full army of light dwellers would be more than capable of decimating the small forces I can summon, especially with the goddesses' help.” Zant was extremely;y careful to not let a trace of his disdain into his thoughts. His last master, the master he had greatly respected, had been careful. Taking the light beasts by surprise, plunging the light dwellers into Twilight. Defeating the Vessel of Wisdom practically before the battle even began, imprisoning her in her own castle. He had only made one mistake, and that was not taking the real Princess of Twilight into account. That careful style of pre-planning and flawless execution was in stark contrast with the strategies of his new mistress, and her rushing and impatience frustrated Zant to no end. “I realize these facts,” his mistress said, her voice losing some of its light tone. “But do not concern yourself with those at this time.” “Yes mistress,” Zant bowed again in submission. “Now the thing you should really be worried about,” His mistress' voice suddenly whispered into his ears, “Is me.” Zant looked up in surprise. “You, mistress?” He asked. “Yes,” her voice was cold as ice. There was a moment of silence, before she spoke slowly, emphasizing every word. “You let the Vessel of Courage, the only one who can stop me, ESCAPE!” She roared, and Zant’s clothes ruffled in a sudden wind. “In his wolf body! Were he in his Ordonian form, the world he is in now would have rejected him, and he would be dead. Instead, you might have ruined everything! All of my planning! Just so you could have your petty revenge!” She ranted angrily. Zant made sure to guard his next thoughts. "I had him right where I wanted him, but you summoned me away before I could finish. It is your fault", he seethed internally. But to voice this to his mistress would be suicide. She was a magnitude of power above his own, and he would have no chance at survival. “I apologize, mistress,” He said instead, bowing once more. He could hear the smile in her next words. “I will have to take care of the Vessel of Courage myself, but in the meantime,” her voice grew a hard edge, mixing with the glee in her tone. “Your punishment.” Zant screamed. After what seemed like an eternity of agony, Zant struggled back onto his feet from the sand. He swayed lightly when he settled his weight onto his two feet. His mistress was still looking out from the mirror, an evil glint in her eyes. “Now, my little pawn, I have a task for you.” Zant couldn’t find the strength to speak, so his mistress continued. “Search any source you can for a way to deal with the light beasts. Find a way around, through them, i don't care. Explore any rumor, tall tale, or myth. Find a way.” With these last words, the mirror and Zant’s mistress’ teal eyes vanished, leaving him alone in the blank desert. Despite his pain, a small smile found its way onto his face. “Any myth, mistress?” He rasped, his smile growing. “I might have just the thing.” ----- After introductions, and with Link continuing to struggle to his paws, Fluttershy and Twilight had decided to find a middle ground and help him downstairs so that he wouldn't hurt himself. Getting Link out of bed and downstairs had been easy enough with Twilight helping. When she encased him in her magic at first, he had stiffened and growled, but he eventually let her carry him down the stairs. She had set him on his side on the pink couch in the family room, with his head on the leg rest on the side, letting him see everything, and he seemed to be mostly content for now. Spike had accepted the wolf’s apology, but was still unwilling to get within a few feet of Link, eyeing him warily from the opposite side of the room. Twilight had teleported a notepad and some quills from her house, and she was sitting in an easy chair across from Link and Fluttershy, taking notes on everything she had learned. Link was letting her scan him with magic once again, with the purple alicorn furiously scribbling everything she noticed or observed with the magic encased quill. “Likes to be petted, like Wiona, see ‘Friend’s pets list number one,’” Twilight wrote down. Fluttershy was sitting on the cushions in the space between Link’s back and front legs, and was slowly running a hoof over the back of his head (with his permission of course), and down into the fluffy scruff on his neck and shoulders. She seemed to be enjoying it, as it had a slightly lethargic effect, especially in her current state. She was leaning her head on his side while she petted him, her eyes drooping more closed every second. Link seemed to be enjoying it also, having never really been pet before, and was making no move to stop Fluttershy. He instead opted to stare at Twilight with his ice-blue eyes. His tail was thumping softly against the other leg rest of the couch, a soft metronome in the quiet of the room. Spike poked one of Twilight’s legs with a claw, getting her attention. She looked down at the baby dragon, and the notepad and quill she was levitating ceased moving. “Yeah Spike?” She asked. Spike cast a suspicious glance in Link’s direction. His eyes were met with the cold gaze of the black wolf’s, and he shivered slightly. Looking back up at Twilight, he jerked a claw in the direction of the door, indicating that he didn’t want Link to hear. “Fluttershy, Spike and I are going to go now; we will be back later, okay?” Twilight said, rising to her hooves. The yellow pegasus’ only response was a light snore, as she buried her head farther into Link’s warm side next to the bandages. The hoof she had been petting Link with had disappeared into the wolf’s mane-like scruff, and didn’t look like it was going to re-appear any time soon. “I have some questions for you, Link, once I get back,” Twilight said, switching her gaze to the wolf. Link nodded in understanding, before closing his eyes in an effective dismissal. Twilight picked up her saddlebags from next to the chair, and secured them onto her sides with her magic, dropping the pad and quill inside before closing the flap. She trotted over to the door, and opened it with her magic. Spike went out into the bright afternoon sunshine first, with Twilight closing the door behind her as she followed. Twilight was glad to be out of the dark house, and was thankful to see that the wall of animals that had greeted them this morning was nowhere to be seen. A few birds chirped and flew about in the green trees surrounding Fluttershy’s house, diving and swooping around in a playful matter. Twilight felt a smile settle onto her features at the sight as she started back down the path. Spike opted to walk next to Twilight instead of riding on her back. The afternoon was comfortably warm, and it perked the little dragon’s mood up a bit. “So, let me guess what your plan of action is,” Spike said as they walked down the path. He held up his index finger. “You are going to write to Princess Celestia, asking her to come down to Ponyville to meet Link for herself, to see if she thinks he is a threat.” Spike held up another finger. “You are going to gather all of your friends together and take them to meet Link with Princess Celestia.” He held up another finger. “You are going to cast some sort of spell on Link to see where he came from and how he got here.” Twilight stumbled a bit in surprise. “Spike, how did you?” She sputtered, looking at her assistant. Spike sighed. “It’s practically the same thing you do every time something like this happens.” He went back to looking forward. “Well, the first two, yes,” Twilight admitted. “But not the last one. How did you know that one?” Spike shrugged. “You are the Element of Magic. Magic is your thing, so it makes sense you would use it.” He stated, as if it was obvious. “Also, you didn’t ask a single question on why he was here or what attacked him. You must've had a plan to figure it out by yourself.” Twilight was a little bit troubled by the extreme accuracy with which Spike had guessed her thoughts. Was she really becoming that predictable? It was the perfectly logical and reasonable way to approach this situation. “Okay, so you got me,” Twilight said, as they walked side by side back to Ponyville. ----- Back at Fluttershy’s cottage, Link had drifted off as well. The ache of his wounds and Fluttershy’s gentle massage had lulled him into unconsciousness, giving them both some needed rest. The room was silent and peaceful for a time. This was finally interrupted when a creature walked out of the kitchen into the front room. It was a mishmash of different animals, with one horse leg and a lizard leg. A bird-like claw held a silver platter filled with sandwiches next to his head, while a lion paw was held behind his back. A black suit covered most of his long, skinny body, with a hole in the back to let out his large red tail. There was a small plume of white hair on the end of the tail, along with a small beard at the end of his long face. A purple bat wing was folded next to a blue feathered one on his back. Two mismatched horns sprouted from above his red and yellow eyes, each with a slight mischievous glint. “Ooh, what do we have here?” Discord, lord of chaos, asked softly, a grin showing the one large tooth that jutted from his upper lip. With a soft snap of his claws, his attire and the platter disappeared as if they had never existed. Discord floated over to the pair on the couch, his serpent-like body flowing behind his head, as if a liquid. He did a few circles around the sleeping wolf and pegasus above their heads, before landing softy in front of them. Discord’s eyes narrowed and he reached out one claw. He gave the sleeping wolf a single tap on the forehead, gentle enough to not wake him. After a second, there was a bright light that shone from one of the wolf’s paws. Below the manacle and chain, on the back on his left forepaw, were three triangles. Discord gasped in delight as he saw the symbol. Three equilateral triangles making up a larger triangle, with another triangular gap in the middle. They glowed bright gold, shining out of the wolf’s paw and onto his face and the wall. The wolf shifted a bit in his sleep, but did not wake. Discord gave a quite cackle. “Well, Vessel of Courage, you are going to make things oh so very . . . interesting,” He said, loving the way the final word rolled off of his tongue, an grin forming on his face. ----- Link gave a loud yawn as he came back into the waking world, his jaw stretch showing his large teeth. The family room of Fluttershy’s house was dark and still. Link yawned again, flicking one of his ears. As he inhaled, a scent unlike anything he had ever smelled assaulted his nose. It was completely . . . chaotic. That was the only way Link could have described the complete jumble of smells. It was as if someone had smashed things together, with no regard for normality or the laws of physics. And it tickled his nose. Unprepared for the sensation, Link sneezed loudly. He then shook his head to get rid of the remains of the smell. The jerk of his body caused a movement on his side. Looking over, he saw Fluttershy rising sleepily, apparently having woken up by the sudden movement. She raised her head off of his side, and blinked a couple more times. Upon seeing where she was laying, her eyes snapped open. She struggled to all four hooves, glancing about the room, before looking back at Link. “Oh!” She exclaimed. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you!” She said apologetically, partially hiding behind her hair. “I hope I didn’t hurt your side . . .” Link just blinked at her, before releasing a huff of air, resting his head back onto the leg rest of the couch, and Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. Fluttershy didn’t speak with animals, per se. To her, breaths of air, or a twitch of the tail or an ear made up their own language, most of the time. It depended on the animal she wanted to speak to; if it wanted to communicate with speech. She was normally able to translate those into Equis, and make actual words or sentences out of them. Link had only said one “word” to her this entire time, his name. He seemed to rely completely on body language and the expression you could see in his eyes, ones that Fluttershy couldn’t translate, but she didn’t need to. Despite his lack of language, even to Fluttershy, he seemed able to convey his meaning clearly with just these signs. Fluttershy perked up a bit as she remembered something. “Link, have you eaten anything all day?” She asked. The wolf shook his head slightly. Fluttershy gave a small smile. “Well, I’ll be right back, just sit tight.” Still trying to shake off her fatigue, she went into the kitchen. Flutershy looked around, and rummaged through the white cupboards over the counter top. Not seeing what she was looking for, she sighed. She forgot that they were in the basement. She trudged tiredly back into the family room. Going to a door across from the front door, right next to the gap that led into the kitchen, she turned the doorknob with a hoof. A set of worn wooden stairs stretched down into the darkness. Link watched her form go into the darkness, and he shifted on the couch to get into a more comfortable position with his bandages, though no matter how he positioned himself they still ached. Fluttershy relied on her pegasus eyesight, which was better than a unicorn’s or an earth pony’s, to navigate down the stairs and into the small room at the bottom. Fluttershy’s basement served a dual purpose. It was a convenient place to store all of the things she had no room for up above in her house, with a couple boxes full of small items she had gathered over the years. It was also a food cellar. Bird feed and crates of berries and fruit were stacked in one corner, next to a large metal box. Any supplies she also might need were stored down here, a couple of small bird houses were clustered in one corner, and a few ferret toys in another. Fluttershy made her way over to the metal box, avoiding tripping over the few small items on the floor. She opened the metal lid with a hoof, and bent her head backward as a swath of cool air brushed cross her muzzle. Twilight had enchanted the inside of the box a while ago, a few months after she had come to Ponyville. It kept the contents cold, preventing it from spoiling. An icebox of sorts, but without the ice. As such, it made it the perfect place for Fluttershy to store her meats - mostly fish. Even though she hated the idea of eating meat, some of her animals, namely Mr. Bear, had a partially carnivorous diet, and she had come to terms with that years ago. She usually took fish which were nearing the end of their lifespan, taken from the river near her home right before they died. The fish were stacked in neat rows in the box, coated in a small amount of magical ice. Fluttershy thought that they looked extremely creepy, with staring black eyes and gaping dead mouths. Fluttershy gingerly closed her teeth around the tail of one fish, making sure to keep her tongue and lips away from its cold scales. She closed the icebox with a hoof and made her way over to the stairs, the fish swinging slightly in her grip. She trotted back up the stairs and into the darkened living room. Link, having smelled the fish before she had made it upstairs, was staring at the door when she came in. His ears were perked up, and he was looking in her direction, his head lifted off of its resting place. Fluttershy went back into the kitchen, grabbed a white ceramic plate off a stack on the counter, and set the fish onto it. She made a face as she released her teeth off of the fish’s tail. Grabbing the edge of the plate with her mouth she trotted back into the living room. Link had tracked her movement across the rooms, and was still waiting expectantly. She placed the plate down on the floor near the end of the couch his head rested on. When she straightened, Link gently nudged the side of her neck with his nose in thanks, before bending down to the meal. Fighting down a blush, Fluttershy glanced around. She had a feeling she was forgetting something, but she only remembered when she saw Angel peeking his head into the door through his flap. The small white bunny waited until she saw him, and then ducked back outside. Her chores, that was what she was forgetting. Fluttershy gasped in dismay as she remembered. All of her poor animal friends needed to be fed, talked to, and cared for! Fluttershy said something about being back soon as she rushed out the door. The only sign that Link had heard her was an ear that flicked in the door’s direction, the rest of his head was engrossed in eating. Fluttershy stumbled back into the room an hour and a half later. It was about 4:00 in the afternoon at this point, and would be evening soon. What energy she had gained from her nap on Link’s side had been expended doing her chores, leaving her almost as tired as before. Link was resting his head once more on the couch, but he looked up when the groggy pegasus entered the room. The fish was gone from the plate, not even bones left. His brows furrowed in concern when he saw the state Fluttershy was in. Her hair was messy, with a few stray hairs poking out of her main and tail. She had pronounced bags until both eyes, and she was standing just inside the doorway, as if unsure what to do. When she spotted the plate on the ground, she blinked and shook her head. She moved over to the couch in the intent to pick up the plate to clean and put away, but she was interrupted. When she neared the leg rest, Link reached out his head and tapped her barrel with his nose. Fluttershy looked down in confusion, and opened her muzzle to ask a question. She let out a sound of protest as she was firmly pushed towards the couch by Link’s large head. Link made no indication he had heard her, continuing his gentle nudges that Fluttershy had no energy to resist. When she made to get up, she was pushed back onto the cushions, and given a stern and concerned look by the giant wolf. After a few more attempts to rise, which all failed, she resigned herself to her fate. She rested her head on Link’s side, his body’s warmth making her yawn. After a few minutes, she was fast asleep and breathing deeply, her body resting comfortably on Link’s. ink figured that with all that Fluttershy had done for him, without even knowing him, the least he could do was act as a large pillow for a while longer.