//------------------------------//
// Return of the Flutterbat 
// Story: Equestrian Epona 
// by Shritistrang 
//------------------------------//

Ruto awoke to Fluttershy's scream, coming out of her cottage. That and the fresh, cool water on her skin were enough to pull her out of her drunken stupor. "Wh-what?" she muttered. "Fluttershy? What's happening?" She cringed as she got up to her feet. "Dang, my head hurts…"

She forced herself to stand up straight and run towards the door as quickly as she could. The inside of the shack was dimly lit, and the back half of the room was shrouded in shadows. "Fluttershy? Are you all right? What happened?"

"R-ruto…" A shape was moving in the darkness. "D-don't come any closer… run away…"

"Fluttershy?" Confused, Ruto took a step closer. She saw the pegasus' body, but it was twitching and shifting in a strange way. "What's happening to you?"

"Oh, this is quite interesting, actually," someone chuckled. Ruto spun around to see the demon unicorn resting in one of Fluttershy's chairs, watching the spectacle. "I come here, hoping to easily capture one of the six element bearers, when I sense something peculiar in that winged horse's blood." Ghirahim sneered. "Can you guess what it is? No, of course you can't, little Zora. It is bat blood, mixed with just a hint of magic. Now, the bats here in Equestria are usually quite pathetic. Even the scary vampire fruit bats, while commonly seen as pests, eat nothing but fruit. Unlike the Keese from Hyrule, who attack every living creature in sight, trying to suck their blood. Then I thought to myself: If the magic of this world did this to the little horse, then imagine what might happen if I influence it with my own, far more greater magic? So, with just a bit of demonic influence, I twisted the bit of bat blood within her around, turning it into Keese blood. It will be most entertaining to see the results…"

"You… you did this to her!" Ruto shouted. "You'll pay for this!"

But as she ran at him, Ghirahim's horn lit up and created a magical barrier between Ruto and the back of the room, where Ghirahim and Fluttershy were. "No interrupting," he said with a frown. "Must you mortals always be so rude? Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I was about to witness the corruption of this innocent creature to her darker side. It's always a delight to witness something so devilishly wonderful."

Fluttershy let out another scream as her body distorted and shifted. Her beautiful, feathered wings turned into the leathery wings of a bat, her ears changed shape to become large, pointy and furry. A set of sharp fangs pushed themselves out of her cute muzzle. And her eyes changed color, turning from a light blue to a bloody red. And finally, her sweet, melodic voice turned into the shrill hiss of a bat.

"Marvelous!" Ghirahim smiled. "If I had hands right now, I would clap at this masterpiece. I could have just tortured the horse and take her away to lure in her friends and the sages, but that would be quite boring, actually. Let's see how her friends will react when they face her like this. Won't they be surprised?"

"Surprise!"

Ghirahim turned his head, only be hit in the face with a big wave of water that came splashing in through the open window and over his magical barrier. Ruto was riding the waves on top, her whole body surrounded by a cerulean blue aura. She watched with satisfaction as the stream pushed Ghirahim back into the wall. He could not even scream as his mouth was full of water.

"Being the Sage of Water sure comes in handy sometimes," Ruto said. "And you, you belong to the idiotic type of villains, don't you? Always monologuing on and on and never considering anything a threat… at least Ganondorf was always straight to the point."

An explosion of power pushed the water apart. Ghirahim glared at the Zora furiously and spat out the water. "SILENCE! You'll pay for this insolence, mortal! I shall not be…" But then, another wave overwhelmed him and surrounded him in a bubble of water that floated slightly above the ground. He tried getting out, but the waves kept pushing him back inside. After a while, he began struggling and flailing around, his eyes wide open.

"So demons actually do need air to breathe," Ruto smirked. "That's good to know. Tell me, why should I let you out after everything you've done?"

But then, a loud hiss caught her attention. Out of the darkness, Fluttershy the bat pony came lunging, her mouth wide open, fangs aimed at Ruto's neck. The Zora princess gasped in surprise and raised one of her forelegs in front of her face. And while that stopped Fluttershy from biting her neck, it didn't stop the brute force of her assault. Ruto was knocked down to the ground, pinned down by a feral Flutterbat.

As her concentration was broken, the water bubble around Ghirahim dissipated and he could finally gasp for fresh air. While he was taking deep breaths, he grinned at the troubled Zora. "Now who's trapped? That's good, my little minion, keep her down. I wasn't going to go after the sages of Hyrule, but if you come after me so willingly, who am I to say no? But I'm not going to take you alive, oh no. Not after last time's debacle…" His horn started to gleam. "Hold her still, my monstrous pet…"

But suddenly, something else came flying in through the window. Ghirahim had the brief impression of fur and feathers, and then he was knocked back for the second time that evening.

"Get your filthy hooves off my friends!" Gilda roared as she stood tall above the fallen demon pony, baring her claws.

"G-gilda…" Ruto gasped. "H-help…"

Gilda turned around and saw to her surprise how Fluttershy was, once again, trying to sink her teeth into Ruto's neck. And this time, she was coming dangerously close. "What the heck, dude?" the griffon shouted in surprise as she leapt over to them and pulled the struggling bat pony off the Zora with one strong yank. "What's gotten into you, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy responded with an angry hiss and a bite in Gilda's direction. Gilda was so shocked that she let go of her, and Fluttershy flew up into the air.

"Be careful," Ruto said. "He somehow changed her… turned her into this. Don't hurt her, she doesn't know what she's doing."

"Easier said than done, fish sticks," Gilda grunted as she avoided a swoop of the bat pony. "Man, who knew little Flutters could be so vicious?"

Ghirahim grunted as he got back up to his feet again. "I'm really getting fed up with you mortals… I'll let my loyal minion kill you slowly, suck out your blood and then restore her consciousness, just enough for her to witness your death. And then… I'll turn her back into a bloodthirsty monster so she can kill some more. And every single time, she'll know exactly that it was her who did it."

"What the HECK?" Gilda screamed. "That's sick! You stay away from her, creep, or I'll swear I'll rip you a new… oof!" She grunted as she was pummeled in the face by one of Flutterbat's hooves. "Dangit, girl, that was one mean swing! All right, Flutters, you asked for it… enough is enough!"

"No, stop!" Ruto shouted as Gilda leapt at Fluttershy with a roar. The two combatants were rolling around on the floor, clawing, kicking and biting at each other.

"It's so entertaining, isn't it?" Ghirahim laughed. "Either she kills her friend or will be killed by her. I should have done something like this eons ago, would have spared me… gargle!" He sputtered when Ruto sent another stream of water in his direction.

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled.

Gilda was lying on her back, Fluttershy pinning her down in a situation similar to the one Ruto was in earlier. "You know… Flutters… you're not making this easy for me, girl. Settle down quietly or I'll… I'll have to take you down."

Fluttershy's only answer was a hiss as she bared her fangs again. Gilda clenched her beak.

"Dangit, Fluttershy!" she shouted as she gathered all her strength and pushed the bat pony on her own back. "Stop doing this to me! I can't do this… think of what Dash would say. She would never forgive… forgive a dummy griffon who would hurt her friends… you taught me so much in your group… I started trusting you, trusting the others… I started realizing what friendship really meant." The griffon looked down at the struggling bat pony pleadingly. "Please, Fluttershy… I don't want to hurt you anymore."

And suddenly, something appeared on Gilda's flank. Something pretty unusual, since griffons normally don't even get cutie marks. It was the Element of Kindness.

'Her?' Ghirahim thought to himself where he was lying, soggy and confused. 'That brutish beast is a sage?' But then he started snickering. 'I knew my plan would work… the element bearer was in danger and the sage came running. And now she's mine…'

As for Fluttershy, for a short moment it looked like Gilda's words were actually coming through to her.

Then she sunk her teeth in the griffon's leg.

Gilda cried out in pain, and the Flutterbat used that to her advantage. She kicked the griffon off her and flew back up.

"Gilda!" Ruto shouted as she jumped to aid her friend. But then a glowing circle of demon magic appeared around her neck. She gasped for air as the circle started choking her.

"Let's see how you like being suffocated, Zora!" Ghirahim snickered. "Minion! Take out the griffon, but don't kill her yet. I still need her power. As for you, Zora, you will die…"

'This is it… I've failed…' Ruto thought to herself. 'I'm sorry, Fluttershy and Gilda. And I'm sorry, Princess Zelda… and Link. I guess I'm no good as a sage after all…'

A radiant aura of light then filled the entire shack, blinding both Ghirahim and the bat pony and making every bit of demonic energy disappear, including the barrier and the circle around Ruto's neck.

After his eyes started getting used to the sudden brightness, Ghirahim looked up. And for one of the very few instances in his life, he got scared.

Hovering above them was Celestia, her eyes blazing suns of fury as she stared down at him with divine righteousness.

"YOU SHALL NOT HARM OUR SUBJECTS, DEMON!" she thundered.

Realizing that he could in no way win a battle with the sun goddess of Equestria, Ghirahim decided that sometimes, victories would have to be taken one step at a time.

"You win for now," he said. "I'll come back for the sages another time… for now, I'll take my minion." And before anyone could react, he teleported himself and the Flutterbat away to safety, who knows where.

Ruto let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you… Your Highness…"

"I'm afraid he managed to get away," Celestia said as she lowered herself down to the floor. "And he took poor Fluttershy with him."

"Argh, if only I had been a bit stronger… or faster… or anything!" Gilda shouted as she pounded the ground in frustration.

"I'm… sure you did your best, G!"

Gilda looked towards the door. There, standing behind Celestia were Luna, Epona, Link, Zelda and the remaining element bearers. Including her old friend, Rainbow Dash. She gulped. She wasn't prepared for that reunion yet. "Uh… hey there, Dash…"

Rainbow looked at her old friend uncertainly. "Um… so… you finally got your cutie mark, huh? Congrats, I guess."

Gilda clenched her beak. "Dangit, Dash…"





"So this was the demon you encountered in the desert?" Luna asked Link.

He nodded, a grim expression on his face. "That's him. Ghirahim, he calls himself I think. I know I should have taken care of him back then."

"Calm down there, Link," I said. "There was nothing you could have done. You were too injured at the time."

"And this foe is not to be underestimated," Celestia said. "The powers I felt within him are extraordinary. He fled my presence, but I believe he would be dangerous to confront for anypony who is not an alicorn."

"Still, there's something that must be done," Zelda said. "That poor pony needs our aid. I give you any help Hyrule can offer."

"I'll help, too," Link nodded. "He took me by surprise the first time, but I've defeated bigger threats before."

"But that's when you still had the Master Sword, remember?" I said.

"Epona is right," Zelda agreed. "It carries the name 'Blade of Evil's Bane' for a reason. If you want to confront Ghirahim and his master, you need the Master Sword."

"That means I've got to go back to Hyrule, great," Link grumbled. "And Din knows whatever he's doing to poor Fluttershy in the meantime."

"Don't worry about that. We're still here, remember?" Twilight said. "We'll figure something out to save her. We need to come up with a plan…"

"A plan? Are you kidding me?" Gilda shouted as she jumped to her feet. "And in the meantime, do you think he's going to invite Flutters to a cup of tea? I heard what he said, he wants to make her kill other ponies! We need to act now!"

"We can't just attack him head-on," Dash said. "Twilight's right, we need a plan."

Gilda snorted. "Now that's rich, coming from you, Dash. Whatever happened to the brashest Junior Speedster I knew?"

Rainbow gritted her teeth. "She grew up, Gilda! Something that you obviously still need to do!"

"Don't you lecture me now!" the griffon roared as she confronted her old friend. "Do you have any idea how often I've visited Fluttershy ever since she offered me to join her group? Do you know how often I've thought of going to you and apologize, only to back off like a frightened chick? And do you know how often Fluttershy and the others from the group comforted me whenever that happened? Yes, it's a laugh, I know! Equestria's toughest griffon, reduced to a crybaby! But not anymore! If you're not willing to go after Fluttershy, I'll do it!"

"And do you know where to find her?" Celestia asked in her calm manner.

Gilda was taken aback by that question. "I… I dunno… but I can find out. I'll fly through all of Equestria until I find her."

"And that's exactly why we need a plan," Twilight explained. "If we just run around aimlessly without thinking, we'll never find her. We need to consider our options."

"But I can't just sit and wait," Gilda groaned. "I need to take action."

Ruto walked up to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Believe me, Gilda… I know what you're thinking. I'm angry at myself for not being able to stop that creep from taking Fluttershy away."

That took me by surprise. Ruto, the brash tomboy princess of the Zora tribe, being comforting and patient? How did that happen?

"How did you all managed to get here this quickly anyway?" Ruto asked. "Did you know this would happen?"

"Actually, no," Link said. "We were at the party, blissfully unaware. But then I heard that Nabooru was up to something at the spa and I wanted to investigate, the others just followed."

"However, just before we were about to leave, Princess Celestia told us she felt something," Twilight said.

Celestia nodded. "It must have been the demonic presence of Ghirahim. If I had been back at the castle at this moment, I probably wouldn't have felt it. And you both would have been taken by the enemy as well."

"So we all ran over here as fast as we could and came to the rescue," Applejack nodded.

"Rescue?" Gilda snorted. "You didn't rescue Fluttershy…"

That made me angry. "Hey, I don't know what your deal is, but you can be thankful that you're not dead right now."

"Better me than her…" Gilda muttered.

"Now, calm down," Celestia said. "Everything will be done to ensure her safety. Twilight, you and your friends will take care of this. I know you care deeply for her and that the matter will be in capable hooves this way."

"We won't let you down, princess," Twilight nodded. "Neither will we let Fluttershy down."

"Luna? I must ask you to inform Fluttershy's family about what happened. They will know what to do."

"Of course, sister," Luna nodded. She went outside, spread her wings and flew off.

"As for our honored guests… I am grateful for any help you offer us." Celestia gave Zelda a short bow.

"I will assemble the sages to figure out a solution of our own," Zelda said. "And Link, you will go back to Hyrule and gather the Master Sword. With it in our grasp, I think our chances against Ghirahim will rise tremendously."

"I'll go with him," I said immediately.

"Somehow, I knew you'd say that, Mom," Applejack smiled. "Take care of yerself, ya hear?"

"I won't be gone for too long, Applejack," I said. "But I just don't want Link to do this on his own."

"And what will you do, princess?" Twilight asked Celestia.

"Something I should have done some time ago. Say, Twilight, are you not wondering why the one that proclaimed himself to be Fluttershy's newest best friend is not present at all when she is threatened and kidnapped like this? Where is he, now that she needs his help the most?"

Twilight's eyes widened. "You mean… Discord?"

"Correct. I will confront him and ask for his assistance. His powers might just be what we need to end this conflict. It is time for him to prove his loyalty to Equestria."

And in a flash, she was gone.

Confused, I looked at the others. "Who's Discord?"





At the same time, Nabooru was already back in Hyrule. She was also back in the form she grew up with, her original form of a Gerudo.

'But is this really my original form?' she thought to herself. 'When the Gerudos started out as ponies?'

She tried not to think about it too much. She had more urgent matters to take care of. Tatl's portal had released her in Hyrule Field, not too far from Gerudo Valley.

"This must be where they're going," she told herself as she started walking back home. "They were Gerudos once, so this would only make sense. I will probably find them in Gerudo Fortress, either there or in their old hideout in the Spirit Temple. Either way, they will find that the Gerudo won't trust their words so easily anymore. As long as I'm around, I will protect my people and this world from any lie they might be spreading."

When she was almost at the bridge that spread across the valley, she ran into one of the other Gerudos. It was a girl she was not familiar with, wearing what looked like a red dancer's outfit. She definitely didn't look like a scout or warrior.

"Lady Nabooru!" she shouted. "There you are. The others have been wondering when you would return."

"We need to assemble the tribe," Nabooru said. "Every single member. Of every age."

"But why?" the girl asked. "Did something happen?"

"Two enemies of ours have come back to Hyrule, and maybe they are already in the valley. Tell me, have you seen a pair of old hags anywhere around the fortress? Wearing turbans, flying on broomsticks?"

"No, most definitely not," the girl said.

"Good, then we still have some time. I have to inform the others and…"

"But I saw three Gerudo warriors heading towards Castle Town earlier today," she said. "Young women, no hags. And they were wearing headbands, not turbans. I've been wondering what they were up to. There were no heists planned today."

Nabooru froze. Could that have been them? After all, they were reborn. It would make sense if they didn't take on their old, wrinkled crone bodies. They came to this world as young ponies."

"Show me where you saw them," she ordered the girl. "Quick!"

The other one nodded. "Right away, Lady Nabooru."

And as she ran at Nabooru's side, the dancer girl sent a quick telepathic message to her sister.

'I've done my part, Nayru. Nabooru is on her way to Hyrule Castle. It is up to you to welcome the Hero of Time when he returns to Hyrule.'





Back in Canterlot Castle, Luna went into the library.

"Night Glide?" she shouted. "Are you here?"

"Yes, Princess," the Nocturnal maid nodded as she fluttered down from a huge bookcase she was just dusting off. "Are you in need of my service?"

"No… I'm afraid I've come with bad news." The princess took a deep breath. "To my deepest regret, I must inform you that your daughter… has been taken by the enemy."

Night Glide's widened with shock. "No…" she whispered. "Not my darling Fluttershy…"

"While she is still alive, we currently have no clear idea what the demon Ghirahim has planned with her. However, I assure you that we will do everything in our power to get her back. Just stay calm, we will have everything sorted out."

Night Glide's eyes then narrowed her slitted eyes. "No…" she said through gritted teeth. "Not this time… I've been out of action for too long… for the sake of my daughter, I will fight for her and confront that demon myself if I have to! Time to cast off this maid disguise and take up arms again!"

Luna nodded. "I thought you might say something like that. Very well then, Commander Night Glide… it is good to have you back on duty. Rally the Night Guard! I want every forest, every mountain, every crevice of this kingdom searched until the enemy is found!"

Night Glide, commander of the Nocturnal Night Guard and Fluttershy's mother, saluted. "It shall be done, my princess!"