//------------------------------// // Ponyville // Story: Legend of Zelda: Hero of Equestria // by Klearsky52 //------------------------------// The sunlight beamed through a window, shining on Link’s face. He groaned as he opened his eyes, exposing them towards the blinding light. He stretched his body, only to wince as pain wracked through his muscles. He looked down and found his whole midsection along with his back hoof bandaged. A few parts of it was still stained with dried blood. He heard some hoofsteps and found Irene carrying a basin full of water. She looked surprised to see him awake. “Well look who woke up!” She said with a grin. She sat the basin down towards his bed and sat right next to him. “You’re made of some tough stuff! To be able to survive and wake up so soon after that.” “How long was I out?” Link asked wearily, rubbing the drowsiness out of his eyes. “About the whole night maybe?” She answered uncertainly. “You were in really bad shape. By the time I arrived, my grandma was barely able to fix you up. Gave me an earful while she was at it.” She chuckled at that, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Link frowned. “This is your home?” He asked, looking around. “Where is it?” “On the outskirts of Ponyville,” Irene said. “It’s about a 20 minute walk from here to the entrance.” “How did you carry me?” Link couldn’t imagine her levitating him all the way to Ponyville. Irene giggled and her broom appeared right next to her. “Forget that I’m a witch?” she said smugly. Link chuckled sheepishly and rubbed his head. He made a move to get out of the bed, only to hiss and recede back into the covers when he felt some pain go through in his back hoof. “Looks like we still have to take care of that. Hold on, I’ll get my grandma.” She walked out of the room and returned a moment later with a taller witch in black robes. Her face was covered by her witch hat. When she lifted it up, Link’s mind registered the black and white stripes that ran down her whole face. She had three golden hoops covering her neck as well as one on each ear as earrings. Link then realized that he was staring at a zebra. “Greetings stranger,” the zebra said with a mysterious aura around her voice. Her eyes scoured his form and then rested on his eyes, giving him a piercing look. “I assure you that you are in no more danger.” Link raised a brow, sweating a little, “Thanks...I guess?” “Can you not talk in rhymes?” Irene pleaded, facehoofing. “I don’t want him to think we’re weird.” Though, the zebra ignored her. She walked up to him, not breaking eye contact. “Zecora is my name. Who do you claim?” “Er...Link ma'am,” “Link, is it? You sound a bit rigid.” “He needs to be fixed up,” Irene interrupted, staring at Zecora with a flat look. Zecora looked at her expectantly, making her sigh. “You want to make everything a lesson, don’t you?” she muttered before standing up straight. She walked to the shelf and grabbed a bottle filled with red liquid and a roll of bandages. She walked back over to Link. “Hold still. This may hurt a bit.” “What do you me- YOWCH!!” he started to say before yelling as Irene ripped out the bandages on his back hoof. Link bit down on his tongue hard as to not scream anymore from the sudden patches of fur being ripped out of his hoof. She then slathered the red liquid out of the now exposed wound. “Take out the bandages to expose the wound and rub the healing potion over it. Happy now grandma?” Zecora shook her head. “You forgot one important thing. It would’ve hurt the patient more than just a little sting.” “What?!” Irene demanded, completely oblivious to Link’s pained face. Zecora walked up to Link and felt his forehead, minding his horn. She felt around for a bit more before turning to Irene. “You forgot to check for magic radiation. Without checking it, his health will drain like a holed basin.” Irene’s eyes widened. Her horn immediately blazed to life and Link felt something search through his body, disturbing him a little. He heard Irene let out a little sigh as she let her horn die down. “What was that?” he asked, feeling up his body. Irene looked at him and Link could see her sweating, an aftereffect of an adrenaline rush. “I was checking your magic radiation level,” she explained, panting a bit. “Luckily, it was low enough to accept more of the magic potion.” Link adopted a confused expression on his face, “What’s a magic radiation level?” He had been wondering about that for a while. He heard the medic back at Sunset Village use it and Irene when they were taking a break from fighting the monsters. Though, he felt a little self conscious when Irene looked at him as if he was crazy. “You don’t know what magic radiation is?!” she cried out, making Link wince at his lack of knowledge. “And you’re a unicorn? What have you been learning all these years?!” “I was raised by an earth pony,” he defended himself, making Irene’s eyes widen. Link then frowned. Irene made it sound like it should be common knowledge, though Link never heard the word ever used before all the crazy stuff happened. “Should I know it?” “You should, if you’re a unicorn,” Irene said. “But if you were raised by an earth pony, then I guess it makes sense.” “Magic radiation is foreign magic in the body,” Zecora spoke up. “Never make consuming lots of it a hobby.” “What my grandma means to say is that magic radiation limit is how much a pony’s body can take of foreign magic,” Irene explained. “Everypony has their own magic signature, even pegasi and earth ponies. It’s possible to transfer that magic into somepony else’s body, though it is extremely harmful to. Because of this, consuming a lot of different magic into your body can make you very sick.” “What’s this got to do with that potion?” Link asked. He remembered she only freaked out after she put the potion on his hoof. Irene noticed this and started to wrap a new set of bandages over his hoof. “The potion has magic in it to accelerate healing,” she said, closing the bottle with a cork. “More specifically, my magic. It enters your body to make you heal faster, but you can only have so much different magic inside of you before the potion actually harms you instead of healing you.” “I see…” Link muttered. It did actually make some sense. Instant healing must have some drawbacks. The concept of just instantly having full health from drinking a small potion without any repercussion was ridiculous and overpowered, no matter how awesome that sounded. “I don’t think you can take anymore of this today,” Irene said. “The amount of radiation in your body during the night was dangerously close to exceeding your limit. Don’t drink anymore for now.” Link nodded and got out of bed. Surprisingly, his hoof didn’t hurt at all, even when he added pressure on it. He looked around and saw that his tunic was on a clothes line through the window. Zecora noticed his gaze and walked to the shelf. She grabbed the sword and shield from it along with his hat. Link took it gratefully and dropped the sword and shield in it, making the both of them gape at him like a fish. “Bottomless hat,” he answered, making them release their expressions. Irene shook her head. “I’m not even going to ask,” she said, walking out of the room. Link followed her to the clothes line, where he levitated his tunic to him. “My armor is still in there,” he said, before looking surprised. “It isn’t even damaged!” “Be grateful for that thing. If it weren’t for that armor, we’d still be picking bone chips out of your hoof,” Irene said with a giggle. Link took out the armor and dropped it in his hat. After all, it would look weird for a colt to be clanking about with each step in the middle of town. Zecora stood beside Irene, wearing an unreadable expression. Link turned to them both and bowed his head low. “Thanks for everything. If it weren’t for you guys, I wouldn’t know where I would be,” “You better be! You still aren’t done with your treatment though. Come back in the evening. Your magic radiation should’ve lowered by then.” Link nodded and looked at the dirt pathway. It seemed very far away from town. “Why do you live here anyway? Why can’t you just live in town?” “Our home used to be in the Everfree Forest. Though some monsters came like an unwanted tourist. Our home got wrecked, forcing us to leave and accept.” “Still doesn’t explain why you would be out here,” Link said. Irene tapped her hooves nervously together, biting her lips. “You see, it's kind of like your first reaction to when I revealed I’m a witch,” Irene explained. “Some folks... don’t take us witches kindly. It’s the reason why I know a stun spell and keep my horn activated whenever I go into town. Everypony can’t be like you and accept us.” Link winced at the prospect. “I’m sorry. It must’ve not been easy for you.” Irene waved off his apology, “Don’t feel any pity for me. I don’t appreciate it. I already accepted the fact that not everypony has to like me. At least you and a few others accept who I am and that’s enough for me and Grandma.” “Alright then,” Link said uncertainly. He then walked off the dirt path, raising his tunic above his chest to hide the bandages. “I’ll see you later.” He walked along the path for a few minutes before he heard a “WAAIIT!” He looked behind him to see Irene running towards him. She stopped and panted once she reached him. “I *pant* forgot to give you *pant* this,” she reached into her robe to pull out a… bell? “What do I need this for?” Link asked, holding it in front of his face. It didn’t look like anything special. Though, Link could feel some sort of enchantment emanating from it. “It’s for when you need my help,” Irene said. “It’s tied to my magic. I still have to take care of you, greenie.” Link remembered the talk she had with him while they were fighting the skeletons, “You still going on about that stupid fortune? That’s all a load of crap.” “Not for witches,” Zecora said behind him, making him yelp in surprise and back away. “It is very important we listen to the prophecy’s wishes.” “Fortunes are very important to us,” Irene glowered at him, daring him to prove her wrong. “Don’t diss that for us.” “Okay! Okay…” Link said, holding his hooves up in a placating manner. “I still believe this fortune telling is all phony, but I won’t deny some help. What can you do to help me?” “I can transport you to faraway places on my broom,” she huffed, still ticked off by his previous answer. She flicked her hoof, making her broom appear alongside her. “Don’t call me all the time though. I ain’t your personal carriage. I still have a life to attend to so don’t be surprised when I don’t come a few times. The bell is tied with my magic so I’ll know where you’ll be when you ring it.” “Thanks!” he said gratefully, stashing away the bell for later. Irene nodded and started to walk back with Zecora. “Remember to come back in the evening!” she called back to him, making him shout back about how he will be there. He looked back at the dirt path and followed it. “Guess I’m entering another town,” Link thought as he approached the entrance. “I wonder what will happen here?” He approached the entrance and already saw a bunch of cottages lined up in an orderly fashion. Link could see the many ponies bustling about, greeting and talking with each other. He had never seen so many ponies in just one place, and he was on the outskirts of town! “This sure is different from Sunset Village.” He walked around, taking in the many sights the place had to offer. He did draw in a few looks because of his clothing, but they shrugged it off almost immediately and went back to their own business. It was kind of hard to believe that Irene was scared to go here. Link also saw a couple of guards walking around in small groups, their spears ready at their back. Guess other towns had to have their own platoons too. After some time had passed and he walked for quite a while, he reached to one simple conclusion: he was lost. “How can somepony find themselves around this place? It’s like a freaking maze!” Link wondered, still aimlessly walking about. As if to make things worse, his stomach started to growl. “Great, now I’m hungry. I don’t have any means of getting food and I have to use the money Orca gave me sparingly.” He walked over a bridge and entered a circular area. A cone-shaped building sat right in the middle of it with many ponies entering it at once. Link could only guess that this was the town hall. “Maybe I could explain my situation?” Link said to himself before immediately dismissing the idea. “No, they wouldn’t cut corners. What reason would they have to believe me anyway?” He approached a fountain and saw a few bits in it. He considered stealing some, before cutting that idea as well. “I won’t steal anything. I still have my morals to believe in.” His stomach protested against his statement. “Though I could still use them to buy some good food.” “You and me both buddy,” “Yeah,” Link replied dreamily before he blinked. He looked back at the fountain to see a small orange fish looking back at him. It raised a fin in greeting, “Wassup?” Link didn’t even hesitate to reply, “Hi there.” “It looks like you aren’t even surprised to see me,” the fish said. Link rubbed his eyes. “I’ve met your kind before,” Link explained. “They said I would meet other fish like you and if I do, you will draw...me...a map.” Link trailed off, his eyes getting wider and wider as he said the last few words. He looked back at the fish as if it was his saviour, which, in a way, it was. The fish looked back at him nervously. “Did he now?” he said, poking his fin together. “But you need to give me something first.” As quickly as his hope rose, it crashed down into the deep dark pits of his heart. He realized that he didn’t have anymore fish food. However, the fish continued. “But I overheard your dramatic speech earlier,” he said, wagging his fin. “I’m much more lenient than my other family members so I’ll give it to you for now.” The fish dropped back down into the water and splashed back up with a piece of paper. “Good thing I had one premade. I’ll give you two days to owe me. I’m looking forward to my payment.” “Thanks very much!” Link grabbed the map and looked at it. Now that he had a closer look, Ponyville was actually very well organized. It must’ve been the random twists and turns he took that led him to be lost. The town square, the area he was in, apparently connected to every district. What he was interested right now was the marketplace. He would have to find a good sleeping spot outside though. “There are many places that you should check out,” the fish said. “If you think you're at a place on your main map, maybe some of my brethren can give you a detailed map of the place if you're nearby a lake. Just bring fish food though.” “I guess so,” Link said, stashing the map away in his hat for later. “Thanks for this again.” “You still owe me,” the fish warned. “If you don’t get my food within the deadline, then I’ll warn the rest of my brethren to not give you any information.” “How can you warn them? You’re in an isolated fountain.” “Don’t question us. We can speak fluently, unlike other creatures, and have unique magic. That proof for ya?” “Fair enough,” Link shrugged, only to hold his stomach again. He really needed something to eat. “Gotta go!” “Remember your promise!” He heard the fish call back at him. He could only hope that nopony else heard that. He rushed off into the marketplace in search of a cheap restaurant. He pulled the emergency funds that Orca gave him and counted it. Looks like he only had enough for one measly meal. He would have to buy random fruits and vegetables from stalls and hoped it would suffice for the day. While he was thinking these thoughts, he didn’t pay attention to where he was going. He ended bumping into some mare. “Ow! Sorry about that ma’am.” “It’s fine,” the mare said, turning around to look at him. When they both made eye contact, both wore an expression of shock at the same time. “Is that you Link?” the mare asked. Link grinned back at the familiar face. “I could say the same thing about you, Lyra,” Link said joyfully. “I can’t believe I’m seeing you here!” Lyra gushed, bringing him into a small hug. Link hugged back with equal force. “What have you been up to?” “Well…” Link started to say before his stomach decided to interrupt at that time. “Urrgh…” “Seems like you’re hungry,” Lyra said before clapping her hooves together. “I know! Why don’t we catch up while having some lunch. I’m starting to get a bit hungry myself.” Link nodded immediately and let her take the lead. (An hour later) “No way!” Lyra exclaimed when Link was done with his story. “You mean to say that there was a huge raid on the village right after I left?!” “Yup,” Link nodded his head and dove into his food once more. He then leaned back and burped, relishing in the feeling of a full stomach. “It happened right when Orca was coronating me too.” “Is my grandma okay?” Lyra asked, concerned. “There weren’t any losses that day, so I’m pretty sure she’s fine. If just a little traumatized.” “That’s a relief,” Lyra looked at the window, suddenly feeling sad. “Hearing that makes me feel extremely grateful. There are other folks that don't have the same luck as me.” “What do you mean?” Lyra sighed. “Do you know a pony named Applejack? Wait, don’t answer that. Who doesn’t know her.” She chuckled dryly. Meanwhile, Link inwardly panicked at the name. “Applejack’s here?!” Link thought frantically before realizing something. “How stupid am I?! Ponyville’s only on the main map because it’s the home to the legendary elements of harmony! That includes my older cousin! I’m so screwed!” “You okay Link?” Lyra asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You went a little pale there.” “Sorry,” Link apologized. “I just...was thinking about what happened during the raid. I fought in it too, ya know.” “Oh right!” Lyra said before hanging her head. “I’m sorry I made you tell me. It must’ve been a horrifying experience for you.” “It’s fine,” Link waved it off, but was hesitant about what he was going to say next. “What were you saying before?” “Applejack,” she said again, looking at the window. Link looked in her direction and was surprised to see a barn on a hill far away. “It probably isn’t my business to say, but recently something happened to her uncle and cousin. They found the uncle’s dead body, but they couldn’t find the colt’s. Other than that, Appleloosa has been getting pounded by monster attacks. Applejack just left to help out at their farm. We’re hoping that nothing else had happened to her family.” “I’m sorry,” Link said. Outside, he kept a calm expression, though it was a completely different story on the inside. His family was here, and he really didn’t want them to find him. It was already a miracle that one of his cousins wasn’t here. All he had to do was steer away from the other two. Applebloom and Big Macintosh, he thought they were called. “Are you sure you’re okay, Link? You’re shaking in your seat,” Lyra pointed out. Link froze and looked down. He felt his forehead and realized he was sweating. “Never better!” Link said nervously. Lyra looked at him and was about to speak before he was saved by the ringing of the door. Link quickly looked to see who it was and saw a mare with white fur. Her mane was curly with three colors: blue, pink, and white. Her cutie mark consisted of a piece of candy. The mare’s face brightened when she saw Lyra. “Lyra!” The mare exclaimed, walking over to Link and Lyra. “I’ve been looking for you! Did you forget to meet up at the park with me?” “Bonbon!” Lyra shouted, walking over to her as well. “Sorry about that. I was catching up with a friend.” The mare called Bonbon settled her gaze on Link. “Is it him?” Lyra nodded. “Yeah. His name is- mmph!?” Link quickly blocked Lyra’s mouth with his hoof and said the first name that came to his mind. “Rift! My name...is Rift! Nice to meet you Bonbon.” Lyra spat out Link’s hoof. “Rift!? What are you-?!” Link quickly forced Lyra’s lips shut as he let a nervous grin settle on his face. Surprisingly, he can be very specific with his magic under stress. He looked around and saw everypony staring at him. Bonbon looked shocked at first before she looked at him weirdly. “Why’d you shut Lyra’s mouth like that?” “She was about to say something demeaning about me,” Link lied, wincing as he did so. Link, the biggest liar in the world, was related to the element of honesty. How hypocritical. "But I can't let anypony know my real name. One pony that knows my real name can blab to Applejack. I can imagine the following events after that won’t be pleasant at all.” He let go of Lyra’s lips and stood back, sweating nervously. Lyra dusted herself off and glared at him. “That was completely unnecessary...Rift,” Link mentally cheered at her cooperation. He made a quick mental note to get her something to show his appreciation. “I wasn’t going to say anything bad about you.” “Yeah well…” Link said before he shrugged. “I don’t take any risks.” “Well, it’s nice to meet you Rift,” Bonbon said. Though, Link could still see her giving him that strange look again. Lyra, on the other hand, completely ignored everything that just happened. “Did you come here by yourself?” Lyra asked. Link nodded his head yes. “Do you know where you're staying then?” “I plan on staying in the park,” Link answered, completely oblivious to Bonbon’s surprised expression. “I’ll bet there are some nice trees there. I’ll plan my next move later.” “Not gonna happen,” Lyra said immediately. It was Link’s turn to be surprised. “What do you mean?” “You’re staying with us,” “Lyra!” Bonbon exclaimed in a surprised tone. “We can’t just offer random ponies to stay at our house!” “Lighten up Bonbon,” Lyra retorted. “Besides, he is the colt I told you about who saved me in the WhiteTail woods.” “He is?!” Bonbon looked at him closely, causing him to take a step back. “I guess it’s alright then…” “You don’t have to,” Link protested, waving his hooves frantically. “I don’t want to impose…” “Nonsense,” Lyra said, shutting down his argument. “I won’t allow you to sleep outside. Especially since you’re injured.” “How did you get those anyways?” Bonbon asked. “Monster ambush,” Link replied. “Considering what happened out there, I was really lucky. Zecora was able to heal me up though.” “Looks like she didn’t do a good job…” “My magic radiation limit was almost filled up, so she asked me to come by again in the evening.” They all left the restaurant. Once they were out, Lyra slowed down and kept pace with Link. “What was all the ‘Rift’ stuff about?” she whispered. Link looked around for any potential eavesdroppers before whispering back. “I’ll explain later,” he said. “But the shortened version is that there is a specific somepony here and I don’t want them to know I’m here as well.” He ignored her confused expression and walked further along. “Right then,” Lyra said. “Me and Bonbon have some business to attend to. Do you have a map...Rift?” Link reached in deep into his hat and pulled out of his map. He regarded their awed expressions with a sigh. “I’ll explain about my hat later.” “Er...Okay then,” Lyra said uncertainly. She fished out a quill from her purse and drew a circle in one of the districts. “This is where we live. Explore around for a bit before coming back, got it?” “Yes ma’am,” Link said with a salute. “And thanks again for everything. I’ll stop by Zecora’s place first though. I'll repay you back.” Lyra nodded. “No problem. And don't worry about it. I'll see you later." With that, the two mares departed. Link waved them goodbye before looking at the map. “Now where to next…” So Link wandered around Ponyville during his time. No matter where he went, he would always find each area filled with ponies. He once found himself near the apple farm and steered clear before anypony saw him. After sometime, he found himself lying on the grass near the outskirts of Ponyville. He let the breeze mess up his mane and was about to fall asle- “AAIIIEEEEEEE!!!” Link’s eyes snapped open and he looked towards a sky. He only had a moment’s glance before something red blocked his vision of the sky. It flew over him, the screaming continuing to pierce the air. He saw it fly overhead the nearby forest and disappeared into the woods. After a few seconds, he heard whatever it was crash. It seemed like he wasn’t the only one that noticed it. “What was that?!” “I know those voices! Those were from the infamous Cutie Mark Crusaders!” “The Cutie Mark Crusaders!? But Applejack and Rarity aren't even here!” “What were they doing?” “I’m not going into the Everfree! After what the monsters did to Zecora’s hut, I’m not going to go one step into that blasted forest!” “What are we going to do then?” Link heard the comments around him with great interest. “Sounds like this forest is no ordinary forest. And the three screams I heard are no mistake either. Guess I’ll go check it out for myself.” While everypony was arguing and shouting, they didn’t notice a green colt, now equipped with a sword and shield, slink into the forest. (Somewhere Else) “STOP IT!! PLEASE, I’M BEGGING YOU!!” “Will you shut your trap already? Jeez, this is so troublesome.” In a middle of a dark room was a bubbling cauldron with a cloaked pony. But this was no ordinary pony. Instead of the usual red cloak, he had a white cloak on him. He was standing over a cauldron filled with a bubbling red liquid. The disturbing part was the other pony hanging over him, completely covered in blood and cuts. The droplets of blood rapidly dripped into the cauldron, steaming as it did so. “How is it going?” A voice said behind white cloak. White cloak turned around to see the purple cloaked pony behind, his red eyes visible through his hood. “Incredibly slow,” white cloak drawled. He looked up at the tied up pony, who was shaking in place. “Nuh uh. No. Bad boy. You’re spilling your blood all over the floor.” White cloak levitated a knife stained with rust and blood and was about to stab the pony again when Purple cloak grabbed his hoof. “We don’t need the subject dead now,” Purple cloak said, his creepy grin flashing through his hood. White cloak seemed to be unfazed and chose to groan instead. “This whole thing is so stupid,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Why does blood only retain its magical properties outside the body if the host is dead? It makes it so much more harder to drain it all.” “I personally think it’s more fun that way,” Purple cloak said cheerfully. “The screams they make when you stab them. The harmonic sound of blood hitting the cauldron in little droplets. The even louder screams when you stab them once more to speed up the blood flow. I think the best part is when you increase their life force with magic just to keep them alive. They can’t even commit suicide in their state!” “You always did have a strange sense of humor, boss man,” White cloak said. “Why do you need all this blood anyways?” Purple cloak’s expression darkened immediately. “I want to practice an ancient spell my master taught me way long back. I never bothered to perform it, until a few doors opened in my head and I saw the usefulness in this spell. For now, I need all of the pony’s blood in order to perform it. Once I’m done practicing, I want to be able to do it with only a few droplets.” “Which means we’re going to have to extract more blood from other subjects,” White cloak said. At Purple cloak’s nod, he groaned once more. “Why me?” “You have the most precise magic control here, next to me. You would be perfect for collecting all those blood droplets on the ground. I did say I need all of the pony’s blood to perform it. Once I can use less blood, you can be a bit...careless,” Purple cloak answered. “And as much fun as it sounds, I have much more important matters to take care of.” The tied up pony coughed up more blood, making White cloak flare up his magic and catch it in midair. He dropped it into the cauldron. “And you’ve just proven my point,” Purple cloak said. The tied up pony turned his head slowly at him, his chest heaving. His eyes were completely glazed over. “Oh joy! It looks like he lost all of his sanity.” “At least it will make it a lot easier for me,” White cloak said. He levitated the knife back up and slashed once more, making the blood droplets fall faster. The tied up pony didn’t even scream this time. “Much more better.” “I will see you later, my loyal apprentice,” Purple cloak said. “Contact me once you’re done. I would like to start as soon as possible.” “Will do, boss man,” White cloak said, saluting. Purple cloak nodded and walked out of the room. “This spell can change the tide to my favor,” he muttered to himself. “After all, what’s better to match the strength of your biggest threat other than himself.”