Mare
Hooves pounded in the Everfree.
She galloped, past the whipping branches and the vines of the forest. Fear drove her faster down the dirt path. Fear of her pursuers.
Behind the mare, red-eyed wooden wolves gave chase. While the Shadow was gone from the land, some of the inhabitants of the forest had been indelibly changed. The normal, green-eyed timberwolves of the forest stayed well away from their new, aggressive, red-eyed brethren, and for good reason. While they no longer were influenced, or even had any shadow taint in their bodies, their minds had been changed for the violent, and they would lash out at any living creature they could find.
And so she galloped, as fast as she could, primal fear in her mind.
A growl came from up ahead. A red-eyed timberwolf jumped onto the path, then leapt at the mare.
She reared her head and whinnied in fear, but had not the time to do anything more. Ironically, it saved her life. The leaping wolf had just enough time to register that its target, the jugular of the mare, had moved out of its reach, before it impacted her barrel chest. The mare was at a panic driven full gallop, the wolf jumping towards her at a full run. The wolf broke into kindling against the mare's body, leaving her with nothing more than twigs at her hooves.
The mare stumbled, then continued forward at a frantic pace, fear lending strength to her legs and speed to her flight as the thundered down the path.
---
Applejack swung the hammer, pounding the final nail into place. Satisfied, she took a few steps back and admired her hoofwork.
Fixing the family fence along the Everfree Forest had proved to be a more involved task than she had originally thought. Especially once she decided she was going to replace some of the older and weaker looking sections with some new wood. What with all the hubub the last few days, 'specially with the dogs invading Ponyville, the whole family agreed that anything that could be done to fortify them against the Everfree was a good thing.
So it was that, a few days after the town-wide shindig Pinkie had thrown, Applejack found herself repairing the fence, replacing the old and repairing the damages. The work was not particularly demanding, not for someone used to it, and AJ found her mind wandering as she worked.
Applejack had manned the cart for a little while at the town party, selling some of the preserved fruits and beverages that the Apple Family offered out of season. 'Course, once Twilight finally appeared, tired but smiling, the mare had managed to get Mac to take over while she hung out for a little while. Pinkie had insisted, something about them being 'important ponies' 'cuz they'd saved the town. They'd all just rolled their eyes at that- except for Rainbow, that pony stuck her chest out and strutted around town like she was the best thing since sliced bread. They'd all rolled their eyes at that too, but not even AJ took the pegasus speedster down a peg- after all, she deserved the praise, at least for today. They all did.
Most importantly, they'd all had some good 'ol fashioned fun. Pinkie really knew how to throw a party. There was a little something that everypony could enjoy- music for the dancers among the crowd, food for snacks, and plenty of fun and games for ponies of all ages. It was practically like Nightmare Night again, except this time nopony was wearing costumes and all the fun and games weren't Nightmare themed.
Applejack's ears twitched as she heard the faint sound of hooffalls. She listened intently for a few moments, before putting her hammer down and getting to her hooves.
Big Mac usually made that kind of racket when he was chargin' something down at full speed. His big, heavy hooves had a different sound than the lighter hoofsteps of a mare, or even that of the average sized stallion. Problem was, Mac was workin' on the fence somewhere else.
So why was he comin' in from the Everfree?
"Mac?" she yelled out as the hoofbeats got closer. "Mac, what's wrong?"
The thunder of hooves cleared the trees, and Applejack's pupils got as wide as dinner plates.
That wasn't Macintosh! It was big, though, and headed right for her, not slowin' down.
"SWEET CELESTIA!" Applejack cried out as she dived out of the way.
She expected to hear the splintering of wood, or the hurt whining of a creature that had failed to get through the newly repaired fence. At the very least the thundering of hooves.
'Nothing' was not on that list of expected things.
Applejack turned back to look just as the gigantic pony-creature cleared the head-high fence with room to spare. A pair of hooves, as large as Mac's, pounded into the soft grass, then another pair- and then the heavy hooffalls returned with a vengeance as the gigantic mare galloped away at a speed that even Applejack couldn't have matched.
A growl startled her, and she turned back to the fence just in time to see a red-eyed timberwolf try to jump the fence- only to collide heavily with the top wooden crossbeam, sending it yelping back to the ground.
Applejack scrambled back as more red-eyed timberwolves emerged from the forest. Growling, they began to test the fence for weaknesses as they eyed the apple mare. AJ was suddenly very glad she hadn't taken down the next section of fence yet.
Eyeing the timberwolves one last time, and satisfied that they weren't able to make it over the fence, Applejack turned and galloped off after the gigantic mare.
---
The mare ran through fields now. Even if they were unfamiliar, she was more at home here than she was in that jungle she had come from. Out here, with nothing but widely spaced trees, she could run.
Fear had clouded her mind even through the fields until she finally realized that she could no longer hear the growls and crackling of the wooden wolves. She risked slowing her pace- and when nothing jumped out at her, slowed to a trot. Primal fear receded from her mind, and with the fight or flight instinct gone, the mare began to examine her surroundings in earnest.
There were trees, lots of trees, all spaced evenly around her, with the most delicious smelling flowers. She stretched her neck up, lips quivering as she tried to reach one of the delicious smelling flowers, and stripped one off of a branch. She chewed contentedly, enjoying the flavor, before catching sight of the building.
It was big and red and made of trees, like the one she sometimes helped him herd the goats into. Maybe he was there?
The mare began ambling her way there, easily distracted by a clump of tasty-looking grass that she would promptly eat, or, once, by a bucket of water. The water was cool and refreshing, but she had accidentally spilled it before she had drunk her full fill. But she was always making her way towards the big red wood.
She was nearly there when her ears flicked behind her, hearing the clop of hooves on the ground.
"Uhh... ma'am?"
---
It took quite a few minutes before AJ managed to catch up. It wasn't hard though- the gigantic mare had left hoofprints the size of Big Mac's, maybe even larger. Once she finally caught sight of the mare, though, it took more than a few moments for her to believe what she was seeing.
She was quite clearly a pony of some kind. Hooved, brown furred with unshorn fetlocks of white and a mane and tail of the same color, though there was no cutie mark that AJ could see. Thing was, Applejack had never in her life seen a pony so huge. Why, this mare would stand head and shoulders over even Celestia, includin' her horn! Heck, she’d be even a bit taller than the cows, maybe even a buffalo! The only chance Applejack had of reaching her withers would be to rear up and stand on two legs!
For all that, though, she was clearly a pony, and a mare. Though… something seemed off about her from a distance. Something about her just seemed…. off, not quite right. Beyond her size.
AJ found herself apprehensive about approaching the mare.
She berated herself. She’d learned her lesson from the Zecora incident! What was she doin', sittin' around starin'? 'Taint polite! She needed to introduce herself!
"Uh... ma'am?" she called out.
The mare looked back at AJ. The muzzle was too long and narrow for a pony, the eyes too small. She remembered some old photos of Saddle Arabians she had seen in school- this mare was more like that, like a horse rather than a pony. Ah ha! That’s why she looked so different to Applejack’s eyes- she was more horse than pony!
"Hello," she replied, turning to face Applejack. She stared down at the apple mare even as AJ craned her neck upwards to look at her.
"Howdy, ma'am," AJ replied automatically, tipping her hat. "Ah was jus' wonderin' what you were doin' out in the Everfree. It ain't the safest of places, what with the timberwolves an such!"
"Timberwolves?" the mare asked. Her pronunciation was slow, as though it was the first time she had ever said that word.
"Yea, timberwolves. Y' know, those red-eyed wolf things you were- whoa, whoa! Settle down there, they ain't anywhere near here! Just calm down, yer safe here..."
The moment AJ had mentioned 'red-eyed wolf things', the mare had panicked. Her ears pinned back, her eyes got wide, her hooves shuffled and she let out a slight whinny of fear. She hadn't panicked badly, and Applejack was able to calm her down quickly with assurances that the timberwolves weren't anywhere near them and wasn't going to hurt her.
Landsakes, mare's as panicky as Betsy an' the cows, she thought to herself. Gotta be doubly sure not t' spook her.
"So anyways, what were ya'll doin' in the Everfree?"
"What is the Everfree?"
"The Everfree?" Applejack repeated, confused. How could this mare not know about the forest she just came from? "Well, uh, it's that great big forest ya'll just ran through, 'afore ya jumped that fence and made it onto Apple land."
"Oh." Pause. "Are these apple trees?"
"Yes ma'am," AJ said with pride. "Mah family an' I have been tendin' these apple trees since the day Ponyville was founded! You'll find no better apples in all of Equestria!"
Smile. Silence.
"Well, uh, so what brings you out here, Miss...?"
"I am looking for someone," the huge mare replied, either oblivious to or ignoring AJ's attempt to get a name.
"Well, maybe I can help, Miss....?"
"Oh, thank you!"
Once again, the attempt to get her name went completely over her head. Applejack decided to try the direct approach.
"Anyways," AJ continued. "Names Applejack, pleased ta meet ya! What's you're name?"
The mare sniffed at the proffered hoof curiously.
"My name is Epona."
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I squeed...SO HARD.
Yes.
so . . . is there like a portal or something in the Everfree?
'Cause Hyrule and Equestria ain't really neighboring states, you know.
But it's a good story anyway.
Epona! ALRIGHT!
it is going to be interesting when link comes to epona and the mane 6 assume that the wolf belongs to her, but its the other way around
3812172
Somewhere, somehow, there is a path between Hyrule and the world of Equestria. Where and how is not important... why, though, is important, as in when. Perhaps I will expand upon the subject more later... But for now, you might be able to puzzle things out if you have knowledge of the games and pay close attention to what I've said about the spring in the Everfree.
Epona for the win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah
3812795
Honestly, I'm surprised it lasted this long without one.
On the plus side, my like/dislike ratio is now a real number, at 151:1 at the time of this writing!
So... Epona. And she talks.
I don't know what to say.
1 dislike... And i bet that was no reason for that, just someone didn't like flawless upvote rating.
Whoever did this because of that... You're an idiot.
Or someone is really, really jealous...
No less of an idiot, though.
3812725
in that case it doesn't quite work either.
if Link truly believed that all unicorns are as capable of doing magic as Twilight, he would have wondered WHY all those unicorns that were captured didn't fight back or escaped when the dogs attacked. All those unicorns could have put barriers around all the ponies or diamond dogs, keep them floating, etc., and the whole invasion would have been rendered pointless
If we go with TvTropes terms, think of fridge logic. That moment when you stop and "Hey, if X happened, why it didn't happen again before?"
If Link thinks about it, he should realize that the idea doesn't make sense, that Twilight is a special case. I guess him and Midna having a "talk" would help set things right
At least you put some sort of explanation for Link being able to shake off curses and spells cast on him on his own seemingly without problems
as you said, it needs to be clear the scale, of how Twilight's spells are similar but just a minute fraction of what he's seen others doing already.
EDIT:
Oh yeah, if they are still hunting for the Fused Shadows, and already have the hylian shield, that means Link hasn't found out just how strong the fused shadows are, so him thinking the Twilight's spells are in the same level than the fused shadows make even less sense.
3813808
First things first, our wolf isn't a spacebattler. The hero has always proven himself pragmatic, determined, and smart enough to solve puzzles. We have never seen him, in any game that I know of, stop and question how or why something works. It works, that's good enough for him.
He isn't examining everything in the manner of 'how does that work?' He always examines problems in a manner of 'how can I solve this problem? How do I go around/through this obstacle?'
Almost like he was the protagonist of an adventure game, really.
So. Unicorns got captured. Apparently they aren't invincible, just like he has proven countless times before on other monsters. Unicorns can use magic. Magic isn't common. He has a tool to get around what he has seen so far, but there's no telling what any one unicorn can do. He needs to be careful around unicorns more so than other types of ponies because of the unique dangers they present.
That's my point. That is what I am trying to get into your head. That's all he thinks. He doesn't care that unicorns have been captured before, all that means is that he can take them down if he needs to. He doesn't know exactly powerful Twilight is compared to other unicorns compared to him, so he's being cautious and assuming the worst case for now.
And addressing the edit: yes, he doesn't know exactly how powerful the fused shadows are, but that works both ways. WE, the READER, are the only ones who know just how powerful they are compared to each other. Though I have avoided naming just what the relative scales are here to avoid this sort of discussion. So given that he can see his imp friend and the purple unicorn do some of the same things, is it so unreasonable that he assumes, given the complete lack of all other information, that they are roughly equal in power?
Does all that make sense?
3813949
Not at all. Stopping to figure out how something works IS puzzle solving, that's the idea figuring about how the puzzle works and how to solve it or work around it, and the rest really aren't happy with your reasoning, but I can see this is a point that you are going to stand strong on. Just remember that Link may not be cultured, but he can read, enjoys arts like drawing, he IS smart
The main problem is that it doesn't make sense for the reader that Link acts in a less than intelligent way.
Anyway, if you wanted him to be wary of the local magic, the talk about the local magic long ago should be enough, unless you're doing it for the sake of the readers as a reminder
EDIT:
Also, what's that about spacebattler? What does that have anything to do with Link, or the story, or anything at all? I don't get that point at all
3814045
just a trend i've seen among spacebattle.net users to go into epic detail about things. And get easily derailed.
I'm sorry. I'm getting worked up over something that wasn't even supposed to be important. It's basically just a snap assessment of abilities while he's getting away, that's all it was ever meant to be.
Anyways, i still think you're overthinking it. Yes, he is smart, yes he solves puzzles, but he's not a scientist, he's not there to examine everything in blow by blow detail. Maybe later, or with more information he'll puzzle things out more. Honestly, it's not that important to the story i believe to have him trying to measure and quantify how equestrian magic stacks up against all the other magic he's seen. That's Twilight's job.
On another note, who is 'the rest'? If you and other people are debating all this on a thread somewhere, I'd be more than happy to weigh in on all this.
3814201
well, I'm providing links to this story whenever it updates, so it's likely they have already posted reviews or don't don't want to for some reason
3814215
Well, I know I must seem a bit tetchy and unmoving, but thank you for bringing these things up. I really do go back and think about all these things every time someone brings something up. Usually I have to reason out why I wrote what I wrote, and sometimes I do have to change things around.
If you really want me address something you feel is important though, you're going to have to be on top of stuff. The further back into the story it is, the more I'm going to dig my heels in as you've probably seen.
Saw it coming, as soon as I heard the description.
i14.photobucket.com/albums/a331/brittmcgee/MLP%20Minecraft/TLSOA_zps2aa17c49.png
Also, *groan*. Appleblooms and Pegasi :|
~Twi
interesting
I found this story yesterday and the only thing that kept me from instantly reading it all in one go was the need to sleep.
That being said, I love your story! I'm guessing for Link, Midna and Epona this is somewhere between Kakariko and Lake Hylia?
Also, you can't imagine my love for Epona. I squee'd so bad when I realized it was her.
Looking forward to the next chapter!
3814331
Another down vote, darn. That makes the count now 163:2.
It would be nice if more people would say WHY they down vote stories so i know and can try to improve for the future. Most people don't, they just straight down vote.
3851537
That's what I said back when I got a few down votes on my story, but what are you going to do, right?
Anyways, I can't wait for Epona to start talking to the ponies. I wouldn't be surprised if she called Link her 'master' and the ponies jump to the wrong conclusions.
Hope the next chapter is a long one, I'd rather not read any tidbit scenes, like Applejack and Epona just talking as they go to town and then end the chapter when they get there. those kinds of chapters are frustrating, if not necessary sometimes.
-rereads-
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3859998
?!
3860311
IT STOPPED BEFORE IT COULD FINISH!
So good..........................................
3861560
Soon, my friend, soon...
Yeah Epona!
When I pronocse it it sounds a bit like the girl that shouts Okami in Okami the game
4328396 DAMN RIGHT SON!
EPONA IS BEST PONY 10/10
4969447 Same here bro.
*face palm*
3812868
Uh... Have you not played Twilight Princess? All animals can talk, including Epona. When Link is in wolf form, she says to him, "Even though you change shape, I still understand you. Link... Hurry up and return to your true self..." and "If you wish to ride me, return to your true self."
4969447 *Best equine
Why limit it only to ponies? Epona's not a pony anyway... she's a horse!
At first I was like: who the heck is this pony and then I read the words large and brown and then was like
I'll be watching
-CactusMan
Yay, Epona! Hopefully this means that the Mane Six will finally get some answers, especially given FreedomFiend said. (I completely forgot that detail!)
Errors:
as she thundered down the path
and weren't going to hurt her
The error should be obvious.
And thus begins my favorite interpretation of Epona that I've found on this site so far.
*realization that Epona is in the story now* EPONA! *MINDBLOWN*
*Looks at Epona*
*Looks at the pool of sharks in the distance*
Well, they haven't been jumped yet, but they are disturbingly close. Also, how the haybrugers did she even get here?!?
It took me this long to figure out it was Epona. And I giggled like a child. Man I love that horse!
I wonder how epona will react to wolf link