Legend of Zelda : Twilight Sparkle

by The_Artificial_Alicorn

Chapter 2: Stranded

Chapter 2

Stranded

The storm raged outside as it had all night, and rain pelted against the window as Twilight Sparkle was lying wide awake in her bed. Why did the pegasi have to make it so stormy tonight? I can't even close my eyes for one second before thunder shakes my house.

The lavender pony groaned in frustration and buried her head under her pillow to escape the noise. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash, followed by a deafening boom. Twilight yelped in surprise and practically flew out of her bed.

Next to her bed, in his basket, Spike groggily said, "What was that? It almost gave me a heart attack!"

Twilight responded, "I think that was lightning, but that sounded awfully close. I hope it didn't hit anypony's house."

After a moment of contemplation, she donned a raincoat and ventured outside to investigate. Several other ponies milled about, trying to figure out what that noise was that had awakened them at such an early hour. Twilight gasped as she saw a large scorch mark a couple of yards from where she was standing. She trotted towards it, and as lightning illuminated a lump on the ground, the blood drained from her face.

"Somepony get help! This pony was hit by lightning!"

---

Link awoke to a strange noise, best described as a beep. The sound seemed to be coming from some metal contraption attached to his arm, and it kept making the beeping noise every few seconds. He was lying down on a very comfortable bed, but when he tried to sit up, he was too tired to do so. Link looked around. I must be in some kind of infirmary, he thought. Late afternoon sunlight filtered through the curtains, and birds chirped through the window.

Just then the door to the room opened, and a gray horse wearing a strange white coat walked in. Link stared in confusion at the horse as it walked towards him, seeing that its proportions were all wrong. The legs were a bit shorter and fatter than a normal horse, and its eyes were ridiculously large, giving it an almost cute appearance.

"Ah, I see you're awake," the horse said in a voice that sounded masculine. This startled Link, because, as far as he knew, horses didn't talk. "I'm Dr. Whitehoof. How are you feeling? You're lucky to be alive considering you were hit by lightning, let alone without any burns or neurological damage"

Link decided not to dwell on the fact that the horse was talking to him. "Umm, I'm feeling good, I guess. My head kind of... where am I?"

Doctor Whitehoof replied, "You're in Ponyville Hospital. Tell me, what were you doing out so late at night?"

Link thought for a bit, and then it all came flooding back. The Castle, the siege, Zelda, the void, falling, It all crashed into him like a wave on a beach. Zelda.

Link moved to get off the bed, but the doctor stopped him, saying, "Oh, you shouldn't be getting up right now! You still need to rest and recover your strength for at least another day!"

Link ignored the doctor's words and put his feet on the ground with a clop. Wait a minute… Link looked down at what were supposed to be his feet, but in their place were a pair of hooves. His eyes grew wide, and he immediately looked at his hands, or more accurately, hooves. He stumbled over to a mirror, much to the doctor's protest, and when he stared at his reflection, a beige pony with the same huge-eyed, thick-legged proportions as the doctor, a messy blond mane, and dressed in a hospital gown, stared back. After a few seconds of panic, he calmed himself, as he recalled memories of a similar transformation in his youth. Only this time, instead of a wolf, he was a talking pony.

The doctor appeared beside him, saying, "Well, that little stunt there dispelled any reason to keep you here, so if you're feeling up to it, I'll bring up your belongings so that you can get dressed while I sign your release forms."

After a brief wait, Link's familiar green tunic and hat were returned along with his various bags and pouches. He donned these, and was led by the doctor down to the lobby.

To Link's surprise, he accomplished the journey on all fours, for it had seemed completely natural at the moment. The doctor heard the main door open, and he glanced up to see who had entered. He said to Link, "Ah, it seems the pony who found you is here for a visit!"

Link turned around with mild surprise to see a lavender pony who appeared very feminine, clopping towards him. He could make out the tip of a horn protruding from her bangs as she greeted him.

"Hi! I'm Twilight Sparkle! I found you last night after you were hit by lightning." Her voice confirmed his suspicions as she raised a hoof, obviously meaning for a handshake, or more correctly under the circumstances, a hoofshake. Link clumsily brought up his and completed the awkward greeting. "What's your name?" she asked.

This is going to take some getting used to… Link thought to himself as he sighed inwardly. "Umm… I'm Link," he responded.

"Great to meet you Link, do you have a last name?" Twilight asked with a smile.

Link looked away, embarrassed. "If I do, I don't know it. I never knew my parents. My father was a knight killed in battle before I was born and my mother died when I was a baby."

Twilight's eyes softened as she tried to imagine the pain of not having parents. "Oh, I'm sorry I brought it up… Well, do you live near here, or are you just passing through?" she asked, trying to move on to a less touchy subject.

"I'm not even sure where 'here' is, but it is nothing like my home. My home is in the kingdom of Hyrule. Would you happen to know anyone who might know a way there?"

Uh-oh. Twilight thought to herself nervously as her attempt to dispel the awkwardness only succeeded in making it worse. "Would you like to stay with me until you find your way back to your home in…Hyrule was it?"

Link politely turned down the offer, yet the purple pony wouldn't take no for an answer as they left the hospital. Most attempts at small talk ended abruptly, as the foreigner was unfamiliar with most of the subjects Twilight brought up.

The conversations were not all pointless, however, as Link found out that unicorns like Twilight could use magic, the ponies that have wings were called pegasai, and they were all loyal subjects of two immortal winged unicorns called allicorns. The two allicorns were sisters named Celestia and Luna, who raise the sun and moon respectively. Twilight lived in the Golden Oaks Library with her assistant, Spike. Golden Oaks was a giant tree that had been hollowed out and turned into a library, and somehow stayed alive through complex magical preservation spells.

To Link, Ponyville reminded him a bit of Castle Town, with its cobblestone streets, bustling crowds, and variety of buildings. They passed by several buildings that made it painfully obvious as to their intended purpose, such as a store called "Sugar Cube Corner" that looked like it was made entirely of sweets.

---

When they entered the library, Link gazed around in wonder. It was as if a giant deku tree was hollowed out and filled with the entire contents of the Hyrule Castle library. He felt strangely at home here. Perhaps it was the wooded atmosphere that reminded him of his childhood in the Faron Woods.

"Spike! We have a guest! Could you make us some sandwiches?" the purple unicorn called out as she shut the door behind them.

Link jumped back in surprise when a small purple and green dragon-like creature poked its head around the corner. He instinctive reached for a sword that wasn't there, but all hostile feelings dissipated when the creature spoke.

"Oh, hey Twilight! Who's the guest? Is he your boyfriend?" Spike taunted.

"What? No! He isn't my boyfriend! I barely know him!" Twilight said, her face getting redder with each word. "This is the pony who got hit by lightning last night. He has nowhere to say, so I offered to let him stay here." She threw a glare at Spike that said, You'll really get it later, you little punk. Spike merely chuckled as he prepared peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for them.

Twilight calmed herself before turning to Link. "Sorry about that. That's just Spike being Spike. Anyway, would you like to take the bed? I could sleep on the floor if you'd like."

Although she disliked the thought of lying in a sleeping bag on the hard floor, he was her guest after all. Much to her relief he turned down the offer, explaining that he spent most of his life sleeping on a hard wooden stump in the woods, and wouldn't mind at all.

This just keeps getting more and more awkward… Twilight thought to herself.

Lunch was interesting, to say the least, as the concept of a "sandwich" was quite foreign to Link.

"You mean you've never had a sandwich?" Twilight asked in amazement. Link shook his head. "Not even heard of it?" Another no. "Wow, things really are different where you're from. Well, to eat it you just pick it up and take a bite." She demonstrated by picking it up with her hooves, and taking a bite, and Link eventually got the hang of it.

"So, how'd you end up here?" she asked out of curiosity.

Link's face grew solemn as he recounted the events of the previous night as best as he could, leading up to him waking up in the hospital.

Spike was confused. "So, let me get this straight… You're from a distant land called Hyrule, you're NOT a pony, but a human who got turned INTO a pony, and you wound up here when your world disappeared and you fell into the void, and when you woke up, you were magically a pony version of your human self?"

Link took a moment to process the little dragon's rather large sentence, before replying, "Yes, I guess that is a rather accurate description my situation, Spike."

"Sooo, you're not her boyfriend?" This was met by a frustrated groan as Twilight's face once again reddened. Link couldn't help but chuckle along with Spike as the unicorn cuffed the baby dragon in the back of the head.

"Link, how about I take you to meet my friends? I bet they'd love to meet you." Twilight offered, and Link couldn't think of a reason why not to.

They were about to walk out the door when Twilight suddenly said, "Oh! I almost forgot," and trotted back inside to a shelf that Link hadn't noticed before. She came back with an object that made him gasp in amazement. "I found this on the ground next to you when the paramedics took you away, and I would've forgotten to give it to you if your cutie mark didn't remind me." Link didn't even react to the foreign phrase as he took the object in her hoof in disbelief. "I figured it was some kind of instrument, so I washed off all the mud and, umm…are you okay?"

Link snapped out of his stupor. "Am I okay? I'm more than okay!" he exclaimed. "This is the first good thing to happen to me since I got here!" He squeezed Twilight in an excited hug, saying, "You have no idea how thankful I am you found this!"

Twilight's face reddened in embarrassment once more as she heard Spike snickering behind her. "Uh, you're quite welcome, but why are you so happy over that…thing?"

Much to her relief, he released her from the awkward embrace, as he sat on one of the many chairs in the library. "Because this is going to get me home." Link once again stared at the object in his hooves. An object given to him so many years ago, he forgot he even had it with him.

Link had never been so happy to see the Ocarina of Time.

Comments

[Strawberry Surprise]

Is he your boyfriend?" Spike taunted.

No! MidLink forever!