• Published 25th Oct 2011
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Legend of Termina - Bowserkilla



A Legendary Hero faces his greatest challenge yet in a dying world.

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Chapter 3

Worry overwhelmed Link. He watched helplessly as Epona lay on the ground, convulsing wildly due to her pains. This was the fourth time they had to stop due to her illness, with each stop being harder for Link and Epona to endure. The sorrow in Link’s heart kept building up as he watched his friend thrashing about on the ground, the pain being almost unbearable for her. He feared that the pains would soon become too much, and Epona would simply pass away just to escape her torment.

A sigh of relief escaped Link’s mouth as he watched his friend attempt to sit up, the wave of pain finally subsiding for now. A few shallow breaths escaped Epona as she sat up on her hind legs, staring at the ground with a blank expression, a light foam resting on the corners of her mouth. The whites of her eyes were slowly turning red from the stress she had been experiencing. The entirety of her being shook as she shivered, sending droplets of sweat flying through the air that glistened in the dull light of the moon. A whimper escaped her as she steadied herself.

Link walked over to his friend, placing a hoof on her back for comfort. Epona looked up at her friend, smiling weakly. She shivered once more, shaking Link’s hoof off of her. Link stared at her, concern for her boiling up to the point where it was almost painful. He cringed as she started heaving, the sound echoing eerily amongst the trees of the forest. Epona heaved once more, vomiting up what little food remained in her stomach. She warily looked at the mess she had made, then averted her eyes as she shook once more. Link pulled the canteen out of Epona’s bag, doing the same routine that he had done since she had first gotten ill. He unscrewed the canteen, offering it to his sickly friend. She hesitantly accepted, taking a few shallow sips before handing it back to Link. Before putting the cap back on, Link took a drink to wet his dried out throat. He gagged as the water slid down his throat, leaving a nasty aftertaste and a pungent odor in the air. Concern filled him once more as he realized that the water may have gone stagnant and could be what was making Epona so sick. He quickly dumped the contents of the canteen out on to the forest floor. The water ran along the ground, filling every nook and cranny with its presence before seeping into the dirt. Link watched as the water disappeared.

A black residue remained on the ground where the water had been. It sat along the forest floor, nearly blending in with the shadows that were being cast by the moon’s light. Worry filled Link once more as he stared at the substance. A sickening stench wafted up from the black powder, stinging Link’s nose and causing his eyes to water. He was transfixed by the substance, trying to identify what it was and how it got into their water.

A blood-curdling scream resounded through the air, causing him to jump in fright and drop his canteen. Link looked at Epona who was curled up next to a tree in the fetal position. She screamed once more, rolling around on the ground as she did. Link rushed over to her, panicked adrenaline filling his limbs. All he could do was sit and watch as his friend’s tortured cries filled the night air, ringing through the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Skullcolt sat on a thick branch, perched on it like an over-sized bird. His head was cocked awkwardly to the side, so much so that his hat and Mask threatened to fall off. Tatl flew in front of him, catching his attention.

“Why did you stop? I thought you said that we had to hurry?” Tatl said, bobbing in front of the Skullcolt to garner his full attention.

The Skullcolt shushed her, still tilting his head to the side. Moments later, a ghostly moan echoed amongst the shadows. The wail was like music to his ears. A smile spread across the Skullcolt’s face as he listened.

“What in the name of the Goddesses was that?” Tael said in between gasps, trying to catch his breath and speak at the same time, having finally caught up to his companions.

“That, my fine fairy friend, is the sound of success!” The Skullcolt’s smile continued getting larger until it seemed as if his face would tear from the sheer joy. He couldn’t help but start giggling. At first, it sounded like a young pony’s laughter, then quickly grew deeper as a demonic edge slipped in.

“Success? What do you mean? What have you done this time, Skullcolt?” Tatl said, a motherly tone seeping in to her voice.

“You shall see soon enough, Tatl. Everything will be explained in due time.” The Skullcolt pulled down his Mask, straightening his hat as he did so. “Now, let us hurry. We have but a few minutes to spare!” As the Skullcolt finished his sentence, another wail broke the silence of the forest. He struggled to suppress a giggle, then jumped from the branch he sat on to the forest below. Tatl and Tael flew to catch up to him as he sprinted off towards the shouts at full gallop, weaving between the trees.

~~~~~~~~~~

Weariness covered Link like a thick blanket. His head and limbs felt as if they were made of lead, and his tongue felt as if it were covered in wool. Time seemed to have slowed down, causing Link’s vision to blur as he moved. To Link, minutes felt like hours, but he didn’t seem to mind. His only thoughts were of Epona.

He gazed over at his friend who was calmly sleeping on the ground. Her body was still glistening with sweat and her breathing was shaky, but she was still alive. Link sighed with relief, but soon began to worry once more for her well-being. Their potion supply had run out, he was unsure how much further it was until they were out of the forest, and the darkness of night still pervaded the forest.

Link began thinking of solutions to their predicament. Epona was in no condition to travel the remaining distance. He thought he could risk carrying her, but in his groggy state, he would barely make it a hundred feet before he was too tired to continue. He then thought about running ahead without Epona so that he could find a doctor or an apothecary. The thought of leaving Epona alone in the woods made him cringe. Even under better circumstances, he wouldn’t think of leaving her behind in such a defenseless state. More ideas flowed into his mind, each one crazier than the last.

After spending what seemed like hours in his foggy state trying to come up with a solution, Link began to notice the toll that the black powder had taken on him, mainly his dehydration. His mouth was incredibly dry and only getting worse by the minute. He thought back to the canteen, remembering that he had to dump the water out because it was contaminated. His throat burned, but he could only imagine how bad Epona must have been feeling. She drank nearly three times as much as Link. How she was able to do so without noticing the horrific taste, Link was unsure. He remained where he was for several more minutes. He ignored his ever present dehydration, trying to work out a way that both he and Epona could get out of the forest safely and quickly.

A faint noise in the distance filled Link’s ears. The noise was fuzzy and Link could barely hear it in his ever-deteriorating state, but the sound was still unmistakable. It was the same noise that Link heard most of his life, the same one that often soothed him to sleep at night when he was back home, before setting off to be an adventurer. The sound of running water trickling over rocks reminded Link even more of his dehydration. The back of his throat seemed to burn with increasing intensity as he listened until he couldn’t stand the torment any longer.

Link broke out into a run, stumbling over every root or bumping into every tree that stood in his path. At one point, he even fell head over hooves after being tripped up by a patch of ivy sprawling along the ground. Another time, he was tripped up by the canteen that was slung around his chest, the strap somehow becoming entangled with his front legs.

The sound of rushing water grew louder and louder. A bush rested in Link’s path, attempting to impede his progress. Rather than stopping and going around, he attempted to dive over it. His hooves left the ground as he jumped, attempting to clear the shrub in a single bound.

Pain darted through his body as he dove straight through the bush, getting ensnared by the branches inside. The small thorns hidden within the bush clawed at Link, leaving tiny marks where their attack succeeded. Link struggled to break through, causing more wounds. After a few minutes of struggling, he stopped, realising that his struggle was pointless. He took in a deep breath then calmly began trying to work his way through the bush. A few thorns still sliced at him, one even latching on to his cap and pulling it off of his head. Another thorn attempted to steal away his canteen, nearly choking him with the strap still wrapped around him. After a few minutes of crawling through the bush, Link finally burst forth triumphantly, nearly falling muzzle first into the stream that ran before him.

Link’s eyes lit up as he stared down at the stream, a perfect reflection of himself staring back. The moon glistened against the stream, seemingly magnified by the clear water. Without a second thought, Link plunged his head into the water, delightfully gulping up as much water as he could. The cool liquid felt good against his face, helping to clear his mind and clear away the effects of the tainted water from before. After a few seconds, he pulled his head from the water, gasping deeply. Relief gripped him, forcing him to relax his limbs and mind.

He carefully unscrewed the canteen once more and plunged it into the water. A few seconds later, he pulled the container out, dumping out the contents within to wash away any residue remaining in it. He repeated the process, making sure that the canteen was free of contamination. After filling it one last time and screwing the cap back on, he gazed into the water.

Ripples danced along the surface, distorting the images it normally reflected. Once the water settled, Link noticed two glowing orbs that were not there before. He glanced up, looking for the source of the two orbs.

The same zebra that he had fought earlier was resting upon a branch, staring down upon Link. He instinctively reach for his sword, preparing to fight. Before his weapon was halfway out of its sheath, the zebra dove from his branch on to the forest floor below, all the while keeping eye contact with Link. Two orbs of light soon joined him once again, bobbing next to him.

“So, I see the poison is wearing off...I should have known that you weren’t idiotic enough to guzzle as much of it as your unfortunate friend.” The Zebra’s voice chilled Link’s bones. “Too bad for her...I can’t imagine the agony she’s feeling right now. I wonder how she feels that her friend left her alone and defenseless in the middle of the woods just so he may satisfy his ravenous thirst.”

Anger boiled up inside of Link as the zebra’s words left his mouth. Link pulled his sword completely from its sheath, preparing once again to charge the zebra. Before he could, the zebra spoke once more.

“You must not remember me, Link,” he flinched at the mention of his name. The zebra slowly lifted his mask, his green eyes staring into Link’s blue ones. “Do you not recognize your old friend from the Lost Woods? The same zebra that you used to frolic and play with before murdering his friends and family?” The last few words struck Link like a hammer, jolting his memory. His jaw dropped as he realized who the zebra that stood before him was. The familiar green eyes, the white skull pattern that his stripes formed on his face, and the childish voice that sometimes escaped before returning to the usual demonic visage.

“I see you still remember your old friend, the Skullcolt. How could you not? You saved me from death, then turned around and decimated everyone that I cared about!” Any evidence of the Skullcolt’s childish voice was gone, his demonic edge creeping in and taking over his voice. “How could you do this to me!? You betrayed and abandoned me, just like my friends before!”

Link remained where he was, his anger reaching dangerous levels. The Skullcolt made a sudden movement causing him to flinch and put his leg in front of his face, despite the fact that his shield was resting on his back. The Skullcolt pulled out a small blue object that reflected off of the moonlight. Link’s heart skipped as he saw his Ocarina in the Skullcolt’s grasp once again.

“The hunger in your eyes betrays you, Link. This little trinket must mean more to you than I previously thought, but it’s still not enough to make you feel the same torment that I felt all those months ago...” The Skullcolt tossed the instrument up and down in his hooves, thinking as he did so. The Skullcolt’s two fairies landed on the tips of his ears and whispered something inaudible to Link. A sickening smile spread across the Skullcolt’s face as the two fairies jumped off of his ears, taking flight once more.

The Skullcolt quickly pocketed the Ocarina and pulled his mask down to cover his face. Without warning, he jumped back into the trees, bounding as quickly as he could from branch to branch. Link stared at the Skullcolt, watching as he retreated. Confusion soon over took his anger. The thought that he was watching Link the whole time sent tremors through his entire being. He brushed the thought away, returning his sword back to his sheath. He didn’t have time to wonder about what just happened, especially considering his friend’s condition was worsening every moment. He quickly grabbed his hat from it’s imprisonment in the bush, secured the canteen around his chest, and made his way back to Epona.

The path back was much easier for Link to navigate this time, mainly due to the fact that he was in a clearer state of mind and the remnants of his reckless sprint helped lead him back. Before long, he came back into the clearing where Epona was resting. Fear shot through Link’s heart when he looked over to his friend.

The Skullcolt stood beside her body, staring at Link and smiling the same wicked smile from before. His two fairies rested on Epona’s heaving sides, slowly bobbing up and down along with her breathing. A demonic laugh escaped his maw as he saw Link.

“Your friend doesn’t look too well, does she?” The Skullcolt patted the side of Epona’s
head. She barely noticed, still deep within her slumber. “And you left her here to die, all on her own. Her one friend, abandoning her in her time of need. What kind of friend are you?”

Guilt ate away at Link. The Skullcolt’s words tormented him to no end. He had left her there alone, not knowing what may happen to her.

A groan startled the group as Epona began to stir. The two fairies took flight, nearly being knocked away by her hoof as she scratched her side.

“It seems like the poison is wearing off. What a shame...I thought I would have more time to do this,” The Skullcolt said to himself. Before Link could react, the Skullcolt scooped Epona up in his hooves, throwing her on to his back. She landed on him with a soft thump, her mane glistening in the moonlight. His wicked smile returned once more, evidence of it showing beneath his mask. Without another word, the Skullcolt bolted, running through the trees at a reckless pace, Epona’s head violently bouncing up and down with each step.

Tears began to well up in Link’s eyes as he watched his friend get whisked away by the Skullcolt. He sprinted after them with all of his might, turning his anguish into energy, propelling himself forward.

He ran into the darkness for what seemed like an eternity, chasing after his friend. He had lost sight of them but was unable to cope with the fact that his friend had been ponynapped. With his eyes filled with tears, and his limbs burning, Link finally came to rest next to a massive tree that seemed to tower over the rest. He leaned up against the behemoth, tears and sweat streaming down his face. Every fiber of his being seemed to weep for his friend. His limbs soon failed him, being exhausted by his run.

Link rested against the tree, hopelessness flooding his heart. He lamented into the
evening, finally succumbing to a fitful sleep. The moon poked through the trees, watching over Link as he slept.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Skullcolt stopped in a small clearing in the forest, his breathing hard and unsteady. He looked back, half expecting a green blur to come bolting towards him for revenge. Tatl and Tael caught up to him, their breathing equally as labored.

“I think we lost him,” Tael said in between breaths. He landed on a small flower, resting his tired wings along with his sister. “What do you plan on doing with her?” he said, motioning towards Epona.

“Do not worry about her, young Tael. She is the least of this land’s worries right now,” he said, gazing up at the moon. A sickening laugh echoed between the trees as he glared at the glowing orb in the sky.

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