Chapter 20: The Saving of a Ranch, and the Plight of a Forest
The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Ocarina of Time.
By Ganondorf8
December 19, 2014
Chapter 20: The Saving of a Ranch, and the Plight of a Forest.
Just before the sun began to creep up from the horizon, I woke up and left the ranch so as to avoid any suspicions. Once the day had begun, I walked into the ranch ignoring the dark clouds hanging above and made my way over to the stable in order to speak to Applebloom again. What she said during the night really made me think about what had been going on during the past seven years along with events that took place long before this journey had begun. Ingo was acting the way he was because of a dejected Granny Smith wanting to give up on being a farmhand because she lost the will to keep the ranch going.
In his eyes, he wanted Lon Lon Ranch to become a respectable place, but when Granny Smith decided to go against his dream, he began to resent her for it until he could no longer tolerate her, and took matters into his own hands. The more I learnt about the conflict between Granny Smith and Ingo, the more I felt bad for both of them, and for Applebloom for being stuck in the middle of it all. Speaking of her, she was surprised to see me when I came into the stable.
" You came back again? I'm not sure why y'all would want to visit this place a second time considering Mr. Ingo is extremely nervous due to wanting to make a good impression on the king. Maybe you ought to come back at a later time once all of this has been resolved as I'm sure that Mr. Ingo will be in a better mood than he is now," said Applebloom.
" And that's the reason why I've come back so soon as I intend on saving this ranch and restoring your grandmother as the rightful owner," I said.
" Seriously? You expect to pull off something like that?" asked Applebloom.
" That sounds like you're in denial," I replied.
" It's just that you're not the only one who has made that claim. In fact, when Mr. Ingo first took over the ranch, a number of people from the village came by and demanded that my grandmother be reinstated as the owner. Most of them were never seen again and many assumed that Mr. Ingo had them killed, but it later turned out that the king had sent some enforcers to handle those who defied his law.
As for those who returned to Kakariko, they insisted on never being asked to go back again for they wanted to save their own hides rather than that of the ranch. I couldn't blame them for wanting to think of their own well-being as Ganondorf's enforcers can be very brutal if you happen to cross their path," said Applebloom.
" I know how to save the ranch without having to deal with Ganondorf under any circumstances, and that has to do with Epona. You see, I've been thinking about what you said last night regarding Ingo planning on giving her away in order to earn his favour, and that he is paranoid that something is going to go wrong before the arrangement can be completed. What I intend to do is to find a way to get Epona out of the ranch, and by doing so, Ingo should essentially lose his mind from being freaked out over the threat of being punished by Ganondorf for failing to live up to expectations," I said.
" Are you sure that you've thought all of this out? Much of what you said is true and I should know as I told you a lot of it, but what if your theory turns out to be wrong? Who knows what kind of repercussions could take place as a result? Look, I know that you mean well and I do appreciate the enthusiasm, but this is something that's beyond your means of helping," said Applebloom.
" I know that you don't mean that," I said.
" How can you be certain?" asked Applebloom.
" You have a weird twitch on your face which occurs only when you're lying, and right now that twitch is working overtime. While I do admit that my theory isn't 100% guaranteed to produce results, I have to try and save this ranch. This place is one that I am able to relate to on a personal level as when I saw those horses galloping about the other day, they reminded me of what it felt like when I was galloping about in Equestria when I was a unicorn," I replied.
" What are you talking about? Also, how did you know that I twitch when I lie?" asked Applebloom.
" Never you mind that. You want things to go back to the way they were before your grandmother lost her way, and I want to make that happen not just for you, your grandmother, and me, but also for Ingo as well as deep down he is suffering and longs for the ranch to be the way it was. He has become trapped within his own greatness, and is too blind and stubborn to even realize it," I replied.
" Do you really think you can save the ranch?" asked Applebloom.
" I do, but I need your help in making it a reality," I replied.
" What do you need me for?" asked Applebloom.
" You've known Ingo far longer than I have, so surely you know what he can be like. Is there anything he does that can be described as a weakness? I aim to get Epona out of here without causing him any kind of harm, but I need to know if there is a way to trick Ingo into giving me the opportunity to get her out of here," I replied.
" There is one thing I remember Mr. Ingo has trouble dealing with, and that is his desire to want to challenge people. He believes himself to be pretty good at horse-riding, and challenges people to race him if he sees them as being good enough to provide him some worthwhile competition. Not only is Mr. Ingo a poor winner, he's even a poor loser when things don't end up going his way.
Sometimes when he loses a race, he gets so frustrated that he demands a rematch almost immediately, but he never thinks it through and ends up doing something which he ends up regretting later. It's the urge of competition and wanting to be the better person that drives him to act in such a manner," said Applebloom.
" Really now? Then I think saving the ranch just got a whole lot easier, but it does depend on what he ends up doing upon losing the race. I'll be sure to make him impressed when I next ride Epona where he will want to challenge me, and that will be my opportunity to get Epona out of here. Thank you for all of your help Applebloom, but now the rest is up to me," I said. I turned around and left the stable leaving Applebloom to resume her chores.
As I walked towards Ingo who was still in the same place that he was located in the other day, it suddenly dawned on me that I've never been involved in a horse race before. I mean, they used to have such races back in Equestria, but they were mostly for fun or for important events. I just hope that I'm doing the right thing here otherwise I could be making things worse than they already are.
" Heh, it's the young lady from the other day," said Big Mac as I walked right up to him.
" I came back again because I wish to ride the same horse as before," I said.
" Normally, I wouldn't think of giving you such an opportunity as that seeing as you already rode that horse once, but I'll allow it just this one time as you did help me out of a jam regarding the strengths and weaknesses of that one. I believe that one may just be the horse I plan on giving to the great Ganondorf as thanks for him making my dream come true. Are you sure that you want to ride that red one again instead of some other horse?" asked Big Mac.
" I'm positive," I replied.
" Fair enough, but remember that once your time limit is up, I'll kick you out of the corral where you'll have to pay me if you want to get back in there. That will be ten rupees please for three minutes worth of excitement," said Big Mac. I paid him his money although what he said made me feel really uneasy, but I entered the corral and played Epona's Song which called her over to me in an instant. Just like the other day, she rubbed her muzzle up against my cheek, and eagerly awaited me to climb on up and begin riding again.
Once I was firmly on the saddle, I gave her a gentle kick in the ribs to indicate that she should start galloping, and we proceeded to ride around the corral jumping over the fences again before I turned my attention to where it was needed. I guided Epona over to where Ingo was standing, and had her come to a slow stop in front of him. " Say, you're getting better at riding, so what say you want to take things up to the next level? How about a small wager? Come on, it'll be exciting as well as entertaining for the both of us."
" What kind of wager?" I asked.
" How about you and I race around the corral on horseback? The race will consist of just one lap, and you can even ride that horse just because I'm feeling a little generous today. As for the wager....how does 50 rupees sound to you? If I win, I keep your money, and if you win you don't lose your money. It's as simple as that! So what do you say young lady? Do you want to race?" asked Big Mac.
This is what I had been waiting for, so I'll accept his challenge, and save both Epona and the ranch. There was one thing that Applebloom neglected to mention to me, and that was just how competitive Ingo was when it came to these races. Maybe I should have asked her about this rather than attempting to do this blind without some kind of strategy.
" Okay, I accept your wager and challenge," I answered.
" That's a good sport of you, but I hope that you know what you're getting into," smiled Big Mac. A few minutes later, Epona with me on her saddle as her rider was standing in front of a crudely painted strip which must have been the starting line, and Ingo slowly came up to the same spot riding a brown horse which looked as though it had been raised really well. " As soon as I say the word "go", we begin the race and no I will not try to cheat you at the start of the race as that is poor sportsmanship. That will come naturally as we race around the corral."
" What!?!?" I exclaimed as I looked at him with my jaw having dropped in utter shock.
" Around here on the Great Ingo's Ingo Ranch young lady, if you want to win in a race against anyone, you have to do whatever it takes to win even if it means resorting to cheating in order to secure victory, and when I say cheating, I mean cutting your opponent off and preventing them from overtaking you. These are living creatures after all and they deserve our respect," said Big Mac.
" I'm surprised that you would say that considering that I heard that you mistreat your horses all because of the farmhand disagreeing with you," I said.
" Did you hear that from the people of Kakariko? I don't recall them ever spreading any rumours about me doing that. Then again, I reckon that Malon said that about me which means you must have talked to her before coming here to see me. I have no problem with that mind you as she is free to talk to whomever she wants, but she really needs to not say certain things as that can get both of us in trouble," said Big Mac.
" So you do mistreat them?" I asked.
" That is a blatant lie although I have put them through rigorous training to see which of them will become the loyal steed of the great Ganondorf. If I have to be guilty of something then let me be guilty of wanting to have the best horse in the kingdom," replied Big Mac. I didn't know whether to believe his story or not, but I could tell that he had taken offence with what I said which may help me out as he'll be distracted by an accusation rather than focusing on the race at hand.
" Enough with the talking as now it's time for us to race and see who is the better rider. On your marks....get set....GO! YEE-HAH!" He then kicked his horse really hard in the ribs to get it going, and this action completely caught me off guard which is why it took me a couple of seconds to gently kick Epona in her ribs to start galloping. Unfortunately, Ingo had a commanding lead because he kept on whipping his horse to keep speeding up, and I forgot to have Epona do the same thing.
By the time Epona and I made it around the corral, Ingo had already finished and was already dancing on the spot due to having beaten me. " Haw-haw! You lost which means that I get to keep your 50 rupees! Now don't you get all mad because you lost to a more experienced rider."
" I'm not upset at all about losing to you as I was focused on something else besides the race. I also forgot to whip my horse to make her run faster which is how I ended up failing to catch you," I said.
" Really? You don't feel the rage boiling inside you because you lost some money?" asked Big Mac.
" Believe me, if you met the old me, you wouldn't have enjoyed the kind of rage that I was known for, and money would be the least of your problems. Anyway, I want to race you again and this time I will know just what to do," I replied.
" If you insist on losing more money then by all means challenge me as many times as you want. The wager is going to be 50 rupees just like before, so why don't we get this race started. To think that I'm going to be earning quite the payout today without even having to do all that much to begin with. Life sure is funny sometimes," laughed Big Mac. As Epona and I trotted back to the starting line, she let out a soft whinny which meant that she was sad that we lost the race, but I responded to her with a whinny of my own where I said that we needed to become one being; horse and rider acting as one sentient creature.
She acknowledged my whinny with another one, and we were ready to take him on. " Ready to lose again? On your marks....get set....GO! YEE-HAH!" This time I was ready and gently kicked Epona in the ribs and urging her to want to race with all her heart. She and I bolted past Ingo who tried his best to keep up, but we were much too fast for him considering that I chose to whip Epona at the right times so as to not exhaust her, or have her get mad at me.
Racing around the corral was much more pleasant and by the time we finished crossing the starting line, we decided to take a breather and wait for Ingo to finally make it around where he continued to whip his horse even after finishing which showed that Applebloom was right in that he was even a poorer loser than a poor winner.
" It looks like I won this time around which means I get to keep my rupees," I said.
" Shoot! If the great Ganondorf hears of this humiliation, I can never show my face to him ever again, and my plans for presenting him with a worthy horse will be completely ruined. I must rectify this blunder quickly! Hey young lady! I challenge you to another race with 50 rupees as the wager just like before! If you somehow beat me again, you can keep....the horse!" shouted Big Mac.
" Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked.
" I don't go back on my wagers ever! So, yes I want to do this because I will not stand idly by and be humiliated like that!" shouted Big Mac. It looks like luck was on my side as he allowed his ego to completely blind him to what he had just agreed to. There was no doubt that he was going to make this harder as he had everything to gain, and I had everything to lose. This time, Ingo was going to play for keeps and I had to bring out the best in Epona otherwise my efforts will have been for nothing.
As we trotted back to the starting line, I could see the anger in his eyes as he was now out for blood and not for being a good sportsman. Epona knew in my eyes that we had to win this race in order to save the ranch, so she got herself prepped while Ingo gave a cold glare at his horse which frightened the poor thing, and that was a mistake on his part as I took that personally. " I was being too soft on you before, so expect me to push you to the limit in this deciding race."
" You can back out of this right now if you want as you could end up losing a lot more than you think," I suggested.
" Nope! My mind has been made up and I aim to see this through, and that's a definite eyup! Now, on your marks....get set....GO! YEE-HAH!" shouted Big Mac, and with that the race was on and I gently kicked Epona again to start her off galloping. Ingo was certainly more serious than he was last time as he was being more aggressive, and I knew he wasn't going to let me slip by him as he urged his horse to block my every attempt to pass him. Yet, I had faith in Epona's speed and my heart to see us through to the end, and not even an aggressive means of racing could stop that.
As we were racing towards the final corner, Ingo was ahead by a small margin and he continued to block my every effort to overtake him, and time was running out as the starting line was around the next corner. That was when I realized that I had no choice but to whip Epona as much as possible in order to get the speed I need, but I couldn't do that to her as that wouldn't be right. Epona understood what I was thinking as she whinnied to indicate that she was okay with me whipping her repeatedly to get past Ingo.
I closed my eyes and began to whip her which in turn caused her to gallop faster as well as whine about being hit, but it was enough as she was able to overcome his horse and we crossed the starting line first with Ingo coming in behind before slowly coming to a stop before he got off his horse in complete silence and walking over to where the gate between the house and stable were located.
" That was a close one for sure Epona, but I didn't want to have to whip you so many times just so you could be fast enough to overtake his horse and win. I hope you don't judge me for being too strict a rider for you in the future," I said. That was when she turned her head towards me and made a whinny sound that to me meant she was happy we won the race as it meant she was free. " I'm glad that you're not upset with me girl."
" SHOOT! What's up with that horse? Is that Epona? How were you able to tame that wild horse right under my nose? For years, I've been trying my best to get her under my control, but none of my methods ever worked and so she refused to listen to a single command. Yet you came along and got her to obey your every order without fail, and I doubt that you've never riden a horse before until now.
I was going to present that horse to the great Ganondorf, but I bet it on the race and lost. Shoot! Well, I guess that will teach me a lesson for caving in to my own ego as look what it got me in the end. I'm out one horse and my humiliation couldn't be more evident," said Big Mac.
" You threw quite the temper tantrum just now, but it looks like you recovered," I said.
" I resent the fact that you beat me and took away my prized horse, but I will admit that you were the better rider who won in the end. I'll keep my promise which means that horse now belongs to you. Perhaps the great Ganondorf will accept one of these other horses as a gift to....oh who am I kidding? Epona was my best chance at earning his praise, and I went ahead and spat on his generosity by losing all because I can't control my competitive nature. I've been completely humiliated, but I can still turn this around to my advantage if my play my cards right," said Big Mac.
" What are you talking about?" I asked.
" As I promised, I'll give this horse to you which we already established. However....I'll never let you leave this ranch," replied Big Mac.
" Do you honestly think that you can stop me from leaving?" I asked.
" Of course I can especially when I close the gates like this," replied Big Mac. The gates then suddenly swung shut and locked themselves at the same time. " Now you are trapped here! It looks like I managed to outsmart you in the end young lady! Ha-ha-ha-ha! My reputation is secured now which means your victory over me was for nothing," replied Big Mac.
" I can't believe how stubborn you are," I said.
" Is the race over?" asked Spike.
" Spike!?!? Where in the world have you been during all of this?" I asked.
" As soon as you started to ride in that first race, I knew that my wings couldn't keep up with the galloping speed of a horse, so I hid under your hat until everything was all said and done. Besides, in case you've forgotten, you still had a Pocket Cucco hiding in the rim of your hat, and no doubt that all that racing on horseback would have caused it so much discomfort. I took the liberty of hiding the little guy under your hat and using what I have for arms to keep him from injuring himself under there," replied Spike.
" I'm glad that you did that for me, and I'm sorry for having put you through such a burden," I said.
" Hey, no worries Sunset Shimmer as you were doing what you needed to do in order to save the ranch. We just need to return this Pocket Cucco back to Anju the next time we visit Kakariko Village which should be pretty soon seeing as we'll need to inform Talon that the ranch is going to be back under her ownership. I overheard everything that guy Ingo has been saying this entire time, and I'm appalled with his actions. He should just accept defeat and allow you to leave instead of trying to keep you stuck here as a prisoner all because he can't accept losing," said Spike.
" Escaping through the main gate isn't going to work as it's too high for even Epona to jump over, so there must be another way to get out of here. Hmmmm....I wonder if it's possible to jump over one of those fences and escape that way?" I asked.
" It's certainly doable as your horse should be able to make it over the fence, but the question is how big of a drop is it going to be on the other side? If the drop is too high, it could cause some serious injury to your horse, and that would defeat the whole purpose of trying to save her in the first place. Why don't we gallop by the edge of the fence, and I can tell you how high-up we are which should determine if you can make the leap or not," replied Spike.
I followed his advice and had Epona trot by the fence while he looked over the side in order to judge how far down it was, and in the meantime Ingo was shouting but I couldn't hear what he was saying as he was too far away. " Based on what I've looked at, the fence closest to Ingo will make the best jumping off point, so just have Epona get as far back as possible then gallop towards the fence making sure you whip her for that burst of speed you need to make the jump otherwise nothing will happen."
" You heard what he said Epona, so why don't we get ready to jump," I suggested.
" What are you planning?" asked Big Mac as we came trotting back towards him.
" If you must know, we're going to be escaping from the ranch by jumping over the fence to freedom. It looks like your idea of outsmarting me has backfired if you didn't think to cover the most obvious means of escape," I replied.
" If you think you can just take my horse away from me despite the fact that you won her in a race, then you are really weird for wanting to risk a big jump which could potentially injure, or even kill that mare. Huh? Weird? Weirdo? Hey! I remember you now, eyup! Weren't you that forest girl who visited here seven years ago? Now that I've taken a better look at you, you're wearing the same garb as she did. Why are you doing this to me?" asked Big Mac.
" I don't mean to cause you so much distress, but this arrangement has to stop! Look, I know how it feels to have been treated like dirt by your peers as I've experienced that myself. Humility is something I learned, and I appreciate it for what it's done to me even though it took some getting used to. Ingo, you need to learn humility and go back to the way you were before you end up becoming the very thing you despise the most. If you can't see what you've done to Talon and Malon, then I pity you because it will prove that you are too far gone to be saved and given a second chance. Take it from me, you don't want to end up alone and as a monster," I replied.
" What kind of nonsense is this?" asked Big Mac.
" Sigh! Just think about it will you? That's all I have to say to you," I replied. Ingo then shouted at me to stop, but I gently kicked Epona's ribs to signal her to start galloping. Then, I whipped her so as to get enough speed to make the jump, and for a brief moment it felt amazing to be soaring through the sky once again, but on a horse as opposed to being in the talons of an owl. Epona then landed on the ground with a loud thud, and managed to continue galloping along before she came to a stop and reared up on her hind legs and gave off a loud neigh.
" That was pretty amazing," said Spike.
" It certainly was quite a rush, and now Epona is free to go wherever she wants, or wherever I want as it looks like she wants to stay with us. In case you're wondering how I know what she's thinking, it's because I can understand what she says due to being a unicorn which is related to the horse. Yeah, I had to remind you of something which you already know....gee, I'm sounding like Pinkie Pie right now," I said.
" Yeah, yeah, the whole being able to speak the same language due to being the same species. Anyway, you've saved that horse which should mean that the ranch is back to normal, but maybe we should wait until tomorrow before going back there as I doubt that Ingo could have a change of heart in just a matter of minutes. Besides, we need to go back to the village and return that Pocket Cucco. Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to inform Talon that she can go back to the ranch," said Spike.
" You're right on both of those fronts. With regards to Talon, maybe we should simply hint that the ranch may be back under her ownership again as there is no way of knowing if Ingo will do the right thing, and relinquish it. I don't want to imagine her going all the way back to the ranch only to discover that Ingo hasn't changed, and she ends up getting into trouble all because of me. Anyway, let's get going to Kakariko Village, and it should be a faster journey seeing as we now have horse power on our side, and I wasn't trying to make that a joke," I said.
Epona then galloped along Hyrule Field which felt wonderful knowing that we could traverse the field in a much shorter time, and it took half the time to get to Kakariko Village where I discovered that Epona couldn't climb up stairs. That meant I had to leave her behind by the entrance which made me feel bad, but there was no other choice apart from asking her to wait where she was.
Climbing down to the ground, I reassured her that I'd be back as soon as possible, and her soft neigh in response indicated that she knew I'd return. I then ran up the stairs and into the village where I discovered that Scootaloo was waiting near the giant tree located near the center of the village, but was she waiting for me specifically, or waiting for something to happen?
" Oh? It looks like the Pocket Cucco I let you borrow seems to have gotten in a better mood, so would it be okay if I checked to see how it's doing? It isn't going to be very complicated if that's what you're thinking, but rather I just want to see how strong its crowing is," said Scootaloo. Even though I wasn't thinking about anything like that, I took the Pocket Cucco out from under my hat where it gave Scootaloo quite the loud crow which made her feel estatic. " Wow! Just listen to how loud that crowing was! I was right when I asked you to look after the little cucco for me. He must have woken up a really lazy person to have been able to crow with so much gusto. You know what? Give me back the Pocket Cucco, and in return I will let you have this special cucco."
" What makes it special?" I asked.
" This is a rare blue-coloured cucco named Cojiro that belonged to my brother, but his whereabouts these days is a mystery to me. You see, he was the kind of person who felt really lonely as not many people ever interacted with him aside from myself and our father, so one day he decided to leave the village and take nothing of value with him as though he wanted to abandon his own existence. What was the most surprising thing was that he didn't take Cojiro with him on his journey as he was the one friend that my brother ever really had.
Our father constantly viewed him as a disappointment because he was lazy and never amounted to all that much, so I guess he felt resentful towards him, yet he never was able to show any kind of animosity towards me as we were pretty close. Anyway, I'm just rambling on about the old days, so here is Cojiro who will make for an interesting companion," replied Scootaloo. She then took the Pocket Cucco back and handed me a blue regular sized cucco, and right off the bat I noticed that this cucco didn't make a single noise which had me feeling suspicious.
" Okay, you were right in that he is special for being a blue-coloured cucco instead of the standard white colour I've seen, but why doesn't he crow? I would have thought he'd be crowing at the notion of being taken care of by someone who is pretty good with animals, yet he's just staring off into the distance looking as though someone decided to cut out his vocal chords," I said.
" Unlike regular cuccos, Cojiro rarely crows especially since my brother left the village seven years ago. In fact, he was the only one who ever managed to get Cojiro to crow which shows that they truly had a special bond with each other," said Scootaloo.
" I'll be sure to return Cojiro to him, and maybe convince him to come back to the village in order to see his sister as you look as though you really miss having him around. Speaking of families, I need to get to that house over there and inform Talon that she can go back to Lon Lon Ranch," I said.
" I'm sorry but Talon isn't available right now," said Scootaloo.
" What do you mean?" I asked.
" She was so depressed about the well-being of her granddaughter, that she decided to hike up Death Mountain in order to clear her mind although I really wish she hadn't done that as she ought to know better than to travel up there during these difficult times. That mountain has been really weird as of late what with rolling boulders coming down from the peak to the occasional eruptions coming from within the mountain itself. If it wasn't for the fact that Talon is an expert mountain climber, she probably would have been killed by now, but she's been going up there for the past three years ever since she first came to the village
In case you were wondering as to when she will be back, it won't be until tomorrow at the earliest as she has a tendency to stay up there for periods at a time. If you needed to see her, then I'm afraid you'll just have to come back another time," replied Scootaloo.
" Well, thanks for Cojiro as well as informing me about Talon," I said as I took my leave and mounted Epona and began to set off for the Kokiri Forest because that was now where I needed to go. Saving the ranch proved to be the kind of experience I needed to get my focus back onto what was important, and that was going to the five temples and awakening the Sages who dwelled within each one.
As we were riding towards the entrance to the forest, I couldn't help but think about Granny Smith being up on Death Mountain by herself. " I'm not liking the fact that she decided to climb up a dangerous place in order to calm her mind. I mean, if she is able to handle it then sure I'm fine with the prospect, but perhaps I could have been a little faster in saving the ranch. That way, I could've gotten to her in time before she decided to go up."
" We could have just gone after her you know and told her," suggested Spike.
" I know, but my heart was telling me that I've been putting off the Kokiri Forest for long enough, and now it's time to finally go there and sort things out. If the temple is at the far end of the Lost Woods where we saw Fluttershy before, I have a hunch that it won't be so easy to reach it this time around. You said before that the barrier protecting the forest has been destroyed meaning that the monsters have free reign right?" I asked.
" Without the Great Deku Tree to hold them back, nothing can stop the monsters until the source of the problem has been removed. It's safe to assume that the source in question is coming from the Forest Temple, but what I don't understand is why did Saria decide to go there by herself? The truth of it Sunset Shimmer, is that the temple is a sacred place where none have entered for centuries. Things must be really bad if Saria had to take it upon herself to want to go all the way there and see what was happening," replied Spike.
" I'm surprised that she managed to elude the monsters without any effort," I said.
" That is surprising as she isn't the type of person who would be willing to pick a fight with anyone," said Spike. We eventually reached the entrance to the forest where I had Epona come to a complete stop before climbing off of her, and then I whinnied to let her know that I would be back as soon as possible. She gave me a whinny in return as I started to make my way into the forest where my journey first began. " You know, the fact that you can whinny is still a little creepy, but at least Epona is able to really understand you, and respect your decisions even though you don't like the idea of leaving her behind."
As we entered the area where the bridge was in which I received the Fairy Ocarina from Fluttershy way back when, Cojiro suddenly crowed before going silent which was really weird. Why did he suddenly crow like that without reason? I walked through the other tunnel an into the forest where I was about to lose my head to a snapping plant before I managed to use my shield to protect myself just in the nick of time.
" What in the world was that?" I asked.
" Do you remember the Deku Baba back when we explored inside of the Great Deku Tree?" asked Spike.
" How could I forget about the plant that almost bit my head off," I replied.
" This happens to be its bigger brother known as the Big Deku Baba. It fights the same way as its smaller brother and inflicts the same amount of damage, but it has a much bigger reach and is able to strike quickly making it much more difficult to defeat. If you can stun it, you can cut it down and receive a Deku Stick, but those won't work for you, so your best bet would be to attack it as normal and receive a plethora of Deku Nuts instead which can be very useful," said Spike.
" I'm glad that this is the only one we have to deal with," I said.
" You might want to recheck your numbers again," said Spike. I then looked around and noticed that there were Big Deku Babas all over the village which made me wonder what could have happened to the Kokiri. As I was contemplating the situation at hand, the Big Deku Baba near me finally managed to get its act together and attempted to strike at me again, but I was able to dispose of it in a simple fashion by using my fire magic and burning it to pieces. " I didn't realize that the monsters have managed to spread out all the way to the village which means things were much worse than we assumed. Maybe if we walk into one of the houses, we may find some of the Kokiri as I'm sure they must be alive and not on the menu of these plants.
" Let's try that one to the left," I suggested.
" That's Mido's house. Why would you want to go in there?" asked Spike.
" It's the closest house to us, and I really have some choice words I want to say to her which I've waited seven years to say," I replied. I quickly ran towards the house narrowly avoiding another Big Deku Baba that was positioned next to it, and upon entering the home of Mido, I found it to be quite the decorative abode which reminded me why I didn't enjoy speaking to her years ago. Luckily, there were two Kokiri residing in the house, and they were surprised to see me as though they weren't expecting anyone to have made it through.
" Did those meanies out there give you any trouble miss?" asked one of the girls.
" I managed to destroy one of them, but there are a lot more of them out there than I could have imagined," I replied.
" Things never used to be this way back before the Great Deku Tree passed away. Those monsters were always restricted to the deepest part of the Lost Woods where they could do no harm, but now they have been swarming all over the place forcing us to hide in our homes until something is done about it. Sigh....I just wish that we could go outside again without having to run for our lives against those monsters," said the Kokiri Girl.
" Where is Mido?" I asked.
" Huh? You know about Mido, the boss of the Kokiri, as she called herself miss? And why do you have that fairy following you? I don't recall seeing you as a member of our tribe, but pay me no mind as I'm really stressed right now about being stuck in here. To answer your question, Mido hasn't been seen for a while as she went into the Lost Woods in order to fulfill an obligation Saria needed her help with," replied the Kokiri Girl.
" Gasp! Fluttershy! So she did go to the Forest Temple," I said to myself.
" Saria said something about needing to go to the Forest Temple in order to find out what was going on in there, and both she and Mido haven't returned. If you're interested in knowing more about what's been happening around here miss, why not visit Saria's house which is the one next to Link's house and her house is the one that has the ladder in front of it. Link....I wonder if she will ever come back again," said the Kokiri Girl. I said my thanks and left the home only to be attacked by the same Big Deku Baba that attacked me before, and I defeated it in the same manner as before.
" Why that did Big Deku Baba come back? That's never happened before as usually when the monster is defeated, it stays that way," I said.
" It looks like no matter how many of them you defeat, they keep on re-spawning due to the evil power coming from the Forest Temple. Even if you were able to destroy all of these monsters, it would do nothing as they would all come back within a matter of minutes. We'll just have to avoid them all as best as we can, and defeat them when necessary in order to get through and maybe pick up additional Deku Nuts which you can use to stun the enemy," said Spike.
" Aren't they what the Sheikah use to vanish?" I asked.
" Yep, which is why they are so useful to have around as that blinding flash really annoys most monsters. In case you were wondering, or if you somehow forgot, Saria's house is right over there! It's the one that has the three small recovery hearts on top of it which is a really weird means of decorating to make your place stand out. It's just a simple sprint across the village, and all that's in the way are giant plants and some other monsters," replied Spike.
I immediately ran for Fluttershy's home while avoiding one Big Deku Baba, and burning down another one with my magic, and using my shield to deflect the Deku Nuts that were being spat at me by a Mad Scrub which I remember from before. Upon entering Fluttershy's house, a small part of me was hoping to see her, but instead it was another Kokiri who looked rather timid as I entered. She quickly warmed up to me when she noticed that Spike was flying around my head.
" I haven't seen you around here before miss, but I suppose that's to be expected given that few ever come into this forest due to the curses placed upon those who dare venture forth into the Lost Woods. By the way, you look a lot like this girl who used to live next door to Saria who was named Link. Do you know Link, miss?"
" The name does sound familiar to me," I replied.
" Link used to live here in the forest a long time ago with the rest of us Kokiri, but one day she was summoned to the Great Deku Tree in order to fulfill some kind of important task. That girl did something which caused the Deku Tree to pass away, and Mido blamed her for causing its death in the first place. Shortly after that, Link left the forest so as to complete a mission given unto her by the Great Deku Tree, but aside from one brief visit to the village, she was never seen around here again.
Mido said that the reason she left was because she was so guilty of her actions that she couldn't come back due to being eternally shameful of what happened. Only Saria defended Link until the day she had to leave to head off to the Forest Temple," said the timid Kokiri girl.
" Why did she decide to leave?" I asked.
" Saria sensed that the forest spirits were in trouble due to the evil that was coming from the temple, and left the village saying that she had to do something. Mido went along with her to the Lost Woods as Saria needed her to do something really important, and it must have been serious if she were to ask Mido of all kids. They've both been gone for roughly several months now as the issue with the temple didn't get out of hand until recently.
Sigh....sometimes I wonder what ever became of Link as she was different from the rest of us due to being an outsider throughout much of her life. Maybe we simply misunderstood her needs due to not having had a fairy until later on in life, and maybe what we heard from Mido regarding how the Great Deku Tree died was wrong," replied the timid Kokiri girl.
" I'm touched that you said that," I cried.
" Are you crying miss? How come?" asked the timid Kokiri girl.
" It's just that you reminded me of my friends back where I come from, and that they misunderstood me," I replied.
" Then they must have been really good friends if they continued to support you despite not understanding how you felt from time to time. It makes me wish that we had taken the time to understand Link instead of simply shunning her away. Mido insisted that we treated her like an outsider as she always said that she wasn't a true Kokiri because of the circumstances revolving around how she came to be," said the timid Kokiri girl.
" What circumstances?" I asked.
" None of us know the answer to that question; not even Mido has the answer as that is what she heard from the Great Deku Tree one time. I can tell that you plan on going into the Lost Woods in the hopes of finding both Mido and Saria because you have a certain look in your eyes which reminds of the same look Link had. There is something about you miss which has me reminding myself of her, but I just can't put my finger on it.
If you do end up going into the Lost Woods, you should be careful because of the curse that affects all those who enter there. Since you are a non-Kokiri, I'd say that you would become a Stalfos if you remain there for far too long, so you might want to think carefully before you go there," replied the timid Kokiri girl. I thanked her for the information and the kind words before heading outside and resuming my avoiding and defeating specific monsters in order to make my way over to the entrance of the Lost Woods.
" Is what she said about being cursed true?" I asked.
" I'm surprised that you forgot about being told that which isn't all that surprising as it was a long time ago. Since you're a Kokiri, you'll end up becoming a Skull Kid instead of a Stalfos, but I don't think you'll be cursed either way because the Master Sword will protect you from such effects even if you don't know how to use it except when you transform into that pony hybrid form of yours," replied Spike.
" It's on my to-do list," I said as I climbed up the vines behind Diamond Tiara's house and entered the Lost Woods upon walking up the hill. It was certainly much darker than it was the last time we were here, and there was a definite evil presence all around, but I couldn't quite focus on that as Cojiro suddenly crowed once again before going silent as per his usual demeanour. " Maybe we ought to find the guy that Cojiro belongs to as I'm starting to think along your lines in that having a cucco accompany us into the depths of the woods isn't a good idea at all. It sounds like he wants us to go to the left judging from the direction he was looking at when he made his noise."
" Wasn't the clearing where we met that Skull Kid who bought the Skull Mask from you in that direction?" asked Spike.
" You're right, so I wonder if we will run into that imp again as I haven't forgotten about him ripping me off when he paid me half of the price of that mask. We might as well check it out as it looks like Cojiro is insisting we go and take a look," I replied. I walked through the tunnel and into the familiar clearing where instead of the Skull Kid, there appeared to be a man who was slumped down in front of a tree stump, and to me he was either sleeping or he was the other thing. As I got closer to him, I could see what he looked like, and I was shocked at what I was seeing. Is this Scootaloo's brother in this world? If so, she may not want to see him again....
To Be Continued.
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I'm going to be honest, you kinda have the characters say too much. Some of the stuff that is said can be described as their mood they don't need to verbally say how they feel.
5419360
You do have a valid argument here, and I have admitted to myself before that maybe I do have the characters saying too much, and instead just describe their feelings without saying a word. That's why I cut back a lot of dialogue during the editing process as what you see in the final version is a lot less than what I had to begin with. You've given me some food for thought for when I start editing the next chapter.
Is this on purpose? Because Link could jump the main gate.
I'm guessing he spent a little too much time in the forest.
Looking forward to more, you're getting better, which is great considering you were pretty good in the first place.
5423483
Actually, he can't do that as Ingo is in the way, and the only option is to jump over the fence in order to escape. That's the logic which I end up using here when it comes to Sunset having to deal with the same thing.
He did which is why he is slowly becoming a Stalfos....not a pleasant way to go by any means.
I hate to be this guy but I can't continue reading this fic.
I made it this far and the constant repetitive information and slight over dialogue of the characters are some of the bug points that have turned me away from this fic. I believe it was a great concept and defiantly could use some polishing and a fine brush to run over it to make it an amazing tale.