Legend of Epona

by Tethered-Angel

Chapter 1

I yawned and stretched my sore muscles. What an odd dream. I looked up at the familiar red sky and sighed. What a shame. Well, it was nice seeing blue sky for a little while, even if it was just a dream. That last part though…

I shuddered. I had no idea it was possible to dream up that much pain.

“Oh well,” I thought, “dreams are dreams. It is time to wake Master.” He always liked to oversleep a little. I snickered. The Hero of Hyrule was always such a lazy bones.

Where was he?

There was no sign of Master anywhere. No campfire. No bedroll. Nothing! It looked almost as if he had just… vanished. “Master?” I whinnied. “Master? Where are you?” There was no response. I turned around to get my bearings. I thought maybe I somehow wandered off in the night while I was dreaming.

I discovered one thing immediately. I had no idea where I was. Not only did I have no recollection of the place I woke up, I could not find a single familiar landmark. No fairy forest. No fire mountain. No castle city. All the places Master has taken me on our adventures simply were not there.

Looking carefully, I managed to discover several possible places of interest. From the hill I was standing on I could see a forest of shadowy trees. Far in the distance I saw a great mountain, with a large golden structure on the side, not unlike Zelda’s castle city. Much closer I noticed a small town. It looked quite a bit like the one at the base of the fire mountain, actually. I decided to head in that direction. If I am to find Master, the town is likely to be my best bet.

As I traveled, I began to reach an unavoidable conclusion. I had been all over Hyrule, from the endless desert, to the fairy forests, to the watery domains of the Zoras. I was familiar with every road, field, and mountain pass. Yet one thing was certain. I was, somehow, inexplicably, absolutely lost.

+++++

The town turned out to be a bit farther away than I had anticipated. Perhaps I was still a bit tired. That strange dream must have kept me from resting as well as normal. The sound of running water caught my attention and I followed it to a small stream. I approached at a canter, keeping an eye out for trouble. I was experienced enough to know that many predators prefer to do their hunting near watering holes and the like, and there was no telling what kind of creatures I may have run into in that unfamiliar place.

I soon found a relatively still pool and, with a final check of my surroundings, I bent down to take a drink. It was as bitter as I had come to expect since Ganon cursed the land, but it did sate my thirst. Finishing, I prepared to continue my journey when something caught my eye. Something about my reflection seemed off. I could not tell for sure, as the flowing water distorted my image some, but still. Do my proportions seem just a bit off? My eyes seemed bigger than before, and my legs seemed a bit shorter. Overall I looked shorter, stockier, and dare I say, rounder?

And what was that on my flank? A BRAND? Someone BRANDED ME? I began to shake as battle rage poured into my veins. Someone had dared to brand ME? Epona? Steed of the Great Hero himself! I reared up to strike my reflection out of the water when I noticed something odd about the mark. It looked very familiar.

“Master’s sword?” I gasped! No, that made no sense. How could it? Unless… Could my dream have been real? My legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground, trying to process everything. My appearance confounded me. I must have been altered somehow by the powerful energies of that vortex. That man, Ganon, used a lot of strange magics, especially voids that let him move swiftly between locations. I guess that explained how I ended up there, wherever I was.

That left me with one last question though. I looked up at the crimson sky. If I had not been dreaming, and everything I saw had actually happened, why was the sky still red? I vividly remembered Master plunging his weapon into the dark one. I saw the blue sky, smelled the sweet grass. Where had it all gone?

The answer struck me like a lightning bolt. Nightshade. It had to be. I leaped to my feet and started to pace. He had the Triforce. I saw him take it. This had to have been his doing. I felt a single tear run down my eye. How could he have done this? WHY? We had just fixed the world! By the goddesses, I had been happy! I stamped the ground, feeling my warrior’s rage returning. Whatever he had done, I would undo it. I would see the blue sky again. This I swore on Master’s name!

“NIGHTSHADE! I WILL DESTROY YOU!” I cried, rearing back as my adrenaline surged. With a snort of rage I renewed my run toward the village.

And that was when I heard the screams.

+++++

I ran as fast as I could toward where I heard the screams. Cresting a final hill I saw that I had reached the outskirts of the village, in what appears to be an apple orchard. My ears twitched, alert for any sounds. For a moment, all was quiet, save for my own heavy breathing.

There! To my left! Someone was crying. Without hesitation I ran toward the sound. As I ran I hear another scream, followed by a number of threatening growls. I dashed into the clearing, eyes processing every detail. Four creatures, bone white and predatory. Stalhounds! The beasts were menacing a trio of fillies huddled near a tree. They had not noticed me yet.

Good.

With a battle cry I charged into the midst of the beasts, trampling one in the process! I head a satisfying snap and felt bone give way beneath my hooves. The others turned toward me, startled at my sudden appearance. “Have at thee, vermin!” I challenged, rearing up and striking a second with my forehoof. I heard another snap as its skull gave way.

The other two began circling me then, wary of the strange horse that killed half their number. I could not suppress a laugh. After all the confusion since I awoke, it felt good to lose myself in combat. One charged from the right, and I sensed the other come from the left. I jumped out of the way, launching a powerful kick with my hind legs, and felt them connect with at least one of the beasts. I quickly pivoted, only to see that both of my attackers had been downed. One was missing its head, clearly destroyed, but the other was trying to pull itself back onto a broken foreleg. I reared again and smashed its skull with both forelegs. I panted from the exertion, a smile playing on my lips.

“THANK YOU!!!” The screams nearly made me leap out of my skin as I was practically assaulted by the three fillies nearly tackling me with hugs. I awkwardly pat their heads with a forehoof before gently pushing them off me. They run in front of me and sit in a row, big eyes looking at me expectantly.

“You… are the strangest looking fillies I have ever met.” And it was true. The most normal one was bright yellow with a cherry red mane, wearing some sort of huge pink bow for some reason. The second was white. Normal enough, I suppose, except for the curly pink and purple mane and… was that a horn? The third was by far the strangest. Her coat had a deep orange hue and her short, spikey mane was a shocking shade of violet. The weirdest part was the small set of wings, making her look like some sort of filly- cucco hybrid.

“I’m Scootaloo!” Said the cucco girl.

“I’m Sweetie Belle!” The white one mimiced.

“An’ I’m Apple Bloom!” Said the one in the bow, “An’ we’re-”

“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” They finished together, with a deafening shout.

These little fillies? Crusaders? “You look a little young to be war horses.”

“Huh?”

“What’s a ‘war horse’?”

“We’re ponies!”

I shook my head, trying to follow along with their antics. Their triple act was giving me a small headache. Okay, so they obviously were not war horses. Perhaps the term ‘crusader’ meant something different there, I reasoned. I decided to let it slide. I had more pressing questions. Like, “You, why do you have wings?”

That stopped them. All three fillies stopped talking and look at me, heads tilted at the exact same angle as if I had just asked the stupidest question ever.

“Um, I’m a pegasus, duh!” Says the cucco girl.

A Pegasus, huh. I had heard rumors of such creatures. A myth, I believed, told by mares to their children. Another myth crossed my mind as I looked at the one called Sweetie Belle. “If she is a pegasus, then that makes you a unicorn, correct?” She nods.

“Wait a minute,” Said the yellow one, Apple Bloom, “You mean to tell me you’ve never seen a pegasus OR a unicorn? Did you grow up in a town with only earth ponies or somethin’?”

I stared at the fillies.

They stared back.

“What is an ‘earth pony’?”

Three fillies slapped their hooves into their faces in unison. Was it something I said?

“You aren’t from around here, are you?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“Umm, no, no I am not.”

“Where ya from?” Asked Scootaloo, jumping on my back.

“Hyrule,” I answered, turning to walk away.

“Where’s Hyrule?” Apple Bloom asked.

I paused. “I have no idea.” I hated to admit it.

“Well, how did you get here?”

“It is a bit of a long story,” I sighed. Before I could blink all three were lined up in front of me again, looking at me expectantly. “A long story for later.” I said firmly.

“Awwww,” they pouted.

“I was happy to save you from those creatures,” I said, “But I am afraid I have to go. I am looking for someone.”

The fillies perked up again. “We can help!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“Perhaps you can,” I nodded, eyeing the matching purple and red marks on their flanks. “Very well, take me to your master.” They stared at me as if I had grown a second head.

“Our what now?” Scootaloo demanded.

I pointed to their brands. “The one who takes care of you.”

They glanced at each other, apparently not fully convinced of my sanity. “Well,” Apple Bloom said, “I live with ma Granny Smith, you wanna talk to her?”

Hmm, I supposed it would probably be easier to explain myself to an older horse, ah, I mean Pony. “Sure, take me to see your Granny Smith.”

“Okay!” Apple Bloom said, cheerful again, “Follow me! I can’t wait to introduce ya to ma brother, Big Macintosh!” I nodded absently and followed the little filly.

“Hey, I got a question,” Scootaloo interjected. “How’d you get so big?”

I glanced at her curiously. “Well, I am an adult. I suppose I am a little bigger than the average mare, but nothing too out of the ordinary.” The girls gasped. “What, did I say something wrong?”

The crusaders pulled each other into a huddle.

“Wow, did you hear that?”

“Hyrule ponies must be giant!”

“She’s taller n Big Mac!”

They all turned to stare at me in awe. I raised an eyebrow. Obviously their farm was not one to breed warhorses. Then again, they had insisted on being called “ponies,” not “horses.” Perhaps they came from a different breed than I. I eyed the orange one’s wings. Obviously. “Um, fillies,” I said, “Can we get going? I am in a bit of a hurry.”

It took several minutes, but I was finally able to deflect their questions and get them back on track. They led me to what was at the time one of the strangest things I had ever encountered, and believe me when I say I had seen a LOT of strange things on my adventures with Master. The farm looked ordinary enough at first. There was a large red barn, various animals wandering around, and a cozy looking farmhouse. That was all normal enough. No, the weird thing was that the entire place seemed to be owned and operated by the ponies! I had never seen anything like it in Hyrule.

Apple Bloom introduced me to her family’s matriarch, an elderly earth pony whose coat was a shocking shade of green. This ancient mare was Granny Smith. She was quite friendly, but even after I explained my situation three times I am not convinced she quite got it. I also met Apple Bloom’s elder brother, Big Macintosh. She was right, the red stallion looked quite strong, and to the fillies I am sure he would have seemed very large, but he actually stood just a few inches shorter than me! I discovered that he was a pony of few words. While he seemed to understand my story, he did not venture to make much commentary.

Needless to say after several attempts at explaining my story to the older mare I was beginning to get a bit aggravated at my lack of progress. I was nearly ready to find some excuse to leave and continue my search elsewhere when someone knocked on the farmhouse door. Apple Bloom opened it to reveal a storm grey pegasus with a messy blonde mane and rather… odd eyes. She was apparently familiar to the family as Granny Smith immediately invited her in.

“No, no time!” The pegasus gasped. “Gotta hurry! You need to go to town hall!” And with that she was away, though I could not help but notice that her wing clipped the edge of the barn as she flew off. Well, her message had certainly gotten them moving. Big Macintosh rushed out the door, carrying Granny Smith, and the so called Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed after them.

“Oh yeah!” Apple Bloom said, popping her head back in, “You should come too, Epona!”

I shrugged and followed. I figured I may as well, as there was not exactly anyone left for me to talk to there. Besides, it is rude to snoop around a person’s house when they are absent. I assumed these ponies would feel the same way.

It did not take much to catch up to Big Mac and Granny Smith, though the fillies were nowhere in sight. They must have run ahead. I adjusted my speed to match the stallions and cantered alongside him for the duration of the trip. Looking around, I noticed that the Apples’ farm was not the only oddity. The entire town was populated with ponies! Ponies living in houses, running shops, and even tending gardens. And not a human in sight. It honestly made me uncomfortable. I had never seen this many equines gathered together before, and certainly never organized into any sort of advanced society. Compared to these ponies, horses in Hyrule would have looked like dumb beasts. I felt my cheeks redden in a very un-warrior-like blush.

As we ran I noticed more and more ponies abandoning their shops and homes. A steady stream of pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies was accompanying us to the center of town. Whatever was going on at town hall has apparently very important. I got a few weird looks from passing ponies, likely because of my height, but overall I got the feeling that there was much more important business going on. We reached the main square to find what felt like the entire town surrounding a small stage set up in front of what I assumed must have been the town hall.

A greying mare was addressing the populace. “-no need to panic! Please, everypony, calm down!” She waved a forehoof in a vain attempt to quiet the crowd. “Everypony! This is an emergency!”

Big Mac gently set Granny Smith down, then began pushing through the crowd. I followed, curious. Reaching the edge of the crowd he stepped up onto the stage next to the older mare. He cleared his throat.

“QUUUUIIIIIIIEEEEETTTT!” He shouted, his booming voice immediately silencing the throng of ponies, many of which were completely slack jawed at the outburst from the normally reserved stallion. He nodded to the mare and stepped aside.

“Yes, thank you, Big Mac,” She said, adjusting her spectacles. “Now listen, everypony, I called you because there has been an emergency, and you all need to listen!” She turned to a terrified looking pegasus with a butter yellow coat and bright pink mane. “Fluttershy, tell them what you told me,” She coaxed. The pegasus stood on shaky legs and said something too quiet to hear. “Speak up, dear,” The older mare said. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

“I, I said, I said there’s a dragon in town.” That got my attention.

Everyone was quiet. “Well, duh!” Someone shouted from the back, much to my surprise. “Spike has been here for years!”

The pegasus, Fluttershy, shook her head. “No, a big dragon! A scary dragon! With black scales and big sharp teeth! He kidnapped Princess Twilight and our friends!” That got the town talking again. Panicked conversation rippled through the crowd.

“Where is it?” Someone shouted.

“What do we do?” Another cried.

“Without the elements, we’re doomed!” Screamed a third.

Enough of this. I stepped onto the platform. The crowd went silent. I could imagine why. A strange mare, taller than even a stallion like Big Mac, just hijacked the stage. I turned to Fluttershy, who was cowering behind the grey mare. I spoke in my softest voice. “Tell me, where is this dragon.” She squeaked and curled into a little ball. I sighed. Apparently my softest voice was not quite soft enough. I tried again. “Fluttershy, please tell me where this dragon is.”

Shakily she pointed a hoof at some point behind me. I turned and for the first time I noticed the tall, crystalline structure in the distance. It looked like a cross between a castle and the great tree in the fairy forest back home. In short, exactly the kind of place I would expect a dragon to keep a captured princess. “Very well.” I said with a shake of my mane. “I will take care of the dragon.” I stepped off the stage and began walking toward the strange building. No one tried to stop me. I must have shocked them with my brash declaration. It mattered little. I would not be deterred. I am a warhorse, and servant of a hero.

I am Epona.

Comments

[RazDelacroix]

Whelp, you have my interest!

[Nitro Indigo]

"You're not writing text properly," said Nitro Indigo.

Also, I'm following you, but wasn't notified about the new chapter...

[Tethered-Angel]

6950806 Glad to hear it!

6950856 Quoting yourself Nitro?
I've noticed that with this site. I think you have to follow the story specifically to get chapter updates, while following a user just updates you to new stories.

[ARTL]

I am Epona.

Hah! 'Nuff sed.

[Nitro Indigo]

6951065 It was a demonstration. At least you've fixed it now.