Crazy as a Loon
As the weeks passed, there were some noticeable changes in Ponyville.
Now that Discord was back from “his vacation", he was routinely spotted wandering around town; often with Fluttershy and often without. He would wave to Link whenever he saw him as if they were old pals. Link only stared. He didn’t particularly care for Discord, but he didn’t hate him either. He figured if Fluttershy liked him, maybe he should give him a chance.
But Goddesses above, he could be a lot to deal with.
Link finally found a chance to make Darmani eat his words one day when Twilight went to spend some time with Rainbow Dash. Spike had gone to do some chores and it happened to be Link’s down day. The castle was a total ghost town. Link donned the mask and took on the form of the large Goron man- not quite as tall as a grown pony, but far taller than he would ever be when he grew up. Link wasn’t ready to show the others the magic of his masks yet.
When Darmani laid his eyes on the picture in the dining room, he didn’t believe it was real. Link directed him to the sitting room, in which there were many more such pictures. The stubborn Goron still called it some sort of witchery. Finally, Link wrested control away again, and walked towards a window. He looked outside at the many ponies flying and walking around.
Finally, Darmani believed him. The large Goron apologized for doubting him and pondered how he got so far from home. Link had no answer for that.
Darmani still told Link he needs some help. More than he could get from his three spirit friends. “I hope these creatures can get you the help you need, brother.”
“As do I,” said a voice from behind him. Link whirled around. Discord stood behind him, wearing a press reporter’s cap and holding what appeared to be a recorder of some sort.
“This just in: Non alicorn finds method to bridge the gap between the living and the dead, between right and wrong. How do you feel about that, Link?”
He held the recorder to Link’s mouth but received no reply.
“The cold shoulder again? You wound me. If you won’t grace me with a reply, then I will do the talking.”
Discord lazily tossed the recorder over his shoulder. It never hit the ground.
And Link, he couldn’t think of anything to say. For the first time in a long time, he was well and truly surprised. Shocked even. He eyed Discord blankly, while Darmani attempted to take control to deal with the situation.
“This is one thing you can’t punch your way out of, Darmani.”
Discord tilted his head a bit.
I can try.
“Darmani? Is that your name? I thought you were Link.”
Link was not able to reply before Discord continued. His eyes widened very slightly, and Link almost didn’t notice at first.
“No, I’m mistaken. There’s two of you in that vessel. The boy is in control, but there’s an elder too. I can sense you.”
Discord snapped his talons, and suddenly Link was in a back seat in his own mind. Darmani took the front.
Hey! Darmani, what gives? I told you you can’t punch your way out of this!
“I don’t know! I didn’t do this!”
“Of course not. I did.”
Darmani looked to Discord who had dropped all his playfulness and looked completely serious. He had his arms crossed and was staring at Darmani.
“What manner of creature are you?” asked Discord. He was speaking Hylian, though with a slight accent.
Darmani said nothing and only growled lowly at the draconnequs.
Discord’s stoic stare gave way to mild irritation.
“I’d advise you to answer me.”
Darmani said nothing but made a fist at his side. Discord held up his fingers again and made to snap them.
“Stranger, with one snap I was able to force you to the forefront of this child’s mind. What do you think I might do with another?”
Darmani was silent still and tightened his fist more. Discord raised his hand higher. The two stared each other down for what felt like eons. Somewhere, off in the distance, a dog barked.
“My name is Darmani. I am a Goron,” he finally said. Discord was unmoved.
“Did you misunderstand me or are you just playing stupid? I don’t care what manner of race you are. I care what manner of creature you are.”
Darmani was silent while Discord got within arm’s reach. Gods above, he could easily punch through him!
“What manner of creature possesses a child? A troubled one at that? Most importantly, what manner of creature possesses a child that my dear Fluttershy has grown so fond of?”
Darmani’s fist relaxed. “Huh?”
Discord eyed him coldly. “Your time among the living is at an end, Darmani. Fluttershy would never forgive me if I let this trespass against her precious young friend go unpunished.”
“I don’t think we’re on the same page,” said Darmani.
Discord raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not here to take his time among the living. I’m here to guide and assist him. He is my friend. A dear friend. I lend him my form to assist him in his life, and I control this body only when he allows it.”
Darmani made a fist again and pounded it into his palm.
“Or in this case, when you force me to.”
Discord was silent, but his paw began to glow with magic. Darmani dropped his fist to his side.
“If you will not listen to me, then hear the words from Link. If you are not satisfied then, do with me what you will. Only do not harm Link, or I’ll ensure you join me in the afterlife.”
Discord snapped his fingers, and suddenly Link was in control of himself again. He eyed Discord curiously.
“What are you doing?”
Discord blinked. “You were under some form of possession. Two souls in one vessel. That is not normal.”
Link pulled the mask from his face. One brutal transformation later, he was himself again.
“And what is normal about me?” he asked. Discord fell silent.
“I found the manner of creature responsible for Darmani’s death. I killed him with the fist he made before you. Darmani is my friend. He’s gotten me out of many jams that I would not have gotten out of alive otherwise. He gives me advice, and he simply wanted to see proof of where I was.”
Discord appeared to shrink back a bit.
“Besides, why would you care if I were under distress? From what I’ve heard you are a God of Chaos. Isn’t that the sort of thing that interests you?” Link asked.
“Distress? Distress is a range of emotions, sure, but it’s so boring! Besides that, it’s like I said before: If Fluttershy found out that I knew you were in trouble of some sort and I didn’t aid you, do you have any idea how she’d take it?”
Link fell silent and stared.
“She would give me that gaze and the shake of her head, she might say no to tea time with me. She might even sigh and tell me she was…”
Discord gasped.
“Disappointed in me!”
His mirth (if you could call it that) melted away and he looked at Link again.
“Methinks you should be careful what spirits you allow to share your vessel, Link.”
“I trust my friends.”
Discord’s eyebrows rose slightly. “You said friends. Not friend. Are there others?”
Link was silent.
“There are, aren’t there? Ooh it is like peeling an onion with you!”
Discord produced an onion from somewhere that had been made up to look like Link’s face, which he began to peel. He began to cry dramatically. Link only stared; arms crossed.
“You know,” sniffed Discord. “Many cry while peeling onions.”
As quickly as he started, he stopped crying.
“The trick is not to form an emotional attachment.”
He threw it over his shoulder.
Link gave a sigh.
“Is this your way of showing concern for my wellbeing?”
Discord blinked. “This isn’t how you do it?”
Link looked back down at the mask in his hands, then back at Discord.
“Well, thanks for checking on me. I’m okay though. Darmani is harmless.”
Excuse me?
“Okay, maybe he’s extremely dangerous, but he’s friendly.”
No ‘maybe’ about it.
“I can sense a request coming,” said Discord.
Link gave a nod. “I need you not to tell anyone about Darmani. At least, not yet. I have a promise to keep.”
Discord was suddenly filled with interest.
“Suddenly I am filled with interest,” he said. “A promise? To whom, for what, and from when? Spill the beans!”
Link took a step forward.
“I promised a late friend of mine not that long ago that he would get to meet everyone first, and I want to be the one who does it. He’s just a child. Younger than I am. I just don’t know when or how I should do it.”
Discord appeared in thought for a moment.
“Very well, I’ll keep your secret if you do something for me in exchange.”
Link crossed his arms. Quid pro quo.
“I have a rather large trick I intend to pull during Nightmare Night to sow a bit of chaos. How would you like to be my assistant?”
“If you’re planning to harm anyone, Darmani is going to knock you into next Tuesday.”
Discord shook his head, appearing somewhat offended that Link could even think that.
“Me? Harm someone? Never! I’m a good guy most of the time now! No, there will be no harm. Just some chaos. A prank, if you will.”
Link appeared to be more interested. Discord gave a mischievous smile, and leaned in to whisper his plan to the boy…
Link shut the door to the bedroom Twilight had afforded him and locked it. He’d hung up Darmani’s mask and told the others what had happened.
Neki was less than thrilled that Link “broke his promise” to the boy but was appeased when Link assured him that Darmani didn’t meet any of the ponies. Just some self-proclaimed Lord of Chaos who had an admittedly funny prank planned. It was good, because an upset Neki was absolutely impossible to deal with.
Now he had to go about his day.
He walked downstairs and followed his nose to the kitchen. Twilight had left some pancakes for him and told him to help himself. He hopped onto his seat (Twilight had promised him a higher chair without the need of books, but it wasn’t ready yet) and grabbed a fork and knife.
Just before his first bite, he heard a door shut in the distance, and some shuffling about. He didn’t expect her back so soon, and Spike was busy with Rarity. The others were all doing their own things for the day too. Nobody should be here.
He set the fork down but kept the knife. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing.
He began to move in a crouch walk, one that he’d mastered over his time sneaking into places that were far better armed than he was. It was faster than crawling but remained quiet.
He followed his ears and heard a bedroom door open. It was a bedroom that was unoccupied. He knew for a fact that whoever was here was not a regular, nor was it someone he knew. He drew the knife a bit closer to himself and slowed himself down as he walked.
The disturbance seemed to get louder as if in greeting. He held the knife behind his back. If this intruder were to underestimate him, they’d be lucky if he only maimed them.
He whirled around the corner and saw a mare with a coat and mane not all that different from Twilight’s unpacking some essentials from a bag on the bed with a smile. She was a lighter shade of purple, Link guessed. Her cutie mark was similar but different to Twilight’s as well.
The more Link stared, the more he felt like he was looking at a sister she never mentioned.
The mystery mare finally noticed his presence and gave a gasp when she finally looked at him. Link only stared back.
“Eep! Sorry about that, I didn’t even see you there. I just get so absorbed in the things I’m doing it’s amazing I don’t walk into walls more often.”
She left her luggage and approached slowly. Link’s grip on the knife he’d concealed behind his back tightened.
“You must be Hinka. Twilight has mentioned you. I’m Starlight. Starlight Glimmer. I’m a friend of hers.”
Link’s grip on the knife loosened somewhat. He recalled her mentioning a mystery pony by that name not that long ago. She pulled him aside recently and informed him that Starlight would indeed be moving into the castle, but Link was not expecting her to do so quite this fast.
Link gave a nod. Starlight chuckled a little, but he sensed no hostility.
“Twilight mentioned that you aren’t much of a talker. I want you to know that my door’s always open if you ever need anything. Just let me know.”
He gave a small smile. Starlight attempted to peek behind him.
“Say, what do you have behind your back?”
“…then we can stop at Sugarcube Corner, and then we were thinking of going swimming! Won’tcha come, Hinka?”
He nodded. Nobody else was going to be coming to the castle, so it was either tag along with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, or sit in his room throwing crumbled up papers and rocks at Majora’s Mask and the Fierce Deity.
He liked the thought of both, honestly, but the three fillies were marginally better company than the two malevolent spirits most days. Plus, that was his plan for after supper anyway.
Applebloom smiled down at him.
“Applejack says you’re probably gonna be enrolled in school with us.”
He blinked. “I can’t afford that.”
She giggled. “You’re funny, Hinka. I know you’re a year behind us, but Cheerilee teaches the classes in groups and you’ll be in the same class as us! That’s gonna be so cool!”
He looked up at her. Twilight never mentioned school to him, or if she did, he wasn’t listening at the time. He didn’t mind the concept of going, but he felt it would be quite awkward. A good amount of town had seen him out and about enough that nobody really stopped and stared anymore. Some of them had even gone so far as to give him a friendly wave now and again. Still, how’s he going to do with a room full of kids?
“Only, you need to watch out. We have a few bullies in class with us.”
He didn’t really react to that. Link had dealt with bullies for most of his life. He wasn’t afraid to defend himself or his friends, if necessary, but he wouldn’t be the first to throw a punch. When he was involved in an altercation, he always waited to be attacked first. It had been instilled in him as law throughout his time in Kokiri Village: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Link did not suffer fools lightly.
Link had to cut his own switch a few times, but Mido had been sent out so often the trees were just stumps after a while.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle met Applebloom and Link along the way. They exchanged greetings and seemed to be pleased that Link would be joining them.
“Hey, Hinka, how are you on a scooter?”
He looked at Scootaloo, puzzled. She was riding some sort of machine with four wheels, a long handle, and it was attached to a board from which the wheels were also attached. She wore a helmet, though there was no magic powering the machine. She kept having to kick off the ground and flap her wings to keep herself moving.
“Wanna try?” she asked.
Link eyed the thing. The handles were too high for him to reach.
“It’s too big for me, but thanks anyway,” he said. She gave a nod. “Yeah, I had a feeling. No offense, but you’re pretty small.”
He gave a shrug. She was right, and he could sense no mocking tone in her voice.
“Are y’gonna grow more like us?” asked Sweetie.
He nodded. “One day I’m going to be taller than everyone here. We humans start out small but get really tall.”
“How tall?”
He feigned being in thought for a moment. “Second floor of the castle or thereabouts.”
The fillies gasped. “Woah, is that true?!”
He was silent for a few moments.
“Not even a little.”
They chuckled for a minute, then asked him again. "How tall do you think you're gonna get?"
“Maybe as tall as you are now. Maybe a bit more if I’m lucky, but not by a lot.”
They were silent for a minute. “Well, don’t you worry, Hinka. If anypony starts treating you bad over your height or starts trying to hurt you, the Cutie Mark Crusaders will protect you.”
Link didn’t bother pointing out that anyone who treated him badly was going to have to crawl away by the time he was done with them, but he thanked them regardless.
“We Crusaders have to stick together, you know.”
He tilted his head. “Huh?”
The fillies looked at each other, as if conspiring, and then smiled at him in unison. “Noooothing.”
Like wondered if this was what Caesar felt like. Whoever that was.1
Whatever they were talking about, it would have to wait. They arrived at the little clubhouse Link kicked Rainbow’s flank in, and one by one the fillies climbed up before asking Link to join them.
He hesitated. Part of him, the part that kept him alive all this time, was reluctant to climb up. It was an instinct he loved and hated. Yes, it kept him alive, but it also made him overly paranoid when he really shouldn’t have been.
It was shouting at him to run from the clubhouse, but Link decided to climb up anyway. The fillies were eerily quiet. The climb to the top felt longer than the final steps to the room in Ganondorf’s Castle where the evil king waited.
Finally, he climbed into the treehouse. The three fillies were at the opposite side wearing what appeared to be capes.
What the hell kind of cult was this?
“Today, Crusaders, is a momemtu- momemi- mom- really big day for us.”
Link took a few steps forward and reflexively reached for his sword, which wasn’t there. He kept his hand behind him and tried to call upon Nayru’s Love. He could feel the magic sparking in his hand, but this world was so magically saturated, he couldn’t maintain it. He intended to ask Twilight for help with magic, assuming he survived whatever the three fillies had cooked up for him. Sweetie Belle held another cape over her head and grinned up at it.
“I made this one myself.”
“You made all of these yourself, didn’t you?” asked Scootaloo.
“Yeah, but I did this one without Rarity’s help.”
“You did the others without Rarity’s help too.”
“Scootaloo, would you just- just- …. okay?”
Applebloom cleared her throat.
“Anyway! We’re tryna ask if you want to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Hinka.”
He blinked.
“Is this a blood pact or something?” he asked.
They exchanged a look.
“What does that mean?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Well, if you join, it just means you’ll hang out with us trying to help us get our cutie marks. We also sometimes try to help others with their cutie mark problems, like the one you had a while ago.”
“I had a cutie mark problem?”
They blinked. He quickly recalled voluntarily omitting the fact that the Triforce piece he bore was not a cutie mark.
“Oh, that cutie mark problem. Right.”
“Yeah! So, do you wanna join?”
Link looked upon the girls quietly. Did he want to join the three fillies in their insane bumblings which more often than not destroyed half of town? Did he really want to risk upsetting Fluttershy or the others by going along with the fillies on their adventures, which usually wound up going into the same woods he nearly bit the big one in?
Hell yes, he did.
He stepped forward with a nod and the girls squealed, then Scootaloo cleared her throat.
“By the authority invested in me by myself and the motel clerk my Dad keeps visiting whenever my mom tries to get him to help with my homework, I pronounce you the next member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
The three girls shouted “Yay!” at the top of their lungs, and Sweetie offered Link the cape.
It was big, red, and had what appeared to be a rearing horse on the back in gold. It wasn’t something he’d wear in his everyday clothing circulation if he got it himself, but his friends made it for him so as far as he was concerned it was the best thing in the world. He put it on with a small smile.
The four of them began to walk towards Sugarcube Corner, but Link didn’t keep the cape on. Sweetie had overlooked one thing and that was his size. It was as if he took one of the blankets from his bed and wrapped it around himself. He didn’t want to get it dirty for being dragged on the floor, so he folded it up and carried it. Sweetie apologized to him and almost seemed to be in tears, to which he assured her he was still very appreciative of the thought, and in a bid to make her laugh, told her the tale of his attempt at buying another tunic while not having slept for 36 hours. He dumped 300 rupees on it only to realize too late that it was an adult’s sized tunic. He’d just stumbled into the store, grabbed it without even thinking, and the clerk didn’t stop him.
To his credit, the fillies did giggle a bit at the story.
“So, what did you do with it?”
He kept it with the intent of using it for materials or just selling it somewhere else to try and make a profit, but when he took the Master Sword for the first time and woke up aged 7 years, he found that it would mostly fit him. Still a little big, but he wasn’t swimming in it. Let’s not mention that part.
Link just told them he took it a few towns over and sold it for 350 rupees.
When they walked into Sugarcube Corner, it was very quiet. It was a weekday, summer was just starting to wind down, and there was nobody at the front register. For a moment Link wondered if the place was closed until Pinkie poked her head out from the kitchen door.
She grinned when she saw them.
“Hi guys! I’ll be with you in a second, take a seat wherever you like!”
They sat in a booth by a window. Link ensured he sat with his back to the wall, as he always tried to. It was a habit he formed after surviving two assassination attempts by Ganondorf’s minions. Both occurred when he was resting or eating in a cheap restaurant, The first one nearly took because his back was to the door and the would-be killer nearly broke his neck. The second one was smoother because Link had his back to the wall and saw the trouble as it walked in. Ever since then, Link had outright refused to eat or rest anywhere if it meant he had to put his back to a door. He’d sooner go hungry or just keep working.
He sat next to Scootaloo. He was lucky the table was so low. They took to the menus.
“After we eat, should we go to the beach or the pond to swim?” asked Sweetie. Applebloom and Scootaloo shrugged.
“The pond’s gonna be smaller, but also probably quiet. The beach is big but also probably going to be busy.”
“Maybe we could do the pond instead? Now that I think about it, you don’t really like being around tons of ponies, right Hinka?” asked Applebloom.
He looked up from the menu.
“It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just a lot to keep track of.”
“Yeah, besides, DT usually goes to the beach with Silver Spoon, right? She doesn’t usually go to the pond.”
Link looked at Scootaloo. “Who is DT?”
“Diamond Tiara,” they said simultaneously.
Link nodded. Oh! That explains everything. Who the hell is Diamond Tiara?
“…and that is?”
“She’s a bully who goes to school with us. Constantly makes fun of us for being blank flanks.”
He blinked. The three fillies looked at their menus morosely.
“At this rate we’re never going to get our cutie marks. At least you have yours though, Mr. I-Attend-One-Fair-And-Poof-I-Get-My-Cutie-Mark,” grumbled Scootaloo.
“If it’s any consolation, I don’t have one either.”
They looked at him. “We got you one at the sum- "
“No, that’s not actually a cutie mark.”
They blinked collectively at him. “It’s not?”
He shook his head. He saw a bit of anger flash in their eyes. “Why’d you tell us it was then?” asked Applebloom.
“I never said it was. I just didn’t correct you when you assumed it was.”
They were silent, and Link sat up a bit more.
“My leg was bothering me that day, and I’d only then properly met you guys. You kind of scared me when I upset you, and I didn’t want to upset you further. So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I led you to think this- “
He showed them the back of his hand, at which point the Triforce dimly glowed upon it. “-was a cutie mark.”
The three girls were silent for a few moments, but he saw the anger leave their eyes. They still seemed a bit annoyed, but he’d take that over full out fury.
“My big sister always says forgiveness is a virtue of the strong,” said Applebloom. “So, I guess I forgive you for lyin’.”
Omitting the truth, but…
“Yeah, yeah. It was a while ago anyway,” said Scootaloo.
“Do you know what this means, though?” asked Sweetie. “Now you can make it up to us by working twice as hard to find your cutie mark!”
He blinked. “You don’t understand. I can’t get a cutie mark.”
They were silent for a moment.
“Humans don’t get them.”
“So, what’s the thing on your hoof?”
“Hand,” he corrected. “It’s…”
He trailed off.
They tilted their heads. He put his other hand over the symbol.
“Is it a secret?”
He nodded, and he appeared to be deeply conflicted. “To everybody.”
“We promise not to tell anypony if you tell us.”
He wasn’t particularly concerned with them telling anyone. He didn’t think the grown-ups would believe them. He was worried about telling them, and them possibly asking for more information. These fillies, though they were taller and between one and 2 years older than him, were still just kids. He had no intention of telling them about the people he killed in his time.
The Triforce appeared to brighten somewhat. Though open to interpretation, Link felt it meant he was being granted the blessing of telling them a little about it. He took a breath and showed them the back of his hand. The Triforce glowed brighter, a proud relic that had helped a child stand up to its power-based counterpart.
“This is a piece of the Triforce. It is split into three parts…”
Link proceeded to give them a little background on his holy relic. He told them of the Triforce of Power, and how through its strength one could conquer a country, the Triforce of Wisdom, and how through its ingenuity, one could be granted great wealth. While Link was talking, Pinkie came by and took their orders, but didn’t stay to listen. Link didn’t comment on it.
He told them of the Triforce of Courage that he bore, and how, through its steadfastness, one could destroy any evil if given the means and time. He left out all heroics in his explanation. Spoke only on the triforce fragments themselves.
“Why are there evil ponies?” asked Scootaloo. “Why can’t everyone just get along and be good?”
Link looked at his bad leg.
“Who defines what is and is not good?” he asked. “Can you define good to me?”
“Well, it’s good. The opposite of being bad. Not doing stuff to hurt anypony. Doing lots of stuff to help everypony.”
“If everyone was good, wouldn’t that mean no one is good?” he asked.
“I don’t get it,” the fillies said simultaneously. Link continued. This was a topic Saria loved talking about.
“Think of your everyday life. If every single day was the happiest it could be, then the feeling is cheapened, and it is as if there is no happiness. You need to balance happiness with sadness for it to have meaning.
“If everyone is good, and doing the right thing, and there are no bad people, does that cheapen goodness? If one morality exists, so too must the other. If evil is the absence of good, it’s logically impossible not to think of good without also thinking of evil. Its opposite. Its contrast.”
The three fillies looked to one another. Link parroted one final thing Saria had routinely asked him:
"Which is better: To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"
The food came.
There wasn’t much that Link was against doing. When you’ve done almost everything exciting a life could offer before you made it to the double digits, you tend to lose some degree of tact. One could argue that, had Link achieved perfection, there would be nothing left to chase. What if he was infinitely strong and each and every battle he engaged in ended swiftly and decisively with him as the victor?
What if he couldn’t be harmed, either because he was always on his toes or because he was simply impossible to harm?
The ending of his adventures in Hyrule and Termina would have been similar. He’d have defeated both Ganondorf and Majora, but without struggle- the latter may not even have survived in the mask in that case. Every minion he stood up to would have fallen quickly, and perhaps had he been perfect, he could have even prevented the deaths of Neki, Darmani, and Mikau.
Perhaps his young body wouldn’t be so pock-marked and scarred, then.
Link was, as it turned out, self-conscious of something, and that was his scars. Even on scalding hot days, he refused to take his tunic off, no matter if he were swimming. He disliked the feeling of wet clothing, too, so he often stayed out of the water whenever possible.
Such as now, for instance.
“Y’sure you don’t wanna swim with us, Hinka? The water’s great!”
He gave his head a gentle shake but kept a smile on his face. He instead chose to sit with his feet in the water. That was enough for him, and they were right. The water was great.
They’d decided to go to the pond instead of the beach. It was quieter there.
“Granny always says we shouldn’t swim until an hour after we eat or else we’ll get a cramp and drown,” said Applebloom. “Is that why, Hinka?”
“Bloom, that’s ridiculous. Maybe he just can’t swim. Is that it?”
He shook his head. “I’d prefer this is all. You three have fun.”
He instead sat and continued to watch as the fillies splashed and played together. He didn’t hate water. Quite the opposite, in fact. Link loved to swim, and before his journey, on his down days in Kokiri Forest in the summer, it was rare to not see him going for a dip in the pond. The Kokiri were all just a bit friendlier to him when they all swam together. Even Mido would occasionally engage him in small talk. Maybe that was what he loved about the water.
As he was now, though, he still loved water, and would take on the form of Mikau when needed if he had to perform a task of some sort that involved him. The scars on his body didn’t carry over to the other forms he could take; they instead had their own scars.
Link chuckled to himself. Drowning was almost a foreign concept to him. As a Zora, he had no trouble breathing in the water, and as a human, he’d been engaged in marine battles so often he taught himself how to hold his breath for up to 3 minutes in the water. He wasn’t drown-proof if it came down to a fight against a Zora, but against another human? Link was very at home in the water.
Suddenly he was under water. He heard a muffled shout from the surface, and he opened his eyes and looked at the shimmering light up above. It almost looked like…
Link would never forget the Water Temple.
It was a temple that wound up separating him from Navi, however temporarily. They found Princess Ruto, but she didn’t appear to notice them. Navi had volunteered to go get her help.
Splitting up was a big mistake.
There existed a tunic made of Zora scales that, if a human wore it, they might be able to breathe under water. Link, however, had been unable to locate one. The shop most known for having them had been forced to cut them from stock by Ganondorf. He had anticipated Link considering using one to undo his work on Lake Hylia.
Ganondorf was a very intelligent man, and that made him far more dangerous than the Triforce of Power ever did.
It didn’t deter him. Link went for the temple without the tunic.
The Water Temple always smelled of low tide, no matter how high the water was. Even so, he didn’t mind. Link had smelled far worse odors for far longer.
You never forget the stench of death. Link would swear that it was a unique smell every time. Every death, every murder is like a snowflake. Cold, unique, but also alike.
He and Navi had split up in a large main room in the temple. The room Link was in now was thoroughly disorienting.
He walked through the door and through some witchery or illusion appeared to be outside. He was ankle deep in water, and the sun shone overhead. The water he stood in seemed to extend forever in every direction. Behind him the door vanished.
Link drew the sword from his back and held his shield up, and carefully stepped forward. There was no sign of life aside from him. No birds chirped, no waves crashed, no wind blew.
All Link could hear was the sound of water sloshing as he walked.
He walked for an hour with no changes. He wasn’t even sure he was making progress.
The sun overhead remained in the same position as when he first entered the room. It felt as though time itself was at a standstill.
Link let out a gasp and fell. The water he stood in before he now waded in. There was no current to deal with, but he didn’t know how far he’d have to swim to make any more progress. He turned around. Maybe there was something he missed the other way. It meant a long walk, but he didn’t have a lot of options.
Standing where he was a moment ago were two black boots.
Black tights. Black tunic…
It was him. It looked like Link’s shadow had come alive. It stared at him silently and Link stared back.
It grabbed him by the tunic and pulled him out of the water, then threw him onto the ground. Link drew his blade while he rolled, and he heard another blade being drawn.
He turned to his quarry and instantly held up his shield; his shadow sliced practiced at him but he suffered no injury this time. He was prepared for most of the attacks used by his shadow, it even fought like him.
He wasn’t surprised when it kicked at his shield and attempted to follow through with a stab, but Link’s defense held.
“Hinka?”
Still, he knew that he couldn’t just live off a defense and would instead need to start fighting back. So, when he felt he had a moment, he attempted to stab.
His shadow reacted like he would have. It sidestepped, and used the edge of its shield on the inner part of Link’s elbow. His sword clattered into the water, and while he was reeling, the shadow managed to disarm him of his shield with its blade; the shield sunk into the deeper water.
Suddenly, Link was unarmed. His shadow was not. Still, he knew a few tricks he could use. His first order of business was closing the distance a bit more. He’d have a bit of a chance that way. Accomplishing that, he could move to the next part of his plan, which was to disarm his foe. So, he went for the sword arm and attempted to break the thumb. It was a kun-so move drilled into his head by the Kokiri.
Unfortunately for him, the shadow appeared familiar with kun-so, and managed to force him away after ringing his bell with the shield. Link rolled forward instinctively and avoided being run through, but his leg took a nasty hit.
Not good. The shadow appeared to be familiar with his fighting style, which meant it might have an answer to each of his planned attacks.
He wished he had his Megaton Hammer with him, but the bitch tried to drown him during his initial dive down to the temple. Once he found Ruto, he’d ask her to bring it to the surface for him.
Assuming he survived this encounter, that is.
He ducked another swing by the blade of his double and leapt aside to avoid his kick- that was one of Link’s favorite combos. The good news was, this double fought exactly like he did, so while it knew his moves, so too did he it’s.
He made another attempt at disarming his foe, but this attempt was even worse off than the last. His head was nearly taken by the counterattack. He’d have to find another way to fight back.
He avoided another swipe-kick combo and had an idea. There was a form of close combat he’d taken some time to learn from Darunia in the Chamber of Sages. It was the Goron answer to the Hylian’s Suikendo. Darunia called it Gun-kuk-do2.
He growled to himself. Whenever Link had a moment to rest, he’d go visit the Sages he saved so far. Saria would help him ensure he never got rusty in Kun-So- as good as Link was at the martial art of the Kokiri, he never was able to defeat Saria. Darunia offered Gun-kuk-do one day after seeing Link’s tenacity in hand-to-hand combat. He was far from a master, but Link didn’t believe his double had any of the knowledge he’d earned from the Sages. He had to hope not, anyway.
His shadow began to charge him with its sword outstretched. Link’s Kun-So training was calling for him to leap to a side and either grapple the arm or strike out the legs. He could see that his double was ready to manuever against that.
Gun-Kuk-Do called for him to run towards his foe unprotected until the last second. Every instinct screamed at him to reconsider, but he knew no other choice. Link ran head-on towards his dark counterpart, and as he had hoped, there was surprise on its face. It hesitated in its own charge for half a second, and Link took the chance afforded to him to strip his counter of the most dangerous thing in its arsenal:
Its shield.
Why take the shield and not the sword? Because any Kokiri worth his salt can make the shield the more dangerous weapon. Link himself had beaten Ganondorf’s phantom and 63 lesser foes to death with his own.
With the shadow’s shield in his possession, Link swiftly equipped it and managed to block its next attack with it.
He then set his foot and waited for the kick.
His copy’s leg nearly folded around his set one. Though Link’s leg wasn’t broken, the pain was still enormous. His foe recoiled long enough that Link managed to take the sword as well. Before he could finish him off, though, both his foe, the shield, and the sword vanished, and all was silent once more.
Link began to look all around, both for his foe and his sword. He saw a shimmer in the distance and slowly approached it.
“Uh, Sweetie? Get your sister, something’s wrong.”
He was accosted from behind. Just like him, his shadow didn’t make a sound when it was in combat. Even at his loudest, Link’s footfalls never amounted to more than a soft pitter-patter. Even Darmani was very silent when Link walked in his place.
Before Link could properly react, his shadow had its arm around his throat. Link attempted to break the hold, but the rear naked choke was very hard to escape when locked in by a professional. His shadow wasn’t just blocking off his breathing, it was blocking off his blood flow too.
It didn’t matter how big or how mean a humanoid opponent was. 15 seconds of pressure on the carotid artery will knock you out. 15 seconds of pressure on the carotid artery could knock Ganondorf out.
That was what was starting to happen to Link. Darkness began to invade his vision’s edges, and his legs began to feel heavy. His attempts at freeing himself became more sluggish. He took a step forward, both to try and find some way to escape and to keep himself upright for just a second longer.
“Equestria to Hinka, you in there?”
That was when he saw the shimmer in the water. His shield. He had an idea.
He took another step forward into the water, and his shadow released its hold as it followed.
The darkness rapidly left him as his blood began to flow properly again, and he turned in the water and blocked a punch from his double with one forearm while countering with an elbow to the side of the head.
He went to press his advantage with another elbow but was caught by his double and took a punch to the mouth for his trouble. As he recoiled, he wound up with another punch to the mouth, but he caught his double’s leg when he went to follow up with a knee, and he pulled him in an arc around him, landing another elbow to the side of his foe’s head.
Their fight continued like that for a minute. Each traded blows with the other, blocking, countering, one strike slipped through, grapple attempts failing, both giving as well as they were getting.
But this copy wasn’t Link. It didn’t have the same comfort underwater that Link did. Gradually, the original overpowered the duplicate. His shadow threw another punch, but Link caught his arm under his own, and he caught the leg when it tried to kick at him again too. Link manuevered him under the water so he was facing away, wrapped his arm around the double’s throat, and locked it in the same choke it had tried to finish him with.
“Hey, Hinka? You okay? I dunno, Scoots. He’s in his own little world.”
The double flailed and did its best to free itself from his vice grip, but Link’s control over this marine battle was absolute. The fatal error his enemy had made here was allowing Link that extra step into the drink.
Its struggles began to fade away over the next 15 seconds. A flurry of bubbles came from its mouth and nose, and its hands left Link’s arm and began floating freely. Link kept the hold locked in for another few seconds just to make sure, and then he let his enemy gradually sink to the bottom. Then, he dove down and retrieved his shield before finally returning to the surface with a gasp. He heaved himself to the shallower water and lay in it breathing heavily for a moment before sitting up. The water began to vanish and the illusionary magic let up to reveal a room with two doors. Link looked to his side, where he’d finished off his shadow. The tiles there looked no different than anywhere else in the room.
Link got to his feet, pulled a dislodged tooth from his mouth, and threw it to the tiles. Then, he turned towards one of the doors.
Link was quite literally shaken from his flashback, albeit very gently. He wondered how long he’d been shaken for.
“Hinka? Hinka!”
Link’s eyes, until then unfocused into the distance, regained their light and he looked up. He felt a hoof on his shoulder and noted that he was soaking wet. The clouds had rolled in but no rain had fallen. Rarity was the owner of the hoof on his shoulder. Over her own shoulders he could see the Crusaders eyeing him with expressions ranging from confusion to worry to awe.
He looked himself over. No worse for wear, other than wearing a completely soaked-through tunic. What happened?
“That was awesome,” said Scootaloo.
Rarity shot her a look. “Now, now. There’s nothing ‘awesome’ about a friend in distress.”
“No, not that. What he did to Silver Spoon.”
Link’s blood ran cold. “What I… did?”
“She snuck up and dunked you into the water, and then you were all super flank kicker again, pulled her in with you, and she- “
“Is she hurt?” he asked worriedly. “Did she need a doctor? Did I break anything? Oh, Goddesses, no. No no no no no. Not again. No.”
He swore it was his shadow he was fighting! Not some innocent little child! He squeezed his eyes shut. This can’t be. Not again. He was hyperventilating.
Rarity pulled him into her barrel. “There, there, darling. Silver’s okay, you just scared her.”
A single tear slipped from his eye.
“Yeah, you didn’t do anything wrong,” said Scootaloo. “Did he girls?”
There was a chorus of answers in the negative.
“She tried to pick on you and you showed her that was a bad idea, that’s all.”
Rarity shot a look at the increasing cloud cover. Link's heart rate and breathing began to return to normal.
“Girls, I think it’s a good time to pack up and come back to the Boutique. The sky is about to open and it’s getting late.”
Rarity helped Link to stand. He felt she was right. He had enough excitement for one day. Now, he just felt drained. He picked his hat up off the ground and rung it out. Then, he turned to the castle.
He was stopped again.
“Hinka, what are you doing? Come along, darling.”
“Yeah, come to the sleepover with us!”
“Sleepover at Sweetie’s place!”
“Pillow fight when we get there!”
The girls erupted into a loud “Yay!” and he looked at them confusedly. Why on earth would they want him of all people at a sleepover?
Rarity smiled at him. “It’s going to rain something fierce very soon. I don’t want you walking home in that with a soaked tunic, you’ll catch your death. I have some spares at the Boutique. You’ll be nice and comfy.”
She didn’t leave room for argument and ushered him along with the others. The first raindrops began to fall.
“…and then she had the audacity to ask me if I had any dresses that were ‘Good.’ Excuse me? I’d sunk hours into that design. It was my best yet. If you’ll excuse me, that ragamuffin didn’t look like she’d know fashion if it snuck up and bit her.”
The rain really started to come down as they entered the Boutique. Rarity made them some tea as they talked about the events of the day. She had given Link a spare tunic and took his wet one to dry. He changed in private. The girls were dancing around Link’s episode.
While they talked, Rarity excused herself to the kitchen to call Twilight to tell her what was going on that evening. And what had gone on at the start of the day. And what she ate for breakfast. And how long she slept. And that she ran out of silk.
Come to think of it, Rarity was mainly just talking at Twilight.
Twilight hadn’t said anything so far besides “Hi Rarity, how are you?” That was where she went wrong.
After 40 minutes, Rarity finally decided to bring up Hinka’s little episode.
“Darling, I was hoping to talk to you about Hinka.”
“Hinka? Is he okay? Starlight just got back. She said she met him, but he went out.”
“He met up with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. They had some food and went to the lake for a bit. He wasn’t in the water. The girls said he was just dipping his feet in it when another girl from school pushed him in.”
“Was he hurt?”
“Not physically, but he did manage to make her fall in and punched her. The girls said she was mocking him and dunking him.”
“So he defended himself?”
Rarity smiled thinly. “Yes, and from what I heard, he stopped as soon as she’d had enough. However, he stayed under the water for a while. The girls pulled him out. He’s okay, but when they got him onto the shore, he…”
She sighed. Rarity had taken to making clothing for wounded guards or soldiers in hospitals a few years back. She liked how it felt to help them, but she saw some of the echoes of what a few of them had seen.
She was very familiar with the thousand-yard stare.3
“Rarity?” asked Twilight. “Is Hinka okay? Is he sick? Is he upset?” She was beginning to panic.
“When Sweetie came and got me, she said something was wrong with him. I came to the lake and found Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nudging him and trying to bring him around. He was awake but staring off into nothingness. He looked tensed, like he was ready to strike at something. His eyes, Twilight…”
“What’s wrong with his eyes?”
Rarity proceeded to explain the look he was giving off. His unfocused gaze, his pupils were pinpricks, his jaw hung slightly open, and he didn’t make a peep.
“Twilight, I don’t know what happened, but I’ve seen that look before, and I’ve only ever seen it on soldiers. I think that girl who dunked him accidentally triggered a flashback. Twilight, I think he might have- “
“Post-traumatic stress disorder,” came a hushed response from Twilight. “Oh, my goodness, oh no...”
“Twilight, I think you should look into getting him therapy. He’s going to need more help than what we can offer.”
Twilight had, in the end, agreed to letting him spend the night at Rarity’s. When the girls found out they erupted into cheering, but Link, being as reserved as he always was, simply watched.
The remainder of the evening consisted of food and games. He’d never had pizza before, and never had he ever played “Never Have I Ever”.
He also had to be taught the rules of truth or dare, he didn’t find makeovers particularly interesting (why did the nobles insist on wearing the stuff when it was just going to come off a few hours later, anyway? And did they know that most perfumes contained whale crap in them?)
He learned quickly how to play mediator when his fellow crusaders would come up with new plans for cutie marks. For instance, instead of trying to test plants to determine how poisonous they were by eating them, he suggested gardening instead.
Link did teach them a new card game that was popular among the fairies of Termina. Tatl taught it to him. It was called Caravan. Scootaloo took to the game like a fish to water, and it wasn’t long before she was outpacing him at it. He never was particularly good at that game.
It was still a lot of fun. More fun than he thought he’d have. Everyone here was so good at making him feel like a part of things; making him feel welcome.
Maybe this place wasn’t so bad after all.
Hours passed like minutes, and they found themselves being tucked into bed by Rarity. They were all sharing her bed, with Hinka in the middle.
“Goodnight, everypony. I do hope you sleep well. Tomorrow morning we’ll have some pancakes.”
She smiled at each of them before shutting the light off and closing the door.
Link had done his best to give the girls space in the bed, and tried to make himself as small as possible. None of them were having it.
With Applebloom on his left and Sweetie Belle on his right, they nudged inward until he was nestled between them. Scootaloo had gotten close too. He found out later this was just how young ponies slept when they were having sleepovers. It was herd mentality; safety in numbers.
“Goodnight girls,” said Sweetie. “And you too, Hinka. Thanks for hanging out with us today.”
There was a murmur of agreement.
“Sorry y’had such a rough time at the lake,” said Apple Bloom.
“Yeah,” said Scootaloo. “But you did a really good job on Silver Spoon. I think you even broke her glasses.”
Link was silent but smiled a bit. He felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy. The fillies around him conversed a bit more before one-by-one falling asleep. He followed soon after.
And, for the first time in a long time, he didn’t have a nightmare.
End of Chapter
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
1,111 users online
2,148,181 hits today, 2,782,760 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
He's getting better. Good chapter, looking forward to the next one.
Good to see you back to this project.
Link will be needing all the help he can get, and I now wonder if he can bottle King Sombra while he's in his smokey form ... .
Thanks for the chapter, and yikes I agree--it must have been rough to write!
I love this story so much thanks for all the hard work.
11412344
Thanks, glad you’re enjoying.
Very happy Dovah noises
I haven't commented yet, but I read the prequel and this in a day. Enjoyed greatly thus far