VII - Like a Link in a china Shop
Like a Link in a china Shop
The sun was getting close to the western horizon. The afternoon sun lit up the Everfree forest with an auburn light, giving the dangerous forest an oddly picturesque feel as three fillies made their way out.
Ganondorf really did not want to have to listen to her older sister’s chastisement if she happened to be late for dinner, after all.
Tree after tree went past them in a blur. They zoomed past the three fillies one after the other as they swiftly followed the river downstream. Droplets of water sprayed all around them as they drew ever closer to the edge of the forest and Ponyville proper.
Yet, neither the yellow-coated earth pony nor the white-coated unicorn filly were paying the speeding scenery any mind, instead giving their whole focus to the orange-coated pegasus filly in their midst. Who in turn, placidly looked onwards, appreciating the scenery as if all was well in the world.
“And that’s when the magical armors attacked?” Ganondorf questioned, tilting her head sideways in confusion. The red bow upon her mane flapped with the motion. She was atempting, without much success, to make sense of what they had been told.
“No, that was after the sentient sword. I think?” Zelda started to say, only for the affirmation to turn into a question, as she tried to make sense of the whole mess.
“Was that before, or after, the room’s floor collapsed and she found the malfunctioning golems?’ the Wielder of Power questioned, also not having much luck in sorting out a passable timeline for the Wielder of Courage’s new misadventures.
“After, but before she stumbled upon the chimera,” the Wielder of Wisdom fiercely nodded, her brows furrowed in concentration. “At least, as far as I managed to gather.”
“How did you even find a chimera around here?” Ganondorf couldn’t help but ask, giving the pegasus who was still calmly looking forward, a questioning look.
“That’s actually a really good question,” a third voice added. And yet, the very posh voice did not come from the third filly amidst their group. It instead came from beneath the three pony fillies.
The owner of said posh voice so happened to be a large purple sea serpent, which sported a very fancy mustache upon their muzzle. “I have been visiting the area around the ruined castle for decades, and the forest for even longer, and I have never stumbled upon such a creature around these parts!”
Looking at the sea serpent, or would it be a river serpent considering they were currently traversing a river? Ganondorf couldn’t help but muse, not for the first time, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last, how the Kid’s ability to find interesting stuff was downright unfair.
All she managed to find as she explored the ruined castle was a few dozen pounds of metal, and a very pitiful dark tome. That was it. Even if you included the magical crystal tree, that was hardly worthy of a proper adventure.
On the other hoof, in the very same timeframe and the very same location, the Kid had managed to stumble upon constructs, golems, magical armors, aggressive sentient weapons, monsters, and a sea serpent. A sea serpent who the Wielder of Courage had somehow befriended and convinced to give the trio a river ride back to closer to the forest’s border. That cut their journey back by more than half. In addition, this was merely what Link had admitted to happening. Ganondorf was quite certain that was not an exhaustive list of what the Kid had been up to.
It was downright unfair, that is what it was!
“Chimeras aren’t even supposed to be native to this continent!” Zelda hissed in frustration as she massaged her brow, probably trying to fight off the start of a headache.
As an answer, Link merely gave a small shrug with her wings. As could be expected, that earned a groan from Zelda and a chuckle from Ganondorf.
A few moments of silence passed, in which only the sound of the wind and rushing water could be heard as the trees grew ever more sparse as they drew near to the forest’s edge. At this speed they would be back way before dinner. But a sudden thought occurred to the Wielder of Power.
Turning her head back towards the Wielder of Courage, she gave the orange-coated filly a level look and asked. “Hey Kid, was Sunbutt’s pottery collection still in the castle?”
The question actually made Zelda stop massaging her brow as she too looked at Link, a look between amusement and dread on her features as she realized what Ganondorf was asking.
Alas, as the seconds went by, nothing but silence was their answer.
“And here we are! This is the closest this particular river gets to the pony settlement!” the purple river serpent flamboyantly declared as he drew to a stop, curling his body in such a way as to make platforms they could jump on to reach the shore. “I gather you can make the rest of the journey easily enough?”
“Indeed, thanks for the ride, Steven,” Link replied with a polite bow of her head before making a couple of jumps and reaching the shore. Then she promptly started to placidly walk away, a perfectly serene air around her.
Giving a brief word of thanks to their ride before disembarking herself, Ganondorf decided that the very tiny smile on the Wielder of Courage’s muzzle was probably all the answer they would get in regards to that question.
As the morning sun shone over the fields of Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh let out a tiny aggravated sigh, as he had to stop plowing the fields in order to realign the very old plow he was using for the task... for the third time this hour alone.
Lifting the heavy metal tool as if it weighed as much as a feather, the large red-coated stallion realigned the plow so that it would cut through the earth nice and straight. For at least a few minutes, that is, until the old and dented metal of the plow’s blade inevitably started making the plow go astray again.
Sadly, it was his own fault he was forced to use this old thing, what with how he had accidentally bent the newer plow he should be using nearly in half by hitting a rock hidden under the soil too hard.
And that after Apple Bloom had reinforced it a few months ago too.
But there was no use crying over spilt milk. And so Big Mac resumed his work. The fields wouldn’t till themselves, after all. And so he pulled the old plow. For several moments nothing but the sound of his hooves, the metal blade cutting through the earth, and the singing of birds could be heard.
“Big Mac, there you are!” he heard Applejack call him. Turning his head he saw the orange-coated mare approaching him. Stopping, he waited to see what she wanted while greeting her with a nod. “Have you seen Apple Bloom around? Ah haven’t been able to find her around the house.”
“At the barn,” he promptly replied as his sister stopped by his side.
“What is she doing there? All her chores are done aren’t th- She is at her forge again, isn’t she?” Applejack started to question, before she realized the answer to her own question and changed it accordingly.
“Eeeyup,” Big Mac nodded. A hint of amusement made itself known at his sister’s exasperation with their youngest sibling’s small obsession with her hobby of forging metal.
“Ah swear, how she didn’t get a blacksmith’s cutie mark Ah’ll never know,” Applejack mumbled as she removed her hat and passed a hoof through her blonde mane. Fair enough. Big Mac knew blacksmith’s apprentices that had gotten their cutie marks in the field with far less effort. “She really shouldn’t spend so much time in there, especially on a weekend.”
“Spent yesterday out,” Big Mac reasonably pointed out, defending their little sister’s odd little habits.
Yes, their little sister had always been a little odd. But in the end, who wasn’t?
She had a hobby she enjoyed with her metallurgy. She did her tasks on time with nothing but the normal light grumbling that should be expected of a young pony doing chores. She payed attention to her studies, even as she grumbled some more about how they were ‘a waste of her time she could be using far more productively’. And she respected her elders when it was actually important, never once raising her voice to Granny Smith even when she fully disagreed with the old mare’s verdicts.
The only real problems Big Mac could have pointed out in regards to Apple Bloom’s habits, namely her lack of proper socialization with other ponies her age and her habit of hiding herself on the farm and not going out enough, had been solved by her getting her cutie mark and the two new friends that came with it. Yesterday alone Apple Bloom had spent basically the whole day playing around with her new friends in the woods near the town.
Sure, the way she got the cutie mark and became friends had been a little odd. But once more, who wasn’t?
And so, if she wanted to fool around with her forge a little today, Big Mac saw no problem with that. The fact that there was a very high likelihood that their little sis was fixing the bent plow for him may also have influenced his decision a little bit. However, nopony was perfect.
“Big Mac, Applejack, good morning,” the big stallion heard their little sister call. As if summoned by AJ’s words, the filly was approaching them with sure steps, paying absolutely no mind to the large metal plow over three times her size that was being balanced upon her back as she approached.
The sight made a small smile appear on Big Mac’s muzzle. Apple Bloom’s cutie mark may not have a single apple in sight, but nonetheless their little sis had gotten that Apple Family strength in spades.
“Morning, sugarcube,” AJ greeted as Big Mac simply nodded once more in greeting himself. No need to change what worked, after all. The orange-coated mare shook her head on exasperation, a small smile of her own in her muzzle as Applejack moved to help their little sis with the very cumbersome package she was carrying. “Ah see you managed to fix the plow this big lug had busted.”
“Thanks,” Big Mac said to the filly, who avoided eye contact for a moment while letting out an embarrassed sounding cough.
“It was no problem,” Apple Bloom promptly replied, looking far too nonchalant about it all to be perfectly natural. “I just had some free time and found some scrap metal lying around, that is all.”
The plow had been bent nearly in half. Big Mac knew that it would have taken a proper blacksmith quite a bit of effort and time to fix it to normal. As he stared at the spotless looking plow being set by his side, the stallion knew that his sister’s words were not exactly truthful. Yet, knowing their little sis was not the best with dealing with open praise he let the matter lie.
If she wanted to downplay her part, then he would respect her wishes. But that was no reason not to show his appreciation properly. And so, he unhooked himself from the old plow and approached his tiny little sister.
Giving the filly an affectionate nuzzle, Big Mac once more voiced his thanks. He made sure to not bring attention to how doing so made her smile for a brief moment, before Apple Bloom seemed to realize she was doing that and hid the smile behind a nonchalant look.
Pretending not to notice the byplay, Big Mac instead examined his sister’s gift in full.
Straight as a ruler all the way through. There wasn’t a single imperfection or undulation anywhere in the metal. The plow glittered in the sunlight as if brand new. The sun illuminated a few faint lines around the blade’s edge and the main body that seemed to have been carved into the metal of the plow, giving it a very pleasing aspect as the lines seemed to flow into each other in a very pleasant way.
“You really surpassed yourself,” Applejack complimented as she let out a loud, impressed whistle. That just caused their sis to once more avert their gaze while mumbling it was nothing.
Big Mac happened to disagree. He would have had to pay quite a few bits to get anything even near this level of craftsponyship if he had been buying it at a shop. The thought filled him with pride for his little sister’s skill. But respecting her wishes, he kept the words to himself.
“Color?” Big Mac asked instead, changing the subject and voicing the most distinctive feature about the remade plow. That being that it had a faint copper-like, almost burnt orange, color to it, unlike the normal steely look it used to have.
“Just a new alloy mix that I think will be able to better handle your strength, you big lug,” Apple Bloom happily proclaimed, a proud smile on her features as she gave the plow a light kick that made it ring like a church bell. “I want to see you bend this one!”
Both himself and Applejack chuckled at the filly’s enthusiasm.
“Ah, can see that. This looks really solid!” Applejack agreed, affectionately mussing the tiny filly’s mane. A proud smile crossed her muzzle. “You should be proud, sugarcube. This some real fine work!”
“Whatever,” Apple Bloom replied, once more avoiding eye contact even as she batted Appejack’s hoof away. The filly promptly turned around and started towards the house. “Now, if there is nothing else you need, there is something I have to talk about with Granny Smith.”
As the eldest sibling of the Apple Family watched their little sister swiftly retreat, both ponies couldn’t help but let out amused chuckles.
“That filly really needs to learn how to deal with praise better,” Applejack mused out loud, again passing a hoof through her mane as the yellow-coated filly disappeared from view.
“Eeyup,” Big Mac readily agreed, already hitching himself to the new plow and resuming his work.
Immediately he felt the difference. The earth underneath the plow parted like water as he started moving faster and faster, picking up the pace. He could barely feel his muscles strain as he moved onwards, the work being done in a fraction of the time it would normally take.
His very pleased smile lasted a few minutes longer, until the plow shook in place while letting out a loud bell-like sound as he hit something.
“Oh horseapples,” he couldn’t help but curse, wondering if he had managed to break his little sis’ gift moments after receiving it. A worried looking Applejack rushed to his side, the frown on her brow showing she probably was having very similar thoughts to his own.
Only, after unhooking himself and going to examine the plow they found it perfectly fine, not a single mark upon its still pristine looking metal blade. Instead, there was a very large rock within the tilled soil. A very large and solid looking rock, that was neatly cut in half. The cut was so perfect and smooth that it almost gave the rock a mirror finish where it had been cut.
“Well, Ah’ll be darned,” Applejack said with a low impressed whistle.
“Quality work,” Big Mac readily agreed. A smile on his lips as he hitched himself back to the plow and resumed his work. Pride for his little sis filled him as the plow continued to cut through the earth with ease, leaving behind ruler straight lines as he worked.
Entering the family house’s main room, Ganondorf was unsurprised to see the family’s old matriarch hard at work in the kitchen, preparing a nice hearty meal for lunch so that her older siblings could regain their strength. That was something Ganondorf heartily approved of. But she wasn’t here to appreciate the matriarch’s cooking abilities.
“Hey granny, if you have a moment there is something I need to talk about with you,” Ganondorf said to the old mare, who turned her old face to smile at the filly even as she kept mixing what looked like a very large pot of tasty smelling stew.
“Why, hello little one. But of course, I always have time for family!” the green-coated old earth pony stated as she gestured Apple Bloom closer. “Now what bothers you, little one?”
“Nothing, it’s just that a cat decided to follow me to the farm, the ball of fur looks like it wants to stay around. So I decided to see what you think about it,” the Wielder of Power simply stated. Granny Smith was the matriarch of the family after all. Her word was final in regards to the farm.
“Darn stubborn critters, but also darn useful too,” Granny Smith said, dunking her wooden spoon into the stew and picking up a healthy helping of it before offering it to the filly. She promptly ate the offered morsel before nodding appreciatively at the taste. “Especially in keeping vermin and such out of our food stores.
“Sure, I see no problem in letting it wander around the farm, so long as you make sure it knows not to mess things up or do its necessities where it shouldn’t!” the old mare seriously stated, pointing the wooden spoon at Apple Bloom. “You will be in charge of it, you hear me young’n?”
“Sure, no problem granny,” Ganondorf readily agreed with a nod. Waving to the old mare, she moved back towards the entrance.
“And make sure it knows not to bother Winona!” Granny Smith added as Ganondorf crossed the threshold.
“Will do,” the filly shouted back, before looking at the brown and white work dog lazing at the entrance and motioning for her to follow. “Winona, with me, time to teach a newbie the proper order of things.”
The dog happily barked and started after the filly, as they moved away from the house and towards the large barn and the apple orchard past it. A very large manticore was fidgeting in place there, as if questioning how exactly it had ended up where it was.
“Now listen up, furball. You were the one that chose to come here, so as long as you stay in my family’s farm you will follow a simple rule!” the tiny filly less than a fifth the beast’s size and a tenth of its weight barked. The massive predator promptly drew itself perfectly still at the filly’s words, giving her its full attention. “If anyone above you in the pecking order gives you an order, you will obey it to the best of your abilities! Is that clear?”
The manticore let out a low growl of agreement, submissively lowering its head before the tiny filly. The filly nodded her head once in satisfaction.
“Good, so here is the pecking order! Me, Granny Smith, Applejack and Big Mac, Winona, the Apple Trees, and you. Do you understand?”
The massive apex predator looked at the tiny dog, who was happily wagging her tail while watching the procedures with her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. It looked back at the filly with a look that all but screamed, ‘are you serious?’
“I said, do you understand?!” the tiny filly asked again, as she stomped once with a hoof. A light quake made itself felt as the ground cracked slightly at the motion. Hard eyes stared at the manticore, who promptly lowered itself to the ground and growled its agreement once more.
“Good!” Ganondorf stated with a fierce nod, giving the manticore one last look before turning towards Winona’s happily panting form. “Winona, you are in charge of furball here, show it the ropes and how we do things. Especially show her where we keep our produce and how best to keep vermin out.”
The dog happily barked her assent, before turning toward the very large feline and barking twice more before leading it away. After a moment’s hesitation the manticore followed, a very uncertain look on its features before she once more looked at the tiny filly, which promptly made it adopt a resolved look. Afterwards it followed the now happily barking dog with sure steps, as it paid close attention to everything it was saying.
So in this chapter we have a glimpse into why leaving Scootalink unsupervised is not advised behavior. Big Mac becomes the owner of what may or may not be one of the more heavily enchanted magical objects in the kingdom. And a certain manticore decides that it would rather be part of the crazy filly’s pride rather than risk facing her again. 
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, happy holidays.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Greatazuredragon · 2.2k words · 343 2 · 5.4k views
- Greatazuredragon · 2.6k words · 293 1 · 5.5k views
- Greatazuredragon · 6.4k words · 145 2 · 2.5k views
- Greatazuredragon · 3.1k words · 166 1 · 2.2k views
- Greatazuredragon · 173k words · 2,056 23 · 25k views
- Greatazuredragon · 15k words · 301 12 · 4k views
- My Little Epona · 76k words · 446 24 · 7.8k views
- computerneek · 58k words · 271 27 · 5.9k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.279 seconds
Total duration
809 users online
573,440 hits today, 2,244,100 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.®
While.the chapter wasn't what I expected, it was nonetheless awesome
Mostly because it happens off camera. I read the title and couldn't stop laughing and saying "Oh no"
So...Celestia's pottery collection. I'm imagining the pots from 'Wind Waker Auction House/Rich Man's House 1F' in the quantity, if not necessarily placement/alignment of 'Ocarina of Time Past Gatehouse'. Obviously I mean before Scootalink got her hooves on them.
Don't worry Appledorf, you'll get your chance if the Stations of the Canon have their way.
You think Celestia hid any gemstones or fletchery inside her pottery?
The cat at the end was an unexpected amusement.
Thanks for the early christmas gift.
11780588
I had the exact same reaction to the chapter title. Hope Celestia wasn't too attached to those pots...
Huh, I wonder if the Princess had a spell of FIX THE DARN POTS IF BROKEN IN ROOM! active. Just in case of Link.
Thank you good author for this WONDERFUL early Christmas present!
11780588
Glad to hear you liked the idea.
11780589
11780596
Now I'm imagining a later seasons Appledorf grumbling that her big sis is hogging all the fun fights.
11780599
11780601
You are welcome.
11780602
11780606
And that's how the inifnite loop theory was norn in Equestria.
Happy that you liked the chapter.
11780606
Given the pots are likely, like stones, transmuted into gems and other loot based on the other story, using weird alien magic, such a spell might actually not work.
On the other hoof, Link might find the infinitely respawning pots and hence respawning loot a highly effective trap.
Scootalink could've had a Majora's Mask adventure then just shrug it off soon after
Twilight's going to come across that plow eventually, I'm curious what her reaction will be. Especially if it's before the trio are revealed.
11780615
I agree that would be an effective trap.
11780623
Wouldn't have been the first time.
11780626
challengertalk.com/attachments/jfnha-jpg.1018671/
This chapter made me ponder something. Is the Apple family itself descended from Ganondorf? Would certainly explain their ridiculous strength.
Thank you for the early Christmas gift!
11780588
11780626
this'll be fun
Thank you very much for the chapter!
Merry Xmas!
Have a great day!
I'm too lazy to clip or find a pre-clipped TeamFourStar's Popo's Pecking Order speech, so just imagine I posted it here and made a witty rejoinder.
Good to see another chapter so soon, though! Good Job!
I can totally see that the three geting revealed and see rainbow dash trying to be a number one fan for scotalink, Twilight asking way too many questions for Zeldabell and some small family drama with the apples, cant wait for the next one and happy holidays.
Very fun update! I cannot wait to the rest of the Apple's meet Appleblooms "new cat". It sould be quite amuisng indeed! And in regards to a comment made by someone else, I could actually SEE Celestia casting an Auto Repair spell on all the castle pottery.
This was just what i needed today, as i am recovering from dental surgery yesterday to have all 4 of my wizdom teeth taken out so thanks for the great update
That was a good chapter.
Now i'm looking forward to the reactions when the rest of the Apple family meet Blooms new pet~
The instant I read about a cat, I immediately knew something was off. Next, Zeldabelle will tame Cerberus, you will see.
11780674
Well, considering that in TPoF there are signs that Forest Blossom wants to get together with Ganondorf, and that she may or may not be the start of the Apple Family.
11780675
11780684
11780695
Happy holidays to you too.
11780705
Who knows?
11780711
No problem, I can imagine the clip for you.
11780721
Glad you liked it. And happy holidays.
11780724
Happy to have been of help.
11780757
11780783
11780797
Or Link will play fetch with the good boy.
So the Apples got themselves a cat! Sweetness!
Also, I imagine I've said this before, but I really like the name "Scootalink".
11780870
Indeed.
11780674
Could all three of them be the progenitors of the families they reincarnated into? (The way Scoot's parents are always traveling could be explained that way, but Zelda feels more like she'd be the ancestor to Twilight's family, given the magical power level and book-smarts.)
Oh boy probably do not invite him in the pottery shop because you know what he does when he gets there
Hey it's Steven magnet nice to see him again
He busted them I knew it
See I knew it apple or not they would never give them up how Apple Bloom kind of worried that it wasn't an apple back in season 5
Applejack
Well then it looks like they got a new cat a really big one but I guess Apple Bloom ( Ganondorf) got the animal under control I wonder if the Apple family will react to their new cats
Well that was definitely something else so it looks like the three ponies decided to head home but they're a little bit too far away where they're location but luckily Steven magnet gave them a ride which that was pretty sweet of him to do that for these kids after that they split up and Apple Bloom ( Ganondorf ) fix the puller for Big Mac which that's also sweet of her as well and after that she decided to ask Granny Smith for permission to have a cat from the barn which she never thought it was a manticore but she still say yes which apparently they really did get them self a cat I wonder how the others will react to it I guess we'll find out next time
Today:
Scootalink aquires enough noodles to reach the moon,
Appledorf is praised for his work and aquires a pet,
And Zelda Belle is wise enough to know she shouldn't ask (and needs a drink).
All in all, a pretty normal day!
Wonderful chapter though I do wonder if that manticore is the one Fluttershy helped which could mean the quest for the Elements could go differently. It'd be funny to see Rarity and Applejack's reaction to Steven casually mentioning the trio of fillies that tromp around the forest, assuming the three go back more than this once.
There will be nothing left but shards
Not anymore
~I do believe it's the other way around~
As always
11781044
Yeah, in all likelihood they’ll completely & utterly freak at the realisation that their dear younger sisters have been gallivanting through the Everfree Forest for (if I’m remembering the timeline correctly) several months.
Glorious day indeed. I wonder what kind of shenanigans Zelda might get herself into in her own slice of life chapter? And i want more interaction with Appledorf and Tiara and how small leash she needs to put her on? Maybe literally too hehehe
11780972
Indeed. 
11781044
Yeah, the butterflies will be fun.
11781048
11781057
11781120
11781148
That it is.
11781235
Don't want to spoil thing, so lets just say that Zeldabelle may try cooking soon.
And I have plans for Diamond to appear in the next chapter.
Appledorf is the new Popo? Yeah, that checks out!
I hope Manny won't cause Fluttershy's friends too much trouble.
You really can’t leave that
boyfilly anywhere without trouble finding her. Trouble and pottery.And I do love seeing Ganondorf as part of a supportive family, though I can’t imagine Granny will be pleased with her when the true nature of the new cat comes to light.
11780626
It's been awhile since the show was on, but which object might that possibly be? There are a lot of magical objects and relics in the entire series Canon and Lore from show to comics and novels.
Thanks for the update! It's nice to see they made it out of the Everfree in time for curfew! That way there is no reason to avoid follow up trips and accidently troll the friendly Zebra that lives there.
Late thought for last chapter:
Given the purfying/balancing nature of the Elements, I am betting that the tree eventual dispelled enough of Demises evil that Fi woke up and did what an unattented Link/Fi would do, wonder off to the nearest castle with a princess and take up guard duties.
Current chapter:
Trust link to find all the properly interesting things in the Abandoned castle ruins.
So far so good on this new chapter.
Can't wait to see what the CMC will do next.
Sweetie Belle will practice using her magic, and Scootaloo training to be strong and learn how to fly
Never give up your desire to be what you want to be. Stay focused, persistent, and relentless.
Here's a song that will make you natural. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/V5M2WZiAy6k?si=d6w9x9NoETphStKS
11780797
Now I am looking forward to seeing what will happen on the pet day.
11781685
Who the f is Fi?
I have not yet read this chapter but I read the tittle ... And couldn't help but wince at the image of shattered pottery.
I have now read it and I am pleased. That pottery collection never knew what hit them.
Pecking order
11781747
How do you not know of Best Girl, Sword Chan, the eternal companion Fi! Are you not a Zelda fan? Shame. Shame. Shame.