Displaced story! Twilight x Self Insert, A Human from Earth is transported to an Anthro version of Equestria at the beginning of Season 1 as Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time!
!!Warning!! This is a Self-insert Displaced story, if you don't like them please just move on and don't dislike the story, thank you. =Description=
Michael [Redacted], a 23-year-old autistic man, goes to a video game convention dressed as Link from The Legend of Zelda:Ocarina of Time and purchases a perfect “replica” Ocarina of Time only to fall victim to an evil entity, The Merchant. He is transported or 'Displaced', by the Merchant, to an anthro version of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic at the beginning of the first season of the show. With the help of six very iconic mares, a baby dragon, and Equestria royalty he will start a new life in Equestria as a hero and help save Equis from the hands of evil as the Lands, Races, and Monsters of Hyrule appear in Equestria... But not without troubles of course.🗣
=Additional Information=
This fic is written (currently) without editors, criticism is welcome, just don't hate on it for being a Displaced fic. Also, go a little easy on me, I have bad Social Anxiety and can't handle harsh criticism very well. If you wish to see what Current Items and Equipment Michael has up to the latest chapter go to This Google Doc!
This fic will NOT become crossover central, I will only do crossovers when I feel like it’s been more than enough time since the last one.
A big thank you to DisplacedWriter for helping me with Chapter 3 and allowing one of his characters to crossover to this fic, Go read his work, it's great!
A thank you to Dragon Shimmer for encouraging me to redo this Fic with better detail so People don't have to use the Hyperlinks to understand certain details about mainly Zelda things.
Thanks to Apocheck13 for providing some commissioned artwork for the fic in chapter 14, I paid for it and would do it again! (If I had money)
Thanks to both DisplacedWriter and The Archiver for being such good writers to work with for the big crossover in chapters 20, 21, 22, and 23!
Front page status was acquired on November 25th, 2023! 🎉Here's hoping for another in the coming years!
Hey, name’s Michael [Redacted], I’m a twenty-three-year-old fairly large 5’11” autistic man with strawberry blonde curly hair and a long and very curly ginger beard that plays video games too much, and this Is how I ended up in Equestria as one of my favorite video game characters.
=Inside Michael’s Bedroom= -5:30 PM-
“Are you really sure we should go in costume?” Michael says talking with his best friend Tyler on a video call. They’ve been best friends ever since they met years ago and they’re going to finally meet up at a convention happening in Michael’s current state of Ohio.
“Come on, Mike,” Tyler said while playing a game on his Playstation 4. “Just dress up as one of your favorite video game characters, I’m gonna go as Big Boss so it’s not like you’ll be the only one in costume,” He said not looking away from this tv.
↑Big Boss↑
“You know any character I go as won’t be my size right?” Michael said with a sigh as he got up off his rolling chair and walked over to his closet thinking of who to go as. “I’m thinking of either going as Adult Link from Ocarina of Time or Chunky Kong from Donkey Kong 64,”
↑Adult Link↑ ↑Chunky Kong↑
“Yo, go as Link and have your sister dye your hair golden blonde, that would be hilarious,” Tyler starts laughing his ass off. “Hell, go like that and I’ll let you decide where we eat for the whole time we’re at the convention,” Michael turns back towards his Laptop and smirks.
“Deal, now I just gotta convince my sister to help me, I’ll see you at the convention, bro,” They both wave goodbye and end the video call. Michael walks out of his room while scratching his red curly beard not wanting to shave it. He walks into his sister’s room while she’s watching YouTube on her laptop. “Hey, Sis, Ty and I are going to the video game convention in costume so I was wondering if you could help me dye my hair,” His sister pauses her video and slowly turns her swivel chair to face him with a creepy smile.
“You’re actually going to let me dye your hair?” She asked not letting go of that creepy smile. “Who are you going as?” She asked.
“Adult Link from Ocarina of Time,” Michael said as his sister looked him dead in the eyes.
“You know you’re a little big to be Link, right?” She said making Michael nod. She gets up and heads to her closet. “You’re gonna need to lose the beard and we’re gonna have to dye your hair blonde,” She grabs some hair dye from a shelf in her closet.
“I know, it’s going to take some courage to lose the beard but-” Michael looks at her confidently. “-I’m willing to do it since he’s going in costume too,” She nods and also grabs her hair clippers from her closet. “At least he better be...”
“This is gonna take a day or two to get right so let’s get started,” She said as she guided him out of her room and into the bathroom, sat him down in a chair, and plugged the hair clippers into the wall socket. He heard the sound of the hair clipper buzzing on and gulped.
=3 Agonizingly Long Days Later= -At The Convention-
“He better like my costume-” Michael rubs his chin where his luxurious beard used to be. “-I spent a bunch of money making everything look right and I’m starting to really miss my beard,” He walks into the convention center and gets in line for entry. “Man these wooden replicas are freakin’ heavy,” He said, adjusting the replica Master Sword, a specially designed long broad sword with a purple hilt and handle, and the replica Hylian Shield, a fairly large shield with embossed details like a red bird figure and golden triangles on it, on his back and tightens the leather belts holding them on.
↑The Legendary Master Sword↑
↑The Hylian Shield↑
“I hope I don’t look too stupid in this outfit,” He said as he finally got to the front of the line.
“Receipt please...” The tired clerk said for the two hundredth time that evening.
“Right here,” Michael said pulling out his phone and showing the clerk his receipt.
“Enjoy the convention.” They said as they gave him a lanyard and pass, allowing him to walk into the convention to look for Tyler. After a few minutes of wandering around, Tyler finds Michael first.
“Dude, you made it,” Tyler walks up to Michael from behind and He turns to face Tyler. He’s just a tiny bit taller than Michael and is wearing a grey hoodie and black pants. “I couldn’t find cheap Airsoft for my costume but,” He said with a sigh then walked around Michael looking at his replica gear. “Damn those look good, are they real?” He asks curiously changing the subject.
“Nope, I made them out of wood from a tree we had to remove in the yard a few years ago, took a while though,” Michael says proudly. “There is one thing I forgot though,” Tyler walks back in front of Michael.
“What’s that, bro?” Ty says as he checks his phone to see what time it is. “By the way, we got about 5 minutes before the Smash tournament so we should hurry up,”
“I forgot to bring the Ocarina of Time replica my sister bought for my birthday,”
↑The Ocarina Of Time↑
Michael says a little disappointed. Tyler puts away his phone and remembers something.
“Wait, I saw a guy polishing an Ocarina of Time at a merchant’s stall, I think it was for about fifty bucks, let me make it up to ya for not being in costume,” He passes Michael a ten-dollar bill and two twenty-dollar bills. “If I remember correctly he’s just back around that corner-” He points behind him past a concession stand. ”-He’s got a ton of Video game memorabilia, just try not to get lost, this place is fucking huge,” Michael takes the cash and nods. “I’ll be in the Smash Bros tournament room, see you there, bro,” He walks off and goes through a door with the Super Smash Bros logo on it.
“Might as well get it if it’s only fifty bucks,” Michael says as he walks around the corner and spots a merchant, dressed like the Merchant from Resident Evil 4, polishing his wares.
“Uhh-” He clears his throat. “-Excuse me, Sir, my friend said you had a replica Ocarina of Time for fifty bucks?” The Merchant stops polishing a replica Power Star from Super Mario 64 and looks directly into Michael’s eyes creepily.
↑Power Star↑
“Why yes, Hero of Time, I have an Ocarina of Time just for you.” He begins with the same voice as in the game. “For just a measly fifty dollars I can let you have it,” The Merchant reaches below his kiosk and grabs the Ocarina of Time, it looks exactly like the real thing.
“Great here, and take a little extra for keeping it so sparkling clean, good Sir,” Michael hands him the cash Tyler gave him and an extra ten dollars. The Merchant gladly takes the cash and hands Michael the Ocarina.
After the final note plays out, everyone around Michael and The Merchant vanishes, the world begins to darken, and Michael begins to feel weaker. “Huh, what’s happening?” Michael said as his vision began to slowly fade out as he fell to his knees. “Why do I feel so weak all of a sudden?” He tries to stand back up but his strength falters and he falls to his stomach.
“Nice performance, Link, pleasure doing business with you, enjoy your trip!” The Merchant laughs, winks, and disappears with all his wares.
“No w-wait, w-what d-did you do to m-me...” Michael said trying to lift himself up off the ground but his vision faded to black and he passed out.
Michael slowly regains consciousness, the wind softly blowing the leaves on the trees around him. He can feel the soft grass under him, and feel the warmth of the sun peeking through the roofed forest that is the Everfree. He begins to stir and fully regain consciousness. Opening his eyes, he finds he’s in a dark roofed forest with sunlight bleeding through the leaves above.
“Huh, where am I?” He sits up off the ground and looks around. Suddenly fitting music begins playing in his head, and the words ‘Everfree Forest’ show at the top of his vision for a moment.
“Wasn’t I just in the convention center?” He says to no one in particular. “And why is Twilight Princess music playing in my head?” He stands up to get a better look at his surroundings and hears a flowing river nearby. He decides it’s best to walk over to it. “A river, the water looks clean enough to me,” He reaches for a pocket but remembers he’s wearing his Link costume and it doesn’t have pockets. He sighs and reaches into the water cupping his hands to drink a few handfuls of water.
“Tastes clean to me,” He then notices his reflection in the water and it looks way different. He’s noticeably thinner and his ears have grown longer. “What the hell?” He leans in closer and lo and behold his reflection is exactly that of Adult Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,
↑Adult Link↑
“What the hell is going on?” He starts feeling around his body to confirm that indeed his whole body has been transformed into Link’s body. “This can’t be good,” He then finally notices his voice has changed. “I even have his voice, I think,” He breathes a sigh of relief. “At least I’m not mute like in the games,” He draws his sword and shield to find they have also changed. The replica Master Sword has been transformed into the real steel version and it’s sharp as ever. But the shield is strange, instead of the Hylian shield he had at the convention, he now wields the Mirror Shield from Ocarina of time, a very reflective shield with a thick red rim around its face.
↑The Mirror Shield↑
“Damn this thing is shiny, better be careful with these,” He sheaths his sword and puts his shield back. He looks up through the trees and notices the sun is setting so he decides to make a campfire and rest for the night. Several minutes pass by as he chops some bushes up and even some trees down with his Master Sword not even showing damage from just slicing through a thick tree. When his campfire is set up and alight he rests by a nearby tree and thinks about his situation.
Darkness falls and the crickets and frogs come out signifying that it has become night in the forest. Michael is starting to not like the loneliness when he starts to hear laughing and chuckling from beyond a few bushes and trees. “What the...” He stands up, draws his sword and shield, and puts out his campfire. “Is someone out there!?” The laughing stops.
“Did anypony just hear that?” One of the voices asked. Nothing was said for a moment. “Um... Hello? Did somepony just say something?” Michael lowers his stance but keeps his sword and shield out ready for an ambush.
“Yeah I did, I just woke up in this forest. Can you tell me where I am?” Michael slowly walks through some bushes towards the voices and they gasp.
“Somepony got lost in the Everfree, we should help them.” a Gentle voice says quietly. Michael prepares to cross a large bush in between him and the voices when loud crying and wailing can be heard coming from the river making Michael turn in that direction.
“What is that?” Michael looks back toward the river, the current has become violent. He starts heading towards the river to find out what’s happening. “There’s a large river ahead meet me there, someone’s in distress,” After a bit of walking, he finds a purple sea serpent with half an orange mustache ripped off crying and thrashing in the river.
“Oh, what a world, what a world,” The Serpent hits the water causing a big splash. Michael sheaths his sword and shield.
“Excuse me, Sir, what’s wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?” Michael says to it. The serpent stops crying and looks at the man with tears in its eyes.
“Well I don’t know, I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whizzed past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off,” The serpent leans in close to show the damage. “And now I look simply horrid!” He dramatically falls into the river on his back splashing water all over Michael, soaking him.
“I understand completely,” The Serpent stops and looks at the wet Human turned Hylian. “I once had a luxurious beard that hung below my neck. It was bright red and made me look like a ginger king. But when I came here it was taken from me, never to be seen again.” Michael clenches his fist in anger. “If I ever see the man that brought me here, I’ll make him pay,” He calms down and looks back at the serpent. “I wish I could help but, I’m afraid I can’t regrow your beloved mustache, I am truly sorry,” The serpent looks down and starts crying again. Six strange-looking girls with hooves all about half a head shorter than him walk up to the two. The Purple-haired one with a white shirt & purple skirt stepped forward.
“Excuse me, Mr. Serpent, what’s wrong?” She asks but, the serpent hides his face away from the girls. “If you don’t tell us we won’t be able to help you,” Michael speaks up crossing his arms and looking at the serpent.
“A ‘tackey’ purple cloud of smoke flew past him and cut off half his glorious mustache and now he thinks he looks hideous,” He says with a sad face, prompting the Rainbow-haired one with a sporty jacket and shorts to scoff.
“Oh give me a break, that’s what all the crying’s about?” This prompts the blueish-purple-haired one with an elegant flowing dress to rush in front of her.
“Why of course it is,” She walks closer to the river. “How can you be so insensitive,” The serpent stops covering his face and looks back at the girls. “Oh, just look at him, such lovely luminescent scales,” He leans on the shore like he’s at a desk. “Your expertly coiffed mane,” He nods and runs a hand through his hair. “Your fabulous manicure,” He smiles and shows off his rounded nails. “All ruined without your beautiful mustache,” He regains his sad look, slowly nods, and sniffles. “I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” She grabs one of his scales and rips it off.
“Oww, what did you do that for?” She doesn’t answer as she cuts off her tail, which Michael just noticed they all had, making her friends gasp. She tosses the scale away and her horn, which again Michael didn’t notice until now, lights up. Her tail floats up and fashions itself to his ripped mustache giving it a half-hot half-cold look. The serpent gasps gleefully. “Oh! My wonderful mustache is revived!” She smiles at the serpent and the Purple-haired girl, who Michael notices also has a horn, walks up behind her.
“Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail,” She seems sad about ‘Rarity’ losing most of her tail. ‘Rarity’ responds aptly.
“It’s fine my dear, short tails are in this season, besides,” She pauses and looks at her tail. “It’ll grow back,” They all look toward the now calm river. The Purple-haired girl gasps.
“Hey, we can cross the river now,” she starts walking across the waist-high river but the serpent raises his body like a bridge.
“Allow me, as thanks for returning my mustache to its former glory,” He looks at Michael. “You too kind sir, even though you couldn’t help me directly, telling those wonderous girls about my problem did help in the end,” Michael thought about it for a second, nodded, and crossed the river with the girls. On the other side of the river, the girls were about to continue on their journey but they heard a loud thump behind them and looked to see the guy who told them about the serpent’s problem. They then decided to introduce themselves to him and the Purple-haired one stepped forward first.
“Hello sir, my name is Twilight Sparkle, thanks for helping us with that sea serpent,” Twilight smiles then the Rainbow-haired one steps forward.
“Sup the name’s Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria and future Wonderbolt!” She boasts while flaring her wings, that again Michael just noticed, the one known as Rarity steps forward.
“My name is Rarity Belle, thank you for helping with the fabulous sea serpent, Darling,” She smiles, and a Yellow-haired girl wearing a Flannel shirt, jeans, and a Cowboy hat steps forward.
“Howdy, Name’s Applejack, I run Sweet Apple Acres with my family back in Ponyville,” She tips her hat and a shy Pink-haired girl with wings wearing a nice green sweater and khakis slowly steps up.
“Hi, I’m Fluttershy...” Michael raises an eyebrow but understands her and nods. Then the Pink one wearing a white and pink striped shirt and a purple skirt bounces up saying things too fast for anyone to understand. After what felt like a few minutes, Twilight stops the Pink girl and she talks normalish.
“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie, what’s your name, do you like cake, do you like parties, when’s your birthday?” She says that in one breath somehow. Once Michael learns the girls’ names he realizes he’s been sent to a version of Equestria. He keeps this information to himself however and then introduces himself to the girls.
“Hello, my name is Michael, but for now you can just call me Link. I sadly do not like cake very much-” Pinkie’s Hair droops like it’s alive or something, “-I do like parties-” her hair puffs back up, creeping Michael out a bit. “-and my birthday’s in March,” He does a cursory bow before them then regains a normal stance and rubs the back of his head embarrassed. “Can I follow you, girls? I don’t know my way around this place and I really don’t want to get lost again,” Twilight looks over to the other girls, they all nod, and then she nods.
“Sure Link, we’re just on our way to The ancient castle of the two sisters to find the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight and the girls start walking with Michael following close behind.
After about 20 minutes of walking, Michael and the girls arrive at a broken-down bridge leading to The Castle of The Two Sisters. Twilight gasps excitedly. “There it is, the ruins that hold the Elements of Harmony, we made it!” she runs ahead not noticing the bridge is out. “We’re almost there...” Twilight notices the fallen bridge and tries to stop, but with her momentum, she still falls over the edge.
“Shit!” Michael quickly dives to help her and catches her hand. “Don’t worry, I gotcha, Rainbow, a little help?” Rainbow quickly flies below Twilight and helps her back onto the cliff. “Phew, that was close,” Rainbow lands back on the ground and chuckles.
“What’s with you and falling off cliffs today?” Twilight groans in annoyance. “This busted bridge is no problem for Ponyville’s greatest flier!” Rainbow flies into the canyon, grabs the ropes holding the bridge, and starts tying them on the other side of the gap. Just then, Michael spots 3 Ponies in dark bomber jackets and jeans next to Rainbow.
“Wait who are they?” He says, prompting Twilight to look across the gap at the three ponies. “They don’t look too friendly to me,”
“Oh no, Rainbow!” When she says this the lead Pony’s goggles glow and the Fog from the canyon thickens blocking their view. “Don’t listen to them,” After a few unnerving minutes, Rainbow flies over the now repaired bridge clearing away most of the fog. “Thank Celestia, Good job Rainbow!” Everypony starts crossing the bridge.
“See I never leave my friends hanging,” Rainbow says confidently. They cross the bridge and enter the castle ruins cautiously. The castle itself is in bad shape, most of the ceiling is missing, vines and roots are all over the walls, and overgrown grass and moss is everywhere. In the center of the room is a statue-like object that has 5 orbs with gem patterns on them and a large orb with moss on top of it.
“Come on Twilight,” Applejack says while everypony gathers around the statue. “Isn’t this what you’ve been waitin’ for?” Twilight steps closer to the statue.
“The Elements of Harmony, we’ve found them!” She says. Rainbow and Fluttershy fly into the air and start picking the orbs off the Statue and setting them on the ground next to Twilight. “Careful, don’t drop them,” As they finish setting the orbs on the ground Pinkie hops forward and counts them.
“One, two, three, four, uh... There’s only five?” Pinkie looks at Twilight worriedly. She recounts them silently and then looks at the statue. “Where’s the sixth?” Michael steps up to the statue and examines the Larger Orb.
“You guys think this is an element?” He easily picks up the orb thanks to his Golden Gauntlets and brushes off the moss revealing a star gem shape on top of it.
↑The Golden Gauntlets↑
He places it next to Twilight and holds it steady making sure it doesn’t roll away. “It was with the others, so I would assume it’s one too,” Twilight inspects the big orb.
“You may be right,” She turns back to the smaller elements. “Hold that one there, I’m gonna try magic,” Her horn lights up. “You all may want to stand back, I don’t know what will happen,” The others leave the castle leaving Michael and Twilight with the Elements. After a few moments of Twilight trying some spells, a dark Purple cloud flows in and surrounds the elements. Michael spots the cloud and yells to Twilight.
“Twilight, the ‘tackey’ purple cloud is here and it’s got the Elements!” He steps in between Twilight and the cloud drawing his sword and shield. “Girls come quick,” He shouts and hears the girls outside call for them and the sound of hooves running toward them can be heard. The cloud creates a tornado with the Elements strong enough to drag Michael and Twilight into it and Teleport them to another location. They arrive in another part of the castle in a large explosion of Purple smoke causing both Michael and Twilight to cough a few times while landing on the floor on their backs. “Where are we now?” Michael waves his shield around to disperse some of the smoke. The smoke dissipates revealing Nightmare Moon, a tall dark blue mare with wings and a horn clad in dark blue steel armor with evil slitted eyes, laughing evilly with the Elements at her hooves. Michael stands up and steps forward. “Give the Elements back!” Nightmare Moon looks at the man with a smirk. “Twilight, stay behind me,” Twilight hides behind Michael and secretly prepares a teleportation spell. Nightmare Moon chuckles.
“Oh you heroic fool,” She summons a black scythe with a crescent moon on its blade. “Do you really think you can defeat me, Nightmare Moon!?” Lightning strikes behind her dramatically, Boss Music starts playing, and text appears at the bottom of Michael’s vision.
“You don’t stand a chance,” She says with a smirk making Michael growl and get into a charging stance.
“I’ll distract her, Twilight-” He whispers. “-you go for the Elements,” Michael finishes and charges at Nightmare Moon prompting her to charge right back at him with her weapon ready to strike. They collide in the middle of the room Sword to Scythe. Michael is struggling to keep her back. “Twilight now!” He shouts. Twilight teleports over to the Elements. She tries her best to activate them causing Nightmare Moon to lose focus for a second and glance toward Twilight allowing Michael to kick her in the stomach sending her back away from him. She growls with anger.
“You will pay for that Foal!” She slashes at Michael with her Scythe but he blocks it with his shield just in time. She growls seething with anger and backs away. She raises her hand and creates several orbs of dark magic. She lowers her hand in the direction of Michael and launches them like cannonballs at him. He quickly dodges and blocks most of them but one hits him in the side sending him flying a few feet across the room reeling in pain.
“Ah, Son of a...” He slowly gets back up and turns back toward Nightmare Moon who is slowly heading for Twilight. “Damn, I won’t make it even if I sprint,” He thinks for a second. “If only I had Link’s bow and arrows I could do something,” Twilight notices Nightmare Moon closing in on her and panics trying desperately to get the Elements to do something. Michael remembers something. In the game, Link just grabbed his items from under his shield as if he was using magic to store the tons of items he was carrying. Out of desperation, Michael sheaths his sword and shield, puts his left hand under his shield, thinks about Link’s bow, and grabs the air. He pulls his hand back in front of him and magically Link’s Fairy Bow, An expertly crafted Wooden bow appears in his hand,
↑The Fairy Bow↑
“Holy shit, it worked!” He moved his other hand over his shoulder and mimed pulling an arrow from a quiver and an arrow appeared magically in his hand just like the bow. “This is going to make things a whole lot easier,” His attention is refocused on Nightmare Moon when Twilight screams as Nightmare Moon raises her Scythe to swing. “Not on my watch!” He shouts as he knocks the arrow and fires it right at Nightmare Moon.
“Goodbye Foal,” Right as Nightmare Moon starts to swing an arrow whizzes right past her muzzle, just barely missing, causing her to flinch and miss Twilight. “What the!” She looks in the direction it came from and Michael is already readying another arrow to fire.
“Twilight, get away from her, now!” Twilight doesn’t hesitate and quickly clambers away not having enough time to stand up. “Your quarrel is with me Nightmare Moon-” He knocks the arrow and pulls back the string. “-not her!” He fires the arrow at her this time she dodges and the arrow cuts through her ethereal hair cutting off a few strands. Nightmare Moon looks at the damage to her beautiful hair.
“You wretched worm,” She stares the man down with fire in her eyes. “You will pay for damaging my mane!” She speeds toward Michael, Scythe ready to cut him to shreds. “Die!” He quickly puts away the bow and reaches for his sword and shield but he’s too slow. She slices him with her Scythe dealing a ton of damage and sending him flying into a wall leaving an impression on it. Michael slides down the wall into a sitting position holding his side which has a large cut that is bleeding.
"Ah, fuck this hurts..." He says holding his side. Nightmare Moon laughs maniacally at his pain, meanwhile Twilight is back with the elements. They start sparking with magic causing Nightmare Moon to look over and start panicking.
“No!” Nightmare Moon rushes in front of Twilight and slashes at her with her Scythe. She misses as the Elements throw Twilight away towards the door to the room. The Elements start glowing and rising into the air making Nightmare Moon gasp with fear. They stop and fall to the ground shattering making Twilight gasp and Nightmare Moon burst into maniacal laughter. “Your efforts have failed and now the Night will last forever!” Dark energy flows from her hair and the room starts to darken when suddenly.
“We’re on our way you two, Stay safe we’re almost there!” The girls shout as they are getting close to the room. Twilight gasps and has an epiphany. She stands up and looks at Nightmare Moon with confidence.
“You think you’ve won just because the Elements of Harmony shattered?” She strikes a confident pose and the Boss music fades away. “Well, you’re wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony,” She pauses as the girls enter the room. “Are right here!” Michael looks up and smiles at the girls as they all strike confident poses making Nightmare Moon growl in anger.
"What are you talking about?!" Nightmare Moon shouted confused. The shards of the Elements Glow and rise into the air confusing Nightmare Moon.
“Applejack who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of Honesty!” The shards of an Element gravitate around Applejack. “Fluttershy, who tamed the Manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness!” Another Element gravitates around Fluttershy. “PinkiePie who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of Laughter!” Pinkie is surrounded by an Element. “Rarity who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of Generosity!” Rarity gets surrounded by an Element too. “And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, represents the spirit of Loyalty!” Rainbow strikes a heroic pose and is surrounded by an Element. “The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us,” Nightmare Moon interjects.
“You still don’t have the sixth element, the spark didn’t work!” She flairs her wings in anger.
“But it did, a different kind of spark,” She turns to her friends. “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you, the spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are my friends,” The large shattered orb sparks to life and gathers around Twilight. “You see Nightmare Moon when those Elements are ignited by the,” She paused to think for a second. “The spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element, the Element of Magic!” The Elements all glow a bright white and transform into necklaces for Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all resembling their cutie marks. Twilight’s Element transforms into a crown with her cutie mark as the centerpiece. Once the Elements are in their new forms, the girls all float together and a Beam of Rainbow energy shoots directly at Nightmare Moon and surrounds her in a Rainbow Tornado and a bright light fills the room for a few seconds. Once the light dissipates all the girls are on the ground exhausted. They all shakily get up.
“Everypony ok?” Applejack asks. Michael coughs and grunts in pain prompting everypony to look in his direction and gasp. He’s sitting with his back against the wall with blood dripping from his mouth, a large cut on his side, and is breathing heavily.
“Link you’re hurt!” Fluttershy shouts as she rushes over to him. Everypony else rushes over too. “Oh my, you’re bleeding very badly!” She says then moves his hand away from his side causing him to hiss from the pain. The cut is deep but not life-threatening, “We need to get you some help immediately,” Twilight thinking quickly uses her magic to teleport a first aid kit for Fluttershy.
“Here Fluttershy, use this,” Fluttershy nods and grabs the first aid kit. She starts helping Michael with his injuries. As she is busy helping him the others walk away to give them space.
“Gee Twilight, I thought you just spouting out a lotta hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the Elements of Harmony,” Applejack says trying to take the tension away from the room.
“Indeed you do,” A bright golden light shines from a window and the sun rises over the horizon. A tall mare with wings and a horn appeared from the golden light wearing a long white dress that flowed in the nonexistent wind much like her long colorful hair. She lands on the ground with grace and everypony, not busy helping Michael, bows for her except Twilight.
“Princess Celestia,” Twilight gasps and runs over to Celestia.
“Twilight Sparkle-” They hug. “-my faithful student. I knew you could do it,” Celestia states with a smile.
“But you told me it was all an old pony tale,” Twilight says confused breaking off the hug.
“I told you to make some friends,” Celestia paused for a moment. “Nothing more,” She looks to the others in the room noticing Michael and Fluttershy next to a wall but continued speaking. “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return, and I knew it was you, who had the magic inside to defeat her,” She looks back at Twilight. “But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart,” Twilight looks at her friends happily. “Now if only another will as well, Princess Luna,” They all look toward where Nightmare Moon was standing. Sitting on the ground holding her head was Princess Luna, a Dark Blue woman with a horn and wings no longer shrouded in Dark steel armor, She was smaller than before and had a Near black gown that flowed in the wind. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this,” Princess Luna trembles in fear at her sister. “Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister,” Everypony but Fluttershy, Michael, and the two sisters gasp. “Will you accept my friendship?” Luna stands up and hugs Celestia tight.
“I’m so sorry,” She sniffles. “I missed you so much, big sister,” Celestia hugs back even tighter.
“I missed you too,” Celestia and Luna have tears running down their faces and Pinkie is crying uncontrollably. Twilight suddenly remembers Michael being badly injured and speaks.
“Princess Celestia, one of my friends was badly injured in the battle with Nightmare Moon,” Luna looks horrified and Celestia looks back at Fluttershy still helping the poor man with his injuries.
“Thank you for letting me know Twilight,” Celestia looks down at Luna. “Come, dear sister, let us help Twilight’s friend in need,” Luna nods but frowns. everypony walks over to Him and Fluttershy. Luna kneels next to the man looking over his injuries.
“We are very sorry for hurting you brave knight,” She says with tears flowing down her face. Celestia kneels with her putting a hand on Luna’s shoulder.
“I thank you, brave knight, for helping Twilight and her friends save my dear sister here, though I am saddened you were injured in the battle,” Fluttershy finishes cleaning up his wound and moves away from the princess due to her shyness. “Thank you my little pony, for helping this poor hero,” Celestia and Luna stand up. “Here, let me help you up,” She reaches a hand out to Michael, he grabs it and a warm light covers his body soothing the pain and giving him enough energy to stand, even his tunic is repaired.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” He says as she helps him up. She does notice he isn’t a pony but keeps this to herself, for now. Pinkie stops crying and realizes that the return of Princess Luna is a special occasion.
“Hey, do you know what this calls for?” Pinkie breathes deeply and yells. “A Party!” As everypony is leaving the room, Celestia and Luna hang back and stop Michael to talk to him.
“I want to thank you again for protecting Twilight and helping return my beloved Sister, it means a lot to me,” Michael tries to bow on his knee but due to the damage the most he can do is just lean forward a bit. “What is your name, brave warrior?” Michael looks up at her.
“My name is Michael, but right now I go by Link,” Michael looks around and notices the others have left the room. “I’m sure you can tell I’m not a pony,” Celestia and Luna both nod. “I’m a Human from the planet Earth. I was tricked into coming here by an evil man known as the Merchant,” Celestia nods in affirmation while Luna tilts her head in confusion. “I’m most likely stuck here indefinitely so while I’m here I vow to protect anyone or anypony I can with the gift I was given,” This peaks Celestia’s interest.
“And what gift were you granted, if I may ask,” She says prompting Michael to raise his right arm to show the Princesses three triangle symbols on his hand.
“I was given this body, the body of a legendary hero named, Link,” The triangles glow golden, one solid the rest outlined. “This symbol is known as the Triforce, Three sacred triangles created by the goddesses of Link’s world. Extremely powerful artifacts that when all three are together can grant wishes to the one that holds them,”
↑The Triforce↑
Michael points to the one that is solid with his other hand. “I possess the Triforce of Courage, usually granted to the one destined to become a hero and overcome a great evil,” He lowers his hand and clutches his side again. “With that said, I will do everything in my power to protect your ponies, and stand by the Elements of Harmony,” He reaches up and draws his blade. “With this blade-” He stabs it into the floor and holds the end of the hilt with both hands, “-I ask that you give me the honor of being the protector of the Elements of Harmony,” He gets down on one knee, painfully, and bows his head. Celestia and Luna look at each other before nodding.
“Rise, Sir Link,” Michael slowly stands up, using the master sword for leverage, and looks up at Celestia. “Let it be known that in saving my dear sister from Nightmare Moon, you have earned your place as Protector of the Elements of Harmony,” Michael breathes a sigh of relief and Celestia smiles warmly at him. “There is but one condition to be the Protector of the Elements,”
“Whatever it may be, Princess Celestia-” Michael puts his hand with the triforce on it over his heart. “-I solemnly vow that I will do it,” Celestia then nods and continues.
“Then on this day I, Princess Celestia Co-ruler of Equestria, assign you as Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony’s Royal Guardian,” Michael smiles and bows to the Princesses.
“It would be my honor, your Majesties,” The Princesses smile. Michael stands back up and sheaths his sword. “Now, shall we go to Ponyville to celebrate your sister’s return?” They nod and join the others on their trek back to Ponyville.
=Back in Ponyville= -After A Decently Long Walk-
All of the townsfolk are celebrating the return of Princess Luna. Pinkie decorated the entire town with a variety of party decorations, balloons, streamers, banners, hats, etc. As the townsfolk and other Elements of Harmony bearers are enjoying the party, Twilight is sitting at a table alone looking like she’s about to cry. Celestia spots this and walks over to sit next to her faithful student.
“Why so glum my faithful student?” Celestia says in a motherly voice. “Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?” Twilight looks down and closes her eyes.
“That’s just it,” She sniffles holding back tears. “Just when I learn how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them,” A tear falls from Twilight’s eye. Celestia puts a reassuring arm around Twilight’s shoulder.
“Spike, take a note please,” Spike, a purple and green dragon with green spines just a head shorter than Twilight walks over grabbing a quill and parchment from his pockets. “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, shall take on a new mission for Equestria,” Twilight looks up at Celestia. “She must continue to study the magic of friendship and she must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville,” The girls cheer and gather around Twilight for a group hug.
“Thank you, Princess Celestia, I’ll study harder than ever before,” Twilight hugs her friends. She then spots Michael alone leaning against a tree arms crossed with a sad and yet serious look on his face. Celestia follows her gaze and stands up to talk with Michael. Celestia walks over, stands next to the man, and speaks.
“Is something wrong, Link?” He looks up at the sky and nods slowly. “Please tell me what’s wrong young hero,” Michael looks at her and clears his throat.
“I just finally realized that I have nowhere to go...” He closes his eyes. “No family to go back to, no friends to go to, not even a home to return to,” Despite his previous actions and behavior, Michael sheds a tear for his former life. “Princess, can you help me, can you give me someplace to call my new home?” He opens his eyes and looks at her. She shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, but cannot help you,” She pauses and smiles. “But I think, somepony else can,” Twilight slowly walked over to them having heard the entire conversation.
“Link, you can stay with me, There’s an extra bedroom in the Library that you can have,” Michael slowly smiles and hugs Twilight.
“Thank you Twilight, I couldn’t ask for a better friend,” She happily hugs back and after a few seconds, the other girls join the hug for another group hug with Spike joining in too.
About two days have passed since the battle with Nightmare Moon. Michael has finally adjusted to his new living situation with Twilight and Spike in the Golden Oaks Library. For the past few days, Twilight and Fluttershy have been checking on him to make sure he’s ok. Yesterday Twilight asked a few questions about him but he kept telling her the same thing.
“Twilight, how many times do I have to tell you,” He stands up and rubs the sleep from his eyes. “I’ll tell you-” He yawns and stretches a little painfully. “-after I recover fully mentally and physically, besides, it’s not something you really want to know,” Twilight looks down disappointed. Michael puts a hand on her shoulder and she looks him in the eye. “Alright no more of that, how about this, gather our friends tomorrow and I’ll tell everypony at once,” She gasps excitedly.
“Really, you’ll tell us about yourself and where you’re from?!” Michael chuckles and pats her head.
“You have my word, Twilight, I promise,” He starts to leave his room. “Now come on, I can smell Spike making pancakes and as we all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” Twilight smiles and follows Michael downstairs. They couldn’t have timed coming downstairs any better since Spike was already placing three plates of delicious buttermilk pancakes, without hay of course, slathered in maple syrup on the dinner table just outside the kitchen. Twilight and Fluttershy both already know about Michael’s omnivorous diet when they saw his canines on one of their checkups after the battle, thankfully they understood that he won’t hurt anypony and he can just live off fish like a bear, he also told them about what foods he can’t eat like flowers, hay, gems, etc.
“These pancakes look delicious, Spike,” Twilight says as she and Michael sit at the dinner table. “You always make the best pancakes,” Spike blushes from the praise and then sits at the table as well.
“Alright everypony, dig in!” Spike says as he starts devouring his pancakes. Michael and Twilight slowly eat to savor the incredible flavor. Michael eats a fork full of pancakes and they are the best-tasting pancakes he’d ever eaten, once he swallows though, he hears a strange noise. This sound freezes him in place and after a few seconds of him frozen looking around his peripheral vision Twilight notices him just sitting there, fork in hand only one bite taken from his pancakes.
“Link, are you okay?” This makes Spike look up from his nearly finished plate. “Spike, you remembered to not add hay right?” Spike gulps the mouthful of pancakes and nods his head. Michael, not finding what he was looking for, snaps out of it and responds to Twilight.
“I’m fine just, those were the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten it froze my brain how good they tasted,” He chuckles nervously. Spike smiles and continues eating his pancakes. “Really, Twilight, I’m alright just still a little sleepy,” He eats another fork full and hears the noise again. “Especially since somepony woke me up early this morning,” Twilight chuckles and continues eating her pancakes. Spike finishes his pancakes first and heads to the kitchen to clean his plate.
“So Link,” Twilight says after she finishes the next to last bite of her pancakes. “You better keep your word about explaining yourself to our friends tomorrow,” Michael finishes his pancakes.
“I never break my promises, Twilight,” He responds. “Just gather them and I’ll explain everything, Spike too,” Twilight nods. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” He stands up and puts his plate in the kitchen. “I’m going on a run, gotta get this tiredness out of my system,”
“Ok then be careful, don’t stay out too late,” Twilight says while waving and smiling. Michael nods and heads out the front door. Once he’s outside he jogs towards the edge of town following the edge of the Everfree Forest so he can visit Fluttershy as thanks for helping him while he was injured. During his jog, he decides to stop next to a large tree to confirm his suspicions about what strange noise when he ate his pancakes. He checks his field of vision again for any health bars or hearts.
“I know what I heard, it was the heart recovery sound from Ocarina of time,” He doesn’t find anything in his vision but he remembers an old video series on the early days of youtube called ‘The Legend of Neil’ and he pulls off his gauntlet to check his wrist. “Son of a...” Under his gauntlet are three heart icons and a small magic meter imprinted into his wrist like a tattoo.
↑Michael’s Heart and Magic Meters↑
His health and magic are currently full thanks to the pancakes and the two days of rest. “I only have three hearts, shit,” He grunts annoyed. “Must be because my last playthrough of Ocarina of Time was a minimalist run,” He puts his gauntlet back on and continues his jog. As he nears Fluttershy’s cottage he starts hearing a strange whistling drawing him towards the Everfree forest, Michael thinks about just ignoring the whistling but as he gets closer, the whistling becomes more clear.
“The song of healing?” He whispers to himself. “It can’t be,” Now knowing that the song being whistled is from the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, he heads deeper into the Everfree Forest to seek what’s whistling. After a few moments of pushing past brush and leaves, he stumbles upon a Howling Stone from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, a large headstone like rock with a large eye carved into its surface with a hole in its iris.
↑The Howling Stone↑
“What the hell is this doing here?” He steps close to it and it starts to whistle the song of healing again. He then remembers he can summon Items from under his shield like a hidden inventory. “Let me try something,” He reaches under his shield and grabs the air while thinking about an item. Pulling his hand back in front of him he summons the Ocarina of Time from his inventory. “This makes things interesting,” He waits for the Howling stone to finish its current string of whistles and then plays The Song of Healing on his Ocarina.
Once the melody finishes, a familiar fanfare plays, soon followed by a loud howl that echoes throughout the forest.
“Howling?” He draws his sword and shield and looks around in case of an ambush. “Hope that isn’t Timberwolves,” He turns his back toward the Howling Stone. The ‘eye’ within the stone began to swirl with green wind, and soon, a ghostly-looking green, red, and grey wolf leaped out of the ‘eye’ and landed in front of Michael. As it slowly rose, Michael noticed that the wolf’s face had many scars, Its chest had a star-shaped patch of fur that was discolored from the rest of the wolf, and on the wolf’s forehead was a symbol of Din. Michael takes a good look at the wolf noticing the symbol. “Din?” He begins to lighten his stance and carefully sheath his sword and shield. The moment Michael let down his guard, the wolf leaped high into the air and straight into Michael’s head forcing him to blackout.
=Unknown Location= -Unknown Time-
When Michael regained consciousness, he noticed he was standing in what appeared to be an area filled with many bright clouds. Michael could see some of the lands from above, especially Canterlot as its tallest features rose above the clouds though everything looked beyond his reach.
“Whoa,” He looks around the area in sheer awe as sights and locations from both Equestria and Hyrule peak through the foggy floor. “This place looks so much better in person,” He does the cardinal sin of looking down and through the cloud-like floor. He spots grass, fifty feet below him. “Holy shit, I don’t like heights,” He shudders and clears the thought of suddenly falling to his doom out of his head.
“Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting someone else to suffer the same fate as me.” A voice spoke out behind him causing Michael to look up and turn around. He saw what looked like a red hood and cloaked man, however as Michael’s eyes looked closer he notices the same familiar green tunic he was wearing, although with chainmail poking out. The moment the man lowered his cloak, Michael saw... Himself? No… This Link looked different, more worn out, and had a much darker shade of blond. he also had facial hair a goatee and a mustache. The scars were there as well across Link’s face and some parts of his pointed ear were cut by some sort of claw.
“The same fate?” Michael asked the other Link. “Are you also trapped in another world, different from your original one?” He added.
“Pretty much. I ended up in another Equestria after opening up a treasure chest containing the Triforce Of Courage.” Link explained as he approached Michael.
“Strange, I was sent to Equestria by the Merchant after I purchased an Ocarina of Time,” Michael reached under his shield and pulled out said Ocarina. Link pulled out his own, however, his was designed differently, almost as if it was made for Twilight Princess.
“I might as well teach you a little something while we’re at it. What would you like?” Link asked curiously. Michael scratches his head in thought.
“Well, from what I gathered, I have only the essentials to beat Ocarina of Time,” Michael explains. “So I think I need some of Ocarina of Time’s songs but, one that will help the most is Epona’s song,” He says. “I know it, but due to this theory I’m thinking of, it most likely won’t work unless someone ‘teaches’ it to me,” He crosses his arms. “You see, I have some of the video game's mechanics. I have hearts, magic, a hidden inventory, and I’ve also seen text in my vision every now and then,”
“...Jeez, the merchant left you hanging low and dry with so little.” Link said with a frown, then paused to think. “Did you do any kind of challenge in the game before you bought your Ocarina?” He asked curiously.
“Yeah, The last run I beat was a minimalist run, three hearts, basic magic meter, only the required items, that kind of run,” He explains. “So mainly I have the essentials, I hope I find some heart containers, I feel weak”
“That...” Link paused to shake his head as he felt sorry for Michael. “Let’s hope those game mechanics let you get more hearts. For now, I’m going to teach you Epona’s song.” Link said as he raised the mouthpiece to his lips. Link closes his eyes. A hud suddenly appears in front of Michael as Link plays Epona’s Song.
Michael puts his Ocarina to his lips and echoes the song. A duet begins between the two, repeating after each other in rhythmic harmony. As the last note is played, a new text box appears. [You learned Epona’s song] flashed in Michael’s vision with a fanfare signifying that he indeed ‘learned’ the song. “...I did not expect harmony magic to be this strong in your world.” Link said as Michael stared in awe at how his blue ocarina glittered with newfound power.
“Thanks, uh…” Michael hesitates for a second blanking on what to call the other link.
“Just call me Link. Jeff is my real name but for some reason, my Displacer made it so that saying it to non-displaced would end up forcing me to say Link, much like me trying to cuss only for my words to change.” Link explained.
“I guess I got lucky,” Michael chuckles. “Sorry, I’m not making fun of you it’s just, I can still say my name but prefer to be called Link while in this body, it just doesn’t feel right not to be called Link,” He puts away his Ocarina and extends his hand to shake. “My name’s Michael, but my friends call me Mike,” He Smiles. Link reached out and took Michael’s hand, and at that moment both of their respective Triforce pieces gently radiated together.
“...Seems mine recognizes yours as a piece.” Link pointed out.
“I hope that’s a good thing…” Michael says. “So, any idea how to get out of here or...” He looks around the area.
“Only I can break the link that’s keeping the mindscape up. I can still teach you things, however, physical items will need to be given outside of here.” Link explained as he let go of Michael’s hand. “As for the glow, it can be good and bad. It all depends if you’ve got a power-hungry prince of darkness seeking out the pieces and if he learns there’s more than one wish-granting Triforce. Multiverse theory and all that jazz.” he said with a shrug.
“I hope there isn’t a Ganondorf in my world,” Michael reminisces on his failed three-heart runs of the past. “My heart meter’s also in the worst location to keep track of by the way,” Michael takes off his gauntlet to show Link his heart meter. “I didn’t discover it until this morning, I think Nightmare Moon almost killed me, I vaguely remember hearing the dreaded Low Heart beep when the adrenaline rush wore off after the battle,” He whines. “What I wouldn’t do for some sword training…”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got something for your issue. Hidden Sword Skills, what hidden skill would you like? I know all of one’s from Twilight Princess.” Link explained as he pulled out his Master Sword. “Don’t worry about being harmed, it’ll be mostly mental fatigue,“ He said.
“Oh good, Nightmare Moon shredded my side and I do not want to go through that pain again,” He drew his Master sword. “For now, I think I need the BackSlice, I’m not good at keeping up a frontal defense for very long,”
“The backslice, very useful to get around a fully armored enemy to get to their uncovered weakness.” Link explained before suddenly rolling behind Michael, spinning around and stopping at the last second as Link’s sword was dangerously close to Michael’s head. “With you being the hero of time, rolling shouldn’t be an issue if you curve it.” Link explained as he took a step back. “Now repeat what I did,” He said as he watched to see if Michael would do the same.
“Alright, here goes nothing,” Michael faces Link and dodge rolls around him, at his back Michael spin jumps out of the roll, and nearly hits Link. “Holy shit…” He says as he lands, He’s swaying from side to side trying to keep from falling over. “Dizzy…”
“Heh, despite you starting with almost nothing, the video game mechanics are helping you out greatly. Just remember your timing and don’t use it constantly, otherwise, they’ll catch on.” Link said as he sliced the air twice, spun his sword around, and sheathed it with a loud cling. A new text box appears in Michael’s vision, 'You’ve learned the Backslice!'.
“Man the text popping up in my vision is kind of getting annoying,” He says as he sheaths his sword boringly.
“The rest of what I can give you, I’ll need to pass on to you manually. The test has been passed.” Link said, causing the world to slowly brighten up and blinding Michael.
=Back in the Everfree Forest= -Seconds Later-
When the light clears from Michael’s vision, he finds himself back in the Everfree forest, however, he is face down in the grass. “How did I know this would happen…” He stands up off the ground and dusts himself off. “Damn Twilight princess respawn mechanics…” He grumbles to himself.
“I’d hate to see if Tingle exists in this world.” A voice spoke out behind Michael, making him jump five feet into the air. When he lands he holds his chest trying to calm his racing heart. Link is seen leaning against the nearest tree laughing softly.
“For the love of whatever deity is watching over us right now,” Michael catches his breath. “Don’t sneak up on a guy like that,” He takes a moment to center himself. “Alright I’m over it, also are we back in the real world er-” He shakes his head and corrects himself. “-Equestria?”
“Equis is often the plant’s name.” Links said he got off the tree. “So, what else can I do for you for the rest of my visit?” he asked curiously.
“Do you have anything that would be able to help me, uh,” He stopped to think of the right words. “Z-Target my enemies or monitor my health and magic for me?” He asked.
“I have something that can do both,” Link said as he reached into his pouch, soon pulling out what looked to be a curled-up fairy. She slowly unwraps her wings, revealing herself to be some kind of fairy made of clay. “This is Tael, a fairy golem created by a Howler I met named Cameron Ruff. Tael? You’ll be serving Michael from now on.” Link said as Tael fluttered her wings to fly over to Michael’s shoulder.
“Hello Tael, you’re gonna be a big help, welcome to the team…” Michael thinks for a second. “The team of one…” He chuckles embarrassed. “Glad to have you,” He smiles and looks back at Link. “There’s just one more thing I think I need, can you make a mask from Majora’s mask but have it disguise me as a pony?” He asked.
“That one will take a bit of void energy to do. What kind of pony do you want the mask to be?” Link asked as he held his hands a few inches apart from each other. Michael thinks for a moment then nods.
“Earth pony would make the most sense, I’m super strong and can’t really use pony magic or fly,” He says. Heavy pressure can be felt between Link’s hands as chaotic paradoxal purple energy starts to manifest, causing Link to strain himself. Slowly, the face of a wooden pony mask came into form as Link grabbed it once it’s finished forming. The ‘mane’ part of the mask was blond with its face being green.
↑The Earth Pony Mask↑
“Now, the only thing I can’t determine is your cutie mark, that part will happen naturally over time depending on what you’re best at,” Link explained as he handed Michael the mask.
“I’ll just have to figure that out, I wasn’t really good at anything before Equestria so, it could really be anything,” He said as he received the mask from Link. “And as for a name while in disguise, I’m not creative so I might need help with that from somepony,” He puts the mask away under his shield.
“Ah!” Link began as he snapped his fingers. “I forgot to mention something. Be careful with my token, it contains Twili energy, so if you mess with it, you might turn into your own wolf form,” he explained.
“What token?” Michael asked before looking down to see a howling stone necklace. “Oh cool, I’ll do my best not to let the Twilight consume this world,” He salutes. “I really hope I don’t meet Zant either…”
“Eh… The Twili energy within the token is too small, not unless the Twilight Realm exists in your world and we just don’t know it...” Link said with a curious hum.
“So…” Michael awkwardly paused. “What now?” He asked not knowing what to do after all that’s happened in the past hour or two. “Is there a way to send you back to your world or are you stuck here now?”
“Just say your ‘contact is complete’ and I’ll be on my way.” Link answered.
“Ok then, your contract is complete, until next time fellow Hero of Courage,” Michael says with a smile and a wave. With those words, a translucent blue crystal surrounded Link and while slowly spinning in place he ascended to the skies, with a flash of light Link was gone. A new text box appears in Michael’s vision, 'You’ve received Tael the Golem Fairy & The Earth Pony Mask!'.
After his first encounter with another Displaced, Michael and his new companion Tael, continued walking towards Fluttershy’s cottage. During the short walk, Michael decides to formally introduce himself to Tael.
“So, Tael, like you we’re told earlier, my name is Michael,” He starts. “But my friends in this world call me, Link,” Tael nods and Michael continues. “Right now we’re going to my friend Fluttershy’s house to thank her for checking up on me while I was severely injured,” Tael gasps.
“Oh no, Master!” She says with worry in her voice. “You were severely injured?” Michael nods. “What happened?” Michael chuckles.
“I had to fight a strong opponent on my own and I wasn’t prepared in the slightest,” He explains. “I’ll fill you in later,” He smiles. “So, just curious, tell me about yourself, Tael,” She smiles.
“Well as you know, My name is Tael, the Golem fairy,” She starts. “I can help you by using Healing magic to recover your hearts and monitor them for you,” She floats off his shoulder and hovers in front of him. “I can also hide in your hat just like in the games,” She demonstrates by flying into his hat and disappearing entirely. “I can even speak to you while hidden,” She flies back out and sits on his shoulder again.
“Wow, I can already tell you are going to be a big help, Tael,” Michael says making Tael smile and pose confidently. “Ah finally, we’re at Fluttershy’s,” He says as they arrive at a bridge crossing a small creek leading to Fluttershy’s Cottage. “Tael, I know this might sound weird but, can you hide while I talk to Fluttershy?” She tilts her head in confusion. “Fluttershy is a very shy pony and I’m afraid that seeing a new creature would probably scare her,” She nods and flies up into Michael’s hat. “I’m going to tell Fluttershy and my other friends about myself tomorrow, I’ll introduce you then ok?”
“Ok Master, I’ll stay here until you tell me otherwise,” She says telepathically. “While I’m here I’ll also monitor your hearts and magic, just in case,” Michael smiles.
“Thanks for understanding, Tael,” He says. “But can you refrain from calling me Master please, just call me Link while others are around and Michael when it’s just us, ok?”
“Understood mas... Er, Michael,” She says.
“Thanks, Tael,” He says as he reaches Fluttershy’s front door. He knocks on the door and a few moments later the door opens. “Hey, Fluttershy, It’s...” He stops as he notices no one behind the door. “Uhh, what,” A small annoyed squeak sounds out under him. Looking down Michael spots a small white rabbit crossing its arms and looking at the man with an annoyed look on its face. “Oh, it’s you,” He mumbles under his breath. “Can you tell Fluttershy, Link is here, little guy,” The rabbit squints and looks at Michael from head to toe, silently judging him.
“Angel?” Says a soft voice inside the cottage. “Who’s at the door?” Angel squeaks something at the voice and it gasps. “Link’s here?” Fluttering wings can be heard for a few seconds then Fluttershy flies into view to greet her guest. “Hello, Link, good to see you outside today, is there anything I can do for you?” She asks politely, all the while Angel is eyeing Michael like a hawk.
“Not really, Fluttershy,” He smiles. “I only came by to thank you again for helping me recover from my fight with Nightmare Moon and to tell you that tomorrow I’m going to talk to you and the others about who I am, where I’m from, and other important things about me,”
“Oh, that sounds like fun, thanks for letting me know,” She smiles. “Would you like to come in and have some tea?” She steps out of the way so Michael can enter.
“Sure, I’ve had an eventful morning, thanks for the hospitality, Fluttershy,” Fluttershy smiles and flies into her kitchen to heat some water. Michael goes to enter but Angel stops him. He looks down at the rabbit, and it points its paws at its eyes then at Michael’s. “Loud and clear, Angel, loud and clear,” Angel nods and allows Michael entrance into the cottage. Once inside Fluttershy comes back from the kitchen and leads Michael over to a couch with a coffee table next to it.
“Here, sit while I go get some tea, any preference?” She asks as she starts heading to the kitchen.
“I’ve never really had real tea so surprise me,” He says as he finds a comfortable spot on the couch and sits down. Looking around, Fluttershy’s Cottage is full of birdhouses, mouse holes, and pet beds, it’s a little too crowded for Michael’s liking but it doesn’t bother him too much. A few minutes later Fluttershy returns from the kitchen holding a tray with a teapot and 2 teacups. She sets them down and puts a teacup with a teabag in it on a coaster in front of Michael and the other in front of an empty spot on the couch. “Thanks, Fluttershy,” He says as she pours hot water into the teacups.
“You’re very welcome, Link,” She places the teapot back on the tray and sits on the couch next to her teacup. “So how was your morning, if you don’t mind me asking...” She says with the last part being quieter than the first.
“My morning has been rather eventful, thanks for asking,” Michael picks up his teacup and blows on it. “Again, thanks for the tea, Fluttershy,” He says avoiding the question, taking a sip of the hot tea, and burning his tongue a little. “How was your morning,”
“Oh, my morning was pretty uneventful,” She picks up her teacup and blows on it as well. “I just fed the animals their breakfast like I usually do,” She blows on the tea a bit more and takes a sip.
“I just remembered something,” Michael says after another sip of tea, this time not burning himself. “Are there horses in this world?” He asks. Fluttershy nods while taking another sip of tea. “Ok, how would you feel about taking care of a horse for me?” She tilts her head in confusion and sets her teacup down.
“What do you mean Link, do you have a horse somewhere?” Michael sets his teacup down and stands up.
“I have to show you something, come with me outside,” Fluttershy stands up and follows Michael outside, albeit walking at a slower pace than him. “I have a horse named Epona, let me summon her real quick,” Fluttershy tilts her head in confusion again as Michael pulls out the Ocarina of Time. “All I have to do is play this simple song and she’ll come galloping,” He puts the instrument up to his lips and plays Epona’s Song.
A few seconds after the last note is played, a horse neighs in the distance and starts galloping toward them from the forest. Once the horse breaks through the foliage the horse is revealed to be Epona from the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, a large reddish-orange workhorse with a white mane and tail.
↑Epona↑
“Oh, my,” Epona stops in front of Michael and he pets her gently as Fluttershy looks her over. “She’s a beautiful horse Link, you take really good care of her,” She says.
“Well, as you know I’m living with Twilight and Spike right now,” He starts while having Fluttershy’s full attention. “There’s nowhere for her to be at the Library, so can you do me a huge favor and take care of her?” He asks the yellow mare. She thinks about it for a moment then nods.
“Sure Link, I’ll take care of her, I’ve always loved to take care of animals and I know she’ll be wonderful to take care of,” Fluttershy pets Epona and she happily neighs. “Hello, Epona, My name’s Fluttershy how are you,” Michael steps away from Epona and Fluttershy.
“Well, I gotta go, Fluttershy, I need to get back to the library the sun’s starting to set,” Fluttershy looks at Michael and smiles.
“I’ll come with you, I have to ask Twilight something about one of my animals anyway, wait here,” She turns back to Epona. “Come with me sweety, let’s go find you a nice place to sleep,” She leads Epona behind her cottage, and after a few moments of waiting, Fluttershy walks back to Michael. “Epona is settled in, let’s head to the Library,” Michael nods and they walk into town.
On their walk, the town is unusually quiet unnerving Michael a little, once they arrive at the Library the lights are off inside. Michael looks around then up at the sky, The sun is just now setting over the Everfree forest.
“That’s strange, it seems Twilight and Spike went to bed early,” He puts a hand on the door nob. “Come on in, I’m sure there’s a book to help with whatever you need to ask Twilight about,” He opens the door and steps inside with Fluttershy. “Now where’s that light switch again?” He runs a hand along the wall and finds the light switch. “Ah, here it is,” He flicks the light on.
"SURPRISE!!!” The room full of Ponies all shout causing Michael to jump back and fumble backward out the door landing on his back. Everypony gasps and Fluttershy goes to help him. She helps him sit up and he clutches his chest trying to calm his heart. Pinkie, the main party planner, is front and center trying to help him up with a sad look on her face.
“I’m so sorry, Linky, I didn’t mean to scare you,” She helps him up to his feet. “Can you ever forgive me?” She says while trying to hold back tears. Michael doesn’t respond, he just looks her in the eyes. “Link?” She says then out of nowhere he bops her on the head with a gentle karate chop. She held her head where he bopped her.
“That’s for giving me a heart attack,” He says then suddenly hugs her. “This is for throwing me a welcome party,” She instantly cheers up and hugs back, a little too hard though as some bones can be heard popping. He breaks off the hug before she breaks something and heads back inside to the party rubbing his back. The party is fairly large with two decent refreshment tables with chips, fruit punch, and cupcakes. Several town ponies including the mayor, some vendors, a bunch of other towns ponies, and all of Michael’s friends are in attendance. “Thank you all for coming to my Welcome to Ponyville Party!” Michael says.
“Let’s make sure that Link here gets a warm Ponyville welcome!” Pinkie adds and puts a party horn in her mouth. “So let’s get this party started!” She jumped into the air and blew the party horn. Once the party officially started The Mayor of Ponyville came over to talk to Michael.
“Hello, Mr. Link, my name is Mayor Mare-” She adjusts her glasses. “-I want to formally welcome you to Ponyville,” She holds out her hand to shake and Michael grips her hand firmly, they shake hands while smiling.
“Hello Mayor Mare, I was actually meaning to speak with you sooner,” He says and lets go of her hand. “As you may have known I was severely injured while battling Nightmare Moon,” She nods.
“I heard about what you and your friends did and how badly you were injured from the princesses, they sent me paperwork for You, Twilight, and her assistant Spike to live in the Library,” She Smiles. “Honestly, it’s an honor to have such a Brave Hero and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony all living in Ponyville, I hope you’re enjoying your time here,” He nods.
“I am, this town is great, I couldn’t imagine anypony not enjoying it,” He says with a big smile. “Anyway, thanks for coming, I’ll be seeing you later, enjoy the party,” She smiles, nods, and proceeds to walk back into the crowd.
“Link!” Shouts Twilight from across the room. “Come over here,” She waves to him. He waves back and starts walking over to her and their friends over by the kitchen waving and saying hello to some other party-goers along the way, about halfway over to the kitchen Michael is stopped by a very enthusiastic Pony grabbing his tunic.
“I can’t believe it,” The Pony whispers from behind Michael. “A little different than I thought but, it’s a real live Human,” This catches his attention and he turns to see who’s talking. Behind Michael is a female aquamarine unicorn, about half a head shorter than him wearing a plain tee shirt and shorts with a harp cutiemark embossed on the sides. “Oh, sorry to bother you but,” She hesitates for a second. “Are you really a human?” Michael thinks for a moment then leans down closer to her ear and whispers.
“It’s a secret to everybody,” And winks. She nods vigorously. “My name’s Michael and I’m a human from another world, but for now call me Link as that’s what everypony else calls me,” She nods again, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “So-” He straightens back up and talks normally. “-Now you know me, who are you?” He says despite already knowing who he’s speaking to.
“Oh right, My name is Lyra Heartstrings, nice to meet you, Link,” She smiles. “I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing, you just caught my eye, and I kind of-” She rubs the back of her head embarrassed. “-got excited and wanted to get a closer look at you,” Michael chuckles.
“No harm no foul, just make sure to ask next time, see you later, Lyra,” Michael waves, turns back towards the kitchen, and walks toward his friends again. He reaches his friends who are all standing near the kitchen door next to a refreshments table stacked with green and yellow cupcakes, Spike is not there though as he went to bed earlier.
“Hey y'all, sorry I’m late,” He says and waves. Everypony waves back. Twilight smiles and says.
“No need to be sorry, it’s a party and you’re new in Ponyville, curious ponies will come up to talk to you,” She hands Michael a glass of fruit punch. “Oh, and I told everypony about what’s happening tomorrow,”
“Oh good,” He takes a gulp of fruit punch. “By the way, Twilight, you can write down our entire conversation and send it to the Princesses,” He chugs the rest of his drink thirsty from his morning jog and long walk back over here. “I don’t like repeating myself that much,” She nods and Pinkie pops up next to Michael.
“So how’s your ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’?” She asks slightly spooking him at her sudden appearance. He puts a hand on her head and ruffles her hair.
“I love it, thanks again, Pinkie,” She smiles, grabs a cupcake from the refreshments table, and hands it to him. “Why thank you, Pinkie,” He grabs the cupcake. “I was actually getting a little hungry,” He bites into it making sure to unwrap it a little. After a few seconds, he stops chewing and looks visibly sick.
“Are you ok darling?” Rarity asks looking concerned. “Is something wrong with the cupcake?” Pinkie backs away from him looking scared and saddened. He drops the rest of the cupcake and grabs his right cheek, his face contorts in pain.
“Link what’s wrong?” Twilight asks also concerned, even Rainbow looks a bit concerned, Applejack walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.
“You gotta tell us what’s wrong sugar cube,” He opens his mouth and points at his teeth, a second later he’s on his knees still holding his cheek with his eyes watering and grunting in pain. At this point, the other party-goers are aware of what’s happening to Michael and are staring at him and the others. Pinkie is on the verge of crying with Fluttershy comforting her.
“Your teeth hurt?” Twilight asks getting a nod out of him. “Hey, Pinkie, did Colgate come to the party tonight?” Pinkie nods still trying to hold back tears. Twilight walks over to the crowd. “Umm, Dr. Colgate we have a sudden and severe dental issue, are you still here?” A female light blue unicorn with White and dark blue toothpaste-looking hair walks out of the crowd and towards Twilight.
“I’m here, what’s the issue?” She asks. Twilight points to Michael on his hands and knees, head on the ground still holding his cheek, She walks over to the man while Twilight ushers the rest of the party out.
“Sorry, everypony we’re going to have to cut this party short,” Everypony leaves without complaining. Colgate and Applejack are helping Michael into a seat. “Ok so, he took a bite out of a cupcake then suddenly his teeth started to hurt, That’s the gist of what has happened,” Twilight explained. Colgate nods and uses her magic to hold Michael’s mouth open to inspect the damage, She pulls out some gloves from her jacket.
“You may want to stand back, without my tools this can get messy,” With that said Applejack and Twilight back away a little. After a few minutes of feeling around and Michael ‘screaming’ in pain, Colgate takes her gloves off and removes her magic from Michael’s mouth. “I found a couple of things interesting about your friend here,”
“What, Colgate?” Twilight asks. “Is he going to be ok?” Colgate tosses the gloves in a trash can and moves Twilight and friends to the Dinner table to sit, Michael follows them still holding his cheek the pain slowly subsiding.
“First, Did you know that he has canines?” Michael’s eyes widen and Rainbow looks a little unnerved, Rarity looks Horrified, Applejack looks a little scared and a little angry, Pinkie, however, looks a little confused thinking of puppies. “Judging by some of your looks, not everypony knew, ok next,” She crosses her arms. “I couldn’t see anything wrong with his teeth, but maybe when he feels better he can explain what happened,” Michael rubs his cheek and tries to speak it’s a little hard but he says something just audibly.
“Sugar,” He grunts in pain and a few seconds later. “Too much, Sugar,” Pinkie looks even more confused.
“Too much sugar?” She tosses a cupcake into her mouth and swallows it. “It’s the same amount of sugar I always use,” She pulled the cupcake Michael bit off from her hair, somehow she caught it before it hit the ground and saved it for some reason.
“Here let me see that,” Colgate takes the cupcake from Pinkie and picks a piece off from the opposite side Michael bit off of and pops it in her mouth. “Huh, tastes normal to me,” She hands the cupcake back to Pinkie and Michael speaks up again.
“I’ll explain it more tomorrow,” He pauses to rub his cheek. “My people can’t handle large amounts of sugar, about four pounds of it can kill us, and that felt like getting a baseball bat to the teeth,” The coo-coo clock in the room sounds off and it is now 9 PM. Colgate takes this opportunity to excuse herself.
“Welp It’s nine, I got some important appointments tomorrow,” She pulls a card out of her jacket and hands it to Michael. “You can come to me for regular checkups just in case,” Michael takes her card and she leaves. For a while the room is silent. After a few minutes, Michael breaks the silence.
“Ok, let’s get the elephant out of the room,” He looks to the four Ponies that didn’t know about his diet. “My canines, are for meat,” Everypony that didn’t know looks visibly sick, Rarity especially. “And just so you four know, I don’t eat ponies,” This relieves some tension from the four. “I promise, I do not eat meat for fun, I need it to survive,” Fluttershy speaks up.
“I already agreed to help him with his-” She gulps nervously. “-meat problem, though it will still have to be fish only,” Michael nods.
“Thanks again, Fluttershy, but just to make it extra clear,” He clears his throat. “I can eat more than just meat, I can eat vegetables and fruit as well, just not grass, flowers, or hay,” Rainbow calms down but keeps an eye on him, Applejack still looks a little angry for keeping a secret from her, Pinkie finally caught on to what the conversation was about and nearly threw up, and Rarity is still looking at Michael a little scared. “Now, I’m tired,” He yawns. “I’m going to get some rest, see you all tomorrow,” He stands up and heads over to the stairs. “Don’t think about it too much, just think about it like this. I’m just like you but require meat to survive, not a big deal,” He heads upstairs to his room and goes to bed. The girls were sitting at the dinner table talking amongst themselves until 10 PM, then everypony went home, some excited about tomorrow, some not too excited anymore.
A beautiful morning has arrived in the small town of Ponyville. The birds are singing, flowers are blooming, on days like this, men like Michael, should be sleeping in late. An annoyed Michael sits up from his bed awoken by the sun peeking through his window blinds hitting his eyes. He stands up off his bed, stretches, walks over to his wardrobe, and opens it. He picks up his sword, shield, and Iconic green outfit. He quickly puts on his outfit and places his sword and shield where they belong on his back. Still groggy from sleep, he yawns and makes his way to his window, opens it, and takes a breath of fresh unpolluted air.
“Ah, what a beautiful day to be bombarded by endless personal questions about myself,” He says sarcastically, he then heads over to a portion of his room that has a fair amount of exercise equipment, courtesy of Rainbow Dash herself, taking off his Golden Gauntlets he starts his daily morning workout to keep in shape. “Tael, can I ask you something?” He asked the fairy sitting on her tiny bed on his end table. She flies off her bed and lands on his shoulder.
“Yes, Michael?” She says smiling, “What can I do for you?” Michael picks up some 50lb one-handed dumbbells and starts doing bicep curls.
“As you know I’m explaining myself to Twilight and the others today,” He explains continuing to exercise. Tael flies in front of Michael, “Can you help me with that?” Tael smiles and nods her head.
“Of course I’ll help you, but what kind of help do you need?” She asks as Michael finishes a set of 50 bicep curls for both arms and places the dumbbells back where they were.
“Well you see, I have social anxiety so this talk we’re gonna have, despite them all being my friends, will most likely kill my nerves,” He drops to the ground on his hands and feet to start doing push-ups, “So while I’m talking with them, can you help me with encouraging words to help counter my social anxiety?” Tael lands on the ground in front of him and smiles.
“You can count on me, I will always help when I can,” She says with a big smile. Michael smiles and after 50 push-ups he gets back up, grabs his gauntlets, and heads out of his room toward the bathroom. Tael stays behind in his room. One much-needed shower later, and Michael is back in his room calmly practicing his sword techniques on an indestructible ponyquin, provided by Twilight, when someone knocks on his door.
“Come on in, it’s not locked,” Michael yells as he’s a fair distance away from his door, “I’m just practicing a little,” The door opens and Spike walks in. “What’s up?” Michael stops practicing, looks at Spike, and sheaths his sword.
“I came up to tell you that Twilight went to gather the others for our meeting,” Spike says then looks at the Master Sword with excitement, “I never got a chance to tell you, but that sword you’re carrying looks so cool,” Michael chuckles.
“Thanks, Spike,” He unsheaths the Master Sword and gives Spike a closer look. “This sword is very special, so it means a lot to me that you think it’s cool,” Spike looks at Michael with confusion in his eyes.
“Special?” Spike wonders, “What’s special about this blade if you don’t mind me asking?” Michael nods and starts explaining.
“This blade is called The Blade of Evil’s Bane, otherwise known as The Legendary Master Sword, it’s a sacred blade blessed by the goddesses that can easily vanquish evil back from where I’m from,” He sheaths his sword again, “This blade can only be wielded by select people, mainly heroes that posses a particular item,” Spike gasps in awe.
“That’s so cool!” Spike says with stars in his eyes, “Oh, by the way, can you teach me how to use a sword like you? I heard what you did to Nightmare Moon,” Michael thinks for a second then nods.
“You know what sure, but you can’t use the Master Sword,” He grabs under his shield and pulls out the Kokiri Sword, a short sword fit for teens, and the Deku Sheild, a shield made from the bark of the Great Deku Tree.
↑The Kokiri Sword↑
↑The Deku Shield↑
“You can use these,” He hands them over to Spike who gushes over the sword, the shield however he’s a little hesitant about, “These are the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield, two items from where I come from,” He lied to the young dragon boy, “I used these when I was younger, so I’ll pass these on to you as my apprentice,” Spike looks up to Michael with stars in his eyes.
“Really, you used these when you were younger?” Spike asked Michael, who in turn nodded, and Spike hugged the sword and shield, “Thank you, Link, I’ll make sure to keep them safe as best as I can,” Spike then realized what else Michael said, “Wait, Apprentice? Does this mean you will teach me how to use a sword and shield just like you?” Michael stands back up to his full height,
“I don’t know,” Michael thought for a moment, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. He then opens them suddenly and looks into Spike’s eyes with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk on his face, “Do you think you can handle it?” Spike looks Michael in the eyes with a confident look and nods, “Great, then as your new Master I wish you good luck in your training,” Spike puts the Kokiri sword and Deku shield on his back just like Michael assisted by some leather belts that were connected to the sword’s scabbard, “Just be careful with the shield, it’s highly flammable,” Spike nods, “I’ll get you a better one later,” He pats Spike on the head.
“Spike! We’re here, bring Link downstairs please,” They hear Twilight yell from downstairs followed by the sound of a group of ponies entering the Library, Michael and Spike look at each other and nod, Michael walks over to his door.
“We’ll be right down,” He yells out his door, he then turns back to Spike, “Hope you’re ready to explain why you’re carrying a sword and shield little buddy,” Spike nods, they exit Michael’s room, and head downstairs. Once downstairs the girls all wave from the dinner table and Michael and Spike wave back, “Hey girls, I hope you have some burning questions to get off your chests, cause I’m ready to answer them all to the best of my ability,” He smiled, as Spike went to sit next to Rarity, they all noticed his sword and shield.
“Yo, Spike, why do you have a sword and a chunk of bark on your back?” Rainbow asked the dragon.
“Link here is going to teach me how to use a sword and shield just like him,” He stood proudly and announced. after a moment he stepped away from the table and drew his sword and shield poorly, “When I asked him to teach me how to fight like him, he gave me these,” Michael stood next to Spike and put a hand on his shoulder, “He said he used these when he was younger, and since he made me his Apprentice, he passed them onto me,” Spike sheaths his sword and shield and Twilight looks to Michael slightly worried and annoyed.
“Don’t worry about it everypony, I’ll make sure he learns how to use them responsibly,” Spike sits down next to Rarity who pats his head and smiles, “Now on to the questions about me and where I come from, I’ll answer almost anything, who’s first?” Michael asked, and hands shot up from most of the ponies in attendance, but the first was Twilight whose hand shot up the literal second Michael said the word ‘first’, “Twilight, what’s your question?” The others look a little annoyed that she got the first question.
“What exactly are you, Link?” Twilight asked with enthusiasm with a large notepad floating next to her, “We know you’re not a pony, but that’s about all we know,” Michael nodded.
“I am what’s known as a human, well technically Hylian in this body,” He explains, “We are bipedal beings with hands, feet instead of hooves, and small ears on the side of our heads, though my ears are pointy since I'm not a true Human, next question,” Twilight puts her hand up first again, “Twilight you just got a question answered, wait a bit please,” She puts her hand down with a frown and a groan, “Rainbow, your question,” Rainbow fist pumps.
“You did pretty good fighting against Nightmare Moon by yourself,” Michael half nods and half shrugs, “So just how strong are you?” Michael flexes his bicep and points to his gauntlet.
“Well, with my Golden Gauntlets assisting me, I can lift a solid granite pillar about 3 stories high and throw it across a gym without breaking a sweat,” Rainbow’s jaw drops, and Applejack’s eyes widen, “Without them, I can lift 50-pound weights in each hand effortlessly, honestly I think I need heavier weights,” He puts a hand on his chin and thinks for a moment, “But that’s for another time, next question,” To everypony’s surprise, Twilight doesn’t raise her hand, and Rarity gets her hand up before anypony else this time, “Yes, Rarity, what’s your question?” She clears her throat.
“What is your world’s fashion like, more like what you wear?” She asks, Michael shakes his head, “Really, I would assume that’s the biggest fashion in your world since that outfit is all you ever wear.”
“What I’m wearing is all I really have other than two other tunics and hats that are different colors,” He said not really answering her question, “I’ve not really needed a reason to use these tunics,” He reached behind his shield and pulls out a neatly folded red tunic and hat, “This one is called the Goron Tunic, it makes me fireproof and can cool me down in extreme heat," Everypony including Spike raise their eyebrows, and Twilight questions him.
↑The Goron Tunic↑
“What do you mean that tunic makes you fireproof, it looks like normal fabric to me,” Michael smirks and pulls off his Iconic green tunic and hat, not before quickly sliding off his chest belt with his sword and shield attached, Tael using magic to be invisible and stay undetected while he changes, revealing he has a well-toned, muscular upper body and his hair in a short ponytail normally hidden under the hat. Everypony but Spike blushes at his toned body, Michael puts on the Red outfit, allowing Tael to hide in his hat again, and puts the green one away under his shield, “Alright let’s move outside so I can demonstrate this tunic’s power, Spike, I’m gonna need your help,” Everypony minus Twilight stands up, she looks at Michael like he’s crazy.
“Wait are you really gonna have Spike breathe fire on you just to prove the tunic is fireproof?” He nods and heads outside, Twilight quickly grabs a medkit, and everypony heads outside with Michael. He goes into an open area near the Library.
“This area looks good,” He unsheaths his sword and draws a battle arena with his sword in the dirt, The others look at him with a little confusion, “There we go, Spike,” Said dragon walks up to Michael and the man places Spike in a circle on the ground, “Stay right here for a second,” Michael sheaths his sword and walks to the other side of the arena, “Alright, Spike, get ready to flame me,” Spike looks a little worried.
“Are you sure about this?” He says a little hesitant about engulfing his Master in flames.
“As sure as a sword mid-swing,” Michael says, “Let’s make this a bit interesting,” He looks over at the others, “Who thinks Spike will harm me with his fire breath?” Everypony raises their arm, “Ok then, I bet you all 10 bits each, that I’ll be perfectly fine,” Tael dings in his head.
“Michael, I don’t think this is a good idea, your body may not be damaged but your hearts will certainly go down while in the flames,” Tael says telepathically, Michael thinks about it for a moment then nods.
“Get a healing spell ready, I’ll go in for about 2 seconds, be ready to heal fast,” He says quietly, “Spike get ready, It’s time to flame up!” Fluttershy and Rarity look scared, Rainbow looks excited, Applejack looks a little worried, and Twilight is vice gripping the medkit with both anger at his stupidity and worry for him hurting himself. Michael gets ready and then shouts, “Spike, light me up!” Spike begrudgingly breathes green fire at Michael engulfing him in fire and smoke, after a few seconds he stops hoping Michael was right about his clothes being fireproof, after a few seconds the fire dissipates only leaving a cloud of smoke around Michael.
“Is he ok, I can’t look,” Fluttershy whimpered as she hid behind Rarity, they suddenly heard coughing coming from the smoke, Michael walked out of the smoke coughing and waving his hand in front of his face.
“Jesus, Spike, you need a breath mint,” He coughs a little more then catches some fresh air, “When was the last time you brushed your teeth bud?” The girls all look slack-jawed at Michael, not only did his tunic not get set ablaze but his entire body was spotless, with no burned hair, no soot covering anything, not even a light tan from the heat. “See, what did I tell you, fireproof,” Michael smiled and Spike ran up to him smiling.
“Dude that was so cool, you weren’t kidding this outfit is fireproof,” Spike gushes at Michael’s bravery, the girls all look impressed, minus Fluttershy who’s looking at Michael with tears in her eyes and a little angry at him doing something so dangerous.
“Alright, before the next question, does anyone want to know what the other tunic I have does?” Twilight nods with vigor, Michael nods and swaps outfits again this time to a deep blue tunic and hat, “Okay, this tunic is called the Zora Tunic, it can let me breathe underwater for any length of time, any of ya’ll know where the nearest deep body of water is?” Rainbow flies up to him.
↑The Zora Tunic↑
“I do, follow me!” She leads everypony over to Ponyville Park, “The pond here is crystal clear and pretty deep in the middle,” She lands near the pond, “So how are you going to stay underwater?” She asks the man as he stands at the edge of the water.
“I’ll use my Iron Boots,” Michael says casually as he pulls some metal objects from under his shield, “They make me heavier so I sink like a big rock in water,”
↑The Iron Boots↑
He places them over his boots and starts wading into the water slowly at first but once his head is under he speeds up, he stops a few feet out and turns around to face the girls and Spike, still under the water.
“Is he really just standing underwater?” Twilight asks with confusion in her voice, Michael is standing under the water with his arms crossed, every now and then looking at his wrist like checking a watch. After several minutes Twilight waves him to come back up, he slowly nods and walks back up the bank stopping just out of the water.
“Enough proof? Man, it was cold down there,” He says slightly shivering in the morning breeze, Everypony nods, “Ok, shall we return to the Library, or is our questionnaire outside now, it is a beautiful day today,” Rainbow steps forward.
“Just letting you know this sunlight won’t last, there’s a small drizzle scheduled for around noon,” Michael nods and proceeds to take the iron off his boots and puts them away.
“I have a few more questions,” Twilight says as everypony starts walking back to the Library, the still drip-drying man looks over to her, “How do you keep summoning items from behind you, I’ve never seen you wear a satchel or saddlebag,” Michael smiles and nods.
“I’ll explain that once we get to the library, and I’ll also introduce you to someone,” She tilts her head in confusion, “I’ll let her explain everything when we get there,” Tael dings in acknowledgment. They arrive at the Library and Michael remembers something, “I’ll also introduce you to another pony I know, but my ‘closest’ companion is first,” They enter the library, Michael fully dry surprisingly, The girls and Spike all sit down at the table again, “Ok come on out and introduce yourself,” He says to Tael, confusing everypony. Tael flies out of Michael’s hat and floats next to the table.
“Hello friends of Link, I am Tael the golem fairy!” She poses proudly, “I help Link out when he asks for my help with things,” She flies back to Michael and lands on his shoulder, “I was given to him by my old master as a gift, he has been a good owner ever since,” ‘Owner?’ the girls all thought as Tael finished introducing herself.
“Next, I’ll do my best to explain how I summon my items,” Michael says, he demonstrates by pulling out his Ocarina of time, “My Items are in a kind of pocket dimension, possibly powered by a type of magic called Void magic,” Twilight tilts her head in confusion.
“Void magic? I’ve never heard of it,” She says, Michael thinks about how to describe void magic to her.
“When I learned about it, I was in the Everfree Forest speaking with a man just like me, he gave me Tael and a mask made from Void energy, the energy was purple in color and felt volatile when he created the mask,” He reached behind his back with his other hand and pulled out the Earth Pony mask, "When he finished this mask the dangerous feeling vanished,” He put it away, “All I can say is, it felt dangerous, like if I had interrupted him, it may have backfired and exploded with enough energy to level the entire forest,” Michael explained, Twilight was writing this all down, she had gone through 2 pieces of parchment paper at this point and had just gotten through the third.
“I’m running out of parchment, can we finish our talk soon, we can do another big talk again later,” She said slightly annoyed at her surprising lack of preparation, Michael nodded and waved for everypony to step back outside.
“There’s one last thing I want to show you guys,” He says as everypony heads outside again, “Ok here goes nothing,” Michael puts his Ocarina to his lips.
“You’re gonna play us a song?” Rainbow says a little annoyed that this is the last thing he shows them, but he shakes his head no and plays Epona’s Song.
After the song ends a horse neigh can be heard in the distance as Epona comes galloping up to Michael, confusing everypony but Fluttershy as she walks up to Epona to pet and comfort her.
“Link, who is this beautiful horse you have here,” Rarity gushes over Epona, Michael gestures over to Epona,
“This is Epona, my trusty steed that helps me cross large distances with ease,” Rarity slowly walks up to her and admires her beautiful coat, her lovely mane, and her elegantly designed saddle, “She’s staying in Fluttershy’s care until I can afford to purchase my own place and horse stable,” Michael then remembers the bet from earlier in the morning, “Speaking of money, you all owe me 10 bits remember,” Michael says sternly, everypony freezing as they forgot about the bet, he then chuckles, “Just kidding, I’m not one to take from friends, even if I did win a bet,” After a few minutes of everypony checking out Epona and some minor questions about her, everypony gets ready to go do whatever they had planned after the meeting today.
“I don’t know about you, Link, but I’m hungry,” Spike said rubbing his belly, “Let’s go have lunch, you coming Twilight?” Said unicorn looks over the notes she took, not paying attention to the two boys.
“Guess not, come on bud, let’s go eat,” They walk back into the library to have a very delectable lunch.
Morning rolls around on the day after the meeting, and Michael is once again training to improve his strength and sword skills. Spike has joined him in his morning routine, albeit at a lower level so he can get used to the routine. Spike has also adjusted to wearing the Kokiri Sword and Deku shield nicely, he barely even adjusts the belt holding them on anymore. At shower time Michael lets Spike take his first so he can head downstairs and help Twilight with breakfast or whatever she may need help with, once Spike finishes his shower and heads downstairs, Michael heads into the bathroom to take his. During his shower, he hears a knock on the door.
“Yeah?!” He shouts to the door turning off the shower and hopping out, “Need something?” He asks as he grabs a towel to dry off, Twilight yells through the bathroom door.
“Applejack just asked me and Spike if we wanted to help her at the apple farm this morning,” She says, Michael finishes drying and starts dressing, “I wanted to know if you wanted to go with us,” Michael puts his hat on completing his outfit and steps outside the bathroom spooking Twilight who was standing right next to the door.
“Sure I’ll go,” He says to a slightly spooked and angry Twilight, “Let’s make sure to eat a decent breakfast first,” Twilight calms down and nods, “Ok then, let’s head down,” They head downstairs and see Applejack and Spike talking near the dinner table with some fried apples on some plates for Michael and Twilight, Applejack notices the two coming down the stairs.
“Hey, there ya are, Link,” She says as she takes a bite out of an apple she was tossing in the air and catching, “Did Twi tell you about what I need help with?” Michael and Twilight reach the dinner table and sit down.
“You needed help at the farm is all she said,” He devours the fried apples minus the cores, “And I’m willing to help too, I’ve needed to see where you live anyway, I only know where Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spike live, knowing where you live would be some really useful information for emergencies,” He says and stands up, throws the core in the trash, and places his plate in the kitchen sink.
“Ok then, she didn’t tell you everything,” Applejack said as Michael stood next to her at the door, “Ya see, I made a bet with my brother, Big Mac, that I could harvest all the apples in a large area before lunch,” She explains, “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll win the bet If you really are as strong as you say you are,” She finishes as Twilight also finishes her fried apples and places her plate in the kitchen sink.
“Well, I’m ready to go,” Twilight says while walking back from the kitchen, “Everypony else ready?” Spike nods and stands next to Twilight smiling, Applejack finishes the apple she had been snacking on while waiting for Twilight and Michael and nods, Michael nods and opens the front door of the Library.
“Ladies and dragons first,” He says while slightly bowing, Applejack, Twilight, and Spike leave the Library and Michael shuts the door on the way out, “Alright, lead the way Applejack,” The group follows Applejack through town and down a long dirt road leading to Applejack’s home, Sweet Apple Acres.
When they arrive at Sweet Apple Acres, Michael is awestruck by just how many apple trees there are, he had never seen an orchard so huge back on Earth. Applejack took notice of this smiling and chuckling to herself, They get to the entrance of the farm and stop.
“Welcome to my family’s farm, Link!” Applejack says with pride, “We provide all the apples sold in Ponyville and some in other towns all around Equestria,” She leads them past the barn and house into the Apple orchard, “Here is where we’ll be working this mornin’,” She places some nearby baskets around a tree and stands right next to it with her back facing it, “All ya’ll need to do is fill these baskets with apples and place ‘em into the barn,” She kicks the tree causing it to shake and apples to drop straight into the baskets without missing, “Just try not to damage the tree when you make the apples fall,” She says looking toward Michael.
“Aye aye boss,” Michael says then grabs some baskets and places them next to a tree with plenty of Apples on it, “Now, how should I go about doing this,” He says quietly to himself, all the while Applejack is keeping an eye on him to see how he does. He backs away from the tree confusing Applejack, Runs back toward it, and rolls into the tree making it shake and all the apples fall into the baskets. Michael stands up like he didn’t just roll and hit his head on a solid tree, “I can’t believe that worked,” He says with Applejack thinking the same thing, with that discovery Michael decides to test out some other methods of shaking trees.
During a long session of ‘apple bucking’ according to Applejack, Michael discovered that punching trees is not a good idea with or without the Golden Gauntlets, Kicking trees is also a no go, rolling into more than 3 trees starts to hurt his forehead, and the Megaton hammer, a large hammer made of steel that when used can shake about ten trees in a fifty-foot circle area of effect, it also scares anypony close enough to feel the shockwave.
↑The Megaton Hammer↑
Michael thought ahead before he used the Hammer and placed a bunch of baskets around the surrounding trees, wiping his brow from his hard work, he starts gathering four to five baskets before carrying them to the barn.
=One hour of packing baskets later=
Applejack, Twilight, and Spike are carrying back a basket each with Michael tailing them with four stacked on each arm trying to take fewer trips.
“Thank ya kindly guys, I can’t wait to tell Big Mac the good news,” Applejack says as they reach the barn, she looks over to Michael not even breaking a sweat carrying eight baskets, four on each arm, “I don’t know how you did it but thanks to you, Link, we got this done way quicker than I expected,” She places her basket inside the barn with Twilight, Spike, and Michael doing the same shortly after.
“No problem Applejack, you can always count on us to help if you just ask,” Michael said with a smile, “And besides, back where I’m from, some people did this for fun, I should be able to help without any problems,” Applejack nods and a low growl is heard.
“What in tarnation was that?” Applejack looks at the fence line next to the farm searching for an animal about to hop the fence when Michael and Spike embarrassingly chuckle, “What’s so funny you two?” Applejack eyes them suspiciously.
“Well, me and Spike we’re training this mornin’, and breakfast wasn’t enough for me,” Michael rubs the back of his head embarrassed, Spike nods his head and rubs his empty belly. Applejack looks serious for a moment then starts laughing causing the group to all start laughing.
“Well then, I think it’s time we get some lunch,” Twilight says, Applejack nods as the laughing calms down, “How about the Hay Café?” Applejack nods, Michael slowly nods not liking the sound of Hay, and Spike starts hacking like a cat, “Spike what’s wrong with the Hay Café?” After a moment Spike burps up green smoke that swirls in the air and materializes into a Letter with a golden seal on it, “A Letter from Princess Celestia?” Spike catches the Letter as it floats down to him and opens it to read, he clears his throat and begins.
“Hear yee hear yee, her grand royal highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, Is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala, to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot, on the twenty-first day of...” Spike trails off, “Yada yada yada, cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest, and to the hero that held his own against Nightmare Moon, Link plus one guest,” Spike Finishes.
Applejack and Twilight Gasp and say “The Grand Galloping Gala,” at the same time, they bounce around excited for the event while Michael looks confused and Spike looks annoyed at the jumping around, “The Grand Galloping Gala!” They yell at the same time again, after a moment though, Spike coughs up another cloud of green smoke that turns into 4 Golden Tickets to the Gala.
“Look,” He grabs the Tickets and shows them to Twilight, “Four Tickets!” Twilight beams with excitement.
“Wow great, I’ve never been to the gala, have you spike?” Twilight asks, Spike simply shakes his head, She looks toward Michael, She goes to speak but he cuts her off.
“I’ve never heard of this ‘Great Galloping Gala’ thing you’re talking about,” The girls gasp and look at Michael shocked, “What is it, some sort of race?” Spike even looks at Michael confused, “What...”
“Woah!” Rainbow Dash falls from the sky and lands on Applejack and Twilight, She gets up off the ground, “Are we talking about the Grand Galloping Gala?!” Applejack and Twilight stand back up and look at Rainbow angrily.
“Rainbow Dash,” Applejack starts, “You told me you were too busy to help me harvest apples,” She crosses her arms, “What were you busy doin’?” She paused for a second, “Spyin’?” Rainbow turns away from her.
“No, I was busy-” A blanket and pillow slowly fall out of a tree next to everypony, “-napping.” She looks to Twilight, “And I just happened to hear that you have an extra ticket,” Twilight looks a little nervous.
“Well yeah but...” Rainbow cuts her off and flies into the sky cheering.
“Yes, this is so awesome!” She lands, “The Wonderbolts perform at the Grand Galloping Gala every year, I can see it now,” Michael grunts since his question wasn’t answered and looks at Spike.
“Spike, want to go grabs us some grub while they settle this issue? Just slip Twilight’s tickets into her bag or pocket and let’s go bud,” Spike nods, slips two tickets into Twilight’s pant pocket, and follows Michael to Ponyville letting the girls handle the ticket fiasco. Once they arrive back in Ponyville, Michael remembers something, “Hey, Spike,” He says slowly, “Do you have any bits?” They stop in the middle of the road next to a building that looks like a carnival carousel.
“I’ve never really asked Twilight for an allowance, so I don’t have any,” Spike looks down at his grumbling belly. Michael reaches behind him and pulls out a bag with a green gem on it.
“Do you think I could pay with these?” He reaches into the bag and pulls out a green Rupee, a perfectly cut emerald green gem just smaller than his hand,
↑A Green Rupee↑
Spike looks at the gem and licks his lips.
“I know I’d pay for that gem,” He snaps out of his gem trance, “But I’m not sure, how about we ask Rarity?” The door to the carousel building opens and Rarity walks out, “Hey, there she is,” Rarity hears Spike and looks over at the two boys.
“Hey you two, what are you doing today?” She walks over to them and spots the gem in Michael’s hand, “Oh my word, what is that beautiful gemstone you’re holding?” Michael lifts the gem to eye level.
“This, Rarity, Is a Rupee, a gem that my people use as currency,” He puts the Green one in his pouch and pulls out a blue one, “They come in a variety of colors, The green one being worth one, This blue one being worth five,”
↑A Blue Rupee↑
He puts away the blue rupee and gets out a yellow one, “This one is worth ten,”
↑A Yellow Rupee↑
He puts away the yellow rupee and gets out a red one, “This one is worth twenty,”
↑A Red Rupee↑
He puts away the red one and gets out a purple one, “This one is worth fifty,”
↑A Purple Rupee↑
he puts it away, “There are two others, but my wallet can’t hold a value of more than Ninety-nine rupees total,” He lifts his rupee pouch, “This magical pouch, called a Rupee wallet, allows the user to put any color rupee in and pull out any other color even if you didn’t specifically put one of that color in,” Michael explained, Spike and Rarity look a little confused.
“Darling, can you explain that a little better?” Rarity asks politely, Michael thinks for a moment, “Nevermind, it’s not really important, back to my first question, what are you two doing this morning?” Rarity smiles, Michael puts away his Rupee Wallet, and Spike speaks up.
“We were going to get lunch, we just finished helping Applejack at the farm,” Spike then remembers Michael’s tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, “So, Link, what are you going to do about your extra ticket?” This piques Rarity’s interest.
“Extra ticket?” Rarity says, “May I ask what it’s for?” She asks the man, and he nods.
“While finishing up at the farm, Spike got a letter from Princess Celestia. She sent Twilight and me two tickets each for a thing called the Grand Galloping Gala,” Rarity’s eyes widen, “I don’t even know what it is, so I don’t know why Rainbow and Applejack want her extra ticket so bad,”
“You don’t know what the Grand Galloping Gala is?!” Rarity questions the man, he shakes his head, “The Grand Galloping Gala is an elegant party held in Canterlot every year, anypony who’s anypony attends this event, I can’t believe you didn’t know,” She pouts.
“Rarity, I’m not from here, remember,” Michael reminds her, “Anyway enough talk of the Gala, I’m hungry,” He then facepalms, “Wait, I don’t have any bits, dang it,” Rarity chuckles.
“How about I treat you two to some lunch in exchange for some of those lovely gems you have, Link,” Rarity says, making Michael cheer up a little, “Come on you two, follow me, I know a good café that serves some delicious fruit this time of year,” Rarity leads Spike and Michael downtown in Ponyville.
“Thanks, Rarity, I’ll be sure to give you one of every color I can, and Spike,” Said dragon looks up to Michael, “Don’t fill up too fast, I’ve got three Green Rupees with your name on them,” Spike smiles excitedly.
=A Short 10 Minute Walk Later=
“Hey, we’re here,” Rarity says as they arrive at a cozy-looking café with several ponies enjoying lunch outside and inside the establishment, A waiter is waiting at a pedestal near the entrance, “Hello, table for three please,” The waiter nods, grabs a few menus, and leads the group over to a table under an awning, “Thank you, darling,” The waiter bows as they take their seats.
“May I ask what you all want to drink today?” The waiter asked as he took out a small notepad, Rarity ordered some tea, Spike ordered a soda, and Michael ordered some water, “Alright, I’ll be back shortly with your drinks,” he said as he walked away to seat another customer that just arrived.
“So Rarity, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Michael started, Rarity looked at him, “You think you can make me any outfits like the ones I currently have? Minus the extra fireproof or water breathing of course,” He asked, Rarity nods.
“Of course darling, how about we head over to my boutique after lunch and get your measurements,” Rarity says as their drinks arrive, “We need a little more time before we order,” The waiter nods and walks over to another table to help somepony else.
“Thanks, what can I do to repay you,” Michael says, Rarity shakes her head.
“No need, you’re giving me some valuable and pretty gems, you don’t need to pay me bits,” Rarity gets out some ruby red-rimmed glasses, “Can I see one of those ‘Rupees’ as you called them?” He nods and gets his Rupee wallet back out.
“Any particular color?” He asks and Rarity shakes her head, he pulls out a Red Rupee and hands it over to her, She closely inspects the gem, He then hands Spike a Green Rupee, “Here, your first one Spike, two more where that came from,” Michael puts away his Rupee wallet, Spike thanks him, and tosses the gem in his mouth.
“Link dear, This gem is extraordinary, it’s perfectly cut with zero detectable flaws as far as I can see,” Rarity says as she takes off her glasses, The waiter returns, and everypony orders their lunch, Rarity orders a small salad, Spike orders some fries after failing to order some gems, and Michael orders a large helping of strawberries, his favorite fruit.
After a relatively normal and quiet lunch afternoon hits, Rarity pays for their meals, tips the waiter, and the small group of friends head over to Rarity’s Boutique. During the trip there, Michael sparks up a conversation.
“Hey, Spike, can I see my tickets?” He asks the dragon, “I want to see if they have any important details on them,” Spike nods and hands Michael his tickets, “Thanks bud, Rarity you mind if I look over these while you take measurements?” She shakes her head as they arrive at the Carousel Boutique, Rarity’s home and shop in Ponyville.
“Welcome, Link, to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique!” She says as they enter the establishment.
“Gotta say, Rarity, that’s pretty catchy,” He complements Rarity’s slogan, “So do you need one of my outfits so you can copy their look and the hat?” Michael asks her.
“Yes, if you want them to just be different color tunics and hats I will need one of your outfits to make the new one look right,” She leads Michael over to a raised platform near some mirrors, floats a measuring tape, a notepad, and takes his measurements. After a few minutes, Rarity finishes and Michael hands her his Goron tunic and hat.
“Thanks again, Rarity, I was getting bored of the same color of outfit day after day, oh and before I forget,” He pulls out his Rupee wallet and grabs three green rupees, a blue rupee, a yellow rupee, and a purple rupee. “Can’t forget to give you these rupees, and also the other two green ones for you, Spike,” He tosses two green rupees to Spike who noms on them almost immediately and hands the others to Rarity.
“Thank you, darling, I’ll make sure your new outfits come out great,” Rarity says, “Any specific colors you might want?” She asks him before they leave.
“Uh... Yeah, My favorite color is Cyan blue, so make at least one Cyan blue the rest are totally up to you, but no pink, thanks,” Michael says as he goes to leave with Spike, just as he opens the door he turns back to Rarity, “Hey Rarity, would you like to have my extra ticket to the Gala?” Rarity, surprised by what Michael said, drops the things she was carrying onto the ground.
“What?!” She yells, Spike looks at Michael with a small frown, “You’re giving me your extra ticket?” She asks.
“Well, I was thinking that taking you would be a good idea since you know more about the Gala than I do, and I’m sure Spike wouldn’t want to go anyway, right?” Spike shakes his head and shrugs, “Then it’s settled, will you take it?” He says holding out the extra ticket.
“Yes, I accept your extra invitation to the Gala,” He walks over and hands her the extra ticket, “Thank you, darling,” Michael then helps pick up the things she dropped and leaves with Spike in tow.
“Just for your information, Spike,” The dragon looks at Michael curiously, “I don’t have a thing for Rarity, I just wanted a knowledgeable pony with me at the Gala, nothing more,” Spike nods slowly and they return to the Library for the rest of the evening,
After their visit with Rarity, Michael and Spike return to the Library to see Twilight and her friends, minus Rarity, talking to each other about something. Twilight notices them enter the building. “Oh, there you two are,” She walks over to Spike and pats his head. “I’ve been wondering where you went,” She says cheerfully. “Spike, I need you to write me a letter for Princess Celestia please,” Spike nods and grabs a quill and parchment from a nearby table ready to write the letter. But before Twilight can dictate the letter to Spike, Michael politely interrupts them.
“Sorry to interrupt your letter but,” He yawns and stretches. “I’m going to bed early, If you need me you know where I’ll be,” Twilight and the girls wave goodnight and Michael heads upstairs to his room. He sits on his bed but, instead of going straight to sleep, he takes off the Howling stone necklace and holds it in his hand to inspect it. “Jeff said this could unlock a wolf form,” Tael flies out of his hat and onto an end table next to his bed.
“Michael, I’m not sure if messing with my old master’s token alone is a good idea,” She warns. Michael yawns again and lies down on his bed holding the necklace by the string over his head.
“I guess you’re right, Tael, I just hope I figure out how to use this later though, a wolf form would come in handy if I can’t use Epona,” He closes his eyes, clutches the necklace in his hand, and rests it on his chest. “Goodnight, I’ll ask Twilight for help tomorrow I guess,” Tael lies down on her tiny bed on the end table and they both drift off to sleep not noticing the dark unknown magic coming from the necklace surrounding Michael. He is engulfed in darkness and the room is filled with digital noise as he falls asleep unaware of what’s about to happen.
When Michael wakes up his body feels like it was just beaten up and thrown down a tall rocky hill. “Ugh, why does my body ache so damn much...” Michael says to himself. “This ache won’t stop me from staying fit though, I just need to get up,” He tries to sit up but ends up falling off his bed onto his... Muzzle? “What the hell?” He opens his eyes and spots what looks to be a dog’s muzzle in the lower center of his vision and his mind freezes for a second. “What the... Did I...” He sits up and shakily looks at his body, it has transformed into a canine-like body with a Forest green coat, white underbelly, and brown paws.
Michael stands on all fours and slowly walks over to his mirror and in it is a spitting image of Wolf Link, a four-foot-tall dark grey and white wolf with blue earrings and a shackle on one paw.
↑Wolf Link↑
Though with a different colored coat, a symbol of Farrore on his forehead, no shackle on his paw, and no orange-haired shadow imp on his back. Michael looks over himself in the mirror still mentally taking in the change, he’s so astonished by his appearance that he doesn’t notice his bedroom door open and his exercise partner and Apprentice, Spike, walking in.
“Hey, Link, are you up yet, It’s almost time for...” The dragon spots the Hylian turned Wolf staring at itself in the mirror and stops talking. He looks around the room looking for Link but doesn’t find him. The wolf surprisingly doesn’t move or really notice Spike at all. Fear coursing through his body, Spike slowly and quietly backs out of the room. Once outside the room he bolts for Twilight’s room screaming. “Help, Twilight!” This finally catches the wolf’s attention. It walks over to the door and listens in from just behind the door frame as Spike bursts into Twilight’s room. “Twilight, there’s a big wolf in Link’s room and he’s gone!” Spike shouts no doubt startling Twilight from her slumber. She drowsily sits up on her bed and rubs the sleep from her eyes.
“What was that, Spike?” She said then yawned. “What was that about a wolf?” She slides out of bed and stretches and Spike looks back at her door nervously.
“I went to Link’s room for our morning exercise routine but, a large green and white-furred wolf was in his room with Link nowhere to be found,” Twilight finally realizes what he’s saying and looks at her number one assistant with fear in her eyes. “I hope nothing bad happened to Link,” Twilight grabs Spike by the shoulder and spins him around to face her.
“Spike, hurry and go get the girls but try not to alert the town, I’ll try to keep it busy,” Spike hesitantly nods and rushes downstairs and out of the library, “Link, I really hope you’re ok,” Twilight says as she approaches Link’s room wielding a broom from her closet. Hearing Twilight get closer to his door, Michael panics and quietly runs over to his window. He opens the latch with his nose and pushes it open. Looking outside, there are barely any towns ponies around so he can escape without being seen and scaring too many ponies. Right as Twilight enters the room spotting the wolf, he leaps out the window and lands on the ground without faceplanting surprisingly. He runs off towards the Everfree Forest as fast as he can leaving a confused Twilight at his window.
She looks out Michael’s window at the fleeing wolf with fear and intrigue, “A real flesh and blood wolf, those are incredibly rare, what’s it doing in Ponyville of all places?” She asks herself.
=Deep In The Everfree Forest= -30 Minutes Later-
Michael is slowly walking around the Everfree Forest lost with his head and tail hung low. “I can’t believe I panicked back there,” He says to himself walking aimlessly through the forest. “I’m such an idiot,” He stops and headbutts a tree. The tree shakes a little and an acorn swiftly falls off the tree and bounced off his head. He sits down next to the tree and raises his head. “Tael are you here?” He asks but there is no response. “Oh no, I left her at the library, damn,” He looks around the area he’s in not recognizing it at all. “I need to go back, but I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” He states and stands back up. “Going to have to pick a random direction then,” He says as he starts heading in a random direction, hoping to get back to where he entered. After half an hour of walking, he’s still hopelessly lost deep in the forest, “Where the hell am I?” He asks the open air not really expecting an answer. “Am I even heading towards Ponyville?” He asks and a growling voice somewhere in the shadows nearby answers him.
“You’re heading the wrong way, wolf,” It says in a low grumbling voice as Michael jumps in surprise. “And you’re also entering my territory,” He looks to where the voice came from, and from behind a large bush emerges a huge lion with wings and a scorpion tail, a manticore, easily double Michael’s size. “I haven’t seen one of your kind here before,” It says standing just a short distance away from him. “Tell me, what is a flesh and blood wolf doing this far in the Everfree Forest?” It glares at Michael and he nervously gulps before speaking.
“I’m searching for the town of Ponyville,” He said quickly, almost like the words were forced out of him. “Do you happen to know what direction it’s in?” Michael said nervously. The Manticore chuckles.
“The town of ponies you seek is nowhere near here, whelp,” It states and points in the direction Michael came from. “It’s in the opposite direction you are currently heading,” It growls, “Continue this way and I’ll have to-” It smiles and raises a paw showing off its razor-sharp teeth and claws, “-intervene, So turn around and run back to your pony town, before I change my mind,” Michael, not believing he could take on a manticore right now, nods quickly and runs back where he came from all the while the Manticore roars at him, “And don’t ever encroach on my territory again, mongrel!” Watching him run away, the manticore retreats back into the shadows.
Michael runs back in the direction he came from in twenty minutes flat and stops to catch his breath. “Holy shit...” He spits out panting, exhausted from running so far and fast. “That was too close,” He looks back towards where he ran from. “Why didn’t that manticore just attack me...” He says then turns and continues walking further in the direction the manticore told him to. He finally reaches the edge of the Everfree Forest after a few more minutes of walking. Looking around from the edge he can see the library close by. “Ok, I’m back where I entered the forest, that’s pretty convenient,” He looks around the area, not noticing any towns ponies, he slowly walks to the library trying to be sneaky. He is noticed by a particular Cyan-furred Rainbow-maned Pegasus though.
=Up Above The Golden Oaks Library= -10 Seconds Earlier-
Rainbow is hiding on a cloud floating near the Everfree Forest patrolling and watching for a specific animal to emerge from the forest. “I can’t believe some wolf has Twilight so worried for Link’s safety,” She turned from looking up near Fluttershy’s cottage back to near the Library. “It’s not like a weird green wolf really exists...” She stops talking to herself spotting the weird green wolf heading towards the library. “Woah, it is real...” She stares at it for a moment then shakes out of her trance-like state. “Wait, It's real!” She flies off the cloud and into the library unseen by the wolf.
Twilight and the others are sitting at the dinner table speaking about the morning while Spike is standing guard near the entrance to the library. Rainbow hurriedly enters the library and slams the door shut. “Rainbow what’s wrong!” Twilight shouts clearly startled by the sudden entry.
“You were right about the weird green wolf,” Rainbow says as she walks over to the table. “It’s real and it’s heading for the library,” Fluttershy hides behind Applejack, Rarity gasps, Spike tenses up, and Twilight stands up and goes to a window. “I say we hide and ambush it in the library,” Rainbow suggests. Looking out the window sneakily, Twilight spots the wolf drawing closer to the library.
“That’s a good idea, Dash,” Applejack says. “If we ambush it and capture it, Fluttershy here can interrogate it to find out where Link is,” Fluttershy trembles behind Applejack. “And don’t you worry none, Fluttershy, we’ll try not to hurt it,” Fluttershy stops trembling but still hides.
“It’s nearly here everypony hide and get ready, and try not to damage any books,” Twilight says and quickly runs into the kitchen. Rainbow flies up to the ceiling, Applejack hides under the table, and Spike joins Twilight in the kitchen. Rarity and Fluttershy run upstairs, and Pinkie jumps up to the ceiling with Rainbow, somehow...
While upstairs Rarity and Fluttershy see Tael fly out of Michael’s room rubbing her eyes. “Morning you two,” She flies up to them and lands on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “What’s going on, where’s Link, he forgot to wake me up this morning,” Rarity informs Tael about the situation as Michael arrives at the front door.
“Ok, fingers crossed... Or uh,” He looks down at his paws. “Paws crossed?” He says a little confused. “Nevermind, I just hope no pony’s home right now,” He looks through the window next to the entrance. Spotting nopony he slowly opens the library door with his mouth. Before he enters the library he stops and peps himself up, “Everything’s going to be ok, I just need to grab the Howling stone necklace and change back,” He steps inside slowly and closes the door slowly behind him, confusing everypony watching him. He steps away from the door and looks toward the stairs, his ears twitch at the soft sound of a conversation upstairs. Before he can tell who’s talking upstairs, everypony downstairs jumps out of their hiding spots to ambush him. He yelps in fright and is grabbed in Twilight’s magical hold while Rainbow and Pinkie help Applejack quickly hogtie him with a rope. In less than 10 seconds, Michael is tied up and rendered helpless before he could even tell what happened.
“We got ‘em, ya’ll can come back down now,” Applejack says proudly as she finishes tieing his mouth closed like an alligator. “Thanks, Twi, without your magic, I’m sure that would’ve been a lot tougher,” Twilight wipes some sweat from her brow.
“It was really fighting my magic, whatever this wolf is, it’s very strong,” Twilight says. The girls upstairs come down to the main floor. “Ok, Fluttershy do you recognize this wolf?” Fluttershy slowly walks up to the wolf with Tael still on her shoulder. She studies the wolf’s features closely and after a minute she steps back.
“I’m sorry, Twilight, but I’ve never seen this wolf before,” She gets closer and slips the rope off its muzzle at the behest of everypony else in the room. “Ok mister wolf, where did you come from, and where’s my friend, Link!” She uses the stare unconsciously on the wolf. Its eyes widen in fear and its mouth opens. While everypony else only hears low growls and barks from the wolf, Fluttershy can actually hear what it’s saying.
“Fluttershy it’s me, Link!” The wolf says shocking Fluttershy. “It’s the truth,” Fluttershy, mouth agape, steps back and covers her mouth. “Please, you gotta believe me,” Fluttershy looks away and thinks for a moment then looks back at the wolf.
“I want to believe you but, how can you prove you’re not lying,” She says to the wolf and it looks toward the stairs.
“On my bed, there’s a necklace with a strange stone on it, I can turn back into my human form with it,” It says hoping she’ll believe it. She slowly turns to Rainbow keeping the wolf in her peripheral vision.
“Rainbow, check Link’s bed for a necklace with a strange stone on it,” Rainbow tilts her head in confusion at this request and Fluttershy looks back at the wolf.
“What the hay does that have to do with anything?” Rainbow says, with the others agreeing with her.
“Just check, please,” Fluttershy says quietly with tears forming in her eyes. Rainbow shrugs and shoots upstairs and half a minute later she flies back down with the necklace and holds it up. When Fluttershy sees the necklace she looks at the wolf and tears start flowing from her eyes. “Oh my, it really is you,” She walks up to the Wolf and brings it into a hug. Rainbow looks over the necklace confused as to how it proves the wolf is Link.
“Fluttershy dear, are you alright?” Rarity says while slowly getting closer to her and the wolf. “Do you recognize this wolf now?” Fluttershy still hugging the wolf nods.
“The necklace proves that this wolf is in reality Link,” Fluttershy says. The girls all gasp minus Rainbow, who stands next to Fluttershy and speaks up.
“How does this necklace prove that the wolf is Link, last time I checked Link isn’t a wolf,” Rainbow says. The wolf ‘speaks’ to Fluttershy again.
“Fluttershy, have Rainbow put the necklace around my neck and untie me, I can change back,” It says. Fluttershy nods. “Also, you’re squeezing a bit too hard,” Fluttershy blushes and lets go of him. She gestures for Rainbow to put the necklace around the wolf’s head.
“He said he needs the necklace around his neck and needs to be untied to change back to his human form,” Rainbow rolls her eyes and slowly places the necklace around his neck. Applejack hesitantly walks over and unties the wolf. It stands up and stretches. “Ok now, turn back, Link, please,” The wolf puts a paw on the stone and presses it against its fur.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” It says as darkness starts surrounding the stone. Everypony but Fluttershy steps back at the sight of the unknown magic. After a few moments, the dark magic enters its body covering and coloring it pitch black. Digital sounds come from the wolf as its body changes shape into the familiar form of Link, the darkness flows out of him and flows back into the necklace. The color returns to him revealing Michael back to his Hylian form in his iconic green tunic. He looks around his body and breathes a sigh of relief.
“Thank god I’m back to normal...” He says. The girls are all shocked as to what just happened in front of their eyes. “Thanks, Fluttershy, you have no idea what I’ve been through this morning,” He rubs the back of his head nervously. “Sorry for jumping out the window this morning, I kinda panicked when Spike ran away yelling,” Fluttershy walks up to Michael and hugs him again.
“I’m just glad you’re ok, Link,” She says. Tael flies up and lands on his shoulder. “You really scared me when Twilight said you were missing,” Michael smiles at her and pats her back.
“I’m really sorry for scaring you, Fluttershy, and that goes to everypony else here as well, I’m truly sorry,” He sincerely apologizes, “Go ahead and reprimand me, I deserve it,” Rarity steps up to him and smiles.
“As long as you don’t make me worry about you like that again, I’ll forgive you, Darling,” She says. Michael smiles and nods with Rainbow walking up next.
“If you promise we can spar and race in your wolf form whenever I want, I’ll forgive you,” She says with a grin. He slowly nods and Applejack walks up next to them.
“I know you won’t go scarin’ ponies with yer wolf form, just don’t go scarin’ us like that again and I’ll forgive ya sugar cube,” He nods again and Twilight walks over to them.
“If you let me study your wolf form and that weird magic, I’ll forgive you,” He nods his head hesitantly and Spike walks over,
“Glad to have you back, Link, and that wolf form is pretty cool, even if it’s a little scary,” They fist bump and Pinkie bounces over.
“I’m so glad you’re back Linky,” She cries for a moment then instantly cheers up, “Let’s have a party to celebrate!” Before Michael can respond She hugs him like Fluttershy.
“Maybe another time, Pinkie, I want to keep this a secret from Ponyville for a little while,” After a moment Fluttershy and Pinkie let go. “And before you ask, I just don’t want to freak out the town with a hero turning into an evil wolf or something,” He explains. Pinkie nods in understanding and leaves for Sugarcube Corner. Applejack tips her hat goodbye and leaves to help Big Mac at the farm. Fluttershy hesitantly leaves to attend to her animal friends leaving just Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Spike, and Michael still in the Library. Rarity walks up to Michael with a medium-sized gift box in her magical grip.
“I finished your new clothes, Darling, I hope you like them,” She gives the box to him and he opens it. “I made sure to design them to be light, insulating, and durable,” She says he pulls out the red tunic and hat, neatly pressed and folded. “I also made sure your Goron tunic was neatly laundered for when I gave it back to you,” He smiles and slowly puts the tunics into his inventory one by one. She made a Cyan blue outfit, a Purple outfit, a Black outfit, a Brown outfit, a Yellow outfit, and a White outfit, bringing his total number of outfits to nine!
“Thank you so much Rarity, I love them,” He says making Rarity smile warmly. “I’ll make sure to treasure these forever,”
“Oh, there’s no need for that, though I do appreciate that you loved them,” She looks at the clock in the library. “Oh, I need to go, I have an order that’s due in an hour, tata!” Rarity says as she leaves the library. Rainbow puts a hand on Michael’s shoulder.
“Tomorrow at noon in the park, you and I are gonna spar, and don’t you forget it,” Michael hesitantly nods and Rainbow stretches. “I’m gonna go, I’m late for one of my regularly scheduled naps,” She waves and flies out the door. Twilight claps her hands grabbing the attention of the two boys.
“I need to send a letter to Celestia telling her we found you and about your new form, Link,” She says prompting Spike to walk over to a desk and pick up a quill and paper. “Oh one more thing, Link,” He looks at her and she smiles. “Breakfast is in the oven, we saved some for you,” He Smiles and walks into the kitchen. Twilight dictates a letter to Spike and the day goes on like any other normal day.
Princess Celestia, Co-ruler of Equestria, is sitting in the Castle throne room awaiting the next day court session to begin. A small cloud of green smoke flows in under the main door and up to Celestia, It swirls around in front of her, and with a flash of green magic, a letter appears. She catches the letter in her golden magic and opens it to read.
“Dear Princess Celestia, I’m sending you a letter to inform you that Link has been found, he’s safe and unharmed,” Celestia breathes a sigh of relief and continues reading the letter. “He said he obtained a special item from “Someone just like him” and the special item can turn him into a wolf and back,” She raises an eyebrow confused. “It turns out that the item supposedly contains an undiscovered type of magic in Equestria, Twili Magic,” She hums in intrigue. “Link said he would explain Twili Magic in more detail at a later date, I must say though, I’m really looking forward to learning about a new type of Magic,” She smiles at Twilight’s excitement about magic. “I shall write to you again when that time comes, Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia smiles then rolls up the letter and teleports it away.
“How lovely that Link was found, though the business with turning into a wolf is strange, I should inquire further at a later date,” She thinks to herself contemplating sending Twilight a letter back immediately when a Solar Guard opens the throne room door and walks in.
“Your Highness,” The Solar Guard walks halfway through the throne room and then salutes. “We have found a strange heart-shaped artifact just outside the royal treasury,” They lower their stance and clasp their hands behind them. “We have no idea where it came from but we found it in a large wooden chest that appeared out of thin air in a corner of the room,” Celestia nods and stands from the throne.
“Lead the way, I wish to see this artifact and chest first hand,” She walks up to the Solar Guard. The Solar Guard turns back toward the door and leads Celestia out into the castle halls, heading for the royal treasury. “Maybe this relates to Link in some way,” She thinks to herself.
=Golden Oaks Library= -Ponyville-
“Now that I’m back I need to do my morning exercise,” Heading upstairs finally done with the Wolf fiasco Michael enters his bedroom after eating the delicious breakfast Twilight and Spike saved him with Tael flying in behind him and sitting on the nightstand. “It may be afternoon but I should still do it, I can’t fall behind no matter what,” He opens his closet and retrieves his Sword and Shield. He looks down at the Howling stone necklace hanging loosely around his neck. “Maybe I should put this into my inventory so I don’t accidentally transform at night?” Tael flies over and lands on his shoulder.
“That would be wise considering what happened this morning,” Tael points out causing Michael to nod. He equips his gear and takes the necklace off.
“You’re right Tael, I’ll put it away just to be safe, I’ll just grab it when I need it,” He reaches under his shield and placed the necklace into his inventory. Tael flies back over to the nightstand and Michael gets ready to start his daily workout routine when Spike enters the room.
“Hey, don’t start without me, Link,” Spike says jokingly. He walks over next to Michael and looks up at him. “Twilight finished her letter and I sent it to Celestia, so now I’m able to join,” Michael smiles and pats Spike’s head.
“Great, I hope you’re ready cause today’s workout will be a little tougher than before,” Michael says. Spike fist pumps and smiles determined. “That look tells me all I need to know. Now, I know we only started doing this yesterday but,” Michael cracks his knuckles and neck then gets down on his hands and knees, Spike gets down too. “Instead of one hundred today, we start with two hundred Push-ups, ready? Go!” Michael and Spike start their daily workout with confidence. After roughly forty minutes of rigorous working out and training Spike goes to take his shower leaving Michael in his room practicing his sword techniques. Exhausted from practicing the back slice technique a few times in a row he sits down on his bed and rubs sweat from his brow. “I’m so glad I can finally do that without getting super dizzy,” Tael smiles at Him.
“Congratulations Michael, I think you’ve mastered the technique that my old master taught you, Well done,” She claps causing Michael to smile.
“Thanks, Tael, I really needed that,” He stands up and heads over to his closet. “Alright, time for a well-needed shower, I’ll be right back Tael,” He places his sword and shield in the closet and grabs a clean towel. Tael waves as Michael heads out of his room towards the bathroom. Spike is already done with his shower since the door is wide open so Michael heads straight in and closes the door. About 30 minutes later He leaves the bathroom with his Cyan Tunic and Hat on and smelling fresh again.
“Link!” Twilight yells up the stairs. “Dinner is ready, come down before it gets cold,” Michael licks his lips and rushes back to his room.
“Tael, Dinner time, let’s go,” Tael nods and flies onto Michael’s shoulder. “Man, Training really empties my stomach,” He heads downstairs excitedly smelling some delicious food. After a hearty dinner, Michael heads back to his room and pulls out the Ocarina of Time to experiment a bit. Tael flies over to the Nightstand and sits on her tiny bed and falls asleep easily. “Alright, let’s see if this works,” He brings the instrument up to his lips and plays Saria’s Song.
After the last note fades out Michael’s body glows green and a green wisp floats out of his body, it flies in circles in front of him for a few seconds then poofs out of existence. After a few moments of silence thanks to Tael being a heavy sleeper and not waking up, Michael groans in frustration as nothing happens. “Damn, must not work unless someone else plays it as well…” He puts a hand on his chin to think. “Maybe I should give Spike the Fairy Ocarina so we could communicate at far distances,” He reaches behind him and pulls out said Ocarina, a beige potato Ocarina with a green arrow on its mouthpiece.
↑The Fairy Ocarina↑
“Actually, hang on,” He stands up getting a better idea. “I wonder If I could create a Token Like Jeff and be summoned to other Equestrias to help other displaced,” He Puts away the Ocarina of Time and clutches the Fairy Ocarina in both hands. “Maybe if I concentrate hard enough it’ll work,”
Michael closes his eyes and concentrates, the green glow appears again and flows from his body into the Ocarina, feeling the flowing magic he began to speak. “To the one that finds my token, I am Michael, Displaced as Link the Hero of Time. No matter where or when I am, I will always fight to help the innocent. If you need anything I may be able to help with or just want a sparring partner just say the phrase. ‘I call forth the Hero of time to aid me in my time of need,’ then play any note on this Ocarina to summon me,” He opens his eyes and the Ocarina glows blue. “Did it work?” The Ocarina lifts out of his grasp and flashes white. A perfect copy appears below it and drops into Michael’s grip while the original Ocarina floats up and glows purple as it fazes out of this reality through the Void.
Michael stares at where the Ocarina was in awe. Suddenly he drops to his knees. “Shit, that took almost all of my stamina,” He crawls over onto his bed and lays on his back. “A good night’s rest should bring me back to a hundred percent,” He puts the Fairy Ocarina copy away in his inventory and closes his eyes to drift off to sleep.
Due to channeling Void Energy for the first time, Michael slept in and instead of waking up in the morning, he woke up about Thirty minutes till Noon. Michael opens his eyes, sits up, and groans. “What time is it?” He rubs his eyes and Tael lands on his shoulder.
“It’s about Eleven thirty-five, Michael,” Tael answers. “You seem to have overslept, Spike came in to train but you wouldn’t budge so he went downstairs and told Twilight,” Michael stands from his bed and stretches. “She said to let you sleep since yesterday was so eventful you needed the extra rest,” Michael smiles and heads over to his closet.
“Remind me to thank her, last night I was just drained,” He equips his sword and shield. “Wait, what time is it?” He asks kind of panicked.
“It’s Eleven thirty-six now, why?” Tael asks tilting her head in confusion. “Did you have to do something important today?” Michael nods and speed walks out of his room with Tael holding on to his shoulder to stay on.
“Yesterday Rainbow said we were going to spar at the park at noon,” He enters the kitchen and spots a lone plate of scrambled eggs with a glass of orange juice next to it. “I can’t be late so I gotta hurry up and run over there, but first,” He grabs a fork from a drawer and eats his breakfast, cold but not disgustingly cold. “I hope I make it in time,” He speeds out the Library’s front door and straight towards Ponyville Park not wanting to waste any time.
Running with decent speed, Michael arrives at the park with seconds to spare and spots a random cloud hovering over the edge of the pond. He approaches the cloud to find Rainbow sleeping on it with an alarm clock on an even smaller cloud right next to her head. “Huh, that’s pretty cool, didn’t know Pegasi could do that with clouds,” Suddenly the alarm clock strikes Noon and it started chiming. Stirring from her nap, Rainbow slaps the clock to stop it from chiming and sits up and yawns.
“Finally, Twelve o’clock, Time for some fun,” She looks around in the opposite direction that Michael is in at first. “Did he forget to show up?” Michael clears his throat to catch her attention, She turns around and smirks. “So glad you decided to come,” She flaps her wings moving her and the cloud closer to Michael on the bank of the pond. “Are you ready for our sparring match, Link?” She hops off the cloud and lands in a dramatic pose.
“One second,” Michael takes his sword and shield off and wraps one of his leather belts around the sword to keep it in its scabbard. “Now I’m ready,” Rainbow scoffs.
“Why’d you do that?” She crosses her arms. “Think you’re gonna actually hit me?” She chuckles and smirks. “In your dreams, you’ll never be able to hit me,” Some ponies visiting the park are noticing the commotion and calling others to watch.
“We seem to be gathering spectators,” Michael gets into a fighting stance. “We should get this over with, bad press might hurt our reputations,” Rainbow gets into a fighting pose.
“Then let’s do this,” She flares her wings. Text appears at the bottom of Michael’s vision and music begins to play in his head.
“On go, Ready?” Rainbow says prompting Michael to nod and smirk feeling confident. “Three!” She shouts.
“Two,” He shouts in turn. Tael quickly disappears into his hat.
“One!” They both shout in unison. “GO!” They shout and lunge at each other. They clash in the middle of their makeshift battlefield. Michael backflips catching Rainbow off guard and swings his sword at her. She jumps over the sword and Spins around to get a good kick right on his cheek knocking him back a few feet.
“Michael, that attack did half a heart of Damage alone, you need to be careful,” Tael chimes telepathically.
“Thanks for the warning Tael,” He whispers. “Damn, good one Dash,” He rubs his cheek and rushes back at her. “My turn!” once close enough he gets ready to swipe but Rainbow jumps over the sword again. “Not this time!” As Rainbow is spinning around to kick Michael dodge rolls around her in a circle and expertly executes the Back slice technique catching Rainbow off guard and knocking her away.
“Oww, where’d you learn to do that, that was cool,” Rainbow rubs her back and turns back to face Michael with a smirk on her face. “Let’s see how you handle this!” She flairs her wings and flies up into the air completely out of his reach without items. She flies in a loop and heads straight toward him at high speed ready to hit him with a super-speed punch. Before she collides with him he dodge rolls to the side avoiding her attack. She growls in frustration and flies around back toward him at an even faster speed.
“Is she really trying that again?” Michael whispers to himself. He dives out of the way of her second tackle and thinks about an Idea. “Maybe I can stop her if I use the Iron Boots for leverage like how Link stopped gorons in Twilight Princess,” Rainbow begins her descent for her third dive bomb. He dives out of the way of her tackle again and quickly equips the Iron boots.
“You can’t dodge me forever Link!” She shouts as she goes in for another punch. Michael lays his sword and shield down and gets ready to grab her. Confused she picks up speed thinking he’s giving up or something and changes to a tackle attack. She collides with him at high speed creating a large dust cloud. The crowd, they unwillingly gathered, all gasped in shock. As the dust settles the crowd starts cheering as Rainbow and Michael are locked hand and hand struggling to push the other with their strength. Rainbow is flapping her wings hard and Michael’s legs and arms are shaking slightly.
“Gotta admit, Rainbow, you’re pretty damn strong,” Michael says making Rainbow smirk and chuckle.
“You’re not half bad yourself,” Rainbow admits. Michael smirks back. “Too bad you’re going down,” Rainbow starts flapping her wings even harder starting to push Michael back. Losing ground, Michael thinks quickly and gets a brilliant idea.
“In your dreams maybe,” He shifts his weight and pushes off to the side throwing off her wing beats and balance. “But I know some tricks that’ll help me in this fight,” He stops pushing against her and redirects her momentum to start spinning around in a circle gripping her hands tightly. “So long eh Rainbow!” He says confusing Rainbow.
“What?” She says right before he throws her at high speed toward the pond. Unable to recover in time she bounces on the water a few times before falling underwater making a big splash. Michael unequips the Iron boots and quickly runs over to where he dropped his sword and shield. As he picks up his gear Rainbow crawls out of the water coughing up water. As she catches her breath Michael walks over and kneels down in front of her.
“Need a hand?” He reaches out a hand as a show of goodwill and smiles warmly. Rainbow looks up at him and hesitantly grabs his hand. He helps Rainbow up and pats her on the back. “No hard feelings right?” Michael says. Rainbow thinks for a moment then answers.
“No hard feelings,” The music fades out and Michael breathes a sigh of relief then suddenly Rainbow grabs his shirt collar to get in his face. “But we’re going to have a rematch in two weeks, same time, same place,” She states a little too close for comfort.
“You got it, I’d be happy to do this again it was a fun learning experience,” He says confidently. Rainbow nods and lets go of his shirt collar. “Sorry for throwing you into the pond,” Rainbow chuckles.
“No problem, just don’t do that next time It’s pretty cold this time of year,” She says making Michael chuckle too. “Well, I gotta go change and get to work my lunch break’s over,” She flies up to the cloud she was napping on and grabs the alarm clock. “See ya later, Link,” She says as she breaks the cloud and flies off toward her cloud mansion. Michael waves goodbye, fixes the leather belt holding his sword in its scabbard, replaced his sword and shield on his back, and turns to walk back to the Library when out of the dispersing crowd an angry Twilight walks up to him.
“What the hay was that about?!” She yells at him. “You two could’ve been hurt!” Michael recoils away from her.
“Calm down, can we talk about this in the Library? It involves yesterday,” He says trying to calm her down. Twilight thinks for a moment and nods.
“When we get home you’re gonna answer all my questions, mister,” She says turning away towards the Library. Michael breathes another sigh of relief and follows Twilight back to the Library. Once they enter Spike comes out of the kitchen in an apron with dough and flour on it.
“Hey, you’re back, how was the match?” He asks excitedly. “Did you win Link?” Twilight leads Michael over to the dinner table and they sit down.
“I won this time, Spike,” Spike claps and cheers. “In two weeks we’ll have another match, I hope to win without having to throw her into the pond,” Spike sits at the table.
“That sounds so cool, I hope I get to watch this time,” Spike says excitedly. Twilight pats Spike’s head catching his attention.
“Spike can you go upstairs and grab my parchment paper, I need to send a letter to Princess Celestia,” Spike nods and rushes upstairs. Once he’s out of eyesight she teleports her parchment paper next to her and leans forward on the table. “So explain to me why you and Rainbow were fighting in the park,” She says prompting Michael to nervously gulp and tug on the collar of his shirt.
“Yesterday before she left, Rainbow told me to meet her at the park at noon to spar,” He explains. “I didn’t want to seem like a weakling so I agreed and went,” Twilight nods. “I’m sorry Twilight, I should’ve told you,” Michael looks down at the table to avoid eye contact.
“Yes, you should have,” Twilight sits up straight and crosses her arms. “How do you think I would feel if you were injured again, or what Spike would feel, or our other friends?” She says prompting Michael to sigh.
“You’re right, I’m sorry, I did it without thinking about you and the others,” Michael looks back up at Twilight. “I sincerely promise I won’t do that again without your express permission and your supervision,” He puts a hand over his heart and raises the other in the air. “Scouts honor,” Twilight thinks for a moment then nods.
“I’m going to hold you to those words,” She says as she stands up. “Now, Spike made cookies, let me go get him real quick,” She goes over to the stairs and yells up for Spike. “Spike, come down I found some parchment down here, come serve up some of your delicious-smelling cookies,” Spike walks down the stairs and hurries into the kitchen.
“Cookies sound delicious, that sparring match made me hungry,” Michael’s stomach growls as Twilight sits back down at the table. “Say, how’d you find out we were sparring anyway?” Twilight chuckles.
“I heard one of the town’s ponies talk about it as they walked past the Library,” She says. “Now Remember, you come to me when Rainbow sets another ‘Sparring Day’, Ok?” Twilight asks prompting Michael to nod. Spike walks out of the kitchen holding a wire cooling rack with two dozen cookies and places them on the table. “Spike, these look great you’ve really outdone yourself,” Spike smiles proudly and takes a seat next to Twilight.
“Let’s dig in,” Spike says proudly and everypony at the table grabs a cookie and chows down. Michael hums in delight.
“Oh man, these are so delicious, the cookies back where I’m from pale in comparison,” Michael compliments as Spike grabs another one and tosses it in his mouth. Once he swallows he starts gagging. Thinking he’s choking Twilight pats him on the back and he burps up green smoke. “Huh, is that a letter from the Princess?” It swirls in a circle and with a poof of golden magic, it transforms into a letter with the Royal Canterlot seal.
“It is, I wonder what it says?” Twilight asks as Spike grabs it and opens it to read.
“Huh, is that a letter from the Princess?” Michael says as green smoke burped up by spike swirls in a circle and with a poof of golden magic, it transforms into a letter with the Royal Canterlot seal.
“It is, I wonder what it says?” Twilight asks as Spike grabs it, opens it to read, and clears his throat.
“My dearest and most faithful student Twilight, I’m writing you a letter to inform you, Spike, and Link-” Twilight and Michael look at each other for a moment curiously then back to Spike. “-that an unknown magical artifact has appeared out of thin air in Canterlot,” Twilight’s eyes light up anticipating what the Magic artifact is. “I wish to ask you all to investigate this magical item,” Spike unfolds a small portion of the letter making three two-way tickets to Canterlot and back to fall from the letter. Spike picks them up and continues reading. “If you, Spike, and Link could come to Canterlot tomorrow and lend a hand finding out what this item is that would be wonderful, Your loving mentor Princess Celestia,” Spike hands the letter to Twilight and she reads over it real quick then nods.
“Alright, it seems like we’re going to Canterlot tomorrow morning,” Twilight smiles. “I wonder what this magical artifact is,” Twilight giggles in excitement. Michael stands up and stretches.
“Welp I don’t know about you two but, I think a little jog will help those cookies settle,” He quickly grabs one last cookie and bites into it. “By the way, Spike, perfect human level of sugar, good job and tell Pinkie before she accidentally kills me,” Spike gives him a thumbs up and Twilight stands up from the table.
“If we’re going to get to Canterlot on schedule we’ll need to get to bed early and catch the eight-thirty AM train to Canterlot in the morning,” Twilight says while pacing around the room. “Go ahead and do your jog, Link, just remember to be back by dinner,” Michael nods and heads out of the Library. The rest of the day is relatively uneventful and everypony living in the Golden Oaks Library goes to bed early after dinner to wake up on time for Twilight’s schedule.
Twilight, Michael, and Spike are waiting for the eight-thirty morning train to arrive. Michael rubs the tiredness out of his eyes and yawns. “Did you have to wake us up two hours early Twilight?” He stretches his arms and back. “I didn’t even get to do my morning exercises,” Twilight is holding a list that she made yesterday with the help of Spike who is leaning against Michael with his eyes closed and occasionally lightly snoring.
“I’m sorry, Link, it’s just I really don’t want to keep Princess Celestia waiting for us,” Twilight says while looking over at a clock on the terminal. “The train should be arriving anytime now,” As she finishes saying this a train whistle is heard in the distance and rising over a hill to the right of everypony is a multicolored train arriving at the Ponyville station. “Finally, I was starting to worry it was delayed,” Twilight says as she adjusted the strap on the small messenger bag she’s bringing. Michael leans over and gently wakes Spike.
“Train’s here, Spike, get ready to board in a minute bud,” Spike yawns and nods. “So Twilight how long is the ride to Canterlot?” Michael asks as he adjusts his equipment on his back.
“It’s about two to three hours depending on the weather, so we should be in Canterlot by Eleven-Thirty at the latest,” Twilight says after doing quick calculations in her head. “It won’t be too long, trust me,” She smiles and looks at Michael.
“Let’s hope I don’t get motion sick or something, to tell the truth, I’ve never really ridden a real train before,” Michael says slightly nervous. “I’m not a long-distance traveler,” Twilight giggled as the train stopped just in front of them and opened its doors.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine, I’ll help distract you during the ride just in case,” Twilight says as they all file into the Train and take a few seats in the back. Several ponies give Michael varied looks, some of fear mainly from normal-looking ponies, some of disgust mainly from noble-looking ponies, and some of confusion mainly from the foals on the train. “Don’t pay attention to them, you’re just a different sight to them,” Michael nods and looks out of the window of the train as it pulls away from the station.
During the long ride to Canterlot Twilight talks with Michael about himself a little more. “So you said you’ve never ridden a real train, what does that mean?” Michael looks at Twilight pulling his attention from the scrolling landscape out the window.
“Well, my parents took me and my sister to an amusement park when I was around Ten or Twelve years old,” Michael crosses his arms and leans back in his seat. “I remember riding a small transport train that didn’t have a roof and was only two seats per cart to go from one side of the park to another and I loved it,” He smiles reminiscing, Twilight smiles as well. “That was probably the best day of my life, two Roller coasters, a Merry-go-round, Spinning teacups, bumper cars, shooting galleries, and the train ride,” He closes his eyes and smiles wide.
“That sounds like it was a pretty fun place,” Twilight says. “I can just imagine a little you having the time of his life,” Michael chuckles and reopens his eyes.
“Yeah, that was one of the best parks I’ve ever been to,” Michael then remembers something. “I’m sure you girls would’ve loved it too, it had some fast Roller coasters, the train ride was peaceful and it had some great views of the river it was right next to, and it had a ton of party games,” He says excitedly. “Sadly that is back in my original world, but I’m sure Equestria has some great amusement parks too,” He says starting to sound sad. “Though thinking of my time with my family is starting to hurt, can we change the subject?”
“Sure, I don’t want you to feel bad when we arrive in Canterlot so let’s talk about some other things,” Twilight says and Michael nods. “So, uh,” Twilight thinks for a moment. “Are there any other songs you can play on your Ocarina?” Michael nods and pulls out his Ocarina.
“I know a ton of songs, just not all of them do something yet,” He says while Twilight nods in understanding. “This one doesn’t work yet but I think I know how to make it work,” He puts the instrument up to his lips and plays Saria’s Song.
After the last note fades out Michael’s body glows green again and a green wisp floats out of his body, it flies in circles in front of him for a few seconds then poofs out of existence. Twilight’s eyes light up in excitement.
“Wow, Link, that song was amazing, what was it supposed to do?” Twilight asks as Spike sits up and rubs his eyes just waking from his nap.
“That song is supposed to allow me and somepony else to talk at long distances, but right now it seems It doesn’t have anyone to connect to,” He says as he pulls out the Fairy Ocarina.
“I didn’t know you had two Ocarinas, do you want to try that song with me to see if it connects?” Michael hesitates for a moment then nods and hands Twilight the Fairy Ocarina. She puts the instrument up to her lips and plays a few notes to get a feel for the instrument.
“Alright, Pay attention and follow after me,” Michael puts the Ocarina of Time to his lips and plays Saria’s Song again tilting his head down a little so Twilight can see what notes he plays. Twilight follows along after and plays it perfectly, both of them glow green and they each play the song again duet style. Once the song finishes the green glow flows from them and two green balls of light swirl around then combine. The magic pops and two green lines connect Michael and Twilight’s heads then slowly dissipates. Spike looks from Twilight to Michael back and forth confused.
“Did it work?” Twilight says hopefully. Michael looks down, closes his eyes, and thinks of a sentence that only he should be able to hear in an attempt to test if the song’s effect worked.
“I hope this works, Twilight, your outfit looks great today,” Michael opens his eyes and looks back up at Twilight. She looks down at her attire and looks back toward Michael.
“Why thank you, Link, this outfit is one of my favorites,” She says out loud. Spike looks toward Twilight confused.
“You ok, Twilight? Link didn’t say anything,” Twilight looks over to Spike and then back to Michael.
“Wait you didn’t say anything?” Twilight says a little confused. Michael smiles and chuckles.
“I did say it in my thoughts, it seems the song allows the two users to speak via telepathy with their thoughts,” Michael explains. Twilight hums in interest and teleports a quill and notepad. “Though how long the link lasts is currently unknown right now, we can test it later,” Michael says which excites Twilight immensely. Spike facepalms and Twilight squees in glee.
“Oh, testing the limits of this song will be so exciting, I can’t wait!” She writes down what Michael said and teleports the equipment away again. “Here,” She tried to hand the fairy Ocarina back to Michael, but he didn’t take it. Instead, he smiled and pushed the Ocarina back towards her.
“You know what Twi,” He said, surprising Twilight that he said her nickname for the first time. “Keep it, as a gift. And so we can test more with it later,” Twilight lifts the instrument to her chest and looks at it with a smile.
“Thank you, Link, I’ll make sure to take good care of it,” Her horn lights up and the Fairy Ocarina teleports into her saddlebag. “So, Link, are you ready to see Canterlot?” She asks and Michael nods with a confident look on his face. A train attendant enters the cart and announces to everypony inside.
“Now arriving in the Canterlot station, passengers please prepare to disembark!” The attendant exits through the back of the cart walking to the next one to continue their job.
“Well, looks like we’re here,” Twilight says, “You two boys ready?” Spike nods and smiles and Michael stretches then puts away the Ocarina of Time. The train comes to a slow stop and the horn sounds signaling that passengers can safely leave the train. “Alright let’s go,” The three stand from their seats and exit the train in an orderly fashion. Once out on the station’s platform, they begin to walk toward the city of Canterlot but are immediately stopped by two Solar Guards.
“Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia,” One of the Solar Guards speaks with authority. The other one steps forward and they both salute.
“The Princess has tasked us with escorting you and your friends to the castle once you arrived, follow us,” The Solar Guards turn around towards a royal carriage and everypony starts walking over to it.
“Wow, a royal escort, never been important enough for one of these before,” Michael said amused. One of the Solar Guards opens the carriage and Twilight, Spike, and Michael get in. The Solar Guard sticks their head in the carriage.
“Please enjoy the ride we will arrive at the castle in roughly ten minutes,” The Solar Guard leaves the carriage and closes the door. Moments later the carriage lurches to a start as the Solar Guards have climbed into the seats and whipped the reigns.
“So, Link,” Twilight says prompting Michael to look at her. “You know the proper etiquette for talking to the Princess right?” She asks.
“Yes, Twilight, I know how to speak to royalty and be respectful,” Michael says smiling. “Trust me, I know what to do when we speak with her.” Twilight smiles. Several minutes of idle chatter later, the carriage slows to a stop and Twilight looks out the window.
“Looks like we’re here,” A Solar Guard opens the door, and the group of three exits the carriage. “Thank you for the escort,” The Solar Guards salute, close the carriage door, climbs back up into the front seats, and take the carriage to the royal garage. Twilight steps toward the castle and turns back to face Michael. “Welcome to Canterlot Castle, home of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Two different Solar Guards walk up to the group and salute them.
“Please follow us to meet with Princess Celestia,” One of the Solar Guards states then stands at attention. Twilight turns to them and smiles.
“We’re ready to see what the Princess called us here for,” The two Solar Guards nod and turn toward the castle. “Lead the way,” The group of three follows the Solar Guards into the castle and soon are joined by two more Solar Guards following behind them.
“Huh, I wonder why more guards are following behind us?” Spike says looking back towards the two Solar Guards behind the group.
“Probably the fact that You and I have weaponry on our backs, my dragon friend,” Michael says with a sly grin pointing to his back. “Don't worry bud, they're just doing what they're paid to do,” He pats Spike on the back as they all reach a set of very large doors with two more Solar Guards standing guard.
“We’ve arrived at the throne room, we shall ask the Princess if she’s ready to see you,” One of the Solar Guards in front of the group says. “Wait here,” They crack the throne room door open and a Solar Guard heads inside. Moments later the Solar Guard leaves the throne room. “She is ready you may enter,” When the Solar Guard stepped out of the way the throne room doors opened wide revealing Princess Celestia sitting regally on one of the thrones at the far end of the room. The group enters the throne room and the doors slowly close leaving the group of three and two Solar Guards at the door.
“Welcome Twilight, Spike, and Link, I’m glad you could come to help us figure out what we’ve found,” Princess Celestia says as she stands from the throne. Twilight and Spike bowed normally but Michael decided to add a little flair. He reached up and drew his Sword making the Solar Guards in the room start to panic but he quickly pointed it towards the floor and kneeled like a knight with both hands on the pommel. “My my, such respect young hero, I appreciate your enthusiasm, Please rise so I may tell you why I called you three here,”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Michael said and stood with his sword still pointed at the ground. Twilight and Spike stood as well. Princess Celestia walked over to the group and stopped a few feet before them.
“As I stated in my letter, a strange artifact was found here in Canterlot, the royal treasury to be exact,” Celestia’s horn lights up and a large wooden chest is teleported into the room a little distance away. “This chest and the strange artifact within were found just yesterday and I’ve never seen anything like them before,” Michael slowly walks over to the chest and inspects it after sheathing his sword.
“It looks like an ordinary large wooden chest to me,” Twilight says looking over at the chest. “How have you never seen anything like it before?” Michael’s hands touch the chest and his body stops responding to his mind and it moves on its own.
Michael opens the Wooden chest and the bottom half glows as he reaches in and pulls a Piece of Heart from it, a magical heart-shaped item from The Legend of Zelda that increases Link’s health when he collects four of them.
↑A Piece of Heart↑
He turns around away from the chest facing the others in the room and holds it above his head. A text box appeared in Michael’s vision. ‘You got a Piece of Heart, collect four pieces total to get another Heart Container!’ Michael blinks away the text box and the Piece of Heart slowly lowers into his body and fades from sight with the glowing inside the chest fading as well. When Michael’s mind regains control of his body he blinks a few times, nearly falls over, and looks himself over breathing heavily.
“What the hell just happened?” He says slightly spooked. “I lost control of my body entirely,” He looks over at the others in the room, they all have confused and surprised expressions on their faces, even the Solar Guards are stunned. “What?” He asks finally catching his breath.
“Link, you just absorbed the artifact,” Twilight states baffled by what she just saw. “More importantly, why was the chest glowing from the inside, why did you hold the artifact above your head, and what was that music we just heard?” She asks several quick questions.
“I would also like to know what my student just asked as well, when my guards opened the chest and inspected the artifact, what you just did, didn’t happen to them,” Celestia added. “We can discuss this in the dining room, it’s lunch and I’m sure you three are famished from the long train ride here,” Celestia said with a smile.
“That sounds fantastic, Princess,” Michael says and rubs his stomach. “I think I’ll need some food to be able to answer all your questions, especially, Twi’s,” Twilight rolls her eyes. Celestia chuckles and leads everypony out of the throne room towards the dining room, with two Solar Guards following close behind.
After a relatively short walk, they enter the dining hall and everypony takes their seats. Celestia sits in the big chair with her cutiemark on it and the head of the table, Twilight sits to her right, Spike sits right next to her, and Michael a seat away from Celestia’s left. After a hearty meal consisting of about four salads, a small meat fiasco tactfully handled by Princess Celestia, and some delicious cake, the group talks about what just transpired in the throne room a few minutes ago.
“So, I’ll start by telling you that the artifact your guards found is called a Piece of Heart, A magical artifact from my old world that when I collect four of them I gain an extra heart to help in battle,” Michael explains.
“An extra heart? What does that mean?” Princess Celestia asks him confused. Michael stands up, takes his gauntlet off, and shows everypony his wrist HUD.
“These are my health and magic meters,” He explains. “Almost like an energy meter, the hearts represent my health and disappear as I take physical damage, they can be recovered via eating, with healing magic, or potions, once I’m around one heart or less I’ll start to feel weak even if I've just got a full refreshing sleep and at zero hearts I assume die,” He puts his gauntlet back on and sits down. “I don’t really want to know if I’m right about that last part,”
“You only have three hearts but your magic meter is longer than your Hearts, how many can you get?” Twilight asks curiously.
“I think twenty is the max but I might be wrong,” Michael answers. "Now as for what happened with the chest glowing, the music, and me losing control of my body, I don't really know what happened," He lied, Celestia catching the lie and looking a little disappointed. “But, now that I think about it,” Michael puts a hand on his chin in thought. “If an artifact from my old world appeared here, would other things appear here too?” He says with a little worry in his voice.
“What do you mean, Link?” Spike says confused. “What’s so bad about the things from your world?” Michael looks over at the dragon.
“There are a lot of good things from my world but also a lot of bad things, like dangerous monsters to be exact, Spike,” Michael says prompting Twilight and Spike to look a little scared. Celestia looks at Michael and leans forward.
“Tell me about these dangerous monsters,” She says with intrigue and slight worry. “I wish to inform my guards to look out for them to keep my little ponies safe from harm,” Michael looks toward Celestia and crosses his arms.
“Where do I begin, there’s a ton of them from your run-of-the-mill vampiric bats to fully armored warriors brainwashed by dark magic,” Michael says. “How about I write down descriptions of the most notable monsters and send them to you via Spike in a letter? There really are a bunch of them and it would take all day to explain them to you,” Celestia thinks for a moment then nods.
“If you feel that would be easier,” Celestia says. "I'll hope you send the information as soon as you can, Link," Michael nods confidently.
"I'll make sure to explain the lesser monsters too once I get the big bads out of the way first, trust me," Michael says confidently.
"Thank you, Link, now," Celestia stands from her chair and walks over to the dining room door. “Come with me everpony, I’ll show you out so you can return to Ponyville before it turns dark, and thank you again for coming here to help find out what that artifact was, I will send for you again if we find any more strange artifacts,” She says with a smile.
"No problem, Princess, we'll always help when we can!" Twilight says with a smile. Everypony left sitting stands from their chairs then heads out of the room towards the castle entrance.
Michael yawns as the group of three entered their home after the long day they’ve had. “Man what a day, I’m beat,” Michael sits at the dinner table and leans back in his chair to relax.
“I’ll be honest, I’m pretty tired too, Spike, are you tired?” Twilight said while also sitting at the table, though a book is floating towards her in her magical grasp. Spike sits at the table and takes his sword and shield off.
“Yep, I’m tired,” His stomach growls in hunger. “And hungry,” Michael and Twilight’s stomachs both growl in unison. Twilight chuckles.
“Seems we’re all hungry, maybe I should cook tonight?” Twilight says and Michael stands from the table. “Link, where are you going?” He stretches his back and walks over to the kitchen.
“I’ll cook, you two have cooked for me for more than a week so I think it’s time for me to cook for you guys,” Michael says then enters the kitchen. “I’m gonna make you guys my favorite food, I just need one thing,” He opens the fridge and Twilight gets up to help him.
“What do you need?” She asks. Michael crouches down to look at the bottom of the fridge. “I’ll help you find whatever you need since you haven’t really been in the kitchen much,” He stands up and looks over at her.
“Thanks, Twi, I need a substitute for meat, since you and Spike don’t eat it,” Michael looks in the pantry and grabs a can of garbanzo beans. “This will work,” He looks over at Twilight. “It’ll take roughly forty minutes, you can wait in the other room and read a book while you wait, I can handle it from here,” Twilight smiled and walked into the other room. When she exited the kitchen she noticed a book lying open on a desk across the room.
“What the?” She walks over to the book and notices a page lightly lifting up and falling down in rhythm. She moved the page revealing Tael sleeping in the book. “Tael, what are you doing?” Said fairy sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“I was taking a nap after reading one of your books,” She yawned and floated off the book. “Sorry, Twilight, I was bored when you guys left me here,” She looked around confused. “Where’s Link by the way?” Twilight points towards the kitchen.
“He’s cooking dinner tonight, and don’t worry about falling asleep on a book, to be honest, you aren’t the only one that’s done that,” Twilight said with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. “So did anypony come here today?” Tael lands on Twilight’s shoulder and after placing the book back on the bookshelf with her magic, Twilight sits down at the dinner table.
“Nope, no one visited while you guys were gone,” Tael says while shaking her head. “So how was Canterlot?” Tael asks prompting Twilight to smile.
“It was nice, apparently the magical artifact that was found was a Piece of Heart from Link’s world,” Twilight explains. “Though, when Link opened the chest containing it he said he lost control of his body and the chest was glowing from the inside, though when some royal guards opened it, it didn’t glow,” She says a little confused. Tael hums with intrigue.
“There was also some strange music and sounds when he opened the chest,” Spike adds as some delicious aromas emanate from the kitchen catching the three’s attention. “Woah, what smells so good?” Michael leans out of the kitchen.
“It’s almost done, I hope you guys like it,” He says then leans back into the kitchen. A few minutes later he exits the kitchen carrying two plates. “Alright, here you go,” He sets one plate in front of Twilight and the other in front of Spike. “Vegetarian Spaghetti, a meatless version of my favorite food,” He walks back into the kitchen for his plate.
“This looks delicious, Link,” Twilight says as Michael returns with his plate and a small plate for Tael. He places the plates onto the table and heads back into the kitchen one last time to grab silverware. “I can’t wait to dig in,” With his final trip to the kitchen for now done, Michael hands everypony a fork and butter knife with Tael receiving smaller versions of both.
“Alright,” He sits down at the table and picks up his fork. “Dig in everypony,” As everypony at the table digs into a delicious meal prepared by Michael, An important conversation between princesses is happening in another location.
=Canterlot Throne Room= -Right Before Night Court-
“Hello dear sister, how was the visit with thy student and the hero?” Said a tall dark blue Alicorn female as she entered the throne room from a side entrance. Princess Celestia, who was on the throne, turn to her sister and smiled warmly. “Did thee find out what the Artifact was?”
“The visit went well, and yes, Luna we did find out what it was,” Princess Luna took a seat on her throne next to Celestia. “During their visit, Twilight and I were discussing the artifact when Link walked over to the chest,” She started explaining. “He touches the chest and strange music started,” Luna tilts her head in confusion. “When he opened the chest the inside was glowing, he reached inside and pulled out the heart-shaped artifact and held it above his head with a big smile,” Luna hummed in intrigue and Celestia continued. “After that, The artifact was absorbed into him,”
“Link absorbed the artifact?” Luna asks. “Did he explain what it was after that?” Celestia smiles and nods.
“He explained many interesting things after a quick lunch,” Celestia starts. “He explained that the artifact was something called a Piece of Heart, a special item that increases his number of hearts when he collects four of them,”
“Increases his number of hearts?” Luna said super confused. “He has more than one?” Celestia chuckles and shakes her head.
“Not like that,” Celestia quickly explains Michael’s heart and magic meter to her sister. “Understand now, Luna?” Luna nods.
“It is a little confusing but we understand,” Luna says then catches what she said. “I mean I understand,” Celestia giggles.
“Do not worry, Luna, you’ll get used to the new way of speaking it in no time,” Celestia smiles warmly. “Now, I was thinking,” Celestia’s horn lights up and a few pieces of parchment paper poofs in front of her. “We should put a reward out for locating any more of those Pieces of Heart for Link,” She said as the papers floated over to Luna.
“That sounds like a good idea sister,” The papers have a perfect drawing of a Piece of Heart in full color and reads ‘If anypony finds one of these artifacts please turn them into a Solar or Lunar Guard for a reward of 1,500 bits.’ Luna smiles. “This looks good, I say we put this out tomorrow,”
“I agree, I will spread these around Equestria tomorrow morning,” Celestia yawns and covers her mouth embarrassed. “It seems I’m more tired than I had thought, goodnight Luna,” Celestia stands from her throne and heads toward the side exit.
“Good night, sister, have a good rest,” Luna said while smiling. Celestia left the throne room and the Solar Guards are relieved from duty by the Lunar Guards. Luna calls the Captain of the Lunar Guard to open night court and her night starts as normal.
Another day begins as normal for Michael as sunlight peeks through the blinds on his window hitting his eyes. He grunts, sits up, stretches, and yawns. “Another morning assaulted by Celestia’s sun,” He stands up from his bed and walks over to his closet to gather his armaments. “I wonder if Rarity can make weighted clothing for me like Goku used in Dragon Ball since I’m so used to wearing my sword and shield?” He thought. After equipping himself, Michael sits down on his bed and waits for Spike to join him for morning exercise. After about a minute, a knock is heard on the door. “Come in I’m awake and not a wolf this time,” The door opens and Spike walks in wearing his sword and shield while smiling.
“Glad we’re exercising today, it kinda felt weird not doing it yesterday,” Michael stands up and walks over to an open area of his room with Spike. “Let’s do this!” Spike says cheerfully.
“Alight, two hundred push-ups Let’s Go!” Michael said excitedly, and the boys both do a regular morning exercise session. After half an hour of their morning workout, Spike goes to leave for his shower when Michael stops him. “Spike wait,” Spike stops at the door and turns around to face Michael. “When do you want to start your sword training?” Spike’s eyes light up in excitement.
“You’re really thinking of training me how to use my sword and shield?” He asked and Michael nodded with a smile. “Yes!” Spike shouted gleefully. “How does tomorrow after our exercise sound?” Michael thinks for a moment then smiles.
“Sounds perfect bud, I know you’ll do great,” Michael walks over and pats Spike’s head. “Now go take your shower, I’m gonna start drafting up your training regime,” Spike smiles, nods, and heads out of Michael’s room to take his shower. “Alright time to see where we can do this sword training since My room isn’t big enough,” He heads over to his window and opens it. Looking outside he finds the spot where he had Spike show off the Goron tunic and nods. “That should be perfect,” He closes his window and turns to his end table, where Tael is sleeping soundly. “Hey Tael, It’s time to wake up,” He says softly, just loud enough to gently wake the fairy from her slumber, but not loud enough to scare her. Tael sits up and yawns.
“Good morning, Michael,” Tael says then stretches. “How was your morning exercise?” She sits on the edge of her bed and looks up at Michael.
“It went great, I think we’re getting used to the exercise and might need to raise some things,” Michael says with a smile. “Oh, and I asked Spike when he wanted to train using his sword,”
“Oh wow, what did he say?” Tael asked curiously.
“He said he wanted to start tomorrow so I gotta draft up a training regime for him,” Michael says drawing his sword and shield and turning towards the training dummy across the room. “I think I’ll ask Twi to help me with it, she’s good with schedules,” Michael begins practicing his sword swings and even the back slice technique a few times. After an hour of training, Michael is breaking up a sweat.
“Congratulations Michael!” Tael cheers. “You’ve finally trained for a full hour in one sitting!” Michael lowers his stance and catches his breath with a smile on his face.
“Finally, now it’s time for a well-needed shower,” He stands up straight and sheaths his sword and shield. “I think I’ll wear my black tunic today,” He walks over to his closet, takes his sword, shield, and gauntlets off then sets them inside and grabs a towel. “Alright, Tael, I’ll be out in about half an hour,” He turns toward Tael and smiles. “See you downstairs,” Michael walked out of his room and into the open bathroom. After his shower, drying off with the towel, and putting on his pants and boots, he reaches behind himself to pull his black outfit from his inventory.
Instead of pulling out his black outfit, he pulls out… nothing… “Huh?” He tries again to grab his black outfit from his inventory. Thinking harder about it he grabs the air and pulls out… nothing again. “What the hell?” He crosses his arms and holds his chin in thought. ”Did I put my black tunic in my closet or something?” He walks out of the bathroom shirtless and hatless and runs into Twilight, who came upstairs to check on him, knocking her down on her flank. “Uhh, whoops, sorry Twi,” He reaches a hand down to help her up smiling apologetically.
“It’s alright, it didn’t-” She looks up and sees Michael shirtless and blushes. “-hurt that much,” She hesitantly grabs his hand and he helps her up onto her hooves. “So, it seems you’re done with your shower,”
“Yeah, I was just about to head downstairs but I don’t have my Black tunic in my inventory it seems,” Michael says as he walks into his room with Twilight following him. When he opens his closet his black tunic is nowhere to be found. “Where the heck is my black tunic?” Twilight thinks for a moment.
“If only you had a way to see your inventory you could check again to be sure,” Then an idea hits her. “Link, why don’t you try and visualize your inventory in your mind, it might help,” She suggests. “When ponies learn magic they need to visualize their target really well in their minds for a spell to work, maybe it can let you see your inventory if you think hard enough?” Michael nods and tries Twilight’s suggestion.
”Visualise my inventory…” Michael crosses his arms and closes his eyes. “Am I supposed to visualize it as the pause screen from Ocarina of Time?” He visualizes the pause screen and a familiar sound plays out of nowhere. Spooked by the sudden sound, he opened his eyes to see that the entire world was grayscale and everything was frozen in place. He went to move but found out his body was frozen in place too, only his eyes could move to look around then a two-dimensional box appeared in his vision. At the top it said inventory and it had three-dimensional pictures of all his items from his sword and shield, which were greyed out, to even his Grand Galloping Gala Ticket. Whenever he would look at something it would be highlighted with a white square like his eyes were a cursor for the menu.
”This is really freaky, now where is my black tunic?” He looked through his entire inventory and failed to find it. He sighs mentally and looks around the box to find the close button and finds a circle near the top right that says save. “Woah… I can save?!” He stared at the button for what seemed like forever then randomly blinked activating the button. “Wow I really just stared at a button to save when I only needed to blink to activate it… I’m dumb…” After a few moments the box changed to show the text ‘Autosave enabled!' As another text box appears in the center of his inventory that reads, 'Auto saves will happen every Saturday at 11:59 PM, and you have 1 manual save that will refresh every 30 days.’ Once he blinked away the text box another familiar sound played. “Great I started an autosave, now, how do I close this menu?” He looks around and finds a button next to the save button that says close and activates it. With one final sound, the menu slowly faded away, the world around him regained its color, time resumed, and he regained control of his body.
“Whoa, what just happened,” Twilight said slightly scared that Michael’s eyes just instantly opened from her perspective. “Your eyes just suddenly opened,” Michael blinks a few times and moves his arms and legs around happy he’s in control again.
“I did it, I saw my inventory,” He looks Twilight in the eyes. “When I did though, it stopped time,” Twilight’s eyes light up.
“Wow, that’s some powerful magic you have, it takes a lot of magic and years of training to do that for even a second,” Twilight gushed. “I can’t wait to write to Princess Celestia about this,” She says with a smile.
“Well there’s also a bad thing, I still didn’t see my black tunic in there,” He says confused. “I saw my sword and shield, even though they’re right here next to us, so I wonder what happened to it,” He reaches behind him, grabs his white outfit out of his inventory, and quickly puts it on. “Guess I’m wearing white today then,” He grabbed his equipment and also put it on.
“I’m sure it’ll come up eventually now come on, your breakfast is getting cold,” Twilight said prompting Michael’s stomach to growl. “And it seems your belly agrees with me,” Michael rubs the back of his neck and chuckles embarrassed.
“Yep, seems that way,” They head out of Michael’s room to join Spike and Tael downstairs for breakfast. After a slightly cold but normal breakfast, Michael is in the kitchen cleaning everypony’s dishes when the ground starts rumbling. “Whoa, what the heck?” Michael puts the plate he was cleaning carefully into the sink and heads outside of the library with the others in the library following him out.
“What’s going on?” Spike says worriedly. Rainbow Dash is seen flying above the library and spots the issue.
“Stampede!” She shouts and dives for civilians to help get them out of the way.
“I’ll go try and stop it, help the town’s ponies!” Michael shouts as he quickly pulls out his ocarina and plays Epona’s Song.
As the song fades, Epona is seen galloping toward Michael, she stops next to him, and he quickly gets on her. “Good luck, Twi, Tael stick with Twilight,” Tael nods and flies onto Twilight's shoulder. He pulls on Epona’s reigns and whips her to get moving fast and they gallop towards the stampede to try and do something to stop it.
“Spike, I need you to get back in the library and stay safe until we get back,” Twilight says to Spike. He nods and runs back into the library. Twilight runs into the crowd to help calm everypony and get them to safety. Michael rode Epona fast towards a bridge connecting Ponyville and the road to Sweet Apple Acres. He stopped at the bridge and he spotted a huge group of cows running toward Ponyville at full speed.
”Shit, There’s too many for just me to handle,” He hesitated a few seconds then sighed. “I’m gonna regret this,” He whipped Epona to get her moving again towards the stampede. “Let’s go girl,” Once he got close enough he heard a familiar cowgirl shout.
“Yeehaw!” Applejack hollers as she rides a brown workhorse behind the cows. “Other side, Winona,” She shouts to her dog companion as they start to pass the back end of the cows. Michael stops Epona at the edge of the bridge. “Put ‘em up girl,” Applejack shouts as they both start to condense the stampeding cows together. “Come on little doggies turn,” She shouts trying to get the lead cows to turn away from the bridge. She whistles to Winona. “Winona put ‘em up,” Winona hops up onto the cows, hops from one to another, and hops in front of the lead of the stampede. Applejack pulls a lasso off her belt and tosses it around the lead cow’s neck. She yanks on it and successfully manages to turn the whole stampede away from the bridge. Michael looks on in awe.
“Damn that was cool,” He says then slowly has Epona follow the slowing down cows. Applejack stops the lead cow and the rest stop as well. She hops off her workhorse and stands in front of the cows.
“Now what was that all about?” Applejack says to the lead cow. It moos then clears its throat revealing to Michael that cows can speak in this world.
“Oh my, begging your pardon, Applejack, but Mooriella here saw one of those nasty snakes,” The cow says pointing to a lighter brown cow next to it. At the word snake, the other cows gasp and look frightened. “And it just gave us all the willies, don’t cha know,”
“I completely understand, just next time, try and steer clear of Ponyville,” She says putting emphasis on the word steer for some reason.
“We certainly will, Applejack,” The cow says as they all start walking away. “So long, Winona,” It says as Applejack climbs back on her workhorse. Michael approaches the cowgirl and her trusty dog companion.
“That was some damn fine herding, Applejack, if I do say so myself,” Michael says catching Applejack’s attention.
“Why that’s mighty kind of ya, Link,” She says with a smile. “I saw ya tryin’ to help, you were just a bit too slow,” She says teasing him.
“Yeah, I kinda-” He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed. “-Hesitated a little,” He chuckles. “Say, you guys need help on yer farm?” Applejack’s smile fell for a moment. “I need a job to help out around the library and with this baby-” He quickly pulls the Megaton Hammer out of his inventory. “-It’ll be a piece of cake,” Applejack looks Michael and Epona up and down.
“You know, we could use some help, follow me,” She whistles for Winona. “Come on girl we’re goin’ back to the farm,” She whips her workhorse and trots off to the farm with Winona hopping on the horse.
“I’m right behind ya,” Michael says then whips Epona to follow them. They all head to Sweet Apple Acres to discuss Michael’s workload and schedule for his potential employment.
After stopping the stampede from leveling Ponyville, Applejack and Winona return to the farm with Mike following close behind to talk about maybe giving him a job at the farm. They hitch their horses by the barn and head over to the farmhouse. Applejack invites Mike into the home and walks him into the living room. Mike sits on the couch and Applejack stands next to a rocking chair then crosses her arms as Winona jumped up onto the couch next to Mike.
“Granny, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, come to the livin’ room, we got a potential employee!” Applejack shouts out to her family as Mike started to pet Winona with a smile. After a few moments, an old green pony with a greyish-white mane slowly walks out of a room next to the stairs.
“Why hello there youngin, you want to work for the Apple family do ya?” She says in a kind voice as she walks over and sits across from him in a rocking chair. Mike nods as a large red pony with a cast around his left leg comes walking down the stairs carefully and stands next to Applejack. The Red pony looks Mike up and down judging his appearance not speaking a single word the entire time.
"I'm a-comin'," A younger voice yells down the stairs. A young Yellow pony with red hair and a pink bow runs down the stairs nearly tripping at the bottom. "I'm here Applejack," She stands next to the Red pony and smiles. Applejack clears her throat and gestures over to the old Pony.
“Link, This is my granny, Granny Smith,” Granny Smith waves slowly and smiles.
"So, Link is it? Just call me Granny, everypony does 'round here," Mike nods. Granny rocks back and forth in her rocking chair with a smile. Applejack gestures over to the big red pony.
“This is my big brother, Big Macintosh or Big Mac for short,” She gestures over to the big red pony.
“Eeyup,” Big Mac says. A man of few words should be easy to get along with Mike thought. Applejack gestures to the younger yellow pony.
“This is my little sister, Apple Bloom,” Applejack says as Mike stopped petting Winona and stood up to introduce himself to Applejack’s family.
“Hello everypony, as Applejack said, my name is Link,” Mike waves. “I’ve come to y’all to ask for employment,” His old country accent started showing itself. “I haven’t gotten a job yet and it’s really eatin’ away at my soul just sittin’ around the library doin’ nothin’ all day and I’m willin’ to go all out workin’ for y’all,” He bows. “So please, I ask ya with all the fiber of my being, will ya’ll hire me?” The Apples all share some glances back and forth for a few moments. After a few moments of wordless conversation, Applejack puts a hand on Mike’s shoulder and he straightens back up.
“Link, yer hired,” Applejack says with a smile. “You can start tomorrow at Six AM sharp.” Mike smiles and overreacts by hugging Applejack. “Woah there partner, you alright?” Mike quickly lets go of Applejack and backs away a little. Granny has a sly grin on her face, Big Mac’s eyebrows lower slightly, and Apple Bloom is a little confused.
“Sorry, I overreacted,” He chuckles embarrassed. “Never done that before, but I felt so happy about my first job it just kinda happened,” He smiles and rubs the back of his neck. Applejack chuckles.
"No problem partner," Applejack smiled. A grandfather clock chimed inside the home alerting everypony that it was Seven PM at night.
“Welp, it’s getting pretty late I better head home, I’ll see ya’ll bright and early tomorrow,” He says as he walks towards the exit. He opens the door and stops to look back at the Apple family. “Thanks again for hiring me, see ya'll later!” He waves and exits the farmhouse. He walks over to the barn, unhitches Epona, and mounts her. “Come on girl, let’s go home,” He gently spurs Epona and she canters towards Ponyville.
After 10 minutes they cross the bridge to Ponyville. “Alright, girl, I can walk back to the Library from here,” He stops Epona and hops off her. “You head back to Fluttershy’s,” He pets her mane and then shoos to get her moving towards Fluttershy’s cottage. “See you in the morning, Epona,” He says to her as he turns to head toward the Library.
During the walk to the Library, Mike decides to think about trying out some more Ocarina songs to see where they lead or if they do anything special. “Zelda’s Lullaby might not do anything right now, But maybe the teleportation songs lead to useful places,” He says to himself. He almost pulls out his Ocarina to test where the songs would take him but decides not to. “Nah, I gotta get home and get ready for work tomorrow,” He says then picks up his pace to get home before Twilight worries about him or worse, gets mad at him for being late. He reaches for the door handle but the door opens making him jump back in surprise.
“Where on equis have you been?” An annoyed Twilight says as she glares at Mike. “Do you know what time it is?” Mike instinctively looks at his wrist to check his nonexistent watch. “Dinner’s getting cold, get in here, we have some talking to do,” Twilight walks towards the dinner table and sits down. Mike sighs.
“Oh man, I’m in trouble,” He walks into the library, closing the door behind him. “Look, Twilight, I’m sorry for being late to return but I was at Applejack’s house,” He sits at the dinner table, in front of him is a plate of hash browns and a bowl of warm vegetarian chili.
“Oh, What were you doing there?” She says a little less mad as there’s an actual reason Mike was out so late.
“Well I asked, Applejack and her family for a job so I could earn some bits,” He said honestly. “I don’t feel right just sitting here doing nothing not helping for bills and the like,” Twilight frowns and calms down even more.
“Link… You don’t have to do that, we manage just fine with what I earn from me being the Princess’s star student,” Twilight says.
“I’ve already made up my mind, Tomorrow bright and early I have to go to work at Sweet Apple Acres,” He bites into the cold hash brown on his plate.
“Alright then, Link, I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do, just don't push yourself too hard,” Twilight says with a smile. “Well, I’m going to go to bed, it’s nearly eight PM, goodnight Link,” She stands from the table and heads upstairs.
“Goodnight, Twi, sweet dreams,” Mike says after he finishes his hash brown and starts on his now lukewarm chili. After his dinner Mike goes to his room and goes to bed, making sure to set his alarm for Five Thirty AM so He can still do his morning exercise routine, sadly without Spike as he doesn’t get up that early.
“Where is he?” Applejack is standing next to the barn waiting for Mike to show up for work. “I’m gonna have to start without ‘em if he doesn’t show up soon,” As if on cue, Applejack hears galloping, turns to the entrance to the farm, and Mike, wearing his Brown outfit, is riding Epona arriving to work a few minutes late. He hitches Epona next to the workhorse Applejack rode yesterday and runs up to Applejack.
“Sorry, Applejack,” He apologized. “My alarm didn’t wake me up but thank god Tael did,” He chuckled.
“God?” Applejack questioned. “Who’s that?” Mike blinks in confusion then facepalms.
“Uh… He’s supposedly the creator of my world and the ruler of the good afterlife, the place you go when you die if you're good in life…” He scratches the back of his head. “I don't really believe in religion so I only say his name as an expression,”
“Religion?” Applejack questioned again. “Is that related to your God feller?” She tilted her head in confusion.
“I’m gonna stop referencing my world’s bad qualities while I still can,” He said facepalming. “Just ignore what I said, it doesn’t matter that much anyway,” Applejack slowly nods.
“You got it, partner, now help me carry some baskets out to the trees we need to get this harvest started,” She points a thumb behind her at a stack of white apple baskets.
“Yes Ma’am!” Mike salutes and picks up the entire stack of about twenty baskets in his arms. “Lead the way boss,” Applejack smiles and heads out into the orchard with Mike following close behind. Applejack and Mike work from Six Thirty AM to about One PM and they head back to the farmhouse carrying the baskets.
“That was a good first haul, Link,” She says with a smile as they arrive at the barn and set the baskets inside. “I’d say you’re a perfect fit for this job,” Mike stands up straight and wipes some sweat from his brow.
“Thanks, boss,” He huffs from slight exhaustion. “What time is it?” He asks not being able to tell time without a watch still. Applejack looks up to judge what time it is by the sun.
“Hot dog, it’s lunchtime,” She says cheerfully with a smile. “Come on, Link, let’s go to the house and grab some grub,” She starts heading toward the farmhouse with Mike trailing her still a little winded from the long work hours. They enter the house to see Granny Smith pulling some pies from the window sill.
“Perfect timing youngins, Lunch is finished and perfectly cooled,” She places the pies on the kitchen island. “Big Mac, Lunch!” Granny Smith shouts to the best of her abilities. Mike sniffs the air and the pies smell so delicious his mouth is already watering.
“Granny, These pies smell fantastic,” Mike smiles.
“Why thank you, youngin, You’re gonna love how they taste too, it’s an apple family secret recipe,” She says gleefully. “They’re so good, that Pink friend of Applejack’s keeps on trying to eat ‘em while they’re still on the window sill cooling,” She chuckles.
“Yeah, Pinkie tries every day to get a bite of pie before it’s ready,” Applejack says then chuckles. “We give her a piece every day, she’s just a little impatient,” As if on cue Pinkie enters the farmhouse behind Mike slightly spooking him.
“I can’t help it, Granny here, makes the best apple fritter pies I’ve ever tasted,” She says joyfully. “You’re gonna love it, trust me,” She smiles.
“Now I’m really looking forward to it,” After he said that Big Mac entered the kitchen and they all had a delicious lunch. Standing from the dinner table Mike and Applejack thank Granny Smith for the great lunch and head back into the orchard to continue working.
=3 Hours of Work Later= -4:30 PM-
“Alright, we’re done for the day,” Applejack says as Mike places the last Applebasket inside the barn. “Thanks to you, we’ve gotten a fourth of the harvest done already,” Mike stands straight and stretches his back.
“That’s great, glad I could help,” He pops a bone in his back and sighs a breath of relief. “Oh that felt good,” He rubs his back and steps out of the barn. “I don’t want to sound like an entitled dirtbag but, important question, when do I get paid?” Applejack closes up the barn and they walk over to the farmhouse.
“Oh right, we forgot to talk about pay yesterday didn’t we,” She chuckles. “Don’t worry about sounding bad, wait here I’m gonna real quick grab yer pay for today,” She enters the house while Mike stands there outside looking up at the falling sun. after about a minute Applejack returns with a small bag in her hand. “Here you go, Link, Honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work with a little extra for a job well done,” She hands him the bag. And once he touches the bag he loses control of his body again. He turns around and the bag hovers above his hands spinning in a circle with a small jingle.
A Text box appears in his vision, ‘You earned forty Bits, you feel so accomplished’, He blinks and the text box vanishes. The bag of bits disappears and he blinks a few times regaining control of his body again.
“Oh man, that’s gonna get old in no time,” He turns back around to face Applejack and she has a confused look on her face. “That happened once before, and I don’t know what that is,” He half lied which Applejack saw through immediately but decided to not bring up at this moment and she just frowned. “See you tomorrow?” He said trying to change the subject. Applejack nodded.
“Bright and early, we’ll get this harvest done in no time,” Her smile returned. “Just make sure your alarm wakes ya up this time,” She chuckles. Mike smiles and heads for Epona. “See ya later, partner,” They wave to each other.
“See ya,” Mike says as he mounts Epona and leaves the farm. During his ride home, at a better time than yesterday, he takes in the sights between Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville. The small woods around the path are home to a few birds and squirrels with the occasional rabbit peeking its head over some bushes to check out the galloping noise. He arrives in Ponyville and sends Epona to Fluttershy’s. He arrives at the Library just as the sun is setting over the horizon and opens the door. “I’m home!” He announces. Twilight leans out of the kitchen and smiles.
“Welcome home, how was-” She sniffed the air then quickly covered her nose while her eyes started watering.
“Woah, Twi what’s wro-” Twilight quickly cut Mike off and pointed to the stairs.
“Shower, please,” Mike hesitantly lifts his arm, sniffs the air, and recoils at the stench. “Please for the love of Celestia, shower,” Twilight covers her nose and mouth with both her hands.
“Holy crap, how did I not notice that, I'll be back in half an hour,” He rushes upstairs and runs into the bathroom. Twilight’s horn lights up and a bottle of air freshener floats over to her. She sprays the living room down liberally to eliminate the smell of hard work.
“Dear Celestia, that was the worst thing I've ever smelled in my entire life, I wonder if Rarity knows any spells to prevent that from returning,” She says while Spike chuckles in the kitchen.
“You should have known this would happen, he’s working for Applejack at the farm,” Spike says as he flips some veggie burgers. “If you want, I can run over to Rarity’s and ask her about any spells she knows if you watch dinner,” Twilight set the air freshener down on a shelf.
“I’ll ask her tomorrow, Spike, I’ve already taken care of the problem for now,” She says. “Oh I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings reacting like that,” Spike chuckles.
“I don’t think he minds too much, we tease each other about our stench after our workouts and we always laugh it off,” Spike says as he sets two finished burgers onto a plate and puts two raw burgers in the pan.
“I hope you’re right, Spike,” She looks down with a frown. Spike looks at Twilight with intrigue. A well-needed Thirty-minute shower later, Mike heads downstairs. Twilight and Spike are already sitting at the dinner table
“Ah, this feels and smells so much better,” Mike says as he walks over to the dinner table and sits to eat his dinner. “Thanks for the food, Spike,” Spike nods still chewing the last bite of his burger. “So, Twi, how was everything here today?” He said then bit into his burger.
“Well, Tael and I did some reading, other than that nothing important happened,” Twilight feigns a smile still feeling down after what happened a little while ago.
“Speaking of Tael, where is she?” Mike says looking around not seeing her. Twilight took a moment to remember something.
“Oh yeah, Rarity came over and took Tael to take measurements for some outfits so she didn’t have to wear the same old dress every day,” Mike smiled.
“Oh, how thoughtful of her, why isn’t she back yet then?” Mike says then the library door opened and Tael flew in with Rarity following her. “Speaking of the fairy herself,” Tael looks over at Mike and smiles.
“Hey, Link, how was work?” She flew over to them. “Was your first day hard?” Rarity stepped up to the table and Twilight stood up.
"Hey, Rarity can I talk with you in the kitchen for a minute?" She says to Rarity, she nods and they both walk into the kitchen.
“Well, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but it also wasn’t easy,” Mike explained. “Applejack was pretty easy to work with once I got used to the work,” Tael sits down on Mike’s shoulder. “She would kick, or buck as she called it, the trees and I would carry all the baskets back to the barn,” Spike raises an eyebrow.
“That doesn’t sound too healthy to me,” Spike says a little concerned. “It almost seems like she wants to prove she can ‘buck’ all of the orchard by herself,” Mike nodded.
“I’m pretty sure that’s what she’s trying to do, her brother has a cast on his leg so he can’t help and I think they got into a little argument,” Mike said as he leaned back in his chair. “The good news is at the rate we’re going, we should be done with ‘applebuck season’, as they call it, in about three to four days,”
“Well that’s good to hear,” Tael says and looks at Spike. “Spike, did you make me a burger?” Spike nods and stands from the table.
“You know I did, I’ll go get it for you, give me a minute,” Spike says with a smile then walks into the kitchen. Mike finishes his burger, yawns, and stretches in his chair.
“Man, I’m tired,” He stands up and Tael jumps off his shoulder onto the table. “I’m gonna head to bed so I can wake up for work, night, Tael,” Mike says to which Tael smiles and nods. Mike then turns to head upstairs. Rarity and Twilight exit the Kitchen.
“Goodbye, Link, and, Tael I'll have your outfits done in no time," She waves and exits the Library. Mike climbs the stairs and enters his room to head to sleep for the next workday. after putting away his equipment, he lays down on his bed and closes his eyes letting sleep take him.
Mike's alarm clock sounds waking Tael and Mike up. Mike sits up, turns off the alarm, stretches, and yawns.
"Good morning, Tael," He stands up and Tael floats up to sit on his shoulder. "You want to come with me this time?" He asks as he collects his gear from his closet.
"Sure, I'll come with you and cheer you on," Tael says cheerfully. Mike smiles.
"Great, let's get going then," Mike opens his door and heads downstairs. "But first, a well-balanced breakfast," He quickly cooks some oatmeal for Tael and himself. They both eat their oatmeal, drink some orange juice, and head outside to head to the farm. Outside the library, he pulls out his ocarina and plays Epona’s Song.
Epona gallops over to the hero and his fairy. He mounts her and they speed off to Sweet Apple Acres. During the ride while next to the woods around Sweet Apple Acres they get a bad feeling.
"Michael, Do you feel like something's watching us," Tael says still sitting on Mike's shoulder. "And not just animals watching us, but something dark?" Mike pulls back on the reigns and slows down Epona. He looks around the area silently.
"Now that you mention it, I do feel like something dark is watching us," Unbeknownst to them there are a couple of sets of glowing green eyes watching the hero and his fairy from just inside the woods. "Let's get to the farm quick and alert the apples," Tael nods and Mike spurs Epona to speed her back up. Unlike yesterday Mike arrives at Sweet Apple Acres ten minutes early. Mike hitches Epona near the barn and hops off her.
"Well, look who it is," A female country-accented voice says behind Mike. He turns around to spot Applejack exiting her home. "You came early today," She says as she walks over to Mike.
"Yeah, my alarm clock actually woke me up today," Mike chuckles. "Oh and Tael decided to come with me today," Said Fairy flew off of Mike's shoulder and flew over to Applejack's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm here to help cheer you two on during your work," Tael smiles making Applejack smile as well.
"Well then, I'm glad you're here, Tael," She walks over and opens the barn. "You ready, Link?" Mike nods and then remembers what happened a little while ago.
"Um, real quick before we start, Tael and I felt a disturbing feeling on the way here," Applejack raises an eyebrow curiously. "We felt a dark presence watching us during our ride here," Applejack frowns.
"Do you know where the feeling was coming from?" She asked. Mike nodded and pointed to the woods surrounding the farm. "Well that makes sense, the everfree forest is a dangerous place, though it's uncommon for a beast to be this close to the farm, thanks for letting me know," Mike nods again. "Anyway, let's get to work," They grab some apple baskets and head into the orchard for another long workday.
=One Uneventful Workday Later= -4:30 PM-
"Great work, Link, we're more than halfway done with harvesting the whole orchard," Applejack celebrates. "I'm glad you brought, Tael this time," She smiles. "She's really good at picking up our spirits," Mike smiles as well and Tael poses triumphantly on Mike's shoulder.
"I'm not even winded today thanks to Tael!" Mike chuckles. "And that lunch was to die for," They walk from the barn to the farmhouse. "I can't wait for work tomorrow," He said. Applejack turns around and smiles.
"You know, we're harvesting ahead of schedule, I think we can take tomorrow off," She says. "I think we've earned it," Tael gasps.
"Really, we can sleep in tomorrow?" Tael says with stars in her eyes. Applejack nods. "Yay, I can sleep in again!" Tael cheers.
"Maybe I can train with Spike again tomorrow," Mike said to himself. "Thanks, Applejack, I think a small break will motivate me to help finish the harvest as soon as possible," He smiled.
"That sounds great, wait here I'll go grab your pay," Applejack entered her home and a few minutes later she exited with another small bag of bits. "The same pay as yesterday, including the bonus," She hands him the bag and he loses control of his body again, the same exact text box appears again.
"My god that's getting annoying," He said with a low groan then turned back around. "Thanks, Applej-" Applejack interrupts him.
"Link, you know you can use my nickname right?" She points out. "Just call me AJ for apple's sake," She chuckles. "I mean we are good friends right?" Mike smiles and nods.
"You're right, AJ," He chuckles. "Thanks, I'll see you later," They wave to each other and both go their separate ways, Applejack enters her house, Mike mounts Epona, and rides back toward Ponyville. During the ride, those eyes that were watching Mike earlier in the day are watching again, and Mike feels a little nervous. "Tael I think you should hide just in case," Tael nods and disappears into Mike's hat. About halfway to the bridge to Ponyville, the feeling of danger grows exponentially and Mike draws his sword and shield while still on Epona. A few howls sound from the woods and Battle music starts, prompting Mike to quickly hop off Epona mid gallop to deal with the enemies.
Several vicious-looking grey wolves jump out of the woods and surround Mike.
"Michael, Those are Wolfos from Hyrule, what are they doing here?" Tael questions.
↑A Wolfos↑
"Damn, monsters from Hyrule are already appearing in Equestria, I need to warn the Princesses," Mike thinks to himself as he raises his shield and keeps his eyes on the biggest one of the pack. "Tael, I need you to fly as quickly as you can to get help, I might not be able to take these guys out all on my own," Mike says and quickly shields an attack from one of the smaller Wolfos. "Go to Ponyville and get Twilight and Rainbow, they'll want to see these monsters first hand," Tael flies out of Mike's hat and up into the sky away from danger.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can!” She yelled down then quickly flew as fast as her Fairy wings would let her towards Ponyville. The Wolfos take another opportunity to attack with two attacks at the same time, Mike blocks one but the other slashes at his back dealing a quarter heart of damage.
"Shit, This isn't going to be as easy as I thought," Mike changes his stance and charges up a spin attack, his sword glows blue then red. "Come at me monsters!"
=Skies Above Ponyville= -Moments After Tael Left Mike-
Tael arrives in Ponyville flying as fast as her little wings will let her. Stopping right above the town hall she lands on top of the building to look around with a good vantage point, giving her wings a little rest. Looking around the town she spots a large cloud home almost completely covered in small rainbow rivers and waterfalls floating above a hill near the town park.
“That must be Rainbow Dash’s house,” She flitters her wings and quickly speeds off toward it. Flying up to the front door, she beats on it as hard as she can. Surprisingly, the door is pretty solid for being made of clouds. “Rainbow Dash, It’s Tael, Link needs your help!” She shakes her hand in pain and continues beating on the door after a moment. “He’s is in danger!” She hears some wing beats closing in on the door and backs away. The front door opens quickly revealing Rainbow Dash in Wonder Bolt branded sleepwear.
“What was that, Tael?” Rainbow says to the scared fairy stretching from the nap she just woke up from. “What was that about, Link being in danger?” Tael flies up to Rainbow’s ear and explained Mike’s situation to the tired pegasus. “Monsters from Link’s world appeared out of the Everfree Forest?!” Rainbow repeats with a shocked expression on her muzzle prompting Tael to fly in front of Rainbow and nod. Rainbow quickly flies into her house, speedily changes into clothes fit for a fight, and gets ready to fly off toward Mike’s location to kick some monster ass.
“Wait!” Tael shouts stopping Rainbow from flying off. “Before you go, Rainbow,” Tael flies over and grabs onto Rainbow’s shoulder. “Let’s grab, Twilight,” Rainbow looks at the fairy confused.
“Why? She’s an egghead and wouldn’t be good in a fight with monsters,” Rainbow points out but the fairy shakes her head.
“That’s not why we need her, Link said she would need to see the monsters first hand, I think to better describe them to the princesses,” Rainbow hesitantly nods.
“That actually sounds like a good idea, alright then hang on, Tael,” Rainbow flaps her wings and takes off into the air, flying as fast as she can towards the library with Tael on her shoulder, holding on for dear life to the fastest pegasus in Equestria. They land in front of the Library and Rainbow immediately starts hurriedly knocking on the door. The door opens quickly revealing Spike in an apron slightly annoyed by the rapid knocking. He looks up at Rainbow and his frown turns into a smile.
“Oh hiya, Rainbow Dash,” Spike says as Rainbow pushes past him rushing into the Library. “Woah is something wrong?!” Spike walks in after her, closing the front door behind him.
“Spike is Twilight home? Link’s in danger and needs our help!” Rainbow says quickly causing Spike to gasp.
“Link is in danger?!” Spike gains a worried look and points upstairs. “Quick, Twilight’s up in her room,” Rainbow nods and flies upstairs.
“Twilight! Link’s in danger!” Rainbow shouted making Twilight’s bedroom door burst open.
“What!” Twilight shouts from her room, she quickly exits her room and looks at Rainbow with worry in her eyes. Tael speaks up before anypony could talk.
“We have to hurry to the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres, monsters from Link’s old world have appeared and are outnumbering him as we speak!” Tael said as she moved from Rainbow’s shoulder to Twilight’s, with those words Twilight and Rainbow nodded at each other acknowledging the importance of the situation, and both of them rushed downstairs.
“I’ll grab a notepad so we can write down a description of the monsters to inform the princesses then head over as fast as I can,” Twilight says as Rainbow heads to the front door. “You quickly go help Link with the monsters,” Rainbow nods and rushes out of the library taking flight and speeding over to where Mike is. Twilight looks around the front room and quickly finds a notepad near the kitchen doorway. “I’ll be back, Spike, some monsters from Link’s world appeared near Sweet Apple Acres,” Spike clasps his hands together.
“Can I come with you?” Spike asks while kneeling. “I know it would be dangerous, but I really want to help if I can,” Twilight thinks for a moment but shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, Spike, but it’s just too dangerous for you to come along right now,” She pats his head. “I understand you want to show Link what you can do but we don’t know what these monsters can do, maybe if they appear again you can help,” She smiles trying to cheer him up.
“I understand,” Spike stands up and smiles. “Be careful, Twilight,” She nodded and left the library, closing the door behind her. Spike walked into the kitchen sighing. “I hope Link teaches me how to use my sword and shield soon,” He said to himself. Outside, Twilight readied herself and started running toward Mike’s current location.
“Why aren’t you teleporting to where Link is?” Tael asks slightly confused. “We would get there a lot faster than running there,” Twilight shakes her head.
“That wouldn’t be a smart idea,” She explains. “Teleportation spells aren’t exact and I could teleport right in the way of an attack or right on top of Link so we have to get there on hoof,” Tael nods in understanding, and Twilight continued to run towards Sweet Apple Acres.
=Road to Sweet Apple Acres= -Right after Tael Left-
“Haht!” Mike spins in a circle holding his sword out successfully performing a spin attack damaging both of the wolfos jumping at him and knocking them away. They both land on the ground and yelp in pain. “Hahaha, take that you stupid-” The wolfos almost immediately get back up off the ground and go to attack again. “Oh shit!” Mike holds his shield above his head to block an aerial swipe from one of the wolfos while another one cuts his back dealing a quarter heart of damage. “Ah, damn that hurts,” He yells in frustration staggering from the sheer pain of the attack. The two wolfos howl and start to go in for another attack. Mike grunts in frustration and readies his shield to block another attack.
The wolfos jumps and slashes at Mike’s front while its comrade slashes at his back. “Not this time!” Mike quickly side-hops at the last second avoiding both wolfos causing them to collide and hit the ground in a heap. Taking the opening, Mike slashes the wolfos pile damaging them again. They screech and burst into blue flames disappearing leaving behind a couple of Green Rupees. “Ha, two down,” He picks up the Rupees and looks around himself at the rest of the Pack and gulps. “Four normal ones left,” He looks at the large alpha. “Then the big one,” He puts the Rupees away and readies himself again. The alpha Wolfos howls and normal wolfos howl in return. The four normal wolfos surround Mike one in each ordinal direction with the alpha to his front.
To Mike’s surprise, the normal wolfos attack one after another, he dodges the first one and the second one slashes him mid-dodge catching him off guard, dealing more damage, and knocking him down to the ground. “Shit!” He yells as he hits the ground face-first. The third Wolfos slashes Mike while he’s down and the fourth right after in all dealing three-quarters of a heart of damage bringing him down to just under two hearts left. He starts to lose his composure. “Damn this ain’t good,” He quickly stands back up off the ground only to have the four wolfos already going in for another attack. He manages to block the first one but the rest hit dead on.
Mike is knocked back down to the ground and grunts in pain. He tries to get up but the pain only lets him up on his hands and knees. The normal wolfos back away from Mike confusing him, until he feels heavy paw steps drawing near him. “Fuck,” The alpha wolfos slowly approaches the damaged and exhausted hero. Brandishing its fangs almost smiling in a way. Mike fights the pain and shakily gets back on his feet. His breathing is heavy and his vision is starting to blur but he shakily raises his shield to protect himself.
“Hi-yah!” Was the sound a rainbow blur made when it rammed full speed into the alpha wolfos’ side taking it and the blur several feet away from Mike. The normal wolfos and Mike all blink in confusion then look wide-eyed where the Alpha stopped rolling. Standing over it triumphantly was Rainbow Dash. “Kept you waiting, huh?” She said with a wink and a cocky grin. Said grin was soon wiped away as the Alpha wolfos started moving and lifting itself off the ground making Rainbow retreat over to Mike. “Woah, the big guy’s tougher than I thought,” The Alpha wolfos stood to its full height and then howled, its pack howled in return and they all surrounded the pair. Rainbow and Mike stood near back to back while the wolfos circled them.
“Perfect entrance, Rainbow, glad you could make it to the party,” Mike chuckled, adrenaline rising thanks to Rainbow’s entrance.
“You know it!” Rainbow says. The wolfos growl and then start going in for another attack. The Wolfos start attacking one after another like before.
“Look out!” Mike shouts, moves over to Rainbow’s side, and blocks the first wolfos’ attack. The second wolfos runs up and aims a claw at Mike’s side. Before it could cut into him, Rainbow used her high speed to send the wolfos into a tree with a strong kick. The wolfos impacts the tree and it bursts into flames, defeated. The third wolfos growls and heads in for another attack towards Rainbow that’s again blocked by Mike. The fourth Wolfos attempts to attack Mike but again Rainbow uses her speed to defeat it.
“Hey, this is a great workout, but when is this fight gonna get challenging,” Rainbow says with a grin. “With us as a team, these guys don’t stand a chance,” She chuckles. “Right, Link?” Mike doesn’t respond as he coughs and wipes blood from his mouth and Rainbow finally sees the extent of the damage the wolfos have done to him. “Woah, Link how are you still standing?!” Mike has several large lacerations on his sides and back. Taking advantage of the sudden loss of attention the two remaining normal wolfos jump in to attack both of the heroes. Mike grunts and jumps in front of the wolfos. He slashes the first wolfos defeating it but misses the second and is clawed in the leg taking another quarter heart of damage and bringing him back down to his knees. Seeing her friend get injured Rainbow grunts in anger and punches the last wolfos into a tree as it was attempting to put distance between it and the heroes.
“Link, Rainbow!” The two look toward the voice that called their names to spot Twilight running towards them with Tael on her shoulder. Twilight spots Mike’s injuries despite the sun falling below the horizon making the impromptu battlefield darken. She gasped in horror. “Oh my Celestia, Link, you’re badly hurt,” Twilight moved to get closer to them but the Alpha Wolfos howled loudly. All attention is returned to the monster as it starts to circle its way around Rainbow and Mike heading towards Twilight. Mike’s eyes widen.
“Oh no you don’t!” Mike shouts, stands up, and rushes between the Wolfos and Twilight. Rainbow quickly takes flight and gets ready to try and take down the Wolfos with a single attack. The wolfos stops circling and rushes Mike going for an attack. Rainbow flies in at high speed for a kick, but she misses as the Wolfos quickly backflips avoiding the kick shocking everypony. Rainbow flails trying to stop mid-air only to fly high speed straight into a tree and knock herself out cold.
“Rainbow!” Mike and Twilight both shouted looking over at the rainbow pegasus lying on her back spread eagle. Taking advantage of the situation, the alpha wolfos speeds forward and swipes a claw at Mike. He raises his shield and blocks the attack but it’s so strong Mike gets knocked back toward Twilight. Losing his footing, he falls on his back landing on the ground with a thud.
“Link!” Twilight shouts and runs up to Mike. He slowly stands back up but after a few seconds, his adrenaline drops causing him to start dropping down to his hands and knees in agonizing pain, nearly dropping his equipment in the process. Twilight catches him on the way down, keeping him from falling face down in the dirt. The Alpha Wolfos backs away to wind up for a finishing blow.
“Twilight, keep Link safe, I’m going to heal him!” Tael says as she flies off Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight nods and Tael quickly flies into Mike’s hat to heal him. The wolfos starts pawing at the ground like a rodeo bull ready to gore a matador. Twilight’s horn lights up and a bubble of magic covers Mike and Twilight. She looks down at Mike, saddened by how badly damaged he is and she starts to tear up. The wolfos interrupts the moment by speeding towards the magic bubble and clawing it leaving a trail of claw marks that dissipate slowly. Twilight grabs her horn in pain.
“Tael, I can’t hold the monster back for long, it almost cut through my shield with a single attack,” Twilight says worriedly. Tael uses her magic to assess the damage done to the hero and gasps. “Tael, how bad is he?” Twilight asks the distraught fairy.
“He’s hurt real bad, so bad he might meet the reaper soon,” Tael quickly starts using her magic to heal the severely injured hero. “I can’t heal him fast, but I should be able to get him back up and fighting fit,” After a few moments Mike’s heavy breathing starts calming down. The wolfos slashes the shield again and the claw marks stay on it longer.
“I don’t think my shield can hold another attack,” Twilight starts to huff in exhaustion trying to keep the magical shield up. Mike grips his equipment tighter and goes to stand up but Twilight pulls him back down. “Not yet, Link, you’re still severely injured,” She sniffles back some tears. Mike looks over his shoulder at Twilight. Tears are flowing down her face scared for her friend’s well-being. Mike’s face darkens and he looks down at the ground.
“He’s back at fifty percent, He should be able to defeat the Wolfos if he’s careful,” Mike looks up directly at the Wolfos with a look that could kill several times over. Black spots start appearing all over his tunic confusing Twilight.
“Link, are you ok?” She asks the hero and he stands to his full height still eyeing the Wolfos death gripping his sword and shield. Undeterred by the look on Mike’s face the Wolfos attacks the shield again making it crack. Twilight grabs her horn, shouts in pain, and the shield shatters. The wolfos backflips away and howls. Mike holds his shield in front of himself and his sword at his side ready to attack. After a few seconds, he rushes the wolfos and slashes at it making it backflip away creating distance between it and the girls.
“Twilight, go check on Rainbow!” He says angrily, startling Twilight a bit with his tone of voice. She wipes away her tears, stands up, and runs over to Rainbow. Anger rising in his body Mike keeps swinging at the Wolfos not giving it a chance to retaliate. The black dots start covering his tunic more. Twilight kneels next to Rainbow and sits her up against the tree.
“Come on, Rainbow, wake up,” Twilight lightly slaps Rainbow’s muzzle in an attempt to wake her. Rainbow’s eyes start flittering open and she groans.
“Twilight?” Rainbow sits up straight and holds her head in pain. “What happened, did we win?” She rubs her head and looks over at Mike furiously attacking the wolfos. “Woah,” Twilight looks over at him too. “When did he change outfits, I don’t remember him wearing green with black dots before,” Twilight shakes her head.
“He didn’t change, those black dots just appeared out of nowhere and seem to be covering him more than a few moments ago,” She explains. “I hope that’s not a bad thing,” The wolfos jumps over Mike turning him around to face the mares. He’s gritting his teeth in fury and his skin is starting to turn grey. Twilight gasps. “The black dots have started to cover his skin,”
“Woah, his right eye, Look!” Rainbow says prompting Twilight to focus on his eyes. Mike’s Right eye iris is red and the whites of his eye have red dots almost making his eye completely red. “What are those things, they’re making him look...” She pauses. “Kinda frightening,” Mike continues swinging his sword at the wolfos that keeps dodging his attacks. The two continue the same song and dance for a few moments until Rainbow stands up ready to rejoin the fight.
“Rainbow be careful, something is indeed wrong with Link,” Twilight says as she stands up and opens her notepad. “From the look on his face, He seems to be furious at the monster,” She starts writing a description of the Wolfos to send to the princesses. Rainbow nods and flairs her wings ready to take flight at any moment.
“Got it, I’ll be careful, stay safe Twilight,” Rainbow flaps her wings and takes off into the sky. She looks down at the fight and judges when best to fly in to attack the wolfos. “I’ll hit it right after it leaves the ground so it can’t dodge,” She starts timing how long the wolfos takes to finish a backflip dodge and gets ready to fly in. Mike growls in anger continuing to attack the wolfos. He slashes, and the wolfos backflips, Rainbow takes a risk and flies in to attack. Rainbow lands a super speed kick on the Wolfos’ side launching it a few feet away. “Ha take that, monster!” She yells. The Wolfos growls and gets back up. Mike runs up next to the Wolfos and swings his sword before it can fully stand and hits it dead on.
“Die, damn it!” Mike slashes it two more times making it fall to the ground and burst into flames defeated. Mike stands over where the wolfos was, a red rupee in its place. He stylishly swings his sword twice then puts his shield on his back and spin sheaths his sword. His breathing calms as his anger fades. He quickly picks up the red rupee, puts it away, and turns to walk back to the girls but stops mid-step. The black dots covering him start to fade, his eye color returns to normal, and his adrenaline falls causing him to fall to one knee.
“Link!” Twilight and Rainbow both shout and start running over to him. Mike’s vision starts fading as he falls to the ground on his stomach and passes out from the pain of his injuries. Tael flies out from under Mike’s hat and floats above his head. Twilight kneels down, rolls him over onto his back, and checks his pulse. “Thank Celestia, he’s alive, he just passed out,” Tael lands on Twilight’s shoulder.
“He’s sustained a lot of damage, we should take him to the hospital so he can recover safely,” Tael says with worry in her voice. “Those monsters were ruthless in their attack and I don’t think Fluttershy could handle these wounds,” Rainbow kneels down and picks Mike up off the ground.
“And just what were those monsters from Link’s world?” Rainbow asked as she adjusted Mike to hang over her shoulder. “They looked way more dangerous than any timberwolf I’ve seen,”
“Those monsters are called ‘Wolfos’,” Tael explains. “They are a semi-common monster from Link’s old world, mainly in the forest areas or snowy lands,” Twilight starts taking more notes to send to the Princesses. “The snow variant is stronger and larger if I recall correctly, my knowledge of Link’s old world isn’t perfect,” She finishes.
“Interesting, but let’s get going, we shouldn’t be this close to the everfree at this time of night,” Twilight says as she teleports the notebook away. “Who knows if those Wolfos were the only ones out tonight,”
“You don’t have to tell me twice, let’s go before any more surprises show up,” Rainbow says as they start heading back to Ponyville. After a short walk, they spot Epona waiting patiently in the middle of the path. They decide to lead her to Ponyville with them. They walk down the path towards Ponyville with Epona carrying Mike to let Rainbow’s shoulder rest as Mike and his equipment aren’t exactly light.
=Ponyville General Hospital= -Several Minutes Later-
They arrive at Ponyville General Hospital and Rainbow pulls Link back onto her shoulder off Epona’s back. “Finally we’re at the hospital, Link with his equipment is pretty heavy,” Rainbow says as she and Twilight enter the double doors to the hospital. “Hey, we’ve got a severely injured hero here!” Rainbow shouts to get the attention and horror of the front desk staff.
“Oh my Celestia, we’ll get a gurney here stat,” The front desk Nurse quickly presses a button that makes a red light above the desk turn on and she then walks over to Rainbow with a couple of clipboards to assess the damage done to Mike. “What happened, were they mauled by a timber wolf?” She hands the second clipboard to Twilight to fill out.
“He was attacked by a new wolf species from the everfree forest,” Twilight says as she fills out a signup sheet with any information she knew about Mike. The nurse gasps.
“My word, are there any other injured?” The nurse says with worry.
“Thankfully no, nopony else was where these new monsters appeared so nopony else was severely injured,” Twilight says as she finishes filling out what she knew about Mike and hands the clipboard back to the nurse. “Rainbow when the gurney arrives take his equipment off, this is a hospital after all,” Rainbow nodded and once the gurney and several more nurses arrived she set him on the gurney and unbuckled his chest belt to take his equipment off in one step.
“Man, these are pretty heavy, how on equis does he constantly carry these things on his back?” Rainbow says she examines his sword and shield.
“I’ll go ahead and teleport those home,” Twilight’s horn lit up and Mike’s equipment disappeared from Rainbow’s hands. “Rainbow stay here, I’m going to take Epona to Fluttershy’s house and let her, Spike, and the others know what happened,” Twilight said as she turned to exit the Hospital.
“You sure you don’t want me to get everyone?” She flexes her wings. “I’m a lot faster than you,” Twilight thought about it for a moment and turned around.
“You’re right, Rainbow, I’ll wait here, you go get the girls and Spike,” Twilight said to which Rainbow nodded and exited the building. Twilight walked over to a free seat and sat down in the hospital’s main lobby. The nurse looks toward Twilight.
“Miss Sparkle, when-” The Nurse looks down at the clipboard Twilight handed her. “-Mr. Michael is out of surgery for his injuries, He will be transported to room 203,” Twilight smiles and nods, and the nurse goes to follow the others behind a set of double doors labeled staff-only but stops and looks back at Twilight. “Don’t worry, we’ll let you and your friends visit him when he comes too,”
“Thank you so much,” Twilight says as The nurse smiles and then heads through the staff-only doors leaving Twilight alone in the main lobby of the hospital.
Mike regains consciousness slowly as he feels wet grass touching his face and rain dampening his clothing. He slowly opens his eyes and lifts his head off the ground. “Ugh, what,” He pushes himself onto his knees. Looking around he finds himself in a particularly foggy forest in the middle of the night in the pouring rain. “What happened, ah my head,” He reaches up and rubs his head as a small headache starts bothering him. "Damn that battle really took the wind outta me," He stands up, checks himself for major damage, and looks around again. “Where the hell am I? Twilight, Rainbow?!” He shouts into the forest but nothing calls back to him. “Tael?” He looks up hoping Tael pops out of his hat, but she isn’t there either. “What the… Where is everyone?” He thinks for a moment then decides to move around the forest in hopes of finding somepony.
Picking a random direction, as he couldn’t tell what direction is what thanks to the cloud cover and the moon being directly over him, he walks aimlessly through the forest. “Hello?! Anypony out there?!” He shouts out again. After a few minutes of walking, he stops next to a tree and contemplates climbing it for a better vantage point. “Maybe I can see over this thick fog If I get high enough, I sure hope I’m not too far away from Ponyville,” He starts to climb the tree but suddenly there’s a scream in the distance that catches his attention.
“Somepony Help!” The voice screamed. “I’m being chased by a monster!” This makes Mike tense up and jump off the tree.
“Shit, Someone’s in trouble!” He quickly unsheathes his Sword and Shield and runs in the direction of the scream. “Hang on, I’m coming to help!” He runs for what felt like a mile when he breaks through some brush into an open clearing. A Lavender Mare is sitting in the middle of the clearing holding her leg with several slashes across her body, in very cut-up clothing, and crying her eyes out. He slowly approaches the Mare looking around the area for the monster responsible for the damage to the mare. He reaches the mare and puts his shield on his back to free up a hand. “Are you alright?” He puts his hand on her shoulder and she looks up at him and screams. She pushes him away, catching him off guard, making him stumble and almost fall on his back.
“Stay away from me,” She painfully stands up, stares at him with fear in her eyes, and slowly backs away limping a little. Mike stands there confused then quickly spins around thinking the monster was behind him. Seeing nothing he turns back around to see the Mare running away and running deeper into the forest leaving a small trail of blood behind her.
“Wait,” He said as he reached out with his open hand. He spots that his fingers and glove are dark shades of gray and he gasps in surprise dropping his sword to the ground. “What the hell?!” He looks over himself again and finds he’s wearing His black tunic and dark shades of gray for everything else. He finds a large puddle of water and looks for his reflection. He looks into the puddle and instead of his normal self, he finds a dark version of himself, all gray skin, light gray hair, blood-red eyes, and a demonic smile staring back at him. Suddenly lightning strikes causing the eyes to flash bright red, Mike jumps back at the sight and then starts panicking. “What the fuck happened to me!?” He starts hearing a bunch of ponies with armor sprinting toward him. He stands up and looks in the direction the sounds are coming from leaving his sword on the ground. Several Ponies with Solar Guard armor break through the brush and point their weapons at Mike.
“There it is!” The one in the middle shouts. “Don’t move a muscle, Monster!” Mike quickly raises his hands to surrender, but a bolt of lightning strikes behind him the second his hands are raised so the Solar Guards assume he made it happen. “It used Magic, take it down!” The Solar Guards surround Mike from all sides. Before they attack, Mike is knocked onto his back by a Pegasus Solar Guard that was in the sky.
“Ah, fuck that hurt!” He shouts as his head hits the ground hard making his headache worse and grabs his head in pain. The Solar Guards all gasp as they all realized the ‘Monster’ they’d just taken down was sapient. A few Solar Guards back away with their weapons still pointed at him and the one on him quickly restrains Mike while he’s still on the ground.
“Well, that complicates things,” The lead Solar Guard gestures for another pegasus to fly down to ground level. Once they landed they stood at attention. “The monster spoke, I need you to go get the Princess,” The Pegasus salutes and quickly flies off. The other pegasus sits Mike up on his knees hog-tied so he can’t attack or move and put a gag in his mouth to prevent biting. The leader quickly orders the pegasus to take his scabbard and shield off and place it near his sword out of his field of view. While looking down trying to figure out what’s going on he hears a large pony land in front of him making him look up to see Princess Celestia herself, fully clad in Golden Armor.
“So this is the Monster that attacked the element bearers and severely injured my student’s assistant?” She asked the lead guard while looking down at Mike with a glare that could kill him several times over. The Solar Guard leader nodded and pointed to another Solar Guard carrying Mike's gear.
“Yes, and we’ve recovered its weapon and gear, bring 'em over private,” The Solar Guard holding the gear nodded and dropped the gear onto the ground in front of Celestia. His sword hit the ground first, it was all gray with blood covering its blade. His shield and scabbard hit the ground next they were both matte grey and the mirror on the shield was too dull to reflect light.
“My word,” Celestia looked in awe at the weapon for a moment, then her shock turned to anger. “And you said this being is sapient?” She looks from his gear back to stare into his eyes. The lead Solar Guard nodded again.
“Yes, when The Monster was knocked onto its back it hit its head on the ground and screamed profanity in pain,” The Solar Guard chuckled a bit but feigned a cough to cover it up. “And it seems to know equestrian, we don’t know how well though,”
“How about we test its knowledge and see if it can explain itself,” Celestia crosses her arms and steps closer to Mike. The lead Solar Guard cleared his throat to get Celestia’s attention. And she looked back at him. “Hmm?”
“It seems to be able to control lightning with magic, it raised its hands when we told it not to move and it summoned lightning and almost took out two of our airborne pegasus guards,” Celestia nods and turns back to look at Mike. She stops a few steps in front of him using her magic to pick up his sword and clean the blood off of it.
“Care to explain yourself and give me a reason not to execute you for what you have done?” She grabs his sword and puts the point through the ground standing it up in front of her. The Solar Guard closest to him removes his gag and steps away. Mike nervously clears his throat.
“Celestia, What’s going on it’s me Link…” A Solar Guard shouts at him interrupting him.
“How dare you address the Princess like that you scum!” He goes to attack Mike and almost hits him as Mike flinches. But the attack is stopped by Celestia’s magic. “P… Princess,” The Solar Guard stutters.
“I will handle this, stand down,” She glares at the Solar Guard and lets him go from her magic. They retreat behind their leader. “Sorry about that ‘Link’, please continue to explain yourself,” Mike nods and starts again.
“Princess, I don’t know what’s going on, one minute I’m fighting a Monster from my old world, the next I wake up in the forest looking like this,” He moves in his restraints forgetting he’s tied up. “I was trying to find my way back to Ponyville to find Twilight and Rainbow to check if they were okay, as they were with me when I was fighting,” He looked around at the guards not believing a single word he was saying. “Then I heard a scream and found that Pony cut up, I was going to try to help but she ran from me because I look like this,” He looked back up at Celestia. “And that’s when your Guards showed up, I put my hands up to surrender but lightning struck behind me right as I lifted my hands,” He took a breath. “So I don’t blame your guards for thinking I did that, but the truth is I can’t control lightning,” He finished and Celestia continued to stare at him for a few moments.
“It’s obviously lying, Princess, you don’t really believe that thing do you?” The lead Solar Guard said. The rest of their platoon expressed their opinions mirroring the lead Solar Guard. “See, even my troops don’t believe a word that thing said,” Princess Celestia Closed her eyes and sighed.
“I can not tell if you are lying or not, but the evidence against you is too much to let you go free,” Celestia’s horn glows and a magical barrier surrounds Mike. “I’m sorry but you must be contained, please forgive me,” She teleports his sword into its scabbard and magically seals his equipment so they can’t be used. “Captain, send for the Element bearers, we need the elements of harmony to contain this being,” The Lead Solar Guard salutes and heads out of the clearing with a few other Solar Guards leaving Celestia and two Solar Guards with Mike in the barrier. Celestia destroys his bonds and Mike slowly stands up.
“Wait, what do you mean you need the elements of harmony?” Celestia looks down away from Mike’s eyes. “No, No you can’t mean that,” Mike starts to panic and he falls to his knees. He looks forward and spots a dark smokey entity peeking out from behind a tree behind Celestia. A voice speaks out in his head causing him to grab his head in pain and close his eyes.
“Are you really just going to sit there and be turned to stone!?” Mike slowly opens his eyes and the dark entity is closer than it was a few seconds ago standing just behind a Solar Guard. ”You can easily break out of that barrier,” Mike blinked and the entity was standing in front of the barrier making everypony present jump in shock at its sudden appearance. Its smokey form settles into a spitting image of Mike’s current dark form but with a devilish smile.
“What in Oblivion is that!” One of the Solar Guards shouted. The other Solar Guard points their weapon at the entity.
“It’s another one, Princess Celestia, what should we do?” The Solar Guard shouted, and the first guard pointed their weapon toward the new arrival after getting over their shock. The entity reaches its hand down to Mike and breaks through the barrier with no resistance. The Solar Guards and Celestia gasp as the barrier shatters into thin air.
”With my help that is,” It speaks without moving its lips, keeping its creepy smile. ”Just take my hand and this whole situation will disappear,” The Solar Guards both turn to Celestia for guidance.
“It just destroyed your barrier, Princess, what should we do?” Celestia just stands there in shock as Mike goes to grab the entity’s hand. But at the last second, he smacks its hand away, stands up, and backs away from the entity. The entity looks down at its hand and gains a furious look, its creepy smile turning into a venomous scowl. Celestia notices how the entity reacts to Mike’s actions. The entity looks straight into Mike’s eyes.
”You insolent worm,” It takes a step towards Mike, and He in turn steps farther back. ”You were supposed to grab my hand,” The entity gets closer and faster in its approach. ”You were supposed to accept my power,” Mike signals Celestia for help and Celestia quickly teleports Mike’s equipment back onto his back and unseals them. The entity looks back at Celestia with Deep Red glowing eyes and instantly moves in front of Celestia. It quickly takes its dark sword and stabs her through the abdomen causing her to double over and scream in agony.
“Princess!” The Solar Guards and Mike all shout. The entity shadow moves to one of the Solar Guards, leaving its sword in Celestia, takes the guard’s weapon, and plunges it through their heart killing them instantly. The last Solar Guard tries to fly away but the entity pulls out a bow and knocks a twisted-looking arrow on the string. It takes aim and shoots the Solar Guard through the back and pierces their heart killing them instantly. The entity puts away its bow, quickly moves back to Celestia, and leans in close to her ear.
”You were meant to stand here and not interfere with my plans,” The entity grabs its sword and removes it from Celestia, pushing her to the ground. The entity quickly grabs her horn and breaks it off causing her to scream again. ”Just making sure you can’t help him again or heal yourself anymore,” It crushes her horn in its hand with a sick smile on its face.
“You sick fucking monster!” Mike shouts, causing the entity to creepily turn towards Mike and start walking slowly in his direction. “You killed them, didn’t even give them a fighting chance,” The entity laughs and stops its advance. “What’s so funny?”
”You are hilarious, give them a fighting chance?” It chuckles. ”I gave them mercy,” Its creepy smile returned as it started to slowly approach Mike again.
“What do you mean mercy, it seemed pretty gruesome from here,” He pointed out. Mike blinked and the entity disappeared, he quickly looked around and turned around to find the entity behind him with its sword and shield in hand. “Holy shit!” He jumped away and drew his sword and shield.
”I can do a lot worse than what you saw there, and since you declined my offer, I’m going to make you wish I did to you what I did to those guards,” The entity quickly speeds up to Mike and slashes at him. Mike isn’t able to block in time and the entity slashes his chest cutting the leather strap holding his scabbard on. Mike reels back in pain and holds his hand over his chest.
“Fuck!” His chest starts bleeding, it’s not super deep but it still hurts like hell. The entity laughs and quickly moves in for another attack. Mike tries to block the attack but the entity instantly moves to his side and slices into his side making him drop his equipment and fall to his knees in pain. “Ahh!” He holds his side and tries to stop the bleeding. The entity stands in front of Mike, drops its shield, grabs him by the neck, and lifts him into the air. Mike grabs the entity’s hand in hopes of breaking out of its grip.
”Resistance is futile,” The entity stabs its sword into the ground, opens its hand, and summons a disgusting red meaty ball with wiggling white tendrils. ”Time to take control!” The entity starts laughing maniacally and goes to put the ball into Mike’s mouth.
”STOP!” A voice shouts from the sky with enough force to knock Mike out of the entity’s grip. Mike lands on the ground and coughs trying to catch his breath. The entity looks around scanning the area with its blood-red eyes trying to find the idiot stupid enough to interrupt it again. A scythe flies through the air and nearly cuts the entity in two destroying the ball. The entity looks at where the scythe came from.
”Damn, I’m out of alone time,” The area clears up as the moon shines brighter by the second. After the moon returns to its previous brightness a silhouette appears over it. The silhouette lands on the ground near Mike and the entity quickly retreats away from them. ”Leave this realm wretch, this doesn’t involve you!”
“The realm of dreams definitely involves us, Monster,” Mike looks up and sees Princess Luna standing over him with dark blue armor and her signature crescent moon scythe ready for battle.
“Luna?” Mike coughs. “Realm of Dreams?” He looks down at his hand covered in blood and concentrates, trying to conjure up a ball of energy to test for his dream powers, but nothing happens.
“Now begone from this realm beast!” She uses her influence over the dream realm to attempt to erase the Entity, but she only erases the world around them and turns Mike and his equipment back to normal. “What, but our power over the dream realm should have destroyed thou,” The entity starts to laugh.
”Can’t you tell,” It says between laughs. ”I’m not a figment of his imagination,” The entity summons its sword and shield from near Luna and Mike. Mike, feeling that his previous injuries have disappeared, stands up, reequips his gear, and stands next to Luna ready to fight the entity.
“Thou art alright, sir Link?” She asked. Mike nodded.
“Yeah, Thankfully my injuries were only dream-deep, though if that thing really isn’t a figment of my imagination,” He gulps nervously. “I’m sure It won’t be as merciful now," The entity smiles creepily at the two. "It also seems that thing has taken my control of the dream,” Mike points out to Luna.
”You got that right, ‘sir Link’,” The entity mocked Luna’s mannerisms then rushed forward and sliced the air in between Mike and Luna separating them a little then quickly jumps away. Text appears at the bottom of Mike’s vision.
“Sir Link, doth thou hear that music?” Luna questions while looking around for the source.
“Yeah, happens to me frequently, just ignore it and focus on the...” He gets cut off as the entity rushes him down and slams its shield into Mike knocking him down. Dark Link Raises its sword ready to pierce Mike’s heart but is stopped by Luna slashing at its feet, causing it to leap back to its original spot away from the two. Luna helps Mike back to his feet and they both focus on Dark Link.
“We must be careful, This thing is incredibly quick on its hooves,” Luna comments. “Though it seems fixated on thee mainly,” Dark Link rushes forward again and slashes between the two again separating them again. Mike gets ready for its attack this time and when it rushes at Mike he dodges the shield smack and slashes at Dark Link but it jumps away before the sword can cut it. Luna quickly runs in and slashes Dark Link’s back as it lands causing black blood to fly from its back and hit the white void floor of the arena.
”You actually hit me, impressive,” Luna quickly retreated before Dark Link could retaliate. ”Though you are still outmatched!” It quickly moves in front of Luna and smacks her to the ground with his shield. Before it could plunge its sword through Luna, Mike had pulled out his Bow and shot an arrow at it. Hearing the whistle of the arrow, Dark Link sidestepped the arrow and looked back at Mike angrily, giving Luna enough time to stand back up, knock Dark Link away from herself, and fly back over to Mike. Dark Link growls in anger. ”Enough of this child’s play, Die!” Dark Link sheathed its sword and shield and pulled out its bow. Knocking arrow after arrow it shot volley after volley of twisted arrows at the two.
“Shit, there’s too many!” Mike blocked as many as he could but a few arrows made it past his shield and hit his left leg and sword arm. “Ahh, fuck that hurts,” Luna dodged them all thanks to her alicorn speed. Dark Link continued shooting arrows as Luna started to get tired an arrow grazed her and actually drew a small line of blood.
“Ahh, how is this possible, that actually hurt,” Luna looked at the small stream of blood staining her dark blue fur. “Thou shalt pay for this insolence,” Luna uses her magic to stop Dark Link’s arrow mid-flight.
”Should have seen that coming,” He tosses his bow away and draws his sword and shield again. ”I’m getting tired of this game!” Dark Link rushes forward and slashes at Mike.
“Shit!” Mike attempts to dodge but Dark Link quickly moves behind Mike and lands a large slash on his back throwing him to the ground face down. “Ahhh, my back!” He reaches around to hold his back. Luna slashes at Dark Link and lands another attack this time it cuts off its arm. Dark Link screeched in pain as it grabbed its stump of an arm and quickly retreated away from Mike and Luna causing the boss music to stop. Luna kneeled down to help Mike.
”Ahhh, my arm!” Dark Link took in a deep breath and blew black smoke over its missing limb, after a few moments its arm reappeared but was covered in black blood. It growls in anger. ”This isn’t how this is meant to go, I need to retreat and lick my wounds,” The entity burns away and turns into a blob of smoke then files away into the far reaches of the realm and disappears into thin air. ”You haven’t seen the last of me, I will return, and I will take control!” The entity makes the realm shake with its booming voice. Luna healed Mike’s wounds and helped him up to his feet.
“Thanks for the help, Princess,” Mike said with a smile. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up,” Luna smiled.
“We are thankful thou art okay, we felt a large disturbance in the dream realms and came to thy aid,” Mike chuckled then gained a worried look.
“So I’m really asleep?” He asked and Luna nodded. “Are Twilight and Rainbow alright?” Luna nodded again.
“The element of loyalty had a small headache from flying face-first into a tree, but they both are perfectly fine, It is thou that was badly injured,” Luna uses her dream realm powers to show Mike what happened after he passed out. After a few minutes, she returns the realm to the white void. “As thou could see, They art perfectly fine, just worried about thou,” Mike nods.
“I’m assuming I’ve been out for a while?” Mike asks, Luna nods and shows Mike his Hospital room at the current moment in the waking world. Twilight is sitting in a chair next to Mike’s bed sleeping with a book on her lap, Spike is sleeping on the floor next to the chair he was in.
“Thou have been in a coma for seven days,” Luna starts explaining. “The first few days we were tasked by our sister to monitor your dream realm in hopes you would awake sooner but after a while of nothing we had to return to the whole dream realm after a few nightmares flew past our radar,” Mike nods in understanding, and Luna continues. “It was only today that your mind woke up enough to let that monster conjure up that nightmare,”
“I wonder what it was and how it had control over my dreams, I can feel my influence over my dreams returning though,” He held his palm open in front of his face and concentrated, creating a small ball of energy. “I even have my dream powers back now,” Luna raised an eyebrow.
“Dream powers?” Mike looked at Luna and smiled. He turned to the side, Sheathed his sword and shield, dispersed the ball of energy in his hand, and chuckled.
“Watch and learn, Princess of the Night,” He waves his arms around in a circle and holds them outstretched in front of him like he’s weirdly gripping a ball. “The power of my dream powers,” He moves his hands to his side still gripping a fake ball and Luna gains a shocked face as a blue ball of energy forms in Mike’s hands and an aura of power flows over her, growing in power by the second. “Ka Me,” The ball grows in size and power. “Ha Me,” He thrusts his hands forward after a second of charging the ball. “HA!” A thick beam of light shoots from his hands into the distance, a Mountain grows out of the ground 100 yards away as the beam flies. The beam crashes into the mountain, causing it to explode. The beam fades and Mike returns to his normal stance, turns back to Luna, and smiles.
“What in Equestria was that?” Luna says still shocked by the sheer power of the attack. Mike chuckles.
“That was an attack called the Kamehameha wave, the signature attack of one of my favorite anime characters, Goku,” Luna looks at Mike confused. “I’ll explain it later if you’re interested,” Luna nods then looks up as the realm starts to fade.
“Ah, it looks like thou art finally waking up, we shall inform our sister about our encounter and will visit thou later today, until we meet again, sir Link,” Mike nods as the entire realm fades out and he reenters the waking world.
Mike starts hearing a low beep as he slowly regains consciousness. “Ugh…” He groaned as he lifted his hands and rubbed his eyes. “Am I in another nightmare?” He asked himself. He slowly opens his eyes to a dark hospital room. He slowly sits up and looks around the room to find a heart monitor near silently blipping steadily making him look down at his hand. He spots a finger clamp connected to the heart monitor and an IV in his arm. He looks around the rest of the room trying not to think about the IV needle and spots Spike lying on the ground on his back next to a chair snoring and he chuckles. He looks next to his bed to find Twilight slumped back in her chair with a daring doo book on her lap. “Hmm, should I wake them up?” Mike hums in thought but before he can decide the door to the room opens startling him. A white pony with Pink hair, Blue scrubs, and a nurse’s cap with a Red Heart surrounded by a faint pink cross with smaller red hearts Cutiemark patch on it walks in pushing a cart and humming a song. “That must be my nurse.” Mike thought. She spots Mike sitting up in bed and gasps.
“You’re awake?” The nurse quietly says. Mike nods and the nurse pushes her cart up next to his bed. “My name is Nurse Red Heart, you know you gave us all a scare when you came in.” Mike lifts his non-IV arm and rubs his neck embarrassed.
“Yeah sorry ‘bout that, Do you guys know what happened?” Nurse Red Heart nods. “Good, I don’t have to explain what happened.” She takes a syringe with some medicine out of the cart. “Oh god…” Nurse Red Heart stops what she is doing and looks at Mike with a confused expression. “I’m deathly afraid of needles.” She notices his heart rate start to rise on the heart monitor and then looks back at him with care in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, this goes in your IV.” She said, calming Mike down. She uncapped the syringe and put the needle in the input for the IV. “It’s just some pain reliever, you suffered a large number of lacerations from your fight with the wolves.” She says as she injects the pain reliever into his IV. “When we told Twilight the news about you falling into a coma she started coming in every day to sit next to you hoping you would wake up.” She disposed of the syringe in a medical waste bin on the wall. “After a few days, we gave her and her assistant permission to stay the night.” She rolled a round chair over to Mike’s bed and sat down. “They stayed here yesterday and today, I’m sure they would be glad to hear you’re up and awake after several days.” She smiles at him and grabs a clipboard from the side of his bed.
“So, any permanent damage?” He looks down and notices he’s wearing a hospital gown. “And where is my equipment?” He asks Nurse Red Heart, she looks from the clipboard to Mike and smiles again.
“Your clothes have been laundered and repaired, thanks to your friend, Rarity Belle, she should be bringing them back in later today.” She puts the clipboard back down on the side of the bed. “As for scars, surprisingly our healing magic sealed all your injuries and left no scars behind, not even the deepest cut left one.” She grabbed a clipboard, a feather quill, and an ink well from her cart, handing the first two to Mike and holding the inkwell close to him so he could get more ink if needed. “Miss Twilight Sparkle filled in as much information as she could and we filled in your blood type after testing it, but there’s still a bit of information that we need from you.” Mike nods and fills in information he hasn’t told Twilight yet.
“One last question while I’m filling this out,” He pauses spelling out a word he couldn’t remember how to spell. “How long are you keeping me here?” He asked, Nurse Red Heart thought for a moment.
“Well, you’ve fully recovered from your injuries, you’ve recovered from your coma earlier than expected, I’d say when Celestia’s sun is about at its highest we can release you.” She says with a warm smile. Mike breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you want us to notify your friends that you are awake?” Mike finished writing down the information they needed and handed everything back to Nurse Red Heart.
“Umm… Yes, but when the sun comes up, I don’t want them running over here in the cold dark outside.” Nurse Red Heart nods and puts the items that Mike gave her back on her cart. “And before I forget, thank you for helping me with my injuries.” He smiled.
“It’s what we’re here for Michael, I’m going to go file these papers and bring you breakfast, you are hungry right?” As if on cue Mike’s stomach grumbled wanting food. Mike rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled embarrassedly. “I’ll take that as a yes, I will be back in just a few minutes, bye-bye for now.” She waves as she opens the room’s door and leaves, closing the door quietly behind her. Mike lays back down and checks his wrist to check his hearts and find he’s back at full health.
“Seems that unicorn magic can actually heal my hearts, unless Tael healed me.” Mike lowers his hand and looks up at the ceiling. After a few agonizing minutes of staring at the ceiling, Mike looked over at Twilight. He looks at the Daring Do book and then back up at Twilight. “Sorry Twilight, but boredom is kicking in.” He slowly and quietly rolls in his bed and reaches for the book. His eyes dance looking from Twilight, to make sure he doesn’t disturb her, and the book, making sure he doesn’t miss and grab her leg. After an agonizing few moments of slowly reaching for the book, he lifts it off her lap and slowly returns to his lying position. He looks back at Twilight making sure he didn’t wake her up, her soft breathing signifies He’s successfully gotten the book without bothering Twilight.
“Aww, what a cute display.” Mike’s heart jumps as he quickly looks at the room’s door. Nurse Red Heart is standing at the door with a smile on her face. “I wasn’t gone for five minutes and boredom kicked in?” She softly chuckles as she pulls the cart she had before into the room. “I’ve brought you some breakfast.” She stops the cart next to Mike’s bed and as Mike sits up she removes a breakfast-in-bed tray from under the cloth on her cart. “Thanks to your friend Fluttershy we know about your dietary needs, I hope you like it.” She places the tray on the bed and lifts the protective cover off the food. “Sunny side up eggs and-” She hesitated for a second. “-bacon, with a glass of fresh orange juice.” Mike chuckles.
“I bet the cook didn’t like making this.” He looks up at Nurse Red Heart with a sympathetic smile. “Sorry that you have to serve me this.” Nurse Red Heart places the cover on her cart and sits down on the rolling chair.
“No need to apologize, we have the supplies for a multitude of species, we just don’t get many omnivores in here often.” Nurse Red Heart smiles at Mike. “Now go on and eat, I have to watch to make sure you’re not suffering from any eating problems.” Mike nods at her and he digs into his food. After an uncomfortable amount of time, Mike finishes his food and wipes his mouth with the napkin on the tray.
“Thank you for the meal,” Mike says as he places the silverware on the tray. “Nurse Red Heart?” Mike said as he looked toward the nurse picking up the tray from his bed.
“Yes, Michael?” She places the tray on her cart with the cover over the remnants of the food. “Do you need something before I take my leave?” Mike nods.
“What time is it exactly, I’m not great at reading the small amount of sky out my window.” He points out the window in the room, the sky is a very dark orange. Nurse Red Heart thinks for a moment.
“If I remember correctly when I went to get your food the clock in the lobby said Seven Fifteen AM.” She said with a smile. “Anything else?” She asked as she pushed her cart to the door ready to leave.
“No, thank you,” Mike said prompting Nurse Red Heart to wave and then leave the room quietly. Mike lays back down, grabs the Daring Do book from next to him, and begins reading to pass the time.
=2 Hours Of Reading Later=
Mike finishes the final sentence of the Daring Do book and smiles. “Wow, that was really good, no wonder Rainbow obsesses over this book series later on.” He quickly flips back to where Twilight was in the book, thanks to him using a single hair he plucked from his head like a bookmark and slowly placed it back on her lap the way he took it. He doesn’t look up at Twilight’s face before he retreats to his bed and sighs. “Welp, back to boredom.” He fails to hear Twilight stir in her sleep. “I wonder if I sing quietly, my boredom will vanish.” Mike closes his eyes, crosses his legs, and puts his hands behind his head relaxing as he hears music start to play. “Oh this one brain, alright.” When the lyrics are supposed to start instead of the normal singer, Mike sings.
“♪Don’t be fallin’, fallin’ in, fallin’ in love, as she’s walkin’ away~ hey~♪” As Mike finishes singing he smiles. “Ah, I still got it.” He chuckles then suddenly hears soft clapping making his eyes shoot open and look to where the clapping was coming from. Twilight is sitting up straight clapping with tears in her eyes. “Whoa, Twilight uh... When did you get up?” He says quickly and nervously.
“When I heard that song you were singing after I felt my Daring Do book move on my lap.” Mike sits up and chuckles embarrassed.
“Sorry for waking you up, Twi I-” Mike gets cut off as Twilight quickly hugs him tightly.
“Don’t you ever make me worry like that again!” Twilight says with sadness in her voice. “You really scared me, I thought you would never wake up.” Mike looks down ashamed. “Even Rainbow was really worried.”
“I’m sorry...” Mike says with anguish in his voice. “I shouldn’t have made you or anyone of our friends worry so much.” He sighs. “I’m a really bad friend aren’t I?” He asks making Twilight pull away from the hug still holding his shoulders and looking deep into his eyes.
“Don’t talk like that, you did what you had to do to protect me and Rainbow.” She smiles with tears rolling down her face. “I’m just glad you’re finally awake.” She hugs him again but even tighter with her eyes closed trying to stifle her tears. Mike hesitates for a moment then hugs her back, tears starting to form in his eyes as he closes them too. They hug for a few long moments then the door to the room opens quietly unbeknownst to Mike and Twilight. Rarity quietly enters the room with a present. She looks at the bed, her eyes widen, and she quickly covers her mouth before she gasps.
“What is the matter my little pony?” Says a motherly voice quietly outside the door. The door glows a golden hue and it quietly opens revealing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing outside of the door in regal attire. Celestia looked at the two hugging on the bed. “Oh my, how cute.” She says sweetly but loud enough for the two hugging to hear them. Mike and Twilight’s eyes open quickly and they break off the hug to look at the door.
“Uh... Hey Princesses... And Rarity.” Mike says really embarrassed. “How long have you three been there?” They both quickly wipe their tears and Twilight bows in her chair for the Princesses.
“Long enough to start some juicy rumors.” Rarity says then chuckles. “Just kidding of course.” Rarity says as she walks over to a table in the room and places the present down. Twilight sits straight and looks up at the princesses.
“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, what are you two doing here?” She asks as they enter the room and conjure up comfy seats to sit in. Rarity sits down on the rolling chair Nurse Red Heart used when she was in the room.
“Twilight my faithful student, we are here to speak with you two about what happened seven days ago on the road to Sweet Apple Acres,” Celestia said looking at them lovingly. “Miss Belle, could you give us the room?” Rarity nods as she realizes the talk will be serious but before she can stand up or speak Mike interjected.
“No, please stay, Rarity, I don’t want to hide anything from my friends.” He said as he looked at Rarity hoping she’d stay. “I hope that’s alright with you, Princesses.” Celestia smiles and Luna nods. “Good, now what do you want to know about that battle.” Princess Luna clears her throat to gain everyone’s attention.
“We have informed our sister everything we saw in your nightmare before we arrived here, from the dark entity to the horrifying visuals,” Luna says then looks at her sister prompting Celestia to begin talking.
“What I heard about your nightmare was a little frightening, to say the least-” Twilight looks at Mike with worry and curiosity. “I wish to know what triggered it, My student was pretty upset when she wrote me a long letter after the battle happened so she was a little shaken up and didn’t include everything.” Her horn glowed gold and several pages of parchment appeared in front of her she flipped through them then turned the stack of papers around so Mike could see a drawing of a Wolfos. “Could you tell me more about the battle with these monsters you encountered that day?” She asked and Mike nodded.
“I was returning home from helping Applejack with harvesting that day.” Mike starts explaining.
“After I rushed in to attack I...” Mike stops and gains a thousand-yard stare. “I...” Mike looks down trying to think. “I don’t remember...” Celestia hums then speaks up.
“You don’t remember?” Celestia asked. Mike shakes his head. “Strange, Twilight when did the black dots start covering Link again?” Mike gains a confused expression.
“Huh, black dots?” He looks back at Twilight. “I was covered in black dots?” Twilight nods.
“After you stood up and my barrier broke, black dots started covering your body,” Twilight explained. “You started slashing at the monster relentlessly making it dodge repeatedly, the more you swung the more the black dots appeared.” Mike looks back at Celestia.
“If I’m understanding this right, when Link’s anger got out of control black dots started covering him.” Twilight nods and Celestia hums in thought for a moment. “Sister, you said that ‘Dark Link’, as you put it, seemed quick to anger when you fought it right?” Luna nodded.
“Fought it?” Twilight says with confusion. She puts a hand on Mike’s shoulder prompting him to look back at her “What in Equestria happened in your nightmare?” She says with worry in her voice. Mike smiles warmly at her.
“I’ll tell you when we get home if you really want to know, I promise.” Twilight nods then sits straight in her chair again with her hands on her lap. Mike looks at Celestia with a serious look. “I’m starting to think the black dots and ‘Dark Link’ are connected in some way,” Mike says and Celestia nods.
“It seems to me that your anger is triggering the black dots and ‘Dark Link’ is using your distracted state to try and take control of your actions,” Celestia says. “But why would it protect Twilight when it was so violent in your nightmare?” Mike looks down and speaks in a serious tone.
“I don’t know but if those black dots truly are related to anger, I’m positive this situation will happen again as I’m not in the fittest of mindsets, ever since I was a child I was bullied for how I looked and acted.” Rarity and Twilight gasped shocked that anyone would bully their friend. Mike clenches his fits. “Over almost 10 straight years of bullying, getting bullied stopped making me sad, it started to make me unhealthily angry to the point my parents put me in anger management therapy.” Mike looked down at his hand and saw his anger had spiked again just thinking about his past life and unclenched his fist and took a deep breath. “Because of that, my fuse for anger has really diminished over the years.” Celestia nods.
“I see, I’m eternally sorry that you-” Mike raises his hand to stop Celestia mid-sentence.
“No, don’t be sorry, you didn’t put me through it. You’ve been nothing but kind and welcoming to me.” Mike puts his hand back down. “I’m sorry, I don’t like others apologizing for my suffering.” He sighs. “Besides, the man that put me through that living hell got what he deserved a few years ago.” Celestia nods again and smiles warmly.
“I understand.” Celestia looks out the window of the room and stands up. “It seems it’s time for us to take our leave, we have gotten all the information we needed.” Luna stands as well and the Princesses teleport their chairs away. “We will speak of this again at a later date, for now, please excuse us.” She and Luna exit the room and close the door. The room grows silent for a few moments then Rarity breaks the silence.
“Well Darlings, that was an... Interesting conversation.” She smiles awkwardly. Mike looks over at her and chuckles.
“Yeah sorry about that, that conversation got a little out of hand a few times.” He feigns a laugh. “So what’s in that box you brought in if you don’t mind me asking?” Rarity smiles.
“Oh, why it’s your outfit, Darling, freshly laundered and repaired, it looks brand new.” She stood up and picked the present up. “Here you go.” She hands him the present and he opens it. His Kokiri Tunic is folded neatly with the hat folded on top, his belt coiled up next to the tunic, and his gauntlets polished and neatly placed next to the tunic as well, his boots are also polished and under everything in the box.
“Thanks so much, Rarity, I’ll put it on when they take this IV out of my arm.” He chuckles and places the box on the floor next to the bed. “I wonder when they’ll release me from this place, I really hate sitting around doing nothing.” He lays back in his bed and sighs.
“Would you like me to ask the front desk, Darling?” Rarity asked. “I need to be getting back to my boutique anyway, I have some orders to get done this week.” Mike smiles and nods. “Alright then, I’ll see you two later,” Rarity waves and leaves the room leaving Mike and Twilight alone, well Spike’s still here just sleeping on the floor.
“Link, you meant it when you said you’d tell me about your dream right?” Twilight asked. “I’d understand if you didn’t want to.” Mike looks over at Twilight still lying down.
“Of course I meant it, You want to know what Luna and I had to go through before I woke up and I said I promised to tell you.” Mike sits up, lifts his hand, and sticks his pinkie finger out. “How about we make this a pinkie promise?” Twilight looks at his hand confused.
“What’s a pinkie promise?” She asked. Mike chuckles and grabs her hand with his other hand causing Twilight to blush.
“A pinkie promise-” Mike closes her hand and sticks her pinkie out and curls it around his pinkie. “-Is a promise that should never be broken, held until it is either fulfilled or in some cases taken to the grave, like a secret.” He curls his pinkie around hers. “And now we shake our hands to make the pinkie promise.” They shake their hands and then let go of each other’s pinkies. “See easy, now I have to tell you about my nightmare when we get home.” Mike smiled.
“So is that a tradition from where you’re from?” Twilight asked interested in this new promise thing. “I’ve never heard of it.” Mike chuckles.
“You’ve really never heard of a pinkie promise?” Mike laughs. “Yeah, it’s a thing you learn pretty early where I’m from, usually in your early school years.” The two are interrupted by the room’s door opening. Nurse Red Heart enters the room with her cart and a new Pony. A brown-maned, dark orange Unicorn with dark cyan eyes, wearing a suit, a doctor’s jacket with a heart monitor cutie mark patch on it, glasses, and a stethoscope.
“So I’ve heard you’ve finally awoken, Mister Michael.” Said the Doctor Pony. “My name Is Doctor Horse, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Dr. Horse Walks over to Mike’s bed and holds out his hand to shake. Mike grabs his hand and they shake hands.
“Hey Doc, Thanks for patching me up, I really appreciate it.” Mike smiles and they break off the handshake.
“Ah, don’t mention it, it’s what I’m here for.” Dr. Horse chuckles. “So your friend, Rarity Belle was at the front desk asking if we could check when we could release you from the hospital when I came in this morning.” He looks to Nurse Red Heart and nods. “All we need to do is check your vitals to make sure they’re good and you can go whenever you wish.” Mike smiles.
“Great, do what you must.” Mike nods and Nurse Red Heart starts doing his vitals. “Do you have to take any blood?” He asks nervously.
“Well, we would like to take a bit of blood to synthesize more since your blood doesn’t have any magic in it.” Dr. Horse states making Twilight pay more attention to the doctor. “When we gave you a blood transfusion when you first came in your body started glowing the more blood we gave you, at first we started to panic and stopped the transfusion.” He stands from the chair so Nurse Red Heart can use it so she doesn’t have to stand too long in one place. “But after a couple of seconds of glowing, your body seemed to absorb the magic, or at least it seemed that way. After we redid the transfusion you still glowed more and more but never too much to prevent us from working.” Mike hums.
“Did anything happen after you were done working on me?” Mike asked curiously. Dr. Horse nodded.
“Yes, though I wasn’t here to witness it.” He looks at Nurse Red Heart. “Red Heart here witnessed it along with one of our other nurses, as they were situating you in your room.” Nurse Red Heart finished with Mike’s vitals and spoke up.
“When we locked your bed in place and started to leave you started glowing brightly and Nurse Sweetheart, the other Nurse with me at the time, ran for the front desk.” She explained. “You glowed for a few seconds then we heard a strange sound and the magic evaporated from your body, though we couldn’t figure out why or what had actually happened,” She pulls out a needle and some vials from her cart. “You mind if we-” Mike interrupts her.
“Sure, but I’ve gotta look away and-” He quickly looks at Twilight. “I need to hold your hand, I’m deathly afraid of needles.” Mike frowns and starts looking scared. Twilight grabs his hand in hers and he squeezes lightly. After a poke and a few small vials of blood, she finishes taking blood.
“All done, we will get this over to Canterlot and they should be able to synthesize more for you.” Mike lets go of Twilight’s hand and looks back at Nurse Red Heart as she places the blood into a box marked immediate delivery. “One last thing.” She looks back at Mike and removes his IV needle, wrapping both holes with cotton balls and gauze. “Alright your vitals are great and you’re wrapped up so I think we can release you. Twilight, please escort him to the front desk you should be able to sign him out and head on your way.” Nurse Red Heart Smiles.
“Before you go, Michael.” Dr. Horse says prompting Mike to look up at him. “It was a pleasure having the opportunity to operate on a new species, please take care, and don’t end up back here too soon.” He chuckles. “Alright, Nurse let’s get these samples on their way.” Nurse Red Heart stands up and follows the doctor out of the room pushing her cart with the samples on top of it. The door closes behind them. Mike throws his feet over the edge of the bed.
“Alright, time to get outta here and head home,” Mike said. “Twi, could you stand outside for a moment while I get dressed?” Mike says a little embarrassed.
“Ok, just walk out when you’re done, I’ll pick up Spike and take him out too.” Mike looks back at Twilight as she stands up.
“Oh man, I forgot Spike was even here, how did he sleep through all that?” Mike chuckles.
“He can be a heavy sleeper, trust me.” Twilight carefully picks up Spike, carries him out of the room, and closes the door so Mike can have his privacy. A few seconds later Mike exits his hospital room carrying his hospital gown. “Well, that was quick.” Mike chuckles.
“Used my inventory to instantly dress to see if it would work, it does.” He smiles as they walk down the hall towards the lobby to sign Mike out and head home.
=Outside Ponyville General Hospital= -A Few Moments Later-
Mike and Twilight exit Ponyville Hospital walking side by side with Mike carrying Spike with one arm instead of Twilight. “Are you sure you want to carry Spike all the way home, Link?” Twilight says worried since he did just get out of the hospital.
“Relax, Twi, with my golden gauntlets, Spike is weightless to me,” Mike says to her in a calming voice. “Besides it’s the least I could do after you guys carried me to the hospital.” Twilight chuckles.
“Yeah about that, Rainbow carried you for about a few minutes then we found Epona standing In the road and put you on her back.” Mike looks over at her and smiles.
“Don’t matter, it’s the thought that counts, and speaking of Epona.” Mike looks forward again making sure he doesn’t bump into anything. “I’m guessing you guys took her to Fluttershy’s cottage?” Mike asked.
“Rainbow told me to stay at the hospital until she got our friends, so she took Epona to Fluttershy’s and also told her what happened,” Twilight explained. “Once we get back we should put Spike in his bed, I don’t think that marble floor felt any good to sleep on.” She chuckled.
“I’ve slept on a hardwood floor before, did not help my back that’s for sure.” Mike chuckled. Twilight looked over at him.
“Why would you do that, did your old world not have beds?” She asked concerned. Mike shook his head.
“We have beds, it’s just.” He looks up thinking about his past. “When I was younger, I would do something that I shouldn’t have, get spanked for it and grounded then my ‘special’ brain decided to punish myself further.” Mike chuckled. “I flipped my bed because my brain thought ‘I didn’t deserve it’ and slept on the hardwood floor, Man, I was an emotional kid.” Twilight hums in understanding. Mike’s mind starts racing thinking too much about his past and starts thinking out loud. “You know, I’m lucky to have a friend-” He stops talking for a second and shakes his head. “No, I’m lucky to have a best friend like you, Twilight.” Twilight looks over at him and blushes a little. “I’ve never really had any girl friends like you in my life-” Twilight blushes harder. “-I only really had guy friends.” Twilight calms down a little understanding what he meant by girl friends. Mike looks down at Spike. “Like Spike, we talked, played games, used pool skimmers as swords and dueled, doodled random things, and even went over to each other houses.” He smiles. “I’ve never dated anyone either... I was asked out a couple of times but I always thought they were traps because of my super low self-esteem back then.” Mike looks up at the morning sky and sighs. “I don’t even know if I could ever date anyone, I’d freeze up every time I ever asked anyone.”
“How many times have you tried asking somepony out?” Twilight asked not expecting an answer since it didn’t look like Mike was paying attention to what he was talking about.
“I’ve tried to ask out four different girls, and for three of them I froze up and changed the subject quickly after the two words ‘would you’.” Mike looks back to where he is walking with a blank expression. “I know, it’s pathetic how a guy could freeze up when talking to a girl he had a crush on, but four years after I dropped out of school at the age of sixteen, I asked another girl out that I met at the public library and didn’t freeze,” He said. Twilight spoke up curious.
“What happened?” She asked and Mike stopped walking and looked down.
“She laughed at me...” Twilight stopped and turned to look at him shocked. “We would meet up at the Library every day after we first met, we read the same books, we liked the same games, we talked all the time, and even exchanged phone numbers, but a little while later I asked her out she laughed and said ‘sorry but It wouldn’t work out’, She did like me but she was moving away soon and it destroyed me.” Mike, sensing he was losing his grip on Spike, laid Spike down next to a tree, and closed his own eyes. “That night was the first time I held a gun to my head...” Tears start falling from Mike’s eyes. “I kept thinking to myself It’s not worth living if I couldn’t find love before twenty, so I was going to kill myself.” Twilight gasps then quickly walks up to him and grabs his free hand.
“Link look at me.” She says in a soft but stern voice. Mike looks up into Twilight’s eyes. His eyes are bloodshot, he’s gritting his teeth frowning, and tears are streaming down his face. “Your life is worth living and don’t you ever think otherwise.” Mike starts calming down. “Things happen and we have to do our best to live with them.” Mike sniffles and his frown starts to disappear. “While you were in the hospital, I was broken, I didn’t think you would ever wake up.” She admits. “I couldn’t sleep, I barely ate, I...” She sniffled getting sad just thinking about him being in the hospital. “I didn’t want to lose you.” She quickly used her free arm to hug him as tight as she could, interlocking their fingers and holding them up to their hearts. Mike closes his eyes and smiles as she leans into him. “When I’m around you, I feel happy, like I just read the happiest book I’ve ever read.” She smiles. Mike opens his eyes and looks down at Twilight.
“Twilight, can I ask you a question?” Twilight pulls back a little and looks into his eyes.
“Yes?” She says with tenderness in her voice. Mike clears his throat.
“I know we haven’t known each other that long but...” He hesitates for a moment looking away for a second then he looks into Twilight’s eyes. “Would you be my special somepony?” He says nervously. Twilight smiles and pulls him down a little.
“Will this answer your question?” She asked closing her eyes and then slowly kissed Mike on the lips making him close his eyes in bliss. They kiss for a few moments until they hear a camera take a picture. Their eyes shot open and they looked to where the camera sound came from. They break off the kiss and see Rarity pulling a piece of photo paper out of the front of her camera and waving it around.
“That’s going in the scrapbook.” She says then looks at the two with a smug grin. “Took you two long enough.” She giggles as they step away from each other.
“How much of that did you see, Rarity?” Mike asked embarrassed as he went and picked Spike back up.
“I saw the two of you getting close and sharing the beginning of a beautiful relationship, sadly I didn’t hear anything you said before you confessed your love, Darling.” Rarity puts her camera in her bag and walks up to the two. “Twilight here look.” Rarity shows Twilight the picture. “You two are so cute together I just couldn’t help myself.”
“Wow, it is beautiful, Rarity, I didn’t know you were a photographer.” Twilight praises and Rarity giggles.
“It’s just something I do on my off time you know, hobbies.” Rarity says. “So they finally released you from the hospital, Darling?” Mike nods. “Well, I’m pretty sure you two are hungry after all that waiting, come with me we’re going to a restaurant, my treat.” Rarity starts walking away, Mike looks over to Twilight, and she looks back. They both smile and they hold hands and begin following Rarity. They’ll wake Spike when they get to the restaurant.
“Could you tell me more about the battle with these monsters you encountered that day?” Celestia asked and Mike nodded.
“I was returning home from helping Applejack with harvesting that day.” Mike looks down and closes his eyes to remember better. “About halfway to Ponyville I got this bad feeling I was being watched by something malicious so I drew my sword and shield just in case.” Celestia nods and Mike continues. “Suddenly seven Wolfos lept out of the forest so I jumped off my horse Epona and told Tael, my fairy companion, to rush to Ponyville for help.” Mike paused for a moment then continued. “Attack after attack the Wolfos started to widdle me down, I did my best to hold my ground waiting for backup, but I was taken down to my knees by their frequent pincer attacks, and right before the alpha finished me off.” Rarity gasped. Mike opened his eyes and looked at Rarity. “Rainbow Dash flew in and kicked the alpha away saving my neck.” Rarity breathed a sigh of relief.
“And what happened after that, sir Link?” Luna said interested in the retelling. Mike looked forward and put a hand on his chin in thought.
“Rainbow and I were back to back ready to defend, everything started to get blurry for a moment but when two Wolfos jumped in to attack I regained focus and blocked one then Rainbow kicked the other defeating it.” Mike starts looking down and dark. “Rainbow noticed my injuries and lost focus, two more Wolfos jumped in to attack, and I slashed the first one but the other one got my leg bringing me back down to my knees, thankfully Rainbow quickly regained focus and defeated it before it could put distance between it and us.” Twilight looks away knowing what’s next.
“And then what happened?” Celestia asked wondering why Twilight was looking away.
“Twilight showed up with Tael, noticed my injuries, and shouted, alerting the Alpha of her presence, and it quickly sped towards her,” Mike said making Rarity look scared. “It was running on all fours straight at her, and I couldn’t let that monster hurt my best friend.” Twilight looks back at Mike with a faint blush. “So I ran in to protect her, despite my body wanting to shut down, and put myself between the alpha and Twilight.” Rarity quietly awws. “Then Rainbow tried to attack the alpha again but she missed and careened into a tree.” He paused again. “When we shouted Rainbow’s name the alpha Wolfos ran in close to me and knocked me towards Twilight, throwing me to the ground. My vision was blurring again at that point.” Twilight speaks up.
“When Link hit the ground I screamed and ran to help him up.” She starts tearing up just thinking about how he looked on the ground. “When I got up next to him he tried to stand but his body started giving up and he started to fall to the ground.” Mike puts a hand on Twilight’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “I caught him before he could hit the ground and that monster backed away and looked as if it was winding up for a finishing blow.” Mike let go of her shoulder and looked back at Celestia. “Tael quickly flew into his hat and started healing him telling me to protect him for as long as I could, so I made a barrier around us.” Rarity spoke up.
“Did the monster attack your barrier?” Twilight nodded.
“Yes, when it hit, its claws left huge marks across my barrier, it almost broke it with a single attack.” Twilight grabs her head as the memory of the pain returns. “It hurt so badly I almost dropped the barrier, It attacked again while Tael was healing Link.” Mike looks back at Twilight and nodded.
“My vision slowly cleared and I turned to look at Twilight, she was crying, and that broke me, so I stood up vice gripping my sword and shield,” Mike said as his fist clenched again. “I heard Tael say I was healed to fifty percent and the monster attacked again shattering Twilight’s barrier.” His heart rate rose and the heart monitor started beeping faster. “She screamed and held her horn as the barrier shattered.” Mike starts gritting his teeth. “And my rage hit its highest point in my entire life and I rushed in to attack it.” Twilight grabs his shoulder and made him look at her. Her face had a look of intense worry and fear.
“Link you’re scaring us, calm down, please.” She said prompting Mike to notice his spiked heart rate, his clenched teeth and fists, and the looks on everypony else’s faces. Mike closes his eyes and starts deep breathing to calm down. After he gets his anger in check and everypony calms down he continues.
=End of Recap Mini Chapter!= Return to chapter 14 if you read this before finishing it.
A figure made of black smoke rushes over a bridge of black stone bricks and toward a shadowy castle. Passing by a few guards in black armor with upside-down triforce images on their chest armor and entering the front gates it stops just inside the castle and pulls its smoky mass together to reveal itself to be Dark Link.
“Why does the castle have to be so deep in the dream realm...” Dark Link huffs in exhaustion from the long journey back to the castle. “Even in my purest form, it takes a while to get back here.” A Dark Triforce Guard walks up to Dark Link and salutes.
“Dark Link Sir!” The DT Guard states. “The Creator has been waiting for your return for a while now, allow me to escort you to the throne room.” Dark Link nods and follows the DT Guard through the castle.
“Does The Creator know of my mission’s result?” Dark Link asked. The DT Guard shakes their head and they reach a set of large doors leading to the castle throne room. “Good, I want to explain what happened personally.” The two DT Guards guarding the doors salute and open the doors revealing a large mass of black smoke floating next to one of the windows of the room.
“Dark Link has returned, My Liege.” The DT Guards all say in unison. Dark Link enters the room and the doors close behind him leaving the two in the throne room alone.
“Please forgive me for being late, my Liege.” Dark Link kneels down on one knee and bows his head. “My mission to take over the body of the hero of courage was interrupted and...” The large mass of smoke grunts, interrupting Dark Link making him look up at the dark cloud. Solidifying, it takes the form of a shadowy version of Ganon from The Legend of Zelda.
↑Ganon↑
“So...” Shadow Ganon turns from the window and calmly walks up to Dark Link. “What you’re saying is...” It grabs Dark Link by the neck and lifts him above Its head. “You failed me?!” Dark Link grabs Shadow Ganon’s hand gasping for air. “All you had to do was capture the hero when he appeared and bring him here!” Shadow Ganon lets up a little to allow Dark Link to speak.
“He had help from the Princess of the Night, She was too powerful for me to handle alone.” Dark Link said trying to beg for his life. Shadow Ganon glared into Dark Link’s eyes for a moment then raised its offhand up to Dark Link's head and read his memories. After a few moments, Shadow Ganon dropped Dark Link onto the ground landing on his back and gasping for air.
“So you tried to trick the hero into willingly giving you control...” Shadow Ganon walks to his throne and sits down. “Then the Princess of the Night, Ruler over the realm of dreams defended him...” It snaps its fingers and a shadow butler walked into the room and places a wine glass filled with red liquid on the end table next to Shadow Ganon’s throne before quickly exiting the room. “This complicates things.” Dark Link catches his breath and stands up rubbing his throat.
“So what is our next move then, my Liege?” Dark Link asked with a coarse voice. Shadow Ganon takes a sip from the wine glass and hums in thought. After a few moments, Shadow Ganon stands from its throne.
“I think it’s time I show you something, follow me my creation.” Shadow Ganon walks behind its throne and moves aside a tapestry revealing a hidden chamber. Dark Link curiously follows Shadow Ganon as it enters the secret chamber. In the secret chamber are a lone chair, a large mirror, and a Keese sitting on the chair watching the mirror intensely.
↑A Keese↑
The mirror is currently pitch black and not reflecting anything in the room.
“What is that?” Dark Link wonders as Shadow Ganon places a hand on the mirror and channels magic through it. The mirror lights up and shows a third-person view of Mike and Twilight talking to one another... In slow motion. Dark Link stares at the mirror in awe.
“Using a large amount of my power, I made this mirror to help us in our efforts, it shows me what the hero is doing in the waking world in real-time.” It starts to explain. “With the only caveats being, no audio, slow motion, and bad subtitles.” The mirror shows Twilight getting closer to Mike and in slow motion, she kisses him. Shadow Ganon grunts noticing the kiss and stops its magic to shut off the mirror gagging at the display. “Some things it shows me disgust me though, I’ve seen too much of that hero.” Shadow Ganon leads Dark Link out of the room and back into the throne room.
“So what has this mirror shown you, My Liege?” Dark Link asked to which Shadow Ganon chuckled as it sat back on its throne.
“Many things, my creation.” Dark Ganon finishes its wine and sets its glass down. “One important thing is, seven days before the hero appeared here during his coma when I felt my power being tapped into by something, the Keese was monitoring the mirror closely to help figure out what was going on.”
“So what did you find out?” Dark Link asked with intrigue.
“It seems when the hero grows furious he somehow taps into my power to enhance his abilities.” Shadow Ganon explains. “Though there seems to be a flaw in his rage, his mind starts to go blank with his ever-growing rage, potentially allowing something to start taking over his mind.” Dark Link gasped.
“Does this mean we could take over his mind without needing him to return to the dream realm?” Dark Link asked. Shadow Ganon chuckles.
“Perhaps, but it’s not going to be as easy as you might think.” Shadow Ganon stands from its throne again. “I’ve already attempted to take over his mind, but it caused him to fall into that coma. You, however...” Dark Link smiles.
“So you think I could take over without overloading his mind?” Shadow Ganon nods.
“Since you were made with a small piece of my power, you shouldn’t be too much for his mind to handle.” Shadow Ganon places its hand on Dark Link’s shoulder. “I will keep monitoring the hero, when the time comes, I will order the guards to collect you, and then I will help guide you to take over the hero’s mind.” Dark Link nods and both of them laugh maniacally. After a few moments, their laughter died down and Shadow Ganon waved his hand towards the throne room doors. “Now go, rest and recover, that injury you sustained will not heal correctly if you do not rest.” Dark Link nods and exits the throne room. Shadow Ganon walks back over to the window in the throne room again and stares into the distant realm planning Its next move carefully. “Soon, Hero of courage...” It snaps Its fingers making another Shadow butler enter the room with a wine bottle. “I will have your piece of the Triforce...” The butler fills Shadow Ganon’s wine glass and bows before quickly exiting the room. Levitating the wine glass over to it, Shadow Ganon swirls the blood-red liquid around in the glass. “And I’ll be one step closer to ultimate power!” Shadow Ganon chuckles evilly.
=Outside The Hay Café=
Rarity, Twilight, and Mike, with Spike still asleep under Mike’s arm, walk up to The Hay Café, and the greeter sits them at a table next to the restaurant’s front window. The greeter lays down the menus and takes his leave with a quick bow. Rarity sits on one side and Mike pulls a chair on the other side for Twilight.
“Oh my, how chivalrous.” Rarity giggles. Twilight sits down and Mike pushes her chair in for her. He walks next to Rarity and sets Spike in the chair next to her. He crouches down, puts a hand on Spike’s shoulder, and lightly shakes him.
“Spike, time to wake up, little buddy.” Spike mumbles but doesn’t wake up so Mike tries again, lightly smacking his cheek with his other hand. “Wakey wakey, Spike, it’s time to eat.” Spike mumbles and furrows his eyebrows for a moment. Mike thinks for a second then an idea strikes him. “This oughta work.” Mike reaches behind him and grabs the air, behind where his shield would be, and pulls out his rupee wallet. He pulls out a red rupee and puts the wallet away. “Spike~, I gotta nice delicious gem for ya to snack on.” Mike holds the rupee under Spike’s nose and after a few sniffs, his eyes start to flutter open.
“Huh?” He says groggily as he yawns and wipes the sleep from his eyes. “Are we still waiting for Link to wake up, Twilight?” He blinks a few times, looks around, and spots Mike holding the red rupee. “Link, is that really you or am I still dreaming?” He questions Mike who then smiles and shakes his head.
“Nope, you’re not dreamin’ bud, I’m finally awake.” Spike gasps and quickly hugs Mike, nearly tackling him to the ground. “Whoa take it easy, little buddy, you’re a lot stronger than you think.” Mike chuckles and pats Spike on the back.
“I’m so glad you’re awake!” Spike says as he pulls away from the hug. “When did you wake up?” Mike hands him the rupee and motions for him to sit back down. Spike sits down holding the rupee and Mike quickly slides into the seat next to Twilight.
“I woke up about a couple of hours ago but you were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to disturb you,” Mike said. “And before you ask about the rupee I just gave you, it’s an apology gift for me missing out on our morning training for a week.” He says with a smile.
“Really, I can have this rupee?” Spike says with excitement. Mike nods and Spike goes to bite into it but stops before chomping down on it. “Actually I think I’m gonna save this for later.” Spike Puts the Rupee away and looks around. “So, where are we?”
“Rarity decided to treat us to celebrate Link’s awakening,” Twilight says cheerfully, and Spike realizes he’s sitting next to Rarity and blushes. A waitress walks from the kitchen to their table.
“Welcome to The Hay Café, ma name’s Caramel Candy and I’m your waitress for this mornin’ what can I get y’all to drink?” She says as she pulls out a notepad from her shirt pocket.
“I’ll take any diet soda you got,” Mike says while stretching his arms, still feeling stiff from the hospital.
“I’ll take a soda too but not diet,” Spike said. “I need the sugar to wake up.” Rarity giggles.
“I’ll take a sparkling water if you please.” Rarity says politely.
“I’ll also take a soda,” Twilight says, and after finishing writing their orders, Caramel bows and walks back into the kitchen. “So, Link, did you like the Daring Do book I brought with me?” She asked to which Mike nodded.
“Yeah, that book was great, I just wish you brought more.” He said with a smile. “By the way, where’s my equipment?” He asked.
“When we brought you into the hospital I teleported it to the library so the doctors wouldn’t have to deal with them,” Twilight responded. “Would you like me to return your equipment to you?” She asked Mike.
“Yes please, I feel so vulnerable without my equipment, you never know when something dangerous could happen.” He said with a nod. Twilight nods and closes her eyes to focus on the teleportation spell. Her horn glows bright and Mike’s equipment appears on her lap.
“Phew, that was harder than I expected.” She hands his equipment to him and he quickly slips it on and makes sure it’ll stay on right. “By the way, should we gather the girls at the Library and show them you’re awake?”
“That’s a good idea, we should let them all know… right after we eat.” He pats his belly. “Because food comes first, I’m starvin’.” He smiles, making everypony at the table laugh.
=A brief lunch later=
Mike, Twilight, Spike, and Rarity exit the Hay Café and head for the Library with Spike confused as to why Mike and Twilight are holding hands. “Ahhh nothing like a friend’s lunch at a café, thanks again, Rarity, once I figure out a way to collect rupees, other than defeating monsters, I’ll pay you back for that.” Rarity giggles.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that, Darling, it was nothing really.” Rarity said, causing Mike to chuckle. “Though if you were to still get some more of those gems, I do have an order that would just pop with a purple gem.” Mike nods.
“You got it, I’ll work on that as soon as I can.” They get to the Library and go to enter when they hear Pinkie Pie run up behind them.
“Twilight, I need to talk with you about…” Pinkie stops as she spots Mike. She tackles him to the ground with a bone-crushing hug. “Linky you’re finally awake!” She starts bawling her eyes out and speaking. “I thought you would never wake up.” She suddenly stops crying and smiles. “But now you’re awake so I can throw you a wake-up party!” Mike tries to speak but he’s unable to breathe. Twilight notices Mike can’t breathe and magically separates the two allowing Mike to gasp for air.
“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted. “You need to be more careful, Link just got out of the hospital and you were on the fast track to putting him back in.” Pinkie thinks for a moment then realizes she overreacted. Twilight set the two back down on solid ground a few feet from each other. “Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Pinkie quickly opens the Library door and motions for everyone to go inside.
“We can’t talk out here, quickly inside.” She rushes in, with everypony following her at a calm pace. Once inside and the door closed Pinkie looks at Twilight with a serious look. “I went to Rainbow Dash’s house to do more pranks with her.” She started explaining. “But her mean friend Gilda-” When Pinkie said that name Mike’s face darkened but no one noticed. “-Wouldn’t let me talk to Rainbow.” Mike quickly opens his pause menu, equips his Hover Boots, enchanted golden boot attachments that lighten the user’s steps and makes them less audible and can even allow the user to walk on air for a few seconds. He slowly and stealthily moonwalks out of the conversation and enters the kitchen.
↑The Hover Boots↑
“Damn, I had hoped I’d slept through this episode.” Mike groans in annoyance, running a hand down his face. Hearing tiny wings flapping behind him, he turned around to see Tael putting together a tiny sandwich.
“Master Michael, you’re awake!” Tael shouts happily and flies up to hug his face. “I was so worried, I barely slept.” She clears some tears off her face.
“Sorry for makin’ you worry Tael,” Mike says as he takes the hover boots off and puts them away. Tael flies up and lands on his shoulder. “Sorry to cut this reunion short but I need your help to keep calm and attempt to stay away from town today.” Tael tilts her head in confusion.
“Why do you need to do that?” Mike goes as deep into the Kitchen as he can and whispers.
“Today is the Gilda episode of the show…” Tael hums in confusion. “There’s a Griffon named Gilda in the town right now, she’s a bully and I know I’ll ‘hulk out’, for a lack of a better phrase, if I see her do what she does in the show.” A door slamming interrupts Mike’s and Tael’s conversation and he pokes his head out of the kitchen to find Pinkie gone, Twilight and Rarity talking at the dinner table and Spike grabbing a book, most likely for Twilight. “Damn, that was loud.” He leans back into the kitchen. “I really don’t want to end up in the hospital again so I need to hide.” He looks out the window towards the everfree forest and gets an Idea. “Maybe it’s time I locate a certain zebra.” He whispers to himself.
“What about a zebra?” Tael asked him confused.
“N-nothing.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, what were you doing in here anyway, Tael?” Mike said, prompting the fairy to fly off Mike’s shoulder and down to her miniature sandwich.
“I made myself a PB&J.” She said as she chomped down on the sandwich. “I got hungry.” Mike chuckles.
“Would you like to come with me on an errand, Tael?” Mike asked as the fairy finished her mini PB&J. “It’ll be quick I swear.” He lied, Tael thought for a moment then nodded. “Alright, hop on.” She sits on Mike’s shoulder and he walks out of the kitchen. Not even two steps away from the kitchen, Twilight calls him over to the dinner table.
“Hey, Link, can you come here for a minute.” He freezes mid-step for a second, mentally screaming suddenly realizing he won’t be able to avoid the Gilda episode, then walks over wondering what She wants to talk about. “Will you come with me to get groceries? I want to celebrate your awakening with a big dinner with our friends.” Mike thinks for a moment, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he nods and opens his eyes.
“Sure, I’ve got nothing else to do.” He said with a smile, still mentally freaking out. “Tael can come with right?” Twilight nods then She and Rarity stand up from the table. “Wait, is Rarity coming too?” Mike asked confused, Rarity shook her head.
“I’m going to round up the girls with Spike, see you three in an hour.” She walks over to the front door. “Come along, Spike.” Spike runs past Rarity, opens the front door, and they both exit the library. Twilight holds Mike’s hand and looks up into his eyes with a big smile.
“Are you ready to go?” She asked, making Mike smile and nod.
“Yep, let’s-a-go.” They leave the Library, hand in hand, and head towards the town square. “So, what do we need for that dinner, Twi?” Twilight takes out a small notepad and looks it over.
“Thankfully we need only a few items, we can pick up most of them in the square.” She puts away the notepad and they arrive at the town square. She points ahead of them at a cart with vegetables on it. “We can start there.” Mike looks around the square and spots Pinkie sitting alone drinking a milkshake with a depressed look on her face.
“Hey look.” He points over to Pinkie. “Pinkie doesn’t look all that good, should we talk to her and cheer her up?” Twilight looks at Pinkie and she gains a saddened look.
“She does look awfully sad.” She looks up at Mike and smiles. “Ok, let’s go cheer her up.” Mike smiles and they head over to Pinkie. They walk up beside Pinkie and Twilight lets go of Mike’s hand and pats Pinkie on the back lightly. “Hey, Pinkie, what are you doing here all by yourself?” Pinkie looks up at Twilight.
“I’m trying to distract myself from Gilda, maybe you were right and I was just jealous, She was pretty-” The sound of super fast flying shoots over the group and lands on the other side of the square. Pinkie stands up and points to where they are. “Hey, there she is!” Mike and Twilight look to where Pinkie is pointing and spot Rainbow talking to a Griffon wearing a punk outfit crossing her arms and grinning.
“So that’s Gilda, she looks…” Twilight pauses thinking of a good way to describe Gilda in polite words. “Interesting.” Mike’s eyes widen as he realizes he’s at the point of the show’s episode where Gilda does what he hates with every fiber of his being. He sneakily backs away from Twilight and Pinkie and turns away from them.
“Tael, we have a major problem…” He whispers and Tael flies in front of him. “Gilda’s about to scare Granny Smith, steal an apple, and purposely bump into Fluttershy and scare her away by… Yelling at her despite her walking into her on purpose.” He starts panicking, afraid that he’ll freak out again and end up back in the hospital.
“What should we do, Michael?” She asked. “It’s not like we can just-” She’s cut off by Granny Smith screaming causing Mike to slowly turn back to witness the scene.
“A Rattler! A Rattler! Run for the hills! Everypony save yourselves!” She quickly turns away from the vegetable cart and shuffles away as fast as she can. Mike’s panicking turned to pure rage almost instantly as his fists clenched and his teeth gritted. Gilda chuckles as she removes her tail from the cart. And casually walks toward the apple stand.
“Aww poor Granny Smith, She didn’t know it was a joke, how mean,” Pinkie said with Twilight now kinda understanding her conversation with Pinkie at the library.
“Wow, Pinkie, that was pretty mean, but we can’t judge her just for that.” Twilight looks over at Mike, who is eyeing Gilda like a hawk, and tilts her head in confusion. “Link are you alright?” Mike doesn’t answer as Gilda nonchalantly steals an apple from the apple cart with her tail and eats it without paying. Pinkie gasps and hits the table with her hand making Twilight look back at Gilda and not notice the black dots start to cover Mike.
“Michael, calm down, try to take your attention away from her,” Tael whispers into Mike’s ears trying to calm him down. He struggles to rip his attention from Gilda’s antics.
“Hey, she just stole an apple from that cart!” Pinkie shouted, though no one near the cart could hear her. “She is a meanie mean pants, and now she’s a thief!” Twilight Takes out her notepad and summons a pen and starts writing things down.
“It seems you were right about her, Pinkie, I’m gonna write this down and send it to the proper authorities, she will not get away with petty theft.” Twilight quickly looks back at Mike, who is starting to get covered pretty badly by black dots some are even emitting a faint dark aura, still eyeing Gilda’s every move. “Whoa, Link you’re getting covered in black dots-” She’s cut off as Gilda walks into Fluttershy who is walking backward shuttling a family of ducks across the square... The ground cracks as Mike’s body and energy turn dark with every second of watching the events take place.
“Hey!” Gilda says loudly. Fluttershy turns to Gilda and bows.
“I’m walking here!” Gilda shouts into Fluttershy’s face. Causing Fluttershy to back away from Gilda.
“Oh, I-I’m s-sorry, I-I was just t-trying t-to...” Fluttershy stutters and Gilda interrupts her.
“I’m sorry~ I’m sorry~” She mocked Fluttershy. “Why don’t you just watch where you’re going, doofus!” She Shouts and starts encroaching on Fluttershy.
“B-bu-bu-but, I… I…” Fluttershy starts to tear up and Gilda takes a deep breath. Gilda roars in her face.
“RAAHHH!!” Mike shouts in pure rage, covered almost head to toe in black dots, he moves inhumanly fast between Fluttershy and Gilda, leaving Tael behind, and forcefully shuts and holds Gilda’s beak shut. “You do NOT go and bully my FRIENDS you BITCH!” His voice getting demonically deep a few times. Gilda wrestles her beak out of Mike’s grip and rubs the pain away.
“Ow, that hurt.” She growls at Mike. “Who do you heck do you think you are bub, she backed into me!” She shouted. Mike fake laughs.
“LIAR, I saw the whole damn thing, YOU could’ve walked around her, but YOU walked into her.” Gilda flinches at the volume and deepness of Mike’s voice then gets into a fighting stance.
“Oh yeah, is that right?” She says cockily and swings at Mike’s face hitting him, but nothing happens, no backlash from the punch on Mike’s body. “Woah, what the.” Gilda notices his eyes turn pure white for a moment, he grabs his head and screams in agony as his outfit becomes blacker and blacker, the dots covering more and more of his body, suddenly both of his eyes turn blood red and he stops screaming. Gilda begins to panic and she throws her other fist at Mike, which he catches. His entire face is grey, his hair is only a little blonde, and his eyes are completely red. With a sick demonic smile, Mike twists her wrist and puts her arm behind her back nearly breaking it. Gilda screams in pain. Pinkie, Tael, and Twilight rush over to their friend and together with Fluttershy, they attempt to calm down ‘Mike’.
“Link, snap out of it, you’re taking this too far!” Shouts Twilight fearing for her new boyfriend’s actions.
“Master seriously, calm down, you’re scaring everypony out here,” Tael shouts right in his ear trying to break through to him.
“Linky I think she’s learned her lesson, calm down, pretty please.” Pinkie pleads to her friend.
“Link, please don’t do this, she doesn’t deserve this.” Fluttershy cries. Mike’s entire body is almost covered in darkness and he starts smiling with sharp teeth, much like... Dark Link…
“You mess with my ’friends’, you answer to me, understand!?” Mike’s voice is entirely that of Dark Link’s. Gilda nods not able to speak due to the major pain in her arm. “For your transgression against my dear ’friend’ Fluttershy.” ‘Mike’ reaches up to his sword with his free hand. His friends start panicking. “How about I cut off your tongue to make sure this never happens again…” Gilda starts crying, freaking out about losing her tongue.
“No… Please… I’m sorry!” Gilda fights the pain and shouts. Twilight thinks quickly and closes her eyes, stepping a little bit away, She hesitantly teleports away.
“Hey, where did Twilight go?” Pinkie asked as ‘Mike’ tried to draw his sword, but It wouldn’t leave its scabbard as if it was sealed inside.
“What the hell?” He whispered confused. Fluttershy moved to the right of ‘Mike’s peripheral vision making him look at her. She looks him in the eyes and then wraps her arms around him in order to try and calm him down.
“Please, Link, you’re better than this, you’re scaring us…” She says making ‘Mike’ freeze for a moment… suddenly the area lights up in a bright light blinding everypony in the square. Making ‘Mike’ drop Gilda, who starts to hold her arm and writhe in pain.
”ENOUGH!” A loud booming voice shouts during the whiteout. As the light fades Celestia, Luna, and Twilight appear. ‘Mike’ looks over at them and frowns. “Link, cease your actions at once!” Celestia shouts.
“Ugh, not those two…” ‘Mike’ groans. “This situation doesn’t need the two of you to help teach this here harpy her lesson!” Fluttershy backs away from ‘Mike’ scared as his entire body is consumed by the black dots emitting a dark aura. Celestia gains a furious look as she realizes what’s happening to the hero.
“I see what’s going on here…” Celestia raises her hand and teleports everypony including Gilda away from ‘Mike’.
“Woah why did you move us away from Link?!” Pinkie asked Celestia. “We were trying to calm him down.” Celestia holds her hand between the girls and ‘Mike’ to silence Pinkie and protect everypony never taking her eyes off him.
“Not now my little pony, something is clearly wrong with him.” She says causing Pinkie to deflate a little. “Sister, do his looks and mannerisms remind you of anything?” Celestia asked. Luna looks closer at the ‘Hero’.
“Oh my… It can’t be…” Luna gasped and summoned her scythe. “How has that Monster, Dark Link, taken control of Link!?” ‘Mike’ chuckled.
“Well… seems I’ve been found out…” He smiled devilishly. “To those who don’t know, greetings.” ‘Mike’ formally bowed for a second. “I am known as Dark Link… as you can see, I’ve taken over the hero’s mind and body…” Dark Link pointed over at Gilda. “Seems that Harpy over there angered him so much, his mind was almost blank with rage, seems like whatever she did hit a soft spot in his mind.” He started pacing back and forth keeping his blood-red eyes on Celestia and Luna. “Made it really easy to take over.”
“Release him, Monster!” Celestia shouted. “You will not win against me and my sister in battle.” She summoned a Golden Halberd with the sun on its axe blade. Dark Link chuckles and lowers his stance.
“Are you sure about that, I mean, I heard that Link held his own against Nightmare Moon all by himself.” Dark Link does a Frieza Pose, a dark aura surrounding him.
↑The Frieza Pose↑
“And with my dark power enhancing his abilities, who’s to say I can’t easily wipe the floor with you?” Dark Link laughs mockingly as dark power emanates from his body flowing over everypony and giving them an uneasy feeling of dread.
“Enough banter, Monster, either release Sir Link from thy grasp or face the consequences,” Luna said coldly readying herself for battle. Twilight speaks up worried for her boyfriend’s well-being.
“Wait, if Dark Link is controlling the real Link... Does that mean you will be hurting Link instead of Dark Link if you attack him?” She said making Celestia and Luna gain worried looks. Dark Link chuckles and starts slow clapping.
“Good job, Twilight, you’ve figured out my trump card.” He states confirming everypony’s fears.
“There must be a way…” Celestia thinks desperately of a way to save Mike from Dark Link without severely injuring him or worse. After a few moments of thought, an idea popped into her head. “Twilight, quickly go get the elements and their bearers, they could be our only hope in saving Link from this monster.” Twilight nods and goes to take her friends and Gilda away from the ensuing battle. But before they could get away Dark Link grunted and moved lightning-fast into their path stopping them. Celestia and Luna turned around shocked at the speed of Dark Link’s movements.
“And where do you think you’re going?” Dark Link summoned a sword made of pure dark magic and swung at Twilight, making her flinch and fall to her flank on the ground. But the attack never lands. Dark Link’s frozen in place mid-attack. “W-what the hell!?” Shocked, everypony stares at Dark Link, unmoving midswing, eyes flashing between white and red.
“Huh?” Twilight said as her friends quickly picked her up and moved her away from Dark Link. Once Twilight was out of the way Dark Link finished his attack and fell to the ground off balance. As quickly as he had hit the ground, Dark Link launched himself into the air landing where he was before he attacked Twilight. He does a few test swings of his sword. Everypony watches confused as Dark Link continues to figure out what just happened. He then suddenly speeds toward and slashes at Twilight again. “Ahh!” She screamed as she flinched again and closed her eyes. But again, nothing happened and Dark Link is frozen in place, the dark sword mere inches away from slicing Twilight in two.
“D-damn it, what the hell is wrong with this body!?” Dark Link said furiously. Slowly and shakily, Dark Link backs away from Twilight and drops the sword making it disappear in a puff of black smoke. “What the... I didn’t want to do that!” Dark Link grabs his head. “No... I can’t be losing control!?” Dark Link looks at Twilight as his eyes fade between white and blood red.
“T-Twilight...” Mike’s normal voice breaks through the darkness causing everypony to gasp. “G-get... The e-elements... NOW!” He shouts as Celestia and Luna teleport the group away from Dark Link again.
“Everypony go, quickly, we’ll make sure he doesn’t follow you,” Celestia shouts causing Pinkie and Fluttershy to help get Gilda out of the impromptu battlefield. Twilight hesitates for a moment looking into the eyes of her boyfriend before teleporting away, leaving the Princesses and Dark Link alone. “Now it’s just us, Monster, do you still refuse to surrender?” Dark Link’s eyes return to blood red as he looks at the Princesses in pure rage. Dark Link tries to chase after Pinkie and Fluttershy but is stopped as he runs face first into a magic barrier that Luna and Celestia have surrounded the battlefield in.
"Where are thou going?" Luna says smugly. "Did thou not hear when our sister said thou would not follow Miss Sparkle and friends?" Dark Link turns back toward the Princesses still enraged.
“Damn, you two are annoying.” He says in a low growl as he summoned another sword and pulled the mirror shield off his back. "Just a warning, I'm not going to hold back." The trio got into battle stances ready to lunge at a moment’s notice. A few moments of silence and anticipation later, both parties lunged into battle clashing in the middle of the battlefield blades to shield.
Dark Link, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna clash in the middle of their impromptu battlefield, blades to shield. The Princesses were holding back their strength to avoid seriously injuring the Dark Beings Host. Dark Link swings his dark magic sword making the sisters quickly jump back away from him barely avoiding his swing. Dark Link growls in frustration as the sisters land a good distance away. Luna’s horn lights up as she attempts to restrain Dark Link but her magic is absorbed as it surrounds him. Luna’s horn darkens as she grunts in frustration.
“Go on, keep wasting your magic on me, it tickles.” He chuckles as he charges in for another attack that is easily dodged. Luna sighs in frustration.
“Sister, is thy magic also ineffective on the dark being?” Luna asked as they got back into battle stances. Celestia nodded.
“When we arrived I immediately tried to restrain him, but much like yours just now, my magic didn’t affect him.” She explained. “We just have to keep...” Dark Link lunged forward interrupting their conversation.
“I’m still here damn it!” He angrily shouts as the sisters avoid his attack. “I will not be set aside for a stupid conversation!” He spins around as the sisters land where he was originally standing. Luna sighs in annoyance.
“I hope Miss Sparkle is gathering the elements fast, this battle is beginning to become an annoyance and we do not wish to hurt Sir Link,” Luna said with a worried look. Celestia smiled proudly.
“She’ll get them, we just have to stall him until she returns, I believe in her.” She said with a confident attitude. Dark Link lunges at the sisters again who swiftly dodge the attack. “The elements will stop this fiend without a doubt.” She says making Dark Link growl in frustration.
“What did I just say five seconds ago!" He quickly calms down and chuckles. "Relying on magic artifacts to stop me, how predictable, news flash, those elements can’t stop me, submit to my power.” He says with a twisted smile. “Or...” He paused and ran a finger down his blade drawing some blood. “I might do something that you might find, excessive.” He licks the self-inflicted wound causing Luna’s expression to turn to shock.
“Thou wouldn’t damage thyne own host just to get us to concede would thee?” She said scared for Mike’s life. Celestia sees through his bluff and chuckles. “Sister, why doth thou laugh at Sir Link’s potential demise?”
“So you’re saying if we don’t give up and submit to your power, you’re going to kill your host, right?” She questions making Dark Link’s smile falter for a second.
“Yes, concede to my power or I shall end this idiot hero’s life right in front of you.” Celestia hums in mock thought.
“Wouldn’t that mean destroying yourself, therefore thwarting your own plans?” Celestia says with a sly grin. Dark Link sputters trying to think of a comeback. “Thought so, you were just bluffing.” Dark Link growls furiously his ruse was thwarted so quickly.
“You will regret making a mockery of me damn it.” Dark Link raises his shield hand and a ball of pure dark magic forms into the shape of a bomb. “How about some demolition to spice the battle up, take this!” He tosses the bomb and its wick lights up making the princesses quickly move away from where the bomb landed. It exploded seconds later destroying an apple cart and leaving scorch marks where it was. “There’s more where that came from!” Dark Link makes another bomb ready to throw.
“Stop this senseless destruction!” Celestia shouts. “Ponies depend on these carts to live happily.” Dark Link chuckles.
“Oh really... how about I do the exact opposite of that?” He tosses another bomb, this time aimed at a cabbage cart. Secretly he holds a thumbs-up gesture as Celestia quickly flies over to grab the bomb and throw it away from the cart. “Hook, line, and sinker.” Dark Link quickly puts his thumb down mimicking pressing a button on a remote detonation device causing the bomb to explode the moment Celestia caught it.
“TIA!” Luna shouts and flies over to her sister while Dark Link is laughing historically.
“Oh man, that’s hilarious, I mean didn't you see that the wick didn't light when I threw it?” He wipes a tear from his eye. "Oh, this is rich."
“Are thee alright, Tia!?” Luna asks as Celestia coughs from the smoke of the explosion. Her armor is darkened from the blast but other than that she looks fine.
“I’m alright, Lulu.” Luna helps Celestia stand from the completely destroyed cabbage cart. “That didn’t hurt as bad as it looked, though I couldn't save this poor pony's cabbage cart.”
“My cabbages!” A distant pony shouts in anguish. Celestia and Luna turn back to Dark Link and prepare for any other attacks he might have up his sleeves. Dark Link raises his hand and more dark magic begins to form something.
“Don’t like my explosives eh, how about some spikes then?” He slams his hand onto the ground forcing the magic into it. “Look out below.” Shadows flow from his hand toward the princesses ending up in several circles below them. As the Spikes form below them, the princesses jump away from them. “Damn, just missed.” He said mockingly as the spikes retracted and moved under the princesses again. The spikes are avoided again and Dark Link removes his hand from the ground making the magic spikes disappear slowly.
“Tia, this is starting to get tiring.” Luna huffs getting tired from lack of sleep.
“Just keep stalling him, sister, Twilight will be back as soon as she can,” Celestia says starting to get tired from the battle as well. “Though I hope she comes soon.” Dark Link chuckles and returns to attacking them head-on with his sword.
“You’re only postponing the inevitable, submit!” He does a flurry of attacks all stopped by the princesses only to backflip away when they retaliate. “Too slow!” He lunges in again and clashes with them pushing them back a little.
=Apple Family Farm= -A Few Minutes Earlier-
Applejack exits her family’s barn and wipes sweat from her brow. Closing the barn door she started walking towards Ponyville to check to see if her friends were still in the hospital. She looks over towards the farmhouse.
“Hey, Big Mac, I’m goin’ to town and checking on Link, my chores for the day are done.” She shouts catching his attention on the porch. He waved and then walked into the orchard with some boards, a bucket, and a hammer. Applejack waved back and walked past the front gate of the farm heading towards Ponyville. “I sure hope Link’s awake today.” She chuckled. Several minutes later she’s walking past the school. “Applebloom should be getting out of school any minute now, might as well take her with me.” She says as she walks up and leans on a corner of the school to wait for her little sister. The school bell rings and a roar of excited foals happy the school day is over follows making Applejack chuckle. The door to the school opens and a dark Pink pony with multiple shades of pink hair leads the foals out of the school. “Hey, Cheerilee,” Applejack calls out grabbing the pony’s attention.
“Oh hello, Applejack, how are you this fine evening?” Cheerilee says with a smile.
“I’m doing good, just finished my daily chores, how’s Applebloom, she doin’ good in class?” Applejack says looking over the crowd of foals for her sister.
“She’s doing wonderful in class, how’s your brother doing?” Cheerilee said making Applejack grin.
“He’s fully healed, got the leg cast off and everythin’, in fact, he’s out workin’ on a busted part of our fence in the orchard right now.” She said with a chuckle.
“That’s great to hear, well I need to head back inside and grade some papers, it was good talking to you, Applejack.” Cheerilee waved as she walked back into the school and closed the door. Applejack smiled as Applebloom walked up to her.
“What were you two talkin’ about?” Applebloom asked. Applejack chuckled and knelt down and patted her sister on the head.
“Nothin’ for you to worry about,” Applejack said with a smile. As she stood back up Twilight teleported in front of her making her and Applebloom jump in surprise. “Woah, Twilight, you gotta warn somepony before just teleporting in front of ‘em, ya almost gave me a heart attack.” Twilight frowned.
“Applejack I need your help, Link’s in trouble.” She said making Applejack gasp.
"What?! What's going on, Twi I'm ready to help." She says in a serious tone.
“There was an incident at the town square and now he's being controlled by a dark monster!” She says summing up the recent events.
“Woah, really?” She asked to which Twilight nodded. “Alright tell me exactly what happened and I’ll tell the girls when we meet up.” Twilight sighed and recapped everything that’s happened today for Applejack.
“And now we need the elements to stop Dark Link.” She says to Applejack causing her to nod and tap Applebloom on the head.
“Applebloom, stay close, we’re going to the town square.” She says in a serious tone. Applebloom smiles and nods. “We’ll meet you there, Twi.” Twilight nodded and teleported away. Applebloom started running towards the town square.
“Come on, sis, let’s get there quick!” She shouts excitedly. Applejack follows behind with a worried look on her face.
“Stay strong, Twi.” She says with concern then follows her sister toward the town square.
=Rainbow’s Cloudominium= -Moments Later-
Rainbow lands at her front doorstep drenched in water. “Why did a cloud from the Everfree have to float toward Ponyville full of water.” She starts to head into her home when she hears somepony shouting below her home.
“Rainbow are you home!?” Rainbow leans over the edge of her foundation cloud and spots Twilight waving down on the ground. “I need your help, Rainbow!” Twilight shouts.
“Give me a sec!” Rainbow shouts back then quickly rushes into her home to dry off and get changed. About twenty seconds later Rainbow flies down to meet Twilight with a towel drying her mane. “What’s up, Twilight, what do you need?”
“Rainbow, Link is in trouble.” Rainbow, without another word, quickly flies into her home and back down to Twilight without the towel.
“Where is he?” Rainbow says in a serious tone flexing her wings ready for action.
“Hold on, Rainbow, I need you to find Rarity and Spike and take them just outside the town square, that’s where we are meeting up.” Rainbow nods and flies off toward town to quickly look for Rarity and Spike. “Now I just need to get the elements from the library.”
=Back at Ponyville Town Square= -Right After Twilight Left-
Dark Link grunts as he is repelled by the princesses after his latest lunge attack. The battle is starting to take its toll on the pair of princesses. Luna is losing focus because of being up when she is meant to be sleeping for her night court duties. Celestia is becoming exhausted from the explosion and the sheer amount of times Dark Link has attacked them. Dark Link creates a bomb and holds it above his head.
“Getting tired are we?” Dark Link smiles as the princesses prepare to avoid the explosive. “Soon enough you’ll collapse from exhaustion, and then you will submit to my power.” He laughs maniacally as he tosses the bomb. The princesses avoid the explosion easily causing Dark Link to stop laughing and frown.
“You will never defeat us, fiend, Twilight will bring the elements and you’ll be defeated!” Celestia says making Dark Link chuckle and stab his sword into the ground. “What are you doing?” Dark Link places his shield hand on his sword.
“Oh nothing really, just changing tactics a bit.” Dark shadows quickly shoot from his sword through the ground directly toward Luna. “How about I show you a special quirk my power has?”
“Luna look out!” Celestia shouts but her sister is a bit too slow due to exhaustion and the shadows grab her hooves rooting her to the ground. Luna screams in pain as the dark corrupting power crawls up Luna’s body darkening her coat and armor.
“My power may be harmful at first but once your body gets used to it and you feel its almighty strength,” He laughs. “You’ll be begging for more!” Luna falls to her knees and drops her scythe. Celestia quickly runs over to her sister and attempts to help her up.
“Luna, are you alright?” Luna doesn’t respond as her eyes close and her armor starts to transform. “Luna, speak to me!” Luna pushes Celestia away and grabs her head.
“Sis... Ter... Get... Away...” Luna says, her voice getting deeper halfway through her sentence, she then screams in agony as a black magic cacoon surrounds her. Dark Link starts laughing maniacally again as Celestia is pushed away from Luna by a strong dark aura emanating from the cacoon.
“Witness what the power of darkness can create!” Dark Link shouts and then removes his sword from the ground causing the shadows emanating from it to quickly dissipate. “Behold!” The cacoon breaks open and evaporates revealing a greyscale version of Nightmare Moon with a large twisted horn, demonic-looking wings, and a small red upside-down triforce outline on her neck. “I present to you, Lunar Eclipse!” Lunar Eclipse opens her eyes and they glow a deep red like Dark Link’s eyes.
“Luna... No...” Celestia sheds a tear seeing her sister taken over by Dark Link’s influence. “You monster, what have you done to my sister.” She shouts in the royal canterlot voice.
“I gave her a little taste of my power.” He snaps his fingers and Lunar Eclipse teleports next to Dark Link with her Scythe in hand. “Isn’t she so much more beautiful than she was before?” He chuckles as Celestia enters a battle stance. “Submit to my power, and you can gain this power too.” His smile widens.
“You will pay for what you have done to my sister.” Celestia lunges forward aiming her Halbird at Dark Link, only to be stopped mid-thrust by Lunar Eclipse blocking her attack and pushing her away. “Luna...”
“Damn, seems I didn’t use enough power to fully corrupt her mind.” He snaps his fingers and Lunar Eclipse gets in a battle stance. “Oh well, she’s still on my side and that’s what matters.” He points at Celestia. “Hold Celestia off while I try and destroy this barrier, sweet cheeks.” He turns away and walks to the edge of the battlefield.
“Yes... Master...” Lunar Eclipse says then lunges in to attack Celestia. Dark Link absorbs his sword and puts the Mirror Shield back on his back.
“Alright, how do I get out of here?” He makes a dagger out of dark magic and stabs the barrier, it does nothing. He makes a sledgehammer and hits the barrier, but still no effect. “Damn, how strong is this barrier?” He says with a frown all while Celestia is having trouble holding her own against Lunar Eclipse in the background.
“Come on Luna fight off his influence, I know you can do it!” Celestia says with sadness in her voice blocking a flurry of attacks from Lunar Eclipse. Completely on defense, Celestia is getting backed into a wall by Lunar Eclipse’s unrelenting attacks as Dark Link places his hands on the barrier.
“Maybe I can just overpower the barrier and shatter it.” He puts all his energy into a focused attack on the barrier, and it cracks. “Bingo, time to shatter this damn barrier.” He turns around and points an open hand toward Lunar Eclipse. “Sorry, sweet cheeks, but I need a little more juice, so I’m taking my power back.” He smiles devilishly and Lunar Eclipse freezes in place mid-jump attack.
“Luna!” Celestia shouts as the dark power drains from Luna’s body returning her to her normal form and color. The dark power flows back into Dark Link as Celestia catches Luna from her sudden stop in mid-air, Luna's scythe vanishing due to lack of magic.
“Time for this barrier to go bye-bye!” Dark Link says then turns back to the barrier.
“Not on our watch bub!” Rainbow shouts causing Celestia to smile as Twilight and her friends run out from behind a building with the Elements of Harmony. Dark Link looks over to where the girls are standing just beyond the barrier and scowls at them.
“Son of a... Not you girls, oh and I see you’ve brought your secret weapons.” He smiles devilishly. “Those won’t do anything if you can’t hit me.” Dark Link quickly dashes around the battlefield with his inhuman speed making sure the girls can’t hit him with the Elements of Harmony’s Rainbow beam, all the while he pours his power out of his hand touching the barrier continuing his attempt at shattering it. Celestia chuckles making Dark Link stop and turn to look at her.
“They can hit you if the barrier you’re in is too small for you to run around.” Celestia’s horn lights up and the barrier starts to shrink.
“Wait, what?!” Dark Link shouts. “No... No!” He starts to panic as the barrier shrinks faster and faster. “You can’t save him, he’ll turn to stone!” He says trying to stop the girls from using the elements slamming his fists on the barrier as it shrinks to just around his size, preventing him from moving. “Damn it, I won’t go down this easily.” Dark Power emanates from his hands and the barrier starts to quickly shatter.
“I have one thing to say to you, Dark Link,” Twilight said making Dark Link look at them breaking his concentration as the girls’ eyes start glowing white. “Get the buck out of my special somepony's head!” A Beam of Rainbow energy erupts from the elements and heads straight toward Dark Link. He shields his eyes from the bright light and screams.
"NOOOOO!" The Beam engulfs him and the light shrowds the battlefield in a bright white light. A few moments later as the bright light subsides allowing the area to be seen again, the girls look at where Dark Link was standing and find Mike lying down on his back unconscious. Twilight quickly runs over to him with Tael following after, Twilight gets down on her knees and tries to wake him up.
“Please wake up, please.” Twilight lightly taps his cheeks and slowly he opens his eyes. He groans as she helps him sit up.
“Oh, my head.” He rubs his forehead and Twilight quickly hugs him slightly startling him. “Woah, Twi.” After a second he smiles and hugs her back as Tael sits down on his shoulder.
“Thank Celestia you’re alright.” She sniffles, starting to cry.
“You scared all of us,” Tael says hugging his neck. Twilight pulls away from the hug and looks deep into Mike’s eyes.
“I thought I lost you again.” She said as tears flowed down her face. He wiped away her tears.
“Thanks for getting that jerk outta my head, Twi.” He chuckled and rubbed his head making Twilight smile. “What would I do without a smart and beautiful mare like you, here take this as a reward for saving me.” Twilight blushed as Mike pulled her into a kiss. The girls, minus Rainbow, awwed at the sight of the two’s kiss. Rainbow loudly cleared her throat.
“Hey, love birds...” She pointed behind the pair. “We still have a bad guy to deal with.” Mike and Twilight broke off their kiss and looked behind them to find Dark Link lying on his back seemingly unconscious. Twilight quickly helps Mike stand up and they back away from Dark Link. Celestia carries Luna over to the group avoiding Dark Link.
“Oh my, is Luna alright?” Rarity asked, the rest of the group gasped at Luna’s condition. Luna snores loudly putting everypony’s mind at ease.
“Yes she’s alright, thankfully she just fell asleep, she was getting tired during our fight,” Celestia explains. Applebloom and Spike walk over to Dark Link and look him over. After a few moments, Dark Link’s eyes open quickly spooking Applebloom and making her fall to the ground on her flank.
“Hey you two, get away from him!” Applejack quickly helps her little sister up and backs away from Dark Link With Spike in tow. However, Dark Link doesn’t move, his mind seemingly still comprehending what just happened. “Rainbow quick, help me tie him up.” Applejack takes the rope from her belt and together with Rainbow they tie Dark Link’s hands and feet so he can’t escape, though he doesn’t resist them.
“Wait, why does he look different?” Twilight pointed out. Dark Link is no longer just a grey scale copy of Mike with completely red eyes. His skin is now a just little darker than Mike’s, his hair is white, his sclera is white, his irises are red, his tunic, boots, and gloves are dark grey instead of black, his linen is white, and he’s completely unarmed.
“You’re right Twi, he almost looks like an edgier me,” Mike said thinking about Shadow the Hedgehog. “But now the question is, how is he here and not back in my dream realm?” He asks.
“Luna could shed some light on this, she knows more about the dream realm than I do,” Celestia says. “But she’s fast asleep and I don’t think waking her is a smart idea.” She turns to Twilight. “Twilight, we will have to wait for Luna to get a full rest before we can see if she can answer our questions, I know it’s asking a lot but, can you contain him until Luna has rested for me?” Twilight hesitates but nods.
“You can count on us, Princess.” She says making Celestia smile. “We’ll keep a close eye on him.” Celestia bows.
“Then I shall take my leave, and I’ll put Luna in her bed so she can get a more comfortable rest.” Celestia’s horn lights up and she teleports herself and Luna back to Canterlot. Twilight turns to the rest of the group.
“Alright team, let’s move him to the library for now and brainstorm about how we’re gonna handle him.” Everypony nods and Mike hoists Dark Link over his shoulder making Tael swap what shoulder she was sitting on.
“Let’s move, gang,” Mike says as they all start walking to the library. “Oh, by the way, Rainbow, how’s your friend Gilda doing?” Rainbow shrugs.
“I don’t know, from what Fluttershy told me she flew home right after getting away from that fight.” She said a little saddened. “But it’s cool, she did steal an apple and scare Fluttershy, and that’s somepony I don’t want to hang out with anymore.” Rarity clears her throat.
“How about we focus on getting our new 'friend' to the library for now.” She says with air quotes while watching Dark Link look around at everypony, wordlessly staring at them.
“She’s right, let’s get to the library,” Mike states adjusting how Dark Link is positioned on his shoulder.
=Meanwhile in Mike’s Dream Realm= -Right After The Fight-
“Damn it, Dark Link, you imbecile!” Shadow Ganon growls in pure rage and throws an end table across his throne room destroying it on the wall right next to a scared DT Guard. “Guards!” He shouts causing several more DT Guards to rush into the room and salute. “Send a search party out to try and locate Dark Link he may have been sent anywhere, just avoid any high-detail areas.”
“Right away, My Lord.” A fancy-looking DT Guard says then quickly rushes out of the room with all of the DT Guards following him. Shadow Ganon sits on his throne, snaps his fingers, and his butler enters the room with a new bottle of wine, fills his glass, and goes to leave.
“Stop.” Shadow Ganon says with a low rumble making his butler stop dead in his tracks. “Leave the bottle.” The Butler turns around and sets the wine bottle down on the end table next to Shadow Ganon’s throne then quickly leaves the room. “I can’t feel his magic anymore, that idiot should’ve retreated back here instead of getting hit by the element’s laser.” Shadow Ganon says to himself then gulps down a few glasses of wine. “Let’s see what’s going on now...” He closes an eye and focuses his magic to watch the mirror through the Keese. “What the hell...” He crushes the wine glass in his hand. The mirror shows Mike carrying Dark Link on his shoulder walking alongside his friends. “The elements didn’t destroy him, they ripped him from the Dream Realm!” He drops the shattered wine glass and grabs the wine bottle. “Now I just gotta figure out a way of contacting him.” Using his magic he transformed the wine bottle into a beer stein and took a swig of the blood-red liquid. “But right now it’s time to watch and observe.” He laughs deeply as he watches the group through one eye.
=Golden Oaks Library= -A Short Walk Later-
“Alright,” Mike says as he sits Dark Link down on the couch in the front room of the library. “Prisoner transported successfully, permission to raid the fridge, commander?” He asks Twilight with a big grin and a salute confusing her and the rest of the girls. “Just tryin’ to lighten up the mood with a bit of role-playing.” He chuckles. “That involuntary fight wore my body out, can I go to the fridge and grab a snack?”
“Oh ok, go right ahead, Link,” Twilight said making Mike quickly walk into the kitchen. The girls line up and stare Dark Link down. “Ok mister, we’re gonna ask you questions and you’re going to answer them, understand?” Dark Link looks around at all the girls with a confused look on his face.
“I understand perfectly.” Dark Link speaks but his voice isn’t demonic, it’s almost the same as Mike’s only a bit deeper and more refined. “But may I ask two questions first? I promise they will be quick.” Not expecting such a refined accent out of the guy that just viciously attacked a griffon and both rulers of Equestria with a voice from the depths of Tartarus itself, the girls soften up and Twilight nods. “Thank you, here are my questions...” He pauses for a second to word them perfectly. “Who are you people and why am I hogtied like a wild animal?” The girls all ‘huh?’ in unison.
“What do you mean, who are we and why are you tied up?” Rainbow asked loudly and annoyed. “You just took over our friend’s mind and attacked the rulers of Equestria!” She shouted at him to which he recoiled at the volume of her voice. Applejack pulls Rainbow away from him.
“Woah there, Sugarcube, calm down,” Applejack says as Mike pokes his head out of the kitchen.
“I heard yelling, what’s goin’ on?” He then bites into an energy bar and exits the kitchen. “Did he say something bad?” He says while still chewing, grossing out Rarity. Twilight shakes her head.
“No... He says he doesn’t know who we are or why he’s tied up.” She explained. “Now I’m all confused and don’t know what to do.” Mike quickly finishes his energy bar and squats to eye level in front of Dark Link.
“He seemed to have a knowledge of my old world while he was fighting with Celestia and Luna.” Mike looks deeply into Dark Link’s eyes. “Here’s a test, Who is the commander of the Frieza force?” The girls all ‘Huh?’ again but Mike holds up a hand signaling them to stay quiet.
“I have no idea what you’re asking me, freezer force what is that?” Dark Link answers a little weirded out by Mike staring intently into his eyes. Mike holds up two fingers.
“Question two, who is my favorite and the greatest villain in the Resident Evil franchise?” Applejack figures out what Mike is doing and pays close attention to Dark Link.
“I don’t know, maybe the freezer force guy?” Dark Link says still uncomfortable with the eyes staring at him.
“Let me help you a bit...” Mike clears his throat.
“Uroboros will be released into the atmosphere ensuring complete, global, saturation.” He breathes deeply and quickly thrusts his hand almost hitting Dark Link making him flinch. Mike blinks a few times then stands up holding his head. “Sorry, I got a little carried away there, blacked out for a second.” He then looks down at Dark Link. “Well?”
“I don’t know, ok, you’re creeping me out.” Dark Link says a little flustered. “I don’t know the freezer guy or the evil resident guy either.” Mike looks over toward Applejack.
“Well, AJ, you convinced too?” He says making her think for a moment. The girls wait patiently for the element of honesty’s verdict.
“He’s tellin’ the truth, seems his memories from before we took him here are either blocked or wiped from his mind.” Dark Link then raises his arms.
“Thank you, now could you please untie me, these binds are starting to hurt.” He says prompting Twilight to look over at Applejack for a response. She nods and Twilight’s horn lights up. The binds unwrap themselves and Dark Link rolls his wrists and ankles. “Oh, that feels so much better.” He sighs in relief.
“So you aren’t going to run away and attack somepony, right?” Twilight questions, He nods wholeheartedly.
“Absolutely, I promise that nopony will be harmed in any way by me.” He smiles and leans back on the couch. “So, you never answered me, who are you guys?” Dark Link quickly adds another question seconds later. “Oh, and who am I?” The girls ease up and answer kindly.
“Oh right well, My name is Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends.” She gestures toward Applejack.
“Howdy, I’m Applejack, I work on my family’s apple farm, an’ this-” She points to Applebloom. “-Is my little sister Applebloom.” She waves and Twilight gestures toward Rarity.
“My name is Rarity, I run a fashion boutique called ‘The Carousel Boutique’ where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique!” Dark Link Smiles.
“Catchy, I like that.” He says making Rarity giggle.
“Thank you, and since you will be here for the foreseeable future, I will make you more outfits so you don’t have to wear the same thing every day, any color suggestions?” Dark Link thinks for a moment then answers.
“How about a few dark-colored outfits, and maybe a lighter shade of grey as well.” Rarity nods, giddy about making more outfits. Twilight then gestures to Fluttershy who tries to hide behind her mane.
“This is Fluttershy, as you can probably tell, she’s pretty shy.” Twilight chuckles. “She takes care of animals in her cottage near the edge of town.” She then gestures to Rainbow.
“I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria.” She leans in closer almost face-to-face with Dark Link. “You better watch yourself around my friends, bub.” She says with venom in her tone then backs away still staring into his eyes. Twilight sighs and then gestures toward nothing.
“Hey, where’s Pinkie?” She asked confused and surprisingly Dark Link answered.
“Is that the Pink one?” He says making Twilight nod. “She ran away dragging the little green guy with her as soon as Fruit Cup here picked me up.” He points to Mike making him laugh at Dark Link’s joke.
“Ha! Fruit Cup, I hate to break it to ya, but we’re basically twins dude.” Mike continues laughing while Dark Link looks over his outfit and Mike’s.
“I need a mirror, I must know if he’s telling the truth.” Twilight teleports the full-length mirror from Mike’s room and shows Dark Link his reflection. “Well... don’t I feel embarrassed, I didn’t know we were twins, so what’s your name then, brother?” Mike calms down and then holds his hand out stopping Twilight from correcting Dark Link.
“Name’s Link, I’m here for you if you need any help re-entering society, bro.” Mike holds out his hand to shake. Dark Link hesitates for a second then grabs Mike’s hand and they shake hands as Twilight returns the mirror to Mike’s room. “Oh, one more thing.” They let go of each other’s hands and Mike points to his shoulder where Tael is sitting. “This is Tael, my fairy companion.” She waves and Dark Link waves back.
“So, now that I know everyone here, what’s my name, cause it’s hurting my brain trying to remember.” Mike thinks for a second then quickly answers.
“Cole, your name is Cole Macgrath.” He lied making Dark Link think it over.
“Cole... Huh, that sounds pretty cool.” Dark Link now renamed Cole nods. “That sounds right to me, I’ll take it as fact.” Mike sighs relieved he bought the lie. “So... Who is that Pink girl, I think you said her name was Pinkie?” Twilight nods.
“You’re correct, but her full name is Pinkie Pie, she works at Sugar Cube Corner, a local bakery, and she’s also the number one party planner in Ponyville.” She says with a smile and Mike chuckles.
“She’s also most likely setting up a party for your ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’, and before you ask, She probably can hear us right now and we wouldn’t even know it.” He says causing Cole to gain a confused look.
“Don’t try to think about it too hard, It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie,” Applejack adds. “Welp, I gotta get Applebloom home and get a few things done around the house so I’ll be headin’ off now, see y’all later.” Applejack exits the library with her sister in tow shutting the door behind them. Rarity heads for the exit as well.
“I’m off to make, Mister Macgrath, some outfits, tata for now.” Rarity opens the door to leave but Cole stops her.
“Miss Rarity wait!” She stops in her tracks and looks over at him. “Skip the hats I only want the linen and tunic, this is a tunic right?” He quickly asks Mike to which he nods. “Thank you.” Cole grabs the hat from his head and tosses it in a nearby trash can as Rarity nods and leaves. Rainbow yawns and stretches.
“I better head home too, I’m getting tired, see you guys.” As Rainbow exits, she points two fingers at her eyes and then at Cole with a serious look on her face making him gulp nervously.
“Don’t worry about her, Cole, she’s just really protective of her friends, she’ll warm up to you after a while,” Twilight said with a knowing smile then gasped as she completely forgot something. “Oh no, we forgot to arrange where Cole will be staying.” Mike thinks for a second.
“Hey, Twi, Is the basement available by chance?” Twilight thinks for a moment then nods. “Great, I hope that would be alright with you, bro?” Cole mulls it over for a moment then nods.
“That’s fine with me.” Mike walks over to the basement door and opens it.
“Huh, not much work is needed, it’s just a bit dusty and needs a bed is all.” Mike walks over to the broom closet and grabs a feather duster. “I’ll get your room all spick and span in a jiffy.” Cole nods and Mike heads into the basement. After a few moments of awkward silence, Cole decides to break the silence.
"So... you and my bro, huh?" He says awkwardly. "How long..." Cole is cut off.
“HOLY SHIT!” Mike runs out of the basement tripping over himself and screaming, startling Cole and Twilight.
“Woah, Link, you alright?!” Cole stands up and helps Mike off the ground. “What’s wrong, bro?” Mike catches his breath.
“There’s a huge spider in the basement, It was behind an old crate, sorry but I dropped the crate and it broke.” He says making Cole snort holding back a laugh. Twilight walks over to the door and low and behold a large weirdly shaped spider is turning in place on the wall and making an annoying noise.
“Sweet Celestia that thing really is huge, I’ve never seen a spider as big as a fully grown pony's torso before.” Twilight giggles as she uses her magic to summon a notepad and take a few arachnid books off the library shelves.
“Wait really?” Cole walks over to look at the spider too. “Wow... That is one big ugly spider...” Twilight slowly approaches the spider and starts taking notes. “So do you study bugs, Twilight?” Cole asks.
“I study all kinds of things like animals, old books, insects, magic, potions, and now things coming from Link’s old world.” She says while drawing a picture of the spider.
“Wait, Link’s old world?” Cole says confused. “What does that mean.” Mike walks downstairs and puts a hand on Cole’s shoulder.
“Hate to break it to ya, bro, but we ain’t from this world.” Cole still looks a little confused so Mike explains a little bit more. “You see, we went to a convention in our original world and bought a couple of things from an evil entity called ‘The Merchant’.” Mike spun a clever fib laced with truth. “We walked away and we were quickly knocked out and ended up here on Equis.”
“Huh, that’s strange...” Mike looks over to Twilight as she pokes the spider with her pen. “Its exoskeleton seems to be made of gold...” Mike takes a closer look at the spider.
↑A Golden Skulltula↑
“Wait, that’s a Gold Skulltula!” He says making Twilight turn and look at him curiously. “It’s a monster from our old world.” Mike gets closer to it. “But if there are Gold Skulltulas in this world...” Mike comes to a dark realization. “Twilight, we need to contact Celestia...” He says with a grim tone to his voice.
“Why, what’s so bad about these ‘Gold Skullchulas’ really?” She asks poorly writing the name of the beast on her notepad.
“First off, It’s spelled S-k-u-l-l-t-u-l-a, second these things only appear when someone or somepony, in this case, has a Skulltula Curse.” Twilight gasps.
“Skulltula Curse, that doesn't sound good,” Cole says prompting Mike to draw his sword and stab the Skulltula. “Woah, Link, what are you doing?!” The spider spins around and bursts into harmless flames leaving behind a glowing Golden Skull Token.
“You have to kill them and collect their tokens to break the curse.” He grabs the token, it disappears, and Mike freezes in place for a few seconds with a small fanfare playing.
“Woah, where did that music come from?” Cole says looking around the room confused. Mike sighs blinking away a text box.
“I’ll explain it to you later, anyway, the worst part about the Skulltulas is, there’s a total of 100 of them, and they can pretty much be anywhere.”
“100 of them, jeez that’s a lot of gold spiders to find and destroy,” Cole says as Mike sheaths his sword.
“I guess your room will have to wait a little while, we have more pressing matters to deal with,” Mike says as he exits the basement with Cole and Twilight following behind. Just as they close the door to the basement, Spike walks through the library’s front door.
“Spike, there you are,” Twilight says making him look over to the group and freak out.
“Woah, why is he here and not tied up?!” Spike backs away a bit, scared by just the sight of Cole being free.
“It’s ok, Spike, Cole here is a nice guy, I’ll explain the whole thing to you later,” Twilight says calming him down a little. “But first we need to send a letter to Princess Celestia, it’s urgent.” Spike nods and rushes over to a shelf with a bunch of Parchment paper and grabs a sheet and a quill.
“Ready!” Spike says as Mike puts a hand on Twilight’s shoulder signaling her to let him dictate the letter this time.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” Mike says confusing Spike for a moment making him look up at Twilight. She nods and then Spike starts writing. “We have a very u-r-g-e-n-t matter to talk with you about,” Mike says spelling out a word he knows Spike doesn’t know how to spell. “Another monster from my old world has been d-i-s-c-o-v-e-r-e-d.” He pauses waiting for Spike to finish spelling. “Due to the s-p-e-c-i-f-i-c monster that has a-p-p-e-a-r-e-d, we must come to speak with you in Canterlot, pony lives are at stake.” Twilight and Spike gasp and Mike nods solemnly. “Please c-o-n-f-i-r-m when we can visit, tomorrow would be best. Sincerely The Guardian of The Elements of Harmony, Link.” Spike finishes writing, rolls up the letter, and sends it with a breath of green flames.
“Woah, Spike, why’d you burn it, I thought you were gonna send it to the Princess?” Cole says confused.
“It’s a type of magic that dragons can use to send letters faster than if we sent it by mail,” Twilight explains and moments later spike burps up a letter from Celestia. “Wow that was quick, what does it say, Spike?” He clears his throat.
“Dear Guardian of The Elements, If the matter you wish to discuss is truly putting pony lives at risk I will send a chariot for you, the element bearers, Spike, and our new friend tomorrow as it will be faster than riding the train.” Mike looks at Twilight with a serious expression and she nods, silently communicating that they need to tell the girls, Spike continues. “Please gather everypony and be ready to depart at around noon tomorrow, sincerely Princess Celestia.”
“Alright, seems tomorrow will be a big day,” Mike says and walks over to the stairs leading up to the second floor. “I’m gonna take a quick shower, then I’ll go with Twilight to tell the girls about tomorrow before it gets too late.” She nods and Mike heads upstairs. Twilight turns toward Cole.
“Will you be coming with us, Cole?” He thinks for a moment then nods.
“It’ll give me a chance to look around town so yeah I’ll go.” Twilight smiles and Spike walks toward the Kitchen.
“I’ll have dinner ready by the time you guys get back. You’re staying here right, Cole?” Spike asks to which Cole nods as Spike enters the Kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, Mike drys himself off with a towel and goes to dress.
“Better use my pause menu to dress, it’s much faster.” He closes his eyes and opens his inventory. “Let’s see what outfit do I want this time...” He scrolls down to his tunics and notices his black tunic has reappeared in his inventory. “Oh hey, My black tunic is back, cool, might as well use it.” He hovers over it in his inventory and instead of saying ‘Black Tunic’ Its name is ‘The Cursed Tunic’. “What the heck?” He looks around his Inventory Menu to see if there’s a description button. “Huh, I think I should have Twilight check it out before I use it, better just equip another tunic.” He equips his yellow tunic and closes his menu. Fully clothed, he grabs his sword and shield, puts them back on, and exits the bathroom. “Alright, time to go let the girls know what’s going down tomorrow.” He heads downstairs ready to run around town.
Mike yawns as He, Cole, Twilight, Tael, and Spike arrive at Ponyville town square ready to go to Canterlot.
“You know what, I forgot to ask you something yesterday, Link,” Cole says, catching Mike’s attention.
“Yeah, bro?” Mike says as he finishes a grape jelly-filled biscuit. “What’s on yer mind?” Cole points to Mike’s gear on his back.
“Why do you always carry a sword and shield, are you like a town guard or something?” Cole asked curiously. Mike thinks for a moment.
“Well… Technically, no.” Mike starts explaining. “Long story short, I helped save one of the rulers of Equestria a few weeks ago and I was made the Guardian of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.” He points over to Twilight as the other girls arrive at the square. “Them.” Cole hums intrigued.
“And just what are the Elements of Harmony anyway?” Cole says curiously. “Are they some sort of artifacts that control the elements of nature or something?” Mike shakes his head.
“The Elements of Harmony are six artifacts that go with certain personality types.” He starts explaining. “You got Kindness-” He pointed at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy is the Kindest mare you will ever meet, she cares for animals and will even take care of you if need be, then you got Loyalty-” He pointed at Rainbow Dash. “Once you earn Rainbow’s trust she will do pretty much anything to protect you.” Rainbow looks at Cole then does the I’m watching you gesture.
“I see, how about the others?” Cole asked nervously as Mike chuckled.
“Seriously, she’ll warm up to you sooner or later, trust me.” He puts a hand on Cole’s shoulder. “Next you got Honesty-” Mike pointed at Applejack. “AJ is a special case, yes she’s honest and doesn’t lie very much if at all, but she also has the innate ability to tell when someone is lying, remember when I was asking you questions yesterday?” Cole nods. “I was hinting for her to check your reactions to my questions to see if you were lying, and she said you weren’t.”
“Huh, that’s pretty useful,” Cole said impressed.
“Next is Generosity-” Mike points to Rarity. “Rarity is the most generous pony you’ll ever meet, she’s made me several outfits without charging me, and I’m pretty sure she’s working on your outfits as well. Next is Laughter-” He points at Pinkie and she waves at them. Cole interrupts Mike before he can continue.
“Wait, Laughter?” Cole says confused. “That’s not a personality type.” He points out.
“Oh trust me, Pinkie definitely has Laughter as a personality type, I mean just watch her mannerisms sometime and you’ll know what I mean,” Mike said with a chuckle. “And Finally, Magic.” Finally, he pointed at Twilight.
“Got an explanation for that ‘personality type’?” Cole said curiously to which Mike nodded.
“Yep, Twi is exceptionally gifted in the use of Magic, She can pretty much do anything with it and she studies it a lot,” Mike says waving to Twilight as she looks over to the two hylians.
“Ok, I think I get it... But what do the artifacts do?” Cole asked.
“When the Elements of Harmony are brought together to defeat a foe, The girls channel the power of their friendship through the artifacts to zap the evil out of their enemy or turn the evil-doer into a stone statue if the evil in their heart can’t be removed.” He finished. Cole nods.
“Huh, kinda hard to believe.” He says. Twilight cleared her throat catching everypony’s attention.
“We’ll continue this conversation later, bro,” Mike said quietly making Cole nod.
“Alright, is everypony ready to head to Canterlot?” Twilight said cheerfully.
“Eeyup,” Applejack says imitating her brother with a chuckle.
“You know it,” Pinkie says bubbly.
“I’m always ready, darling,” Rarity says with a sway of her hair.
“I’ve been ready for hours,” Rainbow says with a grin.
“Yes...” Fluttershy says quietly.
“I’m ready, Twilight!” Spike says with enthusiasm.
“We’re ready over here,” Mike says with Cole nodding next to him and Tael on his shoulder smiling.
“Perfect, the chariot should be arriving any time now.” She looks to the sky looking for the escort chariot. Mike remembers something from yesterday, walks up behind Twilight, and taps her shoulder.
“Hey, Twi, I just remembered something I really need to talk to you about.” He says a little quietly. “I found my black tunic, but something’s wrong with it.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked as Mike separated them from the others, reached behind him, and pulled The Cursed Tunic from his inventory. “Woah!” Twilight said as Mike held a Black tunic with almost black-red pulsating vein-like tendrils covering the surface in front of himself.
“Woah, It didn’t look like this in my visual inventory.” Twilight starts to feel a pull of magic coming from the tunic.
“It looks kind of... Evil” Tael says looking over the tunic. Twilight grabs the tunic with her Magic and tries to analyze it.
“Huh... The magic emanating from this tunic- Ah!” Twilight grabs her horn in pain cutting off the flow of magic as the tunic glows a deep red for a moment.
“Woah, Twi, are you ok?” Mike asked, dropping the tunic to one hand. “What happened?” Mike puts his free hand on Twilight’s shoulder as she rubs her forehead, the pain subsiding.
“When I grabbed the tunic in my magical hold, it felt like it was draining my magic,” Twilight explained as Mike looked down at the tunic.
“Huh... That doesn’t sound good.” He says looking back to Twilight.
“I still want to study the tunic, I just can’t use magic it seems, when we get back home I’ll unpack the rest of my study equipment and do some tests.” Mike nods and puts the tunic away.
“You want me to help you, Twi?” Mike asked, eager to spend more time with Twilight and learn stuff about magic. “I’m always happy to help and learn some stuff.” Twilight smiles and nods.
“Thanks, I’d like that.” She said making Mike smile.
“And I’ll help too!” Tael proclaims making Twilight giggle.
“Thank you too, Tael.” She smiled as Rainbow Dash yelled over at the three.
“Yo, love birds, our ride is here.” She points to the sky and a chariot pulled by two Pegasus Horses starts its descent. Mike and Twilight chuckle a little embarrassed and rejoin the group of seven as the chariot lands. Driving the chariot is an Earth Pony Solar Guard and in the passenger seat is a Unicorn Solar Guard. The Unicorn guard hops off the seat and opens the chariot door.
“Elements bearers and company, please enter the chariot.” The Unicorn Solar Guard says then bows. Rainbow enters the chariot quickly as everypony else either bows to or thanks the guard before entering. Once everypony is in the chariot, the Unicorn Solar Guard closes the door and jumps back up into the passenger seat.
“Royal VIPs secured?” The Earth Pony Solar Guard said making the Unicorn Solar Guard nod. “Then we are clear for takeoff.” The Earth Pony Solar Guard says then whips the reins making the Pegasi start to flap their wings and pull the chariot.
“Attention passengers, please keep your hands, hooves, and wings inside the vehicle at all times.” The Unicorn Solar Guard says as the chariot lifts off the ground and veers toward Canterlot. “Please sit back and enjoy the ride.”
“Rodger that, over and out,” Mike said mimicking radio static then chuckling to himself, confusing the others in the Chariot.
“What was that about?” Rainbow said confused.
“It’s more military talk, sorry can’t help myself.” He smiles and rubs the back of his head embarrassed. “I’m just trying to entertain myself during the ride to Canterlot, that’s all.” Twilight squeezes his hand catching his attention. “Yeah, Twi?”
“I know a way you can entertain all of us.” She says with a smile. “How about you sing for us like you did in the hospital?” Mike, feeling his social anxiety kicking in, chuckles nervously.
“You want me to-” He gulped. “-Sing?” Twilight nods. “Uh...” He thinks for a moment trying to make an excuse to not sing when Rainbow chuckles.
“Rainbow, don’t tease him like that.” She scolds Rainbow. But Mike clears his throat stopping her from continuing and everypony looks at him. He takes a deep breath and thinks to himself.
“Alright brain, give me a good song I can remember the lyrics to.” Mike thinks pushing back his anxiety and preparing to sing for everypony. A few moments later music starts playing from nowhere confusing Cole but he doesn’t say anything. “Another gold pick brain, hope they like country music.” As the song starts Mike sings the vocals perfectly and lets go of Twilight’s hand to do air guitar, getting a little chuckle from Rainbow.
“♪From the backwoods, she’s a home-grown, down to the bone, she’s country♪” As Mike finishes singing and playing air guitar he smiles and everypony claps making Mike smile.
“Yay, encore, encore!” Tael cheered.
“That was a good song, Link.” Cole said impressed at his ‘brother’s’ talent.
“Great song, Link!” Spike said standing in his seat.
“Wooo! That was so good, Linky.” Pinkie said pretty loud.
“That was amazing!” Twilight said as Mike grabbed her hand and Applejack whistled.
“Mighty fine bars you got there, Link.” She said with a smile.
“I’m not a fan of country music, but I’ll admit, you did sound pretty awesome,” Rainbow says impressed. “Why haven’t you gone to DJ Pon-Three and asked about starting a band with you as the vocalist?” She asked.
“I agree, you should share your voice with the world, Link,” Rarity says with a smile. “Ponies everywhere will absolutely love the music you share.” Mike chuckles.
“I've never considered it due to my social anxiety, but I’ll have to think about that, thanks,” He says feeling his anxiety fading away completely. The rest of the Chariot ride went by in a flash, everypony talking about their mornings and about what they were doing after they got back to Ponyville.
=Fourty Five Minutes Later= -Canterlot Castle Courtyard-
The Unicorn Solar Guard cleared their throat to catch the attention of their ‘VIPs’. “Attention, Passengers, we are arriving at Canterlot Castle and are beginning our descent, we hope you’ve enjoyed the trip.” The Chariot descends and lands on a special-looking runway inside the Castle Gate.
“Finally, we’re here,” Rainbow says as she yawns, waking from a nap she took during the tail end of the ride. The chariot comes to a stop near the castle gate and the Solar Guards get off the chariot. The Unicorn Solar Guard opens the chariot door as the Earth Pony Solar Guard calls over a Peagasi Solar Guard to take the chariot to the royal garage. As everypony exits, the Earth Pony Solar Guard stands a fair distance in front of the chariot door.
“We will escort you to the throne room, follow me.” The Earth Pony Solar Guard says as the Unicorn Solar Guard closes the chariot. The group of ten follows the Earth Pony Solar Guard with the Unicorn Solar Guard following behind the group. Mike and Twilight walk hand in hand, side by side making the girls, minus Rainbow, giggle.
“You know, Link, my brother Shining Armor is captain of the Solar Guard here in Canterlot,” Twilight says with a smile. “I wonder if we’ll see him today due to the matter of our visit?” Mike chuckles.
“Maybe, It would probably be smart for the Solar Guards to know about the Gold Skulltulas.” He says with a smile. But in the back of his mind, he hopes Twilight’s big brother isn’t working today, Mike’s really fearful for when her brother finds out someone’s dating his little sister.
“Wow, what an impressive-looking castle,” Cole says admiring the view of the entrance of the castle. “I wouldn’t mind staying here for an extended period of time.” Rarity giggles.
“I wholeheartedly agree with you, Mr. Macgrath, Canterlot Castle is a magnificent place to be.” She starts. “If you think the courtyard looks impressive you should see the Royal Garden, it’s just wonderful in the photos I’ve seen, I hope to one day see it with my own eyes.” She smiles and Fluttershy speaks up.
“I’ve heard the Royal Garden is home to many exotic animals as well, some you can’t even find in either the Everfree Forest or the Whitetail Woods.” She says with a smile.
“Even more reason to see it sometime,” Cole says with a smile as the group enters the castle still following the Solar Guard closely.
“We’re almost to the throne room where Princess Celestia is waiting for you.” The Earth Pony Solar Guard said while looking back over their shoulder. After a few turns in the hall and minutes of walking, the group arrives at the throne room doors. The guards standing in front of the doors salute and then move out of the way, letting the Earth Pony Solar Guard leading the group crack open the doors and stick their head in. After a moment, the Solar Guard opens the doors and lets the group inside the throne room. “Announcing the arrival of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Their Guardian Link, and a mister Macgrath.” The Earth Pony Solar Guard announces to the ponies in the room.
“Welcome my little ponies.” Celestia stands from her throne. “Unfortunately my sister cannot attend our meeting this afternoon, she is still recovering from yesterday’s events.” She motions over to a white unicorn with multiple shades of blue hair clad in golden armor with an ornate sword in a scabbard on his hip. “And I thought the Royal guard should be included in our meeting so Captain Shining Armor will join us.” Mike’s eyes widen as Shining Armor salutes.
“Hello, everypony.” He says with a wave. “I wish your visit to Canterlot was less dire, Twily, that way we could catch up and I could properly introduce myself to your friends.” He said with a smile. His smile falters for a moment when he notices Twilight and Mike holding hands. “So on to business.” Mike clears his throat.
“Yes, on to business.” He says with a nervous chuckle. The Solar Guards close the throne doors and everypony moves closer to Celestia’s throne as she sits back down. “Captain Armor, were you informed of my special situation?” He nods. “Good.”
“So, Link, you said in your letter that another monster from your old world has appeared and is threatening pony lives,” Celestia said with a frown on her face. “Could you please elaborate on the issue?” Mike nods.
“Last night I found a very dangerous monster from my old world hiding in the library’s basement, A Golden Skulltula.” He said with a serious tone. “Twi, if you will, please show Princess Celestia and Captain Armor your sketch and description of the monster.” She nods and uses her magic to summon her notepad. “This particular monster may look harmless...” Twilight shows Celestia and Shining Armor the sketch of the Golden Skulltula, floating her notepad around with her magic. “But these monsters only appear when someone or somepony has been cursed by either making a deal with a Golden Skulltula or by stealing large amounts of money. The way the Skulltula curse happens isn’t truly known but there are multiple theories.” Mike states as Twilight copies her notes and gives them to Celestia then teleports her notepad away.
“I see, and what does this ‘Skulltula Curse’ entail for the afflicted?” Celestia says as she uses her magic to teleport the copy of Twilight’s notes to her study. “And what do we do to break the curse?”
“The curse alters the cursed individuals’ bodies making them become gross amalgamations of half Pony half Skulltula,” Mike explains making everypony gasp.
“What?” Fluttershy said shocked at what a single evil spider could do.
“Egh, really?!” Rainbow says grossed out.
“Eww,” Pinkie says thinking about the image of a pony spider.
“It makes the ponies turn into gross spiders?” Rarity says a little sick from that information. Shining Armor clears his throat catching everypony’s attention.
“And how do we break the curse and help those affected?” He says moving the conversation back to the matter at hand.
“It’s not easy, there are most likely One Hundred Golden Skulltulas around Equestria, and maybe even farther,” Mike says as he reaches behind himself and attempts to pull his Skulltula token from his inventory, but nothing happens. “Darn, I can’t show you up close but when destroyed, Gold Skulltulas leave behind a thin gold token in the shape of a skull, when we collect all One Hundred the curse will be fully broken.” Shining Armor hums in thought.
“You said ‘fully broken’, what does that mean?” He asked. Mike thinks for a moment.
“If I remember correctly, the first people cursed was a family of six.” Mike starts explaining. “A rich father and his five sons were cursed many years ago, the sons’ curses were broken every ten tokens collected until just the father was left cursed requiring the other fifty to be collected.”
“So we’re looking for a family of six then?” Celestia asks to which Mike shakes his head.
“Not exactly, there are two other cases of Gold Skulltula curses, and only one had a victim, a single guy looking for treasure,” Mike said making Celestia think. “It could be any number of ponies, we need to mount a search around Equestria to find the victim or victims.” Shining Armor nods.
“I agree, I’ll gather a small team of guards to go door by door looking for the affected parties.” He says thinking about who to send.
“I’ll let Luna know about the search for the afflicted when she wakes so she can use the realm of dreams to help look,” Celestia says using her magic to make a note to tell Luna later. “Now, Is there anything else we should know about these Gold Skulltulas?” Celestia asked prompting Mike to nod.
“Gold Skulltulas love to hide under things, in holes in walls, in crates, in decorative pots, and a fair number of them have a strange power to turn invisible during the day when outside in the open air.” He explains. “They’re gonna be pretty annoying to search for but there has never been more than one hundred at a time, thirty is the lowest curse there was, but that was all in one building.” Mike finishes and Shining Armor hums in thought.
“I’ll have to speak with the Captain of the Lunar Guards to help in the search then.” He said putting a hand on his chin in thought. “Anything else?” Mike shakes his head.
“Other than they make a very distinct and annoying sound, that’s it.” He said prompting Shining Armor to nod.
“Alright, as soon as I see the Captain of the Lunar Guard, I’ll talk to her.” He says making a mental note. “So, anything else we need to speak about the Golden Skulltulas?” Mike shakes his head again. “Alright then, I will take my leave and inform the Solar Guards about the situation.” Shining Armor bows, walks past the group, and exits the throne room. Celestia claps catching everypony’s attention.
“Alright, on to the next matter of business.” She stands from her throne. “Link, if you would join me in private to talk?” Mike nods, knowing what she wants. “Excelent, come here.” She stands a few feet in front of her throne and Mike lets go of Twilight’s hand to walk up in front of her. Celestia’s horn flashes and a soundproof bubble surrounds the two.
“Dark Link, now named Cole Macgrath, is no threat at this current time, his memory was wiped and he now believes we’re twins,” Mike states quickly.
“I see, are you sure he isn’t faking his memory loss?” Celestia asked to which Mike nodded.
“One hundred percent sure, the element of honesty even made sure.” Celestia breathes a sigh of relief. “Make sure to let Princess Luna know so she doesn’t straight-up attack him when she sees him.” Celestia nods with a smile and the bubble around the two pops.
“Alright, if that’s everything, shall we adjourn to the dining hall for some lunch?” She says with a smile. “I think that having a nice lunch will brighten our moods.” Everypony agrees and follows Celestia out of the throne room. Shining Armor taps Mike on the shoulder holding a notepad.
“Hey, Link, you mind helping me word the speech I’m going to give to my platoon about the Skulltulas.” He says stopping everypony’s walk to the dining hall. Mike’s mind races as several scenarios run through his mind.
“It’s alright, Link, we’ll wait for you in the dining hall,” Twilight says letting go of Mike’s hand. “Go help my brother, it shouldn’t take too long.” Mike fakes a smile and nods.
“Sure, Captain Armor, I’ll help ya with the speech.” He says nervously. “See y’all in a few minutes.” He waves as Tael flies over to Twilight’s shoulder and they leave for the dining hall leaving him and Shining Armor alone in the hallway. Mike slowly turns to face Shining Armor still holding the fake smile.
“Follow me, I know a better place to do this.” Shining Armor said with total seriousness in his voice. Mike nods and follows Shining Armor down a few corridors and outside into the Royal Guard training yard. Several Solar guards and a few Lunar Guards are training in the yard and stop when they spot Shining Armor.
“Hey, Captain, who’s the weirdo in the dress?” One of the Solar Guards say with a chuckle. Shining Armor stops in the center of the sparring field.
“You know why I brought you out here, Link, right?” Shining Armor asked without turning around to face Mike.
“I’m afraid I do,” Mike says nervously. “It’s about Twilight isn’t it?” Shining Armor turns around and nods. “Damn, I knew it.” Mike sighs. “Alright, how do I prove to you I’m good enough for her?” Shining Armor teleports his blank notepad away.
“You know how to use that equipment on your back?” He says as both Solar and Lunar Guards around the yard stop training and gather around the sparring field to watch. Mike nods dreading what comes next as Shining Armor summons two wooden swords, grabs them, and throws the one to Mike. “Prove it.” Mike catches the sword and pulls the Mirror Shield off his back as mini boss music starts and text appears at the bottom of his vision.
“You sure about this, I don’t think Twi would-” Mike is interrupted as Shining Armor rushes in and swings at Mike. “Shit!” Mike yells as he ducks the attack from Armor and tries to sweep his legs. Armor quickly jumps away avoiding the leg sweep. “Damn, well at least we aren’t using our real blades.” Mike quickly stands back up and readies himself for another attack.
“Come on, impress me.” Armor gestures for Mike to attack him. Mike, predicting a counter, rushes in and goes to swing but stops making Armor dodge nothing. “Huh?” Mike quickly dodges Armor’s counter by rolling around him quickly pulling off a back slice, throwing Armor to the ground for a moment. The Royal Guards boo as Mike readies himself again and chuckles.
“Didn’t think that would work!” Mike said with a chuckle. Armor picks himself off the ground and jumps away creating distance between them.
“Nice move, but I won’t let that happen again.” Armor says dusting himself off. “Come at me!” Mike thinks for a moment then shakes his head.
“No, we don’t have to do this, I don’t want to seriously hurt you,” Mike says trying to stop the fight. One of the Solar Guards laughs.
“You hear that, Captain, he said he doesn’t want to hurt you, you gonna let him make fun of you like that!?” The Solar Guard yells. Armor sneers at Mike and rushes in for an attack. Before he swings he stops and changes the direction of his attack catching Mike off guard and hitting his side sending him to the floor. Mike quickly crawls away and stands up.
“Too slow!” Armor shouts as he rushes in again and swings at Mike, but he quickly blocks the swing with his shield.
“Damn it, Armor.” Mike swiftly spins around and kicks Armor in the stomach, pushing him away. “We can still stop before this gets out of hand.” Armor holds his stomach and retreats to a safe distance.
“I will not allow somepony that can’t defend themself to be with my little sister!” Armor shouts. “Until you can prove to me you can defend yourself without a shadow of a doubt or you give up, we’re not stopping.” Armor rushes forward and swings at Mike who backsteps the attack.
“Woah!” Mike quickly counters with a spin attack hitting Armor’s offhand making him retreat and hold his arm in pain. “Come on, Armor, let’s stop this nonsense and talk this out, I know neither of us wants to do this.”
“Come on, Captain, knock him on his flank!” One of the Solar Guards yelled.
“Stop babying him and really let him have it!” A Lunar Guard shouted. Armor’s horn lit up and he summoned another wooden sword and grabbed it with his offhand.
“The time for talking is over, the time for action is now!” Armor shouts then rushes in with a double slash aimed at Mike’s legs. Mike backflips over the attack and puts his shield back on his back. When he lands Mike grabs Armor before he can retreat and uses his momentum to throw him back across the arena. Armor lands on his back, slowly stands up, and faces Mike ready to lunge again.
“I’m done, Armor,” Mike yells and tosses his wooden sword out of the arena, over the crowd of Royal Guards. “I love Twi too much to continue this stupid charade.” Armor chuckles.
“Oh, you love her do you?” Armor states not believing Mike, who puts a hand on his heart.
“With every fiber of my being,” He says honestly. “Her intellect, her quirkiness, her smile, she’s perfect and I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world.” Armor lowers his stance.
“If you truly loved her, you would do anything for her.” He gets ready to lunge again. “And that includes fighting me.” He rushes in and swings causing Mike to cover his face with his arms. The attack lands on Mike’s golden gauntlets. Armor continues his assault continuously hitting the Gauntlets and pushing Mike back with each attack. After several attacks, Mike, getting frustrated, grabs the swords stopping Armor’s assault.
“Enough!” Mike screams as he rips the swords from Armor’s grasp, kicking him away, and throws them out of the arena. “This is stupid, Armor, at this point, you’re not protecting your sister.” He says making Armor look even angrier. “You’re suffocating her.”
“How would you know?!” Armor yells. “Do you even know what it’s like to have a little sister?!” He draws his real blade from the scabbard on his hip. “Worrying about her every day I don’t hear from her.” He prepares to attack Mike. “Fearing the worst because I can’t just drop everything and go help her when she’s in trouble,” Mike growls in frustration.
“Feeling proud of her for adventuring out on her own and starting a life successfully.” Mike readies himself. “Having hope for her even if you can never see her again.” Armor rushes forward and slashes downward with Mike catching the sword with both hands. “And Despite hating her partner, wishing them the best of luck in their life together.” Armor lessens his force suddenly allowing Mike to push the blade to the side and throw Armor off balance. Letting go of the sword and quickly moving out of the way Mike makes Armor plunge his sword into the dirt and fall to the ground. Armor rolls over onto his back and looks up to see Mike standing over him, not with a blade to his throat but extending his arm to help him up with a serious look on his face. “I know exactly how you feel, Captain Armor, I was ripped away from my world involuntarily leaving my little sister behind.” Shining Armor lightens up and the music fades out.
“You have a little sister?” He asked and watched as Mike wiped a tear from his eye.
“Had...” Mike corrected him with sadness in his voice. “I had a little sister...”
“Oh, my Celestia.” Shining Armor grabs Mike’s arm and He helps Armor up to his feet. As Armor dusts himself off again Mike pulls Armor’s sword out of the ground and holds it out by the blade for Armor to take. He grabs it and puts it back in its scabbard.
“STOP!” A voice yells from behind the crowd of guards. Mike and Armor spot a furious Twilight pushing through the crowd of speechless Guards with a Pegasus Solar Guard following her. Mike smiles and breathes a sigh of relief.
“Hey, Twilight.” He says and waves at her.
“What on Equis are you doing, Shining Armor!” She yells as she gets between him and Mike. “Why are you fighting my Special Somepony?!” Shining Armor looks down and sighs.
“I thought I was doing what’s best for you.” He says then looks into his little sister’s rage-filled eyes. “But I see now, I was wrong.” Twilight calms down a bit.
“What?” She said confused.
“I’m sorry, Twily, for trying to control who you could and couldn’t date.” He looks down at the ground. “I realize now that in trying to make sure your special somepony here could protect you, I’ve gone too far.” He looks back up and smiles. “Link...” He looks Mike in the eyes. “I’m sorry for trying to intimidate you to leave my sister, take good care of her.” Mike nods and Twilight calms down more.
"You have my word." Mike salutes.
“Now go on you two, I gotta clean up before doing my speech for the guards." Twilight nods.
“Come on, Link, let’s go.” Mike chuckles and leaves with Twilight. Leaving Armor in the sparring yard with about twenty speechless Royal Guards around the yard. He clears his throat.
“Alright, the show’s over get back to training!” Armor shouts making the guards quickly run back to what they were doing before. Armor sighs and starts to walk toward the showers. “I’m sorry for your loss, Link...” He whispered to himself as he entered the small building.
=Canterlot Dining Hall= -Five Minutes Later-
“So your brother fought Link and lost to him?” Rainbow said impressed that Mike could hold his own against the Captain of the Solar Guard.
“So awesome,” Spike says, excited to train with Mike again. “I can’t wait until you teach me how to fight.”
“Geeze, Link, how did you manage to beat him?” Cole says with a smile as Mike finishes his salad.
“It wasn’t easy, Captain Armor is super strong and super fast, it felt like he broke a rib for a moment when he hit my side.” Mike chuckles. “He really tested my reflexes in that fight.” Mike stretches in his chair.
“I’d say so, Darling, he’s the Captain of the Solar Guard for a reason, none of the other guards can beat him in a sparing match.” Rarity states. “I’ve heard that even the Lunar Guard Captain can’t win against him.”
“Woah, that’s so cool,” Rainbow says then gets a dangerous idea. “Hey, Link, how about we spar again sometime soon?” Applejack chuckles.
“That was quick.” She says with a grin. Twilight clears her throat.
“Absolutely not, Rainbow, at least let Link have a few hours to recover before you go and start making plans to fight with him,” Twilight says a little mad. Rainbow chuckles.
“Don’t worry, Twilight, I didn’t mean today or even this week,” Rainbow explains. “I can wait for him to recover from his battle with Shining Armor.”
“Good.” Twilight states with a frown.
“Hey, how about we have a party to celebrate Linky’s victory against Shining Armor?” Pinkie says ready to throw a party as soon as possible.
“Sorry, Pinkie, but I wouldn't want to celebrate that in a million years,” Mike says with a chuckle. “Let's just leave it as is ok?” Pinkie deflates but nods in understanding. As everypony finishes their lunch, Twilight looks at the time and feigns a cough catching everypony’s attention.
“I think it’s time for us to get back to Ponyville, everypony has things to do later today and I wouldn’t want anypony to mess up their schedules too much,” Twilight says as she stands from the dining table. Celestia nods.
“That sounds like a good idea.” She waves over a guard standing near the dining hall door. “Please go get a chariot prepared for our guests to fly back to Ponyville.” The guard salutes and exits the room. Everypony other than Celestia stands from their seats but as soon as Mike stands up he grunts, holds his side in pain, and hisses.
“Ah, I knew that would start hurting sooner or later.” Twilight walks up to him and hugs him. “Woah, watch it, Twi, I’m a little tender right now.” She looks up and smiles.
“Here let me help you with that.” Her horn lights up and a feint purple glow surrounds Mike’s injured side. After a few seconds, the pain subsides completely.
“Wow, Twi, that feels so much better, you’re such a sweetheart.” He says then leans down and kisses her forehead getting giggles and awws from the girls, minus Rainbow. “Alright, we should get goin’.” Mike points to the door as the guard returns and hands Celestia a note. She reads the note and then puts it away.
“Your chariot is ready my little ponies, I have to get back to day court so I can’t walk you out, have a safe trip back to Ponyville.” She stands up, waves goodbye, and exits the room and A Pegasi Solar Guard enters the room. They take their helmet off breaking the magic enchantment disguising them. They have Golden hair, blue eyes, and a light orange coat.
“Woah, so it’s true that Royal Guards have enchanted armor that disguises their true colors,” Mike says as Twilight waves to the guard.
“Thanks again, Blitzy Shield, for coming and telling me what my brother was doing.” Twilight thanks the Guard.
“No problem, Twilight, I always look out for my friends.” Blitzy Shield says with a feminine voice then shakes her head letting her golden mane flow unrestricted by the helmet. “Even if we haven’t spoken or seen each other in a while.” She says with a smile. “So, Twilight, got yourself a stallion eh?” She chuckles.
“Well, actually I’m not a stallion, I’m a Hylian.” Mike corrects Blitzy. “Not much of a difference, but enough to point it out.” Blitzy looks Mike over and hums.
“Anypony who can hold their own against Captain Armor is a real catch, doesn’t matter what you are.” She says a little sultry. “Keep an eye on this one, Twilight, who knows who might try and steal ‘em from you if word gets out that he can go blade to blade with Captain Armor.” She chuckles. “Anyway, follow me everypony, I’ll take you to your chariot.” She puts her helmet back on and leads the group of ten out of the dining hall. Mike whispers into Twilight’s ear.
“Don’t worry, Twi, you’re the only mare for me.” Making her blush. The group exited the castle and a chariot with a Unicorn Solar Guard sitting in the driver’s seat, already waiting for them. Blitzy Shield opens the chariot door.
“Hop in, Corporal Silver Sword and I will get you guys back to Ponyville in no time.” She says with a smile. The group enters the chariot and Blitzy closes the door. “We’re good to go Silver!” She says as she flies up and into the passenger seat. “To Ponyville and fast.” Silver Sword nods and whips the reins without a word, getting the pegasus horses to flap their wings and start to pull the chariot. The chariot lifts off and heads straight toward Ponyville.
“Hope you visit Canterlot again soon, Twilight,” Blitzy Shield says as Silver Sword whips the reins of the royal chariot making it start to pull away after dropping off the group of ten. “And let me know next time so we can catch up!” Mike and Twilight wave as the Chariot lifts off the ground and heads toward Canterlot.
“I will, Blitzy, thanks again!” Twilight shouts with a smile then she and Mike turn back to the others. “Alright now that our business in Canterlot is taken care of, I know you gals had some important things to do so don’t let us hold you any longer,” Twilight said with a smile. Rainbow flexes her wings and stretches.
“Good ‘cause I gotta get to work, there’s a light shower scheduled for later tonight and I’m in charge so I’ll catch you guys later.” She waves and then shoots into the sky flying off toward the weather center.
“I need to head home to feed my animals,” Fluttershy said gently. “Angel gets a bit cranky when his lunch is late.” She waves and turns to leave but before she could leave Cole spoke up.
“Um excuse me... Miss Fluttershy?” He said, making her look back towards him cautiously. “May I accompany you, I’d like to see what animals you’re caring for, if you don’t mind of course.” He asked politely. Fluttershy hides behind her mane a little but after a few moments, she nods. “Thank you, I promise you won’t regret accepting my request.” Rarity giggles.
“My what a gentle stallion.” She said with a smile. “As much as I would love to see how Fluttershy’s animals will react to meeting you, Mr. Macgrath, I have to return to my shop,” She turns away from the group. “There’s an order that needs to be finished before tomorrow morning, so tata for now.” Rarity waves and leaves heading for her boutique.
“Well, Miss Fluttershy, lead the way,” Cole says with a polite bow prompting Fluttershy to walk toward her home with Cole following closely behind. “Meet you guys back at the library later.” He says with a wave.
“Welp, reckon I need to get back to the farm, it’s my job to feed the animals today, see y’all later.” Applejack tips her hat then walks toward the farm but stops after a few seconds. “You know, you still have a job waiting for ya at the farm, Link.” She turned around and looked into Mike’s eyes. “If you’re still up for it.” Without hesitation, He nodded making Applejack smile, nod, then turn away continuing to walk toward the farm. Pinkie gasps as she remembers what she had to do today.
“I just remembered, I gotta get back to SugarCube Corner, Mr. And Mrs. Cake are having a sale today and I’m on customer duty, see ya later!” Pinkie says quickly as she sprints away toward the gingerbread building leaving behind a pink smoke silhouette where she was just standing.
“Well, that just leaves us four,” Twilight said as she gently grabbed Mike’s hand and looked up at him with a smile. “What do you want to do, Link?” She asked. “We have nothing important to do for the rest of the day.” Mike thinks for a moment then spots a big flashy flier on a building right next to them. Mike, still holding Twilight’s hand, leads the group closer to the flier to read it better.
“Come one and all to The Great And Powerful Trixie Lulamoon’s Amazing Magic Show, the magic begins at Seven PM,” Mike reads out loud. “Huh, you three feel like watching a magic show?” Tael giggles.
“Magic show? Sounds like fun, I’ll go.” She said with a smile. Twilight hummed in though.
“Huh, a Magic Show? How much are the tickets?” Twilight asked to which Mike inspected the flier more.
“It says here anypony can come and watch but I’m sure you can tip, she’s gotta make a living somehow,” Mike says as he mentally notes where the show will take place. “But it’s up to you if you wanna go or not.” Twilight smiles.
“Well if you want to go, I’ll go with you.” She looks down at Spike. “How about you, Spike?” He shakes his head.
“Na, I’m kinda tired after that long chariot ride, I’m gonna head home and take a nap,” He said with a yawn. “You guys go enjoy the magic show.” Spike waves and walks home.
“Well that settles it, so what should we do while we wait until show time?” Mike asked the two girls in the group of three.
“We could go back to the library and study that tunic,” Twilight suggested. “Or we could read some books.” Mike thinks for a moment, then gets an idea.
“Say... How would you two like to go on a little adventure with me?” Mike says gaining the girls’ interest. “Hear me out, I want to venture into the Everfree Forest to explore its trails and see what I can find.” Twilight quickly gained a worried look.
“What do you mean you want to go into the Everfree Forest, you were attacked by monsters from there only a week ago,” Twilight questioned. “Are you crazy?” Twilight squeezes Mike’s hand concerned.
“Maybe a little...” Mike said quietly then he cleared his throat. “Anyway, I don’t want to spend a long time in there just an hour or two.”
“Why though?” Tael said curiously.
“I’ve heard rumors there’s a master potion brewer or shaman of sorts living somewhere in the forest and they can make all kinds of potions and solutions, some for healing, others for curse lifting, or hex breaking.” He said making Twilight think of finding the master potion brewer to learn from them.
“But what about the monsters that call the Everfree Forest their home?” She asked to which Mike thinks for a moment.
“How about this, we follow the clear paths in the forest and at the first encounter with anything dangerous, you can teleport us out with zero complaints from me.” He said with confidence. Twilight sighs and then nods.
“Alright, but you better be serious about not complaining when I teleport us home.” She said making Mike chuckle nervously. “Before we go, let’s stop by the library so I can grab us a snack in case we get hungry during our ‘little adventure’.” She said with air quotes to which Mike nodded and they walked out of the town square and toward the library.
=Just Outside The Everfree Forest= -A Few Minutes Later-
“Are you sure about this, Link?” Twight said a little scared at what awaits them inside the Everfree Forest. Mike lifts his and Twilight’s clasped hands and looks into her eyes.
“One hundred percent sure, but if you sense any danger let go of my hand and prepare the teleportation spell.” He says with confidence, putting Twilight’s mind at ease. “When you’re preparing the spell I’ll protect us from whatever might appear with everything I have, trust me.” Twilight breathes a sigh of relief and smiles.
“Alright, then there’s no time like the present, let’s go.” She said making the two of them enter the forest with Tael flying into Mike’s hat to stay safe and heal him if worse came to worst.
As they enter the Everfree, the tree coverage gets thicker making the area darken around them as they go deeper into the forest. A few minutes into the forest a blueish-light fog surrounds the two, making it a bit harder to see far distances.
“Huh, that’s strange...” Mike says as he and Twilight look around the immediate area noticing the difference in tree coverage and ambiance. “Does the Everfree Forest look a bit different than before to you too, Twilight?”
“Yeah, this fog wasn’t here before... And these trees weren’t here when the girls and I were here a few weeks ago.” They stop by a light-colored tree as opposed to the dark-colored trees of the Everfree. “This tree looks like it would fit more in the Whitetail Woods than the Everfree Forest.” Twilight puts her free hand on the tree and channels magic through it.
“Can you feel any differences?” Mike asked curiously to which Twilight nodded.
“This strange tree seems to be emanating a completely foreign form of magic.” She states a little confused.
“What do you mean?” Mike says a bit confused.
“As I’ve told you before, all living things in Equestria contain magic, even if only a small amount of it.” Mike nods as she starts explaining. “The trees of the Everfree give off a faint trace of a particular and forbidden type of magic, chaos magic.” She puts her hand down and closes her eyes to think. “But I’ve never felt this magic before.” Mike hums in thought for a moment.
“Do you wanna check another one of these trees to confirm it’s not just a fluke?” Mike said making Twilight nod. “Ok, how about you focus more magic this time, I’ll keep watch.” Mike hesitantly lets go of Twilight’s hand and draws his weaponry. “There’s another one of these trees over there.” He points a little ways away with his sword.
“Ok, I’ll be quick.” Twilight quickly walks over to the other light-colored tree and puts both hands and her horn on the tree. Mike walks up behind Twilight and turns away weapons ready to defend her as she starts channeling magic through the tree studying it.
“Michael, I felt Hyrulian magic coming from the tree you two were just investigating,” Tael says telepathically to Mike making him gasp in surprise.
“Wait really?!” Mike shouts astonished making Twilight lose her concentration at the sudden loud noise.
“Why are you shouting, Link, what’s going on?” Twilight says a little annoyed and confused. “You scared me half to death.” Mike chuckles embarrassed.
“Sorry ‘bout that, Twi.” He apologized. “Tael just told me she felt the magic from my world in the trees we’re investigating.” Twilight gasps and quickly returns to Mike’s side as Tael flies out of his hat.
“Tael, are you sure?” Twilight asked making Tael nod.
“I am, It’s not as easy for me to feel the magic of living things like you can, Twilight, but what I can feel seems identical to the magic Link and I can use.” She explained. “I can also feel a large cluster of magic a little ways away off the trail, would you like me to lead you there?” She asked making Twilight think for a moment.
“A large cluster of Hyrulian magic... I wonder what it is.” Mike said half expecting a large cluster of weird trees. “I’m game if you are, Twi.” After a few moments of mulling it over, Twilight nods.
“As long as we quickly return to the trail after we find the cause of the cluster of magic, we can go.” She said and held her hand up for Mike to hold. Mike quickly put away his armaments and held onto Twilight’s hand.
“Alrighty, follow me to the magic cluster!” Tael said excitedly. Only about a fifteen-second walk from the trail, the trio finds a large brown boulder in the middle of a small clearing in the forest. “Huh... I can feel the cluster of magic coming from around here, but there’s only a big rock.” Tael said confused.
“Maybe the magic is coming from it?” Twilight suggested prompting Tael to fly around the boulder feeling for the magic. She slowly scans the boulder from top to bottom stopping on the ground.
“Find anything?” Mike said making Tael fly back to the two and land on Twilight’s shoulder.
“It feels like the magic is coming from under the rock,” Tael said confusing Twilight.
“The magic is coming from under the boulder?” She said trying to understand what Tael meant. Mike lets go of Twilight’s hand and reaches under his shield.
“Cover your ears and stand back,” Mike said with a smile. Twilight backs away a little, still confused about what Tael said, as Mike pulls a lit bomb from under his shield and expertly rolls it like a bowling ball. The bomb slows to a stop right next to the boulder. “Fire in the hole!” Everypony covers their ears right before the bomb flashes red and explodes destroying the boulder and revealing a hole where the boulder just was. “Booyah!” Mike laughed.
“What in Celestia’s name was that!” Twilight shouted as everypony uncovered their ears. “That was extremely dangerous, you could’ve gotten hurt!” She said as she stomped over to Mike.
“Whoa I’m sorry, Twi, please calm down,” Mike said with a scared look on his face. “Look-” He pointed over to the newly revealed hole in the ground. “-the boulder was covering a hole, or hidden grotto from where I’m from, I’m sure the cluster of magic will be down there.” Twilight looked the man in the eyes for what felt like forever then closed her eyes and sighed.
“Next time you think about doing something like that, ask me before you endanger yourself or others, okay?” She asked making Mike sigh and look down.
“You’re right, I should’ve said more than what I did, I’m sorry, Twilight.” He said with all seriousness. “You have my word, I’ll ask you before using any dangerous items from my inventory.” Twilight smiled and hugged the man.
“Thank you for understanding.” She said making Mike smile and return the hug. Breaking off the hug Twilight walked over to the hole with Mike following right after. “How deep do you think this hidden grotto, as you called it, is?” She said peering into the nearly pitch-black opening.
“We could use a Deku stick, I’ve got no real use for them,” Mike suggests. “They’re a special stick from my world that act like torches when lit, even without a rag or whatever on it, but after about ten seconds they burn away to nothing.” Twilight nods and Mike reaches behind his shield and pulls out a Deku Stick, a long near straight tree branch almost as long as the Master sword.
↑A Deku Stick↑
“Alright Light it up.” Mike holds the stick vertically over the grotto and Twilight’s horn lights up. She creates sparks right at the tip of the stick and it lights up.
“There we go, quick drop it,” Twilight says making Mike nod and drop the stick. It plummets into the hidden grotto about two stories down and lands on a stone-like floor. “That’s pretty far down.” Mike thinks for a moment then gets an idea.
“Do you trust me?” Mike said making Twilight look at him confused. “I can make it if I drop down carefully, then I’ll catch you, do you trust me?” Mike said making Twilight think for a moment.
“Are you sure you can fall that far without getting hurt?” Twilight asked very concerned for Mike’s ankles. “I don’t know what I’d do if you-” Mike cuts her off by putting a finger to her lips and shushing her.
“I know I can make the fall, I’ve fallen from higher places before and didn’t hurt myself,” Mike said with full confidence, putting Twilight’s mind a little at ease. “What I’m asking is if you trust me to catch you or if you want to float yourself down with magic.” He said making Twilight think for a moment before nodding.
“If you’re sure you can do it, catch me.” She said making Mike nod and crouch down.
“I’ll yell up when I’m ready to catch you, here goes nothin’,” Mike said then dropped into the grotto. He tucked his arms and legs in during his fall, preparing to roll when he hit the ground. “Game mechanics don’t fail me now.” He shifted his weight forward and rolled as he landed, preventing any fall damage he would’ve taken. Breathing heavily, Mike stood up and brushed himself off.
“Are you alright?!” Twilight shouted into the grotto, and after a few seconds, Mike stood over where the Deku stick landed and gave her a thumbs up. “Thank Celestia.” Mike gets in position to catch Twilight.
“Jump, I got ya!” Mike shouts up to Twilight, She sighs then bravely jumps down the hole. Mike perfectly catches Twilight, princess style. “See, I told you I’d catch you.” He chuckled, turned around toward the large room in the grotto, and let Twilight down onto her hooves.
“Oh wow, what is this place it’s beautiful,” Twilight says as they all look in awe at what is inside the hidden grotto. An intricate room-sized sparkling water fountain with pink fairies flying around just above the water.
↑A Fairy Fountain↑
“A Fairy Fountain!?” Mike said surprised.
“Huh, what’s a Fairy Fountain?” Twilight asked to which Tael elaborated.
“This is a rare structure found around our old world usually underground, a Fairy Fountain.” She started as Mike and Twilight walked closer to the fountain. “This is a place where Fairy Spirits live, a recovery type of fairy, different from me, a companion fairy, or the Great Fairies.” Mike walks into the fountain and reaches under his shield.
“What are you doing, Link?” Twilight asked as Mike pulled out an empty bottle, ready to catch a Fairy.
“Getting some free life insurance.” Mike quickly said confusing Twilight. Seeing the confusion on Twilight’s muzzle, Tael explains what Mike meant.
“Fairy Spirits, when contained in a bottle, will revive anypony when they suffer... For lack of a better word, death by any unnatural means,” Tael explained making Twilight gasp.
“They possess magic that powerful?!” She said astonished. Tael nodded and continued.
“They can also heal any physical injuries when released from the bottle early or simply touched while still in the fountain.” Mike slowly approached a stray flying fairy, once close enough he swung his bottle catching it and making his body suddenly move on its own.
After he regained control over his body, he sighed, put the bottle away, and walked back to Twilight and Tael.
“Tael told me about what those fairies are capable of,” Twilight said with a worried look. “I sincerely hope you’re not planning on having to use that fairy you just caught anytime soon.” Mike, fully understanding her concern, walked up to Twilight and hugged her.
“You have nothing to worry about, Twi.” He said softly as she returned the hug. “I would never even think about intentionally doing something dangerous enough to warrant using a Fairy.” He lifted her head gently and looked deep into her eyes. “I love you too much to put you through that, you have my word.” He said sincerely making Twilight tear up.
“That’s all I wanted to hear.” She said with a smile leading Mike into a kiss.
“My my, a deep hole in the forest floor, this I must investigate for sure.” A voice calls out from the entrance of the Fairy Fountain. Mike and Twilight pull away from their kiss and turn towards the entrance spotting a cloaked figure dropping into the Fairy Fountain. The figure lands in a crouched position, stands up, and spots the trio next to the fountain. “It seems I am not the first to discover this place, I am Zecora, what is this fountain of beauty and grace?” Zecora lowers her hood revealing herself to be an anthro zebra with a braided mohawk, several neck rings, and big hoop earrings.
“Just the shaman I was looking for,” Mike thought to himself with a smile. “Salutations, Zecora.” He separates from Twilight to walk up to Zecora with Twilight following behind. “Allow me to introduce ourselves, my name is Link.” Twilight stands next to Mike and holds his hand as he points to her with his free hand. “This is my special somepony, Twilight Sparkle.” She waves with a smile as Mike points to Tael sitting on Twilight’s shoulder. “And this is my fairy companion Tael.” Tael waves and smiles as Mike points behind the three at the fountain. “And to answer your question, that’s called a Fairy Fountain, a secluded and hidden landmark from my old world.” Zecora hums intrigued by Mike’s words.
“Your old world you say?” She said as she crossed her arms in thought. “Then may I ask, what brought you all this way?” She asked curiously.
“That’s not exactly easy to explain, but can we exit this grotto and talk above ground?” Mike said not wanting any Fairy Spirits to stray over to the group and waste their healing powers. “A super Long conversation in a random hole in the middle of the Everfree Forest probably isn’t a smart idea.” Zecora nods.
“Very well, once we are on the road I shall lead you to my forest abode.” She says with a smile. As they start to leave the fountain, Twilight realizes something.
“Wait, how do we get out of here?” She asks to which Mike lets go of her hand and quickly walks up to a raised section of stone directly under the hole.
“Easy, all you have to do is stand on this raised part of the ground and dormant magic in it will lift you out of the hole, let me show you.” He stands in the middle of the raised platform and wind starts to surround him quickly lifting him into the air and out of the hole. Being tossed out of the grotto by the wind, He lands outside right next to the grotto and looks back down. “Safe and sound, come on up one at a time, it’s safe.” Twilight and Zecora both look shocked that simple magic was able to lift a full-grown adult with heavy equipment two stories into the air safely.
“Don’t think about it too much,” Tael says snapping Twilight and Zecora out of their shock. “The magic from our old world tends to be a little weird and specific sometimes.” She says with a smile.
“If you say so, Tael,” Twilight says as she steps forward and onto the raised platform. Wind surrounds her and lifts her into the air. “Whoa!” She exclaimed as the wind shot her out the hole in the ground. She lands on the ground safely and breathes a sigh of relief. “That was pretty exhilarating, I kind of want to study that magic and see if it has any limits.” Zecora quickly steps onto the raised platform and is lifted out of the hole without any issue. After everypony is out of the grotto, Zecora leads the group back to the forest road.
“Follow me, my home is not far, but we must make haste so my ingredients do not mar,” Zecora says speed walking down the forest path with Mike and Twilight keeping pace behind her.
“So, Zecora why do you live out here in the Everfree Forest?” Twilight asked making Zecora slow down a little.
“The Everfree is filled with a multitude of medicinal herbs, animals, and insects that allow me to brew many potions,” Zecora says as she quickly veers off the path picks a few mushrooms and puts them in her cloak. “I mainly make all kinds of cures for many ailments or aromas for warding away beasts but I also make exfoliating lotions.” She returns to the path and continues speed walking down the path. Mike huffs getting a bit exhausted with the constant speed walking.
“How much longer till we get to your home?” He says hoping for a short answer.
“Only a few minutes left, having trouble lugging around all that heft?” Zecora says with a chuckle. Mike rolled his eyes as the group continued down the winding path deeper into the Everfree Forest.
=Zecora’s Tree Home= -Three Minutes Later-
Mike, Twilight, and Tael all gasp as they walk up to a large tree with several masks and bottles lying around and hanging from branches. Zecora opens her front door and gestures for the group to enter.
“Welcome to my home, come and relax, and feel free to roam,” Zecora says as the trio enters her home. Around the main room are several shelves of potions, ingredients, masks, and bottles full of mysterious things.
“Nice place you got here, Zecora,” Mike said looking around for somewhere to sit. “Nice to know we’re not the only ones living inside a tree.” Failing to find a seat Mike leans against a wall near the back of the room.
“So, Zecora, what do you have brewing in that big cauldron in the center of the room?” Twilight asked very intrigued at the green bubbling liquid. Zecora takes off and hangs her cloak up revealing she’s wearing cloth wrappings covering her lower body like a skirt, a separate cloth wrapping covering her breasts, and several rings on her wrists and legs, leaving barely anything to the imagination.
“Oh, that’s the concoction I use to keep the monsters of the everfree away from my home.” Zecora grabs a small cloth bag from her hip and tosses a few herbs from the bag into the cauldron. “It wards away all the big beasts from the mighty manticore to vicious timber wolves, the recipe is over in that Tome.” Zecora points to a green book labeled ‘Super Naturals’ on a table next to Twilight making her pick it up and look through it. Zecora grabs a large wooden dowel and sturs the cauldron. “While I have extra hands, Link, could you pass me that bottle with the Star Spider in it, It is the last ingredient I need.” Mike looks around near himself and spots an out-of-place bottle containing a Deep Blue spider with a light blue star on its abdomen.
“This one?” Mike said as he pointed to the bottle to which Zecora nodded.
“That is it, grab it then hand it to me and I will finish this brew indeed.” She said with a smile. Mike reached for the familiarly shaped bottle and as soon as he grabbed it he lost control of his body. The bottle vanishes, Mike turns toward the center of the room and raises his hands up and the bottle appears floating above his hands with a familiar fanfare. Twilight looks up from the book she was reading and Zecora slows down her stirring to look confused at Mike. Mike blinks away a text box and the bottle disappears into his inventory. He regains control of his body, sighs, reaches behind himself, and pulls the bottle with the Spider back out of his inventory. “What was all that about, something unique to your situation no doubt.” Zecora rhymed.
“Sorry about that, Every time I retrieve something from my old world, or something important like currency, my body likes to move on its own and produce music from nowhere, it happens more often than you might think,” Mike explained as he reached behind him and pulled out his bottle containing a fairy spirit. “This bottle is identical to the one I already had.” He holds both bottles up next to each other showing their identical to one another minus the contents. “And with that music and body movement that means this bottle with the spider is from my old world without a doubt.” He puts the bottle with the fairy away, walks over to Zecora, and hands her the bottle with the Star Spider.
“Ah, that explains a lot.” Zecora quickly opens the bottle and dunks it in the cauldron for a second filling the bottle with the concoction dissolving the spider silk allowing her to easily empty the bottle into the brew. “While exploring the Everfree a few moons ago I randomly found this bottle sitting on a stump filled with rot.” Zecora stirs the brew and the liquid glows for a few seconds and then the liquid changes color to a light blue. “Success, my beast ward is finished brewing!” Zecora smiles and sets the bottle down on a table with multiple tools meant for cleaning bottles. “Now for the renewing.” She grabs a large enchanted bottle and begins to carefully empty the cauldron into it.
“So how do you utilize the beast ward, do you pour the liquid around your home?” Twilight asked curiously. Zecora shakes her head as she finishes bottling the beast ward.
“I need only hang the bottle outside letting its scent permeate the surrounding area.” She says while heading to leave her home prompting Twilight to set the Super Naturals book down and follow her with Mike right behind them. “One sniff of this brew turns away any beast big or small with mild hysteria.” Zecora takes a different enchanted bottle out of a rope harness and replaces it with the beast ward.
“So you just leave it up there and the aroma spreads over the area?” Mike asked to which Zecora nodded as she poured out a viscous dark blue liquid out of the older bottle. Several bugs fall out of the bottle too, continuing to drink the liquid after landing.
“Eww, what is that?” Tael asked with disgust in her voice. Zecora motions for the group to return to her home.
“That my winged friend was an old brew of my beast ward.” She says as she walks over to the cleaning table and cleans both the old ward bottle and Mike’s bottle. “Some insects are attracted to its aroma and drink it up like a rotten gourd.” She explained. She finishes cleaning the two bottles but before she hands his bottle back to him she lays the enchanted bottle down on a shelf and grabs a different bottle with red liquid inside it. “Here, let me give you a gift for not being afraid of me on sight like the other pony folk.” She says as she pours the red liquid into Mike’s bottle and corks it.
“Wait, the other pony folk, do you mean the ponies of Ponyville are afraid of you?” Twilight asked in disbelief making Zecora nod.
“Yes, Twilight, It is why when we first met I was wearing my cloak,” Zecora admits with a little sadness in her voice. “Whenever I enter Ponyville all of the pony folk seem to vanish, I only wish to purchase the ingredients not native to the Everfree, is that too outlandish?” Twilight thinks for a moment.
“How about you come with us to Ponyville so we can ease everypony’s mind about you.” She suggests. “Show them firsthand there’s nothing to be afraid of.” She says confidently making Zecora nod and smile.
“That would be lovely, but I have important errands today.” Zecora sets the empty bottle she was holding and hands Mike’s bottle back to him. “The Everfree seems to expand every ten or so days so I must go out and survey.” Zecora grabs her cloak and stands next to her door prompting Mike and Twilight to start to leave.
“Wait, the Everfree Forest is expanding?” Twilight asked. “That must explain why there are trees that weren’t here before.” Zecora nods.
“You are correct, but that’s not the only thing that has changed I suspect,” Zecora said as the group exited her home.
“Well it was nice to meet you, Zecora, when you come to Ponyville again come to the library, it’s a large purplish tree near the middle of town that can be seen from the edge of the everfree,” Mike said prompting Zecora to nod and smile.
“I’ll make sure to remember that, I’ll stop by when I am able to chat.” Zecora waves as the trio says goodbye and follows the winding road back to Ponyville. Mike puts away his new bottle and grabs Twilight’s hand.
“So we have about two and a half hours until the magic show starts, wanna head home and read a bit?” Mike suggested to which Twilight nodded.
“Sounds good, I know just the book to read, Daring Do And The Griffon’s Goblet.” She said with a smile.
=Ponyville Town Square= -6:55 PM-
“See, told ya we’d make it on time,” Mike said as Twilight, Tael, and himself arrived at the town square early to ensure they got a good spot to watch the show. There’s a large number of ponies gathered of all ages to watch the magic show.
“Hey look who’s here,” Twilight said as she spotted Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Applebloom, and Cole in the crowd near the stage. “Hey, you five came to see the show too?” She asked with a smile as the trio met up with the others.
“Why yes, Darling, I finished my order early and it sounded delightful on the flier so I decided to come and watch,” Rarity said with a smile. “If only my sister Sweetie Belle were here though, she’d love to watch the magic show.” She said with a sigh.
“Why couldn’t she come?” Mike asked curiously.
“She’s currently with our parents in Manehattan at the moment, but she’ll be moving here soon.” Rarity explained. Applejack chuckled and rustled Applebloom’s hair.
“Applebloom here saw the flier and wanted to see it so she asked me to come with her,” Applejack said to which Applebloom nodded.
“Yeah, a magic show sounded fun to watch so I finished my chores early.” She said excitedly making Applejack chuckle.
“I saw the flier on the way back to the library and thought, why not, it’s a good way to learn about the magic of this world,” Cole said honestly. Rainbow grunted kind of annoyed.
“I overheard two colts talking about how the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’ is the most magical unicorn to ever exist and I had to come and see for myself if that’s true.” She said with a frown. “Knowing those two, it probably isn’t.” Mike goes to speak but some carnival-style music starts playing.
“Come one come all, come and witness the amazing magic of the great and powerful, Trixie!” A voice announces as the stage expands. A large puff of sparkly smoke covers the stage and slowly dissipates revealing a light blue unicorn wearing a showman’s ensemble alongside a sparkly hat and cape. “Watch in awe as the great and powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats ever seen by pony eyes!” She proclaims as she poses and fireworks go off behind her.
“My, my, my, what boasting.” Rarity said a little put off by Trixie’s mannerisms.
“There’s nothing wrong with being talented, is there?” Twilight asked a little worried.
“Nothin’ at all, ‘sept when somepony goes around showin’ it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons,” Applejack explained.
“Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic, does not make one better than the rest of us.” Rarity said a little frustrated. Rainbow chuckles.
“Especially when you got me around being better than the rest of us.” She said to which Applejack gave her a disapproving look. “Ehg, I mean, yeah uh magic shmagic boo~.” She quickly changed her tone.
“Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience,” Trixie said a little frustrated. “Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical abilities of the great and powerful Trixie!?” She asked. “Do they not know that they are in the presence of the most magical Unicorn in all of Equestria!” She shouted to which Rarity scoffed.
“Just who does she think she is?” Rarity said finding Trixie’s boasting harder and harder to stomach. Rainbow grunts in frustration and flies onto the stage.
“So, ‘Great and powerful Trixie’ what makes you think you’re so awesome anyway?” She questioned.
“Why only the great and powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish a dreaded Ursa Major!” She confidently lied and used magic to make a crude image of an Ursa Major appear over the stage. The crowd gasped and murmured. “When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had nopony to turn to,” A small image of Trixie appeared next to the Ursa Major. “But the great and powerful Trixie stepped in and with her awesome magic vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to its cave, deep within the Everfree Forest!” The crowd cheered as Rainbow returned to the crowd and two colts ran to the stage.
“That settles it, Trixie truly is the most talented, most magical, most awesome unicorn in Ponyville.” The taller off-orange one with a green mane and tail said.
“No, in all of Equestria!” The shorter blue-ish green one with an orange mane and tail said making Trixie giggle.
“It’s true my enthusiastic little admirers, Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville.” She boasted to which the crowd quieted down. “Don’t believe the great and powerful Trixie?” She said quickly with a giggle. “Well then, I hereby challenge you Ponyvillians, anything you can do, I can do better.” She says raising her head confidently. “Any takers, anypony?” No one speaks up. “Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine to ever live!” She uses magic to fire off more fireworks. After a few moments of stunned silence, Trixie looks around the crowd. “How about you!” She points at Applejack shocking the group of friends. “Well, little hayseed?” She mocks.
“That’s it, I can’t stand for no more of this,” Applejack shouts as she climbs onto the stage. Mike chuckles.
“You got this, Boss, show her what you got!” He encourages Applejack.
“Can your magical powers do this?!” She shouts as she takes the lasso from her belt and does a bunch of stunts without breaking a sweat and lassoes an apple from a nearby tree and catches it flawlessly. The crowd cheers as Applejack chuckles. “Top that, missy.”
“Oh, ye of little talent, watch and be amazed a the magic of Trixie,” Trixie says as her horn lights up and a nearby length of rope starts to slither like a snake and dance around Applejack. After a few moments it grabs an apple of the nearby tree, quickly hogties Applejack, and stuffs the apple into her mouth like a stuffed pig making the crowd laugh. “Once again the great and powerful Trixie prevails.” She says with a cocky smile as Applejack unties herself and leaves the stage embarrassed. Rainbow flies up to Trixie again.
“There’s no need to go struttin’ around showing off like that!” She shouts making Trixie raise an eyebrow. “That’s my job.” Rainbow quickly flies off super fast into the sky and through several clouds posing mid-flight then divebombing the stage and flying through the same clouds making rain fall behind her, following her tailwind. She then stopped on a dime on the stage and let the rain hit her making a rainbow appear above her stylishly. “They don’t call me Rainbow and Dash for nothing,” She said confidently making the crowd cheer.
“When Trixie is through with you, the only thing they’ll call you is ‘loser’,” Trixie said as she used magic to make the rainbow above Rainbow Dash spin around her like a tornado and spin her around uncontrollably. After a few moments, the rainbow tornado disappears leaving Rainbow Dash on her back with her eyes spinning.
“I... I think... I’m gonna be sick...” Rainbow spits out trying not to hurl.
“Seems like anypony with a ‘dash’ of good sense would think twice before tussling with the great and powerful Trixie,” Trixie said as Applejack helped Rainbow to her feet.
“Maybe we need another unicorn to challenge her and teach this mean unicorn what for,” Applebloom suggested angry that her sister was made fun of.
“Yeah, a unicorn could show this unicorn who’s boss,” Rainbow shouts agreeing with Applebloom.
“A real unicorn to unicorn tussle, nice idea AB.” Applejack hoots and hugs her sister. Rarity steps forward.
“Enough, enough all of you, I take your hints, but Rarity is above such nonsense.” Rarity says quickly. “Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace.” She says holding her head up high.
“Ooo~ what’s the matter, afraid you’ll get a hair out of place in that rat’s nest you call a mane?” Trixie mocks making Rarity gain a furious look.
“Oh, it is on!” She shouts and climbs the stage. “You may think you’re tough with your so-called powers, but there’s more to magic than your brutish ways.” She says while circling Trixie. “A Unicorn needs to be more than just muscle.” She lights her horn and takes the curtain off the stage, it surrounds Rarity and in a flash of light turns into a beautiful dress. “A unicorn needs to have style, a unicorn is not a unicorn without grace and beauty.” She finishes. Trixie grins as her horn lights up and magic surrounds Rarity’s mane. Seconds later the crowd gasps. “Quick I need a mirror!” Rarity screams fearing the worst. “What did she do to my Mane? I know she did something terrible to my Mane.” Thinking quickly, Twilight teleports a mirror to Rarity who grabs it and checks her Mane. Upon seeing the puke-green nest of hair sitting atop her head she faints, quickly being caught by Applejack and taken off the stage.
“You gonna show this show off true magical power, Twi?” Mike says making Twilight look a little apprehensive. “Our friends won’t think any less of you if you do, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.” Twilight looks down running several scenarios through her head.
“So you think you’re better than the Great and Powerful Trixie?!” Trixie says pointing over to Twilight making her recoil away. “Why don’t you show us?” She instigates. “Why don’t you show us all your power?” She chuckles. Twilight lets go of Mike’s hand and backs away.
“Who me? No, I’m just your run of the mill Ponyville citizen, no powerful magic here.” She feigns a smile. “Oh look at the time I think my laundry is calling me.” She runs off toward the Library. Mike watches Twilight run away then looks back at Trixie who is smiling triumphantly. Mike grunts in frustration and runs after Twilight.
“I could wipe the floor with her, but I can’t just let all of Ponyville know the powerful magic contained in my Ocarina, they’d ostracize me for sure.” Mike thought to himself. “I’m gonna have to do Spike’s job and get those two Colts to bring the Ursa Minor into town and show off Twilight’s power, gotta let this go semi-canon for a little while.” Mike stops running toward the library and hides around a corner to wait for the two Colts to be alone.
A Royal Maid slowly and quietly opens the door to Luna’s Bed Chamber. She pushes in a maid’s cart making sure to close the door behind herself quietly. Luna is lying in her bed with a distressed look on her muzzle and muttering in her sleep.
“N-no, we don’t... Want to join thou...” She shifts around in her bed. “Thou can’t... Make us join...” She puts her hands on her head and grits her teeth “N-no... G-get out...” Luna then screams. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” She violently wakes up and breathes heavily as she sits up and looks herself over.
“My word, are you alright, Princess?” The Royal Maid said as she rushed over to Luna’s Bed as she catches her breath. Luna looks at her frightened subject. “Princess?” The Royal Maid said making Luna shake her head.
“I’m alright, please go inform my sister of my awakening,” Luna said calming the Maid down.
“I’ll get right on that, Princess,” The Maid bowed and then quickly exited the room leaving her cart. Luna gets up off her bed and enters her bathroom. She stops in front of a sink with a mirror above it and turns on the water. She splashes water all over her muzzle to clean and fully wake up.
“That wasn’t the Tantabus in my nightmare,” Luna said in her mind. “I hope that nightmare wasn’t a premonition for things to come.” She turns off the water, dries up with a hand towel hanging next to the faucet, and leaves the bathroom. “I believe I need to contact Link and talk to him with Tia about it.” Luna quickly changes out of her sleepwear into her regal attire. A knock from her bedroom door catches Luna’s attention.
“Lulu, may I enter?” Came the voice of Celestia from outside Luna’s room.
“You may enter, Dear Sister,” Luna said prompting Celestia to open the door and walk inside.
“Oh, Lulu, you’re truly awake!” Celestia rushes over and hugs her sister. “I was so worried about you, you’ve been asleep for over thirty hours.” She says making Luna hum in confusion.
“I was asleep for over thirty hours?” Luna tries to remember what she was doing right before going to sleep, but she can’t remember and holds her head in pain. Celestia backs away from Luna thinking she hugged her too tight.
“Lulu, are you alright?” Celestia said concerned for her sister.
“I’m alright, Tia, but I can’t seem to remember what we were doing before I went to bed, My head hurts trying to remember,” Luna said rubbing her head trying to make the pain go away.
“Don’t worry, Lulu, I’ll tell you and I also have some news about yesterday,” Celestia said as she turned to leave the room. “Follow me to the study, I’ll make some tea and explain everything.” Luna nods and follows Celestia out of her room and down the hall toward the royal study, making sure to close Luna’s bedroom door on their way out.
=A Little While After Trixie’s Magic Show= -Just outside Ponyville Town Square-
Mike is in an alley alone, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed patiently waiting for Trixie’s two fanboys to walk away from the stage by themselves to do Spike’s canon job, convincing them to bring an ‘Ursa Major’ into town.
“Come on already, Trixie should have shooed Snips and Snails away by now...” Mike says quietly thinking they may have gone the other direction. “Maybe I should have kept Tael here as a lookout instead of sending her to check on Twilight...” He looks down for a moment in thought.
“Link?” A voice called into the alley making Mike look up startled revealing the voice to be Cole. He looks into the alley with a confused look on his face. “Why are you hiding in this alley and not at the library with Twilight?” He asked as Mike got off the wall holding his chest.
“Man, Cole, the heck did you come from, ya scared me,” Mike said after catching his breath.
“Oh Sorry, Link, I didn’t mean to,” Cole apologized.
“It’s alright, Bro, to answer your question I’m waiting for those two Trixie fanboys to walk by so I can talk to them,” Mike said.
“That kind of sounds like you’re gonna beat them up or something.” Cole pointed out to which Mike thought about what he said.
“Huh, that does sound kinda bad...” Mike realizes then shakes his head. “Trust me, I’m just gonna talk to ‘em, nothing else.” He says with a serious look on his face making Cole nod.
“It’s alright I believe you, they should pass by in a few moments,” Cole said then pointed behind himself. “I heard Trixie shoo them away while I was walking this way,” He said as Mike walked out of the alley to stand beside Cole. They both looked toward Trixie’s stage spotting the two Trixie fanboys, Snips and Snails, just a block away. “See, there they are.”
“Alright act casual, I’ll do the talking, and don’t question me till after they walk away,” Mike said quickly to which Cole hesitantly nodded confused. Snips and Snails are talking to each other as they draw closer to Mike and Cole.
“Yo, what are you two up to?” Mike asked, interrupting Snips’ and Snails’ conversation once they were within earshot.
“Oh hi, we were just getting the G and P T a...” Snips started to explain but Mike cut him off.
“The what?” Mike asked, feigning confusion.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie.” Snips elaborated with a smile. Mike rolled his eyes.
“We were going to get her a smoothie.” Snails said proudly.
“How could you two fall for her lameness, she’s just a showoff,” Mike said, making Cole nod. “Unlike Twilight who...” Snips quickly interrupted Mike.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie vanquished an Ursa Major, can your Twilight claim that?” He said with a cocky grin.
“Oh really, were you guys actually there when she did it?” Mike questioned them.
“Well... Uh... No... But...” Snails said, stuttering a little.
“But nothing, the proof is in the pudding,” Mike said, making Snails drool thinking of pudding. “Look, unless an Ursa Major comes waltzing down the street for her to vanquish, I’m not gonna believe a word she says, and neither should you,” Mike said, crossing his arms. Snips hummed in thought.
“An Ursa walkin’ up the street eh?” Snips says then gasps as he gets an idea. “Snails, you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Snips looked up at his best friend.
“Why is it they call it a flea market if they don’t sell fleas?” Snails asked randomly.
“Yeah, Uh... Oh just come on.” Snips stammered out then ran away with Snails quickly following him. Mike holds up a hand stopping Cole from speaking until the Colts disappear into the distance then drops his hand.
“Did you just give those two the idea to bring an Ursa Major to town?!” Cole shouts confused and worried.
“It’ll be alright, Bro,” Mike said calmly, confusing Cole even more. “They will bring an Ursa to town, but it’ll just be an Ursa Minor.” He explained.
“What’s the difference?” Cole asked quickly.
“An Ursa Major is about five times the size of these houses,” Mike says as he points around at the surrounding buildings. “But an Ursa Minor is only a little bit bigger than a house.”
“How do you know that?” Cole asked.
“I read about them in a book a while ago,” Mike said as he started walking towards the Library. “Let’s go home and get ready for the Ursa to come to town.” Cole doesn’t follow Mike.
“Are you sure you’re okay with letting those kids bring an extremely dangerous and unpredictable animal to town?” Cole asked. “What if it hurts someone or worse, takes somepony’s life?” Mike stopped dead in his tracks. “What would Twilight think if she found out you gave those two the idea?” He pointed out. “Think about it, what if those two get mauled before they even get back to town?” Cole walks in front of Mike and looks him in the eye. “And are you really prepared to deal with an Ursa Minor rampaging through town?” Mike gains a thousand-yard stare as he starts thinking of worst-case scenarios.
“Fuck... You’re right...” Mike said with a spooked look on his face. “How could I be so idiotic, so much has changed already, why would this be the same as in the show?!” Mike said, starting to panic.
“Wait, what show?” Cole said confused, making Mike curse internally.
“It’s not important, we need to hurry before those two get to the Everfree Forest,” Mike said quickly brushing off Cole’s question. “Come on!” Mike sprints past Cole.
“Right behind ya!” Cole quickly started sprinting behind Mike.
=Outside the Everfree Forest= -A Couple Minutes Later-
“Snips, Snails!” Mike shouted as He and Cole reached the outskirts of the Everfree Forest.
“Do you see them anywhere?” Cole asked with a huff, not used to full-on sprinting through town. The two look around the forest’s edge and don’t spot either of the colts.
“Damn, I don’t see ‘em, they must have already ran into the forest,” Mike grunts in frustration and looks down to the ground. “Should we run in after them?” Cole walks up next to Mike.
“We would end up getting lost trying to follow them,” Cole said as he put a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “If only we could follow some tracks or something,” He says with a sigh giving Mike a bright Idea. Mike quickly reaches behind his shield and pulls out The Howling Stone Necklace he got from Jeff. “Huh, what’s that, Link?”
“Back away, bro, time to show you somethin’ pretty cool,” Mike said making Cole back away a bit. Mike puts the Howling Stone Necklace around his neck and presses it against his chest. Twili magic begins to surround Mike causing Cole to back away a bit more. After a few seconds, the magic covers Mike’s body turning him solid black then transforms his body into his wolf form.
“Whoa!” Cole shouts astonished as the magic breaks away from Mike’s Wolf body and returns to the necklace. Before Cole could recover from the shock of seeing his twin brother transform into a wolf right before his eyes, Mike started sniffing the ground looking for a scent or tracks to follow. He finds a small rock sticking out of the ground a little ways away with tracks that look like one of the colts tripped but kept running into the forest.
“Ah, there we go, a scent to track.” Mike thinks to himself. He quickly trots over and starts sniffing the rock and finds a drop of blood next to it. “Seems like one of them scraped their knee when they fell.” After a few sniffs Mike’s Body moved on its own. Mike sat down on his haunches, raised his head to the sky, and his vision changed from normal to a night vision-like darkness with a red smoke signal emanating from the blood. A familiar fanfare played and a text box appeared in Mike’s vision, ‘You learned Snails’ Scent!’. He blinks away the text box and regains control of his body. A red smoke trail appears going from the drop of blood into the forest as Mike shakes his head.
“Did that really just happen?” Cole said still shocked at what just happened. He takes a deep breath and looks over to where Mike ran to. “Link, is that really you?” Mike turns back toward Cole and nods. “Huh, why didn’t you tell me about that before?” Mike shook his head, barked, and then turned towards the smoke trail. “Oh did you find something?” Mike nods. “Alright, I’ll follow behind you, don’t leave me in the dust,” Cole said making Mike bark and start following the smoke trail with Cole right behind him.
“I sincerely hope we catch up to them before something bad happens.” Mike thought to himself as the duo ventured deeper into the Everfree Forest. After several minutes of running into the forest, the duo finds a very large cave entrance with the smoke trail heading into it.
“You think they’re in there, Link?” Cole said nervous about the sheer size of the cave entrance. They both look into the darkness of the cave entrance. “Man, it’s so dark in there how are we gonna find...” Cole is cut off as they spot a faint light appear inside the cave. “Wait is that...” Cole is cut off again by a massive roar. Mike quickly runs into the cave leaving Cole behind at the entrance.
“Gotta hurry, gotta hurry, gotta hurry!” Mike dashes as fast as he can and finds Snips and Snails paralyzed in fear at the Ursa Minor’s roar. “Move you idiots!” Mike barks as he uses his head to push the Colts towards the entrance. The colts quickly realize the danger they’re in and sprint towards the exit.
“WHY YOU WAKE ME!” The Ursa Minor roared as it started to give chase to Mike and the Colts.
“Sorry for the intrusion!” Mike quickly barked then followed the Colts out of the cave. Mike barked signaling Cole to follow the colts and Mike out of the woods. After a few minutes of sprinting they exit the woods to find the weather team started the scheduled shower for the evening. Mike stops near the edge of the forest and looks back toward where they came from as the Colts run straight to Trixie’s trailer. Cole stops running a bit after Mike and also looks back.
“GET BACK HERE!” The Ursa Minor roared as it trudged through the Everfree forest. The roar alerted the town to the appearance of the Ursa causing dozens of citizens who were near the edge of town to panic and run into their homes as fast as they could to hide. Cole gulps nervously then turns to run into town.
“I gotta run, Link, I’ll go get Twilight as fast as I can!” Cole quickly runs into town. Mike growls as the Ursa Minor exits the Everfree Forest. The Ursa stares down at Mike.
“Where did pony meanies go tiny doggie?” The Ursa growled making Mike gulp nervously.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not gonna tell you.” Mike barked making the Ursa roar in anger. The Ursa starts approaching Mike.
“TELL ME OR I EAT YOU!” The Ursa roared making Mike ready himself to avoid the Ursa’s attacks. The Ursa swings its massive claw down to try and squish Mike like a bug but he jumps out of the way just in time.
“Holy shit that was close, I don’t know how long I can distract...” Mike’s internal dialogue is interrupted by the Ursa swinging its claw along the ground making Mike jump back barely avoiding its attack. “Shit, I can’t even think!” Mike mentally curses.
=Golden Oaks Library= -Moments Later-
Twilight is reading a book as she normally does when she’s bored when suddenly she is startled by Cole nearly breaking down the door.
“Twilight we got a big problem!” Cole shouts as Twilight catches her breath after the sudden door slam.
“Big problem? What’s going on, Cole?” Twilight asked but as Cole was starting to say something, the Ursa’s roar could be heard.
“That’s the problem...” Cole said with a nervous chuckle. “An Ursa Minor has shown up to town.” Twilight quickly thinks for a solution.
“An Ursa Minor... I have an Idea.” Twilight quickly walks over to the door. “Quick, lead me to the Ursa Minor.” She says making Cole nod and exit the building with Twilight right behind him.
=Ponyville Outskirts= -A Few Seconds Later-
Mike dodges another slam by the Ursa Minor and is starting to feel exhausted having to dodge fast swings and slashes. Mike is startled by a sudden scream behind him. Looking behind himself he spots Snips and Snails pushing a terrified Trixie towards the Ursa.
“What are you two doing pushing me towards the danger,” Trixie says with fear in her voice.
“Go on and Vanquish the Ursa Major, Trixie,” Snips says confidently.
“Yeah, show us your great and powerful magic!” Snails adds cheering her on.
“Uh, okay...” Trixie said nervously as her horn lit up. The rope she used to tie up Applejack flies over to the Ursa and wraps around it, but it only wraps its fingers. The Ursa, unimpressed by that weak sauce move, breaks the rope by just separating its roped fingers.
“Come on, Trixie, stop goofing around and vanquish the Ursa Major!” Snips cheers. Trixie falls to her knees.
“I... I can’t,” She says starting to tear up. “I never vanquished an Ursa Major...” She looks down ashamed. As both of the colts gasp and look shocked. “I made it up... No one can vanquish an Ursa Major...” She starts crying.
“Made it up?!” The Colts say in unison. After a few seconds, the Colts run over to Trixie to help her back onto her hooves, despite learning she lied to them. The Ursa, recognizing the Colts and growing impatient, raises its paw to squish the Magician and her fanboys.
“Look Out!” Mike barks as he tackles the trio pushing them just out of harm’s way as the Ursa’s paw smashes the ground right where Mike was, crushing him. Trixie, Snips, and Snails quickly recover from the sudden force and back away. The Ursa lifts its paw to see if the thing it crushed is still alive. There in a broken and bloody heap in a small crater lies Mike, severely injured and unable to move. Trixie screams as she realizes what Mike did.
“That wolf just saved our lives, quickly grab it and get it to safety!” Trixie shouted at the two colts as the Ursa cleaned the blood off its paw. Snips and Snails quickly grab Mike by the arms and legs and quickly carry him into town. “I’ll try and distract the Ursa Major!” Trixie shoots fireworks up directly in front of the Ursa’s face that explode and temporarily blinds it. “That should buy us some time.” She turns toward the colts and follows them, helping by using her magic to lighten Mike up so they can carry him faster.
“Holy crap, Link!” Cole shouts as he and Twilight arrive at the edge of Ponyville. “What happened!?” Cole quickly picks up Mike up and carries him.
“He pushed us out of the way of a claw and got injured in the process,” Trixie explained making Twilight growl in anger. “I’m sorry,” Trixie says starting to tear up again but Twilight walked closer to the Ursa Minor. “What are you doing, are you crazy?!” Twilight shushes Trixie, closes her eyes, and concentrates as her horn lights up brighter than it ever has before. Suddenly the wind starts picking up around the area.
“What’s going on?” Cole asked confused as some gentle music started emanating from a nearby pond with water sausages. The Ursa’s sight and hearing returns and as it raises its paws to smash Twilight into the dirt the gentle music reaches its ears and it starts to fall asleep. “Woah, Twilight are you...” Twilight holds up a hand to silence Cole. Several ponies notice the Ursa no longer rampaging and open their windows to watch in awe at Twilight’s Magical prowess.
At Sweet Apple Acres a water tower container is surrounded by magic and lifts off its tower. The top half of the container twists off and the water inside is poured into the animal pens water receptacle as the container floats into the nearby animal barn. Several cows moo as they are milked and once the container exits the other side of the barn filled with milk the lid is screwed back on. As the container quickly floats from Sweet Apple Acres into Ponyvill Twilight’s magic lifts up the Ursa as it starts to fall over and gently rocks it back and forth. The Container of Milk finally reaches its destination cradled in the Ursa minor’s arms allowing the Ursa to drink as Twilight floats the Ursa back into the Everfree Forest and back into its cave. Twilight’s horn fades out and she breathes heavily exhausted after using so much magic. The town’s ponies cheer for Twilight as Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow walk up behind her.
“Unbelievable!” Rainbow shouts as she puts a hand on Twilight’s shoulder.
“What a fine job you did, Darling,” Rarity says with a smile.
“Heavens to bettsy, we knew you had ability but not that much,” Applejack says as she pats Twilight on the back. Twilight catches her breath and turns around to face her friends with a nervous look.
“I’m sorry, please don’t hate me,” She pleads.
“Hate you?” Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow all ask in unison.
“Why, whatever do you mean, Darling?” Rarity asked confused.
“Well I know how much you all hated Trixie’s showing off with her magic tricks, and I just thought...” Twilight says but Rainbow cuts her off before she could finish her sentence.
“Whoa whoa whoa, magic’s got nothing to do with it. Trixie’s just a loudmouth,” Rainbow says.
“Most unpleasant,” Rarity adds.
“All hat and no cattle,” Applejack adds.
“So... You don’t mind my magic tricks?” Twilight asked.
“Yer magic is a part of who you are, Sugar Cube, and we like who you are,” Applejack explains. “We’re proud to have a powerful unicorn as our friend,” Rainbow chuckles.
“And after whooping that Ursa’s behind, we’re even prouder.” She says with a smile.
“You are?” Twilight asked to which the girls all nodded. Trixie walked up to Twilight.
“How... How did you defeat that Ursa Major?” She asked flabbergasted about what just transpired.
“Oh, that wasn’t an Ursa Major, it was an Ursa Minor, a baby,” Twilight pointed out.
“That was a baby?!” Trixie shouted. Cole clears his throat catching everypony’s attention.
“Can we continue this conversation later? We still got an injured wolf to deal with.” He held up the barely conscious Mike in his arms.
“Let’s take him to Fluttershy, she’ll know what to do,” Rainbow suggests prompting everypony else to nod and start heading toward Fluttershy’s cottage when Trixie stands in their path.
“Wait, please,” Trixie says with her head hung low. “At least let me help the wolf that saved my life.” Her horn lights up and a pink magic aura surrounds Mike. A few seconds later his eyes shoot open and he looks around. Cole quickly sets Mike back down on the ground and he stands up with a little bit of pain. “I’m not fluent with this type of magic, but I used a minor healing spell, he should be fine until you get him to your friend’s care.” Trixie takes her hat off and bows. “I’m so very sorry for what I seem to have caused, I will leave Ponyville at once and reflect on what has happened here tonight.” Trixie puts her hat back on and starts to walk toward her trailer. Before she could get too far away Mike painfully ran in front of her stopping her from leaving. “Huh, what’s wrong, I was trying to leave,” Trixie says making Mike shake his head. “Wait, you don’t want me to leave?” Mike nods and turns toward the town and barks. Cole, Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow walk up behind Trixie.
“Looks like he wants you to follow him,” Cole said making Mike nod and start walking into town. The group follows Mike into town and towards the Golden Oaks Library. Once at the Library, Mike opens the door with his teeth allowing everypony to enter. Once inside and the front door closed, Mike walks to the other side of the room, turns to face everypony, and quickly presses the Howling Stone Necklace against his chest.
“What in the world is he doing?” Trixie said confused as Twili Magic shot out of the Necklace and surrounded Mike. After a few seconds, Trixie’s mouth opened flabbergasted at what she was seeing. Mike’s form changes back to human and the Twili Magic returns to the necklace. Mike, still pretty hurt falls to his knees prompting Twilight and Cole to rush over to him and help him stand.
“Thanks, you two, as for you miss Lulamoon,” Mike points directly at Trixie making her back away fearful of any punishment for ‘her’ giving the two colts the idea of bringing an Ursa to town. “You’re an incredibly talented illusionist and magician, why are you trying to be the best Unicorn in the world so badly, you should just strive to be the best you in the world,” Mike reaches behind himself and pulls out the bottle containing Zecora’s Red Potion. “I believe wholeheartedly that without your magic fireworks as a distraction, a ton more damage would have been done to the town.” Mike pops the cork on the bottle and chugs the potion. As the potion starts workin’ its magic he finishes the potion, recorks the bottle, and puts it away.
“He’s right you know,” Twilight says as she looks into Trixie’s eyes. “Your fireworks were really amazing and effective, you really have good control of your magic.” She says with a smile as Applejack puts a hand on Trixie’s shoulder.
“I have to say I’m not happy you hogtied me, but you defended one of my friends so all you’re alright by me,” She says with a chuckle as she, Rainbow, and Rarity walk over next to Twilight and look back at Trixie.
“I’m still not happy about you making a mess of my mane, but I do have to admit having the magical ability to temporarily change one’s mane and tail color is fascinating, if put to good use,” Rarity says with intrigue.
“I don’t know how you did it, but using that small rainbow I made as an attack was kinda cool,” Rainbow admits begrudgingly.
“You did save my brother from becoming a pancake, so you’re alright by me,” Cole said with a smile as Mike’s injuries fully healed allowing him to stand on his own.
“A lot of things happened tonight, I saved your life and those Colt’s lives, and then you saved mine without hesitation,” Mike says with a super serious look on his face. “I think I can speak for everypony here, you’ve earned forgiveness for what transpired during your show, and I’d even say we should apologize for heckling you like we did,” He said with an apologetic smile as everypony else nodded.
"Sorry 'bout what happened durin' yer show, Trixie," Applejack said with an embarrassed chuckle.
"I'm sorry too, and I do hope we didn't prevent you from earning any bits, Darling," Rarity said with a bow.
"I'm sorry for trying to one-up you during the show," Rainbow said rolling her eyes. "I guess..." Applejack, Rarity, Mike, Cole, and Twilight look at Rainbow with a sour look. "Alright fine, I'm really sorry about what I did." Rainbow bowed annoyed but sincere.
"You know, you should stick around Ponyville for a little while, but If you’re really gonna leave I won’t stop you again,” Mike said prompting Trixie to nod.
“I might stay a few more days,” Trixie says with a smile. "With what happened today, I could use a rest from traveling."
“If you do stay, I suggest coming to one of us to help work on your showponyship, outside influence goes a long way, it can turn your act from ‘anything you can do I can do better’, to ‘look at these amazing illusions and magic tricks I can do’,” Mike said Making Trixie think for a moment. "Really impress your audience with feats of amazement!"
“I might just do that, I know I’m definitely going to use this day to improve myself and my act,” Trixie smiles. “Well, I should get back to my trailer my outfit is pretty soaked and I don’t want to get sick, goodbye everypony,” She said and turned to leave.
“Wait, Trixie, one last thing,” Twilight said stopping Trixie before she could leave. She looks back at the group. “Be sure to let us know before you leave so we can see you off, but don’t forget to come back sometime, I would love to learn about the magic you use.” She said with a smile. Trixie smiles back and nods.
“I’d love to talk about magic with you too, See you all later,” She says with a smile, she then waves and exits the Library.
“Alright with that said and done, now to deal with you two...” Mike says as he looks around for Snips and Snails but doesn’t find them. “Wait, where’s Snips and Snails?” Cole thinks for a moment then remembers what happened.
“Oh, Snips and Snails ran into town right after I picked you up, Link,” He said making Mike breathe a sigh of relief.
“Well, that’s two less ponies to potentially reveal my secret wolf transformation to the town,” Mike says as he goes over to the dinner table and takes a seat to rest his aching body.
“About that, how are you able to change into a wolf anyway?” Cole asked prompting Mike to take off the Howling Stone Necklace and hold it up for Cole to see.
“This necklace has a special type of magic contained in it that allows the user to transform into a wolf,” Mike puts the Necklace back into his inventory. “I got it from another man who was sent to a world similar to this world like us.” Cole still confused just shrugs.
“I’m still a bit confused about all that but I’ll let it go, I'm gettin' pretty tired,” Cole says as he sits down at the dinner table across from Mike. “By the way, do you happen to have any equipment you’re not using?” Cole asked. “I feel so bad about not being able to help you defend the town from the Ursa Minor.” Mike thinks for a minute then reaches under his shield.
“I have a couple of things that I'm not using,” He says as he pulls out the Silver Gauntlets.
↑The Silver Gauntlets↑
“Here, these gauntlets will increase your strength and allow you to push or lift large boulders with ease.” Mike hands them to Cole and he puts them on.
“Cool, they even match my color scheme, anything else you can spare?” Cole asked to which Mike shook his head.
“Not really, but if you want a sword and shield like me, you and I could look around town to find a military surplus weapon shop,” Cole thought for a moment then nodded.
“Sounds good, I don't want anything too fancy I just don’t want to be defenseless or unhelpful in dire situations again,” Cole admits as Twilight claps her hands to get everypony’s attention.
“Alright, it’s getting pretty late, and we’re pretty soaked from the storm outside, you girls should get home and get out of those soaked clothes so you don’t catch a cold, see you later,” Twilight waved as Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack walked out of the Library to head home. “Alright you two, I’m going to go change and go to bed, I suggest you do too if you’re going to be running around town tomorrow at a reasonable hour.” She waves and then heads upstairs ready for bed. Mike stands up from the dinner table and stretches.
“Alright, I’m gonna go to sleep as well, I’m still a little sore from tanking that attack from the Ursa Minor, g’night, Bro,” Mike says and goes to head upstairs.
“Good night, Link,” Cole says as He too stands up from the dinner table. Mike heads up the stairs and enters his bedroom.
“Just gotta put these away and I can hop in bed,” He says walking over to his wardrobe and starting to take off his sword and shield. “You know, since I gave the Silver gauntlets to Cole, should I give the Goron Bracelet to Spike?” Mike starts an inner monologue as he reaches under his shield before he takes it off and pulls out the Goron Bracelet.
↑The Goron Bracelet↑
He thinks for a moment then places it in his wardrobe along with his sword and shield. “Not like I can use it, hopefully, Spike will get at least a little use out of it.” He walks over and stands in front of his full-size mirror checking his body for injuries. “I’m lucky that Ursa Minor didn’t one-shot me, I wonder how much damage I took from that attack.” He walks over and sits on his bed. “More importantly, should I tell Twilight that it was me that gave Snips and Snails the idea to bring the Ursa to town?” Mike contemplates what he should do and lies down on his bed “I think should tell her in the morning, It’s the right thing to do,” He closes his eyes to fall asleep dreading what might happen tomorrow when he confesses. “I hope you can forgive me, Twilight...” He says quietly to himself as he drifts off into a deep sleep.
“Really, Celestia...” Mike grunts in frustration as daylight from his window assaults his eyes as usual, waking him up. He sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes. “Man, I really need to get better curtains or something,” He stood up from his bed. “Time for the morning routine,” He said, walking over to his wardrobe and taking out his equipment. He also picked up the Goron Bracelet. “I’ll give this to Spike when he gets here.” He put the Goron bracelet down on his nightstand carefully so as to not wake Tael up, put his equipment on, and started to stretch ready for a workout. The world around him suddenly turns monochrome and a blue pillar of light appears around him. “Whoa, what’s going on?” Mike said caught off guard as he was lifted into the air and his vision got brighter until he couldn’t see. Mike fades away as he is transported into the void between realms.
=Inside The Everfree Forest?= -Day Time-
Mike’s vision returns to him as he is lowered into what looks like the Everfree forest. “Where the…” He says as the light vanishes around him. “Is this the Everfree Forest… Wasn’t I just in the Library?” He says confused while noticing a chill in the air.
“...Alright, start talking.” A voice demanded behind him. Mike quickly turned to face the voice, a little startled at the sudden order.
“Woah!” Mike shouted as he spotted a humanoid figure and a large timberwolf. “Jeeze, don’t sneak up on a guy like…” He stops talking and focuses on the Humanoid’s features. “Another Link?” He said confused. “I must have been summoned to another Equestria Like that Link I summoned to my Equestria.” He thought to himself as he smiled and reached out a hand. “Sup, my name’s Michael, but most ponies call me Link, how are ya?”
“Jeff, I suppose it’s nice to meet you,” Jeff said as he took Mike’s hand to give it a firm shake, as the two hands met, their respectable pieces of the triforce resonating with each other. “Mind explaining why you almost look like another me? I mean I can handle the weirdness of what I’ve witnessed so far but this is ridiculous.” Jeff asked with a frown as he let go of Mike’s hand. The large Timberwolf makes its way over to sniff at His boots.
“...Same appearance, yet different smells, interesting..” Their feminine voice projected all around the two Link-a-likes.
“Woah, talking timberwolf… not attacking on sight though…” Mike notes. “On to your question of why I look like you,” He clears his throat and begins explaining. “I was going to a convention on earth and bought an ocarina of time from a jerk called the merchant.” Mike quickly reaches under his shield, pulls said Ocarina of time from his inventory, and holds it up.
“Ah... Right-right-right.” Jeff said with a groan as he rubbed the back of his head. The Timberwolf looked in confusion, wondering what the two were talking about.
“None of my children have mentioned, let alone attacked anyone of your appearance..” The Timberwolf said with a snort, causing wooden dust to escape her snout.
“Sorry miss… uh… timberwolf…” Mike looks at The Timberwolf. “I’ll explain more, I’m from another Equestria, one where Timberwolves aren’t the nicest animals in the Everfree Forest.” He explained. “And back to you Jeff, we are what is known as ‘Displaced’, beings from another world forcefully transported to Equestria by many methods, most of which involve collecting an item like me.” He puts the Ocarina of time away.
“The name’s Everfree, and you will address me as such,” Everfree said with a minor grunt of annoyance
“Oh, I’m sorry, Everfree, I’m just not used to talking to animals in my human form.” Mike apologizes with a bow. “Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“At least you’re polite,” Everfree said with a nod.
“Sounds exactly like what happened to me, in my case.” Jeff pauses to hold up his hand as the triforce of courage glows due to the presence of Mike’s triforce of courage. “I picked this thing up in a treasure chest,” Jeff explained.
“Let me guess,” Mike started as he stopped bowing. “After picking up the Triforce, a few seconds later you passed out, am I right?” Mike asked.
“Exactly,” Jeff said with a snap of his fingers. “What about this?” Jeff pauses to hold up Mike’s copy of his Fairy Ocarina.
“Oh, that is my token, a way for Displaced like us to travel to different Equestrias to help each other out,” Mike explained. “It’s not exactly hard to make a token, but when I did it took a ton of my energy, thank Celestia I was on my bed when I did it.”
“From how you’re talking, I guess there’s a multiverse of Equestrias?” Jeff asked as he crossed his arms, while Everfree sat down to listen.
“Yep as Perfect Cell put it in Dragon Ball Abridged, Multiverse theory is a bitch.” Mike said with a chuckle. “So question about your Equestria… anthro ponies or normal?” He asked curiously.
“Normal, most of them come up to my knees while Celestia is taller than me,” Jeff explained.
“Alright, just had to know so I know what to expect when or if we run into any ponies,” Mike says with a yawn.
“..Did I summon you in the middle of your night or something?” Jeff asked with a look as if he felt bad.
“No, I just woke up, and I’m not the best morning person,” Mike said with a few arm stretches. “In fact, you called me here right before my morning workout with Spike and my twin brother.” He said casually.
“Ah- wait, Twin brother?” Jeff asked with a few blinks of his eyes.
“It’s a long and convoluted story…” Mike said while doing some standing leg stretches with his eyes closed. “I can shorten it if you want.”
“It’ll have to wait, I promised Celestia I was gonna be out here for ten or so minutes, plus before I left, she asked me to go visit King Zora for something urgent,” Jeff explained as he resumed his trek with Everfree continuing as the guide.
“You mind if I come with?” Mike asked starting to walk behind them. “I’m not too keen on being in the Everfree Forest alone.”
“My home is only dangerous to visitors I don’t approve of,” Everfree said as she looked at Mike for a moment with those glowing eyes of hers.
“Go ahead, in fact, I’ll be needing your help- ah, wait. Do you have any means to make yourself different? I don’t need any ponies asking questions.” Jeff asked as he continued to follow Everfree.
“I have an earth pony mask but I’m not sure if it will conform to your Equestria’s rules,” Mike says with a hum. “I guess I could turn into a wolf, though I doubt you will be able to understand me while in the form.” He said reaching under his shield and pulling out the howling stone necklace.
“...That looks a lot like the Howling Stone, I thought your token said you were of Ocarina of Time?” Jeff asked in confusion.
“I got it from another Displaced Link, wasn’t too long of an encounter but this is his token, A howling Stone necklace filled with twili magic.” Mike puts the necklace around his neck. “So what do you think, Pony, Wolf, or Hylian?” He asked.
“Pony. The Wolf form might put the ponies on edge, especially the Solar Guards.” Jeff explained as the forest began to thin out the further they went.
“Aight, you the boss,” Mike said quickly reaching under his shield and pulling out a green earth pony mask with yellow hair. “Haven’t used this yet, but what’s the worst that could happen.” He puts the mask up to his face and it latches on, Mike hunches over gasping for air then screams at the top of his lungs looking towards the sky as light fills the area around them. As the light fades where Mike was walking is an emerald green earth pony with blue eyes, a golden blonde ponytail mane and short tail, and blue earrings, with the Mirror Shield and Master Sword as his cutiemark.
↑Mike’s Pony Disguise↑
“Nayru’s embrace..” Jeff said in shock. Despite being familiar with the transformation, witnessing it like this looked a lot more grotesque.
“Wow, that was an experience…” Mike said, rubbing his muzzle. “That actually hurt a bit…” He looks himself over. “Seems my Earth Pony mask does conform to other Equestrias, neat.”
The group eventually arrives at an Owl Statue from Majora’s Mask with its stone wings spread out.
↑An Owl Statue↑
“I’m gonna assume you know the Song Of Soaring, if not, you might need to grab my tunic then,” Jeff said as he pulled out his ocarina of time.
“Nope, nothing from Majora’s Mask is on my person, not even any songs.” Mike grabs Jeff’s tunic. “Hope this works.” Jeff puts his Ocarina to his lips and plays the Song of Soaring.
A pair of white silvery wings appear out of thin air and wrap around the two, twirling around and warping the two hylians away leaving Everfree behind in her home of the Everfree Forest.
=Canterlot Castle Gardens= -Seconds Later-
The two arrive at the Canterlot Castle Gardens with a flash of light and white feathers where Celestia is waiting patiently.
“Oh, Jeff! You sure are back soon- wait a minute, who’s this that you have with you? I’ve yet to see anypony that’s hung around you that looks as he does. Are you already making friends outside the castle?” The princess joyfully questions.
“This is-..” Jeff pauses to look down at Mike, unsure if he should use the human name or a pony name.
“Emerald Sword’s the name, it is nice to meet you, your highness.” Mike bows. The princess nearly stomps her hooves in excitement but refrains from doing so.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sword. I must ask, how did the two of you meet? I never thought Jeff would be making friends this quickly from outside his own unit.”
“We uh…” Mike stutters trying to think of a believable story about how they met. “Well, you see…” He starts sweating bullets failing to think of a good answer.
“Yessssss?” She leans in closer to Him, Still excited about the prospect of a new companion for Jeff.
“We met just outside of the Everfree Forest, I was intrigued by how brave it was for him to venture into the forest and I shot up a conversation.” Mike spun a lie with a nervous smile.
“So you’re a resident of Ponyville? How wonderful, I’ll make sure to come and visit you then to see how Jeff’s first friend is doing. If you don’t mind of course.” The lone monarch comments before switching gears. “But currently? There are more pressing matters that Jeff has to take care of. And I’m sorry but because of the fact that you are a civilian you can not join him to where he is traveling to Mr. Sword.” Leaning away from Mike’s personal space, Princess Celestia goes back to face Jeff.
“Jeff, I presume that the business you’ve had to take care of is finished, was it not?” She asks him.
“Yes, also Emerald will be coming with me as he is a capable fighter,” Jeff said with confidence. A serious stare immediately whips around to Jeff, not to be threatening but rather out of concern instead.
“Sir Je- I mean Jeff, are you completely sure about this? The legality of having a civilian potentially fight that isn’t in a military branch is nearly unheard of. I know it is not one hundred percent known why exactly they’ve called you into Seaquestria but I am merely making sure.”
“Yes, I am completely sure, Celestia,” Jeff said with a nod as he looked over at Mike who was going under the guise of Emerald Sword.
“Don’t worry, your highness, I’m trained in swordsponyship I can handle any threat that’s given to me, honest,” Mike said, still carrying the nervous smile on his muzzle. Princess Celestia looks between Jeff and Mike before slowly nodding her head.
“...Jeff, because of the fact that I trust you, I shall allow you to bring him along. Please try to allow no harm to come to one of my little ponies, although I’m sure you already were going to protect them considering you’re both friends.”
“Of course, plus I am going with a squadron, speaking of which, where are they waiting at?” Jeff asked curiously. The princess silently chuckles to herself before lighting her horn and making a snapping noise with her magic. And subsequently, five other ponies appear from the bushes.
“Surprise!!” They all shout in unison, except for one mare since she doesn’t handle tomfoolery well. A Stallion solar guard unicorn, who has a fiery red mane and tail with one small yellow streak running through the middle of both, a dark red coat, Maroon eyes, and his cutiemark is a large anvil surrounded by fire steps forward first.
“Hey Jeff, my stallion, what’s up? And we heard your new friend’s name when we were hiding in the bushes, nice to meet you, Emerald Sword.” He says, the ever-friendly stallion, is the first one to greet them both, besides the princess herself.
“Nice to meet you too…” Mike’s smile falters as his cheeks get tired from smiling. A silver mane and tailed unicorn stallion with a very light gray coat that nears silver. His cutie mark is that of a silver bullet butts in, just to remain important- I mean to allow himself to make a good first impression.
“So uh, did we scare you? I mean this was my idea in the first place so I was wondering if it’d work. Also to save you the trouble, that over there.” He points his hoof to the stallion who was talking a minute ago. “That’s FireForge.” He then proceeds to point at the other stallion in the group. He’s also a unicorn with a snow-white coat with his tail even matching, being an off-white color. His eyes are, as expected, a light baby-blue color. His Cutie Mark are several dancing snowflakes propelled by the wind. “That over there is Snow Leap. And the rest of the mares are Elegant Crease,” A pegasus, with a hot pink mane and tail, a bright teal coat and wings, and Black eyes with a Paper origami crane cutie mark. “The prude who wouldn’t go past jumping out of the bushes, and the crazy one is Smooth Edge.” An earth pony with a brown mane and tail, a beige coat, Brown eyes, and a silvered saber that has a small shine on the edge of it as her cutie mark. “I, myself, am Silver Bullet. Unanimously we all agree that it’s nice to meet a fellow friend of Jeff’s.” The Solar guard compacts an entire introduction in a mere few sentences, but quickly catches their breath afterwards.
“Hello Solar Guards, I’m always happy to meet the brave ponies that protect our beautiful land of Equestria,” Mike says with a genuine smile.
Snow Leap snickers for a moment before speaking up. “Dude, brave is a bit much, Silver Bullet over here-” But Princess Celestia clears her throat before the entire unit straightens up and silences themselves.
“Apologizes for their unorthodox behavior but this is how they normally act, even around me. Now then I expect you all to brief Mr. Sword here on your mission and get him back home to Ponyville safely, understood?” They all salute with their hooves.
“Yes ma’am!" They all replied.
“Great, now your ten-pony carriage, capable of flight, is over there with supplies for seven, however, one of the supply boxes is for the pegasus driver that will help Elegant Crease pull you all. But I trust you all will accommodate Mr. Sword, so get a move on.” The princess motions over to her far right which indeed is a ten-pony carriage along with a pegasus guard waiting there. Jeff makes his way inside, soon sitting down on the cushiony soft seats. Mike quickly follows Jeff into the carriage though has a bit of trouble sitting, not being used to his new pony-shaped body.
“Man this is awkward, gotta get used to it though,” Mike thought to himself. Smooth Edge sees the stallion having trouble sitting in and decides to do nothing about it, merely getting into the carriage with a satisfied grin on her muzzle, followed by Silver Bullet, FireForge, and Snow Leap while Elegant Crease goes to get herself locked into the bucking strap of the carriage, spreading her wings out and becoming ready for flight. Snow Leap reaches through a window and bangs on the outside of the carriage, signifying that they’re ready. Thus, they finally take off towards Zora’s domain.
=A Decently Long Flight Later=
The carriage soars through the sky, moving gracefully even though it’s blocky in nature. The solar guards and the odd one out Mike, all see many things as they look out. Passing by train tracks that branched out past Rambling Rock Ridge. The mountains that they just barely fly past elect the clouds to flow through them and the carriage all the same. And as they took a right turn they all saw Baltimare and some even waved to it before then finally began to slow down and land past Horseshoe Bay, landing at a huge partly frozen waterfall.
“Huh, lotta snow around must be winter the air here is significantly colder here than the Everfree and Canterlot.” Mike internally noted. After Jeff got off, there was a triforce symbol on the ground, making the Hylian frown how this was the second time he’d seen it. Jeff gets his Ocarina out and plays Zelda’s Lullaby.
A few seconds later the huge waterfall in front of them splits apart and reveals a hidden entrance into what everyone assumed to be Zora’s Domain.
“Huh, you actually have a use for that song,” Mike says quietly to himself as he jumps out of the carriage, forgetting who he’s with.
“Hm, what an interesting use of magic. If I can recall that was one of the old heroes’ magical songs, was it not?” Elegant Crease curiously asked as she detached herself from the bucking straw.
“One of many, and I’m still recalling much more,” Jeff said as he put away his ocarina. Jeff heads on through leading the group down a cavern where several shells glow in bio-luminescence. The cavern, at first is dim, the shells don’t provide that much light. Yet the farther they all went down the seemingly endless and dingy cavern they all noticed that the lights got brighter and brighter until they all saw it, King Zora’s true domain.
Large waterfalls pool down to the waters below the seven of them as they all trek down this path, small spikes of earth stand up from the ground while small waves are made within those small waters from seemingly nothing. Large clams were rarely seen between the large group. Most of all there was the populace, they were made up entirely of Zoras, some were walking along the earthy pathways while others were running small businesses but most just seemed to be talking amongst themselves, out and in water. Overall though? The place looked as if it could use a little bit of decoration from somepony or three.
Jeff noticed the walls looked rather beautiful, almost like looking at the shell of a conch, in fact, the pathway down seemed like the same material. As they eventually got to the bottom, it opened up into a fairly large cavern. Off on the other side of the cavern, Mike would see a rather familiar waterfall with two unlit torches behind it.
“Huh… even though this place looks bigger and more realistic they still have those two torches hiding a piece of heart behind that waterfall.” He says to himself, completely forgetting he’s supposed to be a normal pony from Ponyville. “Man, my brain really wants me to go light those torches…” He again says to himself.
“Or a heart bead from how this world has been so far to me,” Jeff said in a lower volume only Mike could hear. Snow Leap, catches a bit of Mike’s sentence and decides to act on it.
“Whatever you two are talking about, please try not to do anything that gets us in trouble. I’m looking at you Emerald, but mostly you, Smooth.” He said as they walked past a large pool room, they eventually arrived at a long staircase leading upwards, although looking a little dramatic with how the iron torches were standing near the wall with blue flames that’d remind Mike of a certain bottled fire. Two Zora guards holding spears would nod to the seven.
“We’ve been expecting you.” The Zora guard to the right would say before heading up to the Zora King to announce their arrival.
“We sure hope so…” Silver Bullet mutters under his breath. Smooth Edge turns over to look at the group while also watching the Zora guard go up to the king.
“So does anypony else feel kinda outta place here? Like they’re just not even supposed to be in this place?” The mare concernedly asks.
“No kiddin’ Smooth, this feels worse than trying to wake my brother up during one of his bad hangovers,” FireForge admits.
“I’m not surprised considering what I heard in the Canterlot Library, a lot of Hyrule and its races are forgotten history. The creatures you see here are called Zora, think of them like Dolphins but bipedal like I am.” Jeff explained to the best of his abilities.
“Zora are one of the coolest races from Hyrule, they can breathe water AND air, it’s so cool!” Mike says nerding out about the Zora with a huge smile on his muzzle. Smooth Edge of all ponies is the first to raise their head.
“How do both of you know so much about ‘em, what are you? Both bookworms like Elegant Crease over here?” She teasingly questions.
“Yeah, my special somepony and I live in a Library so we read a lot,” Mike admits casually.
“Like I said, forgotten history, so you will be seeing a lot of strange things only I and Emerald Sword know,” Jeff explained as the Zora returned.
“Follow me.” The Zora guard said as they made their way upstairs. As they all walk up the stairs they slowly arrive at a large open space. To the left and right of them are these mystic patterns that are on the walls next to pillars. The overhead of it all carries similar designs that are far better than the ones down below. They all continue walking through, seeing molded stone formed into wide stairs in front of them. Their eyes travel upwards, which is when they see King Zora and Queen Zora, yet there was something noticeable about the Queen, she has a small bulge in her stomach that appears to be one of pregnancy, still both of them are sitting upon their respective thrones. Jeff held his fist to his chest, giving a respectable bow to the two. Mike quickly bowed as well trying to be cordial. All of the solar guards bow before the king and queen before one shakily raises their head in nervousness.
“U-um, hello King and Queen Zora, I’m Silver Bullet. I’m a part of the solar guard and all of us were sent to investigate because of the message that you’d both sent Princess Celestia.”
“Oh please rise. And dears, call me Queen Rutela. This grump over here told me not to tell you his name though. But don’t worry, he’s glad to have you all here to respond to our call for aid.” Queen Rutela gives a soft smile to the entire group. King Zora has a very gruff attitude but not one of direct rudeness.
“I’m sure you’ve all been informed but to be clear, a very popular and hope-inspiring band has gone missing inside the borders of Seaquestria. We need you all to investigate and bring them all back, safe and sound. Do you all have any questions?” The King asks.
“Wait, the Indigo-gos are missing?” Mike asked, shocked by the news.
“Hm? You know about them? But yes you are correct in that assumption little pony.” The Zora King replies.
“When did they leave Zora’s Domain and how long have they been missing?” Jeff asked curiously. The Zora King turns and looks at Jeff before answering.
“They’ve been gone for nearly a week and a half and haven’t returned, therefore they’ve been declared missing.”
“And have you sent any Zora Guard?” Jeff asked next.
“Several but they’ve all reported to have been pushed away by powerful currents and whirlpools that inexplicably form to do the same, like something is controlling them.” The Zora King darkly tells them. “Which is why I need your help, hopefully with a new and different perspective combined with your magic, you all can finally make a way to solve this once and for all.”
“Just one question, none of us can breathe underwater, so will you be giving us some kind of enchanted gear to help with that?” Jeff asked.
“Not gonna lie, I was wondering that too,” FireForge adds. King Zora snaps his fingers before several servants come out and hold Zora tunics in one row and Mermaid suits in the other.
“This is how, wear those and you shall be given the ability to breathe underwater.” King Zora says. Without fail, the males of the group proceed to pick up their items one after the other with Mike going last. The moment he touches the outfit it vanishes and Mike’s body moves on its own. He turns around and holds his hooves up with the Tunic floating above his hooves as a familiar jingle plays out loud. A text box appears in his vision, ‘You have borrowed A Pony Zora Tunic!’ He blinks away the text box, the tunic falls to his hooves, and he regains control of his body.
“It happens when I’m a pony as well?” He says quietly mentally cursing. He quickly whistles trying to play off the music, badly.
“..Why did you just…” Jeff fell silent in confusion. Everybody silently turns their head as if on cue and gives Mike the weirdest possible stares they could muster. Silver Bullet, takes a singular step to the side, just to inch away from what Mike did.
“...So are we all just going to ignore the fact that he somehow made music out of nowhere? I’m willing to accept a lotta the weird thing that goes on whenever the six of us are together but uh… Jeff, are you like a weirdness magnet? Where’d you pick this guy up anyways?” Silver Bullet asked weirded out.
“Met him in the Everfree forest, but trust me when I say that his oddity will be of help,” Jeff said with a nod. Snow Leap slowly nods along with Jeff. Still a bit unsure but ultimately trusting of Jeff.
“Well, this is Jeff we’re talking about. The dude is like the nicest guy we all know.” A small whisper of ‘debatable’ comes from Smooth Edge but Snow Leap continues. “We can trust what he says, and besides that little… Thing that Emerald did, everything’s been fine and dandy thus far.” Clearing her throat Elegant Crease twists her hoof around as if she’s trying to move things along.
“Anyways, back to the less weird topic at hoof. The organization skills you all must have are wonderful, color me impressed.” She compliments. “However, you cannot expect me to wear this ridiculous thing.”
“Yes listen I’m sorry dude but this just ain’t gonna cut it, I ain’t wearing no mermare fins.” Smooth Edge agrees. Raising his Eyebrow King Zora looks at the mares with disbelief.
“So are you saying that you both could push through the tides of water with your own strength? The earth pony maybe, but you there, pegasus, would be lifted off of your hooves in mere seconds. However, with the Mermaid suit you shall have your lower half become aquatic in nature to help you.” He states. The two mares individually grumble before taking the mermaid suits and putting them on, temporarily becoming mermares.
“What the bu- I mean what the heck?” Smooth Edge catches herself mid-comment as she flops on the floor with nobody bothering to pick her up. Elegant Crease however, uses her wings to hover in the air while remaining silent to contemplate what had just happened to her.
“Girls, please don’t be like that.” Queen Rutela silently pleads to them both, they however say nothing in return besides a small nod.
“Uh.. King Zora? All of them look pony-sized...” Jeff said with a frown.
“That is because they are pony-sized. Do not fret because of this revelation. For I have a gift for you from the old hero. Hopefully, you can still fit it.” King Zora snaps his fingers once again. Which summons a lone servant who moves past Jeff before holding a peculiar set of armor out in front of him. “This is the Zora armor, it should be kind to your bipedal stature, allowing you to wear it.” Jeff instantly recognized its design to be that of Twilight Princess. He reaches out and scoops his arms around the armor to take it from the lone servant.
“I’m surprised you had this available..” He said as he studied the armor’s much more detailed design.
“It was originally outfitted for the old hero of courage.” King Zora began. “And there were multiple pieces made specifically for him. A mere stroke of luck that you two are so similar, or perhaps it was fate. So is there anything else that could possibly be done for you all before you all embark on your travels? That is within my power of course.” The king finished. FireForge tries to raise his hoof but his brother immediately slaps his hoof away with a small shake of the head.
“Very well then, it is settled. You all shall be off and by the grace of the gods, bring back the Indigo-gos. Farewell and good luck soldiers.” The Zora King nods his head once more. Signaling for all the servants to return back from whence they were and leaving the room with an uneven silence. The group is about to go back towards the entrance when a guard stops them in their tracks.
“Uh, dude, move out the way so that we can go.” Snow Leap looks at the guard and back at the narrow stairway they came from, an impatient aura surrounding him. The guard is unmoving.
“I have been tasked with guiding you all to where the currents themselves are. Please, follow me.” He responds in a neutral tone.
“Well, this seems legit.” Silver Bullet says with the straightest face imaginable. “Yeah, let’s go follow him.” Elegant Crease rolls her eyes before actually nodding her head.
“As much as I would like to point out how unintelligent that sounded, I must concur.” She said as she hovered in the air with her wings. A voice in the back is heard, however.
“Dammit, don’t leave me here you guys. Jeff, Snowy, any of you come and pick me up!” That voice belonged to Smooth Edge, the same mare who was still flopping towards them at a snail’s pace. Mike walks back to her and lifts Smooth Edge onto him since the Pony Zora Tunic has transformed the Earth pony’s legs into a tail with fins.
“Not too used to this tail but my strength should make carrying you a piece of cake, hold on tight but don’t choke me please.” He said with a chuckle. She wraps her hooves around Mike’s neck with a surprising amount of strength.
“Awww, my hero.” The crude mare replies. “You know I really wished that SOMEPONY-” She feigned a cough. “-Silver Bullet had gotten me but all is fine.” Jeff couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath while putting on Zora’s Armor piece by piece. As Jeff puts on his armor, Silver Bullet and Smooth Edge can’t help but share death glares with each other as the Zora guard chooses to not make it any of his business.
“Alright ponies… and Hylian, let’s get a move on already, yeah?” Snow Leap decides to take initiative and help herd the ponies along to follow the Zora guard, which they do. Until they reach the pool room that they were previously at.
“This is where you all shall be diving through, I shall go along with you but on the other side is where another group shall take yours to where the anomaly is happening.” The Zora guard steps to the edge, waiting for the others to go through. Jeff adjusts his helmet and slips the mouth cover up as he gets into the waters.
“Off we go!” Mike says with a loud laugh as he turns away from the pool and jumps backward into the water dunking Smooth Edge head first. A loud and then slightly gurgled “Oh buck you!” Is heard but was expected of everyone there.
“Get back here you!” Smooth Edge starts chasing Mike around the pool trying to pick a fight with him for dunking her in such an unexpected way, as the rest of the group enter the water in different ways. Snow Leap quickly goes to hold Smooth Edge back after he enters the water. When FireForge and Silver Bullet enter the water they spot the scuffle and start cheering her on.
“Just let me kick his sorry flank!” She growls out. Mike was laughing his flank off a safe distance away. Jeff enters the water and spots the scuffle as well.
“Oh for Nayru’s sake, there’s no time for this!” Jeff said in annoyance, then surprised that he was talking underwater and heard everyone clearly as the Zora Guard joined them underwater.
“He’s-” Snowy is elbowed by Smooth making him grunt. “-right, so stop elbowing me in the damn sides.” Snowy does his best to calm the raging mare down before she finally stops and takes a deep breath.
“Yeah… You’re right, also FireForge and Silver, I’m putting you both on my manure list so watch out.” Turning over to Mike she holds out a hoof to him. “No hard feelings dude?” She says with a near-genuine smile.
“Sorry, haven’t had someone to do that in about a month and a half, couldn’t help myself,” Mike said, stopping his laughing and smiling. “No hard feelings grill.” Putting her hoof away she takes note of his terminology but decides to accept it of one from positivity instead of negativity. A very sharp snap is heard from everyone from the back before they remember why they’re here.
“O-oh buck, almost forgot, lead the way, dude,” FireForge says with a look of self-disappointment. And that Zora does, leading them deep through the underground caverns that noticeably got colder and colder until they get to an area that leads out to a vast expanse of sea and a lone three group of guards waiting for them all.
“This is the drop-off area, where these Zora shall lead you. Take care of yourselves during this journey.” The guard says before swimming back from where they came.
“As he said to you all, we shall be guiding you through this long travel, do well to behave and do not stray from us.” One of the three guards told the four shivering ponies.
“You know, I don’t understand why you all are shivering. It’s actually kinda warm.” Snowy said with a satisfied gaze in his eyes.
“I’m good, could be even colder,” Mike says nonchalantly.
“Northern pony,” Jeff said with a shake of his head as he never did understand how people or ponies could stand that kind of temperature.
“L-listen, y-y-you all can measure dicks about how c-c-cold resistant you both are but I-I want this done and over with. S-Snowy, you of all ponies know I-I don’t handle the cold well.” Smooth Edge, the shivering pony is already slowly moving forward.
“Let’s do this quick then,” Jeff said as he turned to look at the group of Zoras, giving them a nod to lead the way.
“Unlike the rest of you, I know how to keep my mind and body balanced.” Elegant Crease cockily admits before following along with the herd of ponies, Hylian(s), and Zoras. Their journey was one that was not extremely long. However due to the underwater wintery weather, the group, besides a select few, had mentally thought out to have had the travel take even longer. Passing by the now-almost-dead forests of Hayseed Swamps. And the rocky Black Skull Island they passed was quietly keeping to itself, drooling out small amounts of lava from time to time. The aquatic life itself was made of what looked like an immeasurable amount of creatures ranging from friendly hammerhead sharks to singing kelpies that kept themselves to the lower layers of the water with their water sprite pals. After another ten minutes of traveling, they all finally reached the mysterious area. Several sharp and violent waves act as barriers to keep them all at bay.
“This is where the anomalous happenings have stopped us from proceeding any further. Which is of course why you all are here.” The three guards move to the side to open up more space for them all. “Do as you must to solve this, it’d be of great help.” Another of them says before going silent. Jeff approached the wall-like water currents but kept a fair distance so as to not get swept up. Jeff soon looks at the others, mostly the unicorns of the groups for suggestions. Eventually, Jeff follows the wall and manages to find a gap in the wall of water currents.
“..You might find this hard to believe but it's not just one wall, but multiple. For some reason, it’s forming a strange maze around the area.” Jeff explained as he looked off in the distance, barely making out an outline of Seaquestria.
“Like pinnacle rock?” Mike said then quickly covered his mouth and hit himself for forgetting who he was with again.
“Pinnacle who now?” Silver Bullet asked. Elegant Crease uses her wings and tail to gently glide closer to them both and shakes her head.
“I believe that he’s mentioning the rock formation that is known as ‘Pinnacle rock’ because of its mountainous-like appearance yet still being geologically considered a mere spike of earth by most.”
“Whatever you guys are talking about it’s still not addressing the elephant in the room. How exactly do you get through this multi-layered maze?” Smooth Edge asked before thinking for a second and disappearing off somewhere else.
“Hm… Yes, it is most perplexing, and if it is like Jeff said then it’s going to be difficult to even enter the maze in the first place.” Elegant Crease concludes.
“And it’s gonna be an annoying trial and error if none of the unicorns here knows any spells that can get through it,” Jeff said with a soft sigh, mentally wishing he had the Lens Of Truth to see the currents better or some kind of underwater wolf form that could follow the scent of seaponies that came from where they needed to go. A small chuckle is heard from everyone as a lone hoof gestures to itself.
“I believe I can be of help,” Snow Leap said. “I specialize in Cryomancy and dabble in a bit of water manipulation, maybe I can just help freeze some of the the barriers in place at random times until one of them gives us an opening.” He cockily finishes
“That’s a good way to go about it, go for it,” Jeff said with a nod.
“You got it, bro.” A baby blue aura surrounds his horn before he casts a spell. Several tendrils lash out from his horn before touching the currents in front of them and freezing them solid. As a result this also creates an opening within the maze.
“Ha, let’s go, first try too!” Snowy congratulates himself before heading through his opening and urging everyone else to come through. “C’mon this won’t hold forever- where’s Smooth?” Looking between them all he can’t actually find Smooth Edge anywhere until he looks up at an angle stopping right in front of the water maze, finding her swimming just above before softly landing on Mike’s back.
“Carry me the rest of the way.” She requests, but it almost comes out as more of a demand.
“Man this girl is demanding...” Mike thought to himself but didn’t want to argue. Choosing to ignore her antics, the rest of the group continues on, repeating the same method of freezing parts of the maze and traveling through them before the ice breaks behind them. A multitude of twists and turns are only met with tenacity and determination before they finally reach the other side of it, revealing Seaquestria.
“Finally…” A mana-depleted Snow Leap says. “We’re here, somepony carry me dammit.” And Elegant Crease comes to his aid.
“Consider this a thank you.” She softly tells him before moving forward, taking in the view before her ears briefly flicker, making her back away. Jeff’s attention is drawn as he hears a familiar crackle of electricity.
“...SON OF A DINS-GET DOWN!” Jeff said in a panic as a beam of electricity was flying straight at the group. Jeff dives out of the way, using his dodging instincts and his training to get out of the way.
“Shit!” Mike shouts and quickly throws Smooth out of the way of the zap but he doesn’t get a chance to dodge himself due to spinning in place after his throw and is zapped by the attack Screaming at the top of his lungs in pain. Silver Bullet hurriedly elects a small silver magical barrier out of panic below his hooves before pushing off of it to slowly jump out of the way while FireForge quickly flails his limbs around, only barely managing to swim out of the way from the blast. Snowy and Elegant aren’t so lucky. And Elegant Crease realizes that so she does her best to push Snow Leap away and gets struck by the electricity, with only a small amount of it bouncing on Snow Leap. Thankfully due to being a pegasus, it doesn’t have the major effects of completely frying her alive.
Gazing toward the attacker, what Jeff said made him shudder in disgust. What floated before them was a large red fleshy ball. Several bluish protrusions come from its body looking as if they’re ready to detach at any time. And a multitude of tiny tendrils are at its bottom acting like legs. The weirdest feature it has is the six larger tendrils coming from the top of it, three of them were a deep veiny red and the other three were also just as grotesque as the red ones, sharing the same pulsating veins but with the added addition of having dish-like formations from around the end of them.
↑Barinade↑
“Barinade, Bio-electric Anemone..” Jeff said in recognition as he pulled his sword and shield.
“Barinade, Bio-electric Anemone..” Jeff said in recognition as he pulled his sword and shield and boss music began to play in Mike’s head. A huge mass of red flesh with large jellyfish attached to it appears from the darkness. The jellyfish that formed a symbiotic relationship with Barinade were bigger than the ponies in the group, while the host was the biggest, easily towering by twelve feet in height. “Quick lesson, avoid the electricity it blasts, DON’T attack the jellyfish until we stun Barinade. The thing is gonna be rapidly spinning so keep your distance!” Jeff quickly explained just as it started doing just that, spinning around with electric tethers between the jellyfish and its main body like it was a helicopter.
“Alright, you guys heard the damn stallion. That means no idle hooves either, draw your weapons and get to stepping.” FireForge shouts as he started to move to match the spinning jellyfishes’ rhythm.
“You need not to tell me t-twice.” The pained Elegant Crease grunts out.
“I need a moment to recover, you all just do your things, I’ll be with you guys shortly.” Snow Leap replies as he gets back up and out of its range. Silver Bullet looks over to Smooth, drawing a sword with his hoof from his scabbard, he nods his head to her as the mare unlocks a battle axe from her withers before nodding back. Both of them get into battle-ready stances before slowly advancing towards the Barinade on two sides, careful not to hit any of the electrical jellyfish while not yet making a move.
“Oww…” Mike coughs out before shaking his head and regaining his composure. “Anybody got a boomerang?” He shouts as he starts swimming toward the others. Elegant Crease slowly rises upwards in the sky, using her wings as makeshift fins.
“Now’s not the time for jokes Emerald.” Pulling a whip from her waist she proceeds to unfurl it and floats at an angle from Barinade to not get close to the originating part of the electrical current.
“Plus it’s not connected to anything, so boomerang is out of the question,” Jeff said as he swam around Barinade trying to find an opening.
“C-can’t we just shred the damn thing until it decides to die?” Snow Leap tiredly asks, being helped up by his brother as they both draw standardized swords.
“Physical contact with it will get you electrocuted, there’s a reason why I mention stunning it. Anyone of you know ranged magic? Aim for the main body, the pulsing red part.” Jeff explained to his squadron.
“Well I’m shit outta luck, fire magic won’t work down here… Unless, everypony I need you all to buy me some time to try something out. If you’re given the opportunity though, then strike this thing down.” FireForge tells them before charging up his magic. Snow Leap nods his head.
“You got it, bro.” Snow Leap said, shakily getting into a more refined stance, the snowy stallion pointed out his blade and summoned two small-sized icicles before firing them at a random Jellyfish. Jeff stomped and pushed off the ocean floor to get out of the way as a Jellyfish, narrowly hit his face, the Hylian even felt a small wave of energy pass by him from how close it was. Mike reaches a hoof behind himself trying to pull anything out of his inventory to no avail.
“Damn, I can’t use my items in this form…” He says with worry in his voice. Thinking quickly he swims in between Barinade and FireForge. “Right now, best I can do is body block. If shit hits the fan I’m gonna have to unmask though.” He said quietly becoming a Pony-shaped shield to stop electric shocks from hitting FireForge.
“Alright I let a lotta things slide and if it were for the fact that this was a-” FireForge grunted straining himself charging his magic. “-life or death situation I’d be interrogating you right now. So get outta the bucking way.” Mike nodded and swam out of the way. A large light emits from FireForge’s horn as bubbles rapidly form around his entire body, the red aura that surrounds his horn flares up before releasing an almost invisible jet stream of heating magic at the Barinade and striking it, causing the monster to jolt uncontrollably and its jellyfish brethren to lose their shock.
“N-now, strike it everypony!” FireForge calls out before he collapses into one of his brother’s open forelegs. Jeff quickly swam straight at Barinade with his sword posed, making swimming fierce stab at the boss’s body, causing it to let out a low gurgle as blueish blood bled into the waters around them. Mike Swam as fast as he could.
“Falcon punch!” He yelled as he used all his energy to slam his right hoof into Barinade leaving a sizable welt in the monster’s massive body.
“..Falcon Punch?” Jeff asked in skeptical disbelief at Mike, the Hylian made another stab at Barinade’s body while waiting for Mike’s explanation.
“It worked didn’t it?” Mike pointed out as he started rapidly jabbing Barinade in the same spot. “It’s all I got right now.” Smooth Edge almost drops her battle axe after hearing that ridiculous name of a move.
“Oh so now we’re using style on this beast?” She jokingly asks before grabbing her axe handle, swiftly chucking it upwards towards Elegant Crease while Silver Bullet creates a few dozen of those small magical barriers to use as platforms and travel over to the monstrosity with his slow underwater leaps, finally reaching it and delivering a few cuts to it before promptly swimming backward as he sees Elegant Crease’s whip wrap around Smooth Edge’s slow-moving battle axe and slowly twirling around with it, but due to the water’s resistance, it isn’t until she gets a very tiny but still slightly noticeable current going with her momentum before using the side of the axe to bat the Barinade in the side, still not knocking it down however.
“Now that’s bucking style!” The weaponless mare says before swimming over to Elegant Crease and retrieving her weapon back. Jeff rapidly swam away just as Barinade rose up off the ocean floor.
“Get away from it!” Jeff warned as Barinade’s body started to crackle with energy anew.
“Whoa!” Mike yelled as he swam away trying to avoid getting another zap. Snowy uses some of the last of their magic to form a small ice wall to shield both himself and his brother as Silver continues to swim away and out of harm’s reach.
“Oh by Celestia’s flank, if I survive this, I’ve gotta go out and get drinks with Elegant Crease.” Smooth Edge quietly mumbles, realizing she won’t be able to muster the agility needed to get out of its radius while Elegant Crease is long gone in the other direction. The earth pony braced for electrical impact as everyone else was ducking and swimming out of the way of stray electricity coming from outside the blast radius. Noticing Smooth Edge not escaping the zap radius of Barinade, Mike mentally cursed and swam back to push her out of harm’s way.
“I’m gonna regret this but...” He thinks to himself then shouts as he reaches Smooth. “Move damn it!” He pretty much tackles her pushing her away from Barinade, but puts himself back in zapping distance. The mare wildly flings through the water in a very slow manner before realizing what just happened. But before she could swim back over to help Mike, he was already in the process of getting shocked by the Barinade screaming his lungs out in agony. With its attackers repelled from its body, Barinade rose higher toward the ocean’s surface with its spinning jellyfish. Suddenly Barinade aimed all of its satellite-shaped tentacles at Jeff as its body started charging up a large amount of electricity. The Hylian frantically swam to his right, however despite the Hylian’s best efforts, it fired off many electric beams at him, earning a direct hit and causing Jeff to let out a loud scream of pain as his body spasmed and shook. Elegant Crease stops swimming away, turning around only to realize what just happened and rapidly shake her head.
“Please, mother of Celestia, give me strength.” Instead of being analytical, she beelines in front of Barinade without thinking. Elegant’s Crease beelining, distracts Barinade from its beam onslaught, allowing Jeff to gain some ground away from Barinade and bring back some of his senses. Barinade swings one of its tethered jellyfish straight at her. Which was the final straw, all of the electricity running through her was more than a pegasus could handle so she went unconscious from it.
“Goddess-damn it that hurt...” Jeff said as he gritted his teeth, waiting for the volts to stop rippling through him. Smooth Edge goes over to help aid the unconscious Mike, Silver Bullet gives Jeff some physical support by helping him up, and FireForge immediately swims to carry Elegant Crease on his back while Snow Leap is too exhausted to even move at this point.
“Tartarus, what do we do now? This thing looks like it’s about to flake on us at any moment yet it isn’t giving in. Doesn’t anypony else have a surefire way to beat this thing?” Silver Bullet asks.
“Just keep stunning it with spells from a range and striking it close when its connection with its jellyfish is interrupted...” Jeff said as he forced himself to swim up he raised his sword arm up, prepared to strike.
“A-alright, everypony who’s too injured to fight, stay back. Everypony else, fight till your last breath.” An out-of-breath FireForge adds on. Silver Bullet, done with helping Jeff up, swims up some to gain a tactical advantage.
“I trust you’ll be alright Jeff, make sure to not get shocked like everypony else.” He half-jokingly says. Charging up some of the mana into his horn to get ready for another strike towards the spinning Barinade. At the same time, Smooth Edge is attempting to slap Mike back into full consciousness and doing some wishful thinking to jump start his muscles again to wear off the shock.
“Get-” She slaps his face. “-the buck-” Another slap. “-back up!”
“Now! Aim for the red fleshy part.” Jeff signaled just as Barinade’s satellite tentacles started charging up another beam. Sharply nodding his head, Silver Bullet sends out a disc-shaped construct of magic towards that exact spot, the disc itself has several blunted-out edges to it for a more concussive form. Getting a direct hit on the Barinade’s weak spot and only opening. Like before, it interrupts the boss’s telepathic link to its jellyfish, allowing Jeff to rush in and strike true to the base of the beast’s real body. Which was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Barinade flails all of its tendrils in crazed directions before deciding to spin faster and faster before it ends up creating a small whirlpool that disorients everyone. Just as the whirlpool cleared, it was gone, it managed to escape to a different part of the ocean making the boss music fade out from Mike’s ears. Everyone is nigh exhausted from the fight, Snow Leap is collapsed on the sea floor, FireForge is trying to pick up his exhausted brain to become functional again, Silver Bullet is massaging his head along with his horn, and Elegant Crease is still on FireForge’s back, and Smooth Edge is still trying to slap Mike awake.
“H-huh…” Mike starts to regain consciousness as Smooth Edge continues to slap him. “Oww, hey stop, Oww, I’m up!” He shouts. Her hoof immediately stops before her eyes go wide with surprise, and then proceeds to smack him one more time before letting go of him.
“Geez you almost had me worried. I mean what in Celestia’s name were you thinking when you took that blast head-on for me?”
“I don’t think I can tell you, you wouldn’t believe me, Man my face hurts…” Mike starts rubbing his cheeks trying to stop the pain.
“Hylia dammit. I wasn’t expecting it to fly off like that.” Jeff said as he sheathed his sword and slid his shield onto his back.
“What did I do to deserve this...” Mike thinks to himself the pain in his cheeks subsiding.
“You know Emerald, I still can’t say that was the easiest thing I’ve done but-” Smooth looks behind herself briefly and notices everypony already swimming off. “Shit. We’ve gotta get going.” The mare leaves a confused disguised human behind while she too, swims away.
“Wait, don’t leave me behind damn it!” Mike quickly swims behind Smooth Edge. “Man, I feel like I was pretty much useless in that fight… This damn pony disguise is holding me back.” He said quietly slowly catching up to the others. “Gotta stick with it for as long as I can…” He said quietly with a sigh.
=Seaquestria= -A Short Swim Later-
The group finally makes it into Seaquestria. After the painstaking fight and having some ponies near collapsing, they’re trying their very hardest to remain diligent. Looking around they do find some things that lighten up their days. The beautiful and unique structures of this underwater kingdom are something to marvel at. Their coral houses are decorated with several sea-shell lanterns of varying colors, resembling a kaleidoscope of sorts. The wonderful statues that have been carved of hardened minerals are found scattered everywhere. Residents however are nowhere to be found, they’re all within their shops, homes, or hiding out of sight from them as if these ponies were the plague of sorts. Some out of curiosity while others are more-so out of fear.
“Man… Now I know how Zecora felt when she visited Ponyville at first…” Mike said looking around at the hiding citizens.
“...I’m guessing Barinade’s gotten them spooked, I wouldn’t blame them. That, or they haven’t had pony visitors in a long time...” Jeff said judging from the sea-citizens’ gazes. The group still trudges along through the waters, swimming from street to street until they find something of importance which doesn’t take long. After a few more blocks they all see it, that towering castle that nearly reaches the surface itself. Several decorative barnacles are scattered around with a detail level that’d rival any good designer for years to come, natural coatings of moss and algae that have grown on it due to age are also found plentiful.
“Uh… Guess we should go see if the royalty of this place has anything important to let us know?” Silver Bullet awkwardly asks. No pony was in the mood for witty banter though and instead left for the castle, the silence hanging over them like the cold weather. The squadron did their best to make efficient use of their time and finally made it to the presumed royalties’ residence. There was a problem though, two seaponies were blocking their path with serrated spears. An intensely aggravated FireForge gives them both death glares.
“What do you mean you ‘can’t let us through’ we traveled all this way from King Zora’s domain and nearly got our flanks kicked by it. You guys gotta let us through, tell ‘em, Jeff.” He shouts at the guards.
“By Celestia and King Zora’s orders no doubt, we’re here because of a missing band,” Jeff explained to the two seaguardsmen. They both stare at each other for a moment before staring back at the solar guards (and Mike) before their expressions turn apologetic.
“Please forgive us, we didn’t know you were here under two royals’ order. Please allow us to guide you all to our queen.” Both of them take their serrated spears away from the entrance and enter the castle, allowing the group entry through the queen’s palace. A few minutes passed as the guards apologized multiple times.
“Again, we’re sorry for our ignorance.” The first guard says for the third time the small trip.
“And again, we don’t care.” Smooth Edge truthfully comments. Jeff reached over and slapped upside Smooth Edge’s head. A soft “Oww” is heard but she merely nurses her injury before grumbling a few obscenities at Jeff. The second guard is about to say something but that’s when they all arrive in an open area that’s been carved like a dome. Royal gold is basically the entire room’s personality. Many sculptures are behind the throne and the throne itself has barred like golden minerals spiking away from it, a nice contrasting red velvety cushion is on the back-rest of it while at the bottom, the cushion is an ironic sea green. Upon the throne itself lies a bigger seapony than anyone else they’ve seen thus far, which isn’t many but still. Her fins are huge and the crown she wears is simple in nature, it’s ‘V’ shaped and has three lone blue feathers on it.
↑Queen Novo↑
“Who are you all? Why have you come to my kingdom?” The royal seapony asks.
“By King Zora’s and Celestia’s orders to investigate some kind of anomaly and the missing band, he said they were heading here last?” Jeff asked curiously. The queen squints her eyes at the group distrustfully.
“If you’re referring to the Indigo-gos then they’re fine. It’s actually thanks to their guitarist that we’re fine now, sadly he’s currently resting from tiring himself out. Tell me, how did you all get here in the first place?” She asks with some skepticism.
“Wasn’t easy getting through the maze of water currents at first till Snow Leap made it visible by freezing parts of it,” Jeff explains.
“Barinade didn’t help either…” Mike said with an annoyed tone of voice.
“No… No kidding, hey where are we anyways?” A now slightly awake Snow Leap questioned.
“We’re in the underworld colt, we all died and this is Tartarus.” Smooth Edge replies, completely stone-faced. FireForge almost slaps Smooth Edge for that but can’t muster up the strength for it.
“Don’t lie to my little bro like that. And hey, what’s your name miss?” He asked
“You all may refer to me as Queen Novo.” She swiftly answers.
“Well then, Queen Novo, can we get a place to sleep…” Mike’s stomach grumbles loudly, cutting off FireForge.
“Crap, I forgot I didn’t get to eat breakfast…” He shamefully holds his belly and hangs his head.
“…And eat around here before another one of us collapses?” FireForge almost forcefully uses a pleasant tone in order to not be rude.
“Please forgive their attitude, Barinade did a number on all of us, I doubt they can survive round three with him in their current condition, and before you ask yes, that is the name of the monster,” Jeff explained. Raising an eyebrow, Queen Novo gives Jeff a weird stare.
“You all fought the ‘Barinade?’ As you call it. Did you all kill it, perhaps?” She asked.
“Sadly no, it manipulated the water currents and blinded us before we could,” Jeff said, still feeling ashamed about it.
“Yeah it was a real pain in the flank, but at least we got a few good blows in.” Smooth Edge comments with a tiny bit of cheer. Queen Novo shakes her head.
“How disappointing. This beast has been attacking us on and off for the past few weeks. And it seems to be going after our goddess orb that we have been protecting for many years given by one of the great goddesses above.”
“Wait, goddess orb?” Jeff’s pointed ears rose up with interest.
“Yes, a goddess orb, what is it to you? Why do you require such information?” She asks with some suspicion.
“I’m gonna take a guess and say you got it from Nayru, or perhaps a Hylian of my description?” Jeff asked curiously. Queen Novo starts sputtering before managing to gain a proper line of thought.
“What is it that you’re planning, answer my questions, or you may be detained and brought into custody.” At that, several guards take a stance, getting ready for a fight if need be. Jeff quickly dug into his pouches and pulled out the goddess orb of Farore.
“Celestia said they were given by the goddess to protect them. This orb here, I found in the Everfree held by Gohma.” Jeff explained.
“Oh that’s pretty, I wonder if I’m gonna collect any of those in my Equestria?” Mike says looking up, delirious from low energy and lack of food. The queen of Seaquestria is even more confused by both of these statements.
“You’ve collected one already and either your friend there is insane or from an entirely different universe…” Now more out of concern for the delirious pony that’s looking woozy, Queen Novo places a fin upwards letting the guards drop their combat-ready positions. “Please do not laugh when I say this but…” The queen leads off. “There once was a prophecy from the olden days where it was told by Nayru herself, told of a warrior who wore red and green for travel and would one day be given onto him our orb. It had been years since we- I mean I was told this and no one matched this description, besides you. Although she must’ve been going into the deep end when she told this because you’re nothing of the hero sort.” She harshly declared.
“I get that a lot,” Jeff said as he placed the green orb back into his pouch. “I’ve done a little heroing but that’s about it,” Jeff said. Taking a moment to stare at them all, the queen slowly shakes her head.
“Very well then. In any case, I shall provide you all with temporary rooming within my castle. Allow my guards to escort you all and continue this conversation tomorrow when you are all better.” She claps her fins together making a resounding noise that echos through the entire room. Several servants come swimming out and begin escorting them all to different guest rooms in the castle. The entire group is nearly shambling through the waters, with each of them crashing into their respective beds. Mike and Jeff are coincidently bunked together while the rest of the solar guards have already fallen asleep as soon as they hit their beds. Before the servant left them both he told them that dinner would be in a few minutes, leaving them both to their devices.
“While we are by ourselves, want to know anything about me or my Equestria, bud?” Mike asked.
“Hours ago you mentioned tokens, do… Displaced, was it? Do they all have them?” Jeff asked as he adjusted his Zora armor since he wouldn’t be able to take them off to sleep.
“I had to make mine, I poured all of my energy into my Fairy Ocarina and it copied itself, so I assume you’ll need to do it as well if you want to help others out too,” Mike explained. “Though, I’m not sure if it’s a flawless plan, I mean I was kinda forced here.”
“And who taught you about this?” Jeff asked as he sat down on his bed, which for some reason the seaponies called a seabed.
“Uh… Another link displaced, I think his name was…” Mike puts his hooves on his head trying to think. “Wait… If I remember right his name… was Jeff I think?” He said confused. “You know, you kinda look like him… just less battle damaged… Huh, what a coincidence.” He chuckled. Jeff looks at Mike confused.
“Sorry, hero of time.” A voice spoke out as everything instantly took on a monochrome look, surprising Mike.
“What the?” He looks around confused. “Who’s there!” He shouts. A goddess figure appeared before Mike wearing a blue dress. He had trouble seeing who she was considering her golden glowing skin, especially how it hides her face.
“Jeff is indeed the same who you’ve been before, however with time I reset that timeline due to his previous self failing to uphold his role,” she said.
“Wait, really?” Mike said confused. “So let me guess I can’t continue talking about his former self, am I right?” He asked.
“You are correct. In his previous timeline, he had summoned someone who held him back from becoming the hero I wanted him to be...” the golden goddess explained.
“I think I understand, so are you gonna rewind time a bit, Goddess of Time?” He asked. “Or are you just gonna change what I said?”
“Just tell him never mind and you are mistaking him for someone else, multiverse theory as many Twilight Sparkles call it,” she said.
“Alright, as you command, Goddess of Time.” He nodded. She gave a grateful but brief nod as she faded. Slowly, time resumed and color returned to the world. Mike blinked a few times as Time resumed. “You know what, My memory isn’t the best, disregard what I said about my teacher, their name’s not Jeff, I think it was Jason or maybe Jack, curse my bad memory.” He tactfully fibbed. “Anything else you wanna know?”
“Makes me wonder why there’s more than one version... Are heroes not all that common in those Equestrias?” Jeff asked with a tilt of his head.
“Honestly… I’m not sure, yer the first displaced I’ve ever been summoned to.” Mike said looking up at the ceiling at nothing in particular. “So, any non-displaced questions in that head of yers?” He asked, lying down on his designated bed.
“Where did you get the mask? It works much like those of Majora’s Mask.” Jeff asked as he studied Mike’s pony form face.
“My displaced teacher gave it to me, along with a fairy companion, too bad she wasn’t with me when I was teleported here,” Mike said, reaching up and running a hoof across his pony muzzle. “This form isn’t too different from my wolf form, it is a bit weird that I actually have a cutiemark, I was worried about that when I got the mask.” He admitted.
“A what?” Jeff asked, confused.
“Guess you forgot when I asked you in the Everfree, I asked ‘Hylian, wolf, or pony’ what’d you think I meant?” Mike said, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean the cutie mark thing...” Jeff corrected himself.
“Oh, that… yeah look.” Mike points to the mark on his flank of the Master Sword and Mirror Shield. “Wasn’t sure that would be there since technically I never found my calling like normal ponies.”
“Ah, I thought it was some sort of tattoo those ponies have, like tribe members sort of thing,” Jeff said with a nod to Mike’s words.
“Cutie marks are a pony’s life’s calling, what they are destined to do and what they are the best at doing.” He half-heartedly explained. “I’m sure Celestia could tell you more if you asked her.” He hums in thought. “I wonder if Cole would have a cutie mark if I let him use this mask?”
“I didn’t want to be rude though asking about someone’s butt tattoo….” Jeff said as he rubbed the back of his head.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure about your Equestria, but back in mine they’re not that taboo to ask about, most ponies will gladly tell you about them without hesitation,” Mike said with a yawn.
“Ah, well, so far of what I’ve learned about this world, a lot of things from the Zelda games exist in this one, except with a lot more detail.”
“Yeah, I kinda noticed that at Zora’s Domain, I wonder if my Equestria has Zelda locations in it, it definitely has its monsters for sure,” Mike said with some venom in his tone at the end.
“Judging from your surprisingly not polygonish ocarina of time appearance, I’d have to assume it’d be a lot of that,” Jeff said with a nod.
“Already got an extended Everfree forest, has a bit of lost woods vibe goin’ on now,” Mike said. Jeff let out a soft yawn as he placed his hand over his mouth.
“As much as I’d like to hear your whole world, we’d best get to sleep,” Jeff said tiredly.
“I guess that would be smart, gonna be weird to sleep as a pony but… can’t break disguise,” Mike said closing his eyes. “I’ll eat in the mornin’, Barinade shocked my body to the core.”
“Just think of how cats sleep, it’s kind of the same way if I remember correctly,” Jeff said as he lay across the seabed, pulling the strange seaweed silk blankets over him.
“Whatever you say, bud.” Mike puts his hooves under his head as a makeshift pillow not really paying attention. “Night, Fellow Hero of Legend.” He said with a smile.
“Night, hero of time,” Jeff said as he closed his eyes. It took the Hylian a long while to fall asleep since this was the first time going to sleep underwater with only the sounds of his air bubbles projected from his mouth mask, the soft pressure of the water, and lastly there being less gravity.
“Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day...” Mike thought to himself as it but a few moments to fall asleep, due to his experience falling asleep in water before as a kid.
Our two heroes of their individual Equestrias are sound asleep until A couple of loud knocks are heard from the door of their temporary room. It isn’t fierce nor is it soft. A simple firmness of several knocks is heard resounding through the room.
“Mlrlrlrrl..” Jeff said in a mumble in an almost murloc-like tone. “Wha..” Jeff said as he opened his eyes in confusion. Several more knocks are heard coming through the door, this time having a harder thump to each of them.
“Five more minutes, Spike…” Mike said with a soft snore directly after. “Make some bacon for us…” He rolled to his side in his sleep. Someone from the other side of the door does an extremely over-exaggerated sigh before pounding on the door non-stop, fed up with the lack of response.
“Alright-alright-alright-I’m up!” Jeff said as he pushed the sea blanket off of him, swinging his legs out of bed.
“Why yes, Twilight…” Mike mumbled. “I would love to eat that huge chocolate book…” He rolls back onto his back. The knocking finally subsides as Jeff opens the door, almost looking hung over in some aspect.
“Finally you’ve opened the door…” A Seapony said looking over to the side he saw the other pony still asleep. “Why has your other friend not awoken? Are they in a medically induced slumber?” The seapony asked.
“...I’d dump cold water on him if that was possible..” Jeff said half-jokingly as he made his way over to Mike, giving him a firm shake. A loud snort sounds from Mike as his eyes shoot open.
“Huh, where am I?” He looks around the room. “Oh right… Hell…” He said jokingly as he pushed off the bed and lazily floated towards the door. “What I wouldn’t do for some fish right about now. Where’s Fluttershy when you need her…” He says rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The seapony rolls his eyes, only the smallest amount of sympathy locked behind them.
“Yes, yes, we’d all like something early in the morning after being woken up at ten thirty but we all can’t have that luxury. Queen Novo does have something to make up for this. If you’d all follow me then I shall direct you to our dining hall as promised last night.” The seapony moves to the side and allows them both to get past him. Swiftly swimming down the halls, leading the two into a large area. Fancy silverware is on these long rectangular tables that stretch longer than normal tables do. And seated at them are five ponies, one seapony, and a Zora attempting to comfort said seapony.
“Oh hey dudes, bout time you guys got awake. We’ve been waiting for hours here.” Smooth Edge impatiently says. A small tap on her hoof comes from none other than Elegant Crease.
“Don’t listen to this fool, we only had gotten up minutes ago. We’re glad you two could join us. Maybe one of you could even calm down Queen Novo. She’s been acting strange ever since we got here.” She said.
“Eh it’s probably nothing big, she’s probably just got something on her mind.” Silver Bullet counters. Snow Leap shakes his head.
“Nah I know that type of panic. She’s stressin’ over something bad dude. Like if you lost something really important levels of bad.” Not wasting any more time the two displaced both take a seat right next to each other.
“Need food to function, no hay please…” Mike said as he rested his head on the table, still a little tired from being woken up.
“This stallion doesn’t like hay? Something else I can add to the weird board for you. I’m hungry too though, lemme me try and get her attention.” Smooth Edge gets up from her seat but is immediately sat back down by Elegant Crease.
“It’d be best if you of all ponies didn’t go. Why not anypony else?” Elegant Crease takes a look around for any volunteers. Jeff rose up from his seat and made his way over to the Zora and Novo. He stopped in mid-step as he got closer, recognizing the Zora to be none other than the Guitarist Mikau.
↑Mikau↑
A moment of silence passed before Jeff finally spoke. Mike using his selective hearing raises an ear and snoops on the conversation.
“A rupee for your thoughts?” Jeff asked as he looked between the two. Queen Novo stops her incessant arguing with Mikau for a moment. Cautiously moving her head over to put her gaze on Jeff.
“Come again?” She confusedly asks.
“It’s an expression meaning would you like to share your thoughts?” Jeff explained in concern.
“That’s what I thought you meant.” Seaquestria’s queen began. “What I truly meant was why would you wish to know about such business?” She states.
“Because I can’t ignore someone looking troubled, so please tell me? I’m here to help after all.” Jeff said with a soft smile.
“Any other person wouldn’t have asked me with such a simple agenda like that.” Queen Novo softly comments. “Mikau, if you’d please, tell him why. I’m much too distressed to tell him myself.” Mikau gently nods his head.
“Of course your majesty. Jeff, right? It’s a pleasure to meet you. As you heard from Queen Novo I am Mikau. Currently, we’re both discussing the matter of Queen Novo’s stolen goddess orb of Nayru and her kidnapped child, Princess Skystar.” He tells Jeff.
“When did this happen?” Jeff asked in worry. Mikau shakes his head while rubbing Queen Novo’s back.
“It happened last night when both the orb and Skylar went missing. From what the Seaquestrian scouts can tell us, they found a trail of disturbed sand leading to the south. After we eat, I plan to go with you seven and I know what it’s like to lose children.” He stated.
“..So nothing knocked down? A sign of a struggle? Anything?” Jeff asked with a frown.
“No, despite how hard we tried to look. There were no real break-in attempts from the monster, no signs of mind control, and Barinade’s regular nesting time was about then so there was no chance that it just up and swam here to kidnap the princess. Which is what’s stumping us.” Mikau answers Jeff before continuing. “We’ll talk more about it once everyone here has a full stomach and gets to the waters outside.”
“Amen, Mikau bring on the grub!” Mike shouts still starving. “Lord knows I really need it…” He says quietly. Smooth Edge leans to the right and repeatedly nods her head while banging her hooves on the table.
“Yeah, you need to feed us. We’re starving and I might just eat up that tasty lookin’ colt over there.” She stares at Mike with the eyes of a predator but Snow Leap quickly nudges Smooth’s shoulder. Which doesn’t completely tear her gaze away but still gets her to tone down on the hunger in her eyes.
“Be patient and respectful, yes, I know everyone’s hungry since last night but please,” Jeff shouted over the air. Mike realizes what Smooth just said.
“Colt?” He frowns. “Bitch I’m twenty-three,” He says offended by being called a colt. Her head fully snaps back onto him.
“Doesn’t matter how old you are, I could still gobble you up in seconds-”
“Okay, that’s enough of that.” Snow Leap jumps in before catching Queen Novo’s attention.
“Huh… Oh yes, servants, please bring these guests their well-deserved meals.” She orders. Several servers come and place down covered silver platters before opening them to reveal a multitude of species of fish, several different berries, mostly being between red and blue with few green ones scattered around, flavorful algae, and a very noodly-looking type of hay.
“Ah, so this is what Seaquestrians eat then, fascinating.” Elegant Crease observes before taking a plate. Meanwhile, Mike is essentially inhaling the fish he got.
“More please…” Mike says holding up his plate with nothing but the bones of his fish left. “I’m at about half a tank of gas.” He said with his head still resting on the table. Smooth Edge immediately raises an eyebrow.
“Damn did you never get fed when you left from Ponyville or something? Maybe I shouldn’t eat you then, wouldn’t have any protein on you anyhow.” The earth pony smiles before pompously moving her chin up to the air while graciously taking bites of her hay noodles. “Basically colt I am your superior, therefore I must act like it from here on out as well.” His anger rising Mike decides to leave and calm himself down.
“Yo, Jeff, mind if I run back to our room real quick?” Mike says while looking directly at Smooth Edge with a sour look on his muzzle. “I gotta do somethin’ important.”
“Huh? Ok, sure.” Jeff said as he took a plate, not looking all that eager to eat considering the choices but better than starving.
“Cool, I’ll be a little while.” Mike gets up and swims away back to the hall exiting the room.
“Celestia dammit Smooth Edge ya scared him off.” Mike catches FireForge saying who shamefully shakes his head as Mike leaves.
“That Damn Mare…” Mike quickly enters his and Jeff’s temporary room making sure to shut the door behind him. “Gotta work this frustration off, but first this shit comes off.” He takes off his Pony Zora Tunic and reaches up to the sides of his pony face and mimics pulling off a mask. The room flashes a bright white and Mike returns to his Hylian form and starts to choke due to not having his Zora tunic on. Thinking quickly he closes his eyes and opens his inventory quickly equipping his Irons Boots and Zora Tunic. He closes his inventory and he can breathe again. “God damn that fuckin’ hurt.” He holds his neck painfully breathing heavily. Once he catches his breath he puts the Earth Pony Mask back into his inventory for the time being.
“Time for some near-zero gravity training.” He says popping his knuckles. He quickly sat down and started doing ab crunches. He then does push-ups after taking his Gauntlets off. “Damn not enough weight, maybe…” He reaches under his shield and tries to pull out the Megaton Hammer to no avail. “Fuck, Ocarina of Time game mechanics working against me for once.” He decided that working out without the full regime would not help his mood. Mike sits on his bed and puts his head in his hands. “Man, I gotta get my head together.” He sighs. “I could have handled that better than I did.” He lays back on the bed. “Maybe a bit of singing will soothe my nerves.” He clears his throat and thinks of a quick song to sing. And a song begins playing. “Good One brain, upbeat as well, that’ll definitely cheer me up.” He stands up, starts playing air guitar facing away from the door to the room, and sings when the vocals should come in the song.
“♪ C.C. Pick up that guitar and talk to me! ♪” Mike sings starting the guitar solo, but suddenly he hears someone talking behind himself and it causes him to look back in surprise and the song cuts out like a scratch on a record.
“Aw, what the buck?” Smooth Edge shouts.
“Oh shit…” Mike says as he stands there like a deer in headlights. “FUCK I forgot to lock the door...” He mentally curses.
“..Whelp, the Remlits out of the bag,” Jeff said with a sigh and a shake of his head.
“How’d a damn changeling get underwater? Jeff do you really know this guy?” Smooth Edge silently questions herself before unhooking her battle axe. “Elegant.” She signals to her fellow solar guard.
“Right, changeling you shall answer here and now. Else you be detained, then imprisoned by the local law enforcement.” She quickly follows up.
“Woah, Woah, Woah!” Mike shouts as he backs away from Smooth and Elegant. “Hold on a sec, it’s not what yer thinkin’.” He quickly states. He closes his eyes for a second and opens his inventory quickly equipping his Golden gauntlets in case they attack so he can block their strikes with the gauntlets instead of his bare arms.
“That’s what all shapeshifters say. So put away those soul-bound gauntlets that you just summoned and come with us.” Elegant Crease surprisingly announces. Jeff held out his arm, blocking the two aggressive ponies.
“Not a changeling, this is actually Emerald Sword, the truth is he’s a lot like me…” Jeff pauses to look at Mike, wondering if they’d believe the whole multiverse bit.
“Yes, Listen to Jeff, he tells the truth, and these aren’t soul-bound Gauntlets, they’re here to protect my arms from attacks.” He said. Elegant crease almost looks as if she’s about to drop her guard but Smooth Edge still doesn’t seem convinced.
“How can we be so sure that you didn’t mind control Jeff? Do something that only a real Hylian would do.” Mike thinks quickly.
“Maybe if I disarm myself they’ll calm down.” He thought to himself. “Alright I’ll compromise, Take my gear.” He took the leather belt holding his Sword and Shield and tossed them over as a sign of good faith. He stands with his hands up surrendering as his gear slowly lands in front of them. Smooth Edge looks at the gear and back at Mike.
“Oh… So then you’re dumb, okay then come along with us-” Elegant crease glides over before putting a hoof on Smooth Edge’s shoulder.
“Don’t do that, I know you’re just screwing around now. It’s pretty obvious because of how you just handled the procedure.” Turning from Smooth Edge Elegant Crease faces Mike. “Yeah alright, we have a little trust in you now, take back your gear but don’t pull anything funny, we’re all gonna need an explanation for this.”
“Ok, just gonna slowly…” Mike inches forward and starts to bend down keeping his eyes on the two solar guards. “Grab these and…” He picks up his gear and swiftly puts it back on. “Done.” His hands shoot up again.
“Alright, now do the hokey pokey and Luna walk at the same time.” Smooth Edge demands.
“Oh for Nayru’s sake..” Jeff said as he placed his palm on his face.
“Don’t remember the first one but…” Mike quickly starts moonwalking and spinning like Michael Jackson. “I know yer fucking with me but I’m still not sure if I’m able to diss obey you.” He says. “Hope they don’t want me to do thriller, I haven’t practiced it much.” He thinks to himself. Smooth Edge is on the verge of tears while simultaneously cheering and laughing at the same time.
“Aye, aye, aye! Just like Michael Coltson!” Elegant Crease can only groan at her comrade’s foalishness.
“...I will admit, those are some amazing moves.” Elegant Crease shyly comments. Mike starts to tier as the iron boots make it a bit hard to dance.
“Can I stop now?” He says as he does the smooth criminal lean. Smooth Edge almost goes ballistic from the smooth criminal lean.
“O-oh, oh Celestia that was good, yeah you can stop… I wish Jeff would do stuff like that for us.” Smooth says.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough tomfoolery..” Jeff said with a snort, causing bubbles to escape his face mask.
“Thank god…” Mike falls face-first out of the Smooth criminal pose onto the sand floor. “Oww.” He quickly gets back on his feet.
“Oof, that ain’t good.” Smooth Edge quietly mutters. “Well it seems like all’s well that ends well, guess we can head out now.” Whistling a small tune, Smooth Edge quickly tries to leave the room. Only to be stopped by Elegant Crease who wags their hoof back and forth.
“You’re not getting out of what we came here to do, so go do it.” Pushing Smooth Edge back, Elegant Crease proceeds to block the door. Smooth Edge quietly nods her head before slowly swimming in front of Mike’s face and uncharacteristically says some words of wisdom.
“Dude… I’m sorry, really I am. I shouldn’t have called you a colt. You actually seem like an alright guy, maybe one of these days I could even treat you to a drink if you’d be up for it. But ultimately that shit wasn’t right and because of that, I apologize.”
“That’s what you guys were here for?” Mike says confused for a moment. “Apology accepted, and Drinks? You mean alcohol?” He questioned.
“Unfortunately that seems like the only type of drink she knows of.” Elegant Crease answers for her.
“Oh, then no can do, I’ve not gotten drunk yet so I’m not sure how I’ll act. And I’m in a committed relationship and don’t want the small chance of something ‘funny’ to happen, if you catch my drift.” He said flatly. A very soft, and nigh-inaudible ‘Damn..’ Exits from Smooth Edge’s lips. Her hyperactive mind quickly moves onto something else before floating upside down like a reverse buoyant fish hook. Elegant Crease stretches her forelegs over her head and smiles.
“Ah, I’m so glad that it’s finally over with… But Smooth does raise a surprisingly good question. When will you dance for us, Jeff? I’d like a comparison of two Hylians doing the same dance side-by-side.”
“...I don’t do dancing…” Jeff said with a frown.
“Oh my god, what the hell did I just accidentally start…” Mike says putting a hand over his face instantly regretting following orders.
“Beats the Flying Pot out of me,” Jeff said with a shrug of his arms.
“No no, that’s something I would probably have asked later but sooner is just as fine. One of these days I shall need those results of you both dancing at the same time. But mark my words. If I don’t get those results within the next year. I will hunt you both down and force you to.” Elegant Crease threateningly states. “Now come along the both of you, we shouldn’t keep the group waiting.” Wrapping her wing around one of Smooth Edge’s dangling legs she brings her out of the room like a balloon.
“I still suggest putting the mask back on, Michael or the seapony guards might freak out asking how you got in here or why there’s a second ‘hero’” Jeff said as he made his way outside of the room. Mike nodded.
“Right, hope those two can keep a secret…” Mike says quietly as he reaches under his shield and pulls the Earth Pony Mask back out. “Please don’t hurt the second time…” He puts the mask up to his face and it latches on again, hunching over and gasping for air with another scream and flash of light Mike is swimming around as Emerald Sword again. He quickly puts on the Pony Zora Tunic that was floating next to his bed and swims out of the room. “Still hurt…” he said with a pained sigh.
=Seaquestria Castle Dining Room= -A Few Moments Later-
“Man that was an ordeal...” Mike thought as He, Elegant Crease, Smooth Edge, and Jeff all swam back into the dining room after the event that just transpired.
“Yo, what took you ponies so long, I for sure thought Jeff would’ve gotten it done nice and snappy. Guess it doesn’t really matter now though.” Snow Leap admits.
“You sure Snowy? Feels like they should’ve taken a tiny bit longer.” Silver Bullet objects.
“As much as I’d love to hear the continuation of both of your tales, I’m afraid that we might not have a lot of time to rescue Princess Skystar and retrieve the goddess orb from Barinade,” Mikau says.
“Well don’t worry, we’ll be able to knock down this thing once and for all… And maybe I’ll chomp off a tendril or two for trophies.” Smooth Edge excitedly imagines. Mike gags imagining what Barinade would taste like.
“No trophies because if this thing is like Queen Gohma, it’s gonna be a gory mess when it explodes on its death.” Jeff pointed out.
“Awww, that sucks major apples. Guess I’ll have to settle for licking it for a split second to see what it tastes like.” Everypony within the room unanimously agreed to have pretended to not have heard that. Except for Silver Bullet.
“Actually, I kinda wanna take a piece of it off if it’s mostly fish-based. Just for the exotic factor of course.” He adds. Jeff decided to make no comment about it.
“Ponies, ponies, including Mikau and Jeff. You’ll all be able to test your skills against it, and hopefully not try to consume it, but currently you should all be moving your fins and legs to get there now.” Queen Novo ultimately interjects in the conversation and pulls the group into a similar mindset of a rescue mission.
“Of course, everypony let’s do this. Because now we’re gonna burn this forsaken monster to the ground.” FireForge pumps a hoof into the air, a soft twilight fills the room yet seemingly goes unnoticed.
“Wonderful, we shall be heading out then. Time to save a princess.” Mikau determinedly says, swimming out of the main entrance, leading everyone else through and in the direction of the Barinade’s nesting area.
=Outside Barinade’s Nest= -An Hour of Swimming Later-
This is it… This is our heroes’ time to shine, all of them are left in front of a giant coral cave. It’s a contrasting color of pink even though it emits such a dark and almost death-ridden aura. Full of unpleasantries and the like. And although none of them share any words on the structure, everyone heads inside at the same time. As if a telepathic link was set up between them all.
“Woah… This place is a lot bigger than I thought it’d be.” Silver Bullet mutters.
“Ha! That’s what she said.” Smooth Edge loudly tells Silver Bullet.
“Shh, do you want it to know we’re in here?” Elegant Crease says. “And never mind that, let’s take a look around this temple-looking structure.” In front of our group of travelers is what appears to be a complexity of several different rooms that string along one after the other, some diverging into rooms with four doors and others having only one other than the one they’ve come from with a simple puzzle to be solved that takes little to no time at all. There’s a clear organized chaos to be found in the structuring. Swimming cautiously the group finds some parts of the temple decayed or rotted, with an overarching cause of it being these long growths of corals that appear to be living. They all move in such weird and distorted manners as well.
“Okay I’ve got a good feeling that this is gonna be the right door,” FireForge says.
“You’ve been saying that for the past four doors but sure go for it.” Snow Leap nonchalantly replies.
“Heh, watch me.” Barging through the door, FireForge grabs the attention of four floating jellyfish, the very same ones that were latched onto the Barinade, Baris. And five skeletal fish that have piranha-like features, Bago-bagos.
↑A Bari↑
↑A Bago-bago↑
“Be careful, physical contact with the baris will still shock you, so keep it ranged. The Bago-Bagos however are fragile, but fast.” Jeff warned as he pulled out his sword and shield.
“I’ll take out most of those Bagos or whatever you called ‘em. Elegant, be a good little pony and help them with those damn Baris.” Smooth Edge taunts. Electing a sharp snort from Elegant Crease but she still complies, both mares take out their weapons to fight as do the stallions.
“We’ve got this, try and conserve as much energy as possible for these small fries.” Silver Bullet advises. Taking out his sword with his unicorn magic he holds it a couple of hooves away from himself to avoid any conducting electricity that may come at him. One of the Bago-bagos charges straight at Jeff with its snapping bone jaws, only to be split in half by the Hylian, then burst into darkness.
“Man, these things are fugly,” Mike says as he punches a pair of Bago-bagos making them explode into bones that burn away. A swift overhead strike rains down on an unsuspecting Bago-bago from its side, coming from Smooth Edge.
“You’re telling me, these things are literal boneheads.” She yanks her axe from the ground with a sigh. By either chance or a simple misdirective swim, Mikau is spotted by the last Bago-bago and it charges straight at him. Still giving him enough time to prep his spear and make three consecutive strikes on it within seconds, causing it to puff in a dark inky smoke.
“That was the last of those, now for the Baris,” Mikau said.
“That’s where I tap out, I got no ranged capabilities,” Mike said out loud. “I would if I could take this damn mask off…” He then said quietly with a tone of frustration.
“D-don’t worry, we already killed one of them.” A struggling Snow Leap shouts as he barely swims out of the way to dodge a bolt of electricity.
“FireForge, just help me do something.” Snow Leap asked his brother who nodded at this request. “Silver Bullet, take its attention off of us if you can.” The fellow Solar guard replied by swimming as fast as he could around the Baris while firing small concussive blasts that knocked it over. And each time he did that an immediate blast of high voltage came his way, slightly reaching him but not enough to seize up his muscles.
After a certain period of time doing this same dance, FireForge launches his brother with the help of his front hooves. As the snow-affinity brother soared through the ocean, a small ice-lance was created in front of his horn before he proceeded to tear through the Baris, while coating a thin layer of water on the outside of him like an inner bubble to allow the conductive currents to travel away from him. The last Baris remains, and it’s being fought by an enraged Elegant Crease.
“Die already!” She angrily shouts, taking her whip and striking it while being shocked in the process. As the last remaining one was slain due to pure unadulterated rage, in the middle of the room a small chest started to manifest, however, something was odd about it, it looked like a normal chest but a lot more polygonish. To Mike’s eyes, he recognizes it to be the same kind of small chest from Ocarina of Time.
↑A Small Chest From Ocarina of Time↑
“What the hell?” Mike swims up to the chest. “It’s low poly…” He instinctively opens the chest with a smack from his front hoof and his body moves on its own again. He turns away from the chest and holds his hooves up with a smile showing... A green rupee. A familiar fanfare plays again as a text box appeared in his vision ‘You found a Green Rupee, don’t spend it all in one place!’. He blinks the text box away and regains control of his body as the Rupee lowers into him. “Really… why do you forsake me, R N Jesus?” He shouts to the ceiling in fake anger.
“..ok, that was odd... Also, R N Jesus??” Jeff asked in confusion as he walked over to Mike.
“I dunno man, it felt right to say,” Mike said with a blank expression. “Really hope I don’t find a Gold rupee in here, I only have the child rupee wallet.” A mane-frizzled mare with small sparks of electricity bouncing off of her passes by both of the two with an annoyed look on her face to a random corner of the room. FireForge and Snow Leap swam up in front of the two with curious expressions.
“Who’s R N Jesus?” Snow Leap curiously asked, making Mike face hoof.
“No one important, just an expression, don’t look too far into it.” He stated, annoyed at himself for talking about an earth idiom. “Man, me and my big mouth...” He thought to himself.
“But like… From where though?” FireForge adds to the question as Jeff finds a set of stairs leading up out of the room and leaves Mike behind with the two curious stallions.
“From back where I’m from, dude,” Mike quickly says.
“Okay hold on, I think what my brother is asking is… ‘But like, from where though?’ You feel us?” Snow Leap tries to clarify
“I feel ya, Honest, it’s just…” Mike stops to think for a moment. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, trust me I would love to clarify where that came from, but right now we have more important things to do than talk about idioms from where I’m from.” He said with a sigh.
“FireForge, I’m pretty sure he’s dodging the question-” A large shout from above interrupts the chilled brother coming from Silver Bullet.
“Guys come up here, Jeff found a passageway towards the surface!” He says.
“Oh thank Celestia, I was getting bored of counting all of the mane that was out of place in Elegant Crease’s mane.” Smooth Edge quietly swims up to where the voice comes from as does everypony else. Dropping the conversation for now. Smooth Edge exits the water with Mike, FireForge, and Snow Leap right behind her.
“Fresh air, I thought I would never taste it again,” Mike said as he took several deep breaths and removed his Pony Zora Tunic.
Inside the room was another set of stairs leading up, however, made of beautiful yet old worn-out marble. On both sides of the room looked to be two mermares posing with pots in their fins, pouring what looked to be an endless stream of water heading down into an unknown passage. There were three doors, one for each direction left, right, and forward.
“Seapony architecture, here of all places?” Mike said confused. “Still, looks fantastic if a little aged.” Neutrally looking around while still trying to fix her mane, Elegant Crease nods.
“This may be an old ruin of sorts.”
“Well if it’s old then we better hope we don’t fall back in the water.” Smooth Edge points out before taking off her Mermaid suit as does Elegant Crease.
“That’s all the more reason for us to be in and out with great efficiency.” Mikau comments while trudging forward on land for the first time in a while. “And shouldn’t we pick a door now?” He asks. Jeff’s ears perked up as he heard strange scuttling noises coming from behind one of the statues. Making his way to the other side, what he spotted made his ears droop. What sat at the back of the statue, was a golden skulltula. Mike walked over to Jeff also noticing the distinct sound.
“Damn, you got these cretins boggin’ up your world too huh?” He said with a tone of annoyance.
“This is the first time seeing one, this is also telling me some poor fool and, or, their family got cursed..” Jeff said as he reached into his pouch, taking out the Hero’s Bow as it grew from its shrunk state.
“How peculiar, a golden skulltula down here?” Mikau answers with a small amount of pity.
“Doesn’t really matter, we just need to crush ‘em and set it free if it’s cursed, right?” Smooth Edge brazenly asked.
“Hold on, Jeff, don’t kill it yet, I’ll explain. It’s not that simple,” Mike said as he turned to face the others. “This particular monster may look harmless, But they only appear when someone or somepony has been cursed by either making a deal with a Golden Skulltula or by stealing large amounts of money. The way the Skulltula curse happens isn’t truly known but there are multiple theories.” He explained. “The curse alters the cursed individuals’ bodies making them become gross amalgamations of half their original form and half Skulltula,” He says with a sigh. “There are most likely One Hundred Golden Skulltulas around Equestria, and maybe even farther,” A small clapping noise is heard from Silver Bullet.
“Okay, props given where props are due. That was a pretty good explanation. But if these are in abundance then I believe Jeff should be the one to put it out of its misery.” Silver Bullet concluded.
“You don’t understand, The spider isn’t the one in misery, it’s just a mindless vessel that houses the key to breaking the curse.” Mike clarified.
“Ha, I knew you didn’t understand anything he said, Silver. That peanut-sized brain of yours basically says it all.” Smooth Edge happily one-ups her companion.
“Ponies, now isn’t the time to argue amongst yourselves, we must destroy this vessel and others like it,” Mikau said
“See how it just sits there spinning in place? We can clearly see it and it would have definitely seen us and hid, mindless like I said.” Mike points out. Snow Leap nods his head up and down.
“Ah yeah, that actually makes a bit of sense. Well, you go kill in Emerald. Only logical that you’re chosen.” He said.
“I would, If I could reach it…” Mike says afraid of touching it knowing what happens in the games.
“No worries,” Jeff said with a nod as he nocked an arrow into his bow, pulling on its string as he aimed up at it. Jeff lets the arrow fly true, hitting its mark perfectly on the Skulltulas’ back, it lets out a loud screech as it runs around in circles, its body lighting up in blue flames. As the last remains of its body turned to ash, its golden skull-shaped back fell down onto the floor.
“Oh, it’s affected by gravity? Wish mine did that…” Mike said in a hushed tone. Jeff kneeled down and picked up the token, soon placing it into his pouches. Unlike Mike, there was no special jingle nor game mechanics to hinder Jeff from getting it. “Congrats, you’ve collected one out of a hundred,” Mike said with a genuine smile. “I hope your quest to break the curse goes well.”
“Eh? Hey now, we don’t know if there’s that many in my Equestria,” Jeff said with a frown.
“Better safe than sorry, my friend,” Mike says as he walks back toward the center of the room.
“W-what even happened? Why’d it drop a token?” Silver Bullet asks them both
“That my silvery friend, is the key to breaking the curse.” Mike quickly answers.
“But why were you two talking like you’ve both experienced this before despite Jeff being confused about that thing being here?” Silver Bullet pressed forward
“I wasn’t confused, I was surprised and saddened that someone or somepony got turned into a half-spider monstrosity,” Jeff explained to Silver Bullet.
“...Yeah that checks out.” The pony said with a shrug before walking forward, glad to be out of the cold water by now.
“Everypony please try not to lose focus right now and keep going forward. I have a feeling we’ve got a long way ahead of us so far.” Elegant Crease says with some small amount of authority. Gazing out at three available doors, he notices that the front door is much larger than the others, firmly locked by a big lock with many chains wrapped around the front.
“I’m guessing that’d be where Barinade is hiding, no doubt doesn’t want us finishing the job if you know what I mean,” Jeff said in amusement.
“Should we check for traps or anything like that?” Snow Leap moved closer to the locked door while still keeping distance. “The only reason I’m asking is because of this temple’s general nature.”
“No, there doesn’t appear to be any traps of the sort. You notice how every tile on the floor is cracked? A pressure plate or tripwire would’ve gone loose and have already been set off from the debris.” Elegant Crease quickly answers.
“Snow Leap does have a point though, so let’s keep an eye out for traps,” Jeff said as he started to head to the left door.
“Fine by me, everyone watch your step and walk after the other person’s step.” Mikau alertly adds. Silver Bullet grunts in annoyance.
“See I knew I should’ve taken that course to magically detect traps but somepony told me I wouldn’t need it.” He specifically stares at Smooth Edge who shrugs in response as they all head towards the left door in a single-file line. Jeff kneels down, and with a rough push, causes the door to slide up into the wall, allowing Jeff to walk inside.
“Twilight Princess style doors, neat,” Mike says quietly as he follows the Hylian with the others behind him. Once inside, the group saw what looked to be a large room with several crystal switches strewn about the room seemingly at random. Each of the switches had circuits connecting up to this decagon-shaped door that had ten large steel poles for each respective side, all of them meeting up to the middle.
“...I’m gonna take a random guess and say the electricity needs to get to point A to point B to power something..” Jeff said as he studied the room.
“Seems simple enough…” Mike said as he stepped farther into the room. “Judging by those see-through pylons In the center of the room, we definitely need to hit a few of the switches to power them to open the door.” He walks over to the pylons and inspects the ground around them, noticing multiple circuit lines running from each pylon.
“Notice anything?” Mikau asked curiously. Mike nods and turns back to the group.
“There are way too many connections to these pylons, seems some crystal switches will turn off a pylon if we don’t get the right order,” Mike said, scratching his chin in thought. “This puzzle sure is becoming more complicated as we investigate.”
“I hear ya,” Mikau said, closing his eyes and putting a hand on his chin in thought like Mike. “No doubt trial and error would take far too long.”
“And may even have consequences,” Mike added as he walked around the room trying to make sense of the circuits.
“Okay, first things first, Snowy go hold Smooth Edge before she starts flipping random switches… And she’s already going at it, buck.” FireForge uses his magic to attempt to yank Smooth Edge from both the switches she’s hitting on and off. Making five pylons repeatedly go on and off at the same time.
“Woah, Smooth stop don’t hit that…” Mike tried to say but it was too late and a hidden door opened on one side of the room.
“Ponyfeathers! There’s no way that opened something.” Silver Bullet nearly shouts as Elegant Crease can’t even begin to believe what she’s seeing. A sudden breeze of wind comes out of nowhere.
“Hey… anyone else feel a breeze of air?” Mike said as large bubbles started flowing in from the hidden door.
↑A Shabom↑
“Uh… My bad everypony.” Smooth Edge sheepishly shrugs her shoulders while narrowing diving to the side to avoid a bubble.
“Celestia dammit Smooth, sometimes I wonder how you can even function properly,” FireForge says in a pissed-off tone.
“Be careful of those bubbles, they’re called Shabom, pop them from a range or keep a weapons distance before striking,” Jeff instructed while the large bubbles flowed from one side of the room to the next. As if to test their dexterity. Jeff draws out his Hero’s Bow as he pops a few with his arrows.
“Man, those things are really filling the room…” Mike points out. “We should probably do something… And fast.”
“Agreed, we need to try and stop the source first and if that isn’t possible we need to solve this puzzle as quickly as possible.” Elegant Crease concurred.
“I’ll help deal with the Shaboms, you guys do the puzzle,” Mikau said, readying his boomerang fins.
“Thanks, Mikau, Elegant and Snowy, try to troubleshoot the puzzle as best as you all can. Everypony else, let's do our best to cover ‘em.” Silver Bullet says his plan aloud, electing a chorus of agreement. As the ranged capable fighters started popping the bubbles to clear the room for the puzzle solvers. Mike, Snow Leap, and Elegant Crease get together to quickly solve the room’s puzzle.
“Alright, after Smooth Edge kept hitting the switches I noticed the main pylons in the middle flashed red right before that hidden door opened.” Mike started explaining. “The switches she hit are both off again so I guess after a bunch of failed inputs it resets the puzzle, so let’s try not to do that again.”
“Understood, what do you two suggest then?” Snow Leap asked them. “I’m not the best at puzzles like these but I’ll happily take suggestions.” He added. Mike closed his eyes and started thinking as fast as he could looking for a solution that wouldn’t take too long to do.
“Me thinks we should go ahead and hit every switch at least once to see each one’s effects, though we might open another punishment door in the process.” He suggests.
“I hope we don’t,” Jeff said as he kept his bow out.
“That seems sensible, however, there may be a shortcut to this that’s risky and may spawn more of those ‘Shabom’ as you called them Jeff.” Elegant Crease says, just as Mikau sends both of his fins flying out and striking two Shabom from afar and popping them at a safe distance. “Perhaps it’s possible to hit them in increments? Hitting two at the same time wouldn’t necessarily give us the correct data of what the individual switch does, but it could be faster through the process of elimination to give us all a more grounded idea of which ones work and which don’t.” The mare finishes.
“That just might speed this along…” Mike said with a hum in understanding. “But are we prepared for more of these damn bubbles, they keep coming in pretty large numbers.” The group looks over to the defenders of the operation and sees them holding up… Decently, they certainly aren’t overwhelmed but they do look to be struggling to keep up.
“...It’s a risk we have to take.” Elegant Crease quietly states. Snow Leap looks reluctant as he sees his younger brother sending small bullets of flame at each of the bubbles, conserving as much mana as possible.
“Fine, we need to be quick about this though. Are you two in?” Snow Leap asks them.
“Got no other choice honestly, I really don’t wanna be neck-deep in acid bubbles but I’m in,” Mike says with a nod.
“Just solve the puzzles while we take care of the bubbles, they’re fragile anyhow,” Jeff said as he nocked an arrow into his bow. As the four of them simultaneously agree, a large shout is heard from across the room.
“Ah, horseapples that hurts!” Smooth Edge says as a Shabom she missed had popped on her shoulder.
“And there’s the call to make this a rushed job, split up, I’ll go over to the far end with those two switches!” Mike shouts as he gallops across the room.
“I’ve got these then, Snow Leap you go next to mine, so we can accurately do this.” Elegant Crease commands. The stallion nods his head as they both take a set of switches. “On three, we’ll hit them, one, two, three!” Elegant Crease slams down on both the switches with her bare hooves as do Snow Leap and Mike. With each Switch hit the pylons in the middle all light up. With only one pylon and switch unlit Mike shouts out to the ranged team.
“Someone shoot that last switch, I think we got it!” He points to the lone switch near the middle of the room and far away from the puzzle team. With a *fwip,* Jeff sends his arrow flying toward the switch. *Ka’shiiiiing* it goes as the switch lights up, allowing the door to open up. The hidden door stops blowing shaboms and closes with a resounding thud.
“Wait it was really that simple?!” Mike shouts as he throws his front hooves up in frustration. The sound of magic manifesting draws Mike and Jeff’s attention. There in the middle of the room laid two chests, one of its usual polygonness, and the other much more detailed. “More chests?” Mike said calming down a bit. “Wait why’s one look real and the other one paper maché like from the other room?” He said as he approached the chests.
“Specifically designed for you?” Jeff said with a shrug as he went to open the chest. Inside, Jeff found a small Red Rupee, which he placed into his pouch. Mike quickly kicks the low poly chest and turns away from it and held up a Piece of Heart and a different fanfare played out. Blinking and recovering control the Piece of Heart flew into His chest. “What the heck… how’d a…” Mike super confused, starts sputtering. “How’d that get here?!”
“I stopped trying to make sense when I first met you, Emerald Sword,” Jeff said with a shrug. A group of slightly worked-up ponies and singular zora, walk over and see what happened.
“What happened guys? Was it really that easy?” Mikau asked while readjusting his spear.
“If anypony asks, Emerald found a Heart Piece, which is something that can make the one who absorbs it more durable,” Jeff explained.
“That’s not what I asked but sure?” Mikau said, confusedly.
“Eh, this type of thing is normal for Jeff. Sometimes he’ll dodge a question or two, just let him have this.” Silver Bullet helpfully answers.
“Whatever the case, we better huff get a move on before anything else happens. Let's go Everypony.” FireForge trots past the both of them and up to the now unlocked door.
“Right, let’s hope the next room ain’t another puzzle room, I’m itching for a real fight,” Mike says, popping the joints in his neck. Jeff makes his way over to the next door and he forces it open, making his way inside. Jeff walks into a wide open area with what looks to be some kind of sparring area with dummies scattered around the room, discarded seapony weapons and what looks to be a rusted piece of armor standing, or rather, kneeling in the middle of the room, mostly pony shaped except for its lower half, which was that of a seapony.
“Wonder what this was for. Maybe they all had parties in here and would use this place as a rage room.” Smooth Edge concludes. Jeff gave Smooth Edge a look wondering what kind of party involved a training room.
“Smooth don’t be such a smarty pants.” FireForge requests. “You know this is a training area, question is, why was it on the other side of a puzzle room?” He asks himself.
“Are we sure it’s a training room?” Mike said walking up to inspect the rusty armor. “I’ve seen in a few books enchanted statues and the like that can detect living beings and do a set function when they find any.”
“You make a good point Emerald. Everypony, stay on guard till we know it’s safe.” Said Snow Leap.
“Fine, but I’ll still be observing them from afar.” Elegant Crease told Snow Leap. Jeff’s ears rose as he heard a hard click, and then the sounds of rushing water, before long the room was starting to fill quickly with it.
“Get on your water gear, everypony,” Jeff said with a warning as he raised his face mask up.
“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Smooth Edge hurriedly puts on her mermaid suit, slightly annoyed from the factor of being submerged in water as Elegant Crease does the same.
“Damn, and I was enjoying not being constricted by that damn suit,” Mike said with a frown as he quickly put his Pony Zora Tunic back on. The full armor set near Mike started to let out loud pops and cracks as it started to move on its own. Within the helmet, a pair of red eyes glowed fiercely and stared at the disguised Hylian.
“Uhhh… Is it just me or is that armor staring into my soul right now.” Mike said a bit scared as he quickly backed away.
“Nah, it wasn’t just you. We’ve got an evil set of armor on our hands.” Mikau replies as he readies his spear. Jeff quickly puts away his Bow and draws out his sword and shield. With a loud screech, it causes the remains of its rust to fly off. With a Spear and a shield of its own, it suddenly charges at the group, forcing Jeff to leap into a roll away from the animated armor. Silver Bullet’s horn lights up in a greyish color, immediately creating a circular barrier to block the attack, although it does slightly crack from this.
“It’s in Seapony armor, this water will give it more ‘ground’ to work within the fight, we need to deal with it quick or this’ll definitely get harder.” Mike pointed out. Elegant Crease flexes her now re-implanted tail and swims back some to unhook her whip.
“Hm, fine, we should rip this thing apart. It’ll be a nuisance otherwise.” She said.
“You said it sister, crushing this tin can will be light work.” Smooth Edge agrees. Jeff swings his sword, creating a sword beam to come flying at the animated armor, however to Jeff’s surprise, it didn’t even flinch.
“What in the name of Dins?” Jeff asked in confusion as the animated sea armor let an angry cry, it swam straight at Mike.
“Oh shit!” Mike curses and quickly swims out of the way. “I’m useless while that damn thing has a long-arm weapon…” He said with a feeling of being a burden.
“No, you don’t!” A small concussive blast is sent from FireForge as he swims in a more tactical position away from it.
“It may have specialized runes inside it or some type of unyielding curse. We may have to hit it with different things until it breaks.” Elegant Crease shouts while swinging her whip around the animated armor’s foreleg.
“Everypony, don’t let it get close to you, it’s like a speedy juggernaut, try and look for any weak points it may have.” Snow Leap advises.
“I’ll try and search for one then, one of you guys can help if you’d like,” Mikau says with a strange calmness to his voice.
“It charges like a Moblin and it's immune to damage like-” Jeff pauses in mid-sentence as the realization hits him. The animated armor charges at Jeff next, the Hylian hovers in the water completely still, only to dodge at the last second as Jeff slashes against its back, causing it to let out a screech. “Like a Darknut!” Jeff exclaimed as he swam to make some distance.
“Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?!” Mike says with a frantic tone.
“You’ve never played Wind Waker, have you? The Dark Nuts are immune to attacks to the front but not the back.” Jeff whispers to Michael.
“Played almost all of ‘em just not the cdi ones, and not far into the oracles.” He responded Jeff visibly cringes at the mention of the CDi ones.
“I really hope I don’t see any of THAT in this Equestria,” Jeff said with a groan.
“So what you two are saying is, that this thing can only take hits from the spinal area then? Tch, of course, it had to be this fast while having such an absurd weakness” Elegant Crease angrily says.
“Guess we’ve gotta up the ante then.” Swimming towards the side and at a safe distance, Silver Bullet starts taunting the animated armor set, making it charge directly towards him. “Anypony, strike it when it leaves an opening.” The slightly scared stallion advises.
“Putting a target on your own back? Admirable, thank you, dude.” Mikau calmly shows his gratitude as the animated armor goes for a sharp swing of its spear from the left, forcing Silver Bullet to make a small shield to take most of the force. Shattering it but it leaves a small cut on his cheek. Following up on that, the animated armor uses its shield as a blunt force weapon and knocks Silver Bullet a few feet over.
“Oooooh, he’s gonna need ice for that one.” Smooth Edge comments.
“Now’s not really the time for jokes, Smooth, we need to focus on how to take advantage of its weakness. If it wasn’t for this damn water then I would’ve melted this thing together hotter than Tartarus could ever burn.” FireForge goes swimming over to where Silver Bullet was knocked down and helps him up. Jeff pushes against the wall, flinging himself off it through the waters to strike at the animated arm’s back. Noticing his plan of action, Snow Leap charges up his horn with a smile.
“Nice going Jeff, I’ll follow up on it.” Firing off five small condensed ice balls at the animated armor it almost instantly notices and raises its shield to block them all, giving Jeff enough cover time for a strike. Jetting to the other side, Jeff once again pushes off the opposite wall, swimming past it to strike it along its back. The animated armor briefly kneels down, releasing another shriek of pain despite having no true nerves to speak of. It gets back up, releasing an ear-piercing roar before turning its head everywhere, finally landing its eyes on Mike and charging at almost twice the speed it was going at. Not having enough time to fully dodge Mike is pierced through the foreleg.
“AHHH FUCK!” He screamed in agony. Thinking quickly and before the Animated Armor could get away Mike painfully wraps his limbs around the Armor slowing it down considerably but driving the spear deeper. “W-where do… You think… Y-yer going?!” He said grunting from the pain. “Holy hell this fucking hurts...” Mikau almost grievously looks at the gory sight. All calmness is removed from his demeanor and is replaced by the utmost certainty. Whipping his spear around, no small amount of force is spared as Mikau blitzes toward the animated armor in place, firing out four fin blades within the span of seconds. All of them directed at the animated armor’s back. Before chucking his spear into its back at full force, fully stunning the enemy’s movement.
“Just one more strike should do it, anyone, finish this thing off for good!” Mikau shouts, taking the words right out of Mike’s mouth. Jeff lands near the animated armor as he stabs his sword into its back.
“Buck yeah let's finish this thing off now!” Joining in with Jeff, FireForge wraps their standard sword around in his magic, heating it up into a few bubbles that come from it. Receiving a boost from Silver Bullet as he tosses him at the vulnerable animated armor and plunges it into the animated armor’s back, pushing all three blades deeper into its body. As the last attacks sank into its body, it went limp and still. All is now quiet... Too quiet.
“S… Someone g-get this damn spear…” Mike said with a tinge of worry as he let go of the armor and slowly floated away. Elegant Crease uses her wings and tail to hurriedly hold Mike before holstering him over her shoulder.
“This isn’t anything that was more than a flesh wound, however, it’s quite severe…” Mikau swims over and yanks his spear out of the animated armor’s body with distaste as FireForge does the same.
“Okay give him here, me and Silver both know some healing magic but Silver’s more advanced than I am.” Snow Leap requests which Elegant Crease complies. Both stallions swim over and apply minor and intermediate levels of healing magic on Mike, the wound closes but there’s still a level of pain there. In the middle of the room, a small chest manifested into being, the same polygon-shaped chest Mike has been seeing often.
“What’s with this temple and treasure chests? Just how many did the ancient merponies hide?” Jeff asked as he sheaths his sword and shield. With the pain subsiding Mike slowly swims over to the N64 chest.
“I really hope this room drains so I can lick my wound to help it heal…” He said as he hit the chest with his good foreleg. Just like before, Mike turns around and holds up a Bottle Of Green Potion with the familiar fanfare returning.
↑A Bottle With Green Potion↑
Blinking and recovering control of his body the Green potion disappeared into his inventory. Gazing out, Jeff just noticed something behind a thick cage. Making his way over, Jeff kneels down and pushes the caged door open. Once inside, Jeff found two giant chests, but before Jeff could open one, both Silver Bullet and Smooth Edge went and swam to the giant chests.
“Sorry dude, but me and Smooth agreed that we’d be next to get the cool stuff, you two can have next dibs!” Silver Bullet says as they both reach their respective chests and flip them open. Revealing the chest Smooth Edge had to have a Seaquestrian banner that had a strange lump underneath it and the one Silver Bullet opened had half of a big strange key.
“Wow… This is absolute garbage. I got half a key and.” Silver Bullet leans over to check what Smooth Edge got, which was just some kind of banner of unknown importance. Jeff looked inside the chest Smooth Edge opened.
”..No, there’s something else.” Jeff said, reaching inside to grab a hold of something.. It made a soft click, making Jeff pull it out curiously. What Jeff held in his hand was some kind of metal claw, which looked rather similar to the Hookshot, yet it had a short point inside of its claw. It all looked like a hodgepodge of sorts, the color of this device is a dark navy blue with brown oak-colored designs edge into the sides in a serpentine manner. The base of it has two ‘Y’ shaped grips with a sizable steel pole welded in them to hold the grip together. Mike slowly and painfully swims up to Jeff to see what he got out of the chest.
“Neat, a Clawshot with a Hookshot in the claw, might need to use it in the other half of the dungeon.” He said trying to ignore the pain in his foreleg.
“Oh c’mon, that thing was hiding underneath it, ugh lucky.” Smooth Edge told herself.
“And hopefully make it easier,” Jeff said as he placed the Clawhook shot away into his pouches. Suddenly, the room rumbles, causing the water to drain out of the room. The animated armor still lies where it... ‘Died’, its visor showing no life. “Also I doubt you could use this, Smooth Edge, it's bigger than your hoof and you lack the means to properly grip the handle.” Jeff pointed out.
“Tch, I could still… Try, listen, it’s the principle of the matter, alright!” She deflects Jeff’s reasoning into the bottomless pit of her mind for later. And takes off her mermaid suit.
“I honestly can’t understand why ponies try with you Smooth. You’re like a walking ball of calamity.” Elegant Crease tells the fellow mare. Jeff let out a soft chuckle at Elegant’s comment as he started to walk out of the room.
“You two can both argue later, for now, we have to keep moving forward. We were delayed enough by those traps earlier.” Mikau says as he follows Jeff.
“He’s right everypony, this is nothing new to us.” Snow Leap adds as he walks after them, everyone else following closely behind. As Jeff walked back to the main chamber, he noticed one of the seapony statue’s eyes were glowing, as if it was an achievement of the boss being beaten.
“Damn looks like there’s another boss on the other side of the dungeon,” Mike says walking only on three legs keeping pressure off his injury. “I don’t think I’m mentally prepared for another fight…”
“Sorry, but you are out of luck when it comes to getting a break, sir. Whether or not we face another ‘boss’ it still won't change the fact that sooner or later we will have to face Barinade.” Elegant Crease tells Mike. He grumbles to himself annoyed that Elegant is completely right. Jeff heads to the door opposite the room, opening it up like before as he makes his way inside. The other room was similar to the other, but instead of an area to train, it looked like an obstacle course with raised platforms with pillars, each one having some kind of symbol. Taking out his Clawhook, he aims for the closest platform, allowing it to yank Jeff up top, only for the platform to glow red, tilting itself and dropping Jeff back down.
“Ha ha, you really managed to fall down like that?” Smooth Edge pointless taunts Jeff.
“Smooth, for just a few seconds, shut the Tartarus up so we can figure out why exactly that happened,” FireForge said.
“A weird choice of words but I certainly agree, please shut up.” Mikau concurred.
“I’ll see if I can just fly up there then and get a better look aerial-wise.” Elegant Crease spreads her wings and begins flying up to where Jeff shot his Clawhook and keeps herself in the air, looking around.
“You got this, right, Jeffy my boy?” Mike shouted as he sat next to the room’s entrance taking a break and was joined by FireForge as well. “I’mma just sit here and try not to pass out…” Like before, Jeff uses his clawhook to zip on over to another platform, only to be dropped like before from the platform glowing red and tilting.
“..I’m starting to think I’m supposed to pick the platforms in a certain order.” Jeff pointed out.
“I think I see it as well, but please tell me what you think first Jeff. It’s refreshing to hear another’s view.” Elegant Crease said. Jeff looks at each of the symbols, staring hard at them.
“I can foggily remember them but I think it's ancient Hylian,” Jeff said with a nod.
“I was thinking they were ancient symbols of sorts as well, good deducting skills but now begs the question of how to get rid of this obstacle course?” Elegant Crease thought aloud. Looking at all six platforms, old memories resurfaced at the top of his mind.
“...M.. W…D..I, S, and O.” Jeff read each lettering symbol. The Hylian pauses to go deep into thought.
“My guess is that we have to re-arrange these symbols into a proper or functioning word. Tell me, Jeff, do you know of anything that could have possibly had importance in Hylian culture that involved those six words? Something that they praise perhaps?” Elegant Crease asks
“M, W, D, I, S, and O?” Mike said slowly. “Wisdom, huh neat.” He quickly solved the puzzle in his mind. “Oh, clever… I got it guys!” He said with a grin. “But I’ll only say it if you need me to.” He went back to holding his wound.
“You helped with the previous room, I’ll help with this,” Jeff said with a nod.
“Okie Dokie,” Mike shouted, imitating Mario’s voice the best he could. The Hylian Jeff is silent for a moment as he scrambles the words.
“..Wisdom, ha. Don’t know why I didn’t see that coming.” Jeff said as he aimed his Clawhook, zipping around each platform; each time the platform lit up in green as he landed on them in order, spelling out the word ‘Wisdom’. The door to the next room suddenly jolts up, and Mike’s attention is drawn to a small chest appearing in the middle of the room. Elegant Crease gently floats down and shakes her head before deciding to wait at the exit door.
“Really, who the hell… build this damn place? Discord?” Mike stood back up and hobbled over to the small N64 chest and kicked it. Turning around again, Mike holds up an Adult Bit Wallet with the same fanfare sounding out. Blinking and recovering control for hopefully the last time this day, the wallet disappeared into his inventory.
“Who?” Jeff said as he dropped down from the platform.
“I’ll tell ya later, when we’re alone, don’t want to spook the solar guards, I’m starting to like ‘em,” Mike says in a hushed voice hoping the solar guards didn’t hear.
“Don’t have any friends back home, or are they just a breather for you?” Jeff asked curiously.
“Na, I’m friends with six wonderful girls and a baby dragon,” Mike said with a smile. “But these solar guards, are kinda growing on me.” He admits.
“They’re rough around the edges at times but they’ve got some good quality,” Jeff whispers as he is heading toward the open door, only to pause to look over his shoulder at the five.
“Bro… You’ve gotta go on without me, this pain and suffering is getting the best of me.” FireForge weakly holds his hoof out to his older brother in mock pain. And it’s immediately slapped away.
“Don’t be so dramatic dude. Get up, we should only have a few more rooms to go.” Snow Leap coldly responded.
“Noooooo, I don’t wanna!” Smooth Edge yells out.
“Get your fat flank up and come on over to walk like a normal pony!” Silver Bullet starts yanking Smooth Edge off the ground despite her protesting.
“Man th- I mean stallion up, Smooth Edge,” Jeff said in amusement.
“I’m up and walkin’, how do you think I feel, look at my arm,” Mike said painfully lifting his injured foreleg up. A bunch of fake crying and flailing is what they get in response until Mikau goes over and picks up Smooth Edge who subsides almost immediately. Jeff heads into the next room, which looks like a copy of the mini-boss room they beat the animated armor in, except this time, there was no mini-boss waiting for them, leaving the room eerily quiet... With sword and shield drawn, Jeff warily walks across the room to the other side.
“Everypony do your best to be careful but I shouldn’t have to tell you that in the first place.” Snow Leap instructs.
“I’ll take the lead then, stay close behind me.” Mikau bravely moves forward and walks alongside Jeff to the other side. With nothing stopping the Hylian, Jeff forces the caged door open, inside two big treasure chests await them. Without waiting for the Solar five, Jeff opens the chest, finding a second Clawhook Shot inside, Jeff places it inside his pouch. The second chest had another half-a-big-key.
“...Smooth-Edge, give me your half of the key,” Jeff said as he held out his hand.
“Or what?” Smooth Edge skeptically asked.
“Silver Bullet, please take the half key out from her hooves. Else I be the one to forcefully do so.” Elegant Crease says. Compiling, Silver Bullet yanks the key out of Smooth Edge’s hoof and hoofs it to Jeff.
“There ya go.” He says. Jeff places the two keys together, and suddenly the two mold together, making one big key, although a little on the creepy side with the key forming horns and eyeless sockets. Placing the Big Key into his pouch, just thoroughly checks the chests. Found a whip with several steel ball bearings attached to it and a green mana potion inside it. Snow Leap uses his telekinesis and levitates the green mana potion in one of his pouches.
“Sorry, but this one is mine.” Snow Leap said.
“Hmph, well none of you have proficiency with whips so I believe I will take that.” Elegant Crease said, correspondingly having Jeff to hand her the whip-weapon. Much to Mike’s not-so-surprise, a small chest appears in the middle of the room.
“This is getting old…” He said coldly as he hobbled over to the chest and kicked it open. This time he holds up a Recovery Heart with a sound effect, not a fanfare.
↑A Recovery Heart↑
With another blink and a grunt in frustration, the heart flew into his body healing him.
“Better than a Green Rupee,” Jeff said jokingly, The wound on Mike’s foreleg nearly vanishes.
“Now that was a chest I would gladly open a million times if I could.” He admits as he rubs his wound, the pain subsiding.
“Since there’s nothing left, let’s head back to the main entrance, open the big door, and pray that Princess Skystar is in there,” Jeff said with hope in his words as he made his way back to the main chamber.
With The Big Key in hand, Jeff inserts it into the big door and gives it a twist causing the lock to fall off and its chains to crumble to dust. With the combined effort of one and a half hylians, a Zora warrior, and five ponies, they force the door open. What they found inside greatly disturbed them. The walls were made of flesh, alive and pulsing. In the middle of the room floated the boss, Barinade with some of its wounds healed up. There bound against the wall, was Princess Skystar, looking weak and pale in color.
↑Princess Skystar↑
Boss Music started playing again and text appeared at the bottom of Mike’s cone of vision,
“...I’m going to kill it.” A gentle, ice-cold fury coats Smooth Edge’s mental state and body all the same. Unbuckling her battle axe her muscles seem to start passively bulging out as she walks over to the boss in the middle of the room.
“Guess this fight’s gonna get messy, least there’s no water to slow down our weapons,” Mike said, popping his neck and forelegs ready to punch the hell out of Barinade. “Seeing the Princess like that kinda makes me want to try out a possession of mine.” He states. “Though I’m not sure I could retain my sanity.” He thought to himself.
“Try whatever you must, as long as this monstrosity goes down for harming the youth.” Elegant Crease starts unraveling her new whip with a strangely neutral demeanor.
“I’m glad we came to the unanimous agreement on killing this thing for what it did to the princess.” Mikau, without fail, starts walking behind Smooth Edge, as Elegant Crease, FireForge, and Snow Leap do as well. Jeff drew out his bow, however, something was different about him, especially his stance and the way he was carrying himself, his courage was channeling Farore’s orb into his arrow, filling it with crackling energy. Jeff lets it loose as it lands true, causing Barinade to light up in green electricity being shocked by a magic power that wasn’t its own. Both FireForge and Snow Leap are silent the entire time as they walk towards the now injured Barinade, both horns crackling with dark red and silvery white auras. Barinade’s tentacles now start to go loose, in an angle directed to its intruders with an invisible glare of hatred. Immediately it releases its Jellyfish which begin to spin like a carousel around it, linking to Barniade itself with electricity. The tendrils start firing off raw blasts of now-plasma, at the group, causing everyone to move out of the way.
“I’ll kill this thing…” Smooth Edge mumbles, still unconsciously dodging the blasts of lightning and near-thunderous-like blasts.
“Emerald, you’re with me, Jeff… Sorry, but you’ll probably be with Elegant this time.” Silver Bullet says as he readies his sword in his magical grasp and leaps backward from a stray Jellyfish spinning at him.
“On your word, I’ll destroy every last jellyfish so it doesn’t have any defenses,” Mike said ready to rush in.
“Good, let’s bucking kill this son of a diamond dog.” Loosening his joints, Silver Bullet creates a small pathway with only two feet-long squared barriers above the Jellyfish and putting his hooves together, ready to boost Mike up. “Now, reck these things so that they won’t even be able to cry about it later!” He shouts out. As he does, Mikau sends out three boomerang fins towards a Jellyfish that was about to hit Silver Bullet, knocking it off course.
“This’ll be fun,” Mike said with a chuckle, slamming both forelegs down on a jellyfish making it explode into mush. Laughing maniacally, Silver Bullet stares up at the still-standing barriers and looks directly at Mike as he does it.
“Now this is fun.” Putting some strain on his mind, Silver Bullet forces all of the barriers to turn into tiny spikes which fall on two unsuspecting Jellyfish who get pincushioned underneath the pressure. Jeff decides to try out his hookclaw shots, taking one out and using it to quickly zip off to the left as Barinade tries to shock him with its electricity. When his claw clung to the fleshy wall, the whole room vibrated, letting out an inhuman yet bubbly screech. The sound was also coming from the jellyfish host as if this thing had bonded itself with the whole cavern. With a height advantage, Jeff aims his other clawhook shot, allowing it to grip Barinade’s tentacle limb, Elegant Crease smirks and flies near Jeff’s position and wraps her new whip into another tendril to pull it into a different direction, yanking them both away and preventing it from shooting at Mike. With the claw still attached, Jeff channels Farore’s orb, unleashing an electric shock of Farore’s power through the chain and into Barinade.
As Jeff does that a small *boom* is heard from them all. Turning over to see the source of the noise, they all see Mikau and Smooth Edge standing on an ice platform from the ground up. Mikau and Smooth Edge sled down from it going separate ways as Barinade fired a plasmic-like blast at the ice manifestation, leaping from the ice platform and twirling from it, sending out five fin blades from his blurred state, two at a Jellyfish and three at Barinade with scary accuracy. While Smooth Edge also creates a gigantic shockwave on the ground to disrupt the Barinade’s coordination. Snow Leap is standing on a freshly made ice pillar he made himself, huffing and puffing before firing two medium-sized icicles at the two remaining Jellyfish. No words are exchanged from the brothers but yet they still have an understanding, FireForge charges up his horn before releasing a constant torrent of flames at the Barinade, electing a large shriek from it.
“You’re seeing this right? It’s not just me who thinks this battle is a Tartarus crazy dance, right?” Silver Bullet asks as he watches Elegant Crease tear her whip away, ripping off some of the skin of the Barinade and causing the wound to gush blood.
“Time for the coup de grâce!” Mike shouts.
“It’s showtime then! I’ll support your move!” Silver Bullet says with a bout of excitement, his horn continuously glowing and surrounding Mike’s hooves in a silvery aura, small but sharp bumps appear on them like gauntlets. Mike quickly speeds up next to Barinade and with a swift motion punches two medium-sized holes into its body earning a loud screech. Barinade starts trying to zap everything with its still grappled, damaged, and free tendril, making more blood come from the damaged one and shocking Elegant Crease out of the air, who quickly rolls backward to soft the blow to the ground. And even manages to hit Mikau with the undamaged one, making him stumble backward. The torching fire that’s continuously hitting, flaking away some of its skin is dying down as FireForge shakily backs away in exhaustion.
“Jeff! Finish it with one clean slash dude!” Mike shouts as he backs away from Barinade, forelegs covered in blood.
“P-please finish this, sir Jeff, We’re starting to run out of fuel!” Elegant Crease grunts.
“Right! Bucking finish this by the goddesses strength!” Silver Bullet adds on. With a mighty yell, Jeff leaps off of the wall and comes plunged toward Barinade, his red cloak flapping wildly. With a powerful thrust, He pushes his silver sword deep into Barinade’s body. Suddenly, the boss’s body starts to rapidly swell up, causing Jeff to leap away. The boss music fades out as Its whole body explodes in a gory mess, flinging jelly meat all around the room as a familiar fanfare plays out.
With its death, Jeff slices the air, flinging the green blood off before twirling it around and sheathing it with a mighty ‘shing’. Mike walks up to the main pile of ‘meat’ and chuckles.
“Oh, they’re gonta hafta glue you back together, IN HELL!” He yelled mimicking the Demo Man from TF2 as he smashes a large chunk of ‘meat’ and starts laughing. “Oh man, I’ve wanted to use that line since the first time I heard it.”
“Damn…” Silver Bullet coughed. “Horseapples that was brutal,” he comments as he dusts himself off. Among the messy remains of the boss, Jeff sees both a Heart Bead and a Blue Orb, which he assumes is Nayru’s Orb. Quickly, Jeff eagerly takes the bead and slides it into his necklace. Healing all his injuries, Jeff reaches over and grabs the orb, placing it into his pouch. The other three silent ponies start to walk back over, sheathing their weapons once more.
“So heart beads, nice collectible,” Mike said, trying to shake off the blood in his coat. The rest of the room rumbles loudly as the flesh walls start to peel off and burn away. Jeff lets out a yelp as he comes running to catch Princess Skystar in his arms as the wall lets go of her.
“...We need to get her back as soon as possible, she’s breathing faintly,” Jeff said as he began walking out of the room before anypony could respond.
“Get yer suits on girls, we gotta evac ASAP!” Mike said quickly following Jeff.
“Ah, hopefully this will be the last time I have to put this damn thing on.” Elegant Crease comments as she puts on the Mermaid suit. Smooth Edge says nothing in response, only putting on her Mermaid suit. Everyone quickly exits the dungeon and swims as fast as they can back to Seaquestria.
=Seaquestria Castle= -A Full Speed Swim Later-
The Solar Five, the disguised Mike, accompanied Zora, and Jeff, carrying a weakened princess, rushed into the throne room.
“Is there a room for healing?!” Jeff asked in desperation and urgency.
“Y-you’re all back already? Wait Skystar! Dammit, there’s an emergency medical block a few rooms down.” Queen Novo says panicked as a seapony guard swims through and takes Princess Skystar out of Jeff’s hands, rushing out of the throne room to the right. The Queen’s fear is replaced with a strange anger. “Did you kill it… The thing that did this, did you kill it?” She said with venom in her voice.
“Yes, Queen Novo. Barinade has been slain. Righteously so.” Elegant Crease answers. Smooth Edge nods her head.
“Yeah, the damn thing is deader than a doornail. Wish I could’ve done more but what’s done is done.” She said. Mikau places a hand on his chest in slight despair.
“We apologize, Your Majesty, we couldn’t have gotten there any faster.” He apologized.
“Thank you heroes.” The Queen wipes away at their face, despite being underwater she can still feel those tears streaming down her face. “Please, enjoy yourselves for the coming Full Moon Celebration as a reward. This shall truly be a day to commemorate!”
“That sounds like a relaxing idea, Thank you, Queen Novo,” Mike said with a bow still holding his nearly healed wound.
“The Full Moon Celebration?” Jeff asked curiously.
“Yes. The Full Moon Celebration. When tides are the highest and protect our ancestors from other sea creatures that would attempt to invade our land. The great goddess Nayru blessed us with such aquatic occasions.” The Queen explained.
“We’d be thankful to join, Queen Novo. My team will gladly accept this offer.” Snow Leap said, weakly smiling. Silver Bullet almost collapses on the floor after hearing this.
“Oh thank Celestia. A break from all this crazy stuff that’s been going on. Hope they’ve got a bar or something like that going on.” He said.
“Well if they do then I’m not going with Smooth. Every single time we all go out together some crazy thing happens and we all end up in ridiculous positions.” FireForge told no pony in particular while nursing his horn.
“So, Mikau, you an’ the Indiego-gos gonna play somethin’ for the celebration?” Mike asked the Zora.
“You’re a fan too? Well to answer your question yea, we actually will be. And with this new heroic feeling and mission we’ve had, I’ll make sure to give it two hundred percent!” Mikau grinned, putting both his hands on his hips.
“Sweet, it’s gonna be a blast,” Mike said with an enthusiastic smile.
“If you play as good as you fight then I’m definitely coming.” Smooth Edge chuckles, putting a hoof in the air.
“Oh, trust me, this guy is pretty good at it, especially the main singer,” Jeff said as he pointed with a thumb toward Mikau.
“We might have to restrain Smooth then if she ends up going. She does act like a mad beast most of the time.” Elegant Crease comments.
“No, the buck I don’t.” Smooth Edge silently responds.
“Whatever, I’m gonna go check out this festival when it pops off.” Snow Leap finally cools down and starts to chill.
“Oh, that reminds me..” Jeff began as he pulled out Nayru’s orb, however, Novo raised her fin to object.
“No… Jeff, I believe you should keep it. You and your companions have proven to be more than worthy enough to keep Nayru’s orb.”
“Are you sure?” Jeff said, earning a gentle nod from Novo. With that confirmation, Jeff puts the orb into his pouches.
“Yes, so please do not make me regret this decision, self-proclaimed hero. Never lose sight of your true ideals.” Queen Novo firmly answers.
“Sweet, you’ve got another orb. What exactly does that one do anyway?” Silver Bullet curiously asks.
“Since it’s related to the goddess of water I can only imagine it has some type of defensive capabilities.” Elegant Crease assumed.
“I’ll need to seek out another Great Fairy then,” Jeff said with a nod.
“A Great Fairy hm? Sadly I don’t actually know where any are. Sorry bro.” Mikau apologetically answers. “And as much as I’d love to sit and chit-chat, I’ve got a whole band to get back to, the guys have been waiting for me and I won’t let ‘em wait any longer.”
“Alright, Mikau see ya later dude, so when is this celebration happenin’?” Mike asked.
“The celebration will be taking place within ten minutes from now. I had it postponed because I wanted to wait for you all a little while longer so I could know my sweet angel would be safe.” Queen Novo says.
“Alright, cool… you got like a rag or something’ I couldn’t get this gross blood outta my coat on the way here.” Mike said, his forelegs were still covered in a bit of monster blood.
“Actually I have a trick for that, here just get close to me.” Silver Bullet says. “My little cousin would always play in mud and hurt himself from time to time. So I took a magic course for cleaning.” Trotting closer to Mike, Silver Bullet leans down and uses his magic to make small bubbles that encase Mike’s forelegs and begins sanitizing them, flaking the blood off until it all disappears.
“I’d kill for magic like that Silver, never forget that blessing you have.” Smooth Edge sarcastically says. Jeff heads on over to one of the many glowing orbs that give warmth to the palace, raising his hands to get them warmed.
“I have a feeling you five and the rest will be seeing a lot of this sort of stuff as I have. Monsters you didn’t expect, weird races, weird magic..” Jeff pauses to replay what he’s seen since arriving in Equestria.
“And if we do face ‘em? We’ll be ready to kick major flank then, for friendship!” FireForge happily says.
“For protecting the world we love!” Silver Bullet shouts.
“For comedic effect!” Smooth Edge jokingly says.
“For the sake of knowledge.” Elegant Crease adds.
“For family and those we care about.” Snow Leap, seemingly going with the flow. Jeff couldn’t burst but help out laughing at the things they were exclaiming.
“You’re all goofs, but lovely goofs,” Jeff said as he went to ruffle up their manes, some of them approving it, others not so much.
“You guys do work well together I’ll admit,” Mike said with a nod. “Keep up the good work.” He said as he swam past the group and up to a glowing orb.
“Did you really have to muss up our manes like that when we’re in front of royalty?” Elegant Crease questioned with a scrunched-up snout.
“Don’t let me get in the way of you all acting as if you’d normally act.” Queen Novo cheekily says. Much to Elegant Crease’s slight displeasure.
“I’m glad we’re all like family now. And as a family, we’re all gonna go see that celebration and make it one Tartarus of a time.” Snow Leap softly announces.
“This cultural experience will be something to take note of for later. Sure, and perhaps it shall be normal for once?” Elegant Crease seemingly asks the universe.
“Elegant… C’mon you know that’s never happening.” Silver Bullet plainly told her.
“Consider this a time to relax and have fun, I just hope the celebration isn’t hard to celebrate for us non-seaponies,” Jeff said as he rubbed his hands together now that his body was all warmed up.
“Here’s to hoping big guy, here’s to hoping.” Smooth Edge said as she swam upwards out of the group huddle with her forelegs crossed. “Let’s go and hang out till this festival, celebration, or whatever it was called. We’re gonna be having lots of fun tonight everypony!” Pumping a hoof in the air she manages to get a cheer out of the group.
“If there’s games I need to get somethin’ for Twilight,” Mike says thinking of what would be good. “And maybe Spike too…” He says lost in thought.
“Hold up, do you have enough rupees though?” Jeff asked in concern. Mike snaps back to reality as he nonchalantly reaches behind himself and pulls his Child Rupee wallet out of his inventory.
“Hang on…” He reaches into the wallet and after rummaging around a bit, he sighs. “Thirteen rupees… damn…”
“What… That’s about the fifth or fourth time today where you’ve made me question reality. How exactly did you do that?” FireForge asks.
“Hmm?” Mike looked at the five solar guards and nervously laughed. “How’d you like my magic trick, been practicing my sleight of hand…” He said with a fake smile.
“Nah don’t… Don’t do that, I know how you did that, I know what you are on the inside!” Smooth Edge shouts from above. “Plus I was floating up here, how’d you expect anypony to not notice that?” At a loss for words, Mike just continues staring back at the solar guards figuratively sweating bullets. Snow Leap swims an inch forward.
“You know, originally I was going to wait until we arrived back at Canterlot but my brother and Smooth make a good point. Ever since you, Smooth, Elegant, and Jeff left that room together, Smooth seemed like she was stooped out of her mind, like the time she saw a new battle airship for the first time. Why is that?”
“...I mean why question this when you’ve seen me kind of do the same thing?” Jeff asked as he reached into his pouch, soon pulling out his Hero’s Bow, which grew to its full size.
“But that’s the thing… Only a Hylian like you could do something like that, which can only make me assume one thing…” Snow Leap says with a squint of his eyes.
“That he’s incredibly homosexual-” Silver Bullet slaps Smooth Edge over the head.
“Wha- no, that he’s also a Hylian. Smooth what the buck did you think I was going to- you know what it’s best not to even ask.” Snow Leap tiredly says. “So am I at least a little close?” The snow-white stallion asks.
“Ok… Can we do this… Somewhere else… Enough figurative weapons are being pointed at me and I’d like privacy to explain I guess…” He says looking around at the multitude of seapony guards and Queen Novo herself who all are staring curiously at the group. “I really gotta stop spacing out...” He thought to himself.
“That might be for the best…” Elegant Crease said with some doubt.
“Ah... Right! Let’s go see what the Full Moon Celebration has to offer.” Jeff said as he started walking out, feeling awkward about how he got a little caught up in the moment.
“Yeah, yeah, Full Moon Celebration, let’s a go.” Mike quickly pulled his rupee savings out of his wallet, put the wallet away, and followed Jeff. All of the ponies, and Hylians left the throne room, swimming out with a small lurking question in their heads except for a select few.
=Mike And Jeff’s Guest Room= -A Few Hours Later-
Mike is in the guest room that Jeff and himself were given. He takes an enchanted Mikau plushie out of a prize bag. “I can’t believe it took all of my funds to get this one plushie,” He thought to himself as he put the plushie into his inventory. He sighs still dreading revealing himself to the others as he exits the room. “How am I gonna do this…” He says deep in thought.
“Oh hey, Michael, thought you were still out enjoying yourself,” Jeff said with surprise making Mike look up at him.
“Oh… Hey, Jeff… I was out there but I had to put away the thing I got from winning a game… Figured I might do it away from others… For once…” He said with a sigh.
“Ah, well, before you head back out, there’s something I need to discuss with you,” Jeff said as he patted Mike’s pony shoulder, then walked past him into the room.
“Oh yeah? What’s eating at your mind?” Mike asked as he followed Jeff into the room.
“About this token business, remind me again how you do it?” Jeff asked curiously as he sat down on the seabed.
“As I said yesterday, Find your token, I could be anything significant, and prepare to be exhausted.” Mike started explaining. “I made my token by concentrating on my Fairy Ocarina as I held it in my hands. I poured all of my energy into the Ocarina and it cloned itself, I said my summoning message and it disappeared into the void between realms.”
“But how do you pour your energy into it? Is it done by mental focus or…” Jeff pauses to allow Mike to answer.
“Honest to whatever deity watches over us, I just closed my eyes and thought really hard about making a token and It happened.” He said honestly. Jeff blinked in confusion at how simple it was to do. The Hylian raises his hand and stares at it, then closes his eyes to mentally think about it. At first, the green energy started to manifest in his hands, but after much focus, out of nowhere Twili magic energy started to fly in all directions. Within the palm of his hand was a black and green floating Howling Stone on a tied piece of string being very close to his previous time incarnation’s token. Jeff opened his eyes as he stared down in surprise at his token.
“Holy crap… you did it!” Mike said with excitement. “Now speak your summon message, if you want one of course, not sure if it’s required.” He says, scratching his head.
“I am Jeff, the hero incarnation of Link. Repeat this song that resonates from the stone’s eye as it will be a reflection of your heart. Afterward, you will be brought into a plain of existence to speak in private with me, I need to make sure you are of a pure heart and not that of a wicked one.” Jeff said, and with those words spoken, a twili portal manifested out of thin air, pulled his token in and soon vanished, however moments later it returned his Howling Stone, then vanished quickly. “...What exactly happened?” Jeff asked in confusion.
“That’s different from what happened to mine but I assume it was just transported to other Equestrias,” Mike said with an ounce of skepticism. “Though it might be a while before it gets to any other Equestrias, mine took nearly a month.” He said with a shrug. Suddenly, Mike felt a vibration around his neck as his Howling stone necklace changed to the new version.
“..What just happened? Felt like everything paused for a split second..” Jeff said as he shook his head. Mike quickly closed his eyes and opened his inventory.
“Better hide this, sorry, Jeff.” Mike unequipped the updated howling stone necklace and closed his inventory. “You did it, you made a token.” He said playing off the time jump. “Good job, you might wanna eat somethin’ to recover stamina.”
“Feels like I went swimming in the pool for two hours and I feel like I still am... You know that feeling right where your limbs are moving but they’re not?” Jeff explained.
“Oh yeah bud, I passed out when I made my token, thank god I was on my bed when I did it,” Mike admits. Jeff quickly shakes his body to get rid of the weird feeling.
“I just hope I placed enough safeguards,” Jeff said with a nod. The Hylian looks out the window and gazes at the flickering moonlight of the ocean surface to kind of judge the time of night.
“So we leaving for Canterlot or we gonna stay one final night?” Mike asked, turning back to the door to the room. “I’ll tell the squad whichever one you choose.”
“...Think I’ll take a shortcut with them, come on,” Jeff said as he got up off the bed and started heading out of the castle, his eyes flicking around looking for something. Upon leaving the entrance, he spots an Owl Statue overgrown with seaweed. “Perfect,” Jeff said as he gave it a strike with his sword, causing it to glow a bright white before causing its stone wings to spread out with a flourish.
“You know… I saw that earlier and was wrackin’ my brain trying to remember what it was.” Mike said.
“..The Owl Stone, you know? Majora’s Mask?” Jeff said as he gestured with his hand toward it.
“OH! Yeah, you’re right I guess all that seaweed confused me, I guess I was tired.” Mike shrugged.
“That’s one way to get high on seaweed,” Jeff said jokingly with a playful smirk.
“... I’ll let that one slide… Just know it wasn’t very good, and I’m still stressing about the guards.” Mike said with a sigh.
“It was worth a shot though,” Jeff said with a shrug as he sat down, waiting for the rest of the crew to get back from the festivities. And right on cue, five different ponies walked in, noticeably two of them were bruised. Smooth Edge and Silver Bullet refused to acknowledge their injuries however and instead admired their hard-fought Seaquestrian drip.
“..What in the name of the Dark Sacred Realms did you guys get into? Some kind of contest of who can beat someone in a ring?” Jeff asked with a frown.
“Huh?” Smooth Edge looks up from one of their bracelets made of seashells. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about dude.” FireForge can only pinch their snout in disappointment.
“These two had drank too much hard cider together and decided that since seaponies have no hooves they could take a group in a fight since they were escalating a situation and both nearly lost instead of de-escalating it themselves. We then had to pull them out of the cold ocean water and then dunk them both back in to sober them up. That being said we all need to leave because we have some local authority coming for us.” He said.
“...Hylia damn it,” Jeff said as he pulled out his ocarina. “I’m doing this once, but you’d best report to Celestia, because no doubt Novo will tell her, grab onto my cloak,” Jeff said as he quickly placed the mouthpiece to his lips. Everypony puts a hoof on Jeff in preparation, silently making prayers in their heads. Each of them being something different. Playing the song of soaring, a pair of silver white wings sprouted behind Jeff, wrapped around the whole group, and with a flurry of feathers, teleported them out of Seaquestria.
=Canterlot Castle Gardens= -A Few Moments Later-
A ball of energy flies out from above the sky, soon placing the group onto the grounds of the Canterlot Gardens.
“Phew, we’re all safe now and back at home, now I can permanently take this sucka off.” Smooth Edge happily throws off their Mermaid suit with a dopey smile before dry huffing.
“I guess that teleportation takes a little to get used to,” Mike says holding his head dizzy from the spinning.
“Jeez, now I’ve got a killer headache… Buck I’m probably gonna go to sleep.” Silver Bullet says, swaying from side to side.
“And that’s what you two get for drinking while still technically being on the job.” Elegant Crease holds up their snout, feeling superior in a way to them both.
“I didn’t drink a drop but whatever,” Mike thought to himself as he regained his balance and stopped his eyes from spinning.
“I’ll allow you all to go to our barrack. I’ll go… Report to Celestia myself.” Snow Leap says. Jeff raises a hand.
“Actually if you don’t mind, Emerald and I will go report to Celestia.” He said.
“Why would you wanna do that exactly? And you both still haven’t really explained what Emerald really is to the others. Not that I actually care.” Smooth Edge told Jeff.
“Actually… I think revealing myself to everyone would be the right thing to do, especially with Celestia here as well.” Mike said with a sigh. “I don’t want her freaking out when she doesn’t find an ‘Emerald Sword’ in Ponyville.”
“Why are you choosing to reveal yourself now all of a sudden? You could’ve left and nopony would really be indifferent… Unless we were sent by Princess Celestia herself to investigate you.” FireForge asked.
“That’s exactly why, so Celestia doesn’t burden anypony with trying to find ‘Jeff’s first friend outside Canterlot’,” Mike answered.
“Michael has a point though, something tells me she’d keep asking me how Emerald Sword is doing.” Jeff pointed out.
“Suit yourself, Smooth I can already see it on your muzzle and Elegant is physically holding you back right now, so just do whatever it was that you were going to do.” In the background, Elegant Crease is or rather was holding onto Smooth Edge who seemed to be going berserk, akin to a spoiled child that some person would find in a mall. As she was let go she happily trotted up to Mike and with no amount of enthusiasm spared said this.
“Finally, I’ll get to reveal who you really are on the inside!” Putting her hoof onto his face she yanks back with her grip… And only accomplishes tugging on Mike’s snout. “Ah, why won’t this bucking thing come off?” She yanks even harder on Mike’s muzzle.
“Ahh, stop that hurts!” Mike yelped as tears started forming in his eyes. “I’ll do it myself, STOP!” He tries to push Smooth away.
“Okay this is going too far, bro help me get her off of him!” Snow Leap uses his magic to try and pull Smooth Edge off of Mike’s face which only causes more surface tension for him. Her earth pony strength seems unwavering until FireForge uses his magic to yank Smooth Edge away, tossing her backward and crashing into the both of them.
“Could you ponies shut up for like three seconds.” Silver Bullet says while sprawled out on the ground and nursing their raging headache. “Sometimes I wonder how we all haven’t been kicked out of every library imaginable.”
“It’s a magical mask, damn it, not a costume,” Jeff said as he went to slap Smooth Edge’s wrist.
“Owie, you guys always bully me for no reason. I’m nothing but a perfect angel and you all treat me like this.” Smooth Edge says in a childish tone of voice. Elegant Crease looks at Smooth Edge, on the verge of an aneurysm.
“I will strangle you Smooth if you ever say something as stupid as that ever again.”
“You know… with all this noise, I’m surprised Celestia ain’t out here already,” Mike says rubbing his muzzle trying to make the pain go away.
“Oh I am my little pony, but you all are far too entertaining for me to butt in so soon.” A silky voice says from above.
“How the Flying Pot are you so silent?” Jeff asked with a frown.
“Silencing spell, quite nifty when you had a little sis- I mean, several students in the past who would try and sneak around.” The monarch responded with a smile. “So I assume your mission was successful?”
“For the most part, a couple of close calls, and there were moments we had some disagreements,” Jeff explained.
“Excellent, that sounds simply excellent Jeff! Oh, how I’m glad to hear that everything went as good as it could get for you all. However, I can only hope that in the future none of you will be bruised like Lance Corporal Silver Bullet and Sergeant Smooth Edge… Oh and you there, poor Emerald, you seem to have a cut on yourself. Let me take care of it.” Flying down to their level, Celestia puts her horn on Mike’s injury and mends it. “All better now.”
“Oh right, thank you, Princess, but there’s actually something I need to talk to you about, along with the solar guards here,” Mike said.
“It’s the fact that you aren’t a pony, right?” The princess asked. “That arguing about showing everypony here and I quote ‘who you really are’ while trying to take away your face only for Jeff to say it’s a magical mask really tells it all. So then, tell me and everypony else. Who are you?” Mike clears his throat.
“Here goes nothin’...” He reaches up his forelegs to the side of his muzzle and a bright light fills the area. The light fades and there before everypony is Mike’s true form, a Hylian just like Jeff. “This is who I truly am, I am a Hylian, specifically I’m an incarnation of the hero Link, but of a different age.” He said with a bow. “Please forgive me for lying to you all about my identity.” He apologized.
“You’re… You’re Link then? I… I’m at a loss for words, it’s no wonder why your cutiemark was so peculiar, how ready you were to do militaristic tasks and make friends with Jeff who has been a little reclusive in his first days of Canterlot.” Celestia said astonished.
“To be more specific, Celestia, he’s from a whole different world separate from our own,” Jeff said to clear up some confusion. The Hylian then pulls out Mike’s Fairy Ocarina. “I summoned him to our world, it’s a long story,” Jeff said with a nod.
“Jeff and I are what is known as Displaced, People ripped from our home world, forced into a multitude of possible Equestrias, and changed by the one that forced us here,” Mike said standing up straight again. “What Jeff holds now is a token, a means of summoning other Displaced to your Equestria to help.”
“In my case, some goddess ripped me from my world and made me what I am now, or at least from what the Golden Wolf told me back in the Everfree, not to be confused with the timberwolf named Everfree,” Jeff explained.
“I bought an item from an evil entity known as the merchant, and was thrown into my own Equestria, though my world is not as yours is, there are major differences, too many to explain within’ a reasonable time frame though,” Mike said.
“The… merchant? World differences? So you’re from both an alternate universe and perhaps even an alternate timeline as well?” Princess Celestia questioned.
“You can think of it like that.” Mike chuckled.
“Dudddde, when I first saw you like this I thought there were just more hylians out there. But you’re basically a whole alien?! Ah, that’s sick!” Smooth Edge gets up closer to Mike, even more curious than before.
“Alien… I don’t like that but it’s more true than I would like…” Mike said with a frown. “OH!” Mike reached under his shield and pulled out his Rupee wallet. “That thing you saw me do before was how my inventory works, like Jeff’s pouches but invisible.” He smiled. “Comes in real handy, though I couldn’t use all my items as a pony, I’m kinda surprised no one noticed that ‘Emerald Sword’ didn’t carry a sword…” He said with air quotes. A large thump is heard on the ground as Silver Bullet’s head could no longer be supported and he fully falls asleep.
“Well, then that sports a few questions. Number one, you’ve showcased this inventory ability in the past which basically allows you to pull something from nothing, is that some sort of spacial magic? Number two, these ‘displaced’ as you call them, are they all just incarnations of Link? If not then give out some examples of what a displaced person could be?” Elegant Crease inquired, moving over to pick up Silver Bullet on her withers.
“...Come to think of it, what exactly is restricting you from using your stuff?” Jeff asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Welp, you might not believe or understand but, I have game mechanics… Jeff, you would know about them but the ponies in the area are probably thinking board games.” Mike starts explaining. “I can only use items that the Hylian or pony would be able to use without changing things, take my bow for example.” He quickly puts away his wallet and retrieves his bow. “It’s made for my true form, pretty hard to use a full-size bow as a pony.”
“Sounds like a pain..” Jeff said with a shake of his head.
“The worst part is I have hearts.” He removes his left gauntlet and shows a small HUD on his wrist like a tattoo.
“That’s even worse, three hits and you’d be out..” Jeff said as he felt sorry for Mike.
“So this boon does not come without flaws then? And these ‘game mechanics’ are the source of this strange magic.” Elegant Crease said.
“There’s definitely flaws, I can’t take very much damage without dying, for lack of a better term. That spear that pierced my arm nearly killed me.” Mike explained putting his gauntlet back on. “If you noticed after that hit I started to look exhausted suddenly.”
“That sounds so very tempting to have as a power. But it’s not for me, and I can say that with certainty. But you still didn’t answer Elegant’s question, are all displaced simply Links from different eras and incarnations?” Snow Leap pressed.
“Oh right, Displaced are most definitely not just more Links, not everyone in my home world are like him, they would probably be forced here as other heroes from other worlds, or maybe even some villains…” Mike says with a bit of uncertainty.
“I apologize for interjecting my litt- I mean Michael. But have you encountered any other displaced besides Jeff that could be used as examples?” The solar monarch asked.
“Sadly I’ve only encountered another Link, so I can’t give another example, sorry,” Mike said with a frown.
“Well other than me, of course,” Jeff said with a shrug as he leaned against the nearby pillar.
“Now, I feel my time here is coming to an end, Jeff remember, call me anytime bud, I’ll always help if you need it, ready to send me back home?” Mike said with a smile. Jeff raises his leather gauntlet covered fist up in a gesture of an offered fist bump. “See you again sometime bro,” Mike said with a chuckle as he put his fist up and they bumped, making their triforce pieces glow for a moment.
“By the way, How do I send you back? Give the ocarina a toot?” Jeff asked.
“All you gotta do is say this phrase, ‘Thank you for your help, Hero of Time, you may return to your world’, and play another note of the Fairy Ocarina,” Mike answered.
“I’ll do one better for you. Hero Of Time, you may return to your world.” Jeff said before placing the Fairy Ocarina’s tip to his mouth, however instead of playing one note, he played Zelda’s Lullaby, making a familiar reminder to Mike’s mind. A blue cylinder of light appeared around Mike lifting him off the ground.
“That worked? Alright, see ya later dude!” He shouted as the pillar of light flew him into the sky and made him vanish with a flash of light.
=Golden Oaks Library= -Back In Mike’s Equestria-
Mike’s vision returns as he floats down onto the floor of his room. The world around him recovering its color signifying time resuming.
“Ahh, it’s good to be back home,” Mike said with a sigh of relief as he landed and the light pillar faded away. “Still feeling the exhaustion from earlier though...” He said stretching a bit.
“Link?” Tael says with a yawn woken up by the sound of the Pillar of Light. “What was that loud noise just now?” She sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes.
“Huh, guess she heard the blue warp, wonder if anyone else heard it, guess I’ll tell everyone what happened.” Mike thought to himself thinking of what to say. “I’ll tell you and the others about it after Spike, Cole, and I do our workout, Okay?” He said making the fairy nod and smile. A few knocks sounds from his bedroom door.
“Link, are you ready for our workout session?” Spike’s voice called out from the other side of the door. Mike remembers what time it was when he left.
“Yep, come on in, Spike,” Mike said prompting Spike to enter the room. “Is Cole going to join us today?” Mike asked, to which Spike nodded.
“He said give him a minute and he’ll be up here,” Spike said as he walked up to Mike and spotted the Goron Bracelet on his nightstand. “Hey, what’s that?” Spike asked curiously.
“Oh, right...” Mike grabs the Goron Bracelet and kneels down to eye level with Spike. “I want you to have this, I gave Cole my Silver Gauntlets giving a boost to his strength.” Mike hands the bracelet to Spike. “Put this around your wrist and it will give you a strength boost as well.” Spike slid the bracelet onto his sword arm and it changed size to fit perfectly on his arm.
“Wow, Thanks I already feel stronger!” Spike shouts excitedly. “So what’s on our schedule for today, Link?” He asked.
“We are gonna do our usual training regime and after our showers, me an’ Cole are gonna go into town in search of a sword and shield like you and I have,” Mike says with a smile, standing up from kneeling.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Cole says as he enters the room carrying a box. “Rarity came into the Library right as I left my room and gave me my outfits she made.” He sets the box of outfits on Mike’s bed for the time being.
“Sweet, now are you two ready for an intense workout?” Mike asked with an upbeat attitude. The two trainees nod. “Then remove your strength upgrades and let’s get to work!” Mike said with enthusiasm as everyone removed their strength-boosting equipment and began their workout.
=Ponyville Town Square= -An Hour After Mike’s Return-
“Damn, Cole, you look fantastic in that navy blue tunic Rarity made for ya,” Mike complimented Cole as they made it to the Ponyville Town Square after a short two-minute walk.
“You really think so?” Cole asked making Mike nod. “That’s good I really like this color, thanks, bro,” Cole said with a happy smile. “So remind me again why Spike, Twilight, and Tael are bringing Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy to the library?” Cole asked while following Mike into the town square.
“Well last night I thought long and hard about the Ursa Minor attack that happened yesterday and, I’ve decided to come clean with everypony and tell the truth about what happened,” Mike admitted, making Cole look over at him a little surprised.
“Oh really, that’s pretty respectable, Link, what made you decide to tell everypony the truth?” Cole asked with a curious smile, all the while respecting his brother a lot more for going to admit his mistake.
“Right before I went to bed I looked at myself in the mirror checking for any major injuries after that Ursa Minor crushed me and started thinking about how dangerous the situation was and how it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t given Snips and Snails that horrible idea,” Mike said hanging his head low.
“Hey don’t look so down, bro, I’m sure the girls will find it in their hearts to forgive you,” Cole says patting Mike on the back to cheer him up.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right...” Mike said cheering up a little and lifting his head. “I also want to talk about something that happened right before our workout this mornin’,” Mike said as Cole stopped patting Mike’s back and they continued to look around the square for any blacksmiths or similar buildings.
”Oh, what happened before our workout?” Cole asked curiously making Mike shake his head.
“Sorry, bro you’re gonna have to wait, It’s much easier to tell everyone at the library so I don’t have to repeat myself more than once,” Mike said looking around the square. “Besides, right now we’re out in town on a very important mission, finding you some armaments.” He started looking outside the square not finding a blacksmith in the square.
“You’re right, let’s focus on the task at hand,” Cole agreed.
“Though if we don’t find a military surplus shop or at least a blacksmith in a timely manner we’ll head to the Town Hall, I’m pretty sure Mayor Mare would know where one is,” Mike said making Cole nod as he continued to look around the square.
“Sounds like a plan, I just hope it doesn’t take too long to find what we’re looking for,” Cole said as Mike spotted a sign with an anvil and hammer on it.
“Hey, blacksmith at ten o’clock.” He says as he points over to a building just outside the square. “That’s a lot better than what we were originally looking for, lucky us.” They walk across the square and a little ways down a street stopping in front of the blacksmith’s building.
“Let’s see if they have what we want,” Cole says as Mike spots an open sign and proceeds to enter the building. Once Mike and Cole enter the establishment they spot a Dark Brown Earth Pony with a dark gray military cut mane and long beard in blacksmith’s attire behind a counter in the showroom filled with several types of weapons, shields, and armor.
“Welcome to the Silver Steel Armory, Gentlestallions,” The gruff-voiced Stallion said with a wave. “The name’s Steel Forge, what are you two lookin’ for.” They walk up to Steel Forge’s counter and he holds his hand out to shake.
“Good morning, Steel Forge, we are looking for a broadsword and a medium metal shield,” Mike said as he and Cole took turns shaking Steel Forge’s hand. Steel Forge nodded, getting a good look at the twin hylians and recognizing them.
“Gotcha, I think I know just what to get you two, one moment please,” Steel Forge quickly turns around and goes through a Dutch swinging door behind the counter. A few moments later he returned with what looked like a brand new t-style broadsword and medium-sized metal shield. “My son, Iron Anvil, just forged these a few days ago, and to celebrate his two-hundredth successful solo forge I’m gonna give these to you two, the Guardian of the Elements of Harmony, and his twin brother.” Mike’s eyes opened wide, shocked that somepony in Ponyville knew his title other than Mayor Mare and the princesses.
“Y-you know my title?” He said nervously, making Steel Forge chuckle.
“Of course I know, son, my wife an’ I are part of the solar guard reserves.” Steel Forge said, gesturing with his head at a pair of Solar Guard armor sets on two ponyquins behind the counter, marked ‘Not For Sale’, which they hadn’t noticed before. “We may not be in the main branch but we still get news from Canterlot about things that go on, like you defeating Captain Shining Armor in an impromptu duel.” He said with a hearty laugh.
“Damn, I knew that information would get around somehow,” Mike said with a sigh.
“Don’t worry about it none, only members of the Solar and Lunar guard know about it.” Steel Forge says with a chuckle as he puts the sword and shield on the counter. “Hey, Iron, come out here and meet the guardian of the elements and his brother.” He shouts back at the door he went through a few moments ago.
“One sec, pops, I’m finishing up a spearhead,” Iron Anvil shouted back.
“So, your brother here will be using this gear, right?” Steel Forge asked, turning to size up Cole.
“Yes, sir, I wanted to start helping out my brother instead of standing by on the sidelines,” Cole said, picking up the sword and removing it from its scabbard. “My word this is a remarkable weapon.” He compliments.
“Why thank you, I worked very hard on that one.” A dark-gray earth pony with a similar but brown military cut mane like Steel Forge said as he walked out of the back room and raised his welder’s goggles that were covering his dark blue eyes. “Nice to meet you two, my name’s Iron Anvil.” Iron Anvil held out his hand to shake, and Mike and Cole took turns shaking his hand. “I would be so honored if you would take these and use them to help protect the Elements of Harmony.”
“Are you sure you want to give them to us?” Cole said in disbelief putting the sword back into its scabbard. “These look high quality and I wouldn’t like taking them without paying.” Iron Anvil nodded his head.
“One hundred percent sure, it was actually my mother’s idea to give them to you if you two ever came into the shop, she even made the scabbard.” He said with a smile. “She’d tell you herself but she’s in Canterlot right now on business.” Steel Forge patted his son on the back and chuckled.
“I know Silver Saber would have loved to meet you two, she’ll definitely be jealous when we tell her you two visited the shop when she wasn’t here.” He said with a smile. “Now go on, take the gear, I hope they come in handy in your adventures!” He said prompting Mike to nod, back away from the counter, and cross his arms.
“Alright, bro, throw on your new equipment, let’s see how they look,” Mike said with a smile. Cole nods, puts the sword back on the counter, and removes his chest strap. After a few moments of adjustments and the like, Cole puts his chest strap back on with his new equipment seated perfectly on his back.
“So, how do I look?” Cole said getting a feel for drawing his sword and shield and putting them back.
“You look ready to protect our friends with your life,” Mike said with a big smile. “I can’t wait to train you and Spike to be the best swordsmen this side of Equestria,” He chuckled.
“Awesome, I’ll make sure not to let you down, bro,” Cole says with a serious smile. “Thank you, Iron Anvil and Steel Forge.” Steel Forge chuckled.
“It’s the least we could do to support our little town’s resident heroes.” He said with a big smile. “So, need anything else?” He asked. Mike thought for a moment then shook his head.
“That will be all for today, though I will be back soon, do you guys do requests?” Mike asked prompting Steel Forge and Iron Anvil to both nod. “Great, I’m gonna sketch up a sword and shield and will pay whatever it takes for you to make them,” Mike said with a determined look.
“You’re making me excited anticipating what you’ll think up, especially by the look of the gear on your back, but for now thanks for visitin’ the shop, boys,” Steel Forge said with a smile. “Come back anytime, we’ll be waitin’ for ya.” They wave as Mike and Cole go to exit the building.
“See you guys later!” Mike shouted as they exited the building. “Alright equipment obtained, time to head home, bro,” With their main goal for today finished, they started heading back to the Golden Oaks Library.
“So what sword and shield are you gonna sketch up for Steel Forge and Iron Anvil to make, are they for Spike?” Cole asked to which Mike nodded.
“Yep, I wanna get Spike a longer sword and metal shield to match us, and I’ll be sketching two items from our old world but I’m gonna keep it a secret so you don’t accidentally tell Spike before I can give them to him,” Mike explained with a smile making Cole nod. As they cross the middle of the town square again, Trixie spots them as she exits her trailer.
“Hey you two, what are guys doing out in town this early in the morning?” She asked as she walked up to them wearing a more casual outfit than yesterday.
“We just got my bro here some equipment and we’re on our way back to the library,” Mike said then remembered what they were returning to the library for. “Actually... I have something important to talk with you about, you mind coming with us?” He asked, prompting Trixie to shake her head.
“I don’t mind, I’ve got nothing important planned all day I was actually going to the library to talk with Twilight about magic,” She said with a smile.
“Oh really, alright then let’s go,” Mike smiled and the trio walked out of the square and over to the library. As the trio approached the front door, Twilight and Spike rounded a corner and spotted them.
“Hey, what timing,” Twilight said as the rest of the mane six rounds the same corner with Tael sitting on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “We finished gathering everypony, and I see you brought Trixie too.” Mike nodded as he opened the library’s front door.
“Yeah, I felt like she should be included in our little chat about yesterday.” He gestured for everypony to enter the library. “Come on in, take a seat, and relax as we have a quick chat about the events of yesterday evening,” He said with a smile as everypony entered the library. Without enough seats to seat everypony, Twilight teleported a chair from upstairs for Trixie to sit with the everypony at the dinner table. Mike stands a short distance away from the table, facing the entire group. Mike clears his throat. “So, there’s something pretty important about yesterday’s Ursa Minor incident you all should know...” Mike says then takes his hat off, gets down on his hands and knees, and bows with his forehead touching the floor. “Trixie’s not the one that gave Snips and Snails the idea to bring the Ursa to town, it was me... I’m sorry please forgive me!” He sincerely apologized making everypony except Cole gasp.
“Wait, they got the idea from you?” Trixie asked shocked and a little hurt that Mike didn’t say that yesterday.
“What?!” Twilight shouted in disbelief. “Why would you do that?” She asked baffled Mike would even think about doing something so dangerous and reckless.
“I’ll admit, I had a moment of weakness after seeing you run away from Trixie’s magic show, Twilight.” Mike started to explain. “Watching you run away embarrassed and scared about showing your magic abilities hurt my soul, and made me do what I did.” He admitted. “I knew you could handle the Ursa with your immense magical prowess, so I wanted to prove that Trixie was lying about the Ursa Major thing,” He said never moving from his position. “Moments after I gave those two the idea and let them get out of earshot, Cole made me realize my mistake, but it was already too late to stop them from bringing the Ursa to town and I’m truly sorry, I deserve whatever heavy punishment you all think I deserve.” He said expecting the worst. After a few moments of quiet murmuring from everypony at the table, Mike hesitantly looks up toward the table.
“Because you sound sincere and you clearly understand your mistake, you are forgiven,” Twilight starts. “But don’t you ever even think about doing something so dangerous and destructive like that again,” She said in a stern tone of voice. Mike stands up and puts his hat back on.
“A-are you sure?” He asked. “I feel like that’s not the appropriate response to my mistake...” He says with a frown. “Shouldn’t I at least help with the cleanup effort after it made those large divots in the ground with its paws?” Everypony at the table looks at each other, after a few silent nods Twilight looks into Mike’s eyes and nods.
“If you feel that is what you deserve, then that will be your punishment.” She states still a little mad. “Now is that everything you wanted to talk to everypony about?” She asked making Mike shake his head.
“No there’s one more thing I wanted to talk about,” Mike says as he reaches under his shield. “You all remember that necklace I got from Tael’s past owner that allows me to transform into a wolf?” He pulls out the newly transformed Howling Stone Charm and holds it up.
“Wait, that doesn’t look like the same necklace you had before...” Trixie said a bit confused prompting Mike to nod.
“You’re correct, It was updated right before my daily workout session with Cole and Spike,” Mike said with a smile, his mood changing after those tense few moments.
“Oh, what happened, Link?” Rarity asked curiously.
“Twi, you’re gonna want to write some of this down,” Mike said prompting Twilight to teleport a large stack of parchment paper and a few ink wells. “Alright, so it all went down like this...” Mike started to explain what happened when he was summoned to Jeff’s Equestria, leaving out the mundane conversations and specific details like the non-anthro ponies and his cool-off concert.
=A Long Retelling With A Few Breaks Later= -Just Over Half An Hour Has Passed-
“And that’s pretty much it, after explaining what Displaced were to the Solar guards and his world’s Celestia, Jeff and I shared a fist bump and he sent me home, that’s when I arrived back in my room with that loud noise you hear this mornin’, Tael,” Mike said, finishing his nearly fourty-five-minute-long retelling.
“That’s an awe-inspiring tale, Link, It makes me wonder just how many different equestrias there are.” Rarity said with an interested tone. “I also wonder how different the fashion is in Jeff’s world.” She smiles.
“That Jeff character has some cool, unique, and enchanting musical magic at his disposal,” Trixie said interested in Jeff’s magical songs. “I wonder if anypony could utilize those magic songs,”
“Those five Solar guards sounded pretty strong and cool, makes me want to go there and see just how strong they are,” Rainbow said, wanting to test her might against Jeff’s comrades. “I wonder if there’s a group of guards like them in our Equestria,”
“I kind of wish you had stayed with that large timberwolf a little longer, Everfree sounded like an interesting animal to talk to,” Fluttershy said a little disappointed. “Also those Zora creatures sounded super interesting, I’d like to hear more about them,”
“That ‘Barinade’ monster you fought sounded pretty disgusting the way you described it, glad you helped save the Seaquestria Princess from that monster,” Applejack said a little disgusted. “Though I didn’t like how you had to hide your identity and how good you are at lyin’.” Mike chuckled nervously.
“I’m so glad that my old master is doing good without me,” Tael said with a smile.
“Your combat prowess always impresses me, bro, I didn’t know you knew hand-to-hand combat,” Cole said impressed.
“Yeah, now I really can’t wait until you teach me and Cole to fight just like you!” Spike said with enthusiasm.
“Your story makes me wonder if Seaquestria exists in our Equestria, that full moon celebration sounded like a fun party!” Pinkie yelled wishing she could have joined the festivities. Twilight finishes writing about the last thing that Mike said and sighs.
“And finished... This is an interesting prospect, a multiverse of Equestrias... All connected by beings like you, Link.” She looks up at Mike with intrigue. “If you get a chance to bring somepony with you to another Equestria, do you think you can try and take me?” She asked.
“I guess... I didn’t really have a choice this time so I’m not sure if I can do that, but I’ll try my best,” Mike said which excited Twilight immensely. “Anything else?” Mike asked.
“Hey, what did you do with that Mikau Plushie you got?” Spike quickly asked remembering the plushie. Mike put away the Howling Stone Charm and pulled the Enchanted Mikau Plushie out of his inventory then tossed it to Spike. “Oh cool, so this is what a Zora looks like?”
“Most of them at least, they’re a very interesting race of people from Hyrule, though not very many of them have tattoos like Mikau,” Mike explained. “Alright, that’s all I wanted to talk about today, you guys can leave if you want, I don’t want to keep you from your chores or whatever more than I need, however, I do need to speak with Rarity in the kitchen privately for a little while,” Mike said with a smile.
“Oh, you need to speak with me privately, Darling?” Rarity asked as she stood from the table. Mike nodded and headed into the kitchen and Rarity followed right behind him. “So, what did you need to speak to me about?” She asked curiously.
“I need a couple of favors from you, Rarity, the first thing I need is a tuxedo for the grand galloping gala and eventually my wedding,” Mike said holding up his index finger.
“Oh, already hearing wedding bells are you?” Rarity teased with a big smile and a giggle. “I’ll get right on that, any particular color or design for the suit?” She asked to which Mike shook his head.
“Nothing too fancy, just a plain tux that I can use for multiple occasions maybe a picture of the Triforce on it above the pocket maybe, I’m not trying to stand out too much, if that’s even possible with these.” He says pointing at his ears, he then lifts his middle finger. “The second thing I need is two special outfits for Nightmare Night, when is that by the way?” Mike quickly asked.
“Nightmare Night is on October thirty-first, and what are these special outfits you need?” She asked writing things down on a notepad she had in her bag.
“Huh same date as Halloween, that’s pretty convenient and it makes things a little easier for me to remember.” Mike thought to himself before answering Rarity. “They’re two special dance outfits Cole and I will be using to entertain everypony on Nightmare Night, I’ll sketch them out on some paper, color them, and have Spike deliver them to you.” He said then held up his ring finger. “Last but not least, favor number three, I need some black hair dye and, if at all possible, hair dye remover.” Rarity stops writing and looks at Mike with a confused expression.
“Why do you need black hair dye, I think your golden blonde hair looks fantastic, why would you ever change it?” Rarity asked honestly.
“The person I’m going to be dressing up as has black hair and I want the costume to be as authentic as it can be,” Mike answered. “I mean he’s also a few shades darker skin than me but I can’t really do anything about that.” Rarity nods and writes the hair dye and remover down in her notepad then puts it away into her bag.
“Alright, Darling I have that all written down,” Rarity said with a big smile. “I’ll get to those costumes as soon as you get me those sketches, and since the gala isn’t until November I shall take my time making your suit, is that all you need?” She asked making sure Mike didn’t forget anything.
“Yep, thanks a bunch, Rarity, I’ll pay you back as soon as I can, oh and keep everything we talked about a secret,” Mike said with a smile, and Rarity nodded. Mike walked out of the Kitchen with Rarity following him. Only Twilight, Rainbow, Cole, Trixie, Spike, and Tael remain at the dinner table, everypony else had things to do and left during Mike and Rarity’s private conversation. “Welp I’m off to the town hall so I can volunteer to help with the clean-up effort, I’ll try to be back for dinner,” Mike announces and waves as he leaves the Library and heads for Ponyville Town Hall.
“So what did you two talk in there about, Rarity?” Twilight asked, not really expecting an answer.
“Sorry, Twilight, merchant client confidentiality, you’ll only find out if Link decides to tell you, my lips are sealed.” Rarity said with a giggle. “I’m off to make a completely unrelated special order, see you all later,” Rarity says as she leaves the library. Twilight smiles and then turns her attention back to Trixie.
“Alright back to what we were talking about,” She said prompting Cole to repeat what he said as Mike and Rarity left the Kitchen.
“So what type of magic do you use in your show?” Cole asked ready to learn a bit about unicorn magic.
“Oh that’s simple, Illusion Magic is the generic name for it, some call it Showpony Magic,” Trixie explained.
=Ponyville Town Hall= -Several Minutes Later-
Mike enters the Ponyville Town Hall and spots a light brown Earth Pony with swirly nerd glasses and dark brown hair behind a desk in the lobby, he has a name tag that says Tadwell on it.
“Good morning, citizen, how may I help you?” Tadwell said with an eccentric wave.
“Yeah, I’m here to see Mayor Mare please,” Mike said and Tadwell nodded.
“Okie dokie, follow me,” He said as he stood from his desk and walked to the door behind the desk with Mike walking up behind him, Tadwell poked his head in the door.
“Mayor Mare, are you busy, you have a guest,” Tadwell said making Mayor Mare nod and tear her focus from the paperwork on her desk.
“No I have some free time, go ahead and let them in, Tadwell.” She said making Tadwell nod and open the door fully allowing Mike to enter the office. “Oh, why hello, Link, what brings you here today?” Mayor Mare asked surprised. Mike walked over to the chair in front of Mayor Mare’s desk and sat down as Tadwell closed the door and returned to his desk in the lobby.
“Mayor Mare, I want to volunteer my time to help with the cleanup of the Ursa Minor incident that happened yesterday,” Mike stated with a serious look on his face.
“Oh, well I’m sorry to disappoint you but the cleanup is already finished,” Mayor Mare said confusing Mike. “The divots in the ground at the edge of town were quickly fixed by a crew of Earth Pony construction workers at six AM sharp, you’ve missed your opportunity to help, but thank you for offering,” She said with an apologetic smile. Mike sits still shocked at how fast and efficiently damage to the town is fixed. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” Mike goes to shake his head but Tadwell bursts through the door to the room.
“Mayor Mare, Twilight Sparkle just announced to the town that Princess Celestia sent her a letter about an adult dragon blowing smoke all over the skies above the town and it’s spreading at an alarming rate!” He shouted making Mayor Mare and Mike quickly look out the window in the room.
“Holy sh~I mean moly, that’s a lot of smoke...” Mike said, tactfully censoring himself in front of the Mayor, impressed by just how much smoke was in the sky already.
“Link, is your offer to help still open?” Mayor Mare asked with a smile as she turned back to face him. “It seems we do need your help after all and of course, you’ll be reimbursed for your effort,” She stands up and holds out her hand to shake. Mike hesitates at first then stands and grabs her hand.
“I’ll take care of it, don’t you worry,” He said with a confident smile as he shook her hand. “No compensation needed.” Mike let go of Mayor Mare’s hand and quickly left the room without another word.
“Wait what, no compensation needed?” Tadwell said confused as he left the room and closed the door.
“As you wish, Guardian of the Elements,” Mayor Mare said quietly as she sat back down and returned to the paperwork on her desk.
=Golden Oaks Library= -Several More Minutes Later-
“Alright, is everypony ready?” Twilight said to the rest of the main six including Spike, Cole, Tael, and even Trixie as Mike entered the library. “Oh hey, Link, you’re back already?” She said confused.
“Yeah, it turns out the Ursa Minor cleanup job is already done, so I’m gonna help take care of the dragon problem,” He said as he noticed all of his friends in the Library with several bags and supplies. “Wait what’s goin’ on? I thought y’all went home,” Mike said a little confused.
“A Dragon is sleeping on Smokey Mountain and snoring causing smoke to cover Ponyville and soon all of Equestria,” Twilight explained. “We were tasked by Princess Celestia to go and see if we can convince it to relocate to stop the smoke from spreading, so I had Rainbow bring everypony back,” Twilight said making Mike nod.
“Ah, that sounds way easier than what I was about to do alone, so I think I’ll go with you guys and gals if that’s alright with y’all,” He said with a chuckle as Tael flew over and landed on his shoulder. Twilight nods and walks over to the library’s door.
“Okay everypony, if we’re going to get there before nightfall we’ll need to leave immediately, let’s get moving.” She said with a confident expression on her face. Everypony left the Library and started their long trek towards Smokey Mountain, where the dragon is currently nesting. As they walk to the train station Mike slows down and shoots up a conversation with Fluttershy, who is noticeably shaky, nervous, and lagging behind quite a bit.
“Hey, Fluttershy, are you alright?” He said calmly making Fluttershy look up at him.
“I’m sorry, I’m just a little nervous about climbing up a tall mountain to talk to a fully grown dragon, just thinking about it is scaring me,” She admits as Mike pats her on the back and smiles.
“You’re gonna be fine, trust me, we’re a big group of eleven, and all of us will protect you if things go south, but that won’t happen as long as you’re here,” He says trying to rid Fluttershy of her nervousness. “I know deep in my heart that the dragon will do whatever you say if you just be your super kind self and politely ask it to move without a doubt,” He said with an encouraging smile.
“I also believe in you, Fluttershy, I just know you’ll definitely befriend that dragon even if it’s mean at first, we all believe in you,” Tael says as she lands on Fluttershy’s shoulder trying to help too. Fluttershy stops shaking and smiles.
“Thank you, I’ll try my best.” She says a little quiet.
“That’s the spirit,” Mike said with a chuckle. “Now come on, let’s catch back up to the others,” He said as the two speed up, catching up with the rest of the group.
=The Base Of Smokey Mountain= -Several Hours Later-
“Can we stop yet, this long hike is exhausting me,” Rarity cried feeling very weak from the hours of constant walking with barely any breaks. “Why couldn’t we have just taken the train here again?” She asked with a huff.
“As I said when we left the Ponyville train station, there’s not a train station anywhere near here, we would have had to jump off the moving train and risk seriously injuring ourselves,” Mike said also feeling exhausted as the group arrived at a small clearing at the base of the mountains. “We just gotta stick it out till we get to the base of the mountain...”
“We’ve made it to the base of the mountain everypony,” Twilight said as she stopped and turned towards the rest of the group.
“Oh thank the lord,” Mike said as he breathed a sigh of relief.
“We should stop here and set up camp so we can rest up to climb the mountain tomorrow,” Twilight says as she starts to rummage around in her bag. “Sorry for pushing everypony to their limit, I just wanted to make sure we made it to the base of the mountain before we stopped so this trip would only take four days at max, we can rest now.” She said with an apologetic smile. Mike sat down on a rock and rested his aching feet along with Cole.
“Finally, I’m just gonna sit here till I can gather enough energy to move again,” Mike said wiping sweat from his brow.
“You said it, bro, that walk was agonizing,” Cole said as Twilight took the camping gear out of her bag.
“Hoowee, even I’m winded from that hike, congrats, Twi, you’re the first pony to make me sweat without any apple trees around,” Applejack said with a chuckle as she sat down with Mike and Cole to rest.
“Again sorry everypony take a well-earned rest, I’ll set up all our gear so we can get dinner going and get ready for tomorrow,” Twilight said taking more and more compressed things out of her bag. She places four small cubes around the clearing near each other but not too close and uses her magic to un-compress them, showing that the cubes are full-size tents, one with Twilight, Trixie, and Rarity’s cutie marks, another with Rainbow and Fluttershy’s cutie marks, another with Applejack and Pinkie’s cutie marks, and the last one had the boys’ names written on it. “Alright, all of the tents are up everypony, sorry boys I didn’t know what to put on your tent other than your names.” She apologized.
“No problem, Twi, it’s not like we have cutie marks you could put on the tents,” Mike said with a smile. “I guess I’ll go get some firewood so we can cook,” He said as he stood up. “Be right back,” Mike slowly walked into the forest looking for dead trees to cut down. After several minutes Mike returns to camp with two stacks of roughly 10 pieces of firewood on each arm.
“Oh hey, Link, good job getting the firewood,” Applejack said with a smile. “Just set them next to your tent and toss a few into the fire pit.” Mike nodded and walked over to his designated tent.
“So what all did everypony bring as rations?” Mike asked as he sat all but two pieces of firewood next to his tent.
“I brought a quarter of a bushel of apples for everypony,” Said Applejack, holding up a bag of about twenty-eight apples.
“I brought cupcakes!” Shouted Pinkie, Pulling a perfect stack of cupcakes from her hair.
“I brought you and Cole a...” Fluttershy shuddered and gulped nervously. “A couple of fish for your special needs.” She said making everyone but Mike and Cole feel a little uneasy.
“I brought some trail mix, it’s not that good though sorry,” Cole said with a chuckle.
“I brought a bag of cashews and mixed nuts,” Rarity said as she tossed an unshelled peanut into her mouth.
“I brought a bunch of energy bars,” Rainbow said as she chomped down on an energy bar.
“I brought several compressed boxes of various fruit,” Twilight said as she pulled out a yellow cube labeled pineapple.
“Trix-I mean I brought extra canteens of different drinks,” Trixie said as she levitated a few canteens labeled water, tea, soda, and apple cider.
“I brought some gems for myself and some juice boxes from the fridge,” Spike said as he sat down near the fire pit.
“I’m too small to pack anything...” Tael said a little sad.
“Don’t worry Tael, I didn’t get a chance to pack so we’re in the same boat,” Mike said with a chuckle, cheering up Tael as he placed two pieces of firewood into the fire pit. “Alright, everypony I’m gonna light the fire pit with a fire arrow, figured I’d say something before just using a slightly dangerous item from my inventory,” Twilight smiles and nods.
“Wait you have fire arrows too?” Trixie asked to which Mike just nodded.
“Get back a bit, Spike, not sure how much area of effect my fire arrows have,” Mike said as he reached behind himself with his offhand and pulled out his fairy bow.
“Gotcha, I’ll move,” Spike said then stood up and walked next to Mike to watch him light the fire pit. Mike raised his main hand above his head and grabbed an invisible arrow while thinking of a blazing inferno. He pulls an arrow out of his inventory and knocks it as it lights up with a firey aura. “Oh boy that’s so cool,” Spike said in amazement. Mike pulls back the string and lets go shooting the fire arrow directly at the fire pit, the arrow hits dead on, and with a small explosion of fire, the fire pit lights up.
“Oh wow, that was cool, Link!” Rainbow shouted impressed.
“You just keep getting more and more interesting the longer I’m around you, Link,” Trixie said fascinated by the magic at Mike’s disposal.
“If you think that’s interesting just watch him sing a song from his original world, it’ll blow your mind,” Rarity complimented. “When he sang for us on a chariot ride to canterlot he sounded divine,” Mike put away his bow and chuckled embarrassedly.
“Oh stop, Rarity, you’re too kind,” He said with a smile, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Oh really, now I kind of want to see you sing, Link,” Trixie said with an encouraging smile.
“You know what, yeah sing us a song, bro, it’ll lift our spirits and give us more energy to last until dinner time,” Cole said as he walked over to the fire pit.
“Yeah, Linky, sing us another song!” Pinkie shouted bubbly.
“Why not, Link, It would help our exhaustion a bit,” Twilight said with a smile.
“Can you at least sing a non-country song this time?” Rainbow asked politely. “I’d like to hear some other music from your world,” Mike nods and starts to think about one of his favorite video game final boss music that has lyrics as the rest of the group gathers around Mike to listen to him sing.
“Oh man that’s a hit, They’ll love this!” He thought to himself and the music began to play out loud. “This is one of my favorites, hope you enjoy it!” Mike shouted over the song as he started playing air guitar.
“♪ Live and Learn, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! ♪” He sings as the song ends and he finishes playing air guitar. The group of friends all cheered for Mike as they all enjoyed the song.
“Oh heck yeah, that song was so cool, Link!” Rainbow cheered with a fist pump. “Music from your world is awesome,”
“I have to agree, that song was very good, bravo!” Rarity complimented.
“I still don’t know how you make the music but hey, still a pretty good jam,” Cole said clapping for Mike with a smile.
“Oh, Linky, that song has me so pumped up for the climb tomorrow, I kind of want you to sing again tomorrow so the dragon can hear you sing,” Pinkie said bouncing around with a lot of energy.
“Apple Bloom would have loved that song, Link maybe I should have you sing for my family when you come back to the farm to work,” Applejack said with a chuckle.
“So energetic, almost gave me enough energy to climb the mountain right now,” Spike said clapping.
“Good job, Link,” Fluttershy said quietly with a smile.
“Yay, another hit, Link!” Tael says as she flies over to him and sits on his shoulder. “I can’t wait to hear more songs from your world,”
“Makes me really want to learn more about the magic you possess, Link it’s so amazing,” Trixie says with a smile while clapping.
“Me too, Trixie, I’ve been wanting to learn about his magic ever since I first saw what he could do.” Twilight admits. “That was a great song, Link!”
“Aww thanks everypony, it boosts my confidence a whole heck of a lot just hearing y’all say that,” Mike smiled and bowed then looked to the sky to check the time of day. “Now judging by how far down the sun is, I think it’s time for dinner so who wants to cook?” Pinkie quickly bounces up and down holding her hand up.
“Oh oh, I’ll do it, pick me!” She shouts repeatedly until Mike points at her and she squeals with glee and quickly speeds around and sets up a makeshift kitchen next to the fire pit. “It’ll be an hour before dinner will be done, but it’ll definitely be worth the wait,” She said with a huge smile as Mike gave her a thumbs up and walked over to his tent and sat next to it to rest after that jam session. The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful and dinner was delicious. When the time came, everypony went to bed pretty quickly, ready to climb the mountain in the morning.
Mike wakes up by the smell of somepony cooking breakfast instead of the light from Celestia’s sun for once, he sniffs the air trying to guess what it is, and sits up after waking up halfway. “Mmm, somethin’ smells delicious,” Mike quickly and quietly exits the boys' tent, looks to the firepit spoting Applejack cooking on the open fire, and walks up to her. “Hey, AJ, what you cookin’?” He says with a stretch.
“Nothin’ much, just some apple jam toast, want some?” She asked as she used tongs to flip her bread to toast the other side. Mike nodded and Applejack quickly grabbed another piece of bread and put it on the grill above the fire.
“Any signs of bears or other animals?” Mike asked as he sat down next to Applejack.
“Nope nothin’, seems that dragon’s snoring is so loud it’s scared off all the critters around here, thank Celestia that Twilight knew a sound-killing spell,” She responded as she removed a piece of toast from the grill, put it on a travel plate, and started putting the Apple jam on the toast.
“No kidding, without that spell I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have been able to sleep last night,” Mike said as Applejack passed him the finished Apple Jam Toast. “Oh, you’re giving me the first piece of apple jam toast?” Applejack nodded.
“I’m still gonna cook this one so why shouldn’t I just hand you the first one, I can focus on cookin’ instead of eating since I gave you that one.” She says as she flips the toast on the grill.
“You’re just like my mom, she would always eat last, no matter what she made whether it be burgers, mac and cheese, or pancakes,” Mike said then he bit into his breakfast. “Oh wow, AJ, you’re a master cook just like Granny Smith, this is so delicious and filling,” He quickly cleans his plate and breathes a sigh of contentment. “So you think we’ll be done with this mission by the end of the day?” Mike says as he stands up and puts his plate on the ground near a bucket of water.
“Here’s hopin’, I got some things to do when I get back to the farm as well as some stuff that could use your help,” Applejack said as she finished making her breakfast. “You know, Granny’s really been missing you at lunchtime,” She said as she bit into her breakfast.
“Oh really, well when we get back to Ponyville tell her I’ll be back to work the very next day,” Mike said with a smile. “I can’t wait to eat that famous Apple Fritter Pie again, I’ve been craving a piece ever since I woke up from my coma,” Applejack chuckled as she finished her breakfast.
“I’ll be sure to tell her that,” She said as the zipper opened on Twilight, Trixie, and Rarity’s tent making Mike and Applejack look back and spot said trio of unicorns exit their tent.
“Good morning, you two, what’s for breakfast?” Twilight said with a yawn.
“Some absolutely delicious Apple Jam Toast, courtesy of the amazing chef, Applejack,” Mike said making Applejack chuckle.
“Come sit down I’ll have your breakfast done in a jiffy,” Applejack said as she put three pieces of bread on the grill.
=One Hour Later=
With everything they had brought packed back up and the campsite clean other than a completely snuffed-out charcoal pit, Twilight stands in front of the group. “Alright, Is everypony ready to climb the mountain and deal with the dragon?” She asked with a confident tone of voice. Everypony confirms they’re ready to head up the mountain, except Fluttershy. She hides away every time the dragon snores, paralyzed by fear.
“Hey, Fluttershy,” Mike said as he put a hand on her shoulder making her look into his eyes scared. “Want me to carry you, I know we’re both grown adults but I can understand if you’re scared and your legs won’t move,” Fluttershy thinks about it then slowly nods. “Alright, one sec,” Mike opens his inventory and unequips his sword and shield. He closes his inventory and kneels down. “Ok hop on,” Fluttershy hesitantly climbs on wrapping her arms around his neck, and Mike stands back up holding her legs with his hands giving her a piggyback ride.
“I’m not too heavy for you am I?” Fluttershy asked while blushing profusely. Mike shakes his head.
“Not at all, you don’t weigh that much, heck my sword and shield are much heavier than you,” He said putting her mind a little at ease. “Alright we’re ready now, let’s a go!” With that issue resolved the group trekked onward and started to climb the mountain. The climb was a little hard thanks to the sheer size of the mountain but everypony made it to the summit in only two hours with zero issues on the way up. On the summit was a cave entrance with smoke billowing out the entrance accompanied by the dragon’s snores that were super loud but not loud enough to damage everypony’s hearing. Mike kneels again and lets Fluttershy down from his back and then he quickly reequips his weaponry through his inventory screen.
“Ok, the dragon is in that cave right ahead, Fluttershy, Link, and I will enter first and try to resolve this peacefully,” Twilight says then she turns toward the cave. “Everypony else stay here and prepare to help if things go south,” She walks toward the cave with Mike walking up behind her. Though he noticed Fluttershy not being next to them they both turned around.
“Come on, Fluttershy, we can’t do this without, you,” Mike tried to encourage Fluttershy but her fear of dragons took over and she hid behind a dead tree. “Nothing bad’s gonna happen, Fluttershy, and if it does we’ll be right beside you to protect you.” He said with a confident expression.
“I... I’m sorry, I can’t go in the cave,” She says as she hangs her head low.
“Why not, Darling?” Rarity asked.
“I can’t go in because I’m scared of dragons...” She said with her voice becoming too quiet at the end of her sentence. Applejack walks up to her and puts a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, sugar cube, what did you say?” She asked.
“I’m scared of dragons!” Fluttershy said quickly. As if on cue the dragon snored again making Fluttershy hide again.
“But, Fluttershy, you have a wonderful talent for dealing with all kinds of animals,” Twilight said trying to cheer her up.
“Yes, because they’re not dragons,” Fluttershy explained.
“Oh come on, we saw you walk straight up to a menacing manticore like it was a small kitten,” Rainbow pointed out.
“Yes, because he wasn’t a dragon,” Fluttershy repeated.
“Spike is a dragon and you’re not afraid of him,” Pinkie pointed out.
“Yes, because he’s not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, sharp scale having, horn-wearing, smoke snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown up dragon,” Fluttershy said all in one breath. The dragon snores again making her start the shake from fear.
“But if you’re so afraid of dragons, why didn’t you say something before we got up here?” Coel asked.
“I was afraid to...” She said sadly.
“All of us are afraid of that dragon, sugar cube,” Applejack says.
“I’m not,” Rainbow quickly states with a confident expression.
“Almost all of us are afraid of that dragon, but we’ve got a job to do, so go in that cave with Twilight and Link and show that dragon what you’re made of,” Applejack says with an encouraging tone of voice.
“I... I... I just... Can’t,” Fluttershy says then sits down behind the tree and hangs her head lower.
“Oh, Fluttershy, looks like it’s up to me and you, Link,” Twilight says with a sigh. “Alright, I guess we should go in,” Twilight said prompting Tael to fly into Mike’s hat as the duo walked into the cave.
“Holy crap it’s dark in here,” Mike said having an extremely hard time seeing inside the cave. “Twi, you mind making some light?” He asked prompting Twilight to light her horn and use a light spell to light up the cave. “Thanks,” They walk for what feels like minutes and finally arrive where the dragon is sleeping, on top of a massive hoard of gold, gems, other rare objects, and what looks like a giant fire retardant quilt.
“There it is, let’s do this as politely as we can,” Twilight said as Mike cleared his throat trying to catch the dragon’s attention. The dragon doesn’t respond.
“Huh, heavy sleeper,” Mike thought to himself. “Hey excuse me!?” He shouts making the dragon open an eye and look directly at Mike. “Hi, how’s it going big guy?” Mike asked as the dragon opened its other eye and lifted its head. “We’re from Ponyville a few miles from here and we’d like to ask that you please remove yourself from this cave and find a better nesting spot, you’re causing smoke to cover the sky damaging our crops by blocking out the sun,” The dragon lowers its head to get a closer look at the two intruders trying to kick him out of his cave.
“We’re sorry for waking you, Mr. Dragon, but we need to you move to a spot farther away,” Twilight says giving the dragon an apologetic smile. “It’s just that you seem to be doing a lot of snoring and every time you snore you release a large cloud of smoke into the sky,” She explained, the dragon blinked, laid its head back on its hoard, and started to go back to sleep.
“Wow, rude much?” Mike said a little mad at the dragon just ignoring Twilight and himself.
“Please, Mr. Dragon, Equestria simply can’t survive a hundred years in a dark haze,” Twilight said and the dragon responded by blowing smoke directly at the duo making them cough and wave away the smoke. Before they can continue to try and persuade the dragon to leave, the dragon blows another big cloud of smoke pushing Mike and Twilight back out of the cave coughing.
“Well that didn’t work,” Mike said a little annoyed.
“What do we do now?” Applejack asked, Rarity started heading for the cave.
“Obviously this situation requires a little, pony charm,” She says with a flourish of her mane. “Allow me, everypony,” She walks into the cave alone. After a tense few minutes, Rarity runs out of the cave and pouts. “I was this close to getting that diamond,” Twilight walks up to her.
“You mean, getting rid of that dragon?” She asked pointedly.
“Oh, yeah sure,” Rarity says looking away from Twilight. Pinkie blows a party horn and everypony looks at her confused as she’s suddenly in a ridiculous clown outfit with several balloons tied to her, big red clown shoes, and holding a jack in the box.
“What in tarnation?” Applejack asked.
“Darling you look ridiculous,” Rarity says and Pinkie nods.
“That’s the plan, making the dragon laugh should help persuade him,” Pinkie says as she walks into the cave without another word. A few seconds later, everypony hears all her balloons pop and she walks out of the cave sad. “Apparently he doesn’t like laughing,” Rainbow growls in frustration.
“Alright that’s it, we’ve tried persuasion, charm, and... Whatever Pinkie did, It’s time to stop wasting time!” She shouts and flares her wings ready to fly in and deal with the dragon herself. “I’m going in!” She shouts as she lifts off the ground and flies into the cave making everypony gasp. Mike quickly grabs Cole and Spike.
“Quick out of the way,” He says quietly separating them from the girls that are all grouped at the cave entrance. They all hear a sneeze come from the dragon and then it roars seconds later Rainbow rolls out of the cave like a bowling ball and knocks over all the girls.
“Rarity, are you ok?!” Spike shouts as he runs over to her and helps her up with Mike and Cole helping everypony else up. The dragon comes stomping out of its cave and puffs of smoke come out of its nose as it breathes.
“Come on boys shields up quick, this could get ugly,” Mike orders as he draws his sword and shield and stands in between the girls and the dragon. Cole and Spike both run up to Mike and stand next to him with their weapons drawn as well. After a few moments the dragon roars and blows smoke directly at the trio of swordsmen blowing them back with enough force to push the entire group back and into a large boulder. “Ow, should’ve equipped my iron boots,” Fluttershy pokes her head out from behind the tree and sees all her friends on the ground in a heap groaning in pain and gaining a furious expression.
“How dare you,” She says gritting her teeth. “How dare you!” She shouts and flies up to the dragon’s face slightly spooking it with the sudden movement. “Listen here mister, just because you’re big doesn’t mean you get to be a bully,” She berates the dragon, who is looking more and more frightened. “You may have huge teeth, sharp scales, snore smoke, and breathe fire but you do not, I repeat, you do not hurt my friends!” She shouts. “You got that?” The dragon recoils at her tone of voice. “Well?”
“But that rainbow one kicked me,” The dragon said with a deep but still scared tone of voice.
“And I’m very sorry about that, but you’re bigger than she is and you should know better,” Fluttershy pointed out. “And you should know better than to take a nap where your snoring can do damage to other creatures,”
“But I...” The dragon tried to say but Fluttershy interrupted him.
“Don’t you ‘but I’ me Mister, now what do you have to say for yourself?” She said making the dragon look ashamed. “I said, what do you have to say for yourself?” The dragon starts crying. “There, there, no need to cry, you’re not a bad dragon, you just made a bad decision,” She says as she pets the dragon and then flies down to the ground with her friends. “Now go pack your things, you just need to find a new place to sleep that’s all.” She says softly as she lands and everypony gathers around her. The dragon goes back into the cave.
“Nice job, Fluttershy, I knew you could do it,” Mike says as Tael flies out of his hat and sits on Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“We never stopped believing in you,” Tael said with a hug.
“Thanks,” Fluttershy says with a smile as the dragon exits the cave with his hoard in a runaway stick bag.
“I’m very sorry for causing so much trouble, goodbye,” The dragon said then took off into the sky heading for the dragon lands.
“Hey, how about we send a letter to Princess Celestia so she can get some pegasi to start clearing this smoke,” Cole suggests.
“That’s a good idea, Cole,” Twilight says then turns to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “Hey, can you two start clearing the smoke here, to get a head start on the cleanup?” Rainbow and Fluttershy nod and fly up to the smoke and start clearing it away. Twilight grabs her bag and rummages through it. “Oh no, I didn’t pack any paper, quills, or ink,” Twilight says with a frown.
“Really if that’s the case I have a solution, back away and don’t look up for a little while,” Trixie says then focuses hard. Her horn lights up and starts sparking. After a few minutes of charging her horn, a firework shoots into the sky it flies up way past the smoke and explodes into a giant moving image of a pegasus blowing away a cloud. “That should do it,” Trixie says then falls to her knees exhausted.
“Woah, Trixie, what happened?” Mike asked as he helped her stand. “Are you alright?”
“It’s ok, I just used a ton of my magic pool to make that giant animated image,” She states her eyes half open about to pass out from over-exertion.
“When a unicorn overuses their magic they can become tired or even collapse, she’ll recover in due time, but she’ll have a hard time climbing down the mountain in this condition,” Twilight explained. “If only I could give you some of my magic to help, but I don’t know a spell like that yet,” Mike gets a bright idea and reaches under his shield.
“Hang on, I got a potion that restores magic, maybe it’ll work for you,” He says as he pulls out his Bottle of Green Potion. “It’s worth a shot, right?” Twilight nods and Mike uncorks the bottle and hands it to Trixie.
“Are you sure you want me to have this?” Trixie says a little apprehensive and Mike nods. “Okay,” Trixie hesitantly drinks the potion. She finishes the potion licks her lips and smiles. “That was delicious, and it’s working,” She said with an enthusiastic smile. She hands Mike’s bottle back to him and she walks around full of energy like she just got a full night’s sleep. “Oh, I haven’t felt this good since I discovered my cutie mark!” She hugs Mike. “Thank you, Link,” Mike pats her on the back and chuckles.
“Glad I could help,” He said with a smile as he put away the bottle and they broke off the hug. “Alright so is everypony ready to start heading home?” Mike asked and everypony agreed. “Alright, if we hurry we should be able to make it about halfway before we need to camp out again,”
“Then let’s get a move on!” Rainbow says as she and Fluttershy finished clearing as much Smoke as they could without over-exerting themselves. The group started to follow the same path down the mountain they used to come up.
“Ah, home at last, what a thrilling adventure,” Mike said as the group made it back to the Ponyville Train Station. “And the smoke’s all gone, good job with that firework, Trixie,” Trixie smiles.
“Thanks again, but that little adventure took a lot of time, so I think it’s time for me to move on, It’s been fun hanging out with you all, and I’ll be sure to return to Ponyville sometime to visit,” Trixie says, separating from the group, she turns to face everypony and waves with a genuinely happy smile. “It was nice to meet you all, this is goodbye for now,”
“Take care, Trixie, we hope to see you again,” Twilight said as everypony waved. Trixie turned and walked to her trailer to pack for her journey to the next town.
“I hope she has a pleasant time on the road,” Mike said with a sigh as Rainbow walked out of the group stretching.
“As much as I’d like to stay and talk, I got a lot of work to catch up on at the weather center, see you all later!” Rainbow flew towards the weather center with a two-finger salute and a wink.
“I need to head off too, I’ve gotta hurry back to the farm, I bet Granny and Apple Bloom’s been worried sick, see y’all later,” Applejack said as she split from the group and headed straight for Sweet Apple Acres.
“I have to go too, I have to get back to my animal friends, I hope they’re not too upset that I’ve been gone for three days,” Fluttershy said and with a polite bow, she slowly flew towards her cottage giving her legs a rest.
“I have to get home too, My sister’s coming to stay with me I need to get my guest room ready for her when she arrives tomorrow, tata for now,” Rarity says as she heads for her boutique.
“Hey, Pinkie,” Mike said making the pink pony move in front of him like the road runner. Mike gestures to her to get closer and he whispers in her ear. “When is Cole’s welcome to Ponyville Party?” He asked making Pinkie think for a moment and then answer him quietly.
“It’s almost ready, sorry it’s taken so long I just need a couple of things and then it’ll happen, don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about it,” She smiles then backs away. “Welp I’m off to help Mr. And Mrs. Cake at Sugar Cube Corner, Bye-bye,” She said then bounced in the direction of Sugar Cube Corner.
“Guess we should get back to the Library, I’ll cook us up some dinner when we get there,” Twilight says as they all start heading for the Library.
“Good, ‘cause I’m starvin’!” Mike said patting his belly earning a laugh from Twilight, Spike, Tael, and Cole.
)
🎉Here's hoping for another in the coming years!
