Out of the Mirror

"Good Morning, Link."

That's DARK Link to you, you flippin statue. Green's not my color.

"Yes, yes, whatever. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I'm not a statue anymore!" Discord suddenly appeared in front of my mirror in all his mish-mashed lack of glory and started posing. "And I must say, I am looking good."

What?! How did you get out?

"Oh, just some foals who were having a little spat during one of the tours," the hodge-podge said casually. "Nothing special."

Hey, you mind letting me out? You have no idea how bad being a mirror sucks.

Discord raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Not high enough." He plucked the brow and stuck it about a foot-and-a-half above his head. "There we go."

Please Discord. I've gotta get out of here!

"Tell you what, little lady. You prove to me that you had it worse than I did, and I'll set you free."

Alright. One: Statues are made of stone. Tough. Sturdy. You stood outside in the weather over a thousand years and you're still here. I so much as fall over, I'm doomed. Two: Ponies come to see the statues, not the mirrors. If those foals never stopped by to see you, you'd never be free. Three: Even if somepony DOES come to look at the mirror, they aren't actually looking at the mirror. They're too busy looking at themselves to see you making faces at them in the background. Four: You got bird shit while I got bat shit. The difference? Bird shit gets washed off by the rain. Bat shit festers all over my glass until somepony remembers I still exist. Do I need to continue?

Discord stroked his beard and nodded. "I think you do. I'm not entirely convinced yet."

I groaned. Five: Your environment changes over time so at least you get something like a show. I get to watch dust collect. Six: You got to be in a cool pose when you went down. My casing is forever flat. Seven: You at least kept your body. I'm less than an image. Eight: When I was trapped here, it was that time of month! You can't imagine what PMSing for a thousand years is like!

"Still not as bad as I had it."

You've got to be s***ing me.

"I'm not kidding. What could be worse than listening to you PMS for a thousand years?"

Oh, come on... What more do you want from me?!

"Alright, alright, fine." Discord snapped his claw. "There you go."

...Was something supposed to happen?

"Ah, but something did happen, my dear. I modified the enchantment so that it would break when the one who gave you your power returns. Ta-ta!" And just like that, Discord vanished into thin air.

When the one who ga-- ...SCREW YOU, DISCORD!

1064 years ago

"Andi! Hurry up, already! It started almost an hour ago!" That was Steph, short for Stephanie. She's my bestie from forever ago and the one who got me into Cosplay. I can't remember a time when we weren't together. Her favorite things in life are pizza, parties, pizza parties (especially pizza parties), holding things too high for me to reach even jumping, and causing a general ruckus among the boys at wherever she happens to be.

And with a body like hers, she was damn good at it.

We were going to the LA Con, and she'd gone all out Tifa. Eyes naturally big and green. Curly red hair dyed raven black and straightened. Boobs plump enough to boozle accentuated by leather suspenders lining her tanktopped torso. Long, firm legs on display for the masses with only her hiney covered by a black miniskirt and belt. Slender arms sporting black, skin-tight gloves. Hands covered by red fingerless gloves and feet in a matching set of boots. Not gonna lie, if she asked me to, I'd definitely tap that.

"You want me to hurry? Then help me find my ocarina! My costume isn't complete without it!" This is me, Andi, short for Andria. My favorite things in life are spending time with friends, giving Ganondorf the beatdown in all of his incarnations, and fighting off the boys gawking at Steph.

"Andi, come on! I'm sure some overpriced booth will have--"

"Found it! Alright, let's go." I stepped out of my room. "Well, how do I look?" I did a little twirl. Steph took one look at me, snickered, then fell to the floor in full belly laughter. "What? What's so funny?"

"You are! You're like a chibi medieval commando!" Tears streamed as she giggled mercilessly. "Oh my sides!"

"Hey, this is what Link would look like if he actually carried half the things he gets in any given game!"

Steph wiped her eyes. "God, I love you sometimes, Andi. Only you would kick a character like Link into hyperdrive."

I couldn't really say anything, so I just scowled and jabbed her in the love handles as we walked out to the car. It took me months of preparing and collecting the parts I needed to finish it. Black tunic, grey pants, black cap with a blue plume representing Roc's feather. Home-made, wood and pvc Master Sword, complete with a kick-ass black and silver sheath strapped over my shoulder by a belt. Two pouches on the back of my waist carrying a mock Ocarina of Time and the medallions from A Link to the Past. Over the sheath, a custom ordered Mirror Shield straight from OoT with a plastic cover to make it Hylian. I also rigged a slot on the back for storing the sword when I wanted to quickly grab another item. Attached to the belt on my chest, a small Windwaker and two masks: Twilight Princess's Hawkeye and, my personal favorite, Fierce Deity. Golden gauntlets on my hands, Ravio's bracelet up my arm. On my hips, the Rod of Seasons and a pair of spring-loaded Clawshots. Let's see... Fireshield Earrings. Pegasus Boots. Plastic versions of the Expert ring from the Oracles games (My favorite ring ever. There's something satisfying about killing moblins with a punch.) and the Grip ring from Minish Cap. To complete the costume, I wore a long sleeved slash-proof shirt and dad's covert stab-proof vest under my tunic. Overkill? People go crazy at Cons.

You never know when someone might knife you for their fandom.

Present Day

Noooooobody knooooows. The trouble I've seeeeeeeeen. Noooooobody knooooows the-- *crack* What the--? Another crack appeared in the mirror. Then another. Then myriads of cracks spider-webbed all across the pane until finally the mirror's enchantment exploded with a loud crash, flinging me outward into the room. I like to think my landing was... graceful, given the circumstances. Yea, let's go with that.

I peeled my face off the floor, then stood up, dusted off, and stretched. Oh, did it feel good to stretch again! To have limbs again! To feel myself breathing rather than just existing! To feel the movement in my-- Oh god, no...

Thank goodness for secluded corners. Saved me the need to clean my clothes.

I crept up to the door to the storage room and peeked through the key hole. Would you believe that somepony put up a wall right in front of the door? Made damn sure nopony ever came in here. No wonder I never got any company.

Just as I was about to open it, I heard a door slam on the other side. "News from Northern Equestria!" someone shouted with a gravelly voice. "Uh, your highness."

"Yes?" I know that voice. It was much younger 1000-some odd years ago, but there's no mistaking it. Celestia is here!

"I am simply to tell you that 'it' has returned."

She gasped. "Find Princess Cadence and Shining Armor!"

"Yes, your highness!" A multitude of hoofsteps suddenly clopped loudly, then faded into nothing.

"My dearest Twilight," I heard her say as the sound of a quill scratching parchment began. "You must come to Canterlot at once."

I pulled myself away from the keyhole. My sudden release plus the guard's message about the north could only mean one thing. Sombra was back.

1064 years ago

"We've only been here for 10 minutes, and you're already grumbling? Come on, Andi, enjoy yourself!"

I gave Steph a Look. "Easy enough for you to say, Steph. You're making every head turn, feeling that breeze blow across your skin while I'm out here cooking in my own clothes!"

"Well, that's what you get for choosing Link instead of Saria. It's just simple math, really. Can you guess what lots of black cloth plus lots of sun equals? Lots of heat, sweat, and complaining."

"I think I'm just gonna stay inside," I grumbled.

"Alright. Don't have too much fun without me!" she called as I reached the large glass doors. Just inside was a water fountain, so I walked over and got a quick drink. By the time I made it back to the doors though, Steph was already chatting up a Cloud and a Barret from Final Fantasy 7. I just threw my arms up and walked away. If she wanted to fry out there with people in her niche, who was I to stop her?

That's when I saw The Booth. Not just any booth. The Booth. A Zelda connoisseur's wet dream condensed into a single 10'x10' area. "Hail Adventurer! You are by far one of the most well equipped Links I have ever seen. Perhaps I can round out your arsenal?" I played it cool. Strutted over to the Happy Mask Salesman like the boss I knew I was.

And by strutted, I mean ran as fast as my little legs could carry me, squealing like I was back in grade school.

The shop had everything. Swords, bows, hookshots, rings, masks, shields, etc. etc. and so forth. In short, almost everything was something I had either already bought or built myself. It was hard to hide my disappointment. Then a glint caught my eye, shining off a small, spiky black crystal with the edges painted orange and looped with twine to make a pendant. "How much for this Shadow Crystal?" I asked, pointing out the object.

"Ah, you have a good eye, little adventurer! A good eye, and a true love of Zelda, as evidenced by your attire. For you, I will cut the price in half. Fifty dollars."

"F-fifty bucks?! Now listen here, you-!"

"There you are, Andi! I've been looking for you."

I whirled and pounced on Steph, clutching her at the waist in a bear hug. "Steph! Lend me fifty bucks!" She pulled me off her and looked at the crystal in my hands. She then put her hands on her hips and fixed me with her are-you-out-of-your-flippin-mind? look. "But Steeeeeeeph! It's a Twilight Princess Shadow Crystal! Pleeeeeeeease? I'll pay you with interest when we get home."

"Didn't you bring a hundred with you?" As soon as she asked the question, I hit her with the best wide-eyed pouty face I could muster. It seemed to work, 'cause after a couple seconds she sighed and raised her hands in defeat. "Fine, but only because you're so damn chibi." She forked over a fifty to the Happy Mask Salesman behind the booth.

"Thanks, Steph! You're the best!" I squeezed her one last time before looping the twine over my head. As I held it in my hand and looked at it, it seemed to glow darkness. I know this sounds crazy, but it really did. Suddenly, a black explosion of mist erupted, blasting everyone away from me. Now the crystal was REALLY going wild, emitting a deep purple aura as the cloud swirled around me. "Steph! Help me!"

"Andi!" The cloud condensed all around me, and the world went dark.