I snorted, pawing at the ground. The black stallion across from me did the same. I flattened my ears and bared my teeth. I felt Master’s calming hand on my mane. He said nothing, but then he never did. That is okay. I would not have understood his words anyway. His intentions, however, were always as clear as Lake Hylia.
I eyed our opponents. I knew them well. We had been pursuing the one called Ganon for many weeks, and finally caught up with him. The stallion, Nightshade, had been with him even longer than I had been with Master. He is several hands taller than me, with a coat like coal and a mane and tail like fire. Rather handsome, if I am completely honest, if only he had not been twisted by his years with the dark sorcerer.
“Nightshade!” I cried, “It is time to end this. Give up the dark one!”
He snorted. “Not likely, little Epona. As you serve your master, so I must serve mine.”
I nodded. That was not the first time we had had that exchange. Master and I would have caught Ganon long before if it were not for Nightshade’s loyalty. Despite that I had no wish to see the stallion harmed in defense of that man. The one that had turned the sky red. The one that had made the water bitter and the grass black. The one that had killed the world. I hated that man. He deserved to die by my master’s blade. But Nightshade only served his master, as any warhorse does. As I did.
The dark one spoke, causing Master to tense up. I felt him on my back, ready to protect me from whatever dangers the enemy threw our way. He tightened the reigns. “Wait for it,” I told myself. “Wait for it… Now!” I charged ahead at the same moment as Nightshade, barreling toward him. We passed a hand’s breadth apart, and I heard the sharp clash of steel on steel. I wheeled around to face the enemy, my pulse pounding with adrenaline.
A light kick from Master spurred me into another charge, with Nightshade mirroring my action. We rush at each other once again, hooves thundering against the hard earth. We met and our masters clashed. I felt Master’s weight shift considerably. I twisted away violently, anxious to get him out of harm’s way. On turning, I saw that it was not MY master who was harmed. Lying on the ground was the dark one himself. I snorted, glad to see him in the dirt where he belongs. Nightshade had just turned around, eyes wide with shock. He could not believe that my master bested his.
My saddle shifted as Master dismounted, moving to stand over his downed foe. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of white. Ah, the princess. Zelda. She was watching, determined to see her enemy destroyed for good. Master brandished his sword, that legendary blade with the power to banish evil. With a shout he plunged the blade into Ganon’s chest, eliciting a final enraged scream. I heard another cry, one of anguish. Nightshade’s head was raised to the crimson sky, a mournful whinny escaping his lips. Suddenly I did not feel quite as good as I had a moment ago.
Master did not seem to notice the stallion’s anguish as he turns to the princess. Nightshade silently, gingerly stepped up to Ganon’s body. He sniffed at his master, and cast a baleful glare at the sword still embedded in his chest. I approached the body myself. I did not regret the man’s death. He was evil, and brought nothing but death. But Nightshade, well, he had had no more choice in it than I did. I stood silent for a moment, allowing Nightshade his space.
A startled shout from the princess broke me out of my reverie. The strange marks on her and Master’s hands were glowing brightly. Another glow caught my eye and I looked down to see Ganon’s hand glowing with the same mark. The light brightened to the point I had to close my eyes. Once the light faded I opened my eyes to a totally different world. The sky was blue, and the grass was green and sweet and beautiful. I inhaled a deep breath, taking in the fresh air.
The colors were not the only change. Three golden artifacts hovered in the air between Master and myself. I recognize them instinctively. The Triforce, holy artifacts of the creators. I could sense their power. Looking around, it was clear everyone else did as well. The princess wass, of course, the first to try to reach for it. She stretched her hand out to touch it-
And screamed as a huge stallion nearly trampled her. Nightshade had charged the artifact, shoving the princess aside. He reared up onto his hind legs, neighing loudly and nearly smashing her head in with a wild swing of his forehooves. She fell to the ground as Master rushed to get between them, raising his shield in a feeble attempt to stop the assault. I charged, tackling the stallion before he could land a fatal blow.
That was the last thing I saw in that world.
I remember a blast of energy from somewhere, and a sensation of falling. Lights and colors swirled around me in a chaotic dance, and unbelievable noise assaulted my ears. My eyes darting frantically, I searched for some sort of reference to orient myself. I managed to stop my tumbling, but I still felt like I was being swept away by some raging river. And I heard laughter.
Ganon’s laughter.
It seems his dark magic had one more surprise in store.
A silver glint caught my eye. Master’s sword! I tried to reach it. I found that by doing a sort of paddle, as if I was swimming, I was able to reach the weapon. Stretching my neck, I managed to grasp the pommel in my teeth. I cannot exactly use it, but having it made me feel better.
I heard a familiar whinny to my right. Twisting around to look, I was just in time to see Nightshade stretching his muzzle desperately to reach something. Was that? No, how could it be! The Triforce, THERE?
“Nightshade!” I tried to plead around the sword in my mouth. I could see a mad glint in his eye as he made contact with the artifact. There was an even brighter flash of light followed by nightmarish screams. His screams. I watched as the Triforce dissolved, becoming pure energy and streaming into his open mouth and eyes. His flank glowed, and a trio of golden triangles appear on it, nearly identical to the marks on Master’s and the others’ hands. He finally looked at me, a feral grin on his face. I saw other changes too. He seemed shorter somehow. Stockier. But despite his new stature, a dark miasma of energy surrounded him, giving me the feeling he had become far more dangerous than anything I had yet faced. With one last spiteful look, he turned his back on me, and walked out of the stream, as if he had been standing on solid ground rather than falling through an endless void of arcane energy. One moment he was there, and the next he was just… gone.
I continued falling for goddesses know how long. There was no real sense of time there. After a minute, or maybe a decade, I heard a voice.
“What is your wish, child?”
My wish? I had never thought about anything like that before. My whole life my wish had been to follow Master. His wishes were my wishes. Without him? I’m not sure. I supposed getting out of there was a pretty good wish. But, somehow I got the feeling I was not supposed to wish for something so short sighted. Not many wishes could come true here, after all. I thought about it for a year. Or was it a few seconds? What do I truly want? Finally the answer came to me.
“I want to be a hero. I want to battle the darkness in the world, and protect the innocent. I want to be like master.”
I hear the voice giggle. “I think that is a good wish. I will give you my power.”
Another flash of light. I was getting a little sick of that by that point. Without warning, I felt my teeth vibrate, as though I had bitten into a magical conduit. The sword between my teeth vanished. My mouth gaped in surprise, but before I could utter a word I felt a river of energy flowing into my mouth blinding me and overloading my senses.
Suddenly I felt great pain. It was like my muscles were being torn from my bones and my skeleton rearranged. My legs seemed to shorten, and my eyes felt ready to pop out of my skull. My flanks burned like they were on fire. As the pain reached a crescendo, I was finally blessed with unconsciousness.
I stared up at the great golden doors of the castle. I took a deep breath. Admittedly I was a little nervous. Despite my big talk at the town square, this would be my first mission without Master. Putting a hoof on the cold metal, I took a moment to settle my nerves. There was no telling what may lie beyond those doors. Taking one last look back, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The heavy door slammed shut behind me. I was committed. I cast a careful eye on my surroundings. I was in a grand entry hall, made almost entirely of crystal. Blues and greens danced across the walls, while the pillars flowed with deep purples. Beneath my feet was a lavish red rug stretching from the entry way to the door at the other end. I strode forward, hoofsteps muffled by the plush carpeting. Nothing happened. All the same I sighed with relief when I reached the door on the opposite end without incident. Far more confident than before, I placed my hoof on the next door and pushed it open.
I strode into the huge room on the other side and gasped in astonishment. It was massive. The center was dominated by a round crystalline table, surrounded by six towering thrones. The seats were big enough I felt sure that even I could fit in one quite comfortably and still have room to spare.
Above the table hung what looked like the entire root system of some ancient tree. Glowing lights of multiple colors adorned the roots. Each light sphere seemed to have a life of its own. Some glowed with a solid orange light. Others flashed in an erratic pattern between two shades of pink. Still others sparkled with a pure white light, while a few cycled through a whole rainbow of colors. The overall effect was stunning. I had seen many strange and beautiful sights on my journeys with Master, and yet this display filled me with a warmth I have not felt since the last time Master played me my song.
Something in the tangle of roots caught my eye. Caught up among the shifting and dancing lights was a much larger solid purple sphere, nestled deep in the hollow trunk of the chandelier. I stepped closer to get a better look. The sphere glowed with a malevolent crimson energy that was very out of place there. If I had to guess, by my experiences with the sorcerer Ganon, that would be where the princess was being held. I sat back on my haunches for a moment, thinking. There was no way I could reach her from the ground. Even if I were to balance on top of the thrones I would still be short by several lengths. I considered trying to reach it from the top, but I could see that there were no entrances to the room at the higher levels. It would take a pegasus to get to it, and from what I could see everypony was too scared to go anywhere near there as long as they thought there was a dragon.
I scanned the roots again, looking for a clue. Looking carefully at the aura surrounding the orb, I noticed four distinct trails weaving through the roots of the tree. They were tricky to follow with the eye, as they were constantly shifty and as elusive as smoke, but I managed to follow the trails to a pair of doors on the wall opposite the way I came in. Interesting. I decided to investigate.
The double doors opened into the middle of a long, curving hallway. Two of the trails went left, up a flight of stairs at the end. The others went right, to another stairwell going down. I pawed the crystal floor and snorted in indecision. I really do not like stairs. They are just so awkward to navigate. I took a minute to think about it and decided to head to the left. I still had not encountered either the dragon or the other ponies who were supposed to be here, and I did not fancy being caught underground with a giant fire breathing lizard.
The stairway was deceptively tall. When I started I could only see the bottom twenty or so steps, but on reaching the top I realized I had several more flights to go. I sighed, resigned to my fate. By the time I reached the top I must have been well into the crystalline branches of the tree.
I finally bested the last step to find an utter labyrinth. There were hallways and side rooms going in every direction. Master, being the person he is, would have probably insisted on exploring every single one of them, but I had no interest in getting lost. Besides, if I understood correctly, this tree palace was the home of the very princess I was meant to be rescuing, and as I have mentioned it is very rude to snoop around other people’s homes.
Following one of the elusive trails of miasma, I managed to navigate through the twisting corridors with minimal effort. It led me to yet another set of massive double doors. I was beginning to sense a theme. This pair had a giant pink six point star emblem emblazoned across them. I assumed that was important. Once again I lifted a hoof to push the doors open, but this time I encountered a problem. They would not budge. Great, I huffed, blowing a loose strand of mane out of my face. And here I thought I was going to avoid having to navigate the maze. Terrific.
Continuing town the corridor, I tried every door on the same side as the one I needed to get in. I tried the first one. Locked. The second one. Locked. One left. If it was locked too that would be that. The end of my first mission. A spectacular failure. I reached for the door with a tentative hoof…
And almost wept with relief when it opened. Upon entering, I recognized the room as a small study. There was a sturdy looking wooden desk in one corner, and a couple of cushions spread around the floor, but not much beside that. Nothing useful anyway. I glanced around looking for another way out, hopefully in the direction of the locked room.
There. Along the back wall was a set of glass doors leading to a balcony. I pushed the doors open and stepped out, taking a breath of fresh air. I spared a glance at the crimson sky. Something was off, besides the color I mean. It definitely should have been dark by now. Even when Ganon ruled Hyrule day and night remained more or less consistent. But here it was as if there was no sun or moon to govern the day and night cycle, only eternal, all-encompassing red. “Nightshade,” I groaned, “What have you done?” I sighed and returned to the task at hand.
There was another balcony next to this one, in the general direction of the locked room. Its location should coincide with the door I had encountered before this one. Both balconies were bordered by an elegant looking guard rail, one that should come up to about chest height of the average pony. To me they would barely be an obstacle. I eyed the distance between the two platforms and nodded to myself, satisfied. I backed up to the edge of my balcony and took a deep breath.
I shot forward like an arrow, one stride, two, and with a mighty leap I cleared the guard rail, sailing toward the other platform and landing perfectly in the center, taking a single step to cancel my momentum. I flicked my mane back and grinned, thinking how proud Master would have been if he had seen that jump. My smile faded. I had to look for him as soon as I am finished here.
Looking around, I noticed a much larger, even more elegant balcony beyond the one I was standing on. I knew that one must belong to the room with the star door. I considered trying to jump it, but decided the distance was too great, even for me. Instead, I turned to my left to open the door leading back inside.
I found myself in a lushly decorated bedchamber. The deep purple carpeting was so plush I almost felt like I could drown in it. My hooves did not make a single sound, save for the brushing of the carpet. In the middle was a massive four post bed, easily large enough for six normal sized ponies. Again, thick cushions littered the floor. I decided that they must be the equivalent of chairs in this world, at least for royalty. Every table and night stand was strewn with half-empty plates, bowls, and goblets. Apparently the dragon’s appearance had interrupted whatever festivities had been going on. I waded through the clingy purple carpeting until I could reach the door on the opposite side. I unlocked it and looked out into the hall to get my bearings. Yes, I was where I thought I was, just two doors down from my destination.
Leaving that door open, I checked the room for other entrances. Indeed there was one, heading in the direction I wanted. I stepped over to it and pushed it open.
Shiny white floors and blue crystal walls greeted me on the other side. I blinked a couple times to adjust to the glare. I seemed to be in some sort of private bath house. It looked like a combination of the royal baths in Princess Zelda’s castle and the sort of cleaning stalls found in barns all over Hyrule. The room was dominated by a large crystal basin large enough for several ponies to bathe comfortably in, and the walls were lined with various nooks and crannies with various nozzles and other stations for grooming, most of which would have to be explained to me. I even saw what looked like a human toilet, but optimized for equine physiology. That answered one question anyway.
A quick look around the room revealed nothing of great interest, so I headed to the next door. Once again I found myself taking a calming breath before opening the door. This was it. Where the first of the trails led. This would determine if I had been wasting my time or not. I pulled the door open.
This room made the previous bedroom look plain by comparison. Cold leaf and silk tapestries lined the walls, the carpeting was somehow even more plush, and the giant round bed had to be twice the size. I had to take a moment to pick my jaw off the floor. This kind of opulence rivaled even the richest palaces and temples in Hyrule. This could only be the bedroom of Princess Twilight Sparkle.
I quickly spotted the misty trail that led me here, seeping through the great double doors and disappearing behind the curtains of the gigantic bed. I grab the edge of the hanging fabric with my teeth and sweep it aside.
Hovering over the bed was another violet sphere, identical to the one in the council chamber as far as I could tell. Stepping up onto the bed, I reached a hoof to touch it. I felt a small shock as I encountered the swirling miasma, but the sphere itself was perfectly smooth, as if it were made of glass. I could barely make out the silhouette of a pony inside. Taking a step back, I twisted around and bucked it with my hind legs. There was a flash of light and the sound of shattering glass, and I saw the trail leading from the door vanish into thin air. Turning back, there was no longer any sign of the sphere. Whatever magic had sustained it must have vanished when I broke the seal. It its place was a unicorn with a coat of pure white, sleeping fitfully.
After a few minutes of deliberation, I decided to leave her on the bed. She was clearly exhausted, and looking after a half-sleeping mare, or worse, carrying her, was simply out of the question. Not when I had a dragon to think about. I considered for a moment whether it would be a good idea to leave her all alone like this, but I had encountered no monsters here and odds were on me encountering the dragon before it decided to check on its prisoners.
With that settled, I unlocked the great double doors and stepped back out into the hallway. Making my way back to the stairs was a little more challenging without a trail to follow, but I had made sure to memorize the way when I passed through before. I soon found my way back to the staircase. Now there was only a single trail to follow, going off in the opposite direction from which I came.
I followed the second trail around a corner then down a long hallway. Once again it disappeared into a giant set of double doors, these ones golden to match the first set I encountered at the palace’s entrance. I tried pushing them open, fully expecting them to be locked like the ones to the bedroom. Much to my surprise, they swung open easily.
On the other side was a massive open air balcony, easily large enough for several dozen ponies to mingle comfortably. I could imagine it being used for hosting elegant royal events or perhaps entertaining foreign dignitaries.
The trail led straight to the center of the large round platform. Once again I found a semi-opaque purple sphere surrounded by dark energy and, apparently, also holding a pony. I chuckled to myself. After the difficulty I had in reaching the first one I had assumed they would all be equally difficult. I approached the orb with relief.
That relief was quickly shattered by a powerful screech. I jumped, frantically looking for the source of the noise. I shadow passed over me, a huge, winged shadow. Horse plop. The dragon. Of course it would not have been that easy. I backed away from the sphere, watching the sky.
A huge black creature flew into view. It landed on the opposite side of the balcony and stared at me with big, glowing eyes. I stared back. This was not what I was expecting. The being before me looked much more like an unreasonably large own than a dragon. That mare, Fluttershy, must not be very good with animals.
Even so, this creature was not to be taken lightly. It was shrouded in tar black feathers, and I guessed its wingspan to be at least six meters. It stood on a pair of very sharp talons, each easily big enough to cut me in half. Its beak was no joke either. It ended in a sharp hook that looked like it could pierce my skull with little trouble. I shook with anticipation, adrenaline flowing through my veins. Yes, this creature was dangerous, and could likely murder me in an instant, but this was hardly the first time I had faced those odds. Never mind that I had always had Master to watch my back before. I had sworn to defeat the beast, and I would keep my word.
With a mighty flap of its wings the giant avian took to the sky, circling high above. I readied myself as its shadow approached, jumping aside at the last possible second. It let out a terrible screech as its talons grasped at the empty air. It flapped its wings again to gain altitude, the downdraft knocking me to my knees. I grunted, picking myself up.
I kept a careful eye on it as it circled overhead, making careful note of its patterns. The next time it dove I dashed forward, keeping just out of reach of its claws! As soon as I was clear I leaned forward and unleashed a mighty kick! I heard a sharp crack and felt my hooves impact something hard, rather than the soft feathers and light avian skin I had been expecting. As the monster took off again I detected a thin trail of dark energy seeping from a gen on its chest. The stone had a hairline fracture across the front from which the energy leaked. I had gotten very lucky with my kick, as I had not realized the gem’s existence before. It must have been covered by the plumage on the creature’s chest. Either way, I knew I had a target. Perhaps the battle was not so hopeless after all.
The creature stayed in the air much longer after that, apparently wary of the danger I had done to it. I decided to press the issue by making a break for the purple sphere. It screamed in rage and dove once again. I twisted to avoid its talons and once again struck out, but it was smarter this time, raising a wing to block what surely would have been a shattering blow. Instead, my kick struck its wing and I heard the snap of lightweight avian bones. I grinned to myself. I may not have finished the battle, but I had surely grounded the monster.
It hopped backwards, retreating to the edge of the platform while nursing its wound. It was my turn to make a move. I stalked toward it and began circling, its owl-like head turning to keep me in its sights. I rounded toward its injured wing and charged, catching it off guard with my sudden change in momentum. It instinctively turned to move its injured wing away, but in doing so it exposed my true target, the gem on its chest. I reared back and struck out with my hooves, shattering the dark stone in a flash of light!
The creature howled in anguish as dark flames erupted all over its body. I hated to see it in undue pain, but there was nothing I could have done for it then. A light breeze blew past, scattering ash and black feathers off the balcony. Where the once mighty avian once stood, all that remained was a little owl, clutching a broken wing.
Everything clicked. That was one of Ganon’s favorite tricks, taking innocent creatures and turning them into fearful monsters with his dark magic. Nightshade had clearly learned more than one trick from his late master then. I shook my head angrily as I walked back toward the sphere I had come here for. Lashing out with all my frustration and the last of my battle wrath I shattered the prison with one blow. My mind hardly it as a soft beam of light gently deposited an orange earth pony mare onto the ground.
I was a little worn out from the fight, physically and emotionally, but I managed to muscle the sleeping mare up onto my back. The familiar weight of a rider calmed me a bit. With some consideration I grabbed the injured owl too. What had happened was hardly its fault after all. I carried both of them back inside, all the way to the royal bedroom where I had left the unicorn.
I set the orange mare next to the unconscious unicorn, and giggled a little as they curled against each other in their sleep. The owl hopped off my back and was also soon asleep, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I considered my mission. I had broken two of the purple spheres already, but the number of trails I had initially spotted suggested there were at least two more, as well as the one I assumed held the princess. I wondered if by breaking half the orbs I had lowered the princess enough to rescue her, but even if I had I could hardly just ignore the other ponies that might still be trapped.
At least the “dragon” was out of the way, so that should make things easier.
“Oh, horse plop!” I swore, as another thought clicked into place. The townspeople had been aware of a dragon living here already, one called “Spike.” If he had been subjected to the same magic that had turned this innocent little owl into such a fearsome beast, he would surely be a force to be reckoned with. I jumped to my hooves with renewed urgency and ran toward the stairwell.
Going down was even more uncomfortable than going up. If the dragon had attacked while I was navigating the awkward steps I would probably be dead. As it was it took me several minutes to reach the bottom. Finally, I found myself back at the council chamber. I glanced at the princess’s orb and sighed. It was no lower than before. If breaking the last two trails did not yield results, I would have to leave and try to convince some pegasus to enter the dragon’s lair, as it were.
I followed the trails back out into the hallway in the opposite direction from before. At the end of the hall, surprise surprise, more stairs. I let out a long suffering sigh. Taking ginger steps I made my way down.
After the huge staircase I had dealt with to get to the top of the tree, the set I took then was surprisingly short. I found myself in a large subterranean chamber with doors branching off in four directions. Fortunately, the smoky trails pointed out exactly which rooms I needed to visit. With a cursory glance I realized that every single room was absolutely filled with books. I snorted. Obviously this Princess Twilight had some major book fetish. I had never seen a library this extensive, certainly not a private collection.
But enough being judgmental. I had a mission. I trotted up to the first door. The library shelves branched off into a veritable maze. Worse yet, the trail merely floated over the shelves, leaving me to navigate the labyrinth on my own. I decided to go with one of Master’s most tried and true methods for navigating mazes. I listened for music. Naturally there was none. I sighed again. Could nothing be simple?
I decided to try Master’s second most tried and true method, and went right. I hugged the wall, following every dip and turn. Every time the path split, I went right. This way I could not possibly get lost, and if I ever ran out of paths I could just go back the way I came, making left turns instead of right. It was a flawless plan.
Well, almost flawless. After about half an hour I found myself back exactly where I had started. I slapped a hoof into my face as I had seen the Crusaders do. Clearly this would not be as easy as I had hoped. I braced myself for another try and, having already been down both the left and the right path, I took the center one. Every so often I would pull a book off a shelf and set it on the floor to mark my path.
After a number of dead ends and a lot of backtracking, I finally found myself in what I assumed to be the center of the maze. Either way the trail of dark energy seemed to end there. But I could not see a purple sphere anywhere. I stamped my hoof in frustration. Could NOTHING be simple?
Wait, what was that? I noticed that the trail had been following did not, as I first suspected, disappear into thin air. Rather, it disappeared into a stack of books sitting in the corner between two shelves. In the low light it had blended in with the surrounding shelves at first.
Walking over to it I realized it was not, as I had first assumed, just a random pile of books. They seemed arranged intentionally to form some kind of bastion or castle. Odd. I noticed a sign tacked next to what was apparently meant to be a door. Unfortunately, I am embarrassed to admit that at this point in my adventure I had never learned to read. I shrugged and ducked inside.
I could have sworn that the interior was somehow even bigger than it appeared from outside. Shrugging it off as a trick of perception and lighting, I instead focused on what I had come to find, the large purple orb floating in the center of the book fort. I looked around. No dragons. I looked up. No giant owl things. With a nod of satisfaction I raised a hoof and smashed the orb.
And nearly had a heart attack as it exploded with a loud pop and a veritable storm of multicolored shards of paper. Once the confetti cleared and my heart stopped pounding, I found a bright pink mare sleeping peacefully on the floor, apparently undisturbed by the noise. I poked her with a hoof, wary of any more surprises. When nothing jumped out at me or blew up in my face I decided it was safe and pushed her out of the book fort before hauling her up onto my back.
I found the entrance again rather easily, thanks to my foresight in leaving a trail of my own. I glanced at the stairwell, then back at my charge. I did not relish trying to climb back up both sets of stairs carrying such a load, only to have to come back down for another one. I decided to leave her curled up in an out of the way corner. She seemed comfortable enough at least.
Honestly I was tempted to join her. I stretched my back almost like a cat and felt a few joints pop. I had not thought about it much, but whatever changes I went through in the portal apparently left me much more agile. Of course it had had its drawbacks as well, I thought ruefully, glancing at my shorter legs. Even so, I still had about the same endurance, and I could jump at least as far as I was used to. Giving my neck a final pop I set out for the next room, dreading the thought of navigating yet another maze.
I was pleasantly surprised, however, to discover that rom of the library was set out in a much more orderly fashion than the last. It should be easy enough to just walk down the central isle and spot the last orb among the rows. So focused was I on searching the rows to either side, that I failed to notice the end of the isle and ended up plowing straight into the wall.
“Owww,” I groaned, rubbing my head. The room, though massive, was not nearly as large as I had been led to believe by the previous one. Turns out it takes a lot less time to walk a straight line than it does to navigate a maze. Who knew?
That still left me with one problem. Where was the orb? I walked back to the entryway, double checking each row just to be sure. No sign of it. I sat down by the door, frustrated. Where could it be? There were hardly any good hiding spaces in that much more orderly branch of the library. I sat there for far longer than I care to admit before I remembered the trail of dark energy that had led me there to begin with.
Finally it occurred to me to look for the trail. Glancing up I realized that it did not disappear into the library at all. Instead it went up, high above the central shelves and disappeared above the rafters. Great, I sighed, how was I supposed to reach that?
Glancing around the room, I came up with a plan. And I hated it. See, while the shelves in the middle could in no way reach the huge crystalline support beams overhead, they got progressively taller the closer they got to the wall. And I figured, with enough skill, and no small amount of luck, I could jump from one of the tables in the middle, to one of the shortest shelves, and so on until I reached a larger one and was able to shimmy over to where one of the beams met the wall. The problem? By that point I would be several meters off the ground and a misstep could possibly kill me. Still, I saw no other way.
Gathering my courage, I carefully climbed onto one of the sturdy crystal tables. Next was the moment of truth. I took one last moment to gage the distance. Then, I jumped!
The distance was much shorter than the jump I had made between balconies before. The problem was that I also had to jump UP. Not only that, I realized as I jumped again, but I would not be able to stop between leaps as that would kill my momentum and send me tumbling to the floor. A third jump! A fourth! One last one…
My forehooves reached the last shelf. My hind hooves did not. I felt myself begin to plummet, my rear hooves scrambling for anything to catch myself on. I was just about to lose my grip when I caught a shelf with a hooftip. My downward momentum stopped, I was able to slowly pull myself up to the top of the shelf and lean against the cool crystal wall.
After taking a moment to catch my breath, I glanced forward. I was only a few steps from one of the beams. I carefully shimmied over, being careful to place each hoof directly in front of the other as I walked. Finally I reached the beam and stepped up, sighing in relief as I realized it was more than wide enough to accommodate me comfortably. I looked to where it intersected the other beam above the exact center of the room and noted with satisfaction that the purple orb was right where it should be. It also occurred to me that whatever had trapped these ponies was obviously a stickler for symmetry.
Despite the width of the beam I stepped forward carefully, making sure to stay in the exact center. After several agonizing minutes, I finally reached the now very familiar purple sphere. As always it glowed with a malevolent aura, but caused me no trouble as I rapped a hoof against it, freeing the sky colored pegasus mare trapped inside. Like the others she slept soundly. I chuckled a little at the ridiculous rainbows of colors that made up her mane.
Suddenly, a loud crash caught my ear. “Oh no,” I groaned, looking back as another crash thundered through the hall. Several more sounded in quick succession as shelf after shelf of books fell, knocking one another to the floor and kicking up an impenetrable wall of dust. The sound was loud enough to cause the pegasus to stir.
“Wh… Wha’s goin on?” She slurred, still half asleep. I said nothing as the dust settled, revealing the carnage below. I have no idea how it happened, but there was not a single shelf left standing, save those that had been bolted to the walls. Worse still, the fallen shelves had been busted to splinters, leaving the floor below littered with treacherous wooden spikes. I was completely trapped. Even if I had wanted to risk the distance, there was a better than even chance that I would just end up impaled on a brand new stake.
“Hey, you! What the hay is goin’ on here?” The little blue pegasus demanded.
I got an idea. I had seen Master pull this trick off dozens of times. Granted, it was usually with cuccos, but still the idea was the same. Grinning to myself I grabbed the winged pony around the barrel and jumped off.
She shrieked in surprise, the sound a surprisingly good imitation of a startled cucco. Perhaps I was on to something with that. Fortunately her instincts took over and she began flapping her wings for all she was worth, halting our fall and allowing us to glide to safety.
We landed none to gently just outside the library’s door. As soon as she registered the fact that we had landed she pulled herself out of my grasp and turned to glare at me.
“What the buck was that?” She demanded.
“It worked, did it not?” I smiled ruefully. “Go look after your friend,” I said, cutting off her retort.
She looked toward where I was pointing and gasped. “Pinkie!” She shouted, rushing over to check on the pink earth pony. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She is asleep, just like you were. I rescued her the same as you. Your other friends are in the big bedroom upstairs. Please look after them.” I walked away, leaving her to tend to her friend. There was still one more to rescue.
Once more I entered the main council chamber, hopefully for the last time. I look up to the strange chandelier, and am gratified to see the last spherical prison lowering itself to the table, now missing the dark aura I had become so used to. I took a step toward it.
The doors slammed shut behind me. Across the room I saw the other set do the same. The room shook with a mighty roar. A chill ran down my spine as I realized what it must be.
The dragon.
I looked up to see a huge black claw pulling itself over the tree stump. It must have its nest up there. I shivered as I realized it must have been there the whole time, and it was only by sheer luck that I had managed not to wake it sooner.
A second claw followed the first, then a narrow head, and long slender neck. With one last great effort the beast pulled itself over the edge and leapt to the floor, shaking the whole palace. It reared up before me, unleashing a mighty roar and a powerful burst of green flames.
I finally got a good look at the monster I had promised to take down. Scales like obsidian covered it like armor, and its powerful claws dwarfed those of the owl beast I had faced before. Emerald eyes glowed beneath its dark brows, and dangerous looking spines crested its skull and traveled down its back.
In short, I was in trouble. I felt a strange warmth on my flanks. Turning to look, I saw the image of Master’s sword. It seemed to be glowing with a soft light. The sight filled me with confidence. I pawed at the ground and snorted a challenge. I would not lose.
The dragon’s eyes narrowed as it noticed my challenge. It threw its head back and I heard a rumbling growl. It was laughing at me. I decided not to take offense and instead thank it for the opening. I charged ahead and leaped, slamming my head into its relatively unarmored belly. It doubled over, caught completely off guard, and I took the opportunity to slam my hind legs into its jaw. It stumbled back onto its hind legs, giving me a chance to gain some distance.
One thing I noticed about the monster, with no spall amount of relief, was the complete absence of wings. I may be smaller than it, and far less armored, but at least it was trapped down here with me!
I felt a sudden draft pushing against me as I ran. I looked back just in time to see a flicker of green flame as it suddenly reversed its breath, launching a torrent of fire after me. I ducked to the side and took cover behind one of the large crystal thrones. I had to huddle down to make sure it would cover me completely when the flames came.
They never did. I peeked over the arm of the throne to see why. It looked like it was intentionally avoiding attacking the central area. Perhaps it had orders to guard the princess, and roasting her alive was not a part of that. I filed that away for later use.
Its hesitance to attack the center apparently did not apply to its tail, however. I barely ducked in time to avoid the powerful blow. It struck the throne instead, sending chunks of crystal flying all across the room. A plan began to form in my mind. Stepping out from behind the ruined throne, I shook my tail in a flippant gesture, as if to invite it to try again. It roared in anger at the display, Opening its mouth to prepare another volley of flames.
Just as I predicted. I took yet another page out of Master’s book as I dashed over to one of the larger chunks of crystal and bucked it with all my might, sending it sailing toward the gaping maw. The flow of air as the beast inhaled ensured a direct hit, and I heard a sudden sputtering and coughing. I liked back to see the beast once again doubled over, slamming a clenched claw into its chest in a vain effort to dislodge the foreign object. Once more taking advantage of its distraction, I rushed towards it, preparing to unleash a finishing blow.
Suddenly, with a final hit, it dislodged the offending bit of stone, coughing it up and crushing it to dust with a single chomp of its monstrous teeth. I reeled back in surprise as its eyes darted around, looking for its tormenter.
“Horse plop,” I mutter, taking cover behind another chair. Fortunately it did not seem to have noticed me. Getting down on all fours, it began sniffing the floor, looking for any trace of my scent. It apparently failed to detect me, however, as it stalked past mere meters from my hiding spot. As soon as its tail whipped past I made my move. Rushing around behind it, I leapt up onto the table, darted past the purple orb, and took a second flying leap onto its back.
It registered my presence immediately, reaching a claw back to try to grab me, but I was already rushing forward toward its head, only receiving a light scratch on my flank. Before it could make another move I had climbed its wide neck and found myself directly behind its head. Rearing back a little, I slammed both hooved directly into the base of its skull. It went down with a loud groan. I managed to jump off just as its head impacted the hard floor. I turned to it triumphantly, finally finding what I had been looking for. A dark black gem, nearly identical to the one the owl wore, was resting in the crook between its eyes. With a smirk I placed a hoof on it and pressed down with all my weight. I felt my flanks warm up again and a swirl of light encircled my hoof and shot into the gem, shattering it from the inside.
I blinked in surprise. I had only seen power like that….
My thoughts were interrupted by a thick cloud of smoke as a bright green flame spread out from where the gem had been. I stared as the once powerful black scaled turned to ash. An unnatural wind whipped up out of nowhere and sent the blackened dust dancing all around me. Finally the soot cleared and I found myself standing over a tiny purple dragon, barely tall enough to reach my knee.
I prodded the sleeping dragon, blinking in surprise. This tiny thing had become the monstrosity I just fought? Nightshade’s power was indeed formidable.
A soft sound caused me to turn back startled. Five mares stared back at me, eyes wide in shock. I recognized the four I had rescued, as well as a purple one with both wings and a horn. We stared at each other for a moment in silence. Not one of us even blinked.
The blue one shook herself out of her stupor. “That. Was. AWESOME!”
Author's Note
Look at you, Epona, following in Link's footsteps, wrestling dragons and rescuing princesses n shit. Writing dungeon chapters is fun.
I yawned and stretched my sore muscles. What an odd dream. I looked up at the familiar red sky and sighed. What a shame. Well, it was nice seeing blue sky for a little while, even if it was just a dream. That last part though…
I shuddered. I had no idea it was possible to dream up that much pain.
“Oh well,” I thought, “dreams are dreams. It is time to wake Master.” He always liked to oversleep a little. I snickered. The Hero of Hyrule was always such a lazy bones.
Where was he?
There was no sign of Master anywhere. No campfire. No bedroll. Nothing! It looked almost as if he had just… vanished. “Master?” I whinnied. “Master? Where are you?” There was no response. I turned around to get my bearings. I thought maybe I somehow wandered off in the night while I was dreaming.
I discovered one thing immediately. I had no idea where I was. Not only did I have no recollection of the place I woke up, I could not find a single familiar landmark. No fairy forest. No fire mountain. No castle city. All the places Master has taken me on our adventures simply were not there.
Looking carefully, I managed to discover several possible places of interest. From the hill I was standing on I could see a forest of shadowy trees. Far in the distance I saw a great mountain, with a large golden structure on the side, not unlike Zelda’s castle city. Much closer I noticed a small town. It looked quite a bit like the one at the base of the fire mountain, actually. I decided to head in that direction. If I am to find Master, the town is likely to be my best bet.
As I traveled, I began to reach an unavoidable conclusion. I had been all over Hyrule, from the endless desert, to the fairy forests, to the watery domains of the Zoras. I was familiar with every road, field, and mountain pass. Yet one thing was certain. I was, somehow, inexplicably, absolutely lost.
+++++
The town turned out to be a bit farther away than I had anticipated. Perhaps I was still a bit tired. That strange dream must have kept me from resting as well as normal. The sound of running water caught my attention and I followed it to a small stream. I approached at a canter, keeping an eye out for trouble. I was experienced enough to know that many predators prefer to do their hunting near watering holes and the like, and there was no telling what kind of creatures I may have run into in that unfamiliar place.
I soon found a relatively still pool and, with a final check of my surroundings, I bent down to take a drink. It was as bitter as I had come to expect since Ganon cursed the land, but it did sate my thirst. Finishing, I prepared to continue my journey when something caught my eye. Something about my reflection seemed off. I could not tell for sure, as the flowing water distorted my image some, but still. Do my proportions seem just a bit off? My eyes seemed bigger than before, and my legs seemed a bit shorter. Overall I looked shorter, stockier, and dare I say, rounder?
And what was that on my flank? A BRAND? Someone BRANDED ME? I began to shake as battle rage poured into my veins. Someone had dared to brand ME? Epona? Steed of the Great Hero himself! I reared up to strike my reflection out of the water when I noticed something odd about the mark. It looked very familiar.
“Master’s sword?” I gasped! No, that made no sense. How could it? Unless… Could my dream have been real? My legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground, trying to process everything. My appearance confounded me. I must have been altered somehow by the powerful energies of that vortex. That man, Ganon, used a lot of strange magics, especially voids that let him move swiftly between locations. I guess that explained how I ended up there, wherever I was.
That left me with one last question though. I looked up at the crimson sky. If I had not been dreaming, and everything I saw had actually happened, why was the sky still red? I vividly remembered Master plunging his weapon into the dark one. I saw the blue sky, smelled the sweet grass. Where had it all gone?
The answer struck me like a lightning bolt. Nightshade. It had to be. I leaped to my feet and started to pace. He had the Triforce. I saw him take it. This had to have been his doing. I felt a single tear run down my eye. How could he have done this? WHY? We had just fixed the world! By the goddesses, I had been happy! I stamped the ground, feeling my warrior’s rage returning. Whatever he had done, I would undo it. I would see the blue sky again. This I swore on Master’s name!
“NIGHTSHADE! I WILL DESTROY YOU!” I cried, rearing back as my adrenaline surged. With a snort of rage I renewed my run toward the village.
And that was when I heard the screams.
+++++
I ran as fast as I could toward where I heard the screams. Cresting a final hill I saw that I had reached the outskirts of the village, in what appears to be an apple orchard. My ears twitched, alert for any sounds. For a moment, all was quiet, save for my own heavy breathing.
There! To my left! Someone was crying. Without hesitation I ran toward the sound. As I ran I hear another scream, followed by a number of threatening growls. I dashed into the clearing, eyes processing every detail. Four creatures, bone white and predatory. Stalhounds! The beasts were menacing a trio of fillies huddled near a tree. They had not noticed me yet.
Good.
With a battle cry I charged into the midst of the beasts, trampling one in the process! I head a satisfying snap and felt bone give way beneath my hooves. The others turned toward me, startled at my sudden appearance. “Have at thee, vermin!” I challenged, rearing up and striking a second with my forehoof. I heard another snap as its skull gave way.
The other two began circling me then, wary of the strange horse that killed half their number. I could not suppress a laugh. After all the confusion since I awoke, it felt good to lose myself in combat. One charged from the right, and I sensed the other come from the left. I jumped out of the way, launching a powerful kick with my hind legs, and felt them connect with at least one of the beasts. I quickly pivoted, only to see that both of my attackers had been downed. One was missing its head, clearly destroyed, but the other was trying to pull itself back onto a broken foreleg. I reared again and smashed its skull with both forelegs. I panted from the exertion, a smile playing on my lips.
“THANK YOU!!!” The screams nearly made me leap out of my skin as I was practically assaulted by the three fillies nearly tackling me with hugs. I awkwardly pat their heads with a forehoof before gently pushing them off me. They run in front of me and sit in a row, big eyes looking at me expectantly.
“You… are the strangest looking fillies I have ever met.” And it was true. The most normal one was bright yellow with a cherry red mane, wearing some sort of huge pink bow for some reason. The second was white. Normal enough, I suppose, except for the curly pink and purple mane and… was that a horn? The third was by far the strangest. Her coat had a deep orange hue and her short, spikey mane was a shocking shade of violet. The weirdest part was the small set of wings, making her look like some sort of filly- cucco hybrid.
“I’m Scootaloo!” Said the cucco girl.
“I’m Sweetie Belle!” The white one mimiced.
“An’ I’m Apple Bloom!” Said the one in the bow, “An’ we’re-”
“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” They finished together, with a deafening shout.
These little fillies? Crusaders? “You look a little young to be war horses.”
“Huh?”
“What’s a ‘war horse’?”
“We’re ponies!”
I shook my head, trying to follow along with their antics. Their triple act was giving me a small headache. Okay, so they obviously were not war horses. Perhaps the term ‘crusader’ meant something different there, I reasoned. I decided to let it slide. I had more pressing questions. Like, “You, why do you have wings?”
That stopped them. All three fillies stopped talking and look at me, heads tilted at the exact same angle as if I had just asked the stupidest question ever.
“Um, I’m a pegasus, duh!” Says the cucco girl.
A Pegasus, huh. I had heard rumors of such creatures. A myth, I believed, told by mares to their children. Another myth crossed my mind as I looked at the one called Sweetie Belle. “If she is a pegasus, then that makes you a unicorn, correct?” She nods.
“Wait a minute,” Said the yellow one, Apple Bloom, “You mean to tell me you’ve never seen a pegasus OR a unicorn? Did you grow up in a town with only earth ponies or somethin’?”
I stared at the fillies.
They stared back.
“What is an ‘earth pony’?”
Three fillies slapped their hooves into their faces in unison. Was it something I said?
“You aren’t from around here, are you?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
“Umm, no, no I am not.”
“Where ya from?” Asked Scootaloo, jumping on my back.
“Hyrule,” I answered, turning to walk away.
“Where’s Hyrule?” Apple Bloom asked.
I paused. “I have no idea.” I hated to admit it.
“Well, how did you get here?”
“It is a bit of a long story,” I sighed. Before I could blink all three were lined up in front of me again, looking at me expectantly. “A long story for later.” I said firmly.
“Awwww,” they pouted.
“I was happy to save you from those creatures,” I said, “But I am afraid I have to go. I am looking for someone.”
The fillies perked up again. “We can help!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
“Perhaps you can,” I nodded, eyeing the matching purple and red marks on their flanks. “Very well, take me to your master.” They stared at me as if I had grown a second head.
“Our what now?” Scootaloo demanded.
I pointed to their brands. “The one who takes care of you.”
They glanced at each other, apparently not fully convinced of my sanity. “Well,” Apple Bloom said, “I live with ma Granny Smith, you wanna talk to her?”
Hmm, I supposed it would probably be easier to explain myself to an older horse, ah, I mean Pony. “Sure, take me to see your Granny Smith.”
“Okay!” Apple Bloom said, cheerful again, “Follow me! I can’t wait to introduce ya to ma brother, Big Macintosh!” I nodded absently and followed the little filly.
“Hey, I got a question,” Scootaloo interjected. “How’d you get so big?”
I glanced at her curiously. “Well, I am an adult. I suppose I am a little bigger than the average mare, but nothing too out of the ordinary.” The girls gasped. “What, did I say something wrong?”
The crusaders pulled each other into a huddle.
“Wow, did you hear that?”
“Hyrule ponies must be giant!”
“She’s taller n Big Mac!”
They all turned to stare at me in awe. I raised an eyebrow. Obviously their farm was not one to breed warhorses. Then again, they had insisted on being called “ponies,” not “horses.” Perhaps they came from a different breed than I. I eyed the orange one’s wings. Obviously. “Um, fillies,” I said, “Can we get going? I am in a bit of a hurry.”
It took several minutes, but I was finally able to deflect their questions and get them back on track. They led me to what was at the time one of the strangest things I had ever encountered, and believe me when I say I had seen a LOT of strange things on my adventures with Master. The farm looked ordinary enough at first. There was a large red barn, various animals wandering around, and a cozy looking farmhouse. That was all normal enough. No, the weird thing was that the entire place seemed to be owned and operated by the ponies! I had never seen anything like it in Hyrule.
Apple Bloom introduced me to her family’s matriarch, an elderly earth pony whose coat was a shocking shade of green. This ancient mare was Granny Smith. She was quite friendly, but even after I explained my situation three times I am not convinced she quite got it. I also met Apple Bloom’s elder brother, Big Macintosh. She was right, the red stallion looked quite strong, and to the fillies I am sure he would have seemed very large, but he actually stood just a few inches shorter than me! I discovered that he was a pony of few words. While he seemed to understand my story, he did not venture to make much commentary.
Needless to say after several attempts at explaining my story to the older mare I was beginning to get a bit aggravated at my lack of progress. I was nearly ready to find some excuse to leave and continue my search elsewhere when someone knocked on the farmhouse door. Apple Bloom opened it to reveal a storm grey pegasus with a messy blonde mane and rather… odd eyes. She was apparently familiar to the family as Granny Smith immediately invited her in.
“No, no time!” The pegasus gasped. “Gotta hurry! You need to go to town hall!” And with that she was away, though I could not help but notice that her wing clipped the edge of the barn as she flew off. Well, her message had certainly gotten them moving. Big Macintosh rushed out the door, carrying Granny Smith, and the so called Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed after them.
“Oh yeah!” Apple Bloom said, popping her head back in, “You should come too, Epona!”
I shrugged and followed. I figured I may as well, as there was not exactly anyone left for me to talk to there. Besides, it is rude to snoop around a person’s house when they are absent. I assumed these ponies would feel the same way.
It did not take much to catch up to Big Mac and Granny Smith, though the fillies were nowhere in sight. They must have run ahead. I adjusted my speed to match the stallions and cantered alongside him for the duration of the trip. Looking around, I noticed that the Apples’ farm was not the only oddity. The entire town was populated with ponies! Ponies living in houses, running shops, and even tending gardens. And not a human in sight. It honestly made me uncomfortable. I had never seen this many equines gathered together before, and certainly never organized into any sort of advanced society. Compared to these ponies, horses in Hyrule would have looked like dumb beasts. I felt my cheeks redden in a very un-warrior-like blush.
As we ran I noticed more and more ponies abandoning their shops and homes. A steady stream of pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies was accompanying us to the center of town. Whatever was going on at town hall has apparently very important. I got a few weird looks from passing ponies, likely because of my height, but overall I got the feeling that there was much more important business going on. We reached the main square to find what felt like the entire town surrounding a small stage set up in front of what I assumed must have been the town hall.
A greying mare was addressing the populace. “-no need to panic! Please, everypony, calm down!” She waved a forehoof in a vain attempt to quiet the crowd. “Everypony! This is an emergency!”
Big Mac gently set Granny Smith down, then began pushing through the crowd. I followed, curious. Reaching the edge of the crowd he stepped up onto the stage next to the older mare. He cleared his throat.
“QUUUUIIIIIIIEEEEETTTT!” He shouted, his booming voice immediately silencing the throng of ponies, many of which were completely slack jawed at the outburst from the normally reserved stallion. He nodded to the mare and stepped aside.
“Yes, thank you, Big Mac,” She said, adjusting her spectacles. “Now listen, everypony, I called you because there has been an emergency, and you all need to listen!” She turned to a terrified looking pegasus with a butter yellow coat and bright pink mane. “Fluttershy, tell them what you told me,” She coaxed. The pegasus stood on shaky legs and said something too quiet to hear. “Speak up, dear,” The older mare said. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
“I, I said, I said there’s a dragon in town.” That got my attention.
Everyone was quiet. “Well, duh!” Someone shouted from the back, much to my surprise. “Spike has been here for years!”
The pegasus, Fluttershy, shook her head. “No, a big dragon! A scary dragon! With black scales and big sharp teeth! He kidnapped Princess Twilight and our friends!” That got the town talking again. Panicked conversation rippled through the crowd.
“Where is it?” Someone shouted.
“What do we do?” Another cried.
“Without the elements, we’re doomed!” Screamed a third.
Enough of this. I stepped onto the platform. The crowd went silent. I could imagine why. A strange mare, taller than even a stallion like Big Mac, just hijacked the stage. I turned to Fluttershy, who was cowering behind the grey mare. I spoke in my softest voice. “Tell me, where is this dragon.” She squeaked and curled into a little ball. I sighed. Apparently my softest voice was not quite soft enough. I tried again. “Fluttershy, please tell me where this dragon is.”
Shakily she pointed a hoof at some point behind me. I turned and for the first time I noticed the tall, crystalline structure in the distance. It looked like a cross between a castle and the great tree in the fairy forest back home. In short, exactly the kind of place I would expect a dragon to keep a captured princess. “Very well.” I said with a shake of my mane. “I will take care of the dragon.” I stepped off the stage and began walking toward the strange building. No one tried to stop me. I must have shocked them with my brash declaration. It mattered little. I would not be deterred. I am a warhorse, and servant of a hero.
I am Epona.
