Harmony and Courage

Twilight yelped in pain as a large figure barrelled into her side, knocking her injured wing. She flew to the side and rolled across the floor, coming to a stop and curling up. She glanced up at her saviour, only to instantly regret it.

Link glared down at her furiously, lips drawn back in a terrifying snarl. The plant monster’s blood dripped from his muzzle, and his own trickled from a fresh wound on his side. His blue eyes shone with anger, but also thinly veiled fear and relief.

The plant monster slammed into the ground behind him, but Link ignored it, instead padding over to Twilight. He reached down, sank his teeth into the scruff of her neck and lifted her up; a rather odd experience for the alicorn. Nevertheless, she didn’t struggle as Link carried her over to the door and dropped her there. She lay on her side and watched as Link ran back towards the monster, completely ignoring his injury.

The monster’s head was still laying on the ground, dazed from the missed attack. Link leapt without breaking stride, muscles rippling beneath his fur. He landed firmly on the head and dug his claws in. A tear of flesh later he was sitting calmly on the bloodstained ground as he waited for the monster to disappear. The head and stem burst into dark energy, but the base remained. Link groaned and began to sniff around the room, looking for something.

Twilight glanced away from Link to check her makeshift splint, which was holding up surprisingly well. She tightened the knot a little before turning back to her new friend. Was he a friend? He must be. He’d just saved her life!

Eventually Link found his prey: a long-legged creature with bug eyes and smoke curling from its back. He ran over to the base and tossed it into the hole left in it. The bug dropped into the hole and moments later blew up, blasting the base to pieces. The door behind Twilight suddenly unlocked, making her jump slightly. The smoke faded and all that was left was a small silver key.

Twilight watched, fascinated, as Link’s shadow reached for the key. The small object seemed to fade into the shadow, disappearing completely. Once it was gone, Link padded back over to the alicorn. He tucked his muzzle beneath Twilight’s chest and helped her stand. The alicorn waited patiently as he opened the door and then followed him out into the hallway.

The alicorn followed Link out into the hallway, and a question formed on her lips, “Link, what are you?”

Link paused and stared back at her. Twilight was surprised by how expressive he could be without even moving. The action was reminiscent of a pony asking, “What do you think?”

Twilight began to muse. Link most closely resembled a timberwolf when it came to structure, except he wasn’t made of wood. Timberwolves were called timberwolves because they were made of wood. So Link would be, “A wolf?”

Link actually seemed surprised that she had guessed it, but nodded anyway. Twilight felt a little proud for getting it right.

The alicorn followed Link down the hallway, every now and then lamenting how useless she’d been in the fight. Whatever that shadow magic was, she absolutely hated it. Now that she thought about it, Link had shown up only an hour after the shadow had disappeared. Did he have something to do with it? She stopped to think about it before turning back to Link, only to realise he had disappeared.

“Link?” she called, good wing fluttering nervously. She began to limp forward, hoping that the wolf hadn’t gone too far. The alicorn reached the end of the hallway and groaned inwardly. She turned and walked back again, deciding to check each door.

The first door opened into a large room carved from stone. The land only extended a few feet in front of Twilight, whilst the rest of the room was covered in water. Driftwood and dead plants floated lazily across the surface. More noticeable were the pony-sized wooden platforms that stretched from Twilight’s patch of land to a small island on the other side of the room. The platforms were connected by a thin string that Twilight was almost certain would snap if she tried to walk on the platforms. On the far island was a small wooden chest.

Twilight glanced around the room to see if there was anything of importance. Vines hung from the walls and, like in the giant tree room, petals were drifting down from the shadows of the ceiling. She turned back to the platforms and the chest. The chest in the very first room had been emptied, most probably by Link, before Twilight got there. And if Link had taken stuff from it, then it must’ve been important.

The alicorn stepped up to the first platform and took a deep breath. After a moment, she reached her first hoof onto the platform and tested it. The wood held so she placed her second hoof next to the first. Another test and she was dragging her back hooves onto the platform. She was slightly surprised that it held her weight, considering how thin the platform was, but decided not to complain.

The next platform worked as well as the first, as did all the others. A few minutes of testing and dragging later, she was standing proudly on the island. Smiling, Twilight turned to the chest and kicked it open. Inside was a small purple gem. The purple mare looked at it, confused for a moment before picking it up in one hoof. She frowned and turned it over, trying to see if it was worth anything. As far as she could tell, it was just a normal gem. The alicorn decided it would be a gift for Spike before tucking it under her good wing.

Twilight kept her wing folded tightly to her body to keep the gem safe as she began to hop back along the platforms. However, halfway to the door she wood beneath her splintered. She cried out as she plunged into the water, which turned out to be very cold. She attempted to swim back up, but her broken hoof had already begun to sting. Her bruised front hoof gave up on her and she had no real choice but to stop.

The purple mare wanted to scream, but she didn’t want to waste air. She wanted to cry, but she wouldn’t be able to tell even if she was. Dozens of spells rushed through her head, but none of them worked. Stupid shadow!

Daring to open one eye, Twilight found the water actually didn’t sting. She opened the other and glanced around, confused. The water, while on the surface dirtied, was pure and fresh underneath. Even so, the liquid was very cold and should’ve hurt her eyes. But it didn’t.

The alicorn spun in the water, hoping for… well, for anything, really. Anything at all to help her out. Her prayers were answered in the form of a pony-sized tunnel in the wall below the water. The chances of it being something good were small, but they were bigger than her chances of surviving otherwise. It was an asinine idea, but she found herself following through with it anyway.

Kicking out with her two remaining hooves, Twilight began to swim slowly towards the tunnel. Once she neared it, the sudden current caught her by surprise, disabling her hooves once again. She tried to hold on to that remaining breath as she was swept through the tunnel, but it became progressively harder. She wanted nothing more than to release the air and take in fresh air; her common sense was the only thing stopping her from doing so.

Twilight was almost entirely sure she was about to die when her back smacked against the wall. The blow knocked the breath from her lungs and, on instinct, she tried to breathe again, only for water to rush down her throat. The alicorn gave a soundless scream as her vision began to fade. Both her sprained and normal wing unfolded, flapping madly. She thrashed her hooves, trying to stop herself, but the water continued to sweep her along the tunnel. Twilight felt tears prick at her eyes despite the water covering them as her world faded to black.

Drowning really hurt. Pain in her lungs; pain in her back from the rocks; pain in her twisted and broken hooves; pain in her sprained wing… Wait. Twilight wasn’t much of a believer when it came to the ‘afterlife’, but she knew enough about science to know that if she was dead, she wouldn’t be in pain.

Twilight sucked in a deep breath, surprised to find that clean, fresh air entered her lungs. Last she had checked, she was trapped in an underwater tunnel with a very battered body. Now she was lying on a cold rock above water. Hesitantly, she blinked open her eyes to see… something looking back down at her.

The alicorn screamed and jumped to her hooves, backing away from the bird-like creature in front of her. Twilight panted heavily, flaring her good wing in panic.

“Oh, thank gracious. You gave me quite a scare there, adventurer.” The creature sighed in a feminine voice.

Twilight gaped for a moment before stuttering, “Y-you can talk?”

“Of course I can talk!” the creature tilted her head slightly. “I didn’t know you could, though. You’re not the one who usually explores dungeons. You’re purple.”

The alicorn blinked before groaning and sitting with a thump. “Who are you?”

“My name is Ooccoo, dearie. I’m an Oocca.” The bird-like creature answered, hopping over to Twilight. “And who would you be?”

“I’m Twilight.” The purple mare told her, standing up and looking around. Judging by the river flowing next to her, and the fact that she was only in a tiny alcove, she hadn’t gone far. A few pots lined the wall of the alcove, but there was no other decoration. One of the pots was on its side, with most of the rim completely smashed.

“Well, dearie, it’s nice to meet you. But what is a nice lady like you doing in a place like this?” Ooccoo asked, concerned.

“I’m looking for my... friend… Th-they’re a wolf. Black and white, blue eyes?”

“Oh, of course. The adventurer came through here not too long ago. He noticed me but couldn’t get out of the water fast enough. He’ll probably come back around in a moment or so.” Ooccoo explained.

“Oh thank Celestia.” Twilight sighed in relief, leaning back against the wall. She remained there for a moment before turning to Ooccoo and asking, “So this place is a ‘dungeon’?”

“That it is, dear. I’m assuming you’ve never seen one before?” Twilight gave a small nod and motioned for the bird-like creature to continue. “Well, a dungeon is mostly simply defined as a large cave or structure filled with treasure and monsters. I come here to explore and the adventurer comes to find the treasure hidden deep within. He usually stumbles across me stuck in a pot; rather embarrassing. Thankfully, the river threw you at my pot and broke me free before he came.”

“Why do you explore these places if they’re full of monsters?” Twilight asked. She knew she sure wouldn’t.

“Is it wrong to want a few thrills in life?” Ooccoo answered vaguely. “Besides, you’re a much nicer… mare? Than myself; why are you here?”

“Well, I kind of thought that Link was really dangerous, so I followed him down here. Then I got lost.” Twilight explained, trotting over to the remaining pots. Her two injured hooves were throbbing; her wing felt like it was about to drop off and her back ached horribly, but she couldn’t afford to stop moving in this place.

“Oh, poor dear.” Ooccoo frowned.

Twilight began to search one of the pots, coming up with nothing but a pebble and a few scraps of fabric. “It’s not so bad. It means I met you. And you’re nice, so…”

“You’re much too sweet, dearie.” Ooccoo blushed a little. The Oocca suddenly perked up and hopped over to the broken pot. “I just remembered…”

Twilight turned to the bird-like creature as they reached into the pot and withdrew a large purple gem. It was dripping from the river, but was otherwise undamaged. She excitedly rushed over and carefully took the gem from Ooccoo.

“You’re lucky it wasn’t damaged.” Ooccoo told her. “Fifty rupees aren’t easy to come by.”

“Rupees?” Twilight asked.

“Currency.”

Twilight stared at the gem for a little longer, but she just couldn’t find anything of value about it. It was at best a gift for a friend. Even so, it had followed her this far; she began to search the pots again. In the second one she found a short length of twine. She awkwardly knotted it around the gem and then again around her neck. As she worked, she wondered aloud, “How come Link doesn’t take these random pieces of fabric with him?”

“He has no use for them. He has all the clothes he needs, since they heal whenever he does.”

Twilight paused for a moment. Unless Link was wearing something invisible, he had nothing but his fur coat. Speaking of the wolf…

The alicorn flinched away from the river as a large white paw shot out of it, gripping the edge with thorn-sharp claws. A moment later a giant black and white wolf dragged himself out of the water. Water trickled from his muzzle and ran down his sides. His blue eyes gleamed with anger and fear. Link began to growl and bark, as if trying to talk.

“Now, now, adventurer. There’s no need for such language.” Ooccoo scolded.

“You can understand him?” Twilight asked incredulously.

“Why of course.” Ooccoo replied, slightly surprised. Link responded by growling some more, and the Oocca decided to take the role of a translator. “’You stupid little horse, you’ I am not saying that ’scared me half to death! Do you have any idea how’ again, not saying that ’worried I was? I thought you were’ adventurer, please stop ’dead!’”

“Link, I’m sorry.” Twilight pleaded.

Link continued to glare at her for a minute before sighing and turning back to the river, motioning for her to follow. Twilight trotted up to the edge, but backed away as soon as her hooves were sprayed. Ooccoo frowned a little, took one of the pieces of fabric from the pots and hopped up onto Twilight’s back. The alicorn flinched a little, turning her head to see the Oocca wrapped in the fabric and nestled in the hollow between her shoulders.

Twilight looked back to Link, who rolled his eyes and stepped closer to Twilight. The alicorn wrapped one of her forelegs around his and took a deep breath as the wolf plunged into the torrent, pulling Twilight and Ooccoo along with him.