Chapters Red, Blue, Green, Violet,
Fluttershy hummed quietly as she walked away from her cottage. The day was beautiful and she'd gotten up early so she could get a head start on feeding all her animals. A few birds twittered around her head and she sang a few notes to them, giggling as they repeated her song and flew off, chasing each other through the clear blue sky. Fluttershy looked around, enjoying the mild spring air, when she spotted something in the long grass a little ways towards the Everfree Forest.
Now, Fluttershy has always been a rather fearful pony. But the thought of the 'Something" being a hurt animal was sufficient motivation to get her little yellow hooves trotting towards the Forest. As she got closer she realized that it wasn't just one 'Something'. It was Four. Four Somethings. She carefully crept closer. Fluttershy now knew that the Somethings were, indeed, a kind of animal. Each one had four limbs, the back ones ending in something almost hoof-like, while the front had a strange appendage, almost like a raccoon's paw, but larger and more spread out. All four were wearing similar garments, but each had their own color. Their long, pointed ears looked a little like pony ears, though on the side of the head instead of the top.
Fluttershy walked over to the one dressed in red. She gently nudged it in the side in a half-hearted attempt to awaken it. It shifted, making a strange muttering noise before going still again. Fluttershy, determined now to wake it up, nudged it harder. Her ears twitched as a rustle came from behind her and she turned to look. The one in blue was standing up, it's piercing blue gaze matching it's clothes. She saw it's eyes flicker to the red one next to her, and a flash of emotion played across them. He looked angry and maybe a little scared.
It started to move toward her slowly, fore-paws extended. A slow murmur came from it, the deep tone suggesting to Fluttershy that it was probably male. He continued to move closer, making the noise that seemed to be an attempt to calm her. His 'hooves', which now seemed more like covered paws, made little to no sound on the grassy earth.
Suddenly nervous, Fluttershy stepped back, wary of this strange creature. She thought she saw something like triumph in his eyes. He jumped forward a step with a harsh bark. Fluttershy squeaked and jumped into the air, her wings working on autopilot. He ran forward, standing between the red one and Fluttershy. Understanding washed over Fluttershy like a wave. "Oh, I see." She said, slowly lowering to the ground. "You just want to protect your friend."
"You can speak?!"
Fluttershy's eyes widened as he spoke her language. She had come more than willing to talk to the critters, but she had expected to be using her ability to understand the languages of animals. This was certainly unexpected. "Um.. Y-Yes I can speak... S-so what's your n-name?"
The critter narrowed it's eyes and said "Blue. My name is Blue."
"I'm Fluttershy." Fluttershy took a step toward the critter, Blue, and he jerked something from the side of his belt that she didn't notice before. As he lowered the sword at Fluttershy's chest she could see the anger and mistrust burning in his gaze.
"Back! " Fluttershy obeyed, stepping back again. Blue slowly crouched down, making sure his weapon was always pointed at the pegasus. He wrapped his foreleg around the red one and muttered, "Don't worry Red, I gotcha."
Red? Fluttershy took that to mean that these critters were named after their colors. Or perhaps they were colored after their names.
Blue picked up Red and carefully backed away, laying down his friend closer to the others. The purple one was starting to stir. Blue nudged him and said, "Come on Vio, wakey wakey, we got a situation here." Vio groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing his head with one fore-paw.
"Blue? What happened? Where are we?"
"I dunno, I'm not a map! But there's something you need to take a look at."
"And that would be?" Vio, as he seemed to be named, turned his head and caught sight of Fluttershy. "Ah. That. What a curious creature..." He stood up and walked toward Fluttershy, one fore-paw extended.
Blue caught him by the belt. "Don't touch it, Vio! It's a demon!"
"What makes you say that?"
"It speaks man. Says it's name is Fluttershy."
"And have you ever heard of a demon with a name like 'Fluttershy'?"
Vio swatted Blue's paw away and walked closer before he could answer. "Hello there. Fluttershy is it? I apologize for my friend here, he's rather... Excitable. My name is Vio" He held out his paw for a second before chuckling and saying, "I suppose you can't shake hands, seeing as you only have hooves."
"Hands?"
"Ah, yes." Vio held up his strange paws. "These awkward things here."
Fluttershy nodded and smiled. This one wasn't so bad. He kinda reminded her of Twilight. "Alright then. Hands it is. Though I still think 'paws' sounds better."
Vio laughed and nodded. "Yes, it rather does, doesn't it? Would you mind telling me where we are? And a place we could stay for a while?"
"Oh, I would love to!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "You can stay with me at my cottage! Um, that is, if you want to, I mean..."
"That sounds lovely." Vio turned to speak to his companion, who had successfully roused the other two. "We will stay with Fluttershy for a bit. Blue, I expect you to be polite."
Blue glared and looked away.
"Alright, Fluttershy," Vio said. "Lead the way to this cottage of yours and we can all be properly introduced. And some food wouldn't be too bad, if that isn't too much to ask."
"Oh, not at all Mister Vio! It's right this way."
~~~~
"Ewhatstria?!"
Blue spat out the tea he'd been drinking with his exclamation.
"Equestria." Fluttershy corrected, gently wiping the spat-out tea off Red's face. "Ponyville, to be exact."
"Well, that's definitely no place in Hyrule." Green said. "Even I know that."
Vio nodded. "Quite right, my friend. I'd say it's no place in our entire world."
"What are goin' on about Vio?" Blue spat. "Did someone spike your drink?"
Vio sighed. "No, Blue, no one 'spiked my drink'. But have you ever heard of pastel colored ponies that could talk? I can only conclude that we are no longer in Hyrule. At least not our version of it. Perhaps some force pushed us to another realm. It's not the first time something akin to this has happened. You would know this if you bothered to read."
"Speak plain Hylian!! " Blue roared.
"I am. You just can't comprehend proper language."
"I don't know exactly what you said, but I know when I've been insulted!"
"Calm yourself, heathen! You're scaring Fluttershy."
Vio motioned toward the yellow pony, who had taken refuge behind the couch. "O-Oh no. I'm f-fine."
Red reached back and gently petted her mane. "Hey guys?" He said quietly. "Do we have to start fighting again?"
Red's voice seemed to calm Blue, who looked away from Vio and mumbled something that might have been an apology. Vio gave a terse nod and picked up his tea-cup. Green got up and moved closer to Red, rubbing the gentler one's arm. "Don't worry buddy," he said. "We won't fight. Okay?" The others nodded and Red gave a relieved sigh.
Fluttershy came out from behind the couch, warily sitting next to Red, who seemed to her to be the only one who didn't like to start shouting for no apparent reason. She started to say something, but then somepony knocked on her cottage door. "O-Oh! Excuse me," she told the four, "I need to get that..."
They nodded and Vio motioned for her to go ahead. Trotting away, she pulled open the door a crack and peeped out to see who had come a-knocking. A cyan pegasus with a mane of rainbow stood on the doorstep, shifting from hoof to hoof with unspent energy. "Hiya, Flutters!" Rainbow Dash proclaimed, flapping her wings and hovering a few hoof lengths off the ground. "I just had the BEST idea for a prank on Pinkie Pie!" The over-energized pegasus started to continue, but then she caught sight of the four creatures sitting in Fluttershy's living room. "Umm... Fluttershy?"
"Yes?"
"What are those?" Rainbow Dash waved her hoof, motioning into the cottage.
"Oh." Fluttershy nodded thoughtfully. "They're Blue, Red, Green, and Vio."
Rainbow Dash, who likes to pretend she understands things even when she doesn't, nodded like the answer made any sense to her. "Uh-huh. Well. That's just... Er... Precious, Fluttershy. And where did they come from?"
"They said somewhere called 'Hyrule'."
Rainbow Dash came back to the ground and leaned closer to Fluttershy. "Are they evil? Do you need assistance?" she whispered, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of a fight.
But Fluttershy quickly shook her head. "Oh no! They've been nothing but kind, if a little loud." She said with a small smile. "But I've never seen anything like them! Do you think you could go get Twilight and see if-"
"Twilight? Okay!"
"-she knows..." Fluttershy watched as the rainbow streak that was her friend shot away before she could even finish her sentence. "Okay then."
Turning, she went back inside and closed the door, returning to the four Hylians in her living room. "Is everything still going okay?" Four heads nodded in confirmation and Fluttershy smiled, retaking her place by the table.
Something soft brushed along her wings and she looked to see Red gently petting her feathers with a wondering look in his eyes. "Your wings are really pretty, Miss Fluttershy. Is it nice, being able to fly?"
"Oh, yes. It's very nice." Fluttershy extended her wing into Red's lap and the golden-haired Hylian made a small sound of happiness. "I don't fly very fast, like my friend Rainbow Dash does, but I do love gliding along on a warm breeze. It's so peaceful."
"I bet it is!" Red was touching her feathers carefully and Fluttershy looked up from him to see that all three of his friends were silent and each wore identical expressions of fondness.
"Sorry if he's breaking some code of etiquette." Vio said after a minute or so, a bit of worry in his voice.
"Oh, not at all! It's fine, really." Fluttershy raised one hoof to stave off any further attempts at an apology. Then there was another knock.
"Oh!" She stood, gently tugging her wing back to her side. "I think that might be Twilight and Rainbow. Hold on a minute, I just need to let them in."
Once again, the quiet pony made her way to the front door and opened it carefully, this time revealing Rainbow Dash with Twilight Sparkle in her hooves.
"Hi again!" Rainbow grinned. "I got her, as asked."
"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. You can put her down now." Fluttershy watched as Rainbow Dash gently set down a dazed looking Twilight. "Umm... Twilight? I understand if you're still dizzy, but there's something I think you'd like to see."
"What? No, no, I'm not too... Dizzy..." Twilight gave her head a few harsh shakes and got to her hooves. "Rainbow Dash said you needed me for something and then just grabbed me!" The unicorn gave her friend an unhappy glance. "So? What is it Fluttershy?"
"Oh. Yes. Well, you see, earlier today I found four animals near the Everfree Forest and now they're in my living room. I think you might like to see them."
"Animals?" Twilight stood on the tips of her hooves and attempted to look into Fluttershy's cottage. "Like Timber Wolves?"
"Umm... No. Not exactly."
Rainbow Dash landed beside Twilight and gave Fluttershy an excited grin. "Not at all!" The rainbow mare said, nudging Twilight.
"I think it's best if you just see for yourself." Fluttershy nudged the door open further and started to lead the way inside. She heard as Twilight stopped on the threshold, apparently shocked into stillness.
"Fluttershy?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"What are those?"
"This is Red, Blue, Green, and Vio."
Twilight trotted past Fluttershy, ears pricked with interest. "And did you name them that because of these garments?"
"Actually," Blue crossed his arms and gave Twilight a searching stare. "We named ourselves."
"It talks?!" The shock in Twilight's voice was plain and the mare took a few instinctive steps away. Then she let out a squeal of happiness, jumping in place. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! A new species that speaks pony! This is SO EXCITING!"
Her horn lit up and Blue lifted into the air, letting out a surprised shout before starting to flail. "I need to study these. Do you mind if I borrow one, Fluttershy?" Twilight looked towards her friend, purple eyes curious.
Vio, Green, and Red all gave shocked exclamations and jumped up, grabbing at Blue's legs and attempting to weigh him back down to the ground.
Fluttershy shifted her hooves and said, "They aren't books or sugar, Twilight. It's not my decision. If you want to talk to one, you have to ask them. And please put Blue down."
"Oh. Right. Sorry." Twilight's magic aura faded and Blue dropped down onto his friends. The purple unicorn was jumping from hoof to hood, excitement written in every line of her body. "So?" She moved her violet gaze from one Hylian to another. "Would one of you like to come with me and answer some questions?"
"NO!" Blue spat the answer, ruefully rubbing the back of his head where it had knocked against Vio's.
Vio put a hand on Blue's shoulder and looked into his eyes for a moment before giving a small shake of his head. Stepping forward, Vio said, "We'll all go, but only if you answer some of our questions in return."
Twilight, who'd begun to deflate at Blue's refusal, squeed in happiness, excitement restored. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go! I can teleport us all to the library in a jiffy!"
"Count me in!" Rainbow Dash lifted off and hovered by Twilight's side.
"Umm... I'd like to come too... If it's not too much to ask."
Twilight looked around at the small group, three ponies, four Hylians, and gave a small nod, mentally calculated the strength of the magic required.
Then her horn lit up once more, and they all vanished in a flash of light.
Red, Blue, Green, Violet,
Chapter 2: Twilight's Curiosity
The teleportation spell sent the group of ponies and Hylians to the cozy little tree library that Twilight called home. Humming happily, Twilight skipped around the collapsed forms of the four boys and called out, "Spiiiike! Can you get my clipboard please!"
"Coming Twilight!" While the Hylians helped each other up, a small purple and green dragon climbed down a ladder, clipboard grasped in his claws. "Here ya go- Woah! What are those?"
"I know right?!" Rainbow Dash flew around Blue once and gave the boy an experimental poke to the gut. Blue responded by attempting to bite Rainbow Dash, sending the pegasus into a fit of laughter.
"We're Hylians." Vio said, straightening Red's tunic. "From Hyrule."
There was a sound of furious scribbling as Twilight wrote down everything Vio said, as well as hastily made measurements of Green's height. "Hyrule? Can you point it out to me on this map?" A scroll floated down from one of the many bookshelves, unrolling itself on a small table.
Vio hurried over to it, immediately captivated by the foreign geography. "This is..." His hands gently brushed the carefully made lines of the map, fingertips tracing the minute details. "Green. Red. Blue. Come here."
The others slowly made their way to their friend, looking over his shoulder with identical expressions of shock.
"What the heck is this?" Blue growled.
"It's a map." Twilight trotted over and put her hoof onto the paper. "This is Equestria. Aaaaaand, this is Ponyville! That's where we are."
"I guess you were right, Vio." Green shook his head, amazed. "We really aren't on our world anymore."
Vio sighed. "For once, I wish I'd been wrong."
Twilight gently pushed herself into the group. "What's that? Different world? What do you mean?"
Vio bit his lip before continuing. "Twilight Sparkle, I'm afraid we've fallen out of our dimension and into yours. Where we come from, ponies are either black, white, brown, or tan and they can't talk. They're pack creatures, or animals used for transportation. And the land looks more like..." Vio looked around him, brow furrowed, making useless gestures with his hands.
Twilight recognized the motions as a variant of what she does sometimes and sent her clipboard and quill in his direction.
"Ah. Thank you." He took the offered materials and quickly sketched out a rough drawing of Hyrule's map. "There's mountains here... A swamp there... Castle is here... About like this."
Twilight took the board and began to pace in a circle on the floor, studying the map. "I've never heard of a place like what you've just drawn..." She gasped, once again hopping excitedly in place. "Then maybe you really are from a different dimension! That would be so amazing! The amount of power it would take to transport four organic beings through the fabric of space itself must have been astronomical!" She was squealing with joy by the end of the sentence, tail flicking excitedly.
The four Links exchanged glances, wondering if they'd bitten off more than they could chew with this excitable mare. Spike, immensely curious of these fellow two-legged creatures, walked over and gently tapped Green's shoulder. Green looked down, blue eyes flicking across the small dragon's form. "Yes?"
Spike shifted and said, "I was just wondering about what you guys eat. I, personally, like gemstones!"
Green laughed and his stance relaxed. "Meat, fruits, vegetables, grains, we can eat pretty much anything so long as it's organic and fresh. Can't say I can eat something as hard as gemstones though. Sounds impressive."
Chest puffed out at the praise, Spike said, "Yeah, I am pretty amazing, aren't I?"
"Spike?" Twilight, taking a moment from her conversation with Vio, looked towards her helper with one brow raised. "If you're going to ask questions then write down the answers. Here." She dropped a piece of parchment and a quill into Spike's claws and the dragon obediently scribbled down a few lines.
While Spike quizzed Green on food, Twilight interviewed Vio on Hyrule, Rainbow Dash and Blue exchanged insults, Red and Fluttershy sat a bit away, unsure of what to say.
"So... Um... H-How do you like Equestria so far?" Fluttershy said, wings shifting awkwardly against her sides.
"It's really pretty! At least, what I've seen is. And you ponies are so cute!" Red threw his hands in the air, smiling. Fluttershy blushed faintly and hid behind her mane.
"Oh! Th-Thank you... That's very kind."
Red grinned in reponse. He started to speak again when Twilight spoke towards all of them. "Excuse me! Could all four of you come over here? I need to make a few measurements."
Red looked towards Fluttershy and shrugged before getting up and going to stand beside Vio. In front of them, Twilight was pacing, her horn glowing. Tape measures wrapped around each boy and the unicorn wrote down four numbers before moving on to a different part of them.
"This is phenomenal..." She said. "It's almost like you four are identical copies of each other! Is that normal for your species?"
Green laughed and shook his head. "No, it isn't. We look like copies of each other because we are copies. They're different parts of me. We were split by this." He drew the Four Sword from his belt and held it out for Twilight to see.
The pony's violet eyes widened as she looked at the weapon, it's sharp edge gleaming in the light. "Is this... Real?" She tapped the edge with her hoof, testing it even as Green nodded in confirmation. "Wow!" She took the sword in her magic and gently lifted it from Green's grasp. "And you said this split you? Really?" She turned it over and around, viewing it from all angles.
"Do you mind if I run a quick test to check for a magic signature?"
Green made a go-ahead motion with his hands and said, "Feel free."
After a distracted nod of thanks, Twilight's horn began to glow brighter, surrounding the weapon in a light purple haze. She gave a soft gasp, staring up at the sword with wonder. "This is... This is crazy! I've never seen an object with so much power imbued in it! Something not naturally magical shouldn't be able to contain this much without physical damage but it's... It's flawless!" She turned her excited gaze back to Green. "Where did this come from?"
Green thought for a second before gesturing for Vio to answer. Vio stepped forward and said, "Well, Miss Twilight, the legends say that the Goddesses sent it to seal away a great evil. The evil escaped recently and we defeated it, but the fact that it escaped at all leads me to believe that the Goddesses part of the legend it true as well."
Twilight's ears perked. "Goddesses? Do you mean Luna and Celestia?"
Vio shook his head. "Never heard of them. Our Goddesses are Nayru, Din, and Farore."
"This is so amazing!" Twilight grabbed hold of another piece of paper with had magic and scribbled down a letter before signing it and handing it to Spike. "Spike, send this to the Pincesses stat!"
Spike saluted and took the letter, breathing green fire on it. The resulting ash and smoke spiraled out of an open window and out of sight. Vio watched, eyebrows raised, and said, "May I ask what that was?"
"It's a fire message." Twilight said. "Spike's fire sends the letters to Princess Celestia's castle."
"Interesting..." Vio got a far-away look in his eyes, staring out of the window at the blue sky above.
"Yep. Now anyway," Twilight sat down and looked over her notes. "I'm going to need one of you to take off your clothes."
Blue hissed, Red blushed and tugged the hem of his tunic further down, Green hugged himself, blue eyes narrowed, and Vio's head whipped around to stare at Twilight, blinking in surprise. All four spoke at once. "Excuse me?"
Twilight seemed confused by their responses. "Well, I can't take entirely accurate measurements when you're wearing something! And besides, I want to know what your whole bodies look like. Since, like you said, you're copies of one another, I only need one of you to take off the clothes."
Red shook his head furiously, face the same color as his clothes. Blue wrapped an arm around Red's shoulders and glared. Green gave an awkward chuckle and said, "Um... Twilight? That's a very, very inappropriate request."
"What? It is?" Twilight tipped her head, brow furrowed in confusion.
Vio cleared his throat and nodded. He motioned towards Twilight's body and said, "Clearly clothes are optional for you, but for us it's... Well, it's highly shameful to be seen without them, to say the least. Especially among people- er, ponies, that we don't know well."
"Well..." Twilight considered for a moment. "Would it be okay if we ended up being friends?"
Again, Vio shook his head. "It's... Not a friendship thing, it's a... A romantic thing. We usually only undress for bathing or for..." He hesitated, face reddening. "Reproduction."
Twilight blushed as well, looking away. "Ah. I see. Well, forget I asked then." Clearing her throat, she shuffled through the papers on her clipboard and went back to her pacing. "I'm going to look through these, feel free to make yourselves something to eat. Spike, show them the kitchen please."
Spike led the way to the kitchen, and the four boys, plus Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, followed after.
Red, Blue, Green, Violet,
Chapter 3: Tour of the Town
Red gave a small burp and said, "Excuse me," before rolling onto his stomach with a sigh.
Twilight's kitchen had been thoroughly pillaged and all four of the Hylians were sprawled in various positions of comfort on the floor. Empty pie dishes and plates littered the kitchen alongside chip bags and apple cores, and Spike looked at it sadly, knowing that cleaning would probably be left to him once again.
"Wow." Rainbow Dash looked at the boys with wide eyes. "I've seen a lot in my days, but I've never seen something eat so much so fast, except maybe for parasprites. When was the last time you guys had a full meal?"
Red raised his hand and said, "I've never had a full meal. I've been adventuring since I was created."
Fluttershy gasped and gently rubbed Red's food-swollen belly. "Oh you poor things! Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Didn't want to take 'vantage of your hospitality..." Green mumbled, raising his arm off his eyes to look at the yellow pegasus. "As for me... It's been about two months since I got to eat this much. It's so nice~"
"Agreed." Blue mumbled, stretching out and yawning.
With a grunt, Vio pushed himself up, taking off his hat and running a hand through his golden hair. A hoof touched the top of his head and he looked up to see Rainbow Dash looking at him curiously. "That was a hat?"
All four Links burst out laughing. "Of course!" Red said, taking off his own. The others did the same and Rainbow nodded a few times.
"Mmkay. Rad." She flapped her wings a few times and stood lightly on the kitchen table, magenta eyes going from one Link to another.
Replacing his hat, Vio stood and waddled/walked to where Spike was picking up miscellaneous trash and bent down to help him. The dragon seemed surprised, his jaw actually dropping in shock when the other three got up and joined Vio in cleaning.
Rainbow Dash's ears went up with curiosity. "Whatcha cleanin' for? Isn't that Spike's job?"
Green looked over at the cyan pony, brow furrowed. "Be we made the mess. Why should Spike have to clean it?"
"Yup." Blue dropped an armful of containers into the trash. "Even I know that, and I'd usually just get pissed."
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash shared a look, then both pegasi began to help. Spike looked almost ready to cry with thankful joy.
With all of them working, the kitchen was cleaned in just a few minutes. Spike looked around, eyes shining. "I guess this means I've got some free time?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
Spike cheered and ran off. Blue barked a laugh and elbowed Red gently in the side. "That dragon kinda reminds me of you, Red."
The boy laughed at Blue's words, giving a mock growl and saying, "I'm a fierce dragon! Fear me!"
The other three shared grins and began to act all scared, running away as Red chased them around the table, roaring. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy watched, amused. "They're just a bunch of little colts, aren't they?" Rainbow said, snickering.
"They really are." Fluttershy's blue eyes held a soft glow of affection as she kept her gaze on the boys. "It's so precious."
Eventually, the boys stopped chasing each other around and they sat cross-legged on the ground, talking quietly. Fluttershy walked up quietly and said, "Um... Excuse me?" All four looked up at her with identical blue eyes. "I was just wondering... Well, since you're here, would you like to see the town? I'm sure you'd like it and you could meet our other friends."
Green looked thoughtful and the other three were watching him, apparently content with whatever decision he came to. "Don't see why not. And even if Twilight isn't done with us, I get the feeling she'll track is down when she deems it necessary."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Rainbow Dash's wings fluttered excitedly. "So let's go! First stop: Sugar Cube Corner!"
~~~
They were surprised by the kindness of the ponies. The first pony that was curious enough to inquire about the four was a pink mare named Daisy. She asked Fluttershy what they were and Fluttershy had simply said, "It's okay to ask them. They don't bite."
The mare had introduced herself, seeming surprised when Vio, Red, Blue, and Green spoke their names. But she'd quickly warmed up, and the five had a nice conversation about flowers.
Daisy had left with a smile and a wave, leaving Vio to marvel at the beauty of a world where alien creatures were approached with only the hope of friendship.
After Daisy came Lucky Dreams, a blue-green pegasus who was quick with a grin. Then a cross-eyed pony named Derpy. Then a cream-colored mare named Rose.
By the time they arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, all four of the Hylian were silent, each one thinking deeply. "Here we are," Fluttershy said as she pushed open the store's front door.
"Yo, Pinkie!" Rainbow flew in, shouting out her friend's name. "Where are ya? We've got some new friends for you!"
"Comiiing!" The cheerful voice was the prelude to the appearance of a bright pink pony, her poofy pink mane bouncing along with her steps. Her blue eyes landed on the Links and she gasped, jumping over and hopping excitedly in front of Fluttershy.
"Oh my gosh, Fluttershy! I didn't know you were bringing some of your animal buddies today!" She looked the four over, gaze open and welcoming. "What are they?"
"They said they're Hylians." Fluttershy stepped out of the way so Pinkie could approach them.
"That's so super!" Pinkie held out a good and said, "I'm Pinkie Pie! What are your names?"
Green shook Pinkie Pie's good awkwardly, saying. "I'm Green." The others introduced themselves and Pinkie nodded happily, not seeming surprised that they could speak her language.
"Those are fun names! Hey, do you guys want some cupcakes? I just baked a really good batch!"
Vio shook his head even while Red enthusiastically nodded. "We've already eaten," he said.
Red pouted.
"Oh, boo." Pinkie Pie's tail flicked and she pouted with Red for a second before her smile returned to her face. "Hey! You guys are new in town, right? That means-" She gasped, lifting a foot off the ground before dashing away.
She returned with a strange wagon and pressed a button on it, resulting in a lot of flashing lights and music as she sang a 'Welome to Ponyville' song. It ended with an explosion of cake batter.
Pinkie Pie laughed. "I put the cake in the confetti cannon! Again!"
Blue started to growl, thoroughly covered, but Red's happy laugh calmed him down and he settled on just crossing his arms and looking mutinous.
"Hold on! I'll get some napkins!" Pinkie hopped off while the group tried to wipe off some of the batter.
"She's... Really something." Green wrung some batter from his hair.
"She's a great party planner and super nice." Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, sending unbaked cake flying. "I know how she seems, but she's surprisingly serious when the situation needs it. She's a good friend."
"Oh my gosh, thank you!" Pinkie Pie hopped in and hugged Rainbow Dash close, resulting in the cyan pony blushing and muttering something embarrassedly. "Here you go guys!" Pinkie released Rainbow and handed the napkins around, helping with the removal of the batter. "So where you all going after this? Will it be fun? Can I go?"
"Well, Rarity's boutique is the next closest friend location, and we were kinda showing these guys around and introduceding them to the fam." Rainbow Dash shook out her mane, earning a growl from Blue as the Hylian was once again splattered with cake.
"I wanna go, I wanna go!" Pinkie turned and yelled, "Mister and Misses Cake! I'm going out!"
An answering call came from the direction of the kitchen. "All right! Goodbye dear!"
"Okay! Let's go!" Pinkie led the way out, humming quietly to herself. Red followed her happily, grinning.
~~~
Pinkie Pie hopped in, followed by the rest of the group. Vio looked around at the many dresses and suits displayed within the building, impressed by the elegance and style in each piece.
"You're just in time, darling, I needed somepony to try on this design I just finished and- oh good heavens, Fluttershy, what have you brought into my shop."
Green gave an awkward grin and waved. "Hi. I'm Green."
Rarity fainted.
After being revived and briefed on the situation, Rarity seemed much more willing to talk with the four. "Sorry about fainting, I suppose I just wasn't expecting... Well, I'm sure you understand."
Vio shrugged, an easy grin on his face. "Don't worry about it, dear. No offense taken."
"Well, aren't you a gentlecolt." Rarity trotted curiously around Vio, taking measurements and writing them down. "Stand still for a moment darling, this won't take much longer."
"Are you like Twilight?" Red gently tapped Rarity's shoulder, eyes wide.
"Whatever do you mean darling?"
Red mimed using a measuring tape. "You both measure."
Rarity laughed and shook her head. "Oh, no no no no. I'm taking these for tailoring purposes. Twilight takes them down because she likes writing numbers."
Red nodded and, answered, wandered off to touch the fabric on some dresses.
Rarity leaned over and whispered to Fluttershy, "And you're absolutely certain that they're clean?" Fluttershy nodded.
Vio shifted a bit, starting to itch, and he sighed to himself when different fabrics were brought close to him by Rarity's magic. It was obvious that this pony cared deeply for her craft and people, or ponies, that cared about what they did always took their time on it. He had a feeling he was going to be here a while.
"Fluttershy, darling, what do you think, white or black?"
"Both."
"You're absolutely right." Different swaths of fabric attached themselves to Vio, coming together in the rough outline of a monochrome suit. "Yes that will look lovely."
Rainbow Dash groaned loudly and said, "We have places to be, Rarity, please stop."
"Well, if you simply must go, then go ahead, I have the necessary measurements, though I expect you to come back later, Vio, and try on this outfit so I can make the necessary adjustments."
"Of course, my lady." Vio bowed and Rarity giggled happily, giving a curtsy in response.
"Come on, Romeo." Blue grabbed Vio by the back of his tunic and dragged him out.
"Where next?" Red hopped alongside Pinkie Pie, looking at the mare with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Sweet Apple Acres!" The pink pony declared. "Let's go!"
~~~
"Well, I'll be. They can talk!"
"Of course they can talk!" Rainbow Dash tugged at the rope. "They're not wild critters, AJ, they're friends."
"Well, why didn't you say so." With a flick of the rope, all four Hylians were freed and the mare tipped the brown Stetson on her head. "Howdy y'all. My name's Applejack. Sorry 'bout lassoing ya, but I couldn't just let y'all wander. What if you were after my apples?"
"Apples?" Blue crossed his arms, scowling. "Why would we want apples?"
"Cause, the Apple family apples are the greatest thing any critter could ever eat." Applejack grinned proudly, obviously deeply in love with her family and its business. "Now how can I help y'all."
"We're just showing them around." Fluttershy motioned to the apple orchards around them with a wave of her hoof. "We wanted to introduce them to all our friends while we were at it."
Pinkie Pie bounced excitedly. "Yeah! Rarity is already making them outfits!"
"Course she is." Applejack offered her hoof to each Hylian and they all shook. "If my friends say you're all right, then you're all right. I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Come on up to the barn, you can meet the rest of the family."
With a flick of her blonde tail, Applejack turned and led the way to a large, bright red barn, pushing open the door and stepping aside to let the rest of the group in first.
"Big Mac! Apple Bloom! Granny! We got guests!" Applejack's call was answered by two sets of hoofsteps, heavy and light. A small filly with a big bow on the back of her red-maned head ran in first, followed closely by a large red stallion.
"Woah! What are those, Applejack!" The little yellow filly ran up to Red and pulled curiously at his tunic. "And what're they wearin'?"
"This here's Red, Green, Blue, and Vio." Applejack pointed to each Hylian as she introduced them. "They're friends."
"Well howdy! I'm Apple Bloom! I'm a Cutie Mark Crusader!" The filly grinned at Red and the Hylian smiled back at her. He didn't know what a 'Cutie Mark Crusader' was, but Apple Bloom seemed very enthusiastic about it.
"This here's Big Macintosh. He don't talk much." Applejack waved a hoof at the red stallion and he nodded.
"Eeyup."
Then, an old, wrinkled green pony walked in and gave the four Links a suspicious glance. "Now Applejack, what did I say about bringing critters into the barn?" The mare moved to Green and started to push him towards the door. "Get on lil critter, out."
"Granny, they ain't wild critters." Applejack gently nudged the old pony back. "They're friends. This here's Granny Smith. One of the wisest ponies in Ponyville."
"Ya darn right I am." Granny extended a shaky hoof and allowed Green to shake. "If AJ says you're fine, then I guess you can stay. Just don't go stealin' any apples, got it?"
Blue rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we get it, you guys like apples."
Pinkie Pie giggled. "They sure do! Hey Applejack! I got an idea!" Pinkie hopped up and down, grinning.
Applejack turned towards Pinkie, ears pricked. "What's that, Pinkie?"
"Let's take these guys out into the orchard! We can all have like, an apple picnic party!"
Applejack and Apple Bloom shared a look. "Well," the orange mare decided. "I don't see no problem with that. You comin' too, Bloom?"
"Yeah! Let's go! Maybe I'll get my cutie mark in critter befriending, like Fluttershy!"
Applejack shook her head and gave her sister a loving look. "Alright, sugarcube. We'll see. Come on y'all! Just follow me and I'll show a real nice place to relax."
The whole crew filed out of the barn behind Applejack and the pony led the way into the apple trees.
Red, Blue, Green, Violet,
'Come on, Green!'
Link looked up at another one of himself. Physically his copy in every way, the quick-tempered, blue-tuniced version of him waited at the top of a staircase. Link, or Green as the other 'Links' called him, had finally saved the princess and was about to replace the legendary Four Sword. Doing so would make him one being again, and the other three, Blue, Red, and Vio, would essentially cease to exist.
Green wasn't sure he was ready for that.
He sighed. He knew, of course, that he couldn't keep the others around forever. He'd always known. It didn't make the separation hurt any less, though.
With a quiet grunt, Green pushed himself to his feet and climbed up the staris toward the others. They'd been waiting for him. He looked around at his mirror images, feeling another pain deep in his heart. They weren't him. They were separate, complex, beautiful Hylians that he had grown to love. They were his friends, and he was wiping them from existance.
"Hey... It's okay Green."
Red. Trust the most innocent one of the group to be the first to sense Green's unease.
"Yes. This was the obvious outcome from the beginning. Do not despair."
Vio.
"Come on dork, get over yourself!... I don't wanna be the reason you go and cry..."
Even Blue.
"I... I just..." Green gripped the hilt of the Four Sword, looking down at the blade that had split him into four. "I don't want to say goodbye." His hands shook, his grip so great that his knuckles turned white.
The other three surrounded him, pressing close. Red grabbed Green's hand, while Vio rubbed his arm for comfort. Blue hugged him tightly from behind. Green shut his eyes, desperate to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. "You guys... You're gunna make me cry..."
Another hand rested on his shoulder, and Green looked to see Princess Zelda herself. "Link." She said quietly. "It's time."
Green nodded. He understood.
He walked to the altar where the Four Sword would be put to rest and raised the blade above its holding place. As he prepared to plunge the sword down, one thought repeated in his mind. "I don't want to say goodbye."
Something, somewhere heard Green's prayer. And it answered.
