Of Fickle Fates and Eternal Vowsby OrkusChaptersPrologue: DriftingFormulations and TribulationsA Most Intriguing DiscoveryThe Approaching StormOnly in DreamsBeware, the EyeAn Unexpected GuestAn Umbral TrespassThe Zora PrincePrologue: DriftingCalamity Ganon had been defeated at last. Struck down by Link, the Hero of Hyrule and wielder of the evil-destroying Master Sword, his accursed presence had been wiped away from the world. The ancient Divine Beasts - four magnificent, magical constructs that this land's four champions piloted - had been cleansed of his foul presence and aided Link in his mission. And there he now stood, victorious and with the brave princess, Zelda, standing beside him. The two Hylians were currently walking away from the foot of the purified Hyrule Castle, watched unwittingly by five, noble spirits. The apparitions were of the four champions and the deceased king of Hyrule; each killed a century prior in Calamity Ganon's initial strike, yet still possessing enough life within their souls to guide the amnesia-ridden Link in the journey lasting from his recovery, to his confrontation with Ganon. One of them, a princess of the aquatic, fish-like Zora people, was named Mipha. She was a small individual of a shy personality in life, but was as brave and willful as any of them. Before Link and Zelda could become aware of who was watching over them, she and the others began departing at long last for whatever afterlife awaited them in a haze of greenish energy; their duties fulfilled and peace restored to the world they all adored and vowed to defend. Even as she felt her essence begin to weaken now that her purpose had been completed, the still-young Zora felt a twinge of heavy sadness at this fact, knowing that she had to leave behind so very much. Her father, King Dorephan, and her younger brother, Prince Sidon, mourned her death alongside their people with the utmost sadness. But still, with the memory of her sacrifice clinging to their minds, they all kept hope in their hearts. A glimmer of hope that in the end proved to be of fantastic and instrumental use in what would come to be the Calamity's downfall. As she vanished into the aetherium, Mipha allowed her very last thoughts to turn from her treasured family to Link. To the Hylian whom she loved more than life itself; enough to keep him safe in his gravest of times with her healing hands, now long behind both of them. He had fought Ganon and emerged the final victor, survived the ordeal, and now had the rest of his life to contemplate. It left a smile on Mipha's face, knowing that he would carry on and help rebuild that which was once thought lost forever in the hard-fought struggle. And it was a grand and happy smile that rolled over her small lips, replacing what little melancholia she had with enough contentment to last an entire lifetime. Mipha closed her eyes and held her head back. Sighing mirthfully, she could feel herself drifting blissfully away. Drifting away without a worry to plague her mind any longer, like a freed plank of wood floating down the soft current of a river. Drifting... Drifting... A gentle spring breeze drifted past the motionless form of Mipha, brushing over where she laid and rustling the nearby vegetation with a near-silent rattling of their leaves and branches. She could unconsciously sense its serene presence pass over her sleek, but rough and vividly red skin, and the fins that protruded from her head. Though light and soothing, it was still just enough to disturb the princess from her slumber, and soon the Zora's limbs became the first to animate and groggily shift in their positions; a weary groan escaping her mouth as she breathed in her first genuine lungful of air in over a century. Mipha inhaled and exhaled several more breaths of air before consciousness fully returned to her and her eyes opened. The first thing she realized upon this sudden moment of awareness was what sight showed down on her from up high. A blue sky, peppered with the occasional white cloud, loomed above her like a vast ocean. Instantly remembering how her last memory was... well, supposed to be her last memory, Mipha's hands clenched into anxious fists. Her fingers wrapping over what she detected was grass in the process, she sat up in a quick motion. She felt very much alive, but that fact failed to coincide with the distinct memory of her attempt to combat the twisted creation of Ganon; the same one that infected the Divine Beast Vah Ruta she piloted when he first returned to the world. In spite of her bravery, honed skill and effort, it overwhelmed her and proved to be her demise. No... no, she wasn't alive. She had been dead for one-hundred years! But... this wasn't the afterlife. Or was it? Those who lacked life also lacked a pulse, so she pressed a hand to her chest, if only to confirm her wild suspicions. Yes, she could feel her heart beating; quite rapidly right now with this swelling intake of incredulous information, in fact. Deciding to calm herself, so she could stew upon this perplexing revelation with a clearer mind, her breathing gradually slowed, as did her heart rate. Realizing that she was laying amidst a thick deciduous forest upon a firm inspection of her surroundings, Mipha stood up at a swift pace. Head spinning about, her amber eyes looked around and blinked twice, spotting a wide river with a slow and tranquil current a short distance from where she lay. The forest encompassing both sides of the river was vast and green, with only the silhouettes of birds twittering away in the treetops being the only other life there was to be witnessed. Where am I? Mipha thought to herself with nothing but worry and utter confusion running through her mind. She tried to think of how it was she was here - wherever here was. Fidgeting as her brain worked, she ran a hand past the blue scarf that rested over one shoulder and wrapped around her waist; the type of cloth that symbolized her role as a champion of Hyrule. Alas, nothing came to her head that could describe what she was experiencing now. A sudden bout of motion caught her view before she could decide on what action to perform next, and her head turned to it, spotting a creature in the treeline a short distance away. Seemingly undetected by it, the young Zora watched as it went about its business; doing said business with a wicker basket it carried in one of its legs. It was a small creature walking on four hoof-tipped legs, with a furry, light red hide and a long, curling, dark crimson mane running down from the back of its head and down its neck. As short as it was, it bore an immensely close resemblance to the horses and ponies that roamed Hyrule, but just by looking at its face, it also seemed to have a more... somewhat sentient aspect to it. She, as Mipha assumed based on its outward appearance, appeared to be plucking pale-brown mushrooms from the base of a tree with a hoof without a care in the world, dropping each one she collected into the nearby basket she allowed to lay there. The pony creature soon finished and lifted the filled basket up, preparing to walk away with what it had harvested. However, in the process of turning, the pony witnessed Mipha's crimson shape observing her from the corner of her eye and stopped to stare at what she now saw, nearly causing the unprepared Zora to stop breathing in surprise and fear. As she silently scolded herself for not hiding somewhere, the being just stared at her with what looked like an equally astonished expression. Her visage, unlike Mipha's, slowly turned from shocked to curious. "Um... hello, there?" the being greeted after nearly a minute of staring in an inquisitive, and clearly feminine voice. Mipha was far too speechless to respond; her expression blank and eyes wide. Sensing that it wouldn't gain a response, the creature went on. "I don't think I've seen anything like you before. Who're... you, if I might ask?" she asked in what sounded like a polite tone, taking a few steps forward on its hooved feet and getting that much closer to the skittish Zora. Mipha, grabbed in the clutches of cautious trepidation, looked from the equine being to the river for but a split second and then suddenly bolted for it with barely a warning to heed the action, breaking into a sprint. She fled to the bank of the river and dove into the clear water without so much as a splash; her small, red shape disappearing from sight as it swam off, just as the pony dropped her basket of mushrooms and speedily followed to the stream's edge to investigate what she had just witnessed. Reaching the riverside, the pony looked into it, spotting nothing but water. She stared for a minute longer, hoping to find the being again, but to no avail. It was slightly longer than a minute after that when she gave up and hummed in confusion. "What in Celestia's mane was that thing?" she asked herself in a small whisper. Seeing nothing left of interest, and betting that the strange creature she witnessed would not return, the pony slowly turned away from the bank and began making her way back to her basket over the short grass. With it back in her grasp after a few seconds' worth of a journey, and casting a final, but fruitless glance for the creature that had long since fled, the pony left the area to resume and eventually finish her duties. Formulations and TribulationsWith the train station that had arrived here from far behind them now, the alicorn Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, walked through the city's main town in a leisurely stride with her colorful crew of close friends beside her; the unicorn Rarity, the earth ponies Pinkie Pie and Applejack, and the pegasi Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. With them were Twilight's young dragon assistant, Spike, and her student, the unicorn Starlight Glimmer; an individual gifted in magic, and once an antagonist of the group until Twilight showed her the true value of friendship. They had all been summoned here for one reason. It was detailed in a message Twilight Sparkle's former mentor, Princess Celestia, sent to her not one day ago via a scroll delivered by Spike's fire breath. The reason itself was incredibly dire, and with quick preparation, they made their way here to help out in any way they could. The entire city seemed to be beset by an atmosphere of eerie silence as they trotted through it. The few who wandered the streets that weren't patrolling guards eyed the eight with a mixture of inquisitiveness and hope, knowing who they were without need for reminder. The occasional pony to poke their heads from their windows showed off the same expressions, before hiding themselves indoors again. Growing close to the base of the main castle that the city was built around, several shapes came into view. Approaching them, the group could easily see that it was the tall figures of the Royal Sisters and rulers of Equestria, princesses Celestia and Luna, flanked by several earth pony and unicorn guards dressed in regal, gold armor; their groomed fur and trimmed tails dyed white and blue, respectively. "Greetings, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Twilight spoke; all eight of them bowing to the two in respect. "We have received your message, and so we've come to offer you any aid that we can give." "Greetings to you as well, Twilight Sparkle. I thank you all immensely for heeding our summons," Celestia greeted with a bow of her head in return; her tone unusually mirthless, which only served to tell Twilight just how grave of a situation this truly was. "Follow us, if you may. We have a most thought-provoking bit of information for your collective ears only." Getting to their legs, the group followed Celestia and Luna to the steps leading up to the castle's main entrance. "It's a good thing we came," Rarity said during the short journey. "Twenty ponies have gone missing without a trace in less than a month... it's disconcerting, to say in the least." "Twenty-one now, actually..." sighed one of the following guards. "A young pegasus who worked as an assistant to one of the bakers in town was declared missing just this morning. We may have instilled a curfew, but it's still happening. Somehow." "And remember," Celestia went on with a nod, "the wildlife in the forest surrounding Canterlot have been extremely aggressive as of late. It defies all explanation as to why the animals of our countryside have been so hostile and unafraid of the ponies who venture here on the normally safe pathways to and from Canterlot. We believe it has something to do with what is going on, however, we do not suspect them of being the cause of these disappearances." "Well, if there's anything I like as much as friendship and books, it's discovering logical conclusions to mysteries," Twilight confidently spoke to her former mentor as they came up to the main doorway of the castle, flashing a grin. "We're on the case, princess." It was here that Fluttershy spoke up from behind everyone in her soft voice, causing them all to stop and turn to her respectfully. "Twilight, if it's alright with you, I'd like to go out into the outer part of the woods and maybe find out what's been bugging the animals, if I can," she said. "I'm sure that if one of them tells or shows me something, I'll be able to find some sort of evidence to help set things right." The Princess of Friendship pondered on Fluttershy's proposal and goal for but a second before replying. "Alright, but you're not going alone," she said. "I'll accompany her," Applejack volunteered, stepping forward. "While y'all search up for clues here, Fluttershy and I will go into the forest and be back by sundown." She turned next to Fluttershy herself and situated the hat over her head into a more comfortable position. "Is that all right with you, Sugarcube?" "Yes, I'm fine with that," she responded with a smile. "Let's go now, while we have as much time as possible." "Alright then. To the forest we go," nodded the earth pony, already turning about and trotting back down the steps, followed swiftly by Fluttershy. They didn't get too far before Applejack briefly turned again to the friends she was departing from. "Good luck finding out what's going on around here, girls!" "Be safe!" Rarity called out as well, as they began to grow distant. "And be sure to watch out for strange creatures. Should you happen to encounter any, do not engage conversation with them. Come back to us right off and tell us!" Luna also spoke aloud, with enough significance in her tone to cause some of the ponies around her to look at her inquisitively. When the pair had gotten far enough away, the others all went inside of the castle, still thinking on the princess' words. Their journey through the hallowed halls that contained multiple stained glass windows, all depicting the deeds and feats of heroes and villains from Equestria's past and present, was a trip that felt much longer than it really was. It ended with them entering the main throne room. The area of the throne room that the princesses and their guards walked up to next was situated in the left corner, where a small round table was situated. Beside it, standing diligently, was a blue-furred servant pony with a small mustache on his face. He had what looked like a roll of paper in his held-up hoof. "We brought you all in here to discuss a matter that has yet to reach the ears of the people," Celestia began, her tone as serious as the expression of concern her sister and herself currently bore. "Just shy of thirty days ago, right before the first disappearance took place, one of the castle maids was wandering out in the forest picking wild mushrooms for the kitchen. As she was getting set to return, she spotted a peculiar creature that fled from her sight, and into the nearby river. The news we received of this odd being is why Luna warned Fluttershy and Applejack to be wary of strange beasts before they left." Luna continued on where her sister left off. "After we used a precise memory-illuminating spell on this servant, as per her own wishes, she managed to create a colored sketch of the creature in a nearly photographic sense." The Princess of the Night used her magic to lift it from the servant's hoof in a blue halo of magical energy and placed it on the table before them all. Twilight looked over the image, humming in interest. On the paper was what appeared to be an upright shape with a blue fabric wrapped around its shoulder and stomach, like a scarf or cloak in design. It possessed a reddish tint to most of its hairless body, save for its face, chest and underarms, which were instead of a more light and creamy color. With the basic shape of it, it looked fairly feminine, and this assumption was helped by the golden jewelry that was worn over her head, neck and waist. Also extending from the back of the being's head, similar in function to a pony's mane, was what seemed like the tail of a fish; with two fin-like protrusions falling from either side, above the being's cheeks. "This is... bizarre," Pinkie spoke first with a hoof rubbing rapidly over her chin, which was a feat in and of itself, considering the hyperactive pony's distant view of what the term 'bizarre' meant. "It's most definitely not a pony, it's not a changeling, and it doesn't appear to be a kelpie or any other creature we've seen before... Twilight, what do you think?" "I have no idea." The alicorn itched at her temple in vexation. "The overall shape it has reminds me of the time I've spent in the human world, but this still doesn't look like anything I've ever seen or heard of there. The closest thing I can imagine is a siren or a sea pony, since it has the appearance of a water-dwelling creature, but it still looks almost nothing like them either." "So, we've only got a picture of this being and nothing else," Starlight mumbled. "But it brings up a few new questions. Is this the thing potentially behind what's happening? And if so, why? Why would it be kidnapping ponies, and possibly causing the wildlife around it to be in such an uproar?" "That's what we're here to find out, Starlight," Rainbow Dash said to the unicorn, putting on a grin of confidence and determination from where her wings constantly carried her blue shape in the air. "Now, how about we figure out what to try and do. I'm thinking we set up a secret watch tonight, and see if someone, or something, is doing this when nopony's looking." "That sounds like a plan I'm willing to follow," Rarity agreed, followed swiftly by the equally-concurring nods of some of her friends. "Let's set up a watch, like Rainbow said, and maybe even a trap to go along with it..." If there truly was a wave of angered wildlife living within the forest, Fluttershy had yet to see it as she and Applejack entered a thicker portion of the woodland. Everything seemed quite calm and collected, not unlike the outskirts of the Everfree Forest back in Ponyville. The birds were singing about in the treetops, seemingly sending out their lovely songs with no worry in their high pitches. It was the very definition of tranquil. "Applejack, what do you think is happening here?" the pegasus eventually asked as they pressed further on. "About all the things going on?" "I don't honestly know, Fluttershy," sighed her earth pony friend. "But with all them disappearances, it's very troubling. Even the ponies living in Canterlot itself all look worried out of their minds. I only hope none of them missing ponies have gotten hurt." "Yeah, I really do, too. Personally, I agree with the princess when she said that the animals probably aren't behind- wait, do you hear that?" Applejack stopped alongside Fluttershy after the pegasus halted and put her ears to the air. "I don't hear anything," she said after a few seconds of listening. "That's exactly it..." Fluttershy gasped uneasily. The birds had all gone silent, and what few who still stayed around had taken to the sky without emitting a single tweet to herald their departure. The two ponies had not even a second to realize what such a sign meant before the sensation of harsh tremors began to take ahold of the ground they stood upon. It wasn't long after that when a trio of screeching roars sounded in their ears, somewhere behind them both. "What the-" Fluttershy yelped in an anxious sputter. A tall, mud-brown shape burst through the thick foliage there as though it was grass to a toad, and came into their full view; its five long, snake-like heads roaring in unison after spotting the ponies. "Hydra!" shouted Applejack. The monster, with only two legs as thick as tree trunks to walk on, lurched forward. With predatory intent shining in its individual eyes, the many-headed beast began to pursue when the ponies started running off. Applejack pulled off the bundle of rope she had wrapped around her body for just such a hostile encounter and swung it over her head as she ran with Fluttershy, tossing it at the beast after aiming it perfectly. The lasso wrapped itself around the hydra's right leg with honed accuracy on the earth pony's part, but was attached for less than a second as the hydra sent one of its heads down to effortlessly bite the rope in two with its envenomed fangs, causing the earth pony to drop it as her lost grip recoiled on her; sending her to the forest floor as well. Fluttershy, seeing Applejack in peril, ignored her gnawing fear, jumped into the air and flapped her wings up to the hydra's multiple heads, causing the beast to halt in its advance as her shape appeared in front of it. "We're not here to hurt you!" she spoke aloud with her hooves outstretched, though with enough sincerity to tell any living creature that her words were genuine. As if it was captivated by her voice, the hydra paused in its advance to look at her, and Fluttershy continued. "Mr. Hydra, my name is Fluttershy. I'm sorry we came into your woods, but we heard something bad might have been causing you and the other creatures here to get mad, and we're here to understand why, and to help you, if we can. I just want to know why you and all the other-" Fluttershy was unable to finish her sentence, as the head she was currently speaking to suddenly grew an expression of mindless rage and lunged forth without warning to snap at the pegasus; grabbing her body in its rancid, fang-filled maw before she had so much as a chance to cry out. Fluttershy managed to get out one pained squeak, and as soon as she did, the hydra violently threw her away. Descending to the ground, she impacted against the wooden surface of a fallen, hollowed-out log as Applejack could only look on in helpless horror from where she stood. Recovering in less than a second out of sheer terror for herself, Fluttershy witnessed the hydra thundering forth in her direction. Ignoring her injuries as her brain worked hastily to push the priority of self-preservation to maximum, she ran to one end of the tree trunk and crawled inside of it. Coming upon the log and bending over with a feral growl, the great beast's several heads tried to fit themselves inside of her hiding spot, though with little success. They snapped at the small yellow pegasus in their effort to grab her, but all their fangs ever scraped over was the thick, dark bark lining the trunk. Applejack was swiftly plotting a method she could use to help Fluttershy as she ran about, when her friend's voice spoke something from within the log. "Applejack, g-go get help!" she cried as the beast continued in vain to squeeze its tremendous form through the minuscule opening. "No way, no how!" the earth pony argued, completely against the idea of leaving her friend alone. She went for her rope and started to ready it for another lasso, but alas, found it to have been broken too short to be usable any longer. "Don't a-a-argue, just go!" the pegasus continued to yell with terror ripe within her heightened pitch as Applejack tried desperately to think of something else. "This thing can't get me while I'm in here! I-I-I'll be safe! Just go!" Applejack would have none of that. "Not on your life..." she growled, shifting her battered hat to a lower part of her face as a wave of adrenaline and thoughtless bravery rushed through her body. Running up to the base of the hydra without fear, Applejack spun about, tensed her muscles, and bucked it as hard as her tree-shaking legs could kick. "Hey, you! Ya ugly, overgrown horned-toad! I think you're missin' an even tastier morsel down here!" she shouted as she reeled back and did it again, pounding the full force of her hooves against the scaly flesh of the titanic being's left foot. Feeling the kicks in the way a bear feels the sting of a bee, the hydra pulled its heads out of the hole and stared downward at the pony with its multiple, malevolent gazes. First one, then two, then all of its mouths opened and unleashed piercing shrieks and roars, causing the minuscule-by-comparison earth pony to realize that now was the time to run. Turning around as the monster made its first step toward her, she ran off; successfully luring the hydra from Fluttershy. "Stay put and don't you worry none! I can escape it, Fluttershy!" Applejack hollered, her voice growing more distant as she was chased into the denser part of the forest by the hydra; the thunderous footsteps of the fiend growing weaker as its distance from where the pegasus in question currently hid was lengthened. "I'll be back with the others shortly, you'll see!" Now all alone, and feeling both fatigued by the experience, and hurt from the festering injuries she gained from the monstrous creature, Fluttershy decided not to move. For her, just being alone brought upon a new kind of fear entirely, but with a shivering body, she endured it with faith and hope to keep her company. And with the knowledge of just how much her dear friends cared for her, that was enough. From what she assumed was because of the tranquilizing venom lining the fangs of the hydra that now infected her bloodstream, she soon felt herself nodding off slowly, and very much reluctantly. But she did not worry, for she knew in her heart that Applejack would outwit and escape the hydra. She would go back to Canterlot to inform the others, and they would soon be here afterward. They would come for her. They would come for her... They would come... A Most Intriguing DiscoveryMipha was at an impasse. For so long she had been here, in this uncharted land. It was rapidly changing from unfamiliar to familiar, and the ensuing thoughts that taunted her, saying that she would be trapped here in this place forever, worried her to no end. Though she was making plans to finally leave in search of any possible way to get back to the world she knew, she dared not venture far yet; fearing that she would only head off in the wrong direction, or else miss something important that might pass by. Till then, she hid out within a large, dark, dank and deep cave with a very high roof to it that laid protruding from the shoreline and into the wall of a small, green, rocky gorge the river ducked and flowed through. It wasn't a place of secrecy many would call ideal in terms of luxury, but it was more than ideal enough for her. This gorge, and this cave to be specific, was the perfect spot to set up her camp. It was beside a body of water, the river, which she could just dive into to escape a predator or other creature that had a chance to discover her. It provided ample shelter, should the elements prove to be unkind. With its sheer depth, it was even perfect to keep the smoke of a lit fire from escaping out in a cloud and reveal to anyone of where she was, as she had created now. In truth, she didn't even need the fire. Zora had long adapted to living in environments that were wet and cool, and fire was the last thing her kind would need for most circumstances, save for lighting up extremely dark environments, or a more mundane action, such as cooking. If anything, its warmth was a simple, soothing comfort she wanted to savor. Though a shy individual at heart, companionship was something she still craved, and this fire was the closest thing she could think of to substitute it with. Well, it was much better than the company that she did have, anyhow. Yes, there was another presence here with her; less than fifteen meters feet away from her and situated all the way in the back of the cave. Sitting upon a roughly-hewn 'throne' that had been crudely carved from the stone of the cavern's furthermost wall, a giant figure rested there, eternally unmoving. The only hint of life he possessed was the gnarled gasps of breath, as ragged in sound as he was in appearance, that he exhaled every few dozen seconds. Even then the sound was reminiscent of a passing wind that whistled from outside of the cavern's entrance, and as such, was easy to miss. Mipha stared at the armored creature through the flames that laid in front of her. In spite of his colossal height he was a being of lanky proportions, though that wasn't to say his long limbs weren't extraordinarily thick compared to the kinds possessed by most creatures. The exposed parts of his skin, which to say were his arms and small portions of his legs, were as wrinkled, shriveled and dark as the coals of the fire in front of her. With the fact that some of his upper body was also outlined by a dulled, glowing texture, giving it a close resemblance to a fading ember, it seemed to be as though his flesh truly was made up of the dying coals of a flame. His face was partially concealed in darkness provided by a hood of chain mail he had over his head, and atop that was what seemed like a jagged, spiky crown of sorts. Also in his possession, with its end laying unused between his sandal-clad feet, was a great machete with a cleaver-esque blade and a notch in its tip that was as long in its magnificent and curved length as he was tall. His hands clutched to the handle of it that rested, with a statue's stillness, in the air beside his bowed head. All he would ever do was sit there on his poorly-sculpted seat and do nothing. Not sleeping, not meditating - simply nothing. However, there was one time the Zora witnessed him perform one action. Murmuring with the all liveliness of something positively haggard dripping out of a coffin, from his scar-covered mouth came a deep and throaty voice that spoke of something in a dialect of yore; a sad musing about losing something he held most dear to something utterly cataclysmic in its magnitude. Mipha, with all that had happened, and her hope having taken a fair beating over the last, entire month, found herself empathizing with him greatly on such a subject of incredible loss. But, like a fleeting breeze, that was all he ever said. No sooner had he spoken, his speech ceased and he went right back to his uncaring silence. Sighing in tedium, Mipha picked up a thin stick from the kindling pile stationed behind her and prodded it at the logs of wood. She did this until one of the pieces lost its balance over the current one it was leaning upon and collapsed into the thick of the fire. Embers and ash shot up into the air from the force of its impact and shot away like fluttering bird attempting to escape, before inevitably fading away with the transparent cloud of smoke from the fire as they reached the roof of the cave; failing to drift outside and expose her hideout. Still the flames below them danced on. Mipha poked at it for a few more minutes until she could feel her stomach grow hungry. Getting to her webbed feet, she decided to walk over to the entrance. Reaching it after several steps and seeing that the night sky was out and the moon, a thin crescent in its shape, had risen to the middle of the star-covered sky, she decided now was safest time to go out and forage for food. After using enough thrown clumps of sand lining the floor of the cave to douse the fire in wet earth until she was sure no flame would further be spawned forth from it, she grabbed a makeshift spear she had carved from the branch of a tree several days prior, made her way back to the shoreline at the front of her hideaway, and dove into the river. With a pair of gills situated on the sides of her body, she breathed in the fresh water with a heavy heart, as just experiencing the cool sensation left the princess thinking of her home in Lanayru - specifically Zora's Domain. Swimming quickly, she moved against the current with ease and spotted a great many fish while she did so. It would be easy to catch one or two, but right now Mipha's appetite was not in the mood for the meat of fish. After taking a few chances to stealthily explore the area of forested land surrounding the river on nights not unlike this one, she remembered having located a spot rich with bushes containing a whole variety of berries. They heavily resembled the kind cultivated from the forests of Hyrule, and after witnessing birds readily devouring them without succumbing to any form of poison, she decided they were safe enough to harvest. She left the river after a short journey when she realized she had arrived at the proper location. As she silently moved through the woods she held the spear in her hands in a more relaxed grip. Despite her small size, seemingly meek disposition, and main talent being in the realm of healing, her spearmanship was second to none. She had been taught everything she knew from a member of the Zora Royal Guard, a fellow by the name of Seggin, who saw her talent for the craft blossom early on in her life and sought to refine it. As an expert in the field, Mipha once had a weapon of exquisite craftsmanship equal to her skill that was known as the Lightscale Trident, but upon her death, it was left in the care of her people. From what she last remembered witnessing before vanishing and ending up here, she thought she caught a brief glimpse of it on the person of her beloved Link, showing him as its new owner. Her thoughts still in the present, Mipha remained focused on her current objective. After a quiet venture spanning three minutes she reached the small patch containing the bushes, and on their thin, leafy branches sat clusters of berries. Mipha hurriedly set to grabbing as many as she could and stuffed them into a small pouch she had hanging from her hip; constructed by cutting out bits of the cloth she possessed that was slowly becoming more worn with use. It was a practical, and greatly more pragmatic use for it. She had grabbed no more than several plump, reddish berries from one of the bushes when a sound went out, a moan, causing her to stop and listen. It was a hurt moan, but not one that sounded like it belonged to a large creature, or a threatening one for that matter. It was light and came from somewhere nearby. Hesitant but curious, Mipha stopped collecting the berries and began to venture a little further through the wilderness with her spear at the ready. Passing through a final shrub, what the Zora princess came across next was a hollowed-out log laying on a flat area of the forest floor like a stone. It seemed empty to the unwary, but the sounds of pain were blatantly coming from inside of it, so Mipha crept to one end of it and peeked in. Within the log, as she could see with a loosened jaw, was a small figure. Right off, before even checking to see if it was alive or merely unconscious, Mipha noticed that this creature heavily resembled the one she saw a great many days previously. The only difference, it seemed, was the yellow color of its fur and pinkish mane, and that was all without counting the dried crimson color hanging over her wounds. Pierced into her yellow-furred flesh were three marks, surely provided by a great beast's fangs or claws. What told the Zora that she was alive, beside the occasional moan, was the fact that her chest shakily moved up and down with the air it was breathing, and its hoofed feet would sometimes twitch. Mipha felt conflicted about what to do with this poor creature. She had no idea what they truly were or what their natures were like. Appearances could be deceiving, but then again, sometimes they weren't. Either way, if Mipha just up and left this ailing creature here it would most likely be found by some sort of predator, and that was assuming it didn't succumb to its injuries. The Zora Princess had a conscience firmer than many, and that conscience would not allow a possibly innocent creature like this to come to further harm on her watch. Mipha, scolding herself either way for her still-reckless decision, placed her hands and finned arms inside of the log, around the equine creature's shoulders, and set to pulling her out and away from potential danger. When Mipha returned to her campsite, having dragged the still-senseless creature to the river and used the current to get there quickly, she discarded her spear to the side and brought the being to the area close to where her put-out fire was. The giant was still there in the back of the cave on his chiseled throne, as usual. He didn't seem to mind having another warm body in this place, assuming he was paying attention to anything to begin with. After sitting down beside her guest, Mipha concentrated. Placing one hand to the wounds she could see, blue energy began to emit from her palm, completely covering the bite marks in the glow. When but a few seconds had passed, the outline of dried blood started to recede, the marks looked like they were improving, and just a short time longer was all that was needed before it would be mended fully. After a few minutes of this, Fluttershy's eyes slowly blinked open and she tiredly yawned. She awoke to the cool feeling of laying upon moistened dirt, as well as the sensation of something pressed against her side and a pleasant warmness radiating off of it. Turning her head, groggily as it was, she found herself staring into the face of an utterly alien creature she had never seen once before in her life, who stared back with a placid mien about her completely non-pony face. Normally, Fluttershy probably would have screamed at having to wake up to such an abrupt surprise, or at least yelp in fear. But looking into the calm, amber eyes of this strange being, who upon a closer and more thorough inspection had an otherworldly sort of beauty to her, no such panic found its way into her. Only a little surprise took hold of her mind, and that was all. Her widened eyes slowly lowered and she thought of something to say. "U-um..." she stammered. Mipha slowly turned her face away and looked to the wounds she was healing. "There is no need to be afraid," she spoke in a voice that rivaled the softness of this pegasus' own. "I found you injured in the forest and brought you here. As we speak, my healing abilities are making you well again." Looking down, Fluttershy saw that the warm feeling she had been experiencing was being performed by its hand. The blue glow, surrounding it like an aura, was almost blinding in its brightness. She looked back to her healer's face and paused upon deciding on what to speak next. "My... my name's Fluttershy." "I am... Mipha," Mipha replied with a nod, at first unsure if it was appropriate to speak her name to this stranger. "I am the princess and champion to the Zora people." "Zora?" questioned the pegasus. "I assume you have never seen a Zora before?" she tried to smile. "We are a water-dwelling race. This gift of healing is a power only I seem to possess among my people, wherever they are now..." "You got separated from your people? Oh..." the pegasus said in a sympathetic tone. "How did it happen?" "That is a long tale, I'm afraid," Mipha replied in a murmur. "Since I told you what I am, what sort of creature are you? You resemble creatures that lived in the lands surrounding the domain I hail from, but you all seem greatly more intelligent than them." "Me?" Fluttershy questioned, motioning to herself with a hoof. "I'm a pony. Well, a pegasus to be specific. There are earth ponies and unicorns, too." "You're all sentient ponies? That would explain the appearance, I guess," Mipha said, her eyelids lifting and the dark, vertical pupils her eyes themselves possessed dilating for a second in slight shock. "You've never seen a pony like me before?" "You're the first one I've spoken to who decided to speak back," she revealed. "I know not how your kind behaves, so I've been keeping my distance from you since I came to this land. If your kind doesn't appreciate my presence, it would fall into my interest to avoid you, after all." "I can see your reasoning, but we ponies are a good people. We just... just..." the mare's voice cracked and soon stopped entirely as she suddenly caught sight of the colossal being sitting at the far end of the cave from the corner of her field of vision. "Wh-wh-who's that?" she asked next in a very panicked way, causing Mipha to speak something quickly to keep her still so she could continue to heal her properly. "I don't know who that giant man is," she quietly spoke, "But I've grown to feel somewhat comfortable in his presence. He hasn't seemed to have moved since I set my camp up here a while ago, and I only realized he wasn't a statue two days after I made it. I believe he's harmless, so don't worry." "But he's... glowing, a little," Fluttershy pointed out, growing calm and composed once more as she trusted her healer's words. "How didn't you notice him being alive because of that?" Mipha hummed. "I... suppose I've been keeping my head hanging rather low over these past few weeks. Being away from my home and my family for so very long has left me feeling quite... lonely." Fluttershy's ears lowered in compassion for these sad words when she detected the sheer melancholy in her tone. Her look lasted until a thought came to her head that was practically begging to be asked. "You know, the... the reason I was out there was because one of my friends and I were trying to find out what was causing the animals in here to act all upset. The kingdom we live in was having a bit of a problem, and we came to help sort things out," she said in a polite whisper. "You... wouldn't happen to be the source of all the ponies supposedly disappearing, would you? O-or the reason why all the animals in the forest have been suddenly getting angry at everyone, right?" "Disappearances? Aggressive wildlife? I would never," she responded; her gentle hand held steadily over where she was healing the pony. "All I've done since I came to this place is try to survive in a manner that would disrupt very few. I've been making plans to leave this forest, but I'm not even sure where I should go. I have no interest in... causing all that. I am not even sure I would possess the capability to do such a thing." "I see." Fluttershy was silent for the next minute as she sensed that Mipha was nearly complete with her goal. Sure enough, she soon was. "There..." the Zora eventually smiled, taking her hand off of the pegasus' hide, revealing to Fluttershy that her injuries were fully healed. Not even a scar remained of the hydra's attack. "You should be fine now. In whatever manner you got those wounds, they weren't permanent." "Thank you so much," Fluttershy said, bowing her head in gratitude after standing up to stretch her legs out. "Your healing abilities are just as good as the magic of some ponies I've met, if not better." "Your kind practices actual magic?" Mipha's own head tilted in interest. "How intriguing..." "Yeah, all ponies have it inside of them. It's just unicorns and alicorns that can actually manifest it," she went on. "One of my best friends, Twilight Sparkle, is a princess like you, except she's the Princess of Friendship. She has a great affinity for magic, as does her student and one of my other friends, Starlight Glimmer." The mare looked outside the cave, to the sight of the night sky and put on a face of worry. "Oh, wow... I had no idea it was this late..." "It's close to morning, if I'm not mistaken," corrected Mipha. "If you made a vow to be back to your friends at a specific time, I think it's been rendered void. Apologies." "You don't have anything to apologize for. The reason I got hurt was because a hydra attacked me and that other friend I mentioned, Applejack. What I last remember is her luring the hydra from me and running off, but I know she's okay," Fluttershy said. "I have to get back to all of them before they get too worried. Um... before I go, I think I want to ask you one more thing. I mean, if it's okay with you." Mipha gladly put on as affable of a visage as she could muster. "Ask away." "Okay, um... so... what was it like, where you were from? What did you, a 'Zora', do just before you got here?" As soon as she heard this, Mipha's thoughts went to the past, reminding her only of her demise and the one-hundred years she spent confined within her divine beast. "I... don't think I wish to reveal that much of myself," she shyly responded. She turned her head away and sighed. "I'm sorry." "No, it's fine. I get it. I should be the one to say sorry," Fluttershy apologized, showing off a gentle smile to her new friend. "I would love to stay Princess Mipha, but I really need to get back to my friends in Canterlot. Want to come with me? It's greatly safer there than it is out here." The thought of going to a civilized place was tempting, but the other thought of maintaining caution still brought forth a valid reason to deny the offer. With a small hint of reluctance in her movement, Mipha slowly shook her head. "No, I think I will remain here, until my trust in your kind has become a little stronger, at least. To give my first test of it, you won't tell your friends where I am, will you?" "Of course not. I swear I won't tell anypony," Fluttershy promised. "I'll just tell them you healed me and that I don't think you're behind all the problems as of late. That will be it." "Thank you," the Zora spoke. "I'll keep you to that." A noticeable look of ambition and hopefulness then came over Fluttershy's face. "And while I'm at it, maybe I could try and have my friends find a way of getting you back to your home. The magic Twilight knows could be of great use in that regard. I would love to get you back to you people." "You would do that?" questioned Mipha. "Of course," Fluttershy responded. "I'll come back and visit you if I pick up anything that can help you. Stay safe till then!" With a small wave and a final, confident look, Fluttershy turned around and flapped her feathered wings. As she took off into the dark sky, with only the light of the moon to guide her, she flew just a little faster than usual to get back to her friends as soon as possible; wishing that they weren't worried out of their minds looking for her. And back down in the cave, for perhaps the first time since arriving to this place, Mipha began to feel a sense of happiness lift her soul. The Approaching StormTwilight had gone from extremely anxious, to full-on panicked as the first rays of the newly-risen sun showed through the stained glass windows that surrounded her. Hooves clopping with a sense of hollowness against the stone floor, she paced about the throne room of Canterlot's main castle in circles for almost an hour now with Spike nearby; standing to the side with a feather quill in one hand and a roll of paper in the other, patiently waiting to jot down her next order. Princess Celestia was currently away on one of the castle's topmost balconies performing the deed of bringing the sun into the sky, and Princess Luna, with her own duties involving the moon accomplished, was due to return soon. The rest of Twilight's friends were gone; out looking for Fluttershy and Applejack as she herself remained here, and she did so only after they begged her to stay and think of ways that could help with the situation already at hand. "I can't think, I can't think, I can't think..." she continuously mumbled in what was beginning to sound like a quiet chant of sorts. The repeating of these three words was entering its fifth minute now when Spike, his arms growing tired with the lack of input from her, put his pen and paper down on a nearby table. He approached the alicorn and stood in her pathway, halting her. "Twilight..." he slowly spoke as she came to a stop. "I think you need to calm down." "Calm... down?" she responded in a tone bordering slightly on the neurotic side; a tired eye twitching as it stared at the young dragon. "Calm... down?" "Yes, Twilight," he nodded. "Please. I know you haven't slept at all last night, so just take a deep breath an-" "I can't 'calm down', Spike! I can't do that! Not now!" The sound of the princess' sudden shout nearly knocked her poor assistant off of his short feet. When he regained his balance a second later he could see that Twilight herself had come to the realization of her own outburst, and next walked over to a nearby, normal window, pushed it open, and stuck her head out of it to catch a breath of the fresh and cool morning air. Spike walked up to her and poked his claws together uneasily. "Twilight, listen. I more than know how you feel. I'm worried for them too," he said. "But I know that they're okay. Trust me." "But what if that's not the case?!" cried the princess, placing her hooves onto her head and shaking it as she balanced her body on the windowsill. "It's all my fault for letting them go out there to begin with! What if they got lost? What if they disappeared like all of the townsponies? What if they ran into a creature Fluttershy couldn't calm down, or worse?! And what's better, I'm stuck here twiddling my hooves around, hoping to find some kind of logical conclusion to all of this. How do you know that they're okay?" "Because I trust in their abilities. And I know you do as well," he replied with a sure expression. Alas, the alicorn didn't seem to hear him. Twilight only stared out the window with her shaking head for what seemed like forever. Her anxious face only ceased to be when the sound of her assistant clapping his hands together right next to her ears returned her to the realm known only as reality. "Twilight, snap out of it!" he shouted, her attention soon regained. "Going nuts over this situation isn't going to help. You're one of, if not the smartest pony I know. Keep trying to think of something, like Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Starlight trusted you to do." Leaving the window, Twilight lowered her head in a defeated manner. "You're right, Spike. I need to think harder." She inhaled a few deep breaths and looked to him in a calmer way. The dragon smiled. "Good. Now, after I get my paper, just tell me what you need me to write down so-" Spike found himself interrupted again as the sound of the throne room's door being opened echoed throughout the area. Her horned head turning to it, Twilight could see several shapes entering the room. To her visible surprise, she noticed they were the shapes of her friends, as well as the slightly taller form of Princess Luna. And among them, standing safe and sound, was Fluttershy. "Twiliiiight!" sang out the energy-filled voice of Pinkie Pie, who sprung up into the air for a second as she shouted. "We found Fluttershy! We did!" Without a second thought, Twilight dashed past Spike and up to her friends, specifically to the pony in question. "Fluttershy, are you okay?" she instantly asked the pegasus. "What happened to you? Did you and Applejack run into anything bad? Did you get lost? Where is Applejack?" "She hasn't told us what happened yet," Starlight Glimmer went on. "Some guards located us in the woods and told us of her arrival to Canterlot. We all quickly got back here just a few minutes ago, and saw Luna was just returning, too." Taking in her student's words with a nod, Twilight turned her attention back to Fluttershy after thinking them over for a few seconds. "Well? Where's Applejack?" the Princess of Friendship questioned again next. "Do you know?" "When... when I last saw Applejack, she was being chased by a hydra," the pegasus quietly spoke. "I... I-I thought she returned here to tell you all so you could come get me, like she said she would." "A hydra?!" all the ponies in the room cried in unison. Rainbow dash hurriedly flew beside Fluttershy as close as she could without directly touching her and landed to the floor. "You were attacked by a hydra and it chased after Applejack?!" she shrieked into her face, before gaining just enough sense to back off a short ways. "Y-yes, a hydra," confirmed Fluttershy. "I tried to calm it down, but it bit me instead. It's venom made me fall asleep." "Bit you? But you look positively unscathed!" Rarity pointed out, circling around the pegasus just to make sure what she had just stated was indeed the truth. "And, um... that's kind of the thing," she replied. She turned next to Twilight and walked up to her, past the others. "Twilight, could I speak to you about what happened to me next in... private? I want you to know before the others." Twilight scratched the back of her head in uncertainty, but was more than okay to oblige the odd request. "Sure, I guess." Nodding, Fluttershy began to walk back in the direction of the hall she and others had just entered from, and Twilight started to follow. As the two left to discuss the matter without the need for prying ears and closed the doors behind them, the rest of the group began to chatter away amongst themselves in nervous tones about what may have happened to Applejack. Luna could hear the unkempt agony in their tones over their final missing friend, and instantly sought to ease their anguish. "I implore you all not to fret. Applejack yet draws breath," she quickly interjected, causing them all to stop their worrisome conversation and turn to her. "As I was tending to my duties dealing with the dreams of my subjects, I noticed the presence of Applejack, and also Fluttershy for a short while, were both in a state of slumber. Her mind was adrift the current of calmness, and no worry plagued her mind. I assumed it was because she was somewhere, safe and sound, and it was how I last saw her. Since I was away from the castle, I hadn't the slightest idea that she had not yet come back to Canterlot." Things were hushed for a brief few moments until Rainbow jumped back up into the air and put a hoof to her chest; her visage set in a look of determination as solid as the stone the castle's walls were built from. "I don't know about you all, but I'm not waiting around. I'm going to go find Applejack as soon as Twi and Fluttershy finish whatever it is they need to talk about. Who's with me?" As all the ponies, Princess Luna included, let out cries of agreement, a conversation began behind the nearby closed doors. "So, Fluttershy, what is it you need me to know?" Twilight asked with a lowered brow of curiosity. "The others told me of the picture of a strange creature you studied just after Applejack and I left," Fluttershy spoke, shifting an eye over her shoulder just to make sure nopony was within earshot of what she was to reveal next. "I met someone in the woods. Who I met, after the hydra attacked me, matched what you all looked at. And I know where she lives." Twilight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "That's... that's great!" She gave off a large grin of pure relief, and the feeling of it was one she oh-so missed. "If you tell me just where this creature lives at this moment, we can question it! And, maybe, if it knows anything, we'll find Applejack!" It was here when Fluttershy, with a silent sigh, sunk her head low. "Her name's Mipha," she went on. "And... I can't show you where she is." In that one second, Twilight's smile vanished, and her expression of relief became one of pure surprise. She looked back to Fluttershy with nothing short of a dumbfounded visage. "Wh... why not?" "Because I made a promise," her friend flatly replied. Twilight paused for a few seconds, as to properly get a grasp on the situation, and soon found herself pinching her weary brow with a hoof. "Why in Equestria would you make a promise of that sort to a strange being?" "I don't think she's strange. She's... actually sort of like me, in a few ways," lightly argued the pegasus. "She's super kindhearted. She pulled me out of the forest before another creature could get me, and even healed my wounds from the hydra. And she allowed me to come back here with the knowledge that I had of her." "But this is bigger than some promise like that!" retorted the princess. "Applejack is missing! The townsponies are still missing! This creature, Mipha, could be a clue as to why all this is going on! Don't you understand that?" Adamant to make her point, Fluttershy closed her eyes, raised her head a small ways, and curled her lips into a frown as she stamped one of her front hooves to the stone floor as hard as she could (which, suffice to say, wasn't any louder than a normal hoofstep). "I made a promise, Twilight!" she repeated once more. "I am deeply sorry, but that's that. She healed me, and in return I said I wouldn't tell anypony where she is. And Twilight, I do not think she's the reason behind what going on right now. She herself told me that she has no idea about what we're dealing with." The princess was in partial silence over this sudden and unexpected hindrance after receiving such tantalizing news, and gave off a long-drawn sigh that reeked of frustration. "You're not going to tell me anything about where she might be, are you?" Fluttershy nodded once. "She also told me that she has absolutely no idea how ponies like us act. I want to earn her trust," responded the pegasus. "Twilight, if you were there with me, you would have seen that she means us no harm, too." The alicorn sunk her head low for a second and exhaled another stale breath of air. When she lifted it, her tired expression returned. "Did you... at least find anything else? Anything that you can tell me?" "Well, she said she got lost from her people, which she said are called the 'Zora', and has no idea where they are now," Fluttershy replied. "I don't think she's from here, or even Equestria as a whole. It sounds way too odd. I think magic of some sort is involved." Twilight mulled over this with a long hum; the name of the supposed species ringing no bells within her head. "For you, Fluttershy... I'll look into it," she finally agreed, causing the pegasus to smile happily. "But for now, let's go find Applejack." "Alright then," she agreed. "Let's go find Applejack." Gray clouds had gathered in the sky as midday was coming to an end. What was once a warm, sunny and clear day had changed into something else entirely in a short time, and not long after that transition in weather, a thick downpour of rain began to fall as well. Being a Zora, this didn't trouble Mipha in the least; only slightly irking her with the fact that it robbed her of her full view of the sun and all that glimmered under its bright rays. As it went on, Mipha sat in her cave upon the moist soil that made up its floor, waiting it out. Her hope with what would become of everything had been rekindled with the conversation she shared with that kindly Fluttershy individual. Should this creature and her kind prove to be true, trustworthy, and actually selfless enough to help her with her plight would be a hefty boon indeed. Warm feelings flooded her very soul with much-needed positive emotion. She turned her head a little bit, just enough to see the giant sitting far behind her. He continued to sit there on his throne, as silent as the day she first encountered him, however unwitting it was. Her fingers curling around in the soft, damp earth in a tense display, she decided to make at least an attempt to strike up a conversation with the titanic creature. "This place is quite peculiar, but so very lively. I wonder if the other parts of it are as beautiful as my home," she softly spoke over her shoulder to the great being in a tone just loud enough for him to surely hear from where he was. "If I might inquire, are you as much a stranger to these lands as I am?" The giant remained silent. Mipha did not honestly expect him to respond back to her, and so turned her attention on him away after a few seconds. She was looking to the area of ground that built-up rainwater was starting to seep over at the cave's fore, when the sound of thunder rang aloud throughout it like an alarm, snapping the Zora's view upward. The noise was a deafening sensation at first, but by the time the fourth crackle of the sound went around, Mipha had gotten used to it. Getting up and moving forward a little ways, she sat down again just a scant few feet from the cave's wide and tall opening. With her arms wrapped around her lifted knees, she watched the running river laying just outside the dense curtain of rainwater that now made up the entrance of the cavern for a few minutes. Soon following the thunder were brilliant, golden flashes of lightning that streaked across the sky every few seconds once the storm picked up in earnest; completely visible, even through the denseness of the rain. Zora were less tolerant to electricity than other creatures, and as such they had an almost natural aversion to it. But to witness it from a safe and far place, it was less a thing to be feared and more a light show to be observed with awe. Seeing such a powerful display of this aspect of nature reminded Mipha of one of her fellow champions, Urbosa; a member of the proud, strong, desert-dwelling Gerudo people. She could summon a devastating bolt of lightning from even a clear sky with but a snap of her fingers. Thinking of her reminded Mipha of the other champions as well. It made her wonder if any of them had found themselves in the same predicament she was in now. Had they too awoken in a foreign place? And even so, was it truly life that had been given back to her, and potentially them? More hope and great confusion of equal measure filled her mind, but was soon drowned out by the sound of the storm, which the Zora returned her view to as she stewed upon her evolving situation. Mipha spent the next hour staring at the sky from where she sat; listening to the magnificent orchestra that was the booming claps of thunder and the light pattering of rain droplets that splashed off of the surfaces of water and rock alike outside of the cave. Had she still been but a young, naïve hatchling with a slippery grasp on how the world worked at best, she would have thought the thunderous uproar going on was the fault of a ferocious battle of cataclysmic proportions that was being waged in the very heavens themselves. Luckily, she had been taught much in the realm of the sciences and beyond from childhood to adulthood, and became quite the insightful character with the accrued knowledge. The silly thought was nothing more than exactly that - a thought. Smirking, she chided herself for allowing her imagination to run wild with an upbeat chuckle, but that wasn't to say that it wasn't an interesting one to mull over in this time of patience and semi-solitude... Author's Note Happy Easter, one and all. May your egg hunts be fruitful! Only in DreamsThe Hylian Link stared at the bright, blue sky that laid showed down from where he stood on a grassy field. Just ahead of him was a cliffside, which faced the far distance. Cast aside were the pieces of armor he had gained from his travels to face Ganon. In its place was the regal blue shirt he wore in his journeys before the Calamity's invasion. The kind that once represented the champions of Hyrule. Yes... the land of Hyrule; a land once besieged by terror, malice, hatred and destruction made manifest, but now free at last from its dreaded blight. Calamity Ganon had been defeated only a month before - banished away from this plane of existence by the newly-freed Princess Zelda, whom served as his jailer for the past century until Link recovered from his wounds in the Fountain of Resurrection and posed a challenge for him once more. With peace restored, for however long it would last, they had taken much time to rest and recuperate. When they felt prepared enough, they were soon off again with adventurous hearts beating in their chests. Princess Zelda herself, also dressed in the blue clothing matching her old uniform, stood beside Link on the overlook. They had come to this specific area to check over the population of the silent princess - a rare species of flower that was heavily endangered during the time before the Calamity struck. However, as fate decreed, their investigation would have to wait. Currently in the princess' hands was a Sheikah Slate, and she was reading it over after she discovered it possessed rather alarming news. "We'll make our way to Zora's Domain," she eventually spoke, her brow twitching downward slightly in interest over the piece of information she had known for only a minute. "Divine Beast Vah Ruta... looks like it stopped working." With a puzzled look she read this bit of freshly-given news over again, and a smile of excitement crept over her lips. "Let's investigate the situation," she said with a hint of dauntless glee in her words. The princess held onto the happy expression before one of cold realization set in. "Mipha's father..." she spoke again to Link, a saddened look overcoming her as she lowered the Sheikah device from it. "I believe he would like to hear more about her. The least we can do is visit him and offer him some closure." Zelda stared off into the distance, to the as-of-now abandoned Hyrule Castle that could be seen standing far away. Once possessed in its entirety by the Calamity, it was now rid of him and every trace of his accursed corruption, but even still remained mostly devoid of life. The kingdom that once was her own father's was like an empty shell even now, but with the proper touch, it would rise again. They just needed to further instill courage and faith in the minds of those who had lost it to fear and despair. "Although Ganon is gone for now, there is still so much more for us to do. And so many painful memories for us to bear." Holding in a breath, she took a single step forward, as though to get a closer look at the place where she had kept the Calamity imprisoned for so excruciatingly long; a sentence that had been paid off with the aid of the Hero of Hyrule who stood beside her now. "I believe in my heart, that if all of us work together, we can restore Hyrule to its former glory. Perhaps... even beyond." Zelda thought of the future for but a moment when her longing visage of hope evolved into one of pure, rigid determination. As did her tone with the words she had to speak next. "But it all must start with us. Let's be off." Turning to the right, she walked past Link and toward the two horses that stood waiting for them a scant few meters. Link watched her for a second before eventually he, too, began to follow in the princess' footsteps. They both mounted their steeds soon enough and were off like a flash onto the path that would lead them to Lanayru, and to Zora's Domain itself soon after. Link held tightly onto the reins of his horse, hearing the beast snort as it ran faster onward, when his thoughts turned to Mipha. Link remembered her very well, and every conversation they had was as fresh in his mind as could possibly be. His memory had fully returned to him in the time he spent traveling across Hyrule, giving aid to its people in whatever way he could, freeing the Divine Beasts from their corruption, and felling foes who served the will of evil. Whether it was the uncivilized and porcine Bokoblins, the lanky but sinewy Moblins, or even a great, ferocious and terrible Lynel, none stood in his way. But those he had lost in the initial struggle weighed heavy on his mind. Mipha was a close friend of his, and that only served to inflict further pain in his very soul, no matter how dogged and determined it was. Yes, she was a dear, dear friend, and... perhaps even more than that, he sometimes imagined with sorrow that hit him like an aching lash. He spent much time with her in the months before Ganon's invasion. After his awakening, in his talks with her father, King Dorephan, he relearned that she loved him unconditionally. It made sense, as Link himself knew they were like kindred spirits. They were both quiet and reserved individuals, for the most part. They became fast friends in his childhood, and when she was declared as the champion of her people by her fellow Zora, it brought them together that much closer. Nearly like moths to a flame, they found themselves inevitably drawn to one another. If the events that came after had not torn them apart as it did, one would wonder what could have become of it... Link closed his eyes for a few seconds and shook his head as the feeling of the wind rushed through his hair, hoping to take his thoughts from the past and refocus them onto the near future. He looked forward to seeing her younger brother again, Prince Sidon, when they arrived at Zora's Domain. He was a kindhearted, brave, and noble individual, and one who had lent him great aid in the retaking of Divine Beast Vah Ruta. With whatever was troubling Ruta now, Sidon would indubitably be willing to help them look into things once more. The storm lasted through the day and only ended as night was once more approaching. The clouds mostly departed from the sky and left it clear enough to show some stars and the moon. The wind was calm as well, and all, it seemed, was still and sleepy with everything a night like this would entailed. Except for Mipha. Where Mipha currently dwelt was at the bottom of the river, specifically the part of it just outside of her cave. She sought the cool and familiar wetness the depths of the water could afford, and so, to find a form of clarity for the time being, she meditated there as she had long ago been trained. Leafy green weeds of some length surrounded her like a field of long and unkempt grass, waving about as the current animated them like puppets. Above them, swimming around in a manner similar to how a those who lived on land would see birds, were fish. Currently a large school of trout were the ones to pass by in the most notable of a fashion; each of their smooth, scaly, green and speckled hides possessing a reddish, horizontal stripe running from their tails to their heads, while their undersides possessed a more silvery color. The trout swam around her red form, blatantly curious to see an unfamiliar creature such as she, before moving away out of a natural sense of caution. Mipha herself was lingering over her predicament. If it was all it appeared to be, or otherwise. She felt so very much alive, and every sense of hers told her this was the truth. And yet, like another gathering of storm clouds ready to blot out the sun with ill weather, doubt still consumed her. That single question that stung in her brain like the mark left from a burning brand. Was she truly alive? Was all real, or was it all some cruel illusion meant to deceive her? Was this some sort of twisted fantasy? A demented dream that had yet to transform into a revolting nightmare? Thoughts like these disturbed her to no end, and she shook her head until it was clear of them, only for them to return moments later and trouble her further. Questions, questions, questions! Just thinking of them was like a maddening choir that wished to sing aloud in her ear until she was driven deaf from their voices. She anticipated that the sensation of departing from the realm of the living to what was surely the afterlife would bring about a final peace, as she always imagined she would have. A peace she once admitted to have gained after Link set her spirit free, as it had been held hostage for so long from within her Divine Beast. But with this newfound vitality, she didn't know what to think anymore, and her previous contentment had long since faded. Her heart yearned so terribly to again see the face of her friend. Her rescuer. Her... Mipha tried to stop her train of thought right there, before she added yet another level of pain upon this fragile moment. She was dead. She remembered the last breath of air she ever inhaled before she was struck down by that abomination that had infested Vah Ruta, Waterblight Ganon. As a spirit, she witnessed Link first-hand when he avenged her death by destroying the twisted creation of the Calamity in turn. Though it was an entire century after her passing, just seeing the miraculously still-living Hylian she held so dear to herself come out the victor in the fierce battle brought her more relief than she had ever felt in life. It was a pity that it was one of the last positive emotions she would feel in his presence, when there was still so much more she wished to experience alongside him. Mipha still remembered that wish she gave to him a meagerly short time before the invasion of the Calamity. The wish was something meant to be simple, beatific, and affectionate. But overall, it was a thing that the two of them would share, alone. The desire was for them each to spend more time with one another, if the chance came around. It was what many would deem a selfish thing to be sure. But for herself... it was, perhaps, her only aspiration up until fate chose to so cruelly separate them. Though her memories of Link were just some of the few good ones she could think of, all stewing upon this matter ever did was fill her mind and soul with a horrendous, aching pain. A pain that extended well beyond the fact that they were simply apart from each other. Zora lived for so long; their lifespans exceeding centuries, as her own father's long and just era of ruling their kind could attest to. But Hylians... the lifespan of a Hylian - a Hylian like Link - was like a fleeting breeze when compared to a Zora. A bat of an eyelid. A twitch of a finger... If this heart in her chest was beating with all the life she possessed back in the golden days of Hyrule, it felt incredulously empty now. Mipha wanted to spend as much time as possible with Link before time naturally parted them, and she wanted so desperately to cherish every single second of it. And being stuck in this land stole just about any sort of comfort she could feel upon discovering her newfound existence; purloining her of her more than deserved chance to reunite with her one true love. Were this twist of fate allowed to be played out in song, this cruel happenstance was the enormously sour note that ruined it utterly. Deciding she had enough meditating and wished now to put her weary mind to rest, Mipha swam up to the river's surface and inhaled a deep, cool breath of air. Climbing onto the riverbank, she slowly entered the dark entrance of the cave she currently called home, quite unaware of the set of eyes that were quietly observing her from the other side of the river... "Are you comfortable here, my Love?" Mipha questioned Link with a grin. "Always, when I'm with you," Link replied to her most contently, shifting himself closer to her on the smooth bench they shared. He was dressed in the ocean-blue armor she herself had created for him as a betrothal present, as was the custom of Zora royalty when they wished to propose marriage to another. Elegant stone architecture, expertly crafted by Zora hands and illuminating a luminescent blue light from within their pillars, surrounded them and made up the smooth floor of the platform they currently sat on together. It was a place she remembered being located in the very heart of Zora's Domain, but at the moment, nobody was around except for them. Quiet intimacy was the only thing to fall over them like a mist, and that was just how Mipha liked it. She remembered having this dream many times since life returned to her, and it was one she planned on having many times more after tonight. Above them, setting in the sky, was the sun; the horizon showing off a brilliant crimson color that peeked through the clouds in a wonderful display one could only see in a vision such as this. Her depiction of Link seemed to think it was as stunning as she did. "The sunset reminds me much of you. It's simply marvelous and beautiful," he complimented to his wife. "What do you think of it, Mipha?" Mipha smiled mirthfully. "I think it is as well, Link," she responded. Leaning closer to her husband, the Zora rested her head against his armored shoulder, admiring the warmth given from absorbing the sun's rays and blissfully ignoring the fact that all of this was merely the machinations of her unconscious imagination. She stayed there with him for what felt like an eternity. An eternity she would be more than happy to live in forever, but could only achieve in a dream such as this. She inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes, savoring as much of this moment as she could before she inevitably left this wonderful fantasy... "Are you the one known as Mipha?" The single question, spoken in an unfamiliar female voice as clear as daylight, forced the Zora's amber eyes open once again. Holding her breath out of shock, she lifted her head from Link's shoulder and looked around, trying to spot the source of the noise. "H-hello?" she called out, evidently anxious and confused. The sound of beating wings suddenly cut through the warm evening air and her view was drawn upward. The figment of Link stood up from his seat upon sensing her fear. "Do not worry, Mipha. I'll defend you from whatever comes," he spoke to her without even an ounce of worry in his valiant tone, drawing his legendary sword from its sheath on his back. He stood between her and the source of the wingbeats, when seemingly out of nowhere, a dark shape entered their sights. Right off, Mipha realized it was like that Fluttershy creature - equine in shape, albeit taller, slimmer, and possessing a different fur color altogether that more resembled dark blue than yellow. Two strong wings flapped in broad strokes on her back, and a long mane, resembling a cluster of stars like the kind one would see on a cloudless night, ran down her neck while a regal, golden crown adorned her one-horned head. The being landed on the platform and tucked her wings behind her back, facing Mipha and Link's direction. While Link stood there between them in a rigid display, Mipha was visibly startled by this unwanted surprise. "Who are you?" she angrily asked, feeling very much threatened by this being's invading presence. "I know you're not some product of my mind. How did you enter my dream?" "My name is Luna. I am a princess of Equestria, and I mean you no harm. I was told your name by a friend; the same one you allegedly lent your aid to," responded the equine creature in a fairly polite manner. "I stand before you because I hold great authority and influence over all who dream. By finding out your specific name, it shortened my quest to find you." Luna waited patiently for her words to take affect. When Mipha did eventually gain a more relaxed visage, she continued. "With all the dreams you could have, this is truly a grand one you have made for yourself," she complimented with a kindly smile, inspecting the craftsmanship of the nearest pillar and taking notice of the detail held by the floor as well. "I must admit to you Princess Mipha, your dream is oddly vivid and articulate. It's quite beautiful." "I'm a lucid dreamer," she spoke with a meek sense of pride, if it was even that. She blushed when she realized that this creature was no doubt witnessing one of her more tender and private fantasies, and with a quick thought, Link's nearby image faded away like a wisp of steam. "I... I practiced it for a while as a child until... I mastered it." Luna knew she was still troubled by her being here upon seeing her sheepish look. "I see that you are a shy individual," the Princess of the Night said next. "I can assure you that I will not dare pry where your secrets dwell. I merely came here with a few questions I wish for you to answer." Standing up from her seat, Mipha had a question of her own to ask. "The pony I saved yesterday - Fluttershy, I believe her name was - told me that your kind is peaceful. You said you're a princess; a leader of your kind, if I'm not mistaken. Her words... are they the truth?" "They are," Luna nodded, walking closer to the Zora. "We value harmony and happiness for all who live within our domain, and even the ones who live outside it. Pony or not, we strive for the well-being and contentment of all. Even if we must defend them from those who would seek to do harm." Her brow lowering a tad, she cast a more serious look to Mipha. "I want to know, from your words alone, that you are not a creature that sits in that malevolent category." Mipha's response came swiftly. "I seek nothing of that sort," she answered firmly. "I only wish to discover a way to return to the lands where I originated from, among a few other things." "And... of the ponies who have vanished?" she brought up next. "Though I sense they are in a state of deep slumber, I cannot seem to find them anywhere in the plane of dreams. Do you know anything at all about them?" "I have only ever encountered two ponies since I awoke here. You're the third one I've seen, to be honest." "So it's true, then. You know nothing of their whereabouts," sighed Luna after detecting nothing wrong in her tone, closing her eyes as she dwelt upon this revelation. "As I earnestly suspected. I honestly beg your pardon for so abruptly entering your dream, but Fluttershy is a dear friend. She may not have spoken to me or anyone else of your location, but she told her friends and I of your name, and how she perceived you as having a benevolent nature. I wanted to see for myself if what she said is true." "Fluttershy said to me that you might be able to help me in my plight," Mipha chose to mention next, after a short silence came between them. "Do you have any idea about it? About why I'm here and how?" Luna bit her lip and thought for a second. "I have been around for a long time, and I can tell that one thing is for sure," she began. "You are not a creature of this world. I feel that extradimensional magic is involved in your debacle, but I will not know this for certain until I find out more about you. Our city, Canterlot, rests near you. It is your choice to come to it or not. Do you yet wish to pay us a visit, as so we could get better acquainted with one another?" Mipha sat back down again. She was quiet for a few seconds until she came to her decision, as her sense of caution still remained fresh from the day prior. "I think I'll give it some more time before I decide anything. Apologies to you, your majesty." "Worry not; you have nothing to apologize for," Luna spoke in an understanding tone. "I must be off now to tend to my duties. Fair thee well Mipha, Princess of the Zora," she then politely bid with a bow of her head. With a single stroke of her wings, Luna ascended from the platform and into the sky, and from there she started to fly off and fade from Mipha's mind, though not before saying a few last words that echoed about long after she vanished. "I implore you to be safe. Something insidious is going on, and I fear it originates from the woods you currently make your residence within..." The echoes of her forewarning stopped after a short time, leaving Mipha alone to dwell on them. If what she saw was real, as she believed, then these ponies actually did possess some form of magic. To wield power over dreams themselves was an unbelievable ability in on its own, and one that could easily be used to cause irreparable harm to another. And yet this pony, Luna, did nothing to her. Nothing at all, save commence a friendly conversation with her. Perhaps these creatures really were who they described themselves to be... Author's Note Yes! After so much hard work, I managed to publish this chapter on my birthday. Happy birthday to me, and I give my thanks to all who read this story! Beware, the EyeMipha thought back as she felt her sleeping mind begin to stir. That dream she had, in which she presumed that everything to happen within it was real, was quite the odd sensation to go through. She had little reason to doubt that that being, Luna, was fake, or that her words were equally falsified. But it was over now, and she was left to stew over her words. As Mipha sluggishly slid all the way back into consciousness with a small yawn, she also awoke to a very strange sensation. It was an ice-cold feeling pressing down upon her throat. The kind of feeling shared by steel, and unmistakably that of a weapon of some kind. As soon as she realized this, Mipha's eyes shot wide open. She was a mere second from pushing the object away from her jugular when a hand clasped over her mouth and held her head down. Her eyes stared toward shape standing over her and spotted a silhouette illuminated from the morning light showing through the cave's entrance. "If you value your life, you will not move," a male voice spoke from the character in a whisper so soft and fragile that one might not realize it as a threat. "Sit up. Slowly." Mipha was very hesitant to obey the order. But in a reluctant way, with thousands of thoughts running through her head, she did as the being told. Moving her body upward until it was in a sitting position, she had herself a better view of the individual who held her at knifepoint now that the sun's light was focused on his front. The first thing she noticed was that the weapon was a dark, vicious sickle, and the second thing was that over his face was a mask. A white, wooden mask displaying a red symbol resembling an eye with a tear drop upon the center of its surface. It was a symbol she knew right off, with a silent gasp, was that of the mysterious but good-hearted Sheikah people. But how it was turned upside down told her who it really was. If the Sheikah Eye was perverted in such a way, it could only represent the foul icon of the accursed Yiga Clan; an organization of black-hearted Sheikah who cast away their loyalties to Hyrule and aligned themselves with Ganon. If that was not enough indication of this character's allegiance, his outfit, a black and blood-red garb, did. Behind the mask and poking through the back of his crimson hood, his dark hair was tied into a knot. A pair of bony fangs, meant to represent the tusks of a boar, hung from either side of his face like earrings. And he wasn't alone. Turning her head a small ways after he finally took his hand from her mouth, Mipha quickly took notice of several other shapes standing about, most of whom were guarding the entrance of the cave. Skinny and nimble footsoldiers, all equipped with hand weapons of sleek design and murderous ability or else bows and arrows of wicked making. Beyond them, pinned to the shore to keep from being pulled away by the river's current, were what Mipha could make out as rafts built from logs. "It's definitely a Zora," one footsoldier in the back said to another in a whisper that Mipha's ears easily detected. "I believe we've finally found that 'stowaway' our mistress spoke of." "So it would seem," a deep and coarse tone concurred in less of a secretive manner, originating from a larger, burlier figure nearby. Judging from the great windcleaver sword Mipha saw he possessed sheathed by his side, along with the fact he wore thicker armor over his form, he was a member of the Yiga elite, a blademaster, and clearly the leader of this small group. A pair of longer, curling 'tusks' extended from the base of his mask, from behind his greater and looser hood that bore a similar look to the skintight uniform belonging to his co-conspirators, except on a much lesser scale. "But either way, we shall gain our answer on just who this one is soon enough." "Well then, onto the questioning," chuckled the footsoldier currently holding Mipha at his mercy. As he said this, Mipha shifted her view in the direction of the giant who shared this cave with her, quickly spotting him where he was. Still he sat on his throne, unmoving and apparently unperturbed by the events going on. The Yiga must not have taken notice of him, as he was completely unguarded and none of the soldiers here had so much as stared his way from what little the Zora could witness of their faces. "Question one." The Yiga used a firmer tone when he spoke, curling the sickle's pointed tip to her throat, though using enough caution in the action to not actually pierce her flesh. "What is your name, Zora?" Mipha did not respond. Instead, she allowed her brow to lower and a grimace to appear on her face. By her sides, her hands slowly curled into fists as she readied herself for action. The footsoldier hummed in vexation and turned to look back at his his allies when it became clear she wasn't going to respond, or perhaps because she lacked the fearful visage he expected to witness. "It would appear as though our guest is unwilling to cooperate," smugly cackled he, "and, as we all know, my brethren, that means something quite awful is going to now happen to our stubborn, hapless little-" He was cut off as Mipha's arm suddenly came up and swatted the sickle's vicious blade away from her neck, right before coiling back and punching forth like a snake pouncing upon its prey, striking the Yiga in his thin throat just as he fully turned her way. Letting out a choking grunt, the footsoldier stumbled one step back, when the Zora champion slid her leg out and tripped him into the air, then planted him to the ground below with a final punch to his chest that came down in a manner akin to a bolt of lightning. The blademaster with the dense voice from before saw this all happen with immense clarity and, reacting just before his surprised allies could, charged with an outraged growl and his unsheathed windcleaver held high. Mipha saw him coming, and without fail, she began running in his direction to join him in combat. The blademaster was seconds away from unleashing his deadly blade with a mighty swing, but Mipha was already upon him with a flying leap and a defiant roar. Thrusting her knee forward, it struck the greatly taller figure in the center of his masked face with an audibly loud crack of the mask's wood, and potentially whatever laid behind it. Falling back limply from the unexpected move, the blademaster flew past his comrades and crashed to the floor with a pained and stunned cry alongside his weapon; the sword impacting with a metallic clatter. Rushing past three lunging footsoldiers and avoiding them all as though she were the wind itself, Mipha ran up to the windcleaver and grabbed at its handle, soon getting a firm hold of it. With reflexes she had long since gained from her training, even with the fact that this wasn't her preferred form of weaponry, she lifted its long blade above herself and brought it against a pair of oncoming sickles. She pushed the one who wielded them back and swung the blade tenaciously, hitting the Yiga across his armored chest and pushing him back, though only harming him enough to keep him down for surely less than a few seconds. She then turned and saw two more pounce from behind and struck at them too. Sword hitting sickles for the briefest of instants, both the foes suddenly pulled back their hook-esque tools and vanished away in a gray cloud surrounded by red talismans; each minuscule paper object being covered in intricate and ancient writing containing mystic power. Before the enchanted objects could touch the floor, the two foul Sheikah both had suddenly appeared directly behind the Zora. Mipha spun to them just in time for their blades to clash again with a horrid, grating sound of metal-on-metal. As some of the other footsoldiers surrounded Mipha and prepared to engage her or else helped their blademaster back to his feet, one pulled out his bow and took aim at the Zora. Pulling the string back after notching an arrow into it, he fired. The arrow left the bow as quick as a flash, but by the time it reached Mipha, she had taken notice of it and ducked her body down to the cave's floor. The projectile whizzed by in turn, sailing toward the back of the cave where the giant sat. It hit the titanic being directly in his shin armor with a hollow sounding plink, but its effects were less than that of a splinter. Still, it was enough to catch his attention, however slow it was. One entire minute after he had been hit, he gradually turned his head to look at it, and grumbled something dense under his withered breath. A pang of annoyance from just hearing the fight soon evolving into one of full rage with this attempt to harm him, he began to stir. His fingers on the hilt of his weapon began to curl inward to its palm before taking it off completely. With the other hand he moved the great weapon to the side with a crack of its thick tip effortlessly crunching the lesser, loose stone at the base of his throne to powder. As soon as this thunderous sound echoed to the part of the cave where Mipha currently fought off her attackers, the fast-paced battle began to sluggishly grind down to a halt. All taking notice of this new shape, they watched him in united shock as he used his machete to help hoist his lanky, powerful self off of his throne; standing to his full, colossal height that only faintly avoided touching the roof of this expansive cave, and actually scraping a few protruding stalactites off of it, where they fell to the floor and shattered further. Turning his head up lastly, the giant aimed his sights forward, specifically at the ones who defiled his tranquility. Eyes of red, bright and glowing like fiery rubies soaked in the ashes of burning embers, showed from the dark abyss that was the interior of his hood. Mipha felt a twinge of growing worry build up in her mind, and all the Yiga who had apparently been unaware of this creature's presence were staring his way as well, obviously very fearful in spite of the masks covering their faces. One of the treacherous Sheikah used this moment to run up to the ailing and unconscious form of the first footsoldier Mipha knocked out prior, and the pair vanished away in a red cloud. The others, including the recovered blademaster, began to grow visibly tense when it started to approach them at a startling rate. "Yiga Clan..." he started to order in an unsure voice as the giant, once taking casual steps in their direction, broke into a full on sprint that quaked the earth they stood upon with every step. "Yiga Clan... fall back! Fall back to the rafts!" The Yiga turned about and fled, dashing away from Mipha and making for their transports parked on the river bank outside the cave. Three of the footsoldiers managed to stop for a second in their stride to take aim and fire their bows at the behemoth. The puny arrows did absolutely nothing to the creature, save enrage him at their audacity enough to bellow a howling roar. He bounded past Mipha as she dodged to the side, as though failing to register the Zora's presence, and he was soon upon his real prey. With one hand on it, the machete's cleaver-esque blade came down in a vertical blow and slashed into the floor, throwing back sparks and the archers with his force. With incredible reflexes unbefitting of its size, the creature quickly placed its other hand on the notched portion of its weapon's tip, tore it from the ground, lifted it into the air and brought it down again, like the blade of some executioner's machine, only to barely miss this time. By then the Yiga pushed their three rafts into the river and boarded them, hoping the swift current would take them away. Onward the giant pressed his attack even further onto the ones who disrupted his peace. Without a care he leapt into the river behind them, sending up a tremendous wave of water that fell over the fleeing Yiga. His eyes bearing the likes of a blazing flame upon his scarred face, he pursued them downriver. Lifting his great machete once more, he brought it down and crushed one of their closest rafts to splinters with his mighty blow; the soldiers aboard it using their honed skills to teleport away just before their ride was destroyed, and them along with it. The giant continued his assault on the Yiga who tried to escape him, wading waist-up through it as though the deepest portion of the water was nothing more than its shallows. As things grew from loud to near-silent, Mipha slowly, and shakily traipsed to the front of the cave and observed the colossus chase away the ones who had been swarming over her only seconds prior. She only realized she was shivering most dreadfully from sheer amount of adrenaline pumping through her veins and to the heart thumping rapidly away in her chest a moment later as her wits caught up to her. Her pupils dilating and heart rate slowing, she sucked in several deep breaths before deciding what had to be done next. When they were apparently far enough away, Mipha immediately jumped into the water and made her escape in the opposite direction. While her feet and body propelled her forth through the powerful current, her hands remained grasping firmly onto the windcleaver blade. Heavy as it was in the water, it would prove a most valuable asset should some of the Yiga who escaped from the rampaging giant end up pursuing her. With such foes potentially lurking around the next shadow to cross her path, she would need any form of reliable protection she could get... Fluttershy's wings flapped more vigorously than usual as she flew through the sky above the forest. She was by her lone self, with a small wicker basket in one hoof that was filled with food she packed away in Canterlot. She was planning on only being gone for less than an hour, and she hoped nopony would realize her exit from the city. The only one to know of her departure from Canterlot was Princess Luna, who had informed her of her visit with Mipha in the night, and approved her plan to bring her something to eat. So long as she made no attempt to actually enter the woodland itself, anyway. The flight was mostly uneventful, and with no birds flying around her at the moment, Fluttershy's eyes were drawn downward. She spotted nothing in particular, save the sight of the river she was just passing over, which flowed ever on without end. That changed when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. It was a shape resting against a rock sticking out of the centermost part of the river. The shape was clearly crimson in coloration; it stuck out greatly from the darker surroundings of the water and forest. Fluttershy found herself drawn to it, and the urge to investigate it overtook anything else. Quickly drifting to the ground nearby, the creature suddenly took notice of her presence before she got too close and abandoned its rock of respite for the water. Though away from sight, Fluttershy knew the figure was still there - and had a pretty good idea on who it was. "Mipha... is that you?" she asked aloud with blatant curiosity. "If that is you, it's me, Fluttershy. I'm, uh... alone, again." Mipha heard this question well from where she was submerged, and it was in a voice familiar to her. Slowly enough to not cause even a single ripple, she poked her head above the water and looked at the pegasus with a partially relieved, and somewhat exhausted expression. "Yes, it's me," she spoke to the pony. Her eyes next blinked twice before squinting at her. "What are you doing out here, Fluttershy?" "I was coming to visit you, actually," Fluttershy answered, lifting the basket beside her up for a second and putting it on the ground in front of her for the Zora to see. "I was bringing you some food I got from the Canterlot kitchens. It's just a few sandwiches and a slice of cake. I thought you might like it better than what you have to forage for out here." It was then that Fluttershy remembered that this area was exceptionally distant from the cave she encountered her in, and so her head tilted to the right inquisitively. "What are you doing so far away from your cave, if I might ask?" Mipha looked down at the water resting below her chin, and her grip on the sword beneath the drink slightly tightened. "I was... I was attacked," stated the Zora. To this piece of information, Fluttershy's face almost instantly transformed into one of shock. "Attacked?" she gasped, putting a hoof to her mouth. "By what? What creature attacked you? Are you okay?" "I'm fine. And it was not a creature..." Mipha continued. Lifting her sword up fully from the river, she quickly threw the soaked weapon to the shoreline and it flatly landed on the grass a few feet in front of the pegasus. "I was assailed by a few individuals who were a bit more sapient than some mere creatures." Fluttershy cautiously approached the windcleaver and inspected it. Though they still had them, the royal guards of both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire up in the frozen north were much more partial to spears than swords, and she had never seen a blade like this kind before. It looked outlandish, and not particularly made for pony hooves. "What are you saying? Who tried to hurt you?" "It was the Yiga Clan. The Yiga Clan is a treacherous organization of folk who serve a vile evil. They are from where I hail from as well." Mipha's answer came with a grave tone. "Fluttershy, I believe I have a theory as to why the ponies you told me about are going missing. If the Yiga are in any way associated with the disappearances, I think they may very well be the ones behind it." Fluttershy thought on this for a few seconds, when a spark of realization twinkled in her cyan eyes. She looked from the weapon back to the Zora and gave a gentle smile. "Mipha, this could be proof enough of your innocence. Why don't you take it and come with me to Canterlot?" she asked next with the utmost hope in her light voice. "And this isn't all. By the sound of it, you know a lot about these 'Yiga' people. You could tell the Princesses what you know of them!" Mipha turned her view back to the water just below her face, searching for a strong reason against the third-given offer, only to emit a small huff of defeat. "I would speak once more about how I might wish for more time to think over an invitation like that. However, it appears as though I have little choice in the matter now," she sighed back. "If I stay out here, I risk being attacked by the Yiga again. And should that inevitably happen, I fear that I might not be so lucky in escaping them." An unsure look came over her face next. "Fluttershy, I may have potential proof of my integrity, but how will your kind act when they see me?" "I'm... actually not sure how they might act. But please, don't worry about us ponies," Fluttershy said in as reassuring of a tone as she could make. "You might know very little about us, but I mean it when I say we'd never do anything that might upset or harm you. We have our flaws like anyone else, but we get along with lots of other creatures. I'm your friend, right?" "Friends... I'm not so sure of that, yet. But yes, I admit you are quite the kindly soul," Mipha said as she swam closer to the shoreline. "For now, I trust you, Fluttershy." The pegasus toothily grinned at this, and only when it started to shrink a small ways did she speak again. "You know, one of the princesses from Canterlot, Luna, told me personally that she met you in your dreams last night. She informed me right before I set off to find you with her permission, and how much of a good person she saw you as. Did that actually happen?" "I... suppose it did," Mipha confirmed, "and we talked for a short time about each other. She possesses extraordinary power." "Well, that's the kind of magic alicorns can have," Fluttershy replied. Placing her hands on the rocks on the shore, Mipha left the river and stood upon the grassy ground. She walked up to the pegasus and looked down at her slightly-shorter shape in a timid way that Fluttershy couldn't help but relate to, being quite the shy character herself. The Zora eventually looked down to the sword that separated them and knelt down to pick it up. "I'm sure this will indeed shed some light on your problem. But Fluttershy... will you promise to lend some form of credence to should any of your friends or neighbors still feel suspicious about me?" "Of course I can. I promise," she said, before chuckling in anticipation of what was sure to be her one of her friend's reactions. "And I should mention something to you about Princess Twilight Sparkle. I just know she's going to adore meeting you. See, she loves reading and studying, among other things. Learning about you is going to make her ecstatic. She'll discover where you're from and get you back there in no time, I just know it." "I should hope so. By the way, that... friend of yours who ran off to get you help. Applejack, I think you told me her name was," Mipha mentioned next. "Tell me, did she ever make it back?" Fluttershy's joyful expression went completely solemn the second she heard this query, and she shifted a quick look to the forest behind her before staring back at Mipha. "She... never did," admitted the pegasus in a lower tone. "Princess Luna says that she's alive, but... gone. I think she got grabbed by whatever it really is kidnapping the other ponies. And if it's those Yiga Clan people you spoke of, then we have a lead." She picked her basket back up into one of her front hooves and got a good grasp on it. "Shall we go?" "Lead the way," the Zora reluctantly replied. An Unexpected Guest"Fluttershy, are you positive that this will go well?" Mipha's question came with an air of uncertainty. Where they had arrived to, after around an hour of travel, was the front of the city of Canterlot. It was some time ago when they exited the forest and followed a pathway leading partly up the side of a tall mountain that overlooked the woods, and just standing before the front walls and main, lowered gate of this pony city was a bit of an intimidating sight. The thought of entering it, much more so. "I am," Fluttershy confirmed with a smile and a nod, shifting her basket to a better position along her foreleg. "Just stay close to me when we walk into the city. I'm one of the Elements of Harmony. They'll listen to what I have to say." With that, the pegasus cheerfully left the bushes. As Fluttershy began trotting ahead, Mipha, with some reluctance in her stride, began to leave her cover and follow with her hands grasping fiercely onto the hilt of her sword, which was held passively by her side. They made their way through the main gate, watched closely by the several gold-armored guards stationed atop it, who instantly took notice of not only the Element of Kindness, but also the strange being accompanying her. As the pair walked through the lower district of the city, Mipha had a good look at the architecture of the place, which bore at least a passing resemblance to the building structure of some of Hyrule's civilizations. Her eyes constantly shifting around to new sights, they witnessed the many ponies to inhabit this place - some bearing wings, some possessing horns, and some having neither - and it filled her mind with questions as to how creatures such as they were somehow able to build it all. As if in turn, they glanced her way from wherever they stood, trotted or hid with fearful and curious stares. Still feeling quite anxious over simply being here, and seeing these creatures' reactions to her presence, the idea of running away and fleeing back to the familiar-by-comparison safety of the forest tickled Mipha's brain relentlessly, though she resisted the temptation as she walked on with Fluttershy. Sometime after passing into the higher district they arrived at the main castle, and witnessing the building up close made Mipha feel both small and awestruck at its magnitude. Setting aside the basket she carried to the ground, Fluttershy began to make her way to the entrance and Mipha followed her to it in turn. It was as they were reaching it that the two guards standing in front of the tall doors, both unicorns bearing dark fur and glimmering armor, stepped between them and it. The sound of multiple hooves coming from behind then caught Fluttershy and Mipha's ears next, and they both turned their heads to see that several more had appeared. The one in the frontmost rank was a white-furred unicorn mare, and judging from her slightly more ornate gear, appeared to be the commanding officer of the group. "Halt," she spoke, her volume deep, serious and to the point. "Drop your weapon to the floor and present your empty hoo- hands to us, creature." Mipha's visage tensed at this, until Fluttershy, putting a steady hoof to her friend's arm, spoke up in her defense. "It's okay, guards. She's with me," she said. "We're just going to see the princesses and my friends to help straighten out a few matters." "Irrelevant," another guard, one of the pair guarding the door, spoke up. His blue eyes focused on the alien creature standing beside Fluttershy with a glare of distrust shining in them. "Nobody, pony or otherwise, goes to see either of the princesses with a weapon on their person. Especially in these odd and troubling times." Fluttershy pondered these words for a moment before turning to the Zora. "That... does sound reasonable. Mipha, are you okay with leaving the sword in the possession of these guards? For a short time, anyway. They'll bring it back if the princesses call for them." Mipha gripped the sword tightly as she looked to it, sighing with the knowledge that it was far too late to turn back now. "Yes, I suppose," she answered quietly, slacking her hold on it. In a smooth motion she raised it, pommel-first, to the guards, upon which one of the armored ponies took it from her slowly and carefully into his hooves. After that was done, several of them stepped back, leaving just a few to remain with Fluttershy and Mipha. "Follow us," one of the royal guards spoke without emotion, as though attempting to show off some formidable form of authority. "And don't make any funny moves. Because we'll see it." Turning, they opened the great doors leading to the inside of the castle with a firm push. Mipha and Fluttershy walked inside behind them and entered an expansive hallway. As they were led through the corridor, the Zora's focus was ensnared by the multitudes of stained glass windows that lined the walls from their beginnings to their to ends. Each was like a painstakingly-crafted masterwork of art in their design, and it was clear that every single one of them had a story to tell just by discerning the characters and symbols upon them. From some of them, Mipha actually recognized the highlighted shape of Fluttershy amongst a group of others around her size. The guards opened up another that laid at the end of the lengthy hall, and Mipha and Fluttershy were introduced to what appeared to be the throne room. Mipha spotted several ponies and one smaller, reptilian creature within, also matching some of the figures she witnessed in the windows. And as all their heads, horned or not, turned from the current conversation they were having to their direction upon hearing the doors open, their faces all curled into varying degrees of startled shock. The only one in the room who didn't seem to have too much of a surprised or concerned face was the dark-furred one who Mipha recognized as the pony she saw in her dreams, Luna, who sat upon one of two thrones present and only bore a wide-eyed look of mild surprise. When Twilight Sparkle looked their way and caught sight of Fluttershy she was ready to begin asking away as to where her friend had so abruptly disappeared off to this morning without so much as a hint of warning or notice. However, the Princess of Friendship was quick to join the rest of her dumbstruck allies in their gawking when she realized what company her timid friend possessed. With haste, she trotted in their direction until she stood a mere few feet in front of them. "Fluttershy, is this-?" she then questioned incredulously. Fluttershy nodded, and motioned a hoof to the Zora next to her. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Princess Mipha." Her sentence came out calm and collected, and with it, Twilight turned her head back to Mipha. "So, you're the 'creature' we've been told about?" she asked, deeply wishing to know before anything else. Mipha was silent while she thought of the right words to use. "Apparently so," she responded with a minuscule shrug. Rarity, who also began to follow in Twilight's example by walking closer to the Zora, seemed to have her attention more focused on Mipha's choice of attire instead of what she was. "Th-this may be a bit off-topic, and though it also seems to be of poor condition at the moment, your taste in fashion is quite... fetching, Princess," she nervously complimented, hoping that the kind words wouldn't somehow be seen as an offense. "If it makes things easier for you, then you may refer to me as just Mipha," she suggested in turn. "Mipha decided to join me here to escape a danger in the forest, and to let all of us know that she has nothing to do with what's going on," Fluttershy continued on. "When the guards bring in the weapon she gave to them, you'll see what we mean." "'Weapon'?" Princess Celestia's eyes widened at the mention of this single word, and her voice attracted the undivided attention of all in the room as she slowly descended her regal self down from her own throne in a graceful motion. "What weapon?" Their heads turning to one another, Fluttershy and Mipha's eyes met for a second before looking back to the Princess of the Sun. "The weapon Mipha told me she got from one of several beings who attacked her earlier this morning," the pegasus started again, before her Zora friend could trouble herself with answering the alicorn. "She told me that that they might be the ones behind what's going on with all the ponies who are vanishing." "My assumption is a little bit complex, really..." Mipha stepped forward when Fluttershy finished, prepared to let them in on her experience. "But I am more than happy to share it, if it means professing my innocence and shedding some light upon this apparent conundrum you are all dealing with." "Then by all means!" mirthfully spoke Luna, who walked beside her sister and gave off a warm smile as she fluffed her great wings out and folded them behind her back again. "We have enough time on our hooves to hear it. And any friend of Fluttershy is a friend of ours." Link blinked once as he set his eyes upon the mammoth, artificial entity that was Divine Beast Vah Ruta. The elephantine behemoth's titanic form laid inanimately within one of the most shallow portions of the Lanayru Great Spring, alongside the bank which he walked with his allies. Its legs were partially concealed underneath its wide main body, reclining under the surf and away from sight. The blue light that once glimmered along its various protruding parts and within its many crevices was faded, leaving nothing in its place. Had anyone else born witness to it, they may have incorrectly suspected the great colossus to have been nothing more than an impressive, lifeless statue. In the calm water around it, Zora of all shapes, colors and sizes swam, inspecting the Divine Beast as best as they could manage, or else keeping their distance and observing its full shape from afar. Link gazed upon it for a few seconds longer before he turned his view to Prince Sidon, who walked on the land alongside Zelda and himself. Prince Sidon was a most imposing character, dwarfed by his father by comparison, but still much taller than your typical Hylian or Sheikah. With a robust upper body, thick skin of a majestic crimson tint, and sharp, sharklike teeth that rested within his mouth, he was an intimidating individual to be beheld by those who didn't know him. For those who did, such as Link, he was a charming and kind individual with an infallibly determined mindset as rigid and unyielding as stone. His people adored him immensely, as could be discovered by simply talking to any of his subjects, and it was in no small part due to his noble personality. "Once more, I cannot express my gratitude enough for both of you arriving here to aid us with this distressing matter," he thanked again, turning his finned head their way as they got to the end of the bank. All that separated them from the downed Vah Ruta now was the water. "To cease functioning as it did so soon after the defeat of the Calamity... it fails to make sense to any of us." "Whatever the situation is, I am confident that we'll find the solution," Zelda replied to him with a reassuring grin. Sidon reflected the expression when he stepped into the water and partially submerged himself in it, upon which Zelda, after Link motioned for her to go first, slowly went in as well and climbed onto his back. When she was comfortably leaning upon him, Sidon brought her across the water and to the nearest platform protruding from the side of the inert Divine Beast in but several powerful strokes, zipping from the shore to Ruta in a scant few seconds. When she was safely across, he returned and speedily brought Link to it as well in the same way. When both were aboard the platform, Sidon leapt out of the water with the grandest of finesse and joined them. After making sure they were set, they all walked inside of the Divine Beast together. The darkened, mostly sunless innards of the great mechanical creature was a scene that could be compared to few others. To walk about its spacious inside was like investigating a ruined, cave-like building filled with only the most advanced and confounding of Sheikah technology. Link still remembered well when he entered Vah Ruta last time, when it was full of life. He spent some time figuring out how to move about within it, slowly eradicating the corruption infesting its bowels until he destroyed the main source if its ailment and released the Divine Beast of Ganon's control. It was a short time's travel that transpired before the three made it into the main chamber of Vah Ruta. A mostly empty area with shin-high water flooded over the ground, the greatest thing of interest to be seen was the large construct at the other end with a controlling pedestal at its fore. Zelda hummed in vexation, seeing that it, too, was without power. "Well, here is the main console. And it appears to be as inactive as everything else. How utterly curious, wouldn't you both agree?" As he nodded his head in agreement, Sidon ran his hand over the smooth surface of the inactive machine-titan's stony carapace making up the nearby wall. "My sister's legacy is interwoven in many ways with this Divine Beast. Getting Ruta working again is perhaps my greatest desire in this peaceful time." A heavy sigh escaped him next as he looked back to his comrades. "As you both may have realized, this... means a lot to me." "It means a lot to us as well," Zelda spoke again in a reassuring manner, placing her hand upon the prince's arm in a comforting gesture. "Without the aid of your sister's spirit piloting Vah Ruta, we may never have succeeded in banishing Ganon away from this world. And with all she had accomplished even before that, before the Calamity, she was a paragon to your people." "As I, my father, and our kingdom know very well," Sidon agreed with a nod of his head. "You know, when we were informed by Link that you still lived upon his arrival to the Zora Domain a short time before we regained control of Vah Ruta, we thought briefly that she might have survived as well." Sidon's head sunk an inch, and his eyelids lowered with it, though his overall expression was still calm and even-leveled. "It's a true pity that it turned out to not be the case, but it warms my heart to know the wretched creature that caused her death met its demise at Link's blade." "And it was because of Mipha that I was able to do so, at this very spot," Link chose to speak, gaining his Zora friend's attention next. "Were it not for her words of warning, I may not have fared as well against Waterblight Ganon. And were it not for the blessing of her grace that she gave to me after I freed her spirit from the Waterblight's hold, I may not have been able to find as much fortune in my final encounter with the Calamity itself." The small beginnings of a grin started to form on Sidon's mouth as he heard Link, and soon it evolved into a full on, toothy smile. "Yes, I think so as well. For all that was her shy nature, my older sister had a heart and will that exceeded many of our own," he simply could not help but chuckle as his head lifted once more and hands briefly clenched into fists. "A Zora you might not be, Link. But I see much of who Mipha was within you. It's no small wonder why both of you were so close to one another." The Hylian looked away for a second and smiled at the image his memory provided of the time he shared with the Zora princess. As the tender and happy moment came to a close, Zelda looked directly at the pedestal once more. Wading through the water, she paced over to the ancient command console and looked at it up close. Like the rest of the great machine-creature, it was devoid of the light that signified its life. Pulling out her Sheikah Slate, she placed it upon its flat, eldritch surface and scanned it over, nothing happening all the while. "How very odd... What on earth is troubling you, Vah Ruta...?" she pondered to herself after a few seconds had transpired. Her Slate soon finished its work, or at the very least as best as it could manage, and she lifted the device to her eyes to look over what meager few results it was able to gather. After properly analyzing it for a good few minutes, the princess turned her head toward the watching Link and Sidon. "I... think I see what may be the issue," she said to the pair, moving their way. "If I'm not mistaken, Ruta is simply missing something. Something I have not yet discerned, but I can tell is extremely vital to its function." She lifted her Slate again upon reaching them and started looking over it again, hoping to pinpoint what it was that was lacking. "Now, to find out what it is and how to remedy it..." "Wondrous!" smirked Sidon upon hearing this, striking a flexing pose with one arm and giving his friends a sharp-toothed grin that glimmered with the sunlight shining in from openings in the upper part of the chamber. "Our first step! Our first stone to be added to the grand pathway of things!" "Indeed it is," Zelda smiled back, unable to help herself after bearing witness to his trademark enthusiasm. "And yet, I fear that this process may be a tad more complicated than it seems. But no matter, I'll uncover what afflicting Ruta soon enough, I just know it." "Ah, conviction. A healthy emotion to have for such a task as this!" once more exclaimed Sidon, striking another pose of a similar nature as the first one and gaining yet another amused set of grins from his compatriots. An Umbral TrespassThis was a poor day for the Yiga Clan. Mistress Bahna, the commander of the cabal who had long since settled in these alien lands in secret, moved through the cavernous and dank insides of the cave lining a mountain her troops found shelter within. Torches, hanging from holsters on the walls, lit her path through the otherwise darkness-infested environment. A Yiga as she was, unlike her clanmates' gear, she was covered in a set of armor bearing a solid-white coloration. Her mask was as red as the blood of her foes and the symbol of the eye it displayed was drawn in white as well. Bahna was alone in her journey, if only to dwell on her thoughts by herself. She walked deeper into the cavern's bowels, intent on checking over the most valued of prizes held within its depths. Prizes that possessed the utmost importance to her magnificent design. Until that Zora had appeared and shaken everything up, her plan, the scheme she had spent over forty years plotting out and perfecting, had been going on with unparalleled smoothness. But in one fell swoop, it all had become threatened. All those years of hard work... all those arduously long decades of readying herself for the moment of glory fate surely held for her was now on the line, but she grasped that line firmly. It was all spent for a contingency plan many of her peers, including her own father, Kohga, had called utterly unnecessary and illogical. And yet, as some certain current events could attest to, such an assumption was not to be the case. Her thoughts coming to a close, Bahna finally approached her destination, marked by a rectangular passageway just wide enough for at least two shapes to fit through. She entered it, coming into a wide chamber. The mistress of the Yiga inhaled a deep, silent breath and gazed upon what laid before her covered eyes. The single greatest tools at her disposal, both resting safely there in the lightless environment. On a pedestal right in the direct center of the chamber was a sphere, small enough to be able to be held in but a single hand. As seen by the patterns and glyphs wrapping around it, it was a piece of ancient Sheikah technology, but nothing more than a prototype born from the genius minds of her ancestors, from what little insight Bahna had gained from it in her studies. It was a relic of incalculable, mystic power forged from materials few could ever acquire, let alone encounter in their lifetimes. It was what she based her entire, elaborate plan upon. Too late did she find out that in the process of activating and deactivating it in the way she wished, she had unintentionally pried into other realms and pulled out their inhabitants. Whoever it may have been, they were here in this world as well, and that was, at times... troublesome. And this puny relic of incalculable potential was not the only object of interest here. Back against the wall and resting upon a specialized copper holder protruding from it, as Bahna now observed as she peered its way, was an amulet. It was a queer trinket of fair size, just large enough to fit into the entirety of one's hand. Its design was a grim thing, resembling that of a bird's skull set in a twisted demonic leer. A dull, sickly green glow emitted from it perpetually, giving too an aura of unkempt, nameless malice. Outlined by dark and jagged metals, a multitude of strange and alien signs and shapes permeated around it. Runic in design, to look upon them too long inevitably incited a terrible soreness of the eyes. This object was the first unintentional passenger of the orb, from all the way back when the Yiga first used the Precious Sphere to travel to this alternate dimension. Realizing how immense its incalculable, and all too obviously cursed power was from sensation alone, they were quick to take it and bind it, never laying even a single hand on it as they did so for fear of prying into the corrupted thing's true nature. Whatever manner of item it truly was, whatever sort of insidious influence dwelt within it, the ugly amulet was currently imprisoned like some spurned piece of jewelry against that wall, upon the hooks of its holder. Its minuscule shackles were more than enough to keep an accident from freeing it. Should this tool somehow be removed from its bonds by the hands of another, however, even for the slightest fraction of a second, Bahna had the strange feeling that no one, in this world or even the next, would know just what sort of havoc could be wrought by its use. Be that as it may, this thing getting loose was the last thing she thought would be possible. Even now, the talisman's very power was being harmlessly siphoned off into the sphere; its use imperative to its continued and safe function. Not only could it transport live beings, with the otherworldly energy provided by the mystic object instead of Sheikah magics, it could capture the essence of spirits who had passed and remained in the vicinity of its aim and somehow revive them through a process still not fully understood. The real trick—the trick Bahna had been attempting to master since the capture of this tool—was how to direct this latter function for one specific moment. And for the most part, it worked in all the ways she wanted. As for the unwanted arrival of the Zora, however... Alas, such was the instability of the Sphere. It was a relic. A treasure, but a prototype nonetheless. One that never found refinement, for the Sheikah who had built it to begin with ended their project upon the clearly unwise decision to follow more humble lives and cast it away, along with most of their research. And while Bahna had spent most of her lifetime so far learning from it and them, there was still so much more to discover in its usage. So unimaginably much. After staring at her prizes for a few minutes, silence surrounding her as peered their way from behind her mask, the Yiga leader made her leave. Departing from the chamber and making for the pathway back to the entrance of the cave, where her allies had set up a portion of their base of operations, Bahna walked into the upper levels of this cavernous domain. As she moved her pace began to slow, not from tire, but from active thought. The mounting pressure of it all made Bahna feel a twinge of frustration course through her mind, and when she finally became overcome by her tidal wave of ideas, she stopped in her tracks and sat down upon a nearby rock protruding from the floor. With a raised hand she pulled her mask off, revealing her pale face. She was quite the odd-looking Sheikah. Her skin was as pallid to the point of being nearly colorless, like that of the ghosts told in bedtime tales. Her eyes, currently glued to the floor, were highlighted by a pinkish texture, and the irises at their center were as red as the blood flowing through her veins. Behind her hood was short white hair, and underneath all her gear was a body of near-supernatural thinness. It had been in such a frail, unpigmented condition since the day she was born. If one were to get past how skeletal her outward appearance was, one might see how young she looked as well. In spite of how old she truly was, due to her Sheikah heritage—and also in no small part due to the usage of Sheikah magics—she was still young, albeit sickly and ever-weary. For most of her life she was just that; sickly. Weak. Unimpressive. For all her physical faults, she hated being thought of as nothing more than a delicate thing not meant for anything major. Through the most rigid of determination and ruthless of ambition did she get to where she was today. And that same determination and ambition was what led her to formulating her own group of loyal followers and leaving her home realm for this one. All the Yiga to serve under her command were proud warriors who shared her vision. And with their aid, it would come to pass. Ever since she used the Sacred Orb to spy into Hyrule and witness Ganon's demise at the sword and bow of a fearless, wretched warrior, her plan, once thought foolish and mad, was now put into full effect. Yet that Zora, wherever she now dwelt, had become something of a hazard. A threat with the potential to bring ruin to it all with the knowledge she kept. But she would overcome such a minuscule setback. One flaw in the grand design hardly meant the complete destruction of it. And by her ancestors, she would claim a final victory over- "Mistress Bahna, are you well?" suddenly came a polite voice. "Oh?" Bahna sighed in faint surprise as she was torn from her thoughts. She turned her head upward and spied the tall shape she recognized at once as belonging to her top captain and husband, Garo. His gear matched most of the warriors under their command, but there were enough markings upon it to distinguish him from the others. His arms were kept folded behind his back, and his posture was ever-alert. Turning her head to the floor again, Bahna slowly nodded and said, "Yes, I am quite well." "Your tone betrays you," he rebutted, his tone playful, but still bearing traces of genuine worry. "Hrm. It's merely my mind dwelling upon the news I've received," she mumbled. "And you know what it means as well. We must pick up the pace. Tell our engineers and architects to double their efforts of finishing our work, but also tell them to be fair in their methods." "And I shall. Anything else?" Garo inquired next. Now facing him, Bahna thought on this with a hum, biting her lower lip before reaching for the mask by her side and placing it back over her pastel face. Garo offered a hand her way and she accepted it into hers, quickly getting back to her feet. "Yes," she responded, keeping her view on him and looking up to his taller shape, smiling from behind her concealing piece of facewear. "Send our best agent to the pony city. Tell him to bring this Zora back to us, dead or alive. We must silence her. Even with how little she surely knows about us, we cannot risk having her aid the ponies in uncovering our hideout. For years they've known nothing. We must keep them in he dark for as long as possible." "Of course, mistress," Garo nodded, the grin behind his own mask large and most delighted. "I'm sure this will do well to facilitate our current plight. Your judgement always proves to be so very wise, after all..." "Flatterer," she chuckled lightly, brushing past him with an affectionate bump to the shoulder. For a few seconds Garo watched his beloved wife saunter her way further down the tunnel before going off himself and joining her on the path leading outside of the cavern. Their conversation was at an end. As far as they could perceive, it was one kept between them, and them only. But unbeknownst to either one, someone else also heard in on it. From back in the tomb-esque chamber, the fell amulet that rested in its back, fueling the Sphere, had heard all. Though without ears, it had listened to the echoing sounds outside well. Intrigued by what it had just learned, the etched visage of facial bone in its center lit up a slightly brighter shade of green in a fashion reminiscent of excitement, if only briefly before dying down again. Long enough it had been trapped here. Long enough to drive a mortal mind to helpless insanity. Long enough to find nothing but blank boredom in its surroundings. It wasn't the first time it was imprisoned like this, and would not be the last. But still its sharpened, inhuman hearing worked, enough to catch the conversation going on from far away. All it caught was but the faintest of echoes from their direction. An echo detailing a creature that formulated an image sitting within its sentient, sapient mind. And that was all it needed. Mipha felt rather drained as the day drew to a close. For most of it, she had talked with and explained her situation to the ponies of Canterlot. They heard her out and voiced possible solutions to both her and their problems, more than she could count. Overall, things went... actually pretty well. For the shy Mipha, her trust in these intelligent equines was gained by the time the sun was lowered and the moon was raised. All the ponies she had been introduced to, from the friends of Fluttershy, to the princesses, to every single servant she had the pleasure of meeting within this castle, had treated her with only kindness and respect. And also with questions, were she to count the constant, innocent probing of the one known as Twilight Sparkle. While Mipha still kept her jewelry, her original, ruined outfit was voluntarily taken by the ponies to be repaired to its proper form. For now she had been given another piece to wear, and it provided much-needed comfort for her. It was a long, flowing white dress, made for ponies but tweaked in function and form a small ways to fit her better by the pony she now knew as 'Rarity'. A highly talented and creative tailor was what the Zora saw her as, and it came as no surprise to her when Rarity stated that it was not only her favored passion, but that she also owned a boutique here in Canterlot. With night having descended, Mipha politely excused herself for the day. Without so much as her having to ask first, the two princesses who ruled over Canterlot had offered her a room to sleep in. The servant who now led her to it in the eastern section of the castle was a mare of light gray fur and pristine ware. It was a short upstairs journey before they reached a wooden door, and the mare pushed it open, revealing a pleasant, medium-sized abode. One of the more visual aspects it had was a big, but currently closed window in the back, beside a large bed. "The princesses have taken extensive care with their magic to make sure you will feel comfortable during your stay," the pony beside Mipha said as she stared, her tone light and respectful. "Some maids have added their touch to the room as well, but with more... natural accommodations. And even should something not be to your liking, or if you require anything, just pull that string on the wall to ring a bell. A servant will come and tend to whatever need you have, Princess Mipha." Mipha turned her head to what the pony spoke of and spotted a small wooden handle by the bed, which in turn was attached to a string extending from its base. "Thank you," she said, her head bowing a small ways in gratitude as she refocused on the mare. "You are most welcome. May you sleep well, princess," the servant bid, bowing her head and smiling. Turning about, she left the room so her treasured guest could get some shuteye at last, closing the door behind her as she departed. When Mipha found herself alone, the first thing she did was inspect the place more thoroughly; deciding to check out what sort of architecture these sapient equines found favor in. When she eventually reached the window, she pushed it open, allowing a strong breeze to enter. The window itself gave off quite the view, and not just of the city. The sky was dark and cloudless, leaving the stars to shine down alongside the moon without any sort of obstruction. Beautiful as they was, these stars were unfamiliar to her. The many constellations she knew by heart and once spent many a night staring up at from a river, bed of grass, or other such location near her home in Hyrule... none bore even the slightest similarity. As much as she wanted to try and make new sense of the entire thing as she had done since first arriving to this world and realizing her terrible predicament, her gazing eventually ended. Yawning, she slipped quietly into the covers, and no sooner had she done so when she noticed something fairly surprising. They felt... wet. Cool. Not like someone had dabbed them in a bucket of water and then laid them so, but bore the likes of the gentle current of a flowing river. It was nearly like she was in one back in the Zora's Domain. Whatever sort of spell, charm or enchantment they were given, they did their job to soothe her well. A few, long minutes went by, and by their end she had fallen asleep. Mipha's eyes seemed to open to pure blackness. An empty, blackened void, and like a leaf in a stray autumn wind, she drifted loosely about in it. Everything around her was still. She had memory of death's cold, uncaring embrace all those years ago, and if she were to compare it to anything, that would be it. Before she found her spirit imprisoned within the Divine Beast she was supposed to pilot against the Calamity, she sensed dark nothingness awaiting her like a lifted veil. But unlike before, she was not alone here in this cold realm betwixt worlds. Her head lifting, she detected a presence standing before her shape, as though there were a floor to hold it. It was an upright, gaunt, alien being, hunched over, thin and gangly and admittedly wretched. It was evidently malnourished from something, or at the very least twisted into this form by some outside force. A host of bony arms, three feathered pairs of them at least, were clutching around its own body. Its upper face seemed concealed by living shadow, while the mouth, a great black beak, protruded from the inky murk. Though as dark as pitch from the distance it stood from her, it stuck out neatly from the environment by the faint aura of sickly green that outlined it. As Mipha could only watch, unable to even blink, the figure simply stood there. Still as a statue, its audibly ragged breathing gave off the life it had. Suddenly, it began to hobble her way in a weak, limping motion. More wheezing breaths exhaled from its beaked maw, misshapen and chipped, like some diseased raven's. It was all Mipha could hope to discern of the being as it emerged further and further from the shadows. Despite her near-instinctual desire to go and help this feeble being, no matter its perturbing visage, Mipha could not move. It was almost as though she were paralyzed and floating helpless within the void that was their surroundings. Its pace quickening, the multi-armed thing crept up to her in a rather insidious approach. Mipha's body still refused to obey her. Feelings to aid the being quickly turned to fear as it grew closer, the strained breaths becoming more like a weak, croaking growl than anything else. Now less than a foot from her, its hideous avian mouth opened. A strong, repugnant scent, a scent of both fresh and old blood, a reeking smell of something spoiled, something rotten, filled her nose. Her body convulsed, attempting to gag, yet unable to. And yet this creature still could move. It reached but one haggard, malformed claw out and grabbed at her neck, restricting her air flow enough to force a gasp from her lips. With a single, strong pull it dragged her head down to its level, directly beside its waiting maw, so foul and loathsome. And, with but nine words delivered in an ancient voice that was as withered as a drought on the hottest day in summer, and yet also as deep as a bottomless ocean with depths so far down that no light could reach it, it spoke into her ear. "Release me. Release me, as I have released you." In that one instant, this blackness-consumed reality dissipated. Everything—the void, the figure, and even her sensation of helpless paralysis—faded away like dust in the wind. Then, at last, Mipha awoke. The moment Mipha's eyes flashed open, she detected a large form looming over her own. A shout of panic was about to leave her mouth, when the feeling of a cool hoof was brought to it before she could utter a single sound. "Shh! Shh..." it hushed, its familiar tone turning soft. Her eyes quickly adjusting, Mipha saw, with relief, that it was just Princess Luna. The alicorn quickly retracted her hoof when she saw calmness enter the Zora's amber eyes. Mipha sat up, rubbing her weary face until her view was no longer hazy. "Luna..." she sighed, catching her breath. "It's only you. I just... experienced the most perplexing dream..." "What you just experienced was no dream," Luna weightily spoke to the Zora. "That was a premonition. And not a natural one, either." "Premonition? Natural?" Mipha questioned back, her tone still nebulous with tire. Placing a hand to her head and shaking away the last of her sleepiness, she looked to the alicorn in a most concerned way. "Does your kind by chance experience them frequently?" "My sister has undergone a few in the long time that I have known her," she responded. "But what you went through... this is very disturbing. But you should not trouble yourself over it, Mipha. Whoever gave you this... I will personally discover." "Do you think it has something to do with what has happened to me and the missing ponies?" the Zora questioned next "I feel it does." Luna confirmed. Her horn lighting up in a dim glow, she waited for Mipha to lay back down and gently pulled her covers back over her. "Go back to sleep, young Mipha. I will see to it that the rest of your night will be filled with more pleasant thoughts." Casting a small spell to lull her back to sleep, Mipha soon fell into a resting position and was soundly doing so once more. Her job here done for now, but with yet another queer mystery in dire need of illumination, the alicorn took one last look at the Zora before leaving her be to tend to the rest of her nightly duties. The Zora PrinceWhatever had caused it, there was an air of blatant caution assailing Prince Sidon's senses, heightening them for however brief it would turn out to be, or so he chose to think. He was in a place he had been before, many times in fact, but he was sensing more of its attributes than he ever remembered. The location, a wide corridor he had been trekking down for but three long minutes, was not as lengthy as it seemed, but it was dark and winding and lonely. Somewhere, echoing all around him, a droplet of water sonorously plinked. He knew there was something provoking him at least. Excitement, most likely. Being truthful to himself, Sidon could scarcely wait to again visit Vah Ruta. Upon the arrival of Link and Zelda the day prior, he felt assured that the answers behind this entire mystery would quickly reveal themselves. Even after the first day's conclusion, with nothing of major importance having yet been discovered, his hope did not waver. Zelda had proposed numerous promising theories she wished to test out come today. For the night the two Hylians had reclined within the walls of the kingdom. As morning opened they quickly roused themselves from their peaceful slumber and readied themselves for the continuing investigation. Now, all was nearly set for the coming trials that were promised. Sidon was to meet them at the entrance of the city come noon, but there were other matters he needed to tend to before the moment arrived. One of those matters was why he was here. He was sauntering now through a complex hosting training chambers, ones utilized by the Zora knighthood. Here was where they, and their initiates or hopefuls, refined their skill in battle and defense. Though time was of the essence for Sidon and the chambers were many, it was a brief journey that permitted him to keep his cool, helped by the convenient layout of the structure. Itself being a corridor spiraling downward into the deep waters below the city, the main passageway graced each chamber evenly. Here he had apparently urgent business to attend to, as disclosed from a message sent to him by a close friend earlier in the morning. Sidon glanced into every chamber he passed, currently treading from the fourth of the several that were installed in the structure. Each was a great wide cosm all its own, some filled with contraptions purposed to train specific aspects of combat and defense, others without anything to be noted. Not a soul inhabited any thus far, all of their normal occupants most likely patrolling the city or borders of the domain after the troubling reports of a great massing of dark creatures loyal to the passed Calamity came the night prior. The most sharp-eyed of sentinels stated that the many beast-creatures were closing in on the position of the inert Divine Beast Vah Ruta, as though drawn to it. Grim news, but somehow unsurprising, thought Sidon. For all it's features, the apparent emptiness of the complex was its most noticeable attribute at the moment. If anything Sidon appreciated it, in a way. Treading through the depths of this twisting pathway gave him time to think about what this day might hold. His ready mind strayed far, inevitably falling back to his concerns toward the current condition of Vah Ruta. Other than the dubious shadow surrounding the mystery itself, Sidon did not have any doubts about his allies' capability in solving this conundrum. With Princess Zelda's knowledge of the great constructs, and Link's blade to keep back potential foes, he knew they would figure out what ailed the divine beast. Happy with that, he was just sending his thoughts away from that image and to the second visitation he planned, when he heard something up ahead of himself. "That's it, that's it! Good! Yes, yes, perfect!" Sidon stopped, his head leaning forward. He listened well to the sounds of praise from just up ahead, smiling when he recognized the throaty voice. It was, without a doubt, the voice of Seggin. There was a stunning rarity of anyone in the kingdom who didn't know of him. Having earned himself a fierce reputation back in the days of his prime, Seggin was the Zoras' own, great 'Demon Sergeant'. Those days having long since passed, the old knight's hoarse tone was as aged and wispy in sound as he was in shape. That was not at all to say he had lost his touch in forging other, younger Zora warriors into model knights. Sidon stifled a hearty laugh, resuming his journey with the image of sneaking up on him in what seemed to be the middle of a drilling session popping into his head. As per his summons, Seggin was just the Zora he was looking for. The messenger stated that he sought Sidon's presence down here before his departure, as he had someone he personally wanted to accompany the prince while he went off with his Hylian allies. While the thought of having a bodyguard seemed somewhat superfluous, given he had the likes of the champion Link to ward off what few malevolent creatures might disturb their investigation, Seggin made special note of how this particular individual was not simply qualified, but thirsting to perform so important a duty. As to who this individual was, Sidon did not yet know, though he did have a modest suspicion. Soon Sidon was closing the paltry distance between the location and himself when Seggin's voice went out again, close enough now that he could have heard him whisper if that was the tone he chose. While it was low, and dare he say amiable, it was no whisper, but a firm order. "Now, for something I've seen you struggle with in the past: the Sepredian Lunge. You know how it goes, Scuta; try to disarm and fell your foe in one leap. Do it in exactly four blows, perform them all before you again touch ground. Remember, even in the air, make sure to keep your posture completely unbreakable in light of every- yes! Yes, excellent! It seems you truly have mastered the technique." Treading softly now, the Zora prince rounded the corner to come upon the tall doorless entrance of the final training chamber. Truly a vast thing, it was a wide and circular area with a high ceiling. As spoken of in hushed tones by some of his friends in the guard, this room was often blanketed in near-total darkness so that aspiring knights could learn to learn to properly fight even in the murkiest of waters or the blackest of nights. As of now there was actually some illumination to go by, provided by the single bioluminescent chandelier above. The pale blue textures of the light were crudely dim, but just bright enough to reveal the features of the room and all who were in it wholly. By this light, Sidon spotted Seggin first, standing but four paces from him. His shape was gaunt and haggard and ancient. Scars were etched all over his bony frame like grim tattoos, all honest trophies taken from fights and battles long since fought and endured in the name of his king and kingdom. His arms were folded behind his wiry back, one finger tapping rhythmically upon the wrist of the joined hand. He had yet to notice his prince, as his gaze was held strictly forward, to his student. Who he had been drilling this whole time, the only other living being in this rough place, stood twelve meters away. It was an armored, female shape. It was his niece, Scuta. With the exception of Seggin's son, the adroit and capable captain of the guard Bazz, Sidon did not see much of the Demon Sargent's kin. They were few in number and resided in the territories outside of the kingdom, but he still recognized this one from memory. A mature Zora of an exceptionally firm build, Scuta's form was queerly short, but sinewy with lithe muscle built from years of training and firsthand combat. The sturdy armor she wore covered only her waist and legs, expressing a smooth sapphire gleam outlined by ruby-studded silver. Her rough skin was tinted pallid azure, her underbelly lighter in color only by virtue of being colorless. Her crooked teeth glittered pearly and sharp even in the modest light of the room. And then there was the scar that distinguished her most amongst her fellow Zora — a long, white, diagonal streak of maimed flesh starting at the rightmost base of her chin, running over her mouth until halting just under her left eye's lid. Her stance was currently bent and compact. Save a wide and ready grin, every fabric of her visage was emotionless, unreadable, yet still full of a vivid life. Evidently from the tattered remnants of her past "opponents", she had been practicing her current technique against a series of training dummies. Molded of wood and a series of knitted sacks filled with straw and grass, her latest foe, standing several feet from her now, bore the porcine likeness of a savage moblin. Scuta looked it down with wide, glassy red eyes, seeking only the key points of its tall shape she could exploit. A trident rested at the ready in one off and eager hand. Its design was a spiraling silver paragon of Zora art, its forging indubitably of master quality. Three points made its end, each long and barbed and sharp. Silence rang supreme throughout the chamber for almost a minute. Seggin gave a single nod of his head, and Scuta killed the quiet with a sudden spring of lighting-quick motion that very nearly made Sidon blink. She hissed and lunged, making it within fighting distance in a single bound, opening with a flurry of stabs from the trident that targeted the hands of the dummy. Swiftly knocking loose the makeshift club the dummy possessed, she disarmed her opponent. Her movements evolved into a wild but elegant series of twists and twirling of the trident, concluding with a sudden low sweeping blow of the weapon that opened up the sack-skin legs just above the feet. Damp grass and straw spilled over the wet floor in two small piles. With her enemy rendered helpless by the assault, had it been a living creature of flesh and blood anyway, she closed in for the kill, starting with another intricate display of her physical capabilities. Sidon's brow raised. With immense determination lining every dexterous stroke, vault and kick, Scuta's form was of nearly unrivaled quality. Honing her skills to perfection under her famed uncle's tutelage, there were few, if any Zora of any age or rank today who could compare to her capability. Whatever Seggin had been teaching her, the efforts put into the training had clearly born fruit. Whatever the moment shared currently between the two was, Scuta's attention also proved the first to fall to him. Her eyes locked on Sidon the second they chanced a glimpse his way, catching his shape from the corner of her vision. The moment her head turned to fully view the prince, Scuta's posture lowered. Her head tilted and she blinked but once. "Uncle," she calmly said before Seggin could ask why she had halted, "It seems we have company." "Is there now?" Seggin's old wrinkled cranium shifted in direction until it spied the shape of the one she spoke of. "Ah, Prince Sidon! I had no idea you were there. I'm glad you came here before your departure." "How could I not? In the infrequent moments where you seek my presence personally, I tend to suspect an invaluable reasoning behind it." Sidon's arms folded and he turned a welcoming grin to Seggin's niece. "And it seems my suspicions were again founded. It's a pleasure to meet you again, Scuta," he greeted, giving his regal head a light, respectful nod to her. "The pleasure is all mine, my prince," she responded back with a close-eyed bow of her own. When she lifted her face to meet his again, there was an immense, proud smile adorning her rugged face. "And I would like to apologize for thrusting this proposition upon you on such short notice. My uncle thought there might be a chance you would accept me into your company, to make sure that you suffer no ill inconveniences while investigating our Divine Beast's malfunction this day. Will you have me join you as your personal enforcer?" "The apology is unnecessary, my friend. It would be my honor to have a Zora of your disposition at my side." With his response came a great grin that mirrored her own. "Though I know not yet what you may have to enforce on my part." "Oh, there are numerous creatures of malevolent intent one could happen by, my prince," she cheerily mentioned. "Bokoblins, moblins, lizalfos... The sentries have stated numerous creatures of ill intent have steadily progressed toward Vah Ruta's location. If it was enough to prompt the guard to hold back any citizens from approaching our divine beast, then as my reasoning goes..." As her hand waved about for emphasis on the very real encroaching threat, Sidon tittered gently, amused. "And you think I could not handle such beasts as those?" Scuta's smile flickered for a moment. "No, I believe you could, my prince," she reaffirmed her future liege. Her gaze fell away for a moment before returning. "It's just that... one can never tell what manner of monster might show themselves at this delicate moment. I would be remiss to allow any sort of harm, potential or otherwise, to have so much as a chance to come to you." As if sensing the fragments of perturbation in her words, Sidon let ease flow through his tone when next he spoke. "Don't worry about those trivial thoughts. Should any such beast approach me, I have little doubt the two of us could not handle them. The only thing I would worry about if I was you is your preparations for our departure. I was planning on meeting my friends in a very short time, you see..." A glint of excitement entered Scuta's eyes, but that was all the hint of it she displayed. "How soon will we be leaving?" "Within the next half hour, of course." "Then I shall be ready by then! If you'll allow me a few moments to gather myself, my prince..." With two bows, one to Sidon and one to Seggin respectively, Scuta quickly scuttled past the two and left the chamber. When she had exited through where Sidon entered and left their sight, the Zora prince looked to Seggin, who still had his old eyes set on where he last saw his neice. "She indeed has quite a thirst to prove herself," Sidon said with admiration fresh and ripe in his voice. He gently nudged the older Zora's shoulder. "And I've spied her flaunting her moves under your tutelage many times before. They are impressive." "Hmf. Much of it she learned by living on the frontier settlements, you know. I only showed her some of my personal techniques, ones I myself cannot replicate any longer. Regardless, for her prince, such approval is the highest honor she could hope to attain as of now. Gods below know she already has mine." Seggin coughed into his curled and wrinkled fist and fixed his gaunt form into as much an upright shape as he could muster. "That thirst, however, worries me, my prince. While my son Bazz overcame his a long time ago, Scuta has not fully done so herself. For my efforts to temper my neice's yearning for glory, so far I've had only some success." He briefly rocked his crown left and right no sooner had he voiced that speck of doubt. "But, I have faith that she will pull through, should the circumstance call for it. If there's anything I've disciplined her in more than combat, it's to value duty over desire. Proper restraint, and all that." "Of that, I believe we can agree. And worry you should not." A toothy smirk came over Sidon's mouth as he looked down at the Demon Sergeant. "We are merely attempting to solve the mystery behind Vah Ruta's deactivation. We'll have to deal with minor encampments of beasts at most. We're not hunting for hinox." "And even in the case a hinox should somehow come into the picture, she knows well on how to deal with one," Seggin informed his prince with a throaty chuckle. He lifted a finger and waved it about, his memory ever keen to recite his well-honed words of wisdom. "'Keep away from it for a fair distance while it attacks, go for the eye with a ranged weapon, attack its most vital points with the trident when it's attempting to recuperate, rinse and repeat'. And that is but one of several methods she knows." Sidon scarcely doubted the efficiency of the lent morsel of knowledge. With a raised arm and without words he beckoned his elder friend to follow him. Returning off a close-eyed shrug, Seggin happily agreed. Walking at a pace that was comfortable for the old sergeant, Sidon and Seggin sauntered out of the chamber, through the winding pathway that took them out of the training complex and into the expanse of the Zora city. They walked on, through small crowds and marketplaces, across great bridges and platforms lined with luminescent lights, and past many a vast spiraling piece of architecture etched with symbols of historical significance their artisans had erected in years long since gone by. The prince and sergeant's journey concluded only as they drew into the great city's heart, whereupon they came to a spot both often visited by both of them. Here, tall and proud and sculpted after the appearance of their late, beloved princess, was a great statue of Sidon's sister, Mipha. It may have been over one-hundred years since the day, but Mipha's sacrifice was still a subject not spoken of lightly. Her death hit the Zora in ways none alive at the time could have ever thought feasible. She was a kind, gentle soul, and also a warrior without peer, whose recorded feats provoked awe from even the current generation. What little hope some of them held onto of her potential survival was a small candle against an encroaching wave. It was finally snuffed out when the truth of her ultimate fate came to their ears by way of Link in his journey to purge the corruption enthralling the four divine beasts and end the Great Calamity. Terrible as the truth was, this knowledge brought with it a melancholy peace of mind. Even when the dreaded news regarding her demise came to them, the Zoras' hope in light of what their Lady had stood for remained steadfast. Even in death she instilled hope and compassion into the souls of all who would hear her tale, immortalized now in this stone form by only the greatest of Zora craftsmen. Seggin sighed as his old eyes came upon it. Every time he saw it, Sidon sensed him thinking to better days, and all the bitter regret that came with it when his view focused back to the present. Memories surely flooded through his mind like reopened wounds, filling it with a numb pain he had gotten quite used to in this day and age. Be that as it was, Sidon knew the torment still constantly assaulted him without restraint. "You taught Mipha everything she knew." The prince turned to his trusted ally, his voice evidently picking Seggin up out of the thick of his thoughts. "Tell me; do you see any traces of the Zora my sister was within Scuta?" "Your... sister? No. No, no, no..." Seggin quickly shook his aged head several times. A small frown appeared on his wrinkled mouth and his expression hardened. Inhaling slowly, he looked up at the statue, allowing it to again remind him of the time in his younger life when he trained his Lady in all the ways of combat and defense he knew. His old glare hardened for a brief second, but quickly mollified. "I would be lying if I said I chose to train my niece to perhaps relive that feeling, and I will say that she shows as much skill with the trident as Lady Mipha. But Scuta has been living a life of her own. She is her own Zora. I've seen to it that that's who she remains as." Emitting a forlorn breath, the Demon Sergeant turned his view back onto Sidon. "If there's any bit of wisdom I've cared to collect during all the years my heart's been beating, it's that the past is something to be remembered, young master. To be looked back on, to be reflected upon, and to learn from. But never to be replicated, if for memory's sake alone. If one tries to do so, that memory, and all the splendor it posed, might be forever tarnished. However well replicated it may become, it quickly stagnates and it... sometimes hurts its creator more than any future injury could ever accomplish." "I believe that," Sidon nodded, after a moment. No matter the pain behind a lesson, he was ever appreciative of the teachings of someone his elder. In fact, the old sergeant's talk of memories provoked one of his own, one of his most treasured memories concerning his sister. It was well over a century ago now, back when he was but a child still wary to life's less simple things, but he still remembered Mipha clear as day. He remembered her kind voice, her calm smile, and her soft gold eyes. Above all, he remembered the responsibilities she entrusted to him in the chance that fate were to cruelly part them; words that would turn terribly prophetic. When Sidon exited the brief, bittersweet reverie, he placed an understanding hand on Seggin's easing shoulder. "Whatever should happen to us, come our mission's end, Scuta shall return here. I'll make sure no harm befalls her." Seggin rolled his old eyes and shook his dark wrinkled cranium again, though in a jesting manner this time. A dense chuckle accompanied the motion. "Oh, my prince, I believe that is her duty to you," he said, flashing him an amused grin made up of sharp, worn teeth that hadn't been shed for far too many years. "And don't you forget it. Why, I'd bet my left hand she could best you in an even duel, if given the chance. And that's assuming she finds the will to strike at her prince and future king..." Sidon laughed with his old friend, savoring the moment as best he could. Seggin was beaming his way soon after stopping. "Noon will soon be upon us, Sidon. I believe, as you said yourself, that your friends and allies are waiting for you outside of the kingdom," he advised. "I suggest you gather my niece and see to them at the time scheduled before they grow impatient for your radiant presence, my prince." "And I will, after I pay one more important individual a quick visit," Sidon said, with a pulsation of intimate warmth filling his heart and mind. Turning about, he started walking away from the Demon Sergeant, but kept an eye looking to him over his crimson shoulder. "Farewell, Knight Seggin. 'Til next our paths cross." "And farewell to you, Prince Sidon," Seggin bid from behind his prince. "Farewell, and good luck."
Prologue: DriftingCalamity Ganon had been defeated at last. Struck down by Link, the Hero of Hyrule and wielder of the evil-destroying Master Sword, his accursed presence had been wiped away from the world. The ancient Divine Beasts - four magnificent, magical constructs that this land's four champions piloted - had been cleansed of his foul presence and aided Link in his mission. And there he now stood, victorious and with the brave princess, Zelda, standing beside him. The two Hylians were currently walking away from the foot of the purified Hyrule Castle, watched unwittingly by five, noble spirits. The apparitions were of the four champions and the deceased king of Hyrule; each killed a century prior in Calamity Ganon's initial strike, yet still possessing enough life within their souls to guide the amnesia-ridden Link in the journey lasting from his recovery, to his confrontation with Ganon. One of them, a princess of the aquatic, fish-like Zora people, was named Mipha. She was a small individual of a shy personality in life, but was as brave and willful as any of them. Before Link and Zelda could become aware of who was watching over them, she and the others began departing at long last for whatever afterlife awaited them in a haze of greenish energy; their duties fulfilled and peace restored to the world they all adored and vowed to defend. Even as she felt her essence begin to weaken now that her purpose had been completed, the still-young Zora felt a twinge of heavy sadness at this fact, knowing that she had to leave behind so very much. Her father, King Dorephan, and her younger brother, Prince Sidon, mourned her death alongside their people with the utmost sadness. But still, with the memory of her sacrifice clinging to their minds, they all kept hope in their hearts. A glimmer of hope that in the end proved to be of fantastic and instrumental use in what would come to be the Calamity's downfall. As she vanished into the aetherium, Mipha allowed her very last thoughts to turn from her treasured family to Link. To the Hylian whom she loved more than life itself; enough to keep him safe in his gravest of times with her healing hands, now long behind both of them. He had fought Ganon and emerged the final victor, survived the ordeal, and now had the rest of his life to contemplate. It left a smile on Mipha's face, knowing that he would carry on and help rebuild that which was once thought lost forever in the hard-fought struggle. And it was a grand and happy smile that rolled over her small lips, replacing what little melancholia she had with enough contentment to last an entire lifetime. Mipha closed her eyes and held her head back. Sighing mirthfully, she could feel herself drifting blissfully away. Drifting away without a worry to plague her mind any longer, like a freed plank of wood floating down the soft current of a river. Drifting... Drifting... A gentle spring breeze drifted past the motionless form of Mipha, brushing over where she laid and rustling the nearby vegetation with a near-silent rattling of their leaves and branches. She could unconsciously sense its serene presence pass over her sleek, but rough and vividly red skin, and the fins that protruded from her head. Though light and soothing, it was still just enough to disturb the princess from her slumber, and soon the Zora's limbs became the first to animate and groggily shift in their positions; a weary groan escaping her mouth as she breathed in her first genuine lungful of air in over a century. Mipha inhaled and exhaled several more breaths of air before consciousness fully returned to her and her eyes opened. The first thing she realized upon this sudden moment of awareness was what sight showed down on her from up high. A blue sky, peppered with the occasional white cloud, loomed above her like a vast ocean. Instantly remembering how her last memory was... well, supposed to be her last memory, Mipha's hands clenched into anxious fists. Her fingers wrapping over what she detected was grass in the process, she sat up in a quick motion. She felt very much alive, but that fact failed to coincide with the distinct memory of her attempt to combat the twisted creation of Ganon; the same one that infected the Divine Beast Vah Ruta she piloted when he first returned to the world. In spite of her bravery, honed skill and effort, it overwhelmed her and proved to be her demise. No... no, she wasn't alive. She had been dead for one-hundred years! But... this wasn't the afterlife. Or was it? Those who lacked life also lacked a pulse, so she pressed a hand to her chest, if only to confirm her wild suspicions. Yes, she could feel her heart beating; quite rapidly right now with this swelling intake of incredulous information, in fact. Deciding to calm herself, so she could stew upon this perplexing revelation with a clearer mind, her breathing gradually slowed, as did her heart rate. Realizing that she was laying amidst a thick deciduous forest upon a firm inspection of her surroundings, Mipha stood up at a swift pace. Head spinning about, her amber eyes looked around and blinked twice, spotting a wide river with a slow and tranquil current a short distance from where she lay. The forest encompassing both sides of the river was vast and green, with only the silhouettes of birds twittering away in the treetops being the only other life there was to be witnessed. Where am I? Mipha thought to herself with nothing but worry and utter confusion running through her mind. She tried to think of how it was she was here - wherever here was. Fidgeting as her brain worked, she ran a hand past the blue scarf that rested over one shoulder and wrapped around her waist; the type of cloth that symbolized her role as a champion of Hyrule. Alas, nothing came to her head that could describe what she was experiencing now. A sudden bout of motion caught her view before she could decide on what action to perform next, and her head turned to it, spotting a creature in the treeline a short distance away. Seemingly undetected by it, the young Zora watched as it went about its business; doing said business with a wicker basket it carried in one of its legs. It was a small creature walking on four hoof-tipped legs, with a furry, light red hide and a long, curling, dark crimson mane running down from the back of its head and down its neck. As short as it was, it bore an immensely close resemblance to the horses and ponies that roamed Hyrule, but just by looking at its face, it also seemed to have a more... somewhat sentient aspect to it. She, as Mipha assumed based on its outward appearance, appeared to be plucking pale-brown mushrooms from the base of a tree with a hoof without a care in the world, dropping each one she collected into the nearby basket she allowed to lay there. The pony creature soon finished and lifted the filled basket up, preparing to walk away with what it had harvested. However, in the process of turning, the pony witnessed Mipha's crimson shape observing her from the corner of her eye and stopped to stare at what she now saw, nearly causing the unprepared Zora to stop breathing in surprise and fear. As she silently scolded herself for not hiding somewhere, the being just stared at her with what looked like an equally astonished expression. Her visage, unlike Mipha's, slowly turned from shocked to curious. "Um... hello, there?" the being greeted after nearly a minute of staring in an inquisitive, and clearly feminine voice. Mipha was far too speechless to respond; her expression blank and eyes wide. Sensing that it wouldn't gain a response, the creature went on. "I don't think I've seen anything like you before. Who're... you, if I might ask?" she asked in what sounded like a polite tone, taking a few steps forward on its hooved feet and getting that much closer to the skittish Zora. Mipha, grabbed in the clutches of cautious trepidation, looked from the equine being to the river for but a split second and then suddenly bolted for it with barely a warning to heed the action, breaking into a sprint. She fled to the bank of the river and dove into the clear water without so much as a splash; her small, red shape disappearing from sight as it swam off, just as the pony dropped her basket of mushrooms and speedily followed to the stream's edge to investigate what she had just witnessed. Reaching the riverside, the pony looked into it, spotting nothing but water. She stared for a minute longer, hoping to find the being again, but to no avail. It was slightly longer than a minute after that when she gave up and hummed in confusion. "What in Celestia's mane was that thing?" she asked herself in a small whisper. Seeing nothing left of interest, and betting that the strange creature she witnessed would not return, the pony slowly turned away from the bank and began making her way back to her basket over the short grass. With it back in her grasp after a few seconds' worth of a journey, and casting a final, but fruitless glance for the creature that had long since fled, the pony left the area to resume and eventually finish her duties.
Formulations and TribulationsWith the train station that had arrived here from far behind them now, the alicorn Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, walked through the city's main town in a leisurely stride with her colorful crew of close friends beside her; the unicorn Rarity, the earth ponies Pinkie Pie and Applejack, and the pegasi Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. With them were Twilight's young dragon assistant, Spike, and her student, the unicorn Starlight Glimmer; an individual gifted in magic, and once an antagonist of the group until Twilight showed her the true value of friendship. They had all been summoned here for one reason. It was detailed in a message Twilight Sparkle's former mentor, Princess Celestia, sent to her not one day ago via a scroll delivered by Spike's fire breath. The reason itself was incredibly dire, and with quick preparation, they made their way here to help out in any way they could. The entire city seemed to be beset by an atmosphere of eerie silence as they trotted through it. The few who wandered the streets that weren't patrolling guards eyed the eight with a mixture of inquisitiveness and hope, knowing who they were without need for reminder. The occasional pony to poke their heads from their windows showed off the same expressions, before hiding themselves indoors again. Growing close to the base of the main castle that the city was built around, several shapes came into view. Approaching them, the group could easily see that it was the tall figures of the Royal Sisters and rulers of Equestria, princesses Celestia and Luna, flanked by several earth pony and unicorn guards dressed in regal, gold armor; their groomed fur and trimmed tails dyed white and blue, respectively. "Greetings, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Twilight spoke; all eight of them bowing to the two in respect. "We have received your message, and so we've come to offer you any aid that we can give." "Greetings to you as well, Twilight Sparkle. I thank you all immensely for heeding our summons," Celestia greeted with a bow of her head in return; her tone unusually mirthless, which only served to tell Twilight just how grave of a situation this truly was. "Follow us, if you may. We have a most thought-provoking bit of information for your collective ears only." Getting to their legs, the group followed Celestia and Luna to the steps leading up to the castle's main entrance. "It's a good thing we came," Rarity said during the short journey. "Twenty ponies have gone missing without a trace in less than a month... it's disconcerting, to say in the least." "Twenty-one now, actually..." sighed one of the following guards. "A young pegasus who worked as an assistant to one of the bakers in town was declared missing just this morning. We may have instilled a curfew, but it's still happening. Somehow." "And remember," Celestia went on with a nod, "the wildlife in the forest surrounding Canterlot have been extremely aggressive as of late. It defies all explanation as to why the animals of our countryside have been so hostile and unafraid of the ponies who venture here on the normally safe pathways to and from Canterlot. We believe it has something to do with what is going on, however, we do not suspect them of being the cause of these disappearances." "Well, if there's anything I like as much as friendship and books, it's discovering logical conclusions to mysteries," Twilight confidently spoke to her former mentor as they came up to the main doorway of the castle, flashing a grin. "We're on the case, princess." It was here that Fluttershy spoke up from behind everyone in her soft voice, causing them all to stop and turn to her respectfully. "Twilight, if it's alright with you, I'd like to go out into the outer part of the woods and maybe find out what's been bugging the animals, if I can," she said. "I'm sure that if one of them tells or shows me something, I'll be able to find some sort of evidence to help set things right." The Princess of Friendship pondered on Fluttershy's proposal and goal for but a second before replying. "Alright, but you're not going alone," she said. "I'll accompany her," Applejack volunteered, stepping forward. "While y'all search up for clues here, Fluttershy and I will go into the forest and be back by sundown." She turned next to Fluttershy herself and situated the hat over her head into a more comfortable position. "Is that all right with you, Sugarcube?" "Yes, I'm fine with that," she responded with a smile. "Let's go now, while we have as much time as possible." "Alright then. To the forest we go," nodded the earth pony, already turning about and trotting back down the steps, followed swiftly by Fluttershy. They didn't get too far before Applejack briefly turned again to the friends she was departing from. "Good luck finding out what's going on around here, girls!" "Be safe!" Rarity called out as well, as they began to grow distant. "And be sure to watch out for strange creatures. Should you happen to encounter any, do not engage conversation with them. Come back to us right off and tell us!" Luna also spoke aloud, with enough significance in her tone to cause some of the ponies around her to look at her inquisitively. When the pair had gotten far enough away, the others all went inside of the castle, still thinking on the princess' words. Their journey through the hallowed halls that contained multiple stained glass windows, all depicting the deeds and feats of heroes and villains from Equestria's past and present, was a trip that felt much longer than it really was. It ended with them entering the main throne room. The area of the throne room that the princesses and their guards walked up to next was situated in the left corner, where a small round table was situated. Beside it, standing diligently, was a blue-furred servant pony with a small mustache on his face. He had what looked like a roll of paper in his held-up hoof. "We brought you all in here to discuss a matter that has yet to reach the ears of the people," Celestia began, her tone as serious as the expression of concern her sister and herself currently bore. "Just shy of thirty days ago, right before the first disappearance took place, one of the castle maids was wandering out in the forest picking wild mushrooms for the kitchen. As she was getting set to return, she spotted a peculiar creature that fled from her sight, and into the nearby river. The news we received of this odd being is why Luna warned Fluttershy and Applejack to be wary of strange beasts before they left." Luna continued on where her sister left off. "After we used a precise memory-illuminating spell on this servant, as per her own wishes, she managed to create a colored sketch of the creature in a nearly photographic sense." The Princess of the Night used her magic to lift it from the servant's hoof in a blue halo of magical energy and placed it on the table before them all. Twilight looked over the image, humming in interest. On the paper was what appeared to be an upright shape with a blue fabric wrapped around its shoulder and stomach, like a scarf or cloak in design. It possessed a reddish tint to most of its hairless body, save for its face, chest and underarms, which were instead of a more light and creamy color. With the basic shape of it, it looked fairly feminine, and this assumption was helped by the golden jewelry that was worn over her head, neck and waist. Also extending from the back of the being's head, similar in function to a pony's mane, was what seemed like the tail of a fish; with two fin-like protrusions falling from either side, above the being's cheeks. "This is... bizarre," Pinkie spoke first with a hoof rubbing rapidly over her chin, which was a feat in and of itself, considering the hyperactive pony's distant view of what the term 'bizarre' meant. "It's most definitely not a pony, it's not a changeling, and it doesn't appear to be a kelpie or any other creature we've seen before... Twilight, what do you think?" "I have no idea." The alicorn itched at her temple in vexation. "The overall shape it has reminds me of the time I've spent in the human world, but this still doesn't look like anything I've ever seen or heard of there. The closest thing I can imagine is a siren or a sea pony, since it has the appearance of a water-dwelling creature, but it still looks almost nothing like them either." "So, we've only got a picture of this being and nothing else," Starlight mumbled. "But it brings up a few new questions. Is this the thing potentially behind what's happening? And if so, why? Why would it be kidnapping ponies, and possibly causing the wildlife around it to be in such an uproar?" "That's what we're here to find out, Starlight," Rainbow Dash said to the unicorn, putting on a grin of confidence and determination from where her wings constantly carried her blue shape in the air. "Now, how about we figure out what to try and do. I'm thinking we set up a secret watch tonight, and see if someone, or something, is doing this when nopony's looking." "That sounds like a plan I'm willing to follow," Rarity agreed, followed swiftly by the equally-concurring nods of some of her friends. "Let's set up a watch, like Rainbow said, and maybe even a trap to go along with it..." If there truly was a wave of angered wildlife living within the forest, Fluttershy had yet to see it as she and Applejack entered a thicker portion of the woodland. Everything seemed quite calm and collected, not unlike the outskirts of the Everfree Forest back in Ponyville. The birds were singing about in the treetops, seemingly sending out their lovely songs with no worry in their high pitches. It was the very definition of tranquil. "Applejack, what do you think is happening here?" the pegasus eventually asked as they pressed further on. "About all the things going on?" "I don't honestly know, Fluttershy," sighed her earth pony friend. "But with all them disappearances, it's very troubling. Even the ponies living in Canterlot itself all look worried out of their minds. I only hope none of them missing ponies have gotten hurt." "Yeah, I really do, too. Personally, I agree with the princess when she said that the animals probably aren't behind- wait, do you hear that?" Applejack stopped alongside Fluttershy after the pegasus halted and put her ears to the air. "I don't hear anything," she said after a few seconds of listening. "That's exactly it..." Fluttershy gasped uneasily. The birds had all gone silent, and what few who still stayed around had taken to the sky without emitting a single tweet to herald their departure. The two ponies had not even a second to realize what such a sign meant before the sensation of harsh tremors began to take ahold of the ground they stood upon. It wasn't long after that when a trio of screeching roars sounded in their ears, somewhere behind them both. "What the-" Fluttershy yelped in an anxious sputter. A tall, mud-brown shape burst through the thick foliage there as though it was grass to a toad, and came into their full view; its five long, snake-like heads roaring in unison after spotting the ponies. "Hydra!" shouted Applejack. The monster, with only two legs as thick as tree trunks to walk on, lurched forward. With predatory intent shining in its individual eyes, the many-headed beast began to pursue when the ponies started running off. Applejack pulled off the bundle of rope she had wrapped around her body for just such a hostile encounter and swung it over her head as she ran with Fluttershy, tossing it at the beast after aiming it perfectly. The lasso wrapped itself around the hydra's right leg with honed accuracy on the earth pony's part, but was attached for less than a second as the hydra sent one of its heads down to effortlessly bite the rope in two with its envenomed fangs, causing the earth pony to drop it as her lost grip recoiled on her; sending her to the forest floor as well. Fluttershy, seeing Applejack in peril, ignored her gnawing fear, jumped into the air and flapped her wings up to the hydra's multiple heads, causing the beast to halt in its advance as her shape appeared in front of it. "We're not here to hurt you!" she spoke aloud with her hooves outstretched, though with enough sincerity to tell any living creature that her words were genuine. As if it was captivated by her voice, the hydra paused in its advance to look at her, and Fluttershy continued. "Mr. Hydra, my name is Fluttershy. I'm sorry we came into your woods, but we heard something bad might have been causing you and the other creatures here to get mad, and we're here to understand why, and to help you, if we can. I just want to know why you and all the other-" Fluttershy was unable to finish her sentence, as the head she was currently speaking to suddenly grew an expression of mindless rage and lunged forth without warning to snap at the pegasus; grabbing her body in its rancid, fang-filled maw before she had so much as a chance to cry out. Fluttershy managed to get out one pained squeak, and as soon as she did, the hydra violently threw her away. Descending to the ground, she impacted against the wooden surface of a fallen, hollowed-out log as Applejack could only look on in helpless horror from where she stood. Recovering in less than a second out of sheer terror for herself, Fluttershy witnessed the hydra thundering forth in her direction. Ignoring her injuries as her brain worked hastily to push the priority of self-preservation to maximum, she ran to one end of the tree trunk and crawled inside of it. Coming upon the log and bending over with a feral growl, the great beast's several heads tried to fit themselves inside of her hiding spot, though with little success. They snapped at the small yellow pegasus in their effort to grab her, but all their fangs ever scraped over was the thick, dark bark lining the trunk. Applejack was swiftly plotting a method she could use to help Fluttershy as she ran about, when her friend's voice spoke something from within the log. "Applejack, g-go get help!" she cried as the beast continued in vain to squeeze its tremendous form through the minuscule opening. "No way, no how!" the earth pony argued, completely against the idea of leaving her friend alone. She went for her rope and started to ready it for another lasso, but alas, found it to have been broken too short to be usable any longer. "Don't a-a-argue, just go!" the pegasus continued to yell with terror ripe within her heightened pitch as Applejack tried desperately to think of something else. "This thing can't get me while I'm in here! I-I-I'll be safe! Just go!" Applejack would have none of that. "Not on your life..." she growled, shifting her battered hat to a lower part of her face as a wave of adrenaline and thoughtless bravery rushed through her body. Running up to the base of the hydra without fear, Applejack spun about, tensed her muscles, and bucked it as hard as her tree-shaking legs could kick. "Hey, you! Ya ugly, overgrown horned-toad! I think you're missin' an even tastier morsel down here!" she shouted as she reeled back and did it again, pounding the full force of her hooves against the scaly flesh of the titanic being's left foot. Feeling the kicks in the way a bear feels the sting of a bee, the hydra pulled its heads out of the hole and stared downward at the pony with its multiple, malevolent gazes. First one, then two, then all of its mouths opened and unleashed piercing shrieks and roars, causing the minuscule-by-comparison earth pony to realize that now was the time to run. Turning around as the monster made its first step toward her, she ran off; successfully luring the hydra from Fluttershy. "Stay put and don't you worry none! I can escape it, Fluttershy!" Applejack hollered, her voice growing more distant as she was chased into the denser part of the forest by the hydra; the thunderous footsteps of the fiend growing weaker as its distance from where the pegasus in question currently hid was lengthened. "I'll be back with the others shortly, you'll see!" Now all alone, and feeling both fatigued by the experience, and hurt from the festering injuries she gained from the monstrous creature, Fluttershy decided not to move. For her, just being alone brought upon a new kind of fear entirely, but with a shivering body, she endured it with faith and hope to keep her company. And with the knowledge of just how much her dear friends cared for her, that was enough. From what she assumed was because of the tranquilizing venom lining the fangs of the hydra that now infected her bloodstream, she soon felt herself nodding off slowly, and very much reluctantly. But she did not worry, for she knew in her heart that Applejack would outwit and escape the hydra. She would go back to Canterlot to inform the others, and they would soon be here afterward. They would come for her. They would come for her... They would come...
A Most Intriguing DiscoveryMipha was at an impasse. For so long she had been here, in this uncharted land. It was rapidly changing from unfamiliar to familiar, and the ensuing thoughts that taunted her, saying that she would be trapped here in this place forever, worried her to no end. Though she was making plans to finally leave in search of any possible way to get back to the world she knew, she dared not venture far yet; fearing that she would only head off in the wrong direction, or else miss something important that might pass by. Till then, she hid out within a large, dark, dank and deep cave with a very high roof to it that laid protruding from the shoreline and into the wall of a small, green, rocky gorge the river ducked and flowed through. It wasn't a place of secrecy many would call ideal in terms of luxury, but it was more than ideal enough for her. This gorge, and this cave to be specific, was the perfect spot to set up her camp. It was beside a body of water, the river, which she could just dive into to escape a predator or other creature that had a chance to discover her. It provided ample shelter, should the elements prove to be unkind. With its sheer depth, it was even perfect to keep the smoke of a lit fire from escaping out in a cloud and reveal to anyone of where she was, as she had created now. In truth, she didn't even need the fire. Zora had long adapted to living in environments that were wet and cool, and fire was the last thing her kind would need for most circumstances, save for lighting up extremely dark environments, or a more mundane action, such as cooking. If anything, its warmth was a simple, soothing comfort she wanted to savor. Though a shy individual at heart, companionship was something she still craved, and this fire was the closest thing she could think of to substitute it with. Well, it was much better than the company that she did have, anyhow. Yes, there was another presence here with her; less than fifteen meters feet away from her and situated all the way in the back of the cave. Sitting upon a roughly-hewn 'throne' that had been crudely carved from the stone of the cavern's furthermost wall, a giant figure rested there, eternally unmoving. The only hint of life he possessed was the gnarled gasps of breath, as ragged in sound as he was in appearance, that he exhaled every few dozen seconds. Even then the sound was reminiscent of a passing wind that whistled from outside of the cavern's entrance, and as such, was easy to miss. Mipha stared at the armored creature through the flames that laid in front of her. In spite of his colossal height he was a being of lanky proportions, though that wasn't to say his long limbs weren't extraordinarily thick compared to the kinds possessed by most creatures. The exposed parts of his skin, which to say were his arms and small portions of his legs, were as wrinkled, shriveled and dark as the coals of the fire in front of her. With the fact that some of his upper body was also outlined by a dulled, glowing texture, giving it a close resemblance to a fading ember, it seemed to be as though his flesh truly was made up of the dying coals of a flame. His face was partially concealed in darkness provided by a hood of chain mail he had over his head, and atop that was what seemed like a jagged, spiky crown of sorts. Also in his possession, with its end laying unused between his sandal-clad feet, was a great machete with a cleaver-esque blade and a notch in its tip that was as long in its magnificent and curved length as he was tall. His hands clutched to the handle of it that rested, with a statue's stillness, in the air beside his bowed head. All he would ever do was sit there on his poorly-sculpted seat and do nothing. Not sleeping, not meditating - simply nothing. However, there was one time the Zora witnessed him perform one action. Murmuring with the all liveliness of something positively haggard dripping out of a coffin, from his scar-covered mouth came a deep and throaty voice that spoke of something in a dialect of yore; a sad musing about losing something he held most dear to something utterly cataclysmic in its magnitude. Mipha, with all that had happened, and her hope having taken a fair beating over the last, entire month, found herself empathizing with him greatly on such a subject of incredible loss. But, like a fleeting breeze, that was all he ever said. No sooner had he spoken, his speech ceased and he went right back to his uncaring silence. Sighing in tedium, Mipha picked up a thin stick from the kindling pile stationed behind her and prodded it at the logs of wood. She did this until one of the pieces lost its balance over the current one it was leaning upon and collapsed into the thick of the fire. Embers and ash shot up into the air from the force of its impact and shot away like fluttering bird attempting to escape, before inevitably fading away with the transparent cloud of smoke from the fire as they reached the roof of the cave; failing to drift outside and expose her hideout. Still the flames below them danced on. Mipha poked at it for a few more minutes until she could feel her stomach grow hungry. Getting to her webbed feet, she decided to walk over to the entrance. Reaching it after several steps and seeing that the night sky was out and the moon, a thin crescent in its shape, had risen to the middle of the star-covered sky, she decided now was safest time to go out and forage for food. After using enough thrown clumps of sand lining the floor of the cave to douse the fire in wet earth until she was sure no flame would further be spawned forth from it, she grabbed a makeshift spear she had carved from the branch of a tree several days prior, made her way back to the shoreline at the front of her hideaway, and dove into the river. With a pair of gills situated on the sides of her body, she breathed in the fresh water with a heavy heart, as just experiencing the cool sensation left the princess thinking of her home in Lanayru - specifically Zora's Domain. Swimming quickly, she moved against the current with ease and spotted a great many fish while she did so. It would be easy to catch one or two, but right now Mipha's appetite was not in the mood for the meat of fish. After taking a few chances to stealthily explore the area of forested land surrounding the river on nights not unlike this one, she remembered having located a spot rich with bushes containing a whole variety of berries. They heavily resembled the kind cultivated from the forests of Hyrule, and after witnessing birds readily devouring them without succumbing to any form of poison, she decided they were safe enough to harvest. She left the river after a short journey when she realized she had arrived at the proper location. As she silently moved through the woods she held the spear in her hands in a more relaxed grip. Despite her small size, seemingly meek disposition, and main talent being in the realm of healing, her spearmanship was second to none. She had been taught everything she knew from a member of the Zora Royal Guard, a fellow by the name of Seggin, who saw her talent for the craft blossom early on in her life and sought to refine it. As an expert in the field, Mipha once had a weapon of exquisite craftsmanship equal to her skill that was known as the Lightscale Trident, but upon her death, it was left in the care of her people. From what she last remembered witnessing before vanishing and ending up here, she thought she caught a brief glimpse of it on the person of her beloved Link, showing him as its new owner. Her thoughts still in the present, Mipha remained focused on her current objective. After a quiet venture spanning three minutes she reached the small patch containing the bushes, and on their thin, leafy branches sat clusters of berries. Mipha hurriedly set to grabbing as many as she could and stuffed them into a small pouch she had hanging from her hip; constructed by cutting out bits of the cloth she possessed that was slowly becoming more worn with use. It was a practical, and greatly more pragmatic use for it. She had grabbed no more than several plump, reddish berries from one of the bushes when a sound went out, a moan, causing her to stop and listen. It was a hurt moan, but not one that sounded like it belonged to a large creature, or a threatening one for that matter. It was light and came from somewhere nearby. Hesitant but curious, Mipha stopped collecting the berries and began to venture a little further through the wilderness with her spear at the ready. Passing through a final shrub, what the Zora princess came across next was a hollowed-out log laying on a flat area of the forest floor like a stone. It seemed empty to the unwary, but the sounds of pain were blatantly coming from inside of it, so Mipha crept to one end of it and peeked in. Within the log, as she could see with a loosened jaw, was a small figure. Right off, before even checking to see if it was alive or merely unconscious, Mipha noticed that this creature heavily resembled the one she saw a great many days previously. The only difference, it seemed, was the yellow color of its fur and pinkish mane, and that was all without counting the dried crimson color hanging over her wounds. Pierced into her yellow-furred flesh were three marks, surely provided by a great beast's fangs or claws. What told the Zora that she was alive, beside the occasional moan, was the fact that her chest shakily moved up and down with the air it was breathing, and its hoofed feet would sometimes twitch. Mipha felt conflicted about what to do with this poor creature. She had no idea what they truly were or what their natures were like. Appearances could be deceiving, but then again, sometimes they weren't. Either way, if Mipha just up and left this ailing creature here it would most likely be found by some sort of predator, and that was assuming it didn't succumb to its injuries. The Zora Princess had a conscience firmer than many, and that conscience would not allow a possibly innocent creature like this to come to further harm on her watch. Mipha, scolding herself either way for her still-reckless decision, placed her hands and finned arms inside of the log, around the equine creature's shoulders, and set to pulling her out and away from potential danger. When Mipha returned to her campsite, having dragged the still-senseless creature to the river and used the current to get there quickly, she discarded her spear to the side and brought the being to the area close to where her put-out fire was. The giant was still there in the back of the cave on his chiseled throne, as usual. He didn't seem to mind having another warm body in this place, assuming he was paying attention to anything to begin with. After sitting down beside her guest, Mipha concentrated. Placing one hand to the wounds she could see, blue energy began to emit from her palm, completely covering the bite marks in the glow. When but a few seconds had passed, the outline of dried blood started to recede, the marks looked like they were improving, and just a short time longer was all that was needed before it would be mended fully. After a few minutes of this, Fluttershy's eyes slowly blinked open and she tiredly yawned. She awoke to the cool feeling of laying upon moistened dirt, as well as the sensation of something pressed against her side and a pleasant warmness radiating off of it. Turning her head, groggily as it was, she found herself staring into the face of an utterly alien creature she had never seen once before in her life, who stared back with a placid mien about her completely non-pony face. Normally, Fluttershy probably would have screamed at having to wake up to such an abrupt surprise, or at least yelp in fear. But looking into the calm, amber eyes of this strange being, who upon a closer and more thorough inspection had an otherworldly sort of beauty to her, no such panic found its way into her. Only a little surprise took hold of her mind, and that was all. Her widened eyes slowly lowered and she thought of something to say. "U-um..." she stammered. Mipha slowly turned her face away and looked to the wounds she was healing. "There is no need to be afraid," she spoke in a voice that rivaled the softness of this pegasus' own. "I found you injured in the forest and brought you here. As we speak, my healing abilities are making you well again." Looking down, Fluttershy saw that the warm feeling she had been experiencing was being performed by its hand. The blue glow, surrounding it like an aura, was almost blinding in its brightness. She looked back to her healer's face and paused upon deciding on what to speak next. "My... my name's Fluttershy." "I am... Mipha," Mipha replied with a nod, at first unsure if it was appropriate to speak her name to this stranger. "I am the princess and champion to the Zora people." "Zora?" questioned the pegasus. "I assume you have never seen a Zora before?" she tried to smile. "We are a water-dwelling race. This gift of healing is a power only I seem to possess among my people, wherever they are now..." "You got separated from your people? Oh..." the pegasus said in a sympathetic tone. "How did it happen?" "That is a long tale, I'm afraid," Mipha replied in a murmur. "Since I told you what I am, what sort of creature are you? You resemble creatures that lived in the lands surrounding the domain I hail from, but you all seem greatly more intelligent than them." "Me?" Fluttershy questioned, motioning to herself with a hoof. "I'm a pony. Well, a pegasus to be specific. There are earth ponies and unicorns, too." "You're all sentient ponies? That would explain the appearance, I guess," Mipha said, her eyelids lifting and the dark, vertical pupils her eyes themselves possessed dilating for a second in slight shock. "You've never seen a pony like me before?" "You're the first one I've spoken to who decided to speak back," she revealed. "I know not how your kind behaves, so I've been keeping my distance from you since I came to this land. If your kind doesn't appreciate my presence, it would fall into my interest to avoid you, after all." "I can see your reasoning, but we ponies are a good people. We just... just..." the mare's voice cracked and soon stopped entirely as she suddenly caught sight of the colossal being sitting at the far end of the cave from the corner of her field of vision. "Wh-wh-who's that?" she asked next in a very panicked way, causing Mipha to speak something quickly to keep her still so she could continue to heal her properly. "I don't know who that giant man is," she quietly spoke, "But I've grown to feel somewhat comfortable in his presence. He hasn't seemed to have moved since I set my camp up here a while ago, and I only realized he wasn't a statue two days after I made it. I believe he's harmless, so don't worry." "But he's... glowing, a little," Fluttershy pointed out, growing calm and composed once more as she trusted her healer's words. "How didn't you notice him being alive because of that?" Mipha hummed. "I... suppose I've been keeping my head hanging rather low over these past few weeks. Being away from my home and my family for so very long has left me feeling quite... lonely." Fluttershy's ears lowered in compassion for these sad words when she detected the sheer melancholy in her tone. Her look lasted until a thought came to her head that was practically begging to be asked. "You know, the... the reason I was out there was because one of my friends and I were trying to find out what was causing the animals in here to act all upset. The kingdom we live in was having a bit of a problem, and we came to help sort things out," she said in a polite whisper. "You... wouldn't happen to be the source of all the ponies supposedly disappearing, would you? O-or the reason why all the animals in the forest have been suddenly getting angry at everyone, right?" "Disappearances? Aggressive wildlife? I would never," she responded; her gentle hand held steadily over where she was healing the pony. "All I've done since I came to this place is try to survive in a manner that would disrupt very few. I've been making plans to leave this forest, but I'm not even sure where I should go. I have no interest in... causing all that. I am not even sure I would possess the capability to do such a thing." "I see." Fluttershy was silent for the next minute as she sensed that Mipha was nearly complete with her goal. Sure enough, she soon was. "There..." the Zora eventually smiled, taking her hand off of the pegasus' hide, revealing to Fluttershy that her injuries were fully healed. Not even a scar remained of the hydra's attack. "You should be fine now. In whatever manner you got those wounds, they weren't permanent." "Thank you so much," Fluttershy said, bowing her head in gratitude after standing up to stretch her legs out. "Your healing abilities are just as good as the magic of some ponies I've met, if not better." "Your kind practices actual magic?" Mipha's own head tilted in interest. "How intriguing..." "Yeah, all ponies have it inside of them. It's just unicorns and alicorns that can actually manifest it," she went on. "One of my best friends, Twilight Sparkle, is a princess like you, except she's the Princess of Friendship. She has a great affinity for magic, as does her student and one of my other friends, Starlight Glimmer." The mare looked outside the cave, to the sight of the night sky and put on a face of worry. "Oh, wow... I had no idea it was this late..." "It's close to morning, if I'm not mistaken," corrected Mipha. "If you made a vow to be back to your friends at a specific time, I think it's been rendered void. Apologies." "You don't have anything to apologize for. The reason I got hurt was because a hydra attacked me and that other friend I mentioned, Applejack. What I last remember is her luring the hydra from me and running off, but I know she's okay," Fluttershy said. "I have to get back to all of them before they get too worried. Um... before I go, I think I want to ask you one more thing. I mean, if it's okay with you." Mipha gladly put on as affable of a visage as she could muster. "Ask away." "Okay, um... so... what was it like, where you were from? What did you, a 'Zora', do just before you got here?" As soon as she heard this, Mipha's thoughts went to the past, reminding her only of her demise and the one-hundred years she spent confined within her divine beast. "I... don't think I wish to reveal that much of myself," she shyly responded. She turned her head away and sighed. "I'm sorry." "No, it's fine. I get it. I should be the one to say sorry," Fluttershy apologized, showing off a gentle smile to her new friend. "I would love to stay Princess Mipha, but I really need to get back to my friends in Canterlot. Want to come with me? It's greatly safer there than it is out here." The thought of going to a civilized place was tempting, but the other thought of maintaining caution still brought forth a valid reason to deny the offer. With a small hint of reluctance in her movement, Mipha slowly shook her head. "No, I think I will remain here, until my trust in your kind has become a little stronger, at least. To give my first test of it, you won't tell your friends where I am, will you?" "Of course not. I swear I won't tell anypony," Fluttershy promised. "I'll just tell them you healed me and that I don't think you're behind all the problems as of late. That will be it." "Thank you," the Zora spoke. "I'll keep you to that." A noticeable look of ambition and hopefulness then came over Fluttershy's face. "And while I'm at it, maybe I could try and have my friends find a way of getting you back to your home. The magic Twilight knows could be of great use in that regard. I would love to get you back to you people." "You would do that?" questioned Mipha. "Of course," Fluttershy responded. "I'll come back and visit you if I pick up anything that can help you. Stay safe till then!" With a small wave and a final, confident look, Fluttershy turned around and flapped her feathered wings. As she took off into the dark sky, with only the light of the moon to guide her, she flew just a little faster than usual to get back to her friends as soon as possible; wishing that they weren't worried out of their minds looking for her. And back down in the cave, for perhaps the first time since arriving to this place, Mipha began to feel a sense of happiness lift her soul.
The Approaching StormTwilight had gone from extremely anxious, to full-on panicked as the first rays of the newly-risen sun showed through the stained glass windows that surrounded her. Hooves clopping with a sense of hollowness against the stone floor, she paced about the throne room of Canterlot's main castle in circles for almost an hour now with Spike nearby; standing to the side with a feather quill in one hand and a roll of paper in the other, patiently waiting to jot down her next order. Princess Celestia was currently away on one of the castle's topmost balconies performing the deed of bringing the sun into the sky, and Princess Luna, with her own duties involving the moon accomplished, was due to return soon. The rest of Twilight's friends were gone; out looking for Fluttershy and Applejack as she herself remained here, and she did so only after they begged her to stay and think of ways that could help with the situation already at hand. "I can't think, I can't think, I can't think..." she continuously mumbled in what was beginning to sound like a quiet chant of sorts. The repeating of these three words was entering its fifth minute now when Spike, his arms growing tired with the lack of input from her, put his pen and paper down on a nearby table. He approached the alicorn and stood in her pathway, halting her. "Twilight..." he slowly spoke as she came to a stop. "I think you need to calm down." "Calm... down?" she responded in a tone bordering slightly on the neurotic side; a tired eye twitching as it stared at the young dragon. "Calm... down?" "Yes, Twilight," he nodded. "Please. I know you haven't slept at all last night, so just take a deep breath an-" "I can't 'calm down', Spike! I can't do that! Not now!" The sound of the princess' sudden shout nearly knocked her poor assistant off of his short feet. When he regained his balance a second later he could see that Twilight herself had come to the realization of her own outburst, and next walked over to a nearby, normal window, pushed it open, and stuck her head out of it to catch a breath of the fresh and cool morning air. Spike walked up to her and poked his claws together uneasily. "Twilight, listen. I more than know how you feel. I'm worried for them too," he said. "But I know that they're okay. Trust me." "But what if that's not the case?!" cried the princess, placing her hooves onto her head and shaking it as she balanced her body on the windowsill. "It's all my fault for letting them go out there to begin with! What if they got lost? What if they disappeared like all of the townsponies? What if they ran into a creature Fluttershy couldn't calm down, or worse?! And what's better, I'm stuck here twiddling my hooves around, hoping to find some kind of logical conclusion to all of this. How do you know that they're okay?" "Because I trust in their abilities. And I know you do as well," he replied with a sure expression. Alas, the alicorn didn't seem to hear him. Twilight only stared out the window with her shaking head for what seemed like forever. Her anxious face only ceased to be when the sound of her assistant clapping his hands together right next to her ears returned her to the realm known only as reality. "Twilight, snap out of it!" he shouted, her attention soon regained. "Going nuts over this situation isn't going to help. You're one of, if not the smartest pony I know. Keep trying to think of something, like Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Starlight trusted you to do." Leaving the window, Twilight lowered her head in a defeated manner. "You're right, Spike. I need to think harder." She inhaled a few deep breaths and looked to him in a calmer way. The dragon smiled. "Good. Now, after I get my paper, just tell me what you need me to write down so-" Spike found himself interrupted again as the sound of the throne room's door being opened echoed throughout the area. Her horned head turning to it, Twilight could see several shapes entering the room. To her visible surprise, she noticed they were the shapes of her friends, as well as the slightly taller form of Princess Luna. And among them, standing safe and sound, was Fluttershy. "Twiliiiight!" sang out the energy-filled voice of Pinkie Pie, who sprung up into the air for a second as she shouted. "We found Fluttershy! We did!" Without a second thought, Twilight dashed past Spike and up to her friends, specifically to the pony in question. "Fluttershy, are you okay?" she instantly asked the pegasus. "What happened to you? Did you and Applejack run into anything bad? Did you get lost? Where is Applejack?" "She hasn't told us what happened yet," Starlight Glimmer went on. "Some guards located us in the woods and told us of her arrival to Canterlot. We all quickly got back here just a few minutes ago, and saw Luna was just returning, too." Taking in her student's words with a nod, Twilight turned her attention back to Fluttershy after thinking them over for a few seconds. "Well? Where's Applejack?" the Princess of Friendship questioned again next. "Do you know?" "When... when I last saw Applejack, she was being chased by a hydra," the pegasus quietly spoke. "I... I-I thought she returned here to tell you all so you could come get me, like she said she would." "A hydra?!" all the ponies in the room cried in unison. Rainbow dash hurriedly flew beside Fluttershy as close as she could without directly touching her and landed to the floor. "You were attacked by a hydra and it chased after Applejack?!" she shrieked into her face, before gaining just enough sense to back off a short ways. "Y-yes, a hydra," confirmed Fluttershy. "I tried to calm it down, but it bit me instead. It's venom made me fall asleep." "Bit you? But you look positively unscathed!" Rarity pointed out, circling around the pegasus just to make sure what she had just stated was indeed the truth. "And, um... that's kind of the thing," she replied. She turned next to Twilight and walked up to her, past the others. "Twilight, could I speak to you about what happened to me next in... private? I want you to know before the others." Twilight scratched the back of her head in uncertainty, but was more than okay to oblige the odd request. "Sure, I guess." Nodding, Fluttershy began to walk back in the direction of the hall she and others had just entered from, and Twilight started to follow. As the two left to discuss the matter without the need for prying ears and closed the doors behind them, the rest of the group began to chatter away amongst themselves in nervous tones about what may have happened to Applejack. Luna could hear the unkempt agony in their tones over their final missing friend, and instantly sought to ease their anguish. "I implore you all not to fret. Applejack yet draws breath," she quickly interjected, causing them all to stop their worrisome conversation and turn to her. "As I was tending to my duties dealing with the dreams of my subjects, I noticed the presence of Applejack, and also Fluttershy for a short while, were both in a state of slumber. Her mind was adrift the current of calmness, and no worry plagued her mind. I assumed it was because she was somewhere, safe and sound, and it was how I last saw her. Since I was away from the castle, I hadn't the slightest idea that she had not yet come back to Canterlot." Things were hushed for a brief few moments until Rainbow jumped back up into the air and put a hoof to her chest; her visage set in a look of determination as solid as the stone the castle's walls were built from. "I don't know about you all, but I'm not waiting around. I'm going to go find Applejack as soon as Twi and Fluttershy finish whatever it is they need to talk about. Who's with me?" As all the ponies, Princess Luna included, let out cries of agreement, a conversation began behind the nearby closed doors. "So, Fluttershy, what is it you need me to know?" Twilight asked with a lowered brow of curiosity. "The others told me of the picture of a strange creature you studied just after Applejack and I left," Fluttershy spoke, shifting an eye over her shoulder just to make sure nopony was within earshot of what she was to reveal next. "I met someone in the woods. Who I met, after the hydra attacked me, matched what you all looked at. And I know where she lives." Twilight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "That's... that's great!" She gave off a large grin of pure relief, and the feeling of it was one she oh-so missed. "If you tell me just where this creature lives at this moment, we can question it! And, maybe, if it knows anything, we'll find Applejack!" It was here when Fluttershy, with a silent sigh, sunk her head low. "Her name's Mipha," she went on. "And... I can't show you where she is." In that one second, Twilight's smile vanished, and her expression of relief became one of pure surprise. She looked back to Fluttershy with nothing short of a dumbfounded visage. "Wh... why not?" "Because I made a promise," her friend flatly replied. Twilight paused for a few seconds, as to properly get a grasp on the situation, and soon found herself pinching her weary brow with a hoof. "Why in Equestria would you make a promise of that sort to a strange being?" "I don't think she's strange. She's... actually sort of like me, in a few ways," lightly argued the pegasus. "She's super kindhearted. She pulled me out of the forest before another creature could get me, and even healed my wounds from the hydra. And she allowed me to come back here with the knowledge that I had of her." "But this is bigger than some promise like that!" retorted the princess. "Applejack is missing! The townsponies are still missing! This creature, Mipha, could be a clue as to why all this is going on! Don't you understand that?" Adamant to make her point, Fluttershy closed her eyes, raised her head a small ways, and curled her lips into a frown as she stamped one of her front hooves to the stone floor as hard as she could (which, suffice to say, wasn't any louder than a normal hoofstep). "I made a promise, Twilight!" she repeated once more. "I am deeply sorry, but that's that. She healed me, and in return I said I wouldn't tell anypony where she is. And Twilight, I do not think she's the reason behind what going on right now. She herself told me that she has no idea about what we're dealing with." The princess was in partial silence over this sudden and unexpected hindrance after receiving such tantalizing news, and gave off a long-drawn sigh that reeked of frustration. "You're not going to tell me anything about where she might be, are you?" Fluttershy nodded once. "She also told me that she has absolutely no idea how ponies like us act. I want to earn her trust," responded the pegasus. "Twilight, if you were there with me, you would have seen that she means us no harm, too." The alicorn sunk her head low for a second and exhaled another stale breath of air. When she lifted it, her tired expression returned. "Did you... at least find anything else? Anything that you can tell me?" "Well, she said she got lost from her people, which she said are called the 'Zora', and has no idea where they are now," Fluttershy replied. "I don't think she's from here, or even Equestria as a whole. It sounds way too odd. I think magic of some sort is involved." Twilight mulled over this with a long hum; the name of the supposed species ringing no bells within her head. "For you, Fluttershy... I'll look into it," she finally agreed, causing the pegasus to smile happily. "But for now, let's go find Applejack." "Alright then," she agreed. "Let's go find Applejack." Gray clouds had gathered in the sky as midday was coming to an end. What was once a warm, sunny and clear day had changed into something else entirely in a short time, and not long after that transition in weather, a thick downpour of rain began to fall as well. Being a Zora, this didn't trouble Mipha in the least; only slightly irking her with the fact that it robbed her of her full view of the sun and all that glimmered under its bright rays. As it went on, Mipha sat in her cave upon the moist soil that made up its floor, waiting it out. Her hope with what would become of everything had been rekindled with the conversation she shared with that kindly Fluttershy individual. Should this creature and her kind prove to be true, trustworthy, and actually selfless enough to help her with her plight would be a hefty boon indeed. Warm feelings flooded her very soul with much-needed positive emotion. She turned her head a little bit, just enough to see the giant sitting far behind her. He continued to sit there on his throne, as silent as the day she first encountered him, however unwitting it was. Her fingers curling around in the soft, damp earth in a tense display, she decided to make at least an attempt to strike up a conversation with the titanic creature. "This place is quite peculiar, but so very lively. I wonder if the other parts of it are as beautiful as my home," she softly spoke over her shoulder to the great being in a tone just loud enough for him to surely hear from where he was. "If I might inquire, are you as much a stranger to these lands as I am?" The giant remained silent. Mipha did not honestly expect him to respond back to her, and so turned her attention on him away after a few seconds. She was looking to the area of ground that built-up rainwater was starting to seep over at the cave's fore, when the sound of thunder rang aloud throughout it like an alarm, snapping the Zora's view upward. The noise was a deafening sensation at first, but by the time the fourth crackle of the sound went around, Mipha had gotten used to it. Getting up and moving forward a little ways, she sat down again just a scant few feet from the cave's wide and tall opening. With her arms wrapped around her lifted knees, she watched the running river laying just outside the dense curtain of rainwater that now made up the entrance of the cavern for a few minutes. Soon following the thunder were brilliant, golden flashes of lightning that streaked across the sky every few seconds once the storm picked up in earnest; completely visible, even through the denseness of the rain. Zora were less tolerant to electricity than other creatures, and as such they had an almost natural aversion to it. But to witness it from a safe and far place, it was less a thing to be feared and more a light show to be observed with awe. Seeing such a powerful display of this aspect of nature reminded Mipha of one of her fellow champions, Urbosa; a member of the proud, strong, desert-dwelling Gerudo people. She could summon a devastating bolt of lightning from even a clear sky with but a snap of her fingers. Thinking of her reminded Mipha of the other champions as well. It made her wonder if any of them had found themselves in the same predicament she was in now. Had they too awoken in a foreign place? And even so, was it truly life that had been given back to her, and potentially them? More hope and great confusion of equal measure filled her mind, but was soon drowned out by the sound of the storm, which the Zora returned her view to as she stewed upon her evolving situation. Mipha spent the next hour staring at the sky from where she sat; listening to the magnificent orchestra that was the booming claps of thunder and the light pattering of rain droplets that splashed off of the surfaces of water and rock alike outside of the cave. Had she still been but a young, naïve hatchling with a slippery grasp on how the world worked at best, she would have thought the thunderous uproar going on was the fault of a ferocious battle of cataclysmic proportions that was being waged in the very heavens themselves. Luckily, she had been taught much in the realm of the sciences and beyond from childhood to adulthood, and became quite the insightful character with the accrued knowledge. The silly thought was nothing more than exactly that - a thought. Smirking, she chided herself for allowing her imagination to run wild with an upbeat chuckle, but that wasn't to say that it wasn't an interesting one to mull over in this time of patience and semi-solitude... Author's Note Happy Easter, one and all. May your egg hunts be fruitful!
Only in DreamsThe Hylian Link stared at the bright, blue sky that laid showed down from where he stood on a grassy field. Just ahead of him was a cliffside, which faced the far distance. Cast aside were the pieces of armor he had gained from his travels to face Ganon. In its place was the regal blue shirt he wore in his journeys before the Calamity's invasion. The kind that once represented the champions of Hyrule. Yes... the land of Hyrule; a land once besieged by terror, malice, hatred and destruction made manifest, but now free at last from its dreaded blight. Calamity Ganon had been defeated only a month before - banished away from this plane of existence by the newly-freed Princess Zelda, whom served as his jailer for the past century until Link recovered from his wounds in the Fountain of Resurrection and posed a challenge for him once more. With peace restored, for however long it would last, they had taken much time to rest and recuperate. When they felt prepared enough, they were soon off again with adventurous hearts beating in their chests. Princess Zelda herself, also dressed in the blue clothing matching her old uniform, stood beside Link on the overlook. They had come to this specific area to check over the population of the silent princess - a rare species of flower that was heavily endangered during the time before the Calamity struck. However, as fate decreed, their investigation would have to wait. Currently in the princess' hands was a Sheikah Slate, and she was reading it over after she discovered it possessed rather alarming news. "We'll make our way to Zora's Domain," she eventually spoke, her brow twitching downward slightly in interest over the piece of information she had known for only a minute. "Divine Beast Vah Ruta... looks like it stopped working." With a puzzled look she read this bit of freshly-given news over again, and a smile of excitement crept over her lips. "Let's investigate the situation," she said with a hint of dauntless glee in her words. The princess held onto the happy expression before one of cold realization set in. "Mipha's father..." she spoke again to Link, a saddened look overcoming her as she lowered the Sheikah device from it. "I believe he would like to hear more about her. The least we can do is visit him and offer him some closure." Zelda stared off into the distance, to the as-of-now abandoned Hyrule Castle that could be seen standing far away. Once possessed in its entirety by the Calamity, it was now rid of him and every trace of his accursed corruption, but even still remained mostly devoid of life. The kingdom that once was her own father's was like an empty shell even now, but with the proper touch, it would rise again. They just needed to further instill courage and faith in the minds of those who had lost it to fear and despair. "Although Ganon is gone for now, there is still so much more for us to do. And so many painful memories for us to bear." Holding in a breath, she took a single step forward, as though to get a closer look at the place where she had kept the Calamity imprisoned for so excruciatingly long; a sentence that had been paid off with the aid of the Hero of Hyrule who stood beside her now. "I believe in my heart, that if all of us work together, we can restore Hyrule to its former glory. Perhaps... even beyond." Zelda thought of the future for but a moment when her longing visage of hope evolved into one of pure, rigid determination. As did her tone with the words she had to speak next. "But it all must start with us. Let's be off." Turning to the right, she walked past Link and toward the two horses that stood waiting for them a scant few meters. Link watched her for a second before eventually he, too, began to follow in the princess' footsteps. They both mounted their steeds soon enough and were off like a flash onto the path that would lead them to Lanayru, and to Zora's Domain itself soon after. Link held tightly onto the reins of his horse, hearing the beast snort as it ran faster onward, when his thoughts turned to Mipha. Link remembered her very well, and every conversation they had was as fresh in his mind as could possibly be. His memory had fully returned to him in the time he spent traveling across Hyrule, giving aid to its people in whatever way he could, freeing the Divine Beasts from their corruption, and felling foes who served the will of evil. Whether it was the uncivilized and porcine Bokoblins, the lanky but sinewy Moblins, or even a great, ferocious and terrible Lynel, none stood in his way. But those he had lost in the initial struggle weighed heavy on his mind. Mipha was a close friend of his, and that only served to inflict further pain in his very soul, no matter how dogged and determined it was. Yes, she was a dear, dear friend, and... perhaps even more than that, he sometimes imagined with sorrow that hit him like an aching lash. He spent much time with her in the months before Ganon's invasion. After his awakening, in his talks with her father, King Dorephan, he relearned that she loved him unconditionally. It made sense, as Link himself knew they were like kindred spirits. They were both quiet and reserved individuals, for the most part. They became fast friends in his childhood, and when she was declared as the champion of her people by her fellow Zora, it brought them together that much closer. Nearly like moths to a flame, they found themselves inevitably drawn to one another. If the events that came after had not torn them apart as it did, one would wonder what could have become of it... Link closed his eyes for a few seconds and shook his head as the feeling of the wind rushed through his hair, hoping to take his thoughts from the past and refocus them onto the near future. He looked forward to seeing her younger brother again, Prince Sidon, when they arrived at Zora's Domain. He was a kindhearted, brave, and noble individual, and one who had lent him great aid in the retaking of Divine Beast Vah Ruta. With whatever was troubling Ruta now, Sidon would indubitably be willing to help them look into things once more. The storm lasted through the day and only ended as night was once more approaching. The clouds mostly departed from the sky and left it clear enough to show some stars and the moon. The wind was calm as well, and all, it seemed, was still and sleepy with everything a night like this would entailed. Except for Mipha. Where Mipha currently dwelt was at the bottom of the river, specifically the part of it just outside of her cave. She sought the cool and familiar wetness the depths of the water could afford, and so, to find a form of clarity for the time being, she meditated there as she had long ago been trained. Leafy green weeds of some length surrounded her like a field of long and unkempt grass, waving about as the current animated them like puppets. Above them, swimming around in a manner similar to how a those who lived on land would see birds, were fish. Currently a large school of trout were the ones to pass by in the most notable of a fashion; each of their smooth, scaly, green and speckled hides possessing a reddish, horizontal stripe running from their tails to their heads, while their undersides possessed a more silvery color. The trout swam around her red form, blatantly curious to see an unfamiliar creature such as she, before moving away out of a natural sense of caution. Mipha herself was lingering over her predicament. If it was all it appeared to be, or otherwise. She felt so very much alive, and every sense of hers told her this was the truth. And yet, like another gathering of storm clouds ready to blot out the sun with ill weather, doubt still consumed her. That single question that stung in her brain like the mark left from a burning brand. Was she truly alive? Was all real, or was it all some cruel illusion meant to deceive her? Was this some sort of twisted fantasy? A demented dream that had yet to transform into a revolting nightmare? Thoughts like these disturbed her to no end, and she shook her head until it was clear of them, only for them to return moments later and trouble her further. Questions, questions, questions! Just thinking of them was like a maddening choir that wished to sing aloud in her ear until she was driven deaf from their voices. She anticipated that the sensation of departing from the realm of the living to what was surely the afterlife would bring about a final peace, as she always imagined she would have. A peace she once admitted to have gained after Link set her spirit free, as it had been held hostage for so long from within her Divine Beast. But with this newfound vitality, she didn't know what to think anymore, and her previous contentment had long since faded. Her heart yearned so terribly to again see the face of her friend. Her rescuer. Her... Mipha tried to stop her train of thought right there, before she added yet another level of pain upon this fragile moment. She was dead. She remembered the last breath of air she ever inhaled before she was struck down by that abomination that had infested Vah Ruta, Waterblight Ganon. As a spirit, she witnessed Link first-hand when he avenged her death by destroying the twisted creation of the Calamity in turn. Though it was an entire century after her passing, just seeing the miraculously still-living Hylian she held so dear to herself come out the victor in the fierce battle brought her more relief than she had ever felt in life. It was a pity that it was one of the last positive emotions she would feel in his presence, when there was still so much more she wished to experience alongside him. Mipha still remembered that wish she gave to him a meagerly short time before the invasion of the Calamity. The wish was something meant to be simple, beatific, and affectionate. But overall, it was a thing that the two of them would share, alone. The desire was for them each to spend more time with one another, if the chance came around. It was what many would deem a selfish thing to be sure. But for herself... it was, perhaps, her only aspiration up until fate chose to so cruelly separate them. Though her memories of Link were just some of the few good ones she could think of, all stewing upon this matter ever did was fill her mind and soul with a horrendous, aching pain. A pain that extended well beyond the fact that they were simply apart from each other. Zora lived for so long; their lifespans exceeding centuries, as her own father's long and just era of ruling their kind could attest to. But Hylians... the lifespan of a Hylian - a Hylian like Link - was like a fleeting breeze when compared to a Zora. A bat of an eyelid. A twitch of a finger... If this heart in her chest was beating with all the life she possessed back in the golden days of Hyrule, it felt incredulously empty now. Mipha wanted to spend as much time as possible with Link before time naturally parted them, and she wanted so desperately to cherish every single second of it. And being stuck in this land stole just about any sort of comfort she could feel upon discovering her newfound existence; purloining her of her more than deserved chance to reunite with her one true love. Were this twist of fate allowed to be played out in song, this cruel happenstance was the enormously sour note that ruined it utterly. Deciding she had enough meditating and wished now to put her weary mind to rest, Mipha swam up to the river's surface and inhaled a deep, cool breath of air. Climbing onto the riverbank, she slowly entered the dark entrance of the cave she currently called home, quite unaware of the set of eyes that were quietly observing her from the other side of the river... "Are you comfortable here, my Love?" Mipha questioned Link with a grin. "Always, when I'm with you," Link replied to her most contently, shifting himself closer to her on the smooth bench they shared. He was dressed in the ocean-blue armor she herself had created for him as a betrothal present, as was the custom of Zora royalty when they wished to propose marriage to another. Elegant stone architecture, expertly crafted by Zora hands and illuminating a luminescent blue light from within their pillars, surrounded them and made up the smooth floor of the platform they currently sat on together. It was a place she remembered being located in the very heart of Zora's Domain, but at the moment, nobody was around except for them. Quiet intimacy was the only thing to fall over them like a mist, and that was just how Mipha liked it. She remembered having this dream many times since life returned to her, and it was one she planned on having many times more after tonight. Above them, setting in the sky, was the sun; the horizon showing off a brilliant crimson color that peeked through the clouds in a wonderful display one could only see in a vision such as this. Her depiction of Link seemed to think it was as stunning as she did. "The sunset reminds me much of you. It's simply marvelous and beautiful," he complimented to his wife. "What do you think of it, Mipha?" Mipha smiled mirthfully. "I think it is as well, Link," she responded. Leaning closer to her husband, the Zora rested her head against his armored shoulder, admiring the warmth given from absorbing the sun's rays and blissfully ignoring the fact that all of this was merely the machinations of her unconscious imagination. She stayed there with him for what felt like an eternity. An eternity she would be more than happy to live in forever, but could only achieve in a dream such as this. She inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes, savoring as much of this moment as she could before she inevitably left this wonderful fantasy... "Are you the one known as Mipha?" The single question, spoken in an unfamiliar female voice as clear as daylight, forced the Zora's amber eyes open once again. Holding her breath out of shock, she lifted her head from Link's shoulder and looked around, trying to spot the source of the noise. "H-hello?" she called out, evidently anxious and confused. The sound of beating wings suddenly cut through the warm evening air and her view was drawn upward. The figment of Link stood up from his seat upon sensing her fear. "Do not worry, Mipha. I'll defend you from whatever comes," he spoke to her without even an ounce of worry in his valiant tone, drawing his legendary sword from its sheath on his back. He stood between her and the source of the wingbeats, when seemingly out of nowhere, a dark shape entered their sights. Right off, Mipha realized it was like that Fluttershy creature - equine in shape, albeit taller, slimmer, and possessing a different fur color altogether that more resembled dark blue than yellow. Two strong wings flapped in broad strokes on her back, and a long mane, resembling a cluster of stars like the kind one would see on a cloudless night, ran down her neck while a regal, golden crown adorned her one-horned head. The being landed on the platform and tucked her wings behind her back, facing Mipha and Link's direction. While Link stood there between them in a rigid display, Mipha was visibly startled by this unwanted surprise. "Who are you?" she angrily asked, feeling very much threatened by this being's invading presence. "I know you're not some product of my mind. How did you enter my dream?" "My name is Luna. I am a princess of Equestria, and I mean you no harm. I was told your name by a friend; the same one you allegedly lent your aid to," responded the equine creature in a fairly polite manner. "I stand before you because I hold great authority and influence over all who dream. By finding out your specific name, it shortened my quest to find you." Luna waited patiently for her words to take affect. When Mipha did eventually gain a more relaxed visage, she continued. "With all the dreams you could have, this is truly a grand one you have made for yourself," she complimented with a kindly smile, inspecting the craftsmanship of the nearest pillar and taking notice of the detail held by the floor as well. "I must admit to you Princess Mipha, your dream is oddly vivid and articulate. It's quite beautiful." "I'm a lucid dreamer," she spoke with a meek sense of pride, if it was even that. She blushed when she realized that this creature was no doubt witnessing one of her more tender and private fantasies, and with a quick thought, Link's nearby image faded away like a wisp of steam. "I... I practiced it for a while as a child until... I mastered it." Luna knew she was still troubled by her being here upon seeing her sheepish look. "I see that you are a shy individual," the Princess of the Night said next. "I can assure you that I will not dare pry where your secrets dwell. I merely came here with a few questions I wish for you to answer." Standing up from her seat, Mipha had a question of her own to ask. "The pony I saved yesterday - Fluttershy, I believe her name was - told me that your kind is peaceful. You said you're a princess; a leader of your kind, if I'm not mistaken. Her words... are they the truth?" "They are," Luna nodded, walking closer to the Zora. "We value harmony and happiness for all who live within our domain, and even the ones who live outside it. Pony or not, we strive for the well-being and contentment of all. Even if we must defend them from those who would seek to do harm." Her brow lowering a tad, she cast a more serious look to Mipha. "I want to know, from your words alone, that you are not a creature that sits in that malevolent category." Mipha's response came swiftly. "I seek nothing of that sort," she answered firmly. "I only wish to discover a way to return to the lands where I originated from, among a few other things." "And... of the ponies who have vanished?" she brought up next. "Though I sense they are in a state of deep slumber, I cannot seem to find them anywhere in the plane of dreams. Do you know anything at all about them?" "I have only ever encountered two ponies since I awoke here. You're the third one I've seen, to be honest." "So it's true, then. You know nothing of their whereabouts," sighed Luna after detecting nothing wrong in her tone, closing her eyes as she dwelt upon this revelation. "As I earnestly suspected. I honestly beg your pardon for so abruptly entering your dream, but Fluttershy is a dear friend. She may not have spoken to me or anyone else of your location, but she told her friends and I of your name, and how she perceived you as having a benevolent nature. I wanted to see for myself if what she said is true." "Fluttershy said to me that you might be able to help me in my plight," Mipha chose to mention next, after a short silence came between them. "Do you have any idea about it? About why I'm here and how?" Luna bit her lip and thought for a second. "I have been around for a long time, and I can tell that one thing is for sure," she began. "You are not a creature of this world. I feel that extradimensional magic is involved in your debacle, but I will not know this for certain until I find out more about you. Our city, Canterlot, rests near you. It is your choice to come to it or not. Do you yet wish to pay us a visit, as so we could get better acquainted with one another?" Mipha sat back down again. She was quiet for a few seconds until she came to her decision, as her sense of caution still remained fresh from the day prior. "I think I'll give it some more time before I decide anything. Apologies to you, your majesty." "Worry not; you have nothing to apologize for," Luna spoke in an understanding tone. "I must be off now to tend to my duties. Fair thee well Mipha, Princess of the Zora," she then politely bid with a bow of her head. With a single stroke of her wings, Luna ascended from the platform and into the sky, and from there she started to fly off and fade from Mipha's mind, though not before saying a few last words that echoed about long after she vanished. "I implore you to be safe. Something insidious is going on, and I fear it originates from the woods you currently make your residence within..." The echoes of her forewarning stopped after a short time, leaving Mipha alone to dwell on them. If what she saw was real, as she believed, then these ponies actually did possess some form of magic. To wield power over dreams themselves was an unbelievable ability in on its own, and one that could easily be used to cause irreparable harm to another. And yet this pony, Luna, did nothing to her. Nothing at all, save commence a friendly conversation with her. Perhaps these creatures really were who they described themselves to be... Author's Note Yes! After so much hard work, I managed to publish this chapter on my birthday. Happy birthday to me, and I give my thanks to all who read this story!
Beware, the EyeMipha thought back as she felt her sleeping mind begin to stir. That dream she had, in which she presumed that everything to happen within it was real, was quite the odd sensation to go through. She had little reason to doubt that that being, Luna, was fake, or that her words were equally falsified. But it was over now, and she was left to stew over her words. As Mipha sluggishly slid all the way back into consciousness with a small yawn, she also awoke to a very strange sensation. It was an ice-cold feeling pressing down upon her throat. The kind of feeling shared by steel, and unmistakably that of a weapon of some kind. As soon as she realized this, Mipha's eyes shot wide open. She was a mere second from pushing the object away from her jugular when a hand clasped over her mouth and held her head down. Her eyes stared toward shape standing over her and spotted a silhouette illuminated from the morning light showing through the cave's entrance. "If you value your life, you will not move," a male voice spoke from the character in a whisper so soft and fragile that one might not realize it as a threat. "Sit up. Slowly." Mipha was very hesitant to obey the order. But in a reluctant way, with thousands of thoughts running through her head, she did as the being told. Moving her body upward until it was in a sitting position, she had herself a better view of the individual who held her at knifepoint now that the sun's light was focused on his front. The first thing she noticed was that the weapon was a dark, vicious sickle, and the second thing was that over his face was a mask. A white, wooden mask displaying a red symbol resembling an eye with a tear drop upon the center of its surface. It was a symbol she knew right off, with a silent gasp, was that of the mysterious but good-hearted Sheikah people. But how it was turned upside down told her who it really was. If the Sheikah Eye was perverted in such a way, it could only represent the foul icon of the accursed Yiga Clan; an organization of black-hearted Sheikah who cast away their loyalties to Hyrule and aligned themselves with Ganon. If that was not enough indication of this character's allegiance, his outfit, a black and blood-red garb, did. Behind the mask and poking through the back of his crimson hood, his dark hair was tied into a knot. A pair of bony fangs, meant to represent the tusks of a boar, hung from either side of his face like earrings. And he wasn't alone. Turning her head a small ways after he finally took his hand from her mouth, Mipha quickly took notice of several other shapes standing about, most of whom were guarding the entrance of the cave. Skinny and nimble footsoldiers, all equipped with hand weapons of sleek design and murderous ability or else bows and arrows of wicked making. Beyond them, pinned to the shore to keep from being pulled away by the river's current, were what Mipha could make out as rafts built from logs. "It's definitely a Zora," one footsoldier in the back said to another in a whisper that Mipha's ears easily detected. "I believe we've finally found that 'stowaway' our mistress spoke of." "So it would seem," a deep and coarse tone concurred in less of a secretive manner, originating from a larger, burlier figure nearby. Judging from the great windcleaver sword Mipha saw he possessed sheathed by his side, along with the fact he wore thicker armor over his form, he was a member of the Yiga elite, a blademaster, and clearly the leader of this small group. A pair of longer, curling 'tusks' extended from the base of his mask, from behind his greater and looser hood that bore a similar look to the skintight uniform belonging to his co-conspirators, except on a much lesser scale. "But either way, we shall gain our answer on just who this one is soon enough." "Well then, onto the questioning," chuckled the footsoldier currently holding Mipha at his mercy. As he said this, Mipha shifted her view in the direction of the giant who shared this cave with her, quickly spotting him where he was. Still he sat on his throne, unmoving and apparently unperturbed by the events going on. The Yiga must not have taken notice of him, as he was completely unguarded and none of the soldiers here had so much as stared his way from what little the Zora could witness of their faces. "Question one." The Yiga used a firmer tone when he spoke, curling the sickle's pointed tip to her throat, though using enough caution in the action to not actually pierce her flesh. "What is your name, Zora?" Mipha did not respond. Instead, she allowed her brow to lower and a grimace to appear on her face. By her sides, her hands slowly curled into fists as she readied herself for action. The footsoldier hummed in vexation and turned to look back at his his allies when it became clear she wasn't going to respond, or perhaps because she lacked the fearful visage he expected to witness. "It would appear as though our guest is unwilling to cooperate," smugly cackled he, "and, as we all know, my brethren, that means something quite awful is going to now happen to our stubborn, hapless little-" He was cut off as Mipha's arm suddenly came up and swatted the sickle's vicious blade away from her neck, right before coiling back and punching forth like a snake pouncing upon its prey, striking the Yiga in his thin throat just as he fully turned her way. Letting out a choking grunt, the footsoldier stumbled one step back, when the Zora champion slid her leg out and tripped him into the air, then planted him to the ground below with a final punch to his chest that came down in a manner akin to a bolt of lightning. The blademaster with the dense voice from before saw this all happen with immense clarity and, reacting just before his surprised allies could, charged with an outraged growl and his unsheathed windcleaver held high. Mipha saw him coming, and without fail, she began running in his direction to join him in combat. The blademaster was seconds away from unleashing his deadly blade with a mighty swing, but Mipha was already upon him with a flying leap and a defiant roar. Thrusting her knee forward, it struck the greatly taller figure in the center of his masked face with an audibly loud crack of the mask's wood, and potentially whatever laid behind it. Falling back limply from the unexpected move, the blademaster flew past his comrades and crashed to the floor with a pained and stunned cry alongside his weapon; the sword impacting with a metallic clatter. Rushing past three lunging footsoldiers and avoiding them all as though she were the wind itself, Mipha ran up to the windcleaver and grabbed at its handle, soon getting a firm hold of it. With reflexes she had long since gained from her training, even with the fact that this wasn't her preferred form of weaponry, she lifted its long blade above herself and brought it against a pair of oncoming sickles. She pushed the one who wielded them back and swung the blade tenaciously, hitting the Yiga across his armored chest and pushing him back, though only harming him enough to keep him down for surely less than a few seconds. She then turned and saw two more pounce from behind and struck at them too. Sword hitting sickles for the briefest of instants, both the foes suddenly pulled back their hook-esque tools and vanished away in a gray cloud surrounded by red talismans; each minuscule paper object being covered in intricate and ancient writing containing mystic power. Before the enchanted objects could touch the floor, the two foul Sheikah both had suddenly appeared directly behind the Zora. Mipha spun to them just in time for their blades to clash again with a horrid, grating sound of metal-on-metal. As some of the other footsoldiers surrounded Mipha and prepared to engage her or else helped their blademaster back to his feet, one pulled out his bow and took aim at the Zora. Pulling the string back after notching an arrow into it, he fired. The arrow left the bow as quick as a flash, but by the time it reached Mipha, she had taken notice of it and ducked her body down to the cave's floor. The projectile whizzed by in turn, sailing toward the back of the cave where the giant sat. It hit the titanic being directly in his shin armor with a hollow sounding plink, but its effects were less than that of a splinter. Still, it was enough to catch his attention, however slow it was. One entire minute after he had been hit, he gradually turned his head to look at it, and grumbled something dense under his withered breath. A pang of annoyance from just hearing the fight soon evolving into one of full rage with this attempt to harm him, he began to stir. His fingers on the hilt of his weapon began to curl inward to its palm before taking it off completely. With the other hand he moved the great weapon to the side with a crack of its thick tip effortlessly crunching the lesser, loose stone at the base of his throne to powder. As soon as this thunderous sound echoed to the part of the cave where Mipha currently fought off her attackers, the fast-paced battle began to sluggishly grind down to a halt. All taking notice of this new shape, they watched him in united shock as he used his machete to help hoist his lanky, powerful self off of his throne; standing to his full, colossal height that only faintly avoided touching the roof of this expansive cave, and actually scraping a few protruding stalactites off of it, where they fell to the floor and shattered further. Turning his head up lastly, the giant aimed his sights forward, specifically at the ones who defiled his tranquility. Eyes of red, bright and glowing like fiery rubies soaked in the ashes of burning embers, showed from the dark abyss that was the interior of his hood. Mipha felt a twinge of growing worry build up in her mind, and all the Yiga who had apparently been unaware of this creature's presence were staring his way as well, obviously very fearful in spite of the masks covering their faces. One of the treacherous Sheikah used this moment to run up to the ailing and unconscious form of the first footsoldier Mipha knocked out prior, and the pair vanished away in a red cloud. The others, including the recovered blademaster, began to grow visibly tense when it started to approach them at a startling rate. "Yiga Clan..." he started to order in an unsure voice as the giant, once taking casual steps in their direction, broke into a full on sprint that quaked the earth they stood upon with every step. "Yiga Clan... fall back! Fall back to the rafts!" The Yiga turned about and fled, dashing away from Mipha and making for their transports parked on the river bank outside the cave. Three of the footsoldiers managed to stop for a second in their stride to take aim and fire their bows at the behemoth. The puny arrows did absolutely nothing to the creature, save enrage him at their audacity enough to bellow a howling roar. He bounded past Mipha as she dodged to the side, as though failing to register the Zora's presence, and he was soon upon his real prey. With one hand on it, the machete's cleaver-esque blade came down in a vertical blow and slashed into the floor, throwing back sparks and the archers with his force. With incredible reflexes unbefitting of its size, the creature quickly placed its other hand on the notched portion of its weapon's tip, tore it from the ground, lifted it into the air and brought it down again, like the blade of some executioner's machine, only to barely miss this time. By then the Yiga pushed their three rafts into the river and boarded them, hoping the swift current would take them away. Onward the giant pressed his attack even further onto the ones who disrupted his peace. Without a care he leapt into the river behind them, sending up a tremendous wave of water that fell over the fleeing Yiga. His eyes bearing the likes of a blazing flame upon his scarred face, he pursued them downriver. Lifting his great machete once more, he brought it down and crushed one of their closest rafts to splinters with his mighty blow; the soldiers aboard it using their honed skills to teleport away just before their ride was destroyed, and them along with it. The giant continued his assault on the Yiga who tried to escape him, wading waist-up through it as though the deepest portion of the water was nothing more than its shallows. As things grew from loud to near-silent, Mipha slowly, and shakily traipsed to the front of the cave and observed the colossus chase away the ones who had been swarming over her only seconds prior. She only realized she was shivering most dreadfully from sheer amount of adrenaline pumping through her veins and to the heart thumping rapidly away in her chest a moment later as her wits caught up to her. Her pupils dilating and heart rate slowing, she sucked in several deep breaths before deciding what had to be done next. When they were apparently far enough away, Mipha immediately jumped into the water and made her escape in the opposite direction. While her feet and body propelled her forth through the powerful current, her hands remained grasping firmly onto the windcleaver blade. Heavy as it was in the water, it would prove a most valuable asset should some of the Yiga who escaped from the rampaging giant end up pursuing her. With such foes potentially lurking around the next shadow to cross her path, she would need any form of reliable protection she could get... Fluttershy's wings flapped more vigorously than usual as she flew through the sky above the forest. She was by her lone self, with a small wicker basket in one hoof that was filled with food she packed away in Canterlot. She was planning on only being gone for less than an hour, and she hoped nopony would realize her exit from the city. The only one to know of her departure from Canterlot was Princess Luna, who had informed her of her visit with Mipha in the night, and approved her plan to bring her something to eat. So long as she made no attempt to actually enter the woodland itself, anyway. The flight was mostly uneventful, and with no birds flying around her at the moment, Fluttershy's eyes were drawn downward. She spotted nothing in particular, save the sight of the river she was just passing over, which flowed ever on without end. That changed when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. It was a shape resting against a rock sticking out of the centermost part of the river. The shape was clearly crimson in coloration; it stuck out greatly from the darker surroundings of the water and forest. Fluttershy found herself drawn to it, and the urge to investigate it overtook anything else. Quickly drifting to the ground nearby, the creature suddenly took notice of her presence before she got too close and abandoned its rock of respite for the water. Though away from sight, Fluttershy knew the figure was still there - and had a pretty good idea on who it was. "Mipha... is that you?" she asked aloud with blatant curiosity. "If that is you, it's me, Fluttershy. I'm, uh... alone, again." Mipha heard this question well from where she was submerged, and it was in a voice familiar to her. Slowly enough to not cause even a single ripple, she poked her head above the water and looked at the pegasus with a partially relieved, and somewhat exhausted expression. "Yes, it's me," she spoke to the pony. Her eyes next blinked twice before squinting at her. "What are you doing out here, Fluttershy?" "I was coming to visit you, actually," Fluttershy answered, lifting the basket beside her up for a second and putting it on the ground in front of her for the Zora to see. "I was bringing you some food I got from the Canterlot kitchens. It's just a few sandwiches and a slice of cake. I thought you might like it better than what you have to forage for out here." It was then that Fluttershy remembered that this area was exceptionally distant from the cave she encountered her in, and so her head tilted to the right inquisitively. "What are you doing so far away from your cave, if I might ask?" Mipha looked down at the water resting below her chin, and her grip on the sword beneath the drink slightly tightened. "I was... I was attacked," stated the Zora. To this piece of information, Fluttershy's face almost instantly transformed into one of shock. "Attacked?" she gasped, putting a hoof to her mouth. "By what? What creature attacked you? Are you okay?" "I'm fine. And it was not a creature..." Mipha continued. Lifting her sword up fully from the river, she quickly threw the soaked weapon to the shoreline and it flatly landed on the grass a few feet in front of the pegasus. "I was assailed by a few individuals who were a bit more sapient than some mere creatures." Fluttershy cautiously approached the windcleaver and inspected it. Though they still had them, the royal guards of both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire up in the frozen north were much more partial to spears than swords, and she had never seen a blade like this kind before. It looked outlandish, and not particularly made for pony hooves. "What are you saying? Who tried to hurt you?" "It was the Yiga Clan. The Yiga Clan is a treacherous organization of folk who serve a vile evil. They are from where I hail from as well." Mipha's answer came with a grave tone. "Fluttershy, I believe I have a theory as to why the ponies you told me about are going missing. If the Yiga are in any way associated with the disappearances, I think they may very well be the ones behind it." Fluttershy thought on this for a few seconds, when a spark of realization twinkled in her cyan eyes. She looked from the weapon back to the Zora and gave a gentle smile. "Mipha, this could be proof enough of your innocence. Why don't you take it and come with me to Canterlot?" she asked next with the utmost hope in her light voice. "And this isn't all. By the sound of it, you know a lot about these 'Yiga' people. You could tell the Princesses what you know of them!" Mipha turned her view back to the water just below her face, searching for a strong reason against the third-given offer, only to emit a small huff of defeat. "I would speak once more about how I might wish for more time to think over an invitation like that. However, it appears as though I have little choice in the matter now," she sighed back. "If I stay out here, I risk being attacked by the Yiga again. And should that inevitably happen, I fear that I might not be so lucky in escaping them." An unsure look came over her face next. "Fluttershy, I may have potential proof of my integrity, but how will your kind act when they see me?" "I'm... actually not sure how they might act. But please, don't worry about us ponies," Fluttershy said in as reassuring of a tone as she could make. "You might know very little about us, but I mean it when I say we'd never do anything that might upset or harm you. We have our flaws like anyone else, but we get along with lots of other creatures. I'm your friend, right?" "Friends... I'm not so sure of that, yet. But yes, I admit you are quite the kindly soul," Mipha said as she swam closer to the shoreline. "For now, I trust you, Fluttershy." The pegasus toothily grinned at this, and only when it started to shrink a small ways did she speak again. "You know, one of the princesses from Canterlot, Luna, told me personally that she met you in your dreams last night. She informed me right before I set off to find you with her permission, and how much of a good person she saw you as. Did that actually happen?" "I... suppose it did," Mipha confirmed, "and we talked for a short time about each other. She possesses extraordinary power." "Well, that's the kind of magic alicorns can have," Fluttershy replied. Placing her hands on the rocks on the shore, Mipha left the river and stood upon the grassy ground. She walked up to the pegasus and looked down at her slightly-shorter shape in a timid way that Fluttershy couldn't help but relate to, being quite the shy character herself. The Zora eventually looked down to the sword that separated them and knelt down to pick it up. "I'm sure this will indeed shed some light on your problem. But Fluttershy... will you promise to lend some form of credence to should any of your friends or neighbors still feel suspicious about me?" "Of course I can. I promise," she said, before chuckling in anticipation of what was sure to be her one of her friend's reactions. "And I should mention something to you about Princess Twilight Sparkle. I just know she's going to adore meeting you. See, she loves reading and studying, among other things. Learning about you is going to make her ecstatic. She'll discover where you're from and get you back there in no time, I just know it." "I should hope so. By the way, that... friend of yours who ran off to get you help. Applejack, I think you told me her name was," Mipha mentioned next. "Tell me, did she ever make it back?" Fluttershy's joyful expression went completely solemn the second she heard this query, and she shifted a quick look to the forest behind her before staring back at Mipha. "She... never did," admitted the pegasus in a lower tone. "Princess Luna says that she's alive, but... gone. I think she got grabbed by whatever it really is kidnapping the other ponies. And if it's those Yiga Clan people you spoke of, then we have a lead." She picked her basket back up into one of her front hooves and got a good grasp on it. "Shall we go?" "Lead the way," the Zora reluctantly replied.
An Unexpected Guest"Fluttershy, are you positive that this will go well?" Mipha's question came with an air of uncertainty. Where they had arrived to, after around an hour of travel, was the front of the city of Canterlot. It was some time ago when they exited the forest and followed a pathway leading partly up the side of a tall mountain that overlooked the woods, and just standing before the front walls and main, lowered gate of this pony city was a bit of an intimidating sight. The thought of entering it, much more so. "I am," Fluttershy confirmed with a smile and a nod, shifting her basket to a better position along her foreleg. "Just stay close to me when we walk into the city. I'm one of the Elements of Harmony. They'll listen to what I have to say." With that, the pegasus cheerfully left the bushes. As Fluttershy began trotting ahead, Mipha, with some reluctance in her stride, began to leave her cover and follow with her hands grasping fiercely onto the hilt of her sword, which was held passively by her side. They made their way through the main gate, watched closely by the several gold-armored guards stationed atop it, who instantly took notice of not only the Element of Kindness, but also the strange being accompanying her. As the pair walked through the lower district of the city, Mipha had a good look at the architecture of the place, which bore at least a passing resemblance to the building structure of some of Hyrule's civilizations. Her eyes constantly shifting around to new sights, they witnessed the many ponies to inhabit this place - some bearing wings, some possessing horns, and some having neither - and it filled her mind with questions as to how creatures such as they were somehow able to build it all. As if in turn, they glanced her way from wherever they stood, trotted or hid with fearful and curious stares. Still feeling quite anxious over simply being here, and seeing these creatures' reactions to her presence, the idea of running away and fleeing back to the familiar-by-comparison safety of the forest tickled Mipha's brain relentlessly, though she resisted the temptation as she walked on with Fluttershy. Sometime after passing into the higher district they arrived at the main castle, and witnessing the building up close made Mipha feel both small and awestruck at its magnitude. Setting aside the basket she carried to the ground, Fluttershy began to make her way to the entrance and Mipha followed her to it in turn. It was as they were reaching it that the two guards standing in front of the tall doors, both unicorns bearing dark fur and glimmering armor, stepped between them and it. The sound of multiple hooves coming from behind then caught Fluttershy and Mipha's ears next, and they both turned their heads to see that several more had appeared. The one in the frontmost rank was a white-furred unicorn mare, and judging from her slightly more ornate gear, appeared to be the commanding officer of the group. "Halt," she spoke, her volume deep, serious and to the point. "Drop your weapon to the floor and present your empty hoo- hands to us, creature." Mipha's visage tensed at this, until Fluttershy, putting a steady hoof to her friend's arm, spoke up in her defense. "It's okay, guards. She's with me," she said. "We're just going to see the princesses and my friends to help straighten out a few matters." "Irrelevant," another guard, one of the pair guarding the door, spoke up. His blue eyes focused on the alien creature standing beside Fluttershy with a glare of distrust shining in them. "Nobody, pony or otherwise, goes to see either of the princesses with a weapon on their person. Especially in these odd and troubling times." Fluttershy pondered these words for a moment before turning to the Zora. "That... does sound reasonable. Mipha, are you okay with leaving the sword in the possession of these guards? For a short time, anyway. They'll bring it back if the princesses call for them." Mipha gripped the sword tightly as she looked to it, sighing with the knowledge that it was far too late to turn back now. "Yes, I suppose," she answered quietly, slacking her hold on it. In a smooth motion she raised it, pommel-first, to the guards, upon which one of the armored ponies took it from her slowly and carefully into his hooves. After that was done, several of them stepped back, leaving just a few to remain with Fluttershy and Mipha. "Follow us," one of the royal guards spoke without emotion, as though attempting to show off some formidable form of authority. "And don't make any funny moves. Because we'll see it." Turning, they opened the great doors leading to the inside of the castle with a firm push. Mipha and Fluttershy walked inside behind them and entered an expansive hallway. As they were led through the corridor, the Zora's focus was ensnared by the multitudes of stained glass windows that lined the walls from their beginnings to their to ends. Each was like a painstakingly-crafted masterwork of art in their design, and it was clear that every single one of them had a story to tell just by discerning the characters and symbols upon them. From some of them, Mipha actually recognized the highlighted shape of Fluttershy amongst a group of others around her size. The guards opened up another that laid at the end of the lengthy hall, and Mipha and Fluttershy were introduced to what appeared to be the throne room. Mipha spotted several ponies and one smaller, reptilian creature within, also matching some of the figures she witnessed in the windows. And as all their heads, horned or not, turned from the current conversation they were having to their direction upon hearing the doors open, their faces all curled into varying degrees of startled shock. The only one in the room who didn't seem to have too much of a surprised or concerned face was the dark-furred one who Mipha recognized as the pony she saw in her dreams, Luna, who sat upon one of two thrones present and only bore a wide-eyed look of mild surprise. When Twilight Sparkle looked their way and caught sight of Fluttershy she was ready to begin asking away as to where her friend had so abruptly disappeared off to this morning without so much as a hint of warning or notice. However, the Princess of Friendship was quick to join the rest of her dumbstruck allies in their gawking when she realized what company her timid friend possessed. With haste, she trotted in their direction until she stood a mere few feet in front of them. "Fluttershy, is this-?" she then questioned incredulously. Fluttershy nodded, and motioned a hoof to the Zora next to her. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Princess Mipha." Her sentence came out calm and collected, and with it, Twilight turned her head back to Mipha. "So, you're the 'creature' we've been told about?" she asked, deeply wishing to know before anything else. Mipha was silent while she thought of the right words to use. "Apparently so," she responded with a minuscule shrug. Rarity, who also began to follow in Twilight's example by walking closer to the Zora, seemed to have her attention more focused on Mipha's choice of attire instead of what she was. "Th-this may be a bit off-topic, and though it also seems to be of poor condition at the moment, your taste in fashion is quite... fetching, Princess," she nervously complimented, hoping that the kind words wouldn't somehow be seen as an offense. "If it makes things easier for you, then you may refer to me as just Mipha," she suggested in turn. "Mipha decided to join me here to escape a danger in the forest, and to let all of us know that she has nothing to do with what's going on," Fluttershy continued on. "When the guards bring in the weapon she gave to them, you'll see what we mean." "'Weapon'?" Princess Celestia's eyes widened at the mention of this single word, and her voice attracted the undivided attention of all in the room as she slowly descended her regal self down from her own throne in a graceful motion. "What weapon?" Their heads turning to one another, Fluttershy and Mipha's eyes met for a second before looking back to the Princess of the Sun. "The weapon Mipha told me she got from one of several beings who attacked her earlier this morning," the pegasus started again, before her Zora friend could trouble herself with answering the alicorn. "She told me that that they might be the ones behind what's going on with all the ponies who are vanishing." "My assumption is a little bit complex, really..." Mipha stepped forward when Fluttershy finished, prepared to let them in on her experience. "But I am more than happy to share it, if it means professing my innocence and shedding some light upon this apparent conundrum you are all dealing with." "Then by all means!" mirthfully spoke Luna, who walked beside her sister and gave off a warm smile as she fluffed her great wings out and folded them behind her back again. "We have enough time on our hooves to hear it. And any friend of Fluttershy is a friend of ours." Link blinked once as he set his eyes upon the mammoth, artificial entity that was Divine Beast Vah Ruta. The elephantine behemoth's titanic form laid inanimately within one of the most shallow portions of the Lanayru Great Spring, alongside the bank which he walked with his allies. Its legs were partially concealed underneath its wide main body, reclining under the surf and away from sight. The blue light that once glimmered along its various protruding parts and within its many crevices was faded, leaving nothing in its place. Had anyone else born witness to it, they may have incorrectly suspected the great colossus to have been nothing more than an impressive, lifeless statue. In the calm water around it, Zora of all shapes, colors and sizes swam, inspecting the Divine Beast as best as they could manage, or else keeping their distance and observing its full shape from afar. Link gazed upon it for a few seconds longer before he turned his view to Prince Sidon, who walked on the land alongside Zelda and himself. Prince Sidon was a most imposing character, dwarfed by his father by comparison, but still much taller than your typical Hylian or Sheikah. With a robust upper body, thick skin of a majestic crimson tint, and sharp, sharklike teeth that rested within his mouth, he was an intimidating individual to be beheld by those who didn't know him. For those who did, such as Link, he was a charming and kind individual with an infallibly determined mindset as rigid and unyielding as stone. His people adored him immensely, as could be discovered by simply talking to any of his subjects, and it was in no small part due to his noble personality. "Once more, I cannot express my gratitude enough for both of you arriving here to aid us with this distressing matter," he thanked again, turning his finned head their way as they got to the end of the bank. All that separated them from the downed Vah Ruta now was the water. "To cease functioning as it did so soon after the defeat of the Calamity... it fails to make sense to any of us." "Whatever the situation is, I am confident that we'll find the solution," Zelda replied to him with a reassuring grin. Sidon reflected the expression when he stepped into the water and partially submerged himself in it, upon which Zelda, after Link motioned for her to go first, slowly went in as well and climbed onto his back. When she was comfortably leaning upon him, Sidon brought her across the water and to the nearest platform protruding from the side of the inert Divine Beast in but several powerful strokes, zipping from the shore to Ruta in a scant few seconds. When she was safely across, he returned and speedily brought Link to it as well in the same way. When both were aboard the platform, Sidon leapt out of the water with the grandest of finesse and joined them. After making sure they were set, they all walked inside of the Divine Beast together. The darkened, mostly sunless innards of the great mechanical creature was a scene that could be compared to few others. To walk about its spacious inside was like investigating a ruined, cave-like building filled with only the most advanced and confounding of Sheikah technology. Link still remembered well when he entered Vah Ruta last time, when it was full of life. He spent some time figuring out how to move about within it, slowly eradicating the corruption infesting its bowels until he destroyed the main source if its ailment and released the Divine Beast of Ganon's control. It was a short time's travel that transpired before the three made it into the main chamber of Vah Ruta. A mostly empty area with shin-high water flooded over the ground, the greatest thing of interest to be seen was the large construct at the other end with a controlling pedestal at its fore. Zelda hummed in vexation, seeing that it, too, was without power. "Well, here is the main console. And it appears to be as inactive as everything else. How utterly curious, wouldn't you both agree?" As he nodded his head in agreement, Sidon ran his hand over the smooth surface of the inactive machine-titan's stony carapace making up the nearby wall. "My sister's legacy is interwoven in many ways with this Divine Beast. Getting Ruta working again is perhaps my greatest desire in this peaceful time." A heavy sigh escaped him next as he looked back to his comrades. "As you both may have realized, this... means a lot to me." "It means a lot to us as well," Zelda spoke again in a reassuring manner, placing her hand upon the prince's arm in a comforting gesture. "Without the aid of your sister's spirit piloting Vah Ruta, we may never have succeeded in banishing Ganon away from this world. And with all she had accomplished even before that, before the Calamity, she was a paragon to your people." "As I, my father, and our kingdom know very well," Sidon agreed with a nod of his head. "You know, when we were informed by Link that you still lived upon his arrival to the Zora Domain a short time before we regained control of Vah Ruta, we thought briefly that she might have survived as well." Sidon's head sunk an inch, and his eyelids lowered with it, though his overall expression was still calm and even-leveled. "It's a true pity that it turned out to not be the case, but it warms my heart to know the wretched creature that caused her death met its demise at Link's blade." "And it was because of Mipha that I was able to do so, at this very spot," Link chose to speak, gaining his Zora friend's attention next. "Were it not for her words of warning, I may not have fared as well against Waterblight Ganon. And were it not for the blessing of her grace that she gave to me after I freed her spirit from the Waterblight's hold, I may not have been able to find as much fortune in my final encounter with the Calamity itself." The small beginnings of a grin started to form on Sidon's mouth as he heard Link, and soon it evolved into a full on, toothy smile. "Yes, I think so as well. For all that was her shy nature, my older sister had a heart and will that exceeded many of our own," he simply could not help but chuckle as his head lifted once more and hands briefly clenched into fists. "A Zora you might not be, Link. But I see much of who Mipha was within you. It's no small wonder why both of you were so close to one another." The Hylian looked away for a second and smiled at the image his memory provided of the time he shared with the Zora princess. As the tender and happy moment came to a close, Zelda looked directly at the pedestal once more. Wading through the water, she paced over to the ancient command console and looked at it up close. Like the rest of the great machine-creature, it was devoid of the light that signified its life. Pulling out her Sheikah Slate, she placed it upon its flat, eldritch surface and scanned it over, nothing happening all the while. "How very odd... What on earth is troubling you, Vah Ruta...?" she pondered to herself after a few seconds had transpired. Her Slate soon finished its work, or at the very least as best as it could manage, and she lifted the device to her eyes to look over what meager few results it was able to gather. After properly analyzing it for a good few minutes, the princess turned her head toward the watching Link and Sidon. "I... think I see what may be the issue," she said to the pair, moving their way. "If I'm not mistaken, Ruta is simply missing something. Something I have not yet discerned, but I can tell is extremely vital to its function." She lifted her Slate again upon reaching them and started looking over it again, hoping to pinpoint what it was that was lacking. "Now, to find out what it is and how to remedy it..." "Wondrous!" smirked Sidon upon hearing this, striking a flexing pose with one arm and giving his friends a sharp-toothed grin that glimmered with the sunlight shining in from openings in the upper part of the chamber. "Our first step! Our first stone to be added to the grand pathway of things!" "Indeed it is," Zelda smiled back, unable to help herself after bearing witness to his trademark enthusiasm. "And yet, I fear that this process may be a tad more complicated than it seems. But no matter, I'll uncover what afflicting Ruta soon enough, I just know it." "Ah, conviction. A healthy emotion to have for such a task as this!" once more exclaimed Sidon, striking another pose of a similar nature as the first one and gaining yet another amused set of grins from his compatriots.
An Umbral TrespassThis was a poor day for the Yiga Clan. Mistress Bahna, the commander of the cabal who had long since settled in these alien lands in secret, moved through the cavernous and dank insides of the cave lining a mountain her troops found shelter within. Torches, hanging from holsters on the walls, lit her path through the otherwise darkness-infested environment. A Yiga as she was, unlike her clanmates' gear, she was covered in a set of armor bearing a solid-white coloration. Her mask was as red as the blood of her foes and the symbol of the eye it displayed was drawn in white as well. Bahna was alone in her journey, if only to dwell on her thoughts by herself. She walked deeper into the cavern's bowels, intent on checking over the most valued of prizes held within its depths. Prizes that possessed the utmost importance to her magnificent design. Until that Zora had appeared and shaken everything up, her plan, the scheme she had spent over forty years plotting out and perfecting, had been going on with unparalleled smoothness. But in one fell swoop, it all had become threatened. All those years of hard work... all those arduously long decades of readying herself for the moment of glory fate surely held for her was now on the line, but she grasped that line firmly. It was all spent for a contingency plan many of her peers, including her own father, Kohga, had called utterly unnecessary and illogical. And yet, as some certain current events could attest to, such an assumption was not to be the case. Her thoughts coming to a close, Bahna finally approached her destination, marked by a rectangular passageway just wide enough for at least two shapes to fit through. She entered it, coming into a wide chamber. The mistress of the Yiga inhaled a deep, silent breath and gazed upon what laid before her covered eyes. The single greatest tools at her disposal, both resting safely there in the lightless environment. On a pedestal right in the direct center of the chamber was a sphere, small enough to be able to be held in but a single hand. As seen by the patterns and glyphs wrapping around it, it was a piece of ancient Sheikah technology, but nothing more than a prototype born from the genius minds of her ancestors, from what little insight Bahna had gained from it in her studies. It was a relic of incalculable, mystic power forged from materials few could ever acquire, let alone encounter in their lifetimes. It was what she based her entire, elaborate plan upon. Too late did she find out that in the process of activating and deactivating it in the way she wished, she had unintentionally pried into other realms and pulled out their inhabitants. Whoever it may have been, they were here in this world as well, and that was, at times... troublesome. And this puny relic of incalculable potential was not the only object of interest here. Back against the wall and resting upon a specialized copper holder protruding from it, as Bahna now observed as she peered its way, was an amulet. It was a queer trinket of fair size, just large enough to fit into the entirety of one's hand. Its design was a grim thing, resembling that of a bird's skull set in a twisted demonic leer. A dull, sickly green glow emitted from it perpetually, giving too an aura of unkempt, nameless malice. Outlined by dark and jagged metals, a multitude of strange and alien signs and shapes permeated around it. Runic in design, to look upon them too long inevitably incited a terrible soreness of the eyes. This object was the first unintentional passenger of the orb, from all the way back when the Yiga first used the Precious Sphere to travel to this alternate dimension. Realizing how immense its incalculable, and all too obviously cursed power was from sensation alone, they were quick to take it and bind it, never laying even a single hand on it as they did so for fear of prying into the corrupted thing's true nature. Whatever manner of item it truly was, whatever sort of insidious influence dwelt within it, the ugly amulet was currently imprisoned like some spurned piece of jewelry against that wall, upon the hooks of its holder. Its minuscule shackles were more than enough to keep an accident from freeing it. Should this tool somehow be removed from its bonds by the hands of another, however, even for the slightest fraction of a second, Bahna had the strange feeling that no one, in this world or even the next, would know just what sort of havoc could be wrought by its use. Be that as it may, this thing getting loose was the last thing she thought would be possible. Even now, the talisman's very power was being harmlessly siphoned off into the sphere; its use imperative to its continued and safe function. Not only could it transport live beings, with the otherworldly energy provided by the mystic object instead of Sheikah magics, it could capture the essence of spirits who had passed and remained in the vicinity of its aim and somehow revive them through a process still not fully understood. The real trick—the trick Bahna had been attempting to master since the capture of this tool—was how to direct this latter function for one specific moment. And for the most part, it worked in all the ways she wanted. As for the unwanted arrival of the Zora, however... Alas, such was the instability of the Sphere. It was a relic. A treasure, but a prototype nonetheless. One that never found refinement, for the Sheikah who had built it to begin with ended their project upon the clearly unwise decision to follow more humble lives and cast it away, along with most of their research. And while Bahna had spent most of her lifetime so far learning from it and them, there was still so much more to discover in its usage. So unimaginably much. After staring at her prizes for a few minutes, silence surrounding her as peered their way from behind her mask, the Yiga leader made her leave. Departing from the chamber and making for the pathway back to the entrance of the cave, where her allies had set up a portion of their base of operations, Bahna walked into the upper levels of this cavernous domain. As she moved her pace began to slow, not from tire, but from active thought. The mounting pressure of it all made Bahna feel a twinge of frustration course through her mind, and when she finally became overcome by her tidal wave of ideas, she stopped in her tracks and sat down upon a nearby rock protruding from the floor. With a raised hand she pulled her mask off, revealing her pale face. She was quite the odd-looking Sheikah. Her skin was as pallid to the point of being nearly colorless, like that of the ghosts told in bedtime tales. Her eyes, currently glued to the floor, were highlighted by a pinkish texture, and the irises at their center were as red as the blood flowing through her veins. Behind her hood was short white hair, and underneath all her gear was a body of near-supernatural thinness. It had been in such a frail, unpigmented condition since the day she was born. If one were to get past how skeletal her outward appearance was, one might see how young she looked as well. In spite of how old she truly was, due to her Sheikah heritage—and also in no small part due to the usage of Sheikah magics—she was still young, albeit sickly and ever-weary. For most of her life she was just that; sickly. Weak. Unimpressive. For all her physical faults, she hated being thought of as nothing more than a delicate thing not meant for anything major. Through the most rigid of determination and ruthless of ambition did she get to where she was today. And that same determination and ambition was what led her to formulating her own group of loyal followers and leaving her home realm for this one. All the Yiga to serve under her command were proud warriors who shared her vision. And with their aid, it would come to pass. Ever since she used the Sacred Orb to spy into Hyrule and witness Ganon's demise at the sword and bow of a fearless, wretched warrior, her plan, once thought foolish and mad, was now put into full effect. Yet that Zora, wherever she now dwelt, had become something of a hazard. A threat with the potential to bring ruin to it all with the knowledge she kept. But she would overcome such a minuscule setback. One flaw in the grand design hardly meant the complete destruction of it. And by her ancestors, she would claim a final victory over- "Mistress Bahna, are you well?" suddenly came a polite voice. "Oh?" Bahna sighed in faint surprise as she was torn from her thoughts. She turned her head upward and spied the tall shape she recognized at once as belonging to her top captain and husband, Garo. His gear matched most of the warriors under their command, but there were enough markings upon it to distinguish him from the others. His arms were kept folded behind his back, and his posture was ever-alert. Turning her head to the floor again, Bahna slowly nodded and said, "Yes, I am quite well." "Your tone betrays you," he rebutted, his tone playful, but still bearing traces of genuine worry. "Hrm. It's merely my mind dwelling upon the news I've received," she mumbled. "And you know what it means as well. We must pick up the pace. Tell our engineers and architects to double their efforts of finishing our work, but also tell them to be fair in their methods." "And I shall. Anything else?" Garo inquired next. Now facing him, Bahna thought on this with a hum, biting her lower lip before reaching for the mask by her side and placing it back over her pastel face. Garo offered a hand her way and she accepted it into hers, quickly getting back to her feet. "Yes," she responded, keeping her view on him and looking up to his taller shape, smiling from behind her concealing piece of facewear. "Send our best agent to the pony city. Tell him to bring this Zora back to us, dead or alive. We must silence her. Even with how little she surely knows about us, we cannot risk having her aid the ponies in uncovering our hideout. For years they've known nothing. We must keep them in he dark for as long as possible." "Of course, mistress," Garo nodded, the grin behind his own mask large and most delighted. "I'm sure this will do well to facilitate our current plight. Your judgement always proves to be so very wise, after all..." "Flatterer," she chuckled lightly, brushing past him with an affectionate bump to the shoulder. For a few seconds Garo watched his beloved wife saunter her way further down the tunnel before going off himself and joining her on the path leading outside of the cavern. Their conversation was at an end. As far as they could perceive, it was one kept between them, and them only. But unbeknownst to either one, someone else also heard in on it. From back in the tomb-esque chamber, the fell amulet that rested in its back, fueling the Sphere, had heard all. Though without ears, it had listened to the echoing sounds outside well. Intrigued by what it had just learned, the etched visage of facial bone in its center lit up a slightly brighter shade of green in a fashion reminiscent of excitement, if only briefly before dying down again. Long enough it had been trapped here. Long enough to drive a mortal mind to helpless insanity. Long enough to find nothing but blank boredom in its surroundings. It wasn't the first time it was imprisoned like this, and would not be the last. But still its sharpened, inhuman hearing worked, enough to catch the conversation going on from far away. All it caught was but the faintest of echoes from their direction. An echo detailing a creature that formulated an image sitting within its sentient, sapient mind. And that was all it needed. Mipha felt rather drained as the day drew to a close. For most of it, she had talked with and explained her situation to the ponies of Canterlot. They heard her out and voiced possible solutions to both her and their problems, more than she could count. Overall, things went... actually pretty well. For the shy Mipha, her trust in these intelligent equines was gained by the time the sun was lowered and the moon was raised. All the ponies she had been introduced to, from the friends of Fluttershy, to the princesses, to every single servant she had the pleasure of meeting within this castle, had treated her with only kindness and respect. And also with questions, were she to count the constant, innocent probing of the one known as Twilight Sparkle. While Mipha still kept her jewelry, her original, ruined outfit was voluntarily taken by the ponies to be repaired to its proper form. For now she had been given another piece to wear, and it provided much-needed comfort for her. It was a long, flowing white dress, made for ponies but tweaked in function and form a small ways to fit her better by the pony she now knew as 'Rarity'. A highly talented and creative tailor was what the Zora saw her as, and it came as no surprise to her when Rarity stated that it was not only her favored passion, but that she also owned a boutique here in Canterlot. With night having descended, Mipha politely excused herself for the day. Without so much as her having to ask first, the two princesses who ruled over Canterlot had offered her a room to sleep in. The servant who now led her to it in the eastern section of the castle was a mare of light gray fur and pristine ware. It was a short upstairs journey before they reached a wooden door, and the mare pushed it open, revealing a pleasant, medium-sized abode. One of the more visual aspects it had was a big, but currently closed window in the back, beside a large bed. "The princesses have taken extensive care with their magic to make sure you will feel comfortable during your stay," the pony beside Mipha said as she stared, her tone light and respectful. "Some maids have added their touch to the room as well, but with more... natural accommodations. And even should something not be to your liking, or if you require anything, just pull that string on the wall to ring a bell. A servant will come and tend to whatever need you have, Princess Mipha." Mipha turned her head to what the pony spoke of and spotted a small wooden handle by the bed, which in turn was attached to a string extending from its base. "Thank you," she said, her head bowing a small ways in gratitude as she refocused on the mare. "You are most welcome. May you sleep well, princess," the servant bid, bowing her head and smiling. Turning about, she left the room so her treasured guest could get some shuteye at last, closing the door behind her as she departed. When Mipha found herself alone, the first thing she did was inspect the place more thoroughly; deciding to check out what sort of architecture these sapient equines found favor in. When she eventually reached the window, she pushed it open, allowing a strong breeze to enter. The window itself gave off quite the view, and not just of the city. The sky was dark and cloudless, leaving the stars to shine down alongside the moon without any sort of obstruction. Beautiful as they was, these stars were unfamiliar to her. The many constellations she knew by heart and once spent many a night staring up at from a river, bed of grass, or other such location near her home in Hyrule... none bore even the slightest similarity. As much as she wanted to try and make new sense of the entire thing as she had done since first arriving to this world and realizing her terrible predicament, her gazing eventually ended. Yawning, she slipped quietly into the covers, and no sooner had she done so when she noticed something fairly surprising. They felt... wet. Cool. Not like someone had dabbed them in a bucket of water and then laid them so, but bore the likes of the gentle current of a flowing river. It was nearly like she was in one back in the Zora's Domain. Whatever sort of spell, charm or enchantment they were given, they did their job to soothe her well. A few, long minutes went by, and by their end she had fallen asleep. Mipha's eyes seemed to open to pure blackness. An empty, blackened void, and like a leaf in a stray autumn wind, she drifted loosely about in it. Everything around her was still. She had memory of death's cold, uncaring embrace all those years ago, and if she were to compare it to anything, that would be it. Before she found her spirit imprisoned within the Divine Beast she was supposed to pilot against the Calamity, she sensed dark nothingness awaiting her like a lifted veil. But unlike before, she was not alone here in this cold realm betwixt worlds. Her head lifting, she detected a presence standing before her shape, as though there were a floor to hold it. It was an upright, gaunt, alien being, hunched over, thin and gangly and admittedly wretched. It was evidently malnourished from something, or at the very least twisted into this form by some outside force. A host of bony arms, three feathered pairs of them at least, were clutching around its own body. Its upper face seemed concealed by living shadow, while the mouth, a great black beak, protruded from the inky murk. Though as dark as pitch from the distance it stood from her, it stuck out neatly from the environment by the faint aura of sickly green that outlined it. As Mipha could only watch, unable to even blink, the figure simply stood there. Still as a statue, its audibly ragged breathing gave off the life it had. Suddenly, it began to hobble her way in a weak, limping motion. More wheezing breaths exhaled from its beaked maw, misshapen and chipped, like some diseased raven's. It was all Mipha could hope to discern of the being as it emerged further and further from the shadows. Despite her near-instinctual desire to go and help this feeble being, no matter its perturbing visage, Mipha could not move. It was almost as though she were paralyzed and floating helpless within the void that was their surroundings. Its pace quickening, the multi-armed thing crept up to her in a rather insidious approach. Mipha's body still refused to obey her. Feelings to aid the being quickly turned to fear as it grew closer, the strained breaths becoming more like a weak, croaking growl than anything else. Now less than a foot from her, its hideous avian mouth opened. A strong, repugnant scent, a scent of both fresh and old blood, a reeking smell of something spoiled, something rotten, filled her nose. Her body convulsed, attempting to gag, yet unable to. And yet this creature still could move. It reached but one haggard, malformed claw out and grabbed at her neck, restricting her air flow enough to force a gasp from her lips. With a single, strong pull it dragged her head down to its level, directly beside its waiting maw, so foul and loathsome. And, with but nine words delivered in an ancient voice that was as withered as a drought on the hottest day in summer, and yet also as deep as a bottomless ocean with depths so far down that no light could reach it, it spoke into her ear. "Release me. Release me, as I have released you." In that one instant, this blackness-consumed reality dissipated. Everything—the void, the figure, and even her sensation of helpless paralysis—faded away like dust in the wind. Then, at last, Mipha awoke. The moment Mipha's eyes flashed open, she detected a large form looming over her own. A shout of panic was about to leave her mouth, when the feeling of a cool hoof was brought to it before she could utter a single sound. "Shh! Shh..." it hushed, its familiar tone turning soft. Her eyes quickly adjusting, Mipha saw, with relief, that it was just Princess Luna. The alicorn quickly retracted her hoof when she saw calmness enter the Zora's amber eyes. Mipha sat up, rubbing her weary face until her view was no longer hazy. "Luna..." she sighed, catching her breath. "It's only you. I just... experienced the most perplexing dream..." "What you just experienced was no dream," Luna weightily spoke to the Zora. "That was a premonition. And not a natural one, either." "Premonition? Natural?" Mipha questioned back, her tone still nebulous with tire. Placing a hand to her head and shaking away the last of her sleepiness, she looked to the alicorn in a most concerned way. "Does your kind by chance experience them frequently?" "My sister has undergone a few in the long time that I have known her," she responded. "But what you went through... this is very disturbing. But you should not trouble yourself over it, Mipha. Whoever gave you this... I will personally discover." "Do you think it has something to do with what has happened to me and the missing ponies?" the Zora questioned next "I feel it does." Luna confirmed. Her horn lighting up in a dim glow, she waited for Mipha to lay back down and gently pulled her covers back over her. "Go back to sleep, young Mipha. I will see to it that the rest of your night will be filled with more pleasant thoughts." Casting a small spell to lull her back to sleep, Mipha soon fell into a resting position and was soundly doing so once more. Her job here done for now, but with yet another queer mystery in dire need of illumination, the alicorn took one last look at the Zora before leaving her be to tend to the rest of her nightly duties.
The Zora PrinceWhatever had caused it, there was an air of blatant caution assailing Prince Sidon's senses, heightening them for however brief it would turn out to be, or so he chose to think. He was in a place he had been before, many times in fact, but he was sensing more of its attributes than he ever remembered. The location, a wide corridor he had been trekking down for but three long minutes, was not as lengthy as it seemed, but it was dark and winding and lonely. Somewhere, echoing all around him, a droplet of water sonorously plinked. He knew there was something provoking him at least. Excitement, most likely. Being truthful to himself, Sidon could scarcely wait to again visit Vah Ruta. Upon the arrival of Link and Zelda the day prior, he felt assured that the answers behind this entire mystery would quickly reveal themselves. Even after the first day's conclusion, with nothing of major importance having yet been discovered, his hope did not waver. Zelda had proposed numerous promising theories she wished to test out come today. For the night the two Hylians had reclined within the walls of the kingdom. As morning opened they quickly roused themselves from their peaceful slumber and readied themselves for the continuing investigation. Now, all was nearly set for the coming trials that were promised. Sidon was to meet them at the entrance of the city come noon, but there were other matters he needed to tend to before the moment arrived. One of those matters was why he was here. He was sauntering now through a complex hosting training chambers, ones utilized by the Zora knighthood. Here was where they, and their initiates or hopefuls, refined their skill in battle and defense. Though time was of the essence for Sidon and the chambers were many, it was a brief journey that permitted him to keep his cool, helped by the convenient layout of the structure. Itself being a corridor spiraling downward into the deep waters below the city, the main passageway graced each chamber evenly. Here he had apparently urgent business to attend to, as disclosed from a message sent to him by a close friend earlier in the morning. Sidon glanced into every chamber he passed, currently treading from the fourth of the several that were installed in the structure. Each was a great wide cosm all its own, some filled with contraptions purposed to train specific aspects of combat and defense, others without anything to be noted. Not a soul inhabited any thus far, all of their normal occupants most likely patrolling the city or borders of the domain after the troubling reports of a great massing of dark creatures loyal to the passed Calamity came the night prior. The most sharp-eyed of sentinels stated that the many beast-creatures were closing in on the position of the inert Divine Beast Vah Ruta, as though drawn to it. Grim news, but somehow unsurprising, thought Sidon. For all it's features, the apparent emptiness of the complex was its most noticeable attribute at the moment. If anything Sidon appreciated it, in a way. Treading through the depths of this twisting pathway gave him time to think about what this day might hold. His ready mind strayed far, inevitably falling back to his concerns toward the current condition of Vah Ruta. Other than the dubious shadow surrounding the mystery itself, Sidon did not have any doubts about his allies' capability in solving this conundrum. With Princess Zelda's knowledge of the great constructs, and Link's blade to keep back potential foes, he knew they would figure out what ailed the divine beast. Happy with that, he was just sending his thoughts away from that image and to the second visitation he planned, when he heard something up ahead of himself. "That's it, that's it! Good! Yes, yes, perfect!" Sidon stopped, his head leaning forward. He listened well to the sounds of praise from just up ahead, smiling when he recognized the throaty voice. It was, without a doubt, the voice of Seggin. There was a stunning rarity of anyone in the kingdom who didn't know of him. Having earned himself a fierce reputation back in the days of his prime, Seggin was the Zoras' own, great 'Demon Sergeant'. Those days having long since passed, the old knight's hoarse tone was as aged and wispy in sound as he was in shape. That was not at all to say he had lost his touch in forging other, younger Zora warriors into model knights. Sidon stifled a hearty laugh, resuming his journey with the image of sneaking up on him in what seemed to be the middle of a drilling session popping into his head. As per his summons, Seggin was just the Zora he was looking for. The messenger stated that he sought Sidon's presence down here before his departure, as he had someone he personally wanted to accompany the prince while he went off with his Hylian allies. While the thought of having a bodyguard seemed somewhat superfluous, given he had the likes of the champion Link to ward off what few malevolent creatures might disturb their investigation, Seggin made special note of how this particular individual was not simply qualified, but thirsting to perform so important a duty. As to who this individual was, Sidon did not yet know, though he did have a modest suspicion. Soon Sidon was closing the paltry distance between the location and himself when Seggin's voice went out again, close enough now that he could have heard him whisper if that was the tone he chose. While it was low, and dare he say amiable, it was no whisper, but a firm order. "Now, for something I've seen you struggle with in the past: the Sepredian Lunge. You know how it goes, Scuta; try to disarm and fell your foe in one leap. Do it in exactly four blows, perform them all before you again touch ground. Remember, even in the air, make sure to keep your posture completely unbreakable in light of every- yes! Yes, excellent! It seems you truly have mastered the technique." Treading softly now, the Zora prince rounded the corner to come upon the tall doorless entrance of the final training chamber. Truly a vast thing, it was a wide and circular area with a high ceiling. As spoken of in hushed tones by some of his friends in the guard, this room was often blanketed in near-total darkness so that aspiring knights could learn to learn to properly fight even in the murkiest of waters or the blackest of nights. As of now there was actually some illumination to go by, provided by the single bioluminescent chandelier above. The pale blue textures of the light were crudely dim, but just bright enough to reveal the features of the room and all who were in it wholly. By this light, Sidon spotted Seggin first, standing but four paces from him. His shape was gaunt and haggard and ancient. Scars were etched all over his bony frame like grim tattoos, all honest trophies taken from fights and battles long since fought and endured in the name of his king and kingdom. His arms were folded behind his wiry back, one finger tapping rhythmically upon the wrist of the joined hand. He had yet to notice his prince, as his gaze was held strictly forward, to his student. Who he had been drilling this whole time, the only other living being in this rough place, stood twelve meters away. It was an armored, female shape. It was his niece, Scuta. With the exception of Seggin's son, the adroit and capable captain of the guard Bazz, Sidon did not see much of the Demon Sargent's kin. They were few in number and resided in the territories outside of the kingdom, but he still recognized this one from memory. A mature Zora of an exceptionally firm build, Scuta's form was queerly short, but sinewy with lithe muscle built from years of training and firsthand combat. The sturdy armor she wore covered only her waist and legs, expressing a smooth sapphire gleam outlined by ruby-studded silver. Her rough skin was tinted pallid azure, her underbelly lighter in color only by virtue of being colorless. Her crooked teeth glittered pearly and sharp even in the modest light of the room. And then there was the scar that distinguished her most amongst her fellow Zora — a long, white, diagonal streak of maimed flesh starting at the rightmost base of her chin, running over her mouth until halting just under her left eye's lid. Her stance was currently bent and compact. Save a wide and ready grin, every fabric of her visage was emotionless, unreadable, yet still full of a vivid life. Evidently from the tattered remnants of her past "opponents", she had been practicing her current technique against a series of training dummies. Molded of wood and a series of knitted sacks filled with straw and grass, her latest foe, standing several feet from her now, bore the porcine likeness of a savage moblin. Scuta looked it down with wide, glassy red eyes, seeking only the key points of its tall shape she could exploit. A trident rested at the ready in one off and eager hand. Its design was a spiraling silver paragon of Zora art, its forging indubitably of master quality. Three points made its end, each long and barbed and sharp. Silence rang supreme throughout the chamber for almost a minute. Seggin gave a single nod of his head, and Scuta killed the quiet with a sudden spring of lighting-quick motion that very nearly made Sidon blink. She hissed and lunged, making it within fighting distance in a single bound, opening with a flurry of stabs from the trident that targeted the hands of the dummy. Swiftly knocking loose the makeshift club the dummy possessed, she disarmed her opponent. Her movements evolved into a wild but elegant series of twists and twirling of the trident, concluding with a sudden low sweeping blow of the weapon that opened up the sack-skin legs just above the feet. Damp grass and straw spilled over the wet floor in two small piles. With her enemy rendered helpless by the assault, had it been a living creature of flesh and blood anyway, she closed in for the kill, starting with another intricate display of her physical capabilities. Sidon's brow raised. With immense determination lining every dexterous stroke, vault and kick, Scuta's form was of nearly unrivaled quality. Honing her skills to perfection under her famed uncle's tutelage, there were few, if any Zora of any age or rank today who could compare to her capability. Whatever Seggin had been teaching her, the efforts put into the training had clearly born fruit. Whatever the moment shared currently between the two was, Scuta's attention also proved the first to fall to him. Her eyes locked on Sidon the second they chanced a glimpse his way, catching his shape from the corner of her vision. The moment her head turned to fully view the prince, Scuta's posture lowered. Her head tilted and she blinked but once. "Uncle," she calmly said before Seggin could ask why she had halted, "It seems we have company." "Is there now?" Seggin's old wrinkled cranium shifted in direction until it spied the shape of the one she spoke of. "Ah, Prince Sidon! I had no idea you were there. I'm glad you came here before your departure." "How could I not? In the infrequent moments where you seek my presence personally, I tend to suspect an invaluable reasoning behind it." Sidon's arms folded and he turned a welcoming grin to Seggin's niece. "And it seems my suspicions were again founded. It's a pleasure to meet you again, Scuta," he greeted, giving his regal head a light, respectful nod to her. "The pleasure is all mine, my prince," she responded back with a close-eyed bow of her own. When she lifted her face to meet his again, there was an immense, proud smile adorning her rugged face. "And I would like to apologize for thrusting this proposition upon you on such short notice. My uncle thought there might be a chance you would accept me into your company, to make sure that you suffer no ill inconveniences while investigating our Divine Beast's malfunction this day. Will you have me join you as your personal enforcer?" "The apology is unnecessary, my friend. It would be my honor to have a Zora of your disposition at my side." With his response came a great grin that mirrored her own. "Though I know not yet what you may have to enforce on my part." "Oh, there are numerous creatures of malevolent intent one could happen by, my prince," she cheerily mentioned. "Bokoblins, moblins, lizalfos... The sentries have stated numerous creatures of ill intent have steadily progressed toward Vah Ruta's location. If it was enough to prompt the guard to hold back any citizens from approaching our divine beast, then as my reasoning goes..." As her hand waved about for emphasis on the very real encroaching threat, Sidon tittered gently, amused. "And you think I could not handle such beasts as those?" Scuta's smile flickered for a moment. "No, I believe you could, my prince," she reaffirmed her future liege. Her gaze fell away for a moment before returning. "It's just that... one can never tell what manner of monster might show themselves at this delicate moment. I would be remiss to allow any sort of harm, potential or otherwise, to have so much as a chance to come to you." As if sensing the fragments of perturbation in her words, Sidon let ease flow through his tone when next he spoke. "Don't worry about those trivial thoughts. Should any such beast approach me, I have little doubt the two of us could not handle them. The only thing I would worry about if I was you is your preparations for our departure. I was planning on meeting my friends in a very short time, you see..." A glint of excitement entered Scuta's eyes, but that was all the hint of it she displayed. "How soon will we be leaving?" "Within the next half hour, of course." "Then I shall be ready by then! If you'll allow me a few moments to gather myself, my prince..." With two bows, one to Sidon and one to Seggin respectively, Scuta quickly scuttled past the two and left the chamber. When she had exited through where Sidon entered and left their sight, the Zora prince looked to Seggin, who still had his old eyes set on where he last saw his neice. "She indeed has quite a thirst to prove herself," Sidon said with admiration fresh and ripe in his voice. He gently nudged the older Zora's shoulder. "And I've spied her flaunting her moves under your tutelage many times before. They are impressive." "Hmf. Much of it she learned by living on the frontier settlements, you know. I only showed her some of my personal techniques, ones I myself cannot replicate any longer. Regardless, for her prince, such approval is the highest honor she could hope to attain as of now. Gods below know she already has mine." Seggin coughed into his curled and wrinkled fist and fixed his gaunt form into as much an upright shape as he could muster. "That thirst, however, worries me, my prince. While my son Bazz overcame his a long time ago, Scuta has not fully done so herself. For my efforts to temper my neice's yearning for glory, so far I've had only some success." He briefly rocked his crown left and right no sooner had he voiced that speck of doubt. "But, I have faith that she will pull through, should the circumstance call for it. If there's anything I've disciplined her in more than combat, it's to value duty over desire. Proper restraint, and all that." "Of that, I believe we can agree. And worry you should not." A toothy smirk came over Sidon's mouth as he looked down at the Demon Sergeant. "We are merely attempting to solve the mystery behind Vah Ruta's deactivation. We'll have to deal with minor encampments of beasts at most. We're not hunting for hinox." "And even in the case a hinox should somehow come into the picture, she knows well on how to deal with one," Seggin informed his prince with a throaty chuckle. He lifted a finger and waved it about, his memory ever keen to recite his well-honed words of wisdom. "'Keep away from it for a fair distance while it attacks, go for the eye with a ranged weapon, attack its most vital points with the trident when it's attempting to recuperate, rinse and repeat'. And that is but one of several methods she knows." Sidon scarcely doubted the efficiency of the lent morsel of knowledge. With a raised arm and without words he beckoned his elder friend to follow him. Returning off a close-eyed shrug, Seggin happily agreed. Walking at a pace that was comfortable for the old sergeant, Sidon and Seggin sauntered out of the chamber, through the winding pathway that took them out of the training complex and into the expanse of the Zora city. They walked on, through small crowds and marketplaces, across great bridges and platforms lined with luminescent lights, and past many a vast spiraling piece of architecture etched with symbols of historical significance their artisans had erected in years long since gone by. The prince and sergeant's journey concluded only as they drew into the great city's heart, whereupon they came to a spot both often visited by both of them. Here, tall and proud and sculpted after the appearance of their late, beloved princess, was a great statue of Sidon's sister, Mipha. It may have been over one-hundred years since the day, but Mipha's sacrifice was still a subject not spoken of lightly. Her death hit the Zora in ways none alive at the time could have ever thought feasible. She was a kind, gentle soul, and also a warrior without peer, whose recorded feats provoked awe from even the current generation. What little hope some of them held onto of her potential survival was a small candle against an encroaching wave. It was finally snuffed out when the truth of her ultimate fate came to their ears by way of Link in his journey to purge the corruption enthralling the four divine beasts and end the Great Calamity. Terrible as the truth was, this knowledge brought with it a melancholy peace of mind. Even when the dreaded news regarding her demise came to them, the Zoras' hope in light of what their Lady had stood for remained steadfast. Even in death she instilled hope and compassion into the souls of all who would hear her tale, immortalized now in this stone form by only the greatest of Zora craftsmen. Seggin sighed as his old eyes came upon it. Every time he saw it, Sidon sensed him thinking to better days, and all the bitter regret that came with it when his view focused back to the present. Memories surely flooded through his mind like reopened wounds, filling it with a numb pain he had gotten quite used to in this day and age. Be that as it was, Sidon knew the torment still constantly assaulted him without restraint. "You taught Mipha everything she knew." The prince turned to his trusted ally, his voice evidently picking Seggin up out of the thick of his thoughts. "Tell me; do you see any traces of the Zora my sister was within Scuta?" "Your... sister? No. No, no, no..." Seggin quickly shook his aged head several times. A small frown appeared on his wrinkled mouth and his expression hardened. Inhaling slowly, he looked up at the statue, allowing it to again remind him of the time in his younger life when he trained his Lady in all the ways of combat and defense he knew. His old glare hardened for a brief second, but quickly mollified. "I would be lying if I said I chose to train my niece to perhaps relive that feeling, and I will say that she shows as much skill with the trident as Lady Mipha. But Scuta has been living a life of her own. She is her own Zora. I've seen to it that that's who she remains as." Emitting a forlorn breath, the Demon Sergeant turned his view back onto Sidon. "If there's any bit of wisdom I've cared to collect during all the years my heart's been beating, it's that the past is something to be remembered, young master. To be looked back on, to be reflected upon, and to learn from. But never to be replicated, if for memory's sake alone. If one tries to do so, that memory, and all the splendor it posed, might be forever tarnished. However well replicated it may become, it quickly stagnates and it... sometimes hurts its creator more than any future injury could ever accomplish." "I believe that," Sidon nodded, after a moment. No matter the pain behind a lesson, he was ever appreciative of the teachings of someone his elder. In fact, the old sergeant's talk of memories provoked one of his own, one of his most treasured memories concerning his sister. It was well over a century ago now, back when he was but a child still wary to life's less simple things, but he still remembered Mipha clear as day. He remembered her kind voice, her calm smile, and her soft gold eyes. Above all, he remembered the responsibilities she entrusted to him in the chance that fate were to cruelly part them; words that would turn terribly prophetic. When Sidon exited the brief, bittersweet reverie, he placed an understanding hand on Seggin's easing shoulder. "Whatever should happen to us, come our mission's end, Scuta shall return here. I'll make sure no harm befalls her." Seggin rolled his old eyes and shook his dark wrinkled cranium again, though in a jesting manner this time. A dense chuckle accompanied the motion. "Oh, my prince, I believe that is her duty to you," he said, flashing him an amused grin made up of sharp, worn teeth that hadn't been shed for far too many years. "And don't you forget it. Why, I'd bet my left hand she could best you in an even duel, if given the chance. And that's assuming she finds the will to strike at her prince and future king..." Sidon laughed with his old friend, savoring the moment as best he could. Seggin was beaming his way soon after stopping. "Noon will soon be upon us, Sidon. I believe, as you said yourself, that your friends and allies are waiting for you outside of the kingdom," he advised. "I suggest you gather my niece and see to them at the time scheduled before they grow impatient for your radiant presence, my prince." "And I will, after I pay one more important individual a quick visit," Sidon said, with a pulsation of intimate warmth filling his heart and mind. Turning about, he started walking away from the Demon Sergeant, but kept an eye looking to him over his crimson shoulder. "Farewell, Knight Seggin. 'Til next our paths cross." "And farewell to you, Prince Sidon," Seggin bid from behind his prince. "Farewell, and good luck."
