My Little Pony - Friendship is magic : New adventures

Rainbow Dash’s house was not entirely destroyed despite hitting the ground ; it was not beyond repair, although the repairs were going to be at least tremendous. Rather than being totally collapsed, it was dislocated the same way a puzzle would be : it slightly reassured Rainbow Dash who began an assessment of what to do and how to proceed ; everyone offered their help and Fluttershy suggested her marefriend to sleep at the cottage for the time being.

Bowser and King Boo came back just after lunch : when they learned what had happened, Bowser nearly crushed the book he was handling in his hands and King Boo frowned.

"Death hasn’t told me about souls leaving Its realm without Its accord, that’s strange…" The ghost pointed out.

"Twilight, huh ? If that Zant guy has teleported back into Midna’s dimension, I’ll follow and make him pay, because I’ve found a way to get there", Bowser said.

"Really !?" Midna exclaimed with hope and joy.

"Yes, and that’s pretty simple actually, with a piece of tech I already had in my castle. It’s a mix between magic and technology, not too hard to understand. I think that, together, it’ll take half a day to build", Bowser replied.

"Hey ! Hey ! I’m going to check on Death if everything’s alright !" King Boo suddenly exclaimed just as a dimensional portal opened next to him. Inside the tear-like opening, although blurry, a modern office was visible, along with a paper-filled black desk and an office chair. Sitting on it, an indistinct form could be seen, its head apparently turned towards the rift : the scenery, or maybe the invisible stare of the seated form, was highly unsettling. Once the dimensional portal closed, everyone discussed about what they had seen, having conflicting memories regarding the silhouette : all the ponies were agreeing to say it was a black, smoky alicorn, or at least an equine silhouette with an indistinct number of vaporous wings, while the humans were swearing it was a member of their race and Anita was explaining she had seen nothing at all but a desk and an empty chair. Seeing it was getting nowhere, Bowser interrupted the discussion :

"It’s Death : its true form’s not under your grasp : each culture will see It differently depending on their beliefs or appearance".

"That… makes sense", Starlight admitted after seconds of silence.

"And you ? How do you see it ?" Mario asked to his ex-arch-nemesis.

"I see Its true form… I cannot express it with words… I can reply something along the lines of : “Death is Death-shaped and Death-colored” ; best I can do. I may telepathically transfer what I saw to you, but you won’t have better words, and you won’t be able to even draw it", the Koopa answered, shrugging.

Twilight gladly volunteered for the experience, and Bowser touched her forehead with the tip of his claws.

"Whoa ! So that’s how it is… Eww. That form isn’t… pleasant. There’s something huh… unsettling about it", the Princess of Friendship said after a few seconds.

"It’s Death, not something you see every day, unless you’re King Boo or work under It, so it’s pretty normal to feel that way ; it’ll pass eventually", the King of the Koopa explained.

"I wanna see too ! I wanna see too !" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Bowser complied and gave the vision to the pink pony.

"Huh !? Hey, I get it ! It’s funny-shaped ! The color’s funny too ! Death’s so funny !" She laughed as everyone looked at her with extremely confused looks.

King Boo suddenly reappeared by the same passageway and Pinkie Pie took the chance to waive at the silhouette still sitting on its chair ; the portal to Death’s Headquarters closed abruptly however, making impossible to know if Death had waived back.

"Death has verified ! There are no missing souls, except for that Zant guy ! The Boss is pretty mad, the Accountants are going to have a bad time ! Nothingness has managed to snatch a soul under their nose ! Now Death is angry AND worried ! If that thing can enter the Realm, we are done for ! Death will take measures and check again for missing souls, but as I said to It, Nothingness had probably used sealed or ghost beings to make its army ! It’s bad ! Really bad !"

"We can stop ghosts", Bowser said calmly. "I think it’s time for some of your buddies to come here, in the Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland and Hyrule before it’s too late".

"Give me two minutes ! Two !" The ghost exclaimed before disappearing.

"He’s gonna call his… buddies ?" Spike asked with a worried tone.

Bowser sighed.

"Got no choice. But King Boo and I will keep them under control. Mostly. They’re an army of deranged ghosts after all…"

King Boo reappeared a minute later ; he was not alone : hundreds and hundreds of Boos materialized inside the castle, covering everything in white. They all looked alike, but were different from their leader : they were smaller – slightly bigger than the size of a stallion – with black eyes, a normal-colored tongue and no crown on their head ; they were all smiling, revealing their four fangs and long tongue.

Everyone began to sweat ; half of this number of Boos could potentially bring down an entire kingdom just by causing panic.

"Hey buddies ! I, your king, order you to patrol that cute little world ! Your task is to check if everything is okay ! You report any problem to me ! Or Bowser ! Or Princess Twilight Sparkle here ! Or Princess Celestia here ! Or Princess Luna here !"

"Half of them would’ve been sufficient, Bowser pointed out. Listen, Boos ! Half of you will go to Hyrule. Put down any ghosts you’ll find there and report to me, King Boo or Princess Zelda. Understood ?"

Half of the Boos instantly disappeared, reducing their number to a few hundred.

"Big Boo’s still in the Mushroom Kingdom ?" Bowser asked to King Boo.

"Yes, why ? You want me to bring him here ?"

"No. Relay the order to the Boos there. Every world must stay on its guard".

King Boo disappeared.

"They’re gonna cause a mess here !" Applejack panicked.

"Why ?" A Boo interrogated.

"Aren’t we cute ?" Another asked.

"We’re cute for sure !" One of them answered.

"Listen", Bowser groaned. "Equestria's inhabitants aren't accustomed to you, or any other type of ghosts. You’ll patrol invisibly ; no one must see you. We’ll probably make a declaration to inform Equestria of your presence later. For now however, you keep it low".

"Understood, boss !" They said in unison before leaving the castle by passing through its walls.

"They got everything covered in the Mushroom Kingdom !" King Boo exclaimed as he materialized in the room.

"Perfect. Now, for that gate…" The King of the Koopas said as he opened his book.

The gate took the rest of the day to build, even with everyone’s help ; while Twilight and Starlight had quickly figured out almost everything, it was far harder for the rest of the group. Nonetheless, the gate, a smooth triangular metallic structure large enough for Bower to pass through, was successfully activated as Celestia was lowering the sun.

"The portal works. Now, we need a plan", Midna said.

"We cross first", Bowser denied. "The gate leads to a quiet place ; we’ll stay there as King Boo will scout the area ; we’ll progress according to his reports. It’ll be faster that way, your people might be in danger".

"He is right", Zelda told Midna before she could counter.

"I’d like to come with you", Twilight confessed. "I wanna see your world so much !"

"Me too", Starlight admitted.

"This isn’t your fight", Midna replied. "You already helped me so much. You saved my life. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone for their help. I don’t intend this to be parting words : I won’t make the same mistake again : that portal will from now on connect the Twilight Realm and Equestria".

"Put your head through, quick", Bowser told Twilight and Starlight as he put his arm through the portal, preventing it from closing abruptly.

The mares smiled and poked their head through the triangular opening ; they pulled back half a minute later, dazzled.

"It’s… beautiful…" Twilight said after a while. "A different kind of beauty than Equestria or the Mushroom Kingdom of course. Something more huh… mysterious… more mystic".

"And more serene", her lover added.

"We are going now", Zelda declared.

"Keep the portal open ‘til we come back", Bowser advised. "Well, except if some monster pass through, cut the power ; it’ll also cut it in half. Chances are low though, given the location. Furthermore, King Boo will make the gate invisible from the other side. Wish us good luck", he concluded as he turned around to go through the breach with King Boo, Zelda, Link and Midna.

"Wait !" Celestia exclaimed.

"What ?" The King of the Koopas interrogated.

"Take this with you", the Princess of the Sun whispered before kissing him.

Everyone looked away, blushing, and Bowser rubbed the back of his head.

"Th-thanks", he spluttered before passing through the portal.

Minutes after his passage, King Boo reappeared in the castle.

"We will take some buddies with us, just in case !" He exclaimed before disappearing ; he reappeared ten seconds later, followed by a hundred of Boos.

"Here we go !"

The Boos followed their leader through the opening.

"I hope it’ll be quick", Applejack wished.

Up until that point, they had not been spotted : King Boo and his minions were excellent scouts, but they had not encountered anything on the way to the palace, which soon appeared in their field of view.

"That’s strange…" Midna pointed out.

"Looks like a trap. Boo, take some of your buddies to check inside the whole castle", Bowser ordered King Boo who complied, as another ghost came near them.

"All clear ! The portal’s still there, guarded", it said before speeding away.

A minute later, all the Boos and their king came back.

"Nothing in the palace, except thirty prisoners in cells ! We’ve freed them ! Freed them !" King Boo exclaimed.

The group teleported right in front of the palace of Twilight, on the town square ; from inside the three floating, titanic grey buildings connected by the plaza emerged the prisoners : Midna’s subjects were similar to Zant, except smaller and mostly naked ; only what were apparently guards were wearing a black armor covered in blue patterns ; Bowser noted the likeness with a printed circuit board, but said nothing. Once in front of their princess, the subjects kneeled ; Midna shook her head and gestured them to get up.

"They have no obligation to kneel in front of a coward", she whispered to her friends.

Her subjects began to speak in their language, a long series of moans of variable intensity.

"They’re thanking us and… they say that there are other prisoners not in the palace", Midna translated as she showed some structures floating nearby.

Five minutes later, the town square was crowded with residents of the Twilight moaning in their language, forming a beautiful and mystic choir.

"They… they say that… that I did what needed to be done… That I listened to them… even if it was meaning to flee…" Midna spluttered, swallowing a sob.

"I brought back saviors…"

Suddenly, all the citizens felt silent, and only a guard spoke, with his ruler translating along :

"All the monsters are gone. They disappeared along with Zant some time ago. Zant said before leaving : “I will not come back. This is your penance. The penance of our miserable world. Stay locked here and suffer until your death or the coming of the Master”".

"He’ll use that army of Polygons to attack another dimension !" She exclaimed.

"Yes. But maybe he was talking about Equestria. Or… he left Equestria with the army to attack somewhere else", Bowser muttered.

"Hyrule is a high probability ; given his previous defeat there, he is probably eager to conquer it once more", Zelda theorized. "We must return in our dimension as soon as possible ; appropriate measures must be taken. We are sorry, Midna. We must leave".

"Don’t worry. We’ll see each other once everything will be over. In the meantime, my subjects will move the portal to Equestria closer to the palace. I would like to come with you to repay my debt, but…" Midna said.

"What debt are you talking about ? You do not have to repay anything", Link replied.

Midna smiled for an answer.

"See you later, Link", she said before Bowser teleported everyone to the portal.

Before passing through, King Boo ordered some of his troops to stay in the Twilight Realm ; fifty Boos vanished to patrol inside the peaceful dimension while the others followed their leader.

"You took photos of the Twilight Realm ?" Bowser asked to Twilight with a confused voice.

"Couldn’t help myself", Twilight replied with a sheepish smile. "But I didn’t go through the portal, I just put the lens on the breach. Once everything’s over, I plan to write a book about dimensions and their properties".

"I will help you with Death’s Realm, I promise !" King Boo exclaimed. "I can get pictures of it and Death anytime !"

"Hyrule is probably in peril", Zelda declared suddenly while changing subject. "We will depart now ; time is of the essence".

Suddenly, a lone Boo appeared in the room, visibly panicked :

"We can’t take the portal to Hyrule ! We can’t ! Because there’s no more portal !"

Running as fast as she could ; that was all she could do, even though she was going nowhere. She has to run to the portal to warn him before it was too late, before the ghosts could catch up to her. She had never crossed a portal before, but this was an emergency ; the guards would probably let her go inside if she insisted enough.

She jumped over a fence, exiting the woods, and hurried inside the vast field ; as soon as she saw the fortress from afar, she stopped right in her tracks, almost falling from doing so : the fortress was down. It was totally pulverized, having morphed from a sturdy construction to a pile of rubble of stone, iron and wood. There were no guards in sight. Worse, there was no portal.

She ran away in distress, not knowing what to do or where to go ; he was always there to guide her steps, to tell her where and when to travel ; now she was on her own. As the first water droplets began to fall, she suddenly recalled a place where she would be in safety, where he would go with her, far away from everything to relax in that forgotten place.

Under a pouring rain, she took a large detour to avoid the village on her way and finally arrived at the entrance of the cavern ; she quickly went inside and after some meters, found the place ; she wasted no time in taking shelter in one of the derelict wooden houses ; the hole-filled roof was barely protecting her, but she managed to find the driest place to lay down.

After an hour of sleep, she got up and cautiously peeked outside : there was no one around ; she stepped out of the house and walked while thinking about what to do ; she had no way to warn him of the disaster, no way to fight against the enemy and no water and no food. As she was searching for the latter behind a crippled barn, something caught her attention : hidden between empty crates and barrels, there was a pipe. Overjoyed, she did not think long before running, and, in an impressive leap, jumping inside ; just as she plunged into the darkness, she realized that portal could send her absolutely anywhere.

"Definitely no portal", Bowser groaned as he reappeared in the room. "Not a trace".

Zelda and Link stayed perfectly calm ; Celestia and Luna admired their composure.

"Is there a way to construct another portal ?" Zelda asked to Bowser.

"Without demolishing the one to the Twilight Realm, and that’s not guaranteed given the fragility of that piece of tech, no. Unless we build another space-time anchor ; I estimate it’d take half a year or so, from finding the materials and using it", Bowser replied.

"This is not option", Link said.

"You said something about appealing the case to Death if I remember correctly", Luna told King Boo.

"Yes, yes ! I can do that !" King Boo exclaimed. "But Death doesn’t care much about the living world !"

"Wouldn’t It create a portal to spare Itself a bureaucratic mess ?" Starlight asked.

"I don’t know ! I will ask It now ! But don’t be disappointed if It refuses !" The ghost exclaimed as he breached space-time to go into Death’s realm.

This time, the rift stayed open ; they all witnessed King Boo speaking with Death ; while the ghost could not stay in place while talking, Death, regardless of the perception of Its form, was perfectly immobile ; the dialogue lasted one minute and the crowned Boo closed the rift as soon as he passed through.

"Death said there’s no need for a portal ! No need ! There’s one here that leads to Hyrule ! We just have to find it ! Find it !"

"Did It say where it was ?" Rarity interrogated.

"Huh… It said we have to find it, that it’s here, in Equestria ! That someone you Hylians know would show us the way, because he or she took it ! It said that Hyrule was in trouble too ! It welcomed an unusual amount of souls from there recently, mostly soldiers !" King Boo panicked.

Link and Zelda observed a minute of respectful silence for the fallen knights.

"Your deities are protecting your people, but they’re outnumbered ! Outnumbered ! And just you two won’t make any difference ! We must find that portal quickly ! Quickly ! Hey, buddies ! You and I will find the portal ! We’ll search in every nook and crannies ! Here we go !" The ghostly king and his minions disappeared to begin their search.

"We better search too", Applejack suggested.

"We won’t have to search long if a human manifests here in Canterlot, or elsewhere", Rarity pointed out.

"You’re right", Starlight concurred. "But I think we still should look for that portal ; why not starting in Ponyville ?"

"Searching in the night will be difficult", Luna said. "All of us should sleep before beginning any kind of search".

"You are right", Zelda approved. "We will begin our search tomorrow, if the Boos do not find anything. May I talk to you Princess Luna ? I shall bring your attention on a personal matter".

"Of course", Celestia’s sister replied.

Luna and Zelda went into another room.

"Is something troubling you ?" Luna asked Zelda once she closed the door.

"Yes. I do not want to be a disturbance in your duty, but I fear my sleep will not bring any sort of peace upon me. My kingdom which I cannot reach is falling as we speak. I cannot show weakness nor succumb to sadness, but I shall be honest : this turn of events is affecting my emotional balance ; my mind not clear as it should be, a disruption in my powers is to be predicted as long as this imbalance persists. I solemnly request you, Princess Luna, ruler of the night and dreams of Equestria, to visit my dreams to appease my worries".

Zelda bowed gracefully as soon as she finished her request.

"Princess Zelda, it would be an honor for me to help you regain serenity", Luna answered. "Worry no more, I will visit your dreams as soon as you fall asleep".

"I give you my sincerest thanks", Zelda said.

She was thrown out of the pipe more brutally as she expected to be ; she smoothly passed through a cotton-like substance before landing painfully on the dirt. She recovered from the ordeal, got up and shook her head. Even in the obscurity of the night, she immediately sensed something off with her body : she was far smaller than before, and her legs and face were different ; her vision suddenly seemed far better, and her thoughts, much clearer. She checked her physical integrity and slowly went towards the lights of a village that were turning off one by one.

“Is this the Mushroom Kingdom ?” she thought as she walked down the path ; it took ten minutes for her to attain the town ; only a few lights were remaining. “These houses are small, just like my current size. Oh ? Is that a castle ? Maybe it’s Princess Peach’s castle ? Oh, I hope he’s here !”. She finally found herself at the double door, but she hesitated before knocking. “That’s strange. The Mushroom Kingdom should’ve been celebrating Arancia’s birth. Why is it so quiet ? Are the festivities already over ?”. She knocked quietly at the door, but even she had trouble hearing the weak sound she had produced. “They won’t hear me if I knock like this. Oooh, I’m sure I’m going to disturb them. But I have to !”. She managed to produce an audible sound, and a light turned on at one of the windows. She heard slow, unwilling footsteps coming towards the door before it opened.

"Hi…" A half-asleep Twilight croaked ; she shook her head to look at her unexpected visitor. "What do you want… in the middle of the night…" She almost fell asleep in front of her guest, but she managed to stay, if barely, awake.

"I… I… “What !? I can talk !? Loudly !? In that language !? Is this my voice !? And who’s that girl !?” Wh… where are we ? I… I mean… am I… am I in the Mushroom Kingdom ?"

"No, you’re in Equestria. Good night", Twilight wished as she abruptly closed the door, only to reopen it a millisecond after.

"Wait, what did you say !?"

"I… I’m… not in the-the… Mushroom Kingdom ?"

"You are in Ponyville, still in Equestria. The Mushroom Kingdom is accessible through another portal. Come in, don’t be afraid. I’m sorry, I’m not particularly… bright when I…" Twilight cut her sentence with a yawn.

"I knew I… I was going to… to disturb someone. But… but this is of… of utmost importance, an-an emergency".

"I must say I’m confused", Twilight explained as she guided her guest through the castle. "Why are you searching for the Mushroom Kingdom ?"

"I-I-I must warn some-somebody".

"“Somebody !?” Tell me, what’s your name and where are you from ?"

"I-I… I am… I am Epona. I’m coming from the kingdom of Hyrule".

Twilight literally jumped in the air.

"Starlight ! Wake up, for Celestia’s sake !" Twilight shouted at her lover.

"What… what is… it ? You… were just… next to me… so… so warm and soft and…" Starlight giggled with a blush.

"Starlight, somepony from Hyrule is here ! The portal isn’t far away !"

The unicorn finally got up when she heard this.

"Where’s our… stranger ? And who is she ?" She interrogated when she saw the cutie-markless brown earth pony with a white mane next to her marefriend.

"Epona is a pony from Hyrule", Twilight answered. "I can’t believe Princess Zelda didn’t tell us that Hyrule had ponies !"

"I… I… wasn’t really a… a po-pony back in Hyrule", Epona pointed out timidly. "Do… do you know Princess Zelda ? Do… do you know… Link ?"

"Yes, of course, they’re in Canterlot right now. It’s not quite next to here", the Princess of Friendship replied.

"Twilight, we can’t contact them ! Bowser’s at Canterlot and King Boo and his army are somewhere in Equestria !" Starlight suddenly recalled.

"You’re right. We’ll have to wait for the moon to set", Twilight sighed. "We’re sorry Epona, we can’t contact your friends yet. Just a… few hours of… good… sleep…" She stammered as her fatigue came back in full force.

"I… I will wait. Do… do you have… a place for me to sleep ?" Epona asked shyly.

"I’ll show you", Twilight answered.

Epona followed Twilight a few doors away from Starlight’s room.

"Here you are", the princess said as she showed the neat and tidy bedroom.

"Thank… thank you… Princess Twilight Sparkle, is that it ?"

"Call me Twilight. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about, but we’ll see this… in… some… hours…" Twilight almost again fell asleep. "The toilets are… two doors to… your left… and you… have some… water… on your… nightstand. Rejoin us… downstairs… when you’ll… wake up. Have… have a good night", she wished as she dragged her hooves towards Starlight’s bedroom.

"Thanks. You… you too…" Epona replied.

She closed the door and looked around her room.

“Such a strange, beautiful world ! And Link is here with Princess Zelda ? What are they doing here ? The inhabitants are so nice though ! And I’ve taken on their appearance ! That’s really strange but so… so amazing !” She thought as she looked at her reflection in a mirror ; she poured herself two glasses of water before realizing what she had done. “How did I did that !? With my hooves !? It seemed just so natural !”. She slowly slipped under the sheets “That’s the first time I sleep in a bed ! It’s so comfortable, so warm, so soft, so wonderful ! I’m already accustomed, I hope I’ll have one in Hyrule someday !”. Rocked by her new sensations and that new experience, she rapidly fell asleep.

She slowly woke up as the sun was already high in the sky ; she went downstairs and immediately found the living ; Starlight, Twilight and Spike were already eating their breakfast.

"Hello, Epona ! Did you sleep well ?" Twilight asked.

"Hi ! It’s the first time I sleep in a bed, so it was my best sleep ever !" Epona replied joyfully.

"Spike, this is Epona, a pony from Hyrule", Starlight told Spike.

"A pony from Hyrule ? There are ponies in Hyrule ?" The little dragon asked, confused.

Epona sat at the table and ate some pancakes ; this new food filled her with joy and she found herself eating a dozen of them.

"So, can you tell us more about you ? And what’s happening in Hyrule ?" Twilight interrogated.

"Hyrule is… Hyrule is… is under attack by the.. the… the dead ! I… I mean… Poes are everywhere, stealing… bits of-of people’s souls and-and causing chaos ! Stal-Stalhounds are rampaging in-in the plains ! Stalfosses are… Stalfosses are… they’re… they’re trying to-to besiege the-the castle town ! Redeads are… they… oh, such… such… such abominations ! They’re… they’re… -end-endlessly… ri-rising up from-from the ground ! Everything… every… dead being is… is being… brought back !"

"It seems… pretty bad…" Spike spluttered. "Even though I don’t know what you’re talking about".

"“That presence will bring back what it should not be”", Starlight recalled the warning from Rosalina. "Spike, you must send a letter to Princess Celestia ! We just can’t wait for Bowser to come !"

Twilight was brief in her letter ; one minute after Spike sent it, Bowser appeared in the room, scaring Epona.

"Hello. It seems you found the traveler from Hyrule, well done. Epona, Link and Princess Zelda are waiting for you. Your friends are already there too", the Koopa King told Twilight, Starlight and Spike.

When Epona reappeared into the dining room of the Castle of Canterlot, she immediately spotted Link and ran towards him.

"Link ! This is terrible !" She cried as she literally jumped on him, only to make them fall.

"E… Epona ?" Link asked, confused.

"Yes Link ! It’s me ! I’m so glad you’re here ! You’re going to save our kingdom and Illia, right ? Just like you did the last time ! I… I don’t know how I can help you in this form, but I’ll do my best, I promise ! We’ll do it together !"

Link and Epona got up and the Hylian knight looked at the new pony ; even with this appearance, she was undoubtedly her loyal friend.

"How… how did you find yourself here ?" He interrogated.

"Oh, I… I was running from the ghosts to the portal of the Mushroom Kingdom, but the fortress was destroyed and the portal had disappeared ! So I hid in our special place and I found another portal there ! I thought it was leading to the Mushroom Kingdom but it leads here. And now that I took it, I’m a pony ! I became like this !"

"This… this is wonderful, Link ! I already experienced so much ! Using my hooves to drink ! Sleeping in a bed ! Eating those things… pancakes ! I’m so happy to be here ! But at the same time, I’m so worried about Hyrule ! Link, Illia, our village and Kakariko are alright ! But… but it won’t last ! We must stop the dead before the Light Spirits are overwhelmed !"

"What… what were you… back in Hyrule ?" Starlight interrogated, puzzled at Epona’s words.

"She was my steed", Link replied. "She was a horse".

"Yes ! I was a horse ! An… an animal ! Don’t… don’t be angry at me, Link, but… but I’m scared of turning back when I’ll come back in Hyrule !" Epona exclaimed, distressed.

"You probably won’t turn back ever… Equestrian magic’s altered your body and your DNA forever, I can see and sense it", Bowser explained. "Mutating you back would only tear you apart. But I don’t think ponies from this world will turn into animals if they travel to Hyrule… I can’t be sure though…"

"Link, I’m so sorry ! But I-I-I feel… relieved. I know it’s… so selfish but… I don’t… I don’t want to… I don’t want to turn back into a horse ! I won’t help you by transporting you anymore, but I’m sure I’ll be useful ! I’ll still protect you and Illia, I’m still the Epona you know ! Our bond hasn’t changed ! I’ll stay in Hyrule with you and Illia, and we’ll all live together !"

Link smiled at his transformed horse ; he would not have imagined Epona to be so talkative, even though he had already talked to her when he was a wolf ; he crouched to be at her level :

"This event allows us to be more connected than we have ever been. This is a benediction from this world to our bonds. I am honored to meet you, Epona".

The young mare tightly hugged Link, tears of joy in her eyes ; Link kissed her on the forehead.

"Now, can you tell us where the portal is located ?" He asked to her.

"Yes ! I’ll show you immediately ! It’s not far away from Princess Twilight’s castle ! If you teleport me in front of the castle, I’ll retrace my way back from there !"

Everyone was teleported in front of the double door, and Epona immediately darted in the streets of Ponyville.

"Follow me ! Even though it’s very different under daylight, I have a good memory !"

After she toned down her surprising speed, everyone followed her as she gave them details on her sensations, feelings and new body.

"I passed through something when I was thrown out the portal. It didn’t hurt, it was like… a ball of wool", Epona explained.

"You probably passed through a cloud", Fluttershy hypothesized. "But on the ground, that’s unusual…"

"Ugh ! You’re going towards my home… Well, the pieces of my home", Rainbow Dash groaned.

"And that explains everything about the clouds on the ground !" Starlight suddenly realized.

The Cloudominium appeared in their field of view, a puzzle of what had been a house.

They cleared most of the debris before finding the pipe : buried under the rubble as it was, Epona had been lucky to not hit a hard surface ; the impact would have grievously harmed her, or worse.

"We’ll help you", Twilight told Zelda, Link and Epona.

Just as Zelda was about to answer, King Boo appeared above them.

"They must help you !" The ghost exclaimed as he hovered in front of Zelda. "Even with you, Bowser, my buddies and I, there’s too much cleaning to do ! You’ll be overwhelmed and we won’t be able to protect you all !"

"We… we must help the Light Spirits first", Epona whispered. "And… and the-the-the castle town…"

"We will split", Link decided as he saw Zelda confused about what to do. "If everyone agrees : Epona and our pony friends, I, Bowser and some Boos will help the Spirits. Princess Zelda, if you so choose, perhaps you can go with Mario, Luigi, King Boo and his army to defend the castle town ? Princess Peach, it would be best for you to stay here with Arancia ; we all know you are among the strongest and I cannot do anything to prevent you from going with us, but…"

"I will stay out of the fight this time, there is no need for arguments", Peach cut him off.

"But I, I won’t stay out !" Daisy affirmed. "I’ll kick that Zant guy’s butt so hard he’ll find a new master ! Don’t worry Link, I’ll back up Zelda with my powers ; I’d just be useless with you".

Link was not going to argue with Daisy ; he simply nodded.

"I… I want to help you too", Anita decided.

"I apologize for everything, and I shall remind you : you have no obligations towards Hyrule", Zelda declared.

"We’re friends", Twilight said. "As your friends, we’ll always help you, regardless of the problem".

"Please receive my deepest thanks", her fellow ruler thanked, bowing gracefully.

"We will be teleported in a forgotten village", Link explained. "The last resident moved some years ago ; there are plans to reestablish a town there, but it will probably not happen soon. Anyways, we will split from there : I think some Boos can go wherever they want, as long as they put down any ghost on sight ; if they can communicate with them, ask for their precise motivations".

"The vital part of the battle that will soon unfold is Hyrule castle town : it must not fall", Zelda added.

"You should return to Canterlot", Bowser suggested to Celestia, Luna and Peach. "Some Boos will come to report at least every hour".

The princesses nodded and Bowser teleported them away.

"I wanna be sure you won’t turn into animals", the Koopa told the ponies and Spike. "Who wants to go first with me ?"

Twilight and Spike volunteered with uncertainty ; Bowser jumped into the hole and they followed him ; they reappeared seconds after, unchanged in the slightest.

"No problem ; no magical or physiological conflict", Bowser said.

Reassured, they all plunged inside the pipe, followed by some Boos and their King ; two ghosts stayed in place to report in Canterlot.