Legend of Zelda: The Equestrian Hero

The night dragged on as Luna and Link navigated the Everfree Forest. The fog seeped onto the dirt path, forming a thick blanket. Trees stretched into the sky. A canopy of branches and leaves hung above the ground. The twigs snapped under Luna's hooves. A large spider with a skull on its back descended from a branch, and she jumped back. Huge spiders were far more dangerous than smaller ones. Not that some tarantulas weren't poisonous. She shot her magic at the spider, causing the insect to fall. Somehow the monster survived the fall, as it rolled onto its slender legs. The beady eyes stared at her. The way it looked at her would cause even the bravest of souls to shudder. A silver-blue aura enveloped her horn, and she shot a powerful beam at the spider.

"Why does it have a skull?" Luna asked.

"It's a skulltula," Link replied.

More arachnids appeared. Link slashed them each time their bellies were exposed. Skulltulas charged at him. He yanked a shield from his saddlebag and blocked the attacks. His blade penetrated every one of them. Luna summoned a spell, allowing her to eliminate multiple skulltulas at once. By the time the spiders were gone, the duo trotted deeper into the forest. Reverberating chirps pierced the silence. A swarm of bats circled the duo. Those weren't normal bats; they had yellow eyes.

"Nopony in Equestria had ever seen them until now," Luna pointed out.

"Whenever Ganondorf tried to usurp the Hylian royal family, they would spawn across Hyrule," Link said.

Luna blasted the bats toward the trees. "Would the bats be called 'demon bats?' They were aggressive."

"They're called keese. There is a variety of them." Link tossed his boomerang at the swarm. "It's easy to defeat them."

The swarm fled into the shadows. Luna guided Link through the forest. Her senses were on high alert, and it wasn't because the Everfree scared her. She knew the area like the back of her hoof. The creatures in this place could be unpredictable. To her left, a cave yawned wide. To her right, the path would lead the duo to the ruins. And in front of them, a trail would take them to the Ghastly Gorge. A bright flash garnered their attention. Standing before them was Discord. Link widened his stance, glowering at the draconequus.

"Greetings, Lulu. I went to Canterlot, and I eavesdropped on Ganondorf. Tia caught me, and-" Discord began.

"You eavesdropped? Didn't someone detect you, other than Celestia? Had she disclosed anything important?" Luna interrupted.

"I suppose I'll avoid the boring details and cut straight to it. The Elements of Harmony were scattered. Celestia told me-"

"That Ganondorf's minions might pursue me at one point?"

Discord nodded as he snapped his talons. A cloak materialized. "How did you know what I would say?"

"It's a hunch," Luna said.

"Cloaks can make decent disguises." Discord handed the cloak to Luna. "Well, the disguise wouldn't be complete without the removal of your regalia."

"Where would I put my shoes and my tiara?"

Discord summoned a pair of azure saddlebags. "In here. Besides, I'll check on Canterlot Castle sometimes." He vanished into thin air.

Luna secured the saddlebags on her barrel. Then, she stashed her regalia into the saddlebags and slipped the cloak over her body. She was reminded of the cloak she had worn during her first Nightmare Night. Didn't Discord want to rescue Fluttershy, though? They had an intimate friendship. She walked into the cavern. Her gaze flicked across the arches and gaps. She descended the stone steps. The ground was cool and moist. Small drops of water dripped from the stalactites.

Luna used her magic to illuminate the blackness. The light exposed a weave of spiderwebs. If a spiderweb was present in a cave, it usually indicated one or more spiders lurking in the vicinity. It was the reason nopony dared to explore the caves in the Everfree Forest. Link approached the web, took out a lantern, and pressed it against the web. The flames consumed the white tendrils, revealing a passageway.

"Is Discord an assistant?" Link asked.

"No. He might relay critical information to us during the quest," Luna replied. "You seemed prepared for the adventure."

"It never hurts to be prepared."

They ambled into the passageway. A shrub idled on the ground. It was odd, as the cave didn't have any vegetation in it. A short, brown creature with leaves for hair and a circular snout spat a large seed at the duo. Link levitated his shield to deflect the seed. It caused the creature to jump out of the shrub.

"That's a Deku scrub. They lurk in wooded areas," Link said as he chased the Deku scrub.

Eventually, the Deku scrub backed into a corner. Its red eyes glared at Link. "What do you want? I won't divulge the location of the yellow pegasus. My boss will be mad if I do."

Luna unfurled her wings. "Where is Fluttershy?"

"At the bottom of the cave."

The Deku scrub leaped into the foliage. At the opposite end of the passageway, a stone door slid into the ground. A staircase beckoned the duo closer. Luna and Link entered a basement. Steep chasms separated the raised platforms. Each platform had a patch of grass. It was as strange as the foliage in the corridor by the staircase. Luna teleported the duo to the nearest platform. The patch of grass shook, and an eyeless creature emerged. She was vaguely reminded of a venus flytrap. Yet this thing was large enough to swallow a pony whole. She blasted the beast backward. Another one dropped from the ceiling. It snapped at her, and she evaded the attack.

Link swung his blade at the beast and connected. "That was a Deku baba."

"How many 'Deku' enemies will we encounter during the journey?" Luna asked.

"Who knows? In Hyrule, any version of a forest temple or the forest itself will contain them."

To their right, a door yawned open. They strolled into a room. Several horned statues with a shield and sword lingered in the corner. A floor switch waited by the other side of the room. Link tapped the first statue, as though making sure it wasn't dangerous. The statue hopped after him, but he struck its backside. As a result, it spun wildly before exploding.

"Do they all behave violently when you touch them?" Luna asked.

"Not all armos do. The inactive armos can be pushed around," Link replied.

"There's one way to find out." Luna's horn glowed, and she levitated the armos. Two of them managed to break free of her magical grip. She slammed her aura into the statues.

Link's aura pulled the inactive armos toward the floor switch. Once he pushed the statue onto the switch, a door unlocked itself. The duo proceeded into the next room. Luna reached the edge of the stone balcony, then halted. The lower half of the room had a jagged crack in the wall. A low-pitched moan echoed off the stone walls. The bipeds with wooden masks shuffled forward. Link tossed a bomb at the crack. As soon as the bomb met the ground, it exploded. The dust faded. A descending corridor would lead to a second basement.

Luna made her way to the arch. The bipeds advanced, and she unleashed a powerful spell at them. They stumbled backward, then disintegrated. She trotted down the corridor. Link trailed behind. At the end of the corridor was a wide hall, with a set of stairs that led to a large treasure chest. Monstrous hands, almost the size of skulltulas, skittered across the floor. A giant door lingered on the left wall, barricaded by a huge lock.

Link ascended the stairs and opened the treasure chest. A golden key hovered above him. The monstrous hands lunged at him. He drew his sword before they could snatch him and the key. "Back off, you annoying floormasters!" He waved the blade at them.

Luna let loose a kinetic blast at the floormasters, flinging them against the wall. As Link carried the key toward the giant door, more floormasters spawned. The stallion sighed in annoyance as he plunged the sword into multiple floormasters. She helped Link push the key into the lock. A metallic click resounded, and the chains dropped to the sides. The door rolled into the wall.

"Let me guess. We'll battle a monster that is much bigger than the ones we had vanquished," Luna said.

Link crept ahead of Luna, investigating the chamber. At first glance, it seemed empty. Yet they couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched. Luna scanned the area. A frightened whimper caught her attention, and she peered in the direction of the sound. She glimpsed a silhouette trembling behind steel bars. Was it Fluttershy? An unmistakable whir prompted her to look up. Sure enough, she detected a spider-like monster. The beast had a large eye. She jumped back, preparing her magic. It landed onto the floor, then approached the duo.

Link retrieved a slingshot from his saddlebag, placed a Deku seed into its pouch, and fired the seed at the spider's eye. He slashed the eye until the gohma rose to its legs. The gohma crawled to the ceiling. Luna discharged a spell at the gohma's eye, and it fell to the ground. She heard Fluttershy whispering her name. Did the pegasus recognize her?

"How did you manage to flee Ganondorf's clutches?" Fluttershy asked.

"We'll discuss this later. Link and I are trying to defeat the arachnid," Luna replied as she ducked the gohma's claws.

Link fired another seed at the gohma. He pummeled its eye until the arachnid crumbled to dust. The steel bars sank into the ground, freeing Fluttershy. She raced to Luna's side and hugged the alicorn. When she released Luna, she scrutinized the cloak.

"Are the two of you on an adventure?" Fluttershy inquired.

"Yes. Equestria could be suffering under Ganondorf's tyranny as we speak. His minions will hunt me down," Luna explained.

"How is Discord doing?"

"He's okay, at least for now. He took it upon himself to be a spy."

"What about Spike, Starlight, and Trixie? Are they safe?"

"I think so. We should check on them, though. They're probably worried." Luna's horn glowed. Her aura enveloped Link and Fluttershy. The three of them teleported out of the chamber.

Once the trio arrived at Twilight's castle, Luna entered the council room. The room had a cutie map and six seats for the Element Bearers, along with a smaller chair for Spike. Starlight Glimmer and Trixie stepped into the room. At this time, the two unicorns would usually be asleep instead of wide awake. Perhaps Starlight and Trixie decided to stay up late. It was twenty minutes past twelve.

"Where were Twilight and the others?" Starlight asked.

"They're scattered into various locations. Link and I will find them," Luna explained.

Trixie's eyes widened. "They're gone? Didn't they know Equestria was in serious trouble? It's worse than when the monsters invaded the castle."

"Did they attack you?" Luna asked.

Starlight nodded. "Yeah. Discord came to us earlier and told us about a tyrannical stallion named Ganondorf. Anyways, because Twilight didn't return home, Spike started having nightmares."

For a moment, Luna paused. It wasn't the first time the baby dragon had nightmares. "I'm sure he did. I'll talk to him in his dream."

"He'll appreciate that. If you rescue Twilight, can you send us a letter?"

"I will inform you by then."

Fluttershy chimed in. "We'll spend the night. Princess Luna can keep watch. Also, Link will protect the castle."

Luna activated her magic and concentrated on the spell. An aura carried her into the dreamscape. She searched the dreamscape for Spike's nightmare. If it was a normal night, she would take time to quell the ponies' fears. She had to supervise the waking world due to the risk of dangerous creatures storming the castle. As she navigated the hallway of dreams, she discovered Spike's. She pulled the door open and observed the scene before her. The Element bearers appeared to be comatose, and Spike was sobbing.

"Spike, it's not real," Luna said as she landed in front of the small dragon.

"Princess Luna? Weren't you in the castle with Celestia?" Spike replied.

"What you see is what you fear the most."

"Twilight and I had been together for years. I don't want to lose her."

Luna placed her hoof under Spike's chin, which prompted him to make eye contact. "It's normal to be afraid. Twilight had been in perilous situations, and she's still alive. The heroes will triumph over evil. May your slumber be peaceful. By the way, Link and I saved Fluttershy."

Spike's face brightened. "Really?"

"Yes. Don't lose hope." Luna wore a benevolent smile as she left the dream. She returned to the waking world and began patrolling the castle. Everypony else, except for Link, had gone to bed.