Author's Note

This will be the last chapter for a bit. I enjoy writing, but getting chapter 11 done was a challenge for me. I'll still be posting, just don't expect them to come as quick as they have been. Thank you all so much for all your support!

Another Link and a Crossover, Part 3

My dreams were brief that night. I saw flashes of what I thought was the future. Flashes of scenes passed through my mind, from an army of monsters gathering in the desert to the elements vanishing in a flash of dark magic. More images kept running through my head, so fast I could barely recognize what I was looking at. It all came to a head as I saw Ganondorf reach out to grab me, scaring me awake. I sat up in a cold sweat, panting and huffing. What the hell was that about? I looked around, finding myself in AJs bed with her sleeping soundly beside me. Man, dreams are weird. Looking out the window you could see the sun begin to peak out from behind the mountains in the distance.

"Might as well get up.." I muttered quietly, getting up and dressed before waking downstairs to the kitchen. I began making a pot of coffee for everyone, filling the coffee maker with water.

“Good to sleep in a bed actually my size for once.” Jeff’s voice spoken from upstairs as he was making his way down. I chuckled to myself sleepily and looked over as he entered the kitchen.

"Mornin. Coffee will be ready in a few." I said with a slight yawn. I used the hand grinder to grind up the beans and put the grounds in the coffee maker as well before turning it on.

“Hmm.. isn’t there a certain Appleboom needing to get ready for school or..” Jeff pauses as he looked around unsure.

"It's her spring break. Surprisingly, the school system here is very similar to ours back home." I mused, looking over at him. "Without the corruption of course."

“I had to ask as it felt weird not seeing her here, I suppose she’s off having a sleep over somewhere or..” Jeff pauses to shake his head in an attempt to get rid of the tiredness. I nodded and I stretched.

"She's over with her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle." I felt my back crack, making me sigh in mild pleasure.

“Ah, good, there won’t be any interference from them thinking they can earn their magic casting cutie marks.” Jeff said in amusement as he sat down.

"I think AJ would crucify me if they tried." I shuddered at the thought. "Thankfully Ponyville is on the other side of the great field."

“I will admit it feels weird seeing Equestria so vastly different.” Jeff said as he looked out of the window.

"Yours has no physical similarities to Hyrule?" I asked as I poured two cups of coffee.
"Or just buildings? You did mentioned the Temple of Time before." I asked as I handed him his cup.

“Only pieces like Zora’s domain to the East of Equestria, or Death Mountain to the South, also known as the BadLands.” Jeff explained as he scratched his head. I rubbed my chin in thought as he spoke.

"My Equestria is similar in layout to Breath of the Wild, but the castle is in the south, not the north. The Lost Woods are the Everfree, and we're in what used to be Lon Lon Ranch. The Great Plateau is now Ponyville, and is significantly shorter… other than that, I'd say it's a one to one copy. Of course, I haven't explored much outside the field." I said, partially rambling.

“...Never heard of it, but I guess it's a new game that got released sometime or years after Skyward Sword.” Jeff said, revealing to me that he was quite behind.

"Oh, uh, yea. Came out in two-thousand and seventeen. Here, hold on one sec." I said as I pulled a large tablet off my belt. I set it on the table and began tapping on its screen. Jeff saw a map, a camera icon, and a book icon.

“That looks much alot like ocarina of time but vastly expanded upon..” Jeff said in surprise with a nod.

"Very close." I nodded in agreement, pointing to a small settlement. "This here, this is us. And this over here is the Everfree." I pointed to a massive blob of green with the name Everfree Forest imposed over it.
"That there is the Temple Of Time." I pointed to the middle of the forest, where the outline of a structure sat alone amidst the trees.
"You following along well enough?" I asked uncertainly, not used to teaching things to others.

“So far, yea.” Jeff said with a nod. I sighed in relief.

"I assume our geography is vastly different, so I understand if things don't look like they're where they should." I said apologetically, looking at him with a weak smile. Jeff reached into his pouch, soon pulling out a map of his Equestria and spreading it onto the table, allowing me to look over it. I noticed that some parts of the area were marked by an owl statue icon, much like that of Majora’s Mask. I looked over this map with great interest, pointing at an owl icon.

"Song of Soaring?" I asked pointedly, looking to at him.

“Pretty much my means of transportation as long as there’s an owl statue to warp over to.” Jeff explained with a nod. I nodded in return, looking back at the map.

"It's incredible. Similar places, yet it looks wildly different." I chuckled, sitting back in my chair. Rubbed my face for a second before I looked at Jeff.
"Your Equestria is very fascinating man."

Jeff rolls up the map and places it into his pouch. “Which reminds me, you said you didn’t know how to access your inventory? Just open the pouch, put your hand in it, picture the item in your mind until you feel something in your hand, then pull.” Jeff explains to me. I did as he said, thinking hard on my bow. I felt something hit my palm and when I looked down I was holding my bow.

"Well would you look at that." I said in surprise. "Didn't know it worked like yours did when not in combat."

“And if yours is anything like mine, you’ll have infinite space except for your ammo like Bombs, Deku Nuts, arrows, etcery.” Jeff explained to me as he looked out through the window as Applejack bucks a nearby apple tree.

"Do you also have a hotbar?" I asked, looking at Jeff. "When I'm in combat, I have a four slot hotbar I can put weapons in, so I can quickly change them to suit the battle. I just… don't know how to get to it without fighting someone or something." I said in embarrassment.

“Might be the same way though.” Jeff said as he reached into his pouch, soon pulling out the megaton hammer, however Jeff had to quickly grip it with both hands the second it grew to its full size. “But I gotta be a quick thinker when I do this in combat and kind of yank it out, especially when I don’t have time to stand and do it.” Jeff explained as I studied the hammer in all its realistic properties.

"Hmm… I wonder if…" I said as I closed my eyes and focused on my HUD. As I opened them, I found my display up, with my bow in my hotbar where I left it.
"Hey! It worked!" I cheered, looking over at him. His name appeared above his head, along with a health bar.
"Jeff you're a genius man." I smiled as I patted him on the shoulder.

“Just something I figured out from being in my Equestria for so many years.” Jeff said as he slid the hammer back into the pouch, its size shrinking down to fit inside. “Alright so.. What else can I teach you for today?” Jeff said as he crossed his arms in thought. I thought as well, looking out the window and saw AJ carrying a basket of apples.

"How about another sword technique?" I asked, looking over with raised eyebrows.
"Can't ever learn too many of those, right?"

“There’s seven of them, so I’ll start with the most basic; the ending blow.” Jeff said as he headed toward the door. I followed right behind him, using my display to quickly equip my sword and shield.

"I look forward to learning it." I smirked confidently as I cracked my neck. Once outside, Jeff pulls out his ocarina and begins to play a song. With each note played, I slowly start to recognize it to be the Elegy of Emptiness as an orange ray spiraled around Jeff. The moment he hit the last note, a statue slowly manifested inside of a green and yellow glow. The statue looked… creepy, it was like Jeff, except alot more of an Armos statue with its eyes hollow and empty. I looked up at it nervously, drawing my sword and shield.

"Now what?" I asked Jeff, not taking my eyes off the statue. I'd seen enough horror films to know never look away from creepy statues.

“A moment.” Jeff said as put away his ocarina, soon pulling out what looked to be a long wooden rod with a black gem on the top. The hylian placed his hand onto the gem as he concentrated his magic into it, slowly the gem took on a green glow, matching the colors of Farore. With a swing, he sent a green ball of energy at the Armos, causing it to come to life; its empty sockets now having two pairs of green glowing fire.

"Ok, not Ben, but still creepy as Hay…" I said, raising my shield defensively. I began to slowly sidestep around the Armos as I gauged its movements. Slowly, I started to notice the Armos was mimicking Jeff’s movements, reminding me of the Dominion Rod.

“Don’t worry about it being fast, due to it being rock created from the earth, it will be slower than me.” Jeff said as he held his rod with two hands, causing the Armos to take out a stone sword replica. I chuckled to myself as I kept moving.

"You want me to be able to go all out without actually risking someone's safety, don't you." I chuckled as I dashed in and swiped my sword at the Armos. Despite it being a statue, my slash actually damaged it. Jeff raises his rod, which causes the Armos to raise its sword, and with a swing of his rod, the Armors slashes down on me. I raised my shield to block it, bracing to absorb the shock. I felt the blow connect and it knocked me back, leaving me unsteady for a moment.

"Woah, that things packs a wallop!" I said excitedly, twirling my sword as I hopped to the side and charged again, making another heavy swipe to its chest. This time, it lets out a weird deep toned ‘bworp’ sound like a robot as it starts hopping around me, with Jeff moving in a circle to control it. With another swing of his rod, the Armos swings its sword in a wide sideways arc. Leaping up in the air, I pulled off a pretty incredible back-flip. I landed on my feet, much to my surprise, and looked at where I'd just been standing a few feet away.

"Holy Hylia… how'd I do that?" I chuckled, even more excited now. Holding his hand over the rod, I noticed Jeff was beginning to channel magic into it, looking back at the Armos, I saw the Armo's eyes were starting to glow, quickly reminding me of a Beamos charging up its laser.

"Crap crap crap." I mumbled in worry and I tried to keep side stepping out of its line of sight. I did not want to get hit with that. It shoots it laser at me, forcing me to keep sidestepping as it follows and tracks my movements. The Link-Armos paused in its firing, soon hopping slowly at me with its sword raised.

"This would be so easy if I had bombs…" I grumbled as I rushed the Armos, managing to lock blades with it. I groaned under its weight as it pushed against my blade. The Armos had some advantage though because of its stone-structure as it pushes against my sword, its eyes suddenly charging up magic again. As I tried to disengage, I heard a sound any knight would fear.

Crk!

A crack was forming in my blade, and I was now sweating badly. I wasn't sure how long it would hold as I tried to push my advantage.

Crrak!

The hairline fracture worked its way down the length of the blade, time seemingly slowing down as it shattered. At that moment, Jeff commanded the Armos to lift its weapon, and hold it still. It was inches from my face.

“...Well shoot, seems I went too far there.” Jeff said with a frown. While he was distracted, I pulled out the only other weapon I could use with a shield. I knocked the Armos' sword aside and hit it with a…. Ladle?
“...How in the name of Din did you even deflect an Armos sword with a ladle?!” Jeff exclaimed in confusion. I shrugged, equally as confused.

"How do we do anything we do?" I yelled back in confused excitement.
"We literally have pocket dimensions on our belts! Magic does weird stuff!"

“Alrighty smartass.” Jeff said with a chuckle as he pulled his arm back with staff in hand, causing the Armos to mimic the gesture as magic rapidly gathered into its blade. With a mighty whoosh, it spun around like a top toward me.

"Crap!" I yelled,running from the wildly spinning statue. "Jeeeeeeff! This isn't funny man!" I hollered at him as I kept being chased by the death top. The Armos stopped spinning as its fiery eyes spiraled around due to the dizziness from the spin attack it performed so poorly on. Quickly switching to my bow, I drew back the string as an arrow appeared. I took a quick breath, aimed, and with a soft exhale let it fly. The arrow shot from my bow, arcing through the air at the Armos' face. The arrow hit it straight in its eye, causing it to let out a pained ‘bworp’ sound. The glowing in Jeff’s magic row suddenly flicked as the Armos fell over.

“...I had to wait, but to perform the ending blow, you must leap into the air and plunge your… ladle into its eye. Best do it fast before it recovers.” Jeff said in disbelief.

I charged at the fallen Armos. "Hyaaaaaaa!" I cried out, leaping into the air and driving the handle of my ladle into its eye. The Armo’s eyes flickered and shook violently, and instead of the dark explosion ganondorf’s minions usually do, it exploded with a pleasant emerald green, forcing me to cover my eyes as I didn’t know what the energy was. I coughed as the smoke cleared, looking around in a bit of confusion.

"Well that's new." I said, coughing up a small cloud of the green smoke. I looked over at Jeff with a cheeky grin. "Bet that's the first time you've seen something die via a cooking utensil." I laughed happily.

“Don’t get too cheeky though as I doubt you’d have the same luck against a boss.” Jeff said as he reaches into his pouch. “Catch, a little something considering your weapon broke.” the hylian said as he tossed something into my hand. Looking down, I noticed it was a golden ring with an emerald gem being held by silver metal. “Your damage with a weapon and your defenses will go up by one level if you wear this ring.” I nodded, slipping the ring on my middle finger with ease.

"That'll definitely be helpful." I said, thankful. I could feel the power the ring had flow through my body.

“I won’t teach anymore hidden skills for now until you get the hang of what you know now, so lets move onto something non-combat reality, perhaps a transformation mask or a song?” Jeff offered as he looks off to the side, noticed Applejack looking a little nervous and worried. I thought for a moment while tapping my chin.

"I'd say a song, but all I have is AJs old Harmonica." I said awkwardly, pulling out said instrument.

“If you still remember ocarina of time and majora’s mask, I can teach you how to focus your magic into your song.” Jeff explained as he took out his blue ocarina. I smiled and nodded at him.

"I'm familiar with those games." I said as I put the harmonica to my lips.

“Alright, the first song i’ll play is the song that I heard resonate from my token. With your instrument up to your lips, close your eyes and imagine a fierce storm, remember the feeling of the rain splashing onto your body and the power of a rumbling thunder bolt” Jeff said as he placed the ocarina up to his lips. I was expecting it to be exciting but.. All he did was played the first three notes, as if learning it just like the game. I played along, matching the notes' pitch as close as I could. In my head I imagined a raging Tempest, savage winds and rain coming down in torrents.

The harmony in the magic of Equestria guided our music, becoming a full blown performance of ocarina and harmonica. As the song ended, it suddenly started raining, causing the hard working ponies of Applejack and Big Mac to exclaim in surprise. I held the harmonica in front of me, my body not in my control as text appeared along the bottom of my view.

You learned the Song of Storms! Summon raging tempests or sunny skies!

I blinked and it vanished, giving me back control of my body again.

"Damn.. hate it when that happens…" I grumbled, looking up at Jeff. "Happens sometimes if I encounter chests or item collections from older titles." I explained as I shook my arms and legs. AJ and Mac were looking around at the rain like it came from Mars.

"How the Hay did you do that!" AJ yelled to me, looking slightly freaked. I chuckled apologetically and played the song again, stopping the rain.

"Sorry Jackie, learned a new bit of magic!" I yelled back with a sheepish grin.

“At least the apples got some moisture though.” Jeff said with a chuckle. The hylian looks back at me curiously. “Are there any other songs you wish to learn?” he asked. I thought for a moment and nodded slowly.

"One, but I'm not sure you'd wanna teach it to me." I frowned sadly.

“...Judging from your tone, it sounds like a serious one, I’m guessing Song Of Healing or Song Of Time?” Jeff asked with worry in his voice.

"The Song of Time." I nodded as I sighed.
"I know it's a dangerous song, and I'll understand if you don't want to teach it to me."

"The song is only used in dire situations, especially since you're calling upon a goddess's power to travel through time, so rather than me being the judge, I'll let this world's Nayru decide if you're worthy or not." Jeff said with a soft nod, unsure if said goddess was listening into the conversation or simply watching.

"Alright then." I nodded again, putting the harmonica back to my lips. Jeff slowly nodded and did the same, gently playing the song of time’s first few notes. I followed along like before, the music flowing through me as we played our strange duet. After the music stopped, I once again was hijacked, holding the harmonica as text appeared.

You learned the Song of Time! Don't abuse it

“My thoughts exactly, Nayru.” Jeff said with satisfaction nod as he heard her voice.

I shook once again as control returned to me.

"Dagnabbit! I hate that!" I growled, now getting a bit frustrated. I looked at Jeff.
"Does that ever happen to you? Forced cutscenes?"

"Nope, as I didn't learn those songs, I recalled them when something made me remember them while some of the songs were taught to me. The song of time was taught to me by my goddess of time. Oddly, she is a different entity than Nayru herself but has yet to tell who she is." Jeff explained with a nod as he gave his ocarina of time a gentle wipe. I grumbled in frustration as I returned the harmonica to my pouch, watching it disappear.

"Sorry I seem so upset. I just like feeling like I'm in control, so I get piiiiiiiissed when I get hijacked like that." I sighed, looking at him with a tired look.

“We can take it easy for now. Here, another present from me.” Jeff said as he walked up to me, placing something into my hand. It was a golden ring with a red heart gem, the gold part has a stylish fold at the end. I took it and raised an eyebrow.

"Another ring? I'm guessing this does something related to hearts." I said as I slipped it on my opposite middlefinger from the other ring.

“Exactly, as long as you’re moving, your wounds will slowly heal, especially if your heart is pumping due to adrenaline. That’s not to say you’d be healing as if you’re wolverine or deadpool though, so don’t do anything stupid, alright?” Jeff said with a warning. I laughed at that last part for a moment.

"Have you not seen me? I kinda do stupid stuff all the time. Like fighting rock guys with giant spoons." I chuckled before becoming a bit more serious. "But yes, ill make sure to be more careful."

"I mean it, future hero, but if you do die, I will personally go back in time and regret giving you this ring, alright?" Jeff said with a firm nod, especially when I decide to take this seriously. I nodded again, a more serious look on my face.

"I will. I want to be a Hero you would be proud of." I bowed respectfully. "I will never forget what you've taught me."

“Good, good. Now, I have one final offer, I can give you one enchanted mask that will allow you to take one form, choose what the form is and make sure it isn’t anything powerful.” Jeff said with a nod. Tapping my chin for a second, my eyes light up.

"How about a Unicorn?" I ask, looking at you thoughtfully.

“Alright, one unicorn mask coming up, just remember it’ll match the world you’re in, in this case it's anthropomorphic.” Jeff said as he took out a blank wooden mask. As he held it in his hands, he took a deep breath as twili particles and green wind started to swarm and surround with the wooden mask, soon slowly taking on a form of its own as the sounds of creaking wood filled the air. After a while, the magic left the mask, revealing it looked like my face, except as a unicorn pony with cyan skin and a golden mane. Its black eye sockets were the only thing left featureless.

Applejack can be seen standing up on her tip-toes trying to see what’s going on, especially when Jeff mentioned giving me a transformation mask.

"Woah, that looks really cool!" I said in amazement, holding out a hand for it. Jeff places it into them and I look it over, tempted to put it on but then a thought crosses my mind.
"Oh right! Jeff, can you show me how to make a token thing?" I asked as I looked at him hopefully.

"...You sure though? The void outside this world is vast, Farore knows where you may end up, those worlds or whatever Displaced lives on them will be very different.” Jeff said with concern.

"Even so, if I can do a shred of good for someone else, it's worth it." I smiled confidently. "Besides, I think a true hero thinks beyond what's in front of him, right?" I chuckled.

"..Alright, just be sure to apply the following for me. One, make sure you've got a failsafe so if the summoning in questioning is bad, you can say or use something to send you back home and make your token useless to the summoner, second add some form of method so that the summoning isn't instant so that you have time to finish what you're doing before you head to whoever the summoner is. Third, the summoner can send you back as they have your token unless again, you've got a failsafe to force yourself back home." Jeff explained with a serious tune as he spoke from experience. I nodded, taking off my scarf and holding it in front of me.

"I can do this…" I told myself as I closed my eyes and focused. My scarf floated from my hands and the winds picked up, swirling around me as my hands glowed with golden light. It brightened and the wind picked until the one scarf turned into three.

"To whoever finds this scarf, I am the Hero of Light. If you shall need my help, I shall come. To those who would do harm to others, know I will never heed your call. I will stand for life, light, and the sanctity of all living beings! If you wish to call me forth, simply hold this scarf and call for me!" As I finished speaking, the light vanished and one scarf shot skyward as the other two landed in my hands. I was breathing heavily, but grinned in satisfaction at being successful. I tossed mine back on as I offered the other to Jeff.

"I believe, good sir, this is yours." I said with a smile. The scarf was different from mine, in that the colors were reversed for him.

“Hmm, well, i’ll have to see if a good time arrives without me being busy and having to walk all over the place.” Jeff said as he took the scarf from me, carefully and neatly folding it as he placed it into his pouches. AJ walked up beside me and put an arm around me and I squeezed her gently.

"You're always welcome here Jeff. Know that." I smiled at him as I offered a hand.

“I can’t simply come here anytime I want to though, at least not yet as I’m still trying to figure out the inner workings of Twili portals, but we’ll see for later. For now, just play the notes of the song of storms without focusing your magic into it to summon me via the use of my token that is currently a necklace around your neck.” Jeff explained as he took my hand in a firm handshake.

"I will. If I ever need your help, I know where to find you. Good luck, when you go back home." I smiled sadly. Despite it only being a couple days, Jeff had really grown on me. I was really going to miss him.

“Usually I tell others how to send me back, but I think I'll do it this time.” Jeff said as he back me a salute. Suddenly a blue diamond surrounded Jeff as he slowly rose into the air, the diamond starting to spin around him. With a flash, he vanished from out of this world, leaving only memories as his only proof of existence. For a second, I felt like everything froze, leaving me confused and yet when I looked around, I saw nothing out of place, leaving me bewildered of what that sudden pause was about. I shook my head, looking back skyward.

"So long Jeff. You were the best teacher I could have ever asked for…" I smiled as AJ gave me a soft hug.