Equestria Warriors: Displacement of a Hero

I woke up early in the morning and got dressed quietly, the sky still dark as I left the fort and headed for the train station. As I approached the building I saw Applejack waiting there for me. She smiled softly as she saw me walking over and met me in the middle to give me a hug.

“Morning you.” She said quietly, still a little sleepy. I patted her back gently as we walked together into the station. I bought our train tickets and we sat down to wait. I yawned slightly and smiled at her as she laid her head on my shoulder. I couldn't help but feel elated, about to have our first date without her family. Our previous ‘dates’ had mostly been when we set up an apple stand in both Appleoosa and Canterlot, every time being escorted by her brother Big Mac. I didn't blame him to be honest, I was someone he didn't know that well that was dating his sister and he wanted to be sure I wasn't going to hurt her. Even still, those dates were always fun. I was snapped back to the present as the train pulled into the station. We boarded and took our seats and the train set off as the sun peeked out over the distant mountains, shining brightly through the morning fog.

“It's always beautiful in the morning.” I mused, Applejack resting in my arms as the train trundled along. She looked out the window then back at me.

“Link, I was wondering something…” She started asking nervously. “In your old life, what was your name?” She looked me in the eyes, and I realized that despite me telling them what happened, I'd forgotten about my name.

“Johnny. My name was… is, Johnny. But I wanna go by Link publicly,since everyone recognizes me as Link.” I told her with a smile, which she returned.

“Johnny…” She sighed contentedly, making my heart jump. “Can I call you that? At least… when it's just us?” She asked a bit nervously.i chuckled softly and kissed the top of her head.

“Of course you can. I know I can trust you with my name. Ice already trusted you with my past.” I answered softly as she smiled again. We sat in happy silence until we arrived at our stop, stepping off the train to see a sea of tents and booths surrounding Ponyville. They even had a ferris wheel slowly turning away over the festival.
“Well, this looks like fun.” I chuckled excitedly.

“Yeah, it sure does. Don't forget, we're meeting my friends around lunch time.” Applejack reminded me and I nodded.

“Of course.” I agreed as I looked at the nearest booths. They were selling a wide assortment of items, from weapons to food, knickknacks and clothes.
“Holy Hylia there's a lot here…” I sighed, a bit overwhelmed by it all.

“Eh, most of them are just overpriced stuff you can get just about anywhere.” She said dismissively as we walked past several vendors. One even claimed to be selling the Master Sword, which turned out to be a fake. We eventually came to the ‘arcade', several rows of carnival games that allowed you chances to win prizes. I walked up to one I was familiar with, it had several bottles stacked up and you were supposed to knock them all over with a ball.

“It's five rupees to play.” The attendant informed me, and I handed over a blue rupee.
“Do you need to hear the rules?” She asked me, to which I shook my head. She handed me three balls and stepped back.
“Good luck sir.” She bowed slightly. I cracked my neck and aimed the first shot, letting it fly. I hit the stack dead center, leaving all but one standing. “Oooo, so close.” The attendant chuckled as she set up the stack again. I took a deep breath.

“You got this.” Applejack said encouragingly. I let out the breath and smiled, throwing the ball so hard it broke the bottles. I blinked in confusion, looking down at my hand. Where did that burst of strength come from? I looked up at Applejack, then to the attendant.

“So… did I win?” I asked in confusion, the attendant nodding remorsefully. She handed me a plush Korok, which I handed to Applejack. I dug out a couple yellow rupees and handed them to the attendant.
“Sorry for breaking the bottles.” I said in embarrassment, the attendant not replying as she snatched the rupees from me with a frown. We moved along and Applejack picked another game I was familiar with. Ring Toss. I paid for her to play, and she managed to get one of the smaller prizes. She took it, a small triforce pin, and put it on my scarf, right on my shoulder. I looked at it and smiled before looking up to her.

“Now we're even~” She said flirtatiously as we made our way to the festival's food court. We spotted her friends already sitting at a table and walked over, where we were hugged six ways from Sunday. Was there even a Sunday? I never thought to look.

“You two having fun?” Dash asked as we sat down, all eyes suddenly on us. I cleared my throat a bit before answering.

“So far yeah, managed to win a couple prizes. I did break one of the games though, so that was embarrassing..” I chuckled weakly as Dash's eyes lit up.

“That was you? Oh man, the gal there was so mad, you should've seen her!” She giggled gleefully. Twilight and Rarity just sighed and looked at each other, sharing an understanding thought.

“So… what do you wanna eat?” Asked Pinkie Pie cheerily. She always seemed happy and excited, even if there was no reason to be so.

“Well, I've been told about this thing called a Hayburger. It sounds very close to something we had… back where I'm from.” I said slowly, still struggling to talk about my past life. Rarity and Pinkie Pie had been told everything by Twilight and Dash. They even told their friend Fluttershy, but she was so skittish she was nowhere to be found. I was told this was normal and not to worry, which of course made me worry more.

“Hey! Equestria to Link here! You ok?” Dash said as she flicked my nose, snapping me back to the present. I wrinkled my nose in frustration and glared.

“That hurts a lot, you know.” I frowned as she giggled again.

“You were staring off again.” Applejack said quietly as she rubbed my back. I sighed sadly as I held my head in my hands.

“Sorry… I just keep getting reminded that I'm not really from here. I'm still doing my best to adjust, but it's hard. Sorry for bringing down the mood girls.” I grumbled sadly as they all looked at me with worry. Here I was, this legendary hero, on the verge of having an identity crisis and mental breakdown. The only thing keeping me grounded was Applejack softly hugging my side quietly, her presence making me feel safe for the time being.

“Well, I don't know much about Hylians, but I doubt you think clearly on an empty stomach.” Twilight piped up supportively. As if to emphasize her point, my stomach growled at its displeasure at being empty. This managed to get a small chuckle out of me as I stood up.

“Then let's eat.” I smiled softly as we went and got our food. We ended up spending the rest of the day with them, my mood improving significantly with all the distractions I was given. Before any of us knew it, the sun began to set and technicians began wheeling out the fireworks for the evening finale. We sat on a small hill away from everyone else, the two of us holding hands as the firework show began. I turned to look at Applejack, finding her looking at me with a strange look in her eye.
“You alright Applejack?” I asked, a little bit worried. She didn't say anything for a moment. As I was about to ask her again she leaned in and kissed me. Actually kissed me. To say I was surprised was quite the understatement, as up to now all we'd done is hold hands a couple times. Maybe cuddled. We held that kiss for what felt like eternity before we parted lips and she looked into my eyes and smiled.

“I am now.” She said softly as she wrapped her arms around me. “I love you Link.” She whispered in my ear. I returned her hug and sat there with her.

“And I love you Jackie.” I whispered back with a smile. She seemed to like the new nickname.

“Mmmm… Jackie. That's a new one.” She mused. I chuckled a bit, enjoying the moment for as long as I could. “Think you could stay the night with me? Or do you have to go back?” She asked as she pulled back to look at me.

“I'm afraid I can't. Captains orders.” I sighed sadly. She frowned, a little upset.

“You've been training so hard, you need a break at some point. Or else you'll burn out and be no good to anypony.” She said sadly as she brushed my hair out of my face.

“You know how Swift is. He'd rather snap me in half than let me miss one day.” I sighed again as I ran a finger down her cheek. I leaned in and placed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes. “How in Hylia did I get so lucky to have a gal like you in my life…”

“I'd say pretty lucky.” She smiled as she kissed me again, fireworks still going off around us.

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Green light filled my vision, blinding me temporarily. When it finally faded, I looked around to see I was back in the Temple of Time back when it wasn't falling apart. I looked around and saw Farore standing on the raised plinth at the center of the sword chamber, looking deep in thought. I tried to step forward but my legs refused to move, as if I were glued to the spot. Farore looked over to me with a smile as she moved in front of me.

“We meet again, hero. You must return here, to my temple, to face my challenge.” She said calmly, showing no emotion in her face. I blinked for a moment, realizing that this must be a dream. She seemed to know what I was thinking, as she nodded her head.
“Yes, you are not in the waking world. I felt it simpler to speak through dreams instead of when you were awake, so as not to make one look insane.” She said sagely, as if this had happened before. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came. She held up her hand and I listened.
“The time for questions will come. Now you must wake, as you have quite the journey ahead.” She smiled kindly as she tapped my forehead. The scene faded as I woke up in my bunk in the barracks. Sitting up I noticed I felt full of energy and confidence. Perhaps that was a side effect of dreams with goddesses. I shook my head and stood, grabbing my tunic and throwing it on. Clay walked by and chuckled at me.

“Not dressing for training today? Swifts gonna be mad.” He said teasingly. I just shrugged and tossed my sword and shield on my back.

“I have something more important to do than train today. He'll just have to deal with it.” I said flatly as I put my gloves on.

“I will, have I?” A gruff and gravelly voice came behind me. My shoulders tightened as I turned around, my teacher standing in the doorway with his near permanent scowl still on his face. “And what, pray tell, could possibly be so important that you think it justifies you leaving?” He demanded cooly, no hint of anger in his tone. I stood straight and, while I had my surge of confidence still in me, told him about my dream. He listened and took a moment before replying.
“So she's still around. I had long lost the hope that the Goddesses were still around.” He smiled, which looked unnatural on him. “Go. See what she wants. Report back as soon as she's through with you.” He ordered, to which I nodded. He walked back out and I collapsed back on my bunk. Clay ran over looking like he'd seen a ghost.

“Dude, how'd you do that? He didn't even yell at you!” He exclaimed in amazement. I shakily stood up and patted his shoulder.

“I have no idea. I just had this… boost of confidence. I really can't explain it.” I said as I shook my head. “But I need to get going. The last train for Appleoosa leaves in an hour.” I said as we walked outside. Clay nodded and I waved as I left. As I walked down the road I wondered if Swift had a thing for Farore. I shuddered at the thoughts that brought up. I barely managed to get to the station in time, flashing my military identification to the conductor as I boarded. I sat in an empty compartment, as this was a private room car, and began writing in my journal on the Sheikah Slate. I had taken to writing in it every time I had dreams so I could keep track of them. So far it had only four entries including this one. It made me wonder why I didn't have them more often, but I couldn't figure it out.

Putting the slate away, I took out a pencil and a couple pieces of paper. Taking the first sheet, I wrote a letter to Jackie explaining where I was going and that I might be gone for a few days. The second was to Clay, who had become my friend as we trained together. I gave him instructions on where to deliver AJs letter, thanking him for doing this for me. I sealed both on their own envelopes before putting them both in a bigger one. I wrote down Clay's name and the Forts address, making a mental note to put it in the first post box I saw. With that out of the way, I looked out the window and watched the countryside roll by. If I squinted I could make out Canterlot in the distance, merely a smudge at this distance, the only defining feature being the castle's central tower.

The train trundled on as the sun began to lower behind the mountains, casting long dark shadows across the field. It was oddly beautiful, reminding me of the Twilight Realm in a way. I wondered if that place existed here too. The train began to slow as we approached our destination, the small city of Appleoosa. It sat on the southern tip of the Everfree forest, and was home to Sweetie Belle and her parents. I wondered if I should stop by and see them as the train rolled to a stop, but thought against it. Maybe on the way back. I stepped off the train and walked into the city, heading for an inn to sleep at. Tomorrow was going to be a challenge, and I needed to rest.